Civil War News May 2019

Good Weather Brought Big Crowds to Baltimore

TIMONIUM, Md.—The 65th anniversary of the Maryland Arms Collectors Association Show was held at the State Fairgrounds, Timonium, Md., on March 16 & 17, 2019. This gun show, more commonly known as “The Original Baltimore Antique Arms Show” or just “The Baltimore Show,” is acknowledged by most people as the premier antique gun show on the American east coast and by many as the best antique gun show in the world. The Baltimore Show attracts thousands of serious collectors from across the globe. Whichever way you view it, you would have to admit that once again it was a great show for dealers, collectors, the general public, and anyone interested in gun collecting or military history. It is a true labor of love for the collectors who make up the Show Committee.

The show opened to the usual rush of customers on Saturday and quickly filled the Cow Palace. Over the years Maryland Arms Collectors Association has expended great effort and expense

to transform a building designed to exhibit cows into an attractive and accommodating space to welcome exhibitors and visiting crowds. Those who attended were treated to over 900 sales and display tables of antique and historic arms and arms-related items.

One of the major attractions was the “Best of Show” display, “A Withering Hail of Iron – Grape and Canister in the Civil War.” This display offered a look at the various types of cannon shot used by Union and Confederate forces during the War Between the States. It was fascinating to learn the difference between the canister and grape shot in both size and utilization.

Our “Best Single Weapon” highlighted a 10-pounder Parrott, Serial No. 8, the only known surviving 10-pounder Parrott rifle made by Macon Arsenal.

Exhibitors came from 44 states and 10 foreign countries including Canada, The United Kingdom, Israel, Switzerland, Belgium, and

Germany. As is usual with the show, old friends were revisited and new friends were made and treasures found new homes. The weekend seemed to fly by and all too soon it was Sunday afternoon and time to announce awards for the show. When displays win awards at the Baltimore Show, you can be assured that they are world class.

Judges Choice Awards went to Robert Jaffe for “Fayetteville Rifle,” Douglas Porter for “Remington Nylon .22 Rifles,” Bill Vance for “Pennsylvania and Maryland Long Rifles and ART,” and Paul D. Johnson for

Redesignation

of Fort Sumter National Monument

CHARLESTON, S.C.—The National Park Service announces the redesignation of Fort Sumter National Monument to Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park. The law also establishes management authority and defines the park boundaries to include: Fort Sumter, Fort Moultrie, and the Sullivan’s Island Life Saving Station Historic District.

This provision was passed as a part of the John D. Dingell Jr. Conservation, Management and Recreation Act (Natural Resources Management Act of Recognizes) that passed both houses of Congress in February; President Donald Trump signed it into law on Tuesday, March 12, 2019. Originally, U.S. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina introduced legislation in both 2016 and 2017 to enact the changes to the park.

Fort Sumter was added to the National Park Service as a national monument in 1948. Fort Moultrie was added to the park in 1960 using the Historic Sites Act of 1935. “This name change to Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park will help the public understand and recognize that Fort Sumter, Fort Moultrie, and the Sullivan’s Island Life Saving

Station Historic District are part of America’s National Park system,” stated Dawn Davis. “In particular, it will be wonderful to have Fort Moultrie elevated by including it in the name of the park, especially as the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution is just a few years away.

Fort Sumter is the site of the opening bombardment of the Civil War on April 12-13, 1861. Across the Charleston Harbor entrance is Fort Moultrie, the site best known for the patriot’s repulse of the British Navy on June 28, 1776. Combined, both forts showcase 171 years of seacoast defense. Fort Sumter is located in Charleston Harbor and is only accessible by boat. Concession-operated ferry boats depart daily from Liberty Square in Charleston, and from Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant.

The Liberty Square departure point houses the park’s primary visitor center and is located at 340 Concord Street in Charleston. For information on ferry departure schedules and prices, call Fort Sumter Tours, Inc. at (843) 722-2628 or visit them online at www.fortsumttertours.com.

Fort Moultrie is located at 1214 Middle Street, Sullivan’s Island, and is accessible by car. Visit www.nps.gov/fosu/index.htm.

Aerial view of Fort Sumter off Charleston, South Carolina. (Library of Congress, Carol M. Highsmith Photography, Inc.)

Best Weapon Award went to Ken Knoll (right) for his Macon Arsenal 10-pounder Parrott rifle, Serial No. 8. Standing to his right is his son Bradley.

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We always look forward to the warm Summer weather and the many historic places to visit and shows to attend. On the weekend of May 4th and 5th, we will be attending the Ohio Civil War & Artillery Show in Mansfield. Then on June 29th and 30th, we will be attending the Gettysburg Preservation Association Civil War Artifact and Collectibles Show. Historical Publications, LLC will be setting up at both of these shows. If you will be there too, please come by and introduce yourself. We love to put faces to the names of our subscribers and get your feedback as well.

The highly anticipated annual July Gettysburg issue plans are in the making and we are looking forward, to our annual trip in June with great excitement. As usual, we will be sending the Gettysburg section to shops, restaurants, hotels, B&B’s, the GBPA Civil War Show and Sale and the Gettysburg Anniversary Committee’s reenactment for free distribution to visitors and spectators. We print 10,000 additional copies of this section, so if you are interested in marketing your product or event, please go to our website for information, or contact us directly at 1-800-7771862. We are happy to help you with your advertising needs.

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H Baltimore

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“Identified Sharps Issued to 1st Connecticut.”

Third Place Educational Award went to Stephen Wesbrook for “Wing Shooters’ Choices, 1865–1915;” Second Place Educational to Lewis Southard for “U.S. Martial Pistols and Accoutrements,” and First Place Educational to Dan Toomey for “A Marylander in Mexico.”

The Best Single Weapon Award was presented to Ken Knoll for “Macon 10-Pounder.” The Best

of Show went to David Gotter for “A Withering Hail of Iron –Grape and Canister in the Civil War.”

Also featured were exhibits from the USMC Historical Company, Harpers Ferry National Park, the NRA/National Firearms Museum, USS Constellation, 4th North Carolina Regiment USA, Springfield Arsenal, and The Cody Museum.

We all look forward to next year’s show which will be held the weekend of March 21 & 22, 2020 at the Timonium Fairgrounds. See you there at the best antique arms show in the country.

David Gotter stands in front of his Best of Show display, “A Withering Hail of Iron – Grape and Canister in the Civil War.” (Jack Melton)

Jeffery Sipling’s display “Haviland and Gunn.”

Chris Grazzini’s display “Sword of Major John M. Kane” who commanded the Hibernian Greens during the War of 1812.

This impressive display weighs almost

1,500 pounds with 80 stands of grape, canister, and shot.

Stephen Wesbrook’s display of doubleguns.

Author Daniel D. Hartzler’s display “Carving.”

Remington Society of America’s display of firearms.

Ken Knoll’s Macon Arsenal 10-pounder Parrott rifle, serial no. 8, won Best Weapon.

Denny Pizzini’s cannon display with the only known surviving Confederate 9-pounder smoothbore cannon in the background.

Mason Ferry’s display “Remember when toys made noise?” showcased toy cannon that are no longer manufactured.

Maryland Antique Arms Collectors Association, Inc. 2019 Award Winners

Next year’s show which will be held the weekend of March 21 & 22, 2020 at the Timonium Fairgrounds.

Dick Berglund receiving his 50 year pin from President Dave Booz.

Lewis Southard receiving 2nd Place Education Award.

Ken Knoll receiving Best Single Weapon.

Judges Choice Award went to Robert Jaffe for “Fayetteville Rifle.”

Judges Choice Award went to Bill Vance for “Pennsylvania and Maryland Long Rifles and ART.”

Judges Choice Award went to Paul D. Johnson for “Identified Sharps Issued to 1st Connecticut.”

Judges Choice Award went to Douglas Porter for “Remington Nylon .22 Rifles.”

Maryland Arms Collectors Association, Inc. President Dave Booz presenting David Gotter the Best of Show trophy.

Eras Gone Bullet Molds, Repro Catalogs & A Business Merger

Eras Gone Bullet Molds

One of the most interesting historical small arms related businesses I have come across in some time is Eras Gone Bullet Molds. Company founder Mark Hubbs wanted authentic bullets to shoot in original and reproduction Civil War cap and ball revolvers; his search led him to check into the possibility of having a company make him custom molds.

Hubbs’ quest led to some interesting results. He quickly discovered that “set up fees for custom molds are expensive, so to get the single mold I required, I had to buy at least 30 from a prominent mold maker to make the project

affordable.” His plan was to contract for the thirty, keep one for himself, give one to his friend who did the design and sell the rest to cover the cost. He posted his plan on the Black Powder Revolver Enthusiast Facebook page, received an enthusiastic response, and chose “Eras Gone” for a company name.

While Hubbs started out with six-gun slugs, his latest product is a mold to cast a historically correct Smith carbine bullet. The Smith bullet is .518 in diameter, weighs 354 grains, and features the rounded top band of the original projectile.

You can view the Eras Gone By bullet selection, which includes .44 caliber Johnson and Dow, .31 caliber Baby Dragoon, .36 caliber Richmond Laboratory, and .36 caliber Colt designs at his website: http://erasgonebullets. webstarts.com/?fbclid=IwAR -

by Joe Bilby

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Eras Gone By molds are $65 each postpaid for United States sales. The company ships overseas as well for additional shipping cost and has sold to shooters in the United Kingdom, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Canada Spain, France, Serbia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia. The molds are made by Lee Precision and come complete with handles. Orders are processed through Bonanza, a sales platform like eBay. https:// www.bonanza.com/booths/ Eras_Gone_Bullets.

Classic Firearms Catalog Reproductions

As many of you are aware, my part time retirement job is as Assistant Curator of the National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey in Sea Girt. I recently received an information request from an arms historian in Denmark regarding a Bofors anti-tank gun in our collection. The provenance of the gun was shaky; one account had it donated by a VFW post that received it as World War II surplus and used it as a lawn ornament. My inquirer, to whom I supplied photos, posited that it might have been sold by the Danish government to Val Forgett. And that point brought back some memories.

Back in the day, as they say, the day being the late 1950s, I was a high school kid living in Newark, N.J. I was also an avid history, outdoors, and firearms buff. My friend Johnny Sause’s father used to take us on party boat fluke fishing expeditions, so it fell to my father to bring us to that iconic surplus gun mecca, Service Armament, located at 8 East Fort Lee Road in Bogota, N.J.

To a military history nerd like me, Service Armament, lodged in a huge warehouse, was a wonderland. There were cannon all over the floor, as well as antitank guns, Gatling guns, mortars, and rocket launchers; the small arms for

sale ranged from the 19th century to World War II. Val Forgett, the founder of the company, traveled far and wide to purchase his stock, and it was for sale— cheap. A World War I era British Number 1 Mark III rifle could be

yours for $14.95, and 100 rounds of .303 ammunition to go with it would set you back $7.50. You could buy a Model 1875 Gatling gun for $5,000, a Model 1900 Gatling gun for $1,250, a 12-pounder bronze Civil War

Close up of the Smith bullet mold cavities. It should be noted that all Eras Gone molds have two cavities. (Mark Hubbs)

Cornell Publications reprint of the 1958 Service Armament catalog.

Smith carbine bullet mold and handles. (Mark Hubbs)

smoothbore cannon for $4,000, and a British anti-tank gun for $250. In those days, you could simply pay the man and roll your cannon out the door. Service Armament also had a large selection of machine guns, but unless they were deactivated, you needed a federal license to purchase them.

You can sample those glory days of yore by purchasing a reprint copy of the 1958 Service Armament catalog, one of a myriad of classic gun catalogs available from Cornell Publications, which describes itself as providing “collectors and enthusiasts with a source of period correct, reprinted original material to help them better understand and evaluate their firearms.” The firm offers reprints of over 6,000 old catalogs, printed to your order. If you are interested in the Cornell list, check it out at their website: https://www.cornellpubs.com/index.php.

Reproduction Firearms Company Merger

Civil War era shooters and reenactors interested in handguns are familiar with the Early and Modern Firearms (EMF) and Pietta companies. EMF developed into a sort of bifurcated entity, starting with imported percussion revolvers and reproductions of the Model 1873 Colt Single Action Army cartridge gun intended to appeal to the Cowboy Action Shooting market. They later evolved into a business

selling more modern designs as well. Pietta is well known for its percussion handguns, and the EMF traditional revolvers were manufactured by Pietta in its factory at Gussago, Italy. Now both companies are one as Pietta has purchased EMF. According to Pietta, “the decision to purchase and partner with EMF was based on the goals of the Pietta brothers to increase their overall brand presence within the United States as well as increase the company’s retail distribution, all while maintaining a lower and more competitive price point.”

Joseph G. Bilby received his BA and MA degrees in history from Seton Hall University and served as a lieutenant in the 1st Infantry Division in 1966–1967. He is Assistant Curator of the New Jersey National Guard and Militia Museum, a freelance writer and historical consultant and author or editor of 21 books and over 400 articles on N.J. and military history and firearms.

He is also publications editor for the N.J. Civil War 150 Committee and edited the award winning New Jersey Goes to War. His latest book, New Jersey: A Military History, was published by Westholme Publishing in 2017.

He has received an award for contributions to Monmouth County (N.J.) history and an Award of Merit from the N.J. Historical Commission for contributions to the state’s military history. He can be contacted by email at jgbilby44@aol.com.

Chambersburg Raid Scouts

By Carl L. Sell Jr.

(This story contains updated information about Hugh Logan, one of Jeb Stuart’s scouts for the October 1862 Chambersburg Raid that refutes a newspaper account of his death in the war.)

Just days after President Lincoln met with Major General George McClellan on Oct. 3, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Md., to urge Union pursuit of the Confederate Army after the bloody September clash along Antietam Creek, Robert E. Lee ordered Major General James Ewell Brown Stuart to invade Pennsylvania and gather information, horses, supplies, and disrupt the Union Army’s railroad supply route.

It was a reprise of Stuart’s June “Ride Around McClellan” outside Richmond in June that gave Lee, who had just taken command of the Southern forces, the information he needed to launch the attack that would end the Union’s Peninsula Campaign designed to capture Richmond.

Stuart’s cavalry had not been directly involved at Antietam and thus missed the War’s highest total casualty count for one day. The cavalry, along with a small infantry force, was assigned to protect Confederate artillery during the battle. Afterward, Stuart was charged with protecting the Potomac River crossings from Union cavalry between Harper’s Ferry, Va., and Hancock, Md. There were numerous skirmishes, but no large-scale action.

Although McClellan showed no signs of pursuing the Confederate Army immediately after Sharpsburg, General Lee was interested in disrupting the Union’s resupplying its army. He already knew the Union government had established a circuitous railroad route to deliver ammunition and other armaments much quicker than normal wagon trains. Ordnanceladen railroad cars traveled from Washington City to Baltimore, then to Harrisburg, Penn., where they were transferred to the Cumberland Valley Railroad for delivery to Hagerstown, Md., not far from Sharpsburg.

Chambersburg, Penn., was a major link in the Cumberland Valley system, so Lee decided to send Stuart to disrupt, if not totally destroy, the railroad there. One of the main targets was the railroad bridge over Conococheague Creek near Chambersburg. The Union army also maintained a large distribution center for supplies at Chambersburg. Along the

way, Stuart’s men would capture horses and a limited number of local officials to be used as part of an exchange system. Lee issued orders that pillaging civilian properties was not be allowed.

Stuart’s cavalry was bivouacked at the Bower, a large plantation in western Virginia near the Potomac River. Like he did before the June ride, he gave his troopers little time to prepare for another 100-mile round trip. The 1,500-hundred man contingent left early in the morning of Oct. 9 and was across the river before the fog lifted. Once again, he lined up the services of two scouts who knew the route, both coming and going.

In the June ride around McClellan, Stuart enlisted the aid of two troopers from Virginia’s New Kent County to guide his party of 1,200 around the Union army east of Richmond This time, Stuart tapped two brothers from Franklin County, Penn., and another scout who was born in Poolesville, Md., to make sure he didn’t get lost. The Logan brothers, Alexander and Hugh, helped guide Stuart into Pennsylvania and Chambersburg, the county seat of Franklin County. Both were Southern sympathizers. Hugh was the most gregarious of the brothers and greeted those he knew when the column arrived in town.

Hugh Logan, born in 1825, survived the war with his obituary listing him as a captain in the Confederate army. Alexander’s obituary claimed no association with the military. Another brother, Daniel, had captured John E. Cook, a member of John Brown’s 1859 raiding party who escaped during the government counterattack on the Federal Armory at Harper’s Ferry but had moved to California by 1862.

Captain Benjamin Stephen White was one of Stuart’s numerous aides. Before the war, he had been a shopkeeper in Poolesville. His knowledge of that area allowed Stuart to barely escape back into Virginia using a little-known shortcut leading to White’s Ford on the Potomac just above Leesburg. From there, the cavalrymen crossed the Blue Ridge through Snickers Gap and returned to the Bower. Stuart reported to General Lee and had just returned to his command when Union forces started to move into Virginia.

In Chambersburg, Hugh Logan recognized and had a conversation with Alexander K. McClure, the editor of the local newspaper and former State Delegate who

was a fiery abolitionist. A lawyer, he also had successfully defended Hugh in a kidnapping case. That probably helped save McClure from becoming one of Stuart’s prisoners. Another might be the fact that the Southern horses enjoyed McClure’s corn field while their masters drank coffee, ate bread, and smoked cigars inside his farmhouse. The raiders also left with 10 of McClure’s horses.

Years later, McClure was quoted in a newspaper article as saying that despite the interval of torrents of rain, the work of replenishing the Confederate army with boots and clothing, arms and ammunition from the town’s public warehouses and private stores went on without intermission.

No outrages were committed and no property was destroyed in mere wantonness. In the main the attention of Stuart’s cavalry was directed toward the horse stalls of the farmers and the stables throughout Franklin County were swept of all the best animals they contained.

Many southern riders helped themselves at warehouses that contained uniforms, equipment, and weapons. One report said they appropriated 700 muskets, 400 pistols, and 468 boxes of ammunition. Many of the boys left with new boots. The railroad depot house was burned, along with the warehouses and roundhouse. The bridge over the creek escaped destruction, apparently because the raiders believed local reports that it was made of iron. The wooden structure was burned during the Gettysburg campaign in 1863.

Hugh and his wife, Mary Laurette Martin Logan, already had seven children when the war started, two girls and five boys. Hugh lived until 1898 and is buried in Woodstock, Va., along with his wife, who died in 1915.

Hugh was reported by the New York Herald on Jan. 1, 1864, as having been captured in Woodstock, Va. The Cleveland Plain Dealer said that Logan was surprised while eating at the home of a farmer and made an attempt to escape. He was wounded by a pistol ball and gave himself up.

The Trenton State Gazette said he was wounded in the right arm and thigh. The paper called him a “regular outlaw” and deemed his capture as being of great importance. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported in its Oct. 10, 1915, edition, quoting McClure, that Hugh Logan had been killed in one of H Raid Scouts

. . . . . . . . . . see page 33

Tea and Tea Substitutes

“If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee.”

The joke in the heading about tea and coffee was credited to Abraham Lincoln who might have retold it but he did not come up with it. While Lincoln was a tea drinker, this one was an old joke by the time he was in office; a version of the same joke also appeared in the London magazine PUNCH, but the earliest recorded use was in the published notes of the 1853 Massachusetts constitutional convention. Henry Laurens Dawes used the tea/coffee joke to set up a political debate with the Whigs over some legislation, so perhaps it was an old joke even then.

Coffee and tea were both immensely popular hot beverages during the antebellum era. Tea was the original “favorite” when America was a collection of British colonies; however, in the early-to-mid 1770s it became somewhat un-patriotic to enjoy tea to the same degree as before. South American coffee (mostly from Brazil) gained a foothold and consumption continued to rise. It increased fivefold from 1790 to 1860; by that time three pounds of coffee were imported for every one pound of tea. This figure is somewhat deceiving in that a pound of tea produces more cups of brewed beverage than a pound of coffee, but the point is the same.

Tea lost its dominance as America’s favorite hot beverage to coffee and the gap between them would only get wider as time went on. In fact, the rise of

coffee over tea was a worldwide phenomenon during the nineteenth century. The key to the success of coffee and tea was at least partially in the smell, appearance, and taste, but more importantly, the stimulating effects from the caffeine contained in both.

To better understand substitutes, it is important to understand what was consumed to begin with. In other words, what kind of tea(s) did Americans in the antebellum Southern states drink? How much did availability change with the Civil War? What kinds of substitutes were in use and when? How were they different? Beginning with tea, New York dominated importation to antebellum America. In June 1860, the Southern port of New Orleans listed six million dollars in coffee imports, but no tea. Negligible amounts may have come in through other ports, but the vast majority of imported tea made the voyage from China to New York. Different varieties of green tea were commonly imported to America before the Civil War. According to Shelley and Bruce Richardson in A Tea for all Seasons (Benjamin Press, Perryville, KY 1996), the tea initially enjoyed antebellum and in the early years of the Civil War was most likely made from

…a green tea called Gunpowder. Gunpowder has the best keeping quality of any tea made. It consists of a tightly rolled green leaf. Because of its long life, it was one of the first teas exported for the long clipper ship ride to the Americas…it was lighter and easier to store making it the favorite of frontiersmen and soldiers.

$39.95

India and Sri Lanka (Ceylon) are the largest tea exporters today, but these areas were not large tea producers during the 1860s; Japanese imports to America were only a fraction of what the Chinese shipped out until much later in the 19th century. Varieties of China black teas were, of course, in evidence, but they were less common than today.

1897.

If you want to try an antebellum “common” tea, one of the green teas is a good choice. Tea was mostly loose leaf, compressed or in pellet form, and not sold in individual “tea bags” until the early twentieth century. Around the early twentieth century, black tea served over ice started to become a popular beverage. There were receipts (recipes) for iced green teas dating back to George Washington’s time as President, but these contained liquor and were called “tea punches.”

South Carolina is the first place in the United States where tea was grown as early as 1795; it is the only state that produced tea commercially. In America during the mid-19th century, tea was usually enjoyed as a hot beverage and served much like coffee. The majority of modern tea exported from India/Sri Lanka is a mixture of black teas; whether served hot or cold, they taste nothing like the Chinese green tea of the 1860s. Loose leaf or gunpowder Chinese green tea is an acquired taste, and

Image of Camellia sinensis courtesy Kohlers Medicinal Plants

Brandy Station, Va. Dinner party outside tent, Army of the Potomac headquarters. Perhaps they are drinking tea with their meal? (Library of Congress)

compared to the richer black teas it is most similar in taste to a mildly bitter, weak green vegetable broth. The flavor is often described as “grassy or astringent.”

Green tea and black tea are from the same plant (Camellia sinensis). Green teas are the least processed form of the tea leaf; after brewing they tend to be much lighter in color than other teas. Tea was expensive, and so it was often adulterated with various other leafy plants, a fact noted by Robert Fortune during his visits to China in the 1840s. This must have been a common problem because a method of identifying the adulterant “sloe leaf” in Chinese green tea was provided in the 1863 Godey’s Lady’s Receipt Book. This is an important frame of reference for purposes of evaluating tea and tea substitutes used during the Civil War. Antebellum, every soldier on both sides in the Civil War was a civilian first. By the middle of the War, imported China tea had become a very rare commodity in the South. As with other commodities that were both expensive and in short supply, people sought substitutes.

Common tea substitutes used in the Southern states were sassafras, blackberry/raspberry/ huckleberry leaf, currants, willow, sage and, “yaupon.” Yaupon

is an interesting plant, a species of holly that grows in abundance around southeastern tidal regions. The substitute tea is made from roasting, then boiling the leaves and stems, then adding milk and molasses to make it palatable. The use of yaupon as a drink originated with Iroquois and other Eastern Native American Indians as part of a purification ritual that ended in vomiting, and the binomial scientific name for “yaupon” is Ilex Vomitoria. Yaupon holly is very caffeine intense and after roasting brews dark like black tea but tastes sour, strong, bitter, and awful. One cup of tea made from this plant contains the caffeine of up to six cups of strong coffee, and possibly more. Other holly leaves were also used. The Oct. 29, 1861, Charleston Mercury ran an article that suggests just how early shortages of tea were a problem. It read:

Substitute for Tea – Yopon [yaupon] is excellent…but let me say that the wild thorned leaf holly is the best tea I have ever used. It would take the best of judges to tell it from the best of black tea. Fall is the time to gather the leaves. Make as black tea.

Many sources state tea made with yaupon is best diluted with

molasses, sugar, and cream, and if so it would take generous amounts to disguise the bitter flavor and prevent an unintended recreation of the traditional Native American vomit ceremony.

Sassafras tea is a tonic made from the boiled root of the climbing weed, sassafras. It contains a toxic compound called ‘safrole’ that has been linked to liver cancer in recent years. It is possibly hazardous to consume and should be avoided both externally and internally. Some in the medical community state that, if used occasionally and consumed in small quantity, the amount of safrole in a cup of sassafras tea is not hazardous to humans. There were also period recipes calling for the sassafras blossom, rather than the root, to be gathered, dried, and boiled as a tea substitute, but why risk it? In addition, it sounds like something only a sissy or a poltroon would drink. Other herbal teas taste just as bad and are not toxic.

Tea made from the leaves of blackberry, raspberry, and huckleberry seems the closest to Chinese green tea, as far as taste, smell, and color. The berry leaves are not processed beyond simply air-drying and sadly, the berries themselves are not used in the tea.

It might actually make for a tastier beverage if the berries were used, but it would not be tea anymore. The leaves from these particular plants contain about 10% tannins; when brewed the tea has the pale greenish appearance and slightly bitter, astringent quality of poor China green teas. The recipe is simply to crumble a couple teaspoons full of dried leaves into a cup of hot (almost boiling water) and steep the mixture for ten minutes or longer. Judge the readiness of the tea by the scent and color rather than any certain length of time.

This brew may actually be an improvement over a few of the scrappier grades of Chinese tea, which are little more than dust and stems. Or if you want something not quite as good but still somewhat like green tea, you could follow the advice of one Southern newspaper article from January 1862,

…the best home tea is (an infusion) made of good meadow hay (grass).

This says quite a bit about the tea substitutes, doesn’t it? Of course, the problem with all substitutes is that they have no caffeine except yaupon and that particular plant appears to have

too much. Further, just as “instant tea” tastes very little like brewed tea; none of the tea substitutes taste like Chinese green tea. Allowing that, since we are not as accustomed to flavors of the best Chinese tea(s) of the 1860s, whatever those may be, the Southern Civil War-era substitutes for it might not make much of a difference in terms of enjoyment.

Craig L. Barry was born in Charlottesville, Va. He holds his BA and Masters degrees from the University of North Carolina (Charlotte). Craig served The Watchdog Civil War Quarterly as Associate Editor and Editor from 2003–2017. The Watchdog published books and columns on 19th-century material and donated all funds from publications to battlefield preservation.

He is the author of several books including The Civil War Musket: A Handbook for Historical Accuracy (2006, 2011), The Unfinished Fight: Essays on Confederate Material Culture Vol. I and II (2012, 2013) and three books (soon to be four) in the Suppliers to the Confederacy series on English Arms & Accoutrements, Quartermaster stores and other European imports.

Lieutenant Colonel George A. Martin’s Regulation Frock Coat

By Shannon Pritchard

This frock is well known to have come from the Bill Turner Collection. When he owned it, he also owned Lieutenant Colonel George Martin’s Virginia officer’s belt and various documents, which he sold separately. After Bill’s death, the identification was lost, but thankfully I was contacted by the collector who purchased Martin’s belt to inform me that he was familiar with this coat when Bill Turner owned it, and he noted that it had been worn by the same lieutenant colonel as the belt that he now owned. I tracked down the image shown here which had been sold to another collector, and while I do not have the original, the owner kindly gave me a copy. So fortunately, with the help of the collector

community, Colonel Martin’s identification has been firmly re-established.

The son of Colonel James Green Martin and Maacah Foreman, Martin studied law at the University of Virginia and immediately made the bar, practicing until he answered Virginia’s call. He married Georgie Alice Wickens in 1857. In April 1861, the 27 year old raised a company, the Saint Bride’s Light Artillery, which became Company B, 20th Battalion Virginia Heavy Artillery. He was transferred to Company I, 38th Virginia Infantry on April 25, 1864.

Colonel Martin’s war diary is at the Virginia Historical Society. Many other papers are at the University of North Carolina. The following notes come from

his papers. Martin had been ordered to organize the defense of Lynchburg; the Battle of Lynchburg was fought on June 17–18, 1864. Martin wrote that “Lynchburg may be mentioned with Thermopylae & the Alamo.” On hearing of the evacuation, “I have no time to lose then, I replied, as I sprang up and commenced putting on my uniform, and thought, as I buckled on my sword & revolver, I will try & join my men, and if necessary die with them.” Later writing, “There [were] a great many ‘Buffaloes’ in the area, who have committed great outrages…I rode in the darkness with my pistol drawn.”

Whatever the trials, or howsoever dark the future, the Southern patriot was yet unwilling to surrender. At the surrender of the Army, when he was ordered to dismiss his command, he wrote, “I would not surrender w/Lee and will not with Johnston.” It was his “intention to travel, with or near, the president in his retreat, so long as my services may be of use.” Martin “thereupon reported to Jefferson Davis & offered my services to him for such duty as he should deem proper. He accepted the offer, and my staff & such other officers as may be willing, are to be immediately armed & serve under my command as the immediate guard of the president. Burton (the president’s secretary) issued orders to furnish arms as I may suggest… I selected the Henry rifle.”

The rifle with inscription, given by Burton Harrison to Colonel Martin, was in the Museum of the Confederacy when it still existed. He further wrote: “men had rifles supplemented w/Colt’s w/o swords. As an emblem of rank, I shall require the service of mine.”

Later the noble hearted president tried to dissuade Martin and his men from running such a risk on the president’s account as Martin wrote, “The Pres has reconsidered the matter of accepting my command which is composed of Commissioned Officers, on the grounds that he would dislike to sacrifice such a devoted band of chivalrous gentlemen in his defense.”

He rode with Davis to Georgia; when the Confederate treasury was distributed, he refused pay. He then headed west alone, trying to make Mexico. He was captured in Augusta, Ga., and sent to Old Point Comfort.

After the War he resumed his practice, now though, in New York City. It became large and influential with an excellent reputation. He then returned

to Virginia for her climate. He served in the State Senate and the House of Delegates. He died in Norfolk, Va., January 15, 1915, a much respected soldier and successful businessman. His double breasted frock coat shown here follows Confederate regulations for an infantry lieutenant colonel. There are seven, large Virginia state seal buttons in each row on the front of the coat (one is currently missing from the left row’s bottom). These buttons are back marked “EXTRA QUALITY.” The coat has the sky blue collar and cuff facings of an infantry officer, and is piped down the front edge with

a 1/8 inch wide, rolled strip of sky blue woolen broadcloth, the same material used for the collar and cuffs.

Three cuff buttons on each cuff are small Virginia state seals, back marked “EXTRA QUALITY.” The sleeves are adorned with three strands of 3/8 inch flat gold braid, denoting the rank of a Confederate colonel. The sleeves are lined in an unbleached (or at least dirty) cotton shirting, tabby weave.

The collar has an interesting insignia variation; instead of two stars on each side, it has two small Virginia buttons. The two on the right side have no

Lt. Colonel George A. Martin's frock coat has CS regulation infantry blue facings and sleeve braid.

Martin, a Virginian first and last, used Virginia buttons even to the point of using them as collar stars.

Martin wears this frock coat in the photograph.

rim and are back marked “W.H. HORSTMANN & SONS,” the two on the left have a rim and are back marked “SCOVILL MF’G CO. WATERBURY.”

The rear of the coat is cut in conventional frock coat style, with the back vent and the pocket flaps piped in sky blue. The tails had four Virginia state seal buttons, two at the waist and two at the ends of the pocket flaps, back marked the same as the other large buttons. One is now missing.

The coat is interlined in the body’s front panels with the same gray woolen material the coat is made of, and further interlined with a layer of canvas next to the coat’s outer shell, a second layer of wool and cotton, and a layer of cotton waste. The actual coat lining, for both the upper body and the skirts, is made of worsted and cotton, in a green and brown, tabby weave, with an overall color. The coat has been extensively patched, contemporary with its wartime use. There is one pocket in the left inside breast, roughly 5 inches across. The pocket bag is made of unbleached cotton osnaburg; the tail pocket bags are made of this same material.

This is a reasonably well tailored frock coat, but instead of officer quality cloth, it is made largely from material acquired at a Confederate Quartermaster Depot. The main coat cloth is

“A Note On Privateers”

By Joan Wenner, J.D.

April issue’s “Through the Lens” including some discussion on legitimate privateers versus high seas robbers was surely very interesting to many readers. Not all may realize the origin of laws relating to the practice, including our own Constitution.

Letters of Marque & Reprisal

Privates roving the seas in armed vessels “without any commission or passport from any government,” and “attacking all manner of vessels may prompt a return to a granting to private entities” Letters of Marque & Reprisal. Dating back to Revolutionary War days, the English addressed piracy in its admiralty courts and later the common law courts by Statute of 28, Henry III.

so-called ‘privateer,’ to find them wherever found in satisfaction of the wrong.

Certain situations and the extent of a privateer’s authority can get complicated; generally any capture by someone duly commissioned by a nation at war to capture boats of the enemy, the ‘privateer’ is justified under the government warrant or commission with regard to his acts and thus given sufficient protection against imputing ‘piracy’ to him.

Robbery on the High Seas

by government ships though presumably this can shift to companies under contract to the military. If further incidents assume “the character of a private unauthorized war,” the law of nations will likely inflict the punishment and penalties the laws allow.

U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Sec. 8, Clause 10,11

the type purchased in England for Confederate enlisted men, and the pocket bags are the same cotton osnaburg found in enlisted coat linings. The use of what may be U.S. artillery or cavalry jacket lining is most interesting; a further example of materials that are not officer quality. The use of Virginia buttons to substitute for what were lieutenant colonel’s stars is a fascinating interpretation of the regulations. Finally, the extensive patching indicates a coat that has seen hard field use.

Shannon Pritchard has authored numerous articles relating to the authentication, care and conservation of Confederate antiques, including several cover articles and is the author of the definitive work on Confederate collectibles, the widely acclaimed Collecting the Confederacy, Artifacts and Antiques from the War Between the States, and is co-author of Confederate Faces in Color.

The law of margue (pronounced “mark”) while often used with a sort of law of ‘reprisal’ entitled he who has received any wrong from another, and where justice fails to take the goods (or body) of the wrongdoer, allows the private entity, the

Robbery on the high seas is ‘piracy’ and considered done animo furandi. This Latin term means ‘with the intention to steal.’ Numerous court decisions say that, in the spirit of universal hostility, and specifically one crime held to be against the United States under the Act of April 30, 1790, plus the word “piractical,” appears in the Act of 1819 referring to the class of offenses pirates perpetrated.

Modernly, partly due to global treaties and practices, ‘reprisals’ are typically confined to seizures of commercial property

This clause gives Congress the power to declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules concerning captures on land and water. In other words, a letter of marque gives official permission to capture enemy vessels.

Joan Wenner, J.D. has contributed for many years to the Civil War News and The Artilleryman among other history publications and has a law degree. Send comments to joan_writer@yahoo.com.

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(The

Battle of Rocky Face Ridge – Part 1)

“The U.S. have the means of collecting two great armies— here & in Virginia. Our government thinks they can raise but one, that of course in Virginia.” – C.S. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston.

On March 17, 1864, in Nashville, Tenn., U.S. generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman agreed on a plan of action. Sherman would push past Gen. Joseph E. Johnston’s Army of Tennessee “to get into the interior of the enemy’s country as far as you can, inflicting all the damage you can against their war resources.” Grant would fight Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia. Both Union armies would launch their campaigns on May 5.

In preparation, Sherman was a whirlwind of activity as he beleaguered quartermasters to stockpile the food, ammunition, and equipment required for 100,000 men and 35,000 horses and mules for two months in Chattanooga, Tenn. Railroad deliveries jumped from 79 carloads to as many as 193 a day. Still it was not enough. Civilians and non-essentials were banished from the trains.

Livestock were sent “on the hoof.” Soldiers had to walk the last 12 miles. “I’m going to move on Joe Johnston the day Grant telegraphs me he is going to hit Bobby Lee,” he told one of his quartermasters, “and if you don’t have my army supplied, we’ll eat your mules up, sir—eat your mules up!”

Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston had taken over the Army of Tennessee after the defeat at the Battle of Missionary Ridge, Tenn. The men were demoralized and were deserting by the

thousands. To Johnston’s shock, C.S. Gen. Patrick Cleburne suggested enlisting slaves as soldiers and rewarding them with emancipation. Instead, Johnston adopted a policy of general amnesty for deserters, established training programs, army parades, and sham battles that drew spectators from Atlanta, Ga. Furthermore, the former U.S. Quartermaster General managed to acquire shoes, blankets, extra food, and a ration of whiskey and tobacco twice a week. “Old Joe” had “raised a new spirit into the whole mass,” wrote Pvt. Sam Watkins. Yet, the Confederates did not have a campaign plan. From his winter quarters in Dalton, Ga., Johnston had difficulty convincing the decision makers in Richmond, Va., that due to terrain and lack of local farms, it was not possible to replicate Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s Valley Campaign in the Tennessee / Georgia area. Unlike Sherman, Johnston could not stockpile supplies as he did not have the authority to seize control of the Western & Atlantic Railroad as it was owned by the State of Georgia. Due to mismanagement, it sometimes took 36 hours for a trainload of supplies to travel the 85 miles between Atlanta and his winter quarters in Dalton, Ga. While Sherman geared up, Johnston wrote, “I fear that the government does not intend to strengthen the army.”

Lacking the troops and equipment to stage an offensive, Johnston fortified Rocky Face Ridge, the first ridge between Chattanooga and Dalton. The summit ran north-south for 10 miles, 700 feet above the valley, not more than ten to thirty feet wide at the top. Johnston’s men felled trees, built stone breastworks, and cached boulders to augment their ammunition. The railroad ran through a breach at Mill Creek Gap before descending to Dalton. By damming Mill Creek, Confederate engineers created a lake 16 feet deep in places. The Gap was topped with towering cliffs known as Buzzard’s Roost, defended with cannon and infantry. Sherman, observing the spot through a glass, considered it a “terrible door of death.” He

determined that he would only pretend to go through it.

On May 1, Johnston sent the officers’ wives to Atlanta. He reported a large number of Federal troop movements to Richmond. The response suggested that the Union troops were being moved to Virginia and “the activity in front of Dalton must be a deceptive demonstration.”

Sherman’s three armies had arrived at Chattanooga; Gen George H. Thomas’s Army of the Cumberland, consisting of 60,773 men and 130 guns, Gen. John Schofield’s Army of the Ohio, consisting of 13,559 men and 28 guns, and Gen. James B. McPherson’s Army of the Tenn., consisting of 24,465 men and 96 guns.

Thomas proposed moving his army through Snake Creek Gap, exiting at the rear of the Confederate position, instead of attacking Rocky Face Ridge. Sherman decided that McPherson’s army would be a better choice to rapidly march through the Gap undetected. Thomas and Schofield would demonstrate south of Mill Creek Gap at Dug Gap.

The Battle of Rocky Face Ridge was fought on May 7 – 13. On May 7, the two diversionary columns pressed towards Mill Creek Gap from the north and Dug Gap from the west. On the May 8, Thomas sent men toward the north end of Rocky

Face Ridge and Mill Creek Gap. At Dug Gap, U.S. Gen. John Geary’s men followed retreating Confederate skirmishers through the thick woods and up the mountain. There they faced a line of tall cliffs, “almost perpendicular. … It was 15 or 20 feet high and pierced by some narrow crevices we saw their skirmishers pass, and then their main line opened furiously upon us, and added to our confusion by sending from the top great boulders rolling down the mountain side,” described Lt. Stephen Pierson, 33rd NJ. The Confederates held their ground, four against one. As it got dark, the Federals retreated down the mountain.

The diversion worked. While the Confederates were kept busy fighting off two armies, McPherson’s army was making its way through Snake Creek Gap. Sherman eagerly awaited news of McPherson’s progress. His first report said he was five miles from Resaca, Ga., and no Confederates were in sight. Sherman pounded his fist on the table until the supper dishes rattled, and he shouted, “I’ve got Joe Johnston dead!”

The Battle of Rocky Face Ridge will continue in Part 2 next month.

Sources:

Govan, Dr. Gilbert E., A Different Valor: The Story of General Joseph E. Johnston, C.S.A. Woodworth, Steven E.,

General Joseph E. Johnston, Confederate States of America, Colorization © 2013 civilwarincolor.com courtesy civilwarincolor. com/cwn. (Library of Congress)

Major General Sherman, “Old Tecumseh” Colorization © 2012 civilwarincolor.com courtesy civilwarincolor.com/cwn.

(Library of Congress)

Nothing But Victory: The Army of Tennessee 1861–1865 McDonough, James L., William Tecumseh Sherman: In the Service of My Country: A Life Time-Life, Battles For Atlanta: Sherman Moves East Stephanie Hagiwara is the editor for Civil War in Color.com and Civil War in 3D.com. She also writes a column for History in Full Color. com that covers stories of photographs of historical interest from the 1850’s to the present. Her articles can be found on Facebook, Tumblr and Pinterest.

The Atlanta Papers (cont.)

under Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick, an officer Atkins, unlike others, held in regard.

The Atlanta Papers cover and spine.

This month, we conclude our exploration into Sydney C. Kerksis’s The Atlanta Papers; a collection of Federal accounts from the Atlanta Campaign. Paper No. 25, ‘With Sherman’s Cavalry,” contains various accounts from the March to the Sea Campaign, as Colonel Smith D. Atkins recalled his service

Captain John P. Rea of the 1st Ohio Cavalry provided Paper No. 26 – ‘Kilpatrick’s Raid Around Atlanta.’ Rea offers a detailed account of the mid-August 1864 fighting near Lovejoy. Another account from the Federal troopers follows, as Colonel Horace Capron, with the 14th Illinois Cavalry, penned ‘Stoneman’s Raid to the South of Atlanta,’ Paper No. 27. Stoneman’s men engaged in battle at Sunshine Church, where many of his troopers, including Stoneman himself, fell prisoner to the Confederates. Rea almost numbered among those heading for Andersonville. However, as he recalled, “…Stoneman had surrendered…the sight was mortifying…and for an instant I thought of surrender. But…my eyes… fell upon my youngest son, who had taken up arms…[and] before whom…yawned the sepulcher

of Andersonville.’ Rea offers an exciting account of the escape of several hundred cavalrymen (including his son), which he eventually led in returning to their headquarters in Marietta.

‘Stoneman Raid to Macon, Georgia, in 1864,’ Paper No. 28, contains Captain Albert Capron’s account of his participation with the 14th Illinois Cavalry on this particular attempt to cut the last rail lines servicing Atlanta.

‘The Battle of Allatoona,’ Paper No. 29, from Captain Mortimer Flint, provides great insight into the October 5, 1864, fighting at Allatoona. Mortimer led the 1st Alabama Cavalry (U.S.A.) during the battle and proved his talent with the pen might have equaled his skill with the saber. In painting the scene of the pass, he wrote: “The glorious sun of Austerlitz flashed not more brightly upon Napoleon’s legions in magnificent battle array, than did its brilliants[sic] beams crown the Allatoona hills on that lovely

Map accompanying Captain Ludlow’s report on Allatoona Pass.

First page of Bliss’s hymn, from Bliss, P. P. Hold The Fort. Boston: William F. Gill and Company, 1877.

autumn morning of October 5th, 1864.” Mortimer quotes from the various communications between Federal Brigadier General John Corse, and the Confederate commander on the field, Major General Samuel French, in constructing his account. He proceeds to weave a colorful, and detailed account of the fighting and casualties in Paper No. 29.

Captain William Ludlow in the Corps of Engineers supplements Mortimer’s account with Paper No. 30, ‘The Battle of Allatoona October 5th, 1864.’ An equally gifted writer, Ludlow offers greater detail on the battle, including the signal flag correspondence with Major General William T. Sherman, who held a position atop Kennesaw Mountain on October 5, and encouraged Corse to “Hold the fort!”

Elaborating on the important signal flag message to Corse, which eventually led songwriter Philip Bliss to compose a famous hymn with the same name, Captain John Q. Adams, who served as a signal office at Allatoona during the battle, contributed Paper No. 31 entitled ‘Hold the Fort!’ Adjutant W.C. Johnson with the 89th Ohio Volunteer Infantry authored Paper No. 32, which covers ‘The March to the Sea.’ This Paper contains Johnson’s diary during the advance on Savannah.

Sydney C. Kerksis, the editor of

The Atlanta Papers, wrote the final entry, Paper No. 33 – ‘Action at Gilgal Church, Georgia: June 15-16, 1864.’ For those interested in a thorough description of the Battle of Gilgal Church, Kerksis does not disappoint! His account, complete with an annotated Federal casualty listing, remains the best source on this engagement. Citing letters and diaries from various Federal soldiers, Kerksis creates a detailed description of the fighting near the church. Drawing from reports in the Official Records, he supplemented the narrative with a hand-drawn map of the battlefield, land, which Kerksis owned a sizable portion of when he wrote this account.

Remember to check WorldCat http://www.worldcat.org for help in finding this source in a local library; search The Atlanta Papers + Kerksis. Researchers may also have luck in securing a copy of this 1980 Morningside Press publication from an online bookseller. Next month, we will explore another primary source. Until then, continued good luck in researching the Civil War!

Michael K. Shaffer is a Civil War historian, author, lecturer, instructor, and a member of the Society of Civil War Historians, the Historians of the Civil War Western Theater, the Georgia Association

of Historians, and the Georgia Writers Association. Readers may contact him at mkscdr11@ gmail.com, or to request speaking engagements, via his website www.civilwarhistorian.net. Follow Michael on Facebook www.facebook.com/michael.k.shaffer and Twitter @michaelkshaffer.

Deadlines for Advertising or Editorial Submissions is

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By Bruce Allardice and Wayne Wolf

During the Civil War, naval engineer George P. Hunt (1837–87) wrote numerous letters to his fiancé, Cordelia Eames (1833–1900).1 The English-born Hunt entered the Union Navy in July 1861 as 3rd Assistant Engineer. By 1880, he had risen to the rank of Chief Engineer, and was rated an officer of “marked ability.”

Much of his wartime service was on the USS Metacomet, a sidewheel steamer built in 1863. The 1,173 ton warship carried nine cannon. Posted to the Gulf Squadron, it distinguished itself in the Battle of Mobile Bay.

The following letters detail Hunt’s service aboard the Metacomet. He references the capture of Fort Fisher, his views on the women of New Orleans, and the court martial involving future Admiral Pierce Crosby. None of these letters has been published before and each adds to the picture of the cares and concerns of the common sailor of the Civil War.

An Engineer to His Lady

Such a fleet.

Our luck (that is, the Metacomet) somehow or other to use a slang phrase appears to be played out. We arrived off Galveston & the Capt. [James E. Jouett (1826–1902)] was detached. We came here for coal & have not as yet been able to take any in on account of the high sea. We have not coal enough to go to New Orleans, & so here we are. How long are we to be weather bound goodness only knows. There is a number of steamers running from Galveston. The day we left to come here a large Cotton Steamer was waiting to run out. Could see her laying behind the city.

I wrote you of a book Templeton’s “Mechanics.”2 Never mind it as I have succeeded in recalling the rule I wished. I did think of asking for an exam 1st of March (my two years is up then) but now JONES IS GONE.3 I have partly given up the sea unless we get back to N.O. & I can have some surety of getting back to the Metacomet I shall have to postpone until I get North. I don’t wish to leave the M [Metacomet] now that everything is to my satisfaction, after having had all the work let someone else come & reap the benefit. They say the “double enders” [Sassacus class warships] are to return to the North the coming summer. Hope so.

shall be able to write some good news from off the Campechy Banks ere long. Any kind of news is scarce here just now.

I have been suffering from a cold for several days past. The weather had been changeable. Had 3/4 of an inch of ice off Galveston. That was horrid.

Convey my regards to all Good Night

George (P. Hunt)

Metacomet

Mobile, Ala.

June 24, 1865

Dear Miss Eames:

USS

Jan. 31st 1865

Sabine Pass

Dear Miss Eames,

I believe the Admiral calls here on his return from Rio Grande so just write a few lines to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 1st & the papers. Thanks. The “Augusta Dinsmore” [a navy transport] has just passed & brings New Orleans papers giving account of the capture of Fort Fisher. Good for Porter but Butler has got himself into disrepute. I feel pleased that they did not wait longer re the second attack was made, as they have done at other places. I should like to have been there very much. It must have been a grand sight.

I am obliged to you for your offer to send me the Naval Journal. I paid one year’s subscription to that & to the Scientific American, & also for the Franklin Institute Journal (Magazine published at Phila. MONTHLY) out of the first two I have not recd. six of each. Of the latter five are missing. I would suggest that if you send it to put a good large wrapper on so to hide it as much as possible same as you wrap the daily papers you send.

Naval & Military News are always acceptable, the former especially. By the way speaking of the turkey bone you spoke of having sent me, I concluded it was lost & forgot to mention it. I thank you for it all the same. Am glad the candy came safe & that you liked it.

I did not see any ladies in N.O. that I liked well enough to give them my card. What do you think of Admiral F’s [Farragut’s] Carte-de-Visite. I presume you must have seen him ere this. I wrote your Father of the Admiral but as he went towards the Rio Grande this will probably arrive by the same.

Excuse the few lines. I hope I

I have just recd. your letter of the 4th, have received all your papers, also for which I return my thanks. I am sorry to hear that your Mother is not so well. Please give my regards to her & your sister when you write. You must excuse me writing at great length this time. Had a long letter written but it is so stale that I was ashamed to send it. I will write again in a few days. The weather is getting hotter and hotter every day. Mosquitoes more & more numerous. Tell Johnny I am much obliged the picture of Jeff. There are several vessels to return North from this place, all are leaving except the famous “Metacomet” & the flagship. I have applied 3 days ago for one of them, whether the Admiral [Henry Thatcher (1808–80)] will notice my application I know not. Now that we have a regular mail between N.O. & this place we can obtain all the papers, Navy Journals, &c. So do not put yourself to any further trouble or expense in forwarding me papers. I am under many obligations to you for your favors during this cruise & trust I shall not be forgetful of them when home. Fortune allows me to a turn North once more.

I wish that your dream would soon come true but they say that dreams go the contrary, if it should nevertheless come true I hope never to see the Gulf again for at least 7 or 8 years.

The heat is insufferable. 82 [degrees] is nowhere. We have it at 96 to 100 in the shade of the awning on the deck & 118 to 120 in the sun.

I believe this capt. [Pierce Crosby (1824–1902), later a rear admiral] could get the vessel home if he choose but he is afraid to come North. He reported a Commander to the Dept. & on a court martial could not sustain the charges he made so is on the black list & whenever he should return home he will

doubtless have the most disagreeable billet that can be found as he has never stood very high at the Department.4 I think if the Admiral considers his own welfare he would send me North out of the way. I came pretty near sinking him in his barge in crossing the river the other morn. We were both pulling lively, he going up & I crossing. I did not see him until the collision took place, ‘twas a wonder one of the boats was not sunk. I thought I was in for a court martial sure but I have not heard anything of it since. I apologized through our Captain, pleaded sickness as the cause of my neglecting to keep a proper lookout. After that I think he ought to let me go North.5 Well 4th of July will soon be here & I expect I shall be in Mobile. If so I hope you will let off a few crackers for me. Give three good cheers for the Union, an everlasting heavy groan for everything & everybody Secesh from Jeff Davis down. I expect we shall fire a salute for the Admiral

is some on solutes, target firing & &.

Most sincerely yours, George

Endnotes:

1. They were married in New York in December of 1865.

2. William Templeton’s The Operative Mechanic’s Workshop Companion.

3. “Jones” isn’t otherwise identified.

4. The authors cannot find further details on this court martial.

5. On July 14, 1865, Crosby and the Metacomet were ordered north.

Bruce S. Allardice is Professor of History at South Suburban College in Illinois. He is a past president of the Civil War Round Table of Chicago.

Wayne L. Wolf is past president of the Lincoln-Davis Civil War Roundtable.

Deadlines for Advertising or Editorial Submissions is the 20th of each month.

Metacomet at Pensacola, August 20, 1864. (Wikimedia)

George P. Hunt. (www.historicalshop.com)

The Civil War is Alive Today (A Story about Adele Miller)

By Michael H. Miller

The United States recently completed a four year cycle commemorating the 150th anniversary of the American Civil. This seems like long ago, particularly to Americans. Certainly, no Civil War veterans are around today, but consider the following questions: Is there someone who was alive in 2018, who had direct contact with living Civil War veterans? Could this have occurred in a place far removed from the Civil War such as Los Angeles, California?

On July 29, 2018, my mother, Adele Miller, died just before turning 105. In 1927, when Adele Miller, nee Solomon, was fourteen years old, she attended Hollenbeck Junior High in Los Angeles. That year she played the piano for a school orchestra selected to entertain at the Sawtelle Veterans Home in West Los Angeles, across the street from the Los Angeles National Cemetery. Both were established in the 1880s and still exist near the Westwood area. In the first row at the performance venue were approximately a dozen old men, some with horns placed by their ears. The orchestra was told that these men were Civil War veterans. My mother has never forgotten this experience and the fact that she saw and entertained men who fought in the American Civil War.

The National Cemetery honors the Civil War veterans who died

at the Veterans home with a Civil War Monument and street names such as Gettysburg and Shiloh Drive. Amongst the Civil War graves are many veterans buried after 1927, up to 1933, including Vermont medal of honor recipient James Sweeney who was born in 1845, fought in the Civil War during 1864, and died in 1931 just prior to his 86th birthday.

After the Civil War, the West

became a magnet for thousands seeking a new home or refuge. Over the years, Southern California housed many veterans including those who were disabled and in need of care at Sawtelle where Civil War veteran case files cover the years 1888 to 1933.

My mother remembers being told by the people at Sawtelle that the Civil War veterans enjoyed their entertainment. She saw them smile and applaud. It is an important memory to a person whose first recollection is waving a small American flag as soldiers returning from World War I marched through her Brooklyn neighborhood.

An intriguing question is whether my mother was the only living American in 2018 who could legitimately claim having seen and communicated with veterans of the Civil War. Was she the last American alive to see a living Civil War soldier? There are probably living relatives of Civil War veterans who saw them in their lifetime, but she is certainly amongst the very few. When these few die, it will mean that no one survives who can claim contact with veterans of the Civil War. When you realize that this story about my mother and her personal link to Civil War veterans ended in 2018, it is a reminder that the recent anniversary tribute to the preservation of our Union pays homage to the history of a young nation.

I knew that Adele Miller was in her twenties during the depression, a young house wife during the Second World War, a mother of teenagers when John Kennedy was elected, and so on. It is her relationship to the Civil War that is the most surprising. I am glad she reminded me about it in her later years as it triggered my research at Sawtelle and the

Los Angeles National Cemetery enabling me to tell others.

[Editorial comment: While they are not in California, there are several current members of the North-South Skirmish Association who talked with Civil War veterans in the early 1950’s]

Soldiers’ Home [Sawtelle Veterans Home] Repository: California Historical Society Digital object ID: CHS2013.1297 Collection: Views of Los Angeles, California Photographer: Putnam and Valentine Date: Undated Format: Photographic print: b&w; 20 x 25 cm. General notes: Putnam & Valentine was a partnership of J.R. Putnam and W.S. Valentine, stereo photographers active in Los Angeles, circa 1898-1912. Preferred citation: Soldiers’ Home, Views of Los Angeles, California, courtesy, California Historical Society, CHS2013.1297.

The longevity of some Civil War veterans to ages beyond 80 and the longevity of my mother to 105 changes our idea of history. What seems a long time ago, is not. It is recent history; even though we may think of that time and those places as far in the past, they are within the grasp of people still alive. The lessons learned, the tribulations suffered, the lives lost, and its meaning for all Americans is not that far back. Abraham Lincoln was not officially memorialized until the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in 1922 with Lincoln’s son, Robert Todd Lincoln, in attendance. This occurred when my mother was nine years old.

Adele Miller

Federal City Brass Band Brings Added Dimension to Military Through the Ages

By Bob Ruegsegger

Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. – Plato

For decades visitors have flocked to Military Through the Ages at Jamestown Settlement for an opportunity to view military history in three dimensions. Living historians bring warriors from a plethora of time periods and places—Ancient Rome, 17th century Virginia, Civil War, and World War II—to life.

The Federal City Brass Band, from its headquarters in Baltimore, brings a fourth dimension to the ever-popular annual event that is music, brass band music from the 19th century.

The band represents what Civil War era bands looked like in three dimensions. More importantly, they duplicate, exactly, how mid19th century brass bands sounded in their heyday.

It was a time when nearly every town had some sort of brass band according to Jari Villanueva, the principal musician of the Federal City Brass Band. When the Civil War broke out, the town bands joined the volunteer regiments and marched off to war with them.

“What we do is recreate what a band sounded like back then,

what they looked like,” said Villanueva. “We have instruments that are all original, the actual instruments from that time period,” he noted. “We have found them and had them restored. We also are dressed in correct period uniforms.”

The Federal City Brass Band dresses in blue uniforms. When they recreate the 26th North Carolina Regimental Band that served with the 26th North Carolina Infantry from April 1862 through the war’s end, they play the same original instruments and wear gray uniforms.

This is what we love to do when we get together,” said Villanueva.

“We just love to perform this music.”

Apparently visitors, staff members, and living historians at Jamestown Settlement love to hear the performances as the band marches through the site and stops at selected period encampments for informal serenades. The brass band music transports listeners back to the mid-19th century.

“It is a great honor to come down and play for Jamestown Settlement,” said Villanueva. “For Jamestown Settlement to ask us to come down here is a real joy. It’s so great to be able to play this music and hear what history sounds like.”

Lee Turner, a retired middle

school band director and professional trumpet player, is a musician with the Excelsior Coronet Band in Syracuse, N.Y.

“We play on original instruments, and we come down here and play, augmenting Jari’s Federal City Brass Band,” said Turner. “I’ve been doing that for 15 years.”

Turner was never a “real history buff” when he was in high school, but playing period music on original instruments has changed that. He started delving into the history of the instruments and how they were built. Turner became interested in learning more about what the actual purpose of a band was during the era.

He has also started collecting

antique instruments and begun to really appreciate how the music sounds when played on the original instruments.

“These instruments are quite a bit quieter than modern brass instruments and they have just such an interesting blend,” said Turner. “They’re a lot less harsh than a modern trumpet or coronet. They are mostly conical bore and they don’t carry as well.”

Turner plays a vintage Schuster side-action, rotary valve, b-flat coronet in high pitch made between 1865 and 1870. It is, according to Turner, almost a halfstep higher than the modern pitch.

Pitch is a big issue so Turner and his bandmates have to listen and figure out who’s going

to play sharp and who’s going to play flat to blend with the group.

The music of the times appeals to Turner. He likes the harmonies and the simplicity of the music.

“It’s also the era of Stephen Foster. It’s the bridge between opera and popular song. It’s actually the beginning of the modern era of pop music,” he observed. “We play a lot of tunes that soldiers would have known. Opera arias are so tragic that they’re made into a quick step so that they could march to them,” he said. “The soldiers knew the tunes and they became popular tunes of the day, so I like that.”

Garman Bowers Jr. of Hagerstown, Md., has been a drummer with the Federal City

Jari Villanueva (left) conducting at Jamestown Settlement during Military Through the Ages weekend. (All photos Bob Ruegsegger)

Garman Bowers, Jr., and Jeff Stockham (left to right) performed with the Federal City Brass Band at Jamestown Settlement.

Jari Villanueva is the founder and principal musician of the Federal City Brass Band.

Jeff Stockham is the founder of the Excelsior Coronet Band in Syracuse, N.Y. He outfits his band members with antique instruments.

Brass Band since 2002. He is also a retired band director. Bowers plays an 1832 Meacham and Pond drum.

“I just liked music and got the opportunity to play with these guys,” said Bowers. “They’re top-notch musicians, and we play on original instruments.”

In 2001, Jeff Stockham of Syracuse, N.Y., formed the Excelsior Coronet Band. He and the band have been performing ever since. He also plays with the

Federal City Brass Band.

Civil War era brass bands appeal to Stockham for a number of reasons. He’s a collector of antique instruments who outfits his entire band with vintage instruments. Sometimes he also provides the musicians in the Federal City Brass Band with original instruments.

“The appeal for me is getting these instruments into the hands of players so that they make the same sound our forefathers heard 160 years ago,” said Stockham.

“It’s the closest thing that you can get to time travel, putting life through these instruments that would otherwise be artifacts sitting silently in museums.”

The other part of the Civil War era’s appeal for Stockham is that he’s able to play great music that has almost been forgotten.

“There are so many popular tunes, minstrel tunes, operatic transcriptions, marches, and patriotic songs,” said Stockham.

“It’s all great literature. It was a wonderful time in American history for popular music,” he said.

“The brass bands were the most popular means of hearing music in the 19th century for most people.”

Bob Ruegsegger is an American by birth and a Virginian. His assignments frequently take him to historic sites throughout Virginia, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Southeast. His favorite haunts include sites within Virginia’s Historic Triangle—Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg. Bob served briefly in the U.S. Navy. He is a retired educator and has been an active newspaper journalist for the last twenty years.

Deadline

Shenandoah Civil War Associates

Civil War Institute

The Seven Days Campaign

June 14-16, 2019

Saturday:

• Lee’s Headquarters

• Beaver Dam Creek/Mechanicsville

• Gaines’s Mill

• Lunch at the Cold Harbor picnic area

• After lunch, finish up Gaines’s Mill and Savage’s Station

• Yellow Tavern Battlefield

Sunday:

• Savage’s Station

• White Oak Swamp

• Glendale/Frayser’s Farm

• Malvern Hill

Friday and Saturday evening dinners included with dinner speakers Frank O’Reilly and Jeff Wert. Includes two nights lodging at the picturesque Virginia Crossings Hotel in Glen Allen, Virginia.

Total cost $495.00

For information: Go to our website at shencivilwar.org or email shencivilwar@gmail.com

Email: ads@civilwarnews.com

Registration Contact: Conference Services at James Madison University (540) 568-8043

Join tour guide Robert E.L. Krick joined by Jeffry D. Wert as we visit.

Lee Turner is a retired band director and professional trumpet player. He lives in Marcellus, N.Y.

Schuster B-Flat Coronet circa 1865 to 1870.

The First of May 1865 or Genl. Moving Day in Richmond, Va.

This occasional column highlights prints and printmakers from the Civil War. It discusses their meaning and most importantly, the goals of the print maker or artist.

This highly satirical, hand colored, lithographic print, although smaller than most of the Civil War period (only 9 x 12), is loaded with demeaning symbolism and sarcastic “I told you so” imagery. The print depicts “moving day” at Confederate headquarters in Richmond on May 1, 1865. Conceived and drawn by lithographers Kimmel and Forster, and published by H. & W. Voight of New York City, this biting lithograph depicts a Confederate officer, heavily laden with weapons facing another man burdened with several boxes over his shoulder. The soldier is undoubtedly Robert E. Lee. New York print dealer, Donald Heald, who recently had this print in his shop, identified the other man as Treasury Secretary George Trenholm. Lee is loading weapons in an old dog cart and Trenholm “hauls a string of boxes carrying worthless bonds over his shoulder, each bearing the

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name of a Confederate state.”1

Most experts agree that this print was published in April 1865 and not May and predicts the coming fall of the Confederacy. The buildings are in disarray with broken windows and shutters. A sign gives away the fact that this print was not published in May but early April. Over Secretary Trenholm is a sign which reads: “To let. Apply Lincoln & Co.” Presumably Lincoln was still alive when this print was produced.

Another sign merely reads “Sheriff’s Sale.” Two African Americans (one thumbing his nose) watch the scene as

Trenholm and Lee try to load a cart labeled “CSA” pulled by two malnourished dogs. Nearby, a box labeled “C.S.A. Treasury Wastepaper 55 Ann Str.” awaits loading. Off to both sides are two white civilians watching the proceedings as another malnourished dog urinates on the treasury box New York print dealer Donald Heald also agrees that “The title date of May 1 is misleading. It was probably issued earlier in the spring, before the collapse of the Confederacy, speculating on its demise with May 1 as a projected to date. In fact, Richmond was occupied by Union troops on April 3. Likewise, the reference

to “Lincoln & Co.” is unlikely after his death on April 15. Finally, Treasury Secretary Trenholm had resigned on April 27, although this detail might have escaped a cartoonist.”2

The firm of Kimmel and Forster produced several allegorical and patriotic Union lithographs at war’s end featuring Lincoln, and other Northern heroes of the war. In 1865, after Lincoln’s assassination, they issued The Preservers of the Union featuring Lincoln and Grant on either side of Liberty giving Grant equal billing with the slain leader. Their other work, more realistic, and also later in the war, included a print of Fort Sumter after its re-capture by Federal troops and the “Capture of Harrold and the Shooting of Booth.”3 The “First of May” is a small print packed with biting imagery. Copies are held in the collections of the American Antiquarian Society, the Library of Congress, Yale, the Virginia Historical Society, and Brown University.

Endnotes:

1. The Library of Congress’ copy of this print mistakenly identifies Robert E. Lee, Jefferson Davis, and Stonewall Jackson vacating premises in Richmond. Trenholm’s

depiction, while crude, is definitely too young to portray Davis and, of course, Jackson was dead some two years before this print was published.

2. www.donaldheald.com

3. Harold Holzer, Mark E. Neely, Jr. The Union Image: Popular Prints of the Civil War North. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2000, 177; Harry Peters. America On Stone: The Other Printmakers to the American People. New York: Doubleday & Co., 1931, 251. See also Mark Neely, Harold Holzer and Gabor S. Boritt, The Confederate Image: Prints of the Lost Cause. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1987, 175.

Salvatore Cilella is retired after 43 years in the museum field. His last position was President and CEO of the Atlanta History Center. He is the author of several articles and books. His most recent books are Upton’s Regulars: A History of the 121st New York Volunteers in the Civil War (U. Press Kansas, 2009) and The Correspondence of General Emory Upton, 1856–1881 (U. Tennessee Press, 2017) edited. He is currently editing the intimate love letters between Emory and Emily Upton.

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Titled “The First Of May 1865 or Gen[era]l Moving Day in Richmond, Va.” (Library of Congress, Kimmel & Forster, lithographer)

It is interesting to note that the three most advanced self-contained, metallic cartridge revolvers to see use during the American Civil War were all French designs, the Model 1854 Lefaucheux, the Model 1859 Perrin, and the Model 1860 Société Pindault & Cordier, better known as the “Raphael.” Although the Smith & Wesson Number 1 and Number 2 revolvers were also metallic cartridge guns and certainly were carried by more men than those armed with the Perrin and Raphael combined, those rimfire cartridges were quite anemic being .22RF Short and .32RF Short, respectively. Only the three French cartridge revolvers were close to being “man stopping” military calibers.

Next to the M1860 Société Pindault & Cordier “Raphael” revolver, the M1859 Perrin revolver is probably the least often encountered of all imported Civil War handguns. Like the Raphael, the Perrin was a French designed, self-contained, cartridge revolver with a double action lock and a 6-shot cylinder. While the Rafael was a “traditional double action,” in that it could be fired in either single action or double action modes, the Perrin was what would be called a “double action only” revolver today, as the action was only actuated by the long, heavy pull of the trigger, and with no facility to cock the hammer manually.

The Perrin fired a very advanced 12 mm (approximately .45 caliber), internally primed, self-contained metallic cartridge. The cartridge had a thick rim and, while the primer was not visible from the outside bottom of the

casing as it is with modern center fire cartridges, it was a center fire design. The patent covering this revolver’s design, but most especially its cartridge design, was granted in France to Perrin & Delmas in 1859. As noted, this gun was strictly a double action design, with a spurless hammer, similar to the M1851 Adams patent percussion revolvers. In fact, the gun featured an Adams style safety spring on the left hand side of the frame. By lightly depressing the trigger, and thus slightly lifting the hammer from the cylinder’s rear, the safety spring would automatically make a small extension enter the frame, creating a hammer block that kept the hammer from contacting the cartridges. This also allowed the cylinder to rotate freely for loading or unloading. Pulling the trigger to fire the gun automatically released the safety, with it rebounding out of the hammer’s path, allowing the falling hammer to strike the cartridge in the cylinder’s chamber.

The Perrin had an interesting hidden rod used to eject empty cases from the cylinder. The rod was stored within the center portion of the cylinder arbor and could be withdrawn, and then rotated via a cam on the barrel, to align it with a cylinder chamber on the right hand side. This placed the rod in the correct position to push empty cases out of their chambers. The storage system protected the slender, and somewhat delicate, rod from damage when it was not in use, and allowed a more streamlined design without an ejector rod or housing mounted on the revolver’s frame or barrel. The ejector rod also kept the cylinder arbor pin in place when it was being stored; taking the ejector rod out of storage freed the arbor pin to be withdrawn from the frame, allowing the cylinder to be removed. This same system would be employed less than a decade later on several of the early P. Webley & Sons cartridge revolvers, such as their Royal Irish Constabulary (R.I.C.) and Bull Dog models. Sights were rudimentary, with a simple notch machined into the upper rear of the frame for a rear sight

and a brass post near the muzzle serving as the front sight. Perrin revolvers were marked with the patentees’ name and with a serial number on the major components. Collectors have separated the Perrin revolvers into three “Types,” which appear to be chronological in their evolution. Both Types I and II have open top frames, while the Type III has a top strap. Variations between these revolver types are further indicated by the style of loading gate system. Type I gates are rather thin and hinged at the top, swinging outward and upward. Type II gates are somewhat thicker, also hinged at the top, but swing to the rear of the revolver to open. The Type III gate is thicker and more robust, hinged at the bottom, swinging down and away from the frame.

It is worth noting that there is little good information about the Perrin revolver published in English, and sources vary as to the actual model designation: M1859 or M1860, as well as to their actual caliber; 11 mm or 12 mm. While most U.S. sources have long referred to the gun as the M1860, the recent publication French Service Handguns by Eugene Medlin & Jean Huon refers to the pistol as the M1859 and, as they seem to be the most definitive word on the subject, I will defer their opinion.

The issue of caliber, 11 mm versus 12 mm, is somewhat more problematic. In this case, Medlin & Huon come down on the 11 mm side of things. Measuring extant examples shows that the chamber mouths are typically about 12 mm while the bores measure approximately 11.5 mm. This suggests the reference to 12 mm really establishes the outside

diameter of the case, rather than the bullet’s diameter. As case diameter was a common way to establish “caliber” for cartridges during the period (case diameter versus bullet diameter) I will continue to use the 12 mm designation. This system of measuring and naming cartridges is why the “.38 Special” uses a .357” diameter bullet; the name is derived from the case diameter, and we have not seen fit to discontinue calling revolvers with .357 caliber bores “.38s.” It is further worth noting that according to the Springfield Armory Museum Collection Record regarding Perrin revolvers:

We have of this writing five Perrins in the collection. No two are quite alike, having minor variations in rear sights, grips, loading gates and rebating of frame as well as barrel lengths.

Other authors have noted that barrel lengths tend to vary between 5 ½ inches and 6 ½ inches and that the earliest production guns have variations in rifling with 4, 6, 8, and 9 groove examples having been noted. Eventually it appears that the 6-groove system was settled upon as standard. The majority of the revolvers were finished “in the white” with bright polished metal and had smooth one-piece walnut grips. However, some examples are known with special finishes, including blued, nickel plating (a very new technology in the 1860s), as well as gold damascene. Checkered grips are not uncommon either, although smooth wood certainly seem to

The French Perrin Revolver

The “Type I” loading gate open and the ejector rod deployed to expel empty shell casings.

predominate on extant examples. We can document the sale of 550 Perrin revolvers, from a contract for 1,000 total revolvers, to the U.S. Government by arms speculator Alexis Godillot. Godillot listed “New York & Paris” as his business addresses and delivered the revolvers at a price of $20.00 each, including 50 rounds of the proprietary Perrin ammunition with each revolver. Godillot made his initial delivery of 350 Perrin revolvers on Jan. 6, 1862, then delivered another 100 on March 28, 1862. The final 100 Perrins he provided were delivered on May 31, 1862. Interestingly, the HoltOwens Commission, which had been established in early 1862 to audit and adjust all contracts, orders, and claims on the War Department in respect to ordnance, arms and ammunition, actually canceled Godillot’s contract for Perrin revolvers in April 1862, due to his inability to deliver them in a timely fashion. However, they did allow the final delivery of 100 guns on May 31, even after cancellation of the contract, due to the fact that the arms are needed by the government, and are of good quality, and of reasonable price. On May 31, he also delivered 1,500 Lefaucheux pinfire revolvers, but no further deliveries of Perrins are noted in US Ordnance documents.

U.S. Ordnance Department documents show that 1 Perrin was in storage at the New York Arsenal on Dec. 31, 1862. An additional 249 Perrins were in storage in at the Ordnance Depot in Louisville, Ky., on the same date. This indicates that the other 300 pistols that had been delivered were likely in the field and in use during this time frame. Ordnance returns of Nov. 5, 1864, show the single Perrin still at the New York Arsenal, and that 187 Perrins were in store as well. It is not clear what happened to all the other Perrin revolvers the Ordnance Department purchased, but on June 19, 1901, the New York Arsenal sold 368 Perrin revolvers to Francis Bannerman and Company for $0.2765 (yes, only 27.65 cents) each. It is likely that the other 182 revolvers were lost or stolen during or after the war, with some likely going home with the soldiers to whom they were issued. Due to their proprietary ammunition, these arms were probably of limited utility in a civilian world where the French made cartridges were not likely to have been readily available. While no specific list of Civil War used examples by serial number is known, from those that have a “Civil War” association it appears most have serial numbers

under 1,000 and all are the open frame, Type I or Type II variants. Much like the Perrin’s contemporary, the Lefaucheux revolver, it appears deliveries were of available guns on hand and no systematic attempt to keep the deliveries within a specific serial number block or range was attempted by the furnishers.

This M1859 Perrin Revolver shown in the accompanying pictures is a classic example of a Civil War period Type I revolver that may well have been part of the Godillot deliveries. The markings are typical of Civil War period Perrin revolvers. The right side of the frame, forward of the cylinder is marked in two lines: PERRIN / & Cie Bvt, indicating the gun was patented by Perrin & Company. On the left side of the frame is the serial number, over the typical Perrin “sunburst” motif over the production location, resulting in a marking that reads in three lines: No 605 / * / PARIS. The cylinder is clearly marked No 605 as well but is otherwise unmarked. The same serial number also appears on the bottom of the barrel, hidden by the ejector rod/cylinder arbor combination. The barrel is just shy of 6 inches long, measuring 5 15/16 inches, fitting squarely in the middle of the 5 ½ inch to 6 ½ inch barrel lengths that are typically noted.

Although this is a fairly early production revolver, the bore is rifled with the 6-groove rifling system that would become the norm for these revolvers. It is quite likely that this is one of the earliest 6-groove guns, as I previously owned Perrin #485 and it had a 9-groove bore. The revolver is equipped with the less commonly encountered checkered walnut one piece grip, and retains the original, small diameter, lanyard ring in the iron butt cap.

It is worth noting that Fredrick Todd’s seminal work American Military Equipage 1851–1872 lists the Perrin as being a possible secondary Confederate purchase, in addition to being a U.S. purchase. He makes the same

assertion regarding Raphael revolvers. Unfortunately, Todd provides no substantiation for his claim, other than the theory that these French made guns might have found favor in New Orleans since that population had a major ethnically French contingent. These revolvers do not appear on the market regularly and really represent a true value in Civil War arms collecting, as their prices do not usually reflect their true scarcity.

Tim Prince is a full-time dealer in fine & collectible military arms from the Colonial Period through WWII. He operates College Hill Arsenal, a web-based antique arms retail site.

A long time collector & researcher, Tim has been a contributing author to two major book projects about Civil War era arms including The English Connection and a new book on southern retailer marked and Confederate used shotguns. Tim is also a featured Arms & Militaria appraiser on the PBS Series Antiques Roadshow.

Close up showing the serial number on the cylinder and the Perrin patent mark on the frame

Close up showing the serial number on the frame and the “starburst” over Paris mark.

View of the standard 6-groove Perrin rifling.

Below: reverse overall view of a Type I Perrin revolver, s/n 605.

Above: obverse overall view of a Type I Perrin revolver, s/n 605.

Battle of Hampton Roads Commemorated at Mariners’ Museum’s Monitor Center

By Bob Ruegsegger

The 157th anniversary of the Battle of Hampton Roads was commemorated at the Mariners’ Museum’s Monitor Center on March 9th.

Reenactors, interpreters, lecturers, and museum staff welcomed visitors to the Monitor Center to reflect upon a pivotal episode in American history that forever changed naval warfare.

Two ironclad warships, the CSS Virginia and the USS Monitor, dueled each other and fought for

the control of Hampton Roads early in the Civil War.

The Monitor Center embraces a plethora of artifacts and exhibits that focus on the development of both ironclads and the battle’s particular significance to the Hampton Roads area, Virginia, and American history.

On March 8, 1862, the Confederate ironclad CSS Virginia, on her trial run, steamed out of the Elizabeth River, into Hampton Roads, and began attacking the Union ships. As the tide dropped, the CSS Virginia withdrew back into the Elizabeth River to refit. The next day, the ironclad CSS Virginia steamed into the harbor to finish off the Union fleet.

The Union concern was that if the CSS Virginia completed the task of destroying the Federal fleet, there was nothing to stop the Confederate warship from sailing out into the Chesapeake Bay, then up the Potomac River to attack Washington, D.C.—potentially terminating the war in favor of the South.

Hoege III, president and CEO of the Mariners’ Museum.

Hoege characterized the quality of interpretation at the event as “fantastic.” He cited a variety of “community partners” as contributors to the annual event, including the Fort Monroe Authority, Casemate Museum, and the Yorktown Historical Society.

“Our local partner, NOAA, has an office right next door to us. We have Newport News Historic Homes with us,” said Hoege. “This is really a community effort even though we’re focused on the Battle of Hampton Roads.”

While most interpreters who participate annually are regional, there is one very notable exception, George Buss. He resides in Freeport, Illinois, “Lincoln Country,” when he’s not publicly engaged in portraying Abraham Lincoln.

constructed by the Apprentice School at Newport News Shipbuilding on the Monitor Center grounds.

“The Lincoln that the Mariners’ Museum invites from Illinois is the best Lincoln interpreter that I’ve ever seen,” said Eberly. “He’s the right age. He’s the right height. He knows everything about Lincoln. He’s has the accent. The outfit is perfect,” said Eberly. He’s just like a Lincoln brought back to life. It’s

amazing.”

On a number of occasions, President Lincoln came to Hampton Roads during the Civil War. When the President arrived at Fort Monroe on May 6, 1862, the CSS Virginia and USS Monitor were still in contention for control of Hampton Roads.

“He stayed for about a week in May of 1862 at Fort Monroe in Quarters Number One visiting our Union stronghold at Fort Monroe,” said Fort Monroe Park

George Buss as President Lincoln “Some folks say it was a draw because the ships withdrew, but the fact that the Merrimac [CSS Virginia] did not occupy Hampton Roads after the battle was significant,” observed Lincoln.

On the evening of March 8, after the CSS Virginia had withdrawn, the USS Monitor steamed into Hampton Roads, just in time to protect what remained of the Union fleet. The Monitor battled the Virginia to a draw, and was called “the little ship that saved the nation.”

“Every March 9th we try to commemorate the fact that the Monitor performed that service to our nation,” said Howard H.

For 15 years, Buss has been “sharing the Lincoln legacy” as a costumed interpreter with Mariners’ Museum visitors during the Battle of Hampton Roads event. This year Buss and his wife Mona portrayed the first couple, President and Mrs. Lincoln.

“Some folks may remember this as the Battle of the Ironclads. It changed the course of United States history so it’s worthy to be remembered,” said Buss [as Lincoln]. “Folks sometimes confuse a commemoration with a celebration. This is not a celebration,” noted Buss. “This is a time to remember who we are, where we’ve come from, and that government, that last best hope of democracy on Earth, still exists.”

George Buss, as President Lincoln, has favorably impressed museum staff members, visitors, and other historical interpreters.

Wisteria Perry, manager of communication and community outreach for the Mariners’ Museum, has been among the George Buss admirers for years.

“I absolutely love him. I love him so much that I actually took him out to several schools here in Newport News,” said Perry. “He did multiple presentations with fourth graders. It was a phenomenal thing,” she said. “They were just starting their Civil War section so it was an introduction.”

Kurt Eberly, an interpreter with the Tidewater Maritime Living History Association, had an opportunity to interact with George Buss as President Lincoln aboard the replica of the USS Monitor

President & Mrs. Lincoln George and Mona Buss portrayed the first couple at the Battle of Hampton Roads commemoration at the Mariners’ Museum in Newport News on March 9, 2019. (Bob Ruegsegger)

President and Mrs. Lincoln posed with John Stuck, a visitor from Portsmouth, Va., and Kurt Eberly, an interpreter with the Tidewater Maritime Living History Association, on the replica Monitor’s deck. (Bob Ruegsegger)

(Bob Ruegsegger)

Ranger Aaron Firth. “He was planning an attack on Norfolk to recapture the Gosport Navy Yard.”

Lincoln met with Commodore Louis Goldsborough and General John E. Wool to plan and launch an amphibious landing at Ocean View to capture Norfolk and the Navy Yard. The plan proposed by the President worked. It deprived the Confederates of the Navy Yard, and it provoked destruction of the CSS Virginia by Confederate forces.

President Lincoln returned to Hampton Roads in February 1865 aboard the steamboat River Queen to meet with Confederate representatives at the Hampton Roads Peace Conference.

“It was right in the harbor off of Fort Monroe as well,” Firth noted. “It was unfortunate for us that the peace negotiation didn’t

come to fruition,” he said. “They were definitely trying to find a way.”

Lincoln’s primary objective in prosecuting the war had been to preserve the union. Confederate representatives, as a condition of peace, insisted that the Confederacy must be recognized as an independent state. President Lincoln refused to accept that provision, and the war continued for two more months.

A presidential visit is indubitably the highlight of any commemoration. The Battle of Hampton Roads Commemoration proved to be no exception. Interpreter

George Buss brought the 16th President to life for visitors, living historians, and museum staff members.

“The things that I admire most about President Lincoln were his compassion, his political savvy,

his intelligence, and his kindness to people,” said Mona Buss who interpreted Mary Todd Lincoln at the event.

Bob Ruegsegger is an American by birth and a Virginian. His assignments frequently take him to historic sites throughout Virginia, the Mid-Atlantic, and the Southeast. His favorite haunts include sites within Virginia’s Historic Triangle—Jamestown, Yorktown, and Williamsburg. Bob served briefly in the U.S. Navy. He is a retired educator and has been an active newspaper journalist for the last twenty years.

Portion of two-inch thick iron plate from the casemate of the CSS Virginia on display inside the Mariner’s Museum. Note the projectile impact damage on the iron plate caused by one of the shots from the USS Monitor. (Jack Melton)

Interpreter Chris Grimes shared his knowledge of shipboard medical services with visitors. (Bob Ruegsegger)

Interpreter Eric Jeanneret offered visitors a look at U.S. Navy chow during the Civil War. A sailor’s fare featured three prime delicacies - sea biscuit, salt pork, and beans. (Bob Ruegsegger)

The Monitor and Merrimac [CSS Virginia]. Artist: J. O. Davidson. Published by L. Prang & Co. Boston, 1886. CSS Virginia on the left and the USS Monitor on the right. (Library of Congress)

Projectile damage on the Monitor’s turret caused by shots fired from the CSS Virginia the day after sinking the USS Cumberland. This damage occurred during the famous Battle of Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862, the first battle between two ironclad warships. Note the close proximity of at least three impressions from projectiles fired at the gun ports. (Library of Congress)

Perspectives on Murfreesboro

How absurd to suppose that the ever-vigilant McCook, always on the alert, should permit any troops under his command to be surprised! How absurd to suppose that troops who had been up and breakfasted hours before the battle could be taken by surprise!

– Brig. Gen. Richard W. Johnson, U.S.A.

If the Federal troops weren’t surprised on the morning of Dec. 31, 1862, they managed a good imitation. The Union Army of the Cumberland and the Confederate Army of Tennessee faced each other just north and west of Murfreesboro, Tenn. The Union commander, Maj. Gen. William S. Rosecrans, and his Confederate counterpart, Gen. Braxton Bragg, had similar aims. Each planned an early morning assault on his opponent’s right flank. Bragg struck first. Surprised or not, the Federals broke quickly and fell back in considerable disorder.

In its initial stages, this attack seemed to portend disaster for Rosecrans’s army. The retreat continued for hours; by the end of that winter day Rosecrans’s men had fallen back several miles north of where they stood when dawn broke.

Last time we listened to the

words of Union officers who commanded the retreating forces. We now review the events of the day through the eyes of Confederate officers* who led the forces assailing the Federal right.

In his report, Maj. Gen. John McCown describes the first stages of the attack. “My men advanced steadily, reserving their fire until they were but a short distance from the enemy’s position. A volley was delivered, and their position and batteries taken with the bayonet, leaving the ground covered with his dead and wounded, leaving many prisoners in our hands…. The enemy made several attempts to rally, but failed, being closely pressed by my men, their defeat becoming almost a rout. The enemy was pressed near a mile.”

Brig. Gen. Evander McNair also reports an initial success. Fired upon by a six-gun Union battery, his men charged. “It was but a moment until his battery was ours, his long line of infantry routed and dispersed…. My command continued to pursue the enemy for three-quarters of a mile, pouring a destructive fire into his broken and shattered ranks, strewing the ground with his killed and wounded.”

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Brig. Gen. Matthew Ector tells of his brigade’s advance in the center of McCown’s line. As they moved out, the men were fired upon by artillery. They charged at 100 yards and fired at 30 yards. “Their infantry gave way about the time we reached their batteries.” The Federal infantry attempted to reform, but “We pressed upon them so rapidly they soon gave way the second time.” The Federals attempted a third stand, and again were driven back.

As they advanced, the Confederates collected guns, booty, and prisoners. McCown says that his division “moved so rapidly and was so constantly engaged that the guns captured were not counted.” His best guess was 23 pieces, “besides caissons, forges, and other ordnance stores.” And, he says, his men “passed, untouched, wagons, knapsacks, &c.”

Ector reports that by the time his men advanced 2 ½ miles, “We had captured quite a number of prisoners, who had been sent to the rear. The enemy in their hasty retreat had left their camp equipage; and guns, blankets, overcoats, and knapsacks marked the line of their retreat.”

Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne writes that his division, next to McCown’s, captured two hospitals, almost 1,000 prisoners, and “a train of ammunition wagons, 1 piece of artillery, 3 or 4 caissons, and 2 wagons filled with medical stores.”

Col. Robert Vance’s account states that his regiment captured “one six-mule team and wagon, loaded with ammunition, instruments of a brass band, kettle and bass drum….”

In his memoirs, Brig. Gen. St. John Liddell recounts that he took many prisoners and dispatched them to the rear as he sent their captors back to the front line. He overran a Union field hospital and tells us that “The hospital yard was full of [prisoners], whither they had gone to escape

the fire of the line.” The Confederates moved from the Franklin Pike north to the Wilkinson Pike and beyond, threatening the Nashville Pike, Rosecrans’s link to his base in Nashville. Cleburne and Liddell both describe the action at this critical point. Cleburne’s

report states that “Liddell was in full view of the Nashville turnpike and the enemy’s trains. He opened with his artillery on one portion of the train, while…the cavalry charged another. The trains disappeared in haste and confusion.”

In his own report Liddell’s

Maj. Gen. John McCown. (All photos Library of Congress)

Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne

writes that “we saw enemy’s lines scattered over the valley of Overall’s Creek and beyond. We saw large trains with bodies of men marching in confused masses in direction of Nashville…. I ordered the batteries to shell them. The Texas cavalry… charged upon those trains.”

did not go entirely according to plan. Cleburne’s division was meant to follow McCown’s, in position to exploit any breakthrough with the overwhelming force of fresh troops. However, as they advanced Cleburne and his brigade commanders found to their surprise that no troops were ahead of them. “My left had not moved half a mile when heavy firing commenced near its front, supposed to be McCown’s division engaging the enemy,” writes Cleburne. “I was, in reality, the foremost line on this part of the field, [as] McCown’s line unaccountably disappeared from my front.”

Brig. Gen. Bushrod Johnson tells a similar story. “Though we had moved out on the second line to support…McCown’s division, it became evident that there was nothing before us but the enemy….”

Further to the right of the Confederate line, Col. Arthur Manigault moved his brigade forward after the units on the far left attacked. “By the time our turn came,” Manigault writes, “they were somewhat prepared for us.” The South Carolinian states that the Federal’s “first lines were broken…but their second line…was too much for us. We were forced to retire….” Manigault’s men regrouped, and with hard fighting pushed the Federals back.

The report of Brig. Gen. Lucius Polk gives us an idea of how much the Federals fought as they withdrew. The Yankees were driven from a brake of cedars; from a “woods pasture;” from a position “across an open field near one of their hospitals;” from a position protected by artillery; and from “a strong position on a cedar hill, with rocks so placed by nature as to afford great protection, [where the] enemy made a most obstinate stand, and it was only after a bloody fight and one repulse we succeeded in moving them.” With each charge, Polk suffered casualties and had less strength for the next one.

The enemy’s last position was in “cedar brakes to the right of a small dirt road running parallel to the railroad.” Here Polk’s men were “driven back in great confusion, and with the heaviest loss we had sustained during the day, their batteries near the railroad and infantry making fearful havoc in our ranks as we retreated.”

rock [where he] made obstinate and destructive resistance.”

The fighting took its toll. McCown writes that his “command was much exhausted” by the time it fought its way to the Wilkinson Pike. In one of the later charges, north of the pike, “the Thirtieth Arkansas Regiment… had seven company commanders cut down and the color bearer….”

McNair reports that his brigade suffered 427 casualties. Liddell lost 589 men of the 1703 that entered the battle. Ector reports that he lost one-third of his men, “and most of the rest were very much exhausted.”

Cleburne describes the condition of his division as he came within sight of the Nashville Pike: “[I]t was now after 3 o’clock; my men had had little or no rest the night before; they had been fighting since dawn, without relief, food, or water; they were comparatively without the support of artillery…; their ammunition was again exhausted, and our ordnance trains could not follow….”

Furthermore, Cleburne says, “At this critical moment the enemy met my thin ranks with another fresh line of battle, supported by…artillery….”

Manigault describes the Federal position near the pike and railroad. “His position was a very strong one, his left protected by Stone[s] River, the bank of which was high and precipitous, and a commanding hill nearby, on which he had massed a large number of guns that swept all the approaches to it; his Infantry protected by the embankments of the railroad. The troops, already worn out with hard fighting and much reduced in number, found it impossible to dislodge him.”

Some Confederate units attempted to press on to the pike, but were repulsed. At this juncture, with the Federals holding a strong position and the Confederates “worn out” and “reduced in number,” the fighting on Dec. 31 ended. The armies spent the first day of 1863 watching each other. On Jan. 2 Bragg attacked the Federal left, suffered a bloody setback, then retreated.

near the Nashville Pike. Patrick Cleburne says plainly: “This was more than our men could stand.”

*For the reader’s convenience here is the relevant part of the Confederate order of battle: John McCown’s Division comprised the brigades commanded by Evander McNair, Matthew Ector, and James Rains. Rains was killed and was succeeded by Robert Vance. McNair, who had risen from his sickbed to lead his brigade, became exhausted and was succeeded by Robert Harper. In Patrick Cleburne’s Division were the brigades of Lucius Polk, St. John Liddell, Bushrod Johnson, and Sterling Wood. These two divisions were on the Confederate left where the assault began and the Union line collapsed. Arthur Manigault commanded a brigade in Withers’ Division.

Sources:

• Peter Cozzens, No Better Place to Die: The Battle of Stones River, University of Illinois Press, 1990

• R.W. Johnson, In Peace and War: A Soldier’s Reminiscences. Big Byte Books, 2014 (Originally published in 1886)

• St. John Richardson Liddell, Liddell’s Record, Edited by Nathaniel Cheairs Hughes, Jr., Louisiana State University Press, 1985

• Arthur Middleton Manigault, A Carolinian Goes to War: The Civil War Narrative of Arthur Middleton Manigault, R. Lockwood Tower, Ed., University of South Carolina Press, 1983

• O.R. Series I, Volume XX, Part I, Reports of Patrick Cleburne, Matthew Ector, Bushrod Johnson, St. John Liddell, John McCown, Evander McNair, Lucius Polk, and Robert Vance

• Several websites contain excellent maps showing troop movements at different stages of the battle. Most useful are the sites of the American Battlefield Trust, the National Park Service, and Wikipedia.

The enemy retreating in confusion. Hundreds upon hundreds of prisoners. Guns captured. A battlefield littered with abandoned equipment. Trains fleeing. Time for the coup de grâce. Well, not quite.

While the attack achieved great success, from the outset it

Other reports also explain how the terrain favored the retreating Federals. Vance describes a “thicket of cedars so dense that it formed in itself a natural breastwork and protected the enemy posted therein….” Cleburne, too, tells us that the enemy “found natural breastworks of limestone

Why did the attack fail to sever the Nashville Pike on the 31st? Bushrod Johnson believed that the Confederates could have pressed their advantage and succeeded. In his report he expresses criticism of his fellow officers and his own men. In his memoirs Liddell is critical of Bragg, saying that the commander “halted his lines in the midst of success.”

In contrast, Manigault and other officers describe an attacking force that was spent by late afternoon and could do no more when they faced the Federal position

Gould Hagler is a retired lobbyist living in Dunwoody, Ga. He is a past president of the Atlanta Civil War Round Table of Atlanta and the author of Georgia’s Confederate Monuments: In Honor of a Fallen Nation, published by Mercer University Press in 2014. Hagler speaks frequently on this topic and others related to different aspects of the Civil War and has been a regular contributor to CWN since 2016. He can be reached at gould.hagler@gmail.com.

Brig. Gen. Bushrod Johnson

Brig. Gen. St. John Liddell

Now Available!

What do they say?

Jack Melton’s latest endeavor, Civil War Artillery Projectiles – The Half Shell Book, is a remarkable addition to Civil War artillery ammunition literature. For archaeologists and collectors the clearly written text and the excellent photographs provide a wealth of information to properly identify recovered shells and burst fragments. For bomb squad and EOD specialists this book should be on every units’ shelf. The material found in these pages will help EOD personnel identify what has been found, whether or not it is dangerous, and how to inert the round without the necessity of destroying an important historic object. This book takes Civil War artillery ammunition studies to a new level.

Douglas Scott Adjunct Research Faculty, Colorado Mesa University. Author of Uncovering History: Archaeological Investigations of the Little Bighorn.

Wow. I have been reading a lot of different books on ordnance from this era, but this one takes the cake. Most of the other books drift off in directions that are not helpful with the ordnance specific information I am usually looking for. But this book stays on task and topic from start to finish.

Tom Gersbeck

MFS, Graduate Faculty, Arson-Explosives Investigation (AEI), School of Forensic Sciences, Oklahoma State University

Jack Melton’s new book Civil War Artillery Projectiles – The Half Shell Book, promises to be one of the most important volumes on Civil War artillery in recent times. Anyone who has studied the wide variety of Civil War projectiles knows that what is inside is just as important, and maybe more so, than what is outside the shell. In this book, cutaway shells are graphically explained with superb color photographs and detailed notes. They reveal important details and differences in a variety of similar projectiles that tell us U.S. from C.S. and between type variations, in a way that no other approach has ever done. It is supremely helpful in explaining to others just how a shell works, whether it is still dangerous or not, and why.

Les Jensen Former Curator of the Museum of the Confederacy

H Raid Scouts

from page 9

the war’s last skirmishes. In reality, he had been a coach maker before the war and a merchant afterwards.

Little is known about his younger brother, Alexander (1832–1900), who died at Dayton in Rockingham County, Va. He and his wife, Sarah Wolfinger Logan (1829–1901) had five children, three girls and two boys.

White led Stuart’s column to safety on Oct. 12 when he directed the force along the shortcut from the Barnesville Road to the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal towpath that parallels the Potomac River. They crossed the Darnestown Road, then went between a creek and a quarry to a point on the towpath just north of White’s Ford. Union cavalry, infantry, and artillery were hot on the Confederates’ heels at that point. Helping the escape was a ruse by Colonel Rooney Lee that convinced the 99th Penn. Inf., made up of raw recruits, that it was about to be overwhelmed by a superior force.

White was born in Montgomery County, Md., on March 11, 1828. He married Sarah Ellen Nichols

White on February 27, 1851, in Montgomery County and they had three children before Sarah died in 1856. White then married Mary Elizabeth Mead White on Dec. 6, 1858. The union produced five more children, four girls and a boy. Elizabeth died Feb. 11, 1897, and is buried in Union Cemetery in Leesburg, Va.

White joined the Confederate army and was commissioned a lieutenant in the cavalry on Nov. 16, 1861. After the Chambersburg Raid, Stuart sent White to Richmond in charge of prisoners captured during the mission. He was permanently transferred to Stuart’s staff in October 1862 and served as a scout in Loudoun County and surrounding areas on both sides of the Potomac.

White was seriously wounded in the neck at Brandy Station in June 1863 but continued on in the Gettysburg campaign. On the way back, McClure claimed he ran into both White and Hugh Logan in Chambersburg. After returning to Virginia, Stuart put White in charge of a horse infirmary on the Tye River, halfway between Charlottesville and Lynchburg. In January 1864, he reported back to Stuart’s staff and was sent on a mission to cooperate with Colonel John Singleton Mosby’s Forty-Third Battalion to collect cavalry arms, particularly carbines, which had been captured from the enemy.

At the end of the war, White was paroled as a major in Winchester on April 24, 1865. He then lived and worked in Baltimore before moving back to Montgomery County in 1883.

Just two days after Stuart’s force returned to Virginia, Union Private Samuel W. North, from Mercersburg, stationed with Co. C, 126th Penn. Inf., near Sharpsburg, wrote this letter home:

We have been most crazy on account of the rebel raid into Franklin Co. The idea of 2,500 cavalry passing through one end of our lines capturing horses and clothing, passing around

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the whole army and then unmolested going back into Virginia at the other end of our lines is the most ridiculous slur on our Generals and army ever heard of… It would be hard to describe the effect it has had on the 126. The Chambersburg boys were wild. They say they don’t blame the rebels but give them credit for the way the thing was accomplished and for the way they treated our people, but they curse our officers and the way the army is commanded.” Young lieutenants on Stuart’s staff, Channing Price and Chiswell Dabney, wrote their mothers telling of the woolen socks, overcoats, pants, coats, and boots they were able to obtain. One resident told a newspaper reporter that the scene at the warehouses “looked like a dressing room.

After the war, the Cumberland

Valley Railroad extended south to Hagerstown in 1873, and, in 1882, connected to the Shenandoah Valley Railroad from Hagerstown to Roanoke, Va., making passenger and freight service available from New York City to Roanoke.

Carl Sell has written a book updating information about Jeb Stuart that includes proof that he communicated with Richmond during his ride to Gettysburg in 1863. All proceeds from the book are earmarked for the preservation of Stuart’s statue on Commonwealth Avenue in Richmond that recently was restored by the StuartMosby Historical Society. Sell also has written books about his great grandfather and great uncle, both of whom survived Pickett’s Charge. He can be reached at sellcarl@aol.com.

From the Editor

Twenty-one years ago, when she was four years old, my daughter Stephanie fell in love with Stonewall Jackson after a chance meeting on the plains of Manassas. Seeing the towering Jackson statue there led her to a fascination with the Civil War that, in turn, led to my own fascination with the Civil War. People usually assume I got her hooked on Civil War history but, in truth, she’s the one who got me hooked.

I also credit my daughter with my interest in Women’s History Month, celebrated each year in March. When she was little, I wanted Steph to have strong role models. Stonewall Jackson had said, “You may be whatever you resolve to be.” Strong role models, I thought, would let her see the truth behind that statement and help inspire her.

That interest in Women’s History Month has carried over to my work at Emerging Civil War

for pretty much that same reason. Military history has traditionally been a male-dominated field, so holding up female role models is a way to highlight, for young women as my daughter once was that they too may be whatever they want to be. There are many other good reasons to attend to women’s history, paying attention to the contributions of women enriches us all, but that’s always been my own main motive.

Today, Steph still has her passion for history. By day, she works in law enforcement. Of particular pride to me is that her department holds her up as the very same sort of strong female role model that she used to look up to when she was a kid. Now she can inspire others as she was once inspired and as she has inspired me. I can’t think of a better way to commemorate Women’s History Month this year than to say “thank you” to her for all she’s done to contribute to my own development as a historian and as a dad.

By the time you read this, Steph will have embarked on a new chapter of her own personal history. On March 30, my little girl got married, and I had the privilege of walking her down the aisle. Please join me in wishing her the best of luck as she writes the chapter ahead.

— Chris Mackowski, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief

The Emerging Civil War Podcast

In March, co-hosts Chris

Mackowski and Dan Welch kicked off March by interviewing Sarah Kay Bierle for Women’s History Month. Sarah talked about some notable diaries left by women during the war.

For March’s second podcast, Chris and Kris White continued the conversation they started in February about the “forgotten fall” of 1863. The first part of the conversation covered Bristoe and Rappahannock Stations. The March podcast focused on the Mine Run campaign.

ECW

Behind the Scenes

Little-known fact: book editors love cookies.

If you don’t believe me, take a look at our friends at Southern Illinois University Press. Back in January, during a trip to speak to the St. Louis Civil War Roundtable, ECW Editor-inChief Chris Mackowski made a detour through Carbondale, Ill., to visit family and pay a visit to our partners at SIUP. Since it’s rude to just drop in unannounced, Chris brought a big box of freshly made cookies from a local bakery.

We won’t lie: it’s in ECW’s best interest to keep these fine folks happy. Right now, there are two Engaging the Civil War books in production, with several others in development. SIUP did a great job with our first two books in that series and we look forward to many more. To help ensure that, we greased the wheels with some cookies. Beyond “Engaging the Civil War,” SIUP has a great catalogue of Civil War books, including an excellent Lincoln series. Thanks to everyone at Southern

Illinois University Press for all your hard work on ECW’s behalf!

ECW News & Notes

Edward Alexander has done a few freelance map jobs recently, including for a new tour guide brochure from the American Revolution Round Table of Richmond: http://arrt-richmond. blogspot.com/2019/01/revolutionary-richmond-brochure-now. html.

Sarah Kay Bierle is preparing to host her fourth annual Civil War History Conference in Southern California. “1864: Fighting To Survive” will focus on military campaigns and social changes in that year of the conflict. Early Bird Tickets are on sale now and more details are available here: https://gazette665.com/2019-civil-war-history-conference/

Doug Crenshaw will be leading a two-day tour of the Richmond battlefields the first weekend of May.

Steward Henderson says the 23rd U.S.C.T., with which he reenacts, is having a 155th Anniversary living history event at the Chancellorsville Battlefield, Stop 10 (Fairview), on May 18th, 2019, from 9-5.

Dwight Hughes will be speaking at the North American Society for Oceanic History’s Annual Conference, May 16-18, in New Bedford, Mass. He’ll present a paper, “War in the Arctic: Twilight of New Bedford’s Golden Age of Whaling.”

Chris Kolakowski passes along the following note from the Douglas MacArthur Memorial in Norfolk, Va. “We’re hard at work on this,” he adds.

Title: Legacies: The MacArthurs in the Far East

Opening Date: Friday, April 19, 2019 (through January 3, 2021) Legacies will present the service of Generals Arthur and Douglas MacArthur in the Far East, and the lasting imprint of their actions on Asia. The primary periods to be covered include the Philippine–American War era, the period between the World Wars, and World War II through the Korean War. Specifically, the exhibit will highlight Arthur’s command in the Philippines, Arthur’s Far East tour (1904–1905), and the impact he had on his son’s service and career. The exhibit will go farther in depth on General Douglas MacArthur’s service in the Far East, including his recurring commands in the Philippines (1920’s-1930’s); defeat in 1942, return to the Philippines 1944-45; his leadership of the occupation and re-building of Japan; and his direction of the early Korean War campaigns. Overall Legacies will provide insight on the legacies instilled by the father and son, and how they both shaped and continue to influence United States-Far East relations.

Derek Maxfield’s performance group Rudely Stamp’d is continuing to perform the play Now We Stand by Each Other Always at venues around the country. The play features an engaging conversation between Union generals Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman and recreates a meeting between the men at City Point, Va., in March 1865. To date, the program has featured just the City Point conversation as a one-act play, but starting

Chris Mackowski

Chris Mackowski and his daughter, Steph.

The staff at Southern Illinois University Press takes a break from book-making to enjoy some cookies from ECW.

in June, TWO NEW ACTS will be offered. The full three-act play features conversations between Grant and Sherman at Vicksburg (Act I), Cincinnati (Act II), and City Point (Act III). Organizations interested in booking one or all three acts may contact Derek Maxfield at ddmaxfield@genesee.edu or by calling (585) 293-7189.

Julie Mujic was the featured speaker for the 35th Joseph and Edith Vogel Lecture and Reception at Ohio Wesleyan University on April 8. Her talk, “A Vast Change Had Come Over the Streets: The Postwar Lives of WWI Veterans in Columbus, Ohio,” discussed how vets and residents adjusted to victory and how the men adjusted to lives as veterans in a community “quite changed by the international conflict.” She also explored what’s been done to honor and memorialize their sacrifice in the past century.

Congratulations to Kevin Pawlak, who started a new position with Prince William County’s Historic Preservation Division in Virginia. Kevin is managing Ben Lomond, a Civil War-era field hospital site, and the Bristoe Station Battlefield.

Dan Welch recently co-authored a manuscript on Civil War books. The critical bibliography, published through Savas Beatie, should be out later this year.

From Eric Wittenberg: “I am finishing up a manuscript titled Seceding from Secession: Creating West Virginia, that I’m doing with my friend Judge Edmund A. Sargus and his senior staff attorney, Penny Barrick. The former Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court and immediate past chairman of the Lincoln Forum, Frank J. Williams, will be doing the foreword. The book will feature maps by Edward Alexander.”

Speaking of congratulations, two new Emerging Civil War Series books have been released. Huzzah to ECWers Dave Powell on his release “All Hell Can’t Stop Them” and Lee White on “Let Us Die Like Men.” You can find those releases here: https:// www.savasbeatie.com.

The Sixth Annual Emerging Civil War Symposium at Stevenson Ridge

The ECW Symposium cochairs have been planning the Sunday morning battlefield tour for this year’s symposium. Our own Bert Dunkerly will be leading the North Anna battlefield tour. He promises some rarely visited ground and seldom-heard

stories. He has also threatened to bring along Chris Mackowski, author of Strike Them a Blow: Battle Along the North Anna. You will not want to miss this year’s symposium, August 2-4, 2019. Get your tickets here: https://emergingcivilwar. com/2019-symposium.

10

Questions with . . . Kristen Pawlak

Kristen Pawlak is Emerging Civil War’s preservation editor and one half of ECW’s “Pawlak Power Couple.” She’s been heavily involved with the St. Louis Civil War Museum. “Hopefully we can keep sharing the Missouri and Trans-Miss love!” she says. You can read her full bio here.

in three phases: 1861 Missouri Campaign, guerrilla warfare, and Price’s 1864 Campaign. Though Missouri had well over 1,200 battles, they were small and were easily eclipsed by the major battles of the East and West with enormous casualty rates, such as Antietam, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, etc. Additionally, we do not see nearly the same amount of post-war coverage on Missouri, excepting Wilson’s Creek and Lost-Cause guerrilla warfare, as we do in the Eastern Theater. For example, Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield became Missouri’s first and only National Park Service operated battlefield, established one hundred years after the battle in 1961! All these factors combined have minimized the coverage of Missouri.

You have done a lot of work with the Missouri Civil War Museum at the historic Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis. Can you tell us a little about the museum?

historic buildings, battlefields, and artifacts as invaluable pieces of the past that tell a story. The moment they are demolished, developed, or bulldozed over, is the moment we lose a bit of the past. We lose those stories forever.

Lightning Round (short answers): Most overrated person of the Civil War? I hate to say it, but Lincoln.

When people think of the Civil War, they might think first of Virginia or Tennessee, but Missouri has a crazy Civil War history. How would you describe it?

I would most certainly agree with that statement, and Missouri tends to be overlooked in most Civil War narratives. However, when we take a look at what happened in Missouri, it really shouldn’t be. Missouri had more than 1,200 engagements fought within its borders during the war, only behind Virginia and Tennessee. Not only was it host to conventional armies, it had several types of pro-Union militia, and bands of irregular forces operating throughout the state. All this fighting is mainly due to the two sides combating each other for control of Missouri. This western state is important strategically to both sides for several reasons: far-western flank of both sides, access to the largest river network in North America, entry to many major westward trails, home to the largest arsenal in any slaveholding state, a budding rail system, and mineral resources.

Why do you think Missouri’s Civil War history gets under-appreciated?

Well, this is due to multiple reasons. For one, historians tend to view Missouri’s Civil War history

Of course! Housed in Jefferson Barracks’ 1905 Post Exchange Building, the Missouri Civil War Museum is currently the state’s largest Civil War museum, aiming to tell the story of Missouri in the Civil War through artifacts, stories, and historic structures. The museum itself opened in June 2013 by my amazing father, Mark Trout, who not only built the organization and museum collection from scratch, but he, along with some dedicated volunteers, restored the building after it had been abandoned for well over sixty years. It was a labor of love!

What do you like about museum work in particular?

There are several things I love about working in a museum. For one, you get to preserve the material culture actually used during the Civil War and share it with thousands of people each year. Each artifact tells a unique story about the war and through the exhibits, we get to tell visitors why it matters. There is truly nothing better than seeing folks walk out of the museum with smiles on their faces knowing a bit more about the history in their own backyard.

You also serve as ECW’s preservation editor. Why are you passionate about preservation?

My father was certainly the one who got me hooked on saving history. He has personally saved multiple historic structures, from a small early twentieth century schoolhouse in my hometown to the Post Exchange Building. So, naturally, that passion for preserving history was passed down to me. For me personally, I see

Favorite Trans-Mississippi site? Wilson’s Creek.

Favorite Regiment? Eighth Missouri Infantry—“The American Zouaves!”

What one Civil War book do you consider to be essential? For Cause and Comrades by James McPherson

What’s one Civil Warrelated question no one has ever asked you that you wished they would? “Why is the TransMississippi West, particularly Missouri, important?”

Emerging Revolutionary War

March is the month of Daylight Savings Time, and the crew at

Emerging Revolutionary War has used the extra hour to advantage. The blog has a few posts dedicated to women who played such vital roles in the war, including a post promoting a new site on the role of women in the American wars by the American Battlefield Trust. There are also a few volumes in the Emerging Revolutionary War Series coming down the pipeline and in various stages of development and layout. A few of the ERW historians are also out and about this month.

Join Mark Maloy, author of Victory or Death: The Battles of Trenton and Princeton, will speak at the Prince William County History Symposium on March 30. Mark is speaking at 9:30 a.m. For more information, follow the link: https://www.visitpwc.com/ event/5th-annual-prince-william-county-manassas-history-symposium/852.

As always, to stay current on what is going on and read the latest blog posts, follow www. emergingrevolutionarywar.org.

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Free copy mail catalog

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Loyal Legion of the Confederacy

*Picture, taken at night, showing the pavement where the Boston Massacre occurred March 5, 1770.*

ECW Preservation News Editor Kristen Pawlak.

Civil War News book reviews provide our readers with timely analysis of the latest and most significant Civil War research and scholarship. Contact Stephen Davis, Civil War News Book Review Editor. Email: BookReviews@CivilWarNews.com.

The Experience of Killing Your Enemy

Fighting Means Killing: Civil War Soldiers and the Nature of Combat. By Jonathan M. Steplyk. Maps, photos, notes, index, 294 pp., 2018. University Press of Kansas, www.kansaspress.ku.edu. $29.95.

Reviewed by Brian S. Wills

instances of bloodshed—“seeing the elephant”—to the range and variety of the ways in which they subsequently experienced killing their adversaries on the battlefield. The author expresses his intention to “document the spectrum of these attitudes and experiences.” As may be expected, this often lends itself more to speculation on the motivations of the participants. Some men surely carried doubt or remorse, while others embraced their roles with a sense of duty, if not outright enthusiasm.

occasionally transcend the lines of acceptability in their conduct, while Confederates become systematic offenders. Indiscriminate destruction in the Shenandoah Valley, Georgia and the Carolinas, according to the author, is acceptable military practice that later “Lost Cause” adherents exaggerate, while apparently large numbers of Confederates hunt down and slay foragers and other Union transgressors in “grossly disproportionate acts of violence.” The assertion, “Robert E. Lee allowed his Army of Northern Virginia to forage aggressively during his 1862 and 1863 invasions of the North” seems to appear as mitigation for the later actions elsewhere of Philip Sheridan and William T. Sherman. To be sure, some soldiers (and civilians) crossed lines of propriety, but it is not clear that most participants on either side engaged in such extraordinary conduct.

Heroes of Chickamauga: The 22nd Michigan Infantry

The 22nd Michigan Infantry and the Road to Chickamauga. By John Cohassey. Photos, chapter notes, bibliography, index, 192 pp., 2019. McFarland & Company, www.mcfarlandpub. com. $35 softcover.

Reviewed by Robert L. Durham

in several of the South’s POW camps. Those not captured retreated to Chattanooga.

Fighting in the American Civil War presented participants with unusual dilemmas as they faced fellow citizens and confronted the imperative of killing them in combat. Even with the admonition of the sixth commandment not to kill, from the earliest days, Jonathan M. Steplyk has asserted in his volume, men went into battle without exhibiting inhibitions about taking the lives of the foes they encountered. Fighting Means Killing explores the numerous ways in which these soldiers answered the lethal call of their respective countries.

The author opens his study with an examination of the influences that shaped the men who would go into combat from the first

Steplyk has done a great service to Civil War scholarship, but his focus suffers when a chapter strays, as the first one does from prewar influences to numerous examples from a conflict that has yet to happen. The zest to say something analytical also leads to interesting interpretations, such as when the author tries to assess and explain the terminology a Union officer at Gettysburg employed for firing blindly at the Confederates and hoping that he had managed to hit one “by accident.” A few contradictory and perplexing elements exist, such as the assertion, “I was unable to find a soldier who explicitly admitted that in the heat of battle he deliberately tried not to kill,” after presenting two specific examples of that precise phenomenon. Likewise, death threats toward Confederate president Jefferson Davis do not include the Dahlgren-Kilpatrick Raid in the discussion, despite the high profile nature of that event at the time and since.

Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the volume is the degree to which the analysis enters a different phase of emphasis in the final chapters. Here, Union men

The author would certainly have been better served to avoid making unfortunate comparison of individual (albeit heinous) acts in the South with orders from Hitler’s Nazi regime in the Second World War relating to the resistance movement. Interestingly, Steplyk’s excellent discussion of shooting at broken and fleeing opponents at Franklin, Tennessee, apparently does not fit the circumstances at Fort Pillow, where “one” is encouraged to “imagine” what Nathan Bedford Forrest was capable of doing by “either presiding over or allowing the massacre.” These important caveats aside, the author succeeds in presenting the myriad cases of such matters in the bitter and protracted struggle of 1861–1865.

Jonathan Steplyk has taken us into the mindsets of the individuals who faced the enormous challenges of killing their opponents. He has often done so with compelling arguments that contribute to our understanding of the conflict. It should not be surprising that so many accepted the roles that war assigned to them, even if it is difficult for those who have never had that circumstance thrust upon them to comprehend why they did.

Brian Steel Wills is the Director of the Center for the Study of the Civil War Era and Professor of History at Kennesaw State University. He is the author of biographies of Nathan Bedford Forrest, George Henry Thomas and William Dorsey Pender, as well as studies of noncombat deaths in the Civil War, the controversial engagement at Fort Pillow, and the impact of the war on soldiers and civilians in southeastern Virginia.

John Cohassey has written an exceptional history of the 22nd Michigan Infantry. This regiment spent its early service chasing Confederates around Kentucky and was eventually stationed in Nashville, Tennessee, to guard the city. Then, on September 20, 1863, they got their first taste of battle at Chickamauga, Georgia. The 22nd was in reserve, under Brig. Gen. Gordon Granger. Granger, without orders, marched to the sound of the guns and reinforced Maj. Gen. George Thomas on Horseshoe Ridge. After the main army, even that part under General Thomas, retreated, the 22nd Michigan, along with the 21st and 89th Ohio, were left behind and made a courageous stand, holding back the Rebels, buying time for Thomas to make a safe retreat. The three regiments were surrounded and most of the men were captured. The 22nd suffered over 50% casualties. Many ended up incarcerated

Reorganized after the battle, they were designated as engineers. They did a lot to open the “Cracker Line” and built several pontoon bridges that were effective in helping Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s efforts to break out of the Confederate siege of Chattanooga. The 22nd was then reorganized and assigned to Thomas’ Army of the Cumberland for the Atlanta campaign. Through most of the campaign, they were assigned as Provost Guards at General Thomas’ headquarters, but they took part in all the army’s marches. They were also subjected to artillery bombardments from the enemy entrenchments.

After the capture of Atlanta, they returned to Chattanooga, where they were when they heard of General Robert E. Lee’s surrender. The jubilation was cut short when they got word of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. There was a mass dress parade on June 20, 1865 and then they were sent to Nashville, where they were mustered out.

Despite its steep price, I recommend this book to those who are interested in regimental histories, especially in Michigan regiments, or the Civil War in the West. It is well written and well researched.

Robert L. Durham has been a devoted history buff for many years and is finally getting a history degree. Bob has written articles in various historical magazines and internet blogs, including CWN. He is retired from almost 40 years of service with the Defense Logistics Agency, where one of his roles was to install communications systems all over the world. Unfortunately, not many of the countries he visited are popular tourist destinations.

Slavery and the Clash of Cultures

The Political Thought of the Civil War. Edited by

Alan Levine, Thomas Merrill and James R. Stoner, Jr. Notes, index,

421

pp., 2018. University Press

The Tale of an Amputee

of

Kansas Press, www.kansaspress.ku.edu. $39.95 hardcover.

Reviewed by Wayne L. Wolf

fears of cultural loss is racist and therefore devoid of understanding. By blaming Southern cultural perspectives for the Civil War, all Southern justification based on economic, social or cultural localisms is dismissed.

Thus, three questions are central to all of the included essays. What was the place of slavery in antebellum America? How did the ambiguity over slavery cause tension between substantive morality and procedural Constitutionalism? And finally, are the principles of the American experience adequate to the challenges of developing a postwar multicultural and multiracial society?

The editors of this volume all share a common perspective on the political theories that shaped America from the Declaration of Independence to Reconstruction. They are all dismissive of Southern culture which embraced slavery. Yet they, as Abraham Lincoln, see the federal government as authoritarian and sovereign as opposed to the Southern humanistic, locally-based regional government that espoused local values. They hold that Jefferson’s dictum that all men are created equal trumps his statement that citizens have a right to revolt when they feel their culture is at stake. Any attempt to understand antebellum Southern

While each of these questions is explored in one or more of the essays, they ignore how Americans today, with our growing political polarization and mistrust of each other, are reflections of the attitudes that drove the North and South to war in 1861. Will the inability of antebellum America to forge a consensus on slavery and its expansion mirror today’s inability to bridge the increasingly partisan debate over immigration, racial equality and state rights? Are these merely the same ambiguous issues, cast in a slightly different format, that tore the country apart before? Answers to these profound questions are not addressed and present a major weakness. The story of regional differences over slavery has been told in countless tomes, and without present day applicability provides little new evidence to understand the impending crisis.

Despite this criticism, two

essays are highly recommended for their use of primary source material and their exploration of both sides of an issue. Chapter 7 (Why Did Lincoln Go to War?) by Steven Smith addresses Lincoln’s misjudgment of the will of the South to wage war and Lincoln’s mistaken belief that ordinary Southerners would rally to the Union cause. The essay also catalogues Southerners’ belief that Lincoln was a genuine threat to the South’s economy and its social and cultural way of life. Lincoln had always been a gradual abolitionist and therefore a threat to Southern identity. Additionally, Lincoln believed the Union was permanent and rejected Jefferson’s view that governments which no longer served the ends of the people should be replaced. The South felt they were merely altering government to preserve original intent. Lincoln felt otherwise and decided war was the solution.

The second recommended essay, by James R. Stoner on the Confederate Constitution, provides a well-researched effort to answer the question: was the South’s constitution the true successor to the original document, correcting its faults and restoring original intent? Ample evidence is presented on both sides of this question and is a must-read for political scientists.

While students of the Civil War might find a new tidbit of information here and there, the overall aim of a better understanding of antebellum and Reconstruction political thought adds little new evidence to existing knowledge. Additionally, Southern conservatives are delegitimized as mere apologists for the Lost Cause. State Rights, local government control, and the acceptance of regional cultural differences and historical value systems are portrayed as undesirable remnants which should be thrown into the dustbin of history.

Lessons which might help America today provide true equality, solve partisanship, agree on the meaning of the Constitution and respect cultural differences would have been a great addition to this volume.

Wayne L. Wolf is Professor Emeritus from South Suburban College in Illinois and the author or editor of twenty-four books on the Civil War. He is past President of the Lincoln-Davis Civil War Roundtable and is currently seeking new primary source material to tell the story of the common soldier in the Civil War.

In Memory of Self and Comrades: Thomas Wallace Colley’s Recollections of Civil War Service in the 1st Virginia Cavalry. Edited by Michael K. Shaffer. Maps, illustrations, notes, bibliography, index, 277 pp., 2018.University of Tennessee Press, www.utpress. org. $47 hardback.

Reviewed by Bruce H. Stewart Jr.

In the submission of casual-

serious abdominal wound at the battle of Kelly’s Ford.

After an extended convalescence he returned to the 1st Virginia. On May 28, 1864 he took part in the battle of Haw’s Shop, where he lost his foot. The account is of particular interest as this is the first time he goes into great detail concerning an actual battle. He gives a graphic description of the amputation, but despite an extraordinarily poor procedure, he harbored no animosity toward the surgeons. He showed both compassion and forgiveness, citing the conditions under which they worked.

ty reports, officers on both the Union and Confederate sides wrote in identical fashion, tabulating those killed, wounded, captured and missing. Absent were any attempts to quantify amputation, disability, or the wide variety of ailments which for many participants lingered long after the conflict had ended.

Diaries were a common means of recording life at the front. In a sense, they represent a single genre of Civil War literature. However, as they came from different soldiers, each diary offers a unique perspective of a tragic American experience. With In Memory of Self and Comrades, editor Michael Shaffer has brought to light the problems faced by the curse of amputation as so many soldiers tried to work their way back into the mainstream of society. It has been estimated that some 20,000 limbs were lost during the four-year struggle. The diary of Thomas Colley, a member of the 1st Virginia Cavalry, recalls the career of one man who volunteered in order to defend his state. His service cost him his left foot, and this is his story.

Early in the war the cavalry arm of the South was clearly superior to that of the North. During this time Colley’s diary conveys the innocent feelings of initial enthusiasm, but then the mood changes as the casualties mounted in 1862. His war record was relatively uneventful until March 17, 1863, when he sustained a

Like so many other men, North and South, he continued to feel the effects of his wound and treatment, resulting in pain for the next seven years. In July 1864 he began his journey home. Colley’s postwar narrative continues from 1866 through a variety of occupations. The following decade was filled with sorrow for him. With a serious illness in 1870 he lost over sixty pounds, and only a few years later he witnessed the death of two small daughters.

As the diary closes, he recounts a series of failed business ventures, moving from Virginia to West Virginia to South Carolina. He finally found success with minor political victories, but saw two more children succumb to disease. Throughout the book, and emphasized toward the end of his life, is his devotion to religion. His beliefs seemed to provide a sense of calm as he endured a repetition of both personal and financial setbacks.

Dr. Shaffer has organized Colley’s diary entries into a book which is easy and quite smooth to read. An extremely valuable addition is the inclusion of the appendices. They provide the entire regimental roster and unit history, as well as Colley’s recollection of his wounding at Kelly’s Ford, written in 1887. Perhaps the most interesting is the collection of his wartime letters. Their presentation exposes the man, the home and the war, and is a fitting end to his life’s journey.

Bruce H. Stewart Jr. served as the president of the Civil War Round Table of Atlanta in 2009, with a particular interest in the western theater. His book Invisible Hero Patrick R. Cleburne was published in 2009 by Mercer University Press.

John R. Lundberg, Granbury’s Texas Brigade: Diehard Western Confederates (Louisiana State University Press, 2012)

Lee’s army, has admittedly more chroniclers, from Col. Harold B. Simpson to (more recently) Prof. Susannah Ural of the University of Southern Mississippi. Now, Granbury’s Texas Brigade, of Pat Cleburne’s Division in the army of Braxton Bragg, Joseph E. Johnston, and John B. Hood, has had its story definitively told in Granbury’s Texas Brigade: Diehard Western Confederates, by Prof. John Lundberg, who teaches in Fort Worth. It is the story, as the author states, of “perhaps the premier brigade in the premier division in the Confederate Army of Tennessee.”

In his very first paragraphs, the author poses the key question that he pursues in his narrative of the brigade: “why did Confederate soldiers stay with the cause as long as they did?”

The eight regiments that eventually formed the brigade led by Brig. Gen. Hiram Bronson Granbury offer a collective story of patriotism and battle ardor, but also garrison surrender and deadly imprisonment. The cavalry regiments merged into the brigade suffered the indignity of government-ordered dismounting (and subsequent desertion). Long-distance assignment east of the Mississippi led some Texans to drift back so as to fight closer to home. Still, the veterans who stayed in the ranks evidenced a stalwart devotion to the Confederate cause.

Dr. Lundberg offers a corollary question: “why in particular did Confederate soldiers in the western theater, deprived of battlefield victories and effective army leadership, fight for so long?”

Are you hooked yet? I was.

bind the Texans closer together and strengthened their resolve.”

The author also examines desertion by Texas cavalrymen after the government confiscated their horses in the summer of 1862. In the 15th mounted regiment, some 80 men deserted; 140 men deserted in July from the 17th Texas Cavalry. In the 18th Texas Cavalry, 180 slipped away from camp. Altogether the desertions and resignations amounted to sixteen percent of the three regiments’ strength at the time.

Here’s the interesting part. Lundberg followed the deserters through the war, and found that “even though these Texans deserted their original regiments, most of them returned home and joined regiments in the TransMississippi Department or in Texas itself.” In other words, “when the Confederate officials decided to dismount the cavalry regiments…in 1862, it did not erase their loyalty to the Confederacy or their desire to defend the Southern way of life. It merely changed how and where they would fight.”

Assignment to Arkansas

Post on the Arkansas River, maybe twenty miles from the Mississippi, brought the 6th and 10th Texas Infantry together with the 15th, 17th, 18th, 24th, and 25th Texas Dismounted Cavalry.

The Confederate surrender of the place, in January 1863, sent 3,912 officers and men, in regiments that would eventually form Granbury’s Brigade, to Northern prisons. Before they were exchanged in April ’63, twenty to twenty-five percent died. The survivors were assigned to Braxton Bragg’s Army of Tennessee the following month.

So many had died in prison that Bragg ordered the seven Arkansas Post regiments consolidated into two. The 6th and 10th Infantry joined the 15th

Dismounted; the 17th, 18th, 24th and 25th Dismounted formed a second Texas regiment. These units became part of Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Churchill’s Brigade of Cleburne’s Division.

After Churchill requested transfer farther west, the brigade came under the command of Brig. Gen. James Deshler in late July 1863. The Texans fought at Chickamauga, where Deshler was killed. Succeeding him was Brigadier James A. Smith, who was wounded at Missionary Ridge.

Two weeks previous, the 7th Texas Infantry, Col. Hiram Granbury’s regiment, had been added to the brigade. To replace Smith, Cleburne assigned Granbury, whose promotion to brigadier general followed in March 1864.

In the Atlanta Campaign, Granbury’s Brigade shone in the Battle of Pickett’s Mill, fought on May 27, twenty-five miles northwest of Atlanta. A few weeks later, the 5th Confederate Regiment joined Granbury’s Brigade. But the unit continued to be called the Texas Brigade of the Army of Tennessee.

In the battle fought July 22 east of Atlanta, Lundberg states that “the Texans captured fifteen pieces of artillery, two stand of colors, numerous ambulances and a brigade commander,” Col. Robert Scott. “They could also take credit for the demise of James McPherson at the hands of the 5th Confederate.” Indeed, history has handed down that it was Capt. Richard Beard of the 5th who fired upon and killed Maj. Gen. McPherson, commander of the Union Army of the Tennessee.

“Granbury’s Texas Brigade served as the shock troops, the diehard Confederates of the Confederate Army of Tennessee for roughly a year, from its formation in November 1863 to

November 1864,” the author writes, implying the effective death of the unit on November 30, 1864 at the battle of Franklin, where 1,100 officers and men went in; more than 400 were killed, wounded, captured, or missing, including General Granbury, who was shot in the head while leading his men.

Lundberg acknowledges that after Franklin and Nashville, “dedication of the Texans began to fail.” But he emphasizes the continued resilient morale of the men who stayed with the colors— all the way to surrendering with Joe Johnston in North Carolina. There, in April 1865, the eight Texas regiments of Granbury’s Brigade still had 401 men to take their paroles and head home.

In the end, the author returns to his initial question: why did Confederates fight as long as they did? Lundberg argues, convincingly, in my view, that it was a combination of Confederate patriotism, faith in their officers, and a perspective that celebrated victories like Pickett’s Mill more than bemoaned such defeats as Chattanooga. “These Texans demonstrated a loyalty to the Confederacy and a faith in their line officers that refute the arguments of historians who claim the Confederacy died from within”—that is, from lack of moral and war spirit.

Way to go, Professor!

Stephen Davis’ article, “Simply Criminal,” on the battle of Pickett’s Mill, appears in the May 2019 issue of America’s Civil War. Civil War News of January 2019 also carried Steve’s article about an incident of that battle—how Union soldiers complained that all the bugling from Willich’s brigade alerted Confederates of their march to Pickett’s Mill. He and Bill Hendrick are working on a book on the Atlanta Daily intelligencer, leading wartime newspaper in the city.

I find it interesting that arguably the most famous combat brigades in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia and the Confederate Army of Tennessee hailed from… ...(you guessed it) Texas. Hood’s Texas Brigade, in

Take the 7th Texas Infantry. Organized in September 1861, it was assigned to duty at Fort Donelson and there was surrendered in February 1862. During seven months in captivity, 62 of the 379 prisoners died at Camp Douglas. Of the survivors, Lundberg explains, “the men of the 7th Texas remained more willing than ever to lay down their lives for the Confederacy, a fact that belies the argument that Confederate soldiers lost faith in their cause in the face of adversity.” Indeed, the author concludes that “the casualties suffered at Donelson and in prison served to

Hiram B. Granbury

View north from Hood’s headquarters on Winstead Hill. General Hood’s troops formed on Winstead Hill before the Battle of Franklin. (engraving from Battles and Leaders of the Civil War)

Chancellorsville

It’s May and time to think about Robert E. Lee’s historic victory. My questions and answers come from Stephen W. Sears’ Chancellorsville (Boston, 1996).

1. The Union XI Corps had the ill fortune to be positioned on the right flank of the Federal line in the Wilderness. Who was its commander?

2. Lee wrote President Davis on May 4: “I regret to state that General _____was killed. General Jackson was seriously, and Generals Heth and A. P. Hill slightly wounded.” Which Confederate general was killed at Chancellorsville? (a) Lewis Armistead (b) Isaac Trimble (c) William Pendleton (d) Frank Paxton.

3. “My plans are perfect, and when I start to carry them out, may God have mercy on General Lee, for I will have none.” Who said this?

4. The Confederate infantrymen who fired into Jackson’s and A.P. Hill’s parties on the evening of May 2 were from which state?

5. Commander of the Cavalry Corps, Army of the Potomac, was this general, who set out on April 13 in a diversionary raid against the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad. Who?

6. Who was the Confederate surgeon who performed the amputation of General Jackson’s left arm?

7. Commander of the Union V Corps at Chancellorsville

was this major general, who seven weeks later would become commander of the Army of the Potomac. Who?

8. “At Chancellorsville we gained another victory; our people were wild with delight—I, on the contrary, was more depressed than after Fredericksburg; our loss was severe, and again we gained not an inch of ground and the enemy could not be pursued.” Who wrote this?

9. On his way to review the Federal army in early April, this politician heard his driver cursing at his mules. He asked the driver if he were an Episcopalian. No, came the reply; he was a Methodist. “Well, I thought you must be an Episcopalian, because you swear just like Governor Seward, who is a churchwarden.” Who said this?

10. Stonewall Jackson’s cartographer estimated that his march route to get in position for the Confederate flank attack of May 2 was ten to twelve miles. Who was the mapmaker?

Answers found on page 40. Steve Davis is the Civil War News Book Review Editor. He can be contacted by email at: SteveATL1861@yahoo.com.

Deadlines for Advertising or Editorial

Submissions is the 20th of each month. Email to ads@civilwarnews.com

Publishers: Send your book(s) for review to: CWN Book Review Editor Stephen Davis

3670 Falling Leaf Lane, Cumming, GA 30041-2087

A Way of Understanding the Lost Cause

Aberration of Mind: Suicide and Suffering in the Civil WarEra South.

By Diane Miller Sommerville. Fifteen halftone illustrations, notes, bibliography, index, 448 pp., 2018. University of North Carolina Press, www. uncpress.org. $34.95 softcover.

Reviewed by Meg Groeling

such as homesickness, boredom, a lack of privacy, exposure to the elements, illness and malnutrition. During battle they faced the need to prove their manhood in combat and after the battle, many faced injury and death—their own and the deaths of friends and relatives. Would they be able to live up to expectations, or would they tremble in fear, run away or become innervated during their trials?

More Than a Chronology

author’s command of these compelling topics is quite deep.

Aberration of the Mind is sad, and the information about the suicides of enslaved people is very troubling. Overall, the sadness and desperation of a conquered people is presented clearly.

The Last Weeks of Abraham Lincoln: A Day-By-Day Account of His Personal, Political, and Military Challenges. By David Alan Johnson. Photos, index, notes, 384pp., 2018. Prometheus Books, www.prometheusbooks. com. $28 hardcover.

With the long-awaited demise of the Lost Cause finally upon us, it is the job of historians to decipher just why and how it occurred in the first place. Diane Miller Sommerville’s book, Aberration of Mind, helps to make the picture a little clearer. An associate professor of history at Binghamton University, Sommerville has also written Rape and Race in the Nineteenth-Century South. She places her subject directly in the middle of an America that did not approve of suicide, seeing the person who committed the act as having committed a sin so terrible that forgiveness was outside the bounds of the possible. And yet the hidebound definition of “The Good Death” was being challenged at the same time. Things were not what they had been.

Sommerville’s book is divided into three parts: Confederate Men and Women during the Civil War, African American Southerners in Slavery and Freedom, and Confederate Men and Women in the Aftermath of War. Suicide was not common prior to the war, but it did exist. Violence was much more common in the South, and white men were raised believing that mastery and control were their birthright. During the war, most Southern men left their homes and joined the war effort. There they faced daily challenges

Nineteenth century Southern masculinity was demanding, and a surprising number of men who failed to live up to these ideals chose voluntary death rather than risk wearing the label of coward or failure. Even after the war, when many men returned home disabled in body and/or mind, suicide seemed a viable alternative to living as broken men, unable to provide for a family in a desolated land that no longer seemed like home. They often saw no future at all for themselves and chose suicide rather than live with failure.

Women were equally cast adrift. Bred to believe that their lives were controlled by men, and in exchange for this control they would always be safe and happy, the war came as a shock to everything they knew. Several—one hesitates to say many—women in the Confederacy were unable to cope with what was their new normal and took their own lives. Compared to the total population of the South, suicides were not a significant percentage, but there were enough for some newspapers to refer to a “suicide epidemic.”

The issue of suicide among the enslaved population had an added wrinkle. According to Southerners, slaves did not commit suicide because they were all so happy; besides, if they did, that would indicate that slaves had heartfelt feelings, just like “real people.” Suicide simply did not fit into the image of slavery held by many slaveholding Southerners. Reality, of course, was quite different. Enslaved people who killed themselves did so to put an end to personal abuse, and over unbearable situations of family dislocation. Each of these situations is amply illustrated by newspaper articles, letters, and diary entries, and accompanied by intelligent discourse. The

This book brought me as close as anything has ever done to understanding the need for the creation of Lost Cause mythology. I was particularly struck by the topic itself. I had recently read Julian Carr’s speech given at the June 2, 1913 dedication of the Confederate monument known as “Silent Sam.” It is an ode to the Lost Cause, and specifically mentions the soldiers and home front of the Confederacy:

No nobler young men ever lived; no braver soldiers ever answered the bugle call nor marched under a battle flag and the war between the states was fought, really, by the women who stayed at home. Had they uttered a cry, had they complained, the morale of Lee’s army would have been dissipated in a day.

This sort of attitude led many of those same white men and women to commit suicide, knowing they could not live up to the impossible standards elucidated by Mr. Carr. Rarely do I have much empathy for the South, but Aberration of Mind certainly caused me to consider the plight of those men and women who lost a war and still had to continue forward. For some Southerners, this was simply not possible. They chose death rather than a life of dishonor, often poverty, and confusion. Diane Miller Sommerville’s words and work make the Confederacy and her people as real as they have ever been for me, and often losing a war is more difficult than winning one when the human heart is factored in. This book is a serious step forward in the effort to understand the provenance of the Lost Cause.

Meg Groeling received her Master's Degree in Military History, with a Civil War emphasis, in 2016 from American Public University. Savas Beatie published her first book, The Aftermath of Battle: The Burial of the Civil War Dead, in the fall of 2015, and she has written First Fallen: The Life of Colonel Elmer Ellsworth, which Southern Illinois University Press has contracted for publication sometime within the next two years. She is a regular contributor to the blog Emerging Civil War.

Reviewed by Joseph Truglio

events of the day. Each chapter contains several nuggets of information not ordinarily seen. For example, “March 17” discusses Lincoln’s use of the “f” word in a discussion. This is the first time I ever read of this so boldly. Another chapter describes the first attempt at assassination. A more detailed account is of the trip to City Point and the happenings during that voyage. We are given insight into Lincoln’s mindset about the war and its aftermath. Also described in detail are the president’s dismay over Mary Todd’s emotional meltdown. Much of her mercurial personality is discussed, along with her relationships with others aboard the ship, the River Queen. Perhaps the most telling aspect concerns Lincoln’s “death dream.” The author talks freely of his dismay in the days before his assassination concerning this dream, and his resignation to this fate.

The first thing that came to mind as I started reading this book is the similarity in style to Jim Bishop’s The Day Lincoln Was Shot, written decades ago. However, all that faded as I became engulfed in this unique narrative.

The story begins on the day of Lincoln’s second inaugural and ends on the day of his death. An epilogue gives insight into the mood of the nation and what transpires under the presidency of Andrew Johnson. Each of the forty-three days covered is detailed in separate chapters. Some are only a page or two, while others consist of several to many pages. The length is determined by

There is much more! Perhaps the most interesting tale is of an incident at City Point, Va. of a possible attempt on his life by John Surratt. Johnson makes a valiant effort to place you inside Lincoln’s thought process through these difficult times. Another fine point is Lincoln’s discussion with General Grant on reconstruction and his position of “letting them up easy.”

Overall, this is a fascinating look at the last days of Lincoln’s life. This effort is another welcome addition to the plethora of works on Lincoln and the Civil War. I heartily recommend that you add this one to your library.

Joseph Truglio, of Manchester, N.J., is a past president of the Phil Kearny Civil War Round Table.

Small Talk Trivia Answers

1. Maj. Gen. Oliver Otis Howard (1830–1909).

2. Brig. Gen. Elisha Franklin Paxton (1828–1863).

3. Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker (1814–1879).

4. North Carolina.

5. Maj. Gen. George Stoneman (1822–1894).

6. Dr. Hunter Holmes McGuire (1835–1900).

7. Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade (1815–1872).

8. Gen. Robert E. Lee. The source is General Harry Heth’s letter to J. William Jones, June 1877, published in the Southern Historical Society Papers, vol. 4, no. 4 (October 1877), 154.

9. Pres. Abraham Lincoln.

10. Capt. Jedediah Hotchkiss (1828–1899).

An Unsung Hero Provides Timely and Accurate Intelligence to Union Commanders

Major General George H. Sharpe and the Creation of American Military Intelligence in the Civil War. By Peter G. Tsouras, Notes, bibliography, index, appendices, maps, 582 pp., 2018. Casemate Publishers, www.casemate publishers.com. $34.95 hardcover.

Reviewed by Thomas J. Ryan

When Maj. Gen. George G. Meade replaced Hooker as army commander in June 1863, the BMI continued to produce intelligence that contributed essential information facilitating Meade’s victory over Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at Gettysburg. Subsequently, Meade chose to downgrade the role of Sharpe and the BMI as intelligence providers, and ill-advisedly decided to serve as his own intelligence chief. This was a mistake that led to the strategic and tactical advantage shifting in favor of Lee’s army.

wisely.

Although this story has been told in part by Edwin C. Fishel in The Secret War for the Union: The Untold Story of Military Intelligence in the Civil War (1996) and by William B. Feis’s Grant’s Secret Service: The Intelligence War from Belmont to Appomattox (2005), Peter Tsouras has unearthed numerous primary sources that should lead to a reassessment of current studies regarding the Overland Campaign and the battles in the east that led to the end of the war.

The Story of a Proud Virginia Regiment

Independence or Annihilation, “The Gallant Sixtieth”: Campaigns of the 60th Virginia Regiment of Infantry. By William L. Caynor, Sr. Maps, photos, footnotes, sources. Two volumes: Vol. I, 447 pages; Vol. II, 500 pages, 2018. Civil War Collectibles LLC. www.60thvirginiainfantryregiment. com. $35 per vol. hardcover; $25 per vol. softcover.

Reviewed by H. V. Traywick, Jr.

Thanks to his copious research, Peter G. Tsouras has produced a study that should motivate a reexamination of scholarship about combat in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia from 1863 to 1865 during the Civil War. His exhaustive biography of George H. Sharpe enhances our knowledge of the Bureau of Military Information (BMI), the intelligence staff of the Army of the Potomac and later an integral part of Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s army command headquarters.

In early 1863, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker selected Col. George H. Sharpe, commander of the 120th New York Regiment, to organize an intelligence staff. Given Sharpe’s temperament and background as a lawyer in civilian life, this was a wise choice. Sharpe assembled a group of scouts and analysts who gathered information from a variety of sources and produced timely and accurate reports about the enemy.

The troubled relationship between Meade and the BMI led newly appointed General-inChief Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant to reassign Sharpe to his staff as chief of intelligence for the Union armies arrayed against Richmond. Unshackled from Meade’s restraints, Sharpe developed an intelligence-gathering network that fed a steady stream of vital information about Lee’s army to Grant that helped him plan and implement effective offensive and defensive operations.

The story is told in detail from the perspective of daring individuals involved in the collection of information about the strength, disposition, and intentions of Confederate forces—often while operating behind enemy lines in the guise of Southern patriots or combatants. It was Col. Sharpe, however, who recruited, organized, directed, and rewarded these stalwart individuals. Together they collected information that allowed Grant to outmaneuver Lee—despite the fact that Lee was also adept at employing agents to gather information and track enemy movements.

Sharpe played an integral role in providing Union army commanders with the intelligence to make sound decisions on the battlefield from Chancellorsville to Petersburg and, eventually, to Appomattox. Yet Hooker, Meade and Grant, to their detriment, did not always use this information

Thus the author brings George H. Sharpe out of the shadows, and credits him with playing a pivotal role in Union success on the battlefield. He underscores the contention Sharpe was a significant contributor to the Northern victory over Southern forces by highlighting his postwar life as a productive citizen, especially in political circles at the state and national level. Sharpe’s admiration for Grant was mutual, and they remained friends and colleagues in later years. Sharpe’s attachment to his wartime regiment, the 120th New York, was also heartfelt, and he was in demand as a speaker for Civil War veteran organizations, as well as civic groups.

Tsouras makes a case that the North was unlikely to have been victorious without the BMIproduced intelligence over the final two years of the war. The author is to be commended for documenting the life of George H. Sharpe, and his special talent for producing actionable intelligence that had a direct effect on the outcome of the Civil War.

Thomas J. Ryan is the author of Spies, Scouts, and Secrets in the Gettysburg Campaign: How the Critical Role of Intelligence Impacted the Outcome of Lee’s Invasion of the North, June-July 1863.

This is a two-volume expansion of a previous one-volume work on this Virginia regiment (2016; reviewed in Civil War News, May 2017). The author is a descendant of several members of the 60th, including the last commander to lead it in battle. Far more than a recitation of the regiment’s campaigns, Volume I is a living document that opens a portal into its times, and introduces the reader to various members of the unit, while integrating them, with interesting personal vignettes, into the broader narrative of events prior to, during and after the war. Volume II includes detailed biographies, photos, and statistical information on the members of the command.

The 60th Virginia was comprised of men from the counties that now lie on either side of the Virginia – West Virginia border. As such, they faced in battle some of their neighbors and kinsmen who served in Union units from West Virginia, making for them a war that was truly “brother against brother.”

The regiment served throughout the war, including the first campaign in the western Virginia mountains in 1861, the bloody Seven Days Battles around Richmond in 1862, and Jubal

Early’s Valley Campaign of 1864. In February of the last disastrous winter of the Confederacy—with the Valley burned by Sheridan, with Lee’s starving but defiant army under siege at Petersburg, and with Sherman’s army burning and raping its way up from Georgia through the Carolinas— the spirit of the 60th Virginia remained undaunted. In “A Message from the Army of the Valley of Virginia,” they unanimously adopted resolutions that justify the title of these volumes. In Article I they resolved: “That in the beginning of this revolution we volunteered in response to the first call of our country to battle for the sovereign right of self-government, and that, after four years of terrible war with the savage foe who seeks our subjugation, we are still firm in our determination to achieve our independence or to perish nobly struggling for it.”

The many images of these men in this work--some in uniform, but many taken long after the war was over—show that they were no “snowflakes” in need of “safe spaces and coloring books” when their fortunes turned against them. They were men of iron in battle, and Mr. Caynor’s work might well be considered as much a character study of the soldiers of the 60th Virginia Regiment as a history of its campaigns. The obviously enormous and detailed research that has gone into these volumes shows the unmistakably personal connection the author has to his subject, and one can tell that his thorough, comprehensive and scholarly research has been a labor of love.

H. V. Traywick, Jr., of Richmond, Va., is author/editor of Empire of the Owls: Reflections on the North’s War against Southern Secession (2013); Virginia Iliad: The Death and Destruction of “The Mother of States and of Statesmen” (2016); A Southern Soldier Boy: The Diary of Beaufort Simpson Buzhardt (2017); and The Monumental Truth: Five Essays on Confederate Monuments in the Age of Progressive Identity Politics (2018).

Deadline for submissions and advertising is the 20th of each month for the following Civil War News issue.

“…a well written, readable account of a brigade-level engagement”

The Battle of Ball’s Bluff: All the Drowned Soldiers. By Bill Howard. Maps, photos, endnotes, bibliography, 189 pp., 2018. The History Press, www.historypress. com. $23.99 softcover.

Reviewed by John Michael Priest

ever read about Ball’s Bluff –The Battle of Ball’s Bluff (1985).

I marveled at the tiny National Cemetery there and thoroughly enjoyed the hike along the trails, all the while watching where I placed my feet to avoid possibly stepping on a snake. I cannot help but think what the soldiers from Massachusetts thought as they scaled the trail from the river to the bluffs on October 21, 1861.

A Truly Western Arch Rebel

including once in the chest. Eleven months later at Antietam he received another one through the back of the neck. The fiery William Barksdale commanded the 13th Mississippi regiment there.

“An Arch Rebel Like Myself”: Dan Showalter and the Civil War in California and Texas. By Gene C. Armistead and Robert D. Arconti. Illustrations, maps, notes, bibliography, index, 246 pp., 2018. McFarland, www.mcfarlandpub.com. $39.95 softcover.

Today Ball’s Bluff battlefield is a small regional park on the banks of the Potomac River near Leesburg, Virginia. Surrounded by urban development, it contains the third smallest national cemetery in the United States. I have not been there in a couple of decades, but I still recall its primitive beauty, the wooded bluffs and the bare, rocky ledges high above the river. Our guide was Kim Holien, the author of the first work I had

Bill Howard’s The Battle of Ball’s Bluff: All the Drowned Soldiers, the newest book on the subject, is a well-written, readable account of a brigadelevel engagement on a rocky, wooded ledge above the Potomac River. It involved an impressive number of Civil War notables, a couple of whom fell during the engagement. Colonel Edward D. Baker (senator from Oregon), a personal friend of Abraham Lincoln, commanded what later became the Philadelphia Brigade and died in battle that day. Eighteen-year-old Second Lieutenant John William “Willie” Grout (Company D, 15th Massachusetts), evacuating the wounded to the Maryland side of the Potomac, died while trying to swim the current. The plaintive song “The Vacant Chair” was written in his memory. Oliver Wendell Holmes, son of the Transcendentalist poet, was hit four times during the battle,

Author Howard carefully explains the days preceding the battle as well as its aftermath. His book is thoroughly illustrated with photographs of the participants and has a number of nicely produced, though, small maps. I liked the book and learned something I did not know: Battery B, 1st Rhode Island was armed with six bronze 12-pounder rifled James guns. (I had always thought they were 10-pounders.)

The Battle of Ball’s Bluff is a fascinating account of a footnote in Civil War military history. Occurring three months to the day after First Manassas, it resulted in another Confederate victory in Virginia and a humiliating defeat for the Federal army.

John Michael Priest, of Clear Spring, Md., is the author of, among other works, Antietam: The Soldiers’ Battle.

Reviewed by Lawrence

K. Peterson

Lt. Col. Dan Showalter was a lesser known character in the Civil War West and Far West. Perhaps he is best known for leading the small Confederate force at the skirmish at Palmito Ranch, Texas, September 6 and 7, 1864. His Confederate service was otherwise largely unremarkable.

Born in Pennsylvania, prior to his Confederate service, he moved to Mariposa County,

California, working as a miner, and won election to the State Assembly. Voting against a resolution to keep California in the Union, he was challenged to a duel. While he won the duel by killing his opponent Charles Piercy, this made him a fugitive and he escaped first to Los Angles, and then east to join the Confederate forces there. He rose to command a regiment, the 4th Arizona Cavalry. He led his regiment at Palmito Hill or Ranch; but apparently drunk, he was relieved of his command. After the war he moved to Mazatlán, Mexico, and briefly managed a hotel there. He died of lockjaw as a result of a bar fight in 1866. Showalter’s life has proved difficult to document. Authors Gene Armistead and Robert Arconti must be commended on the very extensive research they conducted and the voluminous notes documenting their findings. They utilized a very extensive bibliography. Unfortunately, they were stymied by relatively few documents confirming many portions of Showalter’s life. As a result, they were forced to often speculate as to what likely happened. While this speculation is based on their extensive research, unfortunately, it remains speculation.

The authors heavily document Showalter’s time and actions in the California Assembly as well as the duel noted above. They do their best to examine him as a person and as a possible alcoholic. For those interested in Showalter himself, the California State Assembly in the 1850’s, and the limited Civil War activities in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, this work will provide a wealth of valuable detail.

Lawrence K. (Larry) Peterson is the author of Confederate Combat Commander: The Remarkable Life of Brigadier General Alfred Jefferson Vaughan Jr.; Decisions at Chattanooga: The Nineteen Critical Decisions that Defined the Battle; Decisions of the Atlanta Campaign: The Twenty-one Critical Decisions that Defined the Operation; and Decisions of the 1862 Kentucky Campaign: The Twenty-seven Critical Decisions that Defined the Operation, all part of the University of Tennessee Press’ Command Decisions in America’s Civil War series. He is president of the Rocky Mountain Civil War Round Table.

The SCV Confederate Medal of Honor

By Stephen Davis Special to Civil War News

On February 23, Col. Hume R. Feild (1834–1921) became the sixty-fourth veteran of the War Between the States to be bestowed the Confederate Medal of Honor.

The modern-day Medal came about by a resolution passed in August 1968 at the Seventy-third General Convention of the Sons of Confederate Veterans, held in Nashville. The award was to be bestowed on Confederate soldiers or sailors for whom applicants could provide “incontestable proof of deeds performed above and beyond the call of duty at the peril of one’s life,” in the words of Gregg S. Clemmer, author of Valor in Gray: The Recipients of the Confederate Medal of Honor (1996).

The first Confederate Medal of Honor was bestowed in memory of Pvt. Samuel Davis (1842-Nov. 27, 1863), the young Tennessean hanged as a spy by Federal troops at Pulaski, Tenn. In the formal Confederate Medal of Honor citation accompanying the application on behalf of Private Davis, his final words were quoted. Just before the noose was placed around his neck, Davis was asked one last time if he would name his secret informants.

“Do you suppose I would betray a friend?” Davis answered. “No, sir, I would die a thousand deaths first!”

Recipients of subsequent medals are Maj. John Pelham for his courage in the battle of Fredericksburg and Maj. Gen. Patrick R. Cleburne at Franklin. There are lesser-known awardees, too; Emmeran Bliemel, Chaplain of the10th Tennessee was honored for his sacrifice at Jonesboro, Ga., on Aug. 31, 1864. Ministering to a dying man in the midst of the battle, Father Bliemel was killed by an artillery shell.

Hume Feild was nominated by twenty-eight-year-old Justin Smith, a first cousin, six generations removed. The medal application prepared by Smith demonstrates zeal, commitment, and discipline, plus a lot of hard work. Spiral-bound, seventy-six pages in length, the booklet is divided into five sections.

The SCV’s nomination form is brief and straightforward, asking for an explanation of the proposed honoree’s distinguished deed or action. Smith surveyed Feild’s war record, from captain of Co. K, 1st Tennessee to colonel commanding the 1st/27th Tennessee Consolidated Infantry

Regiment.

In particular, Smith detailed Colonel Feild’s act of valor at the “Dead Angle” in the battle of Kennesaw Mountain, June 27, 1864, during the Atlanta Campaign. As explained by Sam Watkins in his famed memoir Co. “Aytch,” “Colonel H. R. Feild was loading and shooting the same as any private in the ranks when he fell off the skid from which he was shooting right over my shoulder, shot through the head. I laid him down in the trench and he said, ‘Well, Sam, they have got me at last, but I have killed fifteen of them; time about is fair play I reckon.”

As Justin explains, Feild recovered from his wound and resumed command of his regiment, leading it through Hood’s Tennessee Campaign and beyond. Surrendering with Johnston’s Army of Tennessee, he received his parole at Greensboro, N.C., almost four years to the day from his enlistment.

The Sons of Confederate Veterans requires the applicant to provide published materials, records, and documents substantiating the nominee’s deed. Justin accordingly included a Sam Watkins article in Confederate Veteran on the fight at the Dead Angle, copies of the colonel’s after-action reports in the Official Records, articles about Feild in postwar newspapers, and his biographical sketch in Confederate Military History, among other sources. He even photocopied and bound Feild’s Compiled Military Service Record from the National Archives.

One SCV requirement is that the applicant will have arranged with an institution, such as a

library or museum, for the permanent display of the Confederate Medal of Honor in the event that the judging committee votes in favor of the award.

Justin arranged for Colonel Feild’s medal to be displayed at the Bell Research Center in Cumming, Ga. The BRC is a well-kept secret: an extensive Civil War library and museum, where Justin conducted most of his research. The Center is owned and operated by SCV Camp 1642, named after Col. Hiram Parks Bell. Smith even included color photographs of the BRC, its library holdings, and weapons display case.

In July 2018, Smith mailed his application booklet to the Chairman of the SCV’s Confederate Medal of Honor Committee. After he secured its approving vote, he, the Bell Center, and Camp 1642 planned an impressive ceremony for formal reception of the medal. Held in Cumming this past February 23, dozens gathered for invocation, words of welcome from SCV officers, and an address of tribute delivered by Smith (2nd Lt. Commander of the Hiram Parks Bell Camp).

I asked Justin how he came to be so motivated to secure his ancestor’s recognition. He answered that “stories of valor like these must be preserved. The soldiers who have been awarded this medal represent men who served but whose stories were never penned nor remembered.”

“I encourage everyone,” Justin told me, “to tell their ancestors’ stories, to preserve the legend of Confederate soldiers’ valor in defense of their homes and for their cause.”

Justin Smith of Cumming, Ga., stands next to the Confederate Medal of Honor bestowed by the Sons of Confederate Veterans to his ancestor, Col. Hume R. Feild.

Ralph Mills, Commander of the SCV Camp 1404, presents to Justin the flag that was draped over the Medal.

(Photos by Jim Dean, Forsyth County News)

2nd Lt. Commander Justin Smith, Col. Hiram Parks Bell Camp 1642, delivered the tribute to Col. Hume R. Feild.

Shown with the award is mounted the photograph of Colonel Feild, 1st/27th Tennessee Consolidated Infantry.

Before making plans to attend any event contact the event host.

Deadlines for Advertising, Editorial or Events Submissions is the 20th of each month.

We strive to add all events submitted to us but do not guarantee that your event will be published. There is a 100 word maximum for each event. Email events to: ads@civilwarnews.com

April 12-14, North Carolina. Symposium

22nd Annual Salisbury Confederate Prison Symposium sponsored by the Robert F. Hoke Chapter 78, UDC. Event begins on Friday with Friendship Banquet, 3 lectures, music, and recognition of veterans. On Saturday there will be 4 lectures, lunch, door prizes, displays and books. Sunday there is a 10 a.m. Memorial Service for prisoners at the Salisbury National Cemetery and an 11 a.m. Service for guards at the Old Lutheran Cemetery. Tour of Prison site after lunch. $70 per person when postmarked by Mar. 22, $80 afterwards. Send checks to Robert F. Hoke Chapter 78, UDC, PO Box 83, Salisbury, NC 28145. For info; Sue Curtis 704-637-6411, southpawsagain@gmail.com.

April 14, Pennsylvania. Annual Symposium

General George G. Meade – Life & Legacy will be held at the Conservatory at West Laurel Hill Cemetery in Bala Cynwyd. For information; Jerry McCormick 215-848-7753; ged-winmc@msn.com.

April 27-28, Alabama. Thunder on the Bay 2019

Come celebrate the upcoming 155th Battle of Mobile Bay Sponsored by the 6th Alabama Cavalry and the Alabama Division of Reenactors. Event will be held at Fort Gaines Historic Site, 51 Bienvile Blvd, Dauphin Island, Alabama 36528. Battle will be held Sat. at 2 p.m. and a surrender ceremony at 3 p.m. On Sunday, there will be a 1 p.m. tactical. For information; 251-861-6992, via facebook (fb.com/fort Gaines) or call 251-861-6992.

41st Annual Southeastern Civil War

Antique Gun Show

548 S. Marietta Parkway, S.E., Marietta, Georgia 30060

Free Parking

$6 for Adults

Veterans and Children under 10 Free

Over 230 8 Foot Tables of:

• Dug Relics

• Guns and Swords

• Books

• Frameable Prints

• Metal Detectors

• Artillery Items

• Currency

August 10 & 11, 2019

Saturday 9–5

Sunday 9–3

Inquires: NGRHA Attn.: Show Chairman P.O. Box 503 Marietta, GA 30061 terryraymac@hotmail.com

April 27, Illinois. Civil War Show and Sale

Zurko Promotions presents The National Civil War Collectors Spring Show and Sale which will be held at the DuPage County Fairgrounds in Wheaton. Hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $9 – includes admission to the CADA Collector Arms Dealers Assoc. Show. For information; www.chicagocivilwarshow.com.

May 1-4, Maryland. 6th Annual National Ed Bearss Symposium on Military Leadership & Combat Featuring Ted Alexander, Steve Bockmiller, Dr. Richard Sommers, Martin West & others based in Chambersburg, Pa. Special guest Edwin C. Bearss will also join us. Exploring American military history! Tours of the following: Civil War sites in southern Pennsylvania including Monterey Pass; military history sites in Washington County, Maryland, including the Hagerstown Aviation Museum; the Forbes Campaign of 1758 featuring stops at Fort Ligonier, Bushy Run Battlefield and more. Talks also given by the historians listed above. For info visit www.CivilWarSeminars.org.

May 4-5, New York. Artillery School

The 31st Annual Artillery School will take place, at Old Fort Niagara in Youngstown, New York. Open to all branches of service, both Federal and Confederate. Registration fee is $7. Sponsored by the National Civil War Artillery Association and Reynolds’ Battery L. For information; Rick Lake, rlake413@aol.com or 585-208-1839. Registration Forms and additional information can be found at: www.reynoldsbattery.org.

May 4-5, Ohio. Civil War Show and Sale

42nd Annual Ohio Civil War Show & 25th Annual Artillery Show at Richland County Fairgrounds, Mansfield, Sat. 9-5, Sun. 9-3. Living history, cannon firing, field hospital, music, demonstrations. $7 ages 12 up. Seven buildings – One Gate Admission, Food and Handicapped Facilities, 30-Gun Artillery Show – Indoor/Outdoor, 6-Gun Battery Firing Demonstrations, Sutler’s Row, Civil War Field Hospital by the Society of Civil War Surgeons. Period Church Service Sun. Morning with Period String Music, Abe Lincoln Live Presentations, Living History Campfire by Brigade of American Revolution, 8th Pennsylvania Regiment, Period Music by Camp Chase Fife & Drums. For info; call 419-884-2194; or visit the website www.ohiocivilwarshow.com.

May 17-19, Georgia. Reenactment

The 155th Anniversary “Battle of Resaca” reenactment will be held on over 650 acres of the original battlefield. This event will have main camps located within the original US and CS lines. Camping allowed in or near the breastworks. Amenities include straw, hay and firewood; food and ice on site. The planned activities include main battles both days at 2 p.m., period dance, medical demo’s, cavalry competition, ladies’ tea, civilian refugee camp, period church services and a memorial service at the Confederate cemetery. Handicapped parking is available. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the preservation efforts of the Friends of Resaca Battlefield, Inc. A $150 bounty will be paid to the first fourteen 57-inch cannon and crews registered by May 1st. Reenactor registration fee is $10 due by May 1. For more information, www.georgiadivision.org or Battle of Resaca, P.O. Box 0919, Resaca, GA 30735-0919.

May 17-19, Virginia. Period Firearms Competition

The North-South Skirmish Association 139th National Competition near Winchester. Over 3,000 uniformed competitors in 200-member units compete in live-fire matches with muskets, carbines, revolvers, mortars and cannon plus costume competitions and historical lectures. The largest Civil War live-fire event in the country. Free admission, large sutler area, and food service. For information; www.n-ssa.org.

May 18-19, Virginia, Reenactment

Come join us for the 155th Anniversary Battle of New Market Reenactment, the nation’s oldest continual reenactment fought on the original battlefield. Reenactment battles held at 2:30 on Saturday, May 18th and at 1:00 on Sunday the 19th. Learn about the action in which 257 Cadets from the Virginia Military Institute made the difference between victory and defeat. Be sure to visit the Virginia Museum of the Civil War, the historic Bushong Farm and don’t forget to stroll through the camps or buying that special 19th century item on Sutler’s Row. For information: https://www.vmi.edu/museums-and-archives/virginia-museum-of-the-civil-war.

May 26, Pennsylvania. Annual Memorial Day Observed at Historic Laurel Hill Cemetery

Recreating the Original G.A.R. Decoration Day Service of 1868: The traditional Decoration Day service of the Grand Army Meade Post #1 will be recreated at Historic Laurel Hill Cemetery, 3822 Ridge Ave. Philadelphia at 12 noon. For information; 215-228-8200.

May 31-June 2, West Virginia. Battle of Philippi Reenactment Walk through the Covered Bridge that was a focus of McClellan’s Campaign in Western Virginia and the town that was the site of the first land battle of the War. Grant, Stonewall, Mark Twain to visit. Friday: Walking History, firemen’s parade, music. Saturday: Ladies tea, little soldiers’ battle, skirmish at bridge, reenactor’s dinner, ball, night canon fire, and skirmish. Sunday: 1861 church service, battle on original site. Simulated amputations throughout the weekend. For information; blueandgrayreunion.org and on Facebook.

June 1-2, Pennsylvania. Lehigh Valley Civil War Days

The 11th Camp Geiger Reenactment will be held at Whitehall Pkwy., Whitehall, Pa. There will be a battle reenactment each day. This will include fighting in trenches and a tactical. Living History Street. Medical demos, historical personages, children’s activities and more. Period music and speakers each day. Sat. evening period dance. Sutlers and food vendor will be on site to serve reenactors and spectators. Water & wood is provided. Ice & straw available for small fee. Sutlers by invitation only. Registration fees – $10 until May 15, $15 after May 15. Sutler fees – $50 until Apr. 15, $75 Apr. 15 – May 15. No sutler registration after May 15. For information and registration forms visit our website at www.friendsofcampgeiger.webs.com.

June 1-2, Virginia. 155th Anniversary – The Action at Wilson’s Wharf

Pocahontas was the site of the May 24, 1864 Action in which United States Colored Troops defended the fort they built against an assault by Fitzhugh Lee’s Confederate Cavalry. Open to the public 10-4 Sat. and 10-3 Sun. $10/adults, $8/students. Battle reenactments 1 p.m. both days. Civil War living history weekend including a dress parade, mortar demonstration and family activities. For reenactors: campsites with James River views, Proud Hound Commissary, Friday night Officer’s Social, Saturday night live music, artillery fire and tactical. Free T-shirts. Discounted early

registration by May 24. www.fortpocahontas.org.

June 1-2, Pennsylvania. Civil War Event at Pennypacker Mills

Daily battle, artillery demonstrations, military encampments, Civilian Street demos, performance on Sat. by the 28th PA Regimental Brass Band, music & songs on Sun. by Matthew Dodd. Herb Kaufman will speak on Civil War medicine. Mansion tours, museum shop and food vendor onsite. Free to the public. $2/person until May 1. $10/ person after May 1. Under 16, Free. Sutlers’ fee $25.00. Free firewood, water, straw & cake on Sat. For information 610-287-9349. Registration forms at www.ppmcivilwar.org.

June 8-9, Mississippi. Civil War Relic Show

Brandon’s 5th Interactive Civil War Relic Show sponsored by SCV Camp #265 will be held at City Hall located at 1000 Municipal Drive, Brandon. For information; contact Tim Cupit at 769-234-2966 or timcupit@comcast.net.

June 29-30, Pennsylvania. Civil War Show

Sat. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., Sun. 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Eisenhower Hotel & Conference Center Allstar Expo Complex, 2638 Emmitsburg Road, Gettysburg. The Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association’s Artifact and Collector’s Show features more than 200 vendors and over 300 tables of artifacts, swords, firearms, correspondence, books, photographs, documents and much more. Daily admission: Adults: $8. Children 12 and under free. Vendors contact: bsynnamon@gmail.com or call 717-334-2350. For more information visit www.uniondb.com or www.gbpa.org. Email: info@gbpa.org.

July 20, Virginia. 155th Anniversary Commemoration

On Saturday, July 20, Shenandoah University’s McCormick Civil War Institute will commemorate the 155th anniversary of the Battle of Cool Spring at the University’s Cool Spring Campus, 1400 Parker Lane, Bluemont, Va. This event, free and open to the public, will feature a morning walking tour of the battle with Jonathan Noyalas (Shenandoah University). The afternoon will feature presentations by Jennifer Murray (Oklahoma State University) and Jonathan White (Christopher Newport University). At 3 p.m. MCWI will unveil “Through Their Eyes: An Augmented Reality Experience at Cool Spring.” No pre-registration required. Questions, email jnoyalas01@su.edu or 540-665-4501.

July 23-28, Maryland. Conference, Antietam: The Bloodiest Day

Featuring Ted Alexander, Scott Hartwig, Tom Clemens, Carol Reardon, Dennis Frye, John Michael Priest, Steve Recker, John Schildt and others based in Hagerstown, Md. Join us for the largest Antietam conference ever held led by expert historians! Detailed battlefield walks and specialized tours of the campaign such as Crampton’s Gap, Harpers Ferry, the C&O Canal during wartime, the Battle of Shepherdstown and more. Talks also given by the historians listed above. The full itinerary & pricing available on www.CivilWarSeminars.org.

July 27-28, Tennessee. Civil War Show and Sale

American Digger® Magazine’s Chattanooga Civil War & Artifact Show, Camp Jordan Arena, 323 Camp Jordan Pkwy., East Ridge, Tenn. Info: 770-362-8671 or 716-574-0465; email anita@americandigger.com or kesmas@ localnet.com.

Aug. 3, Alabama. 155th Battle of Mobile Bay Commemorative Day

The well-preserved ramparts of Fort Gaines have guarded the entrance to Mobile Bay for more than 160 years. Now a fascinating historic site, the Fort stands at the eastern tip of Dauphin Island where it commands panoramic views of the bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The event highlights Fort Gaines integral role in the Battle of Mobile Bay. The cannon will be fired every forty-five minutes in honor of the soldiers that fought in this pivotal battle. A living history day for the whole family. Demonstrations will be held all day in the Fort’s Blacksmith Shop.

Aug. 10-11, Georgia. Civil War Show and Sale

41st Annual show in Marietta at the Cobb County Civic Center, 548 S. Marietta Parkway, S.E., Marietta, Ga. 30060, hosted by the North Ga. Relic Hunters. $5 for adults; kids free. For more information see our ad on this page or visit www.NGRHA.com.

Aug. 31 & Sept. 1, New York. Reenactment

Civil War Reenactment at Museum Village, 1010 State Route 17M, Monroe, NY 10950. Looking for reenactors. Application is available at www.museumvillage.org. For information; Contact Christine Egan, 845-782-8248, ext. 5.

Sept. 21-22, Pennsylvania. Fall Farm Skirmish

Historic Daniel Lady Farm, 1008 Hanover St. Gettysburg, Pa. Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., Sunday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. In honor of its 60th Anniversary, the Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association will host a live action and living history program that will include Confederate and Union encampments and skirmishing on the hallowed ground of the Historic Daniel Lady Farm in Gettysburg. Over 500 reenactors will present the Battle of Antietam’s “Bloody Lane” along with a cavalry reenactment and other clashes during the two-day program. Adults: $15 for a one-day pass and $25 for a two-day pass. Children 15 and under free. Includes tours of the historic Daniel Lady farmhouse and barn. For information, www.gbpa.org. Email: events@gbpa.org.

Sept. 28, Pennsylvania. Ride for Monument Preservation

Soldier’s Grove, Pennsylvania Capitol Building East Wing. The 19th Annual Ride for the Monuments from Harrisburg to Gettysburg is sponsored by the Alliance of Bikers Aimed Toward Education (A.B.A.T.E.). It supports the Pennsylvania Gettysburg Monuments Trust for maintenance and upkeep of more than 140 monuments and markers on the battlefield that memorialize the actions of Pennsylvania troops. A portion also benefits upkeep of the Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association’s Historic Daniel Lady Farm. Registration begins at 11 a.m. outside the State Capitol Building’s East Wing. Welcoming ceremony: 12:15 p.m. Ride departure: 1 p.m. Open to all interested riders. Rain or shine. Registration $10. For information, www.gbpa.org and www.abatepa.org.

Sept. 29, Illinois. Civil War Show and Sale

Zurko Promotions presents The National Civil War Collectors Fall Show and Sale which will be held at the DuPage

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