Volume 39, number 6
March 2018
Grand River Times The Newsletter of the Grand Rapids Historical Society Inside this issue:
Grant’s Canal: The Union’s Attempt to Bypass Vicksburg
Cover Story: March program Letter from our President page 2
Civil War Research Project page 2 Women’s History Month page 4 Happening in History page 6 Search: Grand Rapids Historical Society
Next program: After the
March program, the Grand Rapids Historical Society’s next program will be on April 12, 2018 at the Grand Rapids Public Library. Christine Byron and Tom Wilson be speaking about: Grand Rapids—Gateway to the Playground of the Nation: A Look Back at Promoting the City and West Michigan. Grand River Times
PRESENTED BY: David Bastian Thursday, March 8, 2018, 7:00 p.m. The Setting: When the War Between the States broke out in 1861, Vicksburg, Mississippi was a small town by today’s standards but at the time it was a major port along the Mississippi River. Its prominence as a river town was enhanced by being one of only three river towns located within the Confederacy served by rail on both sides of the river. There were no highways at this time. Waterways – rivers and canals – were where the greatest tonnage of traffic moved within the United States. This was followed by rail. Thus Vicksburg, with the Mississippi River could participate in north-south traffic while the railways provided eastwest transportation. Simply put, Vicksburg was a major transportation hub. Geologically and topographically, Vicksburg was located on commanding bluffs overlooking a large bend in the River. The bluffs elevated Vicksburg above the annual Mississippi River floods but interfered with landside traffic. These loess bluffs had a peculiar characteristic. Their soil properties are such that they have almost perpendicularly slopes and this came to be a tremendous defensive asset as the war reached Vicksburg. Continued on page 3 1
GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY Dear GRHS Members, Members of the Board of Trustees have an interest in local history, that is why they agree to be on the board. Most of them have research projects or special interests that take up some of their spare time. This month we are featuring our Treasurer John Gelderloos, who has a special interest in Civil War history. The Grand River Times is the newsletter of the Grand Rapids Historical Society, published six times annually. Established in 1894, the Grand Rapids Historical Society is dedicated to exploring the history of West Michigan; to discover its romance and tragedy, its heroes and scoundrels, its leaders and its ordinary citizens. The Society collects and preserves our heritage, passing it on to new generations through books, lectures, and education projects. Executive Committee: Gina Bivins, president Matthew Daley, vice-president John Gelderloos, treasurer Nan Schichtel, secretary Board members: Alan Bennett Charles Bocskey Thomas Dilley Marilyn Hamill Chris Kaupa Gordon Olson, emeritus Wilhelm Seeger, emeritus Jeff Sytsma Jim Winslow Tony Wright Kurt Yost Jessica Riley, editor Grand Rapids Historical Society c/o Grand Rapids Public Library 111 Library St. NE Grand Rapids, MI 49503
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By: John Gelderloos Everyone needs positive reinforcement, at least occasionally, to let us know that what we’re doing is valued by someone. This reinforcement may come in the form of a paycheck to those in the workforce. The rewards can be a bit more elusive for other endeavors. As a volunteer Civil War Indexer/Cataloger for the Grand Rapids Public Library and Grand Rapids Public Museum I have spent a decade or so doing work that seems sometimes like drudgery and makes me want to doze off (like entering dozens of names from pension lists into a database). But when the rewards come, they make me feel like I am doing something valuable. While spending a few years indexing the Carl Bajema Civil War Clippings collection I would often say to myself, “What difference will it make if I just skip entering all these names from the pension lists, who cares anyway?” Then I would show up for my next shift and Ruth Van Stee would tell me someone found their ancestor in the Index or found an article by using it. All right, maybe it is worth my time. Continued on page 5
About the Grand Rapids Historical Society. The Grand Rapids Historical Society sponsors eight programs each year, beginning in September and running through May, including lectures, audio/video presentations, demonstrations, collections, or special tours.
Membership. Membership is open to all interested persons with annual dues of $30 per family, $20 for seniors and students, or $400 for a lifetime membership. The membership year runs from May to the following May. Members of the Grand Rapids Historical Society receive eight newsletters each year and a subscription to our annual magazine, Grand River Valley History. Members also receive a 20% discount on books published by the society as well as books published by the Grand Rapids Historical Commission. Change of Address. If you will be permanently or temporarily moving to a new address, please notify GRHS before your change occurs. Let us know your new address and the date you plan to leave and plan to return. Email to grhs.local@gmail.com, or mail to Grand Rapids Historical Society, c/o Grand Rapids Public Library, 111 Library Street NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503 2
GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY Continued from cover Across the river from Vicksburg was a long and very narrow peninsula. This was Louisiana and the land was an alluvial flood plain. The length of this peninsula was about 10 miles and it was about 1 ½ miles wide. Vicksburg was opposite and slightly downstream of the “point” of the peninsula. The unique setting was that the loess bluffs are on the east bank of the Mississippi but recede at Memphis, Tennessee and rejoin at Vicksburg and continue, except for minor breaks, down to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. So from the point of the bend and several miles south, Vicksburg had a commanding overlook of the river. As mentioned earlier, the elevation of Vicksburg afforded by the bluffs, allowed residents to watch the annual 48-foot rise and fall of the river stages. The massive conveyance of water by Ol’ Man River varied with river stage and river velocities were greatest at the higher stages. The other characteristic of river hydraulics is that the fastest surface currents were on the downstream outside bend of each meander – and in this case – along Vicksburg’s waterfront. These natural geographic, geologic and hydraulic characteristics; and human transportation developments were to take on new importance when the United States split apart. Vicksburg becomes a Target During 1861 the Union devised a plan to strangle the Confederacy which they named the Anaconda Plan. This called for blockading Rebel coastal ports and cutting the South in two by taking control of the Mississippi River. In early 1862, the Confederate-expected river advance of the Union started moving down the Mississippi River. The two Union fleets of Davis’ ironclads and Ellett’s rams seemed to barely inch down river. However, quite unexpectedly, Flag Officer Farragut became tired of blockading the Mouth of the Mississippi and boldly towed or floated most of his wooden warships across the neglected shoals at the mouth of the Mississippi, proceeded 100 miles upriver and captured New Orleans without a shot! Grand River Times
Now the “golden boy” decided to continue upriver without river pilots. Fighting flood-stage currents he captured two more trophies without a fight – Baton Rouge & Natchez. Then either stupidity or nerve persuaded him to extend his life-line 430 river miles above the Gulf of Mexico to Vicksburg. Neither his reputation nor his ships’ firings achieved the desire results - Vicksburg refused to surrender. Not willing to accept defeat, he left some of his fleet directly downstream from Vicksburg while he sailed back to New Orleans and met with General Ben Butler. Together they came up with a 3-pronged plan. One of those prongs was to move the Mississippi River away from Vicksburg. Farragut returned in June accompanied by General Williams and 3,000 troops who began the first of two campaigns to apply an engineering solution to a military problem – marginalize the location. About the presenter: Dave Bastian is the author of Grant's Canal; the Union's Attempt to Bypass Vicksburg (now out of print). He has given his presentations to over 90 CWRTs. Most books are a new twist on a battle, campaign or leader. His book and presentation are about a totally new topic; one that historians have really not understood to date. As a civil engineer who lived in Vicksburg, he understands the river and how close the Union came in succeeding. Had they succeeded, Vicksburg would no longer have been an important target. Dave Bastian has a degree in civil engineering from Georgia Tech and a masters in river engineering from Delft University in the Netherlands. Of interest, he was a delegate to the tri-national Commission for the Study of Alternatives to the Panama Canal that produced the feasibility study for the Canal’s current enlargement. More recently he worked on the post-Katrina levee rebuild in New Orleans and co-authored a book that came out in 2014, New Orleans, Hurricanes from the Start. His book, Grant's Canal, the Union's Attempt to Bypass Vicksburg is out of print but available on Amazon & eBay. 3
GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
March is Women’s History Month Author Lecture with Rebecca Traister March 13, 2018 7:00 p.m.—9:00 p.m. Kirkhof Center's Grand River room, GVSU Doors open at 6:00 p.m., book signing will follow. Free and Open to the Public In 2009, award-winning journalist Rebecca Traister started All the Single Ladies about the 21st century phenomenon of the American single woman. It was the year the proportion of American women who were married dropped below fifty percent; and the median age of first marriages, which had remained between twenty and twenty-two years old for nearly a century (1890–1980), had risen dramatically to twenty-seven. But over the course of her vast research and more than a hundred interviews with academics and social scientists and prominent single women, Traister discovered a startling truth: the phenomenon of the single woman in America is not a new one.
Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council Annual Reception March 15, 2018 5:00 p.m.—7:00 p.m. John F. Donnelly Conference Center Aquinas College The annual reception immediately follows author Rebecca Traister’s visit to Grand Rapids discussing her book. The GGRWHC will add to the conversation by complicating the relationship between singledom and progress for women. To Traister’s examples we will add vivid anecdotes about our own “single ladies” in Grand Rapids – single for so many different reasons – and we will lift a glass to favorite married ladies for their contributions to social reform and massive change in Grand Rapids history. Honoring them we honor our researchers who have brought them back into the light. For more information: www.ggrwhc.org
Where Have All the Flowers Gone? Rediscovering Emma Cole’s 19th-Century Grand Rapids Flora March 19, 2018 6:30 p.m.—8:30 p.m. Bunker Interpretive Center at Calvin College Speakers: Garrett E. Crow, Visiting Scholar, Calvin College and Julie Stivers, Author
In 1901, Cole published Grand Rapids Flora, a catalogue of plants growing without cultivation in the vicinity of Kent County. Enormous changes have taken place since those “horse and buggy” days, yet her book remains the most complete account of plants specific to our area. Who was this remarkable high school teacher, world traveler and Kent Scientific Institute botanist? Where were her favorite spots for wildflowers? Do they still exist?
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Julie Stivers will speak about the life of Emma Cole. Professor Crow will describe the work he and Dr. Warners are doing with Calvin students to rediscover Emma’s haunts and assess their natural quality today. There are interesting surprises as we don our “sleuthing” hats, grab our hand lenses, and observe the changes over more than 116 years.
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Continued from page 2 Fast forward a few years: I am cataloging the Civil War collection at the Grand Rapids Public Museum and posting items on the Internet for the Public to see. One project involved scanning and cataloging a collection of Carte de visite photos of the 59th New York Infantry, which somehow found its way to Grand Rapids. Not long after they were posted online, Alex Forist received a call from a guy doing post-graduate work on this regiment at Ohio State University. He was thrilled to see pictures of the soldiers he was researching and writing about! This winter I finished another project, cataloging and transcribing a diary belonging to an unknown member of Company B 1st Michigan Engineers & Mechanics Regiment who lived in Cannon Township. Again, I thought , “ Who will care if I just enter this item into the database with a basic description and don’t bother to transcribe every page?” I said to myself, “I’m probably the only person who will ever do this and don’t we owe it to this guy to tell his story?” So I convinced myself to forge ahead, and for the next few months transcribed page by page with no clue what this soldier’s name was. I would write down anything that might help, for example: names of others from his Company he mentions, his daughter’s and his wife’s first names.
After completing the transcription, I compiled a list of every member of his Company. It totaled 240 men, and by the process of elimination, I narrowed the list down to around 60 possibilities. Now the hard part, cross reference the daughter and wife’s first names to all the remaining possibilities using genealogy tools available on the GRPL website. After many failures, I finally find both the names linked to only one man Henry N. Weller. He was from Cannonsburg and enlisted in January of 1864 just in time to witness the Battle for Atlanta and embark on Sherman’s March to the Sea. OK. Batteries recharged, I am ready for the next challenge!
Check out the info available for the public to access at www.grpl.org/research/history/ and www.grpmcollections.org/.
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GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
HAPPENING IN HISTORY: MARCH 2018 Western Michigan Genealogical Society Saturday, March 3, 2018, 1:30 p.m. Main Library—Ryerson Auditorium 111 Library St. NE
Arthur Vandenberg: The Man in the Middle of the American Century Tuesday, March 13, 2018, 7:00 p.m. Main Library—Ryerson Auditorium 111 Library St. NE
Topic: WMGS Databases and Website Resources
At a time when it is hard to imagine a politician putting country ahead of party, that’s the story Hendrik Meijer will share when discussing his new biography Arthur Vandenberg: The Man in the Middle of the American Century. Come hear the story of Vandenberg’s career–which saw him shift from an isolationist to a supporter of international organizations. He was an architect of the Marshall Plan, the UN and NATO, and demonstrated that true progress can be made if politicians are willing to work across the aisle and, while holding to their ideas, make compromises to get things done. A book signing will follow.
Presenter: Wanda Schottler The Western Michigan Genealogical Society has organized and posted a number of outstanding family history resources. Come learn the ins and out of the WMGS databases and website, and how they can help you with your family history research. Wanda Schottler has been teaching Beginner’s Classes for WMGS for over 10 years and currently is involved with Sales, Search, and Projects committees. She has been working on her family tree for over 20 years and still searching for an elusive great-great grandfather. West Michigan Postcard Club Monday, March 12, 2018, 7:00p.m. Faith United Methodist Church 2600—7th St. NW Topic: Tacky Postcard Hall of Shame Presenter: Wally Jung What exactly is a Tacky Postcard? Wally Jung will tackle this complex, but often humorous, (or sexist, crass, or tasteless) subject as he presents dozens of examples gleaned from countless hours of sifting through hundreds of twentyfive cent postcard boxes. You might groan, roar with laughter, or be thoroughly disgusted, but you will not be bored. Grand River Times
Greater Grand Rapids Women’s History Council Thursday, March 22, 2018, 7:00 p.m. Main Library—Ryerson Auditorium 111 Library St. NE Topic: Who in the World is Merze Tate? Presenter: Sonya Bernard Hollins Author Sonya Bernard Hollins will update the group on her research into the amazing life and mysteries of Merze Tate. An AfricanAmerican girl born in 1905 in rural Michigan, Tate graduated first in her class from Western Michigan University in 1927, earned a doctorate from Oxford University, worked for the State Department, and traveled around the world twice. She became a Howard University history professor and sometime U.S. diplomat, held patents, spoke five languages, wrote seven political books, and purchased a ticked for a flight into outer space before leaving a legacy of millions to educational institutions. 6
GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY JOIN THE GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY OR GIVE A MEMBERSHIP AS A GIFT The Grand Rapids Historical Society sponsors eight lectures each year. Members of the society enjoy these benefits:
The Grand River Times is the newsletter of the Grand Rapids Historical Society. Published and mailed to members eight times a year, it includes current items of historical interest, details of upcoming lectures, historically relevant activities, and short articles.
The Grand River Valley History is the society’s annual magazine. Featured are illustrated articles by local history researchers and contributions from the Grand Rapids Public Museum, the City Archivist, the Grand Rapids Public Library, and the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum.
20% Discount on all books and other items published by the society.
Please enroll me as a member of the Grand Rapids Historical Society: ____ New ___Renewal____Gift _____Lifetime:
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Please make check payable to the Grand Rapids Historical Society and mail it with this form to: Grand Rapids Historical Society, c/o Grand Rapids Public Library, 111 Library Street NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49503
***SAVE THE DATE*** The annual Grand Rapids Historical Society banquet will be held on Thursday, May 10, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. The evening will include a meal and a presentation about Heritage Hill in Grand Rapids history by long-time resident and author Thomas Logan.
Ticket information and location details to follow soon.
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Grand Rapids Historical Society, Inc. c/o Grand Rapids Public Library 111 Library St. NE Grand Rapids, MI 49503
GRAND RAPIDS HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Grant’s Canal: The Union’s Attempt to Bypass Vicksburg PRESENTED BY:
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Cover Story: March program Letter from our President page 2
David Bastian Thursday, March 8, 2018, 7:00 p.m.
Civil War Research Project page 2
Women’s History Month page 4
Happening in History page 6
For more information on Historical Society programs, please visit www.grhistory.org Grand River Times
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