Miscellany They Saved Their Captain

MISCELLANY

ONE OF PRICKITT’S MEN

Gemtypes were about 1 inch wide and 1 1/4 inches tall. They were frequently mounted in card frames and placed in albums, as is the one above of Sergeant Hiram White.

Gems Discovered

When artist and genealogist Shayne Davidson was working on the family tree of a friend and stumbled upon a miniature photo album with gem-sized portraits of Black soldiers, she unearthed a fascinating story. It was one she felt needed to be shared and, because she’s an artist, also illustrated.

The album had belonged to William Prickitt, the White captain of Company G of the 25th United States Colored Troops, and the great-grandfather of Davidson’s friend. According to family history, Prickitt felt a special kinship for the men of his company after they nursed him through a debilitating illness that nearly took his life in 1864. Prickitt’s album contains locket-sized photos of 17 of the men of his command, each one carefully labeled with the soldier’s name.

“I kept wondering....would it be possible, through research, to discover more about their lives? Because I am an artist, I chose to make a life-sized portrait of each man in the album, based on his tiny photograph and physical descriptions from his military records,” Davidson says. “Since I’m also a genealogist, I decided to research each man’s life and try to build a family tree for him. Once the tree was completed I wrote a short biography of each man, including details about his life before and after the war.”

Her efforts culminated in the exhibit “Seventeen Men: Portraits of African American Civil War Soldiers.” The 17 portraits and biographies were first displayed at the convention center in Grand Rapids, Mich., during ArtPrize 2013. It’s been touring ever since and its next destination is the historic Craik-Patton House in Charleston, W.Va. The exhibit will be on display from March 1 through April 30 during regular visiting hours, Monday–Friday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. (craikpattonhouse.org).

PHOTO BY MELISSA A. WINN; NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE (2) BOB BROWN/RICHMOND TIMES DISPATCH/AP PHOTO; EVA RUSSO/RICHMOND TIMES DISPATCH/AP PHOTO; DANA B. SHOAF COLLECTION

PHOTO BY MELISSA A. WINN; NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE (2) BOB BROWN/RICHMOND TIMES DISPATCH/AP PHOTO; EVA RUSSO/RICHMOND TIMES DISPATCH/AP PHOTO; DANA B. SHOAF COLLECTION

. LEE STATUE . TIME CAPSULE

AFTER MUCH ANTICIPATION and on the second attempt, officials in Richmond found the 1887 time capsule embedded in the pedestal of the Robert E. Lee statue, which was removed from Monument Avenue on September 8, 2021. The copper box about the size of a large hat box harbored some 60 items. Books, newspaper items, records of Confederate units, a tome from the Grand Lodge of Virginia, Confederate currency and notes, artifacts of battle including several Minié balls, as well as a Bible, Richmond guide, and coins from 1883 and 1853 were included. Soldier badges along with a small intricately carved Masonic flag and the Masonic icon compass and square, made from a tree that had grown over a grave, were also retrieved. The items were discovered relatively intact, despite fears that water seepage could have liquefied the paper contents. The items are held for conservation at the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

A DIFFERENT TIME

A ribbon given to attendees at the cornerstone dedication of Robert E. Lee’s Richmond statue was among the many items contained in the 1887 time capsule. The copper box, right, remained surprisingly tight and waterproof.

WAR FRAME

WHEN THIS UNION VOLUNTEER went to have his image taken in uniform, he took along a framed print of the nation’s first president, making a symbolic statement that he was going to war to defend the country led by George Washington. The print appears to be a copy of a painting by Gilbert Stuart, an affordable decoration that would have been in many middle-class homes of the era. Both North and South claimed Washington as an inspiration, and believed they were fighting to keep his ideals alive. This young soldier with a sense of history is unidentified, but he wears a jacket often attributed to New York State issue.

MISCELLANY

REGISTER

Earthworks on the Williamsburg Battlefield.

Millions to Williamsburg Battlefield The National Park Service’s largest battlefield preservation grant ever awarded—$4.6 million—went to the 250-acre site of Williamsburg Battlefield in York County, Va., which has witnessed battles in both the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. Stories of enslaved African Americans on plantations in York County and their part in these battles will be part of the battlefield interpretation. For example, an enslaved man informed Union Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock that Confederate forces had abandoned redoubts, information that played an important role in the May 5, 1862, fight.

Fourth Battle of Manassas In the 1980s and 1990s, the National Park Service and preservationists successfully fought off threats to Manassas National Battlefield Park by commercial development, including a planned Disney theme park that never came to fruition. A new threat could put millions of square feet of data centers against the park’s western and northern boundaries.

The proposed PW Digital Gateway would slate 2,133 acres of agricultural land bordering the battlefield and nearby Conway Robinson Memorial State Forest to allow for data centers—large, boxshaped buildings that house computer systems used to run the Internet. The data centers will impact the historic viewsheds and rural nature of the area that add to the park’s ability to interpret the historic and natural resources of the landscape. In January, award-winning filmmaker Ken Burns penned a letter to Prince William Board of County Supervisors’ Chair Ann Wheeler warning of the “devastating impacts” a massive data center campus would pose to Manassas National Battlefield Park, which he called “hallowed ground.”

More information about this new fight at Manasass can be found at growsmartpw.org.

Progress at Franklin’s HQ As the following photos prove, the Burkittsville Preservation Association of Maryland has accomplished a great deal at the farm used by Maj. Gen. William Franklin during the September 14, 1862, Battle of Crampton’s Gap. The house and barn were in imminent danger of collapse before the association stepped in to save the structures. To learn more, see the “Mountain View” interview in the February 2022 CWT, or contact the BPA at burkittsvillepreservationassociation.org.

SHAPING UP

New roofs, clean brick, and fresh pine boards indicate the work done on the farm Maj. Gen. William Franklin used as his HQ.

AMERICAN BATTLEFIELD TRUST; PHOTOS BY MELISSA A. WINN (2) COURTESY OF THE BENNINGTON MUSEUM; NATIONAL PARK SERVICE; LIVE AUCTIONEERS; SOLDIERS & SAILORS MEMORIAL HALL & MUSEUM, PITTSBURGH, PA.

AMERICAN BATTLEFIELD TRUST; PHOTOS BY MELISSA A. WINN (2) COURTESY OF THE BENNINGTON MUSEUM; NATIONAL PARK SERVICE; LIVE AUCTIONEERS; SOLDIERS & SAILORS MEMORIAL HALL & MUSEUM, PITTSBURGH, PA.

MEN IN BRONZE

ON NOVEMBER 6, 2021, American Legion Post 13 of Bennington, Vt., and the Bennington Museum rededicated their memorial to Civil War soldiers, aided by individual donors and a preservation grant from the Robert Fleming and Jane Howe Patrick Foundation. The 3- by 6-foot bronze tableau, erected in 1930 on an 8-ton slab of Vermont granite, depicts four officers from Vermont on horseback— Maj. Gen. George J. Stannard of St. Albans, Brig. Gen. Edward H. Ripley of Rutland, Colonel Wheelock G. Veazey of Rutland, and Colonel James H. Walbridge of BenTOUGH AS GRANITE nington—watching troops march by. Vermont sent 34,000 men Gordon Huff designed the tableau, to fight for the Union. The framed with 342 laurel leaves inscribed monument in Bennington with the name of a soldier. A star commemorates men beneath the leaves indicates that man from the local region who lost his life in the war., and an 1861 fought in the war. quote by Lincoln is also on the monument: “United by a purpose to perpetuate the Union and liberties of the people.” The American Legion dedicated the monument in 1930 on Bennington Battle Day, a Vermont holiday that commemorates when American forces defeated British troops on August 16, 1777, during the American Revolution.

UNEARTHED IDs

The “dog tag” of a Union soldier from Pennsylvania who served in the July 9, 1864, Battle of Monocacy in Frederick County, Md., has been donated to the Monocacy National Battlefield, where it joins an ID from another soldier who fought in that battle. IDs of this kind were sold to soldiers by sutlers, as no official IDs were issued. This particular dog tag—reportedly of copper alloy—bears the information “Samuel Weigel Bendersville, PA, with Co. G/REGT./PA VOLS on one side; the other side displays the date 1861 with a Union Shield and the inscription “AGAINST REBELLION.” Badly wounded in battle, Weigel spent the rest of the war in the hospital. He died in 1922.

Buried for 159 years, an identification disc was recovered last November near Rappahannock Station, Va. Stamped “R.B. MCaleer Co. D, 11th Reg. P R C Allegheny,” it was most likely lost in 1862 when the 11th Pennsylvania Reserves campaigned in the area. Relic hunter Jimmy Jones generously donated the disc to Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum in Pittsburgh, Pa. (soldiersandsailorshall.org). Archaeological work on the grounds of the College of Charleston in South Carolina turned a form of ID used to regulate enslaved workers hired for skilled work outside their owner’s home. The badge was found in what had been a kitchen where excavation was being done in preparation for the installation of a solar pavilion. Such badges were usually diamond shaped, made of copper, and could be worn or sewn into clothes. They bore not a name, but the label

“servant,” a registration number, a date, and an occupation. Annual taxes were paid on the badges in Charleston, and that levy became a revenue source for the city. The badges seem unique to Charleston. The artifact bears the date 1853.

MISCELLANY

WORTH A MOVE

REAL ESTATE WITH CIVIL WAR CONNECTIONS

William T. Smith House, Smithville, N.C. Many original details remain.

On March 16, 1865, the Battle of Averasboro N.C., raged across the 8,000-acre Smith Plantation in Smithville, N.C. The inconclusive fight successfully stalled Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s sweep through North Carolina, but merely set the stage for his victory at nearby Bentonville, the last major battle of the Civil War.

The William T. Smith house, one of three owned by the Smith family that remain, served as an Averasboro field hospital. Two of the six children of William and his wife, Mary, served in the Confederate Army. The stately manor stands on a flat backdrop of fields and plains. It commands your attention as you approach and it could now be yours for $60,000. The 4,000-square foot house requires complete rehabilitation but qualifies for historic preservation tax credits. Its exquisite woodwork and architectural features offer impressive bones to restore. Located within a few miles of the William T. Smith House are the other two restored Smith family plantations (privately owned), and the Averasboro Battlefield and Museum, including the cemetery and several monuments.

CLOSE UP!

QUIZ

WHERE WOULD YOU FIND this grim evidence of battle? The first correct answer wins a Civil War Times water bottle. Send your answer to dshoaf@ historynet.com, subject heading “Battle Damage.” ANSWER TO LAST ISSUE’S CLOSE UP !

CONGRATULATIONS to Jeff Triplett of Columbia, S.C., who correctly identified the famous gelding “Little Sorrel.” Stonewall Jackson’s trusty, tiny steed stands stuffed at the VMI Museum in Lexington, Va.

PRESERVATION NC; PHOTO BY SHENANDOAH SANCHEZ; PHOTO BY JOHN BANKS