Civil War News
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Rhode Island, although never forming a commandery like her sister Northern states, emulated them in creating the Rhode Island Soldiers and Sailors Historical Society. Eventually, the publishing of 100 papers, which included talks from enlisted men (another Rhode Island variance from the other MOLLUS commanderies) resulted in 10 volumes, 32-41, in the MOLLUS collection. A reminder on the background of this series, the first two volumes of the Broadfoot 1990s reprint set, unnumbered, consist of ‘Biographical Sketches of Contributors,’ and ‘Companions.’ The second volume offers hundreds of photographs of the various members. The collected papers from the commanderies appear in the following order. Ohio, volumes 1-9; Illinois, 1013D; Missouri, vol. 14; Kansas, 15; Maine, volumes 16-19; New York, 20-23; Indiana, 24; Nebraska, 25; Minnesota, 26-31; Rhode Island, 32-41; District of Columbia, 42-45; Wisconsin, 46-49; Michigan, 50-51; Massachusetts, 52-54; Iowa, 55-56; Vermont, 57; Pennsylvania, 58-59; California and Oregon, volume 60; and a four-volume index completes the Broadfoot set. Next month, this column will provide the table of contents of
Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States: War Papers (MOLLUS) – Rhode Island
Now Scheduling Programs Talk & Book Signing Event: Available Beginning mid-October 2018 Thomas W. Colley served in one of the most active and famous units in the Civil War, the 1st Virginia Cavalry, which fought in battles in the Eastern Theater, from First Manassas/Bull Run to the defense of Petersburg. Colley was born November 11, 1837, outside Abingdon, Virginia, and grew up knowing the daily demands of life on a farm. In May 1861, along with the other members of the Washington Mounted Rifles, he left his home in Washington County and reported to camp in Richmond. During the war, Colley received wounds on three different occasions: first at Waterloo Bridge in 1862, again at Kelly’s Ford in 1863, and finally at Haw’s Shop in 1864. The engagement at Haw’s Shop resulted in the amputation of his left foot, thereby ending his wartime service. The first scholarly edition of Colley’s writings, of Self and Comrades, dramatizes Colley’s fate as soldier mustered out before the war’s conclusion. postwar reflections on the war reveal his struggle living and maintain his integrity while remaining unreconciled to his condition.
August 2018
In Memory a wounded Colley’s to earn a somewhat
Annotations from editor Michael K. Shaffer provide further context to Colley’s colorful and insightful writings on both his own condition and the condition of other veterans also dealing with amputations.
Michael K. Shaffer, works as a Civil War historian, instructor, lecturer, newspaper columnist, and author. He is a member of the Society of Civil War Historians, Historians of the Civil War Western Theater, and Georgia Association of Historians. Shaffer also teaches Civil War Courses at Kennesaw State University's College of Continuing and Professional Education and frequently lectures to various groups across the country. Michael K. Shaffer
To schedule a program, please email the author at mkscdr11@gmail.com.
the ten-volume MOLLUS Papers from the District of Columbia and Wisconsin. Digitized-versions of MOLLUS exist online at the organization’s website: http://suvcw.org/mollus/warpapers/warpapers.htm (also check http://suvcw.org/mollus/molid. htm) and at the Internet Archives, http://bit.ly/2EVfpPC. Researchers wishing to purchase the printed set may do so at Broadfoot Publishing, http://www.broadfootpublishing.com. Remember to check WorldCat http://www. worldcat.org/ for help in finding the Papers in a local library; search ISBN 1568370016. Continued good luck in researching the Civil War! Readers wishing to view all the articles in this series thus far can visit https:// issuu.com/mshaffe3. 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, and the Georgia Association of Historians. 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.
Digital Issues of CWN are available by subscription alone or with print plus archives from 2012 at
www.CivilWarNews.com
August 2018
Civil War News
Vol. 1 (1878-79) Article/Author The First Campaign of the Second Rhode Island Infantry By Elisha H. Rhodes
Rhode Island Vol. 2 (1880-81) Article/Author First Cruise of the Montauk - By Samuel T. Browne, Paymaster U.S.N.
The Rhode Island Artillery at the First Battle of Bull Run - By J. Albert Monroe
A Country Boy's First Three Months in the Army - By Gen. C. Henry Barney
Reminiscences of Service in the First Rhode Island Cavalry - By George N. Bliss
Battery F, First R.I. Light Artillery - By Col. Phillip S. Chase
My First Cruise at Sea, and the Loss of the Iron-Clad Monitor By Frank B. Butts
The Marine Artillery with the Burnside Expedition, and the Battle of Camden, N.C. - By Capt. Wm. B. Avery The Battles of Roanoke Island and Elizabeth City - By Lorenzo Traver, M.D.
Kit Carson's Fight with the Comanche and Kiowa Indians, at the Adobe Walls on the Canadian River - By George H. Pettis A Trip to Richmond as Prisoner of War - By Edward P. Tobie
The Burnside Expedition - By Gen. A. E. Burnside
Incidents of Cavalry Service in Louisiana - By Charles H. Parkhurst
Reminiscences of Two Years with the Colored Troops - By Capt. J. M. Addeman
The Bay Fight, a Sketch of the Battle of Mobile Bay, August 5th, 1864 - By William F. Hutchinson, M.D. Personal Incidents in the Early Campaigns of the Third Regiment Rhode Island Volunteers and the Tenth Army Corps - By Edwin Metcalf Battle of the Mine - By Ervin T. Case
A Recruit Before Petersburg By Geo. B. Peck Jr., M.D.
Vol. 4 (1883-85) Article/Author Life on the Texan Blockade - By W. F. Hutchinson My Four Months' Experience as a Prisoner of War - By Thomas Simpson Gunboat Service on the James River - By William B. Avery
Personal Experience of the Chancellorsville Campaign - By Gen. C. Henry Barney The Battle of Cedar Mountain, a Personal View - By Rev. Frederic Denison, A.M., (late Chaplain First R.E. Cavalry) Reminiscences of the War of the Page 1 of 4 Rebellion, 1861-1865 - By Col. J. Albert Monroe Vol. 5 (1885-87) Article/Author Recollections of Service in the Twelfth Regiment Rhode Island Volunteers - By Oscar Lapham The March to the Sea - By Charles A. Hopkins
Reminiscences of Gunboat Service on the Nansemond - By Frank B. Butts The Battle of Groveton, August 28, 1862 - By Frederic Denison
Reminiscences of Service With Colored Troops in the Army of the Cumberland, 1863-65 - By Thomas J. Morgan Frontier Service During the Rebellion; or, a History of Company K, First Infantry California Volunteers - By George H. Pettis Reminiscences of Service with the Twelfth Regiment Rhode Island Volunteers, and a Memorial of Col. George H. Browne - By Pardon E. Tillinghast Battery D. First Rhode Island Light Artillery, at the Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862 By J. Albert Monroe Relief of Washington, North Carolina, by the Fifth Rhode Island Volunteers - By William W. Douglas A Private's Reminiscences of the First Year of the War - By E. Benjamin Andrews Battle of Kelly's Ford, March 17, 1863 - By Jacob B. Cooke
Recollections of Monocacy - By Alfred S. Roe
The Investment of Fort Pulaski By Alonzo Williams
Vol. 7 (1891-93) Article/Author Recollections of Battery D, First Rhode Island Light Artillery - By
Vol. 8 (1894-99) Article/Author Services with Colored Troops in Burnside's Corps. - By James H.
A Private's Recollections of Fredericksburg - By Eugene A. Cory Camp and Hospital - By George B. Peck
Cavalry Service with Gen. Sheridan, and Life in Libby Prison - By George N. Bliss Service with Battery F, First R.I. Light Artillery, in North Carolina - By Phillip S. Chase
Page 2 of 4
Vol. 3 (1881-83) Article/Author A Cruise Along the Blockade By Frank B. Butts, Paymaster's Clerk, U.S.N. The High School Boys of the Tenth R.I. Regiment, with a Roll of Teachers and Students Who Served in the Army or Navy of the United States During the Rebellion - By William A. Spicer, Tenth R.I. Vols. Services of the Cavalry in the Army of the Potomac - By Edward P. Tobie, (late 2nd Lt. First Maine Cavalry) Prison Life of Lieut. James M. Fales - By Major Geo. N. Bliss
Vol. 4 (1883-85) Article/Author Life on the Texan Blockade - By W. F. Hutchinson My Four Months' Experience as a Prisoner of War - By Thomas Simpson Gunboat Service on the James River - By William B. Avery
Chaplain First R.E. Cavalry) Reminiscences of the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865 - By Col. J. Albert Monroe Vol. 5 (1885-87) Article/Author Recollections of Service in the Twelfth Regiment Rhode Island Volunteers - By Oscar Lapham The March to the Sea - By Charles A. Hopkins
Reminiscences of Gunboat Service on the Nansemond - By Frank B. Butts The Battle of Groveton, August 28, 1862 - By Frederic Denison
Reminiscences of Service With Colored Troops in the Army of the Cumberland, 1863-65 - By Thomas J. Morgan Frontier Service During the Rebellion; or, a History of Company K, First Infantry California Volunteers - By George H. Pettis Reminiscences of Service with the Twelfth Regiment Rhode Island Volunteers, and a Memorial of Col. George H. Browne - By Pardon E. Tillinghast Battery D. First Rhode Island Light Artillery, at the Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1862 By J. Albert Monroe Relief of Washington, North Carolina, by the Fifth Rhode Island Volunteers - By William W. Douglas A Private's Reminiscences of the First Year of the War - By E. Benjamin Andrews Battle of Kelly's Ford, March 17, 1863 - By Jacob B. Cooke
Recollections of Monocacy - By Alfred S. Roe
The Investment of Fort Pulaski By Alonzo Williams
Vol. 7 (1891-93) Article/Author Recollections of Battery D, First Rhode Island Light Artillery - By George C. Sumner My Boyhood at West Point - By William W. Bailey
Vol. 8 (1894-99) Article/Author Services with Colored Troops in Burnside's Corps. - By James H. Rickard Kearsarge and PageAlabama 2 of 4 - By William H. Badlam
Vol. 6 (1889-90) Article/Author From Monocacy to Danville By Alfred S. Roe
From Memphis to Allatoona, and the Battle of Allatoona - By George W. Hill Recollections of the United States Naval Academy - By John C. Pegram
From Andersonville to Freedom - By Charles M. Smith
The Siege and Capture of Harper's Ferry by the Confederates, September, 1862 - By William H. Nichols, 3D Service with Battery F, First Rhode Island Light Artillery By Philip S. Chase
With the Ninth Army Corps in East Tennessee - By W. A. Nason
Operations of the Cavalry Corps, Middle Military Division, Armies of the United States, From February 27 to March 8, 1865, Participated in by the First Rhode Island Cavalry - By William Gardiner The Organization and First Campaign of Battery E, First Rhode Island Light Artillery By Francis E. Butts Assault on Fort Gilmer and Experiences of Prison Life - By George R. Sherman Battle of the Crater and Experiences of Prison Life - By Sumner U. Shearman
A Private's Recollections of Fredericksburg - By Eugene A. Cory Camp and Hospital - By George B. Peck
The Last Tour of Duty at the Siege of Charleston - By Col. Charles H. Williams
Cavalry Service with Gen. Sheridan, and Life in Libby Prison - By George N. Bliss
Ambrose Everett Burnside (A Memorial Address) - By Rev. Augustus Woodbury, (late Chaplain First R.I. Vols.) Incidents of Service with the Eleventh Regiment R.I. Volunteers - By Col. Charles H. Parkhurst Battle of Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864 - By Capt. John K. Bucklyn
Service with Battery F, First R.I. Light Artillery, in North Carolina - By Phillip S. Chase
Incidents of Cavalry Experience During Gen. Pope's Campaign - By William Gardner, Sgt. First R.I. Cavalry
The First Rhode Island Cavalry at Middleburg, VA., June 17 and 18, 1863 - By George N. Bliss Personal Recollections of General Sheridan - By Edward P. Tobie
In a Rebel Prison; or, Experiences in Danville - By Alfred S. Roe Richmond, Annapolis, and Home - By Alfred S. Roe
The Monitor and the Merrimac - By Frank B. Butts
John Albert Monroe, First Rhode Island Light Artillery. A Memorial (no author)
From Bridgeport to Ringgold, by Way of Lookout Mountain By Albert R. Greene
The Gettysburg Gun - By John H. Rhodes
DuffiĂŠ, and the Monument to his Memory - By George N. Bliss The Burnside Expedition, and the Engagement at Roanoke Island - By William L. Welch Battery D., First Rhode Island Light Artillery, at the Second Battle of Bull Run - By J. Albert Monroe Vol. 9 (1903-05) Article/Author A Forlorn Hope - By Leverett C. Stevens
A Chaplain's Experience in the Union Army - By Frederic Denison
From Fredericksburg to Gettysburg - By Benjamin H. Child
Reminiscences of the Signal Service in the Civil War - By Henry S. Tafft From Spottsylvania (sic) to Wilmington, N.C., By Way of Andersonville and Florence - By Sidney S. Williams
Vol. 10 (1905-15) Article/Author Reminiscences of the Burnside Expedition - By William H. Chenery From the Rapidan to the James Under Grant - By Ezra K. Parker An Incident in the Battle of
13 Vol. 6 (1889-90) Article/Author From Monocacy to Danville By Alfred S. Roe The Siege and Capture of Harper's Ferry by the Confederates, September, 1862 - By William H. Nichols, 3D Service with Battery F, First Rhode Island Light Artillery By Philip S. Chase The First Rhode Island Cavalry at Middleburg, VA., June 17 and 18, 1863 - By George N. Bliss Personal Recollections of General Sheridan - By Edward P. Tobie
The Monitor and the Merrimac - By Frank B. Butts From Bridgeport to Ringgold, by Way of Lookout Mountain By Albert R. Greene DuffiĂŠ, and the Monument to his Memory - By George N. Bliss The Burnside Expedition, and the Engagement at Roanoke Island - By William L. Welch Battery D., First Rhode Island Light Artillery, at the Second Battle of Bull Run - By J. Albert Monroe Vol. 9 (1903-05) Article/Author A Forlorn Hope - By Leverett C. Stevens How I Lost My Sabre in War and Found It in Peace - By George N. Bliss Reminiscences of the Signal Service in the Civil War - By Henry S. Tafft Extracts From My Diary, and From My Experiences While Boarding with Jefferson Davis, in Three of his Notorious Hotels in Richmond, Virginia, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Salisbury, North Carolina, From July, 1861, to June 1862 - By William J. Crossley The Maryland Campaign with the Fourth Rhode Island - By Henry J. Spooner
The Sword of Honor, From Captivity to Freedom - By Hannibal A. Johnson Through Chancellorsville, Into and Out of Libby Prison - By Clay MacCauley. The Storming of the Lines of Petersburg by the Sixth Corps, April 2, 1865 - By Hazard Stevens Our Last Campaign and Subsequent Service in Texas By James Shaw The Florida Campaign with Light Battery C, Third Rhode Island Heavy Artillery - By Patrick Egan
H Mollus Papers . . . . . . . . . . . see page 31 Page 3 of 4
Richmond, Annapolis, and Home - By Alfred S. Roe John Albert Monroe, First Rhode Island Light Artillery. A Memorial (no author)
August 2018 social and cultural attitudes towards death in the nineteenth century as reflected through evidence of cemetery iconography, epitaphs, and architecture of tombstones in Northeast Ohio. The other half of the project consisted of actual fieldwork. I cleaned tombstones in a neglected cemetery and wrote a report on the proper preservation and restoration methods of tombstones. I have retained this passion and appreciation for cemeteries. I am always visiting them when I have a chance or when I am on vacation (I must thank my wife for putting up with it). You’re working on a certificate in Geographic Information Systems (GIS), with an eye on applying geographic technologies to historical research. What connection have you discovered so far? I am still early in the process of learning to use the software (ArcGIS), but I have already seen the potential of GIS for historians. It is an excellent tool to present a large amount of spatial data visually that may be hard to express in writing. I have seen it used by historians to look at migration, religion, and fatalities, such as cholera outbreaks in cities. It can be used to look at anything dealing with location. I have even seen it used for studying military history. One of its most famous samples is Charles Minard’s Map of Napoleon’s Russian Campaign of 1812. Six different sets of data are all displayed in one map: the size of Napoleon’s army, location, temperature, distance, the direction of travel, and location relative to specific dates. What you get is a map looking at the decay of Napoleon’s army over time taking all these factors into consideration. A map like this could easily be adapted for use of any Civil War campaigns. If you have the data, the possibilities are limitless. Two terrific books I recommend to anyone interested in learning how historical technologies can be applied to history are Mapping Time: Illustrated by Minard’s Map of Napoleon’s Russian Campaign of 1812 by Menno-Jan Kraak (2014) and Toward Spatial Humanities: Historical GIS and Spatial History edited by Ian N. Gregory and Alistair Geddes. Lightning-Round (short answers) Most overrated person of the Civil War? No one specific person comes to my mind as being overrated. There are many more that I feel are underrated or underappreciated (such as Richard Taylor, Slocum, Kearny, Richardson, and Ord). The list goes on. I have a fair share of generals that I don’t like (McClernand, Banks, and Butler). Favorite Trans-Mississippi site? I haven’t had the chance to visit the site yet, but it would have to be Mansfield. I will get there one day. This was the Waterloo of the Trans-Mississippi.
TheWar Gettysburg Gun - By John H. Civil News Rhodes
Favorite Regiment? 20th Maine or any of the Iron Brigade regiments. What one Civil War book do you consider to be essential? There are so many. I don’t know where to begin. If I had to choose only one Civil War book to read for the rest of my life, it would be a tie between Bruce Catton’s Grant Takes Command or Ezra J. Warner’s Generals in Blue. What’s one question no one has ever asked you that you wish someone would? Well, it would have to be more of a dream: “How would you like your own TV series visiting historic cemeteries?”
ECW News & Notes Dan Davis flew all the way to California to join one of our resident West Coasters, Sarah Bierle, as presenters at an amazing conference sponsored by Sarah’s Gazette 665. Meg Groeling also made an appearance! A lot of interesting perspectives on “The War in 1863” were examined. Here’s a recap: emergingcivilwar.com/2018/06/05/ gazette665s-third-annual-civil-war-conference-report. If you’re in the area, this is a future event worth checking out! Steve Davis had plenty to write about in the July 2015 issue of Civil War News. His “Fact or Fiction” column focused on how Stonewall Jackson got his name, and his “Critics Corner” focused on George R. Stewart’s Pickett’s Charge. Steve also provided special coverage from the Baton Rouge Civil War Symposium. Steve also writes the “Small Talk Trivia” column, too. The July column focused on “Johns” in the Civil War. Prior to his presentation to the Capital District Civil War Roundtable in Watervliet, N.Y., (just outside Albany) last April, Chris Mackowski sat down with the roundtable’s Nick Thony for a conversation about the battle of Spotsylvania Court House, which Nick recorded for the roundtable’s podcast series. You can hear their conversation at soundcloud.com/capitaldistrictcivilwarroundtablepodcast/ chris-mackowski ECW and ERW author Rob Orrison has been quite busy sharing the history of Prince William County, Va., through numerous Facebook live videos. Check them out at Prince William Historic Foundation on Facebook. You will even see ECWS author Bill Backus and guest blogger Paige Gibbons-Backus. Watch here: www.facebook.com/pg/pwhistoric/ videos/?ref=page_internal. Dan Welch has returned to the Gettysburg battlefield for the summer season. If you see him on the battlefield or in the visitor center, stop by and say hello. Visit emergingcivilwar.com.
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A Chaplain's Experience in the Union Army - By Frederic Denison Vol. 10 (1905-15) Article/Author Reminiscences of the Burnside Expedition - By William H. Chenery From the Rapidan to the James Under Grant - By Ezra K. Parker An Incident in the Battle of George C. Sumner My Boyhood at West Point - By William W. Bailey
By Francis E. Butts Assault on Fort Gilmer and Experiences of Prison Life - By George R. Sherman Battle of the Crater and Experiences of Prison Life - By Sumner U. Shearman
Through Chancellorsville, Into and Out of Libby Prison - By Clay MacCauley. The Storming of the Lines of Petersburg by the Sixth Corps, April 2, 1865 - By Hazard Stevens Reminiscences of the Signal Our Last Campaign and 31 Service in the Civil War - By Subsequent Service in Texas Henry S. Tafft By James Shaw From Spottsylvania (sic) to The Florida Campaign with Wilmington, N.C., By Way of Light Battery C, Third Rhode . . . . . . . . . from page 13 Andersonville and Florence - By Island Heavy Artillery - By Sidney S. Williams Patrick Egan
H Mollus Papers
Rickard Kearsarge and PageAlabama 3 of 4 - By William H. Badlam
From Memphis to Allatoona, and the Battle of Allatoona - By George W. Hill Recollections of the United States Naval Academy - By John C. Pegram
From Andersonville to Freedom - By Charles M. Smith
With the Ninth Army Corps in East Tennessee - By W. A. Nason
Operations of the Cavalry Corps, Middle Military Division, Armies of the United States, From February 27 to March 8, 1865, Participated in by the First Rhode Island Cavalry - By William Gardiner The Organization and First Campaign of Battery E, First Rhode Island Light Artillery By Francis E. Butts Assault on Fort Gilmer and Experiences of Prison Life - By George R. Sherman Battle of the Crater and Experiences of Prison Life - By Sumner U. Shearman
In a Rebel Prison; or, Experiences in Danville - By Alfred S. Roe Richmond, Annapolis, and Home - By Alfred S. Roe John Albert Monroe, First Rhode Island Light Artillery. A Memorial (no author) The Gettysburg Gun - By John H. Rhodes A Chaplain's Experience in the Union Army - By Frederic Denison Vol. 10 (1905-15) Article/Author Reminiscences of the Burnside Expedition - By William H. Chenery From the Rapidan to the James Under Grant - By Ezra K. Parker An Incident in the Battle of Middleburg, VA - By Charles O. Green War Reminiscences - By Martin S. James The Sailor on Horseback - By William E. Meyer Campaign of Battery D, First Rhode Island Light Artillery, in Kentucky and East Tennessee By Ezra K. Parker The Negro as a Soldier - By George R. Sherman The Military Services of MajorGeneral Ambrose Everett Burnside in the Civil War, Part I By Daniel R. Ballou The Military Services of MajorGeneral Ambrose Everett Burnside in the Civil War, Part II - By Daniel R. Ballou The Second Rhode Island Volunteers at the Siege of Petersburg, VA - By Elisha H. Rhodes
From Fredericksburg to Gettysburg - By Benjamin H. Child
Reminiscences of the Signal Service in the Civil War - By Henry S. Tafft From Spottsylvania (sic) to Wilmington, N.C., By Way of Andersonville and Florence - By Sidney S. Williams
Page 3 of 4
How I Lost My Sabre in War and Found It in Peace - By George N. Bliss Reminiscences of the Signal Service in the Civil War - By Henry S. Tafft Extracts From My Diary, and From My Experiences While Boarding with Jefferson Davis, in Three of his Notorious Hotels in Richmond, Virginia, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Salisbury, North Carolina, From July, 1861, to June 1862 - By William J. Crossley The Maryland Campaign with the Fourth Rhode Island - By Henry J. Spooner
The Sword of Honor, From Captivity to Freedom - By Hannibal A. Johnson Through Chancellorsville, Into and Out of Libby Prison - By Clay MacCauley. The Storming of the Lines of Petersburg by the Sixth Corps, April 2, 1865 - By Hazard Stevens Our Last Campaign and Subsequent Service in Texas By James Shaw The Florida Campaign with Light Battery C, Third Rhode Island Heavy Artillery - By Patrick Egan