Blue Bellied Yank

Wisconsin in the 1800's

2010-10-26T19:34:00.002-05:00

The French, the German and the Yankees from New England were all early settlers to the territory of Wisconsin. In fact, just down the dirt road from the house where I now live there is a hand hewn log cabin that replaced the dugout which early settlers to the big woods lived. The Norwegians, the Swedish and the Swiss also arrived eager to escape famine and overcrowding in their diverse homelands. My ancestors came from Germany in the late 1800's and settled in eastern Wisconsin along Lake Michigan. Once the land was cleared of timber and rocks farms were scratched out of the furtile soil and to this day Wisconsin is known far and wide for her barns.

VISIT CHICKAMAUGA

2008-04-02T08:52:00.003-06:00

http://www.nps.gov/chch

Historic Fort Snelling

2007-05-27T06:46:00.000-05:00

Explore with the reenactors as military encampments come back to life at historic Fort Snellingn this Memorial Day weekend. Costumed living historians will be on hand to interpret 225 years of military history. A flag raising will dedicate the new Fort Snelling flagpole, recently reconstructed in its original 1820’s location. Fort Snelling was home to some twenty-five thousand Union soldiers during the Civil War. This event is offered by the Minnesota Historical Society.
May 28, 2007 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
http://www.mnhs.org/index.htm

Civil War Days

2007-05-20T15:28:00.000-05:00

Travel back in time at the historic Billie Creek Village, located at Rockville, Indiana. This event is known as the best Civil War Re-enactment in the north. It's held the second weekend in June each year.
Here's a link to check out this event...

http://www.billiecreekvillage.org/events/cwd_gallery.html

The 16th President, Abraham Lincoln

2007-05-17T07:41:00.000-05:00

Abraham Lincoln was born on February 12th, 1809. A one room log cabin with a dirt floor in Hardin County, Kentucky served as his first home. His family was Baptist and opposed slavery. He had an older sister named Sarah and a younger brother Thomas who died as a baby.
When he was seven years old he moved with his family to Little Pigeon Creek in southern Indiana. "It was a wild region, with many bears and other wild animals still in the woods," Lincoln later wrote about Indiana.
During the tragic year of 1818 his Mother died from milk sickness. That same year while working at a gristmill young Lincoln was kicked in the head by his horse and nearly killed. Some folks around Little Pigeon Creek even said he was brought back from the dead! His Father remarried a woman that brought with her three children.
Out on the frontier a schoolhouse education was hard to come by and Lincoln had only a year of formal schooling. Even though his Father was illiterate, Abraham learned to read and write. One of his favorite books was a biography of George Washington. It goes without saying that Washington was one of Lincoln's role models. I believe that Parson Weem's book helped to propel Lincoln along the way to the White House.
In 1828 his sister Sarah Lincoln-Grigsby died during childbirth. Later that year Lincoln traveled by flatboat to New Orleans. By 1830 the Lincoln family had moved west to the State of Illinois.
Abraham Lincoln worked at many trades before becoming the 16th President of the United States, he was employed as a rail-splitter, a clerk, a postmaster, a ferryboat captain and a lawyer.
His first true love was Ann Rutledge a native of Henderson, Kentucky whom Abraham met in New Saleam, Illinois. She passed away from typhoid fever at 22 years of age leaving Abraham devastated by the loss. His mentor Graham consoled him by saying...
"God had a greater purpose for his life." He later married the southern belle Mary Todd from Lexington, Kentucky. Her family lineage traced back to Scotland, with an ancestor arriving to Pennsylvania in 1735, then to Rockbridge County in Virginia.
At the Republican convention in Chicago, Illinois in 1860 the party chose Abraham Lincoln to run in the presidental campaign. Andrew Jackson of Tennessee was chosen as his running mate. Previously, Lincoln had been elected to serve in the House of Representatives. Although, Lincoln did not win the race by the popular vote, he won the electoral vote to become the president elect.
In March of 1861 he moved his wife and his 'splendid fellows' to the White House. Little did the family realize then that he was nearing the end of his life. It would prove to be a very long four years for America, and a very short remaining lifespan for President Lincoln.
During the Civil War campaign of 1861, the Confederate forces out maneuvered the stronger Union Army. The President responded by saying, "delay is killing us."
As 1862 rolled around Robert E. Lee and his rag-tag army of the south once again beat back McClellan's superior fighting force.
Four of Lincoln's brother-in-laws served in the Confederate Army. It was even rumored that his own wife was a confederate spy. Mary Todd Lincoln was deeply disturbed by such vicious gossip. The death of their son William in 1862 at age eleven from typhoid fever further crushed the First Lady. Earlier, the couple had lost their second son Edward to tuberculosis. Little Eddie who loved to play with kittens was only four years of age when he left this world. The Lincoln's had two other sons Robert and Thomas. Robert severed in the Union over his Mother's protest.
In 1862 President Lincoln signed the Homestead Act which granted 160 acres of land to anyone willing to farm the land for five years. Many of those who had voted for or against Lincoln in the election packed their belongings and headed west. Vice President Andrew Jackson had been a leading spokesman for the Homestead Movement.
On July 2nd in 1863, Mary Todd Lincoln was thrown out of her carriage during an accident which occurred just outside of Washington. Her head hit a rock which caused head trauma from which she never fully recovered.
President Lincoln disliked the nickname Abe. He was the first president to wear a beard while serving in office. He is remembered for his honesty, for preserving the Union and for ending of slavery in America.

“Out of me unworthy and unknown, The vibrations of deathless music! ‘With malice toward none, with charity for all’. Out of me the forgiveness of millions toward millions, And the beneficent face of a nation, Shining with justice and truth. I am Ann Rutledge who sleep beneath these weeds, Beloved of Abraham Lincoln, Wedded to him, not through union, But through separation. Bloom forever, O Republic, From the dust of my bosom!” epitaph on tombstone of Ann Rutledge, written by Edgar Lee Masters in 1890.

Recipes from the Mess Hall

2007-05-16T08:18:00.000-05:00

Foods of the 1860's
During the Civil War cooking was done in a stone or brick fireplace or over an open fire. Wealthy families might have had a woodburning cast iron stove.

Meats that were prepared ranged from a fresh catch of fish to domestic or wild game when available. The menu included pork, beef, chicken, venison, squirrel, quail, grouse, pheasant, duck, pigeon and turkey. Fresh produce was harvested from nature. Wealthy families had cane sugar while most families would have used honey, maple syrup and molasses as sweetners.

Recipes were common during the 1860’s but there were few printed cookbooks, so the recipes were handed down. Some recipes were collected in a scrapbook or journal.
Only the list of ingredients would have been written out, no directions for preparation would have been mentioned. The cook was expected to remember what to do with the ingredients.

Print these out and start your own Civil War recipe collection scrapbook.

Raspberry Shrub

This shrub, mixed with water, was considered a delicious summer drink. It was also sometimes served instead of Port or other wine.

Raspberries 1 pint sugar to each pint of raspberry juice
Strong vinegar to barely cover

Put raspberries in a pan and scarcely cover them with strong vinegar. Let stand overnight. Squeeze raspberries through cloth for clear juice. Add sugar in proportion and test for flavor. Scald resulting juice, skim it, and then bottle it when cold.

Currant Wine

Those who had more currants than money often made this beverage and used no other wine.

Prepared currant juice 3 ½ lbs. sugar for each 2 quarts of currant juice

Break and squeeze the currants in a cloth for clear juice. Mix sugar and water with juice proportionately and put in a keg or barrel. Do not close the bung tight for 3-4 days that air may escape while it is fermenting. After it is done fermenting, close it up tight.

Where raspberries are plenty, it is a great improvement to use half raspberry juice and half currant juice.

Addition of brandy is not necessary when the above proportions are used. The wine should not be used under a year or two as age improves it.

Sourdough Bread

2½ cups unbleached flour 1 cup sourdough starter*
2 cups blood-warm water

Four hours (or more) before baking, mix flour and water, then add to starter. Cover and let stand in warm place until bubbly.

2 cups freshly doubled starter 2 tsp. salt
3 cups flour (grind 1 lb. wheatberries in 1 tsp. saleratus (baking soda)
coffee grinder if desired) 1 tsp. drippings

In large bowl, mix freshly doubled starter, salt, soda, and flour. When stirring becomes too hard, knead with hands for a few minutes, using flour to prevent sticking. Shape dough into a round loaf and place in greased round pan. With a knife, score lines to shape wedges. Cover with a cloth and let rise 30 minutes.

Bake at 350F for about 45 minutes. Cool before dividing along wedge-shaped lines.

*Sourdough starter may now be purchased. To make starter yourself, Mix together 1 cup flour, 1 cup water, and 1 Tbsp. sugar and let the mixture stand in a warm place 2-3 days or until fermented (or "ripen" by keeping in refrigerator for several days). Before it is ready to use, it must be "fed" to keep it alive. In a bowl, mix another starter mixture and stir into the live starter (called "doubling"). Let set in warm place for several hours until it is bubbly. Return half to the jar; use part to make bread or biscuits and give part to a friend.

Corn Breads

Corn breads differed between North and South because of the different types of corn which were grown in the regions. Flint corn (yellow) is grown throughout the North; in the southern portion of the Corn Belt (from Ohio through southern Tennessee) farmers grow Boone County White.

Corn Pone

Corn bread, quickly picked up by white settlers, was usually called pone (also known as journey cakes and today as johnny cake) when kept out of the ashes. Following the Indian tradition, when the same basic corn bread was baked in the hot ashes of an open fire, it was called ashcake. If it was baked in the fire on a hoe, it was called hoecake.

White corn meal (about 2 cups) Lard or shortening the size of an egg (4 Tbsp.)
Salt (about 1 tsp.) 1 tea-cupful boiling water (about ¾ cup)
Pinch of baking soda (1/4 tsp.) ½ tumbler buttermilk (about ½ cup)

Sift together corn meal, salt, and baking soda. Work in fat with finger tips until well blended. Pour in boiling water and continue to work the mixture. Gradually add enough buttermilk to make a soft dough, but one firm enough to be molded or patted into small, flat cakes. Place cakes in a hot, well-greased iron skillet and bake in a moderate oven (about 350F) for 35-40 minutes. Makes about 12.

Corn pone should be eaten hot. Serve with butter, molasses, maple syrup, or honey.

Spoon Bread

A famous southern dish, spoon bread originated as the Indian porridge, suppawn, and still retains the consistency of a porridge or pudding. It would have been inexcusable to make Spoon Bread with the yellow northern flint corn; it was always made with ground white corn. Corn bread as we know it today is much lighter and sweeter than Civil War period corn bread.

Butter the size of a large egg (5 Tbsp.) 1 pint boiling water
Water-ground corn meal (about 1 cup) ½ pint cold milk
Salt (about a tsp.) 4 eggs

Put butter in a medium-sized earthenware or glass baking dish and place in oven to melt while you prepare the batter.

Combine corn meal and salt in a mixing bowl and stir in boiling water until smooth. Let stand several minutes, then stir in milk. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating hard after each addition. Stir in melted butter last of all. Pour batter into the hot baking dish and bake in a hot oven (about 425F) for about 25-30 minutes.

Serve hot, right from the baking dish, with plenty of extra butter. Serves 4.

Beef Stew

This was a simple way to provide a meal, even for an inexperienced cook. Stew was constantly over the fire in some homesteads, being added to daily. As a homemaker gained experience, she developed her own personal recipe tailored to the likes of her family.

Rump of beef Salt and pepper
1 pint small beer Lemon peel
Carrots Sweet herbs*
Onion with cloves in it Celery

Cut the meat from the bone, flour and fry it. Pour over it a little boiling water and about a pint of small beer; add carrots, an onion stuck with cloves, some whole pepper, salt, a piece of lemon peel, a bunch of sweet herbs and let it stew an hour. Then add some good gravy. When the meat is tender, take it out and strain the sauce; thicken it with a little flour. Add a little celery already boiled, potatoes already boiled, a little catchup (tomato or walnut ketchup), then the meat and just simmer it up.

Or the celery may be omitted, and the stew enriched by adding fresh or pickled mushrooms, boiled and quartered artichoke-bottoms, and hard yolks of eggs. A piece of flank, or any piece that can be cut free from bone, will do instead of the rump.

* Sweet herbs would have been parsley, sweet marjoram, winter savory, orange and lemon thyme. The greatest proportion was the parsley.

Eggs and Cream

½ pint cream Salt and pepper
8 eggs

Boil cream until reduced by half. Add the eggs; season with salt and pepper. Boil them together until eggs are mostly hard. Pass a salamander (browner) over the top and serve hot.

Potato Soup

1 quart potatoes, peeled and cubed 1½ quarts chicken broth
1 carrot, pared 1 cup stale bread crumbs
2 stalks celery

Place the potatoes, carrot, and celery in a soup pot with one quart of the bouillon. Cook, covered, for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. Add the bread and cook 10 minutes longer. Put through a food mill or blender. Return the puree to the soup pot; add the remaining bouillon and heat 3 minutes longer. Correct the seasonings (to suit your taste). Serves 6.

Baked Beans

As with many other foods, baked beans of the 1860’s were not as sweet as they are today. Civil War soldiers on both sides had baked beans for breakfast when the opportunity arose. They were cooked over or in the campfire all night. It was not often, except during winter, that an army unit could plan to be in the same camp long enough to cook beans fresh during the day, nor would they have been likely to have the saleratus (baking soda) to soften the beans while on the march.

Water ¼ cup molasses
3 cups dried navy or pea beans 3 small onions, cut in chunks
1 tsp. saleratus (baking soda) 2 green peppers, cut in strips
¼ to ½ lb. salt pork

The night before cooking, put beans in saucepan or kettle to soak overnight in water to cover generously (a quart or more). Drain the next morning and refill kettle with water; simmer five minutes. Stir in soda to dissolve. Continue to simmer for about 40 minutes, then test beans for tenderness.

Drain liquid off the tender beans and pour in 5 cups fresh water. Return to simmer, adding salt pork. In 30 minutes pour off extra liquid (save for bean soup or to add later to beans)

Grease a casserole by rubbing with salt pork; leave salt pork in pan. Prepare vegetables and stir into beans. Put mixture in casserole with salt pork. Drizzle ¼ cup molasses over top and add bean water to cover.

Beans can be baked at 250F for 8 hours or at 350F for 4 hours . You may need to add additional bean water so the beans do not dry out. Serve with a small pitcher of molasses.

Pound Cake

1 lb. flour, sifted ½ glass brandy
1 lb. white sugar, powdered and sifted ½ glass rose-water
1 lb. fresh butter 12 drops essence of lemon (extract)
10 eggs 1 table-spoonful mixed mace and cinnamon
½ glass wine 1 nutmeg, powdered

Pound the spice and sift it. There should be twice as much cinnamon as mace. Mix the cinnamon, mace, and nutmeg together. Sift the flour in a broad pan or wooden bowl.

Sift the powdered sugar into a large deep pan, and cut the butter into it in small pieces. If the weather is very cold and the butter hard, set the pan near the fire for a few minutes. If the butter is too warm, the cake will be heavy. Stir the butter and sugar together with a wooden stick until they are very light and white and look like cream (cream thoroughly).

Beat the eggs in a broad shallow pan with a wooden egg-beater (or whisk). They must be beaten till they are thick and smooth and of the consistence of boiled custard.

Pour the mixed liquor and rose-water gradually into the butter and sugar, stirring all the time. Add by degrees, the essence of lemon and spices.

Stir the egg and flour alternately into the butter and sugar with a handful of flour and about 2 spoonfuls of the egg (which you must continue to beat all the time). When all is in, stir the whole mixture very hard for near 10 minutes.

Butter a large tin pan or cake mould with an open tube rising from the middle. Put the mixture into it as evenly as possible. Bake in moderate oven (about 350F) for 2 - 3 - 4 hours (? – watch before this amount of time in modern oven) in proportion to its thickness and to the heat of the fire.

When you think it is nearly done, thrust a twig or wooden skewer (often a clean broom straw, now a cake tester) into it down to the bottom. If the stick comes out clean and dry, the cake is almost baked. When quite done, it will shrink from the sides of the pan and cease making a noise. Then withdraw the coals (if baked in a Dutch oven, coals were put on top of the oven in an effort to keep heat even), take off the lid and let the cake remain in the oven to cool gradually.

You may ice it either warm or cold. Before you put the icing on a large cake, dredge the cake all over with flour, and then wipe the flour off. This will make the icing stick on better. If you have sufficient time, the appearance of the cake will be much improved by icing it twice. Put on the first icing soon after the cake is taken out of the oven, and the second the next day when the first is perfectly dry. While the last icing is moist, ornament it with colored sugar-sand or nonpareils.

Pumpkin or Squash Pie

When made for the family, this pie was often made with 1 egg to a quart of milk. The feeling was, the more eggs, the better the pie. So some used 1 egg for each gill of milk for company dessert.

Pumpkin or squash 2 tea-spoonfuls salt
3 eggs 2 great spoonfuls sifted cinnamon
1 quart milk 1 great spoonful ginger
Molasses or sugar Grated lemon peel (optional)

Take out the seeds and pare the pumpkin or squash before stewing but do not scrape the inside. The part nearest the seed is the sweetest part of the squash. Stew pumpkin and strain through a sieve or colander (or beat with mixer).

Stir the stewed pumpkin or squash into the milk beaten with eggs until it is as thick as you can stir it round rapidly and easily. To make the pie richer for company, make it thinner and add another egg. A decent pie can be made with only one egg to a quart of milk for everyday. Sweeten to taste with molasses or sugar. Some pumpkins require more sweetening than others. Ginger alone will be enough for spice if you use enough. A little grated lemon peel is nice.

Put in paste (pastry) shell. Bake without top crust for 40-50 minutes in moderate oven (350F), or longer if very deep.

Colored Almonds

The same coloring matters used to color these almonds was also used to color other foods when needed. These were considered a confection for a special occasion and were sometimes used as a table favor wrapped in white paper and tied with a ribbon.

Almonds Vegetable liquid (broth) with coloring

Blanch almonds and cut in small pieces (slivers). Put them on a baking plate and pour on them a little of any coloring infusion. Then rub them in your hands to mix them well with the color. When all are so done, dry them in a slow oven (about 200-250F). Watch that the coloring, when done, is light and delicate. Serve with colors either mixed or separate in paper cases.

Coloring:

Infuse (steep) vegetable liquid with the appropriate coloring ingredient for as long as it takes to get the degree of coloring you desire.
For rose color: Infuse cochineal or carmine (both red dyes from cochineal, purchased at an apothecary)
For violet: Infuse a little cochineal with indigo (dark blue dye, purchased at an apothecary) dissolved in water. Use only a small quantity in water as it is very strong.
For green: Take 2 handfuls of fresh spinach, Wash it well, drain and pound very fine, and press through napkin. Let the juice drip on a dish; then place the dish on a hot stove. When the juice
begins to boil, take it off and stir constantly until the green curdles. Then pour it through a very fine sieve. When well drained, strain through a tammy (silk sieve). The juice thus obtained will give the almonds a clean and even green color.
For blue: Dissolve a little indigo in water and strain it through a cloth.
For orange: Infuse a little liquid red and a little infusion of saffron together.
For yellow: Infuse a small quantity of saffron in nearly boiling water for a few minutes; strain.
For chocolate color: Dissolve chocolate in hot water and strain.

Chestnuts

Place chestnuts on the fire in a pan with holes to roast them, first slitting or cutting a notch in the skins to prevent them from flying off (exploding). When done, serve them as dessert as hot as possible.

Some boil the chestnuts instead of roasting them as the skins are cleaner, but the nuts are not quite so mealy. The best way is to boil them in plenty of water and when nearly done, take them out and roast them.

American Snow Balls

Rice Lemon peel to taste
Milk Cinnamon to taste
5-6 apples Linen squares

Boil some rice in milk (about equal parts of each, amount to depend on the size of your apples) till it be swelled and soft. Pare and carefully scoop out the core of five or six good-sized apples. Put into each a little grated lemon peel and cinnamon. Place as much rice as will cover an apple upon a bit of linen. Tie each closely and boil 2 hours. Serve with melted butter sweetened with sugar

Puddings

Puddings were by far the most common types of dessert in the 1700’s and 1800’s. This was partly because of limited cooking facilities in most households of the period. A pudding could be cooked and kept warm in a cast iron pot near the fire for hours until needed. Just about everything was used to make a pudding – fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, and dairy products.

Puddings were easy to prepare and generally used inexpensive ingredients at hand and only limited amounts of more expensive ingredients. Richer custards and puddings with expensive or hard-to-obtain ingredients were usually reserved for "company meals." Although some puddings were baked in a deep dish in the oven, most were tied in a closely woven fabric bag and put into already boiling water to cook.

Raspberry Cream

6 oz. raspberry jam Juice of 1 lemon
1 quart cream Sugar

Mix jam into cream and put through a lawn (finely woven thin linen or cotton fabric) sieve. Mix with lemon juice and a little sugar to taste. Whisk until thick. Serve in a dish or glasses.

Strawberry Cream can be made in the same manner. For common use, substitute good milk for the cream.

Common Custard

For everyday use this custard was also flavored (instead of with costlier spices) with a little lemon peel or with peaches leaves boiled in the milk and afterwards strained from it before adding other ingredients. Either of these was said to also give a pleasant flavor.

5 eggs Cinnamon
1 quart milk* Nutmeg
Brown sugar Little salt

Mix eggs and milk. Sweeten to taste with brown sugar. Spice with a small amount of cinnamon and/or nutmeg. Bake 15-20 minutes.

* It is well to boil your milk and set away till it is cold. Boiling the milk enriches it so that boiled skimmed milk is about as good as new milk.

Bread Pudding

This was another way to use stale and dry bread. It well illustrates the old belief, "Waste not, want not."

Stale bread Pinch of cinnamon
Milk Spoonful of rose-water or lemon-brandy
3 eggs 1 tea-cupful molasses or sugar
Pinch of salt Raisins
4 eggs

Crumble the bread the night before you want to serve it in the morning and soak overnight in milk. In the morning, beat the eggs with the bread and add salt. Tie it up in a bag, or in a pan that will exclude every drop of water. Boil it about an hour or a little more. When tied in a bag, no pudding should be put into the pot till the water boils.

Honey Cakes

1½ lb. sifted flour ½ oz. orange peel, cut small
¾ lb. honey ¾ oz. pounded ginger (powdered)
½ lb. finely pounded loaf sugar ¾ oz. pounded cinnamon (powdered)
¼ lb. citron

Melt the sugar with the honey, and mix in other ingredients. Roll out the paste (pastry) and cut into small cakes (cookies) of any form. Bake in moderate oven (350-375F).

Snickerdoodles

Very few people realize these still-popular cookies date as far back as the Civil War. At that time, snickerdoodles were often made with dried currants or raisins included. Try making them with a 50/50 mixture of all-purpose white flour and whole wheat flour. The taste difference is not dramatic but very good. It is approximately the same as these cookies would have tasted to the Civil War soldiers who received them in a box from home.

Although there is no baking powder in these cookies (it was not yet widely available in the 1860’s, but the cream of tartar and saleratus was an approximate substitute), they will puff up at first and then flatten out with crinkled tops.

2¾ cups flour 1½ tea-cupfuls sugar
2 tea-spoonfuls cream of tartar 2 eggs
1 tea-spoonful saleratus (baking soda) 2 table-spoonful sugar
½ tea-spoonful salt 2 tea-spoonfuls cinnamon
1 cup butter

Cream butter, gradually adding sugar and then eggs. Sift dry ingredients together. Gradually beat into creamed mixture. Chill dough.

Form into balls the size of small walnuts. Roll in a mixture of 2 Tbsp. sugar and 2 tsp. cinnamon. Place on a tin sheet (ungreased) and bake in a hot oven (about 400F) until lightly browned but still soft (about 10 minutes).

Posted by Blue Bellied Yank at 5/06/2007 12:14:00 PM 0

The Authors and the Hospitals

2007-05-08T09:34:00.000-05:00

"Quicksand years that whirl me I know not whither." --- Walt Whitman 1862

The author Walt Whitman was one of several writers that participated in the Civil War. Herman Melville was another author during that era and he went on scouting rides just to get a glimpse of the soldier's lifestyle. Melville went on to write Battle Pieces and Aspects of War. The female author Louisa May Alcott published Hospital Sketches in 1863. She served as a nurse during the winter of 1862. Her nursing career ended when she contracted typhoid fever and had to return home.

Whitman wrote, "The expression of American personality through this war is not to be looked for in the great campaign, and the battle fights. It is to be looked for in the hospitals, among the wounded."

That is exactly where he spent his time. In the converted church hospitals in Washington: Ascension, Methodist Episcopal, Epiphany, Union Methodist Episcopal, Harewood, Armory, Campbell and Carver. It was in these hospital corridors that he wrote his wartime prose. Walt Whitman's book of poetry entitled Drum Taps was published in 1865.

Cases - That Will Make You Squeamish

2007-05-07T09:49:00.000-05:00

The Civil War was fought, "at the end of the medical Middle Ages." claimed the Union Army Surgeon General.

Little was known about what caused disease. Little was done to stop disease from spreading. There were few cures for disease, so doctors turned to folk medicine or bloodletting. Surgical techniques were barbaric and many surgeons were barely competent. Civil War soldier's chances of not surviving the war were roughly one in four. These fallen men were cared for by underqualifled, understaffed, and undersupplied medical corps. Sometimes the very means used to keep the men from suffering caused their very death.

Deaths from Chloroform...

CASE 1236.--Private G. Budlinger, 76th Ohio, aged 30 years, admitted into hospital of 1st division, Fifteenth Corps, with a shot wound of hand; placed upon operation table and about a drachm of chloroform sprinkled upon four folds of patent lint applied to face, space being given for the free admission of air. After breathing it for a few moments quietly without any apparent effect, more chloroform was added and reapplied by a nurse in attendance (the surgeon having stepped aside for a moment), when, after six or seven respirations, the patient drew up his legs and arms convulsively, and heavy stertorous breathing came on. Chloroform removed immediately, and a few moments given him to resume his regular breathing, but the difficulty increased; frothy exudation from mouth,excess of saliva; respiration became more and more incomplete, pulse small and imperceptible, veins of neck and face prominently distended; heart action ceased before respiration had entirely stopped. Friction to extremities, cold water dashed in face, jugular vein opened, artificial respiration, without relief. The surgeons of the hospital reported, as the result of an autopsy, that being unable to discover any other abnormal condition, and its the absence of further evidence, it may be proper to conclude that this is a case of apoplexy induced by chloroform.

CASE 1267.--Private Francis Heward, Co. F, 1st New Jersey, was admitted into Fairfax Seminary Hospital, April 5, 1862, with a dislocation of left humerus forward and inward of a few hours' standing. Surgeon Henry A. Armstrong, 2d New York Artillery, reduced the bone without assistance. On May 6th Acting Assistant Surgeon H. W. Ducachet discovered that the bone wits again out of place in the same direction. The patient was chloroformed and reduction attempted with the heel in the axilla, but without success. On the 9th pulleys and counter-extending hands were obtained and adjusted. Chloroform was again administered, a drachm being poured upon a piece of lint about two inches square and held about three inches from his face, a towel being thrown over the head of the patient and hand of the operator, and which was removed from time to time to admit air. Some time elapsed before the muscles became relaxed, when the chloroform was removed. There was no stertorous breathing, choking, or struggling, nor was there occasion to use force to keep him down, as at the previous administration. There was, as there always is, congestion of the conjunctiva and vessels of the neck, but not as much, certainly not more, than when the chloroform was administered on the 6th. Reduction was being attempted when symptoms of asphyxia were noticed; the pulleys were instantly relaxed, the tongue drawn forward, and artificial respiration resorted to, but everything failed. No autopsy was made. The report of the case is signed by Surgeon H. A. Armstrong and Acting Ass't Surgeon H. W. Ducachet.

CASE 1275.--Private Henry S. Ware, Co. K, 38th New York, aged 23 years, was struck by a shell in the upper part of the right leg at the battle of Williamsburg, May 5, 1862, for which injury the limb was removed on the field, at the middle third of the thigh. He was admitted into the general hospital at David's Island, New York Harbor, on June 15th, and came under the care of Acting Assistant Surgeon E. B. Root on June 26th, at which time his general condition was bad. He was suffering from diarrhœa and a very large bed-sore. The wound had nearly united but the bone was denuded. The constant discharge from the stump necessitated the removal of the necrosed bone. On October 9th the patient was placed under the influence of ether and an inch of bone removed with the chain saw, and then two inches off the bone with its involucrum. During the operation the femoral artery was divided, but not much blood was lost. Altlough it was found that more of the shaft was involved, further operative interference was deemed unnecessary. The patient was removed to his bed, when severe vomiting commenced which continued to the time of his death, within seventy-two hours. The post-mortem examination showed all the viscera healthy. Surgeon S. W. Gross, U. S. V., ascribes the death to the effects of the ether superadded to the previous exhausted condition of the system. The constant vomiting and retching could not be arrested.

* Photo of Chisolm's Inhaler

Auld Lang Syne

2007-05-06T08:06:00.000-05:00

As the theater of the Civil War closed on 1861, the mudd, muck and stink of war had shown it's bloody face. Those who had thought the hostilities would only last a few short months were disheartened. The Confederates had driven back the mighty fighting force of the North. First at Bull Run, where Willis Gorman became the most hated officer in the army as the 1st Minnesota suffered the highest loss of any regiment. Followed by another depressing defeat at Ball's Bluff to the rallying cry of 'Remember Ellsworth' by the retreating Union troops! Many were dead, wounded or taken captive by the Secesh.
The Iron Brigade would have more battles to wage with the return of spring when the fighting camgaign resumed. Many units remained camped on Capital Hill in defense of the Capital. Others marched up the Potomac River. Winter quarters were being set up near Edward's Ferry, a cardinal crossing on the Potomoc in Maryland.
Most of the units had not yet been paid for services rendered. Complaints of hard grub were commonly heard until the funds finally arrived.
Kentucky had declared herself for the Union. Confederate General Polk had invaded the state and now occupied Columbus. General Grant moved forces to control Paducah, the stragtic spot at the mouth of both the Cumberland and the Tennessee Rivers.
It was heard that Edwin M. Stanton would be replacing Simon Cameron as secretary of war. The word was that Jackson's troops were still on the move.

George W. Rinehimer

2007-05-05T11:52:00.000-05:00

George Wesley Rinehimer was born in Hanover, Pennsylvania on September 29th in 1847. The younger brother of Emmanuel Rinehimer and brother-in-law to Daniel Porchet. He enlisted as a private in Company A, 141st Illinois Infantry on June 16th, 1864. Departed for the field on June 27th, 1864. Moved to Columbus, Kentucky and garrison duty. This regiment did not have a band. It lost 21 members by disease. Mustered out on October 10, 1864.

Wright Family Prayer

2007-05-03T11:10:00.001-05:00

There is nothing purer than honesty, nothing sweeter than charity, nothing warmer than love, nothing richer than wisdom, nothing more steadfast than faith. Those united in one mind form the purest, the sweetest, the warmest, the richest, the brightest and the most steadfast happiness. Here is some advice also, youth of the Wright clan; that has been taught for years to the youth of the Wright clan; be this they simple plan, Serve God and love they brother man. Forget not in temptation's hour that sin lends sorrow double power. Count life a state upon they way, and follow conscience, come that may, alike with Heaven and Earth sincere, with hand and brow and bosom clear, Fear God and know no other fear. May we of later years emulate the kindly spirit of our forefathers, and keep their precepts, thus doing them honor, and cheering on the world in its struggle of life, as well. We bless God that among the possibilities of humanity is a grand old age. Old men have blessed the world in all generations. They have blessed the secular world, and it has been so in the religious world as well. It was the aged Saint John who wrote the book of Revelation, by means of which we, receive our highest conceptions of heaven. Do not say I must do so and so, just go and do it, and come back and say it is done. Do not put off till tomorrow what you can do today. Always be kind to all whom you meet. The bravest of men are the most tender hearted. Love God and fear no man. Sometimes the sun seems to hang in the western horizon for half an hour, only just to show how glorious it can be. The day is done, the heat of shinning is over, and the beauty of the western skies baffle description. So God seems to let some of his people linger in the west after their work is done, that men may look on them and see how beautiful they are. Some are lingering there now; do you behold their beauty, shining out though Christ Jesus?
Rev. Fred Wright

The Wright Cousins

2007-05-03T08:43:00.000-05:00

Reuben Wright was born in Steuben County, New York. He moved with his family to Wisconsin. He was proud to say he was one of the first in line to answer President Lincoln's call for 75,000 volunteers. He enlisted April 18th, 1861 as a private in Company B, 2nd Infantry Regimentat Madison, Wisconsin. The unit was mustered in June 11th, 1861. The 2nd Infantry was attached to Sherman's Brigade in Taylor's Division of McDowell's Army stationed at Fort Corcoran. Rendered service in the advance on Manassas, July 16-21, 1861 and the occupation of Fairfax Court House July 17th. Saw action at Blackburn's Ford on July 18th. Fought in the Battle of Bull Run on July 21th. Served in defenses of Washington. Promoted to Full Corporal. Discharged due to disability January 4th, 1863.

Rueben's cousin John B Wright, of Mauston, Wisconsin enlisted on October 3rd, 1861
and served as a Sergeant in Company I, 8th Infantry Regiment.
He was wounded at the Battle of Corinth in Mississippi and mustered out Company I, on September 16th in 1864.

His other cousin,Orin L. Wright, from Mackford, Wisconsin enlisted on August 31th, 1864 as a private in Company M, 1st Heavy Artillery Regiment. Discharged due to disability on January 28th, 1865.

Lambert Wright , from Mackford, Wisconsin enlisted on January 2nd, 1864 in Company I, 3rd Infantry Regiment. He was absent from Company I due to illness and mustered out on July 18th, 1865.

Another one of the cousins from Mackford was my GGG-Grandfather, Ransom K Wright. He enlisted on August 31st in 1864 and served as a drummer boy in Company M, 1st Heavy Artillery Regiment. Mustered out on June 26th in 1865.
His parents were R. G. and Clarissa A. Wright from New York. He had a little brother named Randolph who was too young to fight. Ransom lied about his age just to get into the army and serve alongside his older cousins. Ransom caught tuberculious during the war, possibly from his cousin Lambert who was very ill with some disease. Ransom survived the war, married and had a child before succumbing to the disease.
My Grandfather was named after him.

Old Fashion Turtle Soup

2007-05-02T11:24:00.000-05:00

There's an ole coonhound running round camp today. It turns out that pup cornered us boys a big snapping turtle. A larger one I have never seen in all my life. The boys yelled to put it in the cook pot. One of the farm boys in our group said he'd fix the turtle up right fine after scalding! He layed it on its back used his Bowie knife on it after it came up out of the pot. Another one of the boys wished to keep the turtle shell as a sovereign. The cook then steeped the turtle parts in spring water while cutting up an onion and some potatoes to throw into the pot, along with a bit of flour and lard. The pot was then left to simmer while we went about our garrison duties.

Old Fashion Turtle Soup

3/4 cup flour
turtle meat, cut
butter/lard
1 celery stalk,chopped
2 onions, minced
1 tomato, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 bay leaves
pinch of oregano
pinch of thyme
pinch of parsley, chopped
pinch of black pepper
pinch of salt
1 quart stock

Melt butter/lard in a heavy pan. Add the flour and cook, stirring frequently, until the roux is light brown. Set aside.
In pan, melt butter/lard and add turtle meat. Cook until the meat is brown. Add vegetables and herbs.

Hardtack Recipe

2007-05-01T21:54:00.000-05:00

Hardtack Recipe
Hardtack was a staple issued to the Union soldiers as a daily ration during the Civil War. A biscuit made from flour and other simple ingredients. It was very similar to heavyweight soda cracker. It was square or rectangular in shape with holes. The hardtack crackers were packed into wooden crates and shipped to the camps by railroad or wagon. Sometimes the batch brought to the soldiers was already several months old. Far from bring fresh, it was often called sheet-iron or tooth dullers. Weevils infested these worm castles crates that were kept stacked outside of the tents until the rations were issued. Hardtack dipped in bacon grease or hardtack and a slice of salt pork made for a hearty meal to a hungry soldier. Salted pork fried in hardtack crumbles was called skillygallee, and it was a common meal.

Hardtack Recipe

2 cups of flour
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon of lard
Pinch of salt

Mix the ingredients together, knead the dough, and spread the dough out flat on a baking pan. Bake for 1/2 hour at 400 degrees. Remove from oven, cut dough into squares, and punch four rows of holes into the dough. Turn dough over, return to the oven and bake another 1/2 hour. Turn oven off and leave the door closed. Remove the hardtack when cooled

Private William F. Sarver

2007-04-29T12:04:00.000-05:00

Over the weekend I was able to piece together the history of my husband's Great-grandfather. We just discovered he served in the Civil War. No one in the family realized this previously. In the 1900 US Fereral Census William was age 71 years and his second wife was just 42. She collected a Civil War pension for many years.

The Sarver Family relocated to Minnesota from Butler County, Pennsylvania. There is a Sarver Township in Butler County and even a Sarver Cemetery. William Foreman Sarver was born on the family farm in 1929, where his Father was a wagonmaker. He was married in Butler County, in 1849 to Mary Jane Davidson who was born in 1833. William and his new wife moved west to Carver County, Minnesota to homestead in the 1850's. His first wife soon died. He enlisted the first autumn of the Civil War. He was later discharged from the Army for disability after being wounded. It is not known at which battle the wound occurred. William remarried two years after the end of the war. He died on December 12th in 1912.

Minnesota Civil War Soldier - Private William F. Sarver, resided at Chanhassan in Carver County, Minnesota when he enlisted and was 32 years of age. His induction date was October the 5th, 1861. He served with the 4th Regiment Minnesota Infantry First Sharpshooters. His Unit served at Bennett's House on April 26th in 1865.

Minnesota 1st Company Sharpshooters History

Organized under authority of the Secretary of War at Fort Snelling, MN, and mustered into service October 5, 1861. Moved to Washington, D.C., October 6-10, 1861, and reported to Col. Berdan, at Camp of Instruction.

4th Regiment Infantry

Organized by Companies at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, as follows: Company "A" mustered in October 4, 1861. Moved to Fort Ridgly, and garrison duty there until March, 1862. Company "C" mustered in October 7, 1861. Also moved to Fort Ridgly and garrison duty there until March, 1862. Moved to Fort Abercrombie, and duty there until March, 1862 Regiment concentrated at Fort Snelling March, 1862, and moved to Benton Barracks, Mo., April 20-23, 1862. Moved to Hamburg Landing, Tenn., May 2-14. Attached to 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, Army of Mississippi, May to November, 1862. 1st Brigade, 7th Division, Left Wing 13th Army Corps (Old), Dept. of the Tennessee, to December, 1862. 1st Brigade, 7th Division, 16th Army Corps, to January, 1863. 1st Brigade, 7th Division, 17th Army Corps, to September, 1863. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 17th Army Corps, to December, 1863. 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, 15th Army Corps, to April, 1865. 1st Brigade, 1st Division, 15th Army Corps, to July, 1865.

Advance on and siege of Corinth, Miss., May 18-30. Pursuit to Booneville May 31-June 12. Duty at Clear Creek until August. Expedition to Rienzi and Ripley June. Moved to Jacinto August 5, and duty there until September 18. March to Iuka, Miss., September 18-19. Battle of Iuka September 19. Moved to Corinth October 1. Battle of Corinth October 3-4. Pursuit to Ripley October 5-12. Grant's Central Mississippi Campaign November, 1862, to January, 1863. Reconnaissance from Lagrange November 8-9, 1862. Duty at White's Station and Memphis, Tenn., until February, 1863. Expedition to Yazoo Pass by Moon Lake, Yazoo Pass and Coldwater and Tallahatchie Rivers February 24-April 8. Operations against Fort Pemberton and Greenwood March 13-April 5. Moved to Milliken's Bend, La., April 13-15. Movement on Bruinsburg and turning Grand Gulf April 25-30. Battle of Port Gibson, Miss., May 1. Jones' Cross Roads and Willow Springs May 3. Battles of Raymond May 12; Jackson May 14; Champion's Hill May 16; Big Black River May 17. Siege of Vicksburg May 18-July 4. Assaults on Vicksburg May 19 and 22. Expedition to Mechanicsburg May 26-June 4. Surrender of Vicksburg July 4. Garrison duty at Vicksburg until September 12. Moved to Helena, Ark., September 12, thence to Memphis, Tenn., and Corinth, Miss., and march to Chattanooga, Tenn., October 6-November 20. Operations on Memphis & Charleston Railroad in Alabama October 20-29. Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23-27. Tunnel Hill November 24-25. Mission Ridge November 25. Pursuit to Graysville November 26-27. At Bridgeport and Huntsville, Ala., until June, 1864. Operations about Whitesburg, Ala., February 2, 1864. Veterans on furlough March 5 to May 4, 1864. Moved from Huntsville, Ala., to Stevenson, Ala., thence to Kingston, Ga., June 22-25, thence to A1latoona July 5-6, and garrison duty there until November. Battle of Allatoona October 5. March to the sea November 15-December 10. Siege of Savannah, Ga., December 10-21. Campaign of the Carolinas January to April, 1865. Salkehatchie Swamps, S.C., February 2-5. South Edisto River February 9. North Edisto River February 12-13. About Columbia February 15-17. Cheraw March 3. Battle of Bentonville, N. C., March 19-21. Occupation of Goldsboro March 24. Advance on Raleigh April 10-14, and occupation. Bennett's House April 26. Surrender of Johnston and his army. March to Washington, D.C., via Richmond, Va., April 29-May 20. Grand Review May 24. Moved to Louisville, Ky., June 2-3. Duty there until July 19. Mustered out July 19 and discharged at St. Paul, Minnesota, on August 7, 1865.

Soldier from Osceola, Wisconsin

2007-04-29T08:38:00.001-05:00

James B Wright ,
Residence: Osceola, Wisconsin
Enlistment Date: 8 Aug 1862
Side Served: Union
State Served: Wisconsin
Service Record: Enlisted as a Private on 08 August 1862
Enlisted in 10th Light Artillery Regiment Wisconsin on 08 August 1862.
Mustered out 10th Light Artillery Regiment Wisconsin on 07 June 1865

Even Olson

2007-04-26T20:02:00.000-05:00

Even Olson resided in Two Rivers, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, (the hometown of my great-grandmother) at the start of the Civil War. He was born in Norway on November 5th, 1837. His family relocated to America and settled in Wisconsin to farm the fertile soil.
Like many Scandinavians he had blue eyes, blonde hair and a fair complexion. He was 5' 6" and 28 years of age when he enlisted on September 21st, 1864. He signed on as a private for one year of duty in the 27th Wisconsin Infantry Company K.

The History of the 29th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment

2007-04-26T11:03:00.000-05:00

The Twenty-ninth Wisconsin Infantry Regiment was organized at Camp Randall, Madison, Wisconsin, and mustered into the service of the United States Union Army on September 27th, 1862. The Regiment left the state on November 2nd, reaching Helena, Arkansas, where it engaged in operations in the interior of the state and expeditions up the White River, to Friars Point in Mississippi, and as far as Yazoo Pass.
The regiment left Arkansas on April 10th, in the movement against Vicksburg. Crossing the Mississippi River on April 30th the unit moved to the front and took part in the battle of Fort Gibson on May Day. Serving under General Grant the regiment engaged in the battle of Champions Hill on May 16th, and then took position in the trenches in the rear of Vicksburg, and continued on in the siege until the surrender on July 4th, 1863. The day after the surrender the 29th was detailed to took part in the Jackson Campaign, running from July 5th to the 25th. In August accompanying other forces, it occupied Natchez, Mississippi, and from there moved into southern Louisiana. It was engaged in many expeditions about New Ibrin, and in the early part of January of 1864, joined an expedition to Texas on the Rio Grande, returning to New Orleans by the end of February.
It was next assigned to duty with the forces engaged in the Red River expedition, March 10th-22nd, 1864, and participated in that campaign, and saw action in the battle of Sabine Cross Roads on April 8th, 1864. As a part of the work of the Twenty-ninth in this campaign it assisted Colonel Bailey in constructing a dam across the Red River which saved the Union gun boats. After the abandonment of the movement the regiment was transferred to southern Louisiana where it remained until September. Then the unit was transferred back to Arkansas, with headquarters at Little Rock, from which the regiment accompanied many expeditions in frequent contact with the enemy.
In January of 1865, the Twenty-ninth was again ordered to New Orleans as a part of the forces collecting for the reduction of the fortifications at Mobile, Alabama. This campaign lasting from March 17th to the 4th of May in 1865. It included the reduction of Spanish Fort and the capture of Fort Blakely. The war being practically over, the regiment remained in southern Louisiana until the 22th of June, when it was mustered out of the service of the United States, returning to Madison, and was disbanded on July 17th, 1865.

Wright Family Prayer

2007-04-26T10:15:00.000-05:00

aThere is nothing purer than honesty, Nothing sweeter than charity, Nothing warmer than love, Nothing richer than wisdom, Nothing more steadfast than faith. Those united in one mind form the purest, the sweetest, the warmest, the richest, the brightest and the most steadfast happiness. Here is some advice also, youth of the Wright clan;
That has been taught for years to the youth of the Wright clan; Be this they simple plan, Serve God and love they brother man. forget not in temptation's hour that sin lends sorrow double power. Count life a state upon they way, And follow conscience, come that may, Alike with Heaven and Earth sincere, With hand and brow and bosom clear, Fear God and know no other fear.
May we of later years emulate the kindly spirit of our forefathers, and keep their precepts, thus doing them honor, and cheering on the world in its struggle of life, as well.
We bless God that among the possibilities of humanity is a grand old age. Old men have blessed the world in all generations. They have blessed the secular world, and it has been so in the religious world as well. It was the aged Saint John who wrote the book of Revelation, by means of which we, who live in the twentieth century, receive our highest conceptions of heaven
"Do not say I must do so and so, just go and do it, and come back and say it is done." "Do not put off till tomorrow what you can do today." "Always be kind to all whom you meet." "The bravest of men are the most tender hearted." "Love God and fear no man."
Sometimes the sun seems to hang in the western horizon for half an hour, only just to show how glorious it can be. The day is done, the heat of shinning is over, and the unspeakable beauty of the western skies baffle description. So God seems to let some of his people linger in the west after their work is done, that men may look on them and see how beautiful they are. Some are lingering there now; do you behold their beauty, shining out though Christ Jesus?
Rev. Fred Wright 1906

The History of the 7th Wisconsin Light Artillery

2007-04-25T12:33:00.000-05:00

The Seventh Battery of the Wisconsin Light Artillery was organized at Camp Utley, Racine, Wisconsin, and mustered into the service of the United States Union Army on the 4th of October, 1861. The battery left the state on the 15th of March, 1862, proceeding to New Madrid, MO, where it was placed in charge of siege guns which it operated until the surrender of Island Number 10, April 8th, 1862. The unit remained for a short time at that station, and was then transferred to Tennessee and assigned to forces operating in middle Tennessee. For several months, the Seventh Battery was engaged in active pursuit of rebel raiders in western Tennessee, and participated in the action at Parker's Cross Roads on December 31st, 1862.
From headquarters at Jackson, Tennessee, the battery accompanied expeditions into various parts of western Tennessee and northern Mississippi, and for a short period in June of 1863, was stationed at Corinth, Mississippi. In the latter part of that month the Seventh Battery was transferred to Memphis, which remained the headquarters of the organization during the remainder of its term of service. From this point, the battery participated in many expeditions against the enemy, including an action at Guntown, Mississippi on June 10th, 1864, and the defense of Memphis on August 1st, 1864. The battery remained at Memphis until its muster out of the service of the United States Union Army on July 20th, 1865.

The History of the Wisconsin 3rd Infantry Regiment

2007-04-25T12:21:00.000-05:00

The 3rd Infantry was organized at Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and mustered into the service of the United States Union Army on the 29th day of June, 1861. The regiment left Wisconsin on July the 12th reporting to Hagerstown, Maryland. From the camp at Hagerstown the men marched on to Harper's Ferry.
The Third was then assigned to Patterson's Army and its first year of service was served upon the upper Potomac and in the Shenandoah Valley. The Regiment participated in a number of engagements. The most important being Winchester and Cedar Mountain.
When the Union army under General Pope was being pressed northward by the Confederates in August 1862, the portion of the army in which the Third was serving was united with the army under General Pope, and shortly thereafter General McClellan was assigned as Commandeer in Chief. It was as a part of this force the Third participated in the battle of Antietam.
In the early part of 1863, with the Army of the Potomac, the 3rd participated in the campaign of Chancellorsville, and the battle of Gettysburg.
On July 13, 1863, the Third was sent to the city of New York to assist in quelling the draft riots in that city, and encamped in the City Hall park until the 5th of September, when the regiment returned to Virginia.
In the latter part of September the Twelfth Corps, of which the Third was a part, was transferred to the middle of southern Tennessee as a part of the Army of the Cumberland. The Third was stationed at Stevenson, AL, from the 3rd day of October, and during the latter part of that year to the early part of 1864. The regiment was engaged in guarding important lines of railroad communications in southern Tennessee and northern Alabama.
On the reorganization of the Army about Chattanooga for the advance upon Atlanta under General Sherman, the Third was assigned to the Second Brigade of the First Division of the Twentieth Army Corps and commanded by General Joseph Hooker. As a part of Hooker's force the 3rd participated in the Atlanta Campaign from Chattanooga to Atlanta, May 1 to September 8, 1864; the 'March to the Sea', Atlanta to Savannah, November 15 to December 21, 1864, and from Savannah through the Carolinas, January 1 to April 26, 1865, until the surrender of the Confederate forces under General Johnston April 26, 1865.
Thereafter the Third participated in the Grand Review at Washington. On the 15th of June the 3rd was transferred to Louisville, KY, and was mustered out of the service of the United States on the 18th of July, 1865. The regiment returned to Madison, WI on the 23rd of July and was shortly thereafter disbanded.

The Merry Widow - Rose O'Neal Greenhow

2007-04-25T11:40:00.000-05:00

She was born Maria Rosatta O'Neal in Port Tobacco, Maryland in 1817. She was an orphan who lived with her aunt in Washington, D.C. Her aunt ran a boarding house where Rose was introduced to important figures in the Washington area. One of her close friends was Dolley Madison. Rose was a beautiful young woman, educated and well mannered. She had many suitors including Dr. Robert Greenhow, whom she married. The Greenhow family raised up four daughters.
After the tragic death of her husband, the departure of her eldest daughter to the frontier and the death of her second eldest daughter just prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, Rose decided to take the side of the Southern cause. Her loyalty to the Confederacy and the right to secession continued to grow. She was recruited as a spy by Southern loyalists.
Prior to the battle of First Bull Run, Rose passed along secret messages to Confederate General Beauregard containing critical information regarding the tactical plans of Union General Irvin McDowell. Confederate President Jefferson Davis later credited Rose with assisting in a victory at Manassas.
Fearing for her life she sent one of her two remaining daughters to France. On August 23nd, 1861, Allan Pinkerton, apprehended the rebel Rose and placed her under arrest. She celebrated the new year by being transferred to Old Capitol Prison, where her youngest daughter little Rose, was allowed to stay with her. Even while incarcerated Rose was able to pass messages along by concealing them in visitor's hair!

Mesilla Valley, New Mexico

2007-04-25T08:08:00.000-05:00

Shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run the conflict of the Civil War reached the southwest. On July 25th, 1861, Colonel John R. Baylor and his 220 Texas Mounted Rifles marched into the Mesilla Valley of New Mexico. The Confederate troops encountered only slight resistance. The skirmish took place when Major Isaac Lynde, commander of the Federal troops at nearby Fort Filmore, attempted to drive the Confederate Regiment of Texas Mounted Rifles from Mesilla. Major Lynde approached the town with his troops and demanded that the Confederates surrender. When Colonel Baylor refused, Major Lynde opened fire with his artillery. He then ordered his cavalry to attack Colonel Baylor's troops. Major Lynde's attack was driven back. The Union forces suffered the loss of three enlisted men, two officers were also killed and another four men were wounded. There were no losses to the Confederates.
Within two days of fighting, the Union troops had abandoned Fort Fillmore, surrendering at San Augustin Spring. Colonel Baylor then set up his immediate headquarters on Calle Principal, off the Plaza in Mesilla where he raised the Confederate flag.

The Hungarian - Julius H. Stahel

2007-04-24T08:36:00.000-05:00

Stahel was born in the city of Szeged, Hungary, on November 5th, 1825. He was educated in his homeland's local schools. In 1846 he moved to Budapest and became a printer. This profession enabled him to meet many literary figures. In 1856 Stahel decided to leave Hungary behind for good. He arrived in America and settled in New York City. He found employment in the journalism trade.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Stahel and Ludwig Blenker, organized the 8th New York Volunteer Infantry, the first German-American regiment in the Union army. Stahel became the regiment's lieutenant colonel and Blenker its colonel.
At the First Battle of Bull Run, the 8th New York was assigned to the First Brigade of the Fifth Division. With Blenker in command of the brigade, Stahel led the regiment. Since the division constituted the Union army's reserve at Centreville, it was not engaged in the battle proper. Unlike many of the Union troops, Blenker's men did not disintegrate into a fleeing mob as the Confederates gained the upper hand, but held their ground in perfect formation, covering the retreat to Washington. For their valiant conduct on the battlefield, both Stahel and Blenker were promoted; Blenker was advanced to brigadier-general and Stahel became colonel of the 8th New York. Shortly afterwards, on November 12, Stahel received his star as a brigadier general.

The German - Louis Blenker

2007-04-24T08:12:00.001-05:00

Louis Blenker was born in Worms, Germany, July 31st in 1812. In his youth he was apprenticed to a jeweler, but on becoming of age he enlisted in the Bavarian legion. When the legion was disbanded m 1837, he received the rank of lieutenant. He returned home to study of medicine at the University of Munich. Rather then becoming a doctor he found employment in the wine trade in Worms. By 1849 he was a member of the government in that city, and commander of the national guard. He fought in several successful engagements before he retired in Switzerland. In September 1849, having been ordered to leave the country, he came to the United States and settled in Rockland County, New York, where he farmed.
At the beginning of the civil war, he organized the 8th New York Volunteer Infantry, known as the First German Rifles. He was commissioned colonel on May 31st, 1861. Like many volunteer troops, the 8th New York drilled and paraded often, much to the delight of citizens. Blenker never failed to put on a good show. Despite his penchant for theatrics and gaudy uniforms, Blenker was a brave man, a fine horseman, and an organized commander. His regiment was a model unit. The 8th New York left the city at the end of May with Blenker making a grand appearance at the head of his troops on a superb horse.
At the First Battle of Bull Run, the 8th New York was assigned to the First Brigade of the Fifth Division. With Blenker in command of the brigade, Stahel led the regiment. The division was in reserve at Centreville, it was not engaged in the battle proper. Unlike many of the Union troops, Blenker's men did not disintegrate into a fleeing mob as the Confederates gained the upper hand, but held their ground in perfect formation, covering the retreat to Washington. With three regiments he stood to fight against an outnumbering enemy. For their brave conduct on the battlefield, Blenker and Stahel were both promoted. Blenker advanced to brigadier general and Stahel became colonel of the 8th New York.

The Whig - Robert Schenck

2007-04-24T08:10:00.000-05:00

Robert Cumming Schenck was born in Franklin, Warren county, Ohio on October 4th, 1809. His father William C. Schenck was an officer in General Harrison’s army. His Father died in 1821 and Robert was placed under the guardianship of James Findlay in Cincinnati, Ohio. Robert graduated from Miami University in 1827, and was a tutor at Oxford for three years. He then studied law and was admitted to the bar and practiced in Dayton, Ohio. He served two years in the State Legislature, and was elected to Congress as a Whig, serving from 1843 till 1851. President Fillmore then sent him to Brazil. While serving in this capacity he distinguished himself as a diplomat by taking part in the negotiation of treaties with Paraguay, Uraguay and Argentina. After two years he returned to Ohio. When the civil war broke out he offered his service to the government, and was commissioned a brigadier-general by President Lincoln on May 17th, 1861. He served with his brigade in the first battle of Bull Run.

The West Point Boys - Ambrose Burnside

2007-04-24T08:08:00.000-05:00

Ambrose Everett Burnside was born on May 23, 1824 in Liberty, Indiana. He was the fourth of nine children of Edghill and Pamela Brown Burnside. His father was a native of South Carolina and had been a slave owner who freed his slaves. Ambrose attended Liberty Seminary as a young boy, but his education was interrupted when his mother died in 1841 and he was apprenticed to a local tailor, later becoming a partner in the business. His interest in military affairs and his father's political connections obtained an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1843. He graduated in 1847, 18th in his class of 38, and was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 2nd U.S. Artillery. He performed garrison duty during the closing of the war with Mexico.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Burnside was a brigadier general in the Rhode Island Militia. He raised a regiment, the 1st Rhode Island Infantry, and was appointed colonel on May 2nd, 1861. Within a month, he ascended to brigade command in the Department of Northeast Virginia. He commanded the brigade during the First Battle of Bull Run in July of 1861, taking over division command temporarily for wounded Brigadier General David Hunter. After his regiment was mustered out of service, he was promoted to brigadier general of volunteers, and was assigned to train provisional brigades in the Army of the Potomac.

Battle of Carthage - July 5th, 1881

2007-04-22T09:35:00.001-05:00

The Campaign in Jasper County was an operation to control Missouri. The fight broke out on July 5, 1861 with Brig. General Franz Sigel commanding the Union Army and Governor Claiborne Jackson in command of the pro-Confederate forces. It was brought about when Claiborne Jackson who had defied the state legislature by setting up a breakway Confederate state goverment at the town of Neosho decided to lead a ragtag group of rebels against the forces of the Union. Sigel withdrew but then fiery US Army Captain Nathaniel Lyon decided to march into southwestern Missouri to confront the Confederate forces under Ben McCulloch. Captain Nathaniel Lyon chased Governor Claiborne Jackson and his State Militia from the State Capital at Jefferson City and from Boonville and pursued them. Colonel Franz Sigel led another force of about 1,000 into southwest Missouri in search of the governor and his troops. Upon learning that Sigel had encamped at Carthage, on the night of July 4, Governor Jackson took command of the troops and formulated a plan to attack the much smaller Union force. The next morning, Governor Jackson closed up to the Union forces, established a battle line on a ridge ten miles north of Carthage, and induced Sigel to attack him. Opening with artillery fire, Sigel closed to the attack. Seeing a large Confederate force, (actually unarmed recruits), moving into the woods on his left, he feared that they would turn his flank. He withdrew again. The Confederates pursued, but Sigel conducted a successful rearguard action. By evening, Sigel was inside Carthage and under cover of darkness; he retreated to Sarcoxie. Estimated casualties were 244 combined total. The South taking the greater lost of life. The battle had little meaning, but the pro-Southern elements in Missouri, anxious for any good news, championed their first Confederate victory.

The West Point Boys - Irvin McDowell

2007-04-22T09:22:00.001-05:00

Irvin McDowell was born in Columbus, Ohio on October 15th, 1818. He attended the college in France before graduating from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1838. He was commissioned a second lieutenant and posted to the 1st U.S. Artillery. McDowell served as a tactics instructor at West Point, before becoming an aide to General John E. Wool during the Mexican War. He was brevetted captain at Buena Vista and received another brevet promotion to major in 1856. McDowell was promoted to brigadier general on May 14th, 1861, given command of the Union Army in Virginia, despite never commanding in combat before. He knew that his troops were inexperienced but pressure from the Washington forced him to launch an offensive against Confederate forces in northern Virginia. His complex strategy during the First Battle of Bull Run resulted in a rout because his troops did not have enough experience to carry out his orders.

The West Point Boys - Erasmus D. Keyes

2007-04-22T09:01:00.000-05:00

Erasmus Darwin Keyes was born in Brimfield, Massachusetts on May 29th, 1810. While he was young the Keyes family moved to Kennebec County, Maine. His father was a surgeon but Erasmus pursued a military career and enrolled in the U. S. Military Academy at West Point. He graduated 10th in his class in 1832, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 3rd Artillery. He served in Charleston Harbor, during the nullification troubles and as an aide to General Winfield Scott. Promoted to captain on November 30th, 1841, he served at various garrisons until 1844 and then worked as an artillery and cavalry instructor at West Point. Keyes received his commission of major on October 12th, 1858. He was sent to garrison duty on the frontier until 1860. General Scott appointed him military secretary on January 1, 1860. It was a position he filled until April, 1861. At the outbreak of the Civil War, Keyes was promoted to colonel of the 11th U.S. Infantry on May 14th, 1861, and was later promoted to the rank of brigadier general of the U.S. Volunteers. General Keyes then served briefly on the staff of New York Governor Edwin D. Morgan where he helped to raise militia.At the battle of First Bull Run, Keyes commanded the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, and then led Keyes' Brigade. On November 9th, 1861 he was given command of a division

The West Point Boys - Israel B. Richardson

2007-04-22T08:39:00.000-05:00

Israel Bush Richardson was born in Fairfax, Vermont on December 26th, 1815. He graduated from West Point in the Class of 1841. He served in both the Seminole Indian Wars in Florida and the Mexican War where he earned two brevets. In 1855 he gave up his commission as Captain, 3rd U. S. Infantry, and settled on a farm near Pontiac, Michigan.At the outbreak of the Civil War Richardson recruited and organized the 2nd Michigan Volunteer Infantry. He became the colonel of the 2nd Michigan in May of 1861.He commanded the 4th Brigade, 1st Division at First Bull Run. His brigade of Tyler's division was involved in limited action at First Bull Run near Blackburn's Ford and in covered the withdrawal. He was then appointed to Brigadier General of Volunteers. He was liked by his men. They called him 'Fighting Dick'. His men said that he was the plainest general in the army. He wore an old straw hat and never wore his uniform jacket in camp, so no rank insignia was displayed. Sometimes he was even mistaken for a wagon driver. In battle Israel Richardson was a top notch officier. His men said that he would tell them, "I won't ask you to go anywhere I won't go myself."

The West Point Boys - Andrew Porter

2007-04-22T08:38:00.001-05:00

Andrew Porter was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on July 10th, 1820. He was the son of the third Territorial Governor of Michigan, George B. Porter. He came to Michigan with his family in 1831, attended school in Detroit and later went on to the U. S. Military Academy at West Point. He married Margaretta Biddle, the daughter of Colonel John Biddle. Porter’s first service after leaving West Point was as 1st Lieutenant of U. S. Mounted Rifles in 1846 during the Mexican War. He was made captain in 1847 for his service during that war. He was Provost Marshal of Washington, D. C. at the outbreak of the Civil War. He was transferred to Alexandria, Virginia and made colonel of the 16th U. S. Infantry.

The West Point Boys - David Hunter

2007-04-21T10:29:00.000-05:00

David Hunter was born on July 21st in 1802 in Princeton, New Jersey. He was the cousin of writer and illustrator David Hunter Strother, who would also serve as a Union Army general. His maternal grandfather was Richard Stockton, a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1822, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 5th U.S. Infantry regiment.
Records of his military service show that from 1828 to 1831, he was stationed at Fort Dearborn near Chicago, Illinois. While there, he met and married Maria Kinzie, the daughter of the city's first white resident, John Kinzie. Hunter served in the infantry for 11 years, appointed captain of the 1st U.S. Dragoons in 1833.
In July of 1836 he resigned from the Army and moved his family back to Illinois, where he worked as a real estate speculator. He reenlisted in the Army November 1841 as a paymaster and was promoted to major in March of 1842. He saw action during the colsing part of the Seminole Wars and in the War with Mexico. Hunter was stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in 1860, and began correspondence focusing on anti-slavery with Abraham Lincoln. This relationship had political effects, the first of which was an invitation to ride on Lincoln's inaugural train from Springfield, Illinois to Washington, D.C., in February of 1861. During this assignment, Hunter suffered a dislocated collarbone at Buffalo, New York when the crowd pressed in on the president-elect.
Soon after the firing on Fort Sumter, Hunter was promoted to colonel of the 3rd U.S. Cavalry. Then within three days he was appointed to the fourth-ranking brigadier general of volunteers. He was wounded in the neck and cheek while commanding a division under Irvin McDowell at the First Battle of Bull Run in July of 1861. He was promoted to major general of volunteers in August. He served as a division commander in the Western Army under Major General John C. Frémont. On November 2nd of 1861 he was promoted as commander of the Western Department after Frémont was relieved of command. That winter he was transferred to a command in Kansas.

The West Point Boys - Samuel Heintzelman

2007-04-21T09:57:00.000-05:00

Samuel Heintzelman was born in Pennsylvania in 1805. He served in the Seminole War and the Mexican War and by 1861 had reached the rank of colonel. At the outbreak of the Civil War Heintzelman joined the Union Army. He was wounded during the battle of First Bull Run in July of 1861.

The West Point Boys - William Franklin

2007-04-21T09:53:00.001-05:00

William Franklin was born in York, Pennsylvania, on February 27th in 1823. He graduated first in his class from the U. S. Military Academy at West Point in 1843. He fought in the Mexican War where he won two brevets. As an engineer, Franklin supervised several construction projects and taught the subject at West Point.
At the outbreak of the Civil War Franklin joined the Union Army and was named colonel of the 12th Infantry. He took part in the battle at First Bull Run in 1861.

The West Point Boys - George Brinton McClellan

2007-04-21T09:50:00.000-05:00

George B. McClellan just wasn't an army commander, he was also a brillant engineer. A native of Philadelphia he entered the academy of West Point from the University of Pennsylvania and graduated in 1846 second in his class. He earned two brevets under Winfield Scott in Mexico. In 1855 he was promoted to Captain in the cavalry. He traveled overseas to study European armies and invented the McClellan Saddle. He resigned his commission on January 16, 1857 to enter railroad engineering. At the start of the Civil War he reentered military life, assigned to the Ohio Volunteers on April 23, 1861. He commanded the Ohio Militia and the Army of Occupation. On July 25th, 1861 George B McClellan was assigned major general, commander of the Army of the Potomac.Dubbed 'The Young Napoleon' his engineering and organizational skills shined brightly as the mighty Army of the Potomac, became a fighting machine. In December of 1861 he was downed by typhoid and this prolonged delays for the Union Army.

The West Point Boys - Dixon Stansbury Miles

2007-04-18T18:33:00.000-05:00

Dixon Stansbury Miles was born on May 4, 1804 in Maryland . He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1824. After graduation he was commissioned a brevet second lieutenant in the 4th U.S. Infantry regiment. He was transferred to the 7th U.S. Infantry, where he served until 1847. He fought on the western frontier battling Indian tribes along the Gila River and the Navajo. Promoted to captain on June 8, 1836. He fought in the Seminole Wars in Florida from 1839 to 1842. At the start of the Mexican War, he received a brevet promotion to major for his 'gallant and distinguished conduct' in the defense of Fort Brown, Texas. He was brevetted to lieutenant colonel for his gallant conduct at Monterrey, Mexico. In 1859 he was given the command of the 2nd U. S. infantry, stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. When the Civil War began he was called to Washington to command a brigade under Major General Robert Patterson. He was shortly transferred to the army of Brigadier General Irvin McDowell, where he commanded a division of two brigades. At the First Battle of Bull Run, his division was held in reserve. During the battle, he was accused of being drunk. A court of inquiry validated this accusation and after a leave of absence, he was then reassigned to a quieter post.

The West Point Boys - Oliver Otis Howard

2007-04-18T18:31:00.000-05:00

Oliver Otis Howard was born on November 8, 1830 in Leeds, Maine. He was educated at Bowdoin College and then attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 1857. He served as 2nd lieutenant in the army for two years and then returned to civilian life, teaching mathematics at West Point.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, he was made colonel of the 3rd Maine Infantry. He fought in the First Battle of Bull Run.

The West Point Boys - Orlando Willcox

2007-04-18T18:27:00.000-05:00

Orlando Bolivar Willcox was born on April 16, 1823 in Detroit, Michigan. He entered the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1843. Following graduation in 1847, he was commissioned Second Lieutenant in the 4th U.S. Artillery. Willcox served in the Mexican War, fought on the frontier in the Indians Wars, and in the Seminole Wars. He resigned from the Army in 1857.
At the outbreak of the Civil War, Willcox was practicing law in his hometown of Detroit. He reenlisted in the military and was appointed Colonel of the 1st Michigan Infantry. He was wounded and captured in the First Battle of Manassas while in command of a brigade in Heintzelman's Division. He received the Medal of Honor for 'most distinguished gallantry' in that battle.

The West Point Boys - William Tecumseh Sherman

2007-04-18T18:05:00.000-05:00

William Tecumseh Sherman was born on February 8, 1820 in Lancaster, Ohio. His father died when he was young. Widowed and unable to care for the family, his mother sent his brother off to be raised by an aunt and William became a foster child to Thomas Ewing, a family friend. He later married the daughter of Thomas Ewing. Educated at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he graduated in 1840. During the Mexican War, Sherman was posted in San Francisco. He resigned his military commission in 1853 to become a banker.On May 8, 1861, Sherman wrote to the Secretary of War, offering his services for three years. On June 20, 1861 he accepted the position of Colonel in the Thirteenth Regular Infantry. He assumed command of a brigade in the First Division of McDowell's army under the command of Brigadier General Daniel Tyler. His brigade was stationed at a stone bridge during the battle of First Manassas - Bull Run, and was routed by devastating Confederate cannon fire.In August, 1861, he was promoted to Brigadier General and assigned to the Department of the Cumberland under the command of Brigadier General Robert Anderson. Anderson was in command of Fort Sumter when P.T. Beauregard opened fire upon it, beginning the Civil War.In October, 1861, Sherman relieved Anderson. Sherman then told Secretary of War Cameron that if he had 60,000 men, he would drive the enemy out of the State of Kentucky, and if he had 200,000 men, he would finish the war in that region. Cameron returned to Washington and reported that Sherman required 200,000 men. The report leaked out to newspapers and the story grew to Sherman must be mad. The public accepted as validation that Sherman had always been crazy. On November 12, 1861, Brigadier General Buell relieved Sherman of his command, and Sherman was assigned to St. Louis, Missouri under Major General Halleck. Newspapers in the west continued to harass him by printing reports of insanity and that he was not fit to command. From all this harassment he fell into a grave state of depression but he was at no time insane.

Manassas, Virginia - The Site of Bull Run

2007-04-18T08:59:00.000-05:00

Located a few miles north of the prized railroad junction of Manassas, Virginia, the peaceful Virginia countryside bares witness to the clashes between the armies of the North and South. Henry Hill was the focus of heavy fighting at First Manassas in July 1861. A post-war farmhouse marks this site of old. An unfinished railroad runs through the woods to the north. Chinn Farm reminds us of where the house and outbuildings withstood the violence of the Civil War. The Stone House which served as an aid station still stands as it has since the 1840's.
Casualties suffered at First Manassas from the Union Army totaled 2,896 men.
The officers who fought in battle included: Brigadier General Irvin McDowell, Brigadier General Daniel Tyler, Colonel Erasmus Keyes, Brigadier General Robert Schneck, Colonel William Tecumseh Sherman, Colonel Israel Bush Richardson, Colonel David Hunter, Colonel Andrew Porter, Colonel Ambrose Burnside, Colonel Samuel Heintzelman, Colonel William Franklin, Colonel Orlando Willcox, Colonel Oliver Howard, Colonel Dixon Miles, Colonel Louis Blenker and Colonel Thomas Davies.

The Manassas National Battlefield Park will host the 144th Anniversary Commemoration of the Battle of Second Manassas - Bull Run on Saturday, August 26th and Sunday, August 27th.

Blacksburg, Virginia in the Civil War

2007-04-17T10:00:00.000-05:00

A history of the 4th Virginia Regiment, part of the Stonewall Brigade, consisted of many men who were recruited from Blacksburg, Virginia. The Stonewall Brigade was one of the most famous combat units in United States history. It was trained and led by General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, a professor from Virginia Military Institute. His training program and military discipline turned raw recruits into a lean, mean fighting brigade. The Stonewall Brigade distinguished itself at the First Battle of Bull Run also known as First Manassas in 1861.

The Battle of Rich Mountain - July 11th, 1861

2007-04-15T10:58:00.001-05:00

The Battle of Rich Mountain took place on July 11th, 1861, in Randolph County, Virginia. Major General George B. McClellan assumed command of Union forces in western Virginia and on June 27th, he moved his troops from Clarksburg south. He meet the forces of Lt. Colonel John Pegram's troops in the vicinity of Rich Mountain on July 9th. On July 11th, Brig. General William S. Rosecrans led a brigade along a mountain path to seize the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike in Pegram’s rear. A short fight split the Confederates in two. Half escaped to the nearby town of Beverly and the other half surrendered. The Union victory at Rich Mountain was instrumental in propelling McClellan to command of the Army of the Potomac.

Laurel Mountain and Carrick's Ford, July 7-13, 1861

2007-04-15T10:00:00.001-05:00

In early May of 1861 General George B. McClellan sent 20,000 Union soldiers into western Virginia to hold the area while protecting the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. Fiftly miles west of the Shenandoah Valley, General Robert S. Garnett and 4,500 Confederate soldiers protected a supply depot at Beverly with positions on Laurel Mountain to the north and Rich Mountain to the west. On July 5th soldiers from Union General Thomas Morris's Indiana brigade arrived in front of Laurel Mountain and started skirmishing on July 7th with the Rebel defenders. McClellan arrived on July 9th and began to plan for an assault on Laurel Mountain. On the 11th a Union force under General William S. Rosecrans made a successful attack on Rich Mountain. Garnett ordered Laurel evacuated and shortly after midnight his men began marching through the rain toward Beverly. Upon receiving a false report that Beverly had been captured, they retraced their steps and took a different route eastward over Cheat Mountain and into the Cheat River Valley, where they had to ford four wide streams. Morris's brigade closely followed Garnett's retreat, forcing the Confederates to stop and fight delaying actions at each river crossing. At the second crossing, Carrick's Ford, Rebel wagons became bogged down in the stream. Garnett and the rear guard stayed at Carrick's Ford to hold up the Union pursuit until the wagons could cross the next stream, about three miles away. A few minutes later Morriss's Yankees appeared on the other side of the river and began trading shots with the Rebels. Garnett was hit and died within minutes, becoming the first general to be killed in the Civil War. His rear guard hurried away and after a long march, successfully got away. McClellan's success at Rich and Laurel mountains made him into a national hero. He was soon asked to command the North's mightiest army.

Engagement at Boonville - June 17, 1881

2007-04-15T09:54:00.000-05:00

General Nathaniel Lyon issued orders for his Union soldiers to advance on Jefferson City, the state capitalof Missouri. Lyon arrived on June 14th with 2,000 troops to learn that the secessionist state government had fled up the Mssouri River toward Boonville, another 50 miles away. Lyon quickly formed a provisional Unionist state government and left a garrison at Jefferson City to preserve order. He then loaded the rest of his force into three steamers and proceeded up the river in pursuit. Lyon disembarked his men several miles below Boonville and, marching along the river road, came upon a small blocking force of secessionists under the command of Colonel John S. Marmaduke. After a short cannonade Lyon ordered an attack, and the poorly armed, outnumbered Rebel force turned and fled in retreat. In military terms the fight at Boonville was insignificant and casualties were light. The Union had firm control of the Missouri River.

The Engagement at Rock Creek - June 13th, 1881

2007-04-15T08:24:00.001-05:00

Hundreds of Southern militia assembled along Rock Creek in western Missouri. These fresh troops barely knew the rudiments of a military drill when their pickets reported at dusk that 200 Union cavalrymen were within two miles. The Rock Creek camp and make a show of force, but did not engage, eyeing each other from opposing ridges. Colonel Edmonds B. Holloway of the Missouri State Guard and an aide rode out to meet with Captain David Stanley under a white flag. The officers were surprised to learn they knew one another and had been friends on the frontier. They had spoken only a few minutes when Captain Stanley noticed that some of his men continued to advance despite the truce. Holloway and his aide immediately turned back toward their lines to recall the men, only to be mortally wounded by their own nervous soldiers. The Union soldiers withdrew.

The Battle of Big Bethel - June 10, 1861

2007-04-15T07:35:00.000-05:00

Union General Benjamin Franklin Butler arrived at his new command in Fort Monroe on the southern tip of the Virginia peninsula between the York and James rivers. The 2,500 Confederate soldiers on the peninsula were commanded by flamboyant Colonel John B. Magruder, who on June 7th had sent Colonel Daniel H. Hill and 1,400 North Carolina and Virginia troops to occupy an advanced position near Big Bethel, a small village eight miles from Fort Monroe that got its name from nearby Bethel Church. Hill's men worked for two days building a solid earthwork defensive position where the road from Fort Monroe crossed the Back River. General Butler decided to attack the Rebels at Big Bethel to run them clear away from Fort Monroe. He sent 4,400 New York, Massachusetts, and Vermont soldiers under the command of General Ebenezer W. Pierce on a night march. The two columns were to deliver a surprise attack on the Confederates at dawn on June 10th. As the two columns came together in the predawn darkness, one column mistook the other for the enemy and opened fire, inflicting 21 casualties and alerting the Confederates of the Union presence. Two regiments at the front of the column believed they were being attacked from the rear and retreated. The confused federal soldiers then regrouped and continued the advance. At 9:15 A.M., they came in sight of the Rebel position and received fire from an artillery battery commanded by Major George W. Randolph, a grandson of Thomas Jefferson. After two hours of fighting, Pierce wethdrew back toward Fort Monroe. The 2,500 Union men engaged in the action suffered 18 dead, 53 wounded, and 5 missing. The Confederates had 1 killed and 7 wounded. The fighting marked the first land battle of the Civil war, just eight weeks after the firing on Fort Sumter.

The Phillipi Races, June 3, 1861

2007-04-15T06:38:00.000-05:00

Brig. General Benjamin Franklin Kelley, advanced 1600 men toward the town of Grafton and occupied it on May 30. Brig. General Ebenezer Dumont, advanced 1400 men and took the town of Webster, several miles to the west. The two forces departed by train to converge on Philippi on June 2nd. Dumont from the north and Kelley from the south. Another 800 men where under the command of Confederate Colonel George A. Porterfield. Both columns arrived at Philippi before dawn on June 3.
The predawn assault was signaled by a pistol shot. The untrained Confederate troops had failed to establish picket lines to provide perimeter security, choosing instead to escape the cold rain that fell at morning and stay inside their tents. A Confederate sympathizer, Mrs. Thomas Humphreys, saw the approaching Union troops and sent her son on horseback to warn the Confederates. While Mrs. Humphreys watched, a Union outpost captured the boy and she fired her pistol at the Union soldiers. Although she missed, her shots started the attack prematurely.
The Union forces began firing their artillery, which awakened the sleeping Confederates. After firing a few shots at the advancing Union troops, the Southerners broke lines and began running frantically to the south, some still in their bed clothes, which caused journalists to refer to the battle as the Philippi Races. Dumont's troops entered the town but Kelley's arrived late and were unable to block the Confederate escape. Kelley himself was shot while chasing some of the retreating Confederates. There were two significant Confederate casualties, one of whom was a VMI cadet, Fauntleroy Daingerfield. Both were treated with battlefield amputations, believed to be the first such operations of the war. The remaining Confederate troops retreated to Huttonsville.
The Union victory in a relatively bloodless battle propelled the young General McClellan into the national spotlight, and he would soon be given command of all Union armies. The battle also inspired more vocal protests in the western part of Virginia against secession. A few days later in Wheeling, the Wheeling Convention nullified the Virginia ordinance of secession and named Francis H. Pierpont governor. This was the birth of the State of West Virginia.

Scott's Great Snake

2007-04-14T21:02:00.000-05:00

The Anaconda Plan was proposed in 1861 by Union General Winfield Scott to win the American Civil War with minimal loss of life, enveloping the Confederacy by blockade at sea and control of the Mississippi River.
Major General George B. McClellan, a rising military star in Ohio, proposed an overall strategy for the war directly to President Abraham Lincoln, one that emphasized the part his army could play. Old fuss and feather's (as the men liked to call Scott), wrote a letter to McClellan on May 3, 1861, stating:
It is the design of the Government to raise 25,000 additional regular troops, and 60,000 volunteers, for three years. ... We rely greatly on the sure operation of a complete blockade of the Atlantic and Gulf ports soon to commence. In connection with such blockade, we propose a powerful movement down the Mississippi to the ocean, with a cordon of posts at proper points ... the object being to clear out and keep open this great line of communication in connection with the strict blockade of the seaboard, so as to envelop the insurgent States and bring them to terms with less bloodshed than by any other plan.
– Winfield Scott, letter to McClellan

Passing the Time

2007-04-14T09:19:00.000-05:00

To fill the long hours between marches and battles, soldiers often passed the time by reading.
Soldiers who did not have their own Bible could obtain a free copy from the U.S. Christian Commission. Soldiers also read and wrote letters, newspapers and even novels. Some soldiers published camp newspapers. The articles written in the newspapers covered accounts of battles,
included poetry and messages to thenemy. Some of the camps even had debating societies.
Athletic activities were always popular and featured many a game of baseball played with a soft ball and just two bases. Other events inclued cricket, races, wrestling, leapfrog, boxing matching
and even bowling played with cannon balls and wooden pins. Board games were also quite popular, dominoes was a popular game, and checkers was a favorite among the men.

Civil War Slang

2007-04-13T10:22:00.000-05:00

Smoked Yanks - Union soldiers cooking over a fire.
Chicken Guts - Officer's gold braiding on his cuff.
Gallinippers - mosquitoes.
Bombproofs - Term for commissaries due to soft life.
Fighting under the black flag - Soldiers killing lice.
Giving the vermin a parole - Throwing away clothing infected with lice.
Bull Pit - Under-arrest confinement area.
Iron Clad Possum - An armadillo dinner.
Attend to the Inner Man: eat
Bad Fix: unpleasant situation
Big Bugs: important people
Biled Shirt: white shirt
Blaze Away: shoot
Bomb: artillery shell
Brackish Water: water unfit for drinking
Bringing a Brick with him: drunk
Bust-Head: cheap whiskey
By-Play: trick
Caboodle: lot
Cast Up Accounts: vomit
Chaff: stuff
Chicken Guts: uniform braid
Coffee Coolers: worthless soldiers
Company Q: fictitious outfit for cowards and noncombatants
Desecrated Vegetables: dehydrated vegetables
Dog Fall: battle tie
Dose of Cold Lead: gunshot
Dose of Leaden Pills: gunshot
Drissely: rain
Flyblown Meat: meat infested by maggots
Fresh Fish: gullible or inexperienced person, a recruit Gobble (N): whip the enemy
Go Boil Your Shirt: bug off
Gone Fawn Skins: dead ducks
Gopher Hole: trench
Grabbling: the art of fishing with your hands
Grayback: a louse
Gun Stopper: a tompion, used to plug the muzzle of rifle
Gun Wiper: worm, used to run patches down rifle
Gutted: pillaged
Hacked: demoralized
Halloed: called
Hanker: desire
Hardlooking: mean-looking
Here's Your Mule: term of derision
Hospital Rat: one who feigns sickness in order to avoid battle
Hot Stuff: liquor
Indian Style: single file
Infernal Machines: land mines
Jaw: talk
Jim Jams: delirium
John Barleycorn: liquor or beer
ly Tar: sailor
Jug: capture
Leaden Pills: bullets
Light Out: leave
Like a Duck on a June Bug: very fast
Line his Pockets: swindle
Let Drive: shoot
Loophole: hole through which rifle is fired
Loose State: drunk
Mudsill: derogatory Southern term referring to poor white trash and applied by Southerners to Western U.S. Army troops, who perversely adapted it to their own use
Muggins: scoundrel
Mule: beef
Old Bird: veteran
Old Hand: veteran
On His Own Hook: of his own free will
Peacock About: strut
Peg Away: shoot
Peg Out: die
Picked Chicken: dead duck
Pie Eaters: country boys
Play Old Soldier: feign sickness in order to avoid battle
Play Outs: military noncombatants, such as staff officers
Play Smash: destroy
Sacred Soil of Virginia: dust
Salt Horse: preserved beef
Salt Junk: preserved pork
Set To: begin
Shank's Mare: on foot
Sharper: gambler
Shinplaster: currency used by state or bank
Shoulder Strap: officer
Showed His Teeth: showed his meanness
Sing Out: yell
Sink: toilet
Slapjacks: fried batter composed of flour, water and salt
Squeamish: sick
Stockings: socks
Sweets: candy
Thirsty for Tobacco: want some tobacco
Too Thin: unbelieveable
Torpedoe: land mine
Traps: belongings, baggage
Truck: things, stuff
Try Our Metal: see how strong we are
Under Canvas: in a tent
Videt Hole: entrenched picket post
Webfoot: infantryman
Yellow Dog: coward

The St. Louis Massacre - May 10, 1861

2007-04-13T10:15:00.000-05:00

In 1861 the border state of Missouri was involved in the violent tug-of-war over the secession issue. The thriving port city of St. Louis, was divided on the issue of secession, and had a large population of German immigrants who were opposed to slavery and secession. In spite of the state's official decision to remain neutral, strong secessionist sentiments continued to exist. Governor Claiborne Jackson, a vehement supporter of secession, personally corresponded with Confederate President Jefferson Davis, that Missouri would prove most favorable to the Confederacy. In May 1861, Postmaster Montgomery Blair learned of a secessionist plot to seize the Union depot at the St. Louis Armory, where large numbers of weapons and ammunition were stored. On May 10th, 3,000 Union soldiers under the command of Captain Nathaniel Lyon marched to the armory at the state militia barracks at Camp Jackson. A large number of German immigrants served in the Home Guard Unit. Missouri militiamen, led by General Frost, surrendered to Lyon, but trouble soon began. To humiliate the Missouri militiamen, Lyon paraded them through the streets between two columns of the Home Guard. Many citizens were hostile toward the Germans and cursed or spat at them. Rocks were even thrown, and someone in the crowd opened fire. The soldiers were ordered to fire back into the crowd. The mob retaliated by throwing blocks at the troops. Gunfire on both sides was heavy, by nightfall 60 civilians were wounded, with another 30 dead. Lyon dismissed the guardsmen in an effort to stop the fighting, but mobs roamed the streets throughout the night, burning and pillaging. It was a scene of total insurrection. The following day another seven people were killed by the Home Guard, who had been called back to duty again to restore order. The idea of Missouri remaining neutral was now out of the question.

Occupation of Alexandria - May 24th, 1861

2007-04-13T09:39:00.000-05:00

The occupation of Alexandria began on May 24th, 1861 at 2:00 A.M. It was the day after the citizens of Virginia voted three to one to secede. Union soldiers invaded Virginia and occupied the countryside across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The few Rebel pickets in Arlington, the town directly across the river from Washington, quickly retreated from the two Union columns that descended upon them. Robert E. Lee's estate at Arlington Heights was occupied and used as a Union command post. The 700 Virginia militiamen stationed six miles downstream at Alexandria, an important port and railroad center, were warned of this invasion in time for all but 35 of them to retreat through one end of town as Union troops rushed in the other. Two Union forces converged on Alexandria. Colonel Orlando B. Wilcox and his 1st Michigan Regiment marched down from Arlington and Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth and his 11th New York Zouave Regiment arrived at the Alexandria wharf aboard three river steamers. The Zouaves rushed ashore at daybreak and quickly secured the railroad station and telegraph office. As Ellsworth moved through the town, he spied a large Confederate flag flying from atop an inn called the Marshall House. Ellsworth rushed into the inn with four companions, climbed the stairs to the top, and cut down the flag. As they were going back down with the flag, innkeeper James W. Jackson met them at the third floor landing with a double-barreled shotgun and proceeded to kill Jackson by shooting him in the face. Then to make certain the job of killing Jackson was finished the innkeeper used his bayonet, and finished poor Jackson off by pushing him down the stairs. The innkeeper then pulled the trigger again killing Ellsworth. The Union invasion was a resounding success.
The 24 year old Ellsworth had been a personal friend of President Abraham Lincoln. His body lay in state at the White House. Ellsworth became a Union martyr, and babies, streets, and even towns were named after him.

The Battle of Balls Bluff was the largest Civil War battle to take place in Loudoun County.
Following the Union defeat at Manassas (Bull Run), General George B. McClellan was called to Washington to take charge of the Federal forces there. McClellan named his new command the Army of the Potomac and diligently worked at restoring its confidence. Republicans in Congress soon pressured McClellan to march against Richmond before winter. As a result, General McClellan decided upon a campaign to capture Leesburg on the upper Potomac, thus strategically outflanking the Confederate Army then based in Centreville. McClellans plan consisted of a three-pronged movement toward Leesburg. On October 19, Union General McCalls division marched to Dranesville, Virginia. The following day, McClellan notified General Charles P. Stone at Poolesville, Maryland, of McCalls advance and suggested that "a slight demonstration" by Stones forces might help move the Confederates. On October 21, Stone ordered a feint assault at Edwards Ferry while launching the "coup de grace" via a flanking column under Colonel Edward Baker at Smarts Mill Ford, just upriver from Balls Bluff. But poor communication, intelligence mistakes and the lack of unified Union command doomed the northern effort. Confederates led by Colonel Nathan "Shanks" Evans and Eppa Hunton checked the Union advance at Balls Bluff and turned the battle into a rout. Of the 1,720 Union soldiers engaged, 49 were killed, 158 wounded, 553 taken prisoner and 161 missing and presumed drowned in the Potomac River. Confederates engaged numbered 1,709, of whom 36 were killed, 117 wounded and two taken prisoner. Bodies floating downriver to Washington brought the shocking reality of the war to the publics attention. Among the Union casualties at Balls Bluff was U.S. Senator, Colonel Edward D. Baker, boyhood friend of Abraham Lincoln. Bakers death and the twin Union defeats at Manassas and Balls Bluff prompted the creation of a Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War.

1861 Timeline of Civil War Battles

2007-04-11T16:35:00.000-05:00

Crisis at Pensacola * January - April
Fort Sumter * April 12 - 14
Virginia seizes Harpers Ferry * April 18
Norfolk *April 20
St. Louis Massacre *May 10
Harpers Ferry * May 23
Alexandria * May 24
Philippi * June 3
Battle of Big Bethel * June 10
Roch Creek * June 10
Boonville * June 17
Carthage * July 5
Rich Mountain * July 11
Laurel Mountain and Carick's Ford * July 7 -13
1st Battle of Bull Run/First Manassas * July 21
Occupation of Columbus, Kentucky * September 6
Cheat Mountain * September 11
Ball's Bluff * October 21
Battle of Belmont * November 7

The First Year of the Civil War 1861

2007-04-11T11:22:00.000-05:00

The brothers marched on through the stifling heat of the July afternoon. It was the peak of summer. Blackberries hung ripe and succulent, ready for the picking. The marching orders were nearly never much more then in a row down along a dirt road. Marching was much prefered to hacking a path through dense the woodland scouring for firewood. My the soldiers were sent off on reconnaissance.
South Carolina had been the first of the southern states to the leave the Union, followed in succession by Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and Louisiana. On April 17, 1861 Virginia also joined the Confederacy. On April 19th riots broke out in Maryland. Arkansas and Tennessee following Virgina seceded on May 6th and North Carolina on May 20th. The newly formed Confederate States had elected Jefferson Davis to be their president and on April 22nd Robert E. Lee was confirmed as Commander of the Virginia Army.
The Union men couldn't wait to see the elephant and get a shot in at a reb. The camp has heard news that General McClellan and his Army of the Potomac are defending Washington.

Capture of Norfolk - April 20th, 1861

2007-04-10T09:51:00.000-05:00

The Virginia militia advanced on Gosport Navy Shipyard near Norfolk, Virginia on April 20th, 1861. When the Union commander there, General Charles S. McCauley, heard of the Rebels impending arrival, he ordered all the ships to be burned. Only three ships survived the blaze and one charred hull, the USS Merrimack, which was salvaged by the Confederates and rechristened the CSS Virginia. Because Union troops did not completely destroy the Gosport Navy Shipyard, the South was able to take over a 1,000 heavy naval guns. The federals gave way without a fight to defend the valuable facilities of the naval yard. It was a clear victory for the South. The Richmond Daily Newspaper was quick to report that the South had enough material to build a Navy of iron clad war ships.

Civil War Rations

2007-04-07T10:39:00.000-05:00

A ration is the amount of food authorized for one soldier or animal for one day.
Army regulations entitled a Union soldier to receive 12 oz of pork or bacon or 1 lb. 4 oz of fresh or salt beef; 1 lb. 6 oz of soft bread or flour, 1 lb. of hard bread, or 1 lb. 4 oz of cornmeal daily.
Per every 100 rations there was issued 1 peck of beans or peas; 10 lb. of rice or hominy; 10 lb. of green coffee, 8 lb. of roasted and ground coffee, or 1 lb. 8 oz of tea; 15 lb. of sugar; 1 lb. 4 oz of candles, 4 lb. of soap; 1 qt of molasses. In addition, vegetables, dried fruit, pickles, or pickled cabbage might also be issued. The marching ration consisted of 1 lb. of hard bread, 3/4 lb. of salt pork or 1 1/4 lb. of fresh meat, plus the sugar, coffee, and salt. Soldiers also depended on food stuffs sent from home or bought from a local Sutler.

He is Risen! Easter during the Civil War

2007-04-07T10:37:00.001-05:00

Many Civil War soldiers celebrated Easter as the Cilvil War raged on. What it was like for many soldiers we don't exactly know. Far away from their homes and families it would not have been easy to celebrate. The stories of a few did. Some men from the North obtained permission to celebrate, and even attempted to organize a dinner. They arranged for the camp sutler to send a few special supplies. The soldiers foraged for items such as chickens, eggs and wine. They found kegs of cider but no wine. The men made do with what they had. Thankful to offer up their prayers to God and rejoicing the Risen Christ!

For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, so that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:16

Cowskin Prairie and The Battle at Wilson's Creek, August 10th, 1861

2007-03-24T08:10:00.000-06:00

Two weeks after the capture of Booneville, Gerenal Lyon cut off communication between the Southern men on both sides of the river. Col. John D. Stevenson was left in command of the river from St. Louis to Kansas City with orders to hold the principal towns. Lyon then began his march on the Southwest. He went to the Grand River crossing, south of Clinton, pushing forward toward Springfield. Meanwhile Sigel had been routed at Carthage. At the crossing of the Osage, a few miles above Osceola, he learned of Sigel's defeat. He ferried his men and trains across the river and without rest marched his men twenty-seven miles without stopping. In the heat of a July afternoon they stopped for a few hours. The march then resumed and did not halt until the outfit was within thirty miles of Springfield and fifty miles from the crossing of the Osage only to learn that Sigel was in no immediate danger. Lyon and his troops entered Springfield with great showmanship. His escort, which was composed of St. Louis German butchers were giants in size and ferocious in attitude mounted on powerful iron horses, armed with big revolvers, huge swords, and dashed through the streets of the town held by Sweeny.
When General Price left Lexington he went directly to General McCulloch's headquarters. Enroute he was joined by squads and companies, when he reached Cowskin prairie, he had about 1,200 men with him. He learned that General Pearce, commander of the military forces of Arkansas, was near Maysville with an Arkansas brigade, and leaving his men in camp on Cowskin prairie he went there with escort. General Pearce received him cordially and informed him that General McCulloch had left his headquarters at Fort Smith and would reach Maysville the next day. General Pearce loaned General Price 650 muskets. General Price returned to Cowskin prairie, organized his men and placed those he could arm under command of Col. Alexander E. Steen, a young Missourian who had a short time before resigned from the regular army. The next day General McCulloch, in advance of his troops, reached General Price's headquarters, and at once agreed to aid the Missourians. General Pearce also agreed to aid them with his Arkansas force. The next day on the 4th of July, McCulloch and Pearce entered Missouri with Churchill's mounted Confederate regiment, Gratiot's Arkansas infantry, Carroll's mounted regiment and Woodruff's battery; reached Price's camp the same day, were joined by him, and continued their march northward to rescue Governor Jackson and his party. Under the impression that the governor was pressed by Lyon on one side and Sigel on the other, McCulloch left his infantry behind, and he and Price pressed forward to his relief. On approaching Neosho, McCulloch sent Churchill with two companies to capture a company Sigel had left there. This Churchill did without firing a gun. He not only took 137 prisoners, but captured 150 weapons and seven wagons loaded with supplies. At the break of day on the 6th, the march continued on to Carthage, but during the day it was learned that Sigel was defeated. McCulloch and Pearce with their troops then returned to Maysville, and Price took command of the Missourians and returned to Cowskin prairie to organize the companies and regiments. He had no arms, no military supplies, and no money to buy any. The men never expected to be and never were paid. But men and horses had to be fed, and on Cowskin prairie there was little but green corn and poor beef upon which to feed them. Quartermaster-Gen. James Harding and Chief Commissary John Reid went to Fort Smith, Little Rock and Memphis in search of supplies. The men and horses managed to live on what the country afforded, and while General Harding was absent, Col. Edward Haren acted as quartermaster-general, and by his activity, industry and unfailing courtesy did wonders in providing the absolutely necessary supplies, and making the men contented. All of General Price's staff, except Colonel Henry Little, were civilians, and knew nothing of the military duties their position imposed upon them. But they were willing and learned rapidly. The Granby mines furnished lead, and Governor Jackson's forethought had provided a supply of powder. Some artillery ammunition captured served as a pattern, and the cannoneers were soon able to make the necessary ammunition for their guns. Notwithstanding the embarrassments and drawbacks, the work of organization went steadily on, and by the last of the month the State Guards assumed form and substance and became an army of 4,500 armed and 2,000 unarmed men, anxious to meet the enemy. They were a motley crowd. There was hardly a uniform among them. The insignia of even a general officer's rank was a stripe of colored cloth pinned to the shoulder. General Price left Cowskin prairie on the 25th of July, and in three days reached Cassville. There he was joined by Brigadier-General McBride with 650 armed men, which made his force over 5,000. General McCulloch reached Cassville the next day with his brigade, amounting to 3,200 men, nearly all armed. General Pearce was within ten miles of Cassville with his brigade of 2,500 Arkansas troops, together with two batteries, Woodruff's and Reid's. The entire force amounted to nearly 11,000 men, beside the 2,000 unarmed Missourians, who went with the army with the expectation of getting arms after a while. Price, McCulloch and Pearce each had an independent command, but they agreed upon an order of march, in conformity with which the combined forces began their advance on Springfield, fifty-two miles distant, on the last day of July. The first division, consisting of infantry under command of McCulloch, left Cassville that day. The other divisions, commanded by Pearce and Steen, left the following day, and Price, without taking any command, accompanied Steen's division. As soon as Lyon reached Springfield he began writing and sending representatives to St. Louis and Washington demanding reinforcements. But his demands received little if any attention. General Fremont was in command of the Western department, and did not seem disposed to help him. When assured that Lyon must and would fight at Springfield, he simply replied: "If he does he will do it on his own responsibility." Lyon said. "If it is the intention," he said, "to give up the West, let it be so; Scott will cripple us if he can." At last two regiments, Stevenson's at Booneville, and Montgomery's at Leavenworth, were ordered to report to him at Springfield. But they never reached him. It was a question with Lyon whether to fight or retreat, and the first alternative seemed to be safer than the last. His only line of retreat was to Rolla, 125 miles distant, through a broken, rugged country, with the probability that Price's and McCulloch's mounted men would be thrown in his front, while their infantry pressed him desperately in rear. Besides, to retreat was to give up all he had gained, to allow Price to return to the Missouri river with an army and to begin anew a fight for the possession of the State. He had 7,000 or 8,000 men, thoroughly armed and equipped, and he determined to risk defeat rather than turn back. On August 1st he learned that McCulloch, Price and Pearce were advancing on Springfield. He was deceived as to their line of march, supposing they were advancing by different routes, and determined to attack them in detail. With this view he moved out, his force consisting of nearly 6,000 men, infantry, cavalry and artillery. When he got within four or five miles of them and learned he was mistaken, he stopped and waited for them. But he was deceived again. It was the advance guard under Rains which was in front of him. The main body was in camp twelve miles back. The next day he moved to within six miles of the Southern force, but not being able to learn anything about its strength, and fearing he might be flanked, he determined to return to Springfield, which he did the next evening. The united Southern forces had remained in their position during this time, and had been reinforced by Greer's Texas regiment. While the two armies were maneuvering and watching each other, General Price was anxious to attack, but General McCulloch declined unless Price would consent to give him the command of the combined army. At last, after a good deal of wrangling, General Price yielded, reserving to himself, however, the right to resume command of the Missourians whenever he chose. Believing that Lyon was still in front of him, McCulloch marched at midnight of August 5th, expecting to surprise and attack him at daybreak. But he soon learned that Lyon had left the day before for Springfield. He followed him until he came to Wilson's Creek, where he encamped. There the army remained three days, the dispute all the time going on between Price and McCulloch, the former insisting on attacking, and the latter declining to do so. At last McCulloch yielded and ordered the army to be ready to move that night, August 9th, at 9 o'clock. But before that time it began to rain and the order was countermanded, chiefly because the Missourians had no cartridge boxes, but carried their ammunition in their pockets, and it was liable to be ruined if it rained hard. The troops lay on their arms during the night, awaiting the development of events. Late in the afternoon Lyon moved out of Springfield, marched about five miles west, then turned southward across the prairie, and about midnight came in sight of Rains' camp fires. He had turned McCulloch's left and was in his rear. Sigel, with two regiments of infantry, six pieces of artillery and two companies of cavalry, aggregating about 1,500 men, had made a similar movement and turned the right flank of the Confederates. He planted a battery on a small hill within 500 yards of Churchill's camp, disposed his men so as to capture every one coming or going, and waited for Lyon to begin the fight. Lyon halted in sight of Rains' camp fires until dawn and then resumed his march. The Confederates had withdrawn their pickets in anticipation of moving themselves, and when the movement was abandoned had not sent them out again. Just at daylight Rains for some reason became suspicious, and sent a staff officer with a small detachment to reconnoiter. The officer soon came back in haste and informed him that the enemy were advancing in force with cavalry, artillery, and infantry, from the southwest. Rains instantly informed General Price, and formed his own command. McCulloch was at Price's quarters, and this was the first intimation either of them had that Lyon and his army were upon them. McCulloch discredited the information, and said he would go himself and see about it, but before he could mount his horse another messenger came with the information that Rains was falling back before overwhelming numbers, and at the same time came the report of Lyon's artillery, which was followed in a moment by the guns of Sigel, who had opened fire on Churchill, Greer and Brown, and was driving them out of the little valley where they were encamped. Lyon meanwhile was driving Rains. Instantly McCulloch and Mcintosh mounted and galloped to take command of the Confederates on the east side of the creek, and Price ordered his infantry and artillery to follow, rushed up Bloody Hill--a considerable mound in the midst of the field and named because the battle roared and broke into a pool of blood around it. Cawthorn's brigade was falling back fighting in hope of holding the enemy in check until infantry and artillery could come. These were forming, and they came up the hill with a rush. First came Slack, with Hughes' regiment and Thornton's battalion, and formed on the left of Cawthorn; then Clark, with Burbridge's regiment, and formed on the left of Slack; then Parsons, with Kelly's regiment and Guibor's battery, and formed on the left of Clark, and on the extreme left of the line McBride took position with his two regiments. Shortly after Rives, with some dismounted men, reinforced Slack; and Weight-man, with Clarkson's and Hurst's regiments which had been encamped a mile or more away, came up at a double-quick and formed between Slack and Cawthorn. In the meantime Woodruff had taken position with his Arkansas battery on an elevated point of land overlooking the field from the east, and at the first sound of Totten's guns had opened a fire on Lyon which retarded his advance and greatly aided the Missourians in getting into position. The battle was now fairly set. The opposing forces were nearly equal. Price had about 3,500 men, and Lyon, deducting the 1,500 under Sigel, had about 3,500. The lines were not more than three hundred yards apart, but a heavy undergrowth of timber separated and concealed them from each other. Price's men were armed mostly with hunting rifles and shotguns, and to make them effective it was necessary that the lines should be close together. Instead of advancing, Price waited for Lyon to attack. He did not have to wait long. In a little while the order to move forward was heard, and through the brush the enemy came. When they were within close range there rang out the sharp report of a thousand rifles, the heavier report of a thousand shotguns, and crack of innumerable pistols, the roar of Guibor's guns--and the day in the field Missourians had looked forward to longingly amid the disappointments and delays of months was before them, and they resolved to die or conquer where they stood. Rough and ragged and worn, the best blood of Missouri faced the enemy in that battle line. The hand that held the musket might be awkward, but it was steady. The men might not be able to maneuver, but they could fight. When one of them fell an unarmed man stepped promptly forward to take his place and his gun. For hours the fight went on. The lines would approach to within fifty yards of each other, deliver their fire and fall back a few yards to reform and reload. It was a succession of charges followed by a succession of repulses, with solemn intervals of silence between, as each side braced itself again for the desperate struggle. It was man to man and to the death. Price would not have retreated if he could, and Lyon could not if he would. He had risked everything on the desperate chance of battle, and had to fight it out to the bitter end. McCulloch's and Pearce's infantry were on the east side of the creek, where McCulloch had formed the men so as to meet Sigel's attack and to protect Price's rear, posting the Third Louisiana, McIntosh's regiment and McRae's battalion within protecting distance of Woodruff's battery, which was firing across the creek. He had not more than made these dispositions when a force of the enemy appeared, moving down the creek on the eastern side with the evident intention of charging Woodruff's battery. Leaving Gratiot to support Woodruff, he ordered McIntosh, with his regiment dismounted, the Third Louisiana and McRae's battalion to meet the advancing Fed erals. They charged and drove back Plummer's battalion of regular infantry and a regiment of Home Guards, with a loss of about 100 on each side. Plummer was severely wounded. Sigel had not been heard from since the first dash early in the morning. He had, in fact, taken position on the Fayetteville road to intercept and capture the Confederates after Lyon had routed them. His dispositions to that end were made with military precision. His battery occupied a commanding position, his infantry extended on both sides of the road, and a company of regular cavalry was on each flank. He was quietly awaiting results. After the affair with Plummer, McCulloch went in search of him. He took his own infantry, with Rosser's and O'Kane's Missouri battalions and Bledsoe's battery. Bledsoe placed his battery so as to command the enemy's position. Reid's battery was somewhat east of Bledsoe's. The infantry advanced to the attack and Bledsoe and Reid opened at point-blank range. Sigel was taken by surprise and his men thrown into confusion, and when McCulloch and Mcintosh, with 400 of the Third Louisiana and Rosser's and O'Kane's battalions, broke through the brush and charged his battery his whole force fled, abandoning the guns, some going one way and some another. Sigel and Salomon, with about 200 of the German Home Guards and Carr's company of regular cavalry, tried to get back to Springfield by the route they came, but were attacked by Lieutenant-Colonel Major, with some mounted Missourians and Texans, and again routed. Carr and his cavalry fled precipitately. Sigel with one man reached Springfield in safety. Nearly all the rest were killed, wounded or captured. In the meantime, the main fight on Bloody Hill raged fiercely. Though hard pressed, Price had not yielded a foot of ground. Churchill, who held a position on the left of the line,dismounted his men and moved them to the center, where the need was greatest. Price then advanced Guibor's battery in line with the infantry, while Woodruff continued throwing his shells over his line into the ranks of the enemy. Still the battle was not won. Lyon was bringing up every available man for a last desperate effort. Price asked for aid, and General Pearce, with Gratiot and his Arkansas infantry, came to his assistance. In getting into position Gratiot suffered severely. His horse and his orderly's were killed, his lieutenant-colonel was dismounted, his major's arm was broken, his quartermaster was killed and his commissary badly wounded. But the regiment took the position it was ordered to take and held it, though in half an hour it lost 100 out of 500 men. The fighting was now furious. In the words of Schofield and Sturgis, "The engagement had become inconceivably fierce all along the entire line, the enemy appearing in front, often in three or four ranks, lying down, kneeling and standing, and the line often approaching to within thirty or forty yards, as the enemy would charge upon Totten's battery and would be driven back." General Price was painfully wounded in the side, but did not leave the field. He only said to those who were near him that if he were as slim as Lyon the bullet would not have hit him. Weightman was borne to the rear dying; Caw-thorn and his adjutant were mortally wounded; Slack was desperately wounded; Clark was shot in the leg; Col. Ben Brown was killed; Colonel Allen, of General Price's staff, was killed by the side of his chief; Colonels Burbridge, Kelly, Foster and numerous field officers were disabled. But Lyon was worse hurt than Price. He had, however, risked everything on the chance, and in the shadow of impending defeat was determined to make a supreme effort to reverse the tide that was setting strongly against him. Dismounted, he was leading his horse along his battle line, speaking words of encouragement to his men, when his horse was killed and he was wounded. He was dazed by the shock, but quickly recovered, mounted another horse, and, drawing his sword, called upon his men to follow him. A moment after a ball struck him in the breast and he fell from his horse, and in another moment was dead. In the pause that occurred following Lyon's death, Price was reinforced by Dockery's Arkansas regiment, a section of Reid's battery and the Third Louisiana regiment. Thus strengthened, he was better prepared to hold his ground than he had been at any time during the day. The command of the Federal army devolved on Major Sturgis. He counseled with his principal officers and they decided to retreat. The order to withdraw was given at once and promptly obeyed, Steele's battalion of regulars bringing up the rear. For five hours the fight on Bloody Hill had lasted, and the dead of both armies lay upon it in piles. When it became known that the Federals were retreating and that the day was won, a great shout of exultation and relief went up from the men who had fought there, which reached the ears of Weight man where he lay dying, and he asked those around him what it meant. "We have whipped them--they have gone," he was told. "Thank God," he said. In another moment he was dead. Of him in his report, General Price said: "Among those who fell mortally wounded on the battlefield, none deserve a dearer place in the memory of Missourians than Richard Hanson Weightman, colonel commanding the First brigade of the Second division of this army. Taking up arms at the very beginning of this unhappy contest, he had already done distinguished service at the battle of Rock Creek, where he commanded the State forces after the death of the lamented Holloway, and at Carthage, where he won un-fading laurels by the display of extraordinary coolness, courage and skill. He fell at the head of his brigade; wounded in three places, and died just as the victorious shouts of our men began to rise upon the air." The losses of the armies, killed, wounded and missing, were about equal. The total Federal loss was 1,317; the total Confederate loss, 1,218. In the engagement between Mcintosh and Plummer, the Federals lost 80 and the Confederates 101. In the attack on Sigel, the Confederate loss was small, but Sigel's loss was heavy--not less than 300. The loss of the Missourians on Bloody Hill was 680; the loss of the Arkansans there--Churchill's and Gratiot's regiments and Woodruff's battery--was 308. The loss of both sides on Bloody Hill was, Missourians and Arkansans, 988; Federals, 892. Well may the historian say: "Never before--considering the number engaged --had so bloody a battle been fought on American soil; seldom has a bloodier one been fought on any modern field." The Federals retreated to Springfield leaving the body of their dead general on the field. By order of General Price the body was identified and delivered to his friends, who came to ask for it under a flag of truce. But it was again left behind, when they abandoned Springfield, and was taken in charge of and given decent burial by Mrs. John S. Phelps, the wife of a former representative in congress from that district, then an officer in the Federal army. The fruits of this splendid victory were lost. As soon as it was known that the Federals were retreating, General Price urged General McCulloch to make pursuit, but McCulloch declined. The Federals had lost heavily in the battle and were badly demoralized. They had a long, difficult road to travel before they could reach assistance at Rolla. The road to Rolla ran through rugged, broken country, with many streams to ford or ferry, and was already crowded with hundreds of Union refugees along with their teams and families, who were fleeing in terror from McCulloch and his Texans. McCulloch refused afterward to make even a pretense of pursuit. The dead were buried where they fell. General Price was in pursuit but lacked the necessary ammunition to make the pursuit alone. All in all it was a fruitless victory for the South.

Virginia Seizes Harper Ferry - April 18th & May 23rd, 1861

2007-03-24T07:43:00.000-06:00

Back on October 16th in 1859 the radical abolitionist John Brown led a group of 18 men in a raid. Ten of the eighteen men were black. Assisting fugitive slaves was illegal and unacceptable in nearly all white communities. When John Brown attacked Harper's Ferry he captured enough weapons to create a slave uprising. Militia quickly stepped in and troops commanded by Colonel Robert E. Lee captured most of the raiders. Brown was tried for treason by the State of Virginia, convicted, and hanged in nearby Charles Town. The failed raid was an introduction for Civil War that was to follow.
When Virginia seceded from the Union in April of 1861 the US garrison attempted to burn the arsenal and destroy the machinery. Locals saved the equipment, which was later transferred to a more secure location in Richmond. Arms production never returned to Harpers Ferry. A student company from the University of Virginia was one of the militia units moving toward Harpers Ferry. Among its ranks was a 17 year old boy named Robert E. Lee, Jr., son of the future Confederate general.
Harpers Ferry was a strategic location on the railroad at the northern end of the Shenandoah Valley. Both Union and Confederate troops moved through Harpers Ferry with the location changing control many times throughout the war.
When 37 year old Thomas J. Jackson arrived at Harpers Ferry, Va., on April 30, 1861, he had not yet become famous. He was known only as a professor. The town had just recently been taken over by Confederate state forces, and Jackson had been sent to organize and command the new recruits. He found the double tracks of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad that ran through Harpers Ferry were still being heavily used, transporting thousands of tons of coal and supplies daily between the Union East Coast and the Midwest. A few weeks after taking command, Jackson informed the president of the railroad that he would have to stop running trains through Harpers Ferry at night because it disturbed the sleep of his soldiers. The schedules were changed so the trains passed through town only during the day. But Jackson was not satisfied, saying the trains interfered with his men's drill. The railroad and Jackson then reached a compromise, the trains would pass through town only between 11:00 A.M. and 1:00 P.M. But during those two hours the traffic was very heavy in both directions. On May 21 at 11:00 A.M., Jackson had opposite ends of each side of the 31 mile stretch of double tracks barricaded and trains could enter a section of track, but they could not leave. At 1:00 P.M., he had the tracks at both ends torn up so that 42 locomotives and 386 cars were now the property of the Confederacy. From Harpers Ferry, there was only a spur track that ended at Winchester, Virginia still 20 miles from Staunton, the closest track connecting with the Southern rails. Jackson had his men haul 14 of the locomotives and many of the cars overland to Staunton. Jackson purchased a runt of a horse that was found in one of the captured cars and intended to give it as a gift to his wife. Jackson grew so fond of the nag, he named it Little Sorrel, and rode it during the war.

Sutler's List

2007-03-23T08:00:00.000-06:00

THE PRODUCTS OF THE TOWN, FOR THE YEAR 1859.
Butter, number of lbs………………..2,261Cheese, number of lbs……………..16,000Hay, number of tons………………...1,275Wheat, number acres………………..5,112Corn, number acres…………………...830Oats, number acres………………….1,133Potatoes, number acres…………………59Cattle, value on hand………..……$20,833Hogs, value on hand………………...2,857Sheep, value on hand……………..…2,034
valuation………..$2,971valuation…………...110valuation…………7,063valuation………..63,707valuation………..13,745valuation…………8,299valuation…………3,906value slaughtered...1,108value slaughtered...7,417value slaughtered…..180
Horses and Mules, value……………………………………..……10,979Wool, value…………………………………………....……………......639Apples, value…………………………………...…………………...…...32Beans and Peas, value……………………………………….………...128Barley, value………………………………………………………….....782Clover Seed, value…………………...………………………………......12Buck Wheat, value………………………...…………………………....127

Town of Mackford, Wisconsin

2007-03-23T06:59:00.000-06:00

TOWN OF MACKFORD
To the north is the town of Green Lake. To the east is Fond du Lac County. To the South is Dodge County. To the west is the town of Manchester. This is the lush valley of the Grand River. One mile from Mackford is Markesan.
The first house in town was built in 1836 by H. McDonald. He broke up the land and raised the first staples on his farm. The first saw mill built in the county, was erected in 1843, by H. McDonald and in 1850 McDonald, Carhart and White erected a four story stone grist mill. A number of dwellings were added and the population of the village rose to 150 souls. The town derives its name from the first part of McDonald's name and a crossing place over the river. McCracken's mill was built in 1848 and a grist mill was added in 1855. It rose three stories high, with a capacity of seventy barrels of flour in twenty-four hours. Austin McCracken was the builder and owner of these mills. His homestead was across from the mills where he also owned the adjacent lands. From the mills to the village, it is about one and a half miles. In the villiage of Mackford there was a Post-office, a Mercantile, a Wagon Shop, a Blacksmith Shop, a Carpenter Shop, two Cooper Shops, a tailor, two Shoe Makers and the District's School. Land lying north of the river was open and somewhat broken rising gently. Lands to the north of the village had sandy soil and clay loam making for good cultivation. Leaving Mackford village to the south is a high hill covered with oaks, clay loam soil and then prairie as far as the eye can see. One of the most beautiful prairies in the midwest, it sways pleasantly like the roll of the sea, wave after wave falling to the horizon for miles upom miles. The north and west are fringed with trees, several glades and homesteads and farms dot the landscape. Here the bountiful increase of the land lays in golden stacks and field upon field of ripening corn sways in the prairie wind. Providence has directed the wandering footsteps of the pioneers to so rich a heritage as this. Here the heart of man may rejoice in his destiny. Here is a land to supply the wants of the body and the hopes of the mind. Rich furtile soil await the labor of a man's hand to reap the reward of hard work. The valley of the Grand River a mile wide, it is bordered by marsh and timber, on the south by hill that open to the prairie. Timber land rises from Grand River to Lake Maria to the west of the prairie. Good water can be found all over the town and is from six to ninety feet in depth. Lake Emily lies to the south of town, Lake Maria is to the southwest and covers about six hundred acres, one-half of which is in the town of Manchester. There is no known outlet to this lake. At high water it often overflows. The fish in this lake were killed out in the hard winter of 1848. They were smothered, as is believed, as the lake was entirely frozen over and a heavy body of snow some four feet deep. In the spring winrows of fish were cast ashore, since which time there has been no fishing. At it's greatest depth the lake is thirty feet. About three-fourths of this town is under cultivation. There are Christians churches for public worship nearby at Alto, Whitewater and Markesan. The Town of Mackford was organized in 1849.
The inhabitants are all Yankees!

Fort Sumter - April 12th to April 14th, 1881

2007-03-22T18:17:00.000-06:00

On April 12th, 1881 Confederate batteries opened fire on the Federal fort, which was unable to effectively defend itself. At 2:30 p.m., April 13th, Major Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter, evacuating the garrison on the following day.

The bombardment of Fort Sumter was the first military action of the American Civil War. Although there were no casualties during the bombardment, one Union artillerist was killed and three wounded (one mortally) when a cannon exploded prematurely while firing a salute during the evacuation on April 14th. Private Daniel Hough lost his life and was the first casualty of the Civil War. He succomb to the same fate as Stonewall Jackson, shot by friendly fire.

The Story Begins...

2007-03-21T16:34:00.000-06:00

This story begins out on the east coast in the mid 1880's prior to the outbreak of the Civil War. It is the story and struggle of various members of my family tree as they moved to the Midwest to take hold of their share of the frontier that was then America. Every single person in my family for generations upon generations has been from the North, blue bellied Yanks through and through!
The Wright's ventured out to the big woods of Wisconsin from Erie, New York and settled around Mackford in Green Lake County where they began to farm.
The Rinehimer's came from Hanover, Pennsylvania and settled in Elgin, Illinois where they ran a sawmill.
The Woods also came to Wisconsin to farm from Franklin, Pennsylvania. They had married into the women folk of the Fletcher Clan from Cambridge, England. They made the journey to stake a claim in midwest soil with their eight children in toll. Along with the Fletchers the Tuck family tagged along from Wyoming County, PA.
The Hawkins were from Providence, Rhode Island and came to the furtile dirt of Wisconsin to farm.
The Spees family came from Maine and settled in Plainfield, Wisconsin where they also took up farming.
The Stevens family traveled to Elgin, Illinois via bean town but even before then they were from Maine. The Radcliffe's were also from Maine but had of late resided in Boston, Mass.
The Hawns had already resided on the frontier in Neosho, Wisconsin for a good long time and their eldest lad married one of the pretty Wood girls.
These families were to become linked in more ways then one...