The Railroad Cut Reconsidered
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VOL. XLIII, NO. 8 Michigan Regimental Round Table Newsletter—Page 1 August 2003
VOL. XLIII, NO. 8 Michigan Regimental Round Table Newsletter—Page 1 August 2003 "It wasn't like a battle at all…it was more like Indian warfare," remembered John McClure, a young private in the 14th Indiana Infantry. "I hid behind a tree and looked out. Across the way…was a rebel aiming at me. I put my hat on a stick…and stuck it out from behind the tree-as bait. Then I saw him peep out of the thicket and I shot him. It was the first time I'd ever seen the man I'd killed, and it was an awful feeling." This deadly incident, on May 5, 1864, was only one of such commonplace bloody episodes that occurred in the bitter struggle known as the Wilderness. Beginning in 1864 North and South stood in weary stalemate. All of the Federal victories from the previous year, including Gettysburg and Vicksburg, had seriously weakened the Confederacy, but, it remained bowed, not broken. For the North to win the war, now starting its fourth year, the Confederate armies must be crushed. The South, conversely, had one final hope: stymie the North's plans and count upon a war-weary Northern home front to force the conflict to the peace table. Now in early May of 1864, the two most notable titans of the Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee, were about to come face-to-face in a final showdown to determine the war's outcome. Grant, whose roller coaster career had nearly ended on several occasions, was given the revitalized rank of Lieutenant General by President Lincoln, and the amazingly difficult task of besting the Army of Northern Virginia, something his predecessors had found nigh impossible. -
89.1963.1 Iron Brigade Commander Wayne County Marker Text Review Report 2/16/2015
89.1963.1 Iron Brigade Commander Wayne County Marker Text Review Report 2/16/2015 Marker Text One-quarter mile south of this marker is the home of General Solomon A. Meredith, Iron Brigade Commander at Gettysburg. Born in North Carolina, Meredith was an Indiana political leader and post-war Surveyor-General of Montana Territory. Report The Bureau placed this marker under review because its file lacked both primary and secondary documentation. IHB researchers were able to locate primary sources to support the claims made by the marker. The following report expands upon the marker points and addresses various omissions, including specifics about Meredith’s political service before and after the war. Solomon Meredith was born in Guilford County, North Carolina on May 29, 1810.1 By 1830, his family had relocated to Center Township, Wayne County, Indiana.2 Meredith soon turned to farming and raising stock; in the 1850s, he purchased property near Cambridge City, which became known as Oakland Farm, where he grew crops and raised award-winning cattle.3 Meredith also embarked on a varied political career. He served as a member of the Wayne County Whig convention in 1839.4 During this period, Meredith became concerned with state internal improvements: in the early 1840s, he supported the development of the Whitewater Canal, which terminated in Cambridge City.5 Voters next chose Meredith as their representative to the Indiana House of Representatives in 1846 and they reelected him to that position in 1847 and 1848.6 From 1849-1853, Meredith served -
California, Pennsylvania
66 BOOK REVIEWS JANUARY sentiment had "congealed" prior to the war and (2) that the Grant "coattail" factor was minimal in predicting the final configuration of the black suffrage vote. Mohr does a creditable job of editing, including an excellent in- troduction and a knowledgeable historiographical postscript. These essays, as he suggests, partially filla gap in historiography and serve to encourage others to follow up with additional and/or corrective re- search. This volume, indeed, is now a commendable companion to Richard O. Curry's Radicalism, Racism, and Party Alignment: The Border States during Reconstruction (1969). The gap will not be closed, however, untilthe legislative and voter behavior is analyzed and synthesized withtraditional methodologies. Until then, this collection willact as an important catalyst in many seminars. Department of History J. Kent Folmar California State College California, Pennsylvania The Iron Brigade: A MilitaryHistory, By Alan T. Nolan. (Madi- son: The State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1975. Pp. xii,412. Introduction, preface, prologue, maps, notes, selected bibliography, index. $12.00.) Since it was originally published by Macmillan in 1961 as The Black Hat Brigade, a surfeit of Civil War military histories have filled bookstore shelves. Reissued in 1975 as The Iron Brigade by the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, the book remains a thoroughly researched, reliable, and absorbing account of the best fighting unit in the Union army. The "Iron Brigade/' which was organized near Washington in October 1861, comprised the Second, Sixth, and Seventh Wisconsin volunteer regiments and the Nineteenth Indiana. It was the Army of the Potomac's only completely western brigade. -
Gettysburg: Three Days of Glory Study Guide
GETTYSBURG: THREE DAYS OF GLORY STUDY GUIDE CONFEDERATE AND UNION ORDERS OF BATTLE ABBREVIATIONS MILITARY RANK MG = Major General BG = Brigadier General Col = Colonel Ltc = Lieutenant Colonel Maj = Major Cpt = Captain Lt = Lieutenant Sgt = Sergeant CASUALTY DESIGNATION (w) = wounded (mw) = mortally wounded (k) = killed in action (c) = captured ARMY OF THE POTOMAC MG George G. Meade, Commanding GENERAL STAFF: (Selected Members) Chief of Staff: MG Daniel Butterfield Chief Quartermaster: BG Rufus Ingalls Chief of Artillery: BG Henry J. Hunt Medical Director: Maj Jonathan Letterman Chief of Engineers: BG Gouverneur K. Warren I CORPS MG John F. Reynolds (k) MG Abner Doubleday MG John Newton First Division - BG James S. Wadsworth 1st Brigade - BG Solomon Meredith (w) Col William W. Robinson 2nd Brigade - BG Lysander Cutler Second Division - BG John C. Robinson 1st Brigade - BG Gabriel R. Paul (w), Col Samuel H. Leonard (w), Col Adrian R. Root (w&c), Col Richard Coulter (w), Col Peter Lyle, Col Richard Coulter 2nd Brigade - BG Henry Baxter Third Division - MG Abner Doubleday, BG Thomas A. Rowley Gettysburg: Three Days of Glory Study Guide Page 1 1st Brigade - Col Chapman Biddle, BG Thomas A. Rowley, Col Chapman Biddle 2nd Brigade - Col Roy Stone (w), Col Langhorne Wister (w). Col Edmund L. Dana 3rd Brigade - BG George J. Stannard (w), Col Francis V. Randall Artillery Brigade - Col Charles S. Wainwright II CORPS MG Winfield S. Hancock (w) BG John Gibbon BG William Hays First Division - BG John C. Caldwell 1st Brigade - Col Edward E. Cross (mw), Col H. Boyd McKeen 2nd Brigade - Col Patrick Kelly 3rd Brigade - BG Samuel K. -
Digitizing and Transcribing the Blanchard Brothers’ Civil War Letters
DIGITIZING AND TRANSCRIBING THE BLANCHARD BROTHERS’ CIVIL WAR LETTERS Katherine Ann Vallaire B.A., California State University, Chico, 2005 PROJECT Submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree of MASTERS OF ARTS in HISTORY (Public History) at CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO SPRING 2011 © 2011 Katherine Ann Vallaire ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii DIGITIZING AND TRANSCRIBING THE BLANCHARD BROTHERS’ CIVIL WAR LETTERS A Project by Katherine Ann Vallaire Approved by: ______________________________________, Committee Chair Lee Simpson, PhD ______________________________________, Second Reader Patrick Ettinger, PhD ______________________ Date iii Student: Katherine Ann Vallaire I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University format manual, and that this project is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to be awarded for the project. _________________________, Department Chair ___________________ Aaron Cohen, PhD Date Department of History iv Abstract of DIGITIZING AND TRANSCRIBING THE BLANCHARD BROTHERS’ CIVIL WAR LETTERS by Katherine Ann Vallaire Franklin and Eli Blanchard of Farmington, Michigan enlisted in Company K of the 24th Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment to serve the Union during the Civil War. One hundred and fifty of their letters from when they were serving are located at the California Department of Parks and Recreation State Museum Resource Center. This thesis contains a history of the Blanchards and of the 24th Michigan regiment, a review of epistolary customs used during the time, and an overview of the methods used to transcribe and digitize the letters. The appendix includes the transcriptions in chronological arrangement with a few annotations for historical context. , Committee Chair Lee Simpson ______________________ Date v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Curators Jena Peterson and Anne Fry at the Department of Parks and Recreation State Museum Resource Center for providing me the opportunity to explore and handle this collection. -
Course Reader
Course Reader Gettysburg: History and Memory Professor Allen Guelzo The content of this reader is only for educational use in conjunction with the Gilder Lehrman Institute’s Teacher Seminar Program. Any unauthorized use, such as distributing, copying, modifying, displaying, transmitting, or reprinting, is strictly prohibited. GETTYSBURG in HISTORY and MEMORY DOCUMENTS and PAPERS A.R. Boteler, “Stonewall Jackson In Campaign Of 1862,” Southern Historical Society Papers 40 (September 1915) The Situation James Longstreet, “Lee in Pennsylvania,” in Annals of the War (Philadelphia, 1879) 1863 “Letter from Major-General Henry Heth,” SHSP 4 (September 1877) Lee to Jefferson Davis (June 10, 1863), in O.R., series one, 27 (pt 3) Richard Taylor, Destruction and Reconstruction: Personal Experiences of the Late War (Edinburgh, 1879) John S. Robson, How a One-Legged Rebel Lives: Reminiscences of the Civil War (Durham, NC, 1898) George H. Washburn, A Complete Military History and Record of the 108th Regiment N.Y. Vols., from 1862 to 1894 (Rochester, 1894) Thomas Hyde, Following the Greek Cross, or Memories of the Sixth Army Corps (Boston, 1894) Spencer Glasgow Welch to Cordelia Strother Welch (August 18, 1862), in A Confederate Surgeon’s Letters to His Wife (New York, 1911) The Armies The Road to Richmond: Civil War Memoirs of Major Abner R. Small of the Sixteenth Maine Volunteers, ed. H.A. Small (Berkeley, 1939) Mrs. Arabella M. Willson, Disaster, Struggle, Triumph: The Adventures of 1000 “Boys in Blue,” from August, 1862, until June, 1865 (Albany, 1870) John H. Rhodes, The History of Battery B, First Regiment Rhode Island Light Artillery, in the War to Preserve the Union (Providence, 1894) A Gallant Captain of the Civil War: Being the Record of the Extraordinary Adventures of Frederick Otto Baron von Fritsch, ed. -
Reign of Terror in West Kentucky?
REIGN OF TERROR IN WEST KENTUCKY? By Dieter C. Ullrich and Berry Craig During fifty-one days in the settlers immigrated to the Pur- tary Academy from 1835 to 1839 summer of 1864 a “reign of ter- chase from the South and many and graduated twenty-fourth ror” existed in Western Kentucky still communicated with family in out of a class of thirty-two. After under the military command of that section of the country. The graduation he was commissioned General Eleazar Arthur Paine, at region’s trade routes also pointed as a Second Lieutenant in the 1st least that is what historians and South and its economy relied Regiment of Infantry and sta- folklorists have written over the more heavily upon slavery than tioned at Fort Pleasant in Flori- past 150 years. However, new ev- other regions of Kentucky: the da. Though the Second Seminole General Elea- idence from contemporary doc- number of slaves in the Purchase War was in progress, Paine saw zar Arthur Paine uments provide a contradictory increased by over 40 percent only post duty, serving on the (1815-1882). LOC narrative to the story. Western in the decade prior to the war. staff of General Zachary Taylor. Kentucky, particularly The political landscape reflected On August 24, 1840, he submit- the seven counties these facts, and secessionist and ted his resignation, stating his in the far south- Southern Rights candidates over- father’s health was in decline and west known as whelmingly won seats in both he must return to Ohio to assist the Jackson state and national elections in with the family businesses. -
Gettysburg OOB Source
Gettysburg OOB Source: Gettysburg 1863 by Carl Smith (Copyright, Osprey Publishing Ltd, 1998) North Union Army of the Potomac (MG George G. Meade) 112,735 total, 95,799 engaged General HQ (Provost Marshal M. Patrick) 1528 Guards & Orderlies (Oneida NY Cav.) 42 93rd NY (detachments) 148 8th U.S. 401 2nd PA Cavalry 489 6th PA (cos. E & I) 81 Regular Cav. Det. From 1st, 2nd, 5th, and 6th U.S. 15 Signal Corps 51 Engineers (not present) ? 15th NY ? 50th NY ? U.S. Battalion of Engineers ? I Corps (MG John F. Reynolds) (MG Abner Doubleday) (MG John Newton) 12596 General HQ 1st Maine Cav. (Co. L) 57 B/121st PA 306 1st Division (BG James S. Wadsworth) 3860 1st (Iron) Brigade (BG Solomon Meredith) (Col. W.W. Robinson) 1829 2nd WI 302 6th WI 344 7th WI 364 19th IN 308 24th MI 496 2nd Brigade (BG Lysander Cutler) 2020 84th NY (14th Brooklyn Militia) 318 147th NY 380 76th NY 375 95th NY 241 56th PA 252 7th IN 437 2nd Division (BG John C. Robinson) 3027 1st Brigade (BG Gabriel R. Paul) 1829 94th NY 411 104th NY 309 11th PA 292 107th PA 255 16th ME 298 13th MA 284 2nd Brigade (MG Henry Baxter) 1198 12th MA 261 83rd NY (9th Militia) 215 97th NY 236 88th PA 274 90th PA 208 3rd Division (MG Abner Doubleday) (BG Thomas A. Rowley) 4711 Provost Guard 149th PA (Co. C) 60 1st Brigade (BG T. Rowley) (Col. Chapman Biddle) 1387 80th NY 287 121st PA 263 142nd PA 362 151st PA 467 2nd "Bucktail" Brigade (Col. -
Beneath a Northern Sky: a Short History of the Gettysburg Campaign
Civil War Book Review Summer 2003 Article 6 Beneath a Northern Sky: A Short History of the Gettysburg Campaign Kent Gramm Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cwbr Recommended Citation Gramm, Kent (2003) "Beneath a Northern Sky: A Short History of the Gettysburg Campaign," Civil War Book Review: Vol. 5 : Iss. 3 . Available at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/cwbr/vol5/iss3/6 Gramm: Beneath a Northern Sky: A Short History of the Gettysburg Campaig Review Gramm, Kent Summer 2003 Woodworth, Steven E. Beneath a Northern Sky: A Short History of the Gettysburg Campaign. Scholarly Resources, $14.95 ISBN 842029338 On Union soil Lucid and engrossing narrative offers surprises In Beneath a Northern Sky: A Short History of the Gettysburg Campaign, we have an interesting, fast-paced, and efficient narration of the battle and campaign. The author, Steven E. Woodworth, an associate professor of History at Texas Christian University and general editor of a series of books on the Civil War era, states at the outset that his book relies much more than usual on secondary sources; and the advantages and drawbacks of using relatively few, and recent, books on the subject are readily apparent in Beneath a Northern Sky. Readers should not skip the brief preface, because it both effectively invites readers into what will be an engaging narrative, and alerts him or her to the necessity of thinking critically while reading the narrative. There is a predictable reference to Gettysburg as having spawned a voluminous literature, followed by a valid justification of presenting a new book meant for those just embarking on their study of Gettysburg and those who desire a summary overview of the recent scholarship. -
Winter 2019 Edition January 1
Thomas M. Holt Lodge # 492 A.F. & A.M. Regular Meetings 1st and 3rd Thursday of the Month at 7:30pm Address: 512 Johnson Avenue, Graham, NC, 27253 Websites: www.thomasmholt492.org or 492-nc.ourlodgepage.com Upcoming Events The Holler Log – Winter 2019 Edition January 1 Happy New Year - 2019 “May the Year Ahead Bring You Good Messages from the East: Luck, Good Health, Good Fortune, Great Success, and Lots of Brotherly Love.” Brethren, January 3 As the sun rises in the East to open and Dinner @ 6:30 PM govern the day, so shall the sun rise on all of Stated Meeting @ 7:30 PM us, as we kick off the new year !! So Happy New Year, Thomas M. Holt Lodge # 492 !! January 17 First off, I would like to thank the Dinner @ 6:30 PM Stated Meeting @ 7:30 PM Brethren of Thomas M Holt Lodge, thank you for your confidence and trust in me to lead this lodge, by electing me and giving me this opportunity to serve February 7 as your Worshipful Master for the next year. It is indeed a great honor and Dinner @ 6:30 PM privilege to serve you in this capacity and one I will not take for granted. Stated Meeting @ 7:30 PM Second, I would like to thank and congratulate all of our 2019 officers, February 21 and thank them for volunteering their time to serve with me, and accepting Dinner @ 6:30 PM the responsibilities that your individual chair requires. Installation was held Stated Meeting @ 7:30 PM on Sunday, December 16, with Worshipful Brother Alvin Billings presiding and it fills my heart with joy to see some many Masons, their Families, and March 7 Friends in attendance. -
“I Have Never Seen the Like Before”
“I Have Never Seen the Like Before” Herbst Woods, July 1, 1863 D. Scott Hartwig Of the 160 acres that John Herbst farmed during the summer of 1863, 18 were in a woodlot on the northwestern boundary, adjacent to the farm owned by Edward McPherson. Until July 1, 1863 these woods provided shade for Herbst’s eleven head of cattle, wood for various needs around the farm, and some income. Because of the level of human and animal activity in these woods they were free of undergrowth, except for where they came up against Willoughby Run, a sluggish stream that meandered along their western border. Along this stream willows and brush grew thickly.1 Although Confederate troops passed down the Mummasburg road on June 26 on their way to Gettysburg, either Herbst’s farm was too far off the path of their march, or he was clever about hiding his livestock, for he suffered no losses. His luck at avoiding damage or loss from the Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania began to run out on June 30. It was known that a large force of Confederates had occupied Cashtown on June 29, causing a stir of uneasiness. William Comfort and David Finnefrock, the tenant farmers on the Emmanuel Harmon farm, Herbst’s neighbor west of Willoughby Run, chose to take their horses away to protect them. Herbst and John Slentz, the tenant who farmed the McPherson farm, apparently decided to try their chances and remained on their farms, thinking they stood a better chance of protecting their property if they remained.2 On the morning of June 30 a large Confederate infantry brigade under the command of General James J. -
The Gettysburg Campaign: a Contemporary Account by Whitelaw Reid
I The Gettysburg Campaign: A Contemporary Account by Whitelaw Reid Assignment 1863, June 18 From Philadelphia “Pennsylvania invaded!” “Harrisburg expected to fall!” “Lee’s whole army moving through Chambersburg in three grand columns of attack!” And so on for quantity. Such were the pleasing assurances that began to burst on us in the West on Tuesday morning. All Pennsylvania seemed to be quivering in spasms over the invasion. Pittsburgh suspended business and went to fortifying; veracious gentlemen along the railroad lines and in little villages of the interior rushed to the telegraph offices and did their duty to their country by giving their fears to the wings of the lightning. I was quietly settling myself in comfortable quarters at the Neil House to look on at the counterpart of last week’s Vallandigham Convention1 when dispatches reached me, urging an immediate 1 Reid’s reference is to the Ohio state Democratic convention, which convened in Columbus on June 11 and nominated Clement L. Vallandigham for the gover- norship. A leader of the northern Peace Democrats (often called Copperheads), Vallandigham had been arrested for treason on May 5, 1863, and, following banish- ment to Confederate lines, took up exile in Canada that July. The peace movement in the North gained thousands of adherents in the spring of 1863. 99781405181129_4_001.indd781405181129_4_001.indd 1 99/9/2008/9/2008 88:02:01:02:01 PPMM 2 Two Witnesses at Gettysburg departure for the scene of action. I was well convinced that the whole affair was an immense panic, but the unquestioned movements of Lee and Hooker gave certain promise to something; and besides, whether grounded or groundless, the alarm of invasion was a subject that demanded attention.2 And so, swallowing my disgust at the irregular and unauthorized demonstrations of the rebels, I hastened off.