Hardtack

April 2021 Newsletter

Voices from the Attic

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President’s Notes

Many of you “Zoomed” in for our March and listened to guest speaker, Gene Schmiel’s very interesting presentation about several Civil War personalities from his book Civil War Trailblazers and Troublemakers. If you missed the meeting, the recording can still be viewed on our Facebook page.

This month we meet Wednesday, April 28th, at 6 p.m. via Zoom. Carleton Young will present “Voices from the Attic” based on his book of the same name. Imagine clearing out your family attic and discovering an enormous collection of letters written by two soldiers during the Civil War, but not knowing why the letters were there. Faced with that situation, April guest speaker Carleton Young spent more than a decade visiting battlefields and researching the two soldiers as well as other people who appear in the letters. The two brothers were members of the celebrated Vermont Brigade in the 6th Corps of the Army of the Potomac. In Voices from the Attic: The Williamstown Boys in the Civil War, he tells the story of these two brothers who witnessed and made history by fighting in the Peninsula Campaign, then at South Mountain, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Mine Run, the Bristoe Campaign, the Wilderness, Petersburg, and Cedar Creek. They then preserved that history through their surprisingly detailed and insightful letters.

No registration is required for our virtual meetings and attendance is free. Use this link to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89012200967?pwd=T3lzcndSNUszUnU4cFEvdWp6ck1wZz09. If you need assistance gaining access, call me directly at 719-650-8135. This presentation can be viewed live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CivilWarRoundTableofFredericksburg/ and will be recorded for later posting.

The University of Mary Washington has cancelled all outside events through the end of June. University COVID-19 regulations are dependent on State guidelines and there is a committee in place to decide what to do about summer events. If events are held at the Jepson Alumni Executive Center this summer, they will need to be social distanced and masked. Also, at this time all meals are being served; Sodexo is not having buffets. The CWRTF Executive Committee is meeting this week to discuss other meeting location options. I will let you know as soon as I have more information.

Our current membership of 81 includes two new members. On behalf of the club, I’d like to welcome Robert LaChance and Richard Horner. If you have not renewed your membership, please do so. Remember, renewals after 1 April carry forward through Program Year 2021-2022. Send your dues to: Civil War Round Table of Fredericksburg, 504 Hawke Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401.

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Mark your calendar for 24-25 April. We need volunteers to help place the 60 gravestones in Confederate Cemetery. The stones arrived in March and are safely stored until they can be placed. Weather permitting, it will take two days to get the stones in the ground properly. The CWRTF has always answered the call when volunteers have been needed for this task. I am confident we will do so again.

Mike Shephard has volunteered his time and equipment to move the stones to the cemetery on Friday 23 April. This pre-positioning will allow us on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. to move the stones to their marked locations and begin placing them quickly. Bring gloves, shovels, and a few weed- whackers to trim around previously placed stones. A few wheelbarrows would also be useful to move around excess sod/dirt.

Frank O’Reilly, Lead Historian at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park, gave me great news. After interviewing several excellent candidates for this year’s summer internship with the Park, Frank found a perfect fit for Civil War Round Table of Fredericksburg 2021 Honorary Albert Z. Connor NMPS Intern. His name is Daniel Brennan. Danny lives in Strongsville, Ohio. He is finishing his sophomore year at the University of Notre Dame where he is majoring in History and Theology. Danny is active in university government and is the president of his residence hall. He has been a student teacher and a participant in the Civil War Institute. He has worked with the Irish American Archive Society at the Western Reserve. He wants to engage people of all ages and backgrounds and serve the people of the United States. He intends to go into academia. Danny is enthusiastic. A forward thinker, he will thrive in the National Park Service environment.

I called to congratulate Danny on his selection. He is thrilled and honored to have been chosen for the Civil War Round Table of Fredericksburg and has been learning about the club through our website. Danny is very excited to meet us. He and the rest of the summer interns should arrive at the end of May.

Special thanks to Ted Watkins for this month’s contribution to Hardtack. Several years ago, Ted shared with me a compilation of his great grandfather’s letters and diary, so I was very

3 pleased to see it in narrative. You will find his article of page seven. Stories like Ted’s make Hardtack worth reading. Who’s next?

See you on the 28th.

Your Obedient Servant,

Roger L. Leturno President Civil War Round Table of Fredericksburg

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Civil War Round Table of Fredericksburg Program Schedule

DATE SPEAKER PRESENTATION APR 28, 2021 CARLTON YOUNG Voices from the Attic MAY 26, 2021 DR. JENNIFER MURRAY The Victor of Gettysburg: George Gordon Meade and the Civil War JUN 16, 2021 GEOFF WHITE Civil War Music JUL 28, 2021 TBD TBD AUG 25, 2021 TBD TBD SEP 22, 2021 “DOC” NORTON Marines at First Manassas OCT 27, 2021 GREG CLEMMER Old Alleghany: The Life and Wars of General Edward Johnson

Rappahannock Valley Civil War Round Table

DATE SPEAKER PRESENTATION MAY 10, 2021 RYAN QUINT The Battle of Dranesville JUNE 14, 2021 DAVID WELKER The Battle of Chantilly (or Ox Hill) JULY 12, 2021 SARAH KAY BIERLE The Battle of New Market AUG 9, 2021 DARRELL COCHRAN The U.S. Regulars SEP 13, 2021 PETER CARMICHAEL The War for the Common Soldier OCT 11, 2021 BRIAN WITHROW U.S. Grant (1st Person) NOV 8, 2021 DOUG CRENSHAW Richmond: 7 Days DEC 13, 2021 GARY CASTELLINO The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou: An Interactive Program Check the Rappahannock Valley Civil War Round Table website for updates/changes.

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Watkins’ Civil War Experience Contributed by Ted Watkins

When Roger asked for contributions to Hardtack, I offered to put together a brief synopsis of my Civil War documents. Being from New Jersey, I wasn’t terribly interested in the civil war as a youngster, although I did have a blue kepi in the 1950s (probably because of the Grey Ghost TV program). Spending a few years in South Carolina didn’t increase my interest much, although I did learn that it wasn’t ancient history! After we moved to southern Stafford, and I started reading letters from “Camp near the Rappahannock” and “Camp near Falmouth”, my interest in the period grew well beyond simply knowing who the president was at the time.

When Carlton Young described his April talk, I figured this would be a good time to do some word processing. There isn’t much similarity between Carlton’s new found box of letters, and the ones my Grandmother used to read to me in the ‘50s. His recent discovery was not on family (unless his research has discovered a connection). Mine, were letters written mostly by my namesakes, Frederick N. Watkins and Frederick W. Watkins, my Great Great Grandfather and Great Grandfather respectively, hereafter referred to FNW and FWW. Carlton’s letters apparently include descriptions of battles, while mine were written to my Great Great Grandmother, Harriet Titus Watkins, and do not contain much in the way of blood and gore. I have left misspellings and miss-punctuations in the quotations from my documents. The rest of the errors are mine.

FNW enlisted as a sergeant in the 25th NY Union Rangers, or, as he indicated, were referred to early in the war in Washington City as Kerrigan’s Horse Thieves, His first letter, written from Alexandria, included this description of army life. “While I am writing one of my room mates came in and said that he and another chap had stole a horse and sold it for a dollar and chewed his share of the plunder. Yesterday I visited the Marshall house where poor Elsworth was shot. The stairs is all gone. I enclose a small piece of one of the bannisters as a relick. There was a sad affair took place this afternoon. There was a man of the Mosart Regiment chasing a woman charging her with stealing 25 dollars which she denied. She was running away from him, he shot her down and killed her instantly. He is to be shot tonight at sun down.”

During the 7 days battles at Richmond, FNW was stuck on the wrong side of a bridge after the battle of Gaines Mill, and was captured by confederates. He wrote a short note to his wife from “Tobacco Warehouse Prison #4” regarding his captivity and treatment. His next letter was written from Harrison’s Landing, after having been exchanged, which practice was halted by Lincoln shortly after. The description of his treatment as a former prisoner is noticeably different from that in the earlier letter: “We arrived at the landing just after dark. We met the rebel prisoners going towards Richmond. They looked as if they had been well fed. We were half starved.” “All that we had the whole time in Richmond was three tablespoons full.” Fred the elder was in the third wave of the attack on Marye’s Heights in Fredericksburg in 1862 and his enlistment ran out just prior to Gettysburg, when he returned home to New York City.

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He reenlisted and joined heavy artillery batteries for the remainder of the war. I do not have any of his letters from that period of his service.

FWW enlisted in the 4th NY Independent Battery, aka Smith’s, as a private. His brother, Caleb, enlisted in the 5th NY Independent Battery, aka Excelsior Light Artillery. There are a couple of letters written by Caleb, but the vast majority of my documents are from FWW. Smith’s Battery was actively engaged in the siege of Yorktown, Battle of Williamsburg, and all of Third Corps engagements through Gettysburg.

There is an interesting book, available on internet archive titled A Famous Battery and its Campaigns, written by Captain James Smith. During the battle of Fredericksburg, the battery was stationed roughly where the tennis courts are in Pratt Park (500 yards north of the Lacy house). Caleb’s battery was located about 2 miles further south, on the high ground across the river from the Mansfield house. Also in Caleb’s battery was FNW’s brother, “Uncle William”. Per Caleb, “Our battery fired about twelve hundred shots at it (Fredericksburg) the first day. Father was over to see us the other day, he looked very well. His reg. had been across the river but had not been in the thickest of the fight.” They took part in the Mud March and Chancellorsville prior to the Battery’s travel to Gettysburg.

FWW’s 1863 diary contains a day by day description of the march to Gettysburg: “Thur Jun 11 Cool and windy. A match at baseball came of today, between the 1st 9 of 7 NJ regt and 1st 9 of 4th NY B, after 9 innings the score stood 20 runs for 7 NJ and ? for 4 NY. At 12 am were ordered to prepare to march instantly. ? 3d corps started and marched ? quitting about midnight” This was the start of the movement from Falmouth to Gettysburg. The diary has a bullet hole, thus the “?”, acquired from the fighting at Devil’s Den on July 2, 1863. The diary, in all likelihood, saved FWW’s life. “As I leaned forward to sight my gun (a 10 pound Parrott rifle cannon) and gave the order to fire, the rebels being close upon us.” FWW was shot through his hat, diary, and more significantly, his thigh. The latter placing him “hors de combat” and in the hospital for 6 months.

You can imagine that I was pleased to hear Gene Schmiel’s comments about Joshua Chamberlain’s self-promotion. If it hadn’t been for the soldiers at Devil’s Den, Plum Run, the Wheatfield and the Peach Orchard slowing down Longstreet’s attack, Chamberlain never would have made it to Little Round Top in time.

After 6 months in hospitals, and a brief time back with his battery, FWW’s 4th NY was disbanded so he joined his uncle’s and brother’s battery, the 5th NY. They spent the winter of 1863-64 in “Camp near the Rappahannock”. “Uncle William, Cale, Sam Weir and myself all clubbed together and built one shanty, and live together, and each agree to contribute an equal share towards the expenses of the "house.” The battery then participated in the Rapidan Campaign, Battle of the Wilderness, Laurel Hill and Spotsylvania Court House before being called back to the defense of Washington City.

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Fred was given a furlough after his enlistment ended and before his subsequent reenlistment. He used the break to attend the “Free Military School for Applicants for Command of Colored Troops” in Philadelphia. Fred graduated at the end of March, was promoted to Captain and returned his unit for a few months before moving to Louisville, KY.

Fred was assigned to the 107th US Colored Infantry Regiment, which was yet to be formed so spent July and August with the 109th USCI in Kentucky. “Yesterday, we had to take the Battalion out for target exercise and fired at man targets 10 in square, 100 yards distant. Though we had very inferior arms, (old smooth bore muskets) I thought they did very well for a first trial as they put 3 balls in the target and a good many others in close proximity.” “Today the 4th, the full Regt. of 10 Companies is to parade through Louisville and have a flag presented to them, and as the inhabitants are as strong secessionists as they dare to be, we anticipate some fun. I am well and very much pleased with affairs here. Please write soon and direct to Capt. F. W. Watkins, 109 Regt. U.S.C. Infantry, Louisville, Kentucky.”

He was still in Louisville on Sept. 9th when he wrote, “We may possibly stay but it is more than likely that we shall go on this expedition. Whatever it may be I am prepared for it and I shall try and do my duty towards my country and towards the brave but ignorant men in my charge, and trust the rest in the hands of God.” It is noteworthy that he and his fellow officers hired a teacher, purchased books and materials, and labored to educate the soldiers in the 107th. By late October they were “near the front” in the vicinity of City Point. Fred wrote from the Siege of Petersburg on November 7th, “The weather for several days past has been rainy and unpleasant, and this Virginia mud is getting to its usual winter consistency; so that the time for active operations will soon be closed.”

On December 13th his frustration with the weather and the army was apparent when he wrote, “In our last camp near Fort Brady, I had been at work for a week building me a house as from all indications we were likely to stay there all winter. I had built my house entirely of hewn logs, and had it nearly completed and as it was the best house in the regiment, I took considerable pride in it. One hours more work would have completed it, when suddenly about 8 o'clock one evening, orders were received to prepare to move immediately. But half an hour was allowed and at the end of the time, the regimental line was formed and I had march away and leave my nice house behind. We marched about a mile and a half and took possession of a new camp some regiment had lately commenced but not finished. About half the mens’ quarters were built and very few for the officers. As it happened, my lot was to fall on bare ground as not there was not a sign of a house for the officers on Company G's street.” They participated in the 1st and 2nd Expeditions to Fort Fisher, the bombardment, and subsequent assault and capture of Fort Fisher.

Fred received a box from home for Christmas, “Lieut. Lehigh, my next neighbor had proposed that we should buy a goose between us for our “Christmas dinner” as the price was most too heavy for one alone to pay. As the Sutler only charges $5.00 a piece for geese and $6.00 for turkeys. The goose was bought and roasted and with the dishes in the box made an excellent feast.

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But just before dinner time, our Major and Lt. Col sent me a pressing invitation to dine with them which I could not refuse so after inspection was over I had as much turkey, roast mutton, blackberry pudding &c. as I could eat and then came home and finished up on cake, nuts and apples.” Later that evening an orderly brought over a copy of Sherman’s dispatch to Lincoln, “Sir I present to you for a Christmas gift the City of Savannah with 150 pieces of Artillery and 20,000 bales of cotton which has just fallen into my hands.”

Spring 1865 found the 107th in North Carolina, where they were transferred from the 25th Corps to the 10th. They were preparing to join Sheridan, in Goldsboro or possibly Raleigh, NC, in his chase of General Joe Johnston. On the third day of their march, they received the news of the surrender of Lee’s army, so “pressed forward with renewed vigor in the pursuit of Johnston.” That changed when they heard of the communications with Johnston for terms of surrender, “In the midst of all our joy, at the prospect of peace at an early day, comes the mournful intelligence of the assassination of President Lincoln. All hearts are filled with grief and the expression is universal throughout the army. That as Virginia is responsible for the deed, Virginia must be purged with fire and sword and her lands be made desolate--Gen. Sherman”.

Fred was breveted to Major before Lincoln’s assassination. His commission was signed by Andrew Johnson.

On April 25th Fred wrote, “We were inspected yesterday by the inspecting officer of the 2nd Division and he has reported this regiment the best in the Brigade. Lt. Col. Sells yesterday prounced Companies B & G, the best in the regiment; consequently, we, Co. G, feel ourselves pretty near the top notch.”

They heard Johnston had surrendered and switched from prosecution of the war to policing. 80 men from the regiment were sent to Snow Hill, Green County, “about a week ago, to organize a company of loyal citizens into a police force, for the preservation of order, and suppression of marauding in the county. We have found quite a number, who have been loyal to the union, all through the war, some of them have been persecuted and threatened with imprisonment by the secesh in the neighborhood.” “We have got acquainted with all the girls in the village, some of them quite pretty too, and quite sociable. We have had invitations to take tea, at almost every house in the village, which of course we did not refuse.”

On May 18th, Fred wrote, “We return to Goldsboro tomorrow, as we want to get there in time for a big meeting and barbeque that is to be held there, day after tomorrow, when sundry pigs are to be roasted whole. It will be something novel for us, though they say it is quite common in the south.” From Morehead City he wrote, “The war is over, and large armies are no longer needed for field service. The white troops are being rapidly mustered out, and it appears to be the policy of the government, to retain the colored troops in the service.” They left Morehead City in October and at City Point had a bit of a row with the operator of the Jarrett Hotel, “who is opposed to colored troops” and “in a very rude manner ordered them off.”

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Fred stayed with the army until mid May1866. With so many young men looking for work after the war, he decided a Captain’s pay to be a good living for a young man without a college education. Headquartered at Fort Corcoran Alexandria, the regiment spent most of the time decommissioning forts around Washington City.

Photographs of the colored troops, their band, and their officers were taken at Fort Corcoran on a day when Fred was in command there.

After leaving the army, Fred attended New York University and graduated as a civil engineer. He was in charge of a major portion of the system’s upgrade during the construction of the Groton Aqueduct, New York City’s water supply. Fred was commandant of the Alexander Hamilton (NYC) Chapter of the GAR, visited Gettysburg on several occasions for anniversaries, and located the left flank marker for the 4th NY battery on Houck’s Ridge above Devil’s Den. The location is being disputed by latter day historians who apparently know more than the ex-corporal / published civil engineer who was in charge of the left most Parrott rifle on the day the battery was attacked at Gettysburg.

The original letters were photocopied by the Library of Virginia, at the Fredericksburg Area Museum, for their Civil War Legacy 150 project, at the beginning of the sesquicentennial, and those photocopies can be found in the renamed JAMES I ROBERTSON JR CIVIL WAR SESQUICENTENNIAL LEGACY COLLECTION. A couple of excerpts from the letters can be found in James “Bud” Robertson’s: Civil War Echoes: Voices from Virginia

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Book of the Month

Most students of the American Civil War know about the terrible fighting that occurred at Cold Harbor in Hanover County, Virginia, from June 1-3, 1864. However, few know about the severe cavalry fighting leading up to the battle of Cold Harbor. From May 27 to June 1, the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac and the Cavalry Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia slugged it out at places like Hanovertown, Haw's Shop, Matadequin Creek, Hanover Court House, Ashland, and finally, Cold Harbor itself, setting the stage for the well-known infantry battle that broke out on the afternoon of June 1, 1864.

One cannot truly understand how the battle of Cold Harbor played out unless one also understands how the armies got there. This book brings the armies to the battle of Cold Harbor. The May 28, 1864, battle of Haw's Shop was considered the harshest cavalry battle of the war to date; but, it was eclipsed two weeks later by the battle of Trevilian Station. Haw's Shop marked Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton's emergence as the new commander of the Army of Northern Virginia's Cavalry Corps in the wake of the death of the lamented cavalry chief, Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart, 16 days earlier.

This is the first monograph dedicated to telling the story of these largely overlooked cavalry battles. Familiar characters such as Philip H. Sheridan, Fitzhugh Lee, George A. Custer, and David M. Gregg play significant roles in these battles. So, too, do lesser-known participants. Approximately 70 photographs and 25 maps grace this book's pages.

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Gene Schmiel’s Civil War Trailblazers and Troublemakers

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Officers, Staff, and Meetings

OFFICERS/BOARD MEMBERS

PRESIDENT: Roger Leturno 719-650-8135

VICE PRESIDENT: Clint Van Zandt 540-842-0878

SECRETARY: Beth Daly 540-729-0260

TREASURER: Jim Davis 540-899-3836

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS: John Harris, Paul Scott, Craig Cudworth, Carolyn Elstner, Steve Koppelman

COMMITTEES

PROGRAM: Paul Scott, John Pavlansky, David Hamon, Bob Lookabill

MEMBERSHIP: Paul Scott, Ted Watkins, David Hamon, Craig Cudworth, Roger Leturno

HERITAGE: Jack Farrington, David Hamon, Carol Walker, Roger Leturno

RAFFLE SALES: Janie Cudworth

WEBMASTER: Roger Leturno

Meetings are presently held virtually each monthly via Zoom

4th Wednesday of the month (except Dec) Waiting Room opens at 5:30 p.m. - Program 6:00p.m. – Conclusion by 8:00 p.m.

$45 Annual Dues (individual) $80 Annual Dues (family) $10 discount for members of other Civil War Round Tables Membership free to students (includes NPS Interns)

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Civil War Round Table of Fredericksburg P.O. Box 491 Fredericksburg, VA 22404

Membership Application

Membership enables the CWRTF to help with battlefield preservation, sponsor NPS Interns, and attract the best Civil War experts as keynote speakers at our meetings! Please complete this form and return it with your check payable to Civil War Round Table of Fredericksburg. Mail to this address: Civil War Round Table of Fredericksburg. 504 Hawke Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401

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*Hardtack, the CWRTF newsletter, is published monthly and will be emailed to you. Current and past publications are also available on our website.

Website: cwrtf.org Email: [email protected] Facebook: www.facebook.com/CivilWarRoundTableofFredericksburg 14