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SWAMP ANGEL II VOL 29, NO. 3 BUCKS COUNTY CIVIL WAR MUSEUM AND ROUND TABLE Jul./Sept. 2020 NEWS AND NOTES Message from the President CALENDER Cancelled and Closed: The museum is closed for tours until further notice. The Executive Board This will be my last Presidents Message as my two- does not anticipate it will open for several months at year term is ending this month. It’s hard to reflect on the least. Our rooms are so small we can’t keep the nec- past two years with everything that is happening in the world. essary spacing between visitors. We are going to I would be remiss if I did not thank all the volunteers, mem- take every precaution to keep docents and visitors bers, docents and board members who have made my job as safe. Our meetings with speakers are cancelled until further notice. Notice of changes will go out in president easier. You are what keeps our group viable and emails so please make sure we have your email ad- robust. dress. We had a very active schedule of events for this year, many great speakers scheduled and a lot of activity at the mu- Meetings are normally held the first Tuesday of each month at 7 pm at seum. The virus has forced us to re-schedule many events. Doylestown Borough Hall, 57 W. Court Street unless otherwise noted. We cancelled the July speaker at the Boro Hall and will com- The new parking garage across from the Museum municate to everyone if we are having an August meeting. is completed. At present, there is free parking in The museum continues to remain closed and we hope for an Doylestown for 3 hours at meters then you must move your car. When that ends, our understanding opening with strict guidelines in August or September. is that we will be able to park for free on the lower Riots, demonstrations, political divisiveness, strong level of the new garage. divided sentiments on the current president and a pandemic can feel overwhelming. Regardless of where you are on the The planned 200th birthday celebration for W.W.H. political spectrum, we can learn much from the past (the pre- Davis on July 25th is currently on hold. When the vious sentence could describe the 1860’s) but I ask everyone committee makes a decision an email will go out. to learn from history, try and see the other person’s view and We are working with the Doylestown Historical please wear a mask. Society and Bucks County Historical Society on this. Thanks again, it was my pleasure being President these past Our membership renewal notices have been sent two years. out. Please consider an extra donation. We do not receive any federal, state or local support money. Jim Damon Our year runs from June 30th to July 1st. THANK YOU, JIM. JOB WELL DONE! Thanks to Ron Rudy for a beautiful job repainting the exterior of the museum.. Thank you to Chelsea Daley for getting all the problems with Facebook and our web presence worked out. Please take a look. Jim Donovan will help keep an eye on postings. Copyright©2020 Bucks County Civil War Museum and Round Table, Inc. All Rights Reserved. www.civilwarmuseumdoylestown.org SWAMP ANGEL II NEWS 2 Life of a Soldier in the SWAMP ANGEL Civil war by Marilyn Becker READER CHALLENGE! When young men went into the service during the Civil War, all sorts of new 1.What line of latitude was used for the ways of life confronted them. Many did not know how to take care of them- Missouri Compromise? selves in regards to discipline and regimentation, cooking the rations, main- A. 26-30’N C. 36-30’N taining their weapon and avoiding disease which caused many deaths and B. 32-30’N D. 40-30’N sickness in camp. Patriotism, adventure, glory and excitement drove them to volunteer. Four out of five were ages 18 to 29. If asked, some of the younger 2. What did the Missouri Compromise ones, ages 15 or 16, would reply yes they were over eighteen as they had primarily state? printed the number 18 on paper and stuck it in their shoes. A. Missouri was north of the compro- mised line, so it was given a special sta- Camp time consisted of drilling and marching, in order to turn these young tus as a slave state. and some older farmers and others of many different occupations, into good B. Missourians would be able to vote on soldiers. Drilling was an important tool to form these men into disciplined whether or not to allow slavery. troops and make them able to master the maneuvers so that they could over- C. Both Missouri and Kansas would be come the enemy. Drilling in fact helped determine the outcome of success or considered “sovereign states” in which failure on the battlefield. The guide used was Rifle and Infantry Tactics by they would vote yes or no to slavery William Hardee. D. Missouri would be admitted as a slave state as long as Maine could be a When the soldiers were not drilling in camp, card playing, letter writing, free state. gambling, and listening to music of the regimental bands, helped to relieve their boredom. Gambling was not allowed, but soldiers would bet on cock- 3. Speaking of the Compromise of 1850, fights, ball games, wrestling matches, horse races, boxing matches, and just where was slavery prohibited? about anything else. Favorite games were dice, card games, and poker. Be- A.District of Columbia C.Texas fore battle, the soldiers would throw dice and decks of cards to the roadside. B. Delaware D.Virginia If they did not make it through battle, they didn’t want to have these items found on their bodies. 4. Who was a hero in the North but a villain in the South in 1858? Humor played a role in their lives also. They also adopted dogs as mascots. A. John Brown C. Frederick Douglas One such was a bull terrier named Jack. He was a favorite with the 102nd B. Stephen Douglas D. Abe Lincoln Pennsylvania Infantry who bought him a $75 collar. When Jack died after a long time of service, he was given a funeral which many persons attended. 5. What did the Fugitive Slave Act state? A. Runaway slaves could be kept Military bands helped to keep morale up. Some songs were not allowed to be B. Runaway slaves had to be returned played because they could affect the morale of the soldier such as “Home to their rightful masters C. Runaway slaves were granted free- Sweet Home” and “Auld Lang Syne.” When not playing for parades or the soldiers, the band members became stretcher bearers or helped the sur- dom geons in the field hospitals. D. Runaway slaves had the right to beat their masters if they came after Food was not necessarily as good as home cooking for the soldiers. Having to them. march for days did not lend itself to the best meals. If the soldiers could for- Answers on page 6 age, then meals were good, but often it was hardtack, rotten meat, and some kind of coffee, often with more water than coffee in the mixture. The sol- diers took every opportunity to have a cup of coffee, making their fires first thing at night so they could have a cup of coffee. Fresh fruits and vegetables were often missing which led to scurvy. It seemed that everything was fried which did not help their general health. Sutlers sometimes provided items, but often overcharged the troops. Molasses cookies were a favorite item that the sutlers sold to the troops. Military Records, Returns Documents & Photos The life of a soldier was guided by bugle calls. The first in summer was at 5 Finding military records about your war a.m. and in winter at 6:00 a.m. The first call meant Reveille-rise and shine. hero can provide valuable details you nev- The next call was Assembly and to form ranks for the first of 3 roll calls er knew before. Many records on Fold3 which were held during the day. Many other calls signaled other duties the feature multiple pages about the same soldiers faced. At 10 p.m., “Taps” meant lights out. individual, providing priceless information. FREE ACCESS AT THE MUSEUM LIBRARY! (continued on page 4 ) Copyright©2020 Bucks County Civil War Museum and Round Table, Inc. All Rights Reserved. www.civilwarmuseumdoylestown.org SWAMP ANGEL II NEWS 3 “I came out safe wIth a hole In my cap” The 104th Pennsylvania at Seven Pines by Michael Campbell The morning of May 31, 1862 found the 104th PA After clearing a Union abatis at the edge of the timber – “unusually quiet.” According to their Colonel, W.W.H. Hill’s third brigade under Robert Rodes was still lost in Davis, the men were “lolling in the shade,” and White Oak Swamp - General George B. Anderson’s bri- “discussing the campaign… we did not expect a battle.” gade, led by the 27th Georgia, came down hard on Da- Advanced beyond Seven Pines in order to hold a large vis’ right, scattering the Pine Tree State soldiers and clearing south of the Richmond and York River Rail- uncovering the 9 Mile Road in their rear. “At this cri- road, the men of the 104th and their IV Corps comrades waited on lunch and suffered in the Virginia heat. For sis,” Davis wrote, “the enemy was pressing us in front two months the Army of the Potomac had toiled and and on the flank and threatened the battery we were moiled its way up the Virginia Peninsula towards Rich- supporting.