THE HUDSON RIVER VALLEY REVIEW A Journal of Regional Studies The Hudson River Valley Institute at Marist College is supported by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Publisher Thomas S. Wermuth, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Marist College Editors Christopher Pryslopski, Program Director, Hudson River Valley Institute, Marist College Reed Sparling, Writer, Scenic Hudson Mark James Morreale, Guest Editor Editorial Board The Hudson River Valley Review Myra Young Armstead, Professor of History, (ISSN 1546-3486) is published twice Bard College a year by the Hudson River Valley Institute at Marist College. COL Lance Betros, Professor and Head, Department of History, U.S. Military James M. Johnson, Executive Director Academy at West Point Research Assistants Kim Bridgford, Professor of English, Gabrielle Albino West Chester University Poetry Center Gail Goldsmith and Conference Amy Jacaruso Michael Groth, Professor of History, Wells College Brian Rees Susan Ingalls Lewis, Associate Professor of History, State University of New York at New Paltz Hudson River Valley Institute Advisory Board Sarah Olson, Superintendent, Roosevelt- Peter Bienstock, Chair Vanderbilt National Historic Sites Margaret R. Brinckerhoff Roger Panetta, Professor of History, Dr. Frank Bumpus Fordham University Frank J. Doherty H. Daniel Peck, Professor of English, BG (Ret) Patrick J. Garvey Vassar College Shirley M. Handel Robyn L. Rosen, Associate Professor of History, Marjorie Hart Marist College Maureen Kangas Barnabas McHenry David Schuyler, Professor of American Studies, Alex Reese Franklin & Marshall College Robert E. Tompkins Sr. Thomas S. Wermuth, Vice President for Academic Denise Doring VanBuren Affairs, Marist College, Chair Business Manager David Woolner, Associate Professor of History Andrew Villani & Political Science, Marist College; Senior Fellow, Roosevelt Institute, Art Director Hyde Park Richard Deon Copyright ©2011 by the Hudson River Valley Institute Tel: 845-575-3052 Post: The Hudson River Valley Review Fax: 845-575-3176 c/o Hudson River Valley Institute E-mail: [email protected] Marist College, 3399 North Road, Web: www.hudsonrivervalley.org Poughkeepsie, NY 12601-1387 Subscription: The annual subscription rate is $20 a year (2 issues), $35 for two years (4 issues). A one-year institutional subscription is $30. Subscribers are urged to inform us promptly of a change of address. The Hudson River Valley Review does not assume responsibility for statements of fact or opinion made by the authors. ii From the Guest Editor In honor of the sesquicentennial anniversary of the Civil War, this issue of The Hudson River Valley Review gives our readers a different take on the conflict than our previous edition on the same topic in the Autumn of 2005. Recognizing other aspects of the conflict than the combat experiences of various Hudson Valley regiments as the previous issue had, this issue explores the ways the Civil War was memorialized in Hudson River Valley art (Kevin J. Avery’s “‘Rally ’round the Flag’: Frederic Edwin Church and the Civil War” and Valerie Balint’s “‘A Labor of Love and Patriotism’: The Artistic and Historic Legacy of Albany’s General Philip H. Sheridan Memorial”), thought about in letters home (Diane Shewchuk’s “‘All is excitement and anxiety here’: A New York Family’s Experience of the Civil War” and Gail Goldsmith’s “Letters Home: Carrie Niles’ Correspondence”), mythologized through the manufacturing of iconic regimental flags (“Christopher Morton’s “With Victory Perched Upon Their Eagles: Civil War Flags from the New York State Battle Flag Collection”), and prepared for through the influence of West Point upon the Union’s officer corps (Jonathan Howard Lawler’s “The West Point Education of the ‘Christian General’: Oliver Otis Howard, 1850-1861”). In addition, this issue features thirty-two pages of gorgeous color illustrations which we hope will enhance the reading experiences of our readers and subscribers. Mark James Morreale, Guest Editor On the Cover: Columbia County native Sanford Gifford documented his three tours with the 7th Regiment of the New York State Militia in sketchbooks and four paintings, including our cover image. Sanford Robinson Gifford, American (1823-1880) Camp of the Seventh Regiment, near Frederick, Maryland, July 1863, 1864 Oil on canvas, 18 x 32 in. (45.7 x 81.3 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lent by New York State Military Museum (L.1989.71.3) Image © The Metropolitan Museum of Art iii This issue of The Hudson River Valley Review has been generously underwritten by the following: Peter Bienstock Shawangunk Valley Conservancy Conservation • Preservation • Education Brinckerhoff and Neuville, Inc. www.brinckerhoffinsurance.com www.chenergygroup.com Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund The Furthermore program is concerned with nonfiction book publishing about the city; natural and historic resources; art, architecture, and design; cultural history; and civil liberties and other public issues of the day. www.furthermore.org iv The mission of the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area Program is to recognize, preserve, protect, and interpret the nationally significant cultural and natural resources of the Hudson River Valley for the benefit of the Nation. For more information visit www.hudsonrivervalley.com • Browse itineraries or build your own • Search 90 Heritage Sites • Upcoming events & celebrations To contact the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area: Mark Castiglione, Acting Director Capitol Building, Room 254 Albany, NY 12224 Phone: 518-473-3835 v Corrections In his essay “Developing the Middle Landscape: The Shawangunk Carriage Roads,” author Peter Manning refers to the many strategically sited gazebos, or summer houses, that appear throughout the landscape. The Mohonk Mountain House always refers to these structures as “summerhouses,” of which there are currently 125. The biographical note for Edward T. Howe, author of “Bell Founding in the Upper Hudson River Valley,” was omitted from our Spring 2010 issue, Volume 26.2. Mr. Howe holds a doctorate in Economics from the State University at Albany and is a professor of economics at Siena College in Loudonville. His work has appeared in The American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Public Administration Review, and Social Sciences Quarterly. His research interests include state and local governmental issues, and industrial economic history. vi The Hudson River Valley Review th fififl fl THE HUDSON RIVER VALLEY REVIEW Vol. 27, No. 2, Spring 2011 The Civil War and the Transformation of the Hudson River Valley, Mark James Morreale....................................................................................................2 With Victory Perched Upon Their Eagles: Civil War Flags from the New York State Battle Flag Collection, Christopher Morton ....................10 “All is excitement and anxiety here”: A New York Family’s Experience of the Civil War, Diane Shewchuk .............................................................................27 The West Point Education of the “Christian General”: Oliver Otis Howard, 1850-1861, Jonathan Howard Lawler ..........................................................................49 “Rally ‘round the Flag”: Frederic Edwin Church and the Civil War, Kevin J. Avery ............................................................................................................66 Letters Home: Carrie Niles’ Correspondence with New York’s Volunteers, Gail Goldsmith ..........................................................................................................104 “A Labor of Love and Patriotism”: The Artistic and Historic Legacy of Albany’s General Philip H. Sheridan Memorial, Valerie A. Balint ....................................... 117 Regional History Forum Mid-Hudson Antislavery History Project, Amy Jacaruso ....................................... 153 Regional Writing Through the Window of the Valley Medical Building in January , Raphael Kosek ........................................................................................................... 157 Book Reviews Letting Go, Raphael Kosek ....................................................................................... 158 Red Rain, Bruce Murkoff ......................................................................................... 159 Arsenic and Clam Chowder: Murder in Gilded Age New York, James D. Livingston .................................................................................................. 161 New & Noteworthy ................................................................................................. 164 Civil War Fiction .....................................................................................................169 Contributors............................................................................................................. 174 HRVR27_2-ML.indd 1 4/29/11 1:58 PM The Civil War and the Transformation of the Hudson River Valley Mark James Morreale “It is strange what a predilection we have for injuring brother man, but we learn the art of killing far easier than we do a hard problem in arithmetic.” —Henry Matrau, Co. G, 6th Wisconsin1 In his recent anthology, Battle: The Nature and Consequences of Civil War Combat, Kent Gramm presents a telling illustration of the true cost of the Civil War on the American consciousness. In the book’s final chapter, entitled simply “Numbers,” he makes the following observation: The number 10 puts the Civil War