A North Carolina Connection To Those Three Captured Confederate Soldiers

Continuing with the last two posts.

Clete Dolinger now lives in southwestern Virginia, but two of his ancestors must have been from North Carolina, judging from their regiments.

Andrew Blevins, 30th North Carolina
John Baldwin, 50th Virginia
Ephraim Blevins, 37th North Carolina.

A Follow Up.  --Old Secesh

And Now, the Rest of the Story: Those Three Captured Confederates-- Part 2

I figured this to be a perfect fit with the new Civil War stamps since I have been writing about them this month.

I even went down to my local post office and got one of the only two sheets of them they had left.

On the back side of the Civil War sheet is the photo (which I have seen many times) of Dolinger's relatives taken later the day of July 3, 1863, after Pickett's Charge.  The men are carrying extra bedrolls, but had no weapons.  They had already been shuttled around between various prisoner holding areas and then been on burial detail for the Union soldiers.

"Humiliated and knowing they would be transported to a regular POW camp, they collected extra clothing and blankets from the dead to prepare for internment," Gettysburg officials said.  I must admit I always thought these Confederate soldiers did not fit the usual bedraggled look of Lee's soldiers.

Dolinger ordered five sets of the stamps at his local post office and when the clerk asked why, he said, "Because that's my kin.  They were drafted into the army and they had to go."  The Virginia postal official then contacted Washington, D.C. about him and Dolinger was then invited to speak.  It gives a real human connection to those long-ago events.

In 1949, his grandmother showed him the family photo album and that picture was in it.  He wants the five sheets for his children and grandchildren.

He also took his granddaddy's granddaddy's sword and canteen with him to Gettysburg.

Making It Human.  --Old Secesh

And Now, The Rest of the Story: Those Three Captured Confederates-- Part 1

From the May 23, 2013, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette "A Postal Service event in Gettysburg features descendant of rebels in stamp photo" by Tom Barnes.

Clete Dolinger of southwest Virginia had known the three Confederate prisoners shown in the famous Matthew Brady photo were his ancestors ever since 1949 when he was ten years old.

"The soldier on the right is Andrew Blevins, and he was my granddaddy's granddaddy.  The one on the left is his son, Ephraim Blevins, and the one in the middle is my grandmother's great uncle, John Baldwin."

Dolinger made the six-hour trip to Gettysburg today where he will speak at the U.S. Postal Service event unveiling the new Gettysburg stamp of Pickett's Charge on July 3, 1863.

More to Come.  --Old Secesh

Text From Civil War Stamps-- Part 4

"LORENA" LYRICS BY HENRY WEBSTER--  A popular song on both sides-- 
"But then, 'tis past, the years are gone,
I'll not call up their shadowy forms;
I'll say to them, 'Lost years, sleep on!
Sleep on! nor heed life's pelting storms."

RUFUS R. DAWES, 6TH WISCONSIN INFANTRY, Describing Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg--  "For a mile up and down the fields before us in splendid lines...of the Army of Northern Virginia swept down upon us.  They came half way up this slope, wavered, began to fire, then to scatter and then to run, and how our men did yell, 'Come on, Johnny, come on.'"


WILLIAM TUNNARD, 3RD LOUISIANA INFANTRY, Describing the Siege of Vicksburg--  "Dogs howled through the streets at night, cats screamed forth their hideous cries, and an army of rats, seeking food, would scamper around your feet."

Well worth getting yourself a commemorative sheet.

Old Secesh

Text From Civil War Stamps Sheet-- Part 3

There is a photo of three Confederate soldiers captured at The Battle of Gettysburg.  I found a very interesting story about this photo.  Now we know what their names are.

There were also five quotes which I will list:

ABRAHAM LINCOLN:  "But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate--we can not consecrate--we can not hallow--this ground.  The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our power to add or detract."

CLARA BARTON--  Nurse--  "...what armies and how much war I have seen...what thousands of marching troops, what fields of slain, what prisons, what hospitals, what ruins, what cities in ahes, what hunger and nakedness, what orpanage, what widowhood, what wrongs and what vengeance."

Frankly, My Dear....  --Old Secesh

Has It Come To This? Lincoln's Gettysburg Tweet

Liz sent me this as he thought I'd like it.  I did.

From the June 21st Bizarro Comic Blogspot.com "The Gettsburg tweet."

There stands Abraham Lincoln in his usual clothing and top hat, leaning up against a wall by some stairs, busily tapping on his cell phone while looking down:

"4 scor , 7 yrs ago R 4 fathrs brot 4th on this con10nt a nu nashin...."

Egads!!  --Old Secesh

Sorry About No Posting Yesterday, Blame It On the Hawks

I had planned on a post about the Civil War stamps. but, like I said, things got in the way.

Between yardwork and shopping in the morning and afternoon and this little old hockey game on TV last night in Boston, there just was not enough time, particularly after that little old hockey game.  There was celebratin' needed to be done and we were just the folks to do it.

However, we were not downtown in Chicago at Division Street or Wrigleyville.  We did alright at little old Tommy's here in Spring Grove where some hundred or more folk had gathered to watch the game.  The place got mighty loud at the end.

With two minutes to go in the third period, we sure figured it would be home in Chicago for game seven, but, then there was that amazing 17 seconds.

Go Hawks!!!  --Old Secesh

Text From the Civil War Stamps-- Part 2

The Vicksburg stamp.

"Taking place at the same time in the western theater was the climax of the longest and most complex military campaign of the Civil War: the Battle of Vicksburg.  A busy port city, Vicksburg was the last major Confederate stronghold preventing the Union from gaining complete control of the Mississippi River.  President Abraham Lincoln considered its capture 'the key' to bringing the war to an end..

After the U.S. Navy was unable to bombard the city into submission, General Ulysses S. Grant planned and implemented what has been called 'the greatest amphibious operation in American history up to that time.'  Grant marched his troops south along the western bank of the Mississippi River, and the Navy transported more than 20,000 men east across the river to an undefended site well below Vicksburg.

The troops then mounted an attack from the open ground east of the city.  Their assault began on May 19, but a long siege commenced after frontal attacks failed.  Finally, six weeks into the siege and with the city in ruins, Confederate general John C. Pemberton arranged a meeting with Grant and surrendered on July 4, one dau after the Union victory at Gettysburg.

The Battle of Gettysburg and Battle of Vicksburg stamps are part of the U.S. Postal Servives series commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War."

And, a Job Well Done.  --Old Secesh

Text From Civil War Stamps-- Part 1

From the front of the sheet of stamps (ten with five of each on the front)

THE CIVIL WAR
1863
A NATION TOUCHED WITH FIRE

"In June 1863, Confederate general Robert E. Lee began to carry out his bold plan to invade Pennsylvania and perhaps deal a decisive blow to the Union.  By the end of the month, troops from his Army of Northern Virgina had moved out of Fredericksburg, Virginia, and crossed the Potomac River into Maryland, on their way toward Pennsylvania.

There, on July 1, near the small town of Gettysburg, his forces would meet those of Major General George Gordon Meade, the newly appointed commander of the Army of the Potomac.

The ensuing three-day Battle of Gettysburg-- in places soon known across the nation as the Peach Orchard, Little Round Top, and the Devil's Den--was the largest battle fought during the war and Lee's first major defeat.

There were some 45,000 casualties, including more than 7,500 killed or mortally wounded.  For Lee's forces and the South, Gettysburg has often been called the 'high water mark of the Rebellion.""

Tomorrow, Vicksburg.  --Old Secesh

The Post Office's Sesquicentennial Stamps

From the May 23, 2013, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette by Edward Colimore.

The Post Office began their Civil War Sesquicentennial series to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the war in 2011 with the Battles of Fort Sumter and Bull Run which took place in 1861.  Last year's stamps featured the 1862 Battles of Antietam and New Orleans.  I like the fact that the first three years featured a naval battle, which is often overlooked when it comes to the war.

These stamps come in souvenire sheets with two stamps on the front along with a short history of the event shown.  On the reverse side there is a background photograph and five more of each stamp and some comments by participants.

This years reverse side has the famous Matthew Brady photograph of three Confederates captured at the Battle of Gettysburg and comments by Abraham Lincoln, nurse Clara Barton, Union soldier Rufus R. Dawes and Confederate William Tunnard.

Get Driving Over to Your Local P.O..  --Old Secesh

Postal Service Issues Gettysburg and Vicksburg Stamps

From the May 25, 2013, Philadelphia Inquirer by Edward Colimore..

On Mat 23rd, a reproduction of an 1887 chromolithograph made by Thure de Thulestrup was unveiled at the Postal Service's stamp commemorating the 150th anniversary of the pivotal Battle of Gettysburg fought July 1-3, 1863.  Swedish-born Thulestrup worked for Harper's Weekly after the Civil War.

His work was one of a series of popular prints commissioned in the 1880s by Boston publisher Louis Prang & Company to commemorate the war.  This particular print showed Pickett's Charge on the final day of the battle, the last Confederate attempt to break the Union line.

The other stamp issued May 23rd is a reproduction of the 1863 Currie & Ives lithograph titled  "Admiral Porter's Fleet Running the Rebel Blockade of the Mississippi River at Vicksburg, April 16th, 1863.  (Yes, the Fort Fisher Admiral Porter.)  The Confederate citadel Vicksburg, surrendered the day after the end of the Battle of Gettysburg.

These are Forever Stamps.

I'll Have to Get Me a Sheet of These Stamps.  --Old Secesh

Confederate Legacy at Ole Miss

From the December 12, 2012, Jackson (Ms) Free Press "Rebel Land: a Racial History of Oxford and Ole Miss" by R.L. Nave.

The Lyceum is University of Mississippi's main administration building and was built in 1848.  During the Civil War it was a Confederate hospital.

The controversial Colonel Reb mascot was dropped in 2003.

And, I'm Still Not Happy.  --Old Secesh

North Carolina's Civil War Monuments

From the May 26, 2013, Jefferson Post.

Author and photographer Douglas J. Butler of Crumpler has published "North Carolina Civil War Mounuments: An Illustrated History."  It has 272 pages and is paperback.  Butler says it took him two years and 15,000 miles through the state to make the book which has the histories of dozens of the 109 monuments as well as 137 photographs.

Two monuments I am especially interested in are the one at Wilmington's Oakdale Cemetery for 367 Confederate dead buried there.  Goldsboro's Willowdale has a mass grave for 800 dead.

Of Great Interest to Me.  --Old Secesh

Goldsboro's Sacrifice at Battle of Antietam-- Part 6

The battle effectively convinced both sides that a peaceful solution to the war was not possible.

Photgraphers were at the battle and for the first time, the folks back home in the North got a first-hand look at the horrors of the war.  Exhibits of masses of dead soldiers were shown all over the country.

Then, Lincoln used the Battle of Antietam, although not a complete victory, as the enabler to issue his Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves in the Confederacy.

Coffman compared the news coverage of the Vietnam War with that of the Civil War, which helped sway public opinion at home about the reasons for fighting.

A bus trip was planned to the Antietam Battlefield for October 19-21 for $100, with attendees paying for their own room and meals.

I was able to visit the battlefield this past November, just two months after the battle's 150th anniversary and was impressed with it.  However, if you're thinking of finding all the Civil War-related stores, musems, etc., in Sharpsburg, that's not going to happen.  This town has gone through great lengths not to allow the Gettsburgation of it.  I could not easily find a place to eat breakfast the morning I was there.

Old Secesh

Goldsboro's Sacrifice at Battle of Antietam-- Part 5

That little bridge was defended by a small group of Georgia troops and it took until late in the afternoon for Union troops to get across it.  Once they did, they were in a position to flank the Confederate Army and turn the battle into a fiasco for Lee.  General Burnside commanded the Union troops at the bridge and his name is forever attached to it.  Lincoln elevated him to command of the Army of the Potomac after the battle which led to the disastrous Battle of Fredericksburg in December.

Very fortunately, the  troops of Confederate General A.P. Hill arrived from Harper's Ferry after a 17-mile march and they smashed into the Union troops, forcing them back and ending the fighting.

Lee waited a day, expecting McClellan to continue the attack, but when that didn't happen, he retreated back to Virginia and McClellan did not follow.  This angered Lincoln so much that he once again fired his general.

More than 23,000 troops on both sides were killed or wounded during the battle and since it was Americans on both sides, it is the single bloodiest day in American history.

Lees Escaped a Big One.  --Old Secesh

Goldsboro's Sacrifice At Battle of Antietam-- Part 4: The 27th Does Battle

The battle of Antietam began at dawn on September 17, 1862, with a Union attack on the Confederate left.  After hours of horrendous fighting and casualties, the two sides were essentially where they had started.

The next phase of the battle involved a sunken farm road, later named Bloody Lane after all the casualties which were so heavy that Confederate bodies lay stacked when Union forces finally occupied it, and that was not counting all the blue clad bodies in front of the wall.  Many of the men killed here were from North Carolina units, but not the 27th.

"The 27th's moment of glory came when they were positioned just to the left of the lane.  After withstanding a Union assault, they charged deep into the Union line but were eventually repulsed and took heavy casualties as they retreated.  Still they held their place in the line for hours without ammunition until they were relieved."

One neat thing about the Antietam Battlefield is that you can see all of the first two actions, including where the 27th was, from the vistors center as it slopes down from it.  You can't, however, see Burnside Bridge from there.

The final part of the battle took place on the Confederate right, where Union troops tried to cross Antietam Creek using a small bridge now called Burnside Bridge.

More to Come.  --Old Secesh

Goldsboro's Sacrifice at Battle of Antietam-- Part 3

Unfortunately for Robert E. Lee, Maryland's people did not flock to the colors.  Compounding the matter was that Lee's Army of Northern Virginia was steadily shrinking as troops, believing the war was in defense of their homeland disagreed with the decision to cross over into the Union. 

Estimates have Lee's force as having dwindled to 40,000 by the time it had reached Sharpsburg near Antietam Creek. (I'm wondering if the 40,000 number reflected the fact that A.P. Hill's men were at Harper's Ferry?)

Lee was opposed by his old adversary from the Peninsula Campaign, Union General George McClellan, who had been fired by Lincoln after that and reinstated after General Pope's defeat at the Second Battle of Manassas.  McClellan had about 80,000 troops, but wasn't moving fast as he thought Lee had 120,000 men.  As Lincoln said about McClellan, he had a case of the "slows."

Lees situation became even worse when a copy of his orders was discovered by an Indiana corporal (something about three cigars).  The orders contained Lee's battle plans which involved dividing his force into three columns.  Ever suffering from the "slows," McClellan didn't move on the fortunate find for 18 hours enabling Lee to bring his army together at Antietam Creek, where the two armies camped the night of September 16th.

Big Battle A-Brewing.  --Old Secesh

Goldsboro's Sacrifice at Battle of Antietam-- Part 2

This information is taken from a lecture by Pete Coffman given at Wayne Community College September 18th, the latest in a series of lectures on key Civil War battles sponsored by the Foundation of Wayne Community College and the North Carolina Military History Roundtable.

Two more lectures remain in the series, one on the Battle of Goldsborough (Goldsboro) Bridge and one on the Battle of Fredericksburg.

The Battle of Antietam, or Battle of Sharpsburg as it was called in the Confederacy, was a pivotal moment in the war, even though it is usually considered to have ended in a draw.  President Lincoln counted it as a victory and used it to issue his Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves in the Confederate states (but not border states) and making the war a slavery issue.

Lee chose to invade Maryland to put pressure on Washington, D.C. and hopefully convince England and France to recognize the Confederacy (sort of a Battle of Saratoga during the American Revolution).  he also hoped Confederate sympathizers in Maryland would flock to the colors.  The Army of Northern Virginia was under strict orders not to plunder any farms in the state to show that the Southern cause was just.

They Didn't, However.  --Old Secesh

Goldsboro's Sacrifice at Battle of Antietam-- Part 1

From the september 19, 2012, Goldsboro (NC) News-Argus "Historian tells of Goldsboro's sacrifice at Battle of Antietam" by Dennis Hill.

"Regiment that included the Goldsboro Rifles suffered third-highest casualty rate of the Confederate Army: On the bloodiest day in American history (even worse than D-Day) the regiment that included the Goldsboro Rifles suffered the third-highest casualty rate in the Confederate Army.

At the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, the 27th North Carolina Infantry regiment lost 61 percent of its men killed and wounded.  Out of 325 men who entered the battle, 31 were killed and 168 wounded."

The reiment penetrated deepest into Union lines and was the only one mentioned specifically in General Robert E. Lee's official report of the battle.  The regiment wa smade up of men from Wayne, Lenoir, Pitt, Guilford, Orange, Jones and Perquimans counties.  Lee reported them "standing boldly in line without a cartridge" after they ran out of ammunition, holding the center of the rebel line.

The Brave and the Courageous, the 27th NC.  --Old Secesh

Heritage Attacks

3-5-13:  In Palestine, Texas, the Dogwood Trails Festival denied the John H. Reagan Camp of the SCV from having a booth at it, saying it was "politically divisive."  The camp, however, not to be denied, will set up a booth two blocks away on their land where they are building a memorial plaza to the the Confederacy which they plan on dedicating in April.


3-5-13:  In Memphis, Tennessee, city workers removed signs with the names from the city's Confederate parks.  This was done before a proposed law forbidding the renaming of parks passed in the state.


2-24-13:  Sutton High School in Ontario, Canada, barred students from wearing depictions of Confederate flags because of "racial symbolism."

It seems that there are some big problems in Canada these days.

And, It Keeps Right On Attacking.  --Old Secesh

Heritage Attacks

It just continues, but first, some reasonable news in this area.

**  March 9, 2013 Charleston, SC, Post and Courier reported that a Civil War re-enactment was held at Whiteville Elementary School and that there were Confederate flags and re-enactors present.  Third grade teacher Viola Alford, who is black, however, said that their presence played into the learning process and that the past is not always neat and tidy.  "It's all part of our history.  It is best to know how it resulted in a war."

Parents were told of it and if offended, their kids could skip the event.

**  February 19, 2013.  Rockingham Board in North Carolina passed a resolution to rebuild a Confederate statue honoring veterans which had stood in the center of a traffic circle in Reidsville since 1910.

**  March 6, 2013--  Hamilton, Ontario.  A Canadian barbecue restaurant named Hillbilly Heaven had a Confederate flag painted on its exterior was vandalized because of it.  The owner said he wasn't racist.

Canada Too??  --Old Secesh

Battle of Swan's Quarter

From the Encyclopedia of North Carolina.

Now we're talking about a battle I have never heard of before, but an indication of activity taking place along the coastal areas of the state.

The battle took place March 3, 1863, just over 150 years ago.  Union troops from Company G of the 1st North Carolina Infantry (that's right, a Union regiment, accompanied by the gunboat North State under the command of Captain Colin Richardson set forth from New Bern aboard the steamer Escort on a foraging expedition.

On March 3rd, the Union troops (consisting of about 250 men) ran into an ambush from about 80 Confederate troops.  Despite their numerical superiority, the Union troops were thrown into confusion by the sudden gunfire.

Once rallied and with support of howitzers, the Federals began driving the Confederates back towards Swan's Quarter.  Richardson received word that there were some 200 more enemy troops approaching, Richardson ordered a withdrawal to New Bern.

Richardson reported the loss of 4 men dead and 15 wounded.

Not That Big of An Action.  --Old Secesh

Wayne County, NC, Confederate Camps

From the Encyclopedia of North Carolina.

CAMP COLLIER--  Near Goldsboro (Wayne County):  Confederate camp temporarily used by the 61st NC Regt. en route to Kinston from the Wilmington area, October 1862.

CAMP McLEAN--  Near Goldsboro (Wayne County):  Temporary base of many Confederate units, including the 72nd NC Regt. (3rd Junior reserves), guarding rail and river approaches to Goldsboro.  Likely named for Gen. A. D. McLean of Cumberland County.


CAMP VANCE Near Goldsboro (Wayne County--there was another Camp Vance in Burke County):  Temprary base of many Confederate units guarding rail and river approaches to Goldsboro.

It would sure be interesting to find the sites of these camps and do some investigating.  Wonder if someone knows where they exactly were?

Old Secesh

"Hey George, What Happened to Your Eyebrows?": Last NC Signal Message in the War

From the Encyclopedia of North Carolina.

Not one of your really big stories of the war, but one that I find of great interest.

Lt. George C. Round of the U.S. Signal Corps sent the last signal message of the war in North Carolina from Raleigh.  He was one of the first federal occupation troops to arrive in the state capital on April 13, 1865, and he established his signal station atop the state capitol building.

When he received news of Confederate General Johnston's surrender to General Sherman at the Bennett House in Durham on April 26th, he received permission  to proclaim the news using signal rockets.  He had spelled out the word "PEACE" and then lit a rocket indicationg the end of the word.

When it failed to go off, Round went back to relight it and when he bent over, it went off in his face and singed his eyebrows and eyelashes off.  After an extended pause, he continued with his message which finally read, "Peace on Earth, goodwill to men."

Just One of Those Little Stories.  --Old Secesh

Confederate Prison in Georgia Yields Hundreds of Artifacts-- Part 2

Other artifacts found on the site include a tobacco pipe with teeth marks in the stem (used for wound or amputation?) and a picture frame folded and kept after the daguerreotype (photo) was lost.

Once the artifacts are cleaned and preserved, they will go on exhibit at a museum the Department of Natural Resources is building at Magnolia Springs State Park (located by Camp Lawton).  It is expected that the museum should be open by late summer or early fall..

Students from Georgia Southern, located in Statesboro, will begin digging more into camp's site, especially into the areas where the Union prisoners were quartered as it is believed that they abandoned most of their belongings when the camp was evacuated.

Plans are also to search for the sites of the former Confederate barracks, officer quarters, hospitals and other structures which would have been built outside the compound.

Lance Greene, anthropology professor from the school says, "There's a lifetime's worth of work here.  I can see that I would retire still working there because it's such an incredible site and so well preserved."

Glad They're Doing This.  --Old Secesh

Confederate Prison in Georgia Yields Hundreds of Artifacts-- Part 1

From the June 4, 2013, Goldsboro (NC) News-Argus "Ga. Civil War Camp turns up hundreds of artifacts," AP.

It's been just three years since Cap Lawton, near Millen, Georgia, was discovered and already more than 600 artifacts have been discovered at the former Confederate prison.  Some are suspender buttons, a bronze buckle used to fashion tourniquets during amputations, all the way to railroad spikes.

The camp was opened in October 1864, about 50 miles south of Augusta, to replace the overcrowded Camp Sumter, better known as Andersonville.  Camp Lawton covered over 42 acres with one quarter mile walls on all sides and held more than 10,000 Union prisoners.

Not much is known of the place as it operated just some  six weeks before Confederates abandoned it to avoid the advancing troops of Union General William T. Sherman's Army.

The general location of the camp has always been known, but it wasn't until 2010, when a Georgia Southern graduate student found remnants of the stockade wall.

Old Secesh

The Gettysburg 150 Experience-- Part 2

MARY RITNER BOARDING HOUSE--  Cambersburg, Pa..  Where John Brown planned his 1859 raid on harper's Ferry, Virginia.  Also, learn about the Confederate burning of the town.

RAILROAD--  New Freedom, Pa.  Steam into history on an 1800s-style steam engine.  Railroad history and extremely imporatnt in the Civil War.  Uniformed re-enactors get on and off at Hanover Junction where Lincoln changed trains on his way to the Gettysburg Address.

PRESIDENT JAMES BUCHANAN'S WHEATLAND--  Lancaster, Pa.  The man who preceded Lincoln.

Old Secesh

The Gettysburg 150 Experience-- Part 1

From the May 11, 2013, Potpouri Trumball Edition "Travel: Gettysburg's 150th is gateway to Civil War experiences" by News USA

Of course and obviously there is to be a big to-do at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 1-3 this year.

But, there are other places to explore in the area.  Here are some:

NATIONAL CIVIL WAR MUSEUM  Harrisburg, Pa., shows both sides, both soldier and civilian.

U.S. ARMY HERITAGE AND EDUCATION CENTER--  Carlisle, Pa., interactive one-mile outdoor trail with several Civil War aspects.  Huge Civil War photo collection.

HOPEWELL EXPERIENCE--  Reading, Pa.  Pig iron production was vital for Civil War weapons  On Reading Civil War Trail.  Also Central Pennsylvania.

AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSEUM--  Reading, Pa.  A stop on the Underground Railroad.  See www.gogreaterreading.com .

More Sites to See.  --Old Secesh