Civil War Monument at Chicago's Bohemian National Cemetery-- Part 3: The Civil War 18 Smola to Waska

Schultz, Frank

Smola, Frank

Stejskal, Frank

Talafous, John

Tomer, John

Uher, Alois

Vranek, Martin

Waska, Albert

Kristufek,Jakub

Definitely Not easy to Type These Names.  --Old Secesh

The Civil War Monument at Chicago's Bohemian National Cemetery-- Part 2: The Civil War 18

The plaque listing the Civil War 18 has the GAR insignia on it, which stands for the Grand Army of the Republic, which was the postwar organization of those who served in the Union military.

It has, of course, 18 names on it:

Fishman, John

Hejduk, Michael

Hlavin, James

Hrdlicka, Frank

Hudek, Prokop

Kakuska, Jacob

Kaspar, William

Macal, Anton

Mitchell, M.

--Old Secesh

The Civil War Monument at Chicago's Bohemian National Cemetery-- Part 1

From the Czech and Slovak American Genealogy Society of Illinois "Bohemian National Cemetery: The Civil War 18."

On December 5, 1888, a committee representing many Bohemian organizations, met to begin discussions to authorize the building of a monument to commemorate Czechs who served in the military.

On July 28, 1889, thousands gathered for the laying of of the cornerstone of that monument.  One of the names used to describe it was "Bohemian Soldiers and Sailors Monument."

The sculptor of the monument was Joseph Klir.

Om May 29, 1892, thousands again gathered and paraded to celebrate the  unveiling of the new monument.

Cost of the monument  was $5,035.

There is a commemorative plaque on it that was added in 1940 listing the names of 18 veterans who are buried in the cemetery.  But, there are more Civil War veterans buried there as well.

--Old Secesh

The Civil War Veterans Monument at Chicago's Bohemian National Cemetery: 'Pro Nouvou Vlast'

I have been writing about this cemetery in my Cooter's History Thing blog.  Click on that blog to the right of this under My Blogs.  You can find out about Cubs fans, a Spanish-American War monument, Wanda Stropa, Anton Cermak and the SS Eastland Disaster.

From the October 11, 2020, Chicago Tribune "Inside Bohemian National Cemetery with 'Cemetery Lady' Helen Sclair" by Kori Rumore.

This 124-acre cemetery was set up to bury people from Bohemia in the present day Czech Republic.  Today the Chicago cemetery has over 120,000 burials.

One of the places in the cemetery is the Civil War Veterans Monument.

It features a bronze statue of a private soldier in fatigues holding a color staff in one hand and a bayoneted musket in the other and represents Czech immigrants who fought for their adopted country during the Civil War.

The inscription underfoot reads, "Pro nouvou vlast," meaning "For our new country."

A plaque at ground level includes the names of 18 Bohemian veterans of the Civil War buried u=in the cemetery.

An estimated 5,000 people turned out for the commemoration of the monument -- said to be the first Bohemian soldiers' monument in America -- on May 29, 1892, which was the first Memorial Day observed at the Bohemian cemetery.

--Old Secesh

Sherman Explains Why He Didn't Attack Augusta on His March to the Sea: "But, If You Feel Neglected..."

From the October 21, 2020, Athens (Ga) Banner-Herald "October 21, 1888:  General Sherman writes a letter to the Augusta Chronicle editor" by Boll Kirby.

He left Atlanta and Columbia in flames.  Well, why didn't he do the same to Augusta?

For years after the Civil War, Augustans argued about why feared Union General Sherman had not attacked  their city.  They had a variety of reasons and some were even silly.

Finally, Pleasant  Stovall, editor of the Augusta Chronicle, and asked the famous old general nd he answered in what might be one of the most famous-ever letters to the editor.

It was published on October 21, 1888, and, basically the old war horse said he didn't attack Augusta because he didn't have to.  He wanted to get to Savannah where the Union Navy could bring him supplies.

However, he offered to correct the oversight if Augusta felt  neglected, writing: "I can send a detachment of 100,000 or so of Sherman's bummers and their descendants  who will finish up the job without charging Uncle Sam a cent."

Send In the Bummers!!  --Old Secesh

Six Medical Myths That Just Won't Die-- Part 5: Just Whiskey and the Tent

MYTH   #5 

There Were No Effective Drugs/Pharmaceuticals During the Civil War and Whiskey Was the Only Painkiller Available.

Morphine, opiates and other pain relieving  medicines were available.   

**************************************

MYTH   #6

The First Tent Hospital Was  Established By Jonathan Letterman After the Battle of Antietam (Also Reported As After the Battle of Gettysburg).

Actually, a fairly large  tent hospital was established  after the Battle of Shiloh in April 1862.

All Sorts of Interesting Stuff in This Civil War talk post.

--Old Secesh

Six Civil War Medical Myths That Just Won't Die-- Part 4: Glowing Wounds at Shiloh?

MYTH  #4

At Shiloh, wounds were reported to glow -- which was supposedly cause by bacteria Photorhabdus luminescens.

There are many google search results relating to this story "discovered" by high school students.  They claim to have visited Shiloh National Military Park where they heard a story about glowing wounds.  They, in turn, claim that they have discovered the bacteria responsible for those glowing wounds.

According to a NPS Ranger there:  "The only problem with this story is that there is no historical documentation of the event [glowing wounds] ever occurring, at Shiloh or anywhere else.  Not a single letter, diary entry, newspaper account, soldier's journal, , official report... nothing."

So, no known contemporary primary or secondary source accounts of glowing wounds -- and, the bacteria requires a temperature below 93.4 degrees.  That's well below  the normal temperature of a living human body.

--Old SeceshGlow

Six Civil War Medical Myths That Just Won't Die-- Part 3: 'Bite the Bullet?'

MYTH 3

INSTEAD OF ANESTHESIA, WOUNDED SOLDIERS WERE GIVEN A LEAD BULLET TO CHEW ON --  HENCE THE TERM 'BITE THE BULLET.'

As noted earlier,  the percentage of amputations performed without the benefit of general anesthesia was incredibly small.  Still, if a man was  in incredible pain, perhaps something to chew on would have been considered.  maybe a leather strap of belt.  Most likely something that wasn't small with the possibility of accidental swallowing.  The idea of gnawing on something as small and hard as a bullet just doesn't fit the bill.

The idea of biting the bullet probably comes from relic hunters who found them on the battlefield.  Lead bullets found on a battlefield with teeth marks on them are called pain or hospital bullets. Actually these bullets with teeth marks are most likely from rooting hogs or squirrels who thought the bullet was a nut or something else to eat.

The idea of giving a man a bullet to chew on, is not only a dentist's nightmare, it's plain dangerous as a choking hazard.

So, then, what about the old phrase "bite the bullet?"  Who knows?  But there is no evidence that soldiers had to "bite the bullet" during the Civil War.

--Old Secesh

MCCWRT Discussion Group Meeting at Stucky's This Saturday, Oct. 24: Topic 'Civil War Fun and Games'

The McHenry County (Illinois)  Civil War Round Table discussion group will be meeting at Stucky's Bar and Grille  in Johnsburg, Illinois, this Saturday, October 24.

They have both outside and inside seating in case of bad weather.  It is located at 4000 N. Johnsburg Road in the Angelo's Supermarket shopping center.

Open to members and anyone with an interest in the Civil War.  The topic is "Civil War Fun and Games" this month.

Masks and social distancing required.

See You There.  --Old Secesh

Six Civil War Medical Myths That Just Won't Die-- Part 2: There Was Adequate Anesthesia on Both Sides

MYTH 2:  There was no anesthesia so amputations were always performed with the men conscious.

Case studies show that some 95% of amputations done by Union surgeons were performed under anesthesia.  When chloroform or ether were not available, amputations  were sometimes postponed rather than cause unnecessary suffering by the victim.

As for Confederate surgeons, Dr. Hunter Holmes McGuire reported "...that in the corps to which I was attached (2nd Corps ANV), chloroform was given 28,000 times..."

In a piece titled "Confederate Medical Service", Dr. Deering J. Roberts expanded:  "Many Confederate surgeons reported that at no time did they fail to have an adequate supply of the three most important drugs, quinine, morphia and  chloroform."

--Old Secesh

Six Civil War Medical Myths That Just Won't Die-- Part 1: About Those Surgeons and Amputations

From Civil War Talk by lelliott19.

MYTH 1:  Civil War Surgeons Were Uneducated, inhumane "butchers" who amputated limbs  arbitrarily and unnecessarily.

Most had at least some medical training.  Very few had performed amputations or surgery in the numbers they were soon faced with, especially after battles.  Most lacked experience with gunshot wounds.  Most had received experience through attendance at medical lectures, apprenticing under an experienced  physician and/or practiced  medicine before the war.

As far as  amputations, minie balls shattered bones and shattered bones do not heal on their own. There were no orthopedic plates or pins like we have today.  Limbs were amputated as the most effective ways to save lives.

I always have a problem with all the sources I've read, however, mentioning piles of legs and arms in operating rooms after battles.  A bit on the gross side for me.

--Old Secesh

Gen. Junius Daniel-- Part 5: Mortally Wounded at Battle of Spotsylvania

During the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse on May 12, 1864,  Daniel led his brigade in a fierce counterattack on the  "Muleshoe" (also known as the "Bloody Angle"), trying to recapture that important position from the Army of the Potomac, which had captured it at dawn.  He was struck in the abdomen by a Minie ball, inflicting a mortal wound.

He died in a field hospital the next day and his body was taken to Halifax and buried in the Old Colonial Cemetery.

Unknown to Daniel, Robert E. Lee had recommended his promotion to major general just prior to his death.

Fellow North Carolinian and close friend, Brigadier General Bryan Grimes later wrote, "He was decidedly the best general officer from our state.  Though in all possibility I gained a brigadier at his death, I would for the sake of the country always remained in the status quo than the country should have lost his services."

General Grimes named one of his sons Junius Daniel Grimes (who would become a well-known Washington, D.C. attorney in the late 19th century).

The Junius Daniel Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy  in Weldon, North Carolina , was named in Daniel's honor.

--Old Secesh

Gen. Junius Daniel-- Part 4: Action at Gettysburg

Junius Daniel was commissioned a brigadier general on September 1, 1862, making him one of the five men from Halifax County to attain that rank in the Confederate Army.  (I am unable to find out who the other four brigadier generals are from Halifax County, N.C.)

He spent the fall of 1862 with his brigade at Drewry's Bluff in Virginia and then served in North Carolina.  During this time, his unit saw very limited combat action.

Shortly after the Battle of Chancellorsville, his unit was transferred to Major General Robert E. Rodes' division of Richard S. Ewell's 2nd Corps, where he served with distinction during the Gettysburg Campaign  Daniel's largest brigade, trusted to carry the Corps Flag, consisted of the 32nd, 43rd, 45th and 53rd North Carolina along with the 2nd North Carolina Battalion.

On July 1, 1863, the first day of the battle, Daniel's brigade repeatedly attacked Union forces on McPherson's Ridge, eventually driving off  the Union brigade of Colonel Roy Stone.  As his first attack on that position failed, and his men began retreating, Daniel heroically galloped after his men, rallied them and  launched another assault.

Daniel's men suffered the  greatest loss of any brigade in the 2nd Corps on the first day at Gettysburg.

--Old Secesh

Gen. Junius Daniel-- Part 3: Service on the Frontier, Louisiana and Back to North Carolina

Continued from October 11, 2020.

In 1852, he was assigned to Fort Albuquerque in New Mexico Territory and remained stationed on the frontier for five years.  Temporarily under the command of Richard S. Ewell of the 3rd Dragoons, Lieutenant Daniel saw action  in a series of skirmishes with Apache Indians in 1855.

In 1858, Daniel resigned his commission and became a planter in Louisiana, joining his father who had moved there in 1851 after his last term in Congress.  In October 1860, he married Ellen Long.

CIVIL WAR SERVICE

The state of Louisiana offered Daniel a commission after Lincoln's call for volunteers, but he returned to Halifax, North Carolina, where he offered his services to his native state.  he was chosen colonel of the  4th (later 14th N.C. Infantry).  When the period of enlistment ended, he was offered command of several regiments before accepting that of the 45th Infantry Regiment.

Junius Daniel led four regiments from Raleigh to Goldsboro where he organized them into a brigade.  Afterwards, he organized two other brigades.  In June 1862, his brigade was ordered to Petersburg, Virginia, where his brigade joined the Army of Northern Virginia just before the Seven Days Battles, though it took no part in them.

--Old Secesh

 

So, Who was Confederate General Alfred Mouton?

 I wrote about this man in my Civil War II blog as he has a statue in front of the Lafayette Parish courthouse in Louisiana that certain people want removed.  I have heard about him, but that is about all.  The article had this to say about him.

Alfred Mouton was the son of the 9th governor of Louisiana, attended the United States Military Academy at West Point and later returned to Lafayette where he became a landowner and, of course, slaveowner.  He supported the parish's laws limiting the assembly of Blacks and their ability to move around.

He was killed at the Battle of Mansfield in 1864.

The Alfred Mouton charter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy donated the statue to the city in 1922

--Old Secesh

What the War Was Really About

From Civil War Talk

April 9, 1862 diary entry by James Hannegan of the 5th Ohio  Cavalry after the Battle of Shiloh.

"Went over the battleground again today & saw some of the most shocking sights I ever beheld.    Men were lying dead in every possible position.  Some with their heads torn off, limbs scattered around & the dead horses were in heaps all over the field & today it was quite cool which is very favorable, otherwise this stench would be almost intolerable.

"Most of the dead  bodies have been robbed by our own men.  The faces of the dead were perfectly black.  Our men have been busy ever since the battly burying the dead, but hundreds still unburied.

"Every house in the neighborhood is filled with wounded rebels.  Some have been brought in today who have been lying in the woods since Monday."

--Old Secesh

Lee Button Found in Unearthed Time Capsule

From the July 2, 2020, Central Maine  "Lee button found  in time capsule  under Confederate monument."

A button that experts believe  was from Confederate General Robert E. Lee's dress coat and a strand of hair  from his horse are among the items found in the time capsule that was removed from the Confederate monument that stood on the grounds of the North Carolina State Capitol recently.  The monument had stood there for 125 years.

The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources said the metal box of the time capsule had been seriously damaged over the years by the elements and had rust on it.

Also found in the capsule:  Confederate money, song books and flags and a stone believed to be from the Gettysburg Battlefield.  There were also 1895 newspapers from across the state.

North Carolina's governor ordered this statue and others on the state capitol grounds removed for "public safety" after BLMers and their white minions attacked the statues and even lynched one of the Confederate soldiers in the statue.

Well, at least one good thing about all this Confederadication.

And You Figured BLMers Would be Against Lynching.  --Old Secesh

Confederate General Junius Daniel-- Part 2: From North Carolina, Attended West Point

From Wikipedia.

JUNIUS DANIEL

June 27, 1828-May 13, 1864

Planter and career military officer, serving in the U.S. and then the C.S. armies.  His troops were instrumental in the Confederate success at the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg.  He was killed in action at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House.

He was born in Halifax, North Carolina,  the son of a wealthy political family.  His father, John Reeves Jones Daniel served as attorney general for North Carolina and member of the U.S. Congress.  His mother,  Mary Stith, came from a family of prominent Virginians that descended from John Stith and William Randolph.

Education for Daniel came at local school in Halifax and then another school in Raleigh.  President James K. Polk appointed him to the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1846 and graduated from there with the Class of 1851, ranking 33rd out of 41 one in that group.

Appointed brevet 2nd lieutenant in the 3rd U.S. Infantry, he was sent to Newport, Kentucky, as assistant quartermaster.

Further Service in U.S. Army.  --Old Secesh

Confederate Gen. Junius Daniel-- Part 1

 Today, I was writing about the Confederate statue at the Halifax County Courthouse in North Carolina being removed and a picture accompanying the article was a plaque in honor of this man, but actually wasn't the monument in question.

Junius Daniel was born and grew up in Halifax County and is buried there.

The plaque reads:

JUNIUS DANIEL

1828-1864

West Point graduate in 1851.  Officer in the U.S. Army until 1858.  Brigadier-General in  the C.S. Army  Mortally wounded in the Battle of Spottsylvania Court House.  Born and Buried in Halifax.

Erected 1929 by The North Carolina Historical Commission and the Halifax Chapter, U.D.C.

It is located on the grounds of the Halifax Court House.

Of course, now there is someone wanting to remove it.  Confederate, you know.

--Old Secesh

"Up the Street Came the Rebel Tread" and Winston Churchill

A little later today, I will write about Winston Churchill and FDR riding through Frederick, Maryland, in 1943 on their way to Shangri-La (now called Camp David).  Churchill was a huge fan of American history, of course, and wanted to see the home of Barbara Frietchie, because of that famous poem.

It is an interesting story, so check it out in my Tattooed On Your Soul: World War II blog.

"Shoot If You Must...."  --Old Secesh

Wallace-Dickey Cemetery, Ottawa, Illinois

From August 28, 2017, WCMY 1430 AM.  "Wallace-Dickey Cemetery plans include making it public eventually."

Money raise at the Civil War reenactments near Seneca over the weekend will help pay for restoration at the Wallace-Dickey Cemetery in Ottawa.  Not many people know where it is, because it is landlocked and there aren't any  public roads to it.

Ottawa Avenue Cemetery Association President  Chuck Sanders says he'd like the public to be able to visit the site someday.  It's where two prominent Ottawa residents of the 1800s, Judge T. Lyle Dickey and General W.H.L. Wallace, are buried.

--Old Secesh

Death and Funeral of Theophilus Lyle Dickey

From Find-A-Grave site.

JUDGE T. LYLE DICKEY LAID TO REST

Ottawa, Ill., July 28, 1885.

The funeral of the late Judge T. Lyle Dickey took the place at the residence of his daughter, Mrs. W.H. Wallace, at three o'clock yesterday afternoon.  Although the heat was excessive at that hour the attendance was very large, nearly all the business houses in town having closed from two until five o'clock.

A special train from Chicago, having on board the State officers and many Chicago friends, arrived at twelve o'clock, the procession, consisting of Company D,  G.A.R.,  the City Council and the Judges of the Supreme Court, formed at  the Supreme Court, formed at the Supreme Courthouse, where the remains had been lying in state, and moved through town to "Two Oaks," where services were held.

After the service the procession moved to the beautiful little private burial ground on the edge of the bluff and consigned  to the final resting place, the remains of T. Lyle Dickey.

--Old secesh

Civil War People Buried at Chicago's Rosehill Cemetery-- Part 5

Continued from July 2019.  To see the rest of these entries, click on the Rosehill Cemetery label below.

Alexander Miller Stout   Union brevet brig. general

Benjamin Jeffrey Sweet   Union brevet brig. general

Matthew Mark Trumbull   Union brevet brig. general

Martin Reuben Merritt Wallace  Union brevet brig. general

Nathan Halbert Walworth   Union officer

James C. Watson    Served in 183rd Pennsylvania in Civil War and received Medal of Honor during Indian Wars.

Joseph Dana Webster   Union brigadier general

John "Long John" Wentworth   Mayor Chicago 1860-1861

Julius White    Union brig. general

--Old Secesh

The Family of Col. Benjamin Lewis Blackford

I wrote about him a lot in my Running the Blockade blog back in November and December 2013.  I am having to go back to that time and redo my entries as I was unable to use paragraphs for seven months.  I was redoing an entry on him (he was not impressed with the Wilmington, N.C., area when posted there during the war.

So I looked him up on Find-A-Grave.  He was there, but there was no information about him, but I did find some history about him in 29 September 2010, Virginia Memory Out of the Box "A Surveyor's View of Wartime Virginia."

He was born in 1835 in Fredericksburg, Virginia, to William Matthews Blackford (1801-1864) and Mary Berkeley  Minor Blackford (1802-1898) who was an anti-slavery activist.  At age ten, Lewis and his family moved to Lynchburg, Va..

When the war began, Lewis and his four brothers joined the Confederate Army, despite their mother's strong pro-Union sympathies.  Lewis enlisted in Co. G, 11th Virginia in April 1861, but left in May to join the Confederate Engineering Corps and spent the war making maps in Virginia and North Carolina.

Lewis had the reputation in his family of being a little too easy-going.  Although two wartime romances ended badly for him (one of them was in Wilmington, N.C.), nether seemed to keep him down for long.

--Old Secesh

George W. Bell, 40th USCT-- Part 3: Met President Lincoln and Moved to Waukegan, Illinois

It was reported that while serving with the 40th USCT, he met Abraham Lincoln and prepared a meal for him.  On occasion, while in camp, Lincoln would always greet George.

After the war, he came first to Fairbury, Illinois, and then moved to Waukegan.

His home in Waukegan was on Clarke Avenue and he worked as a bricklayer.

His wife was Emily Bell, born 1848, died 24 October 1908 (aged 59-60) and she is also buried in Oakwood Cemetery.

--Old Secesh