Fort Wool in Chesapeake Bay-- Part 2: Lee to the Rescue, Not

Construction of what became Fort Wool began in 1826 and after various delays, by 1834 about half of the second tier had been completed.  But then it was discovered that the man-made island the for sits on was  settling.  It is still settling in the 21st century.

A young second lieutenant and engineer by the name of Robert E. Lee was transferred there to help Captain Andrew Talcott in its construction as well as Fort Monroe across the bay.  Lee was given the task of stabilizing the island, but found the island wouldn't hold even two tiers of gun chambers.

The fort never reached its intended size even with the addition of more base stone.

Work began on the fort again in 1858, but the coming of the Civil War brought it to a halt.  The back of the fort remained open.

--Old Secesh

Fort Wool in Chesapeake Bay-- Part 1: Because of the War of 1812

I wrote about this fort in my November 14 and 16 Not So Forgotten: War of 1812 blog entries.  This fort was constructed to keep an enemy fleet out of the Chesapeake Bay after the experience with the British in that war.  It and Fort Monroe to the north would provide a crossfire to stop an enemy.

From Wikipedia.

Fort Wool is a decommissioned  island fortification now known as Rip Raps Island.  originally it was named Castle Calhoun of Fort Calhoun after  Secretary of War John C. Calhoun and later renamed for  Major General John Ellis Wool (1784-1869).

The general was a veteran of three wars:  War of 1812, Mexican War and the Civil War.  He was the oldest general on either side during the Civil War.

Fort Wool was one of 40 forts constructed after the War of 1812.  This was known as the Third System of U.S. forts.  It was constructed on a shoal of  ballast stones dumped by ships entering the Chesapeake Bay and was originally constructed to have three tiers of gun chambers as well as a barbette tier at the top, altogether mounting  216 cannons.

--Old Secesh

Robert Cogdill Gilchrist's Proposal for a Confederate Flag in 1861

Since I have been writing about this man's construction of the first suspension bridge over the Hudson River in the state of New York, I also found this interesting tidbit.

From Confederate Flags.org.

The proposal of Robert C. Gilchrist of Charleston, South Carolina,  was sent by express courier to Christopher G. Memminger on 4 February 1861, the day the Montgomery Convention which created the Confederacy opened.

Retaining the idea of the Stars and Stripes, Gilchrist removed the canton and placed the stars on a blue cross which spread across the red and white stripes.

This early design by a prominent citizen who had been Commissioner of the United States District Court and the U.S. Court of Claims for the District of South Carolina received wide  publicity.

However, in a letter  to the South Carolina delegation dated 7 February 1861, signed by Charles H. Moise, the Jewish congregations of South Carolina objected to the adoption of a sectarian symbol as the flag of the new country.

Interesting flag design.  I'd never seen it before or heard of Robert C. Gilchrist before I made the blog entries about Gilchrist's bridge across the Hudson River in 1871.

--Old Secesh

A Confederate Built the First Suspension Bridge Over the Hudson River-- Part 3: A Short-Lived Bridge

Robert Gilchrist's bridge, the first suspension one over the Hudson River,  was dedicated on September 8, 1871,  with a great public celebration, complete with a steam locomotive and boxcars and a picnic. However, it turned out that there wasn't enough food, but, alas, plenty of speeches.

The bridge was described as being about 25 feet above the normal water level, 15 feet wide and with a span of 230 feet.

Plans had a railroad depot to be constructed and passenger service could detrain and  catch a stagecoach to local towns 

Sadly, however, Gilchrist's bridge was not to last for very long.  On April 1, 1873, the cables on one side of the bridge gave way after a very heavy snowstorm, causing the bridge to hang upside down on the remaining cable.  Later that spring, the bridge was removed so as not to impede the  spring logging drive on the river.

Gilchrist returned to Charleston and remained there the rest of his life other than infrequent trips back to the Adirondacks where he began selling off his inherited land.

--Old Secesh

A Confederate Built the First Suspension Bridge Over Hudson River-- Part 2: A Railroad Opportunity

When the Civil War broke out, Robert Gilchrist,  though opposed to secession,  stayed in Charleston and sided with the Confederacy.  He fought to defend the Fort Sumter and Charleston Harbor.   He was commissioned an officer and rose to the rank of major under general Beauregard, the commander in Charleston.

The city held out until 1865, when it was abandoned as Sherman marched his Union force through South Carolina.

When the war ended, Robert, his wife and young family, traveled to The Glen to inspect the property owned by his uncle (also named Robert Gilchrist) and Mother (Mary Gilchrist).

Dr. Thomas Durant  by then had the Adirondack Railroad, whose completion had been delayed because of the war and was planning to expand his railroad from Saratoga to North Creek.  Robert Gilchrist was now in the Adirondacks and had plans to expand into the  forest, tourism and resort industries and saw an opportunity with the railroad.

Robert decided to help the railroad locate and had a bridge built across the Hudson River on his property.  The project cost $8,000 and was a John A. Roebling-style bridge and hired engineer Charles McDonald to supervise it.

--Old Secesh

The First Battle of Fort Fisher Ended on Christmas Day, December 25, 1864

From the December 25, 2020, AeroTech News "Remembering Christmases past, major  military events."

For most of the Civil War, Fort Fisher, guarding the port of Wilmington, North Carolina, saw very little combat.  But that changed as Christmas 1864 approached.  The Union decided to close that last port of the Confederacy still open to the rest of the world.  The effort ended in a debacle.

First, the Union attempted to load a ship with explosives, run it in close to the sand fort and explode with the idea that the force of the explosion would knock down the fort's walls.  It didn't work, but alerted the fort's Confederate defenders that an attack was near.

The morning of December 23, the Union fleet, the largest gathering of U.S. ships until that time, moved in close to the fort and opened fire, expending some 10,000 shells in the process.

--Old Secesh

A Confederate Built First Suspension Bridge Over Hudson River-- Part 1: Robert Gilchrest

From the December 20, 2020, Adirondack Almanack "Uncovering the mysteries behind a bridge's remains" by Mike Prescott.

Robert Codgell Gilchrest was of a wealthy, well-connected Charleston, S.C., family and born kin 1829.  His father had received  a federal judgeship from President Martin Van Buren and owned an opulent home.  Each summer his family journeyed north to avoid the hot and dangerous Charleston summers.

They would stay with his mother's relatives in the Great Northern Wilderness of New York.

Hus father, Robert Budd Gilchrest had married his first cousin, Mary Gilchrest in 1827.  At the time it was not uncommon for first cousins to marry to consolidate family wealth.  She was related to the Thurman family of the southern Adirondacks, and it is through marriage and family connections that Gilchrest inherited thousands of acres in the Adirondacks upon his mother's death in 1869.

As a young man of great wealth the young Robert led a privileged life.  He graduated from the College of Charleston, studied law and took up a lucrative law practice.  He joined the city's militia group, the Washington Light Infantry.

During this time, the nation became more divided.

--Old Secesh

December 19: The President Taunts Crowd at Augusta Visit

From the August 19, 2020, Augusta (Georgia) Chronicle.

I bet you're thinking that President Trump left the White House for one more campaign rally.  But that is not the case because the December 19 in this instance is December 19, 1898, and the president is William McKinley.

DECEMBER 19, 1898

President William McKinley came to town and he brought his sense of humor with him.  On  a damp day in the week before Christmas, the republican drew one of the largest crowds ever on Broad Street.

During a lull in the activities, an ex-Confederate who was chatting with the president pointed with pride to a large marble memorial only a few yards away  and said, "That represents what sort of soldier we were."

"Yes, and what you were," replied the president who was a Union Army sergeant at the Battle of Antietam, "for I see the soldier surmounting the column has a 'U.S.' on his cartridge box."

McKinley referred to the  figure atop the memorial, according to an account in the Baltimore Sun,  and told the old Confederate that things had really worked out for the best.

Then, he wasted little time introducing a local favorite, Gen. Joseph  Wheeler.  The Augusta native and once dashing Confederate cavalryman was now a hero of the Spanish-American conflict.

Earlier this month, an Augusta task force has recommended this memorial be removed to a cemetery.  You know why.

Back Then, Not Now.  --Old Secesh

Preservation of Alabama's Fort Blakely-- Part 3: National Park Service

The result of this new land acquisition is the region's largest, best-preserved and most significant Civil War parks.

Blakeley Bluff also has a major conservation aspect as well.

Funding for the project was  supported in part by  a battlefield land acquisition grant from the National Park Service's American Battlefield  Protection Program.  The remaining portion of monies for acquisition come from private sources.

--Old Secesh

Preservation at Alabama's Fort Blakely-- Part 2: Sixty Acre Site

This newly acquired land is arguably the most important part of the whole battlefield as this is where the U.S. Colored Troops overran the Confederates.  The 60-acre site, known as Blakely Bluff is expected to contain valuable archaeological evidence related to the black experience.  The protection of this land will allow the University of South Alabama greater opportunities for field work at the site.

Writer Bill Finch who promotes Gulf Coast  conservation says:  "The involvement of black troops in critical U.S. battles like Fort Blakely  is largely untold.  Between the Revolution and the Civil War, more than 200,000 black troops fought for the U.S. prior to  being granted full citizenship.

"Today's accomplishment protects  one of the last critical pieces of  the war's most poignant battles,  prefiguring the nation's long battle for civil rights that followed.  The result is  one of the region's largest, best-preserved  and most significant Civil War parks."

This newly acquired land will reportedly restrict future development of the property as well.

Black troops also contributed to the Union victory at the Battle of Forks Road outside Wilmington, North Carolina in February 1865.

--Old Secesh

Preservation to Be Done at Alabama's Fort Blakely-- Part 1: 'The Last Stand of the Confederacy'

From the December 14, 2020, Yellowhammer  "Permanent conservation project announced for Baldwin County's Fort Blakely Battlefield" by Sean Ross.

The Conservation Fund, American Battlefield Trust and the University of South Alabama this week announced a new project for about 60 acres of the historic Fort Blakely Battlefield in Baldwin County (near Mobile).

The groups have committed to protecting this site where U.S. Colored Troops fought and won a battle in the closing days of the Civil War.

Many have called this battle "The Last Stand of the Confederacy" because it was fought as hostilities drew to a close.  On April 9, 1865, the same day Robert E. Lee was surrendering his Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House, in less than a half hour the fort was overrun by Union troops, including some 5,000 black soldiers.

This encounter marked one of the heaviest concentrations of United States Colored Troops in the war.

About 40% of the 2,000 acre battlefield is protected by the State of Alabama  However, probably the most significant quarter of the battlefield was not protected until now.

--Old Secesh

What Happened With the 87th New York's Officers When They Consolidated With the 40th New York?

When the 87th New York Infantry was absorbed into the 40th New York Infantry I was surprised to see that only the enlisted men became a part of the 40th.  Why were the 87th's officer not brought over as well.  I had seen somewhere else that the 87th's officers were discharged from the Army at that time.

Did something happen.  I know I've read in one place that the 87th was consolidated because of heavy losses.  Looking at their casualties, I can't see that they had that many enough to require consolidation.

So, what gives.

Just like Thomas Aumack's service and wounding/possible illness is a question, so is this.

What Happened?  --Old Secesh

40th New York Infantry-- Part 1: 'The Mozart Regiment' A Regiment of Three States

From Wikipedia.

Also known as the  "Mozart Regiment" and "Constitution Guard."

During the war, this regiment had the second highest number of casualties in the Union Army, only behind the famed 69th New York Infantry out of the Irish Brigade.

They were mustered in  to service at Yonkers, New York, on June 27, 1861, sponsored by the Union Defense Committee of New York City by special  authority of the War Department.  Originally the regiment  was to be raised as the United States Constitution Guard by Col. John S. Cocks of the 2nd New York, but that organization was not completed.

With additional sponsorship by the Mozart Hall Committee, it adopted the name Mozart Regiment.  despite being a New York regiment, only the original Constitution Guard group were New Yorkers.

The regiment was completed by taking four Massachusetts companies and two from Pennsylvania.

On September  6, 1862, the 40th New York absorbed the enlisted men of the 87th New York Infantry Regiment.  Thomas Aumack was in the 87th New York.

--Old Secesh

Thomas Aumack Most Likely Was Discharged from Service Because of Diarrhea

I came across this list of soldiers in the 87th New York Infantry at the dmna.ny.gov site.

THOMAS B. AUMACK

Age, 18 years.

Enlisted at Brooklyn to serve three years.

Mustered in as a private in Co. C, November 5, 1861.

Discharged for chronic diarrhoea, September 23, 1862, at Fort Monroe, Virginia.

This seems to be the best account of why Thomas Aumack was not with the 87th or 40th New York Infantry regiments at the Battle of Antietam.  He probably had contracted the diarrhea in August or early September which ended his Army career.

--Old Secesh

40th New York Infantry Regiment and It's Connection to Mozart Hall

No, it wasn't a dedication to any sort of classical music.

I went to several sources of information on the 40th New York Volunteer Infantry and found out it was called the Mozart Regiment because of sponsorship by the Mozart Hall Committee of New York.

Mozart Hall was what Canterbury Hall in New York City was sometimes called.  This building was home of entertainment, but it was also  a gathering place for anti-Tammany Hall forces in the city.

The building was three stories high and m 40 feet by 125 feet deep.  The concerts there were described as a bit bawdy.  Newspapers in the city described the place as having the "prettiest waiter girls in town" and "a nightly disgrace to Broadway and the adjacent streets

A suspicious fire entirely burned the  building in the early morning hours of March 24, 1861.  It began among stage scenery.  A fire marshal had an investigation and determined it was caused by an incendiary device.

Go figure.

Who did it.  Upstanding citizens alarmed by the edifice's seedy reputation or, perhaps even Tammany Hall?

What Do You Think?  --Old Secesh

The Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors on the 79th Anniversary of the Attack

Every December 7 I devote all eight blogs to the story of Pearl Harbor.  I also put up my U.S. flags.  Right now I am thinking of ordering a 48-star flag for future use because that is the flag that flew at Pearl Harbor and during World War II.

The original Pearl Harbor Survivors organization is no more.  Age and deaths are taking its toll on those members of the Greatest Generation.  I am glad to see an active group of their children involved in carrying on their story, the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors.

Kathleen Farley, California Chairwoman of the Sons and Daughters of Pearl Harbor Survivors said that many of the actual survivors ate already talking about going to Pearl Harbor for the 80th anniversary if it's safe by then.

Farley, whose father, now deceased, was on the USS California and spent three days after the attack picking up bodies, has attended the Pearl Harbor ceremonies for the past twenty years.

"I know deep down in my heart that one of these days, we're not going to have any survivors left," she said.  "I honor them while we still have them and I can thank them in person."

--Pearl Harbor

87th New York Infantry-- Part 6: Why the Regiment Was Consolidated with the 40th New York

The Civil War in the East site says that the regiment lost one officer and 22 men killed or mortally wounded during the war and 26 enlisted men died of disease.

Due to heavy losses, the regiment was consolidated with the 40th New York Infantry Regiment.  The officers of the 87th were mustered out.  I find this a bit strange that the officers were mustered out.  Plus, figuring the regiment might well have had 1000 men, I did not find the casualties to be that high.

Not sure what happened here.

--Old Secesh

87th New York Infantry-- Part 5: Casualties During War

From New York in the War of the Rebellion by Frederick Phisterer.

SIEGE OF YORKTOWN, VA, April 5 to May 4, 1863:  None

FAIR OAKS, VA., May 31-June 1, 1862:  11 enlisted killed, Wounded 5 officers (all recovered), 53 enlisted wounded (48 recovered), Missing: 7 enlisted.

SEVEN DAYS BATTLES, VA.  June 25-July 2, 1862:  5 enlisted killed. 33 enlisted wounded (30 recovered)

GEN. POPE'S CAMPAIGN, VA, August 26-September 2, 1862:  Killed 1 officer, 3 enlisted, Wounded 7 enlisted (6 recovered).  Missing: 7 officers and 50 enlisted.

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

TOTAL FOR THE 87TH'S SERVICE

1 officer and 19 enlisted killed, Wounded and Died  9 enlisted, Wounded and recovered:  5 officers and 84 enlisted, Missing: 7 officers and 57 enlisted.    AGGREGATE: 182

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

Was Thomas Aumack one of the wounded at Gen. Pope's Campaign.

Plus, that was quite a few missing in Pope's Campaign.  I would guess this meant that they were captured.

--Old Secesh

87th New York Infantry Regiment and Thomas Aumack-- Part 4

So, the last battle the 87th participated in was at Chantilly and that was on September 1, 1862 and Antietam wasn't until September 17.  So, not likely Thomas Aumack was wounded at Antietam, perhaps Chantilly.

Plus, the 87th ceased to exist on September 6 when it was folded into the 40th New York Infantry.

So, what about this Battle of Chantilly.  I don't think I've heard of it before.

Looked it up in good old Wikipedia, and it said it was a follow up to the Second Battle of Bull Run and was where Stonewall Jackson's Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia attempted to cut off the Union retreat.

Union losses were put at 1,300 and Confederate at 800.

Could one of those Union casualties been the wounded Thomas Aumack?

--Old Secesh

87th New York Infantry-- Part 3: A Real Fighting Two and a Half Months

Continuing with detailed service of the 87th New York:

All dates 1862

JUNE 25-JULY 1:   Seven Days before Richmond

JUNE 25:  Battle of Oak Grove

JULY 1:  Battle of Malvern Hill

UNTIL AUGUST 16:  At Harrison's Landing

AUGUST 16-26:  Movement to Fort Monroe and then to Centreville, Virginia

AUGUST 26-SEPTEMBER 2:  Pope's Campaign in Northern Virginia

AUGUST 27:  Action at Bristoe Station, or Kettle Run

AUGUST 27:  Buckland's Bridge, Broad Run

AUGUST 29:  Battle of Groveton

AUGUST 30:  Second Battle of Bull Run

SEPTEMBER 1:  Battle of Chantilly

--Old Secesh