RoadTrippin' Thru History-- Part 11: Head West Young Man

The 49th Massachusetts mustered out of service on September 1, 1863, after 11 months of service (they enlisted for nine months).  I am unable to find out if Francis Warren reenlisted or not.  Or, if his wound was severe enough that it would keep him from further service.  

I have seen sources say that he later served as a captain in the Massachusetts militia.

Another one says he returned to Massachusetts after the war.

He married Helen Smith and in 1868, went West to the new territory that was developing around a small town named Cheyenne.

He recalled later that the first thing he saw on arrival in Cheyenne in May 1868.  Two brass bands  were serenading arrivals at the train station.  He wondered if there was some big shot on the train, but was told the two bands were from the town's two biggest gambling houses and inviting arrivals to the tables.

There wasn't much to Cheyenne at the time, "a city of  shanties and tents, camps and covered wagons.  The population was migratory and the railroads built further west by then.  Many felt that the days of Cheyenne were really numbered.  It wouldn't be long before there would be nothing to show for it.

Frances Warren didn't subscribe to that prophesy and saw a bright future.  He was there to stay.  He was there to seek his fortune.

And become a Rich Man, He Did.  --Old Secesh

RoadTrippin' Thru History-- Part 10: A Follow Up on Warren's Civil War Service

Francis E. Warren was enrolled on September 11, 1862, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and mustered in on September 19 for the term of nine months as a private in Captain Plunkett's company of the 49th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.  Young Warren was promoted to corporal sometime in April or May 1863.

The 49th was drilled  at Pittsfield and Worcester then went to New York on provost duty before going to New Orleans and being made a part of the 19th Army Corps.  The regiment took part in the Battle of Plains Store on May 21, 1863, which ended up sealing the Confederates into their defenses at Port Hudson, Louisiana.

They then were involved in the whole siege of Port Hudson from investment to surrender, including the attacks on it.  

Their terms of service over, Warren and his company were mustered out and honorably discharged at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on September 1, 1863, after a year of intensive military service.

Another source says that after Port Hudson that Warren served out the remainder of the war as a noncommissioned officer an received his discharge from the Union Army in 1865.Several sources say that after the war, he participated as a captain in the Massachusetts militia.

--Old Secesh

McHenry County CWRT Meeting Sat., Nov. 27: Civil War Trivia, Oddities and Potpourri

The McHenry County Civil War Round Table (MCCWRT) in Illinois is having its monthly discussion group this Saturday, November 27, at 10 am (CST) to noon at the Panera Bread in Crystal Lake at US-14 (Northwest Highway) and Main Street.

This month's topic is "Civil War Trivia, Oddities and Potpourri.'  Come on down and find out what potpourri is and have a good time yapping with the group.  We even manage to occasionally stay on topic.

Lots of fun and this is open top everyone, not just members.

Where There Is Always Good Discussion and Debate.  --Old Secesh

RoadTrippin' 9: Port Hudson Valor and a Delayed Medal of Honor

According to one account, Francis Warren received a serious scalp wound in the attack and initially was mistaken for dead, however, an alert doctor noticed he was alive and pulled him from the mass burial trench before it was covered. 

Another account says that after his entire platoon was destroyed by  Confederate bombardment, he was wounded but still managed to disable the enemy artillery.

Another account says that he was knocked down when the fascine he was carrying was struck by an artillery shall and he lay unconscious for several hours.

This same last account says that later, Congress recognized the valor of the volunteers and awarded them Medals of Honor.

The date of issue for Francis Warren's Medal of Honor was  September 30, 1893.  At the time, he was also serving his first term as U.S. Senator from Wyoming.

It's citation reads:

Volunteered in response to a call, and took part in a movement that was made upon  the enemy's works under a heavy fire therefrom in advance of the general assault.

I just have to wonder how much his service as Wyoming territorial governor and first U.S. governor and being in the U.S. Senate had to do with it.

--Old Secesh

RoadTrippin'-- Part 8: Francis Warren at Port Hudson and the 'Forlorn Hope'

By 1863, the Confederacy only controlled the part of the Mississippi River from Vicksburg, Mississippi, to Port Hudson, Louisiana.  In cooperation with General Grant who was going against Vicksburg, Union Major General  Nathaniel P. Banks' army moved against the Port Hudson.

Like Vicksburg, Port Hudson was located on high bluffs that gave the Confederates command of the river.

On May 11, 1863, Banks found that Confederates from Port Hudson had been sent to reinforce Vicksburg and  decided the time was right to attack the town.  By May 21st, Banks and his 30,000 troops surrounded Port Hudson, outnumbering the Confederates  four to one.

Francis E. Warren's 49th Massachusetts was with Banks at this time.  Banks, however, delayed attacking until May 27 giving the Confederates under Major Gen.  Franklin Gardner time to prepare his defenses.  A series of uncoordinated and unsuccessful attacks took place on May 27.  This is where Warren was wounded.

The 49th Massachusetts was called to furnish a few men from each company to perform the dangerous mission  of preceding the main force and putting down  fascines (bundles of sticks, twigs and other items) to fill in a ditch in front of the Confederate fortifications so that infantry might pass over it.

Corporal Warren was one of those volunteers.  The colonel and every officer in this what was to become known as the "Forlorn Hope" was killed and three-fourths of the men killed or wounded.  One of the wounded was Francis E. Warren.

--Old Secesh

RoadTrippin'-- Part 7: A New SUV Camp Named for Francis E. Warren

The article that started this thread was in the March 28, 2019, Sheridan, Wyoming newspaper.  Right away, there was a  Civil War connection, because Sheridan, Wyoming is named for Civil War general Phil Sheridan.

The article was about the formation of a new Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War camp in that city. The camp was named for Francis E. Warren and will serve not only Wyoming, but other states around it.  It is always good to see a new history group being formed, especially the Civil War. There had also been an earlier SUV camp in Wyoming named for Warren, but it had folded at some point in the past.

Now, if I can just find some information on Francis E. Warren as I had never heard of him before.   Come on Wikipedia.  Have something.

And, Wikipedia did.  Actually they had a lot on this man.  Turns out, he had a lot to do with the early history of Wyoming, especially in the area of politics.  I imagine if you are knowledgeable about Wyoming's early history, you would know something about this man.

FRANCIS E. WARREN

(June 20,1844 to November 24, 1929)

Francis E. Warren was born in Massachusetts and enlisted in the 49th Massachusetts at the age of 19 during the war and rose to the rank of corporal.

--Old Secesh

Roadtrippin' Thru History-- Part 6: The Rest of the Story

Roadtrippin' Thru History owes a huge thank you to the late great radio news guy, Paul Harvey who was on the air from 1951 to 2008 when his programs reached as many as 24 million people a week.  It was always great to hear him along with those great catch phrases of his.

"Hello Americans, This is Paul Harvey.  Stand by for news."

But, the one I liked the best was his "The Rest of the Story" where he took one of his stories and went into it with more detail.

That is exactly what RoadTrippin' Thru History is all about.  I take a story and go into it with greater detail and see where it takes me.

That's What RoadTrippin' Is All About.  Thanks Paul.  --Old Secesh

Roadtrippin' Thru History-- Part 5: A Famous Cavalry Unit and a Massacre

Spanish-American War

A famous cavalry unit

A  massacre

10-year-olds

World War I

World War II

Cold War

A weird U.S. Air Force base

A Civil War recruiting scam

A bank scam

One big-time retribution

Well, that pretty-well covers it.  Who wants to go Roadtrippin' Thru History with me?

Ready, Set, Go.  --Old Secesh

Roadtrippin' Thru History-- Part 4: Some More Itinerary

Some more places or people we'll be visiting:

Three generals:  one killed in battle, one you probably know and one you'll have to make up your mind about.

The Battle of Opequon  (Virginia)

The Battle of Barboursville (Virginia)

A long-serving U.S. Senator (the last U.S. Senator to serve in the Civil War)

A fort renaming, not once but twice

The Battle and Siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana

Two marriages with Benefits

Several things that will make you go "HHhummmmm."

--Old Secesh

RoadTrippin-- Part 3: And, Now for Your Itinerary

Now, I have already been down this road before and know what we'll be seeing.  You don't, however.  Si, here is a partial itinerary of where we'll be going.  (Not necessarily in order, though.)  And, all of these are not Civil War.  Like I say, when we're Roadtrippin' we don't know where we'll go or end up.

An international incident (just solved a few years ago)

A belated Civil War Medal of Honor

A governor

The Battle of Shiloh

Three Bells

One new SUV

An insurrection

The Forlorn Hope

Hell Roaring Jake

Belangiga, Samar

And, That's Not All.  There's More to Come.  --Old Secesh

RoadTrippin'-- Part 2: What Is RoadTrippin' Thru History?

I got the term "Roadtrippin' " from Liz and my love of traveling down this country's old roads.  You start the trip on one of these with no real idea where you are going to go or what you're going to see around the next bend or curve or town.  It is like a trip back home.

Illinois is lucky to have probably the three most famous of the old roads:  one from the early 1800s, the first transcontinental road and arguably the most famous of the numbered roads, here in Illinois.  That would be the National Road, Lincoln Highway and Route 66.

In 2006, when we retired, Liz and I drove from one end of Route 66 in Chicago to the other end in Santa Monica, California.  We also drove a big section of it in 2017 when we both turned 66 (you know, Route 66 when you're 66).  I have driven the Lincoln Highway from east Ohio out to Nebraska and also the whole National Road.

When we drive these old roads, we don't have a set time table because you never know what you'll find of interest along the way.

When I apply this to history, I start off with a story and really don't know where it is going to take me.

And this particular "RoadTrip" took me all over."

In the next post, I will give you an itinerary to know where you'll be going.

--Old Secesh

RoadTrippin' Thru History: Great Wyoming and Howling Wilderness-- Part 1

When I do these blogs, I lately have been doing a lot of "RoadTripping Thru History" where I start with one story and see how far and in what direction I can take it.  This is one such story, that started with an article from a Sheridan, Wyoming, newspaper with a new Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War camp.

Well, this particular story, or thread as some internet sites refer to it, really grew and grew.  Of course, it was grounded in the Civil War, which is why I am going to be writing about it in this particular blog.  I did cover it before, back on March 29, 2019 in this blog.

Before I was finished with my Roadtrip, this story had extended to my Cooter's History Thing and Tattooed on Your Soul:  World War II blogs and went to 2018.  It was massive to say the least.

I am going to write this story in this blog from beginning to end this time.

--Old Secesh

In Honor of Veterans Day: Kentucky Union Soldier's Gravestone Dedication

From the Channel 36ABC WTVQ  "Ky Civil War Union soldier gravestone dedication."

We honor our veterans living or deceased.

Sunday afternoon a grave stone was dedicated to a Union soldier at Three Forks of Bacon Creek Baptist Church Cemetery near Magnolia in Hart County.

It is for John Robert Lobb, Co. E 27th Kentucky Infantry,    known as "Johnny" and later "Grand Pop" to his family.

The gravestone was made and placed in 2020 but the dedication delayed until now because of the virus.

The family  applied to the the VA for a new headstone.

On May 31, 1864, "Johnny" was injured in the Battle of Burnt  Hickory near Kingston, Georgia, when a minie ball struck his right arm above the elbow.  After treatment in a hospital, he returned to his company.

He was honorably discharged   on March 19, 1965,  and returned to Hammonsville and began farming.

--Old Secesh

Happy Birthday USMC!! Role During the Civil War

Two battalions of Continental Marines were formed  on 10 November 1775 in Philadelphia as a branch on infantry troops able to fight on land or at sea.  This makes the proud organization 246 years old today.

The Marine Corps served a small role in the Civil War, mostly involved with blockade duty.  As more states seceded in the early days before war was fought,  about a third of the officer corps left U.S. service and started the Confederate States Marine Corps.

There was a battalion of Marine recruits performed poorly at the First Battle of Bull Run and retreated with the rest of the forces.

Blockade duty included sea-based amphibious operations to secure forward bases.  One of these occurred at Tybee Island, Georgia in late November 1861, when Marines and sailors from the USS Flag landed a reconnaissance in force to occupy the lighthouse and Martello Tower on the  northern end of the island .  

These positions were later used as the base of Army operations against nearby Fort Pulaski.

--Old Secesh

Danville, Kentucky in the Civil War

Danville did not have a lot of participation in the war other than the fact that the Battle of Perryville (fought Oct. 8, 1862) was fought nearby (10 miles away).  The courthouse and several buildings of Centre College served as hospitals for Union forces after the battle.

On October 11, 1862, Confederate forces retreated through the town with a Union force following closely behind.

Danville was also the place of birth of Theodore  O'Hara, who wrote "Bivouac of the Dead" which became a popular poem used in many  cemeteries for the war's dead.

After the war, many citizens of Danville gave up their burial spots in the city's Bellevue Cemetery to form a Confederate cemetery in 1868, with 66 fallen Confederate soldiers were reinterred.  This cemetery adjoins the  Danville National Cemetery (1862) that was reserved for former Union soldiers.

In 2019, the Presbyterian Church of Danville voted to  remove the monument from church grounds and petitioned the city to  allow the monument's relocation to Bellevue cemetery.

--Old Secesh

The Confederate Monument in Danville, Kentucky: Robert D. Logan

From Wikipedia.

This monument is located between Centre College and the Presbyterian Church of Danville at the corner of Main  and College streets in Danville, Kentucky.  It is dedicated to the Confederacy and on the National Register of Historic Places.

It was dedicated in 1910 by the surviving  veterans of the Confederacy of Boyle County and the Kate Morrison  Breckinridge Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

The statue consists of a granite pedestal and a marble statue depicting Captain  Robert D. Logan, who was actually from Lincoln County, but lived in Boyle County after the war. Captain Logan served with John Hunt Morgan in the 6th Kentucky Cavalry's Company A and was captured during Morgan's Raid in Cheshire, Ohio,  on July 20, 1863.

He spent much of the rest of the war in various Union prisons, including the Ohio State Penitentiary.

Robert Logan died  on June 25, 1896, fourteen years before the construction of the monument.

--Old Secesh

Civil War Events in November: Knoxville, Gettysburg Address, Orchard Knob, Lookout Mountain, Franklin

1863

NOVEMBER 17

Siege of Knoxville, Tennessee begins.

1863

NOVEMBER 19

President Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address at the Pennsylvania battlefield.

1863

NOVEMBER 23

Battle of Orchard Knob, Chattanooga, Tennessee.

1863

NOVEMBER 24

Battle of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee.

1864

NOVEMBER 30 

Battle of Franklin, Tennessee

--Old Secesh

Civil War Events in November: Lincoln's Elections, Port Royal Sound, Burning Atlanta, March to the Sea Begins

1860

NOVEMBER 6

Abraham Lincoln elected 16th President of the United States.

1861

NOVEMBER 7

Battle of Port Royal Sound, South Carolina.

1864

NOVEMBER 8

President Lincoln reelected

1864

NOVEMBER 12

U.S. General William T. Sherman's Federal troops burn the city of Atlanta, Georgia.

1864

NOVEMBER 16

Gen. William T. Sherman's army departs Atlanta to begin March to the Sea.

--Old Secesh

Generations Event at Gettysburg

From the American Battlefield Trust November 2021 calendar.

The picture features a bunch of young kids wearing Civil War uniforms at the Gettysburg Generations Event.

For 20 years the Thrust has worked hard to inspire America's youth, the soon-to-be stewards of our national memory.

Each year, more than 50,000 teachers and millions of students consume our history and civics content, and we have sent tens of thousands of young people to historic sites via our Field Trip Fund.

Our Generation program helps parents and grandparents encourage budding historians in their own families.

Yep, those of us already into history are getting a bit too old ourselves, so it is important to work with the next generation.  Another good thing the trust sponsors is the annual battlefield cleanups.

--Old Secesh

Nottaway County (Virginia) Confederate Monument

I figured I'd better wrote about some of these monuments before they're gone.

From HMdb

It is located on the lawn at the Nottaway County  Court House, Virginia.

Erected 1893 by the Ladies Memorial Association, Nottaway.

Inscription:

"Erected by the Ladies Memorial Association of Nottaway July 20, 1893.

"Jeffress Artillery C.S.A., Co. G 18th VA Regt. A.N.V., Nottaway Reserves C.S.A.,  Co. E3 VA Cavalry A.N.V."

"This monument  bears the names of several hundred men from Nottaway County who served in the Confederate Army."

--Old Secesh

The Matthews and Middlesex County (Virginia) Confederate Monuments and Capt. Sally L. Thompkins Marker

From the November 3, 2021, Daily Press (Virginia)  "Virginia counties vote overwhelmingly  to keep Confederate monuments" by Dave Ress.

The Matthews County monument was erected in 1912, after a six-year fund-raising  effort by the Lane-Diggs Camp of the United Confederate Veterans, the Matthews Monument Association and the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

There is also a state marker near the statue for Captain Sally  L. Thompkins, CSA 1833-1916. It reads:  

"Sally Thompkins, born at Poplar Grove, 3 miles  south of here, was the only woman granted a commission in the Army  of the Confederacy.  'Captain Sally' founded and directed Robertson Hospital in Richmond, where over 1300 Confederate  soldiers were cared for  between 1861 and 1865.

"Her grave and monument are located  in Christ Church Cemetery on Williams Wharf Road two miles to the south."

Middlesex erected its United Daughters of the Confederacy monument in 1910.  The inscription on it reads:  "To commemorate the valor and patriotism of the men, and the devotion and sacrifice of the women of Middlesex in defense of their liberties and their homes."

--Old Secesh

Pres. Lincoln Speaks at Hainesville

I stayed for the next speaker who was Kevin Wood, portraying President Abraham Lincoln.  He sure looked the part, as did Wayne Issleb who portrayed General and President U.S. Grant.  Both were great speakers and really brought their persons across.  Both audiences were standing room only.

The lucky folks were seated on hay bales.  How's that for historical?

According to President Lincoln, what really brought about the Civil War was Stephen Douglas' Kansas-Nebraska Act.  This meant that slavery could not be contained in the state s where it already existed, but could spread to the incoming states.

Lincoln did not like slavery but could live with it as long as it stayed put where it was.

His Emancipation Proclamation only freed slaves in Confederate states where the Union had no control.  But he figured  that slaves were aiding the Confederates in their efforts, so if he could cause them to stop and head for Union lines that this would help the effort.

In my opinion, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was one of the greatest political moves ever made by a politician.  Lincoln truly was the politician's politician.  The only slaves freed were those outside of Union control, but that would cause them to runaway every chance they got and their labors could not help the Confederacy.

Since the ones in the divided border states weren't freed, it kept those states on the Union side.  And, most importantly, by making the war one of freeing the slaves, this would keep Britain and France from allying themselves with the Confederacy.

--Old Secesh

Gen. Grant Speaks-- Part 5: A World Tour and Broke

After he left the president's office, he and Mrs. Grant took a two-year tour around Europe.

But, in 1880, he lost all his money on a ponzi scheme.  In 1883, he found that he had throat cancer,  His friend Mark Twain came up with the idea that he write his memoirs to raise money.

He finished the the two-part book just three days before he died.

--Old Secesh

Gen. Grant Speaks-- Part 4: The Civil War and Afterwards

When the Civil War began, Grant eventually received the command of the 21st Illinois Infantry and he saw his first action at the Battle of Belmont (Missouri)  in November 7, 1861.

At Appomattox, when he met Lee for the first time since the Mexican War, he tried to break the awkwardness by asking the Confederate general how things were going on the home front and wished he hadn't because Lee had lost his home at Arlington, Virginia,  which had been taken by the federal government and turned into a cemetery.

A few days later, he had been invited by the Lincolns to attend that play at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C., but his wife absolutely refused to go as she hated Mary Todd Lincoln.  Their excuse was that they were going elsewhere.  They were on a train and got to Burlington when they heard that Lincoln had been shot.

After the war,  He was, however, still in the Army and when people wanted him to run for president he had to make the decision of whether to give up his rank of General of the Army with its $40,000 a year salary or the president's salary of $25,000.

What Did He Do.  --Old Secesh