Fort Delaware in the Civil War: Gen. Pettigrew and the 'Bull Pen'

From Wikipedia.

Fort Delaware saw its main use during the war as a prison for captured Confederates, convicted federal soldiers and local  political prisoners as well as  privateers.  The first prisoners arriving were housed  inside the fort in sealed off casemates, empty powder magazines and two small rooms inside the sally port.  In those small rooms Confederates carved their names and you can still see them.

According to the Philadelphia  Inquirer, the islands "contained an average population of southern tourists, who came at the urgent  invitation of Mr. Lincoln."

And, the fort also held captured Confederate generals.  The first  one housed there was Brigadier General  Johnston Pettigrew.  He was the first of about a dozen held at the fort.

In 1862 and 1863, two separate phases of construction took place  at Fort Delaware.  A barracks for enlisted men known as the "Bull Pen" by Confederates was built.  Most of the Confederates captured at the Battle of Gettysburg spent time there.

Some Tourists Indeed.  --Old Secesh

Fort Delaware

I wrote about improvements to be made at this fort in my last post.

From Wikipedia.

A former harbor defense facility designed by U.S. Army Chief Engineer Joseph Gilbert Totten and located on Pea Patch Island in the Delaware River.

During the Civil War, it was used as a prison for Confederate prisoners of war, political prisoners, federal convicts and privateer officers.

In the 1890s, a three-gun concrete battery of 12-inch guns named Battery Torbert was erected in the  fort.  By 1900, the fort was a part of a three-fort concept, the first forts of the Coast Defenses of Delaware,  working in conjunction with Fort Mott in Pennsville, New Jersey, and Fort DuPont in Delaware City, Delaware.

--Old Secesh

Fort Delaware Getting a $3.7 Million in Improvements

From the September 11, 2021, Delaware Business Now.

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has begun  construction on several Fort Delaware State Park projects.

Areas of the fort, located on an island in the Delaware River that are normally open to the public will remain open.

The fort is best-known as a prison for Confederate soldiers captured by the Union during the Civil War.  It was originally built to protect the City of Wilmington, Delaware.

The $3.7 million project, funded by multiple sources, includes the following enhancements:

**  The tram path, which brings visitors from the pier to the fort, will be stabilized and repaved.

**  Trails between the restrooms, fort, barracks and heronry will be constructed with aggregates to be durable and prevent soggy shoes.  (A heronry is a nesting ground for herons.  I had to look this up.) 

**  The heronry observation platform will be rebuilt to be safe and inviting.

**  A new maintenance building will be constructed for a better, safer place for staff to support public access to the cultural and natural resources of the island.

**  A new screened pavilion will be constructed to provide suitable space for groups to eat lunch together.

Way to Go, Fort Delaware.  --Old Secesh

Edmund Moore Rhett (Alicia Rhett's Father)-- Part 1: Died of Spanish Flu in 1918

I did find out some more about Edmund Moore Rhett.

From WikiTree.

Born 7 April 1877 in Charleston, SC.   Died 10 October 1918 in Wilmington, Delaware.  His father was a colonel in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, who had commanded Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor until 1863.

Edmund was admitted to the United States Military Academy June 15, 1896.  Graduated in 1900 as a lieutenant in the Army Corps of Engineers.

He was working for the railroad when he met his future wife, Isabel Beatrice Murdoch, who worked as a stenographer for the company.  The couple married in 1913-1914,  and had one child, Alicia (who was in the cast of "Gone With the Wind"), born in Savannah in 1915.

The family moved to Wilmington, Delaware, sometime around 1917.  He was employed as a chemical engineer at Du Pont  Company and the family resided at 1623 Rodney Street in Wilmington.  This was also his address given for his World War draft registration.

This is also where he was living when he died of the influenza.

When I saw he died that date, I was wondering whether he had died of the Spanish flu.  He had.

He was buried in Charleston, S,C, at St. Philips Episcopal Church Cemetery.

--Old Secesh

The Eighth United States Colored Troops-- Part 1: Oliver Norton Was a Lieutenant in This Unit

In the last post, I mentioned that Oliver Willcox Norton the man given credit of playing "Taps" for the first time, was a lieutenant in the 8th United State Colored Troops (USCT).  Many white enlisted soldiers and officers saw that commanding in the black units was a chance to be officers and so many volunteered for this service.

The first action this unit saw was at the Battle of Olustee in Florida and despite not being trained yet for battle, they exhibited great courage.

From the Battle of Olustee.org.

This regiment was in Hawley's Third Brigade at the Battle of Olustee.  This was a new unit and completely untrained for combat, having been organized between September 1863 and January 1864 at Camp William Penn near Philadelphia.

Several companies were also raised at Wilmington and Seaford, Delaware.

--Old Secesh

A Prison Diary: 15 Months In Fort Delaware-- Part 2: The U.S. No Longer Represents Its High Ideals

The Reverend Isaac Handy's journal is over 600 pages long where he recounted almost daily the events in camp. He kept his writings carefully hidden and was able to smuggle out parts with his wife when she was allowed to visit.

During the war,Handy was pastor of a church in Portsmouth, Virginia, an area under Union control after its capture in 1862. In June 1863, he was given a pass to visit family and friends in Delaware. While there early one morning in July 1863, he was arrested and sent to Fort Delaware.

His crime was that in a private conversation he had made remarks critical of the government of the United States. These comments were overheard and sent to a newspaper and printed. What he had actually said was that the U.S. no longer represented the high ideals that it originally had.

Fifteen Months a Prisoner. --Old Secesh

Delaware Confederates

The May 11, 2008, DelawareOnline.

William Bruce Martin, a native of New Castle, Delaware, was just 17 when he fought for the Confederacy. He was a descendant of Declaration of Independence signer George Reed. He was one of 257 cadets from the Virginia Military Academy who fought at the Battle of New Market in 1864.

he was recognized by the Delaware Grays, the state's camp of the Sons of Confederate Veterans which has about 35 members across the state. It took a year to pin down his service record and his name is the 67th on the list the group is compiling of the estimated 2000 from the state who served in the Confederacy.

They're All Over the Place. --Old B-R'er