How Elmer Ellsworth Met Charles de Villiers

From the blog Sept. 19, 2022, Discovering Lives "A Conversation with Meg Groeling, author of  "First Fallen: The Life of Colonel Elmer Ellsworth, the North's First Civil War Hero."

Elmer Ellsworth was born in New York in 1837 and moved to Chicago in 1854 to seek his fortune. There, he met a former Zouave.  The Zouaves were a unit of the French Foreign Legion-type unit that had gained fame in the Crimean War.   That man was Charles de Villiers.

Ellsworth was apparently a very really coordinated both physically and athletically.  As a young boy he was fascinated with soldiers.  In Chicago he was working out at the Y and this Charles de Villiers became his fencing instructor.  De Villiers had served with the Zouaves in Crimea as a member of their medical corps.

Fencing was easily mastered by Ellsworth and they soon expanded to Zouave-type moves.  Together, the two developed something called the "Lightning Drill."

To see an example of Zouaves at drill go to You Tube and look up "American Legion Zouaves Jackson & Michigan Drill Team on the Ed Sullivan Show.

--Old Sercesh

Chales DeVilliers: Capture and Escape

As I wrote in the last post, he was taken prisoner on July 17, 1861 (the Battle of Bull Run was July 21) and sent to Richmond.  About the middle of September he escaped  in the guise of an aged, infirm and nearly blind mendicant Frenchman.  (Okay, I had to look up mendicant.  It means a beggar.)

He was able to get the prison commandants permission to go to  Fort Monroe (still under Union control) under a flag of truce that he might embark "for his dear old home in France,"

After a two week delay, the supposed Frenchman was assisted on board a transport in Norfolk and taken to a Union boat.  When safely under his own flag, he cast off his pack, green goggles and rags, thanked the officers for their politeness, shouted a loud huzza for the stars and stripes and gave them the pleasing information that they had just parted with Colonel De Villiers of the 11th Ohio.

He arrived safely in Washington, rejoined his regiment, and was brigadier general, 10 October 1861.

He had been military instructor for Colonel Elmer E. Ellsworth.

His discharge from the Army on 23 April 1862, and returned to France.

--Old Secesh

Ellsworth & the U.S. Zouaves-- Part 15: Charles DeVilliers

CHARLES DeVILLIERS--  Colonel of the 11th Ohio Infantry.  Captured and sent to prison, but escaped.  Once back in the Union Army, he was court martialed on 13 counts of misconduct, including stealing from local citizens and selling to Army members.

Dismissed from service and returned to France.

This was from our speaker but I forgot his name.

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

Looked up this man and found this on Virtual American Biographies.

CHARLES A. De VILLIERS

Soldier born in 1826.  He had been an officer in the French Army and afterward became colonel of the 11th Ohio Infantry.

At the beginning of the Civil War he was taken prisoner, 17 July 1861 and sent to Richmond.

Next...  His Escape.  --Old Secesh

Something Maybe You Didn't Know About the Civil War

From the August 14, 29022, Chicago Tribune.

"How to dine like a local in New Orleans" by Alan Behr.

"It was not until I arrived at Cafe Du Mond that I realized you now have to stand in line to get your beignets and coffee with chicory.  The beignet -- a puffy, fried doughnut swimming in powdered sugar -- has been a New Orleans tradition since the city was French.

"Cutting Columbian coffee with chicory has been a New Orleans practice since the Union blockade during the Civil War made it a necessity."

Well, considering that the city fell in April 1862, it wasn't long under the Union blockade.  But, it does make for an interesting jolt in your coffee.

Those Beignets and Chicory Coffee.   Mighty Good!!   --Old Secesh

Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Eugene Stocker, MD-- Part 1

From the Society of Cincinnati in the State of New Jersey.

I like to do RoadTrippin' Through History in these blogs and here is an example of it.  I was writing about a man named Anne-Louis Toussard (or Tousard) in my War of 1812 blog.  He was French consul in New Orleans in 1812 when a strong hurricane hit.  Further research on him showed that he played a major role fighting for the colonists in the American Revolution and because of it became a member of the Society of Cincinnati.

Go to my Not So Forgotten: War of 1812 blog July and August to read about Anne-Louis Toussard.

He had a grandson who fought in the Civil War and because of his relationship to Toussard, he also became a member of the Society of Cincinnati.

He was classified as a Hereditary Member, Admitted in 1888.

Grandson of propositus Anne-Louis de Toussard.  Born in Philadelphis, PA, on  5 March 1819 and died in Philadelphia, PA on 23 May 1897.

He began his Civil War service in the Army of the Potomac, 2nd Brigade of General McCall's Divivion from August 1861 to March 1862.

More.  --Old Secesh

The Rebellion: Its Authors and Causes-- Part 3: Who Had Stakes in a War?

**  What was the British stake in the Civil War?

Get back for the War of 1812

Need for Southern cotton

British banks had investments in both the North and South

**  Who wanted there to be a war?

Radical Republicans

Britain

Irish

Southern Conservatives

**  The French wanted war

They had an interest in taking over Mexico and with a war in the United States this would take away a major problem for them.

--Old Secesh

An Added Little Nugget for Col. William Robert Greer and a Roadtrip Through History-- Part 1: A War of 1812 Trip

As I usually do when I come across names while researching a topic, I look them up to see if there is any more information as part of my Roadtrip Through History and I found a piece of information about this man that really made my day.  He was the featured speaker at the dedication of Charleston's "Defenders of Charleston" statue in 1932.  At the time, he was the last living of those defenders who held onto Fort Sumter during the tremendous Union attacks in 1863.

Right now, I am doing research on the disappearance of Theodosia Burr Alston in my Not So Forgotten War of 1812 blog.  And with a middle name like Burr, well, I just had to know.  Aaron Burr?  That scamp of American history who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel, had been a former U.S. vice president and later attempted to cause a rebellion in the South?  That Burr?  Well, she was his daughter.

I arrived at the name Theodosia while researching about the HMS Nimrod which captured a whole lot of American ships during the War of 1812 and bombarded two Massachusetts towns.  There had been an earlier HMS Nimrod (1799) which had formerly been a French privateer, was taken into British service, which had captured a French privateer in 1807.  This one was also taken into British service  as the HMS Venturer which later had its name changed to HMS Theodosia.  This was why I came across the name Theodosia and how I ended up with Burr's daughter.

I also found out that there was a HMS Venturer submarine during WW II, that became the first submarine to sink another submarine (a German U-boat) with a torpedo while both were submerged.  I wrote about this in my Tattooed On Your Soul: World War II blog.

And, Theodosia, Burr's daughter, disappeared while on a ship during the War of 1812, and to this day, no one knows what happened to her.  I have been writing about her and her disappearance in that blog.

Now, yesterday,  I found out that she had a song about her in the popular musical "Hamilton."  I didn't see it, so this was news to me.  In it, Aaron Burr sang to his just-born daughter while Alexander Hamilton sang to his just-born son, Philip.  Both saw great things in store for their progeny.  The song was "Dear Theodosia."

But, as I said, Theodosia disappeared and Philip Hamilton was killed in a duel three years before his dad met a similar fate.  And, I found out that both Hamiltons were killed at the same place.

This is what my Roadtrippin' Through History is all about.  I start at one place and see where it takes me.

And, you're probably wondering about that nugget of information I found out about Col. William Robert Greer.  Well, I found out this information by Roadtrippin'.  You'll have to wait until the next post.

And, I wonder why it takes me so long to do these blogs.

A Road Tripping Through History I Go.  Or, If Your Name Is Hamilton, Don't Duel.  --Old Secesh

About Those Napoleons-- Part 2: "They Were Beautiful, Perfectly Plain"

The Model 1857 12-pounder field cannons (12-pounder referring to the weight of a solid projectile they could fire) were popularly referred to as Napoleons.

It was created in response to U.S. Army officers' prewar demands for a lighter 12-pounder, and inspired by a design attributed to Emperor Napoleon III of France (hence the name), the Napoleon became the most widely produced and utilized cannon during the Civil War.

Its mobility, reliability and versatility -- it could fire solid shot (12 pounds), shell, case shot, and canister -- would earn the smoothbore weapon the praise of artillerists on both sides.

As one Confederate gunner noted of his unit's Napoleons,  "We would not have exchanged them for ... any other style of guns.  They were beautiful, perfectly plain ....  We are proud of them and felt towards them almost as if they were human ...."

--Old Secesh

Lincoln and Seward-- Part 3: Foreign Relations and a Blockade

Talk given to the McHenry County Civil War Round Table on March 8, 2016.

In his new job as Secretary of State, the early days were intense.  There was the definite chance there might come wars with Spain, France or England, either individually or all together.  Seward went so far as to envision a war against one of these countries being good as it might very well unite the country against a common foe.

At home, Seward wanted Fort Sumter abandoned and Fort Pickens reinforced.  He feared that the undecided Southern states of North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia might secede and join the Confederacy if Lincoln reinforced Fort Sumter.

Then there came the question of declaring a blockade on the Confederacy.  A blockade involves international law and implies an act between two belligerents and not an internal insurrection as the Lincoln government deemed it.  The wording of the declaration had to be changed to become a proclamation in the nature of a blockade.  This was one reason that England and France declared their neutrality.

But, Britain declared a process of belligerency in effect, the first step in recognition.

--Old Secesh

Elihu Washburne: Lincoln and Grant Supporter

While in Galena last week, I came across an article about the demolition of Washburne's house he lived in while his mansion was being built. His mansion, right on US-20 entering Galena, is open as a museum. I'll be writing about the demolition in my history blog.

I had heard of the name but didn't know much about him.

From Wikipedia.

Elihu Washburne (1816-1887) played a prominent role in the early Republican party, supported Abraham Lincoln and was a leader of the Radical Republicans. He strongly opposed the Reconstruction policies of President Johnson and supported black suffrage and civil rights.

Grant appointed Washburne Secretary of State in 1869, but he served just a short time before becoming U.S. minister to France.

--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