About Schofield's Move to Wilmington-- Part 4: Fort Fisher Resembled " A Farmer's Field Strewn With Pumpkins"

"Returning to Washington, Schofield, embarked with Cox's division on February 4th, leaving the rest of the corps to follow as fast as ships could be procured.  A gale off Cape Hatteras delayed the transports for a day or  two, but the division landed safely at Fort Fisher on the 9th.

"The fort still bore evidence of the extraordinary bombardment it had undergone, and its broad sandy interior was thickly strewn with great shells rusted red in the weather, and resembling nothing so much as a farmer's field strewn with pumpkins."

--Old Secesh

About Schofield's Move-- Part 3: Capture Wilmington Then Move On Goldsboro

Continuing with Cox's description of events.

The first detachments of Schofield's 23rd Corps didn't set sail for Fort Fisher until February 4.

"Meanwhile Schofield had joined General Grant at Fortress Monroe and had accompanied him to the mouth of Cape Fear River to hold a consultation with General Terry and Admiral Porter with regard to future operations in the Department of North Carolina, as the new command was designated.

"The result was to make Wilmington the first objective point to the campaign, so that a new base might be secured for Sherman if circumstances should should oblige him to concentrate his army south of Goldsboro.

"The first step accomplished, Schofield's task would be to open the route from Newberne to Goldsboro, rebuilding the railway, and uniting both his corps there in time to meet Sherman for the final operations of the general campaign when the concentration of the grand army should be complete."

--Old Secesh

About Schofield's Move-- Part 2: A Grand Plan Works Out

The topic of last February's McHenry County Civil War Round Table was Sherman's Carolina's Campaign and Schofield's move from Tennessee to Wilmington was an integral part of it.  Back to what J.D. Cox had to say about it:

"The subsidiary operations which were intended to co-operate with Sherman's march northward from Savannah were two.

"First, the capture of Fort Fisher at the mouth of the Cape Fear River in North Carolina, and second, the transfer of Schofield from Middle Tennessee to the Carolina coast, where, with the Tenth Corps under Major General A. H. Terry and the Twenty-third under Major General Cox, he was to reduce Wilmington and advance upon two lines from that city and from Newbern to Goldsboro, at which place it was expected a junction with Sherman would be made.

"The attack upon Fort Fisher was practically simultaneous with Sherman's departure from Savannah and with Schofield's from Clifton on the Tennessee River; and the result of all, accomplished two months later, was the reunion at Goldsboro of the army which Sherman had led at Atlanta, except that the Tenth Corps was substituted for the Fourth, which still remained at the West."

Schofield's corps had been with Sherman at Atlanta, then moved west to stop Hood in Tennessee.

--Old Secesh

About Schofield's Move From Tennessee to Wilmington, N.C.-- Part 1

That Jacob D. Cox was an interesting person.

He commanded a division of soldiers in Schofield's XXIII Corps that made the move.

This is what Cox said in his book "March to the Sea."  I had seen much about it other than saying it had been done.

"The orders which had been sent General Schofield to move the Twenty-third Corps westward, reached him on January 14th (in Tennessee).  River transports took the troops down the Tennessee and up the Ohio to points where railway transportation could be got, and the transfer to Washington and Alexandria was then completed by rail.

"The distance travelled was fourteen hundred miles, and the corps was ready to take ship before February 1st; but the unusual severity of the winter weather had frozen the Potomac River, and it was not till the 4th that the first detachments of the troops sailed (to Fort Fisher)."

--Old Secesh

Jacob D. Cox-- Part 3: To North Carolina and the Books

Troops under Jacob Cox broke the Confederate supply line on the Macon and Western Railroad on August 31, 1864, forcing Hood to evacuate Atlanta.

Schofield's corps was ordered to join Gen. Thomas in Tennessee after it became apparent Hood was heading that way.  Cox's troops narrowly escaped destruction at Spring Hill, Tennessee.

Then, at the Battle of Franklin, Cox's troops were credited with saving the Union center.

He was then at the Siege of and Battle of Nashville.

When John Schofield was ordered to bring his corps east to join the operations against Wilmington, North Carolina, , Cox led the Third Division.

Afterwards, he  took command of the District of Beaufort and a provisional corps, which he led at the Battle of Wyse Fork.  His corps was eventually named the XXIII Corps.

During his later years, Jacob Cox became a prolific author"

"The March to the Sea:  Franklin and Nashville"  1882
"The Second Battle of Bull Run"  1882
"The Battle of Franklin, Tennessee"  1897
Military Reminiscences of the Civil War"    1900

--Old Secesh

Jacob D. Cox-- Part 2: Battles in the East and West

After Fort Sumter, Jacob Cox joined the Union Army to help fulfill Onion's quota of troops.  On April 3, 1861, Cox was appointed a brigadier general of Ohio Volunteers by Governor William Dennison and commanded a training camp near Columbus and later his command fought under Gen. George McClellan in what became West Virginia.

Later, posted to Washington, D.C., it took part in the Antietam Campaign and fought at the Battle of South Mountain September 14, 1862, where corps commander Jesse L. Reno was killed.  Cox took command of the corps and was at the Battle of Antietam.

After that, he commanded several military districts in the North.  Back in the field again, he participated in Sherman's Atlanta Campaign commanding the 3rd Division of the XIII Corps under Gen. John B. Schofield of the Army of the Ohio.  The 3rd Division was very involved in the fighting at the Battle of Utoy Creek on August 6, 1864.

--Old Secesh

Sherman's 1865 Carolinas Campaign-- Part 3: Campaigns of the Civil War by The Blue & The Gray Press

I was finally able to find a brief mention of Schofield's move from Nashville, Tennessee, to Washington, D.C., in the space of 17 days, which I regard as quite a logistical undertaking.  That was the movement of some 13,000 troops over 1400 miles.

I found it in one of the Campaigns of the Civil War paperback books published  by The Blue & the Gray Press, Distributors, 251 Fourth Avenue, New York, N.Y..  There were 17 volumes with a price of $1.25 per volume.  Unfortunately there was no date.

At one time these were a big part of my collection of Civil War books when I was a kid without a lot of money.  I could afford these books.  They were noticeable with their blue and gray paper covers.  I have about ten of them and was never able to collect the whole group of 17 books.

Each one was written by leading participants and foremost scholars of each campaign.

The one I used for the information on Schofield's cross country trip was "March to the Sea:  Franklin and Nashville" by J.D. Cox.  Admittedly, this is a confusing title to also cover the Wilmington, N.C. Campaign and Carolinas Campaign, but this is where I found the information.

The ten people attending the McHenry County Civil War Round Table discussion group all said they remembered those books.

So, Who Was J.D. Cox?  --Old Secesh

Sherman's 1865 Carolinas Campaign-- Part 2: From Atlanta to Nashville to Fort Fisher

**  After the fall of Atlanta, Schofield's Army of the Ohio was detached to Thomas in Tennessee and that was when the race between Hood and Schofield and Spring Hill and Franklin took place.

**  The Battle of Nashville was December 15-16, 1864.

**  After the Battle of Nashville and destruction of Hood's army, Schofield was ordered to Washington, D.C. and from there to Wilmington to join up with Sherman who was marching through South Carolina to North Carolina.

**  The lead division of Schofield's 13th Corps arrived within three weeks.  Again, that is a great distance in a short time by 1860s standards.  That some logistics.

**  Schofield came east with some 12,000 men.

--Old Secesh

McHenry County Civil War Round Table Discussion Group, Feb. 23-- Part 1: Sherman's 1865 Carolinas Campaign

Meeting at Panera Bread, Crystal Lake, Illinois.

Things I found out:

**  Was it the final campaign of the Western Theater?  Even though it took place in the Eastern Theater.  Essentially it was because it involved the armies of the west on the Union side and the pitiful remnants of the once grand Army of Tennessee on the Confederate side.

**  Logistically, John Schofield moving his 13th Corps from Nashville, Tennessee, to Washington, D.C. in 17 days was a remarkable logistical accomplishment.  However, I wasn't able to find out too much about it.

Sounds like a good idea for somebody's book.

**  In 1864, John Schofield commanded the Army of Ohio in the Atlanta Campaign.  He had problems with Major General John Palmer, who considered himself Schofield's superior.   Sherman removed Palmer.

--Old Secesh

Hood's 1864 Tennessee Campaign-- Part 4: What About Mrs. Peters?

The McHenry County Civil War Round Table discussion group, Jan. 26, 2019.

**  Should Schofield have continued retreating in front of Hood when he had almost the same number of troops?

**  What role did a Mrs. Peters of Spring Hill, Tennessee, play in the Union Army's narrow escape through that town?    Mrs. Peters is of interest also in the death of Confederate General Earl Van Dorn earlier in the war.  I'll have to look up some more info on her.

**  Gen. Hood described "as wrathy as a rattlesnake" after Spring Hill and a big reason for his mad rush to Franklin and attacking before he was ready to do so and as daylight was fleeting.

**  Spring Hill is very built up now.

**  Thomas wanted Schofield to delay Hood at Franklin for three days so he could continue gathering his forces.  That didn't happen.

--Old Secesh

Defense of Fayetteville and the Arsenal-- Part 2: Earthworks and More Companies

Lt.Col. Ferederick L. Childs appealed to the planters of the Fayetteville area to supply 50 to 75 slaves to build earthworks and he directed their construction along the main roads to Fayetteville.

In September 1863, he received authorization to raise Companies C, D and E for the purpose of local defense.  In 1864, the battalion was further expanded by Co. F, which was a mounted unit (so he had his cavalry).  Then came Co. G which was detailed for light duty.

With these additional companies the 2nd Battalion, or "Arsenal Guards" as they were known, had seven companies with about 500 men.

However, now, in February 1865, Col. Childs was being threatened by two superior Union armies, Schofield from Wilmington and Sherman coming north from South Carolina.

Five hundred men just wasn't going to be enough.

--Old Secesh

"General Orders 100" Painting by Mort Kunstler

"LINCOLN AND THE LIEBER CODE, April 1863.  On May 27, 1863, President Lincoln instructed Union General John M. Schofield: 'Let your military measures be strong enough to repel the invader and keep the peace, and not so strong as to unnecessarily harass and persecute the people.'

"His message invoked the recently reacted Liever Code, the first formal codification of behavior for the U.S. Army during the war.  Officially titled Instructions for the Government of Armies of the United States in the Field, General Order No. 100, it became the basis for all international treaties and forever changed the behavior of militaries worldwide.

"Lincoln considered an official code of conduct an absolute necessity to maintain order and a sense of decency among the ranks.  He commissioned Francis Lieber to develop policies for martial law, military jurisdiction, punishment of spies/deserters and the treatment of prisoners of war.

"The Lieber Code was adopted on April 24, 1863, before Lincoln's pertinent cabinet members and military. including Brigadier General Joseph Holt, the Judge Advocate General of the Army."

I'd never heard of this before.  Thanks, Mr. Kunstler.  When I first saw the print on the calendar, my first thought was of that famous painting of Lincoln and his cabinet discussing the Emancipation Proclamation, perhaps the greatest political move in history.  I wonder how it was used in occupied territory and at Camp Douglas in Chicago?

--Old Secesh

General John McAllister Schofield

John Schofield was born September 29, 1831.

While a major and Chief of Staff for General Nathaniel Lyons at the Battle of Wilson's Creek close to Springfield, Missouri, he received a Congressional Medal of Honor for leading a regiment against the Confederates. However, he did not receive it until 1892. A total of five Union soldiers received the MOH at Wilson's Creek which is also called the Battle of oak Hills and sometimes referred to as the Bull Run of the West.

As a general, he took part in the Atlanta Campaign with General Sherman, then, as commander of the Army of the Ohio, seriously damaged Hood's Army of the Tennessee at the Battle of Franklin, and took part in the victory at Nashville.

He then moved his corps by rail and water to fort Fisher, NC, in 17 days. He led the Union forces in the campaign against Wilmington, NC, occupying it on February 22, 1865. He then joined Sherman at Goldsboro, NC.

After the war, he was interim Secretary of War when President Johnson was able to remove nemesis Edwin M. Stanton from that post. He served until John Rawlings could be confirmed.

As stated yesterday, General Schofield went to Hawaii and determined that Pearl Harbor would make a strategic harbor for the navy. Then, in1908, Schofield Barracks Army Base was established and named in his honor,

From 1876 to 1881, Schofield was Superintendent of the US Military Academy at West Point. From 1888 to 1895 he was commanding general of the US Army. Even today, cadets have to memorize a long quotation by him.

He diedMarch 4, 1906 in St. Augustine, Florida, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Blockae-Runner

December 7th, 1941, a Day That Shall Live in Infamy

On December 7th, 66 years ago, Japanese forces suddenly attacked US forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, inflicting great damage and many casualties. We must always know that we have to be prepared to protect our freedom.

It is the veterans, both past and present, that stand up to our foes. We can not thank them enough for their efforts and sacrifices.

While I was still teaching, I spent a couple days around this time covering the events at Pearl Harbor. Today, I helped out at the Fox Lake, Illinois American Legion Post 703 as we hosted 71 vets from the North Chicago Veterans Hospital. They were treated to a full turkey dinner, gifts, and karaoke. I don't remember when I've seen people enjoy themselves more.

While doing some Pearl Harbor research, I found out that there is a Civil War connection. One of the objects of the Japanese attack was Schofield Barracks, an army base by Wheeler Field in the central part of Oahu,

It was named after Union General John McAllister Schofield who received a Congressional Medal of Honor at the Battle of Wilson's Creek in Missouri on August 10, 1861 as a major. He rose through the ranks to major general.

In 1872, he visited Hawaii at the behest of the Secretary of War William Belknap and recommended the establishment of a naval base at Pearl Harbor. Schofield Barracks was established in 1908.

I also found out that he had a connection with Fort Fisher, but that is another story.

Hats Off to Our Valiant Members of the Armed Forces, Both Past and Present. --Blockade-Runner