President Zachary Taylor's Grandsons Fought for the Confederacy: Robert Crooke Wood, Jr.-- Part 1

Their mother was Ann Mackall Taylor Wood, daughter of Zachary Taylor, president of the United States.  She married Robert Crooke Wood, who was an officer in the United States Army who continued to serve the Union forces in the Civil War.

Their two sons, however, joined the Confederacy, one in the Army and the other in the Navy.

From Find-A-Grave.

COLONEL ROBERT CROOKE WOOD, JR.

BORN:  4 April 1832, Fort Snelling, Minnesota

DIED:  4 December  1900  (aged 68)  , Orleans Parish, Louisiana

BURIED:  Metarie Cemetery, New Orleans, Louisiana.

His grandfather was President Zachary Taylor,  His uncle by marriage was Jefferson Davis, Confederate president.

Education:  Kentucky Military Institute.  Attended St, Mary's College.  1850-1853 attended USMA, West Point.

1855-1858 served as lieutenant in 2nd U.S. Cavalry.

--Old Secesh

Thomas Morris Chester-- Part 4: After the War

After the war, Chester moved to England where he earned a law degree.  When he returned to the United States, he became an activist in Reconstruction Louisiana politics, where he became the first black in the state to practice law.

While he would accomplish much over his life before is death of a heart attack in 1892 at the age of 58, his legacy endures as the only black Civil War correspondent for a major newspaper who provided a perspective that was reflective of both  the black troop experience and the crucial final year of the war.

Chester effectively captured the frustration  of black veterans who believed their contributions to Union victory went largely  unnoticed," wrote Gary  Gallagher, a history professor at the University of Virginia who has written several books on the war.

Some years after the war, Morris wrote about the Battle of New Market Heights outside of Richmond, where a brigade of lack troops fought bravely against Confederate forces:  "It is a source of complain, and very justly too, that the colored troops and their officers have not received their meed of praise from the chroniclers  of events in the army, for their splendid advance and gallant bearing."

(Meed means a deserved share or reward.  I hadn't heard the word before.)

Ultimately,  14 black soldiers were awarded Medals of Honor for their valor in the battle.

--Old Secesh

Civil War Events in January-- Part 2: Mill Springs, Georgia and Louisiana Secede, Monitor Launched, Lee and the 13th Amendment

JANUARY 19, 1862

**  The Battle of Mill Springs, Kentucky.

JANUARY 19, 1861

**  Georgia adopts an Ordinance of Secession.

JANUARY 24, 1861

**  Georgia state troops seize  the U.S. Arsenal at Augusta.

JANAUARY 26, 1861

**  Louisiana adopts and Ordinance of Secession.

JANUARY 30, 1862

**  USS Monitor launched at Greenpoint, Long Island, New York.

JANUARY 31, 1865

**  Robert E. Lee assumes command of the Confederate armies.

JANUARY 31, 1865

**  The U.S. House of Representatives passes the 13th Amendment to abolish slavery.

--Old Secesh

So, Who was Confederate General Alfred Mouton?

 I wrote about this man in my Civil War II blog as he has a statue in front of the Lafayette Parish courthouse in Louisiana that certain people want removed.  I have heard about him, but that is about all.  The article had this to say about him.

Alfred Mouton was the son of the 9th governor of Louisiana, attended the United States Military Academy at West Point and later returned to Lafayette where he became a landowner and, of course, slaveowner.  He supported the parish's laws limiting the assembly of Blacks and their ability to move around.

He was killed at the Battle of Mansfield in 1864.

The Alfred Mouton charter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy donated the statue to the city in 1922

--Old Secesh

10 Facts About Phil Sheridan-- Part 4: "The Only Good Indians I Ever Saw Were Dead"

**  6.   HE WASN'T A FAN OF TEXAS

After the war, Sheridan went to Texas and Louisiana to oversee Reconstruction there.    He's credited with being an opponent to corruption and  stirred things up when he dismissed the governor of Texas.  He ended up being removed by President Johnson who reportedly told U.S. Grant that Sheridan's term there had "been one of  absolute tyranny."

Sheridan, for his part, wasn't too impressed with Texas.  Reportedly he once said:  "If I owned Texas and Hell, I would rent Texas and live in Hell."

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**  7.  HE OVERSAW BRUTAL CAMPAIGNS AGAINST NATIVE AMERICANS --  AND BISON

His postwar career also had him overseeing military campaign against the Indians of the West.  And, he employed the same "scorched earth" tactics he had used against the Confederates.  In addition, he gave little consideration to non-combatants who got in his way, meaning Indian women, children and the elderly received harsh treatment.

It was during this time, that Sheridan supposedly uttered the words:  "The only good Indians I ever saw were dead."

Another casualty of his Indian Wars were the bison.  Since they were such an important part of the Plains Indians life, he urged the widespread, over-hunting of the animals.  He brought in hunters to take out the herds, telling them:  "For a lasting peace,let them kill, skin and sell until the buffaloes are exterminated."

One Has to Wonder Why There Has Not Been a Movement to Take Down His Statues.  --Old Secesh

Samuel Briggs Todd of the Crescent Regiment-- Part 1: A Confusing Regiment in Mouton's Brigade

From the National Park Service Battle Unit Details and Civil War Louisiana sites.

The Crescent Regiment was organized by men from New Orleans and entered Confederate service in May 1861.

The unit fought at the Battle of Shiloh and reported 23 killed, 84 wounded and 20 missing.

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The Crescent regiment was also the 24th Louisiana Infantry Regiment.

They were part of the Alfred Mouton Brigade, later the Mouton-Gray Brigade.  Mouton's Brigade consisted of, off and on,  the 18th Louisiana, 24th Louisiana and the 28th Louisiana.  It gets somewhat confusing with units in the brigade also called  10th Louisiana Battalion (Yellow Jacket Battalion),  11th Louisiana Battalion, 12th Louisiana Battalion ( Confederate Guards Response Battalion) and 33rd Louisiana  Regiment.

Also you might come across the Consolidated 18th Louisiana Regiment and Yellow Jacket Battalion and the Consolidated Crescent Regiment.

Like the man said, very confusing.

--Old Secesh

Seven Rebel Graves Designated a Cemetery-- Part 3

The 13th participated in these battles in Louisiana during the war:

Lake Providence
Fort DeRussey
Mansfield
Pleasant Hill

And in Arkansas at Jenkins Ferry.

The majority of the regiment's 145 fatalities during the war were from disease.  Only eleven came from enemy fire.

Those at Camp Blair were forgotten until just recently

--Old Secesh

Seven Rebel Graves in Arkansas Designated a Cemetery-- Part 2: More Deaths from Disease

Their regiment was commanded by Col. John H. Burnett and had been ordered to Arkansas to defend that state.  Later the regiment went to Louisiana.

The 13th Texas had about 850 men  and their camp on Spring Bank Hill, overlooking the Red River was named Camp Blair for Riley J. Blair, the first regiment sergeant major.

A measles outbreak delayed the regiments move through the Red River area for about six weeks.  After crossing the river at Blanton's Ferry, 23 more soldiers died of disease and were buried in the Walnut Hills community.  Other soldiers died after they left the Red River area.

As a part of Major General John G. Walker's Texas Division , the 13th was dismounted at Walnut Hills and served as infantry for the rest of the war.

--Old Secesh

Siege of Port Hudson (Louisiana)-- Part 1: Banks Vs. 7,500 Rebels

From National Park Service  Explore the History and Culture of Southeastern Louisiana"  Port Hudson.

Port Hudson was the site of the longest siege in American history, lasting 48 days.  It pitted 7,500 Confederates against  40,000 Union troops. for almost two months in 1863.

In August 1862,  the Confederates began constructing earthworks at Port Hudson to control the Mississippi River.  In 1863, Union Major General  Nathaniel P. Banks moved against them.  Three Union divisions came down the Red River to attack Port Hudson from the north, while two more divisions advanced from Baton Rouge and  New Orleans to strike from the east and south.

Francis Warren's 49th Massachusetts was among these Union forces.

By May 22, they had isolated 7,500 Confederates in their 4 1/2 miles of earthworks.  Banks ordered an attack all along the Confederate lines on May 27, 1863.

--Old Secesh

Civil War Trust October 2018 Calendar: Port Hudson, Louisiana

PORT HUDSON, LOUISIANA

256 acres saved

The Civil War Trust has partnered with The Conservation Fund to ave 256 acres of land at Port Hudson, Louisiana, the site of the last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River after Vicksburg fell.

The acreage saved by the trust includes the site of the first black assault in the Civil War, made by the 1st and 3rd Louisiana Native Guard regiments on May 27, 1863.

Hallowed Ground.  --Old Secesh

Some More On Drilling-- Part 2: "It Would Make a Horse Laugh"

**  "Of course, we drill; it would be hard to imagine a military camp without drill; but it would make a horse laugh to see us do it."

David Lane, 17th Michigan Infantry in his diary August 24, 1863.

**   "I don't know what Oi'll do.  You want us to drill in English and the devil a wurd I know but French."

An Irish-born Confederate soldier in a Louisiana regiment to his lieutenant.  Something about those Louisianans speaking French, you know.

--Old SecDrill

Things to Know About P.G.T. Beauregard-- Part 4: Does This Sound Like the Rantings of a Racist?

**  His reputation among Southerners was badly hurt by his outspoken work for human rights.  "As part of a coalition of prominent white and black New Orleanians, he not only argued to give black people voting rights but also pushed for integrated schools, public places and transportation.

**  "I am persuaded that the natural relation between white and colored people is that of friendship," he wrote in an article published in July 1873 newspaper.  "I am persuaded that their interests are identical; that their destinies in this state, where the two races are equally divided, are linked together; and that there is no prosperity for Louisianans which must not result of their cooperation.

"I am equally convinced that the evils anticipated by some men from the practical enforcement of equal are mostly imaginary and that the relation of the races in the exercise of these rights will speedily adjust themselves to the satisfaction of all."

Unfortunately, this black-white movement failed.

Looks like perhaps, the Beauregard statue should not have been taken down.

Beauregard, Supporter of Equal Rights.  Enemy of Blacks?   --Old Secesh

Battle Against the Confederacy Hits Louisiana-- Part 2

The New Orleans mayor's proposal is bold as it takes aim against some well-known landmarks that have stood where they are for a century or more.  They are the monuments honoring Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Generals Robert E. Lee and P.G.T. Beauregard (a native Louisianan) and the Crescent City White League who were a group of white supremacists who sought to topple the biracial government after the Civil War ended.  (It would be ok with me if the last one was removed.)

Earlier this week, a volunteer group that looks after monuments said it had collected the signatures ofabout 31,000 people opposed to the statue removals.

Pierre McGraw, president of the Monumental Task Committee, says, "It looks like we are sanitizing history.  Where does it end?"

The City Council will hear what citizens have to say and are supposed to vote on it December 17th.

Like I said, there is no way they will vote to keep the statues where they are.

This Will Be  Great Shame on the City of New Orleans.  --Old Secesh

Battle Against Confederacy Hits Louisiana-- Part 1

From the December 11, 2015, Chicago Tribune by Cain Burdeau, AP.

"Prominent Confederate monuments long taken for granted on the streets of this Deep South city may be coming down as allegiance to Confederate symbols slowly erodes in the South and African-Americans across the nation demand an end to racism."

The New Orleans City Council will be taking up the removal of four Confederate monuments this week and it appears that a majority are in favor of removal.

Mayor Mitch Landreau first called for it after the June massacre in Charleston, S.C..  This set off a firestorm against any and all things Confederate.

In South Carolina, the Confederate flag was removed from the Capitol grounds.  In Mississippi, colleges have stopped flying the state flag as it incorporates the Confederate flag.  The University of Texas has removed the statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis from its grounds.

Across the South, allegiance and veneration to Confederate symbols is rapidly eroding, especially among younger whites.

It Will Happen and Be a Sad Day.  --Old Secesh

General Beauregard's Forgotten Civil Rights Campaign-- Part 2: 1873

Continued from September 24, 2015, post.

After the War, P.G.T. Beauregard worked with the Louisiana Lottery and his name and efforts help provide it with legitimacy.

However, largely forgotten was that he was an early proponent of equal rights between races in Louisiana.  He served as an outspoken leader of a short-lived and ultimately failed unification movement.

It was a coalition of prominent blacks and whites in New Orleans who called for integrated schools, public places, transportation and voting rights for black men.  This all occurred two years before Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1875 and nearly a century before the enactment of the 20th Century Civil Rights legislation.

Beauregard served as the group's chairman.  And, he had been a Confederate general, about the last person you'd expect to lead a group calling for the equality of the two races.

--Old Secesh

"Moonlight and Magnolias" Painting by Mort Kunstler

From the Lang 2015 Kunstler Civil War Calendar for April.

"ARLINGTON PLANTATION, PROVIDENCE, LOUISIANA, APRIL 6, 1961.

"On Saturday, April 6, 1861, Edward and Minerva Sparrow held a grand secession ball at Arlington Plantation and people attended from as far away as Baton Rouge and New Orleans.  At this time, Louisiana troops were among the best equipped and uniformed in the Confederacy.

"There was still no standardization and there were as many blue coated Confederates in Louisiana as gray clad ones.  The glamour and pageantry would all change as the war would grind on to its inevitable conclusion of destruction and grief.

"In 1863, Grant came down the Mississippi and spent more than two months trying to cut a canal from the river to Lake Providence.  Union officers who used Arlington Plantation as their headquarters included MacPherson, McMillan and Macarthur.  Grant visited the house as well.

"Needless to say, life at Arlington Plantation would never be the same."

--Old Secesh

Sherman's March to the Sea-- Part 7: Shock and Awe

According to historian John Marszalek, author of "Sherman: A Soldier's Passion for Order," said, "Shock and awe.  That's really what Sherman was talking about."

"Cump" Sherman had had a hard childhood.  His father died penniless while he was young and his mother sent him to be raised by another family.  Coming from this rough childhood, Sherman had a lifelong passion for order and stability according to Marszalek.

Central to this was the restoration of the Union and the rule of law.  That meant, the Confederacy had to be destroyed and the sooner the better.

Sherman had wept aloud in 1861 when he read that South Carolina had seceded, which he knew would start a war.  At the time he was superintendent of a military school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which would eventually become Louisiana State University.  He resigned and later accepted a commission in his former U.S. Army, knowing that he would eventually face the cadets he had trained.

Ironically, Sherman always considered himself a friend of the South.

"Cump" a Form of His Middle Name, Tecumseh.  --Old Secesh

Fort Beauregard, Louisiana

From Wikipedia.

The fort was located on a hill overlooking the Ouachita River protecting Monroe, Louisiana.

Four Union gunboats attacked it on May 10, 1863.  They demanded the fort's surrender and when refused, opened fire.  At least 150 shells fired at Fort Beauregard.

The fort held out, but was evacuated September 4, 1863 and destroyed.  It was reoccupied in 1864.

--Old Secesh

Confederate General Camille Polignac

From the April 7, 2014, News-Star (Louisiana) "Presentation of Confederate General Camille Polignac.

Will be given by Daniel Frankognoul of Brussels, Belgium. The general was a Frenchman who commanded a brigade of Catahoula and Concordia parishes men and defeated six Union gunboats attacking Fort Beauregard at Harrisonburg, Louisiana, on the Ouachita River.

The presenter has done extensive research over the past 35 years and has met with descendants of participants in the Red River Campaign.  By using diaries, he has come up with new descriptions of the fight at Vidalia, the repairing of Fort Beauregard and other activities in the area.

--Old Secesh

Workers Find 151-Year-Old Civil War Flag in Basement-- Part 1

From the Jan. 2014 Denver Post by Grant Welker of the  Lowell (Mass) Sun.

There were many Union soldiers from Lowell, Massachusetts, who had been recruited by Gen. Benjamin Butler at the battlefield at Clinton, Louisiana, near the Mississippi border.

Lt. Solon Perkins of the 2nd Massachusetts Cavalry was shot in the arm at the Battle of Clinton on June 3, 1863, just after shouting to his troops, "Now boys, let us show these scoundrels that we can fight!"  He was shot again just minutes later, dying two hours later.

His tattered and torn flag was found by workers in the basement of the Lowell Memorial Auditorium in Lowell.  They contacted the Greater Lowell Veterans Council who will have it preserved and displayed in the auditorium's Hall of Flags.

--Old Secesh