Some Other Galenians in Union Service

From Recollections of seventy years by Augustus  L. Chetlain, 1889.

CAPTAIN Thomas D. CONNOR, Co. D of the 45th Illinois Infantry.  Lost his life at the Battle of Shiloh.

He was an intelligent and brave officer and greatly beloved by the men of his company.

As a businessman in Galena before the war, he was well-known and highly esteemed.  His word was regarded as "good as his bond."  In all dealings with others was the soul of honor.

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

MAJOR U. G.  SCHELLER de BUOL, a topographical engineer, with a European education, entered the volunteer service in 1861 and by order of General C.F. Smith constructed, in the fall of that year, the fortifications at  Smithland, Kentucky, to command the mouth of the Cumberland River

"I was in command of that military post and while engaged in this work he was a member of my staff and one of my military family.," Gen. C.F. Smith.

In 1864, under Gen. C.C. Washburn, Commander of the District of Memphis,  he improved and strengthened  the extensive fortifications of Memphis.  He showed his skill and excellent judgement there, and for it was highly recommended by the  Engineer-In-Chief of the department.

--Old Secesh

15th Illinois Infantry Actions and Campaigns-- Part 1: Battle of Shiloh

In Missouri to Feb. 1, 1862
Oct-Nov. 1861, part of Fremont's advance toward Springfield, Mo.
Capture of Fort Donelson, Tn.,  Feb. 16, 1862

Battle of Shiloh, Tn.,  April 6-7, 1862
Siege of Corinth, Ms.,  April 29-May 30, 1862
Duty at Memphis to Sept. 6, 1862

Battle of Hatchie River  Oct. 5, 1862   Also known as Battle of Hatchie's Bridge or Metamora
Operations in Mississippi  Oct. 31 to Jan. 10, 1863
Duty at Memphis until May 1863

Siege of Vicksburg   May 22- July 4, 1863
Assault in Jackson, Ms. July 12, 1863
Duty Natchez, Ms. Aug. 15 to Nov. 10, 1863

--Old Secesh

Robert A. Cameron-- Part 3: Western Theater

On February 3, 1862, he was transferred to the 34th Indiana and fought in Missouri at New Madrid and Island No. 10.  He was involved in the capture of Memphis, Tennessee.

On June 6, 1862, he was promoted to colonel and took over command of the 34th on June 15.

He was in the Vicksburg Campaign and was slightly wounded in the Battle of Port Gibson on May 1, 1863. Promoted to brigadier general August 11, 1863.

During the 1864 Red River Campaign, he led a division of the XIII Corps.

--Old Secesh

The Sultana Tragedy

From the McHenry County Civil War Round Table.

On April 24, 1865, the riverboat Sultana left Vicksburg, Mississippi with as many as 2,100 released Union prisoners from Andersonville and Cahaba, 100 civilians and 85 crewmen.

To say the least, the boat was extremely overloaded and humanity filled almost every square inch.  The boat was six times over capacity which was 376.  At approximately 2 a.m. on April 27, seven miles north of Memphis, the ship's boilers exploded.

Lt. Colonel Ruben Hatch and other officers and businessmen were responsible for "The Worst Maritime Disaster in American History."

--Old Secesh

Descendants of Victims of Fort Pillow Massacre

in the last entry I mentioned that there were people from this group in attendance at the meeting in Memphis to remove the statues of Jefferson Davis and Nathan Forrest.

I hadn't ever heard of this organization and looked it up.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find out anything about them other than they were at the meeting.

I hope there is a group devoted to keeping their memory alive.

--Old Secesh

Jefferson Davis, Jr.-- Part 3

Jefferson, Jr., became secretary at Beauvoir in 1877 and supposedly studied French and medicine in his free time.

In 1878, he moved to Memphis, Tennessee where his brother-in-law, Addison Hayes, found him a job as a bank clerk.

Just a few months later, he fell ill during a yellow fever epidemic and died Oct. 16, 1878.

He was first buried in Memphis, but later reinterred near his father in Richmond's Hollywood Cemetery in 1895.  He died at the age of 21.

--Old Secesh

George Cadman Goes to a Ball in Memphis and Gets in a Fight: "Secesh and As Saucy As the Devil"

Letter home to his wife Esther on October 3, 1863 talking about a ball he went to in Memphis.

"...I don't think I told you in my last letter, but I went to a Ball last Saturday night.  There were some six of our company there.  Unluckily the parties at the Ball were all Secesh and a saucy as the devil.  There were a few Soldiers besides Co. B and after they had paid a Dollar for admittance they were not allowed the privilege of dancing.

"The boys bore it patiently for about two hours, but finding that forebearance had ceased to be a Virtue, they or rather we took and cleaned out the whole pile.  It ain't often I mix in a fuss, but I thought the confoundable rebels had gone far enough, for the reason assigned for not permitting the men to dance was because they were Union Soldiers.

"You never saw a place emptied so quick in your life.  One fellow trying to get out in a hurry fell into the Wood Box stern first and got jammed, his head stuck out at one end and his heels on the other.  We had to pull him out of the Box for he was a prisoner there."

Hey, Secesh!  Those Are My Unfriendly Folks.  --Old Secesh

The Scourge of Whisky and Loose Women in Memphis-- Part 4: "Sell themselves and a Bottle of Liquor for a Dollar"

Continuing with George Cadman's letter to his wife.

I have come across mention that he was born and grew up in England which probably was why he made use of the 'habitues of Wapping and Shadwell" phrase.

"I shall be glad when we get orders for Vicksburg which I expect is our ultimate Destination, for here we have nothing but prisoners.  We cannot go more than 50 yards from our Camp without a pass, only in consequence of the misconduct of our Regt. in the Guard House, for offenses committed while Drunk.

"Even now women come to the very Guard line with their bodies strung round with Whisky under their clothes to sell themselves and a bottle of Liquor for a Dollar.  For the first few nights we could get no sleep for the cursing of the men [and] screaming of women and the firing of pistols outside our camp."

The 39th, Making Up for Lost Time.  --Old Secesh

The Scourge of Whiskey and Loose Women in Memphis-- Part 3: Shadwell and Habitues

Of interest there is a Wapping Elementary School in the South Windsor Public Schools with motto "Developing Children Who Are Confident, Capable, Caring and Cooperative."  Evidently the term no longer reflects what the slang used to do.

As far as Shadwell, Wikipedia says it is a district in East London on the north bank of the Thames River near Wapping.  This is also a big maritime area.  In the 19th century large numbers of lascar seamen were brought over from India by the East India Company and lived in Shadwell.

So this would be another area where you find lots of sailors.

The word "habitues" means a frequent or habitual visitor to a place.

--Old Secesh

The Scourge of Whiskey and Loose Women at Memphis- Part 2: "Habitues of Wapping and Shadwell"

Continuing with George Cadman's letter to his wife.  I kind of have to wonder why he wrote his wife about this particular thing.  It couldn't have settled her worries for her husband.

"One [company] got all its men in the Block (military prison) but three.  Our men were not quite as bad as that that, but the biggest part was drunk, in fact drunkenness was the order of the day, so you may form some idea of what the camp was like and with some Hundreds of the most Abandoned women in the world to add to this evil influence, I thought the habitues of Wapping and Shadwell were bad enough, but the Harpies of this place beat them all hollow."

Okay, I wasn't sure what he exactly meant by "habitues of Wapping and Shadwell" so looked them up even though I had a definite idea of what George Cadman was referring to.

The dictionary said "Wap" originally meant a hit or blow.  In slang between 1560-1730, it meant to copulate (usually used in reference to women.

Wikipedia said that Wapping is a district in East London, England, located by the Thames River whose proximity :"has given it a strong maritime character."  Many of the original buildings of Wapping were destroyed when the London Docks were built and many more during the Battle of Britain in World War II.

Let's see, what two things might attract a sailor after a long sea voyage.

The Scourge of Whisky and Loose Women at Memphis-- Part 1: "Did Not Take Them Long to Raise Hell Generally"

From the Mash Notes site.

I came across another letter written by George Hovey Cadman.  This one was a year earlier in 1863 and written from Memphis, Tennessee.  His 39th Ohio had just arrived at Memphis and he described what happened next.

George Cadman was a very literate man, even more so as an enlisted man than some officers.

Letter to his wife dated May 1863.

"When we arrived in Memphis our trouble began.  Women and whisky are plentiful here, and the men had been so long debarred from both that it did not take them long to raise Hell generally.

"Never did I see such a scene before in my life, and hope to God I never  may again for some days, in spite of all the Endeavors of the Colonel (Noyes?) who did his utmost to preserve discipline, the Camp was a wild scene of Debauchery."

The 39th Came to Party.   --Old Secesh

Shame On Memphis!

From Feb. 5, 2013, Yahoo! News Memphis Renames 3 Parks That Honored Confederates.

I'd heard there was some consideration about it, but didn't think it would happen like this.  History was thrown out the window.

Three parks were renamed in what appears to be a rammed-through manner:  Confederate Park is now Memphis Park, Jefferson Davis Park is now Mississippi River Park and Nathan Bedford Forrest Park is now Health Sciences Park.

Evidently the voting group learned that there is a bill in the state house of representatives which would prevent renaming parks named after historical military figures.

This Is a Sad Day.  Throwing History Out the Window Like That.  --Old Secesh

Civil War Cannons Back at Confederate Park-- Part 2

These replicas have cast-iron carriages donated by the Shiloh National Military Park, which is in the process of replacing its own cannon carriages.  The Steen Cannon company made the gun tubes.

The cannon types at the park represent those used by two Memphis Confederate units.  Bankhead's Battery, formed in 1861 by attorney Smith P. Bankhead and the Appeal Battery, sponsored in 1862 by the Memphis Appeal newspaper, one of the forerunners of the Commercial-Appeal.

There were no Confederate cannons on the bluff June 6, 1862, when eight Confederate cotton-clads were defeated in just 90 minutes by eight Union ironclads.

Great to Have Them Back.  --Old Secesh

Civil War Cannons Back at Confederate Park-- Part 1

From the September 6th Memphis (Tn) Commercial Appeal "Civil War look returns  with cannons at Confederate Park" by Kevin McKenzie.

Four replica Civil War cannons have been placed in Confederate Park in downtown Memphis on a bluff overlooking Mud Island in the Mississippi River.

Two are 12-pound field howitzers, one a 3-inch ordnance rifle and the other a 6-pound field gun.

The park was dedicated in 1908 and originally there were six Civil War-era cannons there.  However, Memphis donated them in 1942 for a war scrap drive and they were melted down.  After the war, sic World War II cannons replaced the originals.

Efforts were made by the Sons of Confederate Veterans Nathan Bedford Forrest Camp, the Shelby County Historical Commission and the Riverfront Development Corporation to bring these guns to the park.

That's More Like It, World War II Cannons Do Not Belong in a Confederate Park.  --Old Secesh