McHenry County CWRT Discussion: The Beginning of the End December 1864, January 1865

The McHenry County (Illinois) Civil War Round Table discussion group met at Panera Bread on December17, 2022 to discuss events in these two months.

Of course, a lot was said about the two battles of Fort Fisher in those two months and the fall of the fort on Jan. 15.

On January 15, 1865, Confederate General Beauregard arrived in Tupelo, Mississippi, to inspect what was left of the Army of Tennessee.  There wasn't much to inspect.  It was in complete chaos.

He sent 4,000 of them to Mobile to reinforce that garrison and furloughed 3,500 to go home.  (You have to wonder how many returned after the furlough was over.

Also in South Carolina, Charleston Harbor was abandoned.  The Union fleet was preparing a demonstration to draw attention away from its entrance to the harbor.

The USS Patapsco hit a torpedo while participating in obstruction removal and sank with the loss of 75 of her 105 man crew.  One of the few survivors was its executive officer, Lieutenant William T. Sampson who would later find fame for the naval victory over the Spanish at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba in the Spanish-American War.

--Old Secesh

Lee and His Generals-- Part 6: Lee Takes Command

Robert E. Lee's first job was as a military advisor to Jefferson Davis and was in charge of coastal defense along the Atlantic Ocean.  He went out in public and said that Fort Pulaski was so strong that it could never be captured.

 Lee essentially got whipped during the early part of the war in command in what became West Virginia.  

In 1862, Johnston was in charge of forces protecting Richmond.  Lee was primarily involved in building up that city's defenses.   So much defensive work he directed that Lee got the nickname "Old Spades.

Johnston was wounded at Seven Pines.  The top Confederate generals in terms of seniority were Samuel Cooper, Albert Sydney Johnston, Lee, Joe Johnston and Beauregard.

Lee took over command of the Army defending Richmond.  He found that he could most rely on Longstreet and the two Hills.  As for Confederate generals Magruder, Holmes and Huger not so much.

--Old Secesh

Ten Facts About the Battle of Ball's Bluff-- Part 1: A 'Slight Demonstration'

American Battlefield Trust.

Battle of Ball's Bluff, Virginia fought October 21, 1861.

1.  The Battle of Ball's Bluff was the result of a "slight demonstration."

On the Virginia side of the Potomac River, Confederates, commanded by  Col. Nathan "Shanks" Evans, numbered less than 3,000.  he began worrying that his position would be flanked by Federals.  Opposing him was  Brigadier general Charles P. Stone's Corps of Observation.

On October 16, Evans  to abandon his position at Leesburg.  When Stone reported this, Union commander McClellan  ordered McCall's troops to advance immediately, then had second thoughts and rescinded the order.  Instead, he ordered Stone  to make a "slight demonstration" toward  Evans to see what the enemy intentions were.

In the meantime, Confederate General Beauregard had ordered Evans to return to Leesburg.

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2.  Union troops crossed the Potomac River based on faulty intelligence.

After Stone's "slight demonstration" failed to get any reaction from Evans, Stone ordered a reconnaissance party to cross the river at Ball's Bluff to gain further information on the Confederate positions.

--Old Secesh

Civil War Generals-- Part 6: How They Stood

IRVIN McDOWELL had been a major and a staff officer and had never commanded any men.  At First Bull Run, he was leading 35,000 troops.

P.G.T. BEAUREGARD was an engineer and had never command more than about fifty men which he did during the Mexican War.

JOHN C. FREMONT, known as the Pathfinder, was an explorer and complete failure as an army commander.

WILLIAM T. SHERMAN got his chance at command because of his brother John who was a powerful Ohio politician.  He had essentially failed at everything he had done before the war.

U.S. GRANT was a failure and a civilian when the war came.  Each Congressman had the power to nominate a general.  Elihu Washburne, from Galena, Illinois, where Grant was living pushed for him.

ALBERT  SIDNEY JOHNSTON had commanded a regiment during the Mexican War and had the best pre-war credentials to command an army.

--Old Seecsh

A Confederate Built the First Suspension Bridge Over Hudson River-- Part 2: A Railroad Opportunity

When the Civil War broke out, Robert Gilchrist,  though opposed to secession,  stayed in Charleston and sided with the Confederacy.  He fought to defend the Fort Sumter and Charleston Harbor.   He was commissioned an officer and rose to the rank of major under general Beauregard, the commander in Charleston.

The city held out until 1865, when it was abandoned as Sherman marched his Union force through South Carolina.

When the war ended, Robert, his wife and young family, traveled to The Glen to inspect the property owned by his uncle (also named Robert Gilchrist) and Mother (Mary Gilchrist).

Dr. Thomas Durant  by then had the Adirondack Railroad, whose completion had been delayed because of the war and was planning to expand his railroad from Saratoga to North Creek.  Robert Gilchrist was now in the Adirondacks and had plans to expand into the  forest, tourism and resort industries and saw an opportunity with the railroad.

Robert decided to help the railroad locate and had a bridge built across the Hudson River on his property.  The project cost $8,000 and was a John A. Roebling-style bridge and hired engineer Charles McDonald to supervise it.

--Old Secesh

Major John Johnson Appointed to Committee to Record the Defense of Fort Sumter and Charleston

From the forward of the Book "Defense of Charleston Harbor, Including Fort Sumter and the Adjacent Islands" by John Johnson.

Understanding the significance of the defense of Charleston even during the war. on April 19, 1864, General Beauregard, in charge of the city's defenses and Confederate commander when the fort was surrendered in 1861, directed that a board be assembled to write the story of the defense of that city.

It was to commence with the Union naval attack on Fort Sumter on April 7, 1863.

He appointed five members to the Board:

Pierre Soule as president
Major W.S. Basinger, Artillery P.A.C.S.
Captain John Johnson, Engineers
Lt. John Ross Key, Engineers, draughtsman
Captain Henry Wemyss Feildon as Recorder of the Board

"Captain Johnson will continue to supervise the defense of Fort Sumter, but will leave an assistant  in immediate charge of that work.  He will be furnished by the chief engineer with a boat and crew, that he may visit the fort whenever necessary."

Important Back Then.  --Old Secesh

Major John Johnson Obit-- Part 3

Maj. John Johnson was called to his immortal reward Sunday, April 7. 1907.  Ever present in life to cheer and comfort him was the love, esteem, and confidence of all mankind, and in the hour of death those who knew him best have every confidence that the world is better in that he lived.

The father of Dr. Johnson (Major), Joseph Johnson, M.D.,  was a son of William Johnson, one of the Revolutionary patriots of "Liberty Tree" fame and an exile to St. Augustine, and a nephew of Justice William Johnson, of the United States Supreme Court.

General Beauregard said that to Dr. Johnson was due the masterly defense of  Fort Sumter.

--Old Secesh

Major John Johnson-- Part 5: Fifteen Months Under Fire

John Johnson was posted to Fort Sumter on April 7, 1863,  in time to witness the U.S. Navy attack on that place and then served for 15 months as engineer-in-charge of the fort's severest bombardment.  Applying his expertise and constant attention to detail, he oversaw daily repairs to damage and reinforcement efforts to sustain the fort throughout the devastating  rain of shellfire  from Union guns.

On July 28, 1864, he received his second and most serious of two wounds which left him a cripple for the rest of his life.

General Beauregard said to Major John Johnson was due  the masterly defense of Fort Sumter:

"It did not end in triumph, but it has left behind a setting of glory as of the western skies, a blazonry of heroism where gold and purple serve to tell of valor  and endurance, and the crimson hue is emblem of self-sacrifice in a cause  believed to be just."

--From the concluding sentence of Major John Johnson's book "The Defense of Charleston Harbor, Including Fort Sumter and Adjacent Islands 1863-1865."

--Old Secesh

Confederate Congress Gives Thanks-- Part 1: Generals

And, the Confederate Congress gave its tanks as well.

**  State of Alabama--  February 8, 1861, for hosting the Confederate government at its capital in Montgomery and loaning $500,000  to the young Confederacy.

**  Gen. Pierre G.T. Beauregard, for Fort Sumter and First Battle of Manassas.

**  Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, for First Manassas.

**  Robert E. Lee, received thanks on several occasions

And, there were naval officers as well.

Next Post.  --Old Secesh

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

Things to Know About P.G.T. Beauregard-- Part 3: Ladies Man, Railroad Man and Wealth

**  He was quite the ladies man, especially as the "Hero of Fort Sumter"  He traveled literally with wagon loads of champagne for entertaining.

**  He was instrumental in getting the famous New Orleans street cars running.

**  A railroad man.  After his return to New Orleans after the war, he served as president of the New Orleans, Jackson Great Northern Railroad.  Later he was president of the New Orleans and Carrollton Street Railway, where he invented a system of cable powered street cars.

**  He became quite wealthy.

**  Appointed head of the Louisiana Lottery in 1877.

--Old Secesh

Things to Know About P.G.T. Beauregard-- Part 2:

**  Beauregard was also involved with designing the "Confederacy's most enduring and controversial symbol," the Confederate battle flag.

**  He didn't like his first name and signed everything G.T. Beauregard.

**  Had a French heritage and that was his primary language as a youth..  He didn't learn English until he was 12-years old.

**  His nickname was "Little Napoleon" because he was small and had the French heritage as well as a fascination with Napoleon.

**  He had been appointed superintendent of West Point in January 1861, but the appointment was withdrawn the next day when Louisiana seceded from the Union.

--Old Secesh

Things To Know About P.G.T. Beauregard-- Part 1: "A Man of Great Contradiction"

From the May 16, 2017 (n)ew (o)rleans Times Picayune    "P.G.T. Beauregard:  What to know about him before his Confederate monument is removed"

**  His roots to (n)ew (o)rleans run much deeper than those of Jefferson Davis or Robert E. Lee.  He was born in St. Bernard Parish and spent most of his non-military career in (n)ew (o)rleans.

**  He "was a man of great contradiction.  He fired the first shots in a war to preserve slavery, yet in defeat argued passionately for human rights and for granting black people the right to vote."

(Actually. Lincoln had already said that slavery would be allowed to remain in the Southern states after he was elected and before the states seceded so i would have to disagree with part of that last statement.)

**  His biographer, T. Harry Williams, in his book "P.G.T. Beauregard: Napoleon in Gray," wrote, "but after the war he helped destroy the old agrarian way and to build the New -- the industrial-- South."

--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

Gen. Beauregard's Forgotten Civil Rights Cause-- Part 1

From the September 6, 2015, New Orleans Times-Picayune "A Confederate general's forgotten cause, Beauregard and unification: Our Times" by James Karst.

One of the Confederate statues New Orleans is considering removing is that of Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard, a native of St. Bernard Parish who grew up in New Orleans.  He went on to become a Confederate hero for his victory on April 12, 1861, at Fort Sumter to open the Civil War.  Later he gained even more fame for the victory at 1st Bull Run (Manassas).

His full name was Pierre Gustave Toutant-Beauregard.

The bronze statue of him in Confederate uniform astride his horse was erected at the Esplanade Avenue entrance to City Park in 1915.  His is one of the four Confederate statues targeted for removal by Mayor Mitch Landrieu.

He preferred to be called G.T. Beauregard and he graduated from West Point second in his class and served in the Mexican War.  After the war, he returned to New Orleans and ran for mayor and pushed for the construction of the Customs House.

After the Civil War he was an early proponent of equal rights in Louisiana.

I'm guessing the anti-statue folk either can't get past his Confederate service or don't know.

--Old Secesh

An Interesting Grave at Wilmington's Oakdale Cemetery

I'm not sure if I saw it during my 1982 trip to the cemetery when I located Gem. Whiting's grave or some other time.

But, as I was walking around, I saw one grave with an interesting name for one Pierre Gustavant Touvant Walker.  Sounded kind of French or Cajun to me, but the last name Walker didn't fit with the first names.

Then, I saw the date of birth which was April 15, 1861.  This P.G.T. Walker was likely the son of pro-Confederate parents in Wilmington and he had been named after the Southern Hero of the Battle of Fort Sumter which had taken place a few days earlier, Pierre Gustavant Touvant Beauregard.

The proud parents had named their new-born son after the new hero.

Just one of those little things that make history so much fun.

Hey, P.G.T. Walker!!  --Old Secesh

General Beauregard

An item of interest from the 2008 Civil War Calendar.

PIERRE GUSTAVE TOUTANT DE BEAUREGARD-- Now there's quite a name. I sure would have hated to have signed the whole name all the time. No wonder we see it more often as P.G.T..

The calendar says he was born in Louisiana and was the first prominent Confederate general because of his defenses at Charleston, SC, Fort Sumter, and command at the First Battle of Bull Run a few months later.

Of interest, I was in the Wilmington cemetery looking for the graves of blockage-runner John Newland Maffitt and Gen. W.H.C. Whiting, when I came across a grave of Pierre Gustave Beauregard Walker. I though, hey, that's the name of a general. Upon further investigation, I saw he was born a few days after Fort Sumter. I guess his parents were quite impressed with the general.

I highly recommend this calendar. All sorts of interesting tidbits.

How Many of You Named a Child After a Civil War Personage? --Old B-Runner