RoadTrippin' with Charles Gilbert-- Part 3: Gettysburg, Pro Football and 'The Kentucky Giant'

Charles Gilbert was buried at Louisville's Cave Hill Cemetery.  Here are some other persons of interest buried there.

**  ANDREW J. COWAN  (1841-1918)

Scottish-born Union Army artillery officer.    At Gettysburg, his battery was posted just south of the copse of trees during Picket's Charge.    Ordered his cannoneers to fire double canister.

**  PAUL HORNUNG  (1935-2020)

Heisman Trophy recipient and Pro Football Hall of Famer.   Played got the Green Bay Packers.

**   A whole lot of Union and Confederate officers and generals.

**  JAMES D. "BIG" PORTER (1811-1859)

Small as a child, but started to grow at age 17.    In three years, he grew to the height of 7 feet 8 inches.  Around 1830, the name "Big" was added.  Also known as the Kentucky Giant.

--Old Secesh

This Month in the Civil War, July: Gettysburg, Vicksburg, Executions and Monocacy

From the American Battlefield Trust July 2022 calendar.

JULY 1, 1862

**  Battle of Malvern Hill, Virginia

JULY 1, 1863

**  Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, begins

JULY 3, 1863

**  Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, concludes with Pickett's Charge.

JULY 4, 1863

**  Confederates surrender Vicksburg, Mississippi.

JULY 7, 1865

**  Conspirators in the assassination of Lincoln executed.

JULY 9, 1863

**  Surrender of Port Hudson, Louisiana.

JULY 9, 1864

Battle of Monocacy, Maryland.

--Old Secesh

10 Facts Battle of Ball's Bluff-- Part 4: The Famed California Regiment Wasn't Actually from California

#5:  Ball's Bluff was the first major battle of the famed California Regiment.

Funded by Californians,  the 1st California Regiment was part of an effort to keep California in the Union by encouraging California men from across the United States to enlist in the regiment.  The regiment, however, was Californian in name only; not only was it led by  Colonel Baker, a senator from Oregon, but the regiment was raised primarily in Philadelphia, resulting in a regiment where the majority of the men were native Pennsylvanians.

After Baker's death, the regiment was renamed the  71st Pennsylvania Volunteers, and went on to see action at  Antietam, Fredericksburg and Gettysburg, where they participated in the famous repulse of Pickett's Charge at the Bloody Angle.

Old Secesh

Artillery-- Part 9: Those Brass Napoleons

These were part of the McHenry County Civil War Round Table discussion group meeting on March 26.

**  Batteries:  Union consisted of 6 guns, Confederate of 4 guns.

**  There were two guns in a battery section.

**  Advancement of artillery officers was very slow.

**  Henry J. Hunt organized the Union artillery.

**  During Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg, Confederate artillery fire for three hours and mostly stopped firing because the gun tubes were getting too hot.

**  One of the most commonly used cannons was the12-pound brass Napoleon and was accurate to a mile.

--Old Secesh

MCCWRT Discussion Group: Artillery-- Part 2: Who Had the Advantage in Artillery?

Preliminary Questions, continued:

5.  Civil War artillery could fire just one type of ammunition or multiple types.

6.  Accidents and misfires were common or rare.

7.  What was the knock on Parrott rifles?

8.  Which side held the advantage in artillery?  Union or Confederate

9.  What was the largest use of field artillery in a battle?

10.  What was a cannon's barrel called?

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

ANSWERS:

5.  multiple types  (solid shot, case shot, cannister and grape shot

6.  Common

7.  Parrots tended to explode  (made of cast iron and cheap to make)

8.  Union

9.  Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg

10.  Tube

--Old Secesh

Sgt. Major William B. Hincks, 14th Connecticut Awarded Medal of Honor at Battle of Gettysburg

From Wikipedia.

Date of Action:  July 3, 1863
Date of Medal of  Honor Issue:  December 1, 1864

"The President of the United States of America, in the name of Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Sergeant Major William B. Hincks, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism on July 3, 1863, while serving with the 14th Connecticut Infantry, in action at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

"During the high water mark of Pickett's charge on 3 July 1863 the colors of the 14th Tennessee Infantry C.S.A. were planted 50 yards in front of the center of Sergeant Major Hincks' regiment.  There were no Confederates standing near it but several were lying down around it.

" 'Major Ellis called for volunteers to capture the flag and instantly Major Hincks, Major Broatch and Lieutenant Brigham leaped the wall.  Brigham was shot down by a retreating rebel, but the other two sped on.  Hincks finally outstripping Broatch, ran straight and swift for the color, amid a storm of shot.

"Swing his saber over the prostrate Confederates and uttering a terrific yell, he seized the flag and hastily returned to the line.'

"The 14th Tennessee carried 12 battle honors on its flag.  The devotion of duty showed by Sergeant Major Hincks gave encouragement to many of his comrades at a crucial moment in the battle."

Capturing the Flag, Possible MoH.  --Old Secesh

The 14th Connecticut at Gettysburg

The 14th Connecticut arrived at the Battle of Gettysburg late on the night of July 2, after the fighting had stopped.    The regiment by then was down to 160 men and were positioned in the center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge, right where the brunt of Pickett's charge was to strike on the 3rd.

There they fought the 13th Alabama, 14th Tennessee and 26th North Carolina infantry regiments and lost about 60 more men (10 killed, 52 wounded and 4 missing), now down to 100 in strength.  They have a monument at the site which gives them credit for capturing 200 prisoners and five battle flags.

--Old Secesh

Ed Bearss Off the Cuff

Next, we had a question-answer segment.

Some general observations of Mr. Bearss:

McClellan lacked the killer instinct.

Picketts Charge had 15 Virginia regiments in it and they were certainly not the Pride of the Army of Northern Virginia.

Had not Jackson been killed at Chancellorsville, Lee probably would have won the first day at Gettysburg.  By the third day, there was no way Lee had a chance to win the battle.

Meade made a huge mistake when he did not actively pursue Lee's army after Gettysburg.

In his wounding by the Japanese at Cape Gloucester.  They shot the s-h-i-t out of us because they had the terrain advantage.  I was fortunate not to be killed.  Was in the hospital for 72 months and did a real lot of reading while there.  One book that moved him was "Lee's Lieutenants."

A Most Memorable Evening With, In My Opinion, The #1 Civil War Guy In the Country.  --Old Secesh

17th Maine Infantry-- Part 2: Service

From May 23 to October 7, 1862, they were in the Washington, D.C., defenses.

Battle of Fredericksburg

Battle of Gettysburg--  They were in the Wheatfield fighting for 2 1/2 hours July 2 and reinforced the Union's center during Pickett's Charge.  Casualties during the battle:  3 officers and 37 enlisted killed,  5 officers and 87 men wounded.

Bristoe Campaign

Battle of the Wilderness

Battle of Spottsylvania

Cold Harbor

Petersburg Siege

Mine Explosion

Sailor's Creek

Appomattox

--Old Secesh

The Gettysburg Cyclorama: An Early Virtual Reality Experience-- Part 1

From the April 18, 2016, Time Magazine "Technology: What VR's rocky past reveals about its future" by Lev Grossman.

"The first version of the Gettysburg Cyclorama was created in 1883 by a French artist named Paul Dominique Philippoteaux.  It was an enormous circular painting, depicting the Battle of Gettysburg at the moment of Pickett's Charge, that wrapped around the viewer completely: you stood inside it.  It was 22 feet high and had a circumference of 279 feet."

"The effect was enhance by actual earthworks and broken trees and fences set up in the front of it, in the foreground, which also hid the bottom edge of the canvas.  Audiences were enthralled.  Veterans of the battle wept.  It may have been the most immersive media experience of its day.

Circle Me In.  --Old Secesh

The 26th North Carolina Infantry Regiment-- Part 3

On the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, the regiment rested near McPherson Ridge.  Pettigrew and the surviving officers spent the day working to get the less seriously wounded soldiers back in the ranks.

On July 3rd, the 26th took part in what today is known as Pettigrew/Pickett's Charge against the Union Army's center along Cemetery Ridge.  The regiment suffered artillery and small arms casualties during its advance over open field and lost another 120 men and had a flag captured.  They lost more than any other regiment, including the entire Company F.

There is some controversy as to whether they penetrated the Union line, but they were among the last to be repelled.

They later fought at the Overland Campaign, the Siege of Petersburg and were at Appomattox.

The Battling 26th.  --Old Secesh

Mort Kunstler's Civil War Calendar for July-- Part 2: On Brave 26th N.C.

Gen. George Pickett's Virginians, Gen. J.J. Pettigrew's North Carolinians, Alabamians and Tennesseeans, and Gen. Isaac Trimble's North Carolinians marched against a brutal onslaught of fire from Union artillery and musketry, only to be thrown back in defeat.

Despite the unrelenting artillery fire and impending defeat, General Lee's gray-clad troops moved on gathering behind their flags.

Shown here is the regiment of men pressed behind the flag of the 26th North Carolina, struggling in vain to reach the Union line.  A survivor wrote: "...our brave men pressed quickly forward and when we reached within about forty yards of the works, our regiment had been reduced to a skirmish line by the constant falling of men at every step -- but still they kept closing to the colors."

A Striking Picture.  --Old Secesh

Mort Kunstler's 2015 Civil War Calendar for July-- Part 1: High Water Mark

Of course, that would be Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg.

It shows action at the stone wall where Confederates are about to reach and hopefully get over it.  I am sure that in today's racial climate, there would be some folks highly offended by the battle flags the Confederates are carrying, however.  But, the Southerners are clearly taking a beating and in the background you can see hordes of Union soldiers rushing up to the front line.  It is clear to see that the wave is about to break in defeat.

THE HIGH WATER MARK: GETTYSBURG, PA, JULY 3, 1863

The High Water Mark is Kunstler's depiction of the famous Battle of Gettysburg's finale.  Lee's gamble for victory is being smashed against the Union Center.

--Old Secesh

NC's First, Farthest and Last-- Part 2

FARTHEST AT GETTYSBURG:

During the Battle of Gettysburg, North Carolina infantrymen advanced the greatest distance during Pickett's Charge on July 3, 1863. The 11th NC participated in that attack.

FARTHEST AT CHICKAMAUGA:

The 58th NC is sometimes credited with the farhest penetration of enemy lines on Snodgrass Hill on 20 September 1863. Although, at least one historian contends that battle conditions that day would make it impossible to substantiate the claim.

--Old Secesh

The 11th NC at Gettysburg-- Part 5: Two-Time Prisoner at Fort Delaware

On the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, the 11th NC almost annihilated the famed Iron Brigade, but in so doing, lost nearly half of its men. The regiment was held in reserve on the second day. On the third and final day, it was part of Pickett's Charge across those fateful fields.

PRIVATE "CYRUS" ALEXABDER ALLEN, CO. 1-- Wounded and captured at Pickett's Charge. Held prisoner at Fort Delaware until paroled and exchanged in late August.

Captured again at Petersburg and again confined at Fort Delaware. Released June 19, 1865. I would have liked to know his thoughts when he saw Fort Delaware for the second time.

Back "Home" Again.  --Old Secesh

Battle of Gettysburg-- Part 10: A "What If" and One Who Died and One Who Didn't

"What if Lee, so confident in an army that rarely had failed him, had listened to subordinates and decided against the suicidal Pickett's Charge, saving his army to fight another day on a more favorable northern field?"

A new book "The Civil War in 50 Objects" by Harold Holzer includes the accounts of two officers at Gettysburg-- one who died and one who survived.

Confederate Brigadier General Paul Semmes (wonder if he was related to Confederate Admiral Raphael Semmes, commander of the CSS Alabama), a Georgian, was mortally wounded on the second day at Gettysburg in a charge against Little Round Top.  Semmes lingered for eight days before his death and wrote his wife a letter in which he said, "My brigade suffered severely and behaved well."

Lt. Colonel William H. Paine of the 4th Wisconsin was a mapmaker who witnessed Pickett's Charge into point-blank artillery grape shot and rifle fire.

Essentially, the High Tide of a Nation.  --Old Secesh

Must Have Been a Pickett Thing

Last night, we went over to McHenry County's (Illinois) Glacia Park off Il-31, to see a steel drum combo put on the monthly First Friday concert.

Big crowd of the wine and cheese NPR/PBS folk in attendance.

The center was up on a bluff formed by the ancient glaciers that once covered this part of Illinois.  This was overlooking a valley formed by the Nippersing Creek.  Across the creek was another bluff.

I couldn't help but be reminded of the land, other than the creek, separating Seminary Ridge from Cemetery Ridge at that little old battlefield out in Pennsylvania that we just recently commemorated the sesquicentennial of this past week.

This would eb what Pickett's men were looking at when they stepped off for that fatefull charge July 3, 1863.

A Pickett Thing!  --Old Secesh