Lee and His Generals-- Part 4: About Robert E. Lee

From the July McHenry County Civil War Round Table.

ROBERT E. LEE

His father was famed American Revolution officer "Light Horse" Harry Lee.  He was the one who said of General Washington that he was:  "First in War, First in Peace and First in the Hearts of his Countrymen."

He graduated #2 in his class at West Point.  (Didn't say who was #1.)

He was an engineer and the best West Point grads were appointed to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  However, it was pointed ut that he made the statement that Fort Pulaski, guarding Savannah, could never be taken.  Of course that was before rifled cannons.

Lee had no demerits when he graduated from West Point.  The same can not be said for George Armstrong Custer.

During the Mexican War, Lee was in the 2nd U.S. Cavalry and served under Gerneral Winfield Scott.  Scott admired him and was sure Lee was destined for glory.

--Old Secesh

Monroe County, Michigan, Had Eight Medal of Honor Recipients in Civil War

From the November 6, 2022, Monroe News by Tom Adamich.

Monroe's military history and contributions to major conflicts dates back to the American Revolution and War of 1812 periods.  But, also, Monroe has had an inordinate impact on Civil War history.  Local historians credit the county as having the highest enrollment of volunteers propotionately of any county in the United States.

The Medal of Honor is the highest and most prestigious military honor that can be awarded to the military.   And eight Monroe County residents received one during the war.

**  First Lieutenant  James Christancy of the 9th Michigan Cavalry.  As an aide, he voluntarily led a group in the Battle of Haw's Shop near Cold Harbor, Virginia, in May 1864 where he was  wounded twice.

**  Second Lieutenant Thomas  Custer, younger brother of General George Custer (who was from Monroe).  Thomas Custer was part of the 21st Ohio.  At Sailor's Creek, near Farmville, Virginia, part of the Appomattox Campaign, he leaped his horse over Confederate earthworks and captured two flags and was wounded.

--Old Secesh

Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Eugene Stocker, MD-- Part 1

From the Society of Cincinnati in the State of New Jersey.

I like to do RoadTrippin' Through History in these blogs and here is an example of it.  I was writing about a man named Anne-Louis Toussard (or Tousard) in my War of 1812 blog.  He was French consul in New Orleans in 1812 when a strong hurricane hit.  Further research on him showed that he played a major role fighting for the colonists in the American Revolution and because of it became a member of the Society of Cincinnati.

Go to my Not So Forgotten: War of 1812 blog July and August to read about Anne-Louis Toussard.

He had a grandson who fought in the Civil War and because of his relationship to Toussard, he also became a member of the Society of Cincinnati.

He was classified as a Hereditary Member, Admitted in 1888.

Grandson of propositus Anne-Louis de Toussard.  Born in Philadelphis, PA, on  5 March 1819 and died in Philadelphia, PA on 23 May 1897.

He began his Civil War service in the Army of the Potomac, 2nd Brigade of General McCall's Divivion from August 1861 to March 1862.

More.  --Old Secesh

RoadTripping with Charles Champion Gilbert to Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville--Part 1: Ali and Clark

Back to the McHenry County Civil War Round Table  discussion group meeting from October 23, 2021.  This is where all the Gilbert posts from the past month have come from.

He is buried at Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, Kentucky.  A glance at some of the other people buried there shows quite a few folks of interest.

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Some of the burials:

MUHAMMAD ALI  (1942-2016)  Heavy weight boxer.

HENRY ATKINSON  (1782-1842)  Officer in War of 1812.  Later commanded U.S. forces in the Black Hawk War.

GEORGE ROGERS CLARK  (1752-1818)  Ranking U.S.officer in the Old Northwest during American Revolution.  Noted for captures of Kaskaskia and Vincennes.

ALBERT FINK  (1827-1897)  Major railroad man.

--Old Secesh

Battle of Shepherdstown (Civil War) and Battle of Princeton (American Revolution)

I must admit that I was entirely unaware of this Battle before I wrote about it in this blog.  On the scale of the Battles of Antietam and Gettysburg, it was not a huge battle, but important in the Maryland Campaign.

The two commanders were Fitz John Porter for the Union and  William N. Pendleton on the Confederate side.

Casualties for the North were 366 (73 killed, 163 wounded and 132 captured or missing).  For the Confederacy 307 (36 killed,  267 wounded and 6 missing or captured).

From what I've read, this was not William Pendleton's proudest moment.

Of course, learning new stuff is a big reason I started this blog.

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BATTLE OF PRINCETON

This was a key battle during the American Revolution and, like with the case of the Battle of Shepherdstown, one that I was unaware of.  It was a follow up to George Washington's much more famous crossing of the Delaware River and surprising the British at Trenton the day after Christmas, December 26, 1776.  The Battle of Princeton took place January 3, 1777.

I have been writing about this one in my Cooter's History Thing blog.

Like I Said, I Do These Blogs to Learn Stuff.  --Old Secesh

About That Everett Gettysburg Address-- Part 4: Preparing for His Oration

Edward Everett's public service gave him many opportunities to demonstrate his power as a public speaker, and his orations became the stuff of legend.  He could hold forth for several hours with such skill and drama that listeners lost all track of time.  

After preparing meticulously  and producing a text for his speech, once at the odium, he set the manuscript aside and spoke from memory.  He had delivered memorable speeches commemorating Revolutionary battlefields at Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill; now he was expected to find the words to dignify and consecrate Gettysburg.

In the weeks before the dedication, he immersed himself in military reports, researching and reconstructing every aspect of the three-day battle so that he could recreate it, step by awful step, for his listeners.  He strove, as always, to be an accurate historian and to stir the emotions of the audience.

As was his habit,  he sought to elevate the oration by evoking connections to Greek antiquity.  On his lengthy speech. Everett  relived the battle and denounced the enemy. Many in the crowd were moved to tears.

--Old Secesh

Was Harley Wayne the Descendant of "Mad: Anthony Wayne?

In my last post, I wrote that the newspaper article said that Capt. Harley Wayne  was a descendant of an illustrious American Revolution officer Gem. "Mad" Anthony Wayne.  I decided to find out what that would be.

I found that he had an interesting story and I am thinking about writing about it in my Cooter's History Thing blog in the future.

From Wikipedia.

ANTHONY WAYNE (January 1, 1745-December 15, 1796)

Was an American soldier. officer, statesman of Irish descent.  He adopted a military career at the onset of the American Revolution exploits and fiery personality quickly earned him promotion to brigadier general and the nickname "Mad Anthony."

He later served as senior officer of the Army on the Ohio frontier and led the Legion of the United States.

--Old Secesh

Capt. Harley Wayne a Descendant of Gen. 'Mad' Anthony Wayne of American Revolution

From the May 30, 1987, Northwest Herald "Descendant of 'Mad' A.W.."

Captain Harley Wayne was the descendant of an illustrious military forbear.

"Mad" Anthony Wayne, chief of staff for Gen. George Washington, was Captain Wayne's grandfather.

"Mad" Anthony Wayne fought Indians after helping defeat the British during the American Revolution.

Fort Wayne, Indiana, is named after him.

Connie Parenti gave this information.  After looking into Harley Wayne's life, she also became interested in the Wayne genealogy.

--Old Secesh

Captain Harley Wayne-- Part 2: Co. D, 15th Illinois Infantry, Killed at Shiloh

Originally from New York, he lived well by pre-Civil War  standards.  He built the spacious Wayne House  in Union in 1857, owned 640 acres and ran a successful business.  He was also one of the first people to join the new Republican Party.

A strident abolitionist, he left it all, against his wife's wishes, and joined the Union Army when the Civil War broke out.  He joined the 15th Illinois Volunteer Infantry in Freeport, Illinois,  where the men of Company D elected him their captain.

The unit was in the first line of battle at Shiloh on April 6, 1862, and held its part of the line as the Ohio unit guarding its flanks broke and ran.  Wayne was one of the many officers of the 15th cut down in the fighting that ensued.

The battle cost  almost 24,000 casualties on both sides, or, in other words, more than the American Revolution,  War of 1812 and Mexican War combined.

Yet, there would be eight more Civil War battles with higher casualties.

--Old Secesh

Edward S. Bragg-- Part 5: Too Ill for Gettysburg

Colonel Edward Bragg became seriously ill after the Chancellorsville, possibly because of  the poor weather conditions during the battle, combined with an injury he received from being kicked by Major  John Hauser's horse.  He remained in his tent while attempting to recuperate, but in early June he was sent to a hospital in Washington, D.C..

While sick, he missed the entire Gettysburg Campaign, leaving the regiment under the command of Lt. Colonel Rufus Dawes.  Both Dawes and the regiment performed heroically on the First Day of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Rufus Dawes was the great grandson of William Dawes who warned the Massachusetts  Minutemen of the approach of the British prior to the Battles of Lexington and Concord.  He was one of several  men spreading the word, but Paul Revere is the one best-known for doing it.

Bragg attempted to rejoin his regiment in the days after Gettysburg but was too ill and had to return to medical care.

--Old Secesh

American Battlefield Trust, December 2020: Battle of Williamsburg-- Part 1

As a member of the American Battlefield Trust, I receive the  calendars.  This is from the 2021 calendar which had a preliminary page for December 2020.

Since the organization works to save American battlefields from the American Revolution, War of 1812 and Civil War, each month they feature a different battlefield with a full page current photo as well as information.  There is also writing on specific days telling what happened.

I didn't know they had December 2020 in it until I opened it up.

December featured  a picture of part of the Williamsburg, Virginia, battlefield by Robert James.

There was also a smaller picture of Prospect Hill at the Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania NMP, in Virginia by Chris Landon.

--Old Secesh

Preservation at Alabama's Fort Blakely-- Part 2: Sixty Acre Site

This newly acquired land is arguably the most important part of the whole battlefield as this is where the U.S. Colored Troops overran the Confederates.  The 60-acre site, known as Blakely Bluff is expected to contain valuable archaeological evidence related to the black experience.  The protection of this land will allow the University of South Alabama greater opportunities for field work at the site.

Writer Bill Finch who promotes Gulf Coast  conservation says:  "The involvement of black troops in critical U.S. battles like Fort Blakely  is largely untold.  Between the Revolution and the Civil War, more than 200,000 black troops fought for the U.S. prior to  being granted full citizenship.

"Today's accomplishment protects  one of the last critical pieces of  the war's most poignant battles,  prefiguring the nation's long battle for civil rights that followed.  The result is  one of the region's largest, best-preserved  and most significant Civil War parks."

This newly acquired land will reportedly restrict future development of the property as well.

Black troops also contributed to the Union victory at the Battle of Forks Road outside Wilmington, North Carolina in February 1865.

--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

The Tale of a Divided Kentucky Family Named Todd-- Part 1

From Find-A-Grave.

ROBERT SMITH TODD

Born 25 February 1791  Lexington, Kentucky

Died 17 July 1849 (age 58)  Liberty Heights, Kentucky

Buried   Lexington Cemetery, Lexington, Kentucky

War of 1812 veteran.  His father was an American Revolution veteran.

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SPOUSES

ELIZABETH ANN PARKER TODD   1794-1825  Married November 13, 1812.

ELIZABETH L. HUMPHREYS TODD  1800-1874  Married November 1, 1826.

Married twice.

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CHILDREN WITH FIRST WIFE:

ELIZABETH TODD  (1813-1888)  Married Ninian Edwards Jr., son of Illinois' first governor.  Buried Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield Illinois.  Did a lot to encourage Abraham Lincoln in politics and a member of the Long Nine with Lincoln which had the state capital moved to Springfield.

ROBERT SMITH TODD, JR.  (1814-1814)  Died in infancy.  Buried in Lexington Cemetery, Lexington, Ky.

LEVI OLDHAM TODD  (1816-1864)  Married Louise Searle and remained in Lexington until his death.  Buried Lexington Cemetery.

FRANCES JANE TODD WALLACE  (1817-1899)  Married Dr. William Smith Wallace. Buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery.   Lincoln family doctor.  Accompanied the Lincolns to Washington, D.C., in 1861, and was appointed paymaster in the Army.  Served in Missouri and later Mississippi.  Contracted dysentery from which he never fully recovered.

MARY ANN TODD (1818-1882)  Married Abraham Lincoln.  Buried Oak Ridge Cemetery.

ANNA MARIA TODD SMITH  (1820-1891) Buried Oak Ridge Cemetery.   Married Clark Moulton Smith, a successful merchant.

ROBERT PARKER TODD  (1821-1822)  Died in infancy.  Buried inLexington Cemetery.

GEORGE ROGERS CLARK TODD (1825-1900)  Confederate surgeon who served in a Confederate hospital in South Carolina.  Buried in Quaker Cemetery, Camden, South Carolina.

--Old Secesh

Happy July 2-- Part 2: Why the 4th and Not the 2nd?

John Adams correctly predicted a lot about how our nation's birthday would be celebrated, all these 243 years later.  But he was incorrect as to the day, which he figured would be July 2, the day the Congress voted on a resolution to form a new country out of British control.

"The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable epocha, in the history of America, Adams wrote.  "I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival."

So, our day of celebrations, not the six days before or two days after July 4, should actually have been celebrated this past Tuesday, not today on Thursday.  How did this come to be?  Why for two centuries has our country's birthday been celebrated on the 4th instead  of the 2nd?

Go to My Running the Blockade: Civil War Navy to Find Out Why on Part 3.  Also there you will find parts 4 and 5.  --Old Secesh

The American Battlefield Trust-- Part 1: Originally the APCWS and CWT

From Wikipedia.

The Civil War Trust (CWT) is now the American Battlefield Trust, a charitable organization whose primary focus is the preservation of American battlefields.  The reason for the change of name is that in 2014, the CWT expanded is goal to save American Revolution and War of 1812 battlefields.

The American Battlefield Trust is now the umbrella organization for the CWT and the Revolutionary War Trust.

But, the history of this new organization goes back farther than this.

With the creation of the founding organization, the Association for the Preservation of Civil War Sites (APCWS) in July 1987, the modern Civil War preservation movement began.  The APCWS acquired thousands of acres of battlefield land.

More to Come.  --Old Secesh

War of 1812 and American Revolution Battlefields Saved By the Civil War Trust

Theses are War of 1812 and Revolution battlefields saved by the Civil War Trust, or American battlefield Trust as it is now known.  These are in the Civil War Trust 2018 Calendar.

From December 14, 2018.

June:   SACKETS HARBOR   War of 1812    24 acres saved.  The successful acquisition of Horse Island near Sackets Harbor, M.Y., in 2017 marks a significant achievement for the Civil War Trust's Campaign 1776 initiative, as the 24 acre island was the first War of 1812 battlefield land to be preserved by the Trust.

Sackets Harbor is the site of the 1813 American victory that prevented a British invasion via Canada.  Not to mention its being a major American naval base.

Of course, I have a whole blog devoted to the War of 1812, so I am kind of interested in it.

September WAXHAES, South Carolina   American Revolution

December  BRANDYWINE, Pa.    American Revolution

Glad They Are Saving All American Battlefields Now.  --Old Sec1812Rev

Battle of Brandywine, American Revolution

From the December Civil War Trust 2018 calendar.

The Civil War Trust, long preserving Civil War battlefields, has expanded its mission to preserve all American battle fields.  They now strive to save battlefields of the American Revolution and the War of 1812.

BRANDYWINE, PENNSYLVANIA

10.4 acres saved.

On September 11, 1777, the rolling hills of the Pennsylvania countryside along Brandywine Creek became the scene of the largest battle of the American Revolution in terms of men engaged.

To date, the Trust's Campaign 1776 initiative has preserved 10.4 acres at the Brandywine battlefield, marking our first Revolutionary battlefield land saved in Pennsylvania.

--Old secesh

Kentucky's Clay Family in the Civil War

I have been writing about Green Clay in my Not So Forgotten:  The War of 1812 blog last month and this month.  He was a veteran of the American Revolution and a Kentucky militia general during the War of 1812 as well as one of the richest men in the state.  He owned thousands of acres of land, many slaves and several distilleries.

In addition to other Clays, including the famous Henry Clay, who were involved in both the American Revolution and War of 1812, there were Clays playing roles in the Civil War.

I'll be writing about the Clays with a Civil War connection here in the next several posts.

--Old Secesh

Beall Was First Spy Execution in Area Since Major Andre in the Revolution

From the February 25, 1865, New York Times.

On the execution of John Yates Beall.

"As far as we recall, this is the first execution of a spy in this department since the hanging of Maj. ANDRE, of the British Army, by order of GEORGE WASHINGTON."

Major Andre of the British Army was involved with the Benedict Arnold traitor situation.

John Andre was not hanged at Fort Columbus, though, but in Tappan, New York.

--Old Secesh