Bruce Allardice

Bruce Allardice joined the Chicago CWRT in 1987, has served as president of that group, and is currently president of the Northern Illinois CWRT.  They meet on the first Friday of the month in the Arlington Heights Memorial Library.  They also offer hybrid meetings with live and Zoom.

"The Civil War ended almost 160 years ago, and yet we are still talking about it," says Allardice.  "There's nothing comparable to CWRTs  with regard to World War I or II, even the Revolutionary War.  The issues are still with us."

One of his favorite battle site experiences was walking the path of Pickett's charge at Gettysburg, he remembers.

"It was a real revelation," he recalls.  "I don't know how the [Confederate] soldiers got as far as they did, advancing into those Union guns."

--Old Secesh

Civil War Artillery Shell Found at Gettysburg-- Part 2

Though rare, this is not the first time unexploded munitions have been recovered from the Gettysburg battlefield.  In August 2022, a 3-inch Hotchkiss shell was found lodged in  a historic building being  refurbished according to an Army statement.

Antique munitions  from various conflicts have been found across the United States and the world.

In February 2022,  archaeologists found  a ten pound shell at Kennesaw Mountain  Battlefield Park in Georgia.  

In December  2022, five construction workers were hospitalized after being exposed to gas released from striking a World War II-era phosphorous bomb while doing work  at Army Garrison Stuttgart in Germany.

--Old SeceshShell

Kentucky Campaign, 1862, Part 3: Future WW II Generals

8.  Two officers who fought at the Battle of Perryville were fathers of significant World War II generals.  Simon Buckner commanded a third of the Confederate Army and the 24th Wisconsin Infantry had Arthur McArthur.

Simon B. Buckner, Jr. was killed in WW II and the Wisconsin regiment had the father of Douglas MacArthur.  They were the only two father/son duos to ever receive the Medal of Honor.

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9.  Perryville Battlefield has maybe the first monument dedicated to Confederate dead paid for by the U.S. government.

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10.  Perryville State Battlefield Site was established on October 8, 1954, 92 years after the battle.  By 1952, the battle site had deteriorated badly and the Perryville Lions Club rehabilitated the small Confederate cemetery and surrounding area.

They got the Kentucky State Conservation Commission to create a state park that opened on October 8, 1952.

--Old Secesh

Roadtrippin' Thru History-- Part 5: A Famous Cavalry Unit and a Massacre

Spanish-American War

A famous cavalry unit

A  massacre

10-year-olds

World War I

World War II

Cold War

A weird U.S. Air Force base

A Civil War recruiting scam

A bank scam

One big-time retribution

Well, that pretty-well covers it.  Who wants to go Roadtrippin' Thru History with me?

Ready, Set, Go.  --Old Secesh

McHenry County CW Round Table Prisons Discussion-- Part 7

Continued from April 6, 2021.

Continued from the March meeting of the McHenry County Civil War Round Table discussion group.

**  Barracks were more often built in Northern prisons than Southern ones.

**  56,000 from both sides died in prisons.

**  13,000 alone died at Andersonville.

**  At Andersonville, one group of Union prisoners called the Raiders and Regulators were buried separately.  they were tried by the other prisoners and eight executed and others forced to "Run the Gauntlet."

**  In contrast, during World War II, German and Italian prisoners held in the United States had it made.

**  At Rock island, food was distributed to barracks and prisoners passed out proportions.

**  Boston Corban, who shot Booth, spent four months at Andersonville.

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The topic of discussion for April will be April/May 1865, which was a very important period of time in the war with the fall of Richmond, surrenders, assassination of Lincoln and hunt for Booth.  This was our first hybrid Live/Zoom meeting and it was a success with four in attendance and four more on Zoom, including one from Florida.

--Old Secesh

Henry Mack, Born a Slave, Served USCT-- Part 5: 'There's a Lot of Damn Good Fight in Me Yet!'

His second wife, Sadie Johnson, died in 1935.  Then in his nineties, Mack moved in with her son from a previous marriage and his wife, Clarence and Allie Johnson.  They regularly drove him to GAR meetings and Sunday services at Zion Baptist Church.

With the United States engaged in World War II, Mack was in his 100s when he climbed the stairs for the first time in years, loaded a shotgun and put on his Army jacket.

When his family members found him on a nearby porch, he was headed to an Army recruiting station.

Told that he was too old to go to war again, Mack said:  "There's a lot of damn good fight in me yet!"

--Old Secesh

Fort Wool During World War II-- Part 7

Again, anti-submarine nets were stretched across the harbor between Fort Wool and Fort Monroe.

Battery 229 with two 6-inch shielded guns on long range  carriages was constructed on a rebuilt Battery Horatio Gates from March 1943 to January 1944.  The work was completed and the shielded  carriages were installed; however, the gun tubes were not installed.

On 30 September 1943, the installation was  completed on an SCR-296A radar to provide fire control for Battery 229, which of course, was never needed.

The previous six-inch guns were scrapped in 1942-1943.  Battery Lee's  four 3-inch guns were transferred to Fort Story (across the bay by Virginia Beach), two each in 1942 and 1943.

In 1946, Battery Hindman's pair of three-inch guns were transferred to Fort Monroe as a saluting battery.

--Old Secesh

And a Big Thank You to All American Veterans: A WW II Sailor on the USS Oklahoma Laid to Rest Under His Own Name

Today marks a day that we give our thanks to those who put their lives on the line to keep us living as we do.

As such, all my blogs are devoted to thanks today.

From the Channel 10 Tampa Bay News  "Navy sailor from Florida killed in Pearl Harbor comes home nearly 80 years later."

Petty Officer 2nd Class James  M. Flanagan was killed  on board the USS Oklahoma on December 7, 1941, during the Japanese attack on the base.  He was 22 years old at the time.

The ship turned over after being hit with several torpedoes and many of the crew trapped.  It took the Navy until 1944 to upright the ship and recover the remains, which by that time were fairly disintegrated.  His body was one of those and he was buried on Oahu as an Oklahoma Unknown until recent DNA testing found his remains.

He was reburied under his name at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii.

His family in Jacksonville was unable to attend because of the virus, but will receive the flag that covered his casket.

Again, a Big Thank You to All American Veterans.

"Up the Street Came the Rebel Tread" and Winston Churchill

A little later today, I will write about Winston Churchill and FDR riding through Frederick, Maryland, in 1943 on their way to Shangri-La (now called Camp David).  Churchill was a huge fan of American history, of course, and wanted to see the home of Barbara Frietchie, because of that famous poem.

It is an interesting story, so check it out in my Tattooed On Your Soul: World War II blog.

"Shoot If You Must...."  --Old Secesh

Two Old Soldiers Greet FDR at Antietam's 75th Anniversary-- Part 2

Judging by today's climate, the Hagerstown (Md.) Morning-Herald was a bit off  when it reported:  "The bitterness of 75 years ago has disappeared and frequently men who fought for the South were seen arm in arm with soldiers of the North.

"Eagerly the old soldiers, all past four score and ten. watched the re-enactment of the Bloody Lane phase of the Battle of Antietam over the ground which many of them had traveled as young warriors three-quarters of a century ago.  It was a day of pleasure for these aged men and after the program was concluded many of them expressed themselves as  delighted with their visit here."

It was something to see men who had at one time fought against each other, now on a friendly basis.  That is one thing that always struck me after the war, was how the former enemies mostly made up and continued on their paths through their life.

Too bad this isn't happening today.  That bitterness is apparent everywhere these days with certain people doing their best to bury the old Confederacy.

By the way, four score and ten would be 90 years old.

Of course, this is also of interest as we are going through the 75th anniversary of World War II.

--Old Secesh

Johnston's River Line Defense, Atlanta-- Part 2: Comparable to France's Maginot Line

Before I read about it in the article I used in my other blog, I had never heard of this Line before, even though I lived outside of Atlanta for awhile.  So, this is all new to me.

It must have been quite an impressive fortification as the Wikipedia article says it is often compared to the French Maginot Line built prior to World War II.  Today, it is part of the River Line Historic Area and the Chattahoochee  River Line Battlefield.  It consists of the remains of Confederate battlements including  unique fortifications called Shoupades, named after their designer, Confederate Brigadier General Francis A. Shoup.

The remnants are spread out over an approximately six-seven mile stretch  along the northwest side of the river from a point just north of where Nickajack Creek joins he Chattahoochee in Mableton to north of South Atlanta Road in Smyrna/Vinings.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 5, 1973.  Although many of the remains are on private property, visitors can access the site off U.S. 78 in Mableton, and off S.R.  280 and S. Atlanta Road in Smyrna/Vinings.

--Old Secesh

An Added Little Nugget for Col. William Robert Greer and a Roadtrip Through History-- Part 1: A War of 1812 Trip

As I usually do when I come across names while researching a topic, I look them up to see if there is any more information as part of my Roadtrip Through History and I found a piece of information about this man that really made my day.  He was the featured speaker at the dedication of Charleston's "Defenders of Charleston" statue in 1932.  At the time, he was the last living of those defenders who held onto Fort Sumter during the tremendous Union attacks in 1863.

Right now, I am doing research on the disappearance of Theodosia Burr Alston in my Not So Forgotten War of 1812 blog.  And with a middle name like Burr, well, I just had to know.  Aaron Burr?  That scamp of American history who killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel, had been a former U.S. vice president and later attempted to cause a rebellion in the South?  That Burr?  Well, she was his daughter.

I arrived at the name Theodosia while researching about the HMS Nimrod which captured a whole lot of American ships during the War of 1812 and bombarded two Massachusetts towns.  There had been an earlier HMS Nimrod (1799) which had formerly been a French privateer, was taken into British service, which had captured a French privateer in 1807.  This one was also taken into British service  as the HMS Venturer which later had its name changed to HMS Theodosia.  This was why I came across the name Theodosia and how I ended up with Burr's daughter.

I also found out that there was a HMS Venturer submarine during WW II, that became the first submarine to sink another submarine (a German U-boat) with a torpedo while both were submerged.  I wrote about this in my Tattooed On Your Soul: World War II blog.

And, Theodosia, Burr's daughter, disappeared while on a ship during the War of 1812, and to this day, no one knows what happened to her.  I have been writing about her and her disappearance in that blog.

Now, yesterday,  I found out that she had a song about her in the popular musical "Hamilton."  I didn't see it, so this was news to me.  In it, Aaron Burr sang to his just-born daughter while Alexander Hamilton sang to his just-born son, Philip.  Both saw great things in store for their progeny.  The song was "Dear Theodosia."

But, as I said, Theodosia disappeared and Philip Hamilton was killed in a duel three years before his dad met a similar fate.  And, I found out that both Hamiltons were killed at the same place.

This is what my Roadtrippin' Through History is all about.  I start at one place and see where it takes me.

And, you're probably wondering about that nugget of information I found out about Col. William Robert Greer.  Well, I found out this information by Roadtrippin'.  You'll have to wait until the next post.

And, I wonder why it takes me so long to do these blogs.

A Road Tripping Through History I Go.  Or, If Your Name Is Hamilton, Don't Duel.  --Old Secesh

Calvin Crane Dies, Last SCV Real Son-- Part 2: His Father, James Crane, Married Twice and Had 21 Children

James Crane fathered 16 children with his first wife, who died around 1900.  He was in his 50s when he married his second wife, Annie Eanes, 18.  She had grown up an orphan and lived on a farm near Danville.  Calvin was her youngest of five children by James and was born February 27, 1917.

Gerald Via, a member of the Fincastle Rifles, Sons of Confederate veterans (SCV), confirmed that  Calvin was the last known living Real Son of a Confederate soldier.

I am a member of the SCV, but not as a Real Son.  I am in the organization because of my great great grandfather.

Mr. Crane served in WW II  and won two Bronze Stars while serving in North Africa and Europe in an armored division.  After the war, he moved to Roanoke and worked with an uncle in the dry-cleaning business before joining the maintenance department of the Roanoke post office.

--Old Secesh

Calvin Crane Dies, Believed to Be Last Remaining Confederate Real Son-- Part 1

From the September 19, 2019, Roanoke (Va.) Times "Roanoke man was last Real Son of a Confederate veteran" by Ralph Berrier Jr.

Calvin Crane served in the U.S. Army in World War II and received two Bronze Stars for valor in North Africa and Europe.  He is also believed to be the last Real Son of a Confederate soldier.He died Sunday, September 15, 2019, at the age of 102.

As the Real Son designation in the Sons of Confederate veterans designates that he is an actual son of a Confederate soldier.  And that is a really amazing thing to think about.

His father was James Anthony Crane, a Confederate soldier from Pittsylvania County, Virginia.  During the Civil War, he served with Ringgold Battery, Battery B of the 13th Battalion, Virginia Light Artillery.  He served through the whole war after enlistment.

After the war, he married twice and fathered  21 children before dying around 1918, when Calvin was just a year old.  Calvin never knew much about his father other than he liked to hunt  and that he was old when Calvin was born.

This Is A Real Connection With History.  --Old Secesh

D-Day 75th Anniversary: Canadians At Juno Beach Captured the Most Territory That Day

12.  CANADIAN TROOPS AT JUNO BEACH CAPTURED THE MOST TERRITORY.

Canadian soldiers at Juno Beach also suffered terrible casualties, battling heavy seas before landing on a heavily defended strip of shoreline.  Similar to the Americans at Omaha Beach, the first waves of Canadian troops were mowed down en masse by German artillery.   Estimates put the losses then at nearly fifty percent.

The Canadians persisted, however, and pushed on beyond the beachfront and pursuing retreating Germans inland.  In the end, the Canadians at Juno Beach captured more towns and territory than any other battalions in Operation Overlord.

You can read all fifteen D-Day facts in this blog and my June 6-8 Civil War Navy and RoadDog's RoadLog blogs.

D-Day 75th Anniversary: Toughest Fighting on Omaha Beach

12.  THE TOUGHEST FIGHTING WAS ON OMAHA BEACH.

At Omaha Beach, bombing runs had failed to take out heavily fortified German positions.  The first waves of Americans going ashore were cut down in droves by German machine guns as they crossed the mine-riddled beach.

But, U.S. forces persisted in the day-long slog, pushing forward to a fortified seawall and then up steep bluffs to take out the German artillery posts by nightfall.  All told, about 2,400 American troops were killed, wounded or unaccounted for after the fighting on Omaha Beach

D-Day 75th Anniversary: Dress Rehearsal Was a Disaster

5.   A D-DAY DRESS REHEARSAL WAS A FIASCO.

Two months before D-Day, Allied forces conducted a disastrous dress rehearsal of the Normandy invasion  on an evacuated  English beach called Slapton Sands.  Known as "Exercise Tiger,"  749  U.S. troops lost their lives after a fleet of German E-Boats caught wind of the mock invasion and torpedoed American tank landing ships.

Survivors described the "Exercise Tiger" fiasco as more terrifying than the D-Day landing on Omaha Beach.

D-Day 75th Anniversary: The "Phantom Army"

ALLIED FORCES CARRIED OUT A MASSIVE DECEPTION CAMPAIGN IN ADVANCE OF D-DAY.

The idea behind the ruse was to trick the Germans into thinking  that the invasion would occur at Pas-de-Calais, the closest French coastline to England.    The Allies used fake  radio transmissions, double agents and even a "phantom army," commanded by American general George S. Patton, to throw the Germans off what was really going to happen.

Many of the tanks, cannons and vehicles German reconnaissance spotted were actually blow up balloons.

D-Day 75th Anniversary: What Does D-Day Actually Mean?

Seventy-five years ago, Allied forces attacked German defenses along the French coast at Normandy.  This was a major turning point of World War II and world history.

I  will be writing about this in the next three posts in all of my blogs.

From the History site. "D-Day:  Facts on the epic 1944 invasion that changed  the course of WW II" by Dave Roos.

On June 6, 1944,  more than 156,000 American, British and Canadian troops stormed fifty miles of Normandy's heavily defended beaches.

1.  D-DAY MEANING:  THE 'D' IN D-DAY DOESN'T ACTUALLY STAND FOR ANYTHING.

Unlike V-E DAY  (Victory in Europe) and V-J DAY  (Victory Over Japan), the "D" in D-Day isn't short for "departure" or "decision."  As early as World War I, the U.S. military used the term D-Day to designate the launch date of a mission.

One reason was to keep the date questionable for the enemy and another was to be a place-holder until an actual date was chosen.

The Saga of Col. Ulric Dahlgren's Leg-- Part 3:

Despite the amputation, Ulric Dahlgren later returned to action, promoted to the rank of colonel while convalescing, he left his sick bed to lead a daring but controversial and ill-fated 1864 attack on Richmond.

His stump had not yet hardened enough to attach a wooden leg, so Dahlgren rode with his right thigh lashed to the saddle and crutches attached to the side of his horse..

He was killed when Confederate troops ambushed his detachment.

And, what about his leg?

The foundry was torn down after World War II, but the leg was not found.  The plaque was moved to another building.

So, Leg, Leg, Who's Got the Leg.  --Old Secesh