Bruce Allardice and the Northern Illinois CWRT

Bruce Allardice is a recently retired history professor from South Suburban College in South Holland, Illinois.  He is the author of five books on the Civil War and a frequent presenter at CWRTs (Civil War Round Table) throughout the northern Illinois area.

"I've tried to visit all Illinois round tables," says Allardice.  "I finally spoke at Rock River Valley (CWRT) in July 2022 and again in August 2023."

Allardice's great-grandfather served as a lieutenant in the 113th Illinois Infantry during the Civil War, and he frequently saw his presentation sword when visiting his grandparents as a child.

"He was overage and sickly the whole time," says Allardice, "and his regimental commander called him the worst officer in his command."

Nice Guy.  --Old Secesh

Robert Girardi: Author and Presenter

The author of nine books, Robert Girardi says he is primarily interested in the Western Theater, railroads, logistics and engineers.  He will discuss Civil War engineers with the RRVCWRT on August 5.

"I am currently working on a biography of Gen. G.K. Warren, the 'Savior of Little Round Top' [at the Battle of Gettysburg].  There is a monument to him there," Girardi says.  

"He was later sacked by Sheridan after the Battle of Five Forks, allegedly for moving too slow.  I don't think he's been given his due."

Had Warren not realized the importance of the Little Round Top, the outcome of the battle might have been different.

Girardi understands the convenience of having CWRT programs on Zoom, but he prefers to make his presentations in person.

"I enjoy the fellowship of people who share a love f history, he says.  "W can talk about divisive issues but still go home as friends."

--Old Secesh

Six Confederate Generals Born in Kershaw County, South Carolina

From carolana.com.

Major General Joseph B.  Kershaw

Brigadiers

James Cantey

James Chesnut Jr.  Wife was Mary Chesnut who wrote the famous diary.

Zachariah C. Deas

John Doby Kennedy 

John Bordenave Villepigue

Old Secesh

MCCWRT October Meeting: Charlie Banks on Herman Haupt

The McHenry County (Illinois) Civil War Round Table (MCCWRT) met Tuesday, October 11 at the Woodstock Public Library.

Round Table News:

**  The MCCWRT attended the Civil War Show in Naperville last month and sold a whole lot of books (with the money going to out student scholarship).  We made $835 and $350 went to other vendors (we were selling them for a real good price).

**  Next month's meeting will not be on Tuesday, November 8 because of elections (voting will be at the library).  Instead, we will meet at 7 pm on Wednesday, November 9.

**  We will be providing Civil War speakers at McHenry County College for their continuing education retired program.  The programs will be on Thursdays at 1 pm.

**  There will be a Civil War living history program at Hainesville, Illinois, this weekend.  There will be Union and Confederate reenactors and the Battle of Shiloh will be recreated.  Lincoln, Grant will be speaking as well as others.  There will be a medical display and an embalmer.

--Old Seceh

Ten Civil War Generals Who Were Famous for Other Things-- Part 1

From the June 29, 2022, ListVerse by David Williams.

They achieved something more than just "being" a general.  Interesting list.  I am just doing the names and what else they did.  For more information, go to the site.  Pictures as well.

10.  Lewis Wallace (Union)--  Wrote "Ben-Hur:  A Tale of the Christ."

9.  Lawrence Sullivan Ross (Confederate)--   As sheriff of Waco, Texas, arrested 700 outlaws, was governor and saved Texas A&M.

8.  Jefferson Columbus Davis  (Union)--  Besides having the same name (except middle) as the Confederate president, killed another Union General but not prosecuted.

7.  Benjamin McCullough  (Confederate)--  Friend of Davy Crockett.  Fought for Texas independence.  Killed at Battle of Pea Ridge in 1862.

--Old Secesh

Gen. Grant Speaks-- Part 5: A World Tour and Broke

After he left the president's office, he and Mrs. Grant took a two-year tour around Europe.

But, in 1880, he lost all his money on a ponzi scheme.  In 1883, he found that he had throat cancer,  His friend Mark Twain came up with the idea that he write his memoirs to raise money.

He finished the the two-part book just three days before he died.

--Old Secesh

McHenry County CW Round Table Discussion Group This Saturday

And, it will be an in person meeting.

The McHenry County (Illinois) Civil War Round Table Discussion Group will be meeting Saturday, August 28 at the Crystal Lake (Illinois) Panera Bread Co. at US-14 (Northwest Highway) and Main Street from 10 am to noon

The topic will be "Civil War  Print Show and Tell" with  Civil War era newspapers,  letters, books, posters etc.

This is a first-time for this topic so should be interesting.

Come on by even if you're not a member.

Everyone is welcome for some good discussion and possibly debate.

--Old Secesh

Two Books Written About the 15th Illinois Infantry

I found that two books have been written about the 15th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment.  And one of them concentrates on Company D.

"The Gallant  15th of Illinois"  (2019) by Betty Obendorf and Kathy Pasch.

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

"Army Memoirs of Lucius W. Barber, Company 'D', 15th Illinois Volunteer Infantry"  (1894)  by Lucius W. Barber.

--Old Secesh

Oh, Those Civil War Generals-- Part 5: About All Those 'Brevets'

Notes on Bruce Allardice's figures already printed:

**  More modern research shows that Ezra Warner in his book "Generals in Gray" missed the prewar state militia service and military school attendance of a number of Southern generals.

**  An additional 1,400 Union officers were made "brevet" generals.  Under law, a "brevet" rank entitled an officer to command as a general, without the substantive rank of general.  In practice, most of the promotions to "brevet" general were made after the war (some as late as 1869), to honor and reward their wartime service at a lesser rank.

I found this especially true when going through a list of Union veterans who were buried in a Chicago cemetery and found a whole lot of colonels who had been brevetted to brigadier general.

**  Warner also excludes many officers promoted to general in one fashion or another, but for whom proof of appointment is/was lacking.

--Old Secesh

MCCWRT Prisons Discussion-- Part 3: A 'Gone With the Wind' Connection and Rock Island

The character Ashley Wilkes in "Gone With the Wind" was supposedly held at Rock Island Prison. He said that three quarters of the men who were sent there never came out alive. 

One of our members had just finished reading a book on the Rock Island Prison called "Rebels at Rock Island:  The Story of a Civil War Prison" by Benton McAdams.  He separated truth from fiction in regards to this prison that held tens of thousands of Confederate prisoners.

Rock Island was not without its problems-- mean punishments,  inadequate facilities,  malnutrition and a lack of basic  supplies.  But officers sought to maintain humane conditions as much as they could.

We have two Sons of Confederate Veteran Camps in Illinois which are named after two of the prison camps.

One is in the Chicago area and is called the Camp Douglas Camp, SCV.

The other is in Rockford and called the Rock Island Memorial Prisoner of War Camp.

--Old Secesh

More Comments On 'Beast' Butler-- Part 5: About Butler's 'Powder Ship' and the Trent Affair

We had one person there who was very knowledgeable about Benjamin Butler and  said he had at one time been gathering information to write a book about said person.

**  Lincoln did not speak with his first vice president, Hannibal Hamlin.

**  Butler's "powder ship" experiment was worth the shot.  The Navy had a ship it was no longer using, plus lots and lots of gunpowder.  It was worth a shot.

**  Of interest, Admiral Porter was sure a backer of this plan until it didn't work.  Then he said he knew it wouldn't work.

**  Butler defended Sutter at Sutter's Mill in California for ownership of the gold found there that sparked all that 49-er rush.

**  In the Trent Affair, former President Millard Fillmore played a huge role in keeping Britain out of the war.  He wrote a letter to Lincoln and Queen Victoria.  The Union paid $50,000 in gold and released the Confederate commissioners.

**  Butler also defended the people arrested in Chicago's Haymarket Square Riot.

--Old Secesh

Major John Johnson Makes Corrections in Second Printing of His Book "Defense of Charleston..."

The first printing ran out in just six months.

Omissions he wanted to correct:

**  The Confederate transport Marion sunk by a torpedo while placing then in the Ashley River on April 6, 1863.

**  The statement that the finding of the "fish" Confederate torpedo boat, alongside the wreck of her victim, the U.S. sloop of war "Housatonic" is not a certified fact.

**  The captured gunboat "Isaac Smith" afterwards known as the "Stono" by the Confederates,  was lost in attempting to run the blockade.

**  The attack on the Pawnee and Marblehead gunboats  on the Stono River m July 16, 1863,  there were engaged four rifled guns of the siege train (Palmetto Guards) Capt. B.C. Webb, , besides the artillery mentioned.

**  The average range of all (Union) batteries at the reduction of Fort Pulaski, Ga., was 2,559 yards, though the actual breaching was done at  at 1,700 yards.

--Old Secesh

Major John Johnson Obituary-- Part 2: Sheathed His Confederate Sword and Drew His Sword for the Lord

It is fortunate that the defense of Fort Sumter has had an eminently fair, impartial, unimpassioned  and scientific history from both contestants --  Gilmore writing  as to the attack and Johnson as to the defense.  Major Johnson's most valued historic contribution is remarkable  in its entire accuracy, its completeness of detail, and, above all, for the supreme modesty of its author.

Forever the name of Major John Johnson will be linked with the fame of the historic defense of Fort Sumter.

After sheathing in honor his Confederate sword, he drew bright and fair the sword of the Lord, and for many years the beloved rector of St. Philips Church, Charleston.  Brave in the struggle of life, consistent in every action, persistent in every duty, loving and tender  to all around him, he was in a long life of peace devoted to all that was pure, lofty, and enobling as true as when, amidst war's alarums  (old word for alarm),  he was coolly and skillfully rebuilding the ramparts of Fort Sumter.

--Old Secesh

Major John Johnson-- Part 6: Surrendered With Johnston, Religious Pursuits and a Book

John Johnson was promoted to Major of Engineers in October 1864.  Upon recovering from his wounds, he joined Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's army in eastern North Carolina and took part in the battles of Averasboro and Bentonville.  He was paroled as senior officer of engineers at the surrender of the army at Greensboro in April 1865.  (Probably Johnston's surrender at Bennett Place in Durham, N.C..)

After the war, he resumed his ministerial studies  and in January 188, was ordained  to the Episcopal ministry and assumed charge of Grace Church in Camden, South Carolina.  In 1871, he returned to Charleston and became assistant minister of St. Philip's Episcopal Church.  he was made rector the following year, at age 43, and served in that capacity for the next 34 years.

In July 1890 he published his work "The Defense of Charleston Harbor, Including Fort Sumter and Adjacent Islands 1863-1865."  This book received high commendation from the best literary and military critics.

In the summer of 1891,  he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee,  and a few years later the College of Charleston conferred on him the degree of LL.D..

The Reverend John Johnson died  in Charleston at age 78 on April 7, 1907, the 44th anniversary of his posting to  Fort Sumter.  he was survived by his wife of  of 42 years, Floride Canteyand eight children.  he is buried at St. Philip's Church Cemetery..

--Old Secesh

Major John Johnson of Fort Sumter-- Part 3: Also Saw Service at Wilmington

From the Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie NPS.

Joined Confederate Army in 1862 and rose through ranks from lieutenant, captain to major in the Corps of Engineers.  Saw service at Savannah, Wilmington (another Fort Fisher-Wilmington person) and especially noted for his time in Charleston and at Fort Sumter.

He was twice wounded at Fort Sumter  where he served as engineer in charge for the 15th months of the severest Union bombardment of that place.

Survived the war and authored "The Defense of Charleston Harbor, Including  Fort Sumter and Adjacent Islands 1863-1865."  It was published in 1890 and is still considered the one of the best historical and technically detailed accounts of that bombardment.

--Old Secesh

Major John Johnson, Fort Sumter Defender of Charleston-- Part 2: Of Engineers and the Church

The Rev. John Johnson, rector emeritus of St. Philips Episcopal Church in Charleston, Confederate Major of Engineers in charge at Fort Sumter,  and author of "The Defense of Fort Sumter" and other historical works, died last night at the age of 78.

He studied civil engineering, to which for ten years he devoted his energies in railroad constructing and other large engineering work throughout South Carolina.  In 1853, he published the largest map of this state ever undertaken.

In 1860, he studied for the ministry at the Camden University in South Carolina, but at the outbreak of the war, he entered the engineering  corps of the Southern army  with the rank of Lieutenant of Engineers and rose rapidly through the ranks to major of Engineers.

He was mostly engaged  on the fortifications of several towns and was at Fort Sumter for fifteen months of its bombardment.  During this time, he was wounded twice by shells which left him crippled for life.

After the war, he was paroled as senior officer in the engineers and resumed his his ministerial studies, being ordained in 1866.   In 1872, he was appointed rector of St.Philips.

--Old Secesh

Who Was Elodie Todd?

From the February 2018 Civil War Times "I do not think of peace" by Susannah J. Ural.

Elodie Todd was a native Kentuckian and was stunned when Confederate officer Nathaniel Dawson proposed marriage just before his company left Selma, Alabama, for Virginia.   She was 12 years his junior and wasn't sure her family would accept, especially since she barely knew Nathaniel.  They kept up a steady stream of letters from April 1861 to April 1862.  The last two posts were taken from her letters to him.

The letters offer insights into the war and, especially her family.  Being from a border state, Kentucky, her family was split as well.  Five of her siblings supported the Union while nine, including herself, supported the Confederacy.

One of her siblings was none other than First Lady of the United States, Mary Todd Lincoln, a half sister.

The letters between Nathaniel Dawson and Elodie have been published  in "Practical Strangers:  The Courtship Correspondence of Nathaniel Dawson and Elodie Todd, Sister of Mary Todd Lincoln."

Her father, Robert Smith Todd, remarried after his first wife, and Mary Todd Lincoln's mother, Elizabeth Ann Parker Todd, died in 1825.

--Old Secesh

Wisconsin Pearl Harbor Survivor Will Lehner Writes a Book About It

From December 6, 2019, WXOW 19, ABC News "Wisconsin Pearl Harbor survivor to release book detailing  his life story" by Kevin Millard.

Will Lehner, 98, a prominent central Wisconsin World War II veteran planes to release his book "Legacy of a Pearl Harbor Survivor" on Saturday.  A good day to do the release.  He had help writing it from Patty Drier over 8 months.

He joined the Navy at age 17 and was later stationed at Pearl Harbor.  "I was at Pearl when the war started."  And, you could say he was there for the first shot of the war for the United States.  Aboard the destroyer USS Ward, his ship attacked a Japanese submarine attempting to enter the harbor.

The confrontation took place several hours before the Japanese planes attacked.   That submarine was found in 2002 by deep sea diver Terry Kirby and Lehner went to Pearl Harbor to go down 1200 feet to view it.  "When I saw that submarine, the hair on the back of my neck stood up," said Lehner.
After Pearl Harbor, he took part in many Pacific Campaigns and battles until diagnosed with battle fatigue between 1944 and 1945.

--GreGen

John M. Branum, 98th Ohio-- Part 2: His Book

Evidently, there is a book of his letters written home from the war.

Branum, J.M.  "Letters of Lieut. J.M. Branum from the 98th Ohio Vol. Inf."  (New Castle, Pa. Warnock Brothers.) 1897.

Currently unavailable at Amazon.

--Old Secesh

Elijah Haines Tasted the Ups and Downs of Politics

From the August 7, 1994, Chicago Tribune by Marc Davis.

This was one really busy man in the early days of Lake County, Illinois.  He was a lawyer, writer, book and newspaper publisher, surveyor, school teacher, politician, justice of the peace, state legislator, speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives and Founder of lake County's first village, Hainesville (named after him).

He was also a historian and author of scholarly  volumes, including "The Past and Present of Lake County, Illinois, Illustrated," published in 1877.  Another of his books, "The American Indian," published in 1888 is a book on their character, languages and traditions which he studied extensively.

He also founded one of Lake County's first weekly newspapers, The Patriot, and one of the state's first legal newspapers, The Legal Advisor, were published by him.

Elijah Haines was born in Oneida County, New York, April 21, 1822,  and came with his family in 1835 to Chicago and then moved to Lake County a year later.  Admitted to the Illinois Bar in 1851, he practiced law in Waukegan and in 1860 opened an office in Chicago, but continued living in Waukegan.

Among his earliest publishing efforts was a compilation of Illinois township laws.  Elected to the legislature originally as a Republican in 1858,  he drifted from them and served several terms as an independent.  Served as Speaker of the House in Illinois in 1875 and 1885.

At that point, his political star began to fall with once-ardent supporters accusing him of "arbitrary and unjust"  decisions.  He died in Waukegan in 1889.

--Old Secesh