Adele Cutts Douglas-- Part 2: A Second Marriage

Adele was just twenty when she first met the widowed Stephen Douglas.  Though he was more than twice her age (she was born in 1835 and he was born in 1813) they courted briefly and were married in a Catholic ceremony in November 1856.

She had a transforming effect on the somewhat disheartened  Illinois senator and their house became a center for the Washington, D.C., social scene.

She was at his side during the famous Lincoln-Douglas Debates in Illinois and the presidential campaign that followed in 1860.

When Douglas died in Chicago in June 1861, Adele never entertained again and went into extended mourning.

Following the Civil War she met and married a Union career officer from Virginia named Robert Williams. (He was born in 1829) She then took on the life of an Army wife.

She had a miscarriage and lost a baby daughter when she was married to Douglas.  With Williams, she reared six children during his long career which ended in 1893 as Adjutant General of the Army.

Adele died at her home in Washington in January 1899 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

--Old Secesh

This Month in the Civil War: Abraham Lincoln Elected and Reelected, Battles of Port Royal, Sherman Burns Atlanta and Departs on March to the Sea

From the November 2022 American Battlefield Trust calendar.

NOVEMBER 6, 1860

**  Abraham Lincoln elected 16th President of the United States.

NOVEMBER 7, 1861

**  The Battle of Port Royal Sound, Soutn Carolina.

NOVMBER 8, 1864

**  President Lincoln reelected.

NOVEMBER 12, 1864

**  USA General William T. Sherman's federal troops burn the city of Atlanta, Georgia.

NOVEMBER 15, 1864

**  USA General William T. Sherman departs Atlanta to begin March to the Sea.

--Old Secesh

Civil War Events in November: Lincoln's Elections, Port Royal Sound, Burning Atlanta, March to the Sea Begins

1860

NOVEMBER 6

Abraham Lincoln elected 16th President of the United States.

1861

NOVEMBER 7

Battle of Port Royal Sound, South Carolina.

1864

NOVEMBER 8

President Lincoln reelected

1864

NOVEMBER 12

U.S. General William T. Sherman's Federal troops burn the city of Atlanta, Georgia.

1864

NOVEMBER 16

Gen. William T. Sherman's army departs Atlanta to begin March to the Sea.

--Old Secesh

Stephen A. Douglas After the 1860 Election

From Wikipedia.

After the election defeat, Douglas returned to the U.S. Senate, where he sought to prevent the break-up of the United States.  He joined a special committee of 13 senators led by John J. Crittenden which sought a legislative solution  to the increasing sectional divide between the North and the South.

He supported the Crittenden  Compromise, which called for a series of Constitutional amendments that would make the Missouri Compromise a part of that document, but this was defeated in committee.

As late as Christmas 1860, he wrote  Alexander H. Stephens and offered support to the idea of making Mexico as a slave territory to prevent secession.

But, South Carolina voted to secede on December 20, 1860, and by mid-January 1861 another five Southern states had done likewise.  In February, Jefferson Davis took the office of President of the Confederate States of America.

--Old Secesh

Stephen A. Douglas Tomb-- Part 5: His Tomb and Memorial in Chicago

From Wikipedia.

The Stephen A. Douglas Tomb and Memorial, also referred to as the Stephen Douglas Monument Park is located in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago (primarily Black). It is near the site of the Union Army's training camp and Confederate prisoner of war camp known as Camp Douglas.

The memorial is a 96-foot tall granite structure comprising three  circular bases and a  20-foot diameter octagonal mausoleum which holds Douglas'  sarcophagus.  Four figures portraying Illinois, History, Justice and Eloquence are at the four corners of the mausoleum.  A ten-foot statue of Douglas stands at the top of the  46-foot column of white marble from his native state of Vermont,

Douglas is probably best known for his series of debates with Abraham Lincoln in 1858 and his run for presidency in 1860.  However, he died soon after the Civil War began on June 3, 1861, from typhoid fever.

--Old Secesh

Sure Was Nice to Get Together With Civil War Folk Again-- Part 2: Illinois' Stephen Douglas

Actually, I should say that this "road trip" to Algonquin was the farthest I've been from home since March 4, when we went to DeKalb, Illinois, for the NIU basketball game.  This trip clocked in at an astounding 20.4 miles.

Back to the 1860 presidential election.  A lot of today's hatred of Stephen Davis among certain folk revolves about his being a slave owner.  I didn't know he owned slaves.  How could he own slaves if he lived in the Free State of Illinois which allowed no slaves?

His original last name was Douglass with a second letter "s", but he dropped it in 1846.  No one knows for sure why, but that was a year after Frederick Douglas published his first autobiography.

ABOUT THOSE SLAVES

In 1847 he married Martha Martin, daughter of the wealthy Robert Martin of North Carolina.  A year after they were married, Martha's father died and he had bequeathed her a 2,500-acre cotton plantation in Mississippi which was worked by 100 slaves.

So that was how he got the slaves.  But if her father lived in North Carolina, how did he get a large plantation in Mississippi?

Well, Anyway.  --Old Secesh

Sure Was Nice to Get Together With Civil War Folk Again-- Part 1: First MCCWRT Discussion Group Meeting Since February

This past Saturday morning, the McHenry Civil War Round Table (MCCWRT) discussion group held its first meeting since February and it was like old times, other than everyone agreeing to wear masks whenever we weren't eating or drinking at the Panera Bread store in Algonquin, Illinois.

It was even worth putting up with that horrible traffic on Randall Road and the choker at Randall and Algonquin roads.  We had been in the midst of a heat wave at the time, but at least it was breezy enough that I wasn't any worse for wear for it.

It was at least a step toward normalcy and I do love my history groups.  I love anything history.

The topic was about Lincoln's two presidential elections in 1860 and 1864.  Appropriate because of the election coming up in November.  A big factor in Lincoln's victory in 1860 was the Democratic party being essentially split into three groups.

Not much was said about the current situation with Confederate monuments other than that one of Lincoln's opponents in that election was Stephen Douglas and that things are happening to his statue and the name of Douglas Park in Chicago, named for him, is about to be changed to Douglass Park, to be named after Frederick Douglass.

Let's Talk Real Civil War History.  --Old Secesh

Reopening for This!!! MCCWRT Discission Group Will Be Meeting This Saturday!!!

I have just about gotten caught up with all of the things happening in the new Civil War in my Civil War II:  The Continuing War of the Confederacy blog, so hope to have some more time so maybe I can get back to the real Civil War in this blog.

And this is some really good news.

For the first time since February, our McHenry County Civil War Round Table (MCCWRT) discussion group will be holding a get-together in this CV pandemic.  We will be meeting at a different site and will be outside and masked as well as social distanced.

Hopefully it won't be too hot (though forecasts call for mid-90s and rain), but, hey, those guys back in the 1860s had to be outside in that kind of weather (and in wool uniforms), so, if they could do it, so can we.

We will be at:

PANERA BREAD ALGONQUIN, Illinois

451 S. Randall Road (Randall and Huntington Drive)

Saturday, July 25

10 A.M. to Noon

This month's topic:

LINCOLN'S 1860 AND 1864 ELECTIONS

Where there's always good discussion and debate.

Also, there is a White Castle and a Half-Price Books nearby, two of my favorite places.

Happy Days Are Back (Well, As Happy As They Can Be With the Pandemic and Confederadication)  --Old Secesh

10 Facts About Phil Sheridan-- Part 1: Born in Albany, New York?

From the October 7, 2016, All Over Albany "10 facts about Philip Sheridan, whose  statue has stood in front of the state Capitol for 100 years."

The statue of a mounted General Philip Sheridan that stands in front of New York's State Capitol  was unveiled 100 years earlier on October 7, 1916.  But, it is felt that most people in Albany couldn't tell you much about the general.

Well, here are ten things:

1.  HE WAS FROM ALBANY-- UNLESS HE WASN'T

He was born in Albany in 1831, the son of Irish immigrants,  on the street that now bears his name.  Back in 1831, it was Fox Street.  His family would move to Ohio not long after his birth and that is where he grew up.

Despite Sheridan's claims that he was born in Albany, there is the possibility he was born in Ireland.  As one version of the story goes, his parents showed up in Albany with a two-week old son.

This question became of particular interest in 1884 when there was talk among Republicans of nominating him for president.

Where Have We Heard That One Before.  --Old Secesh

Not All of Mary Todd Lincoln's Relatives Were Confederate: Edward Lewis Baker

From Find-A-Grave.

EDWARD LEWIS BAKER

Born:  3 June 1829

Died:  8 July 1897 in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Buried:  Oak Ridge Cemetery, Springfield, Illinois

Lawyer, journalist, diplomat.  Married Julia Edwards, daughter of Ninian Wirt Edwards and Elizabeth Porter Todd Edwards.  She was the sister of Mary Todd Lincoln.

Attended Harvard Law School and admitted to the bar in Springfield, Illinois.    Owner and editor of the Illinois State Journal and played an important role in his friend Abraham Lincoln's presidential campaign in 1860.

Married Julia Cook Edwards, niece of Mary Todd Lincoln.

He was appointed to US Consul in Buenos Aires, Argentina and began serving on March 17, 1874, and served there until he died in a train accident.

--Old Secesh

Abraham Lincoln Declared Official Winner of 1860 Election This Date

On this date in 1861, Abraham Lincoln was declared official winner of the 1860 presidential election as electors cast their ballots.

Less than two months later, the nation was at war with itself.

Now, had Lincoln not been declared the winner, would the Southern states which had already seceded come back into the Union?

--Old Secesh

Other Events Affecting the Civil War-- Part 4: Month of July 1863

Continued from August.

These were ideas put forth at the MCCWRT discussion  group on July 29, 2017.

**  Trent Affair and capture of the CSS Florida in Brazil in a highly questionable action on the part of the Union Navy.

**  Month of July 1863: Vicksburg, Gettysburg and the capture of Port Hudson.

**  Sanitary Commission and advancements in medicine:  hospital ship and Ambulance Corps.

**  Camp cleanliness.  Suturing up wounds with horsehair (after it was boiled).

**  Nevada being admitted to the Union.  Lots of silver coming out of it to finance the war.

**  1864 Presidential election.  Lincoln winning meant that the war was to continue.  Essentially the last hope the Confederacy had at this time.

--Old Secesh

Civil War Transparencies

I was wondering what a Civil War-era transparency was.  I know what they were when I was teaching, a piece of clear plastic on which you could write stuff and show it on a screen large enough for the students to see at their desks.  It was a much better way than writing the information on a chalkboard.

Bit what was one like in the Civil War?

The article was nice enough to include a picture of one and an explanation.  A transparency back then was a cloth-covered box with the likeness of their candidate cut into it.  They would be held aloft on a pole and illuminated by a small lantern.

--Old Secesh

Civil War Springfield, Mass., Nov. 1864- Part 2: A Fight Breaks Out Over the Election

NOV. 1ST--  The Jr. Union Club, too young to vote and supporters of Lincoln had a march "carrying new transparencies" of Lincoln.  Supporters of McClellan cut into the march and carried their own McClellan transparencies.

A fight broke out " and one of the Lincoln boys was badly injured by a rock thrown by the opposition and another youth had his nose broken by a club."

NOV. 3RD--  The Republican newspaper reported that the noon express was late because of the extra cars added carrying 1,410 soldiers home to vote.

VOTING FOR PRESIDENT

Before the election, votes taken at Mr. Foster's Grammar School showed Lincoln with a 61-14 win.

Workers at Smith & Wesson returned a 66-20 victory for Lincoln.

Giant American flags were over the streets with either "Union Party" or"Vote for Mac."

Of Course, Lincoln Won.  --Old Secesh

Civil War in Springfield, Mass., November 1864-- Part 1: The Presidential Election

From the Nov. 3, 2014, MassLive "Civil War 150th anniversary: Fighting in the streets of Springfield breaks out during the Lincoln vs. McClellan election of 1864" by Wayne Phaneuf.

Continuing with this very interesting series of monthly article.  I wish I had discovered it earlier during this sesquicentennial of the war and will be definitely catching up on it.

During the first of Nov. 1864, trains packed with soldiers streamed through Springfield Depot.  Most of the passengers on these trains in uniform weren't fighting.  They were coming home to cast their ballots for presidents.

I wonder for whom they would be voting?  Most likely for McClellan.  I have also heard that soldiers in the field were allowed to vote as well.  This would be something Democratic politicians would definitely want.

--Old Secesh