In 1873, a traveler aboard a boat in New York met a man, J.W. Bean, from New Hampshire and talked about the Civil War. The traveler knew Col, Charles Tew and mentioned the story of Tew;s father going to Dry Totugas near Key West while looking for the sword.
Bean had been at the Battle of Antietam and had come across Col. Tew's body. he had the silver cup and then returned it to Tew's family.
That cup was given by Caroline Sloan's mother to her son, Charles Courtenay Sloan. She said she had polished it as the family intends to make the trip to the Citadel to loan it for a year. She kind of thinks her son will eventually loan it to the school on a permanent basis.
--A great Story. --Old Secesh
The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.
Thursday, December 31, 2015
Canada Returns Col. Tew's Sword-- Part 5: Coming Home
Michael martin had much difficulty "alienating" Col. Charles Tew's sword, but stayed true to his purpose and this past March got the go ahead to return the sword.
Not much is known for sure about how the sword got from the Antietam battlefield to the Blythe family. But evidence shows that it was likely acquired by Captain Francis J. Sauter of the 55th Ohio who might have had it shipped home before he was killed at the Battle of Chancellorsville in March 1863.
On Wednesday, the Citadel will send 9 cadets, 4 faculty members and other supporters to the Antietam battlefield to receive the sword from Canada.
The sword will eventually go to the Citadel's Daniel Library for display where it will be reunited with Tew's silver cup. The library also has Tew's diploma, some of his letters and other documents.
--Old Secesh
Not much is known for sure about how the sword got from the Antietam battlefield to the Blythe family. But evidence shows that it was likely acquired by Captain Francis J. Sauter of the 55th Ohio who might have had it shipped home before he was killed at the Battle of Chancellorsville in March 1863.
On Wednesday, the Citadel will send 9 cadets, 4 faculty members and other supporters to the Antietam battlefield to receive the sword from Canada.
The sword will eventually go to the Citadel's Daniel Library for display where it will be reunited with Tew's silver cup. The library also has Tew's diploma, some of his letters and other documents.
--Old Secesh
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Canada Returns Col. Tew's Sword to Citadel-- Part 4: Sword in Canada
A New York native by the name of Amelia Blythe had moved to Ottawa, Canada, in 1963 and donated the sword to the 763 Communications Regt. of the Canadian Army, now the 33 Signal Regt..
Caroline Sloan, of Portland, Oregon, the colonel's great-great granddaughter. Her father, Edward Sloan graduated from the Citadel in 1950 and started his own search for the sword. He got a precise description of the sword and began distributing it and received responses. Then came the internet.
For a generation, the sword had been on display inside the Mess at Wallis House, a landmark building in Ottawa that eventually fell into disrepair. The sword's nameplate read "The Cadets of the Arsenal Academy to Capt. C.C. Tew, November 25, 1858." The regiment had the sword and other items appraised in 2009 when they were moving to a new home.
Genuine Civil War swords like it sell for between $20,000 to $30,000, but its connection to Charles Tew made it even more valuable.
Michael Martin,chairman of the 33 Signal Regt. Foundation worked to have it "alienated" from Canada as not having any value to the country. This was necessary before it could be returned.
--Old Secesh
Caroline Sloan, of Portland, Oregon, the colonel's great-great granddaughter. Her father, Edward Sloan graduated from the Citadel in 1950 and started his own search for the sword. He got a precise description of the sword and began distributing it and received responses. Then came the internet.
For a generation, the sword had been on display inside the Mess at Wallis House, a landmark building in Ottawa that eventually fell into disrepair. The sword's nameplate read "The Cadets of the Arsenal Academy to Capt. C.C. Tew, November 25, 1858." The regiment had the sword and other items appraised in 2009 when they were moving to a new home.
Genuine Civil War swords like it sell for between $20,000 to $30,000, but its connection to Charles Tew made it even more valuable.
Michael Martin,chairman of the 33 Signal Regt. Foundation worked to have it "alienated" from Canada as not having any value to the country. This was necessary before it could be returned.
--Old Secesh
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Canada Returns Col. Tew's Sword to the Citadel-- Part 3: Searching for the Sword
The Citadel had a cadet and 25 alumni at the Battle of Antietam in 1862. Two were killed and four wounded.
Charles Tew was shot in the head and among the hundreds of Confederates buried in mass graves. Their bodies were eventually relocated to cemeteries in Maryland and West Virginia. His final resting place is unknown and age at death was 34.
After the war, his father began searching for the sword, cup and pocket watch his son had with him at his death. All they knew was that he was shot along the Sunken Road.
Sometime in 1870, his father got a letter from Ohio saying the sword was hanging at the Odd fellows Hall in Norwalk. A family friend went there, but it was gone.
Then, there was nothing new for 145 years.
--Old Secesh
Charles Tew was shot in the head and among the hundreds of Confederates buried in mass graves. Their bodies were eventually relocated to cemeteries in Maryland and West Virginia. His final resting place is unknown and age at death was 34.
After the war, his father began searching for the sword, cup and pocket watch his son had with him at his death. All they knew was that he was shot along the Sunken Road.
Sometime in 1870, his father got a letter from Ohio saying the sword was hanging at the Odd fellows Hall in Norwalk. A family friend went there, but it was gone.
Then, there was nothing new for 145 years.
--Old Secesh
The Confederacy Still Under Attack
But I am taking a break to do what I enjoy much more.
All That Is Sure Getting Me Down. --Old Secesh
All That Is Sure Getting Me Down. --Old Secesh
Monday, December 28, 2015
Canada to Return Col. Tew's Long-Lost Sword-- Part 2: Military Academies
The return of Col. Charles Tew's sword to the Citadel will be celebrated with three days of activities.
Col. Charles Courtenay Tew was a Charleston native and among the Citadel's first 26 cadets, reporting to the school in 1843. He graduated in 1846 and later taught at the Arsenal, a Columbia, S.C. military school that was the Citadel's sister institution.
The cadets there gave him the sword when he left to establish the Hillsborough Military Academy in North Carolina.
During the Civil War, Col. Tew led the 2nd North Carolina and carried the sword along with him, along with a silver cup given him by the Hillsborough cadets. Later, he decided that he could be of more use to the Confederacy by returning to teaching and submitted his resignation. before it was accepted, there came the Battle of Antietam.
--Old Secesh
Col. Charles Courtenay Tew was a Charleston native and among the Citadel's first 26 cadets, reporting to the school in 1843. He graduated in 1846 and later taught at the Arsenal, a Columbia, S.C. military school that was the Citadel's sister institution.
The cadets there gave him the sword when he left to establish the Hillsborough Military Academy in North Carolina.
During the Civil War, Col. Tew led the 2nd North Carolina and carried the sword along with him, along with a silver cup given him by the Hillsborough cadets. Later, he decided that he could be of more use to the Confederacy by returning to teaching and submitted his resignation. before it was accepted, there came the Battle of Antietam.
--Old Secesh
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Canada to Return Colonel Tew's (CSA) Long-Lost Sword to the Citadel-- Part 1: A Sword With Many Connections
From the September 13, 2015, Charleston (SC) Post & Courier "Canada to return Civil War commander's lost sword to the Citadel" by Robert Behre.
"A single sword unites the Citadel with the South Carolina's Governor's Mansion, the 33 Signal Regt. of the Canadian Army and the single bloodiest day in U.S. military history."
And, it's coming home soon.
Confederate Colonel Charles Courtenay Tew was killed at the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862. His sword was lost and his descendants have been searching for it ever since.
Charles Tew was the Citadel's first valedictorian and the first president of its alumni association. The sword was given to him by the cadets at the Arsenal, a Columbia, S.C., military academy that was the Citadel's sister institution. The Arsenal was burned by Sherman's troops in the closing days of the war and never reopened. Its sole surviving building is the state's Governor's Mansion.
--Old Secesh
"A single sword unites the Citadel with the South Carolina's Governor's Mansion, the 33 Signal Regt. of the Canadian Army and the single bloodiest day in U.S. military history."
And, it's coming home soon.
Confederate Colonel Charles Courtenay Tew was killed at the Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862. His sword was lost and his descendants have been searching for it ever since.
Charles Tew was the Citadel's first valedictorian and the first president of its alumni association. The sword was given to him by the cadets at the Arsenal, a Columbia, S.C., military academy that was the Citadel's sister institution. The Arsenal was burned by Sherman's troops in the closing days of the war and never reopened. Its sole surviving building is the state's Governor's Mansion.
--Old Secesh
Friday, December 25, 2015
Remnants of Possible Civil War Cedar Log Highway Found in Virginia
From the Dec. 23, 2015, Chicago Tribune "Remnants of Cedar-Log highway could date to Civil War era, historians say" by Jonathan Hunley, Washington Post.
They logs were found along Ox Road in Fairfax County, Virginia, on ground now occupied by George Mason University. They were found below ground level on October 14th by a road shoulder/sidewalk project. Work shifted to another part of the project while the logs were photographed and analyzed.
They would constitute what would be called a "corduroy road" because of its close resemblance to the cloth Since the logs were buried, there was not a lot of deterioration.
A member of the Bull Run Civil War Round Table said that during the Civil War a "corduroy road ran from the Occonquo River to the Fairfax Courthouse and most likely these logs were a part of it. The road was built in 1862 as a link to get supplies from the railroad's Fairfax Station to the Fairfax Courthouse which was a significant Union supply depot.
--Old Secesh
They logs were found along Ox Road in Fairfax County, Virginia, on ground now occupied by George Mason University. They were found below ground level on October 14th by a road shoulder/sidewalk project. Work shifted to another part of the project while the logs were photographed and analyzed.
They would constitute what would be called a "corduroy road" because of its close resemblance to the cloth Since the logs were buried, there was not a lot of deterioration.
A member of the Bull Run Civil War Round Table said that during the Civil War a "corduroy road ran from the Occonquo River to the Fairfax Courthouse and most likely these logs were a part of it. The road was built in 1862 as a link to get supplies from the railroad's Fairfax Station to the Fairfax Courthouse which was a significant Union supply depot.
--Old Secesh
Thursday, December 24, 2015
Confederate Prison at Rock Island, Illinois-- Part 2: George Fowlkes, 19
Union guards were also susceptible to the diseases plaguing their Confederate prisoners.
Of some 12,000 Confederates interred at Rock island Prison, just less than 2,000 died.and are buried at the Arsenal's Confederate Cemetery,. Their bodies were placed in wooden boxes and a wooden slab used to mark their final resting place.
George Fowlkes, 3 Arkansas Cav., Co. B, arrived shortly after the prison opened and died three months later of illness, just a couple days shy of his 19th birthday.
Sgt. Martin Sims, Co. E (Russell) Alabama Cavalry,was transferred to Rock island from another cam and died a month later of small pox.
"They did not live to see their country reunited. Still, they are American soldiers. Each with their own story, and in row after row, they are respectfully remembered."
That last remark rings hard in these days of dishonoring everything Confederate.
--Old Secesh
Of some 12,000 Confederates interred at Rock island Prison, just less than 2,000 died.and are buried at the Arsenal's Confederate Cemetery,. Their bodies were placed in wooden boxes and a wooden slab used to mark their final resting place.
George Fowlkes, 3 Arkansas Cav., Co. B, arrived shortly after the prison opened and died three months later of illness, just a couple days shy of his 19th birthday.
Sgt. Martin Sims, Co. E (Russell) Alabama Cavalry,was transferred to Rock island from another cam and died a month later of small pox.
"They did not live to see their country reunited. Still, they are American soldiers. Each with their own story, and in row after row, they are respectfully remembered."
That last remark rings hard in these days of dishonoring everything Confederate.
--Old Secesh
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Confederate Prison at Rock Island, Illinois-- Part 1: Rampant Diseases
From the Nov. 19, 2015, Quad Cities (Davenport, Iowa) .com. "Rock Island Arsenal Inside the Gates: Confederate Cemetery" by Chris Langlors.
The first Confederate POWs arrived in December 1863. Many had small pox/variola and there was a very large number of deaths in the first month. Officials from the U.S. Surgeon General's office came and ordered a hospital complex built to separate the sick from the healthy, then ordered a drainage system and the camp cemetery to be moved further away from the prisoners.
The three most common causes of death among the prisoners: small pox/variola, diarrhea/dysentery and pneumonia.
--Old Secesh
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
North Carolina's Civil War Story Project Gets Under Way
From the Dec. 15, 2015, Mountain XPress (Asheville, N.C.) "North Carolina History Center launches statewide Civil War story project, seeks oral histories" by Max Hunt.
The North Carolina Civil War History Center plans to collect 100 family Civil War stories from each of the state's 100 counties. It is one of the largest public history projects ever attempted in North Carolina. Every family has handed-down stories and this will be an attempt to collect them in the project, entitles "Our State, Our Stories" before they are lost.
The center has now employed "Story Specialists" to assist and plans on canvasing local SCV, UDC and SUVCW groups.
They will be using three methods of collecting the stories:
1. Online submission
2. Oral histories recorded by the "story specialists"
3. Printed forms
The History Center will cost $85 million when completed and is in Fayetteville, right next to the ruins of the Fayetteville Arsenal which was destroyed by Sherman in March 1865.
--Old Secesh
The North Carolina Civil War History Center plans to collect 100 family Civil War stories from each of the state's 100 counties. It is one of the largest public history projects ever attempted in North Carolina. Every family has handed-down stories and this will be an attempt to collect them in the project, entitles "Our State, Our Stories" before they are lost.
The center has now employed "Story Specialists" to assist and plans on canvasing local SCV, UDC and SUVCW groups.
They will be using three methods of collecting the stories:
1. Online submission
2. Oral histories recorded by the "story specialists"
3. Printed forms
The History Center will cost $85 million when completed and is in Fayetteville, right next to the ruins of the Fayetteville Arsenal which was destroyed by Sherman in March 1865.
--Old Secesh
Monday, December 21, 2015
The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 143: Kutztown University Ban Revoked
From the Dec. 14, 2015, Google Alerts for Confederate.
** Kutztown University (a public school) bans Confederate Flags even from students' own dorm rooms. [Update: The ban has been revoked.] (Pennsylvania) (Win) Never thought this would happen.
** Confederate Flag-waving gun nut targets black neighbor with months-long campaign of racial harassment. (Lake Linganore, Md.) (Loss) Again, we do not need this kind of behavior. It hurts the cause.
** The Civil War ended a long time ago, but the battle rages on. No kidding. We are now in the midst of the Second Civil War.
--Old Secesh
** Kutztown University (a public school) bans Confederate Flags even from students' own dorm rooms. [Update: The ban has been revoked.] (Pennsylvania) (Win) Never thought this would happen.
** Confederate Flag-waving gun nut targets black neighbor with months-long campaign of racial harassment. (Lake Linganore, Md.) (Loss) Again, we do not need this kind of behavior. It hurts the cause.
** The Civil War ended a long time ago, but the battle rages on. No kidding. We are now in the midst of the Second Civil War.
--Old Secesh
The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 142: Confederate Flags Classified "Distatsteful: at Kutztown University
From the Dec. 12, 2015, Google Alerts for Confederate.
** Sons of Confederate Veterans participate in Christmas parade. (Roanoke, Va.) (Win)
** University Bans 'Distasteful' Decor in Residence Hals' Common Areas. (Kutztown University in Pa.) (Loss) That would be the Confederate Flag which is considered the same as a Swastika. The ban extends to dorm rooms.
** Citadel students suspended as furor grows over KKK-type photos. (Charleston, S.C.) (Loss, and not because they were suspended) Pictures taken of them wearing pillow cases with eye holes. Very KKKish. Stupidity such as this certainly hurts the cause.
--Old Secesh
** Sons of Confederate Veterans participate in Christmas parade. (Roanoke, Va.) (Win)
** University Bans 'Distasteful' Decor in Residence Hals' Common Areas. (Kutztown University in Pa.) (Loss) That would be the Confederate Flag which is considered the same as a Swastika. The ban extends to dorm rooms.
** Citadel students suspended as furor grows over KKK-type photos. (Charleston, S.C.) (Loss, and not because they were suspended) Pictures taken of them wearing pillow cases with eye holes. Very KKKish. Stupidity such as this certainly hurts the cause.
--Old Secesh
Saturday, December 19, 2015
"new orleans" city council Pulls a Racist Move
I found out that the vote of the city council in "new orleans" a few days was 6-1 to remove three Confederate statues as "nuisances.". Two of the members are white and one of them cast a "no" vote. The other five are black and all five voted for removal.
Who's racist now?
--Old Secesh
Who's racist now?
--Old Secesh
Friday, December 18, 2015
Shame on "new orleans"
The "city of new orleans" (and I am not using capital letters for this DISGRACE) has disgraced itself as of yesterday when the city council voted 6-1 to remove the three Confederate monuments as nuisances. There are actually four monuments under the gun, but the fourth one is not honorable.
Supposedly, "new orleans" is a southern town, but I don't think so anymore.
This vote, however, was what I expected.
I had been considering going there on vacation within the next year.
"new orleans" now joins "natchitoches" on the disgraced list. However, there is at least one Louisiana town that has the fortitude to stand up for its heritage, well, at least the mayor, and that would be Many, Louisiana.
Guess Not Now. --Old Secesh
Supposedly, "new orleans" is a southern town, but I don't think so anymore.
This vote, however, was what I expected.
I had been considering going there on vacation within the next year.
"new orleans" now joins "natchitoches" on the disgraced list. However, there is at least one Louisiana town that has the fortitude to stand up for its heritage, well, at least the mayor, and that would be Many, Louisiana.
Guess Not Now. --Old Secesh
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