The 21st Georgia Infantry-- Part 4: More Engagements Than Any Other Unit

The regiment went back to Petersburg and took part in the assault on Fort Steadman, one of the last offensives by the Army of Northern Virginia. At the Appomattox surrender, just 53 men from the 21st were paroled.

It has been claimed that the 21st Georgia was in more engagements than any other unit in the war.

Of all units on both sides, they 21st had the third most killed in battle. And, the regiment that lost the most, the 8th New York had its men killed by the 21st.

Elizabeth Camp Glover, wife of Lt. Col. Thomas Glover of Company A, organized the first Confederate reunion which continued through to the 1930s when age and death thinned the ranks until the last one was held at Richmond, Virginia.

--Old Secesh

The 21st Georgia Infantry-- Part 3

The two Confederate regiments (21st Ga. and 21st NC) were recalled to Richmond when Lee wanted "two twenty-firsts be sent to me." They fought at the Second Battle of Drewry's Bluff, protecting the James River approach to the Confederate capital.

At the Battle of the Wilderness, Co. E of the 21st Georgia defended the horseshoe. After that, the regiment was at the Battle of Cold Harbor and Siege of Petersburg.

They then went on Early's Raid into Maryland and took part in the Battle of Monocacy and the attack on Fort Stevens, guarding Washington, D.C.. At this last battle, the 21st became one of the few Confederate units to get within sight of the Capitol building.

The 21st remained in the Shenandoah Valley after that until the rout at the Third Battle of Winchester where Lt. Col. Thomas Glover was killed on September 19, 1864.

--This Was What You'd Have to Call a Battle-Hardened Group. --Old Secesh

The 21st Georgia Infantry-- Part 2

At Antietam, they were at some of the hottest action at Dunker Church, East Woods, Mumma Farm and the cornfield. In December 1862, at the Battle of Fredericksburg, they played a key role in plugging a hole in Jackson's line which Union forces were preparing to exploit.

On the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, they were one of the few Confederate units to actually enter the town.

In 1864, the 21st Georgia and 21st North Carolina were detailed to North Carolina for coastal duty and were at the battles of New Bern and Plymouth. At Plymouth, the 21st captured a Union fort and 3,000 prisoners.

--Old Secesh

The 21st Georgia Infantry-- Part 1

From the e-enactment group's website.

Since I have been writing about Confederate Lt. Col. Thomas Coke Glover and his wife, Elizabeth Camp Glover, who is credited for having the very first Confederate reunion in 1867. Her husband served in the 21st Georgia and it was their reunion. I was unfamiliar with this regiment and quite impressed with what I found out about them. This was one of the Confederacy's best fighting groups.

The 21st Georgia was mustered into Confederate service from June to August 1861 and came from counties surrounding Atlanta westward to the Alabama border. They were transported to Virginia and took part in Stonewall Jackson's famous Valley Campaign in 1862. In June they were back at Richmond and were in the Seven Days' Battles under Robert E. Lee.

At Second Manassas, they captured the Union depot and at one point ran out of ammunition and resoted to throwing rocks. They suffered 76% casualties at this battle.

More to Come. --Old Secesh

Elizabeth Camp Glover Marker-- Part 2

She was the widow of Lt. Col. Thomas Glover of Co. A. 21st GA Inf. CSA. Thomas died at the Third Battle of Winchester. In 1867 after the War Between the States with "For God and Country" her motto she rode the countryside of Campbellton County, GA to assemble the comrades of her fallen husband to a basket dinner and "to talk over the war."

Thus began the Confederate Reunions. She lived to be 86 years of age, dying at Corsicana, Texas, April 14, 1915. She is buried in Oakland Cemetery, Corsicana, Texas." The marker stands right at her grave.

--Old Secesh

Elizabeth Camp Glover Marker-- Part 1

This marker is located in Corsicana, Texas, and was placed by the Sons of Confederate Veterans. It didn't say, but I suppose it is located by the cemetery in which she is buried. I also found that Elizabeth Susan "Lizzie" Camp Glover was born December 18, 1829, in Greenville County, South Carolina.

Transcription from the marker: "ELIZABETH CAMP GLOVER: MOTHER OF CONFEDERATE REUNIONS"

In 1896 the Sons of Confederate Veterans recognized this Southern lady as the originator of Confederate reunions. In the centennial year the Sons of Confederate Veterans honored her as "The Mother of the Confederate Reunions." (I would imagine the centennial refers to 1996.)

-- More to Come. --Old Secesh

The Mother of Confederate Reunions-- Part 3

Two other parts can be found in my Running the Blockade Civil War Navy blog from last week (1-24-14). Also two other parts in this blog.

In a 1928 issue of Confederate Veteran, Co, A of the 21st Georgia had 200 men when the war began. By the end, only 30 remained. Only 12 made it to the first reunion and Col. Thomas Lathem of Atlanta gave the keynote talk. It was decided to continue the reunions as long as two were alive.

They had another basket dinner at the next one. However, for this one, all veterans of Campbell County were invited. "They vowed by the help of God to teach their children for all time to come that the cause for which they fought was just and right, to teach them to be proud of the part we took in the conflict, that we were overcome by the numbers--not whipped, but overcome."

Mrs. Glover died April 14, 1915, and is buried in Texas.

--Old Secesh

The Mother of Confederate Reunions-- Part 2

Dr. T.C. Glover organized and fought with Co. A, 21st Georgia Infantry and was in 107 actions until he was killed at Winchester, Virginia. His wife, Elizabeth (Lizzie) Susan Camp, is buried in Corsicana, Texas. A marker on her grave says that in 1867, she rode the countryside around Campbellton, Georgia, to assemble her husband's comrades and have a basket dinner and "to talk over the war."

This is believed to have been the first Confederate reunion and as such, deserves the moniker "The Mother of Confederate Reunions." It was held in June 1867.

Swapping Stories and Meeting Old Friends. --Old Secesh

Some Discrepancy on Gatlin's Burial Site

In the last post, Wikipedia had the Richard Caswell Gatlin and his wife being buried at the Fort Smith National Cemetery in Arkansas. However, Find-a-Grave says he is buried at Forest Park Cemetery at Fort Smith, Arkansas, in Sebastion County and there is an obelisk there.

Also buried at the plot is Richard Caswell Gatlin 1860-1869 buried there. Probably his son.

I went to the Find-A-Grave site for the Fort Smith National Cemetery and found that it has Richard Gatlin as being buried there. In addition, another former Confederate brigadier general, Alexander Early Steen is buried there. He was commissioned in the U.S. Army at age 19 during the Mexican War.

Sounds Like a Story. --Old Secesh

North Carolina's Gen. Richard Caswell Gatlin

From Wikipedia.

Yesterday, I wrote about this man and had to wonder about his first two names, Richard Caswell, which was also the name of North Carolina's first governor who was from Kinston and has a museum for him in the city. It turns out that the general was Richard Caswell's (also Fort Caswell protecting the Cape Fear River was named for him) grandson. His mother was Caswell's daughter.

Richard Caswell Gatlin married Scioto Sandford who died in childbirth in January 1852. He later married Mary Ann Gibson of Arkansas, probably why he moved to that state after the war

Once in Confederate service in 1861, he was given command of the Southern Department of Coastal Defense with headquarters in Wilmington. In August 1861, he was promoted to brigadier general and command of the Department of North Carolina and coastal defenses in the state.

Soon after his promotion, Fort Hatteras was captured and he began preparing for the defense of New Bern and made his headquarters in Goldsboro. Then came the losses of Roanoke Island and New Bern and Gatlin was blamed.

After the war, he moved to Sebastion County, Arkansas, and farmed until 1881 when he moved to Fort Smith, Arkansas. He and his wife are buried at Fort Smith National Cemetery.

--Old Secesh

The Mother Of Confederate Reunions-- Part 1

Well, actually part 3 as the first two parts were mistakenly put on my Running the Blockade Civil War Navy blog for today and I'm not going to retype it, so look there to see it as well as a great video of old reunions by the soldiers. And, I imagine the naval veterans had their own reunions or at least attended the Army ones.

I got the information from the Jan. 13, 2014, Douglasville (Ga.) Patch "Our History: The Mother of Confederate Reunions" by Lisa Cooper so you can go directly to the source.

--Old Secesh

North Carolina's Gen. Gatlin Remembered-- Part 2

After Confederate losses at Hatteras Island, New Bern and Roanoke Island, General Gatlin was blamed and removed from command in August 1862.

After that, he served the rest of the war as Governor Zebulon Vance's Adjutant General. After the war, he moved to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he lived until his death on September 8, 1896.

Today, Jim Gaddis believes, Richard Caswell Gatlin is not recognized because he never became a major general, was a brigadier general only 9 months, lack of success, no descendants and moving away after the war.

This past March Gaddis made a presentation to the Kinston Civil War Round Table. After that, Charles Herring and Lyle Holland helped put up a historical marker to the general by raising funds through donations. That marker can be found at the Kinston-Lenoir County Visitors Center on US-70. Gaddis also intends to write a book on Gatlin sometime in 2015.

--Old Secesh

North Carolina's Gen. Gatlin Remembered-- Part 1

From the Jan. 17, 2014, Kinston (NC) Free Press "Gen. Gatlin's birthday remembered" by Noah Clark.

Lenoir County resident Jim Gaddis has been interested in Richard Caswell Gatlin ever since coming across his name in an encyclopedia 15 years ago and seeing that the general was from Lenoir County. He did more research and has written an account of his life.

Gatlin was born at Red House Plantation two miles west of Kinston on January 18, 1809 and became the first Lenoir County resident to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1828, graduating in 1832.

He served in the Second Seminole War and Mexican War. At the start ofthe Civil War, he resigned his commission and in August was appointed brigadier general by Jefferson Davis and given command of the Confederate Army in North Carolina.

More to Come. --Old Secesh

Maine's Gen. Neil S. Dow-- Part 2

He was made a brigadier general April 28, 1862 and commanded the two captured Confederate forts below New Orleans, Fort Jackson and Fort St. Phhilip, after their capture and later commanded the District of Florida.

He was wounded in the right arm and left thigh at the Siege of Port Hudson, Mississippi, (May 21-July 9, 1863) and sent to a local plantation to recover. Dow was captured while there and imprisoned for eight months at Richmond and Mobile. It was during this time that the Montgomery hotel escape took place.

Finally, he was exchanged for Confederate General William Henry Fitzhugh Lee, son of Robert E. Lee, on February 25, 1864. With his health seriously impaired by his prison time, he resigned in November of that year.

Back in Maine, he continued with the temperance movement and cofounded the National Temperance Society.

I'll Drink to That. --Old Secesh

Maine's Gen. Neal S. Dow-- Part 1: Abolitionist and "Napoleon of Temperance"

From Wikipedia.

March 20, 1804-October 2, 1897. Nicknamed "Napoleon of Temperance" and "Father of "Prohibition." He was the man Col. Candler of Georgia saved in Montgomery, Alabama, that I wrote about earlier today. Again, I found nothing more about his rescue by Candler.

Dow sponsored the "Maine Law of 1851" prohibiting the manufacture and sale of liquor. He was heavily criticized for his actions in the Portland Rum Riot of 1855.

Born in Portland, maine, and was very anti-alcohol and an ardent abolitionist with his house being a stop on the Undergraound Railroad.

He was 57 when the Civil War started and volunteered. Appointed colonel of the 13th Maine Infantry Regiment on November 23, 1861. The regiment participated in the capture and occupation of New Orleans under General Benjamin Butler (which may explain some of the Southern hatred of him).

More to Come. --Old Secesh

Georgia's Allen Daniel Candler: One Wife, One Baby, One Dollar and One Eye"

From Wikipedia.

Follow up on Candler from the previous post. I was unable to find further details on his helping Union General Dow to excape execution by the Montgomery mob, unfortunately. But, this is one interesting man as more research revealed.

Born Nov. 4, 1834 and died Oct. 26, 1910. State legislator, U.S. Representative and Georgia's 56th governor.

In May 1862, he enlisted as a private in the 34th Georgia Volunteer Infantry and was soon elected by the others as a first lieutenant.

He fought at Vicksburg, Missuionary Ridge, Resaca, Kennesaw Mountain, Atlanta and Jonesboro and later was a colonel under Gen. Johnston in North Carolina at the end of the war.

He was wounded at Kennesaw Mountain and lost an eye at Jonesboro. When he made the comment that he had "one wife, one baby, one dollar and one eye" at the end of the war, he was saying that he was more fortunate than others.

Candler County, Georgia, is named for him.

--Old Secesh

Confederate Colonel Candler Protected Hated Union Officer: "One Wife, One Baby, One Dollar and One Eye"

From the January 12, 2014, Gainesville (Ga.) Times "Johnny Vardeman Column: 'Col. Candler defied mob to protect Union officer.' "

A.D. Candler of Gainesville, Georgia, was mayor, U.S. representative and Georgia's governor. But before that, he was a Confederate veteran.

At age 26, he enlisted in the Army as a private and one month later had been elected as 1st lieutenat and then captain within a year. Eventually, he rose to the rank of colonel.

He was once put in charge of transporting captured Union General Neal Dow to Richmond to be exchanged. Dow was an ardent abolitionist and much hated in the South. On the way to Richmond from Mississippi, Candler and his prisoner stopped in Montgomery, Alabama, and stayed at the Exchange Hotel (not bad for a prisoner to overnight in a hotel, I guess being a general, even an enemy general, has its privileges.)

Townspeople heard about Dow being there and a mob soon gathered with intentions of killing him. Candler hid him and eventually made a getaway.

Later, Candler lost his left eye at the Battle of Jonesboro. He made a famous statement at the end of the war that all he had was "one wife, one baby, one dollar and one eye."

During his political campaigns, he was referred to as "The One-Eyed Plough Boy From Pigeon Roost."

Old One-Eye. --Old Secesh

Rhode Island Hero General Isaac Rodman Largely Forgotten Now

From the November 30, 2013, Providence (R.I.) Journal "Grave of South Kingston Civil War hero now overgrown, largely inaccessible" by Gregory Smith.

General isaac Rodman was the co-owner of a textile facory, community leader and a state senator. When the Civil War broke out he resurrected the town militia, in part by recruiting workers from his mill and then led them into battle.

He was shot in the chest and died September 30, 1862, at the Battle of Antietam, the highest-ranking Rhode Island officer killed during the war. His body came home as a hero. A funeral service was held at the Rhode Island's Statehouse and thousands viewed it.

After that, the body was returned to his home on Rocky Hill in Peace Dale in South Kingston and viewed by many more. He was buried on the Rodman family plot and a large obelisk erected.

Today, that gravesite is overgrown and largely inaccessible. The Kingston Boy Scout Troop had it cleaned and cleared for the 150th anniversary of his death, but it since has been retaken by foliage.

South Kingston has over 150 historical cemeteries with perpetual care for just 12 and none for Rodman's.

--Old Secesh

You Can Own a Piece of Lee's Hair and Wartime Pocket Knife

From the January 13, 2014, Falls Church (Va) Patch "General Robert E. Lee's Hair for Sale: Guess How Much?" posted by Mary Ann Barton (ed).

A letter, pocket knife and clip of his hair will be auctioned by Quinn's Auction Gallery, Lot #172, tomorrow in Falls Church, Virginia. It has been on loan and display at Arlington House, the Lee Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery for more than twenty years.

Robert E. Lee originally sent the items to a woman in Baltimore after the war who had requested items to raise funds for an orphanage according to a 1907 Baltimore Sun article that accompanies the items.

The auction company estimates the lot will go for $20,000 to $30,000 with a suggested starting bid of $10,000.

In the letter, Lee wrote: "I must apologize for the condition of this knife by stating that it was my companion during the war. REL."

I Wonder If He Had It With Him At Appomattox? --Old Secesh

This Day in North Carolina History: Jewett's Patent Leg Company

JANUARY 23, 1866:

The genmetal Sssembly passed a resolution asking Governor Jonathan Worth to contact a manufacturer of artificial limbs to help veterans who had lost legs and arms in the war. The state contacted Jewett's Patent Leg Company to do it and they set a temporary factory in Raleigh.

A system was et up so that the veteran incurred no out of pocket costs, even when going to Raleigh to be fitted for the prosthetic limb.

Over five years, the state spent over $81,000.

Two Jewett legs ar on display in North Carolina. Samuel Clark's 1866 leg is currently on display at the NC Museum of History and one is at the visitors center at the Battle of Bentonville. I also found out that there will be one now on display at the Fort Fisher Visitors Center, at least temporarily. I'm not sure if the Fort Fisher one is one of these.

--Old Secesh

Jewett Patent Legs for NC Amputees-- Part 4

Some 1,550 Confederate veterans applied for the artificial legs.

One Tarheel veteran, Robert Alexander Hanna, had been wounded in the head and left leg just below the ankle joint at the Battle of Gettysburg. Suffering for about a month and with the leg wound oozing pus, his leg was amputated. He received his Jewett Artificial Leg in January 1867.

He used it on special occasions as he had made other artificial legs to help him with farmwork (one of which had a bull hoof for a foot). Not using it on a daily basis helped keep his Jewett leg in good shape. When he died in 1917, at the age of 85, he still had it and it was in real good shape.

--Old Secesh

Jewett Patent Legs for NC Amputees-- Part 3

From the July 26, 2010, www.microkhan.com "The Yank Who Helped Save the South."

Amputations made up 3/4 of battlefield surgeries during the war and artificial limbs were in great demand. The Captain Ahab wooden stump limbs were an easy fix, but uncomfortable and seriously curtailed a man's productivity.

Massachusetts inventor George B. Jewett patented the leg just months after Appomattox. His creation even featured a self-oiling mechanism.

He had his company at the corner of Park and Tremont streets in Boston and he did a big business with the former Confederate states with North Carolina leading the way. It became the first former Confederate state to offer artificial limbs to its amputee veterans. The General Assembly passed the resolution in February 1866 to provide legs or an equivalent sum ($70) to men who couldn't use them.

Artificial arms weren't offered until 1867 (or $50).

--Old Secsh

These Artificial Legs Seemed to be a Jewett Family Thing

I have come across the name Jewett twice in following up on the Fort Fisher anniversary medicine commemoration. Two men with the last name Jewett have patents for artificial legs within five years of each other.

BENJAMIN JEWETT had the first patent #29494 in 1860. Then GEORGE JEWETT received his patent on August 22, 1865.

I have to wonder if these men were related? Did one work for the other and take trade secrets with him when he left? Were there lawsuits? I am unable to find out any more information on it.

--Old Secesh

Jewett Patent Legs for NC Amputees-- Part 2

One of the authors who will be out at Fort Fisher this Saturday for the 149th anniversary commemoration of the battle, will be Ansley Wegner, author of "Phantom Pain: North Carolina's Artificial Limb Program for Confederate Veterans."

I am not aware of any other book written about artificial limbs after the war. But there sure was a dmand for them what with the wounding power of the new weapons.

From the Rothschild Petersen Patent Model Museum.

This museum has a photo of a Benjamin Jewett artificial leg, Patent #29494, dated 1860. Benjamin Jewett was from Gilford, New Hampshire. The museum also has his patent application.

--Old Secesh

Jewett Patent Legs for North Carolina Amputees-- Part 1

Back on January 7th, I wrote about this weekend's upcoming 149th anniversary of the Second Battle of Fort Fisher, North Carolina. The general theme of the commemoration is "Always Near the Front, With Instruments & Tournequets: The medical service at Fort Fisher."

Much emphasis will be placed on Civil War medicine, along with re-eneactments, cannon firings and authors.

Also, a new exhibit will open called "An Emminent Work of Justice and Charity." In it, they will feature only the third-known Jewett Patent Leg in existence.

--Old Secesh

Yankees in Mount Olive-- Part 3

The Union Army was supplied with food and new uniforms while in Wayne County, coming up from Wilmington and Beaufort by train. The old uniforms were discarded and their buttons found for years afterwards.

There is a story about a slave named Uncle Counce Wooten, who, the day after the Yankees left went to their commissary and picked out an officer's coat with gold braids and epaulets and wore it home.

On the way back, he was stopped by a Confederate soldier who thought he had enlisted in the Union Army. Counce explained, but the Confederate used his sword to cut off the gold braids and let him go.

Oldtimers in Mount Olive remembered piles of Union uniforms in the woods where they had encamped.

While in Mount Olive, the federal troops complained much about the uncessant rain and mud. They broke camp April 10, 1865, and moved toward Smithfield.

Small Town, Big War. --Old Secesh

Couldn't Find Maple Grove Cemetery

I looked up Maple Grove Cemetery in Mount Olive, NC, but was unable to find any mention of a cemetery by that name. I did, however, find a Maplewood Cemetery in Mount Olive.

It would be interesting to find out if the Union soldiers are still buried in Mount Olive.

--Old Secesh

Yankees in Mount Olive-- Part 2

Continued from January 9th.

L.W. Kornegay was station manager (Wilmington & Weldon Railroad) and owned a tract of land between what is today Mount Olive College and downtown. The cavalry encamped on his land in the area from Church Street westward to the present Mount Olive Jr. High School to the farm owned by Marie Lewis and the southeast corner of the Mount Olive campus.

Several Union officers made their headquarters at the Robert Williams House (now owned by Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Williams). A hospital tent was located on the lot owned by Mrs. Rodney Southerland at the intersection of West John Street and North Martin Street. Several Yankees died and are buried in Maple Grove Cemtery.

--Old Secesh

Death of Alicia Rhett, 98, Oldest Surviving "GWTW" Cast Member

From Jan. 8, 2014, AP. Normally, this would be in my History Blog, but considering the movie, I decided to write about it here.

Died Jan. 3, 2014

Played one of Ashley Wilkes' sisters, India Wilkes, in the movie "Gone With the Wind." She was the oldest surviving cast member of the 1939 film, which has its 75th anniversary this year and some people still consider it the greatest American movie.

Three cast members still live: OLIVIA de HAVILAND, 97 Wilkes' wife Melanie and only love; MARY ANDERSON, 93, played Maybelle Merriweather (who actually had auditioned for the role of Scarlet O'Hara) and MICKEY KUHN, 81, who played Beau Wilkes, son of Ashley and Melanie. In the movie, he was born in Atlanta, Georgia, as it fell to Union forces and Rhett and Scarlett went for that famous ride out of town.

ALICIA RHETT was born in 1915 in Savannah, Georgia.

I had to look up MARY ANDERSON as I didn't remember her. She was in the Atlanta Bazaar scene that prompted Scarlett to declare that her skin "looks as green as old cheese."

--Old Secesh

Yankees in Mount Olive-- Part 1

From the November Clinton NC Online "The Yankees in Mount Olive" by Claude H. Moore (1916-1994).

On March 4, 1865, Sherman's Army began crossing into North Carolina from South Carolina with plans to rendezvous in Goldsboro, NC, with Union troops coming up from Fort Fisher and Wilmington.

Sherman's cavalry, under Gen. Judson Kilpatrick, entered Mount Olive, NC, on March 24, 1865, and remained there until April 10th. Along with his 4,200 troops, Kilpatrick took great pride from his destruction of southern property.

In 1865, Mount Olive was a small village with a railroad depot, several turpentine distilleries, a Confederate commisary, a few stores, a saloon and a blacksmith shop operated by Oliver Summerlin (nope, the pickle company wasn't there yet).

More to Come. --Old Secesh

Heritage Attacks: A School and Robert E. Lee

DECEMBER 17, 2013: 12 NEWS "FLORIDA SCHOOL WILL DROP CONFEDERATE NATHAN B. FORREST'S NAME"

Nathan B. Forrest High School was named 54 years ago in Duvall County (Jacksonville). Monday, the school board voted 7-0 to change it. It opened in 1959 in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision requiring racially integrated schools. I usually do not like to see historical names changed, but in this case, since the majority of the students served at the school are black, I can go along with the decision. Now, if the majority had been white, that would have been a different story.

DECEMBER 18, 2013, FOX NEWS "U.S. ARMY WAR COLLEGE CONSIDERS REMOVING PRINTS DEPICTING ROBERT E. LEE, CONFEDERATE GENERALS."

One official at the college questioned why the paintings were there during an inventory of the Carlisle, Pennsylvania, school's paintings. The school opened in 1901 to provide study concerning the lessons of war and graduates more than 300 officers, foreign students and civilians a year. Regardless of where he received his greatest fame, Robert E. Lee's service in the U.S. Army before the war and his tactics and leadership have to be considered among the greatest in American history.

--Old Secesh

Confederate Soldier's Son Dies at 99"

From the December 14, 2012, Lubbock (Texas) Avalanche-Journal by Matthew Hutchinson.

Marion Wilson, 99, was the youngest of sixteen children fathered by Confederate soldier Hamilton "Ham" Wilson of the 29th North Carolina Infantry, which was brigaded with 4 Texas regiments and the 2nd North Carolina led by General Matt Ector, who was himself from Texas.

The brigade fought at Chickamauga and in the Atlanta and Nashville campaigns. After the war, "Ham" had been a farmer and justice of the peace in eastern Oklahoma. He fathered eight children with his first wife. She died at age 44 and he later remarried and had eight more, spending the rest of his life in Rose, Oklahoma, where he died in 1938.

Marion Wilson was born Fenruary 8, 1913, and moved to Amarillo, Rexas, in 1929. He joined the Army after Pearl Harbor. He said that his father had lived so far up in the Smokey Mountains that he knew nothing about slavery when he joined the Confederate Army.

--Old Secesh

Confederate Army Units Surrendered in Piecemeal Fashion-- Part 5

JUNE 3RD:   Captain Jonathan H. Carter surrendered the CSS Missouri to Lt. Cmdr. William Fitzhugh in Alexandria, Louisiana.

JUNE 23RD: Gen. Stand Watie surrendered the First Indian Brigade to Lt. Col. Matthews at Doaksville, Indian Territory.

JULY 4TH: Gen. Shelby led his Iron Brigade and Missouri Division across the Rio Grande at Eagle Pass, Texas, into Mexico to avoid surrender. Some former Confederate governors and generals accompanied him.

AUGUST 20, 1866: President Andrew Johnson declared the War Between the States officially over and peace restored.

--Old Secesh

Confederate Army Units Surrendered in Piecemeal Fashion-- Part 4

All dates are for 1865.

MAY 15TH: Gen. Echols disbanded the Department of East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia at Saltville, Virginia.

MAY 26TH: Gen. Buckner surrendered the Army of Trans-Mississippi to Gen Canby at New Orleans.

MAY 30TH: Gen. Slaughter and Col. Ford disbanded the remaining troops of the District of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona in Bronsville, Texas.

JUNE 2ND: Gen. Kirby Smith surrendered the Department of Trans-Mississippi to Gen. Canby at Galveston, Texas.

Several More Surrenders to Come. --Old Secesh

Gettysburg Cyclorama Gets Make-over-- Part 2

Despite the National Park Service having thousands of battle-related items, it was deemed a bad idea to put the real items out in the diorama, so re-enactors were called on to donate their used items, which fit the bill well.

The first showing of the Gettysburg Cyclorama was in Boston in 1884. Back then, before movies, cycloramas were a popular form of entertainment and traveled from city to city. And, there were more than one making the rounds.

The Gettysburg Cyclorama was created by French artist Paul Philippoteaux who took great efforts to insure historical accuracy. He interviewed survivors, researched uniforms and strategy and even hired a photographer to record the Gettysburg landscape. He eventually made four paintings of it, each a little different from the others. Two are known to survive and the one at the battlefield is the only one the public can view.

The painting depicts Pickett's Charge on July 3, 1863, in which 19,000 soldiers clashed. This was the final major action of the battle that resulted in Confederate defeat and was a turning point in the war.

Dioramas of the objects were considered an essential aspect of cycloramas as they blurred boundaries between the painting and viewers.

Men who were at the battle declared its integrity. Extensive research went into returning the diorama to its original form as sometime between its 1891 showing in Philadelphia and its 1911 display in 1911, when the painting was cut up into panels for a Newark department store, the diorama just disappeared.

What was left of the Gettysburg Cyclorama eventually came to Gettysburg in 1913 as a tourist attraction and the federal government acquired it in 1942.

Something I Need to See. --Old Secesh

Gettysburg Cyclorama Gets Make-Over-- Part 1

From the July 17, 2008, Chicago Tribune "Gigantic 1884 Gettysburg Cyclorama gets makeover" by Lisanne Renner, NY Times News Service.

The Gettysburg Cyclorame was scheduled to open September 26, 2008, after a 5-year restoration and for the first time in more than a century, you will be able to see it exactly as the artist originally intended.

Various props, even a full-size Union cannon, will be placed in the foreground of the painting to give the illusion of 3-D (should make the kiddies happy).

According to a 19th-century poster for the Cyclorama presents "the sublime spectacle of glorious Gettysburg in all the awful splendor of real war." But for decades, it hasn't been the same.

Conservators are putting final brushestrokes in the $15 milion restoration that will be featured in the new museum of the Gettysburg National Military Park.

The restored painting is now larger than before at 377 feet in circumference and 42-feet tall.

It Was Impressive Before...But Now...Wow!! --Old Secesh

Confederate Army Units Surrendered in Piecemeal Fashion-- Part 3

MAY 9TH: Gen. Forrest surrendered Forrest's Cavalry Corps to Gen. Wilson at Gainesville, Alabama.

MAY 10TH: Gen. Jones surrendered the Department of SC, Florida and South Georgia to Gen. McCook at Tallahassee, Florida.

MAY 10TH: Commodore Ebenezer Farrand surrendered the CSS Nashville, CSS Baltic, CSS Morgan and several other vessels to Admiral Henry Thatcher at Nanna Hubba, Alabama.

MAY 12TH: General Wofford surrendered the Department of North Georgia to Gen. Judah at Kingston, Georgia.

MAY 13TH: Last Battle of the War at Palmito Ranch in Texas near Brownsville. Confederates won.

A Sad Time. --Old Secesh

Confederate Army Units Surrendered in Piecemeal Fashion-- Part 2

Most people figure the war was over after Lee's surrender April 9, 1865, or perhaps after Johnston surrendered later in the month, but this does not cover all of the surrenders.

Continued from March 4, 2013.

MAY 5: Gen. Taylor surrendered the Departments of Alabama, Mississippi and East Louisiana to Gen, Canby at Citronelle, Alabama.

MAY 5TH: General Maury surrendered the District of the Gulf to Canby at Citronelle, Alabama.

MAY 5TH: President Davis met with his cabinet one last time in Washington, Georgia. They decided to dissolve the government of the Confederate States of America.

MAY 8TH: Captain James McNeill surrenders his Partisan Rangers to Gen. Rutherford B. Hayes (later U.S. president) at Sycamore Dale, West Virginia.

--Old Secesh

Heritage Attacks-- Part 3

April 6, 2013 KRQE "Confederate flag sparks free-speech battle" in Alamogrande, NM. Scott Brown flew it next to a U.S. flag and was asked to take it down. He did. Later that day the police came and cited him with breaking a 1963 state law because the Confederate flag "insulted" the U.S. one. The case is (was?) in court and he could go to jail. I'm insulted.

May 31, 2013: Lawsuit to restore the Confederate Park name in Memphis.

May 29, 2013 SC? Enquirer-Herald  "Confederate flags removed from veterans' graves." Some 88 Confederate flags were removed and tossed into the woods. The flags had been put there on the graves by the Private Thomas Caldwell Camp SCV.

--Old Secesh

Another Battle Flag Saved

From the Dec. 16, 2013, Beach Carolina Magazine "Sons of Confederate Veterans Funds Conservation of Another Battle Flag at Museum of History."

On November 21, SCV Camp 379 in Marion, NC, gave an $8,200 check to the NC Museum of History in Raleigh to preserve the battle flag of the 35th Regiment NC Troops after a two-year fund-raising effort.

The flag is in the museum's Confederate flag collection, one of the largest in the United States and is a standard wool bunting banner, missing the regimental numbers, possibly cut away as souvenirs.

Always Great to Save Something. --Old Secesh

Heritage Attacks-- Part 2: One Thing and Another

Here is a partial list of some items I mostly found offensive about attacks on Confederate heritage from last year:

FEB. 20TH: NAACP and SCV join forces versus the KKK about park renaming. Now, this is an act of much-needed co-operation. The KKK is a huge reason why Confederate heritage is so much under attack. I do not consider this a heritage attack.

MARCH 11TH: Old Slave Road in St. Louis may be getting a new name. Residents along the road say it offends people. Opponents say they're trying to sanitize history. Most property owners along it would like it renamed Elijah Madison Lane to recognize a former slave who fought in the Civil War.

APRIL 13TH: "Conferate flag flies high over Palestine, controversy heats up." The SCV on Saturday hoisted a Confederate flag in a private ceremony at Confederate Veterans Memorial Plaza. The NAACP, however, is upset, saying it is the banner of "hatred, depression, oppression, slavery, and it's nothing but divisive.

Then, there was all that controversy over Brad Paisley's "Accidental Racist" song. He was trying to explain why he is the way he is.

Who Says the Civil War Is Over? --Old Secesh

Heritage Attacks

It seems everytime I turn around, there is a new attack on Confederate heritage. I understand why some people don't like the Confederacy and don't blame them at all. But what I really hate is that so many people today put current beliefs and mindset onto people from back then and that should not happen. That is just the way it was.

I grew up in my much younger days in a very segregated South, complete with the colored and whites drinking fountains. This did not make me a racist (well, I wasn't old enough to really know, born 1951), it was just the way it was. I agree that it wasn't right from today's perspective, but back then, like I said, it was just the way it was.

Anyway, most everytime I see heritage attacks, it maddens me.

And, there is plenty to get mad about. After all, there are certain aspects about the main group that hates everything Confederate that I don't like, but, if you don't like it, ignore it.

My Ancestors Were Outnumbered and Under Attack Back Then and Still Are. --Old Secesh

Happy New Year and 2578th Post

I first posted on this blog in 2007 when it became evident that so much of my Down Da Road Blog was dealing with the Civil War, my very first big interest I acquired while growing up. I named it Saw the Elephant after the Civil War soldier term for when they saw battle.

I later broke the Running the Blockade Blog off of this one when I saw that I was writing so much about the naval part of the war.

That Is How It Came To Be.  --Old Secesh