2nd Texas Infantry, the Beckmann Brothers-- Part 3: Augustus Not So Lucky

Augustus Beckmann was wounded the same day that his brother William was, April 7, 1861, at the second day of fighting at the Battle of Shiloh.  He was wounded in the knee and then taken prisoner.

He was taken to Camp Dennison in Cincinnati where he died on May 9, 1862.  All he had with him at the time was his German Testament.  Years after the war, his body was disinterred and moved to Camp Chase in Columbus where he was reburied and had the incorrect name and company on his gravestone.

I have no doubt that part of the problem with his misidentification was because of his inability to speak English very well or his accent.

Of interest, his brother William Beckmann had been a prisoner at Camp Chase during the war.

--Old Secesh

2nd Texas Infantry Beckmann Brothers-- Part 2: Both Wounded and Captured at Shiloh

William and Augustus Beckmann's (the column also lists a brother Charles) first and only battle was at Shiloh.  Both brothers came through the first day's action, April 6, 1862, unscathed.  But, the next day proved not as fortunate as both were wounded and taken prisoner.  At this time, they were also separated.

William was shot in the calf and sent to a Union hospital in Louisville and then to Camp Chase in Columbus.  Six months later he was heading home as part of a prisoner exchange.  After the war, he settled in Mississippi, married, farmed and had a family.

He died in 1914.

2nd Texas Infantry, the Beckmann Brothers-- Part 1: They Join Company F, A German-Speaking Unit

From the August 23, 2016, Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch  "Theodore Decker Commentary:  After 154 years, family finally learn fate of fallen Civil War soldier" by Theodore Decker.

The brothers, Augustus and William Beckmann  came to America from the Grand Duchy of Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach, Germany, to find a better life.  They came for land and settled in Galveston, Texas.

Then, war came and they went to fight for their new country.  They enlisted in the 2nd Texas Infantry and became part of Company F, an all-German unit.  I imagine they felt comfortable with former countrymen.  Company F was also called the Mounted riflemen.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to find out any more about Company F, but imagine they had an interesting history.

--Old Secesh

2nd Texas Infantry, Company C, Bayland Guards-- Part 3: Sam Houston, Jr.

Colonel Ashbel Smith was wounded.  Sam Houston, Jr., 19, went missing in the action when he was wounded, but the bullet struck his metal-covered New Testament his mother had given him.

A Union chaplain found him and noted the inscription on the New Testament and, knowing his importance, gave him special care.

Sam Houston, Jr., was sent to Camp Douglas in Illinois, survived and returned home in September 1862.

The people who write this application are asking for the marker to the Bayland Guards and they did get it in 2010.

--Old Secesh

Second Texas Infantry, Company C, Bayland Guards-- Part 2: Half Killed or Wounded at the Battle of Shiloh

From the Application for Official Texas Historical Marker for Bayland Guards.

On April 27, 1861, a Harris County group from Baytown and Cedar Bayou and others from Barbers Hill in western Chambers County organized as the Bayland Guards.  Fifty-year-old Dr. Ashbel Smith trained and outfitted them at his Evergreen Plantation.

Sam Houston's son, Sam, Jr. was a member as were Samuel E. Jones and Charles Elliott Jones, sons of Anson Jones, the last President of the Republic of Texas.

The company and regiment arrived at Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee on April 3, 1861, and soon afterwards took part in the Battle of Shiloh, where the Bayland Guards led the Confederate advance into a Union camp with two other companies.  Half of Company C were killed or wounded in the assault.

--Old Secesh

Second Texas Infantry, Company C, Bayland Guards-- Part 1

Continued from September 9, 2016.

The incorrect grave marker for Augustus Beckmann also listed him as being in Company C of the 2nd Texas, as I found out, which was also incorrect.  But after finding out about this company, it had an interesting history and some somewhat famous members.

This outfit sounds to me like they were somewhat of an upper class group.  Plus, they were organized outside of Galveston.  I doubt that fairly recent immigrants like Augustus and William Beckmann would have had enough money to belong to an elite group.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 353: A Mixed Bag on This Decision

From the September 8, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Judge hits out at Confederate emblem as he dismisses flag lawsuit.  (Mississippi)  (Win, well Loss, kinda)  The headline made me think it was a judicial decision against us, as usual.  Probably someone having an issue with the flag being somewhere.

Someone having a lawsuit against the Mississippi state flag which, of course, has that Confederate emblem on it.  The person wanted to have the flag declared unconstitutional because it was a relic of slavery.  The judge throwing the lawsuit out was definitely a win for us, but then what he said gave time for a pause in our gratitude:  "Mississippi was so devoted to the subjugation of African-Americans that it sought to have a new nation predicated upon white supremacy."

Kind of Lets Us Know Where He Stands, But At Least He Was Fair Enough to Throw the Lawsuit Out.  --Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 352: High Schools Leading the Fight

From the September 3, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Confederate Flags fly on vehicles at Lake Arrowhead high school.  (California)  (Win)  Took place at Rim of the World High School.  One person complained about it so officials are looking into it.  Of course.

**  Confederate Flag controversy erupts at Des Moines high school.  (Iowa)  There shouldn't be controversy over the flag.

--Old Secesh

What It Is ... Is Aggression

Just as Abraham Lincoln's Union government waged a war of aggression to subjugate the former Southern states in their attempt to start a new county, we have another war of aggression transpiring against us now.  And the saddest part is that there are so many Southerners supporting Blacklash against us.

This is a war we can't win, just as our forefathers fought.  But, we will continue to do all in our power to resist it.

Hell, No!  Not Giving Up.  --Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 351: Flags Fly and Don't

From the September 7, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Confederate Flags Sold at Wayne County Fair Despite Controversy.  (Ohio)  (Win)  It is always good when someone has the nerve to stand up against Blacklash.

**  Confederate Flags absent Tuesday at Lake Arrowhead high school.  (California, Rim of the World High School)  (Loss)

**  Neo-Confederate protester on campus riles up passing students.  (University of North Texas)  (Loss)  Even though he was taking a stand, verbally assaulting students and waving the Confederate Flag isn't going to win any converts.

Neo-Confederate (But Don't Do that) and Proud of It, Though.  --Old Secesh

McHenry County Civil War Round Table Meeting Tonight: The Palmyra Massacre

Tonight, the McHenry County Civil War Round Table will meet at the Woodstock Public Library at 414 Judd Street in Woodstock, Illinois, from 7 to 9 p.m., CDST.

Tonight's topic will be the Palmyra Massacre and will be presented by Frank Crawford.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 350: Beware the Blacklash

From the September 1, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Students playing cornhole with Confederate Flag (the article headline had Confederate spelled with a small letter "c') board facing backlash.  (Trophy Club, Texas)  (Loss)  Byron Nelson High School.  Or is the correct term "blacklash?"  Ridiculous.

**  East High School student asked to remove Confederate Flag from car.  (Des Moines, Iowa)  (Loss)  And so it goes.

Blacklash Would Seem to Be a Good Term for This Anti-Confederate Movement.  --Old Secesh

And, Meanwhile, Back in Chicago: Chicago Breaks Last Year's Total of Shootings and Killings

I heard on WXRT this morning that the number of people shot in Chicago passed 3,000 yesterday.  Just this past weekend, 35 were wounded and 8 killed in these shootings.  Again, the media does not say what race those wounded and killed were, but judging from the locations, they would be mostly black.  And, we also know that the shooters were black as well.

That 3,000 makes more people shot in Chicago than in all of last year.  Over Labor Day weekend, Chicago also "broke" its total of murders for all of 2015.  And, we still have three and a half months to go in 2016.

Not a single incident of shooting or murder is attributed to a Confederate Flag, statue or memorial. None of them were done by anyone even waving a Confederate Flag.

I can not understand the black obsession with erasing my heritage because of the Charleston murders.  Not in light of them killing and shooting each other as they are doing in Chicago.

It is really a sad state of affairs.

Concentrate On WHAT Is REALLY Important.  --Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 349: What About Confederates Buried in National Cemeteries?

From the August 30, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  VA Announces Plan to restrict Display of Confederate Flag 'At Any Time' in National Cemeteries.  (Loss)  Twenty-nine of the cemeteries have Confederate soldiers buried in them.  Actually, this headline is misleading.  It still means that no Confederate Flag can be flown from any permanently fixed flagpole.

But private organizations can display the flag on Confederate graves on certain days.

Personally I would like to see all Confederate soldiers buried in National Cemeteries moved to one cemetery at a cost to be paid by the NAACP and other racist black organizations.and their white pcers.

Then I would make it where no black organization could visit the Confederate cemeteries (not that I would think they would anyway).  After all, those Confederate soldiers were racists and wanted to keep blacks sold into slavery by other blacks in Africa as slaves.  There could be no other reason for them to fight.  Well, at least what blacks seem to think.

--Old Secesh

15 Years Ago

From the September 11, 2016, Dogs of C-Kennel comic strip.

1.  Picture of a dog and the words:  "This is Bretagne the service dog, along with her handler.
2.  9-11 ruins:  "She searched the rubble for two weeks..."
3.  9-11 ruins:  "sadly, they were not able to find anyone."
4.  Being petted:  "She then became a therapy dog comforting those who had lost loved ones."
5.  "She was the last living service dog who had served on 9-11."
6.  The dogs of C-Kennel:  "We thank our first responders..."
7.  Dogs of C-Kennel:  "Both two-legged and four."

McHenry County (Illinois) Civil War Deaths-- Part 18: Powers to Rogers

Again, the number of deaths suffered by one small county was rather astonishing.

J.W. Powers
C. Preston
R. Prouse
N.E. Randall
C. Rapp
C. Reardon
T. Rees
G. Reiman
J.S. Reynolds
T. Rhodes
L.A. Rice
W.D. Robb
W. Roberts
E. Robinson
J. Rogers

--Old Secesh

McHenry County (Illinois) Civil War Deaths-- Part 17: Parker to Porter

W. Parker
G.W. Parson
M. Pease
F. Pecar
I.M. Pierce
W. Pierce
O.B. Perkins
M. Perry
B.B. Pettibone
J. Phillips
O. Pickett
G.W. Petit
O.E. Pomeroy
E. Porter

--Old Secesh

2nd Texas Infantry-- Part 3: At Battle of Shiloh

The Order of Battle for the 2nd Texas Infantry at the Battle of Shiloh"

2nd Army Corps under Major General Braxton Bragg.

Second Division under Brigadier General Jones M. Withers.

Third Brigade under Brigadier General John K. Jackson

Also in the Third Brigade:

17th Alabama
18th Alabama
19th Alabama
Georgia Battery under Capt. Isadore P. Girardey

At Shiloh, the 2nd Texas was led by Colonel John C. Moore
Lt. Colonel was William P. Rodgers.  (During the Mexican War he had gotten into a quarrel with Jefferson Davis which almost led to a duel.)  He was later killed at the Battle of Corinth on October 4, 1862.  A famous photograph was taken of his body and others in his command who died there.

Of 6.482 men at the Battle of Shiloh, the 2nd Division had 1,918 killed and wounded.

Jackson's 3rd Brigade had 86 killed, 365 wounded and 213 missing.

Heavy Fighting Indeed.  --Old Secesh

Second Texas Infantry-- Part 2: Fighting At the Hornet's Nest at the Battle of Shiloh

Continued from September 8, 2016.

The unit was at the Battle of Shiloh April 6-7, 1862, and cited for bravery as it fought on the right wing of the Confederate Army.  It helped capture the headquarters of three Union brigades and encircled Gen. Benjamin M. Prentiss' division at what became known as the Hornet's Nest.

By nightfall of April 6th, they had penetrated to within a very short distance of the steamboat landing, having pushed through the Union Army that far.

Both Augustus and William Beckmann came through the first day's fighting unscathed.  They were both wounded the next day.

--Old secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 348: Here's An Idea About Erasing the Confederacy-- Make 'Em Pay For It

It would appear certain groups of people who are so wanting to erase all vestiges of the Confederacy from everything are being very successful in their attempts.

They have most of the politicians and definitely the pc whites as well as courts supporting them.  If the Confederacy was outnumbered in its attempt to form their own country back in 1861-1865, they are even more outnumbered now.

Taking the payment of to the UDC at Vanderbilt to remove the name Confederate from Confederate Memorial Hall dormitory, I would propose that anytime there is someone desirous of the elimination of anything Confederate or banning the sale of Confederate items, they be made to pay to get their wishes in effect.

I propose at least $1 million for the removal or moving of any Confederate statue, name on a building or memorial already in place.  Anyone wanting to ban the wearing of or flying of any Confederate images at least $10,000 per incident.  (Perhaps we can have a cut-off date of fifty years, with anything to be removed after 1955 costing just $500,000.)

Payments can be made to Confederate organizations like the SCV or UDC.

I Mean, If It Is Going to Happen Anyway, Let's Be Fair About It.

Pay to Play.  --Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 347: No Flag, No Money

From the August 29-30, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  VA to nix Confederate Flags at cemetery flagpoles.  (National Cemeteries)  Sort of a Loss)  We already knew this, but that headline sure makes it sound like those American soldiers, as they are classified, can still have small Confederate Flags at their graves on certain days.  The flag just can't fly from a flagpole.

**  Another university furls Confederate-themed Mississippi Flag.  (Mississippi) (Loss)  Mississippi State became the sixth of the state's eight universities to do so.  However, the state flag will remain displayed at the 50-state flag display in the cafeteria.  Also, the Mississippi University for Women will no longer fly the flag.

The Way I See It, If a State School Refuses to Fly the State Flag, They Are Cut Off From State Aid Until They Do.  No Flaggee, No Money!  --Old Secesh

And, Meanwhile Back in Chicago, Blacks Keep Killing and Shooting Other Blacks

Even as all these attacks on Confederate heritage continues, mostly by blacks as well as all this BLM stuff, over the Labor Day weekend, 65 people, mostly black, were shot in Chicago and 13, mostly black, were killed.

And, these shootings and killings were not done by Confederate Flags, statues, memorials or even white racists.  They were done by other blacks.

I heard this morning on WXRT that Chicago's murder number for 2016 is now at 512, mostly blacks killed by other blacks.  The total for all of 2015 was 491, again, mostly blacks killing other blacks.

Makes You Wonder Where the Priorities in the Black Community Are?  --Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 346: Mims Park in Atlanta Assailed

From the Google Alerts for August 26, 2016, for Confederate.

**  Critics assail Atlanta park named for Confederate soldier.  (Loss)  The park in question is Mims Park.  It was named for Livingston Mims, mayor of Atlanta in 1900, who was also a major in the Confederate Army.  His descendants donated some of the land for the park which is now overgrown and in bad shape.

Atlanta's current mayor, Kasim Reed, a black man, says the park will be rehabilitated and likely will get a new name.

Perhaps Name It BLM Park or the Reed Parl?  --Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 345: Welcome to Our World BLM

From the August 26, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Arizona High School Allowed Confederate Flag Shirts but Banned Teen from wearing Black Lives Matter Shirt.    (Buckeye High School)  (Win)  This took place on August 23

This occurred after the administration received an anonymous complaint about the BLM shirt.  That sure sounds familiar.  Supposedly students had earlier worn Confederate Flag and White Power tee-shirts.  Now, they are also banned.

Welcome to Our World.  --Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 344: Should You Wear a Confederate Flag Shirt to Jury Duty?

From the Google Alerts for August 26, 2016, for Confederate.

**  Texas Judge Allows Re-Branding of Confederate-Named Schools to Proceed.  (Houston)   (Loss)  No big surprise there.  We can't win in court.

**  Is it illegal to wear a Confederate Flag shirt for jury duty in SC?  Apparently yes.  I would however, say any tee shirt with advertising on it shouldn't be worn into a court room for jury duty.  However, it would sure get you out of jury duty because then you'd be branded a racist.

--Old No-Shirt Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 343: "Faded and Worn" Confederate Flags Removed From Ga. Cemetery

From the August 25, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  70 Confederate Flags Stolen from Georgia Cemetery.  (Brunswick, Georgia) (Loss)  Oak Grove Cemetery.   Reported missing August 18.  Had been on graves since April.

Had a follow up on it several days later the Florida Times-Union reported that they had become faded and worn and removed by the Oak Grove Cemetery Association.  perhaps this wasn't a racially motivated thing by certain people.

**    UT removes Confederate inscription that it had  said would stay.  (University of Texas) (Loss)  Perhaps it is time for a lawsuit.

How Could Flags Get "Faded and Worn" That Badly In Just Over Two Months?  --Old Secesh

Second Texas Infantry-- Part 1: Raised to Defend Texas Coast

This is regards my blog entry of September 1 on Augustus Beckmann who was mortally wounded at the Battle of Shiloh, buried at Camp Dennison in Cincinnati under the wrong name and later moved to Camp Chase in Columbus.

He served in the 2nd Texas Infantry.

From the Texas State Historical Association.

The 2nd Texas Infantry was organized at Galveston, Texas, in September 1861 to protect the Texas coast.  The regiment moved to Camp Bee in Houston that September to complete its training.  It had ten companies.

By March 1862, it moved to Corinth, Mississippi, where it became part of the Army of the Mississippi, under General Albert Sidney Johnston.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 342: White Lives Matter

From the August 23, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  White Lives Matter Protester Armed and Waving Confederate Flags Protest at Houston NAACP. (From the Inqistr)   (Win and Loss)  I like the protesting, but not if they are armed.

**  Confederate Flag sales prompt boycott at Lorain County Fair (Ohio)  (Actually a Win)  It was decided to allow the sale of the flag, but the Lorain County Democratic Party has decided to boycott it.

Going for the Black Vote I Guess.  --Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 341: A Confederate Eyesore?

From the August 20, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Students greeted by Confederate eyesore.  (Univ. of Louisville Cardinal newspaper)  (Loss)  Really, after a hundred years it becomes an eyesore?  What was it before that?  Wonder if this writer is anti-Confederate or something?

**  Ole Miss to stop performing Confederate anthem Dixie.  (Univ. of Mississippi)  (Loss)  One of the great fight songs.  Gone because of pc.  Of course the school won't fly the state flag either.  Might as well move the place to Massachusetts.

--Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 340: The Loss of Our Heritage

From the August 20, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Five places where Confederate Monuments Have Recently Disappeared (Or Soon Will)  (Smithsonian magazine)  (Loss)

Vanderbilt Confederate Memorial Hall

New Orleans monuments

Louisville Confederate Monument

Baltimore Memorials

Jefferson Davis monument at University of Texas

Sad Days Indeed.  --Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 339: Jefferson Davis Highway

From the August 19, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Calls to change the name of Jefferson Davis Highway Confederate Tribute.  (Alexandria, Va.)  (Loss)

**  OK Cafe quietly moves Georgia flag with Rebel emblem.  (Athens, Georgia)  (Loss)  They had had a craved wood rendering of the flag.

What Does That Have to Do With Eating?  --Old Secesh

The Confederacy Under Attack-- Part 338: Lawsuits Filed Against Confederate Persecution

From August 16, 2016, Google Alerts for Confederate.

**  Artist Sues California for banning Confederate Flag.  (Win)  Artist Timothy Desmond.  The state law prevents him from showing his paintings at the Big Fresno Fair.  Of course, there is no way we can win with the current judicial system.

**  Lawsuit filed against a change in names of Houston schools from Confederate figures.  (Win)  But again, winning in the judicial system is an impossibility.

They Are Against Us.  --Old Secesh

Headstone of Confederate Soldier To Be Fixed After 154 Years-- Part 2

Greg Beckman, Augustus Beckmann's brother's great-great-grandson, teaches government at a high school in Placentia, California, pulled together the necessary documentation and asked the National Cemetery Administration to fix the headstone.  He recently learned his request was approved.

An administration spokeswoman said the approved stones are typically in place within sixty days.

Beckman's great-great-grandfather, William Beckmann, was Augustus' brother.  The two men came to America from present-day Germany between 1858 and 1860 and enlisted in the 2nd Infantry Division in Galveston.

"William never learned the fate of his brother, as (Augustus) was buried under the wrong surname of Bergman all those years," Beckman said.  "The last time they saw one another was on the battlefield of Shiloh."

Augustus Beckmann was buried under the name Bergman at Camp Dennison near Cincinnati, and the incorrect name followed him when his remains and those of 30 other soldiers were removed in 1869 and reinterred at Camp Chase.

Beckman said he was happy to visit his relative's gravesite but wasn't content with the incorrect inscription.  "I knew something had to be done about it," he said.

Job Well Done.  --Old Secesh

Headstone of Confederate Soldier To Be Fixed After 154 Years-- Part 1

From the August 28, 2016, Chicago Tribune, AP.

Augustus Beckmann was killed in the 1862 Battle of Shiloh and buried under the wrong name, A Bergman.

A Civil War soldier who was misidentified when he was buried in an Ohio cemetery more than 150 years ago is set to receive a new headstone, this time with the correct name.

Confederate soldier Augustus Beckmann was fatally wounded in the Battle of Shiloh on April 7,1862.  When he died as a prisoner, he was buried at the Camp chase Confederate Cemetery in Columbus, Ohio under the wrong name, A. Bergman, and the wrong company.

Beckmann's brother's great-great-grandson, Greg Beckman, discovered the error when he visited Camp Chase last Memorial Day.

--Old Secesh