And, the New War Continues-- Part 5: Get Your Facts Right, Mayor

Said the mayor,  "We will honor our history, we will respect the dead.  We make sure our legacy is to tell the truth and to remove evidence of racist historical revisionism.

"We will use the story of these monuments to tell the truth about a century of Jim Crow, economic oppression and those like the UDC and the Ku Klux Klan who spread their lies far beyond the boundaries of the rebellious states.  It's time for education.  It's time for people to learn the history of the nation."

Looks like it's time for the mayor to learn something about the nation's history and not just jump on the bandwagon after Charleston and Charlottesville.  Comparing the UDC to the Klan or an ultra-racist group is like calling the  DAR racist.

The men who are buried there in Madison were fighting to protect their homes and families from invaders.  These men being enlisted, probably very few if any even owned a slave.

Maybe the mayor should stop reading what the racist group Southern Poverty Law Center writes about in regards to the Confederacy.

It is  so surprising that the Confederacy was held in high regard all these years until recently.  And now, let's talk about revisionism as the mayor said.  Who's doing the revising?

Now, There Is One Really Racist Group.  --Old Secesh

And the New War Continues-- Part 4: Already Removed the Memorial Plaque

In 1981, the memorial plaque at the Confederate Rest section was placed at the Forest Hill Cemetery.  It describes the people buried there as "valiant Confederate soldiers" and "unsung heroes."  The privately funded plaque rested on a granite structure, said the soldiers were buried in a Union state after surrendering in a battle and dying at Camp Randall as prisoners of war.

Mayor Soglin had  the plaque  removed in August and he claims he had the right to do it. He said he received about 100 phone calls after doing that.  Most were opposed to what he did and came from out of the area (probably from those mean old UDC ladies).

He has contacted the Wisconsin State Historical Society about a place to store or display the plaque.

--Old Secesh

And the New War Continues-- Part 3: A History and a Hateful Mayor

Starting in April 1862, more than 1,000 captured Confederate soldiers were moved to Camp Randall, a Union training camp located where Camp Randall Stadium, home of the University of Wisconsin Badgers is located today.  Over the following days, 139 of the Confederates died.

According to the good mayor, in 1931 the UDC, "a racist and bigoted organization" installed the monument with names of them, honoring "treasonous rebels' as part of a national strategy of propaganda and determination to rewrite history providing a favorable interpretation of the Civil War."

"The larger monument at Madison's Forest Hill Cemetery is not a Civil War monument," he said.  "It was installed over 60 years after the end of the war.  It is a slab of propaganda paid for by a racist organization on public property when our city was inattentive to both the new form of slavery propagated by the donors with the Black Codes and to the meaning of that despicable fixture honoring slavery, sedition and oppression."

According to the good mayor, all those UDC  (United Daughters of the Confederacy) ladies must be card-carrying members of the KKK.

I sure would like to know where Mr. Soglin gets these ideas.  Sounds more of a person jumping on the bandwagon with all this Confederate hatred stuff.

Is Soglin Related to That New Orleans Mayor?  --Old Secesh

MCCWRT Discussion Group This Saturday: Civil War Industry North and South

The McHenry County Civil War Round Table will meet at Panera Bread in Crystal Lake, Illinois, this Saturday, July 28 at 10 a.m..  All are invited, even if you are not a member, just anyone with an interest in the Civil War.

Panera Bread is located at 6000 Northwest Highway, US Highway 14, near Main Street.

This month's subject of discussion:  Civil War Industry:  North and South.

--Old Secesh

And, the New War Continues-- Part 2: Madison Preparing to Desecrate Confederate Graves

Mayor Soglin has three propositions for the 1931 memorial in the cemetery:

1.  Remove it.

2.  Eradication a section that refers to the United Daughters of the Confederacy organization that installed it.

3.  Leaving it, but placing next to it "a new honest monument" that tells the story of how the Daughters have spread lies about slavery throughout the United States and "continues to do so to this day.

He says the third item would be his preferred solution. I would say that none of these are advisable.  Leave it as it is.  Soglin wants the City Council of Madison to make the final decision but will introduce a resolution.

I think an appropriate plaque would be a plaque explaining how so many Confederates came to die while in Union hands over a short period of time in their fair city.  Also, there should be acknowledgement of the atrocities Wisconsin and Union soldiers inflicted on Southern civilians, women and children during the war.

Kind of strange that that memorial was okay from 1931 to 2017,

But Now It Is Not.  --Old Secesh

And, the New War Continues-- Part 1: Madison, Wis. About to Embarrass Self

That new war is one being waged to completely wipe out everything having to do with the Confederacy and damage a people's heritage.

Though I have not been writing much about it, the current attempt to erase all aspects of the Confederacy from history continues.  I don't get as involved because it makes me so angry.

But, I see that in Madison, Wisconsin, a group will be making a decision of a Confederate monument in a city cemetery soon.  This story goes back to last summer.

From the August 22, 2017, Madison State Journal  "Mayor Paul Soglin calls Confederate memorials historical 'lies'" by Paul Mosiman.

He says the memorial placed at the Confederate Rest section of Forest Hill Cemetery in Madison a
"historical lie" placed there by a racist organization around 1931 to promote a new form of racism, rather than a monument of the Civil War.  What he refers to as a racist organization is the United Daughters of the Confederacy.  It is made up of female descendants of Confederates.  (Kind of like calling the DAR racist.)

Last week, he ordered the removal of a plaque placed by the memorial in 1981.

The memorial is there to mark the 139 Confederate prisoners who died at Camp Randall (present day Camp Randall Stadium) in Madison.

You Have to Wonder Where Mayor Soglin Is Getting His Information?  --Old Secesh

Battle of Atlanta Stats

From Wikipedia.

Took place July 22, 1864, southeast of Atlanta.

Main Union commanders:  William T. Sherman and John B. McPherson
Main Confederate commanders:  John Bell Hoof and William J. Hardee.

Union Army:  Army of the Tennessee
Confederate Army:  Army of Tennessee

Strength  Union 34,863
Strength:  Confederate 40,438

Union Losses:  3,641  and Gen. James B. McPherson and Colonel Lucien Greathouse killed.
Confederate Losses:  5,500 and at least 1,000 killed

--Old Secesh

Some More On the Battle of Atlanta

From, the American Battlefield Trust  "Battle of Atlanta, July 22, 1864."

After his defeat at Peachtree Creek, Confederate General Hood was still hoping to drive Sherman from the outskirts of Atlanta with an offensive blow.

On the night of July 21, he ordered Lt. General William J. Hardee's corps to make a 15-mile night march and assault the Union forces on the left flank, commanded by Major General James B. McPherson.  Both McPeherson and Sherman knew Hood from his days at West Point and suspected he would try such a move.

They then held one of the corps in position to meet the attack.  This was a big reason Hood's attack failed.

--Old Secesh

Truman Murray, 48th Illinois-- Part 2: Drum Major

Truman Murray enlisted in Co. F, 48th Illinois on September 1, 1861, as principal musician private. This was after the death of his wife Cordelia in 1861.  He was drum major and took part in the battles of Fort Henry, Fort Donelson and Shiloh.

After that he was discharged early because of his age and then went to Aurora, Illinois, where he met and married his third wife.  Late in 1865, they moved to a farm near Lawton, Michigan, where they resided before going to Santa Barbara, California, in 1970 where they lived the remainder of their lives.

This Man Sure Moved A Lot.  --Old Secesh

Truman Murray, 48th Illinois Infantry, Enlisted At Age 56

From Find-A-Grave.

I happened to come across this man while looking for information on Lucien Greathouse.  He was very old to be enlisting when he did.

TRUMAN MURRAY

Born 5 August 1805 in Fairfield, NY.
Died 22 October 1879 in Santa Barbara, California, age 74
Buried Santa Barbara Cemetery

According to the 1860 Federal Census, he was 54 and living in Galesburg, Illinois. with his wife Cordelia, 40, and children Emily, 17) and William, 16.

He Sure Did Some Traveling In His Life, From East Coast to West Coast.  --Old Secesh

Battle of Atlanta, Troup Hurt House-- Part 4: Confederate Loss Led to Siege of Atlanta

There is a tour you can take of the key points of the Battle of Atlanta, July 22, 1864.  (I wonder if it has where Col. Greathouse was killed?)

The fighting that day was one of the biggest battles in the final ten months of the war, and the Union victory east of the city was followed by the daily bombardment of Atlanta and the eventual Union capture of the "Gate City of the South" on September 2, 1864.

I always thought the Battle of Atlanta took place on the west side of Atlanta since Sherman's Army was coming southward from that direction.  But it didn't.

I also wonder if they have the spot where Col. Greathouse was killed marked?

--Old Secesh

Battle of Atlanta, the Troup Hurt House-- Part 3: Success Eluded the Confederates

A historic marker at the north end of De Gress Avenue before it turns sharply east, indicates the location of the De Gress Battery.  Together the combined action of Manigault's brigade and other elements of Brown's and Clayton's Confederate Divisions opened a half-mile gap in the Union line that could further be exploited and this could have turned the tide of battle.

However, the Confederate success was short-lived and they were soon driven back by a ferocious Union counter attack.  General Sherman, observing the action from a position three-fourths of a mile north of the Troup Hurt House, directed cannon fire against the Confederate front and behind it, thwarting further gains and preventing reinforcement.

Union Major General John A. Logan, who had earlier in the afternoon replaced the fallen Major General James B. McPherson as commander of the Army of the Tennessee gathered reinforcements and led the successful infantry counteroffensive.

The federal troops did not pursue the retreating Confederates, and the fighting in the vicinity of the Troup House came to a close.  Combat continued until dark at Leggett's Hill.

--Old secesh

Battle of Atlanta, the Troup Hurt House-- Part 2: Confederate Break Through

The most famous moments of the Battle of Atlanta occurred at this site:  a mid-afternoon Confederate attack on the entrenched Union 15th Corps, followed shortly by a Federal counterattack.  The Cyclorama shows this decisive moment, taking place at around 4:30 p.m., when Union General John A. Logan rallied his troops to restore the broken Federal line and turn back the attacking Confederates.

Brigadier General Arthur M. Manigault's brigade had spearheaded the mid-afternoon Confederate assault.  Manigault's troops, followed by Col. Jacob H. Sharp's brigade pf Brown's Confederate division, drove a wedge through the Union line at the railroad cut near the present-day Inman Park MARTA station, poured through this opening, and forced the Union defenders to retreat.

Manigault's troops then fanned out to the north and captured the Troup Hurt House and  Captain Francis De Gress's four-gun 20-Pdr. Parrot battery.

--Old Secesh

Battle of Atlanta: The Troup Hurt House-- Part 1: Where Col. Greathouse was killed.

From the Battle of Atlanta Digital Scholarship.

On Digress Avenue:  Site of two famous moments in the Battle of Atlanta: The Confederate capture of the Troup Hurt House and the De Gress Battery and the successful Union counterattack.

Evidently, this is the where Lucien Greathouse was killed in the counterattack.  I was a bit confused by my readings on this battle as apparently the 48th Illinois had retreated and then counter attacked..

The Troup Hurt House is no longer standing but is featured prominently in the Battle of Atlanta Cyclorama painting on high ground north of the Georgia Railroad (now the right of way for MARTA commuter line and the CSX Railroad).

The site is now a privately-owned  home which was a church at one time.  The church was built in 1907.

--Old Secesh

Death of Col. Lucien Greathouse: A First-Hand Account

Letter from William H. Odell who served in Co. B of the 48th Illinois.  Letter in the Illinois State Historical Society.

"on the 22nd the enemy charged our works and tried to swing both our right and left flanks but we gave them a good and genteel whipping taking as estimated by General Logan 12 Thousan & 50 prisoners.  besides killing greate numbers, in this Battal our Colonel [Lucien Greathouse] was killed, poor fellow he was so good a Man as ever drew lifes breth.

"I loved him as a brother for he always treated me as such.  he fell amid the hotest of the contest with his sword in one hand & his hat in the other, cheering his never failing men to victory.

"fighting hard until night our Boys was very tired of over heat, for it was a vary hot day.  one Rebel Colonel Rode up to our works & demanded a surrender, but he soon fell to the ground, a victim to death & notorious trator to his country."

Spelling left as it was but paragraphs inserted.

Wonder What Happened to Lucien's Sword?  --Old Secesh

Col. Lucien Greathouse-- Part 6: Monument Inscription

Continuing with the inscriptions on his grave monument at Old City/State Cemetery in Vandalia, Illinois.:

"He led the command in forty hard pitched battles and was killed with the flag of his country in his hands standing upon the breast works of the enemy before the city of Atlanta, GA in the memorable fight of July 22, 1864.  May God and his country deal justly."

"Born Carlinville, Illinois 7th Day of June 1842 A.D. and was killed at the head of his regiment aged 22 years one month and fifteen days."

"WE CAN NOT WIN HIM BACK    You shall not mourn, oh daughters and sons, for the noble cause of liberty comes with a price of the supreme sacrifice of the gallant, the brave, and the best that one day all men may be free."

--Old Secesh

Col. Lucien P. Greathouse-- Part 5: Buried at Old City Cemetery in Vandalia.

It was reported that he had  been promoted to brigadier general  two days before his death.  The promotion was in the mail.

His body was returned to Vandalia and buried at Old City Cemetery (also called Old State Cemetery as Vandalia at one time was the capital of Illinois).  A sixteen-foot monument was erected at his grave with the 40 battles he fought in inscribed on one side.

Other inscriptions on it read "His example was worth a thousand men," General J.A. Logan.  "The bravest man in the army of the Tennessee,"  Gen. W.T. Sherman.

--Old Secesh

Col. Lucien P. Greathouse-- Part 4: Killed Leading Charge At Age 22 Years At the Battle of Atlanta

At the Troup Hurt House, the 48th Illinois led the charge.  Riding a large horse, Col. Lucien Greathouse led the way.  Forced to retreat, though, a Confederate yelled "Surrender, can't you see you are beaten?"  Lucien replied, "Beat hell, we've just come into the fight."

Riding forward with saber in hand he was struck in the chest by an enemy round and instantly killed.

Though he died, that charge turned the tide of the battle.

He was killed July 22, 1864, at the age of 22 years, one month and 15 days."

--Old Secesh

Lucien P. Greathouse-- Part 3: Company C, 48th Illinois

He taught school after graduation from Indiana University and studied law under his brother, Tevis Greathouse, in Vandalia, Illinois.

Greathouse enlisted and helped recruit Company C of the 48th Illinois and quickly rose through the ranks, eventually joining the regimental staff.  When he left Company C, he was given a jewel inlaid sword.

The 48th Illinois was at Vicksburg with General Grant and fought in 40 battles before going with General Sherman on his March to the Sea.

At the Battle of Atlanta there was a large brick house owned by Troupe Hurtt (or Troup Hurt House) that the Confederates were using as a stronghold.

--Old  Secesh

Lucien P. Greathouse-- Part 2: Graduated Indiana University at Age 16

Born June 7, 1842. Died July 22, 1864.  U.S. Army colonel.

He led his regiment in 40 battles and was killed at the age of 22 with the flag of his regiment and country in his hands at Atlanta on July 22, 1864.

KIA.

He first commanded Company C of the 48th Illinois Infantry before rising to command the regiment.

Lucien Greathouse was born in Carlinville, Illinois where his father was states attorney.  In 1856, he enrolled at McKendree College in Lebanon, Illinois, and then entered Indiana University where he graduated in 1858, just after his 16th birthday.

Quite a Young Man.  --Old Secesh

July Civil War Trust 2018 Calendar: Cedar Mountain, Virginia

From the 2018 Civil War Trust 2018 Calendar, July.

CEDAR MOUNTAIN, VIRGINIA

498 Acres Saved

The Battle of Cedar Mountain on August 9, 1862, marked the first major Civil War battle in Culpeper County, Virginia --  and, with an estimated 2,707 casualties, was also the bloodiest.

Today the Trust is actively working with the county and our partners to transform the battlefield into a state park, together with the battlefield at  the nearby Brandy Station, site of the largest cavalry battle ever fought on American soil.

I Could Have Sworn It was Spelled Culpepper County.  Learn Something Ever' Day.  --Old Seceshpep

Lucien P. Greathouse-- Part 1: Youngest Union Colonel?

While researching William McHenry for my Not So Forgotten War of 1812 blog, I found than he was buried in Old State Cemetery in Vandalia, Illinois.  Another person buried there is one Col. Lucien Greathouse who was killed at the Battle of Atlanta while leading his troops.

I'd never heard of him.

There wasn't even an article about him in Wikipedia or even a stub, even though one source I found said he was the youngest Union colonel in the war.  He was just 22 when he was killed.

He commanded the 48th Illinois Infantry Regiment.

Looks like I will have to do some research on him.

I have been writing a lot about the Star-Spangled Banner and Fort McHenry in my War of 1812 blog.  I thought that McHenry County, Illinois, where we live, was named after Fort McHenry, but it was named after William McHenry.

--Old Secesh

The Cornelius Attwood "Star-Spangled Banner" Fragments-- Part 1

From Just Collecting  R.R. Auction   Lot 423  Star-Spangled Banner.

A nice picture of the fragments accompany the article.  "Spectacular and well-documented pair of fragments..  They come from the family of General Cornelius Gilbert Attwood, 25th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry."

The remnants consist of a white swatch 2 X 3.25 inches and a red swatch 1.5 X 1.25 inches.  Originally they were separate but sewn together as part of a flag relic display.  Additional swatches, one of red and white and the other of blue with white fringe are from the flags of the 25th Massachusetts.

--Old Secesh

MCCWRT Meeting July 10: Gettysburg in Memorial

The McHenry County Civil War Round Table will be meeting oh July 10, Tuesday, at the Woodstock Public Library (in Illinois) at 7 p.m.

This month's topic will be "Gettysburg in Memorial" and will be presented by Steve Acken.

The library is located at 414 Judd Street.

Come early and enjoy that wonderful  historic Woodstock Square, where so much of the movie "Groundhog Day" was filmed.

--Old Secesh

"The World Will Little Note" Or, Did It?

Gettysburg in Memorial.  From the MCCWRT July bulletin.

On June 1, 1865, Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner gave a eulogy for the recently deceased President Abraham Lincoln.  He referred to Lincoln's most famous speech, the Gettysburg Address and called it a "monumental act."

He said Lincoln was wrong when he said that "the world will little note nor long remember what we say here."  Sumner said, "The world noted at once what he said, and will never ever cease to remember it."

"The battle itself was less important than the speech."

Well, I Don't Know About That.  --Old Secesh

Cornelius Attwood's Funeral-- Part 4: Postwar Career

At the close of the war, he entered the bonds brokers' business, and in 1869 was made the deputy collector of customs at Boston.  He held that place for five years and then became secretary of the board of trade, relinquishing that office in 1879 to take the state agency of the Mutual Life insurance company of New York, the post he held at his death.

In 1876, Col. Attwood was appointed inspector general of the state militia by Gov. Rice and continued at that office three years, reorganizing the militia  thoroughly and establishing a method and a working basis the effects of which are still felt.

It was in this service that gave him the title of general by which in later years he was known.

He was prominent in the Grand Army and in the Loyal Legion and was at one time commander of the Veteran Tigers.

Col. Attwood was a native of Bangor, Maine, having been born there October 27, 1836, but he moved to Boston when he was a boy, and educated in Boston schools.

Cornelius was the son of Bradbury C. Attwood.

(This obituary clears up some questions I had about how he became a general and who the Tigers were.)

--Old Secesh

Cornelius G. Attwood's Funeral-- Part 3: Fought In Many Battles

With rthis regiment in many of the telling engagements of the war, Roanoke Island, Newbern, Goldsboro, Drewry's Bluff and Cold Harbor among the rest.  In the last battle he was wounded during the famous charge of the 3rd of June, but the final engagement he took part in which he took part was that in the crater before Petersburg.

He was mustered out because of disability in August, 1864, and afterwards was breveted colonel of volunteers.

--Old Secesh

Cornelius G. Attwood's Death-- Part 2: Death Came Suddenly

Springfield Republican
Springfield, Massachusetts
January 28, 1888

THE DEATH OF COL. Cornelius C. Attwood, which came suddenly yesterday morning at his home in West Roxbury, will bring sorrow to many circles in the commonwealth, for Col. Attwood's business, military and social connections were widely extended, and his was an attractive and striking personality.

Col. Attwood's earliest public service was in the war of the rebellion.  As a young man of 25, he enlisted in the first call for the three months' men, a second lieutenant in the 3rd battalion of rifles organized in Worcester County.

Hardly had he been mustered out of service when the years' call came, and he went to work to raise a company of which he was made a captain and which was assigned to the 25th regiment.

--Old Secesh

General Cornelius Attwood's Death-- Part 1

From Find-A-Grave.

From the January 24, 1888, Worcester Daily Spy.

General Attwood's Funeral

Veterans Follow An Honored Comrade to the Grave

The funeral of Gen. Cornelius G. Attwood took place yesterday, geld at his late residence West Roxbury.

There was a large attendance of military and personal friends of the deceased, the Loyal Legion, Edward W, Kinsley Post 113, G.A.R., the Tigers and the Twenty-fifth Massachusetts Regiment Association being represented by about 158 comrades....

The remains were then conveyed to Mt. Benedict cemetery.

--Old Secesh

Put My 34-Star Civil War Flag Out for 4th of July

Earlier today, I put out my U.S. flags and patriotic items.

One of the flags I put up was a 34-Star Round flag that was used in the United States between 1861 and 1863.  There is a big star in the center of the Union and stars arranged in two circles going out from it.  In each corner there was also a star.

When Fort Sumter was fired upon, the flag had 33 stars.  But Kansas became a state and it went to 34 stars.

There were several variations of the 34-star flag.  One had four rows of 7 stars and a middle row of 6.  Another was the 34-star Great Flower Design and yet another was the 34-star cluster.  Go to Historical Flags Of Our Ancestors Flags of the American Civil War.

Happy Birthday U.S.A..  --Old Secesh, But Not So Much Today

General Cornelius Attwood-- Part 6: Find-A-Grave

Born 27 October 1836 in Bangor, Maine.  Died 19 January 1888 in West Roxbury, Massachusetts.

Buried:  Mount Benedict Cemetery in West Roxbury, Massachusetts.

Post Cmdr. Edward W. Kinsley Post, No. 113, Grand Army of the Republic, Boston, Massachusetts.

--Old Secesh

General Cornelius Attwood-- Part 5: Post-War

Major Attwood and the 25th Massachusetts were mustered out October 20, 1864 and later he was brevetted to lieutenant colonel and soon thereafter to brigadier general.

After the war, he was appointed Deputy Collector for the Port of Boston and later was the Secretary of the Board of Trade.  In 1876 he was appointed Inspector General of Massachusetts where he was principally in charge of the state militia.

He held numerous DAR offices  including Post Commander, National Quartermaster and National Adjutant General.

He died January 19, 1888.

--Old Secesh

General Cornelius Attwood-- Part 4: The 25th Massachusetts

Attwood's 25th Massachusetts was in more than 25 battles and skirmishes.  Besides Roanoke Island, some of them were New Bern, N.C., Goldsboro, N.C., Drewry's Bluff, and Cold Harbor where Major Attwood was wounded and Petersburg.

Out if the 300 men mustering in for the assault at Cold Harbor, the regiment had 24 killed, including 6 officers and 142 wounded and 49 missing.

--Old Secesh

General Cornelius Attwood-- Part 3: Items

During his career, he acquired two swords.  The first was a foot officer's sword inscribed "Lieut. C.G. Attwood."  The second was a staff and field officer's sword inscribed on the top mount "Capt. C.G. Attwood, Boston."  The steel scabbard has all of his promotions listed as well as all of the battles he fought in.

A Maine descendant of his gave his gold bullion general's epaulets, several CDVs, a signed regimental history, a war oil painting and other items to a museum.

--Old Secesh