John Marshall Branum's Grave

From December 5 and 6, 2019.  Click on label below to see what I wrote back then.  Today, I am just using blog entries I have written earlier as my computer keeps stopping.

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From Find-A-Grave.

Birth:  27 April 1841  Belmont County, Ohio.

Death:  19 March 1865 (age 23)

Burial:  Weeks Cemetery  Bridgeport, Ohio, Belmont County.

--Old Secesh

Presidential Visits to Antietam Battlefield-- Part 2: Andrew Johnson's Visit

**  Andrew Johnson, Lincoln's successor,  was next to pay a visit to the battlefield.    While the Radical Republicans in Congress were doing everything they could to impeach him, Johnson traveled to the battlefield on September 17, 1867, the fifth anniversary of the battle, to deliver an address at the dedication of the National Cemetery there.

While his speech that day was not as famous or eloquent as Abraham Lincoln's at Gettysburg, it was at times stirring:  "When we look at yon battlefield, I think of the brave men who fell in the fierce struggle of battle, and who sleep silent in their graves.  Yes, many of them sleep  in silence and peace within this beautiful enclosure after the earnest conflict had ceased."

--Old Secesh

Presidential Visits to Antietam Battlefield-- Part 1: McKinley and Lincoln

Today, I wrote about the speech President William McKinley gave at the Antietam Battlefield for Decoration Day (it was called this before changing to Memorial Day) in 1900 where he stressed he unification of the North and South after the bloody Civil War.  This was in my Civil War II blog.  Sadly, events today where certain groups are trying to erase any and all things Confederate, was not that way back 120 years ago.  The word was reunification and let bygones be bygones.

From the National Park Service:  Antietam National Battlefield, Maryland, "Presidential Visits to Antietam."

There is a strong presidential connection to Antietam battlefield ranging from  future president William McKinley being there during the battle and no less than eight sitting presidents have visited the site.

**  The first, of course, was Abraham Lincoln, who spent four days traveling over the battlefield in October 1862, just two weeks after the battle.  He met with his general, McClellan and tried to prod him to action.  While there, the president met with other generals and thousands of wounded soldiers, both Union and Confederate.

His trip is well documented with many photographs, including that one in the tent conversing with McClellan.  Until recently, I had not noticed the Confederate flag on the ground behind Lincoln until someone in Civil War Talk pointed it out.

--Old Abe to Little Mac.  --Old Secesh

Johnston's River Line Defense-- Part 5: Shoup's Formidable Design

At the rear, or base of the fort, and behind the line would be a entrance (sally port) where troops could enter or leave the fort safely.

From above, the defensive line would look like a saw blade with the trenches connecting the forts receding  at a backward angle to each redan and then at forward angle  to the next fort creating what Francis A. Shoup  called a re-entrant (salient).

Along the front of the trenches would be walls or palisades made of stockades.

Each fort could hold up to eighty men.  Soldiers within the forts could load rifles and hand them up to riflemen on the earthen platforms who would then provide interlocking fields of fire channeling attacking forces  towards the re-entrant formed by the receding tranches where artillery fire from the redans would sweep the ground.

If all the forts  were manned at once, the River Line would prove to be quite formidable.

And, I'd Never Heard of This Francis A. Shoup Before.  --Old Secesh

Johnston's River Line Defense, Atlanta-- Part 4: A Unique Design

Construction on what initially was called the  Chattahoochee River Line started on June 19 and took about two weeks using a labor force of soldiers well enough to work from local hospitals and over 1,000 impressed slaves.  I like to think this was when Scarlett O'Hara saw slaves from Tara going through the streets of Atlanta with picks and shovels in the movie "Gone With the Wind."

Some trenches already existed near the state railroad bridge but the vast amount of defenses had to be built from scratch.

THE SHOUPETTES

Francis A. Shoup's defensive design consisted of arrowhead-shaped infantry forts -- 36 were built -- spaced 175 yards apart and connected by trenches broken every  30 to 75 yards by artillery redans that each would house two cannons.

Each of the arrowhead forts, which came to be called Shoupades after the designer, consisted of an earthen foundation with log walls or parapets extending 14 to 20 feet high depending upon the terrain.  Interior earthen walls would stop short of the log exterior walls, forming a platform on which infantrymen could fire over the top of the fort.

And, There's More.  --Old Secesh

Johnston's River Defense Line, Atlanta-- Part 3: Francis A. Shoup's Plan

From the beginning of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman's Atlanta Campaign in May 1864, he had continually outflanked Confederate General Johnston's army forcing them to fall back to a defensive position at Kennesaw Mountain in late July.  Johnston saw the nearby Chattahoochee River as a major  boundary between him and the city of Atlanta.  He had already sent a hundred men to guard the railroad bridge over the river at Bolton.

Johnston feared he would lose thousands of men captured should he have to cross the river if he were to be driven back and decided there should be a defensive line on his side of the river.

On June 18, 1864, roughly a week before the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, Johnston was approached by his artillery commander, Brigadier General Francis A. Shoup, about constructing a defensive line  atop a ridge along the northwest bank of the river (on the opposite side from Atlanta).  The Confederate Army could withdraw to this place should Sherman continue outflanking maneuvers

Shoup's design for the fortifications was such that it would only take a small fraction of Johnston's forces to defend them while, if necessary, the rest of the army would have time to get across the river.

Johnston approved Shoup's plan and work on it began the next day.

--Old Secesh

Johnston's River Line Defense, Atlanta-- Part 2: Comparable to France's Maginot Line

Before I read about it in the article I used in my other blog, I had never heard of this Line before, even though I lived outside of Atlanta for awhile.  So, this is all new to me.

It must have been quite an impressive fortification as the Wikipedia article says it is often compared to the French Maginot Line built prior to World War II.  Today, it is part of the River Line Historic Area and the Chattahoochee  River Line Battlefield.  It consists of the remains of Confederate battlements including  unique fortifications called Shoupades, named after their designer, Confederate Brigadier General Francis A. Shoup.

The remnants are spread out over an approximately six-seven mile stretch  along the northwest side of the river from a point just north of where Nickajack Creek joins he Chattahoochee in Mableton to north of South Atlanta Road in Smyrna/Vinings.

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 5, 1973.  Although many of the remains are on private property, visitors can access the site off U.S. 78 in Mableton, and off S.R.  280 and S. Atlanta Road in Smyrna/Vinings.

--Old Secesh

Johnston's River Line Defense, Atlanta, Georgia-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

In my Civil War II:  The Continuing War on the Confederacy, I mentioned that part of Johnston's River Line was being turned into a park along the Chattahoochee River and that after two years, they came up with a name for the park.  The big hold up came from calling it maybe Confederate or naming it after the Confederate general who had it built to stop Sherman, Joseph E. Johnston.

And, of course, these days, there are those who go ballistic with anything commemorating the "C" word.

The compromise name is going to be Discovery Park at the River Line.

This stretch of fortifications has gone by several names over the years, including Johnston's River Line, Johnston's Line, The Chattahoochee River Line or simply The River Line.  It is a defensive line located in the  communities of Mableton, Smyrna and Vinings, Georgia, and was ordered built by Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston in July 1864.

No significant battle took place here, though.

You can read about what I wrote in the other blog by clicking on the Civil War II blog to the right of this.

--Old Secesh

John Quincy Adams Ward-- Part 2: Some of His Civil War Statues

These are some of the statues he made regarding Civil War personage:

1869  Seventh New York Regiment Memorial in Central Park, N.Y.

1871  General John F. Reynolds Statue in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

1878  William Gillmore Simms statue in Charleston, S.C.

1879  General George Henry Thomas , Washington, D.C.

1887  James A. Garfield Monument in Washington, D.C.

1891  Henry Ward Beecher Monument in Cadman Plaza, Brooklyn, N.Y.

1898  Equestrian statue of Gen. Winfield S. Hancock at the Smith Memorial Arch in Philadelphia, Pa.

1910  Financier August Belmont, Newport, R.I.

1916  Gen. Philip Sheridan statue in Albany, N.Y.  completed posthumously.

--Old Secesh

John Quincy Adams Ward-- Part 1: the Man Who Made the Sheridan Statue at Albany

From Wikipedia.

(June 29, 1830-May 1, 1910)

American sculptor whose most-known work is the larger-than-life-size standing statue of George Washington on the steps of the Federal Hall National Memorial in New York City.

Born in Urbana, Ohio, founded by his paternal grandfather, Col. William Ward, an American Revolution officer.  After training as a sculptor in Brooklyn, N.Y., , he went to Washington, D.C., in 1857, where he made a name for himself doing busts of prominent men. 

In 1861, he worked for the Ames Manufacturing Company  in Massachusetts  where he made models for projects, including  gilt-bronze sword hilts for Union officers.  Ames was one of the largest bronze, brass and iron  foundries in the United States at that time.

He set up a studio in New York City and pushed for an American School of Sculpture and became one of the preeminent sculptors of his generation.

--Old Secesh

May 13, 1867: Jefferson Davis Posts Bail and Gets Out of Prison

From the May 13, 2020. WHSV 3 News  "On this day: Confederate President Jefferson Davis posts $100,00 bail" by Rachel DePompa.

On this day, May 13, 1867, former Confederate President Jefferson Davis was released from prison at Fortress Monroe in Virginia after two years of captivity.

In the 1950s, the United Daughters of the Confederacy paid the U.S. Army  to build an archway near the fort that said "Jefferson Davis  Memorial Park.  This was also at the place where black slaves were first brought to Virginia in 1619.

Last year, the arch was removed and placed in a museum (part of the anti-Confederate movement).

After the war, many wanted Davis hanged for treason but it was decided that he would go to trial.  Due to several delays, this trial never happened and he was never tried for treason.  The charges were eventually dropped.

--Old Secesh

What They Said About Sheridan's Statue

The 10 Facts article had four comments, so I figured to take a look at them, thinking at least one would want the statue taken down because of what he did to the Indians.

#1.  Sheridan's desk that he used during the 1864 Shenandoah Campaign can be found at North bend, Virginia, which was his headquarters.  Today, it is a B&B

#2.  Take it down.  Participated in the genocide  of Southerners and Native Americans sits on public land."

#3.  Great commander. Too bad people of Albany don't know about their connection with him.

#4.  "The monument should be taken down because it is a symbol of racism, hate, genocide, and crimes against humanity against Native Americans.  It is an embarrassment to the state of New York."

Sounds Familiar.  --Old Secesh

10 Facts About Phil Sheridan-- Part 7: His Statue

In the fall of 1916, the monument, designed by  sculptor John Quincy Adams Ward, and finished by Daniel Chester French, was ready to be installed.

On October 7, there was a parade for the unveiling.  Albany Mayor John Stevens even declared a half-day holiday so people could attend the ceremony.  A big crowd, described as "a mighty throng", turned out for it.

A series of officials and guests of honor made speeches before the statue was unveiled.

Mayor Stevens said:  I do not posses the eloquence to do so, nor is it my function to speak of the great military genius, the great services rendered to the nation by General Sheridan.  This will be dwelt upon by  the eminent speakers whom I shall have the honor to introduce.  My only desire is to express the appreciation of all concerned for this beautiful memorial -- dedicated to the memory  of Gen. Philip H. Sheridan, in the city of his birth."

--Old Secesh

10 Facts About Phil Sheridan-- Part 6: His Statue in Albany

10.  THE UNVEILING OF HIS STATUE IN ALBANY DREW A HUGE CROWD.

Sheridan died in 1888 and three decades later a movement started in New York to erect a statue honoring him.  Apparently Ohio had taken the lead in claiming  the famous general as its own and New York wanted to get in on the action.

New York's governor, Martin Glynn, publicly started off the campaign, and called for the people of Albany  to raise $10,000 for the monument.  If the city accomplished this, he said the legislature to put up $20,000.  Glynn remarked:  State pride and local pride demand that this be done."

--Old Secesh

10 Facts About Phil Sheridan-- Part 5: Yellowstone and the Great Chicago Fire

8.  HIS INFLUENCE HELPED YELLOWSTONE BECOME A NATIONAL PARK

Sheridan ended up being a key proponent of the protection of what is today Yellowstone National Park in 1870.  At one point, he even directed a cavalry unit to take control of it to prevent development.

A mountain peak there was named in his honor.

9.  HE WAS (BRIEFLY) THE MILITARY RULER OF CHICAGO

The post from which Sheridan oversaw the forces in the Great Plains was Chicago (because it was a major railroad intersection) and he was there during the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.  he took a major role in fighting the fire, ordering his troops to  dynamite buildings in the path of the flames in order to block them.

And, he briefly was ruler of the city when martial law was imposed following the fire.

--Old Secesh

10 Facts About Phil Sheridan-- Part 4: "The Only Good Indians I Ever Saw Were Dead"

**  6.   HE WASN'T A FAN OF TEXAS

After the war, Sheridan went to Texas and Louisiana to oversee Reconstruction there.    He's credited with being an opponent to corruption and  stirred things up when he dismissed the governor of Texas.  He ended up being removed by President Johnson who reportedly told U.S. Grant that Sheridan's term there had "been one of  absolute tyranny."

Sheridan, for his part, wasn't too impressed with Texas.  Reportedly he once said:  "If I owned Texas and Hell, I would rent Texas and live in Hell."

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**  7.  HE OVERSAW BRUTAL CAMPAIGNS AGAINST NATIVE AMERICANS --  AND BISON

His postwar career also had him overseeing military campaign against the Indians of the West.  And, he employed the same "scorched earth" tactics he had used against the Confederates.  In addition, he gave little consideration to non-combatants who got in his way, meaning Indian women, children and the elderly received harsh treatment.

It was during this time, that Sheridan supposedly uttered the words:  "The only good Indians I ever saw were dead."

Another casualty of his Indian Wars were the bison.  Since they were such an important part of the Plains Indians life, he urged the widespread, over-hunting of the animals.  He brought in hunters to take out the herds, telling them:  "For a lasting peace,let them kill, skin and sell until the buffaloes are exterminated."

One Has to Wonder Why There Has Not Been a Movement to Take Down His Statues.  --Old Secesh

10 Facts About Phil Sheridan-- Part 3: A Poem and a Horse

4.  HE BECAME FAMOUS, IN PART, BECAUSE OF A POEM

During the Shenandoah Campaign of 1864,  his army came under surprise attack at the Battle of cedar Creek while he was away from his troops.  When he heard the artillery  he raced to the battle, rallied his troops and won a victory.

Sheridan received a letter of thanks from Lincoln and a poet, Thomas Buchanan Read wrote a song about his actions that day called "Sheridan's Ride."

The poem made both the horse, Rienzi, and rider famous.

Some of the poem:

Then, striking his spurs,  with a terrible oath,
He dashed down the line  'mid a storm of huzzas,
And the wave of retreat  checked its course there, because

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5.  HIS HORSE WAS STUFFED AFTER ITS DEATH

After Rienzi died in 1878, he was stuffed and mounted and presented to Sheridan.    The horse is now in the collection of  the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

--Old Secesh

10 Facts About Phil Sheridan-- Part 2: A Short Man and a Key General

**  2.  HE WAS SHORT

Sheridan stood just 5 feet 5 inches and was called "Little Phil"

His diminutive height caused President Lincoln once to remark:  "General Sheridan, when this particular war began I thought a cavalryman should be at least six feet four inches high, but I have changed my mind.  Five feet four will do in a pinch."

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**  3.  HE WAS A KEY GENERAL IN THE CIVIL WAR

He started his military career in the Pacific Northwest and at the start of the Civil War was not an important Union officer.  He worked his way up, eventually becoming a cavalry commander and a key subordinate of U.S. Grant.

At Grant's orders, he used a scorched earth policy against the Confederate Army in the Shenandoah Valley to destroy the base of support.  Then, he made that ride from Winchester, Va., to rally his troops at The Battle of cedar Creek.

It was the troops of Sheridan that pursued and eventually brought Lee to surrender at Appomattox.

--Old Secesh

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

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

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

Well, here are ten things:

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

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

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

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

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

About That Phil Sheridan Statue in Chicago

I have been writing about the statue of Philip Sheridan in Chicago's Lincoln Park in my RoadDog's RoadLog blog the last couple days.

Not only did he play a huge role in the Civil War, but also in Chicago.

Read all about it and find out about his horse in that blog by clicking on that blog to the right of it.

--OldRoadDog

John Ross Key, Engineer CSA-- Part 1: Yep, That Key Name

One of the men appointed to the Board to detail the defense of Fort Sumter and Charleston Harbor was John Ross Key.  Well, last name of Key.  Could he be related to that other famous Francis Scott Key?

The answer is yes, he was.

From the North Point Gallery site.  Turns out John R. Key was quite the artist and mapmaker.

John Ross Key was born July 16, 1837, two months after the death of his father, and was raised until the age of five by his grandfather, none other that Francis Scott Key, who wrote, of course, "The National Anthem."  His grandfather died in 1843.

As a teenager, he was forced to work to support his widowed mother.

His talent for drawing  led to a job as a topographical artist and draftsman  with the U.S. Coast Survey.  In 1859, he was hired as mapmaker in the advance party of the Lander Expedition to chart the best overland  through hostile Indian territories of Wyoming and Nevada.

In 1861, along with several other Francis Scott Key grandsons, he threw in his lot with the Confederacy.

--Old SeceshKey

Major John Johnson Appointed to Committee to Record the Defense of Fort Sumter and Charleston

From the forward of the Book "Defense of Charleston Harbor, Including Fort Sumter and the Adjacent Islands" by John Johnson.

Understanding the significance of the defense of Charleston even during the war. on April 19, 1864, General Beauregard, in charge of the city's defenses and Confederate commander when the fort was surrendered in 1861, directed that a board be assembled to write the story of the defense of that city.

It was to commence with the Union naval attack on Fort Sumter on April 7, 1863.

He appointed five members to the Board:

Pierre Soule as president
Major W.S. Basinger, Artillery P.A.C.S.
Captain John Johnson, Engineers
Lt. John Ross Key, Engineers, draughtsman
Captain Henry Wemyss Feildon as Recorder of the Board

"Captain Johnson will continue to supervise the defense of Fort Sumter, but will leave an assistant  in immediate charge of that work.  He will be furnished by the chief engineer with a boat and crew, that he may visit the fort whenever necessary."

Important Back Then.  --Old Secesh

Major John Johnson Makes Corrections in Second Printing of His Book "Defense of Charleston..."

The first printing ran out in just six months.

Omissions he wanted to correct:

**  The Confederate transport Marion sunk by a torpedo while placing then in the Ashley River on April 6, 1863.

**  The statement that the finding of the "fish" Confederate torpedo boat, alongside the wreck of her victim, the U.S. sloop of war "Housatonic" is not a certified fact.

**  The captured gunboat "Isaac Smith" afterwards known as the "Stono" by the Confederates,  was lost in attempting to run the blockade.

**  The attack on the Pawnee and Marblehead gunboats  on the Stono River m July 16, 1863,  there were engaged four rifled guns of the siege train (Palmetto Guards) Capt. B.C. Webb, , besides the artillery mentioned.

**  The average range of all (Union) batteries at the reduction of Fort Pulaski, Ga., was 2,559 yards, though the actual breaching was done at  at 1,700 yards.

--Old Secesh