George W. Bell-- Part 2: Former Slave, 40th USCT and Waukegan Resident

From Find A Grave.

GEORGE WASHINGTON BELL

Birth   16 October 1816, Tennessee

Death:  6 December 1910, Waukegan, Illinois

Burial:  Oakwood Cemetery, Waukegan, Illinois

Has a Union veteran headstone.

George W. Bell was born a slave in Tennessee.  He was out with his master during the Civil War and both captured by Union troops.  Given a chance to fight for the North, he joined Company B of the 40th  United States Colored Troops.

--Old Secesh

George W. Bell (Former Slave, Served with Union Army and Settled in Waukegan)-- Part 1

One of the people buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Waukegan is George W. Bell and has been featured in the well-known annual Cemetery Walk.

He was born into slavery in Tennessee and captured by the Union Army during the Civil War and served with the army.  In the 1880s he and his family moved to Waukegan, becoming one of the first permanent black families to live there.

He is buried on Oakwood Cemetery.  Born 16 October 1816  Died 6 December 1910.

--Old Secesh

About Those VCU Confederate-Named Objects-- Part 4

Continued from September 24, 2020.

 From the September 19, 2020, Commonwealth Times "VCU approves removal of on-campus Confederate names, symbols" by Eduardo Acevedo.

These are among the names that will be victims of Confederadication on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University:

McGUIRE HALL--   Named after Hunter H. McGuire, surgeon in the Confederate Army.  Not only will the name be removed, but also all associated mentions  and references to McGuire Hall.

GINTER HOUSE--  All mentions and commemorations of Lewis Ginter will be removed on Monroe Park and  MCV  campuses.

JEFFERSON DAVIS MEMORIAL CHAPEL--  on the 17th floor of West Hospital on MCV campus.  It honors the Confederate president and Kathryn Wittichen, former president of the UDC.  The chapel will be permanently de-commemorated, permanently closed and four plaques honoring Davis and Wittichen will be removed from the chapel and West Hospital.

TOMPKINS-McCAW LIBRARY--  Named for five members of the Tomkins and McCaw families.  James McCaw and Sally Tompkins operated Confederate hospitals in Richmond during the war.  The board voted to remove the name and all associated mentions of the Tompkins-McCaw from the library.  they also voted for the removal of Confederate plaques and a portrait of John Syng Dorsey Cullen, a  surgeon in the Confederacy, from the library.

WOOD MEMORIAL BUILDING--  Houses VCU's School, of Dentistry.    Named after Judson B. Wood, a dentist and private in the Confederate Army.  His name will be removed from the building , and all associated mentions and references will be removed from VCU's campuses.

--O;d Secesh

76 Iowans Joined the Confederacy

From the Oct. 28,2019, Iowa Public Radio  "New Research shoes that at least 76 Iowans joined the Confederacy during the Civil War" by Ben Kieffer, Rick Brewer and Julia Digiacomo.

Despite Iowa's status as a Union state during the war, at least 76 Iowans threw in their lot with the Confederacy.  This number is the result of research done by David Connon who has just written the book "Iowa Confederates in the Civil War."

He delves into the reasons why these men did what they did.  According to Cannon, they became active in all branches of the Confederate military, even the Confederate Navy.  Some even achieved honors for their service.

David Connon was on the Iowa NPR show "River to River" with a 44-minute talk on his book where he gives their stories and also delves into the political and historical trends in Iowa during this time.  The 1840 Iowa Territorial Census showed 17 slaves listed with their owners.

The only people to say they had slaves in Iowa in that census were from Dubuque County.

The article was accompanied by a photograph of one of the Iowa Confederates named Albert H. Newall who was captured and died at the Fort Delaware prison camp.  The town fathers of Danville, Iowa, didn't want him buried in the local cemetery.

--Old Secesh

George Clarke Rogers-- Part 6: Service Record

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

COMPLEXION:  Light

MARITAL STATUS:  Single

OCCUPATION:  Lawyer

NATIVITY:  Piermont,  Grafton County, New Hampshire

************************************

SERVICE RECORD

JOINED WHEN:  May 24, 1861

JOINED WHERE:  Freeport, Illinois

JOINED BY WHOM:  Captain Jones

PERIOD:  Three years

MUSTER IN:   May 24, 1861

MUSTER IN WHERE:   Freeport, Illinois

REMARKS:   Promoted to captain

--Old Secesh

George Clarke Rogers-- Part 5: A Description of Him

Continued from November 9, 2019.

From the Illinois State Archives

NAME:  Rogers, George Clarke

RANK  1st Lieutenant

COMPANY:  I

UNIT:  15th Illinois U.S. Infantry

***********************

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

AGE:  23

HEIGHT:   5'8"

HAIR:  Brown

EYES:  Gray

More to Come.  --Old Secesh

MCCWRT Discussion Group to Meet Saturday, Sept. 26: Topic Is Braxton Bragg

 The McHenry County (Illinois) Civil War Round Table (MCCWRT) will be meeting this Saturday, September 26, 2020, at the Panera Bread Co in Algonquin, Illinois from 10 am to noon.  Panera is located at 451 S. Randall Road.

We will meet outside and masks must be worn except while eating or drinking.  Then, mask up again.  Weather permitting, of course.

This month's topic is Confederate General Braxton Bragg.  His very name always draws a lot of comment.  So should be interesting.

So, if you need that shot of Civil War history that you've been missing thanks to you-know-what, come on by, everybody's welcome.

So, What's Your Take On the Good general?  --Old Secesh

About Those Confederate-Related Names Removed By VCU-- Part 3

 These folks have been very busy with their Confederadication, indeed.

And, the VCU board voted to name an unfinished art building on campus after Murry DiPillars, a former VCU art dean who died in 2008.  He is also a black man.

The city of Richmond has already taken down two memorials in Monroe Park that VCU wanted removed.  This summer, city workers took down the statue of Joseph Bryan, a Richmond businessman  who was a member of Mosby's Rangers during the Civil War and whose statue was constructed in 1911.

They also took down a stone cross dedicated to Fitzhugh Lee, a Confederate general during the war who later served a s governor of Virginia.

The committee had also recommended the removal of a statue  honoring Confederate General Williams Carter Wickham, which had stood since 1891, until it was pulled down by BLMers this past summer.

Where the artifacts will go has not been determined as of yet.

--Old Secesh

About Those Confederate-Related Items to Be Removed by VCU-- Part 2:

 **  Removal of four plaques that reference  Jefferson Davis and Kathryn Wittichen near the West Hospital on campus.  Kathryn Wittichen was the president of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

**  Removal of the name and plaque outside Baruch Hall.

**  Removal of the name McGuire Hall, named for Hunter Holmes McGuire.

**  Removal of the Alexander Stephens plaque and bust  of McGuire from McGuire Hall.

**  Removal of a plaque commemorating the work of Matthew Fontaine Maury from the MCV Alumni House and the removal of a plaque  bearing the building's old name, Maupin-Maury House.

**  Removal of the name Tompkins-McCaw Library, named in part for Sally Tompkinsm removal of a plaque bearing the library's name and a portrait of John Syng Dorsey Cullen inside the library.

**  Removal of the name of the Wood Memorial Building.

The board also voted to change the name of Harrison House, where the Department of African-American Studies is located.  It was named after Fort Harrison, a Confederate fort.  The department will get to choose a new name.  Do you think it will be named for a black person?

--Old Secesh

About Those Confederate-Named Items To Be Removed from VCU-- Part 1: More Confederadication

 From the September Richmond.com "VCU board of visitors votes to remove names of Confederate supporters from its campus" by Eric Kolenich.

Virgina Commonwealth University will be removing  16 building names, plaques and other Confederate symbols.  Big surprise, the school is in that Richmond city.

This move will erase the names of Ginter Hall and Dooley Hospital from a spot where a Dooley Hospital once existed. 

James Dooley left his home and surrounding grounds to the city of Richmond, served in the Virginia General Assembly and  helped oversee railroad construction across the country.  His crime was that he was a Confederate soldier.

Lewis Ginter owned part of the land that is now Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden and hired the architects who built the Jefferson Hotel.  When he died, he left substantial gifts to  charities and public  institutions.  His crime?   He was an officer in the Confederate Army.

--Old Secesh

'Beast' Butler Discussion-- Part 1: Lincoln's 'Right Hand' Man?

On Saturday August 22, 2020, the McHenry County (Illinois) Civil War Round Table (MCCWRT) discussion group had our second outdoor, social distanced and masked meeting since this virus thing hit. This was held outside at Panera Bread in Algonquin, Illinois.  We haven't had a regular meeting since early March as they are in the Woodstock Library and that has been closed and now closed to meetings.

But, it sure is good to get back with like-minded folk, so I have enjoyed these two meetings immensely.

Our topic on August 22 was Union General Benjamin Butler.  We had one guy there who had done a lot of research on the good (or was it bad) general and knew a whole lot of stuff.

These are some of the things we talked about to the best of my ability to write them down:

**  Butler (BB) was always under the direct command of Abraham Lincoln.

**  BB was a political general, not from West Point.

**  New Orleans had the U.S. mint there which made coins.  Lincoln wanted it which was why he sent BB there.

**  There were chamber pots and spittoons with BB's face at the bottom for folks who didn't like him.

**  Lincoln would try out things he wanted to do with BB before he himself would try it.

**  Lincoln was looking into sending freed slaves back to Africa.

**  Henry Clay was the founder of a movement to return freed slaves to Africa.

Enough Civil War Stuff for You?  --Old Secesh

MCCWRT Discussion Group Aug. 22, 2020-- Part 2: Answers to Yesterday's Questions

 These were the answers to the questions about Union General Benjamin Butler that I posted yesterday.

1.   Franklin

2.  Massachusetts

3.  Democrat

4.  Baltimore, Maryland

5.  Battle of Big Bethel

6.  Hatteras

7.  Contraband of War

8.  New Orleans

The discussion group did very well.  Lots of "A"s.

--Old Secesh

MCCWRT Discussion Group Meeting Aug. 22 ,2020-- Part 1: How Much Do You Know About Benjamin Butler?

 This past Saturday, August 22, 2020, the McHenry County Civil War Round Table met outside at the Panera Bread Co. in Algonquin, Illinois, to discuss one of the more interesting characters to come out of the Civil War, Major General  Benjamin Butler.  Mr. "beast" Butler if you will.

As often, we kicked the session off with a quiz on the man.

1.  What was his middle name?

2.  He hailed from what state?

3.  What was is political party?

4.  What was his first military action.

5.  What was his first military battle.

6.  Then, he commanded an army at what North Carolina inlet?

7.  While commanding at Fortress Monroe, he declines to send fugitive slaves back to their owners, declaring them to be what?

8.  Then he commanded at what major Southern city?  (Where he got his reputation and hatred.)

Answers in next post.

--Old Secesh

The University of Georgia Also Has the Great Seal of the Confederacy

The Hargrett  Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the Univ. of Georgia also has the Great Seal of the Confederacy.

The site shows a photo of it and  the inscription by it.  I am not sure if this is the original or a copy of it.  The site doesn't say.

The inscription reads:

Presented to the University of Georgia
Memorial Day April 26, 1945
in memory of
JAMES EVERARD BLACKSHEAR
Youth Soldier in the Army of
CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA

--Old Secesh

Murder of Col. Edward P. Jones, CSA While Prisoner at Fort Delaware

I was going back through my November 2013 posts in this blog and came across a prisoners diary where he recounted  this man's "murder" at the hands of a prison guard at Fort Delaware for not moving fast enough.

The Virginia Military Institute has a page listing alumni from that institution who were killed or died while serving the Confederacy.

It reads:

"JONES, EDWARD POPE, M.D., from Middlesex County, Virginia.  Colonel of Virginia Militia.  Captured and imprisoned  at Fort Delaware, and while a prisoner was murdered by his guard."

--Old Secesh

Custer During the McClellan's Peninsular Campaign

From the August 12, 2013, Hampton Roads (Va.) Daily Press  "Custer finds a Confederate classmate among Williamsburg's  Civil War wounded" by Mark St. John Erickson.

Second Lt. George Armstrong Custer was not the famous person he would be as he moved with the Army of the Potomac up the Virginia Peninsula in the spring of 1862 during McClellan's Peninsular Campaign.

He was just age 22, but already had a way of putting himself in the spotlight.  He had become one of the first Union officers to ascend in a balloon and he also played a stand-out role in the May 5, 1862, Battle of Williamsburg when he guided Brigadier General  Winfield Scott Hancock's brigade across a narrow dam and into a position to threaten the rear of the Confederate Army.

--Old Secesh

Lawson Botts, Col. of 2nd Virginia Infantry Regiment

From Civil War Scholars.com.  2nd Va. Inf. Regt..

Born 7/25/25 at Fredericksburg.

Attended V.M.I. 1841.  Lawyer in Charles Town.  Married Sarah Elizabeth Bibb Ranson, 1851.

Defense attorney for John Brown during the early stages of Brown's trial.Commissioned captain of Bott's Greys, prewar militia Co. from Charles Town, 11/4/1859.

Captain Co. G. 2nd Virginia Volunteer Infantry 5/31/1861. (This was William Beall's company.)

To Major 6/12/1861.  To Lt.Col. 9/11/61.  To Colonel 6/27/1862.

Provost Marshall at Winchester, Nov.-Dec. 1861.

Mortally Wounded In Action (MSIA) at 2nd Manassas 8/28/1862.  William Beall also captured here.

Died 9/16/62 at Middleburg.

Buried Zion Episcopal  Cemetery, Charles Town, West Virginia.

--Old Secesh

About That Confederate Woman's Home-- Part 5: Serving Widows and Wives of Honorably Discharged Confederate Soldiers

From the Texas State Historical Association.

Opened in 1908 to take care of the wives and widows of former Confederate soldiers who had been honorably discharged.  Many of these women were related to men who were in the Texas Confederate Home in Austin.

Residents were required to be at least 60 years of age and have no means of support.

At its opening on June 3, 1908, three women were admitted to it, by 1909, 16 women called it home.  But by 1911, the expenses were too much for the UDC and it was deeded to the state.  At the time, residents numbered 18.

In 1913, a two-story addition was added which included 24 new bedrooms. and then a brick hospital was constructed to care for the increasing number of ailing residents.  From 1920 to 1935, the place housed between eighty and 110 residents any given year.

By the late 1930s, new admissions to the home were decreasing and most of the surviving residents were in poor health.  From 1938 to 1945, the population fell from eighty-seven to just fifty-five.  In 1949, the building fell under the control of the State Hospitals and Special Schools.

During the late 1950s, the nine remaining residents were housed in one wing and in 1963, the three remains women were moved into private nursing homes at state expense and the facility closed.  The state sold the property in 1986.

During the course of its run to take care of Confederate wives and widows, the home cared for 3,400 indigent women.  It was popular with the Austin community and many events took place there.

--Old Secesh

About That Confederate Woman's Home in Austin, Texas-- Part 4: And Another Sign

 Another handwritten sign has also been placed on the black plastic shrouding the Woman's Home marker.  It reads:

"History Matters.  Then the letters KKK crossed out inside a circle.

"This plaque glorifies the UDC, a group the SLPC lists as a hate group + a group w/well documented ties to the KKK.  History is important and the glorification of a white  supremacist group is an insult to our BIPOL neighbors.

We demand that this plaque be updated to reflect the true history of the YDC until then leave this or anoter notice up."

--Old Secesh

About That Confederate Woman's Home in Texas-- Part 3: But Now, AGE Has It, And...

 There is a black plastic bag over the sign now, however, with two more messages on it.

One is from the organization who now owns the building, AGE (Austin Groups for the Elderly) of Central Texas who bought it in 1986.  It is a nonprofit organization that supplies  services for older adults and their caregivers.  Back in 2012, they were proud enough of their buildings past history as a home for Confederate widows and wives, that they requested a Texas Historical Commission marker.

This was co-sponsored by the Descendants of Confederate Veterans and the Texas Division of  the Children of the Confederacy.

But now, AGE has asked the commission to remove the marker. And, in the meantime, they have covered it up with the plastic bag and they have a sign on it reading:

"Change is overdue and we are committed to being a part of the solution.  Our aging community in Central Texas, and those caring for older adults, span every socioeconomic background, race, ethnic group, age and gender.

Older adults represent  the most diverse cohort  in our country, and should have the right to age with grace and dignity that every human life deserves, no matter the color of their skin."

--Old Secesh

Remembering 9-11

 I put up no flags today because of the rain off and on all day.  We are surely having an Asian monsoon after many days of drought.

But, I would have had it been dryer.

This is a date I will always remember and will write about it in all my blogs but one..

--Old Secesh

About That Confederate Woman's Home in Texas-- Part 2: Too Take Care of Indigent Confederate Widows and Wives

 "The Confederate Men's Home began in Austin  in 1884 and the Albert Sidney Johnston Chapter #105 of the Texas Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) made visits, brought gifts, food and clothing to the veterans .  Under the leadership of President Katie  Daffan, the Texas UDC began coordination and fundraising to  secure a home for needy Confederate wives and widows through dinners, events, concerts and individual donations.

The Texas UDC  purchased property and constructed a Richardson  Romanesque revival style structure.  In addition to several bedrooms and bathrooms, the home featured a parlor, a dining area and a hospital.  UDC chapters from all over the state donated furnishings for the home.

Due to the cost to maintain the home, the UDC transferred the home to the State of Texas on Dec. 23, 1911.  An annex was built that doubled the size and increased the capacity and a hospital was erected in 1916.  The state legislature established the Board of Control to operate the home in 1920.

And then in 19, responsibility transferred to the Board for Texas State Hospitals and Special Schools.

This home provided  for more than 3,400 indigent wives and widows of Confederate veterans and operated  until 1963 when the last residents were transferred to private nursing homes."

So, Does This Historical Marker Sound A Lot Like White Supremacist To You?  But, WAIT!!  --Old Secesh

About That Confederate Woman's Home in Texas-- Part 1: Confederadication Again

 From the September 3, 2020, Austin (Texas) Statesman "Herman:  Battle brewing over  marker at former Confederate Woman's Home, Opinion" by Ken Herman.

These days nothing having to do with the former Confederacy is safe from efforts of Confederadication.  And that even stretches to homes built to aide Confederate widows in need.  One such home was built in Austin, Texas.  A historical marker was erected at the site which gave its history.  But now that marker has been covered up and the owners want it changed to reflect how bad the Confederacy was or removed altogether.

The marker was put up by the Texas Historical Commission at the request of the owners at the former Confederate Woman's Home at 3710 Cedar Street in Austin.

This is what the offending sign said:

"TEXAS CONFEDERATE WOMAN'S HOME

 The Texas Confederate Woman's Home opened  in 1908 and provided  a home for over 3,000 wives and widows of former Confederate veterans.  Potential  residents were wives,  or widows of honorably discharged Confederate soldiers, women  who could prove active participation  in the Confederate war effort, and women over 60 years of age or older without a means of support.

More.  --Old Secesh

William Loring's History-- Part 3: A Long and Varied Career 'Old Blizzards'

 **  IN 1862 he was promoted to major general in the Confederate Army.

**  Loring earned the nickname of "Old Blizzards" at the Battle of Fort Pemberton when he cheered on his men yelling, "Give them blizzards, boys!"

**  He was at the Confederate General Johnston's surrender in North Carolina in 1865.

**  After the Civil War, he went to Egypt where he served nine years  in the Army of Isma'il Pasha, the Khedeve of Egypt.

**  He returned to Florida, ran for  Senate, but lost.

**  He then moved to New York where he died  in 1896 from pneumonia.

**  Loring was cremated in New York.  His ashes were later exhumed and moved to a cemetery in St. Augustine.  In 1920, his remains were then taken to his memorial in downtown St. Augustine.

**  Now, 100 years later, his remains are once again on the move.  This time to a cemetery in St. Augustine.  His monument is going to go to Trout Creek Fish Camp near St. Augustine.

And, remember, in addition to his remains and monument being moved, the last hurricane that came through Wilmington, North Carolina, knocked down the marker showing where he was born.

That's Four Moves His Remains Have Made Since His Death.  --Old Secesh

William Loring's Life-- Part 2: Fought in the Mexican War

**   Loring became captain of the U.S. Army's Regiment of Mountain Riflemen in 1846 where he  initially protected Oregon during the California  Gold Rush.  He then fought in the Mexican War, rising in rank several times from major to lieutenant colonel and then to colonel.

**  Loring had his army amputated after a bullet shattered it storming the Chapuletepec Castle during that war.

**  After the war in 1859, Loring spent  time in Europe and then came back to  command the Department of New Mexico in 1861.

**  Upon the beginning of the Civil War, Loring cast his lot with the new Confederacy and resigned from the U.S. Army.  

**  He later accepted the position of brigadier general in the Confederate Army on May 20, 1861.

--Old Secesh

William Loring's History-- Part 1: First and Second Seminole Wars, Texas War of Independence

From the previous post source.

William W. Loring has certainly been in the news lately with the removal of his monument and remains from St. Augustine, Florida.  Here is some more of his history.

**  Loring was born in 1818 in Wilmington, North Carolina.  At the age of 4, his family relocated to St. Augustine, Florida.

**  His military career began at a young age; at the age of 14 he joined the Florida militia fighting in the Seminole Wars.

** It is believed he was 17 when he ran away to Texas after the fall of the Alamo where he fought in the Texas War of Independence.  His father reportedly forced him to return to Florida.

**  Back in Florida, Loring fought in the Second Seminole War  At around the age of 19, he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant.

**  He studied at Georgetown University from 1839 to 1840 in Washington, D.C., but returned to study law in Florida.  he was admitted to the Florida  bar in 1842.

**  Loring was elected to the Florida House of Representatives from 1843 to 1845 before Florida became a state on March 3, 1845.

Quite a Busy Life at This Young of an Age, 27.  --Old Secesh