Battle of Shepherdstown (Civil War) and Battle of Princeton (American Revolution)

I must admit that I was entirely unaware of this Battle before I wrote about it in this blog.  On the scale of the Battles of Antietam and Gettysburg, it was not a huge battle, but important in the Maryland Campaign.

The two commanders were Fitz John Porter for the Union and  William N. Pendleton on the Confederate side.

Casualties for the North were 366 (73 killed, 163 wounded and 132 captured or missing).  For the Confederacy 307 (36 killed,  267 wounded and 6 missing or captured).

From what I've read, this was not William Pendleton's proudest moment.

Of course, learning new stuff is a big reason I started this blog.

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BATTLE OF PRINCETON

This was a key battle during the American Revolution and, like with the case of the Battle of Shepherdstown, one that I was unaware of.  It was a follow up to George Washington's much more famous crossing of the Delaware River and surprising the British at Trenton the day after Christmas, December 26, 1776.  The Battle of Princeton took place January 3, 1777.

I have been writing about this one in my Cooter's History Thing blog.

Like I Said, I Do These Blogs to Learn Stuff.  --Old Secesh

Edward Everett's Speech (Well a Little Part of It)

This is the start of Edward Everett's speech he gave before Abraham Lincoln gave what is now known as the Gettysburg Address that November19, 1863.

Of course, he spoke for over two hours.  I will not type the whole speech.  But, you can tell just from what little I wrote, the man was quite eloquent.

"Standing beneath this serene sky, overlooking these broad fields now reposing from the labors of the waning year, the almighty Alleghenies towering before us, the graves of our brethren beneath our feet, it is with hesitation that I raise my poor voice to break the eloquent silence of God and Nature.  But the duty to which you call me must be performed; --grant me, I pray you,  your indulgence and your sympathy."

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Then he went into a comparison of ancient Greece and the events of July 1863.  Then:

"We have assembled, friends, fellow-citizens, at the invitation of the Executive of the great central state of Pennsylvania, seconded by the Governors of seventeen other loyal States of the Union, to pay last tribute of respect to the brave men who, in the hard-fought battles of the first, second and third days of July last, laid down their lives for the country on these hillsides and the plains before us, and whose remains have been gathered   into the cemetery we consecrate today."

I don't know, but this kind of sounds a bit like Lincoln's speech.

Eloquent, Eloquent.  --Old Secesh

About That Everett Gettysburg Address-- Part 5: Only 285 Words

When Edward Everett was finished speaking, Abraham Lincoln  rose to speak.  Unlike Everett, he did not relive the battle.  In fact, he never mentioned the battle, the Union or slavery.  Instead, as Garry Wills wrote in his book on the Gettysburg Address, the president reached "beyond the historical particulars, ... [to] derive a new, transcendental, significance from this bloody episode."

In  only 285 words, he "wove a spell that has not, yet, been broken -- he called up a new nation out of the blood and trauma."

Edward Everett was quick to acknowledge the greatness of Lincoln's brief speech.  The day after the ceremony, he wrote to the president praising the "eloquent simplicity & appropriateness" of his remarks.

"I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I came as near the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes."

Lincoln sent an immediate and gracious response:  "In our respective parts yesterday, you could not have been excused to make a short address, nor I a long one.  I am pleased to know that, in your judgement, the little that I did say was not entirely a failure."

Very Gracious of Lincoln and Quite a Compliment.  --Old Secesh

About That Everett Gettysburg Address-- Part 4: Preparing for His Oration

Edward Everett's public service gave him many opportunities to demonstrate his power as a public speaker, and his orations became the stuff of legend.  He could hold forth for several hours with such skill and drama that listeners lost all track of time.  

After preparing meticulously  and producing a text for his speech, once at the odium, he set the manuscript aside and spoke from memory.  He had delivered memorable speeches commemorating Revolutionary battlefields at Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill; now he was expected to find the words to dignify and consecrate Gettysburg.

In the weeks before the dedication, he immersed himself in military reports, researching and reconstructing every aspect of the three-day battle so that he could recreate it, step by awful step, for his listeners.  He strove, as always, to be an accurate historian and to stir the emotions of the audience.

As was his habit,  he sought to elevate the oration by evoking connections to Greek antiquity.  On his lengthy speech. Everett  relived the battle and denounced the enemy. Many in the crowd were moved to tears.

--Old Secesh

About That Everett Gettysburg Address-- Part 3: Education and Political Service

Continued from December 15, 2021.

Edward Everett was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts in  1794.  A precocious youth, he graduated from Harvard at age 17, receiving highest honors in spite of being the youngest member of the class.  Three years later, after  earning a Masters of Divinity  degree, he was invited to be the minister of the Brattle Street Church, then Boston's largest and most fashionable congregation and was installed as its minister before reaching his 20th birthday.

After a year in the pulpit, he decided  that he preferred scholarship to the ministry and accepted a faculty appointment in Greek Literature at Harvard.  Since he was only 21 and only had a Master's degree, the university sent him to Europe for two  years of further study.  He completed a Ph.d. in Germany before returning to Harvard in 1819.

Everett was unusual for a 19th century scholar in his having aspirations beyond campus.  He  left teaching to serve five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (1825-1835); four (one year) terms as the Massachusetts governor (1836-1839); four years as ambassador to England (1841-1845); Secretary of State  under President Millard Fillmore; one term   in the U.S. Senate (1854-1860)

In the mid 1840s, he took a break from politics to serve as Harvard's  rsident.

A Remarkable Man.  Maj. Charles Winchester Would Be So Proud.  --Old Secesh

Battle of Shepherdstown-- Part 3: The Aftermath and Proclamation

AFTERMATH

The total Union dead and wounded at the Battle of Shepherdstown makes it the bloodiest battle fought in what would become the state of West Virginia.

The battle convinced both commanders that the Maryland Campaign was over.  George McClelland decided that an active pursuit of the enemy was not possible at this time and established a defensive line along the Maryland side of the Potomac River. 

And, for the Confederates, Robert E. Lee chose to abort his army's movement back into Maryland.

With the Confederates  driven from Northern soil, President Abraham Lincoln used the opportunity to issue the Emancipation Proclamation  on September 22, 1862.

BATTLEFIED PRESERVATION

As of December 2021, the American Battlefield Trust  and its partners have acquired and preserved 621 acres of the battlefield in more than ten acquisitions since 2004.

--Old Secesh

Battle of Shepherdstown-- Part 2: The Bloodied 118th Pennsylvania

Major Charles  Lovell's brigade of   Regulars encountered Major General A,P, Hill's "Light Division" about a mile from the Potomac River.  While withdrawing back to Boteler's Ford,  Hill's men attacked under a withering fire from federal artillery causing tremendous casualties.

Union Col. James Barnes' brigade was ordered to the top of the bluffs to cover to cover the retreat and two more federal brigades were ordered to cross over into Virginia (West Virginia).  After a violent clash  along the heights above the river, Porter ordered a withdrawal.

However, the colonel of the inexperienced 118th Pennsylvania  (the "Corn Exchange" regiment) refused to retire until orders were received through the proper  chain of command.  In this engagement, their first time under fire,  the 118th regiment was driven  in by four Confederate brigades and suffered 36% casualties.

--Old Secesh

Battle of Shepherdstown-- Part 1: A Rear Guard Action

Since I had never written about this battle before this week and actually wasn't even familiar with it, I will write about it here.

From Wikipedia.

Also known as the Battle of Boteler's Ford, took place September  19-20, 1862, in Jefferson County, Virginia, (now West Virginia), at the end of the Maryland Campaign which resulted in the Battle of Antietam

After the Battle of Antietam, there was an improvised truce for  both sides to recover and exchange their wounded.    Lee's forces started withdrawing across the Potomac River on the evening of September 18 and expected to be pursued by the Union Army.  he left behind a rear guard of two infantry brigades and 44-45 cannons under Brigadier General William N. Pendleton to hold Boteler's Ford.

Shortly before dusk on September 19, Union Brigadier General  Charles Griffin sent two regiments, the 1st U.S. Sharpshooters and the 4th Michigan, across the Potomac at Boteler's Ford.  They attacked Pendleton and captured four artillery pieces before being recalled.

Early on September 20,  Union Gen. Fitz John Porter sent two brigades across the Potomac for a reconnaissance in force.

Then, the fighting really took off.

--Old Secesh

Battle of Shepherdstown

From the December 2021 American Battlefield Trust calendar.

SHEPHERDSTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA

622 acres saved.

Still reeling from America's deadliest day at the Battle of Antietam -- the Union and Confederate armies clashed again at Shepherdstown on September 189-20, 1862. 

As Lee's Confederate Army slopped back into Virginia following the battle, he had strategically left two infantry brigades at Shepherdstown to guard Boteler's Ford on the Potomac River.  So, when elements of Union Major General Fitz John Porter's V Corps pushed across there, a battle ensued.

The Trust along with the Jefferson County Historic Landmarks Commission has added 622 acres of hallowed ground at Shepherdstown.

I just read an article in the December Civil War Times by noted blogger John Banks about his trip there.  Done, of course, in his distinct style.

Of Course, Shepherdstown was in Virginia at the Time.--Old Secesh

About That Everett Gettysburg Address-- Part 2: Establishing a Cemetery and a Speaker

When the armies withdrew after that three-day battle in and around Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, it was a hellish scene of carnage: 8,000 human corpses and 5,000 dead horses strewn across the fields.  The toll would grow to thousands more in the days that followed as men succumbed to their mortal wounds.

In the summer heat, Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtain faced a pressing need to identify and bury the dead.  But he also felt compelled to  give meaning to the bloody tragedy and hope to the future.

Curtain enlisted the help of leading Gettysburg citizen, David Wills, who immediately acquired  17 acres for a battlefield cemetery and began planning its dedication.  Looking for someone who could  with "artful words ... sweeten the poisoned air of Gettysburg."    Wills naturally turned to Edward Everett for those words.

Everett had inherited the mantle of Daniel Webster, the nation's leading orator at the time of his death in 1852.  The Bostonian had long  been recognized for his deft and graceful use of language, intuitive dramatic sense, musical voice and magnetic presence.

--Old Secesh

About That Everett Gettysburg Address-- Part 1: Two Hours for One, Three Minutes for the Other

From Mass Movement "Edward Everett gives Gettysburg Address.

November 19, 1863.

The Place:  Gettysburg

Two Major Speeches Given That Day

Of course, the best-known was the shortest by far, the one President Abraham Lincoln gave.  His followed a much, much longer, but eloquent speech nonetheless.

That first one was given by Edward Everett, considered the country's greatest orator and a successor to Daniel Webster.

The Boston orator was  the obvious choice for the occasion.  During his forty year career as professor, diplomat and statesman, he had consistently dazzled audiences.  At Gettysburg that day, he held the crowd spellbound  for two hours.

When the president followed him to the podium, he spoke for just three minutes.  But what a three minutes.  What he said that day has entered into the national memory.

Abraham Lincoln gave a handwritten copy of his speech to Edward Everett and that is the one at the Lincoln Presidential Museum in Springfield, Illinois.

--Old Secesh

Events Taking Place in December: USS Cairo-- Nashville-- 13th Amendment-- Fort Fisher-- Mason & Slidell-- Stones River

DECEMBER 12, 1862

The USS Cairo strikes a torpedo and sinks in the Yazoo River, Mississippi.

DECEMBER 15, 1864

The Battle of Nashville, Tennessee, begins.

DECEMBER 18, 1865

The 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery, becomes a part of the U.S. Constitution.

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DECEMBER 24, 1864

The first attack on Fort Fisher, North Carolina, begins.

DECEMBER  26, 1860

Major Robert Anderson evacuates Fort Moultrie for Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina.

DECEMBER 26, 1861

The U.S. releases Confederate commissioners Mason and Slidell, ending the Trent Affair.

DECEMBER 31, 1862

The Battle of Stones River (Murfreesboro), Tennessee begins.

--Old Secesh

Gettysburg Address Is Back (Well, Was)

From the November 19, 2021, Chicago Tribune.

A picture and caption about this important document:

"Exhibits fabricator Tom Conway and registrar Carla Smith lift a copy of the Gettysburg Address into the public display case Thursday at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Illinois.

"One of five known existing copies in Lincoln's own handwriting, this one s known as the Everett Copy, as Lincoln prepared it for Edward Everett, another speaker on the day that he gave the Gettysburg Address.

"It is installed each year for the anniversary of the November 19, 1863, Gettysburg Address and will remain on public display for the next two weeks.  The Everett Copy was acquired by the state of Illinois in 1944 and is kept in a vault the rest of the year to preserve it."

Something I definitely would like to see, but reckon I'll have to wait until next year to do it.

Oh, Well.  --Old Secesh

RoadTrippin' Thru History-- Part 15: A Beneficial Marriage for Captain Pershing?

John Joseph Pershing graduated from West Point in 1886, tanked #30 in his class of 77.  On 1895, he took command of the 10th Cavalry Regiment, one of the original Buffalo Soldiers units.  In 1897, he was an instructor at West Point and was unpopular with the cadets who nicknamed  him "N___ Jack" because of his leading the Buffalo Soldiers  Eventually this was softened to "Blackjack" a nickname that stuck with him the rest of his life.

In 1905, he married the daughter of U.S. Senator from Wyoming, Francis E. Warren, Helen, and had four children with her.  He was twenty years her senior.  It was a huge wedding in Washington, D.C., and reportedly Francis Warren said he wasn't going to have his daughter married to a lowly captain, that nothing less than a general would do.

President Theodore Roosevelt had visited Wyoming several times and stayed with Warren and was a good friend.  Advancement through the ranks was rapid for the captain, who within a few years rose to major, lieutenant colonel, colonel and then brigadier general.  In so doing, he was advanced over nearly 900 officers with more seniority.  And doing this during a peacetime army, quite an accomplishment.  It must be good to have friends in high places.

Tragedy struck in 1915, when a mysterious fire at the Presidio in San Francisco killed Helen and three of her four children.  Only his son Francis Warren Pershing survived.

I've Got Friends in High Places.  --Old Secesh

RoadTrippin'-- Part 14: In Politics He was, Then Wasn't, Then Was, Last Then First

After Francis E. Warren made his fortune, he went on to get involved in the politics of early Wyoming.  He served twice in the Wyoming Territorial Senate and once as senate president.    He was a member of the Cheyenne City Council (1873-1874),  treasurer of the state on several occasions,  and Mayor of Cheyenne in 1885.

In February  1885, he was appointed Governor of Wyoming Territory by President Chester A. Arthur, but was removed by Democrat  President Grover Cleveland in 1886.  He was reappointed by President  Benjamin Harrison in April 1889 and served until 1890, when he was elected as the State of Wyoming's first governor.

In November 1890, he resigned as governor, having been elected to the U.S. Senate as a Republican and served until March 4, 1893, when he resumed his business affairs  However, two years later, he returned to the U.S. Senate and served from March 4, 1895 to his death on November 24, 1929.

With all his seniority in the Senate, he served on and chaired many committees including Irrigation, Claims, Military Affairs, Agriculture and Forestry and Appropriations.  The man clearly had a lot of power.

(Of course, I have to wonder what all this power might have affected the military career of John Pershing and why he received that Medal of Honor so long after the war.)

I have read that he was really good at pork barrel politics and patronage and built a political machine  that was virtually unbeatable.

When he died in 1929, he was the last Civil War veteran to serve in the U.S. Senate and the longest-serving senator at the time.

Way to Accumulate Power.  --Old Secesh

101-Year Old Pearl Harbor USS Oklahoma Survivor to Return Today: David Russell

Today, I will be posting about the 80th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor in all but one of my blogs.

From the December 6, 2021, CBS News  "101-year-old  Pearl Harbor veteran  recalls dramatic escape from attack on  the USS Oklahoma."

When the bombs began falling, U.S. Navy Seaman 1st Class, David  Russell first sought refuge below deck of his ship, the USS Oklahoma . but a split-second change of mind likely saved his life.

"They started to close the hatch.  And I decided to get out of there," said Russell, now 101.

Within 12 minutes, his battleship capsized and 429 sailors and Marines perished.  The greatest death toll other than the USS Arizona which lost 1,177 men that day.

Russell plans to return to Pearl Harbor today, the 80th anniversary of the attack.

About 30 survivors of the attack and another 100 World War II veterans are expected to observe a moment of silence at 7:55 am, the moment the attack began.

Last year, everyone stayed home because of the coronavirus.

Continued in my Running the Blockade:  Civil War Navy blog.

--Old Secesh

RoadTrippin'-- Part 13: Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio

One aspect of RoadTrippin' Thru History is that you see how many other things you can attach to your main story.  Quite often, I find out where someone I'm writing about is buried and see if anyone else of interest is buried there.

Francis E. Warren's second wife, Clara Morgan Warren, remarried after his death.  She married Albert Russel.  Both she and he are buried at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio, where quite a few people of note are buried.

Some of them are:

Alan Freed, one of the early Rock and Roll deejays.  Known as the "Father of Rock and Roll."

James Garfield, the 20th President of the United States.

Coburn Haskell, inventor of the modern golf ball.

John Hay, private secretary to Abraham Lincoln.  Also U.S. Secretary of State.

Eliot Ness, the FBI agent who brought Al Capone to justice.

John D. Rockefeller, considered one of the wealthiest Americans of all time.  Oil refining.

Carl B. Stokes, the first black mayor of Cleveland and the first black mayor of a major U.S. city.

Nate Thurmond, noted NBA player.

John White William, a founder of the chewing gum industry.

Alexander Winton, automotive pioneer.  Winton cars.

Quite a few Union generals as well.

Over 100,000 burials are at this cemetery.

--Old Secesh

RoadTrippin'-- Part 12: Francis Warren Making His Mark

Francis E. Warren's first job in his new town was working as a clerk in a crockery and hardware store owned by a fellow Massachusetts native, A.R.  Converse, for whom Converse County was later named.  He later became Converse's partner and then bought the business in 1877, renaming it Warren Mercantile Company.

In  the fall of 1883, he  formed the Warren Livestock Company, a large sheep and cattle operation that eventually grew yo 150,000 acres  He also owned the  Cheyenne and Northern Railroad and the Brush-Swan Electric Company, which brought the first electricity to Cheyenne.

Wikipedia also lists real estate as a way Warren made money.

He was also responsible for many of the public and private buildings in Cheyenne.

In 1871, he married  Helen M. Smith of Massachusetts and the couple had two children Frances and Frederick.  His wife died in 1802, and Warren then married his second wife, Clara LeNaron Morgan on June 28, 1911 at age 67.

Helen is buried at Lakeview Cemetery in Cheyenne.  Clara remarried Albert Wells Russel and is buried at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio.

--Old Secesh

The Charles Wayne Home in Elgin, Illinois-- Part 3

Charles and Mary Wayne continued to live at  433 Division Street in Elgin after his mother, Ellen, died in 1900.  Charles unexpectedly passed away in 1909 after slipping on the ice during a business trip to Chicago in 1909.  Mary continued to live in the home until her death in 1940.

Prior to Charles' death, Charles and Mary invited his cousin,  Esther Bishop, to live with them.  Esther became a nurse and married  Claude Britton.  They moved to Freeport, Illinois, shortly after their marriage.  

Esther eventually came back to Elgin and took care of Mary until her death in 1940.  Esther became executor of Mary's and inherited the house.  She and her husband Claude converted the house into a two flat and later shared the house with their daughter Mary and two grandchildren, while their daughter's husband, Mike Ferroh, fought in the war (WW II).

Eventually Marty and Mike Ferroh built their own house in Elgin. Esther died in 1949 and Claude continued to live in the house until his death in 1967.  At that time, the house was sold.  

This is how come Claude Britton had all of the Harley Wayne items.

--Old Secesh

The Charles Wayne House in Elgin, Illinois-- Part 2

Continued from October 3, 2021.

Charles Wayne was the son of Harley Wayne of Union, Illinois, who was a captain and killed at the Battle of Shiloh.  I have written a lot about Harley and Charles earlier this year.

After Charles and his mother Ellen moved to Elgin, he  entered into a partnership with Attorney  John A. Russell.  Later, that partnership was dissolved and Mr. Wayne entered a partnership with Botsford, Wayne and Botsford..  According to newspaper articles gathered by Charles' wife Mary into scrapbooks, he became a prominent Northern Illinois trial lawyer.

He then entered local politics and soon became mayor of Elgin from 1895-1896.  After that, he declined to run for mayor again and went back to his law practice.

Mary Smith, his wife, was the daughter of Leonidas and Sarah J. Steward Smith and was born in Nashville, Tennessee.  She moved to Elgin with her sister Sarah when their brother Steward received  a position as  a priest at the Episcopal Church in Elgin.

Charles married Mary Carmichael Smith on January 18, 1888.

--Old Secesh

Events Taking Place in December: Mine Run-- Knoxville-- 13th Amendment-- Joint Committee and Fredericksburg

From the December 2021 American Battlefield Trust.

DECEMBER 1, 1863

Mine Run Campaign in Virginia concludes.

DECEMBER 2, 1862

Skirmish at Leed's Ferry, Virginia, on the Rappahannock River.

DECEMBER 3, 1863

Siege of Knoxville, Tennessee, concludes.

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DECEMBER 6, 1865

The 13th Amendment ratified, officially abolishing slavery.

DECEMBER 7, 1862

Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas.

DECEMBER 9, 1861

The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War established by U.S. Congress.

DECEMBER 11, 1862

The Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia, begins.

--Old Secesh

RoadTrippin' Thru History-- Part 11: Head West Young Man

The 49th Massachusetts mustered out of service on September 1, 1863, after 11 months of service (they enlisted for nine months).  I am unable to find out if Francis Warren reenlisted or not.  Or, if his wound was severe enough that it would keep him from further service.  

I have seen sources say that he later served as a captain in the Massachusetts militia.

Another one says he returned to Massachusetts after the war.

He married Helen Smith and in 1868, went West to the new territory that was developing around a small town named Cheyenne.

He recalled later that the first thing he saw on arrival in Cheyenne in May 1868.  Two brass bands  were serenading arrivals at the train station.  He wondered if there was some big shot on the train, but was told the two bands were from the town's two biggest gambling houses and inviting arrivals to the tables.

There wasn't much to Cheyenne at the time, "a city of  shanties and tents, camps and covered wagons.  The population was migratory and the railroads built further west by then.  Many felt that the days of Cheyenne were really numbered.  It wouldn't be long before there would be nothing to show for it.

Frances Warren didn't subscribe to that prophesy and saw a bright future.  He was there to stay.  He was there to seek his fortune.

And become a Rich Man, He Did.  --Old Secesh

RoadTrippin' Thru History-- Part 10: A Follow Up on Warren's Civil War Service

Francis E. Warren was enrolled on September 11, 1862, in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and mustered in on September 19 for the term of nine months as a private in Captain Plunkett's company of the 49th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment.  Young Warren was promoted to corporal sometime in April or May 1863.

The 49th was drilled  at Pittsfield and Worcester then went to New York on provost duty before going to New Orleans and being made a part of the 19th Army Corps.  The regiment took part in the Battle of Plains Store on May 21, 1863, which ended up sealing the Confederates into their defenses at Port Hudson, Louisiana.

They then were involved in the whole siege of Port Hudson from investment to surrender, including the attacks on it.  

Their terms of service over, Warren and his company were mustered out and honorably discharged at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on September 1, 1863, after a year of intensive military service.

Another source says that after Port Hudson that Warren served out the remainder of the war as a noncommissioned officer an received his discharge from the Union Army in 1865.Several sources say that after the war, he participated as a captain in the Massachusetts militia.

--Old Secesh

McHenry County CWRT Meeting Sat., Nov. 27: Civil War Trivia, Oddities and Potpourri

The McHenry County Civil War Round Table (MCCWRT) in Illinois is having its monthly discussion group this Saturday, November 27, at 10 am (CST) to noon at the Panera Bread in Crystal Lake at US-14 (Northwest Highway) and Main Street.

This month's topic is "Civil War Trivia, Oddities and Potpourri.'  Come on down and find out what potpourri is and have a good time yapping with the group.  We even manage to occasionally stay on topic.

Lots of fun and this is open top everyone, not just members.

Where There Is Always Good Discussion and Debate.  --Old Secesh

RoadTrippin' 9: Port Hudson Valor and a Delayed Medal of Honor

According to one account, Francis Warren received a serious scalp wound in the attack and initially was mistaken for dead, however, an alert doctor noticed he was alive and pulled him from the mass burial trench before it was covered. 

Another account says that after his entire platoon was destroyed by  Confederate bombardment, he was wounded but still managed to disable the enemy artillery.

Another account says that he was knocked down when the fascine he was carrying was struck by an artillery shall and he lay unconscious for several hours.

This same last account says that later, Congress recognized the valor of the volunteers and awarded them Medals of Honor.

The date of issue for Francis Warren's Medal of Honor was  September 30, 1893.  At the time, he was also serving his first term as U.S. Senator from Wyoming.

It's citation reads:

Volunteered in response to a call, and took part in a movement that was made upon  the enemy's works under a heavy fire therefrom in advance of the general assault.

I just have to wonder how much his service as Wyoming territorial governor and first U.S. governor and being in the U.S. Senate had to do with it.

--Old Secesh

RoadTrippin'-- Part 8: Francis Warren at Port Hudson and the 'Forlorn Hope'

By 1863, the Confederacy only controlled the part of the Mississippi River from Vicksburg, Mississippi, to Port Hudson, Louisiana.  In cooperation with General Grant who was going against Vicksburg, Union Major General  Nathaniel P. Banks' army moved against the Port Hudson.

Like Vicksburg, Port Hudson was located on high bluffs that gave the Confederates command of the river.

On May 11, 1863, Banks found that Confederates from Port Hudson had been sent to reinforce Vicksburg and  decided the time was right to attack the town.  By May 21st, Banks and his 30,000 troops surrounded Port Hudson, outnumbering the Confederates  four to one.

Francis E. Warren's 49th Massachusetts was with Banks at this time.  Banks, however, delayed attacking until May 27 giving the Confederates under Major Gen.  Franklin Gardner time to prepare his defenses.  A series of uncoordinated and unsuccessful attacks took place on May 27.  This is where Warren was wounded.

The 49th Massachusetts was called to furnish a few men from each company to perform the dangerous mission  of preceding the main force and putting down  fascines (bundles of sticks, twigs and other items) to fill in a ditch in front of the Confederate fortifications so that infantry might pass over it.

Corporal Warren was one of those volunteers.  The colonel and every officer in this what was to become known as the "Forlorn Hope" was killed and three-fourths of the men killed or wounded.  One of the wounded was Francis E. Warren.

--Old Secesh

RoadTrippin'-- Part 7: A New SUV Camp Named for Francis E. Warren

The article that started this thread was in the March 28, 2019, Sheridan, Wyoming newspaper.  Right away, there was a  Civil War connection, because Sheridan, Wyoming is named for Civil War general Phil Sheridan.

The article was about the formation of a new Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War camp in that city. The camp was named for Francis E. Warren and will serve not only Wyoming, but other states around it.  It is always good to see a new history group being formed, especially the Civil War. There had also been an earlier SUV camp in Wyoming named for Warren, but it had folded at some point in the past.

Now, if I can just find some information on Francis E. Warren as I had never heard of him before.   Come on Wikipedia.  Have something.

And, Wikipedia did.  Actually they had a lot on this man.  Turns out, he had a lot to do with the early history of Wyoming, especially in the area of politics.  I imagine if you are knowledgeable about Wyoming's early history, you would know something about this man.

FRANCIS E. WARREN

(June 20,1844 to November 24, 1929)

Francis E. Warren was born in Massachusetts and enlisted in the 49th Massachusetts at the age of 19 during the war and rose to the rank of corporal.

--Old Secesh

Roadtrippin' Thru History-- Part 6: The Rest of the Story

Roadtrippin' Thru History owes a huge thank you to the late great radio news guy, Paul Harvey who was on the air from 1951 to 2008 when his programs reached as many as 24 million people a week.  It was always great to hear him along with those great catch phrases of his.

"Hello Americans, This is Paul Harvey.  Stand by for news."

But, the one I liked the best was his "The Rest of the Story" where he took one of his stories and went into it with more detail.

That is exactly what RoadTrippin' Thru History is all about.  I take a story and go into it with greater detail and see where it takes me.

That's What RoadTrippin' Is All About.  Thanks Paul.  --Old Secesh

Roadtrippin' Thru History-- Part 5: A Famous Cavalry Unit and a Massacre

Spanish-American War

A famous cavalry unit

A  massacre

10-year-olds

World War I

World War II

Cold War

A weird U.S. Air Force base

A Civil War recruiting scam

A bank scam

One big-time retribution

Well, that pretty-well covers it.  Who wants to go Roadtrippin' Thru History with me?

Ready, Set, Go.  --Old Secesh

Roadtrippin' Thru History-- Part 4: Some More Itinerary

Some more places or people we'll be visiting:

Three generals:  one killed in battle, one you probably know and one you'll have to make up your mind about.

The Battle of Opequon  (Virginia)

The Battle of Barboursville (Virginia)

A long-serving U.S. Senator (the last U.S. Senator to serve in the Civil War)

A fort renaming, not once but twice

The Battle and Siege of Port Hudson, Louisiana

Two marriages with Benefits

Several things that will make you go "HHhummmmm."

--Old Secesh

RoadTrippin-- Part 3: And, Now for Your Itinerary

Now, I have already been down this road before and know what we'll be seeing.  You don't, however.  Si, here is a partial itinerary of where we'll be going.  (Not necessarily in order, though.)  And, all of these are not Civil War.  Like I say, when we're Roadtrippin' we don't know where we'll go or end up.

An international incident (just solved a few years ago)

A belated Civil War Medal of Honor

A governor

The Battle of Shiloh

Three Bells

One new SUV

An insurrection

The Forlorn Hope

Hell Roaring Jake

Belangiga, Samar

And, That's Not All.  There's More to Come.  --Old Secesh

RoadTrippin'-- Part 2: What Is RoadTrippin' Thru History?

I got the term "Roadtrippin' " from Liz and my love of traveling down this country's old roads.  You start the trip on one of these with no real idea where you are going to go or what you're going to see around the next bend or curve or town.  It is like a trip back home.

Illinois is lucky to have probably the three most famous of the old roads:  one from the early 1800s, the first transcontinental road and arguably the most famous of the numbered roads, here in Illinois.  That would be the National Road, Lincoln Highway and Route 66.

In 2006, when we retired, Liz and I drove from one end of Route 66 in Chicago to the other end in Santa Monica, California.  We also drove a big section of it in 2017 when we both turned 66 (you know, Route 66 when you're 66).  I have driven the Lincoln Highway from east Ohio out to Nebraska and also the whole National Road.

When we drive these old roads, we don't have a set time table because you never know what you'll find of interest along the way.

When I apply this to history, I start off with a story and really don't know where it is going to take me.

And this particular "RoadTrip" took me all over."

In the next post, I will give you an itinerary to know where you'll be going.

--Old Secesh

RoadTrippin' Thru History: Great Wyoming and Howling Wilderness-- Part 1

When I do these blogs, I lately have been doing a lot of "RoadTripping Thru History" where I start with one story and see how far and in what direction I can take it.  This is one such story, that started with an article from a Sheridan, Wyoming, newspaper with a new Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War camp.

Well, this particular story, or thread as some internet sites refer to it, really grew and grew.  Of course, it was grounded in the Civil War, which is why I am going to be writing about it in this particular blog.  I did cover it before, back on March 29, 2019 in this blog.

Before I was finished with my Roadtrip, this story had extended to my Cooter's History Thing and Tattooed on Your Soul:  World War II blogs and went to 2018.  It was massive to say the least.

I am going to write this story in this blog from beginning to end this time.

--Old Secesh

In Honor of Veterans Day: Kentucky Union Soldier's Gravestone Dedication

From the Channel 36ABC WTVQ  "Ky Civil War Union soldier gravestone dedication."

We honor our veterans living or deceased.

Sunday afternoon a grave stone was dedicated to a Union soldier at Three Forks of Bacon Creek Baptist Church Cemetery near Magnolia in Hart County.

It is for John Robert Lobb, Co. E 27th Kentucky Infantry,    known as "Johnny" and later "Grand Pop" to his family.

The gravestone was made and placed in 2020 but the dedication delayed until now because of the virus.

The family  applied to the the VA for a new headstone.

On May 31, 1864, "Johnny" was injured in the Battle of Burnt  Hickory near Kingston, Georgia, when a minie ball struck his right arm above the elbow.  After treatment in a hospital, he returned to his company.

He was honorably discharged   on March 19, 1965,  and returned to Hammonsville and began farming.

--Old Secesh

Happy Birthday USMC!! Role During the Civil War

Two battalions of Continental Marines were formed  on 10 November 1775 in Philadelphia as a branch on infantry troops able to fight on land or at sea.  This makes the proud organization 246 years old today.

The Marine Corps served a small role in the Civil War, mostly involved with blockade duty.  As more states seceded in the early days before war was fought,  about a third of the officer corps left U.S. service and started the Confederate States Marine Corps.

There was a battalion of Marine recruits performed poorly at the First Battle of Bull Run and retreated with the rest of the forces.

Blockade duty included sea-based amphibious operations to secure forward bases.  One of these occurred at Tybee Island, Georgia in late November 1861, when Marines and sailors from the USS Flag landed a reconnaissance in force to occupy the lighthouse and Martello Tower on the  northern end of the island .  

These positions were later used as the base of Army operations against nearby Fort Pulaski.

--Old Secesh

Danville, Kentucky in the Civil War

Danville did not have a lot of participation in the war other than the fact that the Battle of Perryville (fought Oct. 8, 1862) was fought nearby (10 miles away).  The courthouse and several buildings of Centre College served as hospitals for Union forces after the battle.

On October 11, 1862, Confederate forces retreated through the town with a Union force following closely behind.

Danville was also the place of birth of Theodore  O'Hara, who wrote "Bivouac of the Dead" which became a popular poem used in many  cemeteries for the war's dead.

After the war, many citizens of Danville gave up their burial spots in the city's Bellevue Cemetery to form a Confederate cemetery in 1868, with 66 fallen Confederate soldiers were reinterred.  This cemetery adjoins the  Danville National Cemetery (1862) that was reserved for former Union soldiers.

In 2019, the Presbyterian Church of Danville voted to  remove the monument from church grounds and petitioned the city to  allow the monument's relocation to Bellevue cemetery.

--Old Secesh

The Confederate Monument in Danville, Kentucky: Robert D. Logan

From Wikipedia.

This monument is located between Centre College and the Presbyterian Church of Danville at the corner of Main  and College streets in Danville, Kentucky.  It is dedicated to the Confederacy and on the National Register of Historic Places.

It was dedicated in 1910 by the surviving  veterans of the Confederacy of Boyle County and the Kate Morrison  Breckinridge Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

The statue consists of a granite pedestal and a marble statue depicting Captain  Robert D. Logan, who was actually from Lincoln County, but lived in Boyle County after the war. Captain Logan served with John Hunt Morgan in the 6th Kentucky Cavalry's Company A and was captured during Morgan's Raid in Cheshire, Ohio,  on July 20, 1863.

He spent much of the rest of the war in various Union prisons, including the Ohio State Penitentiary.

Robert Logan died  on June 25, 1896, fourteen years before the construction of the monument.

--Old Secesh

Civil War Events in November: Knoxville, Gettysburg Address, Orchard Knob, Lookout Mountain, Franklin

1863

NOVEMBER 17

Siege of Knoxville, Tennessee begins.

1863

NOVEMBER 19

President Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address at the Pennsylvania battlefield.

1863

NOVEMBER 23

Battle of Orchard Knob, Chattanooga, Tennessee.

1863

NOVEMBER 24

Battle of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee.

1864

NOVEMBER 30 

Battle of Franklin, Tennessee

--Old Secesh

Civil War Events in November: Lincoln's Elections, Port Royal Sound, Burning Atlanta, March to the Sea Begins

1860

NOVEMBER 6

Abraham Lincoln elected 16th President of the United States.

1861

NOVEMBER 7

Battle of Port Royal Sound, South Carolina.

1864

NOVEMBER 8

President Lincoln reelected

1864

NOVEMBER 12

U.S. General William T. Sherman's Federal troops burn the city of Atlanta, Georgia.

1864

NOVEMBER 16

Gen. William T. Sherman's army departs Atlanta to begin March to the Sea.

--Old Secesh

Generations Event at Gettysburg

From the American Battlefield Trust November 2021 calendar.

The picture features a bunch of young kids wearing Civil War uniforms at the Gettysburg Generations Event.

For 20 years the Thrust has worked hard to inspire America's youth, the soon-to-be stewards of our national memory.

Each year, more than 50,000 teachers and millions of students consume our history and civics content, and we have sent tens of thousands of young people to historic sites via our Field Trip Fund.

Our Generation program helps parents and grandparents encourage budding historians in their own families.

Yep, those of us already into history are getting a bit too old ourselves, so it is important to work with the next generation.  Another good thing the trust sponsors is the annual battlefield cleanups.

--Old Secesh

Nottaway County (Virginia) Confederate Monument

I figured I'd better wrote about some of these monuments before they're gone.

From HMdb

It is located on the lawn at the Nottaway County  Court House, Virginia.

Erected 1893 by the Ladies Memorial Association, Nottaway.

Inscription:

"Erected by the Ladies Memorial Association of Nottaway July 20, 1893.

"Jeffress Artillery C.S.A., Co. G 18th VA Regt. A.N.V., Nottaway Reserves C.S.A.,  Co. E3 VA Cavalry A.N.V."

"This monument  bears the names of several hundred men from Nottaway County who served in the Confederate Army."

--Old Secesh

The Matthews and Middlesex County (Virginia) Confederate Monuments and Capt. Sally L. Thompkins Marker

From the November 3, 2021, Daily Press (Virginia)  "Virginia counties vote overwhelmingly  to keep Confederate monuments" by Dave Ress.

The Matthews County monument was erected in 1912, after a six-year fund-raising  effort by the Lane-Diggs Camp of the United Confederate Veterans, the Matthews Monument Association and the United Daughters of the Confederacy.

There is also a state marker near the statue for Captain Sally  L. Thompkins, CSA 1833-1916. It reads:  

"Sally Thompkins, born at Poplar Grove, 3 miles  south of here, was the only woman granted a commission in the Army  of the Confederacy.  'Captain Sally' founded and directed Robertson Hospital in Richmond, where over 1300 Confederate  soldiers were cared for  between 1861 and 1865.

"Her grave and monument are located  in Christ Church Cemetery on Williams Wharf Road two miles to the south."

Middlesex erected its United Daughters of the Confederacy monument in 1910.  The inscription on it reads:  "To commemorate the valor and patriotism of the men, and the devotion and sacrifice of the women of Middlesex in defense of their liberties and their homes."

--Old Secesh

Pres. Lincoln Speaks at Hainesville

I stayed for the next speaker who was Kevin Wood, portraying President Abraham Lincoln.  He sure looked the part, as did Wayne Issleb who portrayed General and President U.S. Grant.  Both were great speakers and really brought their persons across.  Both audiences were standing room only.

The lucky folks were seated on hay bales.  How's that for historical?

According to President Lincoln, what really brought about the Civil War was Stephen Douglas' Kansas-Nebraska Act.  This meant that slavery could not be contained in the state s where it already existed, but could spread to the incoming states.

Lincoln did not like slavery but could live with it as long as it stayed put where it was.

His Emancipation Proclamation only freed slaves in Confederate states where the Union had no control.  But he figured  that slaves were aiding the Confederates in their efforts, so if he could cause them to stop and head for Union lines that this would help the effort.

In my opinion, Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation was one of the greatest political moves ever made by a politician.  Lincoln truly was the politician's politician.  The only slaves freed were those outside of Union control, but that would cause them to runaway every chance they got and their labors could not help the Confederacy.

Since the ones in the divided border states weren't freed, it kept those states on the Union side.  And, most importantly, by making the war one of freeing the slaves, this would keep Britain and France from allying themselves with the Confederacy.

--Old Secesh

Gen. Grant Speaks-- Part 5: A World Tour and Broke

After he left the president's office, he and Mrs. Grant took a two-year tour around Europe.

But, in 1880, he lost all his money on a ponzi scheme.  In 1883, he found that he had throat cancer,  His friend Mark Twain came up with the idea that he write his memoirs to raise money.

He finished the the two-part book just three days before he died.

--Old Secesh

Gen. Grant Speaks-- Part 4: The Civil War and Afterwards

When the Civil War began, Grant eventually received the command of the 21st Illinois Infantry and he saw his first action at the Battle of Belmont (Missouri)  in November 7, 1861.

At Appomattox, when he met Lee for the first time since the Mexican War, he tried to break the awkwardness by asking the Confederate general how things were going on the home front and wished he hadn't because Lee had lost his home at Arlington, Virginia,  which had been taken by the federal government and turned into a cemetery.

A few days later, he had been invited by the Lincolns to attend that play at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C., but his wife absolutely refused to go as she hated Mary Todd Lincoln.  Their excuse was that they were going elsewhere.  They were on a train and got to Burlington when they heard that Lincoln had been shot.

After the war,  He was, however, still in the Army and when people wanted him to run for president he had to make the decision of whether to give up his rank of General of the Army with its $40,000 a year salary or the president's salary of $25,000.

What Did He Do.  --Old Secesh

Gen. Grant Speaks-- Part 3: Hard Times at 'Hardscrabble and St. Louis, Grant's Slave and a Move to Galena, Illinois

When he got married, Grant's Best Man was his wife's cousin and a good friend at West Point, James Longstreet, later a Confederate general.

In the years at St. Louis, Grant would even go into the city to sell firewood.  He wasn't doing well financially at all.

While living in Missouri, his father-in-law gave him a slave named William Jones.  Even though Grant was not an abolitionist, he also was not a slavery man and in 1859, he gave William his manumission (freedom) even though William was worth at least $1,000, money Grant sorely needed.

However, Grant's father did arrange for him to get a job at his father's leather goods business there that was being run by two of Grant's younger brother:  Simpson and Orvil.  There he was, back in the tanning/leather business.   However, this enabled him to get out of debt.

Then, came the Civil War.  

--Old Secesh

Gen. Grant Speaks at Hainesville-- Part 2: USMA, Military Career, Marriage, Resignation and 'Hardscrabble'

Presentation of Wayne Issleb, playing the role of General U.S. Grant.

But, he loved horses.  He trained them  By the time he was 12 he had quite a horse business going.

Grant went to West Point, even though he really didn't want to and graduated in 1843.  He was sent to Jefferson Barracks in St. Louis.  While at the military academy he had become a friend with Frederick Dent from Missouri and James Longstreet from Georgia.

He started going to his friend's home and met his sister Julia and became enamored of her and they eventually married.  However, his father did not attend because the Dents owned slaves and he was a strict abolitionist.

However, soon afterward, he was transferred to Oregon Territory while his family remained elsewhere.  This is when he started drinking.  

It was soon after that that he resigned from the Army and returned home. That trip from the West to home, via New York, took seven months as he went around the tip of South America.  By the time he got to New York City, he had used up all his money.  He had to borrow $70 to get back home to St. Louis.

From 1855 to 1857, he built a small farm at a place he called "Hardscrabble" and had a series of failed jobs.  In 1860, he asked his father for help was turned down because he was living in a slave state.

His Father Hated Anything Slave.  --Old Secesh

Gen. Grant Speaks at Hainesville: What About 'Piss Poor?' Now We Know

After talking some with Bob, I got a bite to eat , a cheeseburger hit off the grill provided by the good folks at the Grayslake Rising Sun Masonic Lodge #2.

Then I went to the big barn and sat on some straw bales along with a full house, standing room only and then some to hear General Ulysses S. Grant (presented by Wayne Issleb) who definitely resembled the good general to a great degree.

He talked about his life prewar and said that above all else, he did not want to be a soldier under any circumstances.  

But his father was a tanner  and he hated that even worse.  He hated the smell and he hated the sight of blood.  Even worse, there was a need for human urine to get the hair off the hide.  There would be no tanning in his future if he could help it.

Then, he related the story of where a once common saying came from.  People would sell their urine to tanners.  If they didn't have enough, they would be called "piss poor."  I've heard that one before.

He was put to work collecting the stuff and got the nickname "Urine Boy."

No "Urine Boy" Here.  --Old Secesh

The Hainesville Civil War Encampment: Elijah and Me

October 16, 2021

As usual, most of the attendees were whites.  I usually don't see many Blacks at one of these, unfortunately.  I also don't see U.S. Colored Troops re-enactors very often which is also too bad.  They have a very interesting history and had a lot to do with the final defeat of the Confederacy.

Walked past U.S. Grant's tent and he was sitting outside it in conference with a Union officer.

I was especially looking to meet with Elijah Haines, the person Hainesville is named after.  The person playing him is my old friend and fellow teacher Bob.  We go back to my first year at Magee Middle School, 1973.

I soon came across him regaling others about little-known aspects of Elijah's life and the early history of the region.  Actually, Elijah owned land where Hainesville was and some of his family lived there, but he spent most of his time in Waukegan and is buried there.

He had already given his talk in the open barn earlier in the morning.

It was sure good to see so many people there.  I think this would be a good place for our Civil War Round Table to "recruit" new members as we are getting a bit long in the tooth.

--Old Secesh

The Hainesville Civil War Encampment and Battle-- Part 1

This took place on Saturday and Sunday, October 16 and 17, in Hainesville, Illinois.

I have been to this several times before.  Of course, it was not held last year because of you-know-what.  So, it was good to have it again.  I actually did not know it was going to be held until just a few weeks before it.

I always find it nice to get together with like-minded folks nd those just there to find out more about the war.

I went on Saturday and it was a blustery day, but not too bad as long as you stayed in the sun.  Shade was not a friend today at all.  I figured the re-enactors weren't too bad off in those wool uniforms on a day like this.

It cost $10 to park, but no other admission charge and was hosted by the Northbrook Sports Club at 200 S. Hainesville Road.

Let's just say I parked in the high grass and walked along a crushed asphalt walkway to where the action was.

As usual, the Confederate camp was pretty far away from the main activity area.  The Union camp was right by as I walked.

--Old Secesh

McHenry County CW Round Table Discussion Group Meets Saturday, Oct. 23: Kentucky Campaign Aug-Oct, 1862 The Battle of Perryville

The McHenry County Civil War Round Table will meet IN PERSON this Saturday, October 23 at Panera Bread in Crystal Lake, Illinois, at the corner of US-14 (Northwest Highway) and Main Street.

This week's topic will be the "Kentucky Campaign, August to October 1862" that resulted in the Battle of Perryville.

Plenty of room and everyone is welcome (including non-members).

Where there is always good discussion and debate and we stay mostly on topic.

The group meets between 10 am and noon.

See You There.  --Old Secesh

Fort Delaware in the Civil War: Gen. Pettigrew and the 'Bull Pen'

From Wikipedia.

Fort Delaware saw its main use during the war as a prison for captured Confederates, convicted federal soldiers and local  political prisoners as well as  privateers.  The first prisoners arriving were housed  inside the fort in sealed off casemates, empty powder magazines and two small rooms inside the sally port.  In those small rooms Confederates carved their names and you can still see them.

According to the Philadelphia  Inquirer, the islands "contained an average population of southern tourists, who came at the urgent  invitation of Mr. Lincoln."

And, the fort also held captured Confederate generals.  The first  one housed there was Brigadier General  Johnston Pettigrew.  He was the first of about a dozen held at the fort.

In 1862 and 1863, two separate phases of construction took place  at Fort Delaware.  A barracks for enlisted men known as the "Bull Pen" by Confederates was built.  Most of the Confederates captured at the Battle of Gettysburg spent time there.

Some Tourists Indeed.  --Old Secesh

Fort Delaware

I wrote about improvements to be made at this fort in my last post.

From Wikipedia.

A former harbor defense facility designed by U.S. Army Chief Engineer Joseph Gilbert Totten and located on Pea Patch Island in the Delaware River.

During the Civil War, it was used as a prison for Confederate prisoners of war, political prisoners, federal convicts and privateer officers.

In the 1890s, a three-gun concrete battery of 12-inch guns named Battery Torbert was erected in the  fort.  By 1900, the fort was a part of a three-fort concept, the first forts of the Coast Defenses of Delaware,  working in conjunction with Fort Mott in Pennsville, New Jersey, and Fort DuPont in Delaware City, Delaware.

--Old Secesh

Fort Delaware Getting a $3.7 Million in Improvements

From the September 11, 2021, Delaware Business Now.

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has begun  construction on several Fort Delaware State Park projects.

Areas of the fort, located on an island in the Delaware River that are normally open to the public will remain open.

The fort is best-known as a prison for Confederate soldiers captured by the Union during the Civil War.  It was originally built to protect the City of Wilmington, Delaware.

The $3.7 million project, funded by multiple sources, includes the following enhancements:

**  The tram path, which brings visitors from the pier to the fort, will be stabilized and repaved.

**  Trails between the restrooms, fort, barracks and heronry will be constructed with aggregates to be durable and prevent soggy shoes.  (A heronry is a nesting ground for herons.  I had to look this up.) 

**  The heronry observation platform will be rebuilt to be safe and inviting.

**  A new maintenance building will be constructed for a better, safer place for staff to support public access to the cultural and natural resources of the island.

**  A new screened pavilion will be constructed to provide suitable space for groups to eat lunch together.

Way to Go, Fort Delaware.  --Old Secesh

Schedule of Events at the Hainesville (Illinois) Civil War Event Saturday, October 16

Public entry begins at 10 am.

10:15 to 10:45:  Military Drill

10:50 to 11:20:  Elijah Haines  (Hainesville Founder)

11:25 to 11:55:  Mary Todd Lincoln  (A Day in the Lincoln White House)

12:00 to 12:30:  William Irving Kirk  (A Southern Abolitionist Clergy)

12:40 to 1:10:  General Grant  (The Final Days)

1:15 to 2:00:  President Lincoln  (Finishing the Work)

2:10 to 2:40:  Thomas Morris Chester  (Battle of New Market Heights)  Thomas Morris Chester  was te only black reporter for a major newspaper during the war.

2:10:  Officers Call

2:45 to 3:15:  Battlefield Surgery 

3:15 to 3:30:  Assembly of Troops

3:30 to 4:00:  Narrated Battle featuring the Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina.  The last major battle of the war.

4:00:  The event closes to the public

SUNDAY follows the same schedule, but one hour earlier in all times.

Looking forward to being there.

--Old Secesh

Hainesville Civil War Event This Weekend

From the Village of Hainesville, Illinois

Saturday, October 16 from 10 am to 4 pm

Sunday, October 17 from 9 am to 3 pm

Relive history as knowledgeable re-enactors, both military and civilian in period costume recreate a Civil War encampment and battle in a rural setting in Hainesville, Illinois.

Event highlights include :  narrated battle between Union and Confederate uniformed soldiers, military and civilian bivouacs and encampments, battlefield surgeries, undertakers and period medical displays.

Such historical persons as Abraham Lincoln, General Grant, Elijah Haines (the Village of Hainesville founder) among others.  Period music, souvenirs and food vendors.

Admission is free, but there will be a $10 on site parking charge.

I'll be there (my first Civil War Re-enactment since you-know-what).

--Old Secesh

Confederate Slave Payrolls Provide a Wealth of Information

From the September 25, 2021, Terre Haute (Indiana) Tribune Star  ""Genealogy:  Confederate Slave Payrolls provide a wealth of information" by Tamie Dehler.

The National Archives and Records Administration has a valuable online resource called Confederate Slave Payrolls, which can be of great value for persons doing research on their black past.  Not to mention the Civil War.

"During the Civil War, the Confederate Army required enslavers to loan their enslaved people to the military.  Throughout the Confederacy from Florida to Virginia, these enslaved people worked as cooks and laundresses, labored in deadly conditions to mine potassium nitrate to create  gunpowder, worked in ordnance factories, and dug the defensive  trench works that defended  cities such as Petersburg, Virginia.

"This series , comprising nearly 6,000 payrolls for enslaved labor,  sheds light  on the lives of enslaved people loaned to the Confederate Army during the Civil War, and may provide a wealth of genealogical  information relating to the names and home counties of African Americans.

"The payrolls show the time period covered, the Confederate officer under whom the enslaved people were employed, the place of service, names of the enslaver,  names and occupations of the hired enslaved person, number of days employed, daily rate of wages, amount paid, and the signature of the person receiving the payment."

You can view the full series of the "Confederate Slave Payrolls" in the  National Archives Catalog:  National Archives Identifier 719477.

So, It Is Now Enslaved People Instead of Slaves.  Enslavers Instead of Slaveowners.  --Old Secesh

Re-enactment in Baxter Springs, Kansas

From the September 24, 2021, Joplin (Missouri) Globe  "Civil War encampment coming up in October."

Okay, sorry, we missed it, but maybe next year.  Liz and I are big Route 66 enthusiasts and this is right on the Mother Road in the really short part of it that passes through Kansas  (just 13 miles).

The Baxter Springs  Heritage Center & Museum, 740 East Avenue, will host a Civil War encampment on the grounds of the Fort Blair  Historic Site on October 2-3.

On Saturday, there will be  morning and afternoon military parades, demonstrations of camp life from that era, several federal and Confederate drills and food trucks.   Inside the museum, there will be speakers, special displays and docudramas.

Live bands will play music and dancing from that time.

Battle engagements are scheduled at  10 am and 2 pm Saturday and at 1 pm on Sunday.

Period-style dress is encouraged, but not required.

Maybe Next Year.  --Old Secesh

Civil War Events in October-- Part 2: Bristoe Station, John Brown's Raid, Cedar Creek, Ball's Bluff and Mine Creek

1863

OCTOBER 14 

**  Battle of Bristoe Station, Virginia

1859

OCTOBER 16

**  John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia) begins and lasts for three days.

1859

OCTOBER 18

**  U.S. Marines storm engine house at Harpers Ferry and capture John Brown.

1864

OCTIBER 19

**  Battle of Cedar Creek, Virginia

1861

OCTOBER 21

**  Battle of Ball's Bluff, Leesburg, Virginia

1864

OCTOBER 25

**  Battle of Mine Creek, Kansas

--Old Secesh

Great News: MCCWRT Will Have First In-Person Meeting at Woodstock Library Since Virus Hit, on Tuesday, Oct. 12

It's been a long time coming, but the McHenry County (Illinois) Civil War Round Table (MCCWRT) will be having its first in-person meeting at our home base, the Woodstock (Illinois) Library since our last one in March 2020.  The Woodstock Library has been closed to meetings since then until now.   (We did have one meeting at the McHenry County Historical Society Museum in Union, Illinois back in June.)

We have been doing the last several meetings on Zoom.  Our discussion groups are now back at meeting on the last Saturday of each month at Panera Bread in Crystal Lake.

Since I don't do Zoom I haven't seen any of the regular meetings except the one in Union.

The meeting is from 7 to 9 pm, Tuesday October 12.  Doors to the library, however, will be closed promptly at 7, so plan accordingly.

This month, Scott Larimer will be presenting Fort Sumter & Other Civil War Forts."

Come On Down!!  --Old Secesh

Events in October: Corinth, Perryville, Tom's Brook and the USS St. Louis

From the American Battlefield Trust October 2021 calendar.

1862

OCTOBER 3

Second Battle of Corinth, Mississippi begins.

1862

OCTOBER 8

Battle of Perryville, Kentucky

1864

OCTOBER 9

Battle of Tom's Brook, Virginia

1861

OCTOBER 12

First Union ironclad, the USS St. Louis, launched at Carondelet, Missouri.

--Old Secesh

Battle of Perryville

From the American Battlefield Trust October 2021 calendar.

PERRYVILLE, KENTUCKY

1,150 Acres Saved

Photo of Perryville State Historic Site

Perryville. Kentucky

By Daniel Kirchner

Perryville is one of the best-preserved battlefields in America.  The Trust and its partners -- including the National Park Service's American Battlefield Protection Program, the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the HTR Foundation -- have seen years of preservation work come together to nearly complete the site of this decisive October 8, 1962, battle.

--Old Secesh

 

Civil War Events in September: Chickamauga, Third Winchester, New Market Heights and Peeble's Farm

1863

SEPTEMBER 18

**  Battle of Chickamauga, Georgia, begins.

1864

SEPTEMBER 19

**  Battle of Third Winchester, Virginia

1864

SEPTEMBER 29

**  Battle of New Market Heights, Virginia, begins.

1864

SEPTEMBER 30

**  Battle of Peeble's Farm, Virginia

--Old Secesh

Civil War Events in September: Chantilly, Atlanta, Harpers Ferry and Antietam

From American Trust September 2021 calendar.

1862:  SEPTEMBER 1

Battle of Chantilly, Virginia  (I was just reading about this in the latest America's Civil War magazine.  I had never heard of it before.

1864:  SEPTEMBER 2

Federal forces occupy Atlanta, Georgia.

1862:  SEPTEMBER 14

Battle of South Mountain Gap, Maryland.

1862:  SEPTEMBER 15

Capture of Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia)

1862:  SEPTEMBER 17

Battle of Antietam, Maryland

--Old Secesh

Battle of Peeple's Farm, Virginia

From the American Battlefield Trust September 2021 Calendar.

I missed writing about this last month.  Oops.

PEEBLE'S FARM, Virginia

481 acres saved

Photo of Peeple's Farm Battlefield, part of Petersburg Battlefield Park, Petersburg, Virginia, by Chris Landon.

Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant's Richmond-Petersburg Campaign was the longest active campaign of the Civil War, lasting almost 300 days.

The Battle of Peeble's Farm (September 30, 1864) and the Battle of the Breakthrough (April 2, 1865) were fought on this same land.

This is one of the many battlefields in this region that the Trust works to protect amid increased industrial and commercial development.

--Old Secesh

The Charles Wayne Home in Elgin, Illinois-- Part 1

From the Historic Elgin site.

433 Division Street

This is the home that Harley Wayne's son built in Elgin.

SIGNIFICANCE

Harley Wayne (born April 30, 1823) married Ellen Dietz (born February 24, 1823) in Marengo, Illinois, on April 30, 1848.  They had two children, a daughter named Ida who died just before her third birthday and a son, Charles, who was born in Union, Illinois.

When Charles was six years old, his father was killed at the Battle of Shiloh at Pittsburg Landing in Tennessee, on April 6, 1862.  Harley Wayne was captain of Company D. of the 15th Illinois Volunteer Infantry.

After her husband's death, Ellen continued living in Union, Illinois, until her son Charles completed his education at the University of Chicago in 1880, where he was president of his class.  Charles entered the  law office of A.B. Coon, a prominent   Illinois attorney practicing in Marengo. and by 1882, Charles had passed  the state bar  examination.

By 1883, Charles, along with his mother, Ellen, moved to Elgin where he bought a house at 433 Division Street from William H. Bullard, a builder in Elgin.

Continued on December 1, 2021.

--Old Secesh

Researching Capt. Harley Wayne-- Part 6

"There is a funny story about that stepping stone.  Our paper boy asked us one time if we had our dog buried under it.  He thought it was a grave marker for a pet.  It looks like one as it's made of marble and even has the name 'Wayne' chiseled into it.

"After Harley's death, the widow took the stone to Elgin with her.  She lived with her son, Charles, until her death.  Charles had married by this time and this is where the story gets a little confusing."

Charles and his wife were childless.  But Charles had a cousin who was a preacher in California.  This cousin had 10 kids to feed and didn't get paid much for his labors.  Charles volunteered to take one of the kids out of this cousin's kitchen.

The kid turned out to be Esther Bishop.  She not only lived with Charles until his death in 1905, but then lived with Mary (Charles' wife) until her death in 1941.  Mary apparently willed the house to Esther, who, by this time, was married to Claude Britton.

Britton continued to live in the house after Esther died and was still there in 1956 with the stepping stone somewhere on the premises, the letters, photos, tunic buttons and other war materials in the attic.

Enter the Parentis.

"The chances were enormous of us not finding out what we did," said Parenti, "but we did it anyhow,"

Thank you Leo and Connie Parenti foor all this information that otherwise would have been lost.

--Old Secesh

Researching Capt. Harley Wayne-- Part 5: Harley's Letters and Stepping Stone

"Some of the letters were quite colorful as they related to Harley's pre-marriage days in McHenry County.  There was correspondence with a friend of his named Sam Kelly, who used some pretty rough language (about men and women)."

Copies were made of those letters and most remain in the possession of the Parentis.  Another set of copies was presented to the county historical society museum in Union.  The originals, according to Mrs. Parenti, are now in the archives of the Illinois State Historical Society.

"Mr. Britton was about 76 years old when he came to visit us," said Mrs. Parenti.  His wife, Esther, had died around 1948 or so.  He lived another ten years and we kept somewhat in touch."

Britton's will left a carriage stepping stone, four of Captain Harley Wayne's tunic buttons from the Civil War and other mementos in the possession of the Parentis.

"He thought the stepping stone (which has Wayne inscribed on the side of it) went with the house and when and if we sell the house it will stay here," said Mrs. Parenti.  "As well as the other memorabilia we have concerning the Waynes.

--Old Secesh

Researching Capt. Harley Wayne-- Part 4: Finally, a Lead on the Wayne History

Through a series of telephone calls, Claude Britton eventually got in touch with the parentis.

His was a tenuous connection to the Waynes.  His wife was Esther Bishop.  Esther's mother was a cousin of Charles Wayne (Harley's son)

Even so, Britton apparently was all that was left of the Wayne family in Illinois.  Distant cousins in South Dakota and California have yet to be traced.

Britton was all too happy to share family reminiscences and memorabilia with the Parentis.

"He called and said he would tell all about the Waynes if he could come and visit the house in Union.  He had never been in it. Of course we said yes," said Mrs. Parenti.

"He came over with his daughter, a picture of Mrs. Wayne and a shoebox of letters from the attic of his house."

The letters were the ones Mrs. Wayne had saved from her husband since the Civil War days.  There were also some from back to 1843 which vividly showed his abolitionist sympathies.

These letters must be the ones that are being transcribed now by the McHenry County Historical Society.

--Old Secesh

 

Researching Capt. Harley Wayne-- Part 3: Tracking Down the Waynes

"We found the cemetery in Marengo where he was buried," Parenti said.  That gave the Parentis some vital statistics.  They could also determine from four nearby grave markers the make up of Wayne's family.  Wayne's wife Ellen died in 1900, a daughter lived from 1851 to 1854, and the son, Charles, from 1855 to 1905.  (This would be the Marengo City Cemetery.)

"I kept asking around Marengo if anyone knew about the house in Union," said Mrs. Parenti.  "I kept asking though and I came across a club made up of village descendants of the first Marengo area pioneers.  It's called the Ladies Home Circle today.

"The club had an annual event where all the members attended an all-day meeting.  The whole family would come in the early days.  (Was this the predecessor of the annual Marengo Settlers Days festival to be held this year from October 7-10?)

"At any rate I got in touch with the club members.  One of them told me about a woman in Elgin and this woman in Elgin had a neighbor who was a relation of the Waynes.

"This relative was named Claude Britton."

--Old Secesh

Researching Capt. Harley Wayne-- Part 2: Not Many Folks in Union Knew About the Waynes

Of course, the chalk marks in the basement drew some wonder.  They asked Dr. Melvin Adams about those chalk marks.  Adams, 76, was still alive and living in Union as such, he knew some information about the house.  In addition, he  had even lived in the house when he was a teenager from 1904-1911.

He told the Parentis that the scribbling had been done by the son of a man who had fought in the Civil War and that the man's name was Harley Wayne and his son was Charles Wayne.

The Dr. got Harley Wayne's war record from Springfield.

Nobody else in Union, however, knew very much about the Waynes  Some didn't even know that he had ever lived here.  According to Mrs.Parenti, "Even the people who sold us the house knew only that he had fought in the war but they didn't know he had died in it."

With just these few sketchy facts, te Parentis searched further afield.

--Old Secesh

McHenry Co. CW Round Table Discussion Group Meeting This Sat., Sept. 25: Sept. 1862- Lee's First Invasion

The McHenry County Civil War Round Table will meet Saturday, September 25 at Panera Bread in Crystal Lake, Illinois, from 10 am to noon.  Topic of the day will be Lee's First Invasion of the North September 1862.

All are welcome.  On topic and off-topic subjects will be discussed.  You never know where we'll end up.

And, it's in person.

Panera Bread is at 6000 Northwest Highway (US-14) and Main Street.

Ya'll Welcome.  --Old Secesh

Research on Captain Harley Wayne-- Part 1: The Parentis

From the May 30, 1987, Northwest Herald (McHenry County, Illinois)  "Resurrection took 31 years" by Jerry Kuyper.

Leo and Constance (Connie) Parenti of Union, Illinois, are the ones whose extensive research on the Wayne family are responsible for it still being here.  (Until June of this year, I had never heard of him, even though Union is just 30 miles from where I live.)

The material covered in these last several posts all came from one newspaper page from back in 1987.

Much material that was lost has been found by the couple, who back in 1987, resided in the old Wayne mansion in Union.

According to the Parenti's, "We probably know more about the family than today's relatives do."  Accumulating all this Wayne legacy has taken 31 years.  And, as a coincidence, Harley Wayne was only 31 years old (and 11 months and 15 days) when he was killed at the Battle of Shiloh.

The interest in Wayne began in 1956, when the couple bought and moved into the handsome red brick house with the circular drive in Union.

The search for Wayne history began soon afterwards.

--Old Secesh

What Happened to Captain Wayne's Sword?

The sword that Capt. Harley Wayne wore at the Battle of Shiloh along with his tunic (uniform top) were both returned to Ellen Wayne (his wife)

The tunic has disappeared, but the buttons have survived to this day.

His sword was later donated to the Harley Wayne Grand Army of the Republic Post 169 in nearby Marengo.  The sword "disappeared" at the same time the last post member died.

"That was probably in the 1950s," said Nancy Fike, curator of the McHenry County Historical Society museum in Union.

"The last of all those Civil War veterans died out about then and when they did, so did the Grand Army of the republic since that is what they were.

"We're lucky if we can scare up a World War I veteran now to talk to.  They're getting scarce."(This newspaper article came out in 1987.  Frank Buckles, the last-known WW I veteran died at age 110 on February 27, 2011.)

One Harley Wayne historical item has been found.  It came as it should, from an attic in Marengo.  "It's a quilt square," said Connie Parenti of Union.  "Calvin Spencer founded Marengo in 1835 and his daughter quilted."

--Old Secesh

Capt. Harley Wayne at Fort Donelson and the Rebel Officer Who Didn't Want to Give Up His Sword

From the Nay 30, 1987, Northwest Herald (McHenry County, Illinois) "The captain's word disappears" by Jeff Kuyper.

On February  16, 1862, at 10 a.m., the Confederate command at Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River in Tennessee, surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant.

An hour later Captain Harley Wayne and the others with the 15th Illinois Volunteer Infantry were on the scene.

"I never saw such confusion and excitement as existed all around," Wayne wrote his wife later.  :We landed and touched on shore and received on board about 500 prisoners.

"I was officer if the day and it was my duty to take entire control of them.  I had to examine them individually and take away all weapons, pistols, knives and so firth.  There were a great many Bowie knives, hideous looking weapons."

Several prisoners were reluctant to turn over their weapons.

"One, an officer, yet had his sword.  I asked him to deliver it up,"  Wayne wrote in his February 18, 1862  letter home. 

(Unfortunately, the article does not say whether Harley Wayne's Confederate officer gave up his sword.  Of course, I can't imagine capturing an enemy and not immediately checking for weapons they might still have on them.)

--Old Secesh

Harley Wayne Civil War Letter Transcriptions

At present, Robert Frenz (president of the McHenry County Civil War Round Table (Illinois) and also a member of the McHenry County  Historical Society  and Linda  Eder of the Society are in the process of transcribing approximately sixty  Civil War-related letters written by Harley Wayne.

I have been writing at great length about him in this blog lately.

He was a prominent figure in McHenry County before the war and was killed on the first day of the Battle of Shiloh.

The Society also has a collection of his pre-Civil War letters.

--Old Secesh

Was Harley Wayne a Descendant of 'Mad' Anthony Wayne?-- Part 4: Also Levy and Isaac William Wayne

On the Geni. site it says that "Mad" Anthony Wayne was the father of Margretta Atlee and three sons.  One was U.S. Congressman Isaac Wayne, whom I wrote abut in the last post.  But also two others, who may or may not be the fathers of Harley Wayne if he is part of that family.

The other two sons of Wayne were Levy Wayne and Isaac William Wayne.

Levy Wayne born 1793 and died 1835.

Isaac William Wayne was born 1772 and date of death not given.

So, if it is true that Harley Wayne was a descendant of Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne, he could have been the son of Isaac Wayne, Levy Wayne or Isaac William Wayne.

I have not been able to find any other information about Levy or Isaac William Wayne.

Still Looking, Though.  --Old Secesh

Was Harley Wayne a Descendant of Gen. 'Mad' Anthony Wayne'-- Part 3: Perhaps the General's Son's Son?

In the last post, I said that Find a Grave has Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne having two children, a daughter name Margaretta Wayne Atlee who died in 1810 and a son Isaac Wayne who died in 1852.  f course, with the Wayne surname, he might be the link to the general.  Of course, the daughter died before Harley Wayne was born.

From Find a Grave.

Born 1772 in Paoli, Pa.

Died: 25 October  1852 in Chester County, Pa.

Buried Old Saint David's Church Cemetery in Wayne, Pennsylvania.  This is where the general is buried as well.

U.S. Congressman.  Member of Pennsylvania  State House of Representatives from 1799 to 1801 and in 1806.  Served in the state senate in 1810.

During the War of 1812, he was a captain in the Pennsylvania cavalry and rose to colonel and command  of the 2nd Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry.

Unsuccessful as a Federalist candidate for governor in 1814 and elected to the Eighteenth Congress serving from 1823 to 1825.

After his term, he engaged in agricultural pursuits until his death.

--Old Secesh

Was Harley Wayne a Descendant of 'Mad' Anthony Wayne?-- Part 2

I went to the Find a Grave Site for Harley Wayne, but unfortunately it only listed the name of his wife, Ellen Dietz Wayne and the fact that he was born  in 1823 in Maryland, Otsego County, New York (west of Albany).

I went to the Find a Grave site for Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne.  Born in 1745 and died 1796.  

It listed one son and a daughter.

The daughter was Margaretta  Wayne Atlee (1779-1810).  She would have died before Harley Wayne was born.

The son's name was Isaac Wayne (1772-1852).  So, from the years. he might have been the father of Harley Wayne.

A Possibility?  --Brock-Perry

Was Harley Wayne the Descendant of "Mad: Anthony Wayne?

In my last post, I wrote that the newspaper article said that Capt. Harley Wayne  was a descendant of an illustrious American Revolution officer Gem. "Mad" Anthony Wayne.  I decided to find out what that would be.

I found that he had an interesting story and I am thinking about writing about it in my Cooter's History Thing blog in the future.

From Wikipedia.

ANTHONY WAYNE (January 1, 1745-December 15, 1796)

Was an American soldier. officer, statesman of Irish descent.  He adopted a military career at the onset of the American Revolution exploits and fiery personality quickly earned him promotion to brigadier general and the nickname "Mad Anthony."

He later served as senior officer of the Army on the Ohio frontier and led the Legion of the United States.

--Old Secesh

Interviews With First Responders Tells the Story-- Part 3: 'I Gave Everyone General Absolution, and I Kept Running' Toward the Burning Tower

Among the units arriving from outlying boroughs was a Staten Island battalion commanded by Chief Thomas Vallebuona.  "The thought in my mind is, we were going to end up like the people in Pompeii, totally buried in ash and dust," he recalled.

The Rev. John Delendick, a fire department chaplain, had just finished saying mass at St. Michael's Church in Brooklyn when he heard about the attack.  He arrived at the site as first responders and civilians were fleeing for their lives.

"We were running along, and a cop is running next to me," Delendick recalled.  "He says:  'Father, can I go to confession?' I looked and said:  'This is an act of war, isn't it?' He said:  'Yeah, I believe so.'  I said:  'Then I'm giving general absolution.'  I gave everyone general absolution, and I kept running."

Interviews With First Responders Told 9/11 Story-- Part 2: Oral History

I stop my blogs every September 11 to remember.

"For those who survived that day it was luck, not skill," according to James Canham.

Why would anyone accept those odds in return for a first responder's modest paycheck?

Fortunately, survivors can speak for their for their lost comrades, and recount what happened, thanks to interviews made by the New York Fire Department shortly after 9/11.

Of course, the sooner you can get a person's recollections on paper, the more accurate they are.

Interviews With First Responders Told the 9/11 Story

From the September 10, 2021, Chicago Tribune by Ron Grossman.

New York firefighter James Canham was supposed to have off on September 11, 2001.  His wife worked in Manhattan, not far from the World Trade Center, so he drove her to work and headed back to their home in Brooklyn.

Once home, finding an answering machine message about an airplane hitting the north tower of the World Trade, he grabbed gear from a nearby firehouse and got a lift back to Manhattan.  Working his way up to the 11thfloor, he rescued a woman and an exhausted cop and found an office with a working phone.

"This is real bad, I'm going to be here for awhile," he told his wife.  "Go home, get the kids, stay out of Manhattan."

Canhan got out of the tower just before it collapsed.

Capt. Harley Wayne a Descendant of Gen. 'Mad' Anthony Wayne of American Revolution

From the May 30, 1987, Northwest Herald "Descendant of 'Mad' A.W.."

Captain Harley Wayne was the descendant of an illustrious military forbear.

"Mad" Anthony Wayne, chief of staff for Gen. George Washington, was Captain Wayne's grandfather.

"Mad" Anthony Wayne fought Indians after helping defeat the British during the American Revolution.

Fort Wayne, Indiana, is named after him.

Connie Parenti gave this information.  After looking into Harley Wayne's life, she also became interested in the Wayne genealogy.

--Old Secesh

Writes His Dad-- Part 6: All He Wanted Was a Pony

Around the turn of the century, a developer bought the eight acres surrounding  the Parenti homestead (Harley Wayne home) and made a subdivision of it called Evergreen Park.  That is why you see houses around the Wayne residence today.

It is surprising that littler Charlie's chalk marks on the basement wall would have survived to this day.  According to the Parentis, it is a dry basement and that helps.

"All I know is that after we bought the house in 1956 we talked to Dr. Melvin Adams, who was then 76 and had been around Union all his life.  He lived in the house when he was a teenager, from 1904-1911.  He told us that his father instructed the children not to erase any writing or drawing on the walls.  Not to deface them in any way.

"So even back then the owners of the house seemed to have an awareness of the importance of the scribblings if a small boy during the Civil War."

A small boy who wanted a pony.  And probably would have settled for a father.

This is another side of war that you don't often get the opportunity to hear.

--Old Secesh

Writes His Dad-- Part 5: Move to Elgin

The Parentis do not know whether Charles Wayne ever got the pony he so wanted.

Charles and his mother later moved to Elgin, Illinois.  Mrs. Wayne took along a rectangular steppingstone from the Union home which had the name Wayne chiseled into it.

The Parentis located Harley Wayne's descendants in Elgin back in 1962 and found that that stepping stone was still at the house where his widow had lived with her son Charles.  They said they could have the stone so it is now back at the Union home.

Charles Wayne became a prominent Elgin attorney and served a term as its mayor from 1896-1897.  He married a woman named Mary Smith who was an ardent advocate of the "Southern Cause."  They did not have children, but did have many nieces and nephews.

In 1905, Charles fell after slipping on a patch of ice and had a cerebral hemorrhage and died from it.  His body was returned to Marengo for burial next to his father, mother and sister he had never known.  His mother had already died in 1900.

Mary Smith Wayne died in 1941.  Shortly before her death she grudgingly admitted that Lincoln was a great man.

--Old Secesh

Writes His Dad- Part 4: The Battle of Shiloh and Death of Harley Wayne

Harley Wayne, however, did not miss U.S. Grant's second major battle, this time against Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston, considered at the time to be the South's best general.

On a Sunday morning, April 6, 1862, the two armies collided at Shiloh in western Tennessee.  Shiloh was virtually little more than a backwoods church, when the Confederates surprised Grant's Army at daybreak.  At daybreak the firing began and by 5 am, the noise and confusion was everywhere on the battlefield.

Johnston was at the front directing his men when he took a bullet to an artery and bled to death.

Harley Wayne was also in the midst of the fighting, right by a place that came to be known as the "Hornet's Nest" because of the bloody confrontation there.  He took a Confederate bullet in the chest and died instantly.

His body was shipped home and he was buried in Marengo Cemetery.

--Old Secesh

Writes to His Dad-- Part 3: His Dad Missed Him as Well

If Charles missed his father and the promised pony, the father, Harley Wayne, missed his son just as much.

In a letter home dated December 29, 1861, Captain Wayne wrote in a letter to his wife:  

"I am very glad to get your letter and Charley's picture.... The letter and picture were at once sources of pleasure and pain.  I could see the pretty features and the loving beaming eyes of my noble darling boy but I could not hear his voice nor could I grasp him in fond embrace s my whole soul yearned to do.

"And I was sad....  Do write me often and send me your picture.  Tell Charley I was pleased, very, with his picture and letter.  I will write to him again soon."

Less than two months later Captain Wayne joined Gen. U.S. Grant's command at Fort Donelson.  Captain Wayne missed the first major battle on February 15 and 16, 1862, that would catapult Grant into the forefront of Union war leaders.

--Old Secesh

Writes to His Dad on Basement Wall-- Part 2: Capt. Wayne and His Son

The barn held at least one carriage and a team of horses, but no pony.  And that little boy, Charley Wayne, really longed for one.

His father, Harley Wayne, had promised him one when he joined the 15th Illinois Volunteer Infantry in the spring of 1861.

With his father gone and no siblings to play with, young Charley would ramble about the large house which also included a full basement.  On two of the walls down there, 7-year-old Charley wrote his name and drew pictures with chalk.  One of those pictures was a boogeyman.  Above it are the words, "Hurrah, hurrah boys."

On the opposite wall are variations of the boy's name and what appears to be the spelling of his father's given and surname.  They surround what passes for a Betsy Ross flag with stars and stripes.

In addition, there is the outline of a pony.  The pony his father had promised him.

--Old Secesh

Writes to Dad on Basement Wall-- Part 1: The Harley Wayne Home in Union

From the May 30, 1987, Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, Illinois) by Jerry Kuyper.  This was in honor of McHenry County's Sesquicentennial.

I have been writing about his father, Harley Wayne in this blog.

Charles Harley Wayne was seven years old when his father, Harley Wayne went off to war.

The boy stayed home with his mother, Ellen, in the brick two story house with its 15 spacious rooms that the father had built for the family in 1858.  But the family was small.  Charles was an only child, having been born in 1855.  A sister, born in 1851, had died in 1854.

"The Wayne house had eight acres to go with it," said Leo Parenti, who with wife Constance (Connie), have lived in the house (in Union, Illinois) since they bought it in 1956.

"Wayne had a general store in Union too along with a 640 acre farm nearby.  The eight acres and the house were separate from that farm," added Mrs. Parenti.

According to Parenti, besides the house there was a barn and a fairly ornate outhouse on the eight acres.  "The barn and outhouse are gone now," said Parenti.

--Old Secesh

Antietam Group Purchases Historic Land

From the August 16, 2021, Herald-Mail media  "Antietam preservation group purchases land outside  national battlefield" by Sherry Greenfield.

The Battle of Antietam on September 17, 1862, left nearly 23,000 men dead, wounded or missing.  It is still considered America's single bloodiest day.

For the first time, the preservation group Save Historic Antietam Foundation (SHAF) has bought land outside the national battlefield park.  It is located along Harpers Ferry Road.  The half-acre property is one-half mile south of Sharpsburg and was bought for $132,000.

An abandoned house sits on the property and will be removed.

It is on high ground inside Confederate lines that overlooks the final assault of Union General Ambrose Burnside's  attack in the afternoon where Southern artillery occupied this spot and pounded Burnside's assault.

SHAF will be fund raising to pay for it.  An anonymous donor will be matching everything raised one-for-one.

-Old Secesh

McHenry County CW Round Table Discussion Group This Saturday

And, it will be an in person meeting.

The McHenry County (Illinois) Civil War Round Table Discussion Group will be meeting Saturday, August 28 at the Crystal Lake (Illinois) Panera Bread Co. at US-14 (Northwest Highway) and Main Street from 10 am to noon

The topic will be "Civil War  Print Show and Tell" with  Civil War era newspapers,  letters, books, posters etc.

This is a first-time for this topic so should be interesting.

Come on by even if you're not a member.

Everyone is welcome for some good discussion and possibly debate.

--Old Secesh

15th Illinois at Battle of Shiloh-- Part 4: Lt. Col. Ellis and Maj. Goddard Killed

"At the time the battery gave way a regiment in front of us (placed there I suppose to support the battery) gave way also; one at our right was seen to break and run without firing a single round.  We immediately received orders to open fire upon the enemy.

"Although everything was confusion around us and without supports, yet we maintained our position for some time against superior numbers, who had all the advantage they could wish in the lay of the ground.  Our men fired from 10 to 15 rounds each.  

"Lieut. Col. E.F.W. Ellis, commanding the Fifteenth Regiment, and Maj. William R. Goddard fell early in the fight while cheering the men.  They were frequently heard to say:  'Stand firm;'   'Do your duty, boys;'  'Stand your ground;'  'Take good aim.'

"Colonel Ellis was wounded in the arm severely at the first fire of the enemy upon us, but he paid no attention to that, and it was not until a ball  penetrated his heart that he ceased to cheer on his me.  Major Goddard fell a few moments before  Colonel Ellis, a ball passing through his head.  Two braver or better officers never lived.

"They were dearly loved by all their men and by all that knew them.  They were kind-hearted, and their loss will be a severe one  to the regiment and to the service."

--Old Secesh

A Baseball Connection: Cy Young

I came across an article in History.com about the early career of Cy Young, MLB's winningest pitcher ever (and not likely his record will ever be beat).

He was born in Gilmore, Ohio, in 1867, just two years after the Civil War ended.  Denton True "Cy" Young grew up on a farm.

His father, who served in the war in the 78th Ohio Infantry during the war, gave his son the middle name "True" in honor of another soldier he served with.

In case you're wondering about the name "Cy" he got that during an early tryout in baseball when his fast ball tore the boards from a grandstand and he got the name "Cyclone" later shortened to "Cy."

Looks like a bit of Road Tripping Through History is in order when I finish writing about the 15th Illinois Infantry and Captain Harley Wayne.

--Old Cy.

15th Illinois at Battle of Shiloh-- Part 3: The Battle Is Joined

Captain Louis D. Kelley of Company A had to make this report of  the 15th Illinois' fighting at Shiloh on April 6, 1862, as he was the remaining senior officer.  The report was dated April 10.

"Soon after breakfast heavy firing was heard to our left, and about the same time we received orders to fall in and take our position with your brigade.  Our regiment numbered about 500 men; a heavy detail for fatigue duty had been made from our regiment early in the morning, reducing our numbers somewhat.

"After taking  our position in the brigade,  we were ordered to advance in the direction of where there was heavy fighting.  Advancing a short distance, we were ordered to load our pieces and form in line of battle.  We were drawn up in line directly in the rear of one of our batteries, numbering six pieces.

"No sooner had we prepared for operation than the battery gave way, part of the guns being taken by the enemy and the rest taken away by horses without riders, who dashed through our ranks at great speed.  Although our lines were broken several times by horses and mules running away, yet they were immediately closed up again."

--Old Secesh

The 15th Illinois at the Battle of Shiloh

From the June 29, 2015, Iron Brigader by Mark.

The Battle of Shiloh , named after a small church called  Shiloh Church, (also referred to as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing) was the costliest battle in American history up until that point.

Union casualties  were 1754 killed, 8408 wounded, and 2885 missing or captured.

Confederate losses were 1728 killed, 8,012 wounded and 959 missing or captured.

The 15th Illinois was under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Edward F.W. Ellis.  Their brigade, under command of James C. Veatch, was on the Union right and ordered to position itself to aid Brigadier General William T. Sherman's division.

The 15th battled an attack by Brigadier General  Sterling A.M.  Wood's brigade of Major General  William J. Hardee's corps, before falling back to a defensive line at the Landing.

Both Lt. Col. Ellis and Major William Goddard, second in command of the regiment, were killed in the fighting.

Captain Louis Kelly, in temporary command of the regiment filed a report of it's actions at the battle.

--Old Secesh

15th Illinois Infantry Regiment at Shiloh

From Wikipedia.

The 15th Illinois and 14th Illinois participated together in movements around  Rolla, Missouri, ahead of the Fort Donelson  Campaign, with Gen. U.S. Grant in command.  Both regiments were part of Gen.  Steven A. Hulbert's 4th Division, called "The Fighting Fourth" and assigned to a camp near the Union left wing at Pittsburg Landing on April 6, 1862.

They were brigaded under the command of Colonel James C. Veatch.  When the attack came, they were ordered forward  to support General Sherman who was heavily pressed on the right wing.

An anecdotal memoir by Sergeant  Moses Gleason Montgomery described heavy fighting at what became known as the Hornet's Nest before they proceeded to a defensive position to support the retreat of the Union Army's right wing.

Sgt. Montgomery was shot in the chest during this engagement, and describes his  survival that night by a "Blessed Rain."

On the second day of the battle,  General Grant took direct command of the 14th and 15th in the counter attack against Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard.

Captain Harley Wayne was killed at this battle.

During the course of the war, the 15th Illinois lost 6 officers and 81 enlisted killed in action or died of wounds.

--Old Secesh