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