Thomas Morris Chester-- Part 4: After the War

After the war, Chester moved to England where he earned a law degree.  When he returned to the United States, he became an activist in Reconstruction Louisiana politics, where he became the first black in the state to practice law.

While he would accomplish much over his life before is death of a heart attack in 1892 at the age of 58, his legacy endures as the only black Civil War correspondent for a major newspaper who provided a perspective that was reflective of both  the black troop experience and the crucial final year of the war.

Chester effectively captured the frustration  of black veterans who believed their contributions to Union victory went largely  unnoticed," wrote Gary  Gallagher, a history professor at the University of Virginia who has written several books on the war.

Some years after the war, Morris wrote about the Battle of New Market Heights outside of Richmond, where a brigade of lack troops fought bravely against Confederate forces:  "It is a source of complain, and very justly too, that the colored troops and their officers have not received their meed of praise from the chroniclers  of events in the army, for their splendid advance and gallant bearing."

(Meed means a deserved share or reward.  I hadn't heard the word before.)

Ultimately,  14 black soldiers were awarded Medals of Honor for their valor in the battle.

--Old Secesh

America's First Black War Correspondent-- Part 3: An Encounter with a Confederate Officer after Richmond's Fall

A day after entering Richmond, after the fall of that city in 1865, with the Army of the James, Thomas Morris Chester sat down in the Speaker's chair  at the Virginia state building, the seat of Confederate power.  According to Chester's biographer, R.J.M. Blackett, he was "well aware  of the irony and eager to thumb his nose at the Confederacy."  

Datelining his story, "Halls of Congress, Richmond April 4, 1865.  "Seated in the Speaker's chair, so long dedicated to treason, but in the future to be consecrated to loyalty, I hasten to  give a rapid sketch of the incidents which have occurred since my last dispatch."

A paroled Confederate officer saw him  sitting there and yelled at him, "Come out of there, you black cuss!"  Fellow correspondent  Charles C. Coffin  of the Boston Journal reported what happened next.  "Mr. Chester raised his eyes, calmly  surveyed the intruder and went on with his writing.  'Get out of there, or I'll knock your brains out!' the officer bellowed, pouring out a torrent of oaths, and rushing up the steps to execute his threat, found himself tumbling over chairs and benches."

he New York Tribune finished the story, "Chester planted a black fist and left a black eye on the  prostrate  Rebel," and went on to complete his dispatch to the Philadelphia Press--  but not before  the Confederate officer demanded the sword of a Union soldier  to cut "the N_____'s heart out."

--Old Secesh

The Union Army's XXV Corps, Thomas Morris Chester's Beat

From Wikipedia.

Thomas Morris Chester the war correspondent was embedded with troops of the XXV Corps, which was unique because it was made up  almost entirely of Blacks from the United States Colored Troops.  These soldiers had previously belonged to the  X and XVIII Corps.  They captured Richmond, Virginia and were at Appomattox when the Union forces stopped Lee's retreating Confederate Army.

On December 3, 1864, the two corps of the Union Army of the James  were reorganized.  Its white units went to the XXIV Corps under the command of General Godfrey Weitzel.  The new XXV Corps served with distinction  during the waning days of  the Petersburg Campaign and was the first army group to occupy Richmond on April 3, 1865.

In May, the Corps was sent to Texas to serve as the "Army of Occupation" against Napoleon  III's French presence in Mexico.  The XXV Corps was  disbanded in January 1866.

--Old Secesh

MCCWRT Discussion Group Meets Sat.: Topic 'Sherman's March to the Sea and Through the Carolinas'

Meeting will be in person and via Zoom.

The McHenry County (Illinois) Civil War Round Table will be having its first in-person meeting in a while this Saturday from 10 am to 11:30 am (CST) at the Crystal Lake Panera Bread store at U.S. 14 (Northwest Highway) and Main Street.

The topic will be Sherman's March to the Sea and through the Carolinas.

Everyone is welcome.  Lots of interesting discussion (occasionally even on-topic).  

Good to be Meeting Back in Person Again.  --Old Secesh

America's First Black War Correspondent, Thomas Morris Chester-- Part 2

Chester wrote about black troops in the Philadelphia Press saying:  "Every many looks like a soldier, while inflexible determination depicted upon every countenance."

Formed in April 1864, the Army of the James contained two divisions of white soldiers of the XXIV Corps and one division of black troops of the XXV Corps.  The Blacks consisted of two brigades of  seven regiments with 5,000 men.

Chester was embedded with the XXV Corps on the front lines and didn't shy away from describing the carnage they faced.  Once, he wrote about two men who had been on picket duty and had been hit be a shell:  "...quivering pieces of flesh indicated the locality of the frightful scene, while fragments of hearts and intestines were hanging upon the branches of the neighboring trees."

He also was well aware of how bad it would be for a black soldier to be captured by Confederates.  "Between the Negroes  and the enemy, it is  a war to the death," he wrote  on August 22, 1864.  The colored troops  have cheerfully accepted the conditions of the Confederate government, that between them, no quarter is to be shown.  Those here have not the least idea of living  after they fall into the hands of the enemy."

Indeed, black prisoners of war were not even treated as prisoners of war.   Many received harsh treatment from the rebels -- some tortured, some killed and others sold or returned to slavery.  And, of course there was also the massacre at Fort Pillow.

--Old Secesh

America's First Black War Correspondent, Thomas Morris Chester-- Part 1

From the Feb. 15, 2022, History  "America's first black war correspondent reported from the Civil War front lines" by Farrell Evans.

During the Civil War, hundreds of  reporters from the Union and Confederacy published stories about the war.  Only one of them was a black man, named  Thomas Morris Chester, the nation's first black war correspondent.

The invention of the telegraph in  1844  by Samuel Morse had made it possible for newspapers to report the news  in a matter of hours, not days.  The  correspondents reporting the war were all white men except for Chester and they reported the war through the eyes of the white troops.

But, the white-owned Philadelphia Press hired Chester  in 1864, to cover black troops in Virginia.  

The 30-year-old from Harrisburg native wrote under the pseudonym "Rollin."    His mother had escaped slavery.

His beat was with the United States Colored Troops in the Army of the James from August 1864 to June 1865.  Chester had actively recruited Blacks into the ranks and gave  voice and dignity to them as they  struggled for their right to fight, for parity with white troops and for he respect that should come to men willing to lay their lives down for their country.

--Old Secesh

Civil War Events in February-- Part 2: Davis Inaugurated, Battle of Olustee, Battle of Velverde, Lincoln Arrives in D.C.

From American Battlefield Trust.

FEBRUARY 18, 1861

**  Jefferson Davis inaugurated president of the Confederate States of America.

FEBRUARY 19, 1861

**  Louisiana state troops seize paymaster's office in New Orleans.

FEBRUARY 20, 1864

**  Battle of Olustee, Florida.

FEBRUARY 21, 1861

**  Battle of Velverde, New Mexico Territory.

FEBRUARY 23, 1861

**  President-elect Abraham Lincoln arrives in Washington, D.C..

--Old Secesh

Battle of Valverde Re-enactment This Weekend-- Part 2

On February 16, 1862, the Confederate 5th Texas Mounted Volunteers headed south for Fort Craig, south of  Socorro, which had been built eight years earlier to protect civilians from Apache raids.  Union  Army Colonel Edward Canby stationed a battery of artillery and the Confederates withdrew.

Three days later they returned  to the north in an attempt to control the ford over the Rio Grande River at the town of Valverde.  The next day, February 21, 1862,  the two armies clashed along the river.  (The Rio Grande River is entirely in the state of New Mexico at this spot.  It does not form the boundary between the U.S. and Mexico as it dies in Texas.)

The battle ended in a tactical victory for the Confederates but they didn't capture Fort Craig.  Two days later, the Confederates easily defeated  the Union's 2nd New Mexico militia stationed in Socorro.  The capture of Santa Fe and Albuquerque followed, but the Confederates lost steam at the Battle of  Glorieta Pass southeast of Santa Fe.

Sibley and his Confederates returned to Texas.

--Old Secesh

Battle of Velverde Re-enactment This Weekend

From the February 17, 2022, El Defensor Chieftain (Socorro, New Mexico) "Valverde reenactors converge again at  Escondida" by John  Larson.

Most people, when they think of the Civil War, do not think of New Mexico.  But, there was some action in that future state back then.

This weekend on Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 19 and 20,  dozens of Civil War re-enactors will turn back the hands of time as Confederate and Union forces clash.

Over 50 re-enactors are expected.

Back in 1862, at the battle, Confederates carried an assortment of weapons including hunting rifles and black powder shotguns as Gen. Sibley's troops were poorly  equipped at the beginning of their New Mexico Campaign.

At the Battle of Velverde, one Confederate unit captured a Union battery of artillery and were only armed with shotguns.   In 1862, Socorro County extended  from Texas to California and included New Mexico and the goldfields of Colorado.

Confederate General Henry  Hopkins Sibley gathered a force at El Paso, Texas, and had this objective with the first target the Union's Fort Craig.

--Old Secesh

Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, a Tribute to Courtland Saunders

From Wikipedia.

PENN PRESBYTERIAN MEDICAL CENTER

Is a hospital located in the University City section of  West Philadelphia.  It was founded by Reverend Ephraim D. Saunders in 1871 and formally joined the Pennsylvania  Health System in  1995.

Presbyterian was founded  in 1871 by the  Alliance of Philadelphia Prebyteries as a 48-bed facility on 2.5 acres.  The Reverend Dr. Ephraim D. Saunders, a Presbyterian minister, dedicated the land  in memory of his son, Courtland, who was shot and killed as a captain in the 118th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment at the Battle of Shepherdstown on September 20, 1862.

He also gave a $400,000 endowment to it.

Reverend Saunders said the dedication, "A few days before the Battle of Antietam ... he[Courtland] passed with me  from his tent in the forest....  In view of the perils of war ... he recommended that in the case of his death ... the property should all be donated to some prominent ... charity."

So, the father donated the land and $400,000 to the memory of his son.

The incorporators of the Presbyterian Hospital declared its purpose was "to provide medical and surgical aid and nursing for the sick and disabled..."  Care and nursing was granted to the indigent of Philadelphia, funded by donations from individuals and Presbyterian churches.

It is now a 300-bed institution on 16.5 acres of land.

So, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center Owes Its Start to Capt. Courtland Saunders and His Father.  --Old Secesh

Captain Saunders' Father, Rev. Ephraim Dod Saunders

From Find-A-Grave.

BORN:  30 September 1808    Morris County, New Jersey

DIED:  13 September 1872 (aged 62)

BURIED:  Woodlands Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Graduated from Yale College in 1831 with a Doctorate in Theology.

At the death of his son, Courtland Saunders, he donated all his land and gave a $400,000 endowment  to start Presbyterian Hospital in Philadelphia.

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

It still exists and is now called Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.

--Old Secesh

Captain Courtland Saunders, 118th Pa., Killed at Shepherdstown-- Part 2

Union Army officer.  Served as captain of Company G of the 118th Pennsylvania Infantry (The Corn Exchange Regiment).  He led his company at the September 20, 1862, Battle of Shepherdstown, a small but bloody engagement that marked the end of the Antietam Campaign

In the battle, his unit was sent to the Potomac River to engage retreating Confederates whose rear guard took up defensive positions to guard fords across the river near Shepherdstown, Virginia (it was not yet in the state of West Virginia).

Facing a determined enemy who outnumbered them and had advantages in terrain, the Union troops across the river were ordered to fall back.  The 118th's commander, Colonel Charles Provost, objected to the way his retreat orders were received and refused to fall back and ordered an attack.

He was then struck down by a bullet and the 118th was forced back to the river and across it in confusion with many casualties. Of 737 men in the regiment at the beginning, their first combat after having been formed just a month prior, 60 men and three officers were killed.

One of those killed was Captain Courtland Saunders.

--Old Secesh

Captain Courtland Saunders, 118th Pennsylvania, Also Killed at Shepherdstown

From Find-A-Grave.

CAPTAIN COURTLAND SAUNDERS

BIRTH:  1840

DEATH:  20 September 1862 (aged 21-22)  Battle of Shepherdstown

BURIAL: Woodlands Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

--Old Secesh

A Letter About the Loss of 118th Regiment Officers at the Battle of Shepherdstown

From SparedShared13.Wordpress. "1862-1863:  Edward Everette Coxe to family.

Camp Addicks

Near Tennallytown

October 3, 1862

Dear Bob,

The loss of Capt. [Joseph W.] Ricketts is a severe one both to his family and his friends --  particularly to his company of which he was a faithful member.  Lt. McKeen is a gentleman & I hope his wounds will soon heal & enable [him] to be fit for duty.  I was scarcely acquainted with [Lt.] J. Mora  Moss or J. Rudhall White.

"Capt. Ricketts I consider never acted in a straight forward, honest manner to me or else I would have been in his company when the regiment was formed, or I would have gone with him.  Had I gone, maybe today I would have been among the killed or wounded and perhaps  it was well I did not go at that time or with the regiment.

"I consider the order sending them into the fight so little prepared as they were as one of the most fatal blunders of the war & hope  the same thing will never happen to us."

--Old Secesh

Recruitment Poster for Co. K, 118th Pennsylvania Infantry-- Part 2: Monetary Incentives

Then followed a long lost of monetary incentives.

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

$2, Government Premium when Recruit is Mustered in.

$10, Corn Exchange Bounty, when sent to Camp.

$25, City Bounty, when the Company is full.

$25, City Bounty, when the Regiment is formed.

$13, One Month's Pay  in advance.  And

$25,  One-fourth of Government Bounty.

Total, $100  before leaving the City.

$75,  Remainder of Government Bounty, when Mustered Out of service.

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

Pretty good work and pay if you can get it.

"Jine" the 118th, Co. K.  Make Some Bucks!!  --Old Secesh

Recruitment Poster of Co. K, 118th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment-- Part 1

From the September 15, 2021 Laurel Hill Cemetery Blog "A Philadelphia Regiment's September baptism of fire" by Russell Dodge.

They have a copy of a poster calling for men to sign up for Company K of the regiment:

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

"$162 BOUNTY

STEADY, ABLE-BODIED MEN WANTED

FOR CO. K., 

CORN EXCHANGE REGIMENT,

At 241  Race Street.

First Lieut.  W.M. McKeen

Second Lieut.  J. Mora Moss

Captain JOS. W. RICKETTS"

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

These officers were all killed or wounded at the Battle of Shepherdstown.

Then it went into the financial benefits of joining which I will cover in my next post.

--Old Secesh

Civil War Auction Honors Abraham Lincoln-- Part 4: The President's Pocket Knife

At the 1864 Sanitary Fair in Philadelphia a gentleman presented Abraham Lincoln with a beautiful pocket knife with engravings on the blade.  This knife will be up for auction and will come with a letter from Lincoln thanking the man who presented him with it.

"So when you hold this knife in your hand, you're holding something that our 16th president held at one time," Curtis Linder if the auction house said.  "When someone buys something like this, it may not be seen for another 50 years.  You may never know."

Linder explained that some buyers may pass their collections on to their children and hey van get passed along from generation to generation without any public viewing.

Others may set up a private display for their local area.

"When someone wins something from our office, they take possession of it and then some people donate things to museums and other institutions while other people build their own museums," Linder explained.  "Mist people put it in their collection and they put it in a safety deposit box or they frame it and put it on the wall and they enjoy it that way."

--Old Secesh

Civil War Auction Honors Lincoln's Birthday-- Part 3: A Lincoln Letter of the Army of the Potomac and a Sanitary Fair

The auction house also has a letter written by Abraham Lincoln to the Army of the Potomac, the Union army operating in Virginia and protecting Washington, D.C..  It was written after the Battle of Fredericksburg which resulted in a huge defeat for the North.

The Army of the Potomac suffered twice the casualties as the Confederates.  Lincoln wrote to the army that they were still a great army and the country is proud of you.  This was an attempt to build up their morale.

Heritage Auctions says this was one of the most important letters Lincoln wrote.

Another collectible being offered is from the United States Sanitary Commission, an agency that aided families of soldiers who died or were wounded.  The group supported those families by providing finances, food and boarding.

Between 1863 and 1865, an event called the Sanitary Fair  would take place in larger cities like New York, Chicago and Boston to raise those funds.

In 1864, Lincoln attended the Sanitary Fair in Philadelphia.

What Did He Get There?  --Old Secesh

Civil War Auction Honors Lincoln's Birthday-- Part 2: An Original Copy of the 13th Amendment

"People can bid interactively on our website,"  said Curtis Linder, a director of Americana at Heritage in Dallas and an expert on collecting areas in Americana, political memorabilia and the Civil War.

On February 12, Lincoln's birthday, bidders can also attend the auction in person in Dallas, or dial by phone.  The auction itself will be online only on February 13.  Both events start at 11 am.

Linder highlighted some of the Civil War-era artifacts that will be up for auction.

Among them is the original 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution signed by more than 109 members of Congress.  The one-page document is on parchment in the manuscript with a ruled border marked "Duplicate" at then heading, according to a description on the website.

Some of the text and signatures are hard to read as the vellum used for the documents absorbed the ink.  Four faint senators' signatures, including Charles Sumner and John P. Hale, are written in the left margin.

--Old Secesh

Civil War Auction Honors Lincoln's Birthday-- Part 1

From the February 1, 2022, Chicago Tribune "Civil War display honors Black History Month, Lincoln's birthday" by Tatyana Turner.

Chicagoans have a chance to see the original 13th Amendment (abolishing slavery) and other Civil War-era artifacts at Heritage Auctions Chicago, 222 W. Hubbard Street.

In honor of this being Black History Month and Abraham Lincoln's birthday, Heritage Auctions, a multinational auction house, will have some of the rarest artifacts of that era on display before they head to Heritage's Dallas headquarters for bidding at auction.

The Chicago preview will include vaulted lots of 350 vaulted lots from the Lincoln era.

Those who want to take a chance at owning a copy of the original 13th Amendment or other collectibles such as letters written by Abraham Lincoln and an engraved pocket knife he once owned will have the opportunity to do so.

--Old Secesh

Lincoln Stuff at Auction

From the January 30, 2022, Chicago Tribune advertisement of Heritage Auctions.

Americana & Political Auction:  February 12-13, 2022

**  Handwritten letter from Abraham Lincoln to the Army of the Potomac after the Union disaster at the Battle of Fredericksburg.

Opening bid: $250,000.

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

**  Abraham Lincoln:  His personal example of his iconic portrait bust by Leonard Volk, presented to him by the sculptor himself.

Opening bid:  $100,000.

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

**  Abraham Lincoln Assassination John Wilkes Booth:  $100,000 Reward Poster issued by the U.S. War Department, April 20, 1865.

Opening bid:  $40,000.

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

**  Abraham Lincoln:  Exquisite Pocket Knife Presented to the President at the 1864 Philadelphia Sanitary Fair.

Opening bid:  $120,000.

Get Yer Lincoln Stuff Here.  --Old Secesh

Officers of Co. K, 118th Pennsylvania Infantry at Battle of Shepherdstown

From Steve's Civil War PHP page.

RICKETTS, JOSEPH W.--  Captain --  Killed at Shepherdstown, W. Va. on September 20, 1862.

CROCKER, LEMUEL L.--  Captain--  Promoted from 1st Lt. of Company C on September 20, 1862.  Resigned on February 26, 1864.  (I wrote about his brave river crossings to save his comrades last month.)

M'KEAN, WILLIAM N.--  1st Lieutenant--    Wounded at Shepherdstown, W. Va. on September 20, 1862.  Discharged on March 25, 1863.  (Also spelled McKeen which is most likely the correct spelling.)

MOSS JR., J. MORA--  2nd Lieutenant--  Killed at Shepherdstown, W. Va.  September 20, 1862.

WILSON, JAMES B.--  2nd Lieutenant--  Promoted from 1st sergeant Co. A on October 22, 1862 to 1st Lieutenant  Co. B on January 12, 1863.

So, Co. K had its captain and 2nd lieutenant killed and 1st lieutenant seriously wounded at the Battle of Shepherdstown.

--Old Secesh

Capt. Joseph Wattson Ricketts

From Find a Grave.

BORN:  16 January 1836   Baltimore, Maryland

DEATH:  20 September 1862  Shepherdstown, West Virginia

BURIED:  Woodlands Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Civil War Union Army officer.  He served during the Civil War as commander of Company K, 118th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, being mustered in on August 21, 1862.

A month later he was killed at the Battle of Sherpherdstown Ford, (West) Virginia.

--Old Secesh

Joseph Ricketts and 1st Lt. William M. McKeen

"Joseph Ricketts was a strong man.    His energies were untiring, his sense of duty supreme.  He had had a military training; he was skillful as a tactician.  What he knew, he knew thoroughly.  He had fully  grasped the principles of his teachings and was apt and ready in their application.

"His generous sympathy was evidenced  by his readiness to relieve the suffering of horses, and his heroic death attested  his eminent courage.  Fitted for an advancement which the casualties of war would soon have brought him, he was destined thus early in his career for the most honorable of all soldier's epitaphs:

"killed in action."

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

"First Lieutenant William M. McKeen was about this time  in the action also most seriously wounded.  A shot passed through his body involving a vital organ.  His life was for a long time despaired of.

"He recovered subsequently, however, to again take a prominent place in the business community."

--Old Secesh

Three Other 118th Pa. Officers Killed at Shepherdstown: Captains Ricketts and Saunders and Lt. Moss

From the "History of the 118th Pennsylvania Volunteers:  Corn Exchange Regiment."

Right as Lt. Col. Gwynn took command of the regiment after the wounding of Prevost,  Captain Courtland Saunders was killed by a musket ball through the head.    Lieutenant  J. Mora Moss was killed by a bullet through the heart.  The regiment was under heavy fire at the time.

Captain Joseph Wattson Ricketts also fell while in the act of firing his pistol.  Staggering forward, he was saved from falling by  Private William L. Gabe, who started to escort him to the rear.  "Leave me, Gabe," ordered the captain, "and save yourself."

But Gabe refused and continued until both were shot together and went down.  Gabe was wounded and the captain killed by these shots.  As they fell, Captain Ricketts gasped, "My God!  I am shot by my own men."

"Not so," said Gabe, "but by the 'rebs,'  who are right on top of us."

And then, the Confederate line swept over them.  The enemy's stragglers stooped over the body of Ricketts and against the  protest of the wounded Gabe proceeded to rifle the pockets of the captain.  They took his watch, diary, money and everything, including his sword and stole his coat, vest and boots.

--Old Secesh

Civil War Events in February-- Part 1: The Confederate States of America Formed

From the American Battlefield Trust.

FEBRUARY 4, 1861

**  The seceded states meet in Montgomery, Alabama, to form a government.

FEBRUARY 5, 1861

**  The Battle of Hatcher's Run, Virginia, begins.

FEBRUARY 8, 1861

**  The Confederate States of America adopts a provisional constitution.

FEBRUARY 9, 1861

**   Jefferson Davis elected provisional Confederate President.

FEBRUARY 15, 1861

**  The Provisional Confederate Congress establishes a Peace Commission to avoid war with the United States.

--Old Secesh