This Month in the Civil War-- Part 2: Knoxville, Gettysburg Address, Chattanooga, Sand Creek Massacre, Battle of Franklin

NOVEMBER 17

**  Siege of Knoxville, Tennessee, begins.

NOVEMBER 19

**  President Lincoln delivers his Gettysburg Address at the Pennsylvania battlefield.

NOVEMBER 23

**  Battle of Orchard Knob, Chattanooga, Tennessee.

NOVEMBER 24

**  Battle of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee.

NOVEMBER 29

**  Sand Creek Massacre, Colorado

NOVEMBER 30

**  Battle of Franklin, Tennessee

--Old Secesh

Monroe County Had Eight Medal of Honor Recipients-- Part 2

**  Private Frederick Ballen, of the 47th Ohio (Monroe County is right by the Michigan-Ohio border) volunteered to serve on a barge loaded with supplies that ran past Confederate batteries on the Mississippi River.

**  Sergeant Daniel  McGall was a member of Detroit's 17th Michigan Infantry.  At Spotsylvania, Virginia, on May 12, 1864,  he captured Confederate Colonel Barker and rescued a Union officer.

**  Private Henry Peters of the 47th Ohio Infantry served in the same action as Frederick Ballen.

**  While serving with the 5th New York Cavalry, Julius Rhodes had his horse shot out from under him at Thoroughfare Gap.  He then voluntarily joined the 105th New York and fought with them at Second Manassas, Virginia, serving gallantly.

**   Private Charles Sancrainte of the 15th Michigan Infantry captured the flag of the 5th Texas Infantry at the  Battle of Atlanta.

**  Peter Sype of the 47th Ohio was in the same action as Ballen and Peters.

--Old Secesh

Monroe County, Michigan, Had Eight Medal of Honor Recipients in Civil War

From the November 6, 2022, Monroe News by Tom Adamich.

Monroe's military history and contributions to major conflicts dates back to the American Revolution and War of 1812 periods.  But, also, Monroe has had an inordinate impact on Civil War history.  Local historians credit the county as having the highest enrollment of volunteers propotionately of any county in the United States.

The Medal of Honor is the highest and most prestigious military honor that can be awarded to the military.   And eight Monroe County residents received one during the war.

**  First Lieutenant  James Christancy of the 9th Michigan Cavalry.  As an aide, he voluntarily led a group in the Battle of Haw's Shop near Cold Harbor, Virginia, in May 1864 where he was  wounded twice.

**  Second Lieutenant Thomas  Custer, younger brother of General George Custer (who was from Monroe).  Thomas Custer was part of the 21st Ohio.  At Sailor's Creek, near Farmville, Virginia, part of the Appomattox Campaign, he leaped his horse over Confederate earthworks and captured two flags and was wounded.

--Old Secesh

Identifying USS Oklahoma Unknowns: Francis Bud Hannon

Since this is Veterans Day, I am writing about veterans in all but one of my blogs.

From the November 9, 2022, KHON Channel 2 Hawaii "Project Oklahoma identifies Pearl Harbor  casualties" by Kristine Uyeno.

There has been a touching tribute after eighty years for the family of Francis Bud Hannon.

"My dad was waiting in California.  He was in the Army," explained  Hannon's second cousin Vanessa Helming.  "And he and Bud were to take their R&R together.  And Bud was at Pearl Harbor, and Dad said as soon as he heard that Pearl Harbor had been hit, he knew that Bud was no longer with us."

Hannon was one of  more than  400 sailors killed aboard the USS Oklahoma.  He was just 20 years old and in the service just two years.

"It was an extreme loss to the family, extreme loss to his parents, my grandparents," Helming said.  "It was just overwhelming.

Some of Bud Hannon's remaining relatives traveled recently to the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific on at the Punchbowl in Oahu where he had been buried for decades as an unknown.  But now, his remains have been identified.

A Wonderful Thing Our Government Is Doing.  

Lee and His Generals-- Part 3: Hood, Ewell, the Heberts and Holmes

The McHenry County Civil War Round Table discussion group at Panera Bread on Crystal Lake, Illinois, on July 24, 2022.

**  John Bell Hood:  Lost a leg at Chickamauga and an arm at Gettysburg.

**  Richard S. Ewell fought in the Mexican War.  Was wounded 8 times.

TWO HEBERTS  (Pronounced E-Bear)

**  Louis Hebert :  USMA  1845.   Commander of artillery in and around Fort Fisher.   He was a target of William Cushing in a capture attempt.

**  Paul Octave Hebert:  USMA 1836.  These two were first cousins.

**  Theophilus Hunter Holmes' nickname was "Granny."  USMA 1829   Fort Holmes on Bald Head Island was named for him.  Served as  colonel in the North Carolina Coast Defense in 1861.

Not Sure That I Would Want the Nickname "Granny."   --Old Secesh

McHenry Co. Civil War Round Table: 'Lee and His Generals'

Continuing with the pre-discussion quiz on Confederate general nicknames as well as decade they graduated from the USMA.

6.  Pete, Old Pete

7.  Parson

8.  Little Billy

9.  Beauty

10.  Baldy

Answers below

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6.  James Longstreet, 1842

7.  William N. Pendleton, 1830

8.  William Henry Chase (W.H.C.) Whiting, 1845

9.  James Ewell Brown (J.E.B.) Stuart, 1854

10.  Richard Stoddert Ewell, 1837

--Old Secesh

Fort Branch (NC) Hosting Civil War Weekend Event

From the November 3, 2022, Enterprise by Deborah Griffin.

Musket and cannnonfire will echo through the small community of Hamilton this weekend as Fort Branch, a Confederate Earthen Fort State Historic Site, comes back to life for the fort's 36th annual  battle reenactment.

The weekend's events kick off at 9 am both Saturday and Sunday.  There will be battle reenactments both days at 1:30 pm.

The events recreate what life was like during the Civil War to both military and civilians.

In Sunday, there will be a period church service at 10 am and a ladies fashion show at 11:30.

--Old Secesh

McHenry County CWRT Discussion Group, July 2022: 'Lee and His Generals'-- Part 1: Nicknames

The McHenry County (Illinois) Civil War Round Table met July 24, 2022, at Panera Bread in Crystal Lake, Illinois, with the topic being "Lee and His Generals."

I prepared a quiz to get us on going.

I was looking for nicknames, what the initials stood for and in what decade they graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point.  Good luck.

1.  Old Jube, Old Jubilee

2.  Old Wooden Head, Sam

3.  What did the A.P. in A.P. Hill's name stand for?

4.  What did the D.H. stand for in D.H. Hill's name?

5.  Old Jack, Bluelight

Answers below.

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1.  Jubal Early, 1837

2.  John Bell Hood, 1853

3.  Ambrose Powell Hill, 1847

4.  Daniel Harvey Hill, 1842

5.  Thomas Jonathan Jackson, "Stonewall", 1846

--Old Secesh

This Month in the Civil War: Abraham Lincoln Elected and Reelected, Battles of Port Royal, Sherman Burns Atlanta and Departs on March to the Sea

From the November 2022 American Battlefield Trust calendar.

NOVEMBER 6, 1860

**  Abraham Lincoln elected 16th President of the United States.

NOVEMBER 7, 1861

**  The Battle of Port Royal Sound, Soutn Carolina.

NOVMBER 8, 1864

**  President Lincoln reelected.

NOVEMBER 12, 1864

**  USA General William T. Sherman's federal troops burn the city of Atlanta, Georgia.

NOVEMBER 15, 1864

**  USA General William T. Sherman departs Atlanta to begin March to the Sea.

--Old Secesh

Preservation at Sand Creek, Ohio

From the 2022 November American Battlefield Trust calendar.

SAND CREEK, COLORADO

640 acres saved.

In 1864, growing tension between white settelers and Native Americans in Color5ado, prompted Colonel John Chivington to launch an unprovoked surprise attack at dawn November 29 on a winter camp of some 500 Cheyenne and Arapaho at Sand Creek.

His militia massacred some 200 Native Americans, two-thirds of whom were women and children.

The Trust, in collaboration with the National Park Service, the State of Colorado, The Colorado Trust and History Colorado, has saved 640 acres at Sand Creek.

A part of the war that must not be forgotten.

--Old Secesh