Thomas D. Connor Buried at Galena's Greenwood Cemetery

Two blogs before this, I wrote about this prominent citizen of Galena who was killed at the Battle of Shiloh in 1862.   Evidently his body was recovered after the battle and returned to Galena for burial.

From Find-A-Grave.

CAPT THOMAS D. CONNOR

Birth:  1814

Death:  August 6, 1862 (aged 47-48)   I believe this should be April 6, 1862, the date of the first day of the Battle of Shiloh.

Burial:  Greenwood Cemetery, Galena, Illinois.

This is where several of the Galena generals are buried as well as Edward Kittoe.

--Old Secesh

Galena's 45th Illinois Infantry-- Part 1: 'Washburne Leadmine Regiment

Quite a few of the things I have been writing about recently have had to do with this regiment, including Edward Kittoe, his son and T.D. Connor in the last post.

From Report of the Adjutant General

Called the Washburne Leadmine Regiment in honor of Elihu B. Washburne, member of Congress from the Galena district.  (His home is still standing and open for tours on certain days.)  It was organized by John  E. Smith of Galena, Illinois who was commissioned Colonel of Volunteers for it July 23, 1861.

During its organization, the regiment rendezvoused at the Jo Davies County fairgrounds, near Galena, which was renamed Camp Washburne, in in his honor.  Seven companies were organized here and they organized fully and were equipped with the short Enfield rifle.  (This fair started in 1860 and is considered the oldest continually running county fair in the state.  Today it is in Warren, Illinois.)

November 22, 1861, Camp Washburne was broken up and the regiment ordered to Camp Douglas in Chicago.  Here they reached full complement of ten companies and mustered into service of the United States on December 25, 1861.

A short time later, on January 12, 1862, they left for Cairo, Illinois.

--Old Secesh

Some Other Galenians in Union Service

From Recollections of seventy years by Augustus  L. Chetlain, 1889.

CAPTAIN Thomas D. CONNOR, Co. D of the 45th Illinois Infantry.  Lost his life at the Battle of Shiloh.

He was an intelligent and brave officer and greatly beloved by the men of his company.

As a businessman in Galena before the war, he was well-known and highly esteemed.  His word was regarded as "good as his bond."  In all dealings with others was the soul of honor.

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

MAJOR U. G.  SCHELLER de BUOL, a topographical engineer, with a European education, entered the volunteer service in 1861 and by order of General C.F. Smith constructed, in the fall of that year, the fortifications at  Smithland, Kentucky, to command the mouth of the Cumberland River

"I was in command of that military post and while engaged in this work he was a member of my staff and one of my military family.," Gen. C.F. Smith.

In 1864, under Gen. C.C. Washburn, Commander of the District of Memphis,  he improved and strengthened  the extensive fortifications of Memphis.  He showed his skill and excellent judgement there, and for it was highly recommended by the  Engineer-In-Chief of the department.

--Old Secesh

The Edward Kittoe House in Galena, Illinois, Is a B&B Now

Is located at 105 South High Street.

It is now Miss Murphy's B&B.   Rooms rent from $175 to $225.

Edward Kittoe was good friends with U.S. Grant, who rented a house a few doors away before the Civil War.

The original part of the house was constructed 1845-1850 and additions have been made  in 1861 and 1870.

Dr. Kittoe was  recorded as a physician practicing on Main Street in Galena in 1854 in the City of Galena Directory and listed as living at this home.

His obituary describes him as  "a very modest man who shunned notoriety...  No man living had a kinder or more sympathetic heart.  He despised falsehood, hypocrisy and sham, and was incapable of amean or despicable act."

When Dr. Kittoe died in  September of 1887, his funeral procession  was reported as being oneof the largest ever seen in Galena.  After the service at Grace Episcopal Church, of which he was a member  for over 30 years, he was buried  in Greenwood Cemetery.

Stay in Some History.  --Old Secesh

Edward Kittoe Inspects Chicago's Camp Douglas Prison in 1864-- Part 3

"The barracks and grounds in the northwest square, occupied by Morgan's men (John Hunt Morgan), were pre-eminently  filthy."

Things are also bad in the center square.  "The old privies have been removed, and the sinks have been but imperfectly covered, so that the filth is seeping up through the ground.  When there is a rain the grounds are flooded with an infusuion of this poisonous matter...."

The hospitals are in good order and a new one is being built.

When Edward Kittoe was there, the prison held 5,616 Confederates of whom 225 were sick in the hospital.  The previous month, December 1863, there was a total of 2,011 with 57 deaths. Most prevalent camp disease is diarrhea, arising from poorly cooked food and conditions.

--Old Secesh

Edward Kittoe Inspects Camp Douglas in Chicago-- Part 2

Continued from February 6, 2023.

The part of Camp Douglas where the Union guards were quartered were by and large very good.  However, when it came to the Confederate prisoners being held there, it was quite another story.

The prisoners stayed in quarters built in 1861, when Camp Douglas was used for traing Union troops.  The floors were not raised to allow the flow of  of air beneath.  The floorboards were taken out to prevent tunneling and as a result floors were a "mass of mud and filth."

The buildings were 100 feet by 30 feet and into which 125 to 150 men were crammed, "who are mostly in a filthy and disgusting state and swarming with vermin."

They are supplied with ample rations, but arrangements for cooking are poor and food improperly prepared, resulting in much waste.  There is a great "neglect of police duty"to the grounds.

--Old Secesh

Civil War Artillery Shell Found at Gettysburg-- Part 2

Though rare, this is not the first time unexploded munitions have been recovered from the Gettysburg battlefield.  In August 2022, a 3-inch Hotchkiss shell was found lodged in  a historic building being  refurbished according to an Army statement.

Antique munitions  from various conflicts have been found across the United States and the world.

In February 2022,  archaeologists found  a ten pound shell at Kennesaw Mountain  Battlefield Park in Georgia.  

In December  2022, five construction workers were hospitalized after being exposed to gas released from striking a World War II-era phosphorous bomb while doing work  at Army Garrison Stuttgart in Germany.

--Old SeceshShell

This Month in the Civil War: Davis Inaugurated and President-Elect Lincoln Arrives in D.C.. Wilmington Captured

From the February 2023 American Battlefield Trust calendar.

FEBRUARY 15, 1861

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

FEBRUARY 18. 1861

**  Jefferson Davis inaugurated as President of the Confederate States of America.

FEBRUARY 20, 1864

**  Battle of Olustee, Florida.

FEBRUARY 21, 1862

Battle of Valverde,New Mexico Territory.

FEBRUARY 22, 1865

**  Union captures Wilmington, North Carolina, the last major southern port on the east coast.

FEBRUARY 23, 1861

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

--Old Secesh

Civil War Artillery Shell Discovered on Gettysburg

From the February 13, 2023, Military Times by Jonathan  Lehrfeld.

An unexploded artillery shell was found February 8 at the Gettysburg Battlefield.  Explosive  Ordnance Disposal soldiers of the Army's 55th Ordnance Company safely removed and destroyed the device which was determined to be a 3-inch Burton case shot.

Steven Braun, a contract  archaeologist, found the artillery shell while  doing a groud sweep over  the Little Round Top area which saw considerable action during the three-day battle.

The soldiers traveled from Fort Belvoir, Virginia,  and carried the ten pound shell to an alternate location, dug a hole and placed it in there with a C4 explosive to blow it up.

"We're never going to know whether the thing was live or not," said Jason Martz.  "And, we're never going to know how the shell got to the point where we found it."

It's Too Bad They Didn't Try to Disarm It.  --Old Secesh

Camp Nelson National Park-- Part 3: Major Recruitment and Training Center for USCT

Camp Nelson quickly became the largest of the eight black recruitment centers in Kentucky and the third largest training camp in the whole country for United States Colored Troops (USCT).  Once all restrictions on recruitment were removed by June 1864, the number of black enlistments exploded.

These new recruits, who were formerly slaves, were able to be emancipated upon joining.

More than 500 USCT mustered in during the month of June 1864, and a record 1,370 new troops enlisted at the camp in July.  In total, eight USCT regiments organized at Camp Nelson in 1864 to 1865.  Four were infantry units (114th, 116th, 119th and 124th), two were cavalry (5th and 6th) and two were artillery (12th and 13th).

By the time the 13th Amendment was ratified in December 6, 1865, ending slavery throughout the United States, roughly 10,000 Blacks had enlisted at Camp Nelson.

--Old Secesh

Camp Nelson National Monument-- Part 2: A Huge Camp and USCT Training Facility

At the heighth of its use in 1865, Camp Nelson encompassed roughly 4,000 acres, organized around an 800 acre core, including  more than 300 outlying buildings and tents that housed a quartermaster commissary depot, ordnance depot, recruitment center, prison and hospital.

In addition, eighteen earthen forts or batteries, primarily built by Blacks ringed the camp for protection.  The camp was also home to stables and corrals, a bakery and a steam-driven waterworks that could pump water up 470 feet from the Kentucky River tp a 500,000 gallon reservoir.

However, its location proved to be poor as a supply depot because of lack of transportstion, so Gen. William T. Sherman decided to also turn it into a training camp for incoming black soldiers of the United States Colored Troops (USCT).

Because of the supplies, it was also a possible target of Nathan Bedford Forrest.  

Some 3,000 impressed black workers were stationed at Camp Nelson by 1863, performing critical supply jobs as well as fortifying the camp and construction of railroads and the 300 buildings of the post.

And, then the USCT training camp was set up, and eventually some 23,000 black soldiers trained there, making it the second largest training center for them.

--Old Secesh

Camp Nelson National Monument

From Wikipedia.

CAMP NELSON NATIONAL  MONUMENT

Formerly Camp Nelson Civil War Heritage Park, is located about 20 miles south of Lexington, Kentucky.  The camp was established in 1863 as a depot for the Union Army and it became a recruiting and training ground or new soldiers from eastern Tennessee and for former slaves.

On October 26, 2018, President Trump proclaimed the site as Camp Nelson National Monument, the 418th unit of the National Park Service.

It was established as a supply depot for Union efforts in the area and in Tennessee.  It was named for Union General William "Bull" Nelson who had recently been murdered by Union General Jefferson C. Davis (not the Confederate president) over an insult.  (Another interesting story in itself.)

It was placed near the Hickman Bridge, the only bridge over the Kentucky River upriver from the state capital (Frankfort, Kentucky).

Only he northern side of the camp needed protection as the other three sides  have almost verticle 400-500 foot cliffs.

--Old Secesh

Preserving the Civil War's Camp Nelson in Kentucky

From the February 2023 American Battlefield Trust calendar.

CAMP NELSON, KENTUCKY

Beginning as a supply depot and encampment for the Union Army, Kentucky's Camp Nelson became the third largest recruitment and training ceneter for the U.S. Colored Troops during the Civil War.

By the end of  1865, when slavery ended, some 10,000 Blacks had enlisted there and had been emancipated.

In 2018, the Trust, National Park Foundation and Jessamine County Fiscal Court helped facilitate a 380-acre donation to the National Park Service to create Camp Nelson National Monument.

--Old Secesh

This Month in Civil War: The Formation of the Confederate States of America

From the February 2023 American Battlefield Trust calendar.

FEBRUARY 4, 1861

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

FEBRUARY 5, 1865

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

FEBRUARY 8, 1861

The Confederate States of America adopts a provisional constitution.

FEBRUARY 9, 1864

**  109 Union officers escape from Libby Prison in Richmond, Virginia.

FEBRUARY 16, 1862

Union captures Fort Donelson, Tennessee, where U.S. Grant gains the nickname "Unconditional Surrender."

--Old Secesh

Edward Kittoe Inspected Camp Douglas Prison in Chicago in 1864

From Official Records War of the Rebellion.

Report of inspection made by Edward Kittoe by order of  Cpl. R.C.  Wood, Assistant Surgeon General , U.S. Army,  on January 18, 1864.

He reported that the site was not very good  because of drainage and proximity to Lake Michigan and exposure to cold, damp winds.  "Marshy character of the soil" perfect for fostering diseases.  Plus, at time of inspection ground covered by frost and snow.

As far as prisoners, the soil is excellent for tunneling for escape.  Plus, proximity to large city pf Chicago makes it hard to guard against southern sympathizers.

Barracks and latrines of guards in very good shape.

However, this can not be said for the conditions of the prisoners.

--Old Secesh

Dr. Edward Kittoe

Dr. E.D. Kittoe, surgeon of the 45th Illinois Volunteer Infantry in the first year of the war,  impressed himself upon the Army of the Tennessee by his ability, skill and superior executive force.

He was later in charge of important work in the medical department he managed.

During his long term of service, Dr, Kittoe, both as a surgeon and medical director, had no superior.  General Grant, on whose staff he served for some time as medical inspector, was  much attached to him, and had great confidence in his skill, integrity and administrative ability.

--Old Secesh

Surgeon Edward Kittoe-- Part 5: On Grant's Personal Staff

**  Promoted to Surgeon U.S. Volunteers, December 1862.

**  Promoted to successive ranks of Major and Lieutenant Colonel.

**  Placed on the personal staff of U.S. Grant, October 1863.

**  Appointed Medical Inspector for the Department of the Cumberland, February 1864, and Medical Inspector U.S. Army, April 1864.

**  Medical Director Army of  the Tennessee during Sherman's Georgia Campaign.

**  Brevetted Colonel for "faithful and meritorious" services, June 1867.

**  Died in Galena, September 29, 1887; buried in Galena.

--Old Secesh

Surgeon Edward Kittoe-- Part 4: Born in England

Same source as previous post.

EDWARD DOMINICUS KITTOE

**  Born June 20, 1814.    Woolwich, Kent, England

**  Emigrated to U.S. at age 18.

**  Graduated Pennsylvania Medical College.

**  Moved to Galena to practice medicine in 1851.

**  Appoined Regimental Surgeon of the 45th Illinois Infantry,  August 1861.

--Old Secesh