Woodstock and McHenry County in the Civil War: U.S. Grant and Home Town Regiments

Same source as before.

**  At the time of U.S. Grant's death, Woodstock erected arches at each of the four entrances to the park.  (Today's Woodstock Square.)

**  In the Civil War, McHenry County furnished 2,533 men.

**  One of the first companies was the Woodstock Rifles.

**  Companies A, D & F of the 15thIllinois Infantry were chiefly composed of McHenry County men.

**  Thirty-six members of Company A and nearly all of the 36th Illinois were from McHenry County.

**  The 95th Illinois had 700 men from McHenry County.

--Old Secesh

Becoming Federal Law: National Vietnam War Veterans Day

On March 29, 2012, President Barack Obama proclaimed March 29, 2012, as Vietnam Veterans Day.  The proclamation  called "upon all Americans to observe this day with appropriate programs, ceremonies, and activities that commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War."

On December 26, 2016,  the Vietnam Veterans Day Coalition of State  Council presented a letter to President-elect Donald Trump and Congressional leadership outlining the history and timeline of cause to  establish March 29 as Vietnam War Veterans Day and requesting that it be one of the first legislations passed and signed into law during the 115th Congress.

On March 28, 2017,  President Trump  signed the Vietnam  War Veterans Recognition Act of 2017.  This act officially recognizes March 29 as National Vietnam War Veterans Day.  The Act also includes the day among days on which the U.S. flag should be officially displayed.

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

Civil War Events in May: Battle of Cold Harbor

MAY 23, 1864:  Battle of North Anna, Virginia

MAY 25, 1864:  Battle of New Hope Church, Georgia, begins.

MAY 31, 1864:  Battle of Cold Harbor, Virginia, begins.

--Old Secesh

Fort Wool Today-- Part 8

The fort was decommissioned in 1953 as a military installation.  Of course, since it was named for U.S. general John Ellis Wool, its name would not have to be changed now since the passage of the 2020 Defense Bill.

It was turned over to Virginia.  In the 1950s, the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel (HRBT) was constructed right next to the fort, with its southern island connected to the fort  by an earthen causeway.  The HRBT opened for traffic in 1957.  In 1967 and again in 1970, the City of Hampton developed the fort into a park which could be accessed by the passenger ferry Miss Hampton II.

The fort can also be seen by  westbound vehicles on approach to the HRBT  southern tunnel, which carries Interstate I-64 across the mouth of Hampton Roads.

The island the fort sits on is now called  Rip Raps and it continues to settle.  Occasionally the casemates of the original fort are put off limits for safety reasons.

On 28 April 2007, a garrison flag was raised over the fort for the first time to salute a Parade of Tall Ships passing by it as part of the 400th anniversary of the settlement of nearby Jamestown.

What caused me to become more aware of the fort and write about it in my Not So Forgotten: War of 1812 blog (it was built as a result of the British occupying the Chesapeake Bay during that war and, of course the attacks on Washington, D.C., and Baltimore), was that the fort has now been turned into a bird sanctuary and is off limits to people.

There Needs To be Some Sort of Compromise Between Nature and People Here.  --Old Secesh

Obituary of Robert E. Miles, CSA, Died December 5, 1942

He was one of the two old Battle of Antietam survivors who met President Franklin D. Roosevelt on September 17, 1837, the 75th anniversary of the battle.  The other soldier was Bazel Lemley, who fought for the Union,  Picture of them to the right of this.

"Captain Bob Miles, Almost 103, Dies Near Shawsville.
Confederate Veteran Was Wounded  at Antietam.

Shawsville, Dec 5 (Special)  Robert Edward (Captain Bob) Miles, grand old Confederate warrior of Montgomery county, died quietly at his farm home near Crockett Springs early this evening -- just three days before he would have observed his 103rd birthday.

REPRESENTED SOUTH

It was Captain Miles who, as the oldest Confederate veteran attending the 75th anniversary of the battle of Antietam in 1937, represented the  south in a triple handclasp of friendship with President Roosevelt and a veteran of the Union forces.

He was so severely wounded  in the legs and hands in that bloody engagement that he was discharged,  but reenlisted as soon as he recovered in the 21st, Virginia Cavalry, Company B, and served throughout the war, attaining the rank of captain.

Captain Miles recalled until his death, personal contacts with General Robert E. Lee and President Jefferson Davis.

--Old Secesh

Two Old Soldiers Greet FDR at Antietam's 75th Anniversary in 1937-- Part 4: Bazel Lemley

Bazel Lemley, 95, was the Union veteran who was at the Battle of Antietam who met President Roosevelt at the 75th anniversary of the battle.  He was 19 when he enlisted in the 37th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment as a private on May 15, 1861.  He survived Antietam, but was slightly wounded at the Battle of the Wilderness on May 5, 1864.

According to a descendant, Mr. Lemley was "quite a celebrity around his home" and was quite active up until his death.

Like Robert E. Miles, Lemley lived to reach his 100th birthday and even at that age often walked two miles a day.  "He was consistently Greene County's best-dressed senior," another Pennsylvania newspaper noted.

On February 18, 1943, eight days after he celebrated his 101st birthday, Mr. Lemley died in Mt. Morris, Pennsylvania.  World War I veterans served as his pallbearers at his funeral.

"Mr. Lemley was a staunch Republican and among his fondest memories was shaking hands with President Lincoln at a military review and with President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the dedication of the 'Eternal Light' memorial at Gettysburg, according to his obituary in the Waynesburg  (Pa.) Democrat Messenger.

--Old Secesh

Two Old Soldiers Greet FDR at Antietam's 75th Anniversary-- Part 2

Judging by today's climate, the Hagerstown (Md.) Morning-Herald was a bit off  when it reported:  "The bitterness of 75 years ago has disappeared and frequently men who fought for the South were seen arm in arm with soldiers of the North.

"Eagerly the old soldiers, all past four score and ten. watched the re-enactment of the Bloody Lane phase of the Battle of Antietam over the ground which many of them had traveled as young warriors three-quarters of a century ago.  It was a day of pleasure for these aged men and after the program was concluded many of them expressed themselves as  delighted with their visit here."

It was something to see men who had at one time fought against each other, now on a friendly basis.  That is one thing that always struck me after the war, was how the former enemies mostly made up and continued on their paths through their life.

Too bad this isn't happening today.  That bitterness is apparent everywhere these days with certain people doing their best to bury the old Confederacy.

By the way, four score and ten would be 90 years old.

Of course, this is also of interest as we are going through the 75th anniversary of World War II.

--Old Secesh

F.D.R. Visits Antietam on 75th Anniversary of Battle-- Part 2

Civil War veterans from Maryland and Pennsylvania in attendance included George Leighty, from Hancock, Maryland, one of the two remaining veterans from Washington County.  He served with the 3rd Regiment Maryland Infantry.  Other area residents in attendance were F.L. Mullinex from Westminster, who served in the 7th Maryland regiment, and Edward Flickinger, Dry Run, Pennsylvania, from the 11th Pennsylvania Regiment.  Flickinger was the last survivor of the Civil War from Franklin County.

The day before the program, September 16, twenty-one veterans toured the battlefield and observed that the corn was "more mature" than what they remembered seventy-five years ago.  Veterans were also a part of a special dinner held in their honor at the Hotel Alexander Ballroom  in Hagerstown, Maryland.

Twenty-four veterans, the Governors of two states and representatives of governors were guests.

--Old Secesh

F.D.R. Visits Antietam on 75th Anniversary of the Battle-- Part 1

From the Antietam Journal blog.  "FDR visits the Battlefield:  A Presidential visit" by Ranger Mike Gamble.

The seventy-fifth anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, September 17, 1937.

Some folks in attendance still had actual memories of the battle 75 years later.  Approximately fifty Civil War veterans and a crowd of thirty-five thousand gathered to hear the President of the United States m Franklin D. Roosevelt, give a stirring speech and to view a re-enactment of the battle.

From  the grandstand overlooking the famous Bloody Lane, visitors were able to view 1,000 National Guardsmen simulate battle.  Units of Guardsmen came from Maryland, Pennsylvania, District of Columbia as well as active duty soldiers from Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

Following the battle,  the crowd stood for a playing of the National Anthem as Boy Scouts marched in front of the viewing stand with the flags of thirty states representing the homes of soldiers who fought at the battle.

The president received a memento of the fighting:  a brightly polished piece of wood with a bullet embedded in it  chopped from a tree near the Burnside Bridge.

--Old Secesh

Presidential Visits to Antietam Battlefield-- Part 6: FDR and JFK's Visit

After Theodore Roosevelt's visit to Antietam, several years passed before the next presidential visit.  It wasn't until September 17, 1937, the 75th anniversary of the battle, that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered an eloquent speech in front of an estimated crowd of 50,000, including some Civil War veterans with whom he shook hands.

Since 1944, only two U.S. presidents have visited Antietam Battlefield:  John F. Kennedy and Jimmy Carter.

Kennedy toured the battlefield with his wife, Jackie and brother Ted, on April 3, 1963, just six months before his fateful ride in Dallas.  They made the trip from Camp David to the battlefield in a helicopter.  Of particular interest to the Kennedys were stories of the Irish Brigade and the role of Massachusetts soldiers.

--Old Secesh

Presidential Visits to Antietam Battlefield-- Part 2: Andrew Johnson's Visit

**  Andrew Johnson, Lincoln's successor,  was next to pay a visit to the battlefield.    While the Radical Republicans in Congress were doing everything they could to impeach him, Johnson traveled to the battlefield on September 17, 1867, the fifth anniversary of the battle, to deliver an address at the dedication of the National Cemetery there.

While his speech that day was not as famous or eloquent as Abraham Lincoln's at Gettysburg, it was at times stirring:  "When we look at yon battlefield, I think of the brave men who fell in the fierce struggle of battle, and who sleep silent in their graves.  Yes, many of them sleep  in silence and peace within this beautiful enclosure after the earnest conflict had ceased."

--Old Secesh

"Gone With the Wind" Quotable Quotes

The movie "Gone With the Wind" was released in December 1939, and was at the theaters for months after that.  So, we are in the 80th anniversary of it.

From Wikipedia.

AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE

100 Years Series

Top 100 Movies:   #4

Top 100 Passions:  #2

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SEE IF YOU REMEMBER THESE "GONE WITH THE WIND" QUOTATIONS:

From the AFI's 100 Years...100 Quotes

What do you think is the #1 quote?

These two were nominated, but didn't make the list:

"I don't know nothin'  'bout birthin' babies!"

"Fiddle-Dee-Dee."

#59.  "As God as my witness, I'll never be hungry again."

#31.  "After all, tomorrow's another day."

#1.  "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."

But You Knew That.  --Old SeceGone

Some Pearl Harbor Survivors Return to Day of Infamy Commemoration, Some Don't

From the December 6, 2019, CNN International "Just 1 of 3 living Pearl Harbor survivors will be able to attend a ceremony  marking the attack's 78th anniversary" by Leah Asmelash.

Lou Conter, 98, is in Pearl Harbor today.  He is one of just three survivors of the USS Arizona still living.  The USS Arizona had the single biggest loss of life in the attack, Just 334 men survived the attack.  1,177 died that day.  Now, there are just three of those 334 still alive.

The other two survivors, Donald Stratton (97) and Ken Potts (99) were not well enough to attend.

Two Arizona survivors died in 2019:  Lonnie Cook in July and Lauren Bruner in September.

--GreGen

"Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)?"-- Part 5

This was supposed to have been posted yesterday on the actual anniversary, but unfortunately we lst our internet access, so I will go with it today.

I am doing the lyrics to the song that really sums up that day 18 years ago, "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)' by Alan Jackson.  I already had four parts yesterday on my blogs.

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Did you lay down at night and think of tomorrow

Go out and buy a gun?

Did you turn off that violent old movie you're watchin'

And turn on "I Love Lucy" reruns?

Did you go to church and hold hands with some strangers

Stand in line to give your own blood?

Did you stay at home and cling tight to your family

Thank God you had somebody to love?

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When they put out the desperate calls for blood for the Twin Towers, I greatly doubted taht there would be any survivors from that catastrophe.

D-Day 75th Anniversary: Canadians At Juno Beach Captured the Most Territory That Day

12.  CANADIAN TROOPS AT JUNO BEACH CAPTURED THE MOST TERRITORY.

Canadian soldiers at Juno Beach also suffered terrible casualties, battling heavy seas before landing on a heavily defended strip of shoreline.  Similar to the Americans at Omaha Beach, the first waves of Canadian troops were mowed down en masse by German artillery.   Estimates put the losses then at nearly fifty percent.

The Canadians persisted, however, and pushed on beyond the beachfront and pursuing retreating Germans inland.  In the end, the Canadians at Juno Beach captured more towns and territory than any other battalions in Operation Overlord.

You can read all fifteen D-Day facts in this blog and my June 6-8 Civil War Navy and RoadDog's RoadLog blogs.

D-Day 75th Anniversary: Toughest Fighting on Omaha Beach

12.  THE TOUGHEST FIGHTING WAS ON OMAHA BEACH.

At Omaha Beach, bombing runs had failed to take out heavily fortified German positions.  The first waves of Americans going ashore were cut down in droves by German machine guns as they crossed the mine-riddled beach.

But, U.S. forces persisted in the day-long slog, pushing forward to a fortified seawall and then up steep bluffs to take out the German artillery posts by nightfall.  All told, about 2,400 American troops were killed, wounded or unaccounted for after the fighting on Omaha Beach

D-Day 75th Anniversary: Dress Rehearsal Was a Disaster

5.   A D-DAY DRESS REHEARSAL WAS A FIASCO.

Two months before D-Day, Allied forces conducted a disastrous dress rehearsal of the Normandy invasion  on an evacuated  English beach called Slapton Sands.  Known as "Exercise Tiger,"  749  U.S. troops lost their lives after a fleet of German E-Boats caught wind of the mock invasion and torpedoed American tank landing ships.

Survivors described the "Exercise Tiger" fiasco as more terrifying than the D-Day landing on Omaha Beach.

D-Day 75th Anniversary: The "Phantom Army"

ALLIED FORCES CARRIED OUT A MASSIVE DECEPTION CAMPAIGN IN ADVANCE OF D-DAY.

The idea behind the ruse was to trick the Germans into thinking  that the invasion would occur at Pas-de-Calais, the closest French coastline to England.    The Allies used fake  radio transmissions, double agents and even a "phantom army," commanded by American general George S. Patton, to throw the Germans off what was really going to happen.

Many of the tanks, cannons and vehicles German reconnaissance spotted were actually blow up balloons.

D-Day 75th Anniversary: What Does D-Day Actually Mean?

Seventy-five years ago, Allied forces attacked German defenses along the French coast at Normandy.  This was a major turning point of World War II and world history.

I  will be writing about this in the next three posts in all of my blogs.

From the History site. "D-Day:  Facts on the epic 1944 invasion that changed  the course of WW II" by Dave Roos.

On June 6, 1944,  more than 156,000 American, British and Canadian troops stormed fifty miles of Normandy's heavily defended beaches.

1.  D-DAY MEANING:  THE 'D' IN D-DAY DOESN'T ACTUALLY STAND FOR ANYTHING.

Unlike V-E DAY  (Victory in Europe) and V-J DAY  (Victory Over Japan), the "D" in D-Day isn't short for "departure" or "decision."  As early as World War I, the U.S. military used the term D-Day to designate the launch date of a mission.

One reason was to keep the date questionable for the enemy and another was to be a place-holder until an actual date was chosen.