This Month in the War: 13th Amendment, Battles of Prairie Grove, Fredericksburg and Nashville, USS Cairo Sinks

From the December 2022 American Battlefield Trust calendar. 

DECEMBER 6, 1865

**  The 13th Amendment ratified, officially abolishing slavery.

DECEMBER 7, 1862

**  Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas.

DECEMBER 11, 1862

**  Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia, begins.

DECEMBER 12, 1862

**  USS Cairo sinks in the Yazoo River, Mississippi.

DECEMBER 15, 1864

**  Battle of Nashville, Tennessee, begins.

--Old Secesh

Events Taking Place in December: Mine Run-- Knoxville-- 13th Amendment-- Joint Committee and Fredericksburg

From the December 2021 American Battlefield Trust.

DECEMBER 1, 1863

Mine Run Campaign in Virginia concludes.

DECEMBER 2, 1862

Skirmish at Leed's Ferry, Virginia, on the Rappahannock River.

DECEMBER 3, 1863

Siege of Knoxville, Tennessee, concludes.

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

DECEMBER 6, 1865

The 13th Amendment ratified, officially abolishing slavery.

DECEMBER 7, 1862

Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas.

DECEMBER 9, 1861

The Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War established by U.S. Congress.

DECEMBER 11, 1862

The Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia, begins.

--Old Secesh

John Charles Black-- Part 6: In the 11th Indiana and 37th Illinois

At the outbreak of the Civil war, he was enrolled at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana,   Along with his brother William Black, Charlie initially served three months with the 11th Indiana Infantry, a three month regiment.  They fought at the Battle of Romney, Virginia (now West Virginia) on June 11, 1861.

In August 1861, he mustered out as a sergeant major and along with his brother, joined Company K of the 37th Illinois Infantry and was made captain.  He quickly earned promotion to major during regimental elections for officers on September 5, 1861.

Severely wounded in the right arm during the Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, on March 7, 1862, he earned promotion to lieutenant colonel.  He never regained the use of his right arm.

Black received the Medal of Honor at the Battle of Prairie Grove in Arkansas on December 7, 1862, when he led his regiment in a charge uphill  against the Confederate position at the Borden House.  He was wounded in the left arm this time, but he and his regiment captured an enemy artillery battery.

--Old Secesh

John C. Black-- Part 5: Lincoln Slept There

From the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture.

A Medal of Honor recipient for valor at the Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, and brevet major general of volunteers.  John Charles (Charlie) Black later served as U.S. Congressman and national commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR).

He was born January 27, 1839, in Lexington, Mississippi, to the Reverend John Black and Josephine Culbertson Black.  He was the eldest of four children.  After the Reverend Black died in 1847, his widow  moved her family to Danville, Illinois, to be near her brother James Culbertson.

Soon afterwards, she married Dr. William Fithian who served in the Illinois General Assembly with Abraham Lincoln in 1834.  Lincoln successfully represented Fithian in a lawsuit in 1850.  During the 1858 campaign for U.S. senator, Lincoln stayed at the Danville home of John's parents during his travels for the Lincoln-Douglas Debates and spoke briefly to a crowd of well-wishers on September 21.

--Old Secesh

Illinois Medal of Honor Recipient John C. Black-- Part 3: Received It in 1996

Am 1896 review of numerous actions of the war resulted in his being awarded the medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Prairie Grove.  Black's brother William also received one, making them the first of five pairs of brothers to both receive the Medal as of 2005.

The citation read:  "Gallantly  charged the position of the enemy at the head of his regiment, after two other regiments had been repulsed and drive down the hill, and captured a battery, was severely wounded."

--Old Secesh

Illinois Medal of Honor Recipient John C. Black-- Part 2: Battle of Prairie Grove

Now we know that the two Blacks in the 37th Illinois, John C. and William P., were brothers.

After three months in the 11th Indiana, the two brothers were mustered out (it was a three-month regiment) and joined what became Company K in the 37th Illinois.  The 11th had been commanded by Lew Wallace.

John became a major in the unit and was wounded in the right arm at the Battle of Pea Ridge, Arkansas, on March 7, 1862.  On July 12, 1862, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and became the commander of the 37th Illinois.  He led his regiment against fortified Confederate positions at the Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas, on December 7, 1862.

The 37th suffered heavy casualties and was forced to retreat.  John C. Black was seriously wounded.

--Old Secesh

Illinois Medal of Honor Recipient John C. Black-- Part 1

From Wikipedia.

JOHN CHARLES BLACK

(January 28, 1839 - August 17, 1915

Democratic U.S. Congressman and received Medal of Honor as Union Army lieutenant colonel and regimental commander at the Battle of Prairie Grove December 7, 1862.

Born Lexington, Mississippi and moved to Danville, Illinois, in 1847.  His father was a minister in the Presbyterian Church.  He attended Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana, and became a lawyer.

Entered Union Army on April 14, 1861, along with his brother, William P. Black.  They mustered into the 11th Indiana Infantry Regiment.  He enlisted as a private  but was made sergeant major in April 25, 1861.

Well, that answers that question.

The Black Brothers from Danville.  --Old Secesh

Unearthed Civil War Shell Blown Up in Arkansas-- Part 2

And, remember, that if you ever found and old 150+ year-old shell from that long-ago war, handle with care, or better, don't handle at all.  According to the article, they have heard of 2-3 shells exploding after being found and someone was killed.

The shell was apparently live based on the way it blew up.  (And there it was bouncing around in the bed of the service truck.)  The Prairie Grove State Park is hopping mad about the shell's quick destruction.  They say that they've had live shells donated before and later had them disarmed in U.S. arsenals.

They actually have two of the James Rifle shells on display and eight in storage.  Each one is 9 inches long and 3.8 inches in diameter.

In 2004, two USMC ordnance disposal experts disarmed a rare Britten shell from the wreck of the CSS Alabama off Cherbourg, France.

At the Battle of Prairie Grove, the Confederates had two cannons capable of firing a 14-pound James Rifle shell.  They were Union-made and had been captured at the Battle of Lone Jack, Missouri, in August 1862.  The Union Army had ten of the James Rifles at the  Battle of Prairie Grove.  These were the largest-diameter shells fired that day on either side.

Thousands of the shells were fired and their fragments are frequently found, but it is rare to find one intact.  This one was apparently dropped before firing or lost.

--Old Secesh

Unearthed Civil War Shell Blown Up in Arkansas-- Part 1

From the May 27, 2015, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette by Bill Bowden.

A photo of the 14-pound shell accompanies the article.

Prairie Grove, Ark.  A bomb squad and historians are at odds over the recent discovery of a 14-pound James Rifle shell unearthed earlier this month by a gas line crew working along Villines Road in Prairie Grove.  The shell was apparently left by Confederate troops during the Battle of Prairie Grove on December 7, 1862.

It was tossed into the back of a service truck and rattled around there for a couple days before being turned over to the city of Prairie Grove which planned to donate it to the Prairie Grove Battlefield State Park. Someone from the Bentonville (Ark.) Bomb Squad saw a post about it on Prairie Grove's Facebook page and they confiscated it May 13 and destroyed it that day by the military in a rock quarry near West Fork.

More to Come.  --Old Secesh