Elmer Ellsworth and the United States Zouaves-- Part 14: H. Dwight Laflin and the Big Bang in Kenosha 1911

Another former Ellsworth Zouave:

H. DWIGHT LAFLIN--  Became president of Laflin-Vauder Gunpowder Company.  One of the largest gunpowder companies in the United States.  In 1898, he had 577 acres of land near Kenosha, Wisconsin (area where the outlet malls are located today).

On March 9, 1911, there was a huge explosion there at the Laflin, Rand Company when millions of pounds of dynamite and gunpowder exploded just after 8 pm. 

Not only was the plant, covering hundreds of acres, but the people in the community of Pleasant Prairie where it was located and for surrounding area were damaged.  The shockwave was felt as far away as 500 miles from Kenosha.

--Old Secesh

Edward Bragg's Law Book-- Part 3

Author Kenneth Grieb described Bragg as :  "short, squat, barrel-chested with ramrod straight bearing."  He wore his bushy hair brushed forward.  Grieb said the New York World newspaper as saying  the storied general had the air of "a bad man from Bitter Creek, who would lick  any blanked man  in town."  

Throughout his military career, Bragg's conduct and bravery impressed his commanding officers.  For a civilian with no military training or background, to reach the rank of brigadier general was an impressive feat.

Following the war, Edward Bragg was elected a Wisconsin Congressman (1876-1880 and 1884)  In 1884, at the Democratic National Convention, he seconded the nomination of Grover Cleveland, using the phrase:  "We love him for the enemies he had made."

--Old Secesh

Edward Bragg's Law Book Found in Fond du Lac-- Part 1

From the May 17, 2018, Fond du Lac Reporter "Fond du Lac attorney general Edward Bragg's record book found" by Sharon Roznik.

Buried in a cardboard box in the newspaper archive room of the Fond du Lac Historical Society's library, the book smelled old and felt weighty, wrapped in archival paper to keep  the dust out.

Letters on the spine spelled "E.S. Bragg", the name of Fond du Lac's general who took part in  in every major Civil War battle in the east except Gettysburg.

Born in 1827, Edward S. Bragg was a Fond du Lac defense attorney whose practice  traveled a wide circuit through Northeast Wisconsin.

Bragg made this log starting in 1882.  It contains expenses for his clients who were among the movers and shakers of early Fond du Lac history.

--Old Secesh

Find-A-Grave: Edward S. Bragg-- Part 2

 After the war, President Andrew Johnson  appointed him postmaster of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, in 1866 and he was a member of the State Senate in 1868 and 1869.  In 1885, he was elected  as a Democrat to the Forty-ninth Congress , serving until1887.

He was also the Minister Plenipotentiary to Mexico in 1888, consul general  at Havana, Cuba, in  1903 and consul general to Hong Kong, China, 1903-1906.

--Old Secesh

Find-A-Grave: Edward Stuyvesant Bragg-- Part 1

BIRTH:   20 February 1827, Unadilla, New York

DEATH:  20 June 1912 (aged 85) Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

BURIAL: Rienzi Cemetery, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

Civil War Union brigadier general,  U.S. Congressman, diplomat.

At te outbreak of the Civil War, he was a Wisconsin district attorney when commissioned a captain in the 6th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment in July 1861.

He participated in numerous battles and was promoted to colonel and commanded his regiment.  The 6th Wisconsin was part of the famed Iron Brigade.  He led  assaults on Petersburg and made a heroic advance at Fitzhugh's Crossing, where his troops crossed the Rappahannock under enemy fire and captured the Confederate works.

For this action, he was brevetted to brigadier general of U.S. volunteers in June 1864.

--Old Secesh

I'd Vote to Rename Fort Bragg after the Union Bragg

The Wisconsin Bragg, Edward S. Bragg, definitely established a good war record for himself, as you have been reading in the last posts,  so I'd be in favor of renaming Fort Bragg, North Carolina, from being for Confederate General Braxton Bragg to being for the Union General Bragg.

It would certainly save a whole lot of money and would accomplish the "Woke" folks' desire to continue with their Confederadication.

--Old Secesh

Edward S. Bragg-- Part 8: Spotsylvania and Petersburg

I am certainly finding out a lot about this man whom I had never heard of since I saw his name put up as a possible new name for Fort Bragg in North Carolina.  They wouldn't have to change the name.  He had quite an honorable history of military command.

At the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, Bragg's Pennsylvanians  participated in four attacks  on entrenched Confederates over four days, the one on May 12th was at the infamous "Bloody Angle."  Colonel Bragg was announced as having been killed at this battle, but he wasn't.  However, the story alarmed folks back in Wisconsin.

They were engaged with Confederates over the next two weeks and then Bragg was returned to the command of the Iron Brigade.

On June 12, they made a quick move and crossed the James River, engaging in what became known as the Siege of Petersburg.  On June 18 they participated  in a futile charge that led to  what is called the Second Battle of Petersburg.  The Iron Brigade charged across a half mile of open field, under Confederate fire and were ordered to halt to await reinforcements which did not come.

After two hours, they were forced to retreat after heavy casualties.

--Old Secesh

Edward S. Bragg-- Part 1: Of Wisconsin

From Wikipedia.

I'd never heard of this man until I saw that a Wisconsin senator had suggested that Fort Bragg in North Carolina, named after Confederate general Braxton Bragg had a cousin with the same last name who fought for the Union during the war.  He suggests saving money on the name change and just naming after Edward Bragg.

EDWARD STUYVESANT BRAGG

(February 20, 1827 to June 20, 1912)

American politician, lawyer, soldier, diplomat.  He was an accomplished  Union Army officer during the Civil War and served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives representing Wisconsin.  He was later U.S. Minister to Mexico during the Presidency of Grover Cleveland and consul-general to the Republic of China and British Hong Kong under President Theodore Roosevelt.

He was born in New York and went to Wisconsin in 1850 where he settled in Fond du Lac and was a lawyer.

--Old Secesh

Who Is Edward S. Bragg?

From same source as yesterday's post.

Edward S. Bragg volunteered for the Union Army  at the onset of the Civil War with no prior military knowledge and reached the rank of brigadier general by 1864.

Bragg would command the 6th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment that was joined  with the 2nd Wisconsin,  7th Wisconsin and 19th Indiana which became known as the "Iron Brigade."  (U.S. Highway 12 which goes about a half mile from where I live here in Illinois, is named the "Iron Brigade Highway.")

The brigade came by its name because they were tough fighters and  participated in several bloody battles during the war.

He retired from the Army in 1865 and later served Wisconsin as a state senator and in Congress.

Renaming Fort Bragg As Fort Bragg Sounds Like a Good Choice to Me.  --Old Secesh

How About Renaming Fort Bragg After the Union General Bragg?

From the May 20, 2021, Fayetteville (NC) Observer  Wisconsin senator proposes  renaming Fort Bragg after  Union cousin of Confederate general" by Rachel Riley.

Wisconsin state senator  Dale Kooyenga, R-Brookfield,  announced his resolution  that proposes renaming Fort Bragg after Braxton Bragg's cousin, Union General  Edward Stuyvesant Bragg, of Wisconsin.

The senator said that a friend told him about this Bragg and that he didn't know about him before.  he also had been in the Army and stationed at Fort Bragg.

I know a fair amount about the Civil War but had never heard of Edward S. Bragg.  Good old Wikipedia here I come.

Fayetteville, North Carolina,  is where Fort Bragg is located.

Think about how much money can be saved by renaming the fort after the Union Bragg?

--Old Secesh

Alpheus T. Budlong and Some Other Budlongs

At some point after the war, he was living in Ash Grove, Missouri, and receiving a $4 pension, probably for the wound.  Ash Grove is near Springfield, Missouri.

From THE SECOND WISCONSIN INFANTRY

BUDLONG, ALPHEUS T. Born:  New York, Age 23,   Wagon maker, , Mineral Point, Wisconsin.   Discharged for disability  March 28, 1863.

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

BUDLONG GRADUATES FROM YALE  who were officers

James Budlong, Class of 1851

Morris M. Budlong  Class of 1865

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

At Battle of Fredericksburg

Private Benjamin Budlong killed.    Co. C, 7th Rhode Island.

I don't know if these last three Budlongs were related to the family in Wisconsin.

--Old Secesh

Delos Budlong, 11th Wisconsin, Co. E

Company E, 11th Wisconsin was called the Farmers Guards.

It had two captains during the war:

Luther H. Whittlesey from Mineral Point, Wi. who served from  Sept. 20, 1861, until promoted to Lt. Col. on June 7, 1863.

Abner Powell from Mineral Point promoted  July 12, 1863 to end of war.

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

DELOS BUDLONG from Mineral Point, Wisconsin

Enlisted August 31, 1861.

Veteran, Corporal; Mustered out July 9, 1865.

Delos Budlong was born in 1835 in New York, to Green Budlong and Cynthia Budlong (Gridley)

He had one brother named Alpheus Budlong.

Married twice.  The first time was in Illinois.

In 1850, lived in Ohio.  In 1900 in Iowa.    Died in 1900, at age 65, and buried in Iowa.

--Old Secesh

Col. John Edgar Gurley, 135th USCT-- Part 7: After the War

After he was discharged from the Army, John Gurley went back to Wisconsin, but this time settled in Platteville (not far from Shullsburg).  There he practiced law and formed a co-partnership with Paine & Carter, an established law  firm of that town.

He was an especially gifted orator and advocate, a man of great generosity and had many admirers.

In the summer of 1868, he took a severe cold and along with lasting effects of his military career caused his demise on April 2, 1869, at age 31.

His body was taken to  Sandwich, Illinois, where he is buried on the family plot at Pine Mound Cemetery in LaSalle County.

It is described as a very old and well-maintained  cemetery, but difficult to spot during corn-growing season.

--Old Secesh

Col. John E. Gurley, the 135th USCT's Commander-- Part 1: A Midwest Heritage

He was appointed commander of the 135th USCT regiment and remained in command for the rest of the unit's time in the service.  He has quite a Midwest background

He was born in Illinois and lived in Wisconsin.

From Find-A-Grave.

BIRTH:  24 April 1838

DEATH;  2 April 1869, Platteville, Wisconsin

BURIED:  Pine Mound Cemetery,  LaSalle County, Illinois  (Where his father and mother are buried.)

--Old Secesh

Old Abe and Friends-- Part 4: Retired, Fame and the Fires

In 1864, Old Abe, already famous, was presented to the State of Wisconsin and lived in his own room at the Capitol Building.  He was often taken on the road to help raise money for veterans causes.  In 1880, he made his last appearance for a GAR meeting in Milwaukee.

In 1881, there was a small fire in the Capitol Building.  Old Abe raised the alarm and it was put out, but not after he had inhaled much smoke and he later died of it on March 26.

On September 17, 1881, his stuffed remains  were placed in a glass display case in the rotunda.  The remains were later transferred to two other buildings before being returned to the Capitol Building in 1903.  Sadly, another fire in 1904 destroyed Old Abe's remains

Since 1915, a replica of Old Abe has presided over  the General Assembly Chamber and another one is on display at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum in Madison.

For 100 years, the J.I. Case agricultural company incorporated Old Abe in its logo and he is also on the insignia of the 101st Airborne Division in the Army.

--Old Secesh

Old Abe and Friends-- Part 3: The Story of an Eagle

Old Abe was the War Eagle (and a Bald Eagle at that) of the 8th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment.

The eaglet was captured by local Indians and sold to a white settler who later sold it to a company of the 8th for $2.50.  Upon acquisition of the young eagle (who still did not have the "white" head), this company had its name changed from the Eau Claire Badgers to the Eagle Company.

The company's captain named the bird Old Abe after the president and the company quartermaster built a special Union shield perch for Old Abe.    James McGinnis became the handler.

Old Abe was not a favorite of the Confederates and sometimes referred to as the "Yankee Buzzard."  Special efforts were always made to kill him.

But, during the course of Old Abe's service, he was in 42 battles and skirmishes.

--Old Secesh

George E. Albee-- Part 1: A Long and Varied Military Career and Medal of Honor Recipient

From Wikipedia.  After the last two days' posts, I decided to look up George Albee to see if there was anything else about him.  There was.  He was the one who took it upon himself to mark the position of his company of Berdan's Sharpshooters at the Second Battle of Bull Run, or do you say Manassas?

GEORGE EMERSON ALBEE  January 27, 1845 to March 24, 1918.

Officer in the U.S. Army who received a Medal of Honor for his actions in the Indian Wars.  During the Civil war, he fought with Berdan's Sharpshooters, the Wisconsin Light Artillery, the U.S. Colored Troops and the Regular U.S. Army.

George Albee was born in Lisbon, New Hampshire, on January 27, 1845, and died March 24, 1918, in Laurel, Maryland and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Section 2, Lot  850.  His wife, Mary Hawes Albee(848-1907) is buried with him

Albee enlisted in Co. G (Wisconsin) of Berdan's sharpshooters in June 1862.  After two months in the field, he was wounded at the Second Battle of Bull Run and discharged for disability while he was convalescing.

But, His Military Career Wasn't Over Yet.  Not By A Long Shot.  --Old Secesh

Marking His Spot-- Part 2: What His Sign Said

These are the words on George Albee's sign:

"THE WISCONSIN COMPANY
1st REGIMENT of BERDANS
U.S. SHARPSHOOTERS

used many cartridges on this
spot, August 30, 1862-losing
1 man killed and 8 wounded.

Position marked by Geo. E. Albee, a private of the company."

An early history marker.

--Old Secesh

Breakdown of Residences of Co. A, 15th Illinois-- Part 3

Out of State.

With McHenry County located on the border with Wisconsin, it is not surprising that there would be some Cheeseheads in the regiment.

WISCONSIN TOWNS:

Big Fort--  1
Sharon--  5
Darien--  1
Delavan--  2

Also:

Louisville, Ky.--  1
Texas--  1

Also one from Ringgold, but I was unable to find out where that was.

--Old Secesh

Wisconsin's Governor's Guard Trained With Ellsworth

From Warriors of the Rebellion.

Earlier, I was wondering whether or not the Governor's Guard militia group had trained/drilled with Elmer Ellsworth when I read that Lucius Fairchild, future colonel of the 2nd Wisconsin of the famed Iron Brigade and governor of Wisconsin, had joined this elite group in 1858 when Ellsworth was training militia groups in Wisconsin.  I surmised that he had.

According to this site, officers of the Governor's Guard from Madison had drilled with Elmer Ellsworth before he gained fame with the U.S. Zouave Cadets in Chicago.

So, They Had Met.  --Old Secesh