With the 45th Illinois After Shiloh-- Part 2: Burial Detail Plied with Whiskey

"On Tuesday I was detailed with others to bury the dead lying within our camp and a distance of  two hundred yards in advance.  I had charge of digging the grave, if a trench over sixty feet long and four feet deep, can be called a grave.

"The weather was hot, and most of the dead had been killed early Sunday morning, and dissolution had already commenced.  The soldiers gatherd the bodies up and placed them in wagons, hauling them near the trench, and piling them up like cord wood.

"We were furnished with plenty of whiskey, and the boys believed that it would have been impossible to have performed the job without it.

"When the grave was ready, we placed the bodies  therein, two deep; the father, brother, husband and lover, all lie till Gabriel's trumpet shall sound.  All the monument to those brave men was a board nailed to a tree at the head of the trench, upon which I cut with my pocket knife, the words: '125 rebels.' 

--Old Secesh

With the 45th Illinois After the Battle of Shiloh Was Over-- Part 1: Sleeping Amongst the Dead and 'Indignant Over Loss of My Girl's Picture'

Same source as previous post.

April 7, 1862

When darkness fell, the 45th took over their former camp again "filled as they were with the dead of both armies.  We had no difficulty in sleeping well, even though the silent dead lay all about us.  The dead do not disturb us; it is the living we should be  afraid of.

"We built fires and cooked our frugal meal, and, after eating, gathered 'round the camp fire and recounted the deeds of valor done during the  the great battle, speaking kind words of our brave comrades who had fallen.

"A few Sibley tents, torn and riddled by shot and shell, were all we had left.  I lost my shirts, blankets, letters from home, my testament (mother's gift) and a picture of 'the girl I left behind me.'  I was more indignant over the loss of my girl's picture then I was  over the other articles."

--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

Earl Van Dorn-- Part 2: Success at Holly Springs Then Death

After the Battle of Corinth, Van Dorn was removed from command of the army and placed instead in command of the cavalry under  General John C. Pemberton.

Van Dorn's most impressive  achievement of his career took place while in command of the cavalry.  He led his troopers in action in December 1862 against the supply depot of  Union general U.S. Grant located at Holly Springs, Mississippi.

His forces destroyed hundreds of thousand of dollars worth of supplies and disrupted Grant's operations against Vicksburg until the following year.

After the battle, Van Dorn took part in several minor cavalry skirmishes until his death in May 1863.  On May 7, 1863, George B. Peters  shot and killed Earl Van Dorn after Van Dorn had allegedly committed adultry with Peters' wife.

--Old Secesh

Obituary of Samuel Augustus Gilbert, U.S. Coast Survey-- Part 1

From "Report of the Superintendent of the Coast Survey Showing the Progress of the Survey During  the Year 1868."

Assistant Samuel A. Gilbert died at St. Paul, Minnesota, on the  9th of June.  He was by brevet, a brigadier general,  for active and meritorious  services in the field in the recent war; and as a civilian, was one of the most experienced of the assistants in triangulation and topography.

The resolution passed at a meeting of his associates, a few days after his decease, well express the sterling qualities of the man, as evinced within my own knowledge during the short period of my personal acquaintance with him.

In the  hope of recovering from  the effects of hardships undergone in the military service, Assistant Gilbert left his home and his interesting family in Zanesville, Ohio, and dwelt during the greater part of the year in St. Paul.  The cessation from active duty brought some measure of personal comfort, but failed to restore strength to his powerful  frame and constitution, which finally wasted away in consumption.

--Old Secesh

The Answers to the 'Frank' Questions-- Part 1: Cmdr. Maxwell Woodhull

As I said in the last post, McHenry County Civil War Round Table (MCCWRT) member Frank Crawford always has, or sends in if he is not there, some VERY difficult questions for us discussion group members to ponder and finally, most of the time anyway, give up and ask for the answer.  They almost always are about some person from the war.

1.  Who was Cmdr. Maxwell Woodhull, USN?

Killed by accident in Baltimore while inspecting defenses of that city when a 32-pdr. cannon fired a 32-pdr. right as he drove by and he took the full brunt of the impact.  Died instantly.

And, I should have known about him, but didn't.  I have written about him in my Running the Blockade :  Civil War Navy blog in the past.  Like they say, the first thing to go as you get older.  Go to the Running the Blockade blog, click on the Woodhull label and find out more about him and his accidental death.

Talk About Being In the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time.  --Old B-Runner

What the War Was Really About

From Civil War Talk

April 9, 1862 diary entry by James Hannegan of the 5th Ohio  Cavalry after the Battle of Shiloh.

"Went over the battleground again today & saw some of the most shocking sights I ever beheld.    Men were lying dead in every possible position.  Some with their heads torn off, limbs scattered around & the dead horses were in heaps all over the field & today it was quite cool which is very favorable, otherwise this stench would be almost intolerable.

"Most of the dead  bodies have been robbed by our own men.  The faces of the dead were perfectly black.  Our men have been busy ever since the battly burying the dead, but hundreds still unburied.

"Every house in the neighborhood is filled with wounded rebels.  Some have been brought in today who have been lying in the woods since Monday."

--Old Secesh

Death of Last Living Star of "Gone With the Wind" Olivia de Havilland

OLIVIA de HAVILLAND, 104      (1916-2020)

Died July 25, 2020

Appeared in 49 feature films and was a leading actress of her time.    Also one of the last  surviving stars from what is called the Golden Age of Hollywood Cinema.

She came to prominence  with Errol Flynn in adventure films such as "Captain Blood" (1935) and "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938), but achieved her  her best-known role as Melanie Hamilton in "Gone With the Wind" (1939).

Victor, Illinois, in the Civil War-- Part 1

I will be taking a short break from the Battle of Antietam after the war and Robert E. Miles and Bazel Lemley to write about the really small town of Victor, Illinois.  It does not exist anymore and obviously was never very big as far as population (just 299 live in the entire township, which is called Victor Township).

Victor Township is located in the south central part of DeKalb County, Illinois.

I have been writing about it in my RoadDog's RoadLog blog and came across some interesting Civil War history, so, here it is.

From Genealogy Trails"Victor Township History."

In 1855, the population of Victor, Illinois, was 399; in 1860 it was 746 and in 1865, 835.

The town gave 103 soldiers to the War of the Rebellion and taxed itself $10,858 for war purposes.

Those who gave their lives in the service of their country:

Ferdinand Van Derveer,  who died at Louisville, Kentucky, March 30, 1865
E.T. Pierce,   at Alexandria, Virginia, April 23, 1861  (That was very early in the war.)
C.T. Bond,  at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, March 17, 1865
C.P. Snydam,   at Alexandria, Virginia, January 26, 1862

--Old Secesh

Another Soldier Killed at Camp Wildcat in His First Battle, Lewis McFerrin, USA

From the Camp Wildcat Preservation Foundation.

The Civil War lasted barely a month for Private Lewis McFerrin of the Union Army.  He died on the morning of October 21, 1861, less than twenty minutes into his first battle.

He was one of fifteen men listed as killed at the Battle of Wildcat Camp.

I haven't been able to find out what Union regiment he was with.

--Old Secesh

Major John Johnson, Obituary-- Part 1

From Confederate Vets.com.  From the Confederate Veteran magazine of the United Confederate Veterans.

REV. JOHN JOHNSON D.D.

Tribute by Gen. Cornelius Irvine  Walker, Charleston, S.C.

The most obstinate , prolonged and gallant defense of the whole war was that of Fort Sumter in Charleston, S.C. Harbor. There the first Confederate flag was planted in victory, and there almost the last was lowered in disaster.

For two years the vast resources of the United States, its navies and its armies, were in vain expended against the fortress.  Shot and shell from the most powerful armaments of the day were thundered against its ramparts; but it never yielded to a front attack, and was abandoned only when Sherman flanked the Confederates out of Charleston.

The heroic men who so gallantly held the fortress won an imperishable glory.

The man who, by his skill, patience, untiring energy, and superb courage, made possible the prolonged holding of the fort was its chief engineer, Major John Johnson.  His genius converted the crumbling ruins  of Fort Sumter into an impregnable stronghold.

So preeminent and  and well-known were these services that  all unite in yielding him credit.

--Old Secesh

Calvin Crane, Last Living Confederate Real Son, Dies-- Part 4

Mr. Crane is survived by two daughters and a host of grand children, great grand children and a great-great grandson and another on the way.

The Crane family declined to be interviewed for this article.  However, in 2013, Crane's daughter Cynthia Crane  Jones, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch that she has had difficulties convincing others of her Civil War connections.

"I know when I was in like third or fourth grade and we'd start studying the Civil War, I'd say, 'My grandfather was in the Civil War!' " she told the newspaper.  Her classmates and teachers would try to correct her by saying, " 'No, no, that was your great-grandfather.'  And I'd say, 'No, it was my grandfather.'  Mom even had to go to school one time and tell them that it was my grandfather."

--Old Secesh

9-11 Disease Deaths Grow

From the September 11, 2018, Chicago Sun-Times "Deaths from 9/11 diseases will soon outnumber those lost on that day" by Nancy Cutler, USA Today Network.

In the 17 years since September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, nearly 10,000 First Responders and others who were at the World Trade Center in New York City have been diagnosed with cancer.  More than 2,000 deaths have been attributed to 9/11 illnesses.

And, this article was a year ago.

And, these figures will get worse.  By the end of 2018 some expect that more people will have died from their toxic exposure from 9/11 than from the attacks.

Robert Reeg of Stony Point, New York, is a retired New York City fireman who was seriously injured in the South Tower collapse.  In the past 17 years he's seen many fellow First Responders fall victim to those illnesses.

"You lose track, there's so many of them," he said.    As for his own health risks, he said he doesn't dwell on it.  "It's at the back of your mind.  But you can't let it control you."

Continued On My Running the Blockade Blog.  --Old Secesh

War's Hardening Ways-- Part 3: "No Idea of the Filth and Vulgarity"

**  "I had no idea of the filth and vulgarity of men in camp until I tried this little experiment."

--Colonel William Barksdale, 13th Mississippi Infantry, reflecting on his recent decision to join the army, in a letter to his brother.

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

**  "It seems to me I am quite callous to death now, and that I could see my dearest friend die without much feeling....  During the last three weeks ... I have witnessed hundreds of me shot dead, have walked and slept among them, and surely I feel it possible to die myself as calmly as any."

--  Union surgeon John Gardner Perry, in a letter home written during the Battle of North Anna.

--Old Secesh

War's Hardening Ways-- Part 2: "Waiting For This Fellow To Die"

**  "Am waiting for this fellow to die, so I can get his watch and ring."

--Confederate soldier Jim Randall after being asked by a comrade why he was sitting near a wounded Union officer after a battle.

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


**  "We passed the night high up the mountain, where we moved to reach our supply wagons.  A cold rain was falling, and before we found them ... I had lunched comfortably from the haversack of a dead Federal.  It is not pleasant to think of now...."

--  Confederate General Richard Taylor on an incident that occurred during the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1862, in his memoirs.

--Secesh

Started With a Drunken Captain and Ended With a Mean Old Lady (But for Good Cause)

From the Spring 2019 Civil War Monitor  "Charley's Legacy" by Ronald S. Coddington, Military Images Magazine.

Captain Charles Gloyd served three years with the 118th Ohio Infantry and his war experiences turned him into a raging alcoholic.  His drinking buddies called him Charley.  Even so, he tried to live a normal life and took a wife named Carrie in 1867.

Their marriage, however, was short.  Charley drank himself to death in 1869.

His demise, left Carrie a widow at age 23 and with an infant daughter named Charlien, named after Charley. Carrie never forgot Charley.

As a matter of fact, this turned Carrie against the evils of drinking.  She eventually became a leading person in the temperance campaign and toured the country, making speeches, and, on occasion, wielding a famous hatchet smashing up saloons.

We have come to know her as Carrie Nation, her second husband's surname.

So, Now You Know.  --Old SeceshWatchOutForCarrie

Death of Gen. William Wallace-- Part 3: With His Wife By His Side

And, then things turned for the worse.

Ann Wallace recalled the end of the general's life:

"He seemed so happy and satisfied to have me so near him, but lay in calm self-control, even in death, conscious that  his moments of life were continued only by this rest.  Hope with us grew brighter until a periodical delirium, caused by excessive inflammation, passed away and his pulse began to fail; we knew his moments with us were few.

"My darling knew he was going and pressed my hand long and fondly to his heart.  Then he waved me away as aid, 'We meet in Heaven."

"They were the last words upon those loved lips., and he faded away gently and peacefully and hopefully."

I wonder if any other Civil War soldiers died with their wives at their side?

--Old Secesh

Matthew H.W. Wallace-- Part 2: Drowned Feb. 2, 1862

Marital Status:  Single
Occupation:  Farmer
Nativity:  Polo, Illinois

Joined When:  September 6, 1861
Joined Where:  Ottawa, Illinois

Period:  Three Years
Muster In:  September 26, 1861
Muster In Where:  Ottawa, Illinois

Remarks:  Drowned at Cairo, Illinois
When:  February 2, 1862

So, the Wallace family lost two sons in 1862.  The other one was Brig. Gen. William H.L. Wallace.

--Old Secesh

Yesterday, A Big Part of American History Died, the Last Doolittle Raider, Richard Cole

From the October 10, Chicago Tribune.

Richard Cole, 103, lived in Comfort, Texas, had been the last member of the famed group for several years and had stayed active even in recent years, attending air shows and participating in commemorative events including April 18, 2017, ceremonies for the Raid's 75th anniversary at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force near Dayton, Ohio.

Cole was mission commander Jimmy Doolittle's co-pilot in the attack which came less than five months after the disastrous December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor by Japanese planes.

Deaths in Co. A, 15th Illinois

April 19, 1862   The only death from Woodstock.

Others:

November 1, 1861

February 28, 1862

September 27, 1862

December 4, 1862

December 17, 1862

June 1, 1864

--Old Secesh