Some More About the Gettysburg Medals of Honor Recipients

Same surce as the last two.

**  Of the 64 Battle of Gettysburg recipients, only 20 received them during the war.

**  Corporal Joseph De Castro became the first Hispanic  Medal of Honor recipient.

**  Lt. Alonzo Cushing received his Medal of Honor 151 years after he was killed.

**  Corporal Thaddeus Smith of the 6th Pennsylvania Reserves is the youngest Gettysburg recipient at age 16.  He was also the last Gettysburg recipient to die in March 1933.

**  Only one of the recipients was killed in the battle, Lt. Alonzo Cushing.

**  One bugler (Charles Reed) and one musician (Richard Enderlin) earned the Medal of Honor at Gettysburg.

--Old Secesh

 

Richard Enderlin, Medal of Honor Recipient: His MoH Citation

Rank and Organization:  Musician, Company B, 73rd Ohio Infantry.

Place and Date:    Gettysburg, Pennsylvania  1-3 July 1863

Entered service:  At Chillicothe, Ohio

Birth:  Germany

Date of Issue:  September 11, 1897

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CITATION

"The President of the United States on America in the name of  Congress, takes pleasure in presenting the Medal of Honor to Musician Richard Enderlin, United States Army, for extraordinary heroism from 1 to 3 July 1863, while serving with Comapny B, 73rd Ohio Infantry, in action at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

"Musician Enderlin voluntarily took a rifle and served as a soldier in the ranks during the first and second days of the battle.  Voluntarily and at his own imminent peril, went  into the enemy's lines at night and, under sharp fire, rescued a wounded comrade."  (That would be President Nixon's great-grandfather.)

--Old Secesh

Richard Enderlin, Medal of Honor Recipient: Helped President Nixon's Grandfather

From Wikipedia.

Born January 11, 1843 -- Died February 11, 1930

Was a musician and U.S. soldier who received a Medal of Honor  for heroism in the Battle of Gettysburg.

Born in Germany and grew up in Chillicothe, Ohio.  Enlisted in the Army in November 1861.

He thought his unit was not directly engaged in the Battle of Gettysburg, so the bugler voluntarily joined the defense of Cemetery Ridge.  In July 2, 1863, during combat, George Nixon III (the grandfather of President Richard Nixon) was mortally wounded and was carried out of harm's way by Enderlin.

For this action, he was promoted to sergeant the next day and received a Medal of Honor for it on September 11, 1897.

He was later wounded in the foot at the Battle of Dallas (in the Atlanta Campaign).  He served the rest of the war in the  Veteran Reserve Corps until his discharge in May 1865.

Enderlin is buried at Grandview Cemetery in Chillicothe, Ohio.

--Old Secesh

Also Buried at Louisville's Cave Hill Cemetery-- Part 6: "Pappy" Van Winkle and "Charlie Ward

Buried at the cemetery along with Charles C. Gilbert.

JULIAN PROCTOR "PAPPY" VAN WINKLE, SR.  (1874-1965)

Businessman known as "Pappy" Van Winkle, he is the namesake of the premium bourbon of the same name (Old Rip Van Winkle).  Other brands his former company produced were Old Fitzgerald and Rebel Yell.  (I'm quite fond of Rebel Yell even though they changed its logo.)

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CHARLES L. "CHARLIE" WARD  (1838-1875)

Songwriter, Confederate soldier and musician.  Well-known writer of minstrel and ,olotary songs in the 1850s and 1860s.  He wrote the words and/or music to such songs as "I'm Coming to My Dixie Home," "Think of Your Head in the Morning," "The Faded Gray Jacket" and "The Kentucky  Battle Song."

There has been speculation that the  tune "Dixie" was actually written by Charles Ward, with words by  Will S. Hays (not by Daniel Emmett)

During the Civil War, Ward  was the Chief Musician of the 4th Kentucky Volunteer Infantry, CSA, of the famous Kentucky Orphan Brigade.

Bourbon and Dixie.   --Old Secesh

A Beautiful Day At Hainesville's Civil War Encampment-- Part 2: "Eatin' Goober Peas, Goodness How Delicious"

I met friends Rob and Tim out there and went to several places with them.  One was where two men were singing Civil War songs to the accompaniment of a guitar, banjo and harmonica. Tim, Rob and I had started talking about goober peas ( neither of them knew what they were).  They did know that there was a candy called Goobers which were chocolate-covered peanuts.

I told them there was also a rather humorous song about "Eatin' Goober Peas."

When we brought the term goober peas up to the musicians they talked about what they were and said that before the war, goober peas (which are peanuts, in case you're still wondering) was not a very popular thing with southerners, particularly those from Georgia where they were prevalent.  However, with food shortages prevalent in the army, Confederate soldiers soon developed a taste for them.

"Peas. peas, peas, peas
Eatin' goober peas
Goodness how delicious
Eatin' gooberpeas."

As part of the song goes.

I wonder if they had all the current warnings about peanuts back then?

And then thee was funny fellow, Gomer's cousin, from "The Andy Griffith Show."

What Was His Name?  --Old Secesh

It Was 75 Years Ago: Pearl Harbor "Almost on the USS Arizona"

A date I commemorate in all of my blogs, regardless of what they are about.

From the Youngstown Ohio Pearl Harbor Survivors Profiles.

ANTONE T. "CAL' CALDERONE  Jackson Township near Massillon.

Played tuba and string bass on the USS West Virginia.  In combat he was on communications and damage control.

"I almost got killed on the Arizona. On December 6, there was a battle of the bands but the USS West Virginia did not participate because we were on guard duty.  But the Tennessee band played, and they picked me up.  After playing, the Tennessee band officer asked me to say and my officer said no.

"The Arizona band took me to the West Virginia and as they pulled alongside I wished them a merry Christmas.  If my officer had not denied me permission to stay, I would have been in the Arizona band compartment on December 7.   It took a direct hit and they lost everybody.  To this day, I can't forget it."

Not Forgetting One Bit.

Wisconsin Drummer Boy-- Part 3: Frank Pettis, 11 Years Old

Frank Pettis of Reedsburg, Wisconsin, was 11 when he enlisted.  His father Amos played the fife and also enlisted.  Father and Son going to war together.

Frank began his military career at age 12 in Co. A, 19th Wisconsin, under Captain A.P. Ellinwood.  He served from February 22, 1862, to August 9, 1865.

He was at every battle the 19th Wisconsin fought in from Suffolk, Virginia, to New Berne, North Carolina to the siege at Petersburg and Richmond, where the regiment's colors were the first to fly over the Confederate Capitol after its capture.

--Old Secesh