From the February 2012 Daily Iberian (Louisiana) "LouisianaTiger Rifles talk scheduled for Saturday" by Jessica Goff.
Most people don't know it, but the LSY tiger mascot comes from the Civil War. That would be in honor of the Louisiana Tiger Rifles, a unit made up mostly of Mississippi riverboat men and they had the reputation of being the toughest fighting men on either side.
On February 25th there was a talk on the group in Franklin.
Besides their fighting ability, the Tigers wore flashy French uniforms that included fezzes and pantaloons which also got them the name Tiger Zouaves. Other units on both sides wore these uniforms.
The Tiger Zouaves originated in the French colonies in North Africa in the 1830s and the uniform became popular during the Crimean War. Louisiana's French connection made it very popular in that state.
According to Dan Jones, "Being steamboat men they were known for their carousing behavior. Many of them were boisterous Irish immigrants from New Orleans and they loved to fight and sometimes that didn't serve them well at camp. They were wild."
The unit was established in 1861 and commanded by Major Roberdeau Wheat and really got their reputation at First Manassas.
Quite the "Fightin'" Group. --Old Secesh
The Battle of Fort Fisher, N.C.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
Civil War Weapons With Dick Stilling-- Part 3
Those Pisrtols in the Trunk
Mr. Stilling had a collection of pistols and explained each one. Best of all, afterwards, you could go up to the display tables, touch and even pick them up.
The first two pistols were little-bitty Allen pistols, including a pepperbox. This one had a bunch of little barrels and dated from the early part of the war.
Then, there was an 1858 French LeFaucheax Army pistol with pinfire and cartridges. Some 12,000 were purchased, mostly by the Union Army, but some by the Confederates as well.
Then, there was an Army Starr pistol.
Mr. Stilling pointed out on several occasions what a nightmare supplying ammunition was during the war with all the many different calibers of bullets used in rifles and pistols.
He owns all of the weapons he presented to us.
Mr. Stilling had a collection of pistols and explained each one. Best of all, afterwards, you could go up to the display tables, touch and even pick them up.
The first two pistols were little-bitty Allen pistols, including a pepperbox. This one had a bunch of little barrels and dated from the early part of the war.
Then, there was an 1858 French LeFaucheax Army pistol with pinfire and cartridges. Some 12,000 were purchased, mostly by the Union Army, but some by the Confederates as well.
Then, there was an Army Starr pistol.
Mr. Stilling pointed out on several occasions what a nightmare supplying ammunition was during the war with all the many different calibers of bullets used in rifles and pistols.
He owns all of the weapons he presented to us.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Civil War Weapons With Dick Stilling-- Part 2: Junk in a Trunk
According to Mr. Stilling, there were between 620,000-630,000 battlefield deaths and many more horrific wounds. The state of Alabama spent its entire state budget for prostheses in 1866, that many limbs had been lost in the war.
Then, there was something called the Posse Comitas Act which says the president can't use federal troops to put down an uprising.
Then, Winston Churchill said, "Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
He had a large collection of weapons from the Gettysburg battlefield.
Old Secesh
Then, there was something called the Posse Comitas Act which says the president can't use federal troops to put down an uprising.
Then, Winston Churchill said, "Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
He had a large collection of weapons from the Gettysburg battlefield.
Old Secesh
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Civil War Weapons with Dick Stilling-- Part 1
The regular monthly meeting of the McHenry Historical Society (for the city, not the county) on October 20th featured Dick "Red" Stilling, a former resident of McHenry now living in retirement in Florida and whose hair is no longer red, hence his nickname, but gray.
He grew up in McHenry, went to high school there, played football, was in the Marine Corps, taught high school in Lake Zurich, Illinois, and was in the FBI for 23 years. Quite an interesting life.
The reported title of what he was to talk about was covert operations (which he had plenty of in the FBI), but it centered on a large collection of pistols, rifles and swords he had with him.
In the FBI, he headed up the raid on the FALN group who were making bombs with which to blow up the Marine Corps office in Chicago and Operation Graylord which caught dishonest Cook County judges. A member of our Palatine (Il) Class of 1969, Terry Hake, was involved in it and I asked if he new Terry and he definitely did.
Right There Would Have Been An Interesting Talk. --Old Secesh
He grew up in McHenry, went to high school there, played football, was in the Marine Corps, taught high school in Lake Zurich, Illinois, and was in the FBI for 23 years. Quite an interesting life.
The reported title of what he was to talk about was covert operations (which he had plenty of in the FBI), but it centered on a large collection of pistols, rifles and swords he had with him.
In the FBI, he headed up the raid on the FALN group who were making bombs with which to blow up the Marine Corps office in Chicago and Operation Graylord which caught dishonest Cook County judges. A member of our Palatine (Il) Class of 1969, Terry Hake, was involved in it and I asked if he new Terry and he definitely did.
Right There Would Have Been An Interesting Talk. --Old Secesh
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
The Battle of Pocotaligo, South Carolina
Yesterday, I made a blog entry on my Running the Blockade Navy Blog about a boat howitzer crew from the USS Wabash participating in the battle and that Oscar Farenholt was wounded and later became the first man to rise from enlisted to admiral.
I'd never heard of this battle so looked it up in Wikipedia and HMdb (Historical Marker Data Base).
Taken from a highway marker on the site:
Largest action of 3-day expedition to disrupt the Charleston & Savannah Railroad Oct. 1862. 2,000 Confederates defended the area between the two cities. 4,500 Federal troops under J.M. Brannon and A.M. Terry (who later captured Fort Fisher and was involved in the Custer Massacre) landed at Mackay's Point (they had sailed from Hilton Head).
Some 475 Confederates delayed the Union forces at Caston's Plantation until reinforcements arrived by train. Most of the fighting centered along the Pocotaligo Bridge By dusk, the Federals retreated toward Port Royal (Hilton Head) after only doing minimal damage to the railroad.
The marker was erected in 2002 by the South Carolina Society of the Military Order of the Stars and Bars, an organization made up of descendants of Confederate officers and government members.
Confederate losses were put at 21 killed, 24 wounded and 18 missing. Union at 43 killed, 294 wounded (including Farenholt) and 3 missing.
A 284 page book about the battle has been written by Lewis G. Schmidt. Also, there is an account of the role played by the 47th Pennsylvania Infantry which was also at the battle.
Sounds like a Confederate victory to me.
Now, I've Heard of It. --Old Secesh
I'd never heard of this battle so looked it up in Wikipedia and HMdb (Historical Marker Data Base).
Taken from a highway marker on the site:
Largest action of 3-day expedition to disrupt the Charleston & Savannah Railroad Oct. 1862. 2,000 Confederates defended the area between the two cities. 4,500 Federal troops under J.M. Brannon and A.M. Terry (who later captured Fort Fisher and was involved in the Custer Massacre) landed at Mackay's Point (they had sailed from Hilton Head).
Some 475 Confederates delayed the Union forces at Caston's Plantation until reinforcements arrived by train. Most of the fighting centered along the Pocotaligo Bridge By dusk, the Federals retreated toward Port Royal (Hilton Head) after only doing minimal damage to the railroad.
The marker was erected in 2002 by the South Carolina Society of the Military Order of the Stars and Bars, an organization made up of descendants of Confederate officers and government members.
Confederate losses were put at 21 killed, 24 wounded and 18 missing. Union at 43 killed, 294 wounded (including Farenholt) and 3 missing.
A 284 page book about the battle has been written by Lewis G. Schmidt. Also, there is an account of the role played by the 47th Pennsylvania Infantry which was also at the battle.
Sounds like a Confederate victory to me.
Now, I've Heard of It. --Old Secesh
Monday, October 22, 2012
Civil War Replica Village for Sale
From the Oct. 18, 2012, Chicago Tribune.
Sort of like it, but nor the real thing. Indiana's Billie Creek Village for sale. The tourist attraction, 55 miles west of Indianapolis is a replica one. owner Charlie Cooper has decided to sale the 70-acre property at auction.
First purchased in 1960, the outdoor museum has attracted tens of thousands of visitors in the more than two dozen buildings on site. They got to experience life during and after the Civil War. It is located in famous Park County which is noted for its covered bridges and there is even one at the museum.
Lots of festivals and Civil War re-enactments took place there as well as being part of the Covered Bridge Festival which took place this last weekend.
Cooper is in his 80s and says he as spending too much time on the project, plus, it wasn't making money and closed it about a year ago. This past weekend's auction is expected to take in between $800,000 and $2 million.
Here's hoping someone buys it and continues the museum.
Here's Civil War for You. --Old Secesh
Sort of like it, but nor the real thing. Indiana's Billie Creek Village for sale. The tourist attraction, 55 miles west of Indianapolis is a replica one. owner Charlie Cooper has decided to sale the 70-acre property at auction.
First purchased in 1960, the outdoor museum has attracted tens of thousands of visitors in the more than two dozen buildings on site. They got to experience life during and after the Civil War. It is located in famous Park County which is noted for its covered bridges and there is even one at the museum.
Lots of festivals and Civil War re-enactments took place there as well as being part of the Covered Bridge Festival which took place this last weekend.
Cooper is in his 80s and says he as spending too much time on the project, plus, it wasn't making money and closed it about a year ago. This past weekend's auction is expected to take in between $800,000 and $2 million.
Here's hoping someone buys it and continues the museum.
Here's Civil War for You. --Old Secesh
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Union Brigadier General Eugene B. Payne of Illinois
From the Donnelley and Lee Library Archives, Chicago, Illinois.
Eugene Beauharmais Payne (1835-1910) wrote 19 letters to his wife, Delia W. Payne from Arkansas, Iowa, and Missouri from February to May, 1862. He described the Battle of Pea Ridge March 12, 1862.
In 1865, he became the first soldier from Lake County, Illinois, to attain the rank of brigadier general.
He was born in Seneca Falls, New York, April 15,1835. In 1836, his family moved to Fremont Township in Lake County and from then on played a big role in the county's development. Payne graduated from Washington High School and in 1860 graduated Northwestern University's Law School and was admitted to the bar the same year.
Payne organized the first company of troops and served in the 37th Illinois Infantry until September 1864, when he was discharged because of malaria after being wounded at Vicksburg.
Old Secesh
Eugene Beauharmais Payne (1835-1910) wrote 19 letters to his wife, Delia W. Payne from Arkansas, Iowa, and Missouri from February to May, 1862. He described the Battle of Pea Ridge March 12, 1862.
In 1865, he became the first soldier from Lake County, Illinois, to attain the rank of brigadier general.
He was born in Seneca Falls, New York, April 15,1835. In 1836, his family moved to Fremont Township in Lake County and from then on played a big role in the county's development. Payne graduated from Washington High School and in 1860 graduated Northwestern University's Law School and was admitted to the bar the same year.
Payne organized the first company of troops and served in the 37th Illinois Infantry until September 1864, when he was discharged because of malaria after being wounded at Vicksburg.
Old Secesh
The Covert Civil War
I am getting ready to drive into McHenry, Illinois, for a presentation on the covert actions of the Civil War. It should be interesting as we are having the 150th anniversary of the yellow fever epidemic in Wilmington, NC, which some people believe was caused by a Union undercover plot.
Civil War artifacts will also be shown.
Old Secesh
Civil War artifacts will also be shown.
Old Secesh
Gettysburg's Witness Trees
From the April 30, 2008, Gettysburg Daily "Gettysburg Witness Trees" at www.gettysburgdaily.com/?p=142.
Visitors often ask how many current trees were on the July 1-3, 1863 battlefield and the most common guess is 100-200. That would make them 'witness trees."
The U.S. War Department operated the Gettysburg National Military Park until the National Park Service took over in 1933.
Fortunately, they thought some "witness trees" were important enough to mark and protect. Small plaques and even lightning rods were installed on some of them.
Five witness trees are on one part of Confederate Avenue.
This is an extremely good photo essay.
Check It Out. --Old Secesh
Visitors often ask how many current trees were on the July 1-3, 1863 battlefield and the most common guess is 100-200. That would make them 'witness trees."
The U.S. War Department operated the Gettysburg National Military Park until the National Park Service took over in 1933.
Fortunately, they thought some "witness trees" were important enough to mark and protect. Small plaques and even lightning rods were installed on some of them.
Five witness trees are on one part of Confederate Avenue.
This is an extremely good photo essay.
Check It Out. --Old Secesh
Friday, October 19, 2012
Trees At Other Civil War Battlefields-- Part 2
BATTLE OF ANTIETAM-- A 12-acre orchard has been recreated using historically accurate varieties of apple trees, and 35 acres of oak, hickory, ash and other native species have been planted.
VICKSBURG-- In a pilot project, 28 acres of timber have been cut down at three sites, including the Great Redoubt, an earthen fortress manned by Confederates during the 1863 Union siege of the city in Mississippi.
Officials are also considering removing hundreds of acres of trees planted in the 1930s in the park boundaries to fight erosion at the 1,728-acre site.
We visited this place earlier this year and saw lots of areas where tress had been cut down and piled up. This is by far the most hilly Civil site I've ever seen.
Supporting the New Efforts. --Old Secesh
VICKSBURG-- In a pilot project, 28 acres of timber have been cut down at three sites, including the Great Redoubt, an earthen fortress manned by Confederates during the 1863 Union siege of the city in Mississippi.
Officials are also considering removing hundreds of acres of trees planted in the 1930s in the park boundaries to fight erosion at the 1,728-acre site.
We visited this place earlier this year and saw lots of areas where tress had been cut down and piled up. This is by far the most hilly Civil site I've ever seen.
Supporting the New Efforts. --Old Secesh
Trees At Other Civil War Battlefields-- Part 1
From the September 3, 2007, Chicago Tribune "It's war again around Gettysburg" by Stevenson Swanson.
The last three entries have been about what is going on at Gettysburg as far as returning the battlefield to its war appearance.
BATTLE OF MANASSAS/ BULL RUN (Confederate/Union name for the battle).
The National Park Service plans to cut down 140 acres of timber at this Virginia Civil War site where the First and Second Battles of Bull Run took place. However, environmentalist object because it will diminish an already scarce hickory-oak forest ecosystem at the more than 5,000 acre site.
BATTLE OF ANTIETAM/SHARPSBURG
Replacing missing trees is a key component of restoration on this 3,250-acre site in Maryland where 23,100 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing following the Sept. 17, 1862 battle, the bloodiest single day in American history.
More to Come.
Return It to Battle Environment. --Old Secesh
The last three entries have been about what is going on at Gettysburg as far as returning the battlefield to its war appearance.
BATTLE OF MANASSAS/ BULL RUN (Confederate/Union name for the battle).
The National Park Service plans to cut down 140 acres of timber at this Virginia Civil War site where the First and Second Battles of Bull Run took place. However, environmentalist object because it will diminish an already scarce hickory-oak forest ecosystem at the more than 5,000 acre site.
BATTLE OF ANTIETAM/SHARPSBURG
Replacing missing trees is a key component of restoration on this 3,250-acre site in Maryland where 23,100 soldiers were killed, wounded or missing following the Sept. 17, 1862 battle, the bloodiest single day in American history.
More to Come.
Return It to Battle Environment. --Old Secesh
Thursday, October 18, 2012
It's War Again Around Gettysburg-- Part 3
I'm going to drive down to North Carolina for Thanksgiving and am now planning on spending a day at Gettysburg as I have not been there since probably around 1976. It sounds like there have been some major changes.
A new $100 million museum and visitor center is under construction (back in 2007( and designed to look like a mid-18th century Pennsylvania farm. The new building was scheduled to open in April and will contain expanded and updated exhibits. Sadly the old electric map of the battlefield was not retained (and just sold this past summer).
A highlight of the museum will be the newly restored Gettysburg Cyclorama showing Pickett's Charge. The 1884 painting was made by Paul Philipteaux and measured nearly 360 feet long, 27 feet high and weighs more than 3 tons. This project alone cost $11.2 million and scheduled to be finished in 2008.
Plans are to demolish the old Cyclorama building built in 1962 as it Modernist design does not fit with the 19th century.
Definitely a Trip Should Be Planned. --Old Secesh
A new $100 million museum and visitor center is under construction (back in 2007( and designed to look like a mid-18th century Pennsylvania farm. The new building was scheduled to open in April and will contain expanded and updated exhibits. Sadly the old electric map of the battlefield was not retained (and just sold this past summer).
A highlight of the museum will be the newly restored Gettysburg Cyclorama showing Pickett's Charge. The 1884 painting was made by Paul Philipteaux and measured nearly 360 feet long, 27 feet high and weighs more than 3 tons. This project alone cost $11.2 million and scheduled to be finished in 2008.
Plans are to demolish the old Cyclorama building built in 1962 as it Modernist design does not fit with the 19th century.
Definitely a Trip Should Be Planned. --Old Secesh
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
It's War Again Around Gettysburg-- Part 2: Saving the Witness Trees
I remember Fort Fisher back in the 50s to 70s had many trees growing on the sand dunes of the traverses, which never would have been there when it was an active fort.
Under a 1999 plan, the park service will cut down 576 acres of woodland which did not exist during the battle and to replant 115 acres of trees that were there but have since disappeared. In 2007, that work focused on the area around Devil's Den, a rocky outcropping that say some bitter fighting and along part of the Confederate line at Seminary Ridge.
Much extra care is being given to preserving "witness" trees which were present at the battle. I would like to know how many of these trees remain, but that is all the article mentioned.
In addition 10 miles of farm lanes and roads will be rehabilitated or reconstructed. Plus, some 39 miles of fences, hedgerows and other field boundaries are planned. Overhead power lines are being buried. Anything that wasn't there on the 6,000 acre military park is being torn down or disguised.
The non-profit Gettysburg Foundation is raising $125 million toward the project.
More to Come. --Old Secesh
Under a 1999 plan, the park service will cut down 576 acres of woodland which did not exist during the battle and to replant 115 acres of trees that were there but have since disappeared. In 2007, that work focused on the area around Devil's Den, a rocky outcropping that say some bitter fighting and along part of the Confederate line at Seminary Ridge.
Much extra care is being given to preserving "witness" trees which were present at the battle. I would like to know how many of these trees remain, but that is all the article mentioned.
In addition 10 miles of farm lanes and roads will be rehabilitated or reconstructed. Plus, some 39 miles of fences, hedgerows and other field boundaries are planned. Overhead power lines are being buried. Anything that wasn't there on the 6,000 acre military park is being torn down or disguised.
The non-profit Gettysburg Foundation is raising $125 million toward the project.
More to Come. --Old Secesh
It's War Again Around Gettysburg-- Part 1
From the September 3, 2007, Chicago Tribune by Stevenson Swanson.
"This time it isn't a Civil War faceoff but a clash with nature to restore the historic site to its 1863 appearance."
I am a firm supporter of the movement to make these old battlefields look like they did when the fighting took place. That allows a closer connection to those by-gone events.
Tress are being cut down by Devil's Den and a modern building on Cemetery Ridge near Pickett's Charge is empty and facing demolition. Elsewhere on the battlefield, workers are building a large building to look like a round barn.
An estimated $131 million is being spent on projects to bring its former appearance back.
For the almost 150 years since end of the war, fields have been allowed to become fallow and trees have grown and obscure clear lines of fire back then, "We had batteries of artillery pointing straight into mature stands of trees," said Gettysburg spokeswoman Katie Lewhon. "And over the years, we have lost a lot of fences. At Gettysburg, a fence could mean the difference between life and death."
I definitely Agree With the New Plan. --Old Secesh
"This time it isn't a Civil War faceoff but a clash with nature to restore the historic site to its 1863 appearance."
I am a firm supporter of the movement to make these old battlefields look like they did when the fighting took place. That allows a closer connection to those by-gone events.
Tress are being cut down by Devil's Den and a modern building on Cemetery Ridge near Pickett's Charge is empty and facing demolition. Elsewhere on the battlefield, workers are building a large building to look like a round barn.
An estimated $131 million is being spent on projects to bring its former appearance back.
For the almost 150 years since end of the war, fields have been allowed to become fallow and trees have grown and obscure clear lines of fire back then, "We had batteries of artillery pointing straight into mature stands of trees," said Gettysburg spokeswoman Katie Lewhon. "And over the years, we have lost a lot of fences. At Gettysburg, a fence could mean the difference between life and death."
I definitely Agree With the New Plan. --Old Secesh
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Remnants of Civil War Stockade Unearthed
From the Oct. 12, 2012, Georgia Public Broadcasting News.
Millen, Georgia-- Archaeologists have unearthed timbers hidden since the Civil War and believed to have been from Confederate Camp Lawton where 10,000 Union prisoners were held for a short time after they were moved mostly from Andersonville.
The site is at Magnolia Springs State Park in Jenkins County and they used ground penetrating radar, magnetometry and other technology to locate the former walls of the prison.
Several of the located timbers were submerged in the springs, which provided water for the camp. One weighed almost 400 pounds and was found where the stockade would have crossed the springs.
I've written about Camp Lawton before. Just hit the Camp Lawton label.
Always Good to Locate Sites. --Old Secesh
Millen, Georgia-- Archaeologists have unearthed timbers hidden since the Civil War and believed to have been from Confederate Camp Lawton where 10,000 Union prisoners were held for a short time after they were moved mostly from Andersonville.
The site is at Magnolia Springs State Park in Jenkins County and they used ground penetrating radar, magnetometry and other technology to locate the former walls of the prison.
Several of the located timbers were submerged in the springs, which provided water for the camp. One weighed almost 400 pounds and was found where the stockade would have crossed the springs.
I've written about Camp Lawton before. Just hit the Camp Lawton label.
Always Good to Locate Sites. --Old Secesh
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