U.S. Civil War History bits

General Robert E. Lee's youngest son, Robert E. Lee Jr enlisted as a private in the Rockbridge artillery after the war started. He didn't particularly fancy the family profession of being professional soldiers and going to West Point. He was a student at the University of Virginia when war broke out. Later he was promoted to Captain to be on his older brother Custis's staff. Custis Lee ended up being a major general himself.

 

I understand I have the same predisposition myself. That is not a bad thing though, incorrect information, if read and repeated, distorts the truth and history deserves better than that. I am glad you caught my slip and corrected it.

 

You need to make the trip to Lexington, VMI and Washington and Lee, Bobby. It's the Holy Land for us southern boys.

 

That's in the plans, one day! Heard that they removed the Confederate flags from the chapel where General Lee is entombed. They say that it "offended" a few students who went in there and saw them. Really, offended to see Confederate flags in the Chapel where General Robert E. Lee is buried? Whodathunkit?

 

Interesting snippet-
"Six years ago, Jasper County purchased a five-acre parcel adjacent to the site of the Rader farm to commemorate two local battles, the Battle of Rader’s Farm and the nearby Battle of Sherwood. It was here that Missouri State University grad student Christopher Dukes conducted research for his master’s thesis. On Dec. 8, he discussed his findings with the Jasper County Commission. He told them he had discovered the story of the white soldiers abandoning their black comrades wasn’t true, according to an article in the Joplin Globe"
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/house-divided/wp/2015/12/10/archaeology-changes-understanding-of-missouri-battle/

 

The evidence looks a bit thin on the surface but I'd like to see a lot more details on it. The comments seem for the most part based on beliefs rather than examining the evidence though.

 

The Missouri Confederate "irregular" cavalry (i.e. guerillas) did not take very many prisoners at all, black or white during their war. They slaughtered pretty much equally, all who wore the blue, and civilians who supported them. It was a bitter war in Missouri that was ongoing for several years before the Civil War started, and continued on for several more years after the end of hostilities in April of 1865.

 

Some may find this story and the pamphlets mentioned of interest:
http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/americas%20military/2015/12/16/army-releases-new-civil-war-battle-briefs/77375728

 

A good movie covering this area of operations during the American Civil War is "Ride With the Devil." The focus of the story is on the Confederate Missouri Guerilla side of things. It's sort of long, and features the attack of Lawrence, Kansas by the guerillas. That was the worst type of war, if there can be such a thing. It was a combination of a sectional and a large scale guerilla operation that had no conventional lines. "The Outlaw Josey Wales" is another look at the war in Missouri.

 

Abraham Lincoln once asked General (Winfield) Scott this question: "Why is it that you were once able to take Mexico City in three months with five thousand men, and we have been unable to take Richmond with one hundred thousand men?"

"I will tell you," said General Scott. "The men who took us into Mexico City are the same men who are keeping us out of Richmond." Confederate Veteran Magazine, September 1913, page 471.

 

Bet it's older, but I'm just ging by Scottish examples-
"Along Ox Road in Fairfax County, Virginia, a bit of local history is buried.
It's not visible to passersby. But it has been preserved, thanks to the quick work of county and state agencies, and an archaeologist hopes it can lead to a virtual reconstruction of what Fairfax's landscape looked like during the Civil War.
This rare find is a road to the past, a cedar-log highway believed to date to when Union and Confederate forces trod the ground now occupied by George Mason Universitystudents and suburban families. But it wasn't found in a planned archaeological dig; it was discovered by county employees completing a public works project.
On Oct. 14, Christopher Sperling, senior archaeologist with the Fairfax County Park Authority, noted it in a post on the agency's official blog. A county construction crew was excavating for a road shoulder and sidewalk project and found a line of cedar logs laid close together below ground level.
Realizing the discovery wasn't routine, Ken Atkins, an inspector with the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services, got in touch with engineer Mohamed Kadasi, who called the park authority.
Atkins didn't want the logs disturbed, so the excavation stopped until park authority archaeologists could get to the scene.
"When they arrived, it was clear to the archaeologists that a historic roadway had been found," Sperling wrote in the blog. "In the past, it was common to use logs as a road surface, in particular during the Civil War when high traffic in the area mucked up what had been dirt roads."
The archaeologists took photos and drafted a plan to record the discovery. Atkins and Kadasi agreed that employees would move to another part of the project while the park authority got permission to examine the site more closely.
The initial public works project was a county endeavor, but it was being done on state-controlled property. That meant the park authority had to get a permit from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources to do an official investigation.
It was a process that could have taken a lot of time. But everyone moved quickly, and the park authority got permission within 48 hours."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-civil-war-cedar-log-highway-20151223-story.html

 

The American Civil War then and now...

Listen to historians while fading back and forth between the "then" photos and the "now".

"The women who dug the graves, the kids who watched the largest battle in US history – and the slaves forced to help fighters at the front. 150 years after the last shots were fired, Guardian photographer David Levene travelled across the US photographing the sites scarred by the American civil war"

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/ng-interactive/2015/jun/22/american-civil-war-photography-interactive#top

 

Now this could be useful-
"The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System (CWSS) is a database containing information about the men who served in the Union and Confederate armies during the Civil War. Other information on the site includes histories of Union and Confederate regiments, links to descriptions of significant battles, and selected lists of prisoner-of-war records and cemetery records, which will be amended over time. The CWSS is a cooperative effort between the National Park Service and several public and private partners whose goal is to increase Americans' understanding of this decisive era in American history by making information about it widely accessible."
http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/soldiers-and-sailors-database.htm

 

Why some Civil War soldiers glowed in the dark.

 

Think I've seen that before, but it's still a clever piece of detective work by that guy.

 

Some news on the archaeology front-
"Local historians have long been seeking a piece of this area's Civil War-era history: the third site of Camp Parole.

Now they think an archaeological dig may turn it up on a property recently much in the news for other reasons: the site of the proposed Crystal Spring mixed-use development.

The developers, who are preparing to present another version of their plans for residential and retail development on the site, say a initial dig won't be necessary, as artifacts would most likely be turned up when construction starts.

Some historians disagree.

"At a minimum, we as a community and the city as the relevant government authority owe it to the men who spent time in that camp to do a thorough archaeological and archival investigation of one of Annapolis' few surviving links to one of the nation's most divisive and bloody periods of history," said Jean Russo, a local historian, in an email.

Camp Parole held formerly imprisoned Union soldiers — estimates range from a few thousand up to 20,000 — as they waited to be formally exchanged for imprisoned Confederates.

It was an honor system: Send back your prisoners and we won't return them to the fighting until an exchange has been made. Both sides participated in the process, which later gave way to prisoner-of-war camps.

Annapolis historians believe Camp Parole, or at least one of the sites used for it, could be near the Mas-Que farm, where Crystal Spring — a $200 million mixed-used project including assisted living for seniors, town houses, a hotel and retail — has been proposed.

Given that the camp covered a lot of ground, historians believe Civil War artifacts — buckles, bullets, buttons — are likely spread out through the area, including Crystal Spring.

They've asked that an archaeological dig take place before work on the development starts.

The developers said there are no plans for an initial dig, but that they would take precautions and protect any artifacts dug up during construction."
http://www.capitalgazette.com/news/annapolis/ph-ac-cn-camp-parole-crystalsprings-0228-20160228-story.html

 

"Clydebuilt" goes back further than you think...
"Archaeologists are preparing to make a detailed examination of a wreck believed to be that of a Scottish ship used in the American Civil War.
Confederate forces acquired hundreds of Clyde-built boats because they were fast, making them ideal for evading Union ships blockading Southern ports.
Archaeologists believe the shipwreck off Oak Island, North Carolina, is a blockade runner called Agnes E Fry.
It was launched on the Clyde under a different name, Fox.
A sonar scan was made of the wreck earlier this year and the shape, size and location suggests that it is of the Agnes E Fry.
Deputy state archaeologist, Billy Ray Morris, told the BBC News Scotland website that a further investigation was imminent.
He said: "We will be conducting 3D sonar imaging operations on Fry next week and will have a detailed computer model of the site shortly thereafter."
The North Carolina archaeologist added: "Agnes E Fry was built by Caird & Co in Greenock. She was launched 26 March 1864.
"She was an iron-hulled paddle steamer with two oscillating engines. She was lost 27 December 1864 commanded by Joseph Fry.
"Originally named Fox, Fry renamed her after his wife when he took command."
Coincidently, work is also under way to try and give a wrecked blockade runner in Scottish waters better protection."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-36033056

 

A different perspective on weapons.
"The Sx Most Fascinating Weapons Used in the American Civil War"
https://www.warhistoryonline.com/featured/the-6-most-fascinating-pieces-of-technology-used-in-the-american-civilwar.html?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=postplanner&utm_source=facebook.com

 

An update on the Clyde-built ship-
"A new image has been created of the wreck of a Scottish ship used in the American Civil War.
Confederate forces acquired hundreds of Clyde-built boats because they were fast, making them ideal for evading Union ships blockading Southern ports.
The shipwreck off Oak Island, North Carolina, is a blockade runner called Agnes E Fry.
The image, called a sonar mosaic, was made following work by divers, sonar experts and archaeologists.
North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources has also released photographs of a deck light and what is thought to be the handle of a homemade knife recovered from the wreck.
The sonar mosaic will help archaeologists plan for further exploration of the wreck site."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-36115010

 

We've discussed the importance of cotton before, but I don't think we've discussed this particular aspect-
"There is no denying the fact that during the great cotton era, Manchester city clothed much of the world with its hundreds of looms and thousands of skilled workers working tirelessly days and nights, giving the British economy a huge boost. However in the year 1862, a then-controversial decision taken by Lancashire mill workers changed the dynamics of this booming British industry with long-lasting and historic consequences. These workers refused to use the raw cotton picked by the slaves in the Southern states of America to be processed in their looms. This decision triggered mixed response from various sections of British society: the economy suffered, unemployment rose, violence spread, but the Lancashire mill workers’ righteousness was upheld.




Source Manchester Guardian, 31 December 1862The boycott of cotton in Manchester was directly linked with the American Civil War. The North, led by the President Abraham Lincoln, fought the southern Confederate States of America to abolish slavery and re-establish the unified United States of America. During the height of the Civil War in America, President Lincoln persuaded leaders in the Europe not to trade Southern cotton picked by slaves. He insisted that by doing so the world leaders would help strengthen his enemies, prolong the war, and, consequently, continue to encourage slavery.
After the Lancashire workers stopped dealing with American cotton, many followed suit and the once booming cotton industry slowed considerably. Within a period of only 12 months, Lancashire started feeling the bite of the ban. Lancashire alone imported more than 1.3 billion pounds of raw cotton, all of it grown by the Southern plantation owners and picked by slaves kept in horrendous and inhumane conditions. The embargo meant that countless looms from across Lancashire had to be shut and left to rust while hundreds of workers were left without work."
https://www.thevintagenews.com/2016/06/06/role-british-workers-abolishing-slavery-winning-american-civil-war/