First Maine Forward

New Home for First Maine Forward!!!!!

2006-07-07T16:38:00.000-04:00

I have moved First Maine Forward to my Typepad account. The new URL is http://maineheavies.typepad.com/first_maine_forward/.

I moved most of old posts but not the comments. I hope you like the new look. Please update your links. Thank you

New Books on the night stand

2006-06-27T21:53:00.000-04:00

My work (the stuff I do to pay the bills) is no way related to my passion for reading and researching about the Civil War. The one connection between my corporate world job and my history life is that my job gives me the financial wherewithal to build my personal Civil War library. There is nothing more I like in then finding a new Civil War title. Over the past week I pick three new titles and added them to my reading list.

William Marverl's Mr. Lincoln Goes to War ( 2006, Houghton Mifflin). I have enjoyed Marvel’s writing in the past so I picked it up. I am about ½ through it. Marvel’s assertion that Lincoln was calculating in how he positioned the South to take the first shot is not really a new theory. Richard N. Current’s Lincoln and the First Shot ( 1963, Harper and Row) covered a lot of this same ground. Marvel is a little harsher in his view of Lincoln during the lead up to Fort Sumter. While Current cites Lincoln as being aware that launching and expedition to the fort would probably lead to war he also indicates that Lincoln believed that a peaceful solution could be reached. Marvel on the other hand indicates that Lincoln missed opportunities to prevent war and in fact fanned the flames. The one thing that stands out is how Marvel debunks the idea that northern soldiers in 1861 were strictly motivated for patriotic reasons. He writes that the abstract notions of patriotism or principle really only played a superficial role in getting men from the north to volunteer in 1861. His theory is that was not a lot of difference in the motivation between those soldiers who enlisted in 1861 to those who enlisted in 1863

The second book which I did find at my local Border’s is Glenn W. LaFantasie’s Gettysburg Requiem, The Life and Lost Causes of Confederate Colonel William C. Oates. (2006, Oxford University Press). I picked this up because I am a sucker for books that have to do with the action around Little Round Top. Growing up in Maine the stories of Joshua L. Chamberlain could not be ignored. As I have grown older understanding how the legend of Chamberlain has grown (a lot through his own hand) has become more interesting. I this book will provide some good insight into how Chamberlain’s chief opponent at Gettysburg viewed what happened and worked to memorialize the scarf ices of his men.

The third book just arrived today. Edmund J. Raus Jr.’s Banners South, A Northern Community at War ( 2005, Kent State University Press). An initial overview shows that this a regimental history of the 23rd NY with a twist. Instead of the traditional focus on strictly the military aspects of the 23rd’s history Raus deals extensively with the connection between the common solider and the home front. I am looking forward to reading this book because as I work through my own research the element of the home front is never far from the minds of the soldiers.

Am I a Centennialist?

2006-06-26T09:59:00.000-04:00

Another day and yet another Centennialist rant. Does the fact that somebody reads and is inspired by a populist publication like American Heritage make one a Centennialist? If so I must be one because my first exposure to the Civil War came from the pages of AH and their picture history. If I am one does that mean so are Gary Gallagher and Gerry Prokopowicz? I heard them both say that AH was one of their first exposures to the Civil War. Maybe I should clean out my book case and fill the holes with some good quality anti-centennialist writings. I am still under forty so maybe there is time for me to purge my soul and get rid of the albatross around my neck.

June 18, 1864: “A Pile of Loyal Maine Legs and Arms..”

2006-06-16T16:10:00.000-04:00

The 142nd anniversary of the Charge of the First Maine Heavy Artillery will fall this coming Sunday. I recently came across this reference to the aftermath of the charge.

June 19th, 1864
"I have been up to my elbows in blood all day, and its is a relief now just at night to turn for a few minutes homeward, where there is peace and happiness. Our Division had a terrible time yesterday afternoon charging the rebel lines- all the more terrible because the assault was repulsed. Our Brigade, fortunately was not e engaged… but the rest received an awful fire and, ever since here at the hospital, we have been full of the saddest business. The First Maine Heavy Artillery, now doing infantry services, a very large Regt. Composed of a fine class of young men was dreadfully cut up. 500 will not much exceed their loss in killed and wounded. The dear, glorious fellows have been writhing and groaning and dying ever since, and my heart aches for them. It is a sorry sight to see them brought one after the other - these Maine boys and laid on the Surgeon’s table. A pile of loyal Maine legs and arms is the token of what the day’s work has been. Petersburg seems a hard nut to crack and is costing us heavily."

Chaplin Joseph Hopkins Twichell, The Civil War Letters of Joseph Hopkins Twichell, A Chaplain's Story (University of Georgia Press, 2006)

The Charge of the First Maine Heavy Artillery has been listed as the single greatest battle loss of any regiment during the entire Civil War. To me the size of the losses on June 18, 1864 is not most important element of this story. What is most important is how the losses on June 18th effected the small towns and villages of Eastern Maine.

For example the town of Carmel, Maine in Penobscot County according to the 1860 Census had a population of 1271. In the course of the war this town had 14 men who were killed or mortally wounded. 10 out of the 14 who were members of the First Maine Heavy Artillery. 7 of those ten were killed on June 18, 1864. In other words .6% of the this town’s 1860 population was killed on June 18th. Cherryfield, Maine in Washington County had 5 men KIA/Mortally wounded on June 18th. This represented 31% of the towns total losses for the whole war.

Well My Ancestor was in the 12th Maine!!!

2006-06-15T22:37:00.000-04:00

This comes from the Gospel Banner in Augusta, Maine dated August 27, 1864.

“The oddest pets we have yet seen, says a Washington paper, were two bears, which the 12th Maine Regiment, of the Nineteenth Corps, led through the city recently. These bears were brought all the way from Louisiana, and have been in several fights. The have become perfectly tame and tractable, and march along at the head of the band, with an air that indicates they feel themselves veteran soldiers of the bruin order, and that they have a character to sustain.”

Just shows you never know what you might find when you are doing research.

New ACW Blog

2006-06-13T08:17:00.000-04:00

Touch the Elbow is a new CIvil War related blog I just had a chance to look at today. It looks interesteing and I will be adding it to my links section.

Must See Radio

2006-06-08T10:24:00.000-04:00

Fellow Blogger Kevin Levin is scheduled to appear on Civil War Talk Radio on Friday June 9th. I am looking to forward the hearing him and the discussion on his study of the Crater.

Walking the Charge

2006-06-05T13:14:00.000-04:00

Pictured above is Don Troiani's The Forlorn Hope, 1989

One of the highlights of my recent trip happened on Sunday morning. I got up early and left the University of Richmond and drove down to Petersburg. I was there early and wanted to get to the site of the First Maine Heavy Artillery Monument. I parked my car and walked over to the remains of the of Prince George County Road. For those of you who don’t know the story this is where the First Maine Heavy Artillery formed up in 3 Battalions of about 300 men each. Each Battalion would have been about 375 ft across and 2 ranks deep. From this position in the road the First Maine Heavy Artillery was ordered to charge across what would have been an open field to the opposing Confederate works. Using the roadbed as my starting point a I walked over the embankment that would have provided the last bit of cover for the men who went forward on that day. Moving through the woods I noticed that from where I was my left flank would have been some what sheltered by the small hill at the top the Hare House would have stood, however my front and my right flank would have been wide open. About 100 paces in the ground started to slope upwards ever so slightly. At this point my I was thinking how many men would have fallen by now. In another 20 to 40 paces I began to move beyond the front slope of the Hare House hill. If I was here in June of 1864 I would now have been wide open to artillery and musket fire on the on my right, center and left. How many more men fell in those twenty steps. At 180 paces I found a small gulley and wondered how many men fell here or tried to seek cover? Still the charge proceeds, on ward and forward, towards the top of the opposing hill. In 1864 along the crest of the hill would have been thousands of muskets firing and tearing holes in to the entire line. At 255 paces I found another small gulley and again wonder how many fell to this point how many refused to push on and who many still went further. By 289 paces I am now in front of the First Maine Heavy Artillery Monument. Placed here in June of 1894 and dedicated in September of that year it was recognized as the point in the charge where most of the men fell. For those that had not fallen is this the point where they decided to turn back. Almost 300 paces in and I have yet to start climbing up the incline of the opposite hill. Since I am not facing a writhing fire of artillery and muskets I decide to push on. At 315 paces I find a large depression and I could feel how those who made it to this position would have clung here to the earth counting their blessings they were still alive but dreading the thought of having to back track over the same ground that had already claimed so many of their comrades. After this depression which is still a good 3 feet deep it is another 30 paces before the ground really begins to slope up to the crest that would have been the Confederate line on that day in June 1864. At this point in reflection of what happened to the men of the First Maine Heavy Artillery I turned back…..

There are 212 names of those killed or mortally wounded on June 18, 1864 listed on the monument of the First Maine Heavy Artillery. This does not take into account the additional 400 plus wounded on that day. The monument to me stands as a stark reminder not only of the wastefulness of war but also a reflection on the true cost of freedom.

In the News

2006-06-02T19:45:00.000-04:00

Interesting article from dailypress.com that talks about how the Civil War offers tips for modern combat.

Ticks then and now?

2006-05-31T22:06:00.000-04:00

After having to pull off a number of ticks during my recent battlefield walks (only one bite) I was wondering what ticks were like during the Civil War. I have read about flies, mosquitoes, chiggers and lice but I can’t recall reading about ticks. Are they more of a problem now then they were then. Does any one out there know?

Dedication of the First Maine Monument and Cause Victorious

2006-05-30T16:35:00.000-04:00

On my recent trip to Petersburg I was able to find an account of the dedication of the First Maine Heavy Artillery Monument at Petersburg, Virginia. The monument stands on the bottom of Hare House Hill inside the boundaries of the Petersburg National Battlefield. The monument was dedicated in September of 1894 in what the Petersburg Index Appeal calls an interesting ceremony. The monument is erected to honor the experience of the First Maine Heavy Artillery on June 18, 1864 in which over 200 members of this regiment were killed and over 400 were wounded in what has been calculated to be the single largest battle lost of any regiment in the Civil War. While monument is meant to honor the sacrifice of the fallen there is a deeper story that comes out of the details of the dedication that help present a story of how the process of memory and reconciliation and reunion evolved.

While it would be impossible to say that story of one monument dedication completely represents all elements of reconciliation or evolving Civil War memory I thought I would look at the account of the dedication of this particular monument because I think it does provide insight into how some Civil War Soldiers chose to remember the war.

I will be referring to a lot of the arguments found in John R. Neff’s Honoring the Civil War Dead, Commemoration and the Problem of Reconciliation John R. Neff’s Honoring the Civil War Dead, Commemoration and the Problem of Reconciliation. Neff’s fundamental theme is that impact of death during the Civil War and its effect on Northern and Southern society both during the war and after has not been fully investigated. His argument is that for all the reconciliation themes that highlight the coming together of Northern and Southern veterans after the war can not wash away all of the bitterness caused by the fact that each side dealt death to the other in a scope and scale that was unprecedented in this country. Neff assertion that the North was just as involved in myth building as the South and it’s “Lost Cause” is a central point. To Neff the term re-union was really undefined and unrealistic even through it was the central point of many post war memorials and dedications. The North’s mythology centered on the “Cause Victorious” which prescribed that “the nation had been reunited virtually at the time of the Confederate surrender.” In other words it was the assumption by many in the North that all sectional lines would be erased by the war and both sides would quickly merge together in nationhood. What Neff asserts is that while Northern veterans talked of how the sacrifices of their comrades had brought about re-union, it was not because re-union was a tangible outcome it was more because it provided them with “triumphant sense of reality” that allowed them to rationalize the scale of the death they had witnessed and give it a sense of purpose.

It is this sense of re-union and reconciliation that is very evident throughout the speeches given at the dedication of the First Maine Heavy Artillery and gave the veterans something to point to as a justification for the sacrifice of 200 plus men of the First Maine Heavy Artillery who died on June 18, 1864. “ The sacrifices these brave fellows made seemed at first of no avail; but afterwards the victory came… We fought for the form of a government for the whole people. We fought for the whole land.” The monument its self with its symbolic links of Peace and Union binding the states of Maine and Virginia together that according to Horace Shaw who had bought the land in which the monument was placed the inscription “was expressive of our sincere desire.”

What is telling in this account is that the ending of slavery as an outcome of war is not mentioned. In contrast calling attention to and honoring the sacrifices of the Confederate Soldiers who also spilled their blood on the same field is a central theme of the dedication. Shaw who had what amounts to the keynote speech stated that they could not honor the memory of the dead from the First Maine Heavy Artillery “without expressing our admiration for courage and soldierly qualities of those opposed to us here” because the ground was scared to both sides. Shaw in words similar to Abraham Lincoln calls the real victory of the Civil War the fact that the American experiment of popular government, which the crowned heads of Europe had hoped might perish from the earth was know taking root in Europe and that the last crowned head had departed from the Western Hemisphere.

While the speakers made reference to reunion and reconciliation there was still examples that there were divisions between north and south. In the last part of his speech Shaw points out that in the south “you have your race problem” while the north was facing an “immigrant question.” While both sides could recognize that our representative form of government had been preserved, claiming that the nation was completely unified on all levels was part of the Northern myth of “Cause Victorious.” As Neff points out, even as late as 1898 there was no comprehensive or readily embraced American nationality. So while the monument to the First Maine Heavy Artillery my have proclaimed Union it was still more hopeful desire rather then firm reality. Shaw unintentionally points out this fragile sense of re-union by indicating while “we leave our dead and our memorial stone with profound feeling that they sleep in a country and among people as loyal and kind as our own. What can be seen in Shaw’s words is that he himself still sees a separation and difference between North and South.

Saying that the North was suffering from a peaceful invasion by an “army of immigrants larger than the hordes that had invaded Rome” and threaten our way of life he was hopefully that the South even with its race problem might come north with arms in order to save the nation if needed. Clearly the idea of re-union and the result of victory for Shaw and the other veterans centered around the idea of preservation of the national government and not expansion of civil rights or equal opportunity for all.

The fact that the speakers all referred to the ideals of reunion and proclaimed reconciliation indicates that they still trying to rationalize and put meaning around the death of those killed on June 18, 1864. Preservation of the union imperfect and as undefined as it was became the one thing these veterans could hold on to.

Below is an Account of the Dedication of The First Maine Heavy Artillery Monument at Petersburg, Virginia on September 14, 1894

Petersburg Index Appeal, Petersburg, Va, Saturday September 15, 1894

HONOR TO MAINE’S HEROES

A MONUMENT ON THE HARE FARM.

Interesting Dedicatory Exercise Held Yesterday, at Which Patriotic Speeches Were Made by Men Representing The Blue and The Gray.

Major Horace H. Shaw, of Portland, Me who during the late war between the states was adjutant of the First Maine Heavy Artillery, some months ago purchased about four acres of land, the same being a part of what is known as the Hare farm, in Prince George county, about two miles and a half from Petersburg. On this parcel of land, about two hundred yards northwest of Fort Steadman, the survivors of the First Maine Heavy Artillery on June 18th of this year erected a monument to commemorate the bravery and valor of those of their comrades who were killed and wounded in the battle fought on the same grounds on the 18th of Jun, 1864. The regiment went into this engagement with between eight and nine hundred and of this number 604 were killed or wounded.

DESCRIPTION OF THE MOUNUMENT.
The monument is of Hallowell, Maine granite and the designers and makers were Messrs. Badger and Brothers of Quincy, Mass. On the front at the top is the coat of arms of the State of Maine. Below this are the words: “Maine Heavy Artillery. In memory of the 604 brave members who fell charging here June, 1864.” Under this appears the words: “Maine – Virginia”, joined together by the words: “Union and Peace”. The monument is 11 feet high, base 3 ½ x 6 ½ feet, shaft 5 x 2 feet. It cost twelve hundred dollars – one half of which was paid by the survivors of the First Maine Heavy Artillery, and the other half by the State of Maine. On the back of the monument is an open space into which is to be placed two bronze tablets with the names of the killed and wounded of the regiment inscribed on them. These tablets will cost twelve hundred dollars, which will make the total cost of the monument $2400.

FEDERAL VETERANS PRESENT.
Shortly after ten o’clock yesterday morning the visiting members of the First Maine Heavy Artillery, accompanied by members of George H. Thomas post G.A.R. and members of A.P. Hill Camp of Confederate Veterans, and other citizens and quite a number of ladies, drove down to attend the dedication of the monument. Among the survivors of the First Maine Heavy Artillery present were Major Horace H. Shaw of Portland, Me; Major Fred C. Lowe of Gloucester, Mass; Sergeant H. P. Smith of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Sergeant Henry L. Thomas of Sangerville, Maine; Mr. F.R. Knowton of Action, Mass; Lieutenant A.P. Eastman of Washington; Mr. J. Albert Dole, of Bangor, Me; Sergeant Simon C. Whitcomb, of Pittsfield, Me; and were Col. E. R. Brink who during the war was a member of the Tenth Ohio Calvary and is now commander of the Geo. H. Thomas post, G.A.R. , of this city; Julias Liebert, A.W. Burgess, Lewis M Youngblood, J.J. Hasler and Daniel Rahily.

The members of A. P. Hill camp in attendance were First Lieutenant Commander John R. Turner, Second Lieutenant Commander Edwin Spotswood; Adjutant W. M. Jones, W. H. Baxter, R. L. Kidd, George S. Bernard , P.C. Hoy, Dr. W.E. Harwood and W.H. Scott. The following were also present: Dr. D. W. Lassiter, Major F. R. Leavenworth. C. H. Pyle, Mr. A. N. Haskins, Lieutenant Wm. Lassiter, of the First regiment United State artillery stationed at Governor’s Island, New York; Mr. Charles Lunsford, and Mr. Wm Conrad, post office inspector Washington.

The ladies who graced the occasion with their presence were Mrs. A.W.P Eastman, Washington; Mrs. F. I. Knowton and her daughter, Miss Jessie of West Action, Mass; Mrs. C.H. Pyle and daughter, Miss Hattie H. Pyle, Miss Mary Dunnan and Miss Susie Strachen of Petersburg; Mrs. A. N. Haskins of Chesterfield county and Mrs. H.C. Stewart and Miss Mary C. Webb of Prince George county.

DEDICATION OF THE MONUMENT,
At 11:10 o’clock Lieutenant A.P. Eastman called the assemblage, which numbered about one hundred and fifty people to order and requested Rev. S.C. Whitcomb, of Maine to open the ceremonies with a prayer. At the close of the invocation Lieutenant Eastman delivered a brief address. He said the had met to dedicate this monument. The inscription on the monument tells the story. Thirty year ago we looked over this plain but we saw no monuments. We saw nothing but the line that fringe yonder woods with rifles. We hear the word charge! The order is obeyed and we lose in killed two hundred men and four hundred wounded. Some lay on the ground to be rescued at night. After the second night none were brought from the field. On the ground unprotected from the sun, they died a lingering death. Pull off the shoes from thy feet, for the ground you stand on is holy ground. If this canteen (referring to the one he had thrown across his shoulder, through which a bullet had been shot while Lieutenant Eastman lay, on the ground unconscious, having been shot through the neck and hand) had not been pierced by a ball, I would drink to your eternal happiness. The sacrifice these brave fellows made seemed at first of no avail; but afterwards the victory came. The confederates fought as well as we did and if our cause had been their cause they would have won the victory. We fought for the form of a government for the whole people. We fought for the whole land.

MAJOR SHAW’S ADDRESS.
At the close of the address Lieutenant Eastman introduced Major Horace H. Shaw of Portland, Me; who spoke as follows: Comrades of the First Maine; of Geo. H. Thomas Post; A.P. Hill Confederate Camp and citizens of Petersburg:
“I find myself oppressed with conflicting sentiments of sorrow and gladness, of confidence and fear. We come to this spot scared to us to dedicate this simple stone which tells of the great sacrifice our comrades made here. The only sentiment upon the stone is in our motto of three links binding Maine and Virginia together in union and peace. This is expressive of our sincere desire. We come from distant states to honor and perpetuate the memory of dead who gave their lives and poured their blood out here. We cannot honor them without expressing our admiration for courage and soldierly qualities of those opposed to us here. The unsuccessful assault is always a fatal one. The charge of your own Pickett at Gettysburg was no less brilliant because unsuccessful. We cannot come here to honor our own loyal dead without paying tribute to the courage of Gordon’s men, who made a gallant, though unsuccessful, charge over the same ground on the following 25th of March. This ground is the more sacred to us because the blood of your sons mingled with ours, has made this spot sacred to you. I have great sorrow for the loss of life here: I am also very happy to be a participator in this inspiring and heart cheering incident thirty years after peace. We have lived to witness wonderful progress in the greatness of our country since the return of peace. I am not here as a prophet to say what would have been had the result of our struggle been different. But the fact that the crowned heads of Europe were watching us with a desire that this American experiment, as they called it, of popular government might perish from the earth was made significant by the fact that already in the dark days of 1864 the French emperor had sent an army of occupation to Mexico. We have lived to see the last crowned head depart from the Western Hemisphere, while the example of France and Switzerland in Europe shows that even there thrones are tottering and republics are rising.

PROBLEMS NORTH AND SOUTH.
I have some fear for the future. You have your race problem, and we at the north have our immigrant question. With us it is becoming alarming. Every year for ten years we have suffered a peaceful invasion by an army of immigrants larger than the hordes that overran Europe and overthrew Rome. They do not understand our institutions and are not American. You and your colored people are all American, every one of you. The time may come when the people of the south must come to the north with arms in the hands to save us from ourselves and to save the nation from destruction by its own, as we did in ‘61 and ’65. Yet let us have patience and trust that the Great Ruler of us all can solve and fix all our ills better than we can do it for ourselves. We leave our dead and our memorial stone with profound feeling that they sleep in a country and among people as loyal and kind as our own. We tank you for your unbounded hospitality and kindness.”

MR. SMITH’S PATRIOTIC SENTIMENTS.
The next speaker was Mr. H. P. Smith, of Brooklyn, N. Y. He began by saying that he had an especial interest in these ceremonies. He had tried to embrace the confederate soldiers on the 18th of June, 1864, but they would not let him. Mr. Smith said that after the charge it was his duty to call the roll of company, and when he came to the names of those who had been his school mates it was the hardest thing of his life for him to continue the call of the roll. The terrible suffering is over and we do well in erecting monuments to those who fell, whether they wore blue or gray. He would like to see a monument to the memory of the confederate soldiers who were killed in this engagement, standing by the side of the monument they had erected. He knew that the link of sympathy was as strong as it was in granite. “God bless all who are here, and if you ever come to Brooklyn remember that there is such a post as U.S. Grant post, who will entertain you while there.”

A CONFEDERATE VETERAN’S RESPONSE.
Mr. George S, Bernard said he felt honored at being called upon to speak on the occasion. He was much pleased and indeed was moved with what he had heard from the visitors. It is pathetic thing to think that a regiment on a field of battle should loose four hundred wounded and two hundred killed – a great slaughter. It is something pathetic too, to think that some of our own southern comrades were killed an wounded here on the 25th of March, 1865, when a gallant but unsuccessful assault on Fort Stedman was made by the Army of Northern Virginia. It has been proposed to place a monument here to the memory of the confederates who fell on this field. It does not require stone to perpetuate their deeds of bravery and valor. The pen of the historian has done that. Mr. Bernard said the war was settled against the south, but he believed that an all ruling Providence knew what was best for us. We have not only the respect of our adversaries, but the respect of mankind for the manner in which this contest was waged,. He believed if a peace had been patched up at Hampton Roads there would have been long (before) this another civil war. It was for the best that the contest should have been, as it was, fought to a finish.
Mr. Bernard was of the opinion that, if the people and soldiers of the south had the war to fight over again with the same lights before them that would do just as they did but now, after the lapse of nearly thirty years he for one would venture to say that ninety nine out of every hundred southern soldiers were glad that the war ended as it did, and he was glad to be present on this occasion not say so to his friends.

THE MONUMENT IS SAFE HERE.
Col. ER. Brink spoke as follows: “Mr. Chairman and Comrades of the First Maine Heavy Artillery: “You have assembled in the good old town of Petersburg to do honor to the brave men who fought side by side with you in maintaining the union and integrity of the states of this great republic, but who, perhaps, not as fortunate as their survivors, went down under the well directed fire of a brave and earnest foe.
“The tablet you have erected on these grounds as a memorial to their memory and valor, is a beautiful tribute of the fraternal affection of comrade for comrade. I can assure you that this sacred pile though erected among people the hostile, will be carefully guarded and preserved from vandalism by the brave men who repulsed the charge which gave cause for these services.”

HE CAME FOUR THOUSAND MILES.
Mr. J. A. Dowe, of California was the next speaker. He said that this day was one of joy and sorrow to him – a day of sorrow as he thought of the suffering that followed that charge and of the widows and orphans of the dead we left here – a day of joy that we can come here and erect this monument to honor the cause for which they died. We do not claim that they were the bravest troops in the union army, but brave because they did their duty. Mr. Dowe said he had come four thousand miles to show his devotion to the men who fell in this charge, and to thank God that his life was spared in that fight. The speaker closed by saying that nothing on this earth gives such protection as the flag of the union.

DISTRICT ATTORNEY LASSITER.
United States District Attorney Francis Rives Lassiter was the next speaker introduced. He began by saying that though not an actor in the scenes recalled by the spot and commemorated by the stone (pointing to the monument), he knew the sentiment of the surviving soldiers of the confederacy, of the citizens of Petersburg and the brave men all over the south. “In the name of all of these he said that a people is verging to decay which fails to honor and commemorate the virtues of its forefathers. He trusted that this sign of weakness is far distant from our country. In my judgment, it is peculiarly fitting to rear these monuments and voice the praise of those who fell, as did your comrades, in this war between the states. It is their peculiar fortune not only to have illustrated the virtues of valor and constancy, but also to have bequeathed to friend and foe a common heritage of glory. For it is an eternal distinction of the American people that a war so long so lately and so passionately pressed is remembered by the generations which waged it with patriotic pride in the devotion of the soldiers on either side. I may say on the part of the people of Petersburg that in rearing this graceful tribute to your comrades dead, we feel that you perpetuate an inspiring memory of this sacred soil and hand down to our children a stirring example of duty faithfully performed. And, further I pledged you for the younger generation that this stone shall ever be guarded and cherished in memory of the brave dead and in token of our common love for our common country.”

SHORT TALKS BY UNION VETS.
Mr. F.R. Knowton thanked the people of Petersburg for their kind treatment during their stay here. Mr. Knowton then went on to speak of the hospitable treatment he received here two years ago at the hands of the ex-confederate soldiers.
Mr. L.K. Marston said that he was glad to see the young here. He was on of the boys who were here on the 18th of June, 1864. He was one of the youngest in his company. Seven of us boys left our school books to go into the army. He was the only one left. God had sparred his life and he hoped for some good purpose. After the war he did have a little bitterness in his heart – now there is not a bit. He could remember when, as a lad he lay in the trenched around Petersburg. “I lay in the bushes right yonder,” said the speaker, (pointing to the place to which he referred), on the morning of the mine explosion, thinking what would be the result if were victorious. If we could only be convinced that God rules over this country what a happy nation it would be. Mr. Marston said he came from Dalvin post, and extended an invitation to all present to visit his post, if they ever came to Boston. He closed by saying that the shaft of the monument which had just been dedicated spoke more eloquently than words could do.”
Major Fred C. Low made a few remarks and the read the list of the members of the First Maine Heavy Artillery who were killed and wounded in the charge on the 18th of June, 1864. Major Shaw told the members of A.P. Hill camp of Confederate Veterans who were present on the ground on which the monument stood was his, and if the confederates whished to erect on it a monument to their dead they were welcome to do so.

THANKS OF THE VISITORS.
The visitors adapted resolution of thanks to A.P. Hill Camp of Confederate Veterans, to George H. Thomas post, G.A.R. and to the citizens of Petersburg for the hospitable treatment. Three cheers were next proposed for the good people of Petersburg and A.P. Hill camp, which were given with a hearty good will. The Confederate “Vets” the gave three cheers for the for the members of the First Maine Heavy Artillery. The first and second verses of the national song “America” was next sung, and this, with the benediction by Rev. S.C. Whitcomb brought the interesting exercise to a close.

Typed Transcript – Andy MacIsaac, May 30, 2006

Greetings from Richmond, VA

2006-05-24T22:51:00.000-04:00

I am attending the University of Virginia Civil War Conference this week. The focus of this conference is Cold Harbor to The Crater. The highlight will be the visits to the battlefields on Friday and Saturday, but the lectures have been very good as well. The battlefield visit on Saturday also includes a stop at the site of the charge of the First Maine Heavy Artillery on June 18, 1864.

I flew in early today and took a quick jaunt down to Petersburg. This trip paid off as I was finally able to find an account of the dedication of the First Maine Heavy Artillery Monument. For the record this monument was dedicated on Friday September 14, 1894. It was attended by about 150 people including local area Confederate veterans. I will plan on typing up the account and posting it here as well as ask Clarence to put it on his First Maine Heavy Artillery site.

More on Harris Farm

2006-05-19T18:32:00.000-04:00

It is raining again today in Massachusetts as it has been for most of the past 13 days or so. I only bring this up because 142 year ago it rained at the Battle of Harris Farm. As the story goes when the battle opened up so did the skies.

Major George Sabine from the First Maine Heavy Artillery described the battle and the toll it took on his regiment in his diary. His entry for May 19th contains the following:

"about 5 P.M. moved on the double quick a mile or two to the right to check rebels who were attempting to turn our flank and get possession of our supply trains. Had already possession of portion of train when we arrived and drove them. Engaged the enemy from 5 to 10:30 p.m. until we had expended all our ammunition and were relived by Berry’s Division. Our Brigade held tight against persistent efforts of the enemy to press through it. Fire very hot and severe. Our Reg’t lost in killed and wounded about 461. Co. K, 2 Comm. Officers and 9 men killed, and about 34 wounded. Capt. Pattingal and Lt. Bibber killed. Lt. Bibber buried where he fell and Capt. Pattingal near the hospital where he died. Men behaved well. After replenishing ammunition, moved to the right and slept on our arms.[1] "

Throughout the night survivors from the engagement stumbled, limped, and walked into the bivouac of the First Maine. Officers attempted to account for the losses within their respective companies. Friends of the dead, wounded, and missing searched well into the night and throughout the next day trying to locate their comrades upon the field. Having to deal with the corpses of their comrades that littered the battlefield at Harris Farm was something new for the men of the First Maine Heavy Artillery. Viewing the destructive nature of war first hand was a trying and difficult experience for the men of the First Maine. To see, for the first time the corpses of their comrades lying on the field, in some cases as if they were sleeping, and to see others that were in many various states of mutilation was a very emotional and moving scene. Horace Shaw described the aftermath of the Battle of Harris Farm:

"It was a great sorrow to some of us to perform for the first time the duty of burying the dead upon the battlefield. When they had been brought together, we saw among the upturned and bloody faces of many young and worthy officers, and men who were our friends and whose friends at home we knew. We had read and heard much of these sad experiences, but until now we had actually known nothing of the anguish we were to experience when we gave to our own comrades the rude burial in the long trench upon the battlefield. We could only cover their faces tenderly and faithfully marked, as best we could, their names, regiment, and company at their heads. Two of our most worthy captains, Parker and Pattengall, were laid at the head of this column of the dead.[2] "

Charles House also spent time looking for his comrades after the engagement. What House saw was almost impossible to describe as he wrote after the war:

"I accompanied a squad of men who were going on to the field to bring off the body of Lieutenant John F. Knowles of our company who had been killed. As we neared the point where we had stood in line I noticed eight or ten of our men laid out side by side, the beams of the moon struggling through the fleecy clouds, lighting their upturned faces all smeared with the smoke of battle, some showing gaping wounds and all ghastly and lifeless. Looking to right where the color guard and Company M had stood, was a similar lot of dead carefully laid out, beyond this another and another until the woods were reached, and the same thing away to the left. It was a solemn moment as I gazed on the scene at the midnight hour, my first look upon a deserted battlefield, and how forcibly those rows of dead men reminded me of the gavels of reaped grain among which I had worked on my native hills, but here the reaper was the angel of death. I picked up a canteen to replace my own which had been pierced by two bullets and hurried from the field. One look was enough.[3]"

The initial response to combat by the men of the First Maine Heavy Artillery was one of sorrow and one of pride . In one letter Private Peleg Bradford wrote to his mother about how the Rebels could not move the regiment one bit at Harris Farm but that the regiment had seen hard times since leaving Washington:

“When we left Washington, we had a hundred and forty men in our Company, and now all that we have got is about seventy... We lost sixty men killed and wounded out of our company.” After one battle Peleg Bradford had seen enough when he looked upon the battlefield the morning. When he saw the dead of his regiment laid out on the field he wrote that he never wanted to see that sight again.[4]"

For the First Maine Heavy Artillery Harris Farm was just the start of a long ten months that would earn this regiment a record in blood that could not be matched by any other Union regiment.

[1]John L. Raye, Island Sacrifice (Clarkson, ME: Dutch Island Press, 1993) 42.
[2] Shaw, The First Maine Heavy Artillery, 212 - 213.
[3]House, “How the First Maine,” 91.
[4]Bradford, No Place for Little Boys, 85 - 86.

The Battle of Harris Farm Then and Now!!!

2006-05-18T15:44:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow marks the 142nd anniversary of the Battle of Harris Farm. Harris Farm was the last action of the Spotsylvania Campaign and tends to get overlooked although Gordon Rhea has provided a very detailed account of the battle in his book To the North Anna River, Grant and Lee May 13 -25, 1864 (LSU Press, 2000). To me what most stands out about this battle is the experience of the Heavy Artillery Regiments. To summarize the reconnaissance in force of Richard Ewell’s Veteran Confederate Corps was stopped by the determined resistance of the rookie 2nd NY, 4th NY, 7th NY, 8th NY, 1st Massachusetts and 1st Maine Heavy Artillery Regiments. This battle is unique in that by most accounts both sides stood toe to toe and blasted away at each other which sound more like 1861 then 1864. The green Heavy Artillery regiments are described as standing as if on parade firing at Ewell’s men while they absorbed volley after volley. For 2hrs each side blasted into each other. Eventually veteran Union regiments came up to relive the Heavy Artillery Regiments during the last phases of the battle and both sides decided against pushing their assaults any further.

The casualties of the Heavy Artillery Regiments especially in the 1st Maine and the 1st Massachusetts were very heavy. Over 400 killed or wounded in each regiment. Years later when the 1st Massachusetts veterans decided to place a monument to their service they placed it at Harris Farm. For the 1st Maine this amount of casualties would be surpassed less then a month later at Petersburg. For some of the New York Heavy Artillery regiments the casualties at Harris Farm would also be exceeded by the engagement at Cold Harbor.

Today only 1 ½ acreas around the 1st Massachusetts Monument at Harris Farm are protected. As this battlefield is not part of the Spotsylvania National Military Park the rest of the battlefield including were the 1st Maine went into action around the Alsop house is under threat from development. As the picture shows some of the battlefield has already been bulldozed over to make way for housing development.

Behold the Power of the Blog!!!

2006-05-02T17:37:00.000-04:00

Warning Not ACW Related: The story of Lance Dutson, the Maine blogger who is being sued by a NYC ad agency working for the Maine Office of Tourism (MOT) has been burning up the blogsphere. This story was even highlighted in the Wall Street Journal's Law Blog. This story is getting so much coverage that the Governor of Maine has stepped in and has called a meeting for this week between the agency, the MOT and Mr. Dutson. You can read more at Advertising Ourselves to Death which has a good take on the whole story from an advertising industry perspective.

I am going to miss Dixie and the 20th Maine.

2006-05-01T10:27:00.000-04:00

I was in Maine again this weekend and made another stop by the 20th Maine Bookstore in Freeport. The news I had feared was coming has come. 20th Maine retail store will be closing at the end of June. I mentioned that this might happen in an earlier post.

I talked to the owners and what they are hearing form their contacts business is down all around. They have also seen a significantly decline in the participation of the local CWRT and have heard from number of Maine based Reenacting units that are seeing their ranks shrink. Now as it has in the past I would expect that the Civil War would go up and down in popularity but even with the 150th anniversary on the horizon it looks like the popularity of the Civil War has sunk to a new level. I wonder if it can ever recover and get back to levels of the early to mid nineties? If it does it will really require a new generation of interested readers and I don’t know if the reading and learning about the Civil War can compete with iPODs and PlayStations. Maybe for Kevin’s students this won’t be an issue but I think they are in a small minority.

The 20th Maine will move its remaining inventory and will continue to operate as an on-line entity. In the next two months there will be bargains to be had so if you are in Freeport stop by or checkout their web sight. For me I am going to miss walking through the packed bookcases and finding new a treasure. This was also a place I looked forward to going to.

I feel bad for my wife because without the 20th Maine I am not sure I am going to be as willing to go to Freeport. I am also going to miss seeing Dixie who is the dog pictured above.

Be Carefull What You Blog

2006-04-28T11:42:00.000-04:00

A saw this article in the Boston Globe this morning and it seems to be making rounds on other blogging sites here and here. Basically a blogger who criticized the Maine Department of Tourism and their Ad Agency is being sued because he criticized their proposed advertising campaign. Shame on the State of Maine!!!

Here is the link to the Maine Web Report which is authored by Lance Dutson the man being sued over his blog's content.

I only bring this up here because I think it is shocking that expressing one’s opinion in the blogsphere is grounds for a lawsuit. If the Maine Department of Tourism can do this then what is to keep Pulitzer Prize winning authors from aiming their sights at the ACW Blogging community.

PS.

To my Fellow ACW Bloggers if you are so inclined please post this story. What the State of Maine is allowing to happen here is just plain wrong and goes against the rights we all enjoy as Americans.

Kevin's Civil War Memory Blog

2006-04-25T08:49:00.000-04:00

Kevin Levin’s Civil War Memory has moved and can be found at http://civilwarmemory.typepad.com/civil_war_memory/.

The Books Just Keep Stacking Up

2006-04-24T09:58:00.000-04:00

I have been on ACW book buying binge over the past few weeks. I think I might have an addiction. Recent purchases include Eric’s new book on Battle of Monroe’s Crossroad, 2 books on regiments from Gracie’s Alabama brigade, the Indiana MOLLUs papers, Gallagher’s new volume on the 1864 Valley campaign, a small booklet on Civil War soldiers from Caribou, Maine and View from the Ground. Since books are my only real vice my wife is pretty supportive but I hope all of these volumes don’t show up at once. My real issue is that the built-in bookcases I built about 5 year ago are now filled to the brim.

The mailman has just shown up and Eric’s book is in my hands. I am looking forward to reading it. I have enjoyed the other books published by Savas on the Campaign in the Carolinas.

Eric, for what it is worth the index looks really good.

The Common Solider

2006-04-21T16:26:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Kevin for passing the word about the up coming publication of View from the Ground. I ordered my copy today. Other then regimental histories, books that deal with the common soldiers and their experiences during the American Civil War are my favorite. To me understanding that these men were free thinking individuals caught up in the national trauma of war and that they had their own values and beliefs is important. It is within the story of the common solider that where the elements of social and military history come together. Understanding what motivated these men to go to war whether it be for political, social, economic or patriotic reasons requires some background in the social/political environment of the Civil War. By necessity to also understand how they were changed by the war elements around the military history need to be investigated.

The way I look at, the Civil War regiment served the purpose of being both a military unit and a community or home away from home for the soldiers that served in it. Serving this dual role meant that the regiment and more importantly the men brought their own social/political values that were further shaped, molded and changed by the military experiences they faced. So while the debate over the value or importance of a military history vs. social history view of the Civil War will continue to go on, for me I will keep my feet planted in both.

Microfilm to CD Rom

2006-04-19T11:55:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lack of posts but work has impacted by ability to blog. My company is in the middle of the our annual strategy development process and I am coordinating the process for my business unit. Enough about work.

I have also been busy on developing a roster of the First Maine Heavy Artillery. I have all the names, company, dates listed. I now want to add the information on age, height and occupation. To accomplish help accomplish this I just had the microfilm copies of the Regimental and Company books from the National Archives scanned and placed on CD-Rom. It was not a cheap endeavor but it was less costly then getting a Microfilm reader and a lot easy to use. I used a company called Get Imaging in Oklahoma City. They did a real nice job. The scans are clear and crisp. What is really nice is that they were able to reverse the negative image (black background / white text) that was on the microfilm to positive image (white background / black text). This makes it a lot easier to read. I had the microfilm made for me years ago by the National Archives and it makes me glad I did this when I did. When I look at condition of the originals you can really see the deterioration caused by age and I am sure less then ideal storage conditions.

Eric on his blog relates a story about a researcher he used was accused by the archives of damaging a muster roll. One look at these documents shows that many are about ready to fall apart on their own. I have made copies of the CD-Roms and will store the originals. I will most likely give the microfilms to Maine Historical Society or University of Maine.

ACW Online Resources

2006-04-12T12:46:00.000-04:00

Came across the Fields of Conflict website yesterday. According to the intro statement ”This "FIELDS OF CONFLICT--The American Civil War" site is a work in progress. New URLs are constantly being added, so bookmark this site and keeping coming back, because new material will always be appearing. The objective is to assemble a collection of links to websites containing informative reference material about the American Civil War with an emphasis on primary sources like era magazines, era newspaper articles, era diaries, etc.”

I was impressed with the numerous links the site had to online resources for primary source material.

This just makes me mad.

2006-04-06T23:32:00.000-04:00

I just don’t know what is wrong with people today. This story of 90+ gravestones including a number belonging to Civil War veterans being toppled over is just so infuriating. I am still disturbed about what happened in Gettysburg but this event hits a lot closer to home with Fitchburg being only 30 minutes away. The local news said the police have leads. I hope they find those responsible and hang them from the highest tree after they get them to pay the estimated $500 a piece it will take to fix these gravestones. In what seems to be a strange coincidence the Fitchburg Art Museum just finished an exhibit on the Civil War.

Gambling at Gettysburg a Historical Perspective

2006-04-06T10:21:00.000-04:00

According a Mr. Monahan, a Real Estate developer turned Civil War film producer there is reason to support the Casino in Gettysburg because a friend of his has pointed out that the soldiers themselves spent their off hours playing cards. Well that settles its for me let the gambling begin. So with this historical perspective to gambling at Gettysburg in mind can we also expect to have cockfights, greyback races and "horizontal refreshments.” If so then I say let the gambling begin.

In addition to his take on gambling Mr. Monahan has just premiered a $7M dollar movie entitled "Fields of Freedom" about the battle of Gettysburg.

Thank You Mr. Bollinger

2006-04-05T09:38:00.000-04:00

Most of my experience with research requests have been positive but to today I received a most generous offer from Gil Bollinger a volunteer at the Gatchell Museum Museum in Buffalo, WY. As the email below indicates Mr. Bollinger has offered to send me a bunch of material he has on Prince A. Gatchell who was an officer in the First Maine Heavy Artillery. While most of this material relates to Gatchell’s post war career it has some value to me because I think some of the most interesting stories still to tell have to do with what these soldiers did after the war. I want to thank Mr. Bollinger and other gracious souls like him who go above and beyond to share what the know and make long distance research possible.

Andy:

Your email request had been referred to me for response. I am a museum volunteer and board member and pleased to inform you that we have quite a bit of information on our museum namesake's father. We are preparing a "care package" to be mailed to you that will include the following items:

1. A copy of my book entitled: Jim Gatchell - The Man and the Museum.

Pages 5-8 in chapter I deal with P.A. and his wife Hattie Ostrander Gatchell. There are four illustrations of them at the end of the chapter. The first three are of them personally and held by the Johnson County Library here in Buffalo. Should you wish to use any of those photos, you'll need to contact the library staff directly - their website is http://will.state.wy.us/john. The fourth illustration is of the Wyoming Nation Guard at Camp Perry, Ohio, in 1909, with Adjutant General P. A. Gatchell present. That original photo is in the museum's files and Registrar Sylvia Jackman has scanned it. A CD for your use will be included. There is another P.A. photo ( p.47) with the 1902 Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, also from the Library, but it is not very clear. The Gatchell genealogy that we know is on pp. 43-46. The book's Index also lists a number of other places in the book where P.A. is mentioned.

2. I wrote an article concerning P.A.'s newspaper publishing career in Minnesota, Dakota Territory, Nebraska, and Wyoming, entitled: The Gatchells - Frontier Newspapermen.

A short version was published by the Gatchell Museum Association's newsletter The Sentry - a copy will be included for you. There is a much longer, more complete version, same title, published in the refereed Wyoming History Journal Annals of Wyoming, Autumn 2000, Vol. 72, No. 4, pp. 12-17. I can't find my copy of it just now. If you're interested in reading it contact the Wyoming State Historical Society, Cheyenne, WY 82009-4945 or go to their website http://wyshs.org/

Additional material that may be of interest to you:
P.A. was directly involved with the cattlemen-sheepmen wars in Wyoming.
There was an especially brutal attack south of Tensleep, WY, in 1909, by cattlemen on sheep herders there that is referred to as the Spring Creek Raid. It was an important event in that is marked the "beginning of the end" of such conflicts in the state. The National Guard with P.A. Gatchell was called out in the aftermath.
The best source on this matter is the book A Vast Amount of Trouble by John Davis. I don't have more specific info on that book at hand. The event and the National Guard's involvement, but not P. A. directly, are also discussed in Bill O'Neal's Cattlemen vs. Sheepherders, (1989), ISBN 0-89015-665-4.

That's about all that occurs to me right now. If I remember anything else, I'll contact you. The above materials note his Civil War service but are not related to the First Maine Heavy Artillery. I hope they will be useful to your research. We will need your mailing address if you want them.

Regards,

Gil Bollinger
Buffalo, WY

The Civil War in Philly and other places

2006-04-04T18:16:00.000-04:00

My wife and I along with my son will be off to Philadelphia soon to visit my niece who is a graduate student at Villanova. While mostly known for its historical sites related to the Revolution I am hoping to steal a little time and get to the Civil War Museum. I am mostly interested in looking up a few things. I have been just uncovered a few possible leads on additional source material related to the First Maine Heavy Artillery. One of these leads is an article published by Zemro A. Smith in MOLLUS Papers for Indiana. I also have a lead on some Civil War and post war papers from another officer who lived in the Washington DC area but I am waiting to confirm. The other lead I am following up on is with the Gatchell Museum in Buffalo, Wyoming. This museum is actually named after Jim Gatchell the son of Prince A. Gatchell an officer in the First Maine Heavy Artillery. After the war Prince went out west and his son who grew up out there developed a life long interest in preserving the history of the Americas frontier. He also learned to speak Sioux and became a trusted friend amongst the local Native American tribes.

Civil War Books, a Consumer View

2006-04-03T11:28:00.000-04:00

I will be the first to admit that I do not have the same insight into the ACW publishing world as some of my fellow bloggers. What I do have however is a consumer view and what I am seeing disturbs me. For my birthday last week my friends gave me a copy of Richard Miller’s Harvard’s Civil War. This is a great book but I already have a copy. No problem they gave me the receipt and I intended to exchange this book for another ACW title. I also had a coupon from Borders worth 25% off. So I went to my local Border’s this weekend and looked at the ACW section hoping to find something that would catch my eye. I found a copy of The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864 (Military Campaigns of the Civil War) edited by Gary Gallagher. This is latest volume in the Military Campaigns of the Civil War series published by UNC Press. I basically had a free book and coupon that was about to expire so I decided I would take this book home. All I can say that if I did not have the coupon I might have decided to leave the book on the shelf. I was tempted to do this not because of the quality of the book but more so with the price. The retail on this book was $45. I make good money and ACW books are my only real vice but when the prices for new books start going above $35 I start to question the judgment of the publishers when you realize that in 5 years the avg book price in this series has increased by 38%. Recently I passed up buying Fear Was Not in Him: The Civil War Letters of Major General Francis C. Barlow, U.S.A because the retail price was $55. If this continues I guess I will be making more stops at the used book stores.

Yes Spring has Sprung. Go Sox!!!!

2006-04-03T08:58:00.000-04:00

As Eric has noted on his blog today Spring has sprung. For me the one sure sign is Opening Day. I am a life long Red Sox fan and with our new look line up and depth of Pitching I think this is going to be a good year. Now my boss is a Yankees fan so I need to prep myself for a another year of abuse. I still the have 2004 ALCS (biggest choke in sports history!!!) to use if the abuse gets out of line. Go Sox!!!!

141 Years Ago Today

2006-03-31T12:38:00.000-05:00

John Steward joined the First Maine Heavy Artillery in January of 1864 as a late war recruit. Whether it was out of a sense of patriotic duty or the duty to provide for his family he left his wife and four children at home to run a farm they rented in Monson, Maine. When the First Maine Heavy Artillery left Washington in May of 1864 John Steward was in the ranks and on his way to experience the horrors of war.

After the Charge on June 18, 1864 Steward wrote to his wife "I do not want you to think that I am not as much as a Union man as ever but to witness such slaughter and butchering is awful to look at." He continued to express his dissatisfaction by writing "One glass of whiskey is worth more to our officers then a soldier's life."

Steward became quite sick in July and spent the next 5 months in and out of hospitals in Washington and Maine.returneduned to the regiment in December just in time to participate in the Weldon Raid wherewitnessingsned the hanging of 3 rebels in retribution for the killing of Union stragglers.

Steward’s disaffection with the war returned as he wrote in January “Our country’s cause is as good as ever but to see the way that it is carried on is enough to make a man hate those in command over him if not his country as every man seems to be trying to see how much he can make out of this war.”

Regardless of his dissatisfaction John Steward continued to provide guidance to his children urging them to get their education because he knew it was important. He held out hope that he would survive that war and be able to see his family again.

141 years ago today on March 31, 1865 Private John M. Steward of the First Maine Heavy Artillery was killed by a Confederate shell. He was one of the last soldiers in this regiment to be killed in action.

Hard Drive Blew Up

2006-03-31T11:48:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts. My hard drive blew up this week. It was less then a month old but I guess I got a bad one. I lost about 3 week’s work of data. Again the importance of backing up weekly has been shown to me. Good news is that I am up and running again.

19 year olds and War: Then and now

2006-03-23T19:26:00.000-05:00

As a result of the charge on June 18, 1864 over 600 men of the First Maine Heavy Artillery were either killed or wounded. Some of the wounds were minor and many of these men were able to return to duty after a short period of recuperation. Countless others would never return to the ranks and would bear their scars for the rest of their lives.

A contributor to the regimental history of the First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery wrote that some years after the war he saw “a big man from Maine,” who had been in the charge of the First Maine Heavy Artillery and “who had seven bullet holes in him, one of which was through the throat so that he was unable to speak, but he survived and a few years later was peddling confectionery on the muster field at Concord, MA, minus an arm, breathing through a tube.” (Roe, The First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, 181-182.)

With this to go on I combed the through the records of the First Maine Heavy Artillery to see if I could locate soldiers with neck wounds as a result of the charge on June 18th. Once I limited the list of potentials I moved on the Federal Pension Records. Although not 100% conclusive the Pension Records, indicated that this surviving veteran was Private Winthrop Shirland of Company I from Winslow, Maine. Shirland was a 19-year-old recruit who joined the regiment in November of 1863 most likely because there was relative safety in garrison duty in Washington. Reading through Shirland’s pension record and the description of his wounds causes’ one to question how any man could have survived especially given the state of Civil War medicine. Here is what the examining surgeon wrote of Shirland’s wounds in 1867:

“One ball entered palm right hand and came out near right elbow, one ball passed through right arm at middle third (of the) humorous, at or near which point the right arm is amputated. One ball passed through the right leg near middle third, rendering the leg quite lame and weak, one ball entered top left of shoulder and emerged near base of scapula (collar bone), badly fracturing that bone, causing loss of many fragments of bone impairing use of left arm to great extent. One ball struck left wrist, (a pistol ball) which now remains beneath the skin on back of wrist, now attended with much inconvenience. One ball entered right side of throat and forced its way into the mouth where it escaped. Says he took cold, when diphtheria set in causing the throat to fill up to such a degree that an incision was made in the trachea just above the top of the sternum, where a silver tube is inserted to breath through. Just enough breath can be forced through the larynx to enable him to articulate, though very indistinctly. Says cord which holds the tube in occasionally allows it to slip out, and that he is unable to replace it himself, as he has but one hand and that is very much disabled. Therefore [it is] necessary that someone should be near him constantly. This is very dangerous and uncomfortable. He is unable to perform any manual labor and requires constant aid of another person. I consider him entitled to a pension of $25 dollars per month if any man ever was." (Pension Record of Winthrop Shirland, ms. Record Group 94, National Archives, Washington, DC.)

What strikes me about this story is that minus the reference to $25 per month pension this could be the story of hundreds of 19yr old Private Shirland’s who as I write this are trying to come to grips with their own physical and mental scars as the result of war.

Faces of War, another ACW Blog

2006-03-22T13:58:00.000-05:00

Found another ACW related Blog today. Ron Coddington who is the author of Faces of War and a columnist for Civil War News has a blog dedicated to his research and interest in Civil Photography and the stories of common soldiers. A quick read of his blog indicates Ron is working on a Confederate version of Faces of War.

Brothers One and All and Beyond

2006-03-21T09:40:00.000-05:00

Last week I had the pleasure of exchanging some emails with Mark Dunkelman. Mark is the author of few books including the very well received Brothers One and All. Mark has spent a good deal of his life researching and writing about the experiences of the 154th New York Infantry. Some may think that after the regimental history what more can be gleamed from the history of civil war regiments. I think Mark has proven that there is a lot more of the story to tell then just the movements, battles and military experiences of the typical Civil War Regiment. Mark has gone the next step to investigate and tell the story of individuals in the regiment and how these individuals came together to function as a “band of brothers.”

What is evident in “Brothers One and All” is that these bounds did not cease to exist in 1865 when the war ended but continued to helped shape the lives of the survivors. To that point Mark has written another book on the 154th NY that deals with how the Civil War was the ”cataclysmic event” for at least 12 soldiers that shaped the rest of their lives.

I know that in my own research on the First Maine Heavy Artillery there are plenty of standalone stories around the lives of individual soldiers that would make good reading. I am sure the same could be said about these soldiers from the 154th NY. I look forward to reading Mark’s book when it comes out later this year because his interest in understanding the individual stories of Civil War Soldiers greatly mirrors my own. I have included a description of Mark’s forth coming book below. This information and more on Mark’s research regarding the 154th NY can be found at his web site.

"War's Relentless Hand: Twelve Tales of Civil War Soldiers (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2006). A happy-go-lucky soldier falls at Gettysburg. An officer survives a hair-raising escape after capture at Gettysburg, only to die in the Atlanta campaign. A young volunteer retreats into insanity. Though they did most of the fighting and dying in the American Civil War, “ordinary” soldiers largely went unheralded in their day and have long since been forgotten. Mark H. Dunkelman retrieves twelve of these common soldiers from obscurity and presents intimate accounts of their harrowing, heartbreaking, and occasionally humorous experiences. Their stories, true to the last historical detail yet as dramatic as the most powerful fiction, put a human face on the terrible ordeal of a country at war with itself.

These were soldiers from the 154th New York Volunteer Infantry, a regiment that Dunkelman has studied for forty years. He weaves a complex and personal portrait of each man--portraits that reveal how, even for the common soldier, war was a cataclysmic event forever marking his life and the lives of those around him. Through a vast array of primary sources, Dunkelman reconstructs the lives and legacies of soldiers who died on the battlefield and others who later died of war-related injuries, some who were permanently disabled and others who saw their families undergo trauma.
A reluctant soldier is doomed by red tape. A veteran is crippled for life because of his brutal treatment as a prisoner of war. Father and son are killed at Chancellorsville. A dying private is immortalized by Walt Whitman. Separated by the war, a husband and wife agonize when their children contract a deadly disease. A veteran claiming he was blinded by campfire smoke is at the center of one of the largest pension scandals of the postwar era.
Recalling a lost world, War’s Relentless Hand tells of the resilience, perseverance, and loyalty that distinguished these men, the families and communities that supported them, and the faith and character that sustained them. Though the full human cost and grief of the Civil War can never be calculated, deeply felt and carefully retold lives like these help convey its magnitude.”

The light of History doesn't lift all shadows

2006-03-19T21:31:00.000-05:00

Interesting article in my local Boston Globe today entitled A City's Timeless Allure. It is about how the city of Charleston’s, portrayal of history is “a high-wire act for the city”, because to really grasp the history of the city is to understand that it’s “beauty was built on the backs of slaves." I couldn’t help but laugh over the quote from the elderly docent at the Confederate Museum who indicated that any remaining ill will towards Yankees is not over the Civil War but rather Reconstruction. I still don’t know how you can separate the two but as long as places still exist where the presentation of history fails to provide a “clear pronouncement to visitors and locals alike that, for the record, slavery was bad” then we will never really come to grips with our history.

The Anti Mr. Turberville

2006-03-15T22:48:00.000-05:00

A few recent posts by my fellow bloggers David Woodbury and Kevin Levin have criticized rightly so) Mr.Turberville and his simplistic (and incorrect) explanation on the causes of the American Civil War and how there were numbers of African Americans who willing fought for the Confederacy. In contrast to how Mr. Turberville would like to educate Americas school children on the real story of the Civil War, Terry Handy also a CW Reenactor and a history teacher, has organized an interactive, hands on Civil War encampment where 130 middle school students will spend the weekend experiencing a taste of what life during the Civil War was like. The news article in the Santa Marie Times gives a pretty good account of what this Civil War encampment will provide the students. Speakers such Harriett Tubman, Sojourner Truth and Abraham Lincoln will also be providing students with the perspectives on the larger issues surrounding the Civil War. A lot the encampment will also be focused on the life of Civil War soldiers and will also include the reenactment of a field hospital. I will take a little exception to his quote that kids will love seeing arms and legs sawed off, hopefully that part of the encampment will reinforce the message that war does have mortal consequences. I give Mr. Handy a lot of credit for embarking on this approach and for trying to make history come alive in an age of cell phones, PSPs and iPods and I hope his students have a rich and rewarding experience that will inspire a desire to learn more.

A New Civil War Blog

2006-03-15T16:28:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Kevin at Civil War Memory for pointing out Mark Grimsley’s new blog on the Civil War called Civil Warriors. I looked forward to adding it as one of my daily stops on the web. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading Mark’s award winning Blog Them out of the Stone Age which is focused on the larger field of Military History.

The First Maine Heavy Artillery in California

2006-03-12T11:30:00.000-05:00

I am still trying to pin down where soldiers from the First Maine Heavy Artillery who died while on garrisoning duty in Washington are buried. I know from one reader (Tim Abbott) that at least one solider who died of disease was mostly likely embalmed and shipped home with his brother. I am am sure there were others but they are most likely the exception not the norm. Peleg Bradford of the First Maine Heavy Artillery indicates in his letter that the soldiers who died while on garrison duty in and around Fort Sumner (the one in Washington) were buried in Tenalleytown. Some have suggested that this may have been a temporary burial ground with the soldiers being eventually removed to Arlington or the Soldier’s Asylum. The listing I have of Maine soldiers buried in Arlington does not indicate any the names I am looking for. My thoughts are that the 100+ soldiers who died in the regiments from August 1862 to May of 1864 are more than likely buried at the Soldier’s Asylum. I have been unable to find a list yet to confirm that so if any one has one please let me know.

So while this part of my research still goes on I did receive some interesting and useful information from a reader of the Maine Civil War Forum who gave me a link to the Sons of Union Veterans Graves Registration Database. I had not seen this site before so I was exited to try it out. My query captured over 107 grave sites listed for soldiers from the First Maine Heavy Artillery throughout the country. Out of these 107 sites 19 of them are listed in California and there are another 12 or so listed for Colorado, Washington State and Oregon. To me this points out that as a result of war was a sense restlessness was awakened in many of the survivors that could not be contained within their bounderies of their home states. After experiencing the trauma of war first hand many veterans were inspired to put behind them the lives they had left in 1861 and set out for a life more full of risk, adventure and reward on the frontier.

Remembering the Civil War as War

2006-03-08T13:26:00.000-05:00

One of the things that has always struck me about the Civil War is that the fact this was a war with mortal consequences that gets over looked. Two resources that help bring the destructive nature of the Civil War home for me are the Medical and Surgical History of the War of Rebellion and The Photographic Atlas of Civil War Injuries. Neither of these resources is for the faint of heart as the pictures, illustrations and descriptions are graphic. The majority of the cases deal with soldiers who were wounded in battle who received some level of medical care. This is important to note since it indicates that the pain and suffering of these soldiers was not relived by immediate death on the battlefield.

The First Maine Heavy Artillery has no shortage of soldiers whose cases are highlighted in both of these resources. There are at least 37 soldiers from the First Maine listed in the Medical and Surgical History and a handful of First Maine Soldiers also listed in The Photographic Atlas of Civil War Injuries.

The Medical and Surgical history is available on DVD-ROM at www.civilwaramerica.com/ and it appears The Photographic Atlas of Civil War Injuries can be found through Amazon.

CWPT adds Washington, DC forts to list of sites at risk

2006-03-01T19:00:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posts. Business travel has a way of getting in the way.

Today in the news the forts defending Washington have been added to the list of the most at risk Civil War sights by the Civil War Preservation Trust.

I think this is significant for those interested in the history of the Heavy Artillery regiments like the First Maine. Originally enlisted as the 18th Maine in August of 1862, the First Maine Heavy Artillery spent from the fall of 1862 to the spring of 1864 in the defenses around Washington. Not only did these men garrison the forts and batteries but they spent a great deal of time clearing the land and adding to the strength of the defenses. I think the engineering achievement alone makes these forts worthy of protection.

Benjamin F. Cooling wrote in Symbol, Sword and Shield: Defending Washington during the Civil War, that “by late 1863 Washington, DC was a fortress city surrounded by a chain of fortifications, connected by a line of earthworks mounting the most powerful guns of the period. Fifty Three enclosed forts and Twenty Two batteries surrounded the city. The forts and their clay sides were naked of grass, and both in front of and behind them stretched acres of fields - strewn only with random brush piles and tree stumps. These fields were cleared in order to improve fields of fire for the artillery. In many cases these acres were cleared by regiments like the 18th Maine.” (pg140)

Garrison duty was in no way as hazardous as active campaigning as the First Maine would come to find out in May 0f 1864; however this duty in the forts was not without risk as ravages of disease took a heavy toll.

For those interested the National Park Service has a website with more information on Washington’s Civil War Defenses. On a related note one of the sites that is actually protected is Fort Chaplin, which is named after Col. Daniel Chaplin, First Maine Heavy Artillery, who was mortally wounded at Second Deep Bottom on August 17, 1864,

Greetings from the Longhorn State!!!

2006-02-22T19:30:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in an earlier post I was going to make a trek over to the Texas Civil War Museum in Forth Worth when I came to Dallas on business. Well today was the day. Billed as the largest Civil War Museum west of the Missippissi I had to take time some tiem away form the to swing by and check it out. I found the static displays of artifacts tastefully done and well presented. Artifacts from both Union and Confederate soldiers and officers are showcased. I found the uniform displays to be the most eye catching including the full dress uniform for Benjamin Butler. There is also a good collection of flags from both sides. There were a few video screens showing artillery drills and the practice of medicine, but beyond that the displays well described but static. There is no attempt to place the war within a larger context of the issues of the period. I will admit that due to time I had to miss the 30 minute movie entitled “Our Home Our Rights – Texas in the Civil War” but the title seems to indicate how war is positioned as a conflict over state rights.

For those interested in seeing a large collection of Civil War artifacts from common soldiers then the museum is maybe worth the $6 admission. There is also a gift shop as well but I found the book selection to be a little lacking (no books on Hood’s Texas Brigade), but there were plenty of Confederate Battle Flag nick nacks.

A Top Ten List of Presidential Miscues

2006-02-20T10:32:00.000-05:00

Happy President's Day.

The mishandling of the beginning and end of the Civil War mark the number one and number two presidential miscues. I would tend to agree with this list put together by presidential historians. I would put likely put Mr. Johnson’s missteps around reconstruction as number one. I am not sure Buchanan could have done much to curtail the coming of the Civil War but he could have tried. Andrew Johnson on the other hand let of the whole significance of the war slip away from an equality perspective. Yes slavery was ended but without firm government guidance one system of repression was replaced with another, the effects of which we are still feeling today.

Also on the list is Mr. Clinton’s Monicagate. Now I am not a fan of Mr. Clinton but to add this episode to the list is a little over the top. Yes he was the only elected president to be impeached but this episode in it self does not to me seem to belong on a top ten list of presidential errors. This does not mean to me Mr. Clinton should get off completely free. If I was making the list I would have put Mr. Clinton’s inaction during the Rwandan Genocide as a top ten mistake. When we had the ability to react sooner and possibly save lives we did nothing, and anywhere from 800,000 to 1 Million people were slaughtered in as little as 100 days. Mr. Clinton to his credit has expressed regret for not taking action.

My personal feeling is that we are in the midst of “top ten” presidential misstep with our current war and policy in the Middle East. I hope I am wrong but things do not seem to be getting better.

In the news a 'civil war' within the SCV

2006-02-16T21:37:00.000-05:00

Looks like the SCV is facing a 'civil war' of it’s own.

Social vs Military History? We need both.

2006-02-16T12:28:00.000-05:00

Both Eric and Kevin on their blogs comment on the role of social history vs military history in regards to the Civil War. From my perspective I think you need to have both at least if you want to under stand the experience of the individual solider which is what I have an interest in. That is way I like to read letters from soliders because they provide a window into the social background of the soldiers and how this background affected their intepetations their military experience.

There is one published collection of letters from a solider in the First Maine Heavy Artillery (18th Maine) entitled No Place for Little Boys, Civil War Letters of Union Solider which contains the letters of Peleg Bradford. I have been reading this collection again because it reminds me that know matter what type of label or definition I or any other historian try to put on the soldiers of the Civil War these men were individuals with various political leanings, different views on race and many different reasons for choosing to fight. While many works have portrayed the men of the Union Army as liberators Peleg Bradford would not be one who would fit in to this category. Peleg who enlisted in August of 1862 was not a supporter of the war or of Lincoln’s politics.

“What does the Carmel folks think of this war now days? Are they as black as ever? If they are they had better cum out south and waid in the mud two or three months and then they will want the war to stop. I would like to see some of them long held Republicans out there, and I would like to see them sack a knapsack through the mud. They will stay at home and send poor devils on the fight.”

In a later letter he refers to Black Republicans and describes his dislike for blacks and how he and one of his fellow solider demanded respect from any they met.

“I want you to write who (fought) at Town Meeting and which side beat. If I had been three I would have knocked some of them Black Republican’ heals over their heads. I am a great friend to a dam negro or a Republican. I love a negro so well that when I meet one, I make them to go outside of the fence and give me all the road. I was never born to turn out for a negro. Eugene Burrell when he meets one makes them get down on their knees and take off their hats. He says that he wants to learn them to take off their hats when they meet a gentleman.”

Peleg’s letters go against the well structured image of Mr. Lincoln’s Army of liberators and points out that there were racist feelings on both sides. His letters also show that these men were individuals and products of the society and culture they grew up in so as individuals they had many different virtues, vices and character flaws. I don’t think Peleg Bradford’s racist views should be seen as representative of soldiers in the Union or even within his own regiment but that do illustrate that these racist views existed. In contrast Captain Frederick Carr Howes also of the First Maine wrote that he viewed it as his duty to put down the rebellion and fight for freedom.

“God help our Country in this hour of greatest peril…no peace until Slavery is swept from the land and our Nation in truth shall be the 'home of the free, the land of the brave…My heart burns with me to do something in this great cause, to help establish the government on the basis of human freedom.”

The letters from Howes are not published and remain in a private collection.

For the record Peleg Bradford was wounded outside of Petersburg on June 17, 1864. His right leg was amputated but this wound most likely saved his life as he missed the charge of the First Maine Heavy Artillery on June 18, 1864. Frederick Carr Howes on the other hand was one of the 142 men killed or mortally wounded on that day. To understand what happened to Howes and the other on June 18, 1864, I also need to investigate the military situation that put the First Maine into the situation where they were ordered to charge at Petersburg. This is the elements of military history come in. Issues like the development of field fortifications, military training, military tactics and the leadership competency of officers in the First Maine are all things I need to understand in order to be able to interpret the experience of this regiment.

For me getting to better understand the experiences of these individual soldiers, means trying to understand what perspectives they brought with them and how they were impacted by the war. For Peleg Bradford his war experience and wounding left him bitter.

“I want to get home as soon as I can for I want to dam a few of them Republicans and have them go to war and lose a leg and the see if they wouldn’t want the war to stop”

Peleg Bradford lived to become Selectmen for the town of Carmel and died in 1918. In addition his younger brother Owen, also with the First Maine Heavy Artillery was killed in October of 1864. If his views on race or his dislike of Republicans were ever tempered or changed is unknown.

The debate over a social or military history approach to understanding the Civil War will not end anytime soon perhaps never, but to me I think we need both if we are every going to fully understand this period.

Is the fame of Chamberlian on the decline?

2006-02-14T10:17:00.000-05:00

Both Dimitri and Kevin in their blogs comment on a declining interest in the Civil War. From my own personal experience I have seen this as well. One of my favorite book stores is the 20th Maine in Freeport, Maine. At the height of the Civil War interest in the early to mid - nineties this store was open almost every day and had 3 full rooms of inventory. Being in Maine they were able to capitalize on the renewed interest in Joshua Chamberlain and by being in Freeport there was never a lack of shoppers. Well it is 2006 and the shoppers are still in Freeport, but the declining interest in the Civil War and I am sure the growth of Amazon (and others) has also eaten into the bottom line of the 20th Maine. The shop is now in one small room and has greatly reduced hours. I hope this store can hang on as it is the only reason I really like going to Freeport.

More Productive History Time

2006-02-09T23:18:00.000-05:00

It is 11PM and I should be in bed but instead I have been playing around with my recently acquired copy of “The Complete Civil War DVD-ROM” published by Oliver Computing. I had a CD-ROM copy of the Official Records published by Guild Press of Indiana for a few years, but I wanted to upgrade to DVD-ROM from Oliver Computing because it gave me access not only to the ORs for the Army and Navy but also the Medical & Surgical History of the War of the Rebellion. In printed form the Medical Records are very hard to come by and like the printed ORs can be complicated to search, but with this DVD format searching is a breeze. What I really like is that now with my brand new laptop (which I just received today thanks to my company) I can search the DVD then cut and past what I need directly into my Citation Software. This should allow me to make good productive use of my time when I am traveling. By using sets of keywords I can then combine these Official records with my others sources and produce note cards that can easily be on hand as I work through the material.

Random Thoughts

2006-02-08T08:56:00.000-05:00

Kudos to Kevin Levin on an excellent post from his perspective on why the Civil War still matters.

In other news the Confederate Flag Debate came to Massachusetts this week. A local Civil War buff was asked to remove the 3rd National Confederate flag from outside his home because of a complaint that someone found the flag offensive. Maybe it is just me but I can not figure out why would a 22 year old from Massachusetts would do this other then to draw attention to him self. I almost feel sorry for him because no matter how benign his intentions might be, to have his name and picture in the paper standing proudly by his flag outside some sort of historical context (i.e. reenacting, etc) could cast a long shadow. In the corporate world I live in this might be seen as a negative to potential employers who take diversity seriously.

This Just In... War is Hell!!

2006-02-07T10:29:00.000-05:00

Mike’s Civil War Musing’s talks about the buzz in the media on a study entitled “Physical and Mental Health Cost of Traumatic War Experiences Among Civil War Veterans,” that was published in the February issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. The complete article is available download from the website for a small cost. Basically the article concludes “it is likely that the deleterious health effects seen in war conducted more than 130 years ago are applicable to the health and well being of soldiers fighting wars in the 21st century.”

I was intrigued by the some of the conclusions on the relationship between the causality rate in Civil War Companies and the increased incidence (51%) of post war physician-diagnosed cardiac, GI and nervous disease. According to the study “percentage of the company killed is likely a powerful variable because it serves as a proxy for various traumatic stressors, such a witnessing death or dismemberment, handling dead bodies, traumatic loss of comrades, realizing one’s one imminent death, killing others and being helpless to prevent other’s death.” I would like to see how this conclusion works out to individual regiments.

Some if the news accounts carry a statement by Eric T. Dean author of Shook Over Hell: Post-Traumatic Stress, Vietnam, and the Civil War, who used the same records in his research, but said he is skeptical that the “19th-century medical records could be made standard enough for the researchers' statistical analysis to be valid.”

I think regardless of the statistical revelations of this study, Dean’s book and other studies the conclusion should be pretty clear that war is hell and and it is hell that does not end when the fighting stops.

Can we blame the British for Slavery and not our American Forefathers?

2006-02-06T15:40:00.000-05:00

The latest issue of North and South came last week. I really like approach the editor’s use in this publication to publish articles with footnotes. I don’t know why publishers for Civil War Times and America’s Civil War can’t do the same.

Another element I like in N&S is the Crossfire section. I think the editors do a good job letting the readers express their positions on controversial issues. Some of the ideas put forth by the readers are laughable but other arguments are well thought out.

This month the letter from Chip Bragg of Thomasville, GA a self described “Confederate Partisan” on Slavery and States Rights is a worthy read. What struck me about his letter was his blunt assertion that “weather one believes in the constitutionality of succession or the righteousness of Lincoln’s invasion of the South, there is no escaping the relationship between slavery and states’ rights, and thus slavery can’t be ignored as the major causative factor of the war.”

Bragg goes on to explain and rationalize that because slavery was such a perilous topic going all the way back to colonial times that Southerners and even the founding fathers are not to blame for slavery. The blame for slavery, at least as far Mr. Bragg is concerned, goes back to the British “who allowed and encouraged slavery and the slave trade on this continent for their own economic benefit.” Bragg indicates his thoughts were shaped by Joseph Ellis’ Founding Brothers. (I will have to make a point of reading Mr. Elllis’ book.)

I give Mr. Brag all the credit in the world for putting his position out there for all to see. His declaration that slavery can’t be ignored as a major cause of the war is goes against the Lost Cause rants that tend to pop up in almost any discussion on the causes of the Civil War. What troubles me about putting the whole blame on the British and their desire for economic gain is that it was this same desire for economic gains that the upper echelons of southern society wanted to preserve. It motivated them to do everything they could to manipulate the political process (with help from the North) to keep the status quo and thus continue this “peculiar institution”. When that wasn’t enough southern leaders, who saw the growing economic and political power of the North as a direct threat, worked to create an antagonistic climate around the argument of ‘State Rights’ that a larger portion of southern society could support.

I have no doubt the Mr. Bragg’s letter will generate responses from all sides and that is what makes N&S such interesting reading every month.

Hardscrabble Historian works to get the facts right

2006-02-03T10:17:00.000-05:00

NJ.com has an article on William Styple a Civil War Historian and author from Kearny, NJ. Styple as the author describes is a hardscrabble historian who prides himself on being accurate is not a fan of popular historians like Doris Kearns Goodwin who don’t spend the time to get the facts right. I think Styple has done a good job bringing some previously unpublished sources to light. One of my favorites is Our Noble Blood, The Civil War Letters of Major-General Regis de Trobriand. Belle Grove Publishing (Kearny, NJ 1997)

Marvel’ous’ debunking of a myth, Lee and the Appomattox Campaign

2006-02-02T17:11:00.000-05:00

Last ight I picked up Primedia’s Appomattox Commemorative Issue from the editors of America’s Civil War and Civil War Times. William Marvel has two articles that critque the Lee’s actions and decisions during the retreat to Appomattox. In his article “Many have offered excuses for the Confederate retreat to Appomattox” Marvel breaks down the myth that claims Lee faced “6 to 1 odds” in terms of relative troop strength during his retreat to Appomattox. By Marvel’s calculation he estimates Lee had at least “72,000 to as many as 79,000 men” within his ranks between March 25 and April 9. According to Marvel it is estimated that Lee suffered 26,000 casualties for the same time period. Taking into the account the 3,000 desertions in March as reported by Lee’s staff and the 28,000 Confederate soldiers that surrendered at Appomattox there are close to 20,000 Confederate soldiers that somehow disappeared during the campaign. Referring to the regimental and brigade returns form March 1 to April 9 in the eight infantry brigades from Virginia their was a 75.4 percent reduction in strength and in the nine North Carolina brigades there was a 64 percent loss of strength. According to Marvel these reductions in troop strength prove that many Confederate soldiers “took off for home” realizing that the war was lost. The fact that both Virginia and North Carolina units showed the highest degree of loss indicates that many soldiers who were closer to their homes then soldiers from the other states opted to return home on their own before the Army of Northern Virginia actually surrendered. Even with these losses Marvel points out that Lee was still able to a mass close to 45,000 men at Amelia Court House by April 5. With 45,000 troops Lee still had almost as many troops as he did after Antietam and during his retreat from Gettysburg. Instead of facing 6 to 1 odds as the mythology claims Lee actually faced more manageable odds of 2 to 1.

I think Marvel has shown that the belief that Lee was forced to surrender because his army was vastly out numbered but still “unconquered in spirit” was nothing but a myth put forth by believers in the Lost Cause.

"Rookie" Regiments

2006-02-01T14:14:00.000-05:00

I got my information package in the mail today for the UVA’s Civil War Conference: Cold Harbor to the Crater: Grant vs Lee. I have never attended one of UVA’s programs before but this one caught my eye because one of the topics has to do with “rookie” regiments and their experience at both Cold Harbor and Petersburg. A lot of these “rookie” regiments were Heavy Artillery units that were taken from the defenses of Washington and sent to the front in the closing days of the Spotsylvania Campaign. The level of casualties suffered by these regiments during Grant’s overland Campaign and the opening days of the Petersburg Campaign has always struck me as more than just coincidence.

A major theme in my work on the First Maine is that having spent almost two years in Washington this regiment although very well drilled in marching and infantry formations was encumbered with the same reliance on traditional battlefield tactics that the armies had 1861. Commanders and even the soldiers themselves came to realize that many of the close order formations taught by Hardee’s and others had to be adapted on account of rifled muskets, artillery improvements and the development battlefield entrenchments.

While soldiers and commander in the field learned and developed their tactics to account for the changing battlefield environment regiments like the First Maine and other heavy artillery regiments did not have the benefit of this battlefield experience. When these regiments faced their first engagements they were using outdated tactics that were of little use on the battlefields of 1864. Their lack of practical battlefield experience coupled with the desire of field commanders to leverage their large size in difficult situations (like charging entrenched Confederate positions) earned for these Heavy Artillery Regiments a record in blood that many veteran units could not match in 3 full years of war.

The War Against New England

2006-01-30T20:28:00.000-05:00

The News & Observer out of North Carolina has an article on the raid carried out by Confederate Agents on St Albans, VT on October 19, 1864. Although the loss of life was small (1 Killed) and the destruction of property was less then planned the symbolic nature of the raid was meant to be an attack directly against the people of New England. Bennett Young the leader of the raid recalled on his commanders saying that "It is right that the people of New England,and especially Vermont, whose officers and troops have been foremost [in waging war], should have brought to them some of the horrors of warfare."

St. Albans was not the only time in New England saw Confederate agents in action. There was a similar raid on a bank carried in Calais, Maine. In Maine's largest city Portland Confederate saliors commandeered a US Revenue Service Cutter called the Calab Cushing. The best account of these and other actions by Confederates in Maine and along the Maine coast can be found in Confederates Downeast by Mason Philip Smith.

Is there something missing?

2006-01-26T17:23:00.000-05:00

A new Civil War Museum opened today in Texas. Called the Texas Civil War Museum. This privately owned and run museum has over 300 war related artifacts and The United Daughters of the Confederacy, Texas Confederate Collection which includes a number of Civil War Flags. According to the website “these combined collections make this the largest Civil War museum west of the Mississippi River.”

One newspaper report describes how Northern artifacts are on the North Side of the building and Southern artifacts are on the south side. They have a web site that gives a historical overview of the Civil War from a Texas perspective. There is also a link to some suggested educational activities. I give them credit for making education a primary mission; however in looking over the suggested lesson plans something seem to be missing. It is as if the issue of slavery and race have been excluded from any suggested learning activity. I am not from Texas but I have been to the Dallas/Ft.Worth area a number of times and it strikes me as a diverse area so it is surprising that the “largest Civil War Museum” west of the Mississippi River would not deal with the role of race in the Civil War more completely.

I will be going to Dallas again in February and plan to make time in my schedule to visit. Maybe my initial impression is wrong but from what I can get from their website I am afraid I am not. Luckily some students have dedicated educators like Kevin Levin who give their students a more complete view of the issues surrounding Secession, the Civil War and Reconstruction .

Collecting Source Material and Organization

2006-01-24T22:10:00.000-05:00

Yesterday it snowed 10 inches here in Central Massachusetts. After a Friday and Saturday of close to spring like weather winter has returned. Over the weekend I was able to win an eBay auction for a collection of letters from a soldier in the First Maine Heavy Artillery. I probably paid too much but when things like this come up I figure I need to grab them. If the seller had only been willing to provide copies I would have been satisfied but that was not the case so I had to bid. Luckily my wife understands and since I only really go out on a limb when it comes to this regiment I was able to swing it financially. Over the years I have amassed a good collection of primary material on this regiment both in generosity of individuals who have provided photocopies, my own searching through archives and in certain cases my purchases of items for sale. The biggest expense so far where the microfilm copies of the regimental and company books from the National Archives. I figured it was cheaper to buy the copies then make multiple trips to Washington. Now if I could get a hold of an inexpensive microfilm reader or better yet come up with way to pay to have the film scanned and put on CD-ROM I will be all set.

About a year ago I purchased a copy of Citation. For those of you who don't know Citation is a bibliographic and research note organization program. It has made my collection and organization of my research notes alot easier. It has the ability to be easily integrated with Microsoft Word so the inserting of footnotes and the creation of bibliographies can be accomplished rather quickly in a wide range of academic styles. I only wish I had found this product alot sooner especially when I was doing my Master's thesis on the First Maine Heavy Artillery.

More on Regimental Histories

2006-01-24T21:46:00.000-05:00

One topic that has come up recently on some of other ACW blogs is regimental histories. Here is my two cents. In my collection of about 700 ACW volumes there are a number of regimental histories. My most valuable in terms of dollars are the original regimentals from Maine Regiments. One of my goals is to have a complete collection for each of the Maine Regimental Histories that were written. I do this out of a desire to collect and preserve. I enjoy reading them but I know that their portrayal of actual history can be some what skewed.

While the original regimental histories may be flawed historically I think they are a good starting point to understand the experience of the basic military unit that soldiers most closely identified with. In many cases it was the original regimental histories that became more of a monument for the survivors to recall their service and remember their comrades. In most cases these histories were not written by trained historians and as a result they lack the elements of critical analysis.

Edward J Hagerty in the preface to his CollisÂ Zouaves writes about the value of original regimental histories.

The Civil War regimental history as genre has undergone a gradual metamorphosis in the 132 years that have passed since the end of that conflict. Books detailing the exploits of Civil War regiments began to make their appearance soon after war's end, but the vast majority of them were their appearance soon after wars end, but the vast majority of them were published between the years 1880 and 1910. By then, the passage of time had largely dulled the vivid sense of wars horror. Events could be written about with less passion and more impartiality, less criticism and more charity. The histories were typically written either by a former soldier from the ranks of the regiment or by professional writer engaged by the regiment's survivors. The results were varied.
Some were histories only in the loosest sense of the word, and many were merely panegyric testimonials to the heroic deeds of the regiment. Almost universally, however they were composed equally of nostalgia and propaganda. The resulting concoction usually tended to overlook any serious shortcomings of the men or of the regiment as a whole. Desertion was rarely mentioned. Poor performance was rationalized.

Thus, when evaluated in light of other primary source information, some late nineteenth-century regimental histories are more useful to scholars for the information discerned to have been omitted than for what they actually contain.

My opinion what make a regimental history historically valuable is the possession of a critical eye that takes a scholarly, academic approach to present both the good and the bad. Some modern day treatments of regimental histories are almost as bad historically the ones written by the veterans themselves. In my opinion most the histories in the H.E. Howard series Virginia Regiment fall into this category. However as readers of the ACW we have the good fortune to have had some really good regimental histories emerge over the past couple of decades. Some of my favorites include the following.

Hagerty, Edward J. Collis Zouvaes: The 114th Pennsylvania Volunteers in the Civil War. LSU (1997)

The author takes social history approach with tables and charts that provide insight in to the economic and societal make up of the regiment.

Wilkinson, Warren. Mother May You Never See the Sights I have Seen: The Fifty-Seventh Massachusetts Veteran Volunteers in the Army of the Potomac, 1864-1865. HarperCollins (1990)

This author provides a very well researched and very good written history of the 57th Massachusetts during the last year of the Civil War. The author also spent a lot of time on the regimental roster.

Keating, Robert, Carnival of Blood: The Civil War Ordeal of the Seventh New York Heavy Artillery. Butternut and Blue (1998)

I like this regimental because it is one of the first modern accounts to deal with the experiences of the heavy artillery during the Overland and Petersburg Campaigns. The author does a really good job describing how this regiment broke under fire only to redeem itself at Cold Harbor with a tremendous loss of life.

Miller, Richard, Harvard's Civil War: The History of the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. University Press of New England (2005)

A well written history of a well known New England regiment that that was made up of Harvard Men and New England Fishermen. I like how this author described the ethnic and cultural background of the men and how these differences played out during the regimentÂs term of service.

Dunkleman, Mark H. Brothers One and All, Esprit de Corps in a Civil War Regiment. LSU (2004)

Although not technically a Regimental History of the 154th New York I think the author really does a good job in laying out what being a part of a Civil War Regiment ment to itÂs members.

I am currently reading John J. Fox IIIÂs Red Clay to Richmond, Trial of the 35Th Georgia Infantry Regiment, CSA. Angle Valley Press, (2004) which won the 2005 James I. Robertson Jr. Literary Prize for Confederate History.

This book uses a lot of primary material and has a lot of detailed maps. One the features I really like are pictures of some of the battlefields as they appear today. The author does a good job pointing out some of the major topographical elements that influenced the course of action during the battles the 35th took part in.

While there is always talk that there is no fertile ground left to cover in the Civil War, I think these authors have used fresh approaches to prove that there is still much ground to cover and new stories to tell.

Exploring Civil War Court Martial Records

2006-01-19T14:34:00.000-05:00

One of the areas of the Civil War I have a particular interest in is Military Justice. From my perspective I think looking at court martial records gives a unique and deeper insight to the relationships, cohesiveness and dynamics of Civil War Regiments. My focus and background has been on regiments from Maine. In my own research on the First Maine Heavy Artillery I have been able to uncover 5 Court Martials against members of the regiment. None of these cases is mentioned in the regimental history written by Horace Shaw and Charles J House in 1903 but thanks to the work of Thomas Lowey, MD and The Index Project. I was able to find the reference numbers to these records and then request copies of the files from the National Archives.

The The Index Project has built a database of the court martial records within the National Archives. For a modest fee they will do a look up by regiment and provide the reference numbers so any one interested can ask for copies from the National Archives. I think anyone who is doing research on a Civil War Regiment needs to consider looking at the Court Martial records.

Dr. Lowry has also published at least two books on Union Army Court Martial which highlight some selected cases against Union Army Colonels and Army Doctors . Dr. Lowry is also noted for his book on sex and the Civil War . Dr. Lowry is scheduled to be a guest on Civil War Talk Radio January 20.

Now at the extreme of Civil War military justice were military executions. I came across this listing of Union Army Executions in chronological order. Two things really struck me about this list. One was the number of executions that took place in New Hampshire Regiments which was 17. The 5th NH had 8 and the 2nd NH had 6. I haven’t done statistical breakdown but there were only 3 executions attributed to Maine Regiments so the rate of executions in NH regiments seems a little high. The second thing that struck me was that out of the 267 executions accounted for 25 of them were carried out between June 1865 and June 1866 after the war had ended, Of those, based on the listed regiment 19 of these soldiers were in black units.

From my perspective this just goes to show that there are still many elements of the Civil War that remain to be more fully explored.

"Hangover" may not be the right term but the effects are long lasting

2006-01-16T21:10:00.000-05:00

I was in my local Border’s yesterday and I saw Eric Foner’s new book Forever Free: The Story of Emancipation and Reconstruction. I did not pick it up opting instead to buy Bruce Levine’s Confederate Emancipation: Southern Plans to Free and Arm Slaves during the Civil War. Today however on Salon.com there is an extensive commentary/review on Foner’s book by Andrew O'Hehir regarding the far reaching implications that the failure of Reconstruction has had to this day. The article does a good job highlighting how through the needs of political expediency in the 19th century full realization of Civil Rights for all Americans has been delayed 150 years and is still a struggle today. The author does makes some sweeping and I think awkward connections between the racial/political divisions of the late 19th Century to the current “red state vs. blue state” cultural/political divisions we are seeing today, however I think O’Heier does good job in laying out an argument that shows how the effects of the Civil War and Reconstruction are still being felt today.

Thanks Mom and Dad and Gerald Linderman

2006-01-16T12:52:00.000-05:00

Work has picked up a little bit from the holiday lull so I have to spend a little more time focusing on the here and now as opposed to talking about the Civil War. Kevin Levin posted recently on how he came to develop a passion for the Civil War. For Kevin it was a visit to Antietem and Stephen Sears’ Landscape Turned Red. His post caused me to do a little self reflection on the roots of my interest.

Excluding actions by Confederate Agents there are no Civil War battlefields in New England but on almost every town common there is a Civil War monument. The number of monuments spread throughout the region indicates the widespread impact the war had on the region down at the local level. It was the experience of these individual soldiers from the towns and cities of New England that really interested me. My parents must have recognized this because for Christmas I received copy of The Rebel Yell and The Yankee Hurrah. I thought John Haley’s description of his experience was fascinating. This book really started my quest to read and collect all I could about the experience of Maine regiments and soldiers. Today I think I have a pretty good collection of books on Maine in the Civil War including a handful of original regimental histories. Better yet I developed a good handle on what has been published and what is available in regards to manuscript materials on Maine regiments.

The other book that really got my interest in the Civil War ignited was Gerald Linderman’s Embattled Courage. What Linderman did to describe the influence, motivation and process of memory of the common solider was really eye opening too me. This book started a deeper interest trying to understand how men from plucked from civilian life faced the horror of combat. Linderman’s thesis is that as the war progressed the soldier’s never lost their courage but evolved in how they approach the tactical environment they were faced with. According to Linderman by the Spring of 1864 soldier’s had developed the enough perspective to recognize that strict application of the accepted military tactics that called for close order formations and massed charges were outdated. The men had learned to apply tactical variations to orders they were given and seek cover.

From my perspective you can see a lot of what Linderman describes in looking at the experience of the Heavy Artillery Regiments during the Spring of 1864. Coming from the defenses of Washington most of these regiments lacked any practical combat experience and while well drilled were unprepared to face the realities of the battlefield in 1864. One of these regiments was the First Maine Heavy Artillery which went on to set the dubious record of the highest number of battle causalities in a single engagement for all Union regiments on June 18, 1864 at Petersburg, VA.

What's in a name?

2006-01-13T10:02:00.000-05:00

Interesting article on Gazette.net about a self described Civil War fanatic's attempt to get a local park name changed to better reflect the historical name of the Battle of Crampton’s Gap. Is fanatic a new term for Civil Buff?

Civil War History on eBay at what price?

2006-01-09T11:12:00.000-05:00

I love finding things on eBay as much as any one, however there is one thing that does concern me about seeing Civil War items up for bid. I have seen a lot of related civil war items broken up and sold on an individual basis. Case in point over the past week there have been a handful of items related to the 16th Maine up for bid as individual items. One of the items is a list of equipment the regiment lost at Gettysburg. Knowing the history of the 16th Maine at Gettysburg this document has some significance. My concern is that breaking up theses collections could scatter these links to the past all over the place. The danger is they could be lost forever. In a perfect world I would love to see every related collection of CW letters or related manuscript material kept together and sold as a group or at least before it is sold have the manuscript material photocopied and deposited with a historical institution.

I once was able to get a seller to make me photocopy of some letters related to my research once I explained to him my interest and before he broke up the collection. I don’t want to deny anyone the right to make a living or get a return on an investment I just get worried about how much history we can lose when profit is the only real concern.

Vicksburg's Long Shadow - A Review

2006-01-05T13:53:00.000-05:00

I just finished reading Christopher Waldrep’s Vicksburg’s Long Shadow, The Civil War Legacy of Race and Remembrance (Landham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield: 2005) Cloth 304 pages, Bibliographic Essay, Chapter Endnotes, Index. $26.95

Other than an introductory chapter on some of the major military engagements of Vicksburg’s Campaign, including the conflicting accounts of black troops at Milliken's Bend, Waldrep has not written a military history of the Vicksburg Campaign. Instead the author attempts to use the history of Vicksburg’s Civil War Battlefield to show how the Federal Government surrendered whatever “weak and timid vision” it had of the Civil War as an act of racial justice. By citing examples of state memorial dedications where “racists proclaimed their creed”, where the National Park Service celebrated Robert E. Lee’s birthday and organized segregated Memorial Day and Forth of July celebrations, and the Government’s intervention in keeping the Lost Cause alive when many white southerners lost interest, Waldrep portrays an image of Vicksburg that casts a long and far reaching shadow on racial relations and national memory coming out of the Civil War. (pg 291)

Using the development of the Vicksburg National Military Park as a central backdrop Waldrep traces the evolution of national memory towards the war, sectional reconciliation, and how in the end, although a Union military victory, final northern victory coming out of the Civil War was only achieved by embracing almost every element of southern white society towards race.

Waldrep devotes a chapter to discussing the meaning of reconstruction and the Civil War pension system as evidence that any “utopian dream” of a national system that defended the civil rights of all citizens was torn to shreds by the end of the nineteenth century. To Waldrep the reality of lynching by white mobs, the pass system, compulsory labor and the application of white based moral standards in determining pension worthiness, were all evidence of how the legacy of Reconstruction became one that promoted the lost cause and social welfare, not equal rights. As Waldrep writes the National bureaucracy proved more capable of providing social security through pension payments than in aggressively promoting equal rights.” (pg 94)

If I have one detraction from this book I would have like to seen more numerical evidence to support Waldrep’s claim of discrimination in how pension eligibility was determined between white and black veterans. Waldrep states that “black Civil War veterans found it harder to collect their pensions, and then did their white counterparts,” and he states that 92% of white veterans made at least one successful application, while 75% of blacks had comparable success.” To his credit Waldrep states that a deeper examination of how black Vicksburg veterans actually fared in the pension system is something that needs deeper examination. (pg 86)

Not all coming out of Vicksburg’s Civil War landscape was bleak in regards to the progress of racial relations. The contribution of black soldiers to the Union victory could not be completely overshadowed. Black soldiers were buried within the National Cemetery, and while even in death they were segregated the establishment of this place of honor gave black veterans a lasting and tangible place to commemorate their sacrifice and recall the promise of emancipation. It was a federally protected status that could not be taken away by white southerners. Waldrep recalls that inclusion in the National Cemetery was the one privilege blacks had over white southerners after the Civil War and that they made the most of it. For decades after the war black veterans would come to Vicksburg and read Lincoln’s Gettysburg address and would use their place within the National Cemetery to be included in the commemorative events that recognized Union veterans. Black veterans would not be denied their place at the table no matter what southern white society and the federal government did to move away from the ideals of emancipation and civil rights. (pg 82)

Trying to encapsulate the entire impact of the Civil War and the pursuit of national meaning by focusing on battlefield is risky but Waldrep does an admirable job in pulling his thesis together. One of the best jobs I think Waldrep does is tracing how the effort to memorialize the Civil War at Vicksburg was directly tied into the issues of the day facing the nation. Waldrep does a good job in positioning the 1917 Reunion at Vicksburg to highlight how the organizers including the Federal Government put the need promote sectional reconciliation and patriotism in the face of impending war in Europe over the need to promote the ideals of emancipation and racial justice. As Waldrep writes at the reunion “speaker after speaker ignored racial disharmony to hail the nation’s sectional unity, suggesting that geographic reconciliation made an effective war effort possible.” (pg 227)

In a possible parallel to the decline in the popular appeal of the Civil War today, Waldrep highlights that as the reality of the First World War came to the United States it drove a decline in the desire to memorialize or celebrate the memory of the Civil War in the 1920’s. As Waldrep writes “in the 1920’s, turning the Civil War into ‘an affair of moonlight and romance’ seemed more revolting than ever before” as the “realists saw the war as grim, hard, and bloody.” (pg 250)

To summarize his work Waldrep explores why the National Park at Gettysburg has emerged as the nation’s premier Civil War battle site and why Vicksburg was not destined to become the representative Civil War battle site. Waldrep discounts arguments that say Gettysburg had dramatic infantry movements, while Vicksburg evolvement into a siege lacked the drama to make this battlefield primary focus of the Nation’s Civil War memory. To Waldrep the primary cause for Vicksburg’s second place finish is that in abandoning ideals of emancipation the nation wanted to seek meaning for the Civil War in nonracial terms, to see it as a white man’s war. Gettysburg did not have black soldiers involved, it was fought on Northern soil and through Pickett’s Charge and it’s representation of the South’s “high-water mark” better supported the ideals of the Lost Cause. Because Gettysburg could more easily suppress the unwanted elements of the Civil War, namely elements of race it more easily grew in prominence because it was more adaptable in supporting regional reconciliation over racial emancipation. (pg 292)

If someone is looking for a book that highlights how the landscape of Civil War memory was continually sculpted and changed to meet the need to place meaning of the war within an accepted national context then I would recommend this book. Waldrep’s approach in using Vicksburg as the focal point for his description of the Civil War’s legacy on race, national memory and the balance of power between the states and the Federal Government is admirable and worthy of attention.

"Civil War Historian" - Is this history?

2006-01-03T14:00:00.000-05:00

I looked at my mail today and in the pile of credit card offers was an invitation to subscribe to a new magazine called Civil War Historian . The title intrigued, especially the historian part. So I opened the envelope. Well my initial intrigue was short lived but I did decide to check out there web site. This magazine as their website describes “was founded to promote knowledge of Civil War-era life in America. Civil War Historian accomplishes its goal by producing a high-quality publication that supports those who reenact the lives of Americans who lived in this era. The nature of the publication is both informative and entertaining. Civil War Historian contains after-action reports of reenactments, reprints of period publications, and historical research articles, all of which are supported by exceptional color images and artistic page design. Civil War Historian's guiding principle and belief are the need to protect, preserve, and share accurate information about this momentous period in our history.”
As their mission statements indicates this magazine will cater to “those who reenact”. I do not want to knock reenactors. I have a lot of respect for them and was in fact one myself for a few years. What I do question is the choice of historian in the title. Any magazine that is going to contain after action reports of reenactments is not history as far as I am concerned.
Don’t get me wrong, most of the people who reenact are good people, who have a passion for the military/camp life aspects of the Civil War. Within reenacting people can find the level of authenticity that they are comfortable with. (i.e. counting the number of stitches on a button hole, to wearing modern day glasses on the battlefield) and that is what makes reenacting attractive to so many. Beyond the living history aspect of reenacting gives people a chance to sit around the camp with friends and many cases family and enjoy each other’s company. Some of my best memories were sitting around the campfire at night and just talking with guys in my unit. Most were avid ACW readers and could talk about the experience of CW soldiers, battles, weapons and uniforms. While I still treasure these memories I would be hard pressed to call what we talked about or our performance in the scripted battle scenarios the work of historians. It was fun and entraining and in some cases helped create awareness for a related CW cause like battlefield preservation, but was it really history? I don’t think it was but that is my opinion.For those who reenact this magazine looks like it will be useful but for those who want a larger perspective of the Civil War period in regards to its causes, the role of slavery, its impact on the nation, reconstruction and memory would be better served with other publications. However if I find one at my local newsstand I may pick up a copy.

What about Petersburg?

2006-01-03T11:24:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year to everyone!! Between Christmas and traveling up to Western Maine Mountains for New Years my by ability to post has been a little limited. Both Kevin Levin and Eric Wittenberg bring up the topic of lack historical studies on the Petersburg Campaign. Petersburg is one of the more neglected larger campaigns in the East. There is a lot of fertile ground with this Campaign. My personal interest in the history of the First Maine Heavy Artillery draws me to the actions around Petersburg and makes me want to know more. The First Maine has a monument at Petersburg within the National Battlefield marking the site of their disastrous charge on June 18, 1864. The charge on June 18th did not end the struggles for the First Maine and for the next 8 months this regiment continued to march, fight and die through the engagements of Jerusalem Plank Road, Deep Bottom I and II, Burgess Mill, the Weldon Raid, Hatcher Run and a number of other smaller actions. I think the experience of the Heavy Artillery from Spotsylvania on through Petersburg is another one of those areas that should be further explored. This looks like it will be one of the topics covered during the University of Virginia’s upcoming Cold Harbor to the Crater Civil War Conference.

Gettysburg Art for sale. Framing extra.

2005-12-27T20:40:00.000-05:00

Now I own a few ACW prints myslef but this particular piece would quickly become the pride of my collection. The The News Observer has an article on a piece of Civil War Art looking for a good home. After careful consideration I determined that I did not have enough wall space, so someone one else will have to take it home. It should be interesting to see where this going to end up. Any bidders out there?

Preservationists are concerned Morris Island will be turned into a resort.

2005-12-22T16:05:00.000-05:00

Article today on The State.com about a developer who wants to buy and build on Morris Island. In my opinion something about building on Morris Island, SC seems wrong on two accounts. 1) The Civil War History, especially the symbolic significance of the 54th Massachusetts and their charge against Battery Wagner. 2) Is why do we continual allow building on exposed coastline. Morris Island is gradually being returned to the ocean and what is buildable land today could be underwater during the next large storm. Haven’t we learned anything from the hurricanes of the past year?

Chamberlain's "History"

2005-12-22T15:03:00.000-05:00

Kevin Levin’s Civil War Memory has a book review he did on The Grand Old Man of Maine: Selected Letters of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, 1865-1914. Edited by Jeremiah E. Goulka. (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2004, 335 Pgs. $39.93 cloth.).

Having grown up in Maine I am quite familiar with Chamberlain’s story. Regardless of what one may think about the elevation of Chamberlain as the "Hero of Gettysburg" and the cult like status of him propagated through movies like Gettysburg, tee shirts and beer, he was at least in my opinon remarkable man. However this does not mean that I accept everything that has been credited towards him and that has served to elevate him as Maine’s premier Civil War hero. Clearly Chamberlain like many Civil War veterans had his faults.

Chamberlain wrote in 1896 “there is a tendency now-a-days to make “history” subserve other purpose than legitamate ones." (pg155). Close scrutiny of the historical record points out that many times Chamberlian’s own version of history was created to serve the purpose of expanding his reputation. Chamberlain’s tendency to embellish his record and accomplishments did not always sit well with his former comrades. The friendship between Major Ellis Spear of the 20th Maine and Chamberlain eventually soured over how the story of Chamberlain’s war record was portrayed and Chamberlain’s role in expanding it.

In the With a Flash of His Sword, The Writings of Major Holman S. Melcher, 20th Maine, Edited by William B Styple. (Kearny, NJ: Belle Grove Publishing, 1994, 335 pgs, $33.00 cloth.)the appendix includes a letter from Spear to Oliver W. Norton written in 1916. Commenting on Chamberlain’s Passing of the Armies, Spear wrote that Chamberlain’s account was a “tissue of lies” and that his “literary ability was of high order, and he always had a gracious manner, but was absolutely unable to tell the truth and was of inordinate vanity.” (With a Flash…Pg 298).

Chamberlain died in 1914 so Spear did not have to worry about ridiculing his former friend, but to air his thoughts like this speaks volumes of how some of the imperfections of Chamberlian’s nature and his desire to put the best positive light on his experience touched a nerve with his former brother in arms.

As Goulka writes in his introduction, Chamberlain was raised and educated in the notions of Victorian manhood. Elements such as honor and courage were traits that Chamberlain endeavored to exhibit publicly throughout out his life. His tireless work in developing and expanding the record of his Civil War service is clear evidence of this. Chamberlain is not the only former solider who did this but given his recent rise in status over the past thirty years he does attract a higher level of scrutiny from historians. To me Chamberlain was continually challenged internally trying to find higher meaning within his war experience and to recapture the excitmentemnt and spark that the war brought to his life. The only major difference between Chamberlain and the thousands of other Civil War veterans who did the same was the public and active nature by which he did it. I think critically evaluating Chamberlain and his history serves the purpose of examining how the traumatic period of the Civil War continued to shape the psyche of the individuals who lived through it and as a result the collective psyche of this nation.

Civil War History on the iPOD

2005-12-20T16:36:00.000-05:00

In addition to ACW history I love music. U2, the Saw Doctors, the Pogues and John Mellencamp are my favorites. Four years ago I picked up one of the first iPODs for Windows. I have to say it changed the way I listen to music. You may ask what does this have to do with my CW Blog. Well not long my my company begin pushing the capabilities of podcasts and how through the use of MP3 players like the iPOD people could find and listen the vast amounts of information on thousand of different subjects almost anywhere at anytime. Well because I had an iPOD I started to listen to some business related podcasts but this got boring real fast.

Before I gave up on podcasts however I wanted to see what else was out there. Much to my pleasant surprise while doing a search on Civil War related podcasts I came across Civil War Talk Radio. Hosted by Gerald Prokopowicz, a professor of History from East Carolina University, this podcast features weekly interviews with Civil War authors, historians and others. Some of the recent shows have included Richard Miller and Gary Gallagher. Through the magic of iTunes my iPOD gets updated with a new show every week. In addition to the current shows that are available as a podcast there is full archive of past interviews on a number of ACW related topics that you can listen to. Quickly moving up on my most listened to playlist on my iPOD is Civil War Talk Radio.

Vicksburg and Civil War Memory

2005-12-16T10:31:00.000-05:00

I was just surfing the web this morning and came across a new book Vicksburg's Long Shadow: The Civil War Legacy Of Race And Remembrance by Christopher Waldrep. I went to Amazon and found it. There were no customer reviews but it looked interesting. If the abstract is any indication this book should contribute to the debate raging between the National Park Service and heritage groups over the portrayal of slavery in helping understand the Civil War within a broader historical context. I found the following quote thought provoking and valid, “In the Civil War we seek angelic qualities in our killers. In 1861 both north and south sent bigots and racists off to war under patriotic sentiment, men just as prejudiced as the societies they represented.” I have always been attracted to ACW books that deal with how the soldiers and society worked to remember the Civil War so this should be an interesting read.

Rosters in Regimental Histories

2005-12-15T21:57:00.000-05:00

On Eric Whittenburg’s blog Rantings of a Civil War Historian today he talked about the tough decision he had regarding including roster in his upcoming regimental history on the 6th PA Calvary. While deciding not to publish a roster as part of the book he has decided to make a roster available on line. This post motivated me to look at my copy of the original regimental history of the First Maine Heavy Artillery, by Horace Shaw and Charles House. This account was written in 1903 and while I think the narrative is a little weak given what this regiment went through, the roster information is what makes this regimental history one of the best. Not only is there is a listing of members of the regiment by company with description on when they mustered, from where, age, promotions, transfers and whether they were wounded, killed, taken prisoner or died of disease. In addition to the regimental listing by company there are two additional sections 1) on death by disease or accident organized by company and 2) a listing of battle casualties by engagement broken out by company. If you a lucky enough to find an original regimental history of the First Maine Heavy Artillery buy it if not Clarence Woodcock has produced an electronic reproduction of the original regimental history which can be ordered at http://www.cwpublishing.com/1meha_more.html.

When I buy new regimental histories today in addition to looking at the bibliography and notes I do look over the roster. While lack of roster won't keep me from buying I am more apt to buy if there is one.

First Maine Forward

2005-12-13T18:11:00.000-05:00

The history of the Maine First Heavy Artillery has always fascinated me. Having grown up in Maine and having developed an early interest in the Civil War I heard and read about the 20th Maine at Gettysburg but some thing always bugged me that true experience of Maine’s involvement in the Civil War went much deeper. I don’t actually recall when I first came across a reference to the First Maine Heavy Artillery. It may have been their flag that used to be displayed at the State Capital Building in Augusta. The orignal flags are being preserved by the Maine State Museum.

Whatever it was the story of this regiment has fascinated me. I wanted to be able to understand how this regiment came earn the distinction of suffering having suffered the greatest number of battle casualties of any regiment during the Civil War. The short story is that this 900+ members of this regiment charged the Confederate line outside Petersburg, VA on June 18, 1864 and in as little 10 minutes 630 of these men were either killed or wounded. In my quest to learn more I went out and bought a copy of the original regimental history published by Horace Shaw and Charles House in 1903. While an invaluable research tool for it’s well detailed unit roster the narrative history is some what lacking as it provides no critical analysis of how the regiment came to earn their bloody history.

So with my thirst unquenched I determined to research the history of the regiment. It is a journey I am still on and still enjoy. Over the years I have amassed hundreds of pages of articles, reminisces, letters, diaries, photos and references to the First Maine Heavy Artillery. Along the way I have met some people with similar interest in the history of this regiment. Many thanks go to Clarence Woodcock (a descendant of solider from the First Maine) who has produced and manages a web site dedicated to memory of the First Maine Heavy Artillery. Another person who I came in contact with on this journey was Mike McCardell. I will share more on Mike in a later post but those who had the privilege to know him and call him a friend know how much he is missed.

I am at a point now that I think I can begin to pull my research together try to tell the story of the First Maine Heavy. My challenge is getting the words to flow. I am hoping that bogging will help me keep the creative juices flowing. While I have a my master’s thesis as a starting point I still have to go through the process of expanding the scope and trying to tell the complete story as well as better analyzing how the experience of the First Maine impacted the men of this regiment. My goal is to write a book that does the history of the First Maine Heavy Artillery proud with lots of notes, a complete bibliography and lots of maps and illustrations.

Civil War as Popular History

2005-12-13T18:09:00.000-05:00

Kevin Levin in a recent post to his blog (http://www.civilwarmemory.blogspot.com/) has stated that he is bothered to a degree by people who get their kicks out of some aspect of the Civil War. He goes onto say that there is a lack of seriousness in a lot of popular elements of the Civil War as it is portrayed today and that people fail to grasp the tragedy and horror of the American Civil War. I have to say I agree with him from an academic point of view. The reality of war is not filled with glory. The young men (and some women) who went to war in 1861 may have been filled with some misconceptions of pursuing a grand and glorious adventure but by the end of their first battle these soldiers came to realize the reality and horror of war. What has always fascinated me is how the soldiers who survived stayed with their and went into battle again over the next 3 to 4 years.

Today most of the Civil War images we see today on coffee cups, posters and bumper stickers and in films like Gettysburg and God and Generals are never going to capture the darkness that fell over this country during the Civil War. I suppose that is okay if the perspective is that these modern day images are meant for large scale consumption and not the serious student. My hope is that through all this mass market appeal some youngster will be inspired to learn more and uncover a truer history of the Civil War. There is precedent for this as more then one Civil War Historian has cited reading the The Golden Book of the Civil War and looking at the maps as being the start of a quest to learn more. Hopefully through the efforts of good teachers like Kevin (mine was Norman Foster, Mexico High School) this inspiration will be nurtured and allowed to grow.

Let's Get Started

2005-12-13T16:15:00.000-05:00

I've been inspired by a lot of the other ACW related Blogs I have looked at to jump in and give it a try.

A little about me. I am not a professional historian, but I am an avid ACW reader and inspiring writer with a BA and Master's in History. I did a few book reviews for Civil War Regiments and I did have an article published in Maine History on Eugene Sanger, the chief Medical Officer at Elmira.

My interests in the ACW is varied but I hold a real deep interest in the First Maine Heavy Artillery. Hence the title of my blog. I also enjoy other elements of the State of Maine's role in the war.

Why do a blog. Well history is a hobby for me and right now I haven't found a way to have it pay the bills. As a result I am member of Corporate America, but I figured the longer I stayed away from formulating my thoughts, and expressing my interpretations around the ACW I think I would loose something.

You may ask what business does a member of Corporate America have doing Blog on the ACW? It is valid question. My answer to that is while I appreciate my current job and the opportunities it has given me it is only represents part of who I am. I figure the opportunities that blogging gives me to express the other parts of myself and purse other interests is something that should not be passed up. Besides how can I tell my son to go after his dreams if I don't do the same.

More to come but I have to get back to work.