The Aftermath of Cold Harbor

The end of the fighting at Cold Harbor is just as confusing as the battle itself. Sharpshooters and artillery were still struggling here and there after the battle. The two opposing sides sat and stared at each other until June 12. Which leads me to a question: If Grant's goal was to hold the crossroads at Old Cold Harbor "at all hazards" and after the battle, Grants STILL had the crossroads....did he really lost this battle?

After the battle on June 3, thousands of Federal wounded lay between the lines. Because of sharpshooting, the Union army was not able to get out to get their wounded. These men lay out there for 9 days.....needing water, food, shade, medical attention, etc. MANY of these men died. Grant had actually asked Lee for a 2 hour truce so that they could retrieve their wounded (3 days later) but they couldn't reach a compromise so that was never attempted.

Finally on June 12, after dark, Grant led his men away. They were able to move to the east and swing around the Confederate lines and eventually cross the James River. But now the Confederates have a problem: Its a race to see who can reach Richmond first. If Richmond falls...so does the Confederacy. Remember, this is the beginning of the end of the war.

According to the National Park Service, the casualties were like this: Union - 13,000 Confederates - 2,500. The numbers greatly change depending on who you read. The Union casualty numbers would be about half that if they had been allowed to retrieve their wounded.

This loss caused an anti-war sentiment to spread throughout the north. People wanted this war OVER. But it also caused the morale of the Union troops to be lowered. And there weren't that many of the Union troops left any more.

One additional note: The Cold Harbor Tavern (Burnett's Tavern) was used as a Union hospital after the battle.

I've enjoyed learning about this battle. I've heard so much about it and yet never really bothered to study it....to understand what happened....to understand the implications of the battle....to see how it fit into the whole scheme of the war. Now that I have studied it, I understand so much more of what happened, how it happened, who was involved, how it effected the outcome of the war, etc. This has been a truly huge eye-opener for me and I look forward to studying more battles and understanding them also!

June 3, 1864

At 4:30 in the morning, 3 Union Corps advanced on the Confederates at a tiny crossroads in Old Cold Harbor. Based on how the Confederates had entrenched themselves the day before, the Union was going to have to fight harder than they had ever fought before. Unfortunately, heavy artillery fire from the Confederates caused more casualties than they expected.

Major General Winfield Scott Hancock's II Corps was the only corps to make any sort of advance. They were able to break through Major General John C. Breckinridge's line. After fighting in hand-to-hand combat, the Union forces were able to take the earthworks. But nearby Confederate artillery attacked the Federals and the earthworks were turned into a death trap. Breckinridge's reserves counterattacked the Union forces (being led by Brigadier General Francis Barlow) and they were driven off. Gibbon's Division became disoriented when they got into some swampy ground and could not advance.

Major General Horatio Wright's VI Corps didn't try to advance once the Confederate artillery started firing on them.

Major General William F. "Baldy" Smith's XVIII Corps was channeled into 2 ravines and when they emerged, the Confederate artillery basically mowed them down.

Major General Gouverneur K. Warren's V Corps didn't want to advance at all.

Major General Ambrose Burnside's IX Corps overran skirmishers on the Confederate front and thinking that they had just hit the first earthworks, they stopped to regroup and decided to continue the assault later in the morning. What they didn't realize was that the men they had just forced back were not at the earthworks but were just skirmishers out looking for the enemy.

At 7 am Meade ordered all 3 Corps to assault at once and not pay any attention to what was happening on their flanks. Hancock advised against this assault. Smith refused to advance again. Wright increased his rifle fire but didn't move.

By 12:30 pm, Grant admitted that his army was done. There would be no more fighting.

Union casualties were somewhere between 3,000 and 7,000 (depending on the source) and the Confederate casualties were 1,500 at the most.

This was quite a lopsided defeat for the Union army....an army that seemed to have been on an upswing since General Grant took over the armies. This entire battle could have been handled better, with better leadership. Unfortunately, it seemed that the leadership fell apart on all levels. The only person who seemed to have done any good on the Union side was Hancock....but even then, he was still defeated soundly.

The next post will be about the aftermath of this battle. There were quite a few incidences that occurred following this battle.

June 2, 1864

To continue with my mini-study of the Battle of Cold Harbor, I'm moving onto the third day of fighting. This is the part of the battle that just completely blows my mind and makes me believe that both Generals Meade and Grant were nuts (or incompetent) and General Lee was a genius. Here's what happened that day:

General Grant and Major General Meade decide that they are going to attack General Lee's right flank....with the previous days fighting on the right, they figured that this would be the weakest part of the link. OK...this could be. So, they call General Winfield Scott Hancock's II Corps to leave Totopotomoy Creek and head over to Old Cold Harbor. Then they tell Major General Gouverneur K. Warren and Major General Ambrose Burnside to attack Lee's left flank in the morning "at all hazards". The plan sounds good so far. The implementation doesn't go so good, though.

Hancock's men ended up marching all night and were completely worn out by the time they got into position. So Grant postponed the attack until 5:30 pm to allow the men to rest. Then the attack got postponed AGAIN until 4:30 am on June 3.

Neither Gens. Grant or Meade gave any specific orders on how to attack Lee....it was left up to the Corps commanders on how to implement the attack....and there was little if any communication between the Corps commanders.

Also, NO senior commander had reconnoitered the enemy's position. So they had no idea where the enemy really was.

In the meantime, while the Union army was trying to do SOMETHING, General Lee decides that now is the time to prepare for attack and he put his men to work making entrenchments.

Maj General John C. Breckinridge was able to drive a small force of Union troops off Turkey Hill which dominated the southern end of the battlefield. It seems that this was the only fighting that took place on this day.

Back to Lee....his men were so busy making breastworks, etc, that they ended up with a 7 mile line. The left flank of his line was on Totopotomoy Creek and the right flank was on the Chickahominy River....which made a flanking attack impossible.

They had barricades made of earth and logs. The artillery was set up in such a way that every avenue of approach would be covered with converging fire. And the breastworks were zigzag lines within lines. A reporter who was walking around the battlefield after the battle described it this way: "Intricate, zig-zagged lines within lines, lines protecting flanks of lines, lines built to enfilade an opposing line, ... [It was] a maze and labyrinth of works within works."

Battle never actually took place this day....it was mostly preparations....but General Lee had the upper hand in getting ready and now its looking like the South is prepared to win this battle. But what will happen? Stay tuned for more on this exciting saga!

Fall is in the air

I drove around Gettysburg National Military Park this morning and noticed that the trees were just starting to turn colors. This is one of my most favorite times of the year. We should be hitting peak season by the middle of October. As I drove through the Round Tops, Devil's Den and the Wheatfield, I could see bits and pieces of leaves that had already given in to the color changes necessary for fall. In between the green leaves of spring and summer, a yellow leaf here, a red leaf there. So the woods will be full of the other colors of fall.

There is one tree in particular at Evergreen Cemetery that seems to have the brightest red leaves that I have ever seen in my life. As I exit Culp's Hill, the tree is straight in front of me. The red stands out brilliantly against the extra blue of the sky (because the sky always seems to be extra blue in the fall). That tree has begun changing.

It's also gotten a bit cooler. The one thing I really like about fall is that the temperature is perfect during the day (warm...without being hot) and it gets cool at night (enough to require a sweater or jacket). This is a good way for us to acclimate ourselves into dragging our jackets with us where ever we go.....but not enough that we have to wear them....winter is following behind the fall and we will have to wear them then.

Another thing I noticed as I was in the park this morning, was that the squirrels and chipmunks are hard at work, gathering their food for the winter. These little creatures (no matter how much of a pain in the neck they are) are scurrying back and forth, gathering nuts, running for their nests, and repeating the process....over and over and over again. It's fun to watch them. But then I feel guilty for not doing the same thing. Maybe I should be home gathering my food for the winter?

The birds seem to be doing their things, also. I watched a Downy Woodpecker the other day as he pecked and pecked and pecked on a tree until he finally got a bug. I have no idea what sort of bug it was, but it was rather large. The woodpecker seemed quite pleased with his prize and flew off. Was he saving his food also? Or was he taking his find to his family? Or was he just going to find a private place to sit and eat? Oh, I wish I could follow these birds around and see.

Autumn in Gettysburg is an incredibly special time of the year and I recommend it to anyone.

June 1, 1864

By this time in the battle at Cold Harbor, both sides were badly disorganized. Some of the Union divisions were sent to the wrong places, the Confederates didn't seem to know where they were supposed to be....just complete chaos on both sides.

Confederate Major General Richard H. Anderson led the attack. Union Brigadier General Wesley Merritt's men were attacked in their trenches by Colonel Lawrence Keitt (who was leading General Joseph Kershaw's men). During this fighting, Keitt was mortally wounded.

Major General Robert F. Hoke didn't join in this attack because he didn't think that he was supposed to join.

Finally at 9am, Major General Horatio G. Wright approached the crossroads of Old Cold Harbor but his men had just hiked 15 miles in 9 hours and were exhausted. General Ulysses S. Grant wanted Wright to join in the fighting but Wright insisted on letting his men rest. So they didn't fight at this time.

6:30 PM: Grant's attack finally begins. By dark (probably around 8 pm - they didn't have daylight savings time during the Civil War) the fighting dies down.

The Union had 2,200 casualties and they had captured 750 prisoners.

The fighting on this day almost seems to be a comedy of errors. Murphy's Law was in full effect here.....everything that could have gone wrong, most certainly did. What I find amazing about this whole day of fighting is that they had already been in the Civil War for 3 years....all the bugs should have been worked out and they should have been a well-oiled machine....yet it seems that with all the errors and miscommunication, it was something that you would expect from a 3 month regiment. What happened here????

May 31, 1864

This was the first "official" day of the fighting at Cold Harbor. Major General Fitzhugh Lee was sent in to help reinforce the troops fighting under Brigadier General Matthew Butler. They were to secure the crossroads at Old Cold Harbor. This was easier said than done. Lets just keep in mind that Fitzhugh Lee was a nephew of General Robert E. Lee.

One of the problems that the Confederates faced in securing the crossroads was that Brigadier General Alfred T. A. Torbert was increasing pressure on the Confederates. So Robert E. Lee ordered Major General Richard H. Anderson to shift to the right from Totopotomoy Creek so that he could support the cavalry. Eventually, Major General Robert F. Hoke joined Butler and Lee at the crossroads.

At 4pm Torbert and parts of Brigadier General David Mc Gregg's cavalry were able to drive off the Confederates from the Old Cold Harbor crossroads. But Major General Philip Sheridan ordered Torbert to pull back to Old Church when he learned that Confederate reinforcements were being pulled to back Butler, Lee, and Hoke.

In the meantime, Major General Horatio G. Wright (USA) moved to Old Cold Harbor.

General Ulysses S. Grant was very much interested in the crossroads and ordered Sheridan to secure the crossroads "at all hazards" (which basically means - hold it regardless of what happens).

So at 1 am Torbert returned to the crossroads and that's when he learned that the Confederates never noticed that he had withdrawn his men.

This was the first day of the fighting at Cold Harbor. Only 14 more days of fighting to study!

Williams Avenue

For the past month or so, Williams Avenue in Gettysburg has been closed. For those who aren't familiar with Williams Avenue, its on Culp's Hill....when you get to the statue of John White Geary, go straight instead of the heading to the right. Its just a little road....not more than a paved path. I never headed back there much....just trees to see but with it closed, I REALLY wanted to head back there. All I could see with the closing was that they were cutting down trees.

Today, the barricades were removed. So this was just an invitation for me to take a walk along the road. Seems that others had the same idea because I ran into at least 6 other people walking along the road....but only 1 car....a park service vehicle.

When you first walk onto the road, you notice a line of trees and then right behind it a huge clearing. This was one of the first things that they cut down. The tree clearing goes right up to a fence that designates private property. Its a huge open field now....and lots of boulders. I forget about how rocky this land is until something like this happens and suddenly I can see all the boulders. Lots and lots of boulders.

As I walked down the road, suddenly the field came right up to the road. As you looked back, you saw nothing but dirt and trees laying down. Now, if you are driving in your car, you won't notice this, but as a pedestrian you can see all the way to Pardee Field. I was able to take pictures of the Pardee Field Rock/Monument. Because this road is one-way, car traffic will never see this vantage point. I stood for awhile and just took in the scene that lay before me. Now, I have to read up more on Culp's Hill and see just what happened in this area.

One thing that I've always noticed while walking along Williams Avenue is the wildlife. The tree cutting has not done away with that. I was able to see many, many birds. If you stand for a few minutes and just look up into the trees, you are constantly seeing birds darting from one tree to another. And the sounds! I love the sounds of a quiet walk through the woods. Those sounds are still there.

I'm 100% behind the tree clearing and restoring of the land to the way it looked back in 1863. The park is doing some wonderful things to the battlefield and I love it! But this is one clearing that I'm not sure I understand. Most of the roadway is still in the trees. And the area that is getting cleared leads up to private property. Not much action took place in that area. So, I'm not sure I understand what the purpose of the clearing is, but I'll just assume the park knows what it is doing (but then you know what they say about assuming things).

Overall, my walk today was very productive. I really liked what I saw....its just too bad that the only people who will see that view will be those who actually get out of their cars.

R.I.P.

This week was the anniversary of the battle at Antietam. September 17, 1862....to be exact. Although the anniversary of battles is a very solemn occasion, something took place in Antietam this week that was truly a heartrending occasion and I, personally, would like to thank the National Park Service for doing something truly good.



Now for a little background. About a year or so ago, while walking in The Cornfield at Antietam, a visitor located the remains of a soldier who had fought at Antietam. He was killed going into the Cornfield with so many other young men. What happens so often is that the dead are buried in shallow graves and some were left behind after the battle. In time, the remains will begin to surface. The remains were exhumed and an archaeologist had identified what he could of the remains. It seems that he was a young man (18-20 years old) from the state of New York. That is all that they were able to find out about him.



On Thursday, the anniversary of the battle, the park service had a memorial service for him at Antietam, then placed him in the rear of a hearse to be taken to New York for a proper burial in Saratoga National Cemetery.



I really wish I had attended this service. Unfortunately, because of "stuff" I wasn't able to make it down there, but I did get to see bits and pieces of the ceremony. One of the rangers at Antietam has a blog and I was able to follow it through his blog. Here is how to find his blog:


http://volunteersinparks.blogspot.com/2009/09/going-home.html. But more importantly (and if you look at only one thing, this is it!), he made a short film about the ceremony and here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9OefwyhR_E

PLEASE watch this. And make sure the tissues are close by....you will need them.



Rest In Peace, our unknown soldier. You have finally made it home!

Cold Harbor

My next big trip is going to be to the Cold Harbor battlefield. I'm hoping that by the middle of October I will be heading down to Cold Harbor, VA, but that's kind of up in the air for now. I'll know the sooner I get to that date.

So, in advance of my trip, I've decided to read up on the battle. I need to get a good feel for the battle so that once I hit the battlefield, I'll just be taking in the battlefield and trying to understand what happened and how it occurred on that field.

First, some basic facts about the battle:
* occurred May 31 - June 12, 1864
* Also known as "2nd Cold Harbor"
* Commanders: Ulysses S. Grant/George G. Meade (USA) v. Robert E. Lee (CSA)
* Confederate victory
* 15,000 casualties - 13,000 Union/2,000 Confederate
* forces: 108,000 Union/62,000 Confederate

Sheridan's Cavalry attacked Fitzhugh Lee's cavalry on May 31. The Union force was able to force the Confederates beyond the crossroads in this town. But Robert E. Lee was determined to take this town. Seems that Grant was just as determined to take this town. Thus the battle ensued.

I'll be reading more about this battle to understand how the troops moved and what the terrain was like. Terrain is such a key in understanding a battle...any battle. So I'm going to have to start to read up on the rivers/creeks/hills/farms and whatever else may be in the area.

There is a driving tour that can be taken of the battlefield. I will definitely plan to hit this. There are only 6 stops (so it should be fairly easy to take in the battlefield). One thing that I would love to do, but don't know if I'll be able to, is to go into Richmond and see Hollywood Cemetery. Many of the Confederate dead from Gettysburg were interred here and this is a definite must-see on my list of places to go....but I'm not sure if I'll get in there or not.

As I study the battle, I'll be posting more and more about it.

Just some of the Civilians of Gettysburg

I'm fascinated by the civilians who lived in and around Gettysburg in 1863. Some became quite famous in the years since the battle, some not so famous, and some are names that are lost to history.

Tillie Pierce is quite possibly one of the most famous names you will come across. She was a 15 year old girl who witnessed the battle and the casualties first hand. About 25 years after the battle she wrote a book about what happened here. It's quite possibly the best first hand account of the battle written by a civilian. She didn't worry about grossing people out and didn't make things rosy....she told it the way it was and it wasn't pretty. Tillie and her family lived on Baltimore Street at the time of the battle.

Jacob Weikert lived on Taneytown Road, a few miles south of town...right at the base of Little Round Top. Although it seemed that the Weikert farm would be spared from the effects of the battle, it didn't. The farm was too close to the fighting at Little Round Top, Devil's Den, and the Wheatfield. The farm was used as a hospital for weeks after the battle.

Now what do these two, seemingly different people, have to do with one another? During the battle Tillie left her home with her next door neighbor, Henrietta Schriver, to head for Hettie's parents home....which were the Weikert's. Henrietta had a sister, Beckie, who was about the same age as Tillie. They left Baltimore Street thinking that the battle would stay in town....but it didn't and the battle followed Tillie and Henrietta and her children to the Weikert home.

Today, would we know anywhere near as much about the Weikert farm and the effects of the battle on the farm if it weren't for Tillie and her book? I often think about how some of these folks who were common, everyday people, struggling to live a normal life in a difficult time, and how they have become the "heroes" of the people who study them.

One day I was walking in the Evergreen Cemetery here in Gettysburg. The cemetery is the town cemetery and you can walk amongst the headstones and see name after name after name of people who were living in Gettysburg at the time of the battle. One day I stumbled across Albertus McCreary's headstone. This excited me because I had just read his account of the battle. Albertus was a young boy at the time of the battle and although his account wasn't published (it was published in the Gettysburg Magazine), he has made quite a name for himself. When I stopped and looked at Albertus' grave, I thought about this young man. If it hadn't been for the battle, this would be just another headstone, in another cemetery, in another small town. We wouldn't know WHO he was, WHAT he did, or anything about him. But because he took the time to write down what happened during those three days of the battle and the events afterwards, he isn't just "another unknown name".

I find it amazing how many accounts have been brought to light in recent years. Some accounts were turned into books, some were just diaries, some were newspaper articles, some were letters, but ALL were important. Without these accounts, would we really know what happened to the civilians without these accounts? Would we know exactly where the fighting occurred? Would we have any concept of what a horrible effect the battle had on the land? I, for one, can only thank the civilians for their accounts. I often feel that some of these people were not only the civilians who lived here, but they have also become my friends.

First Battle of Kernstown

I've been trying to understand the Civil War from start to finish. There are a lot of aspects of the war that I just don't understand and completely don't get....but I'm working on it. One day I will completely understand the war....probably the day after I die. But until then, I study and read.

The First Battle of Kernstown is a battle that I am trying to understand right now. I pick a battle at a time and read and study up on it so that eventually I'll have read about them all.

At Kernstown, Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson fought against Colonel Nathan Kimball. There were 3600-3800 men under Jackson and 8500-9000 men under Kimball. Because of misinformation, Jackson believed that he outnumbered Kimball when in fact Kimball outnumbered him a good 2-1.

This battle was considered the only battle that Jackson ever lost. It was a combination loss as well as victory. Jackson's goal was to keep Kimball from joining General George B. McClellan in the Peninsula. So while he engaged Kimball and actually lost the battle, he was victorious in that he did in fact, keep Kimball away from McClellan.

This battle took place both north and south of town. The initial clash taking place on March 22, 1862 north of town and then Jackson gathering his forces that day and the next south of town.

The United States artillery (24 pieces) unlimbered on Pritchard's Hill and the Confederate artillery (27 pieces) under command of Turner Ashby unlimbered near the Opequon Church.

By the time the battle ended, the Confederates had lost 718 men to killed, wounded, missing, or captured and the Union had lost 590 men.

Although this was a Union victory, it was also a Union loss. If Kimball had been able to get to the Peninsula to help McClellan, there would have been added support for the Peninsula Campaign. McClellan claims that had he had reinforcements, he could have taken Richmond. Is this true? We will never know....just another "what-if" of the Civil War. But it is an interesting thing to contemplate.

26th NC color bearers at Gettysburg on July 1

I have found the story of the color bearers of the 26th NC on July 1, 1863 very interesting. In a short period of time, they went through 14 men. Some were killed, some wounded, but all were heroes.

A color bearer is probably the toughest job in a regiment and its not for someone who is a wimp. The color bearer carried the regimental flag. This flag, although something for the men in the regiment to follow, was also a huge bulls eye for the enemy. The person carrying the flag was one of the first people that the enemy would shoot or at least shoot at, and this person usually was forgotten by history.

However, in the story of the 26th NC, the color bearers are a huge part of the story and the names of these men have not been lost to history.

Here are a list of the men and their companies (if I know it):

Color Sergeant Jeff Mansfield
Sergeant Hiram Johnson (G)
Private John Stamper (A)
Private G. W. Kelly (D)
Private Larkin Thomas (F)
Private John Vinson (G)
Private John Marley (G)
Captain Westwood McCreery
Lieutenant George Wilcox (H)
Colonel Henry King Burgwyn
Private Franklin Honeycutt (B)
Lieutenant Milton Blair (I)
Lieutenant Colonel John Lane
Captain Stephen Brewer (E)

I got most of this information from David Martins: Gettysburg July 1. Another book that I would recommend to those who are truly into the details of the battle. One thing to keep in mind about this book: he tells all the little details. When I've read it, I have often wondered if on the next page he was going to tell us the exact time that Pvt. John Smith of Co. A sneezed while crossing the field. Its that detailed. But when you want to know the details, this is the book to read.

Incidentally, the 26th kept its flag on July 1, 1863 but lost it on July 3, 1863 during Longstreet's Assault (Pickett's Charge).

These men were the real heroes in the Civil War

Fort Popham

I love obscure things. The more obscure, the more I like it. That's why I spend so much time on the battlefield looking for little details. It's an illness....one that I really don't want to cure. I was messing around on the Internet the other day and came across a fort that was built during the Civil War in Maine. It's name is Fort Popham. I'm not sure how I even found this, but there it was and now I need to share the information that I found out about it.

The Colony of Popham was settled in 1607 when George Popham (the colony leader) and about 120 people on the ship "Gift of God" landed in in the area. This was an offshoot of the Plymouth (MA) colony.

Here is what I found on its Civil War history (from Wikipedia - no one else seems to have any info on it at all...except that it was a Civil War site):
Construction of Fort Popham was authorized in 1857, but did not begin until 1861. The fort was built from granite blocks quarried on nearby Fox Island and Dix Island. It had a 30-foot (9 m) - high wall facing the mouth of the Kennebec River and was built in a crescent shape, measuring approximately 500 feet (150 m) in circumference.
Fort Popham's armament consisted of 36 cannons arranged in two tiers of vaulted casements. The back side of Fort Popham was built with a low moated curtain containing a central gate and 20 musket ports.
In 1869 construction at Fort Popham stopped before the fortification was completed. The fort was garrisoned again after additional work was performed during the Spanish-American War and World War I.

What this site doesn't tell us is why the fort was built. One thing that I was able to gleen from looking at about 20 websites was that evidently there was a threat of the Confederates attacking from the north (St. Alban's, VT is a prime example) and this fort was in place just in case such a thing would happen. With the majority of the war being fought below the Mason-Dixon line, who would think to fortify the far northern sections of the North? The United States did.

Although nothing actually took place at Fort Popham, just knowing that the eastern seaboard was fortified up and down the coast, must have been something that the locals would have felt as being comforting. The war never made it to Maine, but at least Maine was ready.

Charles Yeatts

About a year or so ago, while working at the Visitors Center in Gettysburg, a woman came up to me, map in hand, with questions about her great grandfather. The gentleman in question was a Charles Yeatts. Now, I don't claim to be an expert on the civilians of Gettysburg at the time of the battle, but I have read enough and looked at enough maps, to have a good feel for the names of a lot of the civilians of 1863. This was a name I had never heard of before.

So I took a look at the map that this woman had and was able to determine that his house was located on Table Rock Road....but where??? I wasn't sure. I didn't remember any old houses along that stretch of road....but that didn't mean anything. It's not like I drive that road everyday.

The next day, I got a really nice note from this lady telling me that she found the house and gave me a little background on it and the people who currently live there. From the sound of it, I think she actually went up to the house and talked to the current owners. She thanked me for the help. I was more than happy to help her in her quest. After all, that's what I do.

As time has gone on, I started to wonder "who exactly was Charles Yeatts (or Yeats)?" So I did some snooping around and this is what I found out:

He was born in 1829. Married Catherine Bream (any relation to the Breams of Breams Mill fame????). They had 7 children. He was a farmer and owned $2500 in real estate (probably the farm on Table Rock Road) and $1200 in personal property.

He was drafted into the Civil War. He enlisted and was mustered into service on Feb. 28, 1865 (pretty darn close to the end of the war). He was in the 91st PA Co. G. He was described as being 5 feet 9 inches tall, with a dark complexion, hazel eyes, and dark hair. He was discharged on May 20, 1965.

At some point after the war, he moved to Tyrone Township. He was a merchant of dry goods. So evidently he had a grocery store.

He died Aug 29, 1890 in Mechanicsburg, PA of Bright's Disease. It says that he was "engaged in the mercantile business" in Heidlersburg for many years. So he did, indeed, have a grocery store.

It's funny how one name or one house and lead you on a chase to find what you can about a person or place. That's what happened here. In my efforts to help a person locate their great grandfather, I found a new person who is more than just a name.....he was a real person, with a real life, with a real family. And here is what I was able to find out about this real person.

A.H. Stephens State Historic Park

Although I have not specifically been to this location, I have been reading up on it. And I have learned quite a bit about this location and about Alexander Hamilton Stephens....the Vice President of the Confederate States of America.

This state park is located in Crawfordville, Georgia and has 1,189 acres. The focal point of this property is a home called "Liberty Hall" because any stranger who passed through was at "liberty to stay" at his home in a section (which the servants called) "Tramp Room".

In 1834, Alexander Stephens (also known as "Little Aleck") came to study law at Liberty Hall under the tutelage of Williamson Bird. When Bird died in 1845, Stephens bought the property. The first thing that he did was tear down the main building and build a house in the Victorian style. Today, this house is restored and open to the public.

He has a law library in the house which he used when teaching law to others. He also sent dozens of local men to college.

After the Civil War, Alexander Stephens was imprisoned and during this time, he wrote a 2-volume work called "A Constitutional View of the Late War Between the States". After he was released from prison, he was elected to the U.S. Senate as a Senator from Georgia, but Congress was still extremely bitter about the Civil War and he was not allowed his seat.

From 1872-1882, he served in the House of Representatives. And was Governor of Georgia until his death in 1883.

There is a Confederate Museum next to the main building. This museum houses military, political, and domestic artifacts from the Civil War era. Because this is a state park, there is a nominal fee to get in (2.75-4.00). But overall it sounds like this would be a pretty good place to visit.

I've never been a big fan of A. H. Stephens. I always considered him a little weasel. A nasty man who should never have gotten to the position that he was in....but after reading up on him, my views have changed. He taught others law....not an easy feat. And he also spent his own money to help send men to college. That would not be the characteristics of a "weasel" but of a man who truly cared about his fellow mankind.

Maybe Stephens wasn't the man I thought he was....and one day I will get to Georgia and spend some time walking in the halls of his home to get an even better feel of who this man really was.

Salem Church

During one of my visits to the Chancellorsville Battlefield (although there are four battlefields within just a few miles of each other, I keep finding myself drawn to Chancellorsville) I took a little side trip over to the Salem Church. It seems that during the Battle of Chancellorsville, my great great grandfathers regiment started off fighting at Marye's Heights in Fredericksburg but ended up at the Salem Church (about 4 or 5 miles from Chancellorsville). So I had to go see where "Grandpa Peter" fought.

This is on the marker at the church:
Spotsylvania Baptists built this church in 1844 and named it Salem, a Biblical word meaning peace. Two decades later, Salem Church was engulfed by war. Initially the church had just 29 members, but by 1859 the number had risen to 77, 20 of whom were black. Black worshippers entered the church through a separate door - still visible to your left - that led to a separate gallery. White members entered through the main entrance, women to the left, men to the right.
The Civil War wreaked havoc on Salem Church. Members returning in 1866 found bloodstained floors, bullet-scarred walls, and more than 100 bodies buried on the grounds. Undeterred, they refurbished the property and resumed worship services here. In time the church's needs outgrew the building, and its members erected a new building next door. They donated the older structure to the National Park Service in 1961.

In today's society, having a separate entrance for the black members of the church is extremely sad....I'm sure it was sad back then also.....but it seems remarkable that in the late 1850's and early 1860's that a church in the south (although not the deep south) actually had a mixed congregation. But then, I'm not that up to date with church histories throughout the 19th century...so I could be way off on these thoughts.

One thing that I noticed about this church was that although it sits right on Rt. 3, its off by itself. You have to do some twisting and turning in order to get to the church and even then, its on a dead end road. I like this. Some of the best historic sites are "off the beaten path"....these are the ones that no one seems to really know about and you have it all to yourself.

The church is a 2 story brick building, but not very big....I can see why they would need to build a new church building....there just wasn't room for it to grow. To me, it doesn't look any different than a 2 story brick house...a large brick house....but a house, nonetheless.

I can see why they would name it Salem (peace) because as I stood there looking at this church, knowing a bit of the history, I still felt peaceful. Some battlefields give me that impression and some still feel like the battle is happening yet. It wasn't that way here at the Salem Church, there was a sadness to the building but very peaceful despite the traffic on Rt. 3.

I look forward to my next trip down that way because one of my stops will definitely be at the Salem Church.

Nicholas Codori

While taking some family around the battlefield this afternoon, I spent some time talking about Pickett's Charge. Suddenly it occurred to me that Nicholas Codori was incredibly important in that Charge. Now, I've been studying the Civil War since I was 10 (only 10 years now....hahaha) but this idea never really occurred to me until today when I was looking at the battle through the eyes of my 10 year old brother. Hmmmm.

First, I'll give a little background on Nicholas and then explain why he played such an important role. He immigrated to the United States in 1828 with his brother George. Nicholas married Elizabeth Martin in 1835. And he died July 11, 1878. He lived at 44 York St in Gettysburg and was a local butcher. At some point (and I haven't been able to determine when) he purchased a farm on Emmitsburg Road which he used as a rental property. This is the property that plays an important role in the battle. This farm is on the eastern edge of Emmitsburg Road. The barn is very distinctive (although it is not the barn that was there at the time of the battle) in that it has three small cupola's on the top of the barn.

On July 3, 1863, the Confederate Army (mostly the men under Pickett) used the barn as an orientation device, with the ultimate goal being Cemetery Ridge. Pickett's Charge (of the Longstreet Assault...or the Pickett-Pettigrew-Trimble Charge....or whatever name you would like to use.....I use Pickett's Charge only because that's what most people know it as) went right across the fields of his farm. And as far as we know, George Pickett watched the charge from the barn.

For all these years that I have been wandering the fields around his farm, I never really thought about how that farm impacted the Civil War. What if he had divided it up and had houses built on it? How would that have impacted the battle? What if he had left the trees grow up on the farm? How would that have impacted the battle? What if someone else had purchased the farm and dug up the fields in such a way as to make it impossible for the men to cross the fields? What if's. There are just so many unanswerable questions.

When Nicholas Codori died in 1878, he left behind a huge legacy....not just of himself, but of his property. To this day, we cannot study the battle without knowing and understanding who Nicholas was. Recently, I went to the St. Francis Xavier Church Cemetery on High Street in Gettysburg and located Nicholas' grave. I stopped by to thank him for allowing the men who struggled to use his property. I also thanked him for leaving behind a legacy that will probably never die.

Debunking myths

I've worked at the Visitors Center at Gettysburg as both an employee and a volunteer and am always amazed at some of the questions that I am asked. Stories get started and somehow you wonder how they manage to keep going around because they are so outrageous. But other stories seem to have merit although they aren't real. The one myth that I'm thinking of started out this way.

So often I've been asked "Where was the shoe factory?" Huh? It seems that the story is that the battle was started over a search for shoes....precisely, they were looking for the shoes in a shoe factory. There was no shoe factory in Gettysburg. The Confederates did not come to town specifically to raid a shoe factory. They came looking for supplies....but there were none. Jubal Early had come through town just a couple of days before and took all the supplies.

How did this story start though? Harry Heth went to A.P. Hill asking for permission to come into Gettysburg looking for supplies. Hill gave Heth permission but told him not to start an engagement. Here's the strange thing: Heth took his men into Gettysburg with artillery leading the way....to "look" for supplies. Instead, they found Buford and his Cavalry....an engagement started and, as they say, the rest is history.

In his memoirs (which is a great book....VERY funny) Henry Heth states that he came into town looking for supplies, especially shoes. Heth had to cover his butt....because a general engagement was started....so to keep himself out of trouble, this was his story. Trouble is, Early had come through town....took up a "collection" from the townsfolk (a story all by itself) and then moved on. Didn't Heth or Hill know this? And if not, why not?

As the years progressed, the story took on a life of its own. People tend to leave out the "supplies" part and just leave in the "shoes" part. Gettysburg does not and never has had a shoe factory in town. The closest thing to a shoe factory were a few cobblers....but that is it....no large scale shoe manufacturing. This has become a well-known fact, yet the truth never spreads like a rumor. So, far fewer people know that this is not the truth and the number of people who know the myth. It's frustrating to those of us who know and understand the beginnings of the battle. People come to Gettysburg insisting that they know the "Truth" and when you try to explain to them that it isn't true, they get mad at YOU for being ignorant. I'm just hoping that they ask enough people and keep getting the same answers so that one day everyone will know the truth about the shoes in Gettysburg.

The Underground Railroad in North Carolina

A few years ago, I spent a week wandering around the Outer Banks in search of History....any United States history that I could locate. Fortunately for me, the Outer Banks is full of it. One of the places that I had the opportunity to visit was Roanoke Island.

Roanoke Island is famous for the Lost Colony. Sir Francis Drake had set up a colony on this island and then had to go back to England. When he returned, the colony was gone....vanished....and the only thing left were the letters "CRO" carved into a tree. To this day, no one knows for sure what happened to this colony. But this island is famous for something else. This island had a Freedman's Colony on it. This is what the memorial to the Freedman's Colony says:

Front of Memorial
First Light of Freedom
Former slaves give thanks by the creek’s edgeat the site of the island - “If you can cross thecreek to Roanoke Island, you will find ‘safe haven’.”

Back of Memorial
1862-1867. A year after the Civil War began, Roanoke Island fell to Union Forces. Word spread throughout North Carolina that slaves could find "safe haven" on the Island. By the end of 1862, over a thousand runaway slaves, freed men, women and children found sanctuary here. This colony, a precursor to the Freedmen's Bureau, was to serve as a model for other colonies throughout the South. Once again this small island, site of the first English attempt at permanent settlement in the New World, became a land of historic beginnings.

The Freedmen's Colony encompassed unoccupied, unimproved lands from Manteo to the north and west shores, including some of the land today known as Fort Raleigh National Historic Site. A sawmill, hospital, a school for black female teachers, and homes were established. Able-bodied men were offered rations and and employment to build a new fort. They also enlisted to form the First and Second North Carolina Regiments. The colony could not remain self-supporting without men and became a refuge for three thousand women, children, aged and informed.

Upon the war's end, the federal government discontinued rations and supplies to colonists and returned land to original owners. Reminiscent of early English efforts, the Roanoke Island Freedmen's colony was abandoned in 1867. Many freed people remained and their descendants would become respected local residents. Others settled in communities Throughout the region and would become an integral part of eastern North Carolina culture.

Its funny how we don't think about the Southern states having anything to do with the history of freeing the slaves....yet North Carolina played a HUGE part. The Underground Railroad was a major part of the freeing of the slaves and to think that this particular piece of property, although not technically a part of the Underground Railroad, was still a vital force in this process. The United States government did a good thing when they started this colony.

Edwards Ferry Between Maryland and Virginia

Edward's Ferry was a ferry service that went across the Potomac River between Poolesville, Md and Leesburg, VA. During the Civil War, this ferry was extremely important because there were only a handful of ferry that crossed the river between Washington D.C. and Harper's Ferry, VA (or if after 1863, West Virginia).

Here is a list of some of the things that Edwards Ferry is known for:

a) some of the Union troops crossed here in order to be on hand for the Battle at Ball's Bluff (about 3 miles up river) however, none of these troops actually took part in the battle.

b) From Dec 1861 to March 1862, Thaddeus Lowe, USA (who was known for doing surveillance from hot air balloons) used Edwards Ferry as his base of operations.

c) June 25-27, 1863 - The Army of the Potomac (Union) used this crossing as a way to get to Gettysburg. They used 2 1,400 foot pontoon bridges in order to cross all their men.

d) August, 1863 - Elijah White's Cavalry (CSA) used this river crossing and in the process captured 16 Union soldiers and 35 horses and mules

e) July, 1864 - Jubal Early (CSA) used this crossing as he retreated from threatening Washington D.C. This was directly after the Battle of Monocacy. He destroyed a Union camp, canal lock, and several canal boats.

f) Feb 1865 - again the Confederates used this crossing in order to gain access back into Virginia.

It's amazing how one little piece of property could be used time and again. But when you stop and think about how rocky the Potomac River is, there are very few places that could be easily crossed. Edwards Ferry (along with Whites Ferry...upriver a few miles) were about the only places that could be forded....until you reached Harper's Ferry which actually had a bridge. Just a thought, but if these couple of ferry's hadn't existed, how would that have effected the war? Gettysburg wouldn't have happened....how would the Union have gotten there? Who knows where Lee would have ended up? Harrisburg, Philadelphia, New York???? I think about these things and yet have no answers. I wonder what would have happened....????