Jubilee

Posted on January 4, 2013 by SUMPTER
Watch meeting, Dec. 31, 1862--Waiting for the hour (Heard & Moseley, c.1863; LOC: LC-DIG-ppmsca-10980)

Watching the watch in more places than just Shiloh Presbyterian

From The New-York Times January 1, 1863:

GRAND EMANCIPATION JUBILEE.; A Night-watch of Freedom at Shiloh Church Great Excitement and Rejoicing Among the Colored People Prayers, Speeches, Songs, Dirges and Shouts. The Chimes at Trinity. RINGING THE OLD YEAR OUT AND THE NEW YEAR IN. …

In anticipation of the Emancipation Proclamation which the President is expected to issue to-day, the colored people of this City held a grand jubilee last night at Shiloh Presbyterian Church, corner of Prince and Marion streets. By 9 o’clock in the evening the church was filled to overflowing, nearly one-third of the audience being white. Rev. HENRY HIGHLAND GARNET, pastor of Shiloh Church presided, and among the speakers were Rev. S.C. JOCELYN, C.C. LEIGH, EDWARD GILBERT, JUNIUS C. MORELL, and others.

Henry Highland Garnet (from Smithsonian Institute)

Shiloh’s pastor presided at the Great Emancipation Jubilee

The ceremonies were opened at 10 o’clock by prayer from Rev. DANL. H. VANDEWOORT, colored. After this came a hymn, and the Chairman then introduced Rev. G.S. JOCELYN, who spoke of the progress of Emancipation throughout the world, instancing England, Turkey, Russia, the District of Columbia, &c. The most loyal people in this country he said were the blacks, and if the President’s Emancipation Proclamation had been issued on the firing of the first gun at Fort Sumter the nation would have been saved the deluge of blood that had since flowed throughout the land. [Applause.] The next speaker was Hon. C.C. LEIGH who recounted the meritorious deeds of the black men in past ages, and exhorted his hearers to emulate their example, and show themselves worthy of the position among the races which they aspired to reach. Turning to the institution of Slavery in this country, he spoke in severe terms of the support it had received from a corrupt and hireling clergy. No vile debauchee, he said, had ever lived, no bold blasphemer, no scoffer from the purlieus of vice, up to the polished HUME or the wit VOLTAIRE, had ever inflicted such stabs upon our holy religion as these hireling priests, who make the Word of God speak in favor of that “sum of all villainies,” American Slavery. [Great applause.] The speaker closed by exposing the love and veneration he had always entertained for the old flag of his country, which, now that it was about to be unfurled in the cause of universal freedom, was still more dear to his heart than ever before.

Black man reading newspaper by candlelight Man reading a newspaper with headline, "Presidential Proclamation, Slavery," which refers to the Jan. 1863 Emancipation Proclamation (by Henry Louis Stephens, ca. 1863; LOC: CaLC-USZC4-2442)

Man reading a newspaper with headline, “Presidential Proclamation, Slavery”

Mr. JULIUS C. MORELL was then introduced as a native of North Carolina, and said that, though he was born in the Old North State, he felt no particular pride in it, for he had seen many other places which he would have preferred to be born in. North Carolina, he said, was a very good place to be born in, and a most excellent place to get out of. [Laughter and applause.] The speaker recounted many of the barbarities of Slavery that had come under his observation when a boy, and said that the present rebellion would have broken out long ago had it not been for the much reviled Abolitionists. The black men of the South were long ago maturing plans of a general uprising, which would have deluged the South in blood, but about that time the anti-Slavery societies of the North sprung up, and, through their preaching and promises, the slaves were induced to keep quiet. He, however, saw the finger of God in this delay. It was His design to chastise the nation for the great sin of Slavery ere the bond of the slave were broken. This was now being done by civil war, when almost every home throughout the land was filled with lamentation and mourning.

Horace Greeley 1811-1872 (no date recorded on caption card; LOC: LC-USZ62-47450)

phantom sighting of of one who had “done more to destroy this vile institution of Slavery than any man in the country”

At the close of Mr. MORELL’s remarks, the Chairman, Mr. GARNET arose and said that he perceived a person in the audience who, if he should die in the next five minutes, would have done more to destroy this vile institution of Slavery than any man in the country — he referred to HORACE GREELEY. [Loud cheers for HORACE GREELEY, and cries of “GREELEY,” “GREELEY.”] When the tumult following the announcement of Mr. GREELEY’s name had subsided, Mr. GARNET stated to the audience that he should be obliged to take it all back; he was mistaken in the man; it was nor Mr. GREELEY after all. [Great laughter.] He hoped the gentleman would not take it as an offence to be mistaken for Mr. GREELEY, for nobody would be ashamed to look like him.

A VOICE — Some of the most eminent writers have called Mr. GREELY handsome. [Great laughter.]

Mr. GARNET here announced that it lacked only 15 minutes of 12 o’clock, and at 5 minutes before 12 the audience would unite in silent prayer. Meantime, Mr. GILBERT would address the audience.

Mr. GILBERT commenced speaking, but had not gone far before he was requested to stop, as the time for prayer had arrived.

A solemn dirge was then played on the organ. At the close of which the whole audience knelt for five minutes in silent prayer.

At the expiration of that time the choir sang the hymn commencing, “Blow, ye trumpets blow, the year of jubilee has come;” in which the audience joined.

President Lincoln and Secretary Seward signing the Proclamation of Freedom: January 1st. 1863 (Published by Currier & Ives, c1865; LOC: LC-USZ62-40350)

“three cheers for ABRAHAM LINCOLN, three cheers for freedom”

The Chairman then read a dispatch from Washington, saying that President LINCOLN would issue the Emancipation Proclamation at 12 o’clock M., to-day.

This anouncement was greeted with the most tumultuous cheers, which lasted some minutes, and were followed by three cheers for ABRAHAM LINCOLN, three cheers for freedom, &c., &c. Mr. GILBERT then resumed his speaking, and threw a damper on the enthusiasm of the audience by commencing to grumble and find fault because the Proclamation was to be “issued as a military necessity, and not as an act of justice.” His audience did not appear to sympathize with his troubles in that line, and he soon dried up.

Other speakers followed, and the jubilee was kept up to a late hour in the evening, the audience singing “Old John Brown” and other similar songs, shouting, praying and rejoicing.

Birds-eye view of Trinity Church, New York ( c1846 Jan. 26; LOC: LC-DIG-pga-03727)

Chimes toll ‘Yankee Doodle’

Everybody down town last night who had nothing to do, and a great many who make a special point of hearing the Chimes toll a requiem to the Old Year, and a welcome to the New, crowded the sidewalks of Broadway and Wall-street to hear Mr. JAS. E. AYLIFFE ring his accustomed changes on the bells of Trinity. At about a quarter to twelve the programme was commenced with variations on the full complement of eight bells; then followed the favorite tunes of “Hail Columbia,” “Yankee Doodle,” “Old Dog Tray,” a grand medley, arranged by Mr. GEORGE F. BRISTOW, “Evening Bells,” “Last Rose of Summer,” “Columbia the Gem of the Ocean” and “Yankee Doodle;” the listening public being finally played to their several domicile to the plaintiv-melody of “Home, Sweet Home.” The sky was clear overhead, and the gusts of wind that blew fitfully through the night made the pealing voices of the chimes surge, now mournfully, now merrily, over the lower part of the City. There ought to be a peal of bells up-town, to keep the chimes of Trinity in countenance. …

A Negro family coming into the Union lines (1863 Jan. 1, (printed later); LOC: LC-DIG-stereo-1s02761)

“An arrival in Camp–under the Proclamation of Emancipation”

Henry Highland Garnet was involved in creating black army units for the Union.

Horace Greeley published his The Prayer of the Twenty Millions on August 19, 1862.

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Chaplain’s Last Fight

Posted on January 3, 2013 by SUMPTER
Arthur Buckminster Fuller (Richard Frederick Fuller, Chaplain Fuller, Being a Life Sketch of a New England Clergyman and Army Chaplain , 1864, frontispiece.)

Arthur Buckminster Fuller

News of a Christmas eve burial via Richmond.

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch January 2, 1863:

Death of a fighting Chaplain.

Rev. Arthur B. Fuller, Chaplain of a Massachusetts regiment, who was killed at Fredericksburg, was buried at Boston on Christmas eve. The Boston Journal says:

There has been a singular fatality attached to the family of the lamented Chaplain Fuller. Three of the family have perished by untimely deaths. Eugene Fuller, one of the sons, was drowned on the voyage from New York to New Orleans in 1859, the same year that the mother died. Margaret Fuller, Countess of Cossoll, perished by shipwreck, on Fire Island, near New York, in 1850. She was returning, from Italy to her native land, from which she had long been absent. Her husband and child were lost with her. And now Arthur B. Fuller has been killed in battle. In every instance the surviving members of the family received the sad tidings by telegraph.

A proponent of temperance and abolition Arthur Buckminster Fuller was a Unitarian clergyman who served as Chaplain of the 16th Massachusetts during the Civil War:

He was honorably discharged on 10 December 1862, on account of failing health. On the day following his discharge, being present at the Battle of Fredericksburg, he volunteered to join a detachment in crossing the Rappahannock River, and fell while attempting to drive the Confederate sharpshooters out of the city.

You can read a fuller account of Reverend Fuller’s life at the site of the Unitarian Universalist Association, which includes this description of Reverend Fuller’s death on December 11, 1862 :

…On December 10, Fuller was honorably discharged.

The following morning Fuller still lingered with his regiment, which was preparing to assault the city of Fredericksburg. Army engineers constructing pontoon bridges to cross the Rappahannock River came under heavy fire from Confederate sharpshooters. A call went out for volunteers to man boats for an assault on the enemy.

Fuller did not hesitate. Although no longer officially part of the Army, the frail, forty-one-year-old civilian climbed aboard a boat for the hazardous crossing of the river. Reaching the shore, he found himself with the Nineteenth Massachusetts Regiment, which was preparing to advance on the city. Captain Moncena Dunn of the Nineteenth later reported what happened to Fuller that day. “I saw him for the first time in the streets of Fredericksburg,” Dunn recounted. Fuller asked permission to join his unit. The captain replied that “there never was a better time than the present.” He ordered the chaplain to fill a place on the left of the skirmish line. “I have seldom seen a person on the field so calm and mild in his demeanor, evidently not acting from impulse of martial rage,” Dunn recalled. “His position was directly in front of a grocery store. He fell in five minutes after he took it, having fired [his rifle] once or twice.” Fuller had been killed instantly. …

fighting-in-fredericksburg (http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/1863/january/fighting-fredericksburg.htm; Harper's Weekly, January 3, 1863)

Chaplain’s last earthly act -helping clear rebel snipers from Fredericksburg

The above image is from the January 3, 1863 issue of Harper’s Weekly and is hosted at Son of the South.

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Beware the Spinmeisters

Posted on January 2, 2013 by SUMPTER

As a new year began journalists North and South discredited each other and saw good things for 1863 if their respective peoples persevered in the war efforts. Here’s a couple excerpts.

The old Union wagon ( Cincinnati : Published by J. Church. Jr., 1863; LOC: LC-USZ62-92047)

Driver Abe, lead us with “strenuous, unremitting war” until weaker party is disabled

From The New-York Times January 1, 1863:

The New Year and the War.

In our review, yesterday, of our military successes during the year that has closed, it was made very apparent that the rebellion could not survive another twelvemonth of similar experience. It was shown that the reduction of a like amount of territory to the old flag in 1863, as in 1862, would literally wipe the Confederacy from the face of the earth. Considering the present magnitude and splendid condition of our army, and the superb fleet of gunboats just completed — which will not only be able to gain possession of the three remaining Southern ports, but to ascend the Southern rivers far into the interior — it is certainly not unreasonable to believe that the restoration of the National authority can proceed, to say the least, as rapidly hereafter as it has heretofore.

We are too apt to estimate the prospects of the rebellion, not by its actual fortunes, but by the loud tone of its leaders and organs. The rebel Government, and all the newspapers, are protesting with greater vehemence than ever, that submission to “the old concern” is a thing utterly impossible; that the last dollar of property and the last drop of blood shall first be spent. This kind of talk is rather imposing, but, allowing it to be ever so earnest, it really deserves no more heed than the wind. Nothing is more common than for men to protest, even when nearly exhausted, more loudly than ever that they will die sooner than give in. …

We may allow the spirit of the South to be ever so resolute, yet it is no index whatever of what is to be the length of the war. This is not a question of disposition or of purpose, but a question of resource and of ability. We may rely upon it that the rebel leaders will maintain the conflict just as long as they have it in their power to deal a blow. When the people behind them are once thoroughly penetrated with the conviction that further resistance is absolutely ruining them, and not until then, shall we hear them solicit peace. It takes time to produce the results which are to work this conviction; but the conviction itself, when it once fairly comes home, will be sudden in its manifestation and speedy in its effects. We shall probably see the rebellion one month all defiance, the next all submission. We are to judge of its duration by the effective causes at work against it, not by its present temper; by the superiority of our armies in numbers and equipment — by the impossibility, that the rebels can raise another army, when their present one is destroyed — by the power of injury possessed by the naval expeditions — by the hardships inflicted by the blockade — by the constantly increasing financial straits — and not by any tone however lofty, or any spirit however obstinate.

Unidentified soldier in Union uniform with stocked Colt pistol, Remington, and cavalry saber (V; LOC: LC-DIG-ppmsca-32685)

“superiority of our armies in numbers and equipment”


We may take it for granted that this war, like others, will run to its legitimate termination — the disablement of the weaker party — and will then stop. When that point is once reached, the Southern people, as every other people under like circumstances have done, will acknowledge and act upon the necessities of the case. The final pacification will be the less difficult, because it will involve no humiliating terms, such as the worsted belligerent usually has to accept. Nothing more can be required than a renewed acceptance of the Constitution of our fathers — devotion to which is a glory, not a shame. Yet we don’t pretend this resumption of allegiance will be altogether easy. A certain sullenness must continue for months, perhaps for years. We shall never look for such a display of jubilation at the South over the restored Union as that which signalized the return of the Stuarts to the English throne …

But it is useless to speculate about these sequels. It is enough to know that the business of the present year is strenuous, unremitting war. There are the strongest reasons for believing that if the Government, the army and the now loyal people are faithful in this, the old flag will wave triumphantly in every State and County in the land before the year closes. But if instead of faith and harmony and tireless energy, we are to have despondency, distraction and delay, there is no depth of discomfiture and shame to which the year may not reduce us.

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch January 1, 1863:

Beware of false confidence.

Private David C. Colbert of Company C, 46th Virginia Infantry Regiment, with secession badge, canteen, pistol, and Bowie knife (between 1861 and 1865; LOC: LC-DIG-ppmsca-32064)

beware false security: keep that Bowie knife ready

The people of the Confederate States are buoyant with the hopes excited by the late great victory at Fredericksburg, and the stunning effect which it evidently produced upon the entire Yankee nation. Already we see signs of returning to that condition of false security which proved so nearly fatal after Manassas, and which has on other occasions so materially injured the cause. If we could hope to be heard in quarters where our counsel would be of avail, we would protest against in such feelings agreeable as they doubtless are and tempting as they must be, to men whose have been so long wound up to the utmost degree of ten[s]ion. It is persisely [precisely] from this disposition to relax that the greatest danger is to be apprehended. It is exactly in the very moment of victory that the danger in question is most apt to us. Let us, then, still keep on the alert. Let us exert our energies to their utmost, precisely as though we had been defeated in every engagement, and had the foe thundering at the very doors of our Capital as we had him last summer. The Yankees were stunned, dispirited, overwhelmed for the moment by the [?] at Fredericksburg, but already they begin to recover, and cry for another “On to Richmond” We published an article yesterday from the Philadelphia Press.– paper — in which a new route is mapped off for the advance in which the possiblity of defeat forms not the smallest item of the calculation. In which the capture of Richmond and the “suppression of the reb[e]llion” are spoken of as future events with as much confidence as though the Yankee forces had never met with a check in attempting it. Burnside has already made half a dozen reports, in the last of which he cuts down the number of his killed to 1,152, and his wounded to about 9,000. He is endeavoring, at the instance no doubt of his employers, to raise the Yankee mind from the aby[s]s of despair into which it seems to have fallen, and to prepare it for new enterprises.

We may be assured that the whole Yankee press will join in this endeavor, and that it will be successful. In a fortnight universal Yankeedom will believe that the defeat at Fredericksburg, like the defeat at Sharpsburg, was a great triumph …

James Alexander Seddon

draft, draft, draft

We are, at present, pressed nowhere but in the Southwest. The enemy evidently will not make another attempt to take Richmond winter. We have three whole months at least ress the conscription. If fully carried out it will give us — with the army now in the field–700,000 men for our operations in the spring, all of them between the ages of 18 and 40. … Let our authorities do their utmost to bring it all out and, depend upon it they will bring out enough to insure peace, and a glorious peace, before the end of the summer. They will bring out enough to render all the Yankee expenditure abortive; and when this levy shall have been battled they will never be able to raise another. We have a Secretary of War who brings with him a high reputation — no doubt well deserved — for talents, and business qualifications. His advent to office has been most suspicious. It has already been marked by the greatest battle and the most signal triumph of the whole war. Let us hope that his administration will be as fortunate to the end as it has been in the commencement, and — that it may be so — that he will devote all the energies of his mind to the organization of the conscription, and the rendering it efficient. But to this end something more is requisite than even the acknowledged abilities of the Secretary. A should be established in connection with and under the control of his office, to be devoted especially to this one object and it should be filled by the ablest man it is possible to find. He should have no other business but that connected with the conscription. The Governors of the States, and all magistrates and civil officers of every description, should be appealed to in the most earnest terms to lend all the assistance which their offices enable them to lend. Thus only can we raise a force to encounter the million of men about to be hurled against us. Thus only can we render this last gigantic effort abortive. Thus only can we an honorable, a beneficial and a lasting peace. That peace, if these conditions be observed, is right at hand; if they be not observed, it is infinitely distant.

The photo of James Alexander Seddon is licensed by Creative Commons.

As you can tell by the description at the Library of Congress the sheet music was probably published sometime in 1863 after Joseph Hooker was promoted to lead the Army of the Potomac.

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Fireworks for the New Year

Posted on January 1, 2013 by SUMPTER
galveston (Harper's Weekly, January 31, 1863)

REBEL ATTACK UPON THE FORTY-THIRD MASSACHUSETTS VOLUNTEERS AT GALVESTON, TEXAS.

Why it’s good to keep your pilot on board ship.

In the very early hours of 1863 a combined Confederate force under John Bankhead Magruder attacked the Union occupiers of Galveston, Texas. During the Battle of Galveston (or the Second Battle of Galveston) Southern infantry assaulted the small detachment from the 43rd Massachusetts in the city. Two Confederate cottonclads took on the Union ships in the harbor. One Northern ship was captured; another destroyed to prevent capture. John Arnett, a ship’s mate on the blown up Westfield, described his experience in a letter home to his father in Seneca Falls, New York.

From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in January, 1863:

Letter from John Arnett.

NEW ORLEANS, January 6, 1863.

"Chart of the Harbor of Galveston, Texas, where the 'Harriet Lane' was Taken." (U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph; http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-h/har-ln-k.htm)

charting the harbor

Dear Father: – I arrived here three days ago in the transport M.L. Boardman, from Gavelston. You have probably heard ere this about our fight at Gavelston, and the blowing up of our vessel, (the Westfield) to prevent her falling into the hands of the enemy.

At about two o’clock, New Year’s morning, a large force of rebels came into the City by land, blockading the channel. – The Harriet Lane, Clifton, and Owasco were anchored close into the city. The Harriet Lane was boarded by two rebel steamers running alongside, when one of the most terrible hand-to-hand conflicts ensued, the Texans using their Bowies and the sailors the boarding pike. But unfortunately the odds were so heavy against us, in spite of our efforts, the Harriet Lane was captured, and the Secesh flag now waves over the hansomest vessel of the U.S.N. We beat to quarters immediately after the signal was made from the Harriet Lane that the enemy were approaching, and got under way to go to the head of the line, to give and receive the first fire; but our pilot being on board a transport which had arrived the day before, the vessel got ashore, and then we used every exertion to get her afloat without any avail, as we got on at high water and the tide leaving us high and dry.

ATTACK OF THE REBELS UPON OUR GUN-BOAT FLOTILLA AT GALVESTON, TEXAS, JANUARY 1, 1863. (Harper's Weekly, January 31, 1863)

John and rest of crew “pulled for a Transport steamer” as Westfield exploded

The fighting was hard on both sides and loss heavy. The rebels got up in the windows of the houses overlooking the wharf, and kept up such a well directed and brisk fire on the Harriet Lane as to sweep her decks, besides the many field pieces they brought to bear on the vessels from the wharf. You cannot imagine how we felt. There we were ashore, and could not render any assistance to the other vessels, when we could see the flashes of the fire, and hear loud cannonading on both sides, and when daylight dawned to see two rebel steamers, one on each side of the Harriet lane, and then we knew she was captured. Com. Renshaw then gave orders for all hands to leave the ship, as he was going to destroy her. The enemy’s steamers were approaching, and we got into the boats and pulled for a Transport steamer. I was in the last boat that left the ship. The fire communicated with the magazine before we expected, and several of our crew were blown up with the vessel, including the Commodore, W.B. Renshaw, our 1st Lieuten[t], C.W. Zimmerman, and Chief Engineer W.R. Green.

"Surprise and Capture of the United States Steamer 'Harriet Lane', by the Confederates, under General Magruder, and the Destruction of the Flagship 'Westfield' in Galveston Harbor, Texas, January 1st, 1863." (U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph; http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-h/har-ln-k.htm)

making old tars shed tears

It is hard to make an old sailor shed tears, but when we saw the explosion, knowing that the 1st Lieutenant was on board, whom every one of us loved so well, I really cannot find words to express my feelings at the time,only to say that it was the most sad scene that it has been my lot to witness in a long time. The old “tars” shed tears, and seemed as if they wanted to be blown up with him. For one I should have been willing to have gone up with her, sooner than to see her fall into the enemy’s hands.

The fight lasted about five hours and was a very hard one. Not over ten were left alive out of the Harriet Lane. Her Commander, Capt. Wainwright, Lieut. Lee [Lea?] and most of her officers were killed. I do not know how many were killed or wounded on the Owasco, but I think not many.

We had to leave the harbor then with the remaining vessels. There were 250 Union soldiers there. These 250 were all killed or taken prisoners.

I must close, as my time is up, and I have to report on some vessel, but I do not know which one as yet. My health is good. – I lost part of my clothes when the old Westfield went, but I am thankful that I did not lose my head.

Hastily, your affectionate son,

JOHN.

Capture of USS Harriet Lane, 1 January 1863 (U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph; http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-h/har-ln-k.htm)

Capture of USS Harriet Lane, 1 January 1863

A poignant moment from the battle:

When a Confederate major [Albert Miller Lea] involved in the action arrived on the deck of the ship [the Harriet Lane], he found his son, a lieutenant in the Union navy, lying mortally wounded.[1]

According to the Wikipedia link on the battle, The Confederate Congress thanked “Prince John” Magruder and the entire Confederate force:

The bold, intrepid, and gallant conduct of Maj. Gen. J. Bankhead Magruder, Col. Thomas Green, Maj. Leon Smith and other officers, and of the Texan Rangers and soldiers engaged in the attack on, and victory achieved over, the land and naval forces of the enemy at Galveston, on the 1st of January, 1863, eminently entitle them to the thanks of Congress and the country… This brilliant achievement, resulting, under the providence of God, in the capture of the war steamer Harriet Lane and the defeat and ignominious flight of the hostile fleet from the harbor, the recapture of the city and the raising of the blockade of the port of Galveston, signally evinces that superior force may be overcome by skillful conception and daring courage.

As a result of the battle the South would control Galveston for the rest of the war, but actually the Union navy was able to maintain a blockade of the harbor.

The first and third images in this post are from the January 31, 1863 issue of Harper’s Weekly hosted at Son of the South, where you can also read an account of the battle.

Rebel look-out, Bolivar Point ( between 1863 and 1864; LOC: LC-DIG-stereo-1s01419)

watching for Yankees from Bolivar Point

               _______________

1863 calendars

Here’s a couple calendars for 1863 (and then some). You can read the descriptions of the two calendars (left and right) at the Library of Congress. The one on the right anticipated Abraham Lincoln’s January 1, 1863 Emancipation Proclamation.

Calendar for 1863 (1862; LOC: LC-USZ62-90748)

Might this war be over in a year and a half?

Calendar for 1863 (1862; LOC: LC-USZ62-90749)

An emancipating year


_______________

  1. [1]Catton, Bruce. The American Heritage New History of the Civil War. Ed. James McPherson. New York: Viking, 1996. Print. page 182↩
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Lots of Riding … and Writing

Posted on December 31, 2012 by SUMPTER
Baltimore & Ohio 1876 (Rand McNally, 1876; LOC: g3701p rr003390 http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.gmd/g3701p.rr003390)

The 1st NY Cavalry helped defend the B&O in western Virginia (1876 map)

In the fall of 1862 the 1st New York Cavalry Regiment operated in northwest Virginia. One of its main jobs was apparently protecting the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from rebel raiders in the soon-to-be 35th state in the federal Union. Here a cavalryman recounts his regiment’s autumnal adventures for the benefit of his (presumably) hometown paper.

From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in December 1862:

FROM W.H. BEACH.
CAMP of 1st N.Y. CAVALRY,
North Mt. Station, Va., Dec. 17, 1862.

ED. COURIER. – When the army left Maryland after the battle of Antietam, the 4th Cavalry brigade, of which this regiment is a part, with several new infantry regiments, was sent to increase the force for the protection of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad in Northern Virginia, and to guard against rebel raids in that direction. Our march over the mountains was on the turnpike which at Cumberland becomes the old national road.

Gen. [B. F. ?] Kelly (between 1855 and 1865; LOC: LC-DIG-cwpbh-01158)

led assault on Imboden’s camp

The portion of the Mountain Department to which we belonged was under the command of Brig. Gen. Kelley whose headquarters were at Cumberland. Squadrons or battalions of Cavalry were posted at different places among the mountains. The 2nd battalion was stationed at Springfield, an old town mostly of log houses in Hampshire Co.

On our scouts we made ourselves familiar with the valleys of Patterson’s Creek, the South Branch and Great Capon Rivers. – While the Indian Summer days lasted, along these rivers as they rushed swiftly over their rocky beds and under great hanging rocks, or widening, lingered in more peaceful places, the gray, rugged rocks and many-colored woods of the mountains were mingled in scenery of wild and charming beauty. – The arable land lies in the narrow bottoms along the rivers. It is very fertile but there is little of it. The mountains were full of deers, wild turkeys, wild cats, &c., to afford us amusement when rebel hunting would no longer furnish us excitement.

The region through Hampshire and adjoining counties is full of places of deep historical interest. The roads and other land-marks are for the most part still as they were left by Washington, who when a boy, surveyed the tract for Lord Fairfax. Many places were scenes of fierce conflicts with the Indians in the early history of the country. – Great Capon, or Cacahepon Springs, a noted watering place, and Ice Mountain, among whose rocks ice is formed throughout the summer, were places of much attraction in times of peace. There is reason to believe that the Virginian Alleghanies, as well as the same mountains in Maryland and Pennsylvania, are rich in mines of iron ore and coal, though they have been but little developed, notwithstanding the ease of access to eastern cities by the Balt. & O.R.R. It is to be hoped that this war will end the day, when home interests must be sacrificed at the bidding of a single imperious interest.

Portrait of Brig. Gen. John D. Imboden, officer of the Confederate Army (between 1860 and 1865; LOC: LC-DIG-cwpb-06349)

‘obtain’ a horse, serve as cavalry

Our campaign among the mountains was full of exciting adventures. Col. Imboden, a bold rebel chief, long lay in the country about Moorefield, and his scouting parties, at home in the country and possessing perfect knowledge of the roads and trails on the mountains, were often a source of annoyance. They could always find active friends among the rebel citizens. Many of the women were especially relentless in their hatred of the Yankees and their zeal to trouble them.

Lively skirmishes were of frequent occurrence. On one occasion a small reconnoitering party some miles beyond Romney fell in with a party of rebel cavalry, and chased them several miles through a deep narrow gap, when a large body of fresh cavalry turned upon the pursuers. Only three of the Union party had horses fresh enough to bring them safely out of the furious chase of ten miles that succeeded. the captain of Co. B, who commanded the party, was taken prisoner. Of fourteen whose horses failed, all but four escaped by turning aside in the rocks and woods, amid volleys from the pursuing rebels.

Imboden would give his infantry leave to furnish themselves with horses in any way they chose and serve as cavalry. A party of them were long prowling upon the mountains about Springfield attacking our pickets night after night in succession, and ready to capture a wagon whenever one was sent out by day without a guard. In spite of the ceaseless vigilance of the pickets, the constant readiness of a strong reserve, and many well laid plans to entrap them, the horse thieves generally escaped. Occasional brisk skirmishes taught them to avoid us in daylight. A party of four of Co. B, sent on a daring reconnoissance of four days, evading the rebel pickets and scouting parties, found Imboden’s camp. A few days afterwards Gen. Kell[e]y with about a thousand cavalry, a few companies of infantry and a battery of artillery, went out to capture the rebel force. The infantry rode in wagons that they might be fresh for a fight at the end of the march. It was a snowy morning when we started. – All day and all the squally night following, we pressed rapidly forward, over the rocky roads, fording the swift rivers, and through the dark pine woods on the mountain sides, that were darker and gloomier under the weight of damp snow that loaded them down. So [?] after daylight we had driven in the pickets, and were before the rebel stronghold in the deep, narrow valley of the South Fork, eighteen miles from Moorefield and sixty from our starting place. The ground was so chosen that it was impossible to gain the rear or to make an attack on either flank. The cavalry dashed impetuously into the camp, when the frightened rebels fled to the mountain, climbing like cats up among the rocks. The artillery from admirable positions on either side of the valley speedily shelled many of them down, when they fell into the clutches of the cavalry, who stood eagerly waiting to pounce upon them. At every discharge of the cannon the sound echoed and re-echoed from one mountain to the other until it rolled in a continued roar away down the valley. After burning the camp the expedition returned, with many prisoners and large droves of fat cattle and hogs that had been collected by the rebel army.

When the rebels again became particularly troublesome one of Company B, at the request of Gen. Kelley, volunteered to learn their new position. Perfectly disguised, and with a well contrived story of a peaceful farmer living across the Potomac, he rode away. He had partially succeeded in his object when he was arrested, charged with being a spy, robbed of his horse, pocketbook and everything but the clothing he wore, and threatened with immediate hanging. An officer who heard him tell his story and assert his innocence, ordered to be kept under a close guard for a few days when he would attend to him further. He had good reasons to expect hanging if he staid, and therefore thought best to get away. One night he silently escaped out of a window while his guard was asleep, and finally arrived, foot-sore and weary, at his Company’s quarters.

Upon the withdrawal of Jackson with the greater portion of his army from Winchester, we were ordered further east. A two days’ march brought us here by way of Bloomer’s Gap. It was a mild, bright afternoon when we crossed the last ridge of the Alleghanies, and before us lay the broad, laughing valley of the Shenandoah, with its wide, well-fenced farms, fine, large houses, and great barns. It was a pleasant relief to our eyes, whose vision had long been circumscribed by dark, rugged mountains.

The railroad had been destroyed as completely as possible, but is now being rapidly relaid. The rebels had done much other mischief; but there is not in this section that complete desolation that marks the path of a great army. Martinsburg has for some time been free from rebel soldiers, but they are still in some force this side of Winchester.

Capt. R.G. Prendergast, 1st New York Cavalry (between 1860 and 1870; LOC: LC-DIG-cwpb-05054)

his men recaptured Casey’s horse – without orders

The day after our arrival here, which was a week ago, a scouting party of twenty-five from Cos. B and M, under Lieut. Prendergast, on the Winchester road beyond Martinsburg came upon a rebel picket, which rallied on a reserve, in all about forty of the 7th Va. cavalry. They were disposed to make a stand; but our men were eager for a fight, and charged upon them so impetuously that they broke and fled. A most exciting chase followed; our men shouting close on the heels of the rebels who were urging their horses to their utmost speed. One after another, losing ground a little, would reel under a sturdy sabre blow from some one who had gained his side, and fall back. After a chase of several miles a halt was ordered for fear we would run into a large force near Bunker’s Hill. One man, mistaking some rebels with Union coats for our men, rode up to them and was taken prisoner, but suffered to go when they had taken his horse, which is one of the finest in the regiment, and we have all learned to feel the warmest friendship for a good horse – a cavalry soldier’s best friend. When we had ceased to follow, the rebels formed across the road. But as our comrade came back crying frantically that the rebels had his horse, the boys, not waiting for an officer, with one accord gave a shout to charge “once more for Casey’s horse!” and the rebels broke and fled again. Another hot pursuit, and we came back with thirteen prisoners and the recaptured horse – the best prize of all.

1stCavPersonPeterson (http://dmna.ny.gov/historic/reghist/civil/cavalry/1stCav/1stCavPersonPeterson.htm)

brave and true from Seneca County: Corporal Charles R. Peterson

I believe that if anything akin to the emotion of sublimity is ever experienced in war it is in a bold cavalry charge; and bolder, more successful little dashes than that which our men made do not often occur. Not a man of our party was injured, though at times the rebels fired back continuous volleys. It is reported by citizens along the road that twelve rebels were wounded – four mortally. Several of the prisoners were also dangerously wounded.

Among the most eager of the pursuers was Corporal Peterson, of Canoga, than whom Seneca County has not sent a braver, or truer boy to the wars.

News does not reach us very regularly. We are all looking eagerly toward Richmond. We have many reports, but do not know what ones to believe. Our rough life has many enjoyments, but we are watching anxiously for the coming of the day that shall bring peace to the re-united country.

W.H.B.

You can read Lieutenant Prendergast’s report on the December 11, 1862 Skirmish at Darkesville at the West Virginia Division of Culture and History.

John Daniel Imboden was promoted to brigadier general in January 1863.. He was involved a great deal in various attacks to destroy parts of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad.

Brigadier General Benjamin Franklin Kelley is mentioned in the story I linked to at Seven Score and Ten – he ordered the firing of a 35 gun salute from a captured cannon on news that West Virginia would be admitted to the Union.

Members of 1st NY Cavalry in our story.

Richard G Prendergast

killed at Nineveh in 1864

Charles R Peterson

Canoga’s own

William H Beach

our correspondent finds a good cavalry charge sublime

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Licensed to Sell?

Posted on December 29, 2012 by SUMPTER

Alabama corn price controls

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch December 29, 1862:

Cor[n] law i[n] Alabama.

–The Legislature of Alabama has passed a bill requiring that no person, except the producer and miller, shall sell corn without first obtaining a license from the Judge of Probate of the county in which the corn is to be sold, and the party so licensed is not allowed to sell corn at a greater profit than 20 per cent. on the price paid to the producer and charges, exclusive of the fees and taxes on the license, and no miller is allowed to sell corn except that which be receives as toll for grinding or which he produces himself. Heavy densities [penalties?] are fixed to the violation of this law; and the exportation of c[o]rn from the State is forbidden; except by permission of the Commissioners Court of the county from which the corn is to be exported, and excepting, also corn belonging to the Confederate Government or to any of the Confederate State. This law has been approved by the Governor.

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South Carolina Succession!

Posted on December 28, 2012 by SUMPTER

About two years after the secession of South Carolina from the United States the Palmetto state changed governors: Milledge Luke Bonham replaced Francis Wilkinson Pickens. It certainly wasn’t an election in the current American sense. According to Wikipedia, “On December 17, 1862, the South Carolina General Assembly elected Bonham as governor by secret ballot.”

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch December 29, 1862:

Inauguration of the Governor of South Carolina.

Gen. Bonham, the Governor elect of South Carolina, was inaugurated at Columbia, on the 18th inst. Governor [P]ickens, in his retiring address said:

… I hand the State over to my [dis]tinguished successor, and here proudly say that, through her whole career up to this day, [n]o stain [r]ests upon a single feather in the plum[e] that waves over her brow.

Amid the great [ev]ents around us, my acts now pass into history. I have done what I have done I court scrutiny into those acts, and ask no favor from any earthly tribunal save my country and posterity. I now pass the insignia of office into your hands, and may God, in His mercy, bless you and my beloved State.

The Governor elect, thus introduced, spoke as follows:

Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives: To be the chief Magistrate of South Carolina is, at any time, a flattering distinction; but especially is it so when the Confederacy is in the throne of a mighty revolution inaugurated by that State herself.

With much distrust of my own abilities I assumes this responsibility, but with the aid of the patriotic citizens composing your bodies, and with a firm reliance upon the great Ruler of events, I shall devote myself to the duties assigned me, discharging them fairly and impartially and leave it to posterity to judge of their attitude of my conduct.

A fearful war has for near two years been waged against us by a fierce and unrelenting foe. Already has it cost the State many of her noblest sons. The friend of my youth — my comrade in arms — has just yielded up his life a willing scarifies for our Independence. Our entire state is now paying homage to his memory and his Roman virtues. The success of our cause will much depend upon the harmony of the Confederate States and State Governments, and whilst we must never loss sight of the rights of the State, wisdom and patriotism alike dictate that in every legitimate way we should sustain the Confederate authorities to whom the conduct of the war has been manly confided.

Upon my humble efforts to carry the State successfully through the trails that await her during my term of office, I invoke the blessing of Almighty God. And now, sir, I am prepared to take the oath of office.

The Hon. A. P. Aldrich, Speaker, then administered the oath to Gov. Ronham, and to Lieut. Gov. Western. The President of the Senate then requested the Senators to return to their Chamber where he would deliver commissions to the Governor and Lieut-Governor. This having been done the Sheriff proclaimed, the eastern porch, the fact that Gov. M. L. Bonham had been inaugurated as Commander in Chief of South Carolina.

Bonham’s comrade in arms, South Carolina General Maxcy Gregg was mortally wounded at the December 13, 1862 Battle of Fredericksburg.

State House, Columbia, South Carolina (by Alfred R. Waud, between 1860 and 1865; LOC: LC-DIG-ppmsca-21601)

State House in Columbia, South Carolina

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Christmas Thank-offering

Posted on December 26, 2012 by SUMPTER

Fredericksburg refugees caught between plundering Yankee army of he North and the spirit of extortion in the Southern Yankee businessmen.

The Bombardment of Fredericksburg, December 11, 1862 (Battles and leaders of the Civil War. New York : The Century Co., c1884, c1888, vol. 3, p. 112; LOC: LC-USZ62-108240)

Not Santa down their chimneys: early Christmas gifts from the Yankees

From the Richmond Daily Dispatch December 25, 1862:

Appeal for Fredericksburg.

The citizens of Fredericksburg have been great sufferers by the horrid devastation inflicted upon that town by the Yankees. Not only have their dwellings been destroyed, or rendered uninhabitable, but, in almost every instance, their furniture, clothing, and personal effects of every kind, have been torn to pieces or stolen, so that a community in which such a thing as poverty was once unknown is now homeless, comfortless, and, in the case of many of its inhabitants, actually requiring the assistance of others for food and lodging. The rich inhabitants, though much impoverished, may not be thus destitute; but the rich are but a small minority of any community. The great mass of them who have been dispossessed of their habitations and homes by the sudden convulsion which, like an earthquake, has swallowed up Fredericksburg, have no surplus means to provide against such an exigency, and must, therefore, either perish for want of the absolute means of subsistence, or be relieved;–we will not say by the charity — but by the justice and humanity of their fellow-citizens.

Night. The sacking of Fredericksburg-- & biovace[sic]of Union troops (by Arthur Lumley, 1862 December 12; LOC: LC-DIG-ppmsca-20787)

” their furniture, clothing, and personal effects of every kind, have been torn to pieces or stolen”

That which adds immensely to the distress of a people thus ejected from their homes is the famine prices at which all articles, whether of necessity or comfort, are now held. If the last year, instead of being productive, had been a year of dearth, prices could scarcely range higher than they do now. How can those who have lost their furniture replace it, or even their clothing, at present prices? If they try to obtain board, forty and sixty dollars a month in the moderate demand for each individual. Nor is the spirit of extortion confined to the cities. It is just as rampant in the country. We have heard that in some localities in the which have themselves escaped the scourge of war, the most intense greed of gold pervades the people, and that refugees whose pockets are not well lined are objects, if not of their contempt, of cold indifference. The unfortunate refugees are between two fires, with Yankees behind them and Yankees before them; for, of all contemptible Yankees in the world, the most contemptible are those who, professing to hold Yankee av[a]rice and meanness in the most sublime scorn, are themselves the meanest and most avaricious of mankind.

Halt of Wilcox's Troops in Caroline street prevous[sic] to going in to battle--; Troops lounging on furniture and debris in foreground, battered dwellings in background (by Arthur Lumley, 1862 December 13; LOC: LC-DIG-ppmsca-20791)

“sudden convulsion” of ‘Northern’ Yankees

We invoke all just and humans [humane?] people to contribute every dollar they can spare, and all the influence they possess, to the relief of the community of Fredericksburg. On this Christmas day, what better Christmas gift can we lay upon the altar of Almighty God, what better thank- offering for the great deliverance which He has just effected for us at this same Fredericksburg and by which we ourselves, perhaps, have been saved from being rendered houseless and homeless, than a literal and universal donation in all the churches to the relief of the Fredericksburg people?

Street in Fredericksburg, Va., showing houses destroyed by bombardment in December, 1862 (photographed 1862, (printed between 1880 and 1889); LOC: LC-DIG-ppmsca-32890 )

in lieu of Richmond?

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Pine Grove Christmas

Posted on December 25, 2012 by SUMPTER
White Oak Church, Falmouth, Va.--Headquarters of Christian Commission (photographed between 1861 and 1865, printed later; LOC: LC-USZ62-119121)

putting the church in White Oak Church

From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in January 1863:

The 33d Regiment.

A correspondent of the Rochester Union in the 33d regiment, thus writes of a pleasant affair which occurred at Col. TAYLOR’s head quarters on Christmas day:

Col. R. F. Taylor very generously gave a hansome dinner to his staff and line officers, which was one of the most pleasant occasions we have met in camp. Though attended with many inconveniences, being camped in the woods and far from market, yet he spared no pains to make the occasion agreeable and inviting. The table, neatly spread beneath a large fine tent in the midst of a beautiful pine grove, was abundantly supplied with beef, potatoes, bread, butter, pie, cake, turkey, chicken, &c. In fine health and still finer spirits, the officers gathered around this festive board, forgetting the sober realities of war, heartily engaged in the merits of a Christmas dinner as in times of peace in days gone by.

The occasion was marked by a civil, dignified and gentlemanly deportment which in every respect became officers of their rank.

Robert F. Taylor (http://dmna.ny.gov/historic/reghist/civil/rosters/Infantry/33rd_Infantry_CW_Roster.pdf)

Colonel Taylor, Christmas host

After the battle of Fredericksburg, the 33rd, as part of the XI Corps, recrossed the Rappahannock with the rest of the Army of the Potomac on the night of December 15th. According to The story of the Thirty-third N.Y.S. vols.; or, two years campaigning in Virginia and Maryland (by David W. Judd (page 256)):

You can read about White Oak Church at The Historical
Marker Database:

With the arrival of the Army of the Potomac in November 1862, White Oak Church instantly became the center of one of the largest communities in Virginia. For seven months, 20,000 soldiers of the VI Corps camped in the immediate area. During that time the church served alternately as a military hospital, a United States Christian Commission station, and as a photographic studio. Fifty-two soldiers who died during the encampment were buried on the church grounds. Their bodies were later moved to Fredericksburg National Cemetery.

               _______________

The world's first commercially produced Christmas card, designed by John Callcott Horsley for Henry Cole (1846)

‘mirth and hilarity’ to y’all!
From. … Sumpter

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When?

Posted on December 24, 2012 by SUMPTER
Christmas Eve, 1862 by Thomas nast (Harper's Weekly, January 3, 1862)

good question

From a Seneca County, New York newspaper in December 1862:

“When Shall We Have Peace.”

The Portland Advertiser, the leading Republican paper in Maine, asks the important and interesting question and answers it. We commend the answer to the careful attention of those who are so free with their charges of treason against every Democrat who speaks of peace:

We answer: – When Congress shall be persuaded that reason, not force, is THE DIVINITY of the age in which we live. When Congress shall be persuaded that history furnishes no example of six millions of people educated free and independent, being subjugated to captivity and ruled against their consent. When Congress shall be persuaded that no nation on earth has proved themselves powerful enough in arms, or in wealth to establish and maintain indefinitely, a military despotism over six millions of white men accustomed to freedom and to a representative Government. – When Congress shall be persuaded that every bayonet that carries a demand for obedience to law and to the Federal Government, should also carry the announcement of a religious respect for the political rights out of which the war has arisen, and a willingness to confer amicably upon the terms of a readjustment of those rights.

Soldier standing at graves of Federal soldiers, along stone fence, at Burnside Bridge, Antietam, Maryland (by Alexander Gardner, photographed 1862, printed later; LOC: LC-USZ62-116321)

Viewing Moloch’s work: Union graves at Burnside Bridge, Antietam

Fight on ye men of the north, and, fight on, will be the cry of the men of the South until, substantially, these conditions we have named shall come to pass; but fewer of each side shall live to enjoy the results, as day by day passes away, and all of each will be poorer in purse, until the result that gives peace shall be attained.

Peace is the child of reason and reciprocal interest. War is the heathen and soulless Moloch that devours without remorse, every life and every interest that stands in the way of its imagined proclaimed necessities. Cold, pitiless, inhuman is war in its best aspect. It makes children fatherless, wives widows, the rich poor, the poor miserable, the powerful feeble, the feeble despairing, and the world itself everything which it ought not to be, to every citizen and to every interest.

A wooden ballot box used in the northeastern United States circa 1870. (Smithsonian Institute)

The star of our show

But fight on, fight, will be the impulsed cry of politicians, or aspirants to office, of government jobbers and contractors, and of fanatic one idea men, both at the North and the South. Fight on will be the cry of standard loyalty, until the still small, and yet sublime voice of the BALLOT-BOX shall bid battl[e]s to cease, and reason, not madness, to resume its sway over the councils of the nation.

          __________

The telegraph states that on Monday [December 15th], the pickets of the contending armies [at Fredericksburg], fronting the left wing, mutually agreed upon an “armistice” among themselves, and freely intermingled with each other, exchanging their dead friends and comrades who lay on “neutral ground.”

During this time a General of our army rode by and put an end to these proceedings. The result was that both parties commenced firing, when nine of our men were killed.

After the general had left, the friendly demonstrations of our pickets were renewed, and butternut and blue uniforms freely mingled.

About this time General Franklin despatched a flag of truce, which the enemy immediately recognized, and the exchange of dead bodies was resumed and continued until completed.

Yesterday General Lee sent a flag of truce to General Burnside, asking him to detail men to bury his dead in front of Gen. Sumner’s gra[n]d division. This was done.

Portrait photograph of Ralph Waldo Emerson, head-and-shoulders, facing slightly right. ( c1911 February 7; LOC: LC-USZ62-10611)

Have yourself a reasoned little Christmas

The wounded, with the exception of those whom the enemy obtained, have all been brought to this side of the Rappahannock, and as rapidly as possible are being sent to Washington.

The Portland Advertiser seems to be using some Transcendentalist philosophy, although its use of reason might be different than the way Ralph Waldo Emerson, a leader in transcendentalism, meant it. Emerson considered reason to be “the intuitive awareness of eternal truth”[1] and distinguished it from the sensible, material world. Reason was the way to understand the divine and live one’s life accordingly. That did not mean peace at any price. From the Wikipedia link: “These essays [The Conduct of Life] also find Emerson strongly embracing the idea of war as a means of national rebirth: ‘Civil war, national bankruptcy, or revolution, [are] more rich in the central tones than languid years of prosperity,’ Emerson writes.”

              ________________

Star-spangled Santa

SANTA CLAUS IN CAMP (by Thomas Nast, Harper's Weekly, January 3, 1863)

Santa says, “G’lang!” ???

The two Christmas drawings are by Thomas Nast from the January 3, 1862 issue of Harper’s Weekly hosted at Son of the South, where you can read about the Battle of Fredericksburg and Santa’s visits to the Union camps.

  1. [1]Encyclopedia Britannica, The 100 Most Influential Americans, London: Constable & Robinson Ltd, 2008. Print. page 108.↩
Posted in 150 Years Ago This Month, American Culture, Battle of Fredericksburg, Northern Politics During War, Northern Society | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment