Welcome to an Interdisciplinary
Study of the Civil War
Item 1
Melville Poems
The Portent
Herman Melville
(1859)
Hanging from the beam,
Slowly swaying (such the law),
Gaunt the shadow on your green,
Shenandoah!
The cut is on the crown
(Lo, John Brown),
And the stabs shall heal no more.
Hidden in the cap
Is the anguish none can draw;
So your future veils its face,
Shenandoah!
But the streaming beard is shown
(Weird John Brown),
The meteor of war.
1866
Shiloh
Herman Melville
A REQUIEM
(APRIL 1862)
Skimming lightly, wheeling still,
The swallows fly low
Over the field in clouded days,
The forest-field of Shiloh--
Over the field where April rain
Solaced the parched one stretched in pain
Through the pause of night
That followed the Sunday fight
Around the church of Shiloh--
The church so lone, the log-built one,
That echoed to many a parting groan
And natural prayer
Of dying foemen mingled there--
Foemen at morn, but friends at eve--
Fame or country least their care:
(What like a bullet can undeceive!)
But now they lie low,
While over them the swallows skim,
And all is hushed at Shiloh.
1866
Malvern Hill
Herman Melville
Ye elms that wave on Malvern Hill
In prime of morn and May,
Recall ye how McClellan's men
Here stood at bay?
While deep within yon forest dim
Our rigid comrades lay--
Some with the cartridge in their mouth,
Others with fixed arm slifted South--
Invoking so
The cypress glades? Ah wilds of woe!
The spires of Richmond, late beheld
Through rifts in musket-haze,
Were closed from view in clouds of dust
On leaf-walled ways,
Where streamed our wagons in caravan;
And the Seven Nights and Days
Of march and fast, retreat and fight,
Pinched our grimed faces to ghastly plight--
Does the elm wood
Recall the haggard beards of blood?
The battle-smoked flag, with stars eclipsed,
We followed (it never fell!)--
In silence husbanded our strength--
Received their yell;
Till on this slope we patient turned
With cannon ordered well;
Reverse we proved was not defeat;
But ah, the sod what thousands meet!--
Does Malvern Wood
Bethink itself, and muse and brood?
We elms of Malvern Hill (Melville wrote this stanza
Remember everything; in italics; unfortunately,
But sap the twig will fill Unix will not reproduce
Wag the world how it will italic characters)
Leaves must be green in Spring.
1866
Item 2
More Whitman Poems
Beat! Beat! Drums!
Beat! beat! drums!--blow! bugles! blow!
Through the windows--through doors--burst like a ruthless force,
Into the solemn church, and scatter the congregation,
Into the school where the scholar is studying;
Leave not the bridegroom quiet--no happiness must he have now with his
bride.
Nor the peaceful farmer any peace, ploughing his field or gathering his grain,
So fierce you whirr and pound you drums--so shrill you bugles blow.
Beat! beat! drums!--blow! bugles! blow!
Over the traffic of cites--over the rumble of wheels in the streets;
Are beds prepared for sleepers at night in the houses?no sleepers must sleep in
those beds,
No bargainers' bargains by day--no brokers or speculators--would they con-
tinue?
Would the talkers be talking? would the singer attempt to sing?
Would the lawyer rise in the court to state his case before the judge?
Then rattle quicker, heavier drums--you bugles wilder blow.
Calvary Crossing a Ford
A line in long array where they wind betwixt green islands,
They take a serpentine course, their arms flash in the sun--hark to the musical
clank,
Behold the silvery river, in it the splashing horses loitering stop to drink,
Behold the brown-faced men, each group, each person, a picture, the negli-
gent rest on the saddles,
Some emerge on the opposite bank, others are just entering the ford--
while,
Scarlet and blue and snowy white,
The guidon flags flutter gayly in the wind.
1865,
1871
A Sight in Camp in the Daybreak Gray and Dim
A sight in camp in the daybreak gray and dim,
As from my tent I emerge so early sleepless,
As slow I walk in the cool fresh air the path near by the hospital tent,
Three forms I see on stretchers lying, brought out there untended lying,
Over each the blanket spread, ample brownish wollen blanket,
Gray and heavy blanket, folding, covering all.
Curious I halt and silent stand,
Then with light fingers I from the face of the nearest the first just lift the
blanket;
Who are you elderly man so gaunt and grim, with well-gray'd hair, and flesh
all sunken about the eyes?
Who are you my dear comrade?
Then to the second I step--and who are you my child and darling?
Who are you sweet boy with cheeks yet blooming?
Then to the third--a face nor child nor old, very calm, as a beautiful yellow-
white ivory;
Young man I think I know you--I think this face is the face of the Christ
himself,
Dead and divine and brother of all, and here again he lies.
1865, 1867
Item 3 N.B.: disregard for now -- upgrade of CU's network to Win95
meant this resource cannot presently be networked. Stay tuned.
C. O'B. 3 Sept 98
CIVIL WAR CD-ROM NOW ON NETWORK
The library recently acquired a cdrom, described by its creator as
"the most comprehensive Civil War database." It has thousands of
articles from newspapers (North and South), as well as battlefield and
campaign maps. It will now be possible for students to work extensively
with primary materials.
The database is presently available over network. From the
standard Clarkson menu, choose "LIBRARY RESOURCES," then "REFERENCE
WORKS," then "THE CIVIL WAR: a newspaper perspective." It will take a
little time to learn how to "navigate" within the program. Since the
program is not set up to use Postscript printers, you will not be able to
print directly from it. I suggest taking the "Save as" option under
FILE, choosing "DOS TEXT"; save your text and then print the file.
You may need to edit it first with your wordprocessor, especially if you
plan to print on your own printer. There will surely be a few glitches
as we shake down this powerful new learning tool, so stay tuned.
Item 4
"Maine's Patron Saint"
(from the original posting)
Finally, I scanned the following biography from the Maine
Adjutant General's Report, 1864-1865 Vol. 1, published 1867.
This is probably as "first hand" as you can get with any write up
of JLC's CW experiences.
Enjoy!
(I edited this slightly, C. O'B.)
BREVET MAJ. GEN. JOSHUA L. CHAMBERLAIN,
Of Brewer, after several attempts to procure his release from
duty as Professor of Modern Languages in Bowdoin College, availed
himself of a leave of absence granted him on the first of August,
1862, "for the purpose of visiting Europe," to offer his services
to Gov. Washburn for any military duty to which His Excellency
might assign him, and received from him the appointment of
Lieutenant Colonel of the 20th Regiment of Volunteers then about
to be organized. Accepting this against the most strenuous
remonstrance and opposition of his colleagues in the college, he
repaired at once to the rendezvous of his regiment, and being
mustered into service, ranking from August 8th, he remained the
senior officer of camp until near the close of the month, when
Col. Adelbert Ames took command, and the regiment embarked
for the seat of war, where, after being supplied with arms, they
marched to Fort Craig on the south bank of the Potomac, and were
assigned to Butterfield's famous "Light Brigade" of Porter's
5th corps, Army of the Potomac. The regiment immediately entered
upon the severe duties of the Maryland campaign. During the
battle of Antietam they occupied reserved positions and
made movements of importance under fire, but were not engaged.
On the 20th of September, the heavy reconnoissance was made
across Shepardstown Ford, in which they first engaged the
enemy. The regiment having crossed and formed its line of
battle, Col. Chamberlain was sent back by the brigade commander
to lead over the broken column that was checked by the severity
of the fire that swept the ford. He sat upon his horse a target
for the enemy in the middle of the Potomac, keeping the men
steady and urging them over, until the whole brigade was across,
when be resumed his post and assisted in maintaining order in the
repulse which shortly followed by reason of the overwhelming
force of the enemy.
On the 12th of October, he led a reconnoissance, to one
of the passes of South Mountain, to intercept Stuart's cavalry.
At Fredericksburg, Dec. 13th, he participated in the
whole action, during which he received a slight wound in the
right cheek. On the night of the evacution be commanded the
regiment - Col. Ames commanding the right wing of the brigade -
when they covered the retreat of the army, being the last troops
to withdraw from the advanced line on the heights in rear of the
city.
He was present in all the reconnoissances, skirmishes
and expeditions in which his regiment took part during that
Winter.
In the movements preceding the battle of
Chancellorsville, the regiment was left in camp on account of the
men having the small pox by innoculation through mistake of the
Medical Department ; and Col. Ames succeeded in being detached on
the staff of Gen. Meade. On the first gun being fired in the
vicinity of Fredericksburg, Col. Chamberlain rode to general
headquarters, and solicited the privilege of taking his regiment
anywhere on the line, promising that "if we couldn't do anything
else we would give the rebels the small pox." The force of the
suggestion seemed to be appreciated, for at midnight he received
a dispatch from Gen. Butterfield, Chief of Staff, directing him
to be at Banks' and United States Fords at daylight to take
charge of the signal and telegraph lines from headquarters to the
several stations on the field of battle, with instructions to put
to death any who attempted to disturb our communications.
While in discharge of this duty on the following day, he became
implicated in a charge then being made by his division, in which
be had his horse wounded under him by a piece of shell.
On the night of the withdrawal he worked on the pontoon bridges
which were broken up and swept away by the freshet, and on the
next night, after all our troops had left that vicinity, he
withdrew his command-the last on the ground.
On the 20th of May, he was appointed Colonel, and soon
after had l20 men of the 2d Me. Vols. transferred to his
regiment. They were in a state of mutiny owing to some ill
treatment they had doubtless received since their regiment left
for home; and as they had openly refused to obey orders, they
were sent to Col. Chamberlain under guard of a Pennsylvania
regiment with loaded arms and fixed bayonets, with orders from
the corps commander to draw up the 20th Regiment and fire on them
if they refused to do duty. Col. Chamberlain immediately rode
to Gen. Meade and got permission to manage the men in his own
way. He then took off all guard, supplied them with food --
which had not been issued to them for three days -- assigned them
to companies, without giving them any specific orders whatever,
expecting them to be treated and to behave, like other soldiers.
He found no trouble, except in the case of one or two who were
tried by court martial, and whose sentences he afterwards
succeeded in having remitted. These men of the 2d Regiment were
afterwards among his very best men, worthy of the proud fame
of the 2d and the hard earned laurels of the 20th.
At Gettysburg, be was assigned to a post of great
importance and peril-the extreme left of our general line-and
withstood an attack in front, flank and rear for more than two
hours from Law's brigade of Hood's division-his ammunition at
length entirely exhausted. and for the last half hour using that
of the rebel dead and wounded whom he had repulsed in the third
assault. Holding the position with the loss of nearly half his
men, a fresh line of the enemy coming upon us with heavy force,
Col. Chamberlain was obliged to rush forward and "meet them half
way" with a bayonet charge which completely routed them, driving
them across the slope of Round Top, killing and wounding 150, and
capturing in prisoners twice the number of men he had. At dusk
he was ordered to advance and carry the heights of Round Top,
where the fragment of Hood's division had gathered after his
repulse of them, which he did with the bayonet alone. This
assault Col. Chamberlain led on foot and by the heroic remnant of
his gallant regiment, that decisive point of the field was
carried with the capture of many more prisoners. This position
was held all night by them, though supported by other troops, who
stayed so far in the rear that they thought they were in front,
and afterwards claimed the credit of the whole affair, which
belongs to the 20th Maine, and to that regiment alone. For this
decisive action the 20th received the personal and official
thanks of brigade, division and corps commanders, and Col.
Chamberlain was warmly recommended by all his superiors for
promotion to the rank of Brigadier General.
Soon after this, Col. Chamberlain was assigned by Gen.
Griffin to the command of the 3d brig., lst div., 5th A. C.,
where he continued for a long time, Gen. Griffin declining to
receive general officers who were sent to him for assignment to
this brigade. Under his command, the brigade was brought to the
very highest point of excellence in drill and discipline. It had
an important part in the Culpepper and Centreville campaign,
including the battle of Rappahannock Station, where in
reconnoitering the ground preparatory to the assault in which a
portion of his troops participated, his horse was shot under him
by a rifle ball.
In November 1863, the malarial fever Col. Chamberlain had
been suffering under for some time --though constantly on severe
duty -- came to a sudden crisis, in consequence of lying out in
a severe snow storm one night, without fire or shelter, and he
was sent in an unconscious state to Washington in a cattle car.
When he was able to go out, he was detailed by order of the
Secretary of War to serve on an important Court Martial sitting
in Washington, where he was detained, though making most earnest
efforts to return to his command. After much difficulty,
when the army crossed the Rapidan in May, be succeeded in getting
relieved, and joined his regiment before Spottsylvania Court
House, and in half an hour from that time was ordered to
take seven regiments and charge the enemy's works at the Court
House ; but the attempt seeming to the corps commander too
desperate, the movement was deferred till night, when the advance
was successfully made. Col. Chamberlain was in all of the fights
of the campaign from that time forth, besides several independent
affairs in which he fought the enemy's rear guard of cavalry
or horse artillery, and drove them from their positions. In
pushing one of these attacks one night, he advanced incautiously
and fell into the enemy's lines, and being sharply fired on,
barely escaped with his life by throwing himself flat to the
ground and drawing himself along by the grass roots in an open
field.
On the first of June, 1864, a brigade was made by
consolidating two veteran brigades of Pennsylvania troops from
the lst corps, to which Col. Chamberlain was assigned, by order
of Gen. Warren, commanding the corps. He now bade farewell to
his beloved and gallant regiment, the men who bad never failed
him in any extremity, and whose fortunes be had shared in every
great battle except the Wilderness. With his veteran brigade he
continued the campaign until the army crossed the James and moved
on Petersburg, he then having the advance. Here on the 18th
of June, shortly after a battle opened, he assaulted a strong
advanced position of the enemy, from which they annoyed our
artillery so as nearly to silence it. Forming a strong column of
attack, Col. Chamberlain led it with his whole staff and escort,
when the terrible fire of case and cannister swept away everybody
from his side, and his horse fell, shot through by a 12 lb.
shell. Taking his flag which had fallen, he led his troops on
foot to the charge and carried the heights. Sending for two
batteries of artillery, he established them on this crest, by
sinking platforms on the rear slope, so that the guns could be
worked out of sight of the enemy, and when in position,
the muzzles would lie in the grass on the crest, and was ordered
to charge the main line of the rebel works, which were strong
field entrenchments with artillery and infantry, all in close
musket range.
During the attack, while in the act of leading a second
column against a weak point in the rebel line, and at the moment
of giving a command, Col. Chamberlain was shot through the body
from hip to hip, the ball passing through, severing arteries and
fracturing bones. Balancing himself with the point of his sabre,
he did not fall until his men had passed him in their charge,
when the great loss of blood brought him to the ground.
Supposing the wound to be mortal, be did not think it worth while
to take anybody from his duties to bear him from the field, until
the day was fairly lost, and be could only fall into the enemy's
hands by remaining. For the services of this day, Gen. Grant,
without waiting longer for the authorities to act upon previous
recommendations, promoted Col. Chamberlain, by an order on the
field, to the rank of Brigadier General, the solitary instance in
the history of our army. He was assured of his promotion before
he was borne from the field, but the official intelligence
reached him after his arrival at Annapolis. The following is a
copy of the telegram from Lieut. Gen. U. S. Grant:
IId. Qrs. Army of the U.S.,
June 20, 1864.
To Col. J. L. Chamberlain,
20th Me. Infantry,
Special Order No. 39.-lst.-Col. J. L. Chamberlain, 20th Me.
Inf 'ty VoIs., for meritorious and efficient services on the
field of battle, and especially for gallant conduct in leading
his brigade against the enemy at Petersburg on the 18th inst., in
which he was dangerously wounded, hereby in pursuance of
authority of the Secretary of War is appointed Brig. Gen. U. S.
Vols., to rank as such from the 18th day of June, 1864, subject
to the approval of the President.
U. S. Grant, Lieut. Gen.
For two months Gen. Chamberlain lay at Annapolis at the
point of death, and at the end of five months, and before he
could mount a horse or walk a hundred yards, he resumed command
of his brigade. Their position at that time was on the extreme
left of our front line before Petersburg, and the duties were
unremitting and responsible.
In the subsequent operations against the Weldon
Railroad, Gen. Chamberlain had an active part, being sent with
his command to make proper dispositions by night to keep the
enemy at bay along an extensive front, while the rest of our
troops destroyed the railroad. A severe storm of snow and sleet
added to the severities of this operation, and on the last of
January, 1865, his wounds had become so exasperated that his
corps commander insisted on his being sent North for Surgical
treatment. While suffering under this, find without much
prospect of permanent recovery, he received many tempting offers
to leave the military service and accept of positions
in civil life. Wishing, however, with such strength as might be
given him, to stand by his men and his country to the last, he
declined these offers, stole a march upon his surgeons, and
leaving his room for the first time after he had taken it,
started on a painful journey to the front again, where he arrived
after an absence of a month. His brigade now consisted of new
troops from New York and Pennsylvania, and his post was the
extreme advance on Hatcher's Run, and in immediate contact with
the enemy.
On the 29th of March, our great offensive movement
commenced, and, as had before been confidently announced to Gen.
Chamberlain, he was to have the costly honor of leading the
advance and of opening the campaign. With his single brigade and
a battery of regular artillery, he encountered the enemy on the
Quaker Road, their force consisting of cavalry and infantry of
Johnson's; and Anderson's commands, and in number, as was
afterwards ascertained, five times his own. After a long and
severe battle, in which at different times he had both his flanks
turned, and his center broken, and lost 400 men and 18 officers,
-- every one of his mounted officers, including his personal
staff, being either killed or wounded, his own horse shot under
him and himself twice painfully wounded in the breast and arm, --
the enemy was driven from his position, and enabled the army to
occupy the long coveted Boydton Plank Road. For the action of
this day Gen. Chamberlain received from President Lincoln the
brevet of Major General.
While lying on a heap of straw suffering much from
accumulation of wounds, he was suddenly summoned on the second
day after, to take command of our extreme left on the Boydton
road, with one brigade and two batteries of artillery, in
resistance to an attack which was then commencing. Two divisions
of his corps on his right were soon thrown back in great
confusion from an advanced position they were endeavoring to
maintain against a vigorous assault of the enemy, and while Gen.
Chamberlain was rallying these troops and reforming them in rear
of his own, he was asked by the commanding general to throw
forward his command in this extremity and attempt to stem the
torrent then sweeping us away, and, if possible, regain the field
lost by the other two divisions. Gen. Chamberlain assented, and
while the engineers were trying to bridge the stream in our
front, his men dashed through it in the very face of the enemy,
and gaining a foothold on the opposite steeps, at once drove the
rebels back to the field of the former struggle. While pressing
them back upon their works, Gen. Chamberlain was ordered to halt
and take the defensive as a matter of precaution. Seeing,
however, that his, men were much exposed, and that the enemy's
strong position could be carried by a tactical maneuvre, he
solicited permission to make an assault, which he did with rapid
and complete success, carrying the works, capturing a battle flag
and many prisoners, and effecting a lodgment on the White Oak
Road.
At the battle of Five Forks on the following day, Gen.
Chamberlain had command of two brigades on the extreme right-the
wheeling flank. In the midst of the battle, when the rebels
made a furious attempt to regain their works by a flank attack,
putting in every man of his own command on a new direction to
break the force of this onset, in which the 20th Maine, now in
his command, was at the post of honor and peril-Gen. Chamberlain
formed a mass of skulkers and fugitives from other commands and
pushed them in, leaping his horse over the parapet and having him
wounded by a rifle ball. His own brigade, the smallest in the
division, captured 1050 men, 19 officer and five battle flags-one
half the captures of their division.
On the next day he was ordered to take the advance and
strike the South Side Railroad. This he did, encountering Fitz
Hugh Lee's division of cavalry, which he drove across the
railroad, intercepting a train of cars from Petersburg with
several rebel officers and men, and routing the enemy from the
position. In the subsequent pursuit, Gen. Chamberlain had the
advance nearly all the time, capturing many prisoners and vast
quantities of material. At Jetersville, on the Danville
Railroad, he went to the assistance of our cavalry who were
severely attacked on a cross road.
In the final action at Appomattox Court House, when,
having marched all night,, be came up with our cavalry, who were
heroically holding their ground against Stonewall Jackson's old
corps of infantry. He double-quicked his men in to relieve the
cavalry, and forming under Gen. Sheridan's eye, pushed forward
against the enemy. The other troops forming on his left, the foe
was driven before them to the town, when the flag of truce came
in and hostilities ceased.
Almost at the same moment the enemy gave a last cannon shot
by which one of Gen. Chamberlain's officers was instantly killed
-- the last man that fell in Virginia.
Gen. Chamberlain was present at the conference
preliminary to the surrender, and being assigned to the 3d brig.,
1st div., and temporarily commanding the division, was directed
by the commanding general to receive with his troops the formal
surrender of the arms and colors of Lee's army, April 12th, 1865.
Afterwards assigned to the command of the division, Gen.
Chamberlain occupied a line thirty miles on the South Side
Railroad for some time. This division bad the advance in the
triumphal entry of the army into Richmond, as also the advance
of the army of the Potomac in the final review in Washington.
When the army was broken up, he received an assignment to another
command ; but the active operations of the field now being
over, he applied to be relieved from duty that he might have the
surgical treatment which his wounds required, and was mustered
out of service August 24th, 1865.
In the arduous and trying campaigns through which he
passed, Gen. Chamberlain made a record honorable to himself and
to the State. During his period of service he commanded troops in
twenty-four battles, eight reconnoissances and in skirmishes
without number-advance and rear guards in contact with the enemy
upwards of a dozen times. With his own command alone he fought
five independent engagements, every one of which was successful
against superior numbers. His captures in battle number 2,700
prisoners and eight battle-flags, no portion of which can be
claimed by any other command. He was six times struck in action
by shot and shell, three times narrowly escaping with his life.
Immediately after the surrender of the rebel army, Gen.
Chamberlain was made the subject of a special communication to
headquarters of the army by Maj. Gen. Griffin, his corps
commander, in which this officer urged Gen. Chamberlain's
promotion to the full rank of Major General, for distinguished
gallant conduct in the battles on the left. including the White
Oak Road, Five Forks and Appomattox Court House, where, says Gen.
Griffin, " his bravery and efficiency were such as to entitle him
to the highest commendation. In the last action, April 9th, his
command had the advance, and was driving the enemy rapidly before
it, when the announcement of Gen. Lee's surrender was made." This
recommendation was cordially approved by Gen. Meede and Gen.
Grant, and forwarded to Washington for the action of the
Government, where assurances were given that the promotion should
be made. Gen. Chamberlain was rarely absent from field duty. He
never had but four days leave of absence. At all other times
when not in the field, he had been either ordered away for
treatment of wounds, &c., or was commanding the brigade by order
of the War Department.
But on no part of his record does he look back with
greater satisfaction, as he informs this department, than his
relations with the men under his command. He made it a point,
first of duty, then of affection, to take care of his men. He
never ordered troops into positions that he had not first
personally reconnoitered, and though his looses in killed and
wounded have been severe, they have never been made in
retreating. The noble and faithful men entrusted to his care
never in a single instance failed to execute his orders, or to
carry out what they deemed to be his wishes although unexpressed.
But what adds crowning lustre to his record is the fact to
which be points with mournful pride, that in all the various
fortunes of the field, he never left one of his wounded in the
lines of the enemy, nor one of his dead without fitting burial.
Item 5
Post War Oath of Allegiance
From the net:
Oath of Allegiance required in North Carolina for restoration of
civil rights after the War:
------------------------------------------------------------
I, .......... of .........., County, State of North Carolina,
do solemnly swear or affirm, in the presence of Almighty God,
that I will henceforth faithfully support, protect and
defend the Constitution of the United States and the Union
of the States thereunder; and that I will, in like manner,
abide by and faithfully support all laws and proclamations
which have been made during the existing rebellion with
reference to the emancipation of slaves. So help me God.
Sworn and subscribed to this ..... day of ..... A.D., 1865,
before .........., J.P.
----------------------------------------------------------
J.P., I assume is "Justice of the Peace"
The form had two parts with the above wording, with the
second having the additional wording as follows:
----------------------------------------------------------
This is hereby certified that the above is a true copy of
the original oath taken and subscribed by .......... .
........... J.P.
........... J.P.
........... J.P.
---------------------------------------------------------
Presumably the military or reconstruction authorities kept
on part, and the person taking the oath kept the second.
Why the part retained only had room for one J.P. signature
and the part saying it was a copy had room for three, I
don't know.
Item 6
Rommel and Confederate Cavalry
Subject: Rommel and the Rebel
The recent discussions of Rommel, the ubiquity on this net of Forrest, and
Lynn's recent query about _Traveller_ remind me that CWTI once asked me to a
review a 1986 novel called _Rommel and the Rebel_. Its premise is that Rommel
was among five German officers who visited the U.S. in 1937, that he became
fascinated with the exploits of Bedford Forrest, that he later used his
knowledge of those exploits in his desert campaigns against the British, and
that an American intelligence analyst, realizing the source of inspiration for
Rommel's campaigns, used his *own* knowledge of Forrest to outsmart the Desert
Fox.
It's actually a pretty good novel, especially in its first half, which deals
with Rommel's visit in the U.S.
PS--Rommel didn't really visit the States, but the novelist got the idea, in
part, from a 1937 press clipping about five German officers visiting Civil War
battlefields.
--
Item 7
Net info re:POW camps
For the several students doing papers in the general area of Civil
War POW camps, etc. this may be helpful
>>We could really use a good, thorough study of Civil War prisons,
>>including the exchange cartel. The only comprehensive work is
>>Hesseltine's _Civil War Prisons_, which dates from about 1930 and is
>>hardly the last word. There have been several studies of Andersonville,
>>most recently William Marvel's _Andersonville: The Last Depot_, but
>>little on other prisons, esp. those in the North.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CIVIL WAR MILITARY PRISONS AND POW CAMPS
See NARA, "Selected Records of the War Department Relating
to CONFEDERATE PRISONERS OF WAR, 1861-1865." (M598, 145 rolls)
[dates given below are those for which at least some records are
available on microfilm]
-----------------------------------------------------------
The following books are LISTS OF NAMES, not personal narratives or
general histories.
Beitzell, Edwin W. * POINT LOOKOUT * Prison Camp for Confederates
(Abell, MD: The Author, 1972)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Holmes, Clayton W. * ELMIRA * Prison Camp.
With an Appendix Containing Names of the Confederate Prisoners Buried
in Woodlawn National Cemetery. (NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1912)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jones, B.H. "Memorial of the Federal Prison on JOHNSONS' ISLAND, Lake Erie,
Containing a List of Confederate States Army Prisoners Of War and
Deaths Among Them." Virginia Historical Society Collections ---
(n.s.) 6 (1887): 233-345.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Praus, Alexis A. (comp). Confederate Soldiers and Sailors Who Died as
Prisoners of War at * CAMP BUTLER *, Illinois, 1862-1865.
(Kalamazoo, MI: Edgar Gray Publications, nd [1971])
------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALTON (ILLINOIS) MILITARY PRISON, 1861-1865.
First Illinois state prison, built in the 1850s and denounced by
Dorothea Dix as unhygienic. Alton opened as a "military detention camp"
early in 1862. Severe overcrowding and bad sanitation brought on a
smallpox epidemic which killed scores of Southern prisoners a day. Alton
citizens demanded that the sick be removed as a health danger and they
were taken to a deserted island in the Mississippi. Several thousand
Southern prisoners were buried on the island 1863-64 (an estimate; no
records were kept) and many more were buried in Confederate Soldiers'
Cemetery in North Alton. There were continual escape attempts. In July
1862, 36 prisoners led by Col. Ebenezer Magoffin of Missouri cut a
tunnel through 8 feet of masonry, 50 feet underground, and 3 feet of
limestone foundation, and escaped; only 8 were recaptured. The prison was
completely demolished shortly after the War.
CAMP CHASE (OHIO) MILITARY PRISON, 1861-1865.
Training camp west of Columbus, converted to a prison camp.
About 8,000 prisoners in mid-1863.
FORT DELAWARE (DE) MILITARY PRISON, 1862-1865.
Located on an island in the Delaware River and perhaps the prison most
dreaded by Confederate troops.
CAMP DOUGLAS (ILLINOIS) MILITARY PRISON, 1862-1865.
First Federal training camp; established south of Chicago, 60 A. in
area, converted to a prison camp after the fall of Ft. Donelson in Feb
1862. One-story wooden barracks for 125-150 men each. Post hospital for
Union troops serving as guards and tent wards for the prisoners. A large
fire destroyed many of the barracks Nov 1863 and some prisoners were
transferred to Rock Island. Total of about 30,000 prisoners; high point
was Dec 1864, with more than 12,000 names on the roll. At least 4,450 of
whom died (a death rate of 9%). Most are buried in the "Confederate
Mound" in Oakwood Cemetery, Chicago. About 500 successful escapes.
Dismantled Nov 1865.
ELMIRA (NEW YORK) MILITARY PRISON, 1864-1865.
Created in May 1864 as a transfer depot by enclosing a 30 A. site with
existing barracks on the Chemung River near Elmira, and was known in the
South as "Hell-mira." There were 35 barracks (two-story, low-ceilinged, with
unsealed roofs and floors) which held only half the 10,000 prisoners
(enlisted men only); the rest lived in tents or slept in the open, even in
the worst winter weather. Clothing and supplies sent from the South was
warehoused by the Commandant and not distributed for up to six months; food
donated by local churches was sold to the prisoners by corrupt Union
officers. Many prisoners were transferred there from Point Lookout. Broiled
rat was regarded as a delicacy and any dog that wandered within reach was
quickly slaughtered and consumed (a punishable offense). One-acre lagoon of
stagnant river water within the compound served as a latrine and dump, and
led to large epidemics. Most guard detachments were recruited ex-slaves. More
than 10% had no blankets; food was scarce and usually spoiled. Scurvy was
common. The Commandant refused to "waste" medicines on prisoners and also
barred Sanitary Commission inspectors from entering the stockade. One doctor
boasted: "I have killed more Rebs than any soldier at the front." There were
few escape attempts because prisoners were not healthy enough to try.
Discipline was strict and brutal, even by contemporary military standards;
hanging by the thumbs was a popular punishment for infractions of the rules.
Erie Railroad train jammed with prisoners collided with a freight 15 July
1864; the more than 100 injured prisoners were dumped into the compound
untreated and most died within a few days. Death rate averaged about 5% per
month and the rate of illness was extremely high.
Elmira's conservatively estimated overall death rate of 24%
was the highest of *any* Civil War prison.
Townspeople of Elmira built two platforms overlooking the walls
where SPECTATORS COULD OBSERVE THE PRISONERS FOR 15 CENTS.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Closed March 1865 (though the last prisoners did not actually leave
until September) and all that remains is the cemetery.
GRATIOT & MYRTLE STREETS PRISON (ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI), 1862-1865.
Held POWs, Union army deserters, bounty jumpers, bushwhackers, accused spies,
and civilians accused of "disloyalty" (who were held without habeas corpus).
Originally a medical college, it could safely hold about 500 men but more
than 1,000 were confined there at all times.
... Continued with part 2 to prevent truncation in some offline readers
___ Blue Wave/QWK v2.12
> ELMIRA (NEW YORK) MILITARY PRISON, 1864-1865.
> Created in May 1864 as a transfer depot by enclosing
> a 30 A. site with existing barracks on the Chemung
> River near Elmira, and was known in the South as
> "Hell-mira." There were 35 barracks (two-story,
> low-ceilinged, with unsealed roofs and floors) which
> held only half the 10,000 prisoners (enlisted men
> only); the rest lived in tents or slept in the open,
> even in the worst winter weather.
At least they had barracks. At Andersonville there were
none.
> Most guard detachments were recruited ex-slaves.
So what? Do you have a problem with this?
> Elmira's conservatively estimated overall death
> rate of 24% was the highest of *any* Civil War
> prison.
Sorry but the U.S. National Park Service does not
agree. The Andersonville death rate was 29% which makes
it the highest. USNPS does give 24% as the correct
death rate for Elmira.
> Townspeople of Elmira built two platforms
> overlooking the walls where SPECTATORS COULD OBSERVE
> THE PRISONERS FOR 15 CENTS.
Geez, at Andersonville they could rubberneck for
nothing.
I don't mean to denigrate the experience of Confederate
POW's in Northern prisons. They suffered too. In some
ways there is less excuse as there was plenty of food
in the North and it has been suggested that the rebel
POW's were put on short rations in retaliation for
Andersonville and other Southern prisons.
War is hell. Which reminds me, someone once asked, why
Sherman did not try to liberate Andersonville while on
the March Through Georgia? (The prison camp was not
liberated until May, 1865). Sherman did send a group of
raiders under General Stoneman, but the mission was not
successful. Sherman later wrote: "I don't think I ever
set my heart so strongly on any one thing as I did in
attempting to rescue those prisoners." (Lloyd Lewis,
_Fighting Prophet_, p.403)
Item 8
More on Rommel
> I read somewhere that the German concept of "blitzkreig" was
>inspired by Stonewall Jackson's rapid movements during the Civil War.
>Has anyone ever also heard anything about this. This is not to say that
>Forrest too wasn't inspiring; he was; I'm just posting something that I
>recall previously reading.
This is moonshine, I'm afraid. The "blitzkrieg" concept derives mainly from
the application to armored formations of the infiltration tactics used by
German Sturmtruppen in 1917-1918. In their original incarnation they were
called "Hutier tactics," after the German general who first used them at Riga
on the Eastern Front.
By and large, European armies did *not* look at the American Civil War as an
important model for modern warfare. They were far more taken with the Prussian
performance in the 1866 bruderkrieg with Austria and especially the 1870-71
Franco-Prussian War. If anyone's interested, Jay Luvaas's _The Military Legacy
of the Civil War_ provides a good summary of what the Europeans did and did not
learn from the American Civil War.
Even the U.S. Army (in the late 19th and early 20th century) tended to use the
Civil War to illustrate lessons derived from the Franco-Prussian War. Carol
Reardon's _Soldiers and Scholars_ is good on this subject.
On the other hand--to return to the Stonewall Jackson example--James M. Gavin
once submitted to _Infantry Journal_ an article entitled "Jackson Is In the
Rear." He wrote it to show the confusion created by Jackson's strike at
Manassas Junction during the Second Manassas Campaign and to suggest that
airborne forces could do much the same thing. (As some of you will know, Gavin
went on to command the 82nd Airborne Division in WWII.) The article was never
published; I learned of it originally by reading Gavin's _War and Peace in the
Space Age_. (I wrote him to ask if he still had the manuscript; he said he'd
lost it.)
I wouldn't make too much of Gavin's latching onto the Stonewall Jackson
example, though. Gavin's *real* source of inspiration were the German
parachute and glider landings on Fort Eben Emael in May 1940. I suspect the
Jackson comparison was mainly to strike a responsive chord from officers who
might be suspicious of new-fangled airborne tactics.
Item 9
Confederate Questionnaire, 1922
I downloaded the following from the Net; obviously the "I" in the
text below refers to the poster of the item. There is a great deal
of useful information "buried" in this document.
C. O'B.
The following text is taken from a Veteran's Questionnaire as
prepared and then collected by the State Historian of Tennessee on
two occassions, first in 1915, and again in 1922. These questionnaires
were sent to all surviving veterans of the "War" whose addresses could be
obtained, in order to preserve as many first person accounts of the war, and
of living and growing up in ante-bellum Tennessee, as possible. I have
personally seen many of these documents, and my genealogy files contain one
as completed by my wife's great-grandfather (as well as others completed by
uncles or cousins). They are an invaluable resource for any student
of history, be it their own family's, the state of Tennessee, or of
the War.
I came across this transcription on a family genealogy web page,
and have included it here intact. I have added a couple of
(paranthetical notes) when a place name or person could be more
properly identified. This particular response is quite typical of
the many I've read. There is much evidence of an anecdotal nature
in the questionnaires that refutes many of the stereotypical views of
life in the South before the war in general, and specifically the level of
education prevailing and relationships between the various classes and
races. I have not posted this in order to provoke a debate, but, OTOH, I
will not shy away from one either. Those who invest the time to read this
will, IMO, find it interesting.
Allen Sullivant
George W. Lewis was in the Confederate Home of Oklahoma in Ardmore at the
time this questionnaire was completed. (The questionnaire was forwarded to
him there...) In his own hand writing, he gives his date and place of
birth and a brief account of his life and of his service in the Confederate
Army.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
An excerpt from The Tenn. Civil War Veterans Questionnaires,
Vol. 4.
Form 2
Mar 1922
1. State your full name and present Post Office address:
George Washington Lewis
Post Office - Confederate Homes, Ardmore, Ok.
2. State your age now:
On the 13th day of this month (Mar. 13th 1922) I was 86 years old.
3. In what state and county were you born:
Near Lebanon, Wilson County, Tenn.
4. Were you a Confederate or Federal soldier?
A volunteer Confederate soldier - Thank God!
5. Name of your Company? (b)Number of Regiment;
Co. F Capt. Oakley; 7th Tennessee Vol. Inft.
6. What was the occupation of your Father?
A farmer and raised his boys to work on the farm.
7. Give full name of your father: Carroll Lewis
Born at: On James River near Richmond, Va.
In the County of: I do not remember -
State of: Va.
He lived at: In Tennessee near Lebanon Tennessee where I was born.
Give also any particulars concerning him, as official position, war
service, etc; books written by him, etc;
Deputy Sheriff of Wilson County for a long time, many years.
8. Maiden Name in full of your Mother: Hannah Adams, Born in DeKalb
County, Tennesee near Liberty
She was the daughter of: Abraham Adams
And his wife: Nancy
Who lived at: In DeKalb County near Wilson
9. Remarks on ancestry. Give here any and all facts possible in reference
to your parents, grandparents and great-grandparents, etc; not including in
foregoing as to where they lived, offices held, revolutionary and other war
services; what country they came from to America; first settled-County and
State: always giving full names (if possible), and never referring to an
ancestor simply as such without giving the name. It is desirable to include
every fact possible, and to that end the full an exact record from old
Bibles should be appended on separate sheets of this size, thus preserving
the facts from loss:
My grandfather, Samuel Lewis was a Colonel under Gen. George
Washington, was the youngest Col. in that Army. Commanded a regiment of
Tuckaho Indians. Col. Lewis was sent to guard a bridge at all hazards, at
Yorktown, where Cornwallis surrendered. When Cornwallis hoisted the white
flag, the Indians thought it meant for them to surrender and they refused
and were greatly pleased when they found out it was the British.
10. If you owned land or other property at the opening of the war, state
what kind of property you owned, and state the value of your property as
near as you can:
I owned 37 acres of land, 1 four horse mail coach and equipment and 8
head of horses, then worth about $1,000.
11. Did you or your parents own slaves? If so, how many?
No. there were a family of free negroes whom Father hired and they
lived on Fathers place ever since I can remember.
12. If your parents owned land, state how many acres:
My Father owned 275 or 280 acres of land.
13. State as near as you can the value of all property owned by your
parents, including land, when the war opened:
He owned 8 good mules and abundance of other stock, easily worth
$10,000.
14. What kind of house did your parents occupy? State whether it was a log
house or a frame house or built of other materials, and state the number of
rooms it had:
A hewed log house, and later on attached a double story five room
frame building, making eight rooms with halls and porches.
15. As a boy and young man state the kind of work that you did. If you
worked on a farm, state the extent you plowed, worked with a hoe and did
other kinds of similar work. (Certain historians claimed that hite men
would not do work of this sort before the war.):
I chopped, plowed, hoed, cradled, reaped, mowed and bound sheaves, in
fact all kinds of work necessary on a farm and lots of it. Spilt rails,
built fences, log rolled and danced with the girls at the quilting.
16. State clearly what kind of work that your Father did, and what the
duties of your Mother were. State all kinds of work all kinds of work done
in the house as well as you can remember- that is, cooking, spinning,
weaving, etc;
My father worked on the farm when we boys were little, but as he grew
weaker he attended his grocery store and made good money running a peddling
wagon to Nashville. Until the War began my mother carded, spun and weaved
for all our family needed in clothes.
17. Did your parents keep any servants? If so how many?
No, Father hired free negro and Indian labor and sometimes a white
hired man or two.
18. How was honest toil - as plowing, hauling and other sorts of honest
work of this class - regarded in your community? Was such work considered
respectable and honorable?
We had no loafers in our community. Young men, young women all honored an
industrious persons, even old men loved to work. At corn shuckings, whites
and blacks sang old fashioned corn songs, we past a toddy and more songs. O
good old times!
19. Did the white men in your community generally engage in such work?
Our country was mostly white and we had cozy comfortable homes, well
cultivated fields, schools, churches--well it takes work to do all this!
20. To what extent were there white men in your community leading lives of
idleness and having others do there work for them?
We had no drones in our part of Tennessee.
21. Did the men who owned slaves mingle freely with the men who did not own
slaves or did slave holders in any way show by their actions that they felt
themselves better than respectable, honorable men who did not own slaves?
It was all one. The slaves owners were leaders in uplifts. As jolly
and hale-fellow well-met, as the poorest barefoot. We had a good community.
22. At the churches, at the schools, at public gatherings in general, did
slave holders and non slave holders mingle on a footing of equality?
I never could tell any difference. White children of rich and poor
were taught to call all grey haired negroes grandpa and grandma, uncle aunt
etc.
23. Was there a friendly feeling between slave holders and non slave
holders in your community, or were they antagonistic to each other?
The people were all warm and equally tried to build up the country and
peace and harmony. We did not lock our smoke houses nor stables, before the
war.
24. In a political contest, in which one candidate own slaves and other did
not, did the fact that one candidate own slaves help him any in winning the
contest?
Nothing of the kind--every aspirant, according to his ability got the
offices. There was no counting out. We got that from the Carpet baggers
after the war.
25. Were the opportunities good in your community for a poor young man,
honest and industrious, to save enough to buy a small farm or go in
business for himself?
That kind of young man, or any age man, if he was honest or
industrious, always got assistance and credit. Honest effort was cheerfully
encouraged.
26. Were poor, honest, industrious young men, who were ambitious to make
something of themselves, encouraged or discouraged by slaveholders?
It often occurred that a well mannered, industrious non-slave holding
young man won the hand of a large slave holder's daughter, but the
Tennessee girls, rich or poor, were beautiful and winsome enough to get the
best young men to be found.
27. What kind of school or schools did you attend?
About evenly divided were free schools and subscription schools.
28. About how long did you go to school altogether?
Terms were two or three months in summer and same in winter, this way for
say, six years I got to double rule of three in Smileys Arithmetic.
29. How far was it to the nearest school?
>From 1/2 to 1 mile.
30. What school or schools were in operations in your neighborhood?
Free and subscriptions schools. None above an average.
31. Was the school in your community private or public?
Yes, as just above stated, sometime free and sometime subscription.
32. About how many months in the year did it run?
In the country school with us, we had about three months in the summer and
from 2 1/2 to 3 months in the winter. We had to work on the farm the
balance of the time.
33. Did the boys and girls in your community attend school pretty
regularity?
Yes, about all the time we had to spare. We had no idlers in our
settlement.
34. Was the teacher of the school you attended a man or woman?
We had 2 schools--Uncle Tommy Dann taught at one, and Elizabeth Adams, both
noted teachers, and loved by all to this day.
35. In what year and month and at what place did you enlist in the service
of the Confederacy or of the Federal Government?
I enlisted at Statesville,Wilson County,Tenn. My Father furnished the
Company with uniforms. We were mustered in May 21st, 1861.
36. After enlistment, where was your Company first sent?
Camp Trousdale on the Cumberland River and about July 30th, 1861 we were
sent to Richmond, Va. under A.P. Hills Div.
37. How long after enlistment before your Company engaged in battle?
In Sept. 1861 on Cheek (probably Cheat ) Mountain, Va. where we put the
Yanks to flight.
38. What was the first battle you engaged in?
In Sept. 1861 on Cheek Mountain, Pocahontas County.
39. State in your own way your experience in the War from this time to its
close. State where you went after the first battle-What you did and what
other battles you engaged in, how long they lasted, what the results were:
state how you lived in camp, how you were clothed, how you slept, what you
had to eat, how you were exposed to cold, hunger and disease. If you were
in the hospital or prison, state your experience there:
I do not know how to answer only by saying our experiences etc; are
what made the history of Gen. A.P. Hills' troops in Robert E. Lee's Army. I
was wounded at the battle of Seven Pines. I was carried to the Hospital in
Richmond. I lay there six months. The surgeon gave me a ninety days
furlough. I reached home in December 62 in time to hear the cannons at the
Battle of Murfreesboro, it was 25 miles North East (actually south-east) of
our house. I stayed at home until Feby 1863 when the Yanks charged me as a
spy, and finding no evidence to released me.
40. When and where were you discharged?
At Shoneytown, Ill. Oct. 1st, 1864. I then went to my Uncles at
Franklin, Kentucky (My Uncle was Capt. Adams, CSA) until Jan. 1866, then
home to Mother.
41. Tell something of your trip home;
Nothing unusual going back to Mother. My Father was in Nashville,
about May 1, 65, two Union bushwackers followed him out and killed him
because he would not give them $1,000.
42. Give a sketch of your life since the close of the Civil War, stating
what kind of business you have engaged in, where you lived, your church
relations, etc. If you have held any office or offices, state what it was.
You may state here in other facts connected with your life and experience
which has not been brought by the questions:
Being unable to do manual labor took the practice of law which has
since been my life work. Hower(?) I owned 218 acres in Dallas County, Texas
where I raised my family.
43. What kind of work did you take up when you came back home?
I sold my farm in Texas 3 years ago for $8,000 which I divided with my
7 children then came to Ardmore, Ok. I married Miss Sarah Jane Tarply one
of my old schoolmates on Feby 10, 1865. On Feby 1, 1887 emigrated on train
to Dallas County, Texas all my Children were born in Tennessee. My wife and
children all belonged to South Methodist. I never joined any secret order.
I have always been a faithful church member and 100 per cent Democrat. In
Tennessee I was magistrate for a long time and chairman of the County Court
in Wilson County, Tennessee for six years. I was magistrate in Garland,
Texas for four years. After I came to Ok. I was elected a member of the
Constitutional Convention. I then elected and served the first and second
and third legislatures of Okla. which ends my public career.
(signature) George W. Lewis, Sr.
Witness: Jamerson Moore
(Three extra pages)
44. On a separate sheet of paper list some of the great men you have known
or met in your time, and tell some of the circumstances of the meeting or
incidents in their lives. Also add any futher personal reminiscences.
Ardmore, Oklahoma, March 10, 1922
George W Lewis is my name. I was born March the 13th day 1836 in Wilson
County Tennessee near Lebanon. I joined Okley's Company at Statesville. I
belonged to the 7 Tennessee Confederate Volunteers. Was mustared in service
on May the 21, 1861. Bob Hutton (Genl. Robert Hatton of Lebanon, Tenn., who
was killed at Seven Pines) was Colonel of the 7 Tennessee Rigament of
Volunteers. We went to Richmond Virginia. I was wounded at the Battle of Seven
Pines near Richmond on the 31 day of May 1862. I was taken to the Keen(?) and
Boulding horse pitial at Richmond. On the first of November I
was sent home on a 90 dayes furlow. Then in Feb the 10 I was given a 90
days furlow by the horse doctor and after the Battle of Murfresboro
Tennessee I was in the Union lines and the 20 day of Feb 1863 I was
arrested by the federal troops and taken to Nashville and in April was
taken to Boling Green Ky from there to Louisville Ky.
(undecipherable line)
till some time in June 1864 then I was taken to Shoneytown Illinois to be
court martialed. I was charged of being a Southern spy only by my being at
my home. The federal judge give me a discharge on the 5 day of October 1864
with orders not cross the federal lines under the penelty of death. So I
then went to Franklin, Ky and stayed there till March 1866 then I went to
my old home in Wilson Co. Tennessee. My captain Ate(Ace?) Hill was kilde at
Gettysburg, Pencilvany. A braver soldier never lived or died than Captain
Hill.
45. Give the name of the members of your Company.
Nathan Oakley of Statesville, Tenn. was my first Capt. My second Capt. was
Ate Hill of Statesville, fine specimen of Southern chivalry, he was killed
at Gettysburgh. My third Capt. was Sam "Slick" nicknamed "skin-horse". He
surrendered the Company at the close of the War. Our Company lost four Lts.
I was not at the surrender on account of my wound.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(web page owner's comments):
This was my Great-Grandfather. He died in 1925. When his father, William
Carrol Lewis, was murdered, George's younger brother, Sampsom Knight Lewis,
threw rocks at the murderers. Sampsom is the Great-Grandfather of the
actress Judith Ivey. George and Sampsom are buried in Dallas County Texas.
Item 10
Westernmost Civil War Battle
From the Internet:
Subject: (fwd) Re: Westernmost ACW Battle
Newsgroups: soc.history.war.us-civil-war
Subject: Re: Westernmost ACW Battle
|> Can anyone tell me the most westward battle fought during the Civil
War?
|> Was it in Texas? Or was there one in New Mexico/Arizona?
There was a "battle" (less than 40 men/side) at El Picacho,
Arizona Territory (usually called, redundantly, Picacho Peak)
between (what would be) Phoenix and Tucson. It is touted as
the westernmost ACW clash, and I have never seen anything
to contradict it. Also, there was a more substantial
campaign along the Rio Grande in New Mexico in 1862,
but I don't know much about it.
Item 11
Words to "Dixie"
From the Internet:
Subject: (fwd) Lyrics to "Dixie" - Unreconstructed & Original
Newsgroups: alt.war.civil.usa
Here are the original lyrics, plus some alternate
verses. BTW & FWIW, I always assumed "grabble"
to refer to rocky, near-worthless, farmland...
Words and Music by Daniel D. Emmett
1.
I wish I was in de land ob cotton,
Old times dar am not forgotten;
Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land.
In Dixie Land whar I was born in,
Early on one frosty mornin,
Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land.
2.
Old Missus marry "Will-de-weaber
Willium was a gay deceaber;
Look away! &c
But when he put his arm around 'er,
He smilled as fierce as a "forty-pound'er.
Look away! &c
3.
His face was sharp as a butchers cleaber,
But dat did not seem to greab'er;
Look away! &c
Old Missus acted de foolish part,
And died for a man dat broke her heart.
Look away! &c
4.
Now here's a health to the next old Missus,
An all de galls dat want to kiss us;
Look away! &c
But if you want to drive 'way sorrow,
Come an hear dis song to-morrow.
Look away! &c
5.
Dar's buck-wheat cakes an 'Ingen' batter,
Makes you fat or a little fatter;
Look away! &c
Den hoe it down and scratch your grabble,
To Dixie land I'm bound to trabble.
Look away! &c
CHORUS
Den I wish I was in Dixie, Hooray! Hooray!
In Dixie Land, I'll took my stand,
To lib and die in Dixie, Away, Away,
Away down south in Dixie, Away, Away,
Away down south in Dixie.
Words by Albert Pike
Southrons, hear your country call you!
Up, lest worse than death befall you!
To arms! To arms! To arms! In Dixie!
Lo! all the beacon fires are lighted -
Let all hearts be now united!
To arms! To arms! To arms! In Dixie!
CHORUS
Advance the flag of Dixie!
Hurrah! Hurrah!
For Dixie's Land we take our stand,
And live or die for Dixie!
To arms! To arms!
And conquer peace for Dixie!
To arms! To arms!
And conquer peace for Dixie!
Item 12
WEBSITES, ETC.
Students are strongly encouraged to supplement all aspects of this
course, especially research papers, by active use of web and net
resources. Simply typing "U.S. Civil War" in the search box of one
of the good search engines will get you started. However, as I find
particularly useful sites, I will list them here. Websites come online
almost weekly, so keep checking back.
http://www.thehistorynet.com
http://jefferson.village.edu/vshadow2/
http://rs6.loc.gov/ammem/cwphome.html
Two newsgroups that may have postings of interest to you are:
alt.war.civil.usa
soc.history.war.us-civil-war
I will gladly assist anyone needing help in accessing these groups.
Item 13
Grade for Course
If you wish to learn your final grade in this course before
the Registrar posts them to you, here are three ways:
1. since I expect to have the grades by Wed. am, if you will be
on campus all week (and trust campus mail), you may give me a card
or envelope with your campus address.
2. leave a stamped self-addressed post card or envelope with me
and I will enter your grade and mail it to you.
3. you may send me e-mail and I will "r" back with your grade.
PLEASE DO NOT PHONE ME AT HOME OR AT MY OFFICE
Best wishes to all of you.
Prof. O'B.
Item 14
Save time and gasoline -- search the SLU library online!
The URL for the SLU online library catalog is:
http://199.0.79.3/screens/opacmenu.html
Happy hunting!