Thursday, September 29, 2016

Part 7 of a Series: Our Civil War Ancestors
Two Brothers in the 9th KY Cavalry( CSA)

Frederick O. and James H. Rudy


left F.O. Rudy, right, J.H. Rudy, photos courtesy of LCWRT Member  Holly Jenkins-Evans

Frederick Oldham Rudy and James Henry Rudy were 2 of the 5 children of George Rudy and Susan Frances Herr of Jefferson County, KY. The children were orphaned after the deaths of their mother in 1850 and father in 1852. The three daughters went to live with one uncle while the two boys, aged 13 and 9, ended up working a farm for another uncle. Both enlisted in Co. G of the 9th KY Cavalry, CSA.

Fredrick O. Rudy, 2nd Lt. 9th Kentucky Cavalry (CSA)
Born Jefferson County, Ky. in 1839. Frederick Oldham Rudy, known as Oldham ,enlisted a private in the 9th Kentucky Cavalry, Co G in Sept. 1862 at it’s creation, and mustered out as 2nd Lt. having been promoted in the Spring of 1864. Rudy served in all its engagements and was paroled from Washington, Georgia in May of 1865. He married in 1873, and had two sons. He died at the age of 43 in Jefferson County, KY in 1882.His widow, Ella Hubbard Rudy, applied for a Confederate pension from the Kentucky State Legislature on August 22, 1912.  

James Henry Rudy, Lt. Co B 2nd Battalion KY (CSA) 
Born Jefferson Co. Ky 1843, died 1914.  At age 18 he enlisted in a 12 month unit, the 1st KY Cavalry, Co E as 4th Corporal in 1861. Rudy was promoted to 1st Sgt in 1862. He then joined Co G, 9th Cavalry Ky in as a Sergeant. In 1863 he was  promoted to 1st Lt. in Co B, 2nd Battalion (Cassell’s), 14th KY Regiment and participated in Morgan’s last Kentucky Raid. On Sept. 30,1864, at the action at Duvault’s Ford, near Carter’s Station, Tennessee, he lost his leg due to a carbine shell severing the femoral artery, ending in an amputation. Rudy married in 1866 in Louisville, then moved out to western Ky. He served five terms in the Kentucky State legislature from Owensboro, had 8 children and is buried in Rosehill Elmwood Cemetery, Owensboro, KY.

Tuesday, September 27, 2016

American Civil War Monuments
2nd Tennessee (Bates) Shiloh National Battlefield Park 

photo courtesy of LCWRT Member Holly Jenkins-Evans

This regiment was organized at Nashville, Tennessee, May 6, 1861. They had a long, tough road of battles, starting at  Aquia Creek and Manassas in the Eastern Theater of the war, then headed west to Knoxville, Huntsville, Corinth and on to Shiloh, where they lost 235 men wounded or killed of 385 effectives.  From there, they participated in the Siege of Corinth, and the Battles of Richmond, KY, Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Ringgold Gap, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Franklin, and Nashville. By this point there were only 65 men left. Along with some 10 other Tennessee regiments, they were reorganized as the 4th Consolidated Regiment of Tennessee Infantry in April of 1865. The 2nd TN (CSA) surrendered May 1, 1865.

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Part 6 of a Series: Our Civil War Ancestors

Andrew Jackson McMonigle  
2nd Lt. 38th IN Co. B

photo and text courtesy of LCWRT member Holly Jenkins-Evans

Andrew Jackson McMonigle -  born Dec. 20, 1842 in Indiana.  A twin, he was one of four brothers who enlisted from Indiana. He and his brother Cornelius McMonigle enlisted as privates on Sept 18,1861, in Co B, 38th Indiana. The 38th Indiana was part of the Army of the Ohio, then the Army of the Cumberland, and fought at Perryville, where Andrew was wounded, Stone’s River, Tullahoma. Hoover‘s Gap, Chickamauga, Chattanooga, the Battles for Atlanta , and on through to the Battle of Bentonville. Andrew was  commissioned a  2nd Lt. May 1, 1865  and  mustered out - June 19, 1865. McMonigle returned to Harrison County, married there and died in 1904.

Friday, September 23, 2016

American Civil War Monuments

1st Minnesota Light Artillery
Shiloh National Battlefield

photo and text courtesy of LCWRT Member Holly Jenkins-Evans

The 1st Minnesota monument stands at the position where the right and left sections under 1st Lt. William Pfaender has a long day as part of the defense of the famous Hornet's Nest at Shiloh on  April 6. In their first real action, Captain E. Munch and a 1st Lt. F.E. Peebles were wounded, 3 men were killed and 6 more wounded. They saw more fighting at Corinth and in the Siege of Vicksburg, where a second monument commemorates their service.  As part of the Army of the Tennessee, the First MN continued onto Kenesaw Mountain, Atlanta, the March to the Sea and Bentonville.  

Thursday, September 22, 2016

A timely round-up of great links from our Facebook page, courtesy of Webmaster  and LCWRT Member Joe Reinhart: 

Episode 1304 with author  Lorien  Foote on The Gentlemen and the Roughs: Violence, Honor, and Manhood in the Union Army


From Civil War Books and Authors: 
Five books on Germans and the Civil War  including A German Hurrah!: Civil War Letters of Friedrich Bertsch and Wilhelm Stangel, 9th Ohio Infantry by  our own Joe Reinhart


New from the Civil War Trust: 
Watch the action at the Battle of Chickamauga come to life with the Civil War Trust's all new Animated Map 



And a nifty Historical Marker Database 


Wednesday, September 21, 2016

American Civil War Monuments
Calvary Cemetery 
5239 W. Florissant Ave.
St. Louis, Missouri

William "Willie" T. Sherman

Photo and text courtesy of LCWRT Member Charlie Moore

William T. Sherman was the third of  General Sherman’s eight children and the first male. General Sherman had no qualms about letting it be known that “Willie” was his favorite child.  Sherman’s wife Ellen, at times had to reprove her husband for his favoritism even shown in the presence of their other children.  After the siege of Vicksburg came to a successful end, Sherman started making plans for his wife and children to come stay with him at Vicksburg.  They arrived in early September. Willie became a favorite of the 13th United States Regulars and was soon wearing a complete uniform and became known to the 13th’s men as “ Our Little Sergeant”.  In late September Ellen and a daughter became ill and it was decided that the family would embark for Memphis for better health care.  By the time they arrived, Willie was also ill.  He had contacted typhoid fever and died in a matter of days.  Ellen and her daughter both recovered. The General never forgave himself for having the family come live with him in such a climate as southern Mississippi.  Willie was originally buried in Lancaster, Ohio and was later moved to St. Louis where he lies along with his mother, father and two other siblings.  His grave stone was paid for and erected by members of the 13th US Regulars.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

5th In a Series: Our Civil War Ancestors: 

Henry Clay McMonigle
Corporal 13th In Calvary


Henry Clay McMonigle with his wife, Mariah Faith, photo and text courtesy of LCWRT Members Monty Evans and Holly Jenkins-Evans
  
Henry Clay McMonigle was born 1845 in Heth Township, Harrison Co, IN. One of 20 children, he and his triplet brother Frelinghuysen McMonigle (named for Henry Clay’s 1844 Whig running mate)  enlisted at Mauckport, IN on December 9, 1863, as privates in Co H, 13th IN Calvary. Their older brothers, Andrew Jackson McMonigle and Cornelius McMonigle had already enlisted in 1861 in Co. B of the 38th IN. 
Henry was mustered as a Corporal on January 28, 1864. The 13th IN Calvary participated in the siege of Murfreesboro, the campaign against Mobile, the siege of 
Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely, and the capture of  Mobile on April 12. McMonigle was  discharged Nov. 18, 1865. He returned to Harrison County, married Mariah Faith  in 1869 in Mauckport, IN.  and had 8 children . He died in 1923 in Louisville, Ky and is buried in the National Cemetery  at Cave Hill Cemetery. 

Monday, September 19, 2016


2016 - 2017 Field Trips

2016 Fall Field Trip: The Battle of Richmond Kentucky
Oct. 23, 2016
We will be traveling to Richmond, Kentucky this October 23 for a tour of the Richmond, Kentucky battlefield. Phil Seyfrit, battlefield historian and preservationist, will be our guide as we walk the ground where the August 29-30, 1862 battle took place. The battle was the second largest Civil War battle in Kentucky and was one of the most decisive and complete Confederate victories of the war. We will have more information about this trip at the September and October meetings as well as a sign-up sheet. There is no cost to attend this event.

** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
2017 Spring Field Trip: The Seven Days Battles
April 19 - 23, 2017
We have confirmed next year’s field trip, and it is to Richmond, Virginia to tour the Seven Days Battles with Bobby Krick, the former park historian for the Richmond National Battlefield Park. Bobby Krick did this field trip for us back in 1996 and did a superb job. Once again, we were able to obtain the services of the best possible guide for the battlefields we will be visiting. The dates will be April 19 -23, 2017. We will be visiting. The dates will be April 19 -23, 2017. We will have a lot more information about this exciting trip in the coming months.

Sunday, September 18, 2016

American Civil War Monuments: 

Gettysburg National Military Park
First Vermont Brigade
Wright Avenue

 photo and text courtesy of LCWRT member Charlie Moore


During late afternoon, July 1st 1863, Major General John Sedgwick received orders  from Major General George Gordon Meade to move his 6th Corps to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  By 6:00 his troops were on the road from near Manchester, Maryland.  They marched through the night arriving at the southern end of the battlefield around 3:00 the next afternoon.  Their forced march of 32 miles in 21 hours ranks as one of the most grueling and incredible marches made by any troops during the Civil War. The 1st Vermont Brigade, made up of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th Vermont Regiments under the leadership of Colonel Lewis Grant, took a reserve position east of the Round Tops in the vicinity of Taneytown Road.  Their position  guarded the extreme left of the Union line. They would remain here in a reserve role through July 4th, when they became part of the pursuit of the Army of Northern Virginia.  Of the 2096 men of the 1st Vermont Brigade who were at Gettysburg only 1 became a casualty, a soldier in the 4th Vermont Regiment.  During their entire service in the War, however, they had a total of 4704 casualties of whom 2439 were fatalities. 

Saturday, September 17, 2016

Part 4 In a Series: Our Civil War Ancestors

Levi Harbaugh
Pvt. 17th Indiana Infantry

photo & text courtesy of LCWRT Members Monty Evans and Holly Jenkins-Evans

Born 1844 - 1899, Harrison County, In.  On June 12, 1861,  at the age of 18, Levi Harbaugh was mustered as a Musician, in  Co. C, 17th IN Infantry for a 3 year enlistment at Indianapolis, Indiana.   The 17th IN was part of Hascall's Brigade, Army of the Ohio, and later in Wilder’s Brigade, Army of the Cumberland.  Wilder’s Mounted Infantry became famous as the Lightning Brigade. Jan 1, 1862, Levi was promoted to Private from Fifer. May 1, 1862, Harbaugh was detailed for artillery service with the 18th Battery IN Lt Artillery ( Eli Lilly’s Battery). Lilly’s battery was attached  to Wilder’s Brigade until November,1863. He participated in the Campaign against Bragg through  October 1862, including the Battle of Perryville and was present for  action at Murfreesboro, the Tullahoma Campaign, Hoover’s Gap, the Chickamauga Campaign, the Bombardment of Chattanooga, and Ringgold, GA. And the Battle of Chickamauga .In Nov. 1863, Levi Harbaugh returned to 17th IN,  and was discharged and mustered out at  Macon GA in June. Harbaugh  returned to Harrison County and became a schoolteacher. He was a  member of Grand Army of the Republic and a delegate from his county to an Indiana State convention on soldiers’ pensions. Eventually, he was a professor of algebra, botany , geography, chemistry and bookkeeping at the United Brethren College in Hartsville, IN as well as Superintendent of Schools in Corydon. He is shown after the war, wearing his Wilder's Brigade medal. 

Friday, September 16, 2016

American Civil War Monuments
Gettysburg National Military Park
Monument of the 84th New York Infantry(14th Brooklyn)/McPherson’s Barn


 photos and text courtesy of LCWRT Member Charlie Moore
The 84th New York was involved in the very heavy fighting at the Railroad Cut on the first day at Gettysburg.  They were part of Cutler’s 2nd Brigade,  of Wadsworth’s 1st Division, of Doubleday’s 1st Corps. On the morning of the first, Cutler deployed the 76th New York, 147th New York and 56th Pennsylvania north of the cut and the 84th New York and 95th New York south of the cut.  They were soon outflanked by Brigadier General Joseph Davis’s  Mississippians and North Carolinians and forced to retire.  In the afternoon the 84th New York and the 95th New York assisted  Rufus Dawes’s 6th Wisconsin in taking the Railroad Cut back.  They were then forced to retreat back through Gettysburg to the Culp’s Hill area, after Rode’s Division of Ewell’s Corps eentered the battle.  The monument is one of three representing the 84th at Gettysburg and was dedicated in October of 1887.  They suffered 68% casualties.

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Third in a Series
Our Civil War Ancestors: 

William Harrison Shepard

William Harrison Shepard is shown on the right. He is pictured with his cousin, both of them wearing corporal chevrons. Shepherd served in the Union, with the 15th KY Vol Infantry, Company D. He enlisted at Eminence, KY and served 3 years 6 months. Shepard was wounded at Chickamauga, taken prisoner and sent to Andersonville, GA, then later to Charleston, SC. And still later to Savannah, GA, where he was paroled and sent to Annapolis, MD thence to Louisville where he was discharged, having been held as a prisoner of war fourteen months. 


photo and text courtesy of LCWRT member Terry Pyles

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

American Civil War Monuments
Antietam National Military Park
Monument of the 15th Massachusetts Volunteers
Hagerstown Pike


At the Battle of Antietam the 15th Massachusetts took part in a very unsuccessful attempt by the Union high command to break the Confederate line in the West Woods.  The 15th was one of 4 regiments in Gorman’s Brigade, Sedgwick’s Division, Sumner’s II Corps.   Sedgwick had his 3 brigades march into battle by brigade front, with each brigade within 75 feet of the one to it’s front.  In other words, it was one huge, compact force which left little room for maneuvering.  This huge mass of 5437 men basically walked into an ambush by the Confederate brigades of Paul Semmes, George “Tighe” Anderson, Robert Ransom, William Barksdale and Jubal Early.  The 15th Massachusetts went into battle with 582 men and suffered 318 casualties in a space of about 20 minutes.  Sedgwick’s Division as a whole suffered 59% casualties.  The monument features a wounded lion, still roaring and its right paw raised in defiance.


photo and text courtesy of LCWRT member Charlie Moore

Monday, September 12, 2016

Second in a Series 
Our Civil War Ancestors: 


Pvt. Merritt Calvin Alloway

1837  - 1921 b. Spencer Co., KY. Buried Valley Cemetery, Taylorsville, KY. He was a Private in Co.D,  1st KY Cavalry CSA (Wheeler’s Cavalry). Alloway enlisted Sept. 2,1862 at Lexington, KY. He was paroled May 11, 1865 at Washington, GA and took the oath May 22,1865 at Nashville,TN before he could return to KY. Merritt served in Jefferson Davis’ escort at the end of the war. 
In later years, he attended Confederate reunions. He was a Democrat and Master Mason. 

photo and text courtesy of LCWRT Life Member Lowell Griffin

Friday, September 9, 2016

Amercian Civil War Monuments: 
Evergreen Cemetery, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

Evergreen Cemetery was established in 1854 by David McConnaughy who in 1863 would be instrumental in establishing the Gettysburg National Cemetery which adjoins it.  Evergreen Cemetery would go down in history as the cemetery for which Cemetery Hill and Cemetery Ridge would become infamous for the battles fought for them, the first three days of July, 1863.  Perhaps its most famous “resident” is Jenny Wade who was killed instantly on the morning of July 3, while preparing bread for Union soldiers.

photo and text courtesy of LCWRT member Charlie Moore

Jenny was the only civilian killed during the battle.  Her fiance, Johnston Skelly, of the 87th Pennsylvania Volunteers had been wounded at the Battle of Winchester 2 weeks earlier and died on July 12th unaware that Jenny had been killed.  In 1882 the United States Senate voted to grant Jenny’s mother a pension, citing that her daughter had been killed serving the Union cause, baking bread for Union soldiers.

Thursday, September 8, 2016

First in a Series: Our Civil War Ancestors
Maj. William L. Carter

b.1823 - d. 1898, in Harrison County, IN. A Mexican War veteran, school teacher, musician, and farmer. He recruited a company, "Carter's Invincibles", in Harrison County in 1861 and enlisted as a Captain that year in the 38th IN Volunteer Infantry. He fought at Perryville, Stones River, Chickamauga, when he was promoted to major, Missionary Ridge, and the Battles for Atlanta until severely wounded at Jonesboro in 1864 when the 38th carried a rebel works in a charge and their color bearer was killed.  He was commissioned as Lt. Col on August 22nd, 1864 but owing to the small size of the regiment was not mustered at that grade.  On Mar 12, 1888 he was retroactively mustered in as Lt. Col. of 38th IN Inf. Vol., to date Nov 8, 1864.There is a short bio in Henry Perry's History of the 38th Indiana. 


photo courtesy of LCWRT member, Monty Evans

Wednesday, September 7, 2016

Coming Sept. 10, 2016: Our First Speaker of the 2016 - 2017 Season:

Greg Biggs will present:

 The Question Was One of Supplies: The Logistics for William T. Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign
        
Greg Biggs has been a student of military history for 50 years. His interests cover the ancient Greeks through modern military events with concentrations on the Revolutionary War, the wars of Frederick the Great, the Napoleonic era, the Civil War and World War 2. His primary focus on Civil War history is the war in the Western Theater. He has lectured all over the country to history, civic and Civil War groups since 1990 and began leading Civil War tours in 1993. Greg has had articles published in Blue & Gray Magazine, North-South Trader, the Civil War Trust's "Hallowed Ground," the Battle of Franklin Trust's "Battlefield Dispatch," Civil War Regiments journal and Citizen's Companion and several other publications.  A Nationally known historian on Civil War flags, Greg has consulted for numerous museums, auctions house and private concerns. He has also contributed to books on Georgia's Civil War flags as well as those of Tennessee. Greg is a member of the Company of Military Historians and is president of the Clarksville, TN Civil War Roundtable, one of five he has founded or co-founded. He also programs the Nashville and Bowling Green CWRTs.

The Question Was One of Supplies: Logistics for Wm. T. Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign

 No army in history moved without a secure line of supplies especially if it moved into enemy territory. If an army got cut off from its supplies then calamity usually followed often ending in defeat and/or destruction. When William T. Sherman set his sights on Atlanta he prepared for the supplying of his army in a manner that surpassed every other Civil War general. Rebuilding railroads and confiscating locomotives and rail cars to haul supplies, Sherman set a daily goal for shipments to his forward base in Chattanooga. Ruthless in making sure that only supplies got on the cars, Sherman also had to worry about protecting the line of rails that ran back to Louisville, Kentucky from Confederate raiders. Building on a system begun by William S. Rosecrans, Sherman's engineers built forts and blockhouses and prepared pre-fabricated trestles for replacing those brought down by Confederate raiders. While his preparations were masterful and thorough, they were not without some flaws. This program will examine the nuts and bolts of these logistics and cover the errors that were also made. In the end, his supply line performed as expected and Atlanta was captured. This set the stage for two more campaigns that Sherman would undertake before the war ended in April 1865 as well as logistics for more modern wars.

For more information about us, please visit our website: Louisville Civil War Round Table 

Tuesday, September 6, 2016

American Civil War Monuments:
Bar Harbor, Maine

"In Memory of Eden’s Sons
Who Were Defenders of the Union 1861-1865"
Erected A. D. 1897
Dedicated November 4, 1897
Source of Funding:  $4,500 from Town of Bar Harbor, $500 from public subscription  


Photo courtesy of LCWRT Member Holly Jenkins-Evans

Monday, September 5, 2016

First in a Series: 
American Civil War Monuments 
Ellsworth, Maine

"In Honor of the Men of Ellsworth
Who Served and to the Memory of those who fell on land and sea
In the War for the Union
Their Grateful Townsmen Have Raised This Memorial 1861" 
Dedicated July 4, 1887
Made of Blue Hill granite 
Source of Funding: $3,000: Citizens of Ellsworth