Monday, December 24, 2018

American Civil War Monuments
Brigadier General Lloyd Tilghman Monument
Vicksburg National Military Park
Vicksburg, Mississippi

Photo and text courtesy of LCWRT Member Charlie Moore 

 Lloyd Tilghman was born on Jan. 18, 1816, in Rich Neck Manor, Maryland.  He enrolled at West Point at the age of 15 and graduated in 1836 at the age of 20. He resigned from the army that same year. From that time until the start of the Civil War, he worked as a railroad construction engineer in the south except for a period in which he served in the Mexican War. In 1852, he took up residence in Paducah, Ky., from where he entered Confederate service in May, 1861 with the rank of Colonel.

In February, 1862, he was put in command of Ft. Henry, located on the Tennessee River to prevent Union Naval forces from moving deeper into Confederate territory. He was later forced to surrender Fort Henry to the naval forces of Flag Officer Henry Foote and Army Brigadier General Ulysses Grant. Before the fort fell, he had wisely sent the largest portion of his forces to Fort Donelson located 12 miles to the east on the Cumberland River. 

Tilghman was captured and not exchanged until the fall of that same year. After his release, he took command of a brigade in the division of Major General William Loring.He was killed at the battle of Champion’s Hill during the Vicksburg Campaign when hit by a piece of artillery shell.He was originally buried in Vicksburg but was moved by his sons in 1902 to Woodlawn Cemetery in New York City where he wasreinterred next to his wife Augusta.

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

American Civil War Monuments 
116th Pennsylvania Monument 
Sickles Avenue at the Loop 
Gettysburg National Military Park 

Photo and text courtesy of LCWRT Member Charlie Moore

 To many visitors, the monument of the 116th Pennsylvania Infantry is the most poignant on the battlefield. The idea for the monument came from Major St. Clair Mulholland from a scene he witnessed during the fighting of July 2n of a young soldier, shot through the head, lying with a faint smile on his upturned face. Major Mulholland never forgot this scene which later was used as the inspiration for the 116th’s monument. Most of the monuments on the battlefield show themes of bravery, courage and loyalty. This one, however, shows the real cost of war. The 116th was one of five regiments which made up the highly acclaimed Irish Brigade, part of Major General Winfield Scott Hancock’s II Corps. By July 1,1863, the regiment had been consolidated into only 4 companies with a battle strength of 66. It suffered 37 casualties in the fighting of July 2, a casualty rate of 56%.