American Civil War Battlefield Monuments

Gen. Gouverneur K. Warren Monument

Little Round Top

Gettysburg National Military Park

  Photo and Text courtesy of LCWRT Member Charlie Moore

Brig. Gen. Warren was Chief Engineer of the Army of the Potomac at the Battle of Gettysburg.  His bronze statue stands atop the boulder he is said to have stood on during the second  day of the battle. When he arrived in the afternoon, he found only a small Signal Corps detachment.  Realizing the importance of this position, on his own authority, he diverted the brigades of Col. Strong Vincent and Col. Stephen Weed, to what became the successful defense of Little Round Top.  He was slightly wounded in his throat but remained on the battlefield. 

After Gettysburg, Warren was given command of the 5^th Corps which he led successfully through the Overland Campaign and the siege of Petersburg.  He was relieved of command by Gen. Phillip Sheridan at the Battle of Five Forks, April 1, 1865, for being too late to the battle.  After the war he resigned his commission as a major general to protest  Sheridan’s action and returned to the Corps of Engineers.  He spent the rest of his career trying to exonerate his name.  A court appointed by President Rutherford B. Hays in 1879 found that Sheridan’s action had been unjustified.  Unfortunately Warren had died 3 months previously.  Per his wishes he was buried with no military honors and in civilian clothing.

American Civil War Monuments

John Breckinridge Castleman Monument

Cherokee Triangle

Louisville, KY

 Photo and text courtesy of LCWRT Member Charlie Moore

 John B. Castleman was born June 30, 1841, at Castleton Farm, Lexington.  He studied law at Transylvania University in Lexington before the start of the Civil War. During the war he recruited 41 men from his hometown to form the Second Kentucky Cavalry Company CSA under John Hunt Morgan. He was promoted to major in 1864 and led his guerillas in the attempted burning of supply boats at St. Louis, Missouri.  He was arrested later that year in Sullivan, Indiana.  He was convicted of spying and sentenced to death, but his execution was stayed by President Lincoln. Following the war, Castleman exiled himself from the United States, and studied medicine in France.  He was pardoned by President Johnson and returned to Kentucky in 1866. He revived the Louisville Legion, a militia unit in 1878 and became adjutant general of Kentucky in 1883.  The unit became the First Kentucky Volunteers in the Spanish-American War.  He was commissioned a colonel in the U.S. Army and his unit participated in the invasion of Puerto Rico. After the war he was promoted to brigadier general and served as military governor of the island.  He died May 23, 1918, survived by his five daughters.  The equestrian statue of Castleman is one of only two in the state, the other that of John Hunt Morgan in Lexington.  He is seen seated on his favorite horse Caroline clad in civilian clothing by his wishes.  It was erected in 1913.

American Civil War Monuments
Vicksburg National Military Park 
Illinois State Monument
Dedicated on October 26, 1906

Photo Courtesy of LCWRT Member Paul Fridell

Some states put up monuments to each regiment at a place on the field that was important to that unit.  Some put up small state monuments and regimental monuments both. With thousands of troops at Vicksburg, Illinois erected  a massive state monument, possibly the largest in the Western theatre, and  certainly in a league with the Pennsylvania Monument at Gettysburg in the East. At 62 feet in height, it is a commanding structure, designed in the Roman style with 47 steps to commemorate the 47 day siege of Vicksburg.

The interior is covered with bronze plaques that list every Illinois soldier at Vicksburg, all 36,325  of them, including, as the park guides will tell you, Albert Cashier. It's an interesting story - look him up. In addition, the names of generals and officers serving from Illinois are carved in the marble of the rotunda.
   

Even the floor is impressive. 

American Civil War Monuments

Wilder’s “Lightning Brigade” Monument

Dedicated September 20, 1903

Chickamauga National Military Park

Photo and text courtesy of LCWRT Member Charlie Moore

Col. John T. Wilder and his Lightning Brigade were near the site of Widow Glenn’s house when rebel forces broke through the Union line near the Brotherton Cabin during the battle of Chickamauga, Sept. 20, 1862.  Five regiments from  Illinois and Indiana armed with 7 shot repeating Spencer carbines laid down a barrage into the advancing Confederates under the command of Arthur Manigault forcing the rebels to retreat.  The effect of Wilder’s action is still debated.  Some say it slowed the Rebel army long enough for Maj. Gen. George Thomas, the Rock of Chickamauga, to form his line. Others say it was only one action in a chain of events including the wounding of Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood that slowed the Confederate onslaught. The Wilder Brigade went into the battle with 2,283 men of whom 12 were killed, 92 wounded and 18 missing.  Their percentage lost totaled 05%.

American Civil War Monuments

North Carolina Monument

West Confederate Avenue

Gettysburg National Military Park

                 

 Photo and text courtesy of LCWRT Member Charlie Moore

North Carolina provided 14,147 men to the Army of Northern Virginia at Gettysburg, the second most after Virginia.  It suffered more than 6,000 casualties, over 40%.  It was the largest number of  casualties of any Confederate State and, as the monument states, over one fourth of all Confederate casualties at the Battle of Gettysburg.  The statue depicts a wounded officer pointing the way forward to the enemy while a veteran and younger soldier lead a color bearer in the charge.  The statue was sculpted by Gutzon Borglum of Mt. Rushmore fame.  The statue was dedicated July 3, 1929, and had major rehabilitation work done in 1999.

American Civil War Monuments
32nd Ohio Infantry 
Vicksburg National Military Park 

Photo Courtesy of LCWRT Member Paul Fridell

This monument was placed at Battery DeGolyer with two additional markers for the unit showing the locations of the assaults of May 19,1863, and May 2,1863. A three year regiment, the 32nd Ohio was organized at Mansfield, Ohio August 20-September 7, 1861 and mustered in under commander of Colonel Thomas H. Ford. Ford was charged with neglect and dismissed in Nov. of 1862. Col Potts succeeded him in command.  They lost 240 men during their service, with 143 dying of disease. The 32nd Ohio Infantry mustered out of service at Louisville, Kentucky on July 20, 1865.
Through the Vicksburg Campaign: 
Brig. Gen. John D. Stevenson's 3d Brigade
Maj. Gen. John A. Logan's 3d Division 
Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson's XVII Army Corps
Commander Col. Benjamin F. Potts.

Inscription:
THIRTY SECOND INFANTRY
COL. BENJAMIN F. POTTS. 
3d BRIG., 3d DIV., 
17th CORPS. 

The Reverse Inscription:
CASUALTIES 
In the Battle of Port Gibson May 1, 1863,Sustained No Casualties, 
In the Engagement at Raymond,May 12, Sustained No Casualties, 
In the Engagement at Jackson, May 14, Sustained No Casualties 
In the Battle of Champion's Hill, May 16, Killed 2, Wounded 18, Total 20, 
In the Assault, May 19, Sustained No Casualties 
In the Assault, May 22, Wounded 23, And During the Siege, Not Reported, 

Aggregate Reported Casualties in Regiment During the Campaign and Siege, Killed 2, Wounded 41, Total 43.

Announcing our 515th Meeting: 

“The Last Days of Stonewall Jackson”

presented by Chris Mackowski

December 10, 2016

Chris Mackowski, Ph.D., is the editor-in-chief of Emerging Civil War and managing editor of the Emerging Civil War Series. He is a professor of journalism and mass communication at St. Bonaventure University in Allegany,NY, and historian-in-residence at Stevenson Ridge, a historic property on the Spotsylvania battlefield in central Virginia. He has also worked as

a historian for the National Park Service at Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park, where he gives tours at four major

Civil War battlefields (Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness, and Spotsylvania), as well as at the building where Stonewall Jackson died.

Chris has authored or co-authored a dozen books on the Civil War, and his articles have appeared in all the major Civil War magazines. Among

the books Chris has authored or co-authored are “The Last Days of Stonewall Jackson: The Mortal Wounding of the Confederacy’s Greatest

Icon-and the Birth of Its Greatest Legend”, “Fight Like the Devil: The First Day at Gettysburg July 1, 1863”, and “That Furious Struggle: Chancellorsville and the High Tide of the Confederacy, May 1-5, 1863”. He was a 2014 finalist for the Army Historical Foundations' Distinguished Book Award for “Chancellorsville's Forgotten Front: The Battles of Second Fredericksburg and Salem Church”. Chris has had six of his plays produced and and he serves on the national advisory board for the Civil War Chaplains Museum in Lynchburg, Virginia. 

“The Last Days of Stonewall Jackson”. 

Jackson’s loss has been called one of the major turning points.of the war. Follow his last days, from his famous flank attack at Chancellorsville and his accidental wounding by his own men, to the amputation of his arm and his final journey over the river to rest under the shade of the trees.

American Civil War Battlefields

East Crest Drive

Missionary Ridge

Chattanooga, Tennessee

 Photos and text courtesy of LCWRT Member Charlie Moore

Mebane’s Tennessee Battery was part of John. C. Breckinridge’s Division, Daniel H. Hill’s Corps of the Army of Tennessee. Because of their location away from most of the action during the Battle of Chickamauga, Sept. 18-20, 1863, Captain John Mebane’s battery of four guns fired only 75 rounds and suffered just two casualties.  His four Napoleon 12 pounders were eventually moved to this position atop Missionary Ridge.  On Nov. 25, 1863, they were engaged in the Battle of Missionary Ridge, where his guns could not be sufficiently depressed to command the slope of the hill.  Even so, the battery was able to fire off 543 rounds during the battle, though doing little damage to the Union troops coming up the steep hill toward them.  The battery suffered 3 casualties, 2 wounded and 1 missing.  They were however, successfully able to retire with all four guns and proceeded to Dalton, Georgia where they encamped until William T. Sherman began his Atlanta Campaign.  Capt. Mebane was killed on June 18^th, 1864, while participating in the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia.  

American Civil War Monuments

Andrews’ Raiders Monument

Chattanooga National Cemetery

Chattanooga, TN  

Photo and text courtesy of LCWRT Member Charles Moore

The Andrews’ Raiders Monument, dedicated by the State of Ohio in 1890, honors Union spy James J. Andrews of Ohio, and 24 of his men who struck deep into Confederate Territory on a mission to cut rail and communication lines.  On April 12, 1862, the men boarded “The General” a wood-burning locomotive, at Marietta, Georgia, while the passengers and conductor enjoyed breakfast.  The raiders took off in the engine, heading north, cutting telegraph wires and tearing up the rail tracks along their way.  The train’s conductor and others gave chase, commandeering two other trains as they encountered broken tracks.  When the raiders reach Ringgold, Georgia, 80 miles northwest of Marietta, they jumped from the train, scattering in the forests.  Andrews was captured and eventually hanged in Atlanta.  He and eight others from the mission are buried in the immediate rear of the monument.  Four of Andrews’s men buried here received the Medal of Honor, although, Andrews, as a civilian, was ineligible.  The monument to these daring raiders consists of a granite pedestal topped with a bronze replica of  “The General”.

American Civil War Monuments
96th Ohio Volunteer Infantry 
Vicksburg National Battlefield

photo courtesy of LCWRT Member Paul Fridell

The 96th Ohio Infantry was a three years service regiment organized in 1862 at Delaware, Ohio under Col. Joseph Vance, and commanded by him until his death at Sabine Pass in April of 1864. 
It's battle actions include Sherman's expedition against Vicksburg, Chickasaw Bayou, Arkansas Post, (with a loss of 36 men), and the Siege of Vicksburg. The regiment also participated in the battle of Grand Coteau, Louisiana, the Red River campaign, and fighting at Sabine Cross Road. Later actions were the siege operations which resulted in the fall of Forts Gains and Morgan and the capture of Mobile. Mustered out July 7, 1865, the 96th Ohio had traveled over 9,000 miles in its term of service.
The regiment's casualties were: 2 officers and 46 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, 5 officers and 286 enlisted men died of disease.

American Civil War Monuments: 
14th CT Vol. Infantry 
Battle of Antietam, 
North of the Bloody Lane

Photo courtesy  of LCWRT member Paul Fridell

This monument was erected by the State of Connecticut on Oct. 11, 1894, with the surviving veterans present. The regiment was mustered in August of 1862. Antietam was their first battle. The 14th CT is also memorialized at Gettysburg with a monument.

The inscriptions: 
“Advanced to this point in a charge about 9:30 A.M., September 17th, 1862, then fell back eighty-eight yards to a cornfield fence and held position heavily engaged nearly two hours; then was sent to the support of the first brigade of its division at the Roulette Lane two hours; then was sent to the extreme left of the first division of this Corps to the support of Brooke's Brigade and at 5 P.M. was placed in support between the Brigades of Caldwell and Meagher of that Division, overlooking "Bloody Lane", holding position there until 10 A.M. of the 18th when relieved."
" This monument stands on the line of companies B and G, near the left of the regiment. The regiment mustered August 23, 1862 with 1015 men Recruits 697 men, total 1712. In this, their first battle, the 14th CT lost 38 killed and mortally wounded, 88 wounded and 21 reported missing.”

The 34 battle actions of the 14th CT from Antietam to Appomattox: 
Antietam Md., Fredericksburg Va., Chancellorsville Va., Gettysburg Pa., Falling Waters Va., Auburn Va., Bristoe Station Va., Blackburn's Ford Va., Mine Run Va., Morton's Ford, Va., Wilderness Va., Laurel Hill Va., Spotsylvania Va., North Anna River, Va., Totopotomy Va., Cold Harbor Va., Cold Harbor Va. (three days later), Petersburg Va., Deep Bottom Va., Ream's Station Va., Boydton Plank Road Va., Hatchers Run Va. Feb 5. 1865, Hatchers Run Va. March 25, 1865, Highbridge, Farmville Va. and Surrender of Lee's Army March 30 to April 10, 1865.
And their casualties:
Killed and mortally wounded 202, died of disease 186, wounded 549, and discharged for disability 319. 

Amercian Civil War: Battlefields
Old South Mountain Inn
Turner’s Gap 
Boonsboro, Maryland

The Old South Mountain Inn is located on the south side of the Old National Pike (Alt.US 40) as it passes over South Mountain at Turner’s Gap.  Historically known as the Mountain House, it was impacted by the Battle of South Mountain which occurred on September 14, 1862.  The inn was Confederate General D.H. Hill’s headquarters during the battle.  It was also the command center for the action that took place at Turner’s and Fox’s Gap as rebels tried to hold the passes over South Mountain.  The Old National Pike, which passes in front of the inn, was of great importance to both armies because it provided access to one of the few crossings through the mountains.  The superior quality of its surface could handle large numbers of men, horses, artillery, and supply trains.  Turner’s Gap was the main objective for the Union Army as it attempted to follow the Rebels into the Hagerstown Valley to capture a divided Confederate Army.

Photo and text courtesy of LCWRT Member Charlie Moore

Fall Bourbon Tasting Fundraising Event!

On November 6 twenty-four lucky folks got to taste a variety of Civil War themed bourbons, enjoy some tasty food, and hear one of the great Civil War historians of our time, Richard McMurry. The star attraction of this event was a bottle of 1960 circa Rebel Yell. This unopened bottle was given to long time member Lowell Griffin, by the founder of the LCWRT, Frank Rankin in about 1975.  This vintage Rebel Yell was distilled by the former Stitzel-Weller distillery owned and operated by the Van Winkle family as in ”Pappy Van Winkle” fame. It did not disappoint! It had a rich dark straw appearance and a great nose (fragrance or smell) for those who appreciate bourbon tasting talk. Everyone agreed this was the best tasting bourbon of the lot and maybe the best that many had tasted in a long time. Our tasting guide and host, Mike Veach, commented that it tasted better than today’s very expensive Pappy Van Winkle. High praise indeed!

Attendees also tasted the current Rebel Yell distilled product and though good, nothing like the vintage bottle. Our thanks go to Lowell for donating this bottle and inspiring this event. We also tasted “Battlefield Bourbon”- Small Batch distilled with “fresh spring water from the battlefield in Franklin. Tn.”, “Johnny Drum” Private Stock - a Willett distilled product from Bardstown, Ky.; “Burnside Double Barreled” An Oregon state distilled product; “Rebellion”- a Willett distilled product from Bardstown, Ky.; and “Cassius Clay”- 100-proof whiskey aged for around 8 years in charred American oak.

Richard McMurry treated us to a humorous and informative talk on four Confederate generals from the Western theater of the war of whom opinions have changed in the last 50 years or AC, ‘after Thomas Connelly”. Historians now evaluate Generals Braxton Bragg and John Bell Hood much higher than previously and Leonidas Polk and Joe Johnston lower than before. Richard pointed out that this is primarily because historians now look at all contemporary sources and do not rely solely on the memoirs of the Generals who always cast themselves in the most positive light possible.

Richard McMurry

photo and text courtesy of LCWRT Member, John Davis

Veteran’s Day

November 11^th, 2016

Cave Hill National Cemetery

Louisville, Kentucky

photos and text courtesy of LCWRT Member Charles Moore

 Approximately 6,000 Civil War soldiers are interred at Cave Hill National Cemetery.  The cemetery covers 4.1 acres and is totally enclosed by the 296 acres of the privately owned Cave Hill Cemetery.

2016 Fall Field Trip to Richmond Kentucky

Oct. 23, 2016

Phil Seyfrit pointing to the historic ravine used by Confederate forces to flank the Union defenders  saved by money from the Civil War Trust.

Photo and text courtesy of LCWRT Member John Davis

 The Louisville Civil War Round Table met at the historic Rogers House for our tour of the Richmond, Kentucky battlefield with guide Phil Seyfrit, battlefield historian and preservationist. The weather was perfect as  Phil took us to the ground where the August 29-30, 1862 battle took place and described in his own down home way what transpired here. His goal was to give us a big picture overview of what happened and he interjected lots of humor and interesting stories about the personalities that were involved. To further our understanding of the battle, he had us act out the battle by placing us in formations and moving us around to simulate the positions of the armies and how the battle unfolded. We learned that flanking movements were the key to the Confederate victory and time after time Kirby Smith’s troops were able to maneuver and launch overwhelming flank attacks that eventually sent Union forces fleeing from the field. 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 made the short journey over to White Hall, home of abolitionist Cassius Clay for a brief lecture by Phil about White Hall and the very interesting life of Clay. We ended our day by going to Hall’s on the River for a time of good food and fellowship at this historic site on the Kentucky River. Our thanks to Phil Seyfrit who gave us a great tour and entertained us all day long. He and other key individuals have done a fantastic job in helping preserve the Battle of Richmond sites and everyone in the Civil War community owes them a debt of gratitude for the work they have done and are continuing to do.  

Announcing Our 514th Meeting “The Four Legged Soldiers” 

 Presented by James I. Robertson 

“The Four Legged Soldiers” 

The horse was the basic form of transportation at the time of the Civil War. Some 1.5 million died in that war, not only from wounds but also from, neglect, abuse, disease, and starvation. I will focus on the plight of those poor animals, then move to mascots who gave love to regiments and too often gave themselves in the call of duty.

DATE: Sunday, November 20 
Location: Big Spring Country Club

We are once again honored to have our longtime friend and Life Member of our Round Table, James I. ‘Bud’ Robertson Jr. visit us. He is without question one of the preeminent Civil War scholars and lecturers of our time. So many times in the past he has enlightened our members with informative and entertaining talks. ‘Bud’ has written and edited over 20 books and countless articles and reviews during his distinguished career. His latest book is “CIVIL WAR ECHOES--Voices from Virginia 1860 – 1891” . His magnificent biography of Stonewall Jackson won eight national awards and served as the basis for the movie ‘Gods and Generals’. 

James I. Robertson Jr. is a native of Danville, Virginia and a great grandson of a Confederate veteran of the Army of Northern Virginia. He received his B.A. and Litt.D. degrees from Randolph-Macon College and M.A. and PhD degrees from Emory University, where he studied under famous Civil War historian Bell Wiley. He served as Executive Director of the U.S. Civil War Centennial Commission working with Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. He has been honored with several major awards including the 1987 Fletcher Pratt Award, the 1988 Jefferson Davis Medal and the Freeman-Nevins Award. Bud continues to speak at seminars and other venues around the country and has finished ‘A Rebel War Clerk’s Diary: J. B. Jones’ that was recently published. Dr. Robertson recently retired from being the Alumni Distinguished Professor in History at Virginia Tech. Since our founding in 1961, Bud Robertson has been a frequent and favorite speaker and we welcome him back once again for what will be a very special evening.

American Civil War Monuments:

Amos Humiston Monument

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania

The monument to Union Sergeant Amos Humiston is in Gettysburg beside the fire station on Stratton Street between York Street and the railroad.  It was erected in 1993 and is the only monument to an enlisted man on the Gettysburg Battlefield.

photos and text courtesy of LCWRT Member Charlie Moore

American Civil War Monuments:
Antietam National Cemetery
The Private Soldier Monument 

This monumental statue dominates the National Cemetery at Antietam.Simply inscribed  "Not For Themselves, But For Their Country September 17, 1862", it is also known as The American Volunteer or The American Soldier, its nickname is Old Simon. 
This 44' monument was designed and sculpted at a cost of $32,000 and depicts a colossal 21'-6" Union infantryman at parade rest facing northward. It first stood at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition of 1876, then was transported onto Antietam ,where it was dedicated in 1880. 

photos courtesy of LCWRT Member Paul Fridell

Civil War Battlefields and Monuments: 

Antietam National Battlefield

The Bloody Lane

 The 132^nd PA Monument

 Photos courtesy of LCWRT Member Paul Fridell

The 132nd Pa was a nine-month regiment that mustered in August of 1862 They were engaged at the Bloody Lane at Antietam, where their commander, Colonel Richard A. Oakford, was killed in action.  Casualties there: Killed 30, wounded 114. Missing 8.  They later fought at Fredericksburg Dec. 13, 1862 and Chancellorsville, Va. Apr. 30 -May 3, 1863. They were mustered out in May of 1863. 
This monument was erected by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and dedicated September 17, 1904 on the 42nd anniversary of the battle of Antietam. 

American Civil War Monuments: 

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

Brunswick, Maine

Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, Brevet Major General, 20^th Maine, four time Governor of Maine and President of Bowdoin College. Buried in Pine Grove Cemetery in Brunswick, Maine. Participated in the Battles of Antietam, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, and Five Forks. Wounded 6 times, Chamberlain had as many as 6 horses shot out from under him and was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at Gettysburg. 

Photos courtesy of LCWRT member Monty Evans

American Civil War Monuments: 

James Longstreet Equestrian Statue

West Confederate Avenue, Pitzer’s Woods

Gettysburg National Military Park

 

Photo and text by LCWRT Member Charles Moore

The monument was commissioned by the North Carolina Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and sculpted by Gary Casteel.  It was dedicated on July 3, 1998.

It is a bronze sculpture of Gen. James Longstreet astride his horse Hero.  This is the only equestrian monument at Gettysburg which does not have a pedestal.  The sculptor, Gary Casteel, states on his web site, “The monument was erected without a pedestal to become not less heroic, but more approachable by those who visit Lee’s lieutenant.”  The tablet beside the monument reads: “Lieutenant General James Longstreet, Commanding First Corps Army of Northern Virginia. Soldiers of Gen. Longstreet’s command held and protected the right wing of the army July 2-4, 1863.  His First Corps attacked and dislodged Union forces at the Devil’s Den, the Wheatfield and the Peach Orchard, on July 2.  As a portion of his infantry secured the Peach Orchard, Gen. Longstreet advanced on horseback with them.  The following day Gen. Longstreet was ordered by Gen. Robert E. Lee to coordinate an attack on the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. On July 3, “Longstreet’s Assault” was repulsed with great loss after penetrating the enemy’s battle line on Cemetery Ridge.  During the march back to Virginia, Gen. Longstreet and his First Corps played a prominent role in protecting the retreating army.

American Civil War Battlefields: 
Bolivar Heights
Harpers Ferry, W VA

                                   Photo Courtesy of LCWRT Member Paul Fridell 

Bolivar Heights, where fighting occurred throughout the Civil War, was the site of 5 battles:  
Oct 16, 1861, Thomas Ashby vs.  John Geary, May 30, 1862, Stonewall Jackson  vs.  Rufus Saxton, September 12 - 15, when  Jackson ‘s men forced the surrender of 12,700 Union troops, June of 1863,  Lee’s advance toward Gettysburg, and last in July 1864 when Jubal Early  invaded the North.  

Photo Courtesy of LCWRT Member Paul Fridell 

Bolivar Heights was also used as an encampment by the CSA in 1861,  US forces in 1862 after Antietam and in 1864 by Phil Sheridan as a huge temporary corral for mules and wagons during his Shenandoah Campaign. 

American Civil War Monuments: 
54th Massachusetts Monument
Boston Commons

Photo and text Ccourtesy of LCWRT Member Charles Moore Jr.

The Monument to the 54th Massachusetts Regiment was designed by Augustus Saint-Gaudens and was unveiled on Memorial Day 1897.  The monument  honors Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and members of the Massachusetts 54th Regiment who died in the assault on Fort Wagner, South Carolina, July 18th, 1863.  The 54th was the first regiment of black volunteers from the North to fight in the Civil War.  On the back of the monument are inscribed the names of the members of the 54th who died with Colonel Shaw at Fort Wagner.  The 54th suffered 45% casualties in the assault of which 54 were killed, 179 wounded and 48 unaccounted for. The 54th has been immortalized in the 1989 movie “Glory” for which Denzel Washington won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

American Civil War Monuments:

Antietam National Battlefield Park

New York State

Photo courtesy of LCWRT Member Paul Fridell

Constructed at a coat of $30,000 and dedicated in 1919, it is 58’ high. The New York State Monument honors the 67 Regiments of Infantry, 5 of Cavalry, 14 Artillery Batteries and 2 Regiments of Engineers from New York that fought on this ground.   NY casualties at Antietam were 3765, with 689 killed or mortally wounded, 2797 wounded, and 279 captured or missing.  New York provided approximately one quarter of the Union Army at Antietam. In this view, the Maryland State Monument is to the left. 

Part 8 of a Series: Our Civil War Ancestors

Thomas Ignatius Hite 
Pvt. 4th KY Infantry ( CSA)

Photo and text courtesy of LCWRT Member Holly Jenkins-Evans

Hite was born  Jan. 30,1841, in Union County, Kentucky. He enlisted in 1861 in Col. Trabue’s Regiment, the 4th Kentucky Infantry CSA, as a  private in Co. C commanded by Capt. Miles Fitz Henry. Later he was enrolled in the 1st KY Cavalry under Capt. Bennett. He was honorably discharged in Feb.1862 due to deafness from typhoid fever.  He married Margaret (Maggie) Millet on Nov. 3, 1863 at St. Louis Catholic Church in Henderson, Kentucky and they had 10 children. Hite received a pension from the State of Kentucky in Dec. of 1912. T.I. Hite died on Nov. 27, 1913 in Morganfield,  Kentucky and is buried at St. Ann’s Cemetery, Morganfield.  

American Civil War Monuments: 

9th Army Corps
September 14, 1862
Reno
Fox’s Gap, South Mountain Battlefield
Boonsboro MD.

“This monument marks the spot where Maj. General Jesse Lee Reno commanding the 9th Army Corps U.S. Vols. was killed in battle Sept. 14, 1862"
Erected by veterans of the 9th Army Corps, Sept 14, 1889

both photos courtesy of LCWRT Member Paul Fridell

Coming Oct. 8, 2016: 

Dr. Ethan Rafuse will present:

 "A Sucking Dove, the Snapping Turtle, and a Deep Game: George Gordon Meade and the Fall 1863 Campaigns in Virginia"

Ethan S. Rafuse is a professor at the U.S. Army Command General Staff College. He grew up in northern Virginia, received his BA and MA degrees in history at George Mason University, and received his Ph.D. at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Since 2004 he has been a member of the faculty at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, where he is a professor of history. He has published over 300 articles, essays, and reviews, and is the author, editor, or co-editor of eleven books, including George Gordon Meade and the War in the East, Robert E. Lee and the Fall of the Confederacy, 1863-1865, and the Guide to the Richmond and Petersburg Campaigns of 1864-65. He taught Civil War and military history at the U.S. Military Academy in 2001-2003. He lives with his wife and daughter in Platte City, Missouri. 

George Gordon Meade and the Fall of 1863 Campaigns in Virginia 

In the aftermath of his failed 1863 invasion of Pennsylvania, Robert E. Lee was convinced it would have at least one major benefit for his army. The damage the fighting at Gettysburg had inflicted on George G. Meade's Army of the Potomac, he believed, would render that force "quiet as a sucking dove" for at least six months. Lee was wrong. The "snapping turtle" and he would conduct a robust series of operations during the months that followed the armies' return to the Rappahannock-Rapidan line after Gettysburg. The subject of this talk will be Meade and what he labeled the "deep game" his Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia played during the fall of 1863 and the engagements they produced at Bristoe Station and Mine Run. While none of these matched the scale or deadly grandeur of Antietam, Gettysburg, or the Wilderness, they did offered compelling illustrations of the larger dynamics that shaped the course and outcome of the war in the East. Indeed, it was testimony to what the Union commander achieved in those operations that by the end of 1863 Lee was openly wondering if he had become "too old to command this army."

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.