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.

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%.

Announcing Our 533rd Meeting 
Saturday, December 8, 2018

The Trials and Tribulations of the Corpse of Abraham Lincoln

Presented by Clay Stucky 

The long and descriptive title of my talk is The Trials and Tribulations of the Corpse of Abraham Lincoln: How Nefarious Tomb Robbers and Incompetent Tomb Builders did not Allow him to Rest in Peace. In the talk I describe the bizarre history of Lincoln's body and the attempt to kidnap it, the about fifteen times it has been moved since its burial in Springfield, and the five times the coffin has been opened since the open casket funeral at Springfield. I explain the complete dismantling and rebuilding of the tomb at Springfield that has occurred TWICE! 

Photo courtesy of LCWRT Member Holly Jenkins-Evans

We are pleased to have Round Table member Clay Stuckey present our program at the December meeting. Clay is a graduate of Indiana University where he did his undergraduate work in history. He graduated from Indiana University School of Dentistry in 1975. He is now retired and lives in Bedford, Indiana. Clay has a life-long avocation of reading and writing about history. His articles have appeared in the Lincoln Herald, the Indiana Magazine of History, Indiana Folklore and Oral History, and the Hoosier Line as well as other publications. The Indiana Historical Society in Indianapolis has over fifteen of Clay’s manuscripts he has written on regional history.                         

   

American Civil War Battlefields
Wilder Tower 
Chickamauga National Battlefield Park

Photo courtesy of LCWRT Member John Davis, 

taken  during the LCWRT 2018 Spring Field Trip 

This 85-foot tower near site of Widow Glenn's house marks the site where Colonel John Wilder's Lightning Brigade of mounted infantry with their repeating Spencer rifles and support from the 18th LiN Light Battery, made a strong defense against Longstreet's attack on Sept 20, 1863.After repelling CSA forces under Arthur Manigault, Wilder prepared to join Union forces under George Thomas on Snodgrass Hill. Instead, he was ordered by Charles Dana, Assistant Secretary of War to guard the withdrawal to Chattanooga. 

Wilder's Brigade was comprised of: 
17th Indiana, Maj. William T. Jones 
72d Indiana, Col. Abram O. Miller 
92d Illinois, Smith D. Atkins 
98th Illinois, Col. John J. Funkhouser & Lieut. Col. Edward Kitchell 
123d Illinois, Col. James Monroe 
18th Light Battery Indiana (1st Brigade), Capt. Eli Lilly 

Started in 1892, and financed for by private funds, including monies from Wilder's men, the monument was up to 60 feet high when construction was halted by bank failures due to the Panic of 1893. Construction recommenced in 1897 and went on until 1904, when the interior staircase was finished. The finished height is 85 feet. Via the interior spiral staircase, the viewing platform at the top provides a panoramic view of the battlefield. 

 On June 8, 1963, the Wilder Monument was the first monument on Chickamauga battlefield to be rededicated. It has been completely renovated.

Our Civil War Ancestors
Part 10 of a Series

William J. McFerran, 92nd NY Infantry 

Many thanks to Margaret Wilds, who kindly shared her great-grandfather's photograph and biographical information. 

Born in Edwards, NY on April 5, 1842, McFerran was the first of nine children. His parents were both born in Northern Ireland. McFerran was was mustered into the Union Army  in October of 1861 and over time rose to serve as Sergeant of Co. I, 92nd New York Infantry. He served 3 years, 2 months and 28 days, and was discharged in Jan 1865.  After the war, he was married in 1869 to Martha Rath of Kemptville, Ontario with whom he had four daughters. He later worked as served as postmaster of Edwards, NY. William J. McFerran died Nov. 21, 1911 in Mexico, NY and is buried there. 

His unit, the 92nd Regiment, New York Infantry  was organized at Potsdam, N. Y., and mustered in January 1, 1862 and left the state for Washington, D. C., March 5, 1862.

Major engagements the 92nd participated in: 

The Advance on Manassas, Va., March 10-15, 1862. 

The Battle of Williamsburg May 5. 

The Battle of Seven Pines or Fair Oaks May 31-June 1. 

New Market Road June 8. 

White Oak Swamp June 30. 

Malvern Hill July 1.

Foster's Expedition to Goldsboro, N. C., December 11-20.  Duty at and near New Berne till          April 1864.  

Butler's operations on south side of the James River and against Petersburg and Richmond        May 4-28, 1864. 

Occupation of City Point and Bermuda Hundred May 5. 

The Battle of Drury's Bluff May 14-16. 

Bermuda Hundred May 16-27. 

The Battles about Cold Harbor June 1-12. 

Before Petersburg June 15-18. Siege operations against Petersburg and Richmond June 16        to December 1, 1864. Mine Explosion, Petersburg, July 30 (Reserve). Duty in the trenches      before Petersburg and on the Bermuda front till September 26. 

The Battle of Chaffin's Farm, New Market Heights, September 28-30. 

Battle of Fair Oaks October 27-28. 

Duty in trenches before Richmond north of the James River till December. 

Consolidated with 96th Regiment New York Infantry December 1, 1864. 

Old members mustered out January 7, 1865.

American Civil War Battlefields

Perryville, KY

Fall Field Trip to Perryville

October 28, 2018              

Text and Photos courtesy of LCWRT Member John Davis

On Sunday, October 28, twenty-four members and guests of the Louisville Civil War Round Table gathered at the visitor’s center and museum in Perryville to learn about the battle that occurred there on October 8, 1862. The weather was cool and cloudy as we began the tour under the guidance of Perryville historian Chuck Lott. We walked from the visitor’s center to the place where Confederate brigades from Cheatham’s division deployed in line of battle around 2:30 PM searching for the Union left flank which consisted mostly of men from Alexander McCook’s 1^st Corp. From there, we would walk the battlefield following the action in the order it occurred that October afternoon.

Thanks to the efforts of preservationists and especially the Civil War Trust (now the American Battlefield Trust) the park encompasses 1100 acres with 150 more coming. You cannot appreciate this battle and how it unfolded unless you come and walk these rolling hills over which the fighting occurred. The steep hills separated by narrow hollows made for difficult maneuvering for the armies. 

Confederate Monument, Perryville 

When the wind picked up and began gusting and howling just as it did on the day of battle, we could understand how Don Carlos Buell did not hear the battle that was underway just over two miles from his headquarters. As a result of this ‘acoustic shadow’, nearly two thirds of the Federal army were never engaged allowing the much smaller Confederate force to drive the Union left flank in before darkness brought a halt to the fight. We followed in the footsteps of the Confederate assault on the Union far left flank up and down one hill after another and through a now famous cornfield where a Wisconsin regiment made a stand before falling back. We passed the sites of where Union Generals William Terrill and James Jackson fell mortally wounded. 

We halted at noon and returned to the visitor’s center for a very good boxed lunch provided by the Great American Deli of Danville. In the windy afternoon, we followed the  Confederate attacks that took place on the Union center and right flanks by divisions under the leadership of Patton Anderson and Simon Buckner that were finally halted at dark. After walking nearly four miles of hills and valleys, we retreated to the visitor’s center tired but filled with a renewed appreciation of this important battle and the land over which it was fought.

Announcing Our 532nd Meeting
Sunday, November 18

George Gordon Meade and the Gettysburg Campaign 

 Presented by Kent Masterson Brown

Kent was born in Lexington, Kentucky on February 5, 1949. He is a 1971 graduate – and in 2014 named a distinguished graduate - of Centre College and received his juris doctor degree in 1974 from Washington and Lee University School of Law. Kent has practiced law for forty-four years with offices in Lexington and Washington, DC. Kent has published six books, all on the Civil War, including Cushing of Gettysburg: The Story of a Union Artillery Commander, Retreat from Gettysburg: Lee, Logistics and the Pennsylvania Campaign, and One of Morgan’s Men: The Memoirs of Lieutenant John M. Porter of the Ninth Kentucky Cavalry; they have been selections of the History Book Club and Military Book Club. All of them have received rave reviews and numerous national awards. He is currently writing George Gordon Meade and the Gettysburg Campaign, which will go to press in early 2019. 

Kent has also written, hosted and produced, through Witnessing History, nine award-winning documentary films for public and cable television, including I Remember The Old Home Very Well: The Lincolns in Kentucky and Daniel Boone and the Opening of the American West. All Kent’s films have been widely broadcast throughout the United States, Canada, and overseas. All have won Telly Awards; one was nominated for an Emmy Award. Kent and the Witnessing History Education Foundation, Inc. are producing a new film, “In the Declaration all men are created equal: Abraham Lincoln in Illinois, 1830 to 1860", to be released in February 2019.

 A nationally-known speaker and Civil War battlefield guide, Kent was the first chairman of the Gettysburg National Military Park Advisory Commission and the first chairman of the Perryville (Kentucky) Battlefield Commission, a seat he held for eleven years overseeing the expansion of the Perryville Battlefield. He served on the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and is now a member of the Kentucky Film Commission. He has also been a director of the Gettysburg Foundation.

Kent is now the President and Content Developer for the Witnessing History Education Foundation, Inc. Kent lives in Lexington with his wife, Genevieve, and their three children, Annie Louise, Philip and Thomas.