Magnolia Cemetery, Charleston, SC

While in Charleston, SC, for a presentation on March 13 to the Fort Sumter Civil War Round Table, I took a trip to the city’s Magnolia Cemetery. Below are a few images, including some of the Bull Runners interred there.

First up, the entry and the Civil War section near the office.

Magnolia Cemetery entrance

Confederate Section

A tough shot to get – sun was not my friend

Here are some Bull Runners:

Col. Micah Jenkins, 5th South Carolina

Monument to the Washington Light Infantry (Co. A, Hampton’s Legion)

Washington Light Infantry

Capt. James Conner, Co. A, Hampton’s Legion

Capt. James Conner

Capt. James Conner

Lt. Col. Benjamin Johnson, Hampton’s Legion

Lt. Col. Benjamin Johnson

Lt. Col. Benjamin Johnson

Lt. Col. Benjamin Johnson

The three crews if the Confederate submarine Hunley:

First crew

Second crew

Third Crew

Horace Hunley

Third crew

George Dixon, of the bent gold piece

A fire eater:

R. Barnwell Rhett

A general prominent out west:

Arthur Manigault

Next door at St. Lawrence Catholic cemetery:

More Charleston stuff coming, including more on James Conner, The Hibernian Society, The Citadel, and Ft. Johnson.

Richmond, VA, 1/19-20/2023

While in town for the Powhatan Civil War Roundtable last week, I had time to take in some sites, including things like the Tredegar Iron Works, Confederate White House, Robert E. Lee’s residence, Chimborazo Hospital, Glendale battlefield, Malvern Hill, White Oak Swamp, and the Oakwood, Glendale, and Hollywood Cemeteries. At the latter, I chased down the final resting places of a few Bull Runners (I realize there are more, but I had limited time):

Hollywood Cemetery

Hollywood Cemetery

Hollywood Cemetery

John Imboden, Staunton Artillery

James Ewell Brown Stuart, 1st Va. Cavalry

William Smith, 49th Va. Infantry Battalion

Raleigh Colston, Co. E, 2nd Va. Infantry

Hunter Holmes McGuire, Jackson’s Brigade

Eppa Hunton, 8th Va. Infantry

Philip St. George Cocke

Chatham Roberdeau Wheat, 1st Special Louisiana Battalion

While A. P. Hill was at Manassas Junction during the battle, I have to mention that I ran into these fellas on Malvern Hill. The next day, they were in Culpeper, Va. for the reinterment of the General’s remains.

Myself, Patrick “A. P. Hill” Falci, and collateral descendant of the General, John Hill, on Malvern Hill

Leesburg Sojourn

This past March 10, in a time I now refer to as “Fo da quo,” (before the quarantine), I delivered a program on McDowell’s Plan for First Bull Run to the good folks at the Loudoun County Civil War Round Table in the Thomas Balch Library in Leesburg, VA. But before the meeting (7:30 that evening), round table member and friend Craig Swain of To the Sound of the Guns showed me a few of the local Leesburg sites. Click on the thumbnails for great-big-giant images.

First, a few Leesburg dwellings related to Robert E. Lee and the Confederate invasion of Maryland in the summer of 1862.

John Janey house. One time VA Governor, nearly Vice President (and President), secession convention supervisor. R. E. Lee visited here after Chantilly/Ox Hill prior to Antietam.

Glenfiddich. R. E. Lee stayed here and met with Jackson & Longstreet inside to plan Maryland Campaign. Currently for sale.

Home of the physician who tended to R. E. Lee’s injured hands. Across the street from Glenfiddich. Also for sale.

Detail of physician’s house for sale sign. I guess this means it’s haunted!

Next stop was White’s Ford across the Potomac, used by the Army of Northern Virginia prior to Antietam and after Early’s raid on Washington.

Wayside at White’s Ford (text by Craig Swain)

Wayside at White’s Ford (text by Craig Swain)

Wayside at White’s Ford (text by Craig Swain)

Wayside at White’s Ford (text by Craig Swain)

Potomac River near White’s Ford. View to Maryland and C&O Canal.

Original road trace to White’s Ford.

White’s Ford view to Maryland. Much of the Army of Northern Virginia crossed here to advance into Maryland in 1862.

White’s Ford view to Maryland. Much of the Army of Northern Virginia crossed here to advance into Maryland in 1862.

White’s Ford view to Maryland. Much of the Army of Northern Virginia crossed here to advance into Maryland in 1862.

Craig Swain and me at White’s Ford.

White’s Ford view to Maryland. Much of the Army of Northern Virginia crossed here to advance into Maryland in 1862.

Our last stop was Union Cemetery in town.

Grave of and memorial to Elijah White, owner of White’s Ford and White’s Ferry, commander of “White’s Comanches,” Union Cemetery, Leesburg.

Memorial to Elijah White, owner of White’s Ford and White’s Ferry, commander of “White’s Comanches,” Union Cemetery, Leesburg.

Memorial to Elijah White, owner of White’s Ford and White’s Ferry, commander of “White’s Comanches,” Union Cemetery, Leesburg. “A Good Soldier of Jesus Christ.”

Grave of Elijah White, owner of White’s Ford and White’s Ferry, commander of “White’s Comanches.” Union Cemetery, Leesburg.

Grave of Elijah White, owner of White’s Ford and White’s Ferry, commander of “White’s Comanches.” Union Cemetery, Leesburg.

Cenotaph to engineer Morris Wampler, who designed Fort (Battery) Wagner, Charleston, SC, and was mortally wounded there. Union Cemetery, Leesburg, VA.

Memorial to unknown Confederate dead, Union Cemetery, Leesburg, VA.

Memorial to unknown Confederate dead, Union Cemetery, Leesburg, VA.

Memorial to unknown Confederate dead, Union Cemetery, Leesburg, VA.

Memorial to unknown Confederate dead, Union Cemetery, Leesburg, VA.

Memorial to unknown Confederate dead, Union Cemetery, Leesburg, VA.

A good day. A summary of the meeting that night to follow.

Custer’s Monroe

Last week we took a family trip to Ann Arbor, MI – we watched Liverpool FC humiliate the hated Manchester, Utd. before a crowd of 101,000 in the Big House (capped off by a sweet Xherdan Shaqiri bike). On the way back home, we took a little side trip to nearby Monroe, MI, home to George and Libbie Bacon Custer. (I realize there are more Custer related sites to see in Monroe, and I realize there are other non-Custer related sites to see there, but this was a fly-by.) You can read young Custer’s memoir of the First Battle of Bull Run here, here, and here. Click on the images for full size versions.

Entering Monroe

The Custer monument at Elm and North Monroe St.

Woodlawn Cemetery, Custer-Reed Family Plot

Marker to GAC’s Father, Mother, Brother

Father

Mother

Brother Killed at Little Big Horn

Nephew Killed at Little Big Horn

First Presbyterian Church, Washington St. Site of GAC’s marriage to Elizabeth (Libbie) Bacon on Tuesday, February 9, 1864. After the ceremony, the couple repaired to the General’s winter headquarters in Culpeper, VA. More on that place in another post to come. Read local coverage of the wedding ceremony here.

Bull Runnings at West Point

On Friday, October 20, my family toured the grounds of the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY. Thanks to our mutual friend Dr. Carol Reardon, we were given a guided tour of the post cemetery by military history instructor Lt. Col. David Siry (Dave’s efforts bring us the wonderful West Point Center for Oral History features, which you can also follow on its Facebook page). It was all a little overwhelming – in such a small plot of land, you’re pretty much tripping over U. S. Army history with every step. Cemeteries have the most significant emotional impact of any historic sites for me – not only are they the resting places of the mortal remains of the people I’ve read so much about, but the gravesites were often the last place where loved ones gathered with them, where they were remembered and “sent off” to, well, wherever we think they go. I could have spent a week in the West Point Cemetery. But, of course, I couldn’t. Now, we only had the one day, and it was a football weekend (Army beat Temple on a pass play the next day…A COMPLETED PASS!!!), so before you say “Oh, you should have seen X, Y, or Z” we saw as much as we could see in the time we had. Below, I’ll recap the day via photos of First Bull Run related items. (I took about 275 photos, and they’re not all BR1 related, but this is a First Bull Run site. I’ll post other Civil War related shots on the Bull Runnings Facebook page if you’re interested.)

First thing, if you want to visit the Academy, you’ll need to get clearance and an ID at the off post visitor’s center, where the museum is (we didn’t get back there until after 4:00, when the museum closed.) It’s not too bad – you need your driver’s license and your social security number. Our process took a little longer because it was a football weekend, and alumni and cadet parents get preference. The photo ID is good for up to a year, and it makes a cool souvenir too. Just be patient and don’t try to make too much small talk with the processors.

We picked up Dave near his office in Thayer Hall, and it was off to the cemetery, with our guide describing points of interest along the way. One thing’s for sure: the Academy is very, very gray. Gray, stone, imposing buildings predominate. This stood out in stark contrast to the amazing Fall colors of the Hudson Valley. And we had a beautiful, clear day. (Click on any image for a great-big-giant one.)

Gray – I think that is Thayer Hall to the right.

Not gray – The Hudson Valley from Trophy Point

Here are the Fist Bull Runners as we came across them in the cemetery:

Alonzo Cushing, who was with Co. G, 2nd U. S. Artillery. He was awarded the Medal of Honor in June, 2014

Erasmus Keyes, Brigade Commander, Tyler’s Division

Keyes rear

George Sykes, commanded the U. S. Regular Battalion

General-in-Chief Winfield Scott

Mrs. Scott

Sylvanus Thayer – 5th Superintendent and “Father” of the U. S. Military Academy

Joseph Audenried – ADC to Brig. Gen. Daniel Tyler

George Armstrong Custer – 2nd U. S. Cavalry

George Armstrong Custer – 2nd U. S. Cavalry

George Armstrong Custer – 2nd U. S. Cavalry

George Armstrong Custer – 2nd U. S. Cavalry

Elizabeth Bacon Custer

 

Lt. Col. Siry and I discuss the history of the Custer memorial as my son listens in

Dennis Hart Mahan and his ideas on engineering and military theory had perhaps the greatest influence on the cadets at West Point. In 1871, after the Board of Visitors recommended he retire, he leapt into the paddlewheel of a Hudson River steamboat.

The Old Cadet Chapel served as the Academy’s place of worship from 1836 until it was replaced by the current Cadet Chapel and moved to the cemetery from its original location, brick by brick through the efforts of alumni, in 1910. It was in this building that cadets gathered in 1861, in the wake of resignations of cadets from southern states, to take a new Oath of Allegiance to the United States and its constitution. Mounted on the walls inside are war trophies and plaques to various individuals, including past superintendents, the first graduating class (2 cadets), and one plaque that lists no name, in non-recognition of former post commander Major General Benedict Arnold (the day before, in Tarrytown, NY, I visited a couple of sites pertaining to the capture of the treacherous Arnold’s British contact, Major John Andre).

Winfield Scott’s pew used in his retirement. He sat next to a column at the far end, which obscured his often dozing form from the view of the officiant.

The new (107-year-old) Cadet Chapel is adorned with representative flags of various Civil War regular units, some of which were present at First Bull Run. It’s also home to the world’s largest chapel pipe organ, with 23,511 pipes. Despite having played – in church, no less – as a youth, I was not going to embarrass myself…

This pew is not used, and the candle remains lit in remembrance of those cadets who did not return home (per an overheard tour guide)

Trophy Point overlooks the Hudson Valley and offers one of the most scenic views in the nation. For many years it was the site of graduation ceremonies, and now is home to a large artillery display (many prizes of war, hence “Trophy Point”) and one of the tallest polished granite columns (46 feet tall, 5 feet in diameter) in the world, the Battle Monument. Designed by architect Stanford White, the Battle Monument displays the names of regular army officers and men who perished in the Civil War. The column is topped by the figure of “Fame.” The names of fallen Regular officers encircle the column, first those on staff, then those in the regular regiments and batteries. Enlisted men’s names are inscribed around eight globes placed around the column.  There are over 2,200 names in all. Each of the eight globes is adorned with two cannons, each muzzle inscribed with the name of a Civil War battle. Here are a few shots of the monument, with particular attention to First Bull Run related items.

Capt. Otis H. Tillinghast, Acting Assistant Quartermaster, McDowell’s Staff, mortally wounded at First Bull Run

Lt. Patrick H. O’Rorke, ADC to B. G. Daniel Tyler; Cadet John R. Meigs, attached to staff of Maj. Henry Hunt, 2nd U. S. Artillery

I’m sure there are names I missed, but again, this was on the fly. Maybe next time.

All-in-all, a great trip. We saw a great deal in addition to what I included above, yet I can’t imagine leaving this place, particularly on such a beautiful fall day, without wishing I had more time. Thanks so much to Lt. Col. David Siry for his fine tour of the cemetery. If you get the chance to visit the U. S. Military Academy at West Point, definitely do it. And give it as much time as possible. It’s an informative and even moving experience.

Lt. Col. David Siry at the grave of Capt. Ronald Zinn, Class of 1962, whose unusual gait led him to race walking and the 1960 & 1964 U. S. Olympic teams

 

Recap: Brandy Station Foundation

On this past Sunday, Sept. 24, I delivered my Kilpatrick Family Ties program to the Brandy Station Foundation down in Culpeper, Virginia. This is a pretty long (4.5 hours) drive for me, so I turned it into a weekend trip and stayed in Warrenton. So let me recap my trip, with special emphasis on items of First Bull Run interest. Click on any image for a larger one.

I got into Warrenton around 6:00 PM, checked into my room, then headed to the historic district. I’ve never visited Warrenton before, so it was all new to me. First up was what is touted as the post-war home of Col. John Singleton Mosby though, based on length of residence, it may better be described as the post-war home of General Eppa Hunton, colonel of the 8th Virginia Infantry regiment at First Bull Run (read his battle memoir here, and his after action report here). Hunton made “Brentmoor” his home from 1877 to 1902, after purchasing it from Mosby.

In the “law complex” section I found California, the pre-war home of William “Extra Billy” Smith, who commanded the 49th Virginia battalion at First Bull Run (memoir here, official report here). After the war, this building housed Mosby’s law office. Smith was a pre-war and wartime governor of Virginia.

A few blocks away at 194 Culpeper St. is “Mecca,” a private residence built in 1859. It served as a Confederate hospital to the wounded of First Bull Run, and later as headquarters to Union generals McDowell, Sumner, and Russell.

The Warrenton Cemetery is the resting place for many Confederate soldiers, most famously Mosby. Also there is William Henry Fitzhugh “Billy” Payne, with Warrenton’s Black Horse Troop at First Bull Run.

Saturday was spent touring the battlefield of Brandy Station and sites associated with the Army of the Potomac’s 1863-1864 winter encampment with two experts on both, Clark “Bud” Hall and Craig Swain of To the Sound of the Guns. I admit to knowing very little about either of topic, but was given a good foundation for further exploration. I also learned that some red pickup trucks can go absolutely anywhere, and there is good beer around Culpeper.

L to R – Me, Bud Hall, Craig Swain

Not a whole lot of First Bull Run stuff on the field, though. But the first thing I saw when I got to Fleetwood Hill was “Beauregard,” the home in which Roberdeau Wheat of the First Louisiana Special Battalion recovered from his Bull Run wounds, first thought to be mortal. The name of the house at the time was “Bellevue.” Wheat recommended the name change, in honor of his commanding general and in recognition of the similar translation of both names.

View of “Beauregard” from Fleetwood Hill

Sunday found me back in Culpeper at the Brandy Station Foundation where, as I said, I presented Kilpatrick Family Ties to a modest audience. I made some late changes to the program on Saturday night, adding one pertinent site from Warrenton (the Warren Green Hotel where one of the characters in the presentation lived for a year) and “Rose Hill,” the home Kilpatrick made his HQ during the winter of 1863-1864. But I did run into a couple of Bull Run items. First, the monument to John Pelham that was previously located near Kelly’s Ford on the Rappahannock River (it was in a really bad location) has been relocated to the Graffiti House, home of the Brandy Station Foundation. Pelham, if you recall, was in command of Alburtis’s Battery (Wise Artillery) at First Bull Run (personal correspondence here).

As most of you know, the Graffiti House at Brandy Sation was occupied by both Confederate and Union soldiers during the war. Over its course, soldiers of all stripes inscribed on its walls with charcoal signatures, drawings, and sayings of an astounding quantity. These were both obscured and preserved by whitewash after the return of its exiled owners, and were rediscovered in 1993. The Brandy Station Foundation has lovingly restored and preserved much of the dwelling, and you should make the Graffiti House a bullet point on you bucket list.

Graffiti House, Brandy Station (Culpeper), VA

I’ll end this post with a shot of the signature of a prominent First Bull Run participant on one of the second floor walls. Can you see it? Here is his official report.

Signature of Joe Johnston’s First Bull Run cavalry chief

 

New Orleans Visit – Metairie Cemetery

My wife’s second and last Civil War concession during our recent visit to the Crescent City, Metairie Cemetery proved a little frustrating. After taking the Canal Street trolley to its terminus, we de-streetcarred in an area surrounded by cemeteries (that’s why, when you are looking for which streetcar to board, you look for the one that says “Cemeteries” – $3 for a 24 hour ticket).

You’ll have to walk about a quarter-mile or so from the streetcar stop to the cemetery’s pedestrian entrance, crossing Metairie Road and passing under I-10 in the process. This gets you to the entrance, which is very near the Civil War related “attractions” in the cemetery. Sounds simple, and it is – if the pedestrian entrance isn’t padlocked. Which, of course, it was. So, we walked a long way, maybe half a mile, up Metairie Rd looking for another entrance, and we struck out. We walked back to the entrance and checked out the option of paralleling I-10 to another entrance, but you can’t walk there. About ready to give up and head back to the streetcar, the wife called the cemetery office and about 20 minutes later a volunteer came to pick us up and take us to the main office at the north end of the cemetery. There we picked up maps (they have one geared for Civil War personalities) and set off. Of course, all the Civil War sites are in the older part of the cemetery, which is at the south end near the pedestrian entrance. The kind woman in the office told us she would have maintenance open the gate, so we would have a relatively short walk to the streetcar afterwards. Needless to say, my Fitbit was working overtime and I finished the day with over 10 miles walked, including a walk to the Superdome and a return trip to Bourbon Street.

Here are the photos. I apologize for being unable to find John Bell Hood’s grave. Also note that there are plenty of other famous folks buried here, like Al Hirt, Louis Prima, Mel Ott, the founders of Popeye’s Chicken and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, and many more. Click on the images for bigger ones. Keep an eye out for the Easter Egg!

Pedestrian Entrance

Pedestrian Entrance near Army of Tennessee Memorial – Albert Sidney Johnston’s statue is visible from I-10 as you enter the city from the airport

The Washington Artillery

The monument is inscribed with the unit’s battle honors, which include both world wars and Operation Iraqi Freedom – today it is the 141st Field Artillery Regiment

If true, very sad.

Army of Northern Virginia

Yes, that is Stonewall. Why? Why not!

General Richard Taylor

Army of Tennessee Tumulus

That is Albert Sidney Johnston atop the tomb.

There are 48 members of the Army of Tennessee buried in the tumulus, including P. G. T. Beauregard, who jointly, solely, or subordinately commanded the Confederate forces at First Bull Run

This Confederate officer is reading the Roll of the Dead

I hope you’ve enjoyed this three-part travelogue. I hope some day to get back to New Orleans to see more of the sights, Civil War and otherwise. But maybe when it’s not so hot.

Lee Circle

Confederate Memorial Hall

Rufus Barringer Civil War Roundtable, Pinehurst, NC, 4/18/2013

About 45 people showed up for my presentation to the Rufus Barringer Civil War Roundtable in Southern Pines, NC (the area is generally Pinehurst.) This presentation was a first for me, though I have spoken to the group on two other occasions. Program director and friend Tonia (Teej) Smith asked me to speak to the membership on blogging. That’s a pretty general topic, but also one which I wasn’t sure I could speak about for an hour without repeated use of “I” and “me.” As I developed the program it turned into a look at what I call The Future of Civil War History From a Slightly Different Point of View. I really had only a very general idea of the outline of the program, and hoped it would foster a give-and-take with the audience, since they are the very sorts of folks I feel will be playing a big role in that future. OK, I did have to use “I” and “me” a good bit.

Drawing on some writing by Garry Wills in Henry Adams and the Making of America, Ken Noe, James Ellroy, John Huston, the Coen Brothers, and some of the pieces I’ve written here over the years, we examined the changing landscape of “history” in the digital age. I compared our recent and future times with that of the “gentleman historians” of the 19th century, and we discussed how digital archives and the web in general have lessened to some extent the barriers to research. And we talked a bit about how those in the room could get started in participating in the process. There were plenty of questions and lots of enthusiasm, and an encouraging line of folks who wanted to carry on the discussion after my time was up.

On Friday Teej and I made a trip west to Salisbury, NC, site of a wartime Confederate prison and the grave of Col. Charles Fisher of the 6th NC, who was killed in action at First Bull Run. Here are a few photos of his grave in the Old Lutheran Cemetery.

You can see more photos of the trip to Salisbury on Bull Runnings’s Facebook Page. The image of the group at the top of the page is “flipped”, but you can see it in its proper orientation on Facebook.

As always, Teej and RBCWRT president “Harry” Hilgrove treated me top rate. If you’re in the area on the third Thursday of the month, check them out in Southern Pines.

William Fitzhugh Lee

Here’s an interesting bit on William Fitzhugh Lee of the 33rd VA, mortally wounded at First Bull Run. Below are images I recorded of his grave in Elmwood Cemetery, Shepherdstown, WV, a few years ago.

 

The Curious Case of Richard Welby Carter

Back in October 2009, a reader requested some information on Richard Welby Carter of the 1st VA Cavalry (you’ll find most of the Carter comments here).  My response:

Per Allardice “Confederate Colonels”, Col. Richard Welby Carter of the 1st VA Cav. died 12/18/1888 in Loudon County and is buried in the Carter family cemetery at “Crendel” in Loudon County. “Carter was widely disliked by officers and men, with such comments as ‘white livered,’ ‘a coward,’ ‘fat and looking greasy.’ He and his regiment broke at Tom’s Brook, largely causing the Confederate rout there.”

That reader – who linked to this somewhat misinformed website – didn’t have any further questions, but over time a couple of others did: Henry A. Truslow and Jim Whitin, who identified themselves as great-grandchildren of Carter.  While their greater argument seems to be that Col. Carter has received the short end of the historical stick, they specifically disputed the death date and burial site of their ancestor.  The correct name of the family estate, they informed me, is “Crednal”, and the correct year of Carter’s death is 1889.  I confirmed that “Crednal” is indeed the correct spelling via this site, and Mr. Truslow provided me with the following photos, saying the date of death was confirmed by family bibles:

  

So, if I were to write a biographical sketch of Carter, at this point I would go with “Crednal” and “1889”.

Mr. Truslow is interested in any information anyone can provide on his ancestor.  He told me about this article covering the recent family reunion at Crednal.  You’ll see that this branch of the Carter family is related to Robert “King” Carter over whose lands most of the battle of First Bull Run was fought.