This Model 1840 sword wields a remarkable story. A Union sergeant bestowed it at war's end to a Confederate prisoner with whom he shared the name Lemon

Model 1840 sword, blade detail and leather frog (Picket photos), Capt. Lemon during the Civil War

Capt. James Lile Lemon might have walked with a limp to shield what he was carrying in his trousers. Or perhaps he somehow covered the gift as he left Fort Delaware for freedom after serving years in Union prisons.

Whatever the circumstances, the Confederate officer was determined to bring the item back to his home in Acworth, Ga. And that’s where it is kept today – 160 years later.

I visited the Lemon house recently during events marking two new Civil War markers out front, one describing Lemon’s service and the other the Federal occupation of the town in June 1864. Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman used the residence as his headquarters for a couple days.

I asked Mark Lemon, who was sitting in a rocker on his front porch, whether I could see any of the captain’s belongings. Lemon’s second great-grandfather was remarkable for not only his military service, but his penchant for saving nearly everything he owned during the Civil War.

Most of the artifacts are in the collection of the Atlanta History Center, which purchased them in 2020 from the widow of a Macon, Ga., collector.

But one that stayed in the family is an NCO sword given to James Lemon at Fort Delaware in June 1865 after he finally took an oath of allegiance to the United States. The Confederate had earned the respect of one of the prison staff, who also had the name Lemon -- Sgt. Lemon Kline of the 215^th Pennsylvania Infantry. It’s easy to speculate whether the shared name had anything to do with their apparent friendship.

I don’t know whether the two men – who were both in their 30s during the Civil  – maintained a friendship after the war, but Mark Lemon said the story goes Kline told James Lemon, “Tell your family you once knew a good Yankee.”

Mark Lemon showed me the sword and a framed piece of paper written by James Lemon, who routinely made notes on his belongings. The note mentioned how he came to receive the sword.

(Civil War Picket photo)

One side of the blade (above) records it was made by Ames Manufacturing of Chicopee, Mass., a significant provider of weapons and tools for the Union. Some consider Ames the Cadillac of US military sword makers during the period.

The reverse has the stamp:

U.S.
ADK
1863

I am no sword expert, so I turned to the Authentic Campaigner Facebook group for help.

Built for combat, used mostly for presentation

I quickly learned the weapon is a Model 1840 sword for use largely by infantry and artillery NCOs. The initials ADK indicate the name of the manufacture inspector. The handle is made of brass.

When I examined the blade, I noticed it was quite light and not sharpened. Some commenters compared it to the spadroon, a light sword with a straight-edged blade.

One commenter said this model was mostly a symbol of rank and authority. The military used the sword, based on French and English models, for about 70 years.

So it is understandable Kline, as a sergeant, would have carried one. (At left, a Union NCO holds a Model 1840 sword, Library of Congress). Some of the weapons were issued to musician NCOs.

Another commenter presented a brief history of the weapon and a different take on its usefulness.

“Don't believe the hype where folks say that swords were unimportant to the war. This particular model sword may not have been frequently used in combat, mostly because sergeants would be using their bayonet in hand-to-hand combat before resorting to the sword.

"Regardless, this design of sword was intended for combat, with a design used for over a century, and not exclusively for presentation.”

The Model 1840 also could have been useful in “directing traffic” by keep troops and inmates in a straight line. 

Interestingly, the scabbard of Lemon's sword is made of leather. A few Authentic Campaigner commenters noted the "frog," a piece of leather which allows the wearer to carry a sword for a short time, likewise was in very good condition and at least as valuable as the sword.

Lemon items will get big play in next exhibit

Two years ago, the Atlanta History Center invited Lemon descendants to see the amazing collection, which is not currently on display. Mark Lemon showed the sword to AHC senior military historian and curator Gordon Jones.

Mark Lemon (left) brought the sword to the Atlanta History Center in 2023. (Picket photo)

The Lemon collection – which features  a captured drum, revolver, letters, canteen, photographs and much more -- will be showcased in its own case after a revamp of the center’s aged “Turning Point: The American Civil War” exhibit. (The sword will remain with the family).

“That story has a lot to say about Confederate soldiers' wartime experiences,” Jones recently told me.  

The historian said the new exhibit is set to open in June 2026. It will go deeper into “causes and results,” including slavery, politics and Reconstruction. There will still be plenty of weapons and military items on display in that space and the Goldstein gallery, Jones said.

The George Wray Jr. collection of rare Confederate weapons will be in the Goldstein space.

Confederate captain reluctantly took oath

Mark Lemon keeps this note by his ancestor near the Model 1840 sword (Picket photo)

James L. Lemon served with Company A, 18^th Georgia Infantry, part of John Bell Hood’s Texas Brigade. He enlisted as a second lieutenant in 1861 for a three-year term. Lemon was described as having a “light complexion, dark hair, blue eyes, [and] 6 feet” in height.

The regiment fought in numerous Eastern battles – including Antietam, Fredericksburg, Second Manassas and Chancellorsville. The farmer and merchant from Acworth had a close call at Gettysburg, when a Yankee bullet struck his canteen, causing it to strike his head.

His combat days came to a close in November 1863, when Lemon was severely wounded by a Minie ball in the pharynx and taken prison after an assault on Fort Sanders in Knoxville, Tenn. .

By the time he arrived at Fort Pulaski, Ga., in October 1864, Lemon had already been in at three Federal prisons: One in Louisville, Ky; Camp Chase in Ohio and Fort Delaware, Delaware. He kept several diaries. The officer etched his name onto a wall at Pulaski.

Capt. Lemon etched his name and regiment into a wall at Fort Pulaski (Picket photo)

In March 1865, the Rebel officers, including Lemon, were returned to Fort Delaware, where they were held until the end of the war. Shortly after their return to Delaware, the captain’s diary describes harsh conditions at Fort Pulaski and alleged mistreatment by his captors. 

“We have recently returned to this place after a most brutal & cowardly outrage against humanity. I cannot now speak of the sufferings & deprivations & humiliations we were subjected to. Many among us are now dead from starvation, disease, shot or beaten to death and the rest of us are about used up from the shameful journey forced upon us by the Yanks. I know not of the reason for this but we are told it is for some reported offense against a few of their prisoners in Charleston.”

He held off taking the oath for two months after Appomattox but finally relented.

In his journal, Lemon wrote: “I have done the unspeakable but I am now paroled & today set out for home. My duty to my country is done, mine to my family remains.”

Lemon returned to Acworth and had 11 children with his wife Eliza. He was a retail merchant and then a bank executive. He was serving as president of the bank when he died on June 12, 1907, at age 71.

Mark Lemon has lived in the house for 30 years and with the help of friends, has been restoring the home’s exterior and side buildings, with plans to turn to the interior.

The house is painted in bright yellow (a suitable color?), but he says it was clad in white for at least a short time in the 19^th century.

Illness sidelined Lemon Kline in two great battles

I have been unable to learn a great deal about Kline, beyond service and pension records. The blue-eyed farmer lived in York County before and following the Civil War.

Much of what I learned comes from a Findagrave page, which lists his birth as July 24, 1830.

Sgt. Lemon Kline's Pennsylvania veterans card via Fold3

Rosters indicate he first enlisted in the 30^th Pennsylvania Infantry

“Admitted to a Washington hospital on September 9, 1862, for illness, he almost certainly missed the battle of Antietam. He returned to duty but was again hospitalized January 18 through July 1, 1863, thus missing the battle of Gettysburg,” says the page.

He was transferred to the state’s Veteran Reserve Corps and honorably discharged in June 1864.

Kline reenlisted in late March 1865 in Lancaster, joining the 215^th Pennsylvania. Presumably at Fort Delaware, he was promoted to first sergeant on April 21. He was mustered out with his company on July 31.

He apparently got a disability pension in 1878. The 1880 census lists the veteran, his wife, Catharine, and three daughters and three sons. Kline died at age 69 in November 1899 and his widow received a pension. She died in 1904.

The York County History Center has not been able to locate a photograph of the soldier.

“However, it does seem we have some information on him and his family, including census abstracts, his marriage record, and cemetery record,” said library assistant Emma Streb.

(At right, Findagrave photo courtesy ajtarman710)

A view of the sword and scabbard on the porch of the Lemon house in Acworth, Ga. (Picket photo)

Hurricane Irma: Flooding swamps Sumter, snake-bit Pulaski, Fort McAllister

Hurricane Irma’s huge storm surge closed numerous Civil War sites in Florida, South Carolina and Georgia, including Fort Sumter National Monument in Charleston and Fort Pulaski National Monument and Fort McAllister State Historic Park in the Savannah area.

The latest calamity is a particularly cruel blow to Fort Pulaski, built between Savannah and Tybee Island, which was swamped by Irma. Hurricane Matthew shut the federal site in fall  2016 and a tornado caused additional damage and another closure in late May.

A Cockspur Island assessment by boat on Tuesday found Irma produced a near-record 12.24 foot tide and caused a considerable amount of flooding outside the walls.

Matthew surge level top line, Irma below (NPS photo)

“The fort is still inundated by water and not yet accessible. Over the next several days more in-depth assessments of the flood damage will take place,” the Pulaski staff said on the park’s Facebook page. “Once those are complete the recovery phase will begin. Visitor safety is paramount and the park will remain closed to the public until further notice.”

One social media commenter said: “So sorry y’all have to go through this …. Again! Hang in there.”

The park said damage inside the fort, while significant, appears to be less than from Matthew.

At Fort McAllister, southwest of Savannah, staff will reopen parts of the park at noon Thursday following significant storm surge flooding.

Cottages at Fort McAllister (Georgia State Parks)

"We are pleased to announce that portions of the park will open today at noon. This includes the museum/visitor center, the fort, day use with the exception of the pier, and the campground. Areas that will still be closed are the cottages, pioneer camping, Red Bird Creek and backcountry sites, and the group shelter. If you do choose to visit, please excuse our mess."

Commenters on its Facebook page lamented the crisis so soon after Hurricane Matthew.

Old Fort Jackson in Savannah has been closed since last Friday and cleanup continued late this week.

The park grounds and visitor center at Andersonville National Historic Site were closed for a few days, though the national cemetery reopened Wednesday and the prison site and visitor center were reopened on Thursday.

Damage at Andersonville cemetery (NPS photo)

"We were lucky with the damage. A lot of trees came down blocking roadways and only one caused structural damage," Andersonville park guide Jennifer Hopkins said on Sept. 17. "A huge tree fell on our cemetery wall, which is a historic structure. All monuments and headstones remained untouched, aside from tree limbs on them. it took two days to clean up the park will all staff hands on deck. The museum remained without power for three days -- we're still assessing whether or not any water leaked into the building."

Pickett’s Mill Battlefield Historic Site, northwest of Atlanta, closed for several days. It saw heavy fighting in 1864 during the Atlanta Campaign.

Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor and the Liberty Square visitor center and departure center for the fort remain closed until a more extensive assessment of damage is conducted and repairs completed, the federal site said in a press release.

“At this time, Fort Sumter remains flooded. A preliminary evaluation of the exterior of the fort revealed damage to the dock and other infrastructure. Fort Sumter and Liberty Square will re-open to the public when it is safe to do so.”

Charles Pinckney National Historic Site in Mount Pleasant and Fort Moultrie – which is near Fort Sumter – will reopen Thursday since they sustained minimal damage in the storm, officials said.

Closures in Florida Wednesday included Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park in Baker County and Fort Clinch State Park in Nassau County.

Spotlight on Fort Pulaski, Savannah

Fort Pulaski's scarred brick walls are reminders of what advancements in technology can do to affect the fortunes of war.

Rifled Union cannons brought about the surrender of the Confederate-held masonry fort near Savannah, Ga., on April 11, 1862.

Beginning Tuesday, Fort Pulaski National Monument will commemorate the siege and the 150th anniversary of the fort's fall with tours, living histories and the premiere of a film about the war's implications for Savannah.

$5 boat tours explaining the naval campaign for Pulaski and the city are scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. They depart Tybee Island at 11 a.m. and last about 2.5 hours. Seating is limited. Ken Johnston, executive director of the National Civil War Naval Museum, will present a free lecture at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

A free program at 7 p.m. Wednesday focuses on life in Savannah during the conflict.

Local filmmaker Michael Jordan's film, "Savannah in the Civil War," will premiere at 7:30 p.m. Thursday on a 26-foot-wide screen in the fort's parade ground.

(Photo, Kim Michael Polote as Susie King Taylor, the only African-American woman to publish a memoir of her wartime experiences.)

Jordan told the Picket he spent about two years making the 90-minute film. He employed about 30 local residents, actors and friends. It includes historic photos of the city and the reading of diaries.

"It tells the entire story of Savannah. From parties around squares, to the battles for the forts, and the losses during the war," Jordan said. "There is plenty of Confederate heritage, but there also an unapologetic look at what it was like to be black during the Civil War."

Jordan said there is more to Savannah's story than being spared by Union Gen. William T. Sherman.

Visitors usually go to the area's forts, but they likely don't think of the war's impact on residents, he said. "It took a huge toll on Savannah."

(Photo above, Jim Dunigan portraying Lt. William Dixon of the Savannah Republican Blues, a militia unit)

Admission for the film is $5 for adults. Children 15 and under are free. DVDs of the movie will be on sale. The fort also will screen a 15-minute documentary on archaeological research at the site of the Battle of Monteith Swamp, just west of Savannah.

For $5, visitors on Friday can take in a film and presentation on the African-American soldiers of the Civil War. There will be a special program by the 54th Massachusetts Civil War Re-enactment Regiment.

The week's events conclude Saturday and Sunday at Pulaski and Battery Park on Tybee Island with living histories. The program includes a children's drill, artillery demonstrations, fort tours, musket demonstration and music. The fee is $5.

Fort Pulaski blocked upriver access to Savannah. Fortifications such as Pulaski were considered invincible, but the new technology of rifled artillery changed that.

Capt. Quincy A. Gillmore, a Federal engineer officer, began the bombardment on April 10 after Col. Charles H. Olmstead refused to surrender.

"Within hours, Gillmore’s rifled artillery had breached the southeast scarp of the fort. Some of his shells began to damage the traverse shielding the magazine in the northwest bastion," according to the National Park Service. "Realizing that if the magazine exploded the fort would be seriously damaged and the garrison would suffer severe casualties, Olmstead surrendered after 2 pm on April 11."

• Fort Pulaski 150th anniversary details

Call Fort Pulaski National Monument at 912-786-5787 for updates on the programs or for any required reservations. Images from "Savannah in the Civil War" courtesy of Cosmos Mariner Productions.

Film tells story of 1864 battle near Savannah, team's archaeological finds

Archaeologists have uncovered and analyzed bullets, canister shot, gun parts and soldiers' personal belongings that will help tell the story of a little-known action west of Savannah, Ga., during the final days of Sherman's March to the Sea.

About 350 Confederates slowed the advance of 12,000 members of the Union 20th Corps for seveal hours on Dec. 9, 1864, at the Battle of Monteith Swamp (Monteith Station). Although it was a relatively minor confrontation, it delayed the taking of a vital Southern railroad for a day.

The Federals were able to force the Rebels off the field near the Chatham and Effingham county lines, employing an effective flanking movement in the snake-infested swamp.

The LAMAR Institute team found the rusted and smashed remains of a Union soldier's Springfield rifle (below) in that portion of the battle.

"I guess someone lost the gun. It was pretty much laying in the swamp with the barrel still sticking out," said Dan Elliott, director of the non-profit archaeological group.

The group's research and the battle are detailed in a 15-minute film that will premiere April 12 at Fort Pulaski National Monument, which next week is marking the 150th anniversary of the fort's fall to Union forces.

The LAMAR Institute in 2010 received a $40,000 grant from the American Battlefield Protection Program of the National Park Service to “conduct archeology fieldwork to identify and document the battlefield as well as foster public outreach.”

The ABPP’s mission is to "safeguard and preserve significant American battlefield lands for present and future generations as symbols of individual sacrifice and national heritage."

( Previous Picket coverage of the battle )

Local historian and documentary producer Michael L. Jordan worked with Elliott and re-enactors to make the film, entitled "Stalling Sherman's Army: the Battle at Monteith Swamp."

"It was a real chokepoint," Jordan told the Picket of the Confederate artillery-supported positions.

Union forces were anxious to lay siege to Savannah.

"When they got here they were hungry, tired and running out of supplies," said Jordan, owner of Cosmos Mariner Productions. "A small number of Confederate troops forced thousands of Yankees into one spot."

The team, working in late 2010 and early 2011, found about 50 bullets, most of them Yankee, the rifle, canister rounds, an artillery friction primer, buttons and personal items, including jewelry, the latter found at the site of an encampment occupied by Federal soldiers after the battle.

"It's always fun to go where we are supposed to find something and be able to prove it," Elliott said, who expects to submit his formal report on the project during the summer.

The battle was typical of desperate Confederate efforts to stall Union advances on Savannah.

The small force felled trees and built an abatis and trench lines for its flanks. The Rebels used a long line of swamp to its advantage against an overwhelming force.

On Dec.9, 1864, the entire 20th Corps (12,000 regulars) under Brig. Gen. Alpheus S. Williams advanced down Monteith Road from Zion Church. Around noon they hit Confederate positions.

“The sounds of fighting could be heard for miles, as units of the Twentieth Corps began to stack up like an accordion along the narrow road,” historian Barry Sheehy writes.

A flanking movement became bogged down in marsh and reinforcements flooded in to assist the 61st Ohio, the 31st Wisconsin and the 82nd Ohio. The going was slow.

Eventually, a flanking attack on the Rebel right bought some high ground and sent the Confederates out of their entrenchments, across Monteith Road and to Harrison’s Place, where they fought some more.

By late afternoon, the defenders were gone, leaving knapsacks and camp equipment but taking their colors and four guns with them. The Confederates had about 14 killed and four captured in the six-hour battle. Union losses were one or two dead and six wounded.

"We have a pretty good understanding of where the battle is, based on the distribution of bullets," said Elliott.

Elliott is heartened by the fact that a local resident whose family has owned much of the battlefield since the 1870s is committed to its preservation.

That family has a trove of artifacts picked up over the years. Most of what was documented and analyzed by the LAMAR Institute was on their property.

But that doesn't mean parts of the battlefield in private hands aren't at risk.

Elliott cites the construction of a couple retail establishments and the anticipated rebirth of housing developments in the area.

He hopes the film and project will be the first step in drawing attention to threats to Savannah's wartime defenses. He'd like to see the movie shown on public television.

"Very little is done to preserve the area," Elliott said.

The archaeologist will attend the premiere of the film, made in conjunction with his research. Fort Pulaski that same evening will premiere another film by Jordan called "Savannah in the Civil War."

Observations of the war's 150th anniversary are "a good opportunity to tell the stories of the Civil War," Elliott said. "These are the resources we need to protect."

Images from the film courtesy of LAMAR Institute and Cosmos Mariner Productions. Fort Pulaski National Monument will air the two movies beginning at 7:30 p.m., April 12, on a wide screen in the parade ground. Admission for the screenings is $5 for adults. Children 15 and under are free.

• Fort Pulaski 150th anniversary events

This week in history: Pulaski taken

On January 3, 1861, Georgia's state militia forcibly evicted the U.S. Army from Fort Pulaski, preceding the start of the Civil War by three months. Fifty men from the Savannah Volunteer Guards, 50 men from the Oglethorpe Light Infantry and 34 from the Chatham Artillery occupied the fort on the Savannah River.

Fort Pulaski National Monument is currently portraying the fort as it was from 1861 to 1865. "As a part of our commemoration, we are using reproduction flags as a visually effective way of depicting historic events." Tuesday (Jan. 3, 2012) to simulate the historic events, the Georgia flag of secession will fly above the fort.

Photo courtesy of NPS

"Victorian Secrets": Ladies' undergarments and fashions during the Civil War

Gloria Swift has dressed in woolen tunic and pants while serving on a Civil War artillery demonstration crew.

She’s also worn a chemise, corset, underskirt and other layers to show visitors at Fort Pulaski National Monument near Savannah, Ga., ladies’ fashions during the Civil War.

The coolest get-up during those incredibly hot Savannah days?

Wear the artillery uniform, she advises.

The National Park Service ranger is organizing two programs at the fort this Sunday, March 27, as part of Women’s History Month.

At 11 a.m., a model, in a program called “Victorian Secrets,” will be dressed from the “inside out” to show all the undergarments a woman of means put on “before going to town.”

Unless she had assistance, a woman put on her stockings and shoes on first. Drawers, a chemise, corset, an underskirt, a hoop, an overskirt and the dress followed.

“How lucky we are to have pants these days,” quipped Swift.

A fashion show follows at 1 p.m. A park employee will display a civilian gentleman’s fashions of the day while women showcase everyday and traveling dresses, as well as a ball gown.

The Victorian Era, as we know, was a time of public modesty, but some women knew how “to flash an ankle.”

“Clever women who wanted to be a little seen wore red stockings or red stripes,” Swift told the Picket. “It was scandalous.”

Of course, fashions had much to do with social status and other circumstances. Most women during the war made do with a day dress, bodice and apron.

Union blockades eventually starved the South of war material and clothing.

“In the South, you saw less and less new patterns” as times got lean, Swift said. Women customized the one or two available dress styles.

Soldiers’ wives lived at Pulaski (above) both during and after its fall in 1862. This weekend’s program is a way to let visitors know about the battles and the people back home.

“Let’s tell the other side of the story,” Swift said.

The fee at Fort Pulaski is $5 per person; children ages 15 and under are free. Call the park at (912) 786-5787 for more details.

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