Work continues on James Warfield house at Gettysburg

Restoration of a home at the core of the Gettysburg battlefield continues, with roof trusses up and foundation and water abatement work completed, park officials said.

The James and Eliza Warfield farmhouse is being returned to its 1863 appearance, says Gettysburg National Military Park spokesman Jason Martz.

Work has included the removal of postwar additions, including aluminum siding and side buildings. The home’s height has essentially been chopped in half to its original 1.5 floors, while retaining the original stone walls. The park acquired the home in the 1970s.

Warfield, one of many free African-Americans in Adams County, and his family fled as Confederates neared Gettysburg. They were afraid they could be sent south and enslaved. The blacksmith’s home overlooked much of the July 2-3, 1863, battlefield, including the Peach Orchard, and was in the thick of action.

Upcoming work includes selection demolition of a modern three-car garage and driveway, Martz told the Picket. Park officials hope work at the farm site is completed later this year so that the site can open to visitors.

Civil War Times recently spoke with Chris Gwinn, chief of education and interpretation at Gettysburg, about the project. Gwinn said officials don't know how many people lived in the tiny residence at the time of the battle.

'Turning back the clock': Gettysburg web page details restoration of James and Eliza Warfield home to how it looked during battle

The home before and after demolition of modern features (NPS photos)

Staffers at Gettysburg National Military Park are chronicling the return of the James and Eliza Warfield farmhouse to its 1863 appearance through an online page featuring video, photos and an overview of the restoration project.

Those visiting the page are getting a behind-the-scenes look at the work, which includes the removal of postwar additions, including aluminum siding and side buildings. The home’s height has essentially been chopped in half to 1.5 floors, while retaining the original stone walls.

James Warfield, one of many free African-Americans in Adams County, and his family fled as Confederates neared Gettysburg. They were afraid they could be sent south and enslaved. The blacksmith’s home overlooked much of the July 2-3, 1863, battlefield and was in the thick of action.

The park recently posted a video giving an overview of the work and showing original features, such as window frames that were covered after the war or made into a doorway.

In the video, Chris Gwinn, chief of interpretation and education, talks with park exhibition specialist Jonathan Holdsworth about how crews are taking the home back to its original two-room footprint. Before demolition of modern aspects began, the home was barely recognizable due to changes and additions made by subsequent owners. Holdsworth explains the sections of the house that are masonry are original, and he points to old beams and plaster walls.

“The biggest challenge we are facing was the method of construction used at the time,” he says in the video. Because there was little or no lime in the mortar, the packed soil “didn’t have a lot of structural stability.” Crews are putting in stronger bonding material and are filling in any wall gaps with infill stones from the park’s stockpile.

The Warfield property as it appeared more than 100 years ago (NPS photo)

Park spokesman Jason Martz told the Picket the first phase of restoration wrapped up near the end of 2019. That included stabilizing the original stone structure, filling in non-historic doorway and window openings and re-creating historic windows where appropriate.

“Once this was accomplished, an outside contractor began to strategically deconstruct the non-historic sections of the house. This included removing the breezeway between the house and the garage, the second and third stories of the house, and multiple add-on sections on the west side of the house. Park preservation staff then added a temporary roof to protect the inside of the historic stone house over the winter months,” he said.

Phase two will begin later this spring. Contractors will remove the front porch, modern structure foundations and the garage. “Park preservation staff will then build the historic second floor and front porch. The driveway will also be removed once all construction work has concluded. Landscaping will then consist of leveling the soil around the house and driveway areas and grass seed will be planted.”

Masons rebuilt this historic window opening (NPS photo)

The park says the Warfield house web page will be continuously updated, with additional photos and a time-lapse video of the project.

Confederate troops occupied the Warfield property on the afternoon of July 2, 1863, and launched attacks against Union troops occupying Sherfy peach orchard.

“The Warfield farm was very close to the fighting on July 2 and 3. Kershaw’s South Carolinians formed there for the attack, and artillery was posted just to the east of the house, drawing Federal counterbattery fire,” reads an article on the website Battle of Gettysburg Stone Sentinels. “Longstreet’s staff may have used the house as his headquarters for a time. Although some wounded were treated there, the buildings were never formally designated as a hospital, possibly because they were so close to the fighting.”

(NPS map)

Remembering historian Bud Robertson: Civil War experts, authors tell the Picket why he had such an impact on the public

Bud Robertson was instrumental in naming Virginia's state song (Va. Tech)

James I. “Bud” Robertson Jr., professor emeritus of history at Virginia Tech, is being remembered for his legacy of vivid books, engaging lectures, battlefield tours and media appearances about the Civil War. Robertson, 89, died Saturday after a long illness, the school announced.

The author of 40 books about the Civil War, Robertson is best known for one about Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. It won eight national awards and was a key source for the 2003 movie “Gods and Generals.” During the 100th anniversary of the Civil War, President John F. Kennedy asked Robertson to serve as executive director of the United States Civil War Centennial Commission.

“For fully six decades Bud Robertson was a dominant figure in his field, and a great encouragement to all who would study our turbulent past during the middle of the 19th century,” said William C. “Jack” Davis, former director of the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies. “Moreover, amid a conversation that can still become bitter and confrontational, his was a voice for reason, patience, and understanding.”

Robertson had other interests, including football. He was an Atlantic Coast Conference football referee for 16 years.

The Picket reached out to historians, authors and others to talk about Robertson’s legacy. Their responses have been edited for brevity.

GORDON JONES, senior military historian and curator, Atlanta History Center

Gordon Jones

He was one of the greats, one of the names that will live on in Civil War historiography for many years. He led a magnificent life, filled with many and varied experiences that gave him a sort of “every man” perspective in his work and teaching. Perhaps because of this, his was a voice of calm, rational thought, full of practical insight into human nature. 

   

He once told me in detail what he had done to organize John F. Kennedy’s funeral in 1963. Mrs. Kennedy (“Jackie”) had requested that the funeral replicate many of the elements of Lincoln’s funeral 98 years earlier. Bud was much more closely involved in researching the historical precedents for Kennedy’s funeral than I think anybody realizes. In this instance especially, his historical work literally made history.   

Personally, I think I enjoyed his football stories as much as anything else. What a great guy -- he was just fun to be around.

JIM OGDEN, historian, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park

Dr. Robertson was, is, one of the giants.  Amazon or Worldcat him. The lists of books and works you get back will certainly show you that. How many people did his history of the Stonewall Brigade or biography of T. J. Jackson or volume on soldier life in the Time-Life series shape?  A lot.

But even beyond the shelf of books he's left those who are interested in the Civil War, for several generations of Civil War buffs, it is his accessibility that stands out. He wasn't an academic hiding away in some closet on their campus writing only for other academics. He was engaged with the general history public.

Jim Ogden

He was a regular speaker on the Civil War round table circuit for decades and not just at the "big" ones. The Virginia Tech Civil War Weekend he started has been one of the most successful Civil War conferences there has been. A "Civil War" group might have had him on the Delta Queen but other passengers often heard his lectures, his talks, his conversations with those to whom he was speaking as well.

He was one of the best Civil War speakers -- organized, clear, pointed, concise. For more than 50 years, from before the Centennial to after the Sesquicentennial, Bud Robertson helped shape the history of the Civil War and countless Civil War historians professional, avocational, incidental and even accidental.  He has set a fine standard to emulate.

  

D. SCOTT HARTWIG, author and former National Park Service ranger and historian

I found him to be a kind, good man, always approachable, and with a great sense of humor.  He was one of the giants in the Civil War field and kindled an interest in the era in thousands of students and others. We will long value his scholarship on the war but one of his greatest legacies will be the work he did to advocate for understanding the war and preserving its memory on the nation's landscape.  

CHARLIE CRAWFORD, president, Georgia Battlefields Association

Charlie Crawford

I was grateful to meet Dr. Bud Robertson over 20 years ago and interact with him several times since.  He always greeted me with a smile, and it made me feel good that an eminent historian seemed to remember me, though I suspect he probably greeted everyone with the same warmth.

As was noted in the official announcement, he was selected as a young historian (in his early 30s) by President Kennedy in 1961 to be executive director of the Civil War Centennial Commission in an effort to overcome racial tensions generated by the refusal of some hotels and restaurants to accommodate African-American members of the Commission. That Bud, a Virginian, was able to salvage the commission’s work is one testament to not only his credibility as a historian but also his ability as a manager and conciliator.

Bud served for many years as a college football official, which showed his versatility beyond the classroom. This led to a long association with many coaches, including Vince Dooley, himself a student of history with academic credentials. On several occasions, I saw the two of them share conversations about the capabilities of Civil War leaders mixed seamlessly with reminiscences of coaches, teams and specific games.

Robertson at a 2015 talk (Gould Hagler)

More than once, I heard Bud say that anyone who asserts that slavery was not the root cause of the Civil War is the F student of history. He was obviously well aware of the ancillary causes, such as the rights of states versus the power of the federal government, the divergent economic systems of the north and the south, the radicalization of political leaders of both sections, the failure of the founding fathers to resolve the slavery issue in the Constitution, etc.; but Bud always pointed to slavery as underlying it all. 

Bud was ordained in the Episcopal Church, and at one historical conference I attended, he conducted a Sunday morning service wearing his clerical collar and illustrating how the prayers and services of the 1860s reflected that ministers both north and south believed that God was on their side. This also demonstrated Bud’s versatility as a teacher, as he was willing and able to employ techniques other than a standard lecture format.

Many of his books received excellent reviews, and I can testify that his biographies of Stonewall Jackson and A.P. Hill strongly influenced my perceptions of both. His presentations about Jackson’s character, personality, and idiosyncrasies were particularly memorable.

Robertson (second from right) with JFK in 1962 (Va. Tech)

Bud lost his first wife, Libba, to illness in 2008. He attributed his recovery from his own subsequent serious illness to the care and support he received from his second wife, Betty. His devotion to both of them was often manifested in the credit he gave them during his presentations. Bud was a gentleman, courteous and personable, in his interactions with me, and I witnessed the same consideration in his interactions with others over the years.

DAVID EVANS, historian and author of "Sherman's Horsemen"

David Evans

His contributions to Civil War historiography were both numerous and noteworthy and his iconic biographies of “Stonewall” Jackson and A. P. Hill will stand as lasting monuments to his diligent scholarship his discerning analysis of people and events and his passion for Civil War history.

He was an accomplished writer, much sought-after public speaker, and an inspiring teacher. Rarely does one man so successfully combine the gifts of talent and modesty, but Dr. Robertson did.

The skills he brought to the study and understanding of our Civil War will be sorely missed and not easily replaced.

AARON ASTOR, author and associate professor of history, Maryville College

Aaron Astor

I never knew Bud personally but I know many people who did, and everybody spoke of him as a warm and friendly teacher and scholar. His books were uniformly excellent. In fact, he was one of the most important military historians of the Civil War that bridged the divide between public and academic history.

As a public historian from the Centennial to the Sesquicentennial, he really embodies the development of the field of Civil War history.

His biographies were especially sharp, both in assessing the military decision-making and the pre-war backgrounds of Confederate generals. I used his book on AP Hill for my research into Gettysburg.

WILLIAM GARRETT PISTON, Professor Emeritus, Missouri State University

Bud Robertson was one of the foremost scholars in his field, one of a generation of giants in Civil War literature who inspired those of us who grew up during the Civil War centennial.

Tim Smith

TIM SMITH, author and faculty member at University of Tennessee Martin
(His books) obviously are the staples of his career, especially the Jackson biography. Amazingly, that continued on for years, including his recent editing of the (J.B.) Jones diary and other books. In fact, I use the edited Jones diary (a Confederate war department clerk) very often. Yet there was so much more to his body of work, including his efforts in the centennial, his work in film and his teaching at Virginia Tech. That's just the academic portion of it, there being so much more to him such as sports and charitable work. Still, I think the thing that most stood out to me was the voice and accent. He was a lecturer's lecturer. 

Longstreet (and fried chicken) on my mind: Road trip brings me back to Gainesville, Ga.

Entrance to family plot at Alta Vista Cemetery

Stones in back of Historic Piedmont Hotel list campaigns (Picket photos)

You know the questions: Who’s your favorite Civil War general? Or which do you find the most fascinating?

I don’t recall when I came up with James Longstreet. But something about the controversial Confederate general spoke to me. A man of seeming contradictions – adored by his soldiers, loathed by others for his postwar Republican politics and what they consider his failures at Gettysburg. He was a stalwart corps commander and defensive genius in the Army of Northern Virginia -- Lee’s “Old War Horse.” But in the last decades of his life he dared to criticize Lee’s strategy and spoke of national reconciliation, not exactly endearing words to Southern society at the time. While living in Louisiana, he led a militia that protected blacks from unruly white supremacists. 

Not long after I started this blog in 2009, I wrote two parts about his adopted home of Gainesville, Ga., and his rebounding reputation. I traveled back to Gainesville today. It was hot and sunny and a perfect time to revisit Longstreet sites in the North Georgia city about an hour northeast of Atlanta. The stops are organized by their chronology in Longstreet’s story.

ORIGINAL LONGSTREET HOME (992 Longstreet Circle)

A statue of a pensive Longstreet was dedicated by the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 2001. He bought the 120-acre farm near downtown not long after moving to Gainesville in 1875. The general pruned muscadine vines on property that featured an old colonial-style home. The home burned in 1889, and the general’s wife, Louise, died a few months later. 

Among his Civil War relics lost to the fire were his Confederate uniform worn when he left the service, the sword he carried during the war, a highly prized sash presented him by Confederate Cavalry Gen. J.E.B. Stuart and spurs that he wore in the Mexican War, according to the Gainesville Times. Longstreet's great-grandson told the Picket that family members still have some of the general's surviving furniture and marble-top tables.

Today, a residential neighborhood covers most of the farm. On the edge of the small park is a grape arbor.

PIEDMONT HOTEL (827 Maple St.)

The Piedmont Hotel is the centerpiece of the Longstreet Society, which was formed in 1994 to honor the life of Longstreet, who died here at age 82 in 1904. The one-story building is a remnant of the imposing, 36-room Piedmont, which was torn down in 1918.

Longstreet opened the hotel in 1876 a couple blocks from the railroad, and he drew famous and everyday guests. He was known to give apples to children and help out former Confederate and Federal soldiers who stopped by. He lived in two homes a couple miles away.

The society uses the old hotel rooms to tell his story. One has artifacts and paintings. Another has period furniture from the time of future President Woodrow Wilson and his wife, Ellen, whose daughter Jessie was born in the hotel in 1887. The main hallway has copies of documents on Longstreet’s appointment to federal offices, including postmaster, U.S. marshal and minister to Turkey. A wooden chair is one of the few items that can be traced to the hotel.

Richard Pilcher (left) and Joe Whitaker

The real treasures of the site may be the volunteers who share stories about the general and his performance during the Civil War.

Richard Pilcher, former head of the society, said he grew up in the area and knew little about the general's reputation and abilities. That changed when he went to college and learned about Longstreet's defensive acumen. "Maybe he had amounted to something," Pilcher said.

Pilcher and Joe Whitaker said in recent years they hear less criticism, as the pendulum in military scholarship has shifted more toward Longstreet's favor.

In later years, Longstreet would travel to reunions and events, and others would operate the hotel. He was known to keep chickens and serve them fried and battered to guests (more about that later).

The well house was installed in early 2017.

HELEN DORTCH LONGSTREET HOME (746 Green St.)

Longstreet was 76 and a widower when he married 34-year-old Helen Dortch. He was living here at the time of his death. The house, across from First Baptist, is operated by a chiropractic and well center. Helen Dortch Longstreet lived a long life. The spry environmental activist even served as a riveter at the Bell Bomber plant in Marietta during World War II. She led the unsuccessful fight to stop the damming of the Tallulah River to form what are now known as the Georgia Power lakes. She had to sell the house to pay legal fees.

The home was part of a 2016 Christmas event in the historic district. Mrs. Longstreet converted the basement into one of the city's first Catholic churches. A member of the Hall County Historical Society told the Gainesville Times that the house is unique for its gold crown molding in five rooms on the first floor.

WHELCHEL HOUSE (207 College Ave., vacant lot)

In early January 1904, Longstreet, suffering from cancer, went to the house of his daughter, Maria Louise Longstreet Whelchel and her husband, Esten. During a coughing spasm, his old neck wound from the 1864 Battle of the Wilderness reopened, and he bled to death. His last words were, “Helen, we shall be happier in this post.”

The house is gone; now it's a vacant lot near a bank.

ROOSEVELT SQUARE/OLD HALL COUNTY COURTHOUSE (Henry Ward Way)

According to the Longstreet Society, the general's funeral was held in a county courthouse building destroyed by the 1936 tornado.

"The funeral is thought to be the largest ever held in the county." His remains were carried nearly two miles to Alta Vista Cemetery.

The procession included the Queen City Band, Candler Horse Guards, Governor's Horse Guards, Confederate veterans, family and friends.

ALTA VISTA CEMETERY (1080 Jesse Jewell Parkway)

Two Georgia governors are buried not far from several members of the Longstreet family. Longstreet’s remarkable grave marker is made of granite and cites his Civil War and Mexican War exploits.

Some 5,000 people attended his Catholic services in town and streamed to the cemetery. An aged veteran placed his gray jacket on the casket. Helen Dortch Longstreet erected the marker several decades after Longstreet’s death.

Interestingly, a U.S., rather, than Confederate, flag flies over the plot. And to reflect the family’s belief in reconciliation, the American flag is crossed over the Confederate battle flag on the marker. Great-grandson Dan Paterson of Virginia told the Picket today that the choice of the banner for the flagpole is “what the general would want.”

The cemetery contains the remains of Paterson's mother, Jamie Louise Longstreet Paterson, who died in 2014. He said the Longstreet Society is planning to name a garden at the Piedmont Hotel in her honor.

NOW ABOUT THAT FRIED CHICKEN .....

Chickens are big business in Gainesville. So it was no small addition to local lore when the Georgia Poultry Federation several years back claimed that the Piedmont Hotel was the first area poultry processor, albeit out of a hotel kitchen, in the area.

Joe Whitaker, of the Longstreet Society, said while there may have been fried chicken served first elsewhere, the Piedmont Hotel may have been the first to use batter. Here’s what he said during my 2009 visit: “I can’t prove that. But I won’t deny it, either.”

Guests included newspaperman Henry Grady, author Joel Chandler Harris and former Confederate Gen. Joseph Johnston. They enjoyed the fried chicken, green lawn and other amenities provided by the Longstreets.

Of course, once I left the hotel today after revisiting the topic, I had fried chicken on my mind. But I had stops to make and passed by wings places, Popeyes and Church's Chicken. And the Longstreet Cafe, which includes the battered-up bird on its menu, was closed for a couple hours.

I left town hungry, but satisfied with my time with Longstreet.

This day in Civil War history: Raid leader James Andrews is hanged as spy

(Picket photo)

James J. Andrews was going to hang. It was just a matter of when and where.

The leader of the failed Andrews Raid decided to break out on May 31, 1862, after receiving his death warrant at a jail in Chattanooga. Andrews was captured two days later, put in ankle irons and given time to write farewell letters as execution scaffolding was erected outside the unpleasant Swaim’s Jail.

But Andrews would not die in Chattanooga. The condemned man was put on a train to Atlanta when Federal troops got too close. Townspeople in Georgia taunted him at station stops during the sad journey.

James Andrews

On this day (June 7), 154 years ago, Andrews was hanged in what is now the Midtown neighborhood in Atlanta only hours after the train came to a stop.

Seven other men also convicted as spies in the April 1862 raid, known as the “Great Locomotive Chase,” had traveled with Andrews to Atlanta. They were executed on June 18 a few miles to the southeast, next to Oakland Cemetery.

A spring 2015 article in Civil War Quarterly gave this account of Andrews’ death:

“Andrews’ sentence was carried out first, at 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 7, near the intersection of Juniper and Third Streets in Atlanta. The hanging was horribly botched: the cotton rope stretched and Andrews’ feet touched the earth. A guard had to swing the doomed man’s struggling body off to the side and hold it there as another scraped away the ground while Andrews slowly strangled.” The account is corroborated in a book by a raid survivor.

A historical marker stands today along a busy street.

Andrews, still wearing his shackles, was buried near the execution site. His remains were exhumed in 1887, when he joined his seven comrades at the federal cemetery in Chattanooga.

Seven raiders are hanged near Oakland Cemetery

Some 20 Union soldiers were part of the raid, and six of those who were exchanged as prisoners received the first Medals of Honor in March 1863. Andrews, who was about 33, was not eligible because he was a civilian.

Andrews and his band of “engine thieves” tried to destroy much of the Western & Atlantic Railroad and communications as they rushed northward from Big Shanty, Ga., toward Chattanooga. The damaged they created was negligible. They were captured near Ringgold, Ga. Those not executed either escaped or were exchanged.

Andrews marker is behind shrubs next to apartment building (Picket)

Much has been written about the failed raid, and film accounts include a Disney production. One of the most riveting written accounts was by William Pittenger, a member of the operation.

Pittenger wrote of a group of the imprisoned soldiers saying farewell to Andrews in Chattanooga before they were moved to Knoxville, Tenn. It was about a week before their leader learned of his fate.

“I will never forget his last words, as he silently pressed our hands, and with a tear in his blue eye, and a low, sweet voice, that thrilled through my inmost being, said, ‘Boys, if I never see you here again, try to meet me on the other side of Jordan.’ It was our last earthly meeting.”

Locomotive tops monument in Chattanooga (Library of Congress)

Longstreet memorial service is Jan. 10

James Longstreet

As is their custom, the Sons of Confederate Veterans #1860 (Blue Ridge Rifles) in Dahlonega, Ga., and the Longstreet Society will be remembering the life of Gen. James Longstreet at a Jan. 10 memorial service in Gainesville, Ga.

The ceremony is set for 1 p.m. at Alta Vista Cemetery, where the Confederate general was laid to rest after his Jan. 2, 1904, death at age 82. The public also is welcome to an open house that follows at the Longstreet Society's headquarters, the old Piedmont Hotel, 827 Maple St., Gainesville. Refreshments will be served. Longstreet ran the hotel for several years. 

The society defends and promotes the legacy of one of Lee's Lieutenants. Members believe he was the scapegoat for what went wrong at Gettysburg and the South's loss.

Previous Longstreet coverage:
-- Granddaughter fought to vindicate him 
-- Southern-fried Longstreet, Part 1
-- Part 2: Vilification and vindication

A loss for Georgia river city and its history

The Calhoun-Griffin-Mott House in Columbus, Ga., destroyed Sunday by fire, had historical significance dating back to the Civil War. When Union forces took the city during a night battle in April 1865, the home’s owner, a unionist, invited Maj. Gen. James Wilson to stay at his house. The riverfront property is owned by TSYS, a credit card possessing company. • Article