The scrappy 'Jersey Boys' are getting their due with a sign at Battle of Williamsburg site in Virginia. Here are events tied to Sunday's 162nd anniversary

Steve Barnes and Don Klein of Williamsburg Battlefield Association place sign along road;
Five members of the 7th New Jersey from Fairfield; nearby Redoubt Park in Williamsburg)

Four regiments of “Jersey Boys” had barely been battle tested when on May 5, 1862, they were rushed in to reinforce Union troops tangling with Confederates at Williamsburg, Va.

With the 5^th New Jersey supporting artillery, Brig. Gen. Francis E. Patterson (photo, below) of Hooker’s division ordered the men of the 6^th, 7^th and 8^th New Jersey regiments into a ravine near the Rebels’ Fort Magruder.

The fighting was fierce. Terrain was won and lost as men fought in tangled undergrowth and on swampy ground. Finally, Alabama and Mississippi regiments commanded by Brig. Gen. Cadmus M. Wilcox pushed back the men in blue, who were exhausted and out of ammunition.

The outnumbered New Jersey troops had their largest casualties of any battles in which they participated, but they won acclaim for their valor. Brig. Gen. Joseph Hooker was said to have called them bulldogs.

That sacrifice will be remembered Sunday morning as a new Civil War Trails marker is dedicated not far from the ravine. About 40 members of the Old Baldy Civil War Roundtable of Philadelphia, most living in New Jersey but some traveling from Colorado and North Carolina, are expected to participate.

“I couldn’t be prouder of our organization and members for sponsoring this sign,” said Frank Barletta, a board member with the roundtable. “I cannot think of a more fitting memorial to this overlooked major battle of the war.”

Fort Magruder and other Rebel works near Williamsburg (Wikipedia)

The inconclusive Battle of Williamsburg, according to the National Park Service, was the first pitched battle of the Peninsula Campaign following the Confederate retreat from Yorktown.

Hooker’s division attacked the Southerners at Fort Magruder, but was repulsed. Confederate counterattacks ultimately wore out and they made a nighttime withdrawal toward Richmond. Casualties numbered more than 3,800.

The American Battlefield Trust and other groups in 2020 protected the "Bloody Ravine" and 29 acres for posterity.

Another 162^nd anniversary commemoration will take place from 1 p.m.-5 p.m. Sunday about a half mile away at the Fort Magruder Hotel and Conference Center. The Williamsburg Battlefield Association will lead the program, which includes historical displays and costumed interpreters, music by the William & Mary brass band.

“Learn about the battle, its impact on the emancipation movement, medical practices during the war and female soldiers,” the association says in a program overview. “See the battle and 19th-century town of Williamsburg through maps and images, and understand current battlefield preservation efforts.”

Nov. 2021 dig at powder magazine wall (The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)

A highlight will be a 2 p.m. presentation by archaeologists with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. They will talk about the remains of four Confederate soldiers found early last year near the powder magazine at the venue. Some wounded troops were treated at a nearby hospital, officials said. Bullets, buttons and suspender buckles were found with the skeletal remains.

The ceremony for the new Civil War Trails marker will include a color guard from Joint Base Langley-Eustis. A wreath will be laid and there will be a reading of a New Jersey Senate resolution that praises the Old Baldy Civil War Round Table for its commitment to the sign and “ensuring that the brave soldiers from New Jersey are memorialized for posterity.”

The roundtable is taking a bus from Cherry Hill, N.J., on Saturday morning and will tour the battlefield, site of Fort Magruder and Redoubt Park in the afternoon. After the 9 a.m. Sunday sign dedication, the group will tour the Lee Hall Mansion in Newport News before heading home.

Based in Williamsburg, Civil War Trails is considered the world’s largest “open air museum,” with signs and markers at about 1,500 sites across six states: Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

The bravery of the New Jersey soldiers also is honored by the Lawrence Township Historical Society in the state. Dan Casella with the group said it has books that have newspaper articles and correspondence from Cedarville and Cumberland County soldiers in southern New Jersey who served in the 5^th, 6^th and 7^th volunteer regiments.

Casella in 2022 wrote a fascinating article about his research on a photograph  (right, Library of Congress) showing five 7^th New Jersey boys from Fairfield. He wanted to know their fate. One, Capt. Benjamin F. Ogden, wrote about the battle two weeks later.

“I must speak of our contest,” Ogden wrote, “although it makes me feel sad every time, I mention it; for it renews the recollection that one of our number still lies beneath the battle ground…when the battle commenced, six of us Cedarville men were in the front rank. At night, one lay dead on the field, and two in hospital wounded. Three came out without a scratch, although I had three bullet holes in my overcoat cape….”

He went on to discuss other casualties. (You can read Casella’s article here to learn the fate of Ogden and the four other soldiers in the photograph.

“General Hooker says we were whipped three times yesterday but did not know it; he says we are not Soldiers, but Bulldogs! We do not stay in one place long but keep closing on Richmond.”

Richmond did not fall for another three years, accompanied by hundreds of thousands of casualties.

The new Civil War Trails sign is located at the Teamsters Hall, 7294 Merrimac Trail, Williamsburg. Guests attending the ceremony are encouraged to park along nearby Orange Drive.

I've always thought George Meade's slouch hat was awesome. We asked experts to weigh in on it and five other iconic Meade items kept at Gettysburg

Courtesy of Gettysburg Foundation, from the collection of the Civil War Museum of Philadelphia
CWMP 86.13.33, Slouch hat; Meade photos Library of Congress and National Archives

If I ever get around to writing “Cool Hats of the Civil War,” my top choice (spoiler alert!) will go to Union Maj. Gen. George Meade’s slouch hat, followed closely by those of Ambrose E. Burnside and J.E.B. Stuart.

While the hero of Gettysburg and commander of the Army of Potomac is sadly overshadowed by many in the pantheon of Civil War commanders, Meade and his hat will always stand tall to me.

There are great images of him with that headgear: In front of his tent, seated among a throng of soldiers, or perched on a bench at the famous Grant “Council of War” at Massaponax Church in Virginia.

The Gettysburg Foundation operates Gettysburg National Military Park’s visitor center and museum. It also owns and curates thousands of items, including those of Meade from the collection of the Civil War Museum of Philadelphia: The slouch hat, a kepi, frock coat, flags, field glasses, sash and swords, among other fascinating items. Meade wore the hat and frock coat at Gettysburg in July 1863.

Kepi-topped Gen. Meade (center) with members of his staff (National Archives)

Meade’s slouch hat certainly was attention-getting.

“I am not sure if Meade had a preferred style of hat but, maybe his preference was more utilitarian; e.g., wearing the slouch hat on active campaign because it kept the sun and rain off of him; whereas wearing the kepi in static locations such as a winter quarters and formal occasions,” says Mike Kwolek, museum exhibition specialist for the foundation.

The general’s hometown was Philadelphia. For more than 70 years after his grandchildren donated them in 1937, Meade’s belongings were housed at the Civil War Museum of Philadelphia. Other items at the museum were donated by former Union officers, members of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS). Meade died in 1872 at age 56.

Museum officials had hoped to erect a new building after it closed in 2008, but funding never came through and hundreds of artifacts went to the Gettysburg Foundation. (Paper documents relating to the officers are kept by the Union League of Philadelphia)

Gettysburg’s collection has many sources, including what was at the Philadelphia museum. (Photo at left, Courtesy of Gettysburg Foundation, from the collection of the Civil War Museum of Philadelphia; CWMP 86.13.32, Frock Coat)

I spoke with Kwolek – whose duties include designing and executing museum exhibits, collections management and registration – about a half dozen items in the Meade inventory. (I am grateful for his help and patience when I peppered him with myriad follow-up questions)

Here’s a close look at the six artifacts:

MEADE'S FELT SLOUCH HAT

Courtesy of Gettysburg Foundation, from the collection of the Civil War Museum of Philadelphia
CWMP 86.13.33, Slouch Hat

Talk about a close call. The general came to Gettysburg with two bullet holes in the hat, from fighting several months before at Fredericksburg, Va.

Army regulations allowed for officers to wear black felt hats. The height of the crown could be a little over 6 inches. The bindings were made of black ribbed silk. It features a bullion hat cord and insignia.

“These examples were similar, yet more elegant than the 1858 Hardee hat; however, many officers went to the private market and purchased black felt hats in a variety of shapes and sizes. The one that Maj. Gen. Meade wore, and housed at the Museum and Visitor Center, is one of those privately purchased hats,” says the foundation.

Meade, seated at far left, at Massaponax Church (Library of Congress)
His slouch hat has a pinched crown (click to enlarge)

The park doesn’t know when Meade got the hat, which he wore with the brim down. Kwolek said this headgear may have been produced in Philadelphia by the hatter William F. Warburton; who, in 1862, held three patents for military caps and hats.

Conservation was performed on the hat in 2012. The bullet holes, above his major general’s insignia, were stabilized during that work, said Kwolek.  

C. Paul Loane, co-author of “US Army Military Headgear, 1812-1872,”.recalls seeing the hat when it was at the museum in Philadelphia.

“It appeared to be the standard black felt headgear with black silk edging around the brim worn by most officers, he said. "His hat cords were all gold as called for in regulations for a general officer."

The hat and coat have been off-exhibit since 2016, following the park’s “Treasures of the Civil War” exhibit.

CHASSEUR-STYLE KEPI

Courtesy of Gettysburg Foundation, from the collection of the Civil War Museum of Philadelphia
CWMP 86.13.34, Kepi

Of the Meade-associated items described here, only the wool kepi is currently (February 2024) on display. The exhibit has the words “Old Snapping Turtle,” a nickname given to the commander because of his famous ill temper.

Text below the kepi reads:

“Although often seen in contemporary photographs wearing his favored slouch hat in the field, Meade wore this regulation officer's cap (with gold trim for general officers) for dress and ceremonial occasions." 

National Archives, Library of Congress photos of Meade wearing a kepi; click to enlarge

This is the French style of cap that Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan advocated that officers use after his observations during the Crimean War, says Kwolek. Meade’s kepi was made by Wanamaker’s of Philadelphia, his hometown. The company was founded in 1861 and operated at Market and Sixth streets. Meade purchased it in 1862 or 1863.

Loane told the Picket the cap is “a slightly brighter blue than most examples (which flirt with being a midnight/almost black shade) and had a subtle ‘bagginess’ about it we collectors like. Two silver stars of a major general were affixed to the front within a gold embroidered wreath backed with black velvet. Staff officer buttons secured the chin strap and narrow black tape trimmed the sides and top.”

The classic-period kepi went through restoration in 2012, which included cleaning and stabilization.

MAJOR GENERAL FROCK COAT

Courtesy of Gettysburg Foundation, from the collection of the Civil War Museum of Philadelphia
CWMP 86.13.32, Frock coat; Meade photo Library of Congress

The maker of this dark blue frock is not known, but Meade is known to have worn it from at least Gettysburg onward. Kwolek wondered whether it was made by Brooks Brothers, which made uniforms for Federal officers. Brooks Brothers. told the Picket in an email it has no existing record of Meade.

The coat conforms to 1861 regulations and bears the rank of major general on its epaulets. For that rank, the coat had two rows of buttons on the breast, nine in each row, extending to the waist. Four buttons were on the back and skirt of the coat, according to the Gettysburg Foundation. The interior chest/torso region of the jacket exhibits quilting with patriotic motifs.

The coat went through extensive cleaning and stabilization 2012. Its condition before treatment exhibited extensive use, according to Kwolek.

ARMY OF THE POTOMAC HEADQUARTERS FLAG

Courtesy of Gettysburg Foundation, from the collection of the Civil War Museum of Philadelphia
CWMP 86.2.4, 34‐star Headquarters Flag

This flag has the distinction of the one that flew at Meade’s headquarters at Gettysburg. His descendants provided the provenance for this 34-star silk flag.

Kwolek says Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker may have flown it before Meade took command of the army in late June 1863, just days before Gettysburg.

ARMY OF THE POTOMAC HEADQUARTERS FLAG (May 1864)

Courtesy of Gettysburg Foundation, from the collection of the Civil War Museum of Philadelphia
CWMP 86.2.5, Army of the Potomac Headquarters Flag 

This short-lived flag was most likely made by Sisco Brothers of Baltimore, according to the Gettysburg Foundation. It was made of faded soprano silk with a dark blue laurel wreath surrounding a gold eagle with arrows and laurel in its talons.

It has a swallowtail design with silk ties. It was used only in May 1864, in Virginia, and was replaced by a small national flag. According to Kwolek, this reversal might be due to Gen. Grant’s reaction to it, which was recorded by artist Alfred R. Waud: “What’s this! Is Imperial Caesar anywhere about here?”

ARMY OF THE POTOMAC V CORPS FLAG

Courtesy of Gettysburg Foundation, from the collection of the Civil War Museum of Philadelphia
CWMP 86.23, 5th Corps flag

Meade commanded the corps for only a month, six months before Gettysburg. The flag conforms to the Army of the Potomac's general order No. 10 that specified flags to be used for corps headquarters as blue swallowtailed, with the number of the corps in red on a white botonee-style cross.

Kwolek believes Maj. Gen. George Sykes may have flown it at Gettysburg when he led V Corps. The flag was probably returned to Meade once the 1864 style of headquarters flags were issued. The flag was donated to what was then the War Library and Museum in 1937 by his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. 

Other Pennsylvania venues that highlight Meade

Meade’s legacy is covered at several institutions in Philadelphia, including the Grand Army of the Republic Civil War Museum & Library. It has an exhibit on the general, including many photos, and another unusual item – the head of Old Baldy, Meade’s war horse.

The National Constitution Center, while it has no Meade items in its permanent collection, does have several on loan from the Gettysburg Foundation for the exhibit “Civil War & Reconstruction: The Battle for Freedom and Equality.” Those are the general’s sword and scabbard, dress spurs and field glasses with case (shown in photo below among other artifacts).

From the collection of the Civil War Museum of Philadelphia, on loan from Gettysburg Foundation
 and National Constitution Center, photo courtesy NCC

"The sword is a M1839 Topographical Engineers sword used by Meade and supposedly the one where he broke the tip of the blade off while striking a soldier at Fredericksburg,” said Kwolek.

The Union League has multiple papers, orders, photographs and other items related to Meade. Click here and here for examples.

“Our archives and collections are available to the public through research appointments,” Keeley Tulio, archivist and collections manager with the group’s Heritage Center, said in an email.

Meade was awarded The Union League of Philadelphia Silver Medal in 1863 and The Union League of Philadelphia Gold Medal in 1866.

UPDATE: Rare flag carried by Pennsylvania African-American regiment sold for $196K to Atlanta History Center

(Courtesy of Morphy Auctions)

A flag painted by hand for one of 11 African-American regiments from Pennsylvania was auctioned for $196,800, including fees, to the Atlanta History Center.

Acclaimed African-American artist David B. Bowser created the banner for the 127^th U.S. Colored Troops. It depicts a soldier waving farewell to Columbia, a symbol of the United States, with the words “We Will Prove Ourselves Men.”

Of the 11 such flags Bowser painted, the 127^th flag is the only known to survive.

“Seven others are known only from photographs. Those seven flags were sent to the military museum at West Point in 1906, but incredibly, were thrown out in the 1940s,” said Dan Morphy, president of Morphy Auctions, in a press release, before the sale. The auction house had said the banner might go for as high as $250,000 on Thursday.

D.B. Bowser (Wikipedia)

The 1864 flag in recent years has belonged to the Grand Army of the Republic Civil War Museum and Library in Philadelphia. But the museum, which had the 6-by-6-½-foot silk flag restored a couple years ago, decided to part with it to help bolster the venue’s finances, the Associated Press reported. The Picket reached out to the museum for comment.

The Atlanta History Center, which recently restored and reopened The Battle of Atlanta Cyclorama, said the purchase was the most it has ever spent on a single artifact. "It's one of those things that doesn't need words to tell you what it is and what it represents," said center president and CEO Sheffield Hale.

Bowser, the son of a fugitive slave whose home was a stop on the Underground Railroad, designed banners and flags for a variety of clients. He helped recruit black soldiers and was commissioned to paint 11 flags for African-American regiments, which trained at Camp William Penn outside Philadelphia. The segregated units were led by white officers.

"Bowser's works were the first widely viewed, positive images of African Americans painted by an African American," according to the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.

Joseph Becton of the African American Museum in Philadelphia told the Associated Press that Bowser’s flags were meant to be provocative.

According to the AP: “The banner for the 22nd regiment showed a black Union soldier pointing his bayonet at the chest of a fallen Confederate soldier who is tossing aside his sword, beneath a banner reading ‘Sic semper tyrannis,’ which translates into ‘thus always to tyrants.’ That was also the motto of Virginia at the time, so it was likely meant to enrage the enemy, Becton said.”

127th USCT flag detail (Courtesy of Morphy Auctions)

The 127^th was organized in late summer 1864 and took part in siege operations against Richmond and Petersburg until the end of the Civil War. Part of the Army of the James, it participated in one battle and several other actions. The regiment was at Appomattox for the surrender of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.

"With meticulous attention to detail in restoration, the vibrant banner represents the epic struggle, valor and patriotism of the African-American troops during the Civil War," Morphy Auctions said.

Gordon Jones, senior military historian and curator at the Atlanta History Center, said in a statement:  “It’s an iconic knock-your-socks-off artifact. Even an enlisted man’s USCT uniform wouldn’t be as historically significant as this flag.”

The history center’s collection includes a brass drum belonging to a drummer boy of the all-black 55th Massachusetts Regiment, a knapsack used at the Battle of Olustee, Fla., by a soldier in the 8th USCT and a recently acquired canteen bearing the stencile mark of the 15th USCT, which guarded railroad lines in Tennessee during the 1864 Atlanta Campaign.

Bust of Civil War statue found by police

Officials in Philadelphia say the stolen bust of a Civil War general has been found under a bridge. The bust of Gen. James A. Beaver was found Friday under an Interstate 95 bridge near FDR Park. It's believed to have been stolen from the Smith Memorial Arch, a Civil War monument in West Fairmount Park. • Article 

Civil War 'Refreshment Saloon' at Philadelphia museum serves up good eats and education

Philadelphia saloon and hospital (Library of Congress)

How to make 1862 lemonade: Slice three lemons and place in bowl. Pour a half pound of white or brown granulated sugar over the fruit, and mash together. Pour in 1 gallon of water. Stir well. Serve.

A scene described by 19^th-century Philadelphia physician S. Weir Mitchell in his book “In War Time” summarizes the power of hospitality and this particular beverage.

A loaded wagon brings apprehensive men to a Union hospital in Philadelphia. Hospital stewards and orderlies come out to the wagons, greet the soldiers and offer them ice-cold lemonade.

“Just the idea of someone saying, ‘I am going to help you, you are in a place of safety, and take this drink’ would increase your morale immeasurably,” said Robert Hicks, director of Philadelphia’s Mütter Museum. "That has health consequences.”

On Sunday (Nov. 8), visitors to the museum at 19 S. 22^nd St. will get to enjoy lemonade and other recipes at “Refreshment Saloon,” an event that will highlight the venue’s Civil War exhibit and provide an overview of food’s impact on the health and spirits of soldiers, whether they were well or being treated at hospitals.

Sunday's event will include use of this room (Mutter Museum)

Refreshment saloons, which were located in several Northern cities, provided a haven for tired troops on the way to or from the front. “This (was) a good example of community volunteerism, local fundraising and local help,” said Hicks.

Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon and Hospital, near the Delaware River in Philadelphia, was a hive of activity.

“At their busiest, they were serving 17,000 meals a day,” he said. “Some of the cooks became local celebrities. There was a small cannon that was fired ... when word came that troops would arrive by train or boat.”

From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Mütter patrons will be able to take in a variety of activities that highlight the types of food consumed by soldiers and civilians alike. The museum will be giving out a recipe booklet that lists the ingredients and the use of each item by the military.

Some food and drink items – such as beef jerky, dried apples and lemonade (used to induce sweating and a natural diuretic) -- will be served all day. Others will be scheduled: Soda biscuits with pumpkin preserves at 11 a.m., pickles at noon, and so on. (Pickled cucumbers, onions, tomatoes and other vegetables, by the way, are preserved in an acid solution strong enough to kill harmful bacteria)

(Library of Congress)

You might want to try hotchpotch – a root vegetable stew -- and hardtack at 1 p.m. Hardtack is a long-lasting, hardened cracker or biscuit. It was a staple of Civil War soldiers.

“We have used a period recipe,” said Hicks. “People will have heard of it but not know exactly what it is. Ours will be fresh, with no weevils or maggots in it.”

Local confectioners and ice cream shops will serve up some sweets later in the afternoon. Philadelphia’s famous Franklin Fountain will provide “gangrene” ice cream.

Hicks came up with that colorful idea. “I imagine it will have blue, green, red and who knows what.”

While visitors will enjoy the tasting, officials hope they pick up some education on Civil War medicine and health care, too. 

Regarding the ice cream: “After you sample this contemporary treat, check out the interactive booth in the “Broken Bodies, Suffering Spirits” (exhibit) to see how your own arm might look with a case of gangrene."

The Mütter Museum is associated with The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. The "Broken Bodies, Suffering Spirits” permanent exhibit features artifacts, anatomical specimens and illustrations to tell the story of the city’s role in tending to the sick and wounded.

“The two large hospitals in Philadelphia … really took extreme pains to meet soldiers’ needs,” Hicks told the Picket. Surgeons going through the ward would order a specific dietary combination for an ailing soldier. (Not in Sunday’s family-friendly lineup: Milk punch, consisting of milk and brandy).

Robert Hicks with pet leeches, Harvey and Hunter (Mutter Museum)

The museum stresses that modern medicine owes a lot to the Civil War: Triage, ambulances, specialized physicians (such as neurologists) and more.

“People’s expectations of hospitals changed as a result of the war,” said Hicks. “Before then, people would not go. It was a place where poor people go to die. The Civil War changes that. The hospital became the focal point of medical care.”

One of the items to be displayed is an invalid feeder. It resembles a porcelain gravy boat.

During the Civil War, they might contain a mild watery porridge with nutrients, such as arrowroot. The feeder would feature an elongated spout for pouring food into the mouth of a wounded soldier who might not be able to chew.

Display includes invalid feeder at lower right (Mutter Museum)

Physicians would try to make the right guess on different medicines, tonics and remedies but it was not an exact science – and there were no antibiotics.

“They did not recognize bacteria as a source of infection,” said Hicks. “Recent scholarship is pointing out how close they came to making those connections.”

In her book “Learning from the Wounded,” Shauna Devine argues Union doctors overcame limitations to come up with study and experimentation that would have a lasting impact on medicine.

Nearly two-thirds of the Civil War’s estimated 700,000-750,000 deaths were caused by disease.

Philadelphia's largest such wartime venue (Library of Congress)

The Confederacy, largely because of an effective blockade of its ports, constantly struggled to import medicines. Officials looked for natural substitutes, with Francis Peyre Porcher of South Carolina enlisted to write a handbook of Southeastern flora and fauna that could be used by physicians and others.

While it’s been said that major medical discoveries were not made during the Civil War, the Federal military medical system set the table for the large-scale manufacturing of medicines, including quinine, used to combat the effects of malaria. Philadelphia later became a major manufacturing center for quinine, with the purity coming under government oversight.

It was a constant struggle for both sides to feed the troops. When available, fresh and preserved food were prepared at Federal campsites.

Mutter Museum's Civil War exhibit

For the North, “in some cases the U.S. Sanitary Commission brought fresh food and medicines the army did not have at the moment,” said Hicks. Hospitals well behind the lines featured the best food for sick soldiers.

While at the front or in camp, soldiers hunted, bartered and occasionally stole food.

“If you are accustomed to farms and hunting for food, you apply those skills to get what you need,” said Hicks.

The museum director, who also oversees the college’s medical library, said he hopes the refreshment saloon event provides a “way to engage the past and make it present.”

After all, everybody has to eat.

“I hope (visitors) take away a sensation that by the experience of eating some of the same food it reminds people that the Civil War is not ancient history. Those soldiers had to eat and go through the same day-to-day concerns and much more on top of it -- deprived, scared and away from home in battle.”

The Refreshment Saloon takes place from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Nov. 8. All activities are included with regular museum admission.

Part 2: 'Forgotten hero' Octavius Catto pushed equality in Union army, society

War was on the horizon in Pennsylvania in June 1863. After a stunning victory at Chancellorsville, Gen. Robert E. Lee finally had found the opportune moment to put the Union army on the defensive.

In Philadelphia, and across the state, a call to arms was sounded. Volunteers for the militia were needed as gray legions marched toward the fields of southern Pennsylvania and an eventual fateful turn to Gettysburg.

“MEN OF COLOR. To Arms! Arms! NOW OR NEVER” read a large banner posted in downtown Philadelphia.

Fifty-five individuals placed their names at the bottom, among them O.V. Catto.

Just 24, Octavius Valentine Catto was a graduate and instructor at the Institute for Colored Youth. He had founded the Banneker Literacy Institute and was inducted into the Franklin Institute, a scientific organization. His many accomplishments included a stint as a professional baseball player.

The intellectual turned his attention to politics and public service. Catto, born in South Carolina to a Presbyterian minister, was determined to wage war on discrimination.

During that summer of 1863, Catto helped form a company of nearly 100 African-Americans.

“Answering the urgent call for volunteers as announced by the governor, they reported to the city arsenal for duty,” according to Andy Waskie, a Temple University professor who has written and lectured on Catto’s life and legacy. “They were uniformed and equipped and sent by train to Harrisburg to join the army. But the authorities there under General Couch ingloriously rejected the unit with the excuse that black troops were not authorized.”

Catto returned to Philadelphia and spent the next two years raising 11 African-American regiments for the Union cause. The units were organized at Camp William Penn, trained, equipped and sent to the front.

In 1864, Catto helped organize the Equal Rights League.

African-Americans at that time were not guaranteed the vote, and they did not have full access to the city’s street cars. Catto would devote the last few of his 32 short years to remedying those problems.

In 1870, an approved state amendment provided for African-American men to vote. Catto, a Republican supporter, actively campaigned for equality at the polls.

On Oct. 10, 1871, “voting transpired with acts of violence and intimidation,” Waskie told the Picket. “The police were in support of this. They were pushing black men out of line.”

An unarmed Catto was shot to death that tumultuous day, as he tried to stop the violence. Six years later, Frank Kelly, a white Democratic Party operative, was acquitted of the murder.

Catto became a martyr to the cause of equality -- only to slip into relative obscurity. A marker on his grave reads, “Forgotten Hero.”

Catto’s life story is finally drawing more recognition. The city is helping fund a statue in his honor and two ceremonies this weekend will recognize his sacrifice and service to the community. • (Related Picket article)

“Octavius Catto was not exceptional,” his great-great-nephew, Leonard Smith, told the Picket this week. “There were thousands of Octavius Cattos.”

Still, Smith feels pride in what his ancestor accomplished.

Smith, 68, said he principally learned from his grandmother about Catto and Catto’s father, William, whom Smith finds to be even more admirable.

“Civil rights has been a struggle in this country since the first landing and the first slave,” said Smith, a Williamsburg, Va., resident. “It did not start in the 1960s.”

The retired hospital administrator has done extensive research on his family, including those who helped in the Underground Railroad. Smith spoke with the authors of 2010’s "Tasting Freedom: Octavius Catto and the Battle for Equality in Civil War America.”

Service, Smith said, runs deep in his family.

“There is pride and a feeling you must have education and help others,” Smith told the Picket. “There are certain things that are ingrained.”

Storyteller Bob Branch, 58, is a historical re-enactor in Philadelphia who portrays Catto around town.

Two summers ago, he began working for Historic Philadelphia, an organization that interprets history and makes it relevant at several venues in the city.

“In school, the overwhelming (percentage of) black and white Philadelphians never heard of who he was,” said Branch, who grew up there.

“Each presentation I tailor to the audience. I will go the first person and dress as he would dress. I will intersperse direct quotes from Catto,” said Branch, who also makes appearances for other Philadelphia groups and churches.

Branch, an engineer, said he has a personal identification for the struggle for equality. His father, he said, was not allowed to play baseball for his school. Branch’s physics teacher in high school singled him out for “wasting time.” And a college professor did not think he was cut out for his eventual profession.

“I was free, but I wasn’t equal,” said Branch.

Younger people, especially, want to know why Catto was murdered.

“The question is, ‘How come we haven’t heard of him before?’ My answer is that history is quite often selective,” said Branch.

Despite gains made during and since Catto’s time, Branch said he remains concerned about equal access to education. And Smith cited economic inequities.

Saturday, Catto will be remembered in an annual wreath-laying ceremony and at the Union League, where the Pennsylvania National Guard will reissue a medal in his honor, to two Guard members who have exemplified remarkable public service.

Murray Dubin, co-author of “Tasting Freedom,” said Catto and others helped lead America’s first civil rights movement.

"I'd love to tell you that Martin Luther King knew about Catto and that's why he did what he did, but I can't prove that," Dubin told NPR in 2010. But it was the shoulders of Catto and dozens of other men and women "that Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks and Ralph Abernathy ... stood on top of."

Photo of Robert Branch as Octavius Catto, J. Holder for Historic Philadelphia, Inc. Wreath photo courtesy of Gen. George Meade Society

Ceremony will remember Philadelphian who recruited troops, exemplified service

• Read part two

Octavius Catto -- Civil War volunteer, educator, orator, civil rights champion, National Guard major, politician and ballplayer -- deserved a better place in this nation’s collective memory.

After Catto was murdered on Philadelphia’s election day in October 1871, a large crowd attended his funeral. City offices were closed. He was buried in his major’s uniform. Then, with a few exceptions over the next 140 years, his accomplishments and legacy faded into obscurity.

That’s beginning to change.

The city of Philadelphia has allocated $500,000 for a statue of Catto. A book about the man dedicated to equality, at a very personal price, was published two years ago. Local historical groups and societies have sponsored wreath-laying ceremonies around the time of his birthday.

This Saturday (Feb. 25), Catto’s dedication to community and public service will be remembered with the reissuing of a special medal to two members of the Pennsylvania National Guard. Previously, it was awarded only once, shortly after Catto’s death at age 32.

The ceremony begins at noon at the Union League, 140 S. Broad St., following a separate 11 a.m. wreath-laying at Sixth and Lombard streets near Catto’s home, sponsored by the Catto Society and the Gen. George Meade Society.

The Catto medal was created in the martyred citizen’s honor by a division commander and given to a deserving soldier, said Lt. Col. Lauren E. Muglia, director of policy and legislative affairs, with the Guard. “It disappeared at one point.”

Three Catto descendants will attend Saturday's Guard ceremony.

The Philadelphian’s contributions to his city are numerous. He fought vigorously, and successfully, for the desegregation, of its mass transit system after the Civil War. He also helped win voting rights for African-American men in Philadelphia.

Ultimately, he was killed on election day by a white man while trying to ensure others had the right to safely cast their ballots.

Andy Waskie, a professor at Temple University, said Catto rushed to enlist in the Union army after President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in January 1863. That ultimately led to the formation of U.S. Colored Troops.

When Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee moved his army toward Pennsylvania, the governor called for 50,000 citizens to form an emergency militia.

“Catto saw this as an opportunity,” Waskie told the Picket. He volunteered as a private and organized nearly 100 African-American volunteers into a company. “They were uniformed and mustered on June 17, 1863.”

They arrived at Harrisburg to receive weapons and further orders. But a general denied them service, on a technicality.

Disappointed but undeterred, Catto in the following months and years, working with the Union League and Frederick Douglass, helped recruit 11 African-American regiments for the Federal army.

“These units added greatly needed strength to the Union armies in the field,” according to the Pennsylvania National Guard. “A number of these troops distinguished themselves in combat and several Soldiers were awarded the Medal of Honor for bravery.”

Catto had several gifts.

“He was a noted orator and rallied the troops to enlist,” Waskie said. “He set the agenda. He was a nationally known figure.”

Catto joined the National Guard soon after the end of the Civil War.

Bob Branch, 58, portrays Catto for Historic Philadelphia and other groups. His presentations include quotes by Catto and conversations on issues the intellectual faced.

“The struggle for equal rights is an ongoing struggle,” Branch said.

Coming Friday: A deeper look at Catto's life. Photos of 2011 wreath-laying ceremony courtesy of Gen. George Meade Society. For more information on the wreath-laying ceremony, contact Andy Waskie at andy.waskie@temple.edu