A shell from the Alabama lodged in the USS Kearsarge's sternpost during epic duel. It failed to explode and cripple the ship. You can see artifact at a Navy museum

Sinking of Alabama, Kearsarge sternpost, Capt. Ralphael Semmes (NHHC)

For about an hour on June 19, 1864, artillery crews on the USS Kearsarge and commerce raider CSS Alabama plugged away at each other, their shells flying wide or impacting just about every conceivable spot on their opponent’s vessel.

The Union warship, protected by heavy chains, had an advantage in the epic duel off Cherbourg, France -- one that was not of its own making: The Rebel ordnance was old and at times unreliable, meaning a shell might not explode. Still, the Alabama brought its fierce reputation to the fight, having captured or burned dozens of vessels on the high seas.

About 30 minutes in, a shell struck the vital sternpost of the USS Kearsarge (photo of encased artifact in 1980, NHHC). It should have been game, set, match in favor of Capt. Raphael Semmes and his sailors. Instead, the round was mostly a dud, failing to explode. The fighting continued and before long, it was game, set and match for the Federals, who sent the CSS Alabama to the bottom.

Today, the shattered sternpost and the intact artillery shell are on display in the “Securing the Seas for Union Victory” exhibit at the National Museum of the U.S. Navy in Washington, D.C. Visitors currently can see the items from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.

I turned to Andy Hall, an author, blogger and Civil War naval expert, to explain the importance of a ship’s sternpost, which is a component at the rear (stern).

“It generally consists of a vertical (more or less), heavy component of timber, iron, or steel. It needs to be especially strong because it is the principal structural component to which many other parts of the stern are attached,” Hall wrote in an email. “Usually, the sternpost is also the attachment point for the rudder that swings left and right to steer the ship as it moves through the water.”

Example of sternpost on CSS Jackson at National Civil War Naval Museum (Picket photo)

"Damage to the sternpost is especially serious, because it is one of the critical elements that gives strength to the hull of the vessel.”

While the speedy Alabama’s shot on the Kearsarge sternpost did impede operations, the crew was able to steer with extra hands at the helm, according to an Encyclopedia of Alabama article.

Hall says if the shell had exploded, it likely would have ended the battle immediately and quite possibly led to the sinking of the Kearsarge, which was commanded by Capt. John Winslow. He theorizes the ordnance hit the Kearsarge around its waterline.

The red box at left shows the location of the Kearsarge's sternpost; click to enlarge

Semmes wrote in his memoir of his bad luck with the 56-pound shell’s percussion cap.

"I lodged a rifled percussion shell near her stern post – where there were no chains -- which failed to explode because of the defect of the cap. If the cap had performed its duty, and exploded the shell, I should have been called upon to save Captain Winslow’s crew from drowning, instead of his being called upon to save mine. On so slight an incident the defect of a percussion cap did the battle hinge.”

Semmes crowed that the sternpost was the only Alabama trophy taken. While that may have been true in 1864, the Naval History and Heritage Command and a team of experts recovered artifacts – including the Alabama’s bell -- from the site in 2002. Semmes was rescued by a British vessel.

Hall, writer of the Dead Confederates blog and author of "Civil War Blockade Running on the Texas Coast," summarized the importance of the duel last year when Case Auctions sold items pertaining to Winslow and the Kearsarge. Among the items sold was a picture frame made from pieces of the sternpost (right, Case Auctions)

“It’s hard for most Americans to appreciate now how momentous this battle was viewed at the time,” Hall told the Picket. “Alabama had roamed the globe unmolested for almost two years, destroying American merchant shipping at will. Dozens of civilian ships were seized or destroyed by Capt. Semmes, causing insurance rates to skyrocket and wreaking financial havoc on ships and ports never within a thousand miles of the Confederate raider.”

While a formidable captain, Winslow thanked “the mercy of God” for his vessel’s fortune.

Legend held that the post was sent upon request to President Abraham Lincoln, but Grant Walker, a curator for the U.S. Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis, Md., said he has been unable to find any mention of Lincoln associated with the sternpost.

“The earliest correspondence we have concerns its transfer in 1924 from the Bureau of Ordnance Museum to the Naval Academy Museum,” says Walker. “It was part of a large transfer of ordnance from Washington to Annapolis that took place in July 1924. I could find no records re: how, when, and from whom the Bureau of Ordnance acquired it.”

One of the documents relating to the sternpost lists it as being among "trophies" kept at the Washington Navy Yard.

Various documents listing Kearsarge sternpost; click to enlarge (U.S. Naval Academy Museum)

Tracie Logan, senior curator at the USNA Museum, said the sternpost has been on loan from the academy to the National Museum of the U.S. Navy for decades.

The National Museum is undergoing an extensive renovation and movement of artifacts, so while the sternpost is still on display and the “Securing the Seas” exhibit exists, access to Building 76 is limited to Saturdays only.

Most of the objects from Alabama that were considered underwater archaeological recovery pieces have been removed from display, says Wesley Schwenk, registrar for the museum in Washington. They are retained in storage for preservation purposes. 

Capt. John Winslow, front right, with Kearsarge crew

Schwenk is involved with an exciting acquisition pertaining to orderly Sgt. Charles T. Young, a Marine who served on two other vessels and the Kearsarge during the Civil War. A native of Massachusetts, Young spent 16 years at sea before being assigned to the Kearsarge.

“Described by his fellow sailors as a garrulous sailor, he kept the crew entertained with his humorous and fantastical tales of past voyages when all other forms of amusement no longer brought pleasure to the rest of the crew,” says Schwenk. “Upon the ship's famed meeting with CSS Alabama at the Battle of Cherbourg on 19 June 1864, he and other Marines of the crew provided cover and assault fire from the ship’s topgallant forecastle.”

For his bravery and protection of his fellow crew members, the Marine Corps commended Young, says the registrar. (Seventeen members of the crew received the Medal of Honor for their valor during the battle with Alabama.) Young was in his mid-50s, an old man by the standard of the armed forces.

Schwenk says the museum received two diaries, not yet transcribed, a cudgel (it is unknown whether Young actually carried it aboard), discharge papers, a service record, letters and a muster roll. There is no known photograph of Young.

Broadside, with detail below, includes Young's name at top right, click to enlarge (George Costopulos Auctioneers)

A 2014 auction of items that belonged to Kearsarge Pvt. John J. McAleer included a fascinating hand-inscribed and decorated broadside listing the officers and crew of the famous warship. Young is listed among three Marine guards.

A Boston Journal newspaper article posted on Findagrave.com indicates Young died in 1872, age 62, in Portsmouth, N.H. He is reportedly buried at Walnut Street Cemetery in Brookline, near his native Boston. I asked Lisa Golden with the city for a photograph of his grave, but she has been unsuccessful thus far in locating it or obtaining more information about Young.

More than a century after his death, research leads to a black Civil War naval veteran finally receives a headstone in Tacoma, Wash.

Wreaths were placed near new headstone Saturday (Oakwood Hill Cemetery)

Updated Oct. 10

In life, David Franklin and David Phillips may have rubbed elbows at a Tacoma, Wash., post of the Grand Army of the Republic in which they were members. Custer Post No. 6 was a home away from home for those who served the Union during the Civil War -- a place where veterans shared food and drink and accounts of their harrowing experiences while they were younger.

Sketch of David Franklin (Alan Archambault)

In the hereafter, Franklin and Phillips lie within steps of each other. But while Phillips, a white man who served in the 4^th Minnesota, has a marked grave, the final resting spot of Franklin, Tacoma’s only black Civil War naval veteran, was topped only by grass.

That unfortunate situation was rectified this week with the installation of a marble Veterans Administration-approved headstone.

A dedication ceremony Saturday morning (Oct. 8) at Oakwood Hill Cemetery in Tacoma finally brought Franklin an honor he has long deserved.

The effort to recognize Franklin, who died in 1920 at age 79, was led by Loran Bures, Phillips’ second great-grandson. Bures, a member of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, the successor to the GAR, came across Franklin in 2017 while conducting research on veterans who lived in Pierce County, home to Tacoma.

The SUVCW’s mission includes researching GAR records, the registration of graves and Civil War memorials and monuments.

Bures (pronounced Burruss) came across a biographical card produced in 1939 during research by the Works Progress Administration into Civil War veterans in the area.

“It speaks volumes the information it doesn’t have,” Bures told the Civil War Picket this week.

The card does indicate Franklin died of heart disease on March 16, 1920, and was buried in the GAR section at Oakwood Hill.

But it had no information on any marker, the veteran’s military service and the fact that Franklin was black. While the GAR was open to all ethnicities, there were only three black sailors among the 2,000-5,000 Civil War veterans living in Washington, according to Bures, a 69-year-old retired librarian, archivist and researcher.

Bures came across Franklin’s death certificate and a National Park Service database that showed the man served as officers’ steward and cook on the USS Dawn. The steam-powered vessel took part in Federal blockades and captured several ships. Much of its service was on the James River in Virginia.

The USS Dawn’s most famous action came in May 1864 in the defense of Wilson’s Wharf in Virginia. The vessel’s guns and the Federal garrison made up of U.S. Colored Troops drove back the Confederate assault.

As a cook and steward, Franklin’s primary role would not have been combat, but it was common practice for a crew member to have a second duty station.

The USS Dawn was built in 1857. (Wikipedia)

At Wilson’s Wharf, “he most likely was helping bring powder and ammunition below deck to the three guns on the deck,” said Bures, adding there is no way to verify that.

Franklin is listed as an ordinary seaman in the NPS file.

Group does not know of living relatives

There are gaps in what’s known about Franklin, including when he moved to Washington and whether he ever married. His death certificate says he was widowed, but Bures said he has found no information about a spouse. The local SUVCW is asking any possible descendants or relatives to contact the organization.

It is known that Franklin was born in 1840. “He was born free in New York City to parents who were free people of color,” said Bures.

Franklin joined the Navy at age 23 in November 1863, midway through the Civil War. The NPS database lists him as being 5 foot 5 inches tall and working as a cook. He served on USS Dawn until near war’s end, mustering out in March 1865.

Bures believes the veteran came to Pierce County between 1885 and 1888. He is listed in a GAR roster for the latter year and a 1907 volume includes Franklin among 752 members (comrades) in the Custer post.

Records show that Franklin joined the Washington National Guard infantry as a cook in 1906.

Ensuring proper honors for veteran

Bures traveled to Oakwood Hill Cemetery several months ago to inspect Franklin’s grave.

He suspected it might be unmarked because of the WPA card and a Findagrave profile that had no photo of a headstone. (Researchers have been unable to find a photograph of Franklin. Bures' second great-grandfather, 1st Sgt. David Phillips, is buried at Tacoma Mausoleum, which adjoins the cemetery.)

Oakwood Hill verified the seaman was buried there and had not been exhumed, officials told the Picket .

Franklin’s resting place was a gap in a row of headstones for other GAR members. Bures and others put together verification information for the VA, including evidence of a Navy pension.

Franklin's graves was marked only by a flag (Loran Bures)

Bures would speculate on why Franklin’s grave received no marker. “There could be a lot of reasons for it.” Oakwood Hill Cemetery co-owner Corey Gaffney told the Picket he, too, did not know why a headstone was not set in 1920.

Gaffney, who purchased the business with his wife, Jennifer, in 2021, told theTacoma News-Tribune the cemetery was providing resources to ensure Franklin received proper honors.

The grave is among weathered headstones that appear not to have been cleaned in recent years. The businessman told the Picket that the couple is working to make improvements at the cemetery and funeral home and restore the site to "its former glory."

"We believe that in 3-5 years this property will be completely viable and unrecognizable to some. That’s our hope and our goal."

Gaffney told the Picket in an email after the ceremony that "the definition of integrity is doing the right thing when no one is looking. While we did have coverage of this event and dedication, there are countless other actions we’ve took for the benefit of this cemetery that have gone unnoticed.  We do not do things for accolades; more for knowing at the end of the day that we acted appropriately on behalf of those in our care that cannot do so anymore themselves."

Bures said there are other unmarked graves of Civil War veterans across the state.

“It is important they receive recognition for their service to the Union, as any veteran deserves proper recognition.”

The SUVC's Gov. Isaac Stevens Camp No. 1, in which Bures is an officer, led Saturday's headstone dedication. The ceremony included a wreath laying, remarks, a biography of Franklin and funeral honors performed by re-enactors.

Loran Bures stands on Franklin's grave before marker was placed; behind is a mausoleum. 

Mathew Brady's photographs captured the reality of the Civil War. A new gravesite memorial celebrates the diversity of his subjects

A partial view of the memorial depicts Brady in foreground (Congressional Cemetery)

A new memorial at his gravesite in Washington, D.C., celebrates pioneering Civil War photographer Mathew B. Brady’s legacy.

Photo historian Larry West spearheaded the effort to honor Brady, who died destitute in 1896 and was buried in Congressional Cemetery. The photographer is remembered for his depictions of famous and everyday Americans, and battlefield scenes that brought the horrors of war to American's doorsteps.

Matthew B. Brady

A dedication on Sept. 17 showcased life-size bronze statues of President Abraham Lincoln and civil rights figure Frederick Douglass – among famous Americans photographed by Brady -- a portrait on stone of Brady, a reproduction metal camera and 85 fired porcelains of images, most by the photographer and his associates.

“The memorial features Mathew, recognizing him as the entrepreneur, innovator, team leader and posing artist that he was,” West wrote the Picket in an email this week. 

While it does not include his famous scenes from the Antietam and Gettysburg battlefields and those of campsites, many of the porcelains depict people who were wartime figures.

Historians this year are marking Brady’s 200^th birthday, emphasizing his importance to the field of photojournalism.

“Brady’s photographs of Gettysburg caused a sensation when viewed by members of the public,” says Congressional Cemetery. “Americans were little used to scenes of war that before had only existed in imagination.

“The prior year, in 1862, Brady had shocked the public when he exhibited photographs of dead enemy soldiers, captured by associates Alexander Gardner and James M. Gibson, from the Battle of Antietam.”

Lincoln, Douglass and Anna Murray-Douglas (Congressional Cemetery)

Brady’s team took more than 10,000 photographs by war’s end. He had spent some $100,000 but the federal government initially declined to buy them. Brady declared bankruptcy and struggled financially for the rest of his life.

Eventually, the government purchased Brady's photographs for $25,000, providing him some financial relief. Fortunately, most are available on the Library of Congress website.

Upon his passing in 1896, veterans of the 7^th New York Infantry helped finance Brady's funeral and interment at Congressional Cemetery.

Sept. 17 dedication in southeast Washington (Congressional Cemetery)

"His photographs, and those he commissioned, had a tremendous impact on society at the time of the war, and continue to do so today," says the American Battlefield Trust.

West, a board member of Congressional Cemetery, designed and provided primary financial backing for the memorial.

“Celebrating Brady's outstanding artistic achievements, the memorial reflects the diversity of his subjects and the Washington, D.C. community,” a Facebook post says.

Congressional Cemetery, founded early in the 19^th century, has graves of Washington residents and numerous national figures.

It is the final resting place for about 600 Union service members and 100 Confederates.

“Generals lie next to privates, and brothers who fought on opposite sides rest only a few feet apart.”

Among those buried there are Alfred Pleasanton, a Union cavalry general, Maj. Gen. Andrew Humphreys and executed Lincoln conspirator David Herold.

Visitors can take a self-guided, Civil War-themed walking tour.

If he were to die, this Pennsylvania soldier wanted his family to know his fate. Monocacy battlefield in Maryland now has wounded private's ID tag

This metal disk was customized to provide info about Weigel (NPS photos)

Back in October, Matt Borders was on eBay, searching for anything connected to the 138^th Pennsylvania Infantry, a unit that was involved in extensive combat during the Civil War.

Borders, a park ranger at Monocacy National Battlefield near Frederick, Md., came across something remarkable -- a rare identification Civil War badge for sale. It bore the name of Pvt. Samuel M. Weigel, who fought with Company G of the 138^th at the July 9, 1864, Battle of Monocacy.

Civil War soldiers were afraid of dying in battle unidentified and being laid in an unmarked grave -- their loved ones not knowing their fate. They often would write their name on a piece of paper and attach it to their clothing. Better yet would be a metal disk, such as the one Weigel purchased from a vendor. He likely carried it during several campaigns, including Monocacy, where at age 24 he was seriously wounded.

Matt Borders

Borders spoke with others at the park about the find and whether it could help further tell the story of the battle in which outnumbered Federals delayed Confederates bent on taking Washington, D.C. By the time Jubal Early’s Rebel troops reached the capital’s outskirts, Union reinforcements had arrived.

“We looked to see if it was within the scope of the collection and it fits very nicely,” Jana Friesen McCabe, chief of interpretation at the park, told the Picket.

The National Park Service cannot make purchases on eBay, so the Monocacy National Battlefield Foundation stepped in. The group paid about $1,700 for the tag from a reputable seller on eBay and donated Weigel’s tag to the park, which announced the acquisition last week.

The "final stand" at Monocacy battlefield (NPS)

“It is amazing that after 157 years, this ID disk is returning to the battlefield,” said Andrew Banasik, superintendent of Monocacy National Battlefield, in the press release. “This small piece of metal is a tangible reminder of the price paid by so many to save Washington.”

Telling more stories of the everyman

The donation comes at a fortuitous time for the park.

“We are currently in the process of planning to redo our exhibits, and one of the things we really wanted to highlight and focus (on is) the individual stories of the soldier and the cost of the battle to soldiers and people in the community,” said Friesen McCabe. Among such items already in the park’s collection is a Bible struck by a bullet during the fighting.

The silver ID tag for Sgt. Nicholas G. Wilson (NPS photos)

The Union suffered about 1,300 casualties at Monocacy. The 138^th Pennsylvania, which engaged in some of the fiercest fighting, suffered nearly 70, according to its regimental history. Among the severely wounded were Weigel and Sgt. Nicholas G. Wilson, also of Company G. Wilson was shot in the right hand, losing two fingers.

The battlefield already had Wilson’s identification tag. The foundation did not assist with its acquisition.

While Weigel’s disk is believed to be made of copper alloy and customized from a mass-produced design, Wilson’s tag is silver and is in the shape of a shield. The reverse of Weigel's tag features an American stars and stripes shield and the words "AGAINST REBELLION."

“Before the United States military provided standard issue identification tags – often called ‘dog tags,’ -- soldiers had to find their own way to ensure their bodies could be identified,” the park says. “Because soldiers had to purchase these tags with their own money, there is no standardized style and no official record of how many soldiers had them.”

The men of Company G came from towns in Adams County about 10 miles north of Gettysburg, Pa., according to the Battlefield Back Stories blog. Wilson and Weigel were from the Bendersville farming community.

Wilson was a farmer and blacksmith before the conflict and served to its end, mustering out in June 1865 after being hospitalized in Baltimore and York, Pa. (He is in the photo at left, part of the Library of Congress' collection.)

He had an impressive career afterward, serving as superintendent at the national cemetery in Gettysburg for 15 years, on the local city council and school board and as a state representative for two years.

He died in 1907 at age 75, having worked for years to help develop the Gettysburg battlefield for visitors.

Samuel Meals Weigel’s story is not so well known, according to park officials. He was married to Martha Ann Harmon and they had two boys and two girls.

The retired carpenter died at age 82 in 1922 of intestinal nephritis, according to his death certificate, and was buried in Harrisburg.

Jana Friesen McCabe has served 20 years with the NPS

Park officials say they want to learn more about the private and any descendants. They do not have a photograph of the soldier.

“That is always the dream -- to make those connections and learn if the family has stories to pass down,” said Friesen McCabe. “You find a little piece of something and you have to dig for the other nuggets and threads associated with it.”

Regiment endured fierce fighting

The 138^th Pennsylvania was mustered in Harrisburg in 1862. While it missed the fighting at Gettysburg in July 1863, it saw heavy action and casualties at the Wilderness, Cold Harbor and other campaigns in Virginia.

At the November-December 1863 Battle of Mine Run in Orange County, Va., Wilson, shown in a later photo at left, survived a bizarre incident.

“During the engagement a rebel bullet ripped through his knapsack -- in which he had stored 40 rounds of ammunition. The bullet ignited those rounds, and his knapsack was blown right off his back,” says Battlefield Back Stories. “Wilson was otherwise unhurt, and lived to record the tale in a book of personal wartime sketches individually recorded by members of the Corporal Skelly G.A.R. Post 9, today preserved at the Adams County Historical Society.”

The regiment was assigned to the Army of Potomac’s VI Corps and took part in Grant’s Overland Campaign. An estimated 27 soldiers with the 138th died at the Wilderness.

In July 1864, the 138^th and several other battle-hardened regiments were rushed from Petersburg to Baltimore and by train to Monocacy to help intercept Confederate troops, says Borders, the park ranger. Early had invaded Maryland in a bold plan, and caught the North off-guard.

“They are part of the veteran soldiers who were brought in, says Borders, saying the other half of the Federal troops on site were green. “They are going to have the stiffest fighting along the Thomas Farm portion of the battlefield. They will turn to guard against the flank attack … that is attempting to roll up the Union line.”

By 5 p.m. on July 9, the much larger Confederate force had outstretched the Federal flanks. Having run out of artillery ammunition, troops are ordered by Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace (right) to leave the field and fall back toward Baltimore. While a tactical victory for the South, the battle saved Washington by buying time for Grant to rush men to defend the city.

The regimental history, which transposes the spelling of his name to Wiegel, does not detail Weigel’s wounds. A regimental muster roll spells his name as “Weigle,” says he enlisted in August 1862 and that he was absent following his wounding.

Dedication of the Pennsylvania monument in 1908 (NPS photo)

It is possible Weigel attended the November 1908 dedication of the Pennsylvania monument at Monocacy. The memorial recognizes the service of the 67^th, 87^th and 138^th regiments. About 200 survivors attended the event. (A modern view of the monument is below)

Are there any Weigel descendants?

It’s somewhat providential that Borders, who collects carte de visites, or small portraits of soldiers, came across Weigel’s ID tag, which includes the name Bendersville, his hometown, on the bottom.

Using his private eBay account, Borders every few weeks types in the names of Federal regiments that were at Monocacy and sees what comes up.

The ranger theorizes the artifact probably came from an estate sale to a collector before being offered by the seller on eBay, but officials at this early juncture don’t which descendants may have had it and why it was not kept.

“That is something we are actively working on,” he said.

Borders and Friesen McCabe say Weigel’s ID disk will help tell the story of the battle, its aftermath and medical care (the National Museum of Civil War Medicine is in Frederick).

Alan Duke, president of the Monocacy National Battlefield Foundation, told the Picket:

“The Foundation was very pleased to be able to purchase the ID tag for the Battlefield's museum, especially since it will fit in very nicely with an upcoming planned exhibit.”

Park officials have no firm timetable for the revamped exhibits, but they stress the Weigel tag will help highlight new stories.

“It is a tangible touchstone to talk about Samuel, his injuries, the medical care, survival,” says Friesen McCabe. “A lot of men survived their injuries but they are scarred for life.”

At the Smithsonian: Bullet-riddled tree stump, Sherman's campaign hat, Mosby's cavalry jacket -- and more

I paid a very brief visit last week to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. “The Price of Freedom: Americans at War” exhibit on the third floor includes some incredible Civil War artifacts. The following descriptions of items I photographed are based on the Smithsonian's online guide:

(Civil War Picket photos)

“Spotsylvania Stump”: On May 12, 1864, the combined fire of Union and Confederate guns near the "Bloody Angle" at the Battle of Spotsylvania managed to annihilate this oak tree, leaving a bullet-riddled stump. The same fury of bullets that cut down 2,000 combatants tore away the 22-inch tree trunk. Several conical bullets are still deeply embedded in the wood. Grant attacked Lee’s stout defenses at Spotsylvania repeatedly. The Union attack at the Mule Shoe faltered after 20 hours of explosive mayhem, which reduced the tree to a nub, surrounded by piles of bodies. 

Zouave uniform (below): 5^th New York Volunteer Infantry (Duryee’s Zouaves), 1861. It consists of a distinctive jacket, vest, sash, baggy trousers and fez. The Zouave uniform adopted on both sides by many volunteer units during the first year of the Civil War was based on that of the elite battalion of the French army, whose dashing appearance matched its fighting abilities.

Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman campaign hat: Officers wore many types of hats, more often non-regulation than regulation. The hat is made of gray felt and has a gold general officer's hat cord as prescribed in the 1858 regulations for general officers; also in keeping with the regulations is a gold-embroidered wreath, encircling the letters "U.S." embroidered in silver, on a black-velvet patch sewn onto the front of the crown.

John Singleton Mosby’s cavalry jacket and hat: This double-breasted wool shell jacket (left) is adorned with brass muffin buttons. The gray felt slouch hat is trimmed with grosgrain ribbon. This hat was worn by the Confederate officer when he was wounded by Federal cavalry in December 1864. The hat, left behind at a home in Virginia, was returned to Mosby -- also known as the "Gray Ghost" -- years later. He later gave it to the president.

Union infantry uniform: This wool fatigue jacket with a roll-down collar is matched with light blue Kersey cloth trousers. The set includes a shoulder belt, cartridge box, a percussion cap box, bayonet and canteen.

Confederate infantry uniform: Gray wool frock coat with black facings and gold-colored buttons. Black leather belt with brass CS belt plate. Leather cartridge box and bayonet scabbard. Buff slouch hat. Sky blue trousers.

Col. Vincent sword beneath Confederate shell jacket

Zouave uniform, Sherman hat, recruiting posters (click to enlarge)

Col. Strong Vincent’s sword: A Confederate shell jacket is a backdrop to this Model 1850 weapon used by the Federal officer at Gettysburg. The Union saw the value of securing a rocky outcropping called Little Round Top. Vincent seized the opportunity, taking the boulder and brandishing his wife’s riding crop as he yelled to his men, “Don’t give an inch.” As he uttered the words, a bullet tore through his thigh and lodged in his body. The line held, but Vincent was mortally wounded. He lingered for five days before succumbing to his wound.

Robert Toombs house in Georgia reopens: Here lived a charismatic, volatile, unreconstructed firebrand of the Confederacy

Property before renovation (Georgia Department of Natural Resources)

The home of Robert A. Toombs – lawyer, congressman, U.S. senator, slave owner, vocal secessionist, Confederate official and general, prominent figure in 19^th century Georgia politics and, perhaps most notably, an “unreconstructed” rebel -- has been repaired and renovated and reopens this week.

Beginning Tuesday, visitors can see the entire residence at Robert Toombs House State Historic Site in Washington, Ga., about 50 minutes east of Athens.

Problems with a leaky roof damaging plaster and other features closed the second floor in 2011 and the remainder was shuttered this past April. A new roof was installed and interior plaster was repaired and repainted, with work extending to the entablature at the front of the home.

Wilkes County officials are excited about the reopening, which comes right before the annual Christmas holiday tour of homes.

“In his era, the home was very elegant. He was a very wealthy man,” said Marcia Campbell, who works for Wilkes County, which took over operation of the site in 2009. The state owns the property.

(Georgia DNR)

Most visitors come mainly for the stately house itself, said Campbell. A foundation garden and camellias adorn the outside, while a walk through the daylight basement and two floors provide a window to upper-class life before and shortly after the Civil War.

Many original furniture pieces remain, including a sofa, two side chairs and an arm chair made by renowned craftsman John Belter.

The residence, described as plantation plain style with a Greek Revival front, is the crown jewel of Washington’s large inventory of antebellum homes. The local Chamber of Commerce has this tout: “Washington-Wilkes is the epitome of a Southern small town complete with charm, beauty and of course hospitality which is usually exhibited in the form of a tall glass of iced sweet tea on the veranda!”

(Library of Congress)

Those more interested in history and politics tend to focus on the legacy of the influential Toombs, celebrated during his life for his oratory and political skills and charm, but remembered also as a volatile figure who had unyielding convictions and sniped at critics. He became a key figure in the secession movement.

Toombs “had a my way or the highway” approach to the law, said Campbell, a thinking that might have applied to other matters.

The story of the controversial firebrand has no shortage of interesting anecdotes: He left the University of Georgia under a cloud, made a lot of money as a lawyer, resigned from the Confederate army after leading troops at Antietam, fled to Cuba and Europe after the war, and refused to become an American citizen once he returned to Washington. He helped craft the 1877 state constitution, which held for nearly 80 years but disenfranchised newly gained rights for African-Americans.

So there’s a lot to cover. “I don’t go deeply into anything until I know what that person is interested in,” said Campbell.

Roof work during restoration (Wilkes County)

Impressive law practice and residence

Toombs was born in Wilkes County in July 1810 to a prosperous family. “He was a native son. His father was a major in the Revolutionary Way and came to settle in Wilkes County on bounty land,” said Campbell.

At 14, he entered Franklin College (now the University of Georgia) but left when he got into trouble for indifference and conduct during a card-playing game. Toombs studied law in the North before returning to Wilkes County to begin his hometown practice.

Toombs was elected to the Georgia House when he was 27 and became an expert in fiscal matters. His political acumen and skills grew quickly.

(Library of Congress)

About that time, he purchased the home that he would own for nearly 50 years. The central core of the residence was built in 1791 by Dr. Joel Abbot. The current front of the home was constructed in 1810. Toombs installed its familiar façade in 1854, and added the east and west wings in the mid-1870s.

While his true passion may have been politics, Toombs excelled in his law practice. He earned a princely $30,000 to $50,000 a year in law practice, land speculation and cotton production (the family also owned a plantation in southwest Georgia).

The Toombs house presided over about 300 acres and he owned about 30 slaves to run the plantation and home, Campbell said. “He was not a cruel slaveholder at all.”

The bulk of the estate is long gone, and the house is surrounded by Victorian era and later dwellings. The Toombs site has a few outbuildings but they are not open to the public.

The daylight basement has a lower ceiling than the rest of the house and was built in a practical English style. The family ate in this cooler area during the summer.

(Georgia DNR)

Toombs’ law office is on the first floor, along with the main hall, two parlors, the formal dining room and a guest bedroom, which was informally named for his longtime friend Alexander Stephens, another famous Georgia politician who became vice president of the Confederacy.

The second floor has three bedrooms, one for a daughter (the couple had three children) and one each for Toombs and his wife Julia.

From moderate to secessionist

Beginning in 1844, the Toombses spent much of their time in Washington, D.C., where he served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.

He was a states’ rights advocate, and while he believed slavery should be allowed in newly acquired territories, he supported the Compromise of 1850. He eventually moved away from moderation and toward radicalization and Southern secession.

Toombs (right), other leaders (LOC)

"Defend yourselves, the enemy is at your door," he said on Senate floor on Jan. 24, 1860. Toombs was a captivating figure and powerful speaker, his visage topped by a shock of unruly hair.

Auburn University history department faculty member Jacob Clawson, who reviewed Mark Scroggins’ 2011 biography ofToombs, said the author “provides a rendering of both the public and private Toombs that paints the Georgian as a bullish politician whose blend of acerbic wit, fiery demeanor, and political tact aroused the full spectrum of emotions from his constituents and colleagues.”

An entry in the New Georgia Encyclopedia said the politician “helped to lead Georgia out of the Union on the eve of the Civil War … This was surprising; although Toombs was a slaveholding planter, he had dedicated the majority of his political career to preserving the Union.”

Toombs called for the move after the 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln. The senator telegraphed Georgia leaders, saying secession “should be thundered forth from the ballot-box by the united voice of Georgia."

1860 secession meeting in Charleston (LOC)

Campbell, who gives tours of the home, says Toombs and other landowners believed secession was their constitutional right, a view many historians challenge.

“When he realized it was inevitable, he joined forces with the Georgia citizenry and drafted the first Constitution of this new country,” said Campbell. “In his mind, it was a new country.”

Never sought a pardon

Toombs is in center in cartoon (Library of Congress)

Toombs had dreams of becoming the Confederacy’s president, but that fell to Jefferson Davis. He served for a time as secretary of state, but he became increasingly critical of Davis.

In later life, Toombs said of his rival: “He would have been a successful magazine man, but in the practical, everyday life he was utterly lost. There was never a moment during the war when Davis actually appreciated the situation. He was as jealous as a Barbary hen, and once started to have me arrested for ridiculing him.”

Toombs soon resigned the secretary of state post and joined the Army of Northern Virginia as a brigade commander of Georgia troops. The temperamental officer’s military experience was mostly undistinguished, though he did take a bullet in his left hand in September 1862 at Antietam while holding a position near Burnside Bridge.

While popular with his men, he quarreled with his superiors and resigned in March 1863 after he was passed over for promotion. He returned to Georgia. “He stayed out of the war until near the end, and he continually criticized Davis’ leadership and Confederate policies -- especially conscription, suspension of habeas corpus, and reliance upon credit to finance the war effort,” a biography in the Encyclopedia Brittanica says.

At the end of the war, Federal troops swept through the South, arresting top Confederate leaders.

When soldiers came to Wilkes County to arrest Toombs, “there was quite a stir in town. In local folklore it was frightening. He was given word and escaped, Campbell said.

The former general flew to Cuba, then Europe, before returning to the United States in 1867. He was “unreconstructed” to the end, declining to seek a pardon from Congress that might restore his citizenship. He resumed his law practice and contributed to the Georgia Democratic political scene, including effective work on the sweeping 1877 constitution that supplanted Reconstruction policies.

That document increased the power of the Legislature, brought about state taxes and its white supremacy portions put new burdens on African-Americans by imposing separate schools and a poll tax.

(Library of Congress)

Within a few years, Toombs’ age and years of heavy drinking were catching up with him.

“The year 1883 was traumatic for Toombs,” said the New Georgia Encyclopedia. “His lifelong friend and political comrade Alexander Stephens died suddenly after serving brief as Georgia’s governor. Within a few months his wife, Julia, suffering from a prolonged illness, also died.”

A depressed Toombs sank into self-neglect and he died on Dec. 15, 1885, age 75.

House needed TLC, a little more

Toombs’ favorite niece and her descendants owned the home until the state acquired it in 1973. It was operated as a state historic site until 2009, when severe budget woes left it in peril. The county’s commission chair, Campbell said, said “it would just have been devastating to lose the Toombs house.” It’s been managed by Wilkes County since.

Campbell has obtained several grants to help make repairs and upgrades to the facility, and state money has gone to much of the work, including challenging work to build a roof on an older design.

(Georgia DNR)

“The house was in need of a new roof even when the county took it on,” she said. Water caused all kinds of problems, including cracking plaster.

Campbell said floor joists and beams beneath the Alexander Stephens guest room had become weakened over time. “You felt like you were on a trampoline.” That area has been reinforced by state contractors.

The center of the residence includes a timeline of Toombs’ life. Visitors can use a self-guided pamphlet or take a guided tour when available.

While most people don’t get into the politics and controversy regarding secession, some do ask about the slaves who ran the plantation and root causes of the Civil War. The backdrop to this is the national debate and discussion about memorializing the Confederacy and its leaders.

But most are curious about the house’s history and belongings. “They are very interested in who built what. They are interested in what their eyes are seeing,” said Campbell.

The Robert Toombs house reopens on Nov. 21. It is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. It is closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. A holiday open house will be held from 10-4 on Dec. 9. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for children 6-12, and $1 for children 3-5.