Monday, July 16, 2012
'No ordinary seminar' about Antietam
About 70 history buffs will join some of the nation’s top historians at the Greater Chambersburg (Pa.) Chamber of Commerce’s next Civil War seminar. One of the largest groups of Antietam authorities ever assembled at a single seminar will be presenters at “Antietam: The Bloodiest Day” from July 25 to 29. • Article
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Charleston events Wednesday will mark crucial role of the 54th Massachusetts
Every year, Joseph McGill and his comrades return to the island where the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry secured its place in American history.
They’ll do so again Wednesday afternoon, traveling on three boats to Cummings Point on Morris Island, where the regiment assaulted Confederate Battery Wagner.
Although the July 18, 1863, lead assault by the 54th was not a tactical success – although the damaged fort guarding Charleston, S.C., held on for just two more months – it has come to stand for so much more.
“You have to look at the social aspect of it and what it meant to the African-American race and this nation,” said McGill, member of Company I, 54th Massachusetts Reenactment Regiment. “There were doubts on the ability of these men to actually be soldiers. These men did prove they could be soldiers.”
The 54th, made famous in the 1989 film “Glory,” is undoubtedly the most famous U.S. Colored Troops unit in the war.
“It helped to convince me African-Americans had a major role in the Civil War,” McGill, a former Fort Sumter park ranger, said of “Glory,” which starred Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington and Matthew Broderick.
Company I, with about 15 active members, on Wednesday will host members of other 54th re-enacting units from along the East Coast.
Battery Wagner – which guarded the southern approach to Charleston Harbor -- is long gone, a victim of erosion. The beachhead fort and remains of those killed in the assaults were washed out to sea.
About 280 of the 600 charging 54th soldiers were killed, wounded or captured. Col. Robert Gould Shaw was among those killed.
The boats, carrying re-enactors and spectators, will travel from three locations to Cummings Point. Participants will disembark for the 3:30 p.m. ceremony.
A wreath will be placed and members of the 54th will fire a salute.
McGill said owners of private boats are welcome to attend the event.
Also Wednesday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fort Moultrie, on the north end of the Charleston harbor, will sponsor events honoring the 54th’s service.
A special Junior Ranger program, which can be completed in less than an hour, will focus on the role of the 200,000 men in the U.S. Colored Troops. Children who complete the program will earn a special patch.
At 2 p.m., scholar and researcher Russell Horres will lead a free discussion in the visitor center.
“It is a fun way to engage them to learn about history,” Chief Ranger Dawn Davis said of the program for youth, geared to those between the ages of 4 and 12. Teens also can participate.
Davis told the Picket she and McGill’s group will soon start drawing up plans to mark Battery Wagner’s 150th anniversary next year.
“It’s an integral part to the story. It’s part of what we talk to on a daily basis,” she told the Picket.
The 54th’s bravery in Charleston inspired more African-Americans to join the Union army and Navy “It proved that they would stand up and fight their freedom,” Davis said.
McGill said African-Americans are playing a larger role than in the 1961-1965 Civil War centennial. Fifty years ago, African-Americans were engaged in a different fight: civil rights.
“There was not a whole time to commemorate a war that should have given us those rights,” said McGill.
Civil War scholarship has improved, he said, and colleges are telling the story that “Glory” helped along.
“We are a little more receptive to talking about this institution of slavery and not sugarcoating and falsifying information about it,” McGill said.
Some members of the 54th taking part in the Morris Island ceremony may try to get over to Fort Moultrie at some point Wednesday.
“We don’t just put these uniforms on for show,” McGill told the Picket. “We are obligated to make sure the story of these guys is told and not forgotten. That is not relegated to a footnote of history. What those guys did on the island was very important to not only African-American history, but to American history.”
For more information on the Morris Island event, and to learn whether any boat seats are available, contact Joe McGill at 843-408-7727. Illustration assault, courtesy of Library of Congress; Morris Island photo, courtesy of Joseph McGill; Fort Moultrie photo, courtesy of the National Park Service
• More information about Fort Moultrie
• History Channel's page on the 54th
They’ll do so again Wednesday afternoon, traveling on three boats to Cummings Point on Morris Island, where the regiment assaulted Confederate Battery Wagner. Although the July 18, 1863, lead assault by the 54th was not a tactical success – although the damaged fort guarding Charleston, S.C., held on for just two more months – it has come to stand for so much more.
“You have to look at the social aspect of it and what it meant to the African-American race and this nation,” said McGill, member of Company I, 54th Massachusetts Reenactment Regiment. “There were doubts on the ability of these men to actually be soldiers. These men did prove they could be soldiers.”
The 54th, made famous in the 1989 film “Glory,” is undoubtedly the most famous U.S. Colored Troops unit in the war.
“It helped to convince me African-Americans had a major role in the Civil War,” McGill, a former Fort Sumter park ranger, said of “Glory,” which starred Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington and Matthew Broderick.
Company I, with about 15 active members, on Wednesday will host members of other 54th re-enacting units from along the East Coast.Battery Wagner – which guarded the southern approach to Charleston Harbor -- is long gone, a victim of erosion. The beachhead fort and remains of those killed in the assaults were washed out to sea.
About 280 of the 600 charging 54th soldiers were killed, wounded or captured. Col. Robert Gould Shaw was among those killed.
The boats, carrying re-enactors and spectators, will travel from three locations to Cummings Point. Participants will disembark for the 3:30 p.m. ceremony.
A wreath will be placed and members of the 54th will fire a salute.
McGill said owners of private boats are welcome to attend the event.
Also Wednesday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fort Moultrie, on the north end of the Charleston harbor, will sponsor events honoring the 54th’s service.
A special Junior Ranger program, which can be completed in less than an hour, will focus on the role of the 200,000 men in the U.S. Colored Troops. Children who complete the program will earn a special patch.
At 2 p.m., scholar and researcher Russell Horres will lead a free discussion in the visitor center. “It is a fun way to engage them to learn about history,” Chief Ranger Dawn Davis said of the program for youth, geared to those between the ages of 4 and 12. Teens also can participate.
Davis told the Picket she and McGill’s group will soon start drawing up plans to mark Battery Wagner’s 150th anniversary next year.
“It’s an integral part to the story. It’s part of what we talk to on a daily basis,” she told the Picket.
The 54th’s bravery in Charleston inspired more African-Americans to join the Union army and Navy “It proved that they would stand up and fight their freedom,” Davis said.
McGill said African-Americans are playing a larger role than in the 1961-1965 Civil War centennial. Fifty years ago, African-Americans were engaged in a different fight: civil rights.
“There was not a whole time to commemorate a war that should have given us those rights,” said McGill.
Civil War scholarship has improved, he said, and colleges are telling the story that “Glory” helped along.“We are a little more receptive to talking about this institution of slavery and not sugarcoating and falsifying information about it,” McGill said.
Some members of the 54th taking part in the Morris Island ceremony may try to get over to Fort Moultrie at some point Wednesday.
“We don’t just put these uniforms on for show,” McGill told the Picket. “We are obligated to make sure the story of these guys is told and not forgotten. That is not relegated to a footnote of history. What those guys did on the island was very important to not only African-American history, but to American history.”
For more information on the Morris Island event, and to learn whether any boat seats are available, contact Joe McGill at 843-408-7727. Illustration assault, courtesy of Library of Congress; Morris Island photo, courtesy of Joseph McGill; Fort Moultrie photo, courtesy of the National Park Service
• More information about Fort Moultrie
• History Channel's page on the 54th
Friday, July 13, 2012
Petitions begin for Battle of Franklin stamp
A Battle of Franklin first-class postage stamp now has the support of Franklin city aldermen, but its likelihood of becoming a reality is anything but signed, sealed or delivered. Supporters will need all the help they can get. As many as 40,000 requests for stamps come to the postal service annually for consideration. • Article
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
B*ATL to unveil plans to restore monuments to two generals killed at Atlanta
A group leading the effort to restore monuments to two generals killed July 22, 1864, during the Battle of Atlanta is planning to unveil plans next week and move forward on necessary fund-raising.
Since it received last year a federal grant to begin the study, the Battle of Atlanta Commemoration Organization (B*ATL) has gleaned fascinating tidbits about the monuments' histories.
B*ATL chairman Henry Bryant said the group is finalizing plans through the city of Atlanta, which has oversight of the small parks. The group also must meet U.S. Interior Department and Georgia Department of Natural Resources requirements.
The aim is to restore the monuments so that they will appear to be "bookends" of the fierce fighting in East Atlanta, Kirkwood and other neighborhoods.
Bryant said the results of studies by an architectural firm and researchers will be unveiled during the eighth Battle of Atlanta (B*ATL) weeklong event, which culminates with living histories, lectures and tours on July 21. B*ATL will hold wreath-laying ceremonies at both markers.
B*ATL has provided about $12,000 of the nearly $30,000 needed to conduct a thorough study of the monuments' condition, their history and a restoration proposal.
Bryant estimates the restoration will cost between $150,000 and $200,000. B*ATL would like to see at least some work complete before July 2014, the 150th anniversary of the major battle.
“The first priority is to stabilize the monuments in some way," said Bryant. “They both need to be dried out, cleaned and both will be taken apart to one degree or another.”
Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson, a favorite of Union Gen. William T. Sherman, was killed when he rode into Confederate lines.
Less than a mile away, Maj. Gen. William H.T. Walker, a grizzled Confederate veteran nicknamed “Shot Pouch” for the numerous wounds he received during the Mexican-American War, was knocked out of his saddle by a sniper.
Monuments, each featuring a centerpiece cannon, went up years after the war in East Atlanta.
Time and, in one case, traffic have taken a toll on the memorials. They sit on dislodged or structurally weak foundations. The cannons have water damage and are rusting in places.
Research shows the McPherson monument was erected in 1877, earlier than what historians estimated, according to Bryant.
After McPherson's death, Union Brig. Gen. Andrew Hickenlooper rode to the mangled woods where McPherson died. There were no homes in the area at the time. Hickenlooper nailed a sign to the tree at the death site, which was photographed by Atlanta Campaign photographer George Barnard (left).
An early fence surrounding the monument featured gun barrels at the corners, said Bryant, but they disappeared. “From the very beginning there was problem with vandalism.”
The McPherson monument, now surrounded by homes, was moved in 1906. Eventually it was raised to make it more visible.
A search at the DeKalb County Courthouse indicate Sherman's name is still on the deed for the property used to build the monument, according to Bryant. “You can imagine my excitement when I saw Sherman’s name all over the deed.”
Sherman served as an officer in the Society of the Army of Tennessee after the war.
A bench, mosaic tiles, trees and flowers surround the fence and the monument, fittingly located on McPherson Avenue at Monument Avenue.
A close look shows the foundation is in rough shape and mortar has disintegrated. It’s as if the pedestal and cannon are floating by their own determination, Bryant said.
The name “MCPHERSON” is fading on the white granite. The cannon is not sealed and is rusted at the base.
The Walker monument to the east is more easily seen, but doesn’t get the protection the McPherson monument receives.
It sits on a busy road (Glenwood Avenue at Wilkinson Drive) near Interstate 20. Walker (left) was shot while leading his forces across the backwaters of Terry’s Millpond in Kirkwood and East Atlanta.
Federal snipers reported seeing a man on a large horse.
“He rode across the creek into the woods, checking things out," said Bryant. "When he rode back out of the woods, they shot and fired (at him) in the clearing.”
Motorists have hit the marker several times, knocking it off-kilter on its pedestal. The red granite monument’s steps and plaque are gone. At least two feet of water and gunk are in the cannon barrel. An inscription is difficult to read and the stone has turned orange from rust.
Bryant said the monument was dedicated in 1902. It used to rest on a nearby hill, to make it convenient for visitors, but was moved to its current, more accurate location, in the late 1930s.
B*ATL would like to move the monument to the center of a triangle and build steps to raise it, so it will match the appearance of the McPherson monument.
“We are trying to make it seem more monumental," said Bryant. “We want to tie them together more. They tell the same story.”
McPherson death site photo courtesy of Library of Congress
• B*ATL website on July events marking battle anniversary
Since it received last year a federal grant to begin the study, the Battle of Atlanta Commemoration Organization (B*ATL) has gleaned fascinating tidbits about the monuments' histories.B*ATL chairman Henry Bryant said the group is finalizing plans through the city of Atlanta, which has oversight of the small parks. The group also must meet U.S. Interior Department and Georgia Department of Natural Resources requirements.
The aim is to restore the monuments so that they will appear to be "bookends" of the fierce fighting in East Atlanta, Kirkwood and other neighborhoods.
Bryant said the results of studies by an architectural firm and researchers will be unveiled during the eighth Battle of Atlanta (B*ATL) weeklong event, which culminates with living histories, lectures and tours on July 21. B*ATL will hold wreath-laying ceremonies at both markers.
B*ATL has provided about $12,000 of the nearly $30,000 needed to conduct a thorough study of the monuments' condition, their history and a restoration proposal.
Bryant estimates the restoration will cost between $150,000 and $200,000. B*ATL would like to see at least some work complete before July 2014, the 150th anniversary of the major battle.“The first priority is to stabilize the monuments in some way," said Bryant. “They both need to be dried out, cleaned and both will be taken apart to one degree or another.”
Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson, a favorite of Union Gen. William T. Sherman, was killed when he rode into Confederate lines.
Less than a mile away, Maj. Gen. William H.T. Walker, a grizzled Confederate veteran nicknamed “Shot Pouch” for the numerous wounds he received during the Mexican-American War, was knocked out of his saddle by a sniper.
Monuments, each featuring a centerpiece cannon, went up years after the war in East Atlanta.
Time and, in one case, traffic have taken a toll on the memorials. They sit on dislodged or structurally weak foundations. The cannons have water damage and are rusting in places.
Research shows the McPherson monument was erected in 1877, earlier than what historians estimated, according to Bryant.
After McPherson's death, Union Brig. Gen. Andrew Hickenlooper rode to the mangled woods where McPherson died. There were no homes in the area at the time. Hickenlooper nailed a sign to the tree at the death site, which was photographed by Atlanta Campaign photographer George Barnard (left).An early fence surrounding the monument featured gun barrels at the corners, said Bryant, but they disappeared. “From the very beginning there was problem with vandalism.”
The McPherson monument, now surrounded by homes, was moved in 1906. Eventually it was raised to make it more visible.
A search at the DeKalb County Courthouse indicate Sherman's name is still on the deed for the property used to build the monument, according to Bryant. “You can imagine my excitement when I saw Sherman’s name all over the deed.”Sherman served as an officer in the Society of the Army of Tennessee after the war.
A bench, mosaic tiles, trees and flowers surround the fence and the monument, fittingly located on McPherson Avenue at Monument Avenue.
A close look shows the foundation is in rough shape and mortar has disintegrated. It’s as if the pedestal and cannon are floating by their own determination, Bryant said.
The name “MCPHERSON” is fading on the white granite. The cannon is not sealed and is rusted at the base.
The Walker monument to the east is more easily seen, but doesn’t get the protection the McPherson monument receives.
It sits on a busy road (Glenwood Avenue at Wilkinson Drive) near Interstate 20. Walker (left) was shot while leading his forces across the backwaters of Terry’s Millpond in Kirkwood and East Atlanta.Federal snipers reported seeing a man on a large horse.
“He rode across the creek into the woods, checking things out," said Bryant. "When he rode back out of the woods, they shot and fired (at him) in the clearing.”
Motorists have hit the marker several times, knocking it off-kilter on its pedestal. The red granite monument’s steps and plaque are gone. At least two feet of water and gunk are in the cannon barrel. An inscription is difficult to read and the stone has turned orange from rust.
Bryant said the monument was dedicated in 1902. It used to rest on a nearby hill, to make it convenient for visitors, but was moved to its current, more accurate location, in the late 1930s.B*ATL would like to move the monument to the center of a triangle and build steps to raise it, so it will match the appearance of the McPherson monument.
“We are trying to make it seem more monumental," said Bryant. “We want to tie them together more. They tell the same story.”
McPherson death site photo courtesy of Library of Congress
• B*ATL website on July events marking battle anniversary
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Twitter adds new dimension to re-enactment
Deliver the breaking news of the Battle of Gettysburg to the world in 140 characters or fewer. That's the goal of the first live team-tweeting effort by journalists covering this weekend's annual reenactment of the epic battle - or at least one pivotal skirmish. • Article
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