Brothers in arms: Monument to six Iowa siblings who served, died is set in place

Designer Will Thomson inspects granite stele (Courtesy of artist)

Tom Woodruff recalls the moment late last month when workers lowered into position a granite monument to six Iowa brothers who served and died during the Civil War.

“I have never seen such a reverent group of young men,” said Woodruff. “They would not have let a piece of dust get on that stone.”

The Littleton siblings – George, John, Kendall, Noah, Thomas and William – will forever be memorialized in Toolesboro, the small southeastern Iowa farm community where they grew up after their parents moved from Maryland and Ohio.

The monument, which includes the words, “The last full measure of devotion,” will be formally dedicated on the afternoon of June 14. Gov. Terry Branstad and two descendants are among those on the program.

Those involved assert the 11-foot-tall monument, made of Mesabi Black granite, may be the last Civil War monument ever erected. It will sit among cornfields and near the Toolesboro Indian mounds.

The story of the Littleton brothers had largely slipped into history until 2010, when the widow of one of Woodruff’s boyhood friends gave him a copy of a scrapbook. The scrapbook contained a clipping of a May 1907 article in the Columbus (Iowa) Gazette.

Detail from new monument (Courtesy of Will Thomson)

“The Lyttleton (sic) family were less fortunate. Of the six brothers, only one lived to return and he shortly died of disease contracted in the service.”

Woodruff, chairman of the Littleton Legacy Project, and fellow members of the Louisa County Historical Society launched research that eventually unearthed details about the Littletons.

They soon decided to build a monument to honor their sacrifice. Thus far, supporters have raised more than $200,000 of their $250,000 goal. That includes a $150,000 grant from the Iowa State Historical Society cultural affairs department.

Janie Blankenship, associate editor of VFW Magazine, told the Picket in 2014 that it is believed that with six deaths, the Littleton family had the most sons to die during an American war.

James and Martha Littleton moved to Louisa (Lew-I-zuh) County in about 1840, six years before Iowa became a state. The young Littleton brothers likely helped on a 200-acre farm.

The 1860 census that shows the family was listed as mulatto, which traditionally refers to a person with one white parent and one black parent. There's debate today on that point. Oral history within the Nicewanner family, as descendants of one of four Littleton sisters, states that James actually had Native American roots on one side. 

Only one of the Littleton brothers, John, had children, and that daughter died before having any of her own. James and Martha Littleton died before the war. So all the descendants come from four daughters.

(Courtesy of Will Thomson)

Here’s what is known about each of the brothers’ service records (thanks to the Iowa Gold Star Military Museum for much of the following information):

-- George Handy Littleton: George, 34, a cooper, volunteered from service from nearby New Boston, Ill., in March 1862. He is described as having brown eyes and dark hair and complexion. He was with Company B of the 65^th Illinois Infantry. Captured by Confederates at Harpers Ferry, W.Va., he was later paroled and discharged for disability in Chicago, according to official records, for disease. “We do not have the exact date or know where we died,” said Woodruff. The Columbus Gazette indicated George died soon after returning home, possibly in December 1862. His grave has not been found.

-- John Littleton: Enlisted in August 1862 with Company F of the 19^th Iowa Volunteer Infantry. He suffered a severe thigh injury during fighting at Prairie Grove, Arkansas, on Dec. 7, 1862. He died in Fayetteville, Ark., of wounds on December 18. It’s possible John, at least 31, may be buried among 800 unmarked graves at Fayetteville National Cemetery.

-- Kendall Littleton: Also of the 19^th Iowa, Kendall was killed in action on Dec. 7, 1862, at Prairie Grove, Ark. His remains were likely later moved to Fayetteville National Cemetery, marked as unknown. He was about 19 years old.

Grave of Noah Littleton (Springfield National Cemetery)

-- Noah Littleton: The youngest boy survived the fighting at Prairie Grove but drowned March 1, 1863, in the White River in southern Missouri. His remains were disinterred and he is buried at Springfield (Mo.) National Cemetery. He, too, served in the 19^th Iowa, Company F.

-- Thomas Littleton: A member of the 5^th Iowa, Company C, saw several battles and suffered a head wound at Iuka, Ms. He was taken prisoner in Chattanooga, Tenn., in November 1863. The private died of chronic diarrhea at Andersonville on June 16, 1864, and is buried at the national cemetery there.

-- William Littleton: A corporal with the 8^th Iowa, William was wounded at Shiloh in 1862 and died in December 1863 of diarrhea at Jefferson Barracks, Mo. He is buried at the national cemetery there.

Permelia Vanlaningham (Family)

Jake Shoppa’s great-great-great-great-grandmother was Permelia Vanlaningham, a sister of the soldiers. Shoppa, 37, of Grandview, said he and other relatives his age grew up knowing “almost nothing” about the men.

Relatives joined the public awareness and fundraising effort for the monument. Shoppa touts small-town values in Louisa County, which has fewer than 12,000 residents.

He will deliver remarks on the plaza.

“I will talk about how much this has inspired me and how proud (I am) to be in a family that can trace back to the Civil War … the sacrifice and service by these men,” Shoppa said. “It has been a completely humbling experience.”

Historical society President Norma McCormac said people will be bused on June 14 from Wapello to the site, where they will take in the 26-ton monument, flags, six benches and six trees. The donated native red oaks will be next to white stones bearing each soldier’s name.

“It is going to be a beautiful monument, of course, and the setting is just wonderful,” said McCormac.

Designer Will Thomson was among those on hand when the monument was set into place in late April. He said he reworked the main drawing of the brothers charging into combat a few times. “You have to be satisfied with yourself.”

Thomson acknowledged the current debate, particularly in the South, about monuments with Civil War themes. He said he focused on honoring the sacrifice and the dedication of the Littletons, rather than glorifying war.

(Courtesy of Will Thomson)

Woodruff will be busy the next few weeks as the site work is completed. Once it is completed, the county will own and maintain the memorial. Two donors to the project will help assure funds are available for maintenance and research on other subjects. And officials hope the monument will draw visitors to Louisa County. Being next to the Hopewell Indian mounds is a bonus.

Dedication day and an accompanying reception will be the culmination of work performed by a number of volunteers.

“The day that I see the family all there together and when they give acceptance of the project … that is the day I will look at that family and understand what it is all about,” Woodruff said.

19-foot statue hoisted back into place

A historic statue has been returned to a Civil War memorial in Wichita, Kan., after undergoing a nearly three-year renovation in Missouri. The Wichita Eagle reports that a crane hoisted the statute, named “Liberty,” into place Wednesday. It occupies the pinnacle of the Soldiers and Sailors Civil War Monument outside the Sedgwick County Historic Courthouse. • Article

Huge painting of Gettysburg gets new home, more visitors at Spartanburg, S.C., library

James Walker/Courtesy of Johnson Collection, Spartanburg, S.C.

A massive painting depicting Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg has made a short march in downtown Spartanburg, S.C., to the county library headquarters, where more people will be able to take in all of its exacting detail.

Over the weekend, James Walker’s “The Battle of Gettysburg: Repulse of Longstreet’s Assault, July 3, 1863” was taken out of its frame at the Advance America corporate headquarters and transported a couple blocks to Spartanburg County Public Libraries, where it will be unveiled next month as part of the library headquarters’ new programming spaces.

For 12 years, the painting – a staggering 7 1/2-feet high by 20-feet wide -- was displayed in the corporate lobby, where visitors had to be buzzed in. (Click painting to enlarge)

Philanthropists Susu and George Dean Johnson Jr., who bought the panoramic work in 2003 from a Mobile, Ala., family, were “haunted” by the fact that more Spartanburg residents could not enjoy it, said Lynne Blackman, public relations coordinator for the Johnson Collection. The collection includes more than 1,200 works of fine art relating to the American South.

“The entire purpose is for it to be stewarded and shared,” Blackman told the Picket on Monday.

Blackman said nine professionals carefully moved Walker's titanic creation, not an easy task given its weight -- with frame, an estimated 2,000 pounds. The gilded frame, which features rifles and cannons, was disassembled. An expert checked the integrity of the painting, which was conserved after its purchase.

“It is in excellent shape,” Blackman told the Picket. She likened the move to a “choreographed ballet.”

The painting showing Pickett’s Charge will be on loan to the library system, where about 500,000 annual visitors can see it. County librarian Todd Stephens, in a YouTube video about the move, said the work will be in a recessed upper-floor niche and serve as a fascinating backdrop to lectures, documentary viewings and other programming.

A public unveiling is set for 7 p.m. on May 16.

J.B. Bachelder

The English-born Walker was known for his military art, often large in scale. For Gettysburg, he worked with artist and historian John Badger Bachelder. The oil painting, after it debuted in Boston in 1870, traveled around much of the country, providing education and entertainment in the days before movies.

Johnson Collection curator Erin Corrales-Diaz said patrons would buy an admission ticket and have an opportunity to buy small-scale prints of the painting and a highly detailed key showing key battle figures and moments.

In another video, history Prof. Melissa Walker of Converse College said it is astounding how Walker’s painting captures the landscape at Gettysburg.

“It is a mile of cornfield across which these soldiers were scattered,” she said. “You can really get a sense of the immensity of the battlefield and the horror of what happened there when you stand there on what many people have called consecrated ground. And you get that sense in this painting, as well.”

In a press release about the relocation, officials said the painting will provide a wealth of information about Gettysburg. (While Gen. James Longstreet was born in South Carolina, none of the Palmetto State’s troops took part in this charge, though they were elsewhere in the battle).

"Walker’s grand canvas captures the dramatic conclusion of the three-day battle, which marked a turning point in the war’s tide. Bachelder’s meticulous research and Walker’s precise technical skill combined to produce an epic visual record of the event, including regimental positions, combat vignettes, Union and Confederate soldiers, noble steeds, victory and defeat.”

For a painting so huge, visitors will be drawn to details, including advancing and surrendering troops, the wounded and dying, plus various accoutrements, from caps to strewn knapsacks. Veterans would often talk about the painting’s accuracy, officials said.

Lewis Armistead

“The monumentality of the painting allows the viewer to become immersed in the scene, yet the detailed vignettes such as Confederate General Armistead handing an aide his pocket watch to give to Union General (Winfield Scott) Hancock, provide a spotlight focus that makes the painting more tangible and accessible,” Corrales-Diaz said in the statement. Armistead was mortally wounded in the attack.

While Walker’s work is not necessarily Southern, the Johnson Collection has other works, including Henry Mosler’s painting “The Lost Cause,” depicting a sorrowful soldier returning to a deserted log cabin.

The free May 16 program at the library's new Gettysburg Room will include period music and the portrayal of George Pickett, Hancock and two privates, one Federal, the other Rebel. The Johnson Collection website includes an audio overview of the painting.

18 burial trenches at Salisbury National Cemetery in N.C. bespeak war's misery

Burial trenches are in open area to right of monuments (Picket photos)

Unlike at Camp Sumter (Andersonville) in Georgia, Union troops held at Salisbury Prison in North Carolina had no Dorence Atwater to record the names and number of fallen comrades.

When conditions in the overcrowded stockade reached a crisis stage, Confederate officials resorted to burial trenches – an estimated 18 – to hold the dead. Bodies were placed above one another in 240-foot lines; there were no markers and few coffins.

While initial Army death estimates ranged above 11,000, the National Park Service now maintains about 3,700 men died between October 1864 and February 1865. No one knows for certain.

On Saturday afternoon, I got off Interstate 85 and made a brief visit to the bucolic site southeast of downtown. Save one car, I was the only visitor to this portion of Salisbury National Cemetery on a fine spring day, a light breeze barely rustling leaves.

The cemetery has three monuments – for the unknown dead and men from Maine and Pennsylvania. Just beyond the Maine and taller monument to the unknown is an open patch of grass above the burial trenches. It’s a sobering sight.

The Keystone State has an iron placard with a title that speaks to the suffering: “Many Pennsylvania Soldiers Are Buried Here.”

I was taken by the eloquence of the panel’s message, including a reminder that the 1910 monument was erected in memory of the dead and “not as a commemoration of victory.”

Most of the individual gravestones are for unknown soldiers. Medal of Honor recipient Lorenzo Deming is among those who died at Salisbury.

The prison opened in October 1861 on the site of an old cotton factory. It was first intended to hold Confederates who had committed offenses, but it was quickly switched to hold Union troops. By the end of October 1864, the population had more than doubled to 10,000 on a site originally built for 2,500.

Description of the 18 burial trenches

View of prison, made 20 years later (Wikipedia, public domain)

Adequate shelter, rations and sanitation quickly evaporated.

“The prison quartered prisoners in every available space,” the NPS writes. “Those without shelter dug burrows in an attempt to stay warm and dry. Rations and potable water were scarce. Adding to the poor conditions was an unusually cold and wet winter. Disease and starvation began to claim lives, and all buildings within the stockade were converted to hospitals to care for the sick.

The trench graves were dug in a cornfield west of the prison. About 200 Union troops died in a November 1864 mass escape.

Maine monument (left) and one for unknown dead

With a death rate hovering near 28% in the camp’s last several months, it’s no surprise Federal forces burned the site in April 1865. (The death rate was much lower during much of the conflict). The cemetery opened in 1874.
 
NCpedia writes: “The most painful period for the Salisbury prisoners was from October 1864 until their release in February 1865. Accounts from POW diaries indicate that the prisoners took in about 1,600 calories per day, whereas 2,000 calories was considered the minimum for survival under the adverse conditions that existed at Salisbury. It is not surprising that diarrhea was the most common disease as well as the most deadly, due in large part to the overcrowding and unsanitary conditions.”

Salisbury’s commandant was acquitted of war crimes.

Peaceful scene of Salisbury prison life (Library of Congress)

Harriet Tubman: Abolitionist and Union spy

With the Treasury Department announcing Wednesday that Harriet Tubman will replace President Andrew Jackson on the front of the $20 bill, the Washington Post reports that it is noteworthy that her legacy extends beyond her extensive contributions to the abolition movement and into her work as a Union spy who oversaw a Special Operations unit of sorts, according to numerous accounts. • Article