My last Civil War trip...

...included a stop at the White House...



...and this is the person who makes all my Civil War trips possible, the lovely and talented Carol.

Justus Wellington: A soldier's story

As mentioned in my first post below, Wellington was killed at Antietam on Sept. 17, 1862. He was a private in the 15th Massachusetts, one of the most active Union regiments during the Civil War. Before Antietam, the 15th fought in the Peninsula Campaign and in a little battle near Leesburg, Va., in October 1861. The Battle of Ball's Bluff was a black mark for the North during the war. There weren't many casualties on either side, but the Southern victory shocked the North. One of President Lincoln's closest friends, Col. Edward Baker (right), was killed at Ball's Bluff, and many Union soldiers drowned, their bodies floating down the river to Washington. The battle was fought on bluffs on the Virginia side of the Potomac River. Justus and many members of the 15th were forced to swim the river to the Maryland side under fire from Confederate forces.

Justus' parents filed for his pension after the war. I found the pension files in the National Archives. According to his sister Nancy's affidavit, Justus "had some money ready to send before the battle but lost everything (as he) swam the Potomac to save his life" during the Battle of Ball's Bluff. Here's where Justus swam across the river.

Justus, a shoemaker from Brookfield, Mass., was 24 years, 8 months and 4 days old when he was killed.

Antietam monuments

Unlike Gettysburg, Antietam is perhaps the most pristine of Civil War battlefields. If a Civil War soldier were to visit Antietam today, he would find it fairly close to what it looked like in 1862. And unlike Gettysburg, there's not a lot of monument clutter. Here are a few of my favorite Antietam monuments. (All photos taken with my cellphone camera.) For more on Antietam monuments, check out Stephen Recker's excellent Web site.

Antietam: My favorite Civil War battlefield

I visit Antietam battlefield at least once a year. It's a haul traveling from Texas, but my folks conveniently live in Pittsburgh, about 3 1/2 hours from the battlefield. A recent trip to Sharpsburg was special. I collect Civil War photographs -- ambrotypes and tintypes of soldiers I am lucky enough to have identified. One soldier, Justus Collins Wellington (at left) of the 15th Massachusetts, was killed in the West Woods on Sept. 17, 1862. I took the ambrotype I own of Justus back to the battlefield and put his picture next to his name on the 15th Massachusetts monument (below). Probably the last time ol' Justus will get to visit the battlefield again. Don't know where his grave is -- I searched in the national cemetery in Sharpsburg. He may have been buried on the northwest side of the Mary Locher cabin at the Antietam (bottom). Not sure if his folks had his body shipped back to West Brookfield, Mass., or not. There's an excellent Web site on the 15th Massachusetts that has information supplied by yours truly. Here's the link.