Five neat soldier discoveries at the National Archives

A trip to the National Archives in Washington is often like a trip to Las Vegas. You "bet" big, hoping the soldiers' pension files you pull during a two-day stay have an outstanding payoff, perhaps a letter from a soldier documenting his battle experience or a note from father to son about army life in the Deep South. Your time is limited -- the Archives is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the week --  so you want to make the most of your stay. In the end, it's often a crap shoot, with some files revealing little to nothing about a soldier's war experience or post-war life. A recent research trip to the massive building not far from the White House yielded lots of great info. Here are five cool things I found:

1. AN AMPUTEE'S TINTYPE IMAGE

A private in the 20th Connecticut from Cheshire, Jesse Rice suffered the amputation of his right arm after he was shot at the Battle of Bentonville (N.C.) on March 19, 1865, in the last stages of the war. "His most serious difficulty at the present time," a doctor noted in Rice's pension claim, "consists of a severe form of nervous irritability produced by the condition of the stump of the right arm."

2. THREE-PAGE LETTER IN GERMAN

Four days before he was wounded at the siege of Petersburg (Va.) on August 16, 1864, 20-year-old August Freitag wrote a letter in German to his parents in Collinsville, Conn. “One must always pay attention and make sure that the ink jar is not taken out of his hand by a bombshell,” he complained, “because, large or small, the balls are whistling through here day and night.” He died of his wounds on August 26 at Fortress Monroe, Virginia, only nine months after Henry and Rosa Freitag went with their son to Hartford for his enlistment in the 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery. 

3. ENVELOPE ADDRESSED TO A FATHER

While camped near steamy New Orleans with his 12th Connecticut comrades, 19-year-old Private Howard Hale delighted in writing long letters to his father, who lived 1,500 miles away in Collinsville, Conn., and missed his oldest son desperately. Howard sent $35 home  to his father in this envelope. On April 13, 1863, Hale was mortally wounded in the abdomen at the Battle of Fort Bisland (La.) and died two days later.

4. EVIDENCE OF A PRIVATE'S PAIN

On May 2, 1863, Private Michael McMahon, an Irish-born soldier in the 14th Connecticut, was wounded in the left side at the Battle of Chancellorsville (Va.) and hospitalized for 10 months. In an application for a pension, it was also noted that he was shot in the belt plate, resulting in a rupture that apparently plagued him the rest of his life. 

5. A SOLDIER'S SIGNATURE

Milo Freeland was a private in the 54th Massachusetts, the famed black regiment whose experience was brilliantly told in the movie "Glory." After the war, he moved with his wife and children from Massachusetts to East Canaan, Conn., where he died of pneumonia in 1883. Believed to be the first black soldier to enlist in the Union army, he was only 43.

Cedar Creek (Va.) battlefield: Belgian-owned quarry operation threatens historic Belle Grove Plantation house

Click here for battlefield panoramas from Antietam, Cedar Mountain, Chickamauga, Gettysburg, Harris Farm, Manassas, Malvern Hill, Salem Church,  Spotsylvania Courthouse and more.

Union veterans gathered for a reunion at the Belle Grove Plantation in 1883. 
(PHOTO: United States Military History Institute, Carlisle Barracks, Pa. via National Park Service)

Union General Philip Sheridan used the Belle Grove manor house as a headquarters.

On Oct. 19, 1864, the Union and Rebel armies clashed near the Belle Grove mansion during the Battle of Cedar Creek, resulting in more than 8,000 casualties. Confederate General Stephen Ramseur, mortally wounded by a bullet through the lungs during the battle, was visited on his deathbed in the mansion by George Custer and other Union soldiers who attended West Point with the 27-year-old North Carolinian.  "Bear this message to my precious wife," said Ramseur, who shortly before the battle received word that Nellie Ramseur had given birth to the couple's first child, "I die a Christian and hope to meet her in heaven." 

Union General Philip Sheridan, who famously rushed down the Valley Pike from nearby Winchester, Va., and rallied his troops at Cedar Creek, used the Belle Grove mansion for his headquarters during the Shenandoah Valley campaign.  

But despite death and destruction so near, the 218-year-old manor house survived the Civil War surprisingly unscathed.  Today, however, the property faces a far different, and perhaps far greater, threat. Expansion of a Belgian-owned limestone quarry about a half-mile from the Belle Grove mansion threatens the core of the battlefield and the house itself. Last Wednesday, a caretaker at Belle Grove told me that he worries what blasting at the quarry, often felt more than a mile away, will do to the foundation of the house, which ironically was made from limestone quarried on the property. "That company," he said, "doesn't care about American history."

Unfortunately, there are plenty of examples along the historic Valley Pike of Americans not caring about their own history. The Kernstown battlefield, 10 miles north of the Cedar Creek, is bordered by a hodge-podge of business development and housing. Three miles south of Cedar Creek, Hupp's Hill, site of a large Union encampment and earthworks, sits across the road from a supermarket and just down the road from a sea of housing in Strasburg, Va.

Throughout Virginia, there are plenty of other examples of the destruction of Civil War history. The site of the Third Battle of Winchester, despite preservation efforts by the Civil War Trust and others, is so carved up by development that it's difficult to comprehend what happened there on Sept. 19, 1864. Beaver Dam Creek, Fair Oaks, Mechanicsville -- all those battlefields are mostly destroyed. And only 2 1/2 months ago, the historically significant farm house on the Harris Farm battlefield in Spotsylvania County (see my post here) was demolished to make way for another McMansion.


        Nearly 32,000 Union soldiers camped in fields surrounding Belle Grove mansion.
                              (Click at upper right for full-screen interactive panorama.)

Beautiful, rolling farmland on the Cedar Creek battlefield.

Union soldiers camped in this field before the Battle of Cedar Creek on Oct. 19, 1864.

Don't miss an excellent Civil War museum in Winchester, Va.

A Yankee soldier gave Jefferson Davis a piece of his mind. 

Henry Powell, a 15-year-old Union soldier, scrawled his alias, "Henry Jones," 
on the second-floor courthouse wall. 

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When two Union soldiers scrawled on the wall of the second floor of the Frederick County Courthouse in Winchester, Va.,  they probably didn't expect visitors there 150 years later would stare at their handiwork. One of the Yankees even took a potshot at his arch-enemy, the president of the Confederacy. "To Jeff Davis," the unknown soldier etched on the wall, "may he be set afloat on a boat without compass or rudder then that any contents be swallowed by a shark by a whale whale in the devils belly and the devil in hell the gates locked the key lost and further may he be put in the north west corner with a south east wind blowing ashes in his eyes for all eternity." Punctuation and grammar weren't that soldier's strong suit, but you get the idea.

More soldier etchings, as well as an impressive collection of Civil War artillery, may also be found on the second floor of the red-brick building, which was used as a prison and a hospital during the Civil War. Today, it's home to the outstanding Old Court House Civil War Museum on Loudoun Street. Much of the Civil War collection, which also includes muskets, bullets, uniforms, buttons, grenades and more, was provided by long-time collector Harry Ridgeway, a Winchester resident and founder of the museum, who sells Civil War artifacts on his excellent web site. (An aside: One my fondest memories is a visit to Harry's Winchester house more than a decade ago. A longtime relic hunter, he has an amazing Civil War collection.)

Even though I only had time for a 30-minute visit, the $5 museum fee was well worth it. I especially enjoyed the large collection of massive Union artillery shells, most of them deactivated (I'm kidding), and the large collection of used and new books for sale in the gift shop on the first floor. Although the old courthouse was used as a hospital for both armies, I couldn't find any blood on the beautiful floor boards, which are original. Perhaps I wasn't looking hard enough. Maybe next time.

During the Civil War, the Frederick County Courthouse in Winchester, Va, was used as a 
prison and hospital.  After battles in the area, dead and wounded soldiers were
 placed on the building's porch.

                                   A judge's view of the first floor of the old courthouse.
                (CLICK ON IMAGE FOR FULL-SCREEN INTERACTIVE PANORAMA.)

Smoothbore artillery shells. Look but don't touch!

This huge smoothbore projectile was meant to be fired from the Dictator, the largest Union mortar.

The massive shells in the front row were used in fort guns. 

A pair of rifled Confederate artillery shells.

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Battle of Kernstown, Virginia interactive panoramas

            Pritchard Hill: Union artillery was positioned here during both Kernstown battle                            (CLICK ON IMAGE FOR FULL-SCREEN INTERACTIVE PANORAMA.)

Two battles were fought at Kernstown, Va. -- a Union victory on March 23, 1862, and a defeat on July 24, 1864. The day after First Kernstown, considered Stonewall Jackson's only loss as commander, the Rebel general wrote his wife: "Our men fought bravely, but the enemy repulsed me. Many valuable lives were lost. Our God was my shield. His protecting care is an additional cause for gratitude." The Union commander at First Kernstown, Colonel Nathan Kimball, was the only field commander during the Civil War to defeat Robert E. Lee (Cheat Mountain in West Virginia) and Jackson.

If you count the battle preservationists have fought to protect the old Pritchard-Grim farm, make it three battles at Kernstown. Last Wednesday afternoon, after a frustrating attempt to understand the Third Battle of Winchester, I headed south down the Old Valley Pike to Kernstown, a battlefield bordered by housing subdivisions, a Better Beer Store, a business park, a nail salon and other urban schlock. Kernstown was technically closed, but I talked my way onto the field, took photos and walked alone on the chilly, overcast afternoon to the top of Pritchard Hill, from which Union artillery shelled the Rebs during both battles. If you look hard enough, you could even see where the Rebels were positioned along the Valley Pike. Just look for the car dealership.

                Stonewall Jackson suffered his only defeat at First Kernstown. Here's a view 
                   of the back and front (below) of the Pritchard House, used as a hospital
                                  during both battles, and the surrounding landscape. 
                 (CLICK ON IMAGES FOR FULL-SCREEN INTERACTIVE PANORAMA.)

Third Battle of Winchester: Where a Connecticut Indian died

The old Taylor Hotel on Loudoun Street in Winchester, Va., was a hospital for
 both armies during the Civil War.

Today, the old hotel is home for a Cajun restaurant. There are no visible signs
 of its use during the Civil War.

I think I lost the waitress when I said, "I'm researching a soldier who died in this restaurant." She smiled weakly, rolled her eyes and asked if I'd like something to drink. I was in Winchester, Va,, on Wednesday afternoon, trying, and ultimately failing, to understand what happened to the 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery at the Third Battle of Winchester. Much of the battlefield is lost in urban sprawl, a chunk behind a local high school and slivers by a mall and alongside the busy Berryville Pike. After a frustrating two-hour adventure. I headed to the Old Town section of Winchester for lunch at the old Taylor Hotel on Loudoun Street. During the Civil War, the hotel was used as a hospital for both armies. Today, after narrowly escaping the wrecking ball and undergoing a massive restoration, the building houses a restaurant that serves pretty decent Cajun food. (I highly recommend the excellent steak bites.)

William Cogswell, a lieutenant in the
 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery, was
 mortally wounded at the
Third Battle of Winchester.
(Photo: Cornwall Historical Society)

On Sept. 19, 1864, casualties from the Heavies were taken to the Taylor Hotel, not exactly a pleasant prospect for the building landlord, “Strange to say,” a private in the regiment noted, “[he] did not seem to be at all pleased by the sudden accession to his guests.” Among the wounded was a 25-year lieutenant named William Cogswell, a part-Schaghticoke Indian from Cornwall, Conn., who overcame prejudice to become one of the regiment's more respected soldiers.

Severely wounded when a Rebel artillery shell burst among Yankee soldiers, Cogswell was transported to a field hospital on the west side of Opequon Creek before he was taken to the Taylor Hotel hospital with other injured from the regiment, After his left leg was amputated above the knee, he died at the hotel hospital on Oct. 7, 1864, 19 days after he was wounded.

“No one who knew him would object to serve with him as a soldier,” a correspondent to the Winsted (Conn.) Herald wrote after Cogswell's death. “…Many an idle hour in camp was beguiled of its tediousness by his ready wit, while his long yarns would do credit to any sailor. A little Indian blood is not considered bad for fun or fighting.”

Cogswell’s body was returned to Connecticut, and on November 21, 1864, his remains were laid to rest in North Cornwall Cemetery before “a large concourse of citizens who paid the dead soldier every respect.”

Sources:

The Winsted Herald, Sept. 30, 1864
Hartford Daily Courant, Dec. 3, 1864

A major chunk of the Third Battle of Winchester may be found behind a high school. The land has been preserved by the Civil War Trust. (Click on image for full-screen interactive panorama.)

Union troops marched down the Berryville Pike to attack Jubal Early's Rebels 
during the Third Battle of Winchester.

'Hidden' Cedar Creek: 8th Vermont's suicidal mission

                                       The 8th Vermont made its stand on this ground.
                             (Click at upper right for full-screen interactive panorama.)

The 8th Vermont monument , funded by a former private in the regiment, was dedicated in 1885.

The monument marks the area where three 8th Vermont color-bearers were killed.

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On a foggy morning at the Battle of Cedar Creek (Va.), U.S. Army brass ordered Colonel Stephen Thomas' brigade to do the impossible: delay an overwhelming, surprise Rebel attack on the left of the Union line until a defensive line could be deployed. Thomas' 1,500-man brigade included the 12th Connecticut, 160th New York, 47th Pennsylvania and 8th Vermont.

The result of the opening phase of the battle on Oct. 19, 1864, was predictable -- Thomas' brigade was crushed, suffering 70 percent casualties (1,050 men). But its effort indeed slowed the Rebel advance for nearly 30 minutes. In brutal, often hand-to-hand, fighting, the 8th Vermont defended a deep ravine and stretch of woods, suffering 110 casualties out of 164 men engaged. Three of its color-bearers were killed.

According to the 8th Vermont regimental history:

Men seemed more like demons than human beings, as they struck fiercely at each other with clubbed muskets and bayonets. A rebel of powerful build, but short in stature, attempted to bayonet Corporal [Alfred] Worden of the color-guard. Worden, a tall, sinewy man, who had no bayonet on his musket, parried his enemy's thrusts until some one, I think Sergt. [Henry] Brown, shot the rebel dead. A rebel soldier then levelled his musket and shot Corporal [John] Petre, who held the colors, in the thigh, -- a terrible wound, from which he died that night. He cried out: " Boys, leave me ; take care of yourselves and the flag ! "

But in that vortex of hell men did not forget the colors ; and as Petre fell and crawled away to die, they were instantly seized and borne aloft by Corporal [Lyman] Perham, and were as quickly demanded again, by a rebel who eagerly attempted to grasp them; but Sergt. [Ethan] Shores of the guard placed his musket at the man's breast and fired, instantly killing him. But now another flash, and a cruel bullet from the dead rebel's companion killed Corporal Perham, and the colors fall to the earth. Once more, amid terrific yells, the colors went up, this time held by Corporal [George] Blanchard ; — and the carnage went on. (Click on links for bios of 8th Vermont soldiers.)

Until the property was transferred to the National Park Service in 2012, the site where the 8th Vermont made its heroic stand was on private land and rarely seen by the public. I had no idea it was possible to visit there until a caretaker at the Belle Grove plantation house, General Philip Sheridan's headquarters during the Battle of Cedar Creek, suggested I check with a ranger at park headquarters along the Valley Pike to arrange to see the ground. And so last Wednesday afternoon, I put on my hiking shoes and slogged along the muddy path for a self-guided walk through history.

After crossing the Valley Pike, the 8th Vermont rushed into this ravine. The pond is post-war.

The 8th Vermont moved through this ravine on the morning of Oct. 19, 1864. 

"It was useless to stand against such fearful odds," an 8th Vermont soldier wrote of the fighting here. 

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Winchester (Va.) cemetery: A Confederate photo gallery

If you don't stumble into Civil War history in Winchester, Va., you're doing something wrong. Three battles were fought in the town, which changed hands more than 70 times during the war. Stonewall Jackson made his headquarters on North Braddock Street during the winter of 1861-62, and prisoners of war from by both armies were kept at the county courthouse on Loudoun Street, within walking distance of the Taylor Hotel, which was used as a hospital by Rebels and Yankees. On Wednesday afternoon, just before I left town, I visited the Stonewall section of Mount Hebron Cemetery, where nearly 2,600 Confederates are buried. During a quick stop at the main office, a woman -- a Virginia native, of course -- kindly shared with me an old image of one of America's most famous soldiers of the 20th century. Here's a photo journal of my visit:

THEN AND NOW: THE PATTONS

On July 3, 1863, Colonel Waller Patton was mortally wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg when part of his jaw was ripped away by an artillery fragment. The 28-year-old officer in the 7th Virginia died 18 days later at Pennsylvania College in Gettysburg. Fourteen months later, on Sept. 19, 1864, Waller's older brother, George, a colonel in the 22nd Virginia, was killed in action at the Third Battle of Winchester (Va.) Both men were buried in Mount Hebron Cemetery,  across the road today from Winchester National Cemetery, where nearly 4,400 Union soldiers from area battles rest. Decades later, George S. Patton Jr. (right), the colonel's grandson and later a famed World War II general, and his father visited the brothers' grave and posed for the photograph above.  

TEXAS MEMORIAL

Topped with a lone star, this monument to the 1st and 5th Texas infantries was dedicated by the Texas Division Children of The Confederacy on July 22, 2013, "in observance of the 150 years of remembrance of the War Between the States."  "God Keep You" in French is carved into the bottom of the granite monument.

COLONEL DANIEL CHRISTIE'S GRAVE

A colonel on the 23rd North Carolina, Daniel Harvey Christie was a teacher and merchant before the Civil War. (See his image and more info on him at Brian Downey's outstanding Antietam On The Web site.) Wounded at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863, the 30-year-old Christie died 16 days later in Winchester. Before his death, he vowed to his men that he would have "the imbecile" General Alfred Iverson, the brigade commander who led the poorly conceived attack, canned it he were the last thing he did. Robert E. Lee, in fact, removed Iverson from command after the battle. Christie's marker was erected in his memory by his wife, Lizzie.

HEAVY METAL

This rusty, old Confederate grave marker, likely from the late 19th century, weighs several pounds.

CAPTAIN HUGH McGUIRE'S MARKER

Worn down by nearly four years of war, the Confederate army could ill-afford to lose more officers in April 1865. Wounded in the chest on April 5, 1865, during the Rebels' retreat to Appomattox Courthouse, McGuire, a 23-year-old captain in 11th Virginia Cavalry, died on May 8, 1865, nearly a month after the Civil War officially ended. "So it goes," a Rebel soldier lamented in his diary after he received news of McGuire's wounding and the death of two other Confederate officers. "The best men are being rapidly killed off: How long. Oh! how long must this continue?"  McGuire, whose brother Hunter was a physician on Jackson's staff, was the last Rebel soldier from Winchester to die during the Civil War.

Cool Civil War stuff at museum in Harwinton, Connecticut

On a cold, snowy morning in Connecticut, I made the short trek to tiny Harwinton to visit my friend Dane Deleppo, who helps run the T.A. Hungerford Memorial Library And Museum. The small, off-the-beaten path museum is stuffed from the basement to the second floor with historic memorabilia and artifacts, from a World War I gas mask and German army helmet (a "pickelhaube") to a rare War of 1812 uniform.

My aim was to check out the Civil War collection, especially anything from the 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery, a regiment of mostly Litchfield County residents that suffered more than 300 casualties at the Battle of Cold Harbor on June 1, 1864. Through the years, Litchfield County families and others have donated artifacts to the museum, which if you blink, you may just miss if you drive too fast down two-lane Spielman Highway (State Rt. 4). Dane arrived early and thankfully turned on the heat before my 10 a.m. arrival. Armed with an iPhone 5 and curiosity, I had a blast sifting through the collections. Here's some of what I discovered:

CLICK ON IMAGES FOR A LARGER VIEW.

AMBROTYPE: 19TH CONNECTICUT SOLDIER

This image is either Henry, Jerome, Morris or Lewis Munger, all of whom served in the 19th Connecticut, which mustered in in Litchfield in late July 1862 and later became the 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery. Wearing civilian clothing and holding his kepi with his regimental designation affixed, Munger probably had this image taken shortly after he was mustered in.

REBEL FLAG FROM COLD HARBOR?

The tag on the case indicates this small Rebel battle flag is from Cold Harbor. Was it picked up from the battlefield by a soldier? Or was it made post-war and purchased at, say, a Virginia "relic" shop? I'm not a flag expert, so I will leave this to others to decide. Shoot me your thoughts in an e-mail here.

8TH CONNECTICUT SOLDIERS MEMORIAL LIST

Dane Deleppo holds an ornate descriptive list of soldiers in Company E of the 8th Connecticut. The regiment suffered 70 killed or mortally wounded -- including eight in Company E -- at the Battle of Antietam on Sept. 17, 1862.(Download my Excel spreadsheet of Connecticut Antietam deaths here.) A close-up reveals the beautiful, ornate design on the poster, which lists each soldier in the company.

MUSTER ROLL FOR 13TH COLORED ARTILLERY

Lyman Catlin, who served as a private in the 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery, was promoted to 1st lieutenant in the 13th Colored Heavy Artillery on Aug. 29, 1864. He also served as that regiment's adjutant. From Harwington, he brought the 13th Heavies' muster and descriptive roll home with him after the war. In a sad commentary of the times, next to the name of each soldier appears the name of  his owner and next to the name of the soldier's wife appears the name of her owner. Often, that was not the same person. According to Deleppo, one of Catlin's soldiers followed him back to Connecticut after the war.

2ND CONNECTICUT  HEAVY ARTILLERY RIBBONS

When veterans attended reunions of their comrades after the war, they often collected ribbons such as these, which sometimes were adorned with images of other veterans or war-time iamges of soldiers who didn't survive. I purchased this 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery ribbon on eBay during the summer.

BELDEN BROWN POST-WAR MEMORABILIA

A drummer in the 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery, Belden S. Brown of  Harwinton obtained these knicknacks at Grand Aarmy of the Republic events. The item at top was given out at the dedication of the Soldiers' And Sailors' Memorial in New Haven, Conn., in 1887

Antietam KIA: Jason Twiss, 32, left behind wife, two children

16th Connecticut Private Jason Twiss had this image shot in the Prescott & Gage studio
 at 368 Main Street in Hartford, perhaps just before he was mustered into the regiment
 on Aug. 24, 1862.  (Photo: Blogger's collection)

Jason Twiss' gravestone at Antietam National Cemetery
in Sharpsburg, Md.

Commanded by Captain John Drake of Hartford, Company I of the 16th Connecticut suffered 15 killed or mortally wounded at the Battle of Antietam. Only Company G suffered more killed or mortally wounded (16) at the battle. (See my downloadable Excel spreadsheet of Connecticut Antietam deaths here.) Among Company I's dead was Jason Twiss, a 32-year-old private from Willington, Conn., who was shot in the breast in the 40-acre cornfield of farmer John Otto and left behind a wife named Augusta and two young sons, Frederic, 5, and Robert, 3 months. At the time of his death, Jason and Augusta had been married a little more than six years.

Drake himself was shot and killed at Antietam, a bullet tearing through his heart, according to a letter written home four days after the battle by 16th Connecticut Corporal James Peckham, who noted that two other Company I officers were also killed on Otto's farm: Lieutenant William Horton of Stafford Springs (shot through the head) and Sergeant Thomas Macarty of Hartford. "You must write Mrs. Macarty to tell her that he was shot through the head [and] killed instantly," Peckham wrote to his wife, Katie. "He fought bravely [and] died with a good hart [sic].  I believe it to be true. He and Twiss both died Christians I think."

After her husband's death, Augusta filed the paperwork to obtain a widow's pension, which was granted. She began receiving $8 a month in April 1864. In 1889, she lived in Michigan and received a $12-a-month widow's pension. On Nov. 11, 1892, Augusta died in Hillsdale, Mich., having never re-married.


SOURCES:

Jason Twiss pension file, National Archives And Records Service, Washington (via fold3.com)

Website: Wilt Thou Remember Me, Letters From The American Civil War