Top 2018 posts: A house's death spiral to 1862 Antietam in color

Art Williamson, owner of the dilapidated house where a Massachusetts officer died.
(CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE.)

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Six of my top-10 most popular posts in 2018 were about Antietam, a place I visited, oh, 4,333 times this year.  In 2018, we surpassed 2.7 million page views all time on the blog and topped 5,000 followers on my Civil War Facebook page.  Thanks for being part of our community. (Pageview figures through Dec. 18, 9 a.m. ET.)

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1. Death spiral: A sad end for house where Antietam officer died (Views 27,420)

Time, nature and trespassers conspire to wreak havoc inside the Greek Revival-style house. Debris spills from a fireplace on the first floor -- one of five in the once-stately home. A brown doorknob, perhaps a victim of a vagrant, lies on the floor, forgotten. Boarded-up windows block a magnificent view of South Mountain. This is where Massachusetts officer Wilder Dwight died in 1862.  Read more.

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2. 'Dreadfully distorted visages': How soldiers die in battle (26,257)

"Almost every death on the battle-field is different. And the manner of the death depends on the wound and on the man, whether he is cowardly or brave, whether his vitality is large or small, whether he is a man of active imagination or is dull of intellect, whether he is of nervous or lymphatic temperament. I instance deaths and wounds that I saw in Grant's last campaign." Read more.

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3. Herculean task': How dead were recovered after Civil War (17,451)

In the years immediately after the war, the Federal government mobilized to locate and disinter remains of Union dead for re-burial in newly established national cemeteries. By the time the costly program was completed in 1870, nearly 300,000 remains had been recovered. Officially neglected, Confederate dead were mostly left to private organizations throughout the South to recover and re-bury.  Read more.

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4. 'Secret' stash: What public doesn't see at Springfield Armory (13,338)

During my visit, Alex MacKenzie and National Park Service ranger Susan Ashman showed off some of what's currently not on public view -- the "secret" stash, so to speak. In a massive, temperature-controlled storage room, rows of meticulously tagged Civil War weaponry are kept in huge cabinets. Look but don't touch were my orders from MacKenzie, who carefully handled the artifacts while wearing gloves.  Read more.

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5. Journey in time: 'Stunning' 1891 Antietam images surface (12,515)

Believed lost to history, the rare photographs are among six to have recently surfaced in New Jersey -- the largest stash of John Meade Gould images yet to be discovered. A unique window into the early, post-war appearance of the battlefield, the photographs have excited Antietam historians, who are hopeful even more "Goulds" will be discovered. Read more.

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6. In Franklin, Tennessee, a walk through a Confederate cemetery: (11,650)

On a frigid Saturday afternoon, I walked among the rows of graves at the McGavock Confederate Cemetery -- the largest privately owned military cemetery in the country -- shooting photographs. Nearly 1,500 Confederate dead from the Battle of Franklin are interred in a two-acre plot on the former plantation of the McGavock family. See more.

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7. 'Vast cemetery': Death, destruction astonish Antietam reporter: (10,562) 

"It is not our intention to attempt a full portrayal of the horrors which, in the early part of last week, marked the battle-field of Antietam, although we doubt not a portion of our account will be considered sufficiently horrible. We were told by those who had preceded us to this scene of destruction, that we obtained a sight of the tail end only. If that be so, we have no desire to see the whole animal." Read more.

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8. Antietam in 1907: 'Sacred' damage, mass grave in 'lot yondah' (10,139)

Even in the summer of 1907 -- nearly 45 years after Antietam -- effects of the battle were apparent in the village of Sharpsburg, Md., and in the immediate surrounding area. Assigned to write a feature about the battlefield that year, a Buffalo Evening News correspondent easily found artillery damage on the Dunker Church and bullet marks on Burnside Bridge.  Read more.

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9. 'Romantic errand': In 1898, Rebel vet returned Antietam sword: (9,462) 

Nearly 36 years after the Battle of Antietam, a Confederate veteran traveled to Bellefonte, Pa., for an event a local newspaper called a "rather romantic errand." William M. Robbins' intentions certainly were noble: The former major in the 4th Alabama planned to return the sword of 5th Pennsylvania Reserves Lieutenant Hardman P. Petrikin to the soldier's sister. Read more. 

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10. Antietam in color: Breathing life into 1862 battlefield images (9,125)

Unlike the cumbersome 19th-century process, colorization of black-and-white images is only a click away for us today. Using the Algorithmia site, I colorized Antietam images by Alexander Gardner and James Gibson, all available for your inspection in black and white in jpg. and tif formats on the fine Library of Congress web site. Crude, crass ... or captivating? See more.

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'Secret' stash: What public doesn't see at Springfield Armory

This Enfield, part of the "secret" stash at the Springfield Armory, has bullet embedded 
near the trigger guard. (SEE VIDEO, PHOTO BELOW.)

A fraction of the collection of Civil War rifles in the Springfield Armory storage room.
(CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE.)

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If you've been to the Springfield (Mass.) Armory National Historic Site, you probably were impressed with the Civil War weaponry. Hands-down my favorite exhibit there is the organ of Springfield muskets, certainly a work of art. But only about half of the Civil War weapons in the Armory's collection is on public display.

During an hour-long visit to the Armory recently, curator Alex MacKenzie and National Park Service ranger Susan Ashman showed off some of what's currently not on public view -- the "secret" stash, so to speak.  In a massive, temperature-controlled storage room,  rows of meticulously tagged Civil War weaponry are kept in huge cabinets. Look but don't touch were my orders from MacKenzie, who carefully handled the artifacts while wearing gloves. Here are some of my favorites from the "secret" stash:

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A 'DINGED-UP' PATTERN 1853 BRITISH ENFIELD

The name "R.H. Weakley" -- perhaps a 42nd Tennessee private who was killed at the 
Battle of Franklin  -- is carved into the stock. (WATCH SHORT VIDEO ABOVE FOR MORE.)

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A PIKE FOR A MADMAN? OR A MARTYR?

Springfield Armory curator Alex MacKenzie holds one of the pikes fiery abolitionist John Brown intended
 to use for his slave insurrection in Harpers Ferry, Va. The pikes were made in Collinsville, Conn.

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WHAT WAS IN JEFFERSON DAVIS' BAGGAGE?

Manufactured in Paris, this circa-1855 big-game rifle reputedly was found among the belongings 
of Jefferson Davis, the former president of the Confederacy, when he was captured on May 10, 1865.

A close-up of the weapon shows the fine French craftsmanship. (READ MORE HERE.)

The rifle's maker -- F.P. Devisme -- is engraved on the barrel. The .74-caliber weapon was 
designed to fire exploding projectiles. It has been in the Springfield Armory collection since 1887.

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A BLOWN-OUT RIFLE BARREL

Perhaps the sad demise of this Springfield musket was caused by a Union soldier who forgot 
to remove the tompion before he fired it.

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A DRAWER OF CONFEDERATE SWORDS

For most of the Civil War weaponry in its collection,  such as these swords, the Armory does not 
have provenance. The 12 edged weapons may have been battlefield pickups during the war.

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The art of war: A double-rack 'organ' of Springfield muskets

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We usually equate the implements of war with death and destruction. As this double-rack organ of 645 1861 Springfield muskets at the Springfield (Mass.) Armory National Historic Site shows, that need not always be the case. After muskets were assembled, this is the way they were stored back in the day. My dad, "Big Johnny" Banks, would have loved this. (Click on all images to enlarge.)

Civil War under my nose: Springfield Armory

An "Organ of Muskets" at the Springfield (Mass.) Armory holds 645 1861 Springfield muskets.


Arms manufacturers in the Connecticut River Valley produced a vast quantity of weapons for the Union army during the Civil War. Rifles, muskets, pistols and other arms were manufactured in Connecticut by Colt in Hartford, Whitney U.S. Navy Rifle in New Haven, Welch and Brown in Norfolk and by James D. Mowry and Norwich Arms Co. in Norwich. More than 200,000 bayonets were supplied to the army by the Collins Co. in Collinsville, about six miles from my house.

This Gatling gun -- an early machine gun -- was first used
during the Civil War.  It's on display at
 the Springfield Armory musuem.


In Massachusetts,  the Federal armory overlooking the Connecticut River in Springfield, about a 35-minute drive from Hartford, competed with other manufacturers in the valley to supply small arms to the Union. The destruction of the armory in Harpers Ferry, Va., (now West Virginia) during the Civil War left the Springfield Armory as the only federal manufacturing point for arms until the 1900s. The Springfield Armory manufactured, repaired, tested and designed weapons from 1777, when President Washington authorized its creation, until it closed in 1968.

My first impression of the Springfield armory grounds: Hey, this place is huge. Surrounded by more than a mile of wrought-iron fence, many of the armory buildings are now occupied by Springfield Technical Community College. The most fascinating display in the museum is the two-story tower of 645 Springfield muskets, stacked Jenga-like. It's called an "Organ of Muskets," and it was made famous by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's anti-war poem in 1843. I was tempted to ask the National Park Service employees behind the main desk at the Armory museum today if they cared to part with just one -- a pristeen 1861 Springfield musket like the ones displayed can easily go for $3,000 or more -- but figured that would not go over well. :)

This was just a drive-by visit today, but it's definitely worth another trip and a couple hours of my time.

The Main Arsenal building at the Springfield (Mass.) Armory.



Carbines manufactured during the Civil War.