Civil War Blog

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on October 4, 2014

A listing of the September 2014 posts on The Civil War Blog with direct links:

A Guide to Georgia’s Civil War Heritage

Monuments at Gettysburg – 28th Pennsylvania Infantry

August 2014 Posts

Samuel P. Klinger – Farmer of Northumberland County

Monuments at Gettysburg – 29th Pennsylvania Infantry

Views of the Old Catholic Cemetery at Williamstown

Monuments at Gettysburg – 30th Pennsylvania Infantry

Henry Keiser and the Whiskey Ration

Rev. James A. Stokes – African American with the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry?

Monuments at Gettysburg – 31st Pennsylvania Infantry

John Weaver of the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry

Frederick Metzger – Accidentally Killed by Louis A. Gratz

Henry B. Ferree – Coal Miner

Monuments at Gettysburg – 34th Pennsylvania Infantry

Events of the World: September 1864

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Posted By Norman Gasbarro on October 3, 2014

The 35th Pennsylvania Infantry (6th Pennsylvania Reserves) Monument at Gettysburg is located south of Gettysburg at the Wheatfield.  It was dedicated in 1890, after the extensive number of battlefield monument dedications that took place in 1889 on the 25th Anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.  The view of the monument pictured above is from Steve Recker’s Virtual Gettysburg Web Site which has more information about the monument and the 35th Pennsylvania Infantry.

A full description of the monument, its GPS coordinates, and some of the history of the 35th Pennsylvania Infantry can be found on the Stone Sentinels Web Site.

Six members of this regiment were awarded the Medal of Honor for their charge on a log house near Devil’s Den.  Some information about this is found on the Stone Sentinels Web Site page for the 35th Pennsylvania Infantry.  The men who received the medal were George W. Mears, Chester S. Furman, John W. Hart, J. Levi Roush, Thaddeus S. Smith, and Wallace W. Johnson.

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On 11 September 1889, the Philadelphia Inquirer provided information about the 35th Pennsylvania Infantry:

Work of the 6th Reserves

The 35th (6th Reserves) fought at Gettysburg on the 2nd under the command of Colonel William McCandless of the 2nd Reserve, Colonel William Sinclair having resigned.  It made an attack from Round Top at 2 P.M. with but small loss, remained in front during the night, and was engaged in skirmishing during the entire third day and until 2 P.M. on the 4th, when it was bivouacked on Little Round Top.  It pursued the rebels to Falling Waters, thence to Bristol Station, Bull Run, Rappahannock Station, Kettle Run.  Next year it entered the Wilderness campaign.  There it constantly fought with unflinching courage, losing 86 men.  After three years’ share of the victories and hardships of the Army of the Potomac, the regiment returned to Harrisburg to be mustered out 14 June.

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Wellington H. Ent (1834-1871)

The commander of the 35th Pennsylvania Infantry at Gettysburg was Lieutenant Colonel Wellington Henry Ent, born at Lightstreet, Columbia County, Pennsylvania, 18 August 1834.  On 22 May 1861 Wellington Ent joined the 35th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company A, as Captain, the position he held when the regiment was mustered into service on 27 July 1861 at Washington, D.C.  On 21 September 1862 he was promoted to Major and on 1 May 1863 he became Lieutenant Colonel.  His promotion to Colonel of the regiment came on the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg.  After Gettysburg, he remained with the regiment and was wounded at Bethesda Church, Maryland, 30 May 1864, and  was mustered out of service on 11 June 1864.  On 13 March 1865, he received his final promotion to Brevet Brigadier General.

Prior to his military service, he was a lawyer in Bloomsburg, Columbia County, Pennsylvania, where he had been born on 18 August 1834.  He stood 5 foot 5 five inches tall, had chestnut hair, gray eyes, and a light complexion.

Wellington H. Ent died a young man on 5 November 1871 and is buried in the family mausoleum at the Old Rosemont Cemetery in Bloomsburg.  For more information about him and his family, see his Findagrave Memorial.

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Around the base of the Pennsylvania Memorial at Gettysburg are a series of plaques which, by regiment and company, note the names of every soldier who was present at the Battle of Gettysburg.  The plaque for the 35th Pennsylvania Infantry is pictured below.  By clicking on the plaque it should enlarge so the names can be more clearly read.  If a name does not appear, it could be that the soldier did serve in the 35th Pennsylvania Infantry, but was not part of the regiment during its days at Gettysburg.  There could also be errors on the plaque.

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The news clipping is from the on-line resources of the Free Library of Philadelphia.

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Posted By Norman Gasbarro on October 2, 2014

On 13 November 1913, the Harrisburg Patriot reported the death of Lambert K. Hooper:

CIVIL WAR VET DIES AT MECHANICSBURG

Mechanicsburg, 12 November 1913 — One of the oldest Civil War veterans of the borough, Lambert K. Hooper, died today after a few months illness, aged 83 years.  Until this fall Mr. Hooper had been active, doing odd jobs about the house, and chopping wood for a local coal and wood firm.

H was one of the men with General Sherman in his march through George, being a member of Company H, 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry.  He served over three and a half years in the war, being in the Army of the Cumberland most of that time.  He fought at Chickamauga, Chattanooga, Orchard Knob and Missionary Ridge.

In his Pennsylvania Death Certificate (available through Ancestry.com), the doctor certified the cause of death as chronic nephritis, contributed to by old age.  The informant who gave the family information to the undertaker was J. C. Hooper, the oldest son.  Lambert Kyler Hooper was born on 28 February 1830, and lived 83 years, 8 months, and 12 days.  His father was James Hooper, who had been born in Maryland, and about his mother, there was “no record.”  At his death, Lambert was a laborer.  He died in Mechanicsburg and his remains were sent to a cemetery in the same place.

The James Hooper family was located in the 1850 census for Spring Garden Township, York County, Pennsylvania.  The father, James, born about 1810, was a cooper by trade, and there were four other children in the household, James Hooper, born about 1838, and Emanuel Hooper, born about 1842.  Lambert was recorded as 18 years old (born about 1832) and working as a laborer.  A female, Henrietta Hooper, age 29, was also living in the household, and while in some places, she is given as the mother of Lambert, it would seem to indicate that Henrietta was actually the second wife of the elder James Hooper, her recorded age, if accurate, being a definite barrier to accepting her as the mother of Lambert.

By 1860, Lambert K. Hooper was on his own in Silver Spring, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, having taken a wife, Elizabeth A. Hooper (maiden name not known) about 1858, and with two young children in the household:  Orabelle (or Arabelle) Hooper, and the infant John C. Hooper.  The census sheet for 1860 is faded and Lambert’s occupation cannot be discerned from it.  But, on the Pennsylvania Veterans’ Card File available from the Pennsylvania Archives, it is stated that Lambert gave his occupation as brick maker at the time of enrollment in the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry.

Lambert K. Hooper‘s cavalry enrollment occurred on 5 October 1861 at Mechanicsburg and his “muster in” was on 29 October 1861 at Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.  At the time he indicated that he was 31 years old and was living in Cumberland County.  His service was as a Private in Company H of the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry.  As some point, date unknown, Lambert was promoted to Corporal.  In spite of the fact that many of his comrades re-enlisted, it appears that he did not, as his discharge is recorded as 27 December 1864, and there is no record of re-enlistment.  Lambert was about 5 foot 10 inches tall, had dark hair, a fair complexion, and dark eyes.

Lambert K. Hooper appears in the 1870 census as a cooper.  His two oldest children had survived the war, one child was born while he was serving with the cavalry (Anna Hooper, born about 1862), and one child was born after he returned from the war (Laura Hooper, born about 1866).

Following the 1870 census, three more children were born:  James B. Hooper, born about 1871; George L. Hooper, born about 1873; and Emory G. Hooper, born about 1875.  The entire family is still together in the 1880 census where Lambert noted that he was still working as a cooper.

In the 1890 census, Lambert gave the basic information about his service record and then noted that he had “contracted chronic diarrhea and heart disease” during the war.

On 20 August 1890, after the 1890 census was taken, Lambert applied for pension benefits:

The Pension Index Card (above from Fold3) gives the date of the original application but does not give the date the benefit was actually first received.  It was customary for pension awards to be published periodically in the state and local newspapers.  In that the publication of Lambert’s original pension award did not occur until late June 1897, it can be assumed that there was some problem in getting approval.  The award finally appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on 18 July 1897:

By 1900, Lambert K. Hooper had stopped working as a cooper and was then a day laborer.  The youngest son, Emory G. Hooper, and a granddaughter Carrie Hooper, were the only children remaining in the home.

Elizabeth Hooper, wife of died prior to the 1910 census.  Lambert now was living off his pension (“own income”) in the household of his second-youngest son, George L. Hooper.  As previously noted, Lambert K. Hooper died on 12 November 1913.

The burial place of Lambert K. Hooper and his wife Elizabeth A. Hooper (who had died in 1902) was the Mechanicsburg Cemetery, Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania.  More information about him can be found on his Findagrave Memorial.  Also, by checking the York County Heritage Trust Database of Civil War Soldiers, maintained by Dennis Brandt, it can be seen that the father, James Hooper (see above, 1850 census) was also a Civil War veteran (87th Pennsylvania Infantry), and probably one of the oldest volunteers in the war!  The declared age of James Hooper was 40, while his actual age was 58.

Very little is known about Lambert K. Hooper‘s Civil War service.  Some of the members of his Company H of the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry were previously identified as connected to the geographical area of the Civil War Research Project.  These include:  David Bitterman; Samuel A. Crook; Jacob G. Enders; John Adam Fauber; John Flanagan; Samuel “Simon” Travitz; and David Zerbe.  After the war many of these men remained in close touch with each other in the annual reunions of the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry – most of which were held in and around Harrisburg, including Lykens Borough.

Lambert K. Hooper‘s name does not appear in Yankee Cavalrymen, the only comprehensive history of the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry.

No picture has been seen of Lambert K. Hooper and additional information is sought about his war service.  Please add comments to this post or submit information by e-mail.

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Census information is from Ancestry.com.  News clippings are from the on-line resources of the Free Library of Philadelphia.

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Posted By Norman Gasbarro on October 1, 2014

From Penguin Press comes word that a new book about Jefferson Davis will be released on 7 October 2014. The book, by Prof. James M. McPherson, Embattled Rebel:  Jefferson Davis as Commander in Chief, is a worthy companion to his earlier book, Tried by War:  Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief.  Although McPherson tries to “avoid the temptation to compare the two leaders,” readers of the book will undoubtedly do so, especially based on the new, sympathetic interpretation of Davis, which McPherson admits he came to somewhat surprisingly after his in-depth research into the available sources.  His conclusion is “that while Davis did not win the war for the South, he was scarcely responsible for losing it.”

In the introduction, Prof. McPherson admits his biases and sympathies toward the Union and calls the reasons the South fought, to preserve slavery and break up the Union, as “tragically wrong.”  But where Davis sits in history as a leader of a cause has been largely influenced by his hostile, Southern contemporaries who McPherson notes were of “large ego and small talents.”  And, it is the refutation of that negative interpretation of Davis that this book intends to accomplish.

Readers of this blog should take note that a prior post here featured Davis.  See:  The Pennsylvania Ancestry of Jefferson Davis.  But this new McPherson book deals little with Davis’s personal life or family ancestry, although often it is difficult to separate a personal past from present action.  It is primarily a book about his role as Commander in Chief and how he oversaw five areas of activity, “policy, national strategy, military strategy, operations, and tactics.”

In analyzing Davis’s interactions with his generals, a background knowledge of each is essential to understand whether in each case of  “large ego and small talents”, McPherson has proven his claim.  End notes do provide evidence that he has consulted a wide range of both primary and secondary sources, particularly about each of the generals.  In the case of John C. Pemberton, the Confederate general with Pennsylvania roots, there is a discussion of how he was perceived by Southerners because of those roots – and how Davis reacted to those criticisms.  This war, between brothers (and sisters) and cousins, had many families split in the conflict.  But it is not McPherson’s objective to delve into the personal lives and family ancestry of the generals, so he should not be faulted for failing to do so.  That exercise is left to the reader, but certainly should not be ignored.

Does McPherson prove his thesis?  Time will tell whether this new interpretation of Davis will become widely accepted.  Nevertheless, this book is certainly worthy of a permanent place in the literature of the Civil War.

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The following is from the press release of the Penguin Group:

History has not been kind to Davis. Many Americans in Davis’s own time and in later generations considered him an incompetent leader, if not a traitor.  Not so, according to James M. McPherson, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry of Freedom.  In Embattled Rebel, he argues that in order to understand the Civil War and its outcome, it’s essential to give Davis his due as a military leader and as the president of an aspiring Confederate nation.

Davis was a product of his time and circumstances, and to some extent his failure was inevitable from the beginning. His subordinates and enemies alike considered him difficult, egotistical, and cold. He was gravely ill throughout most of the war, often working from home and even from his sickbed, which no doubt had an impact on his performance.   But Davis shaped and articulated the principal policy of the Confederacy with clarity and force: the quest for independent nationhood. Although he had not been a fire-breathing secessionist, once he committed himself to a Confederate nation he never deviated from this goal or compromised its purpose. In a sense, Davis was the last Confederate left standing in 1865.

When we fairly consider Davis as commander in chief, as the leader he was, it becomes clear that while he did not win the war for the South, he was not responsible for losing it.

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Posted By Brian Tomlin on September 30, 2014

September 5-6. As the culmination of the Shimonoseki Campaign, a series of military engagements in 1863 and 1864, fought to control Shimonoseki Straits of Japan by joint naval forces from Great Britain, France, the Netherlands and the United States, against the Japanese feudal domain of Chōshū.  In this battle, the Bomabardment, destroyed the Prince of Nagato’s ability to wage war. Unable to match the firepower of the international fleet, and amid mounting casualties, the rebel Chōshū forces finally surrendered two days later on September 8, 1864. Allied casualties included seventy-two killed or wounded and two severely damaged British ships. The stringent accord drawn up in the wake of the ceasefire, and negotiated by U.S. Minister Pruyn, included an indemnity of $3,000,000 from the Japanese, an amount equivalent to the purchase of about 30 steamships at that time. The Bakufu proved unable to pay such an amount, and this failure became the basis of further foreign pressure to have the Treaties ratified by the Emperor, the harbor of Hyōgo opened to foreign trade, and the customs tariffs lowered uniformly to 5%. In 1883, twenty years after the first battle to reopen the strait, the United States quietly returned $750,000 to Japan, which represented its share of the reparation payment extracted under the rain of multi-national shells.

September 8. Delegates from the Canadian colonies meet at the Charlottetown Conference to discuss the Canadian Confederation. The Charlottetown Conference was held in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for representatives from the colonies of British North America to discuss Canadian Confederation. The conference took place between 1 and 9 September 1864. This process would culminate on July 1, 1867, with the  creation of the federal Dominion of Canada. 

September 18. Smoky Hill Council. By late summer 1864, Union troops finally began to mount a defense against Indian attacks against settlements on the Plains.  In early September, Cheyenne principal chief Black Kettle held a council with other chiefs of the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes to discuss a peace proposal with military troops in the vicinity of southeastern Colorado and southwestern Kansas.  The chiefs present at the council wanted to disassociate their respective clans from the hostile Cheyenne Dog Soldier and Sioux warrior clans on a collision course with the Union Army due to their brutal summer raids on white settlements throughout Kansas,
Nebraska and Colorado. Among the peace chiefs present at the council were Arapaho Chief Left Hand and his cousin Neva, who had negotiated a trade with several renegade warrior clans for four children kidnapped in raids on the Little Blue River in Nebraska.  Black Kettle proposed that they offer the hostages to the Army to demonstrate their willingness to negotiate a peace treaty. At the Smoky Hill Council, Black Kettle and Left Hand turned over the four white children and promised to return the other three as soon as they were found.  

September 28. The International Workingmen’s Association (IWA, 1864–1876), often called the First International, was an international organization which aimed at uniting a variety of different left-wing socialist, communist and anarchistpolitical groups and trade union organizations that were based on the working class and class struggle. It was founded in 1864 in a workmen’s meeting held in Saint Martin’s Hall, London. It was an early effort at combining a number of smaller, local trade union groups into one more powerful voice. 

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