Civil War Blog

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on April 25, 2011

According to official records, David Brown was drafted into the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry in 1862.  He was mustered into service on 2 November 1862 and mustered out with his company on 5 August 1863.  Pension application records indicate that he developed the mumps on 13 October 1862, soon after his arrival at Suffolk, Virginia.  Since this date is before his muster in date, it probably is incorrect.  However, in the pension application David Brown noted that the mumps “drew into his scrotum” causing an enlargement of his testicle.  He also claimed he developed rheumatism in the service.  Later in life he developed palpitations of the heart.  The 177th Pennsylvania Infantry, Company I, was led by Capt. Benjamin Evitts of Lykens Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania.

David Brown married Catherine Gottshall on 17 February 1861 in Lykens Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, just before the beginning of the war.  The Rev. F. Waltz officiated.  They had four known children:  Sarah Brown, born 2 January 1862;  John Brown, born 2 August 1864;  Magdalena Brown, born 6 March 1866; and Charles Brown, born 15 August 1868.  In 1870, the Browns were living in Lykens Township.  David was a laborer.  In 1880, they were still in Lykens Township but David was then a farmer.  By 1890 the Browns moved to Pillow, Jordan Township, Northumberland County, Pennsylvania.  David Brown died on 7 February 1902.  Catherine died in 1907.

According to a family story, David Brown was a substitute for his brother-in-law Absalom Gottshall, who was drafted and couldn’t serve because he had several children.  Supposedly, Absalom paid David $300 to serve for him.  The family story also states that by the time David completed his basic training, the war ended and he didn’t have to serve.  That story is obviously in conflict with the fact that military records show that David Brown did serve during the period from 2 November 1862 to 5 August 1863, well before the war was over.  No other record of service for David Brown has been found.  And, when David Brown applied for his pension, he only indicated service in the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry.

The Gratz Historical Society has copies of the pension application records of David Brown and of his widow, Catherine [Gottshall] Brown.

The draft records for Dauphin County for June 1863 do show that brother-in-law Absalom Gottshall was serving in the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Click on picture to enllarge.

However, the same draft records indicate that David Brown was also serving in June 1863 – also in the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Click on picture to enlarge.

No records for service have been found for Absalom Gottshall.

In a future post, the draft registration for those serving will be described.

The family has provided another picture of David Brown:

The mystery continues.  Was David Brown a substitute for his brother-in-law Absalom Gottshall?  Readers are invited to submit comments.

Photos have been contributed by the family.  Draft records and Pension Index Card are from Ancestry.com.  A previous post discussed the draft and the role of the 177th Pennsylvania Infantry and featured a portrait of Capt. Benjamin Evitts.

Category: Queries, Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Pvt. David Brown – 177th Pennsylvania Infantry
Tags: Brown family, Evitts family, Gottshall family, Lykens Township, Regiments

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on April 24, 2011

It is important to note that in 1861, Easter occurred on Sunday, 31 March, nearly three and a half weeks earlier than its occurrence in this year of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War.  On Easter 1861, the country was suspended between the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln and the first shots of the war which occurred at Fort Sumter on 12 April 1861 – not knowing what would occur – whether the nation would go to war  – whether prayer and intervention of Providence would prevent the tearing apart of the nation and the bloodshed that was to follow.

The Philadelphia Inquirer of 1 April 1861 reported on the religious observances of the day before:

The joyous festival of Easter presented yesterday its religious contrasts with the sombre season of lent, which closed on Saturday night.  Holy Saturday was observed with the customary offices of those churches which commemorate the day.  Throughout Saturday, from seven o’clock in the morning until seven in the evening, the services in the Roman Catholic churches continued, excepting with a brief interruption.  The new fire illuminating each altar was blessed, and the benediction pronounced upon the baptismal fonts.  The Episcopal and Unitarian Churches, as well as the Roman Catholic, prescribe particular services for Holy Saturday.

Nothing else about Easter found its way into the Inquirer on that day.  Since 1 April was “All Fools Day” the paper did see fit to warn its readers to beware of pranks:

This being April 1s, all persons should be on their guard against the “sells” with which practical jokers are so prolific on such occasions.  The day will, doubtless, be celebrated with the customary amount of pranks.  If the wreck of the ship John Trucks should be raised today in an hour, more or less, some people will not be fooled.

Of course, holidays also brought out the ruffians and readers on 1 April 1861 would take note of the following:

Riot in the Fourth Ward — An Officer Beaten – Arrest of a Crowd.  There was considerable excitement in the lower section of the city, yesterday, in consequence of the the lawless conduct of the gangs of rowdies that infest that section.  “Easter Sunday,” notwithstanding the stringency of the times, was celebrated with more than usual spirit, and there were, apparently, more drunken and disorderly persons in the streets than on any former occasion.  Lieut. Hampton had forty officers on duty in the Second Police District, but this number were unable to maintain order.  About one o’clock a fight occurred in Seventh street, below Bedford, in which a number of ruffians were engaged.

Officer Williard Barcus arrested one of the pary, when the entire crowd set upon him, and beat him in a shameful manner.  He was knocked down with a sling shot, his baton wrenched from his hand, and used over his own head.  The officer drew from his pocket one of Sharp’s revolvers, but it accidentally went off.  The officer, however, arrested George Mayberry, one of the assailants, and lodged him in the Second District Station House.  Officer barcus received a dreadful gash over his left eye, and another one on top of his head.  Dr. Benner dressed his wounds, after which he was removed to his residence.\George mayberry, who was arrested for being concerned in the assault on the officer, resisted violently while on the way to the Station House, and received in return, what he richly deserved, a severe drubbing at the hands of the officers.

Lieut. Hampton, upon learning of the affair, immediately ordered a squad of his officers into that portion of the Fourth Ward, who arrested James McClain, John Heines, William Wilson, James rigley, Charles Hoffman, and Eliza Burke – all of whom were locked up — Besides this number, forty-five other persons were arrested for drunken and disorderly conduct.

A row occurred about half-past four o’clock, at the corner of Eighth and Emeline streets, but the officers soon made their appearance, and the crowd sought refuge in John McKeown’s hotel, in that vicinity.

Several disturbances took place during the day in Bedford, Spafford, monroe, Shippen, South, Emeline, and other streets.

The prisoners had a hearing before Alderman Moore at six o’clock last evening.  George Mayberry was committed to answer at Court.

Sergeant Neff arrested James Rigley in Seventh street, between Shippen and Fitzwater, for refusing to clear the footway, and collecting a crowd.  He was committed.  The same officer arrested Joseph Stokely in Fifth street, above Christan, for attempting to smash in the door of a lager beer saloon. He was committed.

Charles Maginnis was arrested by officer Lyon for interfering with the officers.  He was committed.

Oscar stein was arrested in Shippen street, above Seventh street, for committing a violent assault and battery upon Chas.Dougherty.  The complaintant presented himself before the magistrate with a frightful black eye.  The defendant was held in $400 to answer at Court.

James McClain was arrested by officer Simlar for fighting at the corner of Seventh and Fitzwater streets.  He was sent below.

Charles Weaver was arrested at Seventh and Fitzwater, by officer Keyser, for crowding upon the officers while in the discharge of their duties, and he was committed.

News items are from Philadelphia Inquirer digital archives available on-line at the Free Library of Philadelphia.

Category: Culture, Reflections, Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Easter 1861
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Posted By Norman Gasbarro on April 23, 2011

A recent book donation to the Gratz Historical Society has helped renew interest in a well-known event that took place on the Susquehanna River just south of Harrisburg in the crucial days preceding the Battle of Gettysburg in June, 1863.  Flames Across the Susquehanna is a novel by Glenn Banner and is based on the burning of the Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge, a crucial east-west railroad link connecting with the Northern Central Railroad which was the major north-south route by which Civil War transport movements took place between Baltimore, Maryland, and points north into New York State.

One previous post on this blog, Naked Man Visits Rebs on Rapidan, told of Confederate General John Brown Gordon‘s attempts to save the town of Wrightsville on the western bank of the Susquehanna:

During the campaign for Gettysburg, Gen. Gordon’s men reached the farthest east on the Susquehanna River that the Confederates would go –to Wrightsville – and is credited for saving the town from fire after retreating Unionists set fire to a bridge to prevent Gordon’s advance, but the fire accidentally spread to the town.  Gordon ordered a bucket brigade to save the town.

If fire had not been set to the bridge, or if Gordon’s men had been successful in dousing the flames, it is entirely possible that the Confederates would have had a clear, undefended path to Harrisburg and up into the rich coal fields of the Lykens Valley and Schuylkill County.

The bridge burned on Sunday, 28 June 1863 and the Philadelphia Inquirer headlines of the next morning told the story:

A map covering the entire center part of the first page showed how close the rebels were to the Lykens Valley area.

Click on map to enlarge.

Lykens and Millersburg are added to the above map in red.  Also shown on the map is the route of the Northern Central Railroad, the location of Gettysburg, York, Columbia and Harrisburg.

The bridge between Wrightsville and Columbia was actually the second bridge across the Susquehanna River at that location.  Completed in 1834 at a cost of about $157,000, it is further described in an article on Wikipedia:

It was 5,620 feet (1,710 m) long and 28 feet (8.5 m) wide and also enjoyed the distinction of being the world’s longest covered bridge. The wood and stone structure had 27 piers, a carriageway, walkway, and two towpaths to guide canal traffic across the river. Tolls were $1.00 for a wagon and 6 horses (equal to $21.93 today), and 6 cents per pedestrian (equal to $1.316 today). Much of the mostly oak timber used in its construction was salvaged from the previous bridge. Its roof was covered with shingles, its sides with weatherboard, and its interior was whitewashed.  The structure was modified in 1840 by the Canal Company at a cost of $40,000 (equal to $877,067 today) concurrent with the construction of the Wrightsville Dam. Towpaths of different levels and with sidewalls were added to prevent horses from falling into river, as happened several times when the river flooded. The roof of the lower path formed the floor of upper path. In this way, canal boats were towed across the river from the Pennsylvania Canal on the Columbia side to the Susquehanna and Tidewater Canal at Wrightsville.  Sometime after 1846, a double-track railway was added, linking the Philadelphia and Columbia Railroad to the Northern Central Railway. Due to fear of fire caused by locomotives, rail cars were pulled across the bridge by teams of mules or horses.

In the early days of the Gettysburg Campaign, Maj. Granville Owen Haller was in charge of the defense of southeastern Pennsylvania. After the Battle of Fredericksburg, Haller and Col. Jacob G. Frick moved into the area of Wrightsville and Columbia and planned to mine the bridge and then detonate the mines in order to prevent the advance of the Confederates.   After detonation, the timbers remained in place and the bridge was still passable.  As the Confederates surged onto the bridge, Union men set fire to it close to the Wrightsville side.  In order to insure that the fire would spread, they had previously saturated it with oil obtained from a Columbia refinery.   What the denotated charges were unable to do, the rapidly spreading fire was able to accomplish.  The winds pushed the fire toward the town of Wrightsville.  The bucket brigade organized by Gen. Brown saved the town, but it was too late to save the bridge.  In six hours, the world’s longest covered bridge lay in ruins.

Maj. Granvile Owen Haller (1819-1897)

Interestingly, it was Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee who had first ordered the bridge burned.  Disobeying Lee’s orders, Confederate General Jubal Early and Gen. Gordon Brown had instead decided to save it, perhaps recognizing its strategic value should the rebels be able to cross it successfully.

Gen. Jubal Early (1816-1894)

An excellent resource for the further study of this incident is Flames Beyond Gettysburg by Scott L. Mingus, Sr., published by Savas Beatie (New York) in 2011.  The book is illustrated, extensively footnoted, has a comprehensive bibliography, and several appendices.  One of the appendices features driving tours of historical interest to the Wrightsville-Columbia Bridge Incident.

Another resource is Fire on the River by George Sheldon.  Sheldon’s book  was published by Quaker Hills Press (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) in 2006.  There is a short bibliography.  It’s a good, quick-read for someone wanting an overview of the events surrounding the burning of the bridge.

Map and headlines are from the on-line resources of the Free Library of Philadelphia.  Portraits of Maj. Haller and Gen. Early are from Wikipedia and are in the public domain because their copyright has expired.

Category: Research, Resources, Stories | 3 Comments »
Tags: Lykens Borough, Millersburg, Railroad

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on April 22, 2011

The Battle of Shiloh, fought 6 and 7 April 1862 was the bloodiest two-day battle in U.S. history up to that time.  Fought in the Western Theater in southwestern Tennessee, it pitted the Union Army of the Tennessee commanded by Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant against the confederate Army of the Mississippi commanded by Generals Albert Sidney Johnston and P. G. T. Beaureguard.  On the first day of the battle, the confederates hoped to drive Grant’s army westward away from the Tennessee River and defeat them before the arrival of Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell’s Union Army of the Ohio.  During the confusion of the battle, Grant’s forces, instead of falling back the west, reorganized to the northeast in an area near Pittsburg Landing.  That position was defended with artillery and since Gen. Johnston was killed during the fighting, Gen. Beauregard took over and decided not to attack at night.

By the next morning, reinforcements from the Army of the Tennessee as well as Gen. Buell’s Army of the Ohio had arrived and were able to launch a counterattack.  The Confederates had to fall back and their hopes of blocking the Union movement into northern Mississippi were dashed.

Union casualties were more than 13,000.  Confederate casualties numbered nearly 11,000 including Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston.  Also killed was Union Gen. W. H. L. Wallace.  The casualties shocked both north and south.  President Lincoln was besieged with requests to remove Grant from command – many claimed he was drunk and ill-prepared  – but Lincoln resisted claiming he couldn’t spare him because “he fights.”  Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman, head of the Fifth Division, emerged as one of the heroes of the fight.  And, Grant moved south toward Vicksburg – siege and eventual capture, thus cutting the Confederacy in two.  Military historians today recognize that Grant’s coolness under difficult circumstances as well his understanding of the overall strategic picture were what won the day for the Union forces.

For this battle, only one Pennsylvania regiment is listed as part of the Army of the Ohio, the 77^th Pennsylvania Infantry.  No Pennsylvania regiments are listed as part of the Army of the Tennessee.  However, it is estimated that about a dozen men who had some connection to the Lykens Valley area served in units of other states and were present at the Battle of Shiloh.  These men served in the Army of the Tennessee:   8^th Illinois Infantry, 11^th Illinois Infantry, 4^th Illinois Cavalry, 9^th Illinois Infantry, 1^st Missouri Infantry, 25^th Indiana Infantry, and the 55^th Illinois Infantry.

Army of the Tennessee – Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant

Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885)

First Division – Maj. Gen. John A. McClernand

Maj. Gen. John A. McClernand (1812-1900)

Second Division – Brig. Gen William H. L. Wallace

Brig. Gen. William H. L. Wallace (1821-1862)

Third Division – Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace

Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace (1827-1905)

Fourth Division – Brig. Gen Stephen A. Hurlbut

Brig. Gen Stephen A. Hurlbut (1815-1882)

Fifth Division – Brig. Gen. William T. Sherman

Brig. Gen. William T. Sherman (1820-1891)

Sixth Division – Brig. Gen Benjamin M. Prentiss

Brig. Gen. Benjamin M. Prentiss (1819-1901)

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Army of the Ohio – Man. Gen. Don Carlos Buell

Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell (1818-1898)

Second Division – Brig. Gen Alexander McDowell McCook

Brig. Gen. Alexander McD. McCook (1831-1903)

Fourth Division – Brig Gen William Nelson

Brig. Gen William Nelson (1824-1862)

Fifth Division – Brig. Gen. Thomas L. Crittenden

Brig. Gen. Thomas L. Crittenden (1819-1893)

Sixth Division – Brig. Gen. Thomas J. Wood

Photos of the generals are from Wikipedia and are in the public domain either because their copyright has expired or they were taken by a U.S. government employee in the course of his duties.  Some of the information on the Battle of Shiloh was taken from Wikipedia.

A excellent book on the subject of the battle is:  Shiloh, the Battle that Changed the Civil War, by Larry J. Daniel, published by Simon and Shuster, 1997.  The book contains a detailed analysis of each part of the battle, battle maps, and several appendices as well as very extensive footnotes and bibliography.

Category: Research, Resources | Comments Off on Bloodbath at Shiloh – Armies, Divisions and Generals
Tags: Regiments

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on April 21, 2011

Press Release from St. Martin’s Press:

Starving the South:  How the North Won the Civil War.  Andrew F. Smith

This coming April marks the 150^th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. Historian and Food Studies professor Andrew Smith approaches the topic of the Civil War with a rare and fascinating theory: The real dictating force behind the outcome was who had the most food. Smith shares the evidence for this theory in his new book, Starving the South: How the North Won the Civil War, which shows that from the first shot fired at Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861, until General Robert E. Lee’s surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox on April 9, 1865, food played a crucial role in the outcome of the Civil War.

Before the Civil War, the South was the most productive agricultural region in the United States. But because they were more profitable, most Southern farmers chose to grow cotton and tobacco rather than food crops. On the other hand, the Midwest had recently become the largest producer of wheat, and cities such as Chicago, Cincinnati, and St. Louis were home to slaughterhouses and meat-packing facilities. Railroads were being built to connect the Midwestern cities to the Northeast, delivering food that would later be able to feed the Union army during the war. These same railroads were also used to ship wartime necessities such as uniforms and weapons to base camps, giving the North a distinct advantage.

Throughout the war, food scarcity in the Confederacy hampered military preparedness, adversely affected military decisions, caused malnutrition, exacerbated illnesses, and devastated civilian and military morale. Northern armies took advantage of this weakness and targeted Southern port cities and transportation systems. Once they cut the South off from being able to import food and export tobacco and cotton, they then destroyed agricultural commodities and livestock and torched warehouses, barns, agricultural equipment, and mills. The Army of the Confederacy grew thin while the dinner tables of the Union Army held feasts.

According to Smith, food supplies not only led the North to a victory in the Civil War, but it also affected the way we eat today. During the war the North developed a canning industry as a means to feed the troops, and localized companies such as Borden’s milk became nationalized food suppliers. Also, Thanksgiving became the third national holiday behind Washington’s Birthday and Independence Day. Lincoln declared that Thanksgiving would be celebrated on November 24, 1864, and Northerners sent care packages filled with turkeys, pies, and puddings to Union soldiers stationed all around the country, leading to the traditional Thanksgiving feasts most Americans enjoy to this day.

While there were many reasons for the Confederacy’s defeat in the Civil War, the underlying theme of Starving the South is that hunger tipped the scales in favor of the South’s surrender. Andrew Smith takes a gastronomical look at the war’s outcome and legacy and asks “Did hunger defeat the Confederacy?”

Out just in time to commemorate the 150^th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War, Starving the South is a food scholar and historian’s new look at how Union blockades brought about the defeat of a hungry Confederacy.

About the author:

Andrew F. Smith is a faculty member at the New School and editor-in-chief of “The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America.” He lives in New York.

“A corrective to blood-and-guts operational histories, Smith’s lucid study gives war production, logistics, and home front morale in the Civil War the prominence they deserve.”

—Publishers Weekly

 

“Smith gives intriguing and readable response to the ever-popular question of why the South lost.”

—Booklist

 

“’An army travels on its stomach,’ wrote Napoleon Bonaparte…That truth certainly applied to Union and Confederate armies in the Civil War, giving a weighty advantage to the normally well-fed Federals…as Andrew Smith demonstrates in this important and readable study.”

—James M. McPherson, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era

Starving the South:  How the North Won the Civil War, by Andrew F. Smith.  St. Martin’s Press.  Hardcover * History.  $27.99 * 288 pages.  ISBN: 0-312-60181-6.  Publication Date: April 12, 2011.

Purchase from Amazon – click here.

Information about the book also appears on Andrew F. Smith’s web site:

Did hunger defeat the Confederacy? In April 1861, Lincoln ordered a blockade of Southern ports used by the Confederacy for cotton and tobacco exporting as well as for the importation of food staples like flour and salt. Southern cooks became resourceful; but, it wasn’t quite enough and the Army of the Confederacy grew thin. Union dinner tables, conversely, groaned with plenty and Northern canning operations grew allowing Grant to keep his troops strong. In “Starving the South”, historian Andrew Smith takes a fascinating gastronomical look at the war and its legacy. While the Civil War split the country in a way that affects race and politics to this day, it also affected the way we eat and drink: It transformed local markets into large, nationalized and industrialized food suppliers. It forced the development of the northern canning industry, solidified the celebration of Thanksgiving as a national holiday and forged the first truly national cuisine as emancipated slaves migrated northward carrying the recipes and flavors of the South with them. On the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Fort Sumter, Andrew Smith takes a unique look at a war that’s been analyzed and fought over since Lee surrendered at Appomattox.

Also on Smith’s website is an article, “Did Hunger Defeat the Confederacy?”

The article, as it appears on Smith’s website, is from North and South, May 2011, Vol. 13, No. 1, p. 40-46.

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Previous posts on this blog related to food and the Civil War:  Pennsylvania Dutch Meals of the Civil War Period.  Pennsylvania Dutch Foods of the Civil War Period. Soldier Life and the Secret Service (government oven on wheels, soup tasting).  Future posts will describe army rations and present first-hand accounts of foraging by Lykens Valley area diarist Henry Keiser, a member of the 96th Pennsylvania Infantry.

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