Civil War Blog

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on February 10, 2011

(Part 10 of 12).  Contents of Volume IX of The Photographic History of the Civil War:  Poetry and Eloquence of Blue and Gray.

The year 1911 was the 50^th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War.  In a memorial to the war, a ten volume set of books was published entitled The Photographic History of the Civil War. This series attempted, through photographs, to do what no other books had previously done – to bring the war close and personal through previously unpublished and unavailable photographs.  The series was edited by Francis Trevelyan Miller.

This post is part 10 of a 12 part series and will focus on the contents of Volume IX, Poetry and Eloquence of Blue and Gray.

Contents of Volume IX of The Photographic History of the Civil War.

I. Separation and Reunion.  II. Deeds of Valor.  III. In Memoriam.  IV. Scenes from Soldier Life.  V. Wives and Sweethearts.  VI. Lyrics.  VII.  The Lighter Side.  VIII. Between Battles.  IX. Gettysburg.  X. The End of the Struggle.  XI. Lincoln.  XII. The Heritage.  XIII. Brotherhood.  Appendix:  Songs of the War Days.

Unlike the other volumes in the set, this book has fewer photographs and more text, nevertheless, there are many first-time published photographs and these are properly inserted at appropriate places to complement the poetry and prose of the Civil War.

Two poets who had a great influence on their time are pictured here as examples of the type of content in this volume – although the volume is much more comprehensive than the works of just the famous.

Julia Ward Howe, about 1861

Julia Ward Howe was the author of the Battle Hymn of the Republic. She was born in New York in 1819, the daughter of a banker, and in 1843 she married the philanthropist Dr. S. G. Howe.  She assisted him in editing his anti-slavery publications.  While in Washington on an anti-slavery mission, she was invited to tour the military camps in Virginia, where during the carriage ride, she sang the song, “John Brown’s Body” to the great delight of the soldiers.  Her pastor suggested that she write more appropriate words for the song and as the inspiration came to her, the words of the most famous of all the Civil War songs came forth.  After the Civil War she was deeply involved in the women’s suffrage movement.  She died in 1910.

Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:

He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;

He hath loosed the fateful lighting of his terrible swift sword:

His truth is marching on.

I have seen Him in the watch-fired of a hundred circling camps:

They have builded Him an altar in the evening dews and damps;

I can read his righteous sentence by the dim and flaring lamps.

His day is marching on.

I have read a fiery gospel, writ in burnished rows of steel;

“As ye deal with my contemners, so with you my grace shall deal;

Let the Hero, born of woman, crush the serpent with his heel,

Since God is marching on.”

He has sounded forth the trumpet that shall never call retreat;

He is sifting out the hearts of men before his judgment-seat;

Oh! be swift, my soul, to answer Him! be jubilant my feet!

Our God is marching on.

In the beauty of the lillies Christ was born across the sea,

With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me:

As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,

While God is marching on.

Julia Ward Howe

Walt Whitman, about 1863

Walt Whitman was born in 1809 and during his career he was an editor and publisher.  While traveling in the west of the day (New Orleans to Canada), he produced the first edition of Leaves of Grass, a 96-page start to what would would later become in its final edition what many consider to be the literary achievement of the Civil War.  After 1862, he went to Washington to care for his brother who had been wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg, and then stayed on for the remainder of the war working as an army nurse in the hospitals of Washington.  After the war, he served in government employ, eventually moving to Camden, New Jersey, in 1873.  He died in 1892 in Camden.

BIVOUAC ON A MOUNTAINSIDE

I see before me now a traveling army halting,

Below, a fertile valley spread, with barns and the orchards of summer,

Behind the terraced sided of a mountain, abrupt, in places rising high,

Broken, with rocks, with clinging cedars, with tall shapes dingily seen,

The numerous camp-fires scattered near and far, some away up on the mountain,

The shadowy forms of men and horses, looming, large-sized, flickering,

And over all the sky – the sky! far, far out of reach, studded, breaking out, the eternal stars.

Walt Whitman

For a free download from Google Books, click here and select “PDF” in the upper right corner of the page.  When the “PDF” file opens in your reader, save the file to disk.  Use of the file is subject to restrictions that are spelled out on the first page of the PDF.  Essentially, the restrictions specify that the digital book may be used for personal, non-profit use only and that the Google Books “watermark” should not be removed from the pages.

Tomorrow, part 11 of this series will examine Volume X, Armies and Leaders.

Category: Culture, Reflections, Research, Resources, Stories | Comments Off on Poetry and Eloquence of Blue and Gray
Tags:

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on February 9, 2011

(Part 9 of 12).  Contents of Volume VIII of The Photographic History of the Civil War:  Soldier Life and the Secret Service.

The year 1911 was the 50^th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War.  In a memorial to the war, a ten volume set of books was published entitled The Photographic History of the Civil War. This series attempted, through photographs, to do what no other books had previously done – to bring the war close and personal through previously unpublished and unavailable photographs.  The series was edited by Francis Trevelyan Miller.

This post is part 9 of a 12 part series and will focus on the contents of Volume VIII, Soldier Life and the Secret Service.

Contents of Volume VIII of The Photographic History of the Civil War.

Introduction

“Two Practical Problems of the General,” Charles King.

Part I – Soldier Life

“The Business Side of War-Making,” William B. Shaw.  “Marshaling the Federal Volunteers,” Charles King.  “Glimpses of the Confederate Army,” Randolph H. McKim.  “The Confederate of ’61,” Allen C. Redwood.  “The Confederate in the Field,” Allen C. Redwood.  “The School of the Soldier,” Fenwick Y. Hedley.  “Boys Who Made Good Soldiers,” Charles King.  “Marches of the Federal Armies,” Fenwick Y. Hedley.  “With the Veteran Armies,” Charles King.

Part II – Military Information

“The Secret Service of the Federal Armies,” George H. Casamajor.  “The Secret Service of the Confederacy,” John W. Headley.  “The Signal Service,” A. W. Greely.  “Telegraphing for the Armies,” A. W. Greely.  “Balloons with the Army of the Potomac,” T. S. C. Lowe.

A few of the pictures below do no pertain to specific regiments, but rather to general “services” provided to soldiers.  For example, the mail wagon shown below was part of the system that insured that mail from home would be delivered to the soldiers and their letters would be delivered to friends and loved ones back home.  The Civil War Research Project has a growing collection of copies of letters to and from soldiers.  Portions of a letter from John C. Gratz were pictured here in an earlier post.

Newspapers from major cities were also available.  Here an enterprising seller of papers from New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore sets up shop near a camp.  Soldiers had limited access to general news about the war – except through their command and from an occasional newspaper that arrived in the mail.  The Philadelphia newspaper, The Inquirer, carried news from throughout the state and Pennsylvania regiments undoubtedly welcomed it more than the papers from other cities.  It contained news of war victories, lists of the dead, and political maneuverings, as well as social items.

“Philadelphia, New York, and Baltimore Papers”

Preparing food for the troops was no easy feat.  This “government oven on wheels” was a sure way to provide fresh baked item when the army was in camp.

“Soup Tasting” was a procedure to insure that the soup was sufficiently strong to satisfy the men.  It was a practice that eventually was abandoned, especially when time and the settings were a factor.  Here, the 31st Pennsylvania Infantry officers check the soup. Thus far, no specific person from the Lykens Valley area has been identified as a member of this regiment.

Tasting the Soup

A portion of a photograph of the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry in camp is shown below.  While no specific soldiers from the Lykens Valley area have yet been identified as members of this regiment, the picture shows a typical army camp during the winter of 1863.

This is a fairly comprehensive study in photographs of soldier life and the secret service, or how military “intelligence” was gathered during the Civil War.  The pictures give a balanced view of both the North and South, although the samples chosen above are all of the Union troops and services to them.  If the book has a fault, it is that there are too many pictures of New York regiments and too few pictures of Pennsylvania regiments – and that many of the pictures have no regimental identification, let alone identification of the soldiers who are portrayed.

For a free download from Google Books, click here and select “PDF” in the upper right corner of the page.  When the “PDF” file opens in your reader, save the file to disk.  Use of the file is subject to restrictions that are spelled out on the first page of the PDF.  Essentially, the restrictions specify that the digital book may be used for personal, non-profit use only and that the Google Books “watermark” should not be removed from the pages.

Tomorrow, part 10 of this series will examine Volume IX, Poetry and Eloquence of Blue and Gray.

Category: Research, Resources | Comments Off on Soldier Life and the Secret Service
Tags: Gratz family, Regiments

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on February 8, 2011

(Part 8 of 12).  Contents of Volume VII of The Photographic History of the Civil War:  Prisons and Hospitals.

The year 1911 was the 50^th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War.  In a memorial to the war, a ten volume set of books was published entitled The Photographic History of the Civil War. This series attempted, through photographs, to do what no other books had previously done – to bring the war close and personal through previously unpublished and unavailable photographs.  The series was edited by Francis Trevelyan Miller.

This post is part 8 of a 12 part series and will focus on the contents of Volume VII, Prisons and Hospitals.

Contents of Volume VII of The Photographic History of the Civil War.

Part I:  Prisons.

Text by Holland Thompson

“Preface.”  “Prisoners of War.”  “Northern and Southern Prisons.”  “Exchange of Prisoners.”  “The Life of the Captured.”  “Soldiers who Escaped.”  “Treatment of Prisoners.”  “Provost-Marshals – The Army’s Police.”

Part II:  Hospitals

“The Army Surgeon and His Work,” Edward Munson.  “Medical Service of the Confederacy,” Deering J. Roberts.  “The Surgeon in the Field,” Deering J. Roberts.  “Permanent and General Hospitals,” Deering J. Roberts.  “With the Ambulance Corps,” Edward L. Munson.  “Surgeons with the Navy.”  “Private Agencies of Relief,” Holland Thompson.

Appendix

“The Cartel of July 22, 1862.”  “Personnel of the Federal Medical Department.”  “Union Surgeons-General and their Work.”  “Personnel of the Confederate Medical Department.”

This volume has unlimited value for the the Civil War Research Project as many men reported being injured, wounded, or suffering from disease during their military service.  The many pictures show hospitals, camps, ambulance corps, and naval facilities both North and South.  In addition, there is an extensive section on prisons – where many men from the Lykens Valley area spent time during the war – some, never to return to their homes.

Michael Wolf (1838-1884), who was born in the Lykens Valley area and who served in the 50th Pennsylvania Infantry was wounded and an amputee, left arm,  and spent time at Carver Hospital in Washington, D.C.  A well-known picture of patients at Carver Hospital is shown in a two-page spread.  Since the soldiers in the pictured are not specifically identified there is no way to know if Michael Wolf appears in the picture shown below- but there is one man who appears to have a right arm amputation.  After the war, Michael moved to Illinois.

Carver Hospital, Washington, D.C.

At Campbell Hospital, also in Washington, D.C., Emanuel B. Troutman (1842-1900) spent time in recovery after being wounded at Petersburg, Virginia.  Before the war, Emanuel was a wheelwright in Hegins, Schuylkill County, and after the war he lived and worked in various communities in Schuylkill County including Llewellen, Branch, and Shenandoah.  During the war, he served in the 50th Pennsylvania Infantry and later was transferred to the Veteran Reserve Corps.

Campbell Hospital, Washington, D.C.

The Red Rover hospital ship was mentioned in a previous post in conjunction with the naval service of Peter L. Metz (1843- ?).  Additional pictures of Red Rover are provided in this volume, including information about the crew.  Ships such as this were part of the transport system to get prisoners out of the war zones, or in the case of the Red Rover, were completely self-equipped to provide all medical and rehabilitative services.

“Red Rover”, Hospital Ship at Vicksburg, Mississippi

In the section on prisons, naturally, Andersonville, the notorious Confederate prison in Georgia is given its due.  Many pictures are included which show the horrid conditions of the facility.  Dozens of men who have been identified for this Civil War Research Project spent some time in Andersonville and many of them did not survive the ordeal.  In later posts, Andersonville will be discussed more thoroughly.

Libby Prison, Richmond, Virginia, was another of the infamous Confederate prisoner of war facilities.  Henry Lauinger ( ? – 1864) was one of many who died there.  Not much is known about Henry except that he served in the 16th Pennsylvania Cavalry and his widow, Fanny Corbine, was living in Dalmatia, Northumberland County, in 1890.  There are several pictures of Libby Prison – before during and after the war – and a rare picture taken from the water.  More information is sought on Henry Lauinger and any other men from the Lykens Valley area who were prisoners at Libby.

Libby Prison, Richmond, Virginia.

Finally, this book spares nothing in depicting the worst of the Union Prisons, the one at Elmira, New York.  In multiple pictures, changes in the camp are shown – from tents to more permanent structures.  It is not known at the this time if any men from the Lykens Valley area were charged with guarding prisoners at Elmira, but there was also a hospital at Elmira, where Hiram Gonder Hoke (1844 –  ?) was sent to recover after he was taken ill, this information found in his pension application papers.  Hiram was from Washington Township, Dauphin County, before the war and after the war settled in Lykens Township and later Gratz, where he worked as a miller and a farmer.  He served in the 172nd Pennsylvania Infantry and the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry.  More information is sought on Hiram Gonder Hoke, especially his military service and the reason he was sent to Elmira.

For a free download from Google Books, click here and select “PDF” in the upper right corner of the page.  When the “PDF” file opens in your reader, save the file to disk.  Use of the file is subject to restrictions that are spelled out on the first page of the PDF.  Essentially, the restrictions specify that the digital book may be used for personal, non-profit use only and that the Google Books “watermark” should not be removed from the pages.

Tomorrow, part 9 of this series will examine Volume VIII, Soldier Life and the Secret Service.

Category: Culture, Research, Resources | Comments Off on Prisons and Hospitals
Tags: Dalmatia, Gratz Borough, Hegins, Hoke family, Lauinger family, Lykens Township, Metz family, Regiments, Troutman family, Washington Township, Wolf family

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on February 7, 2011

(Part 7 of 12).  Contents of Volume VI of The Photographic History of the Civil War:  The Decisive Battles.

The year 1911 was the 50^th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War.  In a memorial to the war, a ten volume set of books was published entitled The Photographic History of the Civil War. This series attempted, through photographs, to do what no other books had previously done – to bring the war close and personal through previously unpublished and unavailable photographs.  The series was edited by Francis Trevelyan Miller.

This post is part 7 of a 12 part series and will focus on the contents of Volume VI, The Navies.

Contents of Volume VI of The Photographic History of the Civil War.

Text by James Barnes (except as noted).

“The Federal Navy and the Blockade,” French E. Chadwick.  “The Organization of the Federal Navy.”  “The Organization of the Confederate Navy.”  “First Expeditions of the Federal Navy.”  “The Blockade.”  “The Birth of the Ironclads.”  “The Most Famous American Naval Battle.”  “The Most Daring Feat.”  “Fighting on the Mississippi.”  “The Action with the Forts.”  “Naval Actions Along the Shores.”  “The Sea Life of ’61.”  “The Confederate Cruisers and the Alabama.”  “Naval Chronology, 1861-1865.”

In a previous post entitled  “At Sea:  Sailors, Marines, Merchant Seamen, Blockaders, Revenue Service” the attempts to compile a list of all the possible Lykens Valley area Civil War veterans with some sort of service “at sea” were discussed.  The volume in this series is of great help to define the roles of each of the above-named types of service in the Civil War.  Perhaps because of the “land-locked” nature of the geography of the Lykens Valley area, so few men from that area had service at sea.  It is interesting though that Millersburg contributed several men to naval service (Isaac Miller, Thomas Norton & Dallas David Ditty), Millersburg being on the Susquehanna River, and the site of Millersburg Ferry – familiarity with water probably being the major reason for their choice.  Two others, from townships near the river, Frederick Wise (Jackson Township) and Edward Lineman (Halifax Township), also appear on the naval list.

In addition to pictures of ships, many published for the first time, there are many pictures of seamen on ships.  Although for the most part the seamen are not identified by name, the pictures nevertheless provide glimpses into what life must have been like for the men whose duty was performed on water during the Civil War.  several examples are shown below:

The Value of Discipline – Practice on the “Mendota”

Though lamentably unprepared for war in ’61, the Federal Navy by 1864 set an example of constant arduous training and drill, even during lulls in the actual fighting sush as when this photograph was taken, on the James River in 1864.

On the “Freeborn” – Showing how Ward, the first Federal Commander was Lost

This photograph of 1861… is the only vestige of a visual record of… how [Commander James Harman] Ward… stood when he received his mortal wound…. The picture, taken on the deck of the little improvised gunboat “Freeborn,” the man sighting the gun has reverently donned the blouse and straw hat of Commander Ward to show how that brave officer stood when he received his mortal wound…. Commander Ward… was in the act of sighting a gun himself when he was suddenly wounded in the abdomen and soon expired.

Veterans in the Making – Crew of the “Lafayette”

On the Mississippi [River] ironclad “Lafayette,” the photographer has arranged the crew so that a better idea of the faces of the men can be gathered.  Many of them are seen to be foreigners, while of the native American boys and youths as usual predominate.  There is none of the unmistakable look that characterized the crews of the gunboats and ships in Eastern waters…. Yet these men could fight as bravely and endure hardships as uncomplainingly as their salt-water comrades.  Most of them were recruited from the river towns….

Men of the “Unadilla,” after Playing their Part in the Navy’s Crucial Test

The “Unadilla” was but one of the fifty vessels that had assembled in Hampton Roads by October 27th to join the largest fleet ever commanded by an officer of the American navy up to that time…. The “Unadilla” is described officially as a steam gunboat, but she was typical of the sort of hastily converted the vessels that made up the fleet – river steamers, ferryboats, tugs, almost anything that would turn a wheel or propeller…. It was a momentous trial of wooden ships against most formidable earthworks….

The challenge in using this volume is to relate the material in it to men who are part of this Civil War Research Project.  However, knowing that each naval action was carefully coordinated with activities on land, it would not be too difficult to match specific ships that were parts of greater strategies where regiments of Pennsylvania soldiers also took part.

For a free download from Google Books, click here and select “PDF” in the upper right corner of the page.  When the “PDF” file opens in your reader, save the file to disk.  Use of the file is subject to restrictions that are spelled out on the first page of the PDF.  Essentially, the restrictions specify that the digital book may be used for personal, non-profit use only and that the Google Books “watermark” should not be removed from the pages.

Tomorrow, part 8 of this series will examine Volume VII, Prisons and Hospitals.

Category: Research, Resources | Comments Off on The Navies
Tags: Halifax Township, Jackson Township, Millersburg

Posted By Norman Gasbarro on February 6, 2011

Previous posts on the subject of the Pennsylvania Dutch language noted the words that were used to describe family relationships, occupations, the religious life, medicine, and acts of war.  The first post in that series gave a brief history of the Pennsylvania Dutch and told of their appearance in the Lykens Valley area.  At the time of the Civil War, although many of the German families had been in America for several generations, Pennsylvania Dutch was still the language of the home and of commerce in the Lykens Valley area for the descendants of those immigrants. Many were farmers.

This post begins a series on Pennsylvania Dutch foods of the Civil War and will include some of the Pennsylvania Dutch words used to describe basic foods and then move to combinations of those foods in recipes.

Dictionaries are available so we can look at some of the words and terms that may have been used in the Civil War period.  One of my personal favorites is The English Pennsylvania Dutch Dictionary and the Pennsylvania Dutch People which includes English “equivalents” by Howard Snader.  The “equivalents” are Snader’s suggested ways of pronouncing the words.

The Basic Foods

Fruit (obscht); Vegetables (ge MISE), Grain (frucht), Nuts (niss)

Apple (OBB el); apples (EBB el); apricots (ob ri GOSH a); asparagus (SCHPARR a graws); barley (garsht); bean (boon); beans (boona); beet (reeb); red beet (RODE reeb); red beets (RODE reew a); blackberries (BLACK beer a); black walnut (Schwartz ie WOL niss); blueberries (BLOW a beer a); cabbage (grout); carrot (GALE reeb); carrots (GALE REE wa); celery (TZEL e rich); cherries (KARSH a); chestnut (kescht); corn (WELSH kann); corn cob (WELSH kann GROOTZ a); cucumber (GOOM er); elderberries (HOLL er beer a); endive (ON dift i); figs (FEIG a); garlic (GNOV loch); gooseberries (GRUSS el beer a); grapes (DROW a); hazelnuts (HOZZ il niss); horse radish (MEER red ich); kale (graut); lettuce (za LAWD); maize (WELSH kann); melon (me LOON); mulberries (MOWL beer a); oats (HOW er); onion (TZWIW wel a); parsley (PAY ter ly); parsnip (BOSCHT nawt); peach (PARSH ing); peanut (GROOND niss); pear (beer); peas (ORR ibs a); plum (blaum); potato (GROOM beer); pumpkin (KAR ibs); raspberries (HEM beer a); red beets (RODE ree wa); rye (kann); strawberries (OBB beer a); sweet corn (SEES WELSH kann); sweet potato (SEES GROOM beer); tomato (o MATZ); turnips (REEW wa); walnut (WOL nis); watermelon (WASS er me loon); wild cherries (WILLD kirsch a).

Meat (flaysch) & Dairy

Bacon (FLITCH); bacon (si da SCHPECK); beef (RINS flaysch); bologna (ba loon i); butter (BUDD er); buttermilk (BUDD er MIL ich); cheese (kase); chicken (HINK el); chicken pattie (HINK el bletch ly); cottage cheese (SCHMEAR kase); cream (rawm); egg (oy); geese (gans); ham (HINN er schoonk a); ham (SCHNOOK a flaysch); liverwurst (LEW wer warscht); milk (MIL ich); pig (sow); pig ears (sigh OR a bledd er); rabbit (haws); sausage (warscht); sausage (BROD warscht); smoked sausage (g’schmok’d de warscht); skimmer milk (OPP g’schepp de mil ich); squirrel (AICH haws); steak (schteak); pig stomach (SIGH MAWG er); tongue (tzung); yolk (DUDD er).

Herbs, Spices (schpice), Condiments, etc.

Baking soda (BOK so da); baking soda (SAL ar ade); black pepper (SCHWARTZ er PEFF er); bran (GLI a); buckwheat (BUCH way tza); butter fat (BUDD er fett); catsup (CATCH up); cider (SI der); cloves (NEG lich er); coffee (COFF e); corn meal (WELSH kann mail); corn syrup (WELSH kann me loss ich); dill (FENN ich el); dough (dake); flour (mail); honey (HUNN ich); juice (bree); lard (schmolz); licorice (LICK er ish); malt (molz); molasses (me LOSS ich); nutmeg (MOOSCH gawrt niss); pepper (PEFF er); red pepper (RO der peff er); white pepper (WISE er peff er); pepper and salt (PEFF er un salz); pickle (GOO mer); salt (salz); sugar (TZOOK er); tea (tay); vinegar (ESS ich); water (WASS er); whiskey (drom); yeast (sodz).

A few words are noticeably missing as they did not appear in the above-mentioned dictionary.  Perhaps someone can supply the Pennsylvania Dutch words or “equivalents.”

For those who wish to study the language further, an excellent dictionary of Pennsylvania German to English, Common Sense Pennsylvania German Dictionary, published by James C. Lins in Reading, Pennylvania, in 1895.   It’s a free download and a great resource.  Note though that there is no pronunciation guide and the German word must be looked up to find its English meaning.

The next post in this series, appearing in one week, will discuss Pennsylvania Dutch words used to describe some meals – main dishes and desserts.  A few favorite recipes will also be given.

Category: Culture, Research, Resources | 1 Comment »
Tags: Pennsylvania Dutch