Out of Sync

  
     My latest web page is up, Camp at Sharpsburg, Sept. 17th - Oct. 26th, 1862.  Highlights include a short biography of the Three Cary Brothers who were officers in the regiment; a biographical sketch of beloved Brigade Commander, Brigadier-General George Lucas Hartsuff, & a humorous remembrance of Corporal 'Bob' Armstrong, Co. B.

     Yet to come is a page about the Fredericksburg Campaign, Nov - Dec. 1862.  So, I am still building history pages for the year 1862, which I began in May, 2009.  I am trying to get into 1863 before the  150th anniversary of Gettysburg in 2013!

     The Sesquicentennial of the war has brought some notice to my work, particularly in the towns of Natick, and Marlboro, home of Co.'s  H,  I  &  F,  respectively.   I just heard from the town manager of Hancock, Maryland too!

     The towns were recognizing the 150th Anniversary of the war, and the part played in it by their citizens and soldiers.   Early January marked the 150th anniversary of the battle of Hancock, when Stonewall Jackson, rode up from Winchester and shelled the town.  Read More

     Since I am immersed in 19th cent. history, I always feel a bit out of touch with modern life.  Don't try to call me on a cel phone and don't ask me what time it is.  Since my 1917 Illinois pocket watch broke, I don't know.   My '51 Hudson doesn't keep up too well in modern traffic but it does okay.   Even the idea of a non-interactive website, like mine,  is out of date today.  With instant communication devices like twitter, facebook and blogs a staid informational non-interactive site is passez.  Imagine too, corresponding by email, my preferred method, is now considered old fashioned.  But hey, at least I am aware of the new stuff!  I just don't seem to need it.  

     Even my blog is out of sync with the Sesquicentennial. 

     I started the 'blog in real time' experiment last year.  I was able to find and post lots of interesting items, relating to the 13th Regiment, and the build up to the war, that are not on my website.  But when I got to August 1st, 1861, the date the regiment arrived in Hagerstown, MD, something kept me from continuing with the series.   At the time I was struggling to finish my webpage about "Antietam," a milestone in the history of the regiment. I gave that priority.   I've covered the regiment's history in detail over at the website and I didn't want to repeat myself on the blog, which I would've done with frequent real time posts.  So the blog series evaporated.

     The same problem continues, as I strive to keep moving forward with the history pages at the website. I posted about Thanksgiving & Christmas, 1861, here at this blog, a couple years ago.  So I didn't want to repeat myself to be in sync with the Sesqui.  Instead, I've been continuing to toil away at the website, trying to get to the Gettysburg page before the 150th anniversary in 2013.

     Besides, there are others marking time better than I.

      By the way, did you know that Stonewall Jackson, twice, tried to destroy Dam No. 5 of the C & O canal, 150 years ago, this past December?   (At least my cyber friend and fellow blogger Cenantua mentioned it.)  I sent him some more info and he's promised to do a follow up post on it.  You can also find information about it on my website, here

    So, I'm moving into the Fredericksburg Campaign now.  I'm pretty confident  I'll have that page built before Dec. 2012.  I'll probably be working on the website long after the 150th anniversary of the war.

It feels like that bumper sticker my friend had on the back of his rusted out '75 Dodge Colt, many years ago.    "Don't honk, I'm peddling as fast as I can."

Hope you enjoy the new page.

John Brown Bell Presentation

     One of the many research highlights for me this year, was corresponding with Paul Brodeur of the Marlboro,  Historical Society in Massachusetts, hometown of Companies I & F.    The sesquicentennial has brought a lot of attention to the Civil War, and communities are starting to look at how the war impacted their citizens.

     Paul put together an excellent presentation on the John Brown Bell, which members of Company I, retrieved on September 26, 1861, and which they eventually brought to Marlboro, Mass. in 1892. The bell tower in the town square is an integral part of Marlboro's history.  Paul did extensive research on abolition in Marlboro prior to the war, the local fire engine companies whose members filled the ranks of Companies I & F, and the former slaves who settled in Marlboro as a result of their association with these companies, whom they met when the regiment was in Western Maryland.  The presentation is on-line for all to view.   Its a fascinating story.  Here is the link:  John Brown Bell.

     Our correspondence led down some other interesting paths, including a better look at some of the soldiers within the ranks of Company F and their standing in the community before and after the war.

     My favorite part of the presentation, still is the story of Fannie (Geary) Stanley and her mother, Arenia Geary, former slaves, who worked at the Wager House Hotel in Harper's Ferry during John Brown's fateful raid in October 1859.  The following quotes are from the Marlboro Enterprise 1914 obituary of Fanny Geary Stanley.

     “ When the war swept over the country she was working at the same (Wager) hotel, and by dint of extra effort she and her mother accumulated enough money to take them to the north.”

      “ About that time soldiers of the 13th Mass. Regt. were stationed in that vicinity and Mrs. Stanley, making their acquaintance, came north with them. The soldiers were from Marlboro and by their advice daughter and mother came here.” 

     There is a well known image of "Contraband" in the camp of the 13th Mass. at Williamsport.  None of the subjects are identified.  The photo is probably one taken by George L. Crosby, a photographer/artist from Marlboro, and a member of Company F, who was active with his camera equipment at this time  It is very likely, that the two women on the right of the picture are  Arenia Geary and her daughter   Fanny Geary.   It is also possible their cousin, William Geary, could be in the picture.  William would make Marlboro his home too.  Check out the slide show.  

     And, A New Year's Gift to all who read this!

Harper's Ferry, 1861, Revisited

The web page at my site titled, "Nine Weeks at Harper's Ferry" has been updated with new material and css code.  There is a technical glitch in the page design that shows up in my firefox browser.  The blue column at screen left does not scroll to the bottom.  Other than that distracting problem, there is a lot of new information.

Correspondence with research volunteer Eugene Wilkins and Supervising Park Ranger David Fox, at Harper's Ferry N.P. in early 2010 clarified several key locations of the skirmishes and activities of the 13th Mass soldiers, who picketed the river in the Fall of 1861. More information came to light this summer when I corresponded with Paul Brodeur of the Marlboro, Mass. Historical Society.  Other new material cropped up during the 3 years since I built the page, so it was time for an update.

I've always been proud of this page because the period was not written about in Charles E. Davis, jr.'s regimental history, "Three Years in the Army."   Some information is given in Sgt. Austin Stearns Memoir, "Three Years With Company K," but there is not enough detail.

I have added the following information to the page:

News accounts from the Boston City Gazette, the Philadelphia Inquier and the Westboro Transcript. This includes information about the John Brown Bell, the burning of Herr's Mill, and more.  There is also a little more information on Mr. Abraham Herr, and his claim to the govt. for rent money.

A section on civil engineer Lauriman Russell, Co. I, (pictured) and his maps.

Information on the final resting place of private John L. Spencer, first man of the regiment killed by the enemy.

A photo of California 49er, private Chandler Robbins, of Co. K with a letter to the Westboro Transcript.

An excellent report of the Battle of Bolivar Heights from the Washington Star.  Also, the  report of Lt. J.W. Martin, commanding Battery K, of the 9th N.Y. artillery.

A photo of Lt. William R. Warner, Co. K with his description of the engagement at Bolivar Heights, including reference to Capt. Shriber's noteworthy command, "Company I, Run!" which is sited in Davis's history of the 13th.

A photo of Corporal George Marshall, Co. C to accompany a description of his experience at Bolivar.

A description of the "drug store" clean-out of a secessionist in town.

Two letters of Capt. Shriber were restored to Richard Humphrey's original research.  I had placed these on a different page in order to keep a strict chronology, but thought it best to include them on the Harper's Ferry page also.

And more...

Happy Thanksgiving

Just want to wish all my readers and followers a Happy Thanksgiving.  This blog flies pretty low on the radar screens and I'm grateful for everyone who finds time to drop by and read the posts.  You are all very appreciated.

The Harper's Ferry page of my website has been updated with lots of new material, but the new page file was corrupted so I have to re-construct it.  I will be posting it soon and writing about whats new here.  I will also be posting soon about Tim Snyder's book on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal during the Civil War, and on the John Brown Bell.

Happy Thanksgiving!  -  Brad

John H. Moore and George F. Moore; New Book

Elin Neiterman of the Sudbury Historical Society contacted me in September, 2010 seeking information on John H. Moore, Co. F, of the 13th M.V.I. Art Rideout and I sent her the materials we had. Recently, Elin wrote to notify me that the Society's new book of Civil War Correspondence is finished and awaiting orders. I'm happy to help get the word out. The following is a news article about the project, which Elin forwarded to me. - Brad

     In honor of the year of the Civil War Sesquicentennial, there will be a special book signing and selected readings of the newly released book entitled “from your loving son” CIVIL WAR CORRESPONDENCE AND DIARIES OF PRIVATE GEORGE F. MOORE AND HIS FAMILY at the First Parish Church, 327 Concord Road, Sudbury, Massachusetts, on November 6th at 2 pm.

     The year was 1862 and the nation was fighting the Civil War. Sudbury, Massachusetts, a small New England farming community, stood ready to support the cause of the Union. Uriah and Mary Moore, a local farmer and his wife, parents of ten children, sent four sons off to fight for the Union. George Frederick Moore was twenty years old when he joined the Thirty-fifth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers in 1862 along with his brother, Albert. Their oldest brother, John, had enlisted in the Thirteenth Regiment and had been serving since 1861. In 1864, a fourth and younger brother, Alfred, joined the Fifty-ninth Regiment. Four cousins also served in the war. This was not the first time this family had sent soldiers into battle. Moore ancestors fought in the Indian Wars, the Revolutionary War, and The Battle of Bunker Hill.

     George often wrote home from 1862 to 1865 of battles, travels, lack of rations, and the weariness of a soldier, while his family in turn wrote to George telling him of their love for him, the news of the family and the town, and their view of the war. These eighty-four letters which span the years from August 1862 to the end of the war survived, along with George’s personal diaries from 1863 and 1864, the diary of Sarah Jones, the girl he married, family photos, and documents of George’s life during and after the war. The letters provide an intimate glimpse of the trials, not only of the soldiers, but of the families who sent their boys off to war. The documents are a historical treasure.

     When it was decided to turn this collection into a book, the authors looked beyond the letters and diaries to the life of George Moore and his family searching through historical documents contacting libraries, cemeteries, town offices, historical societies, military museums, and Civil War battle sites. Explanatory passages of the Thirty-fifth Regiment accompany the letters. George Moore took part in the battles from South Mountain and Antietam to Fredericksburg, Vicksburg, Campbell’s Station, and the Siege of Knoxville. He participated in the Battles of the Wilderness, Cold Harbor, and the assault on Petersburg.

     The book is a story of a small New England town, a patriotic family, and the Civil War. It has been a long labor of love, and we are proud to be able to present it to Civil War enthusiasts throughout the country.

     This project was supported by The Sudbury Foundation, The Sudbury Cultural Council and The Massachusetts Cultural Council.

     To purchase a copy, send check to: Sudbury Historical Society, Attn: BOOK, 322 Concord Road, Sudbury MA 01776. Prices are soft cover ($21.95); hard cover (31.95) Plus $3.50 S & H. Tax included.

     For further information on the book, please contact us at GeorgeMoore35thRgt@gmail.com

Excerpts of letters in the book:

Sudbury 
Dec 18th 1862 
Dear George …the Family were all together at the Old place Thanksgiving day but George Albert and John and partook of a Thanksgiving supper but then to see those vacant seats at the table it would bring to mind those dear ones that used to fill those seats in former times that they are far away in the war perhaps nothing but hard bread and coffee for their supper but I hope that wee shall all set down to a Thanksgiving supper together next Thanksgiving at our new home up in the middle of the Town and then it is consating to think that you were engaged in a good cause 

From Your Father 

Sudbury 
April 30th 1865 

Dear George …How dreadful it seems to think such a dear good man as President Lincoln should lose his life by the hands of an assassin. When we first heard of his death, almost every one felt as though our Country was undone, but we feel differently now. It was wrong to place so much dependence upon one man, for Mr Lincoln was only an instrument in the hands of God to carry out this great work which has been accomplished, and his death reminds us that we must look above this world for help in these days of trial. I think there are not many men, if any, who are equal in all respects to Mr. Lincoln, yet it seems as though his heart was too tender to punish treason as it deserves, and perhaps that is why he was relieved from such a painful duty, and a sterner man put in his place.

From your loving Mother 

George’s final letter describes the end of the war.

Alexandria Va
May 14/65 

Dear Brother I received your letter a few days ago and was very glad to hear from you. I meant to have answered it yesterday but Rufus wanted me to go to Mt. Vernon with him so I went. Mt. Vernon was Gen’l Washington’s place. it was worth going to see. it is about six miles from here. we walked down. I suppose it was considered a splendid place in its day an in fact it is as handsome place as there is around here now I went through the House and Gardens also to Washington’s tomb. I guess nearly the whole of our Corps has been there. I have some Magnolia leaves from the tree that Washington planted near his house. I will send one in this. tell Mother to put it with the other things we have sent home. I think she said she had a number of things that we have sent perhaps if she keeps them we may tell something interesting about them when we get home. 
     I saw one of the grandest illuminations a few nights ago that I ever saw in my life. there are two Divisions of our Corps camped here together and they all illuminated their tents by setting a candle on top of each end of the tent and there are nearly 12000 men and a candle to each man and they are in camp on a side hill so we could see the whole camp. it was a splendid sight. then the Regiment turned out with their guns with a candle stuck in the muzzle of them. they marched all around the Camp and the Regts were from different States and as they went by a Mass camp they would cheer for that Regt and Mass boys would go by their camps and give them a cheer and so with other States. it was a pleasant night and not a breath of wind stirring so the candles burned first-rate. 
     There is considerable talk of our getting home soon but I don’t know whether to think so or not. we may get home before our time is out but not for some time yet we are going to have a review today so I have not time to write much more. Yesterday was my birthday. 23 years old . think of it. shall be an old batch soon. Al comes pretty near don’t he I laugh at him about it. I will now close. give my love to all. write soon and tell me all that is going on in town 
                           From your brother
                                              George

Marlboro Rifles; 351 Years Continuous Service

This is the anniversary of John Brown's Raid at Harper's Ferry.  It is also the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Bolivar Heights  (the town above Harper's Ferry) in which Company C of the 13th Mass. charged through the town with the 3rd Wisconsin to drive back Confederate Colonel Turner Ashby's attack force.  This was considered a pretty major engagement for the boys in the regiment at this time, very early in the war.  Companies I and K were at the Ferry too, guarding Herr's Mill, on Virginius Island, the catalyst for the attack.  I wrote extensively about the engagement on my website, here:    Battle of Bolivar Heights

But to connect the past with the present, there was a ceremony today at the Massachusetts National Guard Museum in Worcester. Company F of the 13th Mass. was the Marlboro Rifle Company.  It has a continuous lineage back to 1660, and the organization still exists today as the 125th Quartermaster Company in Worcester, Mass. 

The following excerpt is from a copyrighted article in the Marlboro Enterprise, Sept. 20.  I hope they don't mind the post here, because it says everything so succinctly.

The Chief of Military History, US Army, recently approved the research by Massachusetts National Guard historians that proved that the 125th traces its history back to Dec. 3, 1660, when it was organized as a militia company in Marlborough. This makes the 125th the second oldest company in the Massachusetts National Guard and US Army.

Brig. Gen. Greg Smith, Assistant Adjutant General, will present the unit with 27 campaign streamers for service in the Revolutionary War, Civil War, Spanish American War, World War I and World War II. The first streamer is inscribed “Lexington” for service during the Lexington-Concord battles on April 19, 1775.

From 1822 to 1917 the unit was also called the Marlborough Rifles. The 125th, under various designations, was stationed in Marlborough until 1996 when it moved to Webster, then Worcester.

I know that members of the re-enactment group, Company F, were part of the ceremony, and I hope I can soon post a photograph of the event here.   You can visit the re-enactors site here:  Company F, 13th Mass. Infantry
If I may quote a friend who attended,

"The unit has the unique distinction of being the only existing American unit with recognized participation in the Lexington-Concord events, having been part of the militias who intercepted the British on their retreat to Boston."

This is quite a distinction indeed!

The John Brown Bell Sept. 26, 1861

Tomorrow, Monday, September 26th,  is the 150th Anniversary of the taking of the 'John Brown Bell' by members of Company I, 13th Mass. Vols. from the ruined grounds of the Federal Arsenal at Harper's Ferry.  Companies I & K were picketing the river crossings along the Potomac in September and October, 1861. Members of the Marlboro Volunteer Fire Department who had enlisted in what became Company I of the 13th Mass., wanted the bell  from the engine-house to send home for their fire dept. in Marlboro, which did not have one. The engine-house gained notoriety during John Brown's Raid when the famed abolitionist used it as his fort during the stand off with local militia and Federal troops in October, 1859.
 

If you live near Marlboro, Mass., Paul Brodeur, Trustee of the Marlboro Historical Society, is giving an in depth presentation on the bell Monday Night, at 7 p.m. in Marlboro.  The 150th anniversary of the first part of the long journey of the bell to Marlboro.

Here is the societies description of the event:

        Abolition, The War, and The Bell

Marlborough High School "Little Theater"
431 Bolton Street in Marlborough, MA

Drawing from Brad Forbush’s 13th Regiment website, local historian Joan Abshire’s account of the John Brown Bell, Silas Felton’s two volumes of local history, and the newspaper research of Kathy Lizotte Lynde, Civil War Re-enactor Alan Chamberlain and local historian and Historical Society Board Member Paul Brodeur will cover the fascinating period of rabid abolition in Marlboro, the formation of the fire department that helped staff and motivate Co. I of the Mass 13th, and their movements into Harpers Ferry and beyond.

In addition, the program will cover the untold story of the dramatic players in the story of the Bell.  Not only the soldiers, but the slaves of Harpers Ferry who had been neighbors to the Bell from their position at the Harpers Ferry Wager Hotel and came to Marlboro at the invitation of the Marlboro soldiers.  This account gives new meaning and substance to the Bell’s position as "The Most Important Ringing Bell in America."

Note that this is the first program this season.  Details on the other programs planned will be posted on our site and sent in a future newsletter.
I look forward to seeing you Monday, September 26, at the High School.
-- Janet Licht 


I've been corresponding with Paul this summer, and provided him a few details about the regiment and its personnel.  The exchange of information was mutually beneficial.  He knows the history of his town, and has access to materials I don't have.  The story of the bell is still controversial.

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x1510860539/Battle-resumes-over-Marlboroughs-John-Brown-bell

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/opinion/x1510861301/Brodeur-Battle-of-the-John-Brown-bell


The greatest bit of information I received from Paul, was the story of  former slaves employed at the Wager House Hotel in Harper's Ferry, at the time of  John Brown's Raid, who connected with the 13th Mass. Reg't. when it was camped at Williamsport, Md. in the winter of 1861-62.   Two women and their cousin soon made their way to Marlboro, Mass. where they found a new home, settled and became prominent figures in the community.

I showed Paul the following image, taken in the camp of the 13th Mass, by  soldier/photographer George L. Crosby, (of Marlboro).  None of the people are identified, other than 'contraband.'

His response,
"Could never be certain, but the two women on the right are probably Fannie and her mother Avenia.  Wouldn't be surprised if the guy behind is cousin William Geary. "

We hope to follow up on this, but in the meantime, I hope the presentation is well attended.  He's covering in depth,  the story of the bell, its greater meaning to the community and the country.  I won't spoil it here, but I've had a preview.  I think it will be great