Pottsville Mural to Feature Biddle, Reid. . .

A "Welcome to Pottsville" mural, to be painted at the intersection of Centre and Nichols Streets, will feature two Schuylkill County Civil War figures: Nicholas Biddle and Sergeant Robert Reid of Company G, 48th Pennsylvania.

You can read the full story here.

48th Pennsylvania Casualties at Cold Harbor: June 1-4, 1864

The Battle of Cold Harbor, Alfred Waud. . .

I am a little behind with this posting. I originally intended to post it earlier this week to coincide with the 144th Anniversary of the battles near Cold Harbor, Virginia. The 48th Pennsylvania was heavily engaged in this battle, especially on June 3, 1864, in attacks against the Confederate left flank. The following is the list of casualties sustained by the 48th Pennsylvania in action at Cold Harbor. . .

The Battle of Cold Harbor, Kurz & Allison

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Killed/Mortally Wounded (16)

Patrick Farrell (Co. C)
Sergeant Thomas Tosh (Co. E)
David Williams (Co. E)
Daniel E. Reedy (Co. E)
Edward G. Pugh (Co. F)
William Smith (Co. F)
James Bradley (Co. F)
Corporal Alexander Govan (Co. G)
James Allison (Co. G)
Joseph Alexander (Co. H)
Jeremiah Willoner (Co. I)
John Clark (Co. I)
William J. Price (Co. I)
Benjamin B. Kershner (Co. I)
George Dresh (Co. I)
Jacob Lauby (Co. K)

Corporal Alexander Govan, Company G, was among the killed at Cold Harbor

Wounded (55)

William Koch (Co. A)
George Betz (Co. A)
John Hegg (Co. A)
Simon Snyder (Co.A)
Elias Lins (Co. A)
Corporal Monroe Heckman (Co. A)
J.D. Ash (Co. A)
Samuel Eckroth (Co. A)
Israel Britton (Co. A)
Sergeant Samuel Strauch (Co. B)
Sergeant Robert Campbell (Co. B)
1st Lieutenant P.C. Loeser (Co. C)
2nd Lieutenant William Clark (Co. C)
John Dolan (Co. C)
Thomas Boyle (Co. C)
Daniel Boyer (Co. E)
John Clemens (Co. E)
Robert Beverage (Co. E)
Patrick Brennan (Co. E)
Charles Quinn (Co. E)
Albert Cummings (Co. E)
Abraham Sigmund (Co. E)
Sergeant James Easton (Co. F)
Corporal Robert Padden (Co. F)
George H. Jones (Co. F)
Jacob Kuhns (Co. F)
William E. Duffy (Co. F)
Cyrus Haines (Co. F)
James Hoult (Co. F)
Sergeant C.F. Kuentzler (Co. G)
Corporal John Hutton (Co. G)
William Martin (Co. G)
John Benedict (Co. H)
Sergeant Henry Burnsteel (Co. H)
Corporal Henry Matthews (Co. H)
Corporal William Lloyd (Co. H)
Joseph Hayes (Co. H)
Anthony O’Donnell (Co. H)
James Welsh (Co. H)
William Davis (Co. H)
Edward Metz (Co. H)
1st Sergeant Oliver A. J. Davis (Co. I)
Sergeant Jacob Ongstadt (Co. I)
Corporal Elias C. Kehl (Co. I)
Peter Keller (Co. I)
William Owens (Co. I)
John H. Cooper, Jr. (Co. I)
Isaac Beltz (Co. I)
Charles Gould (Co. I)
Martin Dooley (Co. I)
Thomas J. Reed (Co. I)
H.W. Hass (Co. K)
Milton Nagle (Co. K)
William G. Keiser (Co. K)
Thomas Hudson (Co. K)

DISSED: The Best of the Worst in Civil War Nicknames

The generals of the American Civil War sure had their fair share of nicknames.

Most of the time they were complimentary and affectionate--i.e. "Stonewall" Jackson, "Uncle John" Sedgwick, "Uncle Billy" Sherman etc--but oftentimes they were not; indeed, some were downright insulting.

I thought I'd take a look today at some of the less than flattering nicknames of some of the war's Union and Confederate leaders.

Vote for your favorite in the comments section, or add your own to the list. I am sure there are scores I forgot. . .

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There were so many officers given derogatory sobriquets for their perceived caution and lethargy in bringing troops to the front. . .

Take George Sykes, for example. He was known as "Tardy George."

"Yeah, yeah. . .I'm getting there. Just let me finish the funnies."

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Or how about George Thomas? Sure, he had several, more famous, nicknames such as "Pap" or "The Rock of Chickamauga," but he was also known in some circles as "Slow Trot."

"I dare you to come over here and call me Slow Trot to my face."

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Henry Warner Slocum was a steady, reliable officer. . .it's too bad his last name could turn easily into "Slow Come."

"Oh yeah, REALLY funny, you guys. Did you think of that all by yourselves?"

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Poor old Abner Doubleday's surname gave fodder to his critics.

He was "Old Forty-Eight Hours."

"Wait, what do they call me? Old Forty-Eight Hours? I don't get it."

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Like George Thomas, even some of the more illustrious--and more brilliant--generals of the Civil War had their detractors and their own nasty nicknames.

While Robert E. Lee was known by many complimentary sobriquets, he was, at least early in the war, sometimes referred to as "The King of Spades," or "Granny Lee."

"Granny. . .? Well of all the nerve. Can you believe these young whippersnappers these days?"

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Thomas Jonathan Jackson had perhaps the most famous nickname of the Civil War: Stonewall. But in his younger days, he was sometimes called "Tom Fool" by his students at VMI, or by some of his soldiers as 'That Crazy Old Presbyterian Fool."

"If you put as much energy and effort into your schoolwork as you do in coming up with nicknames for me. . . Now go study the Bible and see what that has to say about making fun of people."

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Winfield Scott orchestrated one of greatest campaigns in American military history during the Mexican-American War. . .but by the Civil War, he was simply "Old Fuss-n-Feathers."

"Whatever. Whose the one who has all this bling? I rule, critics drool."

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Ulysses S. Grant. Well, of course there was "Unconditional Surrender" Grant and, more affectionately "Sam" Grant. But there was also "Useless" Grant and "Grant the Butcher."

"The name's Hiram, thank you very much."

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I'm not sure if George Gordon Meade had any nicknames, but one detractor famously labeled him as that "damned old, goggle-eyed, snapping turtle."

"Hey! Hey! You get over here! Come on, Brady, hurry up. I need to deliver an old school lesson in respect to that clown."

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There were many other nicknames worthy of honorable mention. . . .

John Bell Hood. . ."Old Wooden Head"

William Lowther Jackson. . .unlike his more famous cousin, William was known as "Mudwall."

Apparently, William E. Jones loved to gripe and moan and complain. Hence his nickname: "Grumble." Another Jones, David Rumph Jones, of no relation, was much more affectionately referred to as "Neighbor."

Hugh Judson Kilpatrick? More like Hugh Judson "Kill Cavalry."

Ben Butler was an ardent abolitionist and is thus alright by me in my books. But he was vilified throughout the South as "Spoons," for his penchant for stealing exquisite silverware and china from Southern homes, and the "Beast."

Poor Old William Henry French had a habit of incessantly batting his eyes when he spoke. He was known thus as "Old Blinky."

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These are just some of the less-than-flattering Civil War nicknames I can think of. If you have any for me to add. . .let me know.

Storm Ravages Antietam National Battlefield. . .

Click over to my buddy Mannie's blog to see photographs of the devastation left behind at the Antietam National Battlefield following severe storms that swept through the area yesterday: http://volunteersinparks.blogspot.com/2008/06/major-wind-storm-wracks-antietam.html


More information about the storm and its wreckage can be found on the Hagerstown Herald Mail website:
http://www.herald-mail.com/?cmd=displaystory&story_id=195674&format=html

Live Civil War Artillery Shell. . .in Pottsville?

My good friend--and fellow Schuylkill County Civil War historian--Tom Shay brought the following story to my attention.

As it turns out, the son of the late Leo Ward, the long-time head of the Historical Society of Schuylkill County who passed away two weeks ago, donated several items of Leo's personal collection to the society including an unexploded Hotchkiss shell. . .

3" Federal Hotchkiss Shell (flatnose), missing sabot.

Here is the complete story as reported in yesterday's Pottsville Republican & Evening Herald:



Bomb squad removes Civil War-era shell from Schuylkill County Historical Society
BY STEPHEN J. PYTAK, STAFF WRITER
Published: Sunday, June 1, 2008 9:32 AM


"A bomb squad from Fort Drum, N.Y., removed a Civil War-era artillery round Saturday from the county historical society.

The unexploded Hotchkiss shell filled with black powder and made to fit a 3-inch ordinance rifle, was donated to the Historical Society of Schuylkill County, 305 N. Centre St., Pottsville, this week by the estate of Leo L. Ward.

Ward was a longtime president of the historical society who died May 17, according to David Derbes, acting president of the society.

Ward’s son, David, cleaned out Ward’s apartment on the 600 block of Mahantongo Street and donated historical items to the society, Derbes said. Among them was the antique round.
'It’s like a tin can, three inches in diameter and seven inches long. It contains powder and little shots,' Derbes said.

Markings on one end of it stated it was made in 1862.

While visiting the society Friday, J. Stuart Richards, Orwigsburg, a Civil War historian, encouraged Derbes to get rid of it.

'As soon as I picked it up, and saw it was a Hotchkiss with the date of 1862 on it, I wasn’t sure if it was an active round or what they call a canister round. But rather than be safe than sorry, we contacted Pottsville police,' Richards said.

Derbes contacted Pottsville police Chief Joseph H. Murton V and Murton made the arrangements to have the bomb squad remove it.

Sgt. Ryan Jaminet of the 725th Explosive Ordnance Disposal at Fort Drum walked to the second-floor storage room, where the round was sitting in a cardboard box. Jaminet picked up the unexploded shell with his bare hands and carefully placed it in an ammunition can.

'That will at least stabilize it,' Derbes said.

The round probably wouldn’t ignite if dropped, he said.

'Black powder is not as sensitive to friction as other things. More so to flame. While it’s a little bit more stable, it’s a little bit more dangerous than some other things,' Jaminet said.

A spark would probably set it off, Jaminet said.

The round was taken to Fort Drum.

'We’ll probably dispose of it on the range,' Jaminet said.

Memorial Day Battlefield Tour

This summer will mark my third at Antietam National Battlefield, although it still seems like just yesterday when I first came on board. With the weather at last realizing that we are, indeed, in the midst of spring, the park's visitation has increased and it is safe to say that we are back in the full "swing of things." This past weekend was an especially busy one at the park. It was, of course, Memorial Day Weekend, and the weather was perfect. There was a full schedule of programs and presentations, including the season's first ranger-led, two and a half hour long, battlefield tours. This is easily my favorite program to give and, as we are fond of saying, it is the best way to see the field and learn about the battle. Last summer, I provided an even sixty of such programs, with the most memorable on September 17, the battle's 145th Anniversary.

When I arrived at work on Saturday, I discovered that I would leading the battlefield tour on Monday, Memorial Day. Because it has been many months since I last presented the battlefield tour, I feared that I would be a little bit rusty. I thus spent the ensuing two days getting reacquainted with the themes, the anecdotal stories, and the necessary preliminaries, i.e. making sure the park's van had plenty of gas. Monday arrived and found the park buzzing with visitors. By 10:00 a.m., the overflow parking lot was already filling up. I knew I would have a large group. Then, around 1:25 p.m., I made the first announcement: "Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the Antietam National Battlefield. This is just a reminder that coming up in a few minutes we will begin our two-hour long, ranger-led tour of the battlefield. To learn more about the Maryland Campaign and the Battle of Antietam, please make your way to the Observation Room for this two-hour long battlefield tour." After another such announcement, I grabbed my photographs of Lee, McClellan, and A.P. Hill and headed on upstairs. The observation room was crowded, and although I've delivered hundreds of presentations to groups both large and small over the past three years, I could not help but get a little nervous. But after the customary "Good afternoon" and "I'd like to welcome you once again to the park. . .," I was right back in full tour mode.

There were about 80, maybe 85, visitors on the tour, following behind me in about 30 vehicles, as I made my way to the Cornfield, Sunken Road, and Burnside Bridge. Now, over the years I have had my share of inspiring and truly memorable moments. . .last summer's tour on the battle's anniversary for one. But yesterday witnessed another. There was a reflective, even somber mood among the group, as those in attendance realized they were at the Antietam National Battlefield--the scene of America's most sanguinary and bloodiest single-day battle--on Memorial Day. Then, at 3:00 p.m., just as my group settled in the Sunken Road, the time had arrived to observe the nation-wide moment of silence. "Ladies and Gentleman, this being Memorial Day, the National Park Service asks that we join together in a moment of silent remembrance as we reflect upon the service of those men and women of the American armed forces who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms while serving in the line of duty."

It was a profound moment. . .unlike any I have ever before felt at the battlefield.