Sarah's Story

On March 14, 1900, Sarah Commodore appeared at the federal pension office in Baltimore and was interviewed by a special examiner regarding her recent application for widow's benefits. Her husband, George William Commodore (right) served as a landsman in the navy from 1864 to 1867. Sarah told the examiner about her marriage and life after his death. Her four-page testimony is preserved in her pension file (with his tintype) at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.

Here is the transcript of her statement. The original is one long paragraph. I divided this transcript into paragraphs, inserting breaks where it appears the special examiner asked a question. The line of questions is based upon a preliminary investigation in 1899 and a review of Commodore's service record.

I am about 65 years of age but cannot state positively. My post office address is 1623 Brunt St. Balt. Md. & a laundress. I am the widow of George W. Commodore who served in the U.S. Navy during the Civil War. I cannot say when he enlisted or was discharged. I think he enlisted early in the war. He served for three years. He enlisted at Baltimore and a few days afterward I visited him in the ship he was on. I think it was called the “Allegheny.” I did not see my husband again until he was stationed at the Washington Navy Yard & I then visited him often. He was not then on a vessel but was a cook on shore in the Navy Yard.

The picture that I now show you was taken at Washington, I think, while he was there in the Navy Yard. I know that he sent it from there to me & I have kept it ever since.

The enlistment I have stated was the only time he was in the Navy & he was never in the Army or in any other service. I am sure he enlisted under his own name which was George William Commodore.

My husband died in April and I think 15 years ago. A society he belonged to gave me a lot at the time of his death & my husband is buried in that lot. I show you the deed. (She owns that lot 385. B. Sharp St. Cemetery, Balt. Was deeded by the Trustees of said Cemetery to Sarah Commodore on Apl. 23, 1885. The deed is signed by the Pres. & Sec. with seal embossed. M.A.W. Spl. Ex.).

I was married several years before the war but cannot give the date or even approximate. I had a certificate but lost it years ago & failed to have it renewed. I was married to sailor Geo. W. Commodore by Rev. Savage Hammond a minister of the A.M.E. Church, & was pastor of the Bethel Church Baltimore. I was married at the house of a cousin of mine, Mrs. Susan Golden who lived on Little Monument St. bet. St. Mary and Orchard St. Mrs. Golden is dead. Georgiana Jefferson was my bridesmaid. She is now Georgiana Clayton & is still living. Mrs. Harris was also present when I was married and she is now dead. Rev. Hammond died years ago, either during the war or soon afterward, in Baltimore. I do not recall any one except Mrs. Clayton who was present when I was married & who are now living.

My maiden name was Sarah Jones. Both my husband & myself were raised in Baltimore and both were freeborn. We were boy & girl together & I had known my husband for six or more years before we were married. He was about 3 years older than I was. I have not remarried since my husbands death but am still his legal widow. Neither my husband nor myself have been married before our marriage to each other. We were never separated but lived together for about 40 years & he was with me & I nursed him during his last illness & until his death.

We then lived on St. Mary St., had half a house with a man named Pearce & my husband died there of heart disease. We had 7 children but all are dead. The last child died about 7 years since. But one was living when my husband died & she was married at that time.

I do not know my husbands age when he enlisted. Cannot say whether he was 39 or 40 or what, but my oldest living child was about 8 years old when her father enlisted & she was my fifth child then being 4 children older but who were dead at that time.

My husband had no marks or scars of any kind that I remember. My husband never had small pox since I first new him. He has said that when young he had small pox but he had no marks of such so far as I ever saw or knew of.

He was a dragman when he enlisted. He was short in height, not very stout, was dark in complexion, hair & eyes. He wore his mustache as shown in likeness when he went away to enlist, if I recollect correctly. My husband was at the Washington Navy Yard most of his time. I think he only served on vessels for a few months not a year altogether.

So far as I know or heard my husband had good health while in the service. Never knew or heard of him being sick at any time until after the war, when he first had trouble with his heart.

Soon after my husband left the Navy he bought a little piece of land across the river from Washington, in Maryland, & his mother & sister went there to live. We never received any benefit from it and after his mother & sister died I do not know what became of it. We never attended to it or paid taxes on it & never visited it. After my husband died I just let it be as before & have never paid taxes on it. I can’t say what it cost but my recollection is that my husband paid about $80.00 for it. He did not own any other property. He had no life insurance. He belonged to the Odd Fellows & they buried him & gave me the lot. I have never received any other benefits from any society or in any way, and have never had any income of any kind except from my own labor.

My daughter could not help me for she had to work for her children, for her husband did not help her. After her death I have had to take care of my daughters children, & I have them still with me. The two eldest help me a little & the two youngest are at school. The eldest is nearly 19.

After my husbands death I went out to service, first with Mr. Arthur Palmer with whom I worked 11 months. I then went to Bishop Paret & served there 4 years. Then my daughter died & I had to take care of her children, so rented two rooms & have had them with me ever since supporting myself & them, by washing & other work that I can get to do.

My husband did not apply for a pension during his life time. He had good health & so have I & we get along comfortably so did not think we were entitled. He was only sick about a year before he died. After his death I did not apply for a pension because I had lost my marriage certificate & my husbands discharge. Lately I was told by a friend that I could get a pension under another law, & would not need the papers I had lost, so I put in a application as I was greatly in need of help & was getting old. I do not know who I can furnish to prove that my husband or myself were not married before our marriage, except Mrs. Clayton. I know that Richard Owens and Maria Johnson both knew me when I was young and since but I don’t know where they live. Sarah Chambers also knew me.

I will be present here if I can when my witnesses are examined by my attorney. Mr. A. Parleff Lloyd is prosecuting my claim. I have made no arrangement with him as to fee, and have never paid him any fees. My statement has been read to me, I have understood your questions & am correctly recorded.

Witness: N.N. Hill

Sarah (her X mark) Commodore
Deponent

Layton Morris: Missing in Action

Today I received this low-resolution scan of Corp. Layton Morris of the Twenty-fourth U.S. Colored Infantry. It appeared for auction on eBay, date unknown.

The individual who sent it to me is a genealogist who specializes in researching African American descendants. This person does not own the original image, which appears to be a carte de visite inserted into a period photograph album page.

I want to find out who the rightful owner of this image is, and, if he or she would share this photograph with me for my forthcoming book on African American soldiers.

Please contact me if you have any information about this image.

Unique Wartime Letter Proves Awareness of Historic Role

A letter written by the surgeon of the Eighth U.S. Colored Infantry less than a month after the Battle of Olustee is unique in several respects.

The author, Alexander Peter Heichhold (1825-1882, pictured right) a white Pennsylvania physician in his late thirties, was a staunch supporter of equal rights. According to a biographer, “The doctor was an ultra Republican, and an early advocate for the enlistment of colored troops.” Dr. Heichhold took the first opportunity afforded him to leave his original regiment, the 105th Pennsylvania Infantry, and join the Eighth.

The letter describes in detail the regiment's participation in the Battle of Olustee, Florida, on Feb. 20, 1864. It suffered the loss of more than half its men and officers, one of the highest casualty rates of any regiment in any battle during the entire war. While battle letters are fairly common, the descriptive quality of this account is as impressive as its accounting of events. An excerpt:

[Brig. Gen. Truman Seymour] now came up, and pointing in front towards the railroad, said to Col. [Charles Wesley] Fribley, commander of the 8th, "take your regiment in there," a place which was sufficiently hot to make veterans tremble, and yet we were to enter it with men who had never heard the sound of a cannon. Col. Fribley ordered the regiment, by company, into line, double-quick march, but, before it was fairly in line, the men commenced dropping like leaves in autumn; still, on they went, without faltering or murmuring, until they came within two hundred yards of the enemy, when the struggle for life and death commenced...

The letter was published in the March 12, 1864 edition of The Christian Recorder, a weekly newspaper distributed to black regiments.

Heichhold makes a point in his letter that proves he (and more than likely the men with whom he served) were very aware of the historic role in breaking through color barriers as they fought for their own freedom:

Here, on the field of Olustee, was decided whether the colored man had the courage to stand without shelter, and risk the dangers of the battle-field; and when I tell you that they stood with a fire in front, on their flank, and in their rear, for 2 1/2 hours, without flinching, and when I tell you the number of dead and wounded, I have no doubt as to the verdict of every man who has gratitude for the defenders of his country, white or black.

Photo of Surg. Heichhold from the American Civil War Research Database.

On Private Soldiers and Line Officers

I am fond of repeating "The history of the Civil War is the stories of its soldiers" and other such sayings to convey the essence of what drives me to do what I do. During the past week I came upon a Civil War veteran with a similar view.

Captain George Hillyer of the Confederate Ninth Georgia Infantry noted, "It is interesting to talk about the privates and line officers. We all admire the generals and our eyes kindle and beam, and our ears are full of enthusiasm as we pay deserved tributes to their fame. But it is to the private soldier and the line officers, many of them just as brave as the most famous general, to whom full justice has not been, and can never be done."

This quote appears on page 13 of My Gettysburg Battle Experiences (Thomas Publications, 2005), edited by Gregory A. Coco.

The Mystery of "Field and Fireside"

I came across an 1873 review of a play, Field and Fireside, described as an original American society comedy. According to the Nov. 18, 1873, edition of the San Francisco Bulletin, "The drama is a portrayal of some of the incidents of the rebellion, and is full of the exciting scenes of war and the quiet, happy scenes of peace; scenes of love and hatred, of sorrow and shame, of friendship and treachery. It presents the comic and the serious side of life; its fantasies and its realities."

Characters include Captain Airey, a patriotic Union officer, his love interest, Delia Derrick, her father, the unscrupulous "Old Derrick," the lovesick war correspondent "Merrygrave," and the exaggerated Englishman, Lieutenant-Colonel Fitz Roy Bull, of the Royal Fusileers. Eliza the maid and servants "Wash" and "John" are also in the cast.

I've found little else about this play other than a few newspapers ads dated 1873 and 1874. One of them notes the play was written by Williams. My working theory is that this is Dr. John B. Williams. His obituary from the Oct. 15, 1878, New York Herald:

JOHN B. WILLIAMS, M.D.
Dr. John B. Williams died at his residence, No. 252 Fifth avenue, Brooklyn, on Sunday evening, October 13. He was born in Cambridge, England; studied medicine in London and Paris, and after completing his professional education came to this country about twenty-five years ago. In 1856 he started the Family Journal in Baltimore. It was the first story and sketch paper ever published in the South and had a large circulation. The war ut a stop to this enterprise, and the Doctor became connected with various family papers at the North and gained reputation as a writer. He was a man of fine literary taste, general ability and attractive social qualities. His age was fifty-two years and he leaves a wife and two sons.

If you have any knowledge about Field and Fireside, I want to hear from you! I am particularly interested in learning if a copy of the play is in existence.

"The Happiest Moments of His Life"

Col. Ozora Pierson Stearns (1831-1896) of the Thirty-ninth U.S. Colored Infantry, in an interview with an historian, recounted his participation in the ill-fated Battle of the Crater along the front lines at Petersburg, Virginia, on July 30, 1864. In this excerpt, Stearns' graphic account of the battle caught my attention:

At the mine explosion in front of Petersburg July 30, Colonel Stearns’ regiment was the last to go into the fight after the rebels had rallied and formed a cordon of fire along the whole front. As they were passing the crater, moving by the flank, a cannon-ball took off the head of one of his men near the front of his regiment, and threw the head of the column into some confusion. The air was full of grape canister-shells and minie-balls. The colonel mounted a chunk of clay about three feet high, and drew his sword and shouted to his regiment with a voice that could be heard above the din of the battle, and it immediately came into line and filed past him in excellent order. Those were, he declares, the happiest moments of his life.

The last sentence brought to mind Gen. Robert E. Lee's often repeated quote, "It is well that war is so terrible — lest we should grow too fond of it." I suspect that Stearns, who went on to become a respected judge, serve a stint as U.S. Senator, and become a staunch supporter of women's suffrage, would not have ever wanted to be in such a position of danger again. And yet, it is clear that in that moment at the edge of the Crater, as he stood atop a boulder with a commanding view of the utter chaos unfolding around him in contrast to the orderly procession of his men, he experienced two extreme emotions almost simultaneously, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

How you or I would react to such battlefield stress is an unknown. Would we feel elated, as Stearns recalled in later years, or would we be forever damaged by the experience? Or both?

Stearns' recollection of the Battle of the Crater continues:

When the rebels made their final charge, after nearly the whole line had given way, Colonel Stearns rallied a few men and was holding a short piece of the line just at the right of the crater, when a shell burst, seemingly right in his face, which stunned him for a moment. When he recovered he was alone — all others had fallen or fled. There were some still fighting in the crater. He went into it to see what could be done. He saw it was impossible to hold it. This was just after the Forest massacre. He thought, if captured, he would be hung. He concluded to try and reach the Union lines, one hundred and fifty yards away. As he started, several started with him. They had gone but a few yards when every man that started with him had fallen. In his mind he gave up all hope and said: “Well, you’ve got me now, and you’ll shoot me in the back, but you shan’t shoot me running.” He then stopped running, took out his sword and walked slowly, clipping weeds. He reached the old line of works, leaped over them, and commenced preparing for an expected assault on that line. Just then another shell burst, seemingly in his face. Against his right shoulder was a cavalry soldier and against his left a colored soldier. The shell tore off the shoulder of the cavalry soldier so he could see the beating of his lung, and tore away the chin of the colored soldier. The colonel was unharmed. He lost in this engagement ten officers and one hundred and eighty-five men killed and wounded. His colors had thirteen ball holes through them. His color-bearer, at his request, was voted by congress a medal of honor for bravery in the battle.

— Butterfield, Consul Willshire. “Bench and Bar of Duluth.” Magazine of Western History (March 1889). Photo from Wikipedia.

"Commanded by Black Officers"

On April 11, 1864, J.P. Campbell, Baltimore correspondent for The Christian Recorder, a weekly newspaper distributed to black regiments, wrote about the parade of the Thirty-ninth U.S. Colored Infantry through downtown Baltimore. Of special note is the mention of a black captain, George A. Hackett (1806-1870), a prominent local leader and an activist for African American rights. Hackett was not a member of the Thirty-ninth. It appears he had the honor of riding at the head of the regiment as it marched through the city. This account was published on April 16, 1864:

The 39th Regiment U.S.C.T., had a grand parade on last Thursday. The occasion was, that the Rev. A.W. Wayman, had invited them through Col. Bowman, to his church on that day, to hear a sermon preached for their especial benefit. The Colonel consented to this proposition. They came to Bethel Church, and the sermon was preached by Bro. Wayman. It was well received; and, at the conclusion, a resolution was passed, requesting a copy of the original for publication, to be distributed among the soldiers. the day was pleasant, and hundreds of persons were in attendance upon the occasion. Anxious spectators of both sexes were there, and several gentlemen of the clerical order; among whom, we noticed the Rev. S.H. Chase, an out-spoken advocate for the rights of his race. It would have done your soul good, to have seen our colored Captain, George A. Hackett, mounted upon a white charger, dressed in full military costume, commanding this regiment, marching through the streets of Baltimore, after the heart-cheering notes of a new brigade band, and gazed upon by admiring hosts. They marched, not through the back streets, lanes and alleys, but through the main, the fashionable, and the most aristocratic streets of the city. What a wonderful thing, if not a miracle, to see a regiment of colored soldiers, commanded by black officers, marching through the streets of the city of Baltimore, unmolested by slaveholders and their miserable wretched minions; but so it is, and they cannot prevent it.

What Will Be Gained by the Present War?

This is a question that Sgt. Charles W. Singer of the 107th U.S. Colored Infantry asked and then answered in a letter to the editor of the Christian Recorder (Philadelphia, Pa.). This is an excerpt of the complete letter published on Oct. 8, 1864.

The question has frequently been asked: What will be gained by the present war? I ask, in return: What will you not lose by a mongrel state of peace? We would lose the best opportunity that has ever been afforded us to show the whole world that we are willing to fight for our rights. Why should not the black slave of the South fight for his liberty as well as the white serf of Russia? A slave is but a slave, and a man is but a man. Age or color is nothing - blood will tell all. The so-called southern Confederacy is fighting for the establishment of a Government, which will have for its corner-stone the perpetuation of human slavery - the degradation of the many for the purpose of elevating the few; but never shall they succeed so long as I can raise my arm against them. Who ever learned in the school of base submission the lessons of freedom, courage and independence? When did submission to a wrong induce an adversary to cease his encroachments? Some say: "Show me what the colored man has to fight for, and then I will go." You cannot see it now; but wait until some future day, and it will unfold itself most gloriously to the whole country. We want the rights of freemen, and must have them; but we can never get them if the South gain its independence. If I were now a slave at the South, my motto would be: "Give me liberty, or give me death!" I hope that motto will ring throughout the entire length and breadth of the rebel States, and fire the hearts of the men. Shall we not console our aged mothers with the hope, that, when hereafter their souls, crowned with the garlands of martyrdom, look down from the home of the blessed, the united joys of the heavens shall thrill through their immortal spirits, seeing their dear people free from the bondage of slavery?

Ulysses S. Grant Goes Undercover

I came across the following anecdote while searching for information about the Union military hospital at Point of Rocks, located along the Appomattox River near City Point, Virginia, where Maj. Gen. U.S. Grant (pictured right) established his headquarters during the Siege of Petersburg in 1864-1865.

The story appears on pages 213-214 of Under the Guns: A Woman's Reminiscences of the Civil War by Annie Wittenmyer (1827-1900), who served as a nurse during the war. She writes that the most notable feature of the Point of Rocks hospital was its kitchens and the high-quality, seemingly home-cooked meals that came from them. She adds that their fame quickly spread along the lines, and attracted a great number of surgeons to learn if the reports were true. "To many it seemed incredible that the cooking for the very sick could be so well managed right along the front lines." Bolstered by the positive feedback, she took it upon herself to extend an invitation to the top army commander:

At my request, General Grant, commanding the United States forces with headquarters at City Point, visited these famous kitchens.

Himself and two of his staff went in disguise.

With his slouch hat drawn down, and coming in citizen's clothing, no one noticed him. They stood by the door of the largest kitchen, while the dinner was issued. He asked, when the food had been sent out, a few questions and looked at the bill of fare, then followed to the wards to see the patients receive it.

He said, when I next came down from Washington and called at headquarters, that he thought it was the most wonderful thing he had ever seen. He was unusually enthusiastic.

"Why," said he, "those men live better than I do; and so many of them too. How they manage to cook such a variety for so many hundreds is what puzzles me."

The he told me about his going through the wards while they were taking their dinner, and noticing how greatly they enjoyed the food. And when told THAT THE MOST OF THIS FOOD CAME FROM THE COMMUTATION OF GOVERNMENT RATIONS, he was still more surprised.

When he was passing through one of the wards, a convalescing soldier, taking him to be a delegate of the Christian Commission, called out, "Say, Christian, won't you bring me a pair of socks?"

"I'll see that you get a pair," the general responded, and passed out; but he arranged to have the man get a pair of socks.

Progress Report

Yesterday I emailed my editor at The Johns Hopkins University Press an end-of-the-year update on the African American book. To date, I have secured scans of 74 images, and researched and written 15 profiles. I had set a goal of 75 images and 10 profiles, and so am pleased with my progress.

This year's goal is to locate 21 more images (for a total of 95) and write 45 more profiles. This will be a challenge, and I am cautiously optimistic.

Also mentioned in my email: "Looking ahead, 2012 marks the 150th anniversary of the first organized black regiments, and 2013 the 150th of the U.S. War Department making the organization of black troops official. The publication of the book with these dates in mind may be advantageous."

Time to get to work!

In the Shadow of Robert Gould Shaw

A young officer with a promising future serves as colonel of a colored regiment and is killed leading his regiment into battle. His tragic death is mourned by his troops, who go on to further their hard-earned reputation as fighting men. This of course is the story of Robert Gould Shaw of the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry.

It is also the story of Charles Wesley Fribley of the Eighth U.S. Colored Infantry. He and Gould have much in common.

Both attended college. Boston-born Gould spent three years at Harvard and Fribley, born and raised on a farm in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, attended Dickinson Seminary in Williamsport.

Both began their Civil War service in a three-month regiment and became line officers in other regiments before taking the helm of colored infantrymen. Gould served in the Seventh New York and Second Massachusetts and rose in rank from second lieutenant to captain. Fribley served in the Eleventh and Eighty-fourth Pennsylvania and rose in rank from sergeant to captain and adjutant.

Both became colonels in colored regiments in 1863. Gould became major of the Fifty-fourth in March and advanced to colonel in April. Fribley became colonel of the Eighth in November.

Both men died in action after being in charge of their regiments for three months. Gould suffered a mortal wound in the assault on Fort Wagner, South Carolina, in July 1863. He died at age twenty-five. Fribley suffered a mortal wound rallying his men in the Battle of Olustee, Florida, in February 1864. He died at age twenty-eight.

Both men were buried with their men on the field of battle. Those who survived went on to fight with distinction in other battles until the end of the war

Gould left behind more than 200 letters. His story, and those of the men of the Fifty-fourth, were told on the big screen in the movie Glory.

Fribley and the Eighth were memorialized in Hymn of the Freedman soon after the colonel's death. His story, and those of his men, have faded from national memory.

Photo credits: Robert Gould Shaw from the National Gallery of Art; Charles Wesley Fribley from the American Civil War Research Database.

Streamlining the Military Courts

The military service file of a soldier in the Eighth U.S. Colored Infantry includes a document that details the proceedings of a trial. It is fairly common to find records of this kind for individuals who have broken the rules and are brought before a formal courts martial. However, this case is different, because the soldier appeared before a less formal Field Officers Court.

This is the first time I've come across this reference, and it required me to make a side journey off the main research trial to learn more about this type of organization.

I emailed my friend Michael Schaffner, who has a keen interest in clerical and other bureaucratic functions of the volunteer armies during the war and has portrayed a clerk as a living historian. He replied quickly, and, in a follow-up discussion in person the next day, explained how the Field Officers Court came into existence by an 1862 Act of Congress. The goal was to relieve stress on the general courts martial by allowing minor infractions to be tried on the regimental level. The field officers presiding over each trial were led by the lieutenant colonel or major.

Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman was a fan of the innovation. He wrote in his Memoirs (Vol. 2, p. 397):

In camp, and especially in the presence of an active enemy, it is much easier to maintain discipline than in barracks in time of peace. Crime and breaches of discipline are much less frequent, and the necessity for courts-martial far less. The captain can usually inflict all the punishment necessary, and the colonel should always. The field-officers' court is the best form for war, viz., one of the field-officers — the lieutenant-colonel or major — can examine the case and report his verdict, and the colonel should execute it. Of course, there are statutory offenses which demand a general court-martial, and these must be ordered by the division or corps commander; but the presence of one of our regular civilian judge-advocates in an army in the field would be a first-class nuisance, for technical courts always work mischief. Too many courts-martial in any command are evidence of poor discipline and inefficient officers.

The Field Officers Court was not adopted by all regiments. The Eighth U.S. Colored Infantry did, and in the case of the soldier mentioned above, he plead guilty to being absent without leave and received a ten dollar fine: A small infraction handled appropriately and quickly be his peers, without bogging down the larger organization in extra paperwork and taking time from an already overburdened court system and the officers detailed to it.

An Acre at Malvern Hill

When the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) call to action to help save 178 acres of Malvern Hill came in the mail the other day, my thoughts went to three captains that I've researched whose lives were touched by the fighting during this last engagement of the Seven Days' Battles.

George Pierce of the Tenth Massachusetts Infantry, who suffered a gunshot wound in the right arm in the fighting there on July 1, 1862. Dennis Moore of the Sixty-first New York Infantry, struck by an artillery shell in his right calf at nearby Nelson's Farm on June 30, 1862. A surgeon amputated Moore's damaged leg below the knee on the battlefield, and he lay there the next day as the battle raged at Malvern Hill. Motier Norton of the Eighteenth New York Infantry, who fell ill with typhoid fever shortly after the battle. Exposure to the rigors of campaigning in the field compromised his health and forced him to resign his commission. Each of these men are profiled in Faces of the Civil War: An Album of Union Soldiers and Their Stories.

It was with these veterans in mind that I wrote a check to save an acre of Malvern Hill. And to preserve the land that these three captains and tens of thousands of other soldiers fought over. And for future generations of men and women, boys and girls, who might someday walk across a pristine plot of ground in Virginia and wonder about the soldiers who happened on that spot a long, long time ago.

It feels good to contribute to something much larger than yourself.

Tis always the season.

Visit to the Butler Civil War Round Table

I knew I was going to enjoy my visit to the Butler Civil War Round Table soon after arriving when one of its members, Dottie Cress, pulled a small album out of her bag and showed me some of the original cartes de visite and tintypes she has collected. Beautiful images all. She is on the hunt for original photographs of two of her ancestors who fought, James and Joseph Nunamaker of the Tenth Pennsylvania Reserve Infantry.

I also met Paul Means, a artist and photographer who specializes in painting murals. We had a great conversation about art and its impact on our lives.

Bill May, the leader of the group, wore a Santa hat and led us through a trivia contest, raffle and Christmas carol singalong. I've spoken before a number of round tables, but this is the first singing round table!

My presentation, Faces of War, has three parts: The history of early photography, a sampling of cartes de visite of Pennsylvania soldiers, and a collection of charts from my soldier database. Judging from the comments afterward, I was very pleased with its reception.

The presentation has been a work in progress this year. I have been honing it from event to event. I will continue to refine it for future engagements.

Perhaps my favorite moment of the evening was talking with a schoolteacher named Steve. He appreciated the cards I handed out. (Each member receives a card in the beginning of the presentation which features a soldier image, his name and hometown; after the presentation, each member receives another card with the soldier's story.) Steve would like to use to help his eighth graders relate to the Civil War through the stories of the soldiers who fought. I will make all the cards available to him.

Lincoln Looks to Johnson for a Champion

While researching the origins of the Corps d'Afrique, I came across this private letter written by President Abraham Lincoln to then Sen. Andrew Johnson of Tennessee. Lincoln's hope for a quick end to the war by raising regiments of black troops, and his desire to find prominent white leaders to make it happen, is evidenced by its contents:

Executive Mansion
Washington, March 26, 1863

Hon. Andrew Johnson:

My Dear Sir: I am told you have at least thought of raising a negro military force. In my opinion the country now needs no specific thing so much as some man of your ability and position to go to this work. When I speak of your position, I mean that of an eminent citizen of a slave State, and himself a slave-holder. The colored population is the great available, and yet unavailed of, force for restoring the Union. The bare sight of 50,000 armed and drilled black soldiers upon the banks of the Mississippi would end the rebellion at once. And who doubts that we can present that sight if we but take hold in earnest? If you have been thinking of it, please do not dismiss the thought.

Yours, very truly,
A. Lincoln

From The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series III, Volume III, p. 103.

Do Unto Others

The Thanksgiving holiday brought to mind an excerpt of a speech given in 1871 by Lt. Col. David Branson (1840-1916) of the Sixty-second U.S. Colored Infantry. He spoke on occasion of the dedication of Lincoln Institute in Jefferson City, Mo. He and his comrades contributed money and helped found the school known today as Lincoln University of Missouri.

In his brief comments, Branson spoke to the value of education and religious freedom in the Reconstruction era, as Americans struggled to deal with a new political, economic and social order as a result of the Civil War and the end of slavery. He states:

The future peace of our country is threatened more by the unwise zeal of religious men than by anything else, unless it be ignorance itself; and ignorance is the tool of such unwise zealots. Inquisitions, burnings at the stake, and hanging of the best men and women of their time, have been their work in the past, and will be in the future, unless prevented by just such schools as this, managed by liberal-minded men like Prof. Foster here, who, while holding strong religious convictions of his own, fully recognizes the right under our glorious Constitution of the United States, of every man, be he Christian, Jew or Mahomedan, to his own creed, untrammeled by any law whatever. And right here I cannot refrain from denouncing those men who are trying to insert a religious amendment in the Constitution of the United States.

A well-known author and close observer of events has well said that "It is the point of a wedge whose butt end is an established Church;" and an established Church in England has produced great wars in the past, and I will venture to predict, will deluge the British Isles in blood during the next generation.

But some may ask. Are we to have no religion? no morality? I have this to answer, on the best authority ever given us, and it is the sum of all the commandments, based on justice, tempered with mercy, and adorned by love: "Whatsoever ye would that men do to you, even so do ye unto them."

When we are able to live up to that law, then it will be time to think of teaching creeds and theologies in our public schools; and then they will not be needed or thought of. The future of our own free government depends on us who have the advantages of education. Whether we wish it or not, we must educate the masses pouring in from Europe on the East and Asia on the West, or they will destroy our free government and render despotic government a necessity.

It is our destiny to lift up the races that are down, and we need not be dragged down in the work, but rather buoyed up to a still higher level. Let us then each and all do what lies in our power for the elevation and happiness both of ourselves and others; and so living we shall not, when called from this world to the great unknown, fear to meet the spirits gone before; but rather approach it as we do a new country, whither our friends have preceeded us to enjoy greater happiness than in the land of our birth.

I find Branson's message as appropriate today as they were almost 140 years ago. Read the full speech.

"Preparing for This New Time"

By January 1866, only 200 of the original 1,000 men who enlisted in the Sixty-second U.S. Colored Infantry remained in the ranks. The War Department ordered the ten companies consolidated to four and the reduction of the regiment’s officers.

Two of the discharged officers, Capt. Richard B. Foster and 1st Lt. Aaron M. Adamson, had served in Company I.

According to Capt. Foster, soon after he learned that he would be mustered out of the army, “Lieutenant Adamson was one day talking with me, as comrades about to part will do, of the past and future, when, referring to the fact that many of the enlisted men had learned to read and write, imperfectly of course, while in the service, I remarked that it was a pity these men should find no schools when they returned to Missouri,” from where they had enlisted in 1863.

Both men reflected on the transformation of the enlisted men with whom they served. “No more shall the auction block be mounted by human chattels. No more shall education be forbidden and virtue be impossible for any part of our population. The fugitive slave law is behind us. Universal suffrage is before us.”

The conversation brought to the surface a question that burned within Foster: “Have I any special work to do, however humble, in preparing for this new time?”

1st Lt. Adamson supplied the answer: “If our regiment will give money enough to start a school in Missouri, will you take charge of it?”

Foster eventually answered in the affirmative. The officers and men raised $1,379.50, and Foster went on to establish Lincoln Institute in Jefferson City, Missouri. Today, it is known as Lincoln University.

Read Foster's historical sketch of the founding of the school.

On a Rant About Time Off and Pay

Like many Americans throughout history, the Civil War soldier had his frustrations with government. Leroy D. House was no exception. A clockmaker from Bristol, Conn., House served as a captain in the 108th U.S. Colored Infantry. On duty guarding Confederate prisoners at Rock Island, Ill., during the holidays, he made the best of life far away from the front lines in sub-zero temperatures — but couldn't resist venting in this excerpt from a letter penned on Dec. 24, 1864, to friends at home in Connecticut:

"Congress has adjourned over the holidays, and the members have gone home to receive their Christmas & New Years Presents. They ought to give the army power to adjourn over the Holidays and let the soldier go home. But we do not expect the same privileges as citizens. A member of Congress when he thinks his pay is insufficient can vote himself more, while the soldiers must wait with patience for Congress to do him justice. We expect an increase of pay before Congress adjourns in the spring. We view it as an act of justice, but if the powers that be do not see fit to do it, we shall not find fault with Uncle Sam, but try to bring our expenses within our means. Nearly all Civil officers of the government as well as all clerks and Provost Marshals have had their pay raised since the commencement of the present war, while the officers in active service receive no more to day than he did four years ago when all of the necessaries of life cost but little more than one third the present price."

This letter is part of the collection of the Connecticut Historical Society.

Book Review: A Deeper Look at the Confederate Soldier

"Faces of the Confederacy is an indispensable new window on the Civil War and the society that fought it," writes Dr. John L.S. Daley in a review of my book that has just appeared in the Civil War Book Review by the Louisiana State University Libraries' Special Collections.

Daley, an associate professor of history and chair of the Department of History at Pittsburg State University in southeastern Kansas, mentioned a number of details that other reviewers passed by, including this opening line: "Consciously taking cues from Thomas Macaulay and Thomas Carlyle, Ronald S. Coddington has presented history as a sum of individual experiences in this collection of seventy-seven short biographies of Confederate soldiers..."

Daley compares the book to Bell J. Wiley's classic, The Life of Johnny Reb (1962), and adds a paragraph that accurately reflects my research: "The Internet and Interlibrary Loan have allowed Coddington to tread where Wiley and other predecessors could not. While awaiting responses to his Civil War Message Board Portal and GenForum.com queries, he mined Ancestry.com, digitized Library of Congress records and pension files in state archives. On-site research in the Library of Congress and National Archives turned up service records, as did the Southern Historical Society Papers, newspapers and regimental histories. Even with internet help, it took him an average of two months to piece together each life.

I am particularly pleased with this review. You can read the complete version on my web site, or view the original on the Civil War Book Review.

Reaction to the Assassination of President Lincoln

Second Lieutenant Warren Goodale (1825-1897) of the 114th U.S. Colored Infantry describes in a letter to his family his reaction and feelings on learning of the death of Abraham Lincoln.

Monday afternoon [April 17, 1865] we were shocked and amazed at a rumor that spread thro’ the camp yesterday that our good President Secretary Seward and son had been assassinated at Washington. I never saw such feeling as was shown by our officers. All tried to believe it untrue and were disposed to treat it as a camp story. And still, all the afternoon & till late in the evening it was almost the only topic.

It aroused all the hate & passion the officers could hold & express. To think that such heads of the nation should be struck down thro’ the rebels, whom they of all others were treating with so much kindness, and were the first for forgiving. To show the feeling, one Colonel swore that if any of his men were ever after guilty of taking and bringing in a rebel prisoner he would shoot them both.

I believe all this kindness to the rebels to be a great mistake and wrong. I did not come away from you to fight the wicked men so gently. Why, as we marched thro’ Petersburg the other day, we saw a great many rebel officers, who have been taken prisoners, and paroled walking about with their side arms swords and pistols on, gentlemen of leisure, while we only a few miles from the city, have had an order today that we cannot get permission to visit it, must not enter any house here, without first telling our name rank & regiment, and the men cannot leave the camp. The next night after we passed thro’ Petersburg, a plot was found out to burn the Danville depot.

Toward night we heard that Genl Grant was missing!! If this be so, I would keep all his promises to Lee & his Officers, but would have the Govt follow Jeff Davis, Breckenridge, Trenholm & Benjamin, Johnson, Dick Taylor Maury and 20 others to the ends of the earth, bring them back and hang every one of them, and let them set on their gallows. All these besides the assassins. Such punishment may seem cruel but in the end it would be kindness for it would deter other bad cruel men from treason, rebellion, and murder.

This excerpt is part of a letter in the collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Goodale, of Marlboro, Massachusetts, served as a private in the Eleventh Independent Battery, Massachusetts Light Artillery, before joining the 114th in March 1865.

National Archives Staffer Goes Above and Beyond the Call of Duty

I was caught off guard a couple weeks back after an unexpected package arrived from the National Archives. Inside I found photocopies of the military service record for a soldier who served in the Fifty-sixth U.S. Colored Infantry.

A few weeks earlier, I had requested his file only to learn that the MSRs from his regiment are part of an eighteen regiment group (Forty-seventh to Sixty-fifth) of files currently closed to researchers because Archives staff is microfilming them. A supervisor in the Archives library asked me to leave my address in the event that they might be able to help. While I appreciated her proactive suggestion, her tentative manner lowered my expectations and convinced me that nothing would come of my request. I resigned myself to the reality that it might be years before the file would appear in microfilm.

The arrival of the package surprised and delighted me. It also encouraged me to make a new request for the file of another soldier in the closed group — a sergeant from the Sixty-second. On Friday, I stopped by the Archives library and filled out the appropriate form. By coincidence I met the very person who mailed me the package, Dennis Edelin. He instantly recognized my name and asked me if there were any problems with the package he sent. Dennis promised to pull the file of the other soldier and send it to me.

The Archives staff could have easily rejected my request and forced me to wait for microfilming to finish — a scenario that would likely have prevented the stories of these two soldiers from ever making it into the book. But thanks to Dennis Edelin, their stories will be told and their images seen.

Thank you, Dennis.

A Memorial and Visitor Center for New Market Heights

Received an email from my friend and former co-worker Lauren Burke, who has been involved in an effort to secure funds for a memorial and visitor center on the battlefield of New Market Heights, where, in 1864, an assault on the Confederate entrenchments by U.S. Colored Troops earned fourteen African American infantrymen the Medal of Honor. Lauren has teamed up with a friend, who works for U.S. Congressman Bobby Scott. Rep. Scott, who represents Virginia's Third District, has this item listed in his FY2010 Appropriations request list:

Henrico County, Virginia
P. O. Box 90775
Henrico, VA 23273-0775

$10,000,000 - New Market Heights Memorial & Visitors Center - The Battle of New Market Heights fought on September 29, 1864, remains among the lesser known engagements of the Civil War. Its significance, in American military history and African-American history deserves recognition. 14 Congressional Medals of Honor were awarded to African-American-American soldiers who fought in the Battle of New Market Heights. The funds will be used for land acquisition, site preparation and toward construction of a memorial and visitor’s center at New Market Heights, adjacent to the Richmond National Battlefield Park in Henrico County, Virginia.

Lauren, a Washington, D.C.-based photographer, is collecting images of the fourteen men who received the Medal of Honor. Check out her Flickr photostream on the subject. She is looking for photos of these four men:

Alfred B. Hilton
Sergeant, Company H, 4th U.S. Colored Troops. Place and date. At Chapins Farm, Va., 29 September 1864. Entered service at:------. Birth: Harford County, Md. Date of issue: 6 April 1865. Citation: When the regimental color bearer fell, this soldier seized the color and carried it forward, together with the national standard, until disabled at the enemy's inner line.

Miles James
Corporal, Company B, 36th U.S. Colored Troops. Place and date: At Chapins Farm, Va., 30 September 1864. Entered service at: Norfolk, Va. Birth: Princess Anne County, Va. Date of issue: 6 April 1865. Citation: Having had his arm mutilated, making immediate amputation necessary, he loaded and discharged his piece with one hand and urged his men forward; this within 30 yards of the enemy's works.

Charles Veale
Private, Company D, 4th U.S. Colored Troops. Place and date: At Chapins Farm, Va., 29 September 1864. Entered service at: Portsmouth, Va. Birth: Portsmouth Va. Date of issue: 6 April 1865. Citation: Seized the national colors after 2 color bearers had been shot down close to the enemy's works, and bore them through the remainder of the battle.

Edward Ratcliff
First Sergeant, Company C, 38th U.S. Colored Troops. Place and date: At Chapins Farm, Va., 29 September 1864. Entered service at: ------. Birth: James County, Va. Date of issue: 6 April 1865. Citation. Commanded and gallantly led his company after the commanding officer had been killed; was the first enlisted man to enter the enemy's works.

Transformation

Ulysses S. Grant's transformation between 1861 and 1869 from an alcoholic ex-soldier and failed farmer to lieutenant general and commander of all the Union armies and President of the United States is the classic rags to riches American success story. And one that captivated me in my youth and inspires me today.

Grant's whirlwind adventure ends on a positive note. Even after his post-presidency years were tarnished when a swindler bilked him out of his savings and terminal cancer consumed his life, he mustered his last remaining resources to write his memoirs, which, with the help of Mark Twain, became an international bestseller that provided his family with financial support after his death.

Now I am discovering other stories of transformation that rivaled Grant's for their rapid and steep ascent to glory. But these stories end tragically.

Take William Wright, an African American born a slave in Kentucky and the current subject of my research. During a three year period, from 1864 to 1870, his life forever changed when he became a Union soldier and free man, then a farmer living for the first time in control of his own affairs and having the ability to pursue his dreams.

There are few instances in history where hope radiated with such brightness and warmth over humanity than in America during this time. The collapse and fall of the Confederacy and the end of a bloody Civil War. The freedom of an enslaved race of people. Three amendments to the Constitution establishing equality for all. During this brief period along our nation's timeline, hope seemed eternal. The dawn of a new age lay before us.

And yet the hope that burned so brightly dimmed quickly as Reconstruction failed. Civil rights were trampled and within a short time African Americans found themselves in a new slavery fueled by racism. And it would last for more than a century, until a new civil rights movements in the 1960s would rekindle the almost extinguished flame of hope.

William Wright would never see the flame rekindled. Driven from his farm in 1871 by what he called "Night Riders," he and his family fled to Iowa, where he lived a modest life as a farmer in a quiet corner of the country. He died in 1901.

Rare Artistic Pose of a Union Artillery Officer

Securing image scans and permissions, and researching and writing about African Americans who participated in the war is my top priority. However, I remain an avid collector of cartes de visite. A recent addition is this image of John Aiken Millard Jr., photographed in the studio of Pine & Bell of Troy, New York.

Millard's artistic pose in certainly unusual for the period. He reclines against a fabric and tassel covered box surrounded by the trappings of an officer: Binoculars and case, sword and scabbard. A leather bound journal lay open, leaning against his forage cap. On the page most visible to the camera appears to be writing. Upon closer examination, the "writing" is nothing more than wiggly lines added in ink by the photographer or an assistant. The presence of the book is perhaps symbolic of an man of letters. Millard's well-tailored uniform, cuff links, and lace handkerchief suggest he hails from a family of privilege and wealth.

The ink inscription in the upper left of the print area identify the sitter as "Lieut Millard 1 Reg Art'y A.P." He officially served as a second lieutenant in Battery H of the First New York Light Artillery, part of the the Army of the Potomac. On the right side of the image is stamped a large letter M, and is written the date, Nov. 29, 1864. Millard officially mustered in to the First a month later. He survived the war and left the army in June 1865.

Cartes de visite like this are rare. I am aware of only one other like it. Check out a larger version on Flickr.

Ghostly Phantoms at Petersburg

Captain Ludlum Crossman Drake (1839-1924) wrote a twenty-page account of his Civil War experience titled War Reminiscences, a memoir of his service with the Eighteenth Michigan and the 114th U.S. Colored Infantries. This document is part of the Survey of State and Local Historical Records by the Works Progress Administration. It was filed on June 2, 1937. The handwritten narrative is undated. A reference to Spanish American War veterans indicates Drake wrote it in 1898 or later.

One of the highlights is the following paragraph, in which Drake describes Union POWs at Petersburg, Va., in early 1865.

I never can forget some exchanged prisoners brought into our lines as they went staggering by. Those once strong men with eyes like eagles and nerves like steel. Men who had stood by Grant in the Wilderness and by Thomas at Chicamauga. Men who had rode with Sheridan in that wild hurricane which swept the Shenandoah. Men who had helped Grant take Vicksburg and Sherman capture Atlanta, now slowly and scientifically starved till the marrow had rotted from their bones and the light of reason gone out. Ghostly phantoms belonging to neither this world nor the next. Their wasted forms and idiotic features haunt me to this day.

— Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, Michigan Commandery Records, 1885-1951. Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan.

These few lines convey the shock Drake still felt four decades after seeing these human skeletons, and remind us today that the horrors of war are as real today as they were a century-and-a-half ago.

Visiting Owens Dawson

Researching the life and times of Q.M. Sgt. Owens Dawson of the Twenty-fifth U.S. Colored Infantry has provided me an opportunity to get to know a man who died fifty-nine years before my birth. I've imagined him waiting on tables in a Philadelphia restaurant before the war, marching to the sound of drum and fife on the drill ground at Camp William Penn, mourning the untimely death of his first wife, traveling to Washington, D.C., to begin a new life, and, in his dotage, chatting up aged veterans at a Grand Army of the Republic reunion.

Today, I visited his grave site at Arlington National Cemetery, located a few miles from my home. I enjoyed a quiet moment to reflect on a life of joy and sorrow, in service of country, for the betterment of our nation.

Little could he have imagined that 105 years after his death that I would be standing at his grave site, snapping pictures of a cool marble slab that marks the spot where his earthly remains lie undisturbed, a silent stone witness to the memory of a man.

"The Men Always Felt This a Grievance"

If there was ever any question that African American soldiers could and would fight, no one bothered to tell Frederick Lyman Hitchcock, an officer in the 132nd Pennsylvania Infantry who suffered two wounds at Fredericksburg and went on to be colonel and commander of the Twenty-fifth U.S. Colored Infantry. After the war he had this to say about the character of the men in the Twenty-fifth:

"I desire to bear testimony to the esprit du corps, and general efficiency of the organization as a regiment, to the competency and general good character of its officers, to the soldierly bearing, fidelity to duty, and patriotism of its men. Having seen active service in the Army of the Potomac, prior to my connection with the Twenty-fifth, I can speak with some degree of assurance. After a proper time had been devoted to its drill, I never for a moment doubted what would be its conduct under fire. It would have done its full duty beyond question. An opportunity to prove this the Government never afforded, and the men always felt this a grievance."

From Bates' History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, Vol. V, pp. 1026-1027.

I admire Hitchcock's confidence in his men, and his clear dissatisfaction for never having been sent to see the elephant with his command.

Slavery: Simple Words, Stark Reminder

"I owned Silas Brown."
— Dr. Cyrus N. Brown, Yazoo City, Miss.

"He was owned before & during the war by Dr. C.N. Brown’s wife, thereby getting the name of Brown."
— Tibby Johnson, wife of Silas Johnson, formerly Silas Brown.

These references to Silas Johnson's early life as a slave appear in his application for a Civil War pension. Both are still in my mind weeks after I read them. These simple declarations provoked an immediate emotional response: Surprise that these individuals acknowledged slavery in such a dispassionate way; sadness for a man deprived of freedom and education during his early life; repulsion and disappointment for a man who participated in the ownership of another human being; a sense of loss for the millions of men and women of color who endured centuries of racism.

All of this feeling charged through my body in an instant. Simple words. Stark reminder.

I was unprepared for the depth of my feeling. I know slavery is a moral wrong and that it is at the center of our greatest national crisis. I learned this from books. Silas Johnson and Dr. C.N. Brown lived it. Their simple, dispassionate acknowledgment of the fact, devoid of feeling, somehow makes it all that more personal for me.

It is experiences like this that drive me to tell the stories of men like Johnson.

Post-Civil War Labor Contracts

The phrase labor contracts instantly brings to mind images of the massive reform movement of the late nineteenth century and the powerful political organizations of the twentieth. My father was an active member of his labor union, which protected his rights as a worker in a scissor manufacturing plant in New Jersey. He served as shop steward at one time.

Transcribing the 1866 agreement between Cyrus N. Brown, owner of the Alterra plantation along the Yazoo Delta in Mississippi, and the freedman who were formerly his slaves, I wondered what impact contracts like this (preserved on rolls and rolls of microfilm at the National Archives) had on the larger efforts of labor reform. Here is the transcribed contract:

Yazoo City Jany 5th 1866

We the undersigned foremen agree to work faithfully & honestly for C.N. Brown for the year 1866 for the following considerations. All field hands are to have one third of the corn & cotton made on this plantation for the year 1866, our employer to furnish teams & farming essentials, good rations & medical attention, half of every Saturday to be given to our own pursuits, with team and farming essentials for the cultivation of our gardens, patches & the sawing of wood. All hands are permitted to raise poultry, & four hogs to each family, to furnish their own corn in rearing & fattening their hogs. The hands will select from their number a foreman or leader to be governed & controlled by him as to hours for working & the time to come in from the field. We the foremen of Alterra plantation do agree to obey & respect the orders of the foreman or leader.
All stock shall be regularly attended to on Saturday & Sunday.

C.N. Brown
Samuel (his X mark) Hustin
Dolley (her X mark) Hustin

From Records of the Field Offices for the State of Mississippi. Bureau of Refugees, Freedman, and Abandoned Lands, 1865-1872. I became aware of these files after finding Freedom's Women: Black Women and Families in Civil War Era Mississippi (Indina University Press, 1999) by Noralee Frankel.

A Most Unusual Photo Album

First Lieutenant Theodore Francis Wright of Dorchester, Mass., was described as a student of a serious turn of mind and a dedicated diarist. In the spring of 1864 he wrote in his journal, "I have for some time been deliberating about leaving college to go to the war, and I have, at last, with the consent of my parents, determined to study for a commission in the colored troops."

Wright (pictured here, standing on the right, in his uniform) received a commission as first lieutenant. He explained his first assignment:

"My assignment to the 108th U. S. Colored Infantry organizing at Louisville, Kentucky, came June 14th, 1864, and I was ordered to report immediately. Attached to 'F' Company, Captain John H. Lee of New York, I spent one month at Louisville, the month of August at Maysville, Ky., aiding the enlistment of negroes; September at Muldraughs Hill, Ky., guarding from guerillas the Louisville and Nashville R. R., enjoying military life exceedingly. About October first the entire regiment, under command of Lieutenant Colonel John J. Bishop of Indiana, started for Rock Island Barracks, Illinois, where we spent the long and very severe winter, guarding rebel prisoners. The men improved scanty moments of leisure to learn to read and write, while I studied over my old classics."

In March 1865, 1st Lt. Wright and his company stepped into a Rock Island photographer's studio. Each man had their carte de visite portrait taken. Wright penned a brief note on the back of each image. On the reverse side of Kendrick Allen's carte, Wright wrote, "Now Serg't and an excellent one, and commands dedication." Allen made the army his career after the war as a Buffalo Soldier. Wright wrote honest appraisals of his men: On the back of the carte de visite of Pvt. Alfred Thompson is written "Second rate man."

Wright placed the entire collection of company cartes into a photograph album and presented it to his mother, Sarah Augusta (Hunt) Wright.

Wright (1845-1907) went on to study theology and earn two degrees from Harvard University. He is best remembered for his contributions as a pastor and author. Yet the photograph album he presented to his mother, filled with brief, honest remembrances of a company of African Americans who fought for freedom, is among the most unique of all Civil War photograph collections. The album is part of the Randolph Linsly Simpson African-American Collection, James Weldon Johnson Collection in the Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.

Setting Deadlines

One word to describe the first nine months of this book project is discovery: Locating images, securing rights and permissions, searching for primary sources, finding resources, reading articles and books on the African American war experience, sorting lists and databases. In short, getting started on the manuscript journey, traveling down unfamiliar paths, finding some dead ends, but other paths that lead to other paths and roadways.

I have a long way to go yet. However, the roads are starting to feel familiar. For the first time since last year, I have a sense of how long it will take to get there. My estimates:

By the end of 2009
75 images secured
10 profiles researched and written

By the end of 2010
95 images secured
60 profiles researched and written

By June 2011
Manuscript complete

Fall 2012
Book published

It will be interesting to find out how accurate my estimates compare to reality. Time will tell. This may seem like a fruitless exercise to some, but it helps me to know that a plan of sorts is formed.

New Site for Historic Newspapers is Helpful Resource

I've often benefited from the content in old newspapers, but have been less than enthusiastic about combing through poor-quality microfilm or difficult to navigate web sites. In truth, it is almost always a painful experience, but one that I endure because the payoff — an obituary or other article of interest — breathes life and adds context to my research subjects.

Recently I learned about NewsinHistory.com, a digitized collection of more then 1,100 newspapers spanning two centuries. I arranged for a trial subscription and determined to test it with one of my more difficult subjects, Edwin S. Likens, a Civil War veteran who has proved hard to track.

Civil War military service records list two men named Edward S. Likens who wore Union blue: One who served in two New York regiments, and another who served in two Pennsylvania regiments. But a search of other sources suggest only one man, a Philadelphia native, with this name. After a number of unsuccessful attempts to solve this history mystery, I reluctantly moved his file to the bottom of the priority list.

After my NewsinHistory.com user name and password arrived, I entered the name Likens in the search box. The results included an article in the March 12, 1863, edition of the Philadelphia Public Ledger announcing the marriage of Lieut. Edwin S. Likens to Josephine Ophelia Dodd. This article is the missing link to my research, for it connects Likens the Pennsylvania officer to the New York Likens whose widow, Josephine O. Likens, filed for a government pension after her husband's death.

Mysery solved! Thank you NewsinHistory.

The site's strength, aside from the number of newspapers and search capability, is the functionality that makes it easy to pan and zoom, scroll, flip and scan pages. The yellow keyword search highlights are also a plus. Reminds me of Google Books and Amazon. (I am a fan of both sites.)

Two minor changes would improve the site experience:

1. Add the name of the publication and date to the pdf download, a detail offered by the New York Times on its archived articles.
2. Move the search bar to the top of the home page and all the results pages. The strength of this site is the search, and yet it seems to be hidden in the design.

Overall, NewsinHistory gets a big thumbs up. I plan to add it to my research tool kit, and recommend it to any individual or institution involved in genealogical and other historical studies.

Kendrick Allen, Buffalo Soldier

A note penned on the back of the carte de visite of Kendrick Allen, written by his commanding officer, praises him as an excellent soldier — a fine compliment to an eighteen-year-old sergeant new to soldiering in the 108th U.S. Colored Infantry. Allen served in the regiment from 1864 until 1866.

Five years later he returned to the military, this time in the regular army as a corporal in the Twenty-fourth U.S. Infantry, one of the Buffalo Soldier regiments. He later transferred to the Ninth Cavalry and retired as a sergeant in 1897.

This the first Buffalo Soldier I've documented. If you have any information about Sgt. Allen, please contact me.

Visit to Fort Fisher

This weekend, Anne and I drove to visit our old friend Linda and see her new home in Wilmington, N.C. Went to the beach on Saturday, and stopped by Fort Fisher. It's a spot I've wanted to see since researching a Massachusetts soldier who participated in the successful capture of the fort and its garrison in January 1865.

I enjoyed touring the small, informative museum — the centerpiece of which is an electric map. I've been a sucker for electric maps since seeing the twinkling lights display at Gettysburg when I was a boy. Sadly, the Gettysburg map is not part of the new visitor center. The map at Fort Fisher is complete with gunboats, accurate topographical features, and contemporary voices that bring the battle to life.

I was especially interested to learn about the role of the Twenty-seventh U.S. Colored Infantry. It participated in the capture of the remaining Confederates who fled the fort after it was occupied by federal troops. I've yet to uncover an image of a member of the Twenty-seventh, but am hopeful one will surface.

The map and surrounding museum exhibits is a perfect warm-up for the walking tour around the ruins of the earthen fort structure overlooking the beach and Atlantic Ocean. I took the panorama photo shown here standing in front of the Confederate memorial looking north towards the remains of the fort. Note the storm clouds to the left of the monument. They belong to Hurricane Bill.

USCT Soldier Surfaces at Richmond Show

I had not been to the North South Trader's Show in Richmond for some years. My gut told me to make the trip yesterday and am glad I did. About a quarter of the way through the show I walked by C.J. Delery's table (he operates The Historical Shop, and I have a fond memory of a Pennsylvania show some years ago at which I of purchased a pristine group of officer cartes de visite, all members of the Fifty-third Massachusetts Infantry). Delery asked if he could help. I told him about my latest project and he pointed me in the direction of Howard Norton's table.

Within a few minutes I was at Howard's table looking at a quarter plate tintype of Pvt. William Wright of the 114th U.S. Colored Infantry. An airtight identification by way of a piece of paper attached to the back of the metal plate, inscribed in period pen.

To be certain that Wright was a member of the regiment, I whipped out my laptop only to find there was no wireless access in the building. So, I called up Anne at home and joked that I was stuck at the Civil War show and required immediate table-side assistance from "AnneStar." She logged on to our home computer and I guided her through the American Civil War Research Database operated by Historical Data Systems. In minutes she verified that Wright did indeed serve in the 114th. I left with the image, a detail pictured here.

Howard and I talked for awhile after completing the purchase. Turns out he had come into possession of this photograph six weeks ago after buying a group of images from a Missouri collector. Howard is a long-time dealer, and I've seen him at a number of shows. His soft Southern accent reflects his Mississippi roots and birth in Arkansas. He is sixty-eight years old. His father, a Spanish American War veteran, was the same age when Howard was born. We finished our conversation reflecting on our shared joy of Civil War photography. "The ability to see the face of a soldier, then read about his life and what happened to him in the war is a powerful thing and it puts me in a different place" I explained to Howard, who nodded his head in agreement. He knew exactly what I meant, "I know, I know. You're There. It takes you There."

Howard Norton said it better than I could.

You're There.

Manassas Museum Memories

Just back from a speaking engagement and Faces of the Confederacy book signing at the Manassas Museum. Memories:

• Store Manager Jane Riley's efficiency. She made the event go off without a hitch and brought in a respectable crowd! I owe her a debt of gratitude.
• Ethel's excellent feedback: She appreciated my new introduction — The Photo Generation — and purchased the lone copy of Faces of the Civil War, the Union counterpart.
• Charlotte and Patty's late arrival: They missed the presentation due to traffic, and generously purchased copies of the book.

Speaking and Book Signing at Manassas Museum

This Saturday, Aug. 15, I'll be at the Manassas Museum speaking about Faces of the Confederacy: An Album of Southern Soldiers and Their Stories. Afterwards, I will sign copies of the book. My presentation includes profiles of several Virginians featured in Faces, including the soldier on the cover, Sgt. William Crawford Smith of the Twelfth Virginia Infantry. Also included is a statistical survey of soldiers from my database of 200 Civil War veterans.

This event is part of the Civil War Trails Old Town Walking Tour. Led by guides in period clothes, the tour is focused on the Second Battle of Manassas (Bull Run), fought on Aug. 28–30, 1862. This year marks the 147th anniversary of the Confederate victory. The tour begins at 10 a.m. Cost: $10/person. For more information about this tour contact the Manassas Museum at 703-368-1873.

The museum is located at 9101 Prince William St., Manassas, VA 20110-5615.

Road Trip to Connecticut

New Haven is home to Yale University's Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Among its extensive holdings are a number of excellent African American images, mostly from the Randolph Linsly Simpson collection. Many of these images are available by searching the library's online database. However, a handful were not, and I determined to travel to New Haven to view them.

I had it in mind to visit in August, but did not have a firm date planned until my friend Pete reminded me that New Haven is close to the home of our mutual friend Dave. Also that New Haven is home to two of America's finest pizza places, Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana and Sally's Apizza Restaurant.

A plan formed: Drive to Connecticut on Sunday, pick up Dave, and have dinner at Sally's. Monday at the Beinecke followed by late lunch at Pepe's, then drive home.

The trip was a complete success. The Beinecke staff were exceptionally courteous and helpful. The handful of images I came to see included one excellent carte de visite of a first sergeant and fifer from the Sixty-seventh U.S. Colored Infantry. Added to the other images I had previously found in the Simpson collection, all men from the Twenty-ninth Connecticut and 108th U.S. Colored infantries, I left the library after having made arrangements to receive high-resolution scans of thirty photographs — a staggering total from a single source. I like to think the photograph shown here of me in front of the Beinecke with my hands forming the big 3-0 celebrates the moment.

As for the pizza, that too became a research project. Dave, Pete and I ordered a white pie with clams and tomato pie with sausage and pepperoni from each restaurant. We unanimously agreed on the winner: Sally's. Each of Sally's pies, with ingredients fused into a complex flavor profile that includes the perfect thin, crunchy crust, easily won the day. Sally's was worth the wait, two hours from the time we lined up until the first pizza made it to our table. Pepe's had the advantage on three counts: Aromatic and richly-flavored sausage, ambiance inside the restaurant, and service. But these factors were not enough to put Pepe's over the top.

Special thanks to the guy at Sally's who held our place in line while we grabbed a quick beer!

Seeking the Story Behind an Iconic Image

The Chicago Historical Society possesses one of the finest collections of African American soldier photographs that I've ever seen. Of these twenty-seven terrific tintypes, one is identified: Sgt. James L. Baldwin of the Fifty-sixth U.S. Colored Infantry. His iconic image, shown here, has appeared in numerous publications.

All the published examples of Baldwin's likeness I've found include the briefest of captions. It is for this reason that he will be included in my book. I want to tell his story. I started researching his life and military service yesterday and found that he started the war with the Third Arkansas Infantry (African Descent). Government authorities later designated the regiment as the Fifty-sixth. Baldwin applied for a disability pension in 1889.

I look forward to learning more about him, and providing a fresh take on this image by providing details of his war service. If you have any information to share, please comment.

Recognize These Fellows?

Chris Marquez sent me a scan of an albumen photograph of fifteen Union infantrymen, most in the group are sergeants. On many of the forage caps can be seen the familiar cross-shaped badge of the Sixth Army Corps. The soldiers are gathered around a flag. In the distance is visible a group of cabins, perhaps winter quarters for these men.

Take a close up look at this large scan.

If you recognize any of these fellows, please contact Chris.

Mystery Plantation

Alluva. Alliva. Altura.

These are a few of the variations I used to search for a Mississippi plantation referenced in a document contained in the pension file of Sgt. Silas Brown, who served in Company I of the Ninety-Sixth U.S. Colored Infantry. The penmanship of the individual who prepared the document (a clerk, as Johnson could not write) is not easily transcribed, and I struggled with this single pronoun.

The document did provide the location of the plantation: In Yazoo County, Miss., along the Yazoo River near Belle Prairie. I also learned that the plantation was owned by Dr. C.N. Brown and his wife, Lou.

Determined to find the name of the plantation, I called the president of the local historical society. She referred me to past president Sam Olden, grandson of a Confederate veteran captured at Vicksburg. Olden recommended me to John Ellzey of the B.S. Ricks Memorial Library in Yazoo City.

I called Ellzey, a soft-spoken man with a smooth regional accent, and told him what I had learned and what I hoped to find out. After a brief pause, he told me the details sounded familiar. Within a couple minutes, Ellzey supplied the name of the plantation: Alterra.

Ellzey followed up with a package of materials, including period maps showing the property and two death notices for Lou Brown.

Ellzey's knowledge of the area and the wealth of local information is critical to my efforts to tell the stories of soldiers who served in the war. He is one of the many unsung heroes I regularly encounter along the research trail who provide critical details that help bring life to these veterans.

New Review Appears in Latest CWN

The August issue of Civil War News — on of the few publications I read from cover to cover — includes a generous review of Faces of the Confederacy by Michael J. Winey, familiar to many historians as a curator (now retired) at the U.S. Army Military History Institute in Carlisle Barracks, Pa.

My favorite part of Mike's review: "It is a book that you just want to read one more story before you put it down, and then you want to read one more."

I also like this quip: "Those of you who are Yankee lovers only probably won't want to dirty your hands holding this very Southern-oriented book! For myself, I was pleased with each and every image printed so I never needed to wash my hands."

Read the complete review.

More on the Nimrod Burke Image

The image tentatively identified as Nimrod Burke has appeared on the cover of one book and a PBS program according to Tim Kernan, who currently owns the tintype. In both instances, it is listed as an unidentified soldier. The photo may have also appeared in other publications. How the identity of the image came to be lost and found again is a developing story. My working scenario, based upon interviews by telephone and email with Burke ancestor Henry Robert Burke, Peggie and Tim Kernan, members of the Washington County (Ohio) Historical Society and others:

A member of the Burke family who did not appreciate the sentimental and historical value of the photograph sold the original tintype as many as twenty-five years ago to an unknown person or persons. At the time of this transaction, the identity was lost. At some point the family received a photograph of the original tintype. This copy print was made with a non-digital camera not from the original, but from a reproduction printed in some publication, perhaps a book. The family has come to think of this copy print as the original photo of Nimrod Burke. This copy print has since been scanned and uploaded to Henry Robert Burke's web site.

The tintype was sold at some point to noted collector Herb Peck Jr., a Nashville, Tenn., photographer who worked in Vanderbilt University's Department of Fine Arts. This was one of Peck's first purchases in the early 1980s after his original collection was stolen. A year or two before his passing in 2004, he sold it to Tim Kernan.

This scenario is subject to revision as more information is obtained.

Also unresolved is a uniform issue: Burke is listed as having served as a sergeant during his enlistment. The soldier pictured here wears a corporal's chevrons. I'll be checking Burke's military service records at the National Archives to determine if he ranked as a corporal and sergeant.

Good News Times Three

In the space of a few hours yesterday, I received three very welcome pieces of news. In order of receipt:

1. The supply of Faces of the Confederacy has almost run out, and The Johns Hopkins University Press has decided to launch a second printing.
2. Nimrod Burke is found! The original tintype of this soldier who served with the Twenty-third U.S. Colored Infantry is in the hands of a private collector. Read related post.
3. I received a high-resolution scan of African American sailor Alfred Bailey, who served on several ships from 1864-1866, including the twin-turreted USS Monadnock and the sidewheel steamer USS Saginaw.

The week ends on a high note!

James Henry Ward and the 36th Ohio Infantry

James Henry Ward is one of a large number of African American men and women connected with the military in an unofficial capacity during the war. You will not find their names in any database, and yet they were a vital part of the Union armies. Many served as personal servants, cooks, teamsters, and other support roles.

Ward's role is unclear. He is not listed as an official member of the Thirty-sixth Ohio Infantry, although a period photograph of this African American identifies him as a member of Company A of the regiment. In the photograph, he wears a military jacket.

Ward may have been a personal servant to an officer in Company A. Two captains commanded the company, Hiram Fosdick Devol and James Gage Barker. A number of lieutenants are on the rolls, including Augustus T. Ward (the surname suggests a possible connection), Jonathan N Patton, James C. Selby, and Andrew J. Temple.

It is possible he was connected to the Ward family of Marietta, Ohio.

I'd like to know more about James Henry Ward and his role with the Thirty-sixth. Hope you can help.

MIA: Nimrod Burke, 23rd USCT

Nimrod Burke stares into the camera, dressed in his army uniform complete with corporal's chevrons and holding a revolver. Burke, a soldier in the Twenty-third U.S. Colored Infantry (USCT), is the great-great grandfather of Henry Robert Burke, an author and historian in Marietta, Ohio.

Some years ago, Burke arranged to have a photograph made of the original image of his Civil War ancestor. A scan of this photograph is pictured here, and on a web page profile of the veteran. The original image, which appears to be a sixth plate tintype, was owned by Burke's cousin.

Today, the location of the original photograph is unknown.

One possible scenario is that the image was purchased by or given to well-known collector Jerry Duvall. On Duvall's passing, his collection was quickly dispersed. This photo may have been sold to a coin collector, at auction, or at the Ohio Civil War Show in Mansfield. I suspect the image is in the hands of a private collector who may or may not know the name of the soldier.

The leads I've pursued have dried up. If you know of the whereabouts of this original image, please let me know. I want to use this photograph in my forthcoming book, but am unable to do so without permission from the owner.

Frederick Douglass' Photograph Album

Today I had the opportunity to see Frederick Douglass' personal photograph album, part of the collection of Howard University's prints and photographs holdings at the Moorland Spingarn Research Center. The album holds four images per page (front and back) and contains a number of cartes de visite, including a portrait of Douglass' son Sgt. Maj. Lewis H. Douglass, who served in the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. His image and story will be included in my book. The album binding is loose, and a number of pages are empty. Nevertheless, it belonged to Frederick Douglass, and I felt privileged to see it up close, thanks to Joellen El Bashir, Curator of Manuscripts. She was extremely helpful and made my visit a success.

Lt. Col. John E. Arthur

Steve Thomas is searching for wartime photographs of his great-great-great grandfather, Lt. Col. John E. Arthur of the Ninety-third Pennsylvania Infantry. Arthur, a Mexican War veteran (wounded at the Belen Gate in 1847), started the Civil War by recruiting Company B of the 93rd Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers in from Reading, PA. The company mustered into service in Lebanon, PA. If you have a wartime image of Lt. Col. Arthur, or any information you'd like to share, please contact Steve at steve@arthurhistory.com. Read more about Col. Arthur.

Hope you can help Steve!

Success at Camp William Penn

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting key individuals involved in the effort to renovate the museum dedicated to Philadelphia's historic Camp William Penn, the first federal recruiting and training camp for black soldiers. Director Joyce Werkman and Jim Paradis, author of two books, Strike the Blow for Freedom: The 6th United States Colored Infantry in the Civil War and African Americans And The Gettysburg Campaign, generously shared their knowledge and experience during our meeting.

I came away with scans of two soldier images, a carte de visite of a chaplain and a tintype of a quartermaster sergeant. These are the nineteenth and twentieth images secured for the book.

I am very impressed with the dedication to making the renovated museum a reality. The depth of commitment to the project impressed me, and I urge anyone interested in preserving this unique museum and place to support the group behind the effort, the Citizens for the Restoration of Historical La Mott (CROHL). The village of La Mott is one of the first communities in America to encourage integrated living. Six post-Civil War houses in the community are said to have been built from wood salvaged from nearby Camp William Penn. Still standing is the camp's gate and gatehouse.

New Jersey Soldier

I started to research the life and military service of Pvt. Benjamin Benson, Company C, Twentieth U.S. Colored Infantry. Benson was born a free man in Bergen County, New Jersey, where he resided all his life — with the exception of his two years in the army. Benson's New Jersey connection was a pleasant surprise, for we both were born in the Garden State.

I look forward to learning more about Benson and the Twentieth, a regiment formed in early 1864 and deployed to Louisiana, Texas and Tennessee.

Benson's portrait photograph is one of two identified African American cartes de visite shared by Don Wisoski, author of The Opportunity Is At Hand: Oneida County, New York, Colored Soldiers in the Civil War. I've enjoyed getting to know Don. His cheery, upbeat attitude and passion for Civil War photography has made for several enjoyable conversations, and a new friendship.

Comrades in Arms

This is the title of my latest article in the July/August 2009 issue of Military Images Magazine. Also known as MI, the popular publication celebrates its thirtieth anniversary with this issue. Inside is a dozen images from my collection, all of groups of two or more soldiers. The brief introduction reads:

Considering the large number of surviving examples of Civil War period vernacular photography, relatively few are group portraits. This may leave an impression that singular individuals fought the war’s great battles, and this is true on a micro level, for the history of the Civil War is the stories of its soldiers. Yet we know from letters, journals, and other first-hand accounts that bands of brothers were linked by strong bonds and esprit de corps due to their pre-war connections, patriotism, sense of duty, and shared military experience. This gallery pays tribute to all Civil War comrades in arms and celebrates the photographers who recorded their likenesses.

The twelve featured images are also part of my Flickr Faces of War Collection.

Interview on ACW Essays & Research

Greg Rowe, the author of American Civil War Essays & Research, posted an interview with me based on a series of email questions I recently answered at his request. The result, The stories of Civil War soldiers as told by a visual journalist, is an excellent account of my author experience. I am especially pleased that he included a number of details, including my days as a baseball card collector.

On Seeking Photographs and Soldier Research

Locating and securing the photographs needed for the USCT book is in full swing. I have dozens of queries out to public institutions, genealogical and historical societies, private collectors, families, scholars and museum professionals, and other interested persons. Maintaining the correspondence requires organizational skill, attention to detail, and constant updating and follow-up. Once an image is secured (I define secure as having a high-resolution digital scan in my possession), I need to follow through with getting necessary permissions and other legal work as required by the holder and my publisher.

To date, I've initiated more than fifty contacts, and have compiled a list in excess of a hundred other individuals and institutions to investigate. The list grows daily.

While this critical effort is underway, and as images are secured, I am beginning to research the lives and military service of each soldier by using various databases, visiting the National Archives, and requesting source materials from various institutions. This type of research requires the same high level of focus and intensity that I've applied to the hunt for photos.

Following these two paths, seeking photographs and soldier research, is a massive undertaking. To pursue them concurrently absorbs almost every waking moment. I find myself working through details large and small at all hours of the day and night. Many connections and new ideas pop into my head at random times, but most often while I ride my bicycle to work or am out for a run. Sustaining this level of effort requires much energy. I am sleeping soundly at night!

Successes to date boost my enthusiasm and fuel my drive to find these rare images and tell the stories of the men who laid their lives on the line for freedom and country.

Searching for Three Soldiers from the Sixty-Second

Spoke with the archivist at Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, after finding an online image of Jacob Anderson of the Sixty-second U.S. Colored Infantry credited to their institution. Turns out the university has tightly-cropped copy prints of Anderson, Nelson Burgamire and John Jeffreys — all soldiers in the Sixty-second. The archivist does not know the whereabouts of the original images.

Am hoping someone can help!

Big Day at Gettysburg Show

Today I attended the Gettysburg Show with Anne. We left early to make the ten o'clock opening, armed with business cards, books and my trusty laptop computer and scanner. Turned out to be a great day of progress for the African American soldier book.

Thanks to Ronn Palm and Paul Rusinoff, I had the opportunity to meet Tim Kernan, who generously allowed me to scan a pair of spectacular quarter-plate tintypes of brothers who served in the First Regiment Iowa Volunteer Infantry (African Descent), later designated as the Sixtieth U.S. Colored Troops. I look forward to learning about them, and am happy to make the acquaintance of Tim, a good guy who shares my interest in making these stories available to a wide audience.

The third image comes from the holdings of dealer and historian Henry Deeks, who inspired me to research and write about Civil War soldiers. The carte de visite of Lewis A. Fuller, reproduced here, is the first identified African American soldier in my collection.

Anne and I left the show with three new additions for the book and celebrated with a lunch at Dino's. Definitely a day to remember.

Gettysburg USCT Cartes

During my last trip to the Gettysburg visitor center and museum, I noticed six identified cartes de visite of soldiers who served in the ranks of the USCT, and called the archives to find out if I could get scans of the images for use in my book. Spoke with Paul Shevchuk, who had helped me several years ago: I was researching Capt. Thomas R. Clark of the U.S. Signal Corps, who observed the opening stage of the battle from the Adams County Courthouse on July 1. Paul kindly showed me a collection of Clark's artifacts acquired by the museum, including Clark's cipher disk and a number of documents.

Paul came through again. He sent a CD containing scans of the six soldiers from the visitor center, and, much to my delight, four more scans of men not included in the public display.

Overnight, I was easily able to confirm the identities of eight men using Ancestry.com and the American Civil War Research Database.

Two men require further research.

The first is identified in the scan only as Jesse Keepson. Could not find him in any database. However, the same photograph is credited to the Bill Gladstone collection as a member of Company F, 108th U.S. Colored Infantry. Two other images from the 108th are also credited to Gladstone, which leads me to believe he bought them as a group. Armed with this information, I went back to American Civil War Research Database and searched through all the men of the 108th Infantry's Company F. Only one man named Jesse served in Company F, Jesse Hopson. I believe this is the same man, and will be contacting Paul to get a scan of the back of the carte de visite to learn more.

The second is identified as A.E. Jackson of the 78th U.S. Colored Infantry. Eight men with the first initial A and the last name Jackson served in the regiment, and none of the databases include a middle initial or name. To solve this mystery, I will need to visit the National Archives and request the military service records and pension files of all eight men. I also need to get a scan of the back of this image.

New Confederate Faces Review

The Faces of the Confederacy review by C.D. Myers of McClatchy-Tribune News Service begins with the story of Capt. Jesse Cunningham McNeill, the soldier who transforms from petulant subordinate officer to daring raider responsible for the capture of a pair of federal generals.

It is fitting that Myers led with McNeill's story, for it exemplifies the many untold and largely forgotten stories of the Civil War period.

Myers adds:

This exceptional companion edition to Coddington's 2004 book, "Faces of the Civil War: An Album of Union Soldiers and Their Stories," reconstructs the lives of 77 Confederate soldiers below the rank of colonel, through engaging narratives complemented by rare carte-de-visite (CDV) portrait photographs.

This review has been widely published online, including the Kansas City Star and The (Columbia, S.C.) State.

This Blog Now Available on Kindle

Amazon's now features Faces of War on Kindle. For a monthly subscription fee of $1.99, you can take this blog with you and peruse it at your leisure.

A bit of a skeptic when the Kindle first launched, I wondered why folks would use it instead of other mobile devices.

Recently, I had an opportunity to take one out for a test drive. It's simple interface, comfortable screen size, light weight and portability impressed me. I would definitely use it as an alternative to other mobile devices. And now I can appreciate the hype associated with it.

The interface, while easy to use, is a bit primitive mechanically. The button action is not as smooth as modern keypads and there is a bit of a delay once the key is pressed. I assume that will be tweaked in future releases.

I don't think Kindle replaces books, for the experience of clicking through an e-reader is completely different from holding a hardbound volume and flipping through pages. Also, the clarity of text and images on a printed page is superior to the Kindle monitor. However, it is certainly an excellent tool for distributing content, and this simple fact caused me to offer this blog for subscription.

Militaria Week at Collectors' Quest

Some weeks back I uploaded soldier cartes de visite to Collectors' Quest, the social network for collectors. Today they launched Militaria Week, which features collections from several individuals, including me. Check it out! I like the idea that they've brought together people of diverse interests on a wide range of subjects.

According to CQ's About Us page:

Collectors' Quest is a digital media brand for the passionate collectors' community. We combine a mix of high-quality broadband video, social networking and ecommerce.

Collectors' Quest gets deep in the trenches to focus on entertaining, informing and harnessing the passion of collectors.

We enable collectors to meet others who share their interests, organize and catalog their collections, as well as buy, sell or trade with others. Collectors can also watch collecting related videos and read about the latest and greatest trends in the collecting arena.

Nicholas Biddle, Unofficial Soldier

That Nick Biddle went to war with a company of Pennsylvanians from Pottsville is beyond doubt, as evidenced by the carte de visite photo that shows him wearing the uniform jacket of the Washington Artillerists, which later formed the nucleus of Company B of the Keystone State's Forty-eighth Infantry. Moreover, that he suffered a serious head wound during the Baltimore Riots of April 1861 is an event for which he was recognized at the time as the first man wounded in the Civil War.

His military record is one that commands attention and respect for his sacrifice.

Only Biddle never served in the army officially. Men of color were not allowed to enlist. That would come later. Instead, Biddle served as an orderly to Capt. James Wren, who went on to become major of the Forty-eighth. By the time African Americans were allowed to join, sixty-five-year-old Biddle was finished with army life.

His story is unlike any other individual I've researched for my column and books, as all were formally enlisted soldiers. And yet his short-lived experience helps frame the larger issue of race for which our ancestors struggled to deal with in four bloody years of war, and his personal story the sacrifice and dedication of an American to his country.

Unexpected Discovery at Antietam Monument

Yesterday I visited Antietam with my friend Chuck and hiked several battlefield trails in humid conditions under an overcast sky. Along The Cornfield Avenue we came upon the State of New Jersey Monument, dedicated in 1903 to the Third, Fourth and Thirteenth Infantries and Hexamer's Battery (Battery A, First New Jersey Artillery).

Along the base of the monument is inscribed the names of the governor and three veterans, all commissioners who helped make the monument a reality. The name of the third commissioner instantly caught my attention, for John James Toffey is one of the seventy-seven soldiers featured in Faces of the Civil War. That Toffey's name should appear at Antietam is unexpected, for he did not serve in these units (he was part of the Twenty-first and Thirty-third infantry regiments) nor participate in the battle.

Toffey (1844-1911) received the Medal of Honor for his actions at Chattanooga in 1863.

On "Two Ways to Approach One War"

Civil War literature can be divided into two classes of historians, non-academics writing about military events and academics focused on the home front and politics, explains Gary W. Gallagher in his essay in the August 2009 issue of Civil War Times. Gallagher observes, "Both these Civil Wars form part of a complicated story that cannot be comprehended by mastering only one." He defines a particular kind of military history, a third way that puts the great battles and campaigns in context to the broader impact on Main Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.

To be mindful of the larger context in which events unfold is a responsibility that non-academic and academic historians share alike, regardless of the lens in which an author chooses to frame an article or book. The best writers in either class manage to do this by seeking different perspectives during the course of their research. Moreover, they reflect those perspectives in a measured and thoughtful way in their writing. This is a function of natural curiosity, education and experience.

No single volume about the war captures the complexity of the period. No volume is likely ever to be produced. It is the complete body of literature on the subject that speaks to the depth and breadth of this tragic conflict.

Current and future readers and writers have an opportunity to learn and share and contribute to this dynamic and ever expanding field of study.

As our country evolves in the wake of the great events that have shaped our past and impact the current time in which we live, it is in the best interests of those who will form our future to comprehend how we came to be. For the better informed we are, the less likely we may be filled with fear and anxiety about what we will become.

Palm's Museum Dedicated to Veterans

For those who desire to learn about the Civil War from the perspective of the soldier in the trenches and the combat officer on the front lines, those interested in old photos of veterans, and those looking for an alternative to other museums and attractions in Gettysburg, Ronn Palm's Museum of Civil War Images delivers. Located on Baltimore Street, Ronn's museum contains a wealth of photographs and other relics from the Civil War years, all arranged on walls and in cases that allow visitors to get up close and study each and every artifact.

This is Ronn's way of remembering those who served, and he's created a space that puts soldiers first. Especially his beloved Pennsylvania Bucktails, with their distinctive forage caps, They fought with distinction on many a battlefield, including the hallowed ground all around the museum.

Two cartes de visite stood out for me: A solder seated in a photographer's makeshift tent studio, supplies stacked all about him, and a Pennsylvania artilleryman holding the Stars and Stripes Both are stunning examples of wartime portrait photography, and examples of what makes Ronn's collection one of the very best in the country.

I will be dedicating serious research time to a third carte: Silas L. Johnson of the Ninety-Sixth United States Colored Infantry (USCT). Also known as Silas Brown, the Mississippi-born former slave sat for an unidentified photographer sometime in 1864 or 1865. According to the 1880 census, his parents were born in Virginia.

I am indebted to Ronn for his generosity and kindness, and for the inscribed copy of his book, Pennsylvania Bucktails: A Photographic Album of the 42nd, 149th & 150th Pennsylvania Regiments.

On your next visit to Gettysburg, make time to visit the museum. It is a memorable experience.

First USCT Image

Yesterday, Paul Rusinoff generously shared his collection of wonderful images, and we spent several enjoyable hours swapping soldier stories, discussing great finds, and talking about the joy of detective work and life on the research trail.

The uniqueness of Paul's collection is based upon his desire to reunite personal objects that belonged to soldiers. A number of his identified images are accompanied by an array of artifacts that belonged to the subject, including journals, letters, military accouterments and other items. I admire Paul's passion to bring together these relics.

My main purpose for visiting Paul was to secure the first image for my book about African American soldiers. I left with a high-resolution scan of Corp. Garry Saunders of the 124th USCI.

I am delighted to have it, and am forever grateful to Paul for his help.

Motivated by Flickr Success

Motivated by two recent successful image identifications on Flickr,* I've started hunting for other unidentified soldiers in my holdings. Today I scanned in a carte added to my collection before the Internet went mainstream. The image, pictured here, is identified as J. Frank Monroe, alias Charles Wallack. No unit identification is present. My efforts many years ago to confirm his identity failed, and I filed the image away.

I scanned the image this morning and planned to post it on Flickr in the Unidentified Veterans set. In preparation to write the caption, I did a search on Ancestry.com and quickly learned that he was drafted in 1864 and served in the First Connecticut Infantry.

Monroe/Wallack is now posted in the Current Soldiers Under Research set.

What a difference technology makes! I look forward to learning more about him.

* The two Flickr postings are a confirmed identification of Capt. John Huey Weeks of the Ninety-first Pennsylvania Infantry and a tentative confirmation of Capt. William Hydorn Jr. of the Ninety-seventh New York State National Guard.

Two Views of Capt. Barnes

I recently added a carte de visite of Capt. Dennis Edwin Barnes (left) of the Ninety-third New York Infantry to my collection and am extremely pleased to have it.

I owned a carte of Barnes once before, and those familiar with the Daniel Lorello thefts know that I later returned the image to the state of New York. That image is shown here to the right. It is very likely both were made during the same sitting.

During the course of my research and the writing of his profile, I came to admire the story of his life as a successful peacetime businessman and mourn his tragic death during the Battle of the Wilderness.

Illuminated History

Vicki Profitt has created a unique entry point into the Civil War experience by leading the inaugural "Civil War Soldiers of Pittsford Tour" at Pittsford Cemetery in Pittsford, N.Y.

What began as a project to document veteran headstones has become a larger effort to learn more about the 120-plus men who served, their contributions to the Union cause, and, for those who survived, their impact on the community.

Vicki notes, "My goal is to put together a book with the information I have collected about each soldier and offer it for sale through our historical society." She maintains a blog, Illuminated History, to document her journey. I was particularly drawn to the compelling image on her latest post, which features the headstone of Sgt. John Buckley Bacon, Fourth Wisconsin Cavalry. The stone is flanked by a post-war image of Bacon and an American flag.

It is efforts like these that keep history alive, and help all of us to better understand and appreciate our roots.

Impressive New Market Event

Spent today signing Faces of the Civil War and Faces of the Confederacy in the Museum tent along Sutler's Row at the New Market reenactment. I enjoyed meeting several people known previously by email, notably Nick Sekela and Nick Picerno, and meeting new friends, including Mike Zucchero, author of Loyal Hearts: Histories of American Civil War Canines.

I did manage to snap a few images during the battle reenactment, before a thunderstorm tore through the area, reminiscent of the rains reported during the battle 145 years ago today.

The Mystery of William Hydorn Jr.

This Civil War era carte de visite, identified in period pen as William Hydorn Jr., has been in my possession for years. The inscription does not include the unit in which he served. I've never been able to link him to a military organization. His name (using this spelling or variations) does not appear on any federal rolls, and is curiously absent from databases online and at the National Archives. I've speculated that he may have served under an alias, or perhaps his record is misfiled, mislaid, or listed under an alternative spelling with which I am not familiar.

Recently I posted this image on Flickr, hoping to make a connection. Late last week, Sam Small of The Horse Soldier in Gettysburg contacted me. He had recently purchased a Union captain's coat and a sword. He had the saber professionally cleaned, which revealed an inscription: William Heydorne. Eventually his online search results led to my Flickr posting.

Turns out the sword is an exact match with the one held by the soldier in this image, and the rather narrow shoulder straps on the uniform coat in Sam Small's possession also line up with the coat worn by this officer.

Since then, I have been obsessed with discovering this man's military service record. Yesterday I made the first connection that aligns the information on this carte with a record: Capt. William Hydorn, Company F. Ninety-seventh Regiment, Tenth Brigade, Third Division, New York National Guard. His rank dates to Dec. 24, 1864. His residence is Grafton. This information from the Annual Report of the Adjutant General of the State of New York (1866, Vol. 1).

This is a promising lead, and I am currently seeking more information.

My working theory is that this is William Willard Hydorn Jr. (1837-1874) of Grafton, N.Y., who served in the Ninety-seventh New York State National Guard. Commanded by Col. Schuyler Greenman, the 500-man regiment served the state from late 1864 until it disbanded in 1868. The unit never mustered for federal service.

Book Signing at New Market

Thanks to sutler Nick Sekela, I will be signing copies of my books at the The Battle of New Market Reenactment. I'll be set up in the bookstore tent, adjacent to sutler's row, on Saturday, May 16, from 10-3, and Sunday, May 17, from 10-2. I am informed that this year's event will be especially impressive, due in part to the cancellation of the Spotsylvania reenactment.

Hope to meet you there!

In Living Color

I am a purist by nature and by training as a visual journalist. For these reasons, the thought of colorizing images instantly strikes me in a negative tone. However, when I reflect on the many Civil War period photographers who tinted cartes de visite, or employed colorists to artfully add a bit of pigment to enhance a black and white image, my gut instinct is challenged. Moreover, when I consider the value of examining images from different perspectives, and realizing the power of modern technology (in this case, scanners and Photoshop), my curiosity is aroused. What did these soldiers look like in living color? We'll never see these men exactly how they appeared. But, thanks to Photoshop, as shown here in this carte de visite of Maj. Edward Burgin Knox (left) and Capt. Alexander McRoberts of the Fourty-fourth New York Infantry, we can get an idea of what they might have really looked like.

Searching for United Service Club of Philadelphia Address

A profile of Capt. John Huey Weeks (pictured here) that appeared in an 1887 edition of The Railroad Record and Investor's Guide mentions a paper that he delivered at the United Service Club of Philadelphia. The paper included a graphic account of the Battle of Fredericksburg, in which Weeks participated as an officer with the Ninety-first Pennsylvania Infantry.

Any leads on where I might obtain a copy of this paper are appreciated.

Brothers' War

The title of this post conjures up images of soldiers North and South, Union and Confederate, Billy Yank and Johnny Reb. It is also a fitting headline to describe the esprit de corps that existed between two federal infantry regiments, the Second Massachusetts and the Third Wisconsin. Both organizations fought side by side in the same brigade during major operations through the war, including Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg and Sherman's campaigns in Georgia and the Carolinas.

During the course of my research of Capt. Henry Newton Comey of the Second Massachusetts, I found this paper, reproduced in a regimental history book, presented by Comey and his fellow officers to the men of the Third Wisconsin:

Second Massachusetts Infantry, Camp Slocum,
Near Washington, D.C., June 4, 1S65.

We, the undersigned, officers of the Second Massachusetts Infantry, wish to express to the officers of the Third Wisconsin Infantry our heartfelt regret, that the fortunes of the service are about to separate our respective organizations.

From the campaign of 1862, in the Shenandoah Valley, to the present glorious close of this bloody war, we have fought and marched side by side with you in almost every rebellious State. To have been brigaded together for so long a time is in itself remarkable; no less so is it that between our two regiments there should have always existed such strong feelings of friendship and mutual regard, untinged by the slightest shadow of jealousy.

As we recall, now, some of the hard positions we have been in, we cannot help remembering how often our anxiety was lessened by the knowledge that the old Third Wisconsin was close at hand to support us. We know that you have had the same thoughts about us. Nothing in this whole war will be pleasantcr for us all to look back upon than this feeling of mutual respect and reliance. It not only elevated the tone of both of our regiments; but, we honestly believe, it went a great way towards making our brigade and division what they are now acknowledged to be, — among the very best organizations of the army.

We assure you that in our own State, wherever the Second Massachusetts is known, its brother regiment is also famous.

Whenever any of us have been at home, among the first inquiries would be, " How is the Third Wisconsin ? " It has been with pride that we have answered, "It is the same staunch old regiment that fought at Antietam and Chancellorsville."

These are not compliments, but expressions of plain, honest feelings. We have been knit together by deeds, not words; deeds, which, as time goes on, we shall look back upon with continually increasing pride.

Together we have shared dangers and hardships, victories and defeats, and it is hard now for us to part; but, in the natural order of things, the war being over, you go towards your homes in the West, we stay near ours in the East. Let us not, however, though separated by thousands of miles, forget these old associations. Let us rather cherish them with our fondest recollections: let it be a story to hand down to our children and children's children, how the Second Massachusetts and Third Wisconsin fought shoulder to shoulder through the great rebellion, and achieved together glory and renown. We ask you to accept this testimonial as a slight evidence of our affection and esteem. We bid you farewell, and God bless you, one and all.

C. F. Morse, Lieutenant-Colonel, com.
James Francis, Major.
C. E. Munn, Surgeon.
John A. Fox, Adjutant.
E. A. Howes, Quartermaster.

Captains. — Daniel Oakey, F. W. Crowninshield, E. A. Phalen, George A. Thayer, Theodore K. Parker, Dennis Mehan, Henry N. Comey, William E. Perkins.

First Lieutenants. — George J. Thompson, Jesse Richardson, Moses P. Richardson, William T. McAlpine, Jed. C. Thompson, William D. Toombs.

Source: Quint, The Record of the Second Massachusetts Infantry, 1861-65, pp. 282-284.

The Third Wisconsin responded with an equally respectful and heartfelt reply. While espirit de corps between regiments was not uncommon, it is rare in my experience to come across and exchange of papers that recognize and honor the bonds between them.

MI Publishes Confederate Faces Review

Military Images publisher David Neville reviewed Faces of the Confederacy in the latest issue of the magazine (May/June 2008). This excerpt captures the essence of his words:

"These stories are not the often told ones of famous Confederate leaders like General Lee, Stonewall Jackson, or J.E.B. Stuart, but of enlisted men and lower ranking officers, whose life stories deserve to be heard by this generation of American history and Civil War readers."

The complete comments are available in the Confederate Reviews section of my web site.

Finding John H. Weeks

One of the cartes in my collection is a Union captain wearing the distinctive light gray uniform of the Veteran Reserve Corps. He is identified as John H. Weeks. Preliminary searches on Ancestry.com reveal only one soldier by that name, rank and organization, and he served in the Third V.R.C.

I have found that every Ancestry.com file for a soldier who served in the V.R.C. includes the regiment from which he left to join the Corps. Not in this case. I did some additional searching on Ancestry.com and Google, was unable to discover his regiment of origin, and so put this project on the back burner until I could get over to the National Archives and view his full military service record with the hope it might provide a clue.

Today I received an email from Brian Downey, who found the image on my Flickr photostream. Brian recognized him as the same John H. Weeks who served in the Ninety-first Pennsylvania Infantry. He also provided a link to a page dedicated to the facts of Weeks' life and military service, including a wonderful portrait. Noticeably absent was any reference to any service in the V.R.C.

Armed with this new information, I found a volume on Google Book Search that made the connection. Page 117 of the Companions of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States features a portrait of an older Weeks (about seven years before his death in 1908) with the caption "JOHN HUEY WEEKS. 1861-1865. Captaln 91st Reg. Pa. Vols. Captain 3d Reg. Vet. Res. Corps. Pennsylvanla Commandery."

The portrait is reproduced here, along with the early image from Downey's link and my carte.

I purchased this photo (from a reputable dealer) along with another carte de visite of a seated officer, his kepi on the floor, resting his head on his left arm, while in his hand he holds a letter. According to the dealer, it came from the same album and was placed on a page facing the identified Weeks image in that album. The soldier is very likely Weeks.

The Cloyds of Cloyd's Mountain

This passage on page 46 in McManus' history of the 1864 Virginia and Tennessee Railroad Raid, The Battle of Cloyds Mountain, led me to wonder if the Cloyd men who occupied two homes near the base of the mountain survived the war:

Surgeon Neil F. Graham of the Twelfth Ohio Infantry "recognized a need for more adequate shelter, and found James M. Cloyd’s residence with several verandas and two large end chimneys overlooking the battlefield, and, about a mile southwest of the battlefield, the home of Maj. Joseph Cloyd. These homes became the hospital, and the medical staff labored through the night."

Both men did outlive the war. I searched Ancestry.com and found James McGavock Cloyd (1828-1892), who acted as a Confederate scout and courier before the battle. Major Joseph Cloyd (1813-1884) acted as a purchasing agent for the Confederate government.

Civil War Times Review

The June 2009 issue of Civil War Times Magazine includes a review of Faces of the Confederacy. Of particular interest is Jack Trammell's focus on the importance of the soldier cartes de visite, which is unusual, as most reviewers emphasize the stories of the volunteers. The review concludes with Trammell recognizing the combination of photographs and stories:

"Coddington's book reminds us that the face of war never really changes, and that conflict never comes at a convenient moment for anyone."

Thanks to my friend Alan Rudolph, who alerted me to the review's publication in CWT.

New Biography of the "Iron Man" by Jim Power

I met Jim Power during the search for the diary of Maj. Thomas B. Webber of the Second Kentucky Cavalry. Webber's story from Mississippi postmaster to one of Gen. John Hunt Morgan's trusted subordinates is one of the more dramatic transformations in my book, Faces of the Confederacy. Jim's generosity and helpfulness was invaluable, particularly his sharing of the Webber diary he painstakingly transcribed.

Jim dedicates an entire volume to Webber, a worthy biographical subject largely unknown today. The "Iron Man" and the "Mississippi Company" of Morgan's Raiders is available now from AuthorHouse.

From the book description: The "Iron Man" and the "Mississippi Company" of Morgan's Raiders tells of a company that joined John Hunt Morgan's Kentucky cavalry and participated in the "Great Raid" into Indiana and Ohio where most of the company was captured. Their leader, who due to health problems appeared to be a wimp from his 1861 diary, had to be helped to mount his horse, but his leadership gained him the title of "Iron Man" from his troops. After prison some of the troops were in Jefferson Davis' guard as he attempted to escape. The closing chapter tells more about the men and the hard life to which they returned. The book contains unpublished material and portrays southern life in the 1860s.

I can't wait to receive my copy.

A Squirrel in Combat

In researching the Battle of Cloyds Mountain (May 9, 1864), I am reading Howard Rollins McManus' excellent volume on the subject. Page 9 includes an excerpt taken from the papers of James M. Comley in the Ohio State Historical Society in Columbus. It refers to breaking up winter camp and the liquidation of accumulated items before the May 1864 raid on the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad that culminated in the action on Cloyds Mountain:

"Extra clothing and bedding, cooking stoves, banjos, tamborines, stove pipe hats, fishing tackle, sidesaddles, rowboats and sailboats, pet raccoon, game cocks,...and one solemn looking blinking old owl, comprise a few of the extras disposed of to the highest bidder...One of the men carried a pet squirrel all through the raid."

The fate of this Southern squirrel in federal captivity was not revealed. Nor was his allegiance.

Current Soldiers Under Research

I have expanded my Flickr account to include a new collection, Current soldiers under research. The soldier cartes de visite here are intended to appear in a future "Faces of War" column in the Civil War News.

My motivation for adding this collection is based on the success I've had with postings on The Civil War Message Board Portal and GenForum. Both sites attract authorities and others knowledgeable in the Civil War and genealogy.

This Flickr collection seeks to tap into those with knowledge of Civil War photography. I am hopeful that it will generate additional details about the lives and military service of these men, and perhaps other wartime and post-war photographs.

No Column This Month

The Faces of War column scheduled for this month's issue of the Civil War News was cut due to space limitations. A wealth of news and information, plus book reviews and the annual fundraising directory, forced its postponement. Faces of War will return next month.

A Colonel’s Commitment

The government maintains a file for every veteran who applied for a pension, and each is usually filled with a wealth of personal detail. Some of the best reading is included in affidavits from the soldiers who served with the applicant. Each of these documents end with a declaration that the individual has no interest in the applicant’s case — a simple but necessary legal statement.

This morning, making my way through the pension file of Pvt. Jesse B. Ditty (see his photo on Flickr) of the Ninth Pennsylvania Cavalry, who suffered an injury in action at Lovejoy's Station, Ga., in November 1864, I transcribed an 1881 affidavit by Col. Thomas Jefferson Jordan, Ditty’s commanding officer. The colonel’s testimony supported Ditty’s claim, and ended with a unique version of the “no interest in the applicant’s case” statement.

Col. Jordan ended his affidavit with this sentence: “I have no interest in this matter beyond the proper desire that every officer should have, to see that his men who fought through the war & shared the danger with him, should if entitled to it receive the pension provided by his country for disabled soldiers.”

I am impressed that the colonel revealed his feelings for his men fifteen years after the war ended, and his commitment to their welfare. Another example of the strong bonds that the bonds formed by these men during the war lasted a lifetime.

Hancock the Harassed

Maj. Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock’s fighting Second Corps performed well during the 1864 Overland Campaign, adding luster to his already well-established reputation as “Hancock the Superb.” However, the intensity of the fighting, particularly in The Wilderness and at Spotsylvania, took a toll on his troops. The Twelfth New Jersey Infantry, tired and hungry after weeks of campaigning, let their feelings known in this incident related by Capt. George A. Bowen in his diary:

“On the 15th of June, 1864, after crossing to the South side of the James River, we were halted for the night. Did not move till near noon. We were waiting to have Ration issued to us as were entirely out. We finally marched without them. Marching South. While marching along a road, Gen. Hancock commanding Corps, passed us. As soon as the boys saw him they commenced to call at him, ‘Hard Tack, Pork, Coffee, Beef’ and kept it up as long as he was in sight. He enquired what Regt. it was. Ordered us to remain where [we] were till the rest of the troops had passed. Then we were deployed as skirmishers, advanced into the woods; we skirmished all the afternoon behind the rest of the Corps. Not an enemy within miles of us. This was done for punishment for halloing at him.”

Clearly, the general was less than pleased with the Jerseymen, and had his revenge. Hancock the Harassed!

Source: Bowen, George A., “The Diary of Captain George A. Bowen 12th Regiment New Jersey Volunteers,” The Valley Forge Journal (1985): 3.

Harpers Ferry Civil War Round Table Talk

Just returned from delivering a presentation to the Harpers Ferry Civil War Round Table, and had a thoroughly enjoyable time. Mike Musick, highly-regarded for his work with Civil War-era photographs and formerly of the National Archives, was a gracious and friendly host — not to mention a kindred spirit, for we both share a passion for wartime images. Al Alsdorf helped make arrangements and Dave Larsen made sure the technology was working.

We enjoyed an excellent pre-St. Patrick's Day feast of corned beef and cabbage, and then a book raffle.

Following the raffle, I gave my presentation, divided in two parts. The first focused on my journey from a collector to author, and the second a series of charts based upon my recently-completed database of the 200 soldiers I have profiled.

I could not have asked for a better evening, spent with new friends and a topic that deeply interested all of us.

"Villain Damn Him"

Spent part of this evening reading the Civil War diary of William A. Skiles, published under the title Letters to Home. Skiles was a private in Company G of the Fifth Illinois Cavalry. His captain, Benjamin B. Hopkins, is one of the soldiers I am currently researching. I found a great reference to Hopkins, which will be included in his forthcoming profile. I also found an interesting reference to Clement Vallandigham, the Ohio Democratic congressman booted out of the Buckeye State into Confederate territory for his outspoken support of states rights and the withdrawal of Southern states from the Union. Pvt. Skiles refers to Vallandigham (shown here in this portrait from the Library of Congress) as "Villain damn him," a pithy word play on the congressman's last name.

A Google search reveals one other reference to this nickname, made by a soldier in the Ninth New Jersey Infantry and noted in Beneath the Starry Flag.

The Technology Generation

Living in a world of innovative technical solutions. Pushing the envelope of science and discovery. Participating in the democratization of the visual medium.

These phrases bring to mind the current generation of young men and women in our work force. Born in the mid-eighties, they were the first to grow up with personal computers. Today, they are among the early adopters of the latest digital technologies and are quick to play in emerging platforms.

Reminds me of another group of individuals: The Civil War generation. The young men who volunteered to serve in the Union and Confederate armies were the first to grow up with photography. These are the same young men whose childhood likenesses were captured by daguerreotypists in the early forties. It is no surprise that these are the same soldiers who marched to their hometown photographer’s studio in droves and sat for their carte de visite portrait.

The Internet generation will come of age in the next decade. Perhaps they will share a common thread with the first generation to grow up with a newspaper, some 350 years ago.

Forthcoming History of the Fifth Illinois Cavalry

In the course of researching the life and military service of Capt. Benjamin B. Hopkins of the Fifth Illinois Cavalry (pictured here), my request for information posted on the Civil War Message Board Portal received a response from Rhonda Kohl. She sent me a great letter referencing Hopkins, copied from the Illinois State Archives. In return for her kindness, I sent her a high-resolution scan of Hopkins' carte de visite for use in her forthcoming regimental history, The Prairie Boys Go to War: The Fifth Illinois cavalry, 1861-1865.

Rhonda's book promises to be an excellent addition to the library of Civil War regimental histories, and I look forward with great anticipation to its publication.

If you have information about the Fifth, please contact Rhonda at 5Illinois@gmail.com

Lt. Col. Henry Chew's Hottest Battle

I've been researching the military service of Lt. Col. Henry Chew with the idea of highlighting his actions at the Bliss Barn during the Battle of Gettysburg.

Among the first details I learned of his war experience was how he came perilously close to being struck by a cannon ball at Gettysburg, and how he had been involved in keeping Confederate sharpshooters in check at the Bliss Barn until overwhelmed by superior numbers.

I continued working the Bliss Barn story, poring over various accounts, while also tracking down other source material related to other events in Chew's civilian and army life.

Last week at the Library of Congress, I requested History of the Men of Co. F, With Description of the Marches and Battles of the 12th New Jersey Vols., by Pvt. William P. Haines, a member of the company. Hoping to find more detail about Chew, I felt the request was a bit of a long shot, for Chew never served in this company.

Turns out Co. F is a remarkable read, chock full of detail. It is divided into three parts: A history of the battles in which it participated, profiles of every man who served in Company F, and an update on what became of them. The second part is most unique, for the profiles are detailed and interesting without overwhelming the reader. However, the first part caught my attention, as various writers from the company and regiment penned chapters about each battle. Chew wrote the chapter on Ream's Station. He noted that of all the battles in which he participated in, this was the hottest.

Instantly I knew that my profile of Chew would focus on his role at Ream's Station. Thanks to Pvt. Haines and his most excellent Co. F.

CWBA Blog Review

Andrew Wagenhoffer of the Civil War Books and Authors blog reviewed Faces of the Confederacy. An excerpt:

"The overall presentation of this volume is first-rate. The full-page CDV images are crisp reproductions, and the full cloth binding and heavy, glossy paper make for a distinctly attractive and weighty volume. The book has the heft of a much larger tome. Faces of the Confederacy will appeal to serious photography enthusiasts and collectors, as well as those readers captivated by the personal stories of Civil War soldiers."

Read the full review.

Abraham Lincoln at 200

The marking of President Lincoln's 200th birthday brings to mind the iconic portraits of his uniquely-shaped face, careworn and expressive of the public and private burdens he carried during our country's greatest national crisis and struggle for freedom and equality.

This bicentennial also causes me to recall the faces of the citizen soldiers who went to war in the armies of "Father Abraham," for it was them who set aside their personal pursuits and laid down their lives for an American idea much larger than themselves, their generation, and the founders that envisioned a democratic society.

I have had the pleasure and honor to write about these volunteers for almost a decade; more than two hundred profiles as of today. For all the identified photographs I have researched, there are many, many more unidentified images whose stories are yet to be told as their names are lost to history.

To help put a name to these forgotten faces, I produced Unidentified Veterans, a Flickr photostream. Please take a look. Perhaps you can help bring to life one of the men who built the legacy of "Father Abraham."

Confederate Faces Reviewed by Fort Sumter Historian

Richard W. Hatcher, the historian of the Fort Sumter National Monument, reviewed Faces of the Confederacy for the The Post and Courier of Charleston, S.C. The complete review is available on the newspaper's website, charleston.net.

Hatcher ends the review by capturing an essential element that drives my interest in these citizen soldiers, "Coddington reveals the human face of a war fought by fathers, husbands, sons and brothers. Their faces provide a compelling and tangible link with some of the men who 'wore the gray.'"

One of the men in gray that likely caught Mr. Hatcher's attention is Capt. Francis Huger Harleston of the First South Carolina Artillery. A member of the Citadel's Class of 1860, Harleston spent most of the war defending Fort Sumter. The young South Carolinian's complete profile appears in Faces of the Confederacy, and is illustrated with a carte de visite portrait from the collection of William A. Turner.

I learned an interesting bit of information about cartes de visite from Mr. Hatcher, who noted, "Twenty-five of them could be purchased for $1, roughly $160 in today's currency." While the carte de visite is recognized for democratizing portrait photography in part by offering more affordable prices compared to earlier formats, clearly a photograph was still an investment.

Extended Version of the AJC Review

Writer Bill Hendrick informs me that an extended version of the review that originally appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has been published on the Georgia Online News Service. The article includes more details and quotes.

Faces of War Marketplace Launched

Earlier this evening, Anne and I launched Faces of War Marketplace using the services of CafePress. The store is currently stocked with a 16x20 poster, calendar and 2x3 magnet featuring cartes de visite portraits from the column and books. We will be adding additional items in the near future, including items featuring Civil War period civilian images.

Gray Faces of War Reviewed in AJC

"Gray faces of war" is the headline of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution review of Faces of the Confederacy, which appeared today in print and online.

"Coddington’s prose is as unpretentious as the faces he shares, yet authoritative. It resurrects details that broaden our understanding of those sad times and sheds valuable light on the shape of modern culture," writes Bill Hendrick, a longtime AJC staff member who left the company last year. Bill interviewed me for this review, and also spoke with David Wynn Vaughan of Atlanta, one of the collectors whose contribution made this book come into its own.

I like this quote for two reasons. I write in a clear, direct style and try to use first-person narrative to advance the soldier's story. I also refrain from injecting my own point of view, for it is the soldier's story, not my own. I also stay away from generalization unless it helps put the soldier's experience into greater context or bring additional meaning to the story.

Also, Bill's reference to the Civil War period's influence on the shape of modern culture is spot on. Anything contemporary writers of history can do to convey the confusion and chaos of those times can only benefit those who continue on the American journey. Our story is one of shades of gray. As time marches on and memories fade and disappear, the subtle shades are reduced to a stark contrast of black and white. Lost is the complex and complicated tangle of cultural and political issues at the core of the wars, economic crisis, scientific milestones and other watershed events that make their way into our history books.

I first met Bill Hendrick twenty-three years ago at the AJC. Our careers overlapped in the late eighties: He had by then established a reputation as one of America's top business writers, having predicted the 1987 stock market crash; I was a rookie staff artist who had joined the company shortly before the first Apple computer landed in the department.

Bill descends from a Virginia family whose sons fought for the Confederacy.

Society of Civil War Surgeons Conference

I accepted an invitation to speak at the 2010 national conference of the Society of Civil War Surgeons. The group, led by President Pete D'Onofrio, is dedicated to promoting the medical heritage of the Civil War and serving as a resource for medical and surgical practices of the period. I am honored to participate. I've contributed several profiles of medical men (originally published in the Civil War News) to the SCWS journal, and have been impressed by its content and membership. Without a doubt the national conference will be an exciting event.

ACRL Reviews Confederate Faces

George Eberhart of the Association of College & Research Libraries recently reviewed Confederate Faces. He writes:

"Faces of the Confederacy: An Album of Southern Soldiers and Their Stories, by Ronald S. Coddington (320 pages, December 2008), brings to life the fragmented backgrounds of 82 Confederate soldiers pictured on cartes de visite of the 1860s. Coddington has hit upon a unique and fascinating niche in the seemingly endless march of Civil War books. This one is a sequel to his Faces of the Civil War (2004), which matched the images of ordinary Union privates, sergeants, lieutenants, and captains with brief memoirs of their war experiences. With Southern veterans the documentary trail is much harder to pick up, making the author's biographical vignettes all the more extraordinary. The earnestness, defiance, and desperation on the faces of these men resonates with a modern audience, once their stories are known."

Officer Identified

I've had this carte de visite in my collection for years. The only clues to the identities of the subjects: A modern pencil inscription noting that it had been removed from an album of soldiers belonging to the 135th U.S. Colored Infantry, and the photographer's name, J.C. Elrod of Louisville, Ky.

Recently I began working on an article for a future issue of Military Images magazine. The working title, "Comrades in Arms," headlines a survey of a dozen cartes de visite of soldiers posed in groups of two to six. The image of this pair of officers from the 135th was on my list of photos to definitely include: The quality and contrast of the print is excellent, age toning minimal, and the casual pose of the men is uncommon.

In preparation for writing the caption, I researched the 135th and found that its brief term of enlistment (March to October 1865) began in North Carolina and ended in Louisville, Ky., where this image was taken by the photographer Elrod. This detail fit nicely with the modern pencil note on the back of the mount.

Next, I searched the USAMHI Old Civil War Photos Database. The results included three men from the 135th, all officers. I requested photocopies of the images. Reference Historian Art Bergeron responded promptly, and I received the copies in yesterday's mail. One of the images, a bust view of 1st Lt. and Adjutant Horace S. Bradley, is without a doubt the same individual seated on the left of my carte de visite. The facial features and mustache are identical, and both wear the same close-fitting hat, patterned tie, dark military vest, and leather straps.

Preliminary research reveals that Pennsylvania-born Horace Seymore Bradley (1833-1892) served in the Fifteenth Illinois Infantry before joining the 135th. His brother-in-law, John Edgar Gurley, served as the colonel of the 135th.

I would like to identify the man seated next to Bradley. My first thought was that it may be Col. Gurley. However, this man wears the shoulder straps of a captain. Gurley was originally a captain in the Thirty-third Wisconsin Infantry, but by the time of this sitting would surely have worn the shoulder straps and uniform coat with two columns of brass buttons that befit his rank. Check out the image on Flickr. Perhaps you know who he is.

Confederate Faces is a History Book Club selection

Faces of the Confederacy is one of the January selections of the History Book Club.

Searching for a Likeness of Albert Luke Frakes

Corporal Albert Luke Frakes (1841-1868) served in Company D of the 142nd Indiana Infantry from 1864-1865. Chances are he posed for a photograph before, during, or after his one year term of enlistment. One of his ancestors, George Frakes, would like to find it. If you can help, please email George: grfrakes@cox.net.

Tinted Cartes de Visite

Late last year I purchased a nicely tinted carte de visite of a long-haired woman dressed in bloomers, identified only as "Nellie." This wonderful photograph prompted me to think about other tinted images in my collection, and I began searching for other colored cartes. In the end, I found a variety of images.

The photograph pictured here is perhaps the boldest example, which, with the exception of the background, is fully tinted. On the other side of the scale, a federal officer poses in black and white, although the medal pinned to his uniform is colored in vivid red and blue. Check out the gallery of eight cartes that illustrate the full range of tinting.

Christmas Thanks

Jason Puckett of Bartlesvile, Oklahoma, collects old photographs with a passion and interest that reminds me of my own. He contacted me some time ago after reading Union Faces, and since then we've maintained a periodic correspondence. Last week, I sent him signed copies of Confederate Faces, and yesterday received with delight a package containing several beautiful cartes de visite — a thoughtful gift from a generous spirit that I will treasure.

He also sent me a card that reads, in part, "I have truly enjoyed your correspondence, and being able to read the stories of the men who I consider to be my heroes. You have given a voice, as well as a rebirth to men long gone."

Jason's words remind me that the remembrance of those who came before us, the sacrifices that they made in times of great peril and national crisis, are a reminder that we are challenged to muster courage and inner strength to make our country and our world a better place for those who come after us.

Thank you, Jason, for sharing your thought.

Where is the Body of Aaron Hunt Ingraham?

There can be no doubt that Aaron Hunt Ingraham of the Forty-eighth New York Infantry fell in action at Cold Harbor, Virginia, on June 1, 1864. His military service record, regimental history books, and other sources all confirm this fact, and that his body was buried on the battlefield and never recovered.

However, the location of his remains are now in question.

Yesterday, I received an email from Jim Kravchuk of the 150th New York Volunteer Infantry Association. Jim and others have been looking for grave sites of members of the regiment, and to date have identified more than 400. Jim, who lives in Amenia, the hometown of Aaron Ingraham, informed me that he "came across a large stone covered by brush that on one side of the stone it has one family [name] but the brush covered side has the Ingraham Family. Listed is Aaron H. Ingraham with a very old GAR marker in front of his name."

Is Lt. Ingraham's body buried beneath the stone? Or, does his remains rest on the Cold Harbor battlefield where he fell and the stone serve as a memorial to his life and military service? Further research will be necessary. One clue may be on the stone itself, which is located in the Amenia Island Cemetery. According to Jim, "the first burials at this cemetery didn't occur until 1869. There are some older stones there that were moved there from an older burial ground so that families could rest together."

Jim wants to clean the stone, and the Sons of Union Veterans have expressed an interest in rededicating the site.

If you have any information, please comment.

Getting the Word Out

One of the lessons learned from Michael Fellman's How to Write a Book Proposal is that authors who stay involved with their book after it is published typically have greater success. In truth, I don't really need this lesson, as my intense interest in the soldiers and their portrait photographs is more than enough motivation. However, Fellman's message is a helpful reminder. Over the last few week, I've kept active by redesigning the web site, including a new media and marketing section, and sending out emails to the many individuals who helped along the way. Today, I finalized the design for a post card (pictured here), which will be mailed to various people, book stores, and other organizations. The cards will be produced through GotPrint.com.

Research Method: Top Level Organization

Currently working by email and telephone with a descendant of a soldier who is in possession of family documents, including letters and other personal information. To explain my needs, I included this organizational detail:

My research typically breaks down into three sections:
1. Timeline of subject's life, using census data, military service records, pension files, and other source material.
2. Related material that puts his war experience and other life events into context.
3. References to subject's character and other anecdotes from letters, journals, and other personal documents.

Numbers one and two are often easy to locate. The third section can be difficult, for these documents may be in the hands of the families or private collectors, and these collections are not well documented.

While this overview may appear simplistic to some, it accurately diagrams the three broad categories that serve as the main points of organization as material is collected.

Andersonville Prisoners Added to Official List

It is official: The names of James W. Landon and John S. Lemmon have been added to the List of Andersonville Prisoners, I learned in a letter from a park guide at the Andersonville National Historic Site and a follow-up email from Lead Park Ranger Kim Humber. They join their comrade, Landon W. Silcott, with whom they were captured in 1864. Silcott's name was the only one of the three listed. For those of you who have been following the story, noted in my August 30 and September 20 posts, as well as a topic on Flickr's Veteran's of the American Civil War group, the case is closed — 144 years after their release.

Errol Morris on History and Photography

"What if you entered history through not the general, but a particular. Something really, really specific, like a moment in time and a specific place, almost picked at random. What if you could enter history through a photograph? Take the photograph and ask yourself, what can I learn about this?" Documentary filmmaker Errol Morris poses these questions and follows through with additional conversation on history and photography in this YouTube video.

Morris' comments capture an essential element that drives my research of Civil War soldier photographs. Each carte de visite is an entry point into the Civil War era, and, in learning about the life of the subject, I organize a chronology of his life. After careful reflection and thought, I eventually settle on a time and place and event that begins his story.

Although the experiences that shape the soldier's life can be measured in an orderly fashion across the timeline that spans his life, I have found that by focusing on an essential element of a soldier's character, or a cataclysmic event that forever changed his life, or an anecdote that reveals the nature of the soldier, that my finished profiles are never presented in chronological fashion. The result is a very particular entry point, one of an infinite number, that contribute to a better understanding an appreciation of the war.

Many thanks to my friend and co-worker Wes Lindamood for sending Morris my way.

Web 5.0

Spent time over the past week redesigning the web site. The old design had a limited navigation bar that had outgrown its usefulness as I've added a number of new features and links during the past couple years. A major change is moving from a Flash-based environment to HTML, which is helpful for search engine optimization and text display.

New features include a page dedicated to purchasing signed copies of both books.

Thanks

Yesterday I mailed complimentary copies of Confederate Faces to individuals who played critical roles in the book's development. I struggled to find the correct words to express my gratitude for the generosity and support of so many people. I inscribed title pages with various phrases including "with deep appreciation," "profound thanks," and other expressions. These words are fitting and proper, and pay tribute to their contributions.

The key word is generosity. So many people gave freely of their time and expertise. I am indebted to them all. And, as I wrote words of thanks in each book, was awestruck by the genuine goodness of so many, not on my behalf, but for the preservation and memory of the millions of men, North and South, who went to war during our nation's greatest crisis.

"The history of the Civil War is the stories of its soldiers," I write in the introduction to this volume, and I thank each and every one of the individuals here today who helped to tell those stories.

"It's a Book"

This is the subject line of the email I received Monday from Anne Whitmore at The Johns Hopkins University Press, informing me that the first copy of Confederate Faces had arrived, and that it would be soon be on its way from her office in Baltimore to my home. Considering the holiday yesterday, I did not expect to receive it until tomorrow at the earliest.

It showed up on our doorstep today. Anne called me at the office, but got my voicemail, and decided then and there to make it a surprise. Tonight after dinner, she distracted me with YouTube videos and brought out a chocolate cake with candles, a card, and the package containing the book. She definitely caught me off guard and totally by surprise! After blowing out the candles, I opened the package. The fine folks at JHUP did a great job all around. I am truly pleased with it!

The Art of J.P. Ball

One of the speakers at the Daguerreian Society symposium, Theresa Leininger-Miller, presented a paper on James Presley Ball (1825-1904), a noted Cincinnati photographer of African American descent. At the end of the program, she made a plea for images by Ball. I took the opportunity to send her the carte de visite pictured here, along with this comment:

Ball's work is, in many respects, similar to many photographers of the time — with two exceptions: He clearly understood light, and used it to great advantage to create subtle contrast. Also, his portraits suggest an eye for composition. In the carte de visite of the unidentified infantryman, for example, the musket resting against the column creates a diagonal element that compliments the ever-so-slightly angled railing, curved drapery and chair, and creates balance between the strong vertical lines indicated by the column and figure. If you imagine the scene without the chair, and with the soldier grasping his musket (an approach most photographers might have taken), the image becomes less interesting. The lighting, from the subject's left, creates a fine contrast on his face. The light has also caused a glint on the bayonet and upper half of the musket, emphasizing the subject's military connection. In combination with the simple uniform coat, unadorned by decoration (save his corporal's stripes) or accoutrement, the image informs us in a nuanced way that this is an amateur soldier — a volunteer — rather than a professional soldier.

Daguerreian Society Symposium

This is my first year attending the annual Daguerreian Society symposium, and I've enjoyed it immensely. Held at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., it has provided me with an opportunity to catch up with old friends, make new acquaintances, and put faces with names previously familiar to me only by email and eBay.

Of particular interest was author Joe Bauman's account of the eight Daguerreotypes of Revolutionary War veterans he has collected, and the research he has done about their military service. Bauman and I share the same excitement for the powerful combination of photographic portrait and life story.

I also enjoyed the group Daguerreotype, taken from a second story window in the NPG courtyard. The light was not bright, and so the camera operator called for a two-minute exposure. This gave me a real sense of what it is like to have to remain absolutely still for what seemed like an eternity. He made three plates, and I'm interested to see the results.

CWPT and Education

Had lunch today with Dave Wiemer, a development associate at the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT). We swapped stories about our common interest and related topics. Of particular interest to me is the CWPT's commitment to education, evident in their History Center and Classroom effort. I gave Dave a copy of Union Faces, and also described to him the idea of using cartes de visite in schools (See related post). In short, a deck of cards — 30 soldier cartes de visite with the name of the soldier for the students, and 30 cards with their fate, either read or distributed by the teacher at the end of the lesson. He was quite enthusiastic, and I hope to pursue this soon.

Dave is a great guy! Easygoing and friendly, he is an excellent ambassador for the CWPT.

"How Sad a Task"

This evening I was scanning the History of the Eighth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteers, looking for references to Maj. Henry Howard Huse. I found numerous references to the major, some of which will be incorporated into his forthcoming profile.

As is often the case, I found an interesting anecdote unrelated to the subject of my profile. This one is part of a diary entry penned by Chaplain Daniel Plummer Cilley (1806-1888) three days after the June 14, 1863 failed Union assault on Port Hudson.

Rev. Cilley wrote, "The flag of truce is up and the dead and wounded are being removed. I saw 114 dead soldiers buried in one long grave. I have 'wallets,' papers, and pictures to send to the friends, one of the latter articles, the photograph of a very pretty young lady. How sad a task it is to tell of death and suffering to those at home. I cannot get the scenes out of my mind."

Cilley's straightforward accounting of what he saw, and his candid expression of feeling, caught my attention.

I wonder if he carried the memory of those tragic scenes for the rest of his life.

The Prolific Dr. Bontecou

Dr. Reed Bontecou (1824-1907) left behind a massive amount of textual and visual material in his six decades as a physician, including five years as a surgeon in the Second New York Infantry and U.S. Volunteer Medical Staff. I have a folder on my desk bulging with documents, and file folder on my laptop desktop with numerous pdf files and a twenty page Word document of preliminary notes gathered over the past two years — the most time I've spent researching a single subject.

I've enjoyed every minute of the research, and it is with mixed emotions that I write his profile and bring this project to a close. Bontecou is a fasinating study. His name will likely ring a bell for those who have seen examples of the hundreds of pre- and post-operative photographs of wounded soldiers he ordered taken while chief of Harewood Hospital in Washington, D.C. "Bontecou is considered by photographic historians as probably the first to practice the application of photography to the field of military service," noted one biographer.

The time was spent tracking down various primary and secondary sources, and following several related stories. For example, to represent Bontecou's collection of images, I researched the life and military service of Pvt. Lewis Maston of the Second New York Cavalry. He came under Bontecou's care after suffering a wound at Five Forks that resulted in the amputation of his left leg at the knee. I also had to learn about the history of the formation of the Army Medical Museum. I am still in awe that, in the middle of a major war and national crisis of the first order, that the surgeon general would have the vision to establish a museum to improve soldier care and provide a base of materials from which doctors could study and learn and save lives.

I plan on publishing Bontecou's story in the January issue of Civil War News.

Confederate Book Jacket Arrives

Senior Manuscript Editor Anne Whitmore sent me several jackets for Confederate Faces with a note that really brightened my day: "When these were sitting in my in-box, everyone who walked by stopped and said, 'Wow.' It's just as handsome, arresting, and haunting as the jacket for the Union volume — a tough standard to meet."

I salute the design team for coming through again! I am delighted with it. I took one of the jackets and wrapped it around a copy of Union Faces for this picture.

FYI: The rest of the book is due at the end of November.

Searching for Images for Next Volume

It has been more than a month since I received the issue of the Civil War News with the story about the Twenty-ninth Connecticut Colored Infantry, illustrated with a wonderful carte de visite of two sergeants from the regiment. The image motivated me to get serious about beginning the search for identified, wartime cartes of those who served in the U.S.C.T. Researching and writing about the African-American war experience is a natural next volume in this series.

Last week, I officially began by making contact with Harrison Mero of the Twenty-ninth descendant’s group. He was extremely helpful, offering to provide me with details about the two soldiers, and put out the word that I am looking for photographs. He also directed me to Yale University’s Beinecke Library, which owns the carte.

I am on the track of a few more images. Seventy-seven are required (to be consistent with Union and Confederate Faces).

If you can help, please contact me! My criteria is identified, wartime cartes de visite of African-American soldiers.

Culture of Death

The idea “that Americans came to fight the Civil War in the midst of a wider cultural world that sent them messages about death that made it easier to kill and be killed” is an argument worthy of study, and Mark S. Schantz explores the topic in detail in his new book, Awaiting the Heavenly Country: The Civil War and America’s Culture of Death. Schantz examines key factors, organized in a series of essays, to support the argument, including Uncle Tom’s Cabin and other books, memorial lithographs and writings, and postmortem photographs of the antebellum period.

I found the detailed descriptions of the materials interesting, and am certain that Americans were much influenced by the culture of death. However, I am not convinced it made it easier for the soldiers who went to war to kill, or for the veteran generals that sent them to their deaths to do so with an easy conscience. The thought that the constant reminder of death that surrounded their lives, be it by the loss of a family member to disease, the passing of a young wife due to complications of childbirth, or the untimely death of a young soldier on a battlefield, somehow enabled soldiers to take lives with tacit permission runs countercurrent to the argument.

The general impression left through my own research, having read by now thousands of pages of soldier letters and documentation in military service and pension files, suggests that the violence and wholesale slaughter witnessed by and participated in by soldiers on both sides left deep psychological trauma — known today as post traumatic stress disorder — that the medical establishment during the decades following the end of the rebellion were not organized to recognize and treat in a meaningful way.

Also, I’ve read several collections of letters, all following a similar arc: In the beginning of the war, the soldier has an idyllic view of military life and thinks in terms of a romantic adventure. Over his term of enlistment, the perspective changes as the realities of campaigning, battles, disagreements with generalship and government policy, and regimental politics sets in. Yet underlining this arc is genuine patriotism: Whether it is the spring of 1861 or the summer of 1864, love of country and commitment to the end the conflict remains steadfast on both sides.

I recently spoke by telephone with Betty Schacher. Her great uncle, Simon Pincus, served with distinction in the Sixty-sixth New York Infantry. One of the stories she told me was how her “Uncle Sime” let a Southern soldier go at Gettysburg. He said he couldn’t shoot him because they were all Americans. In this case, it appears patriotism came before death.

Schantz does not mention the peace movement that broke out throughout the North, the result of many factors, including the shock of long casualty lists. This suggests that citizens were repelled by the massive death tolls.

For these reasons, I argue that the culture of death in which they lived reinforced the fragility of life. I cannot imagine the great frustration and hopelessness that so many families struggled with as they helplessly watched children sink into death from disease, or the life of a desperately wounded soldier slowly ebb away. Their own powerlessness stands in stark contrast to today’s society, in which so many physical and mental problems are treatable or able to be successfully managed.

Without question the men and women of the nineteenth century lived in a culture pervaded by death. Yet they also lived in a culture of life, and that culture dominates.

I recommend you give this book a read. I found it to be thought provoking.

Alert Flickr Member Spots Officer

An alert Flickr member, bch10, saw my carte de visite of 1st Lt. Robert S. Robertson of the Ninety-third New York Infantry, and left a comment that included a link to a Library of Congress image of the regiment's officers and non-commissioned officers, noting that Robertson sat front and center.

I downloaded the high-resolution, archival version of the image from the LOC (use this link, then enter call number LC-B817- 7515) and enlarged it to see the detail. I instantly recognized two of the other officers in the group, sending shivers through me.

The second man seated to Robertson's left is Capt. Dennis Edwin Barnes of Company C, who died in action during the Battle of the Wilderness. His image is in my Photostream. The officer with the sideburns standing behind Robertson's right is 1st Lt. Waters Whipple Braman of Company H. Braman later became a captain, and served as an aide-de-camp to generals David Birney and Gershom Mott. Braman's photo is not in my Photostream, but is included in Union Faces.

Robert Stoddart Robertson left the Ninety-third to become an aide-de-camp to Brig. Gen. Nelson A. Miles in December 1863. Five months later, during the Wilderness Campaign, near Corbin’s Creek, a Confederate charge broke the Union line. Robertson rallied the men, turned back the enemy attackers, and later received the Medal of Honor for his actions. Three weeks later, at Totopotomoy Creek, while carrying orders to a front line position, he suffered a serious leg wound that ended his military service. After the war he settled in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and served as lieutenant governor from 1886-1888. His full profile will appear in an future issue of Civil War News.

A detail of the LOC image is shown here. Sepia-toned portraits from my collection overlay it. (Note: The Barnes image was part of my collection for a short time. Purchased on eBay from Daniel Lorello, it has since been returned to the state of New York).

Advertisement in "Civil War Times"

Pleasantly surprised this morning to discover an advertisement for Faces of the Confederacy while thumbing through the latest issue of Civil War Times magazine (December 2008, Gen. Benjamin Prentiss on the cover). Included is the endorsement of author Bob Zeller of the Center for Civil War Photography, who noted, "Coddington has brought new life to Civil War photographic portraits of obscure and long-forgotten Confederates whose wartime experiences might otherwise have been lost to history."

The ad also refers to two other books, Gustavus Vasa Fox of the Union Navy by Ari Hoogenboom and Testament to Union: Civil War Monuments in Washington, D.C., by Kathryn Allamong Jacob.

Cartes de Visite in Education

I received an email last night from a woman who has, over the past two years, been researching Civil War veterans with her maiden name. She is also planning to speak to her son's sixth grade class about the Civil War, and this is why she contacted me: Her idea is to give each child a reproduction of a carte de visite of an identified soldier at the beginning of the lesson, and, at the end of the lesson, reveal what became of each soldier. She wants to represent the death toll by having one of every four cartes a soldier who did not survive his war experience.

I am eager to help! I pointed her to my Flickr photostream, which currently numbers sixteen soldiers, and plan to email additional scans.

This is such an unique way to educate children about the Civil War, and I am excited to provide materials to make it happen. It reminds me of two museums in nearby Washington, D.C.: The Holocaust Memorial Museum, which provides visitors with a card that contains the name of a person at the beginning of the visit, and later reveals what happened to that individual, and the International Spy Museum, which allows you to pick a undercover identity, then provides you with basic facts, name, hometown, reason for your visit, which you have to remember while you tur the exhibit.

"The Art of the Carte" Photography Exhibit

"The Art of the Carte" has been enhanced with additional images and a new look. The exhibit has been expanded to eighty images, arranged in ten galleries grouped by subject. More cartes will be added in the future. This gallery celebrates the artists and their contribution to vernacular photography during the Civil War period.

The images are displayed in Tiltviewer, a 3D Flash viewing application by Airtight Interactive. Airtight makes a free version, but I used Tiltviewer-Pro, which allows for customization.

I chose Tiltviewer because it allows a user to preview thumbnails, enlarge them in a single click, then flip the image to read the caption. In short, the navigation is the content. Also, its intuitive interface and organic qualities are a big plus.

Take a look!

People for Better Pennsylvania Historical Records Access

This morning I received an email from spokesperson Tim Gruber of PaHR (People for Better Pennsylvania Historical Records Access). According to Tim, PaHR is focused on lifting restrictions to state death certificates for purposes of genealogical and historic research.

I've contacted a number of states to access death certificates over the years, and have found these documents to be invaluable in my research. I am not affiliated with PaHR, but am interested in their efforts to increase access to these unique records.

Tim notes:

We are ordinary people who literally want to have better access to Pennsylvania's historical records. Our main concern is the restricted state death certificates. There are no membership dues merely the willingness to help in this effort. PaHR-Access is not affiliated with any political, commercial, institutional or religious organization whatsoever.

Visit PaHR to learn more.

Landon Story Update

If you read the August 30 post about Q.M. Sgt. James Landon, you may be interested to read this update.

Early last week, I visited the National Archives and reviewed the military service and pension files of Landon W. Silcott and John S. Lemmon, the two men Landon states were captured with him along the Chattahoochee River near Newnan in early August 1864.

Both of these soldiers had prisoner of war documents (a government form printed on a thin piece of paper measuring about 3.5 x 11 inches that gives basic details of the soldier's capture and interment) in their military service files. Neither mentioned Andersonville, but the fact that these papers were in this files is significant, for it establishes that they were indeed captured. Further, the dates and places of capture conform with Landon's story. It is particularly interesting in the case of Silcott, as his is the only name that appears on the official Andersonville rolls.

The pension file for Silcott, filed by his widow (who gave birth to his son, Landon Wilson Silcott Jr. while he was in prison) makes no mention of Andersonville. It is focused on her needs as a widow.

Lemmon's pension file contains one reference to his having been in Andersonville. On a side note, I found this single mention on the next to last page of his file, which easily contained more than one hundred mostly handwritten pages. The pages were organized in reverse order, that is, the most recent papers on the top of the pile. I found the Andersonville reference on his original application for a disability pension.

Late last week, I contacted Kim Humber, the lead park ranger at the Andersonville National Historic site, and offered to send copies of the files for review. Kim accepted, and copies will soon be on their way to Georgia.

If a review determines that Lemmon and Landon did indeed spend time as prisoners of war at Andersonville, their names will join Silcott's on the official Andersonville list.

Unplanned Read Through

Last Friday I received a revised copy of the proof of Co