Cincinnati Museum Exhibit: Cincinnati and the Civil War

Image from Cincymuseum.org

Well, I publish  infrequently in recent weeks, then post two entries tonight. The previous one was the one I focused on, but I thought this upcoming exhibit at the Cincinnati Museum Center deserved some attention as well and wanted to post this while I had the time. I'll certainly visit this exhibit as soon as I can, though I'm not sure if it will be this weekend. The following week may be better for me.

Cincinnati and the Civil War: The Queen City Responds 1861-1862

Here's a brief description from their site, but if you go to the link, you'll see more, including photos of some of the items on display. It looks promising. You can search my blog for articles on the Siege of Cincinnati, though I'll try to be republishing some of those stories or hopefully creating new ones in the next three weeks. The Siege of Cincinnati took place in the weeks following the Confederate route of Union forces at Richmond, Kentucky, at the end of August 1862.

September 2012 marks the 150th anniversary of the Confederate Siege of Cincinnati, which compelled soldiers and citizens to organize defenses around our Queen City. Learn about the defense of Cincinnati, the Battle of Perryville and other events from the first two years of the Civil War explored through actual uniforms, weapons and equipment of the common soldier as well as photographs, letters, broadsides and paintings of the period from our collections.

Helping Restore the Memory of a Local USCT

As I visited my grandparents last weekend, I found this nice story in the Falmouth Outlook, a small local weekly newspaper.I had hoped to come home, dig through various sites for more information on the soldier and write a nice, long entry, but that has not worked out.

Unfortunately, that link requires a subscription or registration in order to read it, so I will paraphrase it below, trying to avoid violating any copyright laws or committing any plagarism.

Basically, local resident Brandon Wilson helped restore a family cemetery this summer and that included a large stone for his ancestors John Wilson and his wife, who is not named in the article. John was a Civil War veteran, but both he and his wife had been slaves in both Virginia and Kentucky. (This article describes him as a "decorated Civil War veteran" and I am accepting this story at face value, though I hope to do more research on it.)

Brandon Wilson, with help from family friends and local business Peoples Funeral Home, cleaned the area and raised the stone, which the article says weighed a full ton. The article also includes a nice picture of the stone with Mr.Wilson and a representative from the funeral home next to it.

It is a neat story that Mr. Wilson is taking such an interest in preserving his family's history after the cemetery and stone had been neglected for so long. It also certainly caught my attention to see a story of a local African-American who had gone from bondage to warrior.

Unfortunately, John Wilson is a common name and the article included no other clues about his service, so I have very little additional information. I do have the newspaper clipping (yes, a real piece of paper from a real newspaper, not an online story) on my desk as a reminder of this research project. Hopefully I'll be able to dig into this a bit more in the upcoming weeks and try to illustrate John Wilson's story more than I can do now, but I thought this story as is deserved attention and recognition.

The cemetery is just south of Falmouth, a town in the northern part of Kentucky, connected to Campbell County where I live. See the map below.

Good job, Brandon Wilson and friends on this project.

Battery Hooper Days, 2012

Well, my summer lull in posting continues, but now that Battery Hooper Days at the  James A Ramage Civil War Museum and all the effort it entails is complete, perhaps I can now spend more time thinking of more topics and doing some more research for interesting subjects and stories.

This year's event was a huge success, with about 1,200 visitors over the 2 days and brisk sales and donations, which will be a big help to the museum. The weather was as good as it can ever be in August in this area - mid 80s for the temperatures, just a few white clouds dotting the blue sky, no rain. Sunday was a bit more humid, but not bad. We have often had temperatures in the 90s with a lot of mugginess, and the way July went this year, with record heat, that is kind of what we expected. Instead, we got the most beautiful August days we could ever dream of.

As usual, the re-enactors, living historians and speakers made the event fun and entertaining. We had 2 new musical groups this year, Chamber Music with Flutes on Saturday and Raison D'etre on Sunday. Both were phenomenal.

We also had a Jefferson Davis impression for the first time and his interaction with Abraham Lincoln was fascinating. They had worked together before and their chemistry was great.

The re-enactors set up a very neat encampment, with several great displays. The cannon fire and musket fire both grabbed people's attention and had visitors smiling and enjoying themselves. These guys also did a great job in the ceremonies we had to remember Bob, showing their appreciation for a departed colleague and fellow re-enactor. I really appreciate the work these guys do in setting up their camp and interacting with the visitors.

Harriet Tubman and Harriet Beecher Stowe impersonators told their fascinating stories again, and generals Lew Wallace and Horatio Wright were kind enough to adjust their speaking times to help fit in the memorial ceremonies for their pal Bob Clements, before delivering their enjoyable talks.

Stuart Sanders from the Kentucky Historical Society was kind enough to drive from Danville to discuss how the battle of Perryville affected the local region. This is also the subject of his fine book, Perryville Under Fire

The Ladies' Living History Society of Greater Cincinnati continued to impress visitors with their dresses and the spinning wheel demonstration. They are always a popular group.

We did feature  Honey Hill Petting Zoo again this year, and people -kids and adults alike - flocked to it to see the various animals they brought. I admit it's not the most "Civil War" aspect possible, but people like it and they come to see it, and that certainly benefits the museum.

Of course, Dr. Ramage delivered a great talk on Saturday and a descendant of one of the members of the Black Brigade of Cincinnati attended and gave a brief talk after Dr. Ramage's remarks. I wish I had gotten more time to meet and talk to him, but someone had to run our used book sale at that time. :)

Last of all, the ceremonies for Bob were very moving. We named the backyard of the museum, where we always have the encampment set up for this event, "Camp Clements" and had a wood signed created by the husband of one of the museum board members. For now, we nailed it to a tree, but will have a more permanent cedar stand set up to display it on a permanent basis.

I've added a couple of my photos below, but you can check out my personal facebook page to see more. If I get them uploaded to photobucket, I will add the link here

Rest in Peace, Bob Clements

I frequently mention that I volunteer at the James A. Ramage Civil War Museum in Fort Wright, Kentucky, just a few minutes south of Cincinnati.  I started there in September 2006 when I responded to an article about a public archaeology dig at the museum, on the grounds of an actual Civil War defensive position known as Battery Hooper. After that dig, I became a volunteer and soon thereafter attended a local festival called Tall Stacks (a really neat experience - hopefully it will be back soon.)

I saw the museum represented there, and a man in a Civil War re-enactor's uniform was giving a presentation. He was very enthusiastic, obviously out-going, and a very effective speaker.

After the talk ended, I went up and introduced myself to Bob Clements, then President of the Board of the Directors of the Ramage Museum and told him I was a new volunteer at the museum. He welcomed me very warmly and since then I have been fortunate enough to call him a friend and even colleague as I became more involved at the museum.

This morning, I woke up and, after getting ready for work, sat down at my computer to check a few things out before heading out the door. One of the sites I checked was Facebook and there I learned that Bob had passed away last night due to a heart attack. He was only 52.

This devastated me and though I managed to get through a whole day at work, this news rarely was far from the front of my mind. It is so sad and hurts so much. I can't imagine what his wife and 2 children are feeling right now, but my pain is bad enough. I certainly will keep them in my thoughts and prayers.

Bob is, was, a great guy and I really loved meeting another person who shared my passion for the Civil War. He really was the first one like that I met and we became good friends, talking about the war, reenacting, museum business or collecting. He was a big collector of Civil War items - nothing huge, but a lot of relics, some swords and bayonets and quite a few items about the Grand Army of the Republic, especially the 1898 and 1930 encampments in Cincinnati. I loved looking at the stuff he loaned to the museum or occasional other items he would show us.

I even got the collecting fever from him. I have quite a few books, including some antique ones, Abraham Lincoln busts and images and other small items. I'm hardly a wealthy collector of big fancy items, but I have quite a few smaller things that I enjoy having. Perhaps I should blame Bob for leading me to spend so much money on stuff like that, but, seriously, I have learned to appreciate these items thanks to my relationship with him.

I know this is a rambling post, with no real relevance to the war itself, but I feel the need to express my feelings and Bob certainly encouraged and helped me discover how far my obsession goes. He encouraged me by complimenting my blog and some of the items I bought and loaned to the museum. He was always very friendly and open, and has more friends than I can imagine. He seemed to know everybody, and I am lucky and happy enough to say that included me.

Battery Hooper Days, the 8th version, is coming up at the museum this weekend. Perhaps I will still find time to write about it and publish the schedule, but that seems less important right now. Bob loved BHD (as we call it) and for him to pass away just before this weekend seems especially cruel, though I guess there is no good time for something like this. Why could he not last just one more week and enjoy just one more BHD weekend?

I'm sure I'll be thinking about Bob a lot in the future, especially the next few days. He was one of the greatest men I knew, far from perfect, but a great friend, open, honest and optimistic. I will miss him greatly but will try to remember how much richer my life has been by knowing him.

Bob - I will miss you, your friendship, your enthusiasm, your love and knowledge of the Civil War.  I hope you can meet Francis Washburn where you're at now and see if you look as much like him as his tintype indicated. I'm sure he has many stories to share with you and will be proud of how you took care of his artifacts that found their way to your hands. People like you who help preserve such items do a favor for all the future history enthusiasts to follow. Thank you for providing an example for me that you do not have to have guns or cannons or uniforms in order to have a collection worth having and sharing. Thank you for adding to my obsession with this war.

Rest in eternal peace, buddy. Rest in eternal, heavenly peace, my friend.

I will miss you

Richard.

Perryville Help Day, September 8

I'm copying this from the Ohio at Perryville blog and the Friends of Perryville Facebook page. I am not sure I will make it as I may be needed at the Ramage Museum, but I certainly encourage anyone who can help to do so. It's a beautiful place and helping it, especially in advance of the big re-enactment in October, is a great thing to do.
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Volunteer Help Needed! 

September 8, 2012 Please come out and help us get the park ready for the nation to visit. We are working on several projects including preparation for the 150th Event. We are also working with the Civil War Trust that weekend to clean up some of the recent additions to the preserved battlefield that was recently acquired. Please come to Civil War Hall on Saturday September 8 between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. We will have coffee and donuts for you. Please pack a lunch and we will provide drinks! Wear good shoes and bring gloves. If you have any questions please call the park at 859-332-8631. 
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Here are a couple of pictures from my recent visits to this hallowed ground

It was MY error, not theirs

Wow! Almost 2 weeks since my last post. I'm sorry for the lack of posts as I have not had much time to do a lot of research or looking for topics. I will have some information on Battery Hooper Days at the James A Ramage Civil War museum posted soon, since it is coming up on the 18th and 19th of this month. (End shameless plug now.)

I was actually really looking forward to writing a long, perhaps even smug, post this weekend. I thought I something good and that I had found an error on the National Park Service's wonderful Soldiers and Sailors System. Sometime Saturday I began looking for links and other sources (such as local newspaper articles I had previously seen) to support my understanding and claim. I was starting to copy and paste text, and highlight the errors when a final reading of their text revealed that they had the right information after all, just much lower in the text than I had looked closely before. Talk about a let-down!

I thought they had been mistaken in the description of the 13th Infantry Regiment of the United States Regular Army. They had it located at Newport News, Virginia while Confederates threatened Cincinnati. I was going to jump over that and claim the regiment was actually at Newport, Kentucky, a city across the river from Cincinnati. Geographically, that made much more sense (why be in Virginia and mention the threat against a city hundreds of miles away?) and it seemed logical that someone could have mistaken "Newport" for "Newport News." I was even ready to propose this as a sign that of the bias towards the "eastern theater" and Virginia as opposed to the the west. Ah-ha! I thought - here's evidence of that bias, and I found it. I guess pride does cometh before the fall, however, as later down the report of this unit, this site did list that one unit of this regiment had been at Newport Barracks starting in September 1862 when the Confederates threatened Cincinnati during the "Siege of Cincinnati" I have often mentioned.

Here is a link to that unit's page, and below is the text it will take you to, with emphasis added on the text that originally caught my attention and the line I had overlooked at first.

So much for my "discovery" huh? C'est la vie, I suppose. At least I figured it out before posting it and really making a fool of myself.

(It's also  interesting to me that this unit was at Young's Point, Louisiana in early 1863 as my g-g-g-grandfather was a member of the 7th Kentucky Infantry in the same area about that time. He became ill and ended up in the Veteran's Reserve Corps for the rest of the war.)

13th Regiment, US Infantry (Regular Army)

Overview:

Created by direction of the President May 4, 1861,  and confirmed by Act of Congress July 29, 1861. Organized at Jefferson Barracks, Mo. Company "A" organized October 8, 1861, "B," "C" and "G" November 13, 1861. "D," "E" and "F" April 1, 1862. Battalion ordered to Alton, Ill., February 12, 1862, and duty there till September 4, 1862. Moved to Newport News, Va., September 4, and duty there during Kirby Smith's threatened attack on Cincinnati, Ohio. Moved to Memphis, Tenn., October 14-22. Attached to District of Memphis, Tenn., Right Wing 13th Army Corps, Dept. Tennessee, to December, 1862. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, Sherman's Yazoo Expedition to January, 1863. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 15th Army Corps, Army Tennessee, January, 1863. Headquarters, 15th Army Corps, to September, 1863. 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, 15th Army Corps, to December, 1863. District of Nashville, Tenn., Dept. Cumberland, to July, 1865.

Service:

-Duty at Memphis till November, 1862. Grant's Central Mississippi Campaign, "Tallahatchie March," November 26-December 12. Sherman's Yazoo Expedition December 20, 1862-January 3, 1863. Chickasaw Bayou December 26-28. Chickasaw Bluff December 29. Expedition to Arkansas Post, Ark., January 3-10, 1863. Assault and capture of Fort Hindman, Arkansas Post, January 10-11. Moved to Young's Point, La, January 17-22, and duty there till March. Expedition to Rolling Fork via Muddy, Steele's and Black Bayous March 14-27. Black Bayou March 21. Deer Creek, near Rolling Fork, March 22. At Young's Point till April 29. Demonstration on Haines and Drumgould's Bluffs April 29-May 2. Moved to join army in rear of Vicksburg via Richmond and Grand Gulf May 2-14. Jackson May 14. Battle of Champion's Hill May 16. Big Black May 17. Siege of Vicksburg, Miss., May 18-July 4. (1st at Vicksburg.) Assaults on Vicksburg May 19 and 22. Advance on Jackson, Miss., July 4-10. Siege of Jackson July 10-17. At Big Black till September, 1863. Moved to Memphis, Tenn., thence to Chattanooga, Tenn., September 27-November 21. Action at Colliersville October 11. Operations on the Memphis & Charleston Railroad in Alabama October 20-29. Bear Creek, Tuscumbia, October 27. Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23-27. Battles of Chattanooga November 23-25. Foot of Missionary Ridge November 24. March to relief of Knoxville, Tenn., November 28-December 17. At Bellefonte, Ala., till January 1, 1864, and at Huntsville, Ala., till April 4. Duty at Nashville, Tenn. Guard at Headquarters of General Sherman till July, 1865. Battle of Nashville December 15-16, 1864. Moved to St. Louis, Mo., July 13-20, 1865. To Jefferson Barracks August 8. To Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, August 24, thence moved to Fort Riley, Kansas. Company "E" at Newport Barracks, Ky., September 4, 1862, to May 4, 1863. At Dayton, Ohio, till June 6. Moved to Vicksburg, Miss., June 6-16.

Regiment lost during service 3 Officers and 55 Enlisted men killed and mortally wounded and 7 Officers and 121 Enlisted men by disease. Total 186.