May 11 Harrisburg Civil War Round Table: Ed Bearss on “Vicksburg: Grant’s Masterpiece”

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Scott Mingus

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Civil War buffs Ed Bearss (left) and Scott Mingus enjoy conversation over brunch at the Accomac Inn along the scenic Susquehanna River in York County, Pa. The historic tavern dates from the late 1700s.

“Vicksburg: Grant’s Masterpiece” will be the subject of legendary historian Edwin Bearss‘ talk at the Friday, May 11 meeting of the Harrisburg Civil War Round Table. The success of this ambitious Union campaign ultimately split the Confederacy in two and boosted U.S. Grant into the front rank of federal generals. However the taking of the fortress city was no easy task. A leading expert on Vicksburg, Ed Bearss is uniquely qualified to explain how Grant overcame many challenges to give the North an extra reason to celebrate on July 4, 1863.

Ed Bearss served in the South Pacific as a U.S. Marine during World War II where he was severely wounded by Japanese machine gun fire. Later he earned a B.A. from Georgetown University and an M.A. in history from Indiana University.

Mr. Bearss started his career with the National Park Service as a historian at Vicksburg National Military Park and he was instrumental in finding and raising the sunken Union gunboat, the U.S.S. Cairo. In 1981 he became chief historian of the National Park Service and, following his retirement in 1995, was named Chief Historian Emeritus. He holds honorary doctorates from both Lincoln College and Gettysburg College. His books include Receding Tide: Vicksburg and Gettysburg and The Petersburg Campaign: Volume I which will be published this month.

The Harrisburg Civil War Round Table meets at the Radisson Penn Harris Hotel & Convention Center, Camp Hill, PA, Camp Hill Bypass @ Routes 11&15. An informal reception starts at 6:00 PM, followed by dinner at 6:45. The cost of dinner is $20.00 and reservations must be made by no later than Tuesday, May 8, by calling 717-938-3706. The program begins at 8:00 PM and is free to the public.

 

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New book tells the story of the Compromise of 1850 which delayed civil war in America

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Scott Mingus

Author Fergus M. Bordewich examines the events leading up to the Compromise of 1850 in his new book, America's Great Debate

Henry Clay. Stephen Douglas. Daniel Webster. All were great names in American political history.

They and other leading U.S. senators and congressmen played a leading role in developing a controversial political compromise in 1850 which temporarily brought relief to the bitter sectionalism which threatened to split the South from the North. For decades, the twin, interconnected issues of states’ rights and the westward expansion of slavery into newly created territories bitterly divided Americans.

Kentuckian Henry Clay, long an outspoken champion of Whig ideals but never quite popular enough to become president, had taken an active part in earlier compromises. Southern Democrats, backed by Northern “doughfaces” such as Franklin Pierce and Stephen Douglas, pushed for the territories to be allowed to determine their own course in regards to slavery, a concept known as popular sovereignty. Abolitionists strongly opposed the concept and insisted on either containing slavery to the established Southern states, or eliminating it altogether.

It was a tumultuous time in American history, one that at the same time threatened to tear asunder the young country.

The Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Law proved not to be permanent solutions, but rather only temporary bandages for wounds that were too deep to heal. The final result, a decade later, was the push for Southern independence which led to the formation of the breakaway Confederate States of America.

Fergus M. Bordewich neatly captures the arguments, opposing political ideals, and the frantic efforts to keep the country intact in his fascinating new book, America’s Great Compromise: Henry Clay, Stephen A. Douglas, and the Compromise That Preserved the Union (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2012).

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York CWRT to discuss Floating Iron: The New Navies of the Civil War on April 18

Posted on April 14, 2012 by Scott Mingus

Some of Scott Mingus's 1:600 scale miniature Civil War naval vessels negotiate the Mississippi River during a wargame.

Author and historian Dr. Lawrence E. Keener-Farley will be the featured speaker at the monthly meeting of the York Civil War Round Table on Wednesday, April 18, 2012 at 7:00 p.m. The meeting will be held in the auditorium of the York County Heritage Trust at 250 E. Market St. in downtown York. The talk is free, as is parking.

The presentation topic of the evening will be Floating Iron: The New Navies of the Civil War.

This slide-illustrated lecture looks at the often neglected naval side of the Civil War and the impact of the blockade, river warfare, and high seas actions on the outcome of the war. Particular emphasis will be on the new inventions that changed the nature of naval warfare forever, including the steam engine, screw propeller, armor plate, revolving turrets and rifled cannons.

Lawrence E. Keener-Farley is a graduate of York College, Shippensburg University, Temple University and Widener University. Prior to retiring, he was Director of Education at the National Civil War Museum. During his career, Dr. Keener-Farley was also employed by York College, Alice Lloyd College and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Larry is currently a gallery historian at the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum, an adjunct faculty member at Harrisburg Area Community College, a consultant for the Pennsylvania Civil War Trails Project, and a Board Member of the Gettysburg Battlefield Preservation Association, Cumberland County Historical Society and Civil War Dance Foundation. He served eight years as the President of the Camp Curtin Historical Society. Larry also co-edited and wrote much of Civil War Harrisburg: A Guide to Capital Area Sites, Incidents and Personalities.

Riverine patrols helped the Union Army take control of the Mississippi and other rivers in the Western Theater early in the war. Ironclads also played a role on the Eastern Theater rivers later in the war. Concurrently, coastal vessels and high seas vessels blockaded Southern ports in what was termed the Anaconda Plan. The above photo depicts a wargame of a Union Army fleet's attack on a Confederate riverport. Models from the wargaming collection of Scott Mingus.

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Cover art for my latest Civil War book

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Scott Mingus

Savas Beatie LLC will have this new book out in print later this year. If you would like to be included in the pre-order list, send me an e-mail to scottmingusATyahooDOTcom.

Confederate Brigadier General William “Extra Billy” Smith commanded one of four Rebel infantry brigades that marched into York County, Pennsylvania, during the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign. I have previously written books on two of these brigades, those of Brig. Gen. John B. Gordon (Flames Beyond Gettysburg) and Harry T. Hays (The Louisiana Tigers in the Gettysburg Campaign). I have no plans to write a book on the fourth brigade, that of Col. I. E. Avery. Instead I have been helping a friend in North Carolina with the Gettysburg Campaign chapter in his manuscript on the brigade’s activities during the entire war.

Smith was the oldest Confederate general at the Battle of Gettysburg. He was also the governor-elect of Virginia, having previously served in that role during the Mexican War.

This new biography covers his life, with a twin focus on his political career and his military service.

 

 

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New book details the Confederate march on Harrisburg and related skirmishes

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Scott Mingus

Author and researcher Cooper H. Wingert has written a new book on the Confederate march to Harrisburg during the 1863 Gettysburg Campaign

Cooper H. Wingert is a young author from central Pennsylvania who has proven to be a very talented researcher in his short career as a writer and history buff. The Enola native has been studying primary accounts of the defense of Harrisburg during the Gettysburg Campaign and the Confederate march through Cumberland County toward the Susquehanna River. He has deftly scoured local and state archives and has assembled an collection of sources rarely or never before used to tell the story of the eventful days of late June 1863 when an enemy army threatened the state capital.

Almost Harrisburg: The Confederate Attempt on Pennsylvania’s Capital, Gettysburg Campaign, June & July 1863 has just been published in April 2012. The new book boasts a solid array of black-and-white photographs, illustrations, and original maps to aid the reader. The author presents the details of the campaign for Harrisburg in an unbiased fashion, examining primary accounts from Confederate soldiers and officers, local civilians, state politicians, and the New York and Pennsylvania militiamen who defended the city.

A preface by Pennsylvania Civil War author Scott L. Mingus, Sr. sets the stage and provides historical context for the book. Cooper Wingert breaks down the opposing movements and tactical situations chronologically, beginning with an introduction to the Gettysburg Campaign and Harrisburg’s strategic importance. Robert E. Lee had instructed a key subordinate, Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell, to seize the city if he had the means to do so. Ewell, however, did not aggressively pursue a direct attack on the hastily built fortifications across the river from Harrisburg, which was defended by thousands of militia of varying quality levels and military experience.

This new book more than adequately tells the story, and will leave the reader with a solid understanding of the military proceedings around Harrisburg as the Rebels try to reach the Susquehanna River. Cooper Wingert continues to provide ample evidence that he is one of the finest young Civil War historians in the country. Not yet in high school, he continues to hone his research and writing skills, and this book stands on its own merits.

Almost Harrisburg should be on the shelf of any student of the Gettysburg Campaign who is interested in the defense of the state capital. Pick up your copy at Civil War and More, a fine bookstore at 10 S. Market Street in Mechanicsburg. Owner Jim Schmick will take orders via phone, internet / e-mail, or in person for Cooper’s new book.

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Remnants found of old mill once raided by Jeb Stuart’s Rebels

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Scott Mingus

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Jeb Stuart‘s Confederate cavalry paused on their route from Jefferson, Pennsylvania, northward to New Salem to raid area farms, mills, and merchants for horses, mules, and provisions. David B. Sprenkle was among the scores of North Codorus Township residents who were unable to remove their possessions and animals to safety before Stuart’s Southern raiders arrived.

At one time, scores of grist mills dotted the land along most larger creeks in York County, Pennsylvania. Many of these buildings are still in existence as private homes, storage buildings, or other uses, but unfortunately, a large number of old mills have been razed over the years since the decline of smaller private flour mills in favor of national brands

Stuart’s cavalry particularly hit Sprenkle’s mill near New Salem hard in the early evening of June 30, 1863, when a party paused from their northward trek toward Dover to take what they wanted from the flour mill and outbuildings. Rebels entered Sprenkle’s stable and emerged leading away his prized 5-yr-old bay stallion, as well as seizing a 6-yr-old dark bay and a 6-yr-old gray mare. The Confederates also snatched a pair of leather riding saddles and two bridles. Some of the cavalrymen entered Sprenkle’s grist mill and took 125 bushels of mixed grain and 20 empty grain bags. They did unspecified damage to the mill equipment for which Sprenkle noted in his application for compensation.

On April 1, 2012, Codorus Valley historian and mill researcher Ray Kinard led a walking tour of the site of the old Sprenkle Mill on State Game Lands just off of Route 616 north of York-New Salem. Here are a few photos of the remnants of David Sprenkle’s mill and barn.

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Exploration of old earthworks defending Hanover Junction during the Gettysburg Campaign: Part 1

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Scott Mingus

Confederate raiders from Virginia and Maryland attacked Hanover Junction on Saturday, June 27, 1863, during the Gettysburg Campaign, chasing off elements of the 20th Pennsylvania Volunteer Militia.

I have frequently in the past about Lt. Col. Elijah V. White and his “Comanches” of the 35th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry and their raid on Hanover Junction, Pennsylvania. Recently a representative from the county parks system (a geologist), a docent at the Hanover Junction Rail Trail Museum, one of his friends, and I spent a glorious spring afternoon with a landowner near Hanover Junction searching for signs of the campsite and entrenchments of the Union militia troops which guarded Hanover Junction during the Gettysburg Campaign. We found several depressions which appeared man-made and could have been traces of old rifle pits. Each was large enough for 4-5 men, assuming indeed that is what we found. They were regularly spaced, and followed the military crest of the heights above the old junction.

We search in vain for any signs of a formal campsite, although the farmer who owned the land in 1863 filed a damage claim after the Civil War delineating his losses to the soldiers occupying his land. We did find evidence of linear mounds of earth which could have been eroded remnants of earthworks, again in the general location where historical accounts suggest the 20th PVM had their fortifications.

Here are a few photos. This is private land, and we had special permission to tramp it with the land owner present. Do not, we repeat, do not enter his property without permission. It is well posted with no trespassing signs.

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Noted Military Historian Carol Reardon at April 20 Harrisburg Civil War Round Table

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Scott Mingus

Dr. Carol Reardon will speak on “Beyond Jomini: Military Thought in the North During the Civil War” at the Friday, April 20 meeting of the Harrisburg Civil War Round Table. The talk draws upon her most recent book, With a Sword in One Hand and Jomini in the Other: The Problem of Military Thought in the  Civil War North, which will be published by the University of North Carolina Press in May 2012.

The title calls attention to the prolific Swiss military writer Antoine Henry Jomini–whose name many students of the Civil War will recognize as a kind of intellectual godfather to the generals and senior political leaders of the conflict. Dr. Reardon will offer a fresh look at the role that formal military theory played in the Northern war effort.

A native of Pittsburgh, Dr. Reardon is the George Winfree Professor of American History at Penn State University and a scholar-in-residence of the George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center at Penn State. In addition to leading many military staff rides on Civil War battlefields for Army, Navy, and Marine Corps units, she has served as visiting professor of history at West Point and as the Harold K. Johnson Professor of Military History at the Army War College. From 2005 though 2009, she served as president of the Society for Military History, the flagship professional organization for all military historians. Her other books include Pickett’s Charge in History and Memory which explored how our understanding of the great charge at Gettysburg first emerged and changed over time.

The Harrisburg Civil War Round Table meets at the Radisson Penn Harris Hotel & Convention Center, Camp Hill, PA, Camp Hill Bypass @ Routes 11&15. An informal reception starts at 6:00 PM, followed by dinner at 6:45. The cost of dinner is $20.00 and reservations must be made by no later than Tuesday, April 17, by calling 717-938-3706. The program begins at 8:00 PM and is free to the public.

 

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Baltimore sued Northern Central Railway for selling ticket to runaway slave: Part 2

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Scott Mingus

An old slave poster from the 1850s advertises a reward for the return of the slave, or proof that he was dead. Bounty hunters allegedly would occasionally kill their captives to ensure they did not try to escape again.

A previous post explored a controversial May 1855 situation in Hanover, Pennsylvania, when a railroad ticket agent sold a ticket to a young black man, despite protests from white onlookers that the man and his two companions in reality were escaped slaves from Frederick County, Maryland. The agent subsequently allowed the black man onto the railcars, and the runaway, Solomon Digges, later disappeared into the Underground Railroad.

A Baltimore judge found the NCRW liable and fined the railroad more than $800 for its wanton disregard of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, a federally-mandated law which prohibited citizens from aiding and assisting runaway slaves.

In June 1860, the Maryland Court of Appeals heard the arguments of the Northern Central Railway that they overturn the ruling of the Baltimore Superior Court against the NCRW.

Here are the findings of the appeal process:

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Baltimore sued Northern Central Railway for selling ticket to runaway slave: Part 1

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Scott Mingus

In the years before the Civil War, the Baltimore Sun frequently ran paid advertisements from slave owners seeking the recovery of runaways. Often the escaped slaves would try to reach Pennsylvania, where the Underground Railroad could assist them.

The laws of Maryland prohibited aiding or assisting a runaway slave in any manner. The Federal Fugitive Slave law reinforced these regulations, and being caught helping a fugitive became a serious offense which could lead to prison and/or fines. The majority of the escapees headed north on foot, often hiding in the daytime and traveling at night. Often, their first destination after leaving the Baltimore region was York County, Pennsylvania. Bounty hunters at times prowled the border area around the Mason-Dixon Line searching for the runaways, which could be turned into the authorities for a cash reward.

One escaped slave, a Marylander named Solomon Digges, decided to ride through York County in comfort on the train. After crossing the border, he calmly walked up to an agent in Hanover, Pennsylvania, on the morning of May 28, 1855, and purchased a ticket to ride the Northern Central Railway to York. The ticket agent (Joseph Leib) and the NCRW found themselves in considerable legal trouble for selling the ticket after they had been notified that Digges was an escaped slave.

Here is the first part of the story of the legal wrangling beginning in July 1855 between the city of Baltimore (on behalf of the slave owner, Elms Scholl) and the Northern Central, which also tried to wriggle out of the settlement by blaming the Hanover Branch Railroad for selling the ticket. It exemplifies the tensions along the border states, with slavery being legal in Maryland and illegal in Pennsylvania. The court documents provide a fascinating glimpse into the conflicting fundamental beliefs of free states vs. slave states, which lay at the core of the Civil War.

States rights, the Constitution, federal versus state law, passing the buck — all are present in this drama which began in Hanover with Joseph Leib’s decision to sell a ticket to a black man, despite the counsel of onlookers (admittedly strangers) who claimed the purchaser was a runaway slave. The lower court found that the NCRW and Leib were in the wrong and it fined the railroad more than $800.

Solomon Digges, by the way, escaped into freedom.

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