Members of the 23rd U.S.C.T.s Visit Petersburg Battlefield - June 23, 2012

     Members of the 23rd Regiment, United States Colored Troops toured the Eastern Front portion of the Petersburg National Battlefield on Saturday, June 23, 2012. Guiding the group were National Park Service historians Emmanuel Dabney and Chris Bryce.

     From left to right, members of the 23rd, Hashmel Turner, Steward Henderson, John Cummings, and historian Emmanuel Dabney at the U.S.C.T. Memorial near Battery Number 8. Confederate Battery 8 was captured by the 1st and 22nd Regiments of United States Colored Troops and renamed Fort Friend for the nearby Friend House, on June 15, 1864.

     The tour visited the site of the Crater, which was exploded on July 30, 1864, and later attacked by members of the Union 9th Corps, including the 4th Division under General Edward Ferrero, which sustained heavy casualties. Left to right, Hashmel Turner, Chris Bryce, Steward Henderson, Emmanuel Dabney, and John Cummings, your blog host.

     A view looking into the remains of The Crater, originally 170 feet long, 100 to 120 feet wide, and at least 30 feet deep. Casualties from both sides during the engagement here totaled 5,289, killed, wounded, missing and captured, nearly three quarters of which were suffered by the Union attackers.

     Outside the Eastern Front Visitor Center, the group hears an introduction from historian Emmanuel Dabney. Left to right are James Anderson, Hashmel Turner, Chris Bryce, Emmanuel Dabney, and Steward Henderson. 

     A view toward Confederate Battery Number 5.  It was the first to fall on June 15, 1864 during the opening engagement at Petersburg, along the Dimmock Line, the ten-mile Confederate defensive work around the city, built by slave labor in 1862 to protect the backdoor to Richmond. U.S.C.T.s played a significant role in its capture.

Journalist Ramona Martinez Visits Spotsylvania For Research On Future Project

     Recently, Ramona Martinez, our friend over at National Public Radio, visited the Spotsylvania area to discuss battlefield preservation, tourism, and the Civil War Sesquicentennial observances for a future, independent project. Readers of this blog will recall she had done an investigative piece on a soldier's photograph with initials carved in the stock of a rifle he held, an image from the Liljenquist Family Collection in the Library of Congress.  We met at Stevenson Ridge, to beat the early summer heat inside the "Spy House", one of seven, finely appointed, antique structures moved to the property by owners Dan and Debbie Spear. There, we talked for about an hour before she continued her investigation by heading over to Chatham Manor in Stafford County, to talk with historians of the National Park Service.

                  

Photographs by James Anderson.

Civil War Requiem - Images of the dead at Petersburg, Virginia, April 1865

The Petersburg Campaign began on June 9, 1864, and would last nearly ten, destructive months. On April 2, 1865 Union forces broke through along the thinly defended Confederate works surrounding the city. Inside fallen Fort Mahone, photographer Thomas C. Roche documented the aftermath in a graphic series of images, offering grim testament to the human cost that war exacts. Some of those scenes are compiled in the video above by Dave of Shorpy.com. Created from high resolution scans of the original glass negatives in the Library of Congress collection, the video details the mud caked bodies of the fallen southern defenders, strewn across the landscape. Visible amongst the human wreckage are the numerous elements of war debris. Empty cartridge papers, frantically discarded in the heat of battle, carpet the ground in one close-up. A pile of coal, used by the fort's occupants for warmth in the cool evenings preceding the battle, is featured in another.

All Roads Lead To Spotsylvania

     When students of the nineteenth and twentieth century visualize our nation's past, it generally resides in black and white or sepia toned images of captured light and shadow. The photographic process was largely limited to such monochromatic renderings until the past fifty years or so. The three photographs included here are from the collection of the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. The first was taken just three years before the establishment of the park, and probably depicts one of the simple, dirt farm lanes that led to the interior of the main battlefield, land still owned at the time by subsistence farmers such as the Landram family who had tilled the soil since long before the Civil War. My personal belief is that this shows the lane that came off of Brock Road, approximately one and a half miles from the Spotsylvania Courthouse area, shortly before a now removed entrance and exit of Anderson Drive, one of the park access roads built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the mid 1930s. Clear traces of this lane still run through the woods, bisecting the final Confederate line as it did in May 1864. 

Back of image states, "Spots. field 1924"

     "Brock Rd looking N.W.", dated December 1935, taken just before the Kodachrome process made color photography more accessible, although relatively expensive, for the general public. This view shows the slight bend in the road before the Trigg Farm, beyond the trees on the left. Brock Road had retained much of its old time character in this area, still a narrow, two lane connector between neighborhoods, not far from its utilitarian appearance in 1864. 

     This view, also dated December 1935, shows the intersection on Brock Road, of Shady Grove Church Road, now known as Robert E. Lee Drive. When visited today, the new, "Courthouse Bypass" crosses Brock Road along the horizon line at right.

NPR Story Made Critical Error In Quest To Identify Soldier

Click here for the NPR followup correction dated April 17, 2012

This morning (April 11, 2012), National Public Radio delivered a very well thought out human interest story with some in-depth research, but... one technical misunderstanding threw the whole story out the window. It all begins with a Civil War photograph from the Liljenquist Family Collection of Civil War Photographs, a recent gift to the Library of Congress. NPR reporter Ramona Martinez was curious about one particular image showing what appears to be a member of the 14th Brooklyn Regiment. Her interest arose from a set of initials carved into the butt stock of the rifle musket held by the soldier. Tom Liljenquist had suggested that what appeared to be the initials "T.A." could be a clue as to the man's otherwise unknown identity. Martinez set off on a journey to see if she could discover the soldier's identity based on the initials and the probability that he was a member of the 14th Brooklyn as suggested by historian Mike McAfee. After much digging and a well thought out process of elimination, she concluded that the soldier in question must be Thomas A. Ardies. Please click this link to read and/or listen to the story. The NPR site contains several images to illustrate the research methods. The running error regarding the image was most likely sustained by the reporter not revealing the underlying interest in the initials, having advanced queries to Mr. McAfee strictly on the uniform identification, and soliciting the further assistance from the folks at The Horse Soldier, who were helping to establish the soldier's height in comparison to the identifiable weapon. I am confident that Mr. McAfee, and the Horse Soldier staff both, would have advised the image was mirror reversed had this been brought up. (See NPR reporter Ramona Martinez's response to this in the update added at the end of this post.)

Here then is the error that mars this otherwise intriguing tale. The image, as presented, is a tintype, a photographic method that produces a mirror image of the subject. Thus, the initials that look to be "T.A." are actually "A.T.", leaving a still unknown man who, if indeed correctly identified as a member of the 14th Brooklyn, could be one of the following:

August Thiery

Andrew Thomas

* Alonzo Thompson * Click here for the NPR followup correction dated April 17, 2012

Albert Tibal

Alfred Tickner

Augustus Ticknor

Andoniram Tucker

Andrew Turley

Below is the image as it appears when viewed in its case. The Library of Congress provides the following: quarter-plate tintype, hand-colored ; 11.1 x 9.5 cm (case).

Below, I have mirror reversed the image to correct the error, and present the soldier as he should appear if he were standing before you.

Below, the original mirror image gives the casual viewer the impression the initials are "T.A."

Below is an image I created by writing the initials on clear tape and applying them to the butt of a similar rifle musket. The image has been deliberately mirror reversed here for illustration purposes.

Below is the same image as it is correctly photographed, demonstrating that the initials are indeed "A.T."

Update of April 11, 2012

After posting this morning, I received an email from the NPR correspondent:

Hi, John. I did the piece on NPR that you wrote your blog post about. Your points are completely valid, and we’re looking into the ATs right now. I did want to let you know one thing though regarding your blog post: "I am confident that Mr. McAfee, and the Horse Soldier staff both, would have advised the image was mirror reversed had this been brought up." In fact, all of the people consulting to do the story, including the Library of Congress photography staff who’s interview ended up on the cutting room floor, believed the image to be T.A. We’re all doubling back and looking into it, but people seem to be split fifty fifty on the issue for whatever reason. That being said – your evidence was compelling enough that we’re investigating the A.T.s and going to try and fix the error if it is indeed wrong.  It just seemed in the piece that I only asked the Horse Soldier and Mr. McAffee about specific things, but in fact they were consulting about all aspects of the photo. It’s just that since it was a 4 minute piece, not everything could be included. Thank you for your interest in the piece however and pointing out the possibility that it may in fact be A.T. We’re looking into it, so you may very well be responsible for setting this soldier’s story straight! I’ll be sure to let you know the result.

Kind regards, Ramona

My reply follows below:

Hello Ramona,

I really enjoyed your article, and your methods were solid, but I was surprised by the lack of visual comprehension regarding the mirror imaging, even more so now that you indicate no one else picked up on it during the investigation. I am confident that my illustrations in the blog post provide the correct translation. Hopefully the "A.T." will bring you to a solid conclusion. All these men deserve remembrance. It is a shame that so many have gone through the passage of time without lasting identification. Thank you for all your efforts to put a name to the face in this case.

Sincerely,

John Cummings

Further Update! April 12, 2012

At 12:12 this afternoon, NPR reporter Ramona Martinez posted a comment on the NPR site acknowledging the error, and promising further information on the subject in the near future:

"We are in fact looking into the initials, and probably a week or so we'll have information on who the 'A.T.' soldier would be, how the mistake was made in the first place (and a little more about tintypes and their orientation) and answers to more of your historical questions that didn't make it in the piece due to its length. Stay tuned! In the meantime, do me a favor and remind people we're working on it in case this gets eaten by the comments board! - Ramona"

Quantico's Marine Basic School Visits Chancellorsville Battlefield, 3-22-12, A Photo Essay

     The current class of newly commissioned United States Marine Corps officers visited the Chancellorsville Battlefield on March 22, led by one of the expert historians from the Marine Corps University. During the twenty-six week long Basic School, or TBS, the new officers are provided with extensive classroom, field, and practical application training on subjects ranging from weapons and tactics to leadership and protocol. The TBS mission statement explains they will "Train and educate newly commissioned or appointed officers in the high standards of professional knowledge, esprit de corps, and leadership in order to prepare them for duty as company grade officers in the operating forces, with particular emphasis on the duties, responsibilities and warfighting skills required of a rifle platoon commander."

 After their tour the class had an opportunity to relax and check out the Visitor Center.

Many visited the site of General Stonewall Jackson's mortal

 wounding and associated monuments and markers.

They were particularly interested in the circumstances that led

 to Jackson being accidentally fired on by his own men.

The discussions continued on the front lawn at CVC.

Support vehicles followed the convoy of six buses, as seen below.

The Visitor Center picnic area served their needs at lunch time.

They were very impressed with the battlefield and the park's interpretive signs.

This display of Civil War artillery projectiles got a lot of attention.

Around 1:30 PM, it was back to the bus convoy for the return trip to Quantico.



Along the North Anna River - Then and Now

     See revised thoughts on this image in my May 25, 2016 post.

Click here for the direct link.

     The 20th Annual Meeting of the Civil War Fortification Study Group provided a rare opportunity for members to visit the site of one of the Civil War's rare images of entrenched soldiers during an active campaign. This was originally a Confederate fortification, known as Henagan's Redoubt, which served as a means of protecting the north shore approach to the North Anna River at the Chesterfield Bridge crossing of the Telegraph Road. This vital position was captured by Hancock's Union forces on the evening of May 23rd, 1864. The photograph below was taken by Timothy O'Sullivan on May 25th, as the armies glowered at each other. By this time the works were occupied by men of Burnside's Ninth Corps. The next day the Union army, having tired of what was essentially another stalemate similar to their experiences of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania, pull out and swing to the left in their continuous effort to get closer to Richmond. The fields around Cold Harbor awaited them.

Union forces occupy Henagan's Redoubt overlooking the North Anna River.

March 10, 2012, the silent position is now overgrown.

A member of the C.W.F.S.G. stands at right of center to provide scale.  

NOTICE: This is private property, DO NOT TRESPASS.

Gettysburg's Harvest of Death - The Trump Card?

     Be sure to visit the October 12, 2012 post by clicking here.

 It contains the most current information.

Also updated in the body of this post below. See red text.

     Yesterday, in a comment to my initial post on the Harvest of Death images, blog reader Phil Spaugy said...

"The problem I have with this view, is the lack of confederate dead, or the signs of freshly dug graves."

     This is a very good point, and one that I had not given much thought to during my examinations of these images since my concentration has been, till now, on the exposures taken by Timothy O'Sullivan which include what I believe is the Thompson house on the north side of Chambersburg Road, rather than the James Gibson exposures which do not include the house. The O'Sullivan images suffer from an as of yet firmly explained lack of strong detail beyond the fence running across the middle ground. This fence is what I consider to be the northernmost of two fences that contained a field running roughly northwest to southeast, toward Seminary Ridge, from the woodlot where General Reynolds was killed on July 1, 1863. Now, looking at the Gibson exposures, I notice that the area beyond this fence is a slight bit richer in detail than O'Sullivan's, and seems to contain what may be the solidifying clue to this series' location.

     Mr. Spaugy's point is well taken, and I answered his comment by pointing out the lack of detail where the graves of the Confederates should be, simply based on the O'Sullivan exposures, however, now considering the Gibson exposures, I believe we have indication of the Confederate burials right where they should be. I had also suggested that the Confederate dead had been buried in the days following the fight on Seminary Ridge as the ground remained under Confederate control. The Union dead were left in situ after being relieved of usable clothes, valuables and equipment. A print from the Library of Congress collection is seen below.

The contrast is sharper and the details stronger in this print of James Gibson's exposure.

 An enlargement of the middle area of the above print reveals a potential clue...

 A white balance adjustment provides somewhat better contrast within the detail...

 Beyond the fence pile, running at a diagonal, as indicated by the annotating arrow, are we able to see crudely marked grave rows? Elliott's burial map places graves within this proposed field of view.

Continuing right, along with the possible graves, are we also able to see a breastwork, or more graves? Based on Elliott's map, these would all be Confederate burials.

Update: 2/25/2013, based on more current consideration, the suggested "breastwork" noted above, may in fact be the Chambersburg Pike and a few visible fence posts. This study continues to be fluid.

Note the similarity of crudely marked graves from this 1866 image taken near the Wilderness Battlefield. This image and its location are examined in this blog's previous post from 2-29-12.

Hospital Burial Site on the Carpenter Farm Located. Wilderness Battlefield. Then and Now...

THEN

     The photograph above is from the series made under the direction of Union Surgeon, Dr. Reed Bontecou in April 1866. It is identified as showing graves of Union dead on the James Carpenter Farm, near the Wilderness Battlefield. Only one grave marker appears to bear a name, that of Sgt. Richard Ross of the 40th New York Infantry. All images are clickable for greater detail.

NOW

     The 40th New York was in the 3rd Division of the 2nd Corps, Army of the Potomac. Utilizing a hand-drawn map of the 2nd Corps hospital site, supplied by NPS Historian Don Pfanz, and assumed to be from the National Archives collection, your blog host was able to place the vicinity of the four divisions on the modern landscape. After studying the topographic features in the area of the 3rd Division, I was able to find the burial location photographed in 1866, still looking very much as it did then. The bodies had been removed prior to 1876 and reinterred in Fredericksburg on Willis Hill, in the National Cemetery. The hospital site is now the home of the Spotsylvania chapter of the Izaak Walton League. 

     In November of 2010, NPS Historian John Hennessy wrote a blog feature on Mysteries and Conundrums, which examined the original photograph. In a comment I submitted to that post, I speculated that the burial site would probably be in the range of 75 yards from the road. The location turned out to be about 112 yards from the main road, but alongside what appeared to be a slight road cut within the property. 

                               Aerial map of the former Carpenter Farm on Herndon Road, near

the Wilderness battlefield, approximately two miles northeast from where

 the 40th was engaged and Sgt. Ross would have been wounded.

I have indicated the area where each division treated their wounded, as

 well as the burial area for the 3rd Division, in the upper right, marked "graves".

Note: This land is PRIVATE PROPERTY, do not trespass.

Seen above is a document from the widow's petition for pension filed by Eliza Ross,

 October 14, 1864. She would receive eight dollars per month. Ross also left

 behind a daughter, Catherine, not yet two years old when her father fell.

The detail above is from the previous document.

The Ross residence, at 36 Pitt St., in New York City, was likely cleared away for construction

 of the Williamsburg Bridge, begun in 1896. The area today, as seen below at the corner of

 Delancey Street South, retains no resemblance to its 19th century appearance.

A close-up detail of the original marker for Sgt. Richard Ross.

Your blog host recently visited the Fredericksburg National Cemetery

 to pay respects at the relocated grave of Sgt. Richard Ross, number 3994.

ROSS, RICHARD. Age 30 years at enlistment. Enlisted in Brooklyn, and mustered in on Oct. 24, 1861, as a Private in Co. H, 87th N. Y. Inf. Transferred, Sept. 6, 1862, to Co. K, 40th N. Y., the Mozart Regiment. Captured on May 2, 1863, at Chancellorsville, and paroled Oct. 9, 1863. Promoted to Sergeant in Co. C, upon re-enlistment as a veteran, Dec. 29, 1863. Wounded in action, May 5, 1864 in the Wilderness, and died of wounds at the Carpenter Farm Hospital site, May 9, 1864. Buried initially on the hospital site and eventually reinterred in the National Cemetery at Fredericksburg, Va.

     The vicinity of the fighting where Sgt. Ross was likely wounded, south of the Orange Plank Road.

 The view looks southwest from the Union position, toward the advance of McGowan's South

 Carolinians, followed, to the viewer's left, by Scales' North Carolinians. 



Gettysburg's "Harvest of Death" correction to post of 2-18-12

Notice: Be sure to go back to the post of a few days previous by clicking here. Incorrect material had been added by your blog host in a premature effort to fill in some blanks. As I point out within the correction, "Haste makes waste."

Many thanks to my friends and loyal readers for keeping me on track. It was a close call.

Stay vigilant!