Dying Far From Home – Corp. James A. Kane, Co. C, 6th USCI

 

Drafted! Imagine getting word that the government demanded your service in its military. Since the Civil War millions of Americans have received that call, and thankfully, answered it. However, conscription, a new practice at that time, operated differently then. First, not all eighteen year old males had to register for the draft as our selective service requires today. If congressional districts were unable to meet soldier quotas through recruiting efforts, a draft involving an age range of men potentially brought more soldiers into the ranks. Second, at least initially, drafted men who were wealthy enough could pay a fee to get an exemption, or purchase a substitute to serve in their place. Obviously, those individuals not as economically advantaged had fewer options.

Among the men conscripted from the Third Ward of Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, in the summer of 1863 was James A. Kane, a free man of color. Kane, a native of Allegheny County, worked as a laborer in the decade before the Civil War erupted. In 1850, the 19-year old lived in a full Ross Township household of 11 people, including his 20-year old sister, Sarah. A decade later 28-year old John lived as a boarder in Allegheny City, worked as a “River man,” and claimed no real estate or personal property of value. The head of the household in which John lived, Alexander Sigler, also African American, claimed only $25.00 in personal property. Kane was apparently in no financial position to avoid the draft.

Regardless of whether James Kane viewed his conscription into the army as an opportunity or an undesired obligation, he went. It is quite likely that Kane was aware of the draft riots that roiled New York City two weeks before. In that unfortunate event the poor whites of Gotham, particularly the Irish, took out their frustrations on African American men, women, and children of the city, who they perceived as the cause of the war. The 30-year old river boat steward enlisted on July 31, 1863, and mustered into service a week later at Camp William Penn in Philadelphia. His officers must have noticed potential in the newly drafted soldier, because within a month after enlisting he received promotion to corporal. Kane’s officers’ trust was apparently well placed, as he fulfilled his commitment, demonstrated by his continual presence in the ranks. He fortunately survived the fighting at Petersburg on June 15, 1864, unscathed, as well as later duty in the trenches at the “Cockade City.”

Called upon to participate in the lead attack at New Market Heights on September 29, 1864, the 6^th USCI followed closely behind the 4^th. The Confederates seemingly targeted the white officer corps, as that group suffered about 36% casualties in the 6^th USCI. In many cases non-commissioned officers like Kane stepped up and led the enlisted men who looked to them for direction. During the fury of the battle Sgt. Major Thomas Hawkins and 1^st Sgt. Alexander Kelly saved the regimental and national colors of the 6^th. Those two men later received the Medal of Honor for their courage, as did white officer Lt. Nathan Edgerton. Amidst the terror and confusion of battle, Kane received a wound in the leg. Although he received medical care at Balfour Hospital at Portsmouth, Virginia, Kane was unable to recover and passed away on October 13. Among the personal effects inventoried at the time of Kane’s death was a testament, a finger ring, two postage stamps, three pocket books, and five dollars in Iowa state currency. What ultimately became of these items is unknown.

Black statesman Nelson Mandela once said that, “Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”  Corp. James A. Kane answered his country’s call to arms, went to war, and fulfilled his duty, ultimately giving his life as a sacrifice for the promise of a more perfect Union. We acknowledge his service and pay respect to him and his final resting place at Hampton National Cemetery. Salute! 

Just Finished Reading - Family Bonds

Wow! My 2021 reading is off to a excellent start with Family Bonds: Free Blacks and Re-enslavement Law in Antebellum Virginia by Ted Maris-Wolf.

Digging into county court records from across the Commonwealth the author provides a history that few Virginians know today. In the spring of 1806, Virginia passed a law requiring that enslaved people who were freed after that date had to leave the state within a year. Whites feared that free people of color would serve as a bad influence to the enslaved and that free people would ultimately become a burden on White society, resorting to crime when living outside the "correcting" influence of slavery. Demanding free people of color to leave the state of course often separated them from friends and family still enslaved. It also forced them to remove to an unfamiliar place, often with little to get started with. As the author shows, the 1806 law was not enforced that often, but there were times, particularly around events like Nat Turner's Rebellion or John Brown's raid when significant community crackdowns occurred. Also, sometimes enforcement of the law came when Whites became jealous of the success of hard-working, thrifty, and entrepreneurial people of color. During these times free African Americans who wished to stay in the state had to apply to the state legislature for special exemption. These petitions were often ignored in favor of other more "pressing business." It was the uncertainty of being convicted of remaining in the state, and thus being sold away as punishment, that forced some free people of color to take the drastic measure of re-enslavement. Eventually, in 1856, the state passed a law where free Blacks could apply to be re-enslaved to an owner of their choosing. This allowed them to remain in close contact with family and friends and under the ownership of someone they felt they could trust. As the author states, "For a number of free men and women in Virginia, it was the existence of enslaved family members--a spouse or child-- that made exiting the state without them unthinkable and self-enslavement, as a last resort, palatable. Petitions for self-enslavement stand as poignant reminders that free black individuals felt they belonged in their communities and believed that if they were able to explain their circumstances to authorities, their voices just might be heard."

The author shares the stories of several families through an examination of a number of county court cases. All are fascinating. He also shows how White society often tried to use re-enslavement cases to provide evidence for their belief that the just, normal, and natural condition of Blacks is enslavement; of course, not going into detail on the real reasons why they were seeking re-enslavement.

I appreciated that this book brings yet another level of complexity to race in American history. I highly recommend it!

Dying Far From Home - Pvt. John Miles, Co. B, 38th USCI

When the Civil War began in 1861, many men enlisted under what historians term rage militaire, or “passion for arms.” During the spring of 1861, both belligerents worked themselves into a fevered pitch. Depending on their side’s perspective, citizens enlisted in mass over the enemy’s blatant attempt to break up the Union, or for having the gall to bring an army into a fellow seceded state. Many of the newly minted soldiers thought the conflict would be a short affair. When neither side seemed interested in throwing in the towel, enlistments slacked, and rage militaire receded.

Men who enlisted after 1861 did so from a multitude of motivations. Some finally came of age, some sought the pay, some took advantage of the bounties, while others were drafted. When African American men finally received the call to arms, their reasons for enlisting, or delaying enlistment, varied, too. Enslaved men often had to make it into Union lines to enlist. In many locations that took time to happen. Some free men of color from the Northern states disenchanted from the lack of benefits gained by their ancestor’s service in previous conflicts, delayed their enlistment waiting for better guarantees before risking their lives for a nation that did not yet recognize them as citizens. Black men in the slaveholding Border States ran into numerous obstacles including physical persecution and threats of selling away family members.

We do not know what motivated John Miles to enlist in Company B of the 38^th United States Colored Infantry, or why he waited until February 14, 1864 to join up. Perhaps he was enslaved and his enslaver prohibited his enlistment. Perhaps he was unsure what army life entailed and took time to gather information. Maybe he heard about the many trials faced by other black soldiers who enlisted earlier from his county. Regardless, he officially became a member of the regiment, at Great Mills in Maryland’s St. Mary’s County.

Joining Company B of the 38^th the same day was another Miles, George. Both John and George were age 29, both measured at 5 feet 10 inches tall, both apparently had dark complexions, and both were from St. Mary’s County. Were John and George twins?

About a week after enlisting, John and George Miles traveled to Norfolk, Virginia, where they officially mustered in to the United States army and began their training. Initially serving in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, the 38^th soon reported to the scene of war at Petersburg. Both John and George’s service records show them as present for duty through the spring and summer of 1864. However, George received some detached assignments including recruiting, headquarters, and regimental quartermaster department duties. It is unknown if George’s detached duties kept him from participating in the Battle of New Market Heights. If so, John was not as fortunate.

At New Market Heights, on September 29, 1864, the 38^th USCI followed the 5^th and 36^th in the second assault that morning upon the Confederate earthworks. The Rebel obstinacy and USCT determination is shown in the fact that although the 38th was the last regiment in the attack, two of the three men in the regiment who received the Medal of Honor are noted as being among the first to enter the enemy’s works.

Pvt. John Miles fell in the battle, his right tibia (shinbone) shattered by a Confederate bullet. Removed from the battlefield and transported to Deep Bottom landing, John went aboard one of the handful of hospital steamers and headed down the James River to the Fort Monroe hospital complex. Pvt. Miles likely endured an amputation either at the field hospital or at Fort Monroe. Sadly, unable to recover from his painful wound, he died on October 11, 1864. A contributing factor to his death may be a weakened body, as he was also apparently suffering from chronic diarrhea. Today, Pvt. Miles rests in peace in grave number 367 in Hampton National Cemetery.

Pvt. George Miles continued serving in the 38^th through the end of the war and endured duty on the Texas/Mexico border, finally mustering out in January 1867. If George and John Miles were indeed twins, George’s painful loss surely continued long after his army service ended.   

Recent Acquisitions to My Library

Much like November, December helped expand my library's titles. I am thankful for the ones that I received as gifts from friends and family.   

In The Accident of Color: A Story of Race and Reconstruction, by Daniel Brook, Charleston and New Orleans serve as the focus for this study on how Reconstruction complicated things for the mixed-race population of these two Southern cities. In some cases, having attained a measure of economic independence and social status, the mixed race free people of color faced new challenges in the post-war years.   

 

A book that has received a significant amount of positive attention is Thavolia Glymph's The Women's Fight: The Civil War's Battles for Home, Freedom, and Nation. Too often Civil War women's studies center on a specific group of women. However, in this book, Glymph give us a wider look into how different women; North and South, white and black, rich and poor, free and enslaved, all played critical roles in the conflict. 

When we host guest speakers at the Petersburg Civil War Roundtable who have recently authored books, we often sell copies and have the speaker sign them. If I do not already own a copy of a speaker's book, I usually buy one. Dr. Jonathan White from Christopher Newport University was our speaker in early December and he shared with us about Our Little Monitor: The Greatest Invention of the Civil War, which he coauthored with Anna Gibson Holloway. I am looking forward to learning more about the Monitor, it's inventor, and how it has come to be remembered through the years.

The Petersburg Regiment in the Civil War: A History of the 12th Virginia Infantry from John Brown's Hanging to Appomattox, 1859-1865 by John Horn, is a book that I've had on my wish list since even before it was released about a year ago. This regiment's participation in many of the Army of Northern Virginia's campaigns and its close association with the Cockade City where it was largely raised makes it an important read for me. 

After listening to Evan A. Kutzler discuss Living by Inches: The Smells, Sounds, Tastes, and Feeling of Captivity in Civil War Prisons with Civil War Talk Radio host Dr. Gerry Prokopowicz, I knew I wanted to read this book. This social history, which focuses on how POWs experienced their incarcerations through their five senses is sure to shed new light on this specific area of study. Ex-POWs wrote extensively in the post war year in effort to ensure their sufferings were not forgotten. It will be interesting to see how they describe how they survived these hell-holes. 

Confederate Exceptionalism: Civil War Myth and Memory in the Twenty-First Century by Nicole Maurantonio adds to the ever-growing body of Civil War memory studies. I know some Civil War enthusiasts have tired from memory studies, but I almost always find them insightful and thought provoking. In this book Maurantonio seeks to understand, and then share, questions that deserve deeper consideration. How do proclamations of "heritage not hate" square with reverence for symbols and personalities of the past who espoused pro-slavery and white supremacist beliefs? Her answer appears to be the blending of the myths of the Lost Cause and American exceptionalism. This timely title should make for a fascinating read.

Another book that I have been looking forward to reading is Friendly Enemies: Soldier Fraternization throughout the American Civil War by Lauren K. Thompson. In fact, I was so excited to read it, that I finished it over the Christmas break. Thompson covers the topic from several different angles and explaining that fraternization was practiced at times by soldiers to gain information, get things they needed, to try to take some control over often out of control situations, and to resist their officers' authority. I was interested in reading it because of the many instances of fraternization that occurred around Petersburg due the special circumstances of that campaign. I was happy to see many examples from Petersburg included.  

When one thinks of the Underground Railroad, the route of association is typically north. The North Star, Canada, and the northern free states usually figured prominently in the escape plans of enslaved people seeking freedom. However, as Alice L. Baumgartner explains in South to Freedom: Runaway Slaves to Mexico and the Road to the Civil War, some enslaved individuals and families fled the opposite way when that direction proved to be more beneficial and efficient. With Mexico abolishing slavery in 1837, it was more practical for enslaved people in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and similar "Cotton Kingdom" points to head southwest. Mexico's move to outlaw slavery also created political tensions that added fuel to the growing fires of sectionalism that led to the Civil War. 

Collards

 

When supplied in adequate amounts, a diet of composed typically of cornmeal and salted pork provided the protein and calories enslaved individuals needed for the labor intensive lives they were forced to endure. However, these staple rations alone proved insufficient in terms of complete nutrition. To supplement their issued provisions, and produced through self-initiative, enslaved people grew fruits and vegetables that they learned helped keep a body healthy.

Adding flavor to an otherwise bland diet, and receiving the benefits that we today know come from vitamins and minerals, enslaved communities on plantations often planted and grew leafy green vegetables like collards. A member of the cabbage family, collards developed into a key food that offered high levels of vitamin C and fiber. Due partly to its ability to thrive in cooler temperatures, and thus its availability more year round than vegetables that only grew in spring and summer, collards greatly enhanced the traditional corn and pork-based fare.

Although born to free parents in North Carolina, John Green Patterson recalled the significance of collards: “To the inhabitants of the country districts of the South, where there are no markets, and the daily allowance consists of salt meat, rice, potatoes, and the like . . . the collard is a very great blessing; because when boiled in a pot with a piece of fat meat and balls of corn dough . . . it makes palatable a diet which otherwise would be all but intolerable.”

Top 10 Most Popular Posts of 2020

Stealing an idea from a fellow blogger, I thought I'd share the 10 most popular posts (determined by views) on Random Thoughts on History during 2020. Here goes:

9. (tie) "Zooming in on the 27th USCI Winter Encampment Near Petersburg" (December 7)

9. (tie) "Slavery Propaganda, 1841" (January 3)

8. "Col. Joseph Kiddoo Reports on Baylor's Farm Fight, June 15, 1864" (June 15)

7. "Refusing Capture: Capt. Theodore Gregg, Co. F, 45th Pennsylvania" (March 25)

6. "Zooming in on Federal Soldiers Removing Artillery from Confederate Fortifications" (April 14)

5. "Wounded USCTs Captured at the Crater Advertised in Petersburg" (August 13)

4. "Leasing the Enslaved Created Family Separations at Christmas and New Year" (December 13)

3. "Dying Far From Home - Pvt. Charles Alexander, Co. K, 22nd USCI" (March 1)

2. "Pvt. Thomas Prosser, 54th Massachusetts, Prisoner at Battery Wagner" (July 18)

1. "Battle of New Market Heights Memorial and Education Association" (January 1)

So, there you go. Thank you for reading! 

Books I Read in 2020

With Christmas now in the rearview mirror, and with the New Year just around the corner, it's time to share the list of the books that I read during 2020. This year was particularly challenging for many different reasons, but if there was a silver lining to 2020, it was perhaps that I had a little more time to read while being limited with the number of available outside-the-house activities. As with the past four years' lists, I have highlighted those books that I found particularly interesting or enlightening, offered a fascinating argument, or challenged me to think about new ideas. It appears that I will not get any more titles read before January 1, 2021, so here is this year's list:

1. Dear Ma: The Civil War Letters of Curtis Clay Pollock, First Defender and 1st Lieutenant, 48th Pennsylvania Infantry by John David Hoptak

2.  Lincoln's Greatest Journey: 16 Days that Changed a Presidency, March 24-April 8, 1865 by Noah Andre Trudeau

3. The Geography of Resistance: Free Black Communities and the Underground Railroad by Cheryl Janifer LaRoche

4. Four Days in 1865: The Fall of Richmond by David D. Ryan

5. Defining Duty in the Civil War: Personal Choice, Popular Culture, and the Union Homefront by J. Matthew Gallman

6. Home Rule: Households, Manhood, and National Expansion on the 18th Century Frontier by Honor Sachs

7. A Broken Regiment: The 16th Connecticut's Civil War by Lesley J. Gordon

8. Lee's Bodyguards: The 39th Battalion Virginia Cavalry by Michael C. Hardy

9. The Underground Railroad: A Selection of Authentic Narratives by William Still

10. The Rest I Will Kill: William Tillman and the Unforgettable Story of How a Free Black Man Refused to become a Slave by Brian McGinty

11. Time Full of Trial: The Roanoke Island Freedmen's Colony, 1862-1867 by Patricia C. Click

12. Rebel Richmond: Life and Death in the Confederate Capital by Stephen V. Ash

13. The Woman's War: Fighting and Surviving the American Civil War by Stephanie McCurry

14. We Have Raised All of You: Motherhood in the South, 1750-1830 by Katy Simpson Smith

15. Occupied Women: Gender, Military Occupation, and the American Civil War edited by LeeAnn Whites and Alecia Long

16. Sanctified Trial: The Diary of Eliza Rhea Anderson Fain, a Confederate Woman in East Tennessee edited by John N. Fain

17. Masterful Women: Slaveholding Widows from the American Revolution through the Civil War by Kirsten E. Wood

18. All for the Union: The Civil War Letters of Elisha Hunt Rhodes edited by Robert Hunt Rhodes

19. The Orphan Mother: A Novel by Robert Hicks

20. Gettysburg: The First Day by Harry W. Pfanz

21. Exposing Slavery: Photography, Human Bondage, and the Birth of Modern Visual Politics in America by Matthew Fox-Amato

22. Antietam: The Soldier's Battle by John M. Priest

23. Shifting Loyalties: The Union Occupation of Eastern North Carolina by Judkin Browning

24. Virginia's Civil War edited by Peter Wallenstein and Bertram Wyatt-Brown

25. The 36th Infantry United States Colored Troops in the Civil War: A History and Roster by James K. Bryant

26. Men is Cheap: Exposing the Frauds of Free Labor in Civil War America by Brian P. Luskey 

27. Accounting for Slavery: Masters and Management by Caitlin Rosenthal

28. Make the Fur Fly: A History of a Union Volunteer Division in the American Civil War by Timothy B. Mudgett

29. Causes Won, Lost, and Forgotten: How Hollywood and Popular Art Shape What We Know about the Civil War by Gary Gallagher

30. Freedom's Witness: The Civil War Correspondence of Henry McNeal Turner edited by Jean Lee Cole

31. The War Before the War: Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for America's Soul by Andrew Delbanco

32. An Environmental History of the Civil War by Judkin Browning and Timothy Silver

33. The Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864 edited by Gary Gallagher

34. A Shattered Nation: The Rise and Fall of the Confederacy, 1861-1868 by Anne Sarah Rubin

35. Irish Green and Union Blue: The Civil War Letters of Peter Welsh edited by Lawrence Kohl and Margaret Richard

36. Vicksburg's Long Shadow: The Civil War Legacy of Race and Remembrance by Christopher Waldrep

37. The Politics of Black Citizenship: Free African Americans in the Mid-Atlantic Borderland, 1817-1863 by Andrew K. Diemer

38. Ida B. Wells-Barnett and American Reform, 1880-1930 by Patricia Schechter 

39. To the Battles of Franklin and Nashville and Beyond: Stabilization and Reconstruction in Tennessee and Kentucky, 1864-1866 by Benjamin F. Cooling

40. Civil War Places: Seeing the Conflict through the Eyes of Its Leading Historians edited by Gary Gallagher and J. Matthew Gallman

41. Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America by W. Caleb McDaniel

42. Why Learn History When It's Already on Your Phone by Sam Wineburg

43. American Lucifers: The Dark History of Artificial Light, 1750-1865 by Jeremy Zallen

44. Honor in Command: Lieutenant Freeman S. Bowley's Civil War Service in the 30th United States Colored Infantry edited by Keith Wilson

45. Sing Not War: The Lives of Union and Confederate Veterans in Gilded Age America by James Marten 

46. After Appomattox: Military Occupation and the Ends of War by Gregory P. Downs 

47. Gettysburg: Culp's Hill and Cemetery Hill by Harry W. Pfanz

48. Freedom for Themselves: North Carolina's Black Soldiers in the Civil War Era by Richard M. Reid

49. As If It Were Glory: Robert Beecham's Civil War from the Iron Brigade to the Black Regiments edited by Michael E. Stevens

50. Lens of War: Exploring Iconic Photographs of the Civil War edited by J. Matthew Gallman and Gary W. Gallagher

51. The Children by David Halberstam 

52. Black Slaves, Indian Masters: Slavery, Emancipation, and Citizenship in the Native American South by Barbara Krauthamer 

53. Driven from Home: North Carolina's Civil War Refugee Crisis by David Silkenat

54. The Final Battles of the Petersburg Campaign: Breaking the Backbone of the Rebellion by A. Wilson Greene

55. Confederate Waterloo: The Battle of Five Forks, April 1, 1865, and the Controversy that Brought Down a General by Michael McCarthy

56. An African American History of the Civil War in Hampton Roads by Cassandra L. Newby-Alexander

57. Two Brothers: One North, One South by David H. Jones

58. Civil War Supply and Strategy: Feeding Men and Moving Armies by Earl J. Hess

59. Extraordinary Circumstances: The Seven Days Battles by Brian K. Burton

60. Fighting for Citizenship: Black Northerners and the Debate over Military Service in the Civil War by Brian Taylor

61. A Republic in the Ranks: Loyalty and Dissent in the Army of the Potomac by Zachary A. Fry

62. Strike Them a Blow: Battle Along the North Anna River, May 21-25, 1864 by Chris Mackowski

63. Hensonville's Heroes: Black Civil War Soldiers of Chester County, Pennsylvania by Cheryl Renee Gooch

64. The War Went On: Reconsidering the Lives of Civil War Veterans edited by Brian Matthew Jordan and Evan C. Rothera

65. A Mind to Stay: White Plantation, Black Homeland by Sydney Nathans

66. Friendly Enemies: Soldier Fraternization throughout the American Civil War by Lauren K. Thompson

67. The Untold Story of Shields Green: The Life and Death of a Harper's Ferry Raider by Louis A. DeCaro, Jr. 

68. For Their Own Cause: The 27th United States Colored Troops by Kelly D. Mezurek

69. Slavery's Descendants: Shared Legacies of Race and Reconciliation edited by Dionne Ford and Jill Strauss

70. Rot, Riot, and Rebellion: Mr. Jefferson's Struggle to Save the University that Changed America by Rex Bowman and Carlos Santos

With some quarantine time and curtailing my travels in 2020 I was able to get 12 more books read than I did in 2019. 1.3 books per week is not too bad. We'll hope 2021 brings another year of happy reading. 

More on the Burning of the Albert Boisseau House

About two years ago I shared some information that I located in a Richmond newspaper concerning the burning of the Albert Boisseau house , on October 4, 1864, following the Battle of Peebles Farm. I mentioned in that article that if I ever found anything else about this incident I would share it. 

Well, while doing some research at work this past week, I found some corroborating information. While trying to learn how former U.S. Congressman and Confederate brigadier general, Roger A. Pryor  ended  up captured (then serving as a private in the 3rd Virginia Cavalry) on November 27, 1864, near where the Union picket line ran by the remains of the Albert Boisseau house, I happened upon the the name of Capt. Henry S. Burrage. Not knowing anything about Capt. Burrage, I looked him up and found he served with the 36th Massachusetts Infantry (IV Corps). With that information I searched further and found that he helped write a history of the 36th Massachusetts after the war. I located a copy of the book and found the following account on page 268: 

"October 4th. Comparative quiet prevailed until the afternoon, when there was a lively breeze on the picket line. In our immediate front, and held by our pickets, was a deserted house, to which reference has already been made, lately occupied by Dr. Boisseau. As this house stood on rising ground, and commanded a view of the enemy's line, it was surmised that it might be made the object of an attack. In anticipation of such an event, Captain Morse, with his company, was, on the 3d instant, detailed as a reserve picket force, and[] took up a position in a small rifle-pit near the house a short distance to the rear of the picket line. The rebels had during the day kept up a desultory fire, which made the position of the few men stationed in the building somewhat uncomfortable; but nothing unusual was noted until about four o'clock, when the enemy attacked the picket line of the Second New York, of our brigade. The capture of this line let the enemy into the rear of the picket pits of the Thirty-Sixth, and those adjacent to the house were precipitately evacuated; but the reserve force held its ground until convinced that the enemy was present in superior numbers, when it fell back, leaving the house and a few men in his possession. Our loss was four men captured,—Corporals Charles Bottomley and George H. Mills, of Company C, and privates Reuben Jackson and Lyman McDowell, of Company E. Mills and Bottomley were shortly afterwards paroled; but Jackson and McDowell were fated to swell the ranks of that mighty army the story of which is sadly told by the words, "Died in rebel prisons." The picket line was at once reinforced, and the captured posts were retaken. A second attack of the enemy was unsuccessful. After dark, in accordance with orders, Captain Burrage, who was brigade officer of the day, gave directions for the burning of the building. It was soon a mass of flame, and presented a brilliant spectacle, the weird effect being heightened by the sharp crack of the rifles as the outposts on both sides blazed away at random, each desirous to show to his antagonist that he was not to be caught napping. At daylight on the morning of the 5th the disputed property was a heap of ruins, and our pickets who had been drawn back, on account of the fire, took possession of their old pits without opposition."

There is it. October 4 is the date the Albert Boisseau house was burned, and the account gives the reason why it was incinerated. It, along with the neighboring Pegram house (just off the map to the south), and later, the Robert H. Jones house (also known as Oak Grove), became caught between the lines and thus victims of the flames of war.  

Leasing the Enslaved Created Family Separations at Christmas and the New Year

 

The Holiday Season is typically a time of sharing and looking forward to a fresh start in the New Year. However, for enslaved men, women, and children, Christmas and New Year often created uncertainty and anxiety.

During slavery it was common in Virginia and other slaves states to lease or rent enslaved people for an agreed upon rate and time period. The contracts between the parties—those who were leasing out and those who sought additional laborers—more often than not ran on a yearly cycle. Leases typically started on New Year’s Day and ran to Christmas Day.

Leasing enslaved individuals could solely involve two private parties, but sometimes a middle man got involved, serving as a broker. As shown in the accompanying advertisement, which appeared in the December 12, 1860 edition of the Petersburg Daily Express, commission merchant brothers Alexander and James Donnan, who operated an office in Petersburg, offered to locate enslaved people for those who had specific labor needs. For their services the Donnan brothers received a commission or “finder’s fee.”  

When thinking of separations involving enslaved family members during the antebellum and Civil War years, we tend to focus on sales. Sales from upper-South states like Virginia, Maryland, and Kentucky to the growing “Cotton Kingdom” states of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and East Texas happened frequently. However, it is also important to also remember that separations between husbands and wives, and children from parents occurred as well in leasing agreements. The distances for leasing may have involved dozens of miles rather than the hundreds of miles that went with sales, but the anguish of parting from loved ones was no less a painful experience. From the perspective of the enslaved, it mattered little whether their family member was 1,000 miles away or 10 miles away when there was little to no opportunity for contact to enjoy the love and support of the family circle.   

Dying Far From Home: Sgt. Jacob A. Moss, Co. H, 5th USCI

 

What’s in a name? For a Civil War soldier, in a day before carrying one’s identity was a common practice, a name and the reputation behind it was sometimes all a man had. That is one reason why it is disappointing to find so many soldiers’ names misspelled on their government gravestones.

A case in point is Sergeant Jacob A. Moss. His grave marker spells his last name as Morse, which apparently comes from his inventory of effects form in his Compiled Military Service Record, as that is the only record that incorporates that particular spelling. Several earlier documents from various sources confirm his last name as Moss.

Jacob Moss was only 21 years old when he enlisted in Company H of the 5^th United States Colored Infantry at Lancaster, Ohio, on June 29, 1863. Jacob may have been following the example of his younger brother, Charles, who at 19, enlisted in Company G, 12 days before in nearby Chillicothe.   

Jacob and Charles Moss appear in the 1850 census living in Fairfield County, Ohio. They resided in the household of their parents, Edmund and Martha and siblings. Edmund worked as a blacksmith. He, Martha, and the three oldest children were all born in Virginia. Jacob was the first of the siblings born in Ohio. He along with his three older siblings attended school, an opportunity that would not have been readily available in the Old Dominion. Included in the Moss household, too, was Fleming Crump, an 18 year old blacksmith born in Virginia. Crump was likely serving as an assistant or apprentice to Edmund Moss. One wonders if Edmund and his family left the slave state of Virginia as an enslaved or free people of color.

Interestingly, the 1850 census also shows Jacob Moss in the Crump household in Fairfield County, Ohio. Other records tell us that Fleming Crump enlisted in the 27^th USCI in 1864. The Moss and Crump families likely were related. Jacob Moss does not appear in the 1860 census, but his father and brother do. They are the only residents in their Ross County, Ohio, household.  

Described in his service records as a five feet six inch tall blacksmith, with a “brown” complexion, Jacob Moss formally mustered into U.S. service at Camp Delaware, Ohio in July. Although his promotion date is not included among his service records, by the end of October 1863, Jacob was a sergeant. Over the next 11 months, Sgt. Moss apparently always answered roll as “present.”

Moved from the Petersburg front to north of the James River, the 5^th USCI, along with the rest of the 3^rd Division of the XVIII Corps, received orders to attack the Confederate defenses at New Market Heights on the morning of September 29, 1864. Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. Maj. Milton Holland, also fighting in the 5^th USCI, remembered, “The shot and shell of the enemy mowed down the front ranks of the colored troops like blades of grass beneath the sickle’s deadly touch. But, with a courage that knew no bounds, the men stood like granite figures. They routed the enemy and captured the breastworks.” During the second concerted assault at the Battle of New Market Heights, led by the 5^th USCI, Sgt. Moss received a wound to the head damaging his skull. Removed from the battlefield and transported to the general hospital at Fort Monroe, Jacob died of his wounds three days later on October 2. In addition to his army issued clothing, which consisted of a cap, blouse, trousers, drawers, shirt, shoes, and socks, he also owned a money purse and a knife.

Jacob’s brother Charles also received a wound at New Market Heights. However, Charles’ service records are not clear if he fully recovered, although his hospital stay proved lengthy. Charles appears in the 1880 census, living in Columbus with his wife Sarah and their three sons. That census noted that Charles had not worked during the last year due to consumption (tuberculosis). Other documentation shows that Fleming Crump died on June 7, 1906. He was buried in the Dayton, Ohio, National Cemetery.

Today, Sgt. Moss rests in peace in grave number 3868 in the Hampton National Cemetery. Although his gravestone misspells his name, we remember him and his courageous participation in the Battle of New Market Heights. He and his family earned a worthy reputation for their service and sacrifice.

Zooming in on the 27th USCI Winter Encampment near Petersburg

 Not too long ago I came across the above photograph on the Library of Congress website while searching for USCT images. It is described as the winter encampment of the 27th United States Colored Infantry, near Petersburg. Raised in Ohio, 27th USCI fought in the IX Corps, until consolidated into the all-African American XXV Corps during the winter of 1864-65.

Zooming in on parts of the photograph give us some better detail, but being that the photograph was exposed far away from the subjects it shows, many of the people are blurry. Regardless, it is a fascinating rare look into a USCT winter encampment.

In the left center of image are five black soldiers. One sits on what may be a small cart of some kind. Whatever it is, its wheels appear to be too small for an artillery carriage. The soldier on the back left wears a light blue great coat, and at first he escaped my attention. To his left is a soldier resting on a wheel of the cart. He looks to have chevrons on his fatigue blouse, so he is likely a sergeant or corporal. The man sitting on the axel of the wheels may also be a non-commissioned officer. The winter cabin these five soldiers stand in front of has a double-barrel chimney. Soldiers used old discarded barrels as an easy means to extend their chimney smoke above their quarters.

Another group of soldier appear on the left side of the photograph. Some of these men appear to be white, and thus are likely the regimental officers. A few non-commissioned officers and enlisted men may be among them as well. There are a variety of structures in use behind the men. A couple of tents that may or may not have log bases are directly behind them. A vertical log winter quarter is visible through the trees. While most cabins utilized a horizontal log construction method with interlinking logs at the corners, some soldiers around Petersburg chose to build their cold-weather homes by digging a footer trench and then making vertical stockade walls daubed with clay. The most famous example of this type of construction in the area was Gen. U.S. Grant's headquarters at City Point.

Soldiers often commented that the winter of 1864-65 was an especially cold one at Petersburg. Frequent days below freezing and lots of sleet and ice covered the ground. This photograph appears to corroborate those accounts. A detail (above) shows what looks to be icicles on the earthwork ditch in the foreground of the photograph.

Throughout the photograph, but particularly in the right foreground, tree stumps are clearly visible. Those areas still timbered around Petersburg were almost totally denuded during the winter of 1864-65. The trees were used to build the soldiers' winter quarter cabins, burn for fuel and cooking their food, and to construct their earthworks and defensive obstacles. Wood got to be so scarce during that winter that some accounts tell us soldiers cut stumps a second time closer to the ground for firewood. I would not be surprised if the standing trees that are shown in this photograph did not eventfully succumb to the soldiers' axes before evacuating the camp.    

 

Recent Acquisitions to My Library

November provided quite a book haul for me. Between my birthday gifts from my wonderful wife, a few good deal purchases here and there, and a couple of gifts from friends, I added a number of interesting new titles to my ever-growing library.

Hinsonville's Heroes: Black Civil War Soldiers of Chester County, Pennsylvania by Cheryl Renee Gooch is a slim volume, but don't let its size fool you. It is packed full of amazing stories about USCT veterans from one small southeastern Pennsylvania community. I received this one for my birthday and thoroughly enjoyed reading it already.

I recently had the pleasure of providing a guided tour of the Seven Days Battles to Mr. Gibert Kennedy and his wife. Kennedy is the author of the recently published A South Carolina Upcountry Saga: The Civil War Letters of Barham Bobo Foster and His Family, 1860-1863. He wanted to see a number of the places where his ancestors fought in the 3rd South Carolina during the Seven Days. He kindly gave me copy of the book as thanks. I am a huge fan of soldiers' published letters, so I certainly look forward to enjoying this one. 

We were fortunate to have Chris Mackowski as our November speaker at the Petersburg Civil War Roundtable. I had requested Chris to speak about the fighting at the North Anna River during the Overland Campaign. He did a fantastic job of explaining the Army of the Potomac's offensive movements and the Army of Northern Virginia's counter actions. To help reinforce what he shared and to learn more, I got a copy of his book on the subject, Strike Them A Blow: Battle along the North Anna River, May 21-25, 1864. I've already finished reading it and I highly recommend it.

Chris was selling a number of his books at the Petersburg Civil War Roundtable, and Seizing Destiny: The Army of the Potomac's "Valley Forge" and the Civil War Winter that Saved the Union, which he co-authored Albert Z. Conner, Jr., caught my eye. The winter of 1862-63 was a trying time of the Union's eastern theater army. With the defeat at Fredericksburg, and yet another failed general, a lot was on the line. 

When I was a junior in high school I read The Autobiography of Malcolm X for the first time. Alex Haley's writing was captivating and Malcolm's life story was so eye-opening. I've read a few other Malcolm X biographies over the many years since, but this one really has me intrigued due to the many interviews the other conducted over about 30 years. The Dead are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X by Les Payne is getting good reviews, so I'm sure I'll enjoy digging into it and learning new things about this complicated man's life. 

When I lived in Kentucky, I ventured out to the western part of the state to share with some teachers about my then research project about Kentuckians' reactions to John Brown's raid. On that trip I made a side excursion visit to Fort Donelson National Battlefield for the first time. At the visitor's center I encountered the story of Andrew Jackson Smith. Smith, a Kentucky native, ran away and joined in with an Illinois regiment serving as an officer's body servant. Wounded at Fort Donelson, Smith later joined the 55th Massachusetts when African Americans were finally allowed to enlist. For his heroism during the Battle of Honey Hill, South Carolina, Smith would posthumously receive the Medal of Honor in 2001. Smith's biography is now available with the new book Carrying the Colors: The Life and Legacy of Medal of Honor Recipient Andrew Jackson Smith, by W. Robert Beckman and Sharon S. McDonald. 

A book that I've has on my "wish list" since even before it was released is Diane Miller Sommerville's Aberration of Mind: Suicide and Suffering in the Civil War-Era South. I was so happy to receive a copy for my birthday. The psychological distress caused by the experience of war, both on the frontlines as well as on the home front, along with the tremendous amount of change, affected Southerners across racial and gender lines. I am a firm believer that wars cast long shadows that in turn produce psychological trauma simply too great for some to endure.     

I follow Civil War book news pretty closely. So, sometimes, I am a little surprised when I miss a title. I recently happened across Alfred C. Young III's Lee's Army during the Overland Campaign: A Numerical Study while browsing through the LSU Press online catalog. I'm not sure how it previously escaped my attention. To understand the Petersburg Campaign, a definite center of my interest, it is necessary to understand the campaign that preceded it. I also enjoy numerical studies, so this work should help kill two birds with one reading.

Happy page turning! 

Dying Far From Home – Pvt. Perry Hamilton, Co. K, 6th USCI

 

The 6^th United States Colored Infantry (USCI) recruited its soldiers largely from the New Jersey, Delaware, and southeastern Pennsylvania area. Organized and mustered in at Camp William Penn near Philadelphia in the summer and fall of 1863, the regiment moved to Virginia for duty that fall.

Not all new recruits were volunteers. Some men came to the ranks by way of the draft. Recent historical scholarship explains that many free African Americans took pause before enlisting or showed little interest in signing up when finally allowed to serve the United States army. Much of the vacillation came from the difficult lessons learned from black service in past conflicts. Participation in the armed forces during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 brought few political, social, or economic gains to men of color. Early on, there was not much evidence the Civil War would be different from previous wars in terms of rewards and fulfilling the latent promises of the Declaration of Independence.

We do not know why Perry Hamilton ended up being drafted rather than volunteering. Perhaps he would have enlisted if had he not been drafted first. Perhaps he had his eyes on an opportunity that he felt offered a brighter future. Maybe he was supporting family members financially who could not do without his earnings. Regardless, he fulfilled his duty by enlisting in Company K, 6^th USCI on August 13, 1863, at Smyrna, Delaware.

Hamilton’s Compiled Military Service Record provides a brief physical description of the newly minted soldier. The 21 year-old young man measured five feet ten inches tall and possessed a “light” complexion. In the 1860 census, Hamilton appears described as a “mulatto,” residing in the household of Abram and Matilda Brinkly in New Castle, Delaware, which is located just south of Wilmington. There are a number of other individuals in the household, so his may have been an extended family home. His occupation, “laborer,” was by far that which was listed most often by his regimental comrades.

Hamilton, like countless Civil War soldiers, experienced a period of illness during his service that required medical attention. He missed a significant amount of time in the spring of 1864 while in the hospital at Fort Monroe for treatment. His unspecified illness may have prevented him from experiencing the 6^th USCI’s first taste of combat on June 15, 1864, at Baylor’s Farm that morning and the assaults on the Dimmock Line at Petersburg that evening. However, apparently after recovering, Hamilton spent time working on the Dutch Gap canal project.

Back in the ranks of the 6^th USCI, Hamilton participated in the assault on the Confederate line at New Market Heights on September 29, 1864. Company D’s Capt. John McMurray remembered the thoughts of the soldiers as they anxiously awaited the charge. “I know there was a big lot of thinking done by us while we stood there. We knew there was a strong line of Confederates behind the rifle pits, across the slashing from us. We knew that as soon as we would move forward they would open fine on us. We knew the order to move forward would soon be given. But beyond that, what? Would it be death or wounds, or capture? Would it be victory or defeat?,” he recollected.

Company A, and Hamilton’s Company K, served as skirmishers, out ahead of the initial assaulting regiments. Skirmishers, fighting in dispersed formation, probed forward and engaged the pickets of the defenders. It was likely in the role of skirmisher that Pvt. Hamilton received a grievous wound. Right behind the skirmishers, Col. Samuel Duncan’s brigade, composed of the 6^th attacking right behind the 4^th USCI, tried to make their way though the slashings of abatis. The 4^th and the 6^th took heavy casualties. According to one count, the 6^th lost 42 killed, 161 wounded, and seven missing out of the 367 men and officers who entered the battle.

Evacuated from the battlefield due to a gunshot wound in the back that injured his spine, Hamilton received transportation by boat to Fort Monroe, where he had previously received treatment for a sickness. He must have experienced excruciating pain due to the nature of his wound. Unlike a wound received to a bodily extremity that may receive amputation in effort to mitigate infection and prevent the patient’s death, a wound to the body’s core or head often limited a surgeon’s ability to help. Hamilton suffered for 11 days before death released him from his pain on October 10, 1864. An inventory of possessions showed that Hamilton owned no personal effects.

Having faithfully performed his duty, Pvt. Perry Hamilton rests only a few short rows from a shady tree in grave number 1373, and surrounded by fellow soldiers who gave their lives for a “more perfect Union,” in Hampton National Cemetery.

Image of the 6th USCI flag courtesy of the Library of Congress.

The Sweet Potato

In many homes across the United States, sweet potatoes are a Thanksgiving staple. Sometimes served as a side dish and topped with melted marshmallows, or even better, in pie form, sweet potatoes have a long history, especially in the South.

Sweet potatoes were a common tuber grown on Southern plantations. These highly nutritious root plants flourished in the gardens of both the free and the enslaved. Sweet potatoes are native to the tropical Americas and are often confused with the African and Asian yam due to its similarity in look and taste.   

The sweet potato first came to the colonial South from the Caribbean Islands in the late 17^th century. The hearty root plants quickly gained favor with black and white Southerners for their versatility, longevity, ease of cooking, and flavor. The enslaved often cooked sweet potatoes by roasting them in the ashes of their fires, or boiling them, mashing them, and then baking or frying as a type of bread.

To help preserve sweet potatoes, slave quarters often included a floor hole where they could be stored for long durations. As an enslaved boy in Virginia, Booker T. Washington remembered:

“There was no wooden floor in our cabin, the naked earth being used as a floor. In the center of the earthen floor there was a large, deep opening covered with boards, which was used as a place in which to store sweet potatoes during the winter.  An impression of this potato-hole is very distinctly engraved upon my memory, because I recall that during the process of putting the potatoes in or taking them out I would often come into possession of one or two, which I roasted and thoroughly enjoyed.”

Although free and enslaved Southerners knew little to nothing about the vitamins and minerals that root plants like sweet potatoes afforded them, the tuber’s high levels of beta-carotene, calcium, iron, and fiber added significant nutrients to a diet largely composed of pork and corn. 

Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Sgt. George W. Hatton, 1st USCI Expresses Disappointment on Unfair Treatment

 After receiving a serious wound to the left knee in the June 15, 1864 fighting at Petersburg, 21 year old Sgt. George H. Hatton received medical treatment at the army hospital at Hampton, Virginia. While there he wrote to the Christian Recorder newspaper to express his disappointment. 

"I have been silent for a long time, but today I must speak, for it is a day long to be remembered by me, a wounded soldier of the U.S. Army.

I was wounded at the battle of Petersburg on the 15th of June last, and arrived at the Hampton Hospital on the 20th. On my arrival there, I wrote to my father, stating that I was wounded and would like him to come and see me, and if possible, take me home, where I should have the attendance of my kind and loving mother. My father complied with my request, and arrived at Fortress Monroe on the 30th. I was overjoyed to see him.

Today, he departed with a hung-down head, leaving me with an aching heart. I must here state the cause of my trouble. It is as follows:

On my father's arrival at the hospital he stated the object of his visit to the doctor in charge, who, very short and snappish, referred him to Dr. White, one of the head surgeons. Father immediately proceeded to Dr. White's office, where he expected to receive a little satisfaction, but to his heart-rending surprise, received none. After making every exertion in his power to get a furlough, he failed in so doing, without receiving the slightest shadow of satisfaction.

All of this I was willing to stand, as I had discharged my duty as a soldier from the first of May, 1863, up to the time I was wounded, for the low United States' degrading sum of $7 per month, that no man but the poor, down-trodden, uneducated, patriotic, black man would be willing to fight for. Yes, I stand all this; but the great wound I received at the hospital was this: A white man, whose name I did not learn, came from Washington with my father for the same purpose, to see his son and carry him home. His success needs no comment; let it suffice to say that he was white, and he carried his son home.

Such deception as that I thought was crucified at the battle of Fort Wagner; buried at Milliken's Bend; rose the third day, and descended into everlasting forgetfulness in the Appomattox River at the battle of Petersburg.

Mr. Editor, when, oh! when can one of my color, and in my position, at this time, find a comforter? When will my people be a nation? I fear, never on the American soil; though we may crush this cursed rebellion."

1st Sgt. Hatton transferred to Summit House General Hospital in Philadelphia in August 1864. He apparently retuned to duty on November 28, 1864. However, he became ill on March 17, 1865, and appears to have remained so until he was mustered out due to disability on June 17, 1865. Hatton appears in the 1870 census living in Washington D.C.'s Fourth Ward with his wife Frances. 

Amazing Account: Pvt. Oliver W. Norton, 83rd Pennsylvania Infantry at the Battle of Gaines' Mill

While preparing to give a recent tour of the Seven Days Battles (June 25-July 1, 1862), I came across an account by Pvt. Oliver W. Norton, 83rd Pennsylvania Infantry, describing his experience during the Battle of Gaines' Mill, which was fought on June 27, 1862. Norton, a bugler, had just come back from a serious bout with dysentery a day before the battle. After what he went through in the fight, he might have wished he stayed sick just a bit longer.

"Suddenly I saw two men on the bank in front of us gesticulating violently and pointing in our rear, but the roar of battle drowned their voices. The order was given to face about. We did so and tried to form in line, but while the line was forming, a bullet laid low the head, the stay, the trust of our regiment--our brave colonel, and before we knew what had happened the major shared his fate. We were then without a field officer, but the boys bore up bravely. They rallied round the flag and we advanced up the hill to find ourselves alone. It appears that the enemy broke through our lines off on our right, and the word was sent to us on the left to fall back. Those in the rear of us received the order but the aide sent to us was shot before he reached us and so we got no orders. Henry and Denison were shot about the same time as the colonel. I left them together under a tree. 

I retuned to the fight, and our boys were dropping on all sides of me. I was blazing away at the rascals not ten rods [55 yards] off when a ball struck my gun just above the lower band as I was capping it, and cut it in two. The ball flew in pieces and part of it went by my head to the right and three pieces struck just below my left collar bone. The deepest one was not over half an inch, and stopping to open my coat I pulled them out and snatched a gun from Ames in Company H as he fell dead. Before I had fired this at all a ball clipped off a piece of the stock, and an instant after another struck the seam of my canteen and entered my left groin. I pulled it out, and, more maddened than ever, I rushed in again. A few minutes after, another ball took six inches of the muzzle of this gun. I snatched another form a wounded man under a tree, and, as I was loading kneeling by the side of the road, a ball cut my rammer in two as I was turning it over my head. Another gun was easier got than a rammer so I threw that away and picked up a fourth one. Here in the road a buckshot struck me in the left eyebrow, making the third slight scratch I received in the action. It exceeded all I ever dreamed of, it was almost a miracle."

Norton, indeed, miraculously survived the Battle of Gaines' Mill, the Seven Days Battles, and, in 1863 started serving as a 1st lieutenant in the 8th United States Colored Infantry. He mustered out of service in November 1865 with the 8th USCI. 

Norton's experiences are captured in Army Letters, 1861-1865, published in 1903. It contains loads of letters that Norton wrote home. One of the recorded excepts has received quite a bit of attention in Civil War soldier's studies. On Oct. 9, 1861, Norton wrote: "I commenced writing yesterday, but was obliged to stop to attend drill, a very common incident in soldier life. The first thing in the morning is drill, then drill, then drill again. Then drill, drill, and a little more drill. Then drill, and lastly, drill. Between drills, we drill, and stop to eat a little and have a roll call."

However, Norton has gone down in history for a more significant contribution. He is credited as the first soldier to have played "Taps." Written by his brigadier general, Daniel Butterfield, in July 1862 at Harrison's Landing on the James River after the repulse from Richmond's environs during the Seven Days Battles, Butterfield had Norton play the tune for the first time for "lights out." It caught on quickly and has remained a mainstay since. 

Image courtesy of the Library of Congress.

Wide Awakes

 

During the presidential election year of 1860, a group of young men sought change. They identified themselves as “Wide Awakes.” 

The Wide Awakes started in Connecticut in the spring of 1860. The organization, composed largely of young men in the free states in their twenties and thirties, developed clubs or “companies” with the goal of seeing a successful Republican Party candidate in that coming fall’s presidential election. Recognized by their glossy-black military-style capes and caps, and bearing pole torches and Wide Awake open-eye banners, they marched in formations to enhance their size and show their solidarity.

Most young men who joined their local Wide Awake companies grew up in the politically turbulent 1840s and 1850s. Nationally divisive issues such as the annexation of Texas, the Mexican-American War, the Compromise of 1850 and Fugitive Slave Act, Bleeding Kansas, and John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry, along with fragmented and short-lived political parties, all left these young men disillusioned and seeking a more hopeful future. For the Wide Awakes, the Republican Party offered that hope. 

Established in the mid-1850s, the Republican Party formed primarily around a platform plank of preventing the further expansion of slavery into the western territories. The party’s first presidential candidate, John C. Fremont, ran a surprisingly strong race in 1856, but ultimately lost to Democrat James Buchanan. As a new election year dawned, Republican young men desired better organization, more visibility, and the opportunity to have their voices heard this time around. They also sought to display their manhood and embody their party and their candidate’s messages.  

Started with the aim of giving Republican Party proponents the ability to speak freely in public forums without interruption from opposition hecklers, the Wide Awakes grew rapidly and spread across the free states from Connecticut to Wisconsin through party networks and newspaper coverage. Their youthful enthusiasm, militaristic uniforms, martial formations, and collective sense of political objectives only added to their appeal. Historians estimate that about 100,000 young men participated in Wide Awake clubs during 1860.

By the time Abraham Lincoln received the Republican Party’s nomination for president (May 18, 1860) the Wide Awakes were growing rapidly. The Wide Awakes fully supported their party’s choice of the “Rail Splitter,” and as the election neared, their numbers continued to grow. On Election Day, the Wide Awakes attempted to ensure a peaceful vote by patrolling polling stations. Lincoln’s election ultimately resulted more from the split nature of the election (4 candidates) than from the influence of the Wide Awakes, but they provided an energy and sent a message of change that certainly aided Lincoln’s win.

On the heels of Lincoln’s election came the secession of South Carolina, and eventually ten other slave states. Few Wide Awakes prophesied the war that eventually came while they were organizing in the spring and summer of 1860. However, many transitioned from political soldiers to actual fighting men by joining the United States army and naval forces during the Civil War.