Merry Christmas

Edwin Forbes January 25, 1863
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and the peace for which we all dream during this wonderful season.

May we always remember those who came before us and their sacrifices that have given us the world in which we live.

God Bless.

Sincerely,

Randy

The Gettysburg Casino No Vote - More Good News

While reading an article concerning the recent vote by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board against a casino near the Gettysburg Battlefield, I found the following encouraging statements.

"More should be known soon about the gaming board's rationale, because written opinions on the licensing decisions are due from the board in the coming weeks.

Crossroads then has 30 days to appeal to the state Supreme Court, but lead investor David LeVan said in a radio interview last week he has no plans to appeal."

Of course, they may yet change their minds but for now, this is good news.

Still more encouraging is how the Civil War community came together to save the battlefield from this serious threat. Elsewhere in the article it states, "With the battlefields nearby, opposition from local and national groups was vocal.

National preservation groups such as the Civil War Preservation Trust lined up against Crossroads, and just last week more than 100 Civil War historians signed a letter to the gaming board opposing the plan. They joined a local, grass-roots group named No Casino Gettysburg that fought the plan throughout the licensing process...'I think the (gaming) board listened to the community,' Gov. Ed Rendell said after the decision."

Good news indeed.

Sincerely,

Randy

Please visit my primary site at www.brotherswar.com

All original material Copyright © 2006. All Rights Reserved

Source: Chambersburg Public Opinion Online

Thank You For Saving the Gettysburg Battlefield

I want to take a moment to offer my sincere heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped to save the Battlefield at Gettysburg. Yesterday, we all heard the fantastic news that the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has denied the application for a casino near the National Park's borders. I suspect that appeals will again raise the spector of a casino near America's hallowed ground but for now, the men who fought, bled, and died on those fields along with those who gratefully honor their memory can rest a little easier.

Thank you to everyone who wrote to the PA Gaming Control Board, testified at the hearings, posted their feelings online, and contacted their elected officials. You made this possible through each of your efforts and should feel justifiably proud. For what it is worth, whenever I walk the sacred fields at Gettysburg, I will recall my sense of gratitude for each of your efforts and unflinching support.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Randy

Please visit my primary site at www.brotherswar.com.

All original material Copyright © 2006. All Rights Reserved

Tomorrow's Final Vote on the Gettysburg Casino

Tomorrow, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) will vote to award the remaining Pennsylvania slots licenses throughout the Keystone State. Despite overwhelming local and national objections to this proposal, the PGCB still may approve building a casino so close to the battlefield that no question remains of the damage it will cause. A casino so near the endangered ground of the Gettysburg Battlefield would seriously threaten the ability to protect and preserve one of America's most precious and revered historical locations.

Please, take a moment today to write to the PGCB and express your opposition. Your word does count but time has almost run out. If the investors build this casino, we will not be able to reverse the damage.

Please contact the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board at the link below.

Contact the PGCB.

For more information on the proposed casino and the associated dangers posed to the battlefield, please see the links in the right hand column of this page listed under the heading "The Gettysburg Casino".

Sincerely,

Randy

Please visit my primary site at www.brotherswar.com

All original material Copyright © 2006. All Rights Reserved

The Mourners for the Dead

Unhappy with General Don Carlos Buell, on October 24, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln elevated Major General William S. Rosecrans to the command of the Army of the Cumberland in the war's western theater. In the more politically sensitive east, he would wait another two weeks, just after the mid-term elections, to replace another General with whom he had expressed his displeasure. Major General George B. McClellan "had the slows" Lincoln had said, and so he placed McClellan's subordinate Major General Ambrose E. Burnside at the head of the grand Army of the Potomac. President Lincoln expressed to both Rosecrans and Burnside his dissatisfaction with what he viewed as both armies’ previous lack of aggressiveness. He expected a more vigorous campaign.

Fredericksburg's Reconstructed Stone Wall
Uncomfortable with having been ordered to accept overall command of the East's Army of the Potomac, its new leader began to move on Richmond. On December 13, 1862, General Burnside launched assault after bloody assault on the entrenched Confederate positions outside of the historic Virginia town of Fredericksburg. The slaughtered blanketed the cold December ground. The vast number of Union casualties appalled even some of their southern counterparts. Of the estimated 17,929 total for both sides, the Union lost about 13,353 men to the Confederates 4,576. Nine days after the battle, President Lincoln would write to his General and the men of his army.

"Executive Mansion,
Washington
December 22, 1862.

To the Army of the Potomac:

I have just read your commanding general's report of the battle of Fredericksburg. Although you were not successful, the attempt was not an error, nor the failure other than accident. The courage with which you, in an open field, maintained the contest against an intrenched foe, and the consummate skill and success with which you crossed and recrossed the river, in the face of the enemy, show that you possess all the qualities of a great army, which will yet give victory to the cause of the country and of popular government.

Condoling with the mourners for the dead, and sympathizing with the severely wounded, I congratulate you that the number of both is comparatively so small.

I tender to you, officers and soldiers, the thanks of the nation.

A. Lincoln."

About one month after accepting command of the Army of the Cumberland, General Rosecrans received a telegram from the General-In-Chief of all Union armies. It read in part, "If you remain one more week in Nashville, I cannot prevent your removal." Washington again found itself dissatisfied with a perceived lack of resolution. A few weeks later, shortly after the Union disaster at Fredericksburg, General Rosecrans would fight the bloody Battle of Stones River or Murfreesboro. This contest would see a higher percentage of casualties than any other battle during the entire war. Of the just over 80,000 men involved, almost 24,000, about one-third, were killed, wounded, or missing.

Like he had with General Burnside, President Lincoln would express his thoughts to General Rosecrans. "I can never forget, if I remember anything, that at the end of last year and the beginning of this, you gave us a hard earned victory, which had there been a defeat instead, the country scarcely could have lived over."

Sincerely,

Randy

Please visit my primary site at www.brotherswar.com

All original material Copyright © 2006. All Rights Reserved

Sources:
eHistory
American Battlefield Protection Program
NPS: Stones River Aftermath
NPS: The Battle of Stones River
Wikipedia: William Starke Rosecrans

Virtual Aerial Battlefield Tours

With the coming of winter and the corresponding disincentives to travel, I thought I'd mention an option for those who either chose to stay at home but would still like to visit a battlefield or who find themselves confined to the great indoors. Microsoft's Virtual Earth, a feature of their Live Search, allows for a unique opportunity to tour several of the Nation's Civil War Battlefields without leaving your chair or having the dogs feel neglected. This virtual search allow you to view the battlefields from a perspective ranging from 15 to 60 yards above the ground. The interactive images offer a unique opportunity to study terrain, the layout of the battlefields, or anything else that you might find.

The Angle at Gettysburg
I have included a few of the images that I found while canvasing on-line. These are each directly from Virtual Earth. For those with a dial-up connection, please forgive the slow loading time. I uploaded larger images so that people could see the images as they appear on-line. Simply click on any of the ones I've included to see the larger, more interesting version.

For those not familiar with Virtual Earth, I'll give you a quick thumbnail sketch of how to find what you'd like to see. After clicking on the link above (which should open in a separate window or tab so that you can still refer to this article), you should see a map of the United States. Having cookies enabled helps with loading time, especially in Firefox. Once it loads, you can then double click on the sections of the map that you'd like to see (it'll zoom in with each double click). For an easier way to locate sites, enter the location of your choice in the second text box at the top of the screen. It should say, "Enter City, Address, or Landmark". Fortunately, the search engine treats spelling errors kindly as it will, with limited success, attempt to guess your intentions if you're a little off.


When you zoom in on a site that will allow for the "Bird' Eye View" feature, click on the box as seen in the above image. The bird's eye view allows you to zoom in closely on the battlefield and, in some instances, see some pretty decent detail.

Arlington House at Arlington National Cemetery
Unfortunately, Virtual Earth does not yet have the Bird's Eye View for all of the Civil War Battlefields. Currently, they include images of Gettysburg, Balls Bluff, Chickamauga, Richmond, Arlington, Washington DC, and Stone Mountain. When viewing Richmond, you can find some nice views of the Tredegar Iron Works (below), and the Hollywood Cemetery. For the latter, if you know the cemetery grounds, you can find the grave sites of Jefferson Davis and George Pickett, among others, and several views of the Confederate pyramid. Virtual Earth only offered limited views of Manassas and just portions of Shiloh. As of my last search, I could not find Bird's Eye View images of Vicksburg, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Chattanooga, Malvern Hill, Cold Harbor, Gaines Mill, Antietam, or Harpers Ferry. They did however have the usual satellite imagery for each of these, but the quality suffers when compared to the other close-ups.

Tredegar Iron Works, Richmond, VA
When zoomed in close, you can more easily navigate the various locations by either dragging the larger image as you would in an Adobe PDF document, or by using the small navigation pane on the left (pictured in the image above). When the dragged image does not refresh, as it tends to avoid doing just when you're getting close to what you want, using the small navigation pane sometimes resolves the issue.

One other interesting feature is the compass (also pictured above) which allows you to view a scene from at least four different directions. When looking at a Bird's Eye image, just click on one of the compass points and it will offer another view. For several sites, such as Stone Mountain, the compass comes in handy since at first Virtual Earth shows it upside down.

Expect to practice a little patience as Virtual Earth at times has difficulty rendering the images or apparently simply deciding if it'll let you see them at all. Using the compass may allow you to see an image that it initially said was not available. Some of the images are perhaps a year or more old since, for example, they still show the car dealership that the National Park Service has since removed from the Battlefield at Gettysburg.

If you decide to have a look, good luck and happy hunting.

Sincerely,

Randy

Please visit my primary site at www.brotherswar.com

All original material Copyright © 2006. All Rights Reserved

Book Review: Lincoln and Chief Justice Taney

The full title of this book, "Lincoln and Chief Justice Taney, Slavery, Secession, and the President’s War Powers", appears at first glance sufficiently comprehensive to cover the anticipated content of James F. Simon’s latest work. But soon after opening the cover, it became obvious that such assumptions would prove a pleasant underestimation of the book’s contents. What could have revealed itself as a rather dry treatise on the law and executive authority emerged as an engaging history of two men whose intertwined legacies and personal qualities helped to sharpen the emerging identity of our nation.

James F. Simon, author of six previous books, including "What Kind of Nation: Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, and the Epic Struggle to Create a United States", is the Martin Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus at the New York Law School. Through his current work, Mr. Simon states that he wishes to quot;…trace the long, sometimes tortuous journeys that brought Lincoln and Taney to their final judgments, and actions, on the issues that threatened the survival of the United States." He does just that.

Simon guides you through the complex lives of these two iconic yet very real men, giving the reader a clear sense of how each shaped, and was shaped by, the crises tearing apart a young nation. Moving easily through each page, the corresponding decades of history, and the intricate array of national conflicts, you become sadly resolved to the inevitability of the looming war. But far from simply being swept along by this irresistible tide, Simon discusses how each man contributed to the swirling vortex of national debate and eventual conflict. The increasingly frictional blending of slavery, economics, political ideology, regional animosity, and mutual distrust merge caustically to drive the North and South, Democrats and Republicans, abolitionists and conservatives to a resolute volatility that would shatter the lives of hundreds of thousands and yet save millions.

The author’s treatment of Roger Taney’s extensive political life, including his service as Attorney General under President Andrew Jackson, lends a degree of understanding to the evolution of the complex perspectives of a man too frequently mentioned only during discussions of Dred Scott or the challenging Lincoln’s suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus. During the engaging depictions of both Lincoln’s younger days and his eventful political career, the reader hears of how the future president’s early triumphs and failures, his unfailing determination, and gregarious personality shaped who he could become and how he would approach pursuing and executing his duties in public office.

From the Fugitive Slave Law, the Amistad decision, the Missouri Compromise, the decisions of Chief Justice Marshall, the Merriman and Vallandigham decisions, among others, Simon discusses how these legal opinions shaped, crystallized, and then polarized the sentiments of the nation. They irrefutably set the stage for the escalation of hostilities ranging from interpersonal disagreements to the eventual collision of armies.

Despite the wealth of intriguing biographical information, this is not simply a dual biography. For example, although he takes the time to mention details of Chief Justice Taney’s death, he does not pursue the familiar story of Lincoln’s. That is not the point of this book. Simon instead focuses on the journey taken by these two men and the nation they spent their lives serving and how each interacted dynamically to change the other.

On the back cover of "Lincoln and Chief Justice Taney", one finds a sadly relevant statement which further emphasizes the significance of this book. The few lines read, "The United States suffers an unexpected attack. The president deploys the armed forces and assumes extraordinary powers that go well beyond the Constitution. Hundreds of persons suspected of aiding the enemy are arrested and held without charge. James F. Simon discusses these tensions between the president and the Supreme Court, created not by 9/11, but those between President Abraham Lincoln and Chief Justice Roger B. Taney during the Civil War. This well-written and engaging narrative is a primer for today's challenge of balancing national security and civil liberties." While avoiding indulging in minutia, James Simon successfully documents many of the significant crises of the mid 19th Century and succeeds admirably in clarifying how Abraham Lincoln and Roger B. Taney responded to "the issues that threatened the survival of the United States."

Sincerely,

Randy

Please visit my primary site at www.brotherswar.com

All original material Copyright © 2006. All Rights Reserved

Personal note: In the interest of fair disclosure, I should add that I received a copy of this book specifically for review. As a condition for agreeing to write a review however, I had stated that, if in my judgment I found this book unjustly biased or lacking the appropriate degree of scholarship, I would not write a negative review but would simply remain silent. The presence of the above is my acknowledgment that I both enjoyed the book and found it a worthy introduction to the topics discussed.

They Would Rather Die

While walking the fields of the Brawner Farm at the Manassas Battlefield, I came upon a narrow woodland trail, soggy with the recent heavy autumn rains. In the summer of 1862, just yards from this place, Union men marched east searching for the elusive Stonewall Jackson and his Corps of veterans. Jackson would remain out of site along the cut of an unfinished rail road, awaiting the opportunity to pounce on the prey that erroneously believed that they hunted him. As the blue coats passed along the road in his front, Jackson opened fire. Act one of the sanguinary drama had begun.

Looking to the wood line north of the road, Union Brigadier General John Gibbon ordered the 2nd Wisconsin Infantry forward to scatter what he mistakenly identified as Confederate horse artillery. Instead, he soon discovered his single regiment challenged Stonewall Jackson's entire command. Gibbon quickly ordered his brigade forward while the Virginians held firm, striving to obliterate their Federal foes.

Both sides shunned maneuver. Neither stood more than 80 yards apart, firing directly into each others' lines. Both endured incredible casualties. After several hours, the slug-fest ended with darkness appropriating the grimly contested ground. The men in blue withdrew to safer quarters and awaited tomorrow's fight.

In his official report, General Jackson would say only, "The loss on both sides was heavy..." John Gibbon's report more thoroughly underscored the reaper's ghastly harvest. "The total loss of the brigade is, killed, 133; wounded, 539; missing, 79. Total, 751." In just a few hours, he lost over one-third of his entire command.

Along the path on which I walked I found a small marker, faded, cracking, and seemingly forgotten. The lettering, light but readable, spoke to anyone who would hear of deeds some fourteen decades past. As the whispers of horror and heroism fade with time, this tiny sentinel cracks open a window into a time that violently forged our country's identity. The faded facade still bears the words of a nameless soldier, long since dead, who once more speaks of the events of that day.

"We soon found that we had to deal with General Ewell's whole division of picked men. We advanced within hailing distance of each other, then halted and laid down, and my God, what a slaughter! No one appeared to know the object of the fight, and there we stood one hour, the men falling all around; but we got no orders to fall back, and Wisconsin men would rather die than fall back without orders."

Many on both sides did.

Sincerely,

Randy

Please visit my primary site at www.brotherswar.com

All original material Copyright © 2006. All Rights Reserved

Private George Warner, 20th Connecticut

On Friday, July 3, 1863, the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, the 20th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry advanced stubbornly towards the Confederates who had taken their earthworks the previous night. Since before dawn, Union artillery had been shelling the Southern lines adding to the effort to drive the boys in gray off of Culp's Hill.

The 20th received orders not just to dislodge their foes but to relay back to the Union artillery the position of their Southern adversaries. As the fire increased and men in blue began to fall, the 20th's Colonel William Wooster grew increasingly angry. His blood boiled not because of the stubbornly resisting Confederates but due to the Union shells that began to strike his own men. When an exploding round slammed into Private George Warner, Colonel Wooster sent word to the artillery that if they again harmed anyone in his care, he would order the 20th to turn about and charge the batteries.

The commander of the Brigade to which the Connecticut regiment belonged, Archibald L. McDougall described what the 20th endured. "Lieutenant-Colonel Wooster, who was in command of this regiment, had a difficult and responsible duty to perform. He was not only required to keep the enemy in check, but encountered great difficulty, while resisting the enemy, in protecting himself against the fire of our own artillery, aimed partly over his command at the enemy in and near our intrenchments. His greatest embarrassment was, the farther he pushed the enemy the more directly he was placed under the fire of our own guns. Some of his men became severely wounded by our artillery fire. "

In his own official report, Colonel Wooster would expand upon the trials his men faced. "...The enemy were endeavoring to advance through the woods, so as to turn the right flank of the Second Division, and were met and successfully resisted by my regiment. In this position I was enabled to repeatedly communicate to the colonel commanding the brigade and the general commanding the division the movements of the enemy in our immediate front, thereby enabling our artillery to more accurately obtain the range of the enemy and to greatly increase the effectiveness of our shells. At times it became necessary to advance my left wing to successfully repulse the advancing column of the enemy, and again to retire my whole command to save it from being destroyed by our own artillery."

In his official report, Colonel McDougall would ensure that the stalwart New Englanders received the praise they had so rightfully earned on this trying and historic day. "It is also my duty to acknowledge the brave and gallant manner with which Lieutenant-Colonel Wooster, commanding the Twentieth Connecticut Volunteers, as well as the officers and men under his command, while in action on the 3d instant, aided in the recovery of our intrenchments. For several hours, without flinching, they maintained a steady contest with the enemy, enduring part of the time an afflictive and discouraging, though accidental, fire of our own batteries."

Twenty years later, the men from Connecticut would erect a modest monument on the portion of Culp's Hill that they had helped to secure. Private Warner, who miraculously survived his grievous wounding, received the high honor of unveiling the 20th's monument. The task was not a simple one given that the Union artillery's misfires had cost him both of his arms. Still, the Connecticut veterans would not allow this to stand in the way of honoring Pvt. Warner. A rope tied around his waist and a specially rigged pulley allowed the hardy veteran, by simply walking backwards, to raise the veil on the monument honoring the sacrifices of Connecticut's sons.

Sincerely,

Randy

Please visit my primary site at www.brotherswar.com

All original material Copyright © 2006. All Rights Reserved

Sources:
Gettysburg: Stories of Men and Monuments
The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies.

Captain Henry T. Owen, CSA

On July 3, 1863, Captain Henry T. Owen of Company C, 18th Virginia, marched with his men into the face of death. As players in Pickett's Charge, they stepped away from Seminary Ridge and, along with over 12,000 others, surged forward into a storm of artillery fire and the roar of several thousand muskets. Surviving the assault, Captain Owen would take command of the 18th after most of the regiment's other officers died or received disabling wounds. Some time later, he wrote to his wife of a dream that haunted him as the horror of that battle lingered on.

"Far away to the front, I saw the dim outlines of lofty hills, broken rocks, and frightful precepts which resembled Gettysburg. As we advanced further, I found we were fighting that great battle over again and I saw something before me like a thin shadow which I tried to get around and go by. But it kept in front of me and whichever way I turned, it still appeared between me and the enemy. Nobody else seemed to see or notice the shadow which looked as thin as smoke and did not prevent my seeing the enemy distinctly through it. I felt troubled and oppressed but still the shadow went on before me. I pushed forward in the thickest of the fray trying to lose sight of it and went all through the battle of Gettysburg again with this shadow forever before me and between me and the enemy.

And when I came out behind the danger of shot, it spoke to me and said, "I am the angel that protected you. I will never leave nor forsake you."

The surprise was so great, that I awoke and burst into tears. What had I done that should entitle me to such favor beyond the hundreds of brave and reputed men who had fallen on that day leaving widowed mothers and widowed wives, orphaned children and disconsolate families to mourn their fates?"

Sincerely,

Randy

Please visit my primary site at www.brotherswar.com

All original material Copyright © 2006. All Rights Reserved

Source:
The War of Confederate Captain Henry T. Owen