Fort Jefferson

 Last year I had the chance to check another item off my bucket list and visit Fort Jefferson off the coast of Key West. I took an airplane to save time. My wife didn't come and I was thankful that she let me visit. It was one of a handful of U.S. forts located in a Southern state that didn't fall into the hands of the Confederates during the Civil War such as Fort Sumter. Dr. Samuel Mudd one of the Lincoln assassination conspirators was held prison after the war inside the fort. If you plan on visiting make sure you bring sun screen and fresh water. It was pretty hot for a December day when I visited.

                                        The main entrance and a moat

                                             Marker near the front entrance

                                             View from one of the windows

                                             Replica cannon

Poffenberger Farm - Antietam

 I missed the 163rd anniversary events at Antietam National Battlefield Park, but this past weekend I had the chance to visit the park. I came early in the morning and it was foggy. First I stopped at the Joseph Poffenberger farm.

 

 

 

 The farm is located on the northern part of the park. Union General Joseph Hooker spent the night of September 16th in the barn. Under Hooker in the Union I Corps were soldier's under the command of Gen. George Meade. Meade's men camped on the grounds of the farm, the night of September 16th as well.

 

  1st Corps, 3rd Division, 2nd Brigade Bivouac

 

 

 

 

On the early morning hours of September 17, 1862,  Meade's men streamed southwards in support of General Doubleday. Under Meade was the 4th Regiment Pennsylvania Reserve Volunteer Corps.

 

 4th Reg. PA Reserve Vol. Corps Monument

 

South of the men was the Miller cornfield. The site of fierce combat. September 17th would end up being a very bloody day. 

 

Sherman at First Manassas

I've been reading Donnybrook: The Battle of Bull Run, 1861 by David Detzer (Harcourt, Inc. 2004) and I was surprised to learn that William Tecumseh Sherman was at the Battle of First Manassas. He commanded the Third Brigade, First Division under Gen. Irvin McDowell. So last weekend I took a trip to Manassas National Battlefield Park to see the area where Sherman's troops were. It was a nice sunny morning. I pulled into the parking lot near the Stone Bridge and headed across the bridge to the trail that lead to the area.

38°49′27″N 77°30′13″W

 

The trail starts at the far end of the bridge and leads to the left. I headed up the trail. It leads long Bull Run stream. Sherman's men crossed the stream at an area called Farm Ford. There's a marker mentioning Sherman near the top of a hill overlooking the ford.

 

                                                     See: marker.

 

 There's another marker mentioning Sherman on the other side of the parking lot at the Winery at Bull Run. (which is outside the National Park) 

 

                                                     See: marker

 

As this marker mentions Sherman was one of the new commanders who performed well on the battlefield. (Although he wasn't impressed with his own performance) President Lincoln Sherman to brigadier general of volunteers as of May 17, 1861. Sherman would go on to lead Union Troops in his famous March to the Sea in 1864. 

 

 

 

 

Battle of Williamsburg

Last weekend I was in Williamsburg with some friends and I had a chance to wander around town. The town was the site of the Battle of Williamsburg Most of the battlefield is now developed and cut in two by Route 60. But part of it is saved and the site of a local park.

Local Park

Remains of earthworks

More earthworks

The American Battlefield Trust is working to save some more land near the Country Inn.

Battle of Old Church

I had off today and went in search of another Civil War Sites Advisory Commission (CWSAC) battlefield that I haven't been too. I settled on Old Church. (May 30th 1864) Like Morton's Ford (which I'd mentioned on another post) there's no official markers or signs. Old Church was part of the Overland Campaign.

Robert E. Lee sent Confederate cavalrymen and infantry to protect a road junction near Richmond. While General Philip Sheridan asked  Gen. Alfred Torbert to screen the roads near the Union lines.

Sheridan made his headquarters here at the Old Church Tavern

 

  

Sign near the Tavern.

(Tavern is private property. Taken from road)

Torbert assigned the task to Col. Thomas Devin and the 17th Pennsylvania Cavalry. The 17th Pennsylvania was camped near Old Church. The Confederates attacked and pushed the 17th Pennsylvania across the creek. Later in the battle, Torbert assigned the rest of his division. The battle was a stalemate until Custer's Michigan cavalry pushed across both sides of the creek. 

Modern bridge over Matadequin Creek. 

Custer's men forged both sides of bridge.

A good source for information on the battle is Gordon Rhea's book, Cold Harbor: Grant and Lee, May 26 – June 3, 1864. More information on the tavern can be found: here.

First Death at Gettysburg

 Today even with the snow, I decided to stop at the place near the Gettysburg battlefield, that I've never been to -  the grave of George Sandoe 

                                                         (George W. Sandoe)

 

                                                        (Sandoe's headstone)

 

                                                    (other grave sites at the church)

Sandoe is buried at the Mt. Joy Cemetery next to the Lutheran Church off of Taneytown Rd. According to the 1860 Census , he was 17 in 1860 and lived in Cumberland Township. His headstone states that he died at 21. 

Sandoe was attached to what would become the 21st Pennsylvania Cavalry. On June 26th 1863, Confederate General Jubal Early sent troops under Gen. Gordon and the 35th Virginia Cavalry also called the "Comanches" into Gettysburg. The Confederates asked for tribute but none was paid. The troops burned parts of the town including a railroad bridge. They skirmished with some volunteer troops and Sandoe's unit. Sandoe's unit was ordered to flee. As he was attempting to flee, a Confederate cavalryman shot him in the head.  Years later a marker was set along the Baltimore Pike (Route 97) . It mentions Sandoe, - the first Union soldier to die at Gettysburg. 

                                                    (marker - taken in 20220)

What's a Battlefield?

 Over the past weekend I drove down to Virginia to visit the Morton's Ford battlefield. But there were NO markers around the area! Most of us are used to (for instance) Antietam, Gettysburg or Chickamauga. Those battlefields have plenty of markers, visitor centers and signs pointing to the area. Morton's Ford has none of these. So why is it considered a battlefield? After all it's not marked! 

    In 1990, Congress set up the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission (CWSAC) to identify important Civil War sites, determine their significance and the threats to their integrity. In it's report the CWSAC identified 384 battles of varying degrees of importance. Key battles such as Antietam, Gettysburg and Chickamauga received an A rating on a scale of A-D. D being the least significant. Morton's Ford however received a D. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why there aren't any historic markers or signs pointing to the battlefield location. 

Morton's Ford 

Morton’s Ford is at the middle of a considerable bend in the river, whose convexity is turned toward us. The point of land opposite is about 1 mile along the stream, and rising gradually from the river it is seen and commanded for about half mile by the ground on this side. About 1 mile from the river a high ridge is found which, encircling the point at the ford, joins the banks of the river above and below, while at these points the enemy have complete command of the ground on this side of the river. This ridge is also generally wooded and strongly intrenched. In these woods and behind these lines were two camps. He had complete control with his fire over the point of land our troops had gained on his side of the stream. Our troops then were in a kind of cul-de-sac—a focus of fire. 

- Gen. Gouverneur K Warren from The War of the Rebellion : a compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies, Vol. 33. Copy available here

    I drove down to Morton's Ford the other weekend.  I started to read "Rebels Across the River", in America's Civil War by Bruce Trinque (September 1994) a few days before I left. I followed some of directions from the article on Civil War Traveler

 

 Struan through the trees

     (House was the headquarters of Gen. Warren)

 

Soldier's Rest cemetery mentioned in the link above was beyond this cornfield, at the top of the picture. There was a small road through the cornfield near the tree but it was on private property. Besides my car wasn't four wheel drive and the road was bumpy. The Rapidan river was beyond the cornfield. I couldn't see any sign of it through the corn.

House on the site of the former Buckner house, which 

was mentioned in the article on the Civil War Traveler blog 

 

From the pictures above, you can see there's no markers or even old earthworks left (at lease from what I can tell) so to someone familiar with Gettysburg, it doesn't really look  like a battlefield. But according to Congress, it's a battlefield. And I enjoyed seeing the area. Hopefully on day a Civil War Trails marker can go up in the area or at least a sign off the highway from the roads department. But until then with the directions and tips online, I was able to find this battlefield!