13th Annual Civil War Seminar at Longwood University

The Appomattox Court House National Historic Site posted details on the 13th Annual Civil War Seminar held in conjunction with Longwood University:

1862: A Year of Battles

Location: Jarman Auditorium, Longwood University, Farmville, Virginia

Date:  March 3, 2012

Schedule:

8:45 a.m.   Doors open

9:10 a.m.   Introduction by Dr. David Coles, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of History, Political Science, and Philosophy, Longwood University

9:15 a.m.  John Quarstein - Richmond Saved: The 1862 Peninsula Campaign

10:15 a.m.  John Hennessy – Second Manassas: Revisiting Return to Bull Run

11:15 a.m. Thomas Clemens – General EzraCarman and the Maryland Campaign of 1862

12:30  Lunch

1:45 p.m.  Thomas McGrath -  Shepherdstown: Last Clash of the Maryland Campaign, September 19-20, 1862

2:45 p.m.  Frank O’Rielly – Fredericksburg: Winter War on the Rappahannock

More details in the park’s flyer for the event.  No reservations necessary. Signs will be posted on the Longwood University campus. For directions to the campus go to www.Longwood.edu. For more information contact Dr. David Coles at 434-395-2220 or Patrick Schroeder at 434-352-8987 ext. 32.

Another great lineup of speakers this year.  The organizers continue to impress with the quality of speakers, and breath of coverage.  For that reason I always mark out time each year for this event.

Jarman Auditorium proved an excellent venue last year.  Given the “tech friendly” campus at Longwood, I’m going to try some blogging from there during the day.  I’m not much into the “live blogging” so perhaps more or less posting my notes after each presentation.  We’ll see how that goes.

So if you are down that way, be sure to look for me in the audience.

150 Years Ago: A star rises from the Federal Ranks

On January 30, 1862, Major General Henry W. Halleck, commanding the Department of Missouri, issued orders setting in motion the capture of Forts Henry and Donelson.  As every Civil War student knows, Halleck placed Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant in command of the expedition.  This effort, supported by a naval force under Flag-Officer Andrew Foote, generated the first major victories for the Federals.  Within weeks, the interior of Tennessee lay open to the Unionists.

Typical for Halleck, the order provided details of the selected troops, particulars of the enemy’s (suspected) disposition, and suggestions for movement.  But there’s one sentence in that order which deserves note, as it marks the arrival of a new actor who would figure prominently as the war in the West progressed:

“Lieutenant-Colonel McPherson, U.S. Engineers, will immediately report to you, to act as chief engineer of the expedition.”

A 1853 graduate of West Point, McPherson attended alongside notable class-mates John B. Hood, Philip Sheridan, and John Schofield.  After graduating at the top of his class, McPherson went on to teach at West Point for a while.  The eve of war found him supervising construction of fortifications at Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, California.  Transferred eastward, McPherson was assigned to Halleck’s staff in late 1861.  When Grant needed an engineer for the expedition, Halleck forwarded McPherson.

It was a fortuitous assignment in many ways.  After the fall of Fort Henry, McPherson mapped out the roads east to Fort Donelson, making several reconnaissances.  At Fort Donelson, McPherson continued to provide able service.  Later in the campaign, McPherson supervised placement of new siege lines on ground gained in the evening of February 15.  On the following morning, Grant could press his famous ultimatum in part because of McPherson’s work.  For this and later work on Grant’s staff, he received notice… and promotion.

McPherson was a star on the rise.  By the end of the year he was a Major General in command of the Seventeenth Corps.   He lead that Corps in the Vicksburg Campaign, showing great ability, particularly in the siege operations.  By the spring of 1864, McPherson commanded the Army of the Tennessee, as General William T. Sherman prepared to drive on Atlanta. McPherson’s star had reached its zenith.   McPherson would not complete that campaign.  He was shot by Confederate skirmishers during the Battle of Atlanta on July 22, 1864.

Of McPherson’s death, Sherman related,

History tells us of but few who so blended the grace and gentleness of the friend with dignity, courage, faith, and manliness of the soldier…. the country generally will realize that we have lost not only an able military leader, but a man who had he survived, was qualified to heal the national strife which has been raised by designing and ambitious men.

Privately to his wife he wrote, “I lost my right bower in McPherson.”

James Birdseye McPherson’s name is in the news today.  More so because of the location his men, the veterans of the old Army of the Tennessee, chose to honor him.   But 150 years ago today, he was a star on the rise.

Fort Moultrie Cannon Row Upgrade Project

Earlier today the staff at Fort Sumter National Monument updated the Fort Moultrie album on Facebook with new photos from the ongoing “cannon row upgrade” project.

Fresh Paint and New Mounts for Cannons

Fort Moultrie has a unique set of Civil War era guns.  I’ve featured several of the guns here on the blog.  For many years those guns sat on wood beams, just inches above the sand.

Part of Cannon Row at Fort Moultrie

While the staff kept the exterior painted and generally free of corrosion, the bores suffered from exposure (and the trash of some unappreciative visitors).

Bore of 10-inch Rifled and Banded Columbiad

The restoration and new mountings are part of a project started last year.  According to a press release from July 2011, four guns were removed and repainted as part of a larger park-wide project to address the historic metal artifacts around the park.  Scientists from Clemson University’s Warren Lash Conservation Center collaborated with the NPS staff.

In the process, the guns are stripped of old paint, then refinished with a modern industrial sealant.  Each gun receives a tampion to cover the bore.  The staff will periodically check a monitor placed inside each gun bore for humidity readings, in order to arrest further corrosion.  When refurbished, the guns return to “cannon row” on new concrete pads.   The park also plans to update the older interpretive signage along cannon row as part of this project.

Example of the Present Interpretive Signs

Great work!  This project ensures those cannons are able to “tell” their stories to visitors for many generations to come.