HMDB Civil War Updates – 25 August
A total of fifty-three marker and monument entries this week. The entries are rather exclusive to the eastern seaboard – Maryland, DC, Virginia, South Carolina, and Georgia. But a few interesting markers along the way:
- A handful of markers covering the eastern section of the Washington circle forts. Forts Greble, Ricketts, Carroll, and Chaplin. These add to the Washington Defenses series. More markers are in the vicinity, but this writer would prefer the assistance of a “spotter” to share the trail with at a later date.
- A couple of markers from Newnan, Georgia discuss the Confederate hospital there and the nearby Battle of Brown’s Mill.
- And we have the Capture of 23 Old Men at the Ebenezer Church, McIntosh County in Georgia. A small event in the war. Confederate home guard, the “sole protection of” the county, “which was constantly being plundered….” The Confederate reaction was to post a company of the 3rd South Carolina Cavalry in the county. Defending a bridge along the South Newport River, the detachment was attacked by the Federals and nearly wiped out.
- Of course, there were additional markers appearing for the battles around Atlanta.
- Virginia’s Williamsburg isn’t just about the 18th Century. One of our frequent contributors posted a set of markers, mostly in the Civil War Trails set, for the battle of Williamsburg and related Civil War activity.
This marker, updated this week, was actually posted in December. Nice to know we have tracked the details of Mr. Davis’ baggage!
My personal contributions this week were mostly markers related to the Lackawanna Iron Furnaces in Scranton, PA. I’ve always found interesting the story of the iron industry in America. Partly because it leads into the story of the young nation very well – starting as more a cottage industry and building up to a massive post-industrial revolution economic powerhouse. In the case of Scranton’s iron furnaces, these production sites provided a substantial amount of the iron used by the Federals during the Civil War. Not much of a reach to say the Yankee war machine rolled on Lackawanna “T” rails. Reading the interpretive signs nearby, I also find interesting the different techniques used to extract iron then modify it to fit different requirements. The discussion of puddling and rolling is worth a read.
