The Citadel (military academy) has a wide range of history dating back to the 19th century to today.
It was organized by the state of South Carolina in 1842, the first graduates graduated Nov. 20 1846. There were six grads at the time. The history of the Citadel dates before 1842 with regard to Revolutionary War time and before the Civil War. As for the Civil War many graduates joined the confederate army.
There is a great summary of the history of the Citadel on the school's website
Here's an excerpt from the 1842 board concerning the mission of the school. "The Board have aimed at a system of education at once scientific and practical, and which, if their original design is carried out, will eminently qualify the Cadets there taught, for almost any station or condition of life."
Showing posts with label Civil War. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Civil War. Show all posts
Monday, October 3, 2016
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Cape Hatteras Civil War
Below is an excerpt that I thought some of you might find interesting. I was researching New Hampshire's 6th Regiment from the Civil War and stumbled across this passage about a storm rounding Cape Hatteras.
This comes from "History of the Sixth New Hampshire Regiment in the war for the Union." The excerpt picks up after telling the reader of the 6th boarding vessels to take them to an unknown location of the war. They are leaving Annapolis and heading south in Jan. 1862.
That part of the Sixth which came down on the Martha Green-wood was transferred to the steamer Louisiana, which became so crowded that it was almost impossible for one to move about. It seems strange that the commanding officers of the fleet should have allowed so many men to be crowded upon such a slim craft.
Towards evening, the flag-ships, with other vessels, got up steam, and started out to sea. Soon a dispatch boat came alongside, and gave orders for ours to follow. During the day we had a good chance to see General Burnside, as he steamed around the bay on his little propeller,1 giving orders to this boat and that, and we all liked his looks very much. We followed the other .boats, as ordered, and by 9 P. M. were well out from the bay, and, looking back, could just see the lights at Fortress Monroe. As the darkness came on, hundreds of lights shone out from the vessels, as far as the eye could reach, in front and rear, and on the left toward the sea. The writer sat upon the hurricane deck till a late hojur, thinking of home and speculating on our destination, while the soft south breezes swept over the water. It was late when the men lay down to sleepr though many did not sleep at all, the noise of the machinery and the novelty of the situation keeping them awake all night.
At the first streak of dawn the writer was again on deck, to get the earliest glimpse of the sun as it came up out of the briny deep. That sunrise was a grand sight, as was also the ocean, dotted as far as the eye could reach with all kinds of sailing craft. The waves, however, began to show their white caps, and some of the boys who had been reared on the coast said it looked as if we were going to have a stiff breeze before night. A few of "Mother Carey's chickens," together with seagulls, passed us, giving indication of a storm. The signs did not fail, for by noon the storm was stiffening, and we could see that many of the smaller boats—some of which were only pilot-boats from New York harbor, —were laboring hard through the big waves. About 2 P. M. (January 12), while we were off Hatteras Light, the storm struck us in all its fury, and the landlubbers began to look white. In a few minutes one half of the men seemed vying with one another to see who would empty his stomach the quickest of the pies and things he had taken in from Annapolis down. They were sick fellows indeed ! The boat was pitching and ploughing through the waves as fast as she could. The captain and pilot were alarmed, and said that if we did not reach Hatteras Inlet before dark, they feared we should never get in ; so they put on all the steam they could, and made for the inlet.
1 The propeller Picket, the smallest vessel in the fleet.—Editor.
As we went down into those awful troughs and our bow struck the incoming wave, the boat was flooded even to the hurricane deck. Lieutenant-Colonel Griffin was in the wheel-house with the captain and pilot, who had all they could do to keep the boat on her course and prevent the waves from striking her on the broadside, and thus swamping her in a moment. The strain on the big braces that passed from stem to stern of the boat, up past the wheel-house, was fearful. The braces, with joints open half an inch or more, creaked and groaned as the boat rode the huge waves, and it was the opinion of the officers that if we had been out half an hour longer we should all have gone to the bottom together in the old river craft not intended for use out of smooth water. The boys were so sick that they kept quiet, and the captain said it was a fortunate thing, for if, being so many, they had been up and running around, it would have been hard to manage the boat at all.
We entered Hatteras Inlet, and dropped anchor at 5 p. M. It was quite dark, and if any men ever felt thankful to get into harbor, it was those on the old Louisiana that night. The vessels kept coming in until a late hour, that is, those that were not outside, or did not run upon the bar. We could hear guns and see signal lights thrown up outside, in the direction whence we had come, and knew that some had not been so fortunate as we. Several vessels were wrecked, four in sight of us. One of these was the fine large store-ship City of New Tbrk, which, laden with ammunition and other stores, ran upon the bar; another was the steamer Pocahontas, carrying horses, hay, and grain, which went ashore at Cape Hatteras, becoming a total wreck within twenty-four hours, with lading all lost save a few horses that swam to land.
The next morning was clear, and the inlet was full of all kinds of floating de'bris, showing how fearful the storm had been. The sea was yet so rough that it was not practicable to land, and the wind began to blow again. As the tide went out, we found our boat tipping over as it rested on the sandy bottom. One of the boys remarked that he " felt safe so long as the old boat rested on the sand." When the tide came in, the boat would float again, bumping on sand fortunately, not rocks, since in the latter case we should soon have been compelled to swim ashore.
The night after our arrival the storm was still so severe that there was great danger of collision with other vessels, and of the wrecking of the weaker ones by the violence of the waves. It was feared that the Louisiana, in particular, being only a river boat, would not be able to outride the storm. Accordingly Colonel Converse sent Lieutenant-Colonel Griffin to General Burnside's head-quarters to ask that some strong vessel might be ordered to lie near the Louisiana during the night, to render aid, if possible, in case of disaster. LieutenantColonel Griffin, having been given a boat with two sailors and a coxswain, made the trip, delivered the message, and returned safely ; but it was a hazardous undertaking. Two officers of the Ninth New Jersey Regiment, in attempting to perform a similar duty, lost their lives by the swamping of the boat.1
1 These two men were the only ones lost from the whole military force during the " entire voyage and entrance into the inlet," though the storm was one of the worst ever known on that perilous coast.—En.
This comes from "History of the Sixth New Hampshire Regiment in the war for the Union." The excerpt picks up after telling the reader of the 6th boarding vessels to take them to an unknown location of the war. They are leaving Annapolis and heading south in Jan. 1862.
That part of the Sixth which came down on the Martha Green-wood was transferred to the steamer Louisiana, which became so crowded that it was almost impossible for one to move about. It seems strange that the commanding officers of the fleet should have allowed so many men to be crowded upon such a slim craft.
Towards evening, the flag-ships, with other vessels, got up steam, and started out to sea. Soon a dispatch boat came alongside, and gave orders for ours to follow. During the day we had a good chance to see General Burnside, as he steamed around the bay on his little propeller,1 giving orders to this boat and that, and we all liked his looks very much. We followed the other .boats, as ordered, and by 9 P. M. were well out from the bay, and, looking back, could just see the lights at Fortress Monroe. As the darkness came on, hundreds of lights shone out from the vessels, as far as the eye could reach, in front and rear, and on the left toward the sea. The writer sat upon the hurricane deck till a late hojur, thinking of home and speculating on our destination, while the soft south breezes swept over the water. It was late when the men lay down to sleepr though many did not sleep at all, the noise of the machinery and the novelty of the situation keeping them awake all night.
At the first streak of dawn the writer was again on deck, to get the earliest glimpse of the sun as it came up out of the briny deep. That sunrise was a grand sight, as was also the ocean, dotted as far as the eye could reach with all kinds of sailing craft. The waves, however, began to show their white caps, and some of the boys who had been reared on the coast said it looked as if we were going to have a stiff breeze before night. A few of "Mother Carey's chickens," together with seagulls, passed us, giving indication of a storm. The signs did not fail, for by noon the storm was stiffening, and we could see that many of the smaller boats—some of which were only pilot-boats from New York harbor, —were laboring hard through the big waves. About 2 P. M. (January 12), while we were off Hatteras Light, the storm struck us in all its fury, and the landlubbers began to look white. In a few minutes one half of the men seemed vying with one another to see who would empty his stomach the quickest of the pies and things he had taken in from Annapolis down. They were sick fellows indeed ! The boat was pitching and ploughing through the waves as fast as she could. The captain and pilot were alarmed, and said that if we did not reach Hatteras Inlet before dark, they feared we should never get in ; so they put on all the steam they could, and made for the inlet.
1 The propeller Picket, the smallest vessel in the fleet.—Editor.
As we went down into those awful troughs and our bow struck the incoming wave, the boat was flooded even to the hurricane deck. Lieutenant-Colonel Griffin was in the wheel-house with the captain and pilot, who had all they could do to keep the boat on her course and prevent the waves from striking her on the broadside, and thus swamping her in a moment. The strain on the big braces that passed from stem to stern of the boat, up past the wheel-house, was fearful. The braces, with joints open half an inch or more, creaked and groaned as the boat rode the huge waves, and it was the opinion of the officers that if we had been out half an hour longer we should all have gone to the bottom together in the old river craft not intended for use out of smooth water. The boys were so sick that they kept quiet, and the captain said it was a fortunate thing, for if, being so many, they had been up and running around, it would have been hard to manage the boat at all.
We entered Hatteras Inlet, and dropped anchor at 5 p. M. It was quite dark, and if any men ever felt thankful to get into harbor, it was those on the old Louisiana that night. The vessels kept coming in until a late hour, that is, those that were not outside, or did not run upon the bar. We could hear guns and see signal lights thrown up outside, in the direction whence we had come, and knew that some had not been so fortunate as we. Several vessels were wrecked, four in sight of us. One of these was the fine large store-ship City of New Tbrk, which, laden with ammunition and other stores, ran upon the bar; another was the steamer Pocahontas, carrying horses, hay, and grain, which went ashore at Cape Hatteras, becoming a total wreck within twenty-four hours, with lading all lost save a few horses that swam to land.
The next morning was clear, and the inlet was full of all kinds of floating de'bris, showing how fearful the storm had been. The sea was yet so rough that it was not practicable to land, and the wind began to blow again. As the tide went out, we found our boat tipping over as it rested on the sandy bottom. One of the boys remarked that he " felt safe so long as the old boat rested on the sand." When the tide came in, the boat would float again, bumping on sand fortunately, not rocks, since in the latter case we should soon have been compelled to swim ashore.
The night after our arrival the storm was still so severe that there was great danger of collision with other vessels, and of the wrecking of the weaker ones by the violence of the waves. It was feared that the Louisiana, in particular, being only a river boat, would not be able to outride the storm. Accordingly Colonel Converse sent Lieutenant-Colonel Griffin to General Burnside's head-quarters to ask that some strong vessel might be ordered to lie near the Louisiana during the night, to render aid, if possible, in case of disaster. LieutenantColonel Griffin, having been given a boat with two sailors and a coxswain, made the trip, delivered the message, and returned safely ; but it was a hazardous undertaking. Two officers of the Ninth New Jersey Regiment, in attempting to perform a similar duty, lost their lives by the swamping of the boat.1
1 These two men were the only ones lost from the whole military force during the " entire voyage and entrance into the inlet," though the storm was one of the worst ever known on that perilous coast.—En.
Thursday, September 22, 2016
Civil War Confederate Soldiers Surrendered
From Houghtalings Handbook of Useful Information ©1889 (Editorial change. In the original publication the information below was in a paragraph, I'm putting it in a list for easier viewing.
Confederate Soldiers Surrendered at end of War.
Army of Northern Virginia, 27,805;
army of Tennessee, 31,243;
army of Missouri, 7,978;
army of Alabama, 42,293;
army of Trans-Mississippi, 17,686;
at Nashville and Chattanooga, 5,029;
paroled in Departments of Virginia, Cumberland, Maryland, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Texas, etc., 42,189;
Confederate prisoners in Northern prisons at the close of the war, 98,802;
total Confederate army at close, 273, 025.
A large and unknown number of Confederate soldiers were not present at surrender.
Confederate Soldiers Surrendered at end of War.
Army of Northern Virginia, 27,805;
army of Tennessee, 31,243;
army of Missouri, 7,978;
army of Alabama, 42,293;
army of Trans-Mississippi, 17,686;
at Nashville and Chattanooga, 5,029;
paroled in Departments of Virginia, Cumberland, Maryland, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Texas, etc., 42,189;
Confederate prisoners in Northern prisons at the close of the war, 98,802;
total Confederate army at close, 273, 025.
A large and unknown number of Confederate soldiers were not present at surrender.
Civil War Colored Troops
From Houghtalings Handbook of Useful Information ©1889 Please note: I'm using the language of the original publication.
Colored Troops in U.S. Army during the War
Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . . 5,526
Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . .4,969
Connecticut . . . . . . . . ..1,764
Colorado Territory . . . . . . . 95
Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . 954
District of Columbia . . . .3,269
Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,044
Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . .3,486
Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .440
Indiana . . . . . . . . . . . . .1,597
Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1,811
Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,080
Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . .23,703
Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . .24,052
Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . .8,718
Massachusetts . . . . . . . . 3,966
Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . ..1,387
Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . 17,869
Missiouri . . . . . . . . . . . . .8,344
Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
New Hampshire . . . . . . . . . .125
New York . . . . . . . . . . . . .4,125
New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,185
North Carolina . . . . . . . . . 5,035
Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,092
Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . . 8,612
Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . . .1,837
South Carolina . . . . . . . . . 5,462
Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Tennessee . . . . . . . . . . . .20,133
Vermont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120
Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .5,723
West Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Wisconsin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..155
At large . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 733
Not Accounted for . . . . . . . 5,083
Officers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,122
Colored Troops in U.S. Army during the War
Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . . 5,526
Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . .4,969
Connecticut . . . . . . . . ..1,764
Colorado Territory . . . . . . . 95
Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . 954
District of Columbia . . . .3,269
Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,044
Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . .3,486
Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .440
Indiana . . . . . . . . . . . . .1,597
Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . ..1,811
Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,080
Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . .23,703
Louisiana . . . . . . . . . . .24,052
Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . .8,718
Massachusetts . . . . . . . . 3,966
Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . ..1,387
Mississippi . . . . . . . . . . 17,869
Missiouri . . . . . . . . . . . . .8,344
Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . . . . .104
Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
New Hampshire . . . . . . . . . .125
New York . . . . . . . . . . . . .4,125
New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,185
North Carolina . . . . . . . . . 5,035
Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,092
Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . . 8,612
Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . . .1,837
South Carolina . . . . . . . . . 5,462
Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Tennessee . . . . . . . . . . . .20,133
Vermont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .120
Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .5,723
West Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
Wisconsin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..155
At large . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 733
Not Accounted for . . . . . . . 5,083
Officers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,122
Soldiers in Civil War
From Hougtalings Handbook ©1889
United States Soldiers in the late Civil War
Connecticut.. . . . . . . . 52,270
Delaware . . . . . . . . . .13,651
District of Columbia . .16,872
Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . 258,217
Indiana . . . . . . . . . . .195,147
Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75,860
Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . .20,097
Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . 78,540
Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . .71,745
Maryland . . . . . . . . . . 49,730
Massachusetts . . . . . .151,785
Michigan . . . . . . . . . . .90,119
Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . .25,034
Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . 108,773
New Hampshire . . . . . . .34,605
New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . .79,511
New York . . . . . . . . . . .455,568
Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317,133
Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . .366,326
Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . 23,711
Vermont . . . . . . . . . . . . .35,256
West Virginia . . . . . . . . . .30,003
Wisconsin . . . . . . . . . . . .96,118
United States Soldiers in the late Civil War
Connecticut.. . . . . . . . 52,270
Delaware . . . . . . . . . .13,651
District of Columbia . .16,872
Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . 258,217
Indiana . . . . . . . . . . .195,147
Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75,860
Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . .20,097
Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . 78,540
Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . .71,745
Maryland . . . . . . . . . . 49,730
Massachusetts . . . . . .151,785
Michigan . . . . . . . . . . .90,119
Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . .25,034
Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . 108,773
New Hampshire . . . . . . .34,605
New Jersey . . . . . . . . . . .79,511
New York . . . . . . . . . . .455,568
Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 317,133
Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . .366,326
Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . 23,711
Vermont . . . . . . . . . . . . .35,256
West Virginia . . . . . . . . . .30,003
Wisconsin . . . . . . . . . . . .96,118
Civil War Called for Service
Houghtalings Handbook of Useful Information ©1889
Men called for by President during late War.
The total quotas called for and charged against the several States of the Union, under all calls made by the President of the United States, from the 15th day of April, 1861, to the 14th day of April, 1865, at which time the recruiting was stopped, was 2,759,049.
The terms of service under the various calls varied from three months to three years.
Men called for by President during late War.
The total quotas called for and charged against the several States of the Union, under all calls made by the President of the United States, from the 15th day of April, 1861, to the 14th day of April, 1865, at which time the recruiting was stopped, was 2,759,049.
The terms of service under the various calls varied from three months to three years.
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
Nicodemus, Kansas Reconstruction Period
After the Civil War America entered a new phase called the Reconstruction Period. During this time many "black towns" were formed by former slaves and freedmen. I haven't not done and exhaustive study on these towns but so far, I've found that many had a similar history as that of Nicodemus.
Nicodemus, Kansas was founded in 1877 and by 1886 it was quite prosperous. It became a modern town with free enterprise, drugstore, bank, schoolhouse, churches and newspapers. However, the railroad passed them by even after the town leaders tried to entice railroad owners to put a line to their town. The railroad by-passed the town and the population continued to dwindle. Unlike most of the Reconstruction towns Nicodemus still has a few hundred people living there today.
There are good and bad accounts during this time period and it's extremely interesting to read about. Check out the library of Congress and their "African American Odyssey" section on the Reconstruction Period for more information.
Click Link
Nicodemus, Kansas was founded in 1877 and by 1886 it was quite prosperous. It became a modern town with free enterprise, drugstore, bank, schoolhouse, churches and newspapers. However, the railroad passed them by even after the town leaders tried to entice railroad owners to put a line to their town. The railroad by-passed the town and the population continued to dwindle. Unlike most of the Reconstruction towns Nicodemus still has a few hundred people living there today.
There are good and bad accounts during this time period and it's extremely interesting to read about. Check out the library of Congress and their "African American Odyssey" section on the Reconstruction Period for more information.
Click Link
Friday, February 20, 2015
Underground Railroad in Niagara Region
Below are some excerpts from "Old Trails on the Niagara Frontier" ©1899 There is an entire chapter relating to the underground railroad connections with the Niagara region as well as other history of the trails during the 19th century such as the war of 1812. It's an interesting resource and fires up all kinds of historical scenarios for our characters to be a part of.
It is impossible to state even approximately the number of refugee negroes who crossed by these routes to Upper Canada, now Ontario. In 1844 the number was estimated at 40,000 ;l in 1852 the Anti-Slavery Society of Canada stated in its annual report that there were about 30,000 blacks in Canada West; in 1858 the number was estimated as high as 75,000.' This figure is probably excessive ; but since the negroes continued to come, up to the hour of the Emancipation Proclamation, it is probably within the fact to say that more than 50,000 crossed to Upper Canada, nearly all from points on Lake Erie, the Detroit and Niagara rivers.
Runaway slaves appeared in Buffalo at least as early as the '30's. "Professor Edward Orton recalls that in 1838, soon after his father moved to Buffalo, two sleigh-loads of negroes from the Western Reserve were brought to the house in the night-time; and Mr. Frederick Nicholson of Warsaw, N. Y., states that the Underground work in his vicinity began in 1840. From this time on there was apparently no cessation of migra tions of fugitives into Canada at Black Rock, Buffalo and other points."3 Those too were the days of much passenger travel on Lake Erie, and certain boats came to be known as friendly to the Underground cause. One boat which ran between Cleveland and Buffalo gave employment to the fugitive William Wells Brown. It became known at Cleveland that Brown would take escaped slaves under his protection without charge, hence he rarely failed to find a little company ready to sail when he started out from Cleveland. "In the year 1842," he says, "I conveyed from the 1st of May to the 1st of December, sixty-nine fugitives over Lake Erie to Canada.''' Many anecdotes are told of the search for runaways on the lake steamers. Lake travel in the ante-bellum days was ever liable to be enlivened by an exciting episode in a "nigger-chase"; but usually, it would seem, the negroes could rely upon the friendliness of the captains for concealment or other assistance.
There are chronicled, too, many little histories of flights which brought the fugitive to Buffalo. I pass over those which are readily accessible elsewhere to the student of this phase of our home history.' It is well, however, to devote a paragraph or two to one famous affair which most if not all American writers on the Underground Railroad appear to have overlooked.
One day in 1836 an intelligent negro, riding a thoroughbred but jaded horse, appeared on the streets of Buffalo. His appearance must have advertised him to all as a runaway slave. I do not know that he made any attempt to conceal the fact. His chief concern was to sell the horse as quickly as possible, and get across to Canada. And there, presently, we find him, settled at historic old Niagara, near the mouth of the river. Here, even at that date, so many negroes had made their way from the South, that more than 400 occupied a quarter known as Negro Town. The newcomer, whose name was Moseby, admitted that he had run away from a plantation in Kentucky, and had used a horse that formerly belonged to his master to make his way North. A Kentucky grand jury soon found a true bill against him for horse-stealing, and civil officers traced him to Niagara, and made requisition for his arrest and extradition. The year before, Sir Francis Bond Head had succeeded Sir John Colborne as Governor of Canada West, and before him the case was laid. Sir Francis regarded the charge as lawful, notwithstanding the avowal of Moseby's owners that if they could get him back to Kentucky they would "make an example of him "; in plainer words, would whip him to death as a warning to all slaves who dared to dream of seeking freedom in Canada.
Moseby was arrested and locked up in the Niagara jail; whereupon great excitement arose, the blacks and many sympathizing whites declaring that he should never be carried back South. The Governor, Sir Francis, was petitioned not to surrender Moseby; he replied that his duty was to give him up as a felon, "although he would have armed the province to protect a slave.'' For more than a week crowds of negroes, men and women, camped before the jail, day and night. Under the leadership of a mulatto schoolmaster named Holmes, and of Mrs. Carter, a negress with a gift for making fiery speeches, the mob were kept worked up to a high pitch of excitement, although, as a contemporary writer avers, they were unarmed, showed "good sense, forbearance and resolution,'' and declared their intention not to commit any violence against the English law. They even agreed that Moseby should remain in jail until they could raise the price of the horse, but threatened, "if any attempt were made to take him from the prison, and send him across to Lewiston, they would resist it at the hazard of their lives." The order, however, came for Moseby's delivery to the slave-hunters, and the sheriff and a party of constables attempted to execute it. Moseby was brought out from the jail, handcuffed and placed in a cart; whereupon the mob attacked the officers. The military was called out to help the civil force and ordered to fire on the assailants. Two negroes were killed, two or three wounded, and Moseby ran off and was not pursued. The negro women played a curiously-prominent part in the affair. "They had been most active in the fray, throwing themselves fearlessly between the black men and the whites, who, of course, shrank from injuring them. One woman had seized the sheriff, and held him pinioned in her arms; another, on one of the artillery-men presenting his piece, and swearing that he would shoot her if she did not get out of his way, gave him only one glance of unutterable contempt, and with one hand knocking up his piece, and colkring him with the other, held him in such a manner as to prevent his firing.
Soon after, in the same year, the Governor of Kentucky made requisition on the Governor of the province of Canada West for the surrender of Jesse Happy, another runaway slave, also on a charge of horse-stealing. Sir Francis held him in confinement in Hamilton jail, but refused to deliver him up until he had laid the case before the Home Government. In a most interesting report to the Colonial Secretary, under date of Toronto, Oct. 8, 1837, he asked for instructions "as a matter of general policy," and reviewed the Moseby case in a fair and broad spirit, highly creditable to him alike as an administrator and a friend of the oppressed. "I am by no means desirous," he wrote, '' that this province should become an asylum for the guilty of any color; at the same time the documents submitted with this dispatch will I conceive show that the subject of giving up fugitive slaves to the authorities of the adjoining republican States is one respecting which it is highly desirable I should receive from Her Majesty's Government specific instructions. . It may be argued that the slave escaping from bondage on his master's horse is a vicious struggle between two guilty parties, of which the slave-owner is not only the aggressor, but the blackest criminal of the two. It is a case of the dealer in human flesh versus the stealer of horse-flesh; and it may be argued that, if the British Government does not feel itself authorized to pass judgment on the plaintiff, neither should it on the defendant.'' Sir Francis continues in this ingenious strain, observing that "it is as much a theft in the slave walking from slavery to liberty in his master's shoes as riding on his master's horse." To give up a slave for trial to the American laws, he argued, was in fact giving him back to his former master; and he held that, until the State authorities could separate trial from unjust punishment, however willing the Government of Canada might be to deliver up a man for trial, it was justified in refusing to deliver him up for punishment, "unless sufficient security be entered into in this province, that the person delivered up for trial shall be brought back to Upper Canada as soon as his trial or the punishment awarded by it shall be concluded." And he added this final argument, begging that instructions should be sent to him at once:
It is argued, that the republican states have no right, under the pretext of any human treaty, to claim from the British Government, which does not recognize slavery, beings who by slave-law are not recognized as men and who actually existed as brute beasts in moral darkness, until on reaching British soil they suddenly heard, for the first time in their lives, the sacred words, "Let there be light; and there was light!" From that moment it is argued they were created nun, and if this be true, it is said they cannot be held responsible for conduct prior to their existence.
Sir Francis left the Home Government in no doubt as to his own feelings in the matter; and although I have seen no further report regarding Jesse Happy, neither do I know of any case in which a refugee in Canada for whom requisition was thus made was permitted to go back to slavery. It did sometimes happen, however, that refugees were enticed across the river on one pretext or another, or grew careless and took their chances on the American side, only to fall into the clutches of the ever-watchful slave-hunters.
It is impossible to state even approximately the number of refugee negroes who crossed by these routes to Upper Canada, now Ontario. In 1844 the number was estimated at 40,000 ;l in 1852 the Anti-Slavery Society of Canada stated in its annual report that there were about 30,000 blacks in Canada West; in 1858 the number was estimated as high as 75,000.' This figure is probably excessive ; but since the negroes continued to come, up to the hour of the Emancipation Proclamation, it is probably within the fact to say that more than 50,000 crossed to Upper Canada, nearly all from points on Lake Erie, the Detroit and Niagara rivers.
Runaway slaves appeared in Buffalo at least as early as the '30's. "Professor Edward Orton recalls that in 1838, soon after his father moved to Buffalo, two sleigh-loads of negroes from the Western Reserve were brought to the house in the night-time; and Mr. Frederick Nicholson of Warsaw, N. Y., states that the Underground work in his vicinity began in 1840. From this time on there was apparently no cessation of migra tions of fugitives into Canada at Black Rock, Buffalo and other points."3 Those too were the days of much passenger travel on Lake Erie, and certain boats came to be known as friendly to the Underground cause. One boat which ran between Cleveland and Buffalo gave employment to the fugitive William Wells Brown. It became known at Cleveland that Brown would take escaped slaves under his protection without charge, hence he rarely failed to find a little company ready to sail when he started out from Cleveland. "In the year 1842," he says, "I conveyed from the 1st of May to the 1st of December, sixty-nine fugitives over Lake Erie to Canada.''' Many anecdotes are told of the search for runaways on the lake steamers. Lake travel in the ante-bellum days was ever liable to be enlivened by an exciting episode in a "nigger-chase"; but usually, it would seem, the negroes could rely upon the friendliness of the captains for concealment or other assistance.
There are chronicled, too, many little histories of flights which brought the fugitive to Buffalo. I pass over those which are readily accessible elsewhere to the student of this phase of our home history.' It is well, however, to devote a paragraph or two to one famous affair which most if not all American writers on the Underground Railroad appear to have overlooked.
One day in 1836 an intelligent negro, riding a thoroughbred but jaded horse, appeared on the streets of Buffalo. His appearance must have advertised him to all as a runaway slave. I do not know that he made any attempt to conceal the fact. His chief concern was to sell the horse as quickly as possible, and get across to Canada. And there, presently, we find him, settled at historic old Niagara, near the mouth of the river. Here, even at that date, so many negroes had made their way from the South, that more than 400 occupied a quarter known as Negro Town. The newcomer, whose name was Moseby, admitted that he had run away from a plantation in Kentucky, and had used a horse that formerly belonged to his master to make his way North. A Kentucky grand jury soon found a true bill against him for horse-stealing, and civil officers traced him to Niagara, and made requisition for his arrest and extradition. The year before, Sir Francis Bond Head had succeeded Sir John Colborne as Governor of Canada West, and before him the case was laid. Sir Francis regarded the charge as lawful, notwithstanding the avowal of Moseby's owners that if they could get him back to Kentucky they would "make an example of him "; in plainer words, would whip him to death as a warning to all slaves who dared to dream of seeking freedom in Canada.
Moseby was arrested and locked up in the Niagara jail; whereupon great excitement arose, the blacks and many sympathizing whites declaring that he should never be carried back South. The Governor, Sir Francis, was petitioned not to surrender Moseby; he replied that his duty was to give him up as a felon, "although he would have armed the province to protect a slave.'' For more than a week crowds of negroes, men and women, camped before the jail, day and night. Under the leadership of a mulatto schoolmaster named Holmes, and of Mrs. Carter, a negress with a gift for making fiery speeches, the mob were kept worked up to a high pitch of excitement, although, as a contemporary writer avers, they were unarmed, showed "good sense, forbearance and resolution,'' and declared their intention not to commit any violence against the English law. They even agreed that Moseby should remain in jail until they could raise the price of the horse, but threatened, "if any attempt were made to take him from the prison, and send him across to Lewiston, they would resist it at the hazard of their lives." The order, however, came for Moseby's delivery to the slave-hunters, and the sheriff and a party of constables attempted to execute it. Moseby was brought out from the jail, handcuffed and placed in a cart; whereupon the mob attacked the officers. The military was called out to help the civil force and ordered to fire on the assailants. Two negroes were killed, two or three wounded, and Moseby ran off and was not pursued. The negro women played a curiously-prominent part in the affair. "They had been most active in the fray, throwing themselves fearlessly between the black men and the whites, who, of course, shrank from injuring them. One woman had seized the sheriff, and held him pinioned in her arms; another, on one of the artillery-men presenting his piece, and swearing that he would shoot her if she did not get out of his way, gave him only one glance of unutterable contempt, and with one hand knocking up his piece, and colkring him with the other, held him in such a manner as to prevent his firing.
Soon after, in the same year, the Governor of Kentucky made requisition on the Governor of the province of Canada West for the surrender of Jesse Happy, another runaway slave, also on a charge of horse-stealing. Sir Francis held him in confinement in Hamilton jail, but refused to deliver him up until he had laid the case before the Home Government. In a most interesting report to the Colonial Secretary, under date of Toronto, Oct. 8, 1837, he asked for instructions "as a matter of general policy," and reviewed the Moseby case in a fair and broad spirit, highly creditable to him alike as an administrator and a friend of the oppressed. "I am by no means desirous," he wrote, '' that this province should become an asylum for the guilty of any color; at the same time the documents submitted with this dispatch will I conceive show that the subject of giving up fugitive slaves to the authorities of the adjoining republican States is one respecting which it is highly desirable I should receive from Her Majesty's Government specific instructions. . It may be argued that the slave escaping from bondage on his master's horse is a vicious struggle between two guilty parties, of which the slave-owner is not only the aggressor, but the blackest criminal of the two. It is a case of the dealer in human flesh versus the stealer of horse-flesh; and it may be argued that, if the British Government does not feel itself authorized to pass judgment on the plaintiff, neither should it on the defendant.'' Sir Francis continues in this ingenious strain, observing that "it is as much a theft in the slave walking from slavery to liberty in his master's shoes as riding on his master's horse." To give up a slave for trial to the American laws, he argued, was in fact giving him back to his former master; and he held that, until the State authorities could separate trial from unjust punishment, however willing the Government of Canada might be to deliver up a man for trial, it was justified in refusing to deliver him up for punishment, "unless sufficient security be entered into in this province, that the person delivered up for trial shall be brought back to Upper Canada as soon as his trial or the punishment awarded by it shall be concluded." And he added this final argument, begging that instructions should be sent to him at once:
It is argued, that the republican states have no right, under the pretext of any human treaty, to claim from the British Government, which does not recognize slavery, beings who by slave-law are not recognized as men and who actually existed as brute beasts in moral darkness, until on reaching British soil they suddenly heard, for the first time in their lives, the sacred words, "Let there be light; and there was light!" From that moment it is argued they were created nun, and if this be true, it is said they cannot be held responsible for conduct prior to their existence.
Sir Francis left the Home Government in no doubt as to his own feelings in the matter; and although I have seen no further report regarding Jesse Happy, neither do I know of any case in which a refugee in Canada for whom requisition was thus made was permitted to go back to slavery. It did sometimes happen, however, that refugees were enticed across the river on one pretext or another, or grew careless and took their chances on the American side, only to fall into the clutches of the ever-watchful slave-hunters.
Monday, May 26, 2014
Memorial Day
In 1868, three years after the end of the Civil War, Union Veterans declared a day for Memorial of those who fought. It wasn't until after WWI that Memorial Day began the recognition of all soldiers who fought.
There's an online book in Google books The National Memorial Day Which dates to 1870.
You can find other addresses given on Memorial Day during different years. Perhaps your characters are sitting in the audience during one of these addresses. Or perhaps they are crowd control, or could they be there because of a threat to one of the speakers?
Anyway, just a few thoughts, tidbits about how you might use this National Holiday correctly in your historical setting. Enjoy!
And if you're a veteran reading this post, thanks for your service. It means a lot to me.
There's an online book in Google books The National Memorial Day Which dates to 1870.
You can find other addresses given on Memorial Day during different years. Perhaps your characters are sitting in the audience during one of these addresses. Or perhaps they are crowd control, or could they be there because of a threat to one of the speakers?
Anyway, just a few thoughts, tidbits about how you might use this National Holiday correctly in your historical setting. Enjoy!
And if you're a veteran reading this post, thanks for your service. It means a lot to me.
Friday, May 16, 2014
Fort Pulaski, Savannah, GA.
The reason for this tidbit has to do with Savannah, Gray Bricks. They were unique and are not able to be replicated today. Fort Pulaski was constructed with this very hard brick and it has a unique history during the American Revolution and Civil Wars.
Fort Pulaski.—This fort is erected on Cockspar Island, at the mouth of the Savannah River in Georgia. It was named in honor of Count Pulaski, the distinguished Polish general who espoused the cause of American freedom in the Revolution. It effectually guards the main entrance to the river. All vessels of any size have to pass under its guns. Cockspur Island B separated from Tybee Island by a narrow carve of the sea. It is an irregular pentagon, with the base line or curtain face inland, and the other faces casemated and bearing upon the approaches. The curtain, which is simply crenellated, is covered by a redan, surrounded by a deep ditch, inside the parapet of which are granite platforms ready for the reception of guns. The parapet is thick, and the counterscarp is faced with solid masonry. Sandbag traverses guard the magazine door, and every thing is in as good trim. The walls are exceedingly solid, and well-built of hard gray brick, upwards of six feet in thickness, the casemates and bombproofs being lofty and capacious. A full garrison of the fort is 650 men. The work is intended for 128 guns. They are long 82's, with a few 42's and colnmbiads. The 10-inch columbiads are en barhette. There are three furnaces for heating red-hot shot.
This fort was seized by order of Governor Brown on the 3d of January. At the time, this was stated to have been done to prevent its seizure by a spontaneous uprising of the people. Subsequently, however, the apprehensions which led to this seizure proved to be groundless. They were excited by fabulous telegraphic despatches sent from the city of Washington. At the time of its seizure there wero sixty guns moan ted. It cost the Government $988,859.
Previously it had been in the care of two men, who were employed in keeping the grassed surfaces free from weeds and in taking care of the property.
Source: Appleton's Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Information ©1867
Fort Pulaski.—This fort is erected on Cockspar Island, at the mouth of the Savannah River in Georgia. It was named in honor of Count Pulaski, the distinguished Polish general who espoused the cause of American freedom in the Revolution. It effectually guards the main entrance to the river. All vessels of any size have to pass under its guns. Cockspur Island B separated from Tybee Island by a narrow carve of the sea. It is an irregular pentagon, with the base line or curtain face inland, and the other faces casemated and bearing upon the approaches. The curtain, which is simply crenellated, is covered by a redan, surrounded by a deep ditch, inside the parapet of which are granite platforms ready for the reception of guns. The parapet is thick, and the counterscarp is faced with solid masonry. Sandbag traverses guard the magazine door, and every thing is in as good trim. The walls are exceedingly solid, and well-built of hard gray brick, upwards of six feet in thickness, the casemates and bombproofs being lofty and capacious. A full garrison of the fort is 650 men. The work is intended for 128 guns. They are long 82's, with a few 42's and colnmbiads. The 10-inch columbiads are en barhette. There are three furnaces for heating red-hot shot.
This fort was seized by order of Governor Brown on the 3d of January. At the time, this was stated to have been done to prevent its seizure by a spontaneous uprising of the people. Subsequently, however, the apprehensions which led to this seizure proved to be groundless. They were excited by fabulous telegraphic despatches sent from the city of Washington. At the time of its seizure there wero sixty guns moan ted. It cost the Government $988,859.
Previously it had been in the care of two men, who were employed in keeping the grassed surfaces free from weeds and in taking care of the property.
Source: Appleton's Annual Cyclopaedia and Register of Important Information ©1867
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