Tagged With: Civil War

William B. Scott, CSA

William B. Scott, CSA

William B. Scott, CSA

With all the hoo-ha about Civil War statues, it is sometimes easy to forget that these were people. William D. Scott was a member of Company D, 14th Virginia Cavalry. He was wounded in action against Union forces and subsequently died. He was buried in a churchyard in Montgomery County, Maryland. His grave is not in the cemetery but on the other side of the building. He is believed to be the only Confederate soldier who was killed in action and is buried in a marked grave in the county.

I don’t know how William felt about slavery, whether he was fighting for what he saw as state’s rights, or if he was simply pressed into service. Regardless, he was a young man, killed in war. He likely had parents, siblings and possibly even a wife and children. People die in war but if you think he deserved to die, then I’m afraid we’ll have to agree to disagree. May God have mercy on him.

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Middle Field, Third Battle of Winchester

Cathy at Middle Field, Third Battle of Winchester

Cathy at Middle Field, Third Battle of Winchester

As mentioned yesterday, we are visiting Winchester, Virginia this weekend to do a little family history work. This time it doesn’t involve library work. Mostly we wanted to visit the battlefields of the Second and Third Battles of Winchester. Cathy’s great, great grandfather was taken prisoner on June 15, 1863 during the second battle. He spent some little while on Belle Isle in Richmond before being paroled. Today we were able to find the road he and his fellow soldiers were on when they ran into the main body of the Confederate Army.

After that we had a late lunch and then moved on to the battlefield for the Third Battle of Winchester, also known as the Battle of Opequon Creek. This avenue of trees, which would not have been there in 1864, runs through the middle of what is known as the Middle Field where some of the heaviest fighting took place. Cathy’s ancestor was, with the rest of his Pennsylvania Volunteer regiment, fighting in General Wright’s Sixth Corps in General Ricketts’s division. They were along the Berryville Road (now Virginia route 7) about a mile to the south of this point and what is now the site of the Winchester Gateway shopping center. We don’t know when or where in the course of the battle he was killed but sometime that day he died. He is, presumably, in one of the graves marked ‘Unknown Soldier’ in the National Cemetery in Winchester.

Here is a short description taken from CivilWar.org:

On September 19th [1864], Sheridan advanced toward Winchester along the Berryville Pike with Maj. Gen. Horatio Wright’s Sixth Corps and Brig. Gen. William Emory’s Nineteenth Corps, crossing Opequon Creek east of town. The Union advance was delayed long enough for Early to concentrate his forces to meet the main assault, which continued for several hours. Casualties were very heavy.

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U. S. National Cemetery, Winchester, Virginia

U. S. National Cemetery, Winchester, Virginia

U. S. National Cemetery, Winchester, Virginia

Yesterday evening, after our 3.5 mile walk on the battlefield of the Third Battle of Winchester, we visited the National Cemetery in downtown Winchester. We went there again this morning because Cathy had remembered the name of another man in Henry’s (Cathy’s great, great grandfather) division. One marker was for a man in his company and who died of wounds received the same day Henry died. Henry’s remains were never identified so we assume his is one of the graves marked, like the one in the lower right of this photograph, “Unknown U. S. Soldier”. For all we know, this is his grave (unlikely, but possible).

The large column on the left memorializes Brigadier General David A. Russell. He commanded a brigade of the 6th Army Corps in which Henry served. Gen. Russell died the same day as Henry, September 19, 1864 at the Third Battle of Winchester.

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Harrison Island from Ball’s Bluff

Harrison Island from Ball's Bluff

Harrison Island from Ball’s Bluff

It was a cool but pleasant day and Cathy and I decided we needed an outing. We drove through Poolesville and crossed the Potomac River on White’s Ferry. From there we drove the short distance to Ball’s Bluff Battlefield. The battle fought here in October, 1961 is not one of the really well known engagements of the war and compared to the likes of Gettysburg, Chickamauga, Antietam, or Shiloh but it was significant nonetheless. Among other things, it marks the only sitting United States senator (Colonel Edward Baker of Oregon) to be killed in action. This photo was taken from below the bluffs. It was a quiet, peaceful place but would have been a really bad place to get caught with your back to the drop of the bluffs.

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Gettysburg Battlefield

Gettysburg Battlefield, from Little Round Top

Gettysburg Battlefield, from Little Round Top

As mentioned in Sunday’s post, David, Darius, and Maggie drove up from New Mexico, arriving late Saturday evening. Cathy and I took the day off today and went up to Pennsylvania. David and Darius went to the Gettysburg Battlefield on their own. Cathy, Dorothy, Maggie, and I went to the farm first and put up some more screen on the porch. It’s two thirds done. I also took some measurements for replacement stair stringers for the front porch. A couple of them are well on their way to falling apart. After over 40 years exposed to the weather, I guess it’s no surprise. From there we went to Gettysburg. We started with the Pennsylvania monument, where the girls’ ancestor’s regiment is listed. Then to Devil’s Den followed by Little Round Top, where this photograph was taken. Then to Culp’s Hill, again, where the family was apparently represented in the actual battle. It was a beautiful day, very windy and cool, but quite lovely.

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28th Pennsylvania Infantry

28th Pennsylvania Infantry Monument, Culp's Hill, Gettysburg

28th Pennsylvania Infantry Monument, Culp’s Hill, Gettysburg

Cathy and I drove up to see Dorothy today, meeting her at the farm and hanging out with her there a while. Then we drove down to Gettysburg and walked about 4.5 miles from downtown into the battlefield. We passed a few monuments for the unit with which Cathy’s 3rd-great-uncle served, including this one between Culp’s Hill and Pardee Field on Slocum Avenue. We also drive to near the recently reopened Little Round Top, stopping to see a friend who works for the Park Service and was stationed there counting cars and busses. All it all, it was a nice, if hot, day.

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National War Correspondents Memorial

National War Correspondents Memorial

National War Correspondents Memorial

We decided to drive up to South Mountain this afternoon. We started out at with a visit to the Washington Monument. It was quite hazy, though, and the view wasn’t much to speak of. Also, the tower was closed, so we couldn’t go up it. From there we went to the three gaps that were the principal sites of fighting in the Battle of South Mountain in mid-September, 1962. They are, from north to south, Turner’s Gap, Fox’s Gap, and Crampton’s Gap.

The National War Correspondents Memorial, shown here, is in Crampton’s Gap in Gathland State Park. It was built in 1896 by Civil War correspondent George Alfred “Gath” Townsend (January 30, 1841 – April 15, 1914), who built a home for himself here in the early 1880s. He also built himself a mausoleum but is buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.

On our drive we happened to go by the South Mountain Creamery and stopped for ice cream.

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