Nov. 16, 2009:
Just happened to notice that I inadvertently left out one resource (which I have since added to my episode citations). It is an interesting little book of reminiscences by Frank Mixson, a South Carolinian who served as a private in James Hagood's brigade. I think I'd like to go back and read the entire book. The personal stories are the best.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
Nov. 14, 2009 - Entry 8: And Still More Sources...
Nov. 14, 2009:
After reading Dr. Benson's suggestions, I went back to McPherson's "Battle Cry of Freedom" and Greene's "The Final Battles of the Petersburg Campaign: Breaking the Backbone of the Rebellion" for more contextual information. I'm beginning to think I have a mental block, because I had a hard time pulling out information to fit well into my almost complete episodes. I also checked the following references:
Charles Augustus Stevens, Berdan’s United States Sharpshooters in the Army of the Potomac
Chandra Manning, What This Cruel War Was Over
Russell F. Weigley, “The Founding of American Strategic Studies,” The American Way of War: A History of United States Military Strategy and Policy
As a result, I tried to do a total re-write of the Barber episode and the Weldon Railroad destruction. Not sure I like either one now!
After reading Dr. Benson's suggestions, I went back to McPherson's "Battle Cry of Freedom" and Greene's "The Final Battles of the Petersburg Campaign: Breaking the Backbone of the Rebellion" for more contextual information. I'm beginning to think I have a mental block, because I had a hard time pulling out information to fit well into my almost complete episodes. I also checked the following references:
Charles Augustus Stevens, Berdan’s United States Sharpshooters in the Army of the Potomac
Chandra Manning, What This Cruel War Was Over
Russell F. Weigley, “The Founding of American Strategic Studies,” The American Way of War: A History of United States Military Strategy and Policy
As a result, I tried to do a total re-write of the Barber episode and the Weldon Railroad destruction. Not sure I like either one now!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Nov. 11, 2009 - Entry 7: How Did I Miss These?
Nov. 11, 2009:
In my frustration at tying together my primary sources with the larger context from secondary sources, etc., I decided to go back to the History Engine and search again for additional sources that other students had used. This was a last-ditch effort on my part, but I figured I had nothing to lose.
What a delightful surprise to find that someone had done an episode on Berdan's Sharpshooters and had posted "Berdan's United States Sharpshooters in the Army of the Potomac, 1861-1865" by Charles Augustus Stevens as one of his/her sources. According to the Arlington National Cemetery Web site, Stevens was a First Lieutenant, Company G, in Berdan's Sharpshooters. (I was a little surprised that Stevens' tombstone didn't say 3rd Division, 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters instead.) Anyway, his book gives some good firsthand information about this regiment, and about Chaplain Barber's skills with a target rifle.
I also found some comments related to railroads in McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, and insights into Union feelings about blacks in Manning's What This Cruel War Was Over.
In my frustration at tying together my primary sources with the larger context from secondary sources, etc., I decided to go back to the History Engine and search again for additional sources that other students had used. This was a last-ditch effort on my part, but I figured I had nothing to lose.
What a delightful surprise to find that someone had done an episode on Berdan's Sharpshooters and had posted "Berdan's United States Sharpshooters in the Army of the Potomac, 1861-1865" by Charles Augustus Stevens as one of his/her sources. According to the Arlington National Cemetery Web site, Stevens was a First Lieutenant, Company G, in Berdan's Sharpshooters. (I was a little surprised that Stevens' tombstone didn't say 3rd Division, 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters instead.) Anyway, his book gives some good firsthand information about this regiment, and about Chaplain Barber's skills with a target rifle.
I also found some comments related to railroads in McPherson's Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era, and insights into Union feelings about blacks in Manning's What This Cruel War Was Over.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Nov. 10, 2009 - Entry 6: More Sources???
Nov. 10, 2009:
I went back to the library catalog and did more random searches with random keyword combinations, and here are some of the selections that looked promising:
"Battles and Leaders of the Civil War," Vol. IV
"Reminiscences of a Private" - Frank M. Mixson, Company E, 1st S.C. Vols. (Hagood's), Jenkins' Brigade (1861), Lee's Army (1865)
"Treasured Reminiscences" - Accounts of the 1st, 6th, 8th, 9th and 21st Regiments, S.C. Volunteer Infantry, 6th S.C. Cavalry Regiment, and 1st, 15th and Pee Dee Volunteer Artillery Battalions, C.S.A. 1861-1865
"A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion" - Frederick H. Dyer
"The American Way of War" - Russell F. Weigley
"Pee Dee Light Artillery of Maxcy Gregg's (Later Samuel McGowan's) Brigade, 1st S.C. Volunteers (Infantry) C.S.A.: A Historical Sketch and Roster" - Sgt. Joseph Woods Brunson
"From Flintrock to Rifle: Infantry Tactics, 1740-1866" - Steven T. Ross
"The Negro's Civil War" - James M. McPherson
"The Railroads of the Confederacy" - Robert C. Black III
"Disloyalty in the Confederacy" - Georgia Lee Tatum, Ph.D.
"Desertion During the Civil War" - Ella Lonn, Ph.D
"Victims: A True Story of the Civil War" - Phillip Shaw Paludan
"American Apocalypse: Yankee Protestants and the Civil War 1860-1869" - James H. Moorhead
"Reminiscences of the War" (Union) - C.J. Wood, M.D.
I went back to the library catalog and did more random searches with random keyword combinations, and here are some of the selections that looked promising:
"Battles and Leaders of the Civil War," Vol. IV
"Reminiscences of a Private" - Frank M. Mixson, Company E, 1st S.C. Vols. (Hagood's), Jenkins' Brigade (1861), Lee's Army (1865)
"Treasured Reminiscences" - Accounts of the 1st, 6th, 8th, 9th and 21st Regiments, S.C. Volunteer Infantry, 6th S.C. Cavalry Regiment, and 1st, 15th and Pee Dee Volunteer Artillery Battalions, C.S.A. 1861-1865
"A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion" - Frederick H. Dyer
"The American Way of War" - Russell F. Weigley
"Pee Dee Light Artillery of Maxcy Gregg's (Later Samuel McGowan's) Brigade, 1st S.C. Volunteers (Infantry) C.S.A.: A Historical Sketch and Roster" - Sgt. Joseph Woods Brunson
"From Flintrock to Rifle: Infantry Tactics, 1740-1866" - Steven T. Ross
"The Negro's Civil War" - James M. McPherson
"The Railroads of the Confederacy" - Robert C. Black III
"Disloyalty in the Confederacy" - Georgia Lee Tatum, Ph.D.
"Desertion During the Civil War" - Ella Lonn, Ph.D
"Victims: A True Story of the Civil War" - Phillip Shaw Paludan
"American Apocalypse: Yankee Protestants and the Civil War 1860-1869" - James H. Moorhead
"Reminiscences of the War" (Union) - C.J. Wood, M.D.
Nov. 9, 2009 - Entry 5: Crunch Time
I now have a new-found respect for historians... I feel as if I have been searching for a couple of needles in a huge haystack of material, and am coming up with nothing. Hats off to the amazing men and women who do this for a living...I would surely starve if this were my "primary source" of income!
But enough of that. From a practical standpoint, my online searches have not, for the most part, turned up good secondary sources. My Union officer was a chaplain and a sharpshooter whose regiment brought an end to the Weldon Railroad, and my Confederate officer was in the Battle of Fort Harrison, which was lost to the Union troops. I would have thought that any number of key word combinations on these people and topics would turn up some rich details, but that's not been the case.
But enough of that. From a practical standpoint, my online searches have not, for the most part, turned up good secondary sources. My Union officer was a chaplain and a sharpshooter whose regiment brought an end to the Weldon Railroad, and my Confederate officer was in the Battle of Fort Harrison, which was lost to the Union troops. I would have thought that any number of key word combinations on these people and topics would turn up some rich details, but that's not been the case.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Oct. 28, 2009 - Entry 4: One Last Look in the Library
So the first draft of the episodes are due today, and I am still struggling with whether or not my primary and secondary sources are enough. Was able to get the morning off from work to spend looking through the one-hour reserve books. I got really excited when I ran across a quote attributed to James R. Hagood on page 142 of Richard J. Sommers' book, "Richmond Redeemed: The Siege at Petersburg." The quote was from "Memoirs of the First South Carolina Regiment of Volunteer Infantry in the Confederate War for Independence, April 12, 1861 to April 10, 1865" ... but it was South Caroliniana Library of USC. I did try to track it down online, but was never able to locate it after almost an hour of trying. Another dead end for now. Maybe I'll have more luck this weekend as I look ahead to revise my first draft.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Oct. 17, 2009 - Entry 3 : Who are these people?
Oct. 17:
No time to spend in the library, so here I am trying to research my officers online. Not easy. My previous post about Barber gave me more information on him than anything else I turned up. Not so lucky with Hagood. I decided to pursue locating more information on Hagood's reference to Fort Harrison, since biographical info on him was virtually non-existent. Found a couple of Web sites with some basic info: www.usa-civil-war.com and aotw.org/officers. Thought it was interesting that the plaque at this fort gives both the Confederate name (Fort Harrison) and the Federal name (Fort Burnham, after Brigadier General Hiram Burnham of Maine.
Looks like the Official Records source has the most information, so I plan to go with that.
No time to spend in the library, so here I am trying to research my officers online. Not easy. My previous post about Barber gave me more information on him than anything else I turned up. Not so lucky with Hagood. I decided to pursue locating more information on Hagood's reference to Fort Harrison, since biographical info on him was virtually non-existent. Found a couple of Web sites with some basic info: www.usa-civil-war.com and aotw.org/officers. Thought it was interesting that the plaque at this fort gives both the Confederate name (Fort Harrison) and the Federal name (Fort Burnham, after Brigadier General Hiram Burnham of Maine.
Looks like the Official Records source has the most information, so I plan to go with that.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Oct. 12, 2009 - Entry 2: Getting to know the officers
Oct. 12, 2009:
My schedule did not permit me to stay at the library today to research my officers in the 1-hour reserve sources, so I decided to check out Ancestry.com for starters. My Union officer's name did show up in a couple of locations, but in order to get more details I had to sign up for a 14-day free trial (at the end of which I would either cancel or agree to be billed $12.95 for a basic membership). I might go back and do this later. Being in somewhat of a hurry at this point, I decided to try Google and see what came up for my Union officer. A book titled "The Second United States Sharpshooters in the Civil War: A History and Roster" by Gerald L. Earley came up as the first reference, and I enjoyed what little bit I found. I found some interesting reading on Chaplain Barber, who was a "fighting parson" and considered to be one of the best marksmen in the Union army. I also found that he suffered a severe leg injury on Nov. 30, 1863, which was said to have ended his days as a "chaplain/sniper." The official records information I originally found was a report by Barber from Dec. 1864. I'll be interested to see if I can find any information to shed some light on what happened between the time of his injury and his report.
Reading the preface of this book also gave me some background information that I might not otherwise have found. For instance, the author talks of the South's perception that "Yankees couldn't fight" -- while the North believed it was superior to the South in education, industrialization, and naval and artillery capabilities, but inferior to the South in terms of ground forces (specifically marksmanship). Here begins the story of how the Union army sought to compensate by hiring Hiram Berdan, the country's "premier marksman," to recruit the best marksmen available to form a "regiment or corps of expert riflemen" (preface, page 1). As a result, the only two "pan-Yankee regiments in the Civil War -- the 1st and 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters, also known as "Berdan's Sharpshooters" -- were organized, and became the "standard by which all the others should be judged" (2).
My schedule did not permit me to stay at the library today to research my officers in the 1-hour reserve sources, so I decided to check out Ancestry.com for starters. My Union officer's name did show up in a couple of locations, but in order to get more details I had to sign up for a 14-day free trial (at the end of which I would either cancel or agree to be billed $12.95 for a basic membership). I might go back and do this later. Being in somewhat of a hurry at this point, I decided to try Google and see what came up for my Union officer. A book titled "The Second United States Sharpshooters in the Civil War: A History and Roster" by Gerald L. Earley came up as the first reference, and I enjoyed what little bit I found. I found some interesting reading on Chaplain Barber, who was a "fighting parson" and considered to be one of the best marksmen in the Union army. I also found that he suffered a severe leg injury on Nov. 30, 1863, which was said to have ended his days as a "chaplain/sniper." The official records information I originally found was a report by Barber from Dec. 1864. I'll be interested to see if I can find any information to shed some light on what happened between the time of his injury and his report.
Reading the preface of this book also gave me some background information that I might not otherwise have found. For instance, the author talks of the South's perception that "Yankees couldn't fight" -- while the North believed it was superior to the South in education, industrialization, and naval and artillery capabilities, but inferior to the South in terms of ground forces (specifically marksmanship). Here begins the story of how the Union army sought to compensate by hiring Hiram Berdan, the country's "premier marksman," to recruit the best marksmen available to form a "regiment or corps of expert riflemen" (preface, page 1). As a result, the only two "pan-Yankee regiments in the Civil War -- the 1st and 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters, also known as "Berdan's Sharpshooters" -- were organized, and became the "standard by which all the others should be judged" (2).
Sept. 30, 2009 - Entry 1: Choosing my officers' reports
Sept. 30, 2009
My group has chosen the Battle of Petersburg for our History Engine episode assignment. I did not have a chance to go to the library until today and due to a limited amount of time, I did not find the volume with all the officers’ names and their accompanying ranks. Therefore, I spent an incredible amount of time just trying to randomly research for records from officers of lower rank. I also wanted to find records pertaining to different time frames than that of my fellow group members; because I was the last to choose, I tried to pick a period within the 9-month Petersburg siege that did not correspond with the others. Already chosen by others in my group were the earliest days of the battle, the final days, and the events at the Battle of the Crater, among others. After mostly searching the digital version of the Official Records, as well as looking at the printed copies, I found reports from a Union chaplain and a South Carolina infantryman, and thought they would both bring a very different perspective than what had already been selected.
“The War of the Rebellion: A compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies”; Series 1, Volume 42 (Part 1) –
Report of Chaplain Lorenzo Barber, Second U.S. Sharpshooters, of operations December 7-12, 1864 (pages 355-357)
Report of Col. James R. Hagood, First South Carolina Infantry, of operations August 14-December 10, 1864 (pages 937-939)
My group has chosen the Battle of Petersburg for our History Engine episode assignment. I did not have a chance to go to the library until today and due to a limited amount of time, I did not find the volume with all the officers’ names and their accompanying ranks. Therefore, I spent an incredible amount of time just trying to randomly research for records from officers of lower rank. I also wanted to find records pertaining to different time frames than that of my fellow group members; because I was the last to choose, I tried to pick a period within the 9-month Petersburg siege that did not correspond with the others. Already chosen by others in my group were the earliest days of the battle, the final days, and the events at the Battle of the Crater, among others. After mostly searching the digital version of the Official Records, as well as looking at the printed copies, I found reports from a Union chaplain and a South Carolina infantryman, and thought they would both bring a very different perspective than what had already been selected.
“The War of the Rebellion: A compilation of the official records of the Union and Confederate armies”; Series 1, Volume 42 (Part 1) –
Report of Chaplain Lorenzo Barber, Second U.S. Sharpshooters, of operations December 7-12, 1864 (pages 355-357)
Report of Col. James R. Hagood, First South Carolina Infantry, of operations August 14-December 10, 1864 (pages 937-939)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)