oops - I messed up.

Dang – I messed up. It is the 146th Anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg, not the 145th – what was I thinking?

145th Gettysburg

Since it’s the 145th anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg, I guess I should write something in honor of the event. I meant to get involved with Brett Schulte’s blogging event at TOCWOC, but alas, my head is still in the western theater of the war. Maybe Brett will do something similar with Chickamauga-Chattanooga. By the way, my favorite Gettysburg books are much like everyone else’s posts – Coddington, Imhof, Coco, Phanz, Martin, Wertz, and Gallagher. If you get a chance, check out the real contributors here.

You know, I’m probably an odd duck, and while I enjoy researching and writing about the battle (part of my 37th NCT book covered Gettysburg and three articles in Gettysburg Magazine), I don’t like visiting Gettysburg. I’m too worried about getting hit by one of the numerous cars that clog the streets, or passing out from heat stroke, or, spending more money than I should… to be honest, you are more likely to find me at Sharpsburg a few miles down the road stumping along the Sunken Road or the Cornfield. Maybe this aversion to Gettysburg comes from my past trips to the area. I’ve been four times – twice for reenactments (1988 and 1998), and then twice in October 2005. I liked the October trips – not as hot, but there were still lots of people. Maybe I should try and go in December or January. I might like it better then.

There were many Tar Heel soldiers who did visit the battlefield after the war. John Elihu Luther, a member of the 37th NCT, was an attendant at the 75th anniversary of the battle in 1938. Even those veterans who did not fight at Gettysburg did visit the park. I came across a newspaper article just a few days ago about Maj. George W. F. Harper (58th NCT) visiting Gettysburg in the 1910s. For the thousands who did visit the battlefield, there were tens of thousands who found the memories of what took place on those hills too painful, and they chose not to visit the area.

Skip ahead to today – July 2, 2009. Even if a person knows nothing about the war, he or she probably recognizes the word Gettysburg. Thousands of school children and countless tour buses roll onto the Park grounds every year for their “required” visits. But how can one battle, out of hundreds of others in a dozen or more states, be so important? Should that one battle be shaping the public’s image of a much deeper sociological part of our history?

By the way – the attached photograph is of me and my son Nathaniel on Little Round Top in 2005.

New Troop Book.

Greetings folks! Got a blurb about the last Troop book release from the North Carolina Archives. I hope you enjoy.

Volume XVII: Junior Reserves
NEW CIVIL WAR ROSTER CHRONICLES N.C. TEENAGED REGIMENTS

RALEIGH – The newest title hot off the press from the Historical Publications Section in the Office of Archives and History is “Volume XVII: Junior Reserves” in the popular “North Carolina Troops, 1861–1865: A Roster” series, edited by Matthew M. Brown and Michael W. Coffey.

Volume XVII contains the history and rosters of the North Carolina Junior Reserves. The Junior Reserves were 17-year-old boys drafted in the last year of the war, as the Confederacy faced a disastrous shortfall in manpower. Between the spring and fall of 1864, North Carolina raised eight battalions of Junior Reserves that were later consolidated into three regiments and one independent battalion. These young men were originally intended to guard bridges and depots in North Carolina , but eventually were drawn into combat. The Junior Reserves saw action in a number of minor clashes in eastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia , as well as the major battles of Fort Fisher and Bentonville.

An authoritative 120-page history begins the volume, followed by a complete roster and service records of the officers and men who served in the Junior Reserves. The service records include important information such as full name, rank, county of birth and residence, occupation, place and date of enlistment, age, whether the individual was wounded, captured, hospitalized, paroled, transferred, or promoted, and whether or not he died during the war. A thorough index completes the volume.

Matthew M. Brown received a B.A. in history from the University of Virginia and a J.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . Michael W. Coffey received a Ph.D. in history from the University of Southern Mississippi .

“North Carolina Troops, 1861–1865: A Roster (Volume XVII: Junior Reserves)” (hardbound; pp. xvi, 509; index) costs $63.38 ($58.04, libraries), which includes tax and shipping. Order from the Historical Publications Section (N), Office of Archives and History, 4622 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-4622. For credit card orders call (919) 733-7442, ext. 0, or visit the section’s secure online store at http://nc-historical-publications.stores.yahoo.net/. Volume XVII is also available through Amazon.com.

The Historical Publications section (www.ncpublications.com) is administered by the Office of Archives and History, part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, the state agency dedicated to the promotion and protection of North Carolina ’s arts, history and culture. Information is available at www.ncculture.com.

Busy

Ok – I’ll be honest, not much going on in my blogging world this week. I’ve edited the first three chapters of the 58th NCT book, and I’ve finished the final chapter. I have about a half a chapter of analysis to do to finish chapter 14. I thought I would edit through the rest of the book before I go back to finish chapter 14. So, I’m not going to have much time to blog this week. I will be at the Christmas in July event this Saturday in Jefferson in Ashe County. Not much else going on.

58th NCT update

Someone asked me the other day what my interest in the 58th North Carolina Troops was – did I have an ancestor in the regiment? No, I’m not a descendant of a soldier who served in the 58th NCT. I am distantly related to several of the men, like Lt. Col. William W. Proffitt (and any other Proffitts in the regiment), the Laws in Companies G and K, and the Hamptons in Companies C, M, and G. Distant as in those are cousins several times removed. So what interests me in their story? I guess it is their story, a story that needs to be told. Research into the lives of North Carolina regiments that served outside of the state, or outside of the Army of North Virginia, is woefully lacking. I hope to fill that hole with this book.

Also, I’ve had a couple of run-ins with different members of the regiment. No, I really don’t believe in ghosts, so let me explain. Growing up in central Florida, I used to traverse Palmer Avenue there in old Winter Park. The road goes over Palmer Creek. Little did I know then that what I know now: that Palmer Avenue and Palmer Creek are named for Colonel John B. Palmer of the 58th NCT. Since 2001, I have lived four or five miles from where Colonel Palmer lived from 1858 until 1864. So twice in my life I have lived close to where Colonel Palmer lived. Of course, I hope this trend does not continue. I have no desire to live in Detroit, or Columbia, or even upstate New York.

At a re-enactment once I got to meet and talk to the granddaughter of General Westmoreland (I don’t even remember her name – sorry, Dear!). That would be William Childs Westmoreland. The young John Eben Childs of Company H of the 58th, the one killed at the battle of Chickamauga, was Westmoreland’s great-uncle (I think I have that right).

I also got a chance to meet Clayton Stamey six or seven years ago. Clayton was the son of Elias Stamey, a member of Company A of the 58th North Carolina. He was a little over 100 years old when I met him. Clayton was in an old folks home in Marion, and I talked with him for about half a hour about his dad and even Colonel Palmer. The Palmers and the Stameys were neighbors. The chance to sit down and talk to someone whose dad was a Confederate (or Union) soldier is almost gone.

There is not time nor space to make mention of all of the great descendants of members of the 58th NCT that I have run into over the years. They have told me their family stories, and on occasion, allowed me to hold artifacts that their family has passed down since the War. It is an incredible honor to be the person to have chronicled the story of the 58th NCT.

So maybe I should give you an update on the project. I’ve decided to include two more chapters. These chapters were originally going to be a part of the appendix, but I have decided to bump them up into the chapter area. Chapter 14 will provide an overview of the regiment, its strengths and its weaknesses, namely desertion. I’ll compare the regiment to other regiments and talk about why desertion was such a problem. I could never really find a place to work this into the chronological history of the 58th NCT that I have written. This chapter has been started, and should not be too long. The last chapter, Chapter 15, is entitled “Looking for the Fifty-eighth Today” and is a brief look at some of the places the Fifty-eighth North Carolina fought during the war. This chapter is maybe 2/3 finished, maybe a little more. The entire project should come in at around 130,000 words. For those who have my book on the 37th NCT, that project was 150,000 words.

So, that is where I am – trying to finish these last two chapters and trying to go back through and integrate some materials that I did not have I wrote earlier chapters. Then the big edit starts, maybe the first of next week.

A look around the Old North State

Not much going on in the news as of late pertaining to North Carolina the War. Here are a couple of articles that I did find.

There is an article on WARL.com about a dive on what’s left of the USS Monitor, which sank off Hatteras in 1862. The turret of the Monitor was raised a couple of years again, and is now being conserved. Check out the article here.

There is an article in the Mooresville Tribune about the placing of a VA grave marker on the grave of a prominent Statesville lawyer and militia officer. The man’s name was E. Haynes Davis. I didn’t think militia officers were eligible for government markers. Check out the article here.

NC regiment question

I come up with 2,021 men in the 58th NCT. Does anyone have a larger North Carolina regiment?

Email me (mchardy@michaelchardy.com) or post a comment. Thanks.

58th NCT update

I’m bothered. Bothered that a copy of Maj. George W. F. Harper’s parole is not in his Compiled Service Record. It is undoubtedly clear that Harper was present. On May 1, Harper confides in his diary “Brigade paroled and preparations made to march home…” He writes on May 2 “A.M. Reg’t. recv’d. paroles and packed up…”

It is not so much that Harper’s parole is not there. What bothers me is this: how many other men from the 58th NCT were present to receive their paroles but have slipped through the cracks like Harper? How many of those that are listed as “No further record” after August 31, 1864, were present on May 2, 1865, to receive their paroles?

I’m just bothered… I don’t like so many loose ends.