During the Civil War, shelter was one of the main concerns for the troops. Rain, cold, heat, any of the elements were just as deadly to the army as the guns of the enemy. The most basic level of shelter for the soldiers was the cotton tent.
For ease of transport the standard issue tent came in two halves with poles so that each man would be responsible for his half of the tent. Designed to be connected at the top, either through grommets or snaps, they would come with other options such as A-frames and front and back pieces.
The half tent in the picture belonged to a union soldier who took the time to inscribe his half of the tent with the battles and campaigns that he had participated in. He saw a lot of action and took part in most of the major engagements of the Atlanta campaign and looks to have actually been used during Sherman’s March to the Sea.
The New World was rich with resources which drew the interest of those in the Old World. For the Spanish Central and South America gave them gold, more gold than anyone ever thought existed. This gold fueled the Spanish Empire and caused the other nations in Europe to take notice.
France, England and The Netherlands looked upon North America with interest, some hoping to find the same gold that the Spanish found in the south, some hopping to find something even more valuable. One that they found, were beavers.
Yes, beaver, or more accurately their fur, spurred a gold rush of a different kind in North America and became a flash point for generations as France and England wrestled for control of the resource. The key though was relations with the Native Americans whose land this trade crisscrossed.
France looked upon the natives as partners in the endeavor, they did their best to treat them fairly and not subjugate them. Of course this was not purely altruistic. The French never colonized in the numbers that the British did and keeping on good terms with the natives was truly in their own self-interest,
The British took a slightly different view on the fur trade. They looked upon the natives as subjects and where the French were fairly free wheeling in their dealings, the English looked for a much more regimented structure and as their population grew, conflict with the natives and the French was inevitable.
And this all came on the back of the beaver and the incredible military uses that the little buggers provided. What? No military value? OK, then it must have been because of the beaver has a special gland that provides eternal life? No? Not that either huh? Yes, their fur was prized, and most of it went to the creation of hats. Yes, hats. The photo above shows a beaver pelt and the end product, a beaver pelt hat. A pelt and hat that would eventually lead to the founding of the United States of America.
WWI saw the advent of many aspects of war that we take for granted nowadays. Tanks, chemical weapons, machine guns and airplanes. For almost one hundred years now these have been part of most conflicts on the globe. The picture is a replica of one of the models that the Allies used. The Americans started using them in late 1917 and the model continued in use for various countries well in to the 1920’s.
The Spad S.VII pictured has a basic bi-plane design, the combination of the wings set low to give the aircraft maximum lift and stability, while giving the pilot the most possible visibility. The body was cloth and wood, powered by a V8 automobile engine that could get it up to about 140 MPH. Not much by today’s standards but that was literally flying back then.
The Spad was armed with a single .303 Vickers machine gun that was synced to be able to fire through the propeller. The gun was mounted on top of the engine compartment and placed so that pilot would be able to clear jams without much difficulty, as they were prone to occur.
Armed with 189 of these fighters, the United States Amer Air Service began it mission in Germany, using some of these planes as front line units, but alas as trainers for the new version that was to be released shortly.
Even though they came late to the fight, tools such as the Spad VII were among those used by the US to turn the tide of the war, or at least break the tie, depending on who you ask.
M3 .45 Caliber machine gun entered the service of the US Army in December 1942 with the idea that it would eventually replace the Thompson sub-machine gun on the front lines of WWII. Picking up the nickname “Grease Gun” from the similarities to the actual Grease Gun used by mechanics. The design was based on the very effective German MP40 and British Sten.
With a fairly long service record, 1942 up till 1992 in the United States, the M3 and the revised version the M3A1. The design was such that it was meant to be disposable, if it jammed or broke, it was tossed. In fact when it was first put into service there were no provisions made for spare parts at the depots, no specific tools for work on the unit and eventually this became in issue as production could not keep up with the demand. Finally in 1944 a number of replacement parts were produced to keep the grease gun greasing.
Even with approximately 700,000 were produced during WWII it was never able to actually replace the Thompson which topped over 1.5 million. While the US was still using it until the Gulf War the M3 and its variants have seen service with a number of countries and a fair number of conflicts, among the highlights were the Chinese Civil War, Korean War, The Bay of Pigs Invasion, Vietnam, The Falklands and then the Gulf War. In fact as late as 2004 the Philippine military brought the M3 out of reserve due to the inexpensive nature of the unit.
Henry Bryan Hall, Sr. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Yes that is Benedict Arnold the most notorious traitor in the history of this country. It is easy to forget that up until his fatal turn, he was among the best, if not the best general in the Continental Army.
He was bold and brash, outspoken and head strong with a sense of personal honor that caused him to go against what many would call common sense. He clashed with fellow officers and dueled with the Continental Congress. But the men that served under him did so gladly and followed him into battle. The enemy that he would one day join feared him on the field.
Two hundred forty years ago today Benedict Arnold and General Richard Montgomery led the assault against Quebec which had it succeeded may well have made Canada a part of the United States.
Though early in the war the strategic location of Canada proved a target that the colonies simply had to try to exploit, While the bulk of the nascent colonial forces were engaged with the British around Boston, two expeditions were sent to Canada. General Montgomery would go up the Hudson River to take Montreal and General Arnold would lead an expedition through the wilds of Maine (Then part of Massachusetts) to take Quebec and secure Canada.
The story of these campaigns is worth reading and studying on their own, but on New Years Eve, 1775 with Montreal subdued and Quebec under siege the combined forces of Montgomery and Arnold looked to take the city and perhaps end the war.
Of course the assault failed or history would have been different. Within moments of the battle opening Montgomery lay dead and Arnold wounded, the men that stayed and fought did so without much guidance and failed in their objectives. The city would not fall and many Americans would be killed or captured. Arnold, though recovering from his wounds would maintain the siege until the spring when British reinforcements arrived and eventually forced the Colonial troops from Canada. The last american to leave was Arnold who could only be left asking what if that fated assault on that New Years Eve had succeed. Maybe he would have still been considered a hero today?
For The Common Defense by Millet and Maslowski tells the story of American History focusing on the military struggles of the country from the early days of the original colonies to modern times. It is a long book, clocking in at over 700 pages but it tells the story well and from a number of perspectives.
It is described by some as a non-political telling of the constant struggle that the military has had in not only defending but expanding the country over the centuries. Its strength is in the narrative which with a subject like this could easily fall into a passionate recital of facts and figures, this book does not do that. In fact one of the biggest strengths is that it shows how regardless of the time or political climate the challenges of the military have pretty much been the same even and that even as technology and borders changed the military continually rises to the challenge as best it can.
This book would be classified as a good baseline and most useful as a general overview. Considering the scope of the subject it does not dwell deep into any one particular war or era. That is not a knock just something to keep in mind. All in all a very good book that covers its subject well and is a great addition to any library.
This photo was taken by William Hatfield during one of his three tours in Vietnam. Serving a US Naval Hospital Corpsman he spent most of his time in country serving as a medic attached to various Marine units.
The story behind this photo is one that is both amazing and a little scary. This is how is was related to me:
US forces would use mines to block off certain approaches to villages that were considered “non-pacified”. On occasion once the mines were deployed. The Vietcong would use the villages children at night to go out and move the mines, making it very hard for the US troops coming in the next day. The children became particularly adept at this sort of maneuver.
The next morning as the Marines approached the village they would be meet by the children and in exchange for candy, would show them where the mines had been moved to. This sort of arrangement usually worked out very well.
On the morning that the picture above was taken the same scenario played out, except one of the children did not make it out in time to conduct their business. When you aren’t sure if all the mines are out of the way you tend to be cautions. When you are in a tank, that caution slackens a bit. As expected, the tank found the mine and had a tread blown off, leading to the picture you see where the tank is being towed.
What you don’t see in the picture is that sitting on top of the tank at the time was a young Mr. Hatfield who, along with some squad-mates, decided to take the ride instead of the long walk into the village. When the mine exploded Hatfield and his squad were blown off the tank suffering shrapnel wounds all around.
Being the Corpsman, Hatfield treated the other wounded men before himself and as a result, everyone survived. By the time the other Corpsman had shown up Hatfield was weak from loss of blood, but still had the presence of mind to take the photo above. He was awarded the Purple Heart for this adventure.
Above we have the North Carolina monument at Gettysburg National Military Park. A monument to the bravery and tenacity of the men from North Carolina that fought in the field for the state and for the Confederacy.
The history of Confederate monuments is fascinating as for many years they were discouraged completely and it was not until much later that they started to appear. Hard feelings and lack of money kept many Southern states from being able to build the monuments. As such there are far more monuments to the Union troops than the Confederates, which makes sense because the battle was a Union victory and occurred in the North.
The North Carolina monument was dedicated on July 3, 1929. (Interestingly enough the Texas monument was not dedicated until 1982.) To the side of the monument is erected a stone tablet with the following inscription:
1863 North Carolina
To the eternal glory of the North Carolina
soldiers. Who on this battlefield displayed
heroism unsurpassed sacrificing all in sup-
port of their cause. Their valorous deeds
will be enshrined in the hearts of men long
after these transient memorials have crum-
bled into dust.
Thirty two North Carolina regiments were in
action at Gettysburg July 1,2,3, 1863. One Con-
federate soldier in every four who fell here
was a North Carolinian.
This tablet erected by the North Carolina Division United Daughters of the Confederacy.
Over 14,000 men of North Carolina were a part of the Army of Northern Virginia, only Virginia provided more men. During the battle NC lost almost 6,000 men or almost 40% of those that took part in the battle. As stated on the tablet over one-quarter of all Confederate casualties these three days came from North Carolina.
We will look at some more of the monuments in the days to come.
So with the first post, I give you a view of my personal Museum. Here I collect artifacts, items of interest and knowledge. You are seeing three sections here. On the left is the American Revolution, the center is the American Civil War, the right is Napoleon and the French Revolution. There are more sections, by why give up the good stuff on the first date?
As the weeks progress we will look at some pieces of this collection as well as pieces from other museums and historic sites I have visited.
Besides artifacts we will also meet some lesser-known people in history. Sort of the B level that you may heave heard about, but could always stand to know a little bit more of.
And Maps, I love maps, especially of battles. You will see a fair share of those.
Don’t worry, my posts will be kept reasonable, no more than 250-500 words. Soon I hope to open this up for other contributors, but for today and the near future, welcome to the museum section of Historia Militaris.
People, Places and Things from US Military History
