Civil War

We Need More Men…

Recruiting Posters Looking for more Men.

We Need More Men…

 

Prior to April 1861 the United States Army numbered around 16,000.  Of the 197 companies that compromised that army 179 were posted on the frontier in the West, the remainder stood guard on the Mississippi River, the long border with Canada and along the east coast.

As tensions between the North and South started to rise things in the army got tense. Oddly enough no steps were taken to prepare for the war that was to come. Many people never believed that fighting would actually break out. Some thought that if it did it would be over quickly.

With Lincolns election and the secession of several Southern states,  it seemed that the hopes for a peaceful resolution were fading. Along with the rest of the country the regular army was torn asunder. Enlisted men and officers returned home to prepare for what was to come.

On the heels of the secession movement, President Lincoln put out a call for 75,000 volunteers to put down the “insurrection”. These men would serve for three months. Unfortunately this call for troops drove most of the remaining border states to join the Confederacy. As the cold war turned hot and it was obvious the three-month enlistments would not suffice. Lincoln put out another call for volunteers. This time for three years or the duration of the war.

At first men flocked to the banner and filling the quotas was not difficult to do. Before long the volunteers dried up.  Both sides would  resort to drafts to the fill the massive manpower requirements.  In the end almost 2.5 million men would serve in the army during the war. Over the course of the war almost 360,000 died and almost 300,000 wounded.

 

 

 

Civil War

The Union Officer In the Civil War

 

The desk above was one of the nerve centers of the Union Army. From here the officers would write their orders to their men, read the correspondence from men above and below their ranks and basically conduct the war.  These simple boxes would be carried on a wagon and placed on a table when the unit stopped for the night and the commander was ready to work until all hours.

When the Civil War started the entire United State Army was about 15,000 men, most of which were posted out west. Of those were about 1,000 officers. Out of those about 140 would actually become generals during the course of the war. These officers were considered “regular army” and  often found themselves in conflict with another group of officers.

When President Lincoln put out his call for troops from the States in 1861 the states that remained in the Union called up their militia units and put them at he disposal of the Federal government.  Officers at the regimental level and above were appointed by the governor. These men and officers of the militia were considered separate from the regular army and carried the designation “volunteers”.

Interestingly enough some officers would actually hold two ranks. One if the regular US Army and one in the Volunteer Army. This was due to the use of the “brevet” system, basically a temporary or honorary promotion to a superior rank.  For example, you may be a captain of a regular regiment, but for a specific campaign and due to good service you are “breveted” to colonel of volunteers so that you could command more men. The regular army rank is always considered the superior of the two.

Interesting enough a number of Union officers were foreign nationals that came to fight in the war and even several Native Americans joined the officer corps. So when you look at that desk above you never know who may have sat there all you can say for sure is that the army was led by a wide variety of men from every walk of life,

Cold War, Modern

To the Moon…

A View from the Moon

To the Moon…

That is a picture of a picture that was made into a mural on the wall at the Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan. While this may not fit directly into the Military History theme of the blog, it does fit around the edges.

The race to moon started as far back as the first time that someone looked up and say it hanging in the sky, and wondered “I wonder what’s up there?” Early Science Fiction writers came up with many different scenarios of what is there and how we can find out. It was not until the chaos of WWII that the idea finally looked like it would be a reality.

Above is a V2 from an earlier post. The first guided missile that the Germans used to effect against England. The German engineers that came up with that became one of the great prizes of WWII.  The Americans, British and Russians all looked to claim their brains. That race itself has had books written on them, so I won’t go into a lot of detail, to read more about it go here.

http://www.operationpaperclip.info/

The Great Race

And thus the ground work for the Space Race was laid. When the Russians launched Sputnik in 1957 the marathon became a sprint. The desire to reach the moon became a national obsession. President Kennedy made his famous challenge at Rice University in 1962. In the speech he explained why we had to go to the moon.

We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.

With those words a new gear was reached in the development of the technology that was needed to reach that goal. In 1969 with Apollo 11 we finally reached the moon and a new place in the human epoch.

 

Movie Reviews, Vietnam

Movie Review: We Were Soldiers

We Were Soldiers (2002) (BD) [Blu-ray]

 

 

Based on the book by Hal Moore this movie is the story of the 1965 battle at the La Drang Valley between the forces of the United States and the North Vietnamese Army. The movie follows then Lt. Colonel Moore, played by Mel Gibson, as he works to put together the first Air Calvary unit in the US Army and though its first combat deployment. To Moore the horse cavalry was made up of men that could be anywhere at any time and simply by trading out horses for helicopters his men could accomplish the same thing. Leading these men into a fight against the superior numbers of the NVA required men of the highest caliber and a leader that would not flinch. As wave after wave of helicopters brought in fresh troops and ammunition, and carried off the wounded Moore feels the weight of the task put in front of him.

This is one of the roles that Mel Gibson embodies best. Whether as Hal Moore, William Wallace or Benjamin Martin he plays the man who is up against the odds, but will never quite and never surrender. You feel the emotion as he sees his men die around him and sense his desire to fulfill one of his objectives to never leave a man behind on the field.

This movie is not all Mel Gibson though. Sam Elliott, Greg Kinnear, Barry Pepper, Madeline Stowe and Kerry Russel all bring a brace to their roles that makes this story worth watching again and again. The music and sound also put you in the heat of battle and the eerie stillness of the t as they await words of their loved ones fates.

There are however two areas where this movies does kind of drop the ball in my estimation. First is that this came out at a time where it was en vogue to show the perspective of the enemy in the conflict. I don;t have a problem with that in and of itself, but this movie tip toes to the line and then retreats back. It is almost like they want you to feel compassion for the NVA soldiers who are just fighting for their country, but don;t want to commit to making them full blown characters. The second area, and I feel a little bad even saying it, somes at the end. I am as much a patriot as the next guy, but you may find it a bit over the top. Maybe that was how the battle really ended, but I think it kind of undercut the stoic nature of the previous 70 minutes.

See it and judge for yourself, but even to this day I consider it in my top 10 war films. As always you can click the link to get your self a copy.

Book Reviews, Civil War

Book Review: City of Sedition: The History of New York City during the Civil War

In City of Sedition by John Strausbaugh the main character is the city of New York and the main setting is the Civil War. One of the things that drew me to this book was wanting to know more about the 1863 draft riots in the city and what led up to them. While that topic is covered very well this book goes a long way to provided a much richer and fuller history of the city and its role in not only the years leading up to the war, but its role during the conflict and in the country in general at the time.

Everything you would expect in a story about New York is there. Crooked politicians, war profiteering, immigrant struggles and possible out right treason at times. What makes this story so unique though is that by focusing on one city you get a new perspective on that city and what it contributed to the war effort. In the opening chapters the relationship between New York and the Southern states is laid plain, and the difficulty that was had balancing the commercial side of its identity with the growing abolitionist movement in the North in the Ante Bellum era. The commercial ties are the most dynamic as at one point after the South seceded there was actual talk of New York City itself leaving the Union in order to form a “neutral” entity. Pretty cool stuff.

It’s the little stories like that set this book a part and effective show how no other city in the country gave so much to the war effort, but also stood do strongly against it. The cast of characters is as wide and diverse as the city itself. Horace Greely, to Boss Tweed, Herman Mellville to Walt Whitman, Dan Sickles to Benjamin Butler all play wide and very roles in the drama. Never one does the book seemed bogged down, which in something so full of detail and heft would be easy to do.

This book is highly recommended and it doesn’t matter if you are a Civil War person or just find the history of New York City fascinating. there is plenty in this book to make it worthwhile and the author does a great job in guiding you through the alleys, churches and slums of the city. As always you can click on the cover image above to go right to the book on Amazon.

Museum

The Maine Thing

On February 18, 1898 the American battleship, USS Maine exploded in the harbor of Havana Cuba and catapulted the United States onto the world stage. Above is a photo of a porthole that was recovered from the wreckage and is on display at the National Infantry Museum.

Tensions between the US and Spain had been on the rise as the people of Cuba were fighting Spain for the freedom. America supported the rebels but was in such a position where they could not do so openly. In fact President McKinley sent the Maine to Havana, with permission from the Spanish government, to protect Americans in the country. When the ship inexplicably exploded that night over 200 American sailors lost their life and all any one could ask was why?

The initial investigation placed the cause for the explosion on a mine that had detonated underneath a powered magazine. When the results of the inquiry were made public, the American press immediately laid the blame on the Spanish and demanded that the US intervene in the rebellion on the side of Cuba. Before long the fervor for war grew and led to Congress declaring war on Spain on April 23, 1898. The war itself did not last long, Spain had long been on the decline and none of the other powers felt compelled to help. Before long the US Navy had all but obliterated the Spanish Navy while the ground forces took Cuba and the Philippines, among others.

Several years later, a follow-up inquiry into the fate of the Maine, contradicted the mine findings and instead suggested that the cause of the explosion was spontaneous combustion inside the power magazine. Even today the actual cause of the explosion is debated and serves as fodder for conspiracy theorists. It does seem mighty convenient that such an event occurred just when the desire to create and American Empire at the expense of a dying European power seemed the most, opportune.

To read more about the Maine click here.

 

Frontier

Abraham Lincoln Indian Fighter

In the Spring of 1832 the native leader Black Hawk led about 1,000 members of his tribe across the Mississippi River and into Illinois. A series of bad treaties and broken promises drove him on a quest to retake his tribes ancestral lands. There was only one thing standing in his way… Abraham Lincoln. OK, that may be a little too dramatic.

Once Black Hawk crossed the river Lincoln and other men in the area formed a militia company to stem the threat. Once enough men had gathered at the Beardstown Muster they set out to elect a Captain. The choice came down to Lincoln and William Kirkpatrick, Lincoln won over three-fourths of the vote and commissioned as captain in the 31st Regiment of Militia of Sangamon County.

Through out April and May Captain Lincoln led his troops on some very scenic marches through the back woods and trails. They would march. Camp. Draw provisions. March. Camp. Etc. The one thing they didn’t do during that time was fight. They did however find themselves drawn into the aftermath of battle at Stillman’s Runs where his men helped to bury the scalped and mutilated corpses. Though this was the closest he ever came to actual combat, the experience stayed with him through out his life.

On May 27th, having done more marching, eating and camping, his unit was mustered out of the service and hung up his captain’s commission. The next day May 28, he enlisted as a private in a another company.  His unit spent several weeks marching, camping and eating and on June 16 the unit was mustered out of the service and Lincoln was once again a civilian.

Until the next day when he enlisted in yet another company, found himself again in the aftermath of a battle on cleanup duty, and on July 10th mustered out for the last time. Later on Lincoln would explain this period of his life to his law partner, “I was out of work and there being no danger of more fighting, I could do nothing better than enlist again.”

In just about three months of active military service Lincoln fought in no battles, served in three units, was a private and a captain and helped bury the dead in the wake of two fights. Not a very auspicious time of service, but for sure it had an effect later on when he found himself Commander In Chief of the entire US military!

 

Civil War

The Grand Army of the Republic

The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization founded by members of the Union Army that served in the Civil War.  It was founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois and at its height would have hundreds of chapters all across the United States.  (Yes, even in the South!).

They started as a social group but soon became one the first political advocacy groups in the country. By the time it was dissolved,  the organization had advocated for voting rights for black veterans, lobbying Congress for veteran pensions, creating the Memorial Day holiday and setting standards for patriotic  education. They of course dedicated and were responsible for many of the Civil War monuments in the country.

Mostly though it became a strong Republican voting block and with a membership in the 1890’s of almost 400,000, it wielded immense power. In fact since its founding five US Presidents were members of the organization: US Grant, Rutherford B Hayes, James Garfield, Benjamin Harrison and William McKinley.

Since membership was limited to those that actually served in the war eventually the organization reached a natural end. In 1956 the last  living member (Albert Woolson of Minnesota) passed and the organization was dissolved.  Its main roles were then undertaken by the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War that still runs today.

Vietnam

A Rifle and An Old War Story

The following story was relayed to me by my father, William Hatfield, whose personal photos of his time in Vietnam make up a chuck of this collection. I will do my best to tell the story as he relayed it, he did like to exaggerate sometimes but upon going through my photos and seeing the image above, well it just reminds me too much to not give it a try.

William “Bill” Hatfield went into the Navy right out of high school and after a very short stint in submarines he found himself in Corps school and a few short months later was sent to Vietnam as a US Navy Hospital Corpsmen serving with a Marine unit in country. The story goes as such.

Being a Corpsmen Bill carried a standard issue pistol, most likely a 9mm. Being medical personnel they were really not allowed to carry anything else according to the “rules of war”.  After a few weeks and several fire fights Bill asked one of the guys in his squad if he could teach him how to use the rifle, you know, just in case. Everyone sort of laughed and suggested that they had no issue with Bill knowing how to use the rifle, but before he could use one he needed to know how to clean it. Performing such maintenance on a firearm is important, but in the jungle it takes on another level of necessity. Bill agreed and underwent field classes on how to take apart, clean and reassemble the rifle as pictured above.

There was one problem. Bill had a hell of a time getting the rifle back together. It became a thing. Whenever the men were on patrol, during the breaks they would hand Bill a rifle and watch as he skillfully tore it down and leaned it like he had been doing it for years. When the time came to reassemble it though, he never had much luck.

One day his patrol entered a small village that was considered friendly and the men spread out to take a rest. Dutifully one of the men handed Bill a rifle who took a seat on the ground in front of small hut and started tearing the rifle down. Over his shoulder he noticed a small boy, five or six watching him very intently. Bill got the rifle apart and cleaned it, with the boy watching all the while. Before he could start the painful process of assembling the weapon he heard shouts coming from the other side of the village. Bill dropped the rifle parts and took off.

One of the Marines was trying to get up close and personal with one of the young ladies of the village and found himself on the wrong end of an irate father. No one was seriously hurt from the misunderstanding, but the Marine required a few stitches.  Bill realized he left his medkit back where he was sitting and headed back to get it. Upon reaching the hut he saw a sight that stayed with him the rest of his life.

The little boy was just finishing re-assembling the rifle like he had been doing it for years. Bill walked over and the young man handed the rifle to him smiling from ear to ear. he checked it out and everything looked good. he patted the kid on the head grabbed his medkit and went back to where the men were gathered.

When they saw Bill walk up with the re-assembled rifle some of the men started hooting and hollering.

“Doc finally put it back together!” His friend said.

Bill confidently held up the rifle and said, “Wasn’t hard at all!”

The image of the kid putting the rifle together when he couldn’t would stick with him. From that day on he never carried a rifle, cleaned a rifle or tried to put one back together.  He also never told anyone about the incident until well after he was home. Seeing that picture above always makes me smile and think about that story.

 

 

Civil War

William H. Carney, 54th Massachusetts Volunteers

 

William H. Carney of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteers was born a slave in Norfolk Virginia. His father was able to make good his escape and years later was able to purchase his family’s freedom. William spent the rest of his childhood in New Bedford Massachusetts and with the Civil War playing out in the background on February 17, 1863 he joined the 54th Massachusetts one of the first “colored” units in the Federal Army.

Colored troops had been used up to this point on both sides of the conflict, mainly as manual labor. For the North the question as to whether or not they could fight as well as white man was something openly discussed. When the 54th was formed men such as William were ready and desperate to fight but they were seen mainly as tokens. One of Williams compatriots in the 54th wrote the following, “There is not a man in the regiment that does not appreciate the dangers, and maybe ignoble death that awaits him if captured and when a thousand men are fighting for their very existence, who dare say them men wont fight determinedly?”

On 18 July 1863 the 54th  and William had their chance at Ft. Wagner in South Carolina. While the unit was devastated they proved themselves to many people that day. The question of whether they would fight was answered with blood and steel. William would survive the battle and finish his enlistment.

The picture above is of his uniform and shows a good idea of what the standard 1863 Federal uniforms looked like.

People, Places and Things from US Military History

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