Civil War

Juxtaposition

Before he was President Abraham Lincoln was a lawyer for almost twenty five years. Which is not bad considering that when he started he had very little formal education and it was not until an attorney in New Salem, John Stuart, encouraged him and lent him books that started him on that path in 1834. Three years later Lincoln was admitted to the bar and in 1837 he moved to Springfield to join Stuart as a partner.

His law career was wide a varied. Riding the Illinois circuit court, arguing in front of the Illinois Supreme Court. He took cases ranging from murders to runaway slaves he was actually a very successful and well thought of lawyer. Heck, he even gave oral arguments in a case in front of the US Supreme Court.

So what does that have to do with the picture above? Well that photo was taken in the Lincoln Home National Historic Site which is the house he and his family lived in during their years in Springfield. That desk that you see there is the original one that has survived all this time and sits in Lincolns bedroom on the second floor.

Many days he would work late at the law office and then take his work home where he would continue working or reading at that tiny desk above until all hours of the night. And by tiny, I mean tiny. Do you think you would be comfortable spending hours at that desk? This may be a good time to point out that Lincoln was 6′ 4″. I bet that when he sat at that desk his knee’s were up over his ears. Big man, tiny desk, juxtaposition achieved!

Civil War

The 54th Massachusetts

The 54th Massachusetts

54th Massachusetts

The 54th Massachusetts is one of the most famous units in the Federal army during the Civil War. It was one of the first volunteer African-American regiments that was raised by the North in the wake of the Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in 1862. There is a good chance that you may have seen the movie Glory with Matthew Broderick, Morgan Freeman and many others. That was their story. The painting above was done by Keith Rocco and portrays the units disastrous assault on the Confederate Fort Wagner in South Carolina.

There was no shortage of black men that  volunteered for the regiment, all wanting to do their part for the cause of freedom. Of course it was thought by many in the Army and the civilian leadership that these men were in capable of leadership on their own and many questioned their ability to actually fight.

So the men were given white officers to lead them and were mostly used for grunt work and manual labor. Even when the finally were deployed to the fighting they found that discrimination followed them into the fight. It took the sheer willpower of their commander, Col. Robert Gould Shaw to convince his superiors that his men could fight and they were given the chance.

In July 18th, 1863 the were chosen to lead the attack on Ft. Wagner a tough and as of yet unconquered part of the Confederacy. They were tired, they were hungry and they were tired, but they crossed the sandy beaches in front of the fort under fire and made their way to the walls. But they failed, the attack was stopped and the 54th suffered major casualties including Shaw. They stayed in the shadow of the wall waiting for reinforcements that would never come. The most important thing was they fought hard and brave and did not retreat. They set the standard for African-American troops and proved that given the chance they would fight.

Vietnam

Fire Support Base in Vietnam

Firebase Alpha

The Fire Support Base in Vietnam

 

During the Vietnam War there were times when enemy action was likely to occur outside the range of the artillery from the permanent established bases in the interior. So what the military did was build a series of smaller, cookie cutter bases that became known as a Fire Support Base.

These bases were basically smaller versions of the full size bases, but could be placed quickly and anywhere that helicopters could reach. The general make up of a base would include a battery of six 105 or 155 millimeter howitzers (like those in the photo above), at least two helicopter landing pads, a platoon of engineers and troops to support and defend the installation.

Originally the fire base design was to be highly mobile and moved every couple of days as a security feature. Towards the end of the war however they became very reminiscent of the frontier forts becoming permanent installations.

The main purpose of these bases came down to providing artillery support to the soldiers in the field. This was one of the major advantages that the US had in the war and proved to be the turning pint of many battles. As such these bases were constantly under attack. Click Here to see actual footage of an attack on Firebase Jerry. The attack occurred while the press were on location doing interviews. Thanks to the user who posted it.

The following is a recollection from William Hatfield who also provided the picture above. “After being out in the bush for a long period of time, finding your way back to a fire base was something of a mixed blessing. Hot food, a place to sleep and some big guns that could really pack a punch. On the other hand you were walking into a target, someplace that was almost guaranteed to be hit at least once while you were there. It was a trade-off.”

Hardware

Grease Gun Is The Word

Grease Gun

Grease Gun Is The Word

 

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.

American Revolution

December 31st 1775 The Attack on Quebec

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?

War of 1812

December 24th 1814 The Treaty Of Ghent Was Signed

The War of 1812 is an interesting and sometimes confounding conflict in American history.

From the American side the wars was fought over three things:

The English economic blockade of France was making it difficult for the US merchants to ply their trade, even though the US was a neutral party in the conflict. Often the British would stop, search and seize neutral vessels that it saw as providing support to the French. This disrespect of neutral merchants lead to much animosity between the US and Britain.

Second was the British Navy’s policy if impressment of American sailors. A better term may be kidnapping. When the American ships were stopped and searched occasionally sailors would be taken from he ships and forced to join the British navy.  So close to the end of the Revolution it was often difficult for the men to prove they were American citizens and not run away British sailors.

The third issue was based on the British continuing to support the hostile Indian tribes along the frontier, which often meant using the tribes to fight proxy wars against the United States.

After several years of fighting the war ended in what can only be called a stalemate, which for the Americans was pretty much all they could ask for. This was by far a political war that the US was not ready to fight and even though by the end it accounted itself well, had it gone on any longer the outcome may have been different.

On December 24, 1814 in the town of Ghent in Belgium the American and British commissioners signed the treaty ending the war.  All conquered land was returned to the original owners and a later commission was setup to formalize the US-Canada borders. Nowhere in the treaty were any of the original three complaints addressed.

 

Book Reviews

Book Review: For the Common Defense: A Military History of the United States of America

 

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.

Vietnam

Another Bad Day

If this is how your flight ended up, well you have had a bad day. This transport plane was shot down by a surface to air missile as it made its approach to the airfield.  Another ghost of the war in Vietnam.

According to the story told by US Navy Corpsman William Hatfield, who took this picture, this was the third plane shot down that week.  Unfortunately Hatfield was not able to document where the airfield was before passing. He did recall that when ever planes were coming in there was always a feeling of mixed emotions.  Often they would be bringing reinforcements and even supplies, two things that there was never enough of, but there was also a feeling of dread.

No matter how often they patrolled the perimeter or how well the area was “secured” every flight in and out was in danger. “Sometimes we would just watch as the missiles flew up towards the planes, wondering if they would make it or not,” he relayed in a 2012 interview.

“As soon as the missiles were in the air artillery would fire on the position and Marines would be sent. By the time anyone got there was never any sign of the VC (Viet Cong). They sure did have a system figured out.” Hatfield went on. In this case, to the best of his recollections the flight crew did not survive the attack. “It was always tough when is happened like that, as a corpsman I usually had to help with the casualties and recovery. Gunshots, shrapnel, grenades were all things you learned to deal with, but messes like this were just something else.”

Of course being determined to document what he could of his time “in country” once the debris was cleared he took the picture above.

Vietnam

A Bad Day at the Office (Tank)

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Don’t you hate when this happens?

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.

 

Book Reviews, Frontier

Book Review: History of the Second Seminole War, 1835-1842

A small band of native people holding off a force with superior numbers and technology. Fighting  in a dense jungle and swamp environment for what seems like forever. Sounds familiar? Well, that is one of the lessons taken from this book. John K. Mahon lays out the events of the Second Seminole War in a way that really lays out what was at stake.

Now to be honest, most people were never taught about the Seminole War, let alone the Second Seminole War and that is a shame as it sets the stage for the major conflicts that the US would be involved in for the next 100 plus years. This one dragged on for over seven years and was by no means a guaranteed US victory.

In his book Mahon breaks down the combatants of both sides trying to show what they were fighting for, but at the same time he engages in a level of military history that truly brings the war into a very keen focus. Mahon does not shy away from the atrocities that were committed by both sides or even the politics that exacerbated the conflict.

It would be cliché to say that this book brings to light a little known aspect of American history, but it is true nevertheless. Conflict between the Americans and the Natives was nothing new, but this conflict would become a template in the future. This book is well worth the read and could open up an entire new world to the reader.

People, Places and Things from US Military History

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