Located in Atlanta Georgia is Oakland Cemetery. Like many cemeteries in the south, it contains a large number of Confederate graves. During the Battle of Atlanta, many hospitals were close to the cemetery. So naturally it became the last resting place for many soldiers. In fact, there are even several Union soldiers buried there.
Oakland has many fantastic memorials and a fair number of resting places for well-known people. For anyone interested in history the Confederate section is a must see. The one certain must-see is the monument in the picture. The Lion of the Confederacy. Sometimes known as the Lion of Atlanta.
It sits in the Confederate section and is dedicated to the almost 3,000 unknown Confederate dead buried among their brothers. Most were collected from the battlefield and various mass graves. Over time they were interred in Oakland Cemetery.
The sculpture was designed by T.M. Brady of Canton, Georgia. It strongly resembles a monument to the Swiss guards lost during the French Revolution, the Lion of Lucerne. The 30,000lb block of marble that the lion is carved from came from north Georgia. At the time (1894) it was the single largest block of granite quarried in North America. The quarry that provided the stone for the Lion was the same quarry that would provide the granite for the Lincoln Memorial.
That above is a glider of the model used by the Allied forces during D-Day. A glider, if you are not familiar, is a plane shaped vehicle that has no engines, is towed by another plane and when released, glides gently to the ground.
That is until you load it with infantrymen, equipment, and everything needed to confront the Nazi’s. At that point it basically becomes a rock that falls quickly and instead of the nice soft landing, generally becomes a controlled crash. Sounds terrible doesn’t it? Well, it was, but it served a really good purpose.
First of all, gliders once released from their tow plane are basically silent. No noise means they are more difficult to find in the sky and thus more difficult to shoot down. It also makes it harder to determine where the will land.
Second of all, the troops that were parachuted onto a battlefield, they would often scatter and be dispersed. This means that it would take longer to get them into the fight and time would be lost getting them organized. Coming in with a glider meant the troops would land in the place and in theory be ready to get into the fight. (If they survived the landing.)
Lastly, they were cheap. Most of the trips for these were one way, as many did not survive the experience. So they were made of the wood and cheaper materials, which meant the could be mass-produced cheap.
End of an Era
The end of WWII saw pretty much the end of gliders. The advent of helicopters pretty much replaced them for military use. Unlike gliders, helicopters can pick the troops back up after the battle is over. Today some special forces teams will use gliders for their missions, but pretty much the gliders were something that had its one specific moment in time.
This is the statue commemorating General Nathanael Green at the Guildford Courthouse National Battlefield.
Anything but Greene
Nathanael Green is one of those men that never made the top-tier in the history classes. Having died shortly after the war he never had the chance to take part in the founding or the early years of the republic. Still, he had such a huge impact in the execution of the war, and in his battles with Congress that we owe him a huge debt. He certainly was a Washington acolyte and Washington would always consider Greene one of his best. Even so far as to say that if anything ever happened to him, Greene would be his choice to replace him.
After the fall of Charleston in 1780 and the total defeat of General Gates at Camden later that year, the South looked lost and Washington knew of only one man who could save revolution in that region and he sent him with his prayers and little else.
The Natural
Greene was a natural at war. From the start he had a grasp of strategy that few in the fledgling Continental Army had and this served him well in the South. One example is his desire to know as much about the terrain as possible in the theater. Upon arriving in the region he immediately dispatched men to learn every river, every crossing, every trail and almost every tree and rock to the point where some locals even commented that he knew the area as if he had grown up there.
This knowledge would be invaluable to him during the “Race to the Dan” and would allow the army to stay in one piece. Green dove into the aspects of the guerrilla war in the theater and used it to his advantage, understand when a small strike could gain the same effect as a major battle, but he also knew when the rules could be broken, such as dividing his army when needed.
The Artist
When it comes to operational artistry Greene again showed a natural ability. The main forces in the south fought more of a war of maneuver. Whether it was Greene staying one step ahead of Cornwallis, or Cornwallis trying to catch Green. Both armies stayed constantly on the move.
It could almost be looked at like boxing; Green was against a stronger foe with more reach. He had to keep the army moving. Dancing as it were. Striking blows when he could and being careful to not get caught. Cornwallis knew that all he had to do was pin Greene down to a general engagement. Then the knockout would come. He was constantly outclassed and out maneuvered by Greene. In the classic underdog context, even when the battle was engaged at Guilford Courthouse, the British only won on points, held the field, but had to be helped out of the ring as Greene took the moral victory. In Greene’s own words, “”We fight, get beaten, rise, and fight again.”
The Bane of Cornwallis
So tenacious was Greene that General Cornwallis opted to move his army to Virginia, rather than face Green again. Eventually he would end up under siege in Yorktown and the war was won. Greene continued to fight in South Carolina. Constantly driving the British from the back country. Eventually only Charleston remained under their control. All of this without having won a single battle himself.
This pic was taken at Gettysburg in 2013 from Little Round Top. Looking to the center of the picture you will see a rock formation (you can make out the cars parked around it). That formation is known as Devils Den.
During the second day of the battle (June 1-3, 1863) this position changed hands several times and was used both for artillery and infantry. Once the Confederates had secured the position it was used heavily by snipers as it gave a great view of the Union positions on Little Round Top and some of the surrounding areas. We could literally talk for days about the actions that happened in and around Devils Den, but we come to this now for another reason.
You see when I was first studying the Civil War whenever I came across Gettysburg there was always Devils Den. It is not uncommon for certain places on the battlefield to take on names that denote certain “character”. Bloody Lane, The Peach Orchard, The Sunken Road. To students of the war those names immediately bring up images of the actions fought at those places. Devils Den though was different. That outcropping of rock was called Devils Den before the war.
Before the War
As early as 1856 the rocks were known for a large snake named the Devil. His home became known as the Devils Den. After the war the area was known by a few different variations of it until the original name stuck.
Now I know that sometimes tour guides like to embellish and tell stories, it’s part of the job. A little digging in the archives of the Gettysburg Times seems to collaborate at least a part of the story. In the Jan 23rd 1932 issue a brief paragraph relates a sighting of the famous snake in 1881, right where it had been known to be for at least a quarter of a century. Here is a link to the article. It is easy to forget these battles took place near homes and communities that had a history before the war.
In August 1846 Abraham Lincoln was elected to Congress as the Whig representative for his Illinois district and officially embarked on his national political career. When he took his seat in December 1847 he was a freshman representative he found himself in quite a quandary. Most of his supporters back home were supporters of the current Mexican-American War, Lincoln not so much.
While he was not outright opposed to the war he did question how it was being fought and the reasons why it was being fought. Sort of an early version of “I support the troops, but not the war” that has been all the rage the last twenty years by people in Washington. For Lincoln though one particular thing sort of stuck out to him. In most ways the Mexican War was fought over the disputed border between Texas, now a state, and Mexico. Tensions ran hot on both sides. It was not until a unit of the US Army was “bushwhacked’ by the Mexican Army on American soil did the war actually start-up. At least that was the story given by President Polk in 1846 when he asked Congress for a declaration of war.
Lincoln and The Spot
Lincoln decided to challenge the President’s version of events. He requested to be shown on a map the exact spot where the soldiers had been killed. The Spot Resolution, as it became known, was Lincoln’s first real taste of the national stage. It did not go over well. His own party sort of back away from any support for him. The Democrats accused him of being unpatriotic for questioning the President. The resolutions were tabled, never debated or voted upon. Lincoln only ended up serving one term in the House before retiring back to his law practice.
For the record it should be noted that the “spot” of the actual ambushed happened well inside the disputed area. So “technically” the attack happened on Mexican soil. Truth be told it was not the first, nor the last time the US went to war under questionable circumstances.
What I think makes it interesting is that it breaks down all the different flags you would see on a warship and what they mean. I’ll provide the definitions, the picture can give you an idea of what the flags look like. While this is showing US and Confederate examples, these should be pretty universal for the time.
The definition for the terms we are going to define will be based on what is provided at Sea Talk Nautical Dictionary. The are a free site that takes donations (what a great idea!) so feel free to visit and toss them a few bucks.
Ensign
In flag terms, the ships ensign is the flag of the nation that the ship is sailing under. Sometimes it is the same as the normal flag, but with nautical symbols (like anchors) or a slightly different design. Sometimes it is just a bigger version of the normal flag. It will be the biggest flag on a ship. From far away you will know who you are dealing with.
Jacks
The smaller flags, or jacks, usually flown on the front (bow) of a ship. Again, this is a national flag and where you will see some of the cooler designs.
Commission Pennant
This long streamer designates the ship as being “commissioned”, or on active duty. It is flies at all times. With the advent of professional navies, these pennants distinguish military ships from merchant ships. They remain a source of great pride among the navies of the world.
Officers Flag
Naval officers over the rank of Captain get to fly special flags that denote their rank. If you saw a ship flying one of these you would know immediately who was in charge. Interesting enough, if you ever have heard the term “Flag Officer” this is where it comes from.
The purpose of all of these flags was to provide as much information as possible. In a time of limited communication these visual cues were important That is of course assuming the ship is playing by the rules.
In April 1865 the Civil War ended and the time had come to try to rebuild the nation. For the victors in the North the times ahead would be difficult. In the South the struggles were to continue for many years. Reconstruction in many ways prolonged the conflict into the 1870’s. The story Reconstruction is long and difficult. Winners sought to punish and losers sought to protect some semblance of the life they had before. None can argue that what happened during that time would have been very different if President Lincoln had lived to see it through.
President Lincoln, in December 1863 set out the terms by which he expected the post war period to be. In his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction he laid out the future as he saw it, so sure was he at this pint of a victory, he began to plan the peace. Pictured above is a loyalty oath that each former Confederate soldier had to sign. They then had to to carry with them as proof that they were done fighting. See, under Lincolns plan, the men who fought were pardoned of treason and could be considered citizens again. To Lincoln the only way forward would be forgiveness.
The Oath
Below is the text of the Loyalty Oath from his original proclamation:
“I, , do solemnly swear, in presence of Almighty God, that I will henceforth faithfully support, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Union of the States thereunder; and that I will, in like manner, abide by and faithfully support all acts of congress passed during the existing rebellion with reference to slaves, so long and so far as not repealed, modified, or held void by congress, or by decision of the supreme court; and that I will, in like manner, abide by and faithfully support all proclamations of the President made during the existing rebellion having reference to slaves, so long and so far as not modified or declared void by decision of the supreme court. So help me God.”
This is the monument to Patrick Ferguson that was built at Kings Mountain. This stone does not mark where he fell, but where they moved the body sometime after. The battle at Kings Mountain October 7, 1780 has a sort of weird place in the annals of the American Revolution. It is on one hand perhaps one of the most important battles and victories of the patriots, but it is also one that not many people know about. Patrick Ferguson is sort of like that for the British. He was one of the their most important and talented commanders, but his name is usually not recognized by the layman.
The entire story of Ferguson is one that could fill a book on its own. From his creation of a breech-loading rifle, to the time he came one shot away from killing Washington and ended the war, his stories and the stuff of legend. No, we will look here briefly not at the start of his story but at his end here at Kings Mountain.
Kings Mountain
After the fall of Charleston in 1780, General Clinton gave Ferguson overall command of Loyalist troops in the region. With these troops, mainly light infantry, he was to go into the far reaches of the south and do what he could to prevent the rebels from coming back into power. He relished his role and set about it with fervor. Perhaps a little too much fervor.
He and his men went after the rebels with gusto, burning farms and threatening destruction to anyone that fought against the King. He was effective, but he also made a terrible estimation. In the far west of the region were the Overmountain Men. Frontiersmen that though mostly rebels, were more concerned with the natives that they seemed constantly at war with. Ferguson sent them a message that if they came back across the mountains, he would burn their farms and kill their families. They did not take kindly to that and set out to find Ferguson and put an end to his threats.
At Kings Mountain they found him. Ferguson fought well that day, rallying his men several times from their position on top of the mountain. In his red and white checkered hunting shirt, using a whistle to relay orders he seemed to be everywhere. Until he wasn’t. The loss of for the British was terrible. The left-wing of their army evaporated. One of their best commanders gone for good. Worst of all, the loyalists in South lost the will to fight,
When you see the headstone you can remember the man buried there. He earned that. That grave though does not just hold his body, but the British hopes of winning the war.
Above is an actual copy of the pamphlet Common Sense written by Thomas Paine in 1776 that is on display at Guilford Courthouse. Now, in history class you have all heard about Common Sense and that it helped the cause of the American Revolution. But how?
Tensions between the Colonies and Great Britain had grown more and more tense, starting with the end of the Seven Years War in 1763 and finally culminating in the first shots being fired in April of 1775 when the revolution went from political to all out war.
With initial rush of adrenaline that followed the opening shots and Lexington and Concord, the movement became a torrent of support. Volunteers came to fight, farmers gave up the crops to feed the troops and formed the Continental Army. Soon the British became bottled up in Boston. The siege began and went on into winter.
Once the war started however the rebels in the American Colonies had a fundamental issue that they all had to face how were they going to stand up to the greatest empires on the planet? How were they going to rally the people of the colonies to the cause? To win they needed the support of the people and they had to be able to explain to them what they were risking and why they were fighting.
Thomas Paine
Then came Thomas Paine and Common Sense. Up until this point the arguments for revolution had come from lawyers and doctors, academics and aristocrats. Paine however spoke to the people in common language. He showed them the stakes and what they might gain from the struggle. He put the revolution in terms that everyone could understand.
When published the people read Common Sense in taverns and at public gatherings. Washington had it read to all his troops. People purchased the pamphlet at an unmatched rate, even today. The colonies had a population of almost 3 million and almost 100,000 copies sold. To this day no other publication in the history of the country has reached that ratio. With the new understanding, the revolution found its footing and the people settled in for the long fight.
Paine donated all his royalties from the publication to the Continental Army. He then joined and became a chronicler of the cause. Later, after the horrible defeat in New York he would go on to write An American Crisis, once again saving the cause with his pen.
I encourage everyone to read it. You can get here from Project Gutenberg for free Click Here.
Colonial Williamsburg is an interesting place. During the day you are treated to a series of events that take you back to the town during the era of the revolution. These events begin at the start of the day and continue to the end. As the day progresses the timeline progresses so that during the course of one visit you can actually see how events changed the people in the town and actually “live” the events as they happened.
To break the fourth wall for a minute I need to say this. I have studied Benedict Arnold and he was a complicated man. He is at the same time our greatest warrior and our basest traitor. I do not condone his actions and prefer to remember him for what he did prior than dwell on what he did after.
After switching sides Arnold was given a general’s commission in the British army. In Late 1780 and into 1781 he was tasked with leading raids through Virginia which led to the capture of Richmond and Williamsburg among other towns.
The picture above, from Colonial Williamsburg is of the event that portrays General Arnold taking control of Williamsburg. The gentleman playing Arnold knew his craft. He portrayed Arnold as an angry, haughty man, one that truly believed he had done the right thing. To the point that he, as Arnold, railed against the American Congress and suggested we should be glad if the British were to win, as they looked to save us from that corrupt body. In his mind he had reasons for what he did, and the actor was brilliant in his role.
It could not or at least should not have been easy. Arnold was a complicated man. Standing in the crowed, watching the event take place brought about the mixture of emotions that can only come from the study of such a complex man. Had he died of his wounds after the battles in Saratoga in October 1777, he would have been our greatest hero, second only to Washington. But his path lay down a darker road.
People, Places and Things from US Military History
