~ Spirit of '61 ~ Lincoln insisted that the stars representing the states that have seceded remain so they can continue to be represented in our national flag. |
I think reenacting at the fort is a sort of pride for us who participate in the hobby, for it's our own way to help support the old structures; visitors pay a very nominal fee to see the 1860s come to life by way of living historians in buildings that housed original Civil War soldiers over 150 years ago. And I love that we do reenact on land that our ancestors were mustered in on..
I spent time taking pictures with my "stealth camera" at the event in the hope that they would tell a story of life - military and civilian - during the Civil War.
In addition to my photographs, I am using quotes from those who were there during this time of great division in our country to help accentuate the images.
Are you ready to go back?
Portal to the Past: looking through a stovepipe hole through time. |
Let's begin this journey by way of an excellent source book called 'Hardtack and Coffee - The Unwritten Story of Army Life' written by John
D. Billings and published not too long after the Civil War had ended. Billings served with the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War in both
Sickles' Third and Hancock's Second Corps, and was also Department Commander of
the Massachusetts Grand Army of the Republic.
One of the things Billings mentions is General Orders No. 4, from the very beginning of the War, where "many men had made valiant and well-disciplined peace soldiers, who, now that one of the real needs of a well organized militia was upon us, were not at all thirsty for further military glory. But pride stood in the way of their frankness. They were ashamed in this hour of their country's peril to withdraw from the militia, for they feared to face public opinion.The moment a man's declination for further service was made known, unless his reasons were of the very best, straight-way he was hooted at for his cowardice, and for a time his existence was made quite unpleasant in his own immediate neighborhood."
These men did not have any declination at all to fight...for fight they did! |
Meeting President Lincoln was an important event for Union soldiers.
Abraham Lincoln had a strong and almost mystical devotion to ordinary Americans. In his July 4, 1861 special message to Congress, Lincoln described the loyalty of “common soldiers… and common sailors” who “have successfully resisted the traitorous efforts of those, whose commands, but an honor before, they obeyed as absolute law. This is the patriotic instinct of the plain people. They understand without an argument, that destroying the government, which was made by Washington, means no good to them.”
"Mr.
Lincoln’s manner toward enlisted men with whom he occasionally met and talked, was always delightful in its bonhomie (geniality) and its absolute freedom from anything like condescension." |
"It was an interesting sight to see a column break up when the order came to halt, whether for rest or other reason...
...scattering to the sides of the road where the men would sit or lie down, lying back on their knapsacks if they had them, or stretching at full length on the ground." |
"Down in the mouth. Only paid a week ago and have not a cent now, having bluffed away all that I did not send home. I don't think I will play poker anymore." |
"The days could be one everlasting monotone: yesterday, today, and tomorrow." |
"For two long hours we were in the midst of this lead and iron hail, until two of our flag-bearers were shot down, and twenty-six bullet holes torn in our banner." |
"Our regiment drove the Yankees back at the point of the bayonet. It is an awful sight to see the wounded and the dead."
"You can form some idea of the terrible searching character of the (gun) fire, when I tell you that the very rabbits in their nests were killed by it." |
Next up is a bit of history too many are not aware of:
The
Allegheny Arsenal, established
in 1814, was an important supply and manufacturing center for the Union Army
during the Civil War, and the site of the single largest civilian disaster
during the war.
On
Wednesday, September 17, 1862, around 2 pm, the arsenal exploded. The explosion
shattered windows in the surrounding community and was heard in Pittsburgh,
over two miles away. At the sound of the first explosion, Col. John Symington,
Commander of the Arsenal, rushed from his quarters and made his way up the
hillside to the lab. As he approached, he heard the sound of a second
explosion, followed by a third.
The
most commonly held view of the cause of the explosion was that the metal shoe of
a horse had struck a spark which touched off loose powder in the roadway near
the lab, which then traveled up onto the porch where it set off several barrels
of gunpowder.
It
was speculated that it had been caused "by the leaking out of powder when
one of the barrels was being placed on the platform." In fact the problem
of leaking barrels seemed to be the one point of agreement among all the
witnesses. Alexander McBride, the Superintendent of the Lab, had repeatedly
complained that the powder shipped by Dupont and Company was delivered in defective
barrels with loose covers.
The
explosion at the Arsenal was overshadowed by the Battle of Antietam, which
occurred on the same day near the town of Sharpsburg, Maryland.
Encouraging young men to go off and fight was commonplace: "Just take your gun and go, for Ruth can drive the oxen, John, and I can use the hoe." |
And there you are...our time spent in the turmoil of the early 1860s in both the north and the south---with the military and the citizens. It may not be the largest of events, but that's part of its charm (though I do hope to see it grow a bit).
Many thanks must go to Tom Berlucchi and the Historic Fort Wayne Coalition, for they are the good folks who keep this gem up and running.
In fact, coming up soon in Passion for the Past will be another adventure at Fort Wayne...only I'll be going back a bit further in time - - to the good old colony days!
Stay tuned....
Until next time, see you in time.
Some of the text herein came from THIS site
Some of the text also came from the following books (with links):
Into the Tornado of War
From Fields of Fire and Glory
Time/Life - Tenting Tonight
Hardtack and Coffee - The Unwritten Story of Army Life
Into the Tornado of War
From Fields of Fire and Glory
Time/Life - Tenting Tonight
Hardtack and Coffee - The Unwritten Story of Army Life
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