Kent County, Maryland Confederates

Confederate Names are on the Southern side of the Monument

 

  In the beautiful colonial town of Chestertown, Maryland you will find this monument erected in the memory of the brave individuals who fought in the civil war. On the Southern side of the monument are listed the Confederates who served and on the Northern side of the monument are listed the Yankees that served. The monument was erected by Judge James Alfred Pearce, the son of Sentor James A Pearce. The younger Pearce was  2nd Lt in local military units. Unfortunately the Judge, though a Union man left off the 400 Kent Countians of African-American ancestry who served due to the prejudice of the times.    Below are the names of the Kent Countians who served:

 

Erected by James A. Pearce

June 1917

In commemoration of the Patriotism and valor of a once divided but now reunited Country  To the soldiers of Kent in the Confederate Army1861-1865

Capt Wm I Rasin, McCall M Rasin, Geo T. Hollyday, Sol Wright, Geo W Rolph, Lt H.C. Blackiston (killed Bunker Hill, VA), S.H.Blackiston, Jas A Kennard (killed at 1st Manasses), Thos H Gemmel (killed at Winchester, VA), J Chapman Spencer (killed Greenland Gap), Jas J Spear, DeWitt C Spear, Edwin W Spear, Rev Wm B Everett, Hugh M Wallis, Levi Perkins (killed Winchester, VA), Dr Wm H Lassell, Rev James T Lassell, Samuel J Kelly (wounded at 1st Manasses and died), John H Kennard, Wm T Wallis, H C Wallis, John E Sudler, Fred K Baker, B H Spencer, Geo M Beasten, Luther Handy, Harry McCoy, Robt H McCoy, Medford Hynson, Josiah L Dulaney, Jas S Price (killed Franklin, TN), Henry Willson, Samuel G Gleaves, Wm C Price (killed Appomattoc.VA), Benj C Vickers (killed Shiloh, TN), Ferdinand B Price

 

“Under the sod, the blue and gray waiting alike for Judgement Day”

 

Union Army visits Myrtle Grove

 

Myrtle Grove

 

 

During the summer of 1861, the Union Army spent much of it’s time on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Delaware disarming suspected “secesch” militia units and disloyal subjects. One of the places visited by the Yankees was Myrtle Grove.  Myrtle Grove on the Miles River Neck was the home of the prominent Goldsborough and Henry families. While the Union troops were searching for weapons, they heard of  the cannon kept at Myrtle Grove. The cannon had been a gift from Lt John Trippe who was related to the Goldsboroughs by marriage.  Lt. Trippe (1795-1810)   was a hero in the First Barbary War had served aboard the U.S. Vixen which was part of Commodore Preble’s squadron during the Tripoli campaign.  Badly wounded, Trippe was given a sword and a commendation by Congress for his actions. Bringing back the small brass cannon captured from the Barbary Coast Pirates as a trophy he gave it to his relatives in Talbot County. For years this small cannon was used as a lawn ornament by the owners of Myrtle Grove.  Now with Martial Law in effect, the Union Army showed up and siezed the cannon and carted it off to Ft. McHenry. The Republicans could now feel safe that this memento from a Patriotic Marylander was taken away. Years later after many petitions by the Goldsborough and Henry families the cannon was returned.  Local legend states that the family may fire the cannon for Robert E. Lee’s birthday. I don’t know if that ever happened!

Grace the Maryland Confederate

  

 

On July 3rd, 1863 the Maryland Confederate Infantry charged the Union lines at Culp’s Hill with their dog named Grace.  This horrific battle would see the Maryland Confederates suffer close to a 50% casualty rate.  Colonel Wallace of the opposing 1st Maryland Eastern Shore Regiment U.S. said ” The 1st Maryland Confederate Regiment met us  and were cut to pieces. We Sorrowfully gathered up many old friends and acquaintances and had them carefully and tenderly cared for.”  Sadly killed in the action was Grace the loyal mascot of the Maryland Confederates.  Union General Thomas Kane said “(S)He licked someone’s hand, they said, after (S)He was perfectly riddled.”    Kane had Grace buried properly “as the only Christian minded being on either side.”

The above picture is a Don Troiani print I own called Band of Brothers. If you look closely to the left center of the picture you will see the gallant Grace urging her men on.

“To The Talbot Boys 1861-1865″

 

 

My post today is about the Confederate monument on the green of the Talbot County Courthouse in Easton, Maryland. The monument was made by the W.H. Mullins Co. in Salem, Ohio with John Segesman being the chief Sculptor.  The monument was dedicated in May of 1916 by the Charles Winder camp of the United Confederate Veterans. Below is a list of the brave boys from Talbot County on the statue  who wore the gray:

Admiral Franklin Buchanan, Brig. Gen Lloyd Tilghman, Brig. Gen Charles S. Winder, Col A.B. Hardcastle, Col. Chas.E. Sears, Capt. Oswald Tilghman, Lt Wm. R Byus, Lt John Leeds Tilghman, Stanley M Byus, Chas. Byus, I. James Blunt, Robt. H Clough, Robert Alex. Dawson, Levin G. Dawson, Robert M. Dawson, Wm. Thomas Ewing, Wm C. Gibson, Fayette Gibson, Edward Gibson, Samuel T. Glenn, Jas. K Harper, Wm. R. Hardcastle, Alex. Rigby Hopkins, Robt. C. Jones, Capt, Jno W. Bennett, Edw. LL. Bracco, Seth Calvert, D. Rich D. Cheezum, Thos. E Cryer, W. Elveno Dickinson,  Chas. H Eckhart, Thos. J. Edgar, Frank M. Fairbank, Solomon Fletcher, Lt. Robert H. Goldsborough, William Grace, Jas. P. Hambleton, Theodore Lockerman, Robert Lee, Maj. A.C.C. Thompson, Benj. F Lane, John N. Lane, William E. Lowe, Wrightson L. Lowe, John N.S. Martin, Wrightson McMahan, Percolus M. Moore, Josiah Noble, Alfred C. Price, James H. Price, Michael Quinn, Geo. Redmond, William S. Winder, Anthony P. Ross, James M. Tharp, Tench F. Tilghman, Richard C. Tilghman, Theophilus Tunis, John O.Tunis, Edwin S. Valliant, George E. Valliant, Chas. T Lloyd, Daniel Lloyd, WM. H. Lyons, Wm. T. Loveday, John W. McDaniel, Augustus Moore, Alexander Murray, Thomas H. Oliver, J.Roussy Plater, Wm. J. Porter, James Reddie, Jos. Ridgaway, Edward Roberts, John K. Shanahan, Louis Slaughter, John R. Thomas, Thos. Rigby Valliant, George Todd, John G. White, Charles N. Willis, Thomas E. Willis.

Confederate Veterans who were residents of Talbot County after the war:

Henry Hollyday, Louis W. Trail, Maj E.W.Stewart, Chas. E Henderson, George Edmunds, Harmon K. George, Burton S. Highley, Chris G. Lynch, John P. Berry, Andrew Wilson, James Bryan.

Sorry

 Sorry for the downtime, I’ve had some pressing things at work. I’ve  got some articles planned, so please stay tuned.

It never ceases to amaze me…..

I was at work the other day and a elderly lady (early 70’s) looks at my name tag and asks if I’m related to anyone of the same name from her home area which is the Northern Neck of Virginia. Since my surname family came in the Tidewater region of Maryland and Virginia in the 1630’s I told her it was likely. We then proceeded to talk about genealogy and history. I told her of my interest in the Civil War and that I collect civil war books.  She was a from a little town in Virginia not far from Robert E. Lee’s birthplace. I exclaimed that Lee and I almost had the same birthdate and he was one of my favorite Generals. Her eyes glazed over and she told me ” I love that man”! The way she said it was like your mom would talk about the singer Tom Jones. She then said she has a picture of Lee hanging over her fireplace that has been in the family for years. I wanted to ask if she had any ancestor’s that fought, but unfortunately her daughter didn’t share her mom’s interest in the civil war or Marse Robert and  encouraged her mom to “move along” to finish their christmas shopping.  She thanked me for the talk and hurried along to finish her contribution to capitalism. But it was still fun for one moment to recognize that even afterLee died almost 140 years ago, he’s still loved and worshiped……If I could only be so lucky!

Remembrance Day 2006

I visited Gettysburg recently and took in the Remembrance Day parade. I was a re-enactor for most of the 125th Anniversary events and really came away with an appreciation for the the civil war soldier and Napoleaonic tatics. However one thing I noticed was the small amount of younger people re-enacting. Seems like the ranks of soldiers has gotten grayer and heavier than I remembered when I wore the Gray. After the parade, I was able to do a little book shopping which was nice since I missed all the Civil War shows due to a job change.  I’ve already warned my better half that we’ll be making a trip to Broadfoot Publishing’s used book outlet in Wendell, North Carolina soon. If you’ve never had the chance to visit Ms. Jean at Broadfoot’s….well you don’t know what your missing. Only about 30 minute’s off of Rt. 95, I usually hit this treasure trove for civil war books when I’m on my way back from Florida. There are thousands of books, many at half price. I often see other civil war book dealers buying there. So if your a civil war book nut like me, save some money by stopping in and say hi to Ms. Jean for me!

New Website in town!

Eric Wittenberg who has the only Civil War website I haunt, CWDG online, now has started a website for fans of the American Revolution… http://rev-war.com/index.php . Now I have a place to spend more of my time and cause me to not finish my “Honeydo” lists!  While I will always put the Civil War as my passion, I also have an interest in the Revolutionary War. The only problem I see with the new site is my favorite Brit is a moderator. Mark Peters will probably extract some revenge on us “Colonials”. Mark will be able to help us understand the war from the British perspective. Mark was expressing his opinion that we shouldn’t have won the war. I agree with that statement and will take it one farther. The Confederates had a better chance of winning the Civil War than we had of winning our freedom in the Revolutionary War. Head on over to Eric’s new site and bring your opinions!

The Civil War Community

I appreciate the warm welcome from all the Civil War Bloggers. That’s what I really enjoy about the Civil War Hobby. The general disregard for people who are ”full of themselves” makes this a pleasant diversion from the rest of the world. I’ve been fortunate to meet many authors and historians over the years and have always been treated kindly. Try asking your favorite athlete a question or for his autograph.  Thanks also for all the adds to your Links. As I figure this Blog out, my site will definately improve….so please have patience.

5th Regiment Maryland National Guard in Philadelphia 1870

The 5th Regiment MNG is one of the oldest Regiments in the United States. Founded on December 3rd, 1774, the 5th went on to distinguish itself in the Revolutionary War as well as the the War of 1812. The 5th was called the “Dandy 5th” because they were one of the best dressed and drilled regiments in the Country at the outstart of the Civi War. Being a border state, there obviously were factions supporting both sides of the war effort. Since Baltimore is a Southern city, a large portion of the men headed South to serve the Southern cause. Serving in many units, former members of the 5th fought and died gallantly during the war.  After the war in 1867, due to political unrest at election stations the unit was re-united with many men who fought in the war on both sides. Since the ranks were swelled with so many ex-Confederates, the unit was thought to be Disloyal by it’s Northern neighbors.  In 1870, the unit was to attend an encampment in Cape May, New Jersey and had to pass through Philapelphia along with the 7th New York.  A local paper, the Evening Bulletin on July 13th 1870 reported…..”A regiment of Rebel volunteers from Baltimore, notorious for it’s active participation in the effort to destroy the Union, prominent as a part of that infamous conspiracy which threw Baltimore as a threatening obstacle in the pathway to Washington, is going to Cape May, and must needs to pass through Philadelphia.  It is composed of men whose traitorous enmity cost the lives of the brave men of the 6th Massachusetts, who fell, pro-martyrs, in the streets of Baltiumore, and that compelled the first perilous and laborious march of the Seventh New York to Washington. And now it is proposed to water the compliment which Philadelphia extends to the patriotic New York Seventh, by extending the same courtesy to the Rebel Maryland Fifth. The two regiments, one nobly true to its country and the other bitterly false to it in its hour of need, are to be counted worthy of equal honor, and a Philadelphia regiment has been found willing to ignore all the  principles of the war for the Union, and to cast dirt on the memories of the brave men whom these Maryland Rebels helped to send to their now almost forgotten graves, while they play the courtier to men whom they cannot recognize in their organized military capacity without doing dishonor to themselves.”

But by attacking the Maryland unit, the Evening Bulletin was denounced by the other local papers. The unit recieved large ovations as it paraded through Philadelphia on July 22nd 1870 and was recieved at the depot by two committee’s. One representing the citizen’s and the other one representing the Military. The 5th Maryland then proceeded to the Continental Hotel where they were greeted warmly by Philapelphia resident General Robert Patterson who was the veteran of three wars.  After a successful encampment at Cape May, the unit headed home to Baltimore passing through Philadelphia and recieved the same adulation.