Our Boys Did Nobly Interview With Mike Noirot

Mike Noirot, host of the excellent website www.thismightyscourge.com was kind enough to review my latest book, Our Boys Did Nobly. He has also just posted the interview he conducted with me last week.

Click here to listen to the interview in its entirety.

Thanks, Mike.

Pottsville's Robert Hampton Ramsey: Brevet Colonel & Assistant Adjutant General to George H. Thomas

Robert Hampton Ramsey was one of Schuylkill County’s leading Civil War soldiers, yet he remains a rather overlooked and unknown figure. Throughout the course of the war, Ramsey rose to the rank of colonel, by brevet, and served capably as an officer on the staff of Major General George Henry Thomas, the “Rock of Chickamauga,” or “Old Slow Trot,” depending on one’s estimation of this famous Union officer.

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Ramsey was born in Pottsville on May 29, 1838. He was educated at the Pottsville Academy and taught school at the Presbyterian Church before entering upon a career as a printer and newspaperman. After working for six years in the officer of the Pottsville Miners’ Journal, Ramsey moved to Philadelphia where he found work first as a printer in the office of Stein & Jones and then as a clerk in the Corn Exchange Bank. He was so employed when civil war erupted in the spring of 1861. Ramsey’s military service began in the summer of 1863, when Robert E. Lee led his Army of Northern Virginia into Pennsylvania. Scores of militia units were organized throughout the Commonwealth in response to this threat, including the 45th PA Militia, which the twenty-five-year-old Ramsey entered as the second lieutenant of Company H. Although these Pennsylvania militia units witnessed little, if any action during the Gettysburg Campaign, Ramsey and the 45th PA Militia were sent to Schuylkill County to maintain order during the Draft Riots that defined the anthracite coal-rich county in the summer of ’63. While back at this home town of Pottsville, Ramsey was chosen by Brigadier General Amiel Whipple, commander of the district, to serve as his assistant adjutant general. When the rioting subsided and a sense of order returned to Schuylkill County, General Whipple was ordered to report to General George H. Thomas and the Army of the Cumberland. Whipple insisted that Ramsey follow him and succeeded in getting the young officer a captain’s commission, to date from December 5, 1863. After much persuasion, Ramsey was ordered west where he ultimately joined Thomas’s headquarters staff. During the 1864 Atlanta Campaign, Ramsey served as Thomas’s acting aide-de-camp and assistant adjutant general. “Though almost constantly exposed to the fire of the enemy, and several times narrowly escaping capture, he passed through the entire campaign uninjured. . . .Captain Ramsey’s bravery, faithfulness, and devotion to duty, during the Atlanta Campaign, so impressed General Thomas that he lodged with the Secretary of War a strong recommendation for his promotion to the rank of major and assistant adjutant-general, which was done, his commission bearing date January 27, 1865. He was afterward commissioned, by brevet, lieutenant-colonel and colonel. He was urged to take a position in the regular army, but always refused, preferring the life of a private citizen.” (1)

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Robert Ramsey was mustered out of the service in July 1866 and he returned to his native Pottsville. He once again entered the newspaper business, becoming a partner in the Miners’ Journal. Later that year, in December, he married Maggie Lindsley of Nashville, Tennessee, whom he no doubt met with serving under Thomas. In February, 1873, Benjamin Bannan, the long-time editor of the Miners’ Journal sold all his interest in the paper to Ramsey and turned the editorial helm over to him. In describing Ramsey, Bannan wrote, “He has been found faithful in every position he has heretofore occupied, and has met the approbation and friendship of all whom he has served. He is fully imbued with the leading principles which have characterized the conduct of the Journal—he is affable, capable, and pushing in business, and is also a fluent writer; but, above all, he is HONEST, and is governed in all his actions by upright principles; and in these degenerate days, when so much corruption abound among public men, and there is so much plundering by office-holders and office-seekers, an honest editor and proprietor of a newspaper is a jewel. . . .” (2)

Ramsey proved an influential editor and won the esteem of his readership. Sadly, however, he began to suffer from a terrible and painful disease, laryngeal phthsis. “It began with a slight affection of the throat, which grew worse, until it affected his voice, and made speaking more and more difficult.” Within several months, Ramsey died of the disease. He sought treatment in Philadelphia to no avail and later traveled to Nashville, “hoping to find relief under milder skies and balmier air.” Ramsey described his life as tortuous and his sufferings as constant and intolerable. “It was only by the greatest effort that he could force himself to swallow enough food to sustain life, and sleep came to him but for two or three hours at night.” By the time he arrived in Nashville in early May 1876, he was very weak and soon became confined to bed. “He expected death, and was fully prepared to meet it. For a week or two before it came, his pain grew easier, and, freed from suffering, but very weak, he lay and waited for the destroyer—to him, the welcome herald of release from a life too full of agony to be endured.”

Finally, on May 31, 1876, Robert Hampton Ramsey died, just two days after turning thirty-eight years of age. His body was returned to Pottsville, where he was laid to rest in the Presbyterian Cemetery on Tenth and Howard Streets. (3)

Eulogies poured in for the deceased, including the following testimonials from those who knew him best:
“Colonel Robert Hampton Ramsey is no more. . . .That warm and genial heart that was wont to greet us, to sympathize with us, and to encourage us in the battle of life, is stilled in death. . . .He was a man of rare business capacity, indomitable energy, with a heart mellowed by Christian kindness, though bold in conception, courageous in carrying out his plans, yet never infringing on the rights of others, never exalting himself above his less successful competitors, always cheerfully forgiving and even willing to aid those who wronged him, he put the mildest construction upon the action of others, and deported himself in such a kindly and Christian-like manner as to deserve the esteem of all. His line of duty was marked out, and he went forward in it, never swerving to the right or to the left, with the courage and fidelity of a true hero; and whether in the public school, Sabbath school, the church, the army, or in the field of journalism, his talents, his urbanity, his industry, and sterling integrity won for him the highest meed of praise, and, in death, progressive journalism has received a staggering blow. . . .”

Another wrote, “Colonel Ramsey was so young, so full of life, so endowed with energy, that it seemed as if he had many years of work and progress before him. There is left to us, as a consolation, the knowledge that he died content; that his intolerable pain left him some days before he died; that consciousness did not leave him; that the hard-drawn lines of repressed and well-night conquered physical agony were replaced, on his worn face, by a radiance born of his near approach to that God of Love whom he saw by faith, and into whose hands he entrusted his soul with an unfaltering trust. . . .” (4)

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Ramsey's Grave in Pottsville's Presbyterian Cemetery

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Notes:
(1) Society of the Army of the Cumberland, Tenth Reunion, (Cincinnati: Robert Clarke & Company, 1876), 202-203.
(2) Ibid., 204.
(3) Ibid., 205-206.
(4) Ibid., 206-207.

Thanks, Harry. . .

Harry Smeltzer of Bull Runnings and Six-Pack Review fame posted a review of Our Boys Did Nobly.

Thanks for your kind words, Harry; I am glad you enjoyed!

Read Harry's thoughts here.

The 48th PA at Fort Mahone. . .

My good friend and Schuylkill County Civil War Historian Stu Richards has posted an excellent account of the 48th's last battle at Fort Mahone, Petersburg, on April 2, 1865.

Click here.

When Next In Gettysburg. . .

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. . ..you must take the time to visit the new Gettysburg Museum of History, located at 219 Baltimore Street in the heart of town. Be prepared to spend several hours, for the collections and artificats on display are simply incredible. Owner/Curator Eric Dorr, with whom I have had the great pleasure to become acquainted, has a real passion for history and for preserving it through his exhibitions. There is no charge for admittance, but please be sure to donate generously. Eric's grandparents once owned the home and he had ancestors living in town during the battle. A large collection of items, never before displayed, and which were gathered from the fields of Pickett's Charge by Dorr's ancestors are on display. Eric is fond of remembering spending hours in his grandparents' basement as a kid going through and cataloging the collection. From an early age, then, Dorr became interesting in relic collecting, a passion that continues to this day. A remarkable collection of Civil War relics and artificats are, of course, featured prominently, and not just from the battle of Gettysburg.

Uniforms, rifles, buckles, flags. . .everything you can imagine. . .are exhibited. Be sure to check out the "Antietam Obelisk," a painted shingle from off the Dunker Church, and even this monogramed doorknob from Robert E. Lee's home in Arlington.

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Next to the Civil War Room is a room devoted to American Presidents from Washington to Obama, including a large collection of Abraham Lincoln and Lincoln assassination relics.

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The president's room is amazing. Dorr has locks of hair from George Washington, Harry Truman's Fedora, and even Truman's hospital wristband, which was on his wrist when he died.

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While the Civil War and presidents' collections are worth the visit in of themselves, perhaps the most amazing collection is that which is featured in the museum's two back rooms. . .all on President John Kennedy.

Dorr has an actual suit worn by Kennedy while he was a senator, a box of unsmoked cigars which were on his White House desk when he took that fateful trip to Dallas, and just too many other amazing artifacts to do any justice to in a short blog post. You must see this for yourself.

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Eric Dorr's new Museum of History is one of Gettysburg's must-see spots, and when you're planning a trip down here, be sure to schedule several hours to spend in this remarkable place. In the meantime, watch this video of a local newscast, which features several live broadcasts from the museum. . . .

Eleven & Twelve. . .

. . .that's how old two vandals, recently charged with toppling and destroying dozens of tombstones in Pottsville's Charles Baber Cemetery, are.

Unreal.

Let's hope they get just punishment.

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Charges Filed In Cemetery Vandalism Case
By FRANK ANDRUSCAVAGE

Published: August 26, 2009

From the Pottsville Republican & Evening Herald

Two Pottsville boys will be charged through the juvenile justice system in connection with three separate acts of vandalism in the Charles Baber Cemetery in the city.
Capt. Ronald Moser said the boys, one age 11, the other 12, face felony charges of institutional vandalism and desecration of venerated objects as well as a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief.
He explained that after receiving estimates of damage from cemetery officials, police will file a juvenile allegation formally outlining the charges and reasons for filing them.
Moser said the estimates the police expect include the damage to tombstones, benches and other items that were vandalized and the materials and man hours needed for repairs.
Moser said newspaper articles about the three acts of vandalism put the word out that police were looking for those involved and information received from a Pottsville family led to identifying the boys responsible.
The two were interviewed and admitted to the vandalism, Moser said.
On June 30 or July 1, Patrolman Joseph Murton Jr. said 33 tombstones were damaged, some dating back to the 1800s.
Two weeks later, on July 14, another 10 tombstones were found damaged.
Finally, on Aug. 2, the two boys allegedly toppled a tombstone and destroyed other items at the gravesite of a 14-year-old boy who had been hit by a car and killed while riding his bicycle in 2002.
The Rev. James A. Rinehart, pastor of Trinity Episcopal Church, Pottsville, said he was surprised of learning the young ages of the boys responsible.
"It's a shock to me that young people would do that," he said. "I guess I don't understand that."
Despite their ages, he said the two must take responsibility for their actions.
"They are responsible for the thousands of dollars of damage that they did," Rinehart said. "I'm concerned for them. I'm concerned for their families."
He said cemetery trustees are compiling the list of the damages they expect to turn over to police soon.
Moser credited the residents who came forward with the information that led to the case being solved.
"It was good help from the public," he said.

Day Trip To Hollywood Cemetery

Took a road trip yesterday with my friend and fellow ranger Mannie Gentile. Over the past four years, we have taken several Civil War-focused day trips (to Manassas, South Mountain, Gettysburg, Washington and so on), and yesterday decided that our next will be down to Lexington, Virginia, with a stop at the New Market Battlefield on the way back. But that's in the future; now, back to yesterday. The trip began early, really early. Rolling out of bed at 4:00 a.m., I picked up Mannie at 5:40 and we hit the road, ultimately covering more than 450 miles. It's funny how so much time in a car makes one exhausted. Traveling down 270 to 95 South, we got off at the Falmouth Exit, passed through the Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and Wilderness Battlefields to our first stop. . .Todd's Tavern. Phil Sheridan's failure to open the road to Spotsylvania on the night of May 7-8, 1864, meant that Lee's Army of Northern Virginia arrived at the Courthouse first, winning the foot race, with Richard Anderson's First Corps setting up a line of defense on Laurel Hill. The opposing armies would remain locked in a fierce struggle at Spotsylvania for the next two weeks. Meanwhile, Sheridan earned the wrath of General George Meade who, following Grant's instruction, detached Sheridan with 10,000 troopers in an effort to destroy Jeb Stuart's vaunted Confederate cavalry. Mannie and I followed in the hoof prints of Sheridan's troopers, for the most part, as they headed south toward Richmond.

Driving down the Jefferson Davis Highway (Route 1), our next stop was at Massapanox Baptist Church, site of the Grant/Meade council of war captured in the famous photographs of Timothy O'Sullivan.

The Massapanox Baptist Church

Historical Marker at the church. . .

This was the first time Mannie and I were here, so we were sure to follow O'Sullivan's example and snap a number of photographs.

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We continued south on Route 1 all the way to Richmond. After a frustrating search, complete with many turn-arounds and numerous inquiries as to its location (all to no avail), we finally located the site of the battle of Yellow Tavern. On May 11, 1864, a trooper from Michigan made good on Sheridan's promise when he shot Jeb Stuart, mortally wounding the famed Confederate cavalier. Stuart died the next day in Richmond, as Sheridan's men turned eastward, luring the Confederate horsemen to more destruction.

Not much remains of the battlefield at Yellow Tavern. . .

Monument on the site where General Stuart fell mortally wounded.

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After dodging all the traffic around the Yellow Tavern battlefield, Mannie and I next headed into Richmond to spend the late morning and early afternoon hours tramping around the incredible Hollywood Cemetery. My parents took me to Richmond when I was a kid, so this was my second visit to the famed cemetery. It is truly a remarkable place, which I am sure I will visit again.

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The Hollywood Cemetery is the final resting place for many Confederate notables, including the first and only President of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, and his wife, First Lady Varina Howell Davis .

Jeff & Varina Davis lie buried beneath this bronze statue of President Davis

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A veritable Who's Who of the Confederacy are buried within the walls of the Hollywood Cemetery; many well known, many more not so well known, including Robert H. Chilton, Adjutant General of the Army of Northern Virginia. On September 9, 1862, in Frederick, Maryland, Chilton penned the copies of Special Orders No. 191. . .one too many copies, as it turned out.

The grave of Robert H. Chilton is in the background, his gravestone in the shape of a cross. The cross in the foreground marks the final resting place of Chilton's son-in-law, Confederate General Peyton Wise.

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Not far from the grave of Robert Chilton is the Confederate Officer's Section, marked with this stone arch. . .

Within this rather small section lie three better-known generals:

Edward "Allegheny" Johnson, who commanded a division in Ewell's Second Corps and who, at the Mule Shoe at Spotsylvania used his cane to help stave off Union troops before falling into enemy hands;

David Rumph Jones

Jones served on P.G.T. Beauregard's staff at Fort Sumter, then commanded a brigade and later a division (which would one day be led by George Pickett) under Longstreet. Jones died of a heart attack at age 37 in January 1863.

And John Caldwell Calhoun Sanders, killed in action at Petersburg on August 21, 1864.

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Jeb Stuart's grave in the Hollywood is no doubt among the most visited. Stuart died on May 12, 1864, on day after falling mortally wounded at Yellow Tavern. His beloved wife, Flora Cooke, was later buried by his side.

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Hundreds of Confederate dead surround this impressive stone monument, mostly those killed during the battles around Richmond. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Major General George Pickett is another Confederate notable buried at Hollywood. . .his grave overlooks those who fell during his futile attack at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863.

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Row after row. . .most of the graves pictured here are for those who fell during Pickett's Charge. Among the remains are those of Brigadier General Richard B. Garnett, whose remains were never identified. Like Robert Gould Shaw of the 54th Massachusetts, Garnett was initially buried in a mass grave surrounded by those who fell while serving under his command. Colonel Lewis B. Williams, commander of the 1st Virginia Infantry, was among the list of fatalities in Pickett's Division at Gettysburg.

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Major General Fitzhugh Lee, Robert E. Lee's nephew, cavalry commander and governor of Virginia, lies buried near President Jefferson Davis. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Major General Henry Heth, whose Third Corps Division initiated the battle of Gettysburg, was interred in the Hollywood Cemetery.

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Major General Raleigh E. Colston, division commander under Jackson. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The last general in Lee's Army of Northern Virginia to die in battle was John Pegram, who fell just a short time before the surrender at Appomattox.

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Brigadier General Eppa Hunton lies buried near Fitz Lee and Jeff Davis.

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Brigadier General William E. Starke was the first of six general officers to be killed or mortally wounded at Antietam. He was shot down while leading his Lousianans in a counterattack against Abner Doubleday's advancing Union troops. Starke's remains were buried next to those of his son, Lt. Edwin Starke, who was mortally wounded two months before his father's death, during the Seven Days' Battles.

The graves of Edwin Starke (left) and his dad, General William Starke.

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Colonel Chatham Roberdeau Wheat, Mexican War Veteran and commander of the famed Louisiana Tigers, was killed at the battle of Gaines's Mill on June 27, 1862, and buried in the Hollywood Cemetery

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Colonel Henry C. Pate, 5th Virginia Cavalry, was killed at Yellow Tavern.

David G. McIntosh was one of Lee's finest artillery commanders, as was. . .

. . .W.E. Cutshaw. The two artillery officers lie buried near one another.

Hundred of "Unknown" Confederate dead also call Hollywood Cemetery their final resting place.

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For all the history that lies buried within the gates of Hollywood Cemetery, it is also a remarkable place to see some incredible and haunting statuary decorating the gravesites.

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Perhaps the most famous "residents" of Hollywood Cemetery are not the military and political leaders of the Confederacy, but two Presidents of the United States. . .

JAMES MONROE

5th President of the United States

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And, Tyler, too!

JOHN TYLER

10th President of the United States

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New Website Focuses on Petersburg Campaign

Brett Schulte of TOCWOC fame has launched a new website sure to interest any student of the Civil War. Beyond The Crater focuses on the ten-month-long Petersburg Campaign, which lasted from June 1864-April 1865. As Brett states is in his introductory page, "Beyond the Crater is an information compilation site focusing on the Siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War." The 48th Pennsylvania Infantry was present for every single day of this campaign and although best known for digging the Petersburg Mine, they also suffered heavy losses during some of the campaign's many battles, including the assaults of June 15-17, 1864, Poplar Grove Church, and during the Final Breakthrough on April 2, 1865, where the regiment's colonel, George Gowen, was killed among many others. Head on over, and have a look. . .