From Our Past

Fun Facts from my research, This Week in History, etc.

General Maury Surrenders District of the Gulf

/ sandramervillehart

Confederate Major General Dabney Maury, the Commander of the Confederate District of the Gulf, was running out of options on April 11, 1865. Two of his major forts, Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely, had fallen and were now under Union control.

Maury had retreated to Mobile with his depleted forces of 4,500, hoping to eventually join with General Joseph Johnston’s Army of Tennessee.

The general began evacuating Mobile on April 11th. Troops removed their supplies, burned cotton, and dismantled works. Maury led his soldiers to Meridian, Mississippi.

On April 12th, the mayor of Mobile, Robert H. Slough, surrendered his city.

When Maury learned that Johnston surrendered to Sherman, his plans of joining the Army of Tennessee collapsed.

Maury surrendered to Union General Canby at Citronelle, Alabama, on May 4th.

He and his troops were paroled on May 14th.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

“Conclusion of the American Civil War,” Wikipedia.com, 2018/03/21 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conclusion_of_the_American_Civil_War.

“Conclusion of the American Civil War,” Wikiwand.com, 2018/03/22 http://www.wikiwand.com/en/Conclusion_of_the_American_Civil_War.

“Dabney Herndon Maury,” Wikisource, 2018/03/22 https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Southern_Historical_Society_Papers/Volume_27/Dabney_Herndon_Maury.

Kane, Robert. “Battle of Spanish Fort,” Encyclopedia of Alabama, 2018/03/25 http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-3730.

Long, E.B. and Long, Barbara. The Civil War Day by Day: An Almanac 1861-1865, A Da Capo Paperback, 1971.

Plante, Trevor K. “Ending the Bloodshed,” National Archives, 2018/03/21

https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2015/spring/cw-surrenders.html.

 

Battle at Fort Michilimackinac

/ sandramervillehart / 3 Comments

Today’s post was written by talented editor and author, Pegg Thomas. The location of her book is a place I’ve longed to visit. Reading and loving one of her stories,  Embattled Hearts, has made me look forward to reading this newest novella.  Welcome to Historical Nibbles, Pegg!

 First, let me help you pronounce that fort, it’s mish-ee-lee-mack-in-aw. Right. Exactly how it’s spelled.

This fort sits at the top of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, at the point where the two peninsulas are the closest. It’s called the Straits of Mackinac and today is spanned by the very impressive 5-mile-long Mackinac Bridge. The fort has been rebuilt on its original foundation and is the longest ongoing archeological dig in the United States. It’s open for tourists and staffed with a good crew of reenactors to make the experience memorable.

My May release, Her Redcoat, which is part of The Backcountry Brides collection, takes place here in 1763 during the Indian uprising, Pontiac’s Rebellion. While Pontiac organized multiple tribes and led the uprising against Fort Detroit, other Indians who supported him also attacked Fort Pitt and Fort Niagara. Those major forts stood against the attacks, while eight smaller forts were overrun. Including Fort Michilimackinac.

Pontiac and his followers had been used to the level-handed relationship they’d built with the French fur traders. When the British ousted the French and moved into their forts, the Indians rebelled against the arrogant and heavy-handed methods of the British.

In the background of my story is the history of Fort Michilimackinac. The British commander with his forty-some troops was vastly outnumbered by upwards of five hundred warriors. But in his full British arrogance, the commander could not see the danger all around him. He could not believe that savages—as he thought of them—could best the mightiest military in the world.

They did.

The results were devastating. Most of the regular soldiers were slaughtered. The officers were captured and held for ransom. There was one man, a British fur trader, who escaped the attack. He wrote his first-hand account of the story which has been made into the book Attack at Michilimackinac 1763. If you’re interested in this time period and the unrest in the backcountry of Britain’s American colonies, you’ll enjoy this book.

-Pegg Thomas

Bio:

Pegg Thomas lives on a hobby farm in Northern Michigan with Michael, her husband of *mumble* years. A life-long history geek, she writes “History with a Touch of Humor.” When not working or writing, Pegg can be found in her barn, her garden, her kitchen, or sitting at her spinning wheel creating yarn to turn into her signature wool shawls.

Her Redcoat teaser:

Laurette Pettigrew grew up in the northern frontier. Henry Bedlow arrived against his will. Their chance meeting changes everything. Will a deadly clash of cultures keep them from finding happiness?

Buy her book on Amazon or Christianbook.com.

Subscribe to Pegg’s Newsletter.

Enter Pegg’s Giveaway for this beautiful shawl by subscribing to her newsletter!

Pegg gives away one of her signature handspun, handknit, wool shawls with the release of each new story. To celebrate the release of Her Redcoat, Pegg is giving away the shawl Northern Lilacs. The Straits of Mackinac are known for their abundance of lilacs each spring and this shawl showcases their varied and gorgeous colors. Everyone who subscribes to Pegg’s newsletter is automatically entered in the drawing.

 

Son of Former President Surrenders Confederate Command

/ sandramervillehart / 2 Comments

Confederate Lieutenant General Richard Taylor, son of President Zachary Taylor and brother-in-law of Confederate President Jefferson Davis, began the war as Colonel of the 9th Louisiana Infantry. He fought in the Battle of Bull Run and slowly rose through the ranks.

By April of 1865, he commanded the Confederate Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana. Taylor, leading about 10,000 troops, knew the Confederacy was collapsing when news of Lee’s surrender at Appomattox reached him.

Taylor was honest with his 10,000 troops. He felt that while General Joseph Johnston was still in the fight, they must support him. He also worried for the safety of President Davis and other Government authorities who might need their protection.

His men, including General Nathan Bedford Forrest, joined him in remaining vigilant.

Then Taylor learned that Johnston surrendered to Union General Sherman.

Taylor agreed to meet with Union Major General Edward Canby. The meeting took place north of Mobile, Alabama. They agreed to a 48-hour truce during their May 2nd conversation. The two generals then ate lunch together and enjoyed lively music.

Taylor agreed to the same terms as Lee and Grant. On May 4th, he surrendered at Citronelle, Alabama. Located along the railroad, Citronelle was between Canby’s Mobile headquarters and Taylor’s headquarters in Meridian, Mississippi.

A few days later, Forrest surrendered his cavalry corps.

There is a small park with markers and picnic tables at the location of Taylor’s surrender. More information can be found at the Citronelle Historical Museum.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

“Conclusion of the American Civil War,” Wikipedia.com, 2018/03/21 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conclusion_of_the_American_Civil_War.

“Richard Taylor,” Civil War Trust, 2018/03/22 https://www.civilwar.org/learn/biographies/richard-taylor.

Plante, Trevor K. “Ending the Bloodshed,” National Archives, 2018/03/21

https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2015/spring/cw-surrenders.html.

“Surrender at Citronelle,” ExploreSouthernHistory.com, 2018/03/22 http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/citronelle.html.

 

The “Gray Ghost” Disbands His Troops

/ sandramervillehart

Confederate Colonel John S. Mosby commanded the 43rd Virginia Cavalry, which used guerrilla warfare. These troops were called “Mosby’s Raiders.” Mosby’s raids on Union supply lines happened quickly and then he disappeared again, earning him the nickname of “The Gray Ghost.”

Mosby wasn’t ready to give up the fight when Lee surrendered at Appomattox on April 9, 1865. Requesting a cease-fire, he agreed to meet with Union General Hancock. In the wake of President Lincoln’s assassination, Hancock instead sent Brigadier General George Chapman to the meeting.

Mosby asked that the cease-fire be extended two additional days, which Chapman granted. A further request for a ten-day extension was denied.

Not wanting to surrender, Mosby wrote a letter to his troops. It was read to them on April 21st.  His letter disbanded the unit.

About 380 of his men, including most of the officers, surrendered at Winchester. They signed paroles and kept their horses. Others turned themselves in at Virginia towns.

Because Mosby didn’t surrender, Hancock offered $2,000 for his capture and soon raised it to $5,000.

Mosby hid near his father’s property outside Lynchburg with his brother, William.

A local provost marshal assured William in June that his brother would be paroled if he surrendered. Mosby went to the authorities the next day to find that Union leaders had canceled the offer of parole.

A few days later, General Grant stepped in. Mosby learned on June 16th that he’d be paroled, which happened at following day in Lynchburg.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

“Conclusion of the American Civil War,” Wikipedia.com, 2018/03/21 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conclusion_of_the_American_Civil_War.

Golden, Kathleen. “Meet John S. Mosby, ‘Gray Ghost’ of the Confederacy, Smithsonian National Museum of American History, 2018/03/21 http://americanhistory.si.edu/blog/2013/12/meet-john-s-mosby-the-gray-ghost-of-the-confederacy.html.

“John Singleton Mosby,” Civil War Trust, 2018/03/21 https://www.civilwar.org/learn/biographies/john-singleton-mosby.

Plante, Trevor K. “Ending the Bloodshed,” National Archives, 2018/03/21

https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2015/spring/cw-surrenders.html.

 

Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston’s Surrender

/ sandramervillehart

Confederate General Joseph E. Johnston was in a tough position in early April of 1865. He had retreated to Smithfield after the Battle of Bentonville in late March. From there, he’d observe the route taken by the Union.

On the morning of April 10th, Johnston’s three corps began marching to Raleigh. He hoped to protect the city from an attack by Sherman. Johnston camped 14 miles east of Raleigh that night.

He then went to Greensboro and met with Confederate President Jefferson Davis and the cabinet. Their meetings spanned two days, but Lee’s surrender was the deciding factor for Davis. They’d surrender.

Johnston sent a note to Sherman, suggesting a meeting to discuss terminating the existing war. While awaiting a reply, he marched his army to Greensboro.

The generals met on Hillsboro road at the small farmhouse of James Bennett, west of Durham. The weather was warm. The breeze carried pleasant smell of apple blossom, lilac, and pine for the April 17th meeting. While at the Bennett Place, they learned of President Lincoln’s assassination.

Johnston wanted to restore permanent peace. He proposed restoring the rights and privileges of Southerners. Sherman left the meeting with questions about granting amnesty to President Davis and his cabinet. They met again the next morning and Sherman wrote the terms.

Davis approved the terms but Lincoln’s cabinet rejected it. The final agreement, signed on April 26, was a military surrender without the earlier agreed-upon terms.

Not waiting for the formal surrender, some Confederate soldiers left for home in small bands. For the rest, paroles and stacking of arms was completed on May 3rd.

The Army of Tennessee lost 12,000 killed and 65,000 wounded on Civil War battlefields.

The army made one final march in corps formation. They marched 50 miles to Salisbury.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Connelly, Thomas Lawrence. Autumn of Glory: The Army of Tennessee, 1862-1865, Louisiana State University Press, 1971.

Daniel, Larry J. Soldiering in the Army of Tennessee, The University of North Carolina Press, 1991.

“Johnston’s Surrender at Bennett Place on Hillsboro Road,” Wadehamptoncamp.org, 2018/03/19 http://www.wadehamptoncamp.org/hist-js.html.

 

 

Confederate Surrender at Appomattox Court House

/ sandramervillehart

Food supplies awaited Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Station. He needed them—his men were hungry.

On April 8, 1865, Lee arrived in Appomattox County. Union cavalry reached the supplies first and then burned 3 supply trains. Union General Ulysses Grant wrote to Lee, requesting his surrender. Lee refused, hoping for supplies in Lynchburg.

The next morning, the Confederates, under Major General John Gordon attacked Union cavalry troops. He stopped the attack when he realized that two Union army corps supported the cavalry.

They were cut off from provisions. Lee is famously quoted as saying that he’d “rather die a thousand deaths” than go talk to General Grant about surrendering.

Grant arrived for the meeting in a muddy uniform. Lee came in full dress attire. They met in Wilmer McLean’s parlor at 1 pm on April 9th.

The generals awkwardly greeted one another, then Lee asked for surrender terms.

All officers and men would be pardoned—they’d go home with their personal property. The officers were to keep their side homes. Lee’s hungry soldiers were to receive food rations.

Lee signed the surrender.

Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia disbanded after being paroled. The war in Virginia had ended. Lee’s surrender was the first of several Confederate surrenders over the coming weeks.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

“Appomattox Court House: Lee’s Surrender,” Civil War Trust, 2018/03/19 https://www.civilwar.org/learn/civil-war/battles/appomattox-court-house.

History.com Staff. “Appomattox Court House,” History.com, 2018/03/19 https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/appomattox-court-house.

The Troy Flood of 1913

/ sandramervillehart

Troy citizens couldn’t foresee the terrible flood coming their way as they traveled to church on the stormy Easter morning of March 23, 1913.

The day before had a been an unseasonably beautiful day. The small Ohio city, set on the banks of the Great Miami River with the Miami and Erie Canal running through it, manufactured transportation equipment, food machines, and distilled beverages.

While the river rose, the canal overflowed on Sunday night. Men, carrying lanterns, walked between the two waterways to monitor water levels.

Water often seeped into cellars during hard rains and citizens weren’t too concerned at first. When ankle-deep water became waist high in twenty minutes, folks became alarmed.

Relentless rain flooded houses, driving people from their homes. Some were trapped. Sheriff Louis Paul directed rescues made by boats. Men with boats rowed to their neighbors’ aid. Folks outside of Troy came to help.

Some men were released from prison in order to help. “Sailor Jack” and Otto “Slim” Sedan became heroes during the flood.

Houses came loose from their foundations. One man rode down the river on his roof.

Animals weren’t safe either. Three chickens perched on a chicken house as it floated down Race Street.

Temporary hospitals and public shelters were set up for those displaced by the flood.

The Flood of 1913 is Ohio’s greatest natural disaster. The worst flooding occurred along the Great Miami River. Statewide, at least 428 people lost their lives.

Troy and nearby Dayton received 9.7 inches of rain in five days.

-Sandra Merville Hart

 

Sources

“1913 Ohio Statewide Flood,” Ohio History Central, 2018/02/22 http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/1913_Ohio_Statewide_Flood.

Troy Historical Society. Images of America: Troy and the Great Flood of 1913, Arcadia Publishing, 2012.

The Great Peshtigo Fire

/ sandramervillehart / 2 Comments

The summer of 1871 had been a dry season. Loggers in the sawmill town of Peshtigo,  were careful about fires, mindful of the vast forest surrounding them.

One of the largest factories of wood products in the country was in Peshtigo, Wisconsin. Most of the town’s buildings were made of wood.

New settlers to the area cleared farmland by the “slash and burn” method, increasing chances of a forest fire.

The Chicago and Northwestern Railway was being extended. Workers cut down trees and burned them to clear the land. Sometimes the brush was left by the tracks. Steam engine sparks sometimes ignited the dried stacks of wood.

Small fires had broken out recently, causing folks in Peshtigo to stockpile a large water supply.

No one knows what sparked the fire in the dense forest on October 7th. The flames spread to the nearby village of Sugar Bush where it killed everyone.

High winds whipped the blaze, now 200-feet high, toward Peshtigo, which it reached on October 8th. The citizens had no warning.

Folks jumped in the nearby river where several drowned. Two hundred people died in a tavern. A mass grave held close to 350 bodies so badly burned that they couldn’t be identified.

The mile-high flames were five miles wide. Fire spread through the forest at 90 to 100 mph, hot enough to turn sand into glass.

Called the most devastating fire in our history, it destroyed 1,500,000 acres of timber. When the flames were finally extinguished, an estimated 2,200 people lay dead. The blaze destroyed 12 pioneer towns.

Newspapers barely covered this story because the Great Chicago Fire happened around the same time.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Biondich, Sarah. “The Great Peshtigo Fire,” Shepherd Express, 2018/01/08 https://shepherdexpress.com/aroun-milwaukee/great-peshtigo-fire.

“Great Peshtigo Fire,” United States History, 2018/01/08 http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h2113.html.

History.com Staff. “Massive Fire Burns in Wisconsin,” History.com, 2018/01/08 http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/massive-fire-burns-in-wisconsin.

 

Black Sunday Dust Storm: April 14, 1935

/ sandramervillehart / 2 Comments

Severe drought conditions struck the Southern Great Plains starting in 1930. Overfarmed and overgrazed land in several states began to blow away in the drought. Nineteen states became part of the dust bowl. Worst hit were Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arkansas, and Nevada.

Winds whipped dust over the plains, darkening the sky for days. Thick dust covered everything and even got inside well-sealed homes. Many residents suffered chest pains and difficult breathing from “dust pneumonia.”

Folks called the dreaded dust storms “black blizzards.” These storms reached Washington DC and the East Coast, blotting out the sun and the Statue of Liberty. It even coated ships on the Atlantic Ocean with a fine layer of dust.

The worst storm came on April 14, 1935. The Sunday morning started off with clear skies. Winds died down. Folks ventured to church, hoping for rain to replenish the baked earth.

Instead, a Canadian cold front clashed with warm air in the Dakotas. The temperature fell 30 degrees. Frenzied winds created a dust cloud hundreds of miles wide and thousands of feet high. The dust storm headed to Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Skies turned black. Folks sheltered in homes, barns, and fire stations. People caught out driving hid in their cars. “You couldn’t see your hand before your face,” recalled folksinger, Woody Guthrie.

Scary conditions convinced some the end of the world was at hand. The worst conditions were in the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles where a massive dust wall resembled a tsunami on land. Winds reached 60 MPH.

Reporters who wrote about the storm on Black Sunday referred to the southwest as a Dust Bowl for the first time.

For many residents, this storm was the last straw. They packed up and headed to California.

The drought lasted until 1939 when the rains finally returned, but not before 400,000 folks moved from the Great Plains.

-Sandra Merville Hart

 

Sources

“Dust Bowl,” Library of Congress, 2018/01/08 http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/presentationsandactivities/presentations/timeline/depwwii/dustbowl/.

History.com Staff. “Dust Bowl,” History.com, 2018/01/08 http://www.history.com/topics/dust-bowl.

History.com Staff. “Remembering Black Sunday, 80 Years Later,” History.com, 2018/01/08 http://www.history.com/news/remembering-black-sunday-80-years-later.

“The Black Sunday Dust Storm of April 14, 1935,” National Weather Service, 2018/01/08 https://www.weather.gov/oun/events-19350414.

 

The Johnstown Flood of 1889

/ sandramervillehart

In late May of 1889, days of heavy rain struck the river valley in central Pennsylvania. Residents in Johnstown, a thriving city on the Little Conemaugh River, were no strangers to flooding. When riders shouted desperate warnings of a flood’s approach, most citizens in the Pennsylvania simply moved their family and valuables to the second floor.

Yet this was no normal flood.

South Fork Dam at Lake Conemaugh, 14 miles upstream, was maintained by South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club. The eight-year-old dam needed repairs that heavy rains only worsened. Repair efforts in late May failed to halt the disintegration.

On May 31st, swollen late waters overflowed the dam’s walls around 1:00 pm. Riders rode furiously downriver to warn residents. The dam washed away at 3:10 pm, drowning workers who struggled to fix it.

Twenty million tons of water deluged small communities near the dam, picking up trees, houses, railroad cars, and people—some still alive—on its rush toward Johnston.

The flood reached the city in ten minutes, crushing or drowning 2,000 citizens. Survivors washed downstream with the dead. Some survivors held onto debris entangled 40 feet high at the city’s Stone Bridge that caught fire. The flames killed about 80 people.

A horrified telegraph worker counted 63 bodies float past his office in 20 minutes.

The tragedy claimed 2,209 lives. A waterspout was originally blamed for the dam’s collapse, but the South Fork Fishing Club President later admitted that the problem was in the dam’s weakness.

Volunteers pitched tents in the city to help survivors and bury the dead. Clara Barton and the American Red Cross were among the volunteers. A week after the catastrophe, 13 or 14 people were found living in a single room of a house. Many survivors kept their windows tightly closed against the odor of decaying bodies.

Johnstown residents rebuilt their city. They celebrated their citizens’ resilience on the flood’s 100th anniversary.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

History.com Staff. “May 31, 1889: The Johnstown Flood,” History.com, 2018/01/08 http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-johnstown-flood-2.

 

“Hundreds of Lives Lost: A Waterspout’s Dreadful Work in Pennsylvania,” Johnstownpa.com, 2018/01/08 https://www.johnstownpa.com/History/hist30.html.