Day 3. March 3, 1862.
3
empty stirrups and saddle, rider less, moved slowly after it….
March 3 Monday= 1862
Quite cold and frosty this morning but began to get quite mudy. The Regiments of this Division were all to appear on Parade at Paw Paw Station to pay their final adieu to the remains of Major Gen Lander of Massachusetts. There was about 18,000 on Parade. The remains were sent to his native state. We all expected to be in Winchester* this evening but we was in Camp Tyler again. I don’t know how long we may stay in this camp but I hope we may be successful. I am looking for a letter this evening. It is going to get quite cold and I think we will have a cold night. I feel somewhat tired and I hope for good weather. It rained some today. This evening it rained and got stormy and cold and disagreeable
*Winchester, a town that will change hands 73 times in the war, and 13 times in one day. There was a certain circuitry to it. Obviously the first time the South had it, the 72nd time, the North took it back for good. But right now, only 10% of white males in the town are Unionist, & Jackson is sprinting around Winchester jailing them right & left before Northerners march in. For a former slave’s description of Winchester, see March 10.
Note: Funeral march: https://www.loc.gov/resource/ihas.200006032.0/?sp=2
Paw Paw Station: https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/maryland/haunted-tunnel-md/
https://www.berkeleysprings.com/trail/pawpaw.pdf
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/365776800961180316/
Civil War Weather in Virginia Robert K. Krick P. 48
“7a.m. 30; 2p.m. 32; 9p.m. 30. Snow all day.”
We Are In For It! The First Battle of Kernstown Gary L. Ecelbarger P. 7-8
“An imposing figure at six feet two inches in height, Frederick Lander was one of those rare people who seem to make a lasting impression after even the briefest of acquaintences. Nathaniel P. Willis, a renowned poet, described him from a chance meeting prior to 1862 at Willard’s Hotel in Washington:
“I selected him as the American-esque man of whom to make a sketch as the finest specimen of the class. He passed me in the corridor of the hotel, crossed the sidewalk to his horse, mounted and rode away; and he did it all as exactly as an English horseguardsman would not have done it. There was not an angle in his whole movement. With no signs of the martinet, no military stiffness or restraint, he was wonderfully alert and agile, wiry and fearless, as well as careless and graceful. He had the proper “pathfinder” look like a hunter trained on the prairie. And his horse seemed pleased to be a part of him. It was a centaur of wavy lines—steed and rider animated by but one thought—and, as he galloped away up the avenue and disappeared around the Treasury colonnade, I speculated on the superiority which it certainly exhibited to the angularities of a dragon.”
Epiphanydc.org
“After his untimely death in 1862, General Lander’s funeral was held at Epiphany, attended by President Lincoln, the cabinet, members of Congress and a vast array of military leaders. In writing about the newly dedicated statue of Lincoln in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda several years later, journalist Mary Clemmer Ames recalled when she witnessed General Lander’s Epiphany funeral.
“I recall a moment in his life when his look and attitude were precisely what they are here. It was just after the funeral of General Lander, at the Church of the Epiphany. The sun shone dimly that afternoon against the saddest of rainy skies, and looked down upon one of the most sorrowful of scenes. Almost every day brought a funeral like that– aye, many funerals. Our streets were full of dirges, our houses full of tears. Lander had the faults of an erratic and brilliant genius, but he was a generous man and a heroic soldier– one of the ten thousands dead in their prime. They bore his body through the gray air. The soldier’s horse with empty stirrups and saddle, rider less, moved slowly after it. The great procession took up its line; the band struck up the solemn march.”
Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson S.C. Gwynne P. 193
“In the Confederate eastern theater, this strange war that seemed to roll on, month after month, with no actual fighting, was about to end. Everyone could feel it, and in the Southern diaries and letters of the era there is a strong sense of gloom descending. The writers could not know that the year 1862 would see a chain of battles in the East- Seven Days, Second Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg– whose previously unimaginable numbers of killed and wounded would make the first Manassas seem like a small fight.”
Note: The Confederacy went from drafting all men ages 18-35, to 45, & in 1864 all men from 17 to 50. Poor farmers were the bulk of the army, not the slaveholders. N.C. had the most deserters of any state. One could get shot running or deserting. Southern leadership never did get nonslaveholding whites to support their slaveholder’s war. Nearly all called it “A rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight.” The coming years will see much resistance throughout the Confederacy. 10k deserters, armed, roamed northern Alabama. Similar groups in TN. while slaves, women & kids hid deserters. 1863 is when desertions and dodging increased, numbers accelerated, people left. This is a photograph of Co. C of the 110th after Fredericksburg: http://art-in-space.blogspot.com/2019/08/unknown-110th-pennsylvania-infantry.html
Note: March 3, 1862, on the front page of the NYT, the following: https://www.nytimes.com/1862/03/03/archives/death-of-genlander.html
“The telegraph brings the melancholy intelligence, this morning, that Brig.-Gen. FREDERICK W. LANDER, the fearless soldier, the bravest of the brave, died yesterday in camp at Pau Pau,Western Virginia, from the effect of his wound received in the affair at Edwards’ Ferry. There is no officer in the army whose loss could cause a more profound and universal sorrow than that of Gen. LANDER. He was beloved and trusted in the highest degree by his own command; while his character and career, as well as his actions since the war began, led the whole country to look upon him as the very beau ideal of an American soldier, and as a man from whom great and heroic things were to be expected as the war progressed.
Gen. LANDER was a native of Salem, Mass., and belonged to a family eminent for genius and enterprise. He was not a graduate of any military academy, but was engaged in civil life up to the time of the breaking out of the present war. In 1859 and 1860 he was the Superintendent of the Overland Wagon Road to California, and carried on his operations on the great plains with extraordinary energy and skill. In this work he was greatly molested by the Indians, and he got up an expedition against the savages, which resulted in their complete pacification, and in which he himself displayed the highest qualities of coolness and courage. What our infantry, with their discipline and steel could not accomplish, LANDER achieved — the entire subjugation of the Indians of that section, and their obedience to the Government.
Two years ago, he was brought prominently before the public, as the second of POTTER, of Wisconsin, in the celebrated bowie-knife challenge to PRYOR, of Virginia. Immediately after that affair, he went to California; but returned East again in time to take part in the civil conflict just opening. He was assigned to a position under Gen. MCCLELLAN, in Western Virginia, and in the various dashing engagements there, he was personally daring to a degree that could not be surpassed. At the battle of Rich Mountain, he rode fifteen feet ahead of his men; and though, as soon as the enemy discovered him, a shower of bullets were poured at him, it made no impression whatever on the coolness of the daring soldier. At the gallant affair last Fall, at Edwards’ Ferry, a which he was commander, he was wounded by a bullet, in the leg, and the wound was of so severe a nature, that it laid him up for some time, and finally has brought him to the grave.
For his skill and gallantry in the various actions he was created a Brigadier-General; and when the health of Gen. KELLY, who commanded at Romney in Western Virginia, failed, he was assigned to that important command. The rebels under JACKSON were within his jurisdiction, and he at once commenced operations with the view of driving them out. Front various causes he was somewhat hindered in carrying out his programme, and when the rebels advanced on Romney a month ago, he was compelled temporarily to retire. These things, together with his falling health, induced him to tender his resignation to the President, but it was not accepted. He then began work in earnest, drove the rebels from Romney and other positions, and on the 14th ult. announced in his official report that all the rebels had been driven out of his Department. The gallant and memorable fight at Bloomery Gap occurred on that day; and on this dash Gen. LANDER acted with his usual daring. On the failure of an officer promptly to obey, he himself galloped forward, sword in hand, end led the half dozen men in the officer’s charge, on to a company of the enemy, and routed it. Having finished his work in his Department, he again claimed a release from the President, but did not get it until finally released from all work by death.
Gen. LANDER’s widow was formerly and honorably known in dramatic circles as Miss DAVENPORT; and the celebrated sculptor, Miss LOUISA LANDER, is his sister. He was about 40 years of age at the time of his decease; and up to the time of his wound, all his physical, as well as mental faculties, were in the highest condition. In person he was tall, stalwart, graceful and proud, and, mounted on his charger and in his fine military costume, he looked like a knight of the olden times. In his loss, the country loses one of its best men and soldiers, and the tears of his command and the nation, follow him to the grave.”
The Thin Light of Freedom: The Civil War and Emancipation in the Heart of America Edward L. Ayers P. 128-129
“Pennsylvania was crucial to the United States and to the Republicans in 1864. The state contributed more men per capita to the army than any other in the nation, rivaling New York as the largest contributor overall. Pennsylvania, moreover, was in the hands of the Republicans, unlike New York, and provided a foundation for the Lincoln administration’s electoral and legislative strength. Governor Andrew Curtain’s reelection in the fall of 1863, narrow though it was, made the governor all the more valuable.”
Note: PA. sends more Black male soldiers than any other state. PA. abolished slavery March 1, 1780 with the “Gradual Abolition Act of 1780,” & PA. was actually the first such piece of legislation in the entire Western Hemisphere (the “half of Earth which lies west of the prime meridian & east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere” according to nationalgeographic.org). Note too that the 1688 Germantown (PA) Quaker Petition Against Slavery was the very first document by any religious organization in America, in this case, during the 13 Colonies era.
peoplescontest.psu.edu/descriptive-list-deserters-pennsylvania-military-units-during-civil-war (no author stated.)
“Pennsylvania met President Lincoln’s initial call for volunteers with vigor, supplying twenty-five regiments to the request for only fourteen. Over 360,000 Pennsylvanians fought for the Union cause, serving with distinction on the battlefields across the South and at home. Another 14,000 Pennsylvanians served the nation at sea, sailing on vessels all over the world. Only the state of New York exceeded Pennsylvania’s troop contribution, and only neighboring Maryland contributed more African American soldiers than the 8,000 who came from Pennsylvania. Volunteer units were raised in communities throughout the state and were led by elected officers. Kinship and neighborhood ties created a camaraderie that promoted unit cohesiveness and pride.
This initial fervor for volunteering dissipated across the North after early military reversals and the reality of a long war set in. States and local communities offered bounties after 1861 to induce volunteers, but ultimately conscription was necessary to fulfill Pennsylvania’s federal troop quotas. Draftees could hire substitutes or pay a commutation fee if they had the resources, but this fostered the perception that the Civil War was “a rich man’s war, but a poor man’s fight” and fueled resentment of the draft. Draft resistance was strong among the predominately Irish-American miners in Schuylkill, Carbon, and Lebanon Counties and in the poorer communities of north-central Pennsylvania’s lumber country. In these regions, anti-war sentiment often reflected economic and social conflicts between landowners and mine owners on one side and miners and lumbermen on the other. Mobs halted the draft in some communities, and in Carbon County a mine owner was murdered ostensibly over his support for the draft. Nearly every community in the state experienced some resistance to Union mobilization.
Partisan politics exacerbated divisions over the draft and the Lincoln administration’s handling of the war generally. Republicans labeled so-called Peace Democrats “Copperheads” after the treacherous snake. Capitalizing on dissatisfaction with the progress of the war and the Emancipation Proclamation, the Pennsylvania Democratic state convention adopted a peace platform for the upcoming gubernatorial campaign on June 17, 1863. The nearly simultaneous Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania doomed the Democrats to defeat in the fall elections, but sporadic resistance to the draft continued throughout the remainder of the war.”
Note: Fathers of future presidents will hire substitutes so they don’t go off to war: Roosevelt, Carnegie, JP Morgan, Grover Cleveland, Chester A. Arthur.
Note: The Pennsylvania State Legislature passed two resolutions to ship Black Philadelphians “back to Africa.” Imagine if one day you woke up & your city passed a resolution to ship you off to Germany, Indonesia, China, somewhere you’ve never been. Let’s say you go “back”– see a map of African Colonies after the Berlin Conference of 1884. That’s what you would have dealt with: the colonization of most of Africa, or the “Rape of Africa,” the “Scramble for Africa,” the Partition of Africa.” Then by 1914, Europeans had kiped 90% of the continent (right now 54 countries). That left Liberia & Ethiopa.
Note: The first slaves were brought to the U.S. in 1526 by 500 Spaniards: 100 Africans, various livestock & plants, all in 3 ships. Landed near the mouth of the Pee Dee river in South Carolina. Other reports have slaves landing in 1444 or earlier. Library of Congress zoomable map of the distribution of the Southern states’ slave population in 1860: https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3861e.cw0013200/?r=0.591,0.235,0.21,0.277,0
Throes of Democracy: The American Civil War Era 1829-1877 Walter A. McDougall P. 349
“How was it that a pernicious and uncompetitive system had not only survived but become so mighty as to threaten the whole nation’s future? Senator Salmon P. Chase offered an answer. Abundant evidence proved that founders had expected slavery to disappear and surely did not intend the federal government to promote it. Chase thought natural law, common law, and the Fifth Amendment (specifying that no person could be “deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”) should have made slavery illegal from the beginning. But the tyranny had been sustained by statutory laws imposed on behalf of a tiny minority.”
Note: Living Hell: The Dark Side of the Civil War Michael C.C. Adams P. 190
“Did America keep faith with its black regiments? Harper’s Magazine reported in May of 2012 a Federal government appropriation of $14.5 million to restore Confederate President Jefferson Davis’ beach home, Beauvoir, in Biloxi, Mississippi. Tourists may take home souvenir pennies machine stamped with the head of Jefferson Davis, obliterating the bust of Lincoln, the “great emancipator.” The gift shop plans to stock copies of Little Black Sambo.”
Note: Ah yes, “restoration” always in the Lost Cause States where abortion & miscarriage are not just such, but felonies, Sex Ed is nonexistent, birth control nonaccessible, & ‘felons’ can’t vote, & even if they could, polling stations are closing at alarming rates. Definitely a felony to offer water to those in line waiting. The S.C. Voter registration system is said to have suffered 150k hacking attempts on election day, 2016.
Note: Today in 1863, Lincoln signs the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act; Andrew Jackson doesn’t revoke it until December 1, 1865.
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to pay their final adieu to the remains….
There is a small story for this…. Shipped to Bermuda after Appomattox, the Great Seal of the Confederacy gets sent back to the American South in the 20th Century. It now takes seat at the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond; gold-plated, with George Washington sitting atop his horse. Velvet-lined case. Dark purple in blue wood. It sits right there. It stays. Good boy. And at the South Carolina State History Museum is where you can visit the original Ordinance of Secession along with the South Carolina State Constitution, find them both scowling behind their shiny plexiglass cage sitting up like two small slices of bloody tombstone. Tiny placard in front the color of a dried blood spot.
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