This is part of our Winter Lecture series.
I was told it is now a lecture. I don’t like lecturing to folks but I do like presentations
so we are going to call this the presentation on If These Things Could Talk. And one of
our rangers who, if you were here last year, he actually wrote a tremendous poem about
these artifacts and I’m going to use the revised edition to introduce the program to
you right now. “Oh if all these things could talk, the tales their time would tell, bound
together as these hallowed fields wield their incomprehensible spell. Through the relics
remaining among us all employed in those old savaged ways for the tribes of the nation
contested with the curse of this crimson spew haze.”
Now if you are familiar with Ranger Burt Barnett, there’s a shout out for him, he’s done
a lot of research on poetry and so forth, and I thought that would be just the one I
guess, what do they call ‘em, stanzas, sections of poetry, and we’ll complete it at the
end, the rest of ‘em. Well, my name’s Tom Holbrook, welcome to
Gettysburg, welcome to the Winter Lecture Series or presentation on “These Things
Could Talk”. We talked a little bit about how these things got up here and the people
responsible but artifacts, material cultural, culture, always tell a story and we are very
fortunate to have here at Gettysburg in our Museum collection over 35 nearly 35,000 various
artifacts from all different sizes. Little buttons, paper clips, things like that to
big items, artillery field pieces and so forth. And that is one of the largest collections
in the nation. It started years ago in the, with the Rosensteel collection, John Rosensteel
and his family kept their collection, had it at the old, well it was our old Visitor
Center along the Taneytown Road. We acquired the collection and their building in 1971,
moved it in 1973 and so it has been in the Park Service collection for over forty years.
So we have been adding to it, many many people donate their items of historical importance
and each one of those objects we try to research and tell the story. So this is just a small
portion. Next year we’ll enlarge it a little bit more if we are fortunate enough to have
the artifacts come in. To tell the story of the first artifact it’s
basically one man and his ability, his technological ability, and – if I can turn this on – and
that is Christopher Minor Spencer. Now this year we’re focusing on 1865 and a lot of
people are familiar with the Spencer rifle, the Spencer carbine, say, “well Holbrook
that was invented in 1860, it was patent date, right on mine that I have at home there’s
the patent date of 1860”. But the Army always does improvements and things like that. But
to introduce the Spencer carbines, and we have them up on the table, you can look at
them, even handle a few after the program. Christopher Minor Spencer, he was an inventor
and a tinkerer. He worked for Colt for many years and at age 27 he left Colt along with
a partner and invested in the Spencer Repeating Rifle Company. He used the technology that
he gained and the knowledge he gained from working at Colt and he invented a very interesting
and very very important rifle and you can see the rifle and later the carbine version
up there in 18, patented in 1860. Most historians on weapons, not just of the Civil War but
of all time, rank the Spencer usually eighth or ninth on their list of the ten most important,
most influential, rifles, small arms, in history. Why? Because it was a repeater. In the days
of slow motion, loading the rifle with a ramrod and those things, before that the flintlocks,
very unreliable, slow loading. You all know that a good infantryman in the Civil War with
this Springfield rifle musket could get off maybe three rounds a minute. The Spencer upped
that to about fifteen rounds a minute. The Spencer rifle or carbine, later a carbine
version, was a breech loader and it loaded metallic cartridges. Now metallic cartridges
had been around for a while. They were starting to, the technology was advanced and the paper
cartridge was kind of going out of style. They used it in the Civil War a lot because
of, of course of economics, but metallic cartridge, like I said had been around for years, but
not in this size of caliber. This is took, trying to get it, if I, I always
have a problem with that. This took a 56/56 caliber. That’s what they called it. That
was the designation, but it was a 52 caliber bullet. Little bit larger, almost, you know
almost half an inch, over a half an inch, little bit bigger than those, those 50 caliber
Sharpe’s and some of the other weapons that were used during the American Civil War. A
little bit smaller than the 58 caliber that the Federal army used in its muskets but a
very very big round. It was backed, with copper, later brass cartridge with about 56 grains
of black powder. Now that’s quite a lot. Not as much as an infantry rifle which had
about 70 but still quite potent and those shells were loaded in a particular way. It
was a repeater and it was magazine fed but it was fed by this right here. This is, this
is the loader. You could load about seven rounds into the butt. There’s a hole and
you place this on top, this this loading tube. Get it so it’s right like that. Then how
you operate it simply drop the breech block that will send the spring loaded tube, would
send that cartridge forward into the breech, into the breech and then you, then you, then
you break the thing that you were supposed to show people. Laughter Well there’s a,
there’s a slight problem with this, their Spencer isn’t… Well, anyway, then you
put the handle back up, that acts as a trigger guard, pop the hammer, there’s an internal
firing pin, the rim fire cartridge that had the powder along the sides, that would hit
the firing pin and the weapon would fire. You could get off about fifteen rounds a minute
with this because they provided you also with a cartridge box for, for like a speed loader
and you could just keep loading and firing. Revolutionary weapon. Not evolutionary but
revolutionary. No one had seen anything like it. And I’m going to be in big trouble.
Laughter Doesn’t have, doesn’t have a safety just the hammer halfway back. So I
don’t know what the malfunction is with that but there is a problem.
Well, the Army ordered one thou, 107,000 of the 144 rifles and carbines from the Spencer
Repeating Rifle Company. Total production, 144,000. The Army ordered 107,000 of those.
The rest went to civilian sales, oversea sales, other areas of the world. So the lion share
of these went to the US Army. The rifle version as a repeater and the metallic cartridges
and total cost at $38 per weapon was way beyond the cost of the government so the government
settled on the carbine. That’s what they focused on because the carbine, they were
looking, the US Army, not the Confederate Army, but the US Army was looking for a standardization
of the multitude of carbines that cavalry and the artillery was using. They were using
Burnsides, they were using Sharpe’s, they were using all different calibers from 45
caliber up to 58 caliber, some even 69 muskatoons, they were using anything they could get a
hand on. And of course the Army likes to standardize. So the quartermaster at the time, we’re
going to talk a little about him a little later, Montgomery Meggs, decided that they
were going to standardize on one particular car, carbine for all the cavalry. Of course
for you to supply these men right away, it’s going to take a while. The carbine, the shorter
version that I broke, Laughter I think it can be repaired by maybe a qualified gunsmith,
the, the carbine version was, was readily acceptable by the government. There’s even
legend that Abraham Lincoln tried it out in the back where the Washington Monument is.
Set a up a target, Spencer was there, sold his weapon right through the President. Now
there is reason to believe and doubt that story but it sounds good anyway. But it was
approved from the higher ups that the Cavalry would be given and issued these weapons. They
started getting into the hands of the cavalrymen after the battle of Gettysburg. So throughout
1864 and 1865 there were many men in the cavalry, in the infantry, generals, colonels, that
credited the Spencer in the carbine version as being contributing to this war effort as
no other small arm did. So, I forgot who quote, made that quote but general did and so it’s
very important. By 1865 the Army had 107,000 of these carbines and some of the old rifle,
the one on top, in production in the arms of the soldiers, in contract or having the
arms. Well Spencer, of course kind of running out of, you know, manufacturing capability
to provide that many weapons, decided that he would contract with a Civil War general
who was also an entrepreneur. And Ambrose Burnside started the Burnside, I think it’s
called the Burnside Arms Company, I believe it was, and I think it was in Connecticut,
and some of those carbines were given a contract, Spencer gave the contract to General Burnside.
Now Burnside was one of the biggest supporters of course because now his company has landed
a contract and produced about 35,000 or so, roughly, of the 1865 version.
Now this is when we get into a little technology here and a little… By 1865 some of the officers,
even though the Army, the War Department, accepted the Spencer carbine, that was the
weapon of choice, it was a very, one single small arm, contributing to the victory and
all this other stuff, but it was still a repeater and the Army, of course, wants to save money.
And a repeater in the hands of a trained man with aim shots is great but now the armies
are starting to disband. The war is going to be over soon. We’re going to have a force,
a volunteer force, and these men, we don’t want them just firing single shot pell mell,
fifteen rounds a minute, loading those speed loader clip, those spend loader tubes in and
firing away. Those cartridges, those metallic cartridges for this weapon, they’re expensive.
And the Army’s always looking to make improvements so they can save money. So, in 1865 they got,
the War Department got together with, with Christopher Spencer and they wanted a select
fire weapon. Now is everyone familiar with select fire? A weapon that’s select fire,
you can select, there’s a button or something, a knob that you can turn or twist or push
that allows the weapon to single fire, single shot, fully automatic, semi-automatic? You
guys, I know it, I see from your faces you get it so I’m not going to go one with that.
They wanted a select fire weapon, they wanted a weapon that you could load single shot by
hand into the breech. But it’s kind of hard when that tube and that spring is forcing
down on those seven shots inside. It’s going to, it’s going to, you know, wreck the whole
thing. There’s going to be, when you drop the breech block, well that one’s going
to stay that way, when you drop the breech block they wanted to be able to load a shell,
a round, in the tube and then close it back up and then single shot fire it. Now some
people believe the reasoning was that when the Confederates go home, when the Army shrinks
down, and we’ve got some problems coming up to talk about in 1865 and the demobilizing
of the troops. When they all go home we’ve got a small force again, a small regular army
force, what’s their main job? Guarding fort, fortifications along the coast, both coasts,
and doing frontier duty and who are they going to protect? The civilians, manifest destiny
that are moving west. And who’s out in the west that don’t like people coming onto
their property? The Native Americans or as my friends working through the BIA for three
years they said “call us Indians, that’s what we like to be called. No Native America,
call us Indians.” So that’s what we’ll call them, fighting against the Indians. Single
shot weapons against the natives is what you need. You don’t need repeaters because Indians
don’t fight like Confederates. They don’t come at you, they don’t fight the linear
tactics of the day. They’re hit and run, they usually fire at them long distance so
a repeater would just waste ammunition. That’s what some people’s theory is. So Spencer,
being a tinker he is, and very, very ingenious, came up with an idea that was actually given
to him by a gentleman by the name Edward Stabler. No relation to Kenny Stabler because I did
the research. I tell you what. I wanted to come in here and have the snake right up there,
throwing that football but it’s not true. Edward Stabler was from Baltimore, he was
a, also an inventor and a tinkerer and probably knew Spencer from years past and Christopher
Spencer came up and asked his friend Edward Stabler to come up with a design to make this
a select fire weapon. So he introduced, he drilled a hole right behind the - I got a
pointer, there you go - here’s the 1860 model. This was used throughout the American
Civil War. 1865 model is going to be a little different. Edward Spencer invented the select
fire right here. It’s just a toggle and that limited the breech block. It would prevent
the breech block from falling all the way like what happened on our 1860 and allowed
it to be loaded single, by a single shot. You could still load up those seven rounds
in the, but the breech block wouldn’t fall down to allow that spring to push it into
the chamber. So the Stabler cutoff. Oops. The Stabler cutoff is a great great single
shot. In this formation right here, straight up and down, it functions as the Spencer carbine
should, fifteen rounds a minutes, rapid fire, semi-automatic almost if you will. With this,
in this configuration, going which would be horizontally by just a twist of the fingers
that would make it a select fire weapon. We could load one round in and the Army thought
that that was just the cat’s meow. That’s great. No we’ve got a single shot weapon.
Also the cavalrymen that led the cavalry, your Sheridans, your Custers, also wanted
it to be a little more lightweight, a little more easy to handle when you get off the back
of the horse. So what they did, also as an improvement, they cut off, and then later
started manufacturing, two inches of the barrel. Now if we go back we can see, on this picture
you can’t see it very well but after the program you come up and you, you look at the
1860, the one that I broke, and the one over here, the 1865, and you’ll see that the
two inches of the barrel, it’s 20 inch barrel not 22, that made it a little easy to get
back off the horse and handling and so forth. So and, so for the War Department that was
great. Also the caliber was a little bit too big. That 56/56 cartridge, that 52 caliber
was a little bit big so they demanded that the barrel, the bore was going to be shrunk
down to 50 caliber because they were also experimenting with that caliber. They thought,
the Army after the Civil War, that big 58 caliber bullet, the dynamics of that bullet
just was not going to be useful in future wars so they wanted to shrink everything down
to a standardized 50 caliber. So you’ve got a half an inch bullet, lower or cut off
two inched of the barrel and then you have also the Stabler cutoff. Spencer, like I said,
with a contract to Burnside produced many of these and side by side little difference
was made. Some were also converted, the 1860 at the bottom, or at the top, was converted
to the ’65 and what we have is Spencer and their use today. You know what? For one of
the most important eight or nine or maybe ten on the all-time list of important small
arms rifles produced world-wide, history-wide, most historians agree with that, why don’t
you see that many Spencer rifles or carbines used in movies, television? You don’t see
too many, much interest in them except along some small collectors, but I found, thanks
to John Heisser, my research that probably an 1860 Spencer was used by Morgan Freeman
in the movie The Unforgiven that was produced by Clint Eastwood by the way, the same one
who produced the sniper movie. One that narrates our Cyclorama, or narrates the film that’s
usually in here. So they are used and they are very important, often ignored but, I tell
you what. That 1865 was a great improvement. The Army though started trials to replace
it almost immediately. In 1866 to 1870, four years, they experimented with all types of
weapons. Repeaters, magazine weapons that were coming out, box magazine weapons, single
shot. They wanted metallic cartridge and finally after many years of being used on the plains,
used in the hands of the cavalry, the carbine was not selected in 1870 as the standard arm
of the US Army. Nor was the rifle. That was awarded to the government armory, government
contractor, the one that makes it up in Springfield Massachusetts. They developed a conversion
of Erskine Allen, the Allen conversion, which later became the 4570 Trapdoor rifle and carbine
which served the US Army right up to and through the Spanish American War. Some National Guard
troops even had that Trapdoor in their armories and so forth and trained with them prior to
World War I. One of the longest existing standard weapons in the history of the United States
military. The Trapdoor. Took this out of history. So, for a brief time, the Spencer, for maybe
ten years, the Spencer ruled supreme. But technology and government folks decided that
its days were limited and now we just see it in the movies or up here when we break
them. Alright, quick, maybe just two questions.
Anyone have some quick questions? I like to do this real quick. Anyone have any questions
on the Spencer and so you can come out and handle this weapon. Sorry about that 1860.
That’s going to be little bit difficult but anyone in the crowd, you know, can fix
it without breaking it further, I would be appreciative.
OK. Unheard comment from the floor You know, there’s a man that knows his weapons. That
might be the answer. Ladies and gentlemen, this man right here! Laughter and clapping
And I thought I knew Spencer carbines. That’s a very good point. I’ll remember that. Thank
you very much sir. Oh, no, no, no, no. Now watch me break it further. I’m kind of,
kind of, kind of got a problem. This always have a difficult time to get in. There, I’ll
work with that later. OK. Let’s continue. We’re here with the next artifacts and it’s
a battle flag. Unfortunately the remnant of the battle flag we do not have it out. It’s
being restored. When I make arrangements to have it come out Mr. Goddell said “Yes,
you’re going to have it”. And then it was one of those items that he had mistaken
that was going to be pre… going to preservation. We do a lot of preservation work down at Harpers’
Ferry with those experts. They wouldn’t… they wouldn’t abide by my handling of the
Spencer for sure. One of the Confederate battle flags captured at Five Forks. We do have some
good pictures of it though. Many of you know the Battle of Five Forks a little bit. That
was the far right flank of the Confederate line defending Petersburg. It was a little
road junction. It was where Rhodes went in about five directions. Not too far from a
little church called Namozine Church and there was some heavy fighting in this area to control
that, that2crossroads if you will. And of course the railroad that crossroad protected.
It was a little place, a little place called Weldon Railroad. You probably heard of the
fighting around there. A little bit about the battle. You know, attacked the western
defenses of the Petersburg line protecting the south side railroad, Weldon Railroad,
those areas like that. This particular battle flag was taken by a man of the 2nd Maryland
infantry. As it says up here, Lieutenant Jacob Koogle of Co. G, 7th Maryland Volunteers charged
over the breastworks, captured the flag and in doing so, this is the legend now, ended
the Battle of Five Forks. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for this
flag, for capturing this flag. Now we see a remnant of it. Now you ask me “Why is
there a remnant of this flag? Why don’t you have the whole thing?” Because Lieutenant
Koogle, like many me who captured the flag, knew, just like this program it’s a cooperative
effort, so what they would do is that he would cut up pieces and distribute that to the men.
That was very common. A battle flag being the symbol of enemy resistance and symbol
of valor. A lot of men won, or were awarded, the Medal of Honor for capturing a flag but,
so they divided it up. They divided the spoils up among each other and it was very common
to do. That’s why we have only a little bit. You can tell by the, some of the marks,
that it was definitely cut either with a knife or a scissors or something to distribute to
the men that contributed to Lieutenant Koogle’s capturing of the flag.
Flags are important and this gives me a little time to regress down and talk a little bit
about battle flags in general. Battle flags were… ohh, got a little ahead of ourselves.
Battle flags were very important. They were symbols of your particular regiment, particular
company. They were usually made, in the early stages of the war, by the ladies at home that
would spend hours together, communing to make this flag, present it to the colonel or present
it to the captain. Men took a lot of pride in that flag. Very much that you wouldn’t
want it captured. That’s an embarrassment. You’re… you have so much pride in that
flag. Flags were also use in linear tactics of the day as, as locational, where the company
was, where the regiment was. We can see the flags above through the smoke. You could find
out who they were and then the leaders of battle in those days of line tactics could
maneuver those men and say “Oh well, that’s the Iron Brigade. Send them in, they’ll
hold the line”. Or “That’s the Stonewall Brigade over there. I can tell by their, their
battle flags and the awards on them, the battles they fought”. So they were also directional
markers in the days of communication being as it was. Battle flags served also as almost
personal tributes to, to units and so forth. At times they had the battle honors on them.
Just like today’s military and some of the formal flags will have the battle ribbons
on their, on their flags. So were just not something, just a directional finder, just
something that was used. It was very very important. It symbolized the victory or defeat
over your opponent if you were able to capture his flag. There’s a gentleman that, for
capturing two battle flags won two Medals of Honor in the American Civil War and I know
somebody out there’s got to know his name. Indecipherable from the audience. There you
go. Yup. Simply they say by capturing a battle flag because of your enemy, what that means
to them, that’s their whole embodiment of those men in that flag. Flags don’t come
easy. They’re usually tough and very difficult if you capture them from the enemy when the
enemy is still fighting. No surrender battle flags, dropped battle flags, a different story.
Controversy here at Gettysburg over battle flags. Massachusetts says to the 1st Minnesota
“We captured the battle flag of the 28th Virginia. We set it in a pile and one of your
men came over it took it from our pile and sneaked it back to the 1st Minnesota line.”
So the debate still is today. Massachusetts sided with Virginia when Virginia requested
that Minnesota send back that flag. Everyone does it. There’s a big push recently, maybe
twenty years ago, that these flags be returned as a symbol of good will. The governor at
the time in Minnesota, a gentleman by the name of Jesse Ventura, he said “I’ll be
damned if that flag goes back to Virginia. To the victors go the spoils”. So the flag
of the 28th remains in the State House proudly on display by the brave men of the 1st Minnesota
who, according to Massachusetts, snuck it off their pile. But capturing the flag is,
as the Indians would say “big medicine”. That is something worthy and brave soldiers,
usually if witnessed by important people, people in the, in the, in the upper echelons,
you are going to get a, you’re going to receive the Medal of Honor for it. And guess
who received the Medal of Honor for capturing the battle flag. Now we don’t know what
it was, what, I know the 7th Maryland was part of the attack. I do know they were going
against some of, of course, Pickett’s division at that time. I believe it was… not General
Cowan… I forgot who it was. But it was one of the regiments out of Pickett’s division,
probably similar to the regiments that were here at Gettysburg, but we have no idea because
it’s been cut up, distributed among the men and we lost, no battle honors, nothing
on this flag, so it kind of remains a mystery where it came from. Or what regiment it came
from. We do know that it was captured there at Five Forks. Any questions on the Confederate
battle flag. I know that was interest, prelude to talk a little bit about how important battle
flags were but does anyone have any comments, questions about that? Yes sir. Indecipherable
question from the audience. Ten stars? Well, I don’t know. That’s a good, good thing.
Maybe this was…. Yeah, it should have had eleven stars. Some even carried a thirteen.
But this one, yeah if you were to extend it out it doesn’t really quite get up to eleven,
does it? The one in the middle and then… I don’t know. Maybe it was a smaller flag,
maybe it was particularly made for that particular, you know, company, maybe, it could have been….
The size is a small, the remnant on the bottom is relatively small, it’s not a big regimental
flag so it might have been a company marker, a company flag that was carried. And it could
maybe beyond what we see here, it could have had Co D of the, you know, 28th VA. Who knows?
We just don’t know. So that’s a good question, a mystery. These things they do have a lot
of mystery to them. Next item. The model 1851 US regulation great
coat. Now people say “What’s so exciting about a great coat? It doesn’t tell much
of a story.” If this thing could talk, if this great coat could talk, I tell you what.
It would tell you volumes. Number one, it’s one of the surviving great coats. They were
used tremendously from 1851 right through the American Civil War, right through the
Indian wars, right up through the Spanish American War. They made so many, contracts
and so forth. They had so much of these surplus that they were used and used hard. They were
sold to Batterman in his island out there in the Hudson. And cut up and destroyed. So
having an original overcoat is, I was told by our curator in our Museum folks, it is
even more rare than having a uniform jacket. So what are your chances to actually come
up, with some gloves after the program, look at this overcoat and see what makes it very
unique. Standard button. Something tells me there is something a little bit deeper to
the story. I’ve done a little history, or story or research if you will, on overcoats.
Especially 1851. This one has a stand and fall collar. It stands and then it falls,
just like some of the shirts you’re wearing. Just like the shirt I’m wearing. Stand and
fall collar. It also has a cape that comes nearly down to where the cartridge belt would
be underneath the coat or over the coat if you prefer. That tells me that because the
cape is longer and it is detachable and it doesn’t have a standing collar, that this
is a cavalry overcoat. The difference between a cavalry, issued to the cavalry, the horse
mounted branch, and to the artillery. The difference between that, that was infantry.
The infantry coat, the cape would be shorter probably by about six inches. Fewer buttons,
of course, and then the stand and fall collar was replaced with a standing collar with a
little button or a little latch that you, that you can button up right to the top. Now
a lot of people say, oh yeah, well that’s typical. Cavalry made different things and
it’s more probably prevalent, they probably made more of these than they did for the infantry.
But it brings up some interesting things. If you could see inside there, it’s got
a contract number, who made it, a gentleman by the name of, I think his name is Wilbur,
H.P. Wilbur and Sons in February 1865 is in the sleeve. Now when these things are rare,
not many around, destroyed, to get one and to find one with a contract you can do some
research then. And so you go back to one gentleman that was instrumental in all of the procurement
of, I think we have a picture of him, I think, no. And that’s the Chief Quartermaster of
the Federal Army Montgomery C. Meigs. Now a lot of people don’t know Meigs. Major
General Volunteers US Army, March 13th 1865. That’s all they know about him. Oh he’s
in Washington, in charge of the Quartermaster Department. The Quartermaster Department was
in charge of gathering supplies, issuing supplies and the definition of them is right here.
“The business of the Department naturally divides itself into three sub-departments
as follows, clothing, camp and garrison equipment, transportation land and water and all means
of supplies, regular and contingent supplies for the Army and its department.” Everything
that was not foodstuff, that was the commissary, foodstuff, all the supplies, ordered, contracts,
supplied, make sure the troops get them by the Quartermaster Department. The Quartermaster
Department, under Montgomery Meigs, had to outfit how many Federal soldiers? Nearly three
million soldiers? States initially supplied but when they were federalized for federal
service guess whose responsibility was to cloth them? The Federal government. So Montgomery
Meigs was a genius in organize, in organizing. These simple but rare overcoats to make sure
the troops get them, to make sure their contracts are met, to make sure they don’t exceed
the dollar amount per item on the contracts and make sure they’re not of shoddy material.
They’re good. He has inspectors, he has distributors. This was big business. Millions
and millions of dollars were spent by the Federal government before the days of taxes
to outfit and supply the Army of the Potomac, the Army of the Tennessee, the Army of the
Cumberland, Sherman’s army whatever they were called, Bert can tell you. Amazing! Everything
from forks to canteens to overcoats to clothing to shoes to footwear to wagons. Anything but
food. Amazing and Montgomery Meigs is the single most determining factor. I thought
I had a picture of him. I do apologize but you can Google him and get a nice picture
I bet. But I tell you what. There’s one man who’s responsible for the Quartermaster
Corps. What an effort in four years of doing that. It’s amazing what this man and his
department did. They, if you took away every other factor, single most determining factor
in winning the American Civil War. Keep the ammunition coming, keep those rifles from
the contractors coming. Getting them in the hands of the soldiers. Delivering them. Quartermaster
Department was remarkable and it was organized by Montgomery Meigs. Career military man,
fought in the Mexican War, was quartermaster under Zachary Taylor in the Mexican War. Marvelous
man, not a fighter, you don’t hear about him leading a charge at Gettysburg but I tell
you what, the single most important man for the Union war effort, Montgomery C. Meigs.
M E I G S. Quartermaster Department. I know some of you out in the crowd probably worked
for them. Amazing what they do. Amazing what they do to fight wars and win wars. Unbelievable.
So this simple, though but rare, cavalry stand and fall collar, long cape, contracted by
H. P. Wilbur in 1865, probably one of the last ones to come out of the contractors,
tells the story of remarkable, incredible perseverance in supply. Often it’s not exciting
but that’s what wins this war for the north. Single most determining factor was the supply.
Keeping those supplies coming, getting those contractors and Montgomery Meigs, single most
important man doing that. OK, let’s keep moving. Any questions about that. I know I
just gave you a little tidbit of Montgomery Meigs but a fascinating man. So this program
is also a provocation. We learned that in interpretive school. To provoke you to do
some kind of response. The provocation for this gentleman was the broken carbine. Try
taking the tube out. There’s the provocation. I gave you a little tidbit about supply some
of you know a little bit. I urge you to go and look up, start to research and do some
work on the Quartermaster Department for the Federal army. You’ll be amazed with the
number involved. Do you have any questions? Real brief. I can answer about Montgomery
Meigs, maybe. Or the Quartermaster Department that supplied the Union Army to victory.
On the other hand, the Quartermaster Department for the Confederate army was not as well organized.
It was basically done by states. You have heard the old adage that the Confederacy died
because of states’ rights. Each state was battling with each other over their control
of their states and I tell you what. That doomed certainly the Quartermaster Department.
There’s a story of Georgia troops fighting Sherman’s troops and wanting supplies but
their supplies they were asking for came from my home state, North Carolina. You ain’t
going to get ‘em from our governor. They belong to North Carolina state troops. We’re
not going to share with those Georgians. So the supply was very important.
General John C. Robinson. What we have next is an artifact would tell a very very interesting
story of a man often neglected. Not only here at Gettysburg but throughout the American
Civil War and that’s division commander Major General John C. Robinson. As you can
see, he was born in Binghamton New York in 1817. Was a failure at West Point, he was
dismissed for violating regulations. On further research we never found out what those regulations
were, there were so many at West Point. A little thing about West Point and those type
of infractions. There was one man that did something that was remarkable. In five years
of study at West Point he earned zero demerits. Even Douglas MacArthur cannot make that claim.
And just through something out. I know you are a very knowledgeable group. Who was that
man? Do you know who he was? Robert E. Lee. Zero demerits in five years of study. Unbelievable.
Dismissed for violating those but, however he did have enough talent to get into and
enlist in the United States Army as a second lieutenant in the 5th infantry. In the opening
days he was in command of Fort McHenry where he negotiated pro-southern parties to leave
the fort and garrison and secure the city by additional federal troops. The he was elected
colonel of the 1st Michigan infantry although being from New York that was very common in
those days. Now what, what we have here, what we have here is the commission and tube that
it came in. Now you say “well gosh, it’s paper and it’s a commission. How many major
generals were brevetted US regular army? There must have been hundreds, if not thousands,
during the American Civil War.” I bet even Colonel Sanders probably could claim some
kind of lineage to that. You know, thousands of men. What makes this one so,so particularly
interesting? Why does, why with the tube that has his name? Is it because Robinson was some
kind of special guy or anything? No, he’s like hundreds of ‘em. But commissions, especially
general officer commissions, very rarely see the light of day. The paper that they were
penned on and the pen that was used, iron in it, fades, it destroys the paper. Sunlight,
just keeping it out here it’s disintegrating as we speak. Paper items of this importance
usually are not on display. You’ll see a letter, you won’t see a commission. This
might be your only chance to actually pick up and hold a commission of a major general
during the American Civil War. What’s interesting when you get up close you’ll see that his
commission, by brevet, right here, was dated April of 1865 as a reward for the service
done in the American Civil War. The War Department on March 13th 1865 by brevet promoted everyone.
Major generals of volunteers like Custer, which is a temporary rank for volunteer’s
service, was granted and awarded by Congress on March 13th brevet major general US Army,
in the regular army. Now that brings up and interesting point. This brevet, what does
that mean? It’s a temporary rank. Usually when a lot of men serve in the Civil War,
tons of men are coming in. They need generals, they need leaders. So what they do is their
linear rank is maybe colonel in the US Army, they have time and grade maybe of a colonel
like General Robert E. Lee. But because their services are needed in this huge expanded
army they promote them by brevet. It’s a temporary rank but with the brevet you get
the pay that goes with along with it. Major generals in the American Civil War average
about 32 thou, 32 hundred dollars a year. Three thousand two hundred. You do the math.
The lowly private making 13, that was a lot of money back then. A lot of these generals
were also wealthy before they came into the service. Brevets, people say they are not
important. But brevet rank can be used. They can use it, for example, here at Gettysburg.
On the first day of the battle of Gettysburg there was a major general by the name of Abner
Doubleday of the 1st Corps. And he called upon another general, Oliver Otis Howard,
major general of the 11th Corps. General Howard thought he should be in command because his
brevet rank of major general in the US Army predated by a few weeks, Abner Doubleday’s.
Technically yes. The Army says whoever dates first by brevet, whoever dates before is ranking
over the other. So basically Howard, which it didn’t quite work out that way on July
1st for him, but fought throughout the American Civil War to have that recognized. I think
that finally, in 1865, they did recognize that yes, at Gettysburg in 1863 you technically
had command of the troops out there on the first day. But that’s after the fact. Brevets
you get the pay. Army did something kind of sneaky. The reward for winning the war, the
war’s almost over, April 13th Congress promoted all these men. Custer went from major general
of volunteers to major general, US Army. Now technically he’s to get the pay that goes
with it. He’s earning volunteer pay which is about the same but technically he’s to
get it. As soon as the war ends, before they could issue any of the checks, these men now,
technically on paper, go back to their linear rank. Custer had been, time and grade, in
the US Army only enough to earn him a captaincy. He was a captain. So they said “no, no you
don’t get that. You don’t get the brevet, the pay that goes with it. But you get the
title. You can keep that forever.” And that’s what they did. General Custer. And if you
read some of the accounts on the Battle of Little Big Horn years ago … how many of
you are big fans of that battle, it’s fascinating. It’s also very confusing. Because some of
the reports they are calling Major Reno General Reno. They’re calling Lieutenant Colonel
George Armstrong Custer General Custer. They’re calling his brother Tom Custer that was with
him, head of a company also on his staff, Colonel Custer. So when they say Colonel Custer
you think they are talking about General Custer but they’re talking about his brother Tom,
the guy that won the two Medal of Honor at, during the battle of Sailors Creek in Five
Forks. It’s confusing because you’re entitled that brevet. There were brevets from, from,
people went from sergeant right up to colonel. As an honorary rank but the war ended but
sorry, so you don’t get the pay that goes with it. But you get to keep the title, that’s
good. So it’s very confusing. This is a brevet rank from April of 1863,
excuse me, from 1865. Now, if you’re to get technical, General Custer could come up
in time of war because the war wasn’t quite over yet, and he could actually be in charge
of John Robinson. This very experienced, non-flamboyant, just does his job and does it well major general,
because his date could have preceded it in March. Hi was in April. Just like our friend
Olive Otis Howard. Comes with a tube. That’s very interesting because just a Japan metal
tube, his name on it, so forth. Usually they would purchase these and sometime Congress
did, did issue these out to them when they got their brevet. General Robinson, a little
bit other history here at Gettysburg. You all know here. General Robinson was a fighter
and he was very very tenacious and he was also very kind of non-flamboyant kind of genera.
Here, what at the start of the seven Days Battle with General Kearney said about Robinson
in his official report. “I have reserved the last in this report for General Robinson.
To him this day is due above all others in his division the honors of this battle. The
attack was on the wing, everywhere present by his personal supervision and noble example
he secured us the honor of victory.” General Robinson repeated that right up here at Gettysburg.
His division, unlike many divisions of the 11th Corps taken by surprise, fought and they
fought rear guard actions to allow the rest of Howard’s, Howard’s corps to get back
in safety back in the town. This man right here is responsible for that. Here at Gettysburg
he has a statue. Most of these men, you know to have a statue put up on the field, once
again that’s big medicine. You don’t get it for just holding, doing your job. You’ve
got to go a little bit beyond that. General Robinson, ups, save one of the last, best
for last here. General Robinson, of course non-flamboyant, doesn’t say much doesn’t
speak much, just his actions. Same will be repeated after Gettysburg. Named an avenue
after him. You don’t get an avenue just named after you. General Robinson was one
of the federal heroes of the battle of Gettysburg for standing his ground. Not fleeing, surrounded.
Jubal Early surrounding, cutting him to pieces and he stood there and fought rear guard actions
for the rest of the 11th Corps to survive. So I tell you what, get out to that first
day, pay a little homage if you’re a, if you’re a supporter of bravery here at Gettysburg.
Any questions? Really brief, it’s not a history of General Robinson, it’s not designed
that way. I just wanted you to take a look at his commission. Any questions? Maybe about
brevets? OK, temporary. Doyle Sapp, superintendent. He came here to
fill, just temporary, the chief interpretation so actually, being superintendent coming down
to chief, we’re using his knowledge as superintendent and his years of experience for our interpretive
division. Actually that’s not a brevet that’s actually a demotion. But he still gets the
pay of a superintendent. Laughter I have to bust at you, Doyle.
Finally as we wrap everything up, I want to give some time for you to come up too. Also
is a canteen. Kind of begs about Montgomery Meigs and supply. If the canteen could talk
it would tell you “Oh yes, went through the whole rigor. I was distributed here and
went through here and contract and everything like that.” But what makes this particular
canteen very very moving and very very much a important piece is that it belonged to a
man in the 95th Pennsylvania, Sergeant John Cooke. The 95th was formed out of Philadelphia.
John Cooke as a young man enlisted in Company D of the 95th. Coming out I believe of Madison,
I believe it was Madison Pennsylvania. I don’t really know where that is but I think it was
gobbled up when Penns, Philadelphia expanded. It might be in suburb or so. Goslin’s Zouaves,
you can tell his uniform is one of those Zouaves, those North African French troops that wore
that particular uniform. Garish and rather impractical but a nice uniform. Looked pretty.
And of course Zouaves were very important to stimulate the war effort. To enlistments
and so forth. Cooke was a veteran of countless campaigns and battles. Matter of fact he was
in every single major battle and wounded in most of them during the American Civil War.
Promoted to sergeant and towards the end of the war, just after the Petersburg campaign
and the fall of Five Forks, General Lee’s army was retreating. They were retreating
back to the line, probably hopefully to link up maybe with General Johnson’s army. And
at a little place called Saylor’s Creek which is part of the Appomattox campaign,
tail end of the Petersburg campaign, the armies met. Cavalry fought first. The cavalry met,
I think it was General Lomax and some of Custer’s men I believe, that fought cavalry battle,
brought the infantry there. 95th held a portion of the line. You can see where the 95th is.
They’re right up here. I believe they were with, with Hamblin’s 2nd brigade right here,
part of Cowan’s division. They were holding this part of the line and then attacked right
against Kershaw’s men. Now General Joseph Kershaw, you’re familiar with him at Gettysburg.
By then, of course, now he’s been promoted to, to a, I believe a brigade commander. And
they attacked and the fighting was fierce along that line. The battle went back and
forth in that part of, around Hillman Farm. Just battle back and forth. One time the Confederates
attack Kershaw’s men, Hillman’s men were pushed, Hamblin’s men were pushed back.
Back and forth the battle went. A lot of casualties both sides. It was very contested part of
Saylor’s Creek. John Heisser I think, next week, will talk a little bit more in detail
about this. So I’ll leave that to John. But during this fight at Hillman’s Farm
Sergeant Cooke was wounded. Some records say the fourth time, the official records twice.
And found his way to a collection aid area where they were collecting the wounded troops.
About two years previous at the Battle of Antietam, also Sergeant Cooke was wounded.
When he was sitting next to and brought next to him was a young Confederate boy and being
wounded he shares his canteen with this boy and they start to talk at the Battle of Antietam.
And never did get his name he said but the shared a lot of pleasantries with the man,
with the boy. And never knew what happened to the boy, kind of regretted not knowing.
But shared a lot of details about where he was from and the politics and things that
he would talk about. They liked to hunt, they liked to fish, they had a lot of stuff in
common. Two years later at Saylor’s Creek he has the same canteen, he carried it throughout
the war. I think it’s a model 55, it’s a smooth canteen it’s not one of those ribbed
ones. It’s just a standard everyday issue canteen. At that Battle of Saylor’s Creek
the tag that he had typed up, partially written on the canteen tell the whole story. He’s
brought to that collection agency, or I’m thinking about my own personal life here,
laughter that collection area on the battlefield and was set down and a few moments later a
severely wounded major of the Confederate infantry was set next to him. Probably from
Kershaw’s, one of Kershaw’s regiments. And they shared, he asked if he would like
a drink of water. Of course you know wounded men losing fluids and blood, yeah, yes, I
am very thirsty. Men in battle, losing fluids are always begging for water. And this man
said “Sure I would love to have some water.” And they shared a lot. They talked about what
they are going to do after the end of the war. The canteen, the note tells a little
bit of what happened but the story he’s relating, come down through the family, are
some really touching moments. Almost brings a tear to your eye. Some of the things that
they shared, family and they had so much in common. And for me, that moment with Sergeant
Cooke and this unmentioned name of the major of the infantry for the Confederate army is
a way that, for me, when people share, men share together, suffer together, fight together,
see horrible things. But yet, during the American Civil War, we’re Americans. We had more
in common than we had that divided us. And, you know, what’s nice about this canteen,
I’m not speaking from any script here, is that Colonel Cooke and that canteen, because
of the nature of what they shared, the intimacy they had as enemies officially but actually
as getting together as Americans, symbolized something that doesn’t happen in war. Specially
a war where, that divides a nation. I doubt you’d find any Colonel Cooke canteen in
Bosnia or Herzegovina. I don’t think you’ll find any canteen with this sentiment in the
Ukraine right now. But at that moment these men came together and after, stayed in contact
with one another throughout the remainder of their time together, departed and they
never saw each other again. But he writes about this, Colonel Cooke, or rather Sergeant
Cooke writes about this. That this is my enemy? He was my brother. Makes it a very poignant
message I think that we still learn, in common layman’s term, that don’t happen very
much any more. That doesn’t happen. And then the final artifact. Laughter Now
I won’t. I won’t, I won’t make it a little lighter here from that, from Colonel
Cooke’s canteen. Yes, John Heisser has summed it up brilliantly in his text on the left
and a beautiful picture because it doesn’t show the, my driver’s license that’s to
the left in the little pocket there. That’s frightening. No faint of heart, no you know,
no light weights in the crowd. But as a kind of levity he’s making fun of my frugalness.
Before we go we have some special folks in the audience again and I’d like to introduce.
The Williams family, they are the great great, great greats and great great great greats
of Sergeant Cooke. So would you like to stand up, please? Clapping Up front here. It was
interesting. Mrs. Renee Williams. Where’s Mrs. Williams? Right there. Yes, stand right
in front. She came up, oh a couple months ago, to the Visitors Center and was talking
about her relative the great great uncle, the great great great uncle John Cooke and
I wasn’t too familiar with the story. I did, I thought maybe we have that canteen
on display because she would like to see it. And she told me where she got the information.
Actually the 95th history was written by John Heisser. I found that out. The 95th did not
have a regimental history but John, through sources like the Cooke story, Sergeant Cooke,
John Cooke and other stories and of course the other, the regimental histories that you
have on certain battles, did construct a very excellent, a very well written history of
the 95th although be it brief. And mentioned, of course, this very poignant story, how these
men. Enemies on the field came together and almost a brotherhood. So thank you very much
for your great great grandfather. The William Family ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for
everything. Well, our program is completed almost on time.
I usually don’t put much store on time but I would like to thank you once again, not
only the William family, Gregg Goodell, John Heisser, Doyle Sapp, ladies and gentlemen
and also, of course, that guy with the ponytail that Andrew, which I don’t know his name
and all the protection rangers and all you for coming out. You flatter me and I appreciate
it and thank you very much and maybe I’ll see you next week. If you’d like to come
on down, come on down. You can handle some of these things. You want to get a pair of
gloves on. And you can handle the carbines with the gloves.
