Time well spent: Gettysburg 2016

 

         After spending nine solid days at Gettysburg for the 2016 Civil War Institute and the traditional extra days walking and exploring the battlefield, some thoughts:

          This year’s Institute was primarily devoted to the Reconstruction era of US history, a subject Your Loyal Blogger has spent little time studying. Thus, the ideas were fresh and new. Scott Hartwig’s discussion of John Bachelder’s vision for Gettysburg and Bachelder’s tireless effort to complete an accurate presentation of what happened there was fascinating. Mark W. Summers’ presentation on the questions of Reconstruction was outstanding, a tremendous talk. Barbara Krauthamer spoke right after Summers and was also very effective.

          Megan Kate Nelson gets special mention. She gave three presentations in one day, having started the day with a case of laryngitis. Got ‘em all done.

          Your Loyal Blogger went on two tours of the battlefield at Gettysburg that simply could not have been better. The first, led by Christian Keller of the US Army War College explained the use of history, specifically the fight at Gettysburg, as a practical tool. Keller talked about how he leads Staff Rides with US military officers (and others). He talked about the strategical, operational and tactical level of planning and the use of the battlefield for those levels of planning. Leaders, Keller said, sometimes see what they want to see and react accordingly. He termed this “cognitive dissidence,” and used Union General Francis Barlow as an example to drive the point. On the first day of the battle, Barlow moved his men from their assigned position to an area of higher ground. Barlow was routed by the Confederates.

          The second tour was led by a favorite of this blogger, Susannah Ural of the University of Southern Mississippi. Ural led us down the path of the Fourth Texas Regiment during that unit’s attack toward Little Round Top on July 2, 1863. This was an absolutely tremendous opportunity. The idea was to follow a private named Val Giles along his way through the attack. Giles wrote home about the battle and Ural used his letters to make points along the way. She also paused to point out the path of the First Texas and explained how the attack’s path differed from the original plan.

          Truth be told, this writer has wanted to walk that specific area of the battlefield for years. Ural’s tour made it possible to walk the area while coming to a better understanding of it.

          This year’s CWI was tremendous. It was sold out and it did not disappoint.

          Next year’s Institute does not have a theme but the preview available at http://www.gettysburg.edu/cwi/ makes it obvious that it will be another great week.

          Ural will be there to discuss the Texas Brigade and two other presentations look very interesting: A panel discussing William Tecumseh Sherman and a talk by Earl Hess titled Rethinking Braxton Bragg. James Ogden, the historian at the Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park, another favorite here, will give an overview of the siege of Chattanooga.

          Hope to see you there.

 

          Teaming with fellow Civil War buff Buck Weber, the search began for the location where Confederate General James Longstreet made what seems like an elemental blunder before the fighting started on July 2, 1863. Some of Longstreet’s men were moving behind Confederate lines toward their pre-attack location when they stayed into a position where they were visible to the small number of Federal Signal Corps soldiers positioned on Little Round Top.

          After discovering the potentially disastrous mistake, Longstreet ordered the men to retrace their steps and take another path toward the takeoff spot. This cost the Confederates several hours before the attack could start. Given how Confederate failure can be measured in a small number of minutes that day, this was an important spot to understand.

          Weber’s map reading skills led us to a raised spot along Blackhorse Tavern Road, not far from Hagerstown Road, where Round Top was visible. It was determined that minus some modern day trees, Little Round Top would also be within sight.

          Locating this spot helps you understand the scope of the distances involved in fighting a Civil War battle.

          Two areas of emphasis for the next visit to Gettysburg emerged during the week: Generate a better understanding of the locations Barksdale/Wilcox attack on July 2, 1863 and the fighting north of the Bloody Angle on that same afternoon.

 

          Thanks for reading.

Taking in the 2016 Civil War Institute with an old pal

         

         

          This week, a rare opportunity to walk the fields of Gettysburg with close friend and Founding Member of the Wall Gang, Bucky Weber. This trip is something we have talked about for years and now, thanks to the patience, understanding and humor of our wives we finally get to do it.

          Buck and I are both history buffs although I think he has been interested in the American Civil War longer than I. He has visited Gettysburg once before, just one day in a severely limited capacity, and has longed to return. I am so pleased that we got to go together.

          Mrs. Leeway and I have visited Gettysburg annually for eight years. This is the sixth year for me at the Civil War Institute at Gettysburg College, a tremendous, 5-day conference featuring some really great presenters. The theme of this year’s CWI is Reconstruction.

          One part of my CWI experience this year will be a tour with brilliant Civil War historian Susannah Ural. We’ll follow the steps of the 4^th Texas Infantry at Little Round Top. It just doesn’t get much better than that.

          Funny thing this year: I worked in New Jersey this past weekend and drove by the Gettysburg cutoff on the way home today. We’ll drive back there Wednesday but this time we’ll TAKE the cutoff.

          Darn right.

          Amy and I have two restaurants we like it Gettysburg and the three of us will make our pilgrimages this year. Regan and Erik plan to come down to see us Sunday and we’ll probably hit the pub GarryOwen (sic) on that day.

          My battlefield equipment: Heavy walking boots, a large-billed sun hat, jeans, lots of sun screen and bug repellant, dark glasses and photo gear. One very light windbreaker in case of rain (it’s usually a warm rain in June, so I use the windbreaker to protect my camera). Oh, I usually bring the map, too.

Maps of the battlefield are available at the Visitors Center and I get one for every visit in order to mark various vantage points. Multiple batteries for each camera, a monopod and a tripod. My gear fits in one large camera bag. I have walked all over the battlefield with that bag.

I usually arrive at a battlefield with a detailed plan for my field walks but this year my plan is to go where my buddy wants to go, since it is really his first visit. We’ll look at his check list, plan a route and go. We have Wednesday afternoon/evening and all day Thursday at the battlefield. The CWI starts Friday afternoon and runs through Tuesday. Another day and a half on the battlefield after that before we head home.

One thing I’d like to show Bucky, if there is time: The location where the Maryland regiment of Union soldiers defended Culp’s Hill against the charge of the Confederate Marylanders.

Mrs. Leeway is smarter than Mr. Weber and I. She spends much of our Gettysburg stays in the air-conditioned hotel room, sometimes venturing across the hotel parking lot to the movie theater or to the outlet mall. There is very inexpensive public transportation that stops at our hotel roughly every hour. She’ll join us for the ice cream social at the CWI and for the big dinner on the final night of the Institute.

Hard to explain how excited Amy and I are about Bucky’s visit and our trip to Gettysburg. One thing for sure, we’ll all be posting on various platforms. Hope you can look us up.

Generations

          It doesn’t take long to do the math, but you might want to pay attention to what this all adds up to.

          All of us have eight great grandparents, 16 great-great grandparents and 32 great-great-great grandparents. The reader may pause now to figure it out: We each have two parents. They each have two parents (our grandparents, that’s 4) and they each have two parents (great grandparents, 8) and so on.

          Most of our great-great grandparents can have hundreds of descendants. Remember, it was common in the early and mid-1800s to have large families. There were no televisions or even electric lights in those years and, hard as it might seem to imagine, people had to live without the internet. With little else to do, nature frequently took its course.

          Children in farm families were a source of cheap labor, partners in the family effort. Raising a large family on a farm was a common activity.

          And most children that survived early life eventually produced children of their own. While families have generally become smaller in the last half century, each generation has continued to produce off spring. We wouldn’t be here otherwise, don’t you know.

          For the genealogists among us, the challenge of digging up the past is accentuated by the staggering number of ancestors we each have.

          The biologists among you have already determined that each set of grands, great grands and so forth must be equally split between males and females. In order to have a great-great-great grandfather, you must also have a great-great-great grandmother. Even in today’s modern world, you have to combine male and female material in order to generate a new human.

          For the researcher, this brings on a new series of challenges because it has long been a tradition that wives take their husband’s sir names. We will not argue here about the right or wrong of this matter. All that matters for the purpose of historic research is that it has been that way. Thus, we have to dig up great grandmother June’s original last name in order to continue the genealogistic hunt.

          Is genealogistic a word? It should be.

          The point is that you have to research many, many last names if you want to fully research your family background.

          And be careful what you look for. You might discover that you are descended from a Confederate soldier. In today’s politically-correct world, that is a no-no.

          Then again, you might discover that you are descended from a Revolutionary War freedom fighter or a Hall of Fame baseball player such as Honus Wagner. A Wagner link might finally explain your irrational love of the Pittsburgh Pirates or your inexplicable ability to move equally quickly to your left and right.

          It is a wonderful pursuit. It is both challenging and frustrating. But the insights you gain into your family’s life in the past is worth the effort.

          Thanks for reading.

THE REMARKABLE HANNAH DAVIS CLARK

          Do you remember the old Tom Leher line about Wolfgang A. Mozart? That when Mozart was Leher’s age, Mozart was already dead? Leher’s point was that Mozart had accomplished great things in less time than Leher had already lived. Funny line.

          There is another case in point, this time involving a lesser-known citizen than either Mozart or Leher. She was a Massachusetts resident named Hannah Davis Clark, born in 1648.

          A little historic perspective is in order. Hannah Davis Clark was born 28 years after the Mayflower completed its most famous voyage to the New World. The military actions we now call the Indian Wars were not really in full swing yet. Massachusetts was a growing colony then, but human technology had yet to perfect central heating and the winters were brutal for the colonists.

          Survival was a test of endurance, skill and luck. Medical practices were chancy, at best. Everything was organically grown in those days and there was no refrigeration. The most important resource that was in shortest supply was iron nails. Nails were removed from previous emplacements and reused whenever possible because the only source of new ones was somewhere across the Atlantic Ocean.

          There were no television shows but reality was very dramatic.

          Into this struggle came Hannah Davis on November 16, 1648. Born in Reading, she would die in Gloucester. In between there is a remarkable story.

          Hannah Davis was married three times. She out-lived all three husbands but while they were around, she stayed busy. According to one online source, Hannah and her husbands produced 28 children, most of them girls.

          A close look at some of the reports indicates that Hannah and her men actually generated a smaller number of offspring, perhaps 20 or less. It looks like some of the children credited to her by some sources were actually grandchildren. One pair of births, for example, was 40 days apart and another pair was split by only 78 days.

          Hannah and her final husband, Joseph Clark, probably had seven offspring during their marriage. Their final child was born when Hannah was 47, less than a year before Joseph passed away in 1696.

          Joseph Clark fought in the Indian Wars in 1675, when he was about 25 years old. Then, 21 years later, he joined Hannah’s other two mates in the checkout line.

          It’s a darn good thing Hannah Clark was so resilient. There is a family connection to Your Loyal Blogger and many, many good things could not have happened without Hannah’s enduring maternal instincts, specifically during her third marriage.

          Hannah Davis Clark finally rested in peace at the age of 71 years.

          We honor Hannah for her life’s work and we thank you for reading.

The 123rd Ohio and a family tree

          Reuben Berlien enlisted in the Union army August 11, 1862 and became a member of the 123^rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry Regiment’s F Company. Born in Pennsylvania, Berlien was 30 when he enlisted.

          A private, Berlien was captured by Confederates during action around Winchester, Virginia on June 15, 1863. He was paroled slightly more than a month later and he rejoined his company October 31, 1863.

          The fight at Winchester was the first action the regiment took part in, but the 123rd was busy for the remainder of the Civil War. According to documents displayed on www.Civilwarindex.com, the 123^rd was involved in 11 more actions, including another fight at Winchester.

          Most interestingly, the 123^rd, with Berlien, was involved in the Appomattox campaign in Virginia and was with the Army of the Potomac when RE Lee surrendered to US Grant on April 9, 1863. Berlien was mustered out of the Army June 12 of the same year.

          Done with his service, Berlien went home to Ohio and here comes the important part of the story. He got married and, in 1880, he and his wife Mary produced a daughter. Reuben died at age 56 and Mary died 37 years later but the family tree had grown a new branch. A few generations later, Mrs. Leeway came into the world.

          That’s four generations that are descended from a veteran who survived 11 Civil War battles and a month as a prisoner of war in a Confederate prison. It would be very difficult to count the number of honest, intelligent and productive people who could not have been born had Reuben Berlien somehow not survived his service as a Civil War soldier.

          The number of military casualties from the Civil War is generally agreed to be in the range of 600,000 or so. Civilian casualties have to be added to that number but, lacking a reliable estimate, we’ll assign that figure to the unknown because the point is that while hundreds of thousands of lives were lost, millions served both the Union and Confederate causes and most of those survivors contributed to their family tree.

          That means that many, many millions of us are descended from Civil War veterans. The Civil War is the story of how we came to be. What could possibly be more important than that?

          Thanks for reading.

Classy Civil War read

          Your Loyal Blogger just finished reading John C. Waugh’s outstanding book, “The Class of 1846 From West Point to Appomattox: Thomas J. Jackson, George McClellan and their brothers.” This is a tremendous piece of writing.

          Sometime ago this blog published a list of favorite 11 Civil War books read by the blogger. Waugh’s book on the class of 1846 joins that list and gets very high up in the standings. This is a very fine read if you like history or if you like people. It is a people story about the Civil War era, the impact one class at the United States Military Academy had upon the US Army and the Confederate cause.

          The book studies closely the impact these men had upon history as well as their impact as classmates on each other. The US Army was a small force at the time and the classmates served with each other often in the years before the nation was split apart by seccession. When Civil War split the nation, the graduating class of 1846 was split as well.

          The book is about the cadets.

          McClellan and Jackson wooed the same woman for her hand in marriage as young men. Waugh’s research into the competing romances is masterfully done. If you don’t know who won, the beans will not spill here. You’d best read the book.

          McClellan was expected to be the star of the class. He graduated second. He eventually became the commander of the entire United States Army. At that point, he had overreached his competence and Waugh looks carefully at McClellan’s shortcomings.

          George Stoneman was a ranking cavalryman for the US Army. He graduated 33^rd in the class of 59 graduates. There is a chapter about his activities during the Chancellorsville campaign and Waugh masterfully used that information as a lead in to Jackson’s greatest performance and final days.

           Jackson was a lesser student at the academy. He struggled his first year and then gradually improved as a student and finished in the middle of the class. From there, Jackson was effective during the Mexican War and became the best-known Confederate commander, except for Robert E. Lee.

          George Pickett was also a member of the class of 1846, finishing dead-last as a student. Best-known as a participant in what we now call Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg, he was a better fighter than he was a cadet.

          How these men navigated the academic difficulties that make up matriculation at West Point is an interesting story by itself. Their interaction as friends and soldiers in the years prior to the Civil War is a little-studied part of our military history. Waugh’s book sheds light on all of this.

           Waugh is a former newsman. His writing is newspaperesque: Sharp, to the point and informative. This is heck of a book. Warning, the book was published back in 1994 and our copy was purchased for five (that’s 5) dollars at a used book store in Tucson, Arizona. You might have to peruse one of the online book sources to get your copy.

          The Class of 1846 was published by Warner Books.

          Thanks for reading.

Awards Season

The 2016 SPEEDY AWARDS

 

          It is time for the 2016 SPEEDY Awards. Awards season is always a fun time if you (A) are given an award or (B) have nothing else worthwhile to watch on television.

          A quick note: Awards are given with a subjective flair and an eye toward objectivity. Read this again a few times and you’ll figure it out.

 

SPORTS DIVISION

 

It’s About Time Award: To the Cleveland Browns for ridding themselves of the Johnny Manziel headache.

 

The Huh? Award: To the Cleveland Browns for signing QB Robert Griffin III. Runner-up: The San Francisco 49ers for hiring Chip Kelly to be their head coach.

 

Team of the Year for 2015: The Alabama Crimson Tide’s national championship football team.

 

Owner of the Year: Jerry Richardson of the Carolina Panthers. He did something nice for a kid, which is fairly common. I wrote an email to the team to compliment the organization, got a reply and then got another reply from Richardson. You have to like that.

 

Move of the Year: The Rams for returning to Los Angeles, their second home.

 

Play-By-Play Announcer of the Year: Verne Lundquist, CBS Television. Tremendous announcer and as great as his career has been, it seemed like his 2015 college football season was his best ever. A classy guy. Never met him but if you have a chance to see him interact with people, then you know why he is popular here.

Live Streaming Division: Mickey Dale, Imperial High School football, Imperial, California (KROP Radio). Challenged by occasional technical complications, the Mickster overcame everything with a terrific words-eye view of the 2015 Tigers campaign. Like Lundquist, a veteran who had his best year.

 

Politics

 

Quip of the Year: To President Barack Obama for telling the Alabama Crimson Tide team they could call him “O’Bama.” Great line.

 

General

 

Spouse of the Year: Mine, Mrs. Leeway, for making recovery from a serious back issue possible and for doing it with a smile.

 

Conventionaide Award: To the Republican Party National Convention for scheduling the 2016 RNC in Cleveland. Thanks to the convention, many of Cleveland’s massive potholes will be eliminated in advance of the event. Normally, a trip to Cleveland means a follow-up trip to the nearest Goodyear store for a wheel alignment.

 

Human Machine Award: To old pal Greg Bert for keeping himself in tremendous physical condition and for tirelessly pushing his students to do the same for themselves. His use of social media shows his willingness to keep the message fresh and moving forward. Bert has previously earned state and regional Physical Education Teacher of the Year awards. Now he has a Speedy, the capstone of his career.

 

Public Employee of the Year: The public, non-charter school classroom teacher.

 

Thanks for reading.