Online Exhibition: Civil War
2011 is the 150th anniversary, the sesquicentennial, of the beginning of the Civil War, still the deadliest war in American history.
Excerpts from "Great Central Fair, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1864" by Linda Wisniewski
In 1861, the Philadelphia branch of the relief organization, the United States Sanitary Commission, began collecting monetary donations in order to supply Union soldiers with basic necessities and medical supplies. Although the Philadelphia branch raised $135,000 in the span of 2 years, the war effort demanded more supplies and support. The success of Sanitary Fairs in Chicago, Cincinnati and Boston encouraged the Philadelphia agency to experiment with its own Fair in June 1864. Local businesses and institutions donated their products and services to support the patriotic cause and exhibited a wide array of valuable goods and curiosities under one roof. Although the Sanitary Commission asked all members of society to support their countrymen, the spectacle was limited to those who could afford the admission prices.
Logan Square was chosen as the site for the Great Central Fair since it was large enough to accommodate the main building, which encompassed approximately 200,000 square feet. William Strickland and Samuel Honeyman Kneass designed the symmetrical structure with Gothic details, the elevation and plan of which are pictured below. Union Avenue, the great central "Gothic" artery, bisected the Fair building from Eighteenth Street to Nineteenth Street. According to Charles J. Stille, who wrote a memorial of the Fair for the Sanitary Commission, "this great hall had all the vastness of the Cathedral's long drawn aisles and its moral impressiveness as a temple dedicated to the sublime work of charity and mercy."
Note: The Great Central Fair was also known as the Sanitary Fair
Source: "Great Central Fair, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania", 1864 by Linda Wisniewski, Library Company
Link to the source: http://www.lcpimages.org/inventories/sanitaryfair/
Jay Cooke (August 10, 1821 – February 16, 1905) was an American financier. Cooke and his firm Jay Cooke & Company were most notable for their role in financing the Union's war effort during the American Civil War. In his later career, Cooke was noted for his role in the financing of railroads in the northwestern United States.
On January 1, 1861, just months before the start of the American Civil War, Cooke opened the private banking house of Jay Cooke & Company in Philadelphia. Soon after the war began, the new firm floated a war loan of $3,000,000 for the state of Pennsylvania.
In the early months of the American Civil War, Cooke collaborated with the secretary of the treasury Salmon P. Chase in securing loans from the leading bankers in the Northern cities; his own firm was so successful in distributing treasury notes that Chase engaged him as special agent for the sale of the $500,000,000 of so-called "five-twenty" bonds—which were callable in 5 years and matured in 20 years—authorized by Congress on February 25, 1862. The treasury department had previously failed in selling these bonds. (Cooke and his brother a newspaper editor had helped Chase get his job by lobbying for him, even though all were former Democrats.)
Cooke was granted a commission of one half of 1 percent of the revenue generated from the first $10 million worth of bonds, and three-eighths percent of all subsequent bond sales. With these funds, Cooke financed a nationwide bond-marketing campaign. Cooke appointed approximately 2,500 sub-agents who traveled through every northern and western state and territory, as well as the Southern states as they came under control of the Union Army. In addition to his far-reaching band of agents, Cooke secured the support of most Northern newspapers. He not only purchased ads through advertising agencies, but often worked directly with editors who were willing to feature lengthy articles extolling the virtues of buying government bonds. In his effort to drum up a popular market for the bonds, Cooke heralded a particular type of patriotism based on classical liberalist notions of self-interest. His editorials, articles, handbills, circulars, and signs most often appealed to Americans' desire to turn a profit, while simultaneously aiding the war effort.
Cooke quickly sold $11,000,000 more in bonds than had been authorized. Congress immediately sanctioned the excess. At the same time, Cooke influenced the establishment of national banks, and organized a national bank at Washington and another at Philadelphia almost as quickly as Congress could authorize the institutions.
Source: "Jay Cooke," Wikipedia.com
Link to the page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Cooke
The regiment was recruited from July to October 1862, with mustering in taking place at Carlisle. It was first assigned to the Army of the Potomac for the 1862 Maryland Campaign, skirmishing with Confederates near Hagerstown, and participating at Battle of Antietam. It was then transferred to Kentucky, where it was remounted and assigned to the Army of the Cumberland in Tennessee and was present at the battles of Stones River and Chickamauga. Among those troopers later honored for gallantry at Stones River were John Tweedale and John Gregory Bourke, who were among six men who eventually received the Medal of Honor.
For the remainder of the war, the 15th remained in the Department of the Cumberland, performing garrison duties and occasionally participating in minor skirmishes and raids. It fought in the Knoxville Campaign. In 1865, the regiment helped capture General Braxton Bragg and his staff and pursued Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
The 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry was mustered out in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 21, 1865 (although Company A was kept in the service until July 18).
Quoted from Wikipedia, link to the source for more information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15th_Pennsylvania_Cavalry
Important buildings and sites are keyed by numbers to the map. A triangle incased in a black square indicates cavalries and regiments. The letter H incased in a black square indicates a hospital. The letter F incased in a black square indicates a fort.
One of the prints found in the series titled "Old Philadelphia: artistic reproductions from drawings" by Frank H. Taylor. Link to site with detailed information on the print series: http://www.brynmawr.edu/iconog/fht/fht1.html
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Below are excerpts from “Civil War Philadelphia” By Anthony Waskie , "Civil War News: For People With An Active Interest in the Civil War Today", August 2007
Philadelphia, birthplace of the Nation, is often noted as a shrine of the Revolutionary War, first capital of the Republic, and the colonial city of William Penn. Few realize however, that the city played a most significant and vital role in the American Civil War, earning it the title of "Arsenal of the North."
The might of the city's manufacturing base and heavy industries fired by anthracite coal created the iron and steel that produced weapons, ordnance, locomotives and rails that served the war effort. Uniforms, blankets and woolens, leather products, ambulances and other military supplies that brought ultimate victory were also manufactured here. Some would even say that the locomotives produced by Matthias Baldwin alone were indispensable to victory.
At the outbreak of hostilities in 1861, Philadelphia was the second largest city in the country and the closest urban center to the war front. As a major transportation hub, manufacturing center, and site of the finest civilian hospitals and medical schools in the nation, and later in the war the largest military hospitals, the city was destined to become crucial to the war effort.
Civic associations such as the Union League, Sanitary Commission, Christian Commission and its Great Central Fair, made heroic efforts to support the soldiery at home and at the front.
Philadelphia had always been home to the largest free Black community in the North. It was a center of Abolitionism, a safe haven and support for the Underground RR and a destination for fugitive slaves. After War Department authorization, large numbers of "Colored" Troops (as they were then known) were recruited from Philadelphia and vicinity and trained at nearby Camp William Penn.
By war's end over 12,000 African-American soldiers had been sent to the war front, proving their valor and courage in battle and contributing greatly to winning the war, and succeeding in emancipating their Southern brethren in bondage.
Philadelphia had one of the largest and oldest navy yards in the country, as well as many private ship yards. In addition to building many fine warships for naval service, the city was also home to several major military facilities, including armories and arsenals.
Anthony "Andy" Waskie, Ph.D., is a professor at Temple University and Co-Director of its Civil War & Emancipation Studies. He is President of the General Meade Society of Philadelphia and a officer or board member of several of the groups mentioned in his column, as well as a published author, researcher and historian. He may be reached at awaski01@TEMPLE.EDU
To link to the article: http://www.civilwarnews.com/preservation/pres_waskie.htm
Satterlee U.S.A. General Hospital, which existed from 1862 to 1865 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was one of the largest Union Army hospitals of the Civil War.
Founded in 1862 by order of Surgeon-General William Alexander Hammond, the hospital was built in the sparsely developed West Philadelphia neighborhood near the intersection of 42nd Street and Baltimore Avenue. Its 15-acre (61,000 m2) grounds ran north to 45th and Pine Streets. It was the second-largest hospital in the country, with 21 wood-frame wards and hundreds of tents containing 4,500 beds. The hospital featured a library, reading room, barber shop and a printing office that printed its newspaper, The Hospital Register.
It was commanded by Dr. Isaac Israel Hayes, surgeon, C.S.V. and famed Arctic explorer. Nursing was carried out by the Sisters of Charity, who lived in a convent on the grounds.
By May 1864, Satterlee had treated more than 12,000 patients and suffered only 260 deaths, a remarkable accomplishment considering the sanitary conditions of the day.
After the war ended in 1865, the hospital was closed and the buildings razed. In the 1890s, much of the site was covered with residential housing. The lower portion of the hospital grounds survive as Clark Park.
Source: "Satterlee U.S.A. General Hospital," Wikipedia.com
Link to the page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satterlee_Hospital
A lively Philadelphia view drawn by one of the city's most prominent lithographic artists. James Queen was a native Philadelphian who was apprenticed as a lithographer to the firm of Lehman & Duval in 1835, when he was just 15. He stayed with the firm for as long as it remained open, mastering his craft so well that he became Duval's principal draftsman. During the Civil War, when artists were in short supply, Duval wrote to a friend: "James Queen is still with us and is now one of the best artists in the country." This print is a wonderful example of his work.
In the Civil War, large numbers of soldiers passed through Philadelphia on their way south. Troops from the northeast were ferried across the Delaware River to the foot of Washington Avenue, whence they marched to the depot of the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore Railroad. There they boarded trains that took them across Gray's Ferry and south towards the war. A local grocer, Barzilai S. Brown, conceived the notion of an organized volunteer group to provide encouragement and sustenance for the soldiers on their brief transit through Philadelphia. His idea led to the opening of the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon, which was located at the southwest corner of Swanson and Washington Avenues. Here the troops were furnished with washing facilities, food, and the opportunity of writing letters home, which were then stamped for free.
This bright and lively scene shows one group of troops just disembarked and marching towards the saloon. Another group of soldiers, suitably fed and encouraged, is depicted boarding a railroad carriage. These troops are accompanied by a uniformed marching band and enthusiastically cheered by a throng of spectators. Beneath the image is listed a roster of people connected with the organization. These volunteers had much to be proud of, for by the time the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon was closed in 1865, nearly 900,000 men had passed through and received a warm Philadelphia welcome. – Donald Cresswell
Source: Donald Cresswell, The Philadelphia Print Shop
Link to the website: http://www.philaprintshop.com/philadelmore.html
Excerpts from “Refreshment Saloons in Civil War Philadelphia,” Journal Divided (July 2010)
William M. Cooper, a merchant, was the first to decide that his storefront on Otsego Street should aid Union troops passing through his city. The Cooper Shop Volunteer Refreshment Saloon opened on May 26, 1861. Cooper became the committee’s president and served in this position until the war’s end. The Cooper Shop soon entered into a friendly rivalry with the larger Union Saloon, which opened the same week, but the dramatic individual efforts of the Cooper Shop leaders gave it a special place in the hearts of Philadelphia’s residents. All of these war time establishments proved important as places of rest where soldiers obtained food, drink, places to wash, and even medical care. The saloons helped forge a collective war effort.
The Cooper Shop Saloon added a second floor hospital in October 1861. Dr. Andrew Nebinger, Jr. received the appointment as the surgeon-in-charge. He agreed to work as a volunteer and did not receive a salary for his service to the wounded soldiers. Admired by many who came into contact with him, Nebinger’s surgical skills received praise from fellow doctors such as C.E. Hill who described the surgeon as one of the finest men he had ever met, saying, “his kindness to the sick, and his untiring zeal for their comfort, proves him to be a philanthropist of the first order…” Others described Nebinger as an expert doctor who possessed great administrative ability and devoted patriotism, which gained him respect among the soldiers and their families.
Along with Nebinger, Anna M. Ross became a fixture in the lives of Union soldiers at the Cooper Shop Hospital. She played a large role in its management through her appointment as the hospital’s Lady Principal until her death, reportedly from overwork, in 1863. Ross’s patients and coworkers praised her since she showed “energy, perseverance, zeal, and endurance [which] were seen, in combination with tender sensibility, love, and self-sacrifice.” Her dedication to the hospital and its patients made the Cooper Shop Hospital one of the most warmly remembered institutions created in the midst of the Civil War. In one particular instance Ross displayed these fine qualities while tending to a dying lieutenant from New York. According to a history of women’s work during the war, she never left his side and tried to ease his pain by cooling his forehead and offered him support by saying, “call me Anna and tell me all which your heart prompts you to say.”
When William Cooper died in poverty in February 1880, various newspapers and the Grand Army of the Republic appealed to former soldiers for donations to support the surviving members of his family. Former soldiers immediately offered to “shoulder the entire indebtedness of the late Mr. Cooper, if they be allowed what they term ‘the humble honor.’” Andrew Nebinger and his family remained an integral part of Philadelphia’s society after the war as leaders in city’s public school system. According to one history of the public schools, the family left Philadelphia “memories that will long be cherished and honored.” Anna M. Ross embodied the persona created by Pennsylvania women during the Civil War which, according to William Blair and William Pencak, was “imbued with patriotism and loyalty to the country.” She also received unique posthumous recognition from the Grand Army of the Republic as it named Post 94 in Philadelphia after her.
Source: Brenna McKelvey,“Refreshment Saloons in Civil War Philadelphia,” Journal Divided (July 2010)
Link to the full article: http://housedivided.dickinson.edu/sites/journal/2010/07/13/refreshment-saloons-philadelphia/
Excerpt from "Introduction To Civil War Artillery: Field Artillery" by Alethea D. Sayers
Field guns were grouped into batteries. Although six guns to a battery was considered ideal, it wasn't uncommon for a battery to have only four guns. The organization of field artillery often differed within the two armies. The battery was usually commanded by a captain, while two guns formed a section commanded by a lieutenant. When on the move, each gun or "piece" was hooked up behind a limber, which carried the ammunition chest, and was drawn by six horses. Each gun had its caisson, carrying three ammunition chests, and also drawn by six horses. These two units made up a platoon, which was commanded by a sergeant (Chief of Piece) and two corporals. A battery was also accompanied by a forge, a wagon carrying the tents and supplies, and generally six additional caissons with reserve ammunition.
Source: eHistory at The Ohio State University
For the full article link to: http://ehistory.osu.edu/uscw/features/regimental/artillery.cfm
To which is added a record of its organization and a complete roster. Fully illustrated with maps, portraits, and over one hundred illustrations, with addenda / United States. Army. Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment, 118th (1862-1865)
Issued in 1888 under title: History of the Corn exchange regiment, 118th Pennsylvania volunteers, and in 1892 under title: Antietam to Appomattox with 118th Penna. vols.
Camp Washington at Fair Grounds, Easton, PA. Rendezvous for Philadelphia companies of the Pennsylvania Reserve Corps in 1861.
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The First paragraph of "Down to a strict military life", September 19, 1861 - December 27, 1861
"Recruiting for the Eighty-first Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry began in August 1861 after the Federal disaster at First Bull Run. The thousand of so recruits, mostly from Philadelphia and its environs, gathered at Camp Washington in Easton, Pennsylvania, where they tried to prepare themselves for what would become the world's first industrialized war."
Source: "The Civil War letters of Colonel Charles F. Johnson, Invalid Corps" By Charles Francis Johnson, Univ of Massachusetts Press, 2004
To read more with google books link to : http://books.google.com/books?id=_rmTx2VvJgYC&dq=Camp+Washington,+Easton,+PA.&source=gbs_navlinks_s
An excerpt from "The story of the vivandieres of Birney’s 1st Divison, III Corps, Army of the Potomac, and the 'Kearny Cross' award of valor" by Anthony Waskie, Ph.D.
Brief outline history of “Collis’ Zouaves”:
The first Zouave unit formed by Charles Collis, an Irish immigrant to Philadelphia was a company of troops named: Zouaves d’Afrique. These soldiers were dressed in the style of the elite French Zouaves units in uniforms purchased from France.
They were organized to form a bodyguard for General Banks, then operating in the Shenandoah Valley area of Winchester and on the Upper Potomac.
Source: "The story of the vivandieres of Birney’s 1st Divison, III Corps, Army of the Potomac, and the 'Kearny Cross' award of valor" by Anthony Waskie, Ph.D., Temple University
Link to the full article: http://isc.temple.edu/awaskie/
Excerpts from "Death on the Baltimore Pike :Documented Burials on Henry Spangler's"
The Battle of Gettysburg, like almost all Civil War battles, raged over the private property of ordinary farmers and citizens. The buildings on these properties, if they were not destroyed, were often converted into field hospitals to treat wounded and dying soldiers. Here, dead artillery horses in front of Trostle’s barn, July 1863.
One of the many battlefield farms housed Henry Spangler and his family. Located on the Baltimore Turnpike just southeast of town, Henry Spangler’s farm was just behind the fighting on Culp’s Hill. Wounded Union soldiers were taken to a field hospital established at and around the Spangler farmhouse. The soldiers who died there were buried on Spangler’s property.
Source: "Death on the Baltimore Pike :Documented Burials on Henry Spangler's", The Civil War Trust.
Link to the full article: http://www.civilwar.org/battlefields/gettysburg/gettysburg-2011/spanglers-farm-tract/
Book Description:
For many people, Pennsylvania's contribution to the Civil War goes little beyond the battle of Gettysburg. The North in general has received for less attention than the Confederacy in the historiography of the Civil War - a weakness in the literature that this book will help to address. The essays in this volume suggest ways to reconsider the impact of the Civil War on Pennsylvania and the way its memory remains alive even today. Making and Remaking Pennsylvania's Civil War contains a wealth of new information about Pennsylvania during the war years. For instance, as many as 2,000 Pennsylvanians defected to the Confederacy to fight for the Southern cause. And during the advance of Lee's army in 1863, residents of the Gettysburg area gained a reputation throughout North and South as a stingy people who wanted to make money from the war rather than sacrifice for the Union. But the state also displayed loyalty and commitment to the cause of freedom. Pittsburgh served as the site for one of the first public monuments in the country dedicated to African Americans, Women of the Commonwealth also contributed mightly through organizing sanitary fairs or helping in ways that belied their roles as keepers of the domestic world. And readers will learn from an African American soldier's letters how blacks helped win their own liberation. The ten essays contained in Making and Remaking Pennsylvania's Civil War cover events on the battlefield but also reflect the current trends to understand the motivations of soldiers and the impact of war on civilians, rather than focusing solely on battles or leadership. The essays also employ interdisciplinary techniques, as well as raise gender and racial questions. They incorporate a more expansive time frame than the four years of the conflict by looking not only at the making of the war but also at its remaking - or how a public revisits the past to suit contemporary needs.
From the American Revolution to Operation Enduring Freedom, troops have served on many fronts during U.S. history. Yet even people well versed in the names, places, and dates associated with a war might not know much about the day-to-day experiences of being a soldier. What was it like? How did they cope with the many challenges? How did their families handle them being so far away?
Created in collaboration with ?ve student veterans living in the Philadelphia area, this exhibition places today’s stories alongside historic accounts found in the Rosenbach’s vast collection to provide a soldier’s perspective on war. Key themes include:
Hear clips of soldiers discussing their everyday experiences on the front lines, tour virtual spaces reconstructed from their accounts, and begin to understand the realities of wartime from a soldier’s perspective.
Funded by the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage through the Heritage Philadelphia Program.
This exhibition is part of War Stories, an ambitious new program that uses the Rosenbach’s vast collection of historic wartime letters and the experiences of today’s veterans to bring the voices of the military community, past and present, to life.