November 2015 Volume 22, Issue 3 “We are but few in number but formidable.” -Pvt. James Shelton, 7th Md. Co. B

Remembrance Day, Saturday November 21, 2015

Captain’s Report 3

Monthly Musings 4

Women as Soldiers and Spies

6

Inside this issue:

A cold, cold wind greeted the troops at the 151st Anni-versary of Cedar Creek. Troops struggled to keep warm during the night as

temeratures dropped below freezing on Saturday night. Many awoke Sunday morn-ing to find a layer of ice covering the water buckets around the campfires.

The battles were fairly well scripted, and the troops moved well over the ground.

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NOVEMBER

November 20 FVB Annual Meeting, Gettysburg Fire Hall

At 7 p.m. 11/20

Remembrance Day November 21

The annual march through the town of Gettysburg to honor the

commemoration of the Gettysburg Address

(COMPANY) (AOP/FVB Event)

scripted tacticals are popular with the rank-and-file. We aim to include as many as possible at the event we will be attending next year.

We will be addressing the “Gettysburg question” at the business meeting the evening prior to Remem-brance Day and once again at the Janu-alry 2016 meeting. Current concensus may have the GAC Gettysburg event downgraded to a mere individual event, but not a Brigade event.

Additionally, interest is quite high in the Renfrew / Waynesboro event. A grand time was had in August, and the ground proved adequate and interesting

To say that I’m extremely proud of everyone in the Federal Volunter Bri-gade (FVB) who contributed to the Community Campaign would be an understatement.

The troops, along with a smattering of goods from the United States Volun-teers (USV) and the staff of the Army of the Potomac (Middle Division) , managed to fill the backs of two mini-vans with non-perishable items des-tined for the Stephens City United Methodist Church food pantry. Goods foraged by the troops in Middletown were also added to the bounty.

Food panty director Cathy Ritter was extremely grateful for the donations that will help feed over 50 families for a week. It’s always a good feeling to give back to the community, and I’m glad that we can look forward to mak-ing this our annual contribution.

Though the season may be winding down, the staff of the FVB will be busy planning for the 2016 season when the five-year anniversary cycle starts anew. We have receioved the message from the troops that “scripted” and un-

for the Saturday tactical. In the works for that event may be TWO sepa-rate tacticals occur-ing at the same time in different loca-tions. Yes, the grounds are capable of that activity.

So, stay tuned as we make plans for an interesting and active 2016. If you’ve been out of the “hobby” for a while, 2016 may be the time for you to step back in and become involved.

More information will be released with our 2016 schedule. In the mean-time, we’ll always be looking for your feedback, good, bad, and ugly. See you all at Remembrance Day. Don’t miss it!

PAGE 2 OUR CAMP JOURNAL VOLUME 22, ISSUE 3

Gen. Jay Henson FVB Commander

VOLUME 22, ISSUE 3 PAGE 3

It was very nice to see everyone at Cedar Creek last month. We had some folks fall in with us that have been away for far too long! Unfortu-nately we were also missing some regulars, some of which will be hard pressed to fall in with us on a regular basis for some-time, with school commitments far too impor-tant. There was a fair turn out com-paratively speaking, and combining with the 3rd Maryland to form a company I counted seventeen rifles on Saturday dress parade. Some of us have been at this long enough to see what happens to attendance af-ter a five year cycle. Numbers can drop off, and on the ten year cycle it can really drop. So to see the turn-out at Cedar creek was encouraging.

I certainly hope that we can mus-ter numbers equal to or greater for Remembrance Day which to a lot of us is the kick off to the upcoming

year.

Going forward we must find ways to keep our numbers strong. In a couple of months we will be finalizing a new schedule. I know that the FVB is looking at some different directions and they of course want our input. Some of the “regular” events of the past may not be a priority in the next list of FVB events. Some have sparked the interest of the Battal-ion as replacements. Renfrew comes to mind immediately and has all kinds of potential. The trend in the thinking right now is towards smaller more quality events. This has the potential of sparking new interest to those people we haven’t seen in a while as well as enticing new recruits!

In a couple of weeks we will be headed to Gettysburg for Remem-brance Day activities. Some of you may also be familiar with a dinner held at Salisbury State University that President Lincoln always at-tends and speaks. He always re-quires an escort and I am looking for volunteers to provide security and eat free food! The event has been held in February in the past but has been moved to Saturday eve-ning on the 7th of November this year. Anyone interested send me an email. You are required to wear your finest dress parade attire so this will serve as a way to have your kit ready for Gettysburg too!

Regardless of whether you will be on a presidential detail or not, get your brass shined and your wool dusted off in preparation for Re-membrance Day! As far as I know we will meet in the usual spot be-hind the wax museum early to form up. I hope to see everyone there.

OUR CAMP JOURNAL

Capt. Jeff Bush Company Commander

When President Abraham Lincoln learned of the Union victories at Vicksburg and Gettysburg in July 1863, he told the celebratory crowd gathered at the Executive Mansion that it was providential that this oc-curred around the nation's birthday. "Gentlemen, this is a glorious theme, and the occasion for a speech, but I am not prepared to make one worthy of the occasion." He found his occa-sion that fall at the dedication of the national cemetery for the soldiers who fell at Gettysburg. Abraham Lincoln pondered his topic in the four months since the battle, and had written several drafts even before the arrangements to speak were final. By the time Mr. Lincoln left Washington by train on Novem-ber 18, the speech was substantially

complete. Because of unreliable train schedules, especially in the midst of war, Mr. Lin-coln made a point to leave the day be-fore. He would stay at the home of

David Wills, banker, organizer of the Gettysburg event, and owner of the larg-est home on the square. Still, he arrived late on the eve of the dedication because

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Hope everyone has thawed out after that frosty weekend event. As cold and beat up and tired as I was putting my gear away Sunday night I got to think-ing about the results of the real battle we just portrayed on the same ground and thought I’d share what I had found. As rough as we think we had it with the weather and fatigue the sol-diers did not get to pack it up and head home after the weekend. For starters you’ve got to love this quote from Phil Sheridan in his official report of the battle.

“I was unconscious of the true condition of affairs until about 9 o'clock, when having ridden through the town of Winchester, the sound of the artillery made a battle unmistakable, and on reaching Mill Creek, half a mile south of Winchester, the head of the fugitives appeared in sight, trains and men com-ing to the rear with appalling rapidity.”

Official Report of Gen. Philip Sheri-dan, Official Records

Notable casualties for both sides in-cluded Confederate Major General Stephen Dodson Ramseur from North Carolina who was mortally wounded and later died at Belle Grove in the company of Union officers who were former colleagues and friends. Two Union brigadier generals were killed at Cedar Creek: Daniel D. Bidwell and Charles R. Lowell, Jr.

Future President of the United States, Capt. William McKinley, was personally ordered by Gen. Sheridan to set up a line that would intercept strag-glers and send them back to the battle-field before Sheridan embarked on his famous ride.

The battle was a total defeat for the Confederates as they were never again able to threaten the northern states through the Shenandoah Valley. The Union victory sealed the reelection of Abraham Lincoln and Phil Sheridan earned lasting fame eventually re-warded with a promotion to major gen-eral in the regular army. Ulysses S. Grant ordered a 100-gun salute be fired in his honor at the Confederates at Pe-

tersburg.

Confederate general Jubal Early became bitter about his defeat, heaping blame on his soldiers. In a letter to Gen. Robert E. Lee He wrote "but for their bad conduct I should have de-feated Sheridan's whole force." Three days after the battle he addressed his army: "Many of you, including some commissioned officers, yielded to a dis-graceful propensity for plunder. ... Sub-sequently those who had remained at their post, seeing their ranks thinned by the absence of the plunderer ... yielded to a needless panic and fled the field in confusion." (Official Records)

The battle of Cedar Creek pretty much ended Jubal Early's military career. He was left for the winter with a com-mand of fewer than 3,000 men at Waynesboro, Virginia (near Charlottes-ville). On March 2, 1865, Sheridan marched his command to join Grant in Petersburg and Custer's cavalry divi-sion routed Early's small command along the way. Early escaped with a small escort and spent the next two weeks running from Federal patrols before reporting to Lee's headquarters. On March 30, Lee told him to go home.

Twelve Union enlisted men and nine officers received the Medal of Honor for their actions in the Battle of Cedar Creek. Hope to see everyone next month at Remembrance Day.

OUR CAMP JOURNAL

Cpl. Dan Paterson Jr. Vice President

Casualties Union Confederate (estimated)

Killed 644 320 Wounded 3,430 1,540 Missing 1,591 1,050 Total 5,665 2,910

Saturday was one of the busiest days that the 7th Maryland and the Federal Volunteer Brigade have seen in quite a while.

(Continued from page 1) After an early reveille, a cold rousing to start the day, the troops rolled into breakfast call, then company drill in the adjacent field. Col. Jim Cobb and Col. Don Swope corraled their respec-

tive regiments to form for regimental drills, separately, then together. It was a good way to work off the rust and the chill in the October air.

A first-ever street battle, though with limited participation, was held Middle-town to a rousing success. The battle

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Clockwise from above, Pvt. Don Miskey helps Mrs. Sarah Lafferty to hang the annual roast above the fire. The roast was left to cook for most of the day.

Bundled up against the chill, the ladies of the 7th MD ready the victuals for the company.

The hungry company digs into the fare.

A sentry walks the perimeter as evening falls on the Cedar Creek event. Despite the angry chill, the event was once again a rousing success.

may be enlarged for next year’s event. Troops collected additional supplies for the FVB Community Campaign from foraging from the residents along the battle route. As this was a “test” scenario, and all went well and was received well, by the town and residents.

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The afternoon battle progressed well from the start, then evolved over the area surrounding the Heater House. The Confederates held the high ground as the Federal forces attempted to repulse the attack.

Sunday’s battle started in the (Confederate) camp as the Federal troops were roused from their routine. Fleeing from their “camp” the Federals tried to reform their lines on the perimeter. But soon, the Confederate forces had them on their heels, and the Union was forced back. The troops continually tried to reform their ranks but under withering fire from the Rebs, it was seemingly futile. Then, riding down from Winchester city, Gen. Phil Sheridan (Col. Steve Reincke) rode the line, spurring the Federals back into furious action. His ride saved the day, as the Feds pushed the Confederates back up the hill winning the day. So ended the 151st Anniversary of Cedar Creek. Our troops marched back into camp, and slowly packing their gear, bid adieu to onew another until meeting again for Remembrance Day, in Gettysburg.

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Women served on the battlefield in various roles: nurses, doctors, vi-vandières (canteen carriers), daughters of regiments, flag bearers, laundresses, cooks, prostitutes, seamstresses, scouts, soldiers, and spies. Examples of women in Maryland volunteering as soldiers and spies during the war exist, but ac-counts of such feats by women are often difficult to confirm. Women in Maryland with Southern sympathies were occasionally accused of

spying and suffered the consequences. Federal forces and informants carefully watched the homes and families of known Confederate soldiers. In Balti-more in 1863 any secessionist activity was taken seriously. Confederate flag-waving, selling secessionist sheet music, writing letters to Confederate soldiers, and entertaining wounded Confeder-ates, were all punishable offenses. At one point, Union General Robert C. Schenck reportedly rounded up women who appeared to be spying and sent

them to live behind Confederate lines. Euphemia "Effie" Goldsborough of Talbot County and Baltimore, Mary-land, suffered this fate. Goldsborough worked as a Confederate nurse at Anti-etam and at Gettysburg and was later accused of spying. She was forced to live in Virginia until July 1865, when her father brought her back to Balti-more. In 1866, S. Emma E. Edmonds, a Unionist, described her escapades on battlefields behind enemy lines in her popular book, Nurse and Spy in the Union Army: The Adventures and Ex-periences of a Woman in Hospitals, Camps, and Battle-fields. While Ed-monds was not from Maryland origi-nally but rather a Canadian, she wrote of her experiences in Maryland, espe-cially at the battle of Antietam. During the aftermath of the battle, Edmonds, who was herself dressed in soldier's garb, found a dying soldier on the bat-tlefield. She quickly realized that the soldier was actually a woman, gave her comfort, and did not reveal the soldier's gender to others taking care of the wounded and the dead. Whether Ed-monds's work is fact or fiction is uncer-tain.

documentation to tell us why. There was John Williams, also known as Sarah Blaylock, who states only that she was mustered in as a private and discharged one month later when she was discovered to be a woman. Why did she enlist to fight? Charles Freeman, or Mary Scaberry, enlisted in the summer of 1862. Her identity was discovered after she was admitted to the hospital the following November. Her discharge papers state she was dismissed for: "Sex(t)ual in-compatibility and fever." Why did she fight?

Why does anyone volunteer to fight in a war, especially someone who would not otherwise be called upon? There are approximately 400 documented cases of women who served in the ranks, both North and South. But, why did these women fight? The ladies may have "had their rea-sons," but for the most part, we have no

Sarah Edmonds enlisted as Franklin Thompson and describes her physical exam as "a firm handshake." She partici-pated in several battles and left the ser-vice when she caught malaria and feared discovery if she were treated. After the war she married, raised three children, and received a government pension for her Civil War service. Why did she fight? The most telling story is that of another fighting lady, Rosetta (Lyons) Wakeman. She was the oldest child in a large fam-ily, and by necessity worked under brutal conditions on the family farm in upstate

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S. Emma E. Edmonds with a dying female soldier in the aftermath of the battle of Antietam, from her book Nurse and Spy in the Union Army. Rare Books Collection, Special Collections, University of Maryland Libraries.

Religion played an important role in the lives of most Civil War soldiers. And during holidays like Easter and Christmas, they tried to preserve their family traditions as much as they could. This was important also for the Jewish Civil War soldier, of which there were many thousands fighting on both sides.

Passover is the annual Jewish cele-bration commemorating the Hebrews' escape from slavery under the Egyp-tian Pharaohs many centuries ago. So, how would it be possible to hold a Passover Seder dinner in the middle of a Civil War, far away from home? It would not be easy to obtain the items needed to celebrate the Jewish Pass-over, but this is a story of a few who did.

J. A. Joel of the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Regiment was in winter quarters at Fayette, West Virginia. He and about twenty of his fellow Jewish soldiers obtained permission to observe Pass-over, and so they tried to organize a

Seder dinner. The challenge would be to gather all the symbolic items tradi-tionally used to observe the holiday properly. They arranged for the camp sutler to send seven barrels of matzoh (unleavened bread) and prayer books. Then, the soldiers foraged for the re-maining necessary items: wine, lamb, chickens, eggs, horseradish and cha-roses. Obviously, it would be difficult to find all these things in winter quarters. But "Yankee ingenuity" prevailed. They already had the matzoh. (Unleavened bread is used to symbolize the quick escape from Egypt--unable to wait until the bread rose, they took it and used it unleavened). They found kegs of cider to use in place of wine, the symbol of rejoicing. They found lamb, representing the Paschal sacrifice. In-stead of horseradish to represent the bitterness of slavery, they substituted: "horseradish we could not obtain, but in lieu we found a weed whose bitter-ness, exceeded anything our forefathers 'enjoyed'." Charoses is a sweet concoc-tion of apples, wine, and nuts and is used to represent brick mortar because the Hebrews were forced to make bricks during their slavery in Egypt. Instead,

the men of the 23rd Ohio had an actual brick on the Seder table, which they contemplated during the meal. And, if tested, they believed it would probably be closer to the texture of the sweet cha-roses than their usual ration of hard tack. This make-shift Passover Seder went according to tradition and the men were satisfied with their efforts--until they discovered the cider was more like wine than they thought. As Joel writes, "the consequence was a skirmish, with nobody hurt."

He continues, "There in the wild woods of West Virginia, away from home and friends, we consecrated and offered our prayers and sacrifice... There is no occasion in my life that gives me more pleasure and satisfaction than when I remember the celebration of Passover of 1862." And it was all possible because of Yankee ingenuity.

From: The Smithsonian Associates Civil War E-Mail Newsletter, Volume 1, Number 6

saved them was the fact that their clos-est neighbor recognized in the boy an unusual intelligence and an innate ability in mathematics. The neighbor trained the boy in what he knew about civil engineering. When the boy grew up, he and his mentor became partners in a building business in Georgia. Together the mentor and the man built hundreds of bridges, private homes, and public and commercial buildings. Today the man is most re-membered for the many covered bridges he designed and constructed. These bridges were vital in developing and linking the small rural areas of south-ern Georgia and points west. Each log used in these bridges was cut by hand, and the timbers were joined using 5,000 pegs per 100 feet. The man said these

Many years ago a child was born into the most abject poverty imaginable. He and his family literally owned nothing and had no prospects of ever rising above their degraded condition. What

bridges would last a hundred years, and some of them have lasted longer than that. Eventually the man became an ex-tremely prosperous and renowned engi-neer/businessman, as well as an Ala-bama state representative. When the man died, hundreds paid their respects, and his obituary told the story of how he had "risen to prominence by force of genius and power." This man was Horace King. His achievements are all the more remark-able when we learn that he was born a slave in South Carolina in 1807. It was his master who recognized his bril-liance and eventually gave him his freedom, thereby allowing King to live a fruitful and accomplished life and to make an indelible contribution to soci-ety. There is no way to know how many other geniuses have been have been lost because they were born into poverty or slavery.

PAGE 8 OUR CAMP JOURNAL ISSUE 22, VOLUME 3

by Judith Dormann

Horace King—1855

spoke for many when he answered the question, "What is the relevance of the Gettysburg Address today?" This was not the first time Lincoln had declared the Civil War to be one of ideas and not interests. ... There is still "unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far nobly ad-vanced." Avram reminds us how Abraham Lincoln deftly used the occasion to de-fine the meaning of the war to the American people. He explained how both North and South were to blame for its start, and how both sides must unite to contend with its lasting effects. The

of train delays at the switching stations between Washington and Gettysburg. Nearly missing dinner, he excused him-self early to study the speech, even us-ing the house stationery to finalize the few words he would speak the next day. At the ceremony on November 19, Lincoln followed the widely praised two-hour oration by Edward Everett, the principal speaker. Delivering his 272-word speech in just three min-utes, he sat down, his brevity surpris-ing the crowd. Scattered applause left him uncertain whether it had been "worthy of the occasion" after all. His supporters called it "thrilling," but his enemies thought it "silly." Subsequent generations of Americans proclaim the speech immortal. One of those Americans is 17-year-old high school junior Avram Sand of Teaneck, New Jersey. Avram was among the five runners-up of the 2004 Idea of America Essay Contest, sponsored by the National Endow-ment for the Humanities. Avram

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dedication of a cemetery at Gettysburg was more than a ritual to bury dead soldiers. Mr. Lincoln's words were a salve to heal the wounds of a divided nation--the physical wounds, the social wounds, the psychological wounds. The healing began November 19, 1863, and continues yet. From: The Smithsonian Associates Civil War E-Mail Newsletter, Volume 7, Number 2

Civil War Re-enactors; America’s Living Historians.

New York. She left home at 19, and instead of taking a job as a laun-dress or a domestic for pennies a day, she dressed as a man and hired onto a canal boat as a coal handler. When she learned she could earn $13 per month in the army, she enlisted as a private in the 153rd New York State Volunteers. Her early letters home tell just how oppressed she felt there. Still, she saved her army pay and sent home large sums of money and generous gifts. In return she asked the home folks for tobacco, apples, pies, and cakes. In the army she enjoyed freedoms not possible to her as a woman. And, she was hav-ing the time of her life. She writes, "I enjoy myself first rate ... I have had plenty of money to spend and a

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good time asoldiering. I find just as good friends among strangers as I do at home." Her true identity was never discovered, not even when she visited male friends in other regiments who knew her from home, or even when she was hospitalized with dysentery. When she died in a New Orleans Army hospital, she was buried as a soldier. She rests at Chalmette Na-tional Cemetery with a soldier's head-stone. We might assume that women sol-diers in the Civil War fought for the same reasons as men--patriotism, ad-venture, to rid the country of slavery. But we know exactly why Rosetta Wakeman fought. She fought to gain her own freedom. Only as a soldier was she able to live as free and "independent as a hog on the ice." From: The Smithsonian Associates Civil War E-Mail Newsletter, Volume 1, Number 8

Why Did Women Fight in the Civil War?