Well, I haven't done a givaway in some time (I can't remember the last time) and I have this set of civil war Confederate coin replicas (cent, 5-cent, 5-dollar and 20-dollar) that used to have a plastic case but it broke. Anyhow, they are just collecting dust here, so I figured why not give them away to someone that might appreciate them more. So since this is lucky 07-07-07, someone post something civil war related (photos of coins, currency or trivia from the era) and once this lucky day ends I will pick a name at random and you win! Good luck all!

The confederate half dollor (sorry its long)

At the onset of the war, there were three government mints operating in the South, located at New Orleans, Louisiana, at Charlotte, North Carolina, and at Dahlonega, Georgia. The New Orleans facility was by far the busiest, minting large quantities of gold and silver coins.


On January 26, 1861, the State of Louisiana seceded from the Union and shortly thereafter seized control of the New Orleans Mint. On March 7, Louisiana transferred control of the New Orleans Mint to the Confederacy. The Mint Superintendent, William A. Elmore, retained his position only after taking an oath of allegiance to the CSA. The mints at Charlotte and Dahlonega, seriously lacking a bullion supply, likewise came under the control of the Confederacy, but were quickly relegated to assay office status and never factored into the plans of the CSA.

Jefferson Davis and other leaders of the South envisioned minting coins bearing new CSA designs, to assert their newfound sovereignty and earn the respect and possible assistance of European powers. The New Orleans Mint, renamed the Confederate State Mint, was to be the major hub of coinage activity, as an ample supply of bullion was available to the Mint, at least initially.


While CSA Treasury Secretary Christopher Memminger was arranging for the creation of a Confederate half dollar design, minting of Union half dollars continued as before using the same federal dies.


In total, 2,532,633 half dollars bearing the 1861-O date were struck, 330,000 by the authority of the US government, 1,240,000 in February by the State of Louisiana, and 962,633 under the watchful eye of the Confederacy. Since the same dies were used throughout this period, it is impossible to tell which 1861-O's were struck by whom. 17,741 gold double eagles were also issued at the New Orleans Mint during this time, and these too, are indistinguishable, as to authorizing government entity.


In early April 1861, Memminger approved of a Confederate half dollar design. The obverse was to be made from the same Liberty Seated federal die, but the proposed reverse featured a new Confederate coat of arms, surrounded by cotton and sugar cane, important symbols of the southern economy.


Before full scale minting of the CSA half dollar could commence, the price of precious metals rose dramatically as the reality of war set in, causing coinage throughout all of America, both north and south, to disappear rapidly. Tangible assets, such as precious metal coins, were considered a safe harbor in stormy waters.


Moreover, bullion supplies at New Orleans were exhausted, with no hope of replenishment any time soon. Given these circumstances, Memminger concluded that releasing Confederate coinage would be futile, and ordered a suspension of minting operations.


Little was it known then, that before shutting down on April 30, four genuine CSA half dollars were struck by Chief Coiner Benjamin F. Taylor, one of which was presented to President Jefferson Davis. Taylor kept one of the half dollars for himself, while the other two went to local dignitaries. Taylor also retained possession of the dies.

In the absence of circulating coinage, the Confederacy and several states printed paper money. In addition to printing notes of greater dollar denominations, fractional notes, also known as “paper coins” having faces values less than one dollar, entered the channels of commerce.


In April 1862, Union forces under the command of Captain David Farragut, captured the city of New Orleans. With the primary minting facility in the hands of the North, the goal of establishing a secure coinage system indicative of a self-sufficient Confederacy began to fade badly.


On May 10, Confederate President Jefferson Davis was taken into custody by Union troops at Irwinville, Georgia, marking the formal end of the Confederacy and the American Civil War. Four long years of widespread destruction and intense bloodshed, claiming the lives of over 600,000 Americans, had mercifully come to an end.


Writing publicly in early 1879, former CSA Chief Coiner B.F. Taylor revealed the existence of the four original 1861 Confederate half dollars. Responding to Taylor’s disclosure, Jefferson Davis admitted that at the moment of his capture in 1865, he was still carrying the Confederate half dollar given to him four years earlier, but indicated it was stolen at the time of his arrest.

Later in 1879, Taylor sold his Confederate half dollar and dies to E. Mason Jr. of Philadelphia, who in May resold both the coin and the dies for $310 to J. Walter Scott, a New York coin and stamp dealer. In 1882 Scott sold the half dollar for $870, but chose to hang onto the dies for the purpose of manufacturing restrikes. After refurbishing the old dies, Scott produced 500 white metal tokens, successfully testing the Confederate reverse, pairing it up with a homemade Scott Company obverse die.


Pleased by the results of the white metal tokens, Scott then proceeded to obtain from circulation 500 half dollars dated 1861 in various conditions and used these for restrikes. At first, he struck the Confederate die directly onto the reverses of a few of these half dollars, but some of the federal reverse was still visible. To overcome this problem, Scott then completely “shaved off” the reverse design from what remained of his 500 half dollars before continuing to make restrikes.


Today, the Confederate half dollar specimen originally belonging to B.F. Taylor is housed in the collection of the American Numismatic Society in New York City. Two of the other half dollars are also privately held. The fourth authentic 1861 strike was actually found circulating in New York late in the 19th century (perhaps the specimen stolen from Jefferson Davis?), and was sold on October 14, 2003 for an astounding $550,000.

Prior to the 2003 sale, it had been many years since any of the four genuine Confederate half dollars were sold. Based on this high level of interest in Confederate-related coinage, we can safely conclude that J. Walter Scott’s white metal restrikes could easily bring maybe $800 to $3000, depending upon condition. Scott’s half dollar restrikes are worth $3000 to $6000, again depending upon condition, although the small handful of his restrikes onto “unshaved” 1861 half dollars are very rare and command much higher prices. All of Scott’s restrikes are easy to distinguish from the four genuine CSA half dollars because the obverses were distorted and flattened during the restrike action.

Four lonely Confederate half dollars are the highest profile survivors of a long-ago vision to establish a coinage system representing southern values. From President Jefferson Davis on down, the South's leaders believed distinctive coins, indicative of a self-reliant nation, would help them achieve independence. Many numismatists nowadays wish there were more CSA coins available to collect from the Civil War, the most crucial episode in America's past. Imagine how the road of history might have detoured from the path we know today had the Confederacy's desire to mint millions of its own coins been fulfilled. Who knows, the short-lived republic might not have been so short-lived after all.




((( without images))))) images and be seen at http://www.us-coin-values-advisor.com/civil-war-coins.html

another one can delete if you want!! "The yanks adapt to coin shortages"

As reality of a prolonged conflict hit the home front, the availability of circulating coinage became an early casualty of war. Facing a very uncertain future, both ordinary citizens and speculators hoarded precious metal coins, saving them for what many feared would be bleak times ahead.


In late 1861, the U.S. government suspended specie (i.e. gold or silver coins) payment of its obligations, causing the precious metals market to rise sharply, which in turn, caused even more coins to vanish from circulation, including the copper-nickel (88% copper, 12% nickel) Indian Head cent.

By the end of 1862, virtually all coins had disappeared from commerce. The Philadelphia Mint continued to issue new coins, but these were quickly gobbled up and set aside by the public.


In the absence of coinage, completing everyday business transactions became difficult. The national economy threatened to grind to a halt. For instance, shopkeepers couldn’t make small change for their customers.


Some individuals began using readily available postage stamps as an exchange medium, an idea that swiftly became popular. But because postage stamps were manufactured for one-time only use, understandably, they were not sufficiently durable for multiple transactions.


John Gault of Boston patented a stamp encasement device to extend the life of a stamp, but at a cost of two cents each, this proved for many to be too expensive for the smallest denominations.


A better solution for the coinage crisis originated from within the entrepreneurial sector, appearing first in Cincinnati, Ohio. In the fall of 1862, several merchants contracted with private diesinkers to fabricate cent-sized tokens, which carried an implied guarantee (or sometimes an outright declaration) of redemption in merchandise, services, or currency. These “coins”, later to become recognized by the collecting community as Civil War tokens, were welcomed by the public and helped considerably to assist in business transactions.


It is estimated that at least 25 million Civil War tokens were produced, with over 8500 distinct types catalogued. Patriotic themes and advertisements were the primary subject matters. Tokens were composed of various materials, including brass, copper-nickel, zinc, hard rubber, and most importantly, bronze (95% copper, 5% tin and zinc). Some of the tokens mimicked the design of the Indian Head cent, being sure to include the word NOT above the ONE CENT, in order to protect the originator from being charged with counterfeiting.

By 1864, several influential companies started complaining that they were being “stuck” with large numbers of these private tokens, unable to redeem them for cash from the issuing merchants. In mid-1864, with the new bronze Indian Head (see two sections below) cents circulating in record quantities and the end of the Civil War in sight, Congress authorized a law making it illegal for private businesses or individuals to issue money of any sort, forcing Civil War token makers out of business.



Civil war token collecting is a fascinating segment of today's numismatic environment. For anyone desiring to study the subject in greater depth, we recommend visiting the Civil War Token website. There, you'll find a great deal of detailed data on tokens, plus a salute to those who served during those tumultuous times.



The Lincoln administration, for its part, also took action to address the country’s monetary problems. For the first time, the U.S. government issued paper money unsecured by gold, silver, or government bonds. Some $450 million of “greenbacks” were printed, whose value fluctuated depending upon the latest good or bad news coming from the warfront.

Also to relieve the coin shortage, the government responded by issuing $50 million of fractional paper currency, as small as three cents face value.


During inflationary periods, small fractional notes were virtually worthless, and earned the derogatory nickname “shinplasters”.


The term originated from the Revolutionary War, when American soldiers used their Continental Currency pay as bandages for leg injuries. Since few vendors trusted the Continental Currency, the notes actually had more value to the troops as medical supplies!

The federal government was not the only entity to print paper money. Many states, banks, companies, and individuals also issued notes, technically called “scrip” (this situation occurred in southern states as well). This caused a great deal of confusion, providing cover for counterfeiters on a massive scale.

Congress established the National Banking System in 1863 to provide regulation to the banks and to craft a uniform national currency. The government heartened private banks to apply for charters to earn “national bank” status. To begin issuing new “national bank notes”, a bank was required to use its funds to purchase U.S bonds, to then be turned over to the Treasury. The amount of national bank notes a bank was permitted to issue was up to 90% of the value of the bonds on deposit by the bank with the government. Not only did the National Banking System provide currency uniformity leading to the demise of private scrip, it also helped sell federal bonds for financing the war.


((( without images))))) images and be seen at http://www.us-coin-values-advisor.com/civil-war-coins.html

thanks for the contest jtryka!!!!

o boy ok since i really need old us coins (oldest i got is 1917 cent x< xD hard to get in bahrain) ill give it a try ok here it goes:-

The American Civil War was not quite like anyother war that had ever happened before.Half a nation fought against the other half over freedom of a small minority.This itself was something new.It was as new, as strenuous, and as unpredictable as everything else in America. Leaving more than 600,00 dead, the Civil War would be the bloodiest in all American history - and the bloodiest war in the whole western world during the nineteenth century. Of every ten men who fought, four became casualties (killed or wounded). No other modern nation paid so high a price to hold itself together.

Souterners did not see themselves as slave owners fighting to preserve their property, or as rebels trying to tear the union apart. Instead they imagined they were fighting the american revolution all over again. White southerners, they said, were oppressed by yankee tyrants. The people of the South were now playing the role of the gallant American colonists. Northerners were the oppressive British, and Abraham Lincoln was another George III. If the British had no right to force American colonists to stay inside their empire, why did the United States government have any right to force Southern states to stay inside the Union?

Abrham Lincoln, in his first inaugural address, had tried to persuade Southerners that they had nothing to fear from his administration. But he told them there was no right under the consitution for a state to leave the Union. And he declared, "In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war."

Souterners said they were fighting for self-government. one flaw in this argument was that it left out the whole question of slavery. Self-government for whom and by whom? White Southerners who said they were fighting for their own right to govern themselves were also fighting against the right of millions of blacks to have any control over their own lives. Of course, Calhoun and other defenders of slavery had not seen it quit that way. Self government , they said, was for white people only.



Combatants

Union (remaining U.S. states)

Confederate States
of America


Commanders

"Union"
Abraham Lincoln
Ulysses S. Grant

"Confederate"
Jefferson Davis
Robert E. Lee

Strength

"Union"
2,200,000

"Confederate"
1,064,200

Casualties

"Union"
KIA: 110,100
Total dead: 359,500
Wounded: 275,200

"Confederate"
KIA: 94,000
Total dead: 258,000
Wounded: 137,000+

The James-Younger Gang who where from Missouri actually fought in the confedracey before becoming the most famous outlaws after the civil war .

Jesse and Frank James, 1872:-

The motto IN GOD WE TRUST was placed on United States coins largely because of the increased religious sentiment existing during the Civil War. Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase received many appeals from devout persons throughout the country, urging that the United States recognize the Deity on United States coins. From Treasury Department records, it appears that the first such appeal came in a letter dated November 13, 1861. It was written to Secretary Chase by Rev. M. R. Watkinson, Minister of the Gospel from Ridleyville, Pennsylvania, and read:
Dear Sir: You are about to submit your annual report to the Congress respecting the affairs of the national finances.

One fact touching our currency has hitherto been seriously overlooked. I mean the recognition of the Almighty God in some form on our coins.

You are probably a Christian. What if our Republic were not shattered beyond reconstruction? Would not the antiquaries of succeeding centuries rightly reason from our past that we were a heathen nation? What I propose is that instead of the goddess of liberty we shall have next inside the 13 stars a ring inscribed with the words PERPETUAL UNION; within the ring the allseeing eye, crowned with a halo; beneath this eye the American flag, bearing in its field stars equal to the number of the States united; in the folds of the bars the words GOD, LIBERTY, LAW.

This would make a beautiful coin, to which no possible citizen could object. This would relieve us from the ignominy of heathenism. This would place us openly under the Divine protection we have personally claimed. From my hearth I have felt our national shame in disowning God as not the least of our present national disasters.

To you first I address a subject that must be agitated.
As a result, Secretary Chase instructed James Pollock, Director of the Mint at Philadelphia, to prepare a motto, in a letter dated November 20, 1861:
Dear Sir: No nation can be strong except in the strength of God, or safe except in His defense. The trust of our people in God should be declared on our national coins.

You will cause a device to be prepared without unnecessary delay with a motto expressing in the fewest and tersest words possible this national recognition.
It was found that the Act of Congress dated January 18, 1837, prescribed the mottoes and devices that should be placed upon the coins of the United States. This meant that the mint could make no changes without the enactment of additional legislation by the Congress. In December 1863, the Director of the Mint submitted designs for new one-cent coin, two-cent coin, and three-cent coin to Secretary Chase for approval. He proposed that upon the designs either OUR COUNTRY; OUR GOD or GOD, OUR TRUST should appear as a motto on the coins. In a letter to the Mint Director on December 9, 1863, Secretary Chase stated:
I approve your mottoes, only suggesting that on that with the Washington obverse the motto should begin with the word OUR, so as to read OUR GOD AND OUR COUNTRY. And on that with the shield, it should be changed so as to read: IN GOD WE TRUST.

The Congress passed the Act of April 22, 1864. This legislation changed the composition of the one-cent coin and authorized the minting of the two-cent coin. The Mint Director was directed to develop the designs for these coins for final approval of the Secretary. IN GOD WE TRUST first appeared on the 1864 two-cent coin.

another article :-

Demand notes were replaced by Legal Tender notes, which were issued in denominations ranging from $1 to $10,000. To save metals during the Civil War, Legal Tender notes were originally backed by faith in the government, rather than gold or silver. In 1879, the U.S. Treasury began redeeming Legal Tender notes for coin. They were issued until 1966 and are still redeemable today at face value.

Lack of confidence in paper money resulting from the Free Banking Era and the Civil War inspired the creation of Interest-bearing notes, issued from 1861 through 1865. The interest paid on these notes provided the incentive for citizens to hold the currency and also helped to finance the final years of the Civil War.

Between 1861 and 1865, the Confederacy issued currency backed by cotton to millions of southerners, gambling that a Confederate victory would ensure the currency's value. Meanwhile, enterprising Northerners printed Confederate money and circulated it in the South. This led to one of the greatest inflationary periods in America, particularly in the South. By the War's end, Confederate notes were almost worthless and many people bartered or used black market Union issues as a medium of exchange.

Widespread hoarding of coins and the need to divert metals toward the war effort created a shortage of coins during the Civil War. Paper tickets, stamps, and bills were frequently substituted, but the scarcity was so great that Congress authorized the issuance of "paper coins" as a temporary "fractional currency." From 1862 to 1876, the federal government issued more than $368,000,000 in fractional currency in three- to fifty-cent denominations. Called "shinplasters," these paper coins were much smaller in size than our existing currency. After the Civil War, fractional currency was no longer needed and Congress stopped issuing fractional currency in 1876.


yet another article 8D :-

Prior to introduction of the nickel, five-cent pieces were very small silver coins called half dimes. Due to shortages of silver during and after the American Civil War, an alternative metal was needed for five-cent coinage, and the copper-nickel alloy still in use today was selected. Numerous problems plagued the coinage of nickels through the middle of the 20th century due to the extreme hardness of the alloy, but modern minting equipment has proven more than adequate for the task.

Applying the term "nickel" to a coin actually precedes the usage of five-cent pieces made from nickel alloy. The term was originally applied to the Indian Head cent coin from 1859–1864 which was composed of copper-nickel. Throughout the Civil War these cents were referred to as "nickels" or "nicks". When the three-cent nickel came onto the scene in 1865, these were the new "nickels" to the common person on the street. In 1866, the Shield nickel hit the spotlight and forever changed the way Americans associated coins made from nickel alloy with a particular denomination.


i'll keep a few pics also of both confed an union coins

ok i think that will be the biggest post 8O tnx to my knowledge of US history, wikipedia, a history book i had (article from there x< took me 15min to type it in felt like an hour xD), google images, my knowlege of outlaws an google web search

edit:- ok x< i just saw dustin43160 post x< damn his is longer xD

lol im just a bored 17 year old kid hehe

SHOT we posted same thing xD >_> google ok ill edit my post xD an her r the pics

Restruck in the 1880's by J. Walter Scott from the original Confederate reverse die, this restrike is nearly identical to the four authentic CSA half dollars. Photo courtesy of Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles, Inc., Beverly Hills, CA.:-


North Carolina fractional Civil War currency, face value of 25 cents, issued 1864. Image courtesy of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill library.:-


Inscribed on the Scott obverse: 4 ORIGINALS STRUCK BY ORDER OF C.S.A. IN NEW ORLEANS 1861 ******* REV. SAME AS U.S. (FROM ORIGINAL DIE SCOTT). Scott used his "front" side die while testing the manufacturing worthiness of the Confederate half dollar reverse die. Photo of a modern day replica of Scott token obverse. Photo courtesy of Ira & Larry Goldberg Coins & Collectibles, Inc., Beverly Hills, CA.:-


1860 Liberty Seated dollar. Coins just like were hoarded when the magnitude of the Civil War crises came into sharper focus. Image courtesy of Jake's Marketplace.:-


Encased postage stamp, having face value of 10 cents. Graded Choice Very Fine, this specimen is worth a few hundred dollars on today's market. Image courtesy of EarlyAmerican.com.:-


THE FLAG OF OUR UNION 1863. Common patriotic token of the Civil War. Image courtesy of the the John H. MacMillan collection.:-


Example of fractional currency, issued 1863, face value 10 cents. Image courtesy of EarlyAmerican.com:-

you didnt have to edit it maybe the people who actually read it can read it two times and memorize it

Civil War token "Union For Ever" 1863

toolate xD but i kept the pics from the sight

edit :- some more pics not of coins this time

i would of did that too but not that smart

we both shared the sight

"hehe hopefully we dont get any whippens for turning a contest into a convo lol sry jtryka"
ya hehe sry we got carried away

hehe hopefully we dont get any whippens for turning a contest into a convo lol sry jtryka

This is about one of my favorite places in the whole world: Belle Isle in Richmond, Virginia.


A little about the geology:

Richmond, Virginia sits on the Falls of the James River, on the Fall Line that crosses the Eastern Seaboard north and south. The Fall Line was created when many many years ago (before most of you were born) the African continent layed right on top of the East Coast of America. Where the continent stopped and North America started is at the Fall Line. The geology of the region is distinctly different on either side of the line. Belle Isle straddles the line.

Richmond is situated as far up the James as ships can go. The Fall Line is a ~90 elevation difference from one side of the city to the other. There are world class rapids right through the middle of the city. There's also a few small islands. The biggest of which is Belle Isle. It is in the middle of the biggest rapids between two hills on the banks - one of which holds Hollywood Cemetary where a few presidents and many other famous people are buried. The island is almost 40 acres and has a huge granite hill across most of it.


Now the history:

Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy for most of the War. Tredegar Iron Works, the South's most productive and important iron works was situated just a few blocks from the capital on a bank near the island. The CSA decided to use Belle Isle as a prison camp for captured Union soldiers. Consider it as a 19th century Alcatraz - surrounded by raging waters on both sides in the capital of the enemy. It must have been a fearsome place.



This is on the down river side of the island on top of the large granite hill. The canon faces East. You can see the state capital designed by Thomas Jefferson and the Iron Works are towards the left of the image. This is the only decent image I can find online but the prisoners camp was across that field and held hundreds (if not thousands) of prisoners more much of the war.



This image is taken from the southern bank facing upstream at the island when it housed a forgery. Hollywood Cemetary is on the far bank towards the right of the image. That bridge was a train tressel and is now buttresses sitting in the middle of the river to climb and jump off of into the river.

Other than a prisoner camp, the island was also used as a race track for horses, an ammo depot, a forgery, a quarry for many of Richmond's biggest buildings, a site for a power plant, and currently a state park. This is how I know if the island. I spent 7 summers of my life on that island. Everyday for weeks on end, I would lead dozens of children from the restored Tredegar Iron Works and Civil War Museum, across a bridge, and across the island to either climbing or kayaking sites passing the hidden graves of prisoners long forgotten. The island is now covered in forests. The river is different from those images and has mighty rapids that some of the best white water kayakers call home. The quarry ended when it was filled with water after hitting the river and is now an excellent pond to cool down during the summer. I once saw a scuba diver cataloguing canonballs sitting on the bottom. (There are also many stories of handguns and homeless people sitting on the bottom too. The park is a popular hang out for innercity kids, the homeless, druggies, yuppies, business men, mountain bikers, paddlers, and climbers. The Federal Reserve Building sits right near the island.)

The quarry is also used for climbing and rappelling. I was a climbing counselor and would spend many afternoons on top of the cliffs staring off at the bends in the river, the wildlife (usually campers), and the city.


As you can see, I love this place. I've had many life-changing experiences there and will always dream of it during the school year. It is a fascinating feature in the history and geology of an amazing city. Virginia was the heart of the Civil War and Richmond the capital. This island is smack dab in the middle of downtown and adorns many posters, calendars, and ad campaigns of the city. The island started as a place to make bets then turned into a hell hole for POWs then into a natural resource and now its a state park enjoyed by hundreds each day. The XTERRA Offroad Triathalon Eastern Championship is held there each year leading up to the world championship.


I'm sorry this turned out to be so long but there's so much I want to share with you about Belle Isle. If you're ever in Richmond, make a point of dropping by there.

this is a list i found of ppl who died in the Richmond :-

List of known soldiers originally buried on Belle Isle, and re-interred in Richmond National Cemetery. This list was compiled from Richmond National Cemetery Records.

NAME

Agnew, W. M.
Allen, W.
Ashber, C. A.
Baker, M. G.
Barry, Michael
Bartholomew, W.
Bates, B.
Beardsley, Addison
Bell, H. UNK
Bernard, William
Bissel, Edwin
Blackburn, R. M.
Brotsche, Adam
Burns, John
Butcher, L.
Cabbit, C.
Cluts, Jacob
C. M. J.
Colclaser, George W.

etc,etc... list goes on ....all i can say is wow so many ppl lost their lives here.
heres a link :- http://www.mdgorman.com/Prisons/belle_isle_burials.htm

"ON the 21st of October, 1861, the battle of Ball’s Bluff was fought. Sixteen hundred and ten Federal and five thousand Rebel troops were engaged. The former were defeated, two hundred and fifty-two killed, wounded, and drowned, and six hundred and seventy-eight taken prisoners. The defeat and heavy loss on the Federal side were owing to inefficient transportation, retarding the arrival of reinforcements, and preventing retreat from a vastly superior force of the enemy, the engagement occurring on: the Virginia bank of the Potomac River, within two hundred feet of the water’s edge.

The history of the war will record no military blunder so fatal, nor futurity witness more heroic valor than was displayed by the Federal troops at the battle of Ball’s Bluff[i]."

link:-http://www.mdgorman.com/Prisons/Prison%20Life%20Ch%201.htm

wow this place has a gr8 history.

Going to try to make it short. Recently I went back to where my family comes from for a funeral and visited some places I used to go when I was a kid...those places are in and around Chattanooga and for this post I will be talking about Lookout Mountain and Chickamauga (Battlefield Park). My uncle is member (and sometimes head) of the civil war memorial commitee there and I used to go to these places and metal detect with him. I took a lot of pics but to save space I will only post a few. The first is a memorial plaque commemorating the Battle above the Clouds.



The Plaque reads:

Twenty Ninth Regiment
Pensylvania Volunteer Infantry
Colonel William Richards Jr. Commanding
Cobhams Brigade, Geary's Division
Slocum's Twelfth Corps
Hookers Detachment
From the Army of the Potomac

it goes on to say:



and this is the plaque in full...you have to walk down look out mountain from the very top a ways and this is inserted right into the mountain side.



one of the cannons restored and placed where it was used to fire down the mountain at union troops. These are all around the top of the mountian and lines of them are all around Chickamauga



a bit of history about the Battle of Lookout Mountain:

Lookout Mountain rises over the Tennessee Valley like a monolith, its steep sides protruding to the sky. The mountain, more than 1200 feet above the valley floor beneath it is surrounded on three sides by a near vertical rock wall that has afforded protection to the occupants of the top for hundreds of years.

The mountain is known for a unique weather phenomenon. Sometimes, after a clear dawn, a layer of fog descends toward the valley below, stopping about halfway down the peak. This inverted fog has been written about since the first whites visited the area sometime before 1735. It was on a fateful day, November 24, 1863, that this weather anomaly set in, creating the most poetic name for any battle in the American Civil War, The Battle Above the Clouds.

Moving 12,000 men west of Chattanooga, "Fighting Joe" Hooker turns south, crosses Lookout Mountain Creek and encounters some 1200 Rebels entrenched in the side of Lookout Mountain, under the command of Carter Stevenson. Ordered to "fall back fighting" the Rebels withdraw towards the northern face of Lookout Mountain under the cover of artillery positioned at the peak of the mountain. The only heavy fighting takes place at Cravens House, a rocky respid from the sheer north slope of the mountain. Three brigades of Rebels successfully form a line against three Federal divisions and actually launch a counterattack.

General Braxton Bragg orders Stevenson to withdraw and join him on Missionary Ridge for the battle to come in the morning. Hooker takes the mountain with 629 causalities and only 81 deaths.

Ulysses S. Grant would later write "The Battle of Lookout Mountain is one of the romances of the war. There was no such battle and no action even worthy to be called a battle on Lookout Mountain. It is all poetry."

read Battle of Lookout Mountain by Col. Samuel Taylor below:

http://ngeorgia.com/history/lookoutmountain.html

There is just far too much to show when it comes to battle field park...the old shacks (my grandfather used to live in what is now the park until it became a national park), the cannons, monuments commemorating each major battle as the two side fought it out all around the area (this is in georgia, not far from chattanooga).

Each state in the union was invited to put a momument in the park as each state was represented in these epic battles. This is just one of many, not sure which state this is, all I can say is on the whole, the northern states monuments were very impressive.



a little history:

The Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 18 to September 20, 1863, marked the end of a Union offensive in south-central Tennessee and northwestern Georgia called the Chickamauga Campaign. The battle was the most significant Union defeat in the Western Theater of the American Civil War.

The battle was fought between the Union Army of the Cumberland under Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans and the Confederate Army of Tennessee under General Braxton Bragg, and was named for the (now South) Chickamauga Creek, which flows into the Tennessee River about 3.5 miles (5.6km) northeast of downtown Chattanooga. Chickamauga was a local Indian word meaning "Stagnant River" or, less accurately, "River of Death," usage that may have begun after the battle.

Considered a Confederate victory for halting the Union advance, the Battle of Chickamauga was a costly one. It claimed an estimated 34,624 casualties (16,170 for the Union; 18,454 for the Confederates).




http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Chickamauga

http://www.civilwarhome.com/chickama.htm

http://ngeorgia.com/history/chickam.html

Lastly, this is Wilders Tower in the park...you can climb to the top of it and get a real good view of the surrounding area...



a bit of info:

http://roadsidegeorgia.com/site/wildertower.html

Col. John T. Wilder and his men, nicknamed the Lightning Brigade earlier in the year, were near the site of Widow Glenn's house when Rebel forces broke through at the Brotherton Cabin during the battle of Chickamauga (September 19 - 20, 1863). Regiments from Indiana and Illinois armed with Spencer 7-shot repeating carbine laid down a barrage into the advancing Confederates under the command of Arthur Manigault, forcing the Rebels to retreat. As Wilder prepared to join the rest of Union Army on top of Snodgrass Hill north of his position he was approached by Charles Dana, Assistant Secretary of War. Dana ordered him not to join Thomas, nor attack the Rebels between Wilder's current position and Snodgrass Hill.

The effect of Wilder's attack is widely debated. Some say it slowed the Rebel army long enough for General George Thomas to form a line while other argue it was only one in a chain of events that included the wounding of General John B. Hood that slowed the Confederate army.

As the movement to create a memorial to the men who fought and died at Chickamauga grew, the idea of a monument to the men of the Lightning Brigade grew. In 1892 plans were finalized and approved to build the circular tower that allows a bird's-eye view of area of the Confederate breakthough at the Brotherton Cabin and the area where "Blue Thunder" struck. Paid for by privately raised funds, much of which came from Wilder's men, the monument was almost 60 feet tall when a bank failure during the Panic of 1893 put an end to the work. The tower was a scant 60 feet tall at the time. In 1897 work began again and the first phase of building (the outside) is listed as complete in 1899. Work continued on the building until 1904, when the staircase inside the tower was completed.

This area just has far too much history to go over. Everywhere you go there are battle fields and monuments. Not only that but the country side it outstanding...hiking down the mountian, down missionary ridge, seeing these places is like a trip back in time...


BTW...several my relatives fought on the southern side and surrendered in one of these battles. They were taken prisoner and sent to Kansas where they lived for a time until returning to Georgia.



well...it wasnt that short after all

If I ever get the time, this will be an interesting thread to read all the way through!

Blair’s Landing

Other Name: Pleasant Hill Landing
State: Louisiana
Location: Red River Parish
Campaign: Red River Campaign (1864)
Dates: April 12-13, 1864
Principal Commanders: Union States: Brig. Gen. Thomas Kilby Smith and Rear Adm. David D. Porter
Confederate States: Brig. Gen. Tom Green
Forces Engaged: Union States: Provisional division, XVII Army Corps, Army transports, and U.S. Navy Mississippi Squadron
Confederate States: Green’s Cavalry Division
Estimated Casualties: Union States: 7
Confederate States: 200
Total: 207 total
Results: Result(s): Union victory

Description:

After the battle of Pleasant Hill on April 9, Brig. Gen. Tom Green led his men to Pleasant Hill Landing on the Red River, where, about 4:00 pm on April 12, they discovered grounded and damaged Union transports and gunboats, the XVI and XVII army corps river transportation, and U.S. Navy gunboats, with supplies and armament aboard. Union Brig. Gen. Thomas Kilby Smith’s Provisional Division, XVII Corps, troops, and the Navy gunboats furnished protection for the army transports. Green and his men charged the boats. When Green attacked, Smith’s men used great ingenuity in defending the boats and dispersing the enemy. Hiding behind bales of cotton, sacks of oats, and other ersatz obstructions, the men on the vessels, along with the Navy gunboats, repelled the attack, killed Green, and savaged the Confederate ranks. The Confederates withdrew and most of the Union transports continued downriver. On the 13th, at Campti, other boats ran aground and came under enemy fire from Brig. Gen. St. John R. Liddell’s Sub-District of North Louisiana troops, which harassed the convoy throughout the 12th and 13th. The convoy rendezvoused with Maj. Gen. Nathaniel Banks’s army at Grand Ecore, providing the army with badly needed supplies.

This is a research paper I wrote last semester about Abraham Lincoln and the value of his writings/speeches. There are some odd uses of tenses; for example, it says "Lincoln said" and "Lincoln says" (in essence) several times throughout the piece. This is because the professor wanted me to cite the author before doing this (Smith 95). So, when it was a collection of Lincoln's own works, I had to say "Lincoln observes that... (45)" or when it was by someone else "According to Smith, Lincoln realized that...(95)".

Enjoy!

Colonel William C. Oates ( My Great Great GrandFather ) Was wounded at Brown's Ferry. His Brother Captain John A. Oates died from wounds recieved at Gettysburg.


Fifteenth Alabama
Infantry Regiment

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This regiment organized at Fort Mitchell in the summer of 1861, and moved at once into Virginia. Joining the main army near Manassas, it was brigaded with the 21st Georgia, 21st N. Carolina, and 16th Mississippi, under Gen. G.B. Crittenden of Kentucky; Gen I.R. Trimble succeeding Crittenden in December. When the army moved over to Yorktown, the Fifteenth remained on the Shenandoah, in Gen. T.J. Jackson's division. It was engaged with slight loss at Front Royal and Winchester, but lost 9 killed and 33 wounded, out of 425, at Cross Keys. Moving over to Richmond, in Jackson's flank movement on McClellan, it entered the first battle of Cold Harbor with 412 men, and lost 34 killed and 110 wounded. Five days after, it suffered lightly at Malvern Hill. On the march in Maryland, it was engaged at Hazel River and Manassas Junction with a loss of 6 killed and 22 wounded. A day or two later the Fifteenth participated in the second and greater battle of Manassas, losing 21 killed and 91 wounded out of 440 men engaged. At Chantilly the regiment lost 4 killed and 14 wounded, and took part in the investment of Harper's Ferry, with trivial loss. At Sharpsburg, of 300 engaged, 9 were killed and 75 wounded. Under fire at Fredericksburg, the casualties were one killed and 34 wounded. The Fifteenth was then placed in a brigade uner Gen. Law (with the Fourth, Forty-fourth, Forty-seventh, and Forty-eighth Alabama regiments), Longstreet's corps. At Suffolk it lost 4 killed and 18 wounded. It took part in the grand assault of Hood's division on Gettysburg, and within a few minutes lost 72 killed, 190 wounded, and 81 missing, out of 644 men engaged. The Fifteenth suffered lightly at Battle Mountain, and, transferred to the West, bore its colors proudly at Chicamauga, where it lost 19 killed and 123 wounded, out of 425 engaged. In the fierce fights at Brown's Ferry and Lookout Valley, the regiment lost 15 killed and 40 wounded. Six killed and 21 wounded at Knoxville, and light loss at Bean's Station, closed the operations of the regiment in Tennessee. It took 450 men in at the Wilderness and Spottsylvania, and lost 18 killed and 48 wounded. At Hanover Junction and the second Cold Harbor the loss was 6 killed and 16 wounded, and then the regiment took its place in the "last ditch" at Petersburg. At Deep Bottom a third of its 275 men present were killed or wounded, and at Fussell's Mill the loss was 13 killed and 90 wounded. The Fifteenth took part in the subsequent severe fighting, and surrendered at Appomattox 170 strong. Of 1633 on the rolls, over 260 fell in battle, 440 died in the service, and 231 were transferred or discharged.


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Field and Staff
Colonels - James Cantey of Russell; promoted. John F. Treutlen of Barbour; resigned. William C. Oates of Henry; wounded at Brown's Ferry. A.A. Lowther of Russell; wounded at Fussell's Mill.

Lieutenant Colonels - J.F. Treutlen; promoted. Isaac B. Feagan of Barbour; wounded at Gettysburg; retired.

Majors - J.W.L. Daniel of Barbour; resigned. A.A. Lowther; wounded at Wilderness; promoted.

Adjutants - Locke Weems of Russell; transferred to line. DeB. Waddell; transferred to line.


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Captains, and Counties from Which the Companies Came.
Russell - A.A. Lowther; promoted. Locke Weems; mortally wounded at Gaines' Mill. F.K. Shaaf.

Barbour - Isaac B. Feagan; promoted. R.A. Wright; wounded at second Manassas; retired. Noah B. Feagan.

Macon - Peter V. Guerry; killed at first Cold Harbor. J. H. Ellison; killed at Gettysburg; .... Guerry.


Barbour - .... Worthington; died in the sevice. B.A. Hill; killed at Fussell's Mill.

Dale - E. Brooks; resigned. W.A. Edwards; resigned. G.A.C. Mathews; wounded near Richmond; retired. .... Glover; killed at Petersburg.

Pike - B.F. Lewis; resigned. Geo. Y. Malone; wounded at first Cold Harbor; retired. DeKalb Williams.

Henry - W.C. Oates; promoted. Henry C. Brainard; killed at Gettysburg. John A. Oates; died of wounds received at Gettysburg. DeB. Waddell.

Barbour and Dale - W.N. Richardson; captured in east Tennessee. Benjamin Gardner; resigned.

Pike - Frank Park; killed at Knoxville. W.H. Strickland; wounded at Fussell's Mill.

Barbour - Henry C. Hart; transferred to department duty. W.J. Bethune; wounded at Gettysburg.

Pike (March 1862) - .... Hill; killed at Cross Keys. Lee Bryan; wounded at first Cold Harbor; retired. Jas. Hatcher.

Going to be brief, three of my direct ancestors fought in the battle of Lexington, Missouri in 1861. One ancestor was from the southern part of the State and he served in the Confederate army, whilst two of my ancestors were from Carroll County about 20 miles from Lexington and served in the Union army. My one Union ancestor was captured by the Confederates and spent time in a POW camp until he was traded out for Confederate POW's later that year. Early in the war this happened quite a bit, and it was rare for either side's soldiers to spend more than a couple of months in a POW camp.

I have often wondered if my Union and Confederate ancestors crossed paths during that battle. There is a park there in Lexington where you can see where a house that was used as a field hospital then stands, it is an eerie place and I have been there at dusk with a strong feeling that I shouldn't be there. The floor on the second level is darkly stained still, from the blood of wounded soldiers that seeped into the wood of the floor.

Another ancestor on the paternal side of the family served in Stand Watie's "Cherokee Braves" in the Indian Territory. They had the distinction of being the last Confederate regiment to give up the fight after General Lee's surrender. In fact they held out until later in May 1865.

Sometime a contest on the Revolutionary war is in the offing, I have lots more family history there, again on both sides

Cool. Thanks, roaddevil. I couldn't find a ton of good information on it anywhere. I'm surprised there is no Wikipedia article.


Anywho, all of my post was written by ME


PS. I was named after a good friend of my great grandparents, a prominent civil war surgeon.

This is a picture of a Confederate Note I found as a kid:



It wasn't long before I figured out it was fake but there are thousands of these still floating around to this day fooling people into thinking they have something.

Here's a link where notes can be checked:
BOGUS or Facsimile

It was a problem during the war and, 142 years later, it still remains one.

np an nice im named after my grandad

Many good folks delve into the key moments of the Civil War. It can be a way of second guessing and pondering what ifs.
As I used to tell my students: What I am about to deliver should in no way be considered an answer to anything. It is however; an attempt to create a question. We second guess, that is human nature. It is very easy to take a hindsight approach. This essay does not attempt to study all of the critical junctures in the Civil War, just a few--And hopefully this essay will provoke questions. To believe that I have the right to come up with a definitive answer to all of the nineteenth century problems in warfare would be an effort in futility and an exercise in stupidity.
The people is never in the right as soon as it begins to revolt. This is a fact, and when I speak of people I refer to the constituents of a government, thus the word is instead of are. This is a fact when it came to Lincoln's' perception of the people and also his perception of a government under revolt. When creating a new government, it is important not to tie one's hands by laws that are too detailed. Constitutions are the work of time, and it is impossible to leave too wide an opening for improvements. Lincoln understood this, and Davis did not. With this understanding Lincoln also knew that Laws are like the statues of certain divinities which are veiled on certain occasions.
One of the first key moments of the war was found in the security of the border states and the long wide, rolling transportation conduits known as the Ohio, Tennessee, Cumberland and Mississippi Rivers. These were the grand prizes that would either spell defeat or victory in the eyes of the people who held them.
Also key political land masses were important. It seems likely that Maryland would have followed Virginia into the Confederacy had not Lincoln veiled certain statues in that divinity called the United States Constitution. Not only a key moment, but critical moment in time. Arrests were made, fear of the government was made an issue, and Maryland was held.
There were many reasons for securing the border states...too many to list here. Here are a few, maybe not the most important, but enough to hopefully create a flow of imaginative juices known as what ifs. The border states were just that...border. They had border line politics, border line beliefs, they had commitment to differing ideals, and they were certainly the prize of whichever government knew how to bring them into the fold. The border states produced probably as many soldiers for the North as they did for the South. Although a nice prize, those men would have and did join their respective armies because of their own personal beliefs, they were not the prize. The prize was geography. Lincoln understood this better than anyone.
Geography--the Ohio River, the key to the Mississippi and the eventual key to the war. The South gave it little emphasis until it was too late. The North made it the grand prize. It should be noted that Lincoln, the great manipulator, had created an idea in the hearts and minds of the people in the North and the South-- the belief that Richmond was the main focus. He knew as well as anyone that the South could still fight without Richmond. He knew they would eventually perish without the Mississippi or the Ohio.
Virginia is only about one hundred miles from Lake Erie. The thoroughfare from Maryland to the Great Lakes could have produced a portion of the Anaconda Plan in reverse. President Lincoln's maneuvers in securing the border states were as sound as any flank march that was attributed to Stonewall Jackson.
Second Key Point: Gettysburg: If the art of war were nothing but the art of avoiding risks, glory would become the prey of mediocre minds. Lee came onto a field he did not want, and had no knowledge of. But the enemy was there and so were the risks. There are many key points during the battle of Gettysburg that will be rehashed until the end of time. "If Ewell would have only advanced and taken the hills." "If Longstreet would have moved his corps with celerity the second day's assault would have produced a great victory." "If Lee would not have ordered Picketts' charge, his army would have been preserved to take the offensive another day." And I am certain there are others.
If Ewell would have advanced and would have taken the hills...what then? The Gettysburg line would have fallen. The Pipe Creek line would have been solidified. The Army of Northern Virginia could have either circled to the east and north and presented itself in a strong defensive position between the Federal army and Washington (this was still an option at the end of the first day at Gettysburg). Or...the enemy was on the Pipe Creek line in a weakened state having lost two corps of troops. An assault on a well established defensive line near Pipe Creek may have produced the same results that were produced at Gettysburg. Would Lee have swung to the east and north as Longstreet wanted? Or would he have went after the Federal army at Pipe Creek? What if?
On the Second Day. What if? Men take only their needs into consideration never their abilities. On the Second day of Gettysburg Longstreet faced a problem in command that is not unlike officers of an earlier day and those of a later day. Having been given orders he did not believe would prove successful; he hesitated, and historians and time are very unforgiving. Had he progressed with enthusiasm and celerity...then what? Could he have pierced the line? Then changing front, rolled up the Federal line? But what about the Federal Fifth Corps? or the Sixth Corps? Where were they? Could they have destroyed Longstreet at the moment of seemed victory? What if he would have taken the hills--and perceiving the Fifth and Sixth Corps coming in on his flank and rear he would have held the hills and not advanced? What if Sickles would have obeyed orders and had not advanced? Would the Confederate onslaught proved victorious? "The mistakes of our enemies often are more useful to them than their abilities and cause us to commit mistakes still greater than theirs (Napoleon Bonaparte)" Sickles' advance was a mistake. It caused a still greater mistake in the ranks of the Confederate army in the progression of events.
Pickett's charge...when had Lee's instincts failed him? There is a moment in every battle at which the least maneuver is decisive and gives superiority. Had that moment happened? If he had not charged would he be crucified by historians and time as Ewell and Longstreet. He who fears to lose his reputation is sure to lose it. War consists of nothing but accidents and a commander, though he must always adjust himself to general principles, should never overlook anything that might enable him to exploit these accidents. Some would call this luck, but in fact it is the characteristic of genius. Lee had an instinct for finding Federal accidents, he had to try. However; what if?
True character always pierces through in moments of crisis. There are sleepers whose awakening is terrifying--The attack of the First Minnesota, the courage of Cushing, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain on Little Round Top, Buford on Seminary Ridge, Hancock reorganizing on the first day, the ability of Meade to change his well-conceived Pipe Creek plans based on Hancock's report...the list goes on and on.
The last key moment for this essay would be the actions in the western theater more specifically the fall of Vicksburg and thus the fall of the Mississippi River. Vicksburg fell in July of 1863, and with it most of the hopes of a successful war effort for the South.
The seeds of this monumental disaster were sowed in the first few months of 1862, when the South failed to achieve enough success in Kentucky. The fall of Kentucky was tantamount in that it gave the Federal forces the Ohio River. The Federal philosophy of river warfare and the Confederate conception was very much apart. The North created gunboats, the South placed their chances of victory in fortified positions along the river. The South put all of their eggs in one basket. A fort could possibly hold out for a long time, and expend a great deal of enemy energy...but once it fell it gave up large expanses of river.
The fall of Vicksburg could be easily blamed on Joe Johnston's failure to relieve Pemberton. It could be given to Bragg for not stopping Rosecrans. It could be given to Davis for issuing impossible orders to Pemberton. It could be given to an outdated belief that fixed fortifications can withstand the onslaught of an invading army. There were many reasons why Vicksburg was lost to the Confederacy. 1. Losing the Ohio River, and New Orleans (both flanks had been turned) That in itself is a defensive disaster on a large scale. 2. The failure of the offensive to take the Tennessee River with the eventual defeat at Shiloh, and the retreat from Murfreesboro gave the Federal armies free reign along the rivers leading to the Mississippi. Was it at this critical time that all armies operating in the west should have been consolidated into one powerful force with a singular offensive target? Losing Forts Henry and Donelson...and New Orleans should have raised a very large red flag in the war department in Richmond--It is axiomatic in the art of war that the side which remains behind its fortified line is always defeated. Experience and theory agree on that point.
Alas, by the time if got down to blaming Johnston for not supporting from Jackson, and Bragg not supporting from the vicinity of Chattanooga the Battle and siege of Vicksburg had already been decided. And with the fall of the Mississippi, the entire Confederacy was not far behind.
Every offensive war is invasion warfare; every well conducted war is methodical warfare. Defensive warfare does not exclude attacking, nor does offensive warfare exclude defensive fighting, although its aim is to force the frontier and to invade the enemy's country. What distinguishes successful commanders from less successful ones is not the cleverness of maneuver but the ability to bring about a bold action. In the advance on Vicksburg, Grant's supply line was nearly destroyed by the cleverness of Nathan Bedford Forrest and Earl van Dorn, his response was foraging and confiscation of food...and possibly the boldest move of the war from either side...not just the movement on Vicksburg, but how he did it.---Again just an old man's opinion.
Source: From the papers of the late Dr. Ernest Butner

a day too late but still its nice

I entered the names of the 10 entrants into my random number generator (only one entry per person despite the number of posts) and the winner is: Dustin43160!

Congratulations and send me a PM with your address and I will send the prize this week!

Congrats, Dustin! Thanks for holding this, jtryka

wow thanks!!!!!!!

'Grats!

thankS!!!

And the winner is: Dustin43160!

Congratulations!!!

And thanks to jtryka for the Give-Away and the lessons in history.

thanks harpo!!!

grats

thanks