Happy Belated Birthday!

As a quick aside, this blog made its way into cyberspace on July 20, 2009. When I started this, I never imagined that I would pen 235 postings over a three year time period. In spite of all this writing, I'm not anywhere close to exhausting the subject of the trans-Mississippi. Many topics I have only lightly addressed, and then there are topics that I haven't even written about yet. If nothing else, this has proven to my satisfaction that the trans-Mississippi offers a lot for the researcher as well as for those with a more casual interest in the subject. My plan is to keep on blogging!

Way Out West: The 11th Ohio Cavalry

Last week, I was bicycling in delightfully cool temperatures along Lake Michigan; this week, I am enduring an incredible heat wave in northeastern Oklahoma. Thank goodness for air conditioning! Since I have been limited in my outdoor activities, I’ve taken to perusing overlooked books on my shelves, and this led me to a most unusual and interesting regiment: the 11^th Ohio Cavalry. This unit served in none of the familiar venues but instead guarded stagecoach lines and emigrant trails in the far West. While Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Red River campaign, the Atlanta campaign, and many others took place, the 11^th Ohio Cavalry fought skirmishes at exotic locales such as:

Platte River, Nebraska Territory, April 17, 1863 

Operations against Indians in Nebraska, August 11 to November 28, 1864

Mud Springs, Nebraska Territory, February 5 to 9, 1865

Poison Spring, Idaho Territory, March 8, 1865

Sage Creek Station, Dakota Territory, April 6, 1865

Tongue River, Dakota Territory, August 29, 1865

For a more complete history and listing of skirmishes see the regimental sketch in Compendium Of The War Of The Rebellion by Frederick H. Dyer.

Parts of the regiment were organized in late 1861, but the unit was not mustered out until July 1866. The regiment consisted primarily of Ohioans, but a number of “galvanized Yankees” (Confederate prisoners of war who took an oath of allegiance) also served in the unit. Dee Brown’s book, The Galvanized Yankees, includes an interesting chapter about these men titled “Ohioans from Dixie: The Powder River Expedition.” Also, check out Robert Huhn Jones' book, Guarding the Overland Trails: The Eleventh Ohio Cavalry in the Civil War. Spokane, WA: The Arthur H. Clark Co., 2005.

For more information about this regiment go to the following websites:

Ohio in the Civil War: bibliography about the 11^th Ohio Cavalry compiled by Larry Stevens

11th Ohio Cavalry reenactors: history and other background information

In addition, Cheyenne Dog Soldiers: A Ledgerbook History of Coups and Combat by Jean Afton, David Fridtjof Halaas, and Andrew E. Masich with Richard N. Ellis reproduces ledgerbook artwork by several Cheyenne warriors. Some of the plates depict combat between soldiers of the 11th Ohio Cavalry and their Indian foes. 

Sesquicentennial Observances in the Trans-Mississippi

Recently, I checked to see how many trans-Mississippi states had created Civil War Sesquicentennial websites, and the results were disappointing. Only four western states had created websites with three other states having a Facebook presence. There were some surprises. Texans, often so proud of their heritage, only have a Sesquicentennial Facebook page. On the other hand, Utah, a state not often associated with the Civil War, has a website. Perhaps a Facebook page draws more attention than a website?

Here are the western states with 150^th anniversary websites:

Arkansas

Missouri

Oklahoma

Utah

And, those with a Facebook presence:

Minnesota

Oregon

Texas

Let me know if there are any omissions!

The 40th Indiana Infantry Ended Their Service in Texas

Several weeks have passed since I last featured one of the Union regiments from William F. Fox’s list of “300 Fighting Regiments” that served at some point in the trans-Mississippi. This will mark the third and last Indiana regiment to be featured as part of this series. The 40^th Indiana Infantry compiled an active combat record during its four years of service. After serving as part of the Army of the Cumberland, the 40^th Indiana was dispatched to Texas to finish out its service. Far too many people think that with the surrender of the Confederate armies, all Union soldiers were swiftly mustered out. There were a significant number of volunteer soldiers who continued serving into late 1865 and even into 1866 before being mustered out; in the case of the 40^th Indiana, they were finally sent home in December 1865. Earlier in the war, these Indiana soldiers had served in Philip H. Sheridan’s division, and they were reunited with Sheridan when they served in his Army of Occupation.

For more information about the 40^th Indiana see the following:

40^th Indiana Infantry: A creation of Scott R. Busenbark, this is a blog that also contains pages of information about the unit. Additional features include a roster, photographs, primary accounts, etc.

“Wagner's Brigade —Sheridan's Division--Fourth Corps.

(1) Col. William C. Wilson.

(2) Col. John W. Blake.

(3) Col. Henry Leaming.

Companies.		killed and died of wounds.			died of disease, accidents, in Prison, &c.			Total Enrollment.
		Officers.	Men.	Total.	Officers.	Men.	Total.
Field and Staff					2	2	4	19
Company	A	1	21	22		14	14	140
	B	1	19	20		16	16	136
	C		12	12	1	24	25	149
	D		14	14	1	27	28	159
	E	1	11	12		23	23	139
	F	1	17	18		25	25	164
	G	1	15	16		24	24	152
	H		12	12		18	18	146
	I		10	10		11	11	137
	K		12	12	1	22	23	132
Totals		5	143	148	5	206	211	1,473

148 killed=10 per cent

Total of killed and wounded 551

Battles	Killed and M. W.
Shiloh, Tenn., April 15, 1862	1
Perryville, Ky.	1
Stone’s River, Tenn.	10
Lookout Mountain, Tenn.	2
Missionary Ridge, Tenn.	39
Resaca, Ga.	4
Adairsville, Ga.	1
Dallas, Ga.	9
Pine Mountain, Ga.	7
Kenesaw Mountain, Ga.	4
Assault on Kenesaw	37
Peach Tree Creek, Ga.	8
Siege of Atlanta, Ga.	4
Franklin, Tenn.	17
Nashville, Tenn.	4

Present, also, at Corinth; Jonesboro; Lovejoy's Station.

Notes.--Organized at Lafayette, Ind., in December, 1861, and ordered immediately into Kentucky, where it went into a Camp of Instruction near Bardstown. In February, 1862, it moved with Buell’s Army on its various campaigns in Kentucky and Tennessee, having been assigned to Wagner's Brigade of Wood's Division, in which it was present at Shiloh, but not under fire. Wood’s (6th) Division participated in the campaigns of the Army of the Ohio in 1862, the occupation of Tennessee, and the retreat into Kentucky. The regiment was engaged at Stone’s River, where it lost 4 killed, 68 wounded, and 13 missing. The brigade was absent at Chickamauga, it having been detailed just at that time on duty at Chattanooga, and left behind as the army passed through. Upon the re-organization of the Army of the Cumberland, October 20, 1863, the regiment was assigned to Wagner's (2d) Brigade, Sheridan's (2d) Division, Fourth Corps, in which command it fought at Missionary Ridge, where it sustained a loss of 20 killed and 138 wounded; total, 158. During the Atlanta campaign, General Newton commanded the division, and in the unsuccessful assault on Kenesaw Mountain the regiment met with another severe loss, the percentage of casualties being very large. At the battle of Franklin, General Wagner commanded the division, and Colonel John Q. Lane the brigade. After the battle at Nashville the regiment remained in winter-quarters near that city until the spring of 1865, when, the war having closed, it was ordered to New Orleans. From there it went with the Fourth Corps to Texas, where it joined Sheridan 's Army of Occupation, remaining there until December 21, 1865, when it was mustered out” (Fox, page 352).

One Of My Favorite Things: Shopping at Bookstores

With the rise in popularity of digital books, I envision a future with fewer bookstores. Hopefully, my prediction does not come to pass because shopping at bookstores, particularly used bookstores, is one of my favorite pastimes. A couple of years ago, I purchased a Kindle and have found it great while traveling, but doesn’t it seem like digital books are just not as fun? Yes, you can have instant gratification by downloading a book, but personally I find it more satisfying to order a book the old-fashioned way or discovering it in a store or even borrowing it through interlibrary loan. There’s something about anticipating the arrival of a book that is thrilling. I can’t deny the convenience factor of being able to download books or view books online, but still I can’t help be saddened by changes in the book world.

Happily, I visited the Dickson Street Bookshop in Fayetteville, Arkansas, recently and came away with what I thought were some wonderful finds. They are:

Barber, Lucius W. Army Memoirs. reprint ed. Time-Life Books, 1984. (hardcover) Barber served in the 15^th Illinois Infantry, a unit that served in Missouri and then in the western theater.

Frost, Griffin. Camp and Prison Journal. reprint ed., Iowa City: Camp Pope Bookshop, 1994. (hardcover) This is the account of a Confederate soldier confined at several prisons including Camp Gratiot Street (St. Louis), Alton, Camp Douglas, and Camp Morton.

Mahan, Russell L. Fayetteville, Arkansas In The Civil War. Bountiful, UT: Historical Byways, 2003. (signed by the author; softcover) Since I travel to Fayetteville regularly, this will be an interesting read for me.

Scott, Kim Allen. The Fighting Printers of Company E. reprint ed. Johnson, AR: Kinnally Press, 1987. (softcover) First published in the Arkansas Historical Quarterly, this article reprinted as a booklet, is about Company E of the 11^th Kansas Infantry. The piece deals mainly with the publication of the Buck & Ball newspaper by the “fighting printers” at Cane Hill, Arkansas. On the inside back cover the following appears: “This entire booklet was letterpress printed, the same method used by the printers in Company E…The presswork was performed by the author on a hand fed 1903 model Chandler and Price platen press.” Neat!

Symposium Announcement

The Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission and the National Park Service will be hosting a symposium titled An Empire In Extent: The Civil War West of the Mississippi from August 9-11 at the University of Arkansas Global Campus in Fayetteville. The sponsors have lined up the following speakers: Ernesto Chavez, Bradley R. Clampitt, William C. Davis, Wilma King, Carl Moneyhon, Dwight T. Pitcaithley, Linda Reed, Daniel Sutherland, Jerry Thompson, Mary Jane Warde, and Steven E. Woodworth. These scholars will be presenting an array of enticing talks plus there will be a tour of the Pea Ridge battlefield. Go to the Arkansas Civil War Sesquicentennial website to register and to check out the full schedule. Hope to see you there!