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Saucy Schimenti’s Sage Page
Well, what did you really expect from some one whom writes as much as Richard
does!!
November of 2011
The Balloons With The Army
Of The Potomac
"A personal reminiscence by Professor T. S. C. Lowe, who introduced
and made balloon observations on the Peninsula for the Union Army"
It was through the midnight
observations with one of my war-balloons that I was enabled to
discover that the fortifications at Yorktown were being evacuated,
and at my request General Heintzelman made a trip with me that he
might confirm the truth of my discovery. The entire great fortress
was ablaze with bonfires, and the greatest activity prevailed, which
was not visible except from the balloon. At first the general was
puzzled on seeing more wagons entering the forts than were going
out, but when I called his attention to the fact that the ingoing
wagons were light and moved rapidly (the wheels being visible as
they passed each campfire), while the outgoing wagons were heavily
loaded and moved slowly, there was no longer any doubt as to the
object of the Confederates. General Heintzelman then accompanied me
to General McClellan's headquarters for a consultation, while 1,
with orderlies, aroused other quietly sleeping corps commanders in
time to put our whole army in motion in the very early hours of the
morning, so that we were enabled to overtake the Confederate army at
Williamsburg, an easy day's march beyond Yorktown on the road to
Richmond.
Firing the day before had started early in the morning and
continued until dark, every gun in the fortification being turned on
the balloon, and then the next morning they were still pointing
upward in the hope of preventing us in some way from further
annoying the Confederates by watching their movements. The last
shot, fired after dark, came into General Heintzelman's camp and
completely destroyed his telegraph tent and instruments, the
operator having just gone out to deliver a dispatch. The general and
I were sitting together, discussing the probable reasons for the
unusual effort to destroy the balloon, when we were both covered
with what appeared to be tons of earth, which a great 12-inch shell
had thrown up. Fortunately, it did not explode. I suggested that the
next morning we should move the balloon so as to draw the foe's fire
in another direction, but the general said that he could stand it if
I could. Besides, he would like to have me near by, as be enjoyed
going up occasionally himself. He told me that, while I saw a grand
spectacle by watching the discharge of all those great guns that
were paying their entire compliments to a single man, it was nothing
as compared with the sight I would look down upon the next day when
our great mortar batteries would open their siege-guns on the
fortifications, which General McClellan expected to do.
I could see readily that I could be of no service at
Williamsburg, both armies being hidden in a great forest. Therefore,
General McClellan at the close of the battle sent orders to me to
proceed with my outfit, including all the balloons, gas-generators,
the balloon-inflating boat, gunboat, and tug up the Pamunkey River,
until I reached White House and the bridge crossing the historic
river, and join the army which would be there as soon as myself.
This I did, starting early the next morning, passing by the
great cotton-bale fortifications on the York River, and soon into
the little winding but easily navigated stream of the Pamunkey.
Every now and then I would let the balloon go up to view the
surrounding country, and over the bridge beyond the Pamunkey River
valley, I saw the rear of the retreating Confederates, which showed
me that our army had not gotten along as fast as it was expected,
and I could occasionally see a few scouts on horseback on the hills
beyond. I saw my helpless condition without my gunboat, the Coeur de
Lion, which had served me for the past year so well on the Potomac,
Chesapeake, and York, and which I had sent to Commodore Wilkes to
aid him in the bombardment of Fort Darling, on the James River,
thinking I would have no further use for it. Therefore, all I had
was the balloon-boat and the steam-tug and one hundred and fifty men
with muskets, a large number of wagons and gas-generators for three
independent balloon outfits. My balloon-boat was almost a facsimile
of our first little Monitor and about its size, and with the flag
which I kept at the stern it had the appearance of an armed craft,
which I think is all that saved me and my command, for the Monitor
was what the Confederates dreaded at that time more than anything
else.
After General Stoneman had left me at White House. I soon
had a gas-generating apparatus beside a little pool of water, and
from it extracted hydrogen enough in an hour to take both the
general and myself to an altitude that enabled us to look into the
windows of the city of Richmond and view its surroundings, and we
saw what was left of the troops that bad left Yorktown encamped
about the city.
While my illness at Malvern Hill prevented me from
reporting to headquarters until the army reached Antietam. those in
charge of transportation in Washington took all my wagons and horses
and left my command without transportation. Consequently I could
render no service there, but the moment General McClellan saw me he
expressed his regret that I had been so ill, and that he did not
have the benefit of my services; for if he had he could have gotten
the proper information, he could have prevented a great amount of
stores and artillery from recrossing the Potomac and thus depleted
the Confederate army that much more. I explained to him why he had
been deprived of my services, which did not surprise him, because be
stated that everything bad been done to annoy him, but that be must
still perform his duty regardless of annoyances. When I asked him if
I should accompany him across the river in pursuit of Lee, he
replied that he would see that I had my supply trains immediately,
but that the troops after so long a march were nearly all barefoot,
and in no condition to proceed until they bad been properly shod and
clothed.
Without the time and knowledge gained by the midnight
observations referred to at the beginning of this chapter, there
would have been no battle of Williamsburg, and McClellan would have
lost the opportunity of gaining a victory, the importance of which
has never been properly appreciated. The Confederates would have
gotten away with all their stores and ammunition without injury. It
was also my night observations that gave the primary knowledge which
saved the Federal army at the battle of Fair Oaks.
On arriving in sight of Richmond, I took observations to
ascertain the best location for crossing the Chickahominy River. The
one selected was where the Grapevine, or Sumner, Bridge was
afterward built across that stream. Mechanicsville was the point
nearest to Richmond, being only about four miles from the capital,
but there we would have bad to face the gathering army of the
Confederacy, at the only point properly provided with trenches and
earthworks. Here I established one of my aeronautic stations, where
I could better estimate the increase of the Confederate army and
observe their various movements. My main station and personal camp
was on Gaines' Hill, overlooking the bridge where our army was to
cross.
When this bridge was completed, about half of our army
crossed over on the Richmond side of the river, the remainder
delaying for a while to protect our transportation supplies and
railway facilities. In the mean time, the Confederate camp in and
about Richmond grew larger every day.
My night-and-day observations convinced me that with the
great army then assembled in and about Richmond we were too late to
gain a victory, which a short time before was within our grasp. In
the mean time, desperate efforts were made by the Confederates to
destroy my balloon at Mechanicsville, in order to prevent my
observing their movements.
At one point they masked twelve of their best rifle-cannon,
and while taking an early morning observation, all the twelve guns
were simultaneously discharged at short range, some of the shells
passing through the rigging of the balloon and nearly all bursting
not more than two hundred feet beyond me, showing that through spies
they had gotten my base of operations and range perfectly. I changed
my base, and they never came so near destroying the balloon or
capturing me after that.
I felt that it was important to take thorough observations
that very night at that point, which I did. The great camps about
Richmond were ablaze with fires. I had then experience enough to
know what this meant, that they were cooking rations preparatory to
moving. I knew that this movement must be against that portion of
the army then across the river. At daylight the next morning, May
31st, I took another observation, continuing the same until the sun
lighted up the roads. The atmosphere was perfectly clear. I knew
exactly where to look for their line of march, and soon discovered
one, then two. and then three columns of troops with artillery and
ammunition wagons moving toward the position occupied by General
Heintzelman's command.
All this information was conveyed to the commanding
general, who, on hearing my report that the force at both ends of
the bridge was too slim to finish it that morning, immediately sent
more men to work on it.
I used the balloon Washington at Mechanicsville for
observations, until the Confederate army was within four or five
miles of our lines. I then telegraphed my assistants to inflate the
large balloon, Intrepid, in case anything should happen to either of
the other two. This order was quickly carried out, and I then took a
six-mile ride on horseback to my camp on Gaines Hill, and made
another observation from the balloon Constitution. I found it
necessary to double the altitude usually sufficient for observations
in order to overlook forests and hills, and thus better to observe
the movements of both our army and that of the Confederates.
To carry my telegraph apparatus, wires, and cables to this
higher elevation, the lifting force of the Constitution proved to be
too weak. It was then that I was put to my wits' end as to how I
could best save an hour's time, which was the most important and
precious hour of all my experience in the army. As I saw the two
armies coming nearer and nearer together, there was no time to be
lost. It flashed through my mind that if I could only get the gas
that was in the smaller balloon, Constitution, into the Intrepid,
which was then half filled, I would save an hour's time, and to us
that hour's time would be worth a million dollars a minute. But how
was I to rig up the proper connection between the balloons? To do
this within the space of time necessary puzzled me until I glanced
down and saw a 10-inch camp kettle, which instantly gave me the key
to the situation. I ordered the bottom cut out of the kettle, the
Intrepid disconnected with the gas-generating apparatus, and the
Constitution brought down the hill. In the course of five or six
minutes connection was made between both balloons and the gas in the
Constitution was transferred into the Intrepid.
I immediately took a high-altitude observation as rapidly
as possible, wrote my most important dispatch to the commanding
general on my way down, and I dictated it to my expert telegraph
operator. Then with the telegraph cable and instruments, I ascended
to the height desired and remained there almost constantly during
the battle, keeping the wires hot with information.
The Confederate skirmish line soon came in contact with our
outposts, and I saw their whole well-laid plan. They had massed the
bulk of their artillery and troops, not only with the intention of
cutting off our ammunition supplies, but of preventing the main
portion of the army from crossing the bridge to join Heintzelman.
As I reported the movements and maneuvers of the
Confederates, I could see, in a very few moments, that our army was
maneuvering to offset their plans.
At about twelve o'clock, the whole lines of both armies
were in deadly conflict. Ours not only held its line firmly, but
repulsed the foe at all his weaker points.
It was one of the greatest strains upon my nerves that I
ever have experienced, to observe for many hours a fierce battle,
while waiting for the bridge connecting the two armies to be
completed. This fortunately was accomplished and our first
reinforcements, under Sumner, were able to cross at four o'clock in
the afternoon, followed by ammunition wagons.
It was at that time that the first and only Confederate
balloon was used during the war. This balloon, which I afterward
captured, was described by General Longstreet as follows:
" It may be of interest at
the outset to relate an incident which illustrates the pinched
condition of the Confederacy even as early as 1862.
The Federals had been using balloons in examining our
positions, and we watched with envious eyes their beautiful
observations as they floated high up in the air, well out of range
of our guns. While we were longing for the balloons that poverty
denied us, a genius arose for the occasion and suggested that we
send out and gather silk dresses in the Confederacy and make a
balloon. It was done, and we soon had a great patchwork ship of many
varied lines which was ready for use in the Seven Days campaign.
We had no gas except in Richmond, and it was the custom
to inflate the balloon there, tie it securely to an engine, and run
it down the York River Railroad to any point at which we desired to
send it up. One day it was on a steamer down on the James River,
when the tide went out and left the vessel and balloon high and dry
on a bar. The Federals gathered it in, and with it the last silk
dress in the Confederacy. This capture was the meanest trick of the
war and one that I have never yet forgiven. "
Source: The Photographic History of
the Civil War, Volume IV, Article by T. S. C. Lowe
Know Your Role
Five Tips for selecting and researching a beginning civilian role
Tip No. 1 Find a Mentor
Talk with some of the established members. They can help at your first
few events by lending you a dress and accessories, sharing tent space or
incorporating you into their portrayal for a few events. This is an easy
way to learn the ropes until you decide which direction you want to
take.
Tip No. 2 Keep It Simple and Straight
Forward
Before you spend tons of money on clothing and gear, go to a couple of
events in a simple role. Test the waters as it were, by portraying a
general role such as farm wife. Be a maid or servant to someone with an
established role and learn by watching.
Tip No. 3 Portray What You Know
If you have a skill you enjoy and would like to share with others, check
out its history in connection to the Civil War. Do you like to knit?
Knitting played a very important part as the ladies of the home front
kept their needles busy to supply warm socks and gloves to their sons in
the army. Many of today's children have never seen anyone knit. This
persona would teach them that once upon a time socks did not come from
Wal-Mart. This tip applies to everything from blacksmithing to quilting.
Tip No. 4 Do Lots of Research
One of the best lines I ever heard at a reenactment was a young lady who
said, with a straight face, "I don't want to read history, I just want
to live it!" I laughed so hard I nearly burst my corset. After
apologizing for laughing, I asked her how she could live history if she
didn't know it?
Research is a treasure hunt. It's your job
to dig up the gold that you will use to create your persona. Sure you
can put on a slat bonnet, grab a basket and be a farm wife; but think
how much more you can teach people if you can talk about farm animals,
crops, the effects of the weather, the effects of insects on your crops,
the effects of the economic times on your farm income. How much milk
does it take to make a pound of butter? How much will that pound of
butter sell for? How do you get that pound of butter to market? How do
you keep it fresh without a refrigerator? How does a butter churn work
and what is a butter mold? Do you get to keep the butter and egg money
for yourself or does your skinflint husband take it from you?
The more background information you have on
the character you portray, the more realistic and three-dimensional you
will become in your role.
Tip No. 5 Read About Social History
Many long time re-enactors are quick to make remarks that are
stereotypical rather than true. A woman was not an old maid if she was
unmarried at 18. Not everyone had or wanted a 17" waist. Not everyone
was religious. Vice was common and not always illegal. Most people were
literate and with much better vocabularies than we use today. Most women
worked, farm, factory or cottage industry. People with slaves or
servants were a minority of the population. The North was not a united
front. Many Northerners did not support the war and worked to further
the Southern cause. Not every Northerner supported or liked President
Lincoln. Don't present your persona in a vacuum. Learn some of the
social background of the mid Victorian era.
Previously
You know you are a
reenactor when...
1. You have weapons stacked in the
living room.
2. You can sleep through artillery fire.
3. You close the curtains to change at home, but dont mind
getting into period clothing in the middle of camp.
4. Your holiday gift list reads like a Quartermaster's request
for supplies.
5. Your decorating style could be described as "bookcase
eclectic".
6. You make career decisions based on their effect on your
weekends.
7. You can spot 100% wool at 30 yards.
8. You go out to eat during an event and people ask if you are
Amish.
9. You suffer from post-event depression.
10. You're annoyed that the museum's orginal regimental was on a
dummy.
11. You shop for motor vehicles with an 8 ft wooden tent pole.
12. Your back yard resembles a tent city on Monday morning.
13. You've worn wool when the temperature tops 100 degrees.
Repeatedly.
14. You spend $300 on an outfit that went out of style 200 years
ago.
15. You don't mind straight laced shoes.
16. You realize you've used porta-loos more often than "flushies"
recently.
17. Your co-workers would be worried about the bruises if not
for the sunburn.
18. No one will attend a historical film with you.
19. When you pack for a week long trip, you take 1 bag. When you
pack for a weekend, it takes a trailer.
20. You know exactly how many days until the next event.
Brief History of Carpetbags and
Carpetbaggers
With the rapid expansion of railroads in the 1840's and 1850's .
Ordinary people were traveling in large numbers, and there was an need for
cheap luggage ,so thousands of carpetbags were manufactured. They were made
by saddle makers in many town and cities and were many sizes and shape. They
were called Carpetbags because the makers would buy old carpets and
construct the bags from the pieces of carpet that were not completely worn
out. This how Carpet bags could be manufactured cheaply , they sold in Dry
Goods for $1 to $2.
By the 1860's carpetbags were
carried by all most everyone, Men, Women, well to do , middle class and not
so well to do. Carpetbags were the first suitcases made in large numbers.
When you traveled during the Civil War (1861-1865) and though the 1870, you
packed your Carpetbag . This became a way to identify an outsider
(traveler).
During the civil war
Reconstruction Period (1865-1870) many people for the Northern States went
South because it was so poor that there many opportunities for a person with
money even a little money. For example you could own a farm by paying the
past due taxes for as little as $25. These Opportunities attacked all sorts
people from honest hard working farmers, to crooks, charlatans, con artist
and of course crooked politicians. All these outsiders (identified by their
Carpetbag) were called Carpetbaggers and still are in many places. It became
the term to refer to a Yankee who moved to the south and usually meant a
"damn Yankee and not to be trusted, a scoundrel". Probably the worst
Carpetbaggers were the politicians who used their positions in the corrupt
Reconstruction Government to enrich themselves through bribes, graft and
other despicable acts at the expense of native Southerners.
Today the dictionary defines a
Carpetbagger as " an outsider involved in politics".
*****
Famous Civil War Quotes
"He looked as though he ought to have been, and was, the monarch of the
world"
- Description of Robert E. Lee
"Will you pardon me for asking what
the horses of your army have done since the battle of Antietam that fatigues
anything"
- Abraham Lincoln directed this remark to George B. McClellan, who had
excused his lack of action in the fall of 1862 due to tired horses.
McClellan was removed from command shortly there-after.
"By some strange operation of magic I
seem to have become the power of the land"
- George McClellan spoke this self-appraisal shortly after he assumed
command of the Union forces around Washington in 1861
"He will take more chances, and take
them quicker, than any other general in the country--North or South"
- A contemporary so described Robert E. Lee
"Look at Jackson's brigade! It stands
there like a stone wall!"
- Confederate General Barnard E. Bee of South Carolina gave this description
of Stonewall Jackson's brigade at First Manassas *
""It's just like shooting squirrels,
only these squirrels have guns"
- A Federal veteran so instructed new recruits in musket drill
"Boys, he's not much for looks, but if
we'd had him we wouldn't be caught in this trap"
- A captured Union soldier described Stonewall Jackson in this way
"Find out where your enemy is. Get at
him as soon as you can, and strike him as hard as you can. And keep moving
on!"
- Ulysses S. Grant's philosophy of war
"That old man...had my division
massacred at Gettysburg!"
- George Pickett said these words to John S. Mosby shortly after paying Lee
a visit in Richmond
"Well, it made you famous"
- Mosby's reply to Pickett
"The time for compromise has now
passed, and the South is determined to maintain her position, and make all
who oppose her smell Southern powder and feel Southern steel"
- Jefferson Davis used these words in his inaugural speech on February 16,
1861
"There is really no crisis except an
artificial one...If the great American people will only keep their temper,
on both sides of the line, the trouble will come to an end"
- Abraham Lincoln made this statement on February 15, 1861, while en-route
to his inauguration
"a damned old goggled-eyed snapping
turtle"
- Subordinate officers so described Union General George Meade
"Tonight we will water our horses in
the Tennessee River"
- Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnston made this unfulfilled prophecy
shortly before the Confederate defeat at Shiloh, which cost Johnston his
life
"I know the hole he went in at, but I
can't tell you what hole he will come out of"
- Abraham Lincoln made this remark when asked the destination of Sherman's
destructive March to the Sea
"Do you see those colors? Take them!"
- General Winfield S. Hancock issued this order to the 1st Minnesota on the
second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, as the Union line was being driven
back. The Minnesotans carried out the orders, driving back the Confederates
and taking the colors--at a loss of one-third of the regiment
"With this honor devolves upon you
also a corresponding responsibility. As the country herein trusts you, so
under God it will sustain you"
- Abraham Lincoln used these words to confer upon Ulysses S. Grant the rank
of lieutenant general--the army's highest rank
"If you don't have my army supplied,
and keep it supplied, we'll eat your mules up, sir"
- William T. Sherman issued this warning to an army quartermaster prior to
the departure of Sherman's army from Chattanooga toward Atlanta
"I can only say that I am nothing but
a poor sinner, trusting in Christ alone for salvation"
- Robert E. Lee spoke these words to his army's chaplains
"Really, Mr. Lincoln, I have had
enough of this show business"
- Ulysses S. Grant used these words to decline to attend a White House party
in his honor, so that he may return to the front
"The rebels are out there thicker than
fleas on a dog's back!!"
- An excited Union officer used these words to report the advance of
Confederate forces at Shiloh
"The Rebel army is now the legitimate
property of the Army of the Potomac"
- Joseph Hooker spoke these pompous words shortly before he was soundly
defeated by Robert E. Lee at Chancellorsville
"Pray excuse me. I cannot take it"
- These words were Jefferson Davis' last, spoken in response to his wife's
attempt to give him medicine shortly before he died on December 6, 1889, at
age 81
"No, no. Let us pass over the river
and rest under the shade of the trees"
- Stonewall Jackson spoke these words on May 10th, 1863, just before
pneumonia took his life **
"It is well that war is so
terrible--we should grow too fond of it"
- Robert E. Lee gave this observation while watching thousands of Union
soldiers sent to the slaughter at Fredericksburg
"Strike the tent!"
- Robert E. Lee spoke these words in delirium, shortly before he passed away
on
While watching the battle re-enacting at Jonesboro one year, a
family of spectators started a sporadic conversation with me. Eventually, I
asked a common question, "Which side are you on?" "We are not really on a
side," was the reply. "We think all of them are doing great today." Those
who were portraying the Union army might have been acting like pretty good
Yankees and those who were portraying the Confederate army might have been
giving a good rendition of the Rebel yell, but my question had not been
intended as a literal evaluation of the re-enactors. I had already found
there are people who are as indifferent toward the events of The War Against
State Sovereignty as I would be about some war that took place over a
hundred years ago in ancient Greece. So while the comment was exasperating,
it did not warrant further distraction from the battle.
A little latter, one of the
ladies mused aloud, "What I've always wondered is why everybody likes
General Lee when he lost the war?" I was dumfounded. Where was this lady
from? Had she never read a biography on General Lee? Did she not know
anything of the character of our gentleman hero? I was not oblivious that
the world is full of people who thinks "might makes right," but this was
ridiculous. Such mentality makes Hitler a man to be esteemed. It is the
character and cause, not the fate, of a person that makes them great.
When the battle was over, we
parted company. Without possessing the slightest idea anyone who asked such
questions could live in the historical town of Jonesboro, I called after
them, "Where are y'all from?" Their answer struck me speechless. "We'er
from around here. We live in Jonesboro." It is a good thing I was too
shocked to speak, because I might have exclaimed, "Shame on you!"
This prevalent view of only
victors are worthy of admiration is appalling. Incase there are others who
are wondering why we cherish the memory of the South's greatest general,
here are ten brief reasons.
1. He was a man of duty.
General Lee tried to do his duty in all aspects of his life, regardless of
the consequences. Success and fulfillment of the struggle, while desirable,
was not mandatory. If a man has done his duty and given his best, you can
ask no more of him. "Duty is the sublimest word in our language." "Do your
duty in all things. You cannot do more. You should never wish to do less."
2. He was a man of honor. "I
wish to do what is right," General Lee wrote to his son Curtis. "I am
unwilling to do what is wrong, either at the bidding of the South or of the
North." General Lee did not seek prestige, money, or fame. His only
concern was doing what was honorable regardless of the results. "I did only
what my duty demanded; I could have taken no other course without
dishonor. And if all were to be done over again, I should act in precisely
the same manner."
3. He was a man of conviction.
General Lee was firm in the assurance of the providence of God. In the
personal loss of a family member or in the death of his country, his trust
in God never wavered. "God disposes. This ought to satisfy us."
4. He was a man of compassion.
General Lee's heart melted over the misery and suffering of the Southern
people. His sorrow over the hardships of his soldiers was deep, and
anything he could have done to relive them would have gladly been done. He
bestowed compassion on his enemies as well. During The War when one of his
generals exclaimed of the Union soldiers, "I wish those people were all
dead!" General Lee gently chided, "How can you say so, General? Now I wish
they were all at home attending to their own business and leaving us to do
the same."
5. He was a man of principle.
No matter how low and underhanded the Northern army fought, General Lee
never stooped to retaliation He reminded his men, "...We make war only upon
armed men..."
6. He was a man of fidelity.
Faithfulness to discharge his duties controlled General Lee's actions. "I
shall Endeavour to do my duty and fight to the last."
7. He was a man of humility.
General Lee went about his duty wearing a simple grey suit without any
insignia of rank. Whenever someone praise him for his efforts in battle, he
directed the praise to God and the men who fought with him. "I tremble for
my country when I hear of confidence expressed in me. I know too well my
weakness, that our only hope is in God."
8. He was a man of wisdom.
General Lee feared God which is the beginning of wisdom.
9. He was a man of
forgiveness. General Lee never harbored bitterness towards the North. He
passed the ultimate test of forgiveness - forgiving those who had not even
asked for it. "I have fought against the people of the North because I
believed they were seeking to wrest from the South its dearest rights. But
I have never cherished toward them bitter or vindictive feelings, and have
never seen the day when I did not pray for them."
10. He was a gentleman. All of
the qualities above helped make General Lee an example of a true
gentleman. During his days as the president of Washington College he told
students, "We have but one rule here and that is that every student must be
a gentleman."
This is a reprint from Goatwagon
Sutlers.
SUSPECTED
SAUCY ALERTS THIS MONTH
After a very
busy summer, Saucy returns to the Haversack!!!
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