Civil War Monitor

Week in Review: October 31st-November 4th

19th centry Artists' impression of Fort Monroe

Civil War in the News…
The big news this week is that President Barack Obama designated Fort Monroe a national monument on Monday. The President stated, "Fort Monroe has played a part in some of the darkest and some of the most heroic moments in American history. But today isn't just about preserving a national landmark. It's about helping to create jobs and grow the local economy."

In related preservation news, our friends at the Civil War Trust recently announced the successful completion of efforts to protect the site of Ulysses S. Grant’s daytime headquarter at the Battle of the Wilderness. Now the Civil War Trust is working to help pass a Pennsylvania state amendment that would prevent a casino from being constructed within 10 miles of Gettysburg National Military Park OR Flight 93 National Memorial. To learn more, please visit The Gettysburg Legacy project.

In the strange but true news, while picking up an auction consignment at the Maryland estate of Guy L. Schultz, representatives of Four Sales, an Estate Sale business located in Alexandria, found a Civil War grave marker. Upon doing research, Daniel Sanders, President of Four Sales, learned that this headstone was missing from the Civil War Cemetery at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. It marked the grave of allegedly “insane” fifteen-year-old soldier, Jordan Mann, who had been transported from the field to St. Elizabeth’s medical facility in April 1864. Four Sales will be returning the headstone on November 7th as part of a sesquicentennial celebration at St. Elizabeth’s Church.

Around the Blogosphere…
Several bloggers have been discussing the Battle of Port Royal (whose sesquicentennial is next Monday). The Civil War Navy Sesquicentennial Blog posted a piece about brothers who fought against one another at Port Royal: Percival Drayton was the Union commander of the Pocahontas while Thomas Fenwick Drayton was Confederate commander stationed in Fort Walker. They also discussed “Navy Leadership at Port Royal.”

Over at Disunion, Rick Beard wrote about George B. McClellan: “The Napoleon of the American Republic.” Then things took an environmental turn as Albin J. Kowalewski discussed “The Storm That Nearly Lost the War.” At Dead Confederates, Andy Hall explored the continuing controversies over a Texas state proposal for a SCV commemorative license plate.

In case you missed it…
For Halloween, The Front Line Blog posted several haunting Voices from the Past and excerpts From the Archives: “Mrs. Butler’s Scary Dream,” “They See a Ghost or Something,” Clara Barton’s views on ghosts, and Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain’s chilling account of the aftermath at Fredericksburg. Over on The Bookshelf, Jeffery D. Wert reviewed Samuel J. Martin's General Braxton Bragg, C.S.A. And, we ended the week with a From the Archives post about Sarah Morgan’s Arrival to Union-occupied New Orleans and an Image of the Day about "The Dogs of War."