Lee's Dispatch 1

Lee's Dispatch

Captain Bob Lee SCV Camp 2198

Volume 1, Issue 10 www.captboblee.org August 15, 2012

Commander’s Report By Doug Garnett

Our camp is already moving forward into the New Year.

After the turn out for Fort Inglish on May 4th

and the 2012

Heritage Day the City of Bonham encouraged the Captain

Bob Lee Camp to undertake an even larger event. To that

end plans are coming around for the 2013 event. The event

we are looking at will not only help the local communities

and Fannin County but will help broaden the local awareness

of our history. We have about 14 months to bring together

the event. In the months ahead more details will be

organized and locked down.

When talking to people I have come to realize how little most

people know of their country’s history. It also strikes me that

most people don’t care about their past; they can’t see what is

the use of knowing the facts after all that is what history is

just a list of facts or some old map in a dusty boring book.

I can’t see history in those terms….history is alive….it is

fluid ever changing. History, on a broad topic, strikes me as

the road to what and who we are. It is or should be a goal

for our camp to restore; to instill in our fellow citizens of

Fannin County and the State of Texas, the desire to know and

learn about our past.

A note about our vanity license plate issue; the initial hearing

has taken place. The state requested the accepting judge to

throw out the SCV’s suit. The judge after hearing from both

sides told the state the SCV had cause and the suit would go

forward it is now a wait and see period before the next phase

of the court issue is heard. Both sides are gearing up for

what may take a year or more. Sic Semper Tyrannis.

Bring a friend to our next meeting. Share the newsletter with

others.

Lee’s Dispatch is the official newsletter for the Sons of Confederate

Veterans Captain Bob Lee Camp 2198 and is intended for the sole

purpose of keeping the camp members and friends of the camp

informed to the activities and news of Camp 2198. Statements in

this newsletter are those of the author and may not reflect the

opinions of the Captain Bob Lee Camp, or those of the National

Sons of Confederate Veterans. Within articles or quotes written by

outside authors mistakes in spelling, grammar or sentence structure

are strictly those of the author and may be left as is.

.

September 21 – 22 Waxahachie Living History Chautauqua 2012 Educational Program http://www.waxahachiechautauqua.org/chautauqua-2012-educational-programs-1

Events of 150 years ago

August 1862

August 5 Union Victory at Baton Rouge

August 6-9 Union Victory at Kirksville

August 9 Confederate Victory at Cedar Mountain

August 11 Confederate Victory at Independence

August 15-16 Confederate Victory at Lone Jack

August 20-22 Union Victory at Fort Ridgely

August 22 Abraham Lincoln issues the "Greeley Letter" in

response to Horace Greeley's editorial "A Prayer of Twenty

Millions."

August 22-25 Inconclusive Battle at Rappahannock

Station

August 25-27 Confederate Victory at Manassas Station

Operations

August 28 Confederate Victory at Thoroughfare Gap

August 28 Confederate Victory at Groveton

August 28-30 Confederate Victory at Manassas Second /

Second Bull Run

August 29-30 Confederate Victory at Richmond

Lee's Dispatch 2

On the Trail of the KGC By Jess Freer

Knights of the Golden Circle began early in the War

Between the States, selling tickets in Pennsylvania to

farmers and business for protection when the CSA army

came into the area. These funding events spread to Ohio,

Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and as far west as California. These

funds even purchased a ship to work as a pirate ship raiding

the west coast; unfortunately the ship was seized before it

ever left port. It is believed that millions were collected

from people of the northern States who did not agree with

the war, the draft, suspended writ of habeas corpus, or most

of Lincoln’s war decrees.

The funds for the KGC were for the war efforts while it

lasted, then the change came at the fall of CSA to helping

the South raise again, as well as support those veterans who

did not surrender.

In late 1863, the KGC reorganized as the Order of American

Knights. In 1864, it became the Order of the Sons of Liberty,

with the Ohio politician Clement L. Vallandigham, most

prominent of the Copperheads, as its supreme commander.

To discourage enlistments, resist the draft, and shield

deserters. The KGC held numerous peace meetings. A few

agitators, some of them encouraged by Southern money,

talked of a revolt in the Old Northwest, which could have

ended the war. KGC members also figured prominently

among those who, in 1861, joined Lt. Col. John Robert

Baylor in his temporarily successful takeover of southern

New Mexico Territory. In May 1861, members of the KGC

and Confederate Rangers attacked a building which housed a

pro-Union newspaper, the Alamo Express, owned by J. P.

Newcomb, and burned it down.[2] Other KGC members

followed Brig. Gen. Henry Hopkins Sibley on the 1862 New

Mexico Campaign, which sought to bring the New Mexico

Territory into the Confederate fold. Both Baylor and

Trevanion Teel, Sibley's captain of artillery, had been among

the KGC members who rode with Ben McCulloch.

In early 1862, Radical Republicans in the Senate, aided by

Secretary of State William H. Seward, suggested that former

president Franklin Pierce, who was greatly critical of the

Lincoln administration's war policies, was an active member

of the Knights of the Golden Circle. In an angry letter to

Seward, Pierce denied that he knew anything about the

KGC, and demanded that his letter be made public.

California Senator Milton Latham subsequently did so when

he entered the entire Pierce-Seward correspondence into the

Congressional Globe.

The KGC is strongly connected to Jesse James and the

James Gang. Were they bandits or political operatives?

Treasures are believed buried from Kentucky to California

all KGC monies. Some gold coins have been recovered that

date beyond the death of Jesse James, yet it is called his

money.

So did Jesse James die before 1880 or after? There have

been several people claiming to be Jesse James over the

years. I know of one in Oklahoma, one in Texas, and one in

Colorado. Without getting into the conspiracy theories let

us just consider the connection of the KGC to people

connected to Texas. There is Baylor, McCulloch, Trevanion

Teel, and of course Jesse James. Now Jesse James had a

sister that lived in Texas after the war and he is reported to

have visited her several times.

Another interesting thing is that a man known as John St

Helens arrived in Glen Rose Texas. He had no money and

no signs of income, yet he purchased a trading post there.

Money would come to him by checks drawn on banks from

northern states. These funds were transferred with no

known payee. The store known as the Mill was doing well,

but John St Helens left the store and its contents never to

return. This occurred when a local girl was to marry a US

Marshall. The very day he was to arrive, John St Helens left

town. How does a man live with no source of income?

Was this money from the KGC?

John St Helens changed his name several times during his

life time and moved to several different places. He worked

as a teacher, Shakespearian actor, and ran several businesses

none of which would not of paid him enough to live like he

did.

Outlaws, like Jesse James, and John Wilkes Booth have

been said to have lived in or near Glen Rose Texas. Is Glen

Rose a KGC center?

Jess Freer, SCV member and Mason is well read in various areas of history

with special interest in the Civil War and reconstruction era.

Lee's Dispatch 3

Civil war CDV’s By

James Neel Part two

Unlike the generals shown in the last part, these subjects are

the humble officers and enlisted ranks. Also, on a more

personal level, these examples probably actually

BELONGED to the subjects, and were given or sent as

mementoes of their service, possibly the last looks their

loved ones ever saw of them. By the war years even small

towns and county seats across the country boasted a

"Daugerrean Artist" as the photographers were known; in

camps often they operated outdoors in makeshift "studios",

sometimes just a backdrop. Slogans frequently seen on the

backs of CDV's are "Additional Copies from the plate from

which this picture is taken can be had if desired" or

"Negatives retained. Photographs furnished at any time."

This refers to HOW these were made; the actual "negatives"

were glass plates that the photographers kept on file in their

studios. Any number of positive photographic prints (the

CDV’s) could be made by simply going back to the

photographer and getting him to print more. This also

explains how there can be literally thousands of Lincolns

and Grants, but only one or a very few of individual soldiers.

These photographs show a variety of uniforms, but first a

little about the organization of the armies that fought the

Civil War is in order. It was almost entirely an army of

VOLUNTEERS, not the so-called "Regular" U.S. Army; the

same is true of their Confederate opponents. (Later in the

war these so-called "volunteers" included a hefty number of

draftees on both sides!) Units were in most cases quickly

raised on state and local levels, commissioned into the

service of their states, then turned over ( almost "on loan" )

to the central governments in Washington or Richmond.

Because they were "raised" and financed often by local

politicians, businessmen, and landowners, it was they who

were routinely elected by their men or appointed to

command by the governors of their states. As the war

progressed and many of these were discovered to be

incompetent, this "system" was modified somewhat.

Regardless, the fact remained that by far the majority of both

officers and men of the Civil War were civilians and not

professionals. There were two classes of officers: Field

officers with the staff-ranks of colonel, lieutenant colonel, or

major; and Line officers, the company-grades of captain,

lieutenant, second lieutenant, and in some militia units even

third and fourth lieutenants!

The first two rather stern-looking individuals can be

identified as Field officers by the arrangement of buttons on

their coats in double rows, evenly spaced. Unfortunately, the

shoulder straps of the vignetted officer at left do not show,

making his exact rank impossible to determine. The much-

bewhiskered officer next, however is either a major or lt.

colonel, evident from the oak leaf seen on his strap: if gold,

he's a major; if silver, a lt. col. ( Note also that photographer

M. P. Simons has cannily managed to locate his credits on

the front of the card where they can be seen better! )

Continued on page 4A

Lee's Dispatch 4

Continued from page 3B

The other officers are all easily recognized as captains or

lieutenants by their single-breasted nine-button frock coats,

similar to those worn by their men, but usually better-

tailored and in wool broadcloth. The Portland, Maine

Second (or third or fourth!) Lieutenant standing at left has

the so-called "Extra Rich" shoulder straps that well-show

why they were sarcastically known by the enlisted men as

"sardine tins". The next, an otherwise unmarked and

unknown vignette is obviously a captain from his shoulder

strap. The beardless young officer holding his regulation

sword for foot officers was a lucky man indeed: the

cancellation on the tax stamp on the back is plainly dated

May 21, 1865, showing that the war was over! Lastly is an

officer of Pennsylvania artillery, denoted by the embroidered

crossed-cannons insignia on the front of his rakish kepi or

forage cap.

The first two men, from opposite sides of the North, are both

wearing the standard regulation uniform of the pre-war

"Regular" U.S. Army, the so-called nine-button frock coat,

though due to the irregularity of contracts and supply the fits

are quite a bit different! (Note the inverted V's above each

cuff and similar braid trim around the short collars, which

were in a lighter shade of blue than the body of the coat.)

The Wisconsin man at the left is wearing his "fashionably"

unbuttoned, except at the very top.

The nattier Massachusetts man at the right presents a more

"regulation" appearance, lacking only his musket and

accouterments. Of interest is the brass bugle horn insignia on

the top of his cap, marking him as a member of the infantry.

Unfortunately, the brass letter and numbers denoting his

company and regiment are too small to decipher. Also likely

from western Massachusetts, the earnest-looking young

sergeant seated at left presents a fine appearance; his

chevrons are a light blue, the trouser stripe is dark blue like

the jacket itself. The inspiration for this garment, not seen in

the "Regular" army, is basically that of a frock coat with the

skirt left off. Though not quite of the "regulation cut", I've

always thought the jacket on the Pennsylvanian at left was a

variant "light artillery" style. Unfortunately, the "medal" he

wears is unknown to me and probably too indistinct to

properly identify. This jacket has the inverted braid V's

above the cuffs as well as trim along the bottom of the body,

and likely on the collar as well; if as I suspect he is an

artilleryman, that trim is red.

Groveton Prelude to the 2

nd Mannass

By August 27, 1862, Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall"

Jackson had slipped around the army of Maj. Gen. John

Pope and attacked Pope's supply base at Manassas Junction.

Without his supplies General Pope had

no recourse but to withdraw to the north to restore them.

Believing Jackson had withdrawn toward Centerville, Pope

ordered his army to concentrate there.

Jackson had actually withdrawn northwest of Manassas

into some woods where, hidden from the Union troops, his

men could rest from their raid on Manassas Junction. Rufus

King's Union division was seen by Jackson, marching

northeast on the nearby Centerville Road. Jackson sent two

of his own divisions to attack King, while he was still in

marching column, and in doing so revealed his own

location. The ensuing battle lasted about two hours and was

heavily contested, especially by a new Union force of

midwesterners that soon gained fame as the Iron Brigade.

King soon realized he was outnumbered and began a

withdrawal toward the rest of Pope's army. Jackson did not

press the attack on King, letting nightfall end the battle.

Being in a perfect defensive position he wanted Pope to

attack him; his men were deployed behind a railroad

embankment and Jackson's attack on King's Division was

just the bait needed. Unfortunately, this short battle cost him

the services of both his division commanders, Richard S.

Ewell and William B. Taliferro, both seriously wounded.

Pope did not have any idea where Jackson had retreated after

raiding and destroying the supply base at Manassas

Junction. When he found out, Pope immediately jumped to

the wrong conclusion that Jackson was desperately

trying to escape to the west and began to move on Jackson's

position with his entire army.

Continued on page 5A

Lee's Dispatch 5

Continued from page 4B

With Pope moving northwest toward Jackson Thoroughfare

Gap was left open. Lee and Longstreet quickly slipped

through the gap and came in to attack Pope's army. The

Second Battle of Manassas was set.

Second Battle of

Manassas

Major General John Pope (pictured above) under the

mistaken belief that Confederate forces under Major General

Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson to be desperately attempting to

escape to the northwest sent Major General Fitz John Porter

to use the V Corps and attack Jackson’s right flank which

was thought to be near Gainesville. While Porter was to

attack the right Pope ordered Major General Franz Sigel to

attack Jackson’s left.

Sigel opened the battle about 7 am, Porter’s me were

marching into position. Attacks against Major General A.P.

Hill’s position made little progress. The successes of Union

Brigadier General Carl Schurz’s men were quickly reversed

by vigorous counter attacks by the Confederate forces.

About 1 PM Pope himself arrived on the battlefield. It was

also about this time that Longstreet’s men began to arrive

and take up positions preselected by Jackson. Also about

the same time Porter’s corps was moving up the Manassas-

Gainesville road and engaged a group of Confederate

cavalry.

Porter’s advance was halted when he received a confusing

“joint order” from Pope. Adding to the confusion the order

contained no clear direction. This confusion was worsened

by news from McDowell’s cavalry commander, Brigadier

General John Buford, that large numbers of Confederates

were seen in Gainesville that morning. It is unknown why

Major General Irvin McDowell failed to report these troop

sightings to Pope until late that evening. Unaware of

Longstreet’s arrival and also waiting for Porter’s attack Pope

continued to order piecemeal assaults against Jackson.

At 4:30 PM Pope sent a direct order for Porter to attack.

Porter did not receive the order until 6:30 at which time

Porter was not in a position to comply with the order.

Pope, anticipation of Porter’s attack, ordered major General

Phillip Kearny’s division against Hill’s position. In severe

fighting Kearny’s men were only beaten back after

determined Confederate counterattacks. Lee had observed

Union movements, decided to attack Pope’s flank.

Longstreet dissuaded Lee in favor of a reconnaissance in

force to set up an assault in the morning. Brigadier General

John Bell Hood’s division moved forward along the turnpike

and collided with Brigadier General John Hatch’s men.

Both sides retreated after a hard fight.

On August 29th

, 1862 as darkness fell Pope received the

news of Longstreet’s arrival. Again Pope made the wrong

conclusion and believed that Longstreet had arrived to aid

Jackson in his retreat. Pope recalled Porter and then began

planning a massive assault by V Corps for the next day.

Pope sent Porter’s men, supported by two additional

divisions, west down the turnpike. Around noon they

wheeled right and attacked the right end of Jackson’s line.

They were taken under heavy artillery fire yet the assault

breached the Confederate lines and was only thrown back

after heavy Confederate counterattacks.

After Porter’s attack failed Lee and Longstreet moved

forward with 25,000 men attacking the Union left flank.

The Union troops were driven and scattered before the

Confederate assault. In only a few areas of determined

resistance and these were quickly over powered. Realizing

the danger, Pope began moving troops to block the attack.

Pope succeeded in forming a defensive line along the

Manassas-Sudley Road at the foot of Henry House Hill.

Around 8 PM Pope began a fighting withdrawal back

towards Centerville.

The Second Battle of Manassas cost Pope 1,716 killed and

8,215 wounded, 3,893 men were missing. The Confederate

forces under Lee suffered 1,305 killed, 7,048 wounded.

Pope was relieved on September 12, 1862. Pope’s army was

incorporated into the Army of the Potomac.

Major General Fitz John Porter

Seeking a scapegoat for the defeat Pope had Porter court-

martialed for his actions on August 29th

. Found guilty,

Porter spent fifteen years working to clear his name.

Lee having won a stunning victory, embarked on his first

invasion of Maryland. This invasion would end at Antietam

in September, 1862.

Lee's Dispatch 6

2nd Battle of Manassas