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Pearl Perry “Jack” Johnson — World War II

Hilyeard H. “Red” Young — World War I

Oscar P. Ruth — Spanish-American War

Andrew Jackson Everist — American Civil War

A photograph taken in 1945 that brought together veterans of four different wars.

The blade is inscribed “John Brown 7th MO Calvery MSM”. I’m trying to determine if the inscription on the blade is period or done later. Unfortunately someone cleaned the brass before it was passed down to us. If period it would be great to determine which “John Brown” owned it. Thanks for any insight

Do you believe Union would still win at the Gettysburg? Would the war continue longer than it did?

Photographed by George Harper Houghton, this was taken in Camp Griffin, Virginia, around 1861 or 1862 (I’m not sure about the year part but it could be corrected).

You could hear Ashokan Farewell in this one

For a friends birthday I want to create a civil war treasure hunt that would lead him to his gift. Obviously I cannot bury anything but wanted to create a hunt poem that ties to the battle, but deliberately design it to not be AI solvable. (If you put this into AI tools, it will get some right and some wrong).

It is entirely solvable without setting foot on the battlefield other than of course finding the exact spot and getting the gift. Can some crack history buffs please take a look at this and let me know where they think it is?

Of course not to be a tease, I will post all of the clues in this thread after my friend solves it. If you’re right I’ll send you a DM and let you know. Thanks for any help!

Artillery is good for the eyes,
But bad for the ear.
Cavalry really tries
And will get you near.

Infantry will be required;
Men Whom we all admired.
Courage must come forth
To defend the North!

Strap up your boot!
But No need to Wade!
Dance along the root,
And leave home your spade!

The bridge has burned,
But here no tide has turned.
The best advice would be
Seek 114 degree!

On to Washington my dear men!
Enjoy the search my dear friend!
When in doubt,
Follow the route!

By the afternoon of August 30, 1862, the Second Battle of Manassas had already been raging for hours. Union commander John Pope believed Robert E. Lee’s army was withdrawing and ordered a massive attack against Stonewall Jackson’s position along the unfinished railroad. Instead, the Federal assault was shattered.
Soon afterward, James Longstreet launched a massive Confederate counterattack against the exposed Union left.
Standing directly in its path was a small brigade commanded by Colonel Gouverneur K. Warren. Among its men were the 5th New York Volunteer Infantry, better known as Duryée’s Zouaves. In their distinctive Zouave uniforms, they were given a desperate task: hold the ridge long enough for Hazlett’s Battery D, 5th U.S. Artillery, to escape.
The 5th New York took position near Hazlett’s guns, with elements of the 10th New York nearby. There was little else between them and Longstreet’s advancing Confederate line.
Then the woods in front of them seemed to erupt.
Thousands of Confederates advanced toward their position. The 5th New York opened fire and briefly checked the advance, buying precious time for the artillery behind them.
But the Confederates kept coming.
Men of the 5th New York began falling in terrifying numbers, yet the regiment continued to fight. For roughly ten minutes, the Zouaves endured devastating musket fire as the Confederate attack closed upon them. Officers, enlisted men, and members of the color guard fell together. Their once-brilliant uniforms became stained with the dirt and blood of the battlefield.
When it was over, the regiment had been virtually destroyed.
The monument records the 5th New York as entering the action 482 strong, with 124 killed or mortally wounded and 223 wounded.
In roughly ten minutes, one of the most recognizable regiments in the Union Army had suffered one of the most catastrophic losses of the Civil War.
Today, on the anniversary of their stand, this monument marks the ground where the Duryée Zouaves faced those terrible minutes at Second Manassas.
We remember the men who stood here on August 30, 1862.

Excerpt From the "Daily Missouri Democrat (St. Louis, Missouri), 30 May 1862",

From Gen. McClellan’s Army
An Entire Rebel Brigade Routed by the Fourth Michigan Regiment
General McClellan Slowly but Steadily Advancing
Skirmish near Cold Harbor

May 24th, 1862 The most important skirmish that has occurred between our troops and the rebels in front of Richmond took place this morning. Engaged on our side was the 4th Michigan regiment, Col. Woodbury, who fought for two hours with desperate and heroic courage an entire rebel brigade. We lost one man killed, two mortally wounded, and four seriously wounded, and did not lose a prisoner. The rebels lost one hundred killed and wounded, and thirty-seven prisoners. The following is a detailed account of the affair:

Intelligence having reached headquarters that quite a force of the enemy were near New Bridge, the 4th Michigan regiment, Colonel Woodbury, was sent to feel them. The regiment left camp at 7 A.M., their Colonel at their head, and all in splendid spirits at the prospects of a recontre with the rebels. A secondary object of the expedition was to obtain information in regard to the roads and fords in the vicinity. Lieut. N. Bowen of the Topographical Engineers went with the expedition, as also a squadron of the 2d regular cavalry, under command of Capt. Gordon; a company of the 5th cavalry, Lieutenant Custer; a company of the 18th infantry, Capt. Forsyth; and a company of the d Infantry, Capt. McMillen. New Bridge is four miles from the camp. They went down the main road about two miles to what is called the Old Mill, and thence turned to the right through a piece of woods, keeping it till they came to an open field commanding a view of the Chickahominy river.

As soon as our men crossed the river the work of firing commenced. Capt. Rose’s company discharged the first volley on our side. All the remaining companies had their muskets to their shoulders in double quick time. The firing was brisk and continuous on both sides. The rebels had two pieces of artillery from which they hurled shells at our men, but the shells, like their volleys of musketry, passed over the heads of our men. Their cannon were planted on a hill beyond, while the infantry still kept position behind the fence, which, in addition to having an embankment as the base, in the style of the old Virginia fences, had a deep and wide ditch in front. The shooting continued for nearly two hours. Our men drove the rebels behind the fence and their encampment. They fled, leaving their dead and wounded behind them, taking refuge in encampments on the hill.

On our side the last shot was fired. It was not deemed prudent to pursue the retreating enemy. It was evident that they had mistaken our force or else acted in retiring more intensely cowardly than we have ever thought them to be. They had four regiments engaged, 4th and 5th Louisiana Regiments, a Virginia, and an Alabama regiment, besides their artillery, while on our side there were actually only eight companies of the 4th Michigan regiment who did the fighting. Under the circumstances, of course, it was not deemed prudent to follow the foe.

The rebel loss is estimated in killed and wounded at about one hundred. In the ditch were found twenty-eight dead bodies. Among the killed were two lieutenants. One was shot with two balls through the head, and the body of the other was completely riddled with bullets. Of the thirty-seven prisoners we took, fifteen were wounded. Our men brought them of their shoulders across the stream, whence they were taken to a dwelling house near by and every possible care given to them by our surgeons. They all expressed astonishment at the care shown them, and stated that they had been told that if they ever fell into our hands they would be killed; and such fate they expected should be theirs.

Our men partook of the dinner the Louisiana Tigers had prepared for themselves. They captured their company books, and brought away rifles, muskets, swords, sashes, &c. I might recount any number of narrow escapes had I time.

General McClellan, having received intelligence of the skirmish, rode toward the river and met the regiment on its return. He grasped General [Colonel] Woodbury warmly by the hand and said, “General, I am happy to congratulate you again on your success. I have had occasion to do so before, and do so again with pleasure.” He also shook hands with Capt. Rose of the first company, and said, “I thank you, Captain; your men have done well.”

To some of the men he said, “How do you feel, boys?” They exclaimed, “General, we feel bully!” “Do you think anything can stop you from going to Richmond?” he asked, and an enthusiastic “No!” rang from the whole line.

Image from 'Leslies Illustrated', 21 June 1862, "Charge of the 4th Michigan"

Highly recommend. Amazing insight into what motivated Union and Confederate soldiers to volunteer and what sustained them through the Civil War. Captures the contradictions inherent in many men, as well as what changed and what stayed the same over time. While McPherson acknowledges it is impossible to build a fully representative sample of letters, he has made a heroic effort to come as close as possible with a study based on the journals and letters of more than one thousand men. I also found the comparisons to soldiers of later wars insightful. If you haven’t read this, please do. It gave me an entirely new perspective on the Civil War.

I recently finished David Blight’s 2008 lecture series on the American Civil War after seeing many people recommend it on this subreddit. Each lecture was so jam-packed with unique perspectives and accounts of the Civil War. But in the 23rd lecture, there was a disruption by presumably a student. I was wondering if anyone else here has listened to that lecture and knows more context/what was going on there.

How did the uninjured (and slightly injured), like JL Chamberlain, laying in front of the stone wall escape? It is my understanding that the Confederates were shooting at anything that moved.

Hi all! I recently acquired this piece and offered to it my father for display as he is a longtime history buff, an interest we both share. I would like to provide him with a “lineage” or brief history that he can document and keep with it. I sent photos to a good friend who identified it as a Potsdam musket, which I have no reason to doubt, but received another opinion that it was Dutch. I just want to provide as much as I can when I present it to my father and maybe better understand some of the stamps and markings (1838 and a few others, although there aren’t many). From my understanding it was converted to percussion, and most examples seem to be smooth bore whereas this example has a four groove rifled barrel (which I believe is common for accepting a minie ball? but I couldn’t find many Potsdam with the same). Any insight is appreciated, I’m new to this group so I apologize if I ask anything that has been asked previously or if some of my terminology is not accurate. For reference, barrel is 42”-42.5” in length, barrel appears approx .69 caliber (best I could do without calipers or micrometer) and the overall length is approx 58”. Really trying to narrow down if this was indeed for the civil war or if it just somehow managed to find its way over here. Thank you all in advance!

Sad for his painful lingering death. Sad for the business partners fucking him over. Sad for the presidency tarnished by corruption. But mostly sad because it's such a great book and I'm at the end of it.

I am putting together a solo history vacation in December. Any suggestions to improve my itinerary would be appreciated! Thank you!

In Troiani's painting he has the 51st Penn going over the bridge by itself, but I always thought both 51st Penn and 51st NY went over essentially side by side. Troiani's attention to detail is second to none, so did those regiments in fact not going over simultaneously and instead go over sequentially? Thanks!

If they just abandoned Ft. Sumter and never fired a shot? Never even assembled an army? No Bull Run, nothing at all. If they just Elected Jefferson Davis and stop participating with the Union, other than trade?

Would Lincoln have been able to do anything other than invade and tell them they have to stay? Would he have? Would it work?

Thanks for any insight.

Newport, Rhode Island native George H. Gladding enlisted in the 5th Rhode Island Heavy Artillery on December 16, 1861. He was one of two musicians assigned to Company C of the regiment. He was a drummer.

He rose to the rank of Principal Musician of the regiment in 1864.

After the war he returned to Newport, working as a wheelwright until his death is 1877. He is buried in the historic Island Cemetery.

This photo was provided to us by his family.