Cindy

Losing a limb was a devastating consequence of war for many soldiers. Reentering civilian life with a disability proved as challenging as their military experience. Here’s how some veterans coped. Medical treatment evolved rapidly during the Civil War. The continuous stream of sick and wounded soldiers taxed regimental field surgeons and physicians to the limit. Yet these same illnesses and battle injuries, that plagued both sides, forced the medical treatment of the time to advance. The same can be said for the makeshift field hospitals of the early Civil War years. Medical camps evolved from unorganized, unsanitary, disease ridden quarters to more efficient, better supplied centers of treatment. Field hospitals gradually developed higher standards providing an improved quality of care in the aftermath of a battle. Medical treatment and hospital surroundings progressed significantly enough that a soldier wounded in the latter part of the Civil War had a much better chance of survival than the soldier injured in the war’s early years.  Well documented is the vast number of soldiers who lost a limb after a battle and were treated in field hospitals. At the close of the Civil War, nearly sixty-thousand soldiers, both north and south, had suffered amputation. […]

Today society is aware of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and its painful effect on those suffering with it. Treatment with compassion is available but that was not the case during the Civil War and latter part of the nineteenth century. Soldiers were considered weak or worse yet, malingerers. Let’s take a moment to look back with understanding at those veterans who experienced trauma to both mind and body during the war.

Knowing the origins of your ancestor’s regiment as well as being familiar with the battles he fought will help you understand his Civil War life and in going forward with future research. So far we’ve spent the last few months accumulating a lot of information on your Civil War ancestor. We’ve zeroed in on the time frame of his military service with dates and facts. Now it’s time to get more details on his military life and experience. Instead of looking singularly at your veteran, we’re going to look at him through the eyes of the whole. We’re going to research his regiment and start filling in the dash. Finding the regiment your Civil War ancestor served with is one of the first pieces of information usually found along with his company and dates of service. This info is what we’re using to expand your understanding of your veteran’s military life. We’re going to look at his regiment’s history that documents unit movements, battles they fought and describes experiences, to get a clearer view of his service. Know that after the war most individual states published a Regimental Roster listing the regiments raised in the state and the men who […]

The Southern Historical Society (SHS) was founded May 1, 1869 in New Orleans, Louisiana by Confederate Major General D. H. Maury. The aim of the group was to preserve the Southern perspective of the Civil War, referred to by many as the, “late unpleasantness.” The Society’s goal was to open a SHS branch in every southern state and keep alive their southern heritage. That wasn’t as easy as anticipated so soon after the war. In fact during the early years membership consisted mostly of former Confederate military officers. By 1873 with participation lagging, the Southern Historical Society held their convention in Sulphur Springs, WV. The delegates, in an effort to move the group forward, passed a number of resolutions that would dramatically shape the future of the SHS. First they moved their headquarters to Richmond, the ex-Confederate Capitol, then adjusted their group’s mission to focus on preserving the records and recollections of the war. Once the headquarters was established in Richmond membership steadily increased and branches were popping up in individual southern states. Second and most important came the preservation of records. The Society encouraged the donation of any war time related documents to the group and were deluged with […]

A little known and little used resource in researching Civil War ancestors is The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Otherwise known as the OR for short, these 128 volumes are a collection of actual reports and correspondence written by army and navy officers who fought in the Civil War. I know it sounds overwhelming but let me tell you it doesn’t have to be that way. Google The War of the Rebellion: a Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. There are a few places online that have digitized this information. Cornell University and The Ohio State University, https://ehistory.osu.edu/books/official-records are a couple places this work can be viewed online. You can also find the set in many libraries if you’d like to read from an actual book. Today we’re going to read online and go to Cornell University http://collections.library.cornell.edu/moa_new/waro.html. They have an easy to use site that explains how the OR is set up on their site. It is compiled according to the campaign, either in the eastern or western theater and then in chronological order. Usually the Union report is first, then followed by […]

It’s said when there’s great suffering and violence at death, a soul’s spirit cannot rest. This may be noticeably apparent on the grounds of Andersonville prison. Many stories are told by visitors who walk the current National Historic Site only to see, hear and feel the ghostly remnants of Andersonville’s tragic existence. Andersonville prison as we know, was infamous for the horrible living conditions imposed on Union prisoners of war held there. Officially known as Camp Sumter, it was located in the southwest part of Georgia. It opened in February 1864 to house the ever growing prison population that increased once the prisoner exchange system broke down between the north and south. There are numerous accounts of the atrocious living conditions endured by the prisoners. Andersonville was built to house 10,000 men but at its peak 33,000 men were jammed inside its walls. Barracks were not erected for prisoners. The men built their own huts and tents out of scrap pieces of wood, tree limbs and whatever cloth they could find. These flimsy structures could not give relief from the intense summer heat of the Georgia sun, the cold winter nights or pounding rain. Inside the prison a “deadline” marked […]

Memorial Day is nearly here and that usually signals the start of summer in the U.S. The school year is over or almost over for students. Families are making plans for barbecues, camping and other activities to kick off the summer season. It’s a fun three-day weekend, yet Memorial Day has another, deeper meaning behind it. Previously known as Decoration Day, Memorial Day has its roots in the Civil War. During the war many families from the South would honor the war dead by decorating their graves. Each community had their own specific date of recognition but generally a day was set aside in the Spring to sing, pray and honor those who had lost their lives for their country. On May 5, 1868, General John A. Logan, the national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, (GAR) a group for Union Civil War veterans, called for a day of remembrance to be celebrated nationwide. Flowers were to be placed on both Confederate and Union dead at Arlington National Cemetery. The date selected was May 30, 1868.  The observation continued through the latter part of the 1800’s. Soon after World War I, Decoration Day came to signify a remembrance […]