Roulette Farm (Park Service photo)

Dress for the weather, bring gloves and water, etc. We may be working more on the tree line separating the Mumma and Roulette Farms.

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4/5 Update!

We will meet at 9:00am in the Rohrbach Campground, located off Burnside Bridge Road. At least for a while we’ll be planting seedlings.
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Please let us know by email or call 301-432-2996 to notify us if you’ll be there.

A West Point classmate once wrote, “He embarked on a career which nothing but death could terminate in failure.” Such confidence in the abilities of Henry Walter Kingsbury were not misplaced.

Cadet Henry Kingsbury (left) and 1st Lt. Kingsbury of the 5th US Artillery (courtesy collection of the author)

Henry Kingsbury entered the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in June of 1856. During his five years at the Academy he was frequently promoted and rarely reprimanded. He placed second twice in his five years at the Academy and received only 78 demerits during his entire enrollment at West Point. By his senior year he ascended to the rank of Adjutant of the Corps, graduated fourth overall in the May class of 1861, and placed first in artillery tactics. An impressive achievement considering his class produced 15 Generals and 5 Congressional Medals of Honor.

The coming of the Civil War divided allegiances not only among his West Point classmates but in Kingsbury´s personal life as well. Of the 52 member class of May 1861 forty-one fought for the Union and eleven for the Confederacy. His sister, Mary, wed future Confederate Major General Simon Bolivar Buckner. Their wedding was an auspicious one; during the ceremony the house next door caught fire and the wedding was paused while the groom, clergy and guests doused the flames.

Late in 1861 Kingsbury married Eva Taylor, niece of President Zachary Taylor and sister-in-law of his close friend David R. Jones. Nicknamed “Neighbor” for his gregarious personality, Jones too would advance to the rank of Major General in the Confederate Army. Not noted for his military prowess, (he graduated 41st out of 49 in the illustrious West Point class of 1846, and counted George B. McClellan, “Stonewall” Jackson and A. P. Hill among his classmates), Jones might have owed at least some of his military opportunities to the husband of his wife´s cousin: President Jefferson Davis. While serving as an aide to Brigadier General P. G. T. Beauregard during the bombardment of Fort Sumter it is alleged that Jones personally lowered the Stars and Stripes after that bastion capitulated.

Henry Kingsbury, born in chilly Chicago on Christmas Day in 1836, had a difficult youth. Of his six siblings only his sister Mary lived to reach adulthood. His father, Major Julius Kingsbury, was a career soldier and Henry in every sense an “army brat.” In the 1840s the Connecticut native married Henry’s mother, Jane, who accompanied him to California in 1849 during the Gold Rush. His brief stint at prospecting didn’t bring him any riches but his real estate investments certainly did. While stationed near Lake Michigan during the Black Hawk War Julius invested around $700.00 in real estate on the outskirts of the booming city of Chicago. When the city later enveloped his land he became a very wealthy man virtually overnight. This plot of land would later cause great consternation for the Kingsbury family.

Julius Kingsbury soldiered from Maine to Mexico. Frequent assignments and reassignments, demanding travel and rapid change of clime and climate took their toll on his health. Unable to perform his duties due to his failing health his military career unceremoniously ended when he was dismissed in 1853 “for absence from duty without authority.” Two years later his son-in-law, Simon Bolivar Buckner, resigned from the military in order to help the elder Kingsbury manage his family affairs. Mere days after entering West Point the following year his father died and Henry was granted an unprecedented one week leave of absence. His father’s estate was divided equally among his widow and two children. Buckner and an old army friend, Ambrose E. Burnside, were named guardians for the under aged plebe. With Civil War on the horizon, and their fortunes cemented to real estate in the North, the Buckners thought it wise that Mary’s inheritance be left in the hands of her brother for the duration of the war.

Following his graduation Henry’s services were in high demand. “He is one of the best and smartest men of the class and by far the best soldier” boasted classmate and future artillerist Tully McCrea. Ambrose Burnside, who now commanded a brigade in the Department of Northeast Virginia, wanted him on his staff. But Kingsbury, now commissioned a second lieutenant, was instead assigned as aide-de-camp to Brigadier-General Irwin McDowell commander of the Army of Northeastern Virginia. Following McDowell’s defeat at First Bull Run Kingsbury was assigned to command of Battery D 5th U. S. Artillery and transferred to the Army of the Potomac commanded by his brother-in-law’s former classmate George B. McClellan.

The realities of commanding a battery during active campaigning were not what the West Pointer expected. Teamsters deserted, mules were lost, wagons scuttled to prevent capture, and maps unreliable. At Gaines Mill, during the Peninsular Campaign, a driver took a wrong turn and four caissons were blown up along with a bridge which spanned the line of retreat. Regardless, Brigadier-General George Sykes in his official report credited the battery with saving his right flank and Kingsbury distinguished himself here and again at Malvern Hill days later. At the latter battle “the enemy disappeared” Kingsbury wrote, “blown away by superior fire power.” When he was relieved to replenish his caissons he discovered there was no ammunition for his Parrotts, three of which were unserviceable, then got into a squabble with an unnamed infantry general who insisted that he “fire at a target we could not see.”

After repeated requests from family and friends he finally got his personal affairs in order. While stationed at Fortress Monroe he drew up his will naming Ambrose Burnside and his brother-in-law, John Taylor, as executors. Without having his signature witnessed he signed the document and gave it to John for safekeeping. He also gave into the advice of friends and exchanged his commission in the Regular Army for command of a regiment from his home state: the 11th Connecticut Infantry. By the summer of 1862 he began molding them into his image.

Commanding a large volunteer infantry regiment brought new challenges to Kingsbury, but he adapted quickly. Incompetent officers were replaced by men in the ranks. This move proved so unpopular that his capable officers threatened to resign. While encamped at Fortress Monroe the men had the opportunity to bathe daily and dredge for oysters with their bare feet. But after one officer died of typhoid, and an increasing number of men fell ill, the practice was banned. Kingsbury personally selected the best available campsites, supervised the preparation of food such as rice, and adequately supplied his men with blankets and other essentials. Steak, usually reserved for consumption by officers only, was fed to the enlisted men as well. In time the 11th Connecticut earned the distinction as the “cleanest most orderly and best trained outfit in the division.”

Kingsbury’s transfer to the Army of the Potomac would once again unite him with his old friend Ambrose Burnside, and a fateful meeting with his brother-in-law Confederate Brigadier General David R. Jones. Deposed Major General George B. McClellan was once again at the helm chasing General Robert E. Lee’s Confederate Army as it invaded Maryland. Jones, with his six brigade division, entered Maryland on September 6, encamped at Frederick, and then marched west toward South Mountain. At the battles of Turner’s and Fox’s Gaps fought on September 14, 1862, Jones’ men bolstered the threatened Confederate line. Fox’s Gap was the 11th Connecticut’s maiden battle under the command of Kingsbury, but was withheld from combat due to poor visibility. Three days later at the Battle of Antietam Henry Kingsbury and the 11th Connecticut would get the chance to prove their mettle.

After his defeat at the Battle of South Mountain Lee drew further west and consolidated his forces. He arrayed his army near the small town of Sharpsburg with Jones positioned along the west bank of meandering Antietam Creek defending his right flank. On the opposite side of the creek was the Union 9th Corps led by Ambrose Burnside and Jones’ brother-in-law Henry Kingsbury.

The Battle of Antietam was fought piecemeal in three disconnected phases; the morning phase along Lee’s left flank, the midday phase at his center, and the finale on his right. Rather than attempt a massive fording of Antietam Creek by the 9th Corps it was ordered that a narrow twelve foot wide bridge would be the conduit through which McClellan’s army would attack Jones’ Division. Nineteenth century military science mandated that the proper technique for such an assault was a three-pronged attack. The first unit would create a diversion by a direct assault on the bridge. The second unit would look for an undefended ford to cross through which they would gain the enemy’s rear and attack it from that direction. And the third unit would speedily capture any high ground behind the bridge. Crook’s Ohio Brigade was assigned the most dangerous of these assignments: a direct assault on the well-defended bridge. The 11th Connecticut, acting as skirmishers, would precede the assault and provide covering fire.

Slope descended by 11th CT at Antietam (photo by the author)

The 11th Connecticut’s assignment was equally perilous. After descending a steep slope they needed to race 50 feet through an open field and find whatever shelter they could along the eastern bank of the Antietam from which to support Crook’s assault. Kingsbury, in particular, would make a conspicuous target. As the 11th Connecticut rushed down the slope and raced for cover they were shot to pieces by Confederates well-concealed on the bluffs on the opposite bank. Kingsbury never reached whatever security the bank could provide. Upon reaching level ground a Confederate bullet broke his leg. Another tore into his foot. As his men raised him up to evacuate him to the rear a third bullet slammed into his shoulder. A fourth and mortal bullet ripped into his abdomen.

Eventually Kingsbury was conveyed to the Rohrbach farmhouse where he joined many of the regiment’s 139 casualties at this improvised hospital. With no hope for his own survival, Kingsbury ordered the surgeons to “take care of the men.” That evening a tearful Major-General Ambrose Burnside visited Kingsbury and in his final hours helped arrange his affairs. Kingsbury’s dying request was that Burnside care for his unborn child. The following evening, September 18, an assistant-surgeon of the 11th Connecticut reported, “the Colonel has opened his eyes and given me the sweetest smile and closed them forever.”

Detail of 11th CT Monument at Antietam (photo by the author)

No one took the death of Henry Kingsbury harder than his brother-in-law David R. Jones. When word reached him that men from his division shot Kingsbury dead Jones was inconsolable. Even Robert E. Lee was stunned by the change in personality of the once vociferous officer. With his will to fight broken, and health deteriorating, Jones resigned not long after the battle. On January 15, 1863, less than four full months after the death of his brother-in-law, Jones died of a massive heart attack or stroke. But those who knew him best know he died of a broken heart.

A month before Jones died Henry’s widow gave birth to their son who was named in his father’s honor. Months after the war ended Henry’s attractive widow remarried and fell victim to an avaricious lawyer. Learning of the prior arrangement in which Henry would act as trustee of his sister’s sizeable inheritance he convinced her to file suit to have the arrangement declared null and void. Against the pleas of her mother-in-law Jane, and an incensed Ambrose Burnside, she proceeded.

Henry’s sister Mary and her husband, ex-Confederate Major General Simon Buckner, were in a precarious position. Not only was Buckner a virtual outlaw in his home state of Kentucky the couple was also broke. Suit and countersuit followed with Burnside and Henry’s mother testifying against his widow. The case eventually reached the Illinois Supreme Court where it decided in favor of the Buckners.

After the death of her second husband Henry’s widow, Eva, married a Belgian diplomat and appears to have lived out her life in Europe. Their son, Henry Jr., grew up in England far from the home his father died defending. Seeking medical treatment in the U. S., he left his home in Alexandria, Egypt and traveled to Baltimore where he died in 1900. Henry’s sister, Mary, died less than three years after the Court decided in her favor. She had little time to enjoy the half million dollars she was awarded.

Money, not Civil War, tore the Kingsbury family apart. While Eva fought to accumulate it, Henry’s mother Jane apparently had little use for it. When she died in 1892, not only her neighbors but even her closest confidant thought she was nearly destitute. When the executors of her will entered her home to inventory her property and rummage around they were shocked by what they found. Neatly stacked in the bottom of dresser drawers were gold pieces totaling $14,000.00. Stashed away in the bottoms of old leather trunks, bureau drawers and in the mattresses of beds were cash and securities amounting to more than $100,000.00. A newspaper reporter wrote, “not a soul in the whole township even suspected it.” In all, her fortune amounted to more than a million dollars which was divided evenly among her two grandchildren.

Every black cloud has a silver lining, and Simon Buckner was one of its most shining examples. In 1862 he surrendered Fort Donelson and its 12,000 men to an old army buddy who was so destitute when he resigned from the military in the 1850s that Buckner paid his way home. During his impoverished latter years again Buckner came to his friend’s rescue, offering financial assistance. And when his friend died of throat cancer in 1885 Simon B. Buckner was one of pall bearers who carried his comrade, “Unconditional Surrender” General Ulysses S. Grant, to his grave.

After the war Buckner served as Kentucky’s 30th governor and ran unsuccessfully for Vice President of the United States. His running mate was John N. Palmer a former Union Major General. Buckner, the last Confederate general above the rank of brigadier general, died in 1914. His son followed in his father’s footsteps or rather in Henry Kingsbury´s. General Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. was killed at Okinawa in 1945. He was the highest ranking United States officer killed by enemy fire in WWII.

Buffet Luncheon and Tour of Rockland
9030 Sharpsburg Pike in Fairplay, Maryland
Saturday, April 19, 2008
1:00-3:00 pm
$25 per person

Please RSVP to Jessica Bentz at 410-685-2886 or jbentz@preservationmaryland.org by April 14th

Rockland is a three-story stone Federal-style house built in 1803 by Colonel Frisby Tilghman (1773-1847), son of Maryland’s first Attorney General. Originally over 1,100 acres, Rockland was the largest slave holding estate in Washington County. In 1827, slave James W.C. Pennington escaped from Rockland and later wrote his autobiography, The Fugitive Blacksmith. Rockland is on the Maryland Inventory of Historic Sites and is designated an official site of the National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

See official invitation (pdf) for directions.

Although the weather looked doubtful, a large number of volunteers gathered to plant over one hundred apple trees in the historic Piper Orchard. This project was the second phase of a restoration of the 17 acre orchard that occupied the hill just behind Bloody Lane. SHAF volunteers carried out the first phase a couple years ago and in a few more years the orchard will look similar to the 1862 scene.

Not all of the volunteers on December 8 were from SHAF, but several members participated. The temperature hovered in the low 40’s and rain had let up just the night before. The NPS staff told us that due to the wet weather we needed to do all the digging by hand. This was not as bad as it sounded because by noon we had all the trees planted! Also the NPS provided hot coffee and home-made donuts from a shop in Sharpsburg. It took a while to scrape off all the mud from my boots, but it was certainly time well spent. We encourage anyone who lives nearby to join us in the scene restoration projects, they are very rewarding.

Work Day for Spring

Saturday April 12, meet at the Visitor’s Center Parking lot at 9, dress for the weather. Bring gloves and drinks.

Since the guns fell silent more than fourteen decades ago, tens of thousands of books have been written about America’s Civil War. Historical journals and popular magazines with a sole focus on the war have flourished, and Civil War battlefields and historic sites are visited by millions each year. Scores of television documentaries and big-screen Hollywood films concerning some facet of the conflict have been produced. The Civil War remains the most studied aspect of American history, and there seems to be no satiating the fascination of not only Americans, but of folks worldwide, with the fratricidal struggle.

Yet, for the all the books and magazines, and for all the films and documentaries, students of the American Civil War know that there remains a hidden history, filled with little-known engagements, forgotten episodes, and overlooked personalities. This article will explore the life and service of one such overlooked figure, who has seemingly dwelled in those vast halls of historical obscurity since the cessation of hostilities: Brigadier General James Nagle.

Born on April 5, 1822, in Reading, Pennsylvania, James Nagle received no formal military education, but from a young age he displayed an avid interest in martial endeavors. In 1840, after his family had settled in the Schuylkill County seat of Pottsville, eighteen-year-old James Nagle organized the Washington Artillerists, a militia company that he regularly drilled and actively maintained. With the outbreak of the Mexican-American War in 1846, Nagle volunteered the service of his company, which was mustered in as Company B, 1st Pennsylvania Volunteers. As its captain, Nagle led the company from the siege of Vera Cruz to the capture of Mexico City, seeing much action along the way. Mustered out in 1848, Nagle and his men returned to Pottsville, where an appreciative citizenry presented the young captain with a beautifully inscribed sword of which he was very proud. In fact, Nagle carried this sword throughout the Civil War, and can be seen holding it in most of his wartime portraits.

In the years before the outbreak of civil war in 1861, Nagle continued his trades as housepainter and wallpaper hanger and in 1852 was elected sheriff of Schuylkill County. Following the capitulation of Fort Sumter, Governor Andrew Curtin commissioned Nagle colonel of the 6th Pennsylvania Infantry, a three-month organization that served under General Robert Patterson in the Shenandoah Valley. In August 1861, Curtin authorized Nagle to raise a three-year regiment, which one month later was mustered into service as the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry, recruited almost exclusively out of Schuylkill County. Impressing his superiors with his military ability, Nagle was elevated to brigade command in April 1862, in the 9th Army Corps. He led his brigade at the battles of 2nd Bull Run, South Mountain, and Antietam, where his regiments were tabbed to assault the Burnside Bridge. His promotion to brigadier general eventuated in September 1862, being highly touted by both Generals Jesse Reno and Ambrose Burnside.

Personally courageous, Nagle was always in the thickest of the fray. He barely escaped capture at 2nd Bull Run, and at Fredericksburg, nearly lost his life to an artillery shell while leading his men toward the impregnable Confederate position at Marye’s Heights. He was respected by his superiors, and beloved by his troops. In October 1861, he was presented a fine glass from his former soldiers of the 6th Pennsylvania, accompanied by a letter that testifies to Nagle’s qualities as a military commander: “during the three months we served together, though inflexibly firm and persistently industrious in the performance and requirement of every camp and field duty, yet such was the kindness of your demeanor, and tender regard for the health, safety and comfort of your men, the we regarded you rather a friend and father, than a mere military commander.”

In the spring of 1863, Nagle began to suffer from the effects of heart disease. Following his doctor’s advice, he reluctantly tendered his resignation in May and returned to Pottsville. His immediate superior, Samuel Sturgis, forwarded Nagle’s resignation with much regret. In a heart-felt letter, Sturgis wrote that through his “intelligence, energy, zeal and courage, and unassuming deportment, withal, Gen. Nagle has endeared himself to this command, and will carry with him the love and respect not only of those gallant troops he has led so often to victory, but of all who have had the good fortune to know him.”

Nagle did not rest for long in Pottsville. With Robert E. Lee’s men making their way north to Pennsylvania in June, he raised the 39th Pennsylvania Emergency Militia, which he commanded until August, after Lee’s men were turned back at Gettysburg. The following year, Nagle recruited his fourth regiment of volunteer soldiers, the 194th Pennsylvania, a Hundred-Days unit, which was stationed in Baltimore during Jubal Early’s raid through Maryland. Mustered out for the final time in November 1864, Nagle continued to suffer from his affliction, and on August 22, 1866, he passed away. He was just forty-four years of age, and left behind a widow and seven children.

James Nagle was, and remains, Schuylkill County’s foremost citizen turned- soldier. As a tribute and in memory of their beloved leader, the veterans of the 48th Pennsylvania raised money to have a statue of Nagle placed upon the regimental monument at Antietam. At the dedication ceremony, on September 17, 1904, the former surgeon of the 48th Pennsylvania, William Blackwood, reminded those in attendance that it was here, at Antietam, where Nagle received his promotion to brigadier general, and, said the feeble veteran, “never did a soldier win the distinction through a harder road, for his whole time of service this more than brave gentleman and splendid soldier devoted his every energy to the cause for which he left his home and family, and supported by his gallant men, he won imperishable fame.”

With the passing of time, it seems that Nagle’s fame has proved contrariwise. His statue at Antietam still stands; his gaze still transfixed toward the north. But there is something missing from the monument. When it was first unveiled over a century ago, there at his side was sculpted a bronze replica of that Mexican-American War sword, which he so highly treasured. That sword is now gone. When, or how, it disappeared, no one seems to know. And few realize it was ever there. Perhaps by restoring that sword, and having it replaced, we can, in turn, help restore Nagle’s overlooked service, and help rescue him from those vast halls of historical obscurity.

Harry Smeltzer, newest director of the Save Historic Antietam Foundation, joined the board in 2006. A residential real estate appraiser with his own business in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for the past eleven years, Harry has been an instructor at Pittsburgh’s Realtor’s Educational Institute over the same period; there he teaches courses in Valuation of Residential Properties as well as Certified Appraiser continuing education classes. Prior to 1996 he worked as an appraiser, financial planner and analyst, accountant, and auditor in western Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh and McKeesport) and nearby Weirton, West Virginia. When asked about the wellspring of his interest in history and the Civil War, Harry responds that “like every other kid in Pennsylvania, I went on a field trip to Gettysburg when I was nine or ten.” That visit helped spark a fascination that eventually generated, among other things, his own Civil War blog and involvement in several on-line discussion groups as well as his current leadership role in SHAF. Regarding the Civil War, he calls himself “more of a big picture guy” with multiple interests, including preservation, rather than one who focuses solely on commemoration and preservation.

Born and raised in McKeesport, Harry Smeltzer graduated from Penn State University (University Park) with a B.S. in finance in 1982. He also received a Master of Business Administration (with a marketing emphasis) from the Katz Graduate School of Business in Pittsburgh in 1989. With his lifelong residency in the Pittsburgh area, it is no big surprise that Harry holds season tickets for the Pittsburgh Pirates (that’s him in the photo above taking batting practice at PNC Park); other pastimes and interests include working with his son’s Cub Scout Pack and monitoring his own library of sixteen hundred-plus Civil War books, including one of his earliest acquisitions, the American Heritage Young Readers Golden Book of the Civil War (with its introduction by Bruce Catton).

Besides the previously noted, Civil War-related activities in which Harry is engaged, he belongs to the Western Pennsylvania Civil War Round Table and writes for America’s Civil War. As part of his role as a contributing writer to the magazine, Harry will be writing book reviews in brief in 2008. Like many Civil War enthusiasts, he has a family connection to the Civil War, in the person of his great-grandfather, John Smeltzer of Blair County, Pennsylvania. Born in 1846, John Smeltzer served in the 205th Pennsylvania, and was wounded at Petersburg. Perhaps unlike others, however, Harry learned of the ancestral connection very recently, long after becoming interested in the Civil War rather than having the personal link open that door.

In discussing his views on the current state of the preservation movement, Harry Smeltzer opines that today’s preservationists sometimes are “too used to preaching to the choir.” Here he emphasizes the need to be “more tactful” in explaining what we see as the merits of preservation to those, particularly landowners, for whom it might not be so clear. Along those lines, Harry believes that we preservationists need to be able to communicate to others in the general public (who remain unsure about why they should care and act accordingly) at least why they should care that preservation is important to us; without reaching that level of communication, he feels, it will be difficult to persuade these people to embrace preservation values.

It was a dark and stormy night …

No, it wasn’t that bad, but Saturday, November 10 did begin as a very overcast dreary day, with rain threatening at any minute. Nevertheless eight intrepid SHAF members met at 9:00 with four NPS Natural Resources workers for a rewarding day of scenic restoration work.

Our task for the day was the removal of trees and brush along the fence line separating the historic Mumma and Roulette farms. This fence line runs from the Bloody Lane eastward to just above the Roulette house and divides the two properties.

With as many as four chain saws running, we broke off to drag branches and sawn timber into a couple of huge burn piles. Don’t think this is easy work; some of this stuff is heavy, and we occasionally had trouble keeping up with the guys who were cutting. But there were no a complaints from our loyal laborers. The weather was just cool enough to make working more comfortable than standing around, and fortunately the rain moved off. In fact, by noon the sky was clearing.

We worked until about 3:00 p.m. and were able to open up over 100 yards of fence line. This area is right in the middle of the field and conspicuous from the Visitors Center–visitors can view the whole Bloody Lane attack field from the Observation Room.

When we were finished I could not resist driving up to the top of the hill to see the difference our labors had created. Needless to say, I went home with very sore arms and legs but with a newly-warmed heart. Working on these projects is a rewarding experience and I encourage anyone who is able to join us on our next work day.

SHAF planned and presented a four-part Civil War lecture series at the annual Sharpsburg Heritage festival on Saturday, September 15. In addition, SHAF members and friends manned a booth at the festival. A breezy bright day brought out a sizable crowd throughout the day along Mechanic Street just south of the town’s square.

Just after noon and in front of SHAF’s tent, two bands, the Confederate 2nd Maryland Fife and Drum Corps and the Union Pennsylvania Wildcat Regiment Band, faced off in a musical duel to the delight of the crowd. A variety of foods and crafts completed the displays while the lecture series provided historical information and background for attendees.

SHAF’s lecture series featured four presentations beginning with the Reverend John Schildt who spoke on “Four Days in October: Lincoln’s Visit to Antietam” at 9:30 am. The second lecture was by John Nelson at 1:30 PM. “The Sublimest Spectacle that Mortals Ever Gazed Upon: How Newspapers Covered the Battle of Antietam.” At 2:00 PM Tom Clemens spoke on “Why Sharpsburg: Lee’s Intentions in the Maryland Campaign.” The fourth speaker was Dana Shoaf who presented “Odyssey of a Field Officer: John I. Nevin of the 93rd Pennsylvania Infantry” All the SHAF lectures took place in Christ Reformed Church which features newly restored historic stained glass windows funded in part through a donation by SHAF.

The day and evening were filled with other speakers in addition to SHAF’s series, plus music, tours, demonstrations and exhibits.

Piper’s Orchard, 2007 (T. Clemens)

Varieties of apples to be planted include: Spigold, Gibson Yellow Delicious, Double Red Delicious, William’s Pride, Freedom, Liberty, Jonathan, and Yellow Transparent. The trees will be balled & burlapped and approximately five feet tall.

Unlike the historic varieties of trees that were chosen for the first two blocks of orchard, the new trees were chosen based on their ability to resist disease. The decision to not restrict the planting to just historic varieties was intended to make the orchard more productive and appealing for potential cooperators. Presently, all orchard management is done by NRM, but they hope to find a cooperator to take over in the near future.

If you are interested in helping plant the new trees please contact Michelle Carter at 301.432.2243, email michelle_carter (at) nps (dot) gov, or Tom Clemens by email antietam1862 (at) comcast (dot) net.

[post updated on 11/28/07 for scheduled planting date]

The photograph shown is identified as 2nd Lt. Edward C. Pierce based on what is written on the front of the images. As can be seen in the Photograph Edward wrote “Your friend E. C. Pierce 3rd Me.” The image is a full standing view of an officer holding his hat and wearing a sash and sword standing in front of a backdrop and next to a table.

(collection of the author)

On the baseboard can be seen the word “BRADY”. The CDV is a Brady from Washington which can also be seen on the front of the image although the “B” has been trimmed off at some point. There in nothing printed or written on the reverse of the image. At the National Archives the service records of Lt. Pierce’s were copied and reviewed.

According to Edward Pierce’s records he mustered into Company B on August 8, 1861 as a 2nd Lieutenant. Lt. Pierce’s status is shown as “not stated” for the Sept/Oct 1861 bi-monthly return. On the Nov/Dec 61 return is the note “Detailed to act as Signal Officer in U.S. Signal Corps by Special Orders from HQ AP recd Dec 24, 1861. Since Edward was assigned to the Signal Corps in December, 1861 the image was probably taken in the fall of 1861 since he has identified himself with the 3rd Maine not the Signal Corps.

Edward remained assigned to the Signal Corps until his muster out on June 28, 1864. While he was assigned to the signal corps Edward would be present at some of the most important events in the history of Army of the Potomac. Edward was promoted to 1st Lt. On May 1, 1862. On September 17, 1862 he was on the field at Antietam as a signal man. In fact he is included in several of the most well know images taken by Alexander Gardner on the field.

(A. Gardner, 1862, Library of Congress)

In Antietam: The Photographic Legacy of America’s Bloodiest Day by William A. Frassanito, the author talks about the photographs taken of the Signal Station on Elk Ridge. On page 75 is the following quote “Views 3a and 3b show the (signal) station from an identical camera position. The flagmen in both views are believed to be facing westward, into the afternoon sun and toward the battlefield. The man seated on top of the tower to the left in 3a is the leader of the detachment, 1st Lt. Edward C. Pierce, who was transferred to the Signal Corps from the Third Maine Infantry in December 1861.”

Shortly after this action he was assigned to 6th Corps Headquarters on Nov 13, 1862. He would remain with the 6th Corps for the rest of his service. Later in the spring of 1863 he was promoted again to Captain on February 25, 1863. After this Captain Pierce would find
himself at one of the most famous locations in the Civil War. He would be stationed on Little Round Top on July 3, 1863. He would serve with distinction and be offered a commission in the Signal Corps in the fall of 1863. Captain Pierce would decline the appointment on September 24, 1863. He stated that he wished to remain an “Acting Signal Officer” so that he could go home when his three year term of service was up in
1864. Also he requested that he be allowed to remain with the Signal Corps and not be returned to the 3rd Maine Infantry. This was allowed and Captain Pierce was ordered to Augusta, Maine on June 14, 1864 to allow his muster out with the regiment on June 28, 1864.