2668 words.
CHAPTER OR STORY 22 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LJpJeIwFMw#t=1h29m00s Click Here and the link will take you to the beginning of this story at 1:29:00 within the longer video called “Jasper Thompson’s Destiny Day September6, 1906”
FLICKR 38 images
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimsurkamp/albums/72157682027135335
With support from American Public University System (apus.edu). The sentiments expressed do not in any way reflect modern-day policies of APUS, and are intended to encourage fact-based exchange for a better understanding of our nation’s foundational values.
SOURCES AND LINKS OF IMAGES ARE GIVEN UNDER “REFERENCES” AND “IMAGE CREDITS” AFTER THE NARRATIVE
eating weevil-ridden hardtack,
Camp of the Seventh Regiment, near Frederick, Maryland, in July 1863 by Sanford Robinson Gifford – 1864
The 9th Corps under Gen. Burnside made camp near Manassas Junction, setting up dog tents, and otherwise – –
Men with whom Jasper and the others would entrust their lives were arriving:
and above all Joshua Sigfried 1832-1895 of the first Brigade, and Henry G. Thomas 1837-1897.
Jasper’s commander, heading the 2nd Brigade.
In fair weather times an army saw battle once every thirty days – so the men eased the empty hours of waiting with cards, and pranks.
Officers from the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry play cards in front of their wall tents in camp at Petersburg, Virginia, in August 1864.(Cropped) – Library of Congress
Those in Jasper’s Brigade and Colored units – studied, to use their word for it, and sang.
Men in the streets of tents of Jasper’s 23rd regiment were experiencing their new found freedom and pondering with grim resolve the approaching challenge of fighting for it – even unto death.
Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper (New York), May 7, 1864.
Quiet and patient was their manner, but thoughts would return to the fact that less than a month before on April 12th at Fort Pillow, Tennessee, dozens of captured colored soldiers were bayoneted and killed in a massacre. “No quarter” was going to be the rule on their own battlefields – both ways, many of these in the Manassas camp assumed.
Soldiers in the 23rd – who would (nearly all) not survive the war:
James Douglas, Voghl Foster, George Kellum, John H. Simms, Thomas H. Barney, George W. Taylor, Uriah Perry, Perry Smith, James Smith, William H. Chandler, Adam C. Liscomb, Henry Yates, John F. Bowman, George H. Briscoe, Peter Churchwell, Noble A. Stewart, John W. Thomas, Francis Tucker, Charles H. Summer, Basil Tyler, Richard Saunders, & Alexander Savoy
Drawing by Ward S. Day, 5th New York, Company C
Strolling often around the camp their commander Henry G. Thomas observed later:
Any striking event or piece of news was usually eagerly discussed by the white troops, and in the ranks military critics were as plenty and perhaps more voluble than among the officers. Not so with the blacks; important news was usually followed by long silence. They sat about in groups, “studying,” as they called it. They waited, like the Quakers, for the spirit to move; when the spirit moved,
one of their singers would uplift a mighty voice, like a bard of old, in a wild sort of chant. If he did not strike a sympathetic chord in his hearers, if they did not find in his utterance the exponent of their idea, he would sing it again and again, altering sometimes the words, more often the music. If his changes met general acceptance, one voice after another would chime in; a rough harmony of three parts would add itself; other groups would join his, and the song would become the song of the command. – Thomas, p. 563. http://archive.org/stream/battlesleadersof04cent#page/563/mode/1up
One night Thomas watched this act of creation and wrote down its score.
Score – Thomas p. 564 https://archive.org/stream/battlesleadersof04cent#page/564/mode/1up
The joyous negro guffaw always breaking out about the camp-fire ceased. They formed circles in their company streets and were sitting on the ground intently and solemnly “studying.” At last a heavy voice began to sing,
“We-e looks li-ike we-en a-a-marchin’ on, We looks li-ike men-er-war.”
Over and over again he sang it, making slight changes in the melody. The rest listened to him intently; no sign of approval or disapproval escaped their lips or appeared on their faces. All at once, when his refrain had struck the right response in their hearts, his group took it up, and shortly half a thousand voices were upraised extemporizing a half dissonant middle part and bass. It was a picturesque scene these dark men, with their white eyes and teeth and full red lips, crouching over a smoldering camp-fire, in dusky shadow, with only the feeble rays of the lanterns of the first sergeants and the lights of the candles dimly showing through the tents. The sound was as weird as the scene, when all the voices struck the low E (last note but one), held it, and then rose to A with a portamento as sonorous as it was clumsy. Until we fought the battle of the crater they sang this every night to the exclusion of all other songs.
Thomas, p. 563. http://archive.org/stream/battlesleadersof04cent#page/563/mode/1up
Wednesday, May 4th: The 4th USCT Division prepared to leave camp.
They were to guard 4300 wagons and 835 ambulances pulled by 27,000 horses and mules.
They crossed at Germanna Ford on the Rapidan on Saturday, May 7th and drew ire from a white staff officer on Gen. Meade’ s staff. http://digitalcollections.baylor.edu/cdm/singleitem/collection/tx-wotr/id/1345/rec/2
Theodore Lyman https://archive.org/stream/meadesheadquarte00lyma#page/n11/mode/1up
To his wife: “God help them if the grey-back infantry attack them.” https://archive.org/stream/meadesheadquarte00lyma#page/102/mode/1u
Sunday-Monday
May 8-9, 1864 – Jasper’s 23rd was placed in charge of the army’s supply train then located at Belle Plain Landing on the Potomac River.
They were also charged with escorting wounded men to Belle Plain. Once they arrived, the supply wagons were refilled and the regiment turned around to head back to the Army of the Potomac.
REFERENCES: (FOLLOWED BY IMAGE CREDITS)
Plaine Landing to the Army of the Potomac, that the 4th Division guarded.
– Dobak, William A.(2011). “Freedom by the Sword – The U.S. Colored Troops 1862-1867.” Army Historical Series. Center of Military History, Washington, D.C.: United States Army. history.army.mil 12 September 2007 Web. 12 December 2016. pp. 340-341.
https://history.army.mil/html/books/030/30-24/CMH_Pub_30-24.pdf
During the fair-weather campaign season, soldiers could expect to be engaged in battle one day out of 30. Their remaining days were filled with almost interminable drilling, punctuated with spells of entertainment in the form of music, cards and other forms of gambling. The arrival of newspapers or mail from home — whether letters or a care package — in camp was always cause for celebration. Despite such diversions, much time was still left for exposure to the noncombatant foes of poor shelter, unhealthy food, and a lack of hygiene, resulting in waves of sickness and disease. The shelter half, or “dog tent,” became the most practical means of overnight shelter. While portable and lightweight, shelter halves provided minimal protection for their two inhabitants.. . . To protect the soldier from the damp ground, a tarred or rubberized blanket could be used. A stout wool blanket kept the chill off. Compressed together dried vegetables – these delicacies consisted of “a combination of corn husks, tomato skins, carrots and other kinds of vegetables too numerous to mention.” This bounty had been dried and compressed into a sheet or block and, when boiled, expanded to many times its previous size, denigrated as “desecrated vegetables” by the boys in blue . . .” The full Union marching ration consisted of one pound of hard bread (the infamous hardtack), three-quarters of a pound of salted pork or one-and-a-quarter pound of fresh meat, along with coffee, sugar and salt allotments.”
– Helm, Gary. ”Life of the Civil War Soldier” series was contributed by Pamplin Historical Park and The National Museum of the Civil War Soldier in Virginia and appeared in the Hallowed Ground Magazine, Winter 2013 issue.
civilwar.org 15 May 1998 Web. 10 January 2017.
http://www.civilwar.org/hallowed-ground-magazine/winter-2013/life-of-the-civil-war-soldier-camp.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/
Thomas, Henry G. “The Colored Troops at Petersburg.” “Battles and Leaders. Vol. 4”. (1887). Robert Underwood Johnson, Clarence Clough Buel (Ed.). New York, NY: Century Co. Internet Archives archive.org 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. pp. 563-567
http://archive.org/stream/battlesleadersof04cent
In these first marches and movements some of the black troops fell into enemy hands. This was the first time that armed African American soldiers were taken prisoner in this theater of operations, but their fate differed little from that being suffered by their western comrades. Charles Hopkins, a white soldier who had been captured during the Wilderness fighting, was witness to the hanging of a black POW at Orange Court House on the morning of May 9. An even more chilling incident is related in the diary of a Virginia cavalryman named Byrd C. Willis. “we captured three negro soldiers the first we had seen. They were taken out on the road side and shot, & their bodies left there.”
– Trudeau, Noah A. “A Stranger in the Club: The Army of the Potomac’s Black Division.” Chapter 5 in Boritt, Gabor S. (2007). ”Slavery, Resistance, Freedom.” New York, NY, London, UK: Oxford University Press Co.
Memorial of Colonel John A. Bross, Twenty-Ninth U.S. Colored Troops, who fell leading the assault on Petersburgh, July 30, 1864: together with a sermon by his pastor, Rev. Arthur Swazey. (Chicago: Tribune Book and Job Office, 1865.) content.wisconsinhistory.org 24 July 2001 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/search.asp?id=994
Present were in camp with the 23rd U.S. colored Troop with Jasper Thompson:
Robert K. Beecham
Captured July 30th 1864
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/273/263456020
Douglas, James (WC89446)
Killed July 30th 1864
22 Washington, D.C.
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/273/263462604
Foster, Voghl (WC77186)
Killed July 30th 1864
26 Hanover, Va.
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/273/263448427
Kellum, George (WC88335)
MIA July 30th 1864
33 year old Mariner Accomac Co., Va.
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/273/264223612
Simms, John H (WC98729)
MIA July 30th 1864
25 Waiter Ann Arundel, MD
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/273/265122544
Barney, Thomas H (WC119439)
KIA July 20th 1864
23 Baltimore, MD
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/273/263455691
Cleaveland J. Campbell (Lt. Col)
Died June 15th 1864 pulmonary consumption
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/273/263457387
Taylor, George W (WC121972)
Killed Nov. 29, 1864
24 Farmer Cecil County, MD.
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/273/265129584
Perry, Uriah (WC124357)
Killed July 30th 1864
32 Laborer Montgomery County, MD
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/273/265126195
Smith, Perry (WC47025)
Killed July 30th 1864
39 Laborer Carroll, MD
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/273/265126195
Smith, James (WC83914)
Killed July 30th 1864
21 Laborer Prince Georges County, MD
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
Chandler, William H (WC87669)
Wounded July 30th 1864
23 Laborer Georgetown, D.C.
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/273/263458514
Liscomb, Adam C (Capt.)(WC40881)
Killed July 30th 1864
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/273/264226958
Walker, Charles (WC87960)
MIA July 30th 1864
24 Laborer Fairfax, Va.
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/273/265124563
Yates, Henry (WC106358)
MIA July 30th 1864
24 Laborer Fairfax, Va.
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/273/265133032
Briscoe, George H (WC118654)
Killed July 30th 1864
30 Laborer Charles County, MD
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/273/263459284
Churchwell, Peter (WC119367)
MIA July 30th 1864
35 Laborer Virginia
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/273/263459273
Fessenden, Zelotis (Capt.) (WC86885)
Killed July 30th 1864
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/273/263447480
Stewart, Noble A (WC107371)
Killed July 30th 1864
23 Laborer Ann Arundel, MD
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/273/265128423
Thomas, John W (WC49821)
Killed July 30th 1864
23 Laborer Washington, D.C.
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/273/265126601
Francis Tucker Co. F
MIA July 30th
44 Laborer Norfolk, Va.
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/273/265128735
Charles H. Summer Co. G
Killed July 30th 1864
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/273/265128984
Abraham Tuxon Co. G
Killed July 30th 1864
30 Laborer Fredericksburg, Va.
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/273/265129373
Basil Tyler Co. A
MIA July 30th
27 Howard County, MD
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/273/265129450
Richard Saunders
Captured/escaped July 30th 1864
21 Laborer Fredericksburg, Va
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/273/265121690
Alexander Savoy Co. E
Captured/released July 30th 1864
20 Farmer Prince George’s County, MD
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/273/265121750
Belle_Plains,_Virginia
WGS84 38° 20′ 33.38″ N, 77° 19′ 50.71″ W
38.342606, -77.330753
wikipedia.org 27 July 2001 Web. 20 January 2017
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belle_Plains,_Virginia
Chancellorsville,_Virginia
Coordinates: 38°18′30″N 77°38′4″W
wikipedia.org 27 July 2001 Web. 20 January 2017
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chancellorsville,_Virginia
IMAGE CREDITS:
Title Central Virginia showing Lieut. Gen. U.S. Grant’s Campaign and Marches of the Armies under his Command in 1864-1865. Engineer Bureau, War Dept. Publication Info: Washington: Government Printing Office. Physical Description 1 map : col. Plate No.: 100
Map No. 1. Resource Type: Map. Publication Date: 1891.
digitalcollections.baylor.edu 18 February 2012 Web. January 10 2017
https://digitalcollections-baylor.quartexcollections.com/Documents/Detail/war-of-the-rebellion-atlas.-volume-i.-plate-c-plate-no.-100/208523
General search of War of the Rebellion Atlas Maps at the Baylor Texas Collection
https://digitalcollections-baylor.quartexcollections.com/explore-the-collections/list/collections/9
flag 1864_in_the_United_States
wikipedia.org 27 July 2001 Web. 20 January 2017
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1864_in_the_United_States
Camp of the Seventh Regiment, near Frederick, Maryland, in July 1863
Sanford Robinson Gifford – 1864.
the-athenaeum.org 23 May 2002 Web. 10 January 2017.
https://web.archive.org/web/20140822055114/http://the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=15754
detail
Title: [City Point, Va. African American army cook at work]
Summary: Photograph from the main eastern theater of war, the siege of Petersburg, June 1864-April 1865.
Created / Published
[Between 1860 and 1865]
loc.gov 16 June 1997 Web. 20 February 2017.
https://www.loc.gov/item/2005683189/
detail
Title: War views — Army of the Potomac — the way they cook dinner in camp
Summary: Photograph shows five Union soldiers, including one African American soldier, sitting and eating in front of tents.
Contributor Names: Roche, T. C., photographer
Carson, Marian S., collector
E. & H.T. Anthony (Firm), publisher
Created / Published
New York: E. & H.T. Anthony & Co., [between 1861 and 1865]
loc.gov 16 June 1997 Web. 20 February 2017.
https://www.loc.gov/item/2005683189/https://www.loc.gov/item/2005683189/
34th Pennsylvania Infantry
Mathew Brady Civil War Photographs flickr.com 26 February 2004 Web. 10 January 2017.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/usnationalarchives/collections/72157622495226723/
John A. Bross findagrave.com 5 December 1998 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/127971314/john-armstrong-bross
Memorial of Colonel John A. Bross, Twenty-Ninth U.S. Colored Troops, Who Fell in Leading the Assault on Petersburgh, July 30, 1864.
content.wisconsinhistory.org 24 July 2001 Web. 10 December 2016.
http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/cdm/ref/collection/tp/id/55643
Delavan Bates 1840-1918
wikipedia.org 27 July 2001 web. 10 January 2017.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delavan_Bates
Robert K. Beecham 1839-1920
wisconsinhistory.org 24 July 2001 Web. 10 January 2017.
https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Image/IM46690
and
findagrave.com 5 December 1998 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/13640168/robert-k-beecham
Fessenden, Zelotis (Capt.)
Co. H Widow’s Pension P. 2
fold3.com 16 September 2011 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.fold3.com/image/288695128
Joshua Sigfried 1832-1895 of the first Brigade
findagrave.com 5 December 1998 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/41822884/joshua-k-sigfried
Henry G. Thomas 1837-1897 Battles & Leaders Vol. 4 Image – Thomas, p. 565.
http://archive.org/stream/battlesleadersof04cent
The soldiers are seated reading letters and papers and playing cards. 111-B-220. National Archives Identifier: 524639 (Cropped)
archives.gov 31 March 2002 Web. 10 January 2017.
https://www.archives.gov/files/research/military/civil-war/photos/images/civil-war-002.jpg
Civil War Quarters (Cropped) – Library of Congress
Officers from the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry play cards in front of their wall tents in camp at Petersburg, Virginia, in August 1864. (Cropped) – – Library of Congress, also at:
civilwarmonitor.com 25 September 2011 Web. 10 January 2017.
http://civilwarmonitor.com/photo-essays/album?albumid=1019
Officers from the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry play cards in front of their wall tents in camp at Petersburg, Virginia, in August 1864.(Cropped)
– Library of Congress
civilwarphotos.net 29 June 2003 Web. 10 January 2017.
http://www.civilwarphotos.net/files/images/533.jpg
African American musicians performing in camp
This rare photograph shows a Union army camp scene where soldiers are entertained by a group of African American minstrel performers. (No source given at websites showing the image.)
- civilwartalk.com 17 August 2000 Web. 10 January 2017.
http://civilwartalk.com/threads/occupational-photographs-ladies-were-occupied-too.118227/ (Anna Elizabeth Henry - Minstrels playing
aimeedaviscms.files.wordpress.com start date unavailable Web. 20 January 2017.
https://aimeedaviscms.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/img_4008.jpg
and
- randomthoughtsonhistory.blogspot.com 25 August 2011 Web. 20 January 2017.
http://randomthoughtsonhistory.blogspot.com/2014/06/bully-civil-war-photograph_21.html
Title: [colored soldiers at Aikens Landing]
Contributor Names: E. & H.T. Anthony (Firm)
Created / Published: [New York City : E. & H.T. Anthony Co., photographed between 1862 and 1865, printed later]
loc.gov 16 June 1997 Web. 20 February 2017.
http://www.loc.gov/item/98500957/
The 26th U.S. Colored Volunteer Infantry on parade, Camp William Penn, Pa., 1865. 165-C-692. National Archives Identifier: 533126.
archives.gov 31 March 2002 Web. 10 January 2017.
https://www.archives.gov/files/research/military/civil-war/photos/images/civil-war-006.jpg
Caption in Frank Leslie’s Illustrated Newspaper (New York), May 7, 1864- “The war in Tennessee: Confederate massacre of black Union troops after the surrender at Fort Pillow, April 12, 1864”. Leslie, Frank; Moat, Louis Shepheard (c1895). “Frank Leslie’s illustrated history of the Civil War. The most important events of the conflict between the States graphically pictured. Stirring battle scenes and grand naval engagements … portraits of principal participants.” Internet Archives: Digital Library of Free Books, Movies, Music, and Wayback Machine. archive.org 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 25 Sept. 2011. p. 492.
Also at:
commons.wikimedia.org 5 June 2004 Web. 10 January 2016.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Battle_of_Fort_Pillow.png
Harper’s Ferry National Historic Park (HFNHP) Drawing by Ward S. Day, 5th New York, Company C, Lithograph by E. Sachs and Company; pages 176-177 in Frye, Dennis E. (2012). “Harper’s Ferry Under Fire – A Border Town in the American Civil War.”
Harper’s Ferry Historical Association. Virginia Beach, VA: The Donning Company Publishers.
Title: News from home / EF.
Creator(s): Forbes, Edwin, 1839-1895, artist
Date Created/Published: 1863 Sept. 30.
Medium: 1 drawing : pencil.
Summary: Soldier lying on the ground reading letter or newspaper.
loc.gov 16 June 1997 Web. 20 February 2017.
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/ppmsca.20648/
Head of a Negro – John Philip Simpson – circa 1827
the-athenaeum.org 23 May 2002 Web. 10 January 2017.
https://web.archive.org/web/20150928190351/http://www.the-athenaeum.org/art/detail.php?ID=130284
Title: Campfire
Artist: Winslow Homer (American, Boston, Massachusetts 1836–1910 Prouts Neck, Maine)
Date:1880. Medium: Oil on canvas. Dimensions:23 3/4 x 38 1/8 in. (60.3 x 96.8 cm)
Classification: Paintings. Credit Line: Gift of Josephine Pomeroy Hendrick, in the name of Henry Keney Pomeroy, 1927
Accession Number:27.181
metmuseum.org 11 November 1996 Web. 10 December 2016.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/11112
Germanna Ford Old Plank Road Overland Military Map Germanna ford Old Plank road to Chancellorsville Overland Military Map baylor.edu
Germanna Ford en route to Belle Plain
War of the Rebellion Atlas. Volume I. Plate LXXIV (Plate No. 74) from Maj. A.H. Campbell’s Surveys, showing the Positions of the Camps and Pickets of the 2d Corps, A.N.Va., May 3d, 1864, and the Routes of March from May 4th to May 21st, 1864, Battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania C.H., Va.
Creator Campbell, A.H., Maj.; Robinson, S.B. ; Hotchkiss, Jed.
Publication Info Washington : Government Printing Office
digitalcollections.baylor.edu 18 February 2012 Web. January 10 2017
https://digitalcollections-baylor.quartexcollections.com/Documents/Detail/war-of-the-rebellion-atlas.-volume-i.-plate-lxxiv-plate-no.-74/208245?item=208246
Title: City Point, Virginia. Negro soldier guarding 12-pdr. Napoleon. (Model 1857?)
Date Created/Published: [1865]
loc.gov 16 June 1997 Web. 20 February 2017.
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cwpb.
CHAPTER OR STORY 23 CLICK HERE https://civilwarscholars.com/uncategorized/chapter-23-jaspers-23rd-usct-runs-off-tom-rossers-virginia-cavalry-near-chancellorsville-by-jim-surkamp/