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Finding Aid: November/December 2003

The complete issue

Vol. XXV, No. 3
(40 pages)

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Inside

Cover image
A  panel of 30 images from the Norm Flayderman collection pictures soldiers believed to have served in Company G f the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry.

Table of Contents (p. 1)

Mail Call (pp. 2-4)
Feedback includes several comments related to image identifications.

Passing in Review (pp. 5-6)
Six publications are listed, including Staff Officers in Gray, A Biographical Register of the Staff Officers in the Army of Northern Virginia (University of North Carolina Press) by Robert E.L. Krick, North Carolina Troops, 1861-1865, A Roster, Volume XV (History Publications Section, North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources) edited by Weymouth T. Jordan Jr., On Campaign With the Army of the Potomac: The Civil War Journal of Theodore Aydrault Dodge (Rowman & Littlefield) edited by Stephen W. Sears, Lady of Arlington: The Life of Mrs. Robert E. Lee (Multnomah Publishers) by John Perry, Touched by Fire: Five Presidents and the Civil War Battles That Made Them (Public Affairs) by James M. Perry and A Yankee in a Confederate Town (Pineapple Press) by Anne Robinson Clancy.

A Table Full of Federals by Norm Flayderman (pp. 7-11)
A set of 42 tintypes is believed to be of men who served in Company G of the 48th Pennsylvania Infantry. A brief history of the regiment includes a full roster of Company G.

A Field Burial, 1898 (p. 12)
A stereoview of a chaplain conducted a burial ceremony illustrates a story about a funeral conducted in Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders.

From Nebraska to the Shenandoah by Robert A. Williams (pp. 13-14)
U.S. army Sgt. John Starke Ravenscraft Miller obtained his discharge from his post in Nebraska to join troops from his native state of North Carolina. His story is included along with a portrait of Pvt. Elisha Hamilton “Hamm” Miller of the 3rd North Carolina Cavalry.

“Miracles of American Spirit” by Roy Nibley (pp. 15-17)
The U.S. Sanitary Commission, a civilian organization, produced a great number of beneficial changes in soldiers’ health care. But it was not government sponsored and depended upon private contributions, many of which came through its fairs. A total of 6 images illustrate the text, including women volunteers in the military trophy booth at the Albany, N.Y. Relief Fair and Nurse Almira Fales.

“A Blasé, Played-Out, Gentlemanly Man” (p. 18)
If ever there was a real version of the fictional Harry Flashman, it would have to be Prince Felix zu Salm-Salm, who served in four armies during five separate wars. In America, he was colonel of the 8th and 68th New York infantries. The Prince survived the war only to die in the Battle of Gravelotte in the 1870 Franco-Prussian War.

The Game by John W. Kuhl (pp. 19-22)
A baseball box score that appeared in the regimental history of the 11th New Jersey Infantry is the primary subject of this story about the regiment. The text is illustrated with 18 portraits, including 2nd Lt. Joseph Condit Baldwin, Capt. Luther Martin, Capt. Dorastus Logan, Capt. William H. Meeke, 2nd Lt. Alexander Beach, Capt. Sydney Layton, Capt. John Sowter, Capt. John Oldershaw, 2nd Lt. William S. Provost, Adjutant John Schoonover, Capt. Andrew W. Ackerman, 1st Lt. John H. Meyer, 1st Lt. Edwin R. Good, Capt. William Dunning, Capt. Thomas J. Halsey, Lt. William J. Mount, Capt. John F. Buckley and Lt. E.S. Newberry.

Uniforms of the 1876 Centennial by Byron Kear (pp. 24-26)
The 1876 Centennial Exposition held in Philadelphia brought together a wide range of uniforms worn by the country’s leading volunteer militia units. They wore an array of uniforms, some examples of which are pictured here. A total of 7 images, including men of the 7th New York, are included.

“Corporal Shoemaker’s Revenge” (p. 27-28)
Corp. Adam Shoemaker of the 7th Indiana Cavalry set a trap for some guerrillas and revenged the death of comrades. His story is illustrated with several images, including his portrait and those of Capt. John W. Shoemaker, Pvt. Cornelius Cloyd and Pvt. Amos Reese.

George Mingins of the Christian Commission (pp. 29-31)
From anti-religious street preacher to Christian Commission delegate was the story of the Rev. George J. Mingins of Philadelphia, Pa. His life, service and death in 1916 is illustrated with several images.

The Cox Boys Go to War (p. 32)
Ohio’s Jacob Dolson Cox, a major general who distinguished himself in several operations during the Civil War, is profiled here along with his brother Theodore, who served as his aide-de-camp. Portraits of both men illustrate the text.

“I Must Go to My Boys” by Thomas J. Moeller (pp. 33-35)
The 61st Pennsylvania Infantry earned a reputation for dependability. During the war it lost 19 officers killed in combat, more than any other Union regiment during the Civil War. A history of the 61st is illustrated with 8 portraits, including Col. Oliver H. Rippey, Lt. Col. Robert Orr, Jacob Sanders, Richard W. Fairbanks, William M. Dawson, Henry Ruege, Oliver A. Parsons and Capt. Lewis Redenback.

Uniforms & History by Michael J. McAfee (pp. 36-37)
The author begins this installment of his column with the observation that, “The common wisdom seems to be that militia soldiers were somehow not soldiers.” He adds, “Today the very word ‘militia’ conjures images of gun-toting, anti-government, survivalist rednecks, but in 1860 the average militiaman was a substantial, property –owning member of the middle class who saw it as his civic duty to help instill law and order, especially in the chaos of America’s burgeoning cities, rife as they were with all sorts of foreign ‘riff-raff.’ On the South the militia soldier was also a protector of another type or property rights, with the added duty of providing control over the slave population.” The regiment selected as an example of the mid-19th century militia is the 12th New York State Militia. The text is illustrated with four portraits of soldiers who served in the regiment.

Sutler’s Row (pp. 38-39)

The Last Shot (p. 40)
A carte de visite from the Michael J. McAfee collection pictures Brevet Brig. Gen. John McConnell of the 5th Illinois Cavalry, who may be swearing in five recruits. The image was part of an album of men from the 7th Indiana Cavalry.

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