Rss

Finding Aid: September/October 1990

The complete issue1990-v12-02-xii

Vol. XII, No. 2
(32 pages)

Print edition: Visit our store to check availability
Digital edition: Visit JSTOR.org to purchase
Subscribe to MI
Explore the MI Archives: Browse | Advanced search | Tutorial

Inside

Cover image
A quarter-plate ambrotype from the Martin Callahan Collection is a Confederate soldier with a flintlock to percussion conversion musket and a Louisiana belt plate.

Editor’s Desk (p. 1)
The editor urges readers to attend the upcoming living history and Civil War battle reenactments at Cedar Creek Battlefield. Profits will support efforts by the Cedar Creek Foundation to save battlefield land from development.

Mail Call (p. 3)
The letters to the editor include kudos for the North Carolina issue (November-December 1989), corrections from a descendant of a South Carolina soldier pictured in the May-June issue and concern from one reader about modern reproductions.

Passing in Review (p. 5)
Five publications are mentioned: Directory of Civil War Photographers, Volume One: Maryland, Delaware, Washington, D., Northern Virginia West Virginia (Historic Graphics) by Ross J. Kelbaugh, Hiram Berdan: Civil War Chief of Sharpshooters, Military Commander and Firearms Inventor (Northwood Heritage Press) by Roy Marcot, Cahaba Prison and the Sultana Disaster (The University of Alabama Press) by William O. Bryant, Abandoned by Lincoln (University of Illinois Press) by Wallace J. Schultz and Walter N. Trenerry and War & Conflict: Selected Images from the National Archives, 1765-1970 (National Archives) edited by Jonathan Heller.

First Blood: A Jersey Brigade at Williamsburg by Joseph Bilby (pp. 7-11)
The 2nd New Jersey Brigade was one of three full brigades raised and equipped by the Garden State during the Civil War. It originally included the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th infantries. Over time, troops from other states were added. Together, the brigade fought in most of the horrific battles with the Army of the Potomac. An account of its actions at the Battle of Williamsburg during the Peninsula Campaign is included here, illustrated with portraits of Brig. Gen. Francis Patterson, Col. Samuel Starr of the 5th, Lt. Col. Ezra Carman of the 7th, 2nd Lt. John Fritschy Jr of the 7th, Capt. James Brown of the 7th and 1st Lt. Dekyn Lalor of the 5th.

The Burial of Trooper McCoy: A 7th Cavalry Funeral by George Rummel (pp. 12-15)
Private Charles McCoy, a young trooper of promise assigned to Troop E of the 7th U.S. Cavalry, died in a freak wagon accident in 1903. The story of his military service is illustrated with six portraits including one of McCoy and his horse, images from his funeral and his gravesite at Chattanooga National Cemetery.

“A Brave Officer:” The Letters of Richard Saffell, 26th Tennessee. C.S.A. by Mike Miner (pp. 16-18)
A portrait of Col. Richard Meredith Saffell (1835-1865) is the centerpiece of this story of his life and death at the Battle of Bentonville through his wartime letters. Other illustrations include the uniform coat at vest worn by Saffell at Bentonville, his sword and a hard-plate photograph of his brother, Sam, who served in the 63rd Tennessee Infantry and was killed at Petersburg.

Uncommon Soldiers: An album of faces from the Civil War (pp. 19-23)
Profiles and portarits of seven Confederate and Union soldiers include Pvt. Major Hezekiah Allen of the 13th Alabama Infantry, 2nd Lt. Robert Emmett Hitchcock of the U.S. Marine Corps, Sgt. Romaine Hart of the 108th New York Infantry and 22nd New York Cavalry, 1st Lt. Charlie E. Crow of Purcell’s Virginia Battery, Sgt. William Maxey of the 1st Illinois Cavalry and the 80th Illinois Infantry, and Pvt. George Lane of the 1st New Hampshire Infantry, 2nd U.S. Sharpshooters, 1st New Hampshire Light Battery and the 1st New Hampshire Heavy Artillery.

The Shippy Brothers: A New York Family at War by Mark Dunkelman (pp. 24-27)
The five Shippy boys of New York served with distinction during the Civil War. Two survived without injury: Eugene of the 85th Infantry, Aaron of the 13th Heavy Artillery. One brother, Leroy of the 64th Infantry, suffered wounds in the battles of Fair Oaks and Gettysburg. Another brother, Stanley of the 14th Heavy Artillery, was captured at Fort Stedman during the Petersburg Campaign. One brother paid the highest price: Augustus of the 154th New York Infantry was killed in action at Dug Gap, Ga. This is their story.

Uniforms & History by Michael J. McAfee (p. 29)
In “The Anderson Troop,” McAfee details the organization and distinctive uniform of this Pennsylvania cavalry unit. The story is illustrated with a carte de visite of Pvt. Louis Fagan and an unknown member of the Troop.

Stragglers (pp. 30-31)
Five images are included in this installment, including a group of three messmates, an antebellum daguerreotype, Union troops massed in a street, a sergeant wielding a broom and an outdoor scene with a bit of toilet humor.

Sutlers’ Row (p. 32)

Back cover
A circa 1855 daguerreotype from the Herb Peck Jr. Collection pictures a second lieutenant of the 10th U.S. Infantry.

 

Comments are closed.