#Battery G 1st US Artillery

[markerhunter]

Summary Statement, 2nd Quarter, 1863 – 1st Regiment, US Regulars

Summary Statement, 2nd Quarter, 1863 – 1st Regiment, US Regulars

So to start the review of the summary statements from the second quarter, 1863, the First Regiment of the US Artillery is appropriately at the front of the queue:

The batteries of the First were detailed to assignments across various theaters of war, though not to the Trans-Mississippi.  Looking at the administrative details by battery:

Battery A– Reporting at Port Hudson, Louisiana with four…

[ltwilliammowett]

Weapons at sea - Cannons

In ancient times ramming spurs were used on the hulls of ships to attack enemy ships. As the ships grew larger and heavier and the ram spur became less important, the ships were equipped with centrifugal devices, so that stone balls and arrow projectiles could be launched in the direction of the enemy. The Byzantines developed the so-called Greek fire as a special offensive weapon, which sprayed a burning liquid over a certain distance by means of a bundled jet. So-called fire lances have been used on Chinese warships since their first development in the 11th century. At that time, these handguns were initially still made of bamboo cane.

Despite these weapons, naval battles were fought mainly similar to land battles, i.e. in infantry man-to-man combat, where the ships served as floating battle platforms. Only with the invention of the black powder the fight was designed from man to man for the distance. In Europe cannons were common on ships since the 14th century. These were mainly weapons of small calibre, some of them breech loaders, as well as smaller colubrines, which were intended more for use against the crew than against the ship's hulls ('man-killers'). The first known use of ship guns took place in 1340 in the naval battle of Sluis. At that time there were galleys equipped with a gun at the bow (hunting cannons), but these ships were still intended for close combat by boarding.

The first heavier black powder guns to appear in the 15th century were bombards, which were varied and adapted to different functions over the following centuries. In the 15th century, the calibre of the cannons grew to such an extent that they could also be used effectively against the wooden side walls of the enemy ('ship-smashers'). In addition, more and more muzzle-loaders were used, which were cast from one piece of bronze and later iron.

Around the year 1500, gun ports were installed on sailing ships along the ship's hull, as the guns could no longer be placed high in the superstructures due to their higher weight. They fired over so-called piece ports in the broadside. In the beginning, the gun ports were still arranged directly above each other (for example in the Great Harry galleon of 1514) - it was only in the further development of the ship types that it was discovered that the so-called chessboard arrangement of the gates offered structural and tactical advantages. This development also led to the galley being replaced by the much more effective sailing warship. By the beginning of the 17th century, the development of muzzle-loading smoothbore artillery had been largely completed. The liner ships carried the majority of the guns on two or three continuous battery decks with the heaviest guns on the lowest deck. In the middle of the 17th century, according to English inventories, these were the so-called Cannons, Demi-cannons and Culverines, which fired 42, 32 and 18 pounds (19, 14.5 and 8.2 kg respectively) of heavy iron bullets. On the upper deck there were lighter cannons. Breech loaders existed only as small calibers or as outdated pieces.

The Muzzle Loader Cannon

A muzzle-loader gun is a thick-walled iron or bronze tube closed at the rear. The walls of a cannon tube are not even over the whole length, but reinforced in some places. The wall thickness of the ground field is greater, because the explosion of the propellant charge takes place inside the tube, the head frieze is a reinforcement, which should protect the muzzle of the tube from damage by the escaping explosive gasesThe shield pins cast horizontally onto the pipe are a little closer to the ground than to the head of the cannon. With its trunnions, the pipe is stored on the rapert or the gun carriage. The trunnions are mounted in such a way that the rear part of the gun is somewhat heavier, but should be balanced in such a way that the height direction can be changed with as little effort as possible.

The size of the calibre diameter is decisive for the proportioning of the cannons. The length of the barrel is measured by a certain number of calibre diameters, as are the wall thicknesses of the barrel or the diameters of the trunnions, etc.The bore of the tube is cylindrical and is called the "soul". In muzzle-loading cannons it was smooth until well into the 19th century, i.e. the barrel did not have any cut-in grooves that gave the projectile a twist, as had been known for some time with handguns. Of decisive importance for the firing accuracy of the cannon is the precise central position of the soul axis. The bore has a larger diameter than the projectile intended for the cannon. The difference is called "play". In the 18th century this was still comparatively large, which meant a reduction of the bullet velocity, because a larger part of the explosive gases escaped unused.

The term "muzzle-loader" results from the necessity to load pipes of the described form from the front, i.e. first to insert the propellant charge and then the projectile. The propellant charge is ignited through the ignition hole in the ground field, at the end of the soul.Some cannons and other guns have chambers. These are cylindrical or hemispherical receptacles for the propellant charge in the bottom of the gun. They have a smaller diameter than the soul bore

The smooth muzzle-loading cannon was the most important naval weapon until the middle of the 19th century. Although there were numerous gradual improvements, cannons and mountings were very similar from the 17th to the beginning of the 19th century. Already in the 17th century most of the ship cannons were made of cast iron, although this material had disadvantages for guns compared to bronze. Iron cannons needed somewhat larger wall thicknesses, so that they were heavier than corresponding cannons made of this material despite the higher density of bronze. Due to the brittleness of the material, iron cannons tended to crack, not to mention the corrosion, and iron is more difficult to drill than bronze. The decisive advantage of cast iron was its relatively low price. In the late 18th century, the price of a bronze cannon barrel was seven to eight times that of an iron cannon of the same calibre. At the end of the 17th century bronze cannons could only be found in the English navy on prestige ships such as liners of the 1st rank or royal yachts, but for cost reasons it was not possible to equip even the ships of the 1st rank completely with bronze tubes. 1717 there were in the British navy only on three ships of 1st rank bronze cannons. When in 1782 the Royal George (built 1756) sank, she was apparently the last ship of the Royal Navy with an extensive, but not complete equipment of bronze tubes. Her subbattery 42 pounds consisted of captured and bored French 36 pounds (because the French pound was heavier than the British pound, the calibre diameter was close to the British 42 pound). Contrary to some suppositions, the famous Victory of 1765 probably never had bronze cannons on board in its existence.

In the 18th century the Netherlands, Sweden and England were the centres of iron artillery casting. Although there were problems with quality in these countries at certain times, French iron guns remained notorious for being inferior in the long term. Major developments in gun-casting technology originated in England, so that Prussia, Russia and even France, among others, used British specialists to expand their capacities.Cannons were named after the weight of the iron full sphere which they fired. In the navies of the different nations similar cannon sizes developed, but the pounds were nationally different - a French 24-pounder shot a bigger, heavier bullet than a British 24-pounder.Common calibers in the 2nd half of the 18th century were:

Great Britain: 42, 32, 24, 18, 12, 9, 6, 4, 3 English pounds ball weight France: 48, 36, 24, 18, 12, 8, 6, 4 French pounds Sweden: 36, 24, 18, 12, 8, 6, 4, 3 Swedish pounds

Many calibres had two or three different tube lengths. The last British 42-pounders, which were set up in the subbatteries of first-rate triplane batteries, were replaced towards the end of the century by 32-pounders, which had been the most important liner gun for a long time, because of their sluggishness. Among the new French designs cast from 1787, there were no more 48-pounders. Still in 1780, however, some bronze 18-pounders and 48-pounders had been cast. The latter were intended as armament for two 110-cannon ships.At the other end of the scale disappeared up to the end of the 18th century still before the 4-pounder of the 3-pounders largely from the British ship armaments, although they were to be found on smaller, more irregular vehicles of the navy (rented) still after 1800. Lighter cannons on the superstructures, among which 6- or 9-pounders are to be counted, were often replaced after the distribution of the carronades by these with the same or lower weight of larger calibre guns.

The fields or pieces and sections of the pipe:

A-E: Long field ( Le troisième renfort, la volée). B-C: Neck ( le collet). F-H: Midfield, cone field ( Le deuxième renfort). F-G: Belt ( la ceinture). I-N: Ground field, chamber field ( Le premier renfort). M: Vent field (Champ de lumiére).

Further parts

O-P: Cascable (Culasse). P-Q: Grape (Bouton). R: Vent patch. S: Trunnions (Tourillons). U: Muzzle (Bouche).

Munition

The most important type of munition was the full iron ball, which could be used equally against the hull, rigging and crew. Chain balls (two iron hemispheres connected by a short chain) or rod balls (so-called bars) (two iron balls connected by rods) were fired especially for use against the rigging. In addition, at short distances against the enemy crew, cartridges or hail were used, for example to defend against boarding. Although the range of the cannons was up to 2 km, the chances of hitting beyond a few hundred meters were extremely low. Around 1800, most commanders of the British Navy trained their guns to fire as fast as possible and tried to fire at a distance of a few 10 metres, making it virtually impossible to pass by. The combination of open fire, open gunpowder and the wooden ships with ropes and bad luck offered many occasions to lose the ships by fire or explosion. At very short combat distances, there was a danger for both sides that the muzzle flash and the loading plugs would first catch the enemy and then their own ship on fire. The jump back of the pipes during firing was another danger potential on the decks overfilled with humans. The artillery of a sail warship was normally able to penetrate the side walls of a comparable enemy at short distances. Due to the small size of the cannons, however, it was difficult to sink an opponent of the same size. The effect of the cannons was particularly directed when shooting into the fuselage against the enemy armament and crew, with which the majority of the losses resulted from splinters of wood. By the loss of masts or rigging a ship could be shot maneuvering incapable. In many single fights, i.e. in fights far away from the great sea battles, the commander of a ship was anyway careful with relative caution, as a capsized ship including captured crew and cargo (pinch) brought him and his own crew a lot of pinch money under certain conditions.

[davidshawnsown]

The final battle - prelude (pt.1b)

(VFMAC being the location in Wayne, PA, wherein the movie was filmed 36 years ago, thus the fictional BHMA&JC of the film would have its halls named after those who took part in the battle that gave the school its name and the heroes of the American Revolutionary War)

Cadet Captain Shawn and Cadet 1st Lieutenant Riley carried a map of the area in which the academy was located to show the two senior cadet officers the locations in which the cadets together with alumni and supporters of the academy would be postioned in case the battle was about to begin. The cadet lieutenant told the senior officers: “Brian, Alex, within days the Pennslyvania Army National Guard and the State Police, plus the county police department, will be given the go ahead to end this stalemate and close the academy once and for all given what had happened to General Bache, even if it’s under new management or not. They will also plan to cut all supplies, power and water to this place, even as they keep coming thanks to our supporters, alumni and friends from here and abroad. We must plan now for this final battle, and I would like to call this plan Operation Breed’s Hill, after the very hill the namesake battle was fought.” 

The map showed where the over 3,000 cadets, alumni and civilian and military supporters were stationed in key areas where the ANG might deploy its forces to enforce the closure order.

The civilian supporters who have been camping near the superintendent’s residence would be ordered to be evacuated in case the Army National Guard and State Police advances, whereupon the alumni and reserve military personnel would be the first line of defense along the main road, if the ANG and SP enter they would fall back towards the gates, manned by reservist personnel who studied there and the Regimental Military Police. The 1st (Academy) Battalion’s senior cadets (from A & B Companies) would be stationed at the main building at Washington Hall while the middle school cadets of C Company would be stationed at the front of  Adams Hall, the new academy leadership, tactical offcers and staff would be stationed at Prescott Hall, and the machine gunners and a mortar of a platoon from Field Music Coy. (per British tradition) would be stationed in Franklin Hall. At Breed’s Field the cadet regimental command alongside some cadets from A & B Companies will stay with the middle school cadets at Adams Hall, together with 4 M105 and 2 M3 howitzers, 4 anti-tank guns mounted on Jeeps, 2 mortars and 2 anti-air machine guns defending the main entrance all manned by E Battery cadets plus 3 Hummers each from D Troop armed with M60 machine guns. 

At the southwest, deployed at Hancock Hall and the parade field are a delegation of cadets from JROTC and ROTC units in Pennslyvania who responded to the call to support the Bunker Hill cadets, these carried their equipment and some parents and friends with them plus tents, uniforms and civilian clothing, food and water, and were also given rifles, grenades and grenade launchers. The delegation of PA cadets numered around 320 cadets, 16 instructors and 10 tactical officers from JROTC units and 180 cadets and staff from the ROTC units with the state, with another 60 expected to arrive plus a company of 70 alumni from the state, and at the field 4 M105 and 2 M3 howitzers each, 4 anti-aircraft machine guns, 4 mounted anti-tank guns on Jeeps and 3 mortars were deployed by E Battery, guarded by a company of alumni who had served in the US Army field artillery and another 3 Hummers and 2 M113 APCs from D Troop.

At the northwest was another delegation from the JROTC, ROTC and military high schools in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut reinforced by active duty personnel on leave who had begun their careers as academy cadets and alumni from the states mentioned numbering around 491 cadets, 68 alumni and 89 active duty plus 92 reserve personnel who were graduates of military high schools and the academy who turned out in support, plus 2 mortars from the Field Music cadets, 3 machine guns from the same company and 3 M105s from E Battery. All were well equipped. Their area of defense was the academy chapel, Green Mountain Hall, Prescott Hall and Revere Hall. The main offices at Jefferson Hall were manned by F Company cadets from the Academy, some members of the new leadership team, plus former and retired tactical officers from the US Armed Forces and the Canadian Forces (48 present), 182 alumni from the southeastern states and 40 reservist alumni. Knox Hall was manned by the British Armed Forces tactical officers and NCOs (40 stationed) and a company of 80 cadets from the Duke of York’s Royal Military School sent by request of the British Officers’ Club, who also fear for their closure. Schulyer, Tallmage, Hale and Reed Halls were manned by a platoon from A Company plus the 2nd (College) Battalion, which had G, H and K Companies, plus 4 Hummers and  a M113 of D Troop and 3 mortars, 3 M105 and 2 M3 howitzers, and 2 anti-tank guns from E Battery plus 270 alumni from the Midwestern states and 70 from the Great Lakes states. The remaining 5 M105 and 8 M3 howitzers, 3 anti-aircraft guns and 4 mortars of the cadet battery, plus 4 M113s and 4 Hummers from the cavalry troop and the machine gunners and mortars of the Field Music company were posted near Warren Hall and the infirmary(where the regimental band, following British practice, was stationed as medical personnel to reinforce around 30 working there and 208 military medical personnel who had alumni or cadets who were in the academy) and northeast of Trumbull and Woodbridge Halls, together with around 170 alumni from the western states, Hawaii, Alaska and Puerto Rico. The Jones Hall at the southeast portion was manned by naval reservists, alumni who served in the Navy and Marine Corps, and another 80 cadets from Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. Up in the northwest were the stables and the athletic track where located west of the main road was another set of 3 M3 howitzers from E Battery, another 5 Hummers from D Troop, 2 mortars and some 200 international alumni and students who returned this time to support the cause of the cadets.I Troop had its Hummers, V-150s and Jeeps stationed in the east at Warren Hall as the reserve troop, alongside 4 M113s. All of them had some share in the equipment from the academy arsenals and from supporters and friends who supplied them during the stalemate.  Should the first line fall back, the cadets will fire from their positions should the ANG enter the gates and then pull back later first into the residencial halls and later towards Warren Hall while those at the athletic field and stables would be redeployed to reinforce the chapel defenses.

With the positions now manned and ready, the time had come to begin final plans for the arrival of the ANG contingent, while preparing to take the cause of the cadets to Congress and the national and state governments, now that they knew of General Bache’s demise and that some sectors were planning to take this issue forward to the press and to the politicians and military supporters.

[goldeagleprice]

Unusual Civil War vintage notes

By Mark Hotz

Last month, I brought to you a very interesting American short snorter of World War II vintage, this one belonging to none other than John A. Roosevelt, youngest son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who served as a naval officer in the Pacific toward the end of the war. This month we will look at the Civil War.

This $1 bank note issued by the Girard Bank of Philadelphia (later the Girard National Bank) was found on the body of a dead Federal colonel at the Battle of Seven Pines, Va., in 1862.

Here is the back of the Girard Bank $1 note, with the inscription by Pvt. J.G. Stewart of the Confederate Mobile Cadets regiment.

Inscribed currency from the Civil War is rather hard to find, notwithstanding the occasional Confederate piece with someone’s attempted forgery of Robert E. Lee’s signature scrawled upon it. I have in my collection several unusual items of Civil War vintage. The first that I will present to you is a $1 bank note of the Girard Bank of Philadelphia, dated Jan. 9, 1862. Inscribed in bold pen on the back is the following:

“This Note was given / to Mrs. Celia Coe / By J. G. Stewart of / the Mobile Cadets/ He took it out of / a Federal Cols. / Pocket on the Battle / field of the Seven / Pines the first Battle / he was ever in / given to her at / Winchester Virginia / October 21st 1862.”

I am sure many of you can see how this item certainly piqued my interest, and my excitement was palpable when I obtained it. I initiated an Internet search in an effort to find out more about J.G. Stewart and the mysterious Mobile Cadets. After a short but determined inquiry, I found some information that really brought the item to life.

The Mobile Cadets were none other than Company A, 3rd Alabama Infantry Regiment. The Mobile Cadets consisted of volunteers from Mobile County, Ala., and was the very first company to volunteer to serve the Confederacy. The 3rd Alabama was the first regiment from that state to offer its services to the Confederate cause and the first to be sent to Virginia for mustering duties. Jones M. Withers was elected its first colonel.

The 3rd Alabama had been held in reserve in Norfolk for almost a year without seeing any action. Its “baptism of fire” came on June 1, 1862, at the battle known as Seven Pines to the Confederates and Fair Oaks to the Federals. This battle was part of the great Peninsula Campaign in which the Union Army, under the command of Gen. George McClellan, came within 10 miles of Richmond but failed to capture it.

This photo shows Battery B of the 1st New York Light Artillery at the Battle of Seven Pines.

This vintage postcard shows the entrance to the Civil War cemetery at Seven Pines.

The 3rd Alabama, with the Mobile Cadets as Company A, was held in reserve the first day of the of the battle (May 31, 1862), but was thrown into the fight and badly cut up on June 1, losing 38 killed in action and 122 wounded. Two weeks later, the regiment was made part of General Daniel Hills’ Division and took part in battles before Richmond. When the Confederates advanced across the Potomac in September, the 3rd Alabama was the first Confederate regiment to plant the Stars and Bars flag in Maryland. It was engaged in heavy fighting at Boonsboro and Antietam before retreating with the rest of the army into the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

On one website, I was able to find a roster roll of the 3rd Alabama Infantry Regiment. All of the men were listed alphabetically, with their company and rank. Eagerly and with anticipation, I scrolled down to “S.” Stewart had been in Company A, the Mobile Cadets. He had enlisted as a private and ended his service as a sergeant. There was no indication of whether he had been wounded or killed.

It was very exciting to be able to make this currency-related relic come alive. At least now I knew something about Pvt. Stewart and his unit. I do not know his relationship to Mrs. Celia Coe, but I can surmise from the date inscribed that the regiment had been regrouping in Winchester after the Battle of Antietam. Perhaps Stewart had been billeted in Mrs. Coe’s home?

I have yet to determine the identity of the officer from whose pocket the note was taken, but how many colonels of Philadelphia units could have fallen at Seven Pines? If any readers can offer any further assistance here, I would be grateful.

This 10-cent currency note issued by the Corporation of Winchester, Va., in 1861 was taken from Colonel Robert F. Baldwin, commander of the 31s Regiment of Virginia Infantry, when he was captured at the Battle of Bloomery Gap, Feb. 14, 1862.

The back of the Corporation of Winchester note with the inscription indicating that note was taken from Col. Baldwin on his capture. The Federal forces referred to the battle as Blooming Gap at the time, though the real location was Bloomery Gap.

The next item I’ll present to you I was very fortunate to find just in the last month. While visiting an out-of-state coin shop, I came across a Corporation of Winchester, Virginia, 10-cent note issued Oct. 4, 1861. This in itself is not a rare note and can generally be found on the market for a very reasonable price. However, when I turned it over, I found a most interesting pen inscription, which resulted in my adding this note to my collection. It read as follows:

“This was found upon the person of Col. Baldwin, on his being made prisoner at Blooming Gap.”

Above the ink inscription, in a far less sophisticated hand, and in pencil, was scrawled “Col. Baldwin Blooming Gap.” This looked all very intriguing to me, and though I had never heard of Blooming Gap, I thought it was worth researching.

Here is what I learned. It turned out that what the Federals called Blooming Gap was actually known as Bloomery Gap, and a battle took place there on Feb. 14, 1862. Early in 1862, Confederate raids and attacks put Hampshire County, Va. (now West Virginia) and much of the surrounding area under nominal Southern control. The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and nearby telegraph wires were severed, impeding Federal troop movements.

A militia brigade under Col. Jacob Sencendiver, 67th Virginia Militia, occupied Bloomery Gap to threaten the railroad and Union-occupied territory near the Potomac River. To drive them out, Union Gen. Frederick W. Lander led a mixed force of infantry and cavalry south from Paw Paw, Morgan County, on the afternoon of Feb. 13. He intended to strike Sencendiver’s position at dawn the next morning, but bad weather and high water delayed him long enough for the Confederate pickets to give warning.

Sencendiver hastily ordered the wagons packed and sent east while posting the 31st Virginia Infantry to block Lander’s advance. Lander led the charge of part of the 1st West Virginia Cavalry (Union), overrunning and scattering the Virginians and capturing many officers and men, as well as the wagon train. Sencendiver rallied the 67th and 78th Regiments, however, and recaptured the wagons. The Federals returned to Paw Paw while the Confederates marched to Pughtown, leaving the railroad and telegraph lines open for the day. Sencendiver soon reoccupied the gap.

This lithograph of a Federal Cavalry charge, ostensibly at Bloomery Gap, was published in ‘Harper’s Weekly’ in February 1862.

The battle routed the Confederates, who lost 13 killed and 65 captured. Among the officers captured was none other than Col. Robert F. Baldwin, commander of the 31st Virginia Infantry regiment. Baldwin and his staff were surprised by the Federal cavalry, and Baldwin surrendered to Gen. Lander personally. A report submitted by Sencendiver to the Headquarters of the 16th Brigade, Virginia Militia, on Feb. 17, included a reference to Col. Baldwin:

“Our advanced pickets came in about daylight and reported the enemy advancing upon us in large force. I gave orders to have the baggage packed immediately and the men prepared to meet the enemy and repulse him if possible. The Thirty-first Regiment, Colonel Baldwin, being quartered nearer the point from where the enemy was advancing than the balance of the command, rushed hurriedly to meet him…Our loss, I regret to say, is over 50 officers and privates missing. Annexed is a list of officers captured: Col. R. F. Baldwin, Thirty-first Regiment; Capts. William Baird, acting assistant adjutant-general, and G. M. Stewart, Eighty-ninth Regiment…”

Baldwin was eventually sent as a prisoner to Fort Warren, located in Boston Harbor. On May 16, 1862, Brig. General Lorenzo Thomas, Adjutant General of the Union Army, sent the following message to Col. J. Dimmick, commander at Fort Warren: “SIR: You are authorized and directed to transfer Colonel R.F. Baldwin, Thirty-first Virginia Regiment, now in your custody, to Gen. Wool at Fortress Monroe, to be held by him for exchange of Colonel Corcoran, now a prisoner at Richmond.”

At the same time, Thomas wrote to Maj. Gen. John E. Wool, commander of Fortress Monroe to that effect, adding “…Upon his (Baldwin’s) arrival at Fortress Monroe, you will notify the rebel officer nearest to you that he is there to be exchanged for Colonel Corcoran, now a prisoner in Richmond, and upon the arrival of the latter at Fortress Monroe, you are authorized to release Colonel Baldwin.”

Col. Corcoran was the commander of the 69th New York Infantry Regiment who had been captured at First Bull Run. I have not been able to trace Baldwin after the point of his exchange, which took place in August. The 10-cent note that I acquired was obviously taken from the colonel’s possessions. The penciled inscription was probably made at the time by the soldier who was responsible for searching the colonel. Later, the pen inscription was added. But what an interesting story it is. The Battle of Bloomery Gap was a small one-day affair, and this note may well be the sole remaining souvenir of that fight.

This photo shows the Battle of Bloomery Gap historical marker, located on WV State Route 172 in front of the Bloomery Gap Presbyterian Church.

Today, the Battle of Bloomery Gap is largely forgotten, with just a historical marker placed in front of the Bloomery Gap Presbyterian Church on West Virginia Route 127 in Bloomery, located just across the line from Virginia, about 20 miles northwest of Winchester. I have included a photo.

Readers may address questions or comments about this article to Mark Hotz directly by email at markbhotz@aol.com.

  This article was originally printed in Bank Note Reporter. >> Subscribe today.

  More Collecting Resources

• Order the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money, General Issues to learn about circulating paper money from 14th century China to the mid 20th century.

• Any coin collector can tell you that a close look is necessary for accurate grading. Check out this USB microscope today!

The post Unusual Civil War vintage notes appeared first on Numismatic News.

[esprit-de-corps-magazine]

THE BATTLE OF VIMY RIDGE: PART 2: A Calculated Artillery Barrage Precedes The Assault

(Volume 24-4)

By Bob Gordon

In the pre-dawn darkness of Easter Monday, April 9, 1917, the weather took a turn for the worse. Sunday’s spring-like conditions turned foul. Lieutenant-Colonel G. R. Stevens noted in the 49th Battalion War Diary that “the weather became an ally; the temperature fell and a northwest gale blew snow into the faces of the Germans.”

Minutes before 0530 hours the sound of the Canadian guns abruptly ceased. “There had been an ordinary amount of night firing, our batteries and machine-gun fire. But about five minutes before Zero Hour, there had been an eerie, almost complete silence,” Lieutenant Leonard Youell of the 43rd Battery Canadian Field Artillery told historian Pierre Berton. Youell continued, “Then the most deafening roar and display of fireworks you’ve ever seen in your life.” Private Lewis Duncan wrote his aunt Sarah one week later that “5:30 came and a great light lit the place, a light made up of innumerable flickering tongues.” On the 3rd Division front, LCol Stevens wrote: “On the stroke of 0530 hours, a bombardment of terrifying intensity burst on the enemy forward position … From the German lines multi-coloured rockets soared in mute appeals for aid.”

With the launch of the infantry assault the Canadian artillery shifted to a creeping barrage. It had 40 separate lifts scheduled. At Zero Hour it concentrated on the German front line; at plus three minutes the barrage lifted from the German front line to the support line; at plus eight minutes it moved to the Black Line, the main German defences. The troops were to arrive at the summit directly behind the last lift, accompanied through the German defences by the destructive power of the artillery.

The advance of the creeping barrage could not be altered once the attack started. The infantry had to keep up with it. Nor could they get ahead of schedule. Private Alex Gerrard of the 1st Canadian Rifles noted that following too close to the barrage also had risks. “Some of our boys got going faster than the shells and they hit a lot of our men with ‘friendly’ shrapnel. They got caught in the barrage from the batteries behind us.”

On the right, the 1st Canadian Division had the longest distance to cover, about four kilometres up a gradual slope to Farbus Wood. Next, 2nd Division had the same distance to advance, their objective being the summit above the village of Vimy. La Folie Wood, after a two-kilometre advance, was the objective of the 3rd Canadian Division. The Division had to fight its way up a steepening slope and through a complex of German strongpoints to get there.

On the far left of the Canadian attack, with Hill 145 on the right and ‘The Pimple’ on the left, the steepest slope was the 4th Division’s front. Hill 145 was to be captured immediately to prevent enfilade fire on the left flank of the 3rd Division. The Pimple was to be assaulted on day two of the attack by the 10th Canadian Infantry Brigade. The 4th Division had the shortest distance to cover, less than a kilometre, but faced the steepest slope, worst terrain and the strongest defences on the entire ridge.

On the 1st Division front the leading platoons of the 2nd Brigade had crept into no man’s land before Zero Hour. The success of the 1st Division attacks is largely attributable to this decision and the valour of the individual infantrymen who crept into no man’s land early. The attack was supported by the explosion of two large mines under the trenches of the defending Bavarian Infantry Regiment. “Before the stuff had stopped falling, we had to man the lip of the crater that was caused,” remembered George Alliston of the 7th (British Columbia) Battalion.

The need to stick to the schedule and keep up with the barrage was in the forefront of Lance-Corporal Jack Pinson’s mind. Pinson later told a CBC interviewer that “On the way through we’d run into German machine-gun posts. We’d bomb them out or clean them out with rifle fire … We were in a big hurry. We had a timetable to keep to.” The War Diary of the 5th Battalion later noted that the training had served its purpose and the Canadians were well informed and well led, even when their officers and non-coms became casualties. “Casualties among officers and NCOs were extremely heavy, but at no time were there wanting natural leaders to carry the work forward with speed to success.”

On the far right of the Canadian assault, the southernmost unit was the 13th Battalion. One of its members, Private Roy Henley, was the youngest participant in the attack. In 1915 he lied about his age, claiming to have been born in 1898 rather than 1901, and enlisted. At Vimy Ridge he was barely 16. Interviewed in his 80s, he attributed his courage to “the rum jar … You could go and lick your weight in wildcats after that!” With a bullet hole in his canteen, two in his kilt, and a sock torn by a ricochet, he was eventually hit by shrapnel, ending up at the neighbouring 51st Highland Division (British) casualty clearing station. By the time this boy soldier was receiving medical attention, his comrades were at their final objectives and staring over Vimy Ridge into the Douai Plain with the slag heaps of Lens on the horizon.

In the 25th Battalion, on the 2nd Division front, the crucial moment for Frank MacGregor came with the order to fix bayonets. “The locking ring on a bayonet is a little loose. When the order to fix bayonets went along the line, you’d think there were a thousand bees humming. The trembling. Waiting.” Captain Claude Williams of the 6th Brigade Machine Gun Company and formerly a medical student from Hamilton, Ontario later told Pierre Berton that everyone’s highest priority was to maintain the synchronization with the barrage. “The orders were that in no circumstances was anybody to stop to do anything for the wounded — to help them, to carry them out, doing anything — it would break up the line.” For a former medical student, the order to not stop to help the wounded must have been heartrending.

At 0645 hours the 21st and 25th Battalions passed through the first wave of attackers into Les Tilleuls on their way to the Red Line northeast of the town. Thirty minutes later they were digging in on their objective. The quick leap forward had cost the two battalions 468 casualties.

The third wave of attackers then entered the fray. The 31st Battalion led the attack on Thelus and on to the Blue Line. The unit war diary attests to the effectiveness of the Canadian guns: “Buildings were demolished, trenches obliterated and wire smashed to atoms. There was hardly an inch of ground that did not bear witness to the tremendous effect of our guns.” By 1020 hours, less than five hours after Zero Hour, they were digging in on the Blue Line, and well on their way to the crest of the ridge.

At 1415 hours elements of the 27th and 29th Battalions fired three white rockets, indicating that they had successfully attained their objective: the Brown Line running from the summit near the village of Vimy to Farbus. By mid-afternoon units of both the 1st and 2nd Canadian Infantry Divisions were looking northeast over the Douai Plain, a view the Allies had been denied for almost three years.

The only aspect of the assault on the 2nd Division front that could be deemed a total failure was the effort to introduce armoured vehicles or tanks. This failed miserably. The 2nd Division assault was supported by eight Mark I tanks of the British Heavy Branch Machine Gun Corps. The tanks were armed with five machine guns and carried 30,000 rounds of ammunition. A variety of roles were foreseen for the tanks. They were to provide mobile firepower against dugouts and resistance nests: they were to provide some cover for the advancing infantrymen; and they were intended to crush barbed wire entanglements and hasten the advance of the infantry.

They proved, in practical terms, underwhelming. On foot Captain Claude Williams, commanding officer of 6th Brigade Machine Gun Company, advanced across no man’s land faster than the tanks. “The tanks were mired,” sniper L. R. Fennell, 27th (Winnipeg) Battalion, told CBC Radio years later. “They had tent posts and everything else wired to their racks, but [the tracks] were just turning around through the mud and the tanks weren’t making any headway.” Three of them were subsequently destroyed by German artillery fire. Ultimately, none of the new vehicles even made it across no man’s land.

On the 3rd Division front Private Harold Barker, a scout with the Royal Canadian Regiment, learned that being on schedule meant keeping up with the barrage but not getting ahead of it. “When we were going over the rehersal [sic] tapes at Bruay in the rear, we had to wait so long for the barrage to lift, but I didn’t think anything about that. I kept on going. I was too fast.” Caught in the Canadian barrage, he was wounded by shrapnel in the mouth, chest, back and leg and knocked out of the rest of the day’s action.

Advancing on the 3rd Division front, Gus Sivertz of the 2nd Canadian Mounted Rifles felt pressed downwards by the hail of lead. “We were dancing a macabre dance as our nerves vibrated to the thousands of shells and machine gun bullets,” recalled Sivertz. “I felt that if I had put my finger up, I should have touched a ceiling of sound.”

Private Alex Gerrard, the number two man on a Lewis gun crew, was struck not by the noise, but by the colourful German response. German flares, signalling an attack, made “streaks of reds and yellows and greens — like fireworks. It was like a coloured hail storm.” Bitterly, Lieutenant Fred James of the 2nd (Eastern Ontario) Battalion later wrote, “It was a display that made the [Canadian National] Exhibition seem like a joke. It made me think how foolish I had been to pay 25 cents to see some sputtering illuminants.”

Blind saps running forward from the Grange Subway — a tunnel system approximately 800 metres in length that had connected the reserve lines to the front line — were blown and Canadian troops had direct access to the Duffield and Durrand craters in no man’s land. The 3rd Division advanced so fast that the desultory German artillery fire fell largely behind the advancing Canadians and caused few casualties amongst the assault troops.

The biggest problem that the 3rd Division encountered was Hill 145. The promontory was actually on the 4th Division front, but immediately adjacent to the 3rd Division’s left flank. Throughout the morning, positions on the hill directed artillery and mortar fire on the 3rd Division’s advance while enfilade fire from machine guns swept through the ranks. Despite the heavy casualties, the 3rd Division fought itself toward the summit of Vimy Ridge throughout the morning. Speed moving through the kill zone and synchronization with the creeping barrage were the key elements of the 3rd Division’s rapid success, and by the end of the afternoon its leading elements had reached their objectives and joined their comrades in the 1st and 2nd Divisions along the crest of the ridge.

For the first three divisions of the Canadian Corps the attack on Vimy Ridge came off like clockwork. Casualties were well below predicted numbers and the advance went much like it had over the tapes on the practice fields in the weeks before the attack. Along the front, the Canadians attained their objectives on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Division fronts.

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Summary Statement, 4th Quarter, 1863 – Mississippi: Marine Brigade and USCT

Summary Statement, 4th Quarter, 1863 – Mississippi: Marine Brigade and USCT

The next section in the forth quarter, 1863 summary has a heading of “Mississippi”:

Even a cursory read of Civil War history tells us Mississippi was decidedly “Confederate.” Indeed, the second state to secede. There were unionists in Mississippi… not a whole lot in number… enough to constitute a battalion of mounted infantry starting in 1863. However, what we see listed under this heading…

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Summary Statement, 2nd Quarter, 1863 – 1st Tennessee Light Artillery

No surprise to Civil War students that Tennessee contributed troops to the Union cause.  While the infantry and cavalry receive their due, the artillery batteries are seldom mentioned.  And if we work from the summary statements for second quarter of 1863, that contribution was worthy only of a blank line:

1st Battery Tennessee Artillery…. but there were actually two such 1st Batteries in…