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Mac Wyckoff's Retirement Dinner
Rappahannock Valley Civil War Round Table Newsletter September 2008, Volume 5, Issue 8
Speaker: Mac Wyckoff Topic: The Making of a Civil War Historian When: Monday, September 8, 2008 Location: Brock’s Riverside Grill Times: Social: 6:30 p.m.; Dinner: 6:45 p.m.; Meeting begins: 7:30 p.m. *** SEPTEMBER PROGRAM: THE MAKING OF A CIVIL WAR HISTORIAN For many years, Mac Wyckoff has spoken and written biographical sketches of participants in the Civil War. At the September 11th meeting, Mac will give an autobiographical sketch of himself. Mac graduated from Linfield College in McMinnville, Oregon. He worked for several years for the Oregon State Parks System, including a year as the first Historian at Fort Stevens State Park. The fort has the distinction of being the only fortification in the 48 adjacent states to be shelled by a foreign enemy since the War of 1812. His interest in coastal fortifications led to a 180 work day appointment at Fort Sumter National Monument. Mac became the first civilian to live in the fort. It was also here that he developed an interest in the Civil War. He then did living history interpretation on the Natchez Trace Parkway in Mississippi before being hired as a permanent employee at the National Visitor Center in Washington DC’s Union Station. Six weeks later, the National Park Service was kicked out of the station and most of the employees, including Mac, were sent to the National Mall. He worked evening shifts at the Washington Monument, and at the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. Mac left the National Park Service in the spring of 1979 to get married and to live in his beloved Oregon. Two years later he rejoined the National Park Service as a Historian at Shiloh. After two and a half years of work at that great battlefield he moved to Chickamauga and Chattanooga. In October of 1986, Mac transferred to Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park. Up until this point, Mac had worked at some incredibly interesting historical sites with some very good people. But he had never worked with serious Civil War Historians until he came to Fredericksburg. It was here that he learned about being a Historian – how to research and to write history, how to give lectures and to lead battlefield tours. Still it was those years prior to coming to Fredericksburg that laid the ground work for becoming a historian. Mac’s power point program will focus on those places and experiences he had before his arrival in Fredericksburg in 1986.. *** THE UNCIVIL WAR: IRREGULAR OPERATIONS IN ARKANSAS A Review of the August Program by Greg Mertz At our August meeting, retired Lt. Colonel Robert Mackey told round table members about irregular operations in Arkansas, in what he called “the uncivil war.” His title came from a quote by Ozark Mountain resident Thomas Estes, who when compiling his memoirs, wrote “We come now to the Civil War – so called. Although I saw quite a bit of it, I could never see the civil part, but I did see a lot of the uncivil part.” Except for a few skirmishes, Arkansas’ soil had avoided major fighting during the first year of the war. “Within a year, however, the war had not only spilled over Arkansas’ borders,” Mackey observed, “it would change every aspect of life in the state for the next century and a half.” In 1862, Federal forces under General Samuel Curtis invaded Arkansas with the goal of being the first to capture the capital of a southern state. After his victory over Confederate General Earl Van Dorn at Pea Ridge on March 7-8, 1862, no Confederate army stood between Curtis and the capital at Little Rock. Arkansas governor Henry M. Rector was frantic. He wanted Confederate President Jefferson Davis to return to the state those Arkansas troops then serving with Confederate General Albert S. Johnston, who was gathering an army together at Corinth, Mississippi. Rector went so far as to threaten to arrange peace with the north, if Davis did not respond. Instead of sending troops, Davis sent Confederate General Thomas Hindman to command the Trans-Mississippi Department. Hindman had been promoted to a major general after being disabled in the Battle of Shiloh, and proved to be quite innovative. Using a letter from Davis granting Hindman rather wide authority, he signed a script to procure funds from a Memphis Bank, using it to purchase guns to arm men he hoped would flock to the defense of Little Rock. He used misinformation by allowing the Federals to “capture” a mail bag containing letters falsely indicating that Little Rock was defended by many more Confederates than it actually was. Hindman also issued General Orders 17, calling upon the people of Arkansas to help in resisting Curtis’s advance. Also known as the “bands of ten order,” it authorized groups of ten or fewer men to harass the Federal advance and raid Union supply lines. These men were not trained or disciplined soldiers – they were civilians recently turned soldiers. The result was what Estes and Mackey called “the uncivil war.” Local citizens also suffered from the acts of these unconventional soldiers. Arkansas had a substantial pro-union population, and many of them fled to Missouri as refugees. Pro-confederates and their slaves predominantly fled to Texas. So many people left the area that Mackey termed it the greatest migration of civilians prior to the dustbowl. The woods, hills and swamps of Arkansas and southern Missouri made it easy for small parties of soldiers to conceal themselves. Hindman’s idea for the bands of ten had worked. Curtis turned back from his advance on Little Rock as he slowly ran out of supplies. As Curtis withdrew, northern Arkansas and southern Missouri became a “no man’s land.” When the Federal presence returned, it did so with the Federal 1st Arkansas Cavalry. The regiment was formed at Springfield, Missouri, in the southwest portion of the state, where many pro-union Arkansas refugees had settled. One of the first actions for the Federal 1st Arkansas Cavalry was to be routed by the Confederate 1st Arkansas Cavalry in the December 7, 1862, Battle of Prairie Grove, in northwest Arkansas. From early 1863 the Federal 1st Arkansas Cavalry was engaged as an anti-guerrilla force. They destroyed hideouts and patrolled the area, trying to catch bands of irregular Confederate troops. The area was so large that they were not very successful in capturing or killing Confederate guerillas. Since fresh horses were essential for the troops of both sides, many of the skirmishes to erupt occurred at horse corals. One of the Federal strategies was to punish local civilian groups that supported Confederate guerrillas. This not only didn’t work well, but also resulted in the property of some of the pro-Federal civilians to be damaged by the troops they supported. One such example occurred at Batesville, Arkansas -- a cotton town on the White River. Federal gunboats bombarded Batesville, even though it was a pro-Union town. Confederate guerillas had made it a point to fire upon Federal gunboats on the White River from Batesville, knowing that the Federal reaction would be to shell the town. The Federal 1st Arkansas Cavalry established “farm colonies” among the Federal home guards. Established farms were less than a day’s ride apart, redoubts were built with small villages inside. The men worked the farm during the day and stayed inside the protection of the redoubt at night. The Federal 1st Arkansas Cavalry used the farm colonies for bases as they patrolled the area. President Lincoln hoped that some of the Confederate states, such as Arkansas might be brought back into the Union voluntarily, but retaliating against the civilians who harbored Confederate irregulars pushed the pro-Confederates further away. Grist mills were some of the prominent hideouts for the Confederate guerrillas, but when the Federal 1st Arkansas Cavalry burned them, the local corn and wheat farmers who relied upon the grist mills to grind their grain into meal and flour were harmed. The fighting was often personal. Particular Banks were burned to destroy the mortgage records of the families of the soldiers. Troopers of one side would destroy the church to which troopers on the other side belonged. As further evidence of how bad some of these guerillas were, when Jo Shelby and Basil Marmaduke absorbed the Confederate irregulars into their commands for Sterling Price’s raid into Missouri in the fall of 1864. They hung several of the Arkansas ruffians for their atrocities to civilians, but retained the James and Younger gang because they weren’t as ruthless. When the war ended, it was impossible for these neighbors who fought each other and destroyed each other’s property during the war to live together peaceably. “For Arkansas the uncivil war left a lasting legacy” concluded Mackey, “which scars never truly healed.” *** SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2008 - Tickets are still available - The cost is only $ 80.00 per person; (Note::$ 30.00 is tax deductible); proceeds go to the RVCWRT Scholarship Fund. Reminder: The cost will increase to $ 85.00 after October 4, 2008 and remember this is “First Come; First Served” This is one bus tour you won’t want to miss! The highlight of the trip will be a special guided tour of the USS Monitor Exhibit by members of the NOAA dive team that retrieved the USS Monitor turret, now under conservation/restoration. During the ride down, Marc Thompson will conduct a seminar on the Battle of Hampton Roads, and review the associated Civil War land engagements and political actions of this time period. The bus departs from the Gordon Road Commuter Lot at 7:30 a.m.; we’ll utilize the I-64 rest area and arrive about 10 a.m. in Newport News. Upon arrival our tour will break into 2 groups. Each group will alternate a 2.5 hour tour of the USS Monitor Exhibit and a 2.5 hour tour by docents of the Mariner’s Museum. After a box lunch at Holly Tree Overlook on Lake Maury, the groups will switch tours for the afternoon. After visiting the Gift Shop from 4 to 4:30 p.m., we’ll return home with arrival about 7 p.m. that evening. The $ 80.00 fee includes the bus ride, a box lunch, the museum fee, and the donation to the RVCWRT Scholarship Fund. Reservations or additional information can be acquired via e-mail to Bob Jones @ 3dognight@bigplanet.com or by telephoning him @ 540-399-1702. *** The new RVCWRT ball caps have arrived! Anyone that had reserved a ball cap can contact Conway Richardson to arrange for delivery or just come to our September 8th dinner meeting. Conway will have them available at the dinner. Reminder: there are only nine ball caps remaining that are not reserved, and anyone who wants a ball cap should contact Conway at 540-548-2112. The cost is only $12.00 per cap. Please note, to see what the caps look like, refer to the adjacent photo of the professional model wearing one of the ball caps.
Remember: September 20th is our Annual Picnic and we’ll meet at Hayfield Manor, along the Rappahannock River at 3:00 p.m. for house tours. Bring lawn chairs for your tour wait. We’ll depart Hayfield Manor at 5:00 p.m. for our scheduled picnic buffet at Brock’s Riverside. This will be from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. The cost of the picnic is $18.00 per person payable on or before the picnic. To make your reservations just telephone Bob Jones @ 540-399-1702 or via e-mail @ 3dognight@bigplanet.com General directions to Hayfield Manor; from I-95 take Exit 126 (Toward Massaponox on Route 17), this is the Spotsylvania exit. Follow Route 17 South for approximately 11 miles, turn left into the Parking Lot for ‘Hayfield Plant’ Aggregate Industries, their sign is on left,
*** THE HUMAN SIDE OF THE WARRIOR: THE STORY OF CHARLES LEWIS By Mac Wyckoff There were probably 250,000 Civil War soldiers who fought in the battles around Fredericksburg. With that many people, odds are that some of these men led important and/or interesting lives. Among the more interesting stories is the one of Charles Lewis (AKA Dennis Daily). Lewis was born in New York about 1835. In 1855 he enlisted in the famous 2nd U.S. Cavalry commanded by Albert Sidney Johnston. He spent time on the western frontier, advancing from private to lieutenant. He participated in this unit’s Utah Expedition against the Mormons. During the Civil War, he fought in the August 10, 1861 Battle of Wilson’s Creek, Missouri. His commanding officer’s report on the battle twice mentions Lewis’s gallant and efficient service. In the middle of 1862, the 2nd U.S. Cavalry accompanied General U.S. Grant’s army into northern Mississippi and Lewis became acting Provost Marshall in Holly Springs. Lewis was very popular among the local citizens. He was described as an “educated, polished gentleman, courteous and polite to all.” He protected the civilians, cut down on marauding, thievery, and misconduct by stragglers. While his courteous actions pleased the locals, he was neglected and snubbed by his fellow Union officers. Taking offense at this treatment, he resigned on September 23, 1862 in Memphis. While in Memphis, his life took a dramatic turn. He met a Confederate Lieutenant Colonel identified in most of the records as A.J. Woods who was being held as a prisoner of war. On January 30, 1863, Lewis accepted a bribe to help Woods escape. After accepting the money and helping Woods escape, Lewis betrayed Woods by turning him in. The next night, apparently fearing that Woods would rat on him, Lewis walked into Woods’s cell and shot him. Lewis was arrested on four charges: 1) kidnapping of a man and woman; 2) aiding and abetting the escape of a prisoner of war; 3) receiving a bribe; 4) murder of A.J. Woods. Lewis was convicted of kidnapping and murder and sentenced to death by hanging. In almost all of the documentation, the murdered man is referred to as Lieutenant Colonel A.J. Woods. While there were ten Confederate soldiers with the name A.J. Woods, five with the name Andrew J. Woods and one with the name Andrew Jackson Woods, none of them held the rank of Lieutenant Colonel (the highest was sergeant). However, several of the court martial records identify the murdered man as Lieutenant Colonel Balch of Forrest’s cavalry. A Lieutenant Colonel Robert M. Balch served in the 3rd Tennessee Cavalry under Forrest and the website for this unit indicates that Balch’s name disappears from the records in February, 1863 a few days after the murder. On February 25, 1863, Lewis escaped from prison and fled to Holly Springs. At the recruiting station he admitted killing Woods (Balch). This presented a problem for the Confederate authorities to accept him into service until approval of the Secretary of War. Formal approval of the enlistment came in late June, 1863. In the meantime, Lewis, probably because of his kind service to the citizens of Holly Springs, was accepted by the Holly Springs recruiters into Company B, 17th Mississippi of General William Barksdale’s Brigade. Lewis joined the unit in Fredericksburg. During the Second Battle of Fredericksburg on May 3, 1863, this regiment held a position on the side of Lee Hill that was overrun by Union attackers. By the Battle of Gettysburg, Lewis had been formally accepted into Confederate service and he performed with distinguished gallantry in that battle. During the spring and summer of 1863, the United States government tried to track down Lewis. Hearing that Lewis had enlisted in a Confederate cavalry unit, the government sent a formal inquiry to the Confederate Secretary of War. This office denied having a man by that name in their service. Lewis’s luck ran out on September 20, 1863 in the Battle of Chickamauga. He was mortally wounded and died on October 5, 1863 in a hospital in Marietta. His comrades who had only known him a few months did not know how to contact Lewis’s relatives. Eventually a man named Michael V. Daily made inquiries at the U.S. War Department asking what became of his son, Dennis Daily also known as Charles Lewis. This case intrigued a number of Civil War veterans who tried to straighten out this complex story, complicated by the confusion over names. The case lay dormant for many years until Fredericksburg resident Joe Haydon started digging into the story and presented his findings to me to write this article. My thanks to Joe for his diligent homework. *** THERE’S STILL TIME TO SIGNUP FOR OUR OCTOBER DINNER MEETING DISCUSSION Those Chapters selected for discussion at our October dinner meeting are listed below. Please select one of the designated discussion groups and a backup group, then send your selections to Bob Jones @ 3dognight@bigplanet.com The Parts are divided into the selected chapters and each Chapter notes the individual leading the discussion group for that chapter “The Cause Lost Myths and Realities of the Confederacy” By William C. Davis Part One: Jefferson Davis and His Generals Chapter 2: Davis, Johnston, and Beauregard: The Triple Play that Crippled the Confederacy Discussion to be led by Greg Martin Chapter 3: Davis and Lee: Partnership for Success Discussion to be led by John Griffiths Part Two: Forgotten WarsChapter 5: A Different Kind of War: Fighting in the West Discussion to be led by Dan Augustine Chapter 6: Forgotten Wars: The Confederate Trans-Mississippi Discussion to be led by Greg Mertz Part Three: Excuses, Turning Points, and Defeats Chapter 7: Lost Will, Lost Causes Discussion to be led by Jim Smithfield Chapter 8: The Turning Point That Wasn’t: The Confederates and the Election of 1864 Discussion to be led by Bob Pfile Chapter 9: John C. Breckinridge and the Confederate Defeat Discussion to be led by Marc Thompson ***
MAC WYCKOFF’S RETIREMENT DINNER Thursday, September 25, 2008, 6:30-9:30 p.m. Please join us to honor, thank, say goodbye and send best wishes to Mac Wyckoff at his retirement dinner. Mac has worked at Fredericksburg since 1986 and will be leaving the area, going to Oregon on October 1. The room we have reserved is quite large so all who wish to attend are welcome to join us – feel free to help spread the word! The event will be held on Thursday, September 25, 2008 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Brock’s Riverside Grill, 503 Sophia Street in downtown Fredericksburg, VA 22401. The restaurant is at the intersection of Sophia Street with Lafayette Boulevard on the Rappahannock Riverfront. Parking is available in the restaurant parking lot, on-street parking or the parking garage at 600 Sophia Street. The first 2 hours in the parking garage are free, then it is only $1.00 an hour. Also be aware that after 6:00 p.m. the city lot under the trestle on Sophia Street is FREE TO ALL. However, before 6:00 p.m., a city sticker is required. Cars without a city sticker found in the lot prior to 6:00 p.m. will be ticketed and towed. A cash bar will be available at 6:30 p.m. with dinner at 7:00 p.m. and presentations afterwards. Dinner will be a buffet that will include a choice of three different entrees. The cost for dinner is $30.00 per person, which includes taxes and gratuity. We also hope you will consider contributing to Mac’s retirement gifts. Please complete the form below to make a reservation and submit payment. Make checks payable to Greg Mertz, 10403 Springwood Drive, Spotsylvania, VA 22553 or sent through the park inter-office mail. Please turn in your affirmative response by Monday, September 22. If you wish to be a part of the program – either something that you want to say or something you want to present, or to be a part of the program being planned by the Park – please contact Greg at 540-373-6124 or at greg_mertz@nps.gov. We are pretty sure we can talk Mac into participating in an Ed Bearss impersonation contest, if you want to join that! Your name _____________________ Telephone ____________ Guests_______________________________________ Total meals payment ($30.00 each) $________ Contribution toward Mac’s gift $_________ *** Editors Note: Something of possible interest to many members might be an article, “In His Father’s Shadow,” in the October 2008 Civil War Times! It deals with the life of Robert Lincoln and is written by Jason Emerson, our speaker at the June 2008 dinner meeting. While it’s only a three page spread, I found it informative and quite interesting. For instance, did you know that Robert Lincoln had been nominated for president five separate times by the Republican Party, I didn’t? However, each time he was nominated, Robert declined to run! Having read Jason Emerson’s current book, “The Madness of Mary Lincoln,” along with this article, I look forward to his forthcoming biography of Robert Todd Lincoln and his other new book “Lincoln the Inventor.” ***
Reminder: The upcoming meeting on Monday September 8th is the regular meeting of the RVCWRT. Our speaker is our own Mac Wyckoff speaking about his life and his upcoming retirement. Parking at Brocks may be at a premium, so note the following; The municipal parking garage is FREE for your first 2 hours, then it is only $1.00 per hour. Also be aware that after 6:00 p.m. the city lot under the trestle on Sophia Street is FREE TO ALL. However, before 6:00 p.m., a city sticker is required. Cars without a city sticker found in the lot prior to 6:00 p.m. will be ticketed and towed. Remember, after 6:00 p.m. parking is free for everyone. *** Remember to contact Bob Jones to order you and your guests dinner in advance and save a buck! Telephone 540 – 399 -1702 or e-mail 3dognight@bigplanet.com
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