Civil War News and Views: The Advanced Confederate Line, September 1861

Now that the Sesquicentennial is over, I look forward to revisiting the earlier war period in Northern Virginia. As readers may recall, I spent a lot of time a few years ago examining the Confederate advance closer to Washington at the end of August 1861, when forces under Gen. James Longstreet occupied the high ground on Munson's Hill and Mason's Hill. Not long ago I came across the following report from the September 6, 1861 edition of the Richmond Daily Dispatch concerning the new position within sight of Washington:

Confederate States Army, Fairfax Station, Va., Sept. 1 

Last evening I returned from Mason's Hill, seven miles south of Washington, D. C. Mason's Hill derives its name from the gentleman's name (Capt. Mason, now in the Confederate service at Norfolk, Va.,) who is the proprietor. Mason's Hill is a very high and commanding position, and about two miles from Munson's Hill, both of which are now fortified and in possession of the ‘"rebels."’ 

In a straight line from Mason's Hill stands the Capitol at Washington, and which can readily be seen with the naked eye. Whilst beholding the dome of the Capitol, I feel like one looking upon the ‘"promised land,"’ where shortly, I hope, ‘"may our possessions be."’ I had the pleasure of seeing Prof. Lowe's balloon, and am sure his observations were of little account to him. The Yankee experiment of ballooning came near receiving a great ‘"pull back,"’ by the firing upon the balloon spy by the Washington Artillery. Several shots were fired at it, when it immediately ‘"went down."’ Don't suppose, however, ‘"anybody was hurt."’ But, nevertheless. somebody was scared, for the balloon suddenly disappeared and did not come up again.

Camping at Mason's Hill is interesting and exciting — not a day passing away but a few Yankee pickets ‘"bite the dust."’ Whilst I was there, in one day eight were gathered by our boys, who keep a sharp lookout for the chaps, and give them a dead shot on sight — Several prisoners have been sent to General Davis' institution at Richmond for safe keeping. By the way, we will soon have a Yankee army on hand. 

On the morning of the 30th a large Federal camp, about two miles from Alexandria, broke up and retired, thinking, probably, the ‘"rebels"’ were getting too close for comfort.--They built a large fire, the smoke of which served to cover them as they broke up their camp.

Fine views are obtained from both Munson's and Mason's Hills, of the surrounding country, and also of the Potomac. Upon the Potomac, large vessels.

There has been considerable sickness in our camp; but, with the cool weather, the health of all the men is improving, and all will be on their feet soon, with musket in hand. No news at present that I dare tell you. Pen.

N. B.--Envelopes are very scarce. The man who goes into the manufactory of envelopes in the South, will make a fortune P. (courtesy of Perseus Digital Library)

An engraving of the Confederate fortification on Munson's Hill, Illustrated London News, Oct. 5, 1861 (courtesy of Emory University).

Foreign correspondents also took an interest in the advanced Confederate line. A piece in the October 5, 1861 edition of the Illustrated London News, accompanying the above illustration, contained the following account of the Rebel position at Munson's Hill:

 This is the point in Virginia at which the Unionists and the Confederates are nearest each other, and whilst our Artist was making his sketch, crouched beneath the shelter of the foliage, within hailing distance of the enemy's pickets, a continual spattering of bullets fell round the spot. More than halfway up the road towards the hill is a barricade, from behind which a Secessionist sharpshooter is having some pot shots, and, screened by the hedges in the cornfields, others are doing the same. In the foreground are the Union advanced pickets, furnished by the Michigan Regiment, one of whom is in the act of firing at two or three men beyond the barricade. A Michigan soldier just shot lies in the road. The Confederates have some rifled cannon on the earthwork, and whenever they see a number of Federalists together they send in a dose of shells.

A New York paper thus describes the Confederate position on Munson's-hill:—"Munson's-hill is probably the highest eminence within ten miles of the Potomac, immediately opposite Washington. It is about six miles from the Capitol, the intervening space being covered with a succession of gently rolling hills, crowned principally with forest trees, although here and there dotted with churches, farmhouses, and country villages. The streams are unimportant and the roads dusty. The hill presents its most abrupt side towards the national capital, and, unlike those around, has but few trees on its summit. Many of those which originally existed have no doubt been felled while the intrenchments were in progress. At present an immense Confederate flag—the red, white, and blue stripes in which are at least five feet wide each—is the most prominent object upon the top of the eminence Two of the trees which have been allowed to remain were used as an observatory. The Confederate defences are constructed entirely of earth, fifteen feet being the highest elevation. The sloping hillside in front of the fort is clear of underbrush or trees, and is sufficiently extended to allow 3000 men to parade. The distance from the cover of the woods to the summit of the hill is not so great but that a quick movement would drive the enemy from their guns with very little loss of life. The flank defences of the fort consist of three batteries. It is believed that earthworks have been thrown up on another portion of the hill commanding the road to Fairfax Courthouse. The fort is intended more particularly to command the road leading from Alexandria to Falls Church, the road from Washington to Fairfax, just mentioned, the railroad from Alexandria to Vienna, and the position of Bailey's Cross-roads."

With little to report in the way of large-scale battles, newspapers turned their attention to the Confederate lines within view of the nation's capital. Munson's and Mason's Hills were popular topics. Add in the thrilling ascent of Lowe's balloons or the tension of the picket war, and correspondents had plenty of material to keep their readers interested and entertained. The Confederates abandoned the advanced position by the end of September 1861, and not long afterwards, both sides settled in for a long fall and winter in camp.

Searching Family History for the Right Connection

How about a little break from the current Confederate controversy? I've written often about my "Civil War ancestor," Pvt. William Baumgarten of the 102nd Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, I still don't know William's exact connection to my branch of the Baumgarten family. Based on the research I have done, I think that William may be a brother or a cousin to my Great Great Grandfather John. Whenever I get the chance, I try to uncover the family link. After all, my membership in the Sons of Union Veterans depends on it!

The other day I learned about the on-line archives of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. After a couple of searches (and paying for a month subscription), I found John's obituary from the January 23 and 24, 1936 editions of the paper. (January 23 is pictured below.) I learned some interesting facts about John, including his wife's maiden name and his exact street address, but was particularly drawn to the instructions at the bottom of the listing. The paper directed that the obituary also be circulated in the Ashland, Kentucky and Alabama papers.

Those two states immediately rang a bell. John was related to a Reinhard Baumgarten, who had relocated to Ashland and died there in 1911. Moreover,William eventually found his way to Cullman, Alabama, where he passed away in 1921. It seems that someone in the Pittsburgh part of the family was seeking to spread the word of John's death to the Kentucky and Alabama branches. The obituary confirms a connection to those states, and further reinforces the possibility of a very close relationship among John, Reinhard, and William.

I also located John's death certificate on Ancestry.com. (It wasn't there a few months ago.) From this document I discovered that John was born in Snowden Township (now South Park Township), Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, his parents' names are not recorded, so I could not match them against the names of Reinhard and William's parents. That said, this additional information enabled me to be even more precise in my request to the Diocese of Pittsburgh for John's baptismal, communion, and marriage records. I am hoping that from these additional documents I will learn the parents' names and at long last confirm my relationship to William.

I am also excited to follow the path opened by the death certificate as to Snowden Township and how my family ended up there. The township was created in 1845, the year of William's birth and only five years before John arrived on the scene. I would like to dig deeper into this linkage to discover what John and his family's life was like in antebellum Pittsburgh. I'll be sure to report back when more information is available, but I am increasingly hopeful that I will learn whether John and William were brothers, and whether William is a distant uncle. Stay tuned.

Confederate Symbols, a Call to Moderation, and a Respect for History

I guess it was folly for me to think I could avoid writing a post on the recent controversy over Confederate symbols. I usually try to steer clear of these fights. However, as an amateur historian (or whatever you want to call me!), the recent turn of events is very troubling. We now find ourselves in a battle of extremes. On the one end, there are those who would just as soon tear down and erase every trace of the Confederacy on American soil; on the other, those who deny that slavery had anything at all to do with the Civil War or the Confederacy and assert that the Confederate flag is just "heritage."

The flag of the 28th Virginia Infantry, captured by the 1st Minnesota at Gettysburg, was on display at the Minnesota Historical Society for the 150th of the battle. (courtesy of MPR)

If you follow me on social media, you generally know where I come out on these issues. But I thought I'd use this post to break it down into a few key points:

1) As a boy, I grew up admiring the South, and the Confederate generals. (See this post.) I even had a few Confederate flags in my bedroom. I didn't really make the slavery connection back then. So the flag to me meant the Civil War and Lee and Jackson. Only later, as an adult, did I come to understand and appreciate the multiple meanings behind it, including the fact that it represents a political entity whose main purpose was the preservation and perpetuation of human bondage. That said, when I see the flag I still think first of battles and generals and my boyhood interest in the war -- despite my better instincts.

2) I think the Confederate flag, in any iteration, should not fly from state houses, town halls, and other government buildings. It wasn't flying there right after the war, and in many instances, it only went up again to protest the civil rights laws and desegragationist court decisions of the 1950s and 60s. Although it may represent the sacrifices and bravery of Confederate ancestors, it also represents slavery and treason to many others. And let's not forget to mention those who actually want the flag to fly there in the name of white supremacy. Gotta go.

3) Some people are now calling for the removal or elimination of Confederate monuments and memorials that dot town squares and other public places across the South. I can see little good in such actions. In most cases, these statues and other monuments were erected by the Confederate veterans themselves, or their immediate offspring. These memorials tell us a lot about how Southerners in the 19th and early 20th century chose to commemorate and remember the war. Sure, they may be associated with a cause we find distasteful (and should), but that doesn't give us a license to destroy our past. If we were to erase these memorials, we'd be no better than Soviet propagandists or ISIS radicals. Instead, as I have noted before on this blog, we should maintain these memorials, and place them in the proper context if necessary. This could include adding markers to explain the meaning of the monuments and what they represent. (The Atlantic published a thoughtful piece on this idea here. I also wrote previously about this issue with respect to Alexandria's Confederate monument here.) Some bloggers and professional historians, like Kevin Levin in this post, are unfortunately opening the door to a slippery slope. Whatever our personal views on the Confederacy, we shouldn't be providing people with a rationale for dismantling the past in our public spaces.

4) The placement of the Confederate flags at museums and historic sites seems like a no-brainer. Where better to interpret the flag and display it than in its historical context? If visitors can't view original regimental Confederate Battle Flags at battlefield museums, for example, then they are missing the chance to connect with tangible and meaningful artifacts. However, the recent move by the National Park Service (NPS) at Ft. Sumter is troubling. (Check out Craig's excellent post here on the subject.) Hopefully others won't go the same way, and Ft. Sumter will reverse its decision.

5) Reenactments and living history demonstrations are another appropriate place to show the flag. Again, however, we see a step backwards when the Gettysburg Seminary bans the display of the flag in a way that adversely impacts living history events held on campus. Far from being a "courageous stand," the action represents nothing more than caving in to public pressure. "Courageous" would have been a position that allowed display of the colors by reenactment groups.

6) Another part of the debate involves what I dub "the bottom of the barrel." Some folks are now just overreaching and looking for excuses to do a complete purge. The debate has focused on removing all vestiges of the Confederacy from gift shops, on-line stores, military bases, street names, and even TV programming. Some of this is downright silly. I mean, is the Duke boys' car really hurting anyone? One of the most ridiculous and foolish proposals I have seen calls for the re-naming of a U.S. Navy vessel because it carries the name of a Confederate victory, Chancellorsville! As for sales of the flag, private enterprises have the right to sell what they want, but they may just be hurting their bottom line, and their capitulation speaks more to their inability to stand up to the current witch hunt than anything. Street, school, and base names have at times been controversial, but I am sure that most people haven't thought twice about them as they go about their daily lives. How many are actually offended by a street or school named after a Confederate icon? That said, if a community wishes to rename public places and streets through the democratic process, then be my guest. Again, however, that just seems like overkill.

7) So how do we get out of this mess? A solution calls for mutual understanding and moderation, as well as a healthy dose of respect for preserving our history. America needs to stop the wholesale rush to dismantle or reshape the past,  and instead engage in a thoughtful discussion about the Confederacy. (For example,see Robert's post here.) We also can't ignore the hard truths about the causes of the Civil War.

I am a bit saddened that we did not use the Sesquicentennial to address our history in this way. Instead, extreme passions in the wake of the tragedy in Charleston have driven the agenda just as we are wrapping up the commemoration of our bloodiest war. One possible step in the right direction involves building, rather than tearing down. We should take action to remember slavery and the role of African-Americans in the war. I'd love to work on historical signage to commemorate Northern Virginia's contraband camps. I am sure there are many such opportunities across our country. As we celebrate the Fourth of July, let's strive to heal the divisions that have developed and come together as a country to shape a commemorative landscape that works for all.