tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972158399131973757.post6631952808319853316..comments2024-02-20T01:38:55.934-05:00Comments on All Not So Quiet Along the Potomac: Chain Bridge: Commuting Through History, Part IRon Baumgartenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12449787740945022061noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972158399131973757.post-22414408431944639172018-09-24T20:37:58.589-04:002018-09-24T20:37:58.589-04:00In case anyone else was interested, i am told the ...In case anyone else was interested, i am told the area was part of the bluestone quarries from the Civil War era until the early-mid 1900's.Cowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03070179812866590661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972158399131973757.post-29598510417655109792017-02-25T10:04:41.846-05:002017-02-25T10:04:41.846-05:00Hello there! About a quarter mile north of chain ...Hello there! About a quarter mile north of chain bridge, upstream on the east bank of the Potomac there is, what appears to be, some sort of viewing area made of cement. It is connected to the C&O towpath by a cement road/path which cuts through significant rock structures and must have been quite a job to complete. The positioning of the "viewing area" is not quite right to view kayakers upstream, and doesn't make sense for a bridge or other crossing.<br /><br />Does anyone have any idea what it might have been? Google Earth imagery only seems to go back to 1988 and it appears to be in the same state it is, today.Cowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03070179812866590661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972158399131973757.post-39456327434366702652015-05-30T08:45:51.505-04:002015-05-30T08:45:51.505-04:00Thanks for writing. Great that you contacted the L...Thanks for writing. Great that you contacted the LoC. I assume they took the engraving as proof of an 1861 date? (I may need to amend my earlier post or do an update noting how you pointed this out based on the Harper's Weekly illustration.) What fascinates me even more is the Battery Martin Scott picture. I've never seen a photograph of that emplacement before! Glad you like the Houghton book. It is wonderful. In fact, the VHS was using my review to advertise the book! I'd try to contact the VHS and tell them that you'd like to speak with the author. I am sure they'd be willing to help out. They are very interested in the Houghton photos.Ron Baumgartenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12449787740945022061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972158399131973757.post-17591440890392069872015-05-28T22:12:14.770-04:002015-05-28T22:12:14.770-04:00I contacted Library of Congress about the date and...I contacted Library of Congress about the date and the cataloger confirmed that he would amend the date. He also said that Library of Congress also has another photograph of the upper battery at Chain Bridge which sounds like it served as the basis for the other engraving in Harper's Weekly, but it unfortunately hasn't been digitized yet. It is dated July 10, 1861, which probably means that the other one was taken that same day. Here is the link to its entry at LoC he gave me which will hopefully have the image available someday: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2007675840/<br /><br />I was able to find two photographs of Mott's Artillery in the George Houghton book but not the three from New York State Military Museum. I would love to be able to contact the author about the Mott photographs at NYSMM as well as the LoC Chain Bridge photographs and ask him about the possibility that they were also taken by Houghton. I actually bought the book a while a while back partly based on your recommendation and would like to thank you because it is an excellent book.chubachushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04007013481371647443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972158399131973757.post-39725327846720986572015-03-06T21:49:49.259-05:002015-03-06T21:49:49.259-05:00You may very well be right--the engraving and the ...You may very well be right--the engraving and the picture look too similar, and I too have seen LoC make dating mistakes more than a few times. They actually like the public's help in narrowing the dates down. <br /><br />As to Mott's Battery (3rd NY Indpt. Battery), it was part of Smith's brigade after First Bull Run. Smith primarily had responsibility for Chain Bridge defenses. Mott crossed with Smith into VA on September 3-4, 1861, and encamped at Camp Advance. The battery, along with the rest of Smith's forces, then headed a few miles farther and set up Camp Griffin. Smith by then had been promoted to a division commander. Mott's Battery was attached to W.S. Hancock's brigade, Smith's division--I lived on and around land that his brigade lived on from Oct. 1861-March 1862. The photographer George Houghton may have taken photos of Mott's men, but I'd have to go back and check it out.<br /><br />If you are interested, here is a battery short history: http://www.civilwarintheeast.com/USA/NY/NY03bat.phpRon Baumgartenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12449787740945022061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972158399131973757.post-33564103435912276152015-03-06T20:26:45.338-05:002015-03-06T20:26:45.338-05:00I think that there are way too many similarities b...I think that there are way too many similarities between the photograph and drawing for the photograph to be coincidence (the man standing near the same position on the earthworks for instance). I've found that LoC has quite a few unreliable dates for their Civil War era photographs especially when a photographer is not attributed. <br /><br />That is some interesting information about Mott's Artillery. There are also two other photographs of them that might have been taken in the same area but aren't identified as Chain Bridge: http://chubachus.blogspot.com/search/label/mott%27s%20artillerychubachushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04007013481371647443noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972158399131973757.post-29497512491785878492015-03-05T17:49:54.233-05:002015-03-05T17:49:54.233-05:00Interesting observation on the Harper's Weekly...Interesting observation on the Harper's Weekly engraving. However, that illustration appeared in the August 24, 1861 edition, and the picture, according to the LoC, was taken in 1862. So either the date is wrong, or the photographer and the sketch artist were capturing a very similar scene a year or so apart!Ron Baumgartenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12449787740945022061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972158399131973757.post-3789323879877779512015-03-05T17:42:54.026-05:002015-03-05T17:42:54.026-05:00Thanks for your comment, and for reading. In an am...Thanks for your comment, and for reading. In an amazing coincidence, I just finished a post last night on the first photograph that I will be posting tomorrow! I saw this pic several years ago on Facebook and am just now getting around to interpreting it. I have never seen the second photograph, which really intrigues me. Mott's battery was attached to Baldy Smith's division in the fall of 1861 and was involved with the engagement at Lewinsville on Sept. 11 among other things. I suppose at some point that they were garrisoning the lower Chain Bridge battery.Ron Baumgartenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12449787740945022061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972158399131973757.post-66893516350296085332015-03-05T15:55:22.445-05:002015-03-05T15:55:22.445-05:00Hey there, I've been a fan of your blog for a ...Hey there, I've been a fan of your blog for a while, but this is my first time commenting. Anyways, I recently came across two photographs that are said to be of the lower battery at Chain Bridge on the Library of Congress (which I think was recently added) and the New York Military Museum websites. The LoC photograph looks like it was used as a reference for the Harper's Weekly drawing. I had to play with the brightness and contrast on both of them because they are so faded: http://chubachus.blogspot.com/2015/03/union-soldiers-posing-with-two-cannon.html<br /><br />http://chubachus.blogspot.com/2015/03/union-soldiers-of-motts-artillery.htmlAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15745654268318473788noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972158399131973757.post-21707744981195534362010-09-02T13:06:03.248-04:002010-09-02T13:06:03.248-04:00Glad you found the blog useful for your essay. Wha...Glad you found the blog useful for your essay. What were you writing about?<br /><br />One of my goals in having this blog is to provide information to people who are researching various aspects of the Civil War, particularly the more obscure, local ones that not everyone knows about and for which sources are more limited. At some point I'd like to list my sources, but time doesn't permit right now. Suffice it to say, I use primary materials, like the Offical Records, as well as reputable secondary sources, such as well-known books and trustworthy historical websites, such as those for historical societies and preservation groups.<br /><br />RonRon Baumgartenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12449787740945022061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2972158399131973757.post-41146159548530997212010-09-02T10:07:57.533-04:002010-09-02T10:07:57.533-04:00Thank you-I was researching for an essay for schoo...Thank you-I was researching for an essay for school I have to write; you really helped!! :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com