Thanksgiving 1865 in Washington City

Each year during the Sesquicentennial I wrote a post focused on Thanksgiving at the corresponding time 150 years ago. I looked at holiday celebrations in camp or in the streets, hospitals, and churches of Washington and Alexandria. Now that the four-year commemoration is over, I wasn't sure what to do for this Thanksgiving. Many people are turning their attention to the aftermath of war and the start of Reconstruction so I decided to check out the Washington papers for the end of 1865, as the reunited nation prepared to observe the first Thanksgiving holiday since the end of the war.

President Andrew Johnson declared a day of national Thanksgiving for Thursday, December 7, 1865. In his Proclamation, the President reminded the American people that "it has pleased Almighty God during the year which is now coming to an end to relieve our beloved country from the fearful scourge of civil war and to permit us to secure the blessings of peace, unity, and harmony, with a great enlargement of civil liberty. . . ." He recommended that "the whole people make confession of our national sins against His infinite goodness, and with one heart and one mind implore the divine guidance in the ways of national virtue and holiness."

On December 6, the day before Thanksgiving, the Washington Daily National Republican published the following editorial:

The editorial surely reflected the thoughts of many loyal Americans about the ground the nation had traversed since the previous year and just how much the country had reason to give thanks as the end of 1865 approached. Some, however, may have disputed the characterization of President Johnson, who had just given his State of the Union address on December 4. (The speech is referenced in the article.)

Two Winslow Homer views of Thanksgiving Day, 1865 from Frank Leslie’s Illustrated:  Hanging up the Musket and The Church Porch (courtesy of streetsofsalem).

Thanksgiving in Washington City was a relatively subdued affair. As was typical in previous years, businesses were closed. The Washington Evening Star reported that "the churches were opened for divine worship, and were well attended, while the services at each were appropriate to the occasion." (Dec. 8, 1865.) The paper was also pleased to observe that "throughout the day there were fewer displays of improper conduct than usual on such festive occasions." (Dec. 8, 1865.) According to the Daily National Republican, Bostonians were nowhere near as well behaved as the "staid and proper" Washingtonians. (Dec.8, 1865.) The paper reported that during the evening in Boston, "many persons were slewed, with great carnage." (Dec. 8, 1865.) Perhaps high rates of celebratory drinking had something to do with ruining the holiday up north. In any event, whether in Washington City or elsewhere, Thanksgiving gave Americans a day of rest and relaxation as they prepared to deal with the difficult issue of reconstruction and the future of the reunited country.

On a personal note, I'd like to wish all of my readers a Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the good times with family and friends, eat plenty of turkey and fixings, and see you next month!

A Tour of Concord's Abolitionist History

Every summer I take a trip with my wife and kids to visit her family near Boston. I tend to set aside at least a day dedicated to history. After all, her hometown is right down the road from where the shot heard round the world was fired in 1775, and colonial and Revolutionary War attractions abound. At the same time, there is no shortage of Civil War-related sites in the Bay State, and given my interests, I've made sure to include them on my to-do list each year. Last summer I toured Ft. Warren, the site of a Union prison on Georges Island near Boston, and in 2012 I checked out the antebellum and Civil War past of Lexington and Concord. This year I decided to take a closer look at the sites in Concord that are associated with the town's rich history of abolitionism.

As I wrote a few years ago, Concord was a hub of antebellum intellectual and literary life. Famous writers and philosophers, including Bronson Alcott, Louisa May Alcott, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry David Thoreau, called the town home. Most of the artistic and intellectual class also shared a passion for abolitionism. Concord served as a stop on the Underground Railroad, and townspeople became ardent supporters of John Brown as the situation rapidly deteriorated in Bleeding Kansas.

During my 2012 visit, I hit some of the abolitionist highlights, but I promised to come back and do a more thorough tour. A local non-profit, known as the Drinking Gourd Project, has compiled an excellent walking tour and map, available online and at the Concord Visitor Center.  The group is dedicated to spreading the word about the town's African-American and antislavery history. I decided to concentrate on many of the sites included in the organization's brochure. (Note that in this post I am focused for the most part on places that I had not visited a couple of years ago; readers wanting a more comprehensive view of antebellum and Civil War sites in Concord are advised to read my earlier post as well.)

The Concord Museum on the Cambridge Turnpike.

My first stop was the impressive Concord Museum. As I expected, most of the exhibits centered on the town's colonial and Revolutionary War past, as well as nineteenth century literary life. The museum's Civil War artifacts were featured as part of a special exhibition at the start of the Sesquicentennial, but I was disappointed to see that very few of them are displayed on a permanent basis. Luckily the museum had a room dedicated to prewar social activism, and I was able to view some interesting antislavery-related items.

A view of Emerson's study. The museum has reconstituted the room using original furnishings. A reluctant abolitionist at first, Emerson became increasingly outspoken against slavery. He delivered several antislavery addresses during the twenty years prior to the Civil War.

Display focusing on abolitionism in Concord. Pictured at right are Mary Merrick Brooks, first president of the Concord Ladies' Antislavery Society, and John Brown, who visited Concord in 1857 and 1859. 

"Uncle Tom and Eva," made in England between 1855-60. People displayed such ceramic pieces in their homes to demonstrate antislavery views. These particular figurines were a gift to Thoreau from a slave that he helped escape to Canada. 

One of the few Civil War pieces in the museum. This poster advertises the 1861-62 Concord Lyceum on "National Honor." Emerson was one of the scheduled lecturers. 

Original furniture from Thoreau's cabin at Walden Pond, where he resided from 1845-47. He penned some of his most famous works at the desk, including Walden and "Civil Disobedience."

Following my stop at the museum, I began my walking tour of some key abolitionist and Underground Railroad sites in Concord. Most of the homes remain private property, so I could only take a look from the street!

The Reuben Brown House (77 Lexington Rd.). Emerson lodged John Brown here when the noted abolitionist visited Concord in March 1857. Aside from Emerson, Brown also met Thoreau during his stay.

The First Parish Church (20 Lexington Rd.), a scene of antislavery gatherings. Both Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman spoke here in the years prior to the Civil War. The current structure was built in 1900-01 to resemble the colonial-era church that burned to the ground. 

Franklin Sanborn House & Schoolroom (49 Sudbury Rd.). Sanborn opened the Concord School here in 1855. Among his students were the children of such literary giants as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Sanborn was active in the antislavery movement and served as secretary of the Massachusetts Free Soil Association. He traveled to Kansas in 1856 and met John Brown the following year. Sanborn became a member of the "Secret Six," a group which helped to finance and plan Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry. He hosted Brown at his home for three days in May 1859. After Brown was hanged in December 1859, his daughters came to Concord to attend Sanborn's school.

This engraving from Harper's Weekly depicts the attempted arrest of Sanborn in Concord on the night of April 3, 1860 (courtesy of Wikipedia). When Sanborn ignored a summons from a Senate committee investigating the raid on Harpers Ferry, federal marshals appeared at his residence and tried to arrest him. A group of townspeople quickly assembled and interfered with the arrest. Local judge Ebenezer Hoar issued a writ of habeas corpus, which prevented the marshals from carrying Sanborn away. 

Col. William Whiting House (169 Main St.). Whiting, a carriage maker, was one of Concord's most active abolitionists. He served as president of the Middlesex County Anti-Slavery Society and as a vice president of the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. Whiting's house was a stop on the Underground Railroad. Aside from John Brown, abolitionists William Lloyd Garrison and Wendell Phillips were also guests here.

Thoreau-Alcott House (255 Main St.). The entire Thoreau family, including Henry David, moved to this house in 1849-50. The Thoreaus, all ardent abolitionists, sheltered former slave Henry Williams here in 1851 before sending him by train to Canada. Henry David Thoreau died at the Main Street house in 1862. The Alcott family moved here in 1877.

Concord Town House (22 Monument Square). In March 1857, John Brown spoke here to an audience of around 100 that included Emerson and Thoreau. Both men contributed to the cause. In May 1859, Brown again gave a speech at the Town House, this time raising $2,000. Bronson Alcott, Emerson, and Thoreau were all in attendance. Following Brown's trial and execution, Concord held a memorial service at the Town House. Both Emerson and Thoreau played a role in painting Brown as a martyr for the antislavery cause.

Mary Rice House (44 Bedford St.). Rice was a Concord school teacher and a stationmaster on the Underground Railroad. In 1864 she collected signatures from 195 pupils on a petition asking President Abraham Lincoln to emancipate all slave children. Lincoln replied: "Please tell these little people I am very glad their young hearts are so full of just and generous sympathy, and that, while I have not the power to grant all they ask, I trust they will remember that God has, and that, as it seems, He wills to do it." Today the petition and Lincoln's reply hang in Concord's elementary schools. (See here for the full story.)

Historical marker on Concord's Monument Square indicating the spot where Thoreau was imprisoned in 1846 for failing to pay a poll tax in protest against the Mexican War and the spread of slavery. As the marker notes, Thoreau wrote of this incident in the essay, "Civil Disobedience."

As I waited for my lift home in Monument Square, I reflected on my trip through Concord's past. Here, where the American Revolution began, many townspeople participated in a new struggle for liberty and freedom. Some of Concord's abolitionists have gone down in history as famous writers and philosophers, but they were also political activists of the antebellum North. Their connections to the movement were numerous, and at times radical. Regional tensions took root here as much as on the plantations and in the state capitols of the South. But in the end, the streets of Concord would lead inexorably towards a promise fulfilled.

Sources

Aside from the links provided above, the following resources were useful in compiling this post:

Concord Free Public Library, Antislavery in Concord: An Online Exhibition Drawn from the William Monroe Special Collections of the Concord Free Public Library (website); First Parish Church in Concord, "History of First Parish"; Rick Frese, Concord and the Civil War: From Walden Pond to the Gettysburg Front (2014).

New England Civil War Monuments: Westford and York

I've often thought that the town commons of New England are the Yankee equivalent of the courthouse squares down South. The presence of the Civil War looms just as large in the villages of Massachusetts or Maine as it does in small towns throughout Dixie. Of course, the monuments in New England honor a different cause, but they also serve as an equally powerful reminder of how Americans sought to commemorate the service and sacrifice of local soldiers once the war had ended.

Westford's Memorials

This summer I traveled to New England a couple of times, and on each trip, I had an opportunity to explore some of the region's Civil War monuments. My wife hails from Westford, Massachusetts, a town recently named by Money as one of America's best places to live.  The Civil War is never very far away in Westford -- the town chose to erect three different memorials to honor its native sons who fought for the Union.

The Westford Town Hall was built in 1870. That same year, the town dedicated a marble panel inscribed with the names of thirty-three war dead who hailed from Westford. The tablet, which was installed inside the Town Hall, carries an incredible amount of detail on most of the soldiers (and one sailor), including unit affiliation as well as the place and date of death. This memorial speaks plainly yet poignantly of those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of their country.

The Westford Town Hall from across Main Street. Constructed in 1870, the building was enlarged in 1880 and recently underwent an extensive renovation.

Memorial to Westford's Civil War dead inside the Town Hall. The panel is located on a staircase landing just inside the front entrance to the building. 

A detail from the memorial to Westford's Civil War dead, including soldiers who fell at Second Manassas and Antietam. Some of the deaths  recorded on the memorial occurred after the fighting had ended due to diseases that were contracted during the war. The latest death was recorded on July 11, 1867.

A few decades later, Col. Edwin D. Metcalf, a wealthy businessman and politician who had lived in Westford as a little boy, donated money for the construction of a memorial to honor the town's citizens who had served their country during the Civil War. The monument -- a bronze solider mounted atop a large granite base -- was dedicated on Memorial Day 1910. Edwin's father, Lt. William Metcalf, served in Co. C, 16th Massachusetts. He was apparently the first person in Westford to enlist at the outbreak of hostilities in 1861. Although Edwin Metcalf had long since moved away, he never forgot the delegation of Civil War veterans who met him at the train station when he returned to Westford to bury his father. As he told the crowd at the dedication ceremony:

They were strangers to me, they came without any solicitation, they came without any previous knowledge on my part, but I was so much pleased and so much touched at the spirit of devotion and loyalty of those who had stood shoulder to shoulder during the Civil War, that I then and there resolved that I would do something in Westford to the memory of the Veterans, and I hope this monument will stand and serve as an inspiration to the younger generation to take their part in matters of vital interest of their day, and to keep and preserve intact the good name of this great country, as the soldiers of Westford were ready to do 49 years ago. (quoted in Westford's Civil War Monument: A Centennial History from Contemporaneous Sources.)

The Westford Civil War Monument, erected in 1910 on a piece of land across from the town common. Over 200 men from Westford served in the Union military during the Civil War. Many veterans from Westford and neighboring Chelmsford attended the dedication ceremonies. Aside from Edwin Metcalf, former Massachusetts Governor and ex-Secretary of the Navy John D. Long and former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Charles S. Hamlin also addressed attendees. Incidentally, Long had served as preceptor of the Westford Academy (my wife's alma mater) in the late 1850s.

In 1924, Westford commissioned a memorial to honor those residents who had served in the military from colonial times through the First World War. The eight-sided monument, topped by a large bronze eagle, was placed on the town common in November 1924. An entire side is dedicated to Westford's Civil War volunteers.

Westford's War Memorial, 1924. Service in each conflict from colonial times through World War I is commemorated by a bronze plate. (The Mexican War (1846-48) is missing, so presumably Westford did not send any volunteers to participate in that fight.)

One side of the monument contains this famous quote from Massachusetts Sen. Daniel Webster's January 27, 1830 speech against the Southern doctrine of nullification of Federal laws. The Union was still a powerful concept when this memorial was dedicated almost sixty years after the end of the Civil War.

The plate dedicated to those from Westford who served and died in the Civil War. The inscription leaves no doubt that Westford viewed the war as a fight to preserve the Union and end slavery.

York's "Confederate" Memorial

Aside from Westford, I also made a couple of side trips to York, a charming old seacoast town located in the southwest corner of Maine. Driving through York Village in early July, I did a double-take as we passed the town's Civil War monument. The soldier atop the base looks like anything but a typical Union infantryman. I made sure to go back and check it out in person during our August trip to York.

According to local legend, York accidentally received a statue destined for a Confederate war memorial, but the town leaders refused to acknowledge a mix-up. Around twenty years ago, York discovered that Kingstree, South Carolina had a similar problem -- the statue on the monument there appeared to be a Yankee. A person from York even wrote a letter to the people of Kingstree and proposed a "friendly exchange of our last two prisoners of war." But the historical record just doesn't support the theory of a switch. The statues were made in different years and in different states. The real story is a bit less interesting. More recent research indicates that the design of York's statue was deliberately chosen by the monument committee.

The Civil War Monument in York, Maine. The inscription reads:  "Erected 1906 to Sons of York who served their country in Army and Navy for preservation of the Union." Former Maine Governor Joshua Chamberlain of Little Round Top fame presided at the dedication ceremony on May 2, 1906. I wonder what he thought of the statue!

The odd representation of a Union soldier atop the York Civil War Monument. The uniform seems more like something out of the Spanish-American War, although one account has noted a resemblance to the garb that soldiers from the Iron Brigade or 20th Maine wore.

As I returned to the Washington area after my trips north, I reflected on what I had seen. Whether in Westford, York, or elsewhere, towns and cities across New England erected monuments to honor the sacrifices made by their own during the Civil War. But how many people walk or drive pass them every day without so much as a glance? These memorials in granite, marble, and bronze are more than just relics of the past. They are there to remind us of those who fought and died for Union and freedom. They also speak to the human toll that the war took on local communities. The least we can do now is to stop, listen, and reflect.

Sources

Donald Cartmell, The Civil War Up Close: Thousands of Curious, Obscure, and Fascinating Facts About the War America Could Never Win (2005); Karen Dandurant, "Soldier's garb generates doubt about monument," Seacoast Online, Sept. 26, 2004; Tony Horwitz, Confederates in the Attic: Dispatches from the Unfinished Civil War (1998); Dan Huntley, "Civil War's granite soldiers rooted out behind 'enemy lines,'" The Day (New London, CT), Oct. 13, 1994; Gordon B. Seavey, "Because a grateful son refused to forget his past," Westford Eagle (date unavailable) (on file with J.V. Fletcher Library, Westford, MA); U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, History of Congress and the Capitol (website); Westford Museum & Historical Society (website); Westford's Civil War Monument: A Centennial History from Contemporaneous Sources (website).

A Visit to Fort Warren in Boston Harbor

Last month my wife, kids, and I headed to the Boston area to visit with her parents. This trip is fast becoming an annual ritual, and as part of our vacation, I make sure to squeeze in a visit to local Civil War sites with my father-in-law and fellow buff (aka "the Colonel"). Last year I fashioned a Civil War-themed tour of Lexington and Concord. This summer I made a long-anticipated trip to historic Fort Warren in Boston Harbor.

The Colonel and I drove to downtown Boston on the last Saturday in June and took the thirty-minute ferry ride to Georges Island from the Long Wharf in Boston Harbor. Fort Warren occupies most of the 53-acre island. The fortification is part of the Boston Harbor Islands, A National Park Area, which is jointly administered by federal, state, municipal, and nonprofit agencies. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) has the main responsibility for Georges Island. The Colonel and I made a stop at the museum in the Visitor Center and then joined a Ranger-guided walking tour of the fort.

The U.S. Government began construction of Fort Warren in 1833 using granite from Quincy and Cape Ann, Massachusetts. The five-sided fortification was designed to protect the main shipping channels into Boston. The Army named the fort after Dr. Joseph Warren, a general of the Massachusetts Militia who was killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill in 1775.

The walls of Fort Warren dominate the wharf at Georges Island. The red brick building, which now houses the Visitor Center, was built in 1906 and served as a mine storage and servicing station in both World Wars. The Visitor Center was opened in 2010 and contains an array of informative exhibits on the history of Fort Warren. A short introductory film is also shown throughout the day. Any visit to Fort Warren should start here.

A wartime view of Fort Warren from the Dec. 7, 1861 edition of Harper's Weekly (courtesy of sonofthesouth.net).

Fort Warren was not altogether finished when the Civil War erupted in 1861. The Second Battalion of Massachusetts Infantry, also known as the "Tigers," arrived in April 1861 and began work to prepare the fort for occupancy and use. During the spring and summer months of 1861, the 11th, 12th, and 14th Massachusetts trained at Fort Warren before heading to the front around Washington. The fort was regularly garrisoned by Massachusetts units.

In October 1861, the Union decided to use the fort to hold Confederate military and political prisoners. Around 2,200 prisoners were kept at Fort Warren throughout the war. Most prison stays were relatively short in duration. Conditions at the fort were rather humane compared to other Union prisoner of war camps, and only thirteen prisoners died in captivity. Civilians in Boston even made charitable donations of food, clothing, blankets, medicine, books and other items. Gens. Simon Bolivar Buckner, Richard Ewell, and Isaac Trimble were among the more famous Confederate military prisoners. Confederate diplomats James Mason and John Slidell were sent to Fort Warren following their capture aboard the British mail steamer, Trent, in November 1861. The arrest of the two officials heightened tensions between the United States and Britain. The envoys remained at the fort until the following January, when they were set free on orders from Secretary of State William Seward. One of the fort's most famous prisoners, Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens, was held there from May to October 1865. Other political prisoners included members of the Maryland Legislature and the police marshal of Baltimore.

The fort continued in military service through the end of World War II. Various artillery improvements were made over the years, including the installation of huge 12-inch guns on disappearing carriages around the turn of the last century. Fort Warren was decommissioned in the early 1950s. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts acquired possession from the U.S. Government in 1958 and opened the fort to the public in 1961. Georges Island, including Fort Warren, became part of the National Park System in 1996.

The guardhouse (left) on the outside of Fort Warren. The arch over the walkway was built right before World War II. The guardhouse served as the fort's security office. Soldiers doing garrison duty were also jailed here as punishment for violating army rules.  

 A dirt coverface was constructed on two of the fort's five sides (Fronts II and III); this demilune was erected on the shore side of the coverface. The demilune was the site of one of the few attempts to escape from Fort Warren. In October 1863, a Maine soldier who was imprisoned at Fort Warren for desertion widened a musket loophole and slipped through. He leaped into the channel, where a passing schooner discovered him. The soldier was returned to the fort. The supposed loophole is the fourth opening in the demilune from the left. A historical marker next to the loophole describes the story of the unsuccessful escape.

A view of the sallyport along the Front III exterior wall. 

A picture of the sallyport along the interior side of the fort's Front III. The date of 1850 indicates the year by which most of the work on the fort was complete. A marker indicating the fort's designation as a National Historic Landmark in 1970 is located to the right of the entrance.

A view from the sallyport across the parade ground to the Front I casemates. The parade ground was used for military drills and reviews, as well as recreational purposes. The Union authorities permitted Confederate prisoners to exercise here. Incidentally, Fort Warren gave birth to the popular war tune, John Brown's Body, which was played on the parade ground by the band of the 12th Massachusetts. Pvt. John Brown was a soldier from the Massachusetts Tiger Battalion who shared a name with the famous abolitionist executed for his role in the raid on Harpers Ferry. While assigned to garrison duty at the fort, Brown's fellow soldiers began to make jokes about his name. For example, when Brown was late to drill, they wondered how it could be Brown because Brown was already dead. A parody was soon set to the tune of a well-known hymn. Upon arriving at Fort Warren in May 1861, the members of the 12th Massachusetts adopted the song as their own and carried it to the front. Later, Julia Ward Howe took John Brown's Body and penned the new lyrics that became The Battle Hymn of the Republic.

Front III casemates, which were used to hold captured Confederate officers and political prisoners. Union officers were also quartered here. A door leading to the cell of Confederate commissioners Mason and Slidell is to the right of the historical marker on political prisoners.  The chain link fence detracts somewhat from the authentic Civil War atmosphere!

This room was supposedly part of Mason and Slidell's cell at Fort Warren. The Confederate diplomats enjoyed spacious and relatively comfortable accommodations while held at the fort.

Ovens in the bakery. Food was prepared and stored in this area of the fort. Enlisted men held at Fort Warren ate standard rations, including bread, salt beef, potatoes, and coffee. The Confederate officers and political prisoners often supplemented their diet with purchases from Boston merchants.

The granite platforms for 10-inch Rodman guns that were installed on the Front II Terreplein during the Civil War. The guns could be moved along the traverse arches to the rear of the platforms. Other artillery at Fort Warren include 15-inch Rodmans, 8-inch Columbiads, and 100-pounder Parrotts.

A view across the parade ground to the Front III casemates and sallyport. The Boston skyline is visible in the distance.

Front I casemates, which housed enlisted men, both Union soldiers and Confederate prisoners. Some Confederates complained of overcrowding in this part of the fort. The prisoners would boil beef, soup, and coffee in large kettles placed outside the doors.

A portion of the hospital located in Bastion D. Prisoners suffering from a variety of ailments, including measles, mumps, and typhoid fever, were treated here. A Confederate doctor imprisoned at the fort was given permission to work in the hospital during his time on Georges Island.

The door to the living quarters of Col. Justin Dimick, the commander of Fort Warren from October 1861 to November 1863. Dimick was an old Army Regular known for his compassion towards the Confederate prisoners under his supervision. His son, a Union artillery lieutenant who was later killed at Chancellorsville, was given a letter from Confederate POWs requesting that he be treated humanely in the event of capture.

A memorial outside the fort's walls dedicated to the thirteen Confederate prisoners who died there.  One of the dead, Aquila Glassock, was a member of Mosby's Rangers. The Boston Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy erected this memorial in 1963.

The visit to Fort Warren reminded me once again that Boston's ties to the Civil War run deep. As Kevin Levin observed in a post the other day, although Boston's Revolutionary War past may have rendered the Civil War and its memory "largely invisible," "[i]t doesn’t take much effort. . . to bring this world back into focus." His words ring true, and Fort Warren is one such example of the Civil War's living presence in Beantown. The next time you get up that way, be sure to take a trip to Georges Island and check out the fort. The site is a true gem with a fascinating story to tell about how the Civil War affected this corner of New England.

For more information about visiting Fort Warren and Georges Island, including transportation options, see here.

Sources

Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Fort Warren, Georges Island, Curriculum Packet, Liberty or Treason? The Case of Josiah H. Gordon (2005); Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Georges Island: A Self-Guided Tour of Fort Warren (park brochure available at the Visitor Center); National Park Service, Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area (website); Jay Schmidt, Fort Warren: New England's Most Historic Civil War Site (2003); Jay Schmidt, History of Fort Warren (website containing many vintage photographs of the fort).

A Civil War Enthusiast Visits Lexington & Concord

This summer my wife and I decided to spend our family vacation at her parents' house in Westford, Massachusetts.  On previous trips to the Bay State, wedding planning or holiday obligations had gotten in the way of visiting local sites like Lexington and Concord.  This time I had ten days on my hands and was determined to take in some history.  On the Monday before the Fourth of July, my father-in-law (whom readers may know as "the Colonel") and I jumped into his SUV and started our tour.  Most of the sightseeing naturally focused on the Revolutionary War era, but I crafted an itinerary that also promised some local stops related to antebellum America and the Civil War.

We first visited the town of Lexington, where colonial militia and British Regulars clashed on April 19, 1775.  The Colonel and I strolled around the Lexington Green and viewed several Revolutionary War monuments and markers.  I felt incredibly moved to be standing on the very ground where the fight for independence began.  As we walked behind the Buckman Tavern, I spotted a memorial "dedicated to the memory of those who served aboard a ship named Lexington."  Erected in 1988 by the Lexington Lions Club and the USS Lexington CV-16 Association, the monument contains five markers, each one dedicated to a vessel that carried the name "Lexington."  As to be expected, the marker for the Civil War-era Lexington caught my eye.  This timberclad gunboat participated in major battles and campaigns in the Western Theatre, including Ft. Henry, Ft. Donelson, Shiloh, and Vicksburg.

Marker dedicated to the timberclad gunboat Lexington.

We next drove from Lexington to the Minute Man National Historical Park.  Here we viewed a film about the famous Revolutionary War engagements and visited a few landmarks along the Battle Road, including Paul Revere's capture site.  I was reminded of the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 1860 poem, "Paul Revere's Ride," which served as a rallying cry for the Union in the days leading up to the Civil War.

The remainder of our tour was spent in and around Concord.  This town is best known as the site of the "shot heard 'round the world."  However, during the mid-19th century, Concord was home to several famous writers and intellectuals.  Many of these individuals held strong anti-slavery views, and the town became known as a center of the abolitionist movement.  Amos Bronson Alcott, father of Louisa May Alcott, was a reformer, teacher, and writer.  A friend of abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, he protested against the implementation of the Fugitive Slave Act and even opened his home to runaway slaves.  Poet and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson spoke publicly against the evils of slavery.  Philosopher Henry David Thoreau wrote his famous essay Civil Disobedience (1849) after being arrested for failing to pay taxes in opposition to the Mexican War and slavery. 

Many of Concord's leading thinkers supported abolitionist John Brown and provided money for his cause.  Brown visited Concord in 1857 and again in 1859.  When Brown was captured in the raid on Harpers Ferry, Thoreau came to his defense in a speech that was later published as A Plea for Captain John Brown.

The Colonel and I stopped to visit a few homes that figured in the literary and abolitionist history of Concord (see photos below).  We had limited time, so I could not take docent-led tours, but I am sure that I will be back in future years!  Another must-do on the return trip is the walking tour of African-American and abolitionist history sites put together by the non-profit Drinking Gourd Project.  The Project is also creating an African-American and Abolitionist History Center in a restored cabin that once belonged to Caesar Robbins, a freedman and Revolutionary War veteran.

The Wayside in Concord, which today is part of Minute Man National Historical Park.  The Alcotts resided here from April 1845 to November 1848.  The home, called "Hilldside" by the Alcotts, served as a stop on the Underground Railroad.  Two fugitive slaves stayed here on their way to Canada during the winter of 1846-47.  Author Nathaniel Hawthorne also lived at the Wayside from 1852 until his death in 1864.  Hawthorne, unlike many of his neighbors, was not entirely sold on the idea of abolition.  After a trip to Washington in March 1862 to meet with military and civilian leaders,  Hawthorne penned an essay entitled, "Chiefly About War Matters."  The piece, published in the July 1862 issue of The Atlantic, was critical of the war and earned Hawthorne the scorn of many readers. 

The Orchard House, where the Alcotts resided from 1858 to 1877.   The house is next door to the Wayside.  While living here, Louisa May Alcott decided to volunteer as a nurse for the Union Army.  She headed to Washington in December 1862, where she served until falling ill with typhoid pneumonia in January 1863.  Returning to Concord, Alcott recovered and wrote Hospital Sketches, a book about her experiences as an army nurse.  Originally published as a four-part series in a Boston weekly, the story was released as a book in August 1863.  Alcott also wrote Little Women (1868) while residing at Orchard House.

The Ralph Waldo Emerson House, located not far from the Wayside and Orchard House in Concord.  Emerson resided here with his second wife from 1835 until his death in 1882.

The Colonel and I next made our way into the center of Concord to check out the main attraction on Monument Square.  Like many New England towns, Concord erected a monument to its native sons who died in the Civil War.  At the dedication ceremony on April 19, 1867, Ralph Waldo Emerson delivered an address in which he recalled the central role of emancipation in the war:

Every man was an abolitionist by conviction, but did not believe that his neighbor was. The opinions of masses of men, which the tactics of primary caucuses and the proverbial timidity of trade had concealed, the war discovered; and it was found, contrary to all popular belief, that the country was at heart abolitionist, and for the Union was ready to die.

The Soldiers' Monument in Concord, proclaiming "Faithful Unto Death."

Detail of one of the sides of the Soliders' Monument listing the names of those with Concord connections who died in the Civil War.

After lunch and a beer at the historic Colonial Inn, my father-in-law and I drove to the North Bridge.  The site, part of Minute Man National Historical Park, marks the spot where British and colonial forces clashed on April 19, 1775.  The famous statue of the Minute Man by Daniel Chester French sits at one end of the bridge.  President Ulysses S. Grant attended the dedication ceremony for the statue during the Centennial celebration of the Battles of Lexington and Concord in 1875.

Minute Man at the North Bridge.  The sculptor, Daniel Chester French, is also famous for his statue of President Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. 

The North Bridge sits close to the Old Manse.  Emerson's grandfather built the home in 1770 and witnessed the battle from his window.  While living here from 1834-35, Emerson wrote Nature, an essay which gave birth to Transcendentalism.   Hawthorne and his wife also called the Old Manse home from 1842-45.

The Old Manse near the North Bridge.  Emerson's grandfather died in 1775.  His grandmother remarried the Rev. Ezra Ripley, and the family continued to reside in the house.  Bronson Alcott and Thoreau often visited the Hawthorne and Ripley families at the Old Manse.

We made our last stop at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, not far from Monument Square in Concord.  Established in 1855, this burial ground contains the graves of many of the town's most prominent citizens.  As I walked through the cemetery and looked over the sloping hillsides, I noticed the large number of graves belonging to Civil War veterans.  Each resting place was marked with an American flag.  I reflected on just how dramatic an impact the war had on a place like Concord.  Far removed from the battlefields in the South, this New England town experienced much sacrifice and loss during four years of war.

Perhaps the most fitting symbol of Concord's ultimate contribution to the Union cause is the Melvin Memorial, known also as Mourning Victory.  James C. Melvin commissioned the memorial in honor of his three brothers who had died in the Civil War.  All three belonged to Company K of the 1st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, which manned the defenses of Washington before being sent to the front in the spring of 1864.  John Heald Melvin died at a military hospital at Ft. Albany (in Arlington, Va.) on October 13, 1863, while Asa Heald Melvin was killed at Petersburg on June 16, 1864.  Samuel Melvin, who was captured at Harris's Farm, Virginia on May 19, 1864, later died at Andersonville in September 1864.  (Incidentally, all three names are also on the Concord Soldiers' Monument, as seen in the picture above.)

The Melvin Memorial at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.  Daniel Chester French, a longtime friend of James Melvin, created the memorial.  Three tablets on the base of the memorial commemorate each of James Melvin's brothers who died in the Civil War.  The dedication ceremony in 1909 was held on the anniversary of Asa Melvin's death at Petersburg.  Eighty-eight members of the 1st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery attended the ceremony, along with twenty members of the Old Concord Post of the Grand Army of the Republic.

 

A closer view of the relief sculpture of Victory in mourning, draped in the American flag.

After visiting the Melvin Memorial, I walked to Authors Ridge to see the graves of Concord's famed intellectual and literary community.  The hill is the final resting place for Bronson and Louisa May Alcott, Emerson, Hawthorne, and Thoreau.  The latter two died and were buried during the Civil War.  I was fascinated to see that many modern-day visitors have left behind mementos in honor of their favorite authors.

The Alcott family grave site at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.  Louisa May Alcott's grave is marked by a flag to honor her wartime service as a nurse.

The graves of James C. Melvin and John H. Melvin at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.  James Melvin served with the 6th Massachusetts Infantry.  Asa Melvin, killed at Petersburg, is buried in an unknown grave in Virginia, while Samuel Melvin is interred at Andersonville National Cemetery.

Following Sleepy Hollow, the Colonel and I headed back to home base.  The all-day tour not only taught me a thing or two about the Revolution, but also satisfied my craving to explore Massachusetts history during the Civil War era.  If you stop and look around, the war surrounds you everywhere in Concord.   In some ways, the town that helped to ignite the Revolution was at the forefront of a new one.  And the headstones and monuments speak to the high price that the community paid to preserve the Union and end slavery.

Sources

Aside from the links provided above, the following sources were useful in compiling this post:

Concord (Mass.), Ceremonies at the Dedication of the Soldiers' Monument in Concord, Mass. (1867); Concord Free Public Library, "Address at the Centennial of the Concord Fight, 1875" (2003); "Famous (and Infamous) Authors: Nathaniel Hawthorne: Clashes with Editors," The Atlantic; National Park Service, Soldiers and Sailors Database; Alfred S. Roe (ed.), The Melvin Memorial, Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Massachusetts: A Brother's Tribute: Exercises at  Dedication, June 16, 1909 (1910); Robert Sattelmeyer, "Miss Alcott Goes to War," Civil War Times, April 2012; Richard Smith, "Concord and Captain John Brown," The Concord Magazine, March-April 2001.