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.

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).

Singapore During the Civil War Era, Part I: Remnants of British Colonial Rule

This weekend I returned from a business trip to Singapore. While on the ground, I had some down time to explore this enchanting Southeast Asian city-state. I wasn't necessarily planning on a two-part series for the blog, but after a visit to a few historical sites from the Victorian era, I thought readers might enjoy a detour from the ordinary fare. Here, on the other side of the world, a British port city continued to grow in commercial importance as America fell apart over slavery and secession. In today's installment, I look at some nineteenth century sites associated with Singapore before and during the Civil War.

On January 29, 1819, Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles of the British East India Company landed on the banks of the Singapore River. Negotiating with island leaders, he secured British rights to use Singapore as a trading post. The town sat at the southern end of the Straits of Malacca, an important shipping route between India and China. The East India Company already controlled Penang at the northern end; possession of Singapore secured the company's dominance of the Straits.

Statue of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles at the probable 1819 landing site along the Singapore River. The low buildings on the opposite shore mark the location of former warehouses. Now home to vibrant nightlife, the riverfront was once buzzing with commercial activity related to shipping and trade.

The acquisition of Singapore caused trouble with the Dutch, who were Britain's political and economic rivals for control of Southeast Asia. The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 settled the dispute by cementing Britain's control over Singapore and other possessions north of the Straits of Malacca. (The treaty essentially established British domination over territory comprising modern-day Malaysia and Singapore; the Dutch were given land corresponding to present-day Indonesia.)

In 1826, the British East Company grouped Singapore with Malacca and Penang to form the Straits Settlements. By 1830, Singapore's strategic location had transformed the backwater settlement into a major port. Britain further encouraged commercial activity by making Singapore a free port, devoid of tariffs and other charges on commerce. As U.S. trade with China grew throughout the first part of the nineteenth century, American merchant ships frequently called at the port of Singapore. In July 1836, the United States installed a Consulate in Singapore and named Joseph Balestier as the first U.S. Consul.

Between 1821 and 1860, Singapore's population exploded from around 5,800 to more than 81,000. By the start of the 1860s, the Chinese composed the largest ethnic group, followed by the Indians and Malays. Lawlessness and immorality were rampant in nineteenth century Singapore. The British, however, maintained a very small police force (only 12 officers in 1850!) and seemed more concerned with preserving the bottom line rather than law and order.

Colonial District

I stated my tour of Singapore in the Colonial District, which is located north of the Singapore River. The area contains many landmarks from the period of British control during the mid-nineteenth century. The government of Singapore has done a solid job of placing historical markers, which provided much of the content for the captions below.

The Old Parliament House was constructed in 1827 and leased to the colonial government. The building housed the court and government offices. In 1841, the government purchased the property. Alterations in the 1870s and early 1900s altered the original design. The building was used as a parliament house when Singapore gained independence in 1965.  Today a contemporary arts center known as the Arts House calls the building home. King Rama V of Thailand presented the elephant statue as a gift to Singapore following his visit in 1871, which was the first foreign trip by a Thai monarch.

The Dalhousie Obelisk was erected to commemorate the visit of the Governor-General of India, Lord Dalhousie, and his wife to Singapore in 1850. Local merchants raised funds for erecting the obelisk, believing that Dalhousie's visit would stimulate British improvements in Singapore. Their hopes were unfortunately misplaced.

Construction on St. Andrew's Cathedral began in 1856. The colonial authorities used Indian convict labor to build the church. The Bishop of Calcutta consecrated St. Andrews' in January 1862. An earlier church built on the same site in the 1830s was twice struck by lightening and rendered unsafe.

Fort Canning Park

After touring the colonial era sites near the river, I headed to Fort Canning Park. This Singaporean national treasure is situated on a rise that the British once called Government Hill. Raffles built a bungalow here that served as a home to several governors. My stroll along the shady "19th-Century Walk" was a welcome break from the tropical heat and humidity.

Between 1859 and 1861 the British constructed a fort on Government Hill. The fort was designed with two purposes in mind-- protection of Singapore against a foreign sea-borne invasion and shelter for the local European population in the event of a local uprising. The British named the fort after Lord Charles John Canning, the Governor-General of India during the 1857 Indian Rebellion. The rise subsequently became known as "Fort Canning Hill." When completed, the fort had barracks for Indian and British soldiers, officers' quarters, two magazines, and a hospital. According to a historical marker on the site, by 1867 Fort Canning was armed with seven 68-pounder guns, eight 8-inch guns, two 13-inch mortars, and a few 14-pounder carronades.

The only surviving section of Fort Canning's wall, built between 1859-60. This portion of the wall was on the north side of the fort. A moat once ran where the walking trail is now located. Beyond the subject of this post, Fort Canning Hill is also the site of the Battle Box, an underground bunker where the Allied command planned the final stages of a failed stand against Japanese invaders in February 1942.

Fort Canning's gate is located up the footpath from the remnants of the old wall.

Another view of the fort's gate.

My visit to Singapore caused me to ponder events occurring elsewhere as America headed towards and fought the Civil War. British dominance in Singapore continued unabated. Trade and shipping spurred economic growth and encouraged immigration. The colonial powers erected a grand Gothic cathedral and built a fort high above the city to protect British interests. However, as we shall see in my next post, even a place as remote as Singapore could not entirely escape the Civil War in far away America.

Sources

Maurice Collins, Raffles: The Definitive Biography (2009 ed.); Peter Church, A Short History of South-East Asia (2009); Mark Lewis, The Rough Guide to Singapore (2013); Iain Manley, Tales of Old Singapore (2013); St. Andrew's Cathedral, Diocese of Singapore, "Our Beginning"; U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian, "A Guide to the United States' History of Recognition, Diplomatic, and Consular Relations, by Country, since 1776: Singapore".

Railroad History in Ellicott City, Maryland

Railroads seem to dominate life in the Baumgarten household these days. My twin boys love trains, and Santa just got them a wooden train table for Christmas. I'll also admit to being a train aficionado, ever since the days of HO model railroading in my parents' basement. (In a former life, I was even a railroad lawyer representing Union Pacific!) It should come as no surprise that we've had some train-related family outings, including the requisite stops at local model railroad displays. But no visit so far can match the Sunday we spent at the B&O Railroad Museum in Ellicott City, Maryland.

Ellicott City, known as Ellicott's Mills in the nineteenth century, was the terminus of the nation's first thirteen miles of commercial rail. The Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad built the station in 1830-31 out of local granite. Now part of the B&O Railroad Museum system, it is considered "the oldest surviving railroad station in America." (B&O Railroad Museum, Ellicott City Station website.) The railroad first used the station for handling freight, but made changes in 1856-57 to accommodate passenger traffic.

Streetside view of the  Ellicott City Station, part of the B&O Railroad Museum. A Civil War Trails marker sits in the foreground. For more information, see the Historical Marker Database.

During the Civil War, the B&O Railroad played a pivotal role in moving men and materiel for the Union military. Various Federal units were assigned to protect the rails at Ellicott's Mills. The homegrown Patapsco Guards, organized in September 1861, stood watch over the railroad until the spring of the following year. The 12th New Jersey was encamped at Ellicott's Mills from September-December 1862. Pennsylvania and Maine troops also performed guard duty in the town. Confederate prisoners of war captured at Antietam and Gettysburg were kept at the Ellicott's Mills Station while awaiting parole or transportation to prison camps. After the Battle of Monocacy in July 1864, the defeated Federals retreated through Ellicott's Mills as they made their way to Baltimore by train and on foot.

Trackside view of the station looking towards the north (away from Baltimore). The Patapsco River sits at the bottom of an embankment located just beyond the fence and elevated tracks to the right. The doors to the car house are visible in the middle of the building. By the 1840s, trains were no longer pulled into the station. A replica of the first horse-drawn passenger rail car, Pioneer, sits on tracks outside the station.

A close-up view of the horse-drawn passenger car Pioneer. The first trains on the B&O Railroad were drawn by horses. More powerful steam locomotives soon replaced them.

View of the station's administrative office, which later served as the ladies' waiting room. The museum has added a few Civil War-era touches (Union great coat, national colors of the Patapsco Guards, and portrait of President Lincoln), even if not technically correct to the period when the room was used as an administrative office (1831-56).

The station's telegraph room and ticket office, which was added during the 1856-57 conversion for passenger service. Men purchased their tickets through the window on the right; women and children bought theirs from a window on the opposite wall.

View past the Pioneer to the 1885 freight house and 1927 "I-5" caboose. The freight building now houses a 40-foot HO-gauge model of the B&O line between Baltimore and Ellicott's Mills. In honor of the Sesquicentennial, the museum has chosen to depict the thirteen mile stretch as it appeared during the Civil War.

Detail of model railroad display in freight house showing Union artillery emplacement, Camp Relay, and the Thomas Viaduct.

View of Main Street in Ellicott City. A walk through the historic town, whose streets are lined with many shops and restaurants, is well worth the time following a visit to the train station. During the Civil War, mill workers and merchants in Ellicott City and surrounding Howard County were largely Unionist, although pockets of Confederate sympathizers also existed. 

My son Jack standing in front of the last remaining arch of the Oliver Viaduct over the Tiber River. The railroad station sits to the right of the viaduct. Originally composed of three arches, the Oliver Viaduct was completed in 1830 and carried trains across the Baltimore & Frederick Turnpike, or National Road (today's Main Street/MD 144).

The railroad Bridge across Main Street welcomes visitors to Ellicott City. The bridge connects with the remaining arch of the Oliver Viaduct to the left.

View of the Patapsco River on a beautiful fall day. The railroad station sits above the river to the right.

The B&O Railroad Museum in Ellicott City made the Civil War Trust's "Essential To-Do List" for the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. After my trip to the museum in October, I understood why. The station transports visitors back to a day when the B&O Railroad was essential to the Union war effort. A stroll through the old town past nineteenth century buildings further enhances the time travel effect. Whether you are a Civil War enthusiast, a railroad fan, or simply curious about history, I'd recommend a visit to Ellicott City and the B&O Railroad Museum.

More Information

For additional information about visiting the B&O Railroad Museum's Ellicott City Station, see here. The museum's main complex is located in Baltimore.

"The War Came By Train" is the B&O Railroad Museum's special commemoration of the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War. The museum is sponsoring a variety of Civil War-related events and exhibits now through December 2015. The day I visited the Ellicott City Station, for instance, the museum was featuring an interpretative panel on the role of the Patapsco Guards during the Gettysburg Campaign. For more information on the 150th commemoration, including events in Ellicott City, see the museum's website.

EllicottCity.net provides extensive information on visiting the town, including attractions, restaurants, and shopping.

A list of historical markers in Ellicott City, including Civil War Trails stops, can be found here.

Sources

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

B&O Railroad Museum, "Image 2: The Oliver Viaduct"; Lisa Kawata, "Union soldiers' letters offer insight about Civil War camp in Ellicott City," Baltimore Sun, Feb. 1, 2011; Janet P. Kusterer & Victoria Goeller, Remembering Ellicott City: Stories from the Patapsco River Valley (2009); Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources, "The Thomas Viaduct -- A Vital Link"; Maryland Historical Trust, "Inventory Form for State Historic Sites Survey: Oliver Viaduct"; Maryland Historical Trust, "National Register Listings: Howard County: Ellicott City Station, B&O Railway"; John F. Stover, History of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (1987).

A Fire at Dr. Mackall's Near Langley, October 1863: More Insights on Civilians and the Contraband Camps

When compared to other topics in local Civil War history such John Mosby's exploits or First Manassas, few writings have focused on the story behind the contraband camps that were established on abandoned secessionist lands in Northern Virginia. These farms represented a social experiment in transitioning freed slaves to self-sufficiency while reducing disease and overcrowding that was prevalent in other contraband settlements. The fact that the Union Army placed the camps on the property of Confederate sympathizers and slaveholders is replete with irony. As I wrote a few months ago, my research on the contraband camps is an on-going effort, and I plan to share my findings here on the blog.

Detachments from Union cavalry and infantry regiments were garrisoned at or near the farms to protect them against Confederate raids, although not always successfully. While looking for additional information on military life at the camps, I came across the following item from the October 21, 1863 edition of the Alexandria Gazette:

The house occupied by the officers in charge of the the contraband farms in Virginia, between Langley and Lewinsvillle, accidentally took fire and was burned to the ground on Sunday afternoon. The house was the property of Dr. Mackall, formerly of Cecil county, Md. The property was at one time owned by the superintendent of public schools in the state of New York.

This article refers to the home of Dr. Richard C. Mackall, indicated on  Map-1 below. Mackall had about 129 acres on the road from Langley to Lewinsville. The property sat squarely between the two separate tracts that constituted Camp Wadsworth. (See Map-2 below and my previous post on the location of the camp.) Starting at some point in the summer of 1863, Mackall's house became the residence and headquarters for the officers assigned to Camp Wadsworth. Camp Beckwith was farther down road past Lewinsville, and the Official Records indicates that the officers at that location were quartered at a house that sat on the farm there. (OR, 1:29:1, 202; previous post here.)

Map-1, detail from an 1862 Union Army map of Northeastern Virginia (courtesy of Library of Congress). Mackall's property, including the local landmark "Mackall's Hill," is visible between Langley (r) and Lewinsville (l). Artillery was positioned on or near Mackall's property during minor skirmishes at Lewinsville in September 1861.

Federal authorities targeted abandoned secessionist properties when selecting sites for the contraband farms. The decision to use of Dr. Mackall's house makes perfect sense, considering that Mackall had the reputation as a staunch supporter of the Confederate cause. Moreover, his own brother, Gen. William W. Mackall, was serving as Gen. Braxton Bragg's chief of staff.

Map showing Dr. Richard C. Mackall's property (red) superimposed on a present-day map of McLean, Virginia. (View Mackall Property and Camp Wadsworth in a larger map.) Camp Wadsworth was located on land belonging to Lewis D. Means (yellow) and James W. Cooke (blue). The Langley Shopping Center sits on or near the former site of Mackall's Hill.

Dr. Mackall was born on January 14, 1822 at Wilna in Cecil County, Maryland. At age eighteen, he entered the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery. After graduation in 1841, Mackall moved to St. Louis, Missouri and practiced dentistry, but three years later returned to the East Coast and earned a medical degree from the University of Maryland. Mackall first practiced medicine in Prince William County, Virginia. When his first wife died, he relocated once again, this time to Savannah, Georgia, where he practiced medicine and remarried. Following three years in Savannah, Mackall purchased his farm in Fairfax County near Langley.

An old picture of Wilna, boyhood home of Richard C. and William W. Mackall near Elkton in Cecil County, Maryland (courtesy of Historical Marker Database). A marker near this site site discusses William Mackall's career during the Civil War.

As the sectional crisis intensified, Mackall became active on behalf of the secessionist cause. At a meeting of concerned citizens in Fairfax Court House at the end of April 1861, he was appointed to a committee that drafted a series of resolutions regarding the defense and preparedness of the Commonwealth in the wake of the Virginia Convention's recent vote in favor of secession. The attendees at the meeting unanimously adopted the resolutions. On May 23, Mackall cast his ballot for the Virginia Ordinance of Secession in the Lewinsville precinct. He was in the minority among his neighbors to favor a break with the Union.

When the Federal Army occupied the area around Langley and Lewinsville in October 1861, Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock located his brigade headquarters at Mackall's residence. Dr. Mackall was made a political prisoner, but Hancock allegedly intervened and secured Mackall's release. The doctor returned to Wilna in Cecil County for the remainder of the war.

Mackall was an active member of the community during the post-war years. He served as president of the Cecil County School Commissioners and was elected to the Maryland Legislature as a Democrat in 1888. Mackall was also the one-time owner and editor of the Cecil Democrat. He died on February 16, 1902 after a brief illness caused by paralysis.

The article in the Gazette, however brief, fills additional gaps in our knowledge about the contraband camps and illustrates the dramatic impact that war had on civilians in Northern Virginia. Mackall's home fell into Union hands, and the officers working there oversaw and protected the nearby contraband camp. Could Mackall have ever imagined that his own property would become part of the Union effort to promote the economic and social advancement of freed slaves? A few months later, a violent fire literally wiped Mackall's antebellum homestead off the map. The symbolism was unmistakable: War had brought revolutionary change to Langley, and life would never again be the same.

Sources

Alexandria Gazette, May 3, 1861; Alexandria Gazette, Oct. 21, 1863; Brian A. Conley, Fractured Land: Fairfax County's Role in the Vote for Secession, May 23, 1861 (2001); "Dr. Richard C. Mackall," Obituary, in The Dental Cosmos: A Monthly Record of Dental Science (May 1902); Beth Mitchell, Fairfax County in 1860: Property Owners (original map book available at Virginia Room, City of Fairfax Regional Library) ("1860 Map"); N.Y. Times, Oct. 11, 1861.

In Search of the Contraband Camps of McLean, Virginia, Part II: Camp Beckwith

A few weeks ago I wrote about the location of one of the contraband camps in the McLean, Virginia area. The Union Army established Camp Wadsworth on property belonging to local Confederate sympathizers near Langley on May 30, 1863. Just one week later, the Federal authorities decided to organize yet another contraband farm in the same general vicinity. This week I turn my attention to the possible location of this second camp, which was situated near Lewinsville. The historical evidence is somewhat less definitive than in the case of Camp Wadsworth, but I wanted to present my preliminary conclusions based on the documents and other sources I have reviewed since starting my research.

As D.B. Nichols, Superintendent of Freedman, noted in his July 1863 report on the newly-established contraband camps:

[W]e organized . . . Camp Beckwith, on MCVAY's and JACKSON's farms, near Lewinsville. (N.Y. Times, Aug. 9, 1863.)

According to a map of land ownership for Fairfax County in 1860, property belonging to both Dr. William Harvey McVeigh and Townsend McVeigh sat very close to the crossroads at Lewinsville. There is no record of a "McVay," so presumably Nichols misspelled the last name. Moreover, farmland under the name of Susan M. Jackson was located adjacent to William McVeigh's land near Lewinsville. Jackson was the widow of the infamous James W. Jackson, who gunned down Col. Elmer Ellsworth of the 11th New York Fire Zouaves at the start of the war. James Jackson's mother also had extensive acreage in the vicinity, but farther from Lewinsville and the McVeigh property. Both the McVeigh and Jackson families had reason to attract the attention of Union authorities, so it is perhaps not surprising that their abandoned land became the target for a social experiment involving the resettlement of contrabands.

Wartime view of Lewinsville, Virginia, from Harper's Weekly, Dec. 14, 1861 (courtesy of sonofthesouth.net). As I noted in a previous post, this depiction of the village is somewhat fanciful.

The McVeigh Property

Townsend McVeigh was born in Virginia in 1800. He owned land in Fairfax County close to Lewinsville (grid square 30:1, 1860 Map), but resided with his family in Loudoun County. In 1859 Townsend conveyed 95 acres near Lewinsville to his son William, a physician born in 1828 (grid square 30:1). This land comprised part of the Windy Hill Farm, which is today listed on the Fairfax County Inventory of Historic Sites.

According to 1860 Census, William McVeigh lived in Fairfax with his wife and three small children. He raised hay, oats, and potatoes. William also owned some dairy cows and cattle. Presumably this farming took place on William's property in Lewinsville. Tax records from 1861 indicate that McVeigh had three slaves.

Mason Shipman leased William's farm or otherwise raised crops there under contract.* The exact start and end date of this business relationship remains uncertain. Shipman's name appears on an 1862 Union Army map of Northeastern Virginia at or near the location of William's farm (see below). According to historian Chuck Mauro, Shipman was farming on William McVeigh's land when the Union Army confiscated his hay in 1863.

Map-1,detail of an 1862 Union Army map of Northeastern Virginia ("McDowell map") showing Lewinsville, Langley, and vicinity (courtesy of Library of Congress). The Shipman residence sat to the northwest of Lewinsville in an area along Scott's Run where William McVeigh's land bordered Susan Jackson's property.

William became active in the local community. He sat on the Board of Trustees for the Strawberry Vale Institute for Young Ladies near Peach Grove (today's Tyson's Corner).** William also served as one of the commissioners in the Lewinsville precinct for the vote on the Ordinance of Secession. William cast his ballot for ratification along with thirty-eight others, but in the end, Lewinsville was one of three precincts in the county to reject the Ordinance on May 23, 1861. Like other secessionists, William likely left his farm in 1861 before the Federal occupation of the neighborhood that fall. He died at his father's home in Middleburg in 1864.

The McVeigh family had its fair share of encounters with Union authorities. On April 10, 1863, the Alexandria Gazette reported that a "Dr. Wm. H. McVeigh" was one of several civilians arrested for disloyalty and brought to Washington by Union forces under Gen. Julius Stahel. Townsend McVeigh, William's father, also appears to have been arrested for his anti-Union sympathies and placed on a prison barge opposite Alexandria in June 1863. When he refused to take the oath of allegiance, Townsend was sent to Old Capitol Prison in Washington and later released.*** Records indicate that William's brother, Townsend Jesse (or T.J.) McVeigh likely served as a chaplain of the 2nd Virginia Infantry. T.J. was captured in early 1862 and sent to Old Capitol Prison. He was released on parole in March of that year.

When the Union authorities began to look for a place to locate a contraband camp outside of Washington, they surely wasted no time in setting their sights on the McVeigh lands. According to Shipman's claim before the Southern Claims Commission, Camp Beckwith was established on William's farm near Lewinsville. (Sprouse, Vol. 4, 1349.)**** It is altogether possible that some or all of the neighboring land owned by his father was also used for the same purpose, but I have yet to find any proof. Today the McVeigh properties are occupied by residential housing. The green area on Map-2 below represents William's property superimposed on the current-day map of McLean. Townsend McVeigh's land is shown in blue.

Map-2, showing the probable location of Camp Beckwith (view Camp Beckwith in a larger map)

The red pin  indicates the location of Lewinsville at the intersection of Chain Bridge Road and Great Falls Street. The Windy Hill farmhouse is indicated by the blue pin. The home, built around 1827, survives today but is barely visible behind trees.

Looking down Lewinsville Road along the southern edge of the former William McVeigh property. A housing development now sits on the heights above the treeline. The Windy Hill farmhouse is also located in the same neighborhood.

The Jackson Property

The Jackson family's land became the target of Union authorities for obvious reasons. James W. Jackson was born near Lewinsville in 1823 to Richard and Jane Donaldson Jackson.***** His father died when he was about six months old. Jane wanted her son to attend Georgetown College, but in the end she sent James to live with his brother, John, in Kentucky. While residing in the Bluegrass State, James met and married Susan Maria Adams of Washington County. He returned to Fairfax with his wife sometime before 1850 and spent a few years farming a tract of land around Lewinsville. In 1858 James became the proprietor of the Union Hotel in Fairfax Court House. By 1860, the Jackson family owned four slaves. Around the start of 1861, James moved his family to Alexandria, where he signed a five-year lease on the Marshall House at the corner of Pitt and King Streets. On January 19, the Alexandria Gazette reported that Jackson's inn and tavern were open for business.

James W. Jackson (courtesy of Johnson County Community College).

Jackson became an ardent secessionist and defiantly flew the stars and bars from the roof of the Marshall House to demonstrate his allegiance. As Union troops occupied Alexandria on May 24, Col. Ellsworth entered the hotel and tore down the flag. Jackson, a combative person by nature, confronted Ellsworth and killed him with a musket blast to the chest. Jackson was immediately shot dead by a Union soldier. The young innkeeper left behind his wife and three daughters. Soon after his death, Jackson was hailed throughout the Confederacy as a martyr for the cause of Southern independence.

James Jackson's wife owned over 120 acres near Lewinsville (grid squares 20:4, 21:3, 29:2, & 30:1). She acquired most or all of  this land in 1859. Susan was living in Alexandria with James when he was killed, and it is unclear whether she ever resided on her property in Lewinsville after his death. Susan and her children may also have visited or stayed with her mother-in-law in Lewinsville sometime during the summer of 1861.******

Jane Jackson lived on over 600 acres along the Leesburg-Georgetown Turnpike near Langley and Lewinsville (grid squares 20:2, 20:4, 21:1, & 21:3) Her home is indicated on Map-1 to the west of Prospect Hill. In October 1861, soldiers from the 10th Pennsylvania Reserves raided Jane Jackson's house upon learning that she had furnished sensitive information to the Confederates about Union troop movements and positions. They placed her under arrest and sent her to Washington. The soldiers also found "two arms-full of important papers." (Ltr. from Anon. to Lancaster Express, Oct. 16, 1861.) According to one contemporary account, the Union troops "took all her negroes which could be of service to them, and gave the others away." (Anonymous 45.) They also "destroyed her furniture, and appropriated a quantity of house-keeping stores which she had laid up." (Anonymous 45.)

Jane and Susan, like other Confederate sympathizers, may have left the area at some point during the war, but more research is needed to determine their whereabouts. In June 1863, the Union Army established part of Camp Beckwith on property that had been abandoned by the Jackson family. Federal authorities likely selected Susan's tract, given its immediate proximity to Lewinsville and William McVeigh's land, where the other half of the camp was located. Jane Jackson's land was farther away, although I have not found evidence that would definitively exclude her property as a possible site.

Susan Jackson's property is indicated in orange on Map-2 above. Suburban housing developments now cover the land. The Capital Beltway (I-495) also cuts through the eastern edge of Jackson's former property near Scott's Run.

Photograph west looking along Lewinsville Road in McLean towards land that once belonged to Susan Jackson. The landscape has been dramatically transformed since the 1860s. Notice the bridge over I-495. 

Based on available sources, we generally know where the Union authorities placed Camp Beckwith. My research over the last several months has raised even more questions that it has answered. Work remains to be done, such as a thorough examination of the Shipman claim. I'd also like to find soldiers' letters and other primary source documents that contain possible clues confirming the camp locations. Another big unknown is the story of the contrabands who lived at Camp Beckwith and neighboring Camp Wadsworth. Other topics include the experiences of the Federal troops who protected the camps and the aid society workers who taught and assisted the contrabands. In the coming months and years, I hope to find more information, and I plan on returning to this topic to share my discoveries.

Notes

*William McVeigh's arrangement with Shipman is mentioned in a few secondary sources. (See Mauro 111; Sprouse, Vol. 4, 1349.) These sources rely on the Shipman's claim for damages before the Southern Claims Commission (SCC). Unfortunately, the SCC file is not available on-line, and I have not yet independently verified the content of Shipman's claim. An examination of the SCC file is likely to uncover additional details about both Shipman and McVeigh.

**The advertisement in the Alexandria Gazette for Aug. 20, 1860 lists McVeigh's address as Annandale in Fairfax County. It is unclear whether he resided there for a particular period of time before moving to Lewinsville, or maintained a residence in both places.

***Articles in the Alexandria Gazette refer to Townsend McVeigh as "Dr. Townsend" or "Dr. Townshend" McVeigh of Middleburg, Loudoun County.

****Again, a thorough examination of the Shipman SCC file may reveal additional details about the placement of Camp Beckwith.

*****Jackson's boyhood home, built in the mid-18th century, still stands along Swink's Mill Road in McLean. The house is listed on the Fairfax County Inventory of Historic Sites. The Jackson family sold the property in 1843.

******In an August 21, 1861 letter to the Pittsburg Gazette, a staff officer from the 9th Pennsylvania Reserves reported that some soldiers from the Reserves visited Jane Jackson's home and met one of James Jackson's daughters.

Sources

Alexandria Gazette, Aug. 20, 1860, Jan. 19, 1861, May 21, 1861, Mar. 7, 1863, Apr. 10, 1863, June 26, 1863, July 23, 1863, Aug. 15, 1863, May 10, 1864; Anonymous, Life of James W. Jackson: The Alexandria Hero, the Slayer of Ellsworth, the First Martyr in the Cause of Southern Independence (1862); Susan Collet Butler, "Windy Hill Farm," Yearbook of the Historical Society of Fairfax County, Vol. 11, pp. 63-74 (1971); Brian A. Conley, Fractured Land: Fairfax County's Role in the Vote for Secession, May 23, 1861 (2001); Fairfax County Inventory of Historic Sites Report: Windy Hill Farm (report and research notes of Susan Hellman, Dept. of Planning and Zoning,Sept. 2006, available at Virginia Room, City of Fairfax Regional Library); Carole Herrick, Images of America: McLean (2011); "Jackson Family Cemetery," Find-a-Grave (website); "James William Jackson (?-1861)," Find-a-Grave (website); "Jane Moore Donaldson Jackson (1796-1872)," Find-a-Grave (website); "Richard Jackson (1778-1823)," Find-a-Grave (website); Ltr. from "Alpha" to Pittsburg Gazette, Aug. 21, 1861 (courtesy of P.R.V.C. Hist. Soc.); Ltr. from Anon. to Lancaster Express, Oct. 16, 1861 (courtesy of P.R.V.C. Hist. Soc.); Ltr. from Nathaniel S. Falconer to Warren Ledger, Oct. 19, 1861 (courtesy of P.R.V.C. Hist. Soc.) ; Charles V. Mauro, The Civil War in Fairfax County: Civilians and Soldiers (2006); Hugh Milton McIlhany, Some Virginia Families (1903); "Dr. William Harvey McVeigh (?-1864)," Find-a-Grave (website); "Townsend McVeigh (1800-77)," Find-a-Grave (website); Beth Mitchell, Fairfax County in 1860: Property Owners (original map book available at Virginia Room, City of Fairfax Regional Library) ("1860 Map"); N.A.R.A., Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Virginia, available at fold3.com; N.Y. Times, Aug. 9, 1863; Official Records, 1:29:1, 201-02, 2:2, 272-73; "Mason Shipman (1828-1916)," Find-a-Grave (website); Edith Moore Sprouse, Fairfax County in 1860: A Collective Biography (1996) (7 vols. available at Virginia Room, City of Fairfax Regional Library); U.S. Federal Census Returns for the Commonwealth of Virginia, 1850 & 1860, available at ancestry.com; U.S. Federal Census Slave Schedules for 1860, available at ancestry.com.

A Snapshot of Virginia on the Brink: The "Alexandria Gazette," January 19, 1861

The other day while researching for a future post on contraband camps in Northern Virginia, I came across a copy of the January 19, 1861 edition of the Alexandria Gazette. I soon realized the historic value of this particular paper. The articles and classifieds on page three paint a fascinating picture of Virginia on the precipice of the Civil War. The Commonwealth had not yet left the Union, but events were unfolding that would set Virginia on the tragic road to secession. Meanwhile, an innkeeper from Fairfax had just opened a business in Alexandria that would soon become a scene of wartime violence and martyrdom.

In mid-January 1861, the General Assembly of Virginia called for a state convention to consider the question of secession. By the time the Gazette was published on January 19, the campaign to elect delegates was in full swing. The paper published several items related to candidates in Northern Virginia:

The election for delegates was held on February 4, 1861. (See my previous post here.) Moss, a supporter of secession, lost to moderate Unionist William Dulany. George W. Brent, a strong pro-Union candidate from Alexandria County, won his election to the Convention. Janney and Carter, both Unionist candidates, took Loudoun's two seats. Janney would go on to become the President of the Convention. On April 17 the Convention voted to leave the Union, although Brent, Carter, Dulany, and Janney joined the minority against the Ordinance of Secession. Both Dulany and Brent, who placed loyalty to Virginia first and foremost despite their votes in the Convention, served as Confederate officers.

The January 19 edition of the Gazette also reported on a new innkeeper in town:

James Jackson, apparently eager to spread the word about his business, also placed a glowing advertisement in the same paper:

Only a few short months later, the Marshall House would make headlines across the county. On May 23, Virginia voters ratified the Ordinance of Secession by overwhelming numbers. In a public display of his allegiance to the secessionist cause, Jackson hoisted the stars and bars above the Marshall House. As Federal troops moved to occupy Alexandria on May 24, Col. Elmer Ellsworth of the 11th New York Fire Zouaves rushed to the roof of the Marshall House and ripped down the Confederate flag flying there. Jackson confronted Ellsworth in the stairwell and shot him dead. Cpl. Francis Brownell of the Fire Zouaves then killed Jackson with a musket blast. In the aftermath of Ellsworth's death, the young colonel and friend of Lincoln became a martyr for the Union cause. Confederates in Virginia and elsewhere exalted Jackson as a hero who made the ultimate sacrifice in the name of Southern independence. Almost immediately, souvenir hunters began to carry away pieces of the Marshall House. Jackson's new business venture, announced with great fanfare in the Gazette, had become just another casualty of war. 

Engraving of the Marshall House from Harper's Weekly, June 8, 1861 (courtesy of House Divided). The site is today occupied by the Hotel Monaco.

This one page in the Gazette speaks volumes about the interconnectedness of history. The fate of Jackson and the Marshall House were related to the Virginia Convention in ways that no one could have imagined on January 19, 1861. The Unionist candidates from Northern Virginia still hoped that secession could be averted. Jackson supported a break with the Union, but he also had a business to run and money to make. The Convention unleashed forces beyond the Unionist delegates' control. Secession and war soon followed. Jackson, a local innkeeper only months before, met his demise confronting Union troops and came to symbolize the Confederate cause in the early days of the conflict. On January 19, no one knew what the future would hold. Yet the story was all right there, on page three, waiting to happen.

Sources

Martha M. Boltz, "Jackson and Ellsworth: Death on both sides in the Civil War," Washington Times, May 18, 2011; Library of Virginia, Virginia Memory: Union or Secession (on-line resource); University of Richmond, Virginia Secession Convention (on-line resource).