| Blue & Gray magazine is one of the top Civil War magazines available. The main articles usually contain endnotes, and the maps are very detailed and numerous. Blue & Gray has an “article and tour guide format”. That is, the magazine contains a main article on a battle or campaign, and later in the issue you will see a tour guide of the area. If you are a battlefield tramper, this is the magazine for you. The Winter 2006 issue focuses on Romney, (West) Virginia and its role in the Civil War. Stonewall Jackson’s Romney Campaign from the winter of 1861-1862 is also discussed. Although no major fights occurred in the Romney area, its role as a gateway to attacks on the all-important B&O Railroad led to its capture and recapture many times throughout the war. Apparently its appearance grew worse with each year as more civilians left. As always, there is an article discussing a document from Wiley Sword’s personal collection, along with several “On the Back Roads” features and book reviews. |
| Page 6 |
| Romney In The Civil War: Including Stonewall Jackson’s 1862 Campaign by Dr. Richard A. Sauers |
| Romney, located in Hampshire County, (West) Virginia, was not an altogether important place. But as author Richard Sauers notes, “warfare suddenly can make an unimportant place become important.” Dr. Sauers goes on to note the relative lack of defensible positions in and around the town, comparing it to Harpers Ferry in that it is surrounded by hills and situated in a “bowl”, so to speak. However, the importance of Romney lay not in its tactical defense, but in the overall strategic situation. Romney was near the B&O Railroad, and in this area of Virginia it crosses and recrossed the Potomac on numerous bridges…all easily reached from the town. Stonewall Jackson, among others, immediately saw the importance of the town. If he could occupy Romney his troops would pose a major threat to the well-being of the bridges and by extension the railroad itself. The Baltimore & Ohio was one of only two major east-west railroads in the county at the time, and its importance to the North could not be underestimated. The author follows this introduction with discussions of the minor action around and occupation of Romney during the war. The North held the town for the most part, evacuating notably during Lee’s 1862 and 1863 invasions of Maryland and Pennsylvania. The main troops on each side were the Ringgold Rangers for the Union and McNeill’s Rangers for the Confederacy. They faced each other in numerous skirmishes and running fights along the roads surrounding Romney. The other important event was Stonewall Jackson’s Romney Campaign, which started on New Year’s Day, 1862. Jackson first moved northwest from Winchester in the Shenandoah Valley, eventually reaching the B&O Railroad near Hancock, Maryland. He burned three stations on the Virginia side of the river, bit he was unable to convince Union forces under Frederick Lander in Hancock to retreat. After this confrontation on the Potomac, Jackson headed west to Romney. He reached the town without too much resistance, and occupied it immediately with William Loring’s three Army of the Northwest brigades. He moved his own brigade back to Winchester. Since the winter was harsh, Loring’s men grew discontent with being left to garrison a place with hardly any shelter or provisions. Loring forwarded a signed letter requesting that his Army be moved from Romney to Jackson, and Stonewall reluctantly passed it along to Richmond. Secretary of War Benjamin ordered Loring’s troops moved, and Jackson almost resigned in a huff. Things were eventually smoothed over, but Jackson’s Romney Campaign had gained no tangible results with the evacuation of Romney. |
| Page 22 |
| Wiley Sword’s War Letter Series – Sgt. Miles G. Turrentine, 1st Arkansas Infantry, C.S.A., Depicts The Vicious Fighting in Shiloh’s Hornets’ Nest |
| Sgt. Mile Turrentine writes a letter to his “friend” in this latest edition of Wiley Sword’s Letter Series. Turrentine’s 1st Arkansas Infantry was involved in some of the heaviest fighting in Shiloh’s Hornet’s Nest as a unit of Randall Gibson’s Confederate Brigade. Ironically, the 1st Arkansas was to be moved to Thomas Hindman’s all-Arkansas brigade, and orders had already been delivered. But in the rush before the Battle of Shiloh, the orders weren’t carried out until after the battle. Turrentine had several close calls and had his face blistered by a rifle ball. Turrentine was writing to Miss Bettie Waite of Fredericksburg, Virginia, and he basically was asking her to be his girlfriend by the end of the letter. He and the 1st Arkansas had fought in the east in 1861, and the two had met during this time frame. Presumably this advance was rebuffed, as Sword makes no mention of Turrentine’s eventual wife, if he ever had one. |
| Page 25 |
| On The Back Roads: Fort Norfolk: Guardian of the Elizabeth by Charlie Knight |
| Fort Norfolk, located logically enough in present-day Norfolk, Virginia, is one of the oldest masonry forts still standing in the United States today. The fort has gone through several refurbishments and periods of disrepair. It protected Norfolk in both the War of 1812 and the Civil War, though by the 1860s the presence of Fortress Monroe severely diminished its importance. Today the Fort can be toured as a stop on Virginia’s Civil War Trails program, and it is maintained by the Norfolk Historical Society. |
| Page 29 |
| On The Back Roads: Camp Nelson: Union Army Supply Depot and USCT Recruiting Center in Kentucky by Jackie Sheckler Finch |
| Camp Nelson in Kentucky was the main quartermaster depot for the Army of the Ohio. In addition, it served as a training camp for over 10,000 men belonging to USCT regiments. Historian and reenactor James Hunn has studied the men of the USCT regiments and wants people to know about men like Elijah Marrs. Elijah was a former slave who had learned to both read and write, and these skills were highly valued by his fellow soldiers. Camp Nelson covered over 4,000 acres during the war, and it hosts a National Cemetery today and Camp Nelson Heritage Park. The Park covers 408 of the original 4,000 acres. It is near Lexington, Kentucky, and admission is free. |
| Page 31 |
| On The Back Roads: A Tune Before Dying: “Cold Mountain” Reality by Geoffrey Cantrell |
| Anyone who has seen the movie Cold Mountain probably remembers the scene where several deserters are approached by Albert Teague and his Confederate Home Guard. The unfortunate deserters are going to be shot, but before that happens, they are asked to play a tune for Teague and his men. In this case, one of the soldiers, Renee Zellweger’s father, survives the point blank gunshot. However, according to local North Carolina legend, a scene similar to this really did happen. However, in this case the unfortunate deserters all died. George Groom, one of the deserters, played “Bonaparte’s Retreat”, a reference to Napoleon’s ultimate defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and also a shot at Teague and the Confederate cause. Infuriated, Teague had Groom and his two companions shot and left for dead along the side of the road. Later, relatives retrieved the bodies and buried them in one grave. It still stands today. |
| Page 38 |
| Common Soldier: Ira B. Dutton, 13th Wisconsin Infantry: Soldier and Saint by Peter J. Skelly |
| After reading this article, I’ve come to the conclusion that Ira Dutton was an extraordinary man. Among other things, he had become a member of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin at a very young age, he joined the Janesville (Wisconsin) City Zouaves pre-war, was a member of a local volunteer fire company, started a local gymnastics group, and was the librarian for his Baptist Sunday School. This was just pre-war. Dutton joined the 13th Wisconsin Infantry and they were mustered into service on October 17, 1861. Dutton became Quartermaster Sergeant for his regiment, and apparently did most of the work because the Quartermaster was mostly drunk. The regiment spent a good deal of the war protecting railroad and fighting small skirmishes at most. Dutton was promoted to full Quartermaster in 1865, and his regiment was heading to Virginia when Lee surrendered. After the war, Dutton married Eloise Headington, whom he termed “a rescue”. Apparently Eloise didn’t appreciate being rescued, and she left him after only a year. It is at this point that Dutton’s life borders on the bizarre. Dutton knocked around at odd business ventures, but eventually started drinking. He finally pulled out of this rut at the age of 40. He was baptized as a Catholic, took the name of Joseph, and entered a monastery. While there, he learned of Father Damien’s leper colony on the Hawaiian island of Molokai. He spent the remainder of his life tending to the unfortunate people afflicted with leprosy. Truly this man’s experiences were out of the ordinary for a Civil War veteran! |
| Page 42 |
| Camp Talk |
| Fifty-two field orders (fifty of them written by William T. Sherman and two by his aides) were purchased by the Atlanta History Center. These dispatches show Sherman’s relentless march on Atlanta. The Atlanta History Center also acquired the Wray Collection consisting of “159 Confederate-made or used firearms, seven Confederate flags, five complete Confederate enlisted uniforms, as well as accoutrements and other memorabilia.” Other information includes the case of Thomas Willcox, descendant of Evander Law, and his attempts to sell 440 letters from Civil War-era South Carolina. Apparently a judge ruled that these letters belong to the state, even though they have been in the family of Willcox for decades. In an update, this ruling was overturned, although the legal process is still ongoing. |
| Page 48 |
| Book Reviews |
| Books reviewed in this issue:
1. Brigadier |
| Page 51 |
| Driving Tour – Romney, W. Va., During the War, Including Stonewall Jackson’s Operations Against Dam No. 5 and Hancock, Md. |
| by Dave Roth, with Rick Sauers, Gary Gimbel, and Dan Oates |
| Stops on the Romney driving tour include the Taggart Hall Civil War Museum and Visitors Center, the Romney Presbyterian Church, Stonewall Jackson’s HQ, Indian Mound Cemetery, and Hanging Rocks, among others. |
| Page 54 |
| “The Dam Trip”: Jackson’s Attempts to Breach Dam No. 5 by Gary Gimbel |
| Stonewall Jackson attempted to destroy Dam No. 5 on the C&O Canal three separate times in December 1861. These attempts occurred just before his Romney Campaign. If Dam #5 could be destroyed, the C&O Canal would dry up and cut another vital supply line between Washington and the west. The first attempt was made from December 7-9, 1861 and led by Maj. Elisha Paxton. Raleigh Colston, a native of the area and a member of Jackson’s force, led the attack. The Confederates first shelled the Dam to no avail, and then attempted to dig a channel around the end of the Dam. The Potomac did not cooperate and this first effort failed. The second attempt, led by Jackson himself, lasted from December 17-21. In this instance, Jackson sent diversionary attacks to other points along the river. The plan was to wade into the river and use picks to cut holes in the Dam. Volunteers did just that while under constant fire from Union troops. Several large holes were cut, and Jackson left on December 21 satisfied that he had finished the job. However, the Dam was repaired by the Federals by December 22! The last attempt to breach the dam occurred from December 30, 1861 to January 3, 1862. This time the Confederates involved were Turner Ashby and his famous Valley Cavalry along with Chew’s horse artillery. Shelling was again tried, but again to no effect. The Confederates gave up the job and joined Jackson on his Romney expedition. |
| Page 64 |
| Stonewall Jackson’s Romney Campaign, Jan. 1-10, 1862 by Dr. Richard A. Sauers |
| This issue of Blue & Gray concludes with a short two-page article on Jackson’s Romney Campaign, again by Dr. Richard Sauers. Sauers covers the Confederate march north from Winchester to Hancock, Maryland, on the Potomac River, the bluffing done there by Jackson and Union General Frederick Lander, Jackson’s countermarch south, and his eventual movement west to occupy Romney. |
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