The New York History Blog

Historical News and Views from the Empire State

Civil War

Skylar Fein Exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum

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A recent work by Skylar Fein titled Black Lincoln for Dooky Chase will be on view at the Brooklyn Museum through August 2011 as the centerpiece of an installation including related works from the permanent collection. In Fein’s 2010 work he overlays a silhouette portrait of Abraham Lincoln on a panel created to resemble an old wall menu from Dooky Chase, a well-known New Orleans Creole and soul food restaurant.

Painted in acrylic on plaster and wood, Fein’s portrait will be displayed alongside such works as an 1871 marble bas-relief profile of Lincoln, early nineteenth-century cut-paper silhouettes by French artist August Edouart, and Kara Walker’s 2005 Cotton Hoards in Southern Swamp (from Harper’s Pictorial History of the Civil War).

Skylar Fein, a resident of New Orleans since 2005, believes that Lincoln’s opposition to slavery was shaped by a trip that he took as a teenager to New Orleans, which was then the center of the slave trade. Fein’s use of the silhouette taps into a long visual tradition, examples of which are included in the installation.

The silhouette was popularized in eighteenth-century Europe and soon caught on in the United States. Figures and profile portrait heads were cut from black card and set against a white ground or, in some instances, painted on glass. Evocative of the antebellum period and offering a graphic contrast of black and white the silhouette has inspired explorations of racial issues by contemporary artists such as Fein and Kara Walker.

A native of New York, Skylar Fein (born 1968) was a participant in Prospect.1 New Orleans, the 2008 biennial curated by Dan Cameron. His Remember the Upstair Lounge, a multimedia installation about a disastrous 1973 New Orleans fire at a gay bar that killed thirty-two and injured dozens, received broad critical acclaim. His work has been the subject of solo exhibitions, including the 2009 exhibition Skylar Fein: Youth Manifesto at New Orleans Museum of Art, and is represented in public and private collections.

Image: Skylar Fein (American, born 1968). Black Lincoln for Dooky Chase, 2010.

Rochester Honoring African-Am Civil War Soldiers

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Nazareth College is hosting the Rochester-Monroe County Freedom Trail Commission’s seventh annual tribute to the nearly 200,000 men of color and 7,000 white officers that constituted the United States Colored Troops (USCT) (USCT) on Tuesday, April 5, at noon in Nazareth’s Linehan Chapel of the Golisano Academic Center. On Behalf of Those Who Lie in Yonder Hallowed Ground is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. David Anderson at danders8@naz.edu or (585) 389-5140.

The event will include dramatic readings of events that were tearing the nation apart during the Civil War, and will be posed against President Lincoln’s executive order that provided for arming men of color, and the eventual Union victory. Frederick and Anna Douglass, parents of two Union soldiers, will also be honored. Frederick’s advocacy was crucial to the Union’s belated decision to enlist men of color.

These commemorative events result from a collaboration of the Rochester-Monroe County Freedom Trail Commission and Nazareth College Service Learning Center, and support from several community organizations.

Founded in 1924, Nazareth College is located on a close-knit, suburban campus in the dynamic, metropolitan region of Rochester, N.Y. The College offers challenging academic programs in the liberal arts and sciences and professional programs in health and human services, education, and management. Nazareth’s strong cultures of service and community prepare students to be successful professionals and engaged citizens. The College enrolls approximately 2,000 undergraduate students and 1,000 graduate students.

Clinton, Essex Counties 150th Civil War Anniv Meeting

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Town and village historians as well as historical organizations and individuals who may have a stake in creating an appropriate series of commemorative events for the Civil War sesquicentennial in Essex and Clinton counties are invited to join a meeting this week to coordinate possible events. Although the anniversary is fast approaching, there is as yet no commission or even an informal group organizing events in Clinton County.

Amanda A. Palmer, chairperson of the Adirondack Coast Cultural Alliance (ACCA) (and also Director/Curator of the Alice T. Miner Museum) and Jim Brangan of the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership are calling for coordinated events among local organizations, historians, towns, villages as well as with Vermont and groups south of Clinton and Essex counties.

The sesquicentennial will be the major item on the agenda of the next meeting of the Adirondack Coast Cultural Alliance (ACCA), scheduled for 8:00 a.m. on March 16 at the United Way on Tom Miller Road in Plattsburgh.

A History Buff’s Guide to the Civil War

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The 150th anniversary of the American Civil War is just months away, and the conflict’s very language still resonates within our national narrative. Texas rumbles with the sounds of secession. “States’ rights” remains a battle cry over boarder security, civil unions, and taxation. Groundswells against federalism have given birth to a political faction. The country still struggles with issues concerning race.

Author and historian Thomas R. Flagel offers a new and provocative perspective on the very source of these crises, through his newest edition of The History Buff’s Guide to the Civil War.

Nearly 150 years later, the war that divided our nation continues to fascinate history buffs and reenactment enthusiasts across the U.S. Offering a new take on how to enjoy one of the most complex and critical eras in American history, Flagel has cleared the powder smoke with the fun, quirky and absorbing compilation of the best, the worst, the largest, and the most lethal top ten rankings of the Civil War.

The History Buff’s Guide to the Civil War will provide a deeper clarity and perspective on every aspect of the war. The Second edition complete with new content and updated lists will have you debating the new and intriguing questions.

Thomas R. Flagel teaches American History at Columbia State Community College in Tennessee. He holds degrees from Loras College, Kansas State University, Creighton University, and has studied at the University of Vienna. Author of books on the Civil War, World War II, and the American Presidency, he is currently working on a volume concerning Abraham Lincoln. Flagel lives in Franklin, Tennessee, where he is on the Mayor’s Battlefield Commission, the Carter House Board, and the Franklin Civil War Round Table board.

Note: Books noticed on this site have been provided by the publishers. Purchases made through this Amazon link help support this site.

Museum Puts NY Civil War Soldiers Info Online

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As the Nation prepares to observe the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the New York State Military History Museum and Veterans Research Center is making capsule histories of 360,000 New York Civil War Soldiers available online.

The entire roster of New Yorkers who served during the Civil War Years, 1861-1865, is now available online, as well as the five annual reports issued by the Bureau of Military Statistics from 1864 to 1868 that chronicle the accomplishments of New Yorkers in battle.

The Civil War began on April 12 1861 when Confederate cannons fired on Union-occupied Fort Sumter in the harbor of Charleston, South Caroline. On April 19 1861 the New York National Guard’s 7th Regiment was mustered into service and departed for Washington to defend the Capitol.

More than 360,000 Soldiers enlisted in New York regiments to fight for the Union during the Civil War. Capsule histories of those Soldiers military records were recorded from 1893 to 1906 in 17 volumes based on data from the New York Adjutant General’s Office and the War Department, the predecessor to today’s Department of the Army. These records have been posted in PDFformat and are searchable.

The Bureau of Military Statistics was established by the Legislature in 1863 to record the history of New York’s volunteer Soldiers by collecting newspaper clippings, artifacts, and securing the battle flags of returning units. The Bureau published five reports summarizing the information collected and detailing the contributions made by New Yorkers during the Civil War. These records are also in searchable PDF format.

That collection of printed materials, weapons, artifacts and battle flags is maintained by the Military Museum today under the control of the New York State Division of Military and Naval Affairs.

Visitors to the museum’s website can find out that John Hurley, the assistant surgeon of New York City’s 69th Infantry Regiment, who enlisted on Nov. 1 1862, was killed accidently in camp on April 15, 1863 near Falmouth, Virginia. Or they can learn that the towns of Onondaga County collected $8.2 million in taxes to pay bonuses to Soldiers enrolling in volunteer regiments in 1862.

The museum staff has also begun scanning in, and making available online most of the thousands of Civil War newspaper clippings that the museum has preserved since the 1860s.

“The Civil War was a critical time in the history of the United States and of New York,” said Major General Patrick Murphy, the Adjutant General of New York. “I am pleased that the New York State Military Museum has been able to make this fascinating information readily accessible to New Yorkers and all Americans.”

“With the addition of these new online resources, the Military Museum and Veterans Research Center continues to make important historical and genealogical works from its collection more easily available to the public through our website.” Michael Aikey

“Almost everybody who contacts me is amazed at how much we have been able to put online,” said museum archivist Jim Gandy. “Without fail they are thankful that it is online because some of the stuff only exists on microfilm so you can’t even get it from the library.”

The process of digitizing these historic documents began almost eight years ago and has relied heavily on volunteers willing to spend time scanning in documents, Gandy said.

The museum’s catalog of its collection of photographs, books, articles, and paintings is also being turned into digital information and is now searchable online, Gandy said.

While the museum holds vast amounts of information about the Civil War and is making that available online, other military data of interest to history and genealogy buffs is also now available online.

Thanks to the efforts of volunteers the names of all 13,025 who served as officers in the New York State Militia, the precursor to the New York National Guard, prior to 1858, have been indexed. Local high school students fulfilling the obligation to spend 20 hours volunteering did much of this work over the last year, Gandy said.

Another volunteer project involved establishing a searchable database of the 23,315 members of the New York National Guard who were awarded the New York State Long and Faithful Service Medal between its inception in 1894 and 1963.

The Military History Museum is also the custodian of New York’s Civil War Battle Flags. More than 800 flags collected when regiments returned from the war are stored. Many of those have been conserved.

Other items now available online at the New York State Military Museum website relate to the New York National Guard’s history in World War I and World War II.

Copies of two publications issued just before and during World War I, the “Rio Grande Rattler” from 1916 and the “Wadsworth Gas Attack “from 1917 are now available for download from the website.

The Rio Grande Rattler was published when the New York National Guard was mobilized and sent to the Mexican Border in 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson following a raid on Columbus New Mexico by the troops of Mexican Revolutionary Poncho Villa. New York National Guardsmen guarded the border with Mexico in 1916 just as they would in 2006.

In 1917, New York’s 27th Division was mobilized for service in World War II and trained at Camp Wadsworth South Carolina.

Twenty-three years later the Guardsmen of the 27th Division were again on federal service, this time at Fort McClellan Maryland following President Franklin Roosevelt’s activation of the National Guard for one year of service following the successful German invasion of France. The yearbook published for the division’s Soldiers that year, which includes photographs of every unit and key officer, as well as pictures of the training, can be downloaded.

Key links on the New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center Website:

Roster of New York Volunteers during the Civil War

Annual Reports of the Bureau of Military Statistics, 1864-1868

New York State Militia Officers Prior to 1858

List of Long and Faithful Service Medal Holders


The Wadsworth Gas Attack and Rio Grande Rattler

Photo: The painted silk regimental battle flag carried by the 125th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the Civil War.

Washing Post Tweets Civil War, Secession

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As part of an initiative to mark the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, The Washington Post is tweeting the events leading up to the secession of South Carolina, in the words of the people who lived it – from journals, letters, official records and newspaper of the day.

The cast of characters tweeted include Major Robert Anderson @MjrAndersonwp, President James Buchanan @PresBuchananwp, and South Carolina Governor Francis Pickens @GovPickenswp. The feed @1860sPresswp will send updates from the Washington Evening Star. The list is curated by @civilwarwp.

For complete updates, follow the Washington Post Twitter list: “Tweeting the Civil War”

More information on the initiative can be found at: Tweeting the War: Showdown in Charleston

The secession will be tweeted through January 9, 2011.

Anniversary of John Brown’s Execution

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151 years ago this week, John Brown was executed and his body was returned to the Adirondacks. Had Brown escaped from Harpers Ferry rather than been captured he might well today be just a footnote, one of the tens of thousands that struggled to undermine the institution of slavery in America before the Civil War.

It’s often said that just one thing secured Brown’s place in the hearts of millions of Americans that came after him – his execution and martyrdom. There is another equally important reason Americans will celebrate the life of John Brown this week however – he was right slavery would end at a heavy price.

Last year, I wrote a series of posts following the last days of John Brown’s fight to end slavery. You can read the entire series here (start at the bottom).

Civil War Nurse Dedication Ceremony

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In 1911, Civil War nurse Lucy Blanchard died in Fenton, Michigan. Her remains were brought back to Syracuse and she was buried in Oakwood Cemetery. For ninety-nine years, her grave was unmarked and the memory of her service faded. Thanks to the efforts of Michigan historian Len Thomas, Lucy’s life story has been researched in depth. With the help of the Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War, a government headstone has been placed on Lucy’s grave.

On Saturday morning, November 13 at 11 o’clock, all are invited to pay tribute to this courageous lady, so long forgotten. For more information and a map to the gravesite, go to:

Washington Post Launches Civil War 150 Site

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Marking the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the Washington Post newspaper will provide special ongoing coverage with commentary from experts, sesquicentennial news and an updating event calendar at a new site, Civil War 150.

A sampling of some of the articles and features on the site includes articles like “The Civil War taught us to fight for the right to be wrong” and “Civil War panelists join ‘A House Divided’: If Lincoln hadn’t won the election, would there have been a war?” Interactive features include a photo request for reenactors, a photo gallery “Washington, D.C.: 1860 and today“, a quiz entitled “How well do you know Abe?“, and a Civil War events guide.

April 2011 will mark the 150th Anniversary of the firing on Fort Sumter and the start of the American Civil War. While the State of Vermont has laid out preliminary plans for the multi-year observance that include several large statewide events, as well as coordination of community-based activities, New York State has nothing planned and no organization set to undertake commemoration planning.

New York provided 400,000-460,000 men during the war, nearly 21% of all the men in the state and more than half of those under the age of 30. By the time the Civil War ended in 1865, New York had provided the Union Army with 27 regiments of cavalry, 15 regiments of artillery, 8 of engineers, and 248 of infantry.[5] Federal records indicate 4,125 free blacks from New York served in the Union Army, and three full regiments of United States Colored Troops were raised and organized in the Empire State—the 20th, 26th, and 31st USCT.

No actual Civil War battles were fought within the Empire State, although Confederate agents did set several fires in New York City. New York troops were prominent in virtually every major battle in the Eastern Theater, and some in the Western Theater. New Yorker John Schofield rose to command of the Army of the Ohio and won the Battle of Franklin, dealing a serious blow to Confederate hopes in Tennessee.

More than 27,000 New Yorkers fought in the war’s bloodiest battle, the three-day Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863. During the entire war, 834 officers were killed in action, as well as 12,142 enlisted men. Another 7,235 officers and men perished from their wounds, and 27,855 died from disease. Another 5,766 were estimated to have perished while incarcerated in Southern prisoner-of-war camps.

Historic Civil War Coastal Survey Documents Online

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In honor of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War in 2011, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has assembled a special historical collection of maps, charts, and documents prepared by the U.S. Coast Survey during the war years. The collection, “Charting a More Perfect Union,” contains over 400 documents, available free from NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey website.

Coast Survey’s collection includes 394 Civil War-era maps, including nautical charts used for naval campaigns, and maps of troop movements and battlefields. Rarely seen publications include Notes on the Coast, prepared by Coast Survey to help Union forces plan naval blockades against the Confederacy, and the annual report summaries by Superintendent Bache as he detailed the trials and tribulations of producing the maps and charts needed to meet growing military demands.

In the nation’s early years, the United States lost more ships to accidents than to war. In 1807, President Thomas Jefferson established the Survey of the Coast to produce the nautical charts necessary for maritime safety, defense and the establishment of national boundaries. By 1861, Coast Survey was the government’s leading scientific agency, charting coastlines and determining land elevations for the nation. Today, the Office of Coast Survey still meets its maritime responsibilities as a part of NOAA, surveying America’s coasts and producing the nation’s nautical charts.

In his annual report on Dec. 15, 1861, Coast Survey Superintendent Alexander Bache wrote, “it has been judged expedient during the past year to suspend usual foreign distribution” of reports on the progress of maps and charts. Distribution of maps, charts, and sketches almost tripled in the 1861 “due to the demands of the War and Navy Departments.” However, because the Coast Survey could not easily ascertain the loyalties of private citizens, private distribution of maps was severely restricted among “applicants who were not well known having been referred to the representative of the congressional district from which the application had been mailed.”

The Civil War special collection is accessible through a searchable online database.

Illustration: Map of the Battlefield of Chickamauga. U.S. Coast Survey cartographers traveled with Union forces to produce battlefield maps during the Civil War. Courtesy NOAA.