Browsing All posts tagged under »Jefferson County West Virginia«

Logan Osburn throws in the towel… but later tries to backtrack

March 1, 2013 by

0

The measure of conditional Unionism varied from person to person. Jefferson County’s Logan Osburn provides an excellent example of that, and I’ll show how in just a minute. Ultimately, in measuring Unionists… and yes, even some “eventual Confederates”… Unionism is the common thread from which “conditionals” broke. Going back even further, there is a valid […]

Not in the claims, and not in blue, but… some of the other Southern Unionists of Harpers Ferry

February 9, 2013 by

11

Though I often focus on the stories tucked-away in Southern Claims Commission applications, there were more Southern Unionists than those identified in the claims, or even in those who wore Union blue. There are also those Unionists who appear merely as a name in passing, in between the pages of a couple of books that […]

The “wafflers” (a rebel today; a yank tomorrow)

February 6, 2013 by

6

From time to time, we see this sort on the big screen… a reb when the Confederate soldiers are present, and a yank when the Union soldiers are present. Take for example, the ferry boat man (“Sim Carstairs”), in the movie The Outlaw Josey Wales… So, encountering (by happenstance) what may be the “real deal” […]

A former slave vouches for the Unionism of his former owner

July 9, 2012 by

9

Seeing what I do in discussions among folks regarding Civil War era studies, there can be extreme views regarding slavery. Some lean hard in one direction, talking about how the cruelties of slavery were all fabrications, or very rare. Some lean hard in another direction and talk about the cruelties of slavery, and that, no matter the case, […]

“Did people call him a Union man?” “Yes, sir, and a great many called him a damn Yankee all the time.”

July 7, 2012 by

4

My attention to the details of his life just weren’t there… it seemed they didn’t need to be… as a father-in-law to one of my distant uncles, John William Neer was an indirect link in the family tree… and, at one time, I knew nothing of his life, other than that indirect connection. Over time, […]

Despite what you say, your claim as a loyal Union man is disallowed…

May 20, 2012 by

12

I’ve got a post coming about John W. Neer, a Union man from Harper’s Ferry. While no blood relative of mine, one of his daughters married my third great granduncle, James Draden Moore (1859-1899). Neer’s story is an interesting one, and I look forward to telling it, but I wanted to break-out one small portion […]

“Pressed”, drafted, and conscripted – a quick note

March 15, 2012 by

6

Yesterday, I posted a piece about Thomas C. Suter, and his change from gray (Confederate service) to blue (Union service). I also posted a link to the piece on Western Maryland’s Historical Library’s Facebook page, as a response to their having posted the brief newspaper clip. In response, Tom Clemens, Professor of History at Hagerstown […]

The legend of “Wizard Clip” (Smithfield/Middleway), Jefferson County, West Virginia

October 31, 2011 by

5

Laid out ca. 1794, and better known as Smithfield or Middleway, Wizard Clip has a peculiar story, related by Confederate veteran, clerk, and author Thomas Kemp Cartmell (1838-1930), in his book, Shenandoah Valley Pioneers and their Descendants (1909)… One of the newcomers was Adam Livingston, who purchased desirable property in the vicinity of this village, […]

Shenandoah Valley African-Americans in the Civil War… a sampling

October 30, 2011 by

2

You might recall a post from this past July, in which I briefly mentioned Shenandoah Valley African-Americans in the USCT. I haven’t had as much time to work with that project as I would like, but it’s one that is always on my mind. Perhaps, over winter, I’ll be able to wrap it up. Anyway, […]

Pardon me, Genl. Sheridan, but did you mean “Lucy” when you called her “Susie”?

September 10, 2011 by

0

I just posted the story of Rebecca Wright over at Southern Unionists Chronicles (please take some time to “stroll” over there and read it, as it’s pretty interesting… and that includes time spent looking critically at Col. Bean’s efforts to… it seemed at points… add unnecessary drama in his postwar version of the story), but […]

Identifying more unknowns: Blazer’s Scouts killed in the Kabletown fight against Mosby’s Rangers

September 4, 2011 by

7

I’ve come into some more good stuff while sifting through information about Winchester National Cemetery… especially as one interested in the history of counter-guerilla operations in the Civil War. Perhaps I should set the stage for the story… The date, November 18, 1864; the place, between Kabletown and Myerstown, Jefferson County, West Virginia; the unit, […]