Bitter Words: Civil War Feelings Split Families

      We talk about how divided our society and political discourse are today. Avoid discussing politics at family gatherings, we say; don't want to trigger an outburst from Aunt Edna or Cousin Eddie. This pales compared to the deep divisions during the Civil War: North vs South, Slave vs Free, States rights vs one Union. Virginia had seceded from the Union in 1861, yet western Virginia (present day West Virginia) residents mostly favored staying in the Union. Emotions often ran hot in border areas, including the Ohio Valley. Disagreements led to the breakdown of relationships between family members, friends, and neighbors. 

     Such was the case with the Hendersons of Henderson Hall in Wood County WV. George W. Henderson, builder of Henderson Hall Plantation, was a slave owner but an ardent Union supporter. He was a delegate at the First Wheeling Statehood Convention and active in forming the state of West Virginia.

Henderson Hall, Williamstown WV, founded 1836 by George W. Henderson and Elizabeth Tomlinson Henderson

     Letters from daughter Mary Henderson Beeson to her sister Margaret Henderson (Bartlett) reveal stress within the family. Mary was married to Benjamin Beeson, a prominent Parkersburg resident and Confederate sympathizer. He was jailed in the early part of the war for his vocal secessionist views. George's son, George Jr. was a passionate Union man, having served briefly in the Union Army at Camp Chase in Columbus before being discharged due to illness in the fall of 1862. Junior had railed against Mary and her husband for their successionist views, as the letters show. This letter from Mary to Margaret was written in August 1861:

"Dear Sister:

...We are all well but Ben he has been suffering with toothache. How are you all, why don't you write, you need not be offended at me because (brother) George so foolishly got angry. I hope you will not resent his imaginary insults, but he got so angry; no one meant to insult him.

We spoke in all kindness, but he so far forgot himself as to wish we were all dead. He wishes all secessionists dead and their children. I told him he includes me and my children and he said, well if we were such fools as to be secessionist...; but I forgive him, he knew not what he said.

I cannot resent such things though I can never forget them. I maintain the same feeling for you that I always did. We bear no enmity though there have been hard words & insinuations.

Ever yours, (Mary) P. Beeson"

     A second letter from Mary to Margaret a few weeks later concluded with these poignant words: "I have forgiven (my brother’s) cruel words but I do not want to see him. Time may wear off the edge of bitterness, but it is very hard for a sister to be told such bitter words by a brother whom she has nursed and tendered and dearly loved from his infancy, but I suppose loyalty now must supersede anything."

     Troop activity in Marietta-Parkersburg was intense. Union General McClellan recognized the importance of securing the Ohio River and B&O rail corridor running through West Virginia. Parkersburg was a key staging point because it was the terminus of the Northwestern Virginia Railroad connecting to the Baltimore and Ohio line at Grafton WV. That offered access to all of northern and western Virginia. Newly formed Ohio units crossed the Ohio River at various points. Many passed Henderson Hall Plantation on River Road. Family records indicate that troops bivouacked on the property and may have conducted drills there. 

     George Jr. was home for Christmas in December, 1862. He decorated the third-floor ballroom at Henderson Hall, writing to his father in Wheeling on December 18 that the family enjoyed a party and dancing in the ballroom. Three weeks later on January 5, George W. Henderson Jr. was dead – a victim of the typhoid fever that had stalked him for months. Due to extreme winter weather, no preacher was available; his father was forced to read the burial service for his own son. His death was a crushing blow. The family no longer used the ballroom that George Jr. had decorated. It’s doubtful that his passing healed the pain of his “bitter words” the year before. This was the story of a single family. Millions of others endured similar suffering during the Civil War.

Morgan’s Raid and the Tin Cup Militia

 Captain D. L. Wood’s world had been turned upside down. In July, 1863 he had a Civil War desk job as a mustering officer at Camp Marietta (also called "Camp Putnam"). Suddenly he was leading two companies of mostly untrained militia to fortify a river crossing ("ford") at Buffington Island, 40 miles down river. Why?

     Marietta has been spared the horrors of war in its own backyard. War came close during Morgan's Raid in the Civil War (aka "The War of Rebellion," or in Southerners' understated phrasing, "The Recent Unpleasantness"). In July, 1863 General John Hunt Morgan led 2,500 cavalry on an unauthorized (yes, he violated orders of Confederate General Bragg to not cross north of the Ohio River) raid through Kentucky, Indiana and Ohio. Union cavalry commanded by General Edward Hobson doggedly pursued Morgan but could barely keep up. 

     There were only days - even hours, at times - to counter this raid. Raiders entered Ohio near Cincinnati on July 13. Days later they were racing across the state headed to the Marietta area for an escape across the Ohio River. Defending was a challenge: all able-bodied defenders were already enlisted and fighting elsewhere, such as at Gettysburg 10 days before. The militia, or "home guard," included mostly untrained old men and very young men. The women had a role, too, as we'll see.

CLICK TO ENLARGE Camp Putnam (aka Camp Marietta) May, 1861, from mariettacastle.org

     Camp Marietta became the epicenter of military planning, under the command of Colonel William Rufus Putnam Jr., grandson of Marietta founder Rufus Putnam. 

     July 12: Governor David Tod called out the militia in southern Ohio counties. Most reported to Camp Putnam (also called "Camp Marietta"), then a sprawling complex at the fairgrounds in Marietta. 

     July 14: Putnam reported 175 men in camp. By the 18th, there would be 12,000 men deployed from the Camp.

     July 15: Union Army officer Lieutenant Conine refuses to accept orders from Putnam, who was an Ohio militia officer, not regular Army. Putnam asks Gov. Tod to intervene. He also requests authority to "press" horses (take horses from citizens) for use by the hundreds of cavalry volunteers arriving. Estimates are that 25,000 horses were used by Morgan and defenders during the raid. One reason: horses taken from citizens were often not conditioned to military duty and would last only a few miles.

     July 16: 3,218 men at Camp Marietta. Putnam asks Gov. Tod to authorize Captain Wood, a Union Army officer, to lead a detachment. "He declines unless thus ordered." Units under Wood's command played an important role.

     July 17: Putnam to Tod: "I have sent about 400 infantry and 50 mounted scouts to check Morgans at fords below." He also pleads for arms, "Thousands of men are here impatiently waiting to be armed..." 

     July 18: Putnam reports to General Burnside in Cincinnati that he has deployed 250 men to guard the ford at Buffington island, 250 to guard boats at Mason City (opposite Pomeroy), and 750 men to Chillicothe.

     Morgan's forces were then bearing down on Buffington Island, intending to escape across the Ohio River. Union Cavalry were close behind. Militia defenders were in place; the crossing was fortified. Thousands of volunteers were working to block roads, guard fords, and remove all boats that Morgan could use. 

     Historian S. J. Hathaway: "...while many volunteers had no arms, they could all get axes, shovels, picks and tin cups (for food and drink).  Hence they were called the 'tin cup militia.'" Other citizens willingly supplied equipment, horses, and food. 

     About the food: with no time to set up military supply lines, women from every farm and village in Indiana and Ohio fed the defenders. A popular staple was fried chicken, often passed directly to men in the field. They quenched their thirst with “Sometimes water, sometimes milk; Sometimes applejack, fine as silk," words from a wartime song celebrating camaraderie in a common cause. One unnamed veteran officer observed gratefully, "Gunboats, steamboats, ferryboats, cavalry, infantry, artillery, all joined in pursuit (of Morgan), but none were more helpful than the women with their rations of fried chicken."

     Capt. D. L. Wood reported from Buffington Island: “On July 18th I made a line of entrenchments covering the approach to the ford (and) sent out cavalry scouts….”  Wood’s men had also discovered the steamboat STARLIGHT at Buffington hard aground. The Rebellion Record: “they immediately unloaded the vessel, raised steam, crewed the boat themselves…,” and moved it away from Morgan’s forces. Historian Hathaway concluded that Captain Wood’s actions at Buffington helped prevent Morgan from crossing on the night of the 18th, thus allowing Union soldiers and militia to surround him on the 19th.

      Defenders succeeded. Morgan ‘s second-in-command Basil Duke: “…the militia impeded our progress in every conceivable way.” Morgan’s raiders were stopped at Buffington Island. Almost. Morgan and a thousand raiders evaded capture. Now Marietta was now in the cross hairs as a likely upriver crossing point for Morgan’s remnant.  

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Harmar Bridge over Muskingum ca 1860, then a covered bridge, from flickr.com "Christopher Busta-Peck, courtesy Hidden Marietta," It was fortified during Morgan's Raid.

     Volunteers doubled their efforts. The tin cup militia blocked every river crossing and road in the area. Men under William P. Cutler obstructed roads between the Marietta and Cincinnati rail line and the Ohio River. Cutler: "We accomplished the objective in a thorough manner." 

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Ehpraim Cutler’s “Old Stone House” occupied during the raid by his son William P. Cutler and family. River road and Ohio River are visible on the right edge of painting. 

 

     Cutler’s own farm near near Constitution was occupied by hundreds of militia to guard nearby Bailey’s Ford. That ford and others had been scouted out a few days earlier by Morgan's men. One was seen near Cutler's farm - identified later as a Confederate soldier - riding nonchalantly at dusk along the river road.

 

     Guards were posted at the Harmar Bridge, and bales of hay were placed to block access. Locals later joked about the hay, saying how nice it was that defenders left so much feed for Morgan’s horses. They also pointed out that the Muskingum River was low enough at the time to wade across even if the bridge was blocked. Three companies under John Newton were sent up the Muskingum River to remove all boats, and three more under Capt. Levi Barber blocked roads between Coolville and Little Hocking River.

     The tin cup militia, area women, and the leadership of Col. William Rufus Putnam “got ‘er done.” Morgan was diverted, damage in the area was avoided, and soon he was captured. Hathaway: “There are few men that could have handled so large a body of men so well, under such circumstances, as Colonel Putnam did…”

Ephraim Cutler Dawes: A Wounded Soldier's Journey Home

They called it the "War of Rebellion." The Civil War. Southerners used the understated phrase “The Recent Unpleasantness," as though the war never happened. Over 700,000 perished in the War from combat and illness. At least that many more were wounded - often with disabling injuries. The poignant experiences of courage, injury, illness, and death changed countless lives forever. This is the story of a wounded Union officer of the 53rd Ohio Voluntary Infantry from Marietta. He should have died but beat the odds with luck, heroic care, and determination.

Ephraim Cutler Dawes 1863 photo from Wikipedia

Lieutenant-Colonel Ephraim Cutler Dawes was a grandson of his namesake, Ephraim Cutler, an early Marietta civic leader. Dawes and his brother Rufus R. Dawes enlisted early, both passionate about the Union cause. Ephraim tells the story of the harrowing wound experience in his own words as published in his brother's publication: Service with the Sixth Wisconsin Volunteers:

"I was shot at Dallas, Georgia, two weeks ago to-day. We were in rifle pits. The rebels charged us. We gave them an awful licking. The bullet struck the left side of my lower jaw, and the surgeons say, 'carried away the body of the inferior maxilla to the near angle.' It took off my lower lip, tore the chin so that it hangs down, took out all the lower teeth but two....It is a horrible looking wound and will disfigure me, but the doctors say they can fix up a face for me....I was also hit in the back of the head."

"I was shot late in the afternoon of May twenty-eight and remained in the field hospitals until May thirtieth. A wagon train was (to be) sent under strong escort to the railroad at Kingston. The surgeons advised me to go in this train. They said that if I remained around the hospital the chances were that I would contract gangrene or erysipelas and die, and that I should get home as soon as possible. My old friend Haydn K. Smith volunteered to go to Nashville with me. I could hardly have got along without him. My colored servant, Wesley Benson, accompanied me. He was a faithful and competent young man but he could not read writing and I could not talk.

...I got into one of the wagons and sat on a bag of corn. The different surgeons bid me good bye....The road was very rough...My wound was much inflamed and my tongue so swollen that it was almost impossible to swallow. The misery of that night’s ride was indescribable. 

Early next morning Major Patrick Flynn, of the nineteenth Illinois,...put me in (an) ambulance (wagon)....the day was very hot the road was very dusty.  About noon we crossed the Etowah river. Near the end of the bridge was a house. One of the women (at the house) brought out a great yellow bowl filled with buttermilk...I was weak with hunger, faint from loss of blood, and burning with thirst. I crammed the bowl into my mouth with both hands, despite the awful pain, and drank nearly the whole of the buttermilk. It revived me at once. 

Front View

The "Moses" Ambulance Wagon, similar to what may been used to transport Major Dawes.

Descriptions and images from civilwarhome.com/ambulancewagons.html:

 The ambulance is entered by two steps in the rear, contains seats for eighteen persons--fourteen inside and four on the front seat. By raising the flaps of the inside seats and supporting them by the uprights attached, and removing the cushions from the backs of the permanent seats, a bed is arranged which will accommodate one, two, or, on an emergency, three men lying down. With one man in a recumbent position, room for twelve men seated remains; with two men lying down, room for eight, and with three men lying down, room for six remains. 

Rear View

...The train reached Kingston (GA) between five and six o’clock. There seemed to be no adequate preparation for the wounded. But agents of the Sanitary Commission...took possession of a house (to care for the wounded). Mrs. Bickerdyke and Mrs. Johnson were in charge. I camped in a corner of the porch....One of the women brought me a bowl of soup. I took off my bandage to drink it. She look at me, burst into tears, and ran away. An old gray surgeon came in to dress the wound. At the sight of it he turned very white and went away. I went out myself to find a surgeon. Fortunately, my good friend, Dr. Edwards,....met me in the yard. He spent an hour dressing my wound and gave Wesley full and careful instruction how to care for it; that night I slept well. 

Seal of the United States Sanitary Commission, 

founded in 1861 as the American Civil War began. Its purpose was to promote clean and healthy conditions in the Union Army camps. The Sanitary Commission staffed field hospitals, raised money, provided supplies, and worked to educate the military and government on matters of health and sanitation.

Nurses and officers of the U.S. Sanitary Commission at Fredericksburg VA. Picture taken in May of 1864. Courtesy Library of Congress

Next day, June 1st, a train of empty freight cars backed down in front of the house.....all the wounded who were able to walk were to go Chattanooga on that train. Many were badly wounded, but all were in high spirits... The train reached Dalton at dusk. I....walked along the platform to a car where there was more room. It was occupied by a dying officer,....Lt. George Covington, adjutant of the Seventeenth Indiana Regiment. He died before the train left Dalton. (A) surgeon seeing that I was badly wounded and very weak, gave me some stimulant and put me on Covington’s cot... 

I went to sleep, but at Ringgold, woke with a start to find my bandages drenched with blood from some small arteries under the tongue, which had sloughed away. I stopped it by cramming a towel under my tongue...About midnight the train reached Chattanooga. There was no one at the depot to tell us where to go. I saw the row of hospitals on the hill and started toward them. A guard cried: ‘Halt!’, ‘Halt!,’ but I did not care whether he shot me or not, and pushing past him, opened the door of the nearest building, which was the officers’ ward. The nurse on duty was a wounded soldier. He knew exactly what to do, dressed my wound carefully, fixed a cot so that I could rest comfortably, and I slept until the surgeon came around in the morning.

...Mr. Smith...secured a pass for me to Nashville. The train left at three P.M., June 2nd. This railroad ride was the most trying experience of all. My wound was sloughing freely, my tongue was very much swollen and it was almost black....At Nashville I was taken to the officers’ hospital. Under the efficient care of Dr. J. H. Green,...I improved rapidly,....and was able to leave for home June 6th.” 

Dawes was given a discharge on October. On March 13, 1865, he was breveted (promotion to a higher rank based on outstanding service) to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel for his "gallant and meritorious service."

Lt. Colonel Dawes was fortunate to have his jaw and lip reconstructed by Dr. George C. Blackman. An account from New England Families Genealogical and Memorial (see below) describes the reconstruction: "By an intricate and delicate surgical operation, one of the most celebrated of its class performed during the war, a lower lip was made for him by material taken from his cheek, and the point of his jaw replaced by an artificial one." 

Recovery was slow, but he learned to speak again. He was in constant pain for the rest of his life. He grew a full beard to disguise the scars. Despite all of this, Dawes became a successful businessman, managing multiple rail lines and a coal company.

Dawes compiled a war library of documents, histories, and related information about the war. He authored several publications. Literary work became a favorite avocation for the rest of his life. . 

Author John K. Duke, said about Ephraim Cutler Dawes:

"His own words written on the death of Generals Sherman and Hayes fittingly apply equally to himself:

'It is by the lives of such men as these that future generations may estimate the priceless treasure committed to their charge; for, if liberty is worth what liberty has cost, no words may express its value.' "

He is buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in Marietta. 

Major Ephraim Cutler Dawes wore this navy wool double-breasted frock coat with brass buttons on the day that he was shot in the jaw at the Battle of Dallas, Georgia in 1864. From Ohio History Connection: https://ohiomemory.org/digital/collection/p267401coll36/id/7105/

Sources:

Cutter, William Richard, A.M., Editor, New England Families Genealogical and Memorial, Volume II, New York, Lewis Historical Publishing Company, 1913.

Dawes, Rufus R., Service with the Sixth Wisconsin Volunteers, E. R. Alderman, 1890

Duke, John K., History of the Fifty-Third Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry During the War of the Rebellion 1861-1865, Portsmouth, Ohio, The Blade Printing Company, 1900.

Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly, Vol IV, “Sketches of Life Members,”  Columbus, Ohio, Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society, 1895, page 457.

Wikipedia.org, “Ephraim Cutler Dawes.”

Augustus T. Ward, Co G, 36th Ohio Volunteer Infantry

It was 1861. Augustus Ward was “fired with indignation with the insults the (Union) flag received from the traitors of the South.” But he did not enlist on the first call of President Lincoln. His parents encouraged him to remain at home with them on the farm in Fearing Township. He was 20 years old, born in 1840, the fourth child of Robert and Lucy Ward. He described his occupation as a farmer.

When the President made a second call for 300,000 more men, he felt that “his country needed his services.” He enlisted on August 12, 1861 in a company of the 36th Ohio Volunteer Infantry being formed at Lower Salem. He was first appointed drummer of the company. Before fighting began, he was promoted to Sergeant, then First Sergeant of Company G of the 36th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

Augustus wrote a four page letter to his family dated September 25, 1862, after major actions at South Mountain and Antietam Creek in Maryland. A copy is preserved in the Marietta College Library Special Collections.

What follows are some of his observations. All quotes are from his letter. His descriptions of the countryside there and the military actions are rather matter of fact. There is only scattered detail of the military actions and the devastation on the battlefield. He says nothing about his personal situation or emotions. Perhaps this was his nature; or maybe he chose not to disturb his family with too much detail, especially regarding the danger he was exposed to. However, his passion for the Union cause and against the rebels is obvious.

Company G of the “36th” encountered the rear of confederate forces in Frederick, Maryland on September 12, 1862. They were ordered to affix bayonets and move “Forward.” There were several obstacles in their march – a rail fence, picket fence, a field of corn. Then they came upon a “gentleman’s fine residence with neat white paling (picket-type fence) around the front yard & everything nice.” The owner of the property and a young lady watched from an upstairs window as Co. G approached. “With a “rush – a shout - a hurrah for the Union - a curse on the rebels – and a tender look at a gal in the window – Co. G dashed at the fence and down it went with a crash.” His wording about the residence, the owner, and lady in the window suggests possible empathy mixed in with the bravado of troops on the march.


An example of the pastoral nature of the area in Maryland: Wise Farm at Fox Gap, one of points of conflict at Battle of South Mountain

On they went into town (Frederick or Middletown?)…” all was boisterous excitement, ladies cheering and waving kerchiefs.” Enemy had left, "having given leg tail towards Harpers Ferry.” This may have been General Lee’s deliberate splitting of his force. It was “a pretty nice town, has been in times of peace a beautiful place. It is situated on one of the most beautiful valleys I have ever seen.


Federal soldiers in Middletown MD marching to the South Mountain battlefield, courtesy civilwar.org

They camped the night of September 13, 1862, by a creek. On Sept 14 they received orders to pile knapsacks and leave the sick men to guard them. “This we took as an omen of the coming fight.” The 36th marched out at 6 am. He observed that an large wheat crop was being sown, fields having been cleaned and plowed. He also noted that fruit was in abundance – apples, peaches, pears, and quinces. “I expect I get more apples here than at home.” His notation of the farming and fruit likely reflects his interest from farming at home – and could be his way of expressing homesickness. They marched on National Pike, then diverged to the left to South Mountain “which the enemy has possession of.”

Order was given to "charge bayonet"! “It would have done you good or scared you to death to hear the yell we gave as we charged up the hill. As we came up the brow of the hill, they fired a volley at us and wounded 20 or so - and then (they) fled precipitously. They could not bear the idea of cold steel so near their persons.” He also mentions that two Union soldiers in his division "turned tail like an ignoble hound."

“We got possession of the mountain and placed batteries on it. The enemy made two charges but were repulsed with loss. Started at 4 pm, lasted an hour. 100 rebels killed. Our boys lay on the edge of the woods. Enemy came within 75 yds, but our fire was so hot that they could get no access. When the fight was over, we went to look over the field. The carnage - for so small an action - was fearful.” That ended the Battle of South Mountain, a prelude to the Battle of Antietam. See another first hand account of South Mountain fighting at http://www.mountainaflame.blogspot.com/


Fighting at Crampton’s Gap during the Battle of South Mountain (Harper’s Weekly, October 25, 1862; A. R. Ward, artist; NPS History Collection

The 36th next faced the rebels on September 17 at Antietam Creek and “took a stone bridge after severe loss and crossed over a made a charge.” His one line mention of the battle at Antietam vastly understated the ferocity and human cost of the contest. September 17 has been reckoned the bloodiest day in American military history. Augustus reported in his letter that after the battle “the enemy has retreated into Va. again.”

”Battle of Antietam,” lithograph by Kurz and Allison, 1888, showing the fighting around Burnside Bridge (Library of Congress)

He served 4 years, having been promoted several times, serving as captain when he was discharged July 31, 1865. I admire Augustus for serving the full duration of the war. His service besides South Mountain and Antietam included actions at Lewisburg, Hoover’s Gap, Chickamauga, Mission Ridge, Cloyd’s Mountain, Berryville, Fisher’s Hill, Cedar Creek.

He was fortunate to have lived through the experience, apparently without disabling injury. The casualty (killed, wounded, captured, or missing), rate for active duty Union soldiers was about 1 in 3. Many more died of illness, disease, and poor nutrition. A total of 620,000 died in active duty from all sources on both sides. Union and Confederate soldiers alike endured difficult conditions from battle, disease, lack of pay, sometimes inadequate clothing and equipment, short rations, bad weather, separation from loved ones, and long periods of boredom in camp between military actions. Many soldiers on both sides deserted or did not reenlist. Those who persevered, including Augustus Ward, deserve credit for their bravery and sacrifice.

Augustus records the end of his service in a postwar autobiographical summary: "After his discharge he retired at once to farm in his native township."

Well done, Capt. Ward.

Capt. James Selby

The story of Capt. Selby is a poignant, stark reminder of the hardship of war. It is told simply in the Campus Martius Museum exhibit “Touched by Conflict: Southeastern Ohio & the Civil War.” http://campusmartiusmuseum.org/exhibits.html. The photos, displays, artifacts are on loan from noted Civil War collector Larry Strayer.

As I viewed Capt. Selby’s exhibit, I was touched by his bravery, perseverance, and calm acceptance of his impending death. Here is part of his story from the exhibit:

Captain James C. Selby

Enlisted at Lowell and was mustered in as 2nd Lieutenant, Co. A, 36th Ohio under Capt.Hiram Devol and 1st Lieutenant James Gage Barker. After Battle of Antietam he was promoted to Capt of Co. K.

On November 25, 1863, he lost his right arm at the battle of Mission Ridge. After a short recuperation, Selby returned to his company with a modified sword and left-handed script.

At the battle of Berrysville, Virginia, on Sept 3, 1864, he received a wound to his right thigh, severing the vein and shattering the bone. When informed he would not survive, he calmly sent for the chaplain to make final disposition of his property and instructed his lieutenant to prepare the monthly returns. Death came eleven days later.

Below are photos of the exhibit, which includes his field desk and other items. The morphine box offers mute testimony to the pain he endured from the arm amputation – and yet he returned to duty after that.

If any readers have more information about Capt Selby, let your author know.

Photo taken after loss of his right arm




Morphine box is at right of his hat