When it is the 150th anniversary of the Civil War and you discover that your ancestors' unit served at Gettysburg

Bells will be ringing across the nation this afternoon at 3:15 Eastern time as we commemorate the re-union of the United States of America with the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee to Union General Ullyses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse 150 years ago today on April 9, 1865.

But bells are ringing for me this morning! I've just made an exciting genealogical discovery: my 3rd-great-grandfather James McGonigal's unit (162nd Regiment, 17th Cavalry) served at the battles of Chancellorsville and ...Gettysburg!

Private Levi F. Hocker of the 17th Pennsylvania Cavalry Regiment (in which my 3rd-great-grandfather served) in uniform with pistol and sword. Image from collection of Library of Congress.

It's a long story, but James McGonigal is on a branch of my Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania Irish family tree that has been more difficult than others for me to trace. Until recently, I have focused on his daughter and grand-daughter and their families, and have still not been successful at finding key documents about their lives.

Because of this difficulty, I had all but ignored the little research I had done on Irish immigrant coal miner James McGonigal and his wife Mary of St. Clair, Pennsylvania, preferring instead to work through the more recent generations until I was satisfied with my conclusions there.

A month ago I delved back into this family and made the discovery that James was indeed a Civil War soldier, serving at the senior age of 43. (Two of his neighbors aged 44 were denied the opportunity to serve due to being "over age". See St. Clair Civil War registry below) .

Civil War registry of the residents of St. Clair, Pennsylvania. James McGonigal (spelled McGonegal) is listed last.

I ordered James McGonigal's pension file from the National Archives in Washington D.C. four weeks ago. It arrived pretty quickly - just a few days ago. I was eager to learn more about this branch of the family, and was very disappointed when I opened the digital file on the NARA CD and found that they had sent me the pension file for the wrong soldier.

Knowing that I would have to wait another month for James' file to arrive, and eager to know more about this man's service as I was thinking of today's 150th anniversary of the end of the Civil War, I did a little digging online this morning and learned the name of and the actions engaged in by James' regiment.

The History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-65 by Samuel P. Bates tells the details of the activity of the 162nd Regiment, 17th Cavalry. The book speaks glowingly of their efforts during the war, including their four hour resistance of the advance of the Confederate troops into Gettysburg on July 1, 1863 under the command of General John Buford as they awaited aid from additional Union troops. Their efforts were critical to Union success at the Battle of Gettysburg, as they had arrived before the Confederate Army became well organized, and were able to establish a solid presence on much-desired high ground south of the town.

As Cavalry General Alfred Pleasanton later wrote in Conduct of the Civil War, Supplement, Part 2, Pleasanton's Report, page 9:

"To the intrepidity, courage and fidelity of General Buford and his brave division, the country and the army owe the field of Gettysburg." - General Pleasanton

It is inspiring to learn more about the valiant efforts of these cavalry men in the face of what would become such a grievous battle and one of the turning points of the Civil War. I look forward to learning more about my ancestor James McGonigal's role in the cavalry during those historic days.

And as the bells ring today throughout the nation - in Appomattox, in Philadelphia (the Liberty Bell), at the Statue of Liberty, and in national parks, cemeteries, battlefields, municipal buildings, schools and churches throughout the nation this afternoon, I'll be ringing my own bells - and thinking of James McGonigal and his brave companions.

"Last full measure of devotion...": Honoring the 150th Anniversary of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

"...It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." 

- Closing words of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, November 19, 1863

Abraham Lincoln's iconic Gettysburg Address, given 150 years ago today in honor of the dedication of the battlefield cemetery that would become Gettysburg National Cemetery, lives large within the historical conscience of our nation. So it should. It is a brief and simple message, yet its beautifully written call to honor the dead and continue the work of preserving the nation for which they died still has the power to stir patriotism in Americans today.

On this anniversary of the address I have enjoyed reading many tributes to Lincoln and his carefully crafted speech. I could not help but be inspired again by his stirring call "to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought [at Gettysburg] have thus far so nobly advanced".

Why do his words continue to reverberate throughout history? Lincoln's speech was pure poetry, as Grant Oster at Hankering for History has explained so well:

"Because of its brevity and poetic flow, the Gettysburg Address has become one of the most repeated speeches to date."

"If you listen and analyze the speech, it is poetic – from start to finish. With its conciseness and abundance of literary devices, Lincoln’s speech would contain many characteristics of common day poetry, such as: allusion, alliteration, antithesis, grammatical parallelism, and repetition."

As a dedicated historian and a great lover of poetry, I pause to celebrate the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's brilliant speech. May his words continue to echo down the centuries, stirring new generations to take up his call to preserve the memory and continue the work of those who gave their lives for this nation's freedoms.

~

A horrifying end and a hero's farewell, November 1892

He was only fifty-eight years old, but some would argue that he had already led a full life. Born on April 29, 1834 to Irish immigrant parents Patrick and Ann Cowhey in New York City, William Cowhey had spent the latter part of his childhood in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. He worked on the canals until the Civil War broke out, then served along with his younger brother Thomas as one of the initial three-month volunteers for the Union in Schuylkill County's Company I, 16th Regiment. Following this short term, he re-enlisted in Battery L, Fifth U.S. Artillery and served for most of the duration of the war, seeing action in the 2nd Battle of Winchester. After his discharge, William became a prominent member of the G.A.R. veterans' organization (Grand Army of the Republic) for the duration of his life.

After the war, William married Catherine Regan. The couple had five children before Catherine's untimely death from consumption in the lungs in October 1876. As a 44-year-old widower with five young children, William was quick to marry again. He and 22-year-old Margaret Foley wed in St. Patrick's Church of Pottsville on February 28, 1878. They went on to have ten children of their own. William supported his family by working for the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad.

By the year 1892, William Cowhey had worked his way up from fireman to engineer. In the dark just after 2 a.m. on November 14, 1892, he had just hopped aboard another engineer's engine no. 563 in Cressona to get home to Mount Carbon after his shift had finished when two minutes into the ride the train's boiler exploded as they passed through Conner's Crossing just north of Schuylkill Haven. The horrifying blast sent William and four other railroad men to their deaths (with one more later dying from his injuries). William was killed instantly as his body was thrown onto rocks and according to the newspaper report, all of his bones were broken.

The accident was written up in local newspapers and city papers throughout the nation, including the November 15, 1892 New York Times (which I've transcribed here).

For details on the possible cause of the accident, see The Pottsville train explosion: How & why?. Though its passengers did not, Philadelphia and Reading engine no. 563 survived the blast. Here is its photograph circa 1930s (it's wooden cab was replaced by a metal cab):

Thanks to Ronald Bailey for this photograph from the collection
of the archives of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.

The accident occurred at Conner's Crossing, where a huge viaduct (trestle bridge) built in 1890 allowed Lehigh Valley Railroad train tracks to cross over the valley below where two other rail lines passed: the Pennsylvania Railroad on the west, and the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad on the east (on which engine no. 563 was travelling northward to Pottsville).

Conner's viaduct showing rail line passing below. Photographer William Rau.
Photo thanks to Jim Bohrman's Lehigh Valley Railroad, Pottsville Division website. 

Conner's viaduct looking westward, 1953. Photographer Lew Hoy.
Photo thanks to Jim Bohrman's Lehigh Valley Railroad, Pottsville Division website. 

The huge viaduct was dismantled in 1953. The remains of one of the brick piers that formed the base of the structure still stands, perhaps a fitting monument to William Cowhey's life on the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, and his death at its hand.

This surviving brick pier of the Conner's Crossing viaduct was part of the east side
of the great structure. It is located in what is now the parking lot of the Cressona Mall
on Route 61. Photo thanks to Jim Bohrman's Lehigh Valley Railroad, Pottsville Division website.

~

The day after the explosion, November 15, 1892, the Pottsville Daily Republican ran the following announcement of William Cowhey's upcoming funeral. I have transcribed it below.

"The funeral of William Cowhey, who was killed by the explosion at Connor's on Monday morning, will take place from his late residence, East Mt. Carbon, on Thursday morning at 9 o'clock, to proceed to St. Patrick's Church, where a Requiem High Mass will be celebrated at 10 o'clock. The deceased leaves a wife and twelve children to survive him. William Cowhey, the dead engineer, enlisted in the first three months' service in Co. I, 16th Regt., Capt. Joseph Anthony, and when his term of service expired re-enlisted in Battery L, Fifth U.S. Artillery, serving three years. He was a member of Gowen Post No. 23, G.A.R., who will attend his funeral."

Two days later, November 17, 1892, the Pottsville Daily Republican detailed William's farewell: a funeral deserving of a hero complete with distinguished guests from several states and members of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) as pall bearers.

"The funeral of William Cowhey, of East Mt. Carbon, one of the engineers killed on Monday morning by the explosion of locomotive 563 at Connors, took place this morning at 9 o'clock. A large delegation of Gowen Post and Guards was present as an escort to the remains. The funeral cortege proceeded to St. Patrick's church, where a Requiem High Mass was celebrated by Rev. W.A. Duffy, the rector of the church. The attendance was very large, including friends from New Haven, Conn.; New York and Washington, D.C. The pall bearers were: N.W. Buck, James Madison, Abraham Kuhn, Abraham Nagle, members of Gowen Post; James Vail and Matthew Kerber. The cortege was under the supervision of Commander Samuel Holmes of Gowen Post. The floral offerings consisted of an anchor, wreath and two sheaves of wheat. The interment was made in No. 3 cemetery."

It is hard for me to imagine the suffering endured by William's wife Margaret, his children, family and friends caused by such a horrific tragedy. It is heartening to see how the town came together to mourn his loss.

The report of the funeral that was published in the newspaper described the three floral offerings that decorated William's funeral: an anchor, a wreath and two sheaves of wheat representing the hope of eternal life. May God's peace be with the soul of my great-great-grandfather. Requiescat in pace, William Cowhey.

~

This article has been posted in honor of the 121st anniversary of William Cowhey's death on November 14, 1892. I have also shared it as part of Thriller Thursday, a Geneabloggers Daily Prompt dedicated to thrilling stories of our ancestors including accidents such as the one that took William Cowhey's life.

Gettysburg's 150th: "Every name a lightning stroke to some heart"

On my first trip to Gettysburg several years ago I was struck by the incredible number of monuments: tributes to men who fought to save the Union during the south's first (and only) invasion of a northern state.

Gettysburg now lives in our memories as a field of death: a place where 11,000 men lost their lives and another 40,000 were wounded, captured or missing. Spend time poking around this small Pennsylvania town today and you'll see:

Large, towering monuments -

Small, humble monuments -

Monuments on roadsides -

Monuments on walking paths -

Monuments tucked within forested hideaways -

The military units and men of all titles who fought on what is today considered hallowed ground around this little Pennsylvania town are memorialized in numerous ways. It is touching and sobering to drive and walk around Gettysburg, trying to gain a grasp on what this place must have suffered during that horrible battle 150 years ago today.

I had long admired the towering State of Pennsylvania monument: the largest stone tribute on Gettysburg's battlefield. It was an honor to be able to see it up close and climb to the top. 

It was at the end of a long day of driving around the battlefield and reading many stone inscriptions, that I found on this large monument a tribute that touched me in a special way. Under the archway, just to this left of the statue of General Andrew Curtin (below)...

is this plaque -

It reads:

TO THE LOYAL WOMEN
WHO THROUGH FOUR YEARS OF WAR, ENDURED
SUFFERING AND BEREAVEMENT 

THIS TABLET IS DEDICATED
IN GRATEFUL RECOGNITION OF THEIR PATRIOTISM 

BY THE MEN OF PENNSYLVANIA
WHO SERVED IN THE ARMY AND NAVY OF THE UNITED
STATES DURING THE WAR OF THE REBELLION.

As a wife, mother, sister and daughter myself, I can only imagine the suffering that the women in my own family must have undergone as the watched their sons (and brothers) go off into service in those early days of April 1861, and waited anxiously for their return. (In the case of my great-great-grandfather, that return would come almost four years later). It was gratifying to see this meaningful though humble tribute to the women in my family and to countless other women who stayed behind as they watched the men in their family go off to serve their country.

As the Gettysburg Compiler newspaper wrote so eloquently about those killed and wounded during this horrific battle:

“Every name… is a lightning stroke to some heart, and breaks like thunder over some home, and falls a long, black shadow upon some hearthstone.” - July 7, 1863

For the men who died 150 years ago on Gettysburg's fields, and for the women who felt "a lightning strike to their hearts" and the falling of "a long, black shadow upon their hearthstones", let us always remember July 1 through July 3, 1863, and the war for which they gave so much.

150 years ago today: William Cowhey sees his first action in the Civil War

"Everything was quiet [at Winchester] until Saturday the 13th of June 1863. The weather was fine and balmy. We wished we were at home to help the farmers plant corn; something else turned up."

Thus wrote Union private Lorenzo Barnhart of Company B, 110th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The "something else" that suddenly "turned up" for himself and his fellow Union soldiers is now known to history as the Second Battle of Winchester: a three-day conflict that resulted in a devastating loss for the greatly outnumbered Union forces. This was part of the Gettysburg campaign: the Confederate attempt to invade the north for the first time (and what would be the only time). The Confederates greatly outnumbered the Union boys in blue: about 19,000 to 6,900. By June 15, the Union forces had been routed, paving the way for what would become the infamous Battle of Gettysburg.

Virginia's town of Winchester was, according to the Encyclopedia of Virginia,
"the most contested town in the Confederacy during the American Civil War,
changing hands more than 70 times." (This drawing depicts Jackson's Confederate
Army in Winchester in 1861. The building is the Taylor Hotel which would later
serve as Union Army headquarters during the 2nd Battle of Winchester.) 

~

This weekend is the 150th anniversary of the Second Battle of Winchester, and it has special significance to me. My great-great-grandfather Private William Cowhey served for three years in the Union army within Battery L, 5th U.S. Artillery. This battle was the first time his regiment saw action in the war, and it was not a pretty sight. When the three day skirmish was over, Confederate General Richard Elwell had lost only 270 of his 19,000 men, but had captured 300 wagons, hundreds of horses and twenty-three artillery pieces. The Union forces had lost close to 5,000 of their greatly outnumbered 6,900 men and the rest had been sent running for their lives.

Sketch of the 2nd Battle of Winchester by Jedediah Hotchkiss

It was a disgraceful moment for the Union. As a result of the defeat, Union General Robert Milroy was relieved of his command. The men under his charge had scattered in different directions, many of them heading to Gettysburg. There they would play a role in the most critical turning point of the war. Many would be numbered among the dead within that battle, which was to be the cause of more casualties than any other in the Civil War.

William Cowhey did not go on to fight at Gettysburg. Along with the other survivors from Battery L, 5th U.S. Artillery, he moved on to Camp Barry and served in the defense of Washington D.C. for a year from July 1863 to July 1864. Later he moved on to other action, including the Third Battle of Winchester (also known as the Battle of Opequan) in September 1864.

William Cowhey's "Declaration of Recruit" that he signed as
he enlisted in the Army's 5th Artillery at age 28 in January 1862.

~

Below are a few more excerpts about the Second Battle of Winchester from Private Lorenzo Barnhart's diary.

About Saturday, June 13, 1863 -

"We did not know what force was coming against us out on the Winchester and Strawberry Pike. We were ready for them. Our pickets engaged them. I was on the picket line myself. It was the first engagement we ever were in, and we seen how they fought. We matched them at their own game. They kept hid behind Cedar and Pine bushes and Field rock and stumps..." 

About Sunday, June 14, 1863 -

"...My company B of the 110th was sent to guard a battery of canons...Everything was quiet on Sunday the 14th. The boys were laying on the parapets in the sun. We came to the conclusion the confederates had all went to Church to get Religion, but they were only fixing to kill all of us. There was a pine mountain off about a quarter of a mile [to the west]. All at once, Oh! here came a shower of shot and shell. The boys tumbled off the parapets like turtles drop off a log into the water. The pine mountain fairly blazed with canon. They sent showers of shot and shells at us. We could not reach them with our small rifles. It seemed they let loose about 50 or 60 canons. [We] could do nothing to them. They shot our little guns wheels off, and upset them. Then they ceased firing off the pine mountain, and our officers gave us orders to fix bayonets and [get] our guns loaded, and watch over the fields in front of us. We would see the confederate infantry come out of the brush, out of a ravine. We would get to shoot only one shot, then use our bayonets and club with our guns. They came in desperate order. We gave them a volley low down in their legs. They dropped out of ranks. We made large gaps in their lines, but they did not stop for they closed the gaps shoulder to shoulder. They had been in such scraps before. They gave us a volley, then came onto us with bayonets and a yell like Indians..." 

To read more visit this webpage about the 110th Ohio Volunteer Infantry: Letters, Accounts, Oral Histories.

On this date in 1862: "I, William Cowhey, do solemnly swear..."

It was on this date in 1862 (one-hundred and fifty-one years ago) that my great-great-grandfather enlisted in the U.S. Regular (Union) Army 5th Artillery. He (along with his brother Thomas) had served three months of volunteer service beginning in April of 1861. William Cowhey would go on to serve out this additional three-year term and receive an honorable discharge in 1865, about three months before the Civil War came to a close.

The document below (William's recruitment contract dated January 30, 1862) is important to me for several reasons. Not only is it the document that set him off on his three years of service to the Union during one of the most trying times in our nation's history, but it has his personal signature, lists his place of birth, lists his occupation before the war, and also describes several of his physical features.

Before I had this document in my possession, I knew that William had been born in the state of New York, but could only guess that he might have been born in New York City. This provided confirmation.

I was also interested to learn that he had been employed as a boatman before his term of military service. After the war, the railroad was his employer.

It was also fun to see that he had the dark hair, light eyes, and short stature that are so common within this branch of my family tree. Now, if only I could find a Matthew Brady portrait of him!

William Cowhey's recruitment contract dated January 30, 1862 is part of his
Compiled Military Service Record from the collection of the National Archives
(Click to enlarge)

Here is the text of the recruitment contract as I have transcribed it:

"State of Pennsylvania" 

"Town of Pottsville" 

"I, William Cowhey, born in New York City in the State of New York aged twenty-eight years, and by occupation a boatman do hereby acknowledge to have voluntarily enlisted this thirtieth day of January 1862, as a soldier in the Army of the United States of America, for the period of three years, unless sooner discharged by proper authority: Do also agree to accept such bounty, pay, rations, and clothing, as are, or may be, established by law. And I, William Cowhey, do solemnly swear, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the United States of America, and that I will serve them honestly and faithfully against all their enemies or opposers whomsoever; and that I will observe and obey the orders of the President of the United States, and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to the Rules and Articles of War.  

"Sworn and subscribed to, at Pottsville Pa. this thirtieth day of January 1862 before A.V. [unsure of surname] Capt. 5th Arty. Rectg. Off.    William Cowhey [Signature of William Cowhey]

"I certify, on honor, that I have carefully examined the above named Recruit, agreeably to the General Regulations of the Army, and that in my opinion he is free from all bodily defects and mental infirmity, which would, in any way, disqualify him from performing the duties of a soldier. [signed] John I. [unsure of surname], Asst. [unsure of title] USA  

"I certify, on honor, that I have minutely inspected the Recruit, William Cowhey previously to his enlistment, and that he was entirely sober when enlisted; that, to the best of my judgment and belief, he is of lawful age; and that, in accepting him as duly qualified to perform the duties of an able-bodied soldier, I have strictly observed the Regulations which govern the recruiting service. This soldier has grey eyes, black hair, dark complexion, is five feet four inches high. [signed] H.V. [unsure of surname] Capt. 5th Arty. Recruiting Officer"

Key to Transcription

Black = pre-printed on form
Blue = handwritten
Red = not in record; my notes

Civil War 150: The Cowhey brothers volunteer for the Union

(Image credit - MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History)

Only days after President Lincoln's call to arms following the attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861, the men of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania turned out in droves to offer their assistance.  The Cowhey brothers were among them: 21-year-old Thomas and his older brother William (Great-Great-Grampa to me), just a few days shy of his 27th birthday on April 29th.

In honor of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, I'll be following along with these two brothers - Thomas, who served only a short three months; and William, who re-enlisted and continued serving in the army throughout the duration of the war.

I hope you'll join me as we remember William's journey as he worked his way through those four trying years defending the Union. Here is one of the documents from his Civil War pension file.  It lists his date of enlistment as a volunteer and the date that he ended his three month period of service prior to re-enlisting.  You can click on the image of the document to view it up close.  I've also transcribed it below for easier reading.

War Department, Adjutant General’s Office
Washington, Aug 1, 1889.

Respectfully returned to the Commissioner of Pensions. William Cowy Jr., a Private of Company “I”, 16th Regiment Pa. Vols. Volunteers, was enlisted on the 26 day of April, 1861, at Harrisburg for 3 Mos. and is reported: on muster out roll of Co. dated at Harrisburg Pa. July 30/61 as mustered out at that date and place as Private. Also borne as William Cowey Jr. Return for May also Books of organization are not on file Muster in and out rolls only records on file No further information. Name of William Cowley is not borne

Key to Transcription:
Black = pre-printed on form
Blue = handwritten

As I mentioned above, these three months were only the very beginning for William.  His initial volunteer period would just help him to get his feet wet in the army.  Well, actually more than his feet.  If you read Thomas' account of their experience crossing the Potomac River at Williamsport, Maryland, you'll understand what I mean.  (More to come later on that story.)

In the meantime, stay tuned as I follow the path of my great-great-grandfather and his Union comrades 150 years ago.

150 Years Ago: The Civil War Comes to Schuylkill County

On April 12, 2011 the United States commemorates the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War with the firing on Fort Sumter.  Back in April 1861, it did not take long for the news to arrive in Pottsville, Pennsylvania.  In fact, it was the first northern town to hear the news, as Stu Richards explains on his blog Schuylkill County Pennsylvania Military History.

View of Pottsville, Pennsylvania, October 1854
from Gleason's Pictorial Drawing Room Companion

The firing on Fort Sumter had begun on a Friday.  By Sunday afternoon, April 14, Union forces had surrendered to the Southerners.  The next day, aware of the great danger facing the nation, President Abraham Lincoln issued a call-to-arms for 75,000 able-bodied men. 

A portion of the President's proclamation read:

"Now, therefore, I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, in virtue of the power in me vested by the Constitution and the laws, have thought fit to call forth, and hereby do call forth, the militia of the several States of the Union, to the aggregate number of seventy-five thousand, in order to suppress the said combinations, and to cause the laws to be duly executed.  The details for this object will be immediately communicated to the State authorities through the War Department.

"I appeal to all loyal citizens to favor, facilitate, and aid this effort to maintain the honor, the integrity, and the existence of our National Union, and the perpetuity of the popular Government, and to redress the wrongs already long enough endured."

Abraham Lincoln's April 15, 1861 call-to-arms

Word of Lincoln's proclamation was received that Monday, April 15 in Pottsville at the noon hour.  By Tuesday evening, April 16, 1861, a meeting of the citizens of Pottsville convened at the county Court House.  The purpose of the meeting was "to take into account the state of the country, and make the necessary arrangements to provide for the families of soldiers then leaving us."  That evening, the citizens of Schuylkill County made the following resolution in support of their country:

"Resolved, That the citizens of Schuylkill County, in reply to the Proclamation of the President, adopt as the expression of their sentiments, the address now being signed in the city of Philadelphia, in the following words: - 'The unparalleled event of the past week has revealed to the citizens of the United States, beyond question or possibility of doubt, that a peaceful reconciliation under the form of our Constitution, is repelled and scorned, and that secession means, in the hearts of its supporters, both treason and war, against our country and nation.  We, therefore, the undersigned, loyal citizens of the United States and inhabitants of Schuykill County, responding to the proclamation of the President of the United States, hereby declare our unalterable determination to sustain the government in its efforts to maintain the honor, the integrity, and the existence of our National Union and the perpetuity of the popular government, and to redress the wrongs already long enough endured.  No differences of political opinion, no name or badge of diversity upon points of party distinction, shall restrain or withhold us in the devotion of all we have, or can command, to the vindication of the Constitution, the maintenance of the laws, and the defence of the Flag of our Country.' "

And their word was good.  That very day, Captain Wren and Captain McDonald, both of Pottsville, telegraphed Governor Curtin offering the services of their militia companies: the Washington Artillery and the National Light Infantry.  Along with three other companies from southeastern Pennsylvania, they were the first to respond to Lincoln's call, and are known to history as the First Defenders.  (Read more about these companies in John David Hoptak's book First in Defense of the Union: The Civil War History of the First Defenders.) The five companies were told to set out for Harrisburg on April 17. The Miner's Journal reported on April 20, 1861 about the day the first troops departed Schuylkill County earlier that week:

"During the whole day the greatest excitement prevailed among our citizens, and the scene at the armories of the respective companies was quite lively and spirited.  New recruits were rolling in at every moment, and the lists soon swelled to above the requisite number...

"The day was very cold, raw, and disagreeable; but notwithstanding this, the people flocked in by thousands from all parts of the County, and it seemed as if its whole population had been poured forth to witness the departure of our gallant volunteers, who with a noble spirit of self-sacrifice, have exchanged the comforts of home, for the fatigue and labor of a soldier's life...

"As the companies proceeded down Centre Street, to the depot of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, they were greeted with cheers from thousands who lined each side of the street, and a perfect ocean of handkerchiefs waved by the ladies, who had taken possession of all the windows, and every available situation along the street. All the stores were closed and business entirely suspended.  At the depot the crowd was immense, and it was almost impossible to force your way through it.  The tops of the passenger and freight cars, the roofs of the depot and neighboring houses, were black with spectators.  Never had so great a concourse assembled on any one occasion before in Pottsville...

"The Pottsville Cornet Band, which had escorted the companies to the depot, immediately before the starting of the cars played 'Hail Columbia' and 'Yankee Doodle'.  As the train slowly left the depot, cheer upon cheer went up from the assembled thousands.  The men were in good spirits, but there were some, who though possessed of manly hearts, who could brave toil and danger without complaint or fear, who could endure suffering with stoical indifference, but who could not prevent the tear from starting to the eye, when called upon to bid farewell to all their friends."

As Francis B. Wallace wrote in his 1865 Memorial of the Patriotism of Schuylkill County in the American Slaveholder's Rebellion:

"The spirit of patriotism that pervaded the County in those April days, when the Government was in imminent danger at the hands of traitors, is illustrated in the fact that an entire brigade of troops was offered, and that gray-haired men, and lads scarcely seventeen years of age, wished to be enrolled as volunteers, and were much depressed when refused. Another gratifying exhibition of the hour, was the spectacle of men of all parties, Democrats, Republicans, etc., vieing with each other in proclaiming their determination to stand by the Government in its hour of trial, in sustaining the Constitution, the Union and the laws."

The brave and patriotic men of Schuylkill County would play a very important role in the defense of the Union during those crucial years 1861-1865.  Among them were my great-great-grandfather William Cowhey and his brother Thomas.  Stay tuned here at Small-leaved Shamrock as we follow in their footsteps 150 years ago, commemorate their heroism, and remember the years that the young United States of America became a house divided.

Sources:

Wallace, Francis B. Memorial of the Patriotism of Schuylkill County in the American Slaveholder's Rebellion Embracing a Complete List of the Names of All the Volunteers from the County during the War, Patriotic Contributions by the Citizens ... Pottsville, PA: B. Bannan, 1865. Print. (Online here at Internet Archive.)

Lincoln, Abraham. Proclamation on State Militia, April 15, 1861. Digital image. American Memory Collection. Library of Congress. Web. 1 May 2011.

For further reading:

For more on Lincoln's April 15, 1861 call to arms, you might enjoy reading Ted Widmer's Lincoln Declares War on The Opinion Pages of The New York Times website.

On Memorial Day: "For you who bore the extreme sharp pain for us..."

From the The Columbia Book of Civil War Poetry: From Whitman to Walcott: "Written for more than 200,000 Negroes who served in the Union Army during the Civil War".

Memorial Wreath
by Dudley Randall

In the green month when resurrected flowers,
Like laughing children ignorant of death,
Brighten the couch of those who wake no more,
Love and remembrance blossom in our hearts
For you who bore the extreme sharp pain for us,
And bought our freedom with your lives.

And now,
Honoring your memory, with love we bring
These fiery roses, white-hot cotton flowers
And violets bluer than cool northern skies
You dreamed of in the burning prison fields
When liberty was only a faint north star,
Not a bright flower planted by your hands
Reaching up hardly nourished with your rich blood.
Fit grave fellows you are for Lincoln, Brown
And Douglas and Toussant . . . all whose rapt eyes
Fashioned a new world in this wilderness.

American earth is richer for your bones;
Our hearts prouder for the blood we inherit.

"...a thousand years compressed in battle's pains and prayers..."

In honor of all veterans on this Veterans' and Remembrance Day, Small-leaved Shamrock pays tribute to their service in the form of poetry. Written by Herman Melville, well-known author of Moby Dick, The College Colonel is a look at a young veteran of the Civil War. As stated in The Columbia Book of Civil War Poetry:

"The young colonel has been to war where he has been in the final terrible battles of northern Virginia, and he has prematurely aged."

As Melville writes:

"He has lived a thousand years
Compressed in battle's pains and prayers..."

The College Colonel
by Herman Melville

He rides at their head;
A crutch by his saddle just slants in view,
One slung arm in splints, you see,
Yet he guides his strong steed - how coldly too.

He brings his regiment home -
Not as they filed two years before,
But a remnant half-tattered, and battered, and worn,
Like castaway sailors, who - stunned
By the surf's loud roar,
Their mates dragged back and seen no more -
Again and again breast the surge,
And at last crawl, spent, to shore.

A still rigidity and pale -
An Indian aloofness lines his brow;
He has lived a thousand years
Compressed in battle's pains and prayers,
Marches and watches slow.

There are welcoming shots, and flags;
Old men off hat to the Boy,
Wreaths from gay balconies fall at his feet,
But to him - there comes alloy.

It is not that a leg is lost,
It is not that an arm is maimed,
It is not that the fever has racked -
Self he has long since disclaimed.

But all through the Seven Days' Fight,
And deep in the Wilderness grim,
And in the field-hospital tent,
And Petersburg crater, and dim
Lean brooding in Libby, there came -
Ah heaven! - what truth to him.

A look at the veterans of the Civil War

Interested in getting a visual picture of the Civil War and its veterans? Check out the images posted to the Flickr group Veterans of the American Civil War. According to David Foster, group administrator, this collection includes all types of images of Civil War veterans: taken during or after the war, in or out of uniform.

No photos of my Union soldier ancestors yet, but I enjoyed getting a look at their comrades and those who fought on the other side. I especially enjoyed group photos like this one of a Grand Army of the Republic parade in Rochester, New York around 1910.

G.A.R. Parade, Rochester
Library of Congress image also posted at Flickr

For more Flickr groups related to Civil War research and genealogy, see Jennifer's post Flickr Civil War Pools [Tidbits] at Rainy Day Genealogy Readings.

"Speeding to the front" in defense of the nation

Once more war's alarm is heard - the Government is shaken to its foundation, and now General Scott is called upon to save the Capital. Will the men of the North arise? Will they come to protect the nation? Yes, they spring forward to the fray and the veteran chieftain knows that thousands are rushing to his aid. The flower of the country are speeding to the front - but the first to meet his sight, the First Defenders appear, and two of the five companies are from Pottsville! Should any ask what town this is whose men have passed all others in the race, he would learn of a people who have already made history enough to fill a folio, and the story of whose energetic career would be the story of the anthracite coal trade.

This glowing description of the citizens of Pottsville was written in 1876 by George Chambers. His Historical Sketch of Pottsville: Schuylkill County, Pa. is interesting reading, particularly when you understand that Pottsville as a town had been in existence for less than a century at the time this history was written.

Among the First Defenders mentioned by Chambers, were two from the Cowhey family: William and Thomas. Part of their volunteer tour of duty (which lasted only three months) was a turn guarding the nation's capital.

Here is a partial description of the movements of Company I-16 according to Samuel P. Bates' History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5:

Joining in the general forward movement, which commenced about the middle of June, the regiment proceeded to the Potomac, and on the 16th, crossed with the advance Division; but soon after returned and remained encamped near the river until the 2nd day of July.

Getting across the Potomac seems to have been quite an ordeal for the brothers. Having read Thomas' handwritten account of their crossing, I was very happy to find E.G. Arnold's 1862 map of the District of Columbia and the defenses surrounding and protecting it at the time.

Its official title is Topographical Map of the Original District of Columbia and Environs: Showing the Fortifications around the City of Washington. The publication of the map has an interesting story. The Alexandria Library website states that:

According to the Spring/Summer 2003 (Vol. 15, No. 1) issue of Washington History, two days after the map went on sale in various shops in 1862, the War Department confiscated most copies, as was the copper plate that was used to print the original maps. In addition, the Department obtained the names of purchasers and seized the maps from the homes of private citizens to prevent it from falling into Confederate hands insofar as the map identifies and locates 51 forts that defended Washington, D.C. during the Civil War.

Surviving copies of the map can now be found at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland (Cartographic & Architectural Section) in addition to the Alexandria Library in Virginia.

E.G. Arnold's pastel map is quite a work of art. It shows Washington, D.C.'s wards, watercourses and original boundary in addition to its various defenses circa 1862. It is a fascinating look back at a time when the nation's capital faced not armies of hot, summer tourists, but a more threatening force. Thanks to the defense of volunteers like the Cowhey brothers, the nation's capital remains as we know it today.

A little Memorial Day history lesson

Ever wonder how Memorial Day got its start?

Originally observed as Decoration Day every May 30 by the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) following the Civil War, it was later renamed Memorial Day. Decoration Day was originally intended for soldiers to decorate the graves of their comrades who had died during "the Great Rebellion".

For more on the history of this holiday, see the United States Department of Veteran Affairs' webpage entitled Memorial Day Background or the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Office of History's webpage on the origins of Memorial Day, which includes some vintage photographs.

You might also enjoy reading Janice Brown's little history lesson on Decoration Day over at Cow Hampshire.

"Twenty-thousand letters by the men who wore the blue"

Bell Irvin Wiley wrote in the introduction to his book Life of Billy Yank: The Common Soldier of the Union, that:

Twenty-eight years ago, when I had completed research for The Life of Billy Yank, I estimated that I had read twenty thousand letters by the men who wore the blue. These personal documents, along with the ten thousand Confederate letters that I had examined while preparing The Life of Johnny Reb (plus several hundred diaries of participants on both sides), while admittedly a small sampling, afford a more intimate and revealing insight into the mind and character of the American masses than any body of material treating of any other period in the nation's history.

Wiley's book, a departure from many written treatments of the Civil War detailing battle after battle and focusing on generals and strategies, instead looks at the experience of the common Union soldier: his purpose, his struggles and his day to day life in the field.

I am looking forward to reading more of Wiley's insights into the life of the Union soldier. And who knows, maybe I can start working my way through some of those twenty-thousand letters in my spare time...

Thanks to Jennifer of Rainy Day Genealogy Readings for suggesting Wiley's Life of Billy Yank in her post How Did That Civil War Soldier Really Die?

A modern poet looks back at the Civil War

Daniel Nathan Terry recently took a trip back into the world of the Civil War with soldiers and photographers, both real and imagined. His resulting book of poetry, entitled Capturing the Dead, has won the 2007 Stevens Poetry Manuscript Competition amidst high praise from the National Federation of State Poetry Societies.

The organization's April 2008 issue of Strophes announced Terry's win and described the nature of his work of poetry focusing on the Civil War:

[Capturing the Dead] is a sequence of dramatic lyrics in the imagined voices of Civil War soldiers and photographers, primarily that of a fictional war photographer named Noah Williams...

[Contest judge Jeff] Gundy has high praise for the manuscript he selected as winner of the 2007 Stevens Competition: “Among a very strong set of manuscripts, Capturing the Dead stood out for the clarity of its focus, the precision of its language, and the depth and subtlety of its emotional resonance.” He expresses great admiration for Terry’s “ability to create individual characters,” noting that figures both historical and invented, both obscure and famous, “take on weight and solidity, captured in words that emulate the precision of film.” Even more than this vividness, he admires the poems’ avoidance of claims of absolute truth, their “acute recognition of human subjectivity.” He sees Terry’s Capturing the Dead as belonging in the company of “other great sets of war poems from the last two centuries”: From Whitman’s Drum-Taps to Andrew Hudgins’ After the Lost War. Terry’s poems, he sums up, “offer both fidelity to history and relevance to our own predicament. They have much to teach us.”

Terry's poetry manuscript was chosen out of 201 submissions from both the U.S. and abroad. He is currently enrolled in the M.F.A. program at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. His book will be published by the National Federation of State Poetry Societies' Press and will be available for purchase in June 2008.

Ode to Civil War soldiers

On the heels of the poem by Walt Whitman entitled The Artilleryman's Vision, I'd like to share two additional poems from the Civil War era that I came across while reading The Columbia Book of Civil War Poetry: From Whitman to Walcott edited by Richard Marius.

The first, All Quiet along the Potomac Tonight, reminded me of the hand-written description by Thomas Cowey of he and his brother's own time spent at the Potomac River during the year 1861.

All Quiet on the Potomac Tonight
by Thaddeus Oliver

"All quiet along the Potomac to-night,"
Except now and then a stray picket
Is shot, as he walks on his beat to and fro,
By a rifleman hid in the thicket.

'Tis nothing--a private or two now and then
Will not count in the news of the battle;
Not an officer lost--only one of the men---
Moaning out, all alone, the death-rattle.

"All quiet along the Potomac to-night,"
Where the soldiers lie peacefully dreaming;
Their tents, in the rays of the clear autumn moon,
Or the light of the watch-fires, are gleaming.

A tremulous sigh, as the gentle night-wind
Through the forest leaves slowly is creeping,
While the stars up above, with their glittering eyes,
Keep guard--for the army is sleeping.

There is only the sound of the lone sentry's tread,
As he tramps from the rock to the fountain,
And thinks of the two on the low trundle-bed,
Far away in the cot on the mountain.

His musket falls slack--his face, dark and grim,
Grows gentle with memories tender,
As he mutters a prayer for his children asleep--
For their mother, may Heaven defend her!

The moon seems to shine as brightly as then,
That night, when the love yet unspoken
Leaped up to his lips, and when low-murmered vows
Were pledged to be ever unbroken.

Then drawing his sleeve roughly over his eyes,
He dashes off tears that are welling,
And gathers his gun close up to its place,
As if to keep down the heart-swelling.

He passes the fountain, the blasted
pine-tree, The footstep is lagging and weary,
Yet onward he goes, through the broad belt of light,
Towards the shades of the forest so dreary.

Hark! was it the night-wind that rustled the leaves?
Was it the moonlight so wondrously flashing?
It looked like a rifle--ah! Mary, good-bye!
And the life-blood is ebbing and splashing!

All quiet along the potomac to-night,
No sound save the rush of the river;
While soft falls the dew on the face of the dead--
The picket's off duty forever!

If my great-great-grandfather had met the same fate as the private in the poem, I would not be here today nor would hundreds of his other descendants.

The second poem, Ode, was first sung while decorating graves of Confederate soldiers in South Carolina in 1867:

Ode
by Henry Timrod

Sleep sweetly in your humble graves,
Sleep, martyrs of a fallen cause;
Though yet no marble column craves
The pilgrim here to pause.

In seeds of laurel in the earth
The garlands of your fame are sown,
And somewhere, waiting for its birth,
The shaft is in the stone!

Meanwhile, your sisters for the years
Which hold in trust your storied tombs,
Bring all they now can give—tears,
And these memorial blooms.

Small tributes! but your shades will smile
As proudly on these wreaths today,
Than when some cannon-molded pile
Shall overlook this bay.

Stoop, angels, hither from the skies!
There is no holier spot of ground
Than where defeated valor lies,
By mourning beauty crowned!

For more poetry and song lyrics from the Civil War Era, you might enjoy Rick Hearn's Civil War Poetry website.

"Then resumed the chaos louder than ever..."

I often think about the life of my great-great-grandfather and wonder if he told any stories to his family about his time in service of the nation during the "Great Rebellion". Surely he lay awake some nights remembering the trials he faced as a young soldier.

Walt Whitman's poem, The Artilleryman's Vision, describes such a night spent in memory of long-ago days still fresh on a soldier's mind. According to a description of the poem in The Columbia Book of Civil War Poetry: From Whitman to Walcott edited by Richard Marius, "All this is imagined since Whitman never saw combat. But no poem in this collection better expresses the nostalgia for the war once it was over, the remembered excitement that brought thousands of men on both sides together for reunions with their comrades as long as they lived. Probably no better description of combat emerged from the Civil War - certainly not in poetry."

Here Whitman takes us into the mind of a soldier as he remembers the war while his wife and child are sleeping nearby:

The Artilleryman's Vision
by Walt Whitman

While my wife at my side lies slumbering, and the wars are over long,

And my head on the pillow rests at home, and the vacant midnight passes,

And through the stillness, through the dark, I hear, just hear, the breath of my infant,

There in the room as I wake from sleep this vision presses upon me;

The engagement opens there and then in fantasy unreal,

The skirmishers begin, they crawl cautiously ahead, I hear the irregular snap! snap!

I hear the sounds of the different missiles, the short t-h-t! t-h-t! of the rifle-balls,

I see the shells exploding leaving small white clouds, I hear the great shells shrieking as they pass,

The grape like the hum and whirr of wind through the trees, (tumultuous now the contest rages,)

All the scenes at the batteries rise in detail before me again,

The crashing and smoking, the pride of the men in their pieces,

The chief-gunner ranges and sights his piece and selects a fuse of the right time,

After firing I see him lean aside and look eagerly off to note the effect;

Elsewhere I hear the cry of a regiment charging, (the young colonel leads himself this time with brandish'd sword,)

I see the gaps cut by the enemy's volleys, (quickly fill'd up, no delay,)

I breathe the suffocating smoke, then the flat clouds hover low concealing all;

Now a strange lull for a few seconds, not a shot fired on either side,

Then resumed the chaos louder than ever, with eager calls and orders of officers,

While from some distant part of the field the wind wafts to my ears a shout of applause, (some special success,)

And ever the sound of the cannon far or near, (rousing even in dreams a devilish exultation and all the old mad joy in the depths of my soul,)

And ever the hastening of infantry shifting positions, batteries, cavalry, moving hither and thither,

(The falling, dying, I heed not, the wounded dripping and red I heed not, some to the rear are hobbling,)

Grime, heat, rush, aide-de-camps galloping by or on a full run,

With the patter of small arms, the warning s-s-t of the rifles, (these in my vision I hear or see,)

And bombs bursting in air, and at night the vari-color'd rockets.

I share this poem to honor the memory of my great-great-grandfather William Cowhey and all fellow soldiers who did their part in the Civil War. It is posted in celebration of today's Poem in Your Pocket Day.

Just where was William Cowhey during the Civil War?

As always with the study of genealogy, one discovery opens up more questions and sets the seeker of family history off in new directions.

It was no different when I received the multi-page file from the National Archives & Records Administration detailing my great-great-grandfather William Cowhey's application for pension for his service during the Civil War.

The file is a fascinating series of affidavits, medical reports, declarations, claims, and other government documents, including a gem handwritten by his brother Thomas detailing a particular war experience that he suffered through with William. Read that story at Crossing the Potomac with William: a soldier's story.

One new piece of information that appears on various documents throughout the pension file had me puzzled initially. I knew from previous research that the two brothers had served together for 3 months during 1861 in Pennsylvania Infantry Company I-16 of Pottsville: from April 26, 1861 to July 30, 1861. Alongside William's service in Company I-16, his additional time in the service of the Union is also mentioned. According to affidavits signed by William and his wife Margaret (Foley) Cowhey and also according to the War Department, William also re-listed and served from January 30, 1862 to January 30, 1865 in Company L-5.

That's a significant time in the service of the Union. Of particular interest to me is the fact that it occurred after the onset of William's rheumatoid arthritis (which, according to his statements in the pension file, had its onset during his first three months of service in 1861).

These facts open up many more questions for me in terms of what type of action William Cowhey saw during the Civil War and what type of life he led, health included.

In my initial search for more information about these additional three years of William's life as a soldier during the Civil War I've received help from Military History Online and its Civil War forums. Thanks to the knowledgeable and generous individuals who read and comment on the forums, I've confirmed that William seems to have served in Company L 5th Artillery, Regular Army. (There is more than one Pennsylvania 5th, you see).

I've also received a brief summary of what type of action William's regiment saw during the course of their three years of service, but have lots more to learn. The history of the U.S. Regular Army Battery L 5th Artillery online at the Civil War Archive doesn't seem to square exactly with the dates listed in the documents that I have indicating William Cowhey's time of service. That and the History of the 5th U.S. Artillery online along with the Civil War Soldiers & Sailors website may provide some clues as to William's life as a soldier from 1862 to 1865, but I have a lot more research to do before I can make sense of it all.

Now, there was no draft back during the time of the Civil War, so William had to have been recruited as a volunteer. Why would a man with rheumatoid arthritis (which presumably was first set off because of his duties as a soldier) offer to enlist again - and how would he serve for three full years?

I was interested to read the suggestions of one commenter on the Civil War forum: "Maybe his arthritis was better, and maybe he had liked his stint in the 13th PA. Possibly he was down on his luck and 'three hots and a cot' sounded good. Maybe he had a friend(s) enlisting in the Regular Army."

There is probably no way for me to learn what William Cowhey's motives were for serving in the Union Army those three additional years. (Unlike William, his brother and fellow-first defender Thomas never re-enlisted.) But just what did William Cowhey experience during the Civil War? Three years fighting for the Union is a long time. With a little more research I hope to find out just where Company L-5 went and what they did during their three-year tour of duty.

Stay tuned for more on the story of my great-great-grandfather William Cowhey, Union soldier...

Source: William Cowhey (Pvt. Co. I, 16th Pa. Inf., Civil War), pension no. S.C. WC 376.459, Case Files of Approved Pension Applications, 1861-1934; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Ready for battle: history for kids

I contacted one of my cousins a few months back to let him know that I was writing a blog about our shared family history. In the process of our correspondence via email, he told me about his young sons' interest in his wife's Revolutionary War heritage. The boys often played "war" and acted out what they knew about their family's involvement in the conflict that resulted in the birth of our nation.

Eager to compete with his wife's pedigree, my cousin asked me: "Do we have anything like that on our side of the family?" I was happy to be able to tell him of my discovery of the part that William & Thomas Cowhey played in another defining conflict in our nation's history: the Civil War.

I can only imagine the decision-making process of these two little boys now when faced with some free time to play. I would love to be there to hear their "historical" discussions. To play "Civil War" or "Revolutionary War"? How to decide?

One of the joys of discovering my family history and sharing it (through this blog and through other avenues) is the knowledge that the lives and stories of our ancestors will not be lost but will be passed down further through the generations. It is important to me that my children, nieces, nephews, second cousins, etc., etc. know and take pride in the story of their heritage, and have an appreciation for the sacrifices of those who lived before them.

I appreciate books and other resources that work to bring history alive to young people. On the Related Reading sidebars here at Small-leaved Shamrock and over at A Light That Shines Again and 100 Years in America I've included not only books that adults would find interesting to read, but also an assortment of children's books on related subjects.

There are so many amazing books related to Pennsylvania, the railroads, coal mining, the Civil War, and of course, all things Irish. Picture books like Brigid's Cloak: An Ancient Irish Story, S is for Shamrock, Look What Came From Ireland and Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato can be enjoyed by all ages. Chapter books great for relatively new readers include the Magic Tree House series' Civil War on Sunday and Viking Ships at Sunrise. More advanced young readers will enjoy the Bantry Bay series, Twenty Tales of Irish Saints or the classic Across Five Aprils. Students of Pennsylvania history will enjoy the photographs and true stories in Growing Up in Coal Country. And what lover of Irish heritage (no matter their age) could resist Color Your Own Book of Kells?

Websites that are designed to introduce children to various aspects of history and culture are always appealing to me. I've enjoyed the Pennsylvania State Archives' Doc Heritage website. The site uses images of actual historical documents to give students a perspective on the timeline of Pennsylvania history. In the Industrial Ascendancy segment of the site, for example, young readers are given glimpses into railroad riots, the struggle for women's suffrage, the plight of the Mollie Maguires, and the Great Depression, all through actual primary sources.

The Library of Congress' America's Story from America's Library is a great starting place (for those of all ages) to gain an understanding of our nation's history. Young websurfers can click on a state of their choice for a little history lesson in story form. Pennsylvania's includes a segment on the Civil War along with a link to an image of the earliest known draft of Lincoln's famous Gettyburg address. New Jersey's gives a look into how Irish heritage plays a role in the state via "pipers piping" Irish tunes. New York's section has a page focusing on early 20th-century immigrant life in New York City.

So many great history resources for kids - so little time.

How to choose?

Maybe the best place to start is just to get down on the floor with them, prepare for battle and then ask the question:

"Who wants to be the general?"

Image of Civil War lithograph "Battle of Lookout Mountain" courtesy of Towne Square Antique Mall.