Men, Metals, and Minerals

An interesting post in Daily Writing Tips, one of my favorite blogs, presented a list of "10 Metals and Minerals for Metaphors." The list "sometimes inspire[s] associations with human characteristics or with circumstances." This suggested that I might develop a list of Civil War leaders who might demonstrate these characteristics.


"Brassy" Stuart

"Golden" Jackson

1. Adamant - Perhaps no officer comes to mind as "insistent" or "unyielding" except U. S. Grant.  Longstreet described him as a bull dog. 
2. Brassy - The candidates exhibiting "bold, clamorous,or unruly behavior" are Nathan B. Forrest,  JEB Stuart, and George A. Custer.
3. Bronze - This can refer to a person's complexion or in reference to a "physically imposing" man. I would classify these men as officers who "look and act the part." Certainly, this term would be appropriate for Robert E. Lee.  
4. Flinty - The term meaning "stern, unyielding" could refer to any number of the West Point Regular officers.  I nominate C. F. Smith and Gordon Mead for this metaphor.
5. Golden - This word is used to describe someone who is "excellent, popular, or otherwise remarkable."  How about Robert E. Lee and Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson?  JEB Stuart might be a runner up.
6. Iron - This element has been used to describe strength, robustness, relentlessness, and firmness.  U. S. Grant and William Sherman might demonstrate this characteristic.
7. Leaden - This term is associated with "heaviness," lack of mobility, and inflexibility.  The top choice, not surprisingly, is George B. McClellan. On the Confederate side you might name Joseph Johnston.
8. Ossified - The trait of being set in their ways could be applied to a cadre of officers in both armies.
9. Silver - As in eloquent persuasion, "silver tongued," or distinguished, "silver haired."  In the distinguished category we have Robert E. Lee and his West Point classmate, Joseph Johnston. As for silver-tongued, perhaps "Prince John" Magruder would be my choice.  Alternatively, we could add the multitude of officers from both the North and South who charmed the ladies and convinced citizens that it was better to give than receive. 

10. Steely - The adjective refers to strength and hardness as so ably demonstrated by "Stonewall" Jackson at First Bull Run, George Thomas at Chickamauga,  John B. Gordon at Antietam, and Patrick Cleburne in many battles. 

Please feel free to nominate your own favorites to the list.

Do Clothes Make the Man?

U. S. Grant

General Ulysses S. Grant is often criticized for his careless dress and lack of concern about his appearance.  This comment is often made in comparison with the more properly attired General Robert E. Lee.  The differences are quite legitimate and are tied to values formed during the Mexican War.  Like Grant and Lee, the two American commanding generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott placed different values on their appearance.  Zachary Taylor, "Old Rough and Ready," was roughly dressed and cared little for appearances.  Taylor was described as "rough-hewn, folksy, direct, and at the outset self-effacing." Grant admired and emulated Taylor.  Winfield Scott, "Old Fuss and Feathers," was entrenched in the style and formalities of rank.  He was considered America's greatest military genius of the first half of the nineteenth century.  He was devoted to the details of strategy in contrast to Taylor's broad-brush approach.  Lee was on Scott's staff and would have been expected to observe the General's dress codes.  Lee retained much of what he learned from Scott including his dedication to proper appearance. 

Robert E. Lee

We are led to believe that fastidious dress is a reflection of an ordered and structured mind. Stated another way that sloppiness in appearance is a reflection of a lazy, disorganized mind. Hence, Lee gets added style points for his military bearing. The criticism of Grant may also fall into the category of "your ugly and your mother dresses you funny."

"Stonewall" Jackson

This all brings me to the greatest general in the Civil War - Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.  I recently learned that unlike his commander, Robert E. Lee, and his friend, JEB Stuart, Jackson was described as being "threadbare and disheveled."  This aspect of Stonewall's persona is seldom mentioned.  I can only conclude that as far as military issues are concerned clothes don't make the man.  Perhaps the lyrics of Trace Adkins' song are more appropriate: "All hat and no cattle, that boy just ain't real. All hat and no saddle... 'Cause all hat and no cattle ain't gonna get it done."




Sources: John Eisenhower So Far from God and Monte Akers Year of Glory.

Fort Craig, NM

Commanding Officer's Quarters

Several miles off Route 25 between Las Cruces and San Antonio, New Mexico lies the crumbled remains of Fort Craig. The fort was built in 1854 along the El Camino Real del Tierra Adentro (The Royal Road of the Interior Land) to defend travelers and settlers from Indian raids. The fort was named after Captain Louis S. Craig who was a American officer in the Mexican War.





General Sibley

With the outbreak of the Civil War, the fort assumed a new importance in defending the gold fields of Colorado and California from the cash-strapped Confederacy.  By July 1861, Fort Craig was the largest fort in the Southwest with a garrison of over 2,000 soldiers.  The same year, the First New Mexico Volunteer Infantry Regiment was formed.  The mostly Hispanic unit was commanded by Colonel Kit Carson.



Colonel Canby

The war soon came to this remote outpost along the Rio Grande River in 1862.  General Henry H. Sibley led a brigade of about 2,500 Confederate troops up the Rio Grande to Fort Craig.  In response to the threat on Fort Craig, Col. R. S. Canby, the military governor of the New Mexico Territory, moved his troops down from Santa Fe to Fort Craig.  In February 1862, five regiments of New Mexico volunteers were marched from Fort Union to supplement the Regular Army troops at Fort Craig.

Gravel Bastions

When the Confederate force reached the fort, Sibley tried to induce the Union force to meet them outside for a battle.  Sibley demanded that Canby surrender the fort.  The Union commander refused the battle challenge and the surrender.  Silbey's thoughts to attack the fort were quickly squashed when he saw how well the fort was defended by artillery.  The armament was a ruse, and Canby had mounted wooded logs painted black on the gravel bastions supplemented by Union caps and real soldiers. 

Guard House and Sally Port

On February 21, Sibley was eventually able to draw the Canby's forces into battle.  The two armies met at the Battle of Valverde north of Fort Craig on the eastern side of the Rio Grande. Canby's 3,000 Union soldiers were defeated by Silbey's 2,590 Confederates. The Confederates, under command of Texan Tom Green, defeated the larger Union force inflicting 432 casualties.  Two hundred of the casualties were identified as missing or captured, however most of these men deserted.   The Union forces retreated to the safety of Fort Craig, but not before the New Mexico Volunteers under Col. Miquel Pino burned the Confederate supply wagons.  Silbey's troops continued their march north and won another victory at Glorieta Pass on March 28.  However, the Confederate campaign in New Mexico was terminated, when, as at Valverde, Union troops destroyed the supply train.  Without supplies, Silbey was forced to leave New Mexico and return to Texas.

Today, the remains of Fort Craig are all that is left of the Battle of Valverde.  Please see my pictures of the fort. I hope that you will have the opportunity to visit the site maintained by the Bureau of Land Management. If you tour the site, please stay on the trails, keep off the walls and bastions, and watch out for rattlesnakes.
    

Hidden History of Civil War Oregon by Randol B. Fletcher

Randol Fletcher's collection of stories details the connections between Civil War soldiers and Oregon.  Hidden History of Civil War Oregon features 16 narratives of noteworthy Oregon Civil War veterans.  The problem with Fletcher's work is that the connections with Oregon are often fleeting.  In most cases, the veterans are men who lived in Oregon long after the Civil War.  So the collection is much like someone who lived his whole life in Ohio, retires in Texas, and becomes a Texan.  In fact some of the veterans that Fletcher highlights spent their time in Oregon quietly trying to forget the horrors of the war.  The only notice of their service may be a line on their tombstone. 

This fragile link does not diminish the stories that Fletcher shares with his readers.  Some of the better biographic sketches are of veterans Virgil Earp who reunited with his long-lost daughter in 1899 after being reported killed, Ben Arnold and B. J. Hawthorne who survived Pickett's charge and became leaders of Oregon universities, Dr. J. R. N. Bell who was a Trustee of what became Oregon State University, and Andrew Drew a former slave who joined the USCT and served as Chaplin of the Oregon GAR. Fletcher's history includes several Medal of Honor winners who settled in Oregon after the war.  Some of the veterans became members of the the GAR and gathered annually to remember their experiences.  Others like John Brown's son, Salmon, wanted to escape his father's notoriety but remained a local celebrity.

Battle of Ball's Bluff

Of course, the most famous soldier with Oregon roots was Senator Edward Baker who was killed at the Battle of Ball's Bluff. Baker became an Oregon Senator in 1860 when local politicians convinced him to move from San Francisco and seek the post.  Baker helped his old friend Lincoln win Oregon and California.  The state legislature elected Baker to the Senate.  When the war started, Baker volunteered for military service, but retained his Senate seat. He raised a regiment of infantry composed of men from Pennsylvania, New York, California, and Oregon.  The regiment was called the 1st California Volunteers.

Reverend Philip Mulkey

The most direct link to Civil War events in Oregon is the Long Tom Rebellion.  It began on May 6, 1865 when Philip Mulkey walked the streets of Eugene City hollering "Hurrah for Jeff Davis and damn the man that won't!" The preacher was arrested by Union soldiers from the 1st Oregon Volunteer Infantry and placed in the Lane County jail.  Outside a pro-Union lynch mob gathered.  In response pro-Confederate sympathizers from Mulkey's home along the Long Tom River gathered arms and prepared to liberate the preacher.  The Union mob broke into the jail and tried to take Mulkey.  Mulkey drew a knife and slashed one of the mob which allowed time for the Oregon infantry to arrive and disperse the crowd. That night, Mulkey was quietly taken to the stockade at Fort Vancouver and the crises was over.

The genesis of Randol Fletcher's Hidden History of Civil War Oregon may be from leading cemetery restoration projects in Eugene, Corvallis, and Portland.  It could have come from his four great-great grandfathers who fought on both sides during the war.  Fletcher is a member of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War and a Civil War reenactor.  He has published articles on the Civil War in Oregon Magazine, Columbia Magazine, and The Banner.

We rate the Hidden History of Civil War Oregon