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Facts from the 43rd
Greg Land
Many people ask questions regarding the following simply because the terms are not normally used in today’s military terminology, and they are not sure about their meaning.
There were three different classes of flags carried during the war of Northern Aggression:
- Color, was a Flag carried into Battle by dismounted Troops
- Standard was carried by Mounted Troops such as the Calvary
- Ensign was a flag flown from a Ship
Artillery rounds were classified as either “SHOT” or “SHELL”
Artillery shot was a metal projectile fired out of the various cannons used during the war and an artillery shell was a hollow device that was filled with black powder and other metal fragments that exploded when fired with a “TIMED” fuse set into the shell. Its timed fuse was set to burn and explode for the particular distance that was being fired upon. Examples were GRAPE and CANNISTER. Both were extremely deadly when fired under the direction of a skilled Artillery Officer.
Facts From The Forty-Third
Greg Land
Robert E. Lee and Joseph E. Johnston were not the highest ranking Generals in the Confederate Armies… The position of highest ranking Officer in all of the Confederate Armies was General Samuel Cooper; Adjutant, and Inspector General…
Confederate "CUSH" was a form of daily food that the Southern Soldier was given to eat when supplies were abundant. It was comprised of water, cornbread, and bacon; all cooked together until the water was boiled out. Not too tasty sounding, but when you're hungry almost any type of food will be filling and sometimes nourishing….. Most of the time it was all they had to eat. To modern day mankind, it would be especially distasteful when you know that the bacon was un-refrigerated, and carried by wagon for long periods of time and was usually filled with worms………Not only were our Southern Fighting men Brave, they also persevered under the most horrendous conditions, for very long periods of time. They were lean and mean and were always a force to be reckoned with when they met the Yankee Army in Battle….
At the Battle of Perryville historic site; which our GBSHHA recently visited; The Yankee Army was in such short supply of water, that the Surgeons were performing surgical procedures on the wounded Soldiers for (2) and sometimes (3) days without ever having any water to wash their hands before or after the surgery. Quite an unsanitary method of operating on patients, but saving lives was the priority not necessarily the best surgical sanitation.
Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's "Foot Cavalry" in the 1st Virginia Brigade was well known to force march at a pace of (6) miles per hour on a continuous basis for hours and days at a time ; a feat that is almost unheard of in modern military units……….
April 2010
Confederate General Joseph Wheeler had achieved the rank of Lt. General by the Wars end. He was also given entire command of The Cavalry of The Army of Tennessee at the age of26. He later served as a Major General in the United States Army after The War of Northern Aggression and found himself serving with such individuals as Lt.Colonel Teddy Roosevelt and Colonel Leonard Wood (NAMESAKE OF FORT LEONARD WOOD in Missouri), and on the staff of the 1st United States Volunteer Regiment; commonly referred to as “The Rough Riders”. He was far too old to participate in the battles at San Juan Heights and Kettle Hill during The Spanish-American War; however he was a member of the General staff.
General Wheeler is one of the few Confederate Officers to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, an Honor not usually reserved for Confederate Officers.
When you hear the names of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark you naturally think of the two (2) great explorers that traveled across the width of our Country from 1804 to 1806; explored and mapped the wide expanses of the great North West; and who were tapped by Thomas Jefferson for this magnificent task…. There was a Confederate Colonel from Missouri named Colonel Meriwether Lewis Clark who was the son of William Clark and named after Meriwether Lewis. He was a brilliant individual who had graduated from West Point Military Academy. He commanded the Artillery for General Sterling Price and General Braxton Bragg. Colonel Clark served with distinction and Honor during his Confederate Military career.
Last month back on March 18, 1865 the Confederate Congress met for the last time in the city of ”Richmond, Virginia”. After the Congressional meeting had concluded, the meeting was adjourned and this turned out to be the last official session in ”Virginia”. Shortly after; President Jefferson Davis fled Richmond and met with his Cabinet for one “FINAL” session in Washington, Georgia on May 5, 1865. President Davis was captured by the Yankees in Irwinville, Georgia on May 10, 1865 and then sent to prison by the North for a period of (2) two years at Fortress Monroe. Davis was put in irons for three (3) days even though he presented no danger to anyone or anything. He was in frail health and suffered from a number of various ailments. The Yankees put him in an old drafty and very damp casement where he was very cold and sick for the majority of the time he was there. After the (2) year period he was released on a $100,000.00 bond. President Davis could not deliver the $100,000.00 therefore Northern Businessmen Horace Greely and Cornelius Vanderbilt donated the money to gain the release of President Davis. A note of some interest: Cornelius Vanderbilt was the Grandfather of George Vanderbilt; the man who built the largest single home in the entire United States in Ashville, North Carolina, and is a place of beauty and splendor.
Best Regards,
Greg Land
Historian for the 43rd Regiment
GBSHHA
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