Civil War Oddities #40

Kentucky born Christopher Carson, better known as Kit, won early fame in the West. As guide to John Charles Fremont’s expeditions of 1842, 1843, and 1845, he made his name a household word.

Had he wanted a brigadiership, it would have almost certainly been Kit’s for the asking. Instead of seeking command, at age fifty-two he became lieutenant colonel of the First New Mexico Cavalry. Carson led eight companies in the February 21, 1862, battle of Valverde, where his leadership was so significant that he reluctantly accepted a brevet, or honorary promotion, as a reward.

Civil War Oddities #39

Union Brig. General Edward H. Hobson considered his greatest feat to be the 1863 capture of Confederate Brig. General John Hunt Morgan. Taken near New Lisbon, Ohio, on July 26, 1863, the Confederate leader was hustled to the Ohio State Prison, but his stay was brief. He escaped on November 26, 1863.

Eleven months after being taken prisoner, Morgan and his men captured a body of Federal troops at Cynthiana, Kentucky. Their commander was General Edward H. Hobson.

Civil War Oddities #38

Chimborazo Hospital, in Richmond, is said to have been the largest hospital ever built in the Western Hemisphere, and to hold that distinction to this day. Currently the site is owned by the National Park Service and is used as the visitor center for the Richmond National Battlefield Park.

Civil War Oddities #37

General Lloyd Tilghman, a Confederate killed in action at Champion Hill, just before Vicksburg, is said by even the most recent and authoritative reference works to be buried in Vicksburg. He is actually buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, New York City, his body having been moved there in 1901.

Civil War Oddities #36

John Ericsson, the genius who produced the Monitor, was forced to build his ship with private capital, some $275,000 in all and was to be reimbursed by the Federal Government only if it were effective against the Confederate ironclad Merrimac, or Virginia.

The Monitor was modeled after Swedish lumber rafts Ericsson had known in his youth; its deck was only two inches above water. An effort to sell the idea of such a ship to Napoleon III failed, but the French did order five ironclad ships, despite the reputation of the inventor as a crank.

Civil War Oddities #35

After the fall of Norfolk and Portsmouth, Virginia, the Confederate Navy Yard was moved to a spot more than two hundred miles inland at Charlotte, North Carolina. For three years it produced cannon balls, iron masts, and other fleet supplies.

Civil War Oddities #34

Of 546 nuns known to have served as battlefield nurses, 289 were from Ireland, 40 from Germany and 12 from France.