As a non-local, this area is all extremely new to me, which can be problematic when you work somewhere focused on local history! Thankfully, we have some great resources here at the BDC that were a big help to improving my learning curve. To get myself familiarized with our collection and start learning Beaufort County’s vast history, Grace tasked me with setting up our display case for October, with the following topic: Civil War history in the South.
Intimidating, right? For someone like me, who grew up in
Illinois, my education about the Civil War was heavily focused on Abraham
Lincoln, his life, and his impact on the war. The self-proclaimed “Land of
Lincoln” is obsessed with educating its students about the famous president, so
coming into this project I had the opportunity to learn some information that I
hadn’t previously known.
For this project, I wanted to focus on individual accounts,
letters, and stories from people of varying backgrounds to get a better sense
of what life was like for the soldiers and families of those impacted by the
war. I’ve always been interested in storytelling, and wanted to explore how a
person's rank, station, or background might influence how they perceive and discuss
different events or social issues.
To start us off, Shelf 1 contains two books that give both general and personal information about the war: The Civil War in the South Carolina Lowcountry: How a Confederate Artillery Battery and a Black UnionRegiment Defined the War by Ron Roth (2020), and Reminiscences of a Private by Frank M. Mixson (1910). Also included on this shelf are facsimiles of the currency used in the 1860’s, including a $100 bill with the renowned Southern belle Lucy Holcombe Pickens depicted on it. The third wife of South Carolina Governor Francis W. Pickens, Lucy’s beauty gained her the adoration of Confederate Treasury Secretary C. G. Memminger, who admired her so much that her portrait was put on an 1862 issue of the $1 bill, and several issues of the $100 bill. Also included on this shelf is an illustrated 19th century newspaper print surrogate of Civil War life, including various battles between the Confederates and the Union in Port Royal that those who have attended BDC local history programs may have seen used as illustrations.
The top left illustration is "Effect of the Gunboat Shells on the Rebels in the Woods near Port Royal Fort, Jan. 1st;" The top right illustration is "Gallant Charge of the 8th Michigan Volunteers upon a Rebel Masked Battery [of] Three Guns" and along the bottom is "Landing of the National Troops on the Mainland, Coosaw Island, January 1st." We have the original Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper double page print cataloged as BDC PRINT 91, "New Year's Day at Port Royal -- Successful Attack of a Detachment of the National Forces under Brig. Gen. Stevens, supported by four gunboats of the fleet, on the Rebel fortifications at and near Port Royal Ferry, January 1st" that was published on January 25, 1862.
In Reminiscences of a Private, Frank M. Mixson tells
his personal account of the trials and tribulations he faced while serving in
Company E of the 1st South Carolina Volunteers. A young man at the
time, Mixson’s expectations for what his life as a soldier would be like, “the
many battles I would be in, the gallant deeds I would do, and, above all, the
host of Yankees I would kill and put to flight,” would differ greatly from the
quiet life he would lead as a soldier (Mixson, p. 17). Here we can see how different
experiences were for soldiers in the war, not only between armies but among
them.
Shelf 2 exhibits a surrogate of one of our many detailed maps of the lowcountry, focusing on area near Pocotaligo in the 1860’s. This is an enlargement from Map of Rebel Lines of the Pocotaligo, Combahee, Ashepoo; South Carolina : to Illustrate the operations of the Army, under command of Maj Gen W.T. Sherman ... 1865 BDC MAPS 642 and 643.
A letter hangs next to it, the swooping cursive making out a letter from one Rose O’Neal Greenhow, a Southern sympathizer and spy for the Confederate Army. A South Carolina flag lies below the map, situated next to the only book displayed on this shelf: Dear Wife, The Civil War Letters of a Private Soldier, edited by Jack C. Davis (2005). The Greenhow letter is part of the Civil War Collection: Artifacts and Memorabilia from the War Between the States kit.
In Dear Wife, Daniel B. White tells of his own
personal experiences during the war as a private, in a very similar position to
the previously mentioned Private Mixson. Like Mixson, White’s time as a private
“was not an exciting war or even a particularly dangerous one” (Davis, p. ix). Despite
these similarities, however, these two men found themselves on the opposite
sides of the fight, with White serving as part of the 144th New York
State Volunteer Infantry, a Union Army unit stationed at Hilton Head during the
last year of the war. While not as bloody and battle beaten as other men,
Daniel White captures readers with his telling of the events he experienced, as
well as the thoughts and feelings of the men around him. This book has one of my favorite covers in the BDC. The Beaufort County Library has the only copies of this title in the entire SCLENDS consortium.
Shelf 3 displays our last two books, Him on the One Side
and Me on the Other: The Civil War Letters of Alexander Campbell, 79th
New York Infantry Regiment, and James Campbell, 1st South Carolina
Battalion, edited by Terry A. Johnson, Jr. (1999), and its neighbor with an
equally lengthy title, Saddle Soldiers: The Civil War Correspondence of
General William Stokes of the 4th South Carolina Cavalry by
Lloyd Halliburton (1993).
Like many families torn apart by war, Him on the One Side
and me on the Other tells the story of two brothers, immigrants from
Scotland that ended up in different cities and therefore different sides of the
fight. Between Charleston and New York City, the brothers exchanged almost
eighty letters, recounting their hardships and near-reunion on the battlefield. The BDC has the only copy of this title in the Beaufort County Library.
Until now, we have focused on the stories of the common man.
In Saddle Soldiers, we are privy to the correspondence of William
Stokes, a General in the Confederate cavalry who was known for his regiment’s
fierce fighting spirit. He, unlike many of the other writers featured thus far,
was heavily involved in the fighting itself, seen as a leader of men in combat.
To give viewers a better idea of the conditions of life in the Confederate Army, this shelf displays a watercolor of a Confederate camp at New Kent City, now New Kent County, Virginia. Known as the Richmond Light Infantry Blues, the men depicted in this print gained attention years later for their grit and survival. While almost every man was wounded or captured at some point, all six men miraculously survived three years of war. Beneath this print, two small flags are also included, one Confederate and the other a modern American flag.
If you’re interested in reading some of the books I’ve talked about, or want to explore the rest of our vast Civil War collection, give us a call!: 843-255-6468 or bdc@bcgov.net. Also, don’t forget to check out our upcoming events. Dr. Michael Johns will be with us in January to talk about Civil War bands at both our Hilton Head and Beaufort locations, so stay tuned for that information as we draw closer to the new year! Next up for the display case: Native Americans of the Lowcountry for the month of November; Olivia's Favorite Things so far for December.
Reminder: All units of the Beaufort County Library will be closed on Wednesday, October 19th for Staff Development.
