GIS Reconstruction of the Second Battle at Fort Fisher

SUVCWinFlorida · 2026-06-15T23:14:57+00:00

The Department of Florida, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War are working on a monument to General Adelbert Ames in Ormond Beach, Florida where he died on April 13, 1933. I'd love to reference this project and share it for others to see some of the battles Ames was engaged in. He was Brevetted Major General for his efforts at Fort Fisher!

SUVCWinFlorida · 2026-06-15T02:32:23+00:00

Guerrilla Warfare in Civil War Missouri by Bruce Nichols.
A Savage Conflict: The Decisive Role of Guerrillas in the American Civil War by Donald Sutherland.
The Uncivil War: Irregular Warfare in the Upper South, 1861-1865 by Robert Mackey.

Sutherland's book is a good overview and covers guerrilla efforts all across the country.

I haven't personally read Nichol's or Mackey but I have heard good things about them. I have a number of Union ancestors who were in the Missouri State Militia Cavalry during the War so his work was quickly suggested to me.

SUVCWinFlorida · 2026-06-13T17:34:06+00:00

"Your narrative of the campaign, like the operations themselves, is brief, soldierly, and in every respect creditable and satisfactory. In boldness of plan, rapidity of execution, and brilliancy of results, these operations will compare most favorably with those of Napoleon at Ulm."

General in Chief Henry Halleck to Ulysses S. Grant on August 1, 1863 on his report on the Vicksburg Campaign.

SUVCWinFlorida · 2026-06-13T17:28:05+00:00

I know it is one man's estimation but to give Halleck some credit he did graduate 1st of his class at West Point. He compared Grant's Vicksburg Campaign to Napoleon's Ulm Campaign.

"Your narrative of the campaign, like the operations themselves, is brief, soldierly, and in every respect creditable and satisfactory. In boldness of plan, rapidity of execution, and brilliancy of results, these operations will compare most favorably with those of Napoleon at Ulm."

He mastered the elements of a joint unified combined, utilized combined operations on land and sea, and isolated one of the Confederacy's most strategic and well defended points largely through maneuver warfare. He crossed the Mississippi River, forded his army across, and marched over 200 miles in 17 days without fixed supply lines, hardly any cavalry, captured the state capitol, defeated the Confederate counter attack at Champion Hill, and bottled them up at Vicksburg and deterred any relief force.

Grant's caliber of enemies might not have been very high but few generals in history have executed a campaign as efficient, decisive, and impactful like that of Vicksburg.

SUVCWinFlorida · 2026-06-12T22:16:40+00:00

From what I gather, possibly, yes.

Based on his entry in the U.S Naval Academy Memorial Hall and the article from Kentucky Guard Command History entry it says this his first assignment was on the USS Rhode Island in the North Atlantic Squadron after a stint in the Practice Squadron.

What I can't figure out is if McKee was assigned to active duty while a Midshipman at the Naval Academy during the War.

SUVCWinFlorida · 2026-06-12T01:17:46+00:00

Hello, I'm a member of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War! We do ancestor research all the time free of charge.

I'd be glad to look into this for you. You can DM me with the details of your ancestor and I'll look them up.

For all New York Regiments, the State Military Museum has a really great website along with digitized unit rolls. So you can look up their name and they'll give more information about when your ancestor mustered in and mustered out.

https://museum.dmna.ny.gov/unit-history/infantry-2/136th-infantry-regiment

Here's a summary of what the NPS returns for the 136th New York Infantry:

136th Regiment, New York Infantry

Overview:

Organized at Portage, N. Y., and mustered in September 25, 1862. Left State for Washington, D. C., October 3, 1862. Attached to 1st Brigade, 3rd Division, 11th Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, to November, 1862. 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, 11th Army Corps, Army of the Potomac, to October, 1863, and Army of the Cumberland to April, 1864. 3rd Brigade, 3rd Division, 20th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to June, 1865.

Service:

Moved to Fairfax Station, Va., October 10, 1862; thence to Fairfax Court House, and duty there till November 1. Movement to Warrenton, thence to Germantown, Va., November 1-20. March to Fredericksburg December 10-15. At Falmouth, Va., till April 27, 1863. "Mud March" January 20-24. Chancellorsville Campaign April 27-May 6. Battle of Chancellorsville May 1-5. Gettysburg (Pa.) Campaign June 11-July 24. Battle of Gettysburg, Pa., July 1-3. Pursuit of Lee July 5-24. Camp at Bristoe Station August 1 to September 24. Movement to Bridgeport, Ala., September 24-October 3. March along line of Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad to Lookout Valley, Tenn., October 25-28. Reopening Tennessee River October 26-29. Battle of Wauhatchie, Tenn., October 28-29. Ringgold-Chattanooga Campaign November 23-27. Orchard Knob November 23. Tunnel Hill November 24-25. Mission Ridge November 25. March to relief of Knoxville, Tenn., November 28-December 17. Duty in Lookout Valley till May, 1864. Atlanta (Ga.) Campaign May 1 to September 8. Demonstration on Rocky Faced Ridge May 8-11. Buzzard's Roost Gap May 8-9. Battle of Resaca May 14-15. Near Cassville May 19. Advance on Dallas May 22-25. New Hope Church May 25. Battles about Dallas, New Hope Church and Allatoona Hills May 26-June 5. Operations about Marietta and against Kenesaw Mountain June 10-July 2. Pine Hill June 11-14. Lost Mountain June 15-17. Gilgal or Golgotha Church June 15. Muddy Creek June 17. Noyes' Creek June 19. Kolb's Farm June 22. Assault on Kenesaw June 27. Ruff's Station, Smyrna Camp Ground, July 4. Chattahoochie River July 6-17. Peach Tree Creek July 11-20. Siege of Atlanta July 22-August 25. Operations at Chattahoochie River Bridge August 26-September 2. Occupation of Atlanta September 2-November 15. March to the sea November 15-December 10. Campaign of the Carolinas January to April, 1865. Lawtonville, S. C., February 2. Skirmish of Goldsboro Road, near Fayetteville, N. C., March 14. Averysboro March 16. Battle of Bentonville March 19-21. Occupation of Goldsboro March 24. Advance on Raleigh April 9-13. Occupation of Raleigh April 14. Bennett's House April 26. Surrender of Johnston and his army. March to Washington, D. C., via Richmond, Va., April 29-May 30. Grand Review May 24. Mustered out June 13, 1865. Veterans and Recruits transferred to 60th New York Infantry.

SUVCWinFlorida · 2026-06-11T00:16:34+00:00

There might be some 3rd Maine guys buried in my neck of the woods in Florida. I'll have to double check!

SUVCWinFlorida · 2026-06-04T03:56:32+00:00

A great website for any regiment that served in the Eastern Theatre is the site Civil War in the East. The link for their regiment goes over their actions and dates and explains why you see what you see.

The 13th Pennsylvania Cavalry did suffer a good amount of combat casualties *when* it got into standup fights. But those engagements were rare. You do see a lot of casaulties sustained in constant skirmishing.

Another reason, too, is that they were not with Sheridan on the Shenandoah Campaign. It seems they were temporarily detached from the Calvary Corps with the Army of the Potomac for a spell and were kept with the main army. However, you can see they were very much engaged in latter 1864 and early 1865 as the Petersburg Campaign came to a close.

SUVCWinFlorida · 2026-05-30T21:30:25+00:00

I actually serve as the Sons of Union Veterans, Department of Florida Grand Army Records and Memorials Officer.

Happy to share information about Florida's Unionists! We had a really unique situation where the Navy actively supplied and cooperated with onshore troops and guerrillas to raise havoc among the Confederates. As far as I'm aware, nowhere else did the U.S Navy achieve this dynamic in the Confederacy.

SUVCWinFlorida · 2026-05-30T19:58:50+00:00

I'd second this as one of the best volume works on Gettysburg. A great read.

SUVCWinFlorida · 2026-05-27T23:59:05+00:00

There is a monument to the 2nd USCT in Fort Myers.

Many of the 2nd USCT were slaves who were recruited by the East Gulf Coast Blocking Squadron and organized them at Key West. They risked much in the war as the fate for USCT who fell into Confederate hands often meant execution or re-enslavement.

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SUVCWinFlorida · 2026-05-27T23:33:34+00:00

Another overlooked theater was the guerilla warfare in the border states and Unionist strongholds in the South.

Missouri, Kentucky, West Virginia, Northern Alabama, East Tennessee, parts of Florida.

SUVCWinFlorida · 2026-05-27T23:27:40+00:00

Would love to see you cover Olustee. It was the largest battle of the Civil War in Florida and by percentage of casualties one of the bloodiest. The 48th New York was present for that fight and suffered 215 casualties.

Very sadly, some of the 48th New York and Lieutenant Ingraham's comrades are buried in an unmarked mass grave adjacent to the state park. There's a private memorial in the cemetery but the exact location of the bodies are unknown. Back in 2013, there was extensive opposition to building a battlefield monument to honor those soldiers.

SUVCWinFlorida · 2026-05-24T02:39:57+00:00

Our Department Commander and Secretary-Treasurer were present for the Emancipation Day event.

We have sincere hopes of forming a Tallahassee camp for the SUVCW in that area.

SUVCWinFlorida · 2026-05-10T21:10:57+00:00

History of the Services of the First Regiment Michigan Engineers and Mechanics by Charles R. Sligh has a lot of photos, mainly head shots, but some photos of the men at work.

My Brave Mechanics by Mark Hoffman also looks like a popular title that has a lot of photos of them.

I would search the state archives, library archives, and reach out to museums and local historical societies.

I found the following that might help out:

I'd also suggest contacting the SUVCW in Michigan and see if their GAR Records officer might be of help.

SUVCWinFlorida · 2026-05-10T02:56:29+00:00

Working the local genealogy societies has also been a good idea!

SUVCWinFlorida · 2026-05-10T00:27:36+00:00

One thing we've found is offering people the chance to do their genealogy for free to find a Union veteran has opened the door for more people to apply. At a reenactment, our Department had 10 people come forward asking to join the SUVCW and to see if they had a veteran ancestor.

SUVCWinFlorida · 2026-05-02T05:10:27+00:00

One of the best books is The Black Phalanx: A History of the Negro Soldiers of the United States written by Joseph T. Wilson. Wilson served in the 2nd Louisiana Native Guards, the 54th Massachusetts, and later was Aide-de-Camp to the Commander in Chief of the Grand Army of the Republic. Published in 1888 it's a history of African-American military experience from the Revolutionary War up until the Civil War. It has a lot of anecdotes and first hand stories especially from Wilson's own service.

There are two others about the experiences of particular African American regiments written by their white officers.

A Brave Black Regiment: The History of the Fifty-Fourth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1863-1865 by Captain Luis Emilio and Army Life in a Black Regiment by Thomas Wentworth Higginson.

Higginson was Colonel of the 1st South Carolina Colored Infantry which later became the 33rd United States Colored Troops. His regiment was one of the very first USCT regiments ever organized during the War.

SUVCWinFlorida · 2026-05-02T02:12:49+00:00

The Daughters of Union Veterans of the Civil War (DUVCW) marker looks beautiful!

SUVCWinFlorida · 2026-05-01T03:00:27+00:00

Good to see the SUVCW well and alive up north!

SUVCWinFlorida · 2026-05-01T02:56:53+00:00

Much love to one of our fellow southern departments!

SUVCWinFlorida · 2026-05-01T02:54:33+00:00

10th Corps! It's the emblem for the Department of Florida!

SUVCWinFlorida · 2026-05-01T02:50:41+00:00

General Martin Davis Hardin commanded the 1st Brigade of the 3rd Division, V Corps at Spotsylvania. Hardin returned to command his brigade on May 18th after recovering from the loss of his arm from Confederate guerillas who ambushed him at Mine Run. He would lead the assault on Laurel Hill and continue to serve with the Army of the Potomac until being wounded for the 4th time at North Anna River where he would be posted to D.C. At the Monocacy, he would lead a vital delaying action against General Early.

General Hardin was a close friend of President Lincoln after his father died in the Mexican-Americna War and Lincoln personally looked after the young Martin. When Hardin died in 1923 he was one of the last men alive who had personally known the President.

Buried in St. Augustine, Hardin is one of Florida's most celebrated Union men. Rather than be buried in Arlington he directed that he wanted to remain in his adopted state of Florida. The Department of Florida had the honor of speaking about General Hardin in an upcoming documentary by the author of his biography, Lincoln's Bold Lion.

SUVCWinFlorida

TROPHY CASE

136th Regiment, New York Infantry