PRESENTATION AT THE

414 JUDD STREET

WOODSTOCK, ILLINOIS

TUESDAY

MAY 8, 2018

By Mary Abroe

MCHENRY COUNTY

CIVIL WAR ROUND

TABLE

ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP DUES

PRESENTATION:

DISCUSSION:

APRIL SUMMARY:

AND

DISCUSSION GROUP AT THE

6000 NORTHWEST HIGHWAY CRYSTAL LAKE, ILLINOIS

SATURDAY

MAY 26, 2018

SURRENDERS AFTER

APPOMATTOX By Chuck Hamilton

Contrary to common assumption, the

American Civil War did not come to a

screeching halt after General Robert E.

Lee accepted General U.S. Grant’s

terms of surrender at the Appomattox

Courthouse on April 9, 1865.

The Armies and Navies of the defeated

Confederate States of America did not

all surrender at one time, but rather in a

slow and piecemeal fashion spread over

a widely dispersed area of geographic

distribution,which also included one unit

overseas. Some units, in fact, never

surrendered at all. Some Confederate

units surrendered in various places on

April 12, 16, 19, 20,21, 26, and 27..

a

Other various Confederate units would

surrender on May 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12,

13, 26 and 30. And finally, a few of the

last units surrendered on June 2, 3 and

23. As a final note, on November 6,1865

the CSS Shenandoah surrendered to

HMS Donelgal at Liverpool England.

On August 20, 1866, President Andrew

Johnson declared what he called the

“insurrection” officially over and peace

restored.

On July 4, 1865, General Joseph Shelby

led his Iron Brigade and other troops in his

Missouri Division across the Rio Grande

at Eagle Pass, Texas, into Piedas Negras,

Empire of Mexico, to avoid surrender.

Accompanying Shelby’s column were the

former Confederate governors Pendelton

Murrah (Texas), Henry Allen (Louisiana),

Thomas Reynolds (Missouri), and Isham

Harris (Tennessee), as well as former

Confederate generals Edmund Kirby

Smith, Sterling Price, John Bankhead

Magruder, Alexander Watkins Terrell, and

other one-time officers and members of

the former Trans-Mississippi Department

and all of their families.

Under the direction of former Commodore

Matthew Fontaine Maury, formerly of the

Confederate Navy, ex-officers and troops

who crossed into the Empire of Mexico to

establish the New Virginia Colony in the

state of Veracruz at the invitation of the

Emperor Maximilian.

Between ten and twenty thousand former

Confederates emigrated to the Empire of

Brazil at the invitation of Dom Pedro II,

who wanted to encourage the growth of

cotton in his country.

Establishing themselves in several other

communities, these ex-Confederates

would became the foundation of an ethnic

group unique to Brazil known today as

Los Confederados, centered in the Sao

Paolo town of known as Americana. More

former Confederates settled in what was

then British Honduras (now Belize). Ex-

Rear Admiral John Randolph Tucker led a

group of former Confederate expatriates

into Peru to establish New Manassas.

Dr. Henry Price took another group into

Venezuela to occupy large areas of the

state of Guyana called the Price Grant.

APRIL

PRESENTATION

REVIEW

The guest speaker for our April meeting,

Rob Girardi, addressed the conflicts within

the high commands of both the Union and

Confederate armies.

Davis, Johnston, and Pemberton

President Jefferson Davis appointed Joseph

Johnston to foster teamwork in the western

theatre and told General John Pemberton to

hold Vicksburg at all costs. But, Johnston

then advised him to evacuate the “Gibraltar

of the Mississippi.” He seemed to shy away

from responsibility and gave Braxton Bragg

little direction. When he assumed control of

the western armies he basically retreated.

McClellan vs. Scott

At the start of the war General in Chief

Winfield Scott was 74 years old and so

obese that he was unable to mount a horse.

His first choice to lead the Union army was

Robert E. Lee, but, failing that, his second

choice was Henry Halleck. After the

debacle at First Bull Run he did not want

George McClellan to replace Irwin McDowell

but Pres. Lincoln appointed the “Little

Napoleon” anyway. Now, McClellan did

“end runs” around Scott and issued orders

without notifying the “General in Chief.”

Scott soon retired.

McClellan vs. Lincoln

McClellan originally thought he could “play”

Lincoln. He always had 1,001 excuses why

he couldn’t do something. Lincoln wanted

to divide the army up into corps: McClellan

didn’t want to do that. So, the President

went ahead anyway and created 5 corps.

McClellan then created 2 more corps and

took troops from the other 5, thus

weakening them all. Most problems related

to McClellan’s “inaction.” After the Ball’s

Bluff disaster Congress created the

Committee on the Conduct of the War.

Hill vs. Longstreet and Jackson

A.P. Hill and James Longstreet were

division commanders at the time. Hill even

challenged Longstreet to a duel at one

point. General Lee then transferred Hill to

Thomas Jackson’s command. Jackson had

Hill arrested twice.

Jefferson C. Davis vs. Bull Nelson

Nelson gave Davis the job of organizing raw

recruits in Kentucky. Davis, thinking the job

was beneath him, refused. Nelson then

ordered him to leave, which he did, but then

he returned and shot and killed Nelson.

Davis was, of course, arrested. The Union

victory at Perryville, eight days later, might

have been a greater one had it not been for

the loss of these two generals

McClellan and Fremont vs. Pope

After the Peninsula, Campaign President

Lincoln chose John C. Pope to lead the

Army of the Potomac. Fremont now

refused to serve under Pope: he was

transferred and replaced by Franz Siegel.

Pope actually did a good job and made the

cavalry into a significant fighting force.

Lincoln ordered McClellan to reinforce Pope

in Virginia, but, of course, McClellan found

reasons not to. In fact, the “Little Napoleon”

actually undercut his commander, thus

contributing to defeat at 2nd Bull Run

. McClellan vs. Burnside vs. Mead

Now back in charge of the Army of the

Potomac, McClellan wouldn’t even talk to

Burnside during the Antietam Campaign. In

fact, he divided and weakened Burnsides’

two corps. Burnside, in command at

Fredericksburg, needed the pontoons to

complete the river crossing. However, they

arrived 3 weeks late because orders for

them were sent by U.S. Mail rather than

telegraph or courier. Burnside decided to

attack anyway with disastrous results.

Meade actually made a breakthrough there

but Burnside didn’t send him any help.

During the Overland Campaign in 1864

Meade and Burnside were constantly

quarreling. After the Battle of the Crater,

Meade had his rival brought up on charges.

Bragg vs. the World

Braxton Bragg was known for his abrasive

personality and inability to get along with

just about everyone. His subordinate

generals didn’t like him and his corps

commanders basically ignored him at

Chickamauga. President Davis even came

down from Richmond to patch things up,

but to no avail.

Grant vs. McClernand and Rosecrans It is well known that General Grant held grudges

and viewed many of his subordinates as

potential rivals. Even though Gen. John

McClernand agreed with his commander’s plan,

McClernand agreed with his

commander’s plan of attack for

Vicksburg, Grant relieved him of his

command after the failed frontal assault

in June. McClernand was a political

general and a Democrat. Grant also

saw General William Rosecrans as a

threat and stripped him of command

after Chickamauga. He was replaced by

General George Thomas. Grant

attempted to purge the army in early

1865, keeping only “his boys.”

Sheridan vs. Warren

A feud also developed between Gen.

Phil Sheridan and Gen. Gouverneur K.

Warren. Sheridan complained that he

had left Meade “blind” at Spotsylvania

while out looking for Jeb Stuart and that

his cavalry had clogged the roads at the

Wilderness. When he heard that Warren

was complaining about him, Sheridan

relieved him of command.

Bob Frenz ______________________________

THE ANDERSONVILLE

RAIDERS From Wikipedia

The Raiders were a band of rogue

soldiers held at Andersonville during the

American Civil War. They were led by their

chieftains – Charles Curtis, John Sarsfield,

Patrick Delaney, Teri Sullivan, William

Collins, and A. Munn – these thugs terrorized

many of their fellow prisoners by stealing

their possessions and sometimes even

committing murder.

Conditions at Andersonville were among

the worst of all Civil War prison camps;

conditions of extremely overcrowding

and starvation was the most common

cause of death. Unsanitary conditions

and illness flourished within the camp.

Whatever food available would often

cause diseases by contamination.

Dysentery, scurvy, and gangrene were a

result of the harsh conditions and poor

quality of food and water. Besides the

severe health issues, records indicate

that the guards often would behave

sadistically and would kill prisoners for

no particular reason.

Then there was the situation concerning

“the Raiders”.

a motivated, organized resistance effort,

were significantly weakened. However, by

mid-June 1864, the prisoners decided that

they could no longer tolerate the Raiders'

terrorism and control over the camp in

addition to the constant threats they also

experienced from the camp's guards and

constant risk of death due to the conditions

within the camp. They organized to bring

their complaints to Captain Wirz and also

formed an inner prison police force to

defend against and capture the Raiders.

The first organized resistance efforts within

the camp involved small groups of the

prisoners - usually members of the same

platoon or squadron – forming together in

self defense against the Raiders. The

groups would agree that if one of their

members were being attacked, he would

scream out an agreed-upon code word; the

other members would then come to the

victim's defense and would scare away the

attackers. However, to defeat the Raiders

entirely, the prisoners would have to get

themselves more organized, and would

also need backing from the Captain Wirz.

On June 29, 1864, a prisoner named Dowd

was beaten by two of the Raiders, and had

some of his valuable possesions stolen.

After his attack, Dowd went immediately to

the front gate to confront the Confederate

guards and demand justice. His complaints

caught the interest of Captain Henry Wirz.

After hearing Dowd's story, he would then

announce that he would cut off all rations

until the Raiders were turned in. This in

turn would result in the establishment of an

internal police force to be named "the

Regulators", who were not new to the

camp, but had became significantly more

powerful after Dowd's case was brought to

Captain Wirz attention. Now that there was

a police force (the Regulators) now began

to make arrests and held the individuals

they arrested until they were given a fair

trial. Most of the Regulators' arrests of

suspected Raiders took place between

June 29 and July 10, 1864, when the main

offenders were tried and hanged. The

Regulators were able to round up most of

the Raiders, while they put up considerable

resistance, they were finally overthrown by

the Regulators. In his diary, Ransom notes

that the first night of arrests were quite

successful because, "thirty or forty of the

worst characters in camp had been taken

outside".

"The Raiders", were quite well known

throughout the camp for their harsh tactics

and behavior towards fellow prisoners.

The Raiders used various methods to get

what they wanted, which ranged from pure

"sneak thievery to highway robbery". The

most common method of stealing involved

looking for "promising subjects" as they

would enter the camp and tricking theim by

pretending to help them find a good place to

sleep, and then would end up beating and

robbing them.

Another of their choice techniques would

involve sending out spies to track down

prisoners suspected of having valuables

which could be traded to camp guards. After

determining a prisoner had something of

real value, the Raiders would then wait for

him to fall asleep and then raid his tent.

The Raiders were well organized and had

many members who performed a variety of

tasks. The best estimate is that the Raiders

consisted of at least 100 regular members,

as well as a number of others who would do

favors for the group or provide assistance in

exchange for some type of compensation.

The group was organized around its six

most important members, known as the

"chieftains": Charles Curtis, John Sarsfield,

Patrick Delaney, Teri Sullivan, William

Collins, and A. Munn. It was also said that

each leader had henchmen who were

organized into groups named after the

leaders, such as "Collins' Raiders" and

"Curtis' Raiders". Resulting from their

widespread thievery, the Raiders were well

supplied and enjoyed considerably better

living conditions than their fellow prisoners.

They also possessed weapons, ranging

from axes to bowie knives. They were also

well fed, which gave them an edge when it

came to fighting; many of their victims were

suffering from malnutrition, and would be

considerably weaker and less able to

defend themselves. While resistance had

the potential to be quite unsuccessful, the

camp's prisoners needed the motivation to

fight the Raiders, and this proved to be a

major barrier. The prisoners were suffering

from widespread disease, starvation, and

the effects of the other harsh conditions

within the camp. In contrast to the well-fed,

well-stocked, and well-organized Raiders,

the prisoners' physical capabilities for

resistance, and their abilities to sustain

After the Raiders were arrested, as

Captain Wirz had promised, all of the

offenders were put on trial for their

crimes against their fellow prisoners.

The court was set up much like a

typical court, including a judge and

jury of the offenders' peers. Those

who were then convicted were given

relatively light sentences, such as

"setting in the stocks, strung up by

the thumbs, thumb screws, head

hanging, etc." Another of the lesser

punishments was the running of the

gauntlet. Those sentenced to this

punishment were fthen orced to run

through a gauntlet of inmates who

had clubs and were allowed to hit the

offenders as they ran by. In some

cases, the Raiders who had run the

gauntlet were able to escape with just

a few blows to the head, but others

were beaten so badly that they died

from their injuries. The six members,

who were to be considered the rogue

group's leaders, were given the most

severe punishment: death by

hanging. Sarsfield, Collins, Curtis,

Delaney, Munn, and Sullivan – were

executed on July 11, 1864, on a set

of gallows that was built that day.

On the way to the gallows, Curtis

escaped from his rope ties and fled,

but was caught by the police and

returned to the gallows.

Each man was given time to say

some last words before he was

hanged.

Munn expressed great remorse for

his acts and hoped that God would

show him mercy; Collins pleaded for

mercy from the crowd and claimed

that he was innocent; and Sarsfield

gave a long speech in which he, too,

expressed some regret. Delaney and

Curtis, however, showed no remorse;

Delaney went so far as to say he

would "rather be hanged than live in

Andersonville”. All six were buried

away from the other prisoners who

were buried in the military cemetery

at Andersonville.

Their execution marked the end of

the Raiders' reign over Andersonville.

Quartermaster Sergent Leroy L. Key of the

16th. Illinois Cavalry was a prisoner of war

at the infamous Andersonville Prison Camp

in South-Central Georgia during the

American Civil War.

Sergent Key was also the organizer of

“The Regulators”, a Retaliatory Police

Force he established to fend off the

terrorist gang of Union prisoners called

“Mosby’s Raiders” or “The Raiders”,

who would prey upon the defensless and

week imanciated Union prisoners at the

prison camp at Andersonville, Georgia.

Born: 19 March, 1841 Mississippi, U.S.A.

Death: 2 December, 1880 (Aged 39 Years)

Springfield, Sangamon County, Illinois USA

Bural: Oak Ridge Cemetery

Springfield, Sangamon County, Illinois USA

Ironically, Segent Leroy L. Key was buried in

his home town of Springfield, Illinois in a plot

in the Oak Ridge Cemetary over 130 years

ago with no head stone marker.

Upon request by the Oak Ridge Cemetary of

Springfield, Illinois, who applied to the

Veteran’s Administration in Washington D.C.

they were able to obtain a Civil War Veteran

head marker stone for Sergent Key.

A ceremony to comemorate his stone, his life

and his dedication as a non-commisioned

officer during the American Civil War to the

United States of America, was held on

Memorial Day, 2011.

May Sergent Key Finally Rest In Peace.

____________________________________

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