The Fourth of July

Greetings Cosmic Americans and happy Fourth of July. I found a short piece in the New York Times entitled "The Fourth of July - HOW THE ARMY AND NAVY WILL CELEBRATE IT" This one is from 1864...enjoy.

The arrangements for the celebration of the Fourth of July, by the army and navy, in this vicinity and elsewhere, are progressing rapidly. On Governor's Island, the old headquarters of the Department of the East, a salute will be fired at the usual time, a dress parade may come off if the day is fine, and the Declaration of Independence will not be forgotten. The soldiers of the regular army look forward with joy to the anniversary of the nation's birthday. The navy will honor the occasion by saluting and dressing ship. The magnitude of the war fleet in harbor at present renders it likely that a more picturesque display of bunting was never seen in our harbor than can be witnessed on the coming Fourth. The receiving ship North Carolina, the old razee Savannah, now our local school ship; the steam-frigate Niagara, and 50 sail beside, will contribute to the show. The commandants of the foreign fleet in port will be formally informed by Admiral PAULDING, on the 2d, of the approaching festival, and will fire salutes of course. In San Francisco, Callao, Hong Kong, Spezzia, Rio Janeiro, Queenstown, Lisbon, Alexandria, Southampton, and 20 other commercial rendezvous, such of our naval vessels as have been spared from blockading duty, will fire for the home of the free. It is not improper to say that an experience of four years' cruising in an American man-of-war has proved that no holiday is welcomed with more genuine friendliness, by sailors and soldiers everywhere, than ours.

Have a safe and happy holiday - and don't blow yourself up.

Keith

What Happened to the 54th Massachusetts After Fort Wagner?

Greetings Cosmic Americans!

I am guessing that you have all scene the film Glory - about Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts Colored Infantry in the Civil War. The film's culminating moment is the epic charge against Battery Wagner - one of the several forts near Charleston, South Carolina on July 18th, 1863. As we all know from the film, the regiment suffered heavy casualties including the death of Colonel Shaw.

But the regiment lived to fight another day. Now commanded by Edward Needles Hallowell, the 54th again saw action in Florida. On the afternoon of February 20th, 1864 Union forces under the command of Truman Seymour engaged Joseph Finegan's Confederates at Ocean Pond - the Battle of Olustee. After an afternoon of heavy fighting, Union soldiers retreated under heavy Rebel fire. Covering the retreat, the 54th, alongside the 35th USCT, repulsed one final Confederate attack.

On November 30, 1864, The 54th had at the Rebs as part of an expeditionary force in Sherman's March to the Sea. In an effort to cut the rail line between Charleston and Savannah, the 54th and 55th Massachusetts attacked firmly entrenched Confederates at the Battle of Honey Hill, near Grahamville, Georgia. The Rebels proved too well entrenched to be dislodged and the Union forces withdrew.

Finally, on April 18th, 1865, the 54th took part in the Battle of Boykin's Mill - the very last battle on South Carolina soil. This time, the 54th was given the job of charging single file against a well defended fort. The outnumbered Confederates retreated from the field. The cessation of hostilities was announced two days later and Confederate general Joseph Johnston officially surrendered on the 29th...pretty much sealing the deal on the CSA.

So there you have it - maybe a squeal to Glory is in order!!

Peace,

Keith

Was The Battle of Gettysburg the Turning Point of the Civil War?

Greetings Cosmic Americans!

Well, I got an email today from a Live and Unfiltered fan (student - Mike B.) asking me to clarify something I said about the Battle of Gettysburg.

I mentioned something along the lines of "Gettysburg is not as important as you might think it is." Thanks for the note, Mike - lets see if I can clear things up a bit.

I should have pointed out that I was talking about Gettysburg as the turning point of the war and I should have been more specific by stating that many Americans today think about the battle differently than the people in 1863. I love live streaming video - no edits and at this point it is not interactive. What are ya gonna do? Just have to go with it and clarify later if necessary :)

Analyzing history from the vantage point of the present (as I have warned people not to do), one could surmise that the battle was indeed the turning point. The Confederates never again could claim a decisive victory along the lines of Manassas or Fredericksburg. But the Union victory here was not by any means the stepping off point to guaranteed victory.

The participants and citizens of the respective countries certainly didn't think so. Just read a newspaper from the period. The Confederates, with Lee at the helm the Army of Northern Virginia, still firmly believed that victory was within their grasp. Gettysburg or no. The Union Army was bogged down in Virginia, the Union population at home was growing increasingly weary of the war, and even Abraham Lincoln thought he was going to lose the election of 1864 and perhaps the war along with it.

Sure as shit - the letters home from the Confederate Army indicated that morale was up. I have read them myself...tons of these letters are housed at the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond. Go there yourself and check them out if you don't believe me.

So all this "High Tide of the Confederacy" stuff is a postwar creation. Sure, the citizens of the North and South thought the battle was important alright, but perhaps for different reasons than many Americans do today.

So if you have any questions you can always shoot me an email at cosmic_america@yahoo.com
I promise to answer all.

peace,
Keith