The Colonels of Spring Grove

Spring Grove Cemetery is the resting place for numerous Union (and one Confederate) generals who served in various capacities during the Civil war.  The grave-sites of men such as Joseph Hooker, William Lytle, and a few of the Fighting McCooks can be found within the bucolic landscape that Spring Grove offers.  However, not to be forgotten, are those colonels who also gave to the Union war effort and who also rest within Spring Grove.

The cemetery website has a map where one can locate the generals, and below I have created a map for the colonels with their names in blue.  Click on the picture for a larger version.

The following series of posts will provide a bit on each of these colonels and where they can be found in Spring Grove.

A Duel Between Friends?

I've been doing a bit more cursory research into a duel that took place between James P. Fyffe and Carr B. White, two gentlemen buried in the same cemetery in Georgetown, Ohio.  This duel is fresh on my mind as I told the story at the 59th Ohio monument to two of my friends on the recent trip to Shiloh.  I have come across two stories about the duel, well, actually it is mentioned in several places with little to great detail.  I will relay the crux of the most detailed story here.

Both men were from the same area in southwestern Ohio, and both joined the 1st Ohio Infantry during the Mexican-American War.  White served as Second Lieutenant in Company G and was promoted to Captain in February, 1847.  This promotion created bad blood between White and Fyffe, who was also serving in Company G.  The misunderstanding grew to such a level that Fyffe issued a "challenge to mortal combat" to which White accepted immediately.  James F. Harrison, grandson of former president William Henry Harrison, acted as Fyffe's second, and Ferdinand Van Derveer, later colonel of my home county's Civil War regiment, the 35th Ohio Infantry, was White's second.  The two seconds tried to diffuse the situation, to no avail.  The duel had to be put off until after the 1st Ohio mustered out, as Zachary Taylor, commanding the force the 1st Ohio was a part of, made it clear that dueling would not be tolerated.  The duel would not occur in Mexico, although one story stated that it did.

On May 17th, Van Derveer informed Harrison:

Dear Sir, - In accordance with your request, I hereby give you, in writing, a statement of the preliminary arrangements entered into between you and myself concerning an affair wherein Lieutenant Fyffe and Captain White are the principals. Time, 1st of June; eight o’clock in the morning. Place, battle-ground below New Orleans. Weapons, pistols. Distance, fifteen paces. Any alterations may be made by the consent of both parties.

It is interesting to me that the location chosen was the site of the Battle of New Orleans.  However, once again the movement of the regiment prevented the duel from taking place on Old Hickory's victory site.  As the regiment moved north along the Mississippi River, the steamboat on which they were being transported stopped to take on wood along the Arkansas shore and that taking on fuel would be a two hour process.  It was decided to conduct the duel during this lull.  At daybreak, June 10th, Fyffe and White met in a cotton field to settle their differences.  Harrison had taken ill, so Fyffe's second was taken by Lieutenant James Moore.  Neither White or Fyffe had fought a duel, and Fyffe did not even have a pistol.  White had slipped into New Orleans two purchase a pair of long dueling pistols, and he allowed Fyffe to use one of his pair.  With pistols loaded, the men facing each other only  twelve paces apart (a change from the original terms), Fyffe's back to the Mississippi, and with the sun at his back, his outline was silhouetted in the morning sun.  With their right sides facing each other, Van Derveer counted out "one, two, three - fire!" and both men fired, and missed.  The shooters were convinced by the interjection of others present that honor had been served, and the two men shook hands after both explaining and making concessions on their respective positions.  

One story mentions that men from the regiment were straining to see the duel from the steamboat, but could not due to the distance the and vegetation along the shore.  The story goes on to mention that after waiting what seemed to be a frustrating amount of time, the two men were seen walking back to the boat, arms draped over each other's shoulders.  

This much is known:  Fyffe opened a law practice in a building that was owned by White in Georgetown, so the men must have been on friendly terms.  White would go on to have his own successful Civil War career in the 12th Ohio, while Fyffe died in January, 1864, after battling a long illness said to have been contracted at Shiloh.

United States Regulars at Shiloh

Encampment - Cavalry

On my recent trip to Shiloh at the conclusion of our tour with the esteemed Tim Smith, three of us traipsed some portions of the battlefield to locate the United States Regular monuments.  Beyond my obvious predilection for all units Ohio, I also have a place for the small groups of Regulars that graced the western armies.  At Shiloh there are units from all three branches on the field.  

To locate the U.S. cavalry monument, we parked at a pull off near the park's main entrance and crossed over the highway into some high and very wet grass.  After walking a few hundred yards in tick country, we located the encampment tablet and the monument, buried in the woods a bit, for Company C, 2nd Cavalry and Company I, 4th Cavalry.  The monument is impressive, and obviously not visited often.  

We walked back to the car and drove to Duncan Field.  The infantry monument is in the north woods line at Duncan.  It is of the same style as the cavalry monument, and denotes the actions of the 15th, 16th, and 19th Infantry Regiments.  As these units were part of the Army of the Ohio, there are no encampment tablets.

We then drove over to north of the bloody pond to locate the artillery monument.  Battery H, 5th Artillery, and Batteries H & M, 4th Artillery, are represented on this monument.  The monument is once again is the same style as the previous two.

My next trip will hopefully capture pictures of these monuments on a sunny day, as well as the engagement tablets for these units.

For more information on the U.S. Regular infantry in the Western Theater, Mark Johnson's That Body of Brave Men: The U.S. Regular Infantry and the Civil War in the West is a detailed study with several pages on the Regular's involvement at Shiloh.

Front - Cavalry

Rear - Cavalry

Front - Infantry

Rear - Infantry

Front - Artillery

Rear - Artillery

Shiloh!

My first trip to Shiloh was an amazing one indeed!  With fellow members of the Chickamauga study group, I made my first visit to this iconic battlefield.  Rolling in on a Wednesday afternoon, I did the basic tourist option of taking the driving tour so as to familiarize myself to the park and the terrain.  I was immediately impressed with Shiloh's monument and tablet system, its wooded areas with plenty of open fields, and the pristine feel of the park.  Being where it is, the tourist traffic is not heavy, and the recreational users few, allowing the group to really immerse itself into all that it is Shiloh.  Even the visitation on Saturday seemed to be very low.  I understand that Shiloh sees only 300,000 visitors per year, so that would explain the dearth of tourists.

Our first two days of touring, led by David Powell, covered the April 6th fighting.  Tour day one of April 6th was a focus on the Confederate left, with the opening at Fraley Field to the Sherman/McClernand counterattack.  Tour day two started with Spain Field and ended at Dill Branch Ravine.  Dave provided a fantastic tour, and his knowledge of Shiloh is top notch.  Our third touring day was spent with Shiloh author Tim Smith, and we walked the Confederate defensive line for April 7th, as well as covered Lew Wallace's route from Crump to the battlefield.  Tim is the epitome of a tour guide having the ability to mix details with a humorous delivery that I could listen to for days.  Having him in my car for the Wallace route was grand, and he played along with our antics with gusto.

We enjoyed some meals at various places in the area.  The Corner Restaurant, near the battlefield, was very good, although we overwhelmed them on Saturday and service was a bit off.  Try their banana pudding!  Hagy's was okay.  Everyone says to go there, and we did, but I believe it is overpriced.  I was told the catfish there was no better than the Corner Restaurant (I don't do catfish myself), and Hagy's is about twice the price.  Smith (not Smith's, and no relation) in Corinth had great food, a cool atmosphere, a nice beer list, and terrible service (our waitress was okay, but getting our food was an adventure, and waters took about an hour to arrive at the table).  

On the way home I spent over three hours walking all of Parker's Crossroads with one of the guys from the group.  He had not been there before, and I had only walked about 50% of the trails on my visit there last year during a pouring rain.  It is a very well interpreted, maybe over interpreted, battlefield.  I say over interpreted as much of the information shared on one interpretive panel would appear on one or more other panels.  But they do have about fifty panels to read so the details of the battle are definitely covered.  They also have an impressive amount of artillery (some pieces from Shiloh) and a wonderful visitor's center.

Our group is already planning our 2020 trip, and it might be a return to Shiloh as there is so much more there, and at Corinth, to cover.

Ivy Mountain Park Day

A cast of thousands came out this weekend to assist with the Ivy Mountain Park Day event...oh wait, it was just my wife and myself.  A shame, considering I had posted this on Civil War Talk, reached out to the local house museum that has a direct tie to the battle, reached out to the local Sons of Confederate Veterans, and reached out to the woman ho wrote the book on the campaign.  Crickets from all.  Pretty sad that a couple who lives three hours away came out to work, and locals couldn't even answer my inquiries.

Regardless, we did do some good work, shoveling a lot of dirt from the parking lot, cleaning the monument and concrete pad it rests on, and cleaning the two interpretive signs.  The signs need replaced, for certain.  

Some pictures, showing the progress.  The dirt from the parking lot where we didn't clean needs to be dug out.  The parking lot could use a power washing and then sealed and the parking spaces repainted.  

The overall plan...only a portion of the blue was completed.  Orange is long term plan.

Eight inches of dirt has built up in this corner.

Dirt beyond the curbs still need to be removed.

  

After digging out the dirt that had covered the parking lot

Old Georgetown Cemetery

On the western side of Georgetown, Ohio, resting in front of the Brown County fairgrounds, is the Old Georgetown Cemetery.  Within its peaceful grounds are numerous veterans from several wars, including the Civil War.  Georgetown, as many of you know, was the boyhood home of Hiram Grant, better known as U.S. Grant.  Buried in the cemetery is Thomas Hamer, who died while serving in the Mexican-American War, but who had, as a congressman, nominated Grant for West Point. 

Also buried in the cemetery is Carr B. White, who was an integral part of the 12th Ohio Infantry and the Kanawha Division.  One can also find James P. Fyffe, who not only served as colonel of the 59th Ohio Infantry, but also fought a duel with White during their service in the Mexican-American War as Fyffe felt he was being passed over for promotion (both men missed and hence were satisfied).  Ferdinand Van Derveer served as White's second - Van Derveer later serving as the colonel of the 35th Ohio.  Later, prior to the war, Fyffe would work in White's law office in Georgetown.

The 59th fought in various battles in the western theater, from Ivy Mountain to Shiloh, Stones River to Chickamauga, Chattanooga (Missionary Ridge) through the Atlanta Campaign.  They lost 157 men during the war, less than fifty in combat.

Fyffe would pass away in early 1864, and the 59th would muster out of service in October of that same year.

The Old Georgetown Cemetery is a worthy stop, and someone has taken great pains to ensure that  most of the veterans there have a grave marker, which enhances the visit.