GREEN-WOOD
CEMETERY | INDEX OF NAMES
| INDEX
OF SUBJECTS | CHAPTERS | AUTHOR'S
NOTES
Chapter
Three
The Civil War Era (1861-1865)
Facing
South In Prayer
John Yates Beall (1833-1865) was born in Walnut Grove, Virginia, into
a wealthy Shenandoah Valley plantation family.
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His
Last Gallant Charge
Colonel George W. Taylor, Third New Jersey Volunteers, gave
this account of Lieutenant Henry Hidden's last action three
miles east of Bull Run in Virginia.
Pro Patria
On April 22, 1861, Colonel Abraham S. Vosburgh (1825-1861) marched
at the head of the 71st New York State National Guard as it
hurried off to Washington, D.C.
Disaster
At The Crater
Just a few feet from Green-Wood Cemetery's marker for section
76, a small, unobtrusive granite stone stands alone, marking
the final resting place of General Edward Ferrero (1831-1899).
Little Drummer Boy
On April 22, 1861, when the first Brooklyn troops marched off
to the Civil War, twelve-year-old drummer boy Clarence Mackenzie
(1848-1861) beat the march cadence for the Thirteenth Regiment.
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| The
Drummer Boy Monument. The Monumental Bronze Company made memorials
of both Union and Confederate soldiers. Its catalog, issued around
1882, offered a generic soldier for $450 (just over $8000 in today’s
money); for an additional $150 (the equivalent of about $3000
now) a likeness of a specific war hero would be sculpted from
a photograph. Though the company claimed that it sold thousands
of zinc soldiers, it is more likely that the correct number is
in the hundreds. |
Glory
As the Civil War began, no black volunteers were allowed to join the
armed forces fighting to save the Union; it was widely thought that
allowing them to fight would send the wrong message -- that this was
a war of abolition.
The Soldiers' Lot
Green-Wood Cemetery, in a patriotic gesture during the Civil War,
created the Soldiers’ Lot for free veterans’ burials.
New York's Draft Riots of 1863
Opposition to a military draft existed in New York City long before
the Vietnam War.
Confederate
General's Secret Burial
Robert Selden Garnett (1819-1861), a native of Virginia, graduated
from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1841,
taught tactics there, served in various Army posts thereafter,
including aide-de-camp to General Zachary Taylor, and distinguished
himself during the Mexican War at the Battles of Monterrey and
Buena Vista. |
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| The
June 18, 1863, attack of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment on Fort
Wagner is depicted in this 1890 chromolithograph. Though the attack
is pictured in daytime, it actually took place at night. |
Is
That A New York Times Correspondent Behind That Stump?
A native of Scotland, William Swinton (1833-1892) was educated in
Toronto at Knox College and at Amherst College, then became a Presbyterian
minister.
Killed By A Comrade In Arms
Edgar A. Kimball (1822-1863) trained as a printer and was the proprietor
and editor of the Age, a liberal Democratic newspaper published in
Woodstock, Vermont.
Baseball’s First Star
In the late 1850’s, Brooklyn was the hotbed of baseball.
The
Gothic Revival Main Gates
As Green-Wood Cemetery flourished in the late 1850’s and the early
1860’s, its trustees looked for ways to enhance its appearance.
The Most Magnificent Soldier
Fitz-John Porter (1822-1901) was decorated for gallantry during the
Mexican War, then taught cavalry drill and tactics at West Point.
Not Wounded, For A Change
General Thomas Sweeny (1820-1892) lost his right arm to a bullet during
the Mexican War.
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A
Profile In Courage
In early 1861, in an effort to appease Southern secessionists
and preserve the Union, Congress approved a version of the Thirteenth
Amendment to the Constitution that protected slavery in the
states against any future interference by the federal government.
Here
A General, There A General . . .
Henry Wager Halleck (1815-1872), who served as General-in-Chief
of all Union Armies during the Civil War, was by all accounts
a man of great intellect; his nickname, "Old Brains," recognized
this.
General-in-Chief
Henry Wager Halleck
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Atop
The United States Capitol, The Statue Of Freedom
When he was commissioned in 1855 to create the statue of Freedom for
the United States Capitol’s dome, Thomas Crawford (1813-1857) already
had a substantial reputation as a sculptor, and had already designed
the sculptural grouping for the east pediment of the United State
Senate wing.
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All
The World's A Stage
In 1848, Laura Keene (1826-1873) made her stage debut at the
Lyceum Theatre in London, and quickly became a popular comedic
performer.
Laura
Keene, the theatrical pioneer who was thrust into the middle
of historic events at Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865.
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At
The Head Of The Seventh Regiment
Marshall Lefferts (1821-1876) began his part-time military career
as a private in New York’s famed Seventh Regiment, a unit composed
of the wealthy and social elite of New York City.
Medal Of Honor
On May 15, 1864, at Resaca, Georgia, while commanding a brigade, Captain
Paul Ambrose Oliver (1830-1912) of Company D, 12th New York Infantry,
"assisted in preventing a disaster caused by Union troops firing into
each other."
Your Prison Cell Is Right This Way . . .
Two Brooklyn Eagle newspapermen, Joseph Howard, Jr. (1833-1908) and
Francis Mallison (1833-1877), were convinced that they had a can’t-miss
scheme to get rich during the Civil War.
Marching Through Georgia, Then On To Brooklyn
Henry Warner Slocum (1827-1894), soldier, Union general, and politician,
was born in Delphi, New York, graduated from the United States Military
Academy in 1852, and saw action during the Seminole War.
The Ultimate Sacrifice
Born in Switzerland, Caspar Trepp (1829-1863) received military training
and served as an officer in the British Foreign Legion from 1848 to
1857, before settling in New York City.
The News That Killed Him
Dr. Valentine Mott (1785-1865) was the greatest surgeon of his time.
Murder . . . And Spirits
In July, 1842, the country’s attention turned to John Anderson’s tobacco
store when Mary Cecilia Rogers, the "Beautiful Seegar Girl"who worked
there, disappeared.
Christy’s Minstrels
Growing up in New Orleans, Edwin P. Christy (1815-1862) saw blacks
entertaining in that city’s Congo Square section.
