THE GILMOR BLADE. GA archeologists find Confederate POW camp. Inside this issue:

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1 THE GILMOR BLADE Those who allow the surrender of their history, also surrender their future! Official Newsletter of THE COL. H.W.GILMOR CAMP, No. 1388, SONS OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS September, 2010 Join us on September 8! By Michael Williams, Cmdr. The next meeting of the Gilmor Camp will be on September 8th, starting at 7:30 PM. Once again we will be meeting at the Baltimore County Historical society. In the photo on this page are some of the Confederate Soldiers who were living at the Maryland Line Confederate Soldiers Home in Pikesville. This camp, the Home, and those who lived there are forever tied together given our responsibilities to uphold the Charge to us by Stephen D. Lee and our shared responsibilities on Confederate Hill in Loudon Park Cemetery. At our meeting we will reflect on where we have been. Assess where we are and look at the future possibilities and directions for our camp. Also being presented at our meeting is a short video produced by the Robert E. Lee Camp #1 in Richmond Virginia about the Virginia Confederate Soldier's Home in Richmond. It is wonderful to see the old soldiers moving around and posing for the camera. The video is combined with still photographs and a great explanation of the existence of a major home for Confederate Veterans that finally closed in Come join us. I'm looking forward to seeing all of you at our September meeting. GA archeologists find Confederate POW camp By Russ Bynum (AP) SAVANNAH, Ga. Preserved for nearly 150 years, perhaps by its own obscurity, Camp Lawton began yielding treasures from the Civil War almost as soon as archeologists began searching for the short-lived Confederate prison camp. They found a corroded bronze buckle used to fasten tourniquets during amputations, a makeshift tobacco pipe with teeth marks in the stem and a picture frame folded and kept after the daguerreotype it held was lost. Georgia officials say the discoveries, announced Wednesday, were made by a 36-year-old graduate student at Georgia Southern University who set out to find Camp Lawton for his thesis project in archaeology. He stunned experienced pros by not only pinpointing the site, but also unearthing rare Civil War artifacts from a prison camp known as little more than a historical footnote on the path of Gen. William T. Sherman's devastating march from Atlanta to Savannah. "What makes Camp Lawton so unique is it's one of those little frozen moments in time, and you don't get 1 those very often," said Dave Crass, Georgia's state archaeologist. "Most professional archaeologists who ever thought about Camp Lawton came to the implicit conclusion that, because people weren't there very long, there wouldn't be much to find." Camp Lawton imprisoned more than 10,000 Union troops after it opened in October 1864 to replace the infamously hellish war prison at Andersonville. It lasted barely six weeks See Confederate POW camp, p. 2 The Charge "To you, Sons of Confederate Veterans, we submit the vindication of the Cause for which we fought; to your strength will be given the defense of the Confederate soldier's good name, the guardianship of his history, the emulation of his virtues, the perpetuation of those principles he loved and which made him glorious and which you also cherish. Remember, it is your duty to see that the true history of the South is presented to future generations." Inside this issue: 2011 Convention 2 Adopt A Confederate B&O Museum seeking artifacts Dues are DUE! Confederate of the Month Coming Events: Camp meeting, September 8th DUES ARE DUE

2 Sesquicentennial SCV reunion planned for Montgomery, AL Information courtesy of The First Capitol of the Confederacy will host the Sesquicentennial SCV reunion, July 13-16, The reunion will be just blocks from the Capitol where the first Congress of the Confederate States of America met and drafted the CSA Constitution. And just across the street from the south portico of the Capitol is the First White House of the Confederacy, where President Jefferson Davis and his family lived for a few months before the Capitol was moved to Richmond. The host for this reunion is the Captain Henry Semple Camp 2002 in Montgomery, AL, in conjunction with other camps in the Alabama River Region. Embassy Suites hotel will be the location of the business sessions. September, 2010 For information about the 2011 SCV reunion, and links to lodging, entertainment, sutlers and vendors, costs, and everything else related to this event, go to: Check the website at /1388/adopt-aconfederate/ to help us with this project! Confederate Hill adoption project marches on Joint UDC-SCV Confederate Memorial Day ceremonies at Loudon Park on June 7, 2010 honored the bravery and sacrifice of our Confederate ancestors. Confederate Hill. The project has marked over 75% of the Hill s graves. Don t miss out: please consider adopting one of the Confederates who is waiting up on the Hill! Through the Adopt-A- Confederate Program, the Gilmor Camp continues to support the marking of graves on Loudon Park s Above:Confederate Memorial Day volley Left:The Hill now has a street sign! Confederate POW camp This undated photo provided by Georgia Southern University shows archaeology professor Sue Moore, right, and a student screening soil looking for artifacts at Camp Lawton. (AP Photo/Georgia Southern University, Suzanne Oliver) before Sherman's army arrived in November and burned it. The camp's brief existence made it a low priority among scholars. While known to be in or near Magnolia Springs State Park outside Millen, 50 miles south of Augusta, the camp's exact location was never verified. That task last year fell to Georgia Southern student Kevin Chapman. The state Department of Natural Resources offered Chapman a chance to pursue his master's thesis by searching the park grounds for evidence of the 15-foot pine posts that formed Camp Lawton's stockade walls. 2 The work started in December. By February, Chapman along with his professor and about a dozen other students had dug up stains in the dirt left by rotting wood and forming a straight line remnants of the stockade wall. Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

3 September, 2010 Don t send in the troops without your support!! Make out a check for $45 payable to The Harry Gilmor Camp and send it to: Bruce Null, Treasurer 2600 Masseth Avenue Baltimore, MD B&O Railroad Museum seeks Civil War artifacts for loan By Courtney B. Wilson, Executive Director In the Spring of 2011, the B&O Railroad Museum will open a major exhibition to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War. Focused on the personalities, engagements, and role of regional railroads (Baltimore & Ohio; Northern Central; Western Maryland; Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore; Cumberland Valley and others) the exhibition will feature the largest assembled collection of Civil War locomotives and rolling stock in the world. Small artifacts, archival and photographic materials related to specific battles, personalities, locations and military units are sought for a 5-year revolving exhibit that will change for each year of the War. ALL LOANS WILL BE FOR A PERIOD NOT TO EXCEED 14 MONTHS. The B&O Railroad Museum is an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution. The Museum has announced that noted author and historian Daniel Carroll Toomey will be the Guest Curator for the exhibition. Loaned objects will be insured for replacement value and cared for at the highest museum standards. Credit (if desired) will be given to the owners of all loaned objects, images and archival material. Below is a list of categories of 3-dimensional objects sought. In the case of archival and photographic materials, we seek high resolution digital copies and not original documents or photographs: Military Units: Confederate 12th Virginia Cavalry 5th Virginia Infantry (Virginia Militia) Maryland Confederate Units Union 6th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry (30-day regt 1861) 8th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry 1st Connecticut Cavalry 1st Maryland Cavalry 7th New York Regiment Cook s Battery (Mass.) 6th West Virginia Infantry 8th New York Infantry 10th Maine Infantry The Patapsco Guard (home defense) The Railroad Brigade 3rd Maryland Infantry, Potomac Home Brigade Maryland Union Units See B&O exhibition, p. 4 Photo courtesy of: 3

4 September, 2010 B&O exhibition Photo courtesy of: Personalities: U.S. Gen. Lew Wallace U.S. Gen. John Wool U.S. Gen. Benjamin Butler U.S. Gen. John Dix U.S. Gen. William B. Franklin U.S. Gen. Herman Haupt U.S. Col. (later Gen.) Daniel Craig McCallum U.S. Gen. George B. McClellan U.S. Gen. Dodson Ramseur U.S. Gen. Robert Rhodes U.S. Gen. James B. Ricketts U.S. Gen. Wm Selby Harney U.S. Gen. William Rosecrans C.S. Gen. Jubal Early C.S. Gen. Bradley T. Johnson C.S. Gen. Wm. Grumble Jones C.S. Gen. Thomas Stonewall Jackson C.S. Maj. (later Col.) Harry Gilmor C.S. Gen. John D. Imboden C.S. Gen. Lewis Armistead C.S. Col. James H. Lane C.S. Gen. John McClausland C.S. Col. Thomas R. Sharpe C.S. Gen. Kenton Harper C.S. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston C.S. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart John Work Garrett, Pres. B&O RR Ross Winans (Baltimore) Charles Dickinson (inventor of steam gun) Wm. Prescott Smith, B&O RR Allan Pinkerton Events/Campaigns/ Subjects: Pratt Street Riot-Baltimore Relay, Maryland (Thomas Viaduct) Capture of Winans/Dickinson Steam Gun Battle of Monocacy (MD) Battle of Chickamauga (TN) Lincoln s inauguration train trip Lincoln s funeral train Johnson/Gilmore Raid into Maryland Raid against Martinsburg, VA Jones/O Neill raid Oakland MD 1864 Sanitary Fair, Baltimore U.S. Military Railroads Grand Review May 23-24, 1865 in Washington D.C. For more information or to inquire about loaning objects, contact: Dave Shackelford Chief Curator ext. 215 chiefcurator@borail.org Confederate of the Month: Pvt. William Henry Lucas By Steve Smith,1st Lt.Cmdr. Pvt. William Henry Lucas was born in Baltimore City in He enlisted as a private in Co. C, 1st Regt, South Carolina Infantry (McCreary's) (1st Provisional Army). The 1st Infantry Regt, 1st Provisional Army completed its organization at Richmond, Virginia, in August, Most of the officers and men had served in the 1st South Carolina Volunteers, a sixmonth command mustered out of service in late July. The men were mostly from Charleston and Columbia, and Darlington, Marion, Horry, Aiken, and Florence Cos. Assigned to General Gregg's and McGowan's Brigade, the unit fought with the Army of Northern Virginia from the Seven Days' Battles to Cold Harbor, the Petersburg siege and the Appomattox Campaign. This regiment lost 20 killed and 133 wounded during the Seven Days' Battles, had fifty-three percent disabled of the 283 engaged at Second Manassas and Ox Hill, and had 4 killed and 30 wounded at Sharpsburg. It sustained 73 casualties at Fredericksburg and 104 at Chancellorsville, then lost thirty-four percent of the 328 at Gettysburg. There were 16 killed, 114 wounded, and 7 missing at The Wilderness, and 19 killed, 51 wounded, and 9 missing at Spotsylvania. On April 9, 1865, it surrendered with 18 officers and 101 men. Pvt. Lucas received a wound in the right leg by a musket ball at Gaines Mills. He was also severely wounded in the head at Columbia, SC, struck by one of the 25th Ohio Infantry with the butt of an axe. Pvt. Lucas died on March 22, 1911 at the Maryland Line Confederate Soldiers Home in Pikesville at the age of 83. He was a member of the Home for over 17 years. He was interred on Confederate Hill, Loudon Park Cemetery in Plot C-49. His marker is barely readable. Pvt. Lucas is still available for adoption as of August 23,

5 The Blade offers space within its pages for business advertising by SCV members and non-members. For $5.00 per issue, an individual can purchase a business card-size space on the Blade s Ad Page. Remember: the Blade is sent to locations all across the country, though by far most readers live right here in Maryland. Wherever the Blade goes, your message can go with it! Interested? Please contact Bruce Null, 2600 Masseth Avenue, Baltimore, MD Send a copy of the ad you wish to place in the Blade, a short letter of explanation, and a check payable to the Col. H. W. Gilmor Camp #1388, SCV amounting to $5.00 for each issue in which you want the ad to appear. That s only $50 for a whole year (we do not publish in July and August) of ads!

6 THE GILMOR BLADE Bruce and Nancy Null 2600 Masseth Avenue Baltimore, MD The Gilmor Blade is the monthly publication of the Col. Harry W. Gilmor Camp #1388, Sons of Confederate Veterans. Subscriptions are available for non-members for $6.00 per year. Any individual interested in a subscription should send a check payable to Col. H.W. Gilmor Camp #1388, SCV to Nancy Null, Editor, at the address above. SAVE THE DATE: September Camp meeting 9/8