Civil War Diary of P. L. Loufman

On September 28, 1864 Philip wrote in his diary “Glorius news from the front and every place else.” However, he doesn’t elaborate on the “glorius news.” In researching events in the days leading up to the 28 th , I found a site that summarizes daily events of the war. Some of the events for the dates September 19 th through the 28 th are as follows… September 19, 1864: Confederate agents captured and burned two steamers on Lake Erie. Confederate Captain Charles H. Cole’s goal was to capture the USS Michigan which was guarding Confederate prisoners near Sandusky, Ohio. Cole’s accomplices. Acting Master John Yates Beall and 19 co-conspirators boarded and captured the steamer Philo Parsons and subsequently captured and burned the steamer Island Queen . Beall put the passengers and cargo of the two steamers ashore and proceeded to the planned rendezvous with the Michigan in Sandusky Bay. Meanwhile the Union Commander of the Michigan discovered and arrested Cole. Beall realized the pla...

On September 1 ST , Philip states that “Mosby is lurking about our lines.” John Singleton Mosby was a First Lieutenant in the Confederate Army in command of the 43rd Virginia Cavalry. “Mosby’s Rangers” engaged in a campaign of raids on Union supply lines and harassment of couriers. Their ability to seemingly appear and disappear earned Mosby the nickname “The Gray Ghost.” M osby famously captured Brigadier General Edwin H. Stoughton in Fairfax, Virginia in 1863. When Mosby found Stoughton asleep in bed, he awakened the General with a slap to the rear, and asked "Do you know Mosby, General?" The General replied "Yes! Have you got the rascal?" "No," said Mosby. "He's got you!" Philip also discusses two executions in this week’s diary excerpt; the first was a bounty jumper, the second, a soldier who assaulted a young girl resulting in her death. During the Civil War, it was legal to pay a bounty to someone to enlist in your place. It was actuall...

On August 25 th , Philip discusses a “a rout between the 12 th Regiment of Veterans Reserve Corps and the Provisional Corps” resulting in several injuries. I am assuming this Provisional Corps is the one he refers to as “being stationed in the rifle pits between Forts O’Rourke and Farnsworth.”  A Provisional Corps was a temporary unit often formed to serve a specific purpose. Although both the Union and Confederate armies used Provisional Corps, Philip does not specify exactly who the combatants were. However, I feel from his description of the events it was a scuffle between two groups of Union soldiers. Locations of Fort Farnsworth and Fort O'Rourke Source: Civil War Defenses of Washington At the start of the Civil War, military tactics reflected those of earlier wars such as the Revolutionary War with troops positioned in lines or columns marching against similarly positioned enemy troops. The Civil War saw soldiers using rifled guns with increased range over the previous muske...

In today’s excerpt from Philip’s Civil War Diary, he mentions being on the picket line, or rather slipping the picket line, and also visiting Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia. Picket lines were established to protect a military boundary around a camp or to establish the perimeter of the army’s direct control. One of the primary duties of a picket was to provide early warning of enemy infiltration or attack. “Slipping the picket” refers to an individual or group of soldiers temporarily abandoning their post on the picket line. An attempt to "slip the picket" could be an effort to gather intelligence, launch a surprise attack, facilitate desertion, or in the case of Philip, search for peaches and apples. If caught, a negligent soldier could be severely punished or even executed. Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia was established more than 250 years ago. George Washington helped fund the construction of the church and regularly worshipped here. Prior to the Civil War Rob...

The title of today’s post is a Civil War slang term for alcohol. In two of today’s diary entries, Philip mentions being sent out to search for whiskey. Although it is unclear why his men were searching for whiskey, the Union army often used it for medicinal purposes in camp. Whiskey, often made from corn instead of grain, was the most popular alcoholic drink in 1861. Hard cider and beer were popular non-distilled drinks. Cider, made from apples was more common, however beer was gaining in popularity with the influx of German immigrants. Colonel James H. Childs of the 4th Pennsylvania Cavalry pours drinks for his officers and those visiting from the 3rd Pennsylvania Cavalry Source: www.Historynet.com Excessive drinking was a prevalent problem on both sides of the conflict. Both the Union and Confederate armies issued guidelines on the use of liquor, as an aid to combat fatigue and exposure. However, the availability of liquor rations often depended on the commanding officers. Camps with...

The Marshall House in Alexandria, Virginia Source: Library of Congress The Marshall House in Alexandria, Virginia, was the site of the first Union and Confederate deaths in the Civil War. The Marshall House was an inn located at 480 King Street in Alexandria, Virginia. Union troops had arrived in Alexandria and had begun removing Confederate flags from buildings around the city. The inn’s proprietor, James W. Jackson had a large Confederate flag on top of the inn which was visible from the White House. On May 24, 1861, Colonel Elmer Ellsworth removed the flag from the roof of the inn. As he was descending the stairs, Jackson shot Ellsworth in the chest at point-blank range. Jackson was immediately shot and bayonetted by Corporal Francis Brownell.                      Colonel Elmer Ellsworth (left) and James W. Jackson (right) Before the war, Ellsworth had worked as a patent agent in Rockford, Illinois. He also studied law in Chicago...