Was My Great Grand Pappy Really a Civil War Soldier?   
                                                                                                 Carla Love Maitland 
As a native Memphian and a former history teacher, I’ve learned so much about the city of my birth over the years and at one time even developed and taught special interest courses about Memphis to middle school students. Nevertheless, I constantly learn new and amazing things about the city’s history. Since the beginning of the commemoration of the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War in 2011, I’ve acquired even more knowledge about Memphis and the surrounding area. The involvement and significance of this area during the Civil War is so much more than most people realize.

I do know that my understanding increased tremendously after the presentation given to the Tennessee Genealogical Society by Dr. Lee Eugene Wilson on Saturday, June 22, 2013. Dr. Wilson, a dentist by profession, is a Civil War enthusiast and author of two published books* relating an ancestor’s story of love, war, and survival in the turbulent years in the Western Theatre of Operations in the Civil War. The stories are based on facts and documents passed along through his family. He has a third book in the series due to come out in July. The name of his presentation was "Genealogy and the Civil War - or Was my Great Grand Pappy Really in the Civil War and How do I Find Out?" 

Lee, as he asked us to call him, explained that he caught the “history bug” due to those many family stories told over the years. He is a native Mississippian, born in the small town of Duck Hill, who has lived in the Memphis area for around thirty years. The knowledge he’s gained of the history of this region is extraordinary. Lee described the numerous Union encampments that were established after the fall of Memphis to Union forces on June 6, 1862. He described the importance of these areas as well as the Confederate bases and forays into those Union forts, resulting in frequent battles in this area.  He used a series of modern-day photos to help the audience put into perspective exactly where those camps, forts and engagements took place, as well as other places of historical significance.

As Lee said, most people who live in this area don’t realize how much activity actually happened during the 1860s around Memphis, Germantown and Collierville. In truth, most of us in attendance didn’t. He also brought with him a sampling of some of the sabers, swords, bayonets and rifles used during the Civil War. Even more interesting was his own family’s Bible and other memorabilia that were on display for people to look at and examine.
  
Lee’s presentation began with a chart showing what an incredible toll the Civil War took as far as the loss of population in the United States. Although around 650,000 casualties are the current numbers generally given, historians are increasing those numbers based on census records that continue to show the actual ‘missing generations’ of men after the 1860 census. 

Another part of Lee’s presentation had to do with the many websites, books, and other resources that he used to research his own family and that are available for anyone to use in order to find out if their own ancestor or ancestors participated in the Northern or Southern forces during that time period. He went into detail regarding a few of them, describing how to use them for the best research results.                                             

Lee told so many engaging stories that people were truly disappointed when his presentation ended. The time went by way too quickly. It is a certainty that Dr. Lee Wilson will be asked back soon to delight us with even more of his vast knowledge of this time period.  After all, the Sesquicentennial won’t end until 2015!

*Once a Southern Soldier: A Novel of the Civil War; Copyright @2011 by Dr. Lee E. Wilson.

Always a Southern Soldier (The second book in the series Once a Southern Soldier); Copyright @2012 by Dr. Lee E. Wilson. 

Forever a Southern Soldier (The third book in the series Once a Southern Soldier); July 2013 release by Dr. Lee E. Wilson. 
                                                                                       Photos by Jim Bobo
                                                                                                                                                                   

Unless otherwise noted, all classes and programs are: 1) free and open to the public, and 2) held in the Tennessee Genealogical Society lecture room in the Germantown Regional History and Genealogy Center, 7779 Poplar Pike, Germantown, TN 38138. For details call 901-413-7995 or email Tina Sansone: tinahsansone@gmail.com

Genealogy and the Civil War or . . . was my Great Grand Pappy Really in the War, or Not?
Dr. Lee Eugene Wilson ~ Saturday, June 22 ~ 10:30 am ~ TnGenSoc Lecture Room 

Dr. Lee Wilson will be the guest lecturer for the Tennessee Genealogical Society on Saturday, June 22 at 10:30 a.m. He will speak on the subject "Genealogy and the Civil War or . . . was my Great Grand Pappy Really in the War, or Not?" Wilson will look back at the Civil War and its effect on the United States as we know it today and also on the difficulties it creates for genealogists as they try to trace their families during this turbulent time in our history.

Wilson has just completed his third novel based on his family and their struggles during the Civil War years. He will explain how his genealogy research led him to write his series of novels Once a Southern Soldier, which chronicles his great grandfather, Bill Ayer, as a young newlywed going off to war and coming to grips with its horrors at bloody Shiloh. The story follows Ayer through the war and to his surrender at Greensboro, North Carolina on April 16, 1865. The books also show the reader the desperate plight the soldier's families faced on the home front.

Wilson says, "One of the first questions I have asked of me is 'How do I find out if my relative was even in the Civil War and then, what unit was he in?'" Wilson will explain his methods for researching his ancestors in the war by using the Internet, various military search sites, era newspapers, and the library. He will also discuss the many reasons that the Civil War was fought in the first place and the political climate that led to hostilities. His collection of Civil War weapons will be on display, and Wilson will explain why there was such a high rate of casualties in the war. He will also explain why some families 'just evaporated' between the 1860 and 1870 census.

"I hope that I can help people in their efforts to find out more of what our ancestors faced in one of our country's most difficult times. And you just might find proof that 'Yes, my Great Grand Pappy was indeed in the Civil War!' --Lee Wilson

Let's Discuss It (genealogy/computer discussion group)
Saturday, June 29 ~ 10:00 am to 12:00 n ~ TnGenSoc Lecture Room 
Participate in a genealogy/computer discussion group led by Debbie Atchley. Bring up your topic of interest and/or soak up the knowledge from the round table. No registration is required for this program. "Let's Discuss It" handouts available for download.
                                                                                                                                                             

As I watched the gentleman clad in Civil War costume lovingly hold each vintage weapon in his hand, the old phrase ‘going off half-cocked” came to mind over and over.  Although he never actually said that phrase, the reality of what it meant was brought to life as he cocked each weapon explaining how the Civil War soldier had to load it.  The first step in the ‘cocking and loading’ process was always the ‘half-cocked’ position, which was clearly demonstrated each time he handled a weapon. This is the ‘safety’ position in which a weapon would generally be loaded. Actually seeing that tedious procedure enacted brought home the veracity of that old saying.  If the weapon went off before being fully cocked, loaded, and ready, the soldier could lose valuable time and could most certainly put himself in imminent danger by not being ready to fire his weapon.

Civil War history buff, Rick Cohen, was the presenter I described above. He was giving his demonstration at a recent event hosted by the Tennessee Genealogical Society.  Rick is a native of Chicago who moved to Memphis about forty years ago.  However, he began collecting Civil War memorabilia back in the 1960s and made it clear to the audience that he only collected and spoke about remembrances of the Union forces. Just listening to his description of his own collection was delightful.  He personally owns a large number of Civil War guns, rifles and swords, as well as newspapers of that era, photographs - and even a canon!  Yes, he owns a ’12-pounder’ – the type that is called a ‘boat howitzer,’ much like the one used on the Monitor of the “Monitor and Merrimack Battle” fame.  He admitted that his main interest was in the Navy.

Rick brought a wonderful sampling of the various weapons used during the Civil War by the Union forces.  He showed a Springfield Musket, which he explained was standard issue for the infantry by the U.S. government.  It was a single muzzleloader (a holdover from previous wars) that weighed 9 ½ pounds, with each bullet loaded by being pushed all the way down the muzzle, or the open end of the barrel; not very effective, to say the least.

The Union Cavalry, on the other hand, had no standard weapons and used all types.  The carbine was a special favorite.  It was a short-barreled weapon that was also breech-loading, which means that a cartridge was loaded from the side or rear of the rifle and not directly down the barrel.

After showing a couple of swords, including a light-cavalry sabre, Rick showed everyone the pistols used during the war: the Colt 44, which was mostly used by the Army, and the Colt 36, mostly used by the Navy and seemingly favored by Confederate forces. The Colt 44 was the most commonly used pistol, and both were made by Samuel Colt and Company.

Finally, Rick brought out the ‘best of the best:’ the 7-shot repeater. This weapon (also known as the Spencer Repeating Rifle) included a 7-shot tubular magazine with the soldier carrying a cartridge block holding ten tubes.  Although the U.S. government issued very few of these to the Union forces, according to Rick Cohen, Colonel John Wilder purchased these weapons for his own unit, which became known as the famous “Lightning Brigade.”  Also according to Rick, if the U.S. government had purchased more of these weapons for the Union forces, the war would have ended much sooner.  He said, unequivocally, “Firepower could have shortened the war.”  (Somehow, this statement sounds very familiar.  It seems that some things never change.)

Rick peppered his ‘show and tell’ of weapons and also coinage used during the Civil War with wonderful bits of history.  Because most Confederate soldiers used their own weapons during the War, General Lee managed a negotiation with General Grant allowing those soldiers to take their weapons home.  After all, there was no truly functioning Confederate government around to collect those firearms.  It seems that the U.S. government didn’t complete a very efficient collection of weapons after the War either. There were no serial numbers on any of the weapons, many were lost in battle, and some just took their weapons home with them.  Rick was not sure about the ‘accountability’ issue.

Rick also deftly handled questions from the audience.  At one point, a gentleman, who had one of the most delightful Southern accents I’ve heard in quite a while, asked a question about what weapons the Confederates used. Rick conceded that the Confederate government was not able to supply their forces with weapons and most used their own rifles. Some picked up Union weapons from the battlefields, copied them, or purchased them from gunrunners from the North.  The ‘Southern Gentleman,’ who seemed quite knowledgeable himself regarding Civil War weapons, stated that the Confederate government had indeed purchased most of the weapons that they were able to purchase from companies, individuals, and even government sources in the North.

As a former history teacher and lover of all things historical, I will have to say that I was not very knowledgeable about or particularly interested in military weapons. However, I thoroughly enjoyed Rick’s presentation and have come to appreciate even more what those Civil War soldiers had to endure as they went into battle with weapons which seem so primitive to us now. It brought to mind the now-infamous statement of former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld: “You go to war with the Army you have.” 

Both the Union and Confederate forces certainly did that.

(DISCLAIMER: Any incorrect descriptions of the weapons that Rick demonstrated or in the stories he told are completely the responsibility of this author, who based this piece on notes taken quickly, but as accurately as possible during the presentation.)

Tennessee Genealogical Society Spring Lecture
Guest Speaker Michael Hait: 9:00 am to 3:15 pm — Saturday, May 19, 2012
Registration form available as PDF download /  Registration: $20.00 TGS members — $25.00 nonmembers 
See Lectures and Schedule details below: (1) What is a 'Reasonably Exhaustive Search?', (2) Your Civil War Ancestors: Beginning your Research, (3) Online State Resources for Genealogy, and (4) Reconstructing a Slave Community Using the Genealogical Proof Standard.   

Registration at door begins at 8:30 am, Pickering Center, 7771 Poplar Pike, Germantown, TN (see map below)
(Next to the Germantown Regional History and Genealogy Center, 7779 Poplar Pike, Germantown, TN)

Michael Hait, CG is a full time genealogist who researches, writes, and lectures professionally. His research specialties are African American genealogy, especially the periods of slavery through the Reconstruction, Maryland genealogy, and the US Civil War.

Michael is currently the Vice-President of the National Capital Area Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists, and was recently elected to the APG Board of Directors for 2012-2013. He has written articles on numerous topics for several magazines and journals. He has also self-published several books, and recently authored Genealogy at a Glance: African American Genealogy Research, published by Genealogical Publishing Company. In 2012, he will be an instructor for the Institute of Genealogical and Historical Research at Samford University and the National Genealogical Society’s annual conference. Visit his blog, "Planting the Seeds: Genealogy As A Profession" at http://michaelhait.wordpress.com. Michael will be selling some of his books during the breaks. 

Lectures and Schedule

1) 9:00-10:00 am — What is a 'Reasonably Exhaustive Search?':  Case study using the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS)

10:00—10::30 am Break (Refreshments)

2) 10:30-11:30 am —  Your Civil War Ancestors: Beginning Your Research

11:30 am-1:00 pm—Lunch Break  You can enjoy lunch at one of the nearby restaurants or you may bring a bag lunch.  Drinks will be furnished on site.

3) 1:00-2:00 pm — Online State Resources for Genealogy

2:00— 2:15 pm Break (Refreshments)

4) 2:15-3:15 pm— Reconstructing a Slave Community Using the Genealogical Proof Standard: Research on a slave community with several specific mini case studies involving specific individuals & families. The slaves were in both Maryland and Louisiana. The Louisiana slave-owning family has several connections to Tennessee and Andrew Jackson.

Registration form available as PDF download /  Registration: $20.00 TGS members — $25.00 nonmembers  
For more information, contact Tina Sansone at 901-413-7955 or email TnGenSoc@gmail.com

The Tennessee Genealogical Society invites you to attend the free 2012 Spring Lecture Series:
Thursdays, 7:00 pm, Germantown Regional History and Genealogy Center, 7779 Poplar Pike, Germantown, TN. 

          April 12:  Debbie Atchley: "Beginning Genealogy" / Jack Hampton: "African American Genealogy"
          April 19:  Thomas Jones: "Census Records" / Robert Cruthirds: "Genealogy and Google"
          April 26:  Jim Johnson: "Military Records" / Patricia Neeley-Dorsey: "Poetry and Family History"
           May 03:  Alan Hall: "Pitfalls" / Kelley Bobo: "Genetics and DNA"
           May 10:  Sid Witherington: "Civil War and Metal Detecting Discoveries"
           May 17:  Debbie Atchley: "Technology and Software" / Tina Sansone: "Genealogy Education"