My office is located in a suburb of Columbus called Pickerington. There’s a strip shopping center in Pickerington where there’s a Mexican restaurant that Susan and I like. We had dinner there on Sunday, and then we walked a block to a Rita’s Italian Ice store for dessert.

I have been to that shopping center previously, and I knew that there was an odd open spot in the middle of it. I never noticed what fills that odd opening before Sunday night. As we walked by it, I noticed a white column that said “Sherman”, so it got my attention. I went to look at it, and it was a monument to William T. Sherman that I have never seen before. However, the monument is missing its head and the figure of Sherman is missing its left hand. The monument indicates that it was placed in 1918, and mentions the names of four members of the Union Veteran Legion who placed the monument.

After thinking about it for a couple of days, I called my friend Mike Peters today, and Mike turned up some interesting information. Thanks to Mike for sharing it with me.

I had never heard of the Union Veteran Legion. Mike found that the Union Veteran Legion was formed in 1884. The requirements for membership was that UVL members were to have “volunteered prior to July 1, 1863, for a term of 3 years, and were honorably discharged”. Service in the military had to be of at least 2 years in duration if the discharge was due to wounds encountered on the battlefield. Given these requirements, the membership of the UVL was many times smaller than that of the G.A.R. So, this monument was erected by some of Sherman’s boys.

Mike also ascertained that the monument was vandalized in 1968, meaning that Uncle Billy has been headless and handless for 42 years.

One of the fellows I practice law with has lived in Pickerington for his entire life and had absolutely no clue that that monument exists.

The poor condition and poor security for the monument bothers me a great deal, so Mike and I agreed that we’re going to see what we can do about (a) relocating the monument to a place where it can be seen and have some security (it has NONE now), and (b) fixing it so that Uncle Billy is no longer headless or handless. We’re going to see what we can do.

I will keep everyone posted as to our progress.

The following pictures were taken by Nancy Peters, and are used with her permisson:

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Spotted in the gift shop of the new Visitor Center in Gettysburg…..

This is wrong in more ways than I can count…..

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I will be signing books on Saturday May 22, 2010, from 1-3 at the Battlefields and Beyond Military Book Shoppe in Gettysburg. If you’re in the area, please come by and say hello!

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Mike Noirot has posted a review of my Brandy Station book on his blog. Please check it out.

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I am a charter member of the Central Ohio Civil War Roundtable. I attended the first meeting in 1988, and I was its second president and second program chair. I have been involved with the organization from the very beginning. The organization has grown and evolved over the years, and it has now launched its own website, which I invite you to check out. I have added a link under the Civil War Sites of Interest section. Kudos to CWRT president Tim Maurice for getting this site launched.

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My friend Mike Block, who is a member of the board of trustees of the Brandy Station Foundation, and who is researching a book on the winter encampment of the Army of the Potomac during the winter of 1863-1864, has launched a new blog called Today at Brandy Station, which follows events that took place at Brandy Station on a day-by-day basis. There’s lots of interest here, so enjoy. I’ve added this blog to the blogroll.

Welcome to the blogosphere, Mike.

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I want to endorse the efforts of the Monterey Pass Battlefield Association to raise money to acquire battlefield land and to develop a visitor’s center for interpretation of the battlefield, and I encourage you to donate to their efforts, too. The following article appeared in the May 7 issue of the Waynesboro Record Herald newspaper:

Washington Township’s preservation efforts for the Battle of Monterey Pass receive strong support, but there’s still more to do

By Matt McLaughlin/The Record Herald
Fri May 07, 2010, 12:17 PM EDT

Blue Ridge Summit, Pa. –

Significant strides have been made since Washington Township agreed to raise funds to purchase land and establish an interpretive site dedicated to the Battle of Monterey Pass in January.

During a Jan. 29 meeting between the Monterey Pass Battlefield Association and Washington Township supervisors, the board agreed to seek funding and be the recipient of donations for purchasing a property near the Lions Club’s Rolando Woods Park and establishing it as an interpretive site, complete with a visitors center.

Once established, the township would own the site, but the Battle of Monterey Pass Committee — made up of the association and its partners — would be responsible for its planning and operation, Washington Township Manager Mike Christopher said in January.

The Battle of Monterey Pass, fought July 4 and 5, 1863, began in Fountaindale as Confederate forces limped back to the South after the Battle of Gettysburg. It was the second-largest conflict fought on northern soil during the Civil War and the only one fought on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line.

A step forward in preserving a piece of the Monterey Pass battlefield was the signing of a sale agreement for the .83-acre property near Rolando Woods Park April 21.

The property, owned by Mary Rae Cantwell, is located at 13325 Buchanan Trail East and was the location of the last Confederate defense during the 1863 battle.

Supervisor Elaine Gladhill, an advocate of preserving the history of the battle, said the township has already received more than $1,000 in donations.

Gladhill also recently received a donation of artifacts found where the Battle of Monterey Pass was fought. Two Minie balls — one fired and one unfired — were given for display in the future visitors center.

Moral support

About $100,000 is needed to buy all the property and township recently applied for $49,950 from the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources grant for purchasing the property. The township would provide matching funds of $52,900.

More than 75 letters of support for the grant were submitted.

“To me, that just says how valuable this initiative is,” Christopher said. “I’m amazed by the support.”

Agencies that wrote letters of support include the Monterey Pass Battlefield Association, Franklin County Board of Commissioners, Franklin County Visitors Bureau, Gettysburg Convention and Visitors Bureau, Franklin County Area Development Corp., Greater Waynesboro Chamber of Commerce, Franklin County Planning Commission, Borough of Waynesboro, One Mountain Foundation, Franklin County Historical Society, Waynesboro Area School District, Greater Area Emmitsburg Historical Society and Cumberland Valley Rifles.

Letters of support were also received from state Sen. Richard Alloway II, a Republican who represents Franklin, Adams and parts of York counties, and state Rep. Todd Rock, a Republican who represents Franklin County, as well as a number of individuals.

“What makes our situation unique and wonderful is that we’re going to be able to interpret it … which means it can come alive for the public,” Christopher said. “Instead of reading a sign or marker, we can bring this site to life because of having the historian already in place.”

John Miller, historian and founder of the MPBA said recent support and efforts to establish a battlefield are the culmination of 12 years of work.

“I’m very excited about how far things have come,” Miller said. “We are very pleased with the township’s efforts and their support for this project. The township has been the driving force behind obtaining grants for the project as well as obtaining support from our local and state officials.”

The next step

The township plans to continue looking for money to develop a site that will serve the community historically and economically as a tourism destination. If it receives the DCNR grant, the township hopes to raise the matching funds through donations.

“We need to raise the money to buy the property, and we need to raise the money to build the interpretive center,” Christopher said. “There are people out there that donate to this kind of thing and we’re looking for them.”

Christopher hopes businesses in the area will see the advantage of supporting the site financially, because “they’re going to be paid back tenfold.”

Miller and members of the Battle of Monterey Pass Committee met with Civil War historian Ed Bearss Thursday to discuss, in part, ways to gain financial support.

“The meeting is basically to gain a better understanding about what type of preservation grants are out there as well as kind of figuring out how to gain more national support, taking it past the local level,” Miller said prior to the meeting.

Donations can be made at the township office at 13013 Welty Road, Wayne Heights. Checks should be made payable to Washington Township.

Donation forms also are available at MPBA interpretive programs.

The Battle of Monterey Pass was the second largest battle fought in Pennsylvania during the Civil War, and it deserves our support.

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Thanks to help from several of you, and especially from fellow Buckeye Chris Van Blargan, the mystery of Paul von Koenig and of his brother, Lt. Gen. Goetz Friedrich Wilhelm Ulrich, Freiherr von Koenig, has been solved. Lt. Gen. von Koenig was a cavalry officer–he commanded a German cavalry corps during World War I, and was awarded the Blue Max in 1915, which was Imperial Germany’s highest military decoration.

Paul von Koenig was apparently something of a soldier of fortune who was wounded in combat five times while fighting in Mexico before the Civil War. He and his brother Robert von Koenig both fought during the Second Bull Run Campaign, and Paul von Keonig became good friends with future president James Garfield in New York City during the fall of 1862. I also have von Koenig’s service records coming from the National Archives.

I will now be able to give this brace and capable officer the sort of detail and tribute that he deserves when I start writing my work on the Battle of White Sulphur Springs in a few weeks. I am extremely pleased about that, and grateful to all of you who helped me to unravel this particular mystery. Thank you for your help. I am in your collective debt.

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From the editorial page of today’s edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer:

Editorial: No dice on Gettysburg

Since the state Gaming Control Board in 2006 rejected a proposed slots parlor several miles from the Civil War battlefield in Gettysburg, it’s hard to see how a full-blown casino just a half-mile south of the hallowed ground is an improvement.

Former Conrail chairman David M. LeVan is back with another proposal to build a casino near where thousands of Union and Confederate soldiers fought and died during the pivotal battle.

Like his failed bid for a gambling license, LeVan’s new proposal has rekindled the dispute between civic leaders, merchants, Civil War buffs, and conservationists over whether gambling can coexist with the historic site.

Up for grabs among four bidders around the state is a hotel-based resort license providing for up to 600 slot machines and 50 table games. A decision is months away, so that gives Gettysburg residents time to make their sentiments known to the gaming board, which certainly shouldn’t force-feed a casino down the historic town’s throat.

LeVan’s previous pitch for a 3,000-machine slots hall was at least somewhat removed from where Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous speech, though the idea of a seedy casino anywhere near the quaint town and historic battlefield is troubling.

A coalition of historic and preservation groups – including the Civil War Preservation Trust, National Parks Conservation Association, National Trust for Historic Preservation, and Preservation Pennsylvania – says the new site along storied Emmitsburg Road is simply too close to where soldiers marched.

Casino officials counter that this corridor already has been commercialized. What’s more, LeVan and his investors are making the case that the Adams County economy needs a boost even more than it did four years ago.

Even with a smaller gambling footprint at the proposed Mason-Dixon Resort & Casino, there’s little question the project would generate added tax revenue. Proponents also contend that a Gettysburg casino would capture gamblers from Maryland.

But with the new Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and Visitors Center open, there’s an even greater economic incentive not to mar the experience of battlefield visitors.

It is hard to make the case that the two disparate groups of visitors – gamblers and history buffs – would complement each other. In fact, Gettysburg has thrived for decades largely because it has stayed true to its historic roots.

The Gettysburg dispute offers another reason why gambling in the long run remains a bad bet for Pennsylvania. There may be short-term gains from the added tax revenue. But the long-term societal costs that follow gambling – including increases in crime, personal bankruptcies, alcoholism, and divorce rates – are not something Gettysburg wants to make part of its history.

Good for the editorial board of the Inquirer for taking the right position on this divisive issue. The bottom line is that there are plenty of casinos. There is only one Gettysburg. And that one Gettysburg should be casino-free.

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For about fifteen years now, I have made a point of going to the annual Civil War show in Mansfield, Ohio, which is always held the first weekend in May. It’s been a place to catch up with friends, to perhaps buy something, and to work my network. I usually run into at least one regular reader of this blog there. However, last year’s show introduced World War I and World War II relics, and that stuff took up about half of the show. A lot of the vendors that I’ve visited over the years were not there last year and I don’t expect to see them this year either. It’s just not worth the time or money to attend under these circumstances.

Since a big chunk of the show is going to be taken up by irrelevant stuff, which will keep many of my regular vendors from attending, for the first time in something like fifteen years, I will not be attending the show in Mansfield this year. As long as it’s not exclusively a Civil War show, I very seriously doubt that I will ever go again. So, for those of you who were hoping to see me there this weekend, I regret that I won’t be there. I regret that, but it’s not worth the time or effort to go to a show that’s becoming more and more irrelevant each year.

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