Images of the American Civil War: Photographs, Posters, and Ephemera, Free Until July 31, 2008

One of my cousins wrote me this morning to let me know about a collection of Civil War images online that is giving away free access until July 31, 2008.

According to their website:

"Images of the American Civil War: Photographs, Posters, and Ephemera presents the dramatic imagery of nineteenth-century Americana as experienced from the social, military, and political perspectives. At completion, the collection will present 75,000 images drawn from archives around the country, documenting the camp and battle experiences of Union and Confederate soldiers of all ranks, time spent in hospitals and in prisons, civilian life in cities and towns close to and far from the front lines of war, and the demeanor of the politicians whose decisions could bring the nation together or tear it apart. Many of the images in the collection were captured by famous and lesser-known innovators working with the burgeoning medium of nineteenth-century photography. Additionally, graphical content such as envelopes, song sheets, recruiting posters, imprints, and cartoons give users the ability to research how wartime America illustrated their times visually. With Images of the American Civil War: Photographs, Posters, and Ephemera, researchers and students can now see the moments—both monumental and mundane--that occurred as the nation stood divided.

Regular updates of Images of the American Civil War: Photographs, Posters, and Ephemera ensure an ever-expanding trove of fully-searchable images. Most of the materials have been gathered from extensive archives of nineteenth-century Americana. Partnerships with these archives allow the collection to bring forth previously unpublished photographs and posters to further scholarship of the Civil War. All images are organized around key broad subject areas in the field, allowing users to proceed directly to visual narratives of social, political, and military aspects of the war. Additionally, each image contains a short contextual note and is indexed for available data such as photographer, year, and setting. The result is a widely searchable database that gives researches unprecedented access to the highly visual record of the Civil War experience.

Note: The current release of Images of the American Civil War is a beta version."

You can view the collection here: Images of the American Civil War: Photographs, Posters, and Ephemera

Hanover County Confederate Civil War memorial, including surnames of soldiers

I drove to Ashland in Hanover County and decided to swing by the courthouse and take photos of their Civil War memorial. I have several relatives that are named on the monument, including my great-great-grandfather, Joseph A. Vass. After taking the photos, I decided to transcribe all of the last names onto the blog. I will also include photos of all sides of the monument.

I am only including last names, not the initials for given and middle names. I am also not including anything about rank or information about injury or death. All of these items are mentioned on the actual monument. If you see a surname of interest, you can look at the photos for more information. The monument has names on all four sides so you should check all of the photos.

The monument reads:

Hanover to her Confederate soldiers and to her noble women who loved them, 1861-65

Units included on the monument are as follows:

• Hanover Troop, Company G, 4th Virginia Cavalry
• Morris' Artillery, Coleman's, Page's, Montgomery's Battery Artillery
• Hanover Artillery, Nelson's
• Ashland Artillery, Woolfolk's
• 15th Regiment Virginia Infantry, Company C, Patrick Henry Rifles
• 15th Regiment Virginia Infantry, Company E, Ashland Grays
• 15th Regiment Virginia Infantry, Company I, Hanover Grays
• 56th Regiment Virginia Infantry, Company K, Harrison's Guards
• Other

As a note, a star on the photos means killed. An arrow means wounded and a cross means that the person died in service.

There were 379 different surnames on the monument and are as follows:


Acree, Adams, Alexander, Allen, Allison, Anderson, Andrew, Anthony, Armstrong, Arnold, Atkins, Atkinson, Bailey, Baker, Banker, Barker, Barley, Barnett, Barrett, Bartlett, Basket, Batkins, Baughan, Beadles, Beale, Benson, Berkeley, Binford, Blackburn, Blackwell, Blake, Blanton, Blaylock, Blunt, Bourne, Bowe, Bowles, Boyd, Bridges, Brock, Brooks, Brown, Browning, Broyles, Bryce, Buchanan, Buckley, Bullock, Bumpass, Burch, Burnett, Burton, Butler, Cardwell, Carlton, Carpenter, Carter, Carver, Cason, Catlin, Cauthorn, Chadwick, Chandler, Chapman, Chewning, Childress, Chisholm, Christian, Christmas, Clarke, Clopton, Cocke, Coleman, Collins, Connor, Cook, Cooke, Corbin, Corker, Corr, Cosby, Cottrell, Cox, Crenshaw, Crew, Cross, Crump, Crutchfield, Curtis, Dabney, Daniels, Darracott, Davidson, Davis, Day, Deitrick, Dick, Dickinson, Donahoe, Doswell, Duke, Dunn, Dunn, Durvin, Dyson, Earnest, Eddleton, Edwards, Ellerson, Ellett, Ellis, Elmer, England, Estes, Eubank, Farloin, Farmer, Fields, Finn, Fleming, Flippo, Fontaine, Ford, Foster, Francis, Frazier, Furry, Gaines, Gardner, Garnett, Garthright, Gary, Gary, Gayle, Gentry, Gibson, Gillespie, Gilman, Gilson, Glass, Glazebrook, Glenn, Glinn, Goodall, Goodman, Gouldin, Govers, Graves, Green, Green, Griffin, Grimes, Grogan, Grubbs, Grymes, Gwathmey, Haines, Hall, Hancock, Hanna, Hardgrove, Hardin, Hargrove, Harlow, Harper, Harris, Harrison, Hart, Harwood, Haw, Hazelgrove, Heath, Hendrick, Higgins, Higginson, Hill, Hogan, Holdman, Holloway, Hooper, Hope, Horne, Hoskins, Hott, Howle, Hudgins, Huffman, Hughes, Hundley, Ingram, Irby, Isbell, Jackson, James, Jarvis, Jeffries, Jenkins, Jeter, Johnson, Jones, Keen, Kelley, Kent, Kersey, Kimborough, Kimbrough, King, Korb, Lain, Lambert, Lane, Lawrence, Layne, Leadbetter, Leitch, Lipscomb, Lively, Livesay, Long, Longan, Loving, Lowry, Luck, Lumpkin, Maddox, Madison, Mallory, Mantlo, Marks, Marshall, Martin, Mason, Massie, McAllister, McDaniel, McDowell, McGee, McGhee, McGregor, McMurdo, Melton, Meredith, Mettert, Middlebrooks, Miller, Mills, Minor, Mitchell, Montgomery, Moody, Moore, Moran, Morris, Mosby, Motley, Murphy, Nash, Nelson, Newton, Noel, Noland, Normant, Norment, Nuckols, Nunnaly, O'Brien, Oliver, Otey, Owens, Page, Parrish, Parsley, Pate, Patman, Patterson, Payne, Peace, Penn, Perkins, Perrin, Perry, Phillips, Pleasants, Poindexter, Pollard, Price, Priddy, Prior, Puller, Pulliam, Puryear, Ragland, Redd, Reynolds, Rice, Richardson, Ronquist, Rowzey, Ruffin, Sacra, Sadler, Saunders, Shelburne, Shelton, Short, Sims, Sitman, Sizer, Slaughter, Smith, Snead, Southard, Southward, Southworth, Spencer, Spicer, Spinlde, Stanley, Starke, Stewart, Stone, Stringfellow, Strong,, Sullens, Sullivan, Sutton, Swift, Sydnor, Taliaferro, Talley, Tate, Taylor, Temple, Terrell, Terry, Terry, Thacker, Thomas, Thompson, Thornton, Tiller, Timberlake, Tinsley, Toler, Tomkies, Tomlin, Travers, Trevillian, Truel, Trueman, Tucker, Turner, Tyler, Vass, Vaughan, Via, Wade, Waid, Waldrop, Warren, Wash, West, Wheat, White, Wicker, Wickham, Wilkinson, Williamson, Wiltshire, Wingfield, Winn, Winston, Wood, Woodson, Woody, Woolfolk, Wright, Wyatt, Yarborough

Henry & Lucy Jackson Hailey Vass of Spotsylvania, Caroline & Hanover

Henry was probably born in Spotsylvania County at the turn of the nineteenth century. He was not well educated and never learned to read or write. He and Lucy were married by pastor John Billingsley of Massaponax Baptist Church, located to the south of Fredericksburg and east of the county courthouse. The church was founded in 1788 and is still active, although in a newer building and location.

During their marriage, Henry and Lucy had at least nine children. They had three daughters; Elizabeth J. Vass, Rachel A. Vass and Mary Frances Vass Taylor. They also had six sons; Benjamin W., John W., Henry Jackson Clay, Thomas Josiah, James Philip and Joseph A. Vass. Several of the boys served during the Civil War and their names appear on the Confederate monument at Hanover Courthouse.

Henry and Lucy purchased a one hundred and fifty acre farm from Thomas and Elizabeth Duerson in November of 1837 for $450. It was located in Spotsylvania, beside the farm of Lucy's father, John Hailey. The Vasses sold the property to Boswell S. Fleming for five hundred dollars in December of 1849, shortly after their move to Caroline County.

Henry and Lucy lived in Caroline, a county adjoining Spotsylvania to its south, for nearly twenty years. Henry and a few slaves farmed their land while he also managed farms for other families in the area. They eventually moved to Ashland of Hanover County where Henry continued to work in farming.

The Vass home in Ashland was located on present-day Maple Street between Route 1 and Ashcake Road, near the modern Ashland Christian Center. The home no longer exists and locals do not know of any family cemetery in the area.

Considering the time of their deaths, it is likely that Henry and Lucy were buried in Woodland Cemetery near Ashland. Early burials of the cemetery were not well documented and there are many unmarked graves. A large number of their descendants are buried in this graveyard, including at least three of their children.

_______________________________

Henry Vass was born between 1798–1799 in Virginia and died after June 1860.

Lucy Jackson Hailey Vass was born between 1804–1805 in Virginia died on June 15, 1878 in Hanover County. She was a member of the Baptist church for more than fifty years.

Civil War Maps of Jeremy Francis Gilmer

A little-known resource from the Civil War era are the Gilmer Maps. Jeremy Francis Gilmer was was the Confederate Chief of Engineers. He made extremely detailed maps of various Confederate counties and cities, especially those in Virginia. I have always known about the collection of maps at the Virginia Historical Society. The VHS is pretty protective of them but offer to sell you copies. They also restrict your ability to reproduce and use the images.

The major importance of using Gilmer maps for genealogy is that they show the layout of farms, homes, trees, streams, railroads and even give the name of a homeowner. You can cross-reference the 1860 and 1870 censuses and figure out where your ancestors lived. (You can also use land tax records). I have found a lot of my people on these maps. In the above example, you will see a Dr. Lett and a J. Lett (where Lett looks like Bell). Dr. Lett is a cousin and J. Lett was my great-great-great-grandfather.

Examples of Gilmer maps can be seen here:

Charlotte County
Lunenburg County
Mecklenburg County

I recently discovered another batch of Gilmer maps, available online for free. They are housed at the UNC University (Wilson) Library, obviously in North Carolina. Below you will find links to the available online maps and to the greater Gilmer papers collection. I have not had time to browse all of the papers, or even all of the maps, so if you find anything interesting, please let us know.

Gilmer Civil War Maps Collection (online)
Inventory of the Jeremy Francis Gilmer Papers, 1839-1894

John Philip Brock of Germany & Hanover County, Virginia

Many records of Hanover County, Virginia were destroyed by fire during the Civil War. Therefore wills are difficult to locate for the time period before 1865. I did find a copy of John P. Brock's will amongst the papers of his grandson, Robert Alonzo Brock. Robert was Secretary of the Virginia Historical Society and amassed the largest personal collection of Virginia-related documents know to exist. After Robert's death, the papers were auctioned off and purchased by the Huntington Library in California. I found a photocopy of John P. Brock's will on file at the Library of Virginia. However, further reproductions were restricted since Huntington owns the rights.

John's will states that he was a resident of Hanover County and was "at present in my usual health and [of] perfect mind and memory." He asked that his body be decently buried and that all of his just debts be paid. John then made a provision for his three under-age sons named Philip Stafford, William and Ro. King Brock, at his own death or at the time they turned twenty-one, should each be paid $20 to be equal with his other children. If John died before any of his children were twenty-one, he order that all livestock, household and kitchen furniture be sold for their upkeep and all of the slaves [should be rented out]. After all of the children reached twenty-one, all of the land and slaves were to be sold and the money split amongst his children, namely his sons Jno. C., Henry, Philip Stafford, William and Ro. King Brock and his daughters Nancy Gilman and Catharine Willis. Jno. C. and Henry Brock were left in charge of their sister's inheritances. They were instructed that if a daughter died without heir, the money reverted to the other children. Their husbands, M. Gilman and Jessee Willis, were to have no control or access to the Brock girl's inheritances. As a special bequest, Catharine Willis was to receive a slave girl named Eliza as part of her inheritance. John named his sons Jno. C. and Henry Brock as his executors. The will was signed and dated January 23, 1817 and bore the signature of "John P. Brock." Susannah, Susannah S. and Peter W. Littlepage were John's witnesses. The will was probated on November 26, 1823 in Hanover County. Jno C. and Henry Brock were named executors with Susannah Littlepage and Susannah S. Durham (nee Littlepage) giving their oaths.

John's estate in Hanover County was known as "Brock Spring" and still exists to date on Old Telegraph Road. There is a family cemetery, with rights retained by the family. I have not been to the site but it supposedly has graves for Rose Arlington Brock Tomlinson, Asbury Watson Brock, Martha Ann Carter Brock, Edward Watson Brock, William Synton Brock, John Christian Brock, Lucy G. Wingfield Brock, Wesley M. Brock, Jane Eliza Tinsley Brock, John P. Brock, John Philip Brock and Elizabeth King Brock. Most of the graves are unmarked.

Drewry's Bluff, Richmond National Battlefield

I have been a little slow with posting lately. I have been playing with my wife's video camera and have not had much luck yet. There is something wrong with the battery so I cannot get it to record the video entries that I want to make. I have not given up on it yet so keep an eye out for videos coming soon.

We went to the Chesterfield Berry Farm today and picked strawberries. We ride out there twice each year, once for strawberries and once for pumpkins. It is a long drive but we always have a good time. They have good barbecue and beans so that alone makes it worth the trip!


I was going through some old pictures tonight and came across some that we took in July of 2003 at Drewry's Bluff, part of the Richmond National Battlefield. It was a major defensive position for the Confederates, being along a critical bend in the James River. There was an earthworks, a barracks and three large artillery guns to shoot at Union vessels.

I do not pretend to be an expert on the site. My main interest is that my wife's ancestor, Ansalem Clemens / Clemmens / Clements / Clemments / Clemons / Clemmons / Clemans / Clemmans ... you get the idea, well he supposedly died at that site. Family legend (and his wife's pension application) says that he was killed in battle on May 15, 1862 at Drewry's Bluff. My wife and I, she being seen in this photo aiming a large gun, went to the site to check it out. It is quite secluded, well back into the woods, and is not well travelled. We never saw another person for the two hours or so we were there.


The Richmond Dispatch from May 19, 1862 stated that "Bowyer’s battery, from Botetourt county, lost one man killed – George Clements – and three wounded." The name is not right but Ansalem was from Botetourt County and he was serving in their artillery unit.

To give you a little background, only days before this battle, the city of Norfolk had fallen to Union forces and the Confederates made a stand against the Union Navy, right here at the Bluff. They were able to hold off the Yankees, only a few miles from the Confederate capital!

We know that Ansalem died in this time period from estate records from Boteourt County, Virginia. Ansalem left $475 in the bank at Buchanan, Virginia. His wife was given one third, $107.89, and each of his ten children received $21.57. No mention was made of any funeral expenses. That leads me to believe that he was either buried on site or near by. I recently discovered that some of the Confederates that died at Drury's Bluff were buried at a church at Fort Darling.

I found this photo on the Internet of Confederate graves at the church. Its source was cited as "View of Confederate Church at Fort Darling—Graves in the foreground—Entrance to the Fort on the right. Gardner Stereo #1069. William Frank Browne - photographer. Negative at Library of Congress (LC-B815-1135)." The site I "borrowed" my copy from is a great source for Richmond Civil War history, you should check it out by clicking here: Civil War Richmond


In short, I am pretty sure that Ansalem was killed at Drury's Bluff when he was about sixty-years old. That sounds a little strange but not impossible. He was a stone mason by trade so perhaps his skills were used to help construct some of the structures at the site or maybe he was good at math and could help aim the artillery better. Who knows but his wife claims that he was there and the newspaper supports that a Clements died there during battle.




I want to go check out the site of this Confederate church but I have not made it over there yet. If anyone knows anything about the church or if it exists today, please share what you know with all of us.

Records of Woodland Cemetery of Ashland, Virginia

I just found out that Susan Tucker is the database administrator for Woodland Cemetery in Ashland, Hanover County, Virginia. Susan is a very nice lady and is documenting all graves in the cemetery. She is using burial records, ownership papers, any old notes she can find, local resident knowledge, tombstone inscriptions and is even probing for vaults with a metal rod.

There is also a document at the Library of Virginia called "Burial book, [Woodland Cemetery], Ashland, Hanover County, Virginia, 1862." It was recorded by Robert T. James and Bros., Robert being a carpenter and most likely the undertaker for there burials of Civil War soldier. There are 254 entries on 74 pages pertaining to men from Virginia, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas plus one "Yankee." The call number at the library would be 21743.

The grave pictured here is of my great-great-grandfather, Joseph A. Vass. He is in the oldest part of the cemetery in the bottom, right-hand corner. His dates are January 6, 1845 - January 8, 1888. It took years to find his grave and I just happened upon it in this cemetery - I had not idea he would be there. I honestly never expected to find his grave. I knew he was "buried out in the country" but that could have been anywhere. This was truly a great find!

General Lee Belongs to Richmond's History

Published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, June 8, 1999:

"Editor, Times-Dispatch:
I opened my paper the other day to find the mural of General Robert E. Lee taken down at the site of the new canal project. The reason: Black residents felt offended. I for one am furious. I feel my heritage is being sacrificed to appease a few ill-educated individuals.

Robert E. Lee, along with many Confederate soldiers, was not a racist. They fought to protect their homes, their families, and their states' representation in Congress. With the Mississippi River set as a natural boundary to slavery, new states being admitted to the Union in the 1860s were predominantly free. This - not racism or a love of slavery - led to an imbalance of power that led to the secession of the Confederate states.

My ancestors were slaveholders in Mecklenburg County. My great-great-grandfather, along with several of his brothers and cousins, went to war to protect their beliefs. I do not agree with the institution of slavery. However, I can respect my ancestors for standing up for what they believed in, just as I can respect El-Amin for his views. However, why should the mural come down to please his desires but not stay up to please mine?

I do not make a practice of suppressing the African-Americas' heritage; why suppress mine? Perhaps put up a mural to represent black Civil War history, as well as Lee?

My heritage is equally important. If Lee does not go back up on that wall I will never spend one dime at the canal, and that is a promise.

Kevin Lett"

Virginia and West Virginia Record Availability

Many people want to know what types of records are available for Virginia genealogical research. Most Virginia counties and cities kept birth, marriage and death records from 1853 until 1896 and from 1912 until the present. Many records before 1853 exist but no law actually required that they be kept. Wills, deeds, directories, newspapers, marriage bonds, order books and many additional records may be available, dating well into the 1600s. You need to contact the Library of Virginia or local government for more information. Also note that due to privacy laws, public access is limited to state birth records between 1853 and 1896, marriage records from 1853 until 1956 and death records from 1853 until 1956.

Another frequent question involves West Virginia and its records. During the Civil War, West Virginia broke off from the Commonwealth of Virginia and became an official state in 1863. Local county governments maintained possession of their records. Therefore, West Virginia records are maintained in modern-day West Virginia. The Virginia state archives has copies of many pre-1863 West Virginia records in both microfilm and book format. However, most records after 1863 have to be obtained from the actual state of West Virginia.