Montpelier Day 4: Civil War Tour

I'll start with the end. As Steve concluded his Civil War Tour, he posed the question: (paraphrasing) Is this history we should include with our tours of Montpelier?

I answered: that depends on your mission statement. Yes, the answer someone who worked in the non-profit would would answer.

The Mission for Montpelier Foundation is as follows:

A memorial to James Madison and the enslaved community, a museum of American History, and a center for constitutional education that engages the public with the enduring legacy of Madison's most powerful idea: Government by the people.

Keep that in mind as I write about the excellent tour we received. The tour that was the favorite moment for two of our final five archaeologists (two left on Wednesday, one left before the topic came up).

On June 6, 1787 at Philadelphia's Constitutional Convention James Madison said: "We have seen the mere distinction of colour made in the most enlightened period of time, a ground of the most oppressive dominion ever exercised by man over man."

In other words, he knew slavery was wrong.

The issue brewed for decades before the 1832 South Carolina Ordinance of Nullification. Which was not taught in my college class on the Civil War. South Carolina did not want to pay taxes. President Andrew Jackson met with elderly former President James Madison for advice. For decades the issue of slavery in the form of the Fugitive Slave Act and the compromises made as different states entered the union has been punted to the next generation. By 1861, it came to a head. Virginia originally elected not to leave the union.

No Civil War battles were fought at Montpelier. However, to winter encampments did take place here from 1862-1863 and 1863-1864. Steve focused his presentation on the second encampment.

Steve posed a question to us at the start. What word or phrase comes to mind when you think of the Civil War? States rights, war between the states, and heritage are often words used by those who grew up in the South. Slavery is brought up by Northerners. I thought of Abraham Lincoln.

The phrase in order to have a real conversation with someone who disagrees with us is that we can't have those talks in safe space, but has to be in a brave space. We need empathy to see things from a different perspective.  

When the Civil War began people expected a quick victory. It turned out to be much bloodier than expected. In 1863 General Lee heads north to Gettysburg where the battle takes place over several days and there are many deaths. It is a decisive loss for the South. They retreat to Orange, Virginia where they stretch out 60,000 troops over miles of road from Orange to Culpeper. To give it perspective, the population of Orange was only 5,000 in 1863.

James Madison died in 1836. Dolley sold the property in 1844. In 1863, Frank Carson was the owner of Montpelier. By studying old maps, written documents, provisioning records, and thinking like a West Point educated leader, this area in the woods would be a logical place to set up an encampment. It was wooded (hence providing materials to build shelter, and firewood), and the land was flat.  

The archaeologists started with a pedestrian survey. Matt is excellent at using existing vegetation to make assumptions about the land. Periwinkle often indicates a burial ground, for example. Use the senses to do some sleuthing.

Then there is collecting oral history, especially from people who grew up playing in the woods. Confederate units carved trees.

Ground Penetrating RADAR (GPR) can be done, but first the land has to be cleared. Likewise with metal detecting. LYDAR Is expensive, but finds a lot of good information.

Encampments have been built the same way as the Romans built them with small cabins for enlisted men in the back, leading up in rank closer to the road. Rodent burrows have been discovered under encampments.

South Carolinian Barry Benson wrote about the abysmal food the troops were eating that winter. Across the camp, Spencer Glasgow Welch was writing letters to his wife about the amazing food. There was a huge disconnect in rations, and likewise in accommodations, in their uniforms down to their buttons.

Why was the Civil War fought?

The big picture is, of course, over slavery. The South was fighting to preserve state rights, but they are to preserve slavery.

Why did the soldiers enlist?

Their families always served. Fighting for their state. Troops were organized by state and locality. Men between the ages of 16 and 60 fought. Peer pressure. Preserve slavery. Impress someone. A better life. "Three square meals and a cot." Pressed into service. They signed up for a one year commitment (remember, it was going to end quickly) then were not allowed to be released.

All was not terrible. There are examples of practical jokes and music happening at the camp.

Some were motivated by the cause. "Those Northerners invaded us." Pride for their land. Slavery. Even those who did not personally own slaves benefitted from the system. They were taught from the bible that it was their role to be paternal. Their obligation to take care of them. The natural order. The Union wants to change all of that. It is our moral imperative to save it. General Stonewall Jackson said the same. Preachers preached it from the pulpit. The Bible is a pro-slavery document. 

Who else was at the camp?

Women. Wives visiting. Camp followers. 

Thimbles have been found. Which to the sole military man in our group said that means clothes were mended, but to many it means women were there. Archaeologists make gender assumptions.

How many slaves were there?

For 60,000 troops there were 30,000 slaves. Some came and went as they delivered messages. Some stayed. Officers brought their slaves with them. Nearby Gordonsville was a transportation hub. There was a massive enslavement presence.

Morale is fading by this point in the war, so the leaders bring in the preachers in the form of a religious revival. Converts were in the thousands. They met on a hillside in the woods, in a place that seated 2,000 people with round the clock preaching. There were benches at the front, and a pulpit made from a box. Thousands gathered for several weeks.

Some of the unhappy soldiers started to desert. The weather was miserable with ice storms. It felt like they were fighting a losing battle. Some were captured and made examples of. No idea how many successfully left.

In the back end of our loop is an intact Confederate encampment that was built by local reenactors. They held events there until 2016/2017 when Dylan Roof's shooting spree in Charlottesville, SC took place and people started to reevaluate the need for Civil War reenacting. Is it glorifying? What is the reason? They also discussed whether or not Confederate Flags should be allowed at encampments. The Montpelier Descendants Committee (MDC) chimed in and agreed if the flags had been there during the actual Civil War it was okay, if not, no. Research showed this area was occupied by the South Carolina regiment who used a palmetto symbol on their flag. That did not sit well with the reenactors and the buildings fell into disrepair. 

Steve showed us some classic pictures used to prove African Americans fought for the South. Each picture disproved the myth of the African American Soldier. Scholars have not found one case of a Black solder fighting for the Confederacy. There are images of enslavers dressing their slaves in Confederate uniforms and posing with them. Slaves were used to pass messages back and forth.

It is often said the victors write the history. Steve argues it is those in power who write the history as Reconstruction ends and the leaders take over legislation.

Monuments were not allowed to be built during Reconstruction. That doesn't happen until Jim Crow takes over. 

Then there is the issue around erasing history if statues are taken down.

Back to the original question...should the Civil War encampment history be another tour offered by Montpelier?

We can look to how Germany has interpreted their World War II history.

Each year from a list of about eight places, they ask the MDC which site to explore next. This year they chose the Blacksmith area.

I asked about a Northern encampment to show both sides. Steve said that took place in Culpeper and that Montpelier does not own that land. 

When they engage with the public they are often asked if the Civil War was fought here. There are many battlefield tours in Virginia. This tells a different story.

We finished our tour in front of the Gilmore Cabin, a post-emancipation enslavement farm. The digs they are have done in this space have turned up some reach cool archaeology. The women were seamstresses, or perhaps dressmakers. 

In 1864 the troops left in a hurry when the Union attacked. They left within an hour to fight on the other side of Orange in the Battle of the Wilderness from May 5 to 7, 1864, a battle of great consequence to local history, but yet another battle this Northerner has never heard of. In the end, neither side won.

Should this be a new tour?