Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch, Post 12

By Elaine Grublin

The following excerpt is from the diary of Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch.

April 13th, 1862

A year today since the surrender of Fort Sumter. The crime then committed has in part received its punishment. Not that I think we at the North are entirely without blame. The John Brown raid was more approved than it should have been, & there has been selfishness, scorn and violence here as there. Still, their conduct has been criminal, – deeply so. The statement of atrocities committed by the rebels on the bodies of Union soldiers disgrace their cause, and our common country. I suppose the President this day signs the bill abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia.

Look to the Beehive in May for Bulfinch’s observations of Union victories and the pending Confiscation Act.

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Even Civil War Soldiers Played Ball

By Elaine Grublin

The Boston Red Sox meet the Detroit Tigers today in the first regular season game of the 2012 season. The arrival of baseball season is always a welcome treat in Boston. Getting myself into a baseball frame of mind, my thoughts wandered to a letter one of our volunteers, Joan, had shown to me several months ago. I know I love the distraction of baseball, a game that is simultaneously exciting and relaxing, but until I saw that letter I had not known that baseball was also a welcome distraction for soldiers during the American Civil War. 

In this 3 May 1862 letter Captain Richard Cary of the 2nd Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment describes for his wife a game played between men from the 2nd and men from the 3rd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry.  The text reads:

The men of the Wisconsin 3d challenged our men to a game of base ball & this afternoon it was played & at the end the tally stood 75 for our side & 7 for theirs so I hardly think they will care to play a return match; we have some of the best players of quite a celebrated ball club from Medway & some of the playing was admirable. 

The men of the 2nd might have had an advantage, as Cary indicates there were baseball clubs in Massachusetts and some of the men were experienced players. I am not certain how familiar the Wisconsin men would have been with the game — and if the Massachusetts regiment was playing by the rules of the Massachusetts Game (common in the mid-19th century) the Wisconsin team may have been more familiar with a different set of rules.

As a final thought, wouldn’t it be splendid if another Massachusetts/Wisconsin match-up brought similar results? A Red Sox 75, Brewers 7 score the final game of the World Series sounds pretty good to me. 

 

 

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Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch, Post 11

By Elaine Grublin

The following excerpt is from the diary of Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch.

March 2d (Sunday) 1862

Public events approach a crisis. Clarksville & Nashville, Tenn. have been surrendered to the Union forces, and from the Potomac we hear, – after some days’ embargo of the telegraph, – of the advance of General Banks’s Division into Virginia, probably to be accompanied by the rest of the great army. On the other hand, Davis has just been inaugurated president for six years, of the Southern states. We have not ceased to be astonished at public sentiment in England taking so much the Southern side; but signs of a change are visible.

 

Sunday March 16th, 1862

The war continues with great advantage on our part, especially at the west; but a week since the achievements of the rebel iron-plated steamer “Merrimack” or “Virginia” startled the land. Happily she was met and driven back by the “Monitor.” We are looking with intense interest for further intelligence.

Look for post #12 in April and read Bulfinch’s comments on the anniversary of the attack on Fort Sumter and the abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia.

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Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch, Post 10

By Elaine Grublin

The following excerpt is from the diary of Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch, including Bulfinch’s thoughts on the events of the past year and some comment on the Trent Affair. 

Thursday, January 2d

The close of the year 1861 has led back my thoughts over its course. It has been one of sadness to the country, and in some degree of disgrace, from the madness on one side, the imbecility at first on the other, and the unprincipled manner in which people have used the national sufferings to promote their private fortunes. But there is much to thank God for, in the noble resurrection of patriotic feeling. We are just delivered, – we trust, – from the great danger of a war with England, about the capture of Mason & Slidell. Their surrender, consummated yesterday, is in accordance with American views of the rights of neutrals, & will, we hope, remove in some degree the bitter prejudice of our English cousins, – in whom we feel a good deal disappointed.

Monday, January 13th

We have news of a great expedition going down the Mississippi from Cairo, – & of Gen. Burnside’s expedition from Annapolis for parts unknown, – which the army of the Potomac are held in readiness for a speedy advance. God save the United States!

From abroad, we hear of a somewhat better feeling in England towards us, which we hope will be increased when they hear of our acquiescence in their demand for release of our prisoners, Slidell, Mason & etc. There is a good deal of incitation here however, at the cause which England has pursued. Another item of recent news is the death of Prince Albert, who seems to have been universally esteemed & lamented.

Be sure to check back in February to read Bulfinch’s comments on the Burnside Exposition and the Union victories at Forts Henry  and Donelson.  

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The Joy of Discoveries: Answering a Visitor’s Question

By Elaine Grublin

It is always fun to make a connections in surprising places.  It is even more fun when those connections are made as a result of a question asked by a visitor to the MHS.

Last week, a visitor to our current exhibition The Purchase by Blood: Massachusetts in the Civil War, 1861-1862, asked a simple question that I could not answer.  The question, was Stephen Perkins — a soldier featured in the exhibition — related to the Perkins that was the namesake of the Perkins School for the Blind. 

Unable to answer the questions off the cuff, I promised to research the relationship and provide an answer via email. This lead me on a serendipidious mission.

Thomas Handasyd Perkins (1764-1854) — one of Boston’s most successfull China trade merchants — was an early benefactor of the the school, selling his own home (which had housed the school for a year) and donating the funds so that the school could be moved to a larger location as enrollment grew. The MHS holds a large collection of Perkins’ personal and business papers (see a guide to the collection here), which is where I started my search. But I was unable to determine a clear familial connection between Thomas Handasyd Perkins and Stephen Perkins there.  So I changed my search strategy and turned to our online catalog, ABIGAIL, for assistance. 

Through ABIGAIL I discovered that the photograph of Stephen Perkins featured in our exhibtion was the only item we held credited to Perkins himself. So I kept digging through the entries for the various Perkins family members until discovering the generic subject heading “Perkins Family” which brought me to a catalog record for an item that seemed to have promise in terms of revealing a clear answer to the question at hand: a large broadside title The Perkins Family of Boston.  Dashing to the stacks to view the broadside, I was delighted to see that it  was a large genealogical chart which revealed there was a connection between Thomas Handasyd Perkins and Stephen G. Perkins, killed at the Battle of Cedar Mountain in the Civil War. 

Looking at the chart I could see that Thomas had a brother named Samuel, who was born in 1767. Samuel had a son, who he named Stephen, in 1804.  That Stephen also had a son named Stephen, born in 1835.  That Stephen, the grandson of Thomas Handasyd Perkins’ brother Samuel, was the Stephen pictured in our exhibition. 

I was happy to be able to reveal the answer to the exhibition visitor as well as to build for myself a little extra knowledge to share with future visitor to the MHS. 

 

 

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Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch, Post 9

By Elaine Grublin

The following excerpt is from the diary of Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch.

Sunday December 15th 1861

The war advances slowly, but with pretty steady gain to the side of Union. Recent events are the occupation of Port Royal inlet and Tybee island, &c. by our troops & navy; – the arrest of Messrs Mason, Slidell, &c. on board a British steamer; – the fighting at Fort Pickens. Congress have assembled, & the question of emancipation begins to be discussed there. We have reports of great fires in Charleston, & alarm of negro insurrection. I fear to encourage such a terrible remedy; yet see with awe, the mark of that overruling hand which will probably sweep away slavery through the very war that has been undertaken to protect it.

In January Bulfinch reflects on all the events of 1861, so be sure to continuing following the Civil War series on the Beehive.

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Web Presentation Launched Today: Massachusetts in the Civil War, 1861-1862

By Peter K. Steinberg

In connection with the exhibition The Purchase by Blood: Massachusetts in the Civil War, 1861-1862, the Massachusetts Historical Society has digitized a number of letters, photographs, and broadsides from its collections to present online. Available are small and large high resolution images as well as transcriptions of letters to facilitate reading where the handwriting may be difficult to discern.

Image of web page banner

The pages in the web presentation represent a subset of the documents in the exhibition, narrating micro-stories of some battles which took place in Virginia (Ball’s Bluff, Peninsula Campaign, Cedar Mountain) and Maryland (Antietam). Regimental units were formed based on networks of friendships and alliances, and the featured materials convey the close connections between many of the soldiers. Each page highlights at least one of Massachusetts’s fallen sons, providing both a photographic image of a soldier and, in most instances, a letter which provides contextual information about a particular battle and/or a soldiers’ actions in the war and in death. Among those individuals featured are William Lowell Putnam, James Jackson Lowell, Richard Goodwin, Richard Cary, and Wilder Dwight. 

The launch is particularly timely as today is the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Ball’s Bluff, a battle explored in both the exhibition and the accompanying web presentation. 

In addition to this web presentation, please visit the The Massachusetts Historical Society Commemorates the Civil War subject portal to find additional online content, including our monthly presentation of a Civil War document from 150 years that month, a timeline, selected publications, classroom tools, and a list of past and future events held at the MHS.

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Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch, Post 8

By Elaine Grublin

The following excerpt is from the diary of Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch. Over the past two months the posts to the Beehive from the diary have been almost weekly as part of the Civil War series. From this point forward, the posts will be monthly — except in the few months where Bulfinch provides no comment about the war in his diary. 

This particular post is rather timely, as today marks the opening of the Society’s newest exhibition The Purchase By Blood: Massachusetts in the Civil War, 1861-1862. The terrible loss of life suffered by Massachusetts’ regiments at the Battle of Ball’s Bluff, referenced by Bulfinch as “a recent skirmish near Harper’s Ferry,” is a focal point of the exhibtion.

In this entry Bulfinch makes a slight mistake in identifying Col. Edward Baker. While Baker had lived in California for a number of years, he was a resident of Oregon at the time of his enlistment. He was elected to represent Oregon in the the US Senate in 1860. Baker was the only sitting US senator killed in the Civil War. 

Friday, Oct. 25th, 1861

The war advances slowly. The late engagements seem as much against as for us. We have to mourn the death of the gallant Col. Baker of Cala, & the death or capture of other valuable officers, – among them some of distinguished Boston families, in a recent skirmish near Harper’s Ferry. “O Lord, how long?”

Bulfinch’s pen remains silent in November 1861. Be sure to check back in December for his 15 December 1861 entry in which he comments on Union successes through the fall of 1861, the developing Trent Affair, and makes a prediction about the outcome of the war.

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Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch, Post 7

By Elaine Grublin

The following excerpt is from the diary of Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch.

Monday, Aug. 12th, 1861

 Among public events, since I last wrote, the battle at Bull’s Run is the most important, – an advantage, though a dear-bought one, to the secessionists. It has led to a change of commander in that section, and to more strictness of discipline and circumspection, while the spirit of the country rises to meet the emergency. There is some misgiving among the more timid, and the importance which the question of emancipation is beginning to assume, may divide our people somewhat. The hope of the secessionists is that England will interfere to break up the blockade which would keep from her the cotton on which she so greatly depends. Congress, after a short and efficient extra session, has adjourned.

My nephew, Charles F. B. has marched for the seat of war, as private in the 13th regiment – M.V.M. He left Monday, July 29th, and is stationed at Sharpsburg, near Harper’s Ferry.

His brother Thomas J. B. is still on board the Narragansett, by last advices at Acapulco, on the Pacific; and has received the approval of his officers, while his letters speak well for his intelligence and character.

Sunday, September 14th 1861

The condition of the country is yet painful; but hope increases, from successes, though not decisive ones in the West, – the capture of the forts at Hatteras Inlet, and the firmness of the government in crushing opposition in Baltimore.

Sunday, Sept 28th

Public affairs still critical. A pretty large force at Lexington in Missouri, of our men, compelled to surrender. Some dissension between the government and Gen. Fremont. But the good sense of the President, I trust under God, will prevent trouble there; an enormous army is said to be concentrated at Washington; Kentucky is decidedly on the Union side; and North Carolina gives favorable indications. The question, What shall be done about the slaves? is pressing itself on public attention, especially from Fremonts’ proclamation of freedom to slaves of secessionists in Missouri, & the president’s qualification of it. For myself, while with reverence I recognize the approaching settlement of the slavery question by Divine Providence, I am very anxious lest any false step should involve us in the guilt of calling the slaves to insurrection, & the horrors that must succeed. I think, the hour may come for declaring freedom to the slaves; but am disposed to fix the time for it at the end of the war, rather than in its course.

Our young connection Edw. Huntington, has entered the regular army. My brother F. continues to receive good accounts from his sons. Two of my young parishioners, W. F. & P. B. have returned from the army, out of health.

Be sure to visit the blog in October to read Bulfinch’s comments on the Battle of Ball’s Bluff.

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Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch, Post 6

By Elaine Grublin

The following excerpt is from the diary of Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch.

Monday, June 10th, 1861

The public were in great fear for the city of Washington for a few days after the Baltimore fracas; but the energy & good judgment of our officers, especially Gen. B. T. Butler; the rapid pouring in of troops, even if but half equipped, – the delay or want of preparation of the rebels, & above all the Divine Blessing, saved our capital. The accounts have been and still are watched with feverish anxiety; but nothing decisive has yet transpired. The events of most note are, the occupation of Alexandria & death of the brave young Col. Ellsworth; – the establishment of a strong force at Fortress Monroe, – of another at Cairo, Ill; – the advance of troops into Western Virginia from Ohio; – the advance, commencing at last accounts, from Penna towards Harper’s Ferry, & slight actions at Fairfax C.H., Acquia Creek, & Philippa. The North is thoroughly aroused. Business is paralyzed, – the payment of all debts from the South is stopped; & while we are blockading the Southern ports, the Secessionists are privateering against our commerce. We receive, it is said, appearances of sympathy from abroad, but less from England than other powers.

The Anniversary meeting this Spring were affected by the times. The Collation was dispensed with, & the discussions and arrangements affected by the prevailing state of feeling. The meeting of the Peace Society was commenced by observations savoring of peace, and closed by those savoring of war. The A. U. A. contracted its operations by choosing only a lay secretary with a salary of $1000. At the ‘Conference,’ after an ineffectual attempt to interest the brethren in a theological subject, the duty of ministers in relation to the war was taken up, and after peace speeches from Drs Gaunett, Peabody, & Stebbins, some remarks more in harmony with the general feeling from Dr. Hall and another speaker were greeted with unlawful applause. Nine tenths of the community feel that the only way out of our troubles is the way right through them, with fixed bayonets. “Justice were cruel, weakly to relent; from Mercy’s self she got the sacred glaives”

I received a letter from Maria yesterday. Her health is still but indifferent; & she is much saddened by the civil war, which separates her nearest relatives…. My nephew C. F. B, – our young friend Edw. Huntington, – the two young Blakes of my parish, & others whom we know, are on service at the forts; & may be ordered off.

 Tuesday, June 18th, 1861

The trials of the country continue. The armies are approaching each other in Virginia; – or rather the Union troops advancing, and the secession troops retiring to concentrate and make a stand, as we suppose. Skirmishes take place frequently, and valuable lives are lost. Hope rises over fear, but the future is dark. O my God, if thou sparest me to see another birth-day, may I be so blessed as to see my country re-united! But the future in regard to this and all things is in thine hands; and whatever comes, may I have grace to say, Thy will be done!

Return to the Beehive next week to read Bulfinch’s entries for August and September 1861.  He offers comments on the Battle of Bull Run, events in Missouri, and two Dorchester natives returning from the front “out of health.”

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