Daily Blog

Yet more on Black History Month...

2/24/2022

A few recent blogs brought you more on the story about Nova Scotia's Black Civil War veteran... Ben Jackson. The community and the province have made him out to be a hero earning a medal. But I have noted in the past that his service, while no doubt brave, was NOT recognized by the Union as being heroic.

I have spent considerable time on this claim of a medal being awarded. Days ago I located the actual report of the commanding officer of the ship Jackson served on during the major battle at Mobile Bay Alabama in August 1864.

Here it is...

There have been a variety of reports of deaths on board the warship and these include several claims of serious injuries.

But the commander of the USS Richmond made no such remarks in his report of the day to his Admiral. He clearly stated the opposite when writing that his men only suffered 2 minor injuries.

Jackson's claims for disability pensions in later years give various dates, types of injuries and how caused. The gist seems to be that at some point his right hand, and possibly arm were injured. One claim stating it was caught between the ship and a cutter being moored.

But the injury would seemingly fall far below what one would assume was worthy of his being recognized as a hero. One that would normally see a Medal of Honor being awarded.

No such award was made!

Moving along, the image I included of the Jackson grave stone in Nova Scotia, was off very poor quality. Below is a much better image.

Had Jackson been a hero, this marker would have included the fact that he was a Medal of Honor recipient. No such indication, tells the reader that those involved in it's creation knew he was NOT A HERO. Further. there are two US flags, why none for Canada?

The star shaped marker indicates that Jackson was a member of the Grand Army of the Republic, a group often mentioned in past blogs.

Switching subject to an actual hero, I have brought the you the story in the past about Patrick Donohoe, who was awarded a Victoria Cross for actions on 28 September 1857 during the Indian Mutiny.

There are many claims that this hero had a brother who served with the US forces and earned a Medal of Honor. Truly a one of a kind story, if true!

But as noted in this space in the past, the two men were NOT RELATED!

While investigating the story I learned that the entire VC group of medals, six in all, that Patrick was awarded were in Western Canada. With the promise to not reveal where they were, I was given the once in a life time opportunity to travel there, to see the medals myself.

During the early 2011 trip I was actually even permitted to hold them. What an honor. This now joins the ranks of the William Hall and Smokey Smith VC's, all having my fingerprints on them. Over the years I had the privilege of meeting and interviewing the late Smokey 4 times.

Patrick Donohoe's VC group of metals, complete with my prints (hmm) came up for auction in England on 26 January, just a few weeks past. They sold for about $382,000 in Canadian dollars. I'm still waiting for my share for the sale of my fingerprints.(hehe)

The top picture of these medals have them just laid out on top of a frame for my picture taking back in 2011. Below, in proper order are the Victoria Cross, the Gwalior Campaign Star, the Sutlej Medal, the Punjab Medal with 2 Clasps, (indicating 2 awards), The Indian Mutiny Medal, with 3 clasps, and the Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.

Above we see the front and back of Patrick Donohoe's Victoria Cross. His name is engraved on the suspension bar with his unit... the 9th Lancers engraved below. In the center is the date of his deed... 28 Sept., 1857.

More hopefully on Sunday,
Bart

0 Comments

Still With Canada's Black History Month...

2/20/2022

0 Comments

Hopefully you have had a chance over the years to read some of the many, many stories I have brought you about William Hall from Horton Nova Scotia.

Like so many early boys and men in Nova Scotia in the early days, William made his living on the waters. First locally, then with the US as a merchant mariner, and finally with the British Navy.

Back in the Fall of 1857 William was sent off with the Brits to rescue some 3,000 British men, women and children who had been held captive by Sepoys in the city of Lucknow India. In what became known as the Relief of Lucknow, the captured were held hostage for over 140 days in the residence area of Shaw Najaf. The enemy, some 30,000 strong, were secured in many structures including a mosque that had 2 very thick and high walls, that had to be overcome before the Brits could rescue their fellow countrymen and families.

Very large 24 pounder cannons were hauled some 70 Kms. to Lucknow from Kanpur before they could even approach Lucknow. But upon arrival the enemy took a heavy toll and easily mowed most down from their very secure positions behind the mosque walls. Those handling the British cannons had to try and try and try to breach the walls and finally made a small hole in the outer wall.

But in the firing of the gun each shot came with an incredible blow back of the cannon. After each shell, the gun had to be hauled back into place, and thus the Brits traveling across open ground and yet again becoming targets for the enemy. Most gunners were killed off... but finally only 2 were left standing. They managed to make the whole big enough to allow the infantry to charge in and save the hostages.

One of those two men was William Hall, who would later be awarded the Victoria Cross. He would become the first Black man, the first sailor, and the third from Canada to be awarded the empire's highest medal for bravery...the Victoria Cross.

Regular readers of these blogs have oft seen this picture of William Hall and the explanation why he wears the Victoria Cross without it's ribbon. Search the site for earlier blogs to refresh, or learn about this for the first time. The search engine is at upper right.

Regular readers of this space also have seen quite often stories about Joseph Noil, who in my mind was every bit as brave and justly deserving of a VC or another medal of equal status... The Medal Honor. Canadian blood in both heroes veins, but one fought for the British and the other for the Americans.

And both men were born in Nova Scotia... Noil's birth being about 160 kms to the South East of Hall's hometown.

William Hall has received an incredible amount of accolades in the form of statues and monuments and street and building and a ship of war currently under construction, a stamp, and so much more.

Noil, a fellow sailor as equally heroic, has received next to NOTHING and is certainly not well known in his home province or the rest of Canada.

A crime if ever there was such a thing!

As appeared in the past in this space, here is a recruitment poster that the US Government used years ago. There were only less than a dozen different ones made I believe. And it was for Noil.

But here at home I doubt if three or more in a MILLION even know the name of NOIL.

Here, yet again at this site, is that poster...

You can do something about this. Call up the local press or Black History societies in your area and ask them to make this man's story better known. Call or write you local premier or Black History Minister folks to do the same, and make this a point of discussion with your friends and ask them what can be done to increase the awareness of this hero. And tell them to read more about him at this site.
And here is your opener...

Have a long look at the group picture and the fellow at the right, as enlarged above. Then compare this fellow with the recruitment poster above.

It is the same fellow!

Last week the family who had lost their hero for well over 130 years, identified the photo as being none other that Benjamin Noil. He was buried under the wrong name for over 130 years, till I and several others resolved the mystery. It even lacked any notification that he was a MOH recipient.

I note here probably for the first time in print anywhere in Canada, and possibly even the US, that this man has been identified as Benjamin Noil, our Canadian forgotten HERO.

More to come on Sunday!

Bart

0 Comments

Welcome to another Black History Month in Canada, missing and inaccurate flaws aside!

2/14/2022

0 Comments

I suspect none of you were in Canada back in 1749. That was some 273 years ago.

On the Atlantic side we were then known as the British colony of Nova Scotia. Below is an early day city about to be born, and called Halifax.

Here we see Governor Cornwallis's troops clearing the site and building a fort along the Halifax water's edge. Across the harbour is what would become the modern day city of Dartmouth.

The Halifax fort has expanded somewhat from those days and here we see a portion of the downtown area. The water's edge separating Halifax and Dartmouth is at the upper right corner of this image. The black square is drawn around the area of the massive property known as Scotia Square, a shopping and commercial set of buildings.

The red arrow points to what I believe is what is left of a much larger street called Lockman. Most of it was removed for the roadworks and possibly a portion of today's Scotia Square.

Lockman was a German retired army Major and among quite a few from Germany that arrived with the Cornwallis initial vessels. He operated what was called Lockman's store, possibly on the same street. Under today's Scotia Square in the mid 1700's there was a portion of Grafton Street, now gone. And very close to where it met with today's Duke Street, a very important publication came into being.

It was called the Halifax Gazette, and that same paper is still in use today, and in fact is the oldest newspaper in Canada, though in an entirely different format and purposes other than that of days long gone. It's first publishing was on Monday, 23 March 1752.

And in that paper 2 months later, on 30 May 1752, the owners published this notice.

For many years you could find similar notices in the Gazette. The horrendous practice of selling these human beings to others was banned in all of the British Empire by 1807. By 1860 the number of blacks in the 6 British North American Colonies had grown to about 40,000.

Then came the US Uncivil War!

Years ago, a document created by several most credentialed researchers, told us that just over 18,000 Blacks from Canada had joined in the US slaughter of 1861-5. I have names of over 1,800. They served in both the army and the navy. Almost 350 of these Canadians joined the US Navy. I have names of about 80 of these Nova Scotian sailors fighting in the Civil War.

And one of those men was a fellow named Benjamin Jackson.

Ben is shown above, many years after the US war.

In 1864 he signed up with the US Navy and served on the USS Richmond (shown above) during the famous battle at Mobile Bay just three months later. His service was a little unusual. He signed up under the name of Lewis Saunders, as a substitute so that Lewis did not have to serve. For this he would have probably been paid about $300. A whopping amount for those days. (In another story on this web site you read of Dennis Buckley, and in that blog I gave the info that $30 bought you a farm in the early 1860's.)

It has been said that Bern, aka Lewis, got another $900 in the form of prize money for his share of his ship's reward for capturing enemy warships.

There are several versions of a story of how he injured his right hand and arm. Some being minor, one being almost a complete loss of the arm. For one of the stories he would get a sum of money in the form of a disability pension.

The prevalent story tells of his service on the USS Richmond, where he commanded the #10 gun. And whilst so doing was involved also in the clearing of underwater mines, (called torpedoes in those days). One apparently exploded on deck, killing several, and with Ben being injured.

While other Canadians were awarded Medals of Honor for actions during this battle, Ben was not. None in the name of Saunders, and none in the name of Jackson.

Yet most references on the net tell of his being a hero and getting a medal. NOT SO. There was only one medal during the war. And it was the Medal of Honor, of which, as already noted, he had not been awarded.

Of the 4 Canadian Medals of Honor coming from the battle for Fort Morgan at Mobile Bay, one did come from service of Jackson's ship. And that went to James McIntosh and he was from Montreal.

Had Ben received a medal, this is what it would look like. Above we see the Medal of Honor complete with the presentation box it would come with. Such being what Montreal's James McIntosh would have received.

In 1905 the US Government issued a medal called the Civil War Campaign Medal. There was one for the army and a different one for the navy. Those who served could apply for, and get one of these and it is possible that Ben, or family could have applied for pone of these after 1905, when it was first made available to qualified veterans or their descendants. But this is certainly not a bravery medal of any sort what-so-ever.

Here is the US Navy's campaign medal. It depicts the famous battle between the Monitor and the Merrimack at Hampton Roads Virginia. Also called the battle of the ironclads, the medal shows the USS Monitor, the shorter flat vessel in front of and attacking the Confederates' CSS Merrimack. Much has been written about this in past blogs. It involved several sailors from Canada... fighting mostly for the Union, but also some for the Confederates. On day one of the two day battle the South only had one death. He was from New Brunswick.

While Ben passed away in 1915, in 2010 a ceremony took place in Lockhartville NS to honor this man, said by so many, in error, to have received some sort of bravery medal.

Here is the wonderful new marker...

(Sorry for the sloppy image above above)

The ceremony was presided over by Nova Scotia's Lt. Governor at the time. Also present were the GG Granddaughter of Ben's, the provincial Premiere, his Minister of Culture and Heritage, members of the very dedicated 20th Maine Civil War re-enactors, a piper and no doubt the legion and members of the community.

A roadway in the Windsor NS area now bears his name and a wonderful plaque is mounted along the historic Mathieu Da Costa African Heritage Trail telling of his service to Nova Scotia, Canada and the world.

Here is that plaque...

There is much more to this story, but I will bring some more of this on Sunday next.

Hope you will join me then.

By the way, my computer froze on me again yesterday and today for a short period, thus the delays yet again in these blogs.

Bart

0 Comments

Yet more on Black History Month...

Still With Canada's Black History Month...

Welcome to another Black History Month in Canada, missing and inaccurate flaws aside!

Author;
Bart Armstrong, C.D.,
Recipient, Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers

Archives

Categories

Yet more on Black History Month...

Still With Canada's Black History Month...

Welcome to another Black History Month in Canada, missing and inaccurate flaws aside!

Author;Bart Armstrong, C.D., Recipient, Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers

Archives

Categories

Author;
Bart Armstrong, C.D.,
Recipient, Sovereign's Medal for Volunteers