I've yet to discovered how it was that Robert Fulton Dodd, a Galt Ontario teen found himself living in  Hamtramck Michigan in early 1862. Nevertheless he made his way to Detroit and signed up for Civil War service with a new special unit called the Stanton Guard. He lied about his age and got a $25 bounty (about 2 months pay)  for enlisting even though he had to be 18 or older. He was barely 17 but got enlisted anyway. Almost 800,000 fought in the war and were 17 or younger. (You can read an earlier blog talking about these young soldiers by clicking here...   http://www.canadianmedalofhonor.com/1/post/2012/12/about-800000-union-soldiers-were-17-yrs-old-or-younger.html

The guard was created by Andrew Johnson who was the state governor (and a later President.) Its sole job was the guarding of  three most senior and very important citizens of the state of Tennessee. These men had pledged to the several other states that had already broken away from the Union, that they would do there best to convince Tn. to join the Confederacy. The men were immediately arrested and then the new unit was created to secure them.

The prisoners and the new troops were all put on a steamer and headed off to an island called Mackinac and to a Fort of the same name. But it had been abandoned years earlier and run down. So for the first 6 days the prisoners were held in a local hotel. Those not on guard duty no doubt were used in part to help refurbish the fort. When it was ready the prisoners were transferred over. 

Dodd and about 130 others had the tough job of watching over three prisoners who were so well treated that they were allowed to even roam about in the local town...with escorts of course.  But in a matter of months 2 of the three signed oaths of loyalty to the United States and were released. The third was then sent off to another holding facility and the unit then disbanded.

Robert would become a civilian for a few months but then would again sign up, this time being hired as a Corporal and with the 27th Michigan Volunteer Infantry. (Not to be confused with the 27th Maine Infantry and the Purge of 1917 covered in earlier blogs.)

Cpl Dodd and his comrades fought through many battles over the months to come. He'd be at Vicksburg, the Wilderness Campaign, Spotsylvania, and Bethesda. In these four alone the unit would have loses of over 360 either being killed or wounded. Then came two different battles at Petersburg that would claim another 225 of his fellow soldiers. 

It would be here that one of the most destructive explosions of the entire war took place.

The taking of Petersburg and Richmond lay directly ahead for the Union, A win at these two centres would see the Confederacy collapse and the war come to an end. Numerous attempt to take Petersburg ended up in it being put under siege for about 9 months. Then along came a regimental commander who told the higher ups of a great plan. Most of his men were miners. Why not just dig UNDER the protective guns and blown them to smitherines, So plans were discussed and soon many put down their rifles and picked up shovels. 

The miners dug a 500 foot tunnel. At its end they branched out left and right about another 20 feet. Directly above the two ends and the centre, were powerful Southern field pieces that caused a lot of havoc for the Union. About 6,000 lbs of gun powder was then placed strategically  and fuses attached and lit and all ran for cover. Except two guys! They had to go back in and light it a second time after the first went out.  Then the explosion came. It was heard and felt miles away. Guns and men were blown sky high and then fell to earth quite dead. The explosion created a massive crater said to big enough you could put three houses into the hole. It was about 170' long by 60-80 wide and some 30 deep. 

But then everything fell apart. Pardon the pun!

A general on site had a trained unit who knew exactly what they were to do, where they were to go and how to do their business once the air cleared of dust etc. Trouble is he was a coward. He had removed those trained at what to do...because they were black men. He did not want to face the backlash, in the event they went in and got slaughtered. So at the last minute he ordered a white regiment...untrained or rehearsed on its duties and sent them in first. He of course went in the opposite direction found a secure sport.. AND GOT DRUNK. 

The impact of the explosion and the resulting damage put everyone on both sides into shock for a few minutes. But then the troops were ordered into the pit, Soon the Union lost complete control of the situation with almost 15,000 men in that pit... and nothing to do. They could  not get out. The sides were so slippery and loose that any attempts to climb just caused more shifting and no footing hold to be able to climb out. And the Confederate were not long in ordering reinforcements and starting to enjoy the turkey shoot before them. They lobed all  the shells they could get onto the Union men and fired from a ring most of the way around the top and even tossed in whatever they could get their hands on including riffles fitted with bayonets. Finally the enemy withdrew, partially by being driven back by other union troops, but it would be from the edge of the crater that Cpl Robert F Dodd found himself helping to secure the wounded and getting them to safety, all the time being himself under critical firing.  

The tunnel starts at the upper right of the diagram and travels off to the left about foot fit and ends below the gun pits shown above. At the right is a artists sketch of the crater with men in the pit and more  running in. It would be shoulder to shoulder. Over 4000 would die in that pit before the day was done. A later inquiry rule that the men died due to gross incompetence  of their leaders.

There would be another half dozen battles fought by Dodd and the rest before the Confederacy finally abandoned Richmond and surrendered at Appomattox Court House  in the spring of 1865. Dodd would take part in the Grand Review at Washington DC in May, do guard duty in the DC area for another two months and finally muster out  on 26 July 1865. 

Dodd would move to the Hamilton area of Ontario and raise a family with several children there. He'd work for about 20 years in the real estate mortgage, banking, land holdings and railway dealings. He would then move to Manitoba in similar lines of work for about the same amount of time and would be an early member, if not one of the founders of a Grand Army Of the Republic post branch at Winnipeg in the 1880's. Four more children would join the family in Manitoba where Dodd's work took him back and forth rather regularly between Winnipeg and Portage le Prairie,

On 27 July 1896 the President approved the awarding of the Medal of Honor to Robert F Dodd for his bravery in helping to rescue the wounded at Petersburg, at what was later known as the Battle of the Crater. The date of the award is interesting as it was exactly 30 years... and one day after the day he was released from final military service.

Robert passed away in September of 1903 and lays at rest in a cemetery at Portage Le Prairie. His marked until most recently lacked any notification whatsoever of his military status as a MOH recipient, but that had now been changed.

Bart


 

Yesterday brought you the first of two blogs on Quebec city  born Richard Turner and his earning the Victoria Cross and the Distinguished Service Order as a Lieutenant in the 2nd Boer War. The column did not note that also in that war he was awarded a Mention in Dispatch previous to sustained a 2nd and 3rd injury that were so serious that his war came to an end and being invalided back to Canada. It also noted that when well again, he put the uniform back on and served with the reserves rising in rank to Lt. Colonel, and commanding 2 separate units. 

Two days after WW1 started Sir Sam Hughes, the Canadian Minster of Militia and Defence called Richard back into active service and rewarded him for past services and heroism with a promotion to Brig. General. He was given command of the 3rd Brigade, a portion of what was then the 1st Division of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. His 2nd in command would be Sir Sam's son... Lt. Colonel Garnet Hughes.

Soon the troops were off to England and wintering there while getting extra training and a general shake-up before heading to France in February 1915. By mid April they would be in Belgium and in the area of Ypres. It would be here that General Turner would face his crucial first test. One not to determine his bravery or ability to command a regiment,  but as a commander on the battlefield of a much larger entity of troops. A brigade with several thousand men.

And the test would be a tough one!

It would be at the Ypres Salient. 

The military term salient describes a very dangerous situation where the enemy has a point or intrusion that is in advance of the rest of its troops. In the image to the left the enemy point is near a place called Poelcappelle near the top of the image.

The heavy line is the enemy line, Germans on one side and Allies on the other. If the Allies were to break through the line and positioned themselves around St Julien, to the southwest of Poelcappelle, then picture it. The Allies, now in enemy territory have an enemy on three sides of them.

By closing off the forth side, the Allies are now in a most dangerous situation as the enemy need simply use artillery to continually shell those inside, use their MG nests and infantry and slowing closing the loop till the enemy is destroyed or captured. That is the gist of a Salient.

Over a month there were several battles in the immediate area of this salient.. Just to the left of St Julien is an area of overgrowth known as Kitchener's Wood and in this immediate area it would be two of Turner's regiments that would be ordered to fill a gap some 4 miles long in the allied line. It was  gassed surprising the French. Many were instantly killed by the fumes while others had to flea to safety.

The Germans had hauled over 5,730 cylinders of chlorine to the battle field. Each weighing 90 pounds, had to be hauled a further 4 miles to the front. When called for, they had to be opened by hand causing many of the enemy to die from inhalation at the very source. The  chlorine  gas, was the first faced by the Canadians and the first successful use by the enemy, though not the first use in warfare.  It is heavier than air. It would therefore be carried along in the winds and when settling would follow the ground and down into the low points... the trenches. Men therein had to dive out to avoid it.. and in so doing came into the direct line of fire of machine guns waiting for them. 

Turner relied on his subordinates to do proper investigation of the area before charging in, but  this was not done. When the men charged they were charging into not only gas but machine gun nests less than 200 yards away. By day's end 80% of the 2 regiments were decimated. In the process, reports sent up to Turner's command were erroneous, not detected as such, and forwarded on to Turner's bosses.

Turner was later punished by being pulled from his command. It was hoped at the front that he's end up somewhere on a desk job but  this was not to be. He had major pull and support back in Canada, and pressures resulted in his being move to a new command... that of a WHOLE DIVISION... and with yet another promotion to Major General. By June of 1915 Britain would further reward him with the Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB). By September he would accompany his new 2nd Division to France.

By early March Turner was ordered back to Belgium with his troops to provide back-up to a British operation about to take place at St Eloi. (Bottom centre of map.) The British had placed over 31,000 pounds of dynamite in tunnels below the German lines and on 26 March they lit the fuse. The blast could be heard in England. Bodies and machinery and area landmarks were all blow about 50 meters  in the air. But other tunnels not targeted also had their sides crushed in or destroyed. Drainage  ditches throughout the area were destroyed and with one flick of the switch many massive craters were created, and as quickly became filled or waste deep in water and other debris.

But the entire area remained under heavy enemy fire on and off again for several weeks. The geography was so badly rearranged that many...including the commanders below Turner, himself and even his superior were getting confused when talking about actions and one crater that was previously known by another number etc. In fact it was so bad that at one point allies even fired their artillery on their fellow soldiers killing hundreds. All the craters looked alike and many didn't even know anymore exactly WHERE they were.

Weeks would go by and new commanders were sent in to sort out the mess. Turner and his immediate boss and possibly others were pushed aside.

But like recent history for Turner, he would again survive major criticism. Finally given a desk job, he became the commander of all Canadian Forces in Britain. Still later he would be named as the Chief Military Advisor to the Canadian government. Six  months later, in June of 1917 Major General Turner was awarded Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St George (KCMG) and the same month was yet again promoted, this time to Lieutenant General. 

In mid May 1918 Richard Turner became Chief of General Staff, Overseas Military Forces of Canada. Then would come the  Croix de Guerre with Palm and the Legion of Honor from France and finally from Russian Turner was awarded Then Order of the White Eagle with Sword.

After the war General Turner returned to Canada and resumed his business interest, but now at Montreal. He would pass away at age 90... in 1961.

General Turner was born on 25 July 1871. That was 142 years ago last Thursday

Bart

 

Over the years both the  city and the province of Quebec have been home to quite a few Medal of Honor and Victoria Cross recipients. Today's hero  is no exception.

Richard Ernest William Turner was born on 25 July 1871. His father of the same name had only been married a few years and had just opened up a wholesale grocery business with a partner the year before. It would over the years become a most successful concern and probably expanded into even handling lumber.

Son Richard attended a number of grammar schools and then went to Quebec City High School and graduated in 1889. Within 2 years he would be taken on in the family business. Years later he would be the sole owner.

Like so many young men of the day, Richard joined the militia. His unit of choice was the Queens Own Canadian Hussars, who had been the first... and only Cavalry unit in the province up until the 1880's. He must have taken to the unit... and it to him, pretty quickly as he received promotions from 2nd Lieutenant to full Lt., then Captain and even Major within just a few short years.

His physical stamina might have been from athletics in earlier years and he was known to have become the Honorary Vice President of the Quebec Amateur Athletics Association by 1894. At that time a fellow Honorary Vice was the city Mayor and the Honorary President was none other than a former Premier.

When the 2nd Boer War started Major Richard Turner was quick to enlist in the regular army and joined the Royal Canadian Dragoons. In order to serve overseas, he was required, like so many others, to drop his rank. He in fact dropped two ranks and was again a full Lieutenant and soon off to South Africa. While in South Africa for about 9 months, the Dragoons would march some 2,740 kms, fight in at least 28 different battles, and have their initial numbers drop from 400 officers and men to just three officers and 83 other ranks.

Lieutenant Richard Turner would be wounded three times and participate in at least 8 major battles with the unit.

On the 6th of May 1900 Lt Turner, only in South Africa for a matter of months, rode his horse as it swam across the Vet River near Pretoria. Accompanying him was a another Lt., by the name of Harold Borden who was a nephew of the then serving Canadian Minister of Militia. They and five others were in chase of about 30 Boers and were successful in driving them off.  For this all were awarded for bravery. Turner's award of the Distinguished Service Cross, just one medal junior to the ranking Victoria Cross, was gazetted in London on 19 April 1901.

Just four months after the events near Pretoria, marked with a "B" above, Turner was performing duties as an Intelligence Officer about 20 miles south west of Belfast South Africa, marked with an "A" above. It was here at a place called Wonderfonstein  that he would receive the first of three battle wounds in the war. His  gunshot wound was not serious but did manage to take him out of the war for a few months.

In early November Turner was able to rejoin his unit close by at a place called Leliefontein near the Komati River. A portion of his unit was placed in a position to protect the troops that were retreating as per orders from a higher command. But very soon over 200 Boers bent on capturing two Canadian 12 pounder guns that belonged to the Royal Canadian Field Artillery became the targets of the Boers.  They wanted them bad! 

One officer seeing this took some men  and set up a counter-defensive to gain time while the 2nd officer tried to rescue the guns. In the first, the men set up an ambush but most of them were either killed, wounded or captured. But it gave the second group the time needed to save the artillery pieces. A dozen more men were in this unit and it was led by Lt Turner. He would be wounded in the left arm and very seriously in the neck but still managed to command his men till the guns were secured and safely moved away.

Turner would be hospitalized and by late 1901 would be invalided back to Canada. On arrival in Quebec he received a hero's welcome. On 16 April 1901 the London Gazette noted that a number of heroes need to be recognized for meritorious services performed. It then listed quite a few... including Lt Richard Turner. The following week the London Gazette published the announcement of his being awarded the Victoria Cross. Here it is...

All three heroes above are Canadian and all were earned during the same event...and all three were awarded the Victoria Cross. In Turner's case he was actually awarded it at a special parade at Montreal on 17 September 1901. The actual presentation was made by Edward... then the Duke of York, and future King of England. The ceremony was attended by over 500 who withstood the pouring rain to witness history being made that day.
 
I do not think that there have been very many VC's actually presented on Canadian soil. One at Montreal took place 108 years and one  month earlier. In that event the first ever VC came into Canada. It can be read about by going here...  http://www.canadianmedalofhonor.com/1/post/2013/01/the-first-victoria-cross-to-come-to-canada.html

In 1902 Turner was breveted to the rank of Lt Colonel and also  awarded the Queens Medal with 6 clasps. In addition he was given the command of the Royal Colonial Escort at the Coronation of the Duke, who was then proclaimed HRH King Edward V11.

Shown here wearing the ribbons of the VC and DSO, and with the rank of Lieutenant, Richard Turner would command his old unit in 1903, but by then it had ben renamed the 10th Hussars.  From 1907 to 1912 he commanded the 3rd Eastern Township's Cavalry Brigade and in Oct of 1911 he was also appointed as the Honorable Aide de Camp for King George V.

In March of 1912 Colonel Turner left the regular forces and reverted back to service with the militia. But Richard was not ready to hang up the uniform just yet.

Much more to come tomorrow on this great Canadian hero that too few have ever heard of before.

Bart

After over 160 blogs in this space, I am taking a break. The next blog will appear on Monday.

Going to look out of my cage and see if it still light during the "daylight" hours.

See you on Monday...

In early April 1861 Major Anderson, the officer in charge of about 65 men had a problem on his hands. His troops had relocated onto Fort Sumter not long before and by early April found himself without supplies or reinforcements. Some of the southern states had broken away, and in the process both they and the north claimed ownership of Sumter. Southern Brig General Beaureguard had pleaded with Anderson to vacate the fort,  but Anderson was under orders to hold it.  The southern troops had the fort almost surrounded by over 6,000 troops. Worse yet, Anderson was in dire need of supplies and reinforcements. The South knew this and thus began a three day spree bombarding with over 3,000 shells into the fort.  Anderson was ultimately forced to abandon it.

These actions are felt by many to have been the start of the Civil War. (Though other actions predated this.)

Within a  month the North had legislation passed calling for conscription. All men between the ages of 20 and 45 had to register, with few exceptions. Those mental and physically unfit would not be eligible for service. Those being the only son of a widow, a son of infirm parents, or a widow with dependant kids need not sign up against their will. And there was another criteria for those not US born. If you had become a US citizen or applied, then you also had to register.

If required to register, you would be given a time and place to go to do this. Once enough names were collected, the names would all be fed into a giant wheel. It would later be spun and officials would reach in and pull out the names of the lucky (unlucky) ones until  enough had been selected. They would then be so advised.

The legislation also provided for two alternatives for actually having to become a soldier, sailor etc.  The first allowed anyone who got the call, to get someone else... a substitute... to do the job for him. You had to pay the fellow, and the legislation said you could not pay more than $300 for the volunteer to volunteer to come forward on your behalf. This rule was often broken. A second was to deal with the matter was to simply "COMMUTE" your duty by paying to the government the $300 fee. It would then presumably use that money in other ways for the war effort.

While the idea probably seemed great at the time, it had its problems. First off, the cry of the day, with considerable merit, was that the war had just became a "Rich Man's War Where the Poor Man Had To Fight."

From the above posters you can see a third situation. In this the men... and boys more than likely, fearing the draft were encouraged to accept a bounty by the government at the federal level, the state and even local levels to go off to war. These bounties ranged from lower amounts of around $25 to upwards of $1,000 and often well beyond. To get an idea of what the normal $300 could do for you in Civil War days, it could buy you a nice farm. And at $300, that would equate to almost two years soldiering at the normal rate in those days of about $13 a month.

These bounties  created major problems. Bounty men who were charged with going out and getting recruits would keep much of the bounty being offered. They would sometimes solicit those they knew full well did not qualify knowing that after a few days they would be mustered out, but the bounty man got his finders fee upfront anyway. And worse... Thousands of soldiers used fake names and home towns, got a bounty and then later deserted to only show up in the next town or county and do the same things over  again and collect another bounty. Then they would repeat as often as they could pull it off. One fellow went to jail for 4 years after DOING IT THIRTY TWO TIMES. Many were hung. One poor fellow was not too bright. After repeatedly doing it and using the money to buy women, the one he left back at home found out about it and searched for him...and found him...with another woman. She turned him in and he was later hanged.

The total amount paid out for bounties in the Civil War is said to have been at $750 MILLION, and an internet site further quotes the fact that NINETY TWO percent of those fighting got one kind of a bounty or another. Not sure if this is a Northern figure or including the South, who also paid bounties for a while them cut them out. I'm also not sure if this figure includes the $50,000 an agent used in a guise to get bounty jumpers to step into his den so he could arrest them. Trouble is he found a better use for the money. He took off with it to a place called... Canada...  Hmmm!

One internet site also indicated that when some of these "entrepreneurs" came along for too many  bounties they were even tortured with the old medieval thumbscrew.

With these horrible devises the convicted fellow had his thumb or finger put into the clamp and it is slowly clamped down until it crushes the finger etc.  Some even had sharp protrusions that would pierce and cause more pain as the device was closed on the thumb.
 
In older days they even had larger versions of these for toes, elbows and knees apparently.

Hundreds of convicted bounty jumpers were held at the horrible Anderson prison, and it is said that at one point there were over 3,000 of these fellows roaming the streets of New York.

Not all those who served were bounty men. Some actually got the draft and these two wheels above were actual draft wheels used to select some of those who served in the Civil War. There information was put on paper and slipped into the wheel, it was spun and then selections made by simply reaching in and grabbing some papers.

In August of 1863 Grover Cleveland's name was pulled from a wheel like this. He would pay for "commutation of his service" by reassigning it to another man. Years later he would be President of the United States. John  D Rockefeller would also pay to have another serve for him.

In November of 1862 a fellow by the name of Robert Barry hired 18 year old John Staples from Pennsylvania to go off to war for him. He did but just a few months later he got typhoid and had to get a release. But he must have liked the idea and agreed with another fellow to do the same again. And this time he got a whopping $500 bucks for doing it. The fellow that hired him was a busy man and just wanted another to carry out his moral obligation. Though it wasn't a legal one. Cause he was too old to be drafted.

Here's Staples picture as a youth and the very document he signed. Read it carefully to see who he was substituting for.

Yes folks that's right... It is none other than Ab Lincoln, President of the United States!  And notice that as Lincoln was not required to serve, the term Substitute at top of page is crossed out and the word..." representative" has been added.

Bart

Ninety five years ago April and May of this year two famous British battles took place in Belgium at the harbours of Zeebrugge and Ostende. Regular readers of these blogs have heard much about Commander Rowland Bourke and how he was awarded both the Distinguished Service Cross and the Victoria Cross for his heroism at these battles in 1918.

Both harbours in Belgium had canals that connected in land several miles away from the ocean. Within these canals the Germans had facilities used to service and repair their U Boats. From these they would launch out to strike in the Atlantic during the Battle of that name.

The British attempted to block both of these harbours in the above noted battles. This of course was to  trap about 30 U boats within them and unable to escape and carry on their devastation in the Atlantic. Further, with the harbours obstructed, the Germans would have to launch from elsewhere, taking then more time to get at the Allies and through more dangerous waters.

At the later battle the British warship HMS Vindictive was sunk. After the war a several year project culminated with the raising of the Vindictive for salvage purposes. A portion of the hull was chopped away and made into a commemorative and unveiled  with appropriate ceremonies in  back in 1928. Over the years the memorial started to deteriorate. This coupled with inner harbour expansions led to the decision to clean up the memorial and actually move it closer to the exact location where the battle took place.

A couple of weeks after we unveiled the new Commonwealth  War Graves Commission marker for Rowland Bourke here in Victoria BC, the folks at the city of Ostende conducted their own ceremony. They honoured not just Bourke, but all Allies participating in that battle.

At my request,  the Honorable Denis Robert, Canadian Ambassador to Belgium sent back to Canada two copies of a wonderful little booklet commemorating the 2013 ceremony in Belgium.  They came back to Canada in a diplomatic pouch. Yesterday one of these was presented to the Bourke family here in Victoria BC.

Here is the "indictive" before the battles and years later when it was raised.

Note the Victoria Cross on the cover of the brochure with the old blue ribbon taken out of service very soon after this battle . The rejuvenated bow had to be moved several blocks to its new location. It is VERY heavy, weighing over 40 tons and there were major concerns that had to be factoring into making this move. One of the organizers of the ceremny told me that many people were very nervous and sitting on the edge of their seats as the move was actually happening in mid May.

In upper left the monument has been refurbished and packaged for the move and is about to be lifted onto the truck. The last image shows, after travelling several blocks and having been lowered into its final resting place at the new dock. It was just off this dock where the battle took place. 

There were many dignitaries at the unveiling ceremony. Above left is His Royal Highness, King Albert 11 of Belgium. Both he and his wife Queen Paola where the guests of honor at the unveiling. Here the King is on the left and at centre laying a wreath. The British, US and Canadian Ambassadors to Belgium also attended the service. Canada's Ambassador, the Honorable Denis Robert is pictured at right in the light coloured coat. Previous to the ceremony I asked if he would get a picture of himself and Sir John Alleyne for this blog. He was kind enough to do so, to which I am most appreciative.  

This man's father, of the same name and title,  was a Lieutenant in the British Navy, was in the above battle, knocked out by a shell and thrown in the water. When he came to, he and two others cries for help where heard by  Rowland Bourke and his crew and were rescued.  After the war Alleyne returned to England, got married and had a son. That son is pictured above with the Ambassador. Had it not been for Bourke and his crew, the man would have drowned and the son of course never born! 

The day before the unveiling, part of the service included a visit and service at a local cemetery where 7 of the Allied victims of the battle lay at rest. These seven, including the commander of the HMS Vindictive, Commander Godsal, lay at rest below the seven graves in the foreground. At a local church the above plaque commemorates the lives of the brave soles from 95 years earlier. 

Back in BC, regular readers know of the unveiling we did for the new Bourke Memorial marker. As a result of that service and the press coverage on the event, a family contacted me to say that for many years they had been the most proud owners of an item that once belonged to Rowland Bourke. The owners, retired Canadian Navy Commander Hughes and his wife had decided, after much discussion, that they would like to present the item back to the Bourke family and asked if I would play a role to facilitate this. I was honoured to accept the request and about two weeks ago Commander Hughes and I and Jason Jones, spokesperson for the descendants of Rowland here in Victoria enjoyed a wonderful tour on the naval facilities at HMS Venture, by its Commanding Officer. That fellow, Lt Commander Mark Raeburn is  a Royal Navy serving officer and his tour in Canada was coming to an end within weeks. But he, and we were all thrilled to have him and his unit host the brief presentation. It should also be noted the Commander Raeburn represented the British High Commission at Ottawa, at the Bourke marker unveiling back in May.

 Lt Commander Raeburn in upper left, beside Commander Hughes, Jason Jones and myself. The cigarette box was probably presenting by Bourke in the years after receiving it to a lawyer in Vancouver, and through that person it had passed on down to Commander Hughes's family.

The box was presented to Bourke possibly on his return from London after attending the 100th year anniversary celebrations at Buckingham Palace for the very creation,  back in 1857 of the Victoria Cross. It is an incredible family keep sake and will no doubt be a cherished possession of the Jones and Bourke families for many years to come.

The Hughes family are to be commended for this wonderful gift to the family. Well done to all involved.

By the way, tomorrow is the day 95 years ago that Rowland Bourke's VC was gazetted.

Bart

It had been over three months and the war was supposed to be over by then. It started with Southern General Beauregard shelling Forts Sumter in Apr of 1861 and the War Between the States,  sometimes called the War of Insurrection and more often the Civil War got its generally accepted beginnings. A US historian corrected me once by telling me that a civil war meant two or more nations were battling it out. Not so in the US were it was two parts OF THE SAME NATION battling for their own causes.

Regardless, the public were already fed up and wanted it over. Ever increasing pressures on President  Ab Lincoln finally saw him ordering troops to cross the Potomac and head off to Manassas to teach the Confederates a lesson. Even though it was less than 25 miles away from the capital the army did not want to go. The soldiers were too green and not yet ready yet for battle according to their leaders. But Lincoln noted that the same also applied to the Southerners and again, if you will pardon the pun, gave the officers their marching orders. So the North headed off to teach the South a lesson. Trouble is they were the ones to become the students.

Over 35,000 soldiers  headed out of DC to do battle. It was the largest (at that time) army ever massed for battle on the continent. And guess who was there to great them. Mr Beauregard again. And he and other  southern generals brought along about 34,000 friends with them. (About 18,000 from each side would actually go into battle.) There were  more than a few Canadians on the battlefield that horrible day. Many are still there, but now under the surface that thousands visit to pay their respects annually.

One of those not put underground that day was a Torontonian by the name of Lt Edward P Doherty. Noted in an earlier blog in this space, Doherty was a Lt. in the Cavalry and in charge of several men sent off to capture John Wilkes Booth after he assassinated President Lincoln.

Another on that field was a New Brunswick man named Frank Thomas, also covered in an earlier blog. He fought with the 2nd Michigan at Bull Run and several other major battles including Antietam and Fredericksburg. It would be years later when he was found out... how shall I say it... not to be  a he!  But a she! Like dozens of other women who impersonated men to join the cause, she fled home at 17 years of age to escape a forced marriage. When she contracted an ailment that was sure to reveal her identity towards the end of the war, she deserted to avoid having her true sex being uncovered.  A later military pension was then retracted when she wrote a book about her experiences. Still later it was given back to her. She would become the only woman in the history of the Grand Army of the Republic to become a member, and lies today at rest in one of their Texas cemeteries.

Yet another in the First Battle of Bull Run, AKA Manassas, while not a Canadian, but  who would spend his last years of life near Toronto was a fellow names Wilcox. He would put in several  years in the military before the  Civil War even started and it is his 34 years after the start of this war that are mentioned in the above title.

From this map you can see why the public were getting nervous. The enemy was at their doorstep just about 25 miles away from Washington at Manassas, identified with the letter  "A" above. This North Eastern Virginia community was beside a river called Bull Run.

Wilcox, who would later be promoted to Brevet Brigadier General, and still later to Brevet Major General, was a full Colonel at Bull Run. But he was doing the job of a Brig. General due to his appointment of commander of the 2nd Brigade. In this capacity the West Point Graduate was in charge of 5 different regiments and his brigade would be just one of many in one of yet many more Divisions of Union men from the North on the battlefield that  21st of July 1861.

When the battle began the North experience some brief success by driving the enemy back, but during the day long killing spree reinforcements arrived for the South by train and were quickly hustled into the battle. This new incursion of men badly damaged one of the flanks and ultimately turned the tide of battle so much that the North had to retreat. Many of the men had to run for their lives and the rest marched back to DC with heads hung low. The day long battle ended with about 850 men dead, 1,700 wounded and another 1,300 either missing or having been taken prisoner.

Colonel Orlando B Wilcox (shown here as a general) was wounded in the battle, captured and made a Prisoner of War.  

When Wilcox signed up, he was enlisted in a three month regiment, and promoted up the line to the Brigade level. And it was with that level that he was caught by the enemy and made a POW. Had he still been with his unit, his war would have been over in a few months. But instead he served almost a year as a POW, and was finally exchanged for a southern colonel in August of 1862. That may have been when he found out that he had received a brevet promotion to Brig. General for... "distinguished and gallant service in the several actions since crossing the Rapidan." And to his surprise no doubt, the promotion was backdated to the date he was made a POW.

By the end of the Civil War General Wilcox had enjoyed several different command positions, had four horses shot out from under him, was wounded four times and his troops captured over 3,000 enemy soldiers. Those same troops would amass a total of 17 different Battle Flags while under his command.

In 1866 he finally mustered out of volunteer services, but within months was appointed as Colonel of the 29th Infantry, and 3 years later he moved over to command the 12th Infantry. In the 1870's Wilcox would command the Military district known then  as the Department of Arizona. While so employed he had the honor to ride the first train through an area then unofficially called  Maley. It was so called as the track ran through lands owned by Mr. James M. Maley. When a railway official stuck his head out of the train to ask what the name of the town was, the crowds gathered to greet it and of course the famous Orlando Wilcox, the crowd shouted back not once but twice...Wilcox. And the small community of a few thousand in Northern  Arizona still go by that name today.

In 1887  Wilcox finally hung the uniform up for good. His first plans were to take a trip abroad. It seems he had to get the permission of the Secretary of War to leave the country and for the $5 fee the visa was granted.   In the 1880's and 90's he seemed to move about between Arizona, Michigan and Washington DC. Wilcox received an invalid pension in 1890 and the following year he was reporting living in a soldiers home at DC.

On 2 March 1895 the President finally granted him a Medal of Honor for actions at Bull Run so many years earlier. His citation simply read...,"Led repeated charges till wounded and taken prisoner."  Ten years later he would pack up his Medal of Honor and move it to Canada were he took up residence for two years at Cobourg, just outside of Toronto Ontario. In the end he would be dead within a couple of weeks of catching  bronchitis.

Orlando Wilcox is buried at Arlington National Cemetery and rests there with over 365 other recipients of the MOH, A dozen of these neighbours got their medals at Bull Run. One of these was Doctor Mary Walker, the only female recipient in the history of the medal, and  covered in yet another blog in this space.

At Arlington there are over 16,000 veterans, including a few dozen from Canada, about half of these also being MOH recipients.

A visitor to Arlington might also be fortunate enough to find the grave of Jerry Cronan. he was buried there BEFORE Arlington became a Cemetery and was owner by General Lee's family. Cronan was in the  10th Louisiana Infantry and was killed in battle at Spotsylvania n 1864. And yes he was a Confederate...the only Confederate veteran buried at Arlington. And folks he was also a Canadian.

Tomorrow marks the 106th anniversary of General Orlando Bolivar Wilcox's deed that resulted in his earning the Medal of Honor.

Bart

First with the Civil War... a note ought to have appeared in this space earlier this month, but alas,  it got lost under the ever growing pile of papers on my desk.

The pile fell over and there it was... tell them about the 150th anniversary of Gettysburg.  Well you've heard it by now anyway. Over a million people are expected over the next year to tour the battlefields of Gettysburg.  One in ten of them  arrived over 1- 3 July to celebrate the occasion. Actually the word celebrate seems inappropriate in as much as about 51,000 where either killed, wounded, captured or went missing in just three days of America history. 

Men ... and women... from 52 nations fought in the Civil War, including of course upwards of 50,000 from Canada. Possibly over 100 of these at Gettysburg. And many of them still rest to this day in American cemeteries. Some came back home with Medals of Honor. Others came back with Medals for actions before... or after the July battle. Nevertheless, they were there... and they did their part.

The battle was supposed to be  one sided... the South lured the north into position to be ambushed. But the North didn't co-operate. They arrived too soon and as soon as the South arrived the clash started. The rest is history...as they say. 

Gettysburg, and indeed the entire war caused the nation to rebuild itself. And it caused the north to give birth to the Dominion we now call Canada. Some day, when our leaders  have had enough of celebrating the War of 1812, maybe they will have time to think of the impact the US Civil War had on the creation of Canada and start making plans to duplicate the dollars spent of the 1812 celebration on the 1861-5 battles as well.   Maybe!

That would be a giant leap forward as the late Neil Armstrong once said. (This is footprint on the moon)

But taking a leap in another direction to WW11 there are a few  notes to be made on the Devils Brigade, covered in four columns ending a few days back.  Since the announcement that a Congressional Gold Medal of Honor will be hopefully awarded to the First Special Service Force in the news recently, several papers across both Canada and the US have published stories of veterans still alive from that unit that are very excited about the news. One in Nova Scotia has the Premiere visiting a vet, while another has a city mayor presenting a certificate  of recognition to another Canadian vet and another  notes that there is even a sign erected in Alberta near Lethbridge that serves to preserve the memory of the Brigade. Though it might have gotten better mileage, pardon the pun, if it also used the words...Devils Brigade as well. It is probably an attempt to say that the road on which it is mounted (Hwy #4) is the one leading directly south into the US and to Helena Colorado where the men took their initial training. Here is that sign.

Note Lethbridge at top of map and about 200 miles south along # 4 and then #15 you end up at Helena.

Still with the Brigade, the Canadian Mint has recently announced, (what timing) that is it making both a gold and a silver commemorative coin in honour of the joint US, Canadian brigade. And here are images of the front and back of these two coins, that will be no doubt be available from the mint or your local coin shops in the near future. (Wonder how many times the Canadian mint has engraved USA on its Canadian coins?

And finally, a note about the Korean War. A past blog brought you the story of Colonel Lewis Millett and how he earned the Medal of Honor in Korea, That blog also told you about his connections to Canada, and he has been given honourable mention several times in other blogs on this site. Well folks, he and all the others from Canada who saw action in the Korean "Police Action" are now being honoured also by the Canadian mint with a coin shown here...

Not only that, but the Canadian government, after years of pressure from veterans and the public no doubt from coast to coast to coast have finally  declared that  a day will be set aside each and every year that will become known as Korean War Veterans Day.

That day will be celebrated across the country for the first time ever this year on July 27th, which is the 60th year to the day since that war came to an end.

It is unfortunate that so many veterans of that war have long since been gone, but kudo's to the Canadian government for finally correcting this omission, and congratulations to those veterans still with us and to all their families.

Bart

Cecil was only 16 when he started his university education at Royal Military College at Kingston Ontario. Only 16. Wow! It reminds me of the great 70's rock and roll song by Doctor Hook called.... "She was only 16"  about a young boy who fell head over heals for a girl while both being 16 and her soon moving on. The song assures the listener that the fellow had finally learned his lesson though and ... "I have aged a year since then..."

So some must wonder how Cecil, at 16, could have arrived at RMC so young, and to even know that's what he wanted in life. But that is another story. It would have to tell of a great great grandfather who came over from England to fight in the War of 1812. And a father he really could not have known for very long. he was only eight when his dad was killed after serving in WW1 for only 7 months.  It was at a place called Ypres and it would be there that the Canadian soldiers faced, for the first time ever, the battlefield horror  of  chlorine gas.

It had to be pretty tough to be only 8 and not having a father, but then Uncle Reggie stepped in. Reggie like his brother Cecil both served in the same regiment, but only Reggie came back home alive. As a sort of step-father he stepped in to look after his nephew Cecil and saw to it that he got good basic education... first at public school in Vancouver where he was born, then off to a private school in Victoria BC then known as University School, and then finally to one of the finest universities in Canada... RMC

No doubt during all of this schooling he learned a little about Canadian history and had a smile on his face and a felling of incredible pride when the teacher talked about Canada's 6th Prime Minister, Sir Charles Tupper, a former Premier of Nova Scotia and Lt Governor of that province to boot. (I am a direct descendant of Charles' brother Marshall.)  

After cadet Cecil Merritt, (at left) graduated  he returned to Vancouver and took up the study of law with Uncle Reggie in a law firm in which the later was a partner, Following in the family footsteps he too would take a commission on joining the family's old regiment... the Seaforth Highlanders of Canada, a  militia unit in Vancouver BC.

Cecil practiced law, managed an active association with the Seaforth and became an active rugby player and also was married and starting to raise a family of two boys when WW11 started. He immediately signed up for full time service and was transferred into the South Saskatchewan Regiment.

In December 1940. and with the rank of Major Cecil Merritt boarded a troop-carrier that carried him across the Atlantic through U Boat infested territory. On the same ship sailed a brother destined for Sicily and a sister who had enrolled  with the Canadian Women's Army Corps (CWAC, of which my mother also served) and was destined to be driving Lorries about London.  But Cecil was soon off to the War Staff College. Upon graduation he  was promoted not only to Lt. Colonel but assigned back to the South Saskatchewan's  as their new Commanding Officer by March of 1942. 

The regiment was then sent some 125 miles south of London to the Portsmouth area, and its Isle Of Wight for the beginning of a several month course on commando training.  Once done the unit would become one of many ordered to take part in the Dieppe landing of  19 August 1942.

The purpose of that exercise was to determine if a major port could be seized, held for a while and then abandoned. In the process hopefully some valuable information could be obtained from captured prisoners. While there hopefully they could also do some damage to serious  gun emplacements and maybe destroy some strategic buildings and even capture some intelligence thought to be held in a local hotel.

The plan called for mostly Canadians but also 2 British commando units, and some Royal Navy and Air Force  backup.  The commandos would take the port town but the Canadians would be expected to take and secure the operating base for the commando's to do their thing. There would be six beach areas spread along about a 20 mile beach head, Thus several groups were given specific initial tasks and then to meet up about 5 miles inland to tackle secondary targets. At least that was the plan.

Today's story deals with GREEN beach and of course the South Saskatchewan Regiment.

The Royal Air Force would shell the beach area and then provide cover the landing troops. The Royal Navy would land over 6,000 men in landing craft all along the beach and from the water line each group  would head off on their own delegated missions. Merritt's South Saskatchewan Regiment was assigned  Green Beach as above noted. They were to be landed on both sides of the River Scie which is south west about 5 kilo's. But in the early a.m. when the battle started the navy let many of Merritt's men off on the wrong side of the river. This required that they regroup and cross a narrow bridge in order to take the small village of Pourville and then concentrate on their secondary targets... being the cliffs over the village and the powerful enemy gun-pits in that area. (Pourville can be seen just south and slightly to the right of the green dot, and from there to the bottom of the page runs the River Scie.)

Members of the Royal Regiment of Canada would later report that when they landed... there was no surprise and the enemy was waiting, due to a confrontation  a few miles of shore with some enemy gunboats who no doubt passed the word of the impeding landing. Thus, when they landed a few miles to the east of Merritt's men they had very heavy casualties... as did Merritt's men. They also found that intelligence reports underestimated the strength of the enemy and seemed to have forgotten to tell them about the beach...not of sand...but pebbles the size of baseballs  that neither tank nor man could move through quickly.

Once they dealt with obstacles at the beach and moved closer to their targets Merrrit's men realized that they had to cross the long and narrow bridge that spanned the  River Scie shown above, Several attempts led to many Canadians being slaughtered on the bridge. When Merritt moved to the front to motivate the men he took off his own helmet and started to cross the bridge  and caught the enemy by surprise. he waved his troops on with shouts that they should..."Come on over, there's nothing to it." Several men made it across and Merritt actually went back and forth at least four separate times escorted more of his men to cross. More swam across and some even swung from the girders below to get across. But then the enemy action intensified with further allied casualties and Merritt taking a slug through the shoulder  and another through the  abdomen. But even with that he was observed hauling yet another to safety over his back.  

During all of this Merritt lost his runners and filled in at the job himself running from unit to unit to get situation reports. Having no fear for his own life he even led charges against two pill boxes and took both out, one using grenades. But hours into the battle his regiment has been reduced to about 300 men. Worse yet, his ammunition and mortar shells were almost running out when the word came down to make it back to the beach and prepare for de-embarking. Following orders he moved the men back but then decided to round up all tommy guns and ammunition he could find and delegated 8 officers to set up a rearguard that he would personally command and hold the enemy off advancing on the de-embarking men. Most got off safely, But the vessels had to escape leaving the officers behind.

The brave men kept up harassing the enemy until such time as the ammunition was all used up. It was then that since Merritt felt the enemy were now simply using them for target practice, the honorable thing to do was surrender. But he refused to carry the white flag. He ordered a German prisoner to do it.

When  the men finally got to a POW camp days later he heard the rumour that he had been awarded a Victoria Cross... But to his shagrin it was posthumous, so the story goes. And he was very much alive and still very much full of fight.

And to show his fight he and his men harassed the guards at every possible opportunity. There were three classes a German troops on hand and they would often pit one against the other and then stand back to watch them argue with each other. On a more serious note after digging a tunnel of about 125 ft from the back of one of the buildings to the chicken coup of a neighbouring farmer, 64 POW's including Merritt escaped and headed towards Switzerland before all got caught. But in the process they tied up over 50,000 troops, home guard and Hitler youth on the hunt for over a week, and thus, took them away from their other duties, many on the front line. Merritt was thrown in solitary confinement for his part for 14 days, probably on a ration of just bread and water. 

Not learning his lesson a second escape later resulted in all being caught again. This time Merritt was sent off to the medieval prison called Colditz in the German mountains as it was said to be escape proof.  His leadership in the prisons was also said to have played a role in his being awarded an Efficiency Medal after the war. 

Merritt would spend 32 months held as a POW before being released, and would later claim that so held was nothing of a virtue.

After the war Merritt would return to Vancouver expecting to take up with the legal business again but was called away to Ottawa to serve in the federal government as an MP for one of the Vancouver ridings.  Having done this for about 5 years he would later return to Vancouver yet again get back in uniform as the Honourary Colonel for his old regiment... the Seaforth Highlanders. 

Lt. Colonel Cecil Ingersoll Merritt was awarded the Victoria Cross on 2 October 1942. It would be the first Canadian awarding of the VC in the war. He would later clain that his war only lasted a total of 6 hours. At the age of 91 Colonel Merritt passed away of 12 July 2000. That was 13 years ago last Friday.

In Windsor Ontario there is a street named after him and back in France at Pourville the very bridge he  conquered was renamed the  Merritt Bridge on one end and on the other for famed painter Monet.

Bart