Mead Society Day 1 Fredericksburg and James River Winery

I take a deep breath and sign up for a trip with a group that I do not know. 40 total strangers and me. the pouring rain in the early morning gives me pause, but I am welcomed up for shelter under the Union League awning by Albert, so I feel some sense of relief. Once on the bus, All the first timers are automatically recognized and several people immediately welcome me, asking how I decided to come on the trip. this is a good beginning.

We stop for lunch and some sightseeing on our own in Fredericksburg a small town with some historic sites and a Saturday farmers market where I buy some local honey. This area saw much devastation perpetrated by Union troops, my first taste of the cruelty of the North. Along the streets are quaint signs and restaurants and boutique shops. I stop into the Masonic Cemetery .

Later in the afternoon, we visit a small winery where the talkative amiable manager gives us a 'tour' of his small operation. I end up striking up a friendly banter with another customer, who is himself so fun loving, we laugh and kibutz at the wine tasting.

It is at the evening pizza party that I start to relax and get a sense of the members of this amazing society of Civil War, General Mead, history loving folks.  Each has a story, and they are all so very interesting, so I look forward to hitting the road tomorrow for the tour of the wilderness.

Star Spangled evening

After  a pleasant day at the Fort, we stay around for the evening concert and speeches which are supposed to start at 6:00 but are delayed until almost 7:00. We settle down on a spot on the grass, but all we can really see is the jumbo screen ( I think the other side would have been better).

On stage for the ceremony are several generations of politicians with connections to Baltimore and Maryland. The surprise is Nancy Pelosi, who is from Baltimore, and the St. Senator Sarbanes with the current senator Sarbanes, his son. The Lt Governor, running for Governor is featured, but generally the speeches by each of these tend to repeat the same tribute to Ft. McHenry, to the flag, to the city. Senator Sarbanes Sr. gives a history lesson, fascinating but long.

The highlight is Vice President Biden, who gives a dynamic, short pointed speech. The difference between his confident veteran style and that of Lt. Governor Brown is apparent to me and shows what being on the national stage has given him in terms of stature and projection.

The music ranges from Bagpipes to drum corps, gospel to patriotic as we wait for the grand finale. And it is worth waiting for. As they raise the large flag that is the replica of the original Star Spangled Banner, the fireworks begin in three locations over the harbor. For 20 thrilling minutes we are treated to unusual fireworks that spell out USA and form the flag (!).

The Star Spangled Spectacular part 1

As children we are taught to sing the very challenging melody and oddly poetic words of our national anthem. "Oh say can you see?" Yes, we learn that it was written by Francis Scott Key, and yes we knew he was looking out onto some harbor where the 'bombs were bursting in air'. But what war, and who was fighting, and where- now that was something I never got straight.

How startling to learn that right in my own backyard, to the east of the tunnel that I drive through on my way to Silver Spring and back again, was the Fort where the battle was fought fiercely in a war that is rarely discussed. It was at Ft. McHenry, in defense of Baltimore, the 3rd largest city in the US, that 1200 soldiers fought off the most powerful navy in the world-the British. The war was eventually called The War of 1812 and in 1814, the British bombarded this entrance to Baltimore for 25 hours.
As it turns out Francis Scott Key was being held in detention, where he watched the 19th C. version of 'Shock and Awe',  where as part of the tension that  mounted overnight,   'o'r the ramparts watched', then saw 'that our flag was still there'. He chose to couple his soaring words with a melody that was well known because it was a drinking song written for the Anacreonitic Socity,    "an 18th-century gentlemen's club of amateur musicians in London".  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Anacreon_in_Heaven 
Surprisingly, the song became an instant hit throughout the states, renamed on the advice of his uncle, from "The Battle of Fort McHenry" to "The Star Spangled Banner".

And so we, on Sept 13 2014  exactly 200 years later, walk around Ft. McHenry, listening to music from then and now that includes the Washington Revels, and a Navy rock band. Then we  stroll to the waters edge to view the Blue Angels air show, whose pilots in the sleek jets weave across the sky at 600 miles an hour. But the star of the day is the fort and the flag. How joyous to arrive inside the fort just as the enthusiastic ranger lowers the small flag, then instructs a group of 20 or so on folding it.  Out then comes the replica of the flag that is to be flown later that night. As we hold it, unfurl it, and put it back safely, I feel a surge of pride.

The uniforms of this era are more tailored and fay compared to those just 40 years later. The men's hats of no practical use, the long waistcoats as well. My brother asks one of the 'soldiers' about the functionality of the hats to which we are treated to a personal tour of the officers' quarters room, where he shares  how he learned that his relative had served at Ft. McHenry.

Ft. Delaware and Ft. Mott part 1

Where the Delaware River meets the Bay is an area that holds great significance in the defense of Pennsylvania during the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th C. There, two  forts hug the coastline, one nearly invisible, the other a brick fort within a stone fortress. Tony and Francine and I drive to Ft. Mott. With time to explore while we wait for the ferry to Ft. Delaware, walk the parapet of Ft. Mott, looking out over the vast expanse of the Delaware River.

Especially  amazing to us are the varieties of the  mechanical machinery designed to bring the heavy artillery shells by railway cart to a lift used to raise the  shells up to the ramparts where they are slid into the casings. The communications systems, a complex web of human and technological devices include something akin to a 19th C fax machine.

There is enough to keep us interested for nearly two hours as we wonder through the storerooms and behind the parapet to see the parados, which is a secondary defense hill built in case of attack from the rear. As an additional deterrent to enemy encroachment from the back, the moat is filled with the sewage from the 'earth closets', rooms with actual toilets whose refuse drains right into the moats behind the parados.


Among the artifacts are original shells and the lift mechanism that brings them up to the top





We board the DelaFort ferry, a 20 minute ride that takes us to the other side of Pea Patch Island where we can see the entrance to Ft. Delaware. At first look from the ferry the fort seems massive, a large square granite structure.

The ferry, the DelaFort takes us on a pleasant ride under blue skies and 80 degree temperature. We can see the square stone fort from the boat. surrounded by marsh that we drive through on the tram once we get off the ferry. that is cut by muskrat trails. Bill Cooper meets us in front of the fort to give us some information mostly about bats. There is a lot information about the disease that has infested the bats of the area. A lot of information.


The prisoners lived in barracks outside the fort, 3 levels of bunks that held 120 soldiers who had a scratchy blanket and a wood stove in the middle of the room to keep them warm. The prison had the reputation  as being the 'Andersonville of the north". Andersonville was the notorious southern prison with intolerable conditions, so to make this comparison is quite dramatic. On this benign day of sun and warmth and good friendship it was hard to imagine the depredation of the conditions there. For example, union deserters imprisoned there were made to wear a ball and chain as the walked around the camp. Food, though existent, was rancid, slimy, inedible. Conditions spread disease; more than 2400 men died there.

Surprises at Ft. Warren

A weekend planned with my niece Claire and cousin Janet in Boston with expectations to be immersed in Revolutionary War history among the Brahmans of Massachusetts. On our wish list is listening to music, so Google  "folk music, Boston, August 9"  Up pops some free outdoor concerts on Georges Island one of the Boston Harbor islands. Yet another "Who knew there were Harbor Islands?" For 15$ we can take a round trip ferry ride, hear music, picnic on a beautiful summer day.

When we arrive,in front of us is a large stone fort, Fort Warren. If it is outside Boston, then it must be from the War of Independence, right? No, it was built  in 1850 with the realization that the eastern seaboard was ill protected after  the White House was burned by the British in the war of 1812. 

Ft. Warren was first used in 1861, as a Civil War prison camp for about 1200 inmates including political prisoners James Mason and John Slidell, the Confederate diplomats seized from the Trent as they were traveling to Europe to gain support for their cause. It was also the prison for the sucessionist Maryland legislators, and men who acted as bounty hunters for the Union, then switched sides. Two of these were imprisoned, made to walk by their graves on their way to being hung as traitors.

The fort itself looks like 4 massive square stone walls surrounding a flat area of grass in the center that served for parade grounds, baseball field, and general social and exercise space.  Harder to spot are the star like points at each corner that gave the army more areas for defense. The entrance is preceded by a 20 foot drawbridge, then 3 sets of doors that an attacking army would need to navigate in order to penetrate to the inside.

The prisoners and soldiers all lived together in the stone rooms of the fort. Because it was not originally built to be a prison, the rooms for the commanding officers who were to reside there were decorated with relative elegance-chandeliers and all. From the visitor center display, it also seemed that captured officers ate better than enlisted Union soldiers. So this was not one of the 'notorious' prisons.

The events sign read  1:00-2:00 Civil War dress up. We ran over to the display  just inside the fort to find a woman in an outfit of the time and one adult Union and one adult Confederate uniform complete with canteens and rifles. Couldn't resist, though Claire and I both were hesitant to wear the confederate uniform (!)

Later that night, we see  this very eerie scene, Radiators in the Moonlight, looking like a futuristic city of highrises.

The 54th Regiment

The second day of the trip with Claire and Janet, we venture to the heart of Boston, Boston Common another opportunity to follow the trail of Revolutionary Boston.
Boston Commons is the center of the Freedom Trail that leads out towards cemeteries, churches, monuments chronicling the people and places of the 18th C. We pass through the cemetery that houses the graves of Paul Revere and other notables. Across the street is the church where prominent families prayed.

The trail marked on the walkways leads through streets to churches cemeteries, and monuments, one these monuments again surprising me. On the Northwest corner of the Common is part of the African American trail, the tribute to Robert Shaw, the white commander of the first Black Regiment, the 54th that fought first in South Carolina. His story has been immortalized with the movie Glory.

Sam McNeil's march to Atlanta

All sorts of things occur that help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamt would come his way.

The annual Summer Songworks organized by the Philadelphia Area Songwriters Alliance (PASA) that I have joyously been involved with for over 7 years brought together on August 2 this year 20 or so musicians to share original music, write songs together, play, and eat. The day ends with an evening concert. in which each of us is invited to share songs we wrote during the day along with any song that we have written.
I looked forward to sharing 'Sept 1862', the song that I wrote about Antietam (see post Sept 1862). I am proud of the work that I've done to finish the 4 verses that tell in shorthand the story of this one day in Civil War history.

As we sat out on the lawn during a break, I  discovered as always that there are many who have exhaustive knowledge about history. Tony Desantis and I talked about planning a trip to Fort Delaware a site of one of the northern prisons. Others recounted trips to Gettysburg and beyond.

But the most astonishing conversation was with Terry Merriman, who with great pride and enthusiasm told me about  his great great great great great great grandfather Sam McNeill who marched with Sherman to Atlanta. All the work and study I have done up until now blossomed in this one conversation as I drink in this first person account. And then the bonus-Terry has the original handwritten memoir of his relatives life as a soldier and it is available online.

Earlier in the week, I had written this sentence  "Time to read about the soldiers". As if this notion had been transmitted through the ether, I am now handed the opportunity to read a personal story.
Believe me, on this day I feel blessed.

About  Sam McNeil:

My father's grandmother was Alice McNeil Merriman Glass (she married twice). Her lineage in this country goes back to Samuel McNeil who moved to Faggs Manor, Chester County, Pennsylvania, from Ireland in 1740. His son, Alexander, married a woman whose parents had moved to New London Township, Chester County, PA in 1740 as well. Alexander had a son named Andrew who also had a son named Andrew. The second Andrew moved to Ohio in around 1840. His son, Sam Adams McNeil, enlisted in the Ohio 31st Regiment in 1861 and served under General Sherman. I have a large family picture with Sam on one side of the group and my grandmother sitting on her mother's lap next to her father. My father met and married my mother towards the end of World War II and moved into a little farm in Ohio. However, they later moved to Lansdale, PA in 1948 where I was born and raised. It wasn't until after I had movedMy great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather, Samuel McNeil, to Chester County that I learned that it all started there.  is buried in the Faggs Manor Presbyterian church graveyard just 7 miles from my house. Alexander's in-laws lived in New London Township, where I now live.

Some of the interesting artifacts that we have from this lineage are photos of the 2nd Andrew, Sam McNeil, Charles McNeil, Alice McNeil Glass, and my father Richard Merriman. We also have a family bible in which Sam McNeil wrote about the family line. Among the most treasured are Sam's artifacts from the Civil War, including his separation papers from the army in 1864 and re-enlistment papers, his hand-written memoirs of his service under Sherman including the march to the sea, and a book he published in the 1890's based on his memoirs. You can read his memoirs at the following link:

 http://www.themerrimans.us/Ancestors/SA%20McNeil%20-%20Civil%20War%20Journal/index.htm