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