Military Monday: Elton Simmons Receives Promotion

Elton "Bud" Simmons
U.S. Marine Corps

PROMOTED- Elton Simmons, son of Mrs. Susie Ramshur, New Orleans, was recently promoted from PFC to L-CPL at Camp Pendelton, California.  He has been serving in the Marine Corps for 16 months and is presently in the 1st Battalion at Camp Pendleton.  He received his basic training at Parris Island, South Carolina.

~

This clipping was given to me by a cousin, Daisy Rae (Johnson) Smith.  It was published sometime in 1965-66.  Elton Simmons, my maternal uncle, entered the Marine Corps in 1964 at the age of nineteen.  He served on the front lines during the Vietnam Conflict and received numerous recognitions for his service, including the Purple Heart.     Other recognitions awarded to him include the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry, Bronze Star, Presidential Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, Navy Unit Citation, Good Conduct medal, Vietnamese Expeditionary medal and the Vietnamese medal.

Military Monday: Widow Martha Pigott Stogner Seeks Claim to Bounty Land

Martha Pigott Stogner, the widow of Ezell Stogner was attempting to locate military service records of her late husband as indicated in the letters of correspondence below.  If she could prove that her husband had been engaged in military service, then she would be entitled to bounty lands, provided under Act 3, March 1855.  The allotment of bounty land under that act was 160 acres.

Dated Jan 28, 1859

Hon. Geo. C. Whiting

Com. of Pensions,  Sir

I leave the honor to enclose herewith the application of Martha Stogner widow of Ezell Stogner for bounty land under Act 3, Mar 1855.  Will you please examine the rolls of Capt Thomas Geo. Mil. War of 1812 in the Regt. commanded by Col. Newman.  

Signed by J.T. Stevens

As shown in the letter above, Mrs. Stogner received a reply from the auditor's office of the Commissions of Pensions:

Dated April 26, 1859

The name of "Ezell Stogner" is not found on the roll of Captain's xxxx, xxxx (unable to decipher writing) or John Thomas's Company's of Georgia Militia on file in this office.  In order to make a further search, additional information is neccessary.  

Again, J.T. Stevens corresponded with the Commissioner of Pensions office on behalf of Mrs. Stogner as shown in the letter below:

Additional evidence

Martha Stogner widow of Ezell

No 297364

Act 3, Mar 1855

Washington City

June 20, 1859

Hon. Geo. C. Whiting,

Com. of Pensions

Sir, I leave the honor to acknowledge receipt of your favor of the 1st reist. (?) respecting the claim of Mrs. Martha Stogner widow of Ezell Stogner No 297,364 for Bounty Land under the Act of Mar 3, 1855 and to request an examination of the rolls of Captain John Cunningham and Captain Joseph Cunninghams' Companies of Geo. Militia War of 1812, in Col. Newman's regiment.

Signed J.T. Stevens

Mrs. Stogner was informed by the Commissioner of Pensions office that a search through their records had been successful:

Aug 5, 1859

Ezell Stogner, a Private, served in Captain John Cunningham's Company Georgia Militia from the 23 Aug 1813 for 6 mos until the 5 March 1814, when company was discharged.

The last correspondence leaves me to question- did Martha Stogner actually receive the bounty lands?  A search through the land records database may provide an answer.  

Thank you, Bill Reagan, for providing copies of these historical documents!

Military Monday: Part V- The Battle of New Orleans

Two weeks after the War of 1812 officially ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, U.S. General Andrew Jackson achieves the greatest American victory of the war at the Battle of New Orleans.

In September 1814, an impressive American naval victory on Lake Champlain forced invading British forces back into Canada and led to the conclusion of peace negotiations in Ghent, Belgium. Although the peace agreement was signed on December 24, word did not reach the British forces assailing the Gulf coast in time to halt a major attack.

On January 8, 1815, the British marched against New Orleans, hoping that by capturing the city they could separate Louisiana from the rest of the United States. Pirate Jean Lafitte, however, had warned the Americans of the attack, and the arriving British found militiamen under General Andrew Jackson strongly entrenched at the Rodriquez Canal. In two separate assaults, the 7,500 British soldiers under Sir Edward Pakenham were unable to penetrate the U.S. defenses, and Jackson's 4,500 troops, many of them expert marksmen from Kentucky and Tennessee, decimated the British lines. In half an hour, the British had retreated, General Pakenham was dead, and nearly 2,000 of his men were killed, wounded, or missing. U.S. forces suffered only eight killed and 13 wounded.

Although the battle had no bearing on the outcome of the war, Jackson's overwhelming victory elevated national pride, which had suffered a number of setbacks during the War of 1812. The Battle of New Orleans was also the last armed engagement between the United States and Britain.

Source: 

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-battle-of-new-orleans

Other sites featuring the Battle of New Orleans:

http://battleofneworleans.org/

http://www.americaslibrary.gov/aa/jackson/aa_jackson_icon_1.html

Military Monday: War of 1812, Part IV- The British Burn Washington

On August 14, 1814, a fleet of British warships departed from the naval base at Bermuda. Its ultimate objective was the city of Baltimore, which was then the third largest city in the US. Baltimore was also the home port of many privateers, armed American ships which raided British shipping. The British referred to Baltimore as a "nest of pirates." One British commander, Rear Admiral George Cockburn also had another target in mind, the city of Washington.

The British landed at Benedict, Maryland, and began marching toward Washington. On August 24, 1814, at Bladensburg, on the outskirts of Washington, British regulars, many of whom had fought in the Napoleonic Wars in Europe, fought poorly equipped American troops. The fighting at Bladensburg was intense at times, but the Americans could not hold. The federal troops retreated, along with observers from the government including President James Madison.

While some Americans tried desperately to battle the British, the city of Washington was in chaos. Federal workers tried to rent, buy, and even steal wagons to cart off important documents. In the executive mansion (not yet known as the White House), the president's wife, Dolley Madison, directed servants to pack up valuable items. Among the items taken into hiding was a famous Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington. Dolley Madison instructed that it had to be taken off the walls and either hidden or destroyed before the British could seize it as a trophy. It was cut out of its frame and hidden in a farmhouse for several weeks. It hangs today in the East Room of the White House.

Reaching Washington on the evening of August 24, the British found a city largely deserted, with the only resistance being ineffective sniper fire from one house. The first order of business for the British was to attack the navy yard, which they burned.

The British troops worked diligently to set fires inside the Capitol, destroying years of work by artisans brought from Europe. With the burning Capitol lighting the sky, troops also marched to burn an armory.

The British troops next turned their attention to the adjacent Treasury Department building, which was also set on fire. 

The fires burned so brightly that observers many miles away recalled seeing a glow in the night sky.

Before leaving the Washington area, British troops also raided Alexandria, Virginia. Supplies were carried off, and a Philadelphia printer later produced this poster mocking the perceived cowardice of the merchants of Alexandria.

With the government buildings in ruins, the British raiding party returned to its ships, which rejoined the main battle fleet. Though the attack on Washington was a grave humiliation to the young American nation, the British still intended to attack what they considered the real target, Baltimore. 

Three weeks later, the British bombardment of Fort McHenry inspired an eyewitness, attorney Francis Scott Key, to write a poem he called "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Sources:
www.eyewitnesshistory.com
www.historycentral.com

Military Monday: War of 1812, Part III- Battle of Horseshoe Bend

The Battle of Horseshoe Bend took place on March 27, 1814 on approximately 100 acres in what is now the state of Alabama.   The Tallapoosa River quietly winds its way through east-central Alabama, its banks edged by the remnants of the forest that once covered the Southeast. About halfway down its 270-mile run to the southwest, the river curls back on itself to form a peninsula, thus giving the area the name Horseshoe Bend.

Highlights of the Battle of Horseshoe Bend:

• 1,000 Creek warriors were assembled behind a barricade that crossed the neck of the peninsula. In the toe of the peninsula, in Tohopeka Village, were another 500 women and children
• The Red Sticks hoped for a decisive victory over Andrew Jackson’s force of 2,600 European American soldiers, 500 Cherokee, and 100 Lower Creek
• At 12:30 p.m. a roll of the drums signaled the beginning of the attack. The fighting was ferocious, with great bravery displayed by both sides. Jackson reported that the action was maintained "muzzle to muzzle through the port holes, in which many of the enemy’s balls were welded to the bayonets of our musquets...."
• In the end, 557 Creek warriors died on the battlefield and an estimated 250 to 300 more drowned or were shot trying to cross the river. Only 49 Tennessee militia men died that day, and another 154 were wounded, many mortally. Fewer than a dozen "friendly" Creek also died.

Treaty of Fort Jackson:

In August Jackson went against orders from Washington and single­handedly negotiated the Treaty of Fort Jackson, which forced the Creek to cede almost 20 million acres—nearly half their territory—to the U.S. Although most of the land the U.S. government took had been held by Red Sticks, the territory also included many villages and a great deal of hunting land held by friendly Creek. (In the 1960s the Creek won a judicial decision that provided compensation to the heirs of those whose land was taken unfairly.)

In 1829 Jackson became president, in part because of the popularity he had acquired from his victories over American Indians. He decided to adopt the Indian policy favored by most Southerners who wanted more land: move the remaining tribes west of the Mississippi to "Indian Territory," what today is Oklahoma. The Cherokee, the Chickasaw, the Choctaw, the Creek and the Seminole—the "Five Civilized Tribes"—each had treaties signed by the U.S. giving them control of their lands, and in 1831 the Supreme Court upheld the Cherokee land titles. But the Jackson Administration ignored these facts and forced the five tribes to move.

After Horseshoe Bend, the European American population of Georgia and Alabama continued to skyrocket. In the latter state, for example, the non-­Indian population rose from 9,000 in 1810 to 310,000 in 1830.

Sources:

National Parks Service, The Battle of Horseshoe Bend, Determining the Facts

www.history.com/topics/war-of-1812.html

Military Monday: War of 1812, Part II- The Early Battles

This week I am continuing my discussion of the War of 1812.  Click here to view Part I- The Causes.

For two and a half years, Americans fought Against the British, Canadian colonists, and native nations.  In the years to come, the War of 1812 would be celebrated in some places and essentially forgotten in others.  But it is a war worth remembering—a struggle that threatened the existence of Canada, then divided the United States so deeply that the nation almost broke apart.  Some of its battles and heroes became legendary, yet its blunders and cowards were just as prominent.  (pbs.org)

The year was 1812.  The United States of America was under pressure from several directions- the British who were seizing American ships and forcing soldiers into the British Navy, France and Britain who were in battle with each other and made efforts to impede the U.S. from trading with the other, and Indian tribes led by Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa who were trying to protect their lands by attempting to block U.S. expansionism.

Under increasing pressure, the fourth President of the United States, James Madison, issued a war proclamation against Britain in 1812. However, America was not ready for a war. Congress had not properly funded or prepared an army, and a number of the states did not support what was referred to as "Mr. Madison's War" and would not allow their militias to join the campaign. Despite these setbacks, American forces attempted to fight off and attack British forces. The U.S. met defeat much of the time both on land and at sea, but its well-built ships proved to be formidable foes.  (history.com)

There is so much information available online about the individual battles of the War of 1812.  I am just hitting on some of the "highlights" here as time will not allow me to expound upon each of them.  A brief summary of the early battles in the War of 1812:  

August 16, 1812:  British capture Fort Mackinac- Michigan, U.S. lost fort as British invade American territory.

Fort Mackinac was founded during the American Revolution. Believing Fort Michilimackinac at what is now Mackinaw City was too vulnerable to American attack, the British moved the fort to Mackinac Island in 1780. Americans took control in 1796. In July 1812, in the first land engagement of the War of 1812 in the United States , the British captured the fort. In a bloody battle in 1814 the Americans attempted but failed to retake the fort. It was returned to the United States after the war. The fort remained active until 1895. During these years Mackinac Island was transformed from a center of the fur trade into a major summer resort.  (mackinacparks.com/history)

1812:  Invasion attempts of Canada- U.S.-Canadian border, 3 attempts of U.S. to invade Canada all fail

January 1813:  Battle of Frenchtown- Michigan, Kentucky troops repelled by British and Indians in bloody fighting. American survivors killed in Raisin River Massacre.

The Battle of Frenchtown (Battle of the River Raisin in Monroe Michigan) was the largest battle fought on Michigan soil. This battle was a major defeat for the Americans and was one of the bloodiest engagements during the War of 1812. The massacre of some wounded soldiers the following day shocked and enraged Americans throughout the Old Northwest Territory. This incident soon became know as “The River Raisin Massacre” and the rallying cry was “Remember the Raisin”. (riverraisinbattlefield.org/thebattles)

April 1813:  Battle of York-Toronto, Canada;  U.S. troops took control of Great Lakes, burn York. This action later returned by British burning of Washington, D.C.

The British lost 150 killed and wounded and 290 captured. American casualties numbered 320, most of these due to the explosion of the grand magazine. Despite this, the victory was worth the trouble for the United States. The British burned one ship at the docks and another was seized by the Americans. Large quantities of their naval store were destroyed. All this allowed the American Navy to strengthen its control of Lake Ontario, and impede British operations on Lake Erie, whose supply suddenly diminished. (library.thinkquest.org/22916/york.html)

September 1813:  Battle of Lake Erie, Put-in-Bay; British naval attack repulsed by Capt. Perry

On September 10, the British under Commodore Robert Heriot Barclay and the Americans under Perry met in battle near Put-in-Bay, Ohio. Perry's flagship Lawrence engaged her counterpart, while Niagara, for unknown reasons, did not close the enemy. Nevertheless, the Lawrence held fast and continued a heavy bombardment. After she was completely disabled, with most of her crew wounded or killed, Perry transferred by boat to the undamaged Niagara, sailed her into close action, broke the British battle line, and forced Barclay to surrender. In the aftermath, Commodore Perry wrote his famous report to General William Henry Harrison: " We have met the enemy and they are ours: two ships, two brigs, one schooner, and one sloop. (eriemaritimemuseum.org)

October 1813:  Battle of Thames, Ontario, Canada; Tecumseh killed in U.S. victory.  NW Indians weakened by battle.

The British commander General Proctor knew that that the Americans controlled Lake Erie his position was untenable. Proctor led his British and several Indian troops out of the area in retreat. 50 miles to the east of Detroit, Proctor decided to make a stand. When American scouts reported that the British lines were extremely thin, Harrison decided on a daring strategy: a cavalry assault by the Kentucky troops directly on the British lines. The British were not prepared for this type of assault and when the first wave of horseman quickly rode through the British lines, and then turned on the British from the rear, British troops quickly surrendered. The American forces then went on to defeat the Indians allies, killing most of them including Tecumseh.  (historycentral.com/1812/thames.html)

To be continued...

Military Monday: The Story of Moses Fillingame

This is my FIRST post for Military Monday.  I hold dear the sacrifices made by my ancestors whom served our country and ALL of those who gave their all for the values and freedom that our country is founded on.  

Moses Fillingame, my third great-grandfather, enlisted in the Confederate States Army in 1862, Perry County, Mississippi.  He was with Company F, 7th Battalion, Mississippi Volunteers.  A muster roll card states that he was sent to the field hospital 06 September 1862.  Moses, being too sick to return to his duties, was sent home.  Soon after Moses returned home, his wife Elizabeth fell ill.  In early 1863 (January or February), they both died from the measles.  It is not known if Moses contracted the measles while in the army or after returning home.  In 1865, the sister of Moses (Harriet) and her husband Lyman Carley filed for guardianship of the Fillingame children.  Moses and his wife Elizabeth (Anderson) were the parents of six minor children at the time of their deaths.

In addition to his military service, Moses Fillingame was a Mason with the Enon Lodge #199, New Augusta, Mississippi.