Rounding out my Research.

The next two weeks will round out my research. I am a couple weeks behind my plan but that is why you build in some extra time.

This Friday I will be able to get a better handle on HCR’s possible PTSD. I prepared a list of symptoms, etc for Shook Over Hell (See an earlier post) and here is what I found:

Symptoms of PTSD

Questions:
Undergo hardships & trials in the military? YES
In a situation where he experienced anxiety & fear? YES
Exposed to combat, to death & mutilation of his comrades? YES
Exposed to the slaughter of enemy soldiers? YES
Encounter disease that might have weakened his psychic defenses? UNKNOWN
Bonds with friends & family ameliorate his problems or enhance? Death of fiancé
Did a warm homecoming wash away the pain & deaths? UNKONOW

“Sometimes this fear was so intense that men would fall to the ground paralyzed with terror, bury their face in the grass, grasp the earth, and refuse to move.” CORINTH

Many experience a sense of disembodiment and become oblivious to their own bodies and needs. Shell or gunshot wounds could bring a man back to the reality of his own body and sense of vulnerability. CORINTH

The pounding and concussion from cannonading can be overwhelming. CORINTH

Infuriated and obsessed with battle a man can screen out all the horror of death. Concentrate on the matters at hand and put personal safety aside and belatedly react to the horrific scenes they have witnessed CORINTH

Terrifying noise of shells over head could lead to nervous habits never fully overcome-startle reactions CORINTH

Artillery fire & the sights and sounds of battle could be unnerving in the extreme CORINTH/VICKSBURG

“Perhaps the most horrific aspect of the Civil War experience was the scene of the battlefield after the firing had subsided. Mangled men, dead and dying, littered the landscape.” CORINTH/VICKSBURG

Burying the dead can be equally as traumatic CORINTH

Symptoms – delayed stress:

Intrusive recollection-nightmares & flashbacks UNKNOWN
Disoriented thinking YES
Startle reactions UNKNOWN
Social numbing YES

Depression (melancholy) YES
Anxiety Yes
The “mental distance” from family can be overwhelming YES
Critical to this issue is social support UNKONWN
Fear CORINTH/VICKSBURG
Strangers ???
Going outside JACKSON BARRACKS
Refuse to leave room for days JACKSON BARRACKS
Shun company JACKSON BARRACKS

Fear of recurrence of some great calamity – Think something horrible is going to happen to them UNKNOWN
Descent into “into a kind of permanent psychotic state” POSSIBLE
Sit for hours alone staring off into space—startled when spoken to JACKSON BARRACKS?
Dread of calamity, cognitive disorders. JACKSON BARRACKS
Parades and welcome home to family does not wash away the “tangle of emotions of devotion, horror, honor, fear, excitement, anger, and boredom.” UNKNOWN
Crying spells, anxiety symptoms JACKSON BARRACKS

Nervous behaviors, trembling, shaking, irritability & hyperactivity JACKSON BARRACKS

Cognitive disorders
Problem with memory or thinking JACKSON BARRACKS

Inability to concentrate or remember JACKSON BARRACKS

Loss of memory not associated with any neurological deficit.
Apathetic JACKSON BARRACKS
Non-military factors –most potent mental shock DEATH OF fiancé
Gunshot wounds in service Corinth
Psychological consequences of wound JACKSON BARRACKS

Restless, sleepless, suicidal JACKSON BARRACKS

“One suspects that many cases of men behaving in a disorderly manner or refusing to obey orders … also involved soldiers who had reached the limits of their endurance, and could easily have been considered psychiatric causalities of war; however these men were punished severely” —treated as disciplinary problems. NEW ORLEANS

“…many Civil War veterans resorted to suicide as a mean of dealing with intolerable mental and physical pain….” YES?

Post CW suicide no loner regarded as a heinous crime-tended to disguise or deny the act. YES
Pensions grated for suicide due to war wounds. YES?

Obviously these are my layman’s observations. We will see what the experts have to say after I lay out all the evidence. The most telling information I have is from his father’s pension application after his death. In it are letters numerous people who know HCR and their observations of him are quite telling.

Next Thursday, the 20th of August, Becky Warda, and Keith Bright will be travelling with me to the Delaware State Historical Society archives and the Old Swedes Church where I will conclude my research.

Keep History Alive
bs

Court Martial # 1, 2, 3

Yes three. I have put Corinth aside for a while as I await some more documents in the mail. For the past week I have been looking at the three times HCR was in serious trouble with the Army.

I'll let the documents speak for themselves:

Charge CM #1 Camp St., LA @ the Brook's House Charge 1 "Conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline." HCR said "I will put my baggage in this wagon." When told by Major M. Maloney that his baggage could not be put into the wagon, did repeat the same words, and that he "would like to catch any person putting it out." And make use of other words in a disrespectful manner. Charge 2 "Using contemptuous and disrespectful language to his superior officer" When MAJ Maloney told him to consider himself under arrest HCR said in presence of Officers & Citizens, that "You are not my Commanding Officer," and that 'I will not respect your authority,' and did further say 'you are a damned fool.' or words to that effect.

"The Major General Commanding (Sheridan) trusts that the rebuke given ... will be sufficient warning to him of the enormity of his offense, and regrets that he should be obliged thus publically to reprimand an officer of a Regiment noted for its discipline, for so gross an offence as disrespect to an officer greatly his superior, in both years, rank, and experience."

Believe it or not, before this case was settled he was brought up on charges again:

Charge CM #2 Camp & Lafayette St, NO, Saloon incident "Conduct unbecoming on Officer and gentleman. In this that Lieut. Henry C. Robinette…while in a state of intoxication, enter the saloon of one Andrew Kiplinger on the corner of Camp and Lafayette Streets, with two enlisted men of his Regiment and call upon the barkeeper to give said enlisted men something to drink and upon being refused by the said Barkeeper did forcibly and by means of threats cause said Keeper to come from behind his bar, upon which he, 1st Lieut. Robinett went behind said bar and did use such violent and ungentlemanly language and threats as to cause the Barkeeper to call to his Assistance the "Officer of the `Day" on duty at Headquarters Mil. Div. of the Gulf."

"Conduct to the prejudices of good order and Military Discipline…did say to two enlisted men of his Regiment when ordered by Captain J.D. De Russey 1st US Infantry to leave the saloon, "You are not going to obey that order are you?" or words to that effect, thereby prejudicing the authority of said Captain De Russy and inciting a mutinous spirit on the part of the said enlisted men"

HCR was found guilty and dismissed from the service. EXCEPT:

"The recommendation [to be reinstated] of Lieut. Genl Grant is approved. Referred to the Adjutant Genl to issue order. by order of the Sec of War [Stanton]"

And then #3 about a year later:

"While is a state of intoxication behave in a manner so unbecoming (as to disrupt and annoy the audience and actors in the said theater); and when requested by the usher And police officer in attendance to desist from such conduct, did persist in making a disturbance (and did use loud and insulting language to said usher and police-officer), and did continue to behave in such an unbecoming manner (as to interrupt the performance on the stage) and to cause the said usher and police-officer to forcibly eject him from the said theatre, and to take him as a prisoner to the First district police station."

Again found guilty and dismissed from service.

But wait:

"Sec. of War respectfully submits report of the JAG in the case of Capt & Bvt. Maj Henry C Robinett to the President."

"Judge Advocte General advises that the sentence be mitigated to suspension from rank and pay for a limited period. Respectfully returned to the Secretary of War whose attention is called to the action of the President [Johnson]."

Yes, all three in New Orleans after the war. Yes, Grant stepped in on the second and President Andrew Johnson on the third.

Much more to read in the records...more later.

Robinett’s wounding at Corinth

Thanks to Vonnie Zullos of Horse Soldier Research, I have in my possession the first eyewitness to indicate Harry was wounded at Battery Robinett. In the National Tribune on May 23, 1901 in a piece entitled “Fighting Them Over. What the Veterans have to Say About Their Campaigns. Battle of Corinth.” Captain W.H.H. Minturn, 89th Ohio of the Ohio Brigade wrote this:

"Lieut. Robinett, of the battery, severely wounded in the head, fell senseless under one of his guns. At that most of his men ran to the rear.”

He continues with a sad event, “A moment later, some of the men of Co. A, of the 43rd, entered the battery, aided the few brave fellows who had stood their ground, to man the guns. The enemy was now retreating and in the excitement a little drummer boy passed directly before the battery and jumped upon a log to see the rebels run. A piece had just been aimed, and “ready-fire” followed before the little fellow was discovered. When the smoke cleared up we saw that both legs were torn off. Somehow there seemed a ting in the recollection that men of his own regiment had fired this shot.”

He also commented upon Col. Rogers, “I shall ever remember looking at the face of the rebel Col. Rogers, when not more than 30 paces, and noting the peculiar expression it had. He looked neither to the right nor left, neither at his own or our men, but with eyes partly closed, like one in a hail-storm, was marching slowly and steadily upon us.”

All in all much of my research could not have been accomplished without Vonnie. I could not afford the time nor money to travel to WDC to find these gems.

New Questions Arise

At the beginning of this project, my students will recall I posted a series of questions to guide my research (and I strong urge you to do the same for your papers). Much has changed since then. I am no longer focusing upon James Rush Lincoln this year; I will save him for another time.

Some new and very interesting questions about Robinett keep running through my mind.

Why did he go to Sec. of War Stanton and ask for a commission rather than signing up with one of the volunteer units forming in Wilmington?

How did his DMA experiences shape his time in the military?

Did he plan on a military life and a career all along or was that decision made later in the war?

Why did he stay in the Army after the war?

How did his family react to the news of his suicide?

What prompted him to take his life when he did?

Where did his personal effects mentioned in a fellow officer’s letter end up?

Did he keep a diary? If so, does it survive?

Where did all his influence come to have his courts martial overturned?

How common was suicide for veterans still on active duty?

Is this really a case of PTSD?

And the big one: What kind of wound did he receive (if any) at Corinth?

I will spend most of time in the next two months trying to answer these questions.

Corinth, Where it all Began

This is where it really all began for Henry C. Robinett and I intentionally saved it for last on my trip. In fact, you may have noticed I started where he died and then went backwards in time.
Corinth is a very interesting engagement. It had it all, personality conflicts; intense, vicious hand-to-hand combat; supreme bravery; and as always in combat, luck.
I am not going to detail the engagement here. Suffice it to say, the battle could have gone either way, numerous times. Jefferson Davis considered control of Corinth and its railroad crossroads critical to the war effort, but it was not to be after October ‘62. The defeat of the Rebels forced the end of Braxton Bragg’s Kentucky Campaign and opened the door for Grant and his Vicksburg Campaign.

I met the Park Ranger, Tom Parsons, on a damp, drizzly, and humid Memorial Day. I was here when the Corinth Civil War Interpretive Center first opened but was just passing through and didn’t stay long. It is one of the newer centers in the NPS system and very well done. Unlike Chalmette what few graves there are at the site had flags for Memorial Day.

Tom spent many hours with me; we walked the field and talked about Robinett’s role in the battle. They have a very nice research room and Tom provided me access to some excellent primary sources that will definitely help my research.

Tom also showed me the grave of BG Joseph L. Hogg
[http://scvlonestardefenders.homestead.com/Gen_J_L_Hogg.html]from Texas (Yes, he is an East Texas boy) and told me the “story” behind the removal of the redoubt. He died during the Union siege of Corinth in April and May of 1862. His most famous descendent?
Ima Hogg [http://www.famoustexans.com/imahogg.htm] the "The First Lady of Texas."

Colonel William P. Rogers, commander of the 2nd Texas fell in the assault. In a remarkable tribute to Rogers's personal bravery, General Rosecrans ordered his burial attended with full military honors, a ceremony normally reserved only for Confederate general officers. In 1912 the United Daughters of the Confederacy together with several Rogers family descendants, dedicated a white marble obelisk to mark his gravesite atop a hill overlooking the battlefield.

I left Corinth with a much greater appreciation for the importance of the position of Battery Robinett and Harry’s role. Battery Robinett was the fulcrum of the rebel attack. The 2nd TX made a valiant attempt to take the position and, at one point, overran the works. Battery Williams (HCR’s commander) actually fired two rounds at the redoubt. One hit the works and another exploded above the works. HCR was “wounded” here and according to Captain Williams’ account he was lying unconscious during the counter-attack that drove the 2nd TX out and finished the Rebel chances. What kind of wound? Harry said it was a head wound; yet there was no sign of an old wound in the top of his head in his autopsy. Was he knocked unconscious in the hand-to-hand combat within the redoubt? Did this “wound” contribute to his suicide? One of his friends at Jackson Barracks felt harry “talked himself” into a head wound.

So far no answers.

Inside the Battery Robinett looking towards the Rebel approach

View from the Rebel approach towards the redoubt

Inside the redoubt looking towards the town

Inside the redoubt looking towards the Rebel approach

There was a covered way here back to the railroad.


A view from near the end of the covered railroad.

My final stop was downtown Corinth and the Rogers monument there.

The rest of this month I will be finishing my research; the plan for July is to get inside his head as best I can with all the available evidence and consulting with some PTSD experts from the Army.

Keep History Alive
bs

HCR's Gravesite

I have been talking to LTC Tommy Ryan, Louisiana National Guard historian about my upcoming trip to New Orleans. He went to HCR’s gravesite and took these two pictures for me. I am looking forward to meeting with Tommy and checking out the Jackson Barracks in two weeks.

Day 3 @ SMH

Are you familiar with the Staff Ride concept. If not, look here: http://www.fireleadership.gov/toolbox/staffride/downloads/the_staff_ride.pdf The author Dr. William Glenn Robertson was with us today as well as his Combat Studies Institute staff (http://usacac.army.mil/CAC2/CSI/ ). I have been on other staff rides with Glenn and in this setting they are a mix of staff ride and tour. I have also been on numerous other staff rides with Steve Rauch the Signal Center Command Historian. In my mind, middle/high school teachers could get so much more from their field trips if they followed the model. (If you happen to be a teacher let me know and I will assist you in designing and setting it up)



I am not going to go into the details of the ride other than to say it was about the Tullahoma Campaign of 1863, after Stones River (1862-3) and before Chickamauga (1863).

The question that comes to mind for historians and the general public I suspect (those that are interested) is, must one walk the field to really understand the battle/campaign? That has been debated by historians for a good while. There has been much criticism of those that do not walk the field yet still publish about the engagement(s).

Where do I fall out on this? I think it depends a good bit on the person. It involves, to me, right brain/left brain dominance, visual/tactical/passive learning, and the like. Me? I like to walk the field AFTER I have read/studied the engagement. I want to see the subtly of the terrain, the undulations in a field that might change line of sight and fire. I like to stand where the combatants stood and look as they did. I like to try and understand their decisions based upon what I see, just like they would have.

By the way, the Army has developed virtual staff rides for Iraq and Afghanistan.

Let’s see, what else did I pick up today?

Two very interesting papers in the same panel, both relating to my project.

The first concerned Western Virginia and the conflicts among its citizens. Robinett was born in Ohio County in what is now West Virginia. His family moved to Delaware while he was a child. Ohio County is in that little sliver sandwiched between Ohio and Pennsylvania. What would drive his family to move BACK east while most movement was west? The new B&O Railroad made it possible and indeed easy. But why did they did make the move? I need to find out.

There is much more to write and I will do so this evening.

Keep History Alive
bs

Day Two @ SMH

Today the State Department announced a new name for the American Civil War. From now on it is to be referred to as the Domestic Interdiction Operation Between the States.

Okay, that is a not true but I am sure you have all heard that the Obama Administration no longer uses the term Global War on Terror. Well, sorry President Obama, you cannot take the name away. Historians around the world have adopted the term GWOT and not even the president of the US can make that change. Rumsfeld tried the “Long War” some adopted it but we are stuck with GWOT now matter what the demonstration says.

This was all part of a discussion I had today with a few other historians.

Today was an interesting day.

Let’s talk Texas in the Domestic Interdiction…err Civil War. No narrative here just points to consider:
Texas produced more cavalry than any state.
Many Texans fought for Texas more than they fought for the Confederacy. Remember they were an independent nation before entering the Union. Texans were, and still are deeply, emotional and loyal when it comes to their (dare I say my?) state.


The Mexican border and the Indians were as big an issue to Texas as anything else.
Texans wanted to defend Texas outside of its borders: Arkansas and Louisiana.
Most Texans were not interested in a pardon after the war, they just went home. Most never applied for one.
---------------------

There has been very little study of the end of wars. How they end, how things change after the war. Why do some end “cleanly” while others have extended unanticipated consequences?



The story of Robinett and Lincoln reminds me of one of my favorite poems by Robert Frost:
The Road Not Taken (1915)

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same.


And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.


I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.



Some more questions and observations for my project:


What is the character of Wilmington, Delaware before the war?
Life at DMA. What kind of atmosphere was there at Delaware Military Academy? What was the environment like?
At the end of the war did Lincoln apply for a pardon? Was he granted amnesty?

Staff ride tomorrow and then two more sessions and the banquet. More tomorrow evening.

Keep History Alive
bs

This Week’s Progress

I accomplished a good bit this week. The Columbia County Library had a couple of books I needed but better yet I have 8 on the way from other libraries in the system and about 25 from interlibrary loan.

The Southern Historical Association faxed me two articles from about two decades ago. So, lost to read and notes to take. http://www.uga.edu/~sha/

More long distance progress. Word Pro has finished transcribing the HCR letters from the University of Pacific collection. I should receive them this week. I talked to Trish Richards one of the archival specialists at Pacific and she help me to understand the photos she sent me. I also talked to the folks down in Plaquemines Parish Louisiana where Fort Jackson is located (near Venice, LA). Ft. Jackson is where HCR was stationed after the war and is where he committed suicide. It came through Katrina relatively unscathed but is, at this point closed. You can walk around it but not get inside. I am trying to get permission to do just that when I am in NO next month. We will see; I am waiting for a call from one of the Parish councilmen so we can talk.

From Vonnie S. Zullo. She has found TWO court martials for HCR. It seems we was first on trial in December of ’65: found guilty, “conduct unbecoming” in a bar. The second was a year later, same charge, and this time in a Theater. She is copying the files (58 & 100 pages) and sending them to me. They should make for great reading.

NARA got back to me; they do not have any records for JRL. I asked Vonnie if she would research his service record for me.

Finally, I now have the history of the 1st U.S. Infantry during the war. I can now track HCR until he joins Grant’s staff after Vicksburg. Next week, I will finalize my plans for my trip to Corinth, Vicksburg, and New Orleans. I will be at the Society for Military History conference in Murfreesboro, TN from Thursday until late Sunday so I guess I will not get much research done. http://www.smh-hq.org/

Keep History Alive

bs

Records Search - Vonnie S. Zullo

I had a wonderful conversation today with Vonnie. She is a professional researcher: The Horse Soldier Research Service - http://www.horsesoldier.com/research.html . She has worked in the field for over 20 years. As she told me, “My research fee is $45.00/hour, plus the client pays the copying and shipping charges. It’s difficult to predict how long it will take to copy the files, for obviously it depends on their length. Usually I can complete the research in 2 hours or less. I don’t charge for the time it takes the Archives staff to locate and pull the files. During that 1-2 hour time period I work for other clients, to make it the most cost efficient for everyone. My turnaround time runs 1- 2 weeks, but it you are in a hurry to receive the material, I can do the research within days of receiving it.” She is going to tackle finding HCR’s court martial records. Since he was an officer, there is a very good chance she will be able to find the complete transcript of the trail; that should be interesting. Her family runs an antique store in Gettysburg: http://www.horsesoldier.com/ Check them out.

Keep History Alive
bs

University of the Pacific

Trish sent me all they had in their collection in reference to Robinette. Great stuff. I JANUS we use a company called Word Pro out of ATL to transcribe the interviews we conduct. I am sending them the letters tomorrow so they can do the heavy lifting for me. It will save me a lot time trying to read them. Usually HCR had great penmanship, I would give him a 100. But he must have run out of paper at one point and wrote on both sides and the paper bled through. It will take them some time to get through that one.

What have I learned so far? I can now pinpoint some of Robinette’s movements during and just after the war:


St. Joseph, MO, 24th OCT 1861
(picture from mocivlwar.org)


Corinth, MS October, 1862
(picture from harpers Weekly-sonofthesouth.net)

Milliken’s Bend, LA 12 APR 1863
(picture from harpers Weekly-sonofthesouth.net) [Note HCR was there before the Battle of some noteriety]


Vicksburg July 1863
(sonofthesouth.net)

New Orleans, 2 DEC 1863 (web.britannica.com)


City Point, VA, 5 FEB 1864
(anselm.edu)

New Orleans, LA 30 DEC 1867

Jackson Barracks, LA 19 JAN 1867 April 22nd he will commit suicide here.

(civilwaralbum.com)

His letter of January 19th shows no signs of depression and indeed is very optimistic and uplifting. Leads to more questions, no?

I should be receiving Lincoln materials from Iowa State any day.

Things are moving right along.

Keep History Alive

bs

Things are Moving Right Along

Well more news on the Robinette front. I talked to Allison Pena today. She is in New Orleans at the Jean Lafitte National Historical Park. We talked about finding Robinett’s gravesite. Becky at Widener located it at Chalmette National Cemetery. You might know this place as the site of the Battle of New Orleans (It was not actually fought IN New Orleans). She is going to check the actual site and see what kind of condition it is in.

When Katrina hit they did experience some significant damage to the park but it is now being repaired. I have added New Orleans to my April trip lists. It looks like I will be going to Corinth and Vicksburg, MS as well as New Orleans the weekend after Easter. That will also give me a chance to return to one of my favorite places in NO—The National WWII Museum (Formerly The National D-Day Museum).

I am off to The Chickamauga Battlefield Thursday evening and will return on Sunday. No more work on the project until then.

Keep History Alive
bs

Robinette Suicide

Becky Warda at Widener sent me an interesting piece today. It is Robinette’s funeral notice from the Wilmington Commercial via NYT.

I also contacted a gentleman named Kip Bassett about an article he wrote on 2004 about Robinette’s court martial. More on that after he and I talk a bit more.

Things are moving right along.

Keep History Alive
bs