Railroads

Some Civil War Numbers ~Tanya Hanson

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Ever since I read Gone with the Wind and saw the Jimmie Stewart classic Shenandoah, the Civil War has fascinated me. Recent visits to Gettysburg and Harper”s Ferry reinforced its allure. Peeking through a flea market find (Civil War Trivia and Fact Book by Webb Garrison) pointed out some wonderful tidbits that I thought inquiring minds might want to know.

1.  Only 28 percent of the 30,500 miles of railroads in 1860 lay in Confederate territory.

 

2.  The two warring capitals, Washington DC and Richmond, VA, are 100 miles apart.

3.  Seven states had announced their secession at the time of Abraham Lincoln’s inauguration. (Can you name them?**  See below.)

4.  86 percent of the United States’ manufacturing firms were located in the North.

5.  38 percent of the Confederacy’s population were slaves.

6.  Diarrhea, including dysentery, was the most common ailment in the camps and claimed the lives of 44,000 Union soldiers.

7.  More than 68 American Revolutions could have been financed for the estimated cost of the Civil War.

 

8.  During the years of the conflict, 2,778,304 men were enlisted in all the branches of the Union forces.

9.  Four states were classified as “border states”, meaning they remained in the Union but had strong ties to the South. (Can you name them?*** See below.)

10. New Orleans was the Confederacy’s largest city, with an 1860 census of 168,000.

11. New York, with its 1860 population exceeding 800,000, was the North’s largest city.

12. Due to inflation in the Confederacy, the price of a pound of tea was $10.00 by the end of 1862.

13.  On New Year’s Day 1865, 55 percent of the Confederate fighting forces was listed as AWOL.

14. The tallest man in the Union forces was Captain Van Buskirk of the 27th Indiana.  Six feet, ten and one-half inches.

15.  The shorted man in the Union forces was a private in the 192nd Ohio.  Three feet, four inches.

16.  There were 33 states in the Union in 1860.

17.  In 1861, a Union soldier’s monthly salary was $13.

18.  As president of the United States, Abe Lincoln’s annual salary was $25,000.

 

19.  About 200,000 blacks eventually served in the Union army and navy.

 

20.  Union regiment, the First Minnesota, lost 82 percent at Gettysburg, the highest percentage of one-battle casualties.

21. By the war’s end, 12,912 graves had been filled at infamous Andersonville Prison. (total deaths is believed much higher.)

 

 

22.  When Harper’s Ferry fell to Stonewall Jackson, he seized 73 cannon and 13,000 small arms from the arsenal there. And 10,000 prisoners.

Harper”s Ferry Armory

23. Thirty six (36) horses were needed to pull the six guns of a standard field battery, three pairs in tandem per gun.

24.  Six Confederate generals were killed at Gettysburg.

25.  Black troops participated in 450 battles and skirmishes.

26.  The most popular handgun in the North with about 200,000 manufactured between 1860-1872 was the Colt Army and Navy revolver.

27.  The weight of a shell thrown by a 13-inch mortar (the largest in use then) was 220 pounds.

28.  Three of the 2,300 Federal chaplains received the Congressional

Medal of Honor.

I hope you didn”t mind a history lesson today! Which fact did you find the most interesting?

 

** South Carolina; Mississippi; Florida; Alabama; Georgia; Louisiana, and Texas.

*** Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri

Coming this summer:

Hometown History . . .

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As I was trying to decide what topic to blog about today, it suddenly hit me that I had access to some fabulous history right in my own backyard. In fact, it is the history of Abilene, Texas (the town I now call home) that inspired me to set my first several books in the 1880’s. For, you see, that was when Abilene was born.

Up until the 1870’s, the only people rambling through this area of West Texas were nomadic Indians, soldiers, and buffalo hunters. But by the 70’s, the Indians had been driven out, and the land was opened to settlers–or more specifically, cattle ranchers wanting to graze their herds on the plentiful prairie grasses. By 1878, Taylor County had been organized, and they named Buffalo Gap (yep, named for the buffalo that had been plentiful in the area until the buffalo hunters ravaged them) as the county seat.

Restored T&P Warehouse, Downtwon Abilene

So where does Abilene come in? It rode in on the T&P Railroad.

In 1880, the Texas & Pacific Railway began expanding west. When the local cattle ranchers learned the railroad would be coming through, they got together with area businessmen and worked to ensure that the T&P bypassed Buffalo Gap in order to run across the northern part of the county, and incidentally, through their land. They would then establish a new town between Cedar and Big Elm Creeks, east of Catclaw Creek. Since the railroad needed the water they could supply for their steam locomotives, the plan worked. One of the ranchers suggested the new town be named Abilene, after the cattle boomtown of Abilene, Kansas.

 

 

 

 

 

The Texas & Pacific arrived in Abilene in January 1881. And the railroad didn’t just lay track, they laid promises. Touting Abilene as the “Future Great City of West Texas,” railroad officials platted the townsite and started selling lots on March 15, 1881. Their marketing worked. Hundreds of people arrived even before the lots went on sale and began establishing businesses and a church. As the plaque above shows, they had a church erected one month after the railroad arrived. This plaque is located about halfway between the warehouse and the depot, so it is easy to see that the T&P was the heart of the new city.

A short two years later, Abilene had grown so significantly that it became the county seat, stealing the distinction from Buffalo Gap.

Today, the T&P tracks are still at the heart of Abilene, running through the center of town. Streets that run parallel to the tracks are designated with either a north or south distiction so people know which side of the tracks to go to. For example, there is a North 1st Street and a South 1st Street sandwiching the tracks. This systems continues with street numbers ranging well into the 20’s or higher depending on what  side of the track you are on. The rails are still used for freight transport, but the depot now houses the Chamber of Commerce instead of railroad passengers.

So how about you? What cool history can you share about your hometown?

Restored T&P Depot

Vickie McDonough: Crush, Texas—A Town for Only One Day

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One of my favorite tasks as a writer is going on research trips and discovering interesting tidbits of history. While researching End of the Trail, my June release, I learned about a unique historical event. It’s called “The Crash at Crush” and is the brainchild of George William Crush, a passenger agent of  the Missouri, Kansas, & Texas Railroad, also known as “the Katy.”

In an effort to better promote their railroad, Katy officials agreed to Crush’s unusual suggestion of crashing two retired train engines. The locomotives, Old No. 999, painted bright green, and Old No. 1001, painted a vibrant red, were displayed prominently during tours throughout the state and the “Monster Crash” was advertised all the summer of 1896. The event was free, with the exception of the train fare to deliver attendees to Crush, which cost $2 for a ticket from anywhere within the state.

Crush chose a shallow valley fifteen miles north of Waco for the location, and in early September, five hundred workmen laid four miles of track for the collision run, built a grandstand for attendees, three speaker’s stands, two telegraph offices, a stand for reporters, and a bandstand. A restaurant was set up in a borrowed Ringling Brothers circus tent, and a huge carnival midway with dozens of medicine shows, game booths, and lemonade and soft-drink stands were built. Lastly, a special depot with a platform 2,100 feet long was constructed along with a painted sign, informing passengers that they had arrived at Crush, Texas.

Twenty thousand people were expected, but by early afternoon on September 15, somewhere between 40-50,000 had arrived. At 5:00 P.M., engines No. 999 and 1001 backed off to opposite ends of the four-mile track. George Crush trotted a white horse to the center of the track and raised his white hat. After a long pause, he whipped it sharply down. A huge cheer rose from the crowd, and the locomotives lunged forward, whistles shrieking as they barreled toward each other at a speed of 45 mph. In a thunderous, grinding crash, the trains collided. The two locomotives reared up like wild stallions as they rammed together. Contrary to predictions, both boilers shattered, filling the air with hot steam, smoke, and pieces of flying metal. Spectators turned and ran in blind panic. In the end, several people were killed and at least six others were injured seriously by the flying debris.

The wreckage was toted away, with souvenir hunters claiming pieces of the debris, booths and tent were removed, and by nightfall, Crush, Texas ceased to exist. The Katy railroad settled all claims against it, and George Crush was fired that same day, but rehired the next and worked for the Katy railroad until he retired. Here’s a link to a You Tube tale of the crash and some cool historic photos: ww.youtube.com/watch?v=jL5i_ZBzYk0

In End of the Trail, my hero and heroine, Brooks Morgan and Keri Langston take a rare day off work from Raven Creek Ranch to attend the Crash at Crush. It’s an exciting day for them and brings big change, especially for Brooks. End of the Trail is the sixth book in the Texas Trails series, which I wrote with Susan Page Davis and Darlene Franklin. I also wrote Long Trail Home, the third book in the series, which is the story of a Civil War soldier who returns home to Texas to find everything has changed.

End of the Trail is the story of a cocky drifter who wins a ranch in a card game, but when he goes to claim his winning, he discovers a pretty woman toting a rifle on his porch. She claims the ranch is her inheritance, but he sees it as his one chance to prove to his folks that he’s finally settled down. He’s not leaving, but neither is she.

I hope you enjoyed the story of the Crash at Crush. What’s the most interesting historical event you’ve read about?

 

VICKIE IS GIVING AWAY A COPY OF END OF THE TRAIL TO ONE PERSON WHO LEAVES A COMMENT TODAY!

Hell On Wheels

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How much do I love SuperChannel?

A friend mentioned that I would probably like a new series called Hell On Wheels. I checked it out (On Demand) and the husband and I watched the first episode and LOVED it.

 

 

It all starts with a Union Soldier in a confessional, seeking absolution for things he did during the war. In particular, what happened to a woman. When the confessional is over, both man and priest emerge, but it’s not a priest at all. It’s Cullen Bohannon – the woman’s husband. And he’s out to get every man that brutalized and then murdered his wife.

It takes a cold dude to kill a man in a church and then walk out with his greatcoat flapping.

His search takes him to Hell on Wheels – the travelling camp of the men building the Union Pacific railroad. As you can imagine, it’s rough. A good portion of the workforce is freed slaves, and as we all know the term free was a formality more than anything else. He’s hired as a supervisor to the crews, and strikes up an unlikely friendship with Elam Ferguson (played by Common).

The whole thing is ruled by Thomas Durant, who’s a bit greasy and not above manipulating senators and stocks to see that the railroad gets built. Durant’s chief surveyor, Bell, is killed in an Indian attack but his wife, Lily, survives – and it’s Bohannon who brings her back to camp. And all the while Bohannon is trying to find the last of the men responsible for the death of his wife.

It’s a great story, a fantastic setting, wonderful, complex characters (The Swede as Durant’s “muscle” is deliciously creepy). Of course the cast isn’t hard to look at either. My husband is rather partial to Lily Bell.  I, of course, adore Bohannon (played by Anson Mount). In fact, there may be a reclusive rancher in a story soon that bears a striking resemblance.

And I’ll admit it – best of all was the night Bohannon and Elam had to fight each OTHER. I looked at my husband and said, “I hope they fight with their shirts off.” Yes, I’m just that shallow.

The result?

A bit of history, a bit of romance, a lot of action. Can anyone say “All aboard!”

It’s About Time/Plus Kindle Drawing and Book Giveaway

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On November 6th we turn the clocks back one hour. If you hate daylight savings time blame Benjamin Franklin.  One morning he happened to notice his neighbor’s blinds still drawn after the sun was up and the idea popped into his head.  What do you expect from an “early to bed, early to rise” kind of guy? Here are some more interesting facts to ponder as you get ready to reset those clocks. 

 

  •  Whether we like it or not our lives are dictated by time. As irritating as that might seem, it wasn’t that long ago that no one really knew what time it was. Early settlers depended on the sun to tell time.  When the sun cast the smallest shadow they knew it was noon.

 

  • An astronomer by the name of William Lambert was the first man in the United States to suggest standardizing time.  He presented his idea to congress in 1803 but the idea was not adopted. 

 

  • Townsfolk often set their watches by local jewelers.  This worked fairly well until a second jeweler moved into town. Kansas City had several jewelers and no one could agree which had the right time.  

 

  • If you think living in a town with different time zones was confusing, imagine the chaos for train passengers.  If several railroad lines used the same station they all installed their own clocks with–you guessed it–different times. 

 

  • Prior to 1883 an estimated hundred different railroad times existed in this country.  Engineers couldn’t remember all the different time changes and would often pull out of the station too soon causing passengers to miss connections. But that was a lot better than pulling out of the station too late and risk being hit by another train.

 

  • Things got so out of hand that railroad officials finally met and came up with the idea of dividing the country into time zones. On November 18,1883 at precisely noon, all railroad clocks and watches changed to standard time.  At first, some objected and many towns stubbornly held on to their own time or times, but eventually the advantages of standard time became clear. Worshippers arrived at church on time, employees were behind counters or desks when they were supposed to be and shops opened and closed on schedule.  Order reigned.

 

  • It wasn’t until 1918 that congress finally adopted standard time laws based on railroad time. The Act included Daylight Savings as a way to save electricity during World War I.

 

  • Hawaii and Arizona (with the exception of the Navaho reservation) do not observe daylight saving time.  The last thing residents need in these states is another hour of hot sun.

 

Is daylight time good for us?  Some say yes and some say no. What do you think?  Has changing time caused you to be too early or too late? 

 

Speaking of time (or times) I’m happy to announce that A Log Cabin Christmas is a NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!   My publisher is running a drawing for a Kindle to celebrate !   (If you already have one, there’s probably someone on your Christmas list who doesn’t.) 

 

Email me at margaret@margaretbrownley.com.  Be sure to put Kindle on the subject line and I’ll put your name in the drawing.  The winner will be notified November 15th.  To make it doubly fun and to give you something to do with that extra hour you’re about to receive, I’m also giving away A Log Cabin Christmas to one of you today!

 

www.margaretbrownley.com

 

Margaret’s story: Snow Angel 

The entire Rocky Creek series is now available! 

 

 

St Joseph, Missouri ~ Stepping Off Spot for the West

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St Joseph MO

Best known as the place where the Pony Express began in 1860, and where Jesse James met his end in 1882, St. Joseph, Missouri, holds a place of honor in the history of westward expansion.

Situated on the bluffs of the Missouri River, St Joseph began life in 1826 as Joseph Robidoux’s first trading post. Although Missouri had become the 24th state five years earlier, in 1821, the area was still Indian territory. Lewis and Clark haJoseph Robidoux_founderd passed by here on their way upriver in 1804.

When the fur trader filed the plat for the new town, he named it for his patron saint. Robidoux had only one stipulation for those wanting to buy lots of his land: no one could take possession until he had harvested his crop of marijuana. In those days, it was used in the making of hemp. These days the delta 8 carts can be availed easily.

The town was destined to be successful because it’s location on the Missouri River made it easily accessable. Naturalist John James Audubon visited in May of 1843, (two months before its official incorporation) and described Robidoux’s settlement as “a delightful place for a populous city that will be here some 50 years hence.” St. Joseph celebrated its Sesquicentennial in 1993.

The settlement grew steadily, but the discovery of gold in California in 1848 turned it into a boom area. Gold seekers came across Missouri to St. Joseph by steamboat, to where the city’s location on the westward bend of the Missouri River made it one of two choice “jumping-off” points (the other was Independence, about 60 miles southwest). Gold rushers bought supplies here for the westward wagon trek. Estimates say as many as 50,000 passed through St Joseph in 1849 alone.

Another 100,000 or more pioneers would crowd the streets, bound for California and other points west, before the coming of the trains. And that’s why I chose it as a ssteamtrainubject for today’s blog post.

Where steamboats helped established St. Joseph as the place for travelers heading west, trains kept it there. The first train from the east arrived here February 14, 1859. Until after the Civil War, St. Joseph was the westernmost point accessible by rail. That means, until around 1870, if you wanted to get to Texas–or Colorado or Montana or anyplace west–by train, you had to go through St. Joseph. By 1900, one hundred passenger trains a day came into St. Joseph. I don’t know about you, but that number boggled my mind!

And where the train tracks ended, the stage coach lines began.Pony Express stables

If you read my blog on 11/27/09, you already know St. Joseph was the starting point of The Pony Express in 1860. And in 1887, St. Joseph became only the second city in the U.S.–after Richmond, VA–to have electric streetcars.

Wholesale houses for things like shoes, dry goods and hardware, helped ensure St. Joseph’s prosperity during its Golden Age in the late 19th century. At one time, the town ranked fourth in the nation for dry goods sales and fifth in hardware sales.

Cowboys were familiar with St. Joseph, too, since livestock was a large part of the economy beginning in 1846. Swift and Armour were important names in town.

I’m thinkiJesse Jamesng that song from the musical OKLAHOMA, “Everything’s Up To Date in Kansas City” probably should have been written about St. Joseph.

To top it off, infamous bank and train robber Jesse James, a Missouri native, tried to retire here in 1881. His wife wanted him to live a more normal life. And it was here, in a house on top of the highest hill, where, in 1882, one of his new partners, Bob Ford, decided collecting the reward for Jesse James would pay better than robbing the Platte City Bank.

St. Joseph is a town full of history. There are national parks dedicated to the Lewis & Clark expedition, museums housing collections about The Pony Express, Jesse James and westward expansion, and stunning views of the mighty Missouri River. Stop in sometime. You’re bound to learn something new. I did.

Petticoats & Pistols