Mill Springs National Battlefield Museum and Cemetery

Previously:

Click here for a list of my other Pulaski/Rockcastle/Laurel County KY articles

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Source:  http://www.loc.gov/pictures/resource/cph.3b49842/

This past weekend while in Somerset, my boyfriend and I decided to go to Mill Springs Battlefield Museum near Nancy, KY.  The Museum is less than ten years old, and is located right next to the Mill Springs National Cemetery on old Hwy 80.  Admission is only $5 for adults, $3 for seniors, and $2 for students.

From the historical marker outside:

"Late in 1861, Confederates sought to prevent Union forces from occupying strategic points in Kentucky and Tennessee, to maintain rail shipments of vital Confederate supplies from Virginia south and west, and to set up bases for future offensive thru Kentucky and Ohio to divide eastern and western Union states. With those aims the Confederate Defense Line was formed from the Big Sandy Valley in east Kentucky thru Cumberland Gap, Mill Springs on Cumberland River, Bowling Green on L & N Ry., to Columbus, Ky. on the Mississippi River. The Forces Move In Brig. Gen. Felix K. Zollicoffer in Nov. 1861 built CSA bases at Mill Springs and across Cumberland at Beech Grove, as part of plan. Maj. Gen. George B. Crittenden took command, Dec. 13, 1861. On Jan. 11, 1862, Union forces under Brig. Gen. George H. Thomas started from Lebanon, Ky. to join the Federals under Brig. Gen. Albin Schoepf at Somerset and to attack the Confederate base at Mill Springs. On Jan. 19 Gen. Crittenden moved out with his CSA troops to prevent the Union forces under Gen. Thomas from joining US army at Somerset.  

(Reverse) Battle of Mill Springs In first hour, Gen. Zollicoffer was killed, which threw his CSA regiments into confusion. Rallied by Gen. Crittenden, battle continued three hours. USA reinforcements arrived, CSA retreated, fighting all day to reach river. They evacuated camp during night and withdrew into Tennessee. Casualties: CSA 125 killed, 309 wounded and 99 missing; USA 39 killed and 207 wounded. Large quantity of supplies abandoned by CSA, as well as 150 wagons and more than 1,000 horses and mules. Battle also called Logan's Cross Roads or Fishing Creek. Aftermath The way was opened for the Union to advance into Eastern Tennessee. Lack of provisions, bad roads and difficulty of crossing river made such advance impractical. Gen. Thomas' command joined Gen. Buell's Union force in move on Nashville. This Mill Springs victory with defeat of Brig. Gen. Humphrey Marshall by USA Col. James A. Garfield in the Big Sandy Valley broke the right section of the Confederate Defense Line. Thus began a series of events bringing Union control of Kentucky and upper Miss. River in first year of war."

The museum had a locally produced 20 minute video about the battle, which I thought was quite good quality.  You have the option to skip it, but you'll get more out of the museum if you sit through it.  I was more impressed though with the quality of items on display.  Many were actually recovered from the Mill Springs Battlefield area.  I've been to one too many museums where the displays were only 'this is an example or replica of the type of item that would have been carried by soldiers in the war.' So it was cool to not only see 'the real thing', but also to see items recovered from nearby.  Most of the items had little plaques that said whether the item was recovered from Mill Springs or, if not, who was loaning it to the museum and where that person lived (usually from persons in Pulaski County).  I really appreciated that attention to detail.

During the summer the museum is open seven days a week from 10am to 4pm.  From October to April they are open Tuesdays through Saturday 10am to 4pm, closed on Mondays and only open on Sundays from 1:00pm to 4:00pm.

If you are in the area, I recommend stopping by.  It seemed like they could use the traffic.

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Later that day we also went to the National Cemetery next door.  We took my grandfather with us to visit his brother's grave.  When I asked him if he wanted to ride out to the cemetery with us he was really excited.  So I knew he really wanted to go, because he flat out refuses to go anywhere he doesn't want to. He told me he hadn't been out to see his brother's grave since the 1970's.

Here's the headstone:

Augustus Quinton Decker, known as Quint to his family, but Gus or "Guts" to his fellow Marines, carried a flamethrower in the Pacific Theatre in WWII.  He was killed on Okinawa on May 10, 1945.  One of my grandfather's favorite storytelling topics is talking about how tough Quint was.  When he speaks about him you can tell he really admired his big brother.  I'm glad I got the chance to take him out to see Quinton's grave after so many years and hear all of my grandfather's stories about him again.  (I even got to hear a new one.)  And I'm glad my boyfriend got to hear them too, because I can never do them any justice.

Savannah's Colonial Park Cemetery

My boyfriend, sister and I traveled to Savannah last month, and one place we visited was Colonial Park Cemetery.  Located in Savannah's Historic District, the burial ground dates back to the 1820 Yellow Fever outbreak in the South....

 From the Baltimore Patriot on September 27, 1820:

Charleston, Sept. 19.

Yellow Fever! -- We sincerely regret to inform the Public that several cases of this dreadful disorder have appeared in our City.  Three interments have already been made, the subjects of which died of it, and there are two more persons now ill of the same disorder.-- These persons are all strangers to the climate.--Times.

Accounts from Savannah, represent that place to be in a dreadful situation, from the prevalence of Yellow Fever--200 persons left the City on the 15th inst.--from 12 to 15 die daily--19 persons were buried on the 14th inst. and it was supposed there were then from 2 to 300 lying sick.  It is said "from Tuesday afternoon, at 9 o'clock, till Wednesday morning, 8 o'clock (a space of 29 hours) 49 persons were taken sick, and (on Friday) many of them were silently reposing in the grave"--City Gaz.

Yellow Fever in Newbern--A gentleman from Newbern yesterday, (says the Washington, N.C. paper of the 8th inst.) brings the melancholy intelligence of this dreadful malady having been introduced into that place by a vessel from the West Indies.--Ib.

BOARD OF HEALTH.

Charleston, Sept. 19th, 1820.

The Board of Health sincerely regret that they are compelled to announce to their fellow citizens, that YELLOW FEVER does exist within the city.-- Three deaths have occurred within the last few days, and there are three new cases reported.  The persons who have died were strangers to the climate as are those who are sick of the disease.  By order of the Board,

DANIEL STEVENS, Chairman.

Most of the graves are no longer marked because the headstones have broken.  The broken markers have been placed upon a nearby wall...

Very cool cemetery, I highly recommend it if you like this sort of thing.  I hope one day we'll get to tour Bonaventure, but we didn't have the money to spend on that this time...

Leased Cemetery Plots in Cuban Cemetery

From The San Francisco Call of San Francisco, California on April 24, 1904: 

San Franciso Call, April 24, 1904

Havana's Golgotha 

When Americans visit Havana they are confronted with many peculiar customs.  One of the most startling and revolting is that which prevails in regard to the dead.  Colon Cemetery, a beautiful burial ground, laid out in romantic walks, arched with superb trees and adorned with costly monuments and classic cenotaphs, is the last home for all, grandee and peasant alike. 

The rainbow effects of the city's architecture are carried out here, as revealed in the various colors of the crosses which mark the graves; but suddenly, and without warning, the vision is astonished with a grotesque contrast, which is truly a shocking commentary upon civilization. 

It appears that the ground in this cemetery is leased, not sold, and if after a term of five years the renewal rent is not paid the dead forfeit their resting places.  The bodies are ruthlessly dug up and cast into a common heap, exposed to public view along with thousands of other skulls and bones of men, women, and children who can never be traced by posterity.

June 31st - Gravestone

       CLACKUM

William Clackum  |   Jane Clackum

June 31, 1850      |   Sept 13, 1852

May 28, 1904      |   May 10, 1931

    Gone, but not forgotten

Gravestone located in Citizens Cemetery, Marietta, GA

William's birthdate according to this gravestone is June 31, which is not a real date. I think it should say June 3, 1850. In the book The First Hundred Years: A Short History of Cobb County, in Georgia by Sarah B. G. Temple, published in 1934, there is a transcription of all graves in this cemetery, Citizens Cemetery, Marietta, at that time. She transcribes this grave as: "W. R. Clackum June 3, 1850 May 28, 1904". 

Although the book was published in 1934, the author undertook the task of trying to compile and publish a comprehensive transcription of all cemeteries in Cobb County at the time, which likely took several years to accomplish.    Jane Clackum's grave is not listed in the book despite dying in 1931.  It is reasonable to assume she died during the same time period as the author was transcribing these graves and therefore didn't make the book. Perhaps there was a different headstone at that time for William, and it was replaced when Jane died to give them a joint headstone. Reasons I think there was a different headstone is because the birth date differs, and secondly, his name is not transcribed in Temple's book as being written out William as it is in the above pictured headstone. Instead his initials are given, whereas his middle initial does not even appear on the present gravestone.

Burial of Leon Czolgosz, Quicklime and Sulphuric Acid

After Czolgosz's execution, government officials wanted to destroy his corpse in order to negate relic hunters. Those tasked with destroying Czolgosz's body first used quicklime to hasten deterioration, but later decided to pour sulphuric acid into his grave to completely destroy the corpse. However, there was a small controversy over the effectiveness of this method, as illustrated from the following clipping from the Richmond Dispatch of Richmond, VA, printed November 2, 1901.

Warden Mead Made A Mistake

Czolgosz's Body May Be In Plaster Cast

New York Herald. It is possible that if the body of Leon Czolgosz were exhumed today it would be found well preserved in a plaster of paris cast instead of having been dissolved and disintegrated by the action of the quicklime and vitriol with which it was covered when interred in the prison burial lot at Auburn on Tuesday afternoon.  It had been determined by Warden Mead and Superintendent Cornelius V. Collins to bury the body in a bed of quicklime, so that no trace of the assassin should remain as a possible incentive to relic hunters.

To make certain Warden Mead a few days before Czolgosz was executed placed a piece of raw beef in a jar containing an equal amount of quicklime, but when the Warden opened the jar he was surprised to find the meat practically in the same condition.

Warden Mead and Superintendent Collins then decided to add to the mass of quicklime over Czolgosz body a quantity of vitriol.

This was done. When the body was interred on Tuesday afternoon a layer of quicklime had already been placed in the grave. On this the coffin, the lid of which had been removed, was laid, and the body was then covered with two barrels of quicklime.

Over this a carboy of vitriol, or sulphuric acid was poured, two more barrels of quicklime was thrown in, and over all the earth was shovelled until the grave was filled.

It was anticipated that as a result of the action of the sulphuric acid and the quicklime the body would be dissolved within twelve hours, but it is improbable that this has been the case.

When quicklime and sulphuric acid are combined, the chemical result is plaster of paris and water.  This is the chemical formula:

Ca O plus H2 SO4 equals Ca SO4 plus H2O.  Ca O is the quicklime, H2 SO4 the sulphuric acid, Ca SO4 the plaster of paris resulting from the chemical combination, and H2O the water left over, which, in the course of time, would evaporate.

"It is entirely possible that Czolgosz's body is enclosed in a plaster of paris cast, said Professor Charles F. Chandler, of the College of Physicians and Surgeons and of the University of New York, last night.

"Plaster of Paris would result from the combination of the sulphuric acid and quicklime, but to have the effect of each of them as a solvent entirely neutralized it would be necessary that they should have been combined in exactly the right proportions.

"There is undoubtedly a large amount of plaster of paris surrounding Czolgosz's body if he was buried in the manner described by the newspapers, but there was undoubtedly either too much sulphuric acid or too much quicklime, probably the latter, to make a perfect chemical combination of the entire mass.  There would be enough of either the quicklime or sulphuric acid left over to dissolve the body in the course of time.

"In order to make a plaster of paris cast it would be necessary that there should be ninety-eight parts of the acid to fifty-six parts of the lime--that is, if the acid were absolutely pure.  The vitriol of commerce, however, contains about six and one-half parts of water to ninety-three and one-half parts of pure acid.

"A carboy, as I remember, contains about 150 pounds, which would not be sufficient to entirely neutralize the quantity of quicklime with which the body was covered.  Quicklime would not, under any circumstances dissolve the body in twenty-four hours, but there is undoubtedly enough of it left to do the desired work int he course of time."

This letter, bearing on the matter, was received by the Herald yesterday:

To the Editor of the Herald:
I have just been reading about the cremation of the assassin Czolgosz, and the way Warden Mead expects to destroy the body.  If your account is correct Warden Mead evidently did not know that his modus operandi will cause the body to be kept forever preserved in a matrix of sulphate of lime or plaster of paris, and that he might as well have placed the body in alcohol.

Of course, the action of the oil of vitriol on the lime will produce intense heat, but probably the body will be preserved by that very fact, as the vapor produced around the body will act as a protective layer, or cushion, between it and the surrounding quick-setting plaster of paris.

All this is very elementary, and a tyro* in chemistry could have pointed that out to Warden Mead.  His purpose would have surely been attained with the oil of vitriol alone, or, better, with a strong soda lye (a solution of caustic soda or potash), the latter having been used by a certain criminal in Chicago to effectively destroy the body of his wife.

Newark, N.J., October 30, 1901
CHEMIST

* A tyro is a beginner/novice