Chronological History of the American Civil War

P a g e | 304

small stone markers placed at each mile post, with larger stones markers bearing the coats of arms of Penn and Baltimore at five-mile intervals. In ensuing years many markers fell or were appropriated by settlers. In 1900 through 1902, the line was resurveyed and stabilized. Between the Revolution and the Civil War, the line acquired additional significance as the border between Northern states that had eliminated African slavery and Southern states that retained the institution. In 1820 Missouri, west of the Mississippi River, was admitted as a slave state, with slavery prohibited in the remaining territory north of 36”30’. Immediately prior to the Civil War, Southern slave-holding states were called Dixie and although many reasons given for this name, one of the most popular is that it was derived from the word Dixon. The term Mason-Dixon Line has continued in use in the twentieth first century to distinguish between Northern and Southern states of the American Union. “Taps” compose, arguably, the most recognizable and emotionally charged music ever played on a bugle. Although, we usually associate Taps with military funerals, that was not always the case. Originally, Taps was intended to signal lights out, but it was not long before it was co-opted as an important part of military funerals in America. According to most accounts of the history of Taps, soon after the tune was written in 1862, it was first used in a funeral ceremony. At that time, the call for lights out was a French tune called Extinguish Lights, but Union General Daniel Butterfield felt this was too formal. Instead, he wanted a more soothing call to tell his men that the day was over, so he turned to an old, unused tune called Scott's Tattoo. The term tattoo was derived from an old Dutch military word which meant it was time to turn off the beer taps and return to camp. Union General Daniel Butterfield and his brigade’s bugler, Oliver Wilcox Norton changed it somewhat, lengthening some notes and shortening others. Taps spread quickly within the Army of the Potomac, and soon saw widespread use as the call to lights out. Within a few months, it had become common to use Taps during funeral services. The tune also quickly gained widespread use for lights out in the Confederate Armies, and roughly ten months after it was written, Taps was played at the funeral service of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson. Shoe Manufacturing during the Civil War A few facts you might not know about the Great American Civil War. Shoes were as vital to the soldier as his gun. Before the war, the New England shoe industry was ranked with textile manufacturing, taking second place only to farming. In Massachusetts, 23,000 men and 15,000 women were employed. In 1837, close to three million pairs of men’s boots and shoes were produced in the central part of the state alone. 1800’s skilled craftsmen did work on shoes by hand. Then several American inventors developed machines to perform the tasks specific to shoe making. Elias Howe invented the sewing machine, it was adapted for use in stitching the upper parts of shoes. Then in 1858, Lyman R. Blake patented a machine for sewing together soles and uppers. Forty percent of Civil War shoes were made with the sole attached using wooden pegs, rather than sewn on. The myth that soldiers were issued two shoes void of “rights and lefts” is just that...a myth. Army uniform regulations, as well as government contracts throughout the entire war, specifically called for RIGHTS AND LEFTS; government inspectors from 1861 to 1865 scrutinized this. January 1862, Colonel Crossman, Assistant Quartermaster General (U.S.) purchased 1,102,700 pairs of shoes from contractors all over the North. One manufacturer, faced with the fact that he had supplied shoes that foot soldiers wore out in three weeks replied, “But those shoes were supposed to go to the Cavalry.” Really, it is in the Congressional Record. The largest Union pair of shoes made on record still exists. They were a pair of brogans, size 17. Three pairs were specially manufactured for a large Swedish draftee. The shoes never reached him. A target of his size was just too tempting, and the Confederates killed him before his custom-made shoes got to him. Most Confederate shoes came through the blockade and were made much in the fashion of an English military boot and of riveted or nailed construction. In Georgia, textile mills Origination of "Taps" A few facts you might not know about the Great American Civil War. The twenty-four notes of