Notes and Queries

NOTES AND QUERIES Edited by Boyd B. Stutler 517 Main Street Charleston, West Virginia this department is designed as an open forum for researchers into Civil War themes and for readers of CtüiZ War History in general. It is open for questions on and discussions of phases of the Great Conflict and its personnel. Also, we welcome notes on newly discovered, little known, or other sidelights of the war. Contributions are invited; address Notes and Queries Editor. QUERIES No. 83—Salvaging the C.S.S. Muscogee: The Georgia Historical Commission, in conjunction with the Columbus Chamber of Commerce, is in process of salvaging the C.S.S. Muscogee . The ship sank in the Chattahoochee River following the capture of Columbus, Georgia, by Federal troops on April 16, 1865. The vessel is now in the river at the Fort Benning Army Reservation. Volunteer workers from the City of Columbus and Fort Benning have donated time and energy to this project. When raised, we hope the boat will become the nucleus for a Confederate Naval Museum to be located in Columbus. We are very much interested in locating further information about the Muscogee, which was built at the Columbus Naval Iron Works under the direction of Lieutenant Augustus McLaughlin and Chief EngineerJames H. Warner. This ironclad never saw action but, should it be raised successfully, it will illuminate further the accomplishments of the Confederate Navy. Query: Does any one have information on, or correspondence of, James H. Warner, Augustus McLaughlin, Catesby ap R. Jones, or any others, that might give us more information about the C.S.S. Muscogee? We are especially interested in details about her building, description of the vessel, etc. Julia Todd Edbaugh (Historian) 80 No. 84—Charles F. Rand and his Decorations: Charles F. Rand, of Batavia, New York, a private in Company K, 12th New York Infantry, was awarded the Army Medal of Honor for his action at Blackbums Ford, Virginia, on July 18, 1861. Yet the Medal was not actually awarded until October 23, 1897, when Dr. Rand received the prized decoration from President William McKinley. An old newspaper clipping, not dated, tells of Dr. Rand's attendance at a Presidential reception: "He wore a decoration that outshone in brilliancy and honored value any of the thousand decorations worn upon that occasion. It was suspended at the neck by a heavy ribbon and was composed of the national colors in gemsrubies , diamonds and sapphires—which was presented to him as commander of the Order of the First Volunteer. He had been for the past thirty years the acknowledged first volunteer in the war, the first soldier of the Republic. He took the lead and was followed by 2,886,000 men, who brought peace to the land." My questions are: ( 1 ) Was there a formal organization such as the Order of the First Volunteer; (2) what does this fantastic decoration look like, and is it known to exist today, and (3) where is Dr. Rand's Medal of Honor at this present time? Gary C. Krug No. 85—A Reported Pseudo General Gilbert at Perrysvitte: In researching for a book about strange people and strange occurrences in the Civil War, I have come upon a story about a man named Gilbert. He reputedly donned a brigadier general's uniform, walked into General Buell's headquarters and presented a letter to the general from the governor of Kentucky which was mistaken for a commission in the state volunteers. Because Buell was short of generals, he put Gilbert in command of a brigade. On the very next day Gilbert participated in the battle of Perrysville and pretty thoroughly botched his role in it. It later turned out, so the story goes, that Gilbert had never before been in a soldier's uniform. We know that a general officer named Gilbert had a field command at Perrysville, but he was a well-known regular officer of the U.S. Army. Brigadier General Charles C. Gilbert, of Ohio, a West Point graduate, commanded the 3rd Corps. (Phil Sheridan was one of his division commanders .) His battle performance at Perrysville won praise in all official reports. I have combed the...