Outreach Program Planned for Fort Fisher-- Part 2: A Walk and a Presentation

Fort Fisher Interpreter and Education and Outreach Coordinator  Kaitlin O'Connor will lead tours of the fort Saturday, January 7, 2023, at 11 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and  3 p.m..  She will talk about Blacks and Indians who built the fort as well as the contributions of Blacks at the battle itself.

The tour lasts for about half an hour and covers less than half a mile of paved trail.  Tickets are $5 at the door.

In the exhibit hall there will be a tabletop display from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with staff to talk about some of the aforementioned topics.

On January 8, she will present "Tis Grand to Know:  People of the Wilmington Campaign" at the  Main Branch of the New Hanover County Library at 3 p.m..  The free presentation will offer a fresh overview of the Wilmington Campaign through an examination of the diverse people caught up in it.

--Old B-Runner

Outreach Series Planned at Fort Fisher-- Part 1

From the December 29, 2022, WECT (Wilmington, N.C.) "Education and outreach series to include guided tours of Fort Fisher, presentation at New Hanover Co. library."

The series is called "Dwell with Gratitude and Pride:  New Perspectives on the Wilmington Campaign."  This will include a tour of Fort Fisher on Saturday, January 7.

The series will feature weekly educational events at various lcations throughout the county and will explore the diverse experiences of people swept into the Union's campaign to capture Wilmington after the fall of Fort Fisher on January 15, 1865.  Wilmington fell on February 22, 1865.

Black, white,  Asian, Indigenous  and Hispanic people were involved.  Participants can learn about those experiences through guided tours, speakers and costumed interpretation programs according to the North Carolina Department of Natiral and Cultural Resources.

--Old B-Runner

Black Navy Veteran David Franklin Finally Gets His Gravestone-- Part 3

Of interest, records show that David Franklin enlisted in the hospital corps of the 2nd Regiment of the Washington National Guard Infantry in 1906.  (Quite an elderly age to be doing that.)

According to census records, Franklin died March 16, 1920, at age 79 at home on South 4th Street.

His death certificate shows that he was a widower, but no other records have been found that he had a wife or children.  They are still looking for family descendants.

The discovery of  Franklin came about when Bures was trying to identify every single Union veteran buried in Pierce County.  He was aided by a 1939  survey conducted by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a Depression-era New Deal agency aimed at employing people for government projects.

WPA workers created  biographical cards for all war veterans of Pierce County.  The original cards are stored in the Tacoma  Public Library.  About 75% of the 2,000 cards are of Civil War veterans.

--Old B-Runner

Confirmation on James H. Tomb's Sons? --Part 1

I sure spent a lot of time looking to see if there was a family connection between James H. Tomb, James Harvey Tomb and William Victor Tomb.  I did find one source at Wikiversity that said William Victor Tomb's father was James Hamilton Tomb.  He also had a brother who became a naval officer.  Could that be James Harvey Tomb?

I kept looking and then came across a site detailing some of the holdings of the University of North Carolina.  In it was:

COLLECTION NUMBER: 00723
COLLECTION TITLE:  JAMES HAMILTON TOMB PAPERS, 1855-1936

It takes up .5 linear feet of space and contains approximately 350 items.

James Hamilton Tomb was the chief engineer in the Confederate and Brazilian  navies and an officer  of the Norfolk and Western Railroad.  The collection contains the papers of two generations of naval officers.

Two generations.  That would be a confirmation for William Victor Tomb, but what about James Harvey Tomb?  He would also be the second generation.

--Still Looking.  --Old B-Runner

Bennett W. Green-- Part 11: The Ghost and the Books

According to library records, his ghost once haunted the University  of Virginia's Rotunda, which also served as the school's library until 1938.  When the books were moved to the new Alderman Library, Green's ghost  evidently followed.

Students and staff still report   unexplained footsteps and a sense that someone is watching them, particularly after midnight.  (A good time for ghosts.)

One of the Rotunda alleys is named after Green.

Like, Boo!!  --Old B-Runner

Bennett W. Green, CSN-- Part 10: Ghost?

From the UVA magazine (University of Virginia)  "Ghoulish Grounds" by Robert Viccellio.

The University of Virginia has a large collection of books and manuscripts with 5.1 million and 19.1 million archives.

The library, however, reportedly has two reports of ghosts.

And, one of them is Bennett W. Green.

As we know, Mr. Green was a surgeon in the Confederate Navy and quite a collector of books (and author as well).  His collection of books was donated to the UVA library after his death in Charlottesville.

Figuring He Is Ghosting Because of the School's Rejection of Its Confederate Heritage.  --Old B-Runner

George Henry Preble-- Part 7: Of Books, Documents and "The Star-Spangled Banner"

Preble was also a noted writer of naval and historical topics and collector of naval documents.  His extensive personal library of books and documents are in the George Henry Preble Collection at the Navy Department Library.

In 1868, he prepared a genealogical history of the Preble family which included a lot about his famous uncle Edward Preble and a defense of his actions that led to his dismissal from naval service.  In 1872, he published "A History of the American Flag.

At one time he also took care of the original "Star-Spangled Banner" that had flown over Fort McHenry in the War if 1812 and had it sewn to a piece of sailcloth to conserve it.  Plus, he also took the first photograph of it.

--Old B-R'er

Visit Wilmington's New Hanover County Library

From the December 22, 2017, Wilmington (NC) Star-News  "On the Map: Dig up the past in the North Carolina Room" by Ben Steelman.

The North Carolina Room has a local history collection consisting of 200,000 books and bound materials.

For Civil War buffs, one is a Union chart showing plans for the attack on Fort Fisher.

They also have several runs of old Wilmington newspapers, some covering the Civil War years.

--Old B-Runner