Bugle Briefs

Naming of new I-65 bridge must wait
to be considered another legislative day

An effort to name the new I-65 bridge in Louisville “The Abraham Lincoln Memorial Bridge” has failed.

Bill HJR57, referred to the Kentucky Transportation Department, Feb. 5, was not acted upon during the recent legislative session.

Filed by State Rep. Tom Burch, the bill – if passed – would have assigned the Lincoln name to the new downtown bridge between Louisville and Southern Indiana. The Lincoln Heritage Trail Alliance spearheaded the effort to name the new Ohio River crossing which is scheduled to be opened in April 2016.

The bridge initially will carry both northbound and southbound traffic when it opens while a new deck on the Kennedy Bridge is being constructed. When all work is complete on the Downtown Crossing, the new bridge will carry six lanes of northbound I-65 traffic and the Kennedy Bridge will be renovated to carry six lanes of southbound I-65 traffic.

Did someone move the Mason-Dixon Line?

In a previous issue, it was reported in The Bugle that a Union monument in Vanceburg was the only such tribute to be posted to the Yankees below the Mason-Dixon line.

Not so, reader Eddie Jansen informs us. He reports that Baltimore has a Union Soldiers and Sailors monument located at the foot of a public park. Maryland, he points out, is south of the Mason-Dixon boundary.

“A lot of people think the Mason-Dixon Line runs between Virginia and Maryland,” he wrote. “The Mason-Dixon Line runs between Maryland and Pennsylvania.”

One of Jansen’s ancestors fought with the Union’s 3rd Kentucky.

It pays to weigh your words carefully

Robert Gay, a 27-year-old school teacher from Clay County, Ind., was captured by the Confederate Army at the 1862 Battle of Richmond. Gay declared allegiance to the Confederacy to escape further military service. However, that didn’t sit well with Union officials.

Gay was convicted of treason and was executed by a 20-man firing squad just south of Camp Morton near Indianapolis. That occurred just after he apologized for what he had done.


BORA seeks funds for ordnance rifle

The Battle of Richmond Association (BORA) is seeking funds for the first artillery piece at its battlefield park.

BORA hopes to raise $20,000 to purchase a non-firing, full-scale replica 3-inch Ordnance Rifle to be placed on the Visitors Center grounds. The Association also hopes to raise sufficient funds to add a limber and limber chest.

Those interested should contact Madison County Historic Properties Director Phillip Seyfrit at 859-624-0013 or by e-mail at phillip.seyfrit@madisoncountyky.us.

Re-enacting, teaching presentation set for Louisville

“How-to” month at Louisville’s Fern Creek Branch Library will include a Civil War presentation on May 23. Participants at the free event will learn how to get involved in re-enacting and teaching period history. Instruction includes how to get into character and become a person from the past as part of learning to make a person of history come alive. Participants will try on clothing and learn first hand how it feels to be in the clothing of their ancestors. Pamphlets on clothing and items from the period are included in the one hour-presentation. There is also a five-seven minute video. Call 606-356-7216 for more information.

Quantrill rode to his death at Taylorsville

Some five miles south of Taylorsville, there’s a marker on State Route 55 indicating where Confederate guerrilla William Quantrill began the journey to his death.

Quantrill, a one-time school teacher, pirate, cattle-rustler and slave catcher, commanded a 450-man cavalry unit that ravaged communities and citizens in Kansas and Missouri. He’ll always be remembered for destroying the abolitionist community of Lawrence, Kan.

In 1865, as the Civil War declined, he fled to Kentucky. But Edwin Terrell, a bounty hunter, formed an ambush on May 10 near Taylorsville and, in the gun battle, Quantrill was paralyzed by a shot to his spine. He was taken to Louisville where he lingered in agony for a month before dying.

Lincoln moaned loss of 58 horses

John Singleton Mosby, the Confederacy’s legendary “Gray Ghost,” once raided a Fairfax, Va., home and absconded with Brig. Gen. Edwin Stoughton, two Union captains, 30 enlisted men and 58 horses.

The pre-dawn raid was considered one of the greatest coups of the Civil War.

President Lincoln, upon learning of the March 1863 event, had an interesting observation.

“I don’t mind the loss of the brigadier as much as the horses,” he said. “I can make a much better general in five minutes, but the horses cost $125 apiece.”

California follows Kentucky in encouraging youngsters

California’s Pismo Beach has caught on to what Kentucky sites have been doing for some time – encouraging young people to participate in Civil War events.

Approximately 150 eighth-graders from Judkins Middle School participated in the ninth annual Civil War Encampment, March 20. The event included drills, a ball, guard duty and living history presentations.

Social studies teacher Terry Handy is the force behind the event. He’s also a 38-year veteran of Civil War re-enactments.

Fort Blakeley battle attracts 150-plus re-enactors

A re-enactment of what many consider the last battle of the Civil War was conducted March 26 at Blakeley State Park in Mobile, Ala., with more than 150 re-enactors honoring the conflict’s sesquicentennial.

The Battle of Fort Blakeley was fought April 9, 1865, just hours after Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse, Va. The battle pitted some 16,000 Union troops against about 3,500 Confederates during the late afternoon.

After being overwhelmed by federal soldiers in a fierce battle, about 250 Confederate soldiers were killed, more than 2,000 were wounded and nearly 3,400 were taken prisoner. The Union forces sustained about 600 killed and wounded.

An article in the May 27, 1865 issue of Harper’s Weekly stated,  “It was probably the last charge of the war and as gallant as any on record.”