Author: Paul Siedel – The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable

Daniel Stearns and the Barking Dog Regiment

A Civil War Tale from Northeast Ohio

By Paul Siedel
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2022, All Rights Reserved

Several weeks ago, while strolling through the Battle of Franklin Museum in Franklin, Tennessee, I happened upon one of the exhibits titled “Harvey: Company Companion and Comrade.” The exhibit was about a soldier who enlisted in the army and brought along his dog, Harvey. The soldier’s name was Daniel Stearns, and being from the west side of Cuyahoga County, I thought I’d ask the person at the desk where Daniel Stearns had enlisted, there being a Stearns Road near where I grew up. The computer spit out the information on the soldier in question. It said that Stearns enlisted near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which is not what I wanted to hear.

Some Vanished Villages of Cuyahoga County and Their Civil War Heritage

By Paul Siedel
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2023, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in The Charger in January 2023.

As one looks at a map of Cuyahoga County today, it’s hard to imagine how the county was originally laid out. Cuyahoga County, like all others in northeast Ohio, was laid out on the township plan. There were 19 original townships in the county, and all except two still exist in one form or another. They and the villages that sprung up within them served as recruiting stations and state militia headquarters during the Civil War. Most of these villages and towns have been swallowed up by the mile after mile of urban sprawl that today constitutes greater Cleveland. But with careful examination it is possible to identify several of them. These villages usually sprung up around mills, crossroads, or railroad junctions.

A Tour of the Seven Days Battlefields

By Paul Siedel
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2022, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in The Charger in October 2022.

While trolling through the web one day last April I came across an ad for a tour of the Seven Days battlefields sponsored by Woodbury Tours and directed by Mr. Bobby Krick, one of the foremost historians of the Seven Days Battles. As I had never studied this series of battles, I decided to attend. The tour lasted two days, June 11 and 12, 2022, so on June 10 I packed my car and my dog and headed for the Richmond Airport, where our hotel was located. That evening we congregated for pizza, drinks, and a lecture by Mr. Doug Crenshaw, author of the book Richmond Shall Not Be Given Up: The Seven Days Battles, June 25 – July 1, 1862. We all received a signed copy of the book and discussed our adventure of the next two days. The next morning we all got together for breakfast, and Mr. Krick introduced himself. He explained our agenda, and we were off at 8:15.

A Review of Robert E. Lee: A Life by Allen C. Guelzo

By Paul Siedel
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2022, All Rights Reserved

Editor’s note: This article was originally published in The Charger in April 2022.

In deference to the recent controversy concerning Robert E. Lee and his monuments, I decided to purchase a recent book by Allen Guelzo, a senior research scholar at the Council of Humanities at Princeton University. The title of the book is Robert E. Lee: A Life. Although I have read several biographies of Lee, in the past they tended to overlook many of the questions one may have, especially those questions concerning his decision to side with the Confederacy in 1861. The author does a tremendous amount of research concerning Lee’s boyhood, his appointment to West Point, his military career, his frustration with the U.S. Army, his stellar performance in the Mexican-American War, and finally his assault on John Brown at Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859.

A Visit to the H.L. Hunley and a Dose of Southern Culture

By Paul Siedel
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2016, All Rights Reserved

Every year it happens; we receive invitations to fundraisers for our pet causes and each year we say, “Next year I’m going to do this.” Well, this year was my year to take in the annual “Friends of the Hunley” barbecue and oyster roast in Charleston, South Carolina. What an experience it was!

The Bower: A Surprising Find

By Paul Siedel
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2017, All Rights Reserved

Last June, while attending the Civil War Institute in Gettysburg, I decided to take a detour on my way home and look for a house called “The Bower.” Located somewhere between Martinsburg and Charlestown, West Virginia, it was, during the Civil War, owned by the Dandridge Family, and the house was offered by them to General Jeb Stuart to serve as his headquarters during the autumn of 1862 shortly after the Battle of Antietam.

Whatever Happened to Camp Cleveland?

By Paul Siedel
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2017, All Rights Reserved

The largest Civil War training camp in Northeast Ohio was Camp Cleveland, located in the Tremont neighborhood just to the south of downtown Cleveland. Along with the U.S. General Hospital it covered approximately 80 acres and according to the Encyclopedia of Cleveland History eventually trained 15,230 U.S. troops. It also served as a transit camp for troops moving from one front to another and housed two groups of Confederate prisoners. Camp Cleveland was, however, the only west side facility. Camps Wood, Taylor, Tod and Brown were located along Woodland Avenue between East 55th and Ontario Street. Today, this is the route of the Innerbelt freeway.

Peter Diemer & Curtis Phillips: The Last Civil War Veterans From Cuyahoga County

By Paul Siedel
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2016, All Rights Reserved

Not too long ago while visiting the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument in downtown Cleveland, Ohio I overheard a docent telling someone that the last Civil War veteran from Cuyahoga County died in 1943. His name was Peter Diemer.

Civil War Travelogue

By Paul Siedel
The Cleveland Civil War Roundtable
Copyright © 2017, All Rights Reserved

A Visit to Fort Jackson

Another Civil War site off the beaten path and one that is well worth visiting is the National Historic site incorporating Fort Jackson at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Fort Jackson is located about 60 miles southeast of New Orleans on Rt. 23. An easy drive down Rt. 23 affords one a good picture of the agriculture, orange groves, cattle farms and oil industry that make up much of the state’s economy. Also located along the route is “Woodland Plantation” where David Farragut stopped and spent the night. The Woodland Plantation House is famous in its own right as it is the house that is featured on the label of Southern Comfort Whiskey. The plantation is also a nice place to stop and have lunch if one is so inclined.