What We Have Discovered
About Charles H. Jones



Click Here to See Primary Sources About the Life of Charles H. Jones.

Click on Any of the Following To See Individual Student Projects:
Projects About Charles Jones' Life as a Soldier in the Civil War
What Was Life in the Army Like When There Was No Fighting?
by Randy P.

What Was It Like
When There Was Fighting?

by Jake v.B.

How and Where Did
Charles Jones Catch Malaria?

By Chelsea T.

Charles Jones At the
Battle of Fredericksburg

by Michael B.

The Battle of Gettysburg
by Shaina B.

Jones' Experience At the Battle of the Peach Orchard
by Atticus R.

Jones' Experience at the
Battle of Cold Harbor

by Sabrina R.

The Weapons of the Civil War
by Ashley R.

Why Did Charles Jones
Desert From the Army?

by Tucker W.

Projects About Charles Jones' Civilian Life
What Was Charles Jones' Childhood Like?
by Nicole F.

What Was Childbirth
Like in the 1800s?

by Amy F.

What Is Malaria?
by Jenna C
.
How Was Malaria
Treated in the 1800s?

by Becca D.C.

Why Did Some of the
Jones Children Die?

by Patrick O.

What Was Charles Jones'
Army Pension Worth?

by Trever B.

What Was Charles Jones'
Estate Worth?

by Siobhan K.







Civil War Camp Life


- Researched by Randy P.




What Equipment Were the Privates in the Union Army Responsible For?


The infantry carried a rifled musket, cartridge box, cap box, leather belt,canteen and a mess kit all normally stored in a nap sack.


Did Privates Have Any Say in Strategy Before a Battle?


Privates in the army because they were the lowest ranking among army members and were normally just farmers, painters or other towns people they didn’t know much about warfare.



What Were The Living Conditions of a Union Soldier?


In the summer the union soldiers lived in tents 2 men per tent, each man was given a half of a tent that could be joined with another soldiers tent when they made a camp in a
new place if they were marching for a long distance and needed to stop for the night, If the army had an odd number of soldiers then one soldier would be left with half a tent and would not be very happy, While some richer
camps in Virginia were given large 10 person tents. During winter some soldiers still slept in tents but any soldier with access to wood made a crude log cabin out of full grown trees chopped down with an ax then split and stack on top of each other. Officers ( high ranking soldiers ) normally were given one of the 10 person tents to split between 5 guys or so and each officer was given more space then even needed and sometimes given furniture!


Union tents were normally overcrowded
Union tents were normally overcrowded (rich camp, Virginia)



Modern Civil War re-enactors in front of a Union army tent
Union tents fit 2 men - They could be split in half and each half was given to a soldier.
Photo source - http://www.monroe.k12.fl.us/kls/DepthClass/Olustee/union%20soldiers%20infront%20of%20tent.jpg




How Did Union Soldiers Dress During the War?

They wore heavy blue wool uniforms, normally carried a heavy pack, brown belt, gold buttons and medals (depending on rank).



Did the Soldiers Want to Fight?


Some of the men were scared to fight but they still wanted to fight because they were doing almost nothing ¾ of there time in the army. While some med just wanted to fight for what they believed
was right and to prove to the south that they were more superior. 



Was Alcohol Common in the Union Army?

Alcohol was not allowed in the army but men often found ways of getting it into their camps. In one of the New Hampshire camps a soldier hollowed out a watermelon and put a bottle of
whiskey inside of it, smuggled it into the camp and buried it under the ground in his tent and drank through it with a long straw.



Was Tobacco Common in the Union Army?


Many soldiers chewed tobacco in the war. Tobacco was stored in twists that look a little bit like a piece of old rope.



What Did Soldiers in the Union Army Get Paid?


Union soldiers got paid about 6 dollars a month if they were a private. White people got paid more then black people even though the black people were the reason the Union was at war with the south because the Union wanted to give all black people freedom.



How Did the Union Soldiers Pass the Time When There Was No Fighting?

One way soldiers passed the time was by gambling. They gambled on anything card games. board games, cock fights, baseball, lice races and boxing matches. Once they were done gambling the religious soldiers often prayed because they believed gambling was a sin and evil. Some soldiers wrote letters to their family. Other than that most soldiers just sat around and did nothing until the high ranking officers gave them an order.


What Were Some of the Duities of a Private in the Union Army?

When armies were not in battles ( ¾ ) of the time part of the free time was spend preparing for a battle. They’d dig trenches to hide in or clean guns and equipment and at least once a day depending on which camp they’d do drills to keep the soldiers in line.


Did Union Soldiers Write Any Letters?

Writing and receiving letters through the mail was a huge part in men’s life when he was fighting. It boosted a soldier up to hear his lover talking about missing him and wanting to see him. For the men who could read and write it was considered the most exciting part of camp life to be still connected slightly to the outside world.


What Was Army Food Like?

The food changed through out the war but at one point they ate these things Beef jerky, chicken, purlough, crawdads, hard tack, corn chowder, hoe cake and anything they could find in the wilderness.


Did Some Men Stoop As Low With Their Boredom That They'd Hire Prostitutes?


Yes, When some men had free time and some money they’d go  in any town or city and buy “horizontal refreshments “ or as some stated “Riding a Dutch gal” which was basically saying that they went to the whore house which was called a brothel.


Did Soldiers Whittle?


Almost ever single soldier in the army whittled it was a past time that many enjoyed. Most men whittled wood for fun and didn’t really make anything but some men where expert crafters making rings,
spoons, forks, knives an even the medals that high class officers were made of the bones of the enemies that are take from battlefield once its over.

Bone ring carved by a Civil War soldier
Bone ring made by army men during the civil war in times of peace probably sold for money.

What did they use to play card games with?

The Union soldiers made cards from trees cutting them really thin and coloring numbers and suites on them with any kind of dye that they had. They used flattened old bullets as poker chips if they didn’t want to risk any of their own money. They played poker, checkers, chess and dominos. The soldiers that did gamble their money either gained a lot of extra money or they lost a lot of money. Games also created hostility between camp members.


Bibliography

http://www.kidport.com/RefLib/UsaHistory/CivilWar/CampLife.hmm

http://www.civilwarhome.com/civilwararmies.htm

http://www.cr.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/gettex/exb/2art2b.htm
 
http://www.gamblingtimes.com/civil/camplife.htm
 
http://www.swcivilwar.com/cw/.htm

dictionary of the civil war
 
visual dictionary of  the civil war









Life on the Battlefield


- A Fictional New Story by Jake v.B.


All the women whose husbands have gone off to fight for the Union Army may wonder what he is doing while there? What is it like for him to be fighting on the battlefield? Well that’s where I come in, I would tell them that life isn’t exactly a picnic for their husbands, they are out fighting for a belief, and it’s not always easy. My focus is going to be what life was like in battle for the New Hampshire soldiers.

            We have been getting major support from other countries during this war, within the whole Union Army, 75% of them are USA born, the other 25% are from other countries such as Ireland and Germany. These men bring diversity to the forces, with their native songs and foods, and by just giving the battlefields a new look. But the field was an ugly place, men died very quickly. One anonymous man said,

            “Generals fight like nothing else, and don’t care if their soldiers fall like leaves!” and another man commented on the generals at war saying,

            “They’re like little school boys fighting.” This may sound inaccurate, knowing that so many of your loved ones may be “falling like leaves” but they’re fighting for what they think is right. Also, the hospitals have been doing a good job, housing as many men as possible, and as one hospital pointed out, more of our men have been injured instead of killed, leading us to believe that most men are still alive somewhere. But how would we know when they were killed? On the battlefield when they were about to die they couldn’t identify themselves like screaming out ‘hey, my name is…” and once they had died on the fields, not many people would know them, because not many people were actually friends, just comrades. What they would do is, the night before a battle, men would all get a piece of paper, then on it they would write their names’ on it and pin it to their backs, this way, if they were to be killed, their names would be remembered.

             As mentioned before, not many people would know each other’s name, so how would a sergeant, or lieutenant, or corporal know what to call someone? If they didn’t know their name then they couldn’t be, “hey you” because it doesn’t sound right. So what they developed is a name, that could be used generally throughout the Union army, so that they’d have a name for soldiers, so the name for any common, average soldier is Billy Yank. For instance, in the picture to the left, this is a group of  “Billy Yanks” just lounging around in camp. If they were in a battle, a lieutenant could run up and say, “Hey Billy Yank, follow me” and they’d know the lieutenant was talking to them, because they’re a common soldier. On the subject of Billy Yank, do you know what they would wear in battle? Because I think anybody could find a newfound respect for the men if they saw what they were wearing in battle, The men started with an under layer of drawers, which were cotton pants, this was optional. Then, they also had an under layer of a shirt, usually a long sleeved woolen type shirt. After that was a vest, usually brought from home to wear. On their head they would be fashioning a “Forge Cap” which is issued, pretty comfortable, and a good place to collect something found. As you can see, the Billy Yanks in the picture given are wearing their forge caps. Their top layer of a shirt is what they’d call a sack coat, which is pretty much a type of coat that’s durable, cheap and easy to make. But they were only allowed to wear the sack coats on field duty. For their pants the men of lower class sport trousers, which are made of wool, and as you can see how the man in the right of the picture above has done it, they usually are rolled up a big. Socks are also fairly important, men would be issued one pair of socks per year, and they’d usually wear them pulled over their rolled up pants, this would cause less much to get in next to their feet. Lastly men would be given ankle high shoes, commonly known as “brogans.” Which are shown in the graphic to the left. All of this clothing was worn while running around on a battlefield in the middle of July or August.

            But, you couldn’t always take any clothing that you saw, especially shoes, some men were known for selling people shoes that were no good for high prices. What would you do if you got some shoes, went into battle, and they fell apart? Well, one man made some shoes and sold them for a high price. But when the men came back and asked why his ‘high quality’ shoes had fallen apart while marching, his response was,

            “Foot soldiers? Those top notch shoes are made for the cavalry!” so make sure to go to someone that you know and trust for brogans.

The New Hampshire second regiment was a group for the Union army, it is important to narrow down what life was like by choosing one certain group and specifying it. Lieutenant Milan D. Spaulding led the second regiment; behind he was a Corporal David W. Colburn and Corporal Charles H. Streeter. And Also Sergeant John E. Richards, who was enlisted as a private, discharged four years later, then returned to the army and somehow was promoted to sergeant. The Second regiment is one that believes greatly in what they are fighting for, one man recalls the following,

            “The orders for a charge came and with a roar of defiance the second regiment screamed and went tearing down towards the enemy.” That was them starting a battle, but on the other side a soldier’s letter home read,

            “There was trouble halting the second regiment, their blood was up and wanted to keep going.” These are two positive things to hear; knowing that they’re hard fighters, but not all battles for our men our good. As an anonymous New Hampshire captain in war states after a disheartening loss of men,

            “I won’t make another assault, even if Jesus himself were to order it.”



Civil War battle
Source - http://www.schistory.org/displays/CivilWar/Secessionville/battle.JPG



    If they were going into a battle that seems unlikely, how would they keep their spirits up? Life in battle can be rough and you have to cheer yourself up. One common cure to the harshness is to sing, as one common song goes, “When this cruel war is over. We’ll be happy and be gay! We’ll get drunk and we’ll get sober. If it takes three weeks and a day!”

Many prisoners have been taken during the horrible time that surrounds us, the drawing to the right shows a line of Confederate men who have been taken prisoner by our Union army. There is a lot of prisoners taken in the war, that is just how it goes, as General-in-Chief H.W. Halleck of New Hampshire says to one of his men,

"Any prisoners of war you may have will be turned over to General Marston, who is directed to show you his instructions.”




Bibliography
















How and Where Charles Jones Caught Malaria


 

- Researched by Chelsea T.





Words to Know to Help You Understand This Report:

 

Plasmodium: a protozoan genus

Protozoan: Any of a large group of single-celled, usually microscopic, eukaryotic organisms, such as amoebas, ciliates, flagellates, and porozoans.

 

 

Report

 

In May 1862 Charles Jones from Deerfield, New Hampshire caught malaria and got sick.  My job was to figure out where he was when he caught it.  I knew that he was under General Casey’s command. I also knew that the place where they were had many dead bodies of horses and soldiers. I came upon this information by reading a letter or journal entry that John H. Coles, who knew Charles Jones wrote. Below is they letter or journal entry:

 

 

Chills & fever by exposure in a malarial district:

 

“ We were encamped on the battlefield where Gen. Casey[?] was surprised May 1862.  A great many dead horses were burned and buried, also the bodies of many men on this field, which was low and damp. The only water we had for drinking and cooking was surface water obtained by digging a hole two or three feet deep. The soldier had an attack of chills & fever at the above mentioned place and later during the seven days retreat and during the month of July at Harrison’s Landing, Va. and the following month, August 1862, when the Regt. marched from Harrison’s Landing for Yorktown, Va., He was suffering severely with chills & fever. I know he continued to suffer with chills & fever up to about June 1863 while I was with the co. I was then detailed as a color guard and was not with the co and cannot remember much of his condition after that date. I have not seen this soldier but once since his discharge in 1864 and that was in June, 1884.”

   - Signed, John H. Coles

 

            Some research later I came to the conclusion that Charles caught malaria in Williamsburg, Virginia on the plain in front of Fort Magruder. The living conditions were incredibly tough. The land was flooded; all large flat areas looked as if they were shallow ponds. The trenches were half full of water. Every place else the ground was really soft and muddy. Many of the dead soldiers were lying out still uncovered. The smells must have been terrible. Horses were also dead and lying all over the ground. All of the roads were turned up and very muddy from all the soldiers and horses.

A map of the battlefield
A map of the battlefield
Source - http://www.peninsulacampaign.org/images/william.gif




Modern map of the area where Jones caught malaria
A modern map of the Williamsburg area
Source -
www.cs.wm.edu/cspages/ reaching/wmsbgmap.html



           Charles’ military uniform might have been something like this: Wool jacket that was dark blue, a slouch that is black( a civilian type hat), sky blue wool trousers( pants), a sky blue coat, a linen or wool or cotton shirt, a singled colored pair of wool socks, black-tarred haversack, canvas knapsacks (black), oval canteens fabric covered, black brogans or boats, brass was always polished.

Charles most likely slept in a canvas tent. When they were not in battle they might have been doing something like digging trenches, gathering wood, cooking, eating, finding water, building roads. Some of the food that was available usually was salted beef or pork, vegetables (usually beans), coffee, salt, vinegar, sugar, hardtack, and corn bread. Coffee was one of those things that the soldiers really liked and wanted but it was hard to make. Soldiers had to crush coffee beans in between to rocks or with the butts of there guns then they would mix it in with their water to make a very strong drink. During the soldiers off time there a lot guys drank, played cards or fought between each other and there was also lots of swearing. Most soldiers would do just about anything to get a cigar, news from home or sweets.

Facts about Malaria

             Plasmodium creates vector then lady mosquito’s protozoan forms in the gut then shifts to saliva glands. The Mosquitoes then lay their eggs by or on stagnant water and eventually larvae develop. Then when someone is bit by one of the larvae they would get malaria. If one person has malaria and gets bit then the mosquito goes and bites someone else the second person would also get malaria so you can see how this disease could travel pretty fast.

Once you have Malaria you get high fevers every other day or every few days. Sometimes it can seem like the flu and you will have body aches and a fever. For some people the infection period may last many years although not for all. Usually when the infected person gets closer to being over malaria, the fevers will begin to get better or go away. It is also possible that someone can be infected for many years but only show symptoms every now and then.



Bibliography


"Chills and Fever by Exposure in a Malarial Area" - Primary Source Material

Haynes, Martin, Second New Hampshire Regiment, 1896, Lakeport, Higginson Book Company

From Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia - "Battle of Williamsburg", http://en.wilkipedia.org/wiki/Battle of Williamsburg, cited Feb. 19, 2005

Dictionary.com - http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=plasmodium, cited Feb. 20, 2005

“E medicine Consumer Health”http://www.emedicinehealth.com/articles/13140-6.asp
Cited February 20, 2005













The Battle of Fredericksburg


- Researched by Michael B.

 


          
The Battle of Fredericksburg, an enormous example of the stupidity of the Union’s army’s commanders in the Civil War. It was a colossal waste of time, energy and human life.

            The Union army decided to march to Richmond, the Confederate capital, and try to end the Civil War. The path to get there went through The Rappahannock River, the town of Fredericksburg on the other side, and the hills surrounding Fredericksburg. Marching towards Fredericksburg the Union army made good time in getting there before Lee and his army could get to the town and start fortifying. Then the whole plan started to fall apart in front of their eyes. The Union army needed pontoon brigades to cross the river. The brigades were supposed to arrive one or two days after the army did. Instead it took them over 25 days more to get there. While they waited the Union army just camped by the river and set pickets to watch what the Confederates were doing. Also many Union and Confederate soldiers traded items with each other; coffee and tobacco were the main items they traded.

                Finally the pontoon brigades arrived and the army could cross the river. On Dec 11 Union engineers laid five pontoon bridges across the river while under fire from the Confederate army. The next day the bridges the army crossed the river into the town. The town was empty, all the people in it having left days ago. The union army streamed across the brigades for most of the day, Burnside, their commander, made no move to attack that day, instead the Northern army wasted that day by looting and plundering what was left of the town of Fredericksburg. Instead of wasting that day like Burnside did, Lee used the time well. Calling Jackson’s troops back from down the river where they had been watching for the Union advance Lee added more troops to his fortifications he had set up behind Fredericksburg.

         
Troop positions at Fredericksburg
Troop positions at Fredericksburg
Source  http://pbsvideodb.pbs.org/resources/civilwar/images/cwmap22.jpg

 On the morning of Dec 13th Burnside issued the orders to attack the heavily fortified positions behind the town. At around 8:30 in the morning General Meade’s division, which had 4,500 men, headed straight for a line manned by Jackson’s troops. Marching right for a wooded hill Meade got close to it before a battery of cannons opened up into his division, killing many men. Union guns responded and the dual continued for about an hour. When it was over Meade ordered his men to fix bayonets and charge, aiming towards a small patch of woods. Charging it he found that it was empty, Jackson had left a 600 yard gap in his line and the Union troops had just found it.


Ambrose Burnside
General Ambrose Burnside
Source - http://www.civilwarphotos.net/files/images/384.jpg



They advanced a little then got pushed back, not before killing a Southern commander first though. Later that day Sumner’s troops started what would become useless, futile charge towards the hills. Marching out of the town in neat, blue lines the troops were decimated by the cannon that the Confederates had set up. They died by the hundreds as the marched towards the hills and fortifications. The Union troops encountered many obstacles on the march, at one point there was a canal ditch that was spanned only by three partly destroyed bridges. That bottleneck caused many troops to lose their lives as the army attempted to advance. Once they got across that they regrouped and formed shallow battle lines behind a bluff that protected them from the Confederates rifles and cannons. After that they ordered a final advance towards the Confederate’s lines. Past the bluff there was no protection from the fire and bullets the enemy hurled at them. They died. The survivors of the volleys either took cover behind small bumps in the ground or retreated to the canal.

            That attack was repeated many times, each time a division or brigade lost too many men and retreated another stepped up and did the same thing. Not one of them succeeded. Not a single soldier made it to the Confederate line. Within two hours three whole Union divisions had hurled themselves at the Confederates lines, 3,000 men had been lost.

The last assault came right before sunset, one last brigade flung itself at the Confederate fortifications, it met the same fate as the other attacks, it failed with a large number of men being lost.

            Charles Jones was not really involved in any of this though, he was left behind in the town to guard the bridges. Is unit was not involved in any of the frontal assaults on the Confederate lines, nor did it really see any Confederates during the whole battle. Charles and his unit just guarded the pontoon bridges back, which pretty much involved sitting around and sleeping since the Confederates weren’t too concerned about destroying the bridges. He probably sat there for most of the battle listening to the sounds of battle, the cannons firing and the volleys that were taking down so many troops. If any of the survivors of the attacks made it back to town and crossed back over the river he would have listened to their stories. Listening to them he would have gotten more and more worried that his unit would be thrown in the fray.

            When he was doing nothing else he might have played a game, maybe cards. He probably didn’t play cards though since most soldiers throw their cards away right before a battle s if they die they aren’t found with any “pastimes of sin” on them. He might have kept his cards though since he never really went into the main battle. The only fighting e might have seen was several small skirmishes that they saw with the Confederates around the town and when the army was retreating since his unit also acted as a rearguard, guarding the rest of the army as it retreated from the battlefield. For Charles this was mostly an uneventful battle. He didn’t really do much, as other units of the army charged forward into their deaths his unit stayed back, which is good for him otherwise he probably would have ended up dead like many others at the Battle of Fredericksburg.

            After the army retreated, his unit followed them. 

The aftermath at Fredericksburg
The aftermath at Fredericksburg
Source - http://www.archives.gov/research_room/research_topics/civil_war/images/civil_war_076.jpg





Bibliography

 

Davis, William C., The Battlefields of the Civil War, 1999, London, Salamander Books Ltd

Confederate Military History, 2003 ed., Chapter XX

“Civil War Genealogy”, http://www.usgennet.org/usa/nh/topic/civilwar/cwgen.htm, cited 10 February, 2005

“Battle of Fredericksburg”, http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/battle-fredericksburg.htm,
cited 10 February, 2005








 






The Battle of Gettysburg Through the
Eyes of a New Hampshire Reporter


- A Fictional News Story by Shaina B.




           My name is Jonathon Cate, and I am resident of Deerfield, NH. Today, I am starting on a journey to Pennsylvania. I am expecting that the Confederates and the Union armies will soon encounter in a battle, which will be remembered for many years. Some of you readers may think “He is crazy putting himself in this position!” To all of you who do not know me, I am known as an individual who challenges his fears. I have earned the reputation as a sharp shooter and am also an avid historian who loves to write. I believe the events, which I am about to witness, will someday be read in history books throughout the nation. I know many men from New Hampshire who have volunteered and joined the Union. One of these men is my neighbor and good friend Charles H. Jones. He is a volunteer from Company C, 2nd regiment. I hope that I find him still alive, when I reach Pennsylvania. I am certain that the Union is preparing for a major battle.

            Today is June 24th, 1863. I have been traveling for several weeks and have almost reached my destination. It has been reported that Robert E. Lee has led the Confederates across the Potomac River and is heading toward Pennsylvania; Mead has lead the Union army North of Washington. I sense that both sides are preparing for a sudden attack.

            Today is July 1st and day one of the battle. I have not seen or ran into anyone who knows my friend Charles H. Jones. The Confederate troops are attacking the Union cavalry division on McPherson Ride. Robert E. Lee has decided to take the war north. His plan is to destroy the railroad bridge at Harrisburg. The Union realizes the importance of controlling Gettysburg because there are dozens of roads here. A lot of fighting has taken place today and the Confederates have driven the Union troops through the streets of Gettysburg to Cemetery Hill. I feel a massive assault is about to take place. They appear to be ten to fifteen thousand Confederates marching, in a one-mile open field. The Union army is taking advantage of this opportunity and firing at them from all directions. Our soldiers are using rifles, handguns, muzzleloaders and rifle muskets. The troops call muzzleloaders a “Springfield.” The Union forces are out-numbered but are managing to hold the Confederate army. Thousands of Union soldiers have been captured. My fear is that my good friend Charles H. Jones could be among the prisoners, or even dead. From what I have witnessed today, I have many mixed feelings about my friend Charles. The battle today was very bloody. There appears to be more Confederate causalities but still, many lives have been lost.


The "Iron Brigade"
Source - http://www.lastsquare.com/PrintCatalog/CranstonPix/dhm1037.jpg

      Today is July 2nd, 1863. I have a feeling that the attacks are going to become more aggressive. I still have not found my friend Charles. The Confederate and Union armies are placed about one mile apart located on two Parallel Ridges. The Union army has positioned themselves in a fishhook formation taking up Culp’s Hill and heading back towards Gettysburg and curving around toward Taneytown Rd. There have been many gunshots and heavy attacks today. The location referred to, as the “Peach Orchard” is the grounds where many valuable officers have lost their lives. The rocky area known as Devil’s Den, is located near “Little Round Top.” The Union was lucky enough to claim the unmanned hilltop, during today’s battle. It was very fortunate for the Union troops, that Lee had poor communications with his officers. If they had communicated well, they would have realized that they were only a few hundred yards from the Union’s supply trains. As I recapture the events of today, I am doubtful that my friend Charles has survived. I have seen so much horror today. There are thousands of dead soldiers, horses, and so much devastation surrounding me.


The Battle of Gettysburg
Source - http://www.allposters.com/IMAGES/OWP/2217C.jpg


            Today is July 3rd and I am expecting the Confederates to attempt once again to gain control over the Union army. It is very hot today and due to the position of the Confederates, they are at a disadvantage. At approximately 1:00 PM, I started hearing the sounds of the Confederates firing canons. There must have been around 150-170 canons fired. The Union did not counter attack because they feared running out of ammunition. They wanted to conserve ammunition for the infantry attack, which they expected would follow. The Union was preparing for an infantry charge.


The Battle of Gettysburg
Source - http://www.55thvirginia.freeserve.co.uk/Battle%20of%20Gettysburg.jpg


            The Union was able to fool the Confederates into thinking that they had run out of ammunition and the confederates believed they now had the opportunity to advance to Cemetery Hill. Approximately 13,000 Confederates took part in this March only to be fired upon by the Union artillery. During this march, Lee lost more than one-third of his men and the Union losses were approximately one quarter.

            I now have no hope, that my good friend Charles has survived this massacre. I have asked soldiers everywhere about him. There has been so much havoc during the past three days. Everywhere I look, I see horror. Many soldiers and horses are wounded and thousands dead. The grounds are covered in blood as well as human remains. The smell of human deterioration surrounds me. It has been the most horrific experience of my life and one that I never wish to repeat.


The Battle of Gettysburg
Source - http://www.historicaldocuments.com/Gettysburg.jpg



        Today is July 5th, 1863. The armies are now departing and so am I. I can only hope that when I return to Deerfield, NH, my good friend Charles and I will be able to reunite and share our stories of the battles. As we leave, we can see the impact the battles have left on these lands. Many churches, homes, and buildings are filled with several wounded soldiers. So many buildings have been destroyed along with fences and farmlands. There are no crops left and so much of the land is now burial grounds for the dead. I truly believe that it will take many years for the citizens of the territory to recover, and that some never will.

            It wasn’t until September 7th, 1863 that I was reunited with my good friend Charles. He did not look well, but I was surprised that he had actually survived the battle of Gettysburg. During our visit he informed me that he had been experiencing chills and fever for many months. It was apparent to me we shared many horrific memories of Gettysburg. Unfortunately I could see that the memories of this war had led my good friend to become an alcoholic. Later, I would learn that the alcohol would bring him to his death.






Bibliography


Books:

Cogswell, C. Elliott. History of Nottingham, Deerfield, & Northwood, 1878, Manchester, New Hampshire Publishing Company

Haynes, Martin, Second News Hampshire Regiment, 1896, Lakeport, Higginson Book Company

 


Books without an Author:

The Volume Library, 1996 ed., “Gettysburg

 

Websites:

Barnett, Bertram, “The Civil War Soldier”, http://www.nps.gov/gett/soldierlife/webguns.htm, cited 11 February, 2005

“The Battle of Gettysburg”, http://www.en.wikipedia.org./wiki/battle_of_Gettyburg, cited 9 February, 2005

“The Battle of Gettysburg”, http://americancivilwar.com/getty.html, cited 9 February, 2005

“The Civil War in Its Third Year”, http://www.nps.gov/gett/getttour/main-ms.htm, cited 9 February, 2005

“The Turning Point of the Civil War”, http://www.gettysbg.com/battle.;shtml, cited 9 February, 2005

“The Battle of Gettysburg, 1863”, http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/gtburg.htm, cited 9 February, 2005

http://www.historicaldocuments.com/Gettysburg.jpg, cited 21 February, 2005

www.humnet.ucla.edu/.../ rapotter/panoram.htm, cited 21 February, 2005

www.lastsquare.com/.../ CranstonPix/dhm1037.jpg, cited 21 February, 2005

http://www.allposters.com/IMAGES/OWP/2217C.jpg, cited 21 February, 2005

http://www.55thvirginia.freeserve.co.uk/Battle%20of%20Gettysburg.jpg, cited 21 February, 2005

 

Primary Source Information Used

 

  • Chills & Fever by exposure in a malarial district

 

  • Second Regiment New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry

 

  • State of New Hampshire County of Rockingham

 

  • Certificate of Death

 

  • Engagements

 

  • Surgeon General’s Office












Battle at Sara Bell's, Near Fair Oaks


- A Fictional News Story by Atticus R.




Virginia Times -
Thursday, June 30, 1862

 

Battle at Sarah Bell’s, Near Fair Oaks

            The battle, now officially called “Peach Orchard” took place on Sarah Bell’s farm. The peach trees were in full blossom and the grass never greener. The Battle began just minutes before two o’clock, yesterday afternoon. Confederates started their march down the previously owned federal Hamburg-Savannah Road at about 11 o’clock am. They had already captured several Union and Federal strong holds along the road prior to the orchard. The federal army led by General Sumner, all knew that they were coming their way and they had to protect more important strong holds such as Pittsburg Landing Road, and Owl Creek. Federal batteries from Rhode Island, New York, and New Hampshire stationed themselves at the highest and most protected slope in the peach orchard, in an attempt to make it harder to attack. Their objective was to stop the Confederates and send them back the other way. The Federalists were supplied with several cannons, rifles and pistols and what was thought to be more than enough ammo. The Confederates attacked with the “open field” strategy which means, attacking on horseback or on foot no cannons or large weapons involved. Their objective was simply to get to Pittsburg Landing. When the Confederate army had all arrived at the bottom of the peach orchard, there was a moment of silence. Then the battle began.


The Battle of the Peach Orchard at Shiloh
The Battle of the Peach Orchard at Shiloh
Source - http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/ihwt98273a.jpg


       The first charge through the peach orchard was lead by Confederate General Johnston and Colonel Beauregard. Their army charged, but they were driven back, with hardly any Federal casualties. A short while later the Confederates attacked again, this time gaining even more progress in casualties and also weakening the Federal defenses. But ounce again they were shot back down to their side of the field. General Johnston then ordered his army to stay there and try and weaken the Federal bunkers. He soon found that staying still was to the Falderal’s advantage, because they had cannons. Standing still with no protection made them a target. So they attacked again. This time individually, not in small groups thus making them harder to hit. They again weakened the Federal strong hold, but again were drawn back to their start. They sky went from a brilliant blue to a smoky gray from the amount of ammunition being used. Blossoms from the peach trees were being cut from their branches by stray bullets, it grew harder and harder to see. Yet General Johnston ordered another charge. This time losing few men but doing more damage. It looked as though they could take the orchard, when General Johnston was struck in the back of the leg with a stray bullet. Without a leader they were forced to turn back and regroup. Johnston was assisted in his walking back, by two men who, when in safety, laid him by a tree. Rather than calling a doctor, he had ordered the medics to care for his soldiers instead. His wound could have easily been fixed with a tourniquet but Johnston refused to be cared for. It was said that he bled to death at around 3:00 pm. He had been a good general.

       After he was disabled, Beauregard then assumed command. The Confederates stayed at the foot of the hill, for about another half an hour, but again were picked off by the federal cannons. So in one last attempt to make the Federals surrender, Colonel Beauregard led the final charge through the peach orchard.  It turned out that Confederate wave was unstoppable. They stormed up the hill shooting at anything in sight. Closer and closer they came to their destination. The Federals were overrun by the opposing army, and in conclusion they fell. The force had been too strong.  Some Federals fled, but most stayed with hope. But their hope did not last long. Soon after, nearly 2,200 federal soldiers still led by General Sumner, were forced to surrender to Beauregard at about 4 o’clock in the afternoon. Then the remains of the federal army fled to Pittsburg Landing to join 25,000 other soldiers to defend the road and other territories. Beauregard ordered his army to stay and clean up. Bodies were scattered everywhere, and they were covered in peach blossoms. It looked as though a fresh blanket of snow had covered the orchard. The one pond in the middle of the orchard was stained with blood but many men drank from it. There was nothing in the orchard that looked alive besides the remaining men. Nothing has yet been recorded on how many men died but there had been many.  Most of the bodies were burnt in a giant bon-fire last night, but some, along with General Johnston were buried, and given a proper death ceremony. Despite the loss of their leader, the Confederate army has recovered. They are now currently stationed at the peach orchard, waiting for their fellow comrades who were stalled by previous mini-battles prior to the orchard, and are on their way to meet them there. When they meet, they well probably press on, to try to add more territories to their favor.


The pond at Shiloh
The Pond At Shiloh
Source - http://frankmazuca.tripod.com/shiloh11.jpg


       The battle surrender was kind of a good thing for both the North and the South. In penalty of losing, the Federals had to hand over several Confederate prisoners, which was good for the confederates, and instead of winning and going the other way, the Federals fell back and joined their comrades at Pittsburg Landing, where it is said that there will be another battle soon. During the past few days, there have been several battles. Such as Skirmish at Fair Oaks, Skirmish near Fair Oaks, Oak Grove and Peach Orchard all in relatively the same area, are now officially part of the Battle of Shiloh. The Battle of Peach Orchard was a total of about two hours. It didn’t last very long, but during the battle, the most ammo was used out of all the battles in Shiloh, also the most deaths. Both sides suffered many casualties. The battle didn’t accomplish much either, but in a sense it was a battle that helped both sides. Until we have further report on the Civil War, this is the Virginia Times bringing you the latest news.


Photo of the site of the Battle of the Peach Orchard
Source - http://valley.vcdh.virginia.edu/HIUS403/77pa/images/peach.jpg




Bibliography

 

Books

   John Stanchak, Visual Dictionaries, Civil War, Year: 2000
Published by/in: Dorling Kindersley Publishing Inc. New York, NY

Martain H Haynes, Second NH Regiment

Year: (reprinted) 1998   Published by/in: Higginson Book Company, Salem, MA

 

            Primary Source Packet - “2nd Regiment NH Volunteer Infantry” “Engagements”

 

Web


          http://www.geosites.com/Heartland/Acres1257/shiloh.html

 

            http://www.framingfox.com/thepjohpauls.html

John Strain,   “The Peach Orchard”

                        All sites found/first viewed on 2/12/05











The Battle of Cold Harbor


- A Fictional News Story by Sabrina R.



June 18th:

 

June 1st the battle of Cold Harbor began. The battle of Cold Harbor was located at Hanover Va. When Grant march his men to the Cold Harbor battle site.  The battle started on June 3rd on 4:30 a.m., this day was the bloodies of the days. There was said to be:

United States- (North) 7,000 men died

Confederacy - (South) 1,500 men died

There where 50,000 attackers and 30,000 defenders in a trench across a 3 mile line.

            “ I remember marching and standing in the line looking at Lee’s men. When the battle begun,” Charles Jones had said. The commanders of the battle where

United States- Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant and Maj. Gen. George G. Meade.

Confederacy - Gen. Robert E Lee

Originally both sides started with:

United States Forces - 108,000 men

Confederate Forces -  62,000 men

             People said grant wasn’t able to lead them in a battle. He lost 2 men to there one.

“They would write their names and home addresses on a slip of paper and a pined it on the back of their coats,” General porter said, “ So their bodies would be identified when they died” 

            On June 3rd the battle was over, in about a half an hour.

“The horses and men where lying everywhere” said Charles Jones.

           “The dreadful storm of lead iron seemed more like a volcanic blast more than a battle,” recalled a union captain. Lee’ had got a head start and got to the battlefield first. 

           ‘Lee always got there first,” said Charles Jones

Grant didn’t win this battle. He was forty-two. Grant had lost almost 40,000 men. People started to call him “Butcher Grant”.

It was heard to be that Grants Virginia campaign yield an average of two thousand men a day!

Incredibly, Grant ordered another attack. The soldiered all along the line refused to obey him. Defiant Capt. T.E Backer said,” I will not take my regiment in another such charge if Jesus Christ himself should order it!” 

Grant is certainly a very extraordinary man,” wrote Charles Francis Adams,” But he doesn’t look it and might well pass… for a grumpy and slouchy little subaltern, very found of smoking kind of guy.” “The stench from the dead between our line and their was…so nauseating” Colonel Oates,” It was almost unendurable”

Smith received an order from Gen. Meade “As soon as Gen. Wright opened the road from old church to cold harbor, you will follow him, and take position on his right, endeavoring to hold the road to hold the road form cold harbor to Bethesda Church. General Wright is ordered to attack as soon as his troops are up, and I desire that you should cooperate with him and join in the attack. The enemy have not been long in position about Cold Harbor, and it is of great importance to dislodge and, if possible to rout him before he can intrench himself”

“ It wouldn’t be good manners to go without saying ‘Good bye’ to our old friends, the Johnnies.” said a private.

The doctors who treated men in the battle weren’t very well.

“ We operated in a old blood-stained and often pus-stained coats,” a surgeon recalled, “… We used a undisinfected instruments from undisinfected plush-lined cases…. If a sponge or instrument fell on the floor it was washed and squeezed in a basin of water and used as if it were clean.”

As the surgeons amputated legs and other body parts for four days and two nights during the battle of Cold Harbor. “ As a wounded man was lifted on the table often shrieking with pain as the attendants handled him,” General Meade remembered.

“I believe the doctors kills more than they cure,” an Alabama private said.

            It was heard to be that Grant regretted ordering the assault at Cold Harbor.

            “ I had seen the dreadful carnage in front of Marye’s hill at Fredericksburg…. But I had seen nothing to exceed this. I was not war: it was murder.” Said General Evander Law, C.S.A

            During the battle Grant had said, “There seems to be some prospect of lee making a stand north of the Chickahominay, his right near Shady, Grove. I have heard nothing yet of smith’s troops reaching white house. If I can get up to attack, will not await his arrival.”

            “War department must determine when and what troops to order from here. “ lee’s prompt response was: “If you cannot determine what troops you can spare the department cannot. The result of your delay will be a disaster. Butler’s troops will be with Grant to-morrow.”

            Grant had said, “ We assaulted at 4:30 this morning, driving the enemy within his entrenchments at all point, but without gaining any decisive advantage. Out troops now occupy a position close to the enemy, some places within 50 yards, and are entrenching. Our loss was not severe, nor do I suppose the enemy to have lost heavily”

We interview Grant:

Q: What did you think of the two sides of the battle?

A:“There are but two parties now: traitors and patriots. And I want hereafter to be ranked with the latter and, I trust, the stronger party.”, Said Grant

Q:During the battle what were you thinking?

A:Grant said, “No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted”

Q:Did you think of retreating?

A:“Retreat? NO. I propose to attach at daylight and whip them. “, Said Grant

Q:Where you sad or happy with the battle? And any other thing you would like to say?

A:“I would not have the anniversaries of our victories celebrated, nor those of our defeats made fast days and spent in humiliation and prayer; but I would like to see truthful history written. Such history will do full credit to the courage, endurance and soldierly ability of the American citizen, no matter what section of the country he hailed from, or in what ranks he fought.... For the present, and so long as there are living witnesses of the great war of sections, there will be people who will not be consoled for the loss of a cause which they believed to be holy. As time passes, people, even of the South, will begin to wonder how it was possible that their ancestors ever fought for or justified institutions which acknowledged the right of property in man.”, said Grant. And as the battle of Cold Harbor was a disappointment to us that we had lost it will go down in history.


 Grave-diggers cleaning up after the Battle of Cold Harbor
Grave Diggers Cleaning Up After the Battle of Cold Harbor
  Source - http://www.communication.utah.edu/classes/fa01/coldharbor.jpg






Bibliography

Primary Resource Packet 

The Civil War - PBS Documentary Series by Geoffrey C Ward, Rick Burns, Ken Burns

World Book Encyclopedia 

The Second Regiment of New Hampshire

http://www.civilwarhome.com/CMHcoldharbor.htm , the Richmond campaign of 1864.  February 17th

http://www.civilwarhome.com/coldharborsummary.htm  by Patrick McDonald . February 17th

http://www.civilwarhome.com/descriptioncoldharbor.htm February 19th

http://www.collectmedicalantiques.com/civilwar2.html February 16th

http://www.cr.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/va062.htm February 7th




















Weapons of the Civil War



- Researched by Ashley R.



Source - http://www.flipsideshow.com/images/US%20Flag%20civil%20war%20scene2.jpg



Dear Reader,

Okay, so I’m sure that at this point you’ve probably learned all a bout the Civil War in class, and I’m sure you have a pretty clear idea about warfare too, but have you ever thought about the two together? Have you ever thought about what warfare was like during the Civil War? When you think about war you probably picture nuclear bombs, biological weapons, and machine guns, all relatively modern weapons. What you probably don’t think about is revolvers and rifles and sabers, you know, the old stuff, well that’s what this project is about, the old stuff. This project is about weapons a soldier might have used during the civil war, before all the modern advances that scientists and soldiers have made in the deadly art of war.

                                                                        Signed,

                                                                              Ashley R.




Cannons





Did You Know?

    Probably the most deadly of all Civil War weapons, there were two main types of cannons. There were rifled cannons, cannons with grooves cut inside the barrel that make the cannon more accurate, and then there were smoothbore cannons which didn’t have grooves on the inside, and as such were less accurate, but could shoot a greater variety of ammunition.


And Our Dead Guy?

   Our Dead Guy, Charles Jones, probably didn’t operate a cannon, there were specific people designated to do so, people trained in cannon operation and it is unlikely that our guy was one of them, however, that does not mean that he did not know basically how they worked, and I don’t know what he did in his spare time, so I guess I can’t say that he never operated a cannon for sure.




Bormann Fuse


Bormann Fuse
Source - http://www.cwreplicas.com/shells/17.jpg


Did You Know?

   The Bormann Fuse is actually like a timer that specifies when the explosion will occur; the design is actually very simple. A pewter cap screws into a case shot round. The cap has different times stamped into its face such as three or six seconds. You just punch a hole in the face of the fuse on the spot that corresponds with the number of seconds you want before it goes off. This simple and useful timer was invented by Bormann, a Belgian army officer.

And Our Dead Guy?

    Our dead guy might have used the Bormann Fuse in a case shot, a lot of soldiers did, so assuming he was a gunner I would say there is a pretty good chance he used a Bormann Fuse at some point during his army career.






Model 1850 Saber

1850 Cavalry saber
Source - http://www.toysoldierbrigade.com



Did You Know?

   The model 1850 saber was carried by both the Union side and the Confederate side throughout the Civil War and often times soldiers would take home the sabers and keep them as souvenirs.  Though a newer, lighter model replaced many of the sabers, some soldiers kept their model 1850 sabers.

And Our Dead Guy?

   I would say that Charles Jones, our dead guy, probably carried one of these because they were usually carried by soldiers on foot, and I believe that that would apply to Charles, but he probably would not have traded it in for the newer model because I believe they were generally reserved for soldiers of a slightly better rank.





Starr Army Revolver

Starr Army revolver


Did You Know?

   Though both Union side and the Confederate side bought pistols from Remington and Colt, the Union also bought pistols from the Starr Arms Company, located in upstate New York. The Starr Army Revolver was a .44 caliber revolver with a six shot cylinder and two triggers. One trigger, the one closer to the grip, fired   the weapon while the one on the farther side cocks it. This arrangement, however, made for clumsy handling and never got that far during the war.

And Our Dead Guy?

    This weapon was actually available to civilians so Charles Jones could have purchased one of the pistols without to much difficulty so he might have carried one at some point during the war, however the Starr Army Revolver was never very popular, and the first model did not even meet Army specifications so it is possible that he never did.




Mississippi Rifle
(model 1841)

Mississippi Rifle


Did You Know?

    The Mississippi Rifle was a muzzleloader designed to take a .54 caliber round, with a 33-inch barrel. Also known as the Model 1841, this rifle was a standard weapon of the U.S. Army at the start of the Civil War. This rifle was also one of the most widely used weapons of its time. The Model 1841 was invented by four contractors at the U.S. Armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Production of the Mississippi Rifle ran from 1842 to 1855, and about 75,000 of the weapons were made.

And Our Dead Guy?

   As this weapon was the standard weapon at the beginning of the war there is a good chance that even though our guy, Charles Jones, was only a private, there is a good chance that he used this particular weapon at some point during the war.




Bibliography


John Stanchak, Civil War, 2000, New York, Dorling Kindersley Publishing

"Fort Davis National Historic Site", http://www.nps.gov/foda/Fort_Davis_WEB_PAGE/About_the_Fort/RIFLE_1841.html, cited 17 Feb, 2005

"Fort Scott National Historic Site", http://www.nps.gov/fosc/weapons_info2.htm, cited Feb. 18, 2005

"Sword Plate from the 1861 U.S. Ordnance Manual", http://www.members.tripod.com/~howardlanham/link11d.htm, cited 17 Feb., 2005

"Civil War Revolvers and Their Manufacturers", http://www.civilwarguns.com /9611.html, cited Feb. 18, 2005













 





"Why I Deserted From My Regiment"



- Fiction by Tucker W.






      Some people may have considered my demise pitiful or pathetic. Perhaps it was. They considered me a man with a brick in my old hat because I drank myself to death in the year of 1910 after years of sorrow. But my life wasn’t always that way. There was a time when I didn’t drink or hate myself. I had dreams for a bright future just like many other boys of my day. When the war came along though, my dreams died.  My name is Charles H. Jones and this is my story.
  
       On many hot summer days in Nottingham I’d be feelin’ real lazy and just like doin’ nothing all day just like any other boy of ten. I knew that I would have to get out at times and help my brother on the farm. Pa always seemed to have him do more of the work. Right when I’d be gettin’ comfortable on the floor of my digging I’d hear Pa call for me.

       He’ d yell for me to go out and help my brother with farm chores like haying, milking the cows and picking those ugly potato eatin’ bugs off our plants. It always seemed like Pa would pick the days when the sun was really hot and the heat would make me tired.  He would remark that my brother had worked many hours in the blazing sun while I was inside getting under Ma’s skin.
       

       When I would head outside to help my brother he would sometimes call me a coot because I would sneeze at the pollen in the hay.  My mind was never focused on work. I would always be looking forward to when I would walk into our digging and smell Ma fixing us potatoes with butter on the stove.

       At night, I would lie in bed remembering times at Pawtuckaway with my friend Tim. I remembered when we went to the boulder field and threw rocks around a formation that looked like a minister’s pulpit. We spent many hours at Deer Pond swimming on the hot summer days. The water always felt cool and the mud below would squish between my toes. Indeed, my younger days were filled with visions of soon to come teen years where I may have to make some big decisions.
            
       As those years rolled around I soon realized that a big decision was going to be coming my way. I was seventeen years old and a war was approaching - a Civil War. I knew that I may have to join the North in this battle against the South, part of our own country. The country was going to war because of different beliefs. The North was fighting this war against slavery and the South was fighting for slavery. I thought that the North was correct about the Negro situation. I believed that even though their skin was different they should still be treated the same.

       I remember at times not knowing what side to believe about the Negroes. I had my doubts. I had heard so much discussion about who was right and who was wrong I just didn’t know what to believe. When I wasn’t sure of what to believe.  I just stayed with the North’s opinion, so I wouldn’t be like those dough faces who lived up north but believed in the cause of the South. I remember hearing things about the North needing soldiers and I started to get nervous about going into war. I knew that I was at an age that was allowed into the war to fight. I was willing to fight for the cause to help the northern part of the country. Some of my friends were thinking that I was crazy for being willing to go out into a battle.

        Their minds were still fixin’ for sex, girls and other teenage thoughts. Old Mr. Hutchinson often invited some of my friends and me to barn dances for helping him on his farm. That is where we would meet girls and cuddle in the hay loft and sing to each other. But again my mind was still fixed on the situation of my country.
            
        When I enlisted to the war, I was eighteen years old. I remember the emotion that I felt when I was leaving my family, but I knew it was to help us win the war. My mother had told me that I was too young to be going into
the war. She was upset about my decision.


         When I was at battle I saw and heard many terrible things, some of which I can’t even describe because they were so awful. During battles when I heard the rebel yell, I always got scared of the approaching Confederate
soldiers.  I saw too many men die. The whole war scene was just horrible, men dying by musket balls being shot into them. The screams of dying men were a bad thing to hear along with enemy fire. But many men died from different diseases as well as bullets. Diseases such as diarrhea, typhoid, malaria fevers and pneumonia, killed over 388,000 men.

          Camp life was almost as bad as being on the battle field. Every man drank, gambled, or played any game he could devise. Something else that all men enjoyed at least once was some “horizontal refreshment”, however, the pleasure was short lived because Venereal disease affected them afterwards. Prostitutes were in many places when we weren’t fighting in battles. They were becoming widely known throughout camps.

           When the second regiment, my regiment was told to go up to
Concord and take a break from the war I started to think if I could desert. I knew that desertion was a common thing in my time. I also knew the consequences of deserting from the army but I was willing to be shot because the war was becoming too intense. I remember once I saw someone who was trying to desert. They made him stand in front of his grave and they shot him back into the hole.  I couldn’t take anymore of the war. I had seen and heard too much. I missed my family and I was homesick. A large roll in my desertion was that I was scared of dying.

            I remember when my regiment left during the Civil War. We arrived in
Providence on March 3rd 1863. Once we got to Providence a train took us up to Manchester on March 4th. We got to visit our families for that time until May 25th 1863. The regiment was told to regroup in Concord at that time.  I wasn’t planning on joining the rest of the regiment. I deserted on May 23rd 1863.
            
            After the desertion, I had to lay low until the war was over to avoid being caught. Once the war was done, I married and divorced a couple of times. I had a few children. However, the desertion stuck with me forever. I
began to drink. I became addicted to it and ended up drinking so much that I drank myself to death. So, some people probably did consider my demise pitiful or pathetic. Perhaps it was. But not all men had to endure the things that I saw and heard during the Civil War.
 

Afterward:

            In this story there were some things that were facts and some things that were fiction. The things that I wrote about camp life were all true. When I wrote about Charles H. Jones deserting, that was a fact. The Second Regiment was told to take a break and visit their families up in the Concord area. When I said that Charles Jones drank himself to death, which was true. It is true that over 388,000 men died from diseases such as typhoid, diarrhea, malaria fevers and pneumonia. The Confederate soldiers did have a scream called that rebel yell as they approached the Union soldiers.



Teacher's Note:

       Although Tucker's story is accurate in most details, there is one substantial error - Charles Jones' military records show that after deserting in Concord, he was apprehended and sent back to his regiment, where he served until the end of his enlistment period in 1864. (See below)


Jones' military record
Source - Revised Register of the Soldiers and Sailors of New Hampshire in the War of the Rebellion: 1861-1866, p. 61.


Transcript :

Jones, Charles H. Co.C; b. Nottingham; age 18; res. Deerfield, enl. Sept. 2, '61; must. in Sept. 9, '61, as Priv.; des. May 24, '63, Concord; appreh.; disch. Aug. 23, '64, near Petersburg, Va. P.O. Ad., Groveland, Mass.




Bibliography

 
Marc McCutheon, Everyday life in the 1800’s, 1993,
Cincinnati, Ohio, Writer’s Digest Books.

Life in a Civil War Army Camp, http://www.civilwarhome.com/camplife.htm,
February 15th 2005.

College.hmco.com/history/readerscomp/mil/htm/mh_014700_desertion.htm
February 16th 2005.
Primary Source, Second Regiment
New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry.












Charles Jones' Childhood


- Researched by Nicole F.

       Childhood in the 19th century was nothing like childhood nowadays. Children in the 19th century had to do chores everyday, they had to go to school everyday, and they had to be respectful to adults.

       Schooling for 19th century children was not great at all. Some children didn't even go to school before they were fourteen or fifteen, and by then they would have started working in factories or on other peoples farms. They didn't have grades k-12, they had a one room school with children ages 6-15 learning the same thing. If children didn't understand what the class was learning, teachers didn't care they would still have to get in front of the class and prove that they new what they were learning. In the winter they school would get so cold, that some days they would all gather around the wood stove just to get warm. Sometimes though the days were so cold that didn't even help, especially since the wood stove didn't give off very much heat. The schools wouldn't be right next to your house, and they didn't have busses that can pick them up they had to walk, and on the wintery days I guess it wouldn't be to much fun walking.

       Boys actually did a lot of activities on there free time. Boys would sometimes go out fishing, now some of them actually did it right, they got a stick, string, and a hook and that is how some would fish. They boys they wanted to have a little more fun would go out and find empty bottles, and tie string to the bottle handle and on the other end of the string they would tie a hook, and when the bottle went under they would know that there was a fish on the hook.

       Another method to fishing was to make this guy and have it so his legs could move up and down, then they would tie string and a hook to this put of the guy, so when the fish pulled on the hook the guys legs would go up and down. Boys would do normal thing to they would make snowmen in the winter time, but of course they would make other crazy animal. They would also have snow ball fights, and go ice skating, but they would have to make their own skates. Sometimes when the weather was kind of windy they would make kites of any kind, like
sometimes they would be frog kites, dogs, people, pigs, fish, anything, but they would go fly the kites for fun.
The chores that the boys would have to do would be to, feed the animals (if they had any), also they would help their dads with the animals by grooming them, and putting on the horses hooves. They would also bring wood in for the wood stove, and they would have to keep the fire going. The boys would be like the second man of the house. They would help their families by working in factories, or on other peoples farms.

       Children usually grew up in big families. The reason the families were so big was so that, well for one they obliviously loved all their children. Parents believed that if their children weren't in school that they would have to be working on a farm or in a factory. Another reason I think that families had a lot of kids because they didn't have any knowing of how to protect themselves from having children.

       From the information that I have I would say that children wouldn't have a lot of freedom. They were either always working or they were in school. Now obliviously they had some free time if they had all these different ways to fish, or they made kites and snowmen. I think that children today have a lot more free time to do what they want. we aren't always tied down with school, or chores. We go to movies, and have friends sleep over, and kids in the 1800s didn't have friends sleep over and they didn't go to the movies. We also go to the doctors, and the dentist which they didn't do. So they most have worried about their health, and whether or not they would get a disease and die. They must have had pretty bad teeth, because they didn't have toothbrushes and toothpaste like we do today.    

       
From all this information that I have gathered I think that I have a pretty good guess on how Charles Jones's childhood was like. I think that he did go to school because, there was a law passed in 1836 that said that children that worked in factories had to it least have one year on schooling before they could work in any factories. So I think that Charles had some schooling in his childhood. Since Charles seems like a crazy kind of person I think that he might have been in to all the fishing, and ways to catch the fish. I think that Charles Jones is so cool that he might have invented ways for himself to fish! I also think that he might have been a child that got in trouble a lot, but I may be wrong. I believe that Charles did help his father a lot with house hold things, and farming. I also believe he did work in a factory, because most children end up working in a factory before they are sixteen years old. I think that Charles Jones was a good helper around his house, I think that he helped his dad a lot with things like, fishing, bring in wood, and keeping the fire going. I think that we picked the right guy, he is so much fun to do a project on. I would like to say I thought he had a good childhood, but I can't because we have really good experiences growing up. I can't imagine them having getting to go to New York at the end of their school year. So I believe he might have had a good childhood compared to back then.


A classroom in the 1800s
This picture is a school room. As you can see, some of the
children look older and some look younger than others.
Source - http://www.missmary.com/gazette/04/school02.jpg




A family in the 1800s
This is a small family. Back in the 1800s, this was very rare.
Source - http://bay-journal.com/bay/1he/people/cooley-edgar/cooley-children.jpg






Bibliography

http://www.angelfire.com/ar3/townevictoriannursery.html

Noel Perrin, The American Boy's Handy Book, 1983, New Hampshire, David R. Godine
 
Otto L. Bettmann, The Good Old Days They Were Terrible!, 1974, New York, Random House












Childbirth In the 1800s

- Researched by Amy F.




Risks of Childbirth in the 1800s

     Unfortunately, there were many risks for childbirth. One of the most common risks was abortion, or miscarriage. This means that the baby would die before he or she was born. As a result, women would give birth to a child that was stillborn.

     Sanitation was also a big problem because they didn't have anything to help prevent germs. This was solved by the 1900s.

     All of these risks were pretty common and they would either kill the mother or the baby or both, which was very unfortunate. Birth control was difficult at that time, so getting pregnant was very risky and women hoped that thy would have birhts that were uncomplicated and healthy.


Birth Defects

     People were more at risk for their children having birth defects than they are today. They were not sure what caused birth defects, but they did know that they happened. One of the birth defects that was common then was Down's Syndrome. Down's Syndrome is a chromosome abnormality in which affected people have 47 chromosomes instead of 46. Down's Syndrom causes the baby to mentally retarted.

     Other birth defects were Structural and Metabolic Abnormalities. This meanst that the baby was born with either a part of the body missing, or it didn't work properly.

    These are just a few of the birth defects that sadly, infected babies a lot in those days.



Doctors

     "The doctors were not nearly as edcucated as they are today. They very often just left the patients there, not knowing what was going to happen."

      Doctors were not very good in those days. Doctors were mainly unsanitary, causing infections or diseases to spread easily from patient to patient. Doctors didn't realize that that was how many things spread.

     There were two types of doctors around. The ones that worked in the few hospitals that they had and the ones that were house doctors. Both of them were still very unsanitary, but the house doctors helped out when it came to the point when patients couldn't leave their houses, which was a very good thing.



Death and Mortality Rates

     A lot more babies died in those days than now. Between 1837 and 1842, 6,038 deaths were of children under the age of 5. The reason why the mortality rates were so high is because of all the above facts. Everybody hoped that things would get easier for women, but they weren't sure how, when or what they could do to help.



Charles H. Jones

     This all relates to our "dead guy" in a few different ways. He and his wife had a ton of babies. His wife and he were losing a few of them. They had so many babies, like there was no tomorrow, but sadly, not all of them made it. This may have been because of all the risks involved, plus the factor of the doctors not being as educated or sanitary as they are today. That could have had an effect on it as well.




















Malaria


- Researched by Jenna C.

            Malaria is disease that is fatal to people of all ages. Even though all ages can be infected with Malaria, ages six and under are more likely to catch a serious case of it. The young and the old are most likely to not be able to fight off a case of Malaria that can result in death. Malaria is caused by protozoans called Plasmodia. Malaria has been known to wipe out whole civilizations like the Greek and Roman Empires.  Approximately three hundred million people worldwide are affected by Malaria each year and between one to one point five million people die from Malaria each year. One thousand two hundred cases of malaria are diagnosed in the U.S. alone each year.

            Malaria is a disease that has been known longer than recorded history. It was in the 19th and 20th century that Malaria received its name and it was only in 1881 that the malaria parasite was finally identified.

 

What Causes Malaria?

            Malaria is caused by female Anopheles mosquitoes biting and injecting the malaria parasites into your bloodstream. Male mosquitoes do not transmit this disease because they feed only on plant juices and will not bite a human or feed on blood. All mosquitoes breed in water, have their own preferred breeding grounds and feeding patterns making it difficult for human beings to stay clear of any mosquito that may be carrying the malaria parasite.

You can get Malaria from four species of Plasmodium mosquitoes. They are Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax, Plasmodium ovale and Plasmodium malaria. Even though there are four Plasmodium species that carry malaria, only Plasmodium falciparum can lead to death.

Malaria parasites are one-celled living organisms. The process of getting malaria starts with the female mosquito biting you and injecting young malaria parasites into your blood. The parasites flow down the person’s bloodstream, to the person’s liver, and on to their next stage of development. Young parasites develop in your liver and could be inactive for a year or so before you start to feel the symptoms of Malaria. After six to nine days, if the parasites decide to not wait a year to become active, they leave your liver and enter your bloodstream again and start to invade red blood cells. After they invade your red blood cells, you start to become ill and feel the symptoms of Malaria.


Plasmodium parasite
Plasmodium parasite
Source - http://www.med.uni-marburg.de/stpg/ukm/lt/hygiene/schwarz/Plasmodium.jpg


 

Where is Malaria Found?

 
            Malaria occurs mostly in large areas of Central and
South America, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Oceanic. The problems of controlling Malaria in these countries are aggravated by inadequate health structures and poor living conditions.  The situation has become even more complex over the last few years with the increase of resistance to the drugs mainly used to fight off the parasite that causes the disease.

 
What Are Malaria's Symptoms?

            Symptoms of Malaria can be external and internal. There are more internal symptoms than external symptoms. The external symptoms, a physical outside appearance that you can see yourself, are yellowing of the skin or yellowing in the whites of your eyes and anemia. You will start feeling these symptoms anywhere from seven to twenty one days after the infected mosquito bites you. The internal symptoms, inside your body, are continuous attacks of fevers that can reach to a maximum of 106 degrees Fahrenheit, {41.1 degrees Celsius} sweating often, temperature rise and feeling very hot and then very cold with hard shaking chills, nausea, vomiting, muscular pain and diarrhea. Fatigue, Malaise, Myalgia and Arthralgia will occur sometimes as well. P. Falciparum, P. vivax and P. ovale attacks reoccur every forty eight hours while attacks from P. malaria infection reoccur every 72 hours. {The P. stands for Plasmodium} An attack lasts for about on hour or two. Between attacks the patient feels better but weaker. After an attack the patient perspires and his or her temperature will drop back to normal.  The victims of the injection of P. Falciparum become weaker with every attack and will eventually die if left untreated. You will feel these symptoms start to occur right when the parasite decides to become active.

 

What is the Most Recent Treatment for Malaria?

 
            The most updated and recent treatment for Malaria is to be prescribed medicine by a professional doctor. Physicians diagnose Malaria with a sample of your blood to identify a Plasmodium parasite. Two certain prescribed drugs can cure most cases of Malaria. They are known as chloroquine and primaquine. If the parasite is resistant to these drugs, the patient will probably be given quinine. Chloroquine prevents Malaria in addition to curing it. People who are planning to travel in areas where they could be exposed to Malaria should take Chloroquine before, during, and after their trip to avoid infection. Your medication you will be prescribed depends on where a person is infected with the disease. Different areas of the world have the four different malaria types of parasites and certain parasites are resistant to certain drugs.

 

What Has Been Done to Help cure or Prevent Malaria?

 
            During the 1950’s and 1960’s, the worldwide Health Organization tried to wipe out Malaria. At first, the widespread use of insecticides, particularly DDT, eliminated Malaria in some areas and greatly reduced the number of cases in others. However, the fight against Malaria slackened, and the number of cases increased again. The Anopheles mosquito became resistant to DDT and other insecticides, and some Plasmodium became resistant to drugs proscribed by doctors. The cost of fighting Malaria increased tremendously. These problems prompted researchers to step up and develop a vaccine that would eliminate the Malaria disease.

Prevention of Malaria also involves with controlling the population of Anopheles female mosquitoes. To do so, workers spray insecticides on houses. They drain, spray, or fill in bodies of water where insects breed too. People also use mosquito netting and insect repellents and put on screens over windows and doors.

 

Conclusion:

As all of you readers know, keep an eye out for this sneaky disease if you go on a trip to a tropical or sub-tropical area. Use required equipment, such as screens on your doors and windows, to help protect yourself. Do not try to cure this disease by yourself, or diagnose yourself with it. If you have Malaria for sure, contact a doctor immediately for help, and stay in bed for as long as needed. Follow all of the doctor’s directions and you should come clear of this disease within the estimated time of when the doctor said that you should be feeling better. Don’t be confused about Malaria or worried about Malaria when you travel, just take this article along with you, follow and learn about this disease, and you shouldn’t catch this terrible disease called Malaria.


Bibliography

The World Book Encyclopedia, 1985 ed., “Anopheles mosquito”

The World Book Encyclopedia, 1985 ed., “Malaria” 

World Health Organization Division of Control Of Tropical Diseases, Malaria, http://www-micro.msb.le.ac.uk/224/Malaria.html, cited 9 February 2005

  “Background and History of Malaria: The persistence and resistance of an ancient disease”, http://www.mmv.org/pages/page1_00040001.htm, cited 11 February, 2005 

“Malaria”, http://www.astdhpphe.org/infect/Malaria.html, cited on the 7 February, 2005 

Professor T.M.E Davis, “Malaria Treatment”, http://www.rph.wa.gov.au/labs/haem/malaria/treatment.html,
cited
9 February 2005 

Miguel C Fernandez, MD, “Malaria”, http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/topic305.htm, cited 2 February 2005 

“Symptoms of Malaria”, http://www.anytestkite.com/malaria-symptoms.htm, cited 2 February, 2005

“Malaria”, http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/communicable_disease/en/malaria.htm, cited 7 February, 2005















Malaria - How Was It Treated in the 1800s?


- Researched by Becca D.C.

 



          
In the 1800s malaria was treated by quinine. Quinine is a natural cure that is concocted from the bark of a cinchona tree. Quinine is a bitter-tasting drug. This plant is related to coffee and gardenia. Quinine was the first treatment for malaria and appeared around the early 1630s. Quinine remained the anti-malarial drug doctors recommended most until the 1940s. After the 1940s the drug chloroquine took quinine’s place curing malaria. Not entirely took its place but malaria parasites were becoming very resistant to quinine in only certain countries, not everywhere in the world. Chloroquine at the time had a much better chance of curing malaria then quinine would.

            Now let’s get back to the first sentence of this essay. Or second. “Quinine is a natural cure that is concocted from the bark of a cinchona tree.” What the heck is a cinchona tree? Well I’ll tell you. It is a tree that is native to the South American Andes. Cinchona thrives best on steep mountain slopes in rich volcanic soils. Cinchona trees require an annual rainfall of somewhere around 1,500 centimeters. The cinchona is a flowering tree and also produces fruit. Its flowers take three to four years to bloom. These flowers form small scented yellow, pink, or white clusters on the ends of the branches. A good way to picture a cinchona’s flowers is to think of a lilac tree, for they are very similar. A cinchona’s fruits are normally 1-3 centimeters in length, the are a four-sided capsule with numerous tiny, flat, winged seeds. In a cinchona tree you would find a higher percent of quinine in the bark, then its truck.

            The cure for malaria was first discovered by the Jesuits. The Jesuits were of the Roman Catholic Church. They were also members of the Society of Jesus. Here is the story of how the Jesuits came upon the cure for malaria. Some Jesuits were out taste testing the barks of trees around them. They determined that if the bark tasted bitter that it was a natural medicine for some kind of disease. After some testing (not taste testing) the Jesuits found that the bark of this tree could stop fevers. Of course like every medicine, quinine only worked for malaria. The Jesuits didn’t know that. So when the bark only helped certain people’s fevers (the people who had malarial fevers) and not others. In resulting that other countries and their physicians thought maybe these bark doesn’t work. They were doubtful because they had never seen a drug that cure the fever symptoms of a fever better than this bark.

Pope Innocent X of the Jesuits learned about all this information and then entrusted the Jesuit Juan de Lugo to study the bark of this tree that cured only certain people’s fevers. Lugo decided to have the bark tested by Gabrielle Fonseca, a physician to the pope. Fonseca received positive results for the bark but the use of it was not universally adopted yet. Another reason it wasn’t excepted universally was because of the fear the Protestants had. They feared the Catholics and their bark because of the “popish plot” they had made up. Which of course the Catholics had no plot at all to do anything what so ever to the Protestants!

In the late 17th century an Englishman Robert Talbor used the fears to make his name as a “feverologist” Talbor was given the name of “quack” by the English physicians for saying he had a secret remedy for ague (ague is what they called malaria way back when). Talbor told everyone that the Jesuit’s powder should be avoided and that should only trust his, even the English physicians agreed with him on that idea. Talbor went around selling his miracle remedy to lots of famous people. One in particular is Louis XIV, of France. Louis bought the recipe for Talbor’s cure on the condition that he would not reveal it until after Talbor’s death. The recipe was finally published in the early 1682, his “secret remedy” was naturally the bark of a cinchona. Quite a scam if you ask me!

Well enough about that. I have another interesting story. It is how the cinchona tree received its name. Our story begins with the wife of Viceroy of Peru, Countess Ana of Chinchon. In the late 1630s the Countess was thin with malaria while in Peru. She was given an amazing powder that cured her of every last symptom she possessed. Awed by this powder she collected the bark and gave it to others who were also diagnosed with malaria. It is widely disputed that the Countess was the one responsible for spreading the bark universally. Without her the cure for malaria would never have been given to all those who were suffering. So Linnaeus named the genus Cinchona after her. There was a regrettable spelling mistake and so Chinchon got changed into Cinchona. Personally I like Cinchona better, but that’s just me.


Cinchona plant
Cinchona Plant
Source - http://www.swsbm.com/Images/New10-2003/Cinchona_calisaya-2.jpg


 To me this is a little tidbit that I thought was kind of funny, gross, and cool. They used to have a cure (I’m not sure when exactly) for malaria that was thought of as superstitious or magical. This magical treatment cured people’s fever just like quinine. All you have to do is ingest a whole spider concealed in either butter or English treacle. So nasty! And believe it or not, this actually worked on people who were suffering from malaria! Now that is cool!

I know I’m only supposed to talk about quinine, but since I mentioned chloroquine before I thought it was only fair that you don’t just sit there wondering what the heck it is! So I’ll tell you. Chloroquine was first used in the 1940s after quinine started to loose its touch. There in the 1960s chloroquine began to also loose its touch. The parasite started becoming resistant in South America and South East Asia and is now today ineffective almost everywhere. It is mainly only used in Africa now. However it is still the widest used anti-malarial as it is the cheapest drug available.

Antique quinine bottles
Antique quinine bottles
Source - http://www.chemheritage.org/EducationalServices/pharm/asp/images/quinine.gif
 

Now last, but certainly not least I will tie this in with our dead guy, Charles H. Jones. Jones established chills and fever (malarial symptoms) while the soldiers he was with were burning and burring dead men and horses. It was on field on which was low and damp. The only water they had for drinking and cooking was surface water that they had to dig for. They dug hole about two or three feet deep! That’s the place Jones caught malaria. During the time he caught malaria it was July, 1862. So at that time they did have quinine. But a questioning factor is that Jones had a pension from the state for his malaria. This pension got raised higher and higher as he went on living. So what I and an extremely reliable resource agreed upon that Jones was never cured of malaria. The reason for never being treated for malaria might have something to do with the fact that Jones was not exactly the richest man on the face of the Earth. And treatments and field trips to the hospital aren’t cheap. That concludes that Jones never got cured of malaria and took it to his grave with him in 1910. That also concludes this essay! Hope you enjoyed learning about “Malaria, How Was It Treated In The 1800s?



Bibliography


“Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research”, http://www.nibr.novartis.com, cited February 10, 2005

“All about Malaria (Information for the Public)”, http://www.impact-malaria.com/EN/GP/Pour_tout_connaitre_sur_le_paludlisme, cited February 10, 2005

“Artemether for Severe Malaria”, http://www.jr2.ox.ac.uk/bandolier/booth/alternat/At127.html, cited February 9, 2005

“Malaria Malpractice”, http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4988337, cited February 8, 2005

“Malaria Foundation International Fact Pack”, http://www.malaria.org/factpack.html, cited February 9, 2005

“Treatment of Malaria”, http://www.mmv.org/pages/page1_000400010002_1.htm, cited February 7, 2005

“Traditional And Modern Medicine”, http://natureproducts.net/Medicine/artesunate.html, cited February 9, 2005

“Dealing with and preventing imported malaria due to plasmodium falciparum”, http://www.infectiologie.com/public/english/guidelines/malaria-99.pdf, cited February 8, 2005

 “Malaria-a growing threat”, http://www.science.org.au/Nova/011/011glo.htm#quinine,
cited February 7, 2005

“Malaria-a growing threat, Glossary”, http://www.science.org.au/nova/011/011key.htm,
cited February 7, 2005

“Peruvian Bark”, http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/p/perbar29.html, cited February 11, 2005

“Taking the Case”, http://www.wholehealthnow.com/homeopathy_pro/wt13.html, cited February 11, 2005

http://www.startribune.com/images/ss/990_19.html, cited February 11, 2005

Prairie Parcel Restoration, List of Native Prairie Plant Illustrations, http://www.ed-final.gov/help.Prairie_Res/illist.html, cited February 11, 2005

Primary Source Packet, Chills & fever by exposure in a malarial district

Tea Tree Oil – Mother Nature’s Answer to Antibiotic Resistant Infections, http://www.800line.com/ages/art0002.html, cited February 10, 2005

Alternative Nature Online Herbal, Wild Quinine, http://atlnature.com/gallery/Wild_Quinine.htm,
cited February 10, 2005

Tropical Plant Database, http://www.rain-tree.com/quinine.htm, cited February 10, 2005

Motley, Cheryl, Cinchona and its Product—Quinine, http://www.siu.edu/~ebl/leaflets/quinine.htm,
cited February 10, 2005











Crib Death



- Researched by Patrick O.

 


           Over 10 million children perish each year; due to a lack of good care, medical treatment, and bad nutrition. Death rates for children below the age of five dropped 15% since 1990, yet still remain high.

            The death rates in the least developed countries are about 170 per 1,000 live births. That’s about twenty times the rate of industrialized countries.

            This is a table of under-five death rates for 1960 compared to 1994, for every 1,000 births. (http://www.rehydrate.org/facts/child_mortality.htm)


1960
1994
Industrialized Countries
37
9
Developing Countries
216
101
Least Developed Countries
282
170

            The cause of most crib deaths is unknown, yet some people have their theories or opinions. They are said to occur in babies that seem to be perfectly healthy, Fine one night, but dead the next day. But there is still no answer to why this happens. It is something that has interested me enough to research it.

            Some theories that scientists have are these. Sometimes clothes worn to bed, or even pillow could have suffocated them, or even sometimes vomit. Other causes could have been allergies, to something they ate, or a virus infection. Other research shows that most crib deaths occur in winter, instead of the other seasons. Some people believe this because they think it is more likely for a child to have a cold in winter, thus the child gets a virus which kills the baby during the night.

            Between the years 1837-1842, the rate of child mortality was high for kids under the age of five. Ages less than 1 had a total of about 2,983 deaths. Ages of about 1, had a total of about 1,511 deaths. Ages 2-4 had about 1,544 total deaths. Between the three groups there was a total 6,038 deaths of children under five.

            In the 1880’s, about 1 out of every 2 babies died before reaching their first year, that’s 50% of the babies gone. And then if a baby makes it past his/her first year, about 1 out of ever 4 babies between 1 and 5 die, that’s 25% of the young children gone. One way to help your baby not have a crib death is to have them sleep on their back, instead of face down. That way you child is less likely to suffocate themselves.

            In the 1960’s, the Unites States estimated that about 10,000 to 20,000 children died of crib deaths each year.

<>            Our dead guy had many children. One of his boys ended up dying by the age of two from febrile convulsions, or seizures (seizures are a more of a medical term, and convulsions are more of a common name). His mother and father in law also lost a child do to convulsions about a month after he did. (See Primary Source Page)

            A febrile convulsion has to do with a high temperature or fever, normally above 103 degrees. About 1 out of every 20 babies is likely to have a seizure. That’s about 5% of babies.

            Seizures also can be generic to a certain extent. If just one parent had a convulsion when they were younger, the chance that their child will have one will go up about 10-20%. If both parents had a convulsion, and the first born had one, the risk of a second child having convulsions goes up about 20-30%. Another factor to convulsions is if the child has a tendency to get a lot of infections.

            Convulsions are not a disease, but rather a symptom coming from a disease. When the brain gets irritated, for example a temperature that is pretty high, or a tumor, you may get a convulsion, because of that irritation. They normally don’t occur with a temperature below 102 degrees, if it does, something else is probably wrong.

            The main symptoms of convulsions are what we normally think of when you think of a seizure.

  • You lose consciousness, and legs and arms go stiff.
  • Your head gets thrown back and arms and legs begin to shake violently all over the place for a good two minutes.
  • Your skin turns pale and sometimes a bluish color.
  • Then finally the attack ends after a few minutes and your color returns.

            A seizure is not all that deadly; unless you let the attacks keep coming. To stop you child from having more convulsions you will have to treat the disease that caused the temperature, and that helps you baby recover. Complications will also effect whether your baby will live or die.

            A febrile seizure only really occurs in children between the ages of 6 months to 6 years, but sometimes, it could happen before that, or after. A febrile convulsion only happens when you come down with a high temperature and a disease that caused the fever.

            A convulsion cannot be passes on, just like a sore muscle can not be passed on. Also a convulsion can not be prevented. The only thing that you could possibly do is to stop the illness before your baby has another convulsion.

            Baby deaths are a sad thing, and it is too bad that we can make it so no young will die, and only the deaths would come from people of old age. That way all of the young will be able to live a happy life and long life.      

            Thus ends my report on convulsions and of crib deaths, and I hope that you have enjoyed it and learned new information.




Bibliography

http://www.chw.edu.au/parents/factsheets/febrilej.htm,   cited 2/8/05

http://www.netdoctor.com.uk/diseases/facts/febrileconvulsion.htm, cited 2/9/05

http://www.developmentgoals.org/childmortality.htm, cited 2/8/05

http://www.rehydrate.org/facts/child_mortality.htm, cited2/8/05

Interview with Doctor Driscoll

Smith, A. 1968. The Body. Walker and Company, New York, New York














Charles Jones' Pension Value


- Researched by Trever B.


Charles Jones left the army after the war. A few years later he demanded that the Army give him a pension because he caught malaria during the war. So the army concluded that they would give him two dollars a month which threw my studies I have figured out that the two dollars back then is worth eighty two dollars sixty two cents. That is a forty one point thirty one percent increase. So being content with his winnings Charles got on with his life growing older. Becoming an alcoholic, Charles was also a loaner and he did not pay his bills one of the things that he didn’t pay for is a half cord of wood that was priced at two dollars. 

From 1880-1885, Charles H Jones and Maggie Knight had three children. These children’s names are Frank Edward Jones, oddly enough he next two are unnamed [in the Deerfield Town Records]. During this duration, Charles went through two jobs -  a farmer and a shoemaker.  Throughout his life, he continued to go through many jobs. In 1885 Charles Jones’ son Alvin Jones died from convulsions. And in a odd coincidence, Charles’ mother-in-law’s baby died of convulsions also.

On June 27th, 1890, it was declared that Charles Jones pension would increase to six dollars a month that’s a value of two hundred fourty seven dollars and eighty six cents. This act would commence on  August 14th in the year of 1890. His attorney J.M Davis was paied ten dollars for getting him this increase in his pension value.

So once again on February 6th, 1907, Charles H. Jones had another increase in his pension to twelve dollars.These days that is a value of four hundred nintey five dollars and seventy two cents. Charles Jones died  two years later  - February  24th, 1910. He was at the age of sixty-eight; his job at the time was a painter.

They concluded that Charles H. Jones died of heart failure due to chronic alcholism. After his death the concluded that all of his belongings had a price that added up to twenty dollars that twenty dollars is worth around eight hundred twenty six dollars two cents. On the day of his furnural fifty dollars  fifty cents was spent this money was spent on a casket which was priced at thirty five dollars a burail box which cost three dollars fifty cents, a robe which was five dollars, imbalment which was another five dollars and finaly the services of the minister which added another two dollars to the over all total. That fifty dollars and fifty is worth a Whopping two thousand eight six dollars fifteen cents.


Charles Jones' gravestone
Charles Jones' Gravestone


Charles Jones' last heating bill
Charles Jones' Last Heating Bill



Probably the last pair of pants Charles Jones ever bought
The Bill For What Was Probably Charles Jones' Last Pair of Pants




The bill for Jones' funeral
The Bill For Charles Jones' Funeral






Teacher's Note

       Trevor has been very modest in this report and has not mentioned the amount of work he put into determining what a dollar was worth at the start of the 20th Century. He looked up the prices of more than 30 items in a reprinted copy of the 1897 Sears & Roebuck Catalog, then spent several days tracking down the modern prices of items of the same type. He used this to determine a cost-comparison ratio, which he used in this report. He worked very hard on this project.





Bibliography
(Websites I Consulted to Look Up Modern Prices)


Fogdog.com

Shoplet.com

Homedepot.com

Shop.com

Discountofficsupplies.com

Outpost.com

Digitalgiftstore.com

Builderdepot.com

Georgetowntabacco.com

Brandsplace.com

Northerntool.com

Sears.com

Nivica.com

Brookstone.com

Personal security zone

Pilpinesuperstore.com

Footlocker.com

Amazon.com

Campinggearoutlet.com

Pricegrabber.com

Cvs.com













Money: Then and Now!


- Researched by Siobhan K.

 
 Do you know if a lot of people bought things on credit or what people  in 1910 did when they went on vacation?  Well, I have your answers.   They’re all in here, just read ahead. Our dead guy’s name is Charles Jones, and  when we got assigned our questions I looked through the packet Mr.Fladd gave us  with the primary  sources. There were a couple things I noticed about our  dead guy.  One was that he got divorced a lot, and two that this guy’s life  had a lot to do with money.  Whether he was spending it on alcohol, or  gaining it from his pension. I thought "How could I build off of that?  

This is what I got from the packet and other resources:
 
 Our Dead guy, Charles Jones, was in the military.  It was a job  we think of as paying pretty well.  How much do you think it paid back when  he was in the military? With a little digging, I figured out that a private,  (his rank)
is paid every 90 days and got paid $40.00.  When he was  discharged he got paid $75.00.  So when this guy was paid by the military,  he got paid twice the amount his estate was worth when he died.
 
 Speaking of which, we also discovered that all he had left of his  estate was $20.00 worth of furniture and the house he rented for $7.00 a  month.  Thinking about this, and how he had a pension from the government,  it makes one wonder how much did he get from his pension over the course of his  life? With a formula you can figure out that from 1881-1864 he made a total of  $408.00.  Then for some reason, they stopped paying him.  He began  receiving payments again from 1890-1910.  He made a total of  $12,960.00.  When I did these calculations, I was not counting his fees.
 
When our guy died in 1910 from alcoholism, it made me think about  how much a bottle of whisky cost in 1910?  I found that out also.  In  1910 whiskey cost $3.50 a gallon. If you were to look at the debts our guy had  when he died, you’d see that groceries was one of them.  He owed a debt of  $20.00 for groceries.  
 
 Now I did say debt didn’t I?  Well this guy was in debt up to  his neck when he died.  I might add that his son paid off all the  debts.  That made me think were there a lot of people in debt in  1910?  I was surprised to find that the national debt was 1.15 billon in  1910 (the time our guy died). In general the average salary for a person was  $750.00 per year in 1910.  Then I starting wondering how many people did  not work in 1910.  I did some more research and found out that 2,150,000  people were unemployed in 1910.
 
 Talking about being in debt, and what Charles Jones estate was worth,  got me to wonder what was his estate ($20.00) would be equal to today.   Well I figured out a formula by gathering information from a 1909 sears catalog,  that $20.00 today is the same as having $1,565.00 today.  
 
 Our guy may have not gone on vacation, but I still wondered what did  some people do for vacation?  I discovered that they might go on a cruise  for $60.00, or just stay home and enjoy the fire. I would imagine most people  chose the second one.
 
 Another question came to mind because our guy was in the Civil  War.  How did the Union pay for the war?  It turns out that the  government raised taxes on medicine, matches, perfumes and other articles in  order to pay for the war.  All these things kind of tie in with our guy,  and to each other.  I went straight from one subject to the next,  explaining the value of money then and now.







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