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American Civil War Round Table Queensland Issue February/March 2008

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N e w s l e t t e r o f t h e A m e r i c a n C i v i l W a r R o u n d T a b l e Q u e e n s l a n d

Editor Robert Taylor QSM. Email: [email protected] .au

ACWRTQ NEWS: ACWRTQ NEWS: ACWRTQ NEWS: ACWRTQ NEWS: RSL Veteran Presenta t ion : At the first meeting for 2008, Tuesday night, 8th January, the American Civil War Round Table of Queensland (ACWRTQ) made an official presentation to the Coorparoo Returned Services League (RSL) Club. At the commencement of the ACWRTQ’s monthly meeting, John Geraghty, an affable Irishman and the General Manager of the Coorparoo RSL Club, was presented with a framed photographic display of the nine known American Civil War veterans who are buried in Queensland. ACWRTQ club president, Dr Jack Ford, made the presentation. The framed display was researched and assembled by ACWRTQ member Jim Gray and contains photographs of most of the men the society refers to as “Queensland’s forgotten war veterans”. They are veterans of the War Between the States who came to Australia after their service to carve out a new life. While some lived long lives to die of old age and lie in some forgotten corner, some ended up in asylums and have no known grave-site or marker. In those hard days destitution or sickness was often enough reason to be committed to an asylum or sanatorium such as that located at Dunwich on North Stradbroke Island. The framed memorial display has been installed near the entrance to the basement meeting room where ACWRTQ holds monthly meetings at the Coorparoo RSL premises, 45 Holdsworth Street. RSL President John Geraghty said he was surprised to learn that there were veterans of the Civil War buried in Australia and being Irish himself very interested to learn that some were his countrymen. Editor: As you will read later in this issue some Irish Australians, former convicts, went from Australia to fight in the war and at Marye’s Heights, in the Battle of Fredericksburg, distinguished themselves. The ACWRTQ has been associated with the RSL Club almost from its inception in 1998. By then the Queensland branch of the American Civil War Round Table of Australia was regularly meeting at Coorparoo RSL. So after nearly nine years of the RSL playing host to

ACWRTQ’s meetings, it is fitting that the society gives something back to such kind hosts apart from our regular custom and RSL membership.

Forgotten Veterans: Author/Researcher James Gray

Jim Gray, ACWRTQ reports that his publication, Queensland’s Forgotten Veterans of the American Civil War will soon go to print. Price per book will depend upon final publishing costs. Jim also reports that New Zealand and Swedish descendants of Civil War veteran Joseph Wareham have expressed thanks to him and the Round Table for obtaining a US Presidential Certificate personally signed by George Bush. A second Presidential certificate has been ordered from Washington on behalf of Victorian descendants.

An Invitation to Shoot: Local Blackbutt resident and ACWRTQ member Phil Argent extends an invitation to fellow ACWRTQ members to attend camp outs and black powder shoots at the Blackbutt Sporting Shooters Association of Australia shooting range. Most black powder cap and ball weapons are catered for including revolvers. The area boasts a thick forest and a walk through range approved by Queensland Weapons Licensing Branch.


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This excellent drawing was published soon after the war and demonstrates the unknown artists life catching skill. Images like these are now free of copyright and are being shared amongst Civil War Round Tables worldwide. A selection of these will be highlighted in future editions of The Bugle. Phil Argent also has a mint copy of The Fighting Men of the Civil War by William C Davis for sale ($50.00). Hard cover edition. Contact Phil Argent: 32 John Street, Blackbutt, Queensland 4306.

McMillan’s Irish Guard: Irish Rebels of the American Civil War:

Discussion/Study Article Of the many Irish who served both North and South, Robert McMillan achieved considerable notoriety for one battle in particular. He organized a company in Habersham County Georgia, enlisting many Irishmen along with three of his own sons. As was the custom, the company adopted his name to become “McMillan Guards” and in the summer of 1861 was mustered into Confederate States service as Company “K” of the 24th Georgia Volunteer Infantry Regiment. It was the only Irish company in the 24th. Soon afterwards McMillan was promoted Regimental Colonel. On the other side of the battle lines In 1862, a former Irish Australian convict had gathered his men in the second year of the war. Meagher’s (pronounced Mars) U.S. Irish Brigade made two of the most gallant charges in American history, first at Antietam’s “Bloody Lane” and 87 days later against Confederate Irish behind the famous Stone Wall at the foot of Marye’s Heights. The sad irony is that two Irish units on opposite sides, many from the same villages back in Ireland, were to fight tooth and nail to kill each other because of a sad circumstance of both history and geography.

Father Corby (mounted) blesses the brigade as it steps off. “Sons of Erin” a painting by Don Troiani, Courtesy Wild Geese. (See site below.) Meagher is seen astride his horse leading the attack with sword in hand. His poor horse would soon be shot out from under him and Meagher carried from the battlefield unconscious. Before the war Meagher was a leading proponent for Irish independence and after a failed rebellion was tried and sentenced to death, later commuted to life in an Australian prison. However he escaped and fled to New York where a whole new set of adventures awaited him. He was later to lose his taste for war and resigned his commission, an act that no doubt saved his life. Perhaps his spirit was broken by the loss of so many of his loyal Irishmen.

Heroic pose from Brigadier General Thomas

Francis Meagher Meagher was to clash violently with his Southern counterpart, Antrim born Colonel Robert McMillan of the 24th Georgia who knew full well the Irish were attacking his position. He could clearly see the approaching green flag billowing in the hostile air. While later there may have been comments from Confederate Irish about admiration for their countrymen on the other side, Kelly O’Grady dismisses that they had any regrets in his book Clear The Confederate Way. The men coming up the slope were bent on killing those sheltering behind the stonewall. Without hesitation they loaded and fired as fast as they could and as the green flag got closer McMillan shouted, “That’s Meagher’s Brigade!” Shortly after he ordered, “Give it to them boys!” All the while


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McMillan paced up and down the line waving his sword, exposing himself to enemy fire, encouraging his men to, “Hold the line!” Fifteen federal brigades swept up the hill but were shattered by McMillan’s brigade. Later Commander Kershaw said of McMillan’s brigade, ”Their fire was the most rapid and continuous I have ever witnessed.” You might expect McMillan wouldn’t go unscathed, a spent ball struck him in the neck while one of his sons looked on in horror. McMillan calmly assured his son he was fine, stooped to pick up the ball and put it in his pocket, such are the fortunes of war. After 4 bloody years and many battlefields, only 4 officers and 56 men of McMillan’s original regiment were left to surrender at Appomattox on April 9, 1865.

Pat Murphy of the Irish Brigade: (Popular song of the period.)

The battle is o’er, the dead lay in heaps,

Pat Murphy lay bleeding and gory, a hole in his head from a rifleman’s shot

that ended his passion for glory.

No more in the camp shall his laughter be heard,

or the songs he sang so gaily, he died like a hero, in the Land of the Free

Far ‘way from the land of Shillelagh. Originally the song was known as Pat Murphy of Meagher’s Brigade but is now known as Honest Pat Murphy, having become a more generic Irish Union soldier. The lyrics above vary slightly in this extract but Folk-Legacy artist Ed Trickett of Brookville Maryland recorded it. Editor: None of Robert McMillan’s sons survived! Much of the information related here and illustrations is credited with the following websites both highly recommended for study purposes.

See History of the 24th Georgia: http://24thgeorgiacoh.com/history.htm

Also New York Irish: http://www.thewildgeese.com/iba/

Picture credit Library of Congress Embattled Stone Wall at Marye’s Heights

Editor: See Jack Ford’s report in this issue outlining the up coming battle re-enactment of Marye’s Heights, to be held at Glen Innes in May.

The wall on Marye’s Heights today.

Flags of Our Grandfathers Nelson Winbush

Stephanie Garry, Times Staff Writer October 7, 2007

Edited Robert Taylor QSM Discussion/Study article.

Editor: The face behind this flag asks for help to continue telling a story. Who is best suited to pick up the challenge, carry that banner and its story into future generations? At 79 Nelson Winbush is a retired assistant principal with a master’s degree. A thoughtful man whose worldly view developed from listening to his grandfather’s stories about serving the South in the "War Between the States." His grandfather’s casket was draped with a Confederate flag and Nelson wears its flag-pin on the collar of his polo shirt. Nelson often dines at Fat Boy’s Barbecue, where the Sons of Confederate Veterans regularly meet. He paraphrases the words of his associates and other Southern loyalists: “The war wasn’t about slavery. The South had the constitutional right to secede, Confederate soldiers were battling for their homes and their families. President Lincoln was a despot!” Many Americans are dumbfounded. “How can a black man defend a movement that kept his people enslaved?” Editor: As a long time student of the war and it’s political intrigues, I wonder why ‘black man’ is a term still used by Northerners to describe African Americans.


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Northerners claim to have freed them from prejudice and slavery, isn’t it time we termed people by who they are rather than a supposed colour? I am not a white man, I am a New Zealand Australian and most African Americans I know are a darker shade of brown not black. Until recently, Nelson Winbush was thought to be just one of a handful of African American members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans in the country. While no one has done a survey, the number is believed to be considerable as today’s generations discover their ancestors’ heroic pasts. To win doubters over, Nelson produces his grandfather's pension papers, reunion photos and obituary. He also gives speeches, mostly before white audiences. Nelson believes the South seceded because the federal government taxed it disproportionately. (Editor: See The Bugle 9 edition) “It was a matter of states' rights, not slavery, that was going extinct as the United States became more industrialized,” he says. Nelson denies that President Lincoln freed the slaves, explaining the Emancipation Proclamation affected only the Confederate states that were no longer under his authority. Winbush adds bluntly, "It was an exercise in rhetoric, that's all." His view runs counter to many historical accounts. Rev. Nelson B. Rivers III, field operations chief for the civil rights oraganisation National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) called Winbush’s arguments illogical. Rev. Rivers spoke with Winbush by telephone a few years ago, intrigued by his position. The Reverand remembers Nelson being loud and sincere, holding fast to his convictions. "I was courteous and respectful and respectfully disagreed with him," Rivers said. "This is America, he has a right to believe what he wants to." At one speech, Nelson stood in front of the square Confederate battle flag that once draped his grandfather’s coffin, retelling stories he has told so many times. At the end of the talk, he holds a microphone to a stereo that plays a song by the Rebelaires, with a sorrowful, bluesy rhythm: "You may not believe me, but things was just that way. Black is nothing other than a darker shade of rebel gray." Editor: A very interesting point in that to produce grey you need to mix black and white together. When other Confederates recognize the story is real, they love him. Opponents often attack white Confederates as ignorant or racist, Nelson is harder to dismiss, doubters are now more willing to listen, if nothing else.

Christopher Hall, commander of Winbush’s SCV camp says, "It kinda wipes out the whole segregation, hate and racism issue, coming from him, that really can't be an argument." Nelson’s views were once widespread, even in the land of theme parks and turnpikes. Florida was the third state to secede. Its Civil War governor John Milton shot himself rather than rejoin the North, telling the Legislature, "Death is preferable to reunion." Former Governor. Lawton Chiles defended the Confederate flag in 1996 when lawmakers asked for its removal from the Capitol. "You can’t erase history," Chiles said defiantly at the time. But now neo-Confederates are losing this second war of culture and memory. From 2001 Confederate flags started coming down, especially from the tops of Southern Statehouses, including Florida. The agrarian Bible Belt has become the Sun Belt full of northerners with few deep roots in the area. Identification with the South as a unique region has declined since World War II united the country with patriotism and an interstate system. Areas of South Florida for instance, are known better as the sixth borough of New York than part of the Deep South. Southern schools are forbidden to play Confederate historical songs such as Dixie and High school teachers don't preach Southern values or righteousness any more. Historians, for the most part agree that the Civil War was about slavery, undermining the standard neo-Confederate argument. But Confederate loyalists are digging in. Winbush considers the South his homeland and his family history, “Because it's rarer than that of white Confederates, it is in danger of extinction.” Slowly, in his deep, rough voice, Nelson tells the story of a young slave from a Tennessee plantation named Louis Napoleon Nelson, who went to war with the sons of his master. "They grew up together," says Winbush. At first his grandfather cooked and looked out for the others but later he saw action fighting with a rifle under the command of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, a former slave trader and plantation owner. At Shiloh, a two-day battle in 1862, more than 23,000 American men were killed or wounded. The Confederate Army needed a chaplain and while Louis Nelson couldn’t read or write, he had memorized the King James Bible so stayed on as chaplain for the next four campaigns, leading services for both Confederate and Union soldiers, before they headed back to the battlefield. He also foraged for food. However the grandfather would never talk about the Union siege of Vicksburg, a bloody battle that captured an important Mississippi River port and effectively split the South. Nearly 20,000 people died. After the war, he lived as a free man on the James Oldham plantation for 12 more years. Over the years, he went to 39 Confederate reunions, wearing a woolly grey uniform.


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"When he came back, that was storytelling time," Nelson says with a smile. His grandfather died in 1934. The local paper ran an obituary that called him a "Darky" but Nelson’s proud that his grandfather's death was marked at all.

Little Nelson shakes his grandfather’s hand at a Confederate reunion. Note the veterans in the

background. In 1908 Nelson’s grandfather built the house he grew up in, it was a two-story yellow structure with wraparound porch in Ripley, Tennessee. The Oldham plantation, where his grandfather was a slave, provided all the wood in recognition for his loyalty to the family during and after the war. Nelson’s family were all educators. His grandmother and mother were teachers and he says he first went to school as a baby in a basket. About racism he says he never suffered anything blatant and thinks that people will get along if they know each other. The small Southern towns he lived in were familiar and accepting. He remembers the "I Have A Dream" speech that the Rev. Martin Luther King Junior delivered on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. While respecting King, Nelson disagrees with his reverence for Lincoln. “I wasn't moved by the speech. King was just speaking the truth,” he says, “but it didn't change the daily reality of blacks.”

A forlorn look from Nelson tells the story Nelson Winbush’s convictions about the war lay dormant until 1991, when the NAACP began an all-out campaign against the Confederate flag,

saying it was a symbol of hatred and vowed to have it removed from public places by the end of the decade. Winbush saw it differently, and because he was retiring was no longer worried about what some "Yankee boss" would think. "I got fed up about all this politically correct mess," he says. He marched out and joined the Sons of Confederate Veterans and started speaking at their events, twice appearing before the Virginia Legislature to dissuade them from taking down the flag. He collects clippings of newspaper stories written about his speeches. One shows him posing in front of a statute of Nathan Bedford Forrest. He acknowledges that misuse of the Confederate flag has made it a symbol of hate in some people’s eyes but says the American flag is just as racist. “Troops of colour are sent to die disproportionately in American wars,” he says, “the Stars and Stripes flew above those slave ships.” Nelson is the last direct link to his grandfather, someone who heard the stories firsthand and felt the passion. He feels the legacy of Confederate soldiers like his grandfather won’t survive unless the history is past within families, from one generation to the next. His son, a Naval Academy graduate works for IBM and once tried to talk Winbush into donating his entire Confederate collection to a museum. "This is the only way some people will find out what did happen," he said. "History books leave it out." Editor: Nelson Winbush knows he won’t be around forever but hopes his story might. He just wants someone to continue telling them. This is where the ACWRT comes in…that’s our job, fear not Nelson we are world wide, we know what you are talking about and hear your call loud and clear.

James Latimer A Forgotten Veteran

By Robert Taylor QSM


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Additional research by the late Roy W Parker, Barry Crompton (Melb.) James Gray (Qld.) Ralph Latimer, Keith Latimer (Qld.) Clive Burton USA. Pat Fischer, Beenleigh Public Library. The American War Between the States, widely known as the Civil War, took its toll on the lives of those who survived the bitter four years of torture. Many were permanently, emotionally and physically scarred and in some cases, during and after the war, either through political turmoil or simply because of painful memories, couldn’t remain in the country that caused them so much suffering. Soldiers from both sides seemed to want distance between themselves and the terrible recollections of what they had gone through. Later memory’s detail dimmed and the aging veterans came together to honour their fallen comrades. But for many, who had scattered around the world in sometimes extremely remote and wild parts, closure was not to be and they simply lost themselves in their isolation, rebuilt broken lives and in Australia and New Zealand became “The Forgotten Veterans.” After the war former Irish Missouri Militiaman James Latimer could have gone anywhere in the British Empire. He chose the hardship of life, in what was then a rugged and desolate timber felling country, a prison colony with snakes, tropical diseases, constant drought and poor soil, perhaps simply because his brother Thomas David Latimer lived here. Queensland had a very high Irish population and this may also have been an attraction. It seems religion had little bearing on their decisions to settle the area unlike some Catholic Irish who were drawn together into communities, the Latimers were Protestant and very individualistic. Thomas David Latimer was already well established with an arrowroot plantation in Nerang and was serving as a Queensland policeman in 1878 so was well known in the district and could ensure James’ safety and security in those rugged early days. James Latimer was born in Ireland at Closagh Rock, Covey on 22 December 1829, his younger brother Thomas, born in Cootehill in County Monaghan, probably 11th August 1832. There is some dispute about his brother’s age as he may have lied when emigrating to Australia, partly to appease local regulation but more likely to deceive his bride to be when he married on 1st March 1892. On police records his age, on July 16th 1878 is given as 56 years and six months, making his birth date in 1822 and therefore an older brother of James. Yet on each birth certificate of his children his age varies. At the time of his second marriage in 1892 he would have been about 70. This discrepancy may also be attributed to a lack of reading and writing skills, common until fairly recent times in Ireland. While one brother came to Australia, like many Irishmen before and after, to escape the hardships of a dreaded potato famine, James

chose to emigrate to America and landed in the middle of turmoil that would lead to that nation’s bloodiest conflict, the American Civil War. Later newly arrived Irish were quickly thrust into action to become cannon fodder for the Union and in many cases it was ironically Irish on Irish in battles that ensued, some from the same village but on opposite sides, purely by circumstance of immigration. The Latimers have some claim to fame. Dr Clive Burton believes they are related to James Latimer who placed the first gold spike for the opening of the Great Western Railway from London to Bristol. This Latimer is referred to in “The History of the London Underground,” available from the London Tube Authority. Clive Burton adds, “We are also related to the famous Hugh Latimer who was burnt as a heretic at the stake by Queen Mary.” Clive also noted that while visiting the Capitol in Washington DC many years ago, he saw a painting of someone who looked remarkably like his mother’s brother and James’ older brother William Latimer. On closer inspection it turned out to be a painting of one James Latimer, Secretary for the Delaware Convention, a possible and interesting family connection that may explain the friendship and acquaintance with the famous explorer and politician John Charles Fremont who travelled the Wild West with Kit Carson. Unlike later Irish migrants, James Latimer had a choice and clearly decided to join Federal forces in Company I, 36th Regiment, Missouri Militia under the overall command of General Fremont, with whom James was later to become more than just close friends. The militia wasn’t mustered into US service but instead served as State force volunteers, more like today’s mercenaries, raiding the local community and pursuing suspect Confederate supporters. The company, under Lieutenant Moorehouse was in Nodaway County’s Home Guard under Colonel William J.W. Beckett. Much later, when applying unsuccessfully for an army pension, James Latimer stated, “I didn’t serve in the regular Federal army. About September 1861, I enrolled in a regiment of irregular volunteers in Nodaway County, Missouri. Can’t remember the name of the Colonel commanding but he was a doctor of medicine. I served in the regiment for over 12 months.” He made no reference to General Fremont, who by then had fallen foul of the political system, something he had also done during the war with Abraham Lincoln. One of the great fortunes of volunteers was that they could and did leave the battlefield when they felt they’d had enough. Latimer claims to have been enrolled by a senior regular army officer, one General Tuttill. Latimer continues, “The General enrolled our volunteers and the first thing we did was arrest all county officers, they were later released by the General after giving bond and security for good behaviour during the war.” This was


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not an uncommon practice and honour locked many into the agreement. Those who broke bonds and were later recaptured were generally shot. Latimer highlights this practice when he says, “Our regiment was ordered to the southern part of the state where we captured Dr Lee, brother of General Robert E Lee and his two sons and about 30 other rebels, all of whom were shot.” In spite of much searching through various historic accounts of the Lee family and Internet records, Lee had no other brother apart from those already known and they certainly didn’t meet with such an untimely and brutal death in Missouri. It’s more likely they arrested a man with the name Lee, assumed he was related; assumption often brought the death sentence in those days. Perhaps Latimer was a bit fanciful and expanded his story in hope of obtaining that much needed army pension but it certainly illustrates the brutality of Missouri’s militiamen, a courtesy returned by the South. The Missouri and Kansas campaigns remained bloody affairs throughout and both sides preyed mercilessly upon sometimes-innocent civilians. An indication of the nature and ability of Latimer’s unit is revealed by U.S. General Sherman when he described the Missouri Militia and other volunteers in his ranks, “I have not really one thorough soldier in my army, they are all green and raw.” This was said on the eve of the bloody Battle of Shiloh, a biblical name ironically meaning “Place of Peace.” A Missouri Lieutenant became the battle’s very first victim. While many Federal volunteers ran from the battlefield in disarray some dutifully fired off a volley, broke ranks and went berry picking, such was the casual nature of this unusual war. Incidentally, Sherman didn’t perform too well in this battle either, he ignored all obvious signs and numerous reports from scouts of an approaching and massive Confederate attack, much to the detriment of an army that was soon in panic and routed from the field. According to all living relatives, during the war James met and fell in love with the daughter of his commanding officer, John Charles Fremont. Both Ralph and Keith Latimer who still live in the South East Queensland area and Dr Clive Burton, a US resident, assert this to be the case, although there is no record of the event. She was described by Thomas Latimer’s descendant, Dr Clive Burton, as being “ravishing.” This would fit with descriptions of the entire Fremont family, however the marriage didn’t last long as she is believed to have died young, leaving Latimer to consider his options. Fremont was reputed to be a somewhat promiscuous man and it is possible that the daughter was illegitimate, explaining the lack of supportive records. His legitimate family went on to achieve great fame in literature.

It is Ralph Latimer who asserts that James was a wheelwright during the war and worked as such in Queensland. Whatever his role in the 36th Regiment, Missouri Volunteer Militia, by 1863 James had obviously had enough of killing and no doubt sadness at the loss of his beautiful wife. He decided to return to Ireland. In February 1864 while the war still raged he migrated with his mother and a newly found Irish bride Nancy Jane to Australia to join his brother Thomas in the new state of Queensland. In the 1860’s a large settler population had arrived at Nerang, some of them fellow victims of the American Civil War and unemployed cotton operatives from Lancashire. It was into this world that the brother, Thomas David Latimer had arrived seeking new opportunities. It was part of a scheme to transform the South east of Queensland into a cotton colony, much like the Southern States in America, with Kanaks imported as slaves filling the role played by African Americans. This was largely to offset tribulations of Civil War cotton shortages but by 1867, with cotton restored and flowing from other countries, the Queensland scheme failed miserably. Cotton is very greedy on water and perhaps it never really had a chance in the often drought stricken Nerang area. Many migrants, like Thomas David Latimer stayed, trying instead to grow maize and sugar cane, the latter crop is still successfully harvested today but more towards the coast on the flatlands of Pimpama and Jacobs Well. Felling timber, of which red cedar was much sought after, became highly lucrative in the Nerang, Gilston, Advancetown area where Thomas had taken root. This may have later engaged James’ wheelwright skills that had him busy during the war. However his brother Thomas had already established a substitute arrowroot farm in Nerang and James simply took up growing the crop from tubers given him by his brother along with sugar cane on his Selection in the available land at Pimpama and Ormeau and later Yatala. In one Aboriginal dialect, Pimpama, the final resting place of James Latimer, means “freshwater crayfish” and no doubt many


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prevailed in the clear streams and provided food for the table, however it’s more likely to have derived from the Aborigine word “peempeema” meaning “the place of peewee“ (magpie lark.)

The little peeweee The attractive black and white peewee, with its highly pitched call still dominates the area. The word may also be a corruption of “bimbinbah” meaning “place of a soldier bird.” In the early days the swampy region was covered with tea tree, “soldier birds” nested prolifically, sometimes they are referred to as “mickey birds.” Many of the locals also “nested” here at J.W.Drewes Pimpama Hotel, it was thriving in 1871 and was no doubt James’ local “watering hole.” Only one pub exists now and that is the new Ormeau Tavern although the old cane cutters pub The Gem still stands further north in Alberton. Selection files from Queensland State Archives locate James Latimer living on portion 111, Parish of Albert from 10th May 1869. James had improved the property amongst dense vegetation with ten acres of cultivation, mainly sugar cane and had erected a four-roomed cottage. The Selection consisted of 80 acres and in later years further Selections were added under his name around Ormeau and Yatala. The original Selection was situated near Sandy Creek and bounded as far away as the eastern bank of Albert River, near the present day Beenleigh Tavern and back to Mirambeena Drive. He named his homestead Podinga, the present site of Ormeau Primary School that was originally called Podinga Primary School. James’ son was Thomas Whitfield, born in Yatala, 15th May 1872. The South Coast Bulletin (10th June 1932) announced the death of Thomas Whitfield aged only 60 and that he lived with his parents until 1898 before moving to Gilston where he also grew arrowroot. It is here that he made a name for himself and built the second arrowroot mill in 1900, running it successfully until 1918 alongside Latimer’s Crossing. Queensland Births has an entry for Thomas Whitfield Latimer and gives his mother’s name as Nancy Jane nee Malleroy. If living descendants’ accounts are true this was James’ second marriage and it’s most likely they married in Ireland before coming to Queensland as there are no records of their marriage in Queensland Births Deaths and Marriages files. The earliest Queensland record for children from this marriage is a death record for a daughter, Eliza Ellen, 15th December 1865. James’ wife Nancy Jane Latimer died 6th September 1873 and is thought to be buried in Jacobs Well, however no markers exist and it is more likely that she rests somewhere in

Pimpama cemetery near James. Other birth records indicate the Latimer’s had Margaret Louisa, 15th January 1867, James Fremont, 2nd November 1869, (named after the famed explorer, former commanding officer and father in law, John Charles Fremont) and Thomas Whitfield, taking the name of Latimer’s grandfather on his mother’s side. A Mary Latimer is also said to be buried near James Latimer in Pimpama cemetery, although no marker exists. She died 28th January 1929 and is thought to be a third wife, although no records support this to date. The loss of children and wives highlights the hardships of life in Ormeau and Queensland generally during the late 1800’s. Without the proper medical care, we take so much for granted today, nature had savage circumstance in store for all but the fittest; children fell too often to the Grim Reaper. The rate of disease amongst settlers, from such things as contaminated drinking water, was only surpassed by the failure of their crops. Fairly early in James Latimer’s fortunes, a sugar cane disease all but wiped out the business, those who had diversified with arrowroot or other crops soon found it to be their salvation.

Arrowroot By 1908 Queensland farmers on about a dozen farms in Yatala, Pimpama, Ormeau and Nerang districts, were supplying almost all of the arrowroot used in the entire colony.

Arrowroot harvest Ormeau Amongst the largest arrowroot growers were the Doherty brothers at Hotham Creek and the Latimer brothers and sons at Ormeau and Nerang. Combined, they had half the arrowroot plantations in the district. Ormeau is a French name meaning “Young Elm” and originated with an 1860’s sugar cane planter Major A. J. Boyd. Today it’s a thriving district and a growing residential area with few reminders of


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pioneers apart from vast sugarcane fields and the quaint Pimpama cemetery. James Latimer lived a long and fruitful life in Ormeau residing until his death in 1919. He’s buried with his mother at the little picturesque and peaceful Pimpama cemetery, beside its historic church.

Latimer’s grave in the Pimpama cemetery near Ormeau

(Photo credit R. E. Taylor QSM) James Latimer’s grave is one of the most magnificent at Pimpama with a tall limestone pillar adorned with a decorative vase indicating his prosperity and the respect of his family and local community. Obviously his arrowroot days and numerous other endeavours were very rewarding. A low concrete nib wall, that once had iron chains strung around its sides, surrounds the grave. The headstone reads…

James Latimer, who died 12 th August 1919 in his 90 th year.

His mother Susanah Latimer who died 12th July 1897 aged 91 years.

At rest.

Latimer’s Crossing Advancetown (Photo credit R. E. Taylor.)

The Latimer family name is immortalised beyond the grave. In Ormeau, Latimer Road near Logan, Podinga Circuit in Ormeau and Latimer’s Crossing Road in Advancetown are street names adorning the suburbs. Just south of Pimpama is the scene of early settlement in Nerang and inland, the tiny farming communities of Advancetown and Gilston,

where so much cedar redwood was logged. Little remains of that once magnificent and ancient forest today. Winding through a rural valley is the picturesque road and river crossing named after his bother and son, Latimer’s Crossing Road and Latimer’s Crossing. Thomas Whitfield Latimer’s land occupied the area near the low wooden bridge. A modern concrete bridge now spans the river but the old wooden supports of the original crossing can still be seen around which flows a sparkling stream of clear water. Almost hidden in the trees above is an old water-pump windmill, frozen in its cogs. Heavily laden, these logs were tipped into Cedar

Creek to be floated down stream Across the old wooden bridge, ox teams would have hauled wagons heavily laden with freshly cut cedar logs. John Duncan, descendant of the Gold Coast pioneer family who still own much of the land in the area, claims his family gave the river crossing its name more in jest than respect for Latimer. The Latimer family today claim the name stuck because it was near their land and the Duncans were put out that the bridge didn’t take their name. Scottish, Irish rivalries that dogged a community over a hundred years ago are as much alive today amongst the family. William Duncan was born in Scotland in 1832 and migrated to Australia with his family in 1837. At the age of 14 he and Edmund Harper crossed the Tweed River into the Gold Coast region in search of cedar. They are believed to be the first white men to have sighted the Gold Coast. In 1854, aged 22, William married and after many years wandering valleys of the gold Coast and Tweed regions cutting timber, he settled at Gilston in the 1870’s. Like the Duncans, some of Latimer’s descendants still live in the Beenleigh area. Ralph Latimer describes his great, great, grandfather, “I believe he was highly astute and a very successful wheelwright. He made wagon wheels for the army during the Civil War.” This highly prized trade was brought to Ormeau and Beenleigh and while arrowroot proved to be a sound investment, no doubt James was drawn into fashioning or repairing wagon and cartwheels for the local community. While


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James lived out the rest of his life in Ormeau and Yatala some of those wagons, hauled by straining bullocks over that historic wooden bridge in Advancetown, are likely to have been on wheels made or repaired by James. He passed his creativity onto son Thomas Whitfield Latimer renowned for his knowledge and use of steam engines and who set up a most successful steam driven sawmill at Alston and Gilston. His younger brother James Fremont Latimer also ran an arrowroot mill on the Nerang River, off McLaren’s Road. The mill only closed in the 1970’s. Queensland, in the 1860’s was a hard place and the southwest corner was rugged, demanding tough men and women. Latimer’s experiences in the American Civil War equipped him well to cope with the rigours of Queensland life with skills that enabled him to create an existence in a formidable landscape, and equip surviving members of his family to also endure these hardships. James Latimer has won a respected place in the community carving for himself a place in the history of Beenleigh, Ormeau and Nerang. That he lived so long and endured so much, from the horrid battlefields of the American Civil war, to the disease and pestilence of Queensland and pure hard work, tells us something of the stamina and determination of the man. The Latimers can be very proud to have James as an ancestor, while we Johnny come lately’s can be proud to have him as part of our Queensland history.

Letters to the Editor: Thank you so very much for creating that wonderful write-up and cover photo in The Bugle. I am so very flattered. I do hope there are no serious difficulties with ordering the book. I was up at Chickamauga and Lookout Mountain this weekend. Studying Chickamauga is fairly strait forward, and walking the ground of Longstreet's "schwerpunkt" as I called it in the book, is inspiring to a 20th century mechanized warfare soldier such as myself. Truly a forerunner to the infiltration tactics of 1918 and a piece/part of what became Blitzkrieg, and offensive armoured warfare. Lookout Mountain and all the controversy surrounding General Bragg with his paranoid personality that fairly well paralysed the Army, on the other hand -- is quite complicated. There are as many different interpretations of the squabbling, firings, etc. This would be a good piece for examination by an Australian or a British military thinker for objectivity. There are

too many lingering biases in the American historical community to get an objective assessment on who acted properly, and who was at fault. A quick synopsis of what I wrote - the book is not an A to Z biography on Longstreet, it is an attempt to steer clear of the Lost Cause driven view of the man, and look at him purely for his military accomplishments. The three primary pillars I would say are Fredericksburg, for the modern defence he set up which in my view struck the right formula of incorporating the improvements of mid 19th century weapons with earthworks, centralized artillery fire support, and the creation of a kill zone. All of this would become the reality of warfare in WWI, and in 1862 Longstreet had ushered this in by getting all of this right at that battle. The next is his strategic view of the war. Longstreet, unlike General Lee saw that any chance of winning the war required fighting battles that resulted in disproportionate losses to the Union, so they would become frustrated and vote Lincoln out in favour of a peace candidate from the opposition party. The strategic view featured using interior lines of the nation, harnessing rail to create windows of numerical superiority against select Union forces/invasions. It meant shoring up the Western theatre, and overall: protecting a reasonable defensible national perimeter. The 3rd 'pillar' is Longstreet's offensive ability showcased at Chickamauga (as I described above) where in order to overcome the prepared defence, the right type of attack, concealed, (like the Germans did in the Ardennes) would close the gap and allow an attacker to overcome a prepared defence. Certainly there are many other battles in which he participated, but I did not see them as having the more modern elements and I wanted to highlight those two primary examples. I hope these notes give you a preview of what I am getting at in this little book. Thanks again for your kind gesture in promoting my book with your group.

Regards, Harold Knudsen LTC. US Army

Dear Sir, Your members will be anxious to learn about this new book and its dynamic author, who spoke to the St. Louis Civil War Roundtable on January 23. “Troubled State,” by Gari Carter (Truman State University Press, January, 2008) is the recently discovered Civil War Journals of Franklin Archibald Dick, Missouri Provost Marshal General; advisor to Lincoln, Lyon, the Blair family and others.


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Picture Credit R L Geyer Franklin Dick’s revealing diary.

Franklin Dick’s first hand accounts add new details to the true turbulence of Missouri and the country during the Civil War. He describes the secret meetings in his office leading up to the Camp Jackson incident, and how he served as Captain Nathaniel Lyon’s Assistant Adjutant General. His perspective and emotions about the rebellion changed as he practiced law in the divided city of St. Louis. For more on “Troubled State,” see press release on the website: www.garicarter.com. I would very much like to visit your Civil War Roundtable and speak at your meeting about “Troubled State,” my discovery of these journals, what I learned about my family, our nation, and the impact of these new facts of history on us today.

Gari Carter For more information, please contact

[email protected]

Glen Innes Event Report: President ACWRTQ Jack Ford

All ACWRTQ members are invited to attend the Glen Innes “Celtic Festival” to be held 2-4 May 2008. Glen Innes is situated in northern New South Wales (NSW) a 5-6 hour drive from Brisbane or the Gold Coast.

Currently 18 club members (re-enactors & non-re-enactors) have indicated they will attend this event. While it commences on Friday 2 May with a street parade, ACWRTQ members will most likely use the Friday to drive down in convoy to Glen Innes. The preferred route is to drive out to Stanthorpe and cross the NSW border at Tenterfield, Glen Innes is the next major town along the New England Highway. The alternate route would be to take coastal Highway 1 down to Grafton, NSW then head inland to Glen Innes. There is a Friday afternoon ceremony (time to be confirmed) that people are welcome to participate in if they arrive early, but this is not essential. Saturday 3 May and Sunday 4 May are the major days of the “Celtic Festival’. The ACWRTQ will set-up a static Civil War period camp for the public to tour and there will be a 9 AM re-enactors’ parade through the town Saturday morning. ACWRTQ’s major participation in the “Celtic Festival” is to be a Civil War skirmish; a re-enactment of the charge by the Union Irish Brigade against Cobb’s Irish Legion at Mayre’s Heights during the battle of Fredericksburg that occurred on 13 December 1862. This blank-firing skirmish will occur on Sunday only (at this stage, with the 62nd New York Zouave Regiment and any other Union re-enactors portraying the Irish Brigade, while the 44th Georgia Volunteers Infantry Regiment and any other Confederate re-enactors portraying the 24th Georgia regiment (the Irish Legion). New Irish-themed regimental flags have been purchased for use at this event. The scheduled time for the battle re-enactment is 1.30 PM (to be confirmed). The club will be expected to put on displays of Civil War drill and camp life as well as interact with, and answer questions from the public. Thus there will be a demonstration of bayonet drill at 1 PM on Saturday and again at 10.15 AM on Sunday. To mark the daily close of events, there will be a final salute by all “Celtic Festival” participants at 4 PM. For this level of participation, “Celtic Festival” organisers will pay the ACWRTQ between $400-$1,000 (depending upon numbers of participants & whether we provide cannon.) As in the past, the majority of this money will go directly to the club but there will be reimbursement of individual members for black powder, caps or petrol costs incurred directly for this event. Individuals will only be reimbursed upon presentation of a receipt to ACWRTQ Treasurer Mrs. Stephanie Gray.

Things you need to know: Glen Innes is cold in May especially at night. So bring lots of blankets. Hot water bottles are permitted in camp as long as they are hidden from public gaze. Campfires are permitted. Free accommodation will be available within the camp, depending on the number of tents that we have available. If you


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want something more comfortable you had better book now! Vendor and period food will be available during the event and you can always head into town at night if you want takeaway food for dinner. Insurance: All re-enactors (whether soldier or civilian) will require proof of insurance cover to participate at the “Celtic Festival”. The QLHF have increased the annual insurance fee to $20, which you should pay to the ACWRTQ treasurer ASAP. Ammunition (black powder and caps) will be purchased by the club for this event. Distribution will occur on the Saturday morning and a status check will be made on Sunday morning.

Weapons Safety: Weapons safety is our primary concern. All weapons will be secured at the end of the day in the club’s wooden weapon’s locker. The local shire council have appointed its own Range Controller- Alan Evans, for the “Celtic Festival”. He will be conducting a weapons’ safety inspection each day and it is hoped we can utilise this as a public display where we show the public some Civil War weapons’ inspection drill. Alan Evans has also requested ear protection for all participants in the skirmish so the ACWRTQ can buy earplugs for all of our participants. In all cases Alan Evans will have the final say. This current information may change as it gets closer to the event. Clearly some issues are yet to be resolved. For example, how will earplugs interfere with participants hearing commands shouted during the re-enactment of the Mayre’s Heights’ battle? There may be some program changes (a 1 PM bayonet drill session on Saturday 3 May could clash with the start of the battle re-enactment at 1.30 PM) and these will need to be clarified with organisers. NSW firearms legislation has a reciprocal arrangement for interstaters that are licensed in QLD. However the 62nd New York’s NSW re-enactment permit will be in operation at this event and they will need to list all QLD names and firearms details 2 weeks prior to the event. In NSW non-firing replicas are treated the same as firearms. Letter from Stephen Gapps. (Monday 25 th) An update: The Celtic Festival has us listed down as both the 44th Georgia and the 62nd attending, so that’s good. You guys will be 'separate', but we will be working together closely on this one! Means also we can get them to make a payment to you guys and one to us, rather than us having to pass it on. I have quoted $2,000.00 for the weekend. This includes minimum Saturday: 10 soldiers, 3 civilians, participation in Saturday morning parade.

Sunday: 10 soldiers and 1 cannon, participation in a battle. The more we can get the better. I will need to get your names and firearms details at some point soon - lets say 10th April - in time to lodge them with the Firearms & Police in NSW. Your guys wont need NSW re-enactors permits as there is a reciprocal arrangement for interstaters. Any queries, fire away. Any further info as it comes to hand I will pass on.

Stephen Gapps. Secretary-public officer 62d New York

’Anderson’s Zouaves American Civil War Re-enactment Society

PO: PO Box 1 Petersham NSW 2049 Australia

Tel: (+61) (0) 402 969 535 Web: Anderson Zouaves and 62nd New

York

Let The Past Live In You It’s been said that you can’t live in the past. An Indigenous Australian corrected that adage by saying “Oh yes but the past can live in you.” This is an admirable sentiment. Let the past live in you, join The American Civil War Round Table Queensland and experience past-times. Share in research, attend regular meetings, participate in public and Living History events, wear the uniforms or costumes of the period and enjoy social activities and shooting black powder weapons of the period. (Licensed fire-arms users only.) A prime activity of the group is locating and rededicating graves of Civil War veterans who died in Queensland.

Visit the website: http://www.acwrtq.com/

Phone ACWRTQ President Dr Jack Ford: 07 32663534. We need your help to drive our historical society forward. To help in the search for lost veterans but also to join us in re-enactments, socialising, collecting, sharing information and stories and letting the past live in you. Contact the editor [email protected] all correspondence gratefully accepted.

Editor: This newsletter is produced entirely for the purposes of study and the right to review. No photographs, text or illustration may be reproduced for any other purpose. Where possible all photographs are credited with sources. Ownership of all illustrations belongs with the original copyright owner in all cases.

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