Windsor Mansion and the Battle of Port Gibson, MS. 1861-1863

and was the largest columnar based house in Mississippi. After overseeing construction of the $175,000 structure for  2 years, Smith Coffee Daniel ll (age 34) died of either malaria or yellow fever just a few weeks after it was completed. 

During Grant’s campaign in 1863 in his attempts to take Vicksburg there were many failures including his idea to land troops at Grand Gulf about 10 miles up - river from Windsor. From there he successfully moved down river to Bruinsburg landing where some 17,000 Union soldiers were ashore and marched right past the Windsor mansion. It turns out that many of these men would ultimately find their way back to Windsor as it was used as a Union hospital. There is no known photo of Windsor. The sketch was made by a Union soldier who was there.

was sealed on Feb 17, 1890 when it was engulfed in flames and Ms Catherine Daniell was found helplessly beneath an Oak tree at a safe distance. The house and all of its contents was reduced to ashes except for the columns that still stand. It is one of the most heavily visited tourist sites in Mississippi. 

The oak tree under which Catherine stood is most likely the one shown here. It is an old live oak whose age far surpasses that of 156 years since the days of its construction and the ravages of  the Civil War. The pen was constructed from a dead limb taken from this tree. 

there were many skirmishes and several battles in his route from Chattanooga, Tn., south through Georgia. Certainly, the greatest barrier to Atlanta was 8-10 mile battle line made by the Confederates that covered the entire length of Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia. Sherman thought that the line was too thin to serve as a barrier but he was grossly mistaken. It turned out to be the largest frontal assault made by the Union army during the campaign and he was repulsed at each site of attack. Ultimately, the battle was considered a Confederate  victory, but Johnston’s army retreated to Atlanta. 

but the old walnuts, and oaks still grace  its landscape. The oldest witness tree, a huge White Oak probably died 20-30 years ago. Only its massive stump still remains as seen in the photo along with Mr. JR Gee my brother-in law who has helped acquire many of the wood samples in multiple locations for this entire pen project. 

was a man of great integrity and honor. He served so valiantly in the Mexican War, and as Commandant of West Point that at the outset of the Civil War he was asked by Lincoln’s administration to be the leader of the Union Army. After a short time of personal thought and reflection, he demurred. He could not bear the thought of raising arms to his family or to his native state, Virginia. His home was a plantation within a stone’s throw of Washington, D.C. 

is home to an extremely diverse and significant collection of trees and landscapes. The more than 8,600 trees are comprised of 300 varieties and species. Some of the cemetery’s oldest trees pre-date the first burials and are nearly 250 years old. Other memorial trees in Arlington represent specific military groups, such as a red maple in  section 27 that remembers U.S. colored troops and freed slaves during Civil War times. A large limb of this tree fell and a section of it was picked up by Mark Turcotte of Imperial Pen work in Kathleen Georgia. He traded it for some piece of my tropical wood collection in early 2016.  

turn out to be some of the most interesting aspects of the Civil War, one must pause and consider what brought on the war in the first place. Volumes have been written on the divisive politics leading up to the war. The main conflict were the issues of the Southern States wishing to preserve a life style, economy, and the perceived rights of their states and this  was at odds with the ideas of the Northern States. One of the main political players in this drama was Mr. James Mason of  Virginia, Then U.S. Senator J.M. Mason is known for his reading of the final speech of then dying J.C Calhoun on March 4, 1850. The speech warned of disunion and dire consequences if the North did not guarantee the South permanent equal representation in Congress. Complaining of personal liberty laws  that "Although the loss of property is felt, the loss of honor is felt still more." 

to the streets of Winchester.  One of these trees lost a large limb in 2016 and was sent to me by Mr.  Robert Saunders in early 2017. I met him at Glen Burnie when exiting  that plantation home during a visit there in mid Sept., 2016. He was a security person with an interest in wood working. He sent me several pieces from historic trees in northern Virginia. Undoubtedly, the sycamores witnessed most of the events of the Civil War surrounding Winchester, Va., including the movement of thousands of Union and Confederate troops coming and going as this area was hotly contested. 

The mansion house itself was completed by Nathanial Cheairs in 1855. Its location, just a mile south of Spring Hill and a hundred yards removed from the Colombia Pike, meant it was destined to witness the uncanny events surrounding the skirmishes and battles of Spring Hill, Tn., in late Nov., of 1864. It was here that 30,000 troops of Union General Schofield did a quiet march through the night along the pike, mostly unchallenged by Confederate JB Hood’s army. It was here that Confederate General NB Forest threatened to beat General Hood to within an inch of his life for allowing this massive failure to stop the Union army from marching northward to Nashville. 

that was originally a part of the same plantation and it too played an important role in the war. Union General Stanley used it as his headquarters during the Spring Hill battle but in May of 1863, Confederate General Earl Van Dorn was murdered by Doc Peters for having a relationship with his wife. Near to the Rippavilla mansion are many witness trees including a massive American beech a magnolia, and a sugar maple. A dead limb of the American beech provided enough wood for a pen which is now part of the collection.

left many, many thousands of the heart-sick, hungry and hurting men in both blue and grey to seek throughout the autumn countryside a place to heal. The ones in blue lingered on the Potomac’s Maryland side. The tattered, famished men in grey made their way to vast fields around Bunker Hill, Virginia, where they had a month to  eat, care for wounds, de-louse, write, or just lay down on that  autumn’s glorious garment. Great organized revivals bathed  spirit-wounds. Home and loved ones became a sweet possession. 

from which this pen was made was supplied by Mr  Neil Super a wood turner in Shepardstown WVa. He indicated that the oak in the front lawn of the photo is long gone but a few other witness oaks  still survive in the area near  the Bower house. The wood is classic and has no insect or fungal induced damage.