The Twin Sisters

Some years ago, when I was heavily into the Texan War of Independence, I came across the story of the Twin Sisters - a pair of cannon that was donated by Cincinnati to the Texian cause. Further research had led me to discover that within Burnet Woods - a City of Cincinnati park - was the Lone Star Pavilion, a structure built to memorialize Cincinnati's involvement in the conflict. Of course I had to visit the site, and was thoroughly impressed and disappointed. Impressed that such a structure existed, with its five pointed star roof and pair of replica cannon barrels, and disappointed in how the city "maintained" the site, it being trashy, in need of cleaning and painting, and instead of being a place for memory or modern events, a location in which drug needles and the detritus of the homeless that used the pavilion as a place to sleep. 

I reached out to the city and offered to help with a cleanup and a plan to revitalize the area with native flowers. After meeting with a park official, the same one I had met prior in my capacity as a section supervisor for the Buckeye Trail, I knew this was not going to move forward as my previous experience was less than positive (a lack of response and truly a bureaucratic mindset).

I was going through some folders on the hard drive to clean up items no longer of use or interest when I came across the following I had worked on in relation to getting the Lone Star Pavilion back to a respectful state. It was a document sourced from hmdb.org, but expanded with some additional details. Perhaps you might find it of interest as to why Cincinnati donated guns to the Texian cause, and a bit about the history of those guns.

Local Antebellum History

Studying the Civil War by only focusing on the years of 1861-1865 does the student a disservice. Without a foundational understanding of the many faceted causes of the war one can make too many broad-brush assumptions, particularly when it comes to the more controversial causes that led to the war. By the way, if you ask me for just one main cause of the war, I will respond "economics" - the agrarian society that permeated through the ruling class in the South (large plantation owners and business magnates that replied on the products that the plantations produced) required vast amounts of physical labor, so slavery was the way to provide labor at a minimal loss in profit. But even my answer is too simplified as there were many other facets that weaved into the fabric of the antebellum period - one, a loud but relatively small facet, was abolitionism. 

One should read and study such events as "Bleeding Kansas" and John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry in order to obtain a smidgen of abolitionist context. Visiting some of the sites where leading abolitionists, such as Frederick Douglass, John Rankin, or Levi Coffin, help us understand not only their intentions, but also gives us some insight as to the plight of those they were helping through their words and deeds.

Near where I live in Cincinnati (two miles to be exact) is the Harriet Beecher Stowe House. To be clear this is not the house in which Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin, but it is where Harriet resided when she experienced visits into Kentucky that exposed her to horrors of the slave trade. As her father was president of Lane Seminary, Harriet lived within a household in which abolitionism was spoken of frequently, and debated over heatedly. I do not want to detail Harriet's life here, but instead want to push the reader of this blog to visit her home in Cincinnati.

Image from Cincinnati Business Courier

Recently restored to its antebellum appearance, the Harriet Beecher Stowe House (stowehousecincy.org) is a unit of the Ohio History Connection, but is managed locally, which is a trend the OHC has been utilizing in recent years. In some ways this sort of of management process ensures that a local entity, which typically has more energy and focus, can create a special place without the distractions of having to manage numerous sites at a statewide level. The Stowe House benefits from an active leadership that is focused on not only telling Harriet's story but also the use of the expanded house in the 1900s as a inn for the African-American community. There are numerous events such as speakers and tours, permanent and rotating exhibits (both indoor and outdoor), a picnic area (a newer addition), and a giftshop with a wide selection of books and other items. Guided tours occur at the top of each hour. And a few years ago a new interstate exit was created off of I-71 which allows very easy access to the house for those coming from out of town. 

For full transparency, the neighborhood surrounding the house is and can be a little rough. One Sunday morning during a walk I came across three locals smoking crack while perched on a set of steps leading down from the house. There is an off-street parking lot available, and during hours of operation folks should not have any issues as long as they stay on the property grounds.

When studying the Civil War, dig deeper. Try to understand the conditions and influences from all aspects of those living during this turbulent time. And be certain to visit the Harriet Beecher Stowe House when in Cincinnati.

Joel Collins

From time to time I come across interesting and unknown references to people from my home county that makes me stop and do a bit of pondering, and occasionally a bit of research. As my interest in the War of 1812 waxes and wanes, I will grab a stack of books from the shelf, dive in, and then in a couple of weeks place those books back on the shelf. Recently I picked up a copy of Eric Eugene Johnson's Ohio's Regulars in the War of 1812 (Heritage Books, Inc., 2019), a truly niche effort that lists soldiers born, recruited, or living in Ohio during the war. Under the officers section I came across Joel Collins, a name I have come across before when delving into Ohio's involvement during the war, and a name that resonates not far from the family farm where I grew up in Butler County.

Joel Collins was born in Virginia on the ninth day of September, 1772 to Stephen and Catherine (MacHendree) Collins, being the eldest of five children. Joel's father served as a private during the American Revolution. Joel was the eldest of five Collins children. Sometime between 1789 and 1781 the family moved to Clark County, Kentucky, east of Lexington. In 1796 Joel would marry Elizabeth Beeler, a Woodford County, Kentucky native. Her father Samuel had served as a captain during Lord Dunmore's War. Joel himself had served in the Ohio Indian Wars, although it is not clear in what capacity. It is also not clear when Joel and Elizabeth moved to Butler County, but it would have been some time before the War of 1812 as Joel served in the county militia prior to the second war with the British. In this militia Collins would initially serve as a private in Captain William Robeson's company, a unit formed from volunteers who lived west of the Great Miami River, which flows across the county from northeast to southwest. Robeson was promoted and his replacement as company commander, John Taylor, died in 1811. Collins must have been a prominent citizen as he was named Taylor's successor.

Collins and his rifle company avoided the disaster that would befall William Hull's Army of the Northwest. As Butler County had two existing rifle companies, when the call went out for a single rifle company from the county to participate in the Detroit Campaign, it was determined that the company who made it to Hamilton with the largest amount of men would serve with Hull's army. As Hamilton (at the time) was positioned on the east side of the Great Miami River, and the river was in flood stage, many of Collins' men were prevented from crossing the river and missed the rendezvous. As a result they were not part of Hull's force that would capture and then later surrender Detroit. However, before the surrender another call for troops went out, and Collins led his ninety-two men to Lebanon to become part of a battalion formed from men across southwestern Ohio. The company was described by a paymaster as follows: 

They are as fine, cheerful a set of fellows as can be well placed in exercise. Whatever is offered to them, they are ready and willing to march when and where they are wanted. 

Collins' company performed a variety of tasks, including reopening the trace created by Anthony Wayne's men from Fort Loramie to the St. Mary's River. Upon completing the road work, the company was still encamped along the St. Mary's when they received a report that another company, positioned three miles away on the newly cleared road, was under threat of Indian attack. Half the company made the march, but no attack was made on the reinforced position. Collins and his men would continue to operate in the northwest portion of Ohio until mustering out.

In 1813 Collins would receive a captain's commission in the United States Army, and he proceeded to Cincinnati to recruit men for a company that would become a part of the Twenty-Sixth United States Infantry Regiment. Collins and his company would be ordered to Franklinton (now known as Columbus), then Sandusky and then to Detroit, before moving to take command and create a post at Sandwich, Upper Canada (Ontario). He returned to Detroit, and served in the army until discharged in 1815. Collins returned to his farm and his wife Elizabeth in Oxford Township. Elizabeth died on August 1, 1855. On November 15, 1860, at the age of eighty-eight Collins followed Elizabeth in death, and is buried next to her in Oxford Cemetery. 

A New Direction

Folks may know that most of my Civil War efforts are to be found on the Western Theater in the Civil War site, along with the random post on the Perryville Ponderings blog and Civil War Augusta website, and the even more rare book review on Emerging Civil War. Those places serve as most of my Civil War outlets, and as such, the reduced need for this blog. However, I have other interests, some rooted in the Eastern Theater, while others span from the French & Indian War through the Mexican War. To that end I have renamed the blog to cover the other "shite" I enjoy. This should mean more frequent activity moving forward (although posts will still be irregular). I hope you will enjoy the occasional Civil War post that does not fit the other outlets, along with the other history posts I will be sharing.