Of the Newyork Historical Society top of the articles in the joint publication. A civil war in 50. Objects they risks they discuss objects civil war technicality, includings will secret war codes. The new york Historical Society provided the video. So harold, weve been talking in the series about the power of objects being touchstones and historical event, being conduits to understanding the past. Its a thrill and extort a experience being historian in new york historian and working along these treasures and using them in my exhibitions. Lets talk about a second for the inspiration for this program a civil war in 50 objects. I can 50 objects tells such a sweeping . Story we so after cells that question often when we were whittling down the list and it was so much to choose from. I guess the way we did it as i recall, his first we discussed the medium of the object. We wanted, photographs paintings, objects, relics and then we wanted to represent every year of the civil war. First year leading up to it, and 1861, two, three, four, five. Of the time we sifted through the criteria, we had more than 50 but we thought we had 50 objects that represented both of those requirements. Truly an embarrassment of riches and it was hard to whittle down one of them for sure. We were unembarrassed will. Definitely true. Tonight, as louis said will be discussing to objects that considered technology. We can see the images of those. We have a safer key from circa 1861 that you see on the top and a hot half model of the uss monitor from 1862 in the bottom. Lets just consider first the suffocated, to part object they see in the top. This thing is in the paper of Alexander Robert chisholm, born in 1834, dine in 1910 and his papers are at new york historical. He was a stockbroker, a merchant, railroad investor and he died during the gilded age new york city where he had also grown up. But it is equally glamorous years, he served on the confederate side of the civil war. He has a very curious background. Would you please tell us about harold . He did. He was born in South Carolina, the first state to succeed from the union. He was orphaned young and was raised by an answer nickel and then he inherited a plantation in South Carolina complete with 250 and slave people. Whatever early sense of new yorkism he had, quickly abandon it, went back to the plantation and began running it. When the civil war broke out, his allegiance was to work to save his state in his view and save slavery. He became engaged in the effort to oust the federal army from ports upturn charleston. Some of his and slave people went back to putin leave it to build batteries at fort center. Slave slave labor. By the way, thats one of these myths that African American confederate soldiers. There were no African American cans willingly fought for the Confederate States of america. They were ordered into service and as you say they were building the batteries in 1861. Lets see this object the size four key. Chisholm, our guy at a specific role. That was to send and receive coated messages. Our first object is a very key used for the suffering movement suggests. How did this work . Its a curious looking object. It is. Remember, the idea of sending messages across long distant areas in war is an old as war itself. In ancient times, it was done with fire at night with torches. Back in the early days of the civil war, messages were sent and more scope by torchlight or three flags. Needs to be done on navy ships as late as world war ii. A system of alphabet by flag waving. Suffolk ease were fairly pretty new pretty revolutionary. What they did, first of all came in that box in the bottom. On the top you see the off a bit below, corresponding letters that could represent the original letters would be the different. It could change the bottom row by changing and twisting it. So a would be be, fee would be w. , the right acts leo. And the person on the other end of the message which will be sent by telegram in the civil war, but receive the message and then decode. Sounds cumbersome, it sounds complex and only decipher experts knew how to do it but it was revolutionary at the time. The Technological Advancement if you want for the 19th century the. Well 1861. You can see the next image. Chisholm was a personal aid and in his own friends confidential friend to the flamboyant general gustavo regard. Tell us about these two men where they were in april 8th, 1860. One club or a guard who had studied at west point under anderson, was as i said flamboyant, french, very french, louisiana born gentlemen. And gone of course to the southern cause and found himself those batteries built by slave favor aimed at the federal ford in charleston harbor. Major anderson was in charge of the garrison at the other four. Where these lives intercepted was in the early days of 1861. This was before the siphon was coming to play, oregon would send messages in harbor by boat. And our french isnt, the cordon guy will take them out of the boat and it would usually say surrender or be bombarded. Anderson would say not in your life back and forth they would go. There was no agreement, so the war begins in april, 1861. And we see in the next image the bombardment of fort scepter. Chisholm and borough guard saw action. First of all images talk about four scepter for a second. This furious bombing did not take any lies inside the four but there was no way they were gonna recover or stave off this endless bombardment. Chisholm rose out and demands the surrender of the four after this day and a half long siege anderson accepts the terms. Chain letter later rights and his recollections and those are at the Historical Society as well, that he thought that anderson should be courtmartial for surrounding. Just an interesting kind of bowling recollection of this. Im sorry to have interrupted but he didnt come go on of course to a second time around. They let it is a successive cavalry charge. The confederates. One but there is a myth about this win and what is it . There are several. First of all, the union should not have lost. They outnumbered the rebels. All of Washington Society turned out to watch this event with with picnic backs is packed with lunches. But afternoon, the federals, skis the confederates came out rabid the unions. Chisholm was engaged here and sending coated messages. Even did in the command, because if the message was captured, you give away the plan. He becomes very active but there are reports that he sent decipher message to Jefferson Davis saying we need your help it barack. Davis arrived but he arrives so late in the action that it was basically all. Over prince of the period show him coming to rescue on a white horse, actually came by railroad and a battle was all about one. Im not sure that the battle the coated message did all that much to turn the tide in this case. Were taking about cipher codes and keys. Kind of a romantic story civil star stop right there. This is the detail on the cover of the key which region beautiful handwriting. Arrangement of side freaky used by general beau regard while in command of confederate armies. Key routes are used by our navy our pride. For beautiful to see the detail of this object. Chisholm acting as brokers a decamp described confidential menace messenger. But after the war, chisholms on a pardon from president Andrew Johnson i was the first confederate officer to go to d. C. For that purpose. Hes sold is plantation, returned to new york. It became a shipping merchant, and had a great deal of money. But he valued his experience in the military so much that he saved all of his papers and donated them to new york historical. Did you look up to this collection . What part of the site for keys in . Its very well arranged and classified in the coated there are letters, there are orders and there are scrapbooks which are interesting what she finds praise wore the articles about general borough guard as decreased numbers as the army went on. Nearly fascination decline with them in the south for sure. And then there was a sigh freaky which is a remarkable thing. Happily for us, it was listed separately. Suddenly there is a cipher system that opens like a fan and can be coated. By the way, we have no idea how our navy, our pride works. Must be some real secret code. laughs season was completely and reconstructed which is kind of shocking. He was an admirer of the confederacy for his entire life. He wrote letters to the New York Times defending low regard and it was the head of the local chapter of the sons of confederate veterans which indicates to me to my dads dismay that there was an active camp of veterans who lived in new york. The good news is that we have this amazing technological piece from the war. It wasnt good enough to say the confederate cause happily enough but its a marvelous. Absolutely. Lets to see the other detail of this object. Did the union on and confederate ciphers different . Oh yeah. Well sort of fans are circles or fold out accordions like this one. They were definitely used in the union. Even when Abraham Lincoln wrote letters to his wife while she was visiting new york or other places, he would read on top, quote unquote safer. Which he consistently misspell c ypg ours to the cia. He was not a great speller. He is the site for all the time. A scene a few messages they looking code. We are gobbledegook. This is spy versus spy, mad magazine style but in the civil war. There are many that survive never seen too many . I must say this is the only one ive ever seen. Thats great and its beautifully intact so wonderful object to begin our conversation with. Lets move on to the second object. This is a halfmodel of the uss monitor, 1862. Were continuing with our theme and technology. Looks like a charming decorative ship model but its actually a very important piece of history. Can you explain what this is how . So this is the first rendering of the first ironclad enable history. First specifically designed one in all of america and the second in the civil war. The first was a rebuilt confederate wooden ship that became ironclad. This was more than an ironclad although its called a. This is the model that was created by engineer thomas fits roland and we believe, we have every reason to believe, this is the model that was taken to the white house and 1861 to show Abraham Lincoln and to convince him that we, the union side get better with the program and enable this type of naval vessel or else we would be conquered. Lets look at the picture of the wonderful swedish born inventor who was working in brooklyn. In 1861, a connecticut industrialists convinced that this man jon ericsson was on to something extraordinary. Who was ericsson . What was extraordinary about this convention . Ericsson is simply a visionary war designer. He had the right group within. Roland was a perfect engineer and he had lots of, bush now was an advocate. The confederates are working on taking a wood wooden ship in putting iron flights on. Ericsson had an idea that no one it had. That is for a revolving gun turret that would be low to the water and not be assailable by shells and would rotate. Commonplace are battleships and destroyers there never been the rotating guns on a ship of war. The ships had to societal up to each other and fire at each other from nearby. Those of us who have seen aeroflot movies well thats the way it always went. This was a true revolution and personnel brought this model to washington. Right and he shows it to lincoln has a talk with lincoln about this work. What was lincolns response . His initial response was not my decision. Lets walk over to the navy board tomorrow and show it to the sage is of naval warfare. Which they did and they met their and they showed it to the naval board and they all looked at lincoln for his q and lincoln looked at them. Finally lincolns a words, not his greatest oration, i said mister president what do you think . Well he said, he reminds me of the young story of the woman who put on her stockings and she looked up and said i think theres something in it. I dont know if they got . This theres something in it. But they went to work immediately. I took that to be a. Yes yes thats ago. But its a good thing because confederates are building the ship so they rushed back to new york with the model and they get to work on the actual ship. The image this sort of shows the launch of the monitor. I feel a certain pinch dipped to the monitor because it was built to my mothers ancestral home of green point. We are still in erickson parker. My mother went to the monitor school and 1921. Its still there, built in the 1890s. So its very much there town. The tower ships were made and convert a day tonight 24 7 production of the ship. Some of the workers thought they were being drafted in constricted even though there was no draft. They got this amazing thing done bc then sliding it down into the east river from green point from which it went all the way to the Brooklyn Navy are. Thats where they put the fancy tables. It was a magnificent shipped by the way. Even though is dubbed the cheese box are raft by skeptics, it was not small. It was about 170 feet wrong. The scale model was built about ten years ago in Norfolk Shipyards by navy trainees. Its big. They built a deck as a party space i hate to say. It is a big vessel, had lots of features inside that made it rather palatial. Lets see the image of the continental works which is in green point brooklyn. This is a picturesque image. Heres another monitor, maybe not this monitor. They went into production of monitors although they call the first when the monitor. It was really a class of ship, and you see the turn on top, in the smokestack in back. What inspired that name the monitor . How long did it take to launch the vessel . It really was done in three months. It was fast. In the nick of time. Who was towed to virginia by the way in bad weather, and almost capsized. So ericsson had the idea of calling it the monitor because he said he would be a monitor against the southern leadership to wants to destroy the union. It reminds me of when the first Governor Cuomo used degree audiences. He still looked up the first definition of, governor the second one is one that gets in the way machines and slows it down. Like a hall monitor who stops doing bad deeds. laughs well he said was told to virginia, before occur arrived there, a wooden ironclad, both of his clan iron as opposed to built in this way the monitor was, it was in virginia, also known as the merriman was proving to be very formidable herself. It did damage on the union which is very interesting and that makes the incident all that more is more dramatic. Well it steams into hampton roads, virginia. Who is lofted out by the union fleet which was in the harbor there. What happened next was at the deadliest and costliest day in America Naval history up until pearl harbor when all the ships were destroyed by the japanese. In this case, the original marrow mac had a long battering ram at the end so it rant the cumberland and the cumberland sank immediately with great loss of life. That lob shells at another ship, the uss congress which caught on fire and more lives were lost. And it chase, even as slow as the mayor makeover genie was, a chase this putrefied captain of the minnesota ashore had a ship ran ashore and tilted. And the tide changed to the virginia retreated back towards norfolk. But the navy had no doubt that the next morning american act would reemerge from around the bend and come out what was low left of the navy. And then lo and behold, came this lowlyings vessel it enters the harbor. What happens next is at the monitor engaging them aromatic and the most famous naval dual of American History. Its a beautiful to pick shun of that incident. Most dramatic and unforgettable navy duel of the civil war. You see the difference. One is like a big stack. All the shells fired that day, no damage was done to them aromatic. Some damage was done to the turret, and one explosion blinded the captain who is looking and he was out for the duration. The other thing that happened this tour was struck early and guess what . It stopped revolving. So for the ship. Actually didnt stop traveling, a beg your pardon. And lost control. It kept revolving. Jonathan sick get up off a shot as what eternal around and somebody could shoot. Agonizingly hot at that point may be over 100 degrees. Dangerous. But this is the dual change warfare and change marine painting as well. Well nobody died and there was a little bit on both sides claimed victory. Why is the so called battle of hampton road have such a mythic, artistic quality. To it every sense seventh grader knows about them aromatic and the monitor. Who studies history. Was it became so mythic in our historical imagination . First of, all it was observed by so many people onshore. Second, we have the artistic happenstance of the good guys, and of course the good guys are the ones who do the drawings in the paintings, you good good spewed wood smoke in the black ice black smoke. Hes made it more ominous, one was a relic, one is new technology. But i think the real reason that here was the end of the era that we were talking about a few minutes ago with reference to hire errol flynn movies. This was the end of the era of the warship versus warship in its romanticized impact on the culture. Sailors bravely fighting cannons in the face of fire. This was in a way the dean humanization of war as war shifted from mental machines. There was a sense after this that the better machines would win more. Lets see an image of the men and the machine. What was lincolns reaction to this achievement . Was he still is drawn to the new technology has he been initially. Either way, im struck by how 20 like the book the boat looks unlike on that run. After the war, the boat gets to the virginia and they put up this amazing canvas tend to shield the from the sun. Thats the turret, you see all the rivets in . It that tour was recovered years later from the bottom of the season is being restored now in newport news at the monitor center as its called. Think the most extraordinary thing about this post battle depiction is that if you look to the left of the poor hole in the picture in, the photograph, you see the indentation,s the pockmarks that reflect the confederate shells, hitting that target as it revolved slowly around without any constraints, without any monitor. Regarding lincoln, he was always interested in technology. Remember, he is the only american president to hold a patent. What was the invention . He was a boat that would lift itself above scholes, and shallow waters to be able to navigate the muddy streams of illinois. I was never manufactured but he didnt devise it in some of his idol hours. The actual model of that as in the national archives. So, he loves ships even though he was a land lover. And he always loved technology. During the civil war, some people said his office with sondland look like a gun store filled with weapons. He encourage the creation of armor, gambling guns, balloons, both for spying and meteorological balloons. One of his letters came from an inventor of a Double Barrel curved gone. Said this will be designed for cross eyed soldiers so they can shoot both sides of a river at the same time. These letters actually exist. And a more deadly level, lincoln said this breath alone kills no. Rebels he encouraged the production of nature, which is kind of a primitive version of napalm to be used more time. He was all about winning and using new technologies. Hes to walk around the white house grounds and fire new kinds of weaponry. Theres one great sketch of him doing that. Fascinated with technology and a big booster of military technology as deadly as it became. We could just see that image of the monitor one more time, the half model. This is the technological achievement. Donated in 1862. Thats pretty remarkable. Dont they read around the time the mayor mac and the monitor engaged in oneonone combat. I think were about ready for our human a portion of the evening. Our first question is, do we know of any examples of crucial messages that were interpreted of the suffering . Well, we think that decipher was used to convey messages in the battle of shiloh, for one. Battle of shiloh probably should have been a confederate route that ended the career of ulysses asked brad before matured. There was a surprise attack for which the union was unprepared and a total route, somehow the union rallied, and held back a total wrote in that first day in love to fight another day. Grant famously turn to sherman and said get him tomorrow. And they did. The messages maintain the secrecy a battlefield instructions but they dont ensure that theyre the right instructions. That still left of the human brain and tactical strategical skills to win a battle. Grant no doubt had his own codes and his own vision. Next question. Was the rack of the monitor ever recovered and if so, where is it display . The ship was followed by many matters illegal is pretty famous. Whos in never tremendously see where. They shouldve stay close to shore. Instead it was dispatched out of to famous graveyard for naval vessels. On new years day, 1862, just nine months after became the most famous ship in the navy, it sank off cape hatteras. There it remained for 145 years until the natural oceanic and aeronautics organization located it and it was recovered, parts of it will recover, the whole had disintegrated, although the shape was easily discernible to divers. They brought up the gun, huge gun and they brought up the turret which is an amazing achievement. They brought up lanterns, coins, dinnerware, spoons, all kinds of accoutrements. All of them now are at the mariners museum. Its new monitor center in newport new news. In the it in a sailing tank outdoors, you can walk up a plan to see it and theyre slowly these bubbles of oxidization is being applied from the crustaceans are slowly removed from the relic. Five more years to be able to see the actual tour. You can already see some of those deaths from the confederate. Shelling thats great. Heres a question acts of the came up when i was rereading the essay. Wasnt the mary mac rename the virginia and do northerners prefer to call it the mannock . I wasnt quite sure how that worked. A if you read the period newspapers are look at the captions and the engravings and lithographs, most of them same aromatic. And was the uss mary mac, it was an American Ship that the confederates had seized and more burn. They said were not gonna call it that old america name, lets call into the virginia after the state were it but the name never really caught. On here is always say this csis virginia mayor maxes me. It goes by both. I call at the mary mac. Thats well learned about it. He left it open via, but yes they both claim victory but the virginia was so slow and so heavy when the tie went down at left. If you leave the field of battle, thats losing. By another calculation, the monitor was able to prevent a further destruction to the outdated wouldnt fleet so it was affected by those standards to. Even though by winning the victory sort of spelled the doom of the wouldnt navy. Everything would become meddle after. That do northerners prefer to call it a mary mac as it just seemed to sign. Right it sounds. Right i think northerners prefer because it sounds like its a recovery vessel from the past that we had our way with i guess. Civil war historians more often say the virginia. By the way, probably the only ship American Service to be burned twice. When the union army march near norfolk and looked about to capture the bogey are there, the confederates burned of virginia. That way cannot be taken over by the union. It vanished yet again. Interesting. Heres a question about the siphon. What is revolutionary about it . Seems very simple to this person who posed the question. I think the whole notion of carrying around on ones person a wheel or a booklet that would allow you transposed letters and actually change the cycle or during the course of a battle or campaign, loathe both sides understood what the new color was with pretty revolutionary. There was in the real flag symbols, tort signals but that couldnt easily change because what constituted a letter was a. Letter more scope was more scone. Decipher enables you to switch out and you can change it every week. You could prearranged to change it every week. In the whole off of that shifts. I think its pretty ingenious and very very portable. Offtopic time of the evening. Did you find the recent find three parties series on grant to be accurate and fair . Thats a heavy question. I thought it was more than fair, more than accurate in some ways. It stressed the great achievements of grant and his amazing talent for seeing. Action fearlessness and made a very strong case that if he did not win the war just because of superior numbers and willingness to take casualties but out of a master plan. What it did not do was talk about his shortcomings. One of them and i think is always worth remembering that in his zeal to eyes and disloyalty and miss perceptions, he banned all jews from his theater of the war in 1862. In fact instituted kind of program thats not just from kentucky leaving their homes in search of refuge. This order had to be countermand it at lincolns insistence when new york rabbis went to the white house to say, let my people go back. Lincoln elijah, although we took pains now to embarrass current. I think the series couldve spent a little time on his shortcomings including his drinking, which is alluded to only the very beginning. But the actor who portrayed grant was pretty good. The lincoln, not so much. Too skinny, too sure. And the back to our objects. Whether other nations you build ironclad ships at the same time . Thats really good question. In fact, hours were not the first. The french made a few before the civil war but they were also more and wielding. They were never permanently adopted as a designer style. Whats the monitor combines keeping most of your soil sailors underneath the waterline and having the breathe. Solving that problem, getting them out of harms way and keeping the gun up above impregnable and having a rotate, that was the new design of choice. Everything would fall. There were submersible used in this civil war. Little three or four man things that were human torpedoes that never came back from your missions. This was the model for modern summary more fair and battleship guns that can turn around and follow the action. Back to our cipher codes. Did either side have a break this site for coats during the war. Theyre worse there were some instances of suffering codes being broken during a. War before the battle of antifa, some codes that werent cipher someone will correct me. The good thing is im corrected every week if i make a miscue. Keeps me on the straight and narrow. There were orders that were found rolled into a cigar. Before the battle of antifa and they were discovered the coated. It didnt help to do enough. He should have known everything about the battle plan but is not sufficient. Codes were broken. Just move the bar as they say. Back to our man chisholm. Question was he wrong about anderson . Was there any hope of the union army relieving in if he held. . Thats a really good question. So anderson was told by the Lincoln Administration that is fort would not be reinforced, it would be resupply. He was running out of ammunition thread no way to defend himself for much longer. The supply ships were turned back by the shelling so we didnt even get food and water. This is a great story but anderson. He was allowed to leave, there were casualties because an area of the floor blew up during the flag lowering ceremony. Not during the shelling. He took the flag to mourn on a boat went all the way back to new york, center of the universe even. He made it went out when he was on the ship to new york, he did not know whether he was going to be given a Court Martial or a pray. Well guess what . He was given a parade. His flag was draped over the equestrian statue of george West Washington it sits in union square park. 100,000 people came out. Then a few days later, when the seventh of regiment, new yorks early regiment marched on broadway to board to ships to head to for virginia and fight, it passed by a jury Company Called ball black. It had a patent and which major anderson wave with with the flag of fort sculptor chattering in the breeze. It became a great symbol of resistance ultimately and anderson went on to continue although not so dramatic in a career in the union army. One more question of cryptozoology. Did advance at all during the civil war . I think what you saw what you got. As advanced of moores sit and since . I dont know if its advance more since in the basic a concept of moving letters. When radio came out, messages were sent to the resistance in europe during world war ii. The message would go, church bells will ring it for. Which meant something completely opposite but the underground have by absorbed who would be a signal. Basically, i think decipher was the big advance. Remember, before that was one won by land, dual by sea. That was our idea of a sucker before. Well, as always a pleasure and it looks like our time is up. Harold, thank you so much for being such a compelling and gracious guest. Thank you all for watching and for staying in supporting new york Historical Society. Well see you all again next week. Thank you val thank you. Youre watching American History tv. Every weekend on cspan three explore our nations past. Cspan 3. Created by americas Cable Television companies as a Public Service and brought to you by your television provider. Weeknights this month were featuring American History tv programs as a preview of whats available every weekend on cspan three. Friday night a look at hiroshima, nagasaki and the end of world war ii. August 9th marks 75 years since the u. S. Dropped a second atomic bomb on japan. Devastating the city of nagasaki days after the first attack on hiroshima. We examine president Harry Trumans to use the new weapon and the legacy of these atomic attacks. Guests include richard frank, author of downfall, the end of the Imperial Japanese empire and peter cosmic, director of american your universities Nuclear Studies institute. Watch friday night. Beginning at eight eastern. American history tv. This weekend every weekend on cspan three. American history tv on cspan three explore in the people in events to tell the american story. Every weekend. Coming up this weekend. Saturday at 10 am eastern on american artifacts, library can congress curator on life in the 19 thirties and forties to color photographs. And sunday at 4 pm eastern on real america. Three phones from the 1976 elections produced by the u. S. Information enters agency for an international audience. Then it a pm eastern. On the presidency. Acceptance speeches from five president ial nominees. Harry truman, allied stevenson, dwight eisenhower, john kennedy, and richard nixon. Exploring the american story. Watch American History tv. This weekend on cspan three. Up next on the civil war. Matt atkinson, the Gettysburg National park ranger discusses the park for life of robert haley. He