The Television Companies, and more, including comcast. Think it was just a Community Center . No. Its way more than that. Comcast is partnering with 1000 Community Centers to create wifi enabled lists so students from low income families can get the tools they need to get ready for anything. Comcast, along with these Television Companies, supports cspan 2 as a public service. All right, well, hello and welcome, everybody. Its good seeing you here today at the American Civil War museum. For todays program, im pleased to introduce our guest author, dr. Ken weatherford. Ken weatherford, phd, is a professor at the department of Political Science at James Madison university. He cofounded the Landmine Survivors Network, and escorted Princess Diana on her last humanitarian mission to visit landmine survivors in bosnia and herzegovina. Weatherford was prominent also as a leader in an International Campaign to ban landmines, which won the 1987 nobel peace prize. He has served as director of the center for International Stabilization and recovery. Hes been a peace corps volunteer. Unhcr emergency refugee coordinator in somalia. Humanitarian emergency relief officer in northern kenya and somalia. And as a fulbright scholar in jordan. He holds a phd in government from George County university, a ba in nda from the university of colorado, where he lettered in football and was inducted into their hall of four testing was alumni. Dr. Rutherford has also served on the board of trustees with the Shenandoah Valley battlefield foundation, which preserves and interprets the regions significant Civil War Battlefields and related historic sites. So as a quick note, we will have a questionandanswer period after dr. Rutherfords speech. If youd like to ask ken a question, just please form a line behind the mic to the left. Okay. And ken . The floor is yours. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you, bob, and think about for being here on a saturday. Nice weather here in beautiful appomattox. Its an honor and a privilege for me to present this topic to you. Youll soon find out that its been a labor of love. Regarding the civil war, i grew up in colorado, where theres not a lot of civil war history, but i remember our east coast battlefield trips. And then also the landmine issue, an issue that ive been working with for over a quarter of a century. And its matching up two of my passions. So what i hope to do today is highlight the use of landmines in the civil war and the world. Landmines have killed and maimed more people than chemical, biological, Nuclear Weapons combined. Traditionally, it was thought that world war i was the first time that landmines were used. I wrote a book in 2010 on the international landmine issue, and it wasnt until 2011, which ill show you, that i started discovering Civil War Battlefields where landmines were used. And the thesis is that the American Civil War was the first time that victim activated mine, or landmines of many kinds, were used in the World History on a widespread basis. Personal introduction to landmines, this may be some of your first introductions to landmines, or if youve been in the military, youve been introduced to landmines. And then what i hope to do is highlight each year of the American Civil War with one battle where landmines were used. I have found 15 to 17 different battlefields where landmines were used, but i want to draw one battle from each year to show you the evolution that the technology and the tactics in the American Civil War. This is a brief introduction to landmines. If you dont know, landmines are mostly victim activated. Theyre triggered by the footfall of a human being, or the pressure of a vehicle. This is a chinese type 72 anti personal mine. Its pressure sensitive. It does not detonate unless somebody steps on it. On the left is the type 72 brandnew. You can buy it for a couple bucks in cambodia. Usually they call them toll poppers, if an adult steps on it, usually they lose their toes or foot. And on the right, is a study that we did at gnu looking at the deteriorating of facts of explosives in the soil. And this is how the same landmine looks after about a decade in tropical soil. This is an antitank mine, or an antivehicle mine. Theres no explosive agent in it. But its designed to, for a vehicle or car or something heavy to trigger. In other words, it doesnt go off by itself. It goes off when the victim or the vehicle puts pressure on it. So thats the type of weapon well be discussing. Landmines are, in many countries around the world, about 80. And most of those countries are at peace. But dr. Connors, our heavily infested. This map is somewhat old, but its the only one that i could find. Columbia, right here, is now one of the top three or four countries in the world with landmines. Milligan spent 25 years ago, when i entered into the landmine field, it wasnt in the top 10. Americas a little bit yellow, not because of the American Civil War, but because of the japanese use of landmines in alaska. I was just there about 10 days ago. I was in the Aleutian Islands in dutch harbor. Thats where i filmed deadliest catch. But dutch harbor was bombed twice by the japanese in world war two. Pearl harbor once. The only two places in the United States where the United States was bombed in world war ii. But the japanese had taken over two islands and use landmines on a two in kiska, which is the subject of an article i have coming out in october in a journal. So my accidental discovery was in 2012. Actually, i missed dated. 2011. I had a book come out in 2010 on the International Movement to ban landmines. Moved to virginia in 2010. No idea that landmines were used in the American Civil War. A neighbor was the math teacher at Harrisburg High School, and was taking the Robotics Team from Harrisburg High School to vcu, to richmond, for a robotics competition. And they needed a chaperone. In other words, a vehicle to pick some of the students up. So i volunteered. I have no engineering background, and i want to visit for the first time, the richmond area battlefields. I said, ill drop the kids off at vcu, and im going to tour the battlefields. And i was driving down to fort harrison, where the park service has an office, and i pull over at fort johnson, this little sign here. Theres a way marker here, and this house is behind it. Never heard of fort johnson. Im sure some of you never have, but maybe some of you have. It doesnt exist anymore. But the way marker says that artillery shells were repurposed as landmines in 1864 and 1865. And this blew me away. I was like, what . That was a life transforming moment for me, because for the next eight years, i spent researching this subject. That i never took that right turn, i wouldve had a different life the last eight years. 4 00 a. M. To 6 00 to 7 00 a. M. Every day, i wrote, and i wrote, and i research. And landmines were not called landmines in the civil war. They had five or six different names. Stub terrors. Land torpedoes. Infernal devices. So you just cant google civil war landmines. It doesnt show up. And so i chased, for the next eight years, personal records of confederate and Union Soldiers, primarily through the official records of the war of rebellion and other documents the story that im going to share with you today. So this is the beginning of todays presentation. But first , you just had your brief introduction to landmines. Some of you for the first time, some of you, again, training in the military. This is my introduction. The early 1990s, yes, thats me. I was in somalia running a humanitarian aid program. Half 1 Million People had just starved, half 1 Million People were about to die. It was heavily covered by cnn right after gulf war one. Drove, drove all over the southern southeastern part of somalia, southwestern part of somalia. This is right during black hawk down. This happened, theres my vehicle, right front tire hit the landmine. I had no idea it was a landmine. All i know is my right foot came off. I was in the middle front seat. My legs were angled to the right. And what really helped save our lives, beyond the topic of the discussion, but i will share it with you, is that donkey cart in the lower right. We slow down, hit the mind, we slowed down because of this donkey cart, and because we had slowed our speed, our vehicle didnt carryover the explosion. Its almost that a perpendicular angle. My right foot came off, and in somalia, i was trying to put it back on myself. I had a radio to call for help. Kayla romeo, killer romeo for ken rutherford. A landmine, leading, positive, send an airplane. My rest of my right leg came off that night in nairobi, kenya, and my left leg in the United States. Soon after, i was on tv, different news shows about somalia. Then i was interviewed, invited to the white house and the Foreign Relations committee to to testify about landmines. Thats when i started to research about landmines. I really had no idea what a landmine was. Realized that i wasnt unique, that the story you just heard isnt unique, what happens 26,000 times a year. Organize Landmine Survivors Network with a friend of mine, jerry white, who lost his leg in israel. Israel american landmine survivors, different parts, different orders, bosnia, vietnam, korea. Promoting prosthetics to go overseas for the thousands of people who need legs. Some standing before you with no legs, and a lot of people dont know i dont have legs. But thats the american technology. Told my story on oprah. Trying to get the story out about landmine survivors. And then worked with Princess Diana, as you heard in my introduction, to bring her to bosnia. Newly independent country, i think she was one of the first celebrities to visit bosnia. She passed away a couple weeks after this photograph was taken. But the whole world watched. And on the right, her sons, Prince William and prince harry , did a documentary about their mother, which is now on hbo, and they asked me. I look the humanitarian impact of their mother. This is the book i wrote on the Global Movement about landmines, which was published in 2010. Moved to virginia in 2011. Discovered fort johnson and the use of landmines in 2012, and thats where the story begins of americas buried history. So let me just start here. Grab some of my grab some of my notes. At the beginning of the American Civil War, the south new that the union was going to try to shut down the harbors and ports. The union had developed a plan called the anaconda plan and much like the boa constrictor that squeezes its prey, the snake, the anaconda, the union was going to do that to the confederate. The Confederate States of america. Shut down the mississippi, blocked ocean ports so the south cannot export its cotton, and could not import war materials. We dont like. You can press this button and blow it up. Thats a command that made it explosive. As opposed to the victim. It could be the dominos delivery person, it could be a school bus. It could be the nightguard. These were calm, command detonated. So even if you stepped on them, they wouldnt go off. Because theyre triggered by electricity. And confederates did not use them. Because they evacuated their position out of port hudson. This is the first time that land mines were used. But theyre effective. They never the union never attacked they just walked in. Virginia, the state of many firsts. Joe mattelan landed here in i cant see. I cant read. Fort monroe area. And will theyre going to march this is in 1862 the largest rme on soil today was going to march up the peninsula and attack anding take richmond. Part 3. General johnston ordered delaying measures along the peninsula, primarily here at yorktown. The matkpwrager line. To delay or defeat federal forces. But as the federal forces started to pile up, the confederates knew that this was just a delaying action to give the confederate government and the military and commander more time to buildefenses around richmond. Some of the measures the coederate army took were quaker like lincoln logs. Just have a parade here. Marched here. Have them parade there. Create noise. Face a larger argument. In the morning of may 5, 1862, the federals launched a major assault. And the defenders knew they couldnt resist that assault. So on the evening of may 4th. They withdrew. They withdrew from yorktown and the mactkpwraouger line. And the Union Soldiers cheered because they knew they could take your town peacefully and there would be zero casualties. And these are some impressions of Union Soldiers. And im going to read from the book a couple of times. To the armys surprise at dawn, the advancing union troops spend abandoned and muchfilled rebel trenches. No bloody assault would be needed. Your town was in union hands. The news spread like wildfire. And i quote, loud cheers resounded along the line. From york river to the creek. Recalled captain henry blake. And the bands, which had been done for so long, again enliven the soldiers. And the note of a thousand drums and pipes and bugles filled the woods with a discord of melody. The federals raced to win everlasting glory. To be the first to place flags atop confederate. The initial june jubilation proved to be shortlived with advance of enemys works and new countenance. The confederates had activated victimactivated landmines. Topped with friction primers, set to explode when stepped on or moved, just a few inches under the soil. Union soldiers found the mines throughout the area. And i quote, in vicinity of springs, hospitals and other places, which they suppose should visit, recalled one eyewitness. Nearly 30 union shoulders were killed or maimed by what would soon be referred to as inferno devices. Some encountered torpedoes well in front of the towns defenses. In other words, the union faced an enemy that they couldnt see. This is the cover of Congress Weekly of Union Soldiers, stepping on mines. Again, no army in the world had faced such widespread use of victimactivated weapons. This is from the Richmond National park museum, a repurposed confederate artillery shell. Last week at the museum. At the Parks Service headquarters. This is no longer on display. The idea was to shell it out, put explosives, heres the friction primer. Some Union Soldier steps on it, depresses it, ignites, defuse and blows it up. That wasnt the end of the campaign. As the confederate troops were treated towards richmond, the federals were in hot pursuit, and they laid land mines on the yorktown road and the williamsburg road. The idea was the federal would not march quickly or fast to pursue the retreating cavalry. Retreating cav confederates due to the landmines. And it worked. Who is responsible for this use of victimactivated mines, was general gabriel raines. His brother george raines, you may know, was head of the augusta powder arsenal. The number one supplier of gun powder to the confederacy. Theyre born in newborn, North Carolina. Its now a national its balanced. Gabriel raines said explosive. George raines, explosive agents. Heres my pickup truck that i use to show that im doing research. Deductions. To prove i was there. This is their house. General raines. He had experiment with explosives in the seminole board. And he applied his practice of sensitive fuses for the mines in the peninsula campaign. So theres let me just go back here. George raines. Gabriel raines was heavily criticized in june of 1862, one month later. When general mccleland had the union forces said this is, inhumane and uncivilized. This weapon should not be used. And General Johnson agreed with him. General longstreet ordered raines, do not use landmines. Theyre inhumane. Theyre uncivilized. Theyre overruled by defense secretary 24, secretary randolph and davis, who said mines could be used with military purposes. Gabriel raines proved. When they gave him 150,000. Setting up the firstever mine bureau, to develop mines. Theres not a lot known about it because it was called a torpedo bureau. It was to be kept secret. Port hudson, indiana. 1853. The longest siege in americas history, 48 days. The confederate defender was completely surrounded by union forces, general banks. The confederates ran out of food. Running out of fuel, music, dogs. Running out of ammunition. And they repurposed Union Artillery for land mines. And theres a high, unexploded rate in munitions. Even today. The industry says 5 of all munitions do not explode when used. But back then, it was about 30 to 40 . So confederates repurposed union shells here at port dutchput, priest cap and the citadel. Right here were victim activated mines. And up here. The first time in the worlds history that both types of mines are that were victim activated were used. This is fort desperate. You can see how desperate the defenders were theyre in position. Outmanned. Outgunned. The union kept consulting. And for the confederates, you can see hereused explosives. This