2nd Alabama Cavalry
Sergeant
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2019
One of the things that I enjoy reading about are the various aspects of camp life during the Civil War which took place inbetween the fighting. So when I came across the article linked below, it quickly grabbed my attention. According to sources used in the article, Baseball, during the Civil War, was primarily a northern game and over the duration of the war was introduced to some southerners and westerners with whom northern soldiers came into contact from 1861 - 1865. Apparently the game, even during the war, was played quite often, be it in camp, while taking a break from campaigning and even in the Prisoner of War Camps of the south. Upon returning home the game spread to friends and neighbors and soon the sport was played in every region of the country, solidifying its title as “The National Pastime." Or so the article would suggest.
To read the article follow the link below:
According to Wikipedia, by the early 1830s, there were reports of a variety of uncodified bat-and-ball games recognizable as early forms of baseball being played around North America. The first officially recorded baseball game on the American continent was played in Beachville, Ontario, Canada on June 4, 1838. In 1845, Alexander Cartwright, a member of New York City's Knickerbocker Club, led the codification of the so-called Knickerbocker rules. While there are reports that the New York Nickerbockers played games in 1845, the contest long recognized as the first officially recorded baseball game in U.S. history took place on June 19, 1846, in Hoboken, New Jersey: which resulted in the "New York Nine" defeating the Knickerbockers, 23–1, in four innings. With the Knickerbocker code as the basis, the rules of modern baseball continued to evolve over the next half-century. In relation to Baseball, as we understand it today, the indigenous peoples of the American continent (First Nations / American Indians) also had a game of stick ball, long before the first European landed on the shores of the American continent, which would have been known to the people in the southern states during the ACW.
I found the following journal entry from Frank L. Church, who was part of Admiral Porter's Red River flotilla and commanded the Marine Guard on the U. S. Flag Ship Black Hawk while participating in the Red River Campaign in March 1864, which demonstrates the game being played elsewhere during the ACW:
"Red River, March 3; Went on shore at 10 1/2 o'clock this morning and played base ball for about 3 hours. At 3 p.m. practiced with the revolver. Several Secesh ladies from a plantation in the neighborhood came up on horseback to see the ship. Two of them were really beautiful and rode splendidly. Wrote a letter to Alice."
Below I have attached an image of one such game, which was played at the Salisbury Confederate Prison in North Carolina, during the late spring or summer of 1862. It is one of the earliest images of baseball being played, which is a hand colored lithograph of Union prisoners at Salisbury Confederate Prison playing the game. It is part of the Harry T. Peters “America on Stone” Lithography Collection at the National Museum of American History. The artist of the original watercolor sketch (1862), used to create the lithograph below in 1863, was Otto Botticher (1811-1886), a Prussian immigrant who held the rank of a Union captain when he was captured on March 29, 1862 around Manassas, Virginia and sent to the Salisbury Confederate Prison as a Prisoner of War. The lithographic firm was Sarony, Major & Knapp of 449 Broadway, New York City.
To read the article follow the link below:
Civil War baseball
americanhistory.si.edu
According to Wikipedia, by the early 1830s, there were reports of a variety of uncodified bat-and-ball games recognizable as early forms of baseball being played around North America. The first officially recorded baseball game on the American continent was played in Beachville, Ontario, Canada on June 4, 1838. In 1845, Alexander Cartwright, a member of New York City's Knickerbocker Club, led the codification of the so-called Knickerbocker rules. While there are reports that the New York Nickerbockers played games in 1845, the contest long recognized as the first officially recorded baseball game in U.S. history took place on June 19, 1846, in Hoboken, New Jersey: which resulted in the "New York Nine" defeating the Knickerbockers, 23–1, in four innings. With the Knickerbocker code as the basis, the rules of modern baseball continued to evolve over the next half-century. In relation to Baseball, as we understand it today, the indigenous peoples of the American continent (First Nations / American Indians) also had a game of stick ball, long before the first European landed on the shores of the American continent, which would have been known to the people in the southern states during the ACW.
Baseball - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
I found the following journal entry from Frank L. Church, who was part of Admiral Porter's Red River flotilla and commanded the Marine Guard on the U. S. Flag Ship Black Hawk while participating in the Red River Campaign in March 1864, which demonstrates the game being played elsewhere during the ACW:
"Red River, March 3; Went on shore at 10 1/2 o'clock this morning and played base ball for about 3 hours. At 3 p.m. practiced with the revolver. Several Secesh ladies from a plantation in the neighborhood came up on horseback to see the ship. Two of them were really beautiful and rode splendidly. Wrote a letter to Alice."
Below I have attached an image of one such game, which was played at the Salisbury Confederate Prison in North Carolina, during the late spring or summer of 1862. It is one of the earliest images of baseball being played, which is a hand colored lithograph of Union prisoners at Salisbury Confederate Prison playing the game. It is part of the Harry T. Peters “America on Stone” Lithography Collection at the National Museum of American History. The artist of the original watercolor sketch (1862), used to create the lithograph below in 1863, was Otto Botticher (1811-1886), a Prussian immigrant who held the rank of a Union captain when he was captured on March 29, 1862 around Manassas, Virginia and sent to the Salisbury Confederate Prison as a Prisoner of War. The lithographic firm was Sarony, Major & Knapp of 449 Broadway, New York City.
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