Ira Roe Foster
Ira Roe Foster | |
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Quartermaster General of Georgia | |
In office May 18, 1861 – June 24, 1865 | |
Personal details | |
Born | 2nd Brigade 7th Georgia Militia | January 19, 1811
Battles/wars | Seminole Wars |
Ira Roe Foster (January 9, 1811 – November 19, 1885) was a teacher,
With the outbreak of the
.Early political life and careers
Ira Roe Foster was born on January 9, 1811, on the
He moved to Georgia, likely in the later 1830s after Indian Removal, settling in Forsyth County. He was elected as a
In addition to being a merchant and attorney, Foster maintained extensive business interests in land and
Military service
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/IraFoster2.gif/220px-IraFoster2.gif)
During the
Quartermaster General of Georgia
On May 18, 1861, during the early months of the American Civil War,
Apart from that brief period in 1861 when supplies were adequate, Georgia soldiers were chronically in need of basic essentials. In December 1862, the Georgia Legislature appropriated $1,500,000 for the purchase of military clothing and blankets. Anticipating the inadequacy of that measure, it also authorized Governor Brown to seize factories and supplies, as needed. The Governor executed the order, but authorized Foster to pay sellers 10% and manufacturers 25% of the value of their seized goods. Foster, in the course of his duty, appealed to the people's "love of liberty" in meeting the demands placed upon them.[14] While Foster's actions benefited the troops, the effect on civilians was harsh. According to the New Georgia Encyclopedia, "The Quartermaster Department's persistent purchases (or impressments) of the bulk of the state's textile and shoe manufactures left civilians facing intense scarcity and exorbitant prices. These conditions often led to accusations of profiteering."[12] While civilians may have faced scarcities and high prices, conditions for many Georgia soldiers were far worse. In late August 1863, following the Battle of Gettysburg, one Georgia colonel forwarded a requisition to Foster "in which he reported his command as destitute of everything". Men in his unit had worn out two pairs of shoes on the Northern march, and "all faced the prospect of frostbite, pleurisy, or pneumonia in the coming winter."[15] By this period of the war, Gettysburg historian John Heiser observes:
Georgia... had clothing depots in Atlanta, Columbus and Athens where uniforms based on a state-adopted pattern were manufactured, gathered for inspection and shipment to Richmond where these items were then distributed to Georgia units serving in Lee’s army.[16]
Foster's level of organization in Georgia did not, however, result in the smooth flow of supplies, once they left the state. Heiser notes that
the logistical nightmare of getting clothing to Richmond warehouses followed by transport to the army caused countless shortages and more often than not, soldiers were forced to improvise by acquiring clothing through other means.[16]
By 1864, the situation had become even more desperate. Writing to Foster on January 24, 1864, General James Longstreet noted:
There are five Georgia Brigades in this Army – Wofford's, G.T. Anderson's, Bryan's, Benning's, and Crews' cavalry brigade. They are all alike in excessive need of shoes, clothing of all kinds, and blankets. All that you can send will be thankfully received.[17]
The duties of the Quartermaster General required, on occasion, a degree of clandestine activity, both to ensure the security of textile mills, and to prevent mill owners from shipping their goods to out-of-state buyers. According to Dr. Harold S. Wilson:
The sources of dangers to the mills was not always clear. In June 1864, Enoch Steadman's Lawrenceville factory in Georgia inexplicably burned. This company worked exclusively [supplying finished goods for Georgia soldiers] for Governor Joseph E. Brown, but Georgia quartermaster Ira Foster was forced to keep it under surveillance to ensure that the state received its goods. One of Steadman's employees [warned him] that Quartermaster Foster had 'parties watching your concern and he has expressed the belief that you are sneaking and that he says he will have goods or blood.'[18]
The Quartermaster General did not limit his efforts to supplying material to Georgia troops. On July 31, 1863, in an effort to thwart Union recruitment of foreigners, Foster wrote to President Jefferson Davis, proposing that the Confederacy send foreign-born "men of talent" to their native lands, especially to Ireland "to write, speak, and in every way labor to disabuse the minds of these deluded Europeans" about inducements made by Union recruiting agents.[19]
Foster worked to maintain supplies and clothes for Georgia soldiers throughout the war, and continuing in his office even after the collapse of the Confederacy.[20][21]
Appealing for socks
As Quartermaster, Foster attempted to secure supplies from every source. In December 1862, according to
Cheer our soldiers, discourage desertions, hurry off able bodied furloughed men to the front and stimulate them to prefer honorable deaths in the face of the enemy, to dishonest lives prolonged by shrinking from duty.[23]
On December 24, 1863, a notice was placed in the Savannah Republican by one Carrie Bell Sinclair, poet and president of the local Ladies' Knitting Society, stating:
Having received from the Quartermaster General a large supply of knitting thread, members of the Society, or any one interested in the soldiers, can be supplied by calling on me any time during the week. We have been unable to supply all who have come forward and entered their names as members of the Society, having been entirely out of thread for the last two or three weeks. But we have now on hand enough for eighty or ninety pair of socks, and we hope those interested in the matter will come forward now and assist us in getting them done as early as possible. With the beginning of the New Year, let us renew our efforts in behalf of the suffering soldiers, and do all that we can for their comfort.[24]
Foster's sock campaign stimulated the supply of the much needed item, but may have also met with a certain amount of suspicion and backlash. Rumors of profiteering by the Quartermaster's office had circulated earlier, when Foster's purchases and impressments of textiles and shoes had driven up the price of goods.[12] Foster claimed that new rumors, which he denied as a "malicious falsehood!",[25] had spread that he and his department were profiteering from the socks.[12][25] It was alleged that contributed socks were being sold, rather than given freely to the troops. The charge would not have been without precedent. The historian Jeanie Attie notes that in 1861, an "especially damaging rumor" (later found to be true) had circulated in the North, alleging that the Union Army had purchased 5000 pairs of socks which had been donated, and intended for the troops, from a private relief agency, the United States Sanitary Commission.[26] As the Sanitary Commission had done in the North, Foster undertook a propaganda campaign in Georgia newspapers to combat the alleged rumors and to encourage the continued contribution of socks.[27] He offered $1,000.00 to any "citizen or soldier who will come forward and prove that he ever bought a sock from this Department that was either knit by the ladies or purchased for issue to said troops."[25]
The Battle of Atlanta
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6b/Savannah_Campaign.png/400px-Savannah_Campaign.png)
Leading up to the Battle of Peachtree Creek during the Atlanta campaign, Foster's home was occupied by General A.P. Stewart (CSA), who made it his headquarters. Georgia Historical Commission marker 060-90, erected at that location, states:
Site of the Ira R. Foster house which was occupied as headquarters by Gen. A. P. Stewart, [CSA] during military operations N. of Atlanta, July 16–21, 1864. From here were issued the orders directing his troops in the Battle of Peachtree Creek, July 20.[28]
After Atlanta's capture by Union forces, a refugee settlement was established in Terrell County for civilians forced to flee the city. The Fosterville settlement, named after the Quartermaster General,[29] was according to author Mary Elizabeth Massey, the "most ambitious refugee project approved by the Georgia General Assembly" [during that period].[30] On March 11, 1865, the Georgia General Assembly authorized General Foster to "continue to provide for maintenance of said exiles, or such of them as are unable by their labor to support themselves, or their families for the balance of the present year."[30]
The capture of Milledgeville
After the
When the Governor saw the condition of affairs, he went to the penitentiary, had the convicts drawn up in a line, and made them a short speech; he appealed to their patriotic pride and offered pardon to each one who would help remove the State property and then enlist for the defense of Georgia. They responded promptly, were put under the command of Gen. Foster, and did valuable service in loading the train. When that was done each one was given a suit of gray, and a gun, and they were formed into a military company of which one of their number was captain. They were ordered to report for duty to Gen. Wayne, who was commanding a small battalion of militia at Milledgeville and also the Georgia cadets from the Military Institute at Marietta.[33][35]
FRANCES LETCHER MITCHELL
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/29/Burning_of_the_penitentiary_at_Milledgeville%2C_GA_-_November_23_1864.jpg/300px-Burning_of_the_penitentiary_at_Milledgeville%2C_GA_-_November_23_1864.jpg)
Arrest and Union commission
In 1865, Foster traveled to Virginia, where he was imprisoned by the
In many particulars the Federal soldiers acted very cleverly. Gen. [James H.] Wilson turned over to Gen. Ira Foster the Confederate mules, horses, wagons, and harness, for distribution to the poor, and Col. J.H.R. Washington of Macon, was associated with Gen. Foster to aid in the distribution.[21][36]
On June 24, 1865, in General Order #31, General Wilson expressed appreciation to Foster and Washington, and relieved them of their authority, placing the task with Capt. R. Carter, A.Q.M., Cavalry Corps Military Division of the Mississippi.[20]
Personal life and later years
Foster married Mildred Arthur Creighton Crooks in 1842. They had four children: Amalthea Camilla, Erycenia Penthecelia, Nancy Lucinda Creighton, and Marcus Lucuius. In 1867, Foster moved his family to
See also
- Atlanta in the American Civil War
- Blockade runners of the Civil War - Supplying the Confederacy
- Confederate States Army - Supply and Logistics
- General James H. Wilson
- Georgia during Reconstruction
- Georgia in the American Civil War
- Irish Americans in the American Civil War
- Uniforms of the Confederate States military forces
References
- ^ a b Smith, Gordon Burns, History of the Georgia Militia, 1783–1861, Volume One, Campaigns and Generals, Boyd Publishing, 2000, p. 292
- ^ a b c d Manuscripts Division William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan. "Ira Roe Foster Papers". Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-57233-304-8.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-57233-168-6.
- ^ Georgia (1850). Acts Passed by the General Assembly of Georgia. J. Johnston. pp. 219–223.
- ^ Ella Christie Melton; Augusta Griggs Raines (1980). History of Terrell County, Georgia. W. H. Wolfe Associates.
- ISBN 978-0-8071-2465-9.
- ^ Emory Speer (1909). Lincoln, Lee, Grant: And Other Biographical Addresses. The Neale Publishing Company. pp. 229.
- ^ "Journal of the Senate of the State of Georgia, At the Annual Session of the General Assembly, Begun and Held in Milledgeville, The Seat of Government, In 1861". University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 1861. p. 19. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
- ISBN 978-0-86554-262-4.
- ISBN 978-0-300-19216-2.
- ^ a b c d Sean H. Vanatta - Dan Du (9 September 2014). "Civil War Industry and Manufacturing". New Georgia Encyclopedia. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
- ^ 3rd Georgia equipment - Picture of Brogans (shoes)
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8203-3499-8.
- ISBN 978-1-60473-072-2.
- ^ a b John Heiser (21 August 2014). "The Home of the Rebel Sharpshooter". The Blog of Gettysburg National Military Park. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
- ISBN 978-0-86554-697-4.
- ^ Wilson, p. 201
- ISBN 978-0-8071-2087-3.
- ^ a b New York Times. "The Cotton in Georgia.; IMPORTANT ORDER BY GEN. WILSON". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 October 2013.
- ^ a b United States. War Dept; Robert Nicholson Scott; Henry Martyn Lazelle; et al. (1897). The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 631–632.
- ISBN 978-0-8203-3438-7.
- ^ a b Ira R. Foster - Quartermaster General (October 11, 1863). "To the Women of Georgia". DAILY INTELLIGENCER, Atlanta, Georgia. p. 2 (Section 2). Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 27 October 2013.
- ^ Savannah Republican, December 24, 1863, p. 2, c. 1 Archived November 11, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b c Frank Moore (1865). The Rebellion Record: A Diary of American Events. p. 48.
- ISBN 0-8014-2224-8.
- ^ Attie, p. 173
- ^ Historical Marker Database. "Gen. Stewart's H'dq'rs". Retrieved 27 October 2013.
- ISBN 978-1-85109-600-8.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8071-2688-2.
- ^ John William Draper (1870). History of the American Civil War: Containing the events from the Proclamation of the Emancipation of the slaves to the end of the war. Harper. pp. 329–330.
- ^ Parks, pp.308-312
- ^ a b Georgia Land and People.(1919) p.158 at archive.org
- ISBN 978-1-4290-1529-5.
- ^ Avery, pp. 307-311
- ISBN 978-1-153-49287-4.
- ^ Bettina Pearson Higdon (1983). Foster, a first family --. Gregath Co. pp. 71–72.
- ^ Philip Cobb, Mrs. Wilton (1932). "History of Dodge County". Retrieved 27 October 2013.
- ^ Gadsden Times, Mike Goodson. "'Blind tigers' thrived in Pull Tight". Retrieved 27 October 2013.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-8203-2091-5.
- ^ "History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography", Thomas McAdory Owen, Mrs. Maria (Bankhead) Owen, S.J. Clarke Company, Alabama: 1921, Biographical Sketch of Ira Foster Roe, p. 603.
Further reading
- Jeanie Attie, Patriotic Toil: Northern Women and the American Civil War, Cornell University Press, 1998. The role of Northern women as volunteers and contributors of material in the Civil War. ISBN 978-080142224-9
- I.W. Avery, The History of the State of Georgia From 1850 to 1881, Embracing the Three Important Epochs: the Decade Before the War of 1861-5; the War; the Period of Reconstruction, General Books, LLC., 2010. The people and events in the History of Georgia 1850 - 1881. ISBN 978-1-15349-287-4
- William Le Duc, This Business of War: Recollections of a Civil War Quartermaster, Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2004. Logistical details of supplying the Army of the Potomac. ISBN 978-0-87351-508-5
- Richard D. Goff, Confederate Supply, Duke University Press, 1969. Actions of the War Department in supplying the armies of the Confederacy. ASIN: B0006BWTQQ
- Mary Elizabeth Massey, Women in the Civil War, University of Nebraska Press. 1966. An impartial history of the work done by women on the homefront, of both the North and South, during the Civil War. ISBN 978-0-80328-213-1
- Joseph H. Parks, Joseph E. Brown of Georgia, LSU Press, 1999. Biography. ISBN 978-0-8071-2465-9.
- Harold S. Wilson. Confederate Industry: Manufacturers and Quartermasters in the Civil War, University Press of Mississippi, 2002. Though mill-owners opposed the formation of the Confederacy, they served it reasonably well and overcame the extensive difficulties of dealing with quartermasters' demands and the evolving Confederate bureaucracy. ISBN 978-1-57806-462-5
Correspondence collections
- Ira Roe Foster Papers, 1862–1865, finding aid created by Rob S. Cox, May 1996, and Philip Heslip, October 2009 (Manuscripts Division, William L. Clements Library: The University of Michigan - James S. Schoff Civil War Collection) – a collection of 105 war-time letters (1862 to 1865).
- Ira R. Foster papers 1844-1873 (Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library: The University of Georgia) – the collection consists of correspondence of Ira R. Foster from 1844-1873. Correspondence deals with his duties as Quartermaster-General of Georgia during the Civil War, The Georgia lumber industry (Terrell County, Georgia) and personal and family matters. Correspondents include C.R. Armstrong, Joseph E. Brown, William H. Stiles, and The Southerner and Commercial Advertisers.
- Joseph Emmerson Brown Letters (AlabamaMosaic: The University of Alabama) - the collection contains twenty-three letters from Georgia Governor Joseph E. Brown to Ira R. Foster,
External links
- A plea for supplies - Letter from Lt. Col. S. H. Walkup to North Carolina Governor Zebulon Vance
- Civil War Industry and Manufacturing - New Georgia Encyclopedia
- (Civil War) Socks for Soldiers - Newark Advocate - September 18, 2011
- Life in Dixie During the War (1893) - Mary A.H. Gay - Digital Library of Georgia
- National Park Service - Plowshares into Swords
- Smithsonian - National Museum of American History - Six questions with a Civil War material culture scholar
- Socks, Stockings, and other Knitted items - Articles from Civil War Newspapers
- Letter from Governor Joseph E. Brown, Milledgeville, Georgia, to General Ira R. Foster, February 15, 1864
- Knittingdaily.com - Sock Knitting in the Civil War (Mar 14, 2012 by Kathleen Cubley) Archived November 12, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- 7th Virginia Cavalry Quartermaster Documents - A Civil War Collection Virginia Military Institute Archives
- Union Quartermaster General Montgomery Meigs - New York Times (America's Quartermaster) April 12, 2013
- What the average Civil War soldier wore - by Brooke C. Stoddard and Daniel P. Murphy, Ph.D.