The Death of Gen. John A. Rawlins

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Life on the Civil War Research Trail

Күн бұрын

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@yisroelkatz-xj6pq 2 ай бұрын

This was a very moving story! It also demonstrated the loyalty that all of the army members had for each other! This shows that army loyalties last forever!

@TimRawlins-x4c 2 ай бұрын

John Aaron is my great uncle, and one of my heroes. He lifted himself out of poverty as a "charcoal boy" in Galena, by studying for the bar and coming to the attention of Grant at the outbreak of the Civil War. To dismiss his service to Grant and the nation by describing him as "the man who kept Grant sober" is an insult to his memory. He was one of the few in Grant's command who could sway Grant, they became close friends. Dr Allen J. Ottens' biography "General John A. Rawlins: No Ordinary Man" is a great read.

@oldgeezerproductions 2 ай бұрын

A very emotionally affecting reading. Thanks once again Ron for delivering this touching story regarding the death of a wonderful human being and a man who, even to this day, our united, United States of America, owes a debt of thanks to. I wonder how many people today living in our country, in this year of 2024, realize just how awful, how terrible tuberculosis was in the 19th Century. Before medical science identified the bacterial cause of this disease (Koch's bacillus) and understood how it was transmitted, it was a huge killer and those it didn't kill, many were rendered feeble and wasted. TB's common name was 'consumption' because the victim's body seemed to be consumed as the disease progressed. I think that the picture showing General Rawlin's prominent cheekbones attest to this wasting. The fact that we today do not fear or have to live with that scourge is thanks to the the tireless work starting with Robert Koch and all those early microbiologists of the late 19th Century and the even more tireless work of the hundreds of Public Health professionals in such institutions as the CDC and the World Health Organization (to name just two), work that continues to this very day.

@suewarner1781 2 ай бұрын

I have studied the Civil War almost my entire life. I thank you for this channel, it is very informative and very much appreciated.

@richiephillips1541 2 ай бұрын

War is horrible, but the bonds created are lasting. Even the former enemies shared a bond for the rest of their days.

@burdine26.120 2 ай бұрын

Ely Parker’s first name is pronounced: EE LEE - “It was at that school that he began to go by the name Ely (pronounced like “freely”). Parker thrived in school.”

@bobconnor1210 2 ай бұрын

I was happy to find his fascinating account of his service with General Grant who we know kept him a very busy man.

@elkhunterbill5087 2 ай бұрын

Deeply moving! I can't help but wonder, how did the government take care of his widow and children?

@carlh-thehermitwithwi-fi679 2 ай бұрын

if i may...i discovered your channel about a week ago. I am a history nut, and i enjoy it. I have been to a number of Civil War battlefields, as well as Revolutionary War sites. IF I MAY Studying our Founding Fathers and their thoughts, studying the Revolutionary War, and especially the Civil War...gien the atmosphere today, means that this is not just "a good class", - it is MANDATORY learning, given the enemies around us - ESPECIALLY "the state" Thank you.

@maryshanley329 2 ай бұрын

Well said. One can believe that, should America fall, it will be from within. Obama has won. He has attempted to hijack the country has been successful. He is the architect of every day of the Biden regime. Yes, regime.

@owensomers8572 2 ай бұрын

You do understand the Founding Fathers established "the state". And "the state" is elected by "We the People", so you are saying you are your own worst enemy.

@MichaelSheffield-ox8yd 2 ай бұрын

@@owensomers8572 As a monarchist, we are all our own worst enemy.

@oaktreet4335 2 ай бұрын

@@owensomers8572 The did not found the MODERN state

@Sleepingbear2222 2 ай бұрын

The state is nothing more than a reflection of its citizens. Democracy is not a spectator sport. It requires good, honest leadership coupled with transparency and a well informed participating citizenry. But, please spare us from the conspiracy theories. Vote Blue!

@519djw6 2 ай бұрын

*The only thing I knew before seeing this was that John A. Rawlins had been Ulysses S. Grant's aide during the Civil War, and that he was the one who made sure that Grant did not drink!*

@MichaelSheffield-ox8yd 2 ай бұрын

Where did you get that from -- a crystal ball? Reference it, please.

@519djw6 2 ай бұрын

@@MichaelSheffield-ox8yd No.I got this from several sources, including a dual biography, "Lee and Grant," by Gene Smith, as well as from Ken Burns's documentary "The Civil War."

@maryshanley329 2 ай бұрын

@@519djw6 Nope, he was not an alcoholic. He himself said that he suffered from slander about this topic from his days in California. He had a slight build for most of his life. He was 5 feet 8 inches tall. He could literally not consume alcohol. With 1 drink he slurred his speech; with 2 he had to hold onto the furniture. When he was stationed in what is now Oregon, he was quartermaster, the officer who is responsible for everything from ammo to food. He was paying the men and Buchanan, in charge, heard Grant slurring his words. There is nothing in writing whatsoever that he was threatened with court martial. Whatever Buchanan said, his fellow officers rallied to his side. They. said he hardly drank at all! Rawlings has a father who was an alcoholic, and was not able to provide an education for his son. Rawlings became a lawyer in Galena, Ill. Grant appointed Rawlings to his staff. However, as time went on, Grant chose as his staff seasoned men from the army. These officers were well-known for their abilities. As a fellow migraine sufferer, a bad migraine can look like a 3 day bender. Pain, sensitivity to light, vomiting, aura like jagged lightning strikes.

@MichaelSheffield-ox8yd 2 ай бұрын

@@519djw6 Gene Smith is credible, Ken Burns mostly not. I'm due to re-read "Lee and Grant". So thanks for the reference and the goose to get me to move the book to the top of my To Read stack.

@andywindes4968 2 ай бұрын

Rawlins wrote about his efforts to keep Grant away from the bottle--I think it came out in letters he wrote to his wife. My impression is that Grant considered him a bit of a pain. Rawlins in almost completely absent in Grant's memoirs---a strange thing considering they were together nearly every day during the war.

@jamesnella52 2 ай бұрын

The Bond of Service

@johnschuh8616 2 ай бұрын

I find this deeply moving. Odd that his wife was not present though.

@owensomers8572 2 ай бұрын

Not necessarily, he had been with his wife and children in Connecticut, and traveled to DC to attend a cabinet meeting just over a week before passing, and had intended to return home after the meeting. He had been suffering from Tuberculosis (consumption) for some time, which many people of the era suffered from for years before succumbing.

@conradnelson5283 2 ай бұрын

Too bad Grant did not make it in time. Sequence of events, sounds plausible to one who has sat beside a death bed. Change between life and death is pronounced.

@dresqueda 2 ай бұрын

Poor Gen. Rawlins. I can not imagine his suffering. Today, of course, as in so many of the Civil War deaths, the condition could be treated. The response of Gen. Grant, and the dedication of Gen. Rawlins attest to the bonding that must have occurred to come through such an horrific ordeal as the Civil War.

@EndingSimple Ай бұрын

I heard that Rawlins most important job as Grant's chief of staff was making sure liquor never got anywhere near him. And that was an extremely hard job because the armies were full of officers who had those little metal liquor bottles on them and usually offered a sip to fellow officers. He had to get right in between those guys and Grant.

@andywindes4968 2 ай бұрын

It doesn't surprise me that Grant didn't make it to Rawlins deathbed. I think Rawlins chief role during the war was keeping Grant on the straight and narrow (away from the bottle) and in some ways it seems as if Grant was embarrassed by this. Rawlins is barely mentioned in Grant's memoirs.

@lifeonthecivilwarresearchtrail 2 ай бұрын

@@andywindes4968 many have speculated that Grant put distance between himself and Rawlins in his memoirs because of the association with alcohol.

@andywindes4968 2 ай бұрын

@@lifeonthecivilwarresearchtrail Grant is such an enigmatic guy that it's hard to make too many assumptions about his motivations, but I think this one if fair.

@robertlee8474 2 ай бұрын

One Grant biographer claimed that Grant didn’t show up in time because Mrs. Grant wanted to shop a little longer at a stop along the way.

@db9091 2 ай бұрын

Well, the unanswered question: who did take care of his wife and children?

@lifeonthecivilwarresearchtrail 2 ай бұрын

@@db9091 veterans!

@db9091 2 ай бұрын

Well, Wiki says they lived with their grandparents. So I assume his 2nd wife also died of consumption or she dropped the kids off with their maternal grandparents? Says Grant was their “guardian”. I was just wondering like, did veterans contribute to their education, etc. Since it was a dying wish, it begs for followup.

@Sleepingbear2222 2 ай бұрын

I know from Ron Chernow’s book, “Grant” that Grant funded the son’s education.

@dennisbarrington221 2 ай бұрын

Wow. Awesome. Thank you! Love this channel and the commenters are real history buffs. Appreciate it!

@SylviaFerguson-u8g 2 ай бұрын

Robinson Jose White Daniel Thompson Steven

@markmckee7877 2 ай бұрын

Another bid bit of civil war history that ripped apart the American Democracy and how these men would have been shocked to be foretold that their efforts would result in a black man to be president and that it may occur that this nation could have a women of black - Asian heritage to become the first President, based upon their dedication and sacrifice in this great war. I am sure that this prediction would have been laughed at the time.

@ozzyphil74 2 ай бұрын

Why would it shock them beyond being difficult to imagine in that society? Is there something that makes white men the only able leaders?

@maryshanley329 2 ай бұрын

Rawlings had a temper and was a very bitter man and still very angry because his father could not afford to fund his son’s education. Also, as the war progressed, Grant leaned less and less on Rawlings, and more on the officers he knew from West Point and war and his postings. That is a far better way to win a war. Rawlings was very sensitive and took things the wrong way.