General St. John Richardson Liddell... Quicklime Shells...

[5fish]

General Liddell was in charge of infantry at Mobile at the end of the war...

from wiki...
He was later assigned to overall command of the infantry at Mobile, Alabama until to its surrender in 1865. During the last campaign, Liddell and Union Maj. Gen. E.R.S. Canby engaged in the Battle of Fort Blakely,[1] one of the last engagements of the war, where he was captured. Canby would later prove influential in Liddell's life by securing amnesty for him from the Federal Government.

He used innovative weapons to protect Ft Barkeley like... landmines

Link: http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-3718

They also dug a series of rifle pits, in which teams of skirmishers were deployed, a short distance in advance of these obstructions. Controversially, Liddell's men had also buried dozens of land mines, a recent invention at the time called "subterra shells," in the ground in their front.

Some of the Union casualties occurred after the battle, as the mine-ridden battlefield continued to claim victims until captured prisoners were forced to point out their locations.

His other innovative weapon was artillery flares... using quicklime...

Liddell's men attempted to slow the Union advance under cover of dark by launching several small scale sorties and periodically lobbing "fire balls" (artillery shells filled with quicklime, CaO, that gave a brief, intense glow as they burned) into the air to temporarily illuminate their targets.

In the end, the fort falls to Union hands on the eve of the war ends... I have not been able to find any other reference for quicklime being used in this way in the war.

Liddell attended West Point but resign before he graduated...

Liddell was murdered in 1870 by Col. Charles Jones, the culmination of a twenty-year real estate dispute that had seen Jones and his band of thugs murder several friends and family members of Liddell. He was buried on his sprawling plantation in Louisiana.

 

[5fish]

A book was written about Liddell Division actions at Chickamauga...

Summary... https://www.amazon.com/Brigadier-General-Liddells-Division-Chickamauga/dp/1522785884

This book is a historical analysis or Brigadier General St. John R. Liddell and his division during the Battle of Chickamauga. Liddell's Division was an ad hoc unit, formed just prior to the battle. During the battle, the unit was involved in five different engagements over a period of three days. These engagements resulted in varying degrees of success and failure. In today's context the performance of the division can be seen as mostly a failure, but from the American Civil War perspective the division's performance in many ways was a success. The division's experiences over the three-day period included: fighting against the overwhelming firepower of a new weapon and suffering numerous casualties; surprising and routing three enemy brigades before being surprised, flanked, and forced to retreat; lacking the will to attack across an open field littered with dead and wounded comrades; attacking and flanking the enemy then being threatened with cut off from the main army; and finally being attacked unexpectedly from the flank and routed. The book begins with a general summation of the battle and an introductory discussion of the structure, leadership, tactics, weapons, and training of the Confederate -v armies during the American Civil War. The book then continues with an examination of General Liddell's life and background before and during the early part of the war. Next, the thesis discusses, as a prelude to Chickamauga, Liddell and his brigades' experiences at the Battle of Stones River and during the Tullahoma Campaign. The thesis continues with a description of the background and combat experiences of the brigade commanders and the units that comprised Liddell's Division. Thereafter, the book analyzes the performance of General Liddell and his division at the Battle of Chickamauga and draws conclusions as to the proximate causes of the performance: causes that are related to the terrain, the organization of the division, the lack of enemy information, and the tactical focus of Liddell and his commanders.

 

[5fish]

He wrote his memoirs but were published years after his death... supposed to be a good read...

Summary...
St. John Richardson Liddell (1815--1870), a conspicuous combat leader in the Army of Tennessee, was an important eyewitness to the making of history. A prominent Louisiana planter, he also served on the staffs of P.G.T. Beauregard, William J. Hardee, and Albert Sidney Johnston during the conflict and traveled in the upper circles of the Confederate military and political high command. In 1866, disillusioned and embittered by defeat, Liddell penned his memoirs for his sons. More than a description of his wartime experiences, Liddell's Record is one man's judgment on why the Confederacy failed, offering blunt, often harsh criticisms of Confederate leadership and fellow soldiers rarely found in such personal accounts.

 

[jgoodguy]

General Liddell was in charge of infantry at Mobile at the end of the war...

from wiki...
He was later assigned to overall command of the infantry at Mobile, Alabama until to its surrender in 1865. During the last campaign, Liddell and Union Maj. Gen. E.R.S. Canby engaged in the Battle of Fort Blakely,[1] one of the last engagements of the war, where he was captured. Canby would later prove influential in Liddell's life by securing amnesty for him from the Federal Government.

He used innovative weapons to protect Ft Barkeley like... landmines

Link: http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-3718

They also dug a series of rifle pits, in which teams of skirmishers were deployed, a short distance in advance of these obstructions. Controversially, Liddell's men had also buried dozens of land mines, a recent invention at the time called "subterra shells," in the ground in their front.

Some of the Union casualties occurred after the battle, as the mine-ridden battlefield continued to claim victims until captured prisoners were forced to point out their locations.

His other innovative weapon was artillery flares... using quicklime...

Liddell's men attempted to slow the Union advance under cover of dark by launching several small scale sorties and periodically lobbing "fire balls" (artillery shells filled with quicklime, CaO, that gave a brief, intense glow as they burned) into the air to temporarily illuminate their targets.

In the end, the fort falls to Union hands on the eve of the war ends... I have not been able to find any other reference for quicklime being used in this way in the war.

Liddell attended West Point but resign before he graduated...

Liddell was murdered in 1870 by Col. Charles Jones, the culmination of a twenty-year real estate dispute that had seen Jones and his band of thugs murder several friends and family members of Liddell. He was buried on his sprawling plantation in Louisiana.

Interesting story.

 

[5fish]

I think I found what type of shell Liddell was shooting a form of Carcass Shell... using quicklime...

https://markerhunter.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/13-inch-mortars-pt2

Another ancient projectile type, the carcass, offered some incendiary effect. The carcass was basically a hollow shell filled with a flammable material, be that some sort of pitch or the infamous Greek fire. Small holes at the top of the carcass allowed the payload to ignite when the mortar was fired. By the Civil War, the Army discontinued service use of carcass projectiles. These things were difficult to handle… not to mention dangerous.

While technically a pyrotechnic, another type of projectile offered limited incendiary effect. Described in the manuals as “fire-balls,” these consisted of a canvas bag loaded with a shell and explosive composition. The entire assembly was coated with pitch. When loaded, a metal base separated the fire-ball from the propelling charge. When fired, as with standard shells, the flame touched off a fuse. At some point above the enemy position, the fire-ball ignited and provided illumination. Certainly not as dependable as modern flares, but better than nothing perhaps.

Here is a wiki page:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carcass_(projectile)

I found it first in the Total War wargaming world...

https://empiretotalwar.fandom.com/wiki/Carcass_Shot

 

[jgoodguy]

Certainly not as dependable as modern flares, but better than nothing perhaps.

Very important in wartime. Working now has a quality beyond waiting for perfection.

 

[5fish]

Here is the feud that took his life... The story is long should read the wiki link...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jones-Liddell_feud

Wiki...

The Jones-Liddell feud (1847-1870) also known as the Liddell-Jones feud or the Black River War was an ongoing warring dispute between two prominent families from Catahoula Parish, Louisiana. It resulted in the death of at least six people with other estimates suggesting as many as fourteen.

Highlight... Jones blames Liddell...

The most widely accepted account of how the feud began involves a neighboring family to both Liddell and Jones. Phillip and Eliza Nichols, who were personal friends of the Liddell family, owned a prominent piece of land that Col. Jones greatly coveted. Most accounts suggest that Jones had publicly maligned the character and virtue of Mrs. Nichols. Mrs. Eliza Nichols made a personal request for General Liddell to accompany her in confronting Col. Jones about his efforts to disparage her character. Gen. Liddell agreed and together they confronted Col. Jones at his home. As Mrs. Nichols approached Col. Jones, however, she pulled out a pistol and shot him in the face; an action that General Liddell claimed he did not expect from her, nor have prior knowledge of.[4]Col. Jones was injured, but the gunshot did not kill him. Rather than holding Mrs. Nichols as the responsible party for his injury, he solely placed the blame on General Liddell.

Death,,.

When the steamer pulled in at that place, Gen. Liddell was seated having lunch, unaware of the pending danger. Jones and his sons boarded the steamer and drew their weapons on Liddell. Upon seeing their entry, the captain alerted Liddell at once that the men were coming to murder him. Liddell rose to draw his weapon in defense, but Jones and his sons fired away, killing General Liddell instantly.[8][9]

Mob Justice...?

Ultimately, the residents of the area by this point demanded retribution, but sensed none was in order due to Jones' Republican political ties. A mob soon formed, and they stormed the place where Jones and his sons were being held. The mob ultimately killed Col. Jones, as well as his son William. Others found at the place were spared. One son of Jones, Cuthbert Bullitt, slipped out of a second story window, and held on to the ledge, so as not to be found. His life was spared as a result

Here is link the feud story but with a few photos...

http://trrcobb.blogspot.com/2012/09/

 

[jgoodguy]

Here is the feud that took his life... The story is long should read the wiki link...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jones-Liddell_feud

Wiki...

The Jones-Liddell feud (1847-1870) also known as the Liddell-Jones feud or the Black River War was an ongoing warring dispute between two prominent families from Catahoula Parish, Louisiana. It resulted in the death of at least six people with other estimates suggesting as many as fourteen.

Highlight... Jones blames Liddell...

The most widely accepted account of how the feud began involves a neighboring family to both Liddell and Jones. Phillip and Eliza Nichols, who were personal friends of the Liddell family, owned a prominent piece of land that Col. Jones greatly coveted. Most accounts suggest that Jones had publicly maligned the character and virtue of Mrs. Nichols. Mrs. Eliza Nichols made a personal request for General Liddell to accompany her in confronting Col. Jones about his efforts to disparage her character. Gen. Liddell agreed and together they confronted Col. Jones at his home. As Mrs. Nichols approached Col. Jones, however, she pulled out a pistol and shot him in the face; an action that General Liddell claimed he did not expect from her, nor have prior knowledge of.[4]Col. Jones was injured, but the gunshot did not kill him. Rather than holding Mrs. Nichols as the responsible party for his injury, he solely placed the blame on General Liddell.

Death,,.

When the steamer pulled in at that place, Gen. Liddell was seated having lunch, unaware of the pending danger. Jones and his sons boarded the steamer and drew their weapons on Liddell. Upon seeing their entry, the captain alerted Liddell at once that the men were coming to murder him. Liddell rose to draw his weapon in defense, but Jones and his sons fired away, killing General Liddell instantly.[8][9]

Mob Justice...?

Ultimately, the residents of the area by this point demanded retribution, but sensed none was in order due to Jones' Republican political ties. A mob soon formed, and they stormed the place where Jones and his sons were being held. The mob ultimately killed Col. Jones, as well as his son William. Others found at the place were spared. One son of Jones, Cuthbert Bullitt, slipped out of a second story window, and held on to the ledge, so as not to be found. His life was spared as a result

Here is link the feud story but with a few photos...

http://trrcobb.blogspot.com/2012/09/

And we think today's politics are violent.

 

[5fish]

And we think today's politics are violent.

Yes, there were a lot of cases like this back in those days. This was just an extreme case even by the standard of that time... Jones just would not come to terms with Liddell... so it cost them both of their lives...