This Mighty Scourge

John Winfield Scott was born in Mississippi, in approximately 1825.  In 1862 Scott was a merchant in New Orleans.  With the outbreak of the Civil War he would enlist as a private, in the 5th Company of the famed Washington Artillery, of Louisiana. 

The Washington Artillery Battalion was originally organized in 1838.  It would see service during the Mexican War.  Originally called the Native American Battery, it would be reorganized in 1852 and receive its new designation: Washington Artillery.  The 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th Companies would be involved in many of the largest battles, in the east, including First Manassas, Fair Oaks, The Seven Days, Second Manassas, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg.  They would remain with the Army of Northern Virginia through the surrender at Appomattox Court House.  The 5th Company was organized in New Orleans in April, and May 1862.  The 150 artillerists in the 5th Company would elect W. Irving Hodgson as their captain.  On March 6, 1862 they would be officially mustered into the Confederate service.(i)  Assigned to CS General Albert Sidney Johnston’s army, they would arrive at Corinth Mississippi on April 1, and be assigned to CS Brigadier General Patton Anderson’s Brigade.

J.W. Scott, who had enlisted in March 1862, would be with his artillery company at the Battle of Shiloh.  His battery would push towards US Major General William T. Sherman’s camp in the early morning hours of April 6.  With their four cannon unlimbered, firing double cannister, they would suffer greatly by musketry fire coming from infantry troops still in their tents.  After pushing through the Crossroads area of the battlefield, they would be engaged with Federal divisions commanded by brigadier generals Benjamin Prentiss, and W.H.L. Wallace.  This area be forever known as the Hornet’s Nest, and would experience some of the most brutal fighting at Shiloh.  Over the two days of fighting, at Shiloh, the 5th Company would fire over 700 artillery rounds.  Captain Hodgson, in his official report, stated, “The badly torn wheels and carriages of my battery from Minie balls will convince any one of the close proximity to the enemy in which we were.”(ii)  He complimented Scott for his gallantry at Shiloh.

The 5th Company would stay with the Army of Tennessee through the end of the Civil War.  In 1864 Scott would be promoted corporal.  He would suffer two wounds during the war, the first being at Kolb’s Farm, during the fighting at Kennesaw Mountain and the second being at Overall Creek, during CS Lieutenant General John Bell Hood’s 1864 Tennessee Campaign.  He would leave the army when he was paroled, along with the rest of his company, on May 10, 1865.

After the war, Scott would reside in Mississippi, with his last known public record being in Grand Lake, Arkansas in 1899.  His date of death is unknown.  Corporal Scott served the Confederacy bravely and should be considered an American HERO.

(i) 5th Company, Washington Artillery was used to research portions of this article.  The manuscript can be read here.
(ii)  Coddington, Ronald S., Faces of the Confederacy, Pgs. 23–24.

William B. Hincks was born in either 1841, or 1842, in Maine.  He would later move to Bridgeport, Connecticut.  On July 22, 1862, at either 19 or 20 years of age, young William would enlist in the 14th Connecticut Infantry.  He would officially muster into service at Hartford, Connecticut, on August 23, 1862.  The 14th, commanded by Colonel Dwight Morris, would arrive in Washington, D.C., on August 25, and would be placed in the Second Brigade, Third Division (US Brigadier General William French) of US Major General Edwin V. Sumner’s II Corps. 

Private Hincks was assigned to Company A, and was considered industrious, and brave.  Hincks, and the remainder of the 14th Connecticut would have little time to settle in.  After US Major General John Pope’s debacle at Second Manassas, his Army of Virginia would return to Washington, D.C.  Abraham Lincoln, with his hands tied, turned back to US Major General George B. McClellan, to command the eastern theater.  McClellan would waste little time as it was quickly determined that CS General Robert E. Lee was moving into Maryland.  McClellan would rapidly push after him along different routes, all leading through passes in South Mountain.  This would be Hincks’ first experience in battle – and it would define what the young man would expect from battle.

On September 17, 1862, at the Battle of Antietam, Sumner’s II Corps was ordered to support US Major General Joseph Hooker’s I Corps advance, on the Confederate left, along the Hagerstown Pike.  Hooker would advance through the infamous Corn Field, an area of tremendous slaughter, while the Second Division (US Major General John Sedgwick), of Sumner’s II Corps would push diagonally from the East Woods towards the Dunker Church and West Woods.  Hincks’ Division, commanded by William French, somehow became disoriented and did not guide on Sedgwick’s Division.  Instead, he marched his men in a southernly direction slowly losing sight of Sedgwick.  Coming over a rise Hincks, the 14th Connecticut and the rest of the division, became silhouetted against the sky and were decimated by musketry from the 6th Alabama commanded by a little known colonel – John Brown Gordon.  Part of CS Brigadier General Robert E. Rodes’s Brigade, they would be waiting for the Federals in a sunken road – now called Bloody Lane.  As line after line of French’s Division passed over the rise, they were met with severe musketry.  However, due to their numerical superiority, and with relief from US Major General Israel B. Richardson’s First Division, which included the Irish Brigade, the Sunken Road became untenable for the Rebels, they would be forced to pull back.  At the end of Antietam, the Second Brigade, now commanded by Dwight Morris, which included Hincks’s 14th Connecticut, would be severely punished, suffering 529 casualties.  Hincks and Company A, of the 14th Connecticut, received their “baptism of fire” and proved up to the challenge.

After Antietam, Robert E. Lee would retreat back to the safety of Virginia.  Unfortunately, McClellan was slow to react – stating he needed time to re-fit his army.  He would be removed from overall command of the Army of the Potomac on November 8, 1862.  Hincks, and the rest of the Army of the Potomac, now had a new commander, US Major General Ambrose Burnside.  Burnside immediately made plans to cross the Rappahannock River near Fredericksburg before Robert E. Lee could react.  Essentially reaching the south side of the Rappahannock first would leave the road to Richmond wide open for the Union Army.  Arriving at the Rappahannock ahead of the Army of Northern Virginia, Burnside’s plan was coming together.  Unfortunately, his pontoons had not arrived in time.  This gave Lee the necessary time to reach Fredericksburg and entrench his army – setting the stage for the Battle of Fredericksburg.

The Army of the Potomac, now divided into three Grand Divisions, brought battle against Robert E. Lee on December 13, 1862.  The battle opened on the Federal left, when US Major General William Franklin’s Left Grand Division assaulted CS Lieutenant General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson’s 2nd Corps.  Initially, the Federal forces had some success.  However, before long, Jackson’s 2nd Corps pushed Franklin’s forces back beyond the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac railroad tracks.

US Major General Edwin V. Sumner’s Right Grand Division, including the II Corps, now commanded by US Major General Darius Couch, assaulted the high ground above Fredericksburg.  Master Sergeant William B. Hincks’s 14th Connecticut was still in the Second Brigade of William French’s Third Division.  It would attack the left side of a “sunken road” heavily defended by CS Lieutenant General James Longstreet’s 1st Corps.  Having had time to organize behind the stone wall of the Sunken Road, French’s Division had no chance.  They would be roughly handled and quickly repulsed before reaching the wall.  The 14th Connecticut, now commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Sanford Perkins, would also suffer.  At the end of the battle, Burnside’s Army of the Potomac would never reach the Sunken Road and would end up retreating across the Rappahannock River on December 14.

In May 1863 Hincks would again fight with the II Corps at the Battle of Chancellorsville.  The 14th Connecticut would support the Federal lines around the Chancellor tavern, and would again suffer significant losses.  Due to their losses at Fredericksburg, the 14th was now commanded by Major Theodore Ellis.  The Army of the Potomac, under the overall command of US Major General Joseph Hooker, would suffer a terrible defeat at Chancellorsville.

After Chancellorsville the 14th Connecticut would head north, following Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, as it once again headed past the Mason-Dixon Line.  Sergeant Major Hincks would provide his country his most valuable service in early July 1863, at the Battle of Gettysburg.  The Army of the Potomac, now commanded by US Major General George Gordon Meade, would bring battle against the Army of Northern Virginia July 1–3.  By July 3, Meade’s army had established a significant line of battle, shaped like a fish hook, running from Culp’s Hill on the north to Little Round Top on the south.  The II Corps, now commanded by US Major General Winfield S. Hancock, held the center of the Union line along Cemetery Ridge.  The 14th Connecticut, still in the Second Brigade (Colonel Thomas A Smyth), Third Division (Brigadier General Alexander Hays) of the II Corps would be assigned just north of the “Angle” of Hancock’s salient on Cemetery Ridge and would maintain the brigade’s left flank.  This portion of the line would be directly in the path of CS Major General George E. Pickett’s famous charge.  Commanding the 14th Connecticut, Major Theodore Ellis would brace his men for the coming onslaught from CS Brigadier General James J. Pettigrew’s North Carolinians and Colonel Birkett D. Fry’s mixed brigade of Alabamans and Tennesseans.  The Federal troops could see Pickett’s troops coming   thefrom nearly a mile away.  Bracing, the Federals were told to hold their fire, until the Rebels came across the fence north of the Codori Farm, running along the Emmitsburg Road.  Once they crossed, the Federal artillery opened large gaping holes in the Confederate formation, which quickly closed as the Rebels reformed.  As they approached closer division, brigade and regimental commanders would allow their commands to open with musketry, further decimating the Rebel formation.

Opposing the 14th Connecticut was CS Captain Bruce Phillips’ 14th Tennessee.  As they closed in on Ellis’s regiment, the Tennesseans planted their regimental flag sporting twelve separate battle honors.  With the intensity of the Federal musketry and cannister coming from the artillery, many men of the 14th Tennessee were forced to lay down on the ground to save themselves.  Ellis seeing the flag apparently unprotected asked for volunteers to capture it.  Hincks, and two other Connecticut soldiers, leaped from behind the wall and ran towards the flag some 50 yards in the distance.  Immediately after jumping the wall, one Connecticut soldier was shot.  Outrunning his other companion, Hincks would reach the flag under tremendous fire, grab the colors, swinging his saber over the prone Confederates, and run back to the safety of his lines.

The Federal defense along Cemetery Ridge would win the day – and the battle, for Gettysburg.  Robert E. Lee would never again take his entire Army of Northern Virginia into the North.  The 14th Connecticut would remain with the Army of the Potomac for many additional battles including Mine Run, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, North Anna, Cold Harbor, Deep Bottom, Petersburg, Sailors’s Creek and Lee’s surrender, at Appomattox Court House.

Sergeant Major William B. Hincks would be awarded the highest military honor for his actions at Gettysburg.  On December 1, 1864 he would receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.  Following, is his citation.

During the highwater mark of Pickett’s charge on 3 July 1863 the colors of the 14th Tenn. Inf. C.S.A. were planted 50 yards in front of the center of Sgt. Maj. Hincks’ regiment.  There were no Confederates standing near it but several lying down around it.  Upon a call for volunteers by Maj. Ellis, commanding, to capture this flag, this soldier and 2 others leaped the wall.  One companion was instantly shot.  Sgt. Maj. Hincks outran his remaining companion running straight and swift for the colors amid a storm of shot.  Swinging his saber over the prostrate Confederates and uttering a terrific yell, he seized the flag and hastily returned to his lines.  The 14th Tenn. carried 12 battle honors on its flag.  The devotion to duty shown by Sgt. Maj. Hincks gave encouragement to many of his comrades at a crucial moment in the battle.(i)

After the Civil War, Sergeant Major William B. Hincks worked as a treasurer of a gas company and Secretary and Treasurer of City Savings Bank.  Hincks died at Bridgeport, Connecticut, on November 7, 1903.  He was approximately 64 years old.  Sergeant Major Hincks is a true American HERO.

(i) R.J. (Bob) Pfoft, Editor, United States of America’s Medal of Honor Recipients, Fifth Edition, Pg. 897.

Everett Peabody was born on June 13, 1830, in Springfield, Massachusetts.  The son of Reverend William B.O. Peabody, and Eliza Amelia White, he was tall, athletic and enjoyed the outdoors.  Young Everett was smart and enjoyed reading poetry, and writing.  He attended Burlington College, in Vermont, and transferred to Harvard University, his sophomore year.  He graduated from Harvard in 1849 – at the age of 18.(i)  He took a job with the Boston Water-Works and later was employed as a leveler in the railroad industry.  Peabody would take a position, with the Hannibal and St. Joseph Railroad, that would bring him to Missouri.  In early 1859, he would become a partner in the start-up Platte County Railroad.  He would be their Chief Engineer and reside in St. Joseph, Missouri.

With the secession crisis, Peabody would make it known that he wanted a commission, in the volunteer army.  A staunch Union man, he would be sent to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas on May 31, 1861, by Brigadier General Nathanial Lyon.  Upon arrival at Fort Leavenworth, he would become major of a group of volunteers, which would form the nucleus of the 13th Missouri Infantry.  He would be commissioned colonel on September 1, 1861.  Garrisoned, at Lexington, Missouri, the 13th would be captured by CS Major General Sterling Price’s Missouri State Guard, on September 20, during the battle of Lexington.  It would later be reorganized, as the 25th Missouri, with Peabody as the commanding officer.  The 25th would remain in Missouri, until it was ordered to Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, in March 1862.

Peabody would be in command of the First Brigade of US Brigadier General Benjamin M. Prentiss’s Sixth Division, of which the 25th Missouri was assigned.  Additionally, the 21st Missouri, 16th Wisconsin and the 12th Michigan were in Peabody’s brigade.  Camped near Shiloh Church, the Sixth Division formed the southwestern perimeter of US Major General Ulysses S. Grant’s Army of the Tennessee.

In early April, Grant was planning an offensive against CS General Albert Sidney Johnston’s Army of the Mississippi, at the important railroad hub, Corinth, Mississippi.  During the overnight hours, of April 5–6, Johnston would beat Grant, to the first punch.  While Federal troops heard noises, throughout the woods, on April 5, Federal Fifth Division commander, US Major General William T. Sherman was skeptical that there were any Rebel forces in the area.  Furthermore, Federal picketts in the area actually saw Confederate troops, in the woods.  With evidence mounting, of significant enemy activity, Sherman would tell an Ohio lieutenant, “Tell Colonel Appler (53rd Ohio) to take his damned regiment to Ohio.  There is no force of the enemy nearer than Corinth.”(ii) 

To say Peabody was concerned, is an understatement.  Detailing three companies of the 25th Missouri, and the 12th Michigan, under the command of Major James Powell, to an early morning patrol, he was determined to see if his position was in jeopardy.  Leaving around 3:00 AM, they would encounter Rebel cavalry, as the first rays of sunlight lit the eastern sky.  Hastily forming a line of battle, Powell pushed after the horsemen, which scattered.  A short time later, they would find the leading formation of the entire Confederate Army of the Mississippi – a battalion of Mississippi infantry.  Powell, wisely determining his was overpowered pulled back to a new line.  Peabody would send him reinforcements, but Powell would retreat to his brigade.  Meanwhile, Peabody, hearing the rattle of musketry, went to inform Prentiss of his findings.  Prentiss, infuriated that Peabody detached his companies, for such a scouting mission, declared, “I will hold you personally responsible for bringing on this engagement.”(iii)  Leaving Prentiss’ headquarters, Peabody would declare that he was responsible for all his official actions.

While Prentiss would declare Peabody’s actions as insubordinate, they would provide him time to quickly form a line of battle.  He was soon attacked by Confederate brigades commanded by A.H. Gladden and J.R. Chalmers.  Many of his troops would quickly turn, for the rear, but Prentiss was again able to form a line of battle, this time reinforced by Sherman’s Fifth Division and Brigadier General W.H.L. Wallace’s Second Division.  They would fight over this position, throughout much of the day, in an area forever known as the Hornet’s Nest.

The Federal army would continue to be pushed back, with its final battle line, at day’s end, along the Pittsburg Landing Road.  Reinforced overnight, by US Major General D.C. Buell’s Army of the Ohio, U.S. Grant would rout the Confederate army, now commanded by CS General P.G.T. Beauregard, on April 7.  (A.S. Johnston would be killed during the first day’s action.)

Unfortunately, while leading his brigade, Colonel Peabody would be wounded four times – the last of which was a fatal head wound.  While his brigade was being overrun, Peabody would encourage his soldiers, “Stand to it yet!  Remember Lexington!”(iii)  While scorned by his division commander, Peabody’s unauthorized recognizance-in-force saved the day, allowing Prentiss, and to a certain degree, Sherman, to throw together a defensive line.  Because of his actions, Colonel Everett Peabody is a true American HERO.

(i) Higginson, Thomas Wentworth, Harvard Memorial Biographies, published 1867, Pg. 152.
(ii) Noirot, Michael, Battle of Shiloh DETAIL, at BattlefieldPortraits.com, manuscript can be read here.
(iii) Cuskey, Perry, Standing to It: Everett Peabody, Part I, manuscript can be read here.

1818

• US Major General Don Carlos Buell(i) is born in Lowell, Ohio.  An 1841 graduate of the military academy, at West Point, Buell would become a second lieutenant, in the 3^rd U.S. Infantry, after graduation.  He would fight in the Mexican War, and would be brevetted three times for bravery.  With the outbreak of the Civil War, he would be involved in organizing the future Army of the Potomac, and would lead one of its divisions.  He would be promoted brigadier general on May 17, 1861.  In November 1861, Buell would be given command of the Department of the Ohio, after then brigadier general, William T. Sherman was placed on leave of absence.  Buell would have an often contentious relationship, with the civil authorities in Washington, D.C.  Starting in early 1862, Buell would be pushed, by his superiors, to relieve the Unionist population, in eastern Tennessee.  He would essentially ignore orders, and instead capture Nashville, Tennessee on February 25, 1862.  Buell would defend his actions by claiming Nashville was the capital, and the transportation center in central Tennessee.  In capturing Nashville, Buell met very little Confederate resistance, as US Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant had just captured Forts Henry, and Donelson.  Buell would be promoted major general, on March 21, 1862.  In early April, Buell would be sent southwest, to cooperate with Grant, in the capture of Corinth, Mississippi.  Grant would be attacked, at Pittsburg Landing, on April 6, at the battle of Shiloh.  Buell would arrive, in time, to assist Grant, on April 7, pushing the Confederate forces, commanded by CS General P.G.T. Beauregard, out of Tennessee.  After the siege of Corinth, under the command of US Major General Henry Halleck, Buell would be sent east, overland, to Chattanooga.  Pushing east, from northern Mississippi, Buell’s Army of the Ohio, would be continually harassed, by CS Brigadier General Nathan Bedford Forrest.  With his supply line cut, Buell’s offensive ground to a halt.  In the fall of 1862, CS General Braxton Bragg, now in command of the Army of Tennessee pushed into Kentucky, while Buell was forced to give chase, arriving in Louisville, Kentucky ahead of Bragg.  Culminating in the Battle of Perryville, on October 8, Buell would defeat Bragg’s army, pushing him out of Kentucky, and back to Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  While the battle of Perryville would be considered a victory, for Buell’s Army of the Ohio, Bragg’s Army of Tennessee was in command of the battlefield on October 8.  Bragg, concerned about additional Federal reinforcements decided to retreat from the battlefield.  Buell, ever cautious, did not promptly pursue Bragg.  Lincoln, infuriated, would remove D.C. Buell from command, on October 24, 1862, replacing him with US Major General William S. Rosecrans.  Buell, would spend the next 18 months, awaiting exoneration, in Indiana.  When that never came, he resigned his commission on May 23, 1864.  After the war, Buell would be engaged in the iron, and coal industries and was president of the Green River Iron Company.  He would serve as a government pension agent from 1885 to 1889.  General Buell would die, in his home, in Rockport, Kentucky, on November 19, 1898.  He is buried at Bellefontaine Cemetery, in St. Louis, Missouri.

1862

• CS Major General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson would be defeated at the battle of Kernstown, Virginia(ii).  Concerned that US Major General Nathanial Banks was sending troops to reinforce US Major General George B. McClellan’s Army of the Potomac, preparing to move towards Richmond, Virginia, Jackson went on the offensive.  With faulty intelligence, from Turner Ashby’s cavalry, stating the Federal strength, at Kernstown was approximately one brigade (3,000 men) Jackson attacked on March 23.  He would in fact be attacking a Federal Division commanded by US Brigadier General James Shields.  Attacking Shields’ left flank, the battle started.  CS Brigadier General Richard Garnett, running low on ammunition, pulled his brigade from the line.  This opened an opportunity for Shields to roll up the rest of the line, and his Federal troops poured in.  Jackson was forced to retreat, after suffering over 700 casualties.  Federal losses were less than 600.  Abraham Lincoln, concerned about Jackson’s actions in the Shenandoah Valley, and the safety of Washington D.C., would force McClellan to leave for the Peninsula, without US Major General Irvin McDowell’s Corps.  A move that would prove fateful during the coming campaigns on the Peninsula, Seven Days and Second Manassas.

(i) Don Carlos Buell at BattlefieldPortraits.com, and Wikipedia were used to research this article.
(ii) Battle of Kernstown at History.com was used to research this article.

Over the weekend, ThisMightyScourge.com contributor, Kimberly Largent-Christopher let me know about a wonderful opportunity for our veterans.  Here is her announcement.

To all U.S. Army veterans: the U.S. Army War College’s Military History Institute (now called Army Heritage Education Center), is currently collecting “stories” from veterans who served during the following: WWII, The Korean War, The Cold War Era, The Vietnam War, and The Post-Cold War Era. That means all veterans, from privates to generals, who served during those times have the opportunity to tell their stories, in order to help historians, researchers, and the next generation learn from our history. The questionnaires are available online at http://www.carlisle.army.mil/ahec. If you have trouble completing the form, there is a number to call. The form can be filled out online and submitted, or printed out, answers handwritten and the form mailed back. Finally, this is a wonderful opportunity for army veterans to have their stories archived for their descendents to access./VEC/historical.cfm

Braxton Bragg (i), full general in the Confederate Army, was born on this day, March 22, 1817.  Born in Warrenton, North Carolina, today would be his 192^nd birthday.

Bragg, a graduate of West Point, would fight the Seminoles, in Florida, and serve bravely during the Mexican War.  He would reach the rank of lieutenant colonel, before retiring, in 1856, to farm in Louisiana.  After the start of hostilities, he would quickly be confirmed, brigadier general, in the Confederate Army.  After being promoted, major general, he would serve, under Albert Sidney Johnston, at Shiloh.  After Johnston’s untimely death, at Shiloh, Bragg would quickly become a full general, in the Confederate Army.  He would lead the Army of Tennessee, into Kentucky, in 1862, and would be quickly repulsed, at Perryville, and would be pushed back into Tennessee.  In December, 1862, US Major General William S. Rosecrans’s, US Army of the Cumberland, would push him further south, after defeating him, at Stones River.  In 1863, Bragg would be further humiliated, after a relatively bloodless campaign, near Tullahoma, TN.  Bragg’s army would achieve it most shining victory, when it defeated Rosecrans, at Chickamauga, pushing them out of Georgia.  Bragg, never loved by his troops, would be relieved from duty, after US Major General Ulysses S. Grant’s army, would defeat them at Chattanooga.  After a literal mutiny, amongst his chief lieutenants, including CS Lieutenant General James Longstreet, he would be removed from command.  However, Bragg, a close friend of Jefferson Davis, would be brought to Richmond, to serve as Davis’s military advisor. Bragg would finish the war, serving under Joseph E. Johnston, in the Carolinas Campaign.  After the surrender of CS General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, at Appomattox Court House, Bragg would flee south, with Jefferson Davis.  He would be captured, along with Jefferson Davis, in Georgia.

After the war, Bragg would serve as the superintendent of the New Orleans water works, chief engineer for Alabama and a railroad inspector.  Bragg would die at Galveston, Texas, on September 27, 1876.  He is buried at Magnolia Cemetery in Mobile, Alabama.

(i) Braxton Bragg at BattlefieldPortraits.com, and Wikipedia, were used to research this article.

Yesterday, I woke up, in my hotel, in Manassas, Virginia.  Turning the television on, the History Channel was showing a program on the 54^th Massachusetts Infantry – a unit comprised of United States Colored Troops.  Nearing its end, the program highlighted the 54^th Massachusetts charge of Fort Wagner, in Charleston, South Carolina.  I was very moved by the actions of sergeant William H. Carney.  Pulling out my book, on Medal of Honor recipients, I quickly did some research of Carney.  The following article was inspired by the program.

William Harvey Carney was born on February 29, 1840, as a slave, in Norfolk, Virginia.  Like his father, before him, Carney was able to escape, to Massachusetts, using the Underground Railroad.  At the start of the Civil War, Carney was a free man, living in the Boston area.  With Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, taking effect on January 1, 1863, Carney enlisted in the 54^th Massachusetts Infantry – the famed “colored” regiment, as a sergeant.  Organized in Readville, Massachusetts, the 54^th would be mustered into Federal service on May 13, 1863.  The commander of the 54^th was US Colonel Robert S. Gould.  Shaw was handpicked, by Massachusetts Governor John Andrew, to lead this famed regiment.  Leaving Boston, on May 28, 1863, they would be assigned to the X Corps at Hilton Head, South Carolina.  Carney, and his regiment would arrive at St. Simon’s Island on June 9.  Moving to Morris Island, from July 16–18, they would prepare for the assault on Fort Wagner.

The 54^th Massachusetts Infantry would be called upon, during the battle of Fort Wagner, to charge the Confederate works.  With daylight quickly fading, on July 18, Colonel Gould would give his regiment a moving talk, to inspire them before they charged, finishing, “Forward, Fifty-Fourth, Forward!”(i)  With a cheer, the 54^th would move across the open plain, approaching Battery Wagner.  Carney, would be leading his men, towards the ramparts.  Approaching under a withering fire, Carney would see the color bearer go down, dropping their regimental flag.  Picking the flag up, he would charge to the ramparts, planting the flag there, being wounded in the process.  Colonel Gould would also reach the works, being shot through the heart and dying instantly.  The 54^th would be forced to retreat, during which Carney would be wounded two additional times, the most serious being a shoulder wound.  He would return to the Federal lines, before falling from his wounds.  Upon reaching the lines, he stated, “Boys, I only did my duty; the old flag never touched the ground!”(ii)  Due to Carney’s wounds, he would retire from active service.

After the Civil War, William Carney would be a postal employee and a popular speaker.  On May 23, 1900, he would be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his gallantry.  Carney’s brave actions were the earliest awarded, a Medal of Honor, to a soldier in the United States Colored Troops.  His citation reads:

When the color sergeant was shot down, this soldier grasped the flag, led the way to the parapet, and planted the colors thereon.  When the troops fell back he brought off the flag, under fierce fire in which he was twice severely wounded.”(iii)

Carney died on December 8, 1908, in Boston, at the age of 68.  He is buried in the family plot at Oak Grove Cemetery in New Bedford, Massachusetts.

(i) The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, at Wikipedia.
(ii) William Harvey Carney, at Wikipedia.
(iii) R.J. (Bob) Pfoft, Editor, United States of America’s Medal of Honor Recipients, Fifth Edition, Pg. 829.

Patrick Ronayne Cleburne(i), was born 181 years ago today, March 17, 2009.  Born in Ovens, County Cork, Ireland, to a middle-class physician, Dr. Joseph Cleburne, young Cleburne would never get to know his mother, who passed when he was 18 months old.  His father would die when he was 15.  Wanting to be a physician, like his father, Cleburne was not able to pass the entrance exam, to Trinity College of Medicine.  He would enter the British Army’s 41^st Regiment of Foot, where he would achieve the rank of corporal.  Dissatisfied, with his prospects in Britain, he would purchase his discharge and emigrate to the United States.

Shortly after arriving, in the United States, Cleburne would move to Helena, Arkansas.  He would gain employment as an apothecary, or pharmacist, and would become a well respected member of Helena’s citizenry.  In 1856, he and Thomas Hindman, another future Confederate general, would be shot, as a result of a political argument.  Injured, in the back, Cleburne would shoot one his attackers, killing him.  Over the coming years, he would become an attorney, a naturalized citizen and a member of the Democratic party.

In 1860, with the advent of the secession crisis, Cleburne would throw his support to the Confederacy.  Not a supporter of slavery, he would support the southern states, due to his loyalty, to her people.  With the growing need for military forces, Cleburne would enlist in a local Arkansas militia company – the Yell Rifles – of which he would be voted captain.  He would lead his company in the seizure of the U.S. Arsenal, at Little Rock.  With the secession of Arkansas, his company would be assigned to the 1^st Arkansas Infantry, entering Confederate service.  Later, the 1^st would become the 15^th Arkansas, of which he would be elected colonel.  On March 4, 1862, Cleburne would be promoted to brigadier general.

Cleburne would skillfully lead his brigade at the Battle of Shiloh, where he would receive accolades for his bravery.  After Shiloh, when CS General Braxton Bragg determined to free Kentucky, his brigade would move with the Army of Tennessee, to free Kentucky, and add new recruits, from the Bluegrass State.  He would receive additional praise, for his aggressive actions, at Richmond, Kentucky, where he would lead an attack on U.S. Major General William Nelson’s troops – routing them.  The Federal troops would suffer significant casualties, including 4,300 troops captured.  Cleburne would be wounded, in the face, during the battle.  After Richmond, the Confederate troops, commanded by CS Major General E. Kirby Smith, including Cleburne’s brigade, would move to support Braxton Bragg’s army, in the battle of Perryville.  Perryville would be a significant defeat, for Bragg, and would be the last major battle the Confederates fought, in Kentucky.

After retreating, into Tennessee, Cleburne would be promoted to divisional command, and would be promoted to major general, on December 13, 1862.  At the battle of Stones River, he would again receive praise for his leadership skills, garnering significant attention – and would often be referred to as the “Stonewall of the West.”  Unfortunately, Stones River would be a terrible defeat for Braxton Bragg, now facing a new commander, of the Federal Army of the Cumberland – US Major General William S. Rosecrans.  After recuperating, and re-fitting his army, Bragg would retreat, during the summer of 1863, suffering a relatively bloodless loss, during the Tullahoma Campaign, to Chattanooga, Tennessee.  In September, Cleburne, along with the reinforced Army of Tennessee (most of CS Lieutenant General James Longstreet’s 1^st Corps, Army of Northern Virginia were assigned to Bragg), would thrash Rosecrans at Chickamauga.  Chasing the retreating Federals, into Chattanooga, Bragg would surround them, effectively cutting them off from their supply lines.

In November 1863, Bragg would once again be facing a new commanding general, of the newly created Department of the Mississippi, US Major General Ulysses S. Grant.  Grant would open the “cracker line,” creating a steady supply line, and bring reinforcements to Chattanooga.  These actions would culminate in battles from November 24–25, where Cleburne’s division would bravely hold Bragg’s right flank, on Missionary Ridge.  During this battle, his division would contain attacks, from US Major General William T. Sherman’s troops, until US Major General George Thomas’s 14^th Corps pierced the center, of Bragg’s lines.  During Bragg’s subsequent retreat, to northern Georgia, Cleburne would again provide valuable service in a rear-guard action, at Ringgold Gap, effectively containing attacks from a far larger army, commanded by US Major General Joseph Hooker.  Cleburne would receive the thanks, of the Confederate Congress, for his actions during the Chattanooga Campaign.

With the removal of Bragg, prior to the 1864 Atlanta Campaign, Cleburne’s division, and the rest of the Army of Tennessee, would be commanded by CS General Joseph E. Johnston.  The campaign would quickly turn against the struggling Confederacy, with Sherman’s army continually flanking, and pushing Johnston’s army, towards Atlanta.  Considered too timid, in his defensive strategy, Johnston would be replaced, by Confederate President, Jefferson Davis, with General John Bell Hood.  It was during these very difficult times, with their fortunes fading in Georgia, that Cleburne would promote enlisting slaves in the Confederate army.  With word of his proposal leaking out, it would quietly be ignored by the civilian authorities.  It is often cited as the reason Cleburne never received promotion to lieutenant general, even though other commanders, less worthy of promotion, would be advanced, in the Army of Tennessee. 

With the fall of Atlanta, in early September 1864, Cleburne, and the rest of Hood’s Army of Tennessee, would embark on a desperate mission into Tennessee, with the goal being the expulsion of George Thomas’s army from the state.  In November, Hood would push US Major General John M. Schofield’s, two army corps, from Columbia, Tennessee.  Attempting to get between Schofield, and Thomas, Hood would push his army, through the frozen fields, of southern Tennessee, to Spring Hill.  Due to severe communication issues, and command errors, Schofield was able to sneak past Hood’s entire army, in a nighttime march, to Franklin, Tennessee.  Furious, after finding Schofield had escaped, Hood would rashly push his army in pursuit.  On November 30, Hood would catch up with Schofield, at Franklin.  Unfortunately, for Hood, Schofield had created formidable defensive works, with the Harpeth River anchoring both of his flanks, and a significant artillery presence, north of the river, at Fort Granger.  Late in the afternoon, Hood would send two of his three corps, commanded by lieutenant generals A.P. Stewart, and Frank Cheatham (Stephen D. Lee’s corps was still near Columbia), in repeated assaults, over largely open ground, against Schofield’s army.  Widely considered the most heroic charges of the Civil War, Hood’s Army of Tennessee would be annihilated.  Cleburne’s division would attack, just right of the Federal center, along the Franklin Columbia Turnpike.  Cleburne, with his horse shot out from under him, would lead his division, saber in the air, towards the Federal works.  He would be shot, through the heart, dying almost instantly.  During this battle, six Confederate generals would be killed, ruining much of its command structure.  These included Cleburne, States Rights Gist, John Adams, John C. Carter, Hiram Granbury and Otho Strahl.  Hood’s army would push after Schofield, immediately after the battle of Franklin, before being completely defeated by Thomas, at Nashville.

After his death, Cleburne, would be laid out on the back porch, at Carnton Plantation.  He would be buried at St. John’s Church, near Mount Pleasant, Tennessee.  Ironically, on the march to Spring Hill, it is said that Cleburne stated that he would like to be buried, at a place as peaceful as St. John’s Church.  In 1870, his would be disinterred, and re-buried in Helena, Arkansas – his adopted home town – in Maple Hill Cemetery.

While Cleburne fought for the losing cause of the Confederacy, he was a naturalized U.S. citizen and by all measures a true hero.

(i) Patrick Cleburne at BattlefieldPortraits.com, and Wikipedia, were used to research this article.

Over the past ten years, or so, I have read countless biographies, essays and manuscripts on our 16^th President – Abraham Lincoln.  Some have been wonderfully written, but lacking in depth, and research, while others have been wonderfully researched, but written so as to be difficult to read – in other words, they were boring.  Several years ago, I read, “Lincoln at Cooper Union: The Speech that made Abraham Lincoln President.”  This book fell into a unique category; extremely well researched and a joy to read.  It was written by Harold Holzer.  When his newest book, “Lincoln President-Elect: Abraham Lincoln and the Great Secession Winter 1860–1861,” came out, I quickly purchased it.  Unfortunately, due to other reading priorities, this book sat several months before I was able to start reading it.  Now, after finishing it in record time, I wished I had started it earlier.  Like his Cooper Union book, Holzer’s newest book rates near the top.  It is very easy to read and is probably one of the most thoroughly researched books, on Lincoln, that I have ever read.  Additionally, for someone who has read so many books, on our 16^th president, it is nice when new information, revelations or source material is used.  Mr. Holzer has included some very fresh material, that I have never read.

“Lincoln President-Elect,” covers the period of time, from Lincoln’s election, through his inauguration.  Unlike many previous books, that focus on a broader period of time, this book was written with a specific focus: Lincoln’s actions between his election, as president, and his being sworn in.  In other books, I have read, that analyze Lincoln, during this period of time, the overwhelming conclusion is that Lincoln was unprepared for the “great secession winter,” and was stunned into inaction.  Holzer builds a great case for an opposing opinion: that Lincoln, while remaining fairly quiet, was very much in control of his actions, and performed well, as president-elect, during a period of immense uncertainty.  While not denying Lincoln made errors in several of his public statements, Holzer was able to clearly illustrate how Lincoln learned from his gaffes, and recovered with later public statements, on his inaugural journey, to Washington City.  A significant amount of space is allotted to Lincoln’s cabinet selections, and the analytical approach he used in making his choices.  Holzer makes a strong case for Lincoln’s decision to be inflexible on the Chicago platform, essentially not allowing any room for compromise on the extension of slavery, and his uncompromising commitment to saving the Union.  Finally, Holzer digs into Lincoln’s preparation of his first inaugural address.  This was particularly fascinating for me, as there was plenty of new material, that highlights how Lincoln used his closest advisors to offer suggestions for the speech.  However, the speech was clearly Lincoln’s, as he seldom used suggestions in their entirety – more often than not, Lincoln would massage them into his own unique style.

I would definitely recommend this book for anyone interested in learning more about our 16^th president.  This book is easy to read, making it a great choice for readers with limited knowledge of Lincoln, while also offering the detail for those that have read extensively about him.

Mike’s Star Rating

1820

• Confederate Brigadier General Louis Hebert(i) was born in Iberville Parish, Louisiana.  Growing up on a plantation, Hebert received a private education, from tutors.  He would attend Jefferson College, but would graduate, third in his class, from West Point.  He would manage his father’s plantation, and go on to be a state senator, in Louisiana.  Entering Confederate service, as a colonel, he would lead the 3rd Louisiana Infantry.  He would fight bravely, at Wilson’s Creek, and would be captured at Pea Ridge, not knowing he commanded a wing, of the army, after generals Ben McCullough, and James McIntosh were killed.  After being exchanged, he would be promoted, to brigadier general in May, 1862.  He would command a brigade in northern Mississippi, and participate in the battle of Iuka, and the siege of Corinth.  After Vicksburg, Hebert would command the heavy artillery, at Fort Fisher, North Carolina.  After the war, he would edit a newspaper, and teach school.

1862

• Confederate troops, under the command of CS Brigadier General John P. McCown bombarded federal forces commanded by US Brigadier General John Pope, at New Madrid, Missouri.  McCown, believing New Madrid was untenable, would evacuate his troops to Island 10, on the Mississippi River.  Total casualties were approximately 50 Federal troops wounded and 100 Confederate troops wounded.

1865

• Confederate President Jefferson Davis approves enlisting black soldiers in the Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by CS General Robert E. Lee.

(i) Louis Hebert at BattlefieldPortraits.com was used to research this article.