This Mighty Scourge

After twenty-six days, of unrelenting battles, from May 6–7, at The Wilderness, May 8–21, at Spotsylvania Court House and May 23–26, at the North Anna River, US Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant pushed his Army of the Potomac, further into the Confederacy.  The Overland Campaign had already created the longest casualty lists, of the three year Civil War, and Grant’s commitment to Abraham Lincoln, “that there will be no turning back,” still held true.(i)  With the brilliant disengagement, from a near Federal disaster, at the North Anna River, Grant continued to press around CS General Robert E. Lee’s right flank.  After cavalry battles at Haw’s Shop (May 28) and Old Church (May 30), and a pitched infantry engagement at Totopotomoy Creek (May 28–30) Grant continued to push towards Richmond, Virginia – the Confederate capital.(ii)  On May 31, the Army of the Potomac reached a sleepy crossroads, near the old Seven Days battlefield at Gaines’s Mills, called Cold Harbor.  The unique name could be confusing.  In June, it was far from cold and no where near a harbor.  Upon arriving at the village of Old Cold Harbor, field commander of the Army of the Potomac, US Major General George Gordon Meade found Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia already firmly entrenched to his southeast, at New Cold Harbor. (For a map of the Cold Harbor Battlefield click here.)  This would set the stage for one of the bloodiest battles of the American Civil War – the Battle of Cold Harbor.  The following overview of battle comes from my other website, BattlefieldPortraits.com.

Battle of Cold Harbor

Location: Cold Harbor, VA
Dates: May 31, 1864 – June 12, 1864
Union Commander:  Ulysses S. Grant, Lieutenant General
Confederate Commander:  Robert E. Lee, General

Battle Summary:
Earlier in May, Grant stated to the administration, “I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer.”  Obviously aware of the mood of the country, during George B. McClellan’s days leading the Potomac, Grant was determined to get ahead of Lee, during the Overland Campaign of 1864.

After tangling with Lee in the Wilderness and at Spotsylvania Court House, Grant met Lee at the North Anna River.  Grant recognized this as a dangerous place for his army.  After performing a daring retreat, back across the North Anna River, he moved his army south, across the Pamunkey River.  After a serious cavalry engagement at Haw’s Shop, Grant finds Lee at a dusty crossroads village called Cold Harbor.  In the time it took Grant to reach Cold Harbor, Lee, on a shorter line from the North Anna River, had time to build earth works and trenches.  He deemed these necessary as his smaller army was now backed up against Richmond.  Grant believed the field better for a battle and moved his army into position.

Believing he could punch through Lee’s army, deliver a lethal blow, and move into Richmond, Grant attacked Lee on June 1.  Throwing two corps (US Major Generals Horatio Wright’s VI Corps and William F (Baldy) Smith’s XVIII Corps) into Lee’s entrenched lines, Grant had some success late in the afternoon.

With both armies up, on June 2, the line of battle was seven miles long.    The armies had throughly entrenched their positions, creating the most elaborate line of trenches used thus far in the war.

In position, on the morning of June 3, Grant had three corps (Winfield Hancock’s II Corps, “Baldy” Smith’s XVIII Corps and Ambrose Burnside’s IX Corps) attack the Army of Northern Virginia.  The Union assault was repulsed along the entire line, causing huge casualty lists.  In his memoirs, Grant stated that the second assault at Cold Harbor was the one decision he made, that he later regretted.

The Army of the Potomac stayed in position for another week, before Grant decided he needed to continue his push around Lee’s right flank.  Once again, Grant was able to pull out of his works and leave, unnoticed by Lee. 

Campaign: Overland

Outcome: Confederate Victory

Troop Strengths
Union: 117,000
Confederate: 60,000

Casualties (estimated):
Union: 13,000 (killed, wounded or missing/captured)
Confederate: 5,000 (killed, wounded or missing/captured)

Battle Aftermath:
Cold Harbor would mark the end of the Overland Campaign.  Grant would relocate his army south of the James River and settle in for a quasi siege of Petersburg (there were several significant battle beside the siege).  While the siege of Petersburg took place over 10 months, Lee knew his army, and the Confederacy, could not survive a siege south of the James.  While the Union had a huge amount of troops they could feed into the Army of the Potomac, Lee could not replace lost troops. 

For additional reading, please refer to the following articles on the Overland Campaign and Cold Harbor.

1. 2nd Regiment Connecticut Heavy Artillery
2. The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House – A New Level of Fighting
3. Battle of the Wilderness – Grant Takes it to Lee

(i) See The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House – A New Level of Fighting at The Battle of Spotsylvania Court House – A New Level of Fighting.
(ii) Refer to the Overland Campaign at Wikipedia.com.

Francis A. Waller was born on August 15, 1840 in Gurneyville, Ohio.  Waller moved to Vernon County, Wisconsin in 1853.  After the Confederate firing on Fort Sumter, on April 12, 1861, Abraham Lincoln would issue a proclamation, on April 15, calling for 75,000 state militia, for 90 days, to suppress the rebellion of the southern states.  Waller, then 20 years of age, answered Lincoln’s call and enlisted as a private, in Company I, of the 6th Wisconsin Infantry.  Organized at Camp Randall, Wisconsin, the 6th would be officially mustered into Federal service on July 16, 1861.(i)

Waller, with his 6th Wisconsin would leave for Washington City, and would remain there until July 28, 1861.  In June 1862, the regiment would be assigned to US Brigadier General John Gibbon’s Fourth Brigade, of Rufus King’s First Division in the III Corps of the Army of Virginia.  They would see some action at Cedar Mountain on August 9.  Gibbon’s brigade, then called the “Black Hat” brigade, would be comprised of all western regiments: 2nd Wisconsin, 6th Wisconsin, 7th Wisconsin and the 19th Indiana.  On their march, to intercept CS Major General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s Left Wing, thought to be at Centreville, Virginia, the brigade would be surprised by the Confederates at the Battle of Brawner’s Farm.  The brigade would suffer terribly at this opening battle of Second Manassas, and would earn a reputation for bravery.  In September 1862, during the Maryland Campaign, they would be heavily engaged at South Mountain, earning the new nickname – Iron Brigade.  On September 17, at the Battle of Antietam, Waller, would participate in some of the hardest fighting at the Corn Field.  Again, the Iron Brigade would suffer tremendously.  From December 12–15, they would fight at the Battle of Fredericksburg.  Continuing to earn a reputation for hard fighting, they would be engaged at the Battle of Chancellorsville, in early May 1863.

CS General Robert E. Lee, determined to take the fight to the north, would invade Pennsylvania in June 1863.  The Federal Army of the Potomac, with its new commander, US Major General George G. Meade, pursued Lee.  On July 1, he found the Army of Northern Virginia at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  On that day, then corporal, Francis Waller would provide his most valuable service to the United States.  Fighting would commence early that day, between US Brigadier General John Buford’s cavalry division and CS Major General Henry Heth’s Confederate infantry division.  Buford’s dismounted cavalry was able to slow Heth’s approach to Gettysburg until US Major General John Reynold’s I Corps was able to arrive.  The Iron Brigade was part of the I Corps and was one of the first infantry brigades to arrive at the rapidly developing Battle of Gettysburg.  While the rest of the brigade (2nd Wisconsin, 7th Wisconsin, 19th Indiana and 24th Michigan) fought at Herbst Woods, on McPherson’s Ridge, the 6th Wisconsin was sent north of the Chambersburg Pike to reinforce US Brigadier General Lysander Cutler’s brigade.  As the battle raged, between 10:30 a.m and 11:15 a.m., the reinforced Confederate line began to push the Federals back, towards the Lutheran Seminary.  The portion of Cutler’s line, that included the 6th Wisconsin was refused, facing north, near an unfinished railroad cut.  This railroad cut proved fateful for CS Brigadier General Joseph R. Davis’ brigade, comprised of Mississippians and North Carolinians.  Davis would push three regiments of his brigade, into the cut, in an effort to flank the Federal I Corps.  Unfortunately the walls of the cut proved to high to allow accurate musket fire, or artillery support.  Pushing through the cut, the Confederates became easy targets for the Federal regiments arrayed on the south bank of the cut.  The 14th Brooklyn, 95th New York and the 6th Wisconsin opened a withering fire on the soldiers trapped in the cut.  Many of the Confederates surrendered, but plenty determined to fight their way out.  The fighting devolved to hand-to-hand combat.  During the hardest fighting, Waller engaged the color bearer of the 2nd Mississippi Infantry, Corporal William B. Murphy.  The two would fight gallantly for the cherished flag.  Waller triumphed, killing Murphy and securing the Mississippi colors.  For his brave, and selfless actions, Waller would be awarded the Medal of Honor.  During the fighting at Gettysburg, the Iron Brigade would suffer 1,212 casualties of the 1,883 soldiers (64%) that arrived at McPherson’s Ridge.(ii)

Waller would continue to serve with the 6th Wisconsin, through the remainder of the Civil War.  He would fight at Mine Run, The Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, North Anna, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Five Forks and Appomattox Court House.  Waller would receive promotions to 2nd Lieutenant on December 21, 1864 and 1st Lieutenant on March 23, 1865.  On December 1, 1864, Waller would be awarded the Medal of Honor.  His official citation reads:

“Capture of flag of 2d Mississippi Infantry (C.S.A.). (iii)

After the Civil War, Lieutenant Waller would return to Vernon County, Wisconsin.  He would die on April 30, 1911 in Bentford, South Dakota.  He is buried at Walnut Mound Cemetery in Retreat, Wisconsin.  Francis Waller is a true American HERO.

(i) The Civil War Soldiers and Sailor System was used to research this article.
(ii) The Gettysburg National Military Park website was used to research this article.  Click here to view the transcript.
(iii) The Civil War Medal of Honor Recipients website was used to research this article.

On November 19, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln was asked to make a few “appropriate remarks,” at the dedication of the National Cemetery, at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  Lincoln was able to sum up, in one sentence, the significance of our current Memorial Day.  Speaking of the significance of the recent battle of Gettysburg, Lincoln stated, “….that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under GOD, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government: of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.”

In the nearly 146 years since Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, little has changed.  Veterans today are just as important, and courageous, as those who fought for their country, during the Revolutionary War, or Civil War.  In the nearly 15 decades, since the Civil War, the United States has fought in many significant wars: The Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korean War, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq.  Our veterans, while often not treated as the heroes they are, are fighting for the freedoms we enjoy in this country.  Freedoms that are often distorted based on one’s beliefs, but freedoms that the United States enjoys more than any other country in the world.  The very acts of “Civil Disobedience” ordained by Henry David Thoreau are guaranteed by our Constitution and baptized by the blood of our armed forces.  Blood that is often excoriated by the very people they are fighting to liberate – or by those on the home front enjoying their “freedom of speech,” guaranteed by the blood of patriots who died so they could criticize them.

My wish for this Memorial Day is that we each take a moment to reflect on the sacrifices made for each of us, by our armed forces.  Pray for the souls of those who have died, fighting for our freedom, and those who are currently fighting an enemy that is a non-belligerent – often dressed as civilians to hide their true intentions - while cowardly striking our soldiers in the back.  If you meet a member of our armed forces, show them your appreciation today, and everyday, by greeting them with a smile, an outstretched hand and a sincere “thank you.”  Most of all, be proud of the United States – the best country in the world.

On May 22, 1863, US Major General Ulysses S. Grant ordered a major attack against the Confederate works at Vicksburg, Mississippi.(i)  Grant did not want a siege – he wanted a breakthrough.  Grant had enjoyed a string of successful battles leading to his current position outside of Vicksburg.  The campaign thus far had been ingenious.  Using the naval fleet of Rear Admiral David Dixon Porter, Grant would cross his Army of the Tennessee into Mississippi, below Vicksburg, on April 29.  He would defeat Confederate forces at Port Gibson (May 1), Raymond (May 12), Jackson (May 14), Champion Hill (May 16) and Big Black River Bridge (May 17).  On May 19, Grant would launch his first assault against CS Lieutenant General John Pemberton’s garrison at Vicksburg.  He would be bloodily repulsed.  Grant’s army was now arrayed around Vicksburg.  Holding the right flank was US Major General William T. Sherman’s XV Corps, the center by US Major General James B. McPherson’s XVII Corps and the left flank by US Major General John McClernand’s XIII Corps.

At 6 AM, on the morning May 22, Porter’s gunboats, and Grant’s artillery, would start a heavy barrage against the Confederate works.  Using 200+ artillery pieces, their fire, while not causing major damage, caused significant demoralization of the Rebels’ fighting elan.  At 10 a.m., Grant attacked with infantry, along the entire front.  Sherman’s XV Corps, comprising the right flank, attacked up the Graveyard Road.  A small detachment of 150volunteers, called Forlorn Hope, went in first, with ladders, to allow the infantry to climb the parapets of Stockyard Redan.  Following “Forlorn Hope” were the XV Corps divisions of US Major General Francis P. Blair and Brigadier General James Tuttle – marching in a long column of regiments.  Heavy musketry from the Confederates prevented Sherman from dislodging the defenders.  Two Second Division brigades under colonels Giles Smith, T. Kilby Smith, were able to get within 100 yards of the redan, but no closer.  On Sherman’s right flank, US Major General Frederick Steele’s First Division was unable to get into position to attack.

In the army’s center, McPherson’s XVII Corps would attack west along the Jackson Road.  Similar to Sherman’s attack, to the north, McPherson’s attack was not successful.  US Brigadier General John McArthur’s Sixth Division, on McPherson’s right flank, was unable to approach any closer than 100 yards from the Rebel works.  McArthur’s Second Brigade, command by US Brigadier General Thomas E.G. Ransom, made it the furthest, until they received enfilade fire from Green’s Redan, on their right.  US Major General John A. Logan’s Third Division, the center of McPherson’s line, pushed due west along the Jackson Road toward Third Louisiana Redan.  His First Brigade, commanded by US Brigadier General John Smith, was able to push to the Confederate lines, where they found their ladders were too short to reach the parapet.  They would be forced to huddle, below the works, dodging hand grenades and musketry.  On McPherson’s left flank, US Brigadier General Isaac Quinby’s Seventh Division moved only a short distance before confusion reigned amongst the division’s commanders.

John McClernand’s XIII Corps, positioned on Grant’s left flank, pushed west along the Baldwin Ferry Road and the Southern Railroad.  Their goal was the Railroad Redoubt, the 2nd Texas Lunette and the Square Fort.  US Brigadier General A.J. Smith’s Tenth Division was on McClernand’s right flank.  It was ordered to take the 2nd Texas Lunette.  US Brigadier General Eugene Carr’s Fourteenth Division was in McClernand’s center and its objective was the Railroad Redoubt.  US Brigadier General Peter Osterhaus’ Ninth Division was on the left flank and was ordered towards the Square Fort.  Taking off with the rest of the Army of the Tennessee, the XIII Corps pushed rapidly towards their objectives.  Carr’s division achieved a small breakthrough at the redoubt.  Reaching the ditch, in front of the redoubt, soldiers from Iowa entered the redoubt through a hole created by artillery fire.  An infantryman in the 22nd Iowa described the action at the Railroad Redoubt.

“At once the Confederates opened with grape and cannister, plowing grape through our ranks.  Steadily, we pushed on up the slope into the ditch and over the parapet, placed the flag on the fort, and kept it there for some time.  Thirteen prisoners were taken out of the fort, only a few of our boys got into the fort and they had to come out of it, and remained in the ditch outside.  By this time the Confederates that fled or were driven away returned with re-enforcements, so we now had to protect ourselves the best we could.  That was done by all kinds of devices.  On the open (area) we dug holes for our bodies in the ground, or in the wall of the ditch with our bayonets, or maybe a friendly stump protected us.  As the regiment moved forward, it was met with a torrent of shot and shell and minnie balls.  The rebels for a moment stood on the top of their rifle pits, pouring their deadly shot into us.”(ii)

Carr made a request for reinforcements, which McClernand forwarded to Grant.  Grant, believing the real Confederate pressure was on McPherson’s front, refused, instructing McClernand to send in his reserve division.  Near noon, after realizing the best opportunity was on his left, Grant ordered McPherson to send Quinby’s division to McClernand.

Sherman, would order two more assaults in his sector, at 2:15 PM and 3:00 PM, respectively.  Once again, no headway could be made against the Confederate defenses.  Sherman, watching Tuttle’s repulse stated, “This is murder; order those troops back.”(iii)  By 4:00 PM Steele was finally able to maneuver his troops into position.  They would attack near the 26th Louisiana Redoubt and would suffer the same fate as Sherman’s other two divisions.  An Iowa captain said this about their charge, “the men fell so fast that the other regiments refused to follow and support us.”(iv)

Fighting would slowly dissipate as the afternoon progressed.  Little had been gained during the day’s fighting, and Grant determined to break Pemberton’s defenses through a siege.  Grant would suffer nearly 3,200 casualties on May 22.  While not officially reported, Pemberton’s losses were estimated at less than 500.  Over the coming weeks, the Federal siege would be endured by soldiers, and civilians, alike.

(i) Siege of Vicksburg, at Wikipedia, and Vicksburg at BattlefieldPortraits.com, were used to research this article.
(ii) Ballard, Michael B., Vicksburg: The Campaign That Opened the Mississippi, published by The University of North Carolina Press 2004, Pg. 341.
(iii) Ballard, Michael B., Vicksburg: The Campaign That Opened the Mississippi, published by The University of North Carolina Press 2004, Pg. 345.
(iv) Ballard, Michael B., Vicksburg: The Campaign That Opened the Mississippi, published by The University of North Carolina Press 2004, Pg. 346.

I know my readers like to keep up with what’s going on in the Civil War blogosphere.  I have recently added several great blogs to my Blogroll.  You can access these blogs by clicking on their links on the right menu bar – under the Blogroll heading.

1. The Abraham Lincoln Blog published by Geoff Elliott.  It is a great blog for those that are interested in Abraham Lincoln.
2. Army of Tennessee published by Patrick Lewis, Christopher Young, Daryl Black and Lee White.  This is obviously a collaborative blog about the Army of Tennessee and the Western Theater of the Civil War.  A must read for those who have an interest in the battles of the west.
3. Battle of Franklin published by Kraig McNutt.  Franklin is one of my favorite battles and this is one of my favorite blogs.  Check it out.
4. Battlefield Wanderings published by Nick Kurtz.  Like myself, Nick visits many battlefields.  This blog is devoted to narrating his battlefield adventures.  Check it out for great pictures.
5. Blog 4 History: American & Civil War History published by: Chris Wehner.  This blog offers a wide range of articles on the Civil War.
6. Cenantua’s Blog by Robert Moore.  Robert Moore’s blog is a blog I read very regularly.  It offers a wide range of content and editorials.  Obviously it focuses on the Civil War.  It is a great read.
7. Civil War Bookshelf by Dimitri Rotov.  As an avid reader of Civil War History, I reference Dimitri’s site quite often.  If you are ever wonder “which book shall I read now,” check out this blog.
8. Civil War Memory by Kevin Levin.  I check Kevin’s blog out daily.  I enjoy his writing and always learn something new when I visit the blog.  Check this one out.
9. Civil Warriors published by Mark Grimsley, Steven Woodworth, Brooks D. Simpson and Ethan S. Rafuse.  Nothing else needs to be said -  these are some of my favorite historians and this blog’s content is “top shelf.”
10. Old Virginia Blog published by Richard G. Williams, Jr.  This blog is full of great content on Civil War Virginia, current events and the general musing of the author.  I highly recommend this blog.

I hope you enjoy these blogs as much as I do.  They are all very good.

I wanted to let you know about a couple of new enhancements I have recently made to This Mighty Scourge.  In an effort to let my readers tell me how they like my articles, I have installed the GD Star Rating system.  You can quickly rate my articles, from one to five stars – five being the best.  This will allow me to see which articles you think are good, and which ones were not up to par.

The other plug in I have installed is from ShareThis.  It allows you to quickly send an article by email, AIM, Facebook, Twitter or text message.  Additionally you can post articles on social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace.

Here is a screen shot of an article with these new functions installed:

To vote on an article, hover over each star, and they will become highlighted.  Click on your left mouse button when the appropriate star rating is shown, to cast your vote.  I encourage my readers to vote on my articles.

Here is a screen shot of how ShareThis looks when you click on the icon.

Once the iFrame pops up, just select how you want to share the article.  It is that easy.

For those of you that publish blogs, you can learn more about these plugins by clicking on the buttons below.

On May 18, 2009, the private non-profit organization, Preservation Virginia, announced their top nine threatened historical sites, in Virginia.  As part of the coalition to prevent Wal-Mart from building a Supercenter adjacent to the Wilderness Battlefield, they provide important advocacy, and awareness of threatened historic sites.  The following text is included in their May 18 press release, and is specific to protecting the Wilderness Battlefield.

The Wilderness Battlefield, Orange County

Map of Wilderness Battlefield showing location of proposed Wal-Mart and other threatsThe Battle of the Wilderness, fought May 5-6, 1864, marked the first clash between generals Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant. More than 160,000 troops were engaged and nearly 29,000 casualties were inflicted. Wal-Mart plans to construct a 140,000-square-foot supercenter sited on a 52-acre tract, just north of the intersection of routes 3 and 20. Wal-Mart’s site lies within the historic boundaries of the battlefield and immediately across Route 3 from Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park. There are also plans for a large parking area and three “baby-box” retail stores on the site — for a total of 240,000 square feet of new construction. Protection of the historic battlefield and the setting of the National Park is a critical concern for Virginians.

Annually, the battlefield draws 170,000 visitors to Orange County, generating sustainable economic activity through heritage tourism. The proposed Wal-Mart would degrade the rural context of the battlefield, promote commercial sprawl, and drastically increase traffic through the heart of the park. The intersection of the old Germanna Plank Road (modern Route 3) and the historic Orange Turnpike is key to understanding the battle and how it transformed the Civil War. The intrusion of a new Wal-Mart store, in an area already served by other branches of the same chain, would irrevocably harm a historic site of national significance. The Wilderness Battlefield is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register. Preservation Virginia urges Orange County officials to carefully consider the full implications of permitting this excessively sized retail center in its proposed location. We urge Wal-Mart to relocate to another site in Orange County.(i)

Additional sites included in their “2009 Most Endangered Historic Sites in Virginia” are:

1. Colonial Heights Baptist Church – Colonial Heights, Virginia
2. Wolftrap – Isle of Wight County, Virginia
3. Selma Mansion – Loudoun County, Virginia
4. McIntire Park – Charlottesville, Virginia
5. Historic Tobacco Farm Barns – Pittsylvania County, Virginia
6. Konnarock Girl’s School – Troutdale, Virginia
7. 1908 Marion Schoolhouse – Smythe County, Virginia
8. Obici House – Suffolk, Virginia

Along with other coalition members, fighting to stop Wal-Mart, we need to support Preservation Virginia.  Based on yesterday’s press release, they appear to be acting true to their stated mission statement:

“The mission of Preservation Virginia is to preserve, promote and serve as an advocate for the state’s irreplaceable historic places for cultural, economic and educational benefits of everyone.”

To learn more about Preservation Virginia, you may contact them in the following ways.

By mail:
Preservation Virginia
204 West Franklin Street
Richmond, VA 23220

By phone:
(804) 648–1889

By email:
Tina Calhoun, Director of Marketing and Public Relations
tcalhoun@preservationvirginia.org

Please get involved to protect the Wilderness Battlefield – a true national treasure that can never be replaced.

Michael Noirot
This Mighty Scourge – The Civil War Blog

As reported this morning, on Civil War Interactive, Pulitzer Prize winning author of “Lincoln,” David Herbert Donald died on Sunday, May 17, 2009, in Boston. Mr. Donald was 88 and was working on a study of John Quincy Adams’ defeat of Andrew Jackson in the presidential election of 1828. A graduate of the University of Illinois, he would later teach at Columbia, Smith College, Princeton and John Hopkins. He is survived by his wife, Aida, and a son, Bruce Randall Donald. He will be missed by all who read “Lincoln,” and his other historical works.

Henry H. Taylor was born in Jo Daviess County, Illinois, near Galena, on July 4, 1841, to John W. Taylor and Temperance Stringfield.  Taylor would enlist, on May 9, 1861, after Abraham Lincoln’s call for 75,000 state militia, after the firing on Fort Sumter.  He would be assigned to the 45th Illinois Infantry on November 20, 1861.  The regiment would officially be mustered into Federal service on December 25, 1861, at Camp Douglas, Illinois.(i)

The 45th Illinois would fight in many of the most significant battles in the Western Theater including: Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth, Vicksburg Campaign, Atlanta Campaign and the Carolinas Campaign.  Taylor mustered in as a private and would advance to sergeant of Company C, where he would be a color bearer.

During the fighting, at Vicksburg, Mississippi, Taylor would provide his most important service to the United States.  On June 25, 1863, after the reduction of the Third Louisiana Redan, by an underground mine, the infantry would be sent into the breach.  A Union soldier described the explosion, “All at once a dead heavy roll, a hundred shouts, and you could see nothing but a black cloud of dirt and powder smoke, throwing the earth thirty of forty feet in the air, and about half of the wall rolled over the ditch as if turned by a ponderous plow.  Instantaneous with this was the crack of a hundred cannon, as though they were all pulled off by one lanyard….while the infantry advanced with a yell that none but soldiers can give, rushed up the breastworks and a galling fire ensued between the rebs at the bottom and at the top.”(ii)  The 45th Illinois was part of US Brigadier General Mortimer D. Leggett’s First Brigade, assigned to US Major General John Logan’s First Division of US Major General James B. McPherson’s XVII Corps.  Led by Colonel Jasper A. Maltby, the 45th Illinois rushed into gaping hole left after the detonation of the mine.  The fighting would be described by Leggett as “desperate.”(iii)  Taylor, as color bearer, was in the front of his regiment.  As they clawed their way to the top of the Third Louisiana Redan, Sergeant Taylor would plant the regiment’s colors on the works.  A soldier in the 20th Illinois (in the same brigade as the 45th Illinois) described what they encountered at the redan, “The up-heaved earth was soft, and our feet sank deep into the loose dirt as we rushed over the dead and dying up the incline to the foot-wide crest of undisturbed earth, which, fortunately for the defenders of the Fort, remained to obstruct the on-slaught of the union forces.”(iv)  The fighting would continue well into the night.  The Federal troops would finally pull back about 75 feet, a position they held through the surrender, on July 4.

Taylor would receive the Medal of Honor for his valor during the fight at what would be called, “General Logan’s Canal.”  After the surrender, the 45th Illinois would be the first regiment to enter Vicksburg.  General Leggett described the scene, “The Forty-fifth Illinois was the first regiment to march into Vicksburg, receive the surrender, and hoist the flag on the court house.  The whole of one division went in on the 4th of July, and no other troops.  The Forty-fifth was part of the first brigade which I had commanded, and it was for its gallantry in breaking the Confederate line as well as for its other services in the campaign, that I gave it the front on that day.”(v)

Taylor would remain in the 45th Illinois Infantry until he mustered out on September 8, 1864, after his three year term of enlistment expired.

The following is the citation that Sergeant Henry H. Taylor received with his Medal of Honor, on September 1, 1893.

“Was the first to plant the Union colors upon the enemy works.”(vi)

After the Civil War, Taylor and his wife, Margery, would reside in Wyandotte, Kansas.  He would work as a banker.  He died on May 3, 1909 at Leavenworth, Kansas.  Sergeant Henry H. Taylor is a true American HERO.

(i) The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System was used to research this article.
(ii) Ballard, Michael B., Vicksburg: The Campaign That Opened the Mississippi, published by The University of North Carolina Press 2004, Pgs. 367–368.
(iii) Beyer, Walter F., Keydel, Oscar Frederick, Duffield, Henry Martin, Deeds of Valor, published by Perrien-Keydel Co. 1907, Pg. 215.
(iv) Ballard, Michael B., Vicksburg: The Campaign That Opened the Mississippi, published by The University of North Carolina Press 2004, Pg. 368.
(v) Beyer, Walter F., Keydel, Oscar Frederick, Duffield, Henry Martin, Deeds of Valor, published by Perrien-Keydel Co. 1907, Pg. 215.
(vi) R.J. (Bob) Pfoft, Editor, United States of America’s Medal of Honor Recipients, Fifth Edition, Pg. 1020.

As many of you are probably aware, one of our greatest Civil War battlefields is under siege.  Wal-Mart is planning on building a 141,000 square foot Wal-Mart Super Center adjacent to the Chancellorsville and Wilderness National Battlefield Park.  This area has come under severe stress over the past several years, as development has continually spread towards the park.  Additionally, this has brought heavy traffic to the battlefield park – traffic that is unrelated to tourist activities.  Wal-Mart, and the Orange County Board of Supervisors, have seemed to turn a deaf ear to all the preservationist activities spear-headed by the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT), and the Wilderness Battlefield Coalition.  The time to act is NOW.  In a recent email “call to action,” by the CWPT’s Brent Laurenz many suggestions were offered to help derail the Wilderness Wal-Mart.  Here are some of his suggestions.

1. Attend public hearings:  If you live in or near Orange County, please consider attending the public hearings.  The first public hearing is before the Planning Commission on Thursday, May 21, at 7:00 at Prospect Heights Middle School, 202 Dailey Drive, Orange, VA 22960. 
   Click here for a map of the public hearing location.
2. Write to the Board of Supervisors:  If you can’t make the hearing, please consider writing a letter to the Orange County Board of Supervisors even if you have written them before, please take a minute to do so again.  Orange County’s elected officials need to know where people stand on this issue.  Let them hear your personal frustration that they rejected a planning process that would have benefited all parties.
   Click here to send a letter to the Orange County Board of Supervisors.
3. Write to your local newspaper:  The construction of a Wal-Mart on the doorstep of a National Park is an issue of national importance, so even if you live in another state, please consider writing a letter to the editor of your local newspaper expressing your opposition to the proposed Wal-Mart.  Add your voice to others who have expressed concern about a big box superstore across the road from a National Park
   Click here to find a list of newspapers in your area.
   Please be sure to check your local paper for policies regarding Letters to the Editor.

Yesterday, Eric Wittenburg published a U.S. News and World Report editorial critical to Wal-Mart’s plans to build their Super Center.  The following is the text from their editorial.

Opinion: Wal-Mart’s Attack on Civil War Battlefield in Northern Virginia
By John Aloysius Farrell

5/13/2009
US News & World Report (NAT)

The Wilderness battlefield cannot be moved.

It is a one-of-a-kind place, where tens of thousands of Union and Confederate boys died in the Civil War. You can’t just shift the signs down the road a mile and call another tract of ground the battlefield.

But a Wal-Mart shopping center? How special is that?

Assuming that what America needs is another Wal-Mart, how hard can it be for corporate planners to choose a location that isn’t within the boundaries of a national battle park?

These are the questions being asked by historians, legislators, and preservationists as Wal-Mart plans to build a 138,000-square-foot supercenter on the Wilderness battlefield in Northern Virginia. It would be the fifth Wal-Mart store within a 20-mile radius and a major new commercial threat to a necklace of Civil War fields—Wilderness, Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania—in the area that have already been ravaged by development.

In December, a group of 253 historians—including David McCullough, Ken Burns, James McPherson, and Edwin Bearss, the chief historian emeritus of the National Park Service—asked Wal-Mart to reconsider.

The Vermont Legislature (the state lost its heaviest casualties of the war at the Wilderness, repulsing a Confederate attack) adopted a joint resolution in February asking Wal-Mart to move its store.

U.S. Reps. Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat, and Ted Poe, a Texas Republican, have led a contingent in Congress urging Wal-Mart CEO Michael Duke to think this through.

And the Civil War Preservation Trust put the Wilderness battlefield on its list of “most threatened” battlefields in March.

The land that Wal-Mart covets is commercially zoned, but the company needs a special use permit from the Orange County Board of Supervisors, and preservationists are hoping to block the development there. A coalition of local and national preservation groups have offered to pay for a comprehensive, long-range planning study to help local officials.

All they need is a little flexibility from Wal-Mart. How about it, Mr. Duke?

Please support the Civil War Preservation Trust’s efforts to Stop The Wilderness Wal-Mart.  Click here, to see what actor, Robert Duvall, and congressmen are saying in support of these efforts.  Act now.  Once the Wal-Mart is built, other development will inevitably follow.

Thank you in advance for supporting our Civil War history by getting involved.

Mike Noirot
Michael.Noirot@BattlefieldPortraits.com
This Mighty Scourge – The Civil War Blog