This Mighty Scourge

Happy 2010!  We have much to look forward to in the coming year.  But let us take a quick look at what happened in 2009.  According to Time magazine, the Top 10 ten news stories of 2009 were:

10. The end of Sri Lanka’s Civil War

9. H1N1 – The Swine Flu

8. Mexico’s Bloody Drug War

7. Pakistan: On the Verge of Breakdown

6. The Death of Michael Jackson

5. Massacre at Fort Hood

4. The Divisive Debate Over Healthcare Reform

3. Iran’s Tumultuous Election and Its Aftermath

2. Afghanistan: Can the U.S. Avoid a Quagmire?

1. America’s Economic Crisis

While most news stories, that would make an annual Top 10 list, are going to involve bloodshed, or death, two of last year’s top stories, at Time magazine, did not: “The Divisive Debate Over Healthcare Reform” and “America’s Economic Crisis.”  Obviously these stories will continue to make news headlines over the coming year.

After reading Time Magazine’s Top 10 list of news stories for 2009, I decided to assemble my own list.  The Top 10 most popular articles on This Mighty Scourge for 2009.  While totally unscientific, it certainly points out which articles my readers liked the most.  As I have done in previous lists, I have left out the articles on the Wilderness Wal-Mart, and other “calls to action,” as they always tend to enjoy a huge spike with little follow-up readership after a couple of days.  My top 10 list for 2009 are articles that have enjoyed consistent readership over long periods during the year.  If you haven’t read all of these articles, they are each hyperlinked so you can do so today.

2009 Top 10 List of Articles on This Mighty Scourge

10. Interview with James A. Hessler, author of “Sickles at Gettysburg” (Click HERE to Read)

9. The Battle of the Crater (Click HERE to Read)

8. Interview with Sally Jenkins & John Stauffer co-authors of “The State of Jones.” (Click HERE to Read) This article has been quite controversial and has been picked up by many news outlets due to the ongoing bickering between Stauffer & Jenkins and Vikki Bynum.

7. Gettysburg National Military Park – A Study in Contrasts (Click HERE to Read)

6. Interview with J. David Petruzzi, author of “The Complete Gettysburg Guide” (Click HERE to Read)

5. Antietam – One Bloody Day in September 1862 (Click HERE to Read)

4. Andersonville Prison – A Photo Essay and History (Click HERE to Read)

3. The Fighting 69^th New York Infantry and the Irish Brigade (Click HERE to Read)

2. Interview with Earl J. Hess, author of “In the Trenches at Petersburg” (Click HERE to Read)

1. Interview with Jim Lighthizer, President of the Civil War Preservation Trust (Click HERE to Read)

It should be noted that a few articles had very impressive finishes, reaching the top 10 list over the past couple of weeks.  Obviously articles that were published earlier in the year, had more time to gain readership.  For those of you interested in the articles that round out the top 20, on This Mighty Scourge, continue reading.  It’s interesting to note, that my mid-December article, on the Battle of Fredericksburg, came in at 14.  A very respectable position for only being available for two weeks.

Filling Out the Top 20 at This Mighty Scourge

11. The Battle of Chancellorsville – Joe Hooker’s Legacy (Click HERE to Read)

12. William T. Sherman – US Major General (Click HERE to Read)

13. Second Manassas – Again the Fields Turned Red (Click HERE to Read)

14. Battle of Fredericksburg – Ambrose Burnside’s First Foray (Click HERE to Read)

15. Robert E. Lee, General – CSA (Click HERE to Read)

16. Battle of the Wilderness – Grant Takes it to Lee (Click HERE to Read)

17. Robert E. Lee Surrenders the Army of Northern Virginia (Click HERE to Read)

18. Wilson’s Creek – the Civil War Breaks Out in the West (Click HERE to Read)

19. Interview with Scott L. Mingus, Sr. – Author of “Flames Beyond Gettysburg” (Click HERE to Read)

20. Albert Sidney Johnston – CSA General (Click HERE to Read)

Thank you for making 2009 a successful year at This Mighty Scourge!

Mike Noirot

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147 years ago this week, US Major General Ambrose Burnside’s Army of the Potomac fought Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia in one of the most bloody, one sided engagements, of the entire American Civil War.  This was Burnside’s first major engagement as commander of Abraham Lincoln’s largest army.  It would also be his last full scale battle.  To say that Burnside was a reluctant commander is an understatement.  When Lincoln decided to relieve US Major General George B. McClellan from command, after failing to arrest Lee’s retreat into Virginia, after the Battle of Antietam, he had few choices.  It came down to Burnside or US Major General Joe Hooker – a behind the scenes schemer of the first order.  Burnside would have turned down the command if Lincoln’s second choice had been anyone other than Hooker.  The following short narrative is the story of Burnside’s first foray in command of the Army of the Potomac.  I wrote this a couple of years ago, for my other website, Battlefield Portraits and it is reprinted here in its entirety.

Battle of Fredericksburg

Location: Fredericksburg, VA
Dates: February 11-15, 1862
Union Commander:  Ambrose Burnside, Major General
Confederate Commander:  Robert E. Lee, General

Battle Summary:
In late September, 1862, the Union’s Army of the Potomac, commanded by US Major General George B. McClellan, expelled Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia from Sharpsburg, Maryland.  On September 17 these armies engaged in what would become the bloodiest single day in United States history -a battle that would be named after a lazy creek that runs through Sharpsburg – Antietam. While the battle was essentially a draw, it was greeted in the north as a resounding victory, prompting Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

Lincoln’s excitement turned to despair, however, as he tried to nudge McClellan into the offensive, while Lee’s army was most vulnerable to attack.  Finally, in late October, 1862, McClellan put his army in motion, entering into Virginia, skirting the east side of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Unfortunately, he moved very sluggishly.  Lincoln, in an effort to speed McClellan, wired his commander that his army was closer to Richmond than Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.  At the same time, Lincoln made private vow to remove “Little Mac” if he let Lee’s army get between him and Richmond.  On November 7, Lincoln had had enough.  He sent US Brigadier General C.P. Buckingham to McClellan’s headquarters, at Rectortown, with orders to remove McClellan.  The same orders placed US Major General Ambrose Burnside in command of the Union’s Army of the Potomac.

Ambrose Burnside, was a reluctant commander.  Friends with McClellan, he preferred to have a supporting role in the east, rather than overall command.  Fearing the commanding role would devolve, upon his nemesis, Joe Hooker, Burnside accepted the new position.  Burnside would be the third commander of the Army of the Potomac, and was an 1847 graduate of West Point.

Burnside wasted little time.  By November 15, he had his army in motion.  His plan was to flank Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, crossing the Rappahannock River above, and below, Fredericksburg.  By choosing Fredericksburg as his point to launch into the Rebel army, he would only have to cross the Rappahannock River.  If he were to take the more direct route, he would have two formidable rivers to cross – the Rappahannock and the Rapidan.  A quick movement would assure surprise and would catch the Army of Northern Virginia in a vulnerable position - as it was falling back to protect Richmond.

Burnside also changed the organizational structure of his army.  While retaining the overall Corps structure, he organized his Corps into three grand divisions.  The Right Grand Division, commanded by US Major General Edwin Sumner, would include the II Corps, commanded by Major General Darius Couch, and the IX Corps, commanded by Brigadier General Orlando Willcox.  The Center Grand Division, commanded by US Major General Joseph Hooker, would include the III Corps, commanded by Brigadier General George Stoneman, and the V Corps, commanded by Brigadier General Daniel Butterfield.  The Left Grand Division, commanded by US Major General William Franklin, would include the I Corps, commanded by Major General John Reynolds, and the VI Corps, commanded by Major General William F. “Baldy” Smith.

By November 17, the flanking move seemed to be working.  Sumner’s Grand Division had arrived on the east bank of the Rappahannock and were at Stafford Heights, immediately opposite Fredericksburg.  The rest of Burnside’s army arrived shortly afterwards.  Unfortunately, a mix up at the war department slowed the arrival of the pontoon bridging equipment necessary to ford the Rappahannock.  Burnside would wait a week for his pontoons to arrive.  It was at this same time that Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was also arriving at Fredericksburg.  This effectively made Burnside’s plan, for an unopposed crossing of the river, impossible.

The mighty Army of Northern Virginia was clearly arrayed behind Fredericksburg.  Facing Burnside was the powerful 1st Corps of CSA Lieutenant General James Longstreet.  His Corps was occupying the high ground, beyond Fredericksburg, known as Marye’s Heights.  Fearing a feint at Fredericksburg, and a general movement downstream, Lee had positioned much of his 2d Corps, commanded by CSA Lieutenant General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, 20 miles downstream.  Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was close to 80,000 troops strong, facing a very impressive Union army of over 110,000 troops.

During the overnight hours of December 11, Burnside deployed his engineers to build pontoon bridges at three crossings: the Upper, Middle and Lower.  Work went smoothly until the first rays of sun started to burn through the fog.  Once the engineers were visible, they became easy targets for the single brigade assigned to guard against such a crossing.  CSA Brigadier General William Barksdale’s Brigade, comprised of soldiers from Florida, and Mississippi, was posted in the lower downtown area.

After Barksdale’s Brigade started its deadly shooting, Burnside determined to use his heavy artillery, posted at Stafford Heights, to force them out of town.  For over an hour, the big Union guns fired into the town of Fredericksburg.  All told, over 7,000 shells were fired, by 150 heavy guns, into the town of Fredericksburg.  Unfortunately, Barksdale’s Brigade was unharmed by the massive bombardment.  When the engineers went back to work, they were picked off easily by the Rebel infantry.  Finally, it was decided that Federal infantry would use the pontoons as boats, to storm the opposite bank.  The small “shock” force quickly dislodged Barksdale’s Brigade, pushing them through the streets of Fredericksburg in some of the only urban street fighting during the Civil War.  Burnside’s engineers quickly finished the pontoon bridges, allowing Federal infantry to occupy Fredericksburg on the evening of December 11.

In the meantime, Lee, recognizing that there would not be a crossing further downstream, recalled Jackson’s 2d Corps, assigning them to an area due south of Longstreet.  This line, stretching south of Fredericksburg, was naturally strong as Jackson’s troops could dig into the hillside of a long bluff, Prospect Hill, under the cover of trees.  Jackson was confident that his position would be very strong.

On December 12 the majority of the Army of the Potomac crossed into Fredericksburg.  Unfortunately, the abandoned town was too much for the men with looting, vandalism and drinking commonplace throughout the streets, parlors and homes of Fredericksburg.  After the main battle, when questioned about how he would handle the Union debauchery, Stonewall Jackson said, “Kill them, sir, kill every man!”

On the unusually warm, and foggy morning, of Saturday, December 13, US Major General William Franklin’s Left Grand Division was tasked with assaulting the heights, south of town, held by Jackson’s 2d Corps.  Due to rather ambiguous language in Burnside’s orders, Franklin was given discretion on how he would feed his grand division into battle.  With close to 60,000 soldiers at his disposal, he determined to send in only one division, commanded by US Major General George G. Meade.  Later in the battle he would receive support from two other divisions, commanded by brigadier generals Abner Doubleday, and John Gibbon.  Moving into position, to attack Jackson’s line, Meade’s division was enfiladed by one battery of Rebel cannon, commanded by CSA Major John Pelham.  The fire from the guns was very accurate, and destructive.  Gibbon would dispatch one brigade, of Wisconsin and Indiana troops, to silence Pelham’s Horse Artillery.  These troops, the only all Western brigade in the Army of the Potomac, had earned the well deserved moniker, “Iron Brigade,” during their action at the Battle of South Mountain.

After dislodging Pelham’s artillery, Meade sent his troops against Jackson’s entrenched infantry and artillery.  The area they struck was a sliver of woods that crossed the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac railroad tracks.  While they had heavy casualties in crossing the open ground, to these woods, they did enjoy a breakthrough near the tracks.  In this area the Confederates would forever lose the services of CSA Brigadier General Maxcy Gregg.  He would be mortally wounded during Meade’s breakthrough.  Jackson immediately funneled new troops into the area of Meade’s breakthrough, and having very little support, Meade was forced to pull back beyond the tracks, and the Richmond Stage Road.

The second phase – and the better known phase of the Battle of Fredericksburg – against Longstreet’s 1st Corps started when Burnside observed Meade’s repulse.  Originally designed to start when Franklin’s Left Grand Division had started to roll up Lee’s right flank, Sumner’s Right Grand Division was to assault Longstreet’s Corps, approximately 1/2 mile beyond Fredericksburg, on Marye’s Heights.  Wave, after wave, of Union soldiers marched through Fredericksburg, across the open fields, the Canal Ditch and up the hill, only to be annihilated before they reached the stone wall, beyond which was a sunken road.  Here CSA Brigadier General Thomas R.R. Cobb’s Georgia brigade poured out a withering fire.  While Cobb would be mortally wounded by an artillery shell, his brigade would mow down successive waves of divisions and brigades.  Even the vaunted Irish Brigade would be chewed up trying to reach the Sunken Road.

By sunset, the fighting had sputtered to an end.  The weather, however, changed for the worst.  Soldiers who had thrown aside their jackets, and blankets, in the balmy weather of December 13, were greeted with sub-freezing temperatures overnight.  The area between Marye’s Heights, and Fredericksburg, became a “no man’s land,” where the slightest movement by a Federal soldier would illicit a shot from the Confederates.  Besides dying from their injuries, Union soldiers also froze to death where they had fallen.  On December 14, CSA Sergeant Richard R. Kirkland, of the 2d South Carolina Infantry regiment, asked CSA Brigadier General Joseph Kershaw if he could aid the wounded Federal soldiers begging for water.  At first Kershaw declined Kirkland’s request, but later would allow him to move into the “no man’s land.”  However, he refused his request to carry a white flag, which would have protected him.  Nineteen year old Kirkland gathered as many canteens as he could, filling them with water, and stepped out over the wall.  Sporadic musketry failed to hit him and when the Federal soldiers understood his humanitarian intentions they, along with many Confederate soldiers, cheered him.  He walked among the wounded soldiers giving them water and helping those he could.  After his canteens were emptied, he returned back to his post and his duties as an infantryman.  Known as the “Angel of Marye’s Heights,” Kirkland would continue to fight with the 2d South Carolina until he was killed charging Snodgrass Hill, during the Battle of Chickamauga.

During the Battle of Fredericksburg, Robert E. Lee was quoted, “It is well that war is so terrible – lest we should grow too fond of it.”  How right he was.

While Burnside was determined to make additional attacks against Marye’s Heights, even stating he would lead them himself, he would decide to heed his lieutenants’ advice against doing so.  While the two armies held their positions through the day of December 15, Burnside would retreat across the Rappahannock River during the early morning hours of December 16.  Thus ended the horrific battle of Fredericksburg, an unequaled rout of the Army of the Potomac that ultimately provided no benefit to the Union arms.

Campaign: Fredericksburg

Outcome: Confederate victory

Troop Strengths
Union: 115,000
Confederate: 78,000

Casualties (estimated):
Union: 12,600 (killed, wounded or missing/captured)
Confederate: 5,300 (killed, wounded or missing/captured)

Battle Aftermath:
The butcher’s bill for Fredericksburg was very high.  The north was appalled at the waste of life that ultimately provided no advantage to the Union war effort.  On January 20, in an effort to resuscitate his career, Burnside tried one more flanking movement, this time against Lee’s left flank.  What would become known as the “Mud March” would further demoralize his army, and lead quickly to another change in commanders for the Army of the Potomac.  Both armies would remain in their relative positions for the remainder of the winter, before they would meet again, just a few miles west, at a sleepy crossroads called Chancellorsville. 

While Abraham Lincoln was not willing to lose the services of Burnside, he was compelled to remove him from the Eastern Theater.  Burnside, along with his IX Corps, would be transferred to the Department of the Ohio, which Burnside would command through 1863.  In early 1864 he would return to the Army of the Potomac, where he would continue to command the IX Corps through the Overland Campaign.  In front of Petersburg, in July 1864, Burnside would approve the explosion of the Crater on July 30.  Proving a debacle, US Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant would relieve him of command on August 14, 1864.  He would not command another field army during the Civil War.  On April 15, the day Lincoln would fall to an assassin’s bullet, Burnside officially resigned his army commission.  After the Civil War, Burnside would take executive positions with several railroads.  He would be elected to three one year terms as Governor of Rhode Island.  From 1871–1872 he would be the commander-in-chief of the Grand Army of the Republic.  Burnside would serve as the first president of the National Rifle Association when it was formed in 1871.  His service to his country was still not concluded.  In 1874 Rhode Island would elect him U.S. Senator.  He would be re-elected in 1870 and would serve until his death on September 13, 1881.  He is buried in Swan Point Cemetery, in Providence, Rhode Island.

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Seymour “Hiram” Hall was born in Barkersville, New York on September 26, 1835.  Little is known of Hiram’s early life.  With the outbreak of the Civil War, and Abraham Lincoln’s call for 75,000 state militia volunteers on April 15, 1861, Hiram would begin recruiting soldiers for the 27th New York Infantry.  On May 21, 1861 he would be commissioned second lieutenant of Company G and be mustered into Federal service on June 15, 1861 in Elmira, New York.  On April 25, he would be promoted to captain.  He would lead his company at First Bull Run, the Peninsula Campaign, Seven Days, South Mountain, Antietam and Fredericksburg.  The 27th New York would officially muster out of Federal service on May 31, 1863.  The three year soldiers in the 27th would be assigned to the 16th New York Battalion, commanded by Hall.(i)

The 121st New York Infantry, often called Upton’s Regulars after their second commander, Emory Upton, had been decimated during the Chancellorsville Campaign while fighting in US Major General John Sedgwick’s VI Corps, at Salem Church.  Upton, desiring to fill out his regiment requested all the able bodied three year men he could obtain.  Knowing of the 16th New York Battalion, Upton petitioned VI Corps headquarters for the men.  The men of the 16th were given the option of joining a Massachusetts battery, a Federal battery of the 121st.  Most of the men chose the 121st.  On June 16, 1863, Hall took command of Company F, 121st New York.  While the VI Corps saw little action in the Battle of Gettysburg, they were engaged in the pursuit of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia during his retreat from Gettysburg.  Seeing action during the Bristoe Campaign, from October 9–22, they would find themselves facing the Army of Northern Virginia, on opposite sides of the Rappahannock River, as winter approached. 

Many of the soldiers believed Army of the Potomac commander, US Major General George Gordon Meade, would enter the winter months with no additional fighting.  However, Meade had different ideas.  Believing he could out maneuver Lee along the Rappahannock River line, he determined to push across the river.  During the upcoming battle, Hiram Hall would provide his most valuable service to his country.

Robert E. Lee had constructed a strong bridgehead at Rappahannock Station with two artillery redoubts and connecting trenches, on the north bank.  CSA Major General Jubal Early’s 2d Corps Division manned the works, with the rest of Lee’s army south of the river commanding all the major fords.  He believed that any significant attack, by Meade, would require him to divide his forces.  Lee’s plans proved quite prescient.  On November 6, Meade ordered the I, II and III Corps to cross the Rappahannock River at Kelly’s Ford, while the V and VI Corps would push across at Rappahannock Station.  They were ordered to move on the morning on November 7.  Major General William French would command the left wing, while Sedgwick would command the right wing.  Meade’s tactical plan was to have French’s wing push across the river, at Kelly’s Ford, in an effort to divert Lee’s attention from the main attack by Sedgwick.(ii)  Once across, they would push west to join the rest of the army that had crossed at Rappahannock Station.  From there, the Army of the Potomac would push south towards Brandy Station.

On the morning of November 7, the 121st New York, with the rest of the V and VI Corps pushed south from Warrenton.  Emory Upton was commanding the Second Brigade of US Brigadier General Horatio Wright’s First Division.  With Sedgwick commanding the right wing, Wright commanded the VI Corps and US Brigadier General David Russell commanded the First Division.  Opposing them at Rappahannock Station were two brigades commanded by CSA Brigadier Generals Robert F. Hoke and Harry Hays.  Hays’ Louisianans had earned the moniker, “Louisiana Tigers,” for their fighting prowess.  Both brigades were seasoned veterans of the Army of Northern Virginia.  Once Sedgwick had his forces in place he began to pound Early’s Confederates with artillery.  He maintained this fire throughout the afternoon, causing much consternation, and many casualties at the bridgehead.  Meanwhile, Upton’s brigade, consisting of the 121st New York, 5th Massachusetts, 95th and 96th Pennsylvania were joined by US Colonel Peter Ellmaker’s Third Brigade, consisting of the 6th Maine, 5th Wisconsin, 49th and 119th Pennsylvania.  Commanded by David Russell, they were assigned the unenviable task of carrying the works manned by Hays’ “Louisiana Tigers” and Hoke’s North Carolinians.  With dusk beginning to blanket the field, Russell’s division pushed out of the woods and towards the bridgehead.  Partially protected by the railroad embankment, the division was able to get very close to the fortifications before they were engaged by Hays’ soldiers.  Upton would detach companies B and D, as skirmishers.  They were commanded by Captain John Fish.  Upton was very clear in his orders to Fish, “When the line advances upon your right, you will advance – you will drive the enemy off that crest, you will use your judgment and act as if you had a separate command: but remember one thing – I want my brigade line to get there as soon as any of them.”(iii)  Clinton Beckwith described the action, “We moved forward briskly and soon discovered the Rebel skirmish line.  They waited a good while, an age I thought, before they fired on us, and I knew someone would get hit.  Finally they let go and we started on a run after them, and they skedaddled.  One fellow waited until Jack Marden, one of our boys, got close to him, and then fired and hit Jack.  But the ball, striking something in Jack’s pocket, glanced off.  The Rebel shouted, ‘I surrender,’ but Jack shot and wounded him badly….The artillery in the fort was now firing rapidly and the cannon shots flew over us and went after our fellows who were coming up behind.  The Reb skirmishers kept falling back, but kept up a sharp fire.”(iv)  Soon, Fish and his skirmishers, along with the rest of the 121st New York, were upon the works.

Hiram Hall’s Company F was part of the attacking column.  Upon reaching the Rebel works, he was able to reform his lines.  The fighting became hand-to-hand, with several casualties coming from bayonet wounds.  With darkness quickly covering the battlefield, the action is described in “Upton’s Regulars,” by Salvatore Cilella: “(the Louisiana brigade remained) sanguine and defiant….Upton could see their colors in the gathering night, inscribed with “Cedar Run,” “Manassas Second,” “Winchester,” “Harpers Ferry,” “Sharpsburg,” “Fredericksburg,” “Chancellorsville,” and “Gettysburg.”  Without waiting for Russell for further instructions, Upton sent Capt. Seymour Hall to tell Russell that he had accomplished his mission and had reformed his lines parallel to the rifle pits that were still crawling with rebel soldiers.  He intended to attack again.”(v)  Upton had advised his men, “Boys, or rather Old 121st, I am with you again.  We are going to make a charge, and some of you will fall, but you will all go to heaven.  And I am going with you over the works.”  With that, Hall’s Company F, and the rest of the 121st New York stormed the rifle pits, performing a left face they rolled up the flank of the 6th, 54th and 57th North Carolina regiments.  Many of the Confederates surrendered and the 121st New York was able to capture a regimental flag.  All told, with the 5th Maine at their side, the 121st New York was able to capture seven Confederate flags, 103 officers, 1,300 enlisted men and 1,200 weapons.  One captured Rebel asked how many corps were involved in the attack.  When he was told only two regiments carried out the assault the “mortification” was “extreme.”  After the battle Upton reported, “The success at Rappahannock had a most electrifying effect throughout the army.”(vi)

Hall would continue to lead Company F, 121st New York Infantry, through some of the most bloody battles of the Eastern Theater: The Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, the North Anna and Cold Harbor.  In April 1864, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel of the 43d United States Colored Troops.  He would lead these men at the Battle of the Crater, Weldon Railroad, Boydton Plank Road, Hatcher’s Run and the Appomattox Campaign.  He would receive a brevet promotion to brigadier general on March 13, 1865.

After the war, Hall would move with his wife, Augusta, to Carrollton, Missouri and finally to Kansas.  She bore him five children: Clarence, Harry, John, Mabel and Augusta.  Seymour H. Hall would die on July 1, 1908 in Kansas City, Kansas and is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Lawrence, Kansas.

For his bravery, and gallant leadership, Hall would receive two Medals of Honor on August 17, 1891 – one for his actions at Gaines’s Mill and the other for his heroism at Rappahannock Station.  The official citation reads:

Although wounded at Gaines Mill, Va., he remained on duty and participated in the battle with his company.  At Rappahannock Station, Va., while acting as an aide, rendered gallant and prompt assistance in reforming the regiments inside the enemy works.(vii)

Captain Seymour Hall is a true American HERO.

(i) Cilella, Salvatore G., Upton’s Regulars: The 121^st New York Infantry in the Civil War, published by the University Press of Kansas in 2009, Pg. 184.
(ii) Cilella, Salvatore G., Upton’s Regulars: The 121^st New York Infantry in the Civil War, published by the University Press of Kansas in 2009, Pg. 235.
(iii) Cilella, Salvatore G., Upton’s Regulars: The 121^st New York Infantry in the Civil War, published by the University Press of Kansas in 2009, Pg. 237.
(iv) Best, Isaac O., History of the 121^st New York State Infantry, published by Lieut. Jas. H. Smith in 1921, Pgs. 100–101.
(v) Cilella, Salvatore G., Upton’s Regulars: The 121^st New York Infantry in the Civil War, published by the University Press of Kansas in 2009, Pg. 240.
(vi) Cilella, Salvatore G., Upton’s Regulars: The 121^st New York Infantry in the Civil War, published by the University Press of Kansas in 2009, Pg. 243.
(vii) R.J. (Bob) Pfoft, Editor, United States of America’s Medal of Honor Recipients, Fifth Edition, Pg. 883.