This Mighty Scourge

On a recent trip to the Philadelphia area I had an opportunity to visit Laurel Hill Cemetery.  Established in 1836 by John Jay Smith, it sits on 78 acres of rolling hills overlooking the Schuylkill River.  Having missed many opportunities to visit this beautiful cemetery over the years, the wait was well worth it.

Besides US Major General George Gordon Meade, 39 other Civil War era general officers found their final rest at Laurel Hill.  Unfortunately, I was unable to locate one of the most famous interments at Laurel Hill, CSA Lieutenant General John C. Pemberton.  Pemberton was originally from Philadelphia but cast his lot with the Confederacy.  He would ultimately surrender Vicksburg to Ulysses S. Grant on July 4, 1863.  Other notable officers buried at Laurel Hill are Charles Ferguson Smith, Samuel W. Crawford, Rear-Admiral John A.B. Dahlgren and Robert Patterson.

Click HERE to visit my photo essay on Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Today is the 146th anniversary of the Battle of Yellow Tavern – and the mortal wounding of Confederate Major General James Ewell Brown “J.E.B.” Stuart.  Stuart, whom historian Eric J. Wittenberg considers the “best cavalry commander ever sired in the United States,” had commanded the Army of Northern Virginia’s mounted arm since the Peninsula Campaign.  Commanding general Robert E. Lee would rely on Stuart to provide accurate intelligence on the Federal Army of the Potomac and to screen the movements of his army.  His death would be produce mourning in the Confederacy not seen since the death of Lieutenant General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson nearly a year earlier.

With the promotion of Ulysses S. Grant, to lieutenant general commanding all U.S. ground forces, in March 1864, the complexion of fighting in the east would drastically change.  Grant would replace his cavalry corps commander, Major General Alfred Pleasanton, with Major General Philip H. Sheridan.  Sheridan had earned his “stars” commanding infantry in the western theater and was a hard fighter.  Grant’s command structure would have his new cavalry commander reporting to Major General George Gordon Meade, commander of the Army of the Potomac.  During the Overland Campaign, Sheridan would struggle with Meade who was accustomed to using his cavalry to guard his supply train and on scouting missions.  Wanting to be used in an offensive capacity, against his Confederate adversary, Sheridan would appeal to Grant to turn him loose behind Lee’s lines.  Grant would acquiesce, much to Meade’s dismay.  While Grant was battering Lee at Spotsylvania Court House, Sheridan would ride south with his cavalry corps in search of Stuart.  He would find him on the afternoon of May 11 at the abandoned inn at Yellow Tavern – approximately six miles north of Richmond.  While Sheridan had over twice as many troopers, Stuart’s three cavalry brigades made a valiant effort to prevent the Federals from breaking through their lines.  During the fight the 1st Virginia Cavalry would charge the Federal lines causing Colonel Russell Alger’s 5th Michigan Cavalry to bolt for the rear.  Stuart, always leading from the front, would be shot a close range by John A. Huff, a former sharpshooter.  Shot through the side, with the bullet tearing through his stomach, Stuart would be removed to Richmond where he would die on May 12.  The fight at Yellow Tavern would continue for an hour after Stuart’s wounding with CSA Major General Fitzhugh Lee taking command.  Sheridan’s numerical superiority would prove too much and he push south towards Richmond, never piercing the city’s outer defenses.

The Battle of Yellow Tavern permanently changed the complexion of the Confederate Cavalry.  No longer would they out soldier their Federal adversary.  With J.E.B. Stuart’s death the fighting elan of the Confederate mounted arm was diminished, depriving Robert E. Lee of arguably the best cavalry commander to ever fight in America.  Stuart is a true American HERO.

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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As most of you are aware, I am very interested in the smaller units of the Civil War.  The volunteer infantry regiments comprised the backbone of the opposing armies of the American Civil War.  Most regiments were comprised of ten companies, with each company having approximately 100 soldiers when mustered into service.  The fighting men of each company were the private soldiers.  These heroes, who more often than not have become nameless over the generations, served selflessly to reunite our once fractured United States.  They were the fighters.  In his book, “Co. Aytch,” Sam Watkins of the 1st Tennessee Infantry Regiment (CSA), summed it up perfectly when he said, “I always shot at privates.  It was they that did the shooting and killing, and if I could kill or wound a private, why, my chances were so much the better.” 

So it was with the 121st New York Infantry.  Salvatore G. Cilella’s recent book, “Upton’s Regulars: The 121st New York Infantry in the Civil War,” is the story of the foot soldiers from that famous New York Volunteer regiment.  Breaking new ground, by not just studying the battle history of the 121st, Cilella’s cutting edge book explores the lives of the soldiers, before, during and after the conflict.  Made famous by their second commander, Colonel Emory Upton, the 121st New York was considered unequaled in the proud VI Corps, Army of the Potomac.  Upton drilled the men and earned their trust, respect and loyalty.  On the parade ground they operated with precision, but on the battlefield they earned their laurels by hard fighting.  During the battle of Salem Church, part of the Chancellorsville Campaign, they would be decimated by an ambush engineered by CSA Brigadier General Cadmus Wilcox.  At the battle of Rappahannock Station, they would capture over 1,000 Confederate soldiers by storming their bridgehead.  In May 1864, they would arrive at Spotsylvania Court House with an effective strength of 460 soldiers, of all arms.  After Upton’s gallant charge of the Mule Shoe salient, and the fighting at the “Bloody Angle,” they would be reduced to 94 – with only four field officers left unscathed.  They would continue to cement their reputation during US Major General Phil Sheridan’s 1864 Shenandoah Campaign, with solid battlefield performances at Third Winchester, Fisher’s Hill and Cedar Creek.  During the waning months of the war, they would fight in the trenches in front of Petersburg and perform heroically, while being flanked on two sides, at Hatcher’s Run.  Saving one of their best battlefield exploits for the Battle of Sailor’s Creek, they would capture over 1,000 Confederate soldiers, including CSA Major General George Washington Custis (G.W.C.) Lee – son of Robert E. Lee.  Arriving at Appomattox Station, on April 9, 1865, they were prepared to offer battle again – but were spared by Lee’s surrender to Ulysses S. Grant.  While their regimental battle flag proudly carried the names of the battles they fought in, four members of the regiment would earn the Medal of Honor for individual gallantry: Seymour H. Hall, Warren Dockum, Benjamin Gifford and Harris Hawthorne.  All told, 1,800 soldiers served in the 121st, with nearly 740 becoming battlefield casualties, or dying of disease.

“Upton’s Regulars” is a monumental study of these brave fighting men.  Cilella, no stranger to history, is the president and CEO of the Atlanta History Center.  His biography of the 121st New York will take you on a journey with the soldiers.  Beginning with the recruitment of the regiment and taking you through the publication of its regimental history, in 1921, his fast paced book is hard to put down.  I recently had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Mr. Cilella.  The following interview, like all of my author interviews, is divided into parts, so you can listen to it at your leisure.  This is a book that I recommend for any serious student of the Civil War, or anyone interested in what it meant to be foot soldier during the American Civil War.

Details about “Upton’s Regulars”
Written by: Salvatore G. Cilella, Jr.
Hardcover: 586 pages
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Date of First Edition: June 11, 2009
ISBN-10: 0700616454

 

Salvatore G. Cilella, Jr. Interview – 14 Parts
Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes, 42 seconds

Part 1:

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Time: 7:35
Contents: Introductions | Sal’s interest in history and the Civil War | Authors and historians that influenced Sal’s interest in the Civil War | Alan Nolan’s influence on “Upton’s Regulars”

Part 2:

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Time: 5:57
Contents: Discussion on “Upton’s Regulars” | Why the 121st New York Volunteer Infantry? | Otsego and Herkimer counties and the 121st New York | Recruiting the 121st New York

Part 3:

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Time: 6:12
Contents: The “three phases” on the Civil War | Lincoln’s call for 300,000 soldiers in 1862 – 50,000 quick recruits can bring the war to an end?

Part 4:

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Time: 7:39
Contents: The use of bounties to entice new recruits | A “patchwork” of bounties in New York | Mustering in at Camp Schuyler with Colonel Richard Franchot

Part 5:

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Time: 4:09
Contents: Transferring to Washington, D.C. | The Maryland Campaign – hard marching and disease | Colonel Franchot leading his men shows his limited knowledge of the military arts

Part 6:

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Time: 5:21
Contents: Franchot’s resignation and the forgotten commander – Charlie Clark | Emory Upton’s promotion to regimental command and his visits to convalescing soldiers | Clark prepares the 121st New York for command by West Pointer, Emory Upton | Cross-training the line officers of the 121st

Part 7:

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Time: 8:28
Contents: Severe level of disease in the 121st New York during its first year of service | The use of firsthand accounts and primary source material in telling the soldiers’ stories | Researching “Upton’s Regulars”

Part 8:

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Time: 6:03
Contents: Emory Upton’s drilling and training molds the 121st New York | Caught in a ambush – the 121st and its terrible losses at the Battle of Salem Church and enduring their first large scale engagement

Part 9:

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Time: 8:20
Contents: Upton’s misstep in recruiting veteran soldiers for the depleted ranks of the 121st | The trying march to Gettysburg | Pursuing Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia | Desertion and the execution of Thomas Jewett | The 5th Maine Infantry – sister regiment of the 121st New York

Part 10:

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Time: 4:53
Contents: To go into winter camp or not to? | The Battle of Rappahannock Station | Rappahannock Station a defining battle for the 121st New York

Part 11:

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Time: 4:29
Contents: Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant and the Overland Campaign | Egbert Olcott assumes command of the 121st with Upton’s promotion to brigadier general | The Battle of the Wilderness | Upton’s Charge of the Mule Shoe salient at Spotsylvania Court House | Decimation at the Mule Shoe and the “Bloody Angle”

Part 12:

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Time: 5:26
Contents: The 121st arrives in Washington to protect against CSA Lt. General Jubal Early’s advance into Maryland | Serving under US Major General Philip Sheridan in the 1864 Shenandoah Valley Campaign | The battle of Cedar Creek and Sheridan’s brilliant counter attack

Part 13:

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Time: 8:28
Contents: The terrible winter months of 1865 in front of Petersburg, Virginia | The battle of Hatcher’s Run | The collapse of Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia and the battle of Sailor’s Creek | The decades long controversy of who captured CSA Major General G.W.C. Lee | Harris Hawthorne receives the Medal of Honor – the controversy still smolders | The VI Corps delayed arrival in Washington D.C. after Appomattox Station and suffers through their own “Grand Review”

Part 14:

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Time: 7:42
Contents: Saving the best for last – post Civil War history of the 121st New York Volunteers | Future projects Mr. Cilella is working on | Wrap up and closing

Other Great Civil War titles from the University Press of Kansas

Details about “Bleeding Kansas: Contested Liberty in the Civil War Era”
Written by: Nicole Etcheson
Paperback: 370 pages
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Date of First Edition: December 31, 2003
ISBN-10: 0700614923

 

Details about “Citizen Sherman: A Life of William Tecumseh Sherman”
Written by: Michael Fellman
Paperback: 504 pages
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Date of First Edition: July 9, 1995
ISBN-10: 0700608400

 
 

Details about “Commanding the Army of the Potomac”
Written by: Stephen R. Taaffe
Hardcover: 284 pages
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Date of First Edition: February 23, 2006
ISBN-10: 0700614516

 

 

Details about “Guide to the Atlanta Campaign”
Written by: Jay Luvas (editor) and Harold W. Nelson (editor)
Paperback: 383 pages
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Date of First Edition: May 7, 2008
ISBN-10: 0700615709

 

 
Details about “Jefferson Davis, Confederate President”
Written by: Herman Hattaway and Richard E. Beringer
Paperback: 566 pages
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Date of First Edition: April 30, 2002
ISBN-10: 0700612939

 

 

Details about “Joseph E. Johnston and the Defense of Richmond”
Written by: Steven H. Newton
Hardcover: 278 pages
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Date of First Edition: November 1998
ISBN-10: 0700609210

 

 

Details about “Lincoln Seen and Heard”
Written by: Harold Holzer
Hardcover: 226 pages
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Date of First Edition: February 2000
ISBN-10: 0700610014

 

  

Details about “Stonewall of the West: Patrick Cleburne and the Civil War”
Written by: Craig L. Symonds
Paperback: 328 pages
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Date of First Edition: February 28, 1997
ISBN-10: 0700609342

 
 

Details about “The Confederacy’s Greatest Cavalryman: Nathan Bedford Forrest”
Written by: Brian Steel Wills
Paperback: 457 pages
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Date of First Edition: April 1998
ISBN-10: 0700608850

 
 

Details about “The Rifle Musket in Civil War Combat”
Written by: Earl J. Hess
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Date of First Edition: September 9, 2008
ISBN-10: 0700616071

 
 

Details about “The War Within the Union High Command”
Written by: Thomas Joseph Goss
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: University Press of Kansas
Date of First Edition: August 2003
ISBN-10: 0700612637

 

 
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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.

For the past week, I have been reading a very interesting new book on the history of the 121st New York Infantry.  By Salvatore G. Cilella, Jr., “Upton’s Regulars: The 121st New York Infantry in the Civil War,” details the history of this famous regiment, commanded by young Emory Upton.  While reading about the 121st at Rappahannock Station, and the following Mine Run Campaign, I came upon a quote that as first struck me as humorous, but then caused me to realize the horrors of war on civilians.

After three freezing cold days, opposite Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, at Mine Run, commanding general of the Union Army of the Potomac, Major General George Meade decided to call the attack off.  For the men in US Major Andrew Mather’s 121st NYV Infantry (Colonel Upton was commanding their brigade at this time), which was posted in the first attacking line, it felt like the reprieve of a death sentence.  John Hartwell, from Company C, aptly described the relief he felt after Meade called off the attack, writing his wife he stated, “(Meade would have been without an army and she)…would have been without a husband.”(i)

Now, getting to the quote that caused me to chuckle, followed by no little guilt when taking the civilian plight into consideration, I must provide some additional detail.  After pulling back from their Mine Run line, the 121st regimental surgeon, Dr. Daniel Holt commandeered a secesh house, and its out-buildings, for a field hospital.  The home’s owner, a tanner by trade, vacated his home, leaving his daughters behind.  The daughters, were described as, “Fair specimens of Southern Chivalry – snuff dipping, dilapidated, lantern jawed bipeds of neuter gender.”(ii)  When these young ladies were told that the army had taken their home, they promptly expressed the hope that it would burn down, “with every damned Yankee in it!”  Dr. Daniel Bland, a staff surgeon, assured them it would burn down, but with no Yankees in it.  Several hours later, after they were done using the house, it and the out-buildings were put to the torch.

While the quote describing the young southern ladies may be humorous, when put in context of what happened to their home, it demonstrates how deeply the Civil War affected the lives of civilians.  As a student and amateur scholar of the Civil War, sometimes I find myself enamored with the fighting, often forgetting how terrible the fratricidal war was for the civilians that were randomly caught in its action.  Sometimes I need to reflect on a very popular quote from US Major General William Tecumseh Sherman, “War is hell,” and remember that it was not glamorous, chivalrous or anything close to romantic.

(i) Cilella, Salvatore G., Jr., Upton’s Regulars: The 121^st New York Infantry in the Civil War, published by the University Press of Kansas in 2009, Pg. 248.
(ii) Cilella, Salvatore G., Jr., Upton’s Regulars: The 121^st New York Infantry in the Civil War, published by the University Press of Kansas in 2009, Pg. 248.

James Barton Wiley was born in Ohio between 1836 and 1838.  By 1850 he was living with his parents, Jacob and Mary Wiley, in Noble, Ohio.  He was the oldest of seven siblings.  He was the only son of Jacob and Mary.  He would marry Catherine Coffee on February 2, 1854 in Noble County, Indiana.  Together they would have three children: Mary Jane (1856), John M. (1859) and William S. (1862).  Wiley would often go by his middle name on official records, including his marriage certificate and the 1860 Federal Census record which listed the Wiley residence in Baker, Indiana.(i)

With the outbreak of hostilities, Wiley would enlist as a private in Company H, 59th New York Infantry.  His date of enlistment was September 20, 1861 at Bellville, Ohio.  In speaking with a couple of his ancestors, this author has been unable to determine why he would enlist in a New York regiment when he lived in Indiana and entered the service in Ohio.  The only logical conclusion is that Ohio had filled her volunteer requirements and the state had not authorized the formation of additional regiments by his enlistment date.

The 59th New York was officially mustered into Federal service in November 1861 and would leave New York City on November 23.  Proceeding to Washington City they would serve in US Brigadier General James Wadsworth’s command, defending Washington, through May 1862.  In July 1862 the 59th New York would join the Army of the Potomac and be assigned to the Third Brigade (Brigadier General Napoleon J.T. Dana), Second Division (US Major General John Sedgwick) of US Major General Edwin Sumner’s II Corps.  Commanding the 59th New York was Colonel William L. Tidball.  Leaving Washington City, they would join their new command at Harrison’s Landing on the James River Peninsula.  By this time The Seven Days was over and the Army of the Potomac, commanded by US Major General George B. McClellan was preparing to leave Harrison’s Landing to return to Alexandria, Virginia.  Private James Wiley would see no action while at Harrison’s Landing.(ii)

By August 28, 1862, the II Corps was located at Fairfax Court House, Virginia, and would be involved in covering US Major General John Pope’s retreating Army of Virginia from their rout at Second Manassas.  After the defeat of Pope’s army, CSA General Robert E. Lee determined to invade the North in an effort to recruit troops and provide relief for wary Virginians who had suffered through nearly all of the fighting in the Eastern Theater.  Pushing into Maryland during the first days of September, Lee would begin an effort to recruit Marylanders who were loyal to the Confederacy – an effort that turned out to be in vain.

Meanwhile, in Washington City, McClellan began to organize the remnants of Pope’s Army of Virginia using some of them to fill the ranks of his Army of the Potomac.  A master of organization, McClellan quickly had his army back in shape.  With intelligence mounting, that Lee had pushed into Maryland, McClellan quickly began planning his movements.  On September 6, the Army of the Potomac left Washington, in several columns, to find Lee’s army.  The first action of the Maryland Campaign would occur at South Mountain on September 14, when US Major General Joseph Hooker’s I Corps would engage portions of CSA Major Generals James Longstreet and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson’s army wings.  The fighting at South Mountain would take place at Fox’s Gap, Crampton’s Gap and Turner’s Gap and would be intense.  Hooker was severely pressed while trying to push through the gaps.  The II Corps, including the 59th New York, would be sent to reinforce Hooker, but would arrive to find the I Corps alone at South Mountain – Lee having pulled his forces back.

On September 16, Sumner’s II Corps would be on the east side of Antietam Creek, facing the majority of Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia (CSA Major General A.P. Hill’s Light Division was at Harpers Ferry) deployed around Sharpsburg, Maryland – just west of Antietam Creek.  On the morning of September 17, Hooker’s I Corps, having crossed Antietam Creek north of the Confederates, pushed south towards the left flank of Lee’s forces.  Pushing through the “Corn Field” they would be heavily engaged against Jackson’s Left Army Wing.  With the fighting going back-and-forth, across the Corn Field, the I Corps would suffer terrible casualties.  At 7:20 a.m., McClellan would order the II Corps to reinforce Hooker’s I Corps, and US Major General Joseph Mansfield’s XII Corps which had become engaged east of the Corn Field, near the North Woods.  The plan was for Sumner’s II Corps to push towards the Dunker Church, slamming into the left of Jackson’s Confederate lines.  Two of the II Corps divisions were to attack in force.  Unfortunately, US Major General William H. French’s division would veer to the left instead of staying on Sedgwick’s Second Division’s left flank.  This would leave the Second Division, including Wiley’s 59th New York, unsupported as they pushed through the Corn Field towards the West Woods.  Crossing the Hagerstown Pike, the general order was to keep the Dunker Church on their left, and rear.  Pushing straight forward, the three brigades of Sedgwick’s division would not find the enemy in their front, but with their left flank refused and facing north into Sedgwick’s left flank.  Confusion reigned throughout Sedgwick’s division and it became especially pronounced within Dana’s brigade.  His troops, including Wiley’s 59th New York, were receiving heavy enemy fire from a direction they did not expect – their left - enfilading their lines.  Additionally, the division was receiving heavy artillery fire from CSA Major General J.E.B. Stuart’s horse artillery located on a rocky rise to their right.(iii)  Sumner, maintaining his composure, rode up and down his lines, encouraging his soldiers to remain steady.  One of Dana’s soldiers wrote home describing Sumner’s actions, “We were completely flanked on the left and in two minutes more could have been prisoners of war if Gen Sumner himself had not rode in through a terrific fire of the enemy and brought us off……My men fell around me like dead flies on a frosty morning.”(iv)  The 59th New York’s baptism of fire was harsh.  The regiment did not handle themselves well.  With the field shrouded by smoke, they fired unknowingly into the backs of the 15th Massachusetts Infantry.  Not hearing the Massachusetts men yelling at them to cease firing, they would continue to fire into them until Sumner rode up and “cussed them out.”  Sedgwick’s division was able to retreat across the Hagerstown Pike and reform.  The fighting at Antietam would move south to the Bloody Lane, where the II Corps divisions of French and US Major General Israel Richardson would continue the fight.  The fighting on the Federal right would diminish as the action at the Bloody Lane intensified.  US Major General Ambrose Burnside’s IX Corps would attack on the far left, after which the Battle of Antietam sputtered to a close.  Sergeant James Wiley, along with the 59th New York, had experienced their first major fighting, on a grand scale, at Antietam.

Wiley would continue to serve with the 59th New York through upcoming battles at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville – each being terrible Federal defeats.  Once again, after the Battle of Chancellorsville, Robert E. Lee decided to invade the North.  From July 1–3, 1863, the Army of the Potomac, commanded then by US Major General George Gordon Meade, would battle Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia in the small southern Pennsylvania town of Gettysburg.  US Major General Winfield S. Hancock now commanded the II Corps.  The Second Division was now commanded by US Brigadier General John Gibbon with the Third Brigade being commanded by Colonel Norman J. Hall.  The 59th New York was in Hall’s brigade and was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Max Thoman.  Brigadier General John Caldwell’s First Division would see action on the second day of Gettysburg, the other two divisions would not be involved.  On the third day of battle, the II Corps other divisions, commanded by US Brigadier General Alexander Hays, and Gibbon, would see significant action during CSA Major General George E. Pickett’s famous charge.  Positioned along Cemetery Ridge, Hays division held the II Corps right flank while Gibbon’s division held the left.  Gibbon received some support from US Colonel Edmund Dana’s I Corps’ brigade.  Pickett’s combined command, which included his 1st Corps Division and CSA Brigadier General J. Johnston Pettigrew’s Division and portions of CSA Major General Richard H. Anderson’s Division, both of the 3d Corps, totaled approximately 12,500 soldiers.  After CSA Colonel E. Porter Alexander’s 1st Corps artillery bombarded the Federal lines for over an hour, Pickett’s troops dressed ranks along Seminary Ridge and pushed towards Hancock’s II Corps.  It was approximately 3:00 p.m.  Crossing the fields between Seminary Ridge and Cemetery Ridge, the Confederates would start to receive artillery shelling.  Crossing a fence along the Emmittsburg Road, they pushed towards the Federal line, its soldiers well protected behind a stone wall.  As they closed to within small arms range, they received a terrible storm of lead as the Federal infantry opened on them.  The Confederate charge would be repulsed, with only a handful of regiments breaking through the II Corps’ line.  The 59th New York would receive a direct assault from the 48th Georgia Infantry regiment.(v)  During the hard fighting here, some of which was hand-to-hand, Wiley would capture the Georgia regiment’s battle flag.  He would receive the Medal of Honor for his actions at Gettysburg, on December 1, 1864.  His citation reads, “Capture of flag of a Georgia regiment.”

Meade’s Army of the Potomac would repulse Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at Gettysburg, ending the bloodiest battle on American soil.  Lee would retreat back into Virginia, with Meade’s army slowly pursuing them, essentially “nipping at their heels.”

Wiley, and the 59th New York Infantry, would continue to serve their country.  They would be engaged in all the remaining battles in the eastern theater including Mine Run, the Overland Campaign, Petersburg Campaign and Appomattox Court House.  On June 22, 1864, during the fighting at Jerusalem Plank Road, 1st Sergeant James Wiley would be captured.  He would be sent south to the Confederate Prison at Camp Sumter – better known as Andersonville.  He would suffer, with his fellow prisoners, from malnutrition, poor drinking water and exposure to the elements.  On February 7, 1865, Wiley would die from dysentery – most likely never knowing he had been awarded the Medal of Honor for gallantry at Gettysburg.  James Barton Wiley is a true American HERO.

(i) James Barton Wiley, at Ancestery.com was used to research this article.
(ii) The Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System was used to research this article.
(iii) Walker, Francis A., History of the Second Army Corps in the Army of the Potomac, Second Edition, published by Charles Scribner’s Sons in 1891, Pgs. 100–107.
(iv) Sears, Stephen W., Landscape Turned Red: The Battle of Antietam, published by Ticknor & Fields in 1983, Pgs. 227–228.
(v) Hess, Earl J., Pickett’s Charge: The Last Attack at Gettysburg, published by the University of North Carolina Press in 2001, Pg. 91.

On July 24, 1864, commanding general, Ulysses S. Grant approved US Major General George Gordon Meade’s request to detonate a mine under the Confederate lines at Petersburg.  In his order, Grant stated, “If this is attempted it will be necessary to concentrate all the force possible at that point in the enemy’s line we expect to penetrate.  All officers should be fully impressed with the absolute necessity of pushing entirely beyond the enemy’s present line, if they should succeed in penetrating it, and of getting back to their present line promptly if they should not succeed in breaking through.”(i) 

Centered near Pegram’s Salient (also called Elliott’s Salient for the infantry brigade commanded by Stephen Elliott), the tunnels, and galleries took several weeks to build.  The 48th Pennsylvania was tasked with building the tunnels, adding supports and placing the galleries in the correct places.  Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Henry Pleasants, many of the men of the 48th Pennsylvania were miners by trade.  With the mine excavations completed on July 27, Grant ordered the mine to be detonated at 3:30 A.M., on July 30.  Packed with 8,000 pounds of black powder, evenly placed in separate magazines in the galleries, they were connected with wooden troughs half filled with powder.  Common blasting fuses were used to light the explosives, and ran 98 feet to a wall, constructed of logs and sandbags.  This wall was designed to keep the powerful explosion centered under the Rebel line.(ii)

On July 30, Pleasants lit the fuse at 3:15 A.M., after which he walked calmly out of the shaft.  The mine did not explode at 3:30 A.M.  Deciding to give it one hour to detonate, Pleasants asked for volunteers when the mine had not exploded by 4:15 A.M.  Sergeant Henry Reese, and Lieutenant Jacob Douty, both of the 48th Pennsylvania, volunteered to enter the shaft.  Entering the shaft, they found that all three fuses had been extinguished at a splice.  The fuse was repaired, and the men quickly exited the shaft.(iii)

The mine exploded at 4:44 A.M., with devastating results.  US Captain Thomas W. Clark, describing the blast stated, “There flashed out a lily-shaped fountain of dark red and yellow fire, with brown streaks in it.”(iv)  The explosion was strong enough to lift many of the prone Federal soldiers off their bellies in front of the Federal lines.  It created a “crater” in the earth, 30 feet deep, 50 feet wide and 125 feet long that would be described as resembling “a long Irish potato.”(v)  It is estimated that between 275–300 Confederate soldiers were instantly killed in the blast – or buried alive while they slept.

Tasked with leading the infantry charge against Pegram’s Salient was US Brigadier General James H. Ledlie.  Commanding a division in US Major General Ambrose Burnside’s IX Corps, Ledlie had a less than stellar reputation – having been found drunk during the action at the North Anna River.  Burnside had originally planned on using US Brigadier General Edward Ferrero’s Fourth Division, consisting of United States Colored Troops (USCT), for the attack, but was overruled by Meade.  Burnside’s reasoning was that Ferrero’s division was better rested than his other veteran divisions.  Meade was concerned with how the “green” USCT troops would react under severe pressure on such an important operation.  Grant sustained Meade and the matter was put to rest.(vi)

After an opening salvo of artillery fire, from US Brigadier General Henry J. Hunt’s batteries, Ledlie ordered his troops forward – approximately ten minutes after the blast. His division quickly pushed towards the crater.  Two brigades, commanded by colonels William F. Bartlett and Elisha G. Marshall, streamed into the crater.  Ledlie, not possessing the best communication skills, did not issue clear orders for his brigade commanders resulting in the brigades entering the crater and not pushing to the ultimate target - the high ground beyond the Confederate lines.  Confusion reigned within the crater as the soldiers had no way of scaling the wall on the Confederate side.  Following Ledlie’s brigade were portions of US Brigadier General Robert B. Potter’s Second Division.  These troops, aligned on the right of Ledlie’s division, pushed to the Rebel lines north of the crater.  Due to the confusion of battle, some of US Colonel Simon Griffin’s Second Brigade veered left into the crater – creating additional mayhem.  Following Ledlie and Potter’s division was a portion of US Brigadier General Orlando Willcox’s Third Division.  Forming a second line of battle, Willcox’s first brigade, commanded by US Colonel John Hartranft, entered the crater, further compacting the mass of men, while the remainder of the division pushed to the south of the crater.

Opposing the Federal troops were Confederate troops under the command of CSA Brigadier General Stephen Elliott.  Consisting of men from South Carolina, Elliott’s Brigade included the 17th, 18th, 22d, 23d and the 26th South Carolina infantry regiments.  South of the crater was CSA Colonel J.T. Goode’s brigade of veteran Virginians.  Elliott’s Brigade would receive the thrust of Potter’s Federal division, while Goode’s Brigade would defend against Willcox’s division.  While portions of Elliott’s brigade streamed to the rear, the 49th North Carolina, of CSA Brigadier General M.W. Ransom’s Brigade pushed to the face of the crater.  They quickly began emptying their muskets into the mass of men stuck in the crater.  The action was vividly described by North Carolina infantryman Thomas R. Rouhac, “Our men aimed steadily and true, and as each rifle became too hot to be used another gun was at work by one who took the place of the first, or supplied him rifles that could be handled.”(vii)

Meade, growing impatient with the stagnated fighting ordered Burnside to, “push your men forward at all hazards (white and black) and don’t lose time in making formations, but rush for the crest.”(viii)  Burnside immediately issued orders to all division commanders to push forward.  Meade, not directly witnessing the action in the crater, would become incensed when he learned of the confusion in the crater.  He further ordered Burnside to use troops from the V and XVIII Corps, as necessary. 

On the Confederate side, much of Elliott’s Brigade had scattered in the confusion of the blast, with the remaining troops all that separated Burnside from successfully penetrating the line.  These South Carolinians fought bravely holding back a much larger force.  Elliott, after ordering a charge around 6:00 A.M., was shot as soon as he stepped out of the trench.  Command of the brigade passed to CSA Colonel Fitz W. McMaster, of the 17th South Carolina, who placed the brigade in position north, and south, of the crater.  McMaster’s efforts were greatly augmented by artillery which poured a deadly fire into the crater, and its approaches.

About this time, CSA General Robert E. Lee learned of the action at Pegram’s Salient.  He immediately dispatched his staffer, Colonel Charles Venable, to CSA Brigadier General William Mahone, ordering two of his brigades to support Elliott and Goode.  Federal signal officers quickly noticed this movement and alerted Meade, who believed he might have an opportunity west of the Jerusalem Plank Road.  Ordering US Major General Gouverneur Warren’s V Corps to determine the feasibility of an attack south of Burnside, they quickly determined that it would be impractical.  Burnside was on his own and Mahone’s brigades now made their presence known at the crater.

Communication on the Federal front was terrible.  Meade felt that Burnside was deliberately keeping him uninformed, while Ledlie provided Burnside no communication.  When he sent his division forward, Ledlie quietly retired to a bombproof behind the lines.  Complaining of malarial symptoms, the surgeon of the 27th Michigan provided Ledlie with rum.  When he received orders from a Burnside staffer to send his division to the ridge behind Pegram’s Salient, Ledlie directed the staffer to spread word to his division.(ix)  Ledlie would later be cashiered for being intoxicated during the battle.

By 9:00 A.M. the Federals held roughly 300 yards of the Confederate trenches.  With all of his troops now in the fray, Ferrero’s Fourth Division, composed of the USCT’s troops, were leading the push towards the ridge, and the Jerusalem Plank Road.  With the tangled mass of men in the crater, only the 30th and 43d USCT regiments managed to break through.  Colonel Delavan Bates, of the 30th USCT, urged his men forward, “Remember Fort Pillow!”(x)  Bates, shot in the face, would survive his wound and be awarded the Medal of Honor on June 22, 1891.

Facing Ferrero’s USCT troops were Mahone’s two brigades which he took personal command of.  Leading his old brigade, commanded by Brigadier General David Weisiger, he would send them to support Elliott’s 200 soldiers north of the crater.  Much hand-to-hand combat took place between Weisiger’s Virginians and the US Colored Troops.  After about twenty minutes the Federal troops had been cleared from the captured trenches.  Meanwhile, south of the crater, Hartranft ordered his men back to a portion of Pegram’s Salient that was still intact.  With the arrival of Mahone many of the Federal troops in the crater retreated in disorder for the Union lines.  However, approximate 600 men remained in the crater, many of them black troops.  They would claw their way to the top of the precipice and would either be shot, or clubbed, inevitably rolling back down the face into the soldiers under them.  The men writhing in the bottom of the crater were mercilessly picked off by Mahone’s Confederates, with little means of defending themselves.

By this time, at Federal headquarters, both Grant and Meade had determined to call off the attack.  Between 9:30 and 10:00 A.M. Burnside received two orders to call off his offensive.  Determined to resurrect his plan, Burnside rode to headquarters to plead his case with Meade.  Meade was unmoved, but allowed Burnside to wait until dark to pull his men back.  Upon returning to his headquarters, at Fourteen Gun Battery, Burnside issued ambiguous orders for retreat, leaving the timing up to his division commanders.  Before these orders reached the field, Mahone issued orders to Hall’s Georgia brigade to attack south of the crater.  This proved a dismal failure as the Georgians, under heavy fire from the crater, pushed towards the left, behind Weisiger’s brigade.  Undeterred, Mahone ordered Sanders’ Brigade to attack south of the crater, at 1:00 PM.  While waiting for the arrival of Sanders, the Federal troops received their orders from Burnside.  Determining that it would be too dangerous to retire during daylight, they stayed in the crater.  Sanders attack started at 1:00 P.M., as planned.  They arrived at the edge of the crater, but advanced no further, for fear of falling into the mass of Federals in the hole.  Resorting to throwing their bayonet tipped muskets into the crater, or throwing dirt clods, they were ineffective.  Finally they pushed into the crater.  They immediately started killing the black soldiers – even after many of them had surrendered.  After about thirty minutes, the crater was completely commanded by Sanders’ brigade.  They captured 500 men and three regimental flags.  The debacle at the crater was finally over.(xi)

All told, the Federals suffered 3,800 casualties at the Battle of the Crater – over 500 were killed.  On the Confederate side, losses were approximately 1,500 of which there were 200 killed in action.  Grant clearly made his opinion known, “The effort was a stupendous failure.  It cost us about 4,000 men, mostly, however, captured; and all due to inefficiency on the part of the corps commander and the incompetency of the division commander who was sent to lead the assault.”(xii)  For the next eight months, the combatants would continue to attempt to outmaneuver each other in front of Petersburg.  Finally, on April 2, 1865, Grant would break Lee’s lines at Petersburg, ending in the surrender of Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.

Earl J. Hess’ scholarly work on Petersburg, “In the Trenches of Petersburg,” was used to research this article.  This is a wonderful analysis of all the actions at Petersburg, during the ten month offensive.  For more information on this book, please read my review on the book by clicking here.  Included is an in-depth interview with Mr. Hess that is very enlightening.

(i) Grant, Ulysses S., Grant Memoirs and Selected Letters, published by The Library of America 1990, Pg. 611.
(ii) Hess, Earl J., In the Trenches at Petersburg: Field Fortifications & Confederate Defeat, published by The University of North Carolina Press, June 2009, Pgs. 84–85.
(iii) Hess, Earl J., In the Trenches at Petersburg: Field Fortifications & Confederate Defeat, published by The University of North Carolina Press, June 2009, Pg. 90.
(iv) Hess, Earl J., In the Trenches at Petersburg: Field Fortifications & Confederate Defeat, published by The University of North Carolina Press, June 2009, Pg. 90.
(v) Hess, Earl J., In the Trenches at Petersburg: Field Fortifications & Confederate Defeat, published by The University of North Carolina Press, June 2009, Pg. 91.
(vi) Hess, Earl J., In the Trenches at Petersburg: Field Fortifications & Confederate Defeat, published by The University of North Carolina Press, June 2009, Pgs. 87–88.
(vii) Hess, Earl J., In the Trenches at Petersburg: Field Fortifications & Confederate Defeat, published by The University of North Carolina Press, June 2009, Pg. 92.
(viii) Hess, Earl J., In the Trenches at Petersburg: Field Fortifications & Confederate Defeat, published by The University of North Carolina Press, June 2009, Pg. 93.
(ix) Hess, Earl J., In the Trenches at Petersburg: Field Fortifications & Confederate Defeat, published by The University of North Carolina Press, June 2009, Pg. 97.
(x) Hess, Earl J., In the Trenches at Petersburg: Field Fortifications & Confederate Defeat, published by The University of North Carolina Press, June 2009, Pg. 98.
(xi) Hess, Earl J., In the Trenches at Petersburg: Field Fortifications & Confederate Defeat, published by The University of North Carolina Press, June 2009, Pgs. 98–103.
(xii) Grant, Ulysses S., Grant Memoirs and Selected Letters, published by The Library of America 1990, Pg. 613.

When I recently read about a new book on US Major General Daniel E. Sickles, that Savas Beatie, LLC. was publishing, my interest immediately sparked.  Like many of my readers, I have read a significant amount about Dan Sickles, but only as it pertained to larger battle narratives.  Searching Amazon.com, for titles on Sickles, there were few to choose from.  While there have been a couple of Sickles biographies over the past couple of decades, they are few, and far between.  Since I hadn’t read any of the other biographies, I contacted Sarah Keeney, at Savas Beatie, to request an advanced copy.  While I have about a dozen books, in my queue, awaiting review, I was anxious to get my copy, and start dissecting it.  Written by James “Jim” A. Hessler, a licensed Gettysburg Battlefield guide, it is his first full length book.  Doing a quick Google search on Mr. Hessler, I found several videos of him at one of my favorite blogs – Gettysburg Daily.  After watching these videos, I quickly understood that Jim has an authoritative knowledge base on Sickles, and the Battle of Gettysburg.  Sarah also stated that Jim would be pleased to let me interview him.

Starting the book, I realized that this was not going to be a “Pro Sickles” biography, but a balanced study of his life.  A life, that had its share of controversies: the murder of Philip Barton Key, back-room maneuvering for promotion in the Army of the Potomac, his abandonment of Little Round Top at Gettysburg , his wounding, his efforts to regain command of the III Corps, and his participation in the hearings of the Joint Congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War – the list goes on, and on.  In the first chapter, I came upon a quote from George Templeton Strong, that I believed set the tone for the entire book, “(Sickles belonged) to the filthy sediment of the [law] profession, and lying somewhere in the lower strata.  Perhaps better to say that he’s one of the bigger bubbles of the scum of the profession, swollen and windy, and puffed with a fetid gas.”(i)  OK, so I was hooked.

For the next several chapters, Hessler reeled me in.  He does not spend a great deal of time detailing his early life but jumps right into Sickles activities recruiting what would be the Excelsior Brigade, in chapter two, “The Making of a First Class Soldier.”  Chapters two, and three, deal with his back-room politicking to obtain a brigadier generalship, which was initially not confirmed by the US Senate, his actions in his first battle at Fair Oaks (Seven Pines), his leapfrog style promotion to division command, dissension in the high command of the Army of the Potomac and his command at the Battle of Chancellorsville – a brave, but less than stellar performance where he claimed CSA General Robert E. Lee was retreating, when in fact CSA Lieutenant General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson was making his legendary flank march which would annihilate US Major General Oliver O. Howard’s right flank – which would lead to US Major General Joe Hooker’s terrible defeat.

Chapters four, through twelve, cover his promotion to command of the III Corps (after only fighting in two battles!), his command decisions at Gettysburg and finally his wounding at the Trostle Farm.  These chapters represent the “meat” of the book – his controversial decision to place his corps nearly a mile in front of the Federal line at Gettysburg, in an effort to protect his flank.  In my interview with Mr. Hessler, he offered his learned opinion that this move may have been attributable to Sickles’ concern that his flank would be rolled up, as Howard’s was at Chancellorsville.  The author provides a great amount of detail, in these chapters, about the tactical placement of troops, troop movements and the actual fighting that took place in areas of the Gettysburg battlefield that will forever be burned into our memory: The Wheatfield, The Peach Orchard and Devil’s Den.  This makes for some exciting reading that draws the reader into Sickles’ reasoning, and state-of-mind.  It is very well bolstered by first hand accounts.  As Hessler quickly pointed out, in our interview, he wanted to “get out of the way,” and let the soldiers tell what happened on that fateful day, in early July 1863.  In much of the narrative of the battle, the author provides differing battlefield accounts, that cannot be reconciled, advising the reader to make their own judgments on what actually took place.  This is especially the case with the wounding of Sickles, and the story that has since be perpetuated by historians of Sickles asking for a cigar, and being readily visible to his soldiers as he is carried to the rear.  Again, Hessler provides several firsthand accounts, that cannot easily be reconciled, allowing the reader to decide what is fact, and what may be fiction.

Chapters thirteen, and fourteen, dive into Sickles maneuvering to regain command of the III Corps, or any other position, “….appropriate to my rank and in a position where I can Communicate easily with influential people who will be in Washington this year…”(ii)  This was part of a letter written to Abraham Lincoln regarding the rumor of an opportunity for him to command the garrison protecting Washington City.  As detailed in these chapters, the command would not materialize and he would be pulled into the hearings of the Joint Congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War.

The remaining four chapters cover Sickles postwar efforts to regain his reputation, his efforts to preserve battlefields – especially Gettysburg, his return to Congress and his twilight years.

“Sickles at Gettysburg” provides a fresh, unbiased evaluation of Major General Daniel E. Sickles.  With much new material, and a fluid prose, Hessler has written the definitive work on this controversial figure in American politics, and military history.  I highly recommend this book to any serious student of the American Civil War.  I am confident that you will enjoy reading it as much as I have.

On the morning of July 3, 2009, I had the pleasure to interview Mr. Hessler.  Unlike my other interviews, which have always been done by phone, this interview was recorded live, at the Trostle Farm, where Sickles had his III Corps headquarters, on July 2.  Originally, one of two sites recommend by Jim, the other being the Peach Orchard – both of which Jim states, “…ARE Sickles to me.”  I am pleased that he chose the Trostle Farm, as this is the site of his wounding.  Plus, it set the mood for a wonderful conversation on Dan Sickles.  Listeners will quickly note that horses can be heard throughout the interview, and at times wind can be heard blowing past my digital recorder.  This does not detract from the quality of the recording, but creates a certain ambiance that can be felt by the listener.  I invite you to take time to listen to all twelve parts of the interview. 

Details about “Sickles at Gettysburg”
Written by: James A. Hessler
Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Savas Beatie, LLC.
Date of First Edition: June 29, 2009
ISBN-10: 1932714642

 

 

James A. Hessler Interview – 12 Parts
Total Time: 1 hour, 14 minutes, 12 seconds

Part 1: 

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Time: 7:12
Contents:  Welcome | About Jim Hessler | How Jim became interested in the Civil War | Mentors that influenced Jim’s interest in the Civil War | What styles of Civil War authorship Jim likes | Why write about Daniel E. Sickles?

Part 2: 

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Time: 5:56
Contents:  “Sickles at Gettysburg” – fair and balanced | Recruiting the Excelsior Brigade and the use of “political generals” | Sickles’ troops and their loyalty to him

Part 3: 

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Time: 5:21
Contents:  Sickles’ use of political maneuvering | Sickles’ lack of battlefield experience | Leapfrog promotions for Sickles | Sickles’ ability to navigate around adversity

Part 4: 

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Time: 7:11
Contents:  Animosity in the upper command of the Army of the Potomac | Sickles at Chancellorsville | George Gordon Meade’s promotion to command of the Army of the Potomac | Conflicting orders on the approach to Gettysburg

Part 5: 

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Time: 6:17
Contents: III Corps approach to Gettysburg | Sickles and David Birney at Gettysburg | Political infighting within the Army of the Potomac | Firsthand accounts from the ranks | Researching “Sickles at Gettysburg”

Part 6: 

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Time: 5:58
Contents:  Sickles’ decision making at Gettysburg | Confusion with Meade’s commands on troop placements | Henry Hunt’s impact on the positioning of the III Corps | Hunt’s second analysis of Sickles’ position

Part 7: 

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Time: 5:53
Contents:  Birney’s decision to send troops to Plum Run Valley | Lack of troops to effectively hold the III Corps line | Reinforcements from the II and V Corps | Longstreet’s defective tactical attack | Lack of coordinated command structure throughout Sickles’ lines

Part 8: 

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Time: 6:51
Contents:  The ultimate blame is with Dan Sickles | The buck stops with Meade | Sickles’ confusion with Geary’s divisional placement | The salient at the Peach Orchard – was it the primary cause of the III Corps collapse? | Birney’s division placement causes concern for CSA Major General John Bell Hood

Part 9: 

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Time: 6:57
Contents:  Sickles’ wounding and the truth about the “Cigar” | Modern day accounts of Sickles’ wounding – let the reader decide | Sickles chumming with Abraham Lincoln

Part 10: 

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Time: 5:37
Contents:  Did Meade want to court martial Sickles for his performance at Gettysburg? | The Second Battle of Gettysburg | Cemetery Hill – who chose the line? | “The Circus” - the hearing of the Joint Congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War

Part 11: 

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Time: 5:32
Contents:  Sickles’ efforts to preserve Gettysburg and other battlefields | Gettysburg – Sickles’ legacy? | The long-term legacy of Daniel E. Sickles | Hessler’s hope for his book

Part 12: 

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Time: 5:27
Contents:  Will Sickles’ reputation ever be revived? | Hessler’s future plans | Wrap up and closing

Check out other great Civil War titles from Savas Beatie, LLC.

Details about “Major General Robert E. Rodes”
Written by: Darrell L. Collins
Hardcover: 524 pages
Publisher: Savas Beatie, LLC.
Date of First Edition: July 7, 2008
ISBN-10: 193271409X

 

 

Details about “Those Damned Black Hats”
Written by: Lance J. Herdegen
Hardcover: 368 pages
Publisher: Savas Beatie, LLC.
Date of First Edition: October 2008
ISBN-10: 1932714480

 

 

Details about “The Complete Gettysburg Guide”
Written by: J. David Petruzzi with maps by Steven Stanley
Hardcover: 320 pages
Publisher: Savas Beatie, LLC.
Date of First Edition: June 1, 2009
ISBN-10: 1932714634

 

 

Details about “One Continuous Fight ”
Written by: Eric J. Wittenberg, J. David Petruzzi and Michael F. Nugent
Hardcover: 456 pages
Publisher: Savas Beatie, LLC.
Date of First Edition: June 2008
ISBN-10: 193271443X

 

Details about “Plenty of Blame to Go Around ”
Written by: Eric J. Wittenberg and J. David Petruzzi
Hardcover: 576 pages
Publisher: Savas Beatie, LLC.
Date of First Edition: September 1, 2006
ISBN-10: 1932714200

 

 

Details about “The New Civil War Handbook”
Written by: Mark Hughes
Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: Savas Beatie, LLC.
Date of First Edition: June 2009
ISBN-10: 1932714626

 

 

Details about “The Maps of First Bull Run”
Written by: Bradley M. Gottfried
Hardcover: 144 pages
Publisher: Savas Beatie, LLC.
Date of First Edition: June 10, 2009
ISBN-10: 193271460X

 

 

Details about “The Maps of Gettysburg”
Written by: Bradley M. Gottfried
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Savas Beatie, LLC.
Date of First Edition: June 19, 2008
ISBN-10: 1932714308

 

 

All these Savas Beatie, LLC. titles can be purchased directly from the publisher, by clicking here. 

(i) Hessler, James A., Sickles at Gettysburg: The Controversial General Who Committed Murder, Abandoned Little Round Top, and Declared Himself the Hero of Gettysburg, published by Savas Beatie, LLC. in 2009, Pg 7.
(ii) Hessler, James A., Sickles at Gettysburg: The Controversial General Who Committed Murder, Abandoned Little Round Top, and Declared Himself the Hero of Gettysburg, published by Savas Beatie, LLC. in 2009, Pg 259.

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.