C.S.A. Chief Surgeon Hunter H. McGuire

Birth Date: October 11, 1835
Birth Place: Winchester, Virginia

Date of Death: September 19, 1900
Location of Death: Richmond, Virginia

Education: Winchester Medical College

Military Experience: United States Civil War

Major Battles: Served as a surgeon in the Army of Northern Virginia throughout the Civil War

Awards/Medals/Promotions: Enlisted as a private Company F, 2d Virginia Infantry regiment (1861), brigade surgeon (1861), chief surgeon, 2d Corps, Army of Northern Virginia (1862)

Biography:

Hunter Holmes McGuire was born on October 11, 1835 in Winchester, Virginia. The third of seven children born to Hugh and Ann McGuire, young Hunter was known to spend much time with his father who was a prominent eye surgeon. Inevitably this made a strong impression on the son who would study medicine at Winchester Medical College, graduating in 1855. Moving to Philadelphia, to continue his medical education, he would return home when hostilities became inevitable during the secession crisis.

After returning to Winchester, McGuire would enlist as a private in the Winchester Rifles. Upon mustering into Confederate service, in April 1861, his unit would be designated Company F, 2d Virginia Infantry regiment. Assembled in Charles Town the regiment was quickly moved to Harper’s Ferry where it would be brigaded with four other Virginia infantry regiments and the Rockbridge Artillery. The brigade was commanded by a relatively unknown brigadier general, Thomas J. Jackson. With the growth of the Confederate army, surgeons were highly sought after and McGuire would quickly be promoted full surgeon on July 15, 1861, reporting directly to Jackson. His services would be needed quickly as Jackson’s brigade, which was part of the Army of the Shenandoah, would be sent to reinforce Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard’s Army of the Potomac at Manassas, Virginia. There, on July 21, 1861, the first major battle of the Civil War fought. The First Battle of Manassas (known as Bull Run in the North) was a deadly affair resulting in nearly 4,900 combined casualties. This would keep McGuire, and his team of surgeons, busy for an extensive period of time.

Over the next twenty-two months McGuire would command the medical department assigned to Jackson’s command. With Jackson’s promotion to lieutenant general, commanding the 2d Corps Army of Northern Virginia, prior to the Battle of Fredericksburg, McGuire would receive promotion to chief surgeon of the corps. Ironically, McGuire would become most well known for amputating Jackson’s left arm after the general was wounded by friendly fire at the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863 – an injury which would ultimately lead to Jackson’s death on May 10. McGuire remained with Jackson until his death, recording Jackson’s last words, “Let us cross over the river and rest beneath the shade of the trees.”

McGuire continued his service with the 2d Corps for the remainder of the war, serving under generals Richard S. Ewell and Jubal A. Early. He would witness the destruction of battle first hand and would suffer the anguish of losing his close friend, Lieutenant Colonel Sandie Pendleton (Third Winchester, September 22, 1864) and his brother, Hugh, who was mortally wounded in 1865. On March 2, 1865 McGuire was captured at Waynesboro, Virginia with the majority of Early’s 2d Corps. Federal Major General Philip Sheridan would parole him for his generous treatment of Union surgeons captured while tending to their patients. He would return to General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia and would surrender to US Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.(i)

After the Civil War, McGuire settled in Richmond, Virginia and continued to practice medicine – often treating Confederate soldiers for no cost. A lifelong admirer of Stonewall Jackson, he would often give speeches about his commander and published several articles about his times serving with the legendary commander. Besides his practice, McGuire also chaired the surgery department at the Medical College of Virginia. He was active in many organizations and was president of the American Medical Association. Recognizing the need for quality nurses he founded St. Luke’s Hospital and Training School for Nurses. McGuire would marry Mary Stuart and father ten children, one of which, Stuart, followed in his father’s footsteps becoming a noted physician. McGuire died on September 19, 1900 from complications of a cerebral embolism.

I leave you with a couple of quotes regarding McGuire which appear on Jennifer Goellnitz’s site, Stonewall’s Surgeon:

“When people needed to talk, he listened. Those who knew him said Dr. Hunter McGuire made you feel like the most important person in the world.” – John W. Schildt, from his biography on McGuire

“Make not patients of your friends – but friends of your patients.” – Hunter McGuire

(i) See Jennifer Goellnitz’s wonderful biography on McGuire: http://www.huntermcguire.goellnitz.org/biography.html

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At 4:30 a.m., on April 12, 1861, Beauregard ordered his heavy artillery to begin the bombardment of the Federal fortress. The first shot was from a heavy 10-inch mortar which exploded over the fort. This shot signaled the general artillery bombardment to begin. For the next 30+ hours the Confederate artillery would pound the fort. The masonry walls were not designed to withstand the force of the large seacoast guns and their power quickly began to cause significant damage. Anderson’s gunners did respond, but they were overpowered and low on ordnance. He would be forced to evacuate the fort at 2:30 p.m. on April 14 after agreeing to a truce the previous afternoon. The fort had sustained the bombardment, of over 3,000 shells, with no fatalities. Based on the evacuation agreement Anderson was able to fire a 100 gun salute to the United States flag. During this peaceable activity, two Federal soldiers would be killed – the first casualties of the Civil War.

Beauregard would become the “Napoleon” of the Confederacy while Anderson, and his garrison, would be elevated to hero status. Lincoln now had a war to prepare for. On April 15 he would call for 75,000 state militia troops, to serve for 90 days, to put down the rebellion. This move caused four more states to quickly secede from the Union and patriotic fervor, north and south, to grow out of control. Meanwhile, around Washington City, patriotism quickly turned to fear. Citizens, federal employees and politicians all believed Beauregard would march his Provisional Army on Washington – a city now surrounded by by recently seceded Virginia and Maryland a pro-Confederate border state – and capture the capital. The city’s only fortification was Fort Washington – which garrisoned one soldier. Throughout the city were roughly 1,500 militia, federal soldiers and marines – certainly not enough to defend a large scale attack. Fortunately the threat never materialized or the Civil War may have ended much differently.(i)

The soldiers in the Provisional Confederate Army, which fired on Fort Sumter, had no idea of the ramifications of the launch of that single 10-inch mortar shell at 4:30 a.m. on April 12, 1861. Over the next four years the two sides would fight a fratricidal war beyond anyone’s imagination that spring day in 1861. The final butcher’s bill would be 600,000 dead Americans in a country with a total population, north and south, of 30,000,000. The numbers are beyond comprehension. With today’s population of the United States we would have to suffer 6,000,000 deaths to equal the proportions of the American Civil War.

(i) Lockwood, John & Lockwood Charles, The Siege of Washington: The Untold Story of the Twelve Days That Shook the Union, published on April 11, 2011 by Oxford University Press, Pg. 6.

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Shiloh: The First Great Battle of the Civil War

Colonel Everett Peabody – Unsung Hero of Shiloh

Shiloh National Military Park – a photo essay

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George E. Pickett, CSA Major General

Date of Death: July 30, 1875
Location of Death: Norfolk, Virginia

Education: U.S. Military Academy at West Point – Class of 1846

Military Experience: Mexican War, Civil War

Major Battles: Battle of Chapultepec (Mexican War), Peninsula Campaign, Gaines’ Mill, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Five Forks

Awards/Medals/Promotions: Two brevet promotions during the Mexican War, first lieutenant and captain (1855), major CSA (June 25, 1861), colonel CSA (July 1861), brigadier general CSA (January 14, 1862), major general CSA (October 10, 1862)

Biography:

George Edward Pickett was born in Richmond, Virginia on January 16, 1825. He was the oldest of eight children born to Robert and Mary Pickett who came from a long line of well known Virginians. Pickett would move to Springfield, Illinois, as a young man, to study law. He would be appointed to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point when he was seventeen. While there were claims that Pickett was appointed by Abraham Lincoln, he was in fact appointed to West Point by John T. Stuart, a law partner of Lincoln.

Pickett obtained a rather unwanted reputation, while at West Point, that would nearly prevent him from graduating. Known as a prankster, the young cadet earned more than his share of demerits. He would eventually work off his demerits and would graduate last in his class of 1846 – a class that would include many well known Civil War general officers: Ambrose Powell “A.P.” Hill, John Gibbon, George B. McClellan, Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson and Jesse L. Reno.(ii)

After his graduation, Pickett would be appointed second lieutenant in the 8th U.S. Infantry. He would quickly be sent to the Mexican-American War where he would receive two brevet promotions for gallantry on the battlefield. At the Battle of Chapultepec, he would be given the U.S. flag by wounded friend, James Longstreet, and would receive much attention for carrying the colors over the wall and to the roof of the palace – all the while under fire. Over the next thirteen years, Pickett would serve on the frontier. In 1855, hewas promoted to first lieutenant and captain while serving with the 9th U.S. Infantry.(iii) His commands would take him from Texas to the Washington Territory.

While Pickett was not a supporter of slavery, he quickly cast his lot with the Confederate States of America, resigning from the United States Army on June 25, 1861. He would venture east, from Oregon, when Virginia seceded from the United States. Early in the war, he would be appointed colonel and would command the Rappahannock Line in the Department of Fredericksburg. His commander, Major General Theophilus Holmes would be instrumental in Pickett’s promotion to brigadier general on January 14, 1862.

Pickett’s Brigade was composed exclusively of Virginia regiments: 8th, 18th, 19th, 28th and 56th infantry regiments. Most of the regiments would receive their “baptism of fire” during the Peninsula Campaign. Pickett would also be leading his men into battle for the first time. They would see action at the battles of Williamsburg and Seven Pines (Fair Oaks). On June 27, at the Battle of Gaines’ Mill, Pickett would be severely wounded and knocked off his horse, by a bullet to the shoulder. While he was certain he was mortally wounded, he would recuperate over the summer.(iv)

With his return to active duty, in the autumn of 1862, Pickett would receive promotion to major general. Now commanding a five brigade division, he would be present at the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862, but would see little action. His division would march to Suffolk, Virginia with Longstreet’s 1st Corps and would be engaged in the siege there from April 11 – May 4, 1863. They would be recalled to Spotsylvania County when CSA General Robert E. Lee engaged US Major General Joseph Hooker’s Army of the Potomac at the Battle of Chancellorsville from April 30 – May 6, 1863. They would not arrive in time for the battle, but would take part in Lee’s upcoming campaign.

In early June, 1863, Robert E. Lee set off from the Rappahannock Line. Marching west, through Orange and Rappahannock counties, they would enter the Shenandoah Valley. Lee used this valley to mask his movements, leaving Hooker largely blind to what his intentions were. In late June they would arrive near Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Pushing east, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia would engage US Brigadier General John Buford’s Federal cavalry division just west of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on July 1. This would be the opening salvo of the three day Battle of Gettysburg. Longstreet would push two division towards Gettysburg, commanded by major generals Lafayette McLaws and John Bell Hood, arriving south of the city on the morning of July 2. Pickett’s Division would be left to guard the supply trains and lines of communication at Chambersburg. He would arrive on the evening of July 2, after the terrible struggle at Little Round Top, the Wheat Field and the Peach Orchard. With much of his army exhausted, Lee determined to strike the center of the Federal line on Cemetery Ridge on the third day. It was his assumption that the Union line at that position had to be weakened by sending reinforcements to each flank on July 2. Longstreet would be in overall command of the combined “strike force” which would include Pickett’s Division, and two divisions from Lieutenant General A.P. Hill’s 3d Corps (J. Johnston Pettigrew and Isaac Trimble). Following a two hour artillery barrage, by Colonel Edward Porter Alexander’s artillery battalion, Pickettadmonished his division, “Up, men, and to your posts! Don’t forget today that you are from Old Virginia!”(v) His all Virginia division started their sanguinary march across the fields south of Gettysburg. All the time under severe artillery fire, the men were cut down in rows. While Brigadier General Lewis Armistead’s brigade was able to punch a hole through the Federal lines, he would receive no support from the other two brigades in Pickett’s division, commanded by brigadier general Richard Garnett and James Kemper. Armistead and Garnett would both be killed and Kemper would be wounded and captured. Pickett’s Division would suffer staggering losses at Gettysburg which included all thirteen of his regimental commanders. Often called the “High Water Mark” of the Confederacy, the Battle of Gettysburg, and Pickett’s Charge in particular, certainly demonstrated the fighting élan of the boys from Virginia. After returning to the Confederate lines at Seminary Ridge, Lee ordered Pickett to rally his division – fearing a Federal counterattack. Allegedly, Pickett responded, “General Lee, I have no division.”(vi) Pickett was said to be inconsolable and regretted the loss of his men for the remainder of his life.

After the Battle of Gettysburg, he would be sent to command the Department of Southern Virginia and North Carolina. In the spring of 1864, with US Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant pushing Lee in the battles of the Overland Campaign, Pickett would be sent to command the defenses of Richmond. Under the command of General P.G.T. Beauregard, he would take part in the Bermuda Hundred Campaign, effectively “bottling up” US Major General Benjamin F. Butler’s Army of the James. In June 1864, his division would be sent to reinforce Lee at Cold Harbor. It would be positioned near the center of the Confederate line and would not see significant action.(vii)

Following Lee’s movement to Petersburg, in June 1864, Pickett’s division would be with Longstreet’s 1st Corps, primarily along the Bermuda Hundred front. By late March 1865, the situation became tenuous for the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. After the Battle of Fort Stedman, on March 25, Lee was forced to bring Longstreet’s corps to the south edge of Petersburg. With Federal pressure mounting to take control of the railroads supplying Lee, he detached Pickett’s Division to protect his supply line – and his right flank. This would culminate in the Battle of Five Forks where Pickett’s division faced off against US Major General Phil Sheridan’s cavalry and the V Corps infantry. With only 5,000 troops to hold off the huge Federal force, Pickett quickly had his left flank overpowered and a pell-mell retreat towards the main Confederate lines followed. Unfortunately, Pickett was not on the field – he was at a shad bake several miles north of the battle and arrived too late to have any impact on the fighting. The loss at Five Forks made Lee’s lines at Petersburg untenable. He would be forced to retreat to Appomattox, where he surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia on April 9, 1865. Pickett would be removed of command, by Lee, after the Battle of Sailor’s Creek on April 6. There is some controversy regarding this order as Pickett was still signing official documents at “Major-Gen, Commd’g” as late at April 11 and was at Appomattox Court House when Lee surrendered.(viii)

Despite the terms of his parole, Pickett would flee to Canada after the war. He returned to Richmond in 1866 and worked as an insurance agent. Like so many other Confederate officers, especially those who graduated from West Point, Pickett had difficulty receiving amnesty. While President Grant supported pardoning Pickett, he would not receive his pardon until an Act of Congress passed on June 23, 1874 – one year before his death. General Pickett died in Norfolk, Virginia on July 30, 1875 and is buried at historic Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond.

(i) There is some confusion about Pickett’s actual birth date. The open edit online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, lists his birth date as January 16, 25 o 28, 1825. FindAGrave.com has his birthday listed as January 16, 1825. Ezra J. Warner, in Generals in Gray, lists his birth date as January 28, 1825.
(ii) See West Point Class of 1846 on CivilWarHome.com
(iii) Eicher, John H. and Eicher, David J., Civil War High Commands, published by Stanford University Press in 2001, Pg. 428.
(iv) Tagg, Larry, The Generals of Gettysburg, published by Savas Publishing in 1998, Pg. 237.

By early July, both sides were anxious for a battle – a battle they both believed would quickly end the hostilities.  The North believed the South would quickly come back into the union, while the South believed they would quickly be recognized as an independent nation.  Lincoln, having appointed US Brigadier General Irvin McDowell to command the Army of Northeastern Virginia, garrisoned at Washington City, ordered his commander to attack the Confederate forces of CSA Brigadier General P.G.T. Beauregard, camped near Manassas Junction.  Lincoln, frustrated with the inactivity of his armed forces, offered advice to his commander, “You are green, it is true, but they are green also.  You are green alike.”(i)  Foreshadowing the tentative nature of future commanders in the eastern theater, McDowell was very concerned about how his soldiers would react in battle.  Pressured by Lincoln, and growing demands from the northern populace, to attack quickly, McDowell left the environs of Washington City and pushed west, on July 16.  His initial plan was to attack the Confederate forces at Bull Run, in a diversionary move, while his primary objective was to move around Beauregard’s right flank, placing a portion of his army between Beauregard and his supply line, to the south.

Typically war planning is done secretly, behind closed doors.  However, in Washington D.C., in July 1861, there were no secrets.  By Friday, July 19, dignitaries, civilians and the Confederate forces knew a battle was brewing.  On Sunday morning, July 21, after changing his tactical plan, McDowell’s five divisions attacked Beauregard’s Confederate forces.  Believing they would witness a grand spectacle, similar to a carnival, many civilians followed the Federal forces in their buggies, many with their picnic baskets packed.  These unfortunate civilians would witness the largest battle, thus far in the United States, and would become part of the first rout of the Civil War.

The following battle narrative is from my other website, BattlefieldPortraits.com.

Battle of First Manassas
(also known as First Bull Run)

Location: Manassas, VA
Dates: July 21, 1861
Union Commander:  Irvin McDowell, Brigadier General
Confederate Commander:  P.G.T. Beauregard, Brig. General
Joseph Johnston, Brig. General

Battle Summary:
After the bombardment of Fort Sumter, the Commonwealth of Virginia promptly pulled out of the Union, bringing the Confederate territory right to the Potomac River – and Washington D.C.  In order to protect the capitol, US General Winfield Scott put Brigadier General Irvin McDowell in charge of the Washington defenses.  While regiments from the northern states arrived in Washington D.C., Irvin McDowell built extensive defensive lines south of the Potomac - on Confederate soil.  Having taken the heights of Arlington and the city of Alexandria, McDowell went to work training his “green” troops.

Further west, at a rail junction near Manassas, Virginia, CSA Brigadier General Pierre G.T. Beauregard, victor of Fort Sumter, started to bring together seven infantry brigades to defend against what was believed to be an inevitable Federal advance on Manassas.  The remaining Confederate defenders were operating in the Shenandoah Valley, under the command of CSA Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston.

Watching over these troops, in the Shenandoah Valley, were troops under US Major General Robert Patterson.  Patterson’s small army was instructed to demonstrate against Joseph Johnston’s army to prevent them from reinforcing Beauregard’s troops at Manassas Junction – an assignment he would ultimately fail.

By early July, pressure began mounting for McDowell to put his gargantuan army (the largest army on U.S. soil up to that time) in motion against the Confederates – winning what was assumed to be one massive battle, before moving “On to Richmond.”  McDowell, like George B. McClellan after him, wanted more time to train and drill his troops, but the astute Lincoln reminded him that his troops were no “greener” than the rebels at Manassas Junction.

By mid-July, McDowell had reorganized his army of sixty regiments and batteries, into brigades. These brigades were organized into five divisions, commanded by: Brigadier Generals Daniel Tyler and Theodore Runyon and Colonels David Hunter, Samuel Heitzelman and Dixon Miles.  All of McDowell’s division commanders were older than him.

On the Confederate side, Beauregard had organized his army into seven infantry brigades with artillery attached to each brigade.  His commanding lieutenants were: Brigadier Generals Richard S. Ewell, James Longstreet, David R. Jones, Milledge Bonham and Colonels Nathan “Shank” Evans, Philip St. George Cooke and Jubal Early.  On the whole, the rebel commanders had significantly more experience than the Union commanders.

Leaving the Washington D.C. defenses on July 16, McDowell moved to Fairfax Court House, arriving on July 17.  Brigadier General Tyler was sent on July 18 to seize Centreville and probe beyond, to determine rebel placements and strength.  Tyler ended up running into James Longstreet’s troops at Blackburn Ford, which proved a very unproductive recognizance.  McDowell, undeterred, moved his army into Centreville, where he devised his plan of attack.  It called for a two pronged advance, with one division feinting attack at the Stone Bridge, on Warrenton Turnpike, while two divisions hit the rebel left flank, after crossing Sudley Ford, from the north.

Having arrived from the Shenandoah Valley, troops under Joseph Johnston began to pour into the Manassas area.  As Johnston was the senior commander, it was agreed that Beauregard would command the field forces, with Johnston in overall command of the theater.  The troops arriving at Manassas, with Johnston, were under the command of a little known brigadier general, Thomas J. Jackson.  These troops joined troops already at Manassas under the command of Beauregard.

Early on the morning of July 21, McDowell put his plan into motion.  Troops under Daniel Tyler demonstrated against the rebel commander at the Stone Bridge, Nathan Evans.  Evans recognized the movement as a feint.  Leaving a small covering force at the Stone Bridge, he relocated his troops south of Matthews Hill where he expected the Union attack to begin.  His troops, roughly 900 strong, were attacked by close to 6,000 troops – two Federal divisions.  Being vastly outnumbered, Evans was quickly pushed back to another rise that would become famous – Henry House Hill.  Here Evans, and other troops under Beauregard, including a brigade under CSA Brigadier General Barnard Bee, were joined with a brigade of Valley men under Thomas Jackson, having recently arrived from the Shenandoah Valley.  These men faced an immediate artillery threat from a battery of Federal artillery placed adjacent to the Henry house.  While shells and musketry shrieked into the Confederate line, Bee noticed Jackson on his horse, calmly directing his brigade.  At this point, to rally his troops, he uttered the words that would immortalize Jackson in the south, “There is Jackson standing like a stone wall.  Let us determine to die here, and we will conquer.  Follow me.”  Ironically enough, Brigadier General Barnard Bee was killed there.  This rallied the demoralized rebels.

After a one hour pause in the fighting, while the armies prepared for one final assault, massed Confederate artillery knocked out Federal artillery commanded by Captain James B. Ricketts, who would be shot four times and then captured.  While the Union guns were disabled, a fierce infantry fight took place around them.  During the final infantry push, Beauregard’s troops were joined by troops under Jubal Early, Arnold Elzey and J.E.B. Stuart, tipping the balance in favor of the Confederates.  They pushed the Union troops from the field, past wealthy Washington D.C. citizens and politicians who had come out to see the “show.”  With the roads leading east clogged, the retreat turned ugly with many buggies and wagons overturned as the troops tried to get to the safety of the Washington D.C. defenses.

Additional Resources:

Mike’s Photographic Essay on First Manassas
Mike’s article on Second Manassas

Campaign: First Manassas

Outcome: Confederate Victory

Troop Strengths
Union: 35,000
Confederate: 33,000

Casualties (estimated):
Union: 2,896 (killed, wounded or missing/captured)
Confederate: 1,982 (killed, wounded or missing/captured)

Battle Aftermath:
While the losses were not large, compared to later battles, citizens of the North and South were ill prepared for the long casualty lists.  The country was baptized in fire and realized this war would not be won in one quick battle.  The north realized that the resolve of the south could overshadow their lack of manufacturing and technology.  The south became bold and believed that their armies could defeat any army thrown at them from the north.  In its aftermath, the loss at Bull Run, and subsequent retreat, made Lincoln’s administration realize that the army, soon to be called the Army of the Potomac, needed a professional commander that could bring organization to the battered soldiers.  Fresh off a win against rebel forces, in what now is West Virginia, against his future nemesis Robert E. Lee, Lincoln tapped the “young Napoleon,” George B. McClellan to lead the reformation of his army.  Writing his wife, shortly after his promotion to command the Army of the Potomac, McClellan stated, “…I seem to have become the power of the land.”  While overly confident in his abilities, McClellan did significantly improve the moral of his troops and they came to love him.  However, he will always be known as having what Lincoln called, “the slows.”

In the south, the Confederacy continued to build its army, soon to be called the Army of Northern Virginia.  Joseph Johnston, would command this army, protecting Richmond, until McClellan would be pushed into action, during the spring of 1862, in what would become the Peninsula campaign.  Johnston would be severely injured in this campaign, at Seven Pines, and Robert E. Lee would push McClellan from the “Gates of Richmond” and the peninsula in the Seven Days battles.  By then, it was known throughout the north, and the south, that the war would rage for years.

(i) Eicher, David J., The Longest Night, published by Simon & Schuster, September 2001, Pg. 79.

Prior to taking office, on March 4, 1861, President-Elect Abraham Lincoln was monitoring the news from South Carolina, and Florida.  With the secession of South Carolina, and later of Florida, the coastal forts of the United States became sources of friction.  Forts Moultrie and Sumter, in South Carolina and Fort Pickens in Florida were property of the U.S. Government and with his inaugural address Lincoln forcefully stated he intended on holding them – and collecting tariffs.

“The power confided in me will be used to hold, occupy, and possess the property and places belonging to the Government and to collect the duties and imposts; but beyond what may be necessary for these objects, there will be no invasion, no using of force against or among the people anywhere.” – Abraham Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861.

Upon arriving at the White House, after his inauguration, inevitably one of the first matters of business was the situation at Fort Sumter.  One of the first documents Lincoln received was a situation report detailing that Fort Sumter had days – not months – of supplies for the garrison.  US Major Robert Anderson, in command of the fort, believed they could only hold out until mid-April unless resupplied.

Lincoln looked at many options, with regards to Fort Sumter.  Rumor had it that he had offered a trade of the fort, turning it over to South Carolina, in exchange for a promise that Virginia would stay in the Union.  A contemporary of Lincoln provided a quote, Lincoln was said to have made, regarding the trade of Fort Sumter for a promise from Virginia, to adjourn their convention without seceding, “A state for a fort is no bad business.”(i)  A second option was to reinforce the fort.  However, based on rough estimates by General In Chief Winfield Scott, this plan was quickly dismissed.  The third option, the one Lincoln opted for, was a brilliant diplomatic move.  It supported the second to last paragraph of his First Inaugural Address:

“In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow country-men, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war.  The Government will not assail you.  You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors.  You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the Government, while I have the most solemn one to “preserve, protect, and defend it.” – Abraham Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address, March 4, 1861.

Taking the third option, on April 6, Lincoln contacted South Carolina Governor Francis W. Pickens and advised him that, “an attempt will be made to supply Fort Sumpter (sic) with provisions only, and that if such attempt be not resisted, no effort to throw in men, arms or ammunition will be made without further notice, except in case of an attack on the fort.”(ii)  Clearly the momentous issue of civil war rested with the newly organized government of the Confederate States of America – a government the United States did not recognize.

So it came to be, that at 3:20 A.M., on April 12, 1861, the Confederate Provisional Army informed US Major Robert Anderson that in one hour they would open fire.  The promise made, the first mortar shell arched through the sky, towards Fort Sumter, at 4:30 A.M.  Over the next 34 hours the fort would be besieged.  At 2:00 P.M. on April 13, Robert Anderson formally surrendered Fort Sumter.  This move, by the Confederacy, signaled the start of the bloodiest war in U.S. history.

Over the coming days, Abraham Lincoln would make a passionate call for 75,000 state militia troops, for 90 days, to suppress the rebellion.  This call was patriotically received, in the north, with more than 75,000 troops answering the call.  The same call was viewed as an open act of war, in the south, and was answered quickly with the secession of Virginia.  Other states would soon follow.  Events were now truly on course for the Civil War.

May God bless our great country for having endured this calamity, and may all of us take heart that no matter how bad things seem, the United States is the greatest country on earth.

(i) McPherson, James M., Lincoln Speaks, manuscript can be viewed here.
(ii) Fort Sumter at Wikipedia.

I have visited Shiloh several times.  It is my favorite battlefield.  When I walk the fields, and woods, of Shiloh I feel very connected to the soldiers who fought there.  I have been there after the sun has set, and when the sun had not risen enough to burn off the early morning fog.  I have many pictures of this great field of battle, on my web site BattlefieldPortraits.com.  I encourage you to visit my site today, its 147^th anniversary, and view the pictures I have taken.  Hopefully, through my photos, you can feel a closer connection to the great battlefield: Shiloh.  The following text is the battle summary, I wrote for my site.

Summary of the Battle of Shiloh

Location: Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee (Hardin County)

Dates: April 6–7, 1862

Commanders:
Federal:  Ulysses S. Grant, Major General
Confederate:  Albert Sidney Johnston, General

In February, 1862, Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant would start an offensive against the Confederate Army of the Tennessee.  On February 6, utilizing Admiral Foote’s powerful river gun boats, Grant would receive the the surrender of the troops garrisoned at Fort Henry, on the Tennessee River.  Moving across the finger of land, between the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers, Grant would receive the capitulation of the army garrisoned at Fort Donelson, on February 16.  On the evening of February 15, Grant received a note from the Confederate commander, Brigadier General Simon B. Buckner, asking for terms of surrender.  Grant wrote Buckner, “No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted.  I propose to move immediately upon your works.”  With this quick note, Grant would be launched into celebrity.  The north had been looking for a general who could win, and they found him in Ulysses S. Grant.  Grant was promptly promoted to Major General Volunteers for his win at Fort Donelson.

The victories at Forts Henry and Donelson opened two of the most important waterways, in the south, to Union gun boats – and foot soldiers.  The fall of Fort Henry opened the Tennessee River and Fort Donelson opened the Cumberland River, to Nashville.  Having a line several hundred miles long, to defend, starting at Columbus, Kentucky in the west, going through Bowling Green (Johnston’s headquarters) on to the Cumberland Gap, the fall of these two forts was disastrous for Johnston.  His line was severed and untenable.  Johnston would retreat, with his army, from Bowling Green, to Corinth, MS.  Once there, he would unite with “Bishop” Leonidas Polk’s army, retreating from Columbus, KY and that of Pierre G.T. Beauregard, already in Mississippi.

With the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers opened into the deep south,  U.S. Grant did not sit back on his heels.  He had wired Major General Henry W. Halleck, headquartered in St. Louis, and asked permission to continue on to Nashville, and to send Brigadier General Charles F. Smith to Clarksville.  After not hearing anything from Halleck, Grant put his plans in motion.  Unfortunately for Grant a Confederate sympathizer intercepted his dispatches.  Halleck, continued to send repeated telegraphs to Grant, wanting updates on his troop strengths.  Grant was not there to reply.  After returning to his army, from meeting Major General Don Carlos Buell, at Nashville, Grant found he had been removed from command and placed under the command of Brigadier General C.F. Smith.  He was told to wait at Fort Donelson for further orders.  Grant, at the insistence of Lincoln,  was restored to command on March 13, soon after General Charles Smith was injured while getting on a boat in Savannah, TN.

Grant immediately began transporting his army upstream, to Pittsburg Landing, in preparation for an advance on Sidney Johnston’s Confederate Army at Corinth, MS.  His army consisted of the following divisions: First Division commanded by Major General John McClernand, Second Division commanded by Brigadier General W.H.L. Wallace, Third Division commanded by Major General Lew Wallace, Fourth Division commanded by Brigadier General Stephen Hurlbut, Fifth Division commanded by Brigadier General William T. Sherman and the Sixth Division commanded by Brigadier General Benjamin Prentiss.  All of these division, with the exception of Lew Wallace’s Third Division were deployed in the vicinity of Pittsburg Landing.  McClernand’s First Division, Sherman’s Fifth Division and Prentiss’ Sixth Division were placed furthest from Pittsburg Landing, commanding the approaches Johnston’s Confederate Army would use – if they were to attack.  W.H.L. Wallace and Hurlbut’s Divisions were closer to the landing.  Lew Wallace’s Fourth Division was camped at Crumps Landing, down river (north) from Pittsburg Landing, along a line Grant feared may be attacked if Johnston moved on him.

Grant made headquarters down river, at Savannah, TN, about eight river miles from Pittsburg Landing.  He was instructed by Henry Halleck to not bring on a general engagement until Major General Don Carlos Buell’s Army of Ohio had arrived, from Nashville.

While U.S. Grant’s troops were camped at Pittsburg Landing, they drilled and marched.  Many troops were “green” and had not “seen the elephant” – a term that meant they had not been battle hardened by direct action. 

Meanwhile, at Corinth, Albert Sidney Johnston was planning to go on the offensive.  General P.G.T. Beauregard was pushing A.S. Johnston to move on Grant’s forces, before Buell’s Army of the Ohio could combine with Grant.  Confederate scouts had located D.C. Buell’s troops and knew they were on the move.  However, there was some confusion about what his destination was.  A.S. Johnston grappled with whether he should begin his offensive immediately or wait for Earl Van Dorn’s Army of the West to arrive from Arkansas.  In late March he determined to attack on April 3.  His army was organized into four corps under the following commanders: Major General Leonidas “Bishop” Polk: First Army Corps; Major General Braxton Bragg: Second Army Corps; Major General William J. Hardee: Third Army Corps and Brigadier General John C. Breckinridge: Reserve Corps.  His battle plan was to turn U.S. Grant’s left flank, getting between him and the Tennessee River and pushing Grant’s army north, into Owl Creek.  The Confederate attack would be in “stacked” order, with Hardee’s Corps going in first, followed by Bragg and Polk.  If necessary, Breckinridge’s Reserve Corps would go in last.

A.S. Johnston’s Army was to have pushed out of Corinth on Thursday, April 3.  They would march the twenty-two miles on April 3 and be ready to attack Grant’s army on Friday, April 4.  The army would primarily use two roads to reach Pittsburg Landing: Ridge Road and Monterey Road.  The army would stop at Mickey’s farmhouse, which is located about 6 miles from the landing.  Due to a mix up on April 3, Leonidas Polk’s Corps were blocking the other corps’ access to Ridge Road.  It took the better part of the morning for the last of the troops to march from Corinth.  The inexperience of the commanders, in moving their Corps, made a Friday attack on Grant impossible.

The armies were in position late Friday afternoon, April 4, so Johnston set Saturday as the day he would attack.  Overnight, on Friday, heavy rains saturated the area.  The troops pushed from camp early on Saturday, but moving an army in these conditions was slow.  It would be close to noon before any of the rebel troops would reach the staging area for the attack on the Federals.  It would be late in the day, on Saturday, before Sidney Johnston would have all of his troops in the deployment area.  Again, an attack was not possible this day.

On the Union side, troops from W.T. Sherman’s Fifth Division and Benjamin Prentiss’s Sixth Division were hearing noises in the distance.  Soldiers on picket duty for both divisions would claim to hear, and see, Confederate troop movements southwest of their camps.  Sherman would discount these reports, out of hand, as being nothing but rebel skirmishers in the woods.  Even after troops under Colonel Buckland fought with advanced rebel troops, Sherman was unconvinced.  He would tell an Ohio lieutenant, reporting to him on Saturday, “Tell Colonel Appler to take his damned regiment to Ohio.  There is no force of the enemy nearer than Corinth.”  Brigadier General Benjamin Prentiss was no less skeptical and later in the day, Grant would wire D.C. Buell that the Confederate Army was still in Corinth.

Missouri Colonel (U.S.) Everett Peabody was not so skeptical.  He believed there was reason to be concerned and had his brigade adjutant order troops to sleep with their rifles and cartridges, at hand.  Peabody detailed companies from the 25th Missouri (Major James Powell) and the 12th Michigan (Colonel Francis Quinn) to early morning patrol.  Just after midnight, scouts from the 25th Missouri while on patrol, identified Confederate troops a couple miles from camp.  Powell returned to report this to Peabody, who decided to send Powell with a large enough detachment to determine the rebel strength, and intentions.  This detachment included four Missouri companies and a small detachment from the 12th Michigan.  They started out at approximately 3:00 AM.  Just as the rays of the sun were coming over the eastern horizon, the advanced troops of Powell ran into a group of Alabama soldiers.  They were advanced cavalry scouts of the Confederate Army.  The Union forces under Powell, hastily organized a line of battle and proceeded to move on the retreating rebel horsemen.  In a short distance they would run into the advancing Confederate line, a battalion of Mississippi infantry.  The Battle of Shiloh had started.  The Confederate army would continue to move forward, for the next couple hours, over-running the 5th and 6th Division camps.

Around 7:15 AM, U.S. Grant was sitting down for breakfast, when he heard the distant rumble of cannon.  He knew the battle had started and dictated a quick message for D.C. Buell to send General William “Bull” Nelson’s division up the east bank of the Tennessee, directly opposite Pittsburg Landing.  There they would meet boats to ferry them across.  Hopping on his river boat, the Tigress, Grant steamed south, stopping at Crump’s Landing where he met Major General Lew Wallace, instructing him to proceed with haste to Pittsburg Landing.  After meeting with Wallace, Grant steamed up river (south) to Pittsburg Landing where he was able to assess the situation.  It was not good.

Hardee’s Corps had attacked Peabody’s 6th Division regiment commanded by Major Powell, pushing it back into the division’s camp.  This had caught the Union army by surprise.  Further west, Hardee’s Corps pushed into Sherman’s 5th Division camps, catching his Corps in the middle of breakfast.  CS Brigadier General Patrick Cleburne, a rising star in the army of the south, would lead many of the mixed rebel troops into the 5th Division’s camps.  US Major General John McClernand would send reinforcements to Sherman, in an effort to contain the punishing rebel assault.  Back along the central portion of the Confederate line, General Prentiss would confront Colonel Peabody, “Colonel Peabody, I will hold you personally responsible for bringing on this engagement.”  Peabody replied that he was responsible for all of his official actions.  Both Peabody, and Major Powell would be killed, early in the action, that Sabbath morning in April 1862.

At this point, confusion ruled on both sides of the battle.  The Union troops had been forced out of their camps during breakfast, many ill prepared for battle.  As the Confederates piled into the Union camps they became disorganized, plundering the tents and eating the still simmering breakfasts.  Slowly, General A.S. Johnston would reorganize his battle lines, with Hardee commanding the left, Polk commanding the center and Bragg’s troops manning the right flank.  General Pierre G.T. Beauregard, second in command to Johnston, pushed the left flank into action, slamming into McClernand and Sherman around 11:00 AM.  For the better part of four hours this western sector of the battlefield would witness some of the most brutal fighting in the Civil War.  U.S. Grant’s shattered right would continue to be pushed by the rebels for the rest of the day.

On the other Confederate flank Johnston ordered CS Brigadier General Jones Withers’ division to move north along the Hamburg Road.  With this action, they pushed US. Colonel David Stuart’s brigade northeast, towards Pittsburg Landing, an area that was supported by Brigadier General Stephen Hurlbut’s Fourth Division. 

Around 10:30 AM Grant pushed W.H.L. Wallace’s Second Division into action.  They had pushed down the Corinth Road to an area just north of the “Crossroads” (junction of the Corinth Road and the Hamburg Purdy Road).

Before noon the Confederates had established a solid line extending from the Crossroads in the west, through a low ridge along the Eastern Corinth Road and into the area held by Prentiss, Hurlbut and W.H.L. Wallace, near the junction of the Hamburg Purdy Road and the Hamburg Road.  The extreme right flank of the Confederate line passed through the Hamburg Road and extended towards the Tennessee River.

Grant had stabilized his lines, with the remnants of Sherman’s Fifth Division holding the right flank, followed by portions of McClernand’s First Division.  Next in line would be W.H.L. Wallace’s Second Division, Prentiss’s battered Sixth Division and Hurlbut’s Fourth Division.  The area held by Wallace and Prentiss would become the scene of some of the most intense fighting at Shiloh.  Directly in front of Wallace, and to the right of Prentiss, was the Duncan field.  Directly north of the field was an old farm road that connected the Corinth Road to the Hamburg Road.  Over many years of use the road had sunken slightly lower than the fields.  This road, like one at Antietam, in the east, would forever be known as the “Sunken Road.”  The area in front of the Sunken Road would be dubbed the “Hornet’s Nest,” by the Confederates.   Wallace had deployed Colonel James Tuttle’s First Brigade and Colonel Thomas Sweeny’s Third Brigade to hold this vital section of the Union line.  Sweeny’s brigade would suffer the highest casualty rate of the entire Union army, at Shiloh.

By 2:00 PM, the Confederate troops commanded by Brigadier General Daniel Ruggles started to cross the Duncan field, only to be pushed back in disarray.  This back and forth action continued for a period of time as Ruggles continued to feed his troops in one brigade at a time.

In an effort to make a coordinated attack on the right side of his lines, Albert Sidney Johnston was working near the front of his lines, near the right flank.  Sitting on his horse, he received a wound to his right leg.  While a staff officer asked him about the wound, Johnston did not fuss about it.  Governor Harris, from Tennessee, was with Sidney Johnston at the time and grabbed him as he reeled in his saddle.  Asking the general if he was wounded, Johnston replied quietly, “Yes, and I fear seriously.”  Leading Johnston’s horse a short distance, into a small ravine, they placed Johnston directly on the ground.  They searched his body and could not find a wound.  He has been hit in a major artery on the back of his right leg.  Johnston had a field tourniquet in his pocket that could have been used to save his life, had treatment been started earlier.  Albert Sidney Johnston would be the highest ranking Confederate officer killed during the war.  Couriers discreetly went to find Beauregard, to let him know he now commanded the entire army.

By 4:00 PM, very deliberate fighting was occurring in at the middle of the field, at the Hornet’s Nest.  Ruggles had positioned eleven field batteries to sweep the entire opposing line before sending his infantry in.  Meanwhile both Union flanks were collapsing, leaving W.H.L. Wallace and Benjamin Prentiss’s divisions exposed to being attacked on both flanks.  Wallace would be hit in the head by a minie ball, and Prentiss would be captured.  Wallace was left on the field for dead, but ended up being found alive, the next day.  He would die several days later, with his wife at his bedside, in Savannah, TN.  Many Federal troops would be captured at the Hornet’s Nest, but many would return to Pittsburg Landing to help protect Grant’s final defensive position, along the Pittsburg Road.

Grant would use his chief engineer, Colonel Joseph Webster to deploy his final defensive line along Pittsburg Road.  Webster would deploy 50 large cannon and 25,000 troops along this ridge.  Troops would include a division of D.C. Buell’s Army of the Ohio, under the command of Brigadier General William “Bull” Nelson.  Grant’s line would extend from Pittsburg Landing to the Hamburg-Savannah Road, the route he expected his Fourth Division, commanded by Major General Lew Wallace, to arrive by.  Lew Wallace had been expected by mid-morning but had taken his division down the wrong road.  Grant’s aides, sent for him, caused him to turn around and return the way he came, and come down the Hamburg-Savannah Road.  This took valuable time and his troops would not arrive until 7:00 PM.  Ironically, if Wallace had continued on the first road, he would have hit the Confederate army in the right flank during the afternoon.  This may very well have changed the outcome of the first day’s fighting.

In the day’s final action 6,000 rebel troops stormed up Dill Branch, attempting to overpower the Union left flank, getting between it and the Tennessee (Johnston’s original battle plan).  These troops ran into the big guns Webster had deployed and Nelson’s division.  They would be pushed back before they reached the northern slope of the Dill Branch.

After dark, the Confederates would pull back to the camps around Shiloh Church.  Grant, meanwhile, would continue to fortify his position and deploy the rest of Buell’s arriving Army of the Ohio.  Sherman, meeting Grant offered, “Well, Grant, we’ve had the devil’s own day, haven’t we?”  Grant, confidently replied, “Yes.  Lick ‘em tomorrow, though.”  This was typical Grant.  He operated best when under pressure.  Throughout the night, Grant had his river flotilla pound the Confederate positions with large river guns.  Most of the rebels slept little, although the big guns did not cause a significant amount of casualties.

By 6:00 AM, on Monday, April 7, Grant started his line in motion.  His troops were arrayed, from right to left: Lew Wallace’s Third Division, Sherman’s Fifth Division, and Hurlbut’s Fourth Division, all of the Army of Tennessee.  Next in line were the following Divisions, all of Buell’s Army of the Ohio: Brigadier General Alexander McD. McCook’s Second Division, Brigadier General Thomas Crittenden’s Fifth Division and Nelson’s Fourth Division.  The rebels were caught totally off guard by the well organized advance of close to 30,000 Union troops.  It took P.G.T. Beauregard until 10:00 AM to have his army fully deployed.  The battle all along the line rocked back and forth.  By 12:00 PM they had been pushed out of the ground they had fought so hard for, the day before.  Beauregard continued to hope that Earl Van Dorn would arrive with the Army of the West, however that was not to be.  By 1:00 PM, the Confederate commander had determined he needed to withdraw his army to Corinth.  During this withdrawal John Breckinridge would be in charge of the rear guard.  The battle of Shiloh was over.

Campaign: Shiloh

Outcome: Union victory

Troop Strengths
Union: 65,000
Confederate: 44,700

Casualties (estimated):
Union: 13,047 (killed, wounded or missing/captured)
Confederate: 10,699 (killed, wounded or missing/captured)

Battle Aftermath:
With the northern populace heady over U.S. Grant’s victories at Forts Henry and Donelson, news from Shiloh brought a feeling of gloom over the country.  More troops had been killed in two days of fighting at Shiloh, than had been killed cumulatively in every battle fought in the U.S., to that date.  While the battle was a Union victory, Grant would be highly criticized by the northern press.  There were rumors that he was once again drinking and that the rebels had caught the Army of the Tennessee unprepared.  Congressional leaders would visit Abraham Lincoln demanding that Grant be removed from command.  Lincoln chose to stand loyally by Grant stating, “I can’t spare this man, he fights.”

While Grant was not cashiered for his performance at Shiloh, he was effectively removed from command.  Shortly after the battle, Major General Henry Halleck would arrive at Shiloh to command the next offensive, on Corinth.  Grant was essentially placed second in command, a commander with no army.

The combined armies of the Ohio, and Tennessee, would slowly push into northern Mississippi, building fortifications, and then moving forward a short distance, where they would construct new fortifications.  This would continue all the way to Corinth, where on May 30, the Union troops would find the works, and the city, abandoned.  Shortly after Corinth, on June 10, Grant would be restored to full command.  Halleck would end up being brought to Washington, D.C., as General-In-Chief of all Union Armies, on July 23.

P.G.T. Beauregard’s Army of the Mississippi would be pushed back, from Corinth, south to Tupelo.  Grant’s army would next concentrate on capturing Vicksburg.  This would open the Mississippi to Union craft and would essentially sever the Confederacy in two.  It would, however, take over a year for this to happen.

(i)  The Battle of Shiloh, at BattlefieldPortraits.com, was used to research this article.