RIP - Colonel Strong Vincent

In Memoriam:  Colonel Strong Vincent, of the V Corps, who with quick wits and even quicker thinking, saved Little Round Top, and with it the entire left flank of the Union Army, for the Federals.  For this action, he was rewarded with a mortal wound and a deathbed promotion to Brigadier General.  Three cheers for Colonel Strong Vincent: the Savior of Gettysburg!

Hip Hip Huzzah!

Hip Hip Huzzah!

Hip Hip Huzzah!

RIP - Colonel Strong Vincent
       -Wounded 02 July 1863, Gettysburg
       -Died 07 July 1863

The Union owes you a debt that can never be repaid.  Rest in peace, for your sacrifice was not in vain, the Union was saved.

Flag's Birthday - 04 July 1861

Happy Birthday Old Glory!

Welcome to the Union Kansas!

34-Star Flag introduced upon Kansas being admitted to the Union

In addition to July Fourth being considered America's birthday, it is also the date most of our states have entered the Union and had the honor of having a star added to the flag.  Though this honor has been award to many, today we are hear to discuss the admission of one in particular, one which caused the Union a great deal of trouble, even helping to bring about the Civil War.  I am of course speaking of "Kansas".

Kansas began as part of the "Kansas-Nebraska Territory", before it was decided by Congress to divide this massive piece of territory into two potential states, they would eventually become the states of Kansas and Nebraska.  But before they could a decision had to be made regarding whether slavery would be permitted to exist or not.  Would Kansas enter the Union as a "Free" or a "Slave" state?  That was the question that soon had people up in arms and also arming themselves.

The "Kansas-Nebraska Act", which included the concept of "popular sovereignty" sought to end this turmoil.  Unfortunately all it did was hasten the Union's slide towards Civil War.  (Thanks a lot Kansas!)  As Kansas was flooded with anti-slavery and pro-slavery men, vicious fighting began to occur.  In accordance with this, Kansas soon earned the moniker "Bleeding Kansas" due to all of the bloodshed.

Into this fray stepped John Brown.  Though famous for his later raid on Harper's Ferry.  He couldn't resist getting involved in the Kansas fight.  One night at the pro-slavery settlement of Pottawatomie Creek, Brown and a group of men he led, forced 7 pro-slavery men from their homes and hacked them to death with broadswords.  Other altercations between groups pro and anti slavery made Kansas Territory into a battleground 7 years before the Civil War would make the entire nation into one huge battlefield.

Eventually, those settlers opposed to the extension of slavery into Kansas were victorious and Kansas was admitted as a free state on 29 January 1861.  However, it was not until 04 July 1861 that Kansas was formally represented by a star on the American flag.  The Star-Spangled Banner is a lucky old gal, she gets to celebrate multiple birthdays.  But today, it is important to remember the 34-star flag that served as Kansas induction into the United States and this momentous event occurred exactly 150 years ago today.

Happy Birthday Kansas!

Independence Day 2011

The Fourth of July, or as it is more commonly known here in the United States, "Independence Day", is the day we celebrate the adoption of the "Declaration of Independence" in 1776. 

With this document, we were declaring our independence from Great Britain.  A reality that was not yet set in stone at this point.  There were still 7 long years of war yet to come.  But the Second Continental Congress was just chock full of optimism at this point in time (where it came from, this historian has yet to discover) and was convinced that declaring our independence from Great Britain before really being able to back it up militarily was the way to go.  And so the Continental Congress had decided to vote to formally break ties with Great Britain.  However, they had voted to do so on:  02 July 1776, so what is the big deal about 04 July 1776?  Well, even though the Continental Congress felt pretty confident in their voting results (there were only 13 colonies after all) they thought that maybe they needed something more concrete, explaining exactly WHY they had felt the need to formally declare their independence.  So a "Committee of Five" had been delegated (even back before the Constitution statesmen and politicians just LOVED committees it seems!) back in June of 1776 to draft a written declaration of independence.  These five men were:  John Adams, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson.  On 28 June 1776, the Committee of Five presented their first draft (written primarily by Thomas Jefferson, that much of the story surrounding the Declaration is true) to the Continental Congress. 

This austere body considered the wording, argued over wording and disagreed over wording, right up to the evening of 03 July 1776. 

Yes, you read those last words correctly.  The Continental Congress, voted to declare America's independence from Great Britain BEFORE they had a written document stating as much.  Good to know that our government had just as much trouble agreeing on things in 1776 as they do today. 

Regardless, by 04 July 1776, the Second Continental Congress had reached an agreement, signed the formal "Declaration of Independence" and then ordered broadsheets of the declaration to be printed and distributed throughout the land.  If by "signed on 04 July 1776" you actually mean "signed on 02 August 1776", which was when the signatures (including President John Hancock's enormous scrawl) were actually added, then yes, everyone signed on 04 July 1776.

So how exactly did "04 July 1776" become America's birthday anyway?  Since the Continental Congress:

1)  Had commissioned a committee to write a formal declaration in June 1776

2)  Had taken receipt of a rough draft of said formal declaration of independence on 28 June 1776

2)  Had already voted to declare independence on 02 July 1776

3)  Was still debating the wording of said formal declaration of independence on 03 July 1776

4)  Didn't finally accept the Committee of Five's "Declaration of Independence" and have broadsheets printed until 04 July 1776

5)  But didn't bother to sign this "formal", and so important enough that we had to form the country's very first "committee" in order to get it written, "Declaration of Independence" until 02 August 1776.

Why did Americans settle on 04 July 1776 as the nation's birthday?  The cynical historian wants to say that the American people were just too lazy to properly take the time to sort this muddle out and went with the easy choice of "04 July 1776".  But I think that the answer is simply that the first time the ordinary people (those not privy to the governmental secrets of the Second Continental Congress) heard about the "Declaration of Independence" was when they saw copies of it plastered across the walls of buildings and being hawked in the streets by printers in every town and hamlet across the now "former" 13 colonies and adopted THAT day, 04 July 1776, as America's birthday.  It is probably fitting anyway, since the common people of America are the backbone of this country and back in 1776, they were the ones who were actively fighting for the independence that Thomas Jefferson was talking about in such grand and abstract words. 

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness".

Might have been written by Jefferson, but it was embodied by every American citizen, from 1776 up to 04 July 2011.

Fall of Vicksburg - 04 July 1863

If the Battle of Gettysburg was the proverbial nail in the Confederacy's coffin, then the fall of Vicksburg on 04 July 1863 was the first shovels of dirt into that coffin's grave. 

With the fall of this mighty citadel, the Western Theater of the war was forever lost to the Confederacy.  Though the loss of New Orleans early in the Civil War was a great loss to the Confederacy, they were still a force to be reckoned with in the west.  The battles of Shiloh and Chickamauga proved the Rebels' tenacity and they had well-placed forts and cities (such as Forts Henry and Donelson, Port Hudson and Vicksburg) with which to defend this vast region of the Confederacy.  However, ineffective (and downright incompetent generalship on the part of some) helped lead to the Confederate losses in this area.  The Union, on the other hand, led ably by Major General Ulysses S. Grant and his subordinates Generals Sherman and Thomas, had amazing and frequent successes in the Western Theater.  All of this hard work by Grant eventually led the Union Army into a siege of the town of Vicksburg, the mighty citadel of the Mississippi River. 

Beginning on 25 May 1863, Grant and his forces encircled the town.  Though earlier assaults had been beaten back, rather than continue to attempt such futile attacks, Grant settled in for a siege.  His army forces prevented breakout attempts by the Confederates (led by Lt. General John Pemberton, a northerner) though they did try and were even close to succeeding when a retreat back inside the Rebel works was inexplicably ordered.  And Federal naval forces under the command of Rear Admiral David Porter commanded the Mississippi River.  This encirclement was only possible due to a daring run past the river guns at Vicksburg which had then picked-up Grants soldiers and transported them down river nearer to the city itself.  Grant had a masterful way of somehow managing to get the Army and the Navy to work together, which produced major dividends for his campaigns.  Was these actions were complete there was nothing to do but starve out the Confederates.  For 39 days Union and Confederate troops exchanged artillery and musket fire.  Before General Pemberton and his men had had enough.  On 03 July 1863, Pemberton sent a note out to Grant asking him for surrender terms.  Grant considered unconditional surrender (terms which served him well at Fort Donelson and earned him a positive moniker) but did have the resources to feed 30,000 prisoners of war and did not want to spend time (several months at least) shipping them to Union prison camps.  Considering their dejected state, he also doubted that they would ever be healthy enough to fight again and hoped that they would carry the stigma of defeat throughout the Confederacy.  Thus Grant agreed to parole all of them. 

The surrender of the city of Vicksburg was finalized on 04 July 1863.  Though it would take the fall of Port Hudson on 09 July 1863 for the Union to have complete control of the entire Mississippi River, by all accounts Confederate control of it no more.  With Union control of the Mississippi River, the Confederacy was effectively cut in two.  Never again would they successfully challenged Federal control of the Western Theater of the war.  Old General Winfield Scott's "Anaconda Plan" was actually in effect.  Thanks to Union control of the oceanic and freshwater waterways, the Confederacy was slowly being strangled to death.   

Gettysburg - The Third Day

As night fell over the Gettysburg Battlefield, the fighting mostly died down.  Only the cries of the wounded still punctuated the stillness of the night.  On both sides, councils of war took place, Meade and Lee were both determined to stand and fight, but the direction that this battle would take was squarely in Lee's hands.  While Longstreet still counseled a shift in the army's position in order to fight a more defensive battle on ground more favorable to the Confederates, Lee was firm in his commitment to the present positioning.  Lee's initial plan was to renew the attacks on both Federal flanks in the morning, but an early morning Union artillery barrage would result in an early failure of the attacks on Culp's Hill, necessitating a change.  Instead of flank maneuvers, Lee proposed that Longstreet would instead attack the center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge, where it was believed that the line was the weakest (due to heavy reinforcements shifted to Culp's Hill and the Round Tops).  Once Longstreet's men had broken through, effectively separating the Union Army in half, the Confederates would be able to defeat each half separately.  To accomplish this task, Lee gave Longstreet two divisions from A. P. Hill's Corps, those commanded by Brig. General Pettigrew and Maj. General Trimble, to fight alongside Maj. General George Pickett's division.  As seen on the map, the target of this assault was the Union II Corps, commanded by Maj. General Hancock.  In retrospect, it is often wondered how anyone could have thought that such a charge could have possibly succeeded.  In fact, the ultimate futility of this attack was accurately predicted by Lt. General Longstreet and his criticism of it (and of the commander who ordered it, Lee) would serve to make him persona non grata after the war.

In the Union Council of War, General Meade and officers debated the proposed actions of the Confederates the next day.  Meade for his part correctly predicted that Lee would attempt an assault on the center of the Union line, in particular the area commanded by II Corps' Brig. General John Gibbon.  In fact, with this prediction Meade would have made an excellent fortune teller, the famed Oracle at Delphi could have made a more accurate prognostication, since Gibbon's sector did indeed endure the Confederate attack.  The Union position, with its fortified cover, well-placed artilery and superior high ground posession, was well suited to defend itself against any Confederate assault.

03 July 1883 --- The Great Confederate Assault did not begin auspiciously for the Rebels.  Though Picket's Division had not yet seen action at Gettysburg, all of A. P. Hill's divisions had.  With General Hill in ill health, he did not have a say in which troops were chosen to participate.  This led to some of his corps who had done heavy fighting on 01 July being picked to make the charge over those who had fought only lightly on 01 July and not at all on 02 July.  In addition, the assault on Culp's Hill and a cavlary action in the Union rear by Maj General J. E. B. Stuart (who's absence of the previous days had caused Lee to act blindly) accomplished little and failed to force Meade to divert troops to those areas, further weaking the Union center.  Supporting actions on General Pickett's right by Wilcox and Lang, were late in starting and ended-up occurring after the charge was already in retreat.  However, before the charge could begin Lee planned on using his artilery to soften up the Union center.  This bombardment was the largest of the war and probably one of the loudest manmade sounds every heard, with hundreds of cannons on both sides firing for almost two hours.

Starting at 1:00 p.m., between 150 and 170 Confederate cannons opened up on the Union center.  This barrage caused damage all along the Union line, a shell even exploded near Meade's headquarters, killing an orderly and forcing the general to evacuate his staff and hurting infantry morale.  The Federal artillery chief, Brig. General Henry Hunt, had only about 80 cannons with which to respond (the geographic features of the Union position had limited areas for effective gun placement) but he was soon responding vigorously.  However, despite the numerical superiority of Confederate artilery, they barrage did not have the desired effect.  Most of the shells fired landed well back of the Union lines and did little damage when exploding.  The responsibility for this lies with Confederate gunners who were using unfamiliar fuses with unusual timing as well as with their gullibility.  General Hunt gradually ordered his gunners to cease firing a few at a time, this was done to both conserve ammunition for the attack he knew was now a certainty and to convince the Confederates that the cannons were being destroyed one by one.  This illusions was successful in fooling Colonel Porter Alexander, General Longstreet's artillery chief.  When he noticed the diminishment of Union cannon fire and the fact that he was himself running low on ammunition, Alexander notified his superiors.  It was now or never for Pickett's Charge.  Reluctantly and silently, Longstreet gave Pickett the signal to begin the assault.

   "General, I have been a soldier all my life. I have been   with soldiers engaged in fights by couples, by squads, companies, regiments, divisions, and armies, and should know, as well as any one, what soldiers can do. It is my opinion that no fifteen thousand men ever arrayed for battle can take that position."
        -Alegedly Longstreet to Lee-

Longstreet's reservations about Pickett's Charge is repeatedly used as ammunition by those who see the general as purposefully delaying the attack in order to sabotagueCulp's Hill, were the prime causes of the delay.  Though the fact that an attack was immenent was telegraphed to the Union forces via the massive artilery bombardment that preceeded it.  Powerless to prevent the attack Longstreet eventually acquesced and gave a non-verbal command to Pickett to begin the charge.

At roughly 3:00 p.m., 12,500 Confederate soldiers stepped out from under cover of the ridgeline and began their advance towards Cemetery Ridge. 

A View of Pickett's Charge and the Open Expanse They Had to Cross, with the Union line in the distance

03 July was hot (87 degrees F) and humid and the Confederate advance was less a "charge" and more properly labeled a "parade march".  The men marched deliberately in line, as though on the parade grounds, instructed not to fire or give the Rebel Yell until they were within a few hundred yards of the Union line.  The nine included brigades of:  Pettigrew and Trimble on the left and Pickett on the right, were stretched out over a mile-long front.  Everything seemed to be perfect......until the Union cannon began firing again. 

The wide open area the Confederates were marching in made them perfect targets for Union gunners, while the Confederates learned the hard way that their own artillery had not successfully knocked out the oppositions' artillery.  Now, thanks to that earlier barrage, Pettigrew, Trimble and Pickett's divisions had no artillery support, due to both ammunition shortage and Federal batteries that soon commenced to targeting Confederate guns, as well as the infantry.  While the cannon fire from in front of Pickett's Charge was doing its damage, the concealed artillery positions on top of Little Round Top soon began raking the Confederate right flank, while fire from Cemetery Hill hit the left.  As the Confederates came within 400 yards of the Union line, shell and solid shot turned into canister fire, which tore huge swaths in the attacking line, and musket fire.  Eventually, the mile-long line of Rebels turned into one less than half a mile, as gaps appeared in the line.  But the Confederates were still making progress, despite the withering and deadly fire.

Pickett's division was the only one to actually make a significant break through in the Union lines.  At a minor salient, known afterwards as "The Angle" and defended by Cushing's Battery A and the 69th and 71st Pennsylvania, two gaps opened up.  This occurred when the commander of the 71st Pennsylvania ordered his men to retreat after the Confederates came too close to his position.  Adding to Union problems, around this time, General Hancock, who had been displaying himself prominently to the men by remaining on horseback throughout the Confederate bombardment, was wounded by a bullet which struck his saddle and caused shrapnel to become lodged in his inner thigh.  However, he refused to be evacuated to the rear until the battle was settled.

View from the "Angle" portion of Union lines of the field

This "Angle" proved to be the "High Water Mark" of the Confederacy.  Despite the breakthrough by Brig. General Lewis Armistead, Federal forces would eventually beat the Confederates back and reclaim their original defensive lines.  At one gap, the retreat of the 59th New York had left only an independent artillery battery to face the oncoming assault of 2,500 to 3,000 Confederates led by Generals Garnett and Armistead.  Personally assisted by artillery chief Hunt, Captain Cowan had the five guns fire double canister simultaneously.  In front of the Angle the entire Confederate line disappeared.  But there were more serious gaps in the Union line which required help to plug.  The Irishmen of the 69th Pennsylvania and the Zouaves of the 72nd Pennsylvania were brought forward and fought hard, even using their bayonets and fists.  As more and more Federal forces arrived, despite the temporary Confederate seizure of several cannon, the defensive line became impregnable and Rebel troops began to retreat.

General Armistead, seen in this painting leading his men from the front with his hat on the tip of his sword, led his men into the Union lines and was struggling to turn a cannon around when he was shot down.  This High Water Mark has been commemorated in stone on the Gettysburg battlefield, though there is some disagreement over which of the several breakthroughs made by the Confederates actually made the most headway into the Union lines.  It was the deaths of the Confederate high command (Armistead, Garnett and Kemper were all injured) and with it the loss of command and control which helped cause the informal retreat conducted by the Confederate rank and file.  As the Confederates straggled back towards the safety of Seminary Ridge the victorious Federal troops began shouting "Fredericksburg!  Fredericksburg!  Fredericksburg!", in reference to a 1862 Confederate victory, which involved multiple Union assaults against an impregnable Confederate defensive line along Marye's Heights, outside the town of Fredericksburg.

This comparison of Pickett's Charge to the Battle of Fredericksburg, was an apt one. One which the casualty list bares out.  Pickett's Charge was a bloodbath.  While the Union dead numbered around 1,500 killed and wounded, the Confederate casualty rate was over 50%.  The total losses for the attack were at least 6,555, with at least over 1,100 killed outright on the battlefield itself.  The charge was also extremely hard on Confederate officers, Trimble lost a leg, Pettigrew died of his injuries and Garnett and Armistead were killed dead on the field.  In fact, in Pickett's division alone, 26 of 40 field grade officers (those of major through colonel rank) were casualties, and all of his brigade commanders fell that day as well.  In addition, of the 15 regimental commanders, 11 were casualties also.

The casualties were so great that General Pickett, when asked by Lee to ready his division for a Union counterattack, responded with "General Lee, I have no division."  In fact, according to many later accounts after the war, Pickett never forgave Lee for the slaughter of his men at Gettysburg, saying of him, "That man destroyed my division." but perhaps such bitterness is little more than hearsay, as neither Lee nor Pickett ever wrote about it and only General Mosby was witness to an uncomfortable meeting between the two men.  Though why Mosby would chose to fabricate such an event is beyond the understanding of this historian.  Suffice to say, Pickett's division was shattered and so was its commander's career.  Despite any official condemnation from either Lee or Longstreet (though what he could have possibly done differently with no diversionary movements on the Union flanks and inefficient artillery use is also beyond this historian's ken) Pickett's career went into decline.  Though he survived the war,  commanded troops in the several key battles and surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse.


What was the end result of the three days of fighting?  Dead, dead and more dead.  The casualties of these three days combined served to make the Battle of Gettysburg the most deadly confrontation of the entire civil war.  The total casualties from both sides equaled between 46,000 and 51,000, with the Union suffering 23,055 of those and the Confederates suffering around 28,000.  The number of dead and injured were so great that the tiny town of Gettysburg was simply unable to cope with them.  Eventually, the federal government decided to set aside a portion of the land to create a new national cemetery and a few months later, President Lincoln would be invited to speak at a dedication of that cemetery.  Though the dead cared little about what the president said there, but the 272 words in his "Gettysburg Address would become famous and successfully put the sacrifce of the Gettysburg fallen into perspective.

Gettysburg - The Second Day

When we last left our two armies, they were both licking their wounds and continuing to bring-up their men.  The Confederates, led by General Robert E. Lee, were preparing for further assaults in the morning, after General Ewell yielded the high ground to the retreating Union forces.  The Federals, on the other hand, consolidated their position on the superior defensive ground of Cemetery Ridge, Culp's Hill and the Big and Little Round Tops.  The night also saw the last of the Union forces join the main army and Meade arrive as well.  Though defeated on 01 July 1863, the Federal forces, through a combination of luck, courageous defenders and Confederate reluctance, held the best ground in Gettysburg.  Here is a map of the assembled forces, from right to left:

1)  Slocum holds Culp's Hill and will be facing off against Ewell's Corps.

2)  While Howard, Newton and Hancock are aligned on Cemetery Ridge and will come under fire from A. P. Hill's Corps.

3)  On the Union left is Sickles fighting in the Peach Orchard, Ward is fighting in the Devil's Den and the Federals defending the Wheatfield and Little Round Top all endured attacks from Longstreet's Corps, courtesy of McLaws and Hood respectively. 

02 July 1863 --- General Lee's plan for this day was an attempt to capitalize on the success of Heth and Ewell of the day before, when they had forced Union troops to retreat off of Seminary Ridge.  To do so he launched his Army of Northern Virginia in multiple attacks on both ends of the Union line, trying to turn their flanks.  General Longstreet, for his part, counseled a more strategic move, the Army should leave its current position and swing around the Federal's left, thereby inviting an attack, Longstreet argued that would force Meade to attack the Confederates on ground more advantageous to them.  Lee rejected this suggestion due to the confidence he had in his army's ability to succeed in any endeavor and concern over the morale of his soldiers if they were forced to give-up the ground they had fought to hard to win the previous day.  No, Lee was determined to whip the Yankees here and on July 2nd.  In order to do so, Lee needed to seize the high ground south of Gettysburg, principally Cemetery Ridge.  This ridge dominated the town of Gettysburg, the Union supply lines and the main road to Washington.  He determined that an attack up the Emmitsburg Road would be the best approach.  Lee's orders to his subordinates were as follows:

1)  Ewell would demonstrate against Culp's Hill, thereby pinning down the forces on the Union right flank, thereby preventing them from reinforcing the left flank.

2)  While Longstreet would begin his primary attack against the Union left flank as soon as he was in position to do so.  The object was to roll-up this flank, collapsing the line of Union corps onto each other and eventually seize Cemetery Hill. 

The best laid plans of mice and men, never seem to take into account the unpredictableness of human nature.  In this case, Lee never factored into his plans the stupidity and desire for fame of one Union General Daniel Sickles. 

The Union Army, on the morning of 02 July 1863, had 6 out of 7 corps present and benefited from holding the high ground, as well as having superior interior lines.  The corps were arranged as previously stated along Cemetery Ride and Culp's Hill (the Round Tops were only loosely manned at this time).  The Federals were thus is an excellent position to repel any Confederate attacks that might come their way.......until General Sickles started thinking for himself and disobeying orders.

General Sickles' III Corps was originally positioned by Meade on Cemetery Ridge, linked with the II Corps on his right and his left anchored on Little Round Top.  This was a strong position.  However, a slightly higher piece of ground in front of his corps, a peach orchard began to give Sickles some concern as it might be used as an artillery platform.  Without authorization from Meade, Sickles marched his corps out to occupy the battleground that would forever after after be known as the Peach Orchard.  Unfortunately, while Sickles might now hold this marginally higher "high ground", he was now occupying lines were much larger than his corps could could successfully defend and, more importantly, his position had now taken the form of a salient, which now easily be attacked from multiple sides.  This had the potential to spell disaster for the Union and could only help the Confederates roll-up the Union left. 

Longstreet, who's attack was delayed by a long, circuitous route his men were forced to take in order to avoid being seen by the Union Signal Corps observers stationed on Little Round Top, finally commenced his assault at around 4:00 p.m., beginning with a 30-minute artillery barrage that was particularly punishing to the III Corps stationed in the Peach Orchard.  At 4:30, Hood and his Texas Brigade slammed into the III Corps in multiple locations.  The fiercest fighting would be seen in the Devil's Den and on Little Round Top. 

Panoramic View of Little Round Top (left) and Big Round Top (right)

In the aftermath of Sickles' illegal move, Little Round Top, which only had a Union Signal Corps on it, was left unprotected.  Brig. General Gouverneur Warren, sent by Meade to ascertain the situation, observed the glint of bayonets in the woods surrounding the Round Top and realizing that a Confederate attack was probably imminent, he set-off to find any available help.  This help arrived in the form of Maj. General George Sykes, commander of the V Corps.  He dispatched a messenger to order his 1st Division to occupy Little Round Top.  But before these orders could reach the division commander, Colonel Strong Vincent, commander of the 1st Division's Third Brigade, seized the initiative and ordered his four regiments to Little Round Top without waiting for orders.  His actions, more than even Colonel Chamberlain's (whom we shall meet in a moment) saved the Union left flank and probably the battle itself.  Strong and his company bugler rode ahead to guide the four regiments into place and almost immediately came under fire from the Confederates.  In place only about ten minutes before the first Rebel attack, Vincent ordered his brigade to take cover and wait, while to Chamberlain, commanding officer of the 20th Maine, he ordered to HOLD his position at all costs.  Chamberlain suddenly found himself at the extreme left of the Union Army, he was the flank that the Confederates were trying to get around.  But all these 386 men could do was wait.

 The 20th Maine didn't have long to wait however.  They weren't in position long before a brigade of Rebels, commanded by General Law, from Alabama and Texas made their first assault on Little Round Top.  Hot and thirsty, the men were quickly thrown back down the hill.  When the 15th Alabama, commanded by Col. Oates attempted to shift around his left flank, Chamberlain reformed his men into a straight line that could bend and stretch as the Confederates tried to flank him.  In this way the Federals could "refuse the line", form an angle that continually bent back on itself to prevent being flanked. 


However, after 90-minutes of fierce fighting and at least 3 Confederate charges, the 20th Maine had endured heavy casualties and out of ammunition.  For his final charge Col. Chamberlain made an unusual decision, a bayonet charge.  He ordered his left flank, which had been pulled back to advance in a right-wheel formation, as soon as they were in line with the rest of the regiment, the entire regiment charged, looking for all the world like a giant door swinging shut.  This simultaneous frontal assault and flanking maneuver halted this last attack by the 15th Alabama.  The rest of the Confederates forces retreated back down Little Round Top, where they were continually assaulted by Company B of the 20th Maine and a handful of sharpshooters, who had been placed there by Col. Chamberlain to guard against a potential envelopment. 

Despite this successful defense of the Union's left flank, other areas of the line did not fair so well, with Col. Vincent's 16th Michigan taking a nasty beating and it was only with the help of reinforcements, in the form of the 140th New York that Federals were able to drive the Texans back and secure the hill for the Union.  Unfortunately, among the casualties was the man, who's quick thinking and even faster moving had saved the Union's left flank, one Col. Strong Vincent.  Though he would survive long enough to see the Federals victorious at Gettysburg and to receive a deathbed promotion to Brigadier General, Strong would succumb to his wounds on 07 July.  Though skirmishing would continue throughout the rest of the afternoon and evening, with Federal forces coming under almost continual fire from Confederate sharpshooters stationed in the Devil's Den, fighting on the Union left flank ended with the final charge of the 140th New York. 

Meanwhile, on the Union right, with Hood's attack reaching its height, Longstreet ordered General McLaws to send in his men in en echelon attack, one brigade after another.  This resulted in some of the bloodiest encounters of the battle:  the "Wheatfield" and the "Peach Orchard". 

In the Wheatfield, the fighting consisted of numerous attacks and counterattacks over the course of two hours by more then ten brigades which earned the field the nickname of "Bloody Wheatfield".  Though the Union initially held the ground, due to a never-explained decision by Brig. General Barnes, they were forced to yield it to the Confederates.  Once the Federals had received reinforcements though, the ground changed hands again, this time with vicious hand-to-hand fighting.  Unfortunately once the Union forces ran-out of ammunition, they retreated and the Wheatfield changed hands once again. Though additional attempts were made by the Federals to reclaim the Wheatfield again, even with regular army troops, they were unable to do and retreated back to the safety of Little Round Top in good order, despite heavy casualties and pursuing Confederates.  The bloody Wheatfield would remain quiet for the rest of the battle, but this back-and-forth action did a heavy toll of the men involved, on both sides.  Of about the 20,000 men engaged, about 30% were casualties and some of these casualties managed to crawl their way to Plum Run, where they stained the water red with their blood.

While the Confederates and Federals were playing a deadly game of tug-a-war with the Wheatfield, two additional brigades of McLaws troops charged into the Peach Orchard.  These men plowed into Sickles' Corps, where a cannon ball took of the General's leg, forcing him to leave the battlefield.  The Confederates continued their assault, causing Union artillery to be placed in a dangerous situation and forcing their retreat. 

On the far Union right, Maj. General Anderson, from A. P. Hill's Corp, attacked Hancock's Corps on Cemetery Ridge.  As the fighting became desperate Meade and Hancock struggled to find reinforcements, as many had been sent to the left flank to deal with Longstreet's attacks.  Hancock needed to buy some time for a large body of men to arrive, so he turned to the only ones he could find:  the 1st Minnesota, Harrow's Brigade, of the 2nd Division of the II Corps, who had placed there to guard a battery.  Hancock pointed to the Confederates advancing and order Colonel Colvill to "Advance and take those colors!" Never hesitating, despite the overwhelming odds, the 262 Minnesotans charged the Alabama brigade with bayonets fixed, and blunted their advance at Plum Run but at a terrible cost, 215 casualties (82%), one of the largest regimental single-action losses of the war.  But the 1st Minnesota had bought Hancock the time he needed and stopped the Confederate attack in its tracks.  The Alabamians were forced to withdraw.  Though fighting continued, after the actions for the Minnesotans, the Confederates were never close to breaking the Union lines again. 

General Ewell's demonstrations against the Union right caused little damage to the Federal troops, but he took a great deal himself and accomplished very little.  General Jubal Early attacked East Cemetery Hill late in the evening, even reaching the crest, but Union reinforcements arrived to drive him off. 

Eventually at around 10:30, the fighting died down, but the strange music made by the cries of the wounded and the dying played on, as councils of war met in both Confederate and Union headquarters to decide what actions would be taken the next day.  While Meade, out of character for a Union general, vowed to stay and fight it out tomorrow, Lee vowed, over Longstreet's strenuous objections, to also say and fight it out.  Tomorrow would bare witness to the greatest class of arms that this country would ever see. 

Gettysburg - The First Day

The Battle of Gettysburg has been greatly mythologized, almost from the very moment the guns stopped firing, and is one of the most written about events in American history.  It is one of my favorite battles (if is actually permissible to have a favorite one), both for the events themselves (operatic to the extreme) and for the endless "what if?" questions it created.  All three days of fighting (which combined together to make the Battle of Gettysburg the bloodiest battle in United States history) deserve special consideration and discussion.  So let us begin with the First Day:  Buford's heroic defense.

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The responsibility for the results of the ENTIRE Battle of Gettysburg really lies with one man:  Brig. General John Buford.  It was his actions that placed the battle in and around the little town of Gettysburg, PA, decided the battle lines and ultimately determined the eventual outcome.  Not too shabby for only a cavalry commander who found himself facing down the entire Confederate Army, but he was a man who understood topography and knew how to use it to the Union's advantage. 

30 June 1863 --- General Buford's cavalry, marching ahead of the Union Army of the Potomac, arrived in the town of Gettysburg, PA, where they were observed by Confederate troops under General Pettigrew (under division commander Maj. General Henry Heth).  Buford saw that both Union and Confederate were converging on this point, with the latter likely to arrive first, thereby having first shot at occupying the high ground of:  Culp's Hill, Cemetery Ridge, Cemetery Hill and Big and Little Round Top.  This would force the Federal troops to attack the Confederates, who would also be well-entrenched by that time, by attacking across an open field, before then scaling the hills and rocky outcroppings in order to claim victory.  It would be the slaughter of Fredericksburg all over again.  It was clear to Buford that he must delay the Confederates till General Reynolds could arrive with the I, III and XI corps of infantry to occupy and defend this vital high ground. 

Determined to delay the enemy and deprive the Confederates of the high ground, General Buford made the decision to dismount his cavalry troops and give any Confederates that dared show their faces in Gettysburg the surprise of their lives.  Then he sent word on to Reynolds to hurry his forces up and waited anxiously for what the morning would bring.

01 July 1863 --- The day dawned as Maj. General Henry Heth's division, part of Lt. General A. P. Hill's Third Corps, moved his forces against what he believed to be a handful of Pennsylvania militia, which he expected to easily disperse and then move into and occupy the town of Gettysburg itself.  However, unbeknownst to the esteemed general, he was instead facing regular army cavalry well prepared for his advance.  In addition, Heth was also in violation of General Robert E. Lee's orders to "avoid a general engagements". 

General Buford, for his part, chose appropriate terrain for his delaying action, deciding to align his troops on three ridges west of Gettysburg:  Herr Ridge, McPherson Ridge and Seminary Ridge.  This ground was perfect for his small division in their fight against the numerically superior Confederates.  In addition, many of Buford's men were armed with breech-loading carbines.  These weapons helped even the odds for the Federals in two important ways.  First, though still single shot weapons, they were still able to fire two or three times faster than an average muzzle-loaded weapon.  Also, the new breech-loading design meant that the Union troops could do their reloading behind cover in safety, unlike the Confederates who still had to reload while standing, which made them excellent targets.  Buford's men were going to need all the help they could get, because his 2,748 troops were soon to engage 7,600 Confederate infantry. 

Heth led with his artillery, followed by two infantry brigades, and first encountered resistance at 0730.  The dismounted cavalry there made excellent use of cover and their breech-loading carbines to defend their position, giving ground only reluctantly, until the Confederates had pushed them back all the way east to McPherson Ridge.  Around this time (1020) the vanguard of the I Corps finally arrived, led personally by General Reynolds.  He conferred briefly with Buford concerning his position and then  went to hurry the rest of the corps up to support his cavalry. 

By 1045 the fighting intensified and became more of an infantry fight, with the morning fighting occurring mostly along either side of the Chambersburg Pike and chiefly on McPherson Ridge.  It was during this early fighting that General Reynolds was shot dead.  While riding in Herbst Woods, the general was recorded as shouting "Forward men!  Forward for God's sake and drive those fellows out of the woods"and then falling from his horse.  A bullet, striking him behind the ear, killed Reynolds instantly.  Though legend (and more than a few romantic historians believe) that a sharpshooter was responsible for the shot, a more likely scenario would be that it was a random shot part of the volley of fire that was directed at the 2nd Wisconsin (which were exchanging fire with the Confederates at this time).  Reynolds was carried from the field and Major General Abner Doubleday (who did not invent baseball) assumed command of the I Corps. 

At around 1100, Lt. Colonel Rufus Dawes, who's great-grandfather had ridden with Paul Revere on his "Midnight Ride", commander of the 6th Wisconsin went into action against the Confederates who were attacking a, by now disorganized brigade of Union troops.  Combined with other brigades of the famous "Iron Brigade", this collection of Federals together forced the Confederates into a deep railroad cut.  Though too deep to be a truly effective firing platform, the combined brigades paid a heavy price in order to capture the cut. 

There would be a short in the fighting in the late-morning and early afternoon, while both Union and Confederates saw the arrival of more reinforcements.  With afternoon, came renewed attacks by the Confederates on the Chambersburg Pike, as well as attacks north of Gettysburg.  During the former attacks, some of the fiercest fighting of the war drove the Iron Brigade back, eventually pushing them all the way back to the Lutheran Theological Seminary.  Casualties were high on both sides.  The 24th Michigan lost 399 of 496 and even had 9 color bearers shot down.  However, it was General Heth's wound, a blow to the head, knocking him unconscious, that was to have unfortunate consequences for the Confederates, as Heth's subordinate, did not support the struggling assault. 

The attacks to the north of Gettysburg were a disaster for the Union, as they saw the Federal troops attacked, routed and forced to conduct a disorderly retreat to the south, leaving a large number of men as prisoners, including Brig. General Barlow as an injured one. 

The nail in the Union coffin for 01 July 1863 was the renewed Confederate attack, leading to an eventual Confederate breakthrough of the Union lines at Oak Ridge.  There were attacks all along the Federal lines, with heavy slaughter on both sides.  The 900 out of 1,400 North Carolinian troops which were completely annihilated in one of the most ferocious artillery barrages of the war, a foreshadowing of Pickett's Charge, was one of the worst incidents for the Confederates.  While for the Union, the 16th Maine got it the worst when ordered to hold their position at all cost while serving as a rear guard against Confederate pursuit during the the Union retreat, they lost 263 out of 298 soldiers. 

In the end, the Confederates successfully pushed the Federals all the way from Seminary Ridge to Cemetery Ridge.  It was a successful day, but one more good push could have "possibly" won the high ground for the Confederates.  However, the man charged with determining whether to take this action or not was General Ewell and he chose "not" to.  General Lee's orders to Ewell had been to "carry the hill occupied by the enemy, if he found it practicable, but to avoid a general engagement until the arrival of the other divisions of the army".  Although this historian is sure that Ewell had a few valid reasons for choosing not to obey this order, fatigue of his men, the difficulty in assaulting the hill through the narrow streets of Gettysburg, the fact remains that by NOT attacking Culp's Hill and Cemetery Ridge he left the Federals in possession of the best terrain....high-ground as strong as that held by the Confederates at the Battle of Fredericksburg. 

As night fell over the town and battlefields of Gettysburg, the Union forces, superbly led by Major General Winfield Scott Hancock fortified their hard-won high-ground as more and more of the Army of Potomac congregated on Cemetery Ridge.  The Confederates meanwhile, rested their troops and worked hard to bring-up those divisions that had not been engaged in the fighting.  Both sides prepared for the resumption of hostilities in the morning.  Neither side was going to leave Gettysburg without a victory. 

Book Review - "Hallowed Ground: A Walk at Gettysburg"

James McPherson has done it again, just when I think that there is nothing more to be said about the battle of Gettysburg, he goes ahead and proves me wrong. "Hallowed Ground: A Walk at Gettysburg", is not intended to provide a thorough examination of this penultimate Civil War battle, instead it serves as historical guidebook.

While taking readers on a tour of the Gettysburg National Park (as well as areas of the town itself), McPherson provides the history of those sites, detailing the events that transpired on this ground, the leaders, the ordinary participants, the fighting and the outcome. It is helped in this by being presented in chronological order, from the first shot fired by a Union infantryman at a Confederate, through the near disaster due to General Sickles' mistake and the fierce battle for Little Round Top, down to Meade's decision not to attack the Confederates on 4 July 1863.

In addition, McPherson's way with words and his ability to make fascinating events all the more fascinating and compelling, leads to the success of this "historical Guidebook", bringing even me to tears at several points.

"Hallowed Ground: A Walk at Gettysburg" is an excellent read. I would recommend it enthusiastically for readers who are only familiar with the basics of the battle of Gettysburg and wish to learn more, as a good place to start their exploration. I would also recommend it for even the most knowledgeable researcher, for the new light being shed on very old events, ones which should not be forgotten. And thanks to James McPherson, they never will be.

Book Review - "Lincoln's Assassins: Their Trial and Execution"

"Lincoln's Assassins:   Their Trial and Execution", byt James L. Swanson & Daniel R. Weinberg, is an excellent addition to any Civil War historian's collection.  Many of the items and pictures included have either never been seen before in book form before or are presented in a new light.  Most interesting is the series of photos taken by photographer Gardner.  They are a series of shots of the hanging, beginning with the empty gallows, the arrival of the condemned, the reading of the sentences, the hooding and the tying of the legs of the condemned, and concluding with a rare action shot of the victims struggling in their nooses and one final shot taken of the dead and now still conspirators.  The last two are especially chilling.  These photographs, along with the obsessive collecting of souvenirs done, illustrate perfectly the ghoulish Victorian obsession with memorializing death.

All in all, a very illustrative view of the assassination, the conspirators, the trial, the hanging and the aftermath of all four.  As a side note, the main author of this book, "James L. Swanson" would write additional books in the Civil War canon.  The first is "Manhunt!" all about John Wilkes Booth's flight from Washington and the subsequent manhunt to find him.  The other is "Bloody Crimes" which concerns the funeral train of President Lincoln and the last days of President Davis' presidency.  Both are very exciting and would look at home on any Civil War historian's bookshelf.

This book is easily available to one and all via a paperback addition through Amazon.com. 

Movie Review - "The Conspirator" - Initial Thoughts

I just saw "The Conspirator" last night and am still processing what I saw.  I went into the theatre firmly believing that Mary Surratt deserved what she got.  However, upon exiting I realized, that if I hadn't already been familiar with the case and knew what evidence was left out of the movie, I would have found myself doubting her guilt.  Thankfully, that was NOT the case and my belief in her guilt remains unshaken.

A review to follow this week.


For further information on the film, "The Conspirator", please checkout the entry on the IMDB website: 
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0968264/

Book Review - "Mr. Lincoln's High-Tech War"

"Mr Lincoln's High-Tech War" is a good summary of some of the major technological improvements occurring during the Civil War.  Though a valuable book, it is rather like a survey course, a great deal of details, but not a lot of depth.  Many of the technological improvements discussed here warrant lengthy tomes on their own (many have been written) in particular weapon inventions (Springfield repeaters, new breechloading rifles), the invention of the Ironclads and the Hunley, the very first submarine, all are covered better and in more depth in other books.  Also, though the use of the railroad and the invention of Morse Code are talked about, and an example given (Chattanooga relief) I felt it was underserved.  In addition, it might have been worth mentioning more about technology that didn't change (medicine) and the refusal of people (especially generals) to make use of these new technologies. 

"Mr. Lincoln's High-Tech War" was a good survey book, one I would proudly include on my Civil War bookcase, but should only be used as a jumping off point for further discussion of the various technologies used and the technological inventions being made during the Civil War.

Fort Sumter Surrenders! Civil War Begins!

13 April 1861:

When we last left our combatants at Fort Sumter, it was raining and the Union forces had ceased firing for the day.  But the Confederates kept-up a periodic barrage throughout the night.  Come dawn, all help breaks loose again.  The Charleston forces resumed their bombardment, while the Federals responded as best they could and waited for the promised relief.  Captain Fox, after having his ships driven back from the fort yesterday by artillery fire, found the seas too rough on the 13th and decided to wait until nightfall to carry out his resupply mission. 

Meanwhile, the "hot shot" rounds (cannonballs that had been heated in furnaces) of the Confederates were severely damaging the fort, with fires breaking out all over.

Fort Sumter giving and receiving fire, but also ON FIRE

In fact, by noon the main gate and most of the wooden structures were in flames.  As the flames moved closer and closer to where the garrison stored the 300 barrels of gunpowder it had left, Major Anderson and his men struggled to move the much needed powder to safety.  But 2/3 of Fort Sumter's powder was still left in the main ammunition magazine, when the Major ordered the building sealed and had the remaining barrels tied together and thrown into the sea (he was hoping to retrieve them later though), for safety's sake.  Both sides kept up their fire, but the advantage was all on the Confederate's side.

Confederate flag flying over Fort Sumter

Finally, at 1300, the fort's flagpole was knocked down, spurring several parties of men to initiate parleys with Major Anderson in the hopes of ending the conflict, by seeing the fort surrendered into Confederate hands.  Encouraged by the use of the word "evacuate" as opposed to "surrender" and faced with hungry and exhausted men, low ammunition and fires burning out of control, Major Anderson agreed to surrender the Federal installation known as Fort Sumter to Confederate forces under the command of General P. G. T. Beauregard.



 And so it was that at 1430, on 13 April 1861, the first battle of the Civil War was ended.  Major Anderson and his men gave a 50 gun salute and then the garrison marched out of Fort Sumter and onto the unused resupply vessels.  The flag that had flown over the gallant defenders, was saved by Major Anderson and became a rally point for supporters of the Union.

However, the lack of casualties on either side during this 34 hour conflict (no one had been so much as injured) belied the horrendous bloodshed that was to wash over this nation for the next four years.

At last the Sumter siege was over.......but the war was only just beginning.

Fort Sumter Attacked! Civil War Begins!

12 April 1861, found the United States in a precarious position. Seven Southern states had seceded from the Union and the eight slave-holding states were looking to the situation in Charleston to help determine their course of action: join the Confederacy or stay in the Union. The entire country seemed to be holding its breath, waiting for something......any little thing.......to break this tense waiting game, to make the country decide whether their issues were worth going to war about. The stage was set...... Fort Sumter was the moment of decision

For the site of such a monumental moment in history, it is a rather unknown place in American history today. Fort Sumter was a fort, an unfinished fort to be exact, situated in Charleston Harbor, SC, designed to protect the valuable harbor from foreign foes attempting to invade by sea. At this time though, it had yet to be completely finished and until the commander of Charleston Harbor, Major Robert Anderson, moved his forces there, it was only occupied by a lone soldier, who served as a lighthouse keeper. It was designed to be one of the strongest fortresses in the world,

but this was NOT where the Charleston garrison was stationed though. They were instead quartered on the far inferior Fort Moultrie, a feeble fort dating back to 1776, which had no real defense against land-based attacks (sand dunes had been piled up against the walls, making scaling them easy). However, before the actions of 12 April 1861, Major Anderson (perhaps sensing the secession in the wind) made the decision to move the entire garrison over to Ft. Sumter.

It was to here that Brig. General P. G. T. Beauregard, on 11 April 1861, delivered an ultimatum to Major Anderson, the man who had trained him in the art of artillery at West Point, to surrender Ft. Sumter or face bombardment. Major Anderson refused, saying to the officers that General Beauregard had sent to hear his reply, "If we never meet in this world again, God grant that we may meet in the next." Now the decision of war, would lie with Confederate General Beauregard.

And so it was, that in the darkness of 4:30 a.m., on 12 April 1861, Confederate batteries opened up on Fort Sumter. American guns, fired by American hands, were firing on an American fort, manned by American soldiers. To borrow from the British at Yorktown, "The World Turned Upside Down" 150 years ago this morning.

Major Anderson awaited until the light of morning, before returning fire. However, limited manpower (an already small garrison had been further reduced by sickness and weeks of half-rations) and the unfinished state of the fort itself prevented him from using all of his guns, only 21could be safely fired. The Confederates made a point of targeting the wooden portions of the fort, while the Sumter defenders were mostly ineffective against their Charleston adversaries.

Another issue, which may have helped to force Beauregard's hand, was the early morning arrival of a Union fleet there to resupply Fort Sumter. President Lincoln had previously stated publicly that the ships were only there for a resupply of supplies, that no manpower would be exchanged. However, since the Confederacy was demanding that the fort be handed over to them as property of the state of South Carolina, there was little chance that they would peacefully acquiesce to this federal request. But though the fleet had arrived before the opening Confederate bombardment, they had done nothing and would be able to do nothing all day.

As darkness fell, a light rain began falling, which extinguished the fires started by Confederate hot-shells and the fort ceased firing for the night. Though the Confederates reduced their rate of firing, they kept lobbing shells at the fort throughout the night. Sumter's defenders spent a fitful night.

At dawn's break, the fight resumes in earnest.........

Shiloh Principle Players

Let's meet the principles involved in the Battle of Shiloh / Pittsburg Landing:

For the Union:

In command and responsible for the battle:

Major General Ulysses S. Grant

, 

And Grant's most loyal Lieutenant and friend:

Brig. General William T. Sherman

 

 

While his late-arriving forces helped tips the odds in the Federals' favor on 07 April 1862:

Maj. General Don Carlos Buell

For the Confederates: 

Their leader as the battle began on 06 April 1862 and who was shot during during the day:

General Albert Sidney Johnston

After his untimely death, the Confederate forces would be left in the hands of this man:

General P. G. T. Beauregard

There were others who played a role, but it is beyond the time and capacity of this historian to describe all of the events that occurred on the fateful days of April 6th and 7th in 1862.