Surrender of Fort Donelson, 151 years ago

151 years ago today, Confederate forces at Fort Donelson, on the Cumberland River in Tennessee, surrendered to Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant. Since one of the top five most popular posts on this blog is my entry from one year ago on the 150th anniversary of Fort Donelson's surrender, I wanted to repost that article today, as well as some pictures from Fort Donelson that I took during my visit there last March. As always, I love visiting the South, and Tennessee is one of my favorite states in the country. Fort Donelson is a relatively small off the beaten path site, but it is well worth your time to visit.

 

 

 

The Fort Donelson guns overlooking the Cumberland River

 

 

Confederate Memorial

 

 

Fort Donelson guns 

 

 

Fort Donelson National Cemetery

 

 

 

 

Here is the article which I published on this day last year. Keep in mind, it was written for the 150th anniversary of Fort Donelson, but because of its popularity, I wanted to share it again today.

 

 

Fort Donelson and the Rise of Ulysses S. Grant: 150 Years Ago

150 years ago today, Ulysses S. Grant was a Brigadier General on the cusp of either victory or defeat. On the afternoon of February 15, 1862, he found himself galloping over icy roads to salvage his army and his chances of capturing the Confederate forces at Fort Donelson. After three days sitting outside of Fort Donelson along the Cumberland River in northern Tennessee, the moment of crisis had arrived—a moment that would determine not only the course of the war in the West, but would also launch Grant on to a career of unsurpassed fame.

Ulysses S. Grant (www.generalandbrevets.com)

On the afternoon of February 6th, just hours after Fort Henry had surrendered to Flag Officer Andrew H. Foote’s Western Gunboat Flotilla on the Tennessee River, Ulysses Simpson Grant—born Hiram Ulysses Grant, and changed thanks to a clerical error during his acceptance to West Point—immediately seized upon his next move. He wired Major General Henry Halleck in St. Louis, informing him that by February 8th, Grant and his force of infantry and navy gunboats would move on and take Fort Donelson on the Cumberland, 12 miles to the east of Fort Henry. While his goals were ambitious, necessities slowed his advance. Foote’s gunboats were forced to retire to Cairo, Illinois, for repairs before making another attack on a river fortress, such as the one they had undertaken on the 6th at Fort Henry. By February 12th, after days of reconnoitering Confederate lines, Grant was finally ready to move in concert with his gunboats. That morning, Grant set out on the 12 mile march east to Donelson. Arriving late in the day, he began making his troop dispositions so as to close off escape routes for Donelson’s defenders. Grant positioned the division of Brigadier General C.F. Smith, his former Commandant of Cadets at West Point, on the Union left, with John McClernand stretching his division to cover the Union right, forming from the area around Indian Creek to the town of Dover and Lick Creek near the Cumberland. On the 13th, there was skirmishing along the lines, but not much more. The major action was being held off for the 14th.

(Map of Fort Donelson from Grant's Memoirs)

Following a failed Confederate advance around noon on the 14th, the action shifted to the choppy brown waters of the Cumberland. There, Flag Officer Andrew Hull Foote, aboard the USS St. Louis, began his second assault of the campaign against a river fortress. While at Fort Henry, Foote had the advantage of moving against a fortress with low lying guns, 50% of which were under flooding river waters, the guns of Fort Donelson sat atop 100 foot high bluffs, greatly compromising the accuracy and abilities of the Federal gunboats. With the USS St. Louis, USS Pittsburg, USS Carondelet, and USS Louisville leading the way, Foote began his attack at 3:00 p.m. Steaming upriver against the swift currents of the Cumberland, Foote battled both Confederate gunners and the river itself. He was seen from the St. Louis with a bull horn directing the assault of the gunboats so that they would advance in concert. Yet, despite his best efforts, events went terribly awry for Andrew Foote. The guns of Fort Donelson were simply too much for his gunboats to bear. As Commander Henry Walke of the USS Carondelet later recalled:

Soon a 128 pounder struck our anchor, smashed it into flying bolts, and bounded over the vessel, taking away a part of our smoke stack; then another cut away the iron boat [crane]s as if they were pipe-stems, whereupon the boat dropped into the water. Another ripped up the iron plating and glanced over; another went through the plating…another struck the pilot house, knocked the plating to pieces, and sent fragments of iron and splinters into the pilots, one of whom fell mortally wounded, and was taken below… and still they came, harder and faster, taking flag-staffs and smokestacks and tearing off the side armor as one tears the bark from a tree.

The fight was especially harrowing for the men inside the Carondelet, as one of the 12 artillery pieces exploded inside the ship, killing and wounding almost 2 dozen men. As the fighting intensified, the deck of the USS Carondelet became so slick with the blood of its crewmen that sand was laid down to soak up the heavy price being exacted by the Confederate guns of Fort Donelson.

(Gunboat's firing on Fort Donelson, Battles and Leaders)

Confederate soldiers and gunners alike watched with anticipation as their shells clanked off of the Union gunboats, wreaking great havoc. One member of the 49th Tennessee later remembered the scene vividly:

The bumbs, shells ware burstings in the air with loud and wild confusion threatening sudden death and distrucktion and stil th[ey] came onn while our [biggest guns] we[re] threatening them with sudden distrucktion and also while [the shorter range] 32 pounders we[re] hailing down on them with a vengeance.

After an hour and a half of such brutal fighting, Foote’s flag ship, the St. Louis, was hit directly in the pilot house, wounding Foote, demolishing the steering wheel, and causing the ship to lose control, drifting wildly downstream with the currents of the Cumberland. With the damage to the St. Louis, the Union flotilla retired downriver, abandoning their fight against Fort Donelson.

That evening, as Confederate soldiers felt secure in having driven back the Union flotilla, Confederate generals John Floyd, Gideon Pillow, and Simon Bolivar Buckner were less sure of their success. Despite having wired Confederate officials of a great victory, these men still realized that they were essentially pinned down by Grant. Thus, the following morning, February 15, 1862, a breakout attack was to be launched at dawn. Gideon Pillow was to lead the attack against the Federal right, prying open the Forge Road leading to Nashville and safety. Buckner was to follow with the troops from the Confederate right, providing a wedge to keep the escape road open for Pillow’s men to leave the fort. Floyd, Pillow, and Buckner hoped the plan would give them enough time to escape the approaching jaws of defeat and surrender awaiting them just outside their defensive works.

On the morning of the 15th, as the Confederates inside the fort were preparing their breakout attempt, Ulysses Grant was riding north to meet Foote aboard the St. Louis. Grant did not anticipate an attack while he was gone, and thus had ordered his commanders not to make any offensive movements. As Grant met with Foote several miles away, too far to hear the action at Donelson, the Confederate counter attack began at dawn with great success. By mid-morning, the Federal lines were being torn apart by Pillow’s attack, and by noon, the Confederate attack had opened their escape route. John McClernand, desperate for help, sent word to recently christened division commander Brigadier General Lew Wallace to his left, begging for reinforcements. Despite having been ordered by Grant not to make any offensive movements, Wallace acted on his own and send one of his two brigades to the aid of McClernand. By the time that the Confederate attack had reached its zenith, Wallace had moved his other brigade, commanded by John Thayer, closer to McClernand’s lines so as to further reinforce the Federal right.

As McClernand and Wallace were struggling to stop the Confederate onslaught, confusion began to flow through the Confederate ranks. Just as Buckner’s men were preparing to do leave their lines so as to strengthen the Confederate breakthrough, inexplicably, Pillow ordered a halt to his attack and sent his men back into the Fort Donelson works to retrieve their supplies and artillery pieces which he felt necessary for the move to Nashville. The evening before had clearly left holes in the Confederate plan, as it was not articulated well nor fully understood by each of the Confederate leaders that day. Gideon Pillow believed his men needed to retire back to their earlier lines before moving on to Nashville; Buckner strongly disagreed, believing such a move would abandon the initiative that just been seized. Upon Pillow and Buckner taking their case to John Floyd, the commanding officer sided with Pillow, thus rebuffing Buckner’s pleas to maintain the offensive. This decision would prove to be quite costly for the Confederates at Donelson. While the Confederates delayed and argued, the seemingly defeated Federals found an opportunity.

In the late morning hours, upon leaving the St. Louis, Grant was met by an aide, white faced with fear. Quickly learning of what had occurred, Grant mounted his horse and sped his way to his lines to reclaim some sense of order. On this fateful ride, Grant was riding to the salvation of his army, riding against all odds to pull victory from the jaws of defeat. Grant was a man much accustomed to finding success out of failure; after all, he had done it with his own personal life. In the 1850s, after resigning from the army due to charges of alcoholism, personal loneliness, and depression, Grant fell into very difficult times. At one point, he borrowed money from friend and former West Point classmate Simon Bolivar Buckner, the man against whom he was now battling. In 1857, Grant pawned off a gold watch for the price of $22 to provide for his family. Now, five years later, a Brigadier General in the Union army, Grant was riding to the rescue not only of his forces outside of Fort Donelson; he was riding to the rescue of his military career and to the rescue of his country in its greatest hour of peril.

Arriving on the scene, Grant surveyed the situation and took stock of what needed to be done. He spoke first with C.F. Smith on the Federal left, then rode on to meet Wallace and McClernand on the chaotic Federal right. In his article on Fort Donelson in the Battles and Leaders series on the Civil War, Brigadier General Lew Wallace recalled the scene:

“In every great man’s career there is a crisis exactly similar to that which now overtook General Grant, and it cannot be better described that as a crucial test of his nature. A mediocre person would have accepted the news as an argument for persistence in his resolution to enter upon a siege. Had General Grant done so, it is very probably his history would have been then and there concluded. His admirers and detractors are alike invited to study him at this precise juncture. It cannot be doubted that he saw with painful distinctiveness the effect of the disaster to his right wing. His face flushed slightly. With a sudden grip he crushed the papers in his hand. But in an instant these signs of disappointment or hesitation—as the reader pleases—cleared away. In his ordinary quiet voice he said, addressing himself to both officers, “Gentlemen, the position on the right must be retaken.” With that he turned and galloped off.” (Battles and Leaders, Volume 1, 422).

As Grant left Wallace and McClernand, he rode back to his old mentor C.F. Smith on the Union left. Correctly assuming that the Confederate counterattack against McClernand had weakened the Confederate forces facing the Union left, Grant ordered Smith to make a full assault on the Confederate works. Smith quickly went to work gathering his forces, and by 2 p.m., he was ready to advance. Riding out front of his lines on a magnificent white horse, Smith placed his hat on the tip of his sword and ordered his men to fix their bayonets and to not cap their guns, thus assuring the men would not stop to fire during their charge against the Confederate works. Smith exhorted the men to give their all to the Union cause, proclaiming, “Come on, you volunteers, come on. This is your chance. You volunteered to be killed for love of your country and now you can be!” Shortly after 2 p.m., Smith began his advance, and what was up to that time the greatest Federal feat of arms in the West had begun.

As the gallant Smith rode into battle, directly behind him followed the 2nd Iowa. Being one of the lead regiments, the 2nd Iowa suffered particularly great casualties, especially among the flag bearers. Seeing the regimental standard fall time and time again, a series of brave souls stepped to the forefront to hold their nation’s symbol aloft. In the midst of the counterattack, Color Sergeant Harry Doolittle, wounded four times that day, noted that the flag took on a transcendent meaning to it:

It was no longer a combination of stripes and stars in silken texture, but the vital personification of human liberty battling for its own life, and its downfall, though but temporary, seemed like the triumph of wrong, injustice, and oppression.

The fourth and final man to pick up the flag that day was 19 year old Corporal Voltaire P. Twombley. Racing behind Smith, Twombley led the Federal rise up the Fort Donelson works. Standing atop the parapet, Twombley waved the Union flag high as his brothers in blue descended into the outer works of Fort Donelson, cheering, yelling, running, and driving back the remaining Confederate defenders. Firmly planting the Federal colors atop Fort Donelson’s outer works, that day Corporal Twombley earned himself the Congressional Medal of Honor.

(Capture of Fort Donelson, Harper's Weekly)

That evening, as the sun set on the blood covered fields around Fort Donelson, Grant’s counterattack had worked. Smith had taken the outer defenses of Donelson and could now fire into the fort with artillery. On the Federal right, Wallace and McClernand had retaken significant amounts of the ground lost that morning. Inside the Confederate fort, the Confederate high command saw the writing on the wall. John Floyd, the commanding officer, passed command off to Gideon Pillow and set off for Nashville to avoid capture and the likely event of being tried for treason for his pro-Southern activities as Secretary of War from 1857 to 1860. Pillow likewise passed off the command, setting out across the Cumberland in a small skiff barely big enough for he and his chief of staff. Thus, Simon Bolivar Buckner, the man who had once loaned Ulysses S. Grant money, was now left to send Grant a message of a very different nature.

The following morning, a party bearing a flag of truce entered Union lines held by C.F. Smith’s division. Smith escorted the part to Grant’s nearby headquarters, understanding the significance of the occasion. Upon receiving a message from Buckner asking what terms of surrender he might offer, and with the helpful and stern advice of C.F. Smith, Grant replied in the only way he knew how:

Gen. S.B. Buckner, Confederate Army

Sir:

Yours of this date, proposing armistice and appointment of commissioners to settle terms of capitulation, is just received. No terms except an unconditional and immediate surrender can be accepted. I propose to move immediately upon your works.

I am, sir, very respectfully,

Your obedient servant,

U.S. Grant Brigadier General

Buckner responded with frustration at Grant’s terms, noting that his position was doomed to fall:

The distribution of the forces under my command, incident to an unexpected change of commanders, and the overwhelming force under your command, compel me, notwithstanding the brilliant success of the Confederate arms yesterday, to accept the ungenerous and unchivalrous terms which you propose.

("Unconditional Surrender Grant," Harper's Weekly)

Thus, on Sunday, February 16, 1862, Ulysses S. Grant completed his ride to save his campaign for Donelson by riding once again. Unlike the day before, his ride this morning was relatively calm. He was making his way to the Dover Hotel to meet his old friend Simon Bolivar Buckner to accept the first of three Confederate surrenders which he would receive during the American Civil War. With his famous message to Buckner, the man born Hiram Ulysses Grant, and who was then known as Ulysses Simpson Grant, would soon be known to millions across the nation as “Unconditional Surrender” Grant. His success at Fort Donelson catapulted Grant to great fame throughout the north: he had busted open the Confederate defensive line in the West, forcing Confederate General Albert Sydney Johnston to retreat to southern Tennessee. The success of Grant and Foote had also opened the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers, facilitating Federal movement deep into Tennessee and the subsequent surrender of Nashville. Yet, most importantly, he had given hope for the people of the north that they could indeed win the war because men like “Unconditional Surrender” Grant were willing and able to do what it took to make victory a reality. As the acclaimed Shelby Foote wrote:

To them [the nation] the whole campaign was an absolute marvel of generalship, a superb combination of simplicity and drive, in welcome contrast to all that had gone before in the West and was continuing in the East. They did not dissect it in search of flaws, did not consider that Grant had started behind schedule, that men had frozen to death because of a lax discipline which let them throw away coats and blankets in fair weather, that individual attacks had been launched without coordination and been bloodily repulsed, nor that the commanding general had been absent from his post for better than six critical hours while one of his divisions was being mauled, the other two having been barred by his own orders from lending assistance. They saw rather, the sweep and slambang power of a leader who marched on Wednesday, skirmished on Thursday, imperturbably watched his fleet’s repulse on Friday, fought desperately on Saturday, and received the fort’s unconditional surrender on Sunday. Undeterred by wretched weather, the advice of the tactics manuals, or the reported strength of the enemy position, he had inflicted about 2,00 casualties and suffered about 3,000 himself—which was as it should have been, considering his role as the attacker—and now there was something more than 12,000 rebel soldiers, the cream of Confederate volunteers, on their way to northern prison camps to await exchange for as many Union boys, who otherwise would have languished in southern prisons under the coming summer sun. People saw Grant as the author of this deliverance, the embodiment of the offensive spirit, the man who would strike and keep on striking until this war was won. Fifteen years ago, during a lull in the Mexican War, he had written home to the girl he was to marry: “If we have to fight, I would like to do it all at once and then make friends.” Apparently, he still felt that way about it (Shelby Foote, The Civil War, Volume One, 214-5).

The rise of Ulysses S. Grant from a relatively unknown Brigadier General to a national hero was one of the main storylines of 1862, as it was one which had long lasting implications for the war and the country. A year and a half after his victory at Fort Donelson, Grant was the commander of the Union Division of the Mississippi. Two years after Fort Donelson, Grant was preparing to assume the title of Lieutenant General, a rank previously held only by George Washington. Six years after Fort Donelson, Ulysses S. Grant had been elected the 18th President of the United States. 150 years ago today, on his fateful ride to resurrect his hopes of capturing Fort Donelson, Ulysses S. Grant was riding on to his future fame and destiny as one of the great heroes in all of American history.

 



Best of 2012

Today, December 31, 2012 is a very historically important date.

First, 40 years ago today, on December 31, 1972, the great Roberto Clemente was killed in a plane crash, taking supplies to earthquake survivors in Nicaragua.


Second, and more relevant to the Civil War, 150 years ago today, the sanguinary struggle at Stones River began. Early in the morning, 150 years ago today, Confederate forces led by Braxton Bragg launched a strong and surprising assault against William Rosecrans Army of the Cumberland just north of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. By the time the fight had ended on January 2nd (after a lull on the 1st), over 20,000 men would be killed, wounded, or missing in one of the bloodiest, and most forgotten, battles of the war.

On a side note, on January 10th, I have been invited by the Bull Run Civil War Roundtable to lead a program on Stones River in Manassas, Virginia. Very much looking forward to the opportunity.


But, as this is the final day of 2012, I wanted to look back at a few of my most fond memories from the past year.



I must begin with the Dr. Joseph L. Harsh Memorial Scholar Award, which I was gratiously awarded by the folks at Save Historic Antietam Foundation. I presented my research at a seminar at Antietam back in September, and am currently attempting to publish the findings. I hope to have good news on that front soon, waiting to hear back from a few editors for now. Anyways, here are a few pics from the seminar. It was a great thrill.


It was also a great year of exciting opportunities at Antietam. I was fortunate enough to have a few stories written about me by reporters who went along on my programs. You can find those here (an article focusing on my ancestor who died at Antietam) and here (an article written by a reporter from the Pittsburg Post-Gazette about Antietam. The reporter tagged along on one of my tours).


I was also fortunate enough to be a part of this video about Antietam, along with my colleague Mannie Gentile.

Back in March, I was able to make a trip to Tennessee with my Dad to go to Stones River, Fort Donelson, and Shiloh. Visiting Shiloh was a lifelong dream come true, and I can't wait to go back. I did a series of posts about the trip, which you can find here: Stones River Post, Fort Donelson Post, and the series of posts I wrote about Shiloh.

I was also able to head down to Georgia for a few days in October to do some research, battlefield hiking, and spend some time with my amazing Uncle Jeff and Aunt Paula (Jeff loves it when I mention him on here, so its the least I can do!) I look forward to seeing them again in the New Year.



The best part of 2012 had to be participating in the 150th anniversary of Antietam. It was an amazing weekend that I will never forget. We had, likely, well over 50,000 people at the park, and my colleagues and I were doing non-stop interpretation from September 14th through the 17th. Here are a few posts about the event:

http://www.fieryordeal.blogspot.com/2012/09/antietam-150th-rangers-in-action.html

http://www.fieryordeal.blogspot.com/2012/09/antietam-150th-time-like-no-other.html

http://www.fieryordeal.blogspot.com/2012/09/september-17-2012-very-special-day.html

And, a wrap up post about the 150th event,

http://www.fieryordeal.blogspot.com/2012/10/antietam-150th-looking-back-on-my-top-5.html


I am thankful that this year I was able to work with the finest interpretive group in the NPS. I have learned so much from my colleagues, and look forward to the exciting new opportunities that 2013 will bring. God has been very good to me in 2012, and whatever successes or opportunities I have had, I owe it all to Him. While I am back home in Ohio for now, and I don't know when I might return to Antietam, I know that God has more in store for me, and I look forward to following His path in the upcoming year.

Happy New Year Everyone!

John Ellen Journal, 23rd OVI, Part 3: "Thousands of true men have paid the debt of nature..."

Today is part three of a three part series of posts containing the journal entries of 2nd Lt. John Ellen, 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. On Wednesday, we looked at Ellen's posts for late August through September. Yesterday, we saw Ellen's posts for October, November, and early December. Today, we will look at just two entries: one for December 21, 1862, 150 years ago today, and the other for January 6, 1863.

In the entry written 150 years ago today, Ellen laments the recent Union defeat at Fredericksburg. He is quite gloomy when considering the prospects for the war and the country, almost on the point of declaring that the war will never end. Considering his comments on December 3rd (seen in yesterday's post) regarding the inefficiency of the Government and the army, Ellen seems to lack faith in the government to do what is necessary to win. In the second entry, dating to January 6, 1863, Ellen comments on the Emancipation Proclamation and the recent Union victory at Stones River (Murfreesboro).

Camp Maskell, VA

Dec. 21, 1862

Sunday night; received a letter from E.H.C. and have answered it; all well. Prospect gloomy, wet lowering weather; disagreeable. Burnside’s defeat casts a gloom over all. The General is whom the people looked for great achievements as the successor of McClellan, with a powerful army under his command, has committed a great blunder, and suffered a ruinous repulse. Thousands of true men have paid the debt of nature, and thousands of hearthstones are made desolate. Everything does seem to indicate the establishment of a Southern Confederacy. Inneficancy [sic] in the Government Departments clogs the movements of a million soldiery. The strife will never be ended by the sword. Madness must cease, and reason assume the sway, else all will be ruined.

No bread to issue in the morning, all out, none at Piatt. No clothing to be had in our Division (2nd, Kna). No pay to troops in six months; very cheery prospects for the foreboding class of the army.

No news later than the 17th.



Camp Reynolds, VA

January 6, 1863

The name of our camp is changed from “Maskell” to that of “Reynolds”, Col. Hayes [Rutherford B. Hayes, future 19th U.S. President] made the in honor of Eugene Reynolds, the Sergeant Major of the 23rd killed at the Battle of South Mountain. The tribute is a good one. Eugene was a splendid soldier—intelligent, brave, and prompt.

The new year 1863 ushers in one important (maybe) event; the President’s Proclamation of Emancipation of the slaves in the rebellious states. It is possible to work some good, and probably (very) some evil. So I think.

Gen. Ewing has left the “Valley” with four Reg’ts; the 47th, 30th, 37th OVI and the 4th VA VI. Destination Kentucky.

The news of the 3rd inst. Report a severe battle at Murfreesboro, Tenn. Rosecrans in command of the Union forces, and Bragg of the Confederates. Reported Union success.

No letters from E.H.C. in two weeks.

Have been to Piatt and Fayette, this month.

Source: John S. Ellen Journal, Western Reserve Historical Society, Mss. 3502.

John Ellen Journal, 23rd OVI, Part 2: "The Rebellion is wicked and hateful..."

Today's post is the second of a three part series on the journal of John Ellen, a 2nd Lieutenant in the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Yesterday, we looked at Ellen's journal entries for late August and the month of September, covering the balance of the Maryland Campaign. Today, the entries begin on October 1st and extend to December 3rd. They cover a variety of topics, mostly the regiments movements. However, Ellen also voiced his opinion on Antietam and the war. He clearly believed that Antietam was a glorious victory, as was the Battle of South Mountain. Ellen's hatred for the Confederate cause is readily apparent in his entries of November 21st and December 3rd. He seemed to be leaning toward favoring a "Hard War" approach when he lamented the ability of Confederates and Southerners to keep their food stores while Union soldiers went without enough food. Ellen also wrote harshly of selfishness in the Union ranks, applying his words specifically to those who simply sought an advancement in rank. As Ellen stated quite eloquently:

Self! Is the rule, and true patriotism the exception.

The rebellion flourishes, and if it is ever crushed it will not be by any other agency than the justness of our cause. The Rebellion is wicked and hateful; the blood it has shed must be atoned for if ruin come to all.

Camp at Mouth of Antietam Creek, Md

Wednesday Oct 1st 1862

The month of September as witnessed some of the most determined fighting of this most unnatural Civil War. The battle of South Mountain Sunday Sept 14th and the Battle of Antietam, Wednesday the 17th are battles to be recorded on the blood pages of our nation’s history. Those battles though terrible in slaughter, added new strength to Republican Government; they were terrible blows to Democratic anarchy, and ambitious demagogism. The rebel army with its whole strength has been driven from the fruitful state of Md. back into the desert of the Old Dominion, made desert by the actions of her degenerate people. The season thus far has been pleasant, if it should so continue through the month of October the rebel capital may be invested and captured, and the war virtually ended. Our Reg’t has been near here since the 22nd of September. Our troops are in good health and condition. Wrote to Uncle S. this p.m.



Friday October 2nd

Camp at Antietam Creek

Our brigade was reviewed today by President Lincoln, Major General McClellan, Major General Burnside, and their staff. The day was pleasant and everything pass off in good order.



Sunday October 5th

The Kanawhaw [sic] Division was visited this P.M. by General Cox and his staff. General Cox is ordered back to Western Va. And it is rumored that his old troops will follow him. No news.



Monday October 6th

Pleasant day, no news. Wrote to E.H.C. and C.A.S.



October 24th

Camp Near Clarksburg Va

Pleasant Fall weather, but little rains this autumn. Co. B., 23rd Regiment were paid by Major Johnson, up to June 30th date of payment to the Reg’t. Appointed treasure Reg’t fund Oct. 22nd.



Monday November 3, 1862

Summerville Va

Left Clarksburg Oct 25th .



Friday November 14th, 1862, Near Gauly Bridge

Crooks Division left Summerville on the 11th inst. Reached there the evening of the 12th.



Camp near Gauly VA

Friday Nov. 21, 1862

The 23rd Reg’t has been on the ground since the 15th inst. We have been transferred from Crook’s to Scammon’s division. We are building winter quarters, and the work drags. There is but few axes to cut the logs, and but few horses to haul them when cut.

The river is so low it is almost impossible to get a supply of forage. The horses are almost starved. Rebel citizens have corn, and then keep it under protection of Union generals. Rebel stock is fat, Government stock is poor—so goes the war. Subduing rebels with sugar plums. A wishy washy, no policy; making them, and us, napoleons. Great generals. What a farce. No news from home; no mail. Wrote to E.H.C. this P.M. I have been ARSM for the 23 O.V.I. since Nov the 10th.



Camp Maskell Va

December 3rd, 1862

We are favoured now days with genuine fall weather—rain and mud. We walk in mud, work in mud, eat in mud, and sleep in mud. The winter quarters are being built, as fast as is possible with the means at our disposal for building will permit. Our field officers are all here: Col. Hayes, Lt. Col. Comly, and Major McGrath [Colonel Hayes refers to Rutheford B. Hayes, the future 19th President of the United States].

I have been in the 2 MD [not sure what he means here, definitely not the 2nd Maryland] twenty three days, long enough, and in this as in every other department of the army it is all wrangle and confusion.

Divisions wrangle with the heads of departments, brigades with divisions, regiments with brigades, company commanders with regiments, and members of companies with their commanders, all trying to get without any apparent desire to do.

The whole military country is in a strife; the government strives to restore its footing and designing men are strong to trip in every move. Generals of Departments strive to make the people believe that they are doing all that can be done, and that they are “the right men in the right place.” Generals of Divisions know how the thing is to be done, and strive to do it and often fail. Commanders of Corps vie with each other in dashing exploits, and are often cut to pieces and routed . Then Brigade commanders strive to gain the position made vacant by the removal of their unfortunate superior (in rank) and know that now is their time. Colonels strive to Generals, Captains to be Colonels, Lieutenants to be Captains, Sergeants to be Lieutenants and Captains, and Corporals and Privates to be Sergeants. Patriotic and disinterested civilians are striving to raise companies and regiments of volunteers; they don’t want drafted men. Drafted men wont fight (all a delusion) All striving soldiers and citizen. The effort is tremendous and I fear the spine of the great body will be so seriously required by the effort that it will finally sicken and die. Self! Self! Self! Is the rule, and true patriotism the exception.

The rebellion flourishes, and if it is ever crushed it will not be by any other agency than the justness of our cause. The Rebellion is wicked and hateful; the blood it has shed must be atoned for if ruin come to all.

 Source: John S. Ellen Journal, Western Reserve Historical Society, Mss. 3502.

Fredericksburg 150: The Cost of War

"Oh mother, how I do like to have you put in a word to year dear son in the war fighting to save his dear country. It looked sad to me to see so many dead bodys that I see the other day lying on the battlefield. I thought to myself if thear mothers could only see them they would be crasy."

150 years ago today, the Battle of Fredericksburg was fought. The Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia, which had met in battle at Antietam just two months prior, yet again clashed and engaged in great and terrible bloodshed. Thousands more were added to the death toll of the war.

Sergeant Benjamin Franklin Chase, of the 5^th New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry, was just one of those men at Fredericksburg. Posted below, you will find excerpts of letters which Chase wrote home to his parents throughout 1862. Throughout his writings, Chase repeatedly told his parents that he hated the war, and hoped it would end soon so the death and killing would stop. These letters do not show us a soldier eager for killing and war, but a rightfully scared young man, who did not want to die, but only to see his family once again. As Chase wrote to his mother a few weeks before Fredericksburg, “I hate this foolish war more and more every day I live.” Chase’s words remind us that these battles were not fought by lines on a map, but by real people, who left behind fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, wives, sons, and daughters. In many cases, these men would never again see their loved ones, as they laid down their lives that this nation might live. Many of these men were barely old enough to be called such; many were younger than twenty years old. The youth of the nation, dying upon once peaceful fields, gave our country a “new birth of freedom,” and that is what we should remember as we commemorate the 150^th Anniversary of Fredericksburg, and of the American Civil War.

Benjamin Franklin Chase enlisted in the 5^th New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry on September 16, 1861. He was 18 years old, five feet nine inches tall, had blue eyes and black hair. He mustered in at Concord, New Hampshire, on October 19, 1861, and was promoted to the rank of Sergeant on November 11, 1862.

In camp, harrison’s landing, VA, james river

Dear Father,

(Most of this letter consists of small talk about the family, asking if his parents had received the letters he had sent, including one where Chase mailed three dollars to his parents. Chase also asks about different members of the family. Not much is relevant or of interest, except for the following lines)

… I guess I shall get my picture taken and send home, so if I should get killed out hear you could have it to look at. It costs 150 to get it taken.

… tell mother not to worry about me, not a mite. I stand one chance in 7 hundred thousand to not get killed. But perhaps I may get killed. I think I shant, cant tell.

Write all the news when you get this.

I am full steadier that I used to be at home, as good soldier as they is in the Co. dave and sarah said they were going to send me something when Hadley come back. I wish you would send me som stamps. Its hard to get them hear.

Write soon

B.F. Chase

The next letter is from August 3, 1862

In camp at harrisons landing, james river, VA

Dear father and all

As I received your kind and welcome letter a few days ago, I will now try and answer it. The first thing is, I am well as ever, and as harty as an old bear. Thease few lines I hope will find you and all our folks well as I am. I received those stamps and was happy to get um….

I still like pretty well and I hope I shall continue to like until the war is over. Which I hope will be soon but I am afraid it will last quite a while longer. We cant tell when it will end….

I am glad they have called for more troops, so as to have the war ended sometime or nother. It looks to us though it never would end, but they has got to be a settlement to it soon, one way or the other. It looks dreadful hard to see the poor soldiers killed of as they are hear. On our retreat was the hardest thing I ever see. I wish I only could be at home one week and tell you about what I have seen hear. I could think of anough to talk a week, all the time. I don’t put in eny thing in my letters that I write about what i have seen because I have anough else to write. I leave that out so as to tell you it when we get home.

I am going and get my picture taken to morrow and send it home to you all so if I get killed hear you can have it to look at and remember me by, to. How fast the time does pass away, almost fall again. I have been enlisted most a year, shall be the 11th of September….

We are under marching orders now. I guess I will put in a word to mother. Good by. Write as quick as you can.

B.F. Chase

The next, and last, letter in the collection was written just after Antietam, on September 28, 1862.

Sabath day

Virginia

Sept 28th, 1862

Camp at harpers ferry

My Dear Mother,

I will now sit down and let you all know that I am a live and well. I hope this will find you all the same

We are hear to harpers ferry now. Ben hear 6 days and we except to stay hear some time. All the boys is well.

I don’t hardly know what to say to you, dear mother. I hate this foolish war more and more every day I live.

Oh, mother, the mail has just come in and I got your letter dated Sept 15, and o good Lord how glad I was to hear from you and the rest at home. Oh I am so glad to hear that you all are alive once more.

I spose you have heard what a hard battle we have ben in, but I was so lucky to get out of it alive. But it killed and wounded 118 men in our regt. We had to run about one mile before we got on the battlefield. When we was running I throwed away my blanket and one of them good blue shirts father sent me was in my blanket so I lost it.

Mother, it’s a nough to discourage eny one to see how this war go on. Half of our officers are traters, they don’t care how long this war goes on. Its makes me so mad to see how they go on, I don’t no what to do.

Yes, mother, good many of us thinks the war will be over before winter, but I don’t beleave it will be over for 2 more years to come. How I do wish I was out of it. I would give all my bounty mighty quickly if I could only get my way if I could see you….

We shall go into winter quarters soon, we think, we shall get paid of in a few days.

I shall be glad when I see the boys from the village

When we get paid of I shall write oftener

It’s a very pretty place hear to this ferry. The cars run up hear

I always like to write you, dear mother. I will write a piece to father and the rest.

Oh, mother, how I should like to set down to a good meal of brown bread and beans at home. Oh Lord when will that happy day come. Lord when will that day come when I can speak with you all again. I cant tell that, perhaps never and perhaps twill soon

Oh mother, how I do like to have you put in a word to year dear son in the war fighting to save his dear country. It looked sad to me to see so many dead bodys that I see the other day lying on the battlefield. I thought to myself if thear mothers could only see them they would be crasy.

Cant think of eny more this time. Tell lily when I come I will bring home candy. Write very soon and often. Good by mother, hope to see you soon.

B.F. Chase

That was the last letter Chase wrote to his mother. He would never see her, nor his father, nor the rest of his family, again. At the age of nineteen years old, Chase was killed during the Battle of Fredericksburg, 150 years ago today. His prediction that the war would last at least another 2 years was true. He was also correct in stating that if the mothers of soldiers could see battlefields after the fighting had ended, they would be “crasy”, and perhaps, wars would be brought to a close much sooner. While Chase expressed numerous times that he hated the war, he also did note in his letter home after Antietam that he believed he was engaged in a fight “to save his dear country.” Benjamin Franklin Chase, killed 150 years ago today at Fredericksburg, reminds us that war has a heavy price, and freedom is never free.

Source: Benjamin Chase Letters, typescript copies, 5^th New Hampshire File, Antietam National Battlefield Library

An Interesting Find: A Shiloh Letter, April 8, 1862

As those of you who know me or follow the blog will no doubt know, while Antietam and the Maryland Campaign are my main topics of study, I do have other areas of interest in the Civil War as well. The Atlanta Campaign of 1864 and Kennesaw Mountain are one area of interest, and so is the Battle of Shiloh. I was born on the anniversary of Shiloh, and went to visit there earlier this year with my dad. I did quite a few posts on Shiloh (all of which can be found here), as it is, in my opinion, one of the most fascinating battles of the war. The human interest stories of Shiloh are very compelling, and the fact that it was the first of the great battles of the war adds a certain mystique to it. While First Bull Run was a major event in 1861, the first truly great and terrible battle of the war that saw killing and death on a grand scale took place along the Tennessee River in April 1862. For anyone who has been to Shiloh, you will understand when I say it is a place you will never forget.

Anyways, I have been in the Western Reserve Historical Society library lately doing some research on an upcoming and heretofore unannounced project, and I came across the following letter from Captain Peter Hitchcock of the 20th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. In Hitchcock's papers at the WRHS, there are folders and folders of beautiful, well written letters to Sarah Jane Willcox, his future wife, while Peter was in the army. Some of the letters resemble love poems they are so well written. Hitchcock also does a great job of describing some of the combat that he saw. Below is one example. This is a letter Peter wrote to his love, Sarah, on April 8, 1862, one day after the Battle of Shiloh. It can be found in the Peter Hitchcock Papers, Container 28a, of the Western Reserve Historical Society.  The 20th Ohio was a part of Lew Wallace's 3rd Division of the Army of the Tennessee which arrived late in the day on April 6th, but in enough time to reinforce Grant and take part in the battle on April 7th.

April 8, 1864, Pittsburgh Landing, Tennessee, HQ 3^rd Brigade, 3^rd Division

You will be surprised to learn that our Brigade with the balance of the Division at Crumps Landing were day before yesterday ordered to move to this place to support the forces here as they had been attacked by the combined rebel forces under Beauregard.

Day before yesterday at about 2 o’clock we left Adairsville for the new position from that time until late at night we were on the way marching, probably 8 or 9 miles on reaching here we learned that our forces had been driven back from their position up nearly to the river, probably a distance of 5 miles, our center had suffered the most and were pushed closest to the river. Beauregard had sent in word that he was going to drive our forces all into the river. General Buell’s forces at about the time we arrived also arrived on the opposite side of the river, and were crossing all night, but only a small portion got over to assist in the battle. We have had a splendid victory. Early yesterday morning our forces commenced the attack, and although the ground was inch by inch hotly contested, our forces kept pushing them farther and farther away, though at places and times they drove us back, still onward pushed our forces, until the last grand stand by the enemy was made on the ground we now occupy, here all along the lines (probably 8 miles) for two hours or more there was a continuous round of musketry and cnanon, at last the enemy gave way, and reired in any good order. Their losses are immense, and ours must be very great there is no doubt over 6,000 killed and wounded. Our regiment though engaged has had few men lost, one killed of Co. B., Capt. William Rogers Co A., wounded, and about 10 or 12 privates of Sunday companies some very badly, our Lt. Col. had his sword shot while in his hand.

I am all safe, only having been well scared several times by stray shots. You can learn more from the papers of the engagement, than I can tell you. I have no time to write as I am wanted with the teams, tell all at home I am safe and well.

We move on Cornith from this point I suppose.

From your own,

Peter

Stones River Presentation

For all those in the Cleveland area, or those who are simply interested, I will be leading a program on the Battle of Stones River tomorrow at the Mentor Public Library. The talk begins at noon, and is in the James R. Garfield room on the lower level of the library. It is part of a series on the Major Battles of the Civil War, and is a cooperative effort between the Mentor Public Library and the James A. Garfield National Historic Site. The program is free, and will last about 45 minutes.

If you are in the area and want to learn about Stones River, arguably the most forgotten of the major battles of the war, come on out. We look forward to seeing you.

Stones River National Cemetery

Hazen's Brigade Monument at Stones River

Was McClellan Fired for Being a Bad General?

150 years this week, George B. McClellan was dismissed as the commander of the Army of the Potomac. He had built the army from when he came to Washington in the summer of 1861; it was in many ways a reflection of him and his ideas on how to fight a war. It is no secret that McClellan was much loved by his men; many of the officers were loyal to him as well.

All of this leads to a very important question, one that might seem very simple. Was McClellan simply a bad general who deserved to be dismissed? Certainly, that is a refrain often heard when discussing "Little Mac." When I wrap up my talks or tours at the battlefield, I can usually expect to have a visitor or two who want to debate the merits of McClellan as a commander. I can't tell you how many times myself and my colleagues at Antietam have heard, "McClellan was just a bad general, and Ole' Lincoln got rid of him just as he should have."


Here is my short and simple take on McClellan's dismissal. As a military commander in the Maryland Campaign, McClellan delivered one of the finest leadership performances of the war for any commander on either side. He built an army out of a mess, moved his men through Maryland, fought two difficult offensive battles against difficult terrain, and significantly damaged Lee's army, forcing an end to the Confederate invasion of Maryland. However, because of his political views and strong disagreement with Lincoln on matters of policy, he had to go.

McClellan favored a conciliatory war, one that was seeking to restore the old Union with no major changes. After Antietam, Lincoln was ready to boldly lead the country toward a new and better future, one where freedom applied to millions more than it previously had. To do this, Lincoln needed generals willing and able to faithfully execute his policies. McClellan was not one of those men. This is not to suggest (although many have) that McClellan was disloyal or a traitor; in fact, he was faithfully devoted to the Union and to preserving the Constitution. However, after Antietam, and after the Emancipation Proclamation, McClellan was no longer the man Lincoln needed to carry through on his policies of moving the nation toward "a new birth of freedom."

McClellan's dismissal served as a watershed moment for Lincoln and the nation. From that point onward, Lincoln would come into his own as a military leader. The "Hard War" that Northern forces waged against the Confederacy was driven not by political generals, but by Lincoln himself. The Emancipation Proclamation signaled that the war would be anything but conciliatory; it would remake the country. Because of his disagreements with Lincoln, McClellan was not the right general to lead Union forces in this task.

McClellan was not a bad general, in fact, on the battlefield at Antietam, he was a good one. However, McClellan was too much of an overtly political general, and for that, he had to go.


These are my rather quick two cents on the matter. What do you think? Was McClellan fired for being a bad general or because he was no longer the right man to enact the policies of the Lincoln administration in the Civil War?