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11

Jun

10

Battle of Kennesaw Mountain

Posted by sailerd  Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Images, Letters & Diaries, Maps, Places to Visit Themes: Battles & Soldiers

The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain took place on June 27, 1864 in Cobb county, Georgia when General William T. Sherman ordered his forces to attack General Joseph E. Johnston’s Army of Tennessee. Sherman, who was unable to dislodge Johnston’s men, was forced to withdraw  later that day. Some estimates put the number of total casualties at 4,000 (3,000 Union, 1,00 CSA). Teachers will find several resources on the National Park Service’s site, including a short overview of the battle and a Google Earth Tour. This viritual tour shows the location of the Confederate and Union forces on the battlefield as well as hiking and horse trails. The Library of Congress also has some resources , including several sketches by Alfred R. Waud and several maps of General Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign. In addition, Google Books has several interesting accounts of the battle. William Chamberlin, who served with the Ohio Infantry Volunteers, decribed the impact on his regiment:

“Kennesaw Mountain! What soldier who saw it during these days will ever forget its fiery flaming brow? Into how many households does the name bring the gushing tears of sorrow for the loved one whose spark of life went out before that death-dealing giant of Nature? Kennesaw Mountain held Sherman’s army at bay fourteen days during which the loss in killed and wounded was greater than at any previous part of the campaign.”

Lieutenant Warren, who served in the Missouri Confederate Brigade, described the “poor fellows” in the “solid line of blue” whose attack was repulsed. One can find other primary sources related to this battle in Cornell University’s Making of America, including General Johnston’s account and other reports in the Official Records.

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11

Jun

10

The 54th Massachusetts

Posted by solnitr  Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Historic Periodicals, Recent Scholarship Themes: Battles & Soldiers

On September 8, 1865, the New York Tribune commented on the unusual amount of fanfare the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry received on their return to Boston.  The author of the editorial explained the public response reflected the 54th’s status as the first northern regiment of black soldiers and the reputation the regiment earned as being “the one on whose good conduct depended for a long time the success of the whole experiment of arming black citizens in defence of the Republic.”  Edwin Stanton, the Secretary of War, gave Massachusetts governor John A. Andrew permission to begin recruiting black troops on January 26, 1863.  Andrew carefully hired officers to lead the black regiment, including the regiment’s future commander Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, because the 54th was in his opinion “perhaps the most important corps to be organized during the whole war.”  The 54th is well known for their participation in the assault on Fort Wagner, South Carolina on July 18, 1863. The same Tribune article equated the battle’s significance to African-Americans as “Bunker Hill has been for ninety years to the white Yankees.” Captain Luis F. Emilio of Company E published a reflective history of the 54th, A Brave Black Regiment…  (1894), which is partially available on Google Books.  HistoryNet, as mentioned in this previous post, has also published a background article on 54th regimental history that originally appeared in the October 2000 issue of American History magazine.
Members of the 54th who resided in Pennsylvania include:
Sergeant William Harvey Carney of Company C (1840-1908): received a Medal of Honor in 1900 for keeping the regiment’s colors from falling to the ground after Colonel Robert Gould Shaw was shot during the assault on Fort Wagner, the earliest African-American action to be recognized with a Medal of Honor.
Private John Henson of Company C (1843-1880): reassigned to the Ordinance Department of his regiment from November 1864 to February 1865.
continue reading "The 54th Massachusetts"

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9

Jun

10

Siege of Port Hudson

Posted by sailerd  Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Images, Lesson Plans, Letters & Diaries, Maps Themes: Battles & Soldiers

The Siege of Port Hudson began in late May 1863 with a series of battles, including one on May 27 that was among the first major engagements that involved African American regiments. After General Franklin Gardner received reports that confirmed the Confederate defeat at Vicksburg, he surrendered his forces to General Nathaniel P. Banks on July 9, 1863. Some estimates put the total number of casualties during the siege at 12,208 (Union 5,000 / CSA 7,208). The National Park Service offers a great lesson plan about Port Hudson through their Teaching with Historic Places program. Teachers will find a short overview of the battle, several accounts from soldiers who participated in the battle, and links to several photographs. Louisiana State University’s Marshall Dunham photograph album also has a number of photographs of Port Hudson. In addition, several battle maps are available from the Library of Congress. Port Hudson may not be that well known, but as General Ulysses S. Grant explained in his Personal Memoirs (1885-1886), the Union’s victory on July 9 was a significant one. “From that day to the close of the rebellion the Mississippi River, from its source to its mouth, remained in the control of the National troops,” as Grant noted. You can also find other documents about this battle in volume 26 of the Official Records. (A list of all the reports starts on page 41).

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8

Jun

10

Battle of Fredericksburg

Posted by sailerd  Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Historic Periodicals, Images, Places to Visit Themes: Battles & Soldiers

Battle of Fredericksburg took place in Spotsylvania County, Virginia between December 11–15, 1862 and marked General Ambrose Burnside’s first major campaign as commander of Army of the Potomac. While Burnside’s overall objective was to march on Richmond, Virginia, his army had to first successfully cross the Rappahannock river near Fredericksburg. General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, however, defeated Burnside’s forces and forced them to retreat. Some estimates put the total number of casualties at 17,929 (Union 13,353, CSA 4,576), which included four generals – two Union (C. Feger Jackson and George Bayard) and two Confederate (Thomas R.R. Cobb and Maxey Gregg). The National Park Service’s website on Fredericksburg provides a nice overview of the battle and offers a number of resources. There are over ten galleries of modern and historic photographs, including “Fredericksburg Sketches” and “Historic Photos.” In addition, the site is creating a virtual tour of the battlefield. Anyone planning on a visit should check out their tour options. The Encyclopedia of Virginia, which is produced by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, also provides a nice overview of the battle and links to historic images. Other primary sources about this battle are available at Cornell University’s Making of America, which provides digital access to historical periodicals like The Century. In August 1886, this magazine published five articles by officers who were involved in the battle, including General James Longstreet (HD profile / article) and Union Generals Darius Couch (HD profile / article), William Farrah Smith (HD profile / article), and Rush C. Hawkins (article).Longstreet argued that:

“The battle of Fredericksburg was a great and unprofitable sacrifice of human life made, through the pressure from the rear, against a general who should have known better and who doubtless acted against his judgment. If I had been in General Burnside’s place, I would have asked the President to allow me to resign rather than execute his order to force the passage of the river and march the army against Lee in his stronghold.”

You can also find other documents related to this battle in volume 21 of the Official Records.

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8

Jun

10

The First Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861

Posted by solnitr  Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Historic Periodicals, Images, Lesson Plans, Maps, Places to Visit Themes: Battles & Soldiers

The artist H. Lovie captured a strange scene on July 21, 1861 in Manassas, Virginia: civilians sitting on a hill overlooking the clash between the Union and Confederate armies.  Lovie’s picture was published in Frank Leslie’s weekly illustrated newspaper, a great visual resource for documenting the Civil War. Both the picnicking residents of Washington DC and Gen. Irvin McDowell’ s troops were unprepared for the hard-fought and bloody Confederate victory at the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas).  With nearly 5,000 combined casualties, this early battle deflated Northern hopes of a quick and easy war.  General Joseph E. Johnston, commander of the Confederate Armies of the Shenandoah and of the Potomac reflected on their unlikely victory:
  • The admirable character of our troops is incontestably proved by the result of this battle, especially when it is remembered that little more than six thousand men of the Army of the Shenandoah with sixteen guns, and less than two thousand of that of the Potomac with six guns, for full five hours successfully resisted thirty-five thousand U. S. troops with a powerful artillery and superior force of regular cavalry… The unfading honor which they won was dearly bought with the blood of many of our best and bravest.
The Virginia Center for Digital History has created a valuable online resource in their project entitled “Valley of the Shadow” which examines the Civil War through the eyes of Americans on both sides of the conflict. Students can study the 1st Battle at Bull Run by watching 5th Virginia Infantry and 1st Virginia Cavalry’s advance into the battle in the interactive map, read reports by commanding officers, or skim a Pennsylvania newspaper published the weekend following the battle.  The battlefield is preserved by the National Park Service as a national battlefield, and the NPS website provides tools for teachers including lesson plans and field trip outlines.
David Harrison Walton, Dickinson College Class of 1854, fought as part of the Stonewall Brigade during the first Battle at Manassas, as the first commander of the “Shenandoah Sharpshooters”: Company K of the 33rd Virginia.
[flickrslideshow acct_name=”Housedivided” id=”72157624115696017″]
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7

Jun

10

Battle of Cynthiana: June 11-12, 1864

Posted by mckelveb  Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Maps, Places to Visit, Rare Books Themes: Battles & Soldiers

The Battle of Cynthiana (also known as Kellar’s Bridge) took place on June 11-12, 1864 in Harrison County, Kentucky.  The National Park Service ’s website includes a brief summary regarding the battle and the Civil War Sites Advisory Commission provides a map detailing the location of each battleground within the state as well as an overview on the condition of each individual site.  The Cynthiana battleground has over eight hundred acres of land intact that would make field trips and walking tours of the area possible.  On June 11, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan and his forces attacked General Edward Hobson and the 171st Ohio National Guard, taking over one thousand prisoners of war captive.  The following day, Union General Stephen Gano Burbridge along with the 168th Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry and the Kentucky Harrison County Home Guards attacked the Confederate forces at dawn and drove them back.  Collins’ Historical Sketches of Kentucky: History of Kentucky, Volume 2 described the scene of the battle:

“Fatigued as they were by the previous day’s operations- which resulted in the defeat and capture of two distinct Federal forces- the Confederates were not in condition to withstand the shock of a fresh body of troops.  Burbridge, with his cavalry, was enabled to flank them, and thus turn their lines; while his infantry, in the center, advanced steadily, forcing them back on the town.  The fighting commenced on Millersburg pike, about one mile east of Cynthiana.  But the Confederates- unable to hold out against the rapid and determined advance of superior numbers of fresh troops supported by artillery- soon gave way, and, by the time they reached Cynthiana, were in full retreat, and the retreat a rout.  One by one, they fell back through the town, crossed the river, and followed the Raven Creek pike.  Thus ended the battle that was fought at Cynthiana in the war for southern independence.”

Some suggestions for further reading on the Battle of Cynthiana include Chronicles of Cynthiana which gives a fairly concise overview of the second battle at the site.  Other interesting resources are the Official Records and the History of Morgan’s Cavalry which provides background information on General Morgan’s early life and his participation in the Confederate army.

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4

Jun

10

Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi

Posted by sailerd  Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Historic Periodicals, Images, Letters & Diaries, Maps, Places to Visit Themes: Battles & Soldiers

Within twenty four hours of the Union’s victory at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in July 1863, Confederate General John C. Pemberton surrendered his forces at Vicksburg, Mississippi on July, 4, 1863 to General Ulysses S. Grant after a long siege. Vicksburg is a city located along the Mississippi River and the Confederacy’s loss of such an important port was a serious loss. Teachers should check out the great resources on National Park Service’s page and in their online exhibit, which are described in an earlier post. House Divided has several interesting documents that offer a variety of perspectives on Vicksburg, including a Confederate private who told his wife what he believed was responsible for the defeat. General Pemberton’s forces surrendered “on the account of provisions,” as Private William Stoker explained. Stoker, who was with General John Walker’s Texas Division in Louisiana when he heard about Vicksburg, argued that “[the Union] could [never] of whipped us there if we…of had [enough] provisions.” General William T. Sherman, who also participated in the Vicksburg Campaign, reflected after the war on some negative consequences of the Union’s victory:

“But our success at Vicksburg produced other results not so favorable to our cause a general relaxation of effort, and desire to escape the hard drudgery of camp: officers sought leaves of absence to visit their homes, and soldiers obtained furloughs and discharges on the most slender pretexts; even the General Government seemed to relax in its efforts to replenish our ranks with new men, or to enforce the draft, and the politicians were pressing their schemes to reorganize or patch up some form of civil government, as fast as the armies gained partial possession of the States.”

In addition, this short newspaper article from the Vicksburg Whig provides a nice example of the way southern editors portrayed Union soldiers’ conduct during the campaign. You can find other primary sources in the Vicksburg Campaign major topic at House Divided as well as in volume 15 of the Official Records.

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4

Jun

10

Alexander Kelly and the Battle of Chaffin’s Farm

Posted by mckelveb  Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Historic Periodicals, Rare Books, Recent Scholarship Themes: Battles & Soldiers

Alexander Kelly was an African- American Civil War soldier who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.  He was born on April 7, 1840 in Saltsburg, Pennsylvania and worked as a coal miner prior to his involvement in the war.  On August 19, 1863 in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania he enlisted in Company F of the 6th United States Colored Troops Regiment  as a substitute for someone named Joseph Kelly.  He was originally trained at Camp William Penn in Chelten Hills, Pennsylvania.  Although Kelly was small in stature, standing at only about 5 feet 3 inches tall, he was commended for his actions at Chaffin’s Farm in Henrico County, Virginia on September 29-30, 1864.  The National Park Service’s website includes a brief summary on the battle at Chaffin’s Farm (also known as New Market Heights) that includes how  Union Major General Benjamin Butler attacked General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate forces at Richmond.  A more detailed description of the battle at Chaffin’s Farm is provided in “Pennsylvania Negro Regiments in the Civil War .”  Kelly was awarded a Congressional Medal of Honor  on April 6, 1865 for his bravery and leadership at Chaffin’s Farm.  General Benjamin Butler noted in an order  issued on October 11, 1864:

“Alexander Kelly, first sergeant Company F, Sixth U.S. Colored Troops, gallantly seized the colors, which had fallen near the enemy’s lines of abatis, raised them, and rallied the men at a time of confusion and in a place of great danger.”

Another resource that may be interesting to browse is Black Union Soldier’s  in the Civil War which has a valuable list detailing all the Black Union Recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor.  Kelly was “mustered out” of service in Wilmington, North Carolina in 1865.  After the war, Kelly married his wife Victoria on July 30, 1866, and the two had a son named William in January 1867.  He served as a night watchman for the Pittsburgh Police before his death on June 19, 1907.  Kelly is buried in St. Peters Cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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4

Jun

10

William H. Carney at Fort Wagner

Posted by solnitr  Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Historic Periodicals, Images, Letters & Diaries, Places to Visit Themes: Battles & Soldiers

On May 31, 1897, the city of Boston erected a monument created by the American sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens in honor of the 54th Massachusetts and its colonel, Robert Gould Shaw.  The monument commemorates the regiment’s participation in the second attack on Fort Wagner, South Carolina on July 18, 1863. The August 8 edition of Harper’s Weekly, available in a transcribed form at Assumption College’s primary source-rich database “Northern Vision of Race, Religion & Reform” recorded that at Fort Wagner: “The 54th Massachusetts (negro), whom Copperhead officers would have called cowardly if they had stormed and carried the gates of hell, went boldly into battle, for the second time, commanded by their brave Colonel, but came out of it led by no higher officer than the boy, Lieutenant Higginson.”  Sergeant James Henry Gooding of Company C of the 54th wrote weekly letters to the New Bedford Mercury, a periodical in the company’s hometown.  Gooding’s letters were published as On the Altar of Freedom: A Black Soldier’s Civil War Letters from the Front, and some are available on Google Books.  Gooding’s July 20 letter documents the 54th’s attack of Fort Wagner: “When the men saw their gallant leader [Colonel Shaw] fall, they made a desperate effort to get him out, but they were either shot down, or reeled in the ditch below. One man succeeded in getting hold of the State color staff.” The “one man” who reached the flag was Sergeant William H. Carney, originally of Norfolk, Virginia, as he maintained the sanctity of the flag by keeping it from touching the ground. Though Carney was wounded in both of his legs, one arm, and his chest he kept the flag aloft and is recorded as exclaiming, “the old flag never touched the ground, boys!”  During the 1897 monument dedication Carney raised the flag once more, an action that Booker T. Washington recorded in his autobiography, Up from Slavery (1901), as causing such an effect on the crowd that “for a number of minutes the audience seemed to entirely lose control of itself.” Three years later, Carney received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions during the battle of Fort Wagner. Though Carney is often listed as the first African-American recipient of a Medal of Honor, instead, Carney’s rescue of the colors at Fort Wagner was the earliest African-American act of bravery to be recognized with a Medal of Honor. The medal notation reads: “Medal of Honor awarded May 9, 1900, for most dinstinguished gallantry in action at Fort Wagner, South Carolina, July 18, 1863.”

[flickrslideshow acct_name=”housedivided” id=”72157624100848401″]

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3

Jun

10

Fort Stevens: July 11-12, 1864

Posted by mckelveb  Published in Civil War (1861-1865), Lesson Plans, Places to Visit, Rare Books Themes: Battles & Soldiers

On July 11, 1864, two days after the Battle of Monocacy, Confederate forces under the command of General Jubal A. Early reached the edge of Washington D.C.  The following day, the Confederate forces faced the Union VI Corps under the direction of Major General Horatio G. Wright and Major General Alexander M. McCook and were eventually forced to withdraw from the city which ended General Early’s invasion of Maryland.  President Abraham Lincoln watched the battle from Fort Stevens and was in close proximity to the fighting.  The National Park Service’s website provides a concise summary  of the battle as well as the number of casualties that occurred in the midst of the fighting.  It also includes a report on the preservation of the battlefield from the Civil War Sites Advisory Committee which shows that although most of the site has been destroyed or altered through urban development there is still an area that remains preserved in Rock Creek Park and can be visited today.  The National Park Service offers lesson plans for teachers under the Historical Context for Fort Circle Parks that has key resources for classroom learning as well as suggestions for additional sources.  The Grand Army of the Republic’s Washington During Wartime described the scene with President Lincoln at Fort Stevens during a conversation with General Wright:

“I entreated the President not to expose his life to the bullets of the enemy; but he seemed oblivious to his surroundings; finally, when I found that my entreaties had failed to make any impression on him, I said, ‘Mr. President, I know you are commander of the armies of the United States, but I am in command here, and as you are not safe when you are standing, I order you to come sit down here.’  Mr. Lincoln looked at me and smiled, and then, in more consideration of my earnestness than inclination, stepped down and took position behind the parapet.  Even then he would persist in standing up and exposing his tall form.”

Some other sources on Fort Stevens that may be interesting to browse are Robert Sampson Lanier’s The Photographic History of the Civil War: Forts and Artillery as it provides some valuable images of soldiers stationed at Fort Stevens during the Civil War along with summaries of the major battles fought around the Washington D.C. area.  Two other interesting sources that can be found on Google Books are Recollections of the Civil War: With Many Original Diary Entries and Letters Written from the Seat of War, and With Annotated References and the Official Records since both give many firsthand accounts written by soldiers and officers who took part in the fighting at Fort Stevens.

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