Sunday, November 30, 2008

Sherman to Grant, 9 Oct 1864

"I propose that we break up the railroad from Chattanooga forward, and that we strike out with our wagons for Milledgeville, Millen, and Savannah. Until we can repopulate Georgia, it is useless for us to occupy it; but the utter destruction of its roads, houses, and people, will cripple their military resources. By attempting to hold the roads, we will lose a thousand men each month, and will gain no result. I can make this march, and make Georgia howl!"

Friday, November 28, 2008

Sherman to Hood, 14 September 1864

HDQRS. MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI,
In the Field, Atlanta, Ga., September 14, 1864.

General J. B. HOOD, C. S. Army,
Commanding Army of Tennessee:

GENERAL: Yours of September 12 is received and has been carefully perused. I agree with you that this discussion by two soldiers is out of place and profitless, but you must admit that you began the controversy by characterizing an official act of mine in unfair and improper terms. I reiterate my former answer, and to the only new matter contained in your rejoinder I add, we have no "negro allies" in this army; not a single negro soldier left Chattanooga with this army or is with it now. There are a few guarding Chattanooga, which General Steedman sent to drive Wheeler out of Dalton. I was not bound by the laws of war to give notice of the shelling of Atlanta, a "fortified town" with magazines, arsenals, foundries, and public stores. You were bound to take notice. See the books. This is the conclusion of our correspondence, which I did not begin, and terminate with satisfaction.

I am, with respect, your obedient servant,

W. T. SHERMAN,
Major-General, Commanding.

Hood to Sherman, 12 September 1864

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF TENNESSEE,
September 12, 1864.

Maj. Gen. W. T. SHERMAN,
Commanding Military Division of the Mississippi:

GENERAL; I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 9th [10th] instant, with its inclosure, in reference to the women, children, and others whom you have thought proper to expel from their homes in the city of Atlanta. Had you seen proper to let the matter rest there, I would gladly have allowed your letter to close this correspondence, and without your expressing it in words would have been willing to believe that whilst "the interests of the United States," in your opinion, compelled you to an act of barbarous cruelty, you regretted the necessity, and we would have dropped the subject. But you have chosen to indulge in statements which I feel compelled to notice, at least so far as to signify my dissent and not allow silence in regard to them to be construed as acquiescence. I see nothing in your communication which induces me to modify the language of condemnation with which I characterized your order. It but strengthens me in the opinion that it stands" pre-eminent in the dark history of war, for studied and ingenious cruelty." Your original order was stripped of all pretenses; you announced the edict for the sole reason that it was "to the interest of the United States." This alone you offered to us and the civilized world as an all-sufficient reason for disregarding the laws of God and man. You say that "General Johnston himself, very wisely and properly, removed the families all the way from Dalton down," It is due to that gallant soldier and gentleman to say that no act of his distinguished career gives the least color to your unfounded aspersions upon his conduct. He depopulated no villages nor towns nor cities, either friendly or hostile. He offered and extended friendly aid to his unfortunate fellow-citizens who desired to flee from your fraternal embraces. You are equally unfortunate in your attempt to find a justification for this act of cruelty either in the defense of Jonesborough, by General Hardee, or of Atlanta by myself. General Hardee defended his position in front of Jonesborough at the expense of injury to the houses, an ordinary, proper, and justifiable act of war. I defended Atlanta at the same risk and cost. If there was any fault in either case, it was your own, in not giving notice, especially in the case of Atlanta, of your purpose to shell the town, which is usual in war among civilized nations. No inhabitant was expelled from his home and fireside by the orders of General Hardee or myself, and therefore your recent order can find no support from the conduct of either of us. I feel no other emotion than pain in reading that portion of your letter which attempts to justify your shelling Atlanta without notice under pretense that I defended Atlanta upon a line so close to town that every cannon shot, and many musket balls from your line of investment, that over-shot their mark went into the habitations of women and children. I made no complaint of your firing into Atlanta in any way you thought proper. I make none now, but there are a hundred thousand witnesses that you fired into the habitations of women and children for weeks, firing far above and miles beyond my line of defense. I have too good an opinion, founded both upon observation and experience, of the skill of your artillerists to credit the insinuation that they for several weeks unintentionally fired too high for my modest field-works, and slaughtered women and children by accident and want of skill.
The residue of your letter is rather discussion. It opens a wide field for the discussion of questions which I do not feel are committed to me. I am only a general of one of the armies of the Confederate States, charged with military operations in the field, under the direction of my superior officers, and I am not called upon to discuss with you the causes of the present war, or the political questions which led to or resulted from it. These grave and important questions have been committed to far abler hands than mine, and I shall only refer to them so far as to repel any unjust conclusion which might be drawn from my silence. You charge my country with "daring and badgering you to battle." The truth is, we sent commissioners to you respectfully offering a peaceful separation before the first gun was fired on either side. You say we insulted your flag. The truth is we fired upon it and those who fought under it when you came to our doors upon the mission of subjugation. You say we seized upon your forts and arsenals and made prisoners of the garrisons sent to protect us against negroes and Indians. The truth is, we, by force of arms, drove out insolent intruders, and took possession of our own forts and arsenals to resist your claims to dominion over masters, slaves, and Indians, all of whom are to this day, with a unanimity unexampled in the history of the world, warring against your attempts to become their masters. You say that we tried to force Missouri and Kentucky into rebellion in spite of themselves. The truth is my Government, from the beginning of this struggle to this hour, has again and again offered, before the whole world to leave it to the unbiased will of these States and all others to determine for themselves whether they will cast their destiny with your Government or ours? and your Government has resisted this fundamental principle of free institutions with the bayonet, and labors daily by force and fraud to fasten its hateful tyranny upon the unfortunate freemen of these States. You say we falsified the vote of Louisiana. The truth is, Louisiana not only separated herself from your Government by nearly a unanimous vote of her people, but has vindicated the act upon every battle-field from Gettysburg to the Sabine, and has exhibited an heroic devotion to her decision which challenges the admiration and respect of every man capable of feeling sympathy for the oppressed or admiration for heroic valor. You say that we turned loose pirates to plunder your unarmed ships. The truth is, when you robbed us of our part of the navy, we built and bought a few vessels, hoisted the flag of our country, and swept the seas, in defiance of your navy, around the whole circumference of the globe. You say we have expelled Union families by thousands. The truth is not a single family has been expelled from the Confederate States, that I am aware of, but, on the contrary, the moderation of our Government toward traitors has been a fruitful theme of denunciation by its enemies and many well-meaning friends of our cause. You say my Government, by acts of Congress, has "confiscated all debts due Northern men for goods sold and delivered." The truth is our Congress gave due and ample time to your merchants and traders to depart from our shores with their ships, goods, and effects, and only sequestrated the property of our enemies in retaliation for their acts, declaring us traitors and confiscating our property wherever their power extended, either in their country or our own. Such are your accusations, and such are the facts known of all men to be true.
You order into exile the whole population of a city, drive men, women, and children from their homes at the point of the bayonet, under the plea that it is to the interest of your Government, and on the claim that it is an act of "kindness to these families of Atlanta." Butler only banished from New Orleans the registered enemies of his Government, and acknowledged that he did it as a punishment. You issue a sweeping edict covering all the inhabitants of a city and add insult to the injury heaped upon the defenseless by assuming that you have done them a kindness. This you follow by the assertion that you will "make as much sacrifice for the peace and honor of the South as the best born Southerner." And because I characterized what you call a kindness as being real cruelty you presume to sit in judgment between me and my God and you decide that my earnest prayer to the Almighty Father to save our women and children from what you call kindness is a "sacrilegious, hypocritical appeal." You came into our country with your army avowedly for the purpose of subjugating free white men, women, and children, and not only intend to rule over them, but you make negroes your allies and desire to place over us an inferior race, which we have raised from barbarism to its present position, which is the highest ever attained by that race in any country in all time. I must, therefore, decline to accept your statements in reference to your kindness toward the people of Atlanta, and your willingness to sacrifice everything for the peace and honor of the South, and refuse to be governed by your decision in regard to matters between myself, my country, and my God. You say, "let us fight it out like men." To this my reply is, for myself, and, I believe, for all the true men, aye, and women and children, in my country, we will fight you to the death. Better die a thousand deaths than submit to live under you or your Government and your negro allies.
Having answered the points forced upon me by your letter of the 9th [10th] of September, I close this correspondence with you, and notwithstanding your comments upon my appeal to God in the cause of humanity, I again humbly and reverently invoke His Almighty aid in defense of justice and right.

Respectfully, your obedient servant,
J. B. HOOD,
General.

Sherman to Hood, 10 September 1864

HDQRS. MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI,
In the Field, Atlanta, Ga., September 10, 1864.

General J. B. HOOD, C. S. Army, Comdg. Army of Tennessee:

GENERAL: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this date [9th], at the hands of Messrs. Ball and Crew, consenting to the arrangements I had proposed to facilitate the removal south of the people of Atlanta who prefer to go in that direction. I inclose you a copy of my orders, which will, I am satisfied, accomplish my purpose perfectly. You style the measure proposed "unprecedented," and appeal to the dark history of war for a parallel as an act of "studied and ingenious cruelty." It is not unprecedented, for General Johnston himself, very wisely and properly, removed the families all the way from Dalton down, and I see no reason why Atlanta should be excepted. Nor is it necessary to appeal to the dark history of war when recent and modern examples are so handy. You, yourself, burned dwelling-houses along your parapet, and I have seen to-day fifty houses that you have rendered uninhabitable because they stood in the way of your forts and men. You defended Atlanta on a line so close to town that every cannon shot and many musket shots from our line of investment that overshot their mark went into the habitations of women and children. General Hardee did the same at Jonesborough, and General Johnston did the same last summer at Jackson, Miss. I have not accused you of heartless cruelty, but merely instance these cases of very recent occurrence, and could go on and enumerate hundreds of others and challenge any fair man to judge which of us has the heart of pity for the families of a "brave people." I say that it is kindness to these families of Atlanta to remove them now at once from scenes that women and children should not be exposed to, and the "brave people" should scorn to commit their wives and children to the rude barbarians who thus, as you say, violate the laws of war, as illustrated in the pages of its dark history. In the name of common sense I ask you not to appeal to a just God in such a sacrilegious manner; you who, in the midst of peace and prosperity, have plunged a nation into war, dark and cruel war; who dared and badgered us to battle, insulted our flag, seized our arsenals and forts that were left in the honorable custody of peaceful ordnance sergeants; seized and made "prisoners of war" the very garrisons sent to protect your people against negroes and Indians long before any overt act was committed by the, to you, hated Lincoln Government; tried to force Kentucky and Missouri into rebellion, spite of themselves; falsified the vote of Louisiana, turned loose your privateers to plunder unarmed ships; expelled Union families by the thousands; burned their houses and declared by an act of your Congress the confiscation of all debts due Northern men for goods had and received. Talk thus to the marines, but not to me, who have seen these things, and who will this day make as much sacrifice for the peace and honor of the South as the best born Southerner among you. If we must be enemies, let us be men and fight it out, as we propose to do, and not deal in such hypocritical appeals to God and humanity. God will judge us in due time, and He will pronounce whether it be more humane to fight with a town full of women, and the families of "a brave people" at our back, or to remove them in time to places of safety among their own friends and people.

W. T. SHERMAN,
Major-general, Commanding.

Hood to Sherman, 9 September 1864

HDQRS. ARMY OF TENNESSEE, OFFICE CHIEF OF STAFF,
September 9, 1864.

Maj. Gen. W. T. SHERMAN.
Commanding U.S. Forces in Georgia:

GENERAL: Your letter of yesterday's date [7th] borne by James M. Ball and James R. Crew, citizens of Atlanta, is received. You say therein "I deem it to be to the interest of the United States that the citizens now residing in Atlanta should remove," &c. I do not consider that I have any alternative in this matter. I therefore accept your proposition to declare a truce of two days, or such time as may be necessary to accomplish the purpose mentioned, and shall render all assistance in my power to expedite the transportation of citizens in this direction. I suggest that a staff officer be appointed by you to superintend the removal from the city to Rough and Ready, while I appoint a like officer to control their removal farther south; that a guard of 100 men be sent by either party, as you propose, to maintain order at that place, and that the removal begin on Monday next. And now, sir, permit me to say that the unprecedented measure you propose transcends, in studied and ingenious cruelty, all acts ever before brought to my attention in the dark history of war. In the name of God and humanity I protest, believing that you will find that you are expelling from their homes and firesides the wives and children of a brave people.

I am, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
J. B. HOOD,
General.

Sherman to Hood, 7 September 1864

HDQRS. MILITARY DIVISON OF THE MISSISSIPPI,

In the Field, Atlanta, September 7 1864.

General Hood,
Commanding Confederate Army:

GENERAL: I have deemed it to the interest of the United States that the citizens now residing in Atlanta should remove, those who prefer it to go South, and the rest North. For the latter I can provide food and transportation to points of their election in Tennessee, Kentucky, or farther north. For the former I can provide transportation by cars as far as Rough and Ready, and also wagons; but that their removal may be made with as little discomfort as possible it will be necessary for you to help the families from Rough and Ready to the cars at Lovejoy's. If you consent I will undertake to remove all the families in Atlanta who prefer to go South to Rough and Ready, with all their movable effects, viz, clothing, trunks, reasonable furniture, bedding, &c., with their servants, white and black, with the proviso that no force shall be used toward the blacks one way or the other. If they want to go with their masters or mistresses they may do so, otherwise they will be sent away, unless they be men, when they may be employed by our quartermaster. Atlanta is no place for families or non-combatants and I have no desire to send them North if you will assist in conveying them South. If this proposition meets your views I will consent to a truce in the neighborhood of Rough and Ready, stipulating that any wagons, horses, or animals, or persons sent there for the purposes herein stated shall in no manner be harmed or molested, you in your turn agreeing that any cars, wagons, or carriages, persons, or animals sent to the same point shall not be interfered with. Each of us might send a guard of, say, 100 men to maintain order, and limit the truce to, say, two days after a certain time appointed. I have authorized the mayor to choose two citizens to convey to you this letter and such documents as the mayor may forward in explanation, and shall await your reply.

I have the honor to be, your obedient servant.

W. T. SHERMAN,

Major-General, Commanding.

(Sent by Messrs. Ball and Crew.)

Monday, June 30, 2008

Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest
to Gen. Johnston, 6 April 1864

"I am of the opinion that everything is being concentrated against General Lee and yourself."

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Grant to Sherman, 4 April 1864

"You I propose to move against Johnston's army, to break it up, and to get into the interior of the enemy's country as far as you can, inflicting all the damage you can against their war resources."

Sherman to Grant, 10 April 1864

"I will not let side issues draw me off from your main plans in which I am to knock Jos. Johnston, and to do as much damage to the resources of the enemy as possible."

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Charles A. Dana

"In peace there is a beautiful harmony in all the departments of life—they fit together like the Chinese puzzle; but in war all is ajar. Nothing fits, and it is the struggle between the stronger and the weaker; and the latter, however it may appeal to the better feelings of our nature, must kick the beam. To make war we must and will harden our hearts."


––Charles A. Dana
U.S. Assistant Secretary of War
21 April 1864

Thursday, June 26, 2008

The Burnet House, Cincinnati

In mid-March 1864 Generals Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman met in "Parlor A" of Cincinnati's Burnet House. They spread out their war maps and devised the strategy that resulted in the devastation of Georgia and South Carolina.
"Yonder began the campaign," Sherman was to say a quarter century later, standing before the hotel on the occasion of a visit to the Ohio city. "He was to go for Lee and I was to go for Joe Johnston. That was his plan. No routes prescribed.... It was the beginning of the end as Grant and I foresaw right here."
Parlor A became a shrine, of sorts, and for many years the Sons of Union Veterans held their meetings in it until around 1926, when the building was torn down for new development.

Jefferson Davis, re: Vicksburg

"... the nailhead that held the South's two halves together."

Monday, June 23, 2008

Grant to Sherman, March 1864

Nashville, Tennessee
March 4, 1864

DEAR SHERMAN :

The bill reviving the grade of lieutenant-general in the army has become a law, and my name has been sent to the Senate for the place. I now receive orders to report at Washington immediately, in person, which indicates either a confirmation or a likelihood of confirmation.

I start in the morning to comply with the order, but I shall say very distinctly on my arrival there that I shall accept no appointment which will require me to make that city my headquarters. This, however, is not what I started out to write about.

While I have been eminently successful in this war, in at least getting the confidence of the public, no one feels more than I how much of this success is due to the energy and skill of those whom it has been my good fortune to have occupying subordinate positions under me.

There are many officers to whom these remarks are applicable to a greater or less degree, proportionate to their ability as soldiers ; but what I want is to express my thanks to you and McPherson, as the men to whom, above all others, I feel indebted for whatever I have had of success. How far your advice and suggestions have been of assistance, you know. How far your execution of whatever has been given you to do entitles you to the reward I am receiving, you cannot know as well as I do. I feel all the gratitude this letter would express ; giving it the most flattering construction.

The word “you” I use in the plural, intending it for McPherson also. I should write to him, and will some day, but, starting in the morning, I do not know that I will find time just now.

Your friend,

U. S. GRANT,
Major-General.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Gen. Sherman, re: Maj. Gen. Grant

"I am a much brighter man than Grant; I can see things much quicker than he can, and know more about books than he does, but I'll tell you where he beats me, and where he beats the world: he don't care a cent for what he can't see the enemy doing, but it scares me like hell!"

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

The Cornfield


The Cornfield, site of some of the bloodiest fighting during the Battle of Antietam (near Sharpsburg, Maryland).
Photograph taken by the writer in April 2007, while touring the battlefields with Professor James McPherson.

Lee & Hood, 17 Sep 1862

As the Battle of Antietam came to an end, General Robert E. Lee encountered Brigadier General John Bell Hood while inspecting the Confederate left flank.
Lee reportedly asked: "Great God, General Hood, where is your splendid division?"
Hood replied, "They are lying upon the field where you sent them, sir."

(Roughly two-thirds of Hood's brigade had been killed or wounded fighting in "The Cornfield.")

Monday, June 16, 2008

Walt Whitman, re: Sherman




"Have you seen Sherman? Try to picture Sherman—seamy, sinewy, in style—a bit of stern open air made up in the image of a man."

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Gen. Sherman's directive, 31 January 1864

HEADQUARTERS DEPT. OF THE TENN.,

Vicksburg, Jan. 31, 1864.

MAJOR E. M. SAWYER,

A. A. C. Army of the Tenn.,

Huntsville, Alabama.

Dear Sawyer : In my former letters I have answered all your questions save one, and that relates to the treatment of inhabitants known or suspected to be hostile or "Secesh." This is in truth the most difficult business of our army as it advances and occupies the Southern country. It is almost impossible to lay down rules, and I invariably leave the whole subject to the local commanders, but am willing to give them the benefit of my acquired knowledge and experience. In Europe, whence we derive our principles of war, wars are between kings or rulers through hired armies, and not between peoples. These remain, as it were, neutral, and sell their produce to whatever army is in possession.

Napoleon when at war with Prussia, Austria, and Russia bought forage and provisions of the inhabitants, and consequently had an interest to protect the farms and factories which ministered to his wants. In like manner the Allied Armies in France could buy of the French habitants whatever they needed, the produce of the soil or manufactures of the country. Therefore, the general rule was and is that war is confined to the armies engaged, and should not visit the houses of families or private interests. But in other examples a different rule obtained the sanction of historical authority. I will only instance one, where in the siege of William and Mary the English army occupied Ireland, then in a state of revolt. The inhabitants were actually driven into foreign lands, and were dispossessed of their property and a new population introduced. To this day a large part of the north of Ireland is held by the descendants of the Scotch emigrants sent there by William's order and an act of Parliament. The war which now prevails in our land is essentially a war of races. The Southern people entered into a clear compact of government with us of the North, but still maintained through state organizations a species of separate existence, with separate interests, history, and prejudices. These latter became stronger and stronger, till at last they have led to war and have developed fruits of the bitterest kind. We of the North are beyond all question right in our cause, but we are not bound to ignore the fact that the people of the South have prejudices which form a part of their nature, and which they cannot throw off without an effort of reason or the slower process of natural change. The question then arises, Should we treat as absolute enemies all in the South who differ from us in opinion or prejudice, kill or banish them, or should we give them time to think and gradually change their conduct so as to conform to the new order of things which is slowly and gradually creeping into their country?

When men take up arms to resist a rightful authority, we are compelled to use like force, because all reason and argument cease when arms are resorted to. When the provisions, forage, horses, mules, wagons, etc., are used by our enemy, it is clearly our duty and right to take them also, because otherwise they might be used against us. In like manner all houses left vacant by an inimical people are clearly our right, and as such are needed as storehouses, hospitals, and quarters. But the question arises as to dwellings used by women, children, and non-combatants. So long as non-combatants remain in their houses and keep to their accustomed peaceful business, their opinions and prejudices can in no wise influence the war, and therefore should not be noticed ; but if any one comes out into the public streets and creates disorder, he or she should be punished, restrained, or banished to the rear or front, as the officer in command adjudges. If the people, or any of them, keep up a correspondence with parties in hostility, they are spies, and can be punished according to law with death or minor punishment. These are well-established principles of war, and this people of the South having appealed to war, are barred from appealing for protection to our constitution, which I they have practically and publicly defied. They have appealed to war, and must abide its rules and laws.

It is all idle nonsense for these Southern planters to say that they made the South, that they own it, and can do as they please to break up our Government and shut up the natural avenues of trade, intercourse, and commerce. We know, and they know, if they are intelligent beings, that as compared with the whole world they are but as five millions to one thousand millions, that they did not create the land, that the only title to use and usufruct is the deed of the United States, and that if they appeal to war they hold their all by a very insecure tenure. For my part, I believe that this war is the result of false political doctrine, for which we are all as a people more or less responsible, and I would give all a chance to reflect, and, when in error, to recant. I know the slaveowners, finding themselves in possession of a species of property in opposition to the growing sentiment of the whole civilized world, conceived their property to be in danger and foolishly appealed to war, and that by skilful political handling they involved with themselves the whole South on this result of error and prejudice. I believe that some of the rich and slave-holding are prejudiced to an extent that nothing but death and ruin will ever extinguish, but I hope that as the poorer and industrious classes of the South realize their relative weakness and their dependence upon the fruits of the earth and good-will of their fellow-men they will not only discover the error of their ways and repent of their hasty action, but bless those who persistently have maintained a constitutional government strong enough to sustain itself, protect its citizens, and promise peaceful homes to millions yet unborn.

If the people of Huntsville think differently, let them persist in this war three years longer, and then they will not be consulted.

Three years ago, by a little reflection and patience, they could have had a hundred years of peace and prosperity, but they preferred war. Last year they could have saved their slaves, but now it is too late, all the powers of earth cannot restore to them their slaves any more than their dead grandfathers. . . .

A people who will persevere in war beyond a certain limit ought to know the consequences. Many, many people, with less pertinacity than the South has already shown, have been wiped out of national existence.

My own belief is that even now the non-slave-holding classes of the South are alienating from their associates in war. Already I hear crimination and recrimination. Those who have property left should take warning in time.

Since I have come down here I have seen many Southern planters, who now hire their own negroes and acknowledge that they were mistaken and knew not the earthquake they were to make by appealing to secession. They thought that the politicians had prepared the way, and that they could part the States of this Union in peace. They now see that we are bound together as one nation by indissoluble ties, and that any interest, or any fraction of the people that set themselves up in antagonism to the nation, must perish.

Whilst I would not remit one jot or tittle of our nation's rights in peace or war, I do make allowances for past political errors and prejudices.

Our national Congress and the Supreme Court are the proper arenas on which to discuss conflicting opinions, and not the battle-field.

You may not hear from me again for some time, and if you think it will do any good, call some of the better people of Huntsville together and explain to them my views. You may even read to them this letter and let them use it, so as to prepare them for my coming. . . .

We are progressing well in this quarter, but I have not changed my opinion that although we may soon make certain the existence of the power of our national government, yet years must pass before ruffianism, murder, and robbery will cease to afflict this region of our country. Your friend,

WM. T. SHERMAN,

Major Gen'l Comd.

Friday, May 9, 2008

Alfred Holt Colquitt (1824-1894)

from the New Georgia Encyclopedia:

Alfred H. Colquitt, an active secessionist and brigade commander in the Civil War (1861-65), was a prominent political leader in his home state until his death. During his long career, the veteran officer was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, as well as the governor of Georgia.
Alfred Holt Colquitt was born in Walton County [Georgia] on April 20, 1824. In his youth Colquitt was educated at a local school in Monroe and eventually attended the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University), from which he graduated in 1844. Two years later Colquitt became a member of the Georgia bar and began practicing law in Monroe. His legal career was interrupted by service in the Mexican War (1846-48), during which he rose to the rank of major. Upon his return from the conflict, Colquitt began a political career and in 1853 was elected a U.S. representative to Congress. He did not run for reelection in 1854 but, at the end of his term in 1855, returned home to Georgia, where he was elected to the state legislature in 1859.
On the eve of the Civil War, Colquitt was actively involved in the secession movement. He served as an elector for John C. Breckinridge, a southern rights Democrat, during the 1860 presidential election, and in 1861 his support for states' rights won him a seat at the Georgia Secession Convention. Colquitt immediately joined the Confederate army when Georgia left the Union in January 1861.
Colquitt began his Confederate service as a captain but was quickly elected colonel of the Sixth Georgia Infantry in May 1861. After service in defense of Richmond, Virginia, during the spring and summer of 1862, he was appointed brigadier general on September 1, 1862. Colquitt commanded a brigade of Georgians throughout most of the battles in the eastern theater, from Antietam in Maryland in September 1862 through Chancellorsville, Virginia, in May 1863. Colquitt's service in Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia garnered him the sobriquet "the rock of South Mountain" because his brigade stalwartly repelled an attack from the Union army at South Mountain in Maryland on September 14, 1862. After questionable service during Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's famous flank attack on the Union army at Chancellorsville, Colquitt was sent first to North Carolina and ultimately to South Carolina for much of 1863 and 1864. He participated in the defense of Charleston, South Carolina, during the long siege of that city.
On February 20, 1864, anxious to atone for what was perceived as poor service at Chancellorsville, Colquitt commanded the forces that won the Battle of Olustee in Florida. He was called "the hero of Olustee" for the victory that secured Florida and prevented a Union invasion of his home state. Colquitt returned to Virginia with his brigade for the Petersburg Campaign and helped prevent the seizure of the city in 1864. Late in the war, Colquitt was again transferred to North Carolina. In January 1865 he commanded at Fort Fisher, North Carolina, but could not prevent its capitulation. By the end of the war, he had risen to the rank of major general.

Gen. Colquitt's report, post-Chancellorsville

Report of Brig. Gen. A. H. Colquitt, C. S. Army, Commanding Brigade.
APRIL 27-MAY 6, 1863.--The Chancellorsville Campaign.
O.R.-- SERIES I--VOLUME XXV/1 [S# 39]

NEAR FREDERICKSBURG, May 15, 1863.

Captain [G.] PEYTON.

SIR: Herewith I submit a report of the part taken by my brigade in the recent engagement at Chancellorsville and the affairs connected with it.
On the morning of April 29, intelligence being received that a portion of the Federal Army had succeeded in crossing the river near Fredericksburg, my brigade was put under arms and marched to Hamilton's Crossing. Under cover of a hill, protected from the enemy's artillery, we lay during the day, and at 3 o'clock next morning took position upon a line of temporary intrenchments in front of the enemy. At intervals during the day a fire of artillery was opened upon us, but without effect.
At dawn on the morning of May 1, we took up the line of march, and, after proceeding 6 or 7 miles above Fredericksburg, came upon a portion of our forces who had been engaging the enemy. Discharges of artillery and musketry were still heard. The division being formed in line of battle, my position was upon the right. In this order we advanced a few hundred yards, when my command was thrown into some confusion by coming in contact with the troops of General McLaws' command, formed perpendicular to my own line. The line being rectified, we began again to advance, when instructions were received that we should halt and await future orders. The skirmishers, moving in advance, picked up 15 or 20 prisoners. At sundown we were withdrawn to the Plank road, and continued the march for 2 or 3 miles, when we bivouacked for the night.
Early the next morning we were again put in motion, my brigade in front, and, turning to the left from the Plank road leading from Fredericksburg to Orange Court-House, it was obvious that we were aiming for the flank and rear of the enemy. On reaching the furnace, 1 mile distant from the point of divergence, I detached, by order of General Jackson, a regiment (the Twenty-third Georgia, Colonel [E. F.] Best), with instructions to guard the flank of the column in motion against a surprise, and to call, if necessary, upon any officer whose command was passing for re-enforcements. For the subsequent action and fate of this regiment, I refer to the accompanying report of Colonel Best.
After a circuitous march of 6 miles, we again reached the Plank road, which we had left. My brigade was placed in ambush along the line of the road, with the expectation that some demonstration would be made by the enemy's cavalry. In the meantime the division filed past, and I closed in upon the rear.
At 4 o'clock we reached the road running through Chancellorsville to ------. Here we formed line of battle, my brigade upon the right, and uniting with Doles upon the left. In this order we advanced for a few hundred yards, when intelligence was communicated to me by the skirmishers that a body of the enemy was upon my right flank. I ordered a halt, and called back the Sixth Georgia, which had continued to advance. The regiment upon the right (the Nineteenth Georgia) was quickly thrown into position to meet any demonstration upon the flank, and ordered to advance about 100 yards to the summit of a hill. The enemy's force proved to be a small body of cavalry, which galloped away as soon as the regiment advancing toward them was discovered, and a picket of infantry, which was captured by my skirmishers. All apprehension in this quarter being allayed, we advanced again to the front, to renew connection with the line that had preceded us. As we emerged from the woods into an open field, I discovered Doles' brigade hotly engaged with the enemy at his first works. With a shout, and at a double-quick, we moved to his support, but before we reached musket range the enemy broke in confusion and fled. I halted in the open field, and brought up two of my regiments which had been delayed in crossing a creek and in climbing its steep banks. It was now nearly dark, and too late for further action.
At 10 o'clock I relieved the brigade of General McGowan, watching a road leading to one of the enemy's main positions, and detailed the Sixth Georgia Regiment to support a battery in front. During the night, the alarm being given, my whole command was moved to the support of the battery, and was subjected at intervals to a fierce artillery fire from the enemy.
Early the ensuing morning, I took my position in line of battle on the extreme right, and, in pursuance of orders, was advancing upon the enemy's position, when I received orders to move to the support of General Archer, a guide being furnished to direct me to him. I had proceeded but a short distance when I was ordered to repair in haste to the extreme left of our line, where the enemy threatened to turn our flank. I had scarcely reached the new position when I was again ordered to the right, and thence again to the left.
While our forces were occupied in the assault on Chancellorsville, the enemy sought to assail them in flank, and made desperate efforts to regain possession of the turnpike. It was to defeat this object that my brigade was thrown to the left. Forming line of battle parallel to the road, I advanced in face of a severe fire to a line of breastworks from which the enemy had been driven. Here I found the Third Alabama, of Rodes' brigade, and some Louisiana and South Carolina regiments stubbornly resisting his advance. They had well-nigh exhausted their ammunition. Upon my arrival they withdrew, producing some confusion in rushing through my ranks; it was momentary, however. Advancing beyond the breastworks, we opened a furious and well-directed fire upon the enemy. The contest was sharp and fierce for a few moments. I ordered a charge, which was responded to with a shout and at a double-quick. The enemy broke and fled in confusion, throwing away arms, accouterments, and every incumbrance. We continued the pursuit for half a mile, killing and capturing many, and driving the fugitives into their fortifications in rear of Chancellorsville. Coming to a halt, we lay under cover of woods within 400 yards of their works for four or five hours. Some demonstrations being made upon my left, the brigade of General Lane was sent to my support. Previously the Fiftieth Virginia [?], Captain Mathews, and a detachment of a South Carolina [Alabama] regiment, under Major [A. M.] Gordon, had joined me as re-enforcements. The enemy did not show himself again outside of his works.
At 4 p.m. I was relieved by the division of Maj. Gen. A. P. Hill, under the command of General Pender. We took position soon after in the trenches about Chancellorsville, where we lay until ordered back to our camp near Grace Church.
Colonels [Charles T.] Zachry, [John T.] Lofton, [Tully] Graybill, and [A. J.] Hutchins led their regiments with spirit and energy.
Captain [G. G.] Grattan, assistant adjutant-general, and Lieutenant [James] Randie, aide-de-camp, were indefatigable in their efforts and conspicuously bold in the discharge of their duties.
Mr. H. H. Colquitt, acting upon my staff, bore himself with spirit and coolness.
Especial credit is due Capt. William M. Arnold, Sixth Georgia Regiment, who commanded the battalion of skirmishers. His energy, zeal, and gallantry won my admiration.

A. H. COLQUITT,
Brigadier-General.

[P. S.] The names of the following officers and men are mentioned by their regimental commanders as deserving especial notice for meritorious conduct: Corpls. R. W. Clarke and William Chappell, and Private W. J. Howell, Company A, Sixth Georgia Regiment. Lieuts. George W. Lathem, commanding Company D, and W. P. Edwards, commanding Company F, Twenty-seventh Georgia Regiment. Sergt.W. A. Webb, Corpls. L. C. Fentrell and C. M. Newberry, Privates H. Newberry, M. Merritt, J. Murchison, J. Hoskins, J. Worsham, W. G. Clary, and Simon Johnson, of Company C; Privates A. L. Dodd, John J. Buffington, G. M. Dodd, James Laster, Thomas J. Horton, and A. J. Whitaker, of Company E; Privates J. T. Reeves and J. C. Curtice, of Company G; Sergts. J. B. Bryans and T. J. Dukes, Corpl. B. P. Pryor, Privates B. F. Norris, G. W. Rape, J. M. Lindsey, and John H. Lewis, of Company H; Sergt. James Shirah, of Company F; Private William Connel, of Company K, Twenty-seventh Georgia Regiment.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Meade's Headquarters, re: Spotsylvania

from Meade's Headquarters, 1863-1865: Letters of Colonel Theodore Lyman, published 1922, The Atlantic Monthly Press:

    HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF POTOMAC
    Wednesday, May 18, 1864
    . . . Lee is not retreating: he is a brave and skillful soldier and he will fight while he has a division or a day's rations left. These Rebels are not half-starved and ready to give up — a more sinewy, tawny, formidable-looking set of men could not be. In education they are certainly inferior to our native-born people; but they are usually very quick-witted within their own sphere of comprehension; and they know enough to handle weapons with terrible effect. Their great characteristic is their stoical manliness; they never beg, or whimper, or complain; but look you straight in the face, with as little animosity as if they had never heard a gun.

Lee's Spotsylvania line

from The Civil War, Vol. III, by Shelby Foote, Random House, 1974, p. 204:

Studded with guns at critical points throughout its convex three-mile length, Lee's Spotsylvania line was constructed, Meade's chief of staff declared, "in a manner unknown to European warfare, and indeed, in a manner new to warfare in this country." Actually, it was not so much the novelty of the individual engineering techniques that made this log-and-dirt barrier so forbidding; it was the combination of them into a single construction of interlocking parts, the canny use of natural features of the terrain, and the speed with which the butternut veterans, familiar by now with the fury of Grant's assaults, had accomplished their intricate task. Traverses zigzagged to provide cover against enfilade fire from artillery, and head logs, chocked a few inches above the hard-packed spoil on the enemy side of the trench, afforded riflemen a protected slit through which they could take unruffled aim at whatever came their way.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Sen. James H. Hammond,
re: The Mudsill Theory

Speech to the U.S. Senate,
March 4, 1858:

In all social systems there must be a class to do the menial duties, to perform the drudgery of life. That is, a class requiring but a low order of intellect and but little skill. Its requisites are vigor, docility, fidelity. Such a class you must have, or you would not have that other class which leads progress, civilization, and refinement. It constitutes the very mud-sill of society and of political government; and you might as well attempt to build a house in the air, as to build either the one or the other, except on this mud-sill. Fortunately for the South, she found a race adapted to that purpose to her hand. A race inferior to her own, but eminently qualified in temper, in vigor, in docility, in capacity to stand the climate, to answer all her purposes. We use them for our purpose, and call them slaves. We found them slaves by the common "consent of mankind," which, according to Cicero, "lex naturae est." The highest proof of what is Nature's law. We are old-fashioned at the South yet; slave is a word discarded now by "ears polite;" I will not characterize that class at the North by that term; but you have it; it is there; it is everywhere; it is eternal.
The Senator from New York said yesterday that the whole world had abolished slavery. Aye, the name, but not the thing; all the powers of the earth cannot abolish that. God only can do it when he repeals the fiat, "the poor ye always have with you;" for the man who lives by daily labor, and scarcely lives at that, and who has to put out his labor in the market, and take the best he can get for it; in short, your whole hireling class of manual laborers and "operatives," as you call them, are essentially slaves. The difference between us is, that our slaves are hired for life and well compensated; there is no starvation, no begging, no want of employment among our people, and not too much employment either. Yours are hired by the day, not cared for, and scantily compensated, which may be proved in the most painful manner, at any hour in any street in any of your large towns. Why, you meet more beggars in one day, in any single street of the city of New York, than you would meet in a lifetime in the whole South. We do not think that whites should be slaves either by law or necessity. Our slaves are black, of another and inferior race. The status in which we have placed them is an elevation. They are elevated from the condition in which God first created them, by being made our slaves. None of that race on the whole face of the globe can be compared with the slaves of the South. They are happy, content, unaspiring, and utterly incapable, from intellectual weakness, ever to give us any trouble by their aspirations. Yours are white, of your own race; you are brothers of one blood. They are your equals in natural endowment of intellect, and they feel galled by their degradation. Our slaves do not vote. We give them no political power. Yours do vote, and, being the majority, they are the depositories of all your political power. If they knew the tremendous secret, that the ballot-box is stronger than "an army with banners," and could combine, where would you be? Your society would be reconstructed, your government overthrown, your property divided, not as they have mistakenly attempted to initiate such proceedings by meeting in parks, with arms in their hands, but by the quiet process of the ballot-box. You have been making war upon us to our very hearthstones. How would you like for us to send lecturers and agitators North, to teach these people this, to aid in combining, and to lead them?

Sgt. Olney Andus, Union Army, 1864:

"They are fighting for different motives from us. We are fighting for the Union . . . a high and noble sentiment, but after all a sentiment. They are fighting for independence and are animated by passion and hatred against invaders. . . . It makes no difference whether the cause is just or not. You can get up an amount of enthusiasm that nothing else will excite."

Thursday, April 24, 2008

Gen. James Longstreet, re: the Wilderness

Some years after the affair on the Plank road, General Hancock said to me,
"You rolled me up like a wet blanket, and it was some hours before I could reorganize for battle."

(from From Manassas to Appomattox, by Lt. Gen. James Longstreet, CSA)

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Gen. John B. Gordon (1832-1904)

John Brown Gordon was one of Robert E. Lee's most trusted generals during the Civil War.
Although lacking any military education or experience, Gordon was elected captain of a company of mountaineers and quickly climbed from captain to brigadier general (November 1, 1862) to major general (May 14, 1864). Gordon was an aggressive general who, when in command or leading a charge, was never defeated or repulsed. In 1864, Gordon was described by General Robert E. Lee in a letter to Confederate President Jefferson Davis as being one of his best brigadiers, "characterized by splendid audacity."
Gordon was a brigadier general and brigade commander in D.H. Hill's division in the Peninsula Campaign of 1862. During the subsequent Seven Days battles, as Gordon strode fearlessly among his men, enemy bullets shattered the handle of his pistol, pierced his canteen, and tore away part of the front of his coat. He was wounded in the eyes during the assault on Malvern Hill.
Assigned by General Lee to hold the vital sunken road, or "Bloody Lane", during the Battle of Antietam, Gordon's propensity for being wounded reached new heights. First, a Minié ball passed through his calf. Then, a second ball hit him higher in the same leg. A third ball went through his left arm. He continued to lead his men despite the fact that the muscles and tendons in his arm were mangled, and a small artery severed. A fourth ball hit him in his shoulder. Despite pleas that he go to the rear, he continued to lead his men. Gordon was finally stopped by a ball that hit him in the face, passing through his left cheek and exiting his jaw. He fell with his face in his cap and might have drowned in his own blood if it hadn't drained out through a bullet hole in the cap.
After months of recuperation, in June 1863 Gordon led a brigade of Georgians in Jubal Early's division during the Confederate invasion of Pennsylvania. At Gettysburg, on July 1, Gordon's brigade smashed into the Union XI Corps on Barlow's Knoll.
In the Overland Campaign, Gordon commanded a division in Lt. Gen. Richard S. Ewell's (later Early's) corps. He proposed a flanking attack against the Union right in the Battle of the Wilderness that might have had a decisive effect on the battle, had Early allowed him freedom to launch it before late in the day. Gordon's success in turning back the massive Union assault in the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse (the Bloody Angle) prevented a Confederate rout.
He left with Early for the Valley campaigns of 1864 and was wounded August 25, 1864, at Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Confederate engineer Jedediah Hotchkiss's official report of the incident stated, "Quite a lively skirmish ensued, in which Gordon was wounded in the head, but he gallantly dashed on, the blood streaming over him." His wife Fanny, accompanying her husband on the campaign as general's wives sometimes did, rushed out into the street at the Third Battle of Winchester to urge Gordon's retreating troops to go back and face the enemy. Gordon was horrified to find her in the street with shells and balls flying about her.
Returning to Lee's army after Early's defeat at the Battle of Cedar Creek, Gordon led the Second Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia until the end of the war. In this role, he defended the line in the Siege of Petersburg and commanded the attack on Fort Stedman on March 25, 1865 (where he was wounded again, in the leg). At Appomattox, he led his men in the last charge of the Army of Northern Virginia, capturing the entrenchments and several pieces of artillery in his front just before the surrender. On April 12, 1865, Gordon's troops officially surrendered to Bvt. Maj. Gen. Joshua L. Chamberlain, acting for Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.

(info from Wikipedia)

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Stonewall Jackson's last words:

“Let us cross over the river, and rest under the shade of the trees.”

Horace Greeley, re: Chancellorsville

"My God! It is horrible--horrible; and to think of it, 130,000 magnificent soldiers cut to pieces by less than 60,000 half-starved ragamuffins."

Arms & the Men

In the midst of one of his most brilliant maneuvers, Confederate General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was mistakenly shot by his own men on the night of May 2, 1863 during the the Battle of Chancellorsville. Dr. Hunter H. McGuire performed surgery on Jackson in a field hospital near Chancellorsville, where he amputated Jackson's twice wounded left arm and removed a ball from the General's right hand. Major General Robert E. Lee decided that Jackson should recuperate in a safe place well behind friendly lines. He selected the Chandler plantation in the rural community of Guinea Station, Virginia, as the best location for Jackson, because of its proximity to the railroad to Richmond and its familiarity to the wounded general.
Jackson's chaplain, B. Tucker Lacy, had a brother who owned a house near the hospital, and took Jackson's severed limb to his brother's family cemetery for burial. Lacy comforted the pious Jackson, holding devotions with him for the first two days spent at Guinea Station, but the chaplain soon returned to army headquarters. He requested that General Lee send another doctor to relieve the weary McGuire, who tried to provide round-the-clock care. In their conversation about Jackson's condition, Lee told Lacy, "He has lost his left arm, but I have lost my right arm."

(info from the National Park Service, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park)

Monday, April 14, 2008

re: Traveller


from Stratford Hall Plantation, Robert E. Lee Memorial Association, Inc.:

Traveller was used by General Robert E. Lee thoughout most of the Civil War. The iron gray horse was born in 1857 in Greenbrier County, which is now in West Virginia. He was first called Jeff Davis by Andrew Johnston, who raised him. He was renamed Greenbrier by his next owner, Captain Joseph M. Broun. Lee bought the horse from Capt. Broun for $200 during his late 1861 stay in South Carolina. Lee renamed his new mount Traveller. Traveller, who weighed about eleven hundred pounds and stood nearly sixteen hands high, served his master well. He outlived General Lee, and upon his death he was buried next to the Lee Chapel. In 1907 his remains were disinterred and displayed at the Chapel for a period of time before reburied on the front campus outside the Lee Chapel.
The best description of Traveller was Lee's own, which he wrote in response to Mrs. Lee's cousin Markie Williams, who wished to paint a portrait of Traveller:

    "If I was an artist like you, I would draw a true picture of Traveller; representing his fine proportions, muscular figure, deep chest, short back, strong haunches, flat legs, small head, broad forehead, delicate ears, quick eye, small feet, and black mane and tail. Such a picture would inspire a poet, whose genius could then depict his worth, and describe his endurance of toil, hunger, thirst, heat and cold; and the dangers and suffering through which he has passed. He could dilate upon his sagacity and affection, and his invarible response to every wish of his rider. He might even imagine his thoughts through the long night-marches and days of the battle through which he has passed. But I am no artist Markie, and can therefore only say he is a Confederate grey."

Chancellorsville: Robert E. Lee, astride Traveller

Chancellorsville, May 1863, according to a staff officer:

    "The fierce soldiers with their faces blackened with the smoke of battle, the wounded crawling with feeble limbs from the fury of the devouring flames, all seemed possessed with a common impulse. One long, unbroken cheer, in which the feeble cry of those who lay helpless on the earth blended with the strong voices of those who still fought, rose high above the roar of battle, and hailed the presence of the victorious chief. He sat in the full realization of all that soldiers dream of—triumph; and as I looked upon him in the complete fruition of the success which his genius, courage, and confidence in his army had won, I thought that it must have been from such a scene that men in ancient days rose to the dignity of gods.”

Sunday, April 13, 2008

Union marching song:

The Union boys are moving on the left and the right,
The bugle call is sounding, our shelters we must strike,
Joe Hooker is our leader, he takes his whisky strong,
So our knapsacks we will sling, and go marching along.

chorus:
Joe Hooker is our leader, he takes his whisky strong,
So our knapsacks we will sling, and go marching along.
Marching along, marching along,
With eight days' rations we'll go marching along.

The soft-tack days are over, our beef is on the foot,
The pork, hard-tack, and coffee we've in our knapsacks put;
The extra clothes are heavy, but on our shoulders strong,
We'll sling our eight days' rations, and go marching along.

chorus:
The extra clothes are heavy, but on our shoulders strong,
We'll sling our eight days' rations, and go marching along.

Our overcoats and dresscoats are strewn along the road.
They crowded them upon us — we couldn't tote the load,
Contractors put the job up, and we must foot the bill ;
But, Sam, our dear old uncle, we know it's not your will.

chorus:
Contractors put the job up, and we must foot the bill ;
But, Sam, our dear old uncle, we know it's not your will.

The graybacks are on us, increasing each day,
Heavy are our rations, but small is our pay;
Our spirits are light, but our cause it is strong,
With eight days' rations we go marching along.

chorus:
Our spirits are light, but our cause it is strong,
With eight days' rations we go marching along.

The Virginia hills are high, and the mud roads are long,
But we'll liven the way with a bit of home-made song ;
Then join the chorus, comrades, with voices full and strong,
While with our eight days' rations we go marching along.

chorus:
Then join the chorus, comrades, with voices full and strong,
While with our eight days' rations we go marching along.

The Johnnies are before us, their bullets buzz like bees,
They're down among the brushwood, and hid behind the trees ;
Now, keep cool, boys— there ! steady ! just give it to them strong !
And when the fight is over we'll go marching along.

chorus:
Now, keep cool, boys— there! steady! just give it to them strong!
And when the fight is over we'll go marching along.

The war won't last forever, some day we will be done
With drill, and march, and battle, and cartridge-box and gun,
We'll tramp up North from Richmond to drum and fife; and then,
Oh, won't our folks be tickled to see us home again !

chorus:
We'll tramp up North from Richmond to drum and fife; and then,
Oh, won't our folks be tickled to see us home again !

Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Robert E. Lee, 25 December 1862

“I will commence this holy day dearest Mary by writing to you. My heart is filled with gratitude to Almighty God for His unspeakable mercies with which He has blessed us in this day, for those He has granted us from the beginning of life, and particularly for those He has vouchsafed us during the past year. What should have become of us without His crowning help and protection? Oh, if our people would only recognize it and cease from vain self-boasting and adulation, how strong would be my belief in final success and happiness to our country! For in Him alone I know is our trust and safety. Cut off from you and my children, my greatest pleasure is to write to you and them. Yet I have no time to indulge in it. You must tell them so, and say I constantly think of them and love them fervently with all my heart. But what a cruel thing is war; to separate and destroy families and friends, and mar the purest joys and happiness God has granted us in this world; to fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbours, and to devastate the fair face of this beautiful world! I pray that, on this day when only peace and good-will are preached to mankind, better thoughts may fill the hearts of our enemies and turn them to peace. Our army was never in such good health and condition since I have been attached to it. I believe they share with me my disappointment that the enemy did not renew the combat on the 13th. I was holding back all day and husbanding our strength and ammunition for the great struggle, for which I thought I was preparing. Had I divined that was to have been his only effort, he would have had more of it. But I am content. We might have gained more but we would have lost more, and perhaps our relative condition would not have been improved. My heart bleeds at the death of every one of our gallant men. Give much love to every one. Kiss Chass and Agnes for me, and believe me with true affection Yours R. E. Lee"

The Balloon Corps


from the U.S. Centennial Of Flight Commission:

Both the Union and Confederate armies used balloons for reconnaissance during the American Civil War, marking the first time that balloons were used in the United States for reconnaissance. The professional aeronaut John Wise was the first to receive orders to build a balloon for the Union army. However, the balloon never was used because it escaped its tethers and was shot down to prevent it from falling into Confederate hands.
Thaddeus Lowe and John LaMountain both carried out reconnaissance activities for the Union army during the war. Lowe had foreseen the usefulness of balloon observations when he had accidentally landed in South Carolina on a flight from Cincinnati, Ohio, to the Atlantic Ocean in April 1861. One of his financial supporters, Murat Halstead, editor of the Cincinnati Daily Commercial, wrote to U.S. Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase and suggested that the United States establish a balloon corps under Lowe's command. This corps would provide aerial reconnaissance for the Union armies....
The Confederate Army also formed a smaller version of the balloon corps. In the spring of 1862, Captain John Randolph Bryan offered to oversee the building and deployment of an observation balloon. This balloon consisted of a cotton envelope coated with varnish. Unlike the hydrogen-filled Union balloons, it was a Montgolfiére—filled with hot air—because the Confederacy did not have the equipment for generating hydrogen in the field.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant, May 1864:

"I am heartily tired of hearing what Lee is going to do. Some of you always seem to think he is suddenly going to turn a double somersault, and land on our rear and on both our flanks at the same time. Go back to your command, and try to think what we are going to do ourselves, instead of what Lee is going to do."

Gen. Joseph Hooker, post-Fredericksburg:

"May God have mercy on General Lee, for I will have none."

Maj. Gen. Robert E. Lee,
re: Fredericksburg (2)

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA,
Near Fredericksburg, Va,, December 16, 1862.

Hon. JAMES A. SEDDON,
Secretary of War, Richmond, Va.

SIR: I have the honor to report that the army of General Burnside re crossed the Rappahannock last night, leaving a number of his dead and some of his wounded on this side. Our skirmishers again occupy Fredericksburg and the south bank of the river. Large camps and wagon trains are visible on the hills of Stafford, and his heavy guns occupy their former position on that bank. There is nothing to indicate his future purpose. I have sent one brigade of cavalry down the Rappahannock, and have put Jackson's corps in motion in the same direction. I think it probable an attempt will be made to cross at Port Royal. Another brigade of cavalry has been sent up the Rappahannock, with orders, if opportunity offers, to cross and penetrate the enemy's rear and endeavor to ascertain his intention. I learn from prisoners that the three grand divisions of General Burnside's army, viz, Hooker's, [E. V.] Sumner's, and [W. B.] Franklin's, crossed this side, and were engaged in the battle of the 13th. They also state that the corps of Generals [S. P.] Heintzelman and Sigel reached Fredericksburg Sunday evening. Should the enemy cross at Port Royal in force before I can get this army in position to meet him, I think it more advantageous to retire to the Annas and give battle than on the banks of the Rappahannock. My design was to have done so in the first instance. My purpose was changed not from any advantage in this position, but from an unwillingness to open more of our country to depredation than possible, and also with a view of collecting such forage and provisions as could be obtained in the Rappahannock Valley. With the numerous army opposed to me, and the bridges and transportation at its command, the crossing of the Rappahannock, where it is as narrow and winding as in the vicinity of Fredericksburg, can be made at almost any point without molestation. It will, therefore, be more advantageous to us to draw him farther away from his base of operations.
The loss of the enemy in the battle of the 13th seems to have been heavy, though I have no means of computing it accurately. An intelligent prisoner says he heard it stated in the army to have amounted to 19,000, though a citizen of Fredericksburg who remained in the city computes it at 10,000. I think the latter number nearer the truth than the former.
I hope there will be no relaxation in making every preparation for the contest which will have to be renewed, but at what point I cannot now state.
I have learned that on the side of the enemy Generals Bayard and Jackson were killed, and Generals Hooker and [John] Gibbon wounded; the former said to be severely so.

I am, most respectfully, your obedient servant,
R. E. LEE,
General.

Maj. Gen. Robert E. Lee,
re: Fredericksburg (1)

Report of General Robert E. Lee, C.S. Army,
Commanding Army of Northern Virginia,
Battle of Fredericksburg

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA,
December 14, 1862.

Hon. SECRETARY OF WAR,
Richmond, Va.

SIR: On the night of the 10th instant, the enemy commenced to throw three bridges over the Rappahannock, two at Fredericksburg and the third about 1 1/4 miles below, near the mouth of Deep Run. The plain on which Fredericksburg stands is so completely commanded by the hills of Stafford (in possession of the enemy) that no effectual opposition could be offered to the construction of the bridges or the passage of the river without exposing our troops to the destructive fire of his numerous batteries. Positions were, therefore, selected to oppose his advance after crossing. The narrowness of the Rappahannock, its winding course, and deep bed afforded opportunity for the construction of bridges at points beyond the reach of our artillery, and the banks had to be watched by skirmishers. The latter, sheltering themselves behind the houses, drove back the working parties of the enemy at the bridges opposite the city, but at the lowest point of crossing, where no shelter could be had, our sharpshooters were themselves driven off, and the completion of that bridge was effected about noon on the 11th.
In the afternoon of that day, the enemy's batteries opened upon the city, and by dark had so demolished the houses on the river bank as to deprive our skirmishers of shelter, and under cover of his guns he effected a lodgment in the town. The troops which had so gallantly held their position in the city under the severe cannonade during the day, resisting the advance of the enemy at every step, were withdrawn during the night, as were also those who, with equal tenacity, had maintained their post at the lowest bridge. Under cover of darkness and of a dense fog on the 12th, a large force passed the river and took position on the right bank, protected by their heavy guns on the left.
The morning of the 13th, his arrangements for attack being completed, about 9 o'clock (the movement veiled by a fog) he advanced boldly in large force against our right wing. General Jackson's corps occupied the right of our line, which rested on the railroad; General Longstreet's the left, extending along the heights to the Rappahannock above Fredericksburg. General Stuart, with two brigades of cavalry, was posted in the extensive plain on our extreme right. As soon as the advance of the enemy was discovered through the fog, General Stuart, with his accustomed promptness, moved up a section of his horse artillery, which opened with effect upon his flank and drew upon the gallant Pelham a heavy fire, which he sustained unflinchingly for about two hours.
In the mean time the enemy was fiercely encountered by General A. P. Hill's division, forming General Jackson's right, and, after an obstinate combat, repulsed. During this attack, which was protracted and hotly contested, two of General Hill's brigades were driven back upon our second line. General Early, with part of his division, being ordered to his support, drove the enemy back from the point of woods he had seized, and pursued him into the plain until arrested by his artillery. The right of the enemy's column, extending beyond Hill's front, encountered the right of General Hood, of Longstreet's corps. The enemy took possession of a small copse in front of Hood, but were quickly dispossessed and repulsed with loss.
During the attack on our right, the enemy was crossing troops over his bridges at Fredericksburg and massing them in front of Longstreet's line. Soon after his repulse on our right, he commenced a series of attacks on our left with a view of obtaining possession of the heights immediately overlooking the town. These repeated attacks were repulsed in gallant style by the Washington Artillery, under Colonel [J. B.] Walton, and a portion of McLaws' division, which occupied these heights. The last assault was made after dark, when Colonel [E. P.] Alexander's battalion had relieved the Washington Artillery (whose ammunition had been exhausted), and ended the contest for the day.
The enemy was supported in his attacks by the fire of strong batteries of artillery on the right bank of the river, as well as by his numerous heavy batteries on the Stafford Heights.
Our loss during the operations since the movements of the enemy began amounts to about 1,800 killed and wounded. Among the former I regret to report the death of the patriotic soldier and statesman, Brig. Gen. Thomas R. R. Cobb, who fell upon our left, and among the latter that brave soldier and accomplished gentleman, Brig. Gen. Maxcy Gregg, who was very seriously, and it is feared mortally, wounded during the attack on our right.
The enemy today has been apparently engaged in caring for his wounded and burying his dead. His troops are visible in their first position in line of battle, but, with the exception of some desultory cannonading and firing between skirmishers, he has not attempted to renew the attack. About 550 prisoners were taken during the engagement, but the full extent of his loss is unknown.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
R. E. LEE,
General.

Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside,
re: Fredericksburg

Report of Maj. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside,
U. S. Army, commanding Army of the Potomac,
Battle of Fredericksburg

HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE POTOMAC,
December 17, 1862.

Maj. Gen. H. W. HALLECK,
General-in-Chief , Washington, D. C

I have the honor to offer the following reasons for moving the Army of the Potomac across the Rappahannock sooner than was anticipated by the President, Secretary, or yourself, and for crossing at a point different from the one indicated to you at our last meeting at the President's:
During my preparations for crossing at the place I had at first selected, I discovered that the enemy had thrown a large portion of his force down the river and elsewhere, thus weakening his defenses in front; and also thought I discovered that he did not anticipate the crossing of our whole force at Fredericksburg; and I hoped, by rapidly throwing the whole command over at that place, to separate, by a vigorous attack, the forces of the enemy on the river below from the forces behind and on the crests in tile rear of the town, in which case we should fight him with great advantages in our favor. To do this we had to gain a height on the extreme right of the crest, which height commanded a new road, lately built by the enemy for purposes of more rapid communication along his lines; which point gained, his positions along the crest would have been scarcely tenable, and he could have been driven from them easily by an attack on his front, in connection with a movement in rear of the crest.
How near we came to accomplishing our object future reports will show. But for the fog and unexpected and unavoidable delay in building the bridges, which gave the enemy twenty-four hours more to concentrate his forces in his strong positions, we would almost certainly have succeeded; in which case the battle would have been, in my opinion, far more decisive than if we had crossed at the places first selected. As it was, we came very near success. Failing in accomplishing the main object, we remained in order of battle two days--long enough to decide that the enemy would not come out of his strongholds and fight us with his infantry. After which we recrossed to this side of the river unmolested, and without the loss of men or property.
As the day broke, our long lines of troops were seen marching to their different positions as if going on parade; not the least demoralization or disorganization existed.
To the brave officers and soldiers who accomplished the feat of this recrossing in the face of the enemy I owe everything. For the failure in the attack I am responsible, as the extreme gallantry, courage, and endurance shown by them was never excelled, and would have carried the points, had it been possible.
To the families and friends of the dead I can only offer my heartfelt sympathy, but for the wounded I can offer my earnest prayers for their comfort and final recovery.
The fact that I decided to move from Warrenton onto this line rather against the opinion of the President, Secretary, and yourself, and that you have left the whole management in my hands, without giving me orders, makes me the more responsible.
I will visit you very soon and give you more definite information, and finally will send you my detailed report, in which a special acknowledgment will be made of the services of the different grand divisions, corps, and my general and personal staff departments of the Army of the Potomac, to whom I am much indebted for their hearty support and co-operation.
I will add here that the movement was made earlier than you expected, and after the President, Secretary, and yourself requested me not to be in haste, for the reason that we were supplied much sooner by the different staff departments than was anticipated when I last saw you.
Our killed amounted to 1,152; our wounded, about 9,000; our prisoners, about 700, which have been paroled and exchanged for about the same number taken by us. The wounded were all removed to this side of the river before the evacuation, and are being well cared for, and the dead were all buried under a flag of truce. The surgeon reports a much larger proportion than usual of slight wounds, 1,630 only being treated in hospitals. I am glad to represent the army at the present time in good condition.

Thanking the Government for that entire support and confidence which I have always received from them,

I remain, general, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
A. E. BURNSIDE,
Major-General, Commanding Army of the Potomac.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Morgan Freeman, re: slavery in early America

"The perpetrators won't live it down , nor will the victims. But my wish is that, generationally, [we] won't call it closure. We will just realize that, ultimately, we all went through it, and we all had to survive it."

(from the PBS series African American Lives 2)

Monday, January 28, 2008

Paul the apostle, re: masters and slaves

Ephesians 6:5-9
5 Slaves*, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, 6 not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, 7 rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, 8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free. 9 Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.

Colossians 3:22-24
22 Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

Colossians 4:1
1 Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

1 Timothy 6:1
1 Let all who are under a yoke as slaves regard their own masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be reviled.

Titus 2:9-10
9 Slaves are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior.

*Greek: bondservants

Saturday, January 26, 2008

William L. Smith (S.C.), re: emancipation

The First Congress, 1790; debates re House Committee Report on the Quaker slavery petitions, March 17-23, 1790:

    MR. SMITH.— ... As the laws of the United States were paramount to those of the individual States, the Federal regulations would abrogate those of the States, consequently the States would thus be divested of a power which it was evident they now had and might exercise whenever they thought proper. But admitting that Congress had authority to manumit [emancipate] the slaves in America, and were disposed to exercise it, would the Southern States acquiesce in such a measure without a struggle? Would the citizens of that country tamely suffer their property to be torn from them? Would even the citizens of the other States which did not possess this property desire to have all the slaves let loose upon them? Would not such a step be injurious even to the slaves themselves? It was well known that they were an indolent people, improvident, averse to labor: when emancipated they would either starve or plunder. Nothing was a stronger proof of the absurdity of emancipation than the fanciful schemes which the friends to the measure had suggested. One was to ship them out of the country and colonize them in some foreign region. This plan admitted that it would be dangerous to retain 
them within the United States after they were manumitted: but surely it would be inconsistent with humanity to banish these people to a remote country, and to expel them from their native soil, and from places to which they had a local attachment. It would be no less repugnant to the principles of freedom not to allow them to remain here if they desired it. How could they be called freemen if they were, against their consent, to be expelled the country? Thus did the advocates for emancipation acknowledge that the blacks, when liberated, ought not to remain here to stain the blood of the whites by a mixture of the races.

    Another plan was to liberate all those who should be born after a certain limited period. Such a scheme would produce this very extraordinary phenomenon, that the mother would be a slave and her child would be free. These young emancipated negroes, by associating with their enslaved parents, would participate in all the debasement which slavery is said to occasion. But, allowing that a practicable scheme of general emancipation could be devised, there can be no doubt that the two 
races would still remain distinct. It is known from experience that the whites had such an idea of their superiority over the blacks that they never even associated with them; even the warmest friends to the blacks kept them at a distance and rejected all intercourse with them. Could any instance be quoted of their intermarrying? The Quakers asserted that nature had made all men equal and that the difference of color should not place negroes on a worse footing in society than the whites; but had any of them ever married a negro, and would any of them suffer their children to mix their blood with that of a black? They would view with abhorrence such an alliance. 


    Mr. Smith then read some extracts from Mr. Jefferson's “Notes on Virginia,” proving that negroes were by nature an inferior race of beings, and that the whites would always feel a repugnance at mixing their blood with that of the blacks.

(from Great Debates in American History, by United States Congress, Great Britain Parliament, Marion Mills Miller, published 1913, Current Literature Publishing Company)

Judge Aedamas Burke (S.C.), re: the Quakers

The First Congress, 1790; debates re House Committee Report on the Quaker slavery petitions, March 17-23, 1790:

    MR. BURKE animadverted with great freedom on the past and present conduct of the Quakers. He denied that they were the friends of freedom; he said that during the late war they were for bringing this country under a foreign yoke; they descended to the character of spies; they supplied the enemy with provisions; they were guides and conductors to their armies; and whenever the American army came into their neighborhood they found themselves in an enemy's country.

    Mr. Burke was proceeding in this strain when he was interrupted by being called to order. A warm altercation ensued.

(from Great Debates in American History, by United States Congress, Great Britain Parliament, Marion Mills Miller, published 1913, Current Literature Publishing Company)

The First Congress, 1790:
The Slavery Debate, Conclusion

The memorials were referred to committee by a vote of 43 to 14.

On March 16 the committee made its report, which was that the Constitution expressly restrained the general Government from prohibiting the importation of slaves until 1808, and, by fair construction, prohibited Congress from interfering before that date with the emancipation of slaves, or the regulation of slaves by the States; the committee trusted, however, that the various legislatures would revise their laws from time to time to ameliorate the condition of the slaves.
The committee went on to declare that Congress had authority to lay a tax not exceeding ten dollars on each slave imported, and to make provision for the humane treatment of the slaves in passage, as well as to prohibit foreigners from fitting out slave ships in a port of the United States. Lastly, they advised that Congress inform the memorialists that, wherever it had jurisdiction in matters concerning slavery, it would be exercised on the principles of “justice, humanity, and good policy.”
This report was debated from March 17 to 23, when it was passed, with amendments eliminating the suggestion to the State legislatures that Congress had the power to emancipate slaves after 1808 and the final notice to the memorialists. The vote upon entering on the Journal the original report of the committee, and the amended report, was passed by 29 to 25 votes. The chief speakers in the debate were, in favor of the original report: Thomas Hartley [Pa.] and Elias Boudinot [N. J.]; against it, Alexander White [Va.], Aedamus Burke and William L. Smith, of South Carolina.

(from Great Debates in American History, by United States Congress, Great Britain Parliament, Marion Mills Miller, published 1913, Current Literature Publishing Company)

The First Congress, 1790:
The Slavery Debate, cont'd (part 7)
Mr. Gerry

PETITIONS AGAINST SLAVERY–Continued
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, FEBRUARY 12, 1790

MR. GERRY thought the interference of Congress fully compatible with the Constitution, and could not help lamenting the miseries to which the natives of Africa were exposed by this inhuman commerce. He never contemplated the subject without reflecting what his own feelings would be, in case himself, his children, or friends were placed in the same deplorable circumstances. He then adverted to the flagrant acts of cruelty which are committed in carrying on that traffic; and asked whether it can be supposed that Congress has no power to prevent such abuses? Congress can, agreeably to the Constitution, lay a duty of ten dollars on imported slaves; they may do this immediately. He made a calculation of the value of the slaves in the Southern States, and supposed they may be worth ten millions of dollars. Congress have a right, if they see proper, to make a proposal to the Southern States to purchase the whole of them, and their resources in the Western Territory might furnish them with the means. He did not intend to suggest a measure of this kind; he only instanced these particulars to show that Congress certainly has a right to intermeddle in the business.

(from Great Debates in American History, by United States Congress, Great Britain Parliament, Marion Mills Miller, published 1913, Current Literature Publishing Company)

The First Congress, 1790:
The Slavery Debate, cont'd (part 6)
Mr. Page & Mr. Madison

PETITIONS AGAINST SLAVERY–Continued
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, FEBRUARY 12, 1790

MR. PAGE was in favor of the commitment. He lived in a State which had the misfortune of having in her bosom a great number of slaves; he held many of them himself, and was as much interested in the business as any gentleman in South Carolina or Georgia, yet, if he was determined to hold them 
in eternal bondage he should feel no uneasiness or alarm on account of the present measure, because he should rely upon the virtue of Congress that they would not exercise any unconstitutional authority.

MR. MADISON.—The debate has taken a serious turn, and it will be owing to this alone if an alarm is created; for, had the memorial been treated in the usual way, it would have been considered as a matter of course and a report might have been made so as to have given general satisfaction. If there was the slightest tendency by the commitment to break in upon the Constitution, he would object to it; but he did not see upon what ground such an event was to be apprehended. The petition prayed, in general terms, for the interference of Congress, so far as they were constitutionally authorized: but even if its 
prayer was, in some degree, unconstitutional, it might be committed. He admitted that Congress is restricted by the Constitution from taking measures to abolish the slave trade; yet there are a variety of ways by which it could countenance the abolition, and regulations might be made in relation to the introduction of them into the new States to be formed out of the Western Territory. He thought the object well worthy of consideration.

(from Great Debates in American History, by United States Congress, Great Britain Parliament, Marion Mills Miller, published 1913, Current Literature Publishing Company)

The Numbers

from This Republic of Suffering, by Drew Gilpin Faust, pub. Alfred A. Knopf, 2008:

    The number of soldiers who died between 1861 and 1865, an estimated 620,000, is approximately equal to the total American fatalities in the Revolution, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, and the Korean War combined. The Civil War's rate of death, its incidence in comparison with the size of the American population, was six times that of World War II. A similar rate, about 2 percent, in the United States today would mean six million fatalities. As the new southern nation struggled for survival against a wealthier and more populous enemy, its death toll reflected the disproportionate strains on its human capital. Confederate men died at a rate three times that of their Yankee counterparts; one in five white southern men of military age did not survive the Civil War.