A collection of bedtime stories - or sharpshooter & sniper tales

[mykeal]

They used the tactics they had been taught. Thinking 'outside the box' was neither encouraged nor rewarded - in fact, showing initiative in designing nonstandard tactics was a trip to a remote outpost on the frontier.

That same attitude prevailed well into WW I. Developing better tactics as a war college discipline didn't happen until the trench warfare tactics were finally decried.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Throughout the Civil War the heavy reliance on linear tactics ala American Revolution and Napoleonic Era continued but with some modifications. By 1863 though, we started seeing more reliance on field fortification and men began to throw up breastworks to secure a position and increase their chances of surviving. Some were thrown up at Chancellorsville but we see the Union doing a lot of it at Gettysburg, predominantly Culp's Hill and Little Round Top. However, none was used by the Iron Brigade or the Bucktail Brigade when they fought Archer's men. Lee used it extensively during the 1864 Overland Campaign. Still, this did not stop the futile frontal assaults as witnessed by Grant's loss of 3,500 at Cold Harbor II (it was not the 11-12,000 reported by some who make Grant out to be a butcher. Those figures are the cumulative losses over three days of fighting and not the single fatal charge ordered by Grant). Sherman got bloodied at Pickett's Mill in Georgia (a state park well worth seeing) and was probably embarassed by it because he didn't write of it in his memoirs. Hood didn't figure out the futility of a frontal assault and obliged the Federals at Franklin. He lost 6,000 of his men there including seven generals. Sheridan's attack at Pickett at Five Forks succeeded because of his superior numbers and a flanking attack that overwhelmed the Confederates. The last real stand up and trade bullets type fighting took place during the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of Jubal Early (where Early got whipped badly by Sheridan).

Certainly the weapons became deadlier, but the casualties, while high, percentage wise was not as bad as some Napoleonic battles. Disease killed more men in the Civil War than minie balls, sabers, grape shots and cannon balls. One reason why the minie gun didn't result in higher casualites like it was assumed it would by many pre-war theorists is that there was essentially no training in both Union and Confederate armies (with the exception of Conf. Gen. Patrick Cleburne's division). When men were given target practice, it was because someone was wise enough to authorize it. But there are no shortage of accounts of entire volleys being fired too high and knock leaves and branches down onto the intended targets. As Hess points out, the rifle musket didn't change things much. I discuss what it changed and why the rifle musket didn't live up to its expectation further in my book.

One thing it did do though was to make available to more infantrymen who did know how to shoot a long range weapon (as opposed to the short range musket).

For further reading, I suggest the following: Paddy Griffith's "Civil War Battle Tactics," Brent Nosworthy's "Bloody Crucible of Courage," and Prof. Earl Hess "The Rifle Musket in Civil War Combat."

 

[4v50 Gary]

Fredericksburg continued.

Soon, it was time for Sumner to commit his last division under Otis O. Howard. They would be reinforced by the Second Division of Samuel D. Sturgis of the IX Corps. Their attack was launched at 2:00 p.m. No more successful that those before them, they flattened themselves as close as possible to the dirt. Lt. L. N. Chapin of the Thirty-fourth New York describes being under artillery fire, their sense of impending doom and salvation. “We suppose there were seven or eight thousand men massed under that bluff. Perhaps an inscrutable Providence could study out what this move was for; but your correspondent has never yet heard a decent theory stated. Scarcely two hundred feet away, on this bluff, was a rebel redoubt with a cannon behind it. An officer on a white horse was riding around giving orders. You may be perfectly certain he had from seven to ten thousand deeply interested spectators. Not a moment elapsed before there was a puff of smoke from behind that redoubt, and a shell from a six-pounder went screaming over our heads. It never hit a man. Another and another followed, with the same result. It was evident that the piece could not be depressed sufficiently to rake us without the muzzle hitting the front of the redoubt. Then this pale horse and his rider came out from behind the redoubt, and surveyed our position, and went back. Then four men took hold of the piece, and rolled it out from behind the earthwork. It is said the judgment-day comes but once, and we all felt that it had come for us right then and there. It was a moment to be remembered forever. Now they have us for sure. The very next shot is sure to fetch us. Of all the thousands of men huddled there, every eye was fixed on that gun. The cannoneers take their positions, the process of loading and priming is gone through with, and then every head is bowed in silence, waiting for the awful messenger. It comes, like the shriek of an incarnate demon, it plowed its way into our ranks, burying us all in the dirt. Another and another followed in rapid succession, each one bringing death and destruction into our ranks. The air is filled with the groans and cries of mangled men. Every man of those thousands is clutching the earth, and trying to make himself thinner. It is a good thing, at times, to be a spare man. No one, then, wanted to be fatter. The first shot fired, after the gun was moved out, passed directly over our company (K); the next, coming in exactly the same line, fell a little short, striking just ahead of us, and doing terrible execution. Then the orderly sergeant, Jim Talcott, lying by my side, and trying to make himself thinner, said: ‘Now, boys, it’s our turn.’ And sure enough, with an ugly scream, that might have been heard up in Herkimer County, the next shot landed squarely in our company. Every inch of the ground was covered with blue men; but this ugly auger bored a hole right through. Deep into the earth it went, and then exploded. Scarcely a man in the company but received some souvenir. And all this time we were compelled to remain inactive, not firing a shot in return. There was not a man on all that blue field but would have volunteered in an instant to dash up that height, and had there been someone in high authority to authorize the movement, that one gun would have been silenced or captured in a moment. But, any way, the slaughter was destined not to continue for long. All this time, from the north side of the river, far away, our own cannons were booming, and the moment this one piece was rolled out from behind the breastwork, it became the target for all our artillery. There was one gun on our side, miles up the river, that we had heard booming at intervals all day. It must have been a sixty-two pounder; and a moment after the third shot of which I spoke had been fired, there came the boom of this great gun. The great shot sped on its awful mission, over miles of river and valley, and hill and meadow, and came down fair and square on top of the mischievous little six-pounder, and that instant exploded. The gun and carriage were destroyed, and all the men near it knocked out, including the white horse and his rider. Then all those ten thousand men rose, and shouted with great shout.”

At 3:00 p.m., it was time for Griffin’s Division of Dan Butterfield’s V Corps to storm Marye’s Heights. Leading the assault was Col. James Barnes’ First Brigade. Included in their number was Eighteenth Massachusetts’ Private Thomas Mann: “The first time we charged I fired once just as we turned to come back. Myself and Wm. Laird went further than any other man in the regiment. I think we went to within five rods [80 feet] of the stone wall, behind which the rebels were posted. I was hit five or six times by spent balls[;] two bullets smashed my rifle, one of them blowing the lock completely off... Another bullet went completely through my tin dipper and haversack, going through a chunk of salt-pork and six thicknesses of woolen bag in which the pork was wraped, and finally penetrated my overcoat. Amid such a perfect shower of bullets it was my luck to come off with my life.” Like their predecessors, they too were stopped and pinned down.

 

[Old Fuff]

The command of language seen here is so impressive. We have lost the ability to paint such an accurate and complete picture, while using nothing but words.

 

[Acorn Mush]

The command of language seen here is so impressive. We have lost the ability to paint such an accurate and complete picture, while using nothing but words.

Old Fuff, you hit the nail on the head all right!

 

[4v50 Gary]

Fredericksburg continued

Charging alongside the Eighteenth Massachusetts was their sister regiment, the 118th Pennsylvania Corn Exchange. Within their ranks was a former First California/71st Pennsylvania veteran, Francis Donaldson. Wounded at Fair Oaks, upon recovery he accepted a captaincy with the Corn Exchange. Donaldson watched as Capt. John G. Hazard’s Battery B, First Rhode Island Light Artillery courageously attempted to support them: “Then a battery of 6 guns came dashing out into the clear space at the foot of the hill, just back of the brick yard. These guns were brass 12 lb. Napoleons and were wheeled into position in less time that I can write about it, and instantly, as it were, the horses were all killed, and the men took to their heels and ran away as fast as their legs could carry them, leaving their guns and their officers, who, by the way, stood their ground and cursed the men lustily, but to no purpose. The guns never fired a shot.” According to Hazard’s report, he suffered twelve men killed, sixteen horses rendered hors de combat. Additionally, his horse, along with the horses of his two lieutenants were killed. Hazard’s report disputes Donaldson’s account about his enlisted men fleeing and Hazard wrote glowingly of them: “I respectfully beg leave to allude to the bravery and endurance of my men, not a man quitting his post on the field.” Maj. Gen. Otis Howard also upheld the honor of Capt. Hazard’s men: “To help us Hazard’s Rhode Island battery came up at a trot, crossed the canal, and unlimbered in the open ground in the rear of [Joshua T.] Owen’s troops and for a time fired with wonderful rapidity. The battery lost so many men in a short time that it was ordered back.” However, Irish Brigade 116th Pennsylvania’s Pvt. McCarthy corroborated Donaldson: “A few minutes after the repulse and retreat of my division, a Federal battery of six guns was hurriedly brought up to the brow of the hill behind where I still laid to operate in my front. The Rebels on the heights, however, at once opened a furious fire upon our gunners, killing several and forcing the others to abandon the guns and beat a hasty retreat without having fired a shot. These guns were now at the mercy and almost within the grasp of the enemy. Had the Rebs wished to have these cannons, they could have advanced out of their works to capture them.” To recover the cannons, volunteers from the infantry stepped forward: “[T]hey called on Captain [John] Maryland for volunteers. This call was quickly responded to by ten privates, although the battery was under a heavy fire from the enemy’s sharpshooters and batteries.”

Following close behind Barnes’ brigade was that of Swither and then Stockton’s. In the latter Col. Adelbert Ames led the Twentieth Maine; an unknown regiment that was to gain fame in another battle. Faithfully following Ames was Pvt. Theodore Gerrish who was soon pinned down. Gerrish described how one private foolishly exposed himself. “Our brigade was in close quarters on that memorable Sabbath, and the Johnnies kept a strict watch over our movements. It used to be the old adage at Donneybrook Fair, ‘Whereever you see a head, hit it,’ and with our enemy it was, ‘Whereever you see a head, shoot it’; and as soon as we understood that they desired us to remain quiet, we were very willing to gratify them. There were only a very few exceptions to this rule. Here and there was a man who was so reckless that he would stand up and fire at the rebels, and thus bring upon us the fire of that entire line. One man in Company B took special delight in this. He was cautioned by his comrades, and ordered by his officers, to desist, but heeded them not. He saw a rebel far above him, on the hillside; rising to his feet, he took deliberate aim, and fired. A sharpshooter saw him, a bullet came through the air, and with a dull thud it struck in the man’s brow, and he fell a corpse, a victim of his own rashness. Thus through the entire day we lay, hungry, covered with mud, and benumbed with cold.”

I'm still waiting for the afterword to be written. The manuscript was also submitted for peer review. When they come back, then it goes to a designer. Cross your fingers.

 

[Elbert P . Suggins]

This is probably the finest anthology of the Civil War I have ever seen or read about. Very well put together and it captures the reader. It is the best! Ever! I have been to Vicksburg when I was 14 but recently visited Shiloh, Antietam, and Gettysburg. When I read these stories so eloquently written 150 years ago I can only contemplate with stark reality what it was like on Little Round Top, around the Bloody Pond, or in the Corn Field.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Fredericksburg continued

While fortune favored the Confederates, it was not immune to Federal rifle fire. Attesting to the enemy’s aim is Lt. William M. Owen, New Orleans’ Washington Artillery: “The sharp-shooters having got range of our embrasures, we began to suffer. Corporal Ruggles fell mortally wounded, and Perry, who seized the rammer as it fell from Ruggles’ hand, received a bullet in the arm. Rood was holding ‘vent,’ and away went his ‘crazy bone.’ In quick succession Everett, Rossiter, and Kursheedt were wounded. Falconer in passing in rear of the guns was struck behind the ear and fell dead. We were now so short-handed that every one was in the work, officers and men putting their shoulders to the wheels and running up the guns after each recoil... We were compelled to call upon the infantry to help us at the guns... We had been under the hottest fire men ever experienced for four hours and a half, and our loss had been three killed and twenty-four wounded.”

As remembered by Longstreet, the men who relieved Lt. Owen around 5:00 p.m., fared no better: “The Washington Artillery, exhausted of ammunition, was relieved by guns of Alexander’s battalion. The change of batteries seemed to give new hope to the assaulting forces. They cheered and put in their best practice of sharp-shooters and artillery. The greater part of Alexander’s loss occurred while galloping up to his position.”

Even before his battalion joined battle, Col. Alexander had been subjected to sharpshooter fire. “But I remember the day as a very disagreeable one, for I had to move about a great deal, having guns at so many different places; & the sharpshooting and shelling everywhere made me quite unhappy. There was a particularly bad nest of sharpshooters in a brick tanyard, on the east side of the Plank Road, where it crossed the little canal. They cut regular loop-holes through the brick walls & from them had a very annoying fire on certain parts of our line. And the loop hole in the corner on the Plank Road could see up the road some 300 yards to where our line crossed the road, & as we had built no breast-work, or obstruction, across it the fellow at the loophole had a fair shot at every man who crossed. To be sure a man could run across, but the sharpshooter kept his gun already sighted at the spot, & his finger on the trigger, & he only had to pull & the well aimed bullet was on its way. He had several shots at me during the day, & though he missed me every time, I acquired a special animosity to him.” As we shall learn, Alexander would appease his animosity before battle’s end.

The peer review has been completed by the Company of Military Historians. I am incorporating their suggestions and good ones they are at that! No matter how much you know, there's always more to learn. I've contacted the designer and am awaiting their response. Hopefully the design can start next week.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Fredericksburg continued...

While artillery was always a favorite target, the Federal sharpshooters did not neglect infantry officers either. Again from Longstreet: “Our chief loss after getting into position in a road was from the fire of sharp-shooters, who occupied some buildings on my left flank in the early part of the engagement, and were only silenced by Captain Wallace, of the 2nd Regiment, directing the continuous fire of one company upon the buildings. General Cobb, I learn, was killed by a shot from that quarter... and almost at the same instant, within two paces of him, General Cooke was severely wounded and borne from the field...” A post-war account provides more details on Cobb’s death: “It was during this interval that a ball fired from a sharpshooter mortally wounded the gallant and Christian patriot, General T. R. R. Cobb. He fell under a locust tree hanging over the Telegraph road from the yard of Steven’s house, a small wooden building immediately in front of the stone wall. The fatal shot came from a house some hundred and fifty yards in front and to the left, and which was occupied by the Federal skirmishers. Captain Wallace of the Second South Carolina regiment, afterwards dislodged them by devoting a whole company to pouring a constant fire upon the windows.” Contemporary historians believe that General Thomas Cobb died from shrapnel wounds. Supporting this Georgian George Montgomery of Cobb’s Brigade reported: “The whole time of the engagement our brave and gallant Gen. Cobb was encouraging on his men until a shot from the enemy’s cannon gave him his mortal wound.”

Confederate Assistant Adjutant General Capt. H. A. Butler was with Gen. Cooke when he was hit. Capt. Butler recalls the event: “[W]e were ordered to support T. R. Cobb’s Brigade at the stone wall. Passing the Washington Artillery and going over the hill, we lost several of our men by the awful cannonading from Falmouth Heights. While Gen. Cobb, his assistant adjutant general, Capt. Brewster, General Cooke, and I were together, a Minie ball struck Gen. Cooke a glancing shot on the forehead, breaking his skull. At the same moment Gen. Cobb and Capt. Brewster fell. I had Gen. Cooke placed on a litter, taken down the lines, and then in an ambulance...” Cooke survived his wound and passed away in 1891.

Near dusk, Butterfield tried again and sent in General Andrew A. Humphreys’ Third Division. Having seen the mistake of earlier columns, Humphrey ordered his men to pass over the columns that were pinned down. They were not to fire but to rely on cold steel alone. Humphreys described the assault: “The stone wall was a sheet of flame that enveloped the head and flanks of the column. Officers and men were falling rapidly, and the head of the column was at length brought to a stand when close up to the wall. Up to this time not a shot had been fired by the column, but now some firing began. It lasted but a minute, when, in spite of all our efforts, the column turned and began to retire slowly. I attempted to rally the brigade behind the natural embankment so often mentioned, but the united efforts of General Tyler, myself, our staff, and other officers could not arrest the retiring mass.”

Supporting Humphreys’ assault was Sykes’ Second Division of Butterfield’s V Corps. Like those gone before them, they were stopped. Among Sykes’ men was Eleventh U.S. Infantry’s Captain John Ames who was uncomfortably pinned down before the stone wall: “[E]ven chickens were brought down with an accuracy of aim that told of a fatally short range, and of a better practice than it would have been wise for our numbers to face. They applauded their own success with a hilarity we could hardly share in, as their chicken-shooting was across our backs, leaving us no extra room for turning... By chance I found a fragment of newspaper which proved a charm that for a time banished the irksome present with its ghastly field of dead men and its ceaseless danger. Through this ragged patch of advertisements I sailed away from Fredericksburg with the good bark Neptune, which had had quick dispatch a month before,─for the paper was of ancient date,─and was well on her way to summer seas... I was called back to the dull wet earth and the crouching line of Fredericksburg by a request from Sergeant Read, who ‘guessed he could hit that cuss with a spy-glass,’─pointing, as he spoke, to the batteries that threatened our right flank. Then I saw that there was a commotion at that part of the Confederate works, and an officer on the parapet, with a glass, was taking note of us. Had they discovered us at last, after letting us lie here till high noon, and were we not to receive the plunging fire we had looked for all morning? Desirable in itself as it might be to have ‘that cuss with a spy-glass’ removed, it seemed wiser to repress Read’s ambition. The shooting of an officer would dispel any doubts they might have of our presence, and we needed the benefit of all their doubts. Happily, they seemed to think us not worth their powder and iron.” The “cuss with a spy glass” was Longstreet’s artillery commander, Col. E. Porter Alexander who identified himself as the only Confederate artillery officer at the battle with a spy glass. As Capt. Ames surmised, Col. Alexander never fired because he was conserving ammunition.

Finding the cuss with the spyglass took a couple of years. I asked one ranger during one of my visits to Fredericksburg and he didn't know. Finally, I stumbled on quite happily on my own.

The text has been submitted to the designer. I go on vacation on Friday and won't be back for 20 days.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Fredericksburg continued

Explaining why Humphreys and Sykes (along with those before him) failed is General Longstreet: “At that time there were three brigades behind the stone wall and one regiment of Ransom’s brigade. The ranks were four or five deep,─the rear files loading and passing their guns to the front ranks, so that the volleys by brigade were almost incessant pourings of solid sheets of lead.”

Deployed to the right of Marye’s Heights as skirmishers was the Ninth Virginia Infantry. While they did not take part in the fighting, they were afforded an excellent opportunity to observe both the repulse of General William B. Franklin’s forces and the assault on Marye’s Heights. Ninth Virginia Lt. John Lewis recalled meeting one man who walked away from the carnage: “On Marye’s Heights it was bloody. I saw a man coming out from that point. He said that he had looked at the dead until he was sick, and I think what he told was so, as he stated there was no danger where he was, and he was simply tired of killing men (sharpshooter).”

While the Federal attack was being repulsed at Marye’s Heights, Jackson was guarding the Confederate right. Nearby Stuart rode forward to determine the intent of Franklin’s men who opposed him. Accompanying Stuart was Heros von Borcke, a Prussian who had offered his sword to the Confederacy: “About eleven o’clock I was asked by General Stuart to accompany him on a ride along our line of battle to the extreme right, that we might look after our horsemen, reconnoiter the position and movements of the enemy in that direction, and ascertain whether the nature of the ground was such that a charge of our whole cavalry division during the impending fight might be profitably attempted...” They passed their men who were building earthworks. His narrative continues: “The atmosphere had now again become obscure, and the fog was rolling up from the low swampy grounds along the margin of Deep Run Creek... We had proceeded but a few steps at a careless trot when suddenly a long line of horsemen in skirmishing order appeared directly before us in the mist. I felt very certain they were Federal horsemen, but Stuart was unwilling to believe that the Yankees would have the audacity to approach our position so closely; and , as the greater part of them wore a brownish dust-colored jacket over their uniforms, he set them down as a small command of our own cavalry returning from a reconnaissance. So we continued upon our route yet a little farther, until, at a distance of about forty yards, several carbine shots, whose bullets whistled around our heads, taught us very plainly with whom we had to deal. At the same moment, ten or fifteen of the dragoons spurred furiously towards us, demanding, with loud outcries, our surrender─hearing which, we galloped in some haste back to our lines, where our bold pursuers were received and put to flight by Early’s sharpshooters.”

“A considerable number of our infantry skirmishers now moved forward to drive the dashing cavalrymen off. But the latter held their ground gallantly, and kept up so annoying a fire with their long-range carbines, that our men did not obtain any advantage over them... General Hood, who had been attracted by the noise of the brisk fusillade, soon came riding up to us, and seeing at a moment what was going on, said, ‘This will never do. I must send up some of my Texans, who will make short work of these impudent Yankees.’ One of Hood’s adjutants galloped off at once with an order from his general, and soon a select number of these dreaded marksmen, crawling along the ground, after their wild Indian fashion, advanced upon the Federal dragoons, who had no idea of their approach until they opened fire at a distance of about eighty yards. In a few seconds several men and horses had been killed; and the whole Federal line─stampeded by a galling fire from an unseen foe in a quarter wholly unexpected─broke into confused and rapid flight.”

Among Jackson’s men was David Champion, Co. G, Fourteenth Georgia: “[O]n December 13th, our corps was attacked by Franklin’s corps, sixty thousand strong. At this time we were entrenched behind a railroad a short distance in front of a skirt of shrub oak. The enemy’s charge was made through an open field and was so furious our first line was driven back into the woods, where we stopped to reform. The enemy stopped at the railroad which they used for breastworks. The distance between us was about one hundred yards, and for some time we engaged in a hot infantry duel. We were ordered to lie down to shoot, but had to stand on our knees to load. I recall now, vividly, a Yankee in the ditch just in front of me, who wore a red coat and who seemed to be a particularly good shot. Every time he raised up from behind the embankment someone was killed near me. Sergeant Dobbs, Corporal Callahan and his brother were among the number. I pointed out the man to Captain Monger, who told me to load my gun and kill the d___ Yankee. I followed instructions as closely as possible, held my fire until he raised up, took deliberate aim, and fired. Much to my relief we did not see him again during the engagement.”

I'm off line for three weeks begining today. I won't return until April 12. The designer has the book and the illustrations.

 

[desidog]

Gary,

Many thanks for hours of informative entertainment. You've got me plotting to buy an accurate percussion rifle now.

I'm looking forward to your book coming out.

- Desmond

 

[BHP FAN]

I'll most certainly buy a copy.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Fredericksburg concluded

Here's the conclusion of the First Battle of Fredericksburg. Some of it you've read before.

Had Meade’s division been supported, Jackson’s line would have been broken. But Meade’s commander, General Franklin didn’t commit his reserves. Hoke counterattacked and drove Meade back. Afterwards Hoke ordered his men, who included Twenty-first Georgia’s Lt. Ujie Allen, back to secure the railroad embankment. They were entertained there by Federal sharpshooters: “We came back to our line of battle along the first ditch and remained a day and night. During the time the anemy’s sharpshooters amused themselves by shooting at us. They were some eight hundred yds. Off and did no harm. Our men would expose themselves and then dodge when ever their guns would fire. We enjoyed it too. We only returned a few shots, for it was against orders.” Lt. Allen survived Fredericksburg and also recovered a prized Sharps breechloader rifle.

While Col. Alexander did not find a “prize” like Allen did, he had the satisfaction of revenge against the sharpshooter who had annoyed him before his battalion joined the battle.

“I visited Longstreet’s headquarters, & having told how they had had us under hack all day in sharpshooting & shelling, because we were saving ammunition, Gen. Longstreet gave me permission to use a few score shell the next day to get even with them... As before, Monday morning was again thick and hazy, but when the sun was about an hour high the nest of sharpshooters in the tanyard announced their ability to see by opening a very lively fusillade. I happened to be nearby, & I at once determined to try & rout them... I got the line of the obnoxious corner loophole on the roof & sighted in that line, & then fixed an elevation which I thought would just carry the shell over the low hill, aiming myself, & taking several minutes to get all exact. Then I ordered fire. Standing behind we could see the shell almost brush the grass, as it curved over the hill, & then we heard her strike & explode. At once there came a cheer from our picket line in front of the hill, & presently there came running up an excited fellow to tell us. He called out as he came─‘That got ‘em! That got ‘em! You can hear them just a hollering & a groaning in there.

“I examined the place the next day, after the enemy had left. I had made a perfect shot. The shell struck within a foot of the corner loop hole, making a clean hole over a foot in diameter, & exploding as it went in. It knocked off most of the head of the sharp shooter, & the walls of the room on all sides were scarred by fragments of shell & brick. They left his body in the room, & doubtless others were wounded by fragments, from the account of the groaning, but were carried off. But not another shot was fired from the tanyard that day, & in a very little while orders were evidently extended over their whole line to cease sharpshooting.”

Despite artillery and sharpshooter support, the Federal offensive stumbled to a halt and Lt. Col. Alexander’s prophecy came true as each successive wave stormed up Marye’s Heights and approached no closer than 25 yards to the stone wall before being driven back. Union artilleryman Major Thomas W. Osborn recalls the carnage of fallen Union soldiers: “The field between Marye’s Heights and Fredericksburg was a slaughter pen. At that point which was the main point of attack, we did the enemy no damage while the field in their front was black with our dead. We did not gain an inch, and the enemy is stronger than before the battle. At this point our men were put in like grain in a hopper, and had we still been fighting them, there would still be no change, excepting we should have more dead and fewer living men.”

As for the wall that figured so prominently in the battle, it was not even a consideration in Lee’s plans. Longstreet candidly admits: “The stone wall was not thought before the battle a very important element.” Of the 12,653 Federal casualties, Longstreet estimated that 5,000 were from rifle fire alone. The climactic battle won at Marye’s Heights was made possible by Barksdale’s Mississippian sharpshooters who “held the enemy’s entire army at the river bank for sixteen hours, giving us abundance of time to complete our arrangements for battle.” And what of Barksdale, who earned many laurels for his men? Glory was fleeting for he, along with half his Mississippians, would fall at Gettysburg.

There was a second battle at Fredericksburg that was part of the Chancellorsville Campaign. After his failure at Fredericksburg, Burnside attempted to redeem his honor by marching north to flank Lee's army. The rain turned the hard roads into a quagmire and as men, wagons and horses struggled through the mud, it was derisively called the Mud March. Disgraced, Burnsides was replaced when Hooker assumed command of The Army of the Potomac. Hooker maintained a front at Fredericksburg and accomplished what Burnsides failed to achieve - he flanked Lee's position and crossed the Rappahannock in secret. Poised to roll up Lee's army, Hooker suddenly got cold feet and instead of advancing, dug in instead. Lee learned of Hooker's move and dividing his smaller army, marched to Chancellorsville to meet Hooker.

 

[4v50 Gary]

OK, this is backwards, but here's what I have for the opening of the First Battle of Fredericksburg (Dec 1862).

In the aftermath of Fredericksburg, Capt. Henry Kyd Douglas, a staff officer for Stonewall Jackson, reflected in retrospect: “There was nothing interesting about the Battle of Fredericksburg, either in maneuver or action, in initiative or execution. Without strategy or tactics to speak of, it was a series of gallant attacks with little hope, disastrous repulses with little effort...” However, it is one of the few battles where marksmanship, with sharpshooting in particular, was a substantial factor for the Confederate victory. We explore this proposition and let soldiers from both sides speak for themselves.

One confident Confederate did not think Burnside would hazard assaulting such a formidable position. He warned: “We have a very strong position here and I think Burnsides knows the result.” Another, Lt. Ujanirtus “Ujie” Allen, Twenty-first Georgia, thought otherwise and wrote to his wife before the battle: “I have no idea that Burnsides will endeavor to approach Richmond by this route. He is Burnside now, but if he will come out in good weather he will be Burnt-all-over. Mark what I tell you. The soldiers all say that they will do it.” This was not bravado, and even the Federal soldiers believed that their chances were slim. “The country is clamoring for General Burnside to drive his army to butchery at Fredericksburgh...f General Burnside allows himself to be pushed into a battle here, against the enemy’s works, the country will mourn thousands slain,” wrote Sixth Wisconsin Col. Rufus Dawes, Iron Brigade, to his sister two days before the battle. As seasoned campaigners, the soldiers were equally unhappy about their prospects. Pvt. Josiah F. Murphey, Twentieth Massachusetts: “Well we knew what was in store for us, we knew that we were to make an attempt to cross the river and gain the city and take the heights beyond, and knowing how strongly fortified the rebs were we knew what a reception we should get, and that many of us would never see the light of another day.” Nevertheless, they attacked and failed neither from want of courage nor effort but from poor leadership. Few times would a Civil War era newspaper be more succinct than when the Cincinnati Commercial summarized: “It can hardly be in human nature for men to show more valor, or generals to manifest less judgment, than were perceptible on our side that day.” General McClellan, still smarting from being relieved of command of the Army of the Potomac, added his criticism:

“The dear boys, in their weather beaten blue, were making the best of a gloomy affair, and could not conceal, or cared not to do so, their feeling that there were many chances all would not be well with them. The worst of it was they all doubted in the capacity of the commanding General, and they were strangely devoted to McClellan, singing ‘McClellan is our leader,’ the last song of the night, with hearty enthusiasm.

“The resounding cannonade was almost harmless. It did not take a soldier to tell that there was no business in it, but the expenditure of ammunition. There was so much iron flying that the sound of it rasping through the shivering air could be heard distinctly. The cannon bellowed and the shot hummed low and fiercely. The old town was invisible, but two church steeples pierced the fog. The laying of the pontoons under the fire of the Mississippi riflemen was a sacrifice of brave men. Officers who fell in that service and were carried to the rear were strewn thickly on the grass.

“The Confederates paid very little attention to the bombardment. It meant nothing to them but that something was about to take place. Their riflemen in the cellars were well protected, and shot the men at work on the pontoons at their pleasure. It was no trick at all for a marksman to kill a soldier at every shot. Why all of the bridge builders were not shot down I could not understand.

“It was not Lee’s policy to hold the town. It was a trap. I could not see any show for the Union Army from first to last, and the battle scenes to me were terrible...”

While the carnage at Fredericksburg was not because of a trap, it certainly had that effect. The late arrival of the pontoon bridges wasn’t Burnside’s fault, but he tardily initiated his offensive when he attempted to build his bridges on Dec. 11. Waiting four hundred feet away on the Fredericksburg side of the Rappahannock were General William Barksdale’s Mississippians and their sharpshooters. Ordered to delay the crossing, they would gain time for Jackson’s men to march north to reinforce Lee’s right flank.
Longstreet explains: “The Federals came down to the river’s edge and began the construction of their bridges, when Barksdale opened fire with such effect that they were forced to retire. Again and again they made efforts to cross, but each time they were met and repulsed by the well-directed bullets of the Mississippians. This contest lasted until 1 o’clock when the Federals, with angry desperation, turned their whole available force of artillery on the little city, and sent down from the heights a perfect storm of shot and shell, crushing the houses with a cyclone of fiery metals. From our position on the heights we saw the batteries hurling an avalanche upon the town whose only offense was that it was near its edge in a snug retreat nestled three thousand Confederate hornets that were stinging the Army of Potomac into a frenzy... It was terrific, the pandemonium which that little squad of Confederates had provoked. The town caught fire in several places, shells crashed and burst, and solid shot rained like hail. But, in the midst of all this fury, the little brigade of Mississippians clung to their work...” Undaunted by the bombardment, Barksdale offered Lee that “if he wants a bridge of dead Yankees, he can furnish him with one.”

There's one more part that I have for Fredericksburg and I'll post it next week.

Concerning the book, the designer said that they'll get the first chapters back to me this week.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Fredericksburg

As promised, here's the rest of the section on Fredericksburg.

The Confederates survived the bombardment because they had fortified themselves. General Lafayette McLaws, Barksdale’s divisional commander, describes their preparation: “Detachments were immediately set a work digging rifle-pits close to the edge of the bank, so close that our men, when in them, could command the river and the shores on each side. The cellars of the houses near the river were made available for the use of riflemen, and zigzags were constructed to enable the men to get in and out of the rifle-pits under cover. All this was done at night, and so secretly and quietly that I do not believe the enemy had any conception of the minute and careful preparations that had been made to defeat any attempt to cross the river in my front.” One Federal officer who examined Barksdale’s entrenchments commented: “I found a loop-holed block-house, uninjured by our artillery, directly opposite our upper bridges, and only a few yards from their southern abutment. I also found in the neighborhood a rifle-pit behind a stone wall, some 200 feet long, and cellars inclosed by heavy walls, where the enemy could load and fire in almost perfect safety. There were many other secure shelters.”

Given permission to reconnoiter the front, Capt. William W. Blackford of General Jeb Stuart’s staff, visited Fredericksburg and described it: “... I entered one of the zig-zags leading from Main Street to the river a little below the Island. It was the first time I had ever entered a fortified work in action and it felt very comfortable to hear the bullets whistling and hissing and pattering about against the earthworks above my head so harmlessly. Right in front of us a pontoon bridge had been laid a third of the way across the stream, the nearest boat not a hundred yards distant, and upon it lay several dead and wounded men. Time after time had the foolish attempt been made, and time after time had the working parties been swept away by our riflemen in the trenches dug on the crest of the bank. Our men in the pits were highly elated and swore they could hold the place against the whole Yankee nation.”

While the Federals bombarded Fredericksburg, the sharpshooters sheltered themselves and waited for opportunities to return the compliment. “It was impossible fitly to describe the effects of this iron hail hurled against the small band of defenders and into the devoted city. The roar of the cannon, the bursting shells, the falling of walls and chimneys, and the flying bricks and other material dislodged from the houses by the iron balls and shells, added to the fire of the infantry from both sides and the smoke from the guns and from the burning houses, made a scene of indescribable confusion, enough to appeal the stoutest hearts! Under cover of this bombardment the Federals renewed their efforts to construct the bridge, but the little band of Mississippians in the rifle pits under Lieutenant-Colonel John C. Fiser, 17th Mississippi, composed of his own regiment, 10 sharpshooters from the 13th Mississippi, and 3 companies from the 18th Mississippi (Lieutenant-Colonel Luse), held their posts, and successfully repelled every attempt. The enemy had been committed to that point, by having used half their pontoons.”

Exasperated, First New York Light Artillery’s Maj. Thomas Osborn wrote: “I cannot satisfactorily explain to myself why General Sumner laid his bridges just in front of the city where of necessity he must suffer from the fire of many sharpshooters and lose a good many men. To me it appears the same object would have been attained by putting bridges above or below the city where the sharpshooters would have had little cover and our men would have suffered less. When the city was occupied from above or below, as many bridges as might be desirable could have been laid where ever thought best. The city as such is of no importance excepting as it is the point where all the roads of the country center.”

Albany was nice and we got to visit the USS Slater, DE 766. She's a beautifully restored WW II warship and when you step aboard her, you'd think that you stepped back in time. Don't pass up on an opportunity to visit her if you ever visit Albany. We also got to visit the New York State Military Museum in Saratoga Springs. Housed inside an old armory that has been restored, it's a world class museum and they allowed us (Company of Military Historians) in limited groups to visit their arms room (a former firing range). Guns galore down there with several MP-43/44s, a MP-38, an Iraqi made AKM, a Lahti 20mm anti-tank gun, a couple of decadent era flintlocks, quite an array of Civil War muskets, plenty of Springfields (03, 03A3s, no A4s), etc. We also visited the West Point Army Museum and were allowed in even smaller groups into their vault. Wow! There's a collection of Civil War artillery shells of virtually every type down there. Many were featured in a post war book that was published right after the war. There's scale model artillery pieces, a gatling, a billinghurst-requa volley gun, a coffee-mill gun, a Nordenfelt, numerous machineguns (they were all on shelves so it was hard to ID the machineguns). It was better than the NY Military Museum. Lesson: if you want behind-the-scene tours of musuems that have guns, you've got to attend the Company of Military Historians' conference. Next year we tour the NRA museum in Fairfax.

 

[kBob]

Gary,

At least as far as the Class of 1977 individulal Cadets were allowed to check out individual arms from the West Point Museum.

Must have been fun, eh?

-kBob

 

[4v50 Gary]

kBob - I'm going to have to contact the curator about that. He wasn't working for them back then, but if they were checking out guns, I'd like to know if there were restrictions and if there weren't, I should have applied for West Point. So what if I never would have made it? I would have bragging rights for playing with guns some folks can only see in the books. Anyhow, for serious scholars, you make an appointment and let them know what you want to see.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Antietam/Sharpsburg

The following excerpts pertains to Antietam/Sharpsburg. You must visit this battlefield if you're in the area. Unlike Gettysburg, it's do-able in one day. It's very well preserved too.

While Lee had anticipated fighting in the farmlands north of Sharpsburg (Maryland), it occurred sooner than expected and before his army could be concentrated. Despite being outnumbered almost two to one (38,000 to 75,000), Lee used every advantage offered by the terrain. First, the farms near Sharpsburg had numerous stone walls and fences behind which he could fight. Second, before McClellan could even fight around Sharpsburg, he would first have to cross Antietam Creek which formed a natural moat.

Identifying five distinct phases of the Sept. 17th battle is Union Brevet Brigadier General Francis Winthrop Palfrey. “Of the battle of Antietam it may be said that it began with the attack made by the First Corps under Hooker upon the Confederate left. The next stage was the advance of the Twelfth Corps under Mansfield to support Hooker. The next was the advance of the Second Corps, under Sumner, and this again must be divided into three parts, as Sumner’s three divisions went into action successively, both in time and place. The division that first became engaged was furthest to the Federal Right, and the next was to the left, and the last still farther to the left. The fourth state was the slight use of a few troops from the centre, mostly Franklin’s, made as late as one o’clock or thereabouts, and the fifth and last was the fighting of the Ninth Corps on the extreme right of the Confederate position.”

In Palfrey’s first phase Hooker’s First Corps crossed Antietam Creek unopposed and turned southwards. Advancing against the Confederate pickets, Hooker’s left and center drove the Confederates into the West Woods and engaged Jackson’s division in a terrible fight. At the edge of the West Woods the artillerists and horses of Capt. J. Albert Monroe’s Battery (Battery D, First Rhode Island Artillery, First Div., I Corps) found themselves being shot down. One gun had five of its six horses killed by the men of Kershaw’s Brigade, and to prevent the gun from being captured, infantry were called upon to assist in dragging it away. We now shift our focus to Palfrey’s third phase and in particular the attack by Maj. Gen. John Sedgwick’s Second Division whose men pushed into the West Woods and were soon flanked by Lafayette McLaws’ Division.

Among Sedgwick’s men caught there were the First Andrew Sharpshooters who were initially deployed alongside the Fifteenth Massachusetts (First Brigade, Second Division, II Corps) and fighting as line infantry. Before the counterattack, they enjoyed initial success: “The coolness and desperation with which the brigade fought could not be surpassed, and perhaps never was on this continent. Captain Saunders’ company of sharpshooters, attached to the Fifteenth Massachusetts Volunteers, together with the left wing of that regiment, silenced one of the enemy’s batteries and kept it so, driving the cannoneers from it every time they attempted to load, and for ten minutes fought the enemy in large numbers at a range of from 15 to 20 yards, each party sheltering themselves behind fences, large rocks, and stray-stacks.” Falling victim to their guns were the gunners of Stuart’s battery.

 

[4v50 Gary]

I'm going to interrupt our regular programming

to bring you this tidbit I just found.

Today 150,000-200,000 shots fell toward our brigade. In spite of this, only 5 men were wounded and 2 killed. Among the slight wounded was H. W. of Co. E, who was shot through the left arm. The main causes of these unsuccssful shots by the Rebels, as well as our own troops, are: first, the soldiers fire at such a great distance, that it would require the skill of that marksman in the fable, who wanted to shoot the left eye out of a goat sitting on a church tower three-miles away; and second, many officers engage in a deafening yelling that they believe will inspire the soliders. In this act, however, it excites them so unnaturally that their entire bodies start to vibrate; thus the balls travel through the air, instead of into the body of the enemy.

Lesson: bring a bigger gun. In this case, they should have brought out a smoothbore 12 pdr or a rifled cannon.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Antietam, Part II

We continue our look at the battle of Sharpsburg/Antietam.

McLaws’ counterattack slammed against the extreme right of the Union line and the First Andrew Sharpshooters found themselves flanked and cut to pieces. “There were two companies of Andrew Sharpshooters of Massachusetts... One of these companies was in Morell’s division of the 5th Corps, and one in Gorman’s brigade of the 2d Corps. This latter company was badly cut up at Antietam, in a close engagement where rapid loading and quick shooting with them was out of the question, their guns being little better in that affair than clubs, they losing 26 with their captain and a lieutenant among the killed.” According to Palfrey, “There were some ten Confederate brigades on his front and flank and working rapidly round the rear of his [Gorman’s] three brigades. The result was not doubtful.”

Caught in the maelstrom was First Andrew Sharpshooter Asa Fletcher of Winchester, Massachusetts. “Fletcher was given a Remington rifle of small caliber, such as were issued to many of the New York regiment at the beginning of the war. He was furnished with but twenty rounds of ammunition. His quick marksman’s eye at once discovered the deficiencies of such a weapon for a sharpshooter. In his strong, high-keyed, nasal voice, with Yankee-like readiness for a trade, he suggested a ‘swap’ for my new Springfield rifle, the envy of our little squad, but, boy-like, I refused, confident that I ‘knew a good thing when I saw it...’ Hungry for food, Fletcher used one cartridge for foraging: “[H]unger knows no law. I used one of my precious cartridges in killing a hog, which I tumbled over at the first shot as he was running 200 yards distant.” Fletcher’s rifle may have been a Remington target rifle or, since target rifles didn’t have cartridges, a Remington M 1841 rifle.

Armed with his Remington, Antietam was Fletcher’s introduction to combat:

“I joined my company at Antietam, the evening of the 16th, as they were lying in the line of the left. I did not know right face from left. Their rifles were not like mine, so Captain A. Said, ‘Go in! Get under cover and do all the harm you can to the Johnnies; the first man killed in the company, if within your reach, take his rifle and cartridges.’ This was good advice, but not at all reassuring to a new recruit just going into battle; how did I know that I should not be the first to be killed myself?

“On the morning of the 17th, when going in with the company, I saw a frightful slaughter all about me, I found myself trying to dodge every shot and shell that came in our direction. My nerves were all unstrung under this altogether new and novel excitement; it was different kind of gunning from what I was used to; my hands shook and I was mad with myself that I acted so like a coward, and found it so hard to control my feelings.

"The moment we halted in line, however, the Captain said, ‘Lie down! Every man on his own hook! I was all right, and was just as cool as though shooting at a target, or watching behind a ‘blind’ for a shot at a duck on the rise. I got behind a tree, and kneeling, watched my chances. I had but nineteen cartridges, and that worried me some; but I determined, upon the Captain’s suggestion, to change my rifle and ammunition at the first opportunity, for then I should have plenty.

“The ‘Johnnies’ were behind haystacks. I shot five times deliberately, and dropped a man every time. How do I know? Well, I did not shoot until I saw a body, and a good, fair mark; then I sighted to kill, and saw the man drop after I had fired.

“Just as I expected, though, the Remington rifle heated right up, and fouled. I rammed down a ball; it stuck. I partially rose up, either to draw it or to force it home, when I saw a rebel steadily aim at me from the haystack where I had dropped the others. I dodged down, but wasn’t quick enough; he fired; the ball took me here, through the body, going through a portion of my lung. I fell, with a dull numbness all over me.”

 

[Hiaboo]

Again, wonderful.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Antietam/Sharpsburg continued

We've left off with Asa Fletcher of the 1st Andrew Sharp Shooters being wounded.

Their position was overrun. Wounded, Fletcher was spared the bayonet, captured, and paroled to Frederick City where he was finally discharged and after the war died of his wounds. Besides Fletcher, Captain Saunders, First Lt. William Berry and eleven other were killed. They died fighting, and their effectiveness was recorded by one Confederate: “Most of the casualties in the artillery during the day were occasioned by Federal sharpshooters, who were posted in the treetops and behind stone fences where, with their long range guns and telescopic sights they picked off our officers, men, and horses with almost unerring aim...” As we have seen, it was not without heavy losses to themselves. Second Lieutenant Henry Martin was promoted to First Lieutenant and assumed command of the surviving Andrew Sharp Shooters. Many survivors exchanged their target rifles for Sharps or Merrill breech-loading rifles.

Riding along the Boonsboro Pike to observe the battle General Lee, with Longstreet and D. H. Hill approached the crest of the first hill out of town. Their presence did not go unnoticed by Union Major Alfred Woodhull who informed Captain Stephen Weed, commander of Battery G, Fifth US Artillery. Weed carefully sighted one of his guns on the horsemen and pulled the lanyard, sending a shell toward them. Longstreet spotted it first and suggested that Hill move. Intent on watching the movement of his men, Hill ignored the suggestion and the shell sheared off his horse’s legs, causing Hill to fall into a fetal position. It was quite a feat of sharpshooting with artillery.

It was during what Palfrey identified as the fourth phase that the fighting around the Bloody Lane had ended when the Confederates were flanked and driven back. Supporting the Confederate infantry who were holding Lee’s center at Mumma’s Swale was the New Orleans’ Washington Artillery. Collapse of the center would result in the defeat of the Confederate Army. “Boys,” shouted General Lee to Col. John Rogers Cooke’s men, the Twenty-seventh North Carolina and Third Arkansas Infantry, “you must hold the center or General Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia will be prisoners in less than two hours.” Along with their supporting artillery, the Third Company of the Washington Artillery, they rushed into the gap and suffered heavy casualties: “At Sharpsburg, the 3d Company... was ordered into a broken gap, or crevasse, in General Lee’s line, where the enemy’s fire was so withering that it seemed that no living thing could stand before it. Five batteries had preceded the 3d Company of the Washington Artillery in attempting to get a foothold, but the cannoniers had been killed or driven off. To prevent a repetition of this disaster, the last named battery drove to the fatal crest at a full gallop ─ as fast as lash and spur could carry the lumbering and bounding guns and ammunition carriages. Without halting, and at imminent risk of capsizing with the cannoniers upon them the pieces were wheeled into position, and in less than two minutes after, had opened a fire. This stopped, at this point, the breach in the Confederate line; but in five minutes after, the enemy marksmen had shot down eight of the gunners and seventeen horses of the 3d Company. The men were indeed picked off so fast that distinguished officers, who had been brought by the crisis to the point, jumped down and assisted with hands and shoulders at the guns─Longstreet among the number.” Cooke’s men depleted their ammunition but as there were no replacements, kept their bayonets fixed, lay upon the ground and were ready to rise and repulse any Union advance.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Longstreet found more men who held up the Union attack.

After the battle, Boston Journal correspondent Charles Coffin explored the battlefield and graphically described it for his readers: “The slaughter had been terrible in the sunken road. I could have walked a long distance upon the bodies of dead Confederates. Some of them were shot dead while climbing the fence, and their bodies were hanging on rails. One had been killed while tearing his cartridge with his teeth. He had died instantly, and the cartridge was in his hand. An officer was still grasping his sword. He had fallen while cheering his men... Riding up to the turnpike a short distance south of the Dunker Church I saw a dead Confederate hanging across the limb of a cherry tree by the roadside. He had been a sharpshooter and had taken the position to pick off Union officers, but himself had been shot. I afterward learned that several Union soldiers had seen puffs of smoke amid the foliage of the trees and had given return shots, one of which had taken effect.” He may have been one of the men who wounded General Hooker during the battle.

Turning to what Palfrey called the fifth and final phase of the battle, we examine the attack of the Union left by Gen. Ambrose Burnside’s IX Corps. Gen. Burnside had been directed by McClellan to cross the lower bridge (Rohrbach Bridge) and to attack Lee in his right flank. If his attack was timely, the combined attacks in the center and the right flank would overwhelm Lee and cause his army to collapse. However, Burnside became entangled while attempting to cross the Antietam. Posted on the heights above Antietam Creek were soldiers of the Second and Twentieth Georgia from Robert Toomb’s Brigade along with a company from Brig. Gen. Micah Jenkins’ South Carolina sharpshooters. This handful of men held off several attacks and bought invaluable time for Lee.

Supporting one attempt to capture the bridge was the Forty-eighth Pennsylvania Infantry, whose Capt. James Wren described coming under fire: “[D]uring the struggle one of the 6th Newhamshir men Came to me and said he had got his finger shot off, but he did not want to go to the rear, and said he had about 40 rounds of Cartridges in his Cartridge Box... Said I, ‘Now you bite the ends off theas Cartridges & I will fire them Cartridges of yours,’ & I lay down my sword & took up the musket... Before Charging the Bridge, I Came near losing my life with 3 difrent musket Balls Coming right over whear I was firing with the musket & the men said, ‘Captain, they have range on you,’ & watched Closly & saw a Soldier on the other side of the Crick, alongside of the Bridge, step to the one side from behind a tree & fire & the Bullet whistled over my head & secured a safe place & had my gun at a rest & lined [up] for the tree & when he Came out to fire again, I fired but was too slow & I loaded again & Kept my gun lined on the tree & Just as he moved I drew tricker [trigger] & I saw him Double up at the root of the tree & that Ball Ceased Coming over my head. I made up my mind that if ever we ware sucksessfull to gain the Bridge & get on the other side, I would go to that tree & see if thear was any one the air & afterwards, in being suckssessfull in Carrying the Bridge & being ordered to skirmish, at once I went to this tree & sure enough, thear was a solider laying thear & my men said, ‘Captain, that is your man,’ & did think I had Killed one man in the Battle of the Bridge.”

 

[4v50 Gary]

Antietam concluded

The designer returned chapters 1-10 to me. In addition to some corrections, I've made suggestions as to changes. There's enough for me to work on the index and long hours are spent going through each page.

Here's the conclusion of Antietam.

The initial troops rushed across the bridge but their comrades crossed, “not at all ‘with a rush at the point of the bayonet, a la Lodi’ or ‘Arcola’” but [t]hose of our troops not in the advance crossed somewhat upon [the heels of] those in front─and the whole column while on the bridge appeared like an irregular mob moving nervously, but at a snail’s pace, toward the enemy. The unincumbered motions of a tired soldier are distressingly feeble in appearance. So there was much want of all bounding energy in all these movements... The column kept up its snail pace, passed the bridge, took the road to the right till it was clear of the bridge, and then, being out of ammunition, or nearly so, took position on the sloping bank of the creek...” They then poured “a volley into the rebels; we see their sharpshooters drop from the trees and soon the whole rebel line is flying up the hill and out of sight.” The Fifty-first New York and Fifty-first Pennsylvania were soon joined by the Twenty-first Massachusetts and the rest of the Second Division which advanced along the southern edge of the battlefield, sweeping all before them. Their success however was short lived when, after hard marching from Harper’s Ferry, Maj. Gen. Ambrose P. Hill’s Light Division slammed into their flank and drove them back.

While largely overlooked, the delaying action fought by the Second and Twentieth Georgia along with the company of South Carolinian sharpshooters prevented Burnside arriving in time to support McClellan’s main attack. Had Burnside reinforced McClellan, Lee would have been overwhelmed. Ironically, capture of the bridge was not that important. Boston Journal correspondent Charles Coffin observed: “The water in the Antietam was so low that it could be forded at almost any point. I myself crossed it several times during the day, and in no instance did my horse go above his knees into the water. It is fair to conclude that neither McClellan or Burnside made any effort to discover whether or not the stream could be forded.” Had Burnside known how shallow the creek was, he could either have flanked Toombs’ men or attacked across a broader front. The delay allowed Hill’s Light Division to march up from Harper’s Ferry and counterattack at a crucial moment, which threw Burnside’s men back to the creek.

Despite Burnside’s tardiness, McClellan still had in his reserves one last trump card. Maj. Gen. Fitz John Porter’s V Corps of 11,000 could potentially drive a wedge between Lee’s army and break it in half. However, McClellan mistakenly believed that Lee’s army was twice the strength of his and being over cautious, declined attacking. Neither attacked the next day. As he did during the Peninsula Campaign, McClellan hesitated and forfeited another opportunity to destroy Lee’s Army and win the war. Lee took advantage of McClellan’s diffidence and withdrew to Virginia. With losses being about equal in one of the bloodiest battles of the war, Lee was again stalemated. His anticipated victory on Northern soil that would bring recognition from the European powers did not materialize. While Lincoln was disappointed that Lee wasn’t crushed, Antietam did yield one final result─it gave Lincoln the victory he needed to announce the Emancipation Proclamation. Finally, while sharpshooting didn’t prevent Lee’s defeat at Antietam, it delayed Burnside sufficiently for Hill to arrive and save him.

Earlier when this thread was begun, it consisted of sharpshooting stories as found in their published form. In the telling of Fredericksburg and Sharpsburg/Antietam, the sharpshooter's story is told in the context of the greater battle or campaign.

 

[4v50 Gary]

So, we start a new campaign.

Eyrie is an eagle's nest.

Our next installment begins the story of sharpshooting around Chancellorsville. I hope that some of you who live in Virginia are taking the time to visit your National Battlefield Parks. It's fun to walk the grounds and figure out who did what to whom where.

While restoring morale and the army’s fighting spirit, Hooker was also planning his offensive. Hooker’s plan called for Gen. John Sedgwick’s VI Corp to pin down the Confederates at Fredericksburg while he led the rest of the army northward and across the Rappahannock via Kelly’s Ford. After crossing with four corps, he would sweep down on Lee’s rear and left flank and roll up the Army of Northern Virginia. Hooker’s initial execution was swift. He crossed undetected and was prepared to roll up Lee’s flank. Then, inexplicably, Hooker hesitated. Lee in the meantime had learned of Hooker’s crossing and leaving behind a small rear guard at Fredericksburg, marched north.

Second Lieutenant W. E. Cameron, (Mahone’s Brigade) described a May 1st sharpshooting incident that happened while Lee was maneuvering his units into position near the Tabernacle Church (located on the Fredericksburg Pike): “The day was spent quietly, save for occasional sharpshooting. The Federals moved up within sight, but made no demonstration. About noon one enterprising rifleman climbed a tree in a farmyard some hundred yard in our front, and wounded two of the men who were throwing up cover for the guns. It was some time before his eyrie was discovered, but finally one of [Carnot] Posey’s Mississippians obtained permission to ‘hunt’ for him, and fifteen minutes later spied him out, and with a long shot brought the troublesome marksman down from his lofty perch, the body falling like that of a wounded squirrel from limb to limb until it struck the ground. Looking at the descent through my field-glasses I could almost hear the thud. The next morning when we advanced an old woman living in the cabin near by reported that the man was dead when picked up.”

The book designer returned chapters 11-13 to me. I'm working on the index and have most of it done. The index is presently double column format and is 28 pages long.

On the side, I've submitted an article to a major magazine and am writing another article for submission in a professional magazine.