Rantings of a Civil War Historian

July 28, 2010

Another preservation victory at Brandy Station, but….

Filed under: Battlefield preservation — The General @ 11:22 am

From the June 28, 2010 edition of Fredericksburg Daily, I am pleased to report another important preservation victory at Brandy Station:

Brandy Station win

Another victory for preservationists at Brandy Station

Date published: 7/28/2010

IMAGINE: It could have been a 3.4-million-square-foot development of condominiums, a multiplex theater, a water park, an equestrian center, a hotel and asphalt, lots of asphalt. Instead, thanks to some generous landowners, 443 acres in Culpeper County, part of the Brandy Station battlefield, has been preserved.

The property, owned by brothers Chuck and Pete Gyory, joins another piece of battlefield land–349 acres owned by Beauregard Farms LP–placed in conservation easements. These two parcels bring the total property in Culpeper and Western Fauquier counties donated by landowners in recent years to more than 2,000 acres. Civil War buffs are rightfully overjoyed.

It’s difficult to imagine a 19th-century field of conflict when houses and shopping centers have overcome the land, hence the value of conservation easements. These leave the land in the hands of the property owners, who give up the rights to develop it in exchange for tax credits.

The 1863 Battle of Brandy Station marked the beginning of the Gettysburg Campaign. Gen. Robert E. Lee had amassed his army near Culpeper, preparing to make the march north. Gen. J.E.B. Stuart’s cavalry was centered at Fleetwood Hill near Brandy Station.

A Union cavalry detachment in Fauquier County discovered Stuart’s presence and, early in the morning of June 9, initiated a surprise attack. What followed was a 12-hour, saber-on-saber battle around St. James Church and all over Fleetwood Hill–the largest calvary engagement of the Civil War. One Confederate cavalryman later wrote that the Union attack on the guns positioned at St. James Church was “the most brilliant and glorious” cavalry charge of the war.

The fascination with the Civil War only seems to grow. Motives and methodologies, strategies and personalities come to light as we study and learn. America’s great family feud created heroes and villains and left scars that still linger. Binding up the nation’s wounds is made easier when battlefields are preserved. Now, thanks to landowners, the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, and the Civil War Preservation Trust, part of the Brandy Station battlefield will withstand one more attack–from 21st-century development.

However, the funds still have to be raised to pay for these conservation easements, and although there is a major matching grant, the BSF and APCWS still have $67,000 to raise in order to meet the requirements for the matching grant funds. Please visit the CWPT’s 2010 Brandy Station Campaign page and do what you can to help save nearly 800 acres of prime battlefield land.

And thank you for your continuing support of our efforts to forever preserve this jewel in Culpeper County.

July 26, 2010

Report on my battlefield wanderings

Filed under: Battlefield stomping — The General @ 10:05 pm

I was gone for two straight long weekends. Both were spent stomping battlefields, and there was one common theme through both: beastly heat and high humidity. That sort of heat saps your energy and your strength.

The fist trip:

I flew to St. Louis on Thursday, July 15, and my friend Mike Noirot picked me up at the airport. We had lunch at a really neat microbrewery in St. Charles, which is a growing suburb of St. Louis, and then, after checking into my hotel, we went to check out some of the famous Civil War graves in St. Louis, and there are plenty of them worth visiting.

Our first stop was at Calvary Cemetery, where we visited the graves of William T. Sherman, Dred Scott, the playwright Tennessee Williams, and a Civil War Medal of Honor winner. We then crossed the street and went to Bellefontaine Cemetery. Bellefontaine Cemetery is well worth a visit, as it has formal tours laid out, including a Civil War-only driving tour. Among the graves we visited there were Sterling Price, Don Carlos Buell, Francis Blair, John Pope (who has a surprisingly modest grave that we walked by twice before figuring out which one it was), William Rogers Clark of Lewis & Clark fame, his Confederate general son, Meriwether Lewis Clark. It’s definitely worth a visit.

From there, we had great seats in the Redbird Club at Busch Stadium, where we watched Manny Ramirez dog it in the outfield. The Cards beat the Dodgers 7-1. It was 95 with high humidity that day, and it was hot, let me tell you.

Friday, we were off to Springfield, Missouri for a visit to the Wilson’s Creek battlefield. I had never been there before. It’s a really compact but well preserved and well interpreted battlefield. It was 95 again, and again with high humidity, and it was thoroughly unpleasant getting out of the car, but we did. We hiked a lot of the battlefield. I really enjoyed the visit in spite of the heat, and would gladly go back again. We made a stop at the outstanding battlefield museum, where, to my great surprise, the ranger in charge not only recognized me from my photo but is a regular reader of this blog (so, too, is the ranger in charge of the park library at Wilson’s Creek, who knew my name immediately when I said it). That always weirds me out when that happens, as I never realize how wide the readership of this blog really is.

We then took a ride over to the town of Newtonia, where there were battles in 1862 and 1864 (during the Sterling Price raid). Just before we got to Newtonia, a hellacious thunderstorm blew up, and it was raining sideways when we got there. It was so bad, in fact, that I kept checking the clouds to look for rotation. The heavy rains meant that we never got out of the car there, so we didn’t get a chance to read the interpretation on the battlefield. I will have to go back some time.

We checked into our hotel and asked for a restaurant referral, and had an absolutely spectacular meal at the Flame Steakhouse in Springfield. It was, without question, one of the best meals I have ever had. That ended a long but terrific day.

On Saturday, we were up early and drove the 1.5 hours down to the Pea Ridge battlefield near Bentonville, Arkansas. Again, I had never been there previously, so it was all uncharted territory for me. It became one of my very favorite battlefields after just one visit. For those who have never been there, it is an absolutely gorgeous field with lots of excellent interpretation and good tours. There is a spectacular overlook on Big Mountain that provides a gorgeous view of the entire Elkhorn Tavern sector of the battlefield that is well worth the time to take in. I had read the good book on the battle by Shea and Hess years ago when it first came out, but I didn’t remember it well (and I am now re-reading it). It’s a fabulous place to visit, and I highly recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in what turned out to be one of the most important battles in the Western Theater of the Civil War.

Again, it was beastly hot there. We pretty well wilted hiking in the heat, but we kept after it. When we finished the tour, we had a quick lunch in Bentonville, and then drove down to the Fort Smith Historic Site, which was another 1.5 hours southwest of Bentonville. We visited the National Cemetery, and then spent about twenty minutes in the beastly heat there. It was just too hot there, and there is no shade, and when we figured out that there was little of interest there, we left. 98 degree heat with high humidity and no shade is not fun.

We then headed to the excellent Prairie Grove State Battlefield Park near Fayetteville. I had just finished Bill Shea’s excellent book on the battle, so it was fresh in my mind. There’s a nice visitor center there and lots of really good interpretation. There’s a 1.5 mile walking tour and a driving tour, and we did both. After Perryville, it’s probably the best state park battlefield I’ve ever visited.

We got there at 4:15, at the height of the heat, and it was horrific. I thought we were going to melt while taking the walking tour–no air movement, hot sun, and black asphalt. It makes for a BAD combination. But I really enjoyed the place, which is definitely worth a visit. The combination of the twin defeats at Pea Ridge and Prairie Grove meant that Missouri was forever lost to the Confederates.

We then drove the 6 hours back to St. Louis, arriving at my hotel at 10:40. It had been a VERY long day. Sunday morning, we made a quick visit to the Jefferson Barracks Historical Site for a visit to the National Cemetery, and then a quick stop to take a photo of U. S. Grant’s Hardscrabble Farm house, which is now part of a large nature preserve owned by Anheuser Busch. A mammoth thunderstorm delayed my return flight, but I got home Sunday afternoon. We covered more than 1000 miles, and had a blast. Mike is an excellent traveling companion, and he knew those battlefields well. I think he’s going to do a book on Wilson’s Creek, and I think he will do an excellent job of it.

The second trip:

I was in the office for 2.5 days last week, and then Wednesday, it was on the road again. This time, it was for Ted Alexander’s annual summer soiree, which was titled “From Cedar Mountain to Antietam”, and focused on the Second Bull Run Campaign. I got to Chambersburg in time for a good talk on the first half of the campaign by old friend John Hennessy.

Thursday morning, it was off to the battlefield at Cedar Mountain in Culpeper County, which I had never before toured. The tour was led jointly by Ed Bearss, John Hennessy, and Clark B. “Bud” Hall. We had to move quickly, but we saw much of the battlefield, including the seldom-visited monument to the 10th Maine Infantry, which is on private property and not part of the park. Again, it was very hot and humid, which sapped all of our energy.

After lunch, we then stopped at St. James Church at the Brandy Station battlefield to discuss the movements of the armies and the fighting along the Rappahannock River on the way to Manassas. We then stopped at Jeffersonton Church, site of a meeting between Lee, Stuart, Jackson, and Longstreet. Our final stop that day was at an overlook for the Thoroughfare Gap battlefield. Then, it was back to Chambersburg and a fun dinner with Ted Alexander, John Hennessy, Ed Bearss, and Bud Hall. It doesn’t get much better than that in terms of company.

Friday was lecture day. I gave a talk on Pope’s Horsemen, and Bud did one on Stuart’s cavalry in the campaign. Dennis Frye gave a fascinating and thought-provoking talk on Ambrose Burnside and his role in the campaign, and pointed out that Burnside was actually George McClellan’s go-to guy during the Maryland Campaign. The long day was capped by the annual battlefield preservation fundraiser auction. I auctioned off a personal tour for the winner and five friends, which I was happy to do.

Saturday was more battlefield touring, with the whole day being spent at Second Manassas. Ed and John led the tour, and according to a sign next to Henry House Hill, it was 106 degrees out, with high humidity. After a very quick stop at Stuart’s Hill, we began at Brawner’s Farm, which is a fascinating battle. I had not been there since about 80 acres of trees were cut down, and it has REALLY changed the viewshed at the battlefield. As just one example, the spot where S. D. Lee’s guns were was always in deep woods and couldn’t be seen. Now, it’s wide open, as is the area of the Deep Cut attack, and it dramatically changes the battlefield by showing just how close together these sites are, when it was previously impossible to visualize that due to the thick, dense woods. The effect is much like the effect of the tree cutting at Gettysburg. Kudos to the park superintendent at Manassas for pursuing the tree cutting program.

The downside is that there is not a stick of shade out there, and with that kind of heat, it was draining. Ed led us on a 3.5 mile hike all the way to the Deep Cut, and everyone about melted. After lunch, we covered the August 29 attacks along the unfinished railroad cut, the Deep Cut attack, and then visited the New York Reservation, known as the Vortex of Hell for the tremendous casualties taken by the 5th New York Infantry there–25% KIA during this fight. We then went to Chinn Ridge, and finished on Henry House Hill.

From there, we had a dinner with a short program in the Mumma Farm barn at the Antietam National Battlefield. The ambiance is great there, and the view is nothing short of spectacular, but it was just too hot and we were all too hot from the long day to really enjoy it. I couldn’t wait to get out of there.

Saturday’s lunch was a special treat. I sat next to Ed, and asked him what he thought of the HBO production The Pacific (he really didn’t like it). One of the other guys asked Ed about how he was wounded on New Guinea during World War II, and he regaled us with the story of his wounding and rescue. Ed is now 87 and is a true force of nature. He’s a national treasure who has forgotten more than I can ever hope to know.

It was just awful out there in terms of the heat. I drank something like 60 ounces of Gatorade, two big bottles of water, and 3 larges glasses of Diet Coke at lunch, and I was still dehydrated when I got back to the hotel. I was asleep by 10:30.

Yesterday morning, I got up and made a quick trip to Fairfield, PA to shoot photos for the new edition of Gettysburg’s Forgotten Cavalry Actions that will be published by Savas-Beatie next year, and then drove home.

It’s been a pretty remarkable run. I took lots of photos. They can be found here. I hope you enjoy them.

As for me, I need a vacation from my exhausting vacations. :-)

July 20, 2010

William W. Averell on the Role of Cavalry

Filed under: Union Cavalry — The General @ 8:54 pm

Brig. Gen. William W. Averell left behind this excellent description of the traditional role of cavalry:

Reliable information of the enemy’s position or movements, which is absolutely necessary to the commander of an army to successfully conduct a campaign, must be largely furnished by the cavalry. The duty of the cavalry when an engagement is imminent is specially imperative—to keep in touch with the enemy and observe and carefully note, with time of day or night, every slightest indication and report it promptly to the commander of the army. On the march, cavalry forms in advance, flank and rear guards and supplies escorts, couriers and guides. Cavalry should extend well away from the main body on the march like antennae to mask its movements and to discover any movement of the enemy.

Cavalry should never hug the army on the march, especially in a thickly wooded country, because the horses being restricted to the roads, the slightest obstacle in advance is liable to cause a blockade against the march of infantry. Moreover, in camp it furnishes outposts, vedettes and scouts. In battle it attacks the enemy’s flanks and rear, and above all other duties in battle, it secures the fruits of victory by vigorous and unrelenting pursuit. In defeat it screens the withdrawal of the army and by its fortitude and activity baffles the enemy. In addition to these active military duties of the cavalry, it receives flags of truce, interrogates spies, deserters and prisoners, makes and improves topographical maps, destroys and builds bridges, obstructs and opens communications, and obtains or destroys forage and supplies.

Good stuff.

Cool trip just completed and another one about to begin….

Filed under: Battlefield stomping — The General @ 7:52 pm

Last weekend, I traveled to Missouri and toured Calvary Cemetery and Bellefontaine Cemetery in St. Louis, caught a Dodgers/Cardinals game, toured Wilson’s Creek, Newtonia, Pea Ridge, and Prairie Grove battlefields, and also made a visit to Fort Smith.

Tomorrow, I leave for Ted Alexander’s annual summer soiree, which will include tours of Cedar Mountain, Second Bull Run, South Mountain, and part of the Antietam battlefield. I’m doing a talk titled “Pope’s Horsemen”.

Next week, when I’m back and the dust has settled, I will write up both trips and post some of my photos from Missouri and Arkansas. Please be patient. I hope it will be worth your while.

July 12, 2010

More Dumbass Re-enactors

Filed under: General musings — The General @ 2:42 pm

With many thanks to Jim Schmidt for bringing this little gem to my attention, I give you more dumbass re-enactors…

From the July 6, 2010 issue of the Morris County [NJ] Daily Record comes these candidates for dumbass re-enactors of the year:

Hanover cops: 2 injured when mistaken Civil War gun powder tube explodes

By JAKE REMALY • STAFF WRITER • July 6, 2010

HANOVER — A 66-year-old Livingston man was burned when a man asked him for a light and, instead of lighting a cigarette as he thought, he lit a paper cartridge filled with gun powder.

Police said Joseph Princiotta, 42, of Jersey City, obtained the cartridge from his friend, a Civil War re-enactor, who had the tube of gun powder with some of his re-enactment gear.

The incident occurred last Wednesday around midnight.

Police said Princiotta thought it was a firecracker and asked the alleged victim to light it as he was walking through the parking lot of the Brookside Diner, Hanover Detective Earle Seely said. The gun powder ignited, flared up and burned the man’s arm. He was taken to St. Baranabas hospital and released. Princiotta had slight burns on his hand as well.

Princiotta was charged with simple assault.

Amazing. Can you say “dumb-ass”, boys and girls?

July 6, 2010

Albert Jenkins’ Brigade at Gettysburg

Filed under: Confederate Cavalry — The General @ 5:59 pm

I was asked this question:

When did Albert Jenkins’ cavalry brigade arrive on the battlefield at Gettysburg? Could part of the reasoning on Lee’s and/or Ewell’s part have been to keep Governor-elect Billy Smith out of harm’s way, thus using his brigade to watch the flank? Or, did they not trust Jenkins’ brigade? Or, maybe a little of both?

Here’s my answer:

Good questions all.

Let me answer the last one first. The Gettysburg Campaign was the first so-called “regular” service of Jenkins’ command, which had been considered to be partisan rangers prior. They were largely an undisciplined and unproven commodity. In addition, they were not armed with normal cavalry weapons. Instead, they carried two-band Enfield muzzle-loaders, which meant that they were more mounted infantry than anything else. Hence, they were largely unknown to Robert E. Lee, who didn’t really trust them as a result.

For purposes of the invasion of Pennsylvania, the command consisted of the 14th, 16th, and 17th Virginia Cavalry regiments and the 34th Battalion of Virginia Cavalry, commanded by the very colorful Lt. Col. Vincent “Clawhammer” Witcher. Lije White’s 35th Battalion of Virginia Cavalry of Grumble Jones’ Brigade was also sent with Jenkins’ command.

The command escorted Jenkins into Pennsylvania, and then split when Early’s division went toward York and the Susquehanna River. White’s battalion and part of the 16th Virginia escorted Early all the way to great covered bridge at Wrightsville and back. The other two full regiments, the rest of the 16th Virginia, and Witcher’s guys, with Jenkins in personal command, went with the rest of Ewell’s Corps to Carlisle and on to Camp Hill. In fact, the detachment with Jenkins had two skirmishes at Camp Hill. The first one, on June 29, was at a place called Oyster Point. Then, the next day, after Ewell received orders to go to Gettysburg, the cavalry served as a rear guard for the infantry and had a pretty large engagement with infantry from Fort Couch and Fort Washington at a place called Sporting Hill, which is on the southern edge of what is today Camp Hill.

The detachment with Jenkins led Ewell’s way south through Carlisle and then on toward Gettysburg. If you read John Buford’s dispatches to Reynolds on the night of June 30, he talks about encountering enemy cavalry in the area of Heidlersburg. These would have been Jenkins’ command leading the infantry south, serving the traditional role of cavalry.

Elements of Jenkins’ command traded picket fire with elements of the 17th Pennsylvania Cavalry of Devin’s brigade at the Samuel Cobean farm, well north of Gettsyburg, very early on the morning of July 1. I believe that it is quite likely that the first shots of the battle were actually fired by either by a member of the 17th Pennsylvania at one of Jenkins’ guys, or vice versa, and not by Lt. Jones on Wistler’s Ridge.

So, Jenkins and his men arrived very early on the morning of July 1, and then they pretty much disappear. We know that about half of the brigade spent most of the battle doing provost duty. That detachment, commanded by Col. Milton Ferguson of the 16th Virginia, operated in the vicinity of Lee’s headquarters on Seminary Ridge for most of the battle.

The whereabouts of the rest of the brigade for most of July 1 and 2 is unknown and undocumented. All we know is that they were operating in the vicinity of Blocher’s (now Barlow’s) Knoll on the morning of July 2, and Jenkins was wounded by a chunk of shell fragment. For reasons that are a complete mystery to all of us, nobody informed Ferguson that he was now in command of the brigade, and we don’t have any idea where the men with Jenkins went or what they did for the rest of July 2, because there are absolutely no records or reports to tell us. It’s like they just disappeared, only to reappear with Stuart on East Cavalry Field the next day. Witcher would have commanded that detachment (which he did on ECF on July 3), so the blame probably must be placed squarely on his shoulders.

The wounding of Jenkins and resulting breakdown in command left the Hanover and Carlisle Roads unpicketed, and Ewell had no choice but to detach the Stonewall Brigade and Extra Billy’s brigade to do that duty. That’s how they ended up where they ended up. I often say that the only military aspect of the battle that was impacted by Stuart’s absence on July 1 was that there was no cavalry picketing the roads to the north and east on July 2, and that the detachment of those two veteran brigades of infantry to do duty that should have been done by cavalry may well have tipped the balance in the fighting for Culp’s Hill and East Cemetery Hill on July 2, as neither of those brigades was available to participate in the Confederate attacks. One can’t help but wonder whether the addition of those two veteran brigades might have made the difference in two assaults that nearly succeeded without them.

As a general rule, I don’t much care for “what-if’s”, but even I have to admit that this one is an especially tantalizing one. Would those two veteran infantry brigades have given Ewell’s twin assaults on East Cemetery and Culp’s Hills sufficient oomph to succeed? We will never know, but it is fascinating.

July 4, 2010

Happy Independence Day

Filed under: General musings — The General @ 3:28 pm

I wanted to take a moment to wish all of my readers a happy and safe Independence Day, and to take a moment to thank all of our veterans, past, present, and future, for the sacrifices that they have made to give us a country where we can celebrate our independence not through martial displays, but through family gatherings and happy times spent with family and friends.

June 30, 2010

270 Historians weigh in to oppose the Gettysburg Casino

Filed under: Battlefield preservation — The General @ 5:39 pm

Today, the CWPT issued a press release announcing that 270 historians, including yours truly, had sent letters to the Pennsylvania Gaming Commission opposing the proposed Gettysburg casino:

For Immediate Release
June 30, 2010

For more information, contact:
Jim Campi, CWPT, 202-367-1861 x7205
Mary Koik, CWPT, 202-367-1861 x7242

Nation’s Historians Speak Out Against Proposed Gettysburg Casino

In letter to Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, more than 270 American historians unite to urge rejection of proposed gaming resort one-half mile from Gettysburg National Military Park

(Gettysburg, Pa.) – To mark the 147th anniversary of the bloodiest battle in American history, 272 American historians, including some of the country’s most respected academics, today sent a letter to Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board chairman Gregory Fajt, urging the rejection of the application for the Mason-Dixon Gaming Resort. If approved, the proposed gambling hall will be located just one-half mile from America’s most hallowed battleground.

Although many individual historians have previously voiced opposition to the casino proposal, such a large and diverse group uniting in this cause demonstrates Gettysburg’s unique place in our nation’s heritage. Among the signers are some of the most prominent historians in America, including James McPherson, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Battle Cry of Freedom; Garry Wills, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America; Carol Reardon, director of graduate studies in history at Pennsylvania State University; Jeffery C. Wert, author of the acclaimed Gettysburg, Day Three; and Edwin C. Bearss, Chief Historian Emeritus of the National Park Service.

In part, their message states that as professional historians, they “feel strongly that Gettysburg is a unique historic and cultural treasure deserving of our protection. Gettysburg belongs to all Americans equally—future generations no less than those of us alive today,” before concluding that “there are many places in Pennsylvania to build a casino, but there’s only one Gettysburg.”

Beyond the individual signatories, the message and its sentiment has received the endorsement and support of the American Historical Association, National Coalition for History, National Council on Public History, Organization of American Historians, Society for Military History and Southern Historical Association.

The Battle of Gettysburg, fought July 1–3, 1863, was the largest and bloodiest battle of the American Civil War. Commonly called the “high water mark of the Confederacy,” the battle saw nearly 160,000 Americans locked in mortal combat; more than 50,000 became casualties. Historians concur that the engagement was the greatest of Civil War battles, but its place in history was further cemented four months later, when President Abraham Lincoln travelled to the small Pennsylvania farm town to help dedicate a national cemetery for those who died. Lincoln’s “few appropriate remarks” for the occasion, popularly known as the Gettysburg Address, have become one of the world’s most recognized speeches.

Although the proposed casino site along the Emmitsburg Road lies outside the current administrative boundaries of Gettysburg National Military Park, it would be on land identified as historically sensitive by the American Battlefield Protection Program, an arm of the National Park Service. The application before the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board would retrofit an existing family-friendly hotel complex into a gambling resort with an initial 600 slot machines in addition to table games.

According to Princeton University professor emeritus and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Battle Cry of Freedom, James McPherson, “The proposed site of the casino lies athwart the advance of Union cavalry toward what became known as South Cavalry Field, which saw substantial fighting on the afternoon of July 3, 1863. This ground is as hallowed as any other part of the Gettysburg battlefield, and the idea of a casino near the fields and woods where men of both North and South gave the last full measure of devotion is simply outrageous.”

This assessment of the importance of this part of the battlefield is shared by Eric Wittenberg, the author of numerous books on cavalry during the Gettysburg Campaign, including the only volume specifically dedicated to the actions that took place on South Cavalry Field. In response to casino proponents who have tried to minimize the significance of actions fought nearby, Wittenberg said, “This was a protracted and ferocious fight. American soldiers died on that ground, and to suggest otherwise only underscores the disregard these misguided investors have for our national treasure.”

In addition to the inappropriate juxtaposition, historians also fear negative indirect impacts on their efforts to interpret the battlefield and share their knowledge with students and heritage tourists. Gettysburg resident and director of the George Tyler Moore Center for the Study of the Civil War at West Virginia’s Shepherd University, Dr. Mark Snell is extremely concerned about the increased traffic and certain commercialization with which visitors and guides will have to contend should the casino be approved..

“As someone who has tried to give a tour to my students at South Cavalry Field — within easy walking distance of the proposed casino,” said Snell, “I personally can attest that the last thing that is needed on the Emmitsburg Road, where that fight took place, is any increased traffic. It wouldn’t just be noisy, it would be dangerous.”

In 2006, when a previous proposal to bring gambling to the fringes of the Gettysburg Battlefield was under consideration, a group of prominent historians similarly spoke out against the ill-advised project. Such thorough and widespread public opposition was among the reasons explicitly cited by the Gaming Control Board in its rejection of the application.

One of those at the forefront of that effort was Ed Bearss, chief historian emeritus of the National Park Service and America’s foremost battlefield guide. A former historian at Vicksburg National Battlefield, who feels that site was irreparably damaged by the emergence of gaming nearby, his opposition to this newer proposal has not diminished in the least. Over the course of his storied career, Bearss has spent many thousands of hours leading tours of the Gettysburg Battlefield.

“Gettysburg, if it embraces the casino, is forfeiting that which has undeniable national and international significance,” said Bearss. “Do you want the most iconic battlefield in America and the site of Abraham Lincoln’s immortal Gettysburg Address, or do want just another slots parlor?”

The letter was circulated among the historian community by a coalition of preservation groups which have opposed both efforts to bring gambling to Gettysburg. The Civil War Preservation Trust, National Parks Conservation Association, National Trust for Historic Preservation and Preservation Pennsylvania have consistently emphasized that their opposition stems from the direct threat posed to the battlefield by the site’s proximity and potential for increasing traffic and development pressures on the park, as opposed to any objection to gaming. Spurred by the passionate involvement of so many individual members, member groups of the National Coalition for History also lent their institutional weight to the effort.

About the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT)

With 55,000 members, the Civil War Preservation Trust is the largest nonprofit battlefield preservation organization in the United States. Its mission is to preserve our nation’s remaining Civil War battlefields and encourage their appreciation through education and heritage tourism. Since 1987, the organization has saved more than 29,000 acres of hallowed ground, including 700 acres at Gettysburg. CWPT’s website is located at www.civilwar.org.

About the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA)

Since 1919, the nonpartisan, nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association has been the leading voice of the American people in protecting and enhancing our National Park System. NPCA, its members, and partners work together to protect the park system and preserve our nation’s natural, historical, and cultural heritage for generations to come. NPCA is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization with more than 325,000 members, including more than 15,000 members in Pennsylvania. NPCA’s website is located at www.npca.org.

About the National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP)

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a non-profit membership organization bringing people together to protect, enhance and enjoy the places that matter to them. By saving the places where great moments from history took place, NTHP helps revitalize neighborhoods and communities, spark economic development and promote environmental sustainability. With headquarters in Washington, DC, 9 regional and field offices, 29 historic sites, and partner organizations in all 50 states, NTHP provides leadership, education, advocacy and resources to a national network of people, organizations and local communities committed to saving places, connecting us to our history and collectively shaping the future of America’s stories. NTHP’s website is located at www.preservationnation.org.

About Preservation Pennsylvania

Preservation Pennsylvania is a private statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving Pennsylvania’s historic places through creative partnerships, targeted educational programs and grassroots advocacy programs. Since 1982 and with the support of 2600 members and member agencies, the organization has been the statewide voice for historic preservation and has provided support and technical assistance to individuals, groups and municipalities. Preservation Pennsylvania’s website is www.preservationpa.org.

It’s my honor to be included in such august company in opposing this horrible idea. To see the full letters and the list of signatories, click here.

Keep fighting the good fight, and hopefully, the Pennsylvania Gaming Commission will once again make the correct decision about this horrible idea.

June 28, 2010

Col. Nathaniel P. Richmond

Filed under: Union Cavalry — The General @ 9:07 pm

It’s been quite a while since I’ve profiled a forgotten cavalryman, so I thought now would be a good time to do one. Tonight’s profile is of Col. Nathaniel P. Richmond of the 1st West Virginia Cavalry.

Nathaniel P. Richmond was born in Indianapolis on July 26, 1833. His father Ansel was from New York, and had his family roots in New England. He was a member of a prominent law firm, and served as the clerk of courts. His mother, Elizabeth S. Pendleton Richmond, was an Ohio native with Virginia roots who was a cousin of President James Madison.

At age 17, Nathaniel entered Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, but he did not complete his course of study due to ill health that compelled him to leave the university at the end of his sophomore year. In the hope of regaining his health, he set off on a cross-country journey through Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, and on to Oregon. He remained in Oregon for about three years, working odd jobs and exploring the northwestern territories. He then went to California, embarking on a long voyage home. After crossing the isthmus of Nicaragua, he embarked on a different ship to finish the trip home, arriving on March 11, 1852, four years after he began his grand journey.

He was apprenticed to a law firm in Kokomo, Indiana, and upon completing his studies, was admitted to the bar in 1856. When one of the partners in the law firm retired the next year, Richmond took his place from 1857-1860. In 1860, he was appointed a special collecting agent for an Indianapolis firm, a position he held until the firing on Fort Sumter in April 1861. On January 19, 1858, he married Miss Mary Kennedy, and the couple had four children, two of whom died in infancy. The two surviving children were William, born on December 25, 1864, and Glenn, born on May 17, 1866.

That April, he joined a company of Indiana troops as a second lieutenant in Co. E, 13th Indiana Infantry. Richmond served as an aide-de-camp to Brig. Gen. William S. Rosecrans in what later became West Virginia in the early days of the war. In August 1861, he was commissioned lieutenant colonel of the 1st Virginia Cavalry, which later became known as the 1st West Virginia Cavalry.

During the spring of 1862, the 1st West Virginia Cavalry served in the Shenandoah Valley under the command of Maj. Gen. John C. Fremont. He was promoted to colonel in August 1862, after his unit, the 5th New York Cavalry, the 1st Michigan Cavalry, and the 1st Vermont Cavalry were brigaded together under the command of Brig. Gen. John Buford, and was attached to Maj. Gen. John Pope’s Army of Virginia.

He and his troopers served with distinction during the Second Bull Run Campaign. Buford’s brigade fought a hard rear guard action against Confederate cavalry at the Lewis Ford during the closing engagements of the Second Battle of Bull Run on August 30, 1862, and Richmond’s regiment was in the thick of that fighting. One of his officers wrote of him:

I will just speak of one engagement which will at once prove the fighting qualities of Colonel Richmond. On the 21st of August our pickets were driven in from the posts at Kelley’s Ford on the Rappahannock. Colonel Richmond received an order to proceed with his regiment, and find, if possible, the position and number of the enemy. At noon we crossed the river and found the enemy’s pickets and skirmishers in force. Considering that but child’s play we drove them before us with ease. Our regiment was ordered to take the center and advance cautiously through the woods. On emerging therefrom, we received a heavy volley from the advance regiment of a brigade, which we found drawn up in line of battle; a charge was ordered, and through clouds of smoke and fire, we dashed upon the brigade. The gallant Colonel, at the head of his men, raising himself in the saddle and flourishing his saber, cries out “Come on my bully boys” and in a moment they were lost in the smoke. The incessant firing, and clashing of sabers parrying the thrusted bayonet, the almost demon-like cheering of our men, formed a scene beautifully grand. The rebels retreated, and we were ordered to fall back to an open field beyond the road. Colonel Richmond was covered with blood from head to foot. Two noble fellows who were at his side had been shot, and their life;s blood was still warm on his clothes. The gallant charge of this regiment at Bull Run, when the left wing under McDowell was being turned, has elicited great praise. It has been said that the First Virginia Cavalry, by keeping the enemy back, saved ten thousand of McDowell’s infantry.

Richmond assumed command of the brigade during the winter of 1862-1863 after Buford became chief of cavalry of the Army of the Potomac. This brigade was a part of the cavalry division assigned to the defenses of Washington, DC, commanded by Maj. Gen. Julius Stahel. He had contracted a chronic case of the piles during the Second Bull Run Campaign, and took disability leave for a time in an effort to recover. This problem plagued him for the rest of his life.

In mid-June 1863, this division became the Army of the Potomac’s Third Cavalry Division, and Brig. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick replaced Stahel. On June 28, 1863, Brig. Gen. Elon J. Farnsworth took command of the brigade, serving with valor for just five days. The 1st West Virginia fought hard during the June 30, 1863 Battle of Hanover, and then Richmond led it in both mounted and dismounted attacks during the Battle of Gettysburg. Farnsworth died at the head of his troops, leading a suicidal cavalry charge against Confederate infantry and artillery at Gettysburg on the afternoon of July 3, 1863. As the ranking regimental colonel, Richmond assumed command of the brigade, leading it through the pursuit of Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia in the days after the Battle of Gettysburg.

Richmond served effectively as brigade commander, leading it in combat at Monterey Pass, Smithsburg, Hagerstown, and Falling Waters. When Col. Othniel de Forest of the 5th New York Cavalry returned to duty after missing the Battle of Gettysburg due to illness, Richmond returned to regimental command of the 1st West Virginia Cavalry. “He has won an enviable distinction as a cavalry officer,” noted a fellow horse soldier, “he led a brigade through the battles at Gettysburg and lately in our movements, and has been made chairman of the board of inspection of cavalry.”

He returned to duty in the field, leading his regiment during the extended cavalry campaigning that occupied most of the fall of 1863. His horse was shot out from under him during a heavy skirmish at Raccoon Ford on the Rapidan River on October 11, 1863, and the beast fell on Richmond, who badly injured his right hip and the small of his back. He took leave of absence and went to Culpeper Court House to recuperate, but got no better; indeed, these injuries caused him partial disability for the rest of his life. Consequently, he resigned his commission for health reasons in the spring of 1864 and went home. Then, in the spring of 1865, he unexpectedly received a commission as a colonel in the Veteran Reserve Corps, and was assigned to duty as superintendent of recruiting service for that corps for the State of Indiana. With the war over, he resigned his commission in August 1865.

Richmond then entered Republican politics in his home state of Indiana. From the time that he came home in 1864 through 1868, he represented his district in the Indiana State Senate. He was elected to city council in 1869 and then again 1871-1872, and in 1873 was elected mayor of Kokomo. “He possesses energy, courage, self-reliance, quick perception and decision, all the qualities that make the successful military officer and the leader in civil affairs,” noted a biographer, “yet with these is united a modest estimation of self that is a ‘candle to his merit,’ revealing more clearly the genuine virtues of his character.”

After ending his political career, Richmond worked as a lawyer and gentleman farmer near Kokomo. In 1882, he retired and moved to Malvern, Arkansas, in Hot Springs County, where he enjoyed the healing powers of the spa there. Richmond lived until the ripe old age of 85. He died on June 28, 1919, just a few weeks before his 86th birthday. He was buried in Crown Point Cemetery in Kokomo.

Here’s to Col. Nathaniel P. Richmond of the 1st West Virginia Cavalry, a fine soldier who did his duty and did it well.

June 21, 2010

Hmmmm….

Filed under: Research and Writing — The General @ 8:40 pm

One of the myths that J. D. Petruzzi and I tried to dispel in our book Plenty of Blame to Go Around: Jeb Stuart’s Controversial Ride to Gettysburg is the criticism that Jeb Stuart failed to take steps to provide intelligence to Robert E. Lee during his ride to Gettysburg. That criticism is not well-founded, as Stuart did, indeed, forward significant intelligence to the Confederate authorities.

We know this because a June 27, 1863 dispatch from Stuart, reporting that the Army of the Potomac had moved north toward Leesburg and the Potomac River and had abandoned its base of operations at Fairfax Court House, was published in John Beauchamp Jones’ excellent 1866 book A Rebel War Clerk’s Diary. As the title suggests, Jones worked in the Confederate War Department, and saw these dispatches as they came through. Jones included the language of the dispatch in his book in its entirety. We quoted it verbatim in the book and cited to Jones’ book as the source.

So, we know for a fact that the report was received by the Confederate War Department, and we know for a fact that the report is available for use by researchers in a prominent and well-known source.

Yesterday, while searching the online archive of the Richmond Dispatch newspaper, I found the article below, which was published in the July 2, 1863 edition of the paper:

Capture of Fairfax C. H.–Hooker’s army.

The following official dispatch was received at the War Department Tuesday night:

Headq’rs Cav. Div.,
June 27, 1863.

General S. Cooper:

I took possession of Fairfax C. H. this morning at 9 o’clock, together with a large quantity of stores. The main body of Hooker’s army has gone towards Leesburg, except the garrison of Alexandria and Washington which has retreated within the fortifications.

Very respectfully,
Your ob’t serv’t,

J. E. B. Stuart,

Major General.

So, the dispatch obviously was published in the newspaper verbatim, meaning it was published in two common, well-known sources. I acknowledge that I didn’t know about its being published in the newspaper before yesterday, and J. D. didn’t either. Nevertheless, the Richmond Dispatch has long been fertile ground for Civil War researchers, and that fact is no secret. Indeed, anyone working on the Eastern Theater of the Civil War proceeds with their projects at their own peril if they don’t at least check the Dispatch, the Richmond Times, and the other handful of daily newspapers that were published in Richmond during the Civil War.

What I really don’t understand is how, with this dispatch having been published in two prominent, conspicuous places, all of the researchers who have looked at Stuart’s Ride in the past, including the likes of Douglas Southall Freeman, could have missed it. It’s truly a mystery to me. And it makes me wonder if it was a deliberate choice to miss it.

As Alice said to the Cheshire Cat, “It gets curiouser and curiouser.”

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