Honoring Ashby. General Turner Ashby

Thomas J. Jackson was not known to just hand out laurels. However, during his famed Valley Campaign of 1862 he paid homage to the fallen “Black Knight of the Confederacy.” Brigadier General Turner Ashby was Jacksons cavalry commander for most of the battles. Ashby was killed in a rear guard action on Chestnut Ridge near Harrisonburg, Virginia, on June 6, 1862, on the eve of the climatic battles of Cross Keys and Port Republic. In the skirmish with Federal troops, Ashby was attempting to buy time for General Richard Ewell to set up his defenses. As the Federals slammed into his men causing confusion and death, Ashby’s horse was shot out from under him. Undaunted, Ashby drew his pistol and shouted “Charge men, For God’s sake charge!” and proceeded to lead the cavalry charge on foot. After a few short steps, he was hit in the chest with a musket ball and died instantly. His death rallied his men and it bought extra time for Ewell to build up his defenses. General Ashby was just thirty-three years old. The skirmish cost the Confederates 17 killed, 50 wounded and 3 missing. However, the action was successful and set the stage for the Union defeat in the Shenandoah Valley. .” After the war a somewhat biased series of books entitled The Confederate Military History wrote of Ashby “He was the idol of his men and the beloved of every one who had the honor of knowing him intimately.”

In his battle report General Jackson paid the ultimate homage to his fallen compatriot. Ashby had served Jackson faithfully and had been instrumental to the Confederate successes in the valley. “An official report is not an appropriate place for more than a passing notice of the distinguished dead, but the close relation which General Ashby bore to my command for most of the previous twelve month, will justify me in saying that as a partisan officer I never knew his superior; his daring was proverbial; his powers of endurance almost incredible; his tone of character heroic, and his sagacity almost intuitive in divining the purposes and movements of the enemy.”

Moreover, General John Imboden who served with both Jackson and Ashby wrote “About 10 o'clock at night I received a note from Jackson, written in pencil on the blank margin of a newspaper, directing me to report with my command at Port Republic before daybreak. On the same slip, and as a postscript, he wrote, "Poor Ashby is dead. He fell gloriously.... I know you will join with me in mourning the loss of our friend, one of the noblest men and soldiers in the Confederate army." I carried that slip of paper till it was literally worn to tatters.” From the report and this letter it is easy to see that Jackson had a lot of respect for his cavalry chief.

Jackson’s Valley Report is here:

http://www.civilwarhome.com/jacksonvalleyor.htm

Three short but sweet biographies of Turner Ashby is here:

http://www.multied.com/Bio/CWcGENS/CSAAshby.html

http://civilwar.bluegrass.net/OfficersAndEnlistedMen/turnerashby.html

http://www.rockingham.k12.va.us/TAHS/GENERAL_TURNER_ASHBY.html

Photos of the General are here:

http://www.generalsandbrevets.com/sga/ashby.htm

Imboden’s Article is here:

http://www.civilwarhome.com/imbodenonjackson.htm

Its all fun and games until someone gets hurt.

You've heard of the Texas Rangers right? You know that Civil War generals tended to disagree with one another during and after the guns fell silent. The death of Brig. Gen. John A. Wharton (CSA) at the hands of Colonel George W. Baylor (CSA) was a small footnote in April 1865. To set the stage our story occurs in Texas as Confederacy began to dissolve into history.The war itself was coming to an end and those who supported the Confederacy knew it. Wharton and Baylor were such men and both had served the south since the onset of hostilties. During the botched Red River Campaign Baylor blamed Wharton for needlessly sacrificing some of his men. There is some evidence to support that Wharton made some questionable decisions but that is an issue for another time. However both are caverly officers and both are involved in the 8th Texas Caverly.Once Wharton found out about Baylors attitude towards him he declined Baylors requests for leave while granting furloughs to others. Wharton made it known to everybody that he resented Baylor's criticism and I am sure had some good 19th Century "choice" words to say about Baylor. On April 6, 1865 Wharton traveled to Houston, Texas to report to General Magruder and Baylor met up with Wharton's party there. Wharton decided to place an officer that was Baylors junior in command and Baylor was not happy about it. The two met at railroad tracks and Wharton asked Baylor where his command was. Some historians state that Wharton might have asked the question in a sarcastic manner which might have placed more gasoline on Baylor's fire. Colonel Baylor told Wharton that his command was in another town and that he was in Houston on offical business. An heated argument began between the two men and the issue was pushed even further when an excited Wharton called Baylor a "damned liar." Baylor struck and Wharton but missed and he was subsquently ordered to Wharton's headquarters to await punishment. Baylor responded that he would go to Magruder instead and Wharton told him to do so, but under arrest.After arriving at Magruder's headquarters, Baylor broke down in tears and Magruder took the young man upstairs to compose himself in another room. Magruder left Baylor for a bit and went back downstairs. Wharton and another officer, expecting to find Magruder, then entered the same room and found the colonel sitting on a bed, still crying. Another argument ensued and this time General Wharton lost his cool. As he apprached Baylor with clenched fists his accompying officer stepped between the two men. Wharton managed to throw a punch but missed and it was at that time that Baylor drew his pistol. The accompying officer, named Harrison grabbed at Baylors pistol but in doing so he exposed Wharton's left side. Baylor fired and the bullet struck Wharton just below his ribs. Wharton died within moments and was buried on April 9 in Hempstead.Baylor was never tried for his crime by Confederate authorities. After the southern collapse he was finally brought to trial in 1868 but was aquitted by a jury made up of Texans. The feud was a matter of honor and it still amazes historians that Colonel Baylor never served a prison sentence. Wharton remains one of the least known Confederate cavalry generals and I will talk more about him in a future blog. Stay tuned and the left is rest to history.Sources and infomation is located at:"Testimony Before the Jury of Inquest on the Body of Gen. Wharton, Tri-Weekly Telegraph April 10, 1865.

http://www.terrystexasrangers.org/biographies/submitted/wharton.html

http://www.terrystexasrangers.org/biographical_notes/w/wharton_ja.html

General Bragg. Was he better than we think?

The casual Civil War buff might think poorly of Confederate General Braxton Bragg. His men hated him, the generals who served with him thought of him as a failure. After the war many of these men wrote accounts that historians have mined for decades. From here the legend of Bragg as one of the worst generals in history developed. A perfect article written by a fellow Civil War buff paints a different picture of Bragg. Click on the following link and let me know what you think.

http://users.aol.com/cinticwrt/bragg.html

Now that you've read that article I think that the author has made a decent case. I've talked about R.E. Lee and how his reputation was enhanced by postwar writings. Meanwhile, Jame Longstreet's reputation was run through the mud and utterly discredited. Perhaps Bragg's reputation was ruined by those writers who had the loudest voices. Those voices painted him as the Count Dracula of Confederate Generals. He was too strict, he didn't develop good feelings from the common solider and his fellow generals hated him. This article does a great job by asking a question that I never thought of before. Maybe Bragg wasn't as bad as we think he was.

U.S. Grant the actor

I have been reading some of my old Civil War books and currently I am reading Lee and His Generals: In War and Memory by Gary Gallagher. The book contains an article discussing the life of Confederate General John Bankhead Magruder. Magruder's personality made him a well known figure in the antebellum army and he loved to stage plays for his fellow soldiers as they endured the rigors of army life. While stationed in Texas with General Zachary Taylor's army in 1845-1846, he set up a theatre and staged several plays. A performance of Othello, was staged by Magruder and he enlisted his fellow soldiers to serve as characters in the play. U.S. Grant was cast as Desdemona because his original choice, James Longstreet was too tall. Grant did not fill Desdemona's shoes any better than "Old Pete" and Magruder was forced to hire an actress for the role. I just thought this was an interesting tidbit for Civil War buffs. I love this stuff.

"Old Pete" and "Unconditional Surrender" reunite

James Longstreet and U.S. Grant were friends prior to the Civil War. The two had become acquainted during their West Point days and they had served together at the Jefferson Barracks in Missouri. Both were serving in the Fourth Infantry and while there “Old Pete” Longstreet introduced Grant to his fourth cousin, Julia Grant, and the couple eventually married. Grant had Longstreet serve as a member of his wedding party and these things illustrate the friendship that they shared. The two grew so close before and after the Civil War that when Longstreet heard of Grant’s death he said He was the truest as well as the bravest man that ever lived." The two served together during the Mexican War and

When the NY Times interviewed Longstreet in 1885 he spoke openly of his relationship with U.S. Grant. "Ever since 1839, I have been on terms of the closest intimacy with Grant.” West Point could be an intimidating place and the large, robust Longstreet took the frail Grant under his wing. One of his greatest memories was introducing the game of Brag to Grant and watching him struggle as a player. “We instructed Grant in the mysteries of the game, but he made a poor player” Longstreet said. After the surrender at Appomattox Grant walked up to Longstreet and recalled the old days. In many ways if reflected both of their attitudes towards a reconciliation between North and South. “Pete, let us have another game of brag, to recall the days that were so pleasant.”

Both men shared a unique relationship that very few people know about. The loss of General Longstreet due to his wounding at the Wilderness cost General R.E. Lee the one lieutenant who had insight into Grant’s character. It was said that he told several people in the Confederate high command “That man Grant will fight us every day, and every hour, until the end of this War.” He was right.

Internet Links to consider

http://www.clangrant-us.org/ulysses_s_grant.htm

NY Times Article interviewing Longstreet after Grants death

http://www.granthomepage.com/intlongstreet.htm

http://all-biographies.com/presidents/ulysses_simpson_grant.htm

Lincoln's Ghost by Vachel Lindsay

Recently I found the following poem. Written in the early 1900's the poem discusses Lincoln's ghost haunting his hometown of Springfeld, Ill.

Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight

In Springfield, Illinois

By Vachel Lindsay


IT is portentous, and a thing of state

That here at midnight, in our little town,

A mourning figure walks, and will not rest,

Near the old court-house pacing up and down.


Or by his homestead, or in shadowed yards

He lingers where his children used to play;

Or through the market, on the well-worn stones

He stalks until the dawn-stars burn away.


A bronzed, lank man! His suit of ancient black,

A famous high top-hat and plain worn shawl

Make him the quaint great figure that men love,

The prairie-lawyer, master of us all.


He cannot sleep upon his hillside now.

He is among us:—as in times before!

And we who toss and lie awake for long

Breathe deep, and start, to see him pass the door.


His head is bowed. He thinks on men and kings.

Yea, when the sick world cries, how can he sleep?

Too many peasants fight, they know not why,

Too many homesteads in black terror weep.


The sins of all the war-lords burn his heart.

He sees the dreadnaughts scouring every main.

He carries on his shawl-wrapped shoulders now

The bitterness, the folly, and the pain.


He cannot rest until a spirit-dawn

Shall come;—the shining hope of Europe free:

The league of sober folk, the Workers’ Earth

Bringing long peace to Cornland, Alp, and Sea.


It breaks his heart that kings must murder still,

That all his hours of travail here for men

Seem yet in vain. And who will bring white peace

That he may sleep upon his hill again?

More infomation on Lincoln's ghost can be found here:

http://www.prairieghosts.com/lincoln2.html

http://www.shadowseekers.org/ohiohaunts/abrahamlincolnsfuneraltrain.html

Forgotten Battles of the Civil War: The Battle of Perryville, October 8, 1862

During his Confederate military career Private Sam Watkins would fight at; Franklin, Nashville, Lookout Mountain, Missionary Ridge, Chickamauga, Stones River and the battles for Atlanta. Somehow, Mr. Watkins would survive these horrible battles and he would immortalize them in his postwar memoirs. With that experience in mind Watkins would write the following about the lesser known Battle of Perryville.

"Such obstinate fighting I never had seen before or since," wrote Confederate Private Sam Watkins on the Battle of Perryville. "The guns were discharged so rapidly that it seemed the earth itself was in a volcanic uproar. The iron storm passed through our ranks, mangling and tearing men to pieces… Our men were dead and dying right in the very midst of this grand havoc of battle."

On October 8, 1862, Watkins along with 18,000 Confederate troops clashed with just over 20,000 Union solders on the hills outside Perryville, Kentucky. Nearly 7,500 men were killed or wounded in the largest battle to ever take place on Kentucky soil. Why are many historians calling Perryville the “high water mark of the Confederacy in the Western Theatre? Today, my Forgotten Battles of the Civil War Series will explore the neglected Battle of Perryville, the facts surrounding it and its overall implications for both sides.

In mid-July 1862 Confederate Generals Braxton Bragg and Edmund Kirby Smith met in Chattanooga Tennessee to discuss strategy. Union General Ulysses S. Grant’s victories at Fort Donelson and Shiloh had lowered southern morale and effectively placed the momentum on the northern side. Both Smith and Bragg wisely concluded that to regain momentum and lost territory something drastic and aggressive had to be done.

They decided on a “two-pronged” invasion of Kentucky and their strategy sought to achieve two important goals. First, Kentucky was a border state that sent an equal number of troops to both sides during the war. Bragg and Smith hoped that invading the Bluegrass State would muster more troops to the dwindling western Confederate armies. Secondly, an invasion would draw Union forces out of Kentucky and a rebel victory would give control of the Western Theatre back to the men in butternut. They agreed to move north to Knoxville, Tennessee and begin their invasion on August 14.

Both Bragg and Smith couldn’t have asked for a better beginning to their plans. After splitting up into their “two-pronged” invasion both generals achieved some successes. Bragg captured a Union garrison at Munfordville and Smith defeated Union forces in a small contest known as the Battle of Richmond. Within a few weeks the Confederates had captured the cities of Lexington and Frankfurt. Moreover, troops under Bragg controlled the vital railroads that linked the important Kentuckian cities to one another. Things were looking really good for the rebels because they were controlling most of Kentucky and were threatening to conquer the entire state. Also, Confederate forced under Henry Heth had pushed some 35 miles south of Cincinnati causing fear to spread throughout that Ohioan city.

These successes didn’t go unnoticed by the Northern side. Union General Don Carlos Buell, commander of the Army of the Ohio, moved his 20,000 troops from Nashville to Bowling Green, Kentucky. Buell wisely asserted that he needed to defeat Bragg first in order to regain control of the railroad and he ordered an advance to Munfordville.

The men on both sides were equally put off by the draught that occurred within the area. The first casualties on both sides resulted from the want of water. A Union colonel wrote “we passed two men lying on the roadside having died from sunstroke.” Even the mighty Chaplin River was running dry and the heat was unbearable for the men as they lumbered towards the Perryville area. In fact the battle itself began as a contest over water. Everyone remembers Gettysburg as a clash over shoes and this battle would begin under similar circumstances.

On October 7, Arkansas troops moved west of town to secure the water in the area. At the same time a Union reconnaissance expedition reported that water was available west of town. Buell ordered troops under Brig. Gen. Phillip Sheridan to the area to control this valuable resource for the Federals. Also, the heights overlooking the area (known as Peter’s Hill) were also sought by the men in blue. Around 3:00 a.m. on October 8 Sheridan’s forces clashed with the Arkansas troops. The Battle of Perryville had begun.

Braxton Bragg unwisely believed that the Union forces that opposed him were smaller than his own. He felt that most of Federal forces had concentrated near Frankfort and he felt that a quick victory was achievable at Perryville. Sensing the momentum on his side Bragg ordered his 16,000 men to attack the 22,000 Union soldiers on his front. At 2:00 p.m. on October 9, Confederate forces under Major General Ben Cheatham crossed the dry Chaplin River and attacked Maj. Gen. Alexander McCook’s forces who had taken up a strong defensive position on a bluff. The rebels took heavy casualties but managed to force McCook’s men back by rolling the Union flank.

Meanwhile, the rest of the Confederate army struck the Union center and right flanks respectively. The troops attacking the Union center were under the command of Thomas Jones and John C. Brown. Rebel general Simon Buckner was in command of the Confederates who attacked the Union right flank. The men under McCook were also forced back from these areas and it looked like a major Confederate victory was at hand. Forcing the Northerners back took its toll on the attackers. One Union soldier later commented that the numerous dead bodies showed that the rebels had been “severely punished” for their assault.

Fierce fighting continued when Federal forces reformed their battle lines to stop the Confederate advance. With their forces finally out in the open the Northern army began to take horrendous casualties. The 22nd Indiana infantry lost nearly 70% of its force as the men in blue began to fight for their survival. Some of the most forgotten and yet some of the fiercest hand to hand combat of the war occurred as the Union forces attempted to make their stand along several roads outside Perryville. The Federals managed to force the Confederates back in some places and General Sheridan even led a charge that saved the Army of the Ohio from destruction. At nightfall the bloodshed ceased ending nearly five hours of intense fighting. General McCook admitted that his force “was badly whipped.” During the night Bragg realized that the force opposite him was larger than he had originally thought. Moreover, his side had suffered terribly and he quickly ordered a retreat.

As Braggs men retreated that evening the men in gray could only claim a hollow victory. Tactically they had won the Battle of Perryville by easily whipping McCooks force. However, the strategic victory belonged to the Northern side because Bragg was forced out of Kentucky as a result of this battle. With the invasion ended, Southeners could find little refuge in tactical victories. Sam Watkins would later write that both sides claimed victory at Perryville but in reality both sides were thoroughly whipped.

The Battle of Perryville had further ramifications than strategic or tactical victories. The casualties on both sides amounted to nearly 7,500 men (US 4,211; CS 3,196). Like most Civil War battlefields the victors were confronted with a scene of death and destruction. One Federal commented on the battlefield “It was a horrible sight, for four mile the fields are strewn with the dead of both parties.” As surgeons and burial details tended to the wounded and dead respectively the stench of death continued in the city of Perryville. In fact, the last recorded death as a result of the battle occurred on March 23, 1863. That date was nearly nine months after the battle.

Many historians called the Battle of Perryville the “high water mark of the Confederacy in the West.” The invasion would be the first and last time that a Confederate army would enter Kentucky. With the area secured, the North was able to use it as a jump off point to eventually secure Tennessee which in itself would serve as a jump off point to capture Atlanta. Ironically Bragg and Smith had planned their invasion in Chattanooga and that city would be the same place that Sherman would begin his Atlanta Campaign.

Today the battlefield is home to one of the most famous and best Civil War reenactments. More information can be found at the following webpages.

http://www.battleofperryville.com/index.html

http://www.perryville.net/

http://civilwar.org/historyclassroom/hc_perryvillehist.htm

http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/ky/ky009.html

http://www.perryvillereenactment.org/

http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/abpp/battles/ky009.htm

New Lincoln book claims that Abe had a disease

Dr. John Sotos is self-publishing a book entitled The Physical Lincoln. Using eyewitness accounts, photographs and family history the author states that Abe had a rare disorder that would have taken his life even if he wasn't murdered. The disease is called MEN2B. The authors website is located here: http://www.physical-lincoln.com/index.html

The syndrome is a form of cancer which is officially referred to as multiple endocrine neoplasia IIB. Check it out because this new infomation is very interesting. Lincolns body cannot be exhumed because of the way it was finally buried. However, there is enough of Lincoln's DNA available to conduct a test. For example, fragments of his brain are in the National Archives and some bloodstained items from April 14-15 1865 are also available. It would be fascinating if this could be proven. What will the impact on history be? That question is difficult to answer. Only time will tell but I will keep looking at this situation and post more in a future blog. You can also buy the book (when it becomes available) on the website.

Check out this part of the website for photos and other infomation:

http://www.physical-lincoln.com/cancer.html