tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17332662532670329982024-03-13T20:05:42.967-06:00Fighting High Number Regiment<a href="http://www.179thnyvolunteers.org">179th NY Volunteers</a>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240646770195648508noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1733266253267032998.post-38012922479718782462014-06-03T13:42:00.001-06:002014-06-03T13:42:10.537-06:00Whose idea is it to dig a mine? And how?Testimony of Brevet Major General Robert B. Potter.<br />
Headquarters Army of the Potomac,<br />
Before Petersburg, Va., December 20, 1864.<br />
Brevet Major General Robert B. Potter sworn and examined.<br />
By Mr. Chandler:<br />
Question. What is your rank and position in the army ?<br />
Answer. I am a brigadier general and a brevet major general of volunteers,<br />
commanding the 2d division of the 9th army corps.<br />
Question. Will you state to the committee, as concisely as possible, what you<br />
know in relation to the springing of the mine and assault upon the enemy's<br />
works on the 30th of July last?<br />
Answer. About the 24th of June, <span style="background-color: cyan;">I should think,</span> the idea of mining under<br />
the enemy's works in my immediate front was suggested to me; in fact, <span style="background-color: yellow;">I had<br />thought of it before</span>, and several others had thought of the same thing. Lieutenant<br />
Colonel Pleasants, commanding the 48th Pennsylvania volunteers, came<br />
to my quarters and suggested to me that he was familiar with mining, and that many<br />
of the men in his regiment were miners, and that they thought they could undermine<br />
one of the enemy's works in my immediate front. After some conversation<br />
with him, I wrote a communication to General Burnside, who was then my corps<br />
commander, suggesting this plan of mining the enemy's works, and giving some<br />
of the details. The general subsequently sent for me to come to his headquarters<br />
and bring Colonel Pleasants with me, which I did, and we had an interview<br />
with him. Subsequently he notified us that he had submitted the plan to<br />
the general commanding the army of the Potomac, who approved of the same,<br />
and that we were authorized to undertake the work.<br />
<br />
This is testimony before the Congressional Committee on the Conduct of the War some months after Petersburg. Aside from the peculiar qualifier "I should think" Potter is sharing an opinion. It's hard to know exactly what was on his mind in late June, but here is his report to IX Corp headquarters six months earlier OR(40)1:220 ...<br />
<br />
HEADQUARTERS SECOND DIVISION, NINTH ARMY CORPS,<br />
June 19, 1864.<br />
Lieut. Col. LEWIS RICHMOND,<br />
Assistant Adjutant-General, Ninth Army Corps :<br />
<br />
COLONEL: I inclose a report from Colonel Griffin for the information of the commanding general. We also hold the advanced line of yesterday as a picket-line, which is pretty well intrenched. I think of making a covered way to it. This division occupies the entire line as well as supports it, only a picket of the Third Division being left, whose position rendered it inexpedient to relieve them with the others; but this will be done at the earliest opportunity if possible, but my division is pretty well all in use now.<br />
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,<br />
ROBERT B. POTTER,<br />
Brigadier- General.<br />
<br />
P. S.-There is a redoubt not quite 100 yards in front of our line, which I think can be <span style="background-color: yellow;">approached by a sap</span>. At any rate, its reduction seems quite practicable with the spade when we get a covered way to the ravine. I will forward a diagram, showing location of batteries, &c., shortly.<br />
<br />
<br />
and a few days later OR(40)2:396-7, Burnside forwards the Potter message to Meade.<br />
<br />
[General MEADE :]<br />
HEADQUARTERS NINTH ARMY CORPS,<br />
June 24, 1864 -- 6.10 p. m.<br />
<br />
GENERAL : The following dispatch has just been received, and is forwarded for your information and guidance, in case of the success or repulse of the attack.*<br />
A. E. BURNSIDE,<br />
Major- General.<br />
<br />
<br />
HEADQUARTERS SECOND DIVISION, NINTH ARMY CORPS,<br />
June 24, 1864.<br />
Maj. Gen. JOHN G. PARKE,<br />
Chief of Staff, Ninth Army Corps:<br />
GENERAL : Lieutenant-Colonel Pleasants, of the Forty-eighth Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers, commanding First Brigade, has called upon me to express his opinion of the feasibility of mining the enemy's work in my front. Colonel Pleasants is a mining engineer and has charge of some of the principal mining works of Schuylkill County, Pa. He has in his command upward of eighty-five enlisted men and fourteen non-commissioned officers, who are professional miners, besides four officers. The distance from inside of our work, where the mine would have to be started, to inside of enemy's work, does not exceed 100 yards. He is of the opinion that they could run a mine forward at the rate of from twenty-five to fifty feet per day, including supports, ventilation, and so on. It would be a double mine, for as we cannot ventilate by shafts from the top, we would have to run parallel tunnels and connect them every short distance by lateral ones, to secure a circulation of air, absolutely essential here, as these soils are full of mephitic vapors. A few miner's picks, which I am informed could be made by any blacksmith from the ordinary ones; a few hand-barrows, easily constructed ; one or two mathematical instruments, which could be supplied by the engineer department, and our ordinary intrenching tools, are all that are required. <span style="background-color: yellow;">The men themselves have been talking about it for some days, and are quite desirous, <span style="background-color: cyan;">seemi<span style="background-color: cyan;"></span>ngly, </span>of trying it</span>. If there is a prospect of our remaining here a few days longer I would like to undertake it. If you desire to see Colonel Pleasants I will ride over with him or send him up to you. I think, perhaps, we might do something, and in no event could we lose more men than we do every time we feel the enemy.<br />
Yours, very truly,<br />
ROBERT B: POTTER,<br />
Brigadier-General.<br />
<br />
The finished mine was 510 feet in length (170 yards) and had a single main gallery. Digging began at noon on the 25th of June and by early morning three days later was 130 feet long OR(40)2:484<br />
<br />
HEADQUARTERS SECOND DIVISION, NINTH ARMY CORPS,<br />
June 28, 1864-8 p. m.<br />
Maj. J. L. VAN BUREN, Aide-de-Camp :<br />
SIR : Colonel Pleasants reports that the gallery was 130 feet at 12<br />
m. to-day by measurement. It was reported to me to be 130 feet about<br />
9.30 a. m., which was the distance I stated to General Burnside this morning. That was, however, only estimated. The gallery was run fifty feet the first day and forty feet each day since, which rate of progression Colonel Pleasants thinks he will be able to maintain.<br />
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,<br />
ROBERT B. POTTER,<br />
Brigadier- General.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
++++++++++++++++++++++<br />
<br />
Perhaps in another post we can look at the cautious way generals used qualifiers in their reports and official correspondence. The "I should think" seems peculiar when the written correspondence must have been found in preparation for testimony by mid-December. The "seemingly" poses the question: Why qualify the men's desire to mine?<br />
<br />
The mine was proposed by Pleasants on the 24th. By the end of the 25th the tunnel was already 50 feet long. There had been little time to design/construct a "double" mine. Perhaps Potter didn't understand what Pleasants had said? As to the "mephitic vapors" that might lead to such a design, were these Potter's words? or from Pleasants? Major Duane, Chief Engineer of the Army of the Potomac, had authored a manual for military mining and counter-mining in 1862. But coal mining and Army mining were horses of a different color. Duane's manual recognized the need for ventilation in longer mines, but suggested shafts to the surface (not in these conditions, so close to the Confederate lines) and/or parallel galleries connected by horizontal shafts.Perhaps this influenced Potter? Note the following highlight, though. The "simple" ventilation design from coal mining and the speed with which a single gallery was begun and continued so rapidly points to a clear vision in Pleasants' mind and something different in Potters'.<br />
<br />
<br />
Oliver Christian Bosbyshell (late Major in the 48th)<br />
<i>The 48th in the War</i><br />
Avil Printing Co., Philadelphia, PA, 1895.<br />
digitized by Google from a copy in the Harvard College Library<br />
<br />
The ventilation was accomplished in a very simple way — <span style="background-color: yellow;">after a method quite common in the anthracite coal mines</span>. A perpendicular shaft or hole was made from the mine to the surface at a point inside of the Union rifle pits. A small furnace, or fire-place, was built at the bottom of this hole, or shaft, for the purpose of heating the air, and a fire was kept constantly burning, thus creating a draft. A door made of canvas was placed in the gallery, a little outside of this fire-place, thus shutting it in and shielding it from the outside air at the mouth of the mine. Wooden pipes, extending from the outside of this canvas door, along the gallery to the inner end thereof, conducted the fresh air to the point of operations, which, after supplying the miners with pure air, returned along the gallery towards the entrance of the mine, and, being stopped by the canvas door, the vitiated air moved into the furnace and up the shaft to the surface. By this means a constant current of air circulated through the gallery. As the work advanced, the inside end of the wooden pipe was extended so as to carry good air up to the face of the workings.<br />
<br />
Bosbyshell's words echo the report of Pleasants OR(40)1:556-563, part of which mentions ventilation and nowhere uses the word "mephitic", which appears only once in the three parts of OR vol. 40.<br />
<br />
The mine was ventilated at first by having the fresh air go in along the main gallery as far as it was excavated, and to return charged with the gases generated by the breathing and exhalation of the workmen, by the burning of the candles, and by those liberated from the ground, along and in a square tube made of boards, and whose area was sixty inches. This tube led to a perpendicular shaft twenty-two feet high, out of which this vitiated air escaped. At the bottom of this shaft was p1aced a grating, in which a large fire was kept burning continually, which, by heating the air, rarefied it, and increased its current. Afterward I caused the fresh air to be let in the above-mentioned wooden tube to the end of the work, and the vitiated air to return by the gallery and out of the shaft, placing a partition with a door in the main gallery a little out of the shaft, to prevent its exit by the entrance of the mine. The latter plan was more advantageous, because the gases had to travel a less distance in the mine than before.<br />
<br />
<br />
Robert Potter was one of those citizen-soldiers whose background could not have prepared him to command a combat division of 5,000 men. He was a 30 year-old attorney at the beginning of the war, with no previous military experience. Intelligent enough to learn how to lead men in battle and brave enough to command from the front, he was still schooled only by his experience with the Army of the Potomac. I'm sure when he looked at the Confederate position on the ridge right in front of his division he might has thought to himself, as did others as well, "yes, we should blow that up", but in fact his first report on the 19th mentions "approached by a sap" .. which would be a trench with perhaps a roller to protect the men with shovels, the most conventional way in siege by "regular approaches". Perhaps he was familiar with Duane's manual, and can that have led him to think this?<br />
<br />
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or, more likely, was he thinking of this?<br />
<span id="goog_399613953"></span><span id="goog_399613954"></span><br />
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<br />Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240646770195648508noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1733266253267032998.post-73578337296244766722014-05-31T10:22:00.004-06:002014-05-31T10:25:15.159-06:00The night sky verified"The night was black and starry with a waning moon ..."<br />
<br />
from a history of the 57th Massachusetts Veteran Volunteers<br />
<br />
The IX Corps moved from their lines at Cold Harbor on the night of June 12th, marching to the James River. Today's digital tools let us check the night sky for this movement.<br />
<br />
One perpetual calendar gives moon phases for Richmond -- the moon rose at 12:23 in the afternoon of the 12th and set twelve hours later at 12:26 am on the 13th. The moon was at first quarter, waxing toward a full moon a week later on the 19th.<br />
<br />
If the night was "black and starry" we are led to think there wasn't a great deal of cloud cover. But a "waning moon"? No, it was half full and setting in the west while the men were moving east.<br />
<br />
Another wonderful tool is <b>Starry Night</b> from Simulation Curriculum Corp. This allows us to view the sky from any point on (or even off) Earth. A composite image from that program for the sky looking west is shown below (moon at 8, 9, 10 and 11 pm):<br />
<br />
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(sky from 8 pm, light lingering from the sunset at 7:30, changing to black by 9 pm)<br />
<br />
From Robert Krick we have <i>Civil War Weather in Virginia</i> and can find that the temperatures in Washington, D.C. (Georgetown), ranged from the low 60's at night to 75 in the day for the 12th and 13th. In notes he also reports that the weather around Richmond was cooler than normal (cold and cloudy, clear and cool on those days).<br />
<br />Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240646770195648508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1733266253267032998.post-43310313385896484512014-03-04T14:56:00.001-07:002014-03-04T15:01:57.936-07:00Artillery 30 July 1864 at the CraterOne thing that stands out in much of the Union planning for this attack ... everything will go fine if only there weren't a Confederate army in the field. We have a picture of Burnside readying his HQ to be on the move into Petersburg as soon as his corps sweeps to the top of Cemetery Hill and Ferrero's 4th Division goes double-time down the Plank Road into town. [cite]<br />
<br />
One indication of this mentality is Hunt's sketch for 5th, 9th and 18th Corps artillery placement from the OR Atlas Plate LXIV, No. 3:<br />
<br />
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While a few Confederate positions are marked, many are not shown. The ones not shown played a large role in slowing/stopping the Union advance. It's interesting that the map legend "SKETCH Explanatory Of The Positions ..." sits over the most significant of those Confederate batteries.<br />
<br />
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The mortars on the far side of the Plank Road were hidden from easy view, as the road was raised over east-west downward slopes. Wright's battery sat at small elevation on the north side of a natural ravine and to the west of thick timber, as a map from the opposition's point of view is shown in another OR Atlas Plate (LXXVIII, No. 5)<br />
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<br />
Taking just the north part of the full map, starting with batteries 14-18 from the 5th Corps (and #19, the southernmost 9th Corp battery), I've moved the legend to make way for Confederate gun positions.<br />
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<br />
Various reports show that the Confederates were aware of a mine somewhere on this front and preparations were made by Pendleton and the other artillery officers to have sufficient extra ammunition on hand, just in case. Even though only 3 divisions were left south of the Appomattox when Lee responded to Grant's gambit at Deep Bottom on 27-29 July, they were on full alert.<br />
<br />
Sure, the Union generals cooperated fully to make a mess of the attack of the mine, they weren't alone on the battlefield.They did have the full attention of soldiers who were putting up a fierce defense of their home state and towns. Led by very capable men, William Mahone among them.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240646770195648508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1733266253267032998.post-72100811392486555682014-03-03T19:51:00.000-07:002014-03-03T19:51:21.599-07:00City Point and Army LineUS Military RR from June 1864 to April 1865<br />
<br />
Abstract and Chronology of construction, from Official Records III(5):69-74<br />
<br />
Mr. C.L. McAlpine, engineer of construction and repairs<br />
<br />
<br />
13 June: take up track of Richmond and York River RR, remove all material of value<br />
<br />
18 June: arrive at City Point, orders to rebuild City Point and Petersburg RR<br />
"the bridges were gone, track taken up, and the iron removed for a distance of four miles."<br />
" ... on to within two miles and a half from Petersburg ... ties were very much decayed and the gauge needed changing from five feet to four feet eight and one-half inches."<br />
<br />
5 July: bridges all rebuilt, track repaired and road in running order for 7 miles<br />
<br />
7 July: regular trains start running<br />
<br />
22 July: orders to make a preliminary survey of branch line from Pitkin Station (5.5 miles from City Point) to 5th Corps HQ at Yellow House. Survey made w/o instruments.<br />
<br />
9 August: explosion, accidental[??] of ammunition stored on ordnance boat<br />
<br />
30 August: orders to commence building Pitkin to Yellow House<br />
<br />
1 September: work commenced<br />
<br />
10 September: Pitkin to Yellow House (9 miles), City Point to Yellow House (14.5 miles) <br />
<br />
?? September: construction of earthworks about 0.5 miles to protect open track from rebel batteries<br />
<br />
October: road bed put in first-rate order, the yard at City Point enlarged, switches, sidings, turn-tables, engine-house, shops; at all stations, sidings laid and station-houses built. Average of 9 trains run each way daily.<br />
<br />
22 October: orders received to extend to Peebles house (2.25 miles)<br />
<br />
2 November: work on Patrick branch begins; weather raining nearly all the time<br />
<br />
9 November: work complete with all necessary sidings<br />
<br />
10 November - 19 December: extra side tracks, quarters for RR employees; 15 trains daily.<br />
<br />
21 December: work begins on branch from Hancock Station to Fort Blaisdell<br />
<br />
29 December: work complete<br />
<br />
2 January: orders to extend this branch 2.5 miles to HQ of Crawfords' Division (5th Corps)<br />
<br />
20 January: Gregg Branch line opens with station-houses, platforms and water-stations.<br />
<br />
8 February: order received to extend Army Line west<br />
<br />
13 February: work begins (from Warren Station south down the old bed of the Weldon RR about 2 miles, then right, west, to the Cummings house on the Vaughan road, a distance of 5 miles)<br />
<br />
24 February: work to Humphreys Station complete, sidings, buildings, platforms, water-stations; weather rainy almost the whole time<br />
<br />
---- "A number of hospital cars were fitted up for the purpose of moving the sick and wounded from the front and along the line to City Point. These were kept in almost constant use."<br />
<br />
Added 2 passenger trains daily for mail, officers and others to/from the front.<br />
<br />
"At the time of building the Army Line many of the officers of the Army of the Potomac, together with the regular Engineer Corps, denounced this location, declaring that it would be impossible for an engine alone to ascend the heavy grades; and as for furnishing the necessary supplies for the army over it, they considered it altogether out of the question."<br />
<br />
15 loaded cars/train (up to 23) pulled by one ordinary engine<br />
<br />
21 miles, 3955 feet with 1 mile, 1393 feet of trestle at an average 21 feet high<br />
<br />
28 February - 3 April: not much of note; maintenance, improvements, building up rolling-stock, timber and iron ready to move the army.<br />
<br />
3 April: abandoned the Army Line and began relaying South Side RR to Petersburg.<br />
<br />
4 April: that road open and in running order; yard work in Petersburg to change gauge.<br />
<br />
11 April: completed gauge change on South Side RR to Burkeville, 62 miles from City Point, and trains began running with supplies<br />
<br />Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240646770195648508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1733266253267032998.post-21744449387169927732014-02-27T09:03:00.003-07:002014-02-27T09:03:57.141-07:00Union Forts at PetersburgBased on the Official Records, Series III, Volume 5, pages 173 - 182, the following map shows the growth of Union fortifications at Petersburg from June 1864 through April 1865. The "Narrative collated from the reports of N. Michler" lays out a fairly detailed chronological description of how fortifications came about and when. The original map is from Michler's 1866 version, scanned at 600dpi (2 inches/mile) at the National Archives in College Park, MD, July 2013. This version, scaled by a factor of 6 to 200 pixels/mile has also been cropped to show only the relevant fortifications.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNqb5duRHsUPllUlj7zUrDmwMIufk8z0K6Z46OAXF6Q_dYabVv1P-qvrqQH619rf5RVewSZCtdtkWFZCA0CcdLgGbGphCA_gxSW2wurVbyNDqA9YIloJKwn9QxbWJ9YInYaczNahpDc9Vb/s1600/michler200.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNqb5duRHsUPllUlj7zUrDmwMIufk8z0K6Z46OAXF6Q_dYabVv1P-qvrqQH619rf5RVewSZCtdtkWFZCA0CcdLgGbGphCA_gxSW2wurVbyNDqA9YIloJKwn9QxbWJ9YInYaczNahpDc9Vb/s1600/michler200.jpg" height="170" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br />Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240646770195648508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1733266253267032998.post-6939538031628685552013-09-26T13:07:00.004-06:002013-09-26T13:22:33.197-06:00Petersburg MapsThe operations of both armies in the Richmond-Petersburg campaign from June 1864 through April 1865 are complex and far-ranging. If there was ever a clear link from the set battle pieces of early to mid 19th century warfare to the continent/world spanning wars of the 20th century, this campaign has to be that link.<br />
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Maps that show coordinated operations in the theater have to cover a lot of territory; to see the place names and unit movements/fighting means text legibility; both of these together require digital maps that are very large in size, both dimensionally and by the megabyte. These are maps that do not fit easily into books. How to give readers enough information at enough detail is one of the puzzles Ed and I have to solve by the middle of 2014 when we plan to publish.<br />
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Just to illustrate: the line along Cemetery Ridge at Gettysburg from Cemetery Hill to Round Top and across to Seminary Ridge, almost the entire engagement of that pivotal battle, fits into a map of operations on the South Side. The Gettysburg overlay is 2 miles wide by 4 miles tall and sits beside the engagements known as Poplar Spring Church -- Peebles Farm -- Pegram Farm which took place 30 September through 2 October 1864. Twenty thousand Union soldiers from four divisions in the V and IX Corps took three hours just to clear the lines on Friday morning; there was just one main road west and dense woods led to some caution as the columns approached them. A smaller number of Confederate soldiers under Heth, with support by cavalry detachments commanded by Hampton were able to give good battle in defense of the vital Boydton Plank Road and Southside Railroad over those three days.<br />
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Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240646770195648508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1733266253267032998.post-24141852703123676362013-08-30T10:32:00.000-06:002013-08-30T10:32:41.538-06:00Civil War Carded Medical Records and Geneological ResearchCivil War historians and family researchers have long known about the value of a soldier's compiled military service record (CMSR) and pension file (PF). Copies of both the CMSR and the pension file, which are filed in individual envelopes for each soldier, may be easily ordered from the National Archives. See Military Service Records at the National Archives, Reference Information Paper 109 at 10, 43 and NATF Form 86.<br />
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The value of the carded medical records (CMR) (Record Group 94, Entry 534) is less well known, probably because these records are not as easily accessible. The CMRs are filed by state, then regiment, and then roughly alphabetically within the regiment. (To complicate matters, there are many mispellings and misfiles both within and between regiments due to miscommunication of information at the time of admission.) (See Publication 109 at 10-11, 43)<br />
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The CMRs compiled information from casualty reports and hospital reports. Because a significant number of Civil War soldiers were sick enough to be admitted to hospital at some point and many were wounded, most Civil War soldiers will have a carded medical record. For the 179th New York, there are CMRs for roughly three-quarters of the soldiers. The CMR contains details not present in the CMSR. A comparison of the CMR and CMSR for my great-great grandfather, James C. Rutan, Co. A, 179th New York Volunteers, demonstrates the additional detail available in the CMR relating to a soldier's wounds and sickness.<br />
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CMR CMSR<br />
<br />
July 30, 1864 Wounded: Right side (Missile: shell) July 30, 1864. Shell wound, right side <br />
Treatment: Simple dressing. Sent to Depot<br />
Hosp. Aug. 1 City Point<br />
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August 2, 1865 Admitted Depot Field Hospital, July-Aug 1864 (USAGH) Sick<br />
9 AC, City Point. Bruised<br />
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August 5, 1864 Admitted to USA Hosp. Steamer<br />
Atlantic. Sent to GH Aug 7, 1864<br />
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August 9, 1864. Admitted USA GH, Rochester, NY Sept -Oct 1864 (179th) Absent sick<br />
Chronic hepatitus. Deserted 9/11/64 Sept 11, 1864 (USAGH) Deserted from<br />
furlough<br />
November 12, 1864. Returned to USA GH Rochester Nov-Dec 1864. (179th) Absent<br />
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February 14, 1865. Returned to duty from Rochester Jan-Feb 1865. (179th) Absent sick<br />
Jan-Feb 1865 (USAGH) Sick<br />
February 18, 1865. Admitted to USA General Hospital<br />
Ladies' Home, NYC from Battery Barracks, NY<br />
Pneumonia. Transferred to GH April 4, 1865 <br />
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April 5, 1865. Admitted USA GH Elmira from Mar-Apr 1865. (179th) Absent sick<br />
Ladies' Home. Contusion right kidney 7/30/64 Mar-Apr 1865. (USAGH) Sick<br />
Missile: Wagon wheel<br />
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April 18, 1865. Furloughed<br />
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May 18, 1865 Discharged from service. May 23, 1865 Mustered out. <br />
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July 11, 1891. Charge of desertion removed. AWOL 9/11/64 to 11/12/64.Authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18185594191906961841noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1733266253267032998.post-37897645813541623952012-07-24T00:26:00.000-06:002012-07-24T00:26:20.589-06:00Historians Who are the historians? and what is history?<br />
It is amazing how many people who write about the Civil War are called historians. Can just anyone be a scientist? a doctor? an architect? a lawyer?<br />
One has to be careful when reading history, given the broad spectrum of qualities that make up the group of historians. It should have come as no surprise that people write fiction (Jeff Shaara, who "draws on meticulous research" [Smithsonian Associates] for his new novel about Shiloh) that can fix the way readers come to see the conflict. There are narratives written to set a tone, to make history "come alive" by the careful choice of archaisms (Bruce Catton's use of "rod" and "furlong" to put us into a contemporary soldier's mind). Other narratives are written by reporters, who by training seek to influence and persuade (Clifford Dowdey). Some books seem to be more neutral, written to lay out the facts and their referents, as well as to expose mere opinions and falsehoods that were generated by the participants themselves (Gordon Rhea).<br />
Several companies of the 179th New York were mustered in the spring of 1864 and reported in battalion strength to the army in the field after Cold Harbor. To better understand the context for their ensuing move to Petersburg I have been lucky to have time enough to read different descriptions of the Overland Campaign.<br />
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Here are two versions of the fact that<br />
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On 2 May 1864 the generals of the Army of Northern Virginia met on Clark's Mountain to have a look at the Army of the Potomac on the opposite bank of the Rapidan River.<br />
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First version **<br />
pp25-26:<br />
On May 2, Lee ordered his corps and division commanders to Clark's Mountain, a high ridge that dominated the surrounding countryside and afforded a bird's-eye view of Meade's camps. Longstreet, back less that two weeks, was up from Gordonsville with his new division heads, Field and Kershaw. A bachelor again for over a week, Ewell trotted from nearby Morton Hill with Early, Johnson, and Rodes. Hill's division chiefs, Wilcox, Heth, and Anderson, along with their frail commander, were there as well. This was the last time these men would meet.<br />
From the summit, Lee and his generals assessed Grant's possible moves. Six hundred feet below, a shimmering line marked where the Rapidan meandered in a gentle arc from left to right. Earthworks scarred the banks, and Union pickets clustered just across the river. Farther back, at Culpeper, Stevensburg, and Brandy Station, all plainly visible from the mountain, spread cities of huts and white conical tents housing the Army of the Potomac....<br />
Raising field glasses as so often during the winter, Lee studied Meade's camps. The bustle confirmed what he already knew. Meade was preparing to move. But what route would he take? ... Logic favored a Federal strike downriver, and Lee said so, pointing east and stating that in his opinion the Army of the Potomac would cross at Germanna Ford or Ely's Ford.<br />
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Second version ++<br />
pg3:<br />
In that spring the pageantry was not yet, not quite, gone from the war. Through all privations, general officers in Lee's army managed to turn themselves out well. Though the cadet-gray cloth of their uniforms was usually no more than a thread through the motley of the soldiers' makeshifts, when seen in a group, the generals still suggested the panoply of the chivalric tradition.<br />
On May 2, 1864, the high command of the Army of Northern Virginia formed such a spectacle for the first time since Gettysburg, the year before, and for the last time in their lives. Full-bearded, booted and spurred, with gauntleted hands resting on sword hilts and buttons gleaming on double-breasted coats, the generals stood near their saddled horses like the figures in old lithographs and murals. Even the background, a mountaintop in spring, was almost an idealized setting.<br />
pp31-33:<br />
To Lee, silent on the mountaintop, no definite information from his cavalry or his usual sources guided him in anticipating the thrust the Federal host was obviously prepared to deliver ...<br />
Grant's logical choices of approach were through a front restricted to little more than twenty-five miles in width...The tented city of the enemy's camp, with a population larger than that of all Virginia cities combined, was spread between the northwest and southwest forks of the Rappahannock, and the Federal army would be forced to cross two rivers if it advanced east of the forks, toward the ravaged small city of Fredericksburg.<br />
... <br />
Lee held his field glasses the longest on the wild country of the Wilderness, where two fords, Germanna and Ely, crossed the river in the heart of freshly flowering jungle. Then he pointed with his wide, strong hand, encased in a leather gauntlet, towards the two fords. Giving no reason, he said, "Grant will cross by one of those fords."<br />
...<br />
Perhaps becaused of the solemn overtones of the spectacle of this last meeting of Lee and his generals, men remembered more vividly Lee's prediction of Grant's move. Because the Army of the Potomac moved within thirty-six hours by the crossings to which Lee had pointed, the aging General became more deeply enmeshed in legend. It was as if a patriarch of the olden times had ascended the mountain and there he experienced a vision; then he came down from the mountain and it was as he had said it would be.<br />
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** <u>The Battle of the Wilderness, May 5-6, 1864</u>, Gordon C. Rhea<br />
++ <u>Lee's Last Campaign</u>, Clifford DowdeyAdminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240646770195648508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1733266253267032998.post-88996831031229999512012-06-27T16:11:00.002-06:002012-06-27T16:20:36.047-06:00MapsOne way Ed and I judged a book about the Civil War was by the clarity of its maps ... and ... how much useful information they contained. The best books had removable end-paper maps which could be unfolded into sheets much larger than a normal page. These were treasured.<br />
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Even if I were to photocopy the maps in today's books to have on hand for visual reference they would still be too small. We intend to publish an e-book of reasonable size, so the maps will have to have few bytes yet be large enough that zooming and panning show enough detail. The digital maps stored on the website, though, can be <b>quite</b> <b>large </b>and available for printing at the reader's convenience. Files could be brought to a printer and made into posters (18" x 24", for example). We could also print the posters and send them by ground mail to a reader who didn't have a print shop nearby.<br />
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As I wrote earlier in April, if you are reading online then you have the option of opening another view. I tried this with my laptop connected via HDMI to a 46" Sony Bravia and the map on view was stunning. Using this method, perhaps there would be no reason to have large, printed maps.<br />
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If you are to read the published e-book on your Nook, Kindle, iPad or other device, the screens are too small to hold a battlefield in any detail. Nevertheless, it would help to have <i>some </i><span style="background-color: white;">visual to go along with the written. Go to the website and bring up the large map on your big-screen monitor ... or ... print posters or </span><span style="background-color: white;">perhaps even an 18" x 24" map that folds up three times to fit your device (6" x 8"). This would be today's technology providing what we treasured 50 years ago.</span>Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240646770195648508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1733266253267032998.post-90067480179997366072012-06-19T00:27:00.000-06:002012-06-20T16:06:39.501-06:00Gordon C. Rheahas written four volumes about the Overland Campaign which began when the Army of the Potomac crossed the Rapidan in early May, 1864. In his last book <u>Cold Harbor: Grant and Lee, May 26-June 3, 1864</u> he continues to correct misconceptions and false myths about the personalities and the battle ... Rhea writes:<br />
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"This narrative is about Grant’s Cold Harbor offensive and events leading up to the major attack on June 3, 1864. It is a campaign study about commanders and armies. So much happened from May 25 to June 3, 1864, and so little has been written about those momentous days, that the telling fills this book. I ask forbearance from those seeking expositions about the campaign’s political and social ramifications. My next book, covering the last week of operations at Cold Harbor and Grant’s crossing of the James River, attempts to place the Overland campaign in a broader context."<br />
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My biggest disappointment has been the non-appearance of that "next book". In setting the stage for what will be so important in the history of the 179th, Rhea makes things clear: both Grant and Lee are aggressive generals who make mistakes, miss opportunities and continue to adapt; they have subordinates who can be frustrating or even incompetent; the stories written about them and this almost continuous 6 week battle were written for many reasons, some of which were to portray events accurately and many of which had such pronounced biases that we must work to distill the "real" from the "characterization". Apparently Grant wasn't the only "butcher", when considering effects of generalship:<br />
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"Judging from Lee’s record, the rebel commander should have shared in Grant’s “butcher” reputation. After all, Lee lost more soldiers than any other Civil War general, including Grant, and his casualties in three days at Gettysburg exceeded Union casualties for any three consecutive days under Grant’s orders."<span style="background-color: white;"> </span><br />
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One reason for this mention of Rhea's work is that he corrects and enlightens:<br />
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"<span style="background-color: white;">Grant’s and Lee’s battles spawned persistent legends almost as farfetched as the parodies of the generals themselves. Grant’s critics hold up the early-morning assault of June 3 at Cold Harbor as Exhibit 1 in their brief, deriding the offensive as a senseless undertaking fueled by Grant’s bloodlust. “The decisive action was over in eight minutes,” a popular author claimed, intoning the mantra that generations of historians have repeated without question. “Within less than an hour seven thousand men fell, killed or wounded, in moving against a fire power so uniform in its destructiveness that no living thing could advance in the face of it.” A reviewer in the prestigious New York Times Book Review recently opined that Grant’s frontal assault at Cold Harbor “lost 7,000 men in an hour, most in the first ten minutes,” perpetuating for modern readers a picture of the battle and of Grant that has no basis in reality."</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">[footnote in original: </span><span style="background-color: white;">Dowdey, Lee’s Last Campaign: The Story of Lee and His Men Against Grant, 1864 (New York, 1960), 297; Jay Winik, “A Narrative of Hell,” New York Times Book Review, September 16, 2001, p. 23.]</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">Ed and I will have to change the "fact" we report at the end of our Chapter 6, "Grant Given Command", that it took only a half hour of battle on June 3rd to produce 7000 Union casualties (from Bruce Catton, <u>The Stillness at Appomattox</u>). Read Rhea: the total for three days of operations around Cold Harbor cost 7500 men killed, wounded, captured and missing. Of the 6000 lost on June 3rd, 1200 were wasted in the northern sector, Warren's 5th and Burnsides 9th Corps launching fruitless, uncoordinated and untimely assaults. In the main area of battle Hancock's 2nd Corps lost 2500, Smith's 18th Corps 1500 and Wright's 6th Corps about 600. Further adjustments can be made to these numbers to account for casualties suffered during the grand, but disjointed, assault and its aftermath when sharpshooters and artillery took their toll. By comparison Pickett's charge cost the Army of Northern Virginia over 5000 men, with total losses that day in July almost a year earlier more than 8000.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;">There is so much more. Rhea has been a trial lawyer and uses his experience to build a tight case to support his ideas and understanding of the events. Read his books. And please, Mr. Rhea, write that fifth volume!</span><br />
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A final example: Grant's quote of "regret" in his <u>Memoirs </u>that we cite can be seen with greater nuance:<br />
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"Grant agreed that the offensive had been botched. “I have always regretted that the last assault at Cold Harbor was ever made,” he wrote from his deathbed. Carefully employing the passive voice, Grant’s <i>mea</i> <i>culpa </i>left future generations to speculate whether the general’s regrets were over his decision to attack on June 3 or, more pointedly, over Meade’s bungled management of the affair."Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240646770195648508noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1733266253267032998.post-67637179322660104662012-05-01T07:39:00.000-06:002012-05-01T08:21:35.679-06:00ApproachWe are particularly interested in your comments on our general approach. Are we covering things about the 179th that you are not interested in? Are there things about the 179th that you are interested in that we are not covering? Is there too much context and not enough focus on the 179th? Etc.Authorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18185594191906961841noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1733266253267032998.post-55622434832876771812012-04-30T21:17:00.002-06:002012-04-30T21:17:47.315-06:00Large graphics<br />
The website graphics are best seen on a multi-screen setup, where the map, photograph or other image can be displayed in a large window next to the text. Something like this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Yc3L0zbLVk1yKDzPYzTuhJensn-m3mvi2vIqvtJP89jA-JRfUY934vS-eeirHehxUP3ThrrMXbUe-EVhq7-iD8jbOfi9Z-PUPNp-OHbJQZT-80EU12PreD7qBk4-DM72RlePBz21HtU/s1600/Untitled-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7Yc3L0zbLVk1yKDzPYzTuhJensn-m3mvi2vIqvtJP89jA-JRfUY934vS-eeirHehxUP3ThrrMXbUe-EVhq7-iD8jbOfi9Z-PUPNp-OHbJQZT-80EU12PreD7qBk4-DM72RlePBz21HtU/s400/Untitled-1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Any suggestions to improve this concept are welcome. When the e-book is published, we intend to link back to the website for very high resolution images. This is all a work-in-progress.<br />Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240646770195648508noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1733266253267032998.post-70824746946592783332012-04-04T15:16:00.000-06:002012-04-30T21:02:49.581-06:00Welcome !!We are now live.<br />
In the next two years we hope to develop this blog, the website, and the book.<br />
Looking forward to the challenge and the support from our readers.Adminhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00240646770195648508noreply@blogger.com0