David's Blog from the Creative Coast & Carolina Low Country!

Savannah bleeds at Gettysburg on the afternoon of July 2, 1863

The first three days in July this year, will mark the 145th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, the pivotal battle of the American Civil War. By the Spring of 1863, the war was in it's third year. General Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was fresh off of victories at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, but with irreplaceable losses in men and quality leaders; such as General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.

In late May 1863, the Confederate high command decided to invade the North for a second time, it was thought that President Lincoln under severe pressure would be forced to attack the well entrenched Southern forces. Such a battle they believed would destroy the Union's Army of the Potomac, forcing a negotiated peace.

As the Confederates crossed into the North, many things went wrong; JEB Stuart's cavalry was absent, so Lee had no idea that the Union army was pursuing quickly. On July 1, advance elements of both armies collided just west of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Each side rushed in additional forces, until the South had a numerical superiority and cracked the Union defenses. Hesitation of the part of Confederate General Ewell allowed the retreating Union forces to anchor their defenses south of Gettysburg, an area of high ground.

During the night, both armies gathered strength. The 8th Georgia, with a company from Savannah, marched all night and arrived on the battlefield around 9:00 am on July 2. About eight hours later they would fight it out on the Union left, as the Confederates attacked The Wheat Field.

That morning Lee listened to General James Longstreet's Chief of Staff, Colonel Moxley Sorrel explain the Union defensive position. Sorrel was from Savannah, his family owned the large orange house that sits on the northwest corner of Madison Square. Lee then ordered Longstreet to roll up the Union left, will Ewell attacking the Union right in a coordinated assault. Longstreet's troops later captured The Peach Orchard, The Wheat Field and Devil's Den, but were unable to grab the strategic heights at Little Round Top. Ewell, never attacked until Longstreet's attacks had waned. This was the South's best opportunity at Gettysburg. Events of July 3rd, Pickett's Charge, were anti-climatic and only added to the carnage.

Shelby Foote, a noted Civil War historian, refers to Gettysburg as where the stars conspired against the South, his reasoning, was that everything that could go wrong for the South did go wrong for the South. For on the morning of July 2, the South was at it's zenith, but by nightfall her star had started to fall.

It was not until 1873, that Confederate dead was removed from the Gettysburg battlefield. Many of them of them were Savannahians that were buried with other Georgians in the Gettysburg plot at the Laurel Grove Cemetery in Savannah.

The removal of the dead to Savannah will be featured in an article I wrote for the upcoming September/October 2008 issue of the Savannah Magazine. Also, every July 2, I place Confederate battle flags and a rose at the base of the Gettysburg monument at Laurel Grove for remembrance.

Many of you know that I am working on a book about the Civil War in Charleston, which is due this month. Ben and I have another book that will also be in the publisher/s hand this summer, a book on Gettysburg. This is a different approach then our first three books, for we are going to tell the story of the Battle of Gettysburg through the monuments, photographs and personal accounts. I journey to Gettysburg in late July to start some of the photography. Ben Mammina and I will return in August to finish the project. Hopefully, both books will hit the shelves by the first of the year.

Over 100,000 Sing at the Battle of Stones River, Tennessee

“Just before ‘tattoo’ the military bands on each side began their evening music. The still winter night carried their strains to great distance. At every pause on our side, far away could be heard the military bands of the other. Finally one of them struck up ‘Home Sweet Home.’ As if by common consent, all other airs ceased, and the bands of both armies as far as the ear could reach, joined in the refrain. Who knows how many hearts were bold next day by reason of that air?”

   

As 1862 drew to a close, President Abraham Lincoln was desperate for a military victory. His armies were stalled, and the terrible defeat at Fredericksburg spread a pall of defeat across the nation. There was also the Emancipation Proclamation to consider. The nation needed a victory to bolster morale and support the proclamation when it went into effect on January 1, 1863.

The Confederate Army of Tennessee was camped in Murfreesboro, Tennessee only 30 miles away from General William S. Rosecrans’ army in Nashville. General Braxton Bragg chose this area in order to position himself to stop any Union advances towards Chattanooga and to protect the rich farms of Middle Tennessee that were feeding his men.

Union General-In-Chief Henry Halleck telegraphed Rosecrans telling him that, “… the Government demands action, and if you cannot respond to that demand some one else will be tried.”

On December 26, 1862, the Union Army of the Cumberland left Nashville to meet the Confederates. This was the beginning of the Stones River Campaign.

At dawn on December 31, 1862, General J. P. McCown’s Division with General Patrick Cleburne’s men in support stormed across the frosted fields to attack the Federal right flank. Their plan was to swing around the Union line in a right wheel and drive their enemy back to the Stones River while cutting off their main supply routes at the Nashville Pike and the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad.

The men of General Richard Johnson’s Division were cooking their meager breakfasts when the sudden crackle of the pickets’ fire raised the alarm. The Confederate tide swept regiment after regiment from the field.

While the fighting raged in the Slaughter Pen, General Rosecrans was busy trying to save his army. He cancelled the attack across the river and funneled his reserve troops into the fight hoping to stem the bleeding on his right. Rosecrans and General George Thomas rallied fleeing troops as they approached the Nashville Pike and a new line began to form along that vital lifeline backed up by massed artillery.

The new horseshoe shaped line gave the Army of the Cumberland solid interior lines and better communication than their attackers. The Union cannon covered the long open fields between the cedars and the road. Most of the troops in this line had full cartridge boxes and knew that they must hold here or the battle would be lost.

Again the woods and rocky ground helped the Union. Confederate organization fell apart as they struggled through the cedars. Most of Confederate artillery was unable to penetrate the dense forests strewn with limestone outcroppings. Each wave of enemy attack along the pike was repulsed in bloody fashion by the Federal artillery that commanded the field.

After spending January 1, 1863 reorganizing and caring for the wounded, the two armies came to blows again on the afternoon of January 2nd. General Bragg ordered Breckinridge to attack General Horatio Van Cleve’s Division (commanded by Colonel Samuel Beatty) occupying a hill overlooking McFadden’s Ford on the east side of the river.

Breckinridge reluctantly launched the attack with all five of his brigades at 4 PM. The Confederate charge quickly took the hill and continued on pushing towards the ford. As the Confederates attacked, they came within range of fifty-seven Union cannon massed on the west side of the Stones River. General Crittenden watched as his guns went to work.

The cannon took a heavy toll. In forty-five minutes their concentrated fire killed or wounded more than 1,800 Confederates. A Union counterattack pushed the shattered remnants of Breckinridge’s Division back to Wayne’s Hill.

Faced with this disaster and the approach of Union reinforcements, General Bragg ordered the Army of Tennessee to retreat on January 3, 1863. Two days later, the battered Union army marched into Murfreesboro and declared victory.