America's Civil War - Ten

HISTORYNET.COM
Give Them
Respect!
ten
Southern Generals
You Need to Know
spying on grant
Charles Dana, Fly on the Wall
glory’s legacy
Still the One to See
NOVEMBER 2016
A Confederate officer puts his
life on the line to lead Army of
Tennessee troops late in the war.

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november 2016
22
Underrated
10 generals whose
for Southern independence
have been overlooked.
By Ethan S. Rafuse
2 AMERICA’S CIVIL WAR

Departments
6 Letters
8 Field Notes
12 War on the Water Building the brown water navy
14 From the Crossroads
18 5 questions Gods and Generals author Jeff Shaara
21 Editorial
58 Reviews Braxton Bragg gets his due
64 Second Acts
38 32
Corralled Along
the Potomac
Ball’s Bluff was a Union
disaster—in part
due to a U.S. senator’s
By Ron Soodalter
The Mole
Sent to spy on Ulysses Grant, Charles
By Gordon Berg
44
Glory
For Glory, the answer is yes,”
By Allen Barra
52
‘Like Grain
Before the
Sickle’
at the Battle of Franklin,
a Confederate lieutenant
searched for his grave.
By Joe Johnston
NOVEMBER 2016 3

Michael A. Reinstein
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Chairman & Publisher
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Vol. 29, No. 5 November 2016
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THE GENERALS
SPEAK
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way than in the top 10 memoirs
by Confederate commanders.
FORT WAGNER
A detailed account of the
54th Massachusetts’ assault
on Fort Wagner, which inspired
the film Glory.
BALL’S BLUFF
The Union debacle near
Leesburg, Va., in October 1861
had major implications for
the North.
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4 AMERICA’S CIVIL WAR

LETTERS
Col. Coppens’
Zouaves
Your picture of what you called Wheat’s
1st Special Battalion [P. 34, July] looks like
the Colonel Gaston Coppens’ Louisiana
Zouaves picture in Arms and Equipment
of the Confederacy, credited on pages 10-
11 to the Valentine Museum in Richmond.
I have never seen 1st Special Louisiana
Battalion photos anywhere.
Michael E. Bamford
Newburyport, Mass.
Editor’s note: You are correct that the image does run in the Echoes of Glory
series and is captioned as Coppens’ Zouaves—although the book credits the
photo to the Western Reserve Historical Society, not the Valentine Museum.
Another copy of the photograph is preserved at the Library of Congress, with
supplemental background information claiming it was taken in New Orleans
before the unit left for Manassas Junction, Va., on June 13, 1861, and before it
came under Coppens’ command. On June 8, 1861, Major Chatham Roberdeau
Wheat had successfully secured from the state the temporary status of “1st
Special Battalion, Louisiana Volunteers” for the companies that he was
recruiting and training. Upon those companies’ mobilization a week later into
regiments for Confederate service, they were officially named by the state the
2nd Battalion, Louisiana Volunteers. Following Wheat’s death at the June 1862
Battle of Gaines Mill, the Tiger Battalion was merged with Colonel Coppens’
Zouaves in the Army of Northern Virginia.
Rally Time
In the excellent article on First
Manassas in the July issue [“You Are
Turned”], the caption below the sketch
on P. 33 mistakenly claims that it shows
Confederate General Joe Johnston as
he “rallies the 4th Alabama near the
Robinson House.” The flag shown is a
Georgia flag with the state coat of arms
in the center. (There is a second Georgia
flag to the left in a larger version of this
image.) This sketch actually depicts
Colonel Francis Bartow’s Georgia
Brigade, 7th and 8th Georgia Infantry,
at the battle.
One problem is that both units are
documented as using a First National
flag in that action. The banner of
the 7th Georgia still survives and
today is preserved in the collections
of the Atlanta History Center after
originally being donated to the Alabama
Department of Archives and History.
Those two institutions traded flags a
few years ago. The 8th Georgia’s flag
has yet to be located.
Greg Biggs
Clarksville, Tenn.
Editor’s response: Thank you for
writing. It does appear that a Georgia
flag is shown in this sketch, originally
published in Battles and Leaders of the
Civil War. According to Jim Burgess,
museum specialist at Manassas National
Battlefield: “Like most artwork of the
period, the B&L sketch probably takes
a few liberties with history. It is well
documented that upon their arrival on
the field about noon, both Johnston and
P.G.T. Beauregard began rallying troops.
Johnston and Beauregard both state in
B&L that they rallied the 4th Alabama.
(We also have sources that suggest Brig.
Gen. Barnard Bee was addressing the
remnants of the 4th Alabama when he
uttered his famous declaration about
Thomas Jackson and a stone wall.) The
equestrian in the sketch bears some
resemblance to General Johnston. The
flag next to him does appear to be
a Georgia flag. The 7th Georgia was
the only Georgia regiment active on
Henry Hill, since the 8th Georgia had
been torn to pieces on Matthews Hill
and was no longer effective. However,
the 7th Georgia, having missed the
fighting on Matthews Hill, was not that
disorganized and did not need much
rallying. The regiment was led forward
by its brigade commander, Colonel
Bartow, who had lost his horse and was
on foot when killed.
I’ll concede that the artist may have
intended the figure on horseback to
represent Bee, Bartow or Beauregard
and not Johnston. The original B&L
caption simply reads, ‘Rallying the troops
of Bee, Bartow, and Evans, behind the
Robinson House.’ Thus the identity of the
officer in question ultimately lies in the
eye of the beholder.”
Correction
The “Lee’s absentees” letter to the editor
in the September issue (P. 6) mistakenly
cited the city of Gordonsville, Va., as
Gordonsville, Ga.
WRITE TO US
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6 AMERICA’S CIVIL WAR

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FIELD NOTES
By Tim and Beth Rowland
Nate Parker (center)
portrays Nat Turner in the
2016 The Birth of a Nation.
Below, a battle scene from
of that same name.
the civil war
in film
FREE STATE OF JONES highlights the historical figure Newton
Knight, the Confederate Army deserter who led a guerrilla group
of deserters and runaway slaves fomenting rebellion inside
Mississippi from 1863 to 1865. The recent release (reviewed on
P. 59), starring Matthew McConaughey and directed by Gary
Ross (The Hunger Games, Seabiscuit), demonstrates yet again
the war’s staying power as fodder for film.
In October a new The Birth of a Nation hits the big screen,
written, directed and produced by Nate Parker, who also stars
in the lead role. While the original 1915 silent film (originally
called The Clansman) by D.W. Griffith was blatantly racist and
depicted Klansmen as heroes during Reconstruction, the 2016
version tells the story of the Nat Turner slave rebellion in 1831. Parker’s film swept the top prizes at the
Sundance Film Festival in January, with talk of Oscars for the powerful drama.
Civil War themes have been prominent in every decade of American film, and the conflict is also woven into
Westerns such as The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. D.W. Griffith—a Kentuckian whose father had served as a
colonel in the Confederate Army—made 11 Civil War–themed films between 1908 and 1915. Most were about
15 minutes, but The Birth of a Nation—throughout its 12 reels—helped to establish close-ups, flashbacks and
cross-cutting as effective tools for telling stories on film.
8 AMERICA’S CIVIL WAR

soldier’s
true identity
discovered
A Minnesota farm boy in the 2nd U.S.
Sharpshooter Regiment was near Devil’s Den at
Gettysburg on July 3, 1863, when he suffered
injuries that would end his life two months later.
He was buried at Gettysburg’s Camp Letterman,
along with 125 other Union soldiers. But when
the others were moved to the new Gettysburg
National Cemetery, Private John O. Dolson
was somehow left behind, mistaken for a Confederate
soldier. In 1871 his remains were moved with the Confederates buried at Camp Letterman
to Oakwood Cemetery, in Raleigh, N.C. A headstone over his grave read “John O. Dobson.”
“It wasn’t until 2006 that a researcher in New York State, of all places, contacted the cemetery
and said ‘I think you’ve got a Yankee down there,’” North Carolina Historian Bruce Miller told
KMSP-TV in Eden Prairie, Minn.
While Private Dolson remains buried in North Carolina, where he received a new, corrected
headstone, he was honored this past Memorial Day at the Honoring All Veterans Memorial in
Richfield, Minn., in a ceremony dedicating a plaque that tells his story. The memorial even
includes the old, misspelled Confederate tombstone beneath which he rested for so many years.
FIELD NOTES
John Dolson’s
memorial in
incorporates his
which mistakenly
Calling all amateur
cryptologists
Thomas Eckert
-
Thomas Eckert, chief of the U.S. War
Department Telegraph Corps, had the
foresight to save thousands of messages
that President Abraham Lincoln swapped
with his officers in the field. One problem:
They’re encrypted.
But the secrets these messages hold
might soon be unlocked thanks to a
program called “Decoding the Civil War,”
which can be accessed at the website
zooniverse.org/projects/zooniverse/
decoding-the-civil-war.
The initiative hopes to crowd-source
transcriptions of the coded messages,
which are in a collection of the Huntington
Digital Library in San Marino, Calif.
According to the library, the collection “is a near-complete
archive of Thomas T. Eckert. The archive, which until recently
was thought to have been destroyed, includes crucial correspondence
that has never been published.” Designed to benefit scholars
and code-breakers alike, the digital code-breaking project may
also pique the interest of a young Civil War audience. Additional
supporters of the project are the Abraham Lincoln Presidential
Library and Museum; North Carolina State University; and the
Zooniverse team at the University of Minnesota.
NOVEMBER 2016 9

FIELD NOTES
Even among Civil War aficionados, the battles of James City and
Jack’s Shop in the Piedmont region of Virginia may not be household
names, but they could finally get their due thanks to a $35,000 grant
from the National Park Service for
GRANTS
FUND
VIRGINIA
INSIGHTS
mary todd
lincoln:
nutrientdeprived?
John Hay, President Lincoln’s
secretary, called her “hellcat,”
one of many testimonials to
Mary Todd Lincoln’s mercurial
temperament. Over the years
scholars have speculated that
her outbursts, mood swings, and
lavish spending stemmed from
conditions ranging from syphilis
to bipolar disorder. In the autumn
2015 issue of the journal Perspectives on Biology and Medicine, John
on by pernicious anemia, a condition in which B-12 can no longer be
absorbed from the diet. The long course of the First Lady’s illness, along
with symptoms of sore tongue, pallor, fatigue, headaches, delusions
and irritability, are consistent with untreated pernicious anemia,
according to Sotos. He suspects she had a genetic vulnerability related
to her ancestry: Her parents were related to one another, and both had
ancestors in a part of Scotland with a high incidence of the disease.
“No more
magnificent
spectacle
was ever
witnessed.”
—Union Brig. Gen. Jacob D. Cox
on the Confederate charge at
Franklin, November 30, 1864
researching undocumented sites. The
Park Service has also announced grants
targeting battlefields in Kentucky and
land-use planning in Virginia’s
Shenandoah Valley. A $35,000 grant will
go toward demonstrating the economic
importance of Kentucky’s 15 Civil and
Revolutionary War battlefields. A $20,000 grant for the Shenandoah
Valley will pay for strategic planning to preserve the rural character of
that region, which includes six significant Civil War battlefields.
EVENTS
CALENDAR
GEORGIA
“Battles in the Cove.” Experience the
sights, smells and sounds of camp life from
a bygone era. Witness the thrill of charging
cavalry, thundering artillery and plucky
infantrymen headed into battle.
When: October 29-30
Where: Chickamauga
Visit: www.gacivilwar.org and search “cove”
KENTUCKY
“Weep No More, Victorian Funeral
Customs,” an exhibit on Victorian Mourning
Customs.
When: October 1-31, 2016
Where: My Old Kentucky Home State Park,
Bardstown
Visit: www.kentuckytourism.com
and search “mourning”
MARYLAND
“Living History Weekend,” with volunteers
portraying the 124th New York Infantry
to re-create the life of Civil War soldiers.
Weapons demonstrations will be held both
Saturday and Sunday, with interpretation
ongoing in the camp throughout the
weekend.
When: October 8-9
Where: Antietam National Battlefield
Visit: www.nps.gov/anti/planyourvisit
PENNSYLVANIA
“With Brush, Mold, Chisel and Pen:
Reflections on Civil War Art” features
artwork from some of the most celebrated
artists of the 19th and early 20th centuries —
including several who served in the war.
When: Through 2016
Where: Gettysburg National Military Park
Museum & Visitor Center’s Gilder Lehrman
Special Exhibits Gallery
Visit: www.npsgnmp.wordpress.com
and search “artwork”
A painted
drum-style
canteen.
10 AMERICA’S CIVIL WAR

WAR ON THE WATER
Union gunboats and mortar
boats bombard Island No. 10
on the Mississippi in 1862.
owning the
rivers
By Ron Soodalter
Ocean-going vessels on both sides—blockade
runners, oak- and iron-jacketed battleships, prototypical
submarines and such—have often been the focus of
attention, while the inland, or “brown water,” navy,
which played an equally critical role, has remained
largely ignored or underappreciated. Yet it was the
Mississippi Squadron that fought its way up and down
Southern waterways, working with the Union Army to
besiege and capture Confederate forts, while denying
the South access to riverine routes of defense, supply
and transport.
The squadron, known originally as the Western Gunboat
Flotilla, was created as part of General-in-Chief
the Army claimed jurisdiction over the Western Theater,
and Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles handed
over responsibility for the implementation of a brown
in creating a modern ocean-going naval force, Welles
was only too happy with the arrangement. The Army
-
after being transferred back to the Department of the
Navy in the fall of 1862, it continued to work in concert
daunting, to say the least. At the outset the Union
was woefully ill-equipped to conduct a maritime war
on either ocean or river. Only 39 of its 90 vessels were
ranked as service-ready; of those, none were suitable
was relatively straightforward compared to building
vessels for negotiating narrow, twisting rivers.
vive
and be effective, they needed a range of powerful
guns, a solidly braced superstructure and some type of
armor. Most crucial, the armor, ordnance and bracing
had to sit atop a light-draft hull, to accommodate the
changeable and often-shallow Mississippi waterways.
12 AMERICA’S CIVIL WAR

WAR ON THE WATER
Though many warships still relied on wind power in
the 19th century, steam was the only source of propulsion
that would serve for riverine vessels. The North
fortunately had designers and shipbuilders ready to
apply steam technology to such an armada, including
Samuel M. Pook, the senior naval constructor in New
York. Each vessel would be 175 feet long, with a 50-foot
beam, and would mount a battery of heavy guns—four
42-pounders, six 32-pounders and three 8-inchers—
housed within a central casemate, or armored enclosure.
Five boilers would drive a central paddle wheel,
and 2½-inch iron plating sheathed the pilot house and
some 60 feet of its sides. Though the vessel was only
partially “ironclad,” the plating offered substantial protection
from enemy guns. And despite weighing more
than 500 tons, it drew only 6 feet of water and reached
speeds up to 9 miles per hour.
James B. Eads, who had made
a fortune in the salvage business
on the Mississippi, was chosen
to implement Pook’s design.
Eads knew the river intimate-
bell he had invented—and in
August 1861 was awarded a contract
to construct seven vessels
of Pook’s design.
Meanwhile, U.S. Navy Commander
John Rodgers—acting
largely on his own initiative—
purchased three side-wheel
steamers in Cincinnati and converted
them to gunboats for service
on the Mississippi. He armed
engines and boilers, sheathing
them in 5-inch oak planking.
In mid-August, Rodgers steamed
his “timberclads” to Cairo, Ill., at
and Ohio rivers.
It wasn’t long before they saw
action. When Brig. Gen. Ulysses
S. Grant moved to seize Rebeloccupied
Bolton, Ill., and Columbus,
Ky., in November 1861, he
deployed two of the timberclads to great effect, despite
ultimately suffering a setback.
That winter, with Pook’s assistance, James Eads
egorized
as “city-class” gunboats—and all seven were
commissioned by the end of January. Neither graceful
nor comfortable—ocean-going sailors referred to
with poor ventilation and limited mobility. But their
navigating the rivers. Vessels would be added to the
squadron as the war went on, but the so-called Pook
Turtles would remain the heart of the Union’s brown
battery near Columbus, Ky., on January 11.
mounted a joint expedition
against Forts Henry
James B. Eads (below)
built the Union’s gunboats. and Donelson on the
This small chest (bottom)
Tennessee and Cumberland
rivers. Grant con-
reportedly belonged to USS
Cairo seaman H.R. Brown.
quered both forts in a
10-day span, to put both rivers
permanently under Union control
and open an essential route
into the South’s heartland. Four
ironclads and two timberclads
were damaged during the battles,
and Foote was wounded.
Inevitably there were failures,
such as the Red River Campaign
in March 1864. The joint operation,
under Admiral David Dixon
Porter and political General
Nathaniel Banks, involved the
largest Army–Navy expedition
of the war. Banks’ force of more
than 30,000 was to act in concert
with an armada of some 90 vessels,
including ironclads, timberclads,
tinclads, high-speed rams,
river monitors and support vessels,
boasting 210 heavy guns.
The campaign proved to be an
embarrassment for the Union.
The Mississippi Squadron
supported and protected land
bringing supplies to inaccessible
locations and patrolling rivers
whose banks bristled with
Rebel guns. Its battles were as
hard-fought as any on land. As
historian Gary D. Joiner writes, “Without [the Mississippi
Squadron], the war in the West may not have
been won, and the war in the East might have lasted
much longer and ended differently.”
Ron Soodalter, a regular contributor to America’s Civil
War, is the author of Hanging Captain Gordon.
NOVEMBER 2016 13

FROM THE CROSSROADS
Visitors to Gettysburg National Military Park
walk past the 72nd Pennsylvania monument
near the famous Angle. Park visits increased
Gettysburg reached theaters in 1993.
By D. Scott Hartwig
fiction
vs. fact
it’s a safe bet that more people have read Michael
Shaara’s 1974 novel The Killer Angels or seen Ron Max-
Gettysburg than have read all the his-
arrived at Gettysburg National Military Park in the
summer of 1979, I hadn’t heard of Shaara’s novel, but it
was mentioned frequently by rangers and guides as well
as visitors. Many sightseers, in fact, would ask where
sionally
a few rangers and guides, frustrated by visitors
whose only knowledge of the battle seemed to be a work
it as a point of departure for explaining the battle.
Full disclosure: I worked as an extra in Gettysburg,
borrowing a uniform and equipment and joining the 20th
Maine, with three of my friends, as the Little Round Top
time I just kept my head down, to avoid getting clobbered
by the stunt men around me simulating hand-tohand
combat. The one time I did look up to see what was
Visitation soared after Gettysburg came out. No longer
folks now wanted to experience it. I recall standing at
Pickett’s Charge took place. The previously overgrown
path to the 20th Maine monument soon looked like it
had been trampled by a herd of elephants. Visitors were
again mostly stemming from their frustration with tourists
who insisted everything in the movie was factual.
public? They humanized a cataclysmic event that has often
been reduced to detached analysis of command decisions
and troop movements. Perhaps the best example
of that disengaged approach was the old Electric Map
presentation—which many found dry. Shaara and Maxwell
had made the story accessible to a wide audience by
14 AMERICA’S CIVIL WAR

FROM THE CROSSROADS
focusing on how a few intriguing participants grappled
with the pressures of battle.
Since The Killer Angels
hadn’t been obligated to consult an exhaustive list of
sources or strive for evenhanded interpretation. Liber-
-
defeat. Historians have speculated that Lee suffered a
-
-
-
Our columnist (third from left)
poses with fellow extras Mark
Snell, John Andrews and John
Heiser (left to right) during
he evaluated the evidence and took
-
Killer Angels
loved his staff. He was aware that Union forces could
was worth defending despite having no orders to do so.
Killer Angels
-
Gettysburg
-
-
-
had practiced right wheel forwards and countless other
-
tive—and
to be thankful for the thousands of readers
Scott Hartwig writes from the crossroads of Gettysburg.
16 AMERICA’S CIVIL WAR

5 QUESTIONS
Interview by Kim A. O’Connell
a
prolific
pen
CIVIL WAR AUTHOR JEFF
SHAARA REVEALS THE BATTLES
HE IS WRITING ABOUT NOW—
AND WHAT EVERY ASPIRING
WRITER NEEDS TO KNOW
When he published his first book, Gods and
Generals, 20 years ago, Jeff Shaara accepted
that many people were likely reading his
work because of their affection for The Killer
Angels, the Pulitzer Prize–winning novel by
his father, Michael Shaara. Two decades later,
Jeff has built an impressive writing career all
his own, with 15 novels about the Civil War,
World War II and other conflicts, as well as
a nonfiction book on Civil War battlefield
preservation. All of his novels have been
New York Times bestsellers, and his accolades
include the W.Y. Boyd Literary Award for
Excellence in Military Fiction. His latest work
is The Fateful Lightning, the final volume in a
tetralogy about the war’s Western Theater.
From his home in Gettysburg, he talked to
America’s Civil War about what inspires him
and what comes next.
1With the conclusion of your sweeping
Civil War series, is there some aspect of
the war you’d still like to tackle?
In the tetralogy, I really wanted to focus on William
Sherman. I liked the character, which is not
the same as saying I liked the man. As a character,
from a storyteller’s point of view, he’s fabulous.
There are still topics out there certainly. I
get a lot of inspiration in the form of the e-mails
I receive from readers who say, “You haven’t done
Pea Ridge yet” or “You haven’t done Franklin and
Nashville,” or CSS Alabama. That’s a great story.
For now, there are reasons I’ve put the Civil War
to bed. That same inspiration from readers has
led me to Korea. A challenge came from my publisher.
They didn’t want to see a multivolume set
on Korea. So I’ve chosen to focus on the battles
of Inchon and Chosin, covering the latter part of
1950. There’s a serious challenge in that. That’s
the most dramatic part of the Korean War.
18 AMERICA’S CIVIL WAR

5 QUESTIONS
2How has your approach to writing
evolved over the past 20 years?
I had no writing experience before Gods and Generals.
the only reason it was a bestseller was because people wanted
more of The Killer Angels. You should get better as a writer.
3What advice do you like to give to aspiring writers,
especially those who want to write historical fiction?
I get that question through my website probably once
-
4 5
You’ve relocated to Gettysburg. What’s it like?
William T. Sherman
and Ulysses Grant are
among the historical
characters who have
With all the extensive research you’ve
done, what historical figure do you
identify with most?
There are a lot of them. In each series or
to happen that way.
Now a Gettysburg resident, Shaara
around Little Round Top, as well as its
what Colonel Joshua Chamberlain’s
Federals endured on July 2, 1863.
NOVEMBER 2016 19

EDITORIAL
THE LAST
HARVEST
Sam Watkins’ reflections on the Battle of
Franklin, in his riveting 1882 memoir Co.
Aytch, may be my favorite piece of writing
by a Civil War veteran. Among the gems the
Confederate private penned: “The deathangel
shrieks and laughs and old Father
Time is busy with his sickle, as he gathers in
the last harvest, crying, More, more, more!
while his rapacious maw is glutted with the
slain,” and “A life given for one’s country is
never lost. It blooms again beyond the grave
in a land of beauty and of love.” Franklin,
Watkins wrote, was “the blackest day in the
stroke to the...Southern Confederacy.” It
was also a missed opportunity for the Rebels
in a war of missed opportunities.
Army of Tennessee commander John Bell
Hood’s decision to order a frontal assault
on the well-entrenched Army of the Ohio
is considered one of the most reckless in
military history. Why he did so is the source
of endless speculation. Claims that Hood’s
alleged dependence on pain medication
due to war wounds kept him from thinking
rationally have been recently disproved.
What is true is that when Hood learned Maj.
out of a trap he had set for them at Spring
Hill and established a formidable defensive
position at Franklin, he became “wrathy as
a rattlesnake.” He knew he had to strike
army in nearby Nashville. Advised to
consider an alternative to a frontal attack,
Hood insisted he couldn’t risk further delay.
Though Union artillery tore into their
Gen. Benjamin F. Cheatham’s Corps soon
created a gap in the Federal center. If not
for a nimble recovery by Union Colonel
Emerson Opdycke’s brigade as well as layers
of impassible abatis, the attack might have
with 6,500 casualties to the Yankees’ 2,000.
Six Confederate generals, including the
popular Patrick Cleburne, were among the
slain, and eight others were wounded. We
know their stories. But Franklin was also
devastating for the common soldier, as you’ll
see in our wonderful article on two dear
friends in the 28th Tennessee who fought
together there one last time (P. 52).
–Chris Howland
To the End
Union and
Confederate
soldiers clash
on the Federal
defensive works
at Franklin,
Tenn., in a
19th-century
Kurz and
Allison chromolithograph.
NOVEMBER 2016 21

Go Time!
Army of Northern
Virginia commander
Robert E. Lee
consults with Maj.
Gen. Henry Heth
(saluting) on the
Chambersburg Pike
during the Battle
of Gettysburg’s
opening moments.
Ethan S. Rafuse, who teaches at the U.S. Army Command &
General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., is the author
of Robert E. Lee and the Fall of the Confederacy, 1863–1865.

Underrated
10 Confederate Commanders
You Should Get to Know
By Ethan S. Rafuse
Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson are unlikely to surrender their spots in the pantheon of Southern
war heroes anytime soon. Under their leadership, Southern armies won victories at places like Chancellorsville,
Manassas and the Shenandoah Valley that have long fascinated students of military his tory.
But Lee and Jackson are by no means the only Rebels to achieve lasting fame. Some are infamous for
defeats suffered under their direction, including Braxton Bragg, John Bell Hood, John C. Pemberton
and Gideon Pillow. Others, like P.G.T. Beauregard, Jubal Early, Nathan Bedford Forrest and J.E.B.
Stuart, won kudos for their distinctive personalities and storied exploits, while some like James Longstreet,
Patrick Cleburne, George Pickett and A.P. Hill owe their renown to fabled engagements such as
history over more than 150 years, there remain Confederate commanders who are underappreciated or
underrated. Here are 10 whose contributions to the cause of Southern independence merit a second look.

Last Gasp
Cockrell commanded a division during the
Confederates’ futile defense of Alabama’s
Fort Blakely in April 1865.
Close Call
At Franklin,
Missourian Francis
Cockrell sustained
three wounds
around the Carter
Farm (a bulletridden
outbuilding
is shown below).
He survived until
December 1915.
10. Francis Marion
Cockrell
Named for the American Revolution’s legendary
“Swamp Fox,” Cockrell left his law practice
in western Missouri in 1861 to enlist in the Mis-
campaigns of 1861-62 that effectively secured
Missouri for the Union, and his performance at
places like Carthage, Wilson’s Creek and Pea
sponsibility.
He and his brigade forged a distinguished
record during operations around Iuka
and Corinth in the fall of 1862 and then participated
in the Vicksburg Campaign, where
he was wounded. Cockrell was promoted
to brigadier general shortly after Vicksburg
and participated in the campaign for Atlanta
as part of Leonidas Polk’s and Alexander P.
Stewart’s corps, as well as the futile effort to
take Allatoona. Cockrell was struck three times
where his brigade led the assault by Samuel
G. French’s Division against Union defenses
near the Carter Cotton Gin. More than half the
Missouri Brigade fell in that battle. Cockrell
recovered in time to lead a division in the unsuccessful
defense of Fort Blakely in Alabama
in April 1865, where he was captured for the
third time. Following the war, he became one
of Missouri’s leading politicians, serving for 30
the Interstate Commerce Commission.
9. JOHN GREGG
Guards) cast his lot with Texas long before the war, which for him began when the newspaper he
was editing championed secession. Elected as a delegate to the Texas secession convention, he became
one of the Lone Star State’s representatives to the Provisional Confederate Congress. But he
soon resigned his seat and returned home to lead the 7th Texas Infantry. Gregg’s command was
among the units forced to surrender at Fort Donelson in February 1862. After being exchanged
that August, he became a brigadier general, assigned to the Army of Mississippi. His brigade saw
at the former, where the general managed to hold up a Union force over three times larger than
his own for six hours. Gregg and his command were next assigned to the Army of Tennessee and
fought at Chickamauga, where he was severely wounded in the neck during the battle for the
Viniard Field on September 19. paign,
he next led the Texas Brigade. At the Wilderness, his brigade played a crucial role
-
1864, Gregg and his brigade were part of the force that Robert E. Lee tasked with driving
the Federal cavalry from the Darbytown Road. Gregg’s unit continued pushing south until
it ran up against Federals defending the New Market Road—where the general fell mortally
wounded in the Army of Northern Virginia’s last offensive north of the James.
24 AMERICA’S CIVIL WAR

8. William B. Bate
At Shiloh, where William Bate commanded
the 2nd Tennessee, he witnessed his brother’s
death and also suffered a severe leg wound.
Brandishing a pistol, Bate managed to convince
a surgeon that amputation was unnecessary—though
he would never regain full use of
his leg. Despite that, he went on to forge an enviable
record, although his strait-laced manner
earned him a reputation as a martinet. By the
end of 1862, the Mexican War veteran, former
newspaper editor and former member of the
Tennessee legislature had secured command
of a brigade. During the Tullahoma Campaign,
Gap but was compelled to fall back with the
rest of the Army of Tennessee. At Chicka-
ing,
suffering over 50 percent casu alties, and
at one point on September 19 threatened to
break the Union center before coming to grief
in Poe Field. Bate was soon elevated to division
command. But he complied with misconceived
directions about where his force was to
be posted, which enabled the Federals to successfully
assault his position at Chattanooga.
In February 1864, having rejected efforts
to convince him to run for governor of Tennessee,
Bate was promoted to major general.
During the Atlanta Campaign, he saw action at
tain,
Peach Tree Creek, Atlanta and Utoy
ly
August, then resumed command of his divi-
Tennessee Campaign. After participating in
the futile assaults at Franklin, Bate and his
command found themselves defending Shy’s
in that struggle was later criticized, he probably
performed about as well as could be ex-
had placed his entire command. Bate made
his way to the Carolinas along with other
a corps at Bentonville, surrendered with the
rest of Joseph Johnston’s command in April
1865. Elected Tennessee’s governor in 1882, he
moved over to the U.S. Senate four years later.
Not So Fast, Doc
Severely wounded at Shiloh, William
Bate brandished a pistol to convince
a doctor not to amputate his leg.
NOVEMBER 2016 25

7. Cadmus Wilcox
North Carolina-born, Tennessee-raised Cadmus Wilcox began his service
at the head of an Alabama regiment and quickly rose to brigadier
general. He led his command with distinction at Williamsburg, Seven
Pines, the Seven Days and Second Manassas. Yet despite his impressive
record, not to mention the reputation he had established in the antebellum
Army as an authority on tactics, when the Chancellorsville
Campaign began he was still only a brigade commander—undoubtedly
due in part to illness that forced him to miss the Maryland Campaign.
Wilcox’s skill as a tactician was on display on May 3, 1863, west of Fredericksburg,
when he slowed the advance of a Union force far superior
in numbers to his own. The brigadier general’s performance at Chancellorsville
was critical to Lee’s ability not only to avoid disaster but
also to claim victory. But Wilcox remained a brigade commander
when the Army of Northern Virginia marched into Pennsyl-
Pickett, commanded divisions. gade
came close to cracking the center of the Union line on Cem-
an entire Minnesota regiment to save it. Wilcox subsequently
received promotion to major general and command of a division
in the Third Corps. Under his leadership, Wilcox’s division remained
among the true stalwarts in the Army of Northern Virginia
Confederates’ ability to evacuate Petersburg. Wilcox was liked and
By the Book
Worn With Pride
6. Henry Heth
After a stint commanding Virginia’s Quartermaster Department early in the war, Henry
“Harry” Heth turned in solid performances in western Virginia and the Kentucky Campaign.
Returning to Virginia in February 1863, he was assigned to A.P. Hill’s Division in the Army of
he was elevated to division command after Stonewall Jackson and Hill were wounded.
where he was largely responsible for the Confederate army’s troubles on July 1, despite
Robert E. Lee’s desire to avoid a general engagement with the Federals. Heth
also suffered the indignity of leading his men while wearing a hat stuffed with pa-
by a bullet. His injuries, though, meant he had to watch another man lead his men
during Pickett’s Charge on July 3. What merits greater appreciation is that Heth
was one of Lee’s stalwart leaders during the campaigns of 1864-65. His performance
Reams’ Station, Squirrel Level Road and Hatcher’s Run, attacks led by Heth proved crucial
After A.P. Hill was mortally wounded
on April 2, Lee gave Heth command of the Third Corps. But Heth became separated from the
corps during the Union breakthrough that
morning, and his men came under Longstreet’s
supervision. (Heth later managed
to catch up and surrender with Lee at Appomattox.)
Today scholars are indebted
to Heth for his contributions to the compilation
of the .

5. Daniel C. Govan
While Patrick Cleburne is remembered as one
of the few stars of the Army of Tennessee, the
same cannot be said of Daniel C. Govan, who
helped raise the 2nd Arkansas Infantry in May
1861. Assuming command of the regiment in
gagement
at Shiloh even though he was ill at
the time. He performed commendably at Perryville,
after which Cleburne, his former neighbor,
became his division commander. Colonel
Stones River, during which Govan temporarily
commanded a brigade. In August 1863, he was
formally given brigade command, then turned
in a stellar performance at Chickamauga and
contributed to Cleburne’s defense of Tunnel
Hill on November 25, 1863, and led part of the
Confederate rear guard two days later at Ringgold
Gap. Govan was promoted to brigadier
general in December. The following month he
bravely endorsed Cleburne’s controversial
proposal to bring slaves into the Confederate
Army. He led his command through the
Atlanta Campaign, seeing action at Resaca,
Pickett’s Mill, Kennesaw Mountain, Atlanta
and Jonesboro. During the latter engagement,
his command was overrun. He and several
hundred of his men were captured. The general
was exchanged in September and returned
to his brigade in time to participate
in Hood’s ill-fated Tennessee Campaign.
Govan’s skepticism regarding what would
be a doomed assault at Franklin inspired
Cleburne’s famous reply, “Well, Govan, if
we are to die, let us die like men.” With
his command now reduced to fewer than
600 soldiers, Govan and his men still put
general was wounded in the throat.
After a brief convalescence, he took his
brigade to North Carolina, where he
surrendered with Joe Johnston’s army.
Govan “one of the best soldiers it was
my good fortune to know—a true Christian
gentleman, a noble patriot.”
‘Noble Patriot’
Daniel Govan played a key role
at several major battles and
was with Joe Johnston when
he surrendered his army at
Bennett Place on April 26, 1865.
Below: The Unity Monument
at Bennett Place, dedicated in
October 1923.
Moment of Truth
Opposite: A contemporary sketch
depicts Heth’s Division in action
around the McPherson Farm at
Gettysburg on July 1, 1863.
NOVEMBER 2016 27

Magic Touch
Lee (no relation to Robert E.)
became the Confederate
Army’s youngest lieutenant
general. His skillful artillery
work repeatedly frustrated
the Federals during the
Vicksburg Campaign.
Inset below: A 12-pounder
Napoleon and limber,
constructed in New Orleans.
4. Stephen D. Lee
Like Heth, Stephen Lee merits a spot on any list of underappreciated
Confederates—not least because, like Heth, Lee
played a notable role in shaping how the war would be remembered.
And few if any of the 17 lieutenant gen erals in the
Confederate Army saw as varied service as Lee, the youngest
man to achieve that rank. An 1854 West Point graduate,
Lee began the war as a member of P.G.T. Beauregard’s
staff at Charleston and participated in negotia tions with
the Union garrison commander at Fort Sumter preceding
during the Peninsula Campaign and for his service at both
Second Manassas and Antietam. Promotion to brigadier
general followed shortly after the Maryland Campaign, and
by December Lee was commanding an infantry brigade at
Vicksburg. At the end of
that month, he defeated
William T. Sherman’s
assaults at Chickasaw
Bayou. His conduct in
the operations around
Vicksburg in following
months did little to
dim his star, with his
performance at Champion
Hill (where he
was wounded in the
shoulder) drawing special notice. After being paroled with
the rest of General John Pemberton’s luckless command
motion
to major general and appointment to command
all the Confederate cavalry forces in Mississippi and Alabama.
Department of Mississippi and Alabama and did what
he could to manage affairs in that region, turning in a
mixed performance. He was promoted to lieutenant gen-
where he assumed command of a corps in Hood’s army. At
Ezra Church and Jonesboro, Lee launched unsuccessful
attacks on the Federals. Though his forces suffered casualties
that undoubtedly hastened the fall of Atlanta, Lee
remained in command throughout the Franklin–Nashville
Campaign, during which
he was wounded twice.
After Johnston’s army
surrendered in April
Mississippi. He became
a leader in the United
Confederate Veterans,
also serving as Vicksburg
National Military Park’s

3. Carter Stevenson
Stevenson is one of relatively few Virginians
side
the Eastern Theater. After serving in the
-
service in the Shenandoah Valley.
-
-
-
After be-
-
-
-
-
-
Gifted Warrior
NOVEMBER 2016 29

2. Richard H. Anderson
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Time to Shine
in as commander of Lt. Gen. James
Longstreet’s Corps after Longstreet
was wounded during the Wilderness
30 AMERICA’S CIVIL WAR

Lengthy Shadow
Ewell never managed
to escape the shade of
his former commander,
Stonewall Jackson.
1. Richard S. Ewell
“Old Bald Head’s” appearance on this list might seem unwarranted.
ed.
-
the quip that between Second Manassas and his ascension to corps com-
-
received the credit he richly deserves.
pressive
skill at Second Winchester in June 1863. -
at least one modern student insists that Ewell’s success in stopping a
Why has Ewell never
tricities
and appreciate his merits. Ewell never really got that chance.
-
-
Fine Attire
Ewell’s vest, part
of The American
Civil War Museum’s
collection.
Spiritual Rebirth
Ewell became
conspicu ously more
religious after losing
a leg at the Brawner
Farm in August 1862.
NOVEMBER 2016 31

Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton had seen unreliable, self-serving reports and anonymous
accusations before. During the Peninsula Campaign, he had become increasingly skeptical about dispatches
-
again, this time with the rumors coming from the Union’s principal army in the West. Charges of incompeten-
How, Stanton wondered, could he manage the war if he couldn’t get reliable information on his generals?
vital to the Union war effort: a bid to capture the South’s
Mississippi River bastion of Vicksburg, which would split
er,
Stanton needed to know how things were going with
the general’s camp, someone impartial and tactful who was
-
but money problems and bad eyesight forced him to leave
West Concord, Mass., where he met his future wife, along
New
York Tribune
-
Tribune’s city editor. Dana trav-
ing
himself in the witches’ brew of continental politics and
Tribune, with Dana serving
as managing editor, advocated strong anti-slavery and anti-
newly formed Republican Party.
When the war broke out, Dana took a decidedly hawk-
Tribune was losing
money, and an ideological gulf yawned between the news-
managers with an ultimatum, and its members accepted
-
Department commission sent to Cairo, Ill., to audit unsettled
claims against the Quartermaster Department. He
commanding the District of West Tennessee. Dana found
the general “a man of simple manners, straightforward,
cordial, and unpretending.”
The War secretary had gotten to know Dana thanks to a
laudatory Tribune editorial—written shortly after Stanton
ities
of talent, courage, and uncompromising patriotism.”
They began a correspondence that ripened into friendship,
one
he could trust “to give such information as would enable
about whom at that time there were many doubts, and
-
The New York Times,
ern
Mississippi, his army of no use to him or anyone else.”
Meanwhile the New York World
undoubtedly depended more upon good fortune than upon
military ability for success.”
Dana immediately agreed to cooperate. Like all good
moles, he was equipped with a cover story: He would travel
as “a special commissioner of the War Department to investigate
and report on the condition of the pay service in the
Western armies.”
be at the front to see what was going on, rather than rely on
second-hand information. Stanton gave Dana a long leash,
wiring, “You will consider your movements to be governed
by your own discretion, without any restriction.” The news-
32 AMERICA’S CIVIL WAR

The Mole
Newsman Charles Dana helped
propel Grant’s rise to power
By Gordon Berg
At the Front
Charles Dana, who
was enlisted to inform
Washington of Ulysses
Grant’s drinking
habits, quickly became
one of the general’s
staunchest supporters.

“From the
first, neither
he nor any
of his staff
evinced any
unwillingness
to show me
the inside of
things.”
-Charles Dana
On the Verge
of Glory
Ulysses S. Grant was
mostly unknown in the
North during the
spring of 1863. His
success at Vicksburg
changed that.
Mixed Message?
Lincoln reportedly gave
Grant this elaborately
which for years was part
of the Hunt-Phelan Home’s
collection in Memphis.
Grant’s assistant adjutant general and chief of
staff, and Lt. Col. James H. Wilson, the Army’s
chief topographical engineer and Grant’s assistant
inspector general.
Over the next two years, Rawlins and Wilson
as well as Dana would promote, protect
and advocate for the man they believed could
best vanquish the Confederacy and bring the
Grant might have been consigned to the remote
border lands, his abilities in doubt and his
character defamed.
Word of Dana’s real mission had actually
preceded his arrival. In a letter to Army General-in-Chief
Henry W. Halleck a few days
after Dana’s arrival, Grant outlined his Vicksburg
plan of campaign and added, “I think
however you will receive favorable reports of
the condition and feeling of the army from every
impartial judge and from all who have been
sent from Washington to look after its welfare.”
Rather than treat Dana as an informer,
Grant and his staff had decided to welcome
the emissary from Washington,
who quickly grasped the nuts and bolts of
the commander’s military strategy. “From
any of his staff or corps commanders evinced
any unwillingness to show me the inside of
things.” The newsman’s frequent dispatch-
Wordsmiths
Dana (circled) with
other members of the
New York Tribune
cropped image dating
from the 1840s.
Grant was particularly pleased to have Dana in camp because the general
hated writing the detailed reports that Stanton had expected from
him. Now that was no longer such a concern.
Except for a few assignments that took him away from headquarters,
Dana would remain at Grant’s side throughout the Vicksburg Campaign.
He ate with Grant’s staff and attended most staff and strat egy
meetings. An excellent horseman, he frequently rode along with Wilson
to carry messages and inspect troop deployments. In his 1907 biography
of Dana, Wilson described him as “at all times not only modest and unobtrusive,
but alert and ready to go where he might observe and learn
for himself.”
One thing that Dana took note of was formerly opulent Southern plantations.
“Though I have seen slavery in Maryland, Kentucky, Virginia,
and Missouri,” he wrote a friend, “it was not till I saw these plantations,
with all their apparatus for living and working, that I really felt the aristocratic
nature of it....” The newsman added that he wanted to “have it
out now and forever settle the question, so that our children may be able
to attend to other matters.” And now more than ever, he believed Grant
was the man to settle that question.
Dana also developed a decided dislike of John A. McClernand, a political
general from Illinois who was a favorite of President Lincoln’s.
McClernand had served under Grant during the capture of Forts Henry
and Donelson and at Shiloh, and subsequently lobbied for an independent
command that would enable him to liberate the Mississippi Valley
and promote his political ambitions. On learning that McClernand’s
XIII Corps would lead the April 29 attack against Grand Gulf, Dana
undoubtedly spoke for many on Grant’s staff when he wired Stanton, “I
have remonstrated, so far as I could properly do so, against intrusting
so momentous an operation to McClernand.” Stanton cautioned his emissary
to “carefully avoid giving any advice in respect to commands that
34 AMERICA’S CIVIL WAR

may be assigned, as it may lead to misunderstand and troublesome complications.”
But Dana kept up a steady drumbeat of negativity against
McClernand—while extolling Grant’s attributes.
In May 1863, Stanton wired Dana to advise Grant that he had “full
and absolute authority to enforce his own commands, and to remove any
person who, by ignorance, inaction, or any cause, interferes with or delays
his operations.” Grant had already decided to relieve McClernand,
though he believed the time was not yet right to do so. But it must have
been clear to him at this point that the civilian newsman in his camp
had a lot of clout in Washington.
Dana would not remain a civilian much longer. Stanton was worried
that, if captured, Dana might be tried as a spy because he wore no
uniform. On June 5, the war secretary made Dana “an assistant adjutant-general,
with the rank of major, with liberty to report to General
Grant, if he needs you.” Stanton fully expected his informant’s daily con-
obligation and are looked for with deep interest,” and adding, “I cannot
thank you as much as I feel for the service you are now rendering.”
Dana commented on many aspects of army life in his dispatches. He
wrote, for example, that “much of the ammunition supplied to this army
is very bad….The small-arm ammunition from Indianapolis is rascal-
Stanton replace the sickly Brig. Gen. J.P. Hawkins, who was organizing
ty
can succeed here.” He also informed Stanton that “the sentiment of
this army with regard to the employment of black troops has been revolutionized
by the bravery of the blacks in the recent battle of Milliken’s
Dana provided detailed evaluations of Grant’s subordinates and staff
in two letters written just after Vicksburg’s fall. Maj. Gen William T.
Sherman, he said, “was a very brilliant man and an excellent commander
of a corps.” Corps commander Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson had
even of a regiment.”
Division and brigade commanders were subject to similar scrutiny.
Brig. Gen. A.P. Hovey “was ambitious, active, nervous, irritable, ener-
A.J. Smith “is intrepid to recklessness, his head is clear though rather
thick, his disposition honest and manly.” Brig. Gen. M.K. Lawler “is
brave as a lion, and has about as much brains,” and Brig. Gen. Frank
acter,”
and Brig. Gen. W.S. Smith is “a man of brains, a hard worker,
such is his reputation.”
ceptionally
profane, was “entirely devoted to his duty, with the clearest
judgment, and perfectly fearless.” Wilson was a “brilliant man intellectually,
highly educated, and thoroughly companionable,” and the newsman
predicted he would “be heard from hereafter.” Some others received
less favorable evaluations, but Dana pointed out that while Grant real-
unwilling to hurt the feelings of a friend.”
The newsman seems to have suffered from that same weakness. Part
Relay Station
Field telegraph stations like this
one were vital cogs, delivering
messages within Grant’s army.
The Man From N.H.
Military messages have been transmitted in
secret code, or cipher, since the days of the
Roman Legions. The reports Charles Dana
sent to Edwin Stanton, as well as the messages
he received, were written in a secret
cipher furnished by the U.S. War Department.
To reduce the number of people privy
to these communications, Dana served as
his own cipher clerk. His Recollections of
the Civil War notes that he introduced a
large number of cipher words into his key:
“Thus, P.H. Sheridan was ‘soap’ or ‘Somerset’;
President was ‘Pembroke’ or ‘Penfield.’
Instead of writing ‘there has been,’ I wrote
‘maroon’; instead of secession, ‘mint’; instead
of Vicksburg, ‘Cupid.’”
Dana’s reports often required the cipher
operators to “consult the dictionary many
times for the meaning of words new and
strange to our ears. It was an education
for us, particularly when errors occurred
in transmission,” wrote War Department
telegrapher David Homer Bates. Moreover,
biographer James H. Wilson pointed out
that Dana’s handwriting was very difficult
to read, “and this occasionally gave additional
trouble in the correct transmission
of his reports.” During an 1864 cavalry
raid in southern Virginia, Wilson’s baggage
wagon, containing a note from Dana, was
captured by Confederate troops. The note
was published in a Richmond newspaper,
Wilson recalled, “but they were unable
to make out either its correct purport or
the writer’s signature” making it “both unintelligible
and harmless.”–G.B.
NOVEMBER 2016 35

Send a Wire
An assortment of telegraphs used
by Union forces. One is marked
“J.H. Bunnel & Co., New York.”
of his mission was to report on Grant’s drinking, but Dana
was by now among the general’s staunchest supporters. For
example, he never reported the events he witnessed during
Grant’s trip up the Yazoo River on June 6-7, 1863, on the
steam tug Diligent.
The trip was nominally inspired by reports that Confederate
General Joseph E. Johnston was gathering a force to
relieve Vicksburg. Grant announced he wanted to conduct
his own reconnaissance at a remote detachment posted
near Satartia, Miss. At that point the campaign was bogged
down in siege operations, and the general was temporarily
separated from Rawlins, his only staff member who dared
confront him openly about his drinking. In Dana’s June 6
report to Stanton, he said only, “General Grant has just
started for that place, deeming it necessary to examine the
situation for himself. I go with him.”
Dana’s Recollections of the Civil War, published in 1898,
indicated that Diligent encountered two Union gunboats
in charge said, “the enemy is probably in the town now”
and urged that the tug be turned around. Dana reportedly
was unsafe to go on, Dana awakened Grant, “but he was
too sick to decide” and the newsman claimed Grant left the
decision to him. Dana ordered the boat turned around, and
Diligent steamed back to Haynes’ Bluff. The next morning
Dana wrote, “Grant came out to breakfast, fresh as a rose,
clean shirt and all, quite himself”—but Grant thought they
had reached Satartia. After Dana reminded him what had
transpired, Grant “did not complain” and went about his
duties as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.
Other versions of the incident later made the rounds.
Sylvanus Cadwallader, a Chicago Times reporter, claimed
to have been aboard Diligent and said he had seen an inebriated
Grant stumbling out of the steamer’s barroom.
Cadwallader said he had ushered Grant into his stateroom,
removed his boots and coat, and put him to bed. Upon reaching
Grant’s headquarters, Cadwallader claimed he took his
charge off the boat and they headed back to headquarters.
But then Grant spotted a horse to his liking and rode off.
Cadwallader claimed he eventually caught up with Grant
and ordered an ambulance to take the general home.
That version of the episode appeared in Cadwallader’s
memoirs, written in 1896 but not published until 1955.
Grant scholar John Y. Simon dismissed the story as a combination
of camp gossip and self-promotion, instead crediting
a letter from Dana to Wilson stating that “Cadwallader
was not along.” But many have since deemed Cadwallader
a reliable source.
Cadwallader was not the only bystander who reported
evidence that Grant was drinking during the campaign.
Rawlins penned a letter to his chief on June 6, declaring,
“I have heard that Dr. McMillan, at Gen. Sherman’s a few
days ago, induced you, not withstanding your pledge to
me, to take a glass of wine....” Rawlins reminded Grant:
“You have full control of your appetite and can let drinking
alone....Your only salvation depends upon your strict adherence
to that pledge.” Rawlins added that if Grant couldn’t
keep his promise, he would request “my immediate relief
from duty in this department be the result.”
Rawlins’ letter was not delivered until Grant returned
to headquarters from his river journey, and it’s unclear
whether the general actually read it. But subscribers to
the New York Sun saw Rawlins’ missive many years later.
fought under Grant at Missionary Ridge, included it in an ar-
of charges and countercharges. A week after Boynton’s article
appeared, the Sun published an editorial written by
Dana, then the paper’s editor, titled “Gen. Grant’s Occasional
Intoxication.” That piece maintained that Grant’s
“seasons of intoxication were not only infrequent, occurring
once in three or four months, but he always chose a
36 AMERICA’S CIVIL WAR

not interfere with any important movement that had to be
directed or attended to by him.”
General William T. Sherman’s comments to a friend in
February 1887, after seeing Boynton’s article, are no doubt
heavily biased, since no one had been closer to Grant during
the war. Sherman wrote, “Boynton is a Coyote, a hyena,
scratching up old forgotten scandals, publishing them as
something new.” But he added, “We all knew at the time
that Genl. Grant would occasionally drink too much...and
when any thing was pending he was invariably abstinent of
drink.” He also wrote, “Mr. Lincoln knew all that Boynton
now reveals & more—but Mr. Lincoln wanted success....”
Less than a month after the Diligent episode, Grant gave
Lincoln the success he sought. Just after midnight on Independence
Day, Dana wired Washington, “Vicksburg has capitulated,”
also sending the correspondence between Grant
and General John C. Pemberton regarding the terms of surrender.
Beginning at 10 a.m., 30,000 Confederates marched
out of Vicksburg and stacked their arms and banners in
front of their works. An hour later, Dana rode into the city
at Grant’s side. “I found the buildings of Vicksburg much
less damaged than I had expected,” Dana wrote later. “Still,
there were a good many people living in caves dug in the
banks.” After a six-month campaign, the city that Jefferson
Davis had called the Gibraltar of America had fallen.
Dana’s July 5 telegram to Stanton conveyed Grant’s request
for further instructions: “He has no idea of going into
summer quarters...but he would like to be informed
whether the Government wishes him to follow his own
judgment or to co-operate in some particular scheme of operations.”
Rather than forwarding Grant his marching orders,
however, on July 7 General Henry W. Halleck wired
that Congress had approved Grant’s commission as a major
general in the Regular Army.
Anxious to see his wife and family, Dana had left for the
Connecticut shore the day before. When he went through
Washington, everyone was eager to hear more about what
maintained his silence about Grant’s intemperance. In a
letter to Grant’s staunchest supporter in Congress, Elihu
Washburne, Dana declared, “To the question they all ask
‘Doesn’t he drink?’ I have been able from my own knowledge
to give a decided negative.”
A wire from Stanton informed Dana of yet another assignment
when the newsman had been home for barely a
fortnight. This time his destination would be Chattanooga
and the Army of the Cumberland, and he was serving as an
assistant secretary of war, to report on Maj. Gen. William S.
Rosecrans’ lack of speed in pursuing Confederate General
Braxton Bragg. He was at Rosecrans’ side during the Battle
of Chickamauga, where the Union army barely escaped
annihilation. His reports on Rosecrans’ conduct during the
battle and its aftermath likely helped to ensure that “Old
Rosy” was relieved of command.
Dana would soon be reunited with the commander whom
Stanton now trusted more than all the rest. Thanks in no
ton
sent for Ulysses S. Grant to set things right.
Gordon Berg, a retired civil servant, is a regular
contributor to America’s Civil War.
Muckraker
Journalist Ida Tarbell gained
fame for her harsh exposés during
the early 20th century, but she did
a commendable job of compiling
Dana’s memoirs after his death.
Ghost-written
Charles A. Dana’s Recollections of the Civil War was actually written by Ida Tarbell
of McClure’s magazine, based on a series of interviews with the newsman in the
winter of 1896–97. In her autobiography, Tarbell admitted that Dana’s Civil War
memoirs were “the most important piece of ghost writing I ever did.”
Tarbell found Dana a very reluctant subject, who volunteered nothing and
responded only to direct questions. She recalled he refused to read the entire
manuscript, but did agree to review and proofread the chapters scheduled to be
serialized in McClure’s beginning in the fall of 1897. As it happened, Dana read
only the first chapter before his death on October 17, 1897, in Glen Cove, N.Y.
Tarbell herself went on to become a well-known journalist, one of the leading
“muckrakers” of the Progressive Era, who is mostly remembered for her searing
exposés of Standard Oil in 1904. But how accurately did Tarbell render Dana’s
recollections? And how well had Dana remembered events 33 years after the
fact? In the introduction to the 1963 edition of Dana’s recollections, Paul Angle
of the Chicago Historical Society—a friend of Tarbell’s—concluded that it is
“an accurate representation of [Dana’s] own experience.” Comparing Dana’s
Recollections side-by-side with his dispatches to Stanton, published in the
Official Records, War of the Rebellion, shows that times, places and dates are
consistent, and the information and opinions Dana included in his reports are
similar in content and tone with those in his Recollections.–G.B.
NOVEMBER 2016 37

Corralled
along the
Potomac
Calamity at Ball’s Bluff left
no doubt the Union faced
a long, bloody war
By Ron Soodalter
For the Ages
Contemporary depictions of Colonel Edward
Baker’s death at Ball’s Bluff, including
this one, tended to be highly dramatic.
NOVEMBER 2016 39

40 AMERICA’S CIVIL WAR
Fateful Crossing
Army of the Potomac commander George
McClellan gave Charles P. Stone permission to
cross into Virginia if a chance arose to strike
the enemy. Union Colonel Charles Devens’
300-man unit ran into part of Colonel Nathan
Evans’ Rebel army as it moved toward
Leesburg the morning of October 21. By 2 p.m.,
Devens’ outnumbered force was clinging to
a toehold as he called for reinforcements.

In the spring of 1861, Northerners
had every expectation that Union
troops would thrash the upstart
Confederates and be back home by
Christmas. After the debacles of
First Bull Run and Wilson’s Creek,
Mo., that summer, Yankees were
desperate for a victory. Surely, they must have thought, our
troops and their commanders had taken the lessons of their
Ball’s Bluff hammered home a harsh message: The Union
was facing a long and bloody war against a determined
foe—the troops wouldn’t be coming home any time soon.
By October 20, Union and Confederate troops occupied
opposite banks of the Potomac River about 35 miles northwest
of Washington. In the growing dusk that evening,
Union Brig. Gen. Charles P. Stone ordered inexperienced
Captain Chase Philbrick to cross the river with about 20
men and gather intelligence on the position and strength of
Colonel Nathan G. “Shanks” Evans’ Confederates. Ascending
100-foot-high bluffs on the Virginia shore, Philbrick
mistook a line of trees for Evans’ camp. He then raced back
Two months earlier Army of the Potomac commander
Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan had instructed Stone, a fellow
West Point graduate and Mexican War veteran, “Should
you see the opportunity of capturing or dispersing any small
party by crossing the river, you are at liberty to do so.”
Stone now ordered Colonel Charles Devens of the 15th Massachusetts
to lead a 300-man force across the river and
stage a predawn attack on the assumed Rebel camp.
Devens realized after climbing the bluffs that the camp
did not exist. But with Stone’s approval, he headed southwest
toward Leesburg for further reconnaissance, and to
await reinforcements—only to run into a company from the
17th Mississippi Infantry as he proceeded. Devens reported
the contact back to Stone, but decided to hold his advanced
position with a force now of roughly 650 men. Evans
sent more men forward and skirmishing increased, but at
2 p.m., with Union reinforcements stalled at the base of the
Meanwhile, back on the Maryland side of the Potomac,
Colonel Edward D. Baker, a U.S. senator and politically
ters.
In the preceding months Baker, who had seen combat
during the Mexican War, would appear regularly in Con-
ing
about the glory of battle. “I want sudden, bold, forward,
determined war,” he thundered in the Senate. He would
Although Baker had not yet been involved in any part of
edge
of the tactical situation, Stone nevertheless ordered
the colonel to oversee Devens’ reconnaissance operation.
Baker was instructed to either withdraw the troops currently
engaged or support them with reinforcements.
Baker was probably the worst possible man for that job.
Rather than make an immediate reconnaissance, he chose
to oversee the tedious crossing of hundreds of additional
troops. Devens sent word to Baker three times, begging for
reinforcements; Baker simply ignored him.
ly
reached the bluffs. Rather than ordering a rapid advance
or a tactical withdrawal, Baker assumed a defensive position
along the bluff—on open ground, with his men’s backs
to the cliff, and surrounded on three sides by Confederates
naissance,
his remaining troops sat out of sight of the action,
and they chose to await the results.
On the brink of a disaster that he had ironically created—
poem “The Lady of the Lake” to a bemused comrade: “One
blast upon your bugle horn / is worth a thousand men.” The
senator had led his men into an impossible situation, and
alized
the true meaning of “bold, forward, determined war.”
Local Hero
Leesburg resident Elijah
Viers White, a member of
Turner Ashby’s 7th Virginia
Cavalry who served as a
courier during the battle, is
buried not far from the

Baker’s Blunders
Stone unwisely tasked Colonel Edward
D. Baker with either reinforcing or
withdrawing Devens’ hard-pressed
force. But Baker’s dithering and tactical
ineptitude meant that only a trickle of
reinforcements actually reached Devens,
leaving him and his men in an exposed
position near the river.
42 AMERICA’S CIVIL WAR

The treatment of General
Stone, pictured here with his
daughter Hettie AFTER THE
BATTLE, was roundly criticized.
Wrote The New York Times;
“[He] has sustained a
most flagrant wrong…
which will probably
stand as the very
worst blot on the
National side in the
history of the war.”
An attack by the 17th and 18th Mississippi on the disor-
Yankees surrendered; others careered down the rocky slope
to the river below. Still others were forced over the edge or
herded into the Potomac itself, where many drowned.
The Rebels continued to take prisoners the next day.
Though the Yankees had had four boats, one capsized and
the others were shot to splinters. For days the bloated bod-
the capital, some reportedly drifting as far as George Washington’s
historic Mount Vernon home. Nearly half the 2,000
The North was stunned, and an outraged Republican
Congress demanded a reckoning and created the Joint
Committee on the Conduct of the War—the so-called “War
Committee.” Six of its seven members were among Congress’
most aggressive Radical Republicans.
Unwilling to blame their late comrade for either the defeat
or his own demise, the committee looked for a scapegoat
and settled on Stone. His military career until then had been
for earlier having returned fugitive slaves to their owners.
McClellan knew precisely what had occurred at Ball’s Bluff,
and had personally given Stone his orders. But he instructed
his subordinate to stay silent, and denied all knowledge of
the affair when questioned by the committee.
McClellan then did the unthinkable. A Southern refugee
had volunteered spurious gossip that Stone had colluded
with the Rebels before the battle. It was a vicious lie, but
McClellan—anxious to please the committee—forwarded
the report to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, who ordered
Stone relieved of his command and arrested.
Falsely accused of treason, Stone spent six months in
tion
of the Acts of War, he was neither formally charged
nor given legal counsel, and was denied access to both the
evidence and the names of his accusers.
Although he was released from prison in August 1862,
lowed
to answer the preposterous charge that he had prearranged
the Union defeat through collusion. Though the
general was exonerated and restored to command, his career
was in ruins. Stone retired the following year, an early
victim of the committee that continued to plague President
Lincoln by waging a campaign of radical persecution until
the end of hostilities.
Ron Soodalter of Cold Spring,
N.Y., is a regular contributor
to America’s Civil War.
FIGHT FACTS
BALL’S BLUFF
October 21, 1861
COMMANDERS
Confederate:
Colonel Nathan “Shanks” Evans
Union:
Brig. Gen. Charles P. Stone;
Colonel Edward Baker
ESTIMATED
CASUALTIES
Confederate: 149
Union: 921
FORCES
ENGAGED
Confederate: 1,600
Union: 2,000
OUTCOME
Confederate Victory
NOVEMBER 2016 43

T
Glory
The groundbreaking film
informed and inspired A nation
By Allen Barra
-
Crimes of the Heart, Looking for Mr. Goodbar
American Gigolo
Glory
Glory-
New York Daily News

Where Angels Dare
The 54th Massachusetts’
historic charge across
the sands in front of Fort
Wagner, as depicted in
the 1989 classic Glory.

Training Day
Matthew Broderick, as
Robert Gould Shaw, shows
raw recruits—many drawn
to enlist by posters like the
one above—how to load and
Bloody Baptism
Denzel Washington, as
Grimball’s Landing on

Epilogue
The death of Colonel
Shaw, as depicted in a
mural at the Recorder
of Deeds building in
Washington, D.C.
“The eyes of
thousands will
look upon what
you do tonight.”
–Robert Gould Shaw
read everything, and I never read that. We had a black and
white view of history. I was eager to do the role to show people
how brave these men were, that they were willing to die
for their freedom.”
Almost from the time
Sumter, the issue of black soldiers in the Union Army was
hotly debated. On January 1, 1863, as the country faced its
third year of war, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Procla-
blue moving quickly thereafter.
State governors were empowered to raise regiments for
Union service during the war. On January 26, 1863, Secretary
of War Edwin M. Stanton authorized Massachusetts
Governor John Albion Andrew “to raise such numbers of
volunteers, companies of artillery for duty in the forts of
Massachusetts and elsewhere, and such corps of infantry
ient, such volunteers to be enlisted for three years, or until
sooner discharged, and may include persons of African
old son, Captain Robert Gould Shaw—who was then serv-
sembled
in the North. Robert accepted the command and
the rank of colonel that went with it.
-
Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers of African Descent,
tion of term of service. Pay $13 per month and State aid for
families.” (The $13 monthly pay claim proved false; black
troops got just $10 a month. Eventually the pay was restored
to $13, but not before many of them had died.) Simi lar
lass
rallied troops to the cause in his newspaper, Douglass’
Monthly, with a headline none could ignore, “Men of Color
to Arms!” noting, “A war undertaken and brazenly carried
on for the perpetual enslavement of colored men, calls logically
and loudly for colored men to help suppress it.”
The response was overwhelming. Recruits from 22 states,
the District of Columbia, Nova Scotia and the West Indies
ton.
Among them were Douglass’ own son, 22-year-old Lewis.
Toussaint L’Ouverture Delaney, 17 years old, came from
Canada; his father, physician and novelist Martin R. De-
-
prominent abolitionist families, included Garth Wilkinson
James, younger brother of William and Henry James.
Most of the regiment were free men, with a sprinkling of
was higher than that of the average regiment in the Union
Army; one commented that there was “less drunkenness in
this regiment” than in others he had seen.
Street on May 28, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow recorded
the moment in his diary as “An imposing sight, with something
wild and strange about it, like a dream. At last the
with a white cross and a Latin inscription: En Hoc Signo
Vinces—“With This Sign Thou Shalt Conquer.”
De Molay
After several frustrating weeks of guard duty and manual
Infantry from disaster after a Confederate charge. “They
fought as if they were very angry and determined to have
NOVEMBER 2016 47

‘Dear Old Flag’
An 1864 photo of
Sergeant William
Carney, who received
the Medal of Honor for
during the battle. The
touched the ground,”
he later recalled.
“Glory
shows the
high cost
of war, and
yet finds
meaning
in the
sacrifice.”
–Pauline
Kael
revenge.” A Connecticut soldier wrote home
that the men of the 54th “fought like heroes.”
Two days later, Shaw volunteered his regiment
to lead the attack on Fort Wagner—or
Battery Wagner, as the Confederates called it.
But Union commanders had vastly overrated
the effects of land and sea bombardment on
timated
Wagner’s garrison.
Shortly before that assault, a friend asked
Shaw why he seemed so sad. “If I could live
a few weeks longer with my wife,” he replied,
“and be home a little while, I think I might die
happy. But it cannot be. I do not believe I will
battle, July 18, the same friend recalled: “All of
the sadness had left him, and I am sure he felt
ready to meet his fate.”
more than 600 of them marched into position,
ready to attack. Soldiers in white regiments
yelled encouragement: “Hoorah, boys! You
saved the 10th Connecticut!” and “Well done!
We heard your guns!” Shaw called out to his
men, “The eyes of thousands will look upon
what you do tonight.”
At 7:45 p.m., Shaw ordered: “Move in quick
time until within a hundred yards of the fort.
Then double quick and charge!” All the ques-
were soon answered. By the time the other
regiments were in position, the opportunity for
victory, if it ever existed, was over. The 54th
charged across the beach, in and out of ditches,
past rows of wooden spike obstacles and up
the slope, their ranks decimated by musket
Shaw reached the top of the wall and yelled
out, “Come, boys, come!” Then, apparently hit
The 54th lost perhaps half of its number,
losses were horrendous—more than 1,500
casu alties, most from white regiments—while
ber
7, after Union forces learned the fort was
deserted, it was occupied by Northern troops.
James McPherson summed up the assault
on Wagner in Past Imperfect: History According
to the Movies: “If the attack was a failure,
in a more profound way it was a success of his-
of the regiment in the face of an overwhelming
hail of lead and iron answered the skeptics’

Shaw was buried with his men in a mass
grave just outside the fort. Sergeant William
Carney of Company C had picked
up the Stars and Stripes from a fallen
as he carried them to the top. As he staggered
back into camp after the retreat, Carney’s
wounded comrades cheered him, but
he insisted he had done no more than his
touched the ground. Carney was given the
Medal of Honor, though he didn’t receive it
until the 54th Massachusetts memorial was
unveiled in Boston on Memorial Day 1897.
“Can movies teach history? For Glory,
role of black soldiers in the American Civil
War, but it is also one of the most powerful
and historically accurate movies ever made
Most of Glory
Ga., 60 miles south of Savannah, with the
cooperation of the Georgia State Film Commission and the
for three months to re-create a Fort Wagner with 30-foot
walls—or at least three sides of it, with the fourth side open
to use thousands of reenactors, nearly 6,000.
Concerned about authenticity, Fields invited American
Heritage
25 years later, “in that you have no responsibility whatever
the 54th was simply hurled against Battery Wagner with
no preparation, which made it seem as if Shaw’s men were
for a good long time before the assault, and
that the commanders truly felt that the
guns had been silenced and the defenders
demoralized, if not killed. They were wrong,
of course, but similar mistakes have been
made in every war since then. When the
to see a few seconds of a very real-looking
-
Glory was a critical hit. Some writers,
notably The New Yorker
overlooked minor faults and focused on the
picture’s undeniable power. “Glory
terial
that has never before been tapped for
to “the three black powerhouse actors [who]
many: “Glory shows the high cost of war,
Awards, winning three—Denzel Washington
for best supporting actor; cinematographer
Freddie Francis for the lovely, elegiac
tone of his photography; and best sound.
James Horner earned a Grammy for his
soulful and stirring score.
True Valor
Jarre, whose screenplay was nominated for
a Writers Guild of America award. “A subject
like this falls into your lap once in a life-
one of the most important moments in the
Civil War, in all of American history, and it
Jarre remembered starting the project “Almost in a fe-
on black soldiers in the Civil War and on the 54th Mass in
-
The Negro’s Civil War;
morial,
Lay This Laurel
Shaw and the 54th, One Gallant Rush (its title taken from
a Frederick Douglass editorial urging black men to join the
regiment: “The iron gate of our prison stands half open. One
-
-
part: “A song for the unsung heroes who rose in the country’s
need, When the life of the land was threatened by the
on Shaw and the monument: “He is out of
bounds now. He rejoices in man’s lovely, pe-
Some historians noted that Jarre took
liberties with known facts—for instance,
his script features more former slaves than
54th’s roster; Shaw’s wife is not mentioned
at all; and Shaw is killed in the charge up
the hill to Fort Wagner rather than at the
top of the parapet, where he actually died.
-
gated
to represent all the black men who
volunteered for service, both slave and free.
Sergeant Carney was
recognized for “most
distinguished gallantry in
American to receive the
Medal of Honor.
NOVEMBER 2016 49

Elegiac Tribute
“He is out of bounds
now,” wrote Boston poet
Robert Lowell of Shaw
(above). “He rejoices in
man’s lovely, peculiar
power to choose life
and die….”
There were Union regiments of blacks formed in the South
comprised only of slaves, but who knew if anyone would
chance to tell everyone’s story.” He chose to leave Shaw’s
wife out of the story because “We don’t know much about
Anna Shaw. They had only been married a short time, so
there wasn’t much correspondence to draw on. I felt it was
more important to include Shaw’s mother, who was a big
to show at some point how the men of the 54th were capable
of motivating themselves up that hill.”
ise.
After Glory, he wrote only two other screenplays of sig-
Tombstone (1993) with Kurt Russell as Wyatt
Earp and Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday and The Devil’s Own
about an IRA gunman in America starring Brad Pitt and
Harrison Ford. Jarre was also hired to direct Tombstone
project was moving too slowly. And his screenplay for The
Devil’s Own was ordered rewritten by Harrison Ford, who
money, but Jarre, though he produced a couple of big budget
died of heart failure at age 56.
Still, Jarre had ensured that future generations of moviegoers
would remember his face thanks to a small part for
himself that he included in his best-known project. He
with Denzel Washington and then, as the regiment marches
off to assault Wagner, yells out, “Give ’em hell, 54th!”
Screen
Time
Glory’s highly
praised climax
features an
assault on Fort
Wagner that
ranks among the
best Hollywood
depictions of a
true Civil War
event. Here’s a list
of other notable
Civil War battle
scenes re-created
for a movie or
TV show.
John Brown’s Raid
(October 1859)
Perhaps the most farfetched
depiction of
a Civil War–related
event can be found in
Santa Fe Trail (1940),
where abolitionist John
Brown’s group of 21
raiders, tripled in size,
attempts to repel an
assault waged with an
intensity comparable
to the U.S. Marines
landing on Iwo Jima.
So over the top it’s
amusing.
First Bull Run
(July 1861)
One of the few events
the 1986 miniseries
North and South gets
right is its depiction of
Washington society’s
turnout to witness—
and then retreat madly
from—the war’s first
major battle. In Gods
and Generals (2003),
director Ron Maxwell
follows Stonewall
Jackson’s monikermaking
moment with
detailed accuracy.
But They Died With
Their Boots On (1941)
portrays a cavalry
charge by Lieutenant
George Custer that is
pure fiction.
Battle of Hampton
Roads (March 1862)
Both Hearts in
Bondage (1936) and the
made-for-TV movie
Ironclads (1991) feature
realistic-looking
miniature USS Monitor
and CSS Virginia
replicas exchanging
blows during the
immortal struggle.
Less convincing are
the vessels’ full-sized
interiors, which come
across as far too clean
and uncluttered and,
at least in the case of
Hearts in Bondage,
offer plenty of
elbow room.
Stephen Lang
as Stonewall in
Gods and Generals.
Shiloh (April 1862)
Over-reliance on
artillery footage
dominates the titular
combat scenes in
Journey to Shiloh
(1968). If it weren’t for
the expository dialogue
(e.g., “Sherman’s done
busted through on
the left!”), one would
probably never know
what’s going on or,
indeed, which battle is
being depicted.
Antietam
(September 1862)
One convincing,
albeit brief, scene in
Glory shows then-Lt.
Robert Gould Shaw
advancing to the
West Woods with the
2nd Massachusetts.
50 AMERICA’S CIVIL WAR

Bronze Inspiration
Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ Boston Common memorial
to Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts inspired producer
Freddie Fields to tell their story on the big screen.
What isn’t so well remembered
-
Glory
-
BatmanLook Who’s Talking)
Driving Miss Daisy -
The Reel Civil War: Mythmaking
in American Film
Glory
Glory-
Glory
GloryLegends of the Fall, Courage Under Fire,
The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond
Shakespeare
in Love
Glory
Allen Barra, a regular contributor to ,
writes about books, the arts and sports for the Daily Beast
and Truthdig.com, among others.
The Antietam fight
sequence in North
and South is portrayed
like its other battles,
as nondescript action
on a backlot involving
pyrotechnics, stunt
men and extras.
Fredericksburg
(December 1862)
Arguably the finest
sequence in Ron
Maxwell’s Gods
and Generals
convincingly recreates
Fredericksburg
(modern-day Harpers
Ferry served as a
stand-in for some
scenes) and the
Confederate defenses
at Marye’s Heights.
Yanks and Rebels get
equal coverage.
Lawrence Massacre
(August 1863)
Because many of the
historical specifics of
the pro-Confederate
“Bushwhacker”
sacking of Lawrence,
Kan., are up for
interpretation, director
Ang Lee chose to play
up the Wild West–
style action in his 1999
Ride With the Devil.
The film’s fighting
scenes are among the
most dramatic of any
included in Civil War–
themed movies.
New Market, Va.
(April 1864)
The independently
produced Field of Lost
Shoes (2014) gamely
attempts to chronicle
the VMI Cadets’ fabled
battlefield heroics in
April 1864. It follows
the historical record
with decent accuracy,
but takes a few key
liberties (e.g., omitting
the actual battle’s rainy
weather).
The Wilderness
(May 1864)
The low-budget
Wicked Spring (2002)
conceals its minimal
resources with
carefully framed closeups,
quick camera
movements and sound
edits. The result is an
effective portrayal of
the chaos that marked
the fierce fighting in
Virginia’s Spotsylvania
County.
Petersburg Campaign
(June–April 1864-65)
Civil War veterans
were consulted to help
re-create a Rebel charge
at Petersburg for D.W.
Griffith’s silent The
Birth of a Nation (1915),
where the action is
framed in a series of
epic-scaled, if dispassionate,
wide shots.
Far more effective—
and dramatic—is the
staging of the Crater
explosion in Cold
Mountain (2003),
where the gritty narrative
of men living and
fighting among spaces
carved out of the earth
is captured in believable
fashion.
–Marty Jones
A scene from
NOVEMBER 2016 51

Forever Kin
Comrades John
Holman (left) and
Spencer Talley pose
for a portrait
shortly before the
Battle of Franklin.
‘LIKE GRAIN
BEFORE
THE SICKLE’
Longtime friends fought together
one last time at Franklin
By Joe Johnston

“
The rebel yell was terrifying as we never heard it before. We rushed on and
Writing in his journal in 1918, even though 54 years had
Spencer Talley and John Holman had
Cherished
The sword Captain John Holman proudly
carried into battle is now in the Battle of
Franklin Trust’s collection.
Within a month,
tanooga lay ahead.
fered a reversal of fortune the following day,
losing everything they had won.
NOVEMBER 2016 53

changes were instituted: State troops were mustered into
regular service; the troops reenlisted for three years, or the
war’s duration; commands were realigned; and men older
than 45 and younger than 18 were released from service.
The 28th Tennessee’s Captain Wade Baker, in his 50s,
was among those opting to return home. Cradling his sword
while standing before the regiment, Baker announced,
“When this sword was presented me on leaving our homes,
I promised that it should ever be wielded in bravery and
my place as captain, I want to suggest to you my choice of
the man who shall wear this sword.” He called on Talley
to accept the sword and the captaincy. But the lieutenant,
knowing Sergeant Holman was next in line for a promotion,
insisted the command go to his friend instead.
Holman was duly elected, and since he already carried
his own sword, Talley accepted Baker’s sword—as well as
promotion to second lieutenant. The regiment would subsequently
be dispatched to help hold the critical railroad town
of Murfreesboro, Tenn., which had been retaken from the
Federals in July 1862.
near Murfreesboro in late December and early January.
Holman and Talley were attending a New Year’s Eve ball
word came the Federal army was on the town’s doorstep.
Holman, Talley and the rest of the 28th cooked up all their
bacon, biscuits and cornbread, stuffed it in their knapsacks
and prepared for battle.
-
then as darkness fell and temperatures
plummeted, they were forced to wade
the icy river, their pants freezing to
-
and warm themselves. Maj. Gen. John
Breckinridge sent barrels of whiskey to
help thaw his frozen troops, with the of-
units. Talley returned to camp with so
many full canteens around his neck that
he could barely walk.
late the next day, a musket ball struck
Talley, lodging against one of his ribs—
his layers of heavy clothing having probably
saved his life. With his army in
retreat, Talley scoffed at the suggestion
that he return home to recover. He was
instead assigned to a recruitment detail,
canvassing the countryside and begging
men to enlist, all the while hiding from
Yankee patrols. At one point he had to
shelter in a cave for three days.
The lieutenant returned to the 28th
54 AMERICA’S CIVIL WAR
“When this
sword was
presented
me on
leaving our
homes, I
promised
that it
should ever
be wielded
in bravery
and honor.”
- Captain Wade
Baker, 28th
Tennessee
Infantry
1863, where Holman lost a third of his men, and Mission-
Campaign from Dalton, Ga., to Atlanta, in which General
Joseph E. Johnston’s Army of Tennessee repeatedly fought,
then retreated in the face of a Federal force that outnumbered
his own by more than 2-to-1.
President Jefferson Davis was growing increasingly im-
Gen. John Bell Hood, a demoralizing move for the troops,
since Hood brought with him a reputation for what Talley
called a “reckless and bulldog disposition” in handling an
army. Three days later, on July 20, 1864, Hood attacked
Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman’s army near Peach Tree
able
to break the Union line.
That evening Talley received word that his brother had
who died about dawn. Spencer bathed his brother’s face in
preparation for burial, and another man cobbled together
searching for a shovel, orders came to move out, and he was
forced to leave his brother lying there, without knowing
when or where he would be buried. Talley would later describe
that as his saddest, most trying hour of the war.
jockeyed to protect their supply lines,
July 28 Battle of Ezra Church—a charge that failed when
Yankees felled a stand of trees toward the oncoming gray
line, forcing the Confederates to pick their way through
the tangle of branches. Here Talley was wounded once
again, this time by a bullet that traveled
through his side and temporarily paralyzed
his left leg.
Federal losses totaled less than 700
alties numbered 3,000. Talley would
again recover—even though his wound
developed gangrene, necessitating surgery
that had to be performed without
any anesthetic.
gold,
Ga., where Talley was promoted to
was consolidated into Company B, and
with unfamiliar faces. For nearly two
months the undermanned, poorly supplied
army marched through Georgia
and Alabama before entering Tennessee
in late November—just prior to what
would be a crushing loss at Franklin.
November 30, Hood
sent about 20,000 men across a two-mile

Death’s Door
Seen from the Union perspective,
the two-mile stretch of land the
28th Tennessee needed to cross at
Franklin, photographed after the
November 1864 battle.
They soon came within range of sharpshooters, then the advance
line. A half-mile out, the Southerners re-formed and
charged, sending the enemy’s advance line running headlong
back into their works. Hood’s men ran with them, forcing
Federals positioned on the earthen wall to hold their
line’s center and left took the full brunt of the charge.
Major General Benjamin Cheatham’s Corps, which included
the 28th, was on the Confederate left, and as the
fell like grain before the sickle.” The survivors managed to
reach a dense grove of locust trees, which provided some
cover but slowed their charge. Right after emerging from
the trees, just a few yards from the enemy guns, Talley was
wounded once more, this time in the head.
The lieutenant regained consciousness around midnight.
Holding onto the trees, he made his way through the grove
and into the open. Before him there in the bright moonlight
thick with moans, screams and pleas for help.
Talley was fortunate to be among the 4,750 or so Confederate
wounded or missing at Franklin, rather than the 1,750
who perished there. Company B of the 28th had entered the
from his scalp, Talley went back to where so many of his
-
name on a slab of wood. He hoped Holman’s family might
buried in a clearly marked grave.
The Rebel wounded were told they could walk back home
after he reached home. Later on, after learning of Sherman’s
sweep through the South, the lieutenant took the
Within a year, the weather had worn the names from most
of the wooden boards marking Franklin’s hastily interred
Carnton Plantation beneath stones bearing the names of
Stones River Cemetery, 30 miles away in Murfreesboro.
Talley’s knowledge of where his fallen comrade had been
buried proved invaluable to Holman’s mother, who arranged
terred
in the family graveyard near the Cumberland River.
In the process, it was discovered that some kind soul had
buried with him the sword he had carried. Mrs. Holman
asked that his sword not be reburied with her son.
Talley was given a blank book by his granddaughter, Mary
Trice, who asked him to record what he knew about their
ancestry, and also his memories of the war. That journal
would be donated to the Battle of Franklin Civil War Trust
at Carnton Plantation in 2014. And one year later the wartime
legacies of Talley and Holman would be reunited at
sented
his sword to the Trust. It bears no manufacturer’s
marks, yet is wonderfully made, with a fullered blade, a
handle wrapped with braided wire, and an ornate guard
and pommel. Spencer Talley’s journal tells the story of
two longtime friends who risked everything for their ideals.
But Holman’s sword speaks to us as well, echoing the din of
battle far from home.
Nashville-based writer Joe Johnston, a regular contributor
to America’s Civil War, is the author of It Ends Here: Missouri’s
Last Vigilante.
NOVEMBER 2016 55

HERITAGE TRAVEL &
LIFESTYLE SHOWCASE
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Home to more than 400 sites, the Civil
War’s impact on Georgia was greater
than any other event in the state’s
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Explore Maryland with once-in-alifetime
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There’s no other place that embodies
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To discover more about Tennessee and
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Known for sublime natural beauty,
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warm hospitality, West Virginia really
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Greeneville, TN
Founded in 1783, Greeneville has a rich
historical background as the home for
such important figures as Davy Crockett
and President Andrew Johnson.
Plan your visit now!
Walk where Civil War soldiers fought
and died. A short trip from Nashville and
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Call (800) 716-7560.
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Join us for our Civil War Anniversary
Commemoration including
attractions and tours, exhibitions,
memorials and a selection of artifacts
from Fort Fisher.
Lebanon, KY is home to the Lebanon
National Cemetery, its own
Civil War Park, and it’s part of the
John Hunt Morgan Trail.
VisitLebanonKY.com today.
History lives in Tupelo, Mississippi.
Visit Brice’s Crossroads National
Battlefield, Natchez Trace Parkway,
Tupelo National Battlefield, Mississippi
Hills Exhibit Center and more.
Richmond,
Kentucky
“Part of the One and Only Bluegrass!”
Visit National Historic Landmark,
National Civil War Trust tour, historic
ferry, and the third largest planetarium
of its kind in the world!
Visit Chattanooga’s pivotal Civil War sites
that changed America forever. Combine
your stay in this top rated tourism destination
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music festivals and unique dining.
A vacation in Georgia means
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Explore Georgia’s Magnolia Midlands.
Experience the Civil War in Jacksonville
at the Museum of Military History.
Relive one of Arkansas’ first stands at
the Reed’s Bridge Battlefield.
jacksonvillesoars.com/museum.php
Explore the past in Baltimore during
two commemorative events: the War of
1812 Bicentennial and Civil War 150.
Plan your trip at Baltimore.org.
Are you a history and culture buff?
There are many museums and
attractions, Civil War, and Civil Rights
sites just for you in Jackson, Mississippi.
Experience living history for
The Battles of Marietta Georgia,
featuring reenactments, tours and
a recreation of 1864 Marietta.
www.mariettacivilwar.com
Experience the Old West in action with
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For more information on our 15 ghost
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The Mississippi Hills National Heritage
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www.mississippihills.org
Once Georgia’s last frontier outpost,
now its third largest city, Columbus is
a true destination of choice. History,
theater, arts and sports—Columbus
has it all.
H I S T O R I C
Roswell, Georgia
Fayetteville/Cumberland County, North
Carolina is steeped in history and patriotic
traditions. Take a tour highlighting
our military ties, status as a transportation
hub, and our Civil War story.
Whether you love history, culture, the
peacefulness of the great outdoors, or the
excitement of entertainment, Roswell
offers a wide selection of attractions and
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Over 650 grand historic homes in three
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Birthplace of America’s greatest playwright,
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Six major battles took place in Winchester
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changed hands approximately 72 times—
more than any other town in the country!
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Tishomingo County, MS
With a variety of historic attractions
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Tishomingo County is a perfect
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and nature alike.

History surrounds Cartersville, GA,
including Allatoona Pass, where a fierce
battle took place, and Cooper’s Furnace,
the only remnant of the bustling
industrial town of Etowah.
Tennessee’s Farragut Folklife Museum
is a treasure chest of artifacts telling the
history of the Farragut and Concord
communities, including the Admiral
David Glasgow Farragut collection.
Seven museums, an 1890 railroad, a
British fort and an ancient trade path can
be found on the Furs to Factories Trail
in the Tennessee Overhill, located in the
corner of Southeast Tennessee.
Through personal stories, interactive
exhibits and a 360° movie, the Civil War
Museum focuses on the war from the
perspective of the Upper Middle West.
www.thecivilwarmuseum.org
The National Civil War Naval Museum
in Columbus, GA, tells the story of the
sailors, soldiers, and civilians, both free
and enslaved as affected by the navies
of the American Civil War.
ALABAMA HISTORICAL COMMISSION
Confederate Memorial Park is the site of
Alabama’s only Home for Confederate
veterans (1902-1939). The museum interprets
Alabama’s Confederate period and
the Alabama Confederate Soldiers’ Home.
Williamson County, Tennessee, is rich in
Civil War history. Here, you can visit the
Lotz House, Carnton Plantation, Carter
House, Fort Granger and Winstead Hill
Park, among other historic locations.
Explore the Natchez Trace. Discover
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Come to Helena, Arkansas and see
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www.VisitHelenaAR.com
Join us as we commemorate the 150th
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forts. Plan your trip today!
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Cleveland, TN
Near Chattanooga, find glorious
mountain scenery and heart-pounding
white-water rafting. Walk in the footsteps
of the Cherokee and discover a charming
historic downtown.
Charismatic Union General Hugh
Judson Kilpatrick had legions of
admirers during the war. He just wasn’t
much of a general, as his men often
learned with their lives.
Sandy Springs, Georgia, is the perfect
hub for exploring Metro Atlanta’s Civil
War sites. Conveniently located near
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from Sandy Springs!
Treat yourself to Southern Kentucky
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Hip and historic Frederick County
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Alabama’s
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If you’re looking for an easy stroll
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Trail, you’ve come to the right place.
www. visitgreenwood.com
Southern hospitality at its finest, the
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with excursion options for everyone
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Relive the rich history of the Alabama
Gulf Coast at Fort Morgan, Fort Gaines,
the USS Alabama Battleship, and the
area’s many museums.
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Just 15 miles south of downtown
Atlanta lies the heart of the true
South: Clayton County, Georgia,
where heritage comes alive!
St. Mary’s County, Maryland. Visit Point
Lookout, site of the war’s largest prison
camp, plus Confederate and USCT
monuments. A short drive from the
nation’s capital.
CIVIL WAR MUSEUM
of the Western Theater
Vicksburg, Mississippi is a great place
to bring your family to learn American
history, enjoy educational museums and
check out the mighty Mississippi River.
Follow the Civil War Trail in Meridian,
Mississippi, where you’ll experience
history first-hand, including Merrehope
Mansion, Marion Confederate Cemetery
and more. www.visitmeridian.com.
Fitzgerald, Georgia...100 years of bringing
people together. Learn more about
our story and the commemoration of the
150th anniversary of the Civil War’s
conclusion at www.fitzgeraldga.org.
Hundreds of authentic artifacts.
Voted fourth finest in U.S. by North &
South Magazine. Located in historic
Bardstown, Kentucky.
www.civil-war-museum.org
Come to Cleveland, Mississippi—the
birthplace of the blues. Here, you’ll find
such legendary destinations as Dockery
Farms and Po’ Monkey’s Juke Joint.
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Historic Bardstown, Kentucky
Destination
Jessamine, KY
Prestonsburg, KY - Civil War &
history attractions, and reenactment
dates at PrestonsburgKY.org. Home to
Jenny Wiley State Park, country music
entertainment & Dewey Lake.
Search over 10,000 images and primary
documents relating to the Civil War Battle
of Hampton Roads, now available in The
Mariners’ Museum Library Online Catalog!
www.marinersmuseum.org/catalogs
History, bourbon, shopping, sightseeing
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you’re sure to find it in beautiful
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www.visitbardstown.com
Confederate Memorial Park in Marbury,
Alabama, commemorates the Civil
War with an array of historic sites and
artifacts. Experience the lives of Civil
War soldiers as never before.
STEP BACK IN TIME at Camp Nelson
Civil War Heritage Park, a Union Army
supply depot and African American
refugee camp. Museum, Civil War
Library, Interpretive Trails and more.

REVIEWS
High Point
A 1902 view of the site
of General Braxton
Bragg’s headquarters
during the Battle of
Missionary Ridge.
Braxton Bragg: The Most
Hated Man of the Confederacy
By Earl J. Hess
University of North Carolina Press, 2016, $35
Braxton Bragg called himself “the best-abused man in the world.” Newspapers and subordinates had turned public
opinion against him, he believed, abetted by his own “personality that saw life as duty and the cause as enlisting selfsacrifice.”
Though he was not universally vilified by contemporaries, historians have publicized a harsh image of the general.
A variety of assessments fill this study focusing on the Western Theater’s longest-serving Confederate army commander,
revealing how his interactions with its senior officers predisposed the Army of Tennessee to fail strategically and tactically.
Earl Hess’ evenhanded appraisals of Lt. Gens. Leonidas Polk, William Hardee, Daniel Harvey Hill, James Longstreet and
others enables him to paint Bragg in a new light, one that readers unfamiliar with profiles by Steven Woodworth, Peter
Cozzens and Alexander Mendoza will find unrecognizable. Yet Hess’ book is not “a thoroughly positive view of Bragg,”
as seen in Samuel Martin’s 2001 General Braxton Bragg, C.S.A. Hess makes exceptional use of primary sources to reveal
Bragg’s character. Accounts by his staff officers buttress the general’s reputation as a preeminent logistician and indicate
that he truly loved his soldiers. As well he should have. From Pensacola to Chattanooga, Bragg commanded the bestdisciplined
troops in the CSA, though he was burdened with incompetent and sometimes unsupportive subordinates. His
officers’ public drunkenness infuriated Bragg, who early in the war brought charges against some of them. Within two years,
however, he realized that a handful of inebriated generals proved more reliable on the battlefield than their sober colleagues.
Due to its brevity, Braxton Bragg: The Most Hated Man of the Confederacy is not a definitive biography—and Hess
says that was never his intention. Yet anyone interested in the Confederate high command in the Western Theater should
consult Hess’ well-written book before turning to another classic, Steven Woodworth’s Jefferson Davis and His Generals: The
Failure of Confederate Command in the West.
–Lawrence Lee Hewitt
58 AMERICA’S CIVIL WAR

CELLULOID HEROES
Free State of Jones
Directed by Gary Ross, 2016
REVIEWS
Presentism—introducing present-day
ideas and perspectives into depictions
and interpretations of the past—can
infect the best efforts of movie-makers
as well as historians. That mistaken approach
turns Gary Ross’ $50 million film
Free State of Jones into a 21st-century
condemnation of racism, economic inequality
and politi cal manipulation. In
his push to make the film relevant, Ross
has let the complexity of Newton Knight,
the histori cal character on whom the
story is based, slip away into the cyprus
swamps of Jones County, Miss. Not even
Matthew McConaughey’s earnest portrayal
of Knight can dredge it up.
That is not to say Ross has made a
poor movie. He hasn’t. But Hollywood is
where dreams are made and reality usually
comes in a distant second. Though
Ross seems to be reaching for a deeper
understanding of the events he has
brought to the screen, in the final analysis
this is entertainment, not a documentary.
Subsistence farmer Newton Knight
came from Jones County, in southern
Mississippi, where anti-secession sentiment
ran strong. In the film, why he
volunteers as a Confederate medical attendant
in July 1861 is unclear, but his
desertion in October 1862 stems from the
carnage he has witnessed, the death of a
young kinsman and the passage of the
“20 Negro law,” exempting anyone with
20 plantation slaves from serving in the
CSA. When he sees home guardsmen
callously appropriating food, livestock
and possessions from his struggling
neighbors while sparing nearby plantations,
Knight is transformed into a man
for all seasons—part Robin
Hood, Karl Marx, Frederick
Douglass and John Brown.
McConaughey manfully
shoulders all those personas,
some more convincingly
than others. Knight is
spirited to safety by Rachel,
a house servant who will
become his common-law
wife, finding refuge in a
swamp encampment of
runaway slaves. Unfortunately,
Gugu Mbatha-Raw,
playing Rachel Knight, comes across
without sufficient personality to influence
Newton’s evolution into a leader.
His mentor is a slave prophetically
named Moses Washington, played with
wry intelligence by Mahershala Ali.
After the fall of Vicksburg in July 1863,
Knight’s band—former Confederate soldiers,
parolees as well as deserters—find
sanctuary in an integrated community:
the “Free State of Jones.” Their excursions
in search of food, clothing and weapons,
however, bring them to the attention of
Confederate authorities.
If wartime bred violence and hatred,
Ross portrays Reconstruction as even
more brutal. Knight’s efforts to build
a school for his children and lead his
newly enfranchised neighbors
to the polls meet with a
vicious response. In the film,
Knight declares, “You can’t
own a child of God.” That sets
him apart from the prevalent
Southern Christianity of
his day, based on white supremacy.
Ministers preached
black compliance, while the
Ku Klux Klan proclaimed itself
a Christian organization.
Ross’ film is hampered by a
subplot centered on the miscegenation
trial of Knight’s great-grandson,
Davis Knight, in 1948 Mississippi.
Though interesting, that story could better
have been handled as an epilogue—or
perhaps omitted.
Viewers of Free State of Jones will come
away with many different interpretations
of Knight’s story. But no one is likely to
come away unmoved.
–Gordon Berg
NOVEMBER 2016 59

MIHP-161100-COVER-DIGITAL.indd 1
NOVEMBER 2016
7/25/16 6:14 PM
MILITARY HISTORY NOVEMBER 2016 VOL. 33, NO. 4
HistoryNet.com
Beirut Bombing
Yankee Hotspur
Frigate Fight
Men vs. Tanks
L.A. Attacked?
WWI Centennial
BEIRUT BOMBING • L.A. AT WAR? • AMERICAN HOTSPUR • MEN VS. TANKS • WWI CENTENNIAL HISTORYNET.COM
GEORGE’S
BROOKLYN
BRAWL
WASHINGTON
SAVES THE
PATRIOT
CAUSE
Seizing Destiny: The
Army of the Potomac’s
“Valley Forge” and the
Civil War Winter That
Saved the Union
By Albert Z. Conner Jr. with
Chris Mackowski
Savas Beatie, 2016, $34.95
When the Army of the Potomac
settled into its camps north of the
Rappahannock River after the “Mud
March” debacle in January 1863,
it was hard to be optimistic about
the Union war effort. Though 10
months of fighting had produced
unprecedented bloodshed, the Union
Army seemed to have no answer
for the problems presented by the
main Confederate army in Virginia.
When the Chancellorsville Campaign
opened, though, the army was once
again ready, willing and able to cross
swords with Robert E. Lee.
Albert Conner and Chris Mackowski
provide testimony from the
bottom up about life in the Army of
the Potomac. But their enthusiasm
for letting the troops speak for
themselves can result in challenging
reading, including block quotes
that could have been trimmed or
paraphrased. That could have saved
space to explore topics such as the
legends about prostitution and the
section of Washington known as
“Hooker’s Division.”
Still, the authors merit praise
for chronicling how the soldiers
appreciated General Joseph Hooker’s
efforts to improve their morale. The
book also touches on the troops’
effects on the region where they
camped—which has been receiving
attention from preservationists.
–Ethan S. Rafuse

Lincoln’s Generals’
Wives: Four Women Who
Influenced the Civil War
for Better and for Worse
By Candice Shy Hooper
Kent State University Press,
2016, $39.95
Candice Hooper observes there is
extensive literature on Confederate
women, but relatively little on Union
wives beyond the 2007 essay collection
Intimate Strategies of the Civil War:
Military Commanders and Their
Wives. Hooper says wives are key to
understanding the career trajectories of
President Lincoln’s four most famous
generals: John C. Frémont and George B.
McClellan, who rose and fell swiftly, and
William T. Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant,
who emerged as shining stars.
Jessie Benton Frémont, Mary Ellen
“Nelly” Marcy McClellan, Eleanor
“Ellen” Ewing Sherman and Julia Dent
Grant all came from upper-middleclass
backgrounds, and all became
trusted confidantes who preserved
their husbands’ letters for posterity. But
there were differences too. Jessie was a
strong advocate for her husband, while
Nelly reinforced her spouse’s ego. Both
Ellen Sherman and Julia Grant were not
afraid to disagree with their husbands
on occasion, though they generally
supported them.
Hooper argues that Jessie and Nelly
were ultimately not helpful to their
husbands’ careers, seeing the former
as too politically provocative and the
latter as merely a cipher of McClellan’s
own distorted views. But Ellen and Julia
served as centers of gravity for their
respective spouses and were crucial
to their success. Ellen intervened with
Lincoln after Sherman was accused of
losing his mind. Julia’s support helped
Grant to persevere in a victorious war.
Hooper also illuminates Lincoln’s
relationships with women. He apparently
had a soft spot for some who sought
his help, like Ellen Sherman, but he
resisted manipulation—as Jessie Frémont
discovered. Mary Todd Lincoln was
notoriously rude to officers’ wives,
especially Julia. That may have saved
Grant’s life, as he would have been with
the president at Ford’s Theatre had Julia
not refused the invitation.
Lincoln’s Generals’ Wives is masterfully
written, with impressive sources.
The book adds significantly to Civil
War scholarship, and is well worth its
relatively high cover price.
–William John Shepherd

REVIEWS
A Field Guide to Antietam
By Carol Reardon
and Tom Vossler
University of North Carolina
Press, 2016, $23
Battlefield guidebooks have long been a
staple for those impelled to walk the ground,
but they usually aren’t compelling reading.
In their 2013 A Field Guide to Gettysburg,
Carol Reardon and Tom Vossler reset the
bar, using a format that has transformed
the familiar black-and-white staff ride into
vivid color, literally and figuratively. Now
the duo, a Penn State history professor and
a retired Army colonel, have followed up
with A Field Guide to Antietam. It follows
the same format as its predecessor: 21 driving
stops are listed, along with an orientation
and six self-explanatory questions:
What Happened Here?; Who Fought Here?;
Who Commanded Here?; Who Fell Here?;
Who Lived Here?; and What Did They Say
About It Later?
Driving directions between stops are
detailed, and optional stops are referenced
throughout. Plenty of photographs, both
period and modern color, help to orient the
reader—whether he or she is in the field or
traveling vicariously. A couple dozen maps
detail the action. And just to keep geeks
like me happy, the book is indexed and
comprehensively end-noted. The binding
is substantial and durable.
The guidebook includes discussion of
recent successful, substantial preservation
efforts by the Save Historic Antietam
Foundation and Civil War Trust, and avoids
spending time on structures that no longer
exist or were not historic. The day’s action—
traditionally organized geographically in
three phases—is presented chronologically
here. This helps to create a more cohesive
narrative, and also conveys an organic,
interdependent feel for the battle, providing
relief from the typical, individually wrapped
battle segments so often seen in other
presentations of these types.
The actions of the Union IX Corps after
crossing Burnside Bridge are accorded more
attention than usually seen. And two firsts
for most Antietam geeks: for the first time
the 40-acre cornfield typically described
as part of the Otto Farm has been correctly
described as part of the Sherrick Farm; and
the location of the headquarters of the Army
of the Potomac, as opposed to the locations
of its commander, has been narrowed to the
vicinity of Main Street in Keedysville.
A Field Guide to Antietam is a must-have
for Civil War enthusiasts of all stripes.
–Harry Smeltzer

—BRITISH OBSERVER ARTHUR J. FREMANTLE
CREDITS
Cover: Troiani, Don (b.1949)/Private
Collection/Bridgeman Images; P. 2: Library
of Congress; P. 3: Clockwise From Top:
Special Collections, Fine Arts Library,
Harvard College Library; The Battle of
Franklin Trust; ©ScreenProd/Photononstop/
Alamy Stock Photo; P. 4: Library of Congress;
P. 6: Library of Congress; P. 8: Photo courtesy
of Fox Searchlight Pictures. © 2016 Twentieth
Century Fox Film Corporation; ©AF archive/
Alamy Stock Photo; P. 9: Clockwise From
Top: Courtesy Richfield Sun Current; Library
of Congress; mssEC 52 (21), Thomas T. Eckert
Papers, 1861-1877, The Huntington Library,
San Marino, California; P. 10: From Top:
Library of Congress (2); Courtesy Gettysburg
Foundation; P. 12: Naval History and
Heritage Command; P. 13: Library of
Congress; chest courtesy National Park
Service, Museum Management Program
and Vicksburg National Military Park;
P. 14: National Park Service; P. 16: Courtesy
D. Scott Hartwig; P. 18: Melissa Winn;
P. 19: Clockwise From Top: Library of
Congress (2); ©catnap/Alamy Stock Photo;
P. 21: Library of Congress; P. 22-23: “Lee
Deliberates” ©Bradley Schmehl. Used by
permission. bradleyschmehl.com; P. 24: From
Top: Alabama Department of Archives and
History; The Battle of Franklin Trust;
Harper’s Weekly, May 27, 1865; Cook
Collection, The Valentine; Heritage Auctions,
Dallas, Texas; P. 25: The Cumberland Press;
Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas; P. 26: From
Top: National Archives; Heritage Auctions,
Dallas, Texas (2); Library of Congress; Assault
of Brockenbrough’s Confederate Brigade at
the Battle of Gettysburg, 1863 (engraving),
American School, (19th century)/Private
Collection/Peter Newark Military Pictures/
Bridgeman Images; P. 27: Alabama
Department of Archives and History;
Courtesy Bennett Place Historic Society;
P. 28: George H. and Katherine M. Davis
Collection, Louisiana Research Collection,
Tulane University; Courtesy James D. Julia
Auctioneers, Fairfield, Maine, USA, www.
jamesdjulia.com; P. 29: Heritage Auctions,
Dallas, Texas; Library of Congress; Courtesy
James D. Julia Auctioneers, Fairfield, Maine,
USA, www.jamesdjulia.com; P. 30: The
Museum of the City of New York/Art
Resource, NY; Cook Collection, The
Valentine; P. 31: From Top: Library of
Congress; Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas;
The American Civil War Museum;
P. 33: Special Collections, Fine Arts Library,
Harvard College Library; P. 34: From Left:
Library of Congress; Courtesy James D. Julia
Auctioneers, Fairfield, Maine, USA, www.
jamesdjulia.com; Library of Congress;
P. 35: Library of Congress; P. 36: Courtesy
James D. Julia Auctioneers, Fairfield, Maine,
USA, www.jamesdjulia.com; P. 37: Library of
Congress; iStock; P. 38-39: ©ClassicStock/
Alamy Stock Photo/Photo Illustration: Brian
Walker; P. 41: Confederates collection, United
States Army Heritage and Education Center,
Carlisle, PA; P. 43: Library of Congress;
P. 44-45: United Archives GmbH/Alamy
Stock Photo, P. 46: Clockwise From Top:
From the Lincoln Financial Foundation
Collection, courtesy of the Allen County
Public Library and Indiana State Museum;
Photofest; ©ScreenProd/Photononstop/
Alamy Stock Photo; P. 47: Library of
Congress; P. 48: West Virginia University
Libraries, West Virginia and Regional History
Collection; P. 49: Carl J. Cruz Collection,
National Gallery of Art (2); P. 50: From Top:
Library of Congress; ©AF archive/Alamy
Stock Photo; P. 51: ©Eric Nathan/Alamy
Stock Photo; LionHeart FilmWorks;
P. 52-53: The Battle of Franklin Trust (2);
P. 55: Courtesy Joe Johnston; P. 58: Library
of Congress; P. 59: STX Entertainment (2);
P. 64: Georgetown County Digital Library/
Photo Illustration: Brian Walker.
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SECOND ACTS
Early Years: Born in
Schwersenz, Prussia,
Baruch emigrated alone
to the U.S. at age 15 and
worked as a bookkeeper
in Camden, S.C. He
would attend South
Carolina Medical College
and the Medical College
of Virginia, earning his
degree in 1862.
War Years: Appointed
assistant surgeon of the
3rd South Carolina Battalion
before he had
“ever even lanced a boil,”
amputation at Second
Manassas. He was
captured at Antietam,
then Gettysburg. After
Averasboro, where he
contracted typhoid fever,
he wrote, “I did not retire
until every man was fed
who would eat and all
were as comfortable as
possible. After two hours
sleep I proceeded to
organize the hospital,
operated all day and far
into the night.”
Dr. Simon Baruch (1840-1921)
EMIGRANT
SURGEON
Postwar: By 1881, Dr.
Baruch had grown dis-
the South and moved to
New York City, where
he advocated the importance
of sanitation and
clean water to public
health. He promoted
hydro thera py in an 1892
book and worked to pass
legislation to construct
public baths. He also
pioneered in the study of
appendicitis. After his
death on June 3, 1921, he
was buried in Flushing
Cemetery, N.Y..
Old Habits Die Hard:
Though a transplanted
New Yorker, Baruch
retained his Southern
allegiance. Whenever a
band struck up “Dixie,”
the doctor reportedly
would jump up and
deliver the Rebel Yell—
to the chagrin of some
family members.
–Gordon Berg
64 AMERICA’S CIVIL WAR

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RALPH PETERS
RETURNS WITH THE FOURTH INSTALLMENT IN HIS
AWARD-WINNING SERIES ON THE CIVIL WAR
ALSO AVAILABLE
Winner of the
William Young Boyd
Literary Award for
“Excellence in
Military Fiction”
“Surpasses
Michael Shaara’s
classic
The Killer Angels…
BRILLIANT.”
—Booklist
starred review on
Cain at Gettysburg
In desperate battles, such as the Crater, Deep Bottom,
Globe Tavern, and Reams Station, soldiers on both
sides were pushed to the last human limits—but
fought on as their superiors struggled to master
a terrible new age of warfare.
The Damned of Petersburg revives heroes a plenty—
enriching our knowledge of our most terrible war—
but above all, this novel is a tribute to the endurance
and courage of the American soldier, North or South.
RALPH PETERS brings to bear the lessons of his
own military career, his lifelong study of this war and
the men who fought it, and his skills as a bestselling,
prizewinning novelist to portray horrific battles and
sublime heroism as no other author has done.
Winner of the
William Young Boyd
Literary Award for
“Excellence in
Military Fiction”
Winner of the
William Young Boyd
Literary Award for
“Excellence in
Military Fiction”
“ENTHRALLING
HISTORICAL
FICTION OF
THE HIGHEST
ORDER.”
—Gordon C. Rhea
author of The Battle of the
Wilderness and Cold Harbor
on Hell or Richmond
“[A] MUST-
READ FOR
CIVIL WAR
HISTORY
FANS.”
—Kirkus Reviews
starred review on
Valley of Shadow
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