Aug 19: The Cradle of The Civil War 8

I drove to Martinsburg, VA, and spent an hour inspecting the railroad precinct that had been burnt following the Battle of Sharpsburg, when Confederate General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson ordered the destruction of the roundhouse and shops in October 1862 to prevent the Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad facilities from being used by the Union army. In this campaign against the B&O railroad, they also destroyed multiple bridges, tore up miles of track, and captured dozens of locomotives and hundreds of cars. Gen. Jackson's forces had also conducted a major raid on the B&O railroad in the Martinsburg area in 1861, in which they captured and removed a large amount of rollingstock.

From Martinsburg, it was onwards to Gettysburg, as I had time to spare. The Gettysburg Visitor Centre is yet another of the magnificent Civil War visitor centres throughout the United States that serve as educational hubs and gateways to historic battlefields and other sites. Once visited, you can see how they provide a crucial layer of context, interpretation, and a display of historical artifacts that enrich and prepare you for your experiences on the preserved grounds. Run by the National Park Service, state park systems (and sometimes private foundations), these centres vary in size and focus but often share common features. I think the Gettysburg centre was the largest that I attended.

At the Gettysburg Visitor Center, you can see Civil War exhibits in the Gettysburg Museum, an excellent 22-min film that is narrated by Morgan Freeman (providing a comprehensive overview of the Civil War and the Battle of Gettysburg), and the priceless, fully restored 360-degree Gettysburg Cyclorama painting that immerses you in the chaos of Pickett's Charge. You can also visit the preserved home and farm of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, which is located near the battlefield.

After a superb tour of the Gettysburg Battleground (I paid a guide to drive my Jeep around a 25-mile tour, during which he and I discussed the battle and he answered my many questions regarding the combatant's military strategy and the technical prosecution of those three momentous and bloody days). Here's some detail about that event and some background as well. (Scroll bar to the right if you're not interested)

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, became a famous town. Its name originates from Samuel Gettys, an early Irish immigrant who settled in the area and established a tavern. His son, James, is credited with founding the village in 1786—laying out the town and dividing his father's land into saleable lots—and initially naming it Gettystown. The town was incorporated as Gettysburg in 1806.

At the intersection of ten major roads, it was an attractive location for travelers and settlers, especially merchants. Although known primarily for its proximity to the now-famous battlefield, the borough of 7,620 residents is also known for its institutions of higher learning. The town is 52 miles from Baltimore, MD, 90 miles from Washington, D.C., and 102 miles from Philadelphia, PA.

Confederate General Robert E. Lee made two attempts to invade the North during the Civil War. These were the Maryland Campaign of 1862 (culminating in the bloody Battle of Antietam, previously described in this blog) and the Gettysburg Campaign of the following year. As recounted in my blog, the Maryland Campaign was unsuccessful—the Union army claiming victory—while the Gettysburg Campaign ended with a major Confederate defeat that directly precipitated the Confederate surrender two years later.

How the Battle of Gettysburg happened:
Buoyed by his success at Chancellorsville, VA, in May 1863, Lee led his army north through the Shenandoah Valley to begin his second invasion of the North - the Gettysburg Campaign. Covering 16 miles per day, and with his army in high spirits, Lee intended to shift the focus of the summer campaign from war-ravaged northern Virginia and hoped to influence Northern politicians to give up their prosecution of the war by penetrating as far as Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, or even Philadelphia. He hoped also, to relieve the pressure the Union was apply to the Confederate garrison at Vicksburg, on the Mississippi River (this is a whole separate action occurring in another part of the country and is worth looking at for its own part in the Civil War story). Since fighting battles inevitably ends up with the territory being fought upon being ravaged and often laid waste, it also made sense for Lee to try and shift any fighting off Virginian territory and onto that of the North.

So, in June of 1863, Lee commenced to shift his army northward from Fredericksburg, VA. Following the death at Chancellorsville of Gen. "Stonewall" Jackson (who was shot accidentally by his own troops and died eight days later from pneumonia, which developed after his left arm was amputated due to the wounds), Lee reorganized his two large corps into three new corps, commanded by Lt. Generals James Longstreet (First Corps), Richard S. Ewell (Second), and Ambrose (A.P.) Hill (Third); both Ewell and Hill, who had formerly reported to “Stonewall” Jackson as division commanders, were new to this level of responsibility. The Cavalry Division remained under the command of Maj. Gen. James Stuart (universally known as ‘Jeb’, after his initials J.E.B.).

Prodded by President Lincoln, Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker moved the Army of the Potomac (consisting of seven infantry corps, a cavalry corps, and an Artillery Reserve, collectively numbering over 100,000 men) in pursuit but was relieved of command just three days before the battle and replaced by Maj. Gen. George Meade (Note: in a dispute around how he’d arranged his forces for the defence of the Harpers Ferry garrison—which was defeated and imprisoned by the Confederates—Hooker offered his resignation, and Lincoln and General-in-Chief Henry W. Halleck, who were looking for an excuse to get rid of him, immediately accepted). Hooker was replaced early on the morning of June 28 with Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade, at the time commanding V Corps.

The Confederates crossed the Potomac River and entered Maryland in the latter part of June, 1863. Hooker's Union army pursued, remaining between the U.S. capital and Lee's army.

The southern army was under strict orders from Lee to minimise any negative impacts on the civilian population. Food, horses, and other supplies were generally not seized outright, although quartermasters reimbursing Northern farmers and merchants with Confederate money were not well received. Various towns, most notably York, Pennsylvania, were required to pay indemnities in lieu of supplies, under threat of destruction. During the invasion, the Confederates seized some 40 northern African Americans. A few of them were fugitive slaves, but most were freemen; all were sent south into slavery under guard.

Having learned that the Union army had crossed the Potomac River, Lee ordered a concentration of his forces around Cashtown, located eight miles (13 km) west of Gettysburg. One of Hill's brigades (North Carolinians under Brig. Gen. J. Johnston Pettigrew), ventured toward Gettysburg, ostensibly to search for supplies—especially shoes. Approaching Gettysburg, Pettigrew's troops noticed Union cavalry arriving south of town, and Pettigrew returned to Cashtown without engaging them. When Pettigrew told his superiors what he’d seen, neither general believed him, suspecting that he’d seen some Pennsylvania militia. Despite General Lee's order to avoid a general engagement until his entire army was concentrated, Hill decided to reconnoiter in force the following morning to confirm the size and strength of the enemy force in his front. Around 5 a.m. on Wednesday, July 1, two brigades of Heth's division advanced to Gettysburg.

So, elements of the two armies initially collided near Gettysburg on July 1, Lee’s objective being to engage the Union army and destroy it. That first day at Gettysburg, more significant than simply a prelude to the bloody second and third days, ranks as the 23rd biggest battle of the war by number of troops engaged. About one quarter of Meade's army (22,000 men) and one third of Lee's army (27,000) were engaged.

Hastily developed Union lines were overrun, sending the defenders retreating through the town to hills just to the south. In the late afternoon of the second day of battle, Lee launched a heavy assault but all across the battlefield, despite significant losses, the Union defenders held their lines. On the third day of battle, the main event was a dramatic infantry assault by 12,500 Confederate troops, known as Pickett's Charge. This was repulsed by Union rifle and artillery fire, at great loss to the Confederate army, and Lee would be forced to lead his army on a torturous retreat back to Virginia.

"A great basin lay before us full of smoke and fire, and literally swarming with riderless horses and fighting, fleeing, and pursuing men."
1st Lt. Porter Farley, USA, 140th New York Volunteers.

For these three days in July of 1863, a costly battle raged between the Union and Confederate armies in and around the borough, with over 51,000 casualties, the largest number of the entire war. Although the Civil War continued for another two years following the Battle at Gettysburg (see my previous “Cradle of The Civil War”, especially on Lee’s retreat and the Battle of Appomattox), this clash is universally viewed as the turning point of the war.

On November 19, President Lincoln would attend a dedication ceremony for the Gettysburg National Cemetery and use the occasion to honour the fallen Union soldiers and redefine the purpose of the war in his historic Gettysburg Address.

These engagements were part of a larger effort by Sheridan to gain control of the Shenandoah Valley, prevent further Confederate incursions into Union territory, and destroy its resources.

Some background:
The leading military players in this great saga of the American Civil War were almost all complex and sometimes many-faceted characters. By way of explanation, and to illustrate why this era fascinates me, consider Union General Philip Sheridan:

Philip Henry Sheridan was once hilariously described by Abraham Lincoln as, “A brown, chunky little chap, with a long body, short legs, not enough neck to hang him, and such long arms that if his ankles itch he can scratch them without stooping.” Still, “Little Phil” rose to tremendous power and fame before his untimely death of a heart attack at age 57. He is most famous for his destruction of the Shenandoah Valley in 1864, called “The Burning” by its residents. He was also the subject of an extremely popular poem entitled “Sheridan’s Ride”, in which he (and his famous horse, Rienzi) save the day by arriving just in time for the Battle of Cedar Creek.

Sheridan rose very quickly in rank. In the fall of 1861, he was a staff officer for Maj. Gen. Henry Halleck and l later became quartermaster general in the Army of Southwest Missouri. With the help of influential friends, he was appointed Colonel of the 2nd Michigan Cavalry in May, 1862. His first battle, at Booneville, MS, impressed Brig. Gen. William Rosecrans so much that he was promoted to Brigadier General. After [the Battle of] Stones River he was promoted to Major General.

Sheridan’s men were part of the forces that captured Missionary Ridge, near Chattanooga, in 1863. When Ulysses S. Grant was promoted to General-in-Chief of the Union armies, he made Sheridan the commander of the Army of the Potomac’s Cavalry Corps. This moved Sheridan from the Western Theater to the Eastern Theater of operations.

At first, Sheridan’s Corps was used for reconnaissance. His men were sent on a strategic raiding mission toward Richmond in May 1864, then he fought with mixed success in Grant’s 1864 Overland Campaign.

During the Civil War, Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley was a vital resource to the Confederacy. Not only did it serve as the Confederate “breadbasket”, it was an important transportation route. The region had witnessed two large-scale campaigns already when Grant decided to visit the Valley once again in 1864. He sent Philip Sheridan on a mission to make the Shenandoah Valley a “barren waste”.

In September, Sheridan defeated Jubal Early’s smaller force at Third Winchester, and again at Fisher’s Hill [Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal Early and Sheridan faced each other in engagements during August 1864 that included the Battle of Summit Point and the Battle of Smithfield Crossing. These engagements were part of the larger effort by Sheridan to gain control of the Shenandoah Valley, prevent further Confederate incursions into Union territory, and destroy its resources].

Then Sheridan began “The Burning” – destroying barns, mills, railroads, factories – resources for which the Confederacy had a dire need. He made over 400 square miles of the Valley uninhabitable. “The Burning” foreshadowed William Tecumseh Sherman’s “March to the Sea”: another campaign to deny resources to the Confederacy as well as bring the war home to its civilians.

In October, however, Gen. Jubal Early caught Sheridan off guard. Early launched a surprise attack at Cedar Creek on the 19th when Sheridan was ten miles away in Winchester, Virginia. Upon hearing the sound of artillery fire, Sheridan raced to rejoin his forces and arrived just in time to rally his troops. Early’s men, however, were suffering from hunger and began to loot the abandoned Union camps. The actions of Sheridan (and Maj. Gen. Horatio Wright) put a stop to the Union retreat and dealt a severe blow to Early’s army.

For his actions at Cedar Creek, Sheridan was promoted to Major General in the regular army and received a letter of gratitude from President Abraham Lincoln. The general took great pleasure in Thomas Buchanan Read’s poem, “Sheridan’s Ride” – so much so that he renamed his horse “Winchester”. The Union victories in the Shenandoah Valley came just in time for Abraham Lincoln and helped the Republicans defeat Democratic candidate George B. McClellan in the election of 1864.

During the spring of 1865, Sheridan pursued Lee’s army with dogged determination, and trapped Early’s army in March. In April, Gen. Lee was forced to evacuate Petersburg when Sheridan cut off his lines of support at Five Forks and, at Sayler’s Creek, he captured almost one quarter of Lee’s army. Finally at Appomattox, Lee was forced to surrender the Army of Northern Virginia [see my previous Footprint] when Sheridan’s forces blocked Lee’s escape route.

At war’s end, Phil Sheridan was a hero to many Northerners. Gen. Grant held him in the highest esteem. Still, Sheridan was not without his faults. He had pushed Grant’s orders to the limit. He also removed Gettysburg hero Governor Warren from command, an action that was later ruled unwarranted and unjustified.

During Reconstruction [the Reconstruction era—1861-1900—was the period after the Civil War that focused on integrating formerly enslaved African Americans into society and reintegrating former Confederate states into the Union. The period involved significant political, social, and economic changes, as well as violent opposition and ultimately, a retreat from efforts to secure Black equality] Sheridan was appointed to be the military governor of Texas and Louisiana (the Fifth Military District). Because of the severity of his administration there, President Andrew Johnson declared that Sheridan was a tyrant and had him removed.

In 1867, though, Ulysses S. Grant assigned Sheridan to pacify the Great Plains, where warfare with Native Americans was wreaking havoc. In an effort to force the Plains people onto reservations, Sheridan used the same tactics he used in the Shenandoah Valley; he attacked several tribes in their winter quarters, and promoted the widespread slaughter of American bison, their primary source of food.

In 1871, the General oversaw military relief efforts during the Great Chicago Fire. He became the Commanding General of the United States Army on November 1, 1883, and on June 1, 1888, he was promoted to General of the Army of the United States – the same rank achieved by Ulysses S. Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman.
Sheridan is also largely responsible for the establishment of Yellowstone National Park – saving it from being sold to developers.

Sheridan died In August 1888, after a series of massive heart attacks. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

I departed Gettysburg happy (and sad) for the drive to Washington D.C., to drop the car and to check into my hotel.En savoir plus