Thursday, September 19, 2013
WILEY K. BRACEWELL, THE FINAL RETURN HOME
As the procession passed through the gate of the now ancient Laurel Grove Cemetery, it was met by virtually hundreds of women of the South, the unsung heroes of the Lost Cause, who endured the hardships of death and dying in distant lands with no ability to comfort the wounded and dying.
The three caskets were placed in three graves. Rev. Benedict eulogized the fallen heroes to the tune of "Rock of Ages." It was at that moment when the grand ladies moved forward, carrying arm loads of flowers which they covered the hallowed ground.
Eventually the names of each of the 32 men were placed on markers in the area known as "The Confederate Field" or "Gettysburg Field." On September 24, 1871, 69 more sets of remains were buried in Laurel Grove.
The climatic battle of Civil War was fought in the crossroads town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in the first three days of July 1863. Wiley Bracewell was a private in Company G of the 49th Georgia Infantry, Thomas' Brigade, Pender's Division, A.P. Hill's Corps. His brother, William Sampson Bracewell, and brother cousins, Jesse A. Bracewell and John A. Bracewell, along with another cousin, James W. Bracewell were also members of the company.
The 49th Georgia arrived late on the field after the first day's fighting. The regiment was relieved on the series of attacks on Federal positions on the 2nd day. Just as the nautical twilight faded on July 2, Thomas' brigade was moved forward to the far Confederate left in preparation of an all out attack on Cemetery Ridge on July 3. Although Thomas' brigade was not engaged in the infamous "Pickett's Charge," nevertheless it suffered some casualties as the companies were pommeled by artillery fire and some of its members were killed or wounded while on skirmish duty.
On July 25, 1863, Jesse A. Bracewell wrote home to his parents, "Mother, I got wounded in the hand at the Gettysburg fight on the 3rd of July, but thank the Lord I got out to the rear and have my hand dressed. Mother, it was the biggest battle I have ever seen. Dear Mother, you couldn't tell one cannon from another. It was a continuous roar all the time. We were lying behind a rock fence and everything was quiet. I could see the Yankees' canon and they were walking around them and neither side was firing. In a few minutes, General Lee rode up on his old gray horse and asked me to hold it for him. I did so. He took out his telescope and spied over at the Yankees and in a few minutes he left. I saw a courier coming with a paper in his hand, which he gave to the captain of the cannonade. Then we fired at the Yankees and they returned it. Every now and then, a ball would strike the fence. Mother, I want you to know it frightened them. I was just as afraid of the rock on the ground. Cousin Wiley Bracewell was wounded and left on the field and the Yankees got him. We could hear his calling for his brother, but it was at night and his brother was afraid to go out to him. He was in the halfway ground and his brother never saw him anymore. Dear Mother, they think peace will be made soon. I hope so, for I am tired of this dreadful war and I want it to soon close for I want to see you for all the worse I ever did in all my life. Dear Father and Mother, I want you to pray for me, for I feel needful for your prayers. Tell the children I want to see them and them to write to me. Will close, hoping to hear from you soon, your son until death, Jesse A. Bracewell, Co. G, 49th GA Regiment."
Wiley's brother, William Sampson Bracewell, wrote home twenty days later;"
"Thru the tender mercies of God I am spared to write you a few lines that will inform you that I am well at this time. And, you don't know how glad I was to hear from you and to hear that you were will and you can't tell how glad I was to hear from Wiley. I hope that he will soon by paroled and if he is I think that he will get the chance to come home and stay till he gets well., and I want to know whether his thigh was amputated or not. I hope that it was not. I hope it will get well without being amputated. My Dear Mother you said that you and all the children wanted to see me very bad.
Mother, I know that you don't want to see me any more than I want to see you and I want you to pray for me and also for the close of the cruel war that we may be spared to meet you all again on this of the grave, and if we may meet in heaven. Dearest mother, you ask me to write you all the news that I have. I can't tell half of it,, as it is -------. I will tell you that our army is demoralized. Worse than is ever has been and the men are deserting every night more or less and you can think of things as they are and how that it is bad times here. Mother I must close for this time by remaining your son till death.
W. Burton Owen, Chaplain of the 17th Mississippi Regiment, wrote to Mrs.Redley Bracewell on August 27, 1863;
"Dear Madam, your letter to your son, W.K. Bracewell, was received at Gettysburg and now that I am now within our lines again, I will give you some information concerning him. His right thigh was fractured by a wound and he died at the General Hospital in Gettysburg on August 27th(1863). The ---- Register from Richmond may be able to give you the particulars of his death. I am certain that he died in peace and that he gone to rest. May the Lord Bless and comfort all of his relatives. I will be glad to hear from you that I may know that this has been received."
When Wiley died, his remains were buried In Confederate Section 6, Grave 8 in Camp Letterman Hospital (above) cemetery on the outskirts of Gettysburg.
During the fighting, Jesse was wounded. He would be captured at Petersburg at the close of the war he so desperately pleaded for. Although he spent nearly ten weeks at Hart's Island Prison, New York for 10 weeks, he made it back home. William was wounded in the next major battle at the Wilderness on May 6, 1864 and sent home where he remained until the end of the war. John C. Bracewell, who suffered a wound at Mechanicsville in June 1862 and presumably never made it Gettysburg. Very little of cousin James Bracewell's activities are known. He may or may not have been at Gettysburg.
When James Ray Bracewell began investigating the story of the "Five Bracewell Brothers," he discovered that the quintet were Bracewells, but there were two sets of two brothers (first cousins to each other) and another Bracewell, a third cousin. In his research on Wiley K. Bracewell, Bracewell discovered that his tombstone was incorrectly marked "Wiley .R. Bracewell." It appears that Wiley's middle initial was changed at Camp Letterman, General Hospital.
This error put Bracewell on a quest to once and for all to give the final honor to his kinsman. So after plying through red tape covered with bureaucratic apathy, the corrected tombstone of Wiley Kinchen Bracewell will be unveiled at a ceremony on August 27, 2013, one hundred fifty years to the day on which Wiley K. Bracewell died in a Union hospital in Gettysburg.
"It is personally, a quest for knowledge about where I came from. For most of my life, all that I knew was that my father and his father were from Dublin, Georgia," wrote James Bracewell.
The ceremony at Laurel Grove Cemetery (802 W. Anderson St., Savannah) at 4:00 o'clock, p.m. is open to the public and all Bracewell relatives are specially invited to attend. After the unveiling, James Ray Bracewell will give a talk about the life and death of Wiley K. Bracewell and about how he came to be buried at Laurel Grove North Cemetery.
CHICKAMAUGA, THE RIVER OF DEATH
It is often said, although with questionable authenticity, that the Cherokee called the creek which runs through Walker County in Northwest Georgia, “Chickamauga” or “The River of Death.” That moniker seems all too intuitive and only fitting for during this week a century and a half ago, the Union Army of the Cumberland and the Confederate Army of Tennessee pommeled, battered and slaughtered each other in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountain Range.
Nearly everyone has heard of the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863. In that horrific and climactic three-day battle, casualties were estimated from 46,000 to 51,000 or nearly 17,000 per day. Many people don’t realize it, but the second bloodiest battle of the Civil War took place right here in Georgia.
In two days, September 19 and September 20, 1863, the two armies counted roughly 35,000 casualties. Nearly four thousand (1,657 USA, 2,312 C.S.A.) men would die on the battlefield or in nearby field hospitals. More than 24,000 (9,756 USA, 14,674 C.S.A.) were wounded during the two days of fighting. Another six thousand or more men were listed as captured or missing with the Union Army accounting for three quarters of that amount.
For the most part, Laurens Countians served in the Army of Northern Virginia and another configuration of the Army of the Tennessee. Slightly more than a half dozen Laurens Countians took part in the second most deadly battle of the Civil War.
The highest ranking Laurens Countian to take part in the battle was Col. William H. Wylly. Wylly, then a captain and later a Dublin lawyer, was in command of Company A of the 25th Georgia Infantry. Attached to Wilson’s Brigade of Wm. H.T. Walker’s Division, the 25th, which had seen only coastal duty until that time, was engaged in the fighting at the northern end of the battlefield. Capt. Wylly made it through the battle unscathed. George M. Prescott, a member of the Brown Light Infantry of Screven County, but later a long term resident of Laurens County, also made it through the fighting virtually free of injuries.
The majority of the local men who saw action at Chickamauga were members of the 20th Georgia Volunteer Infantry. The 20th Regiment, under the command of Gen. Benning’s Brigade, saw little fighting as they were used in reserve during the vicious crisscrossing combat along the LaFayette Road. Young Woodard Swinson, one of the county’s first men to volunteer for Confederate service, joined the Muscogee Mounted Guards on May 23, 1861. Swinson survived the fighting, only to be killed at Deep Bottom, Virginia eleven months later.
George W. Belcher, who would later become Police Chief of Dublin, joined the Jefferson County Guards in 1861. Sgt. Belcher was wounded in the Seven Days Battles and at the Second Battle of Manassas in 1862. Belcher survived the hellish fighting at the Devil’s Den at Gettysburg as a member of Gen. John B. Hood’s Division under corps command of Gen. James Longstreet. Longstreet’s Corps, which had suffered brutal casualties at Gettysburg, had only eleven weeks of rest before going into the cataclysmic combat at Chickamauga.
Sgt. Belcher, of Company C, was severely wounded in the fighting, probably between the Brock House and the Log School east of Lafayette Road. He recovered and returned to his company which surrendered with General Lee at Appomattox. Chief Belcher died in 1911 and is buried in Northview Cemetery.
James McLeod, who briefly lived in Laurens County at the turn of the 20th Century, was a member of Company B from Telfair County. McLeod survived most to the war unscathed until he lost the sight in one eye at Appomattox Court House, a day before the surrender.
Although not found among the official records, Charles W. Holmes and Richard A. Odom were shown among county records as members of the Telfair Volunteers, Company B.
Walter T. Dawson, a private in Gist’s Brigade, Walker’s Division, was wounded in an eye and lost his sight in the heavy fighting along the northern end of the fighting.
James F. Hawkins, of the Hancock County Guards, was a member of Benning’s Brigade. Pvt. Hawkins, who moved from Washington County to Laurens County, in 1900, was wounded in the left shoulder at Cold Harbor in June 1864.
Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans launched an offensive from Chattanooga down into the northwest corner of Georgia against Gen. Braxton Bragg’s forces to drive Bragg’s army out of that strategic Tennessee fortress. Bragg wasn’t going to give up so easily and moved north to meet Rosecrans.
After skirmishes between infantry and cavalry on September 18, the real killing began the next day. Longstreet’s Corps attacked and drove a large part of the Union Army off the battlefield. The Federal Army held onto their tentative defensive position, while Confederate units attacked Chattanooga from its neighboring heights on Lookout Mountain.
The brutal fighting started just after dawn on the 19th. Bragg’s forces made repeated charges against the Union right with some successes. Determined Union defenders held strong. Just before midnight, Longstreet’s two divisions, with six fresh brigades, arrived on the scene, switching the advantage of the attack to Bragg.
With Longstreet’s Corps on the left and Polk’s corps on the right, Bragg launched a decisive blow to the entrenched Federals. Rosecrans’ mistaken order to fill a gap in the Federal line, resulted in a move which in fact created a fatal gap into which Gen. Hood poured eight brigades, forcing a total collapse of the Union right at the southern end of the field.
Union Gen. George Thomas, thereafter known as the “Rock of Chickamauga,” gathered his remaining troops and stood solid against the capture of his entire force. Thomas’ men held their ground against repeated assaults, withdrawing only under the cover of darkness. Neither side had the stomach to fight again on the following day.
The battle resulted in somewhat of a tactical draw. The Southern army remained in control of the heights above Chattanooga. The defeated Federals escaped back to the safety of their former lines, which they held for the rest of the war. Had Bragg decided to pursue the retreating Federals the following day, the casualty count could have surpassed the horrific toll at Gettysburg.
The Battle of Chickamauga was a test for things to come. In the early spring which followed, Gen. William T. Sherman, came down from the hills of North Georgia, attacking and destroying all targets of military value along his way to the rail center of Atlanta. In his “March to The Sea,” that summer and fall, Sherman put the final nail in the Confederacy’s hopes to retain control of the Southern States and making the end of the war a virtual certainty.
ALL PHOTOS BY SCOTT B. THOMPSON, SR., OCTOBER 2012
Friday, May 24, 2013
BAD DAY AT BAKER'S CREEK (UPDATE)
THE CHARGE UP CHAMPION'S HILL
This week marks the one hundred fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Baker's Creek (also known as the Battle of Champion's Hill to Southerners.) As Civil War battles go, it doesn't rate near the top of the list of the most important battles. You probably have never even heard of it. Before the day ended, it would be the most bloody and vicious battle of the war for more than one hundred and fifty Laurens County men of the 57th Georgia Infantry. More men in the regiment were killed on that one day than in the entire war. Almost as many men in the 57th were wounded that day than in the four years of fighting. The date was May 16th, 1863. The place was Baker's Creek near Champion's Hill in Hinds County, Mississippi. Ironically the battle took place within a few miles of U.S. Highway 80 between Jackson and Vicksburg and also runs through the heart of Laurens County.
The 57th Georgia was organized in May of 1862. Company B and Company C of the regiment were formed in Laurens County. Some of the soldiers, like the Garnto brothers, were residents of western Johnson County. Company I was formed by soldiers from Laurens and Wilkinson County. Lt. Col. Cinncinatus Saxon Guyton of Laurens County was second in command of the regiment.
Vicksburg, Mississippi, according to most military authorities, was the key to entire Civil War. Its commanding heights allowed Confederate artillery to control shipping up and down the Mississippi River. On the 13th of May, Gen. Johnston, C.S.A., decided to unite his forces in one concentrated attack on the forces of U.S. Grant. Johnston ordered Gen. Pemberton to attack the Federals at Clinton, east of Vicksburg. The plan failed. The Confederates began a retreat toward Vicksburg. On the night of the 15th, Pemberton's forces were camped at a crossroads south of Champion's Hill. Federal forces were surging ahead, moving by their right flank. The Confederates did an about face and turned toward what they thought was the rear of the Yankee column. Before the maneuver could be completed, Pemberton's men ran head long into the advancing Federal troops.
The 57th , under the command of Gen. Stevenson, took the left. His mission was to protect the wagon trains on the Clinton Road. Just as the 57th had formed in their lines, the skirmishers of Hovey's Division engaged them near the foot of the hill on the Champion plantation. About 10:30, the Federal skirmishers began their advance up the hill. Two more brigades, McGinnis' and Slack's, were thrown into action against Stevenson. By noon, Federal forces were attacking Stevenson's entire front. The Confederates were forced to retreat for six hundred yards. Three hundred prisoners were taken and eleven artillery pieces were lost. With their backs in the woods, the Confederates rallied and forced the Federals back down the hill.
As the afternoon progressed, fresh Union troops were brought in. The 57th and the other regiments under Stevenson's command were falling, one after another. The Union forces advanced and took the hill. Stevenson and his men were forced further to the right. Stevenson reported that he was outnumbered nearly ten to one. Years after the war, John L. Keen of Brewton wrote. "In this battle, our First Lieutenant was killed and several others of our regiment. The color bearer was shot down, and the next man hoisted the flag; he was suddenly shot down until the third man was killed ." The men found themselves cut off from the main body of the Confederate army. The tide of the battle began to turn. On the north side of the battle field, elements of Logan's division had advanced to the top of the hill. Stevenson found his entire division cut off from the main body. He was forced to make a long sweeping detour to the South. They arrived the next day with no baggage, cooking utensils, or wagons at Crystal Springs.
The Union Army was victorious. The battle at Baker's Creek or Champion's Hill was devastating to the 57th. The casualties totaled forty killed, ninety-six wounded, and forty- eight prisoners of war. It was the worst day for any Laurens County company in the war. The carnage was more savage than their fellow Laurens Countians had suffered at Gettysburg, Spottsylvania, and Fredericksburg. 1st Lt. Virgil C. Manning of Laurens County was the highest ranking officer killed in the battle. 5th Sgt. Washington Hobbs, and privates, Wilkinson C. Price, John L. Stewart, Jordan Surmons, Alonzo Walker, John Walker, and James R. Witherington were also killed.
Fielding J. Bass, John English, Fielding Fordham, Thomas Garnto, Martin Hightower, John Hobbs, Larry Hobbs, Thomas Holmes, Aaron Hutchinson, Joshua Hutchinson, David Maddux, Alfred L. Morgan, Moses L. Pope, Sr., F.J. Ross, Samuel F. Scarborough, Richard N. Smith, Wingfield B. Smith, William M. Snellgrove, Joshua J. Underwood, Wingfield W. Underwood, Thomas B. Winham, and Green S. Young were wounded. Some of these men, like Thomas Garnto, had limbs amputated. Garnto's amputation was performed by a Union surgeon after he was captured and while he lay dying on the battlefield along side privates Ross and Richard Smith. Smith was taken to Ft. Delaware and died there in prison. Thomas White and Elbert Underwood were also captured.
With the news of the battle and its toll, the citizens of Laurens County went into mourning. A memorial service was held at Boiling Springs Methodist Church. The church is still located across the road from the old muster grounds where Company B trained in preparation for war. The members took it especially hard, since James Boatright, a member of the community had been killed.
The Battle of Baker's Creek proved to be the turning point in the Vicksburg Campaign. Federal Forces had tried for over a year to capture the strategic port city. The seven week siege of Vicksburg was about to begin. On July 4th, the city of Vicksburg fell, just one day after Lee's defeat at Gettysburg. The tide of the war turned in favor of the United States. All 342 remaining members of the 57th Georgia, along with all of the defenders of Vicksburg, were captured. The men were paroled after a couple of months. They returned to Georgia, disheartened and demoralized. The 57th was sent to Savannah where they fought a battle on Whitemarsh Island in February, 1864. From there they were transferred to Andersonville, where they served as prison guards until the spring. The 57th also participated in the battles of the Atlanta Campaign, seeing the most action at Kennesaw Mountain, Peachtree Creek, Atlanta, and Jonesboro. In the last major engagement of the Army of the Tennessee, they lost fifteen men at Bentonville, North Carolina.
On April 26, 1865 the 57th Georgia, then a part of the 1st Georgia Consolidated Infantry surrendered at Greensboro, North Carolina. The long journey home began. The fighting, the dying, the starving, and suffering was over - finally. The bodies of the dead never made it home from Baker's Creek. They lie in unmarked graves somewhere between the creek and Vicksburg, known only to God.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF CHANCELLORSVILLE
The Stars of Night Contain The Glittering Day
One hundred and fifty years ago on May 3, 1863, the wheels were set in motion to begin the climatic end to the Civil War. A Confederate victory at Chancellorsville made General Robert E. Lee and his men feel unequivocally invincible. Two months later, the Confederate hopes were crushed at the Battle of Gettysburg. A group of Laurens County men, who called themselves the Blackshear Guards and the Laurens Volunteers, were assigned to the 14th Georgia Infantry Regiment of Thomas’s Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia. And, they were right in the middle of this horrific fight.
Following the devastating Union loss at Fredericksburg in December of 1862, Gen. Hooker, the new commander of the Army of the Potomac, planned a bold move to attack Gen. Robert E. Lee’s (left) forces on the opposite side of the Rappahannock River. Hooker sent the major part of his force north up the river where they crossed and turned south. The move went totally unnoticed by Lee, who discovered the movements at the last moment.
Lee’s commanders, Ambrose Powell Hill and Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, moved from Fredericksburg west along the Mine Road toward Tabernacle Church in late April, 1863. Jackson arrived at Chancellorsville on the 1st of May. Gen. Hill was located to his rear along the Orange Plank Road. By nightfall, the 14th Ga. was located about one mile east of Catherine's Furnace. Thomas relieved Posey's brigade just after sun up on the 2nd.
Jackson devised the boldest plan of his military career. He planned to take his entire corps on a long forced march south and west, all the way around Chancellorsville. At first, the Federals thought Jackson's men were moving away from their lines. Thomas's Brigade was sent to the rear of the column to assist the artillery train just after noon.
The Volunteers, under the command of Gen. A.R. Wright, came to the aid of their fellow Laurens Countians to prevent Geary’s attack on Thomas and the Blackshear Guards. Thomas and Archer were forced to turn their brigades back to help Wright and Posey in front of Catherine's Furnace. After the Federal attack was repulsed, Thomas and Archer double-timed along Jackson's route along the Brock Road. By six o'clock that afternoon, Thomas was still two miles below Catherine Furnace - miles away from Jackson's front.
Just after dark, Jackson moved to front of the column to scout for the Federal flank or rear. While he was returning from the Federal lines, “Stonewall Jackson” (left) was struck by elements of the North Carolina Infantry. Jackson fell and was taken away. The highly beloved General died at Guinea Station on the 10th of May. Many say that the hopes of the Confederate Army died with him. A.P. Hill succeeded to the command of Jackson’s corps.
“Everybody vacated the road, and lay flat on the ground. I did the same; and, while thus "hugging the ground", four litter bearers, carrying a wounded man, on account of that awful cannonading put the wounded man down so close to me that I could have touched him with my hand. I soon found it was "Stonewall" Jackson. He moaned frequently and piteously. When his friends proposed to move him out of the line of fire of the Federal batteries, he told them "not to mind him, but look out for themselves," wrote Washington Lafayette Goldsmith, who began the battle as Captain of Company K and after the battle was promoted to Major of the regiment.
Thomas’s Brigade marched up the Orange Plank Road, reaching Wilderness Church about ten o’clock that night. Thomas finally arrived west of Chancellorsville just before midnight. His command was placed on Pender's left, north of the turnpike and just west of Bullock Road. The moon was bright. Shells were bursting. The battle raged on until after midnight. By dawn, Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, now commanding Hill's Corp's, had ten brigades massed, waiting for an early morning attack.
The climax of the Chancellorsville battle began just after dawn. Carr's Federal troops began to pull back as they were threatened by Pender and Thomas. Thomas's brigade at the northern line of the attack rapidly turned the Federal flank. At 7:30, Pender and Thomas attacked Huger, striking Hay's right line south of the Orange Plank Road. Thomas found the enemy two hundred and fifty yards away, and drove them from their works. A second attack met with a similar success. Gen. Hooker sent French's division of Couch's Corps to attack Thomas on his left flank and at his rear. At this point, Thomas had no troops to protect his flanks. Carroll's Federals threatened Thomas’s men, who were forced to retreat over Berry's and Slocumb's log works. Thomas joined with Pender and Hall. About ten o'clock that morning, the Confederates pushed the Federals across the Orange Plank Road and back north of Chancellorsville. For the next two days, Hill's Corps kept Burnside's Army in check north of Chancellorsville.
Captain Goldsmith wrote, “Next morning, the 3rd of May, the order came to "charge, and remember Jackson," was given, it was said, by Gen. J.E.B. Stuart, who had taken command of Jackson's corps. A.P. Hill was also wounded. Instead of Jackson' death casting a gloom and damper on the troops, it acted just the opposite. I never saw our soldiers act so much like insane demons; they moved forward utterly regardless of the blinding rain of bullets. The Federals fought with great bravery. My company was the first to gain the breastworks, and I was the second man across them. Here I first saw hand-to-hand fighting. A young Federal soldier came at me with fixed bayonet. With sword in my right hand, I knocked up his musket and grabbed it with my left hand. The tussle was a fearful one; but George Kelly, a sergeant in Company D, shot and broke the Federal's thigh. The poor fellow fell, but continued to fight game. I could have cleaved his head with my sword, and Kelly started to brain him with his clubbed musket; but I forbade it, and called on my brave enemy to surrender, or I would have him shot, which he did in broken English. He was a German, and a brave fellow, and elicited our hearty praise.”
Private George W. Hall of Company G described the scene at Chancellorsville: “The shrieks and groans of the wounded and dying as I lay nearly insensible around me that night, displayed all the horrors of war and put feelings and imaginations through the mind that I never wish to experience again. There scattered over the fields and immense forest the battle field encompassed lay thousands of poor wounded and dying soldiers far away from home and friends, writhing in the agonies of death with no one to speak a soothing words to their ears."
Gen. Lee’s top aide, Col. Charles Marshall, described the scene as the triumph, as the oh so beloved Virginia general rode on the battlefield after the fighting subsided. " The fierce soldiers with their faces blackened with the smoke of battle, the wounded crawling on feeble limbs from the fury of the devouring flames, all seemed possessed with a common impulse. One long unbroken cheer, in which the feeble cry of those who lay helpless on the earth, blended with the strong voices of those who still fought, rose high above the roar of the battle, and hailed the presence of the victorious chief."
Thomas’s Brigade lost 177 killed and wounded, including Lt. Colonel James Fielder, who was killed along with three captains in the brigade. No Laurens Countians lost their lives.
The Laurens County men took the rest of the month to rest and reorganize the regiment. David Bush and John J. Dominy, Robert L. Hill and Francis A. Linder of the Blackshear Guards were wounded during the fighting. Of the Laurens Volunteers, William Henry Harrison Ashley, a musician, and Henry Curl were also wounded.
George Washington Brooks, who would later move to Dublin, was captured during the battle and taken to Elmira Prision in New York, from which he escaped, only to be recaptured at the Battle of Petersburg and taken back to Elmira at the end of the war. John Davidson lost his eye during the fighting. Other future Laurens Countians who were injured during the fighting were John Thomas Floyd, John Benjamin Roberts and Peyton Shy.
During the lull in the war, the 14th Georgia and Thomas's Brigade were placed in Pender's Division. By mid-June, Lee launched his offensive into the North. Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia moved through the Shenandoah Valley with their sights set on Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.
In the first three days of July, the Guards and the Volunteers would witness Lee’s greatest defeat, “The High Water Mark of the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg. Fortunately for the men and their families, the men of Laurens County were not totally engaged in the several skirmishes in and around Gettysburg. They survived those horrible days, only to be engaged in the vicious fighting next spring west and south of the battle known as Chancellorsville.
The Dying Words of Stonewall Jackson
by Sidney Lanier, Signal Corps, C.S.A.
And rain his glory down with sweeter grace
Upon the dark World’s grand, enchanted face—
All loth to turn away.
And so the Day, about to yield his breath,
Utters the stars unto the listening Night,
To stand for burning fare-thee-wells of light
Said on the verge of death.
O hero-life that lit us like the sun!
O hero-words that glittered like the stars
And stood and shone above the gloomy wars
When the hero-life was done!
The phantoms of a battle came to dwell
I’ the fitful vision of his dying eyes—
Yet even in battle-dreams, he sends supplies
To those he loved so well.
His army stands in battle-line arrayed;
His couriers fly: all’s done: now God decide!
And not till then saw he the Other Side
Or would accept the shade.
Thou Land whose sun is gone, thy stars remain!
Still shine the words that miniature his deeds.
O thrice-beloved, where’er thy great heart bleeds,
Solace hast thou for pain!
Thursday, December 13, 2012
IT WAS WAR IN GEORGIA
The cheers of Fort Sumter had all but died. The tears of Fort Pulaski flowed as the ladies of Savannah cried. It was war! Fort Pulaski, which had guarded the port city of Savannah and was once planned under the supervision of General Robert E. Lee himself, was under siege, a century and a half today. With strong feelings of invincibility still flowing through their veins, few Savannahians then alive would have believed that before the end of 1864, the entire city of Savannah would be under Union control.
The attack on Fort Pulaski came as absolutely no surprise to anyone. More than a week before the artillery barrage began, newspapers across the Northeast carried a headline that a shelling of Fort Pulaski, an integral part of the attack upon Fort Jackson closer upriver to Savannah, was about to begin.
In his first tour of duty in the United States Army, Robert E. Lee, a former West Point cadet and a lieutenant in the Engineering Corps, began his first assignment - to survey and make plans for forts at the mouth of the Savannah River on Cockspur Island.
When the threat of war between the North and South became all too real, Georgia officials sent a detachment of untested militia to seize Fort Pulaski on January 3, 1861. When the state officially seceded the following month, the bastion became a critical Confederate military installation.
By November 1861, Federal attacks on Confederate forts in South Carolina and Georgia caused Lee to make a hurried trip back to Cockspur Island to formulate plans to protect Fort Pulaski from both naval and ground attacks, as well as the vital ports of Charleston and Savannah.
The mighty fortress, completed in 1847, was situated at an elbow of the meandering Savannah River channel. Planners theorized that any warship entering the area had to set a course dead ahead toward the fort. Col. Charles H. Olmstead, the fort's commander, believed that no ship could get beyond the fort. But that wasn't the plan of Pulaski's attackers.
United States Army General Thomas Sherman, commanding more than twelve thousand men, worked in cooperation with Navy Captain Samuel Dupont, who set up a small armada of gunboats to block any rear attacks. The initial plan was to directly attack the city of Savannah, by bypassing Fort Pulaski altogether.
By Valentine's Day, Federal forces began to tighten the noose around the Confederate stronghold. Five companies of men, totaling some 385 effectives, were left to defend the 7 « foot thick, brick walled fort with 48 guns at their disposal. Union artillery commanders erected nearly a dozen batteries along the northwestern shore of Tybee Island with as many as three dozen guns aimed squarely at the beleaguered bastion.
Union Lieutenant James Wilson brought over a request to the Confederate commander to surrender the fort early on the morning of April 10, 1862. Olmstead politely refused. Just after 8:00 o'clock, the artillery cannonade began. Five batteries opened fire, relentlessly pounding Pulaski and its defenders with as many to four to five rounds per minute.
At first, the rounds missed their targets. But, as forward observers called in adjustments, the rounds became decidedly devastating to the thick brick walls. One observer reported that the conical shells pierced the fort's thick brick walls with ease. One of the first casualties was the fort's flagstaff, which was broken early during the attack.
The hailstorm of iron enfiladed the fort without pause until sunset. Olmstead's gunners, mostly manning mortars outside the fort, returned fire slowly and deliberately aiming at Union batteries on Tybee Island. Throughout the day, the Confederate forces held out hope as some of their rounds struck and disabled a couple of Union ships and a few others were thought to have silenced some of the Union batteries. All through the evening, Union artillerists reminded Pulaski's defenders that the bombardment was just beginning by sending two to three rounds every half hour. No one in the fort slept that night.
Despite thirty hours of the horrific shelling of thousands of rounds, only four men were at first reported to be seriously wounded. Three men lost an arm and one lost a leg. Other reports counted the Confederates mortally wounded to be as many as twenty. Union dead were initially reported at seventeen. That number was later reduced to the death of a single Union artillerist.
Throughout the day, panic among the residents of Savannah crescendoed as the vibrations shook windows throughout the city. Many in the city began preparations to flee westward to inland sanctuaries.
When the devastating effect of the heavy barrage made further resistance futile, the fort's youthful commander, Col. Olmstead, reluctantly decided to surrender his command in the middle of the afternoon of the 11th of April. Olmstead was quoted as saying, "I yield my sword, but I trust I have not disgraced it."
After the unconditional surrender was signed and sealed, the Union flag was raised above the ravaged ramparts of Fort Pulaski. The defenders were taken prisoner and shipped to forts in New York. A total blockade of the port of Savannah was put in place.
In expectation of an attack on Fort Pulaski by rebel forces, six hundred Confederate prisoners, mostly officers and known as the Immortal 600, were imprisoned in Fort Pulaski to prevent a siege by Confederates.
And, it was on this day, one hundred and fifty years ago when the Civil War came to the soil of Georgia for the very first time. The relatively light conflict at Fort Pulaski would be overshadowed by the horrific battle of Chickamauga in September 1863 and the war changing Atlanta Campaign in the spring and summer of 1864. Savannah herself fell into the hands of the Union army when Gen. William T. Sherman's crippling March to the Sea in the autumn of 1864 ended on Christmas Day in 1864.
THE SEVEN DAYS BATTLE
Six battles between the Union and Confederate armies to the east of Richmond, Virginia, cost both sides 36,000 casualties out of nearly 200,000 combatants. It was an early, ominous sign that this war was not only going to be long, but more deadly than its instigators ever imagined. Union General George McLellan and his staff launched an early massive strike along the Virginia Peninsula, hoping to capture the Confederate capital and bring about a quick and necessarily deadly end to the Civil War. Newly appointed Confederate commander, Gen. Robert E. Lee, struck back viciously, sparing no ammunition or lives to protect the vital political center of the Confederacy a century and a half ago this week.
Lee's army crossed the Chickahominy River in the mid afternoon on the June 26, 1862. Two companies from Laurens County, who carried the banner of "The Blackshear Guards, 14th Georgia, and "The Laurens Volunteers", 49th Georgia, both in Anderson's brigade, Gen. Ambrose Powell Hill's division. Powell's division crossed Meadow's Bridge over Brook Run to join with Branch's advance on Mechanicsville. Field's brigade led the way with Anderson's behind him.
When Lee reached Mechanicsville, he split his army in three directions. Richard Anderson's (Left) Brigade led Hill's march along the Old Church Road toward Beaverdam Creek. Within a few hundred yards of Mechanicsville, Hill's division came under the fire of Federal artillery. Anderson's Brigade took the extreme Confederate left near the head of Beaverdam Creek above Mechanicsville, Virginia. Their mission was to march through one mile of dense woods to capture the Federal artillery. Anderson moved up to the west rim of the valley of the creek opposite Gen. Reynolds' Federal division.
Lee and Hill were waiting on Stonewall Jackson. The iconic Jackson was supposed to have marched down from the north and attack and turn the Federal right. Hill could wait no longer. Shortly after arriving at the creek, Hill's order for a late afternoon attack came. Col. E.L. Thomas led the 35th Georgia in the initial attack on the Federal right. Col. R.W. Folsom got up from his sick bed to lead the 14th Georgia in support of Thomas. When the attack first began, Anderson's men had woods and thickets to cover their advance. Those in the open fields were pounded with sweeping artillery fire. Once they came down the steep banks toward the waist-deep, fifteen to twenty foot wide creek, they were in full view of Federal riflemen. Every assault was repulsed by the Federal forces. Only the 35th Georgia were able to cross the creek. Under heavy fire they were forced to retire at the end of the fighting.
Lt. Hardy Smith, (left) then leading the company after the wounding of Capt. Thomas M. Yopp at Seven Pines, led the Blackshear Guards as they charged Union positions. Elkinia Faulk and William L. Jones were killed on the field. Amos L. Moore suffered a severe wound to the head and died nine days later. George Jenkins, Daniel G. Pope, and Emory Smith were wounded during the brutal fighting. Lt. Smith was shot in the right arm. His wound was so severe that his arm was later amputated. Although the Laurens Volunteers were not as heavily engaged, Thomas J. Parsons John C. Bracewell and Benjamin F. Dixon were wounded in the fighting at Mechanicsville.
Col. A.J. Lane, commanding the 49th Georgia, received a severe wound in the arm during the fighting. Brigade commander Gen. Joseph Anderson, who was wounded in the fighting, was succeeded by Gen. Edward L. Thomas. Union General Porter remembered the moans of the dying and wounded penetrating the night following the battle. The Confederates lost one-fifth of their men, while the Union losses were relatively light. Even though the Federals claimed victory, McLellan moved his men to the southeast in an effort to better his position.
"The Rebels came on, from the woods, out of the swamps, down the roads, along the entire front, with shriek and yell," a Pennsylvania soldier recalled.
The Guards and Volunteers continued their march the next morning along Old Church Road turning toward New Cold Harbor. The armies squared off a mile to the southeast of Gaines' Mill. At 2 :00 on the afternoon of the 27th, A.P. Hill's Division, the largest in the army, made the first attack on the Union center and left. J.T. Faulk and John R. McDaniel of the Guards were wounded.
When Anderson's brigade formed a line, three quarters of a mile long at the edge of the woods, the Federals commenced a brisk attack. A deep ravine separated the Rebels from the Federal fire on the hill. Anderson halted his men under heavy fire before ordering a double-quick charge followed by a third charge. The embattled Confederates found that crossing the ravine was impractical and fell back and held their original position.
After Anderson's brigade made three unsuccessful charges, everybody kept wondering "Where is Jackson?" After two hours of battle, the uncoordinated Confederate attack fell apart. The Confederates attacked again and pushed the Federals back. The 14th spent the next day resting along Powhite Creek south of Gaines Mill. On the 29th, Hill and Longstreet marched west toward Richmond before turning back toward the Federals on the Darbytown Road and moving in the direction of Malvern Hill on the James River.
Hill and Longstreet attacked the Federals at Frayser's Farm near Glendale on the 30th. At the beginning of the battle, Anderson's brigade was left in the extreme rear. After the battle raged for hours, A.P. Hill was forced to use Anderson's Brigade, the last of the army's reserves. At sunset, Anderson marched his men along Long Bridge Road with orders to cheer and make as much noise as possible. The 14th Ga. and 3rd La. took the left with the 35th, 45th, and 49th Ga. regiments making up the right wing. Confederate President Jefferson Davis came out from his headquarters and galloped along the column. A chorus of cheers rang out.
Anderson marched a half mile toward the Federals lying on the left of the road. Orders were given to withhold musket fire until the division joined with the Confederate front. As the division moved to within 200 feet of the Federals, cries rang out "For God's sake, don't fire on us, we are friends!" Anderson ordered a bayonet charge. The approaching forces yelled "Fire!" giving Anderson no doubt that they were the enemy. Gen. Anderson was again wounded and E.L. Thomas assumed command of the Brigade. Within a few minutes the fighting ceased. The battle was a draw. McLellan pulled back to a more strategic position at Malvern Hill. Only John W. Cross of the Laurens Volunteers was wounded in the fighting of the last battle.
The climax of the Seven Days Battles came on July 1, 1862 with a Confederate attack on Malvern Hill. Hill and Longstreet remained at Frayser's Farm and did not participate in the action. Thomas's Brigade was positioned at the fork in the road behind the main Confederate force. Anderson's Division suffered 364 casualties during the Battles of the Seven Days. Lee's men suffered more casualties during the campaign, but managed to push McLellan away from Richmond.
After the Battles of the Seven Days, Hill's Light Division was assigned to the Corps of Gen. Stonewall Jackson. Jackson led Lee's move northward. Jackson arrived at Cedar Mountain on August 9, 1862, where the killing resumed and accelerated.
THE SECOND MANASSAS
THE SECOND MANASSAS
The Return to Bull Run
The end of the summer of 1862 saw General Robert E. Lee's forces return to the scene of the first Confederate victory at Bull Run or Manassas, as it was called by people in the South. Lee hoped to continue his successes of the Seven Days Battles. Southern generals Stonewall Jackson and A.P. Hill reached Brandy Station on the south side of the Rappahannock River on August 24. Three days later,
Jackson marched 54 miles northwest completely around Pope toward Manassas Gap. On the 28th of August, Hill moved from Centreville to join Ewell at Blackburn's Ford, where they crossed Bull Run and moved south toward Manassas Junction. Hill took his men back across Bull Run and moved them up the northeast side of the creek toward the Warrentown Turnpike, where he turned to the southwest and crossed Bull Run for a third time. Participating in that battle were the Blackshear Guards and Laurens Volunteers of Laurens County and the Johnson Grays and Battleground Guards of Johnson County, along with a host of other local companies from east-central Georgia.
Gen. Jackson assigned Hill to protect the mill and ford at Sudley Springs. On the morning of the 29th, E.L. Thomas formed his brigade, including the Blackshear Guards, Laurens Volunteers and Johnson Grays, along the western margin of an unfinished railroad (left) east of the Grovetown to Sudley Road. Union general Pope had hoped to use his superior forces to crush Hill before the rest of Lee's army joined the fight. Thomas discovered that the ground was a little higher to the west and moved back toward the road. Thomas also found impediments in placing his artillery in the woods. By noon, Union skirmishers, mainly composed of German regiments, began firing on Gregg's Brigade on Thomas's left. The Federal forces moved back after a brief skirmish. Thomas moved his men back to the railroad shifting his line to his right and leaving a 125-yard gap along a break in the railroad bed where it passed through a swamp.
Grover moved his Federal Division in front of the gap between Gregg and Thomas, who knew nothing of Grover's approach. Thomas’ men escaped the battle that morning. But Grover's men closed to within a few yards of the railroad before they spotted the Confederate line. Thomas's men stood up and fired. Grover launched a hand to hand combat attack through the gap and overran the 49th Georgia on Thomas's left. Thomas retreated back toward the Grovetown Road with many casualties. The move was described by onlookers as "like opening swinging doors." Grover lost one in six of his men during the first attack. Thomas moved to his left and rallied the 49th Georgia. The fighting was fierce with a crossfire of less than ten yards. Thomas's left was strengthened by the 14th S.C. and Pender's Brigade. Grover retreated in 30 minutes after losing another sixth of his men.
Federal forces under Gen. Kearney launched another attack at five o'clock running into Gregg and Thomas's skirmishers. Once again, Thomas was nearly surrounded by Federals. This time Thomas's Brigade stood firm. Gregg was nearly out of ammunition. Gen. Jubal Early came to the rescue, saving Thomas and Gregg, who had moved back to Stoney Ridge. Early, with his twenty five-hundred fresh men, crushed the Federals, who hastily retired to end the day’s fighting. The battle shifted to the southwest on the 30th with Thomas on the extreme Confederate left. Thomas lost 155 men, killed or wounded, during the battle. Corp. James C. Lee, who was killed in action, was the only casualty of the Blackshear Guards. Capt. James T. Chappell and privates John M. Burch, Uriah S. Fuller and William H. Wright, all of the Laurens Volunteers, were wounded in the first day of the battle. John D. Wolfe of the Volunteers was killed. William G. Pearson was wounded on the second day.
Johnson Grays Francis J. Flanders, Williamson T. Flanders, Jonathan B. Smith and John Walker were wounded during the first day's fighting. Future Laurens Countians Sgt. G.W. Belcher (Co. C. 20th), William Cranford (Co. E, 26th) and Lt. James Mincey (Co. D, 61st) were wounded during the two-day battle.
The 48th Georgia was a part of Gen. Ransom Wright's Brigade of General R.H. Anderson's Division. The Division was attached to the Right Wing of the Army of Northern Virginia under the command of General James Longstreet. During a grueling march, Quincey L. Black, A.J. Foskey, and Wilson Riner had to fall out of line. Ransom Wright, a Louisville-born attorney, commanded a Georgia Brigade composed of the 3rd, 22nd, 44th, and 48th Georgia Regiments.
At 4:50 p.m. on the afternoon of August 30, the 48th Georgia moved out from its resting place on the Brawner Farm. Anderson's Division crossed to the south of the Warrenton Turnpike and set out on a two-mile march toward Henry Hill. During the march, the Confederates were subjected to artillery fire from Dogan's Ridge. Three thousand Georgians opened the assault by pressing the Federal lines along the Sudley Road.
At the height of the fighting, the 48th Georgia moved to Jones' right. Wright brought his brigade to the far right in support of Gen. G.T. Anderson's brigade, who were being fired on before their lines could be formed. Mahone's brigade fell in on Wright's right flank and extended the Confederate right far beyond the Union left flank. The Federal lines were caught in a bad position. Many elements of the Confederate forces were crossing the road. The Confederates failed to press the attack and allowed the Union army to regroup. The 15th and 17th Georgia regiments fell back. Anderson's Division and the 48th held their position. James Neal, of the Battleground Guards, was killed in the fighting. James W. Rowland suffered a wound. Though Anderson failed to discern that an attack would have cut the Federal lines, his default did not end the assault on the Federal lines.
Wright and Anderson's brigades continued to pressure the Union lines at slow place until an hour after dark. Wright's fatigued men were replaced by Wilcox's and Drayton's brigade. Longstreet's Corps continued the attack forcing Pope's Yankees into a retreat. At the end of the battle Lee's forces were in position to launch an attack deep into the North. Gen. Lee hoped his success at the Second Manassas would lead his army to victories in Maryland and beyond. Little did General Lee realize the devastating carnage that would follow in the succeeding battles of Antietam/Sharpsburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg.
In summarizing the battle, a Federal survivor of the attack on Hill’s line said, "The slope was swept by a hurricane of death, and each minute seemed twenty hours long." An artilleryman in Hill’s division, put it this way, "When the Sun went down, their dead were heaped in front of that incomplete railway, and we sighed with relief, for Longstreet could be seen coming into position on our right. The crisis was over ..., but the sun went down so slowly."
The Return to Bull Run
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Jackson marched 54 miles northwest completely around Pope toward Manassas Gap. On the 28th of August, Hill moved from Centreville to join Ewell at Blackburn's Ford, where they crossed Bull Run and moved south toward Manassas Junction. Hill took his men back across Bull Run and moved them up the northeast side of the creek toward the Warrentown Turnpike, where he turned to the southwest and crossed Bull Run for a third time. Participating in that battle were the Blackshear Guards and Laurens Volunteers of Laurens County and the Johnson Grays and Battleground Guards of Johnson County, along with a host of other local companies from east-central Georgia.
Grover moved his Federal Division in front of the gap between Gregg and Thomas, who knew nothing of Grover's approach. Thomas’ men escaped the battle that morning. But Grover's men closed to within a few yards of the railroad before they spotted the Confederate line. Thomas's men stood up and fired. Grover launched a hand to hand combat attack through the gap and overran the 49th Georgia on Thomas's left. Thomas retreated back toward the Grovetown Road with many casualties. The move was described by onlookers as "like opening swinging doors." Grover lost one in six of his men during the first attack. Thomas moved to his left and rallied the 49th Georgia. The fighting was fierce with a crossfire of less than ten yards. Thomas's left was strengthened by the 14th S.C. and Pender's Brigade. Grover retreated in 30 minutes after losing another sixth of his men.
Federal forces under Gen. Kearney launched another attack at five o'clock running into Gregg and Thomas's skirmishers. Once again, Thomas was nearly surrounded by Federals. This time Thomas's Brigade stood firm. Gregg was nearly out of ammunition. Gen. Jubal Early came to the rescue, saving Thomas and Gregg, who had moved back to Stoney Ridge. Early, with his twenty five-hundred fresh men, crushed the Federals, who hastily retired to end the day’s fighting. The battle shifted to the southwest on the 30th with Thomas on the extreme Confederate left. Thomas lost 155 men, killed or wounded, during the battle. Corp. James C. Lee, who was killed in action, was the only casualty of the Blackshear Guards. Capt. James T. Chappell and privates John M. Burch, Uriah S. Fuller and William H. Wright, all of the Laurens Volunteers, were wounded in the first day of the battle. John D. Wolfe of the Volunteers was killed. William G. Pearson was wounded on the second day.
Johnson Grays Francis J. Flanders, Williamson T. Flanders, Jonathan B. Smith and John Walker were wounded during the first day's fighting. Future Laurens Countians Sgt. G.W. Belcher (Co. C. 20th), William Cranford (Co. E, 26th) and Lt. James Mincey (Co. D, 61st) were wounded during the two-day battle.
At 4:50 p.m. on the afternoon of August 30, the 48th Georgia moved out from its resting place on the Brawner Farm. Anderson's Division crossed to the south of the Warrenton Turnpike and set out on a two-mile march toward Henry Hill. During the march, the Confederates were subjected to artillery fire from Dogan's Ridge. Three thousand Georgians opened the assault by pressing the Federal lines along the Sudley Road.
At the height of the fighting, the 48th Georgia moved to Jones' right. Wright brought his brigade to the far right in support of Gen. G.T. Anderson's brigade, who were being fired on before their lines could be formed. Mahone's brigade fell in on Wright's right flank and extended the Confederate right far beyond the Union left flank. The Federal lines were caught in a bad position. Many elements of the Confederate forces were crossing the road. The Confederates failed to press the attack and allowed the Union army to regroup. The 15th and 17th Georgia regiments fell back. Anderson's Division and the 48th held their position. James Neal, of the Battleground Guards, was killed in the fighting. James W. Rowland suffered a wound. Though Anderson failed to discern that an attack would have cut the Federal lines, his default did not end the assault on the Federal lines.
Wright and Anderson's brigades continued to pressure the Union lines at slow place until an hour after dark. Wright's fatigued men were replaced by Wilcox's and Drayton's brigade. Longstreet's Corps continued the attack forcing Pope's Yankees into a retreat. At the end of the battle Lee's forces were in position to launch an attack deep into the North. Gen. Lee hoped his success at the Second Manassas would lead his army to victories in Maryland and beyond. Little did General Lee realize the devastating carnage that would follow in the succeeding battles of Antietam/Sharpsburg, Chancellorsville and Gettysburg.
In summarizing the battle, a Federal survivor of the attack on Hill’s line said, "The slope was swept by a hurricane of death, and each minute seemed twenty hours long." An artilleryman in Hill’s division, put it this way, "When the Sun went down, their dead were heaped in front of that incomplete railway, and we sighed with relief, for Longstreet could be seen coming into position on our right. The crisis was over ..., but the sun went down so slowly."
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