"I, John Brown am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood."

John Brown was the "The meteor of the war," as author Herman Melville called him. John Brown was an abolitionist, and a religious fanatic. Some say that John Brown is a martyr. Brown believed he was an instrument of God.

Abolitionist John Brown in 1856.

Before the Civil War began, Brown’s abolitionist actions stirred and heated the boiling cauldron of events leading to the war. In May of 1856, John Brown and four of his sons shot and hacked to death five pro-slavery settlers at Pottawatomie Creek, Kansas. In 1859, Brown and a band of 21 men seized the United States Armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Brown was hanged for this on December 2, 1859 at Charles Town, Virginia. John Brown’s Gallows’ site can still be toured today in Charles Town, West Virginia.

It should be noted that West Virginia became the 35th state of the Union on June 20, 1863. At the time of John Brown’s activities at Harpers Ferry, this part of West Virginia still belonged to the state of Virginia.

John Brown Quotes:

"Caution, Sir! I am eternally tired of hearing that word caution. It is nothing but the word of cowardice!"
– John Brown, discussing matters with a neighbor, after the neighbor saw a need to give warning to John Brown.

"I don’t think the people of the slave states will ever consider the subject of slavery in its true light till some other argument is resorted to other than moral persuasion."
– Abolitionist John Brown’s words of October, 1859. On December 2, 1859 John Brown was hanged for treason after seizing the United States Armory at Harpers Ferry – part of Brown’s plan to present "some other argument" to the slave states.

"When I strike, the bees will begin to swarm, and I want you to help hive them." – John Brown’s words to Frederick Douglass before Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry in October, 1859. Brown did strike, but unfortunately for him, the "bees" never did begin to swarm. The United States Marines, commanded by Robert E. Lee, did swarm and ended Brown’s siege of Harpers Ferry.   "Had I so interfered in behalf of the rich, the powerful, the intelligent, the so-called great, or in behalf of their friends…and suffered and sacrificed what I have in this interference…every man in this court would have deemed it worthy of reward rather than punishment." – John Brown, speaking on November 2, 1859 during his sentencing.

Barnes&Noble: Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid That Sparked the Civil War

"If it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice, and mingle my blood further with the blood of my children and with the blood of millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments-I submit; so let it be done."
– John Brown, speaking on November 2, 1859 during his sentencing. John Brown would be hanged.

"I have been whipped, as the saying is, but I am sure I can recover all the lost capital occasioned by that disaster; by only hanging a few moments by the neck; and I feel quite determined to make the utmost possible out of a defeat."
– John Brown, to his wife. On December 2, 1859 John Brown was hanged by the neck (and perhaps for more than "a few moments") for treason.

"This is a beautiful country."
– Spoken by John Brown while seated on his coffin, as he rode to his execution on the gallows.

"I, John Brown am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood."
– John Brown said nothing on the gallows, but handed a note containing these words to a guard. The outbreak of the Civil War in April, 1861 proved John Brown prophetic.

Abolitionist John Brown, with His Autograph 12 in. x 16 in. Buy This Allposters.com

John Brown Stops to Greet a Black Child on His Way to Execution, 1859 12 in. x 16 in. Buy This Allposters.com

John Brown 12 in. x 16 in. Buy This Allposters.com

Quotes about John Brown:

"So perish all such enemies of Virginia! All such enemies of the Union! All such foes of the human race!"
– Colonel Preston of the Virginia militia said these words to the crowd that had gathered to see John Brown hang. A member of the Virginia militia who was present, was an actor named John Wilkes Booth. Booth would later make tragic history in April of 1865. Also in the crowd were cadets from the Virginia Military Institute led by Thomas J. Jackson, later to be known as "Stonewall Jackson" of the Confederacy.

Hanging from the beam,
Slowly swaying (such the law),
Gaunt the shadow on your green,
     Shenandoah!
The cut is on the crown
(Lo, John Brown),
And the stabs shall heal no more.
– Herman Melville, "The Portent."

"John Brown died on a scaffold for the slave; Dark was the hour when we dug is hallowed grave; Now God avenges the life he gladly gave, Freedom reigns today!"
– This is called "The President’s Proclamation" and you should sing it using the tune from "Battle Hymn of the Republic."

"Old John Brown…agreed with us thinking slavery wrong. That cannot excuse violence, bloodshed, and treason. It could avail him nothing that he might think himself right."
– Abraham Lincoln

John Brown going to be hanged.

And Old Brown Old Osawatomie Brown, May trouble you more than ever, when you’ve nailed his coffin down! – Anderson’s "A Voice From Harpers Ferry." Earlier in his abolitionist career, John Brown was in Osawatomie, Kansas and there he murdered five pro-slavery men with help from four of his sons. This was Brown’s response to the pro-slave raid made on Lawrence, Kansas in 1856.

"Nobody was ever more justly hanged."
– Nathaniel Hawthorne on John Brown.

"You rejoiced at the occasion, and were only troubled that there were not three times as many killed in the affair. You were in evident glee-there was no sorrow for the killed nor for the peace of Virginia disturbed-you were rejoicing that by charging Republicans with this thing you might get an advantage on us."
– Abraham Lincoln, March 6, 1860. Lincoln was referring to the Democrat opinion of John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859.

"The murderer and robber & fire-raiser so notorious for these crimes in his Kansas career, & now the attempter of the thousand-fold horrors in Virginia, is, for these reasons, the present idol of the north."
– Edmund Ruffin, November of 1859. Ruffin is referring to John Brown, the fanatic abolitionist. Ruffin was a strong secessionist and is credited with firing the first shot at Fort Sumter, but this fact can be questioned. On June 15, 1865 after the Civil War had come to an end, Ruffin committed suicide by shooting himself "because he was unwilling to live under the US government."

The result proves that the plan was the attempt of a fanatic or madman."
– Lieutenant Colonel Robert E. Lee commenting on John Brown’s raid upon Harper’s Ferry.

"The meteor of the war."
– Herman Melville (Moby Dick author) on John Brown.

LearnCivilWarHistory.com presents this excellent rendition of John Brown’s Body by gloriajane1 for your enjoyment. Thank you gloriajean1 and best wishes.

John Brown’s Body

gloriajane1 | September 29, 2009 | 4:29

Back around the time that Christians, abolitionists, free blacks, anti-slavery activists and Kansas land owners first formed the Republican party, John Brown an abolitionist and baptist preacher, gave his life to put an end to slavery. During the civil war northern soldiers sang this old song as they marched off to battle. After "Julia Ward Howe" heard Union troops singing this, the original version of the song, she wrote her own words to it’s tune. Soon after, her version was published in the "Atlantic Monthly" as "The Battle Hymn Of The Republic"…gloriajane1

Jefferson Davis

Jefferson Davis was born in Kentucky on June 3, 1808. A curious fact of the year 1808 (especially when you consider what Jefferson Davis’ life would mean to the Confederacy, slavery, and the history of the United States), is that in 1808 the importation of slaves was made illegal in the United States of America.

• Jefferson Davis was a graduate of the United States Military Academy (West Point). Davis ranked 23rd in his 33 member class of 1828. Also graduating in the 1828 West Point class was Robert E. Lee.
• After West Point, Davis was posted to the Pacific Northwest, serving there in the infantry. Davis transferred to the dragoons in 1833. After spending two years with the dragoons, Davis resigned as a first lieutenant.
• Jefferson Davis married Sarah, she was the daughter of Colonel Zachary Taylor, Davis’ commander. Colonel Taylor did not approve of his daughter marrying Jefferson Davis. Sadly, a short three months after they married, she died of malarial fever. Later, Davis would marry Varina Howell.

• Jefferson Davis took part as an officer in the Black Hawk War during the 1830s. Another officer in the Black Hawk War was Abraham Lincoln.
• Davis served from 1845 to 1847 in the House of Representatives as a Democrat.
• Davis fought in the Mexican War as a colonel of the 1st Mississippi Rifles. He was wounded at Buena Vista, and he declined a commission as a brigadier general. He then served in the United States Senate until 1853 when he became Secretary of War under Franklin Pierce. After Pierce’s presidency, Davis returned to the Senate.

• While he was Secretary of War, Davis imported camels and sent them to Texas. Davis thought the camels would do well in the arid environment of Texas and could be used as beasts of burden. The camels would be used to haul supplies and equipment for the United States Army troops in Texas. The Texas camels idea did not work out as Davis had hoped.
• Jefferson Davis and his wife, Varina Howell Davis, had four children. They lost their first child in infancy and then lost a son. Five-year-old Joe Davis fell from a balcony of the Confederate White House and died. Davis had the balcony torn down.
• After the Mexican War, Ulysses S. Grant was stationed in California. He was without his wife and children, and bored in California. Grant took to excessive drinking. Grant resigned his commission in 1854 and his resignation was accepted by the United States Secretary of War. The Secretary of War accepting Grant’s resignation from the United States Army was Jefferson Davis.

• Jefferson Davis was a strong supporter of states’ rights and supported his state of Mississippi’s secession from the Union.
• Mississippi seceded from the Union on January 9, 1861. On January 21, 1861 Davis was at the Capitol in Washington. History was about to happen. The Senate chamber was filled with curious on-lookers. On this morning, five senators from states that had seceded from the Union were to say their farewells. These senators were from the states of Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. Jefferson Davis was among them. Davis rose and gave a stirring and emotional good-bye speech. He had been ill for a week and in bed. Davis had not slept the night before and was suffering from severe migraine head-aches.
• Montgomery, Alabama was the first capital of the Confederacy. On February 4, 1861 delegates from six of the states that seceded, met in Montgomery. Meeting at Montgomery, the Confederate States of America adopted a provisional constitution and also elected Jefferson Davis as provisional president. On May 20, 1861 the Confederate capital was moved to Richmond, Virginia. Montgomery only had two hotels, one of them was not up to desirable standards. The capital building in Montgomery was a bit small for the needs of the new Confederacy. Lack of adequate and decent hotel rooms and the need for a larger building in which to conduct the business of the Confederacy were some of the reasons for the move to Richmond.

• In February of 1861, at Montgomery, Alabama, Jefferson Davis was inaugurated as the provisional president of the Confederacy. On February 22, 1862 in Richmond, Virginia (where the Confederate capital now had been moved), Davis was inaugurated as the president of the Confederate States of America. The Confederate president was to serve a six-year term.
• Davis did not necessarily want to be president of the Confederacy. He would have preferred instead, to serve in the military and possibly command the Confederate army. As the events of the Civil War played out, Davis’ six-year term as the Confederacy’s president would be cut short.
• The White House of the Confederacy was the executive mansion for Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis and his family. It is located in Richmond, Virginia. The Virginia State Capitol was the Capitol of the Confederacy.

• "Dixie" was the unofficial anthem of the Confederacy. When Confederate President Jefferson Davis and Vice President Alexander Stephens rode to their inaugural, a band played "Dixie."
• Confederate postage stamps used only the portraits of President Jefferson Davis, General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson, or Senator John C. Calhoun.
• Jefferson Davis delivered his inaugural address from the Washington statue on the grounds of the Capitol of the Confederacy.

• St. Paul’s Church in Richmond, Virginia became known as the "Cathedral of the Confederacy" because both Confederate President Jefferson Davis and General Robert E. Lee attended church services there.
• Confederate President Jefferson Davis was attending church services at the "Cathedral of the Confederacy" in Richmond on Sunday April 2, 1865. During the church service Davis was given a note informing him that General Robert E. Lee’s lines had been broken at Petersburg. It was immediately time now, for the Confederate president to evacuate Richmond.
• Union troops occupied Richmond, Virginia on April 3, 1865. The Confederate capital of Richmond had fallen. President Abraham Lincoln went to Richmond the following day and visited the White House of the Confederacy. This visit to Richmond was a moment of glory for President Lincoln. The South was very near defeat, the Union was to be preserved, and slavery was to end. Lincoln saw Jefferson Davis’ office and took the opportunity to sit in Davis’ chair.

Accompanying Lincoln in Richmond was his 12-year-old son, Tad. This was to be Lincoln’s first and last visit to Richmond. Lincoln died on April 15, 1865, the victim of an assassin’s bullet. Tad Lincoln would die of tuberculosis in 1871. After the South surrendered and the Civil War was lost for the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis was captured by Federal cavalry on May 10, 1865. He was accused of treason. On May 22, he was sent to prison at Fort Monroe, Virginia. Davis was kept there without benefit of a trial, for two years. Fort Monroe is the largest stone fort ever built in the United States. It is named for President James Monroe. Jefferson Davis died at New Orleans on December 5, 1889. Davis and his family, General J.E.B. Stuart, and General George Pickett are all buried at the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. Over 18,000 Confederate soldiers rest in peace at Hollywood Cemetery. The cemetery is so named because of its many holly trees.

Barnes&Noble: Jefferson Davis: The Man and His Hour by William C. Davis

Ulysses S. Grant

When Grant arrived at West Point he found his appointment was in the name of Ulysses S. Grant. Grant’s parents named him Hiram Ulysses Grant. Grant never bothered to change the clerical error and was known as Ulysses S. Grant. Later, Grant was called "Unconditional Surrender Grant" after Confederate Simon Boliver Buckner surrendered Fort Donelson to him. Grant was also often called Sam Grant. While a cadet at West Point, Ulysses S. Grant was known as an exceptional horseman. Grant did not stand out as having exceptional talents in anything else while at West Point.

• Ulysses S. Grant wanted a commission in the cavalry when he finished at West Point. Instead, Grant wound up in the infantry because the cavalry had no vacancies. Grant was a horseman, and this assignment to the infantry must have been a disappointment for him.

• Ulysses S. Grant served with generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott during the Mexican War.

• After the Mexican War, Ulysses S. Grant was stationed in California. He was without his wife and children, and very bored. Grant took to excessive drinking. He resigned his commission in 1854 and his resignation was accepted by the United States Secretary of War. The Secretary of War accepting Grant’s resignation from the United States Army was Jefferson Davis. Davis was the future president of the Confederate States of America.

• Grant’s favorite horse during the Civil War was Cincinnati. An admirer gave Cincinnati to Grant after the battle of Chattanooga. Cincinnati was seldom ridden by anyone other than Grant. One notable exception being President Abraham Lincoln, when Lincoln last visited City Point, Virginia. Other horses Grant had in the Civil War were; Jack, Fox, and Kangaroo. Kangaroo was left on the Shiloh battlefield by the Confederates. This horse was described as ugly and raw-boned. Grant however, having an eye for horses, knew that Kangaroo was a thoroughbred. After becoming a Yankee horse, Kangaroo got rest and care and he became a fine horse.

• Ely Samuel Parker was a Seneca Indian, a son of a famous Seneca chief, and also a Union officer. He first studied law but was refused admission to the bar because he was not a citizen. Parker graduated from Rensselaer as an engineer. In 1857, Ely Parker was working in Galena, Illinois where he became a friend of a store clerk named Sam Grant. Sam Grant, was Ulysses S. Grant and during the Civil War Ely Parker became General Ulysses S. Grant’s military secretary. Ely Parker’s penmanship was exceptional. When Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House, Ely Parker transcribed the official copies of the surrender documents.

• Ulysses S. Grant never swore. His explanation for this:
  "Well, somehow or another, I never learned to swear, when a boy I seemed to have an aversion to it, and when I became a man I saw the folly of it. I have always noticed, too, that swearing helps to rouse a man’s anger; and when a man flies into a passion his adversary who keeps cool always gets the better of him. In fact, I could never see the use of swearing. I think it is the case with many people who swear excessively that it is mere habit, and that they do not mean to be profane; but, to say the least, it is a great waste of time."

• On April 14, 1865 Abraham Lincoln’s day was spent visiting with callers and attending a Cabinet meeting, which included General Grant. Lincoln explained to General Grant that he was having a recurring dream about a ship "moving with great rapidity toward a dark and indefinite shore." Now that the Civil War was over, topics of discussion during the Cabinet meeting included the problems of reconstruction, and the treatment of Confederate leaders. That evening, the Lincolns went to Ford’s Theater to see the play "Our American Cousin." While enjoying the play at Ford’s Theater Lincoln was shot by assassin John Wilkes Booth.

After the Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant became an author, Secretary of War under President Johnson, and in 1868 became President of the United States. Grant served two terms as president. Ulysses S. Grant finished his two-volume autobiography, Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, only days before he died of throat cancer in 1885. Grant’s memoirs were published by Mark Twain’s firm and 300,000 copies were sold. These sales earned $450,000 for Grant’s widow, Julia. Grant’s autobiography is thought to be one of the best autobiographies written in the English language.

Barnes&Noble: Ulysses S. Grant: A Victor, Not a Butcher

Secession fever hit the South after Abraham Lincoln was elected president. The South considered Lincoln’s Republican party victory in the 1860 presidential election as a sign that the North was now going to end the “peculiar institution” of slavery. For the South, the time of talk and compromise had ended. In December, 1860 South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union. Secession of the rest of the states that would make up the Confederate States of America occurred in two waves.

By the first week in February, 1861 six more states joined South Carolina in secession. The first wave of states to secede from the Union were all states of the Lower South. These states included: Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina.

The second wave of states to secede from the Union consisted of states from the Upper South. These states were: Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia.

The states of the Confederacy in order of their dates of secession from the Union:

The Confederate States of America was made up of eleven states.

Confederate States of America – 1864

Virginia was a very important state of the Confederacy. The capital of the Confederacy was first in Montgomery, Alabama, but Richmond, Virginia soon became the Confederate capital. Virginia had 40 percent of the Rebel manufacturing capacity and the Tredegar Iron Works in Richmond would produce most of the Confederate artillery during the Civil War. As part of the Upper South, Virginia was a resource of vital agricultural and industrial assets needed to supply the Confederate war effort.

Many of the South’s military leaders were of Virginia, such as: Robert E. Lee, Thomas J. Jackson, J.E.B. Stuart, Joseph E. Johnston, A. P. Hill, Richard S. Ewell, and others. The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in Lexington provided many Rebel leaders of the Civil War. Along with North Carolina, and Tennessee, Virginia supplied most of the Confederacy’s soldiers. Richmond, Virginia is only 96 miles away from Washington D.C., and it was very important for the Confederacy to defend, and keep Richmond safe. Virginia was a hotspot of action during the Civil War. The First Battle of Manassas (First Battle of Bull Run was the name used for this same battle by the North) was the first major land battle of the Civil War, it was fought July 21, 1861, near Manassas, Virginia. General Robert E. Lee would surrender the Army of Northern Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia on April 9, 1865.

The Winchester, Virginia area is rich in both Civil War and colonial history. Winchester is located in the north-western part of Virginia in Frederick County. This area is part of the Shenandoah Valley, and Winchester was an important transportation and commercial center. During the Civil War, from early 1862 to late 1864, Winchester changed hands between North and South no less than 70 times. Six major Civil War battles were fought in the Frederick County, Virginia area. These six major battles include the First, Second, and Third Battles of Winchester, the First and Second Battles of Kernstown, and Cedar Creek.

The Shenandoah Valley of Virginia was a place of much action during the Civil War. A curiosity of the geography of the Shenandoah Valley is that as you go down the valley from north to south, you actually go up in elevation. So, as you go “down” the valley, you actually go “up.” The Shenandoah Valley was an important route of invasion into the North for the Confederates, and was a source of much needed provisions. It was important for the North to prevent the South from using the Shenandoah Valley.

When Virginia seceded, it took over the United States armory located at Harpers Ferry, Virginia and the Gosport Naval Yard in Norfolk. The Gosport Naval Yard was the largest facility of shipbuilding and repair in the Confederate States of America.

The Virginia Ordinance of Secession

Virginia Ordinance of Secession
Virginia Secession Convention

AN ORDINANCE to repeal the ratification of the Constitution of the United State of America by the State of Virginia, and to resume all the rights and powers granted under said Constitution.

The people of Virginia in their ratification of the Constitution of the United States of America, adopted by them in convention on the twenty-fifth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight, having declared that the powers granted under said Constitution were derived from the people of the United States and might be resumed whensoever the same should be perverted to their injury and oppression, and the Federal Government having perverted said powers not only to the injury of the people of Virginia, but to the oppression of the Southern slave-holding States:

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Now, therefore, we, the people of Virginia, do declare and ordain, That the ordinance adopted by the people of this State in convention on the twenty-fifth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty-eight, whereby the Constitution of the United States of America was ratified, and all acts of the General Assembly of this State ratifying and adopting amendments to said Constitution, are hereby repealed and abrogated; that the union between the State of Virginia and the other States under the Constitution aforesaid is hereby dissolved, and that the State of Virginia is in the full possession and exercise of all the rights of sovereignty which belong and appertain to a free and independent State.

And they do further declare, That said Constitution of the United States of America is no longer binding on any of the citizens of this State.

This ordinance shall take effect and be an act of this day, when ratified by a majority of the voter of the people of this State cast at a poll to be taken thereon on the fourth Thursday in May next, in pursuance of a schedule hereafter to be enacted.

[Adopted by the convention of Virginia April 17,1861.]

[Ratified by a vote of 132,201 to 37,451 on May 23, 1861.]

Up, men, and to your posts! Don’t forget today that you are from Old Virginia!

– General George E. Pickett, to his men just before Pickett’s Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863. Many of these men never returned to “Old Virginia.”

Winfield Scott

On May 3, 1861 General-in-Chief Winfield Scott writes to General George B. McClellan describing his strategy for subduing the rebellion. Later, Scott’s strategy was derisively referred to as The Anaconda Plan:

HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY,
Washington, May 3, 1861.
Maj. Gen. GEORGE B. MCCLELLAN,
Commanding Ohio Volunteers, Cincinnati, Ohio:

SIR: I have read and carefully considered your plan for a campaign, and now send you confidentially my own views, supported by certain facts of which you should be advised.

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First. It is the design of the Government to raise 25,000 additional regular troops, and 60,000 volunteers for three years. It will be inexpedient either to rely on the three-months’ volunteers for extensive operations or to put in their hands the best class of arms we have in store. The term of service would expire by the commencement of a regular campaign, and the arms not lost be returned mostly in a damaged condition. Hence I must strongly urge upon you to confine yourself strictly to the quota of three-months’ men called for by the War Department.

Third. A word now as to the greatest obstacle in the way of this plan–the great danger now pressing upon us–the impatience of our patriotic and loyal Union friends. They will urge instant and vigorous action, regardless, I fear, of consequences–that is, unwilling to wait for the slow instruction of (say) twelve or fifteen camps, for the rise of rivers, and the return of frosts to kill the virus of malignant fevers below Memphis. I fear this; but impress right views, on every proper occasion, upon the brave men who are hastening to the support of their Government. Lose no time, while necessary preparations for the great expedition are in progress, in organizing, drilling, and disciplining your three-months’ men, many of whom, it is hoped, will be ultimately found enrolled under the call for three-years’ volunteers. Should an urgent and immediate occasion arise meantime for their services, they will be the more effective. I commend these views to your consideration, and shall be happy to hear the result.

With great respect, yours, truly,

WINFIELD SCOTT.

Source:
Union Correspondence, Orders, And Returns Relating To Operations In Maryland, Eastern North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia (Except Southwestern), And West Virginia, From January 1, 1861, To June 30, 1865.–#3 O.R.–SERIES I–VOLUME LI/1 [S# 107]

At the beginning of the Civil War, General-in-Chief Winfield Scott was seventy-four-years-old, so overweight he could not mount or ride a horse, and suffered from painful gout. Scott’s best days were behind him.

The Anaconda Plan

Since the War of 1812, Scott had participated in all of America’s military actions. He was a genuine hero. There was no doubt about Scott’s leadership ability, in the War of 1812 he was once captured, and during the Mexican War he led the campaign that captured Mexico City.

His nickname was Old Fuss and Feathers, because of his reputation for strict adherence to regulations, and a propensity for fancy uniforms. Winfield Scott was born a Virginian in 1786, but was loyal to the Union. He did not understand Robert E. Lee’s choice to side with the Confederacy, and had even asked Lee to lead the United States Army.

President Abraham Lincoln sought Scott’s advice, however as the Civil War began, it was evident the aging Winfield Scott was not up to the demands of leading the army. At times, Scott would doze off during meetings. Scott voluntarily retired on November 1, 1861 and was replaced by George B. McClellan as general in chief.

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Winfield Scott’s Anaconda Plan was criticized as too slow and gained its “Anaconda” name when the press mockingly compared it to a snake slowly constricting its prey to death. As Scott’s plan was being considered, the clamor in the North was for an invasion that would quickly crush the Confederate army presently found at a railroad junction in northern Virginia named Manassas. Taking Manassas would hurt the Rebels significantly as the railroad lines there were major ones that connected to the Shenandoah Valley, and the thus to the heart of the South.

Richmond, Virginia had become the Confederate capital, and the southern Congress planned a session there on July 20, 1861. The New York Tribune (published by Horace Greeley) responded with this headline:

After this, other newspapers throughout the Union followed suit with the FORWARD TO RICHMOND! thought and the public soon caught on to the fever. In light of this, even though Southern seaports were beginning to be blockaded, Scott’s plan faltered as public and political pressure demanded quick military action. President Lincoln saw merit in attacking the Confederates at Manassas. On July 21, 1861 the Battle of First Bull Run (called First Manassas by the Confederates) took place. It was a Union loss, no Union troops went on to Richmond, and most skedaddled back to Washington. Soon the idea faded away that a quick, strong, and superior military action along with a compromising attitude, might end the Confederate rebellion fast. The Union would have to win the Civil War by destroying the Confederate armies on the field. Much time, many resources, and many, many lives would have to be spent to accomplish the Northern victory.

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Winfield Scott’s Anaconda Plan was worthy. Blockading the South’s seaports and gaining control of the Mississippi River were major factors in crippling the Rebel economy and military. As the Civil War progressed, the basic strategy of the Anaconda Plan contributed ultimately to the defeat of the Confederacy. Old Winfield Scott lived to see the end of the Civil War. He died in 1866.

Today marks the 146th anniversary of The Battle of Gettysburg.

The Battle of Gettysburg

After the battle of Chancellorsville, General Robert E. Lee took the Army of Northern Virginia north into Maryland and Pennsylvania.

On July 1, 1863 the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac began a monumental three-day battle at a small crossroads town in Pennsylvania named Gettysburg.   Gettysburg was one of the most important battles of the Civil War. At Gettysburg, the Confederates suffered more than 30,000 killed, injured, or missing. For the Union, the number came to 23,000.   Gettysburg was a Union victory.

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"Fighting the same fight, that we’re still fighting amongst ourselves … today."

"… Listen to their souls, man …"

"You listen, … and take a lesson from the dead …"

-Excerpts from Coach Boone’s speech, in the movie "Remember the Titans."

Today it still matters and it is important, to Learn Civil War History … so we can learn from it.

The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution abolished slavery in the United States. The Senate had passed an amendment abolishing slavery on April 8, 1864 but the House defeated it in June, 1864. The House then passed the Thirteenth Amendment on January 31, 1865. The next day, President Lincoln approved the Joint Resolution of Congress and submitted this potential amendment to the state legislatures for ratification. By December 18, 1865 the states had ratified the Thirteenth Amendment and it was proclaimed in effect. That was a good day. ”Hello, Massa; bottom rail on top dis time.” — An African-American Union soldier spoke these words to his former master, who was now a prisoner.

Picture is from the National Archives and shows the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution.

Worth noting:

* On April 9, 1865 General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia thus ending the Civil War.

* President Lincoln had issued his Emancipation Proclamation On January 1, 1863. The Emancipation Proclamation declared free the slaves in the parts of the country which were in rebellion. Lincoln’s proclamation contained the words, ”all persons held as slaves within said designated States, and parts of States, are, and henceforward shall be free; . . ..” The Emancipation Proclamation did not apply to the states which had remained in the Union.

* President Abraham Lincoln did not live to see the Thirteenth Amendment, with its abolishment of slavery, become part of the Constitution.

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The Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.

Barnes&Noble: The Encyclopedia of Civil War Usage

Overtime, it is natural for language to change and develop as new words are added to the dictionary. For example, your BlogMaster can sometimes be accused of being a mouse potato. The term "mouse potato" is a recent addition to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. It means I spend too much time at the computer, just as a couch potato spends too much time sitting on the couch watching television. Can you imagine asking someone from the Civil War what the words Internet and BlogMaster mean! Words also fall from use and become forgotten. Many of the words used during the Civil War are not often heard, read, or understood today.

Here’s a brief story I’ve written about a Billy Yank, only for the purpose of using some Civil War jargon. See if you can understand what my imaginary Jonathan (a Yankee) soldier is talking about. I’ll translate it further below:

The Latin farmers and I came upon somebody’s darlin, he was from the so-called seceded states and probably a Tar Heel. He had been a snake in the grass, but was now a true lead mine after meeting up with some of us Lincoln hirelings. He was a tough looking butternut, there certainly would have been no social intercourse with him and he looked liked he’d been on partial rations for too long. He was messed up good, a victim of solid shot from a smoothbore, he wasn’t lucky enough to experience a spent ball. Now he would not have to worry about contracting soldier’s disease, or becoming a pickled sardine. Maybe he served under Square Box or Lee’s Old War Horse, maybe too, Little Powell. They all had been through here. We had whipped them good and when the Long-Legged Donkey hears about it he will be glad, yes sir, Long Shanks will be joyful. By the looks of him, he could too have been part of Old Tom Fool’s Lousy 33d, but Old Jack has been sacred dust since Chancellorsville.

Anyway, we were hungry so we sot down for some Lincoln pie, old bull, and coffee, but had no desire to get some lobscouse going. Despite the miasma of this area, we’ll set up a merrimack and break out some oh-be-joyful and get corned. If we get time later on, maybe we’ll have ourselves a louse race. Better get a fire going and try to dry out our mudscows. We should be safe from Old Granny and Old Jubilee tonight. We are proud one-hundred-day-men and serving under Old Four Eyes, as far as we’re concerned there is no one better than Old Snapping Turtle because he is the biggest toad in the puddle. Maybe tomorrow we’ll open the ball. We intend to exfluncticate the graybacks. I snore, I’ll spend all night slapping gallnippers!

I only hope I won’t have to deal with Virginia quickstep tomorrow, like I did today. It sure made things all-overish for me and I almost had a conniption fit dealing with it. Sakes alive, it’s not your funeral. I’ve been like a book here, but I’ll shut pan now.

Translation:

The well-educated German immigrants fighting in the Union Army and I came upon an unidentified corpse, he was a Confederate and probably from North Carolina. He had been trying to camouflage himself, but now was dead with several wounds after meeting up with some of us Union soldiers. He was a tough looking Southern soldier, there certainly would have been no pleasant conversation with him and he looked liked he’d been on less than the daily allowance of food for too long. He was messed up good, a victim of chunks of cast iron from a cannon or other firearm without rifling, he wasn’t lucky enough to experience a projectile or bullet that did not have enough velocity to cause any damage. Now he would not have to worry about contracting a chronic ailment suffered by veterans such as morphine or opium addiction, or becoming a prisoner of war who had been imprisoned for many months. Maybe he served under General Thomas Jonathan ’’Stonewall’’ Jackson or General James Longstreet, maybe too, General Ambrose Powell Hill. They all had been through here. We had beat them good and when President Abraham Lincoln hears about it he will be glad, yes sir, Lincoln will be joyful. By the looks of him, he could too have been part of Stonewall Jackson’s 33d Virginia regiment, part of the Army of Northern Virginia, but Stonewall Jackson has been a corpse since Chancellorsville.

Anyway, we were hungry so we sat down for some hardtack, salted horse meat, and coffee, but had no desire to get some stew of hardtack, vegetables, and salted meat going. Despite the unpleasant air of this area, we’ll set up a lean-to for one night’s use and break out some hard liquor and get drunk. If we get time later on, maybe we’ll have ourselves a contest where body lice are placed on the center of a saucer or plate, and wagers are taken as to which louse will scurry and fall of the edge of the plate or saucer first. Better get a fire going and try to dry out our shoes [shoes were also often called brogans]. We should be safe from Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Jubal Early tonight. We are proud to be Pennsylvanians who signed up for one hundred days’ service after Gettysburg and serving under General George G. Meade, as far as we’re concerned there is no one better than Meade because he’s the most important person in our group. Maybe tomorrow we’ll start a battle. We intend to utterly destroy the Confederates. I swear, I’ll spend all night slapping large mosquitos! I only hope I won’t have to deal with diarrhea tomorrow, like I did today. It sure made things uncomfortable for me and I almost had a fit of hysteria dealing with it. Good heavens, it’s none of your concern. I’ve been eloquent here, but I’ll shut up now.

Webb Garrison’s Civil War Dictionary

Traveller was General Robert E. Lee’s horse during and after the Civil War. Traveller is the famous "Confederate grey" colored horse so well recognized in Civil War photographs and art.

Barnes&Noble: Horses of Gettysburg DVD

General Robert E. Lee rode Traveller almost the entire Civil War. Lee rode Traveller to Appomattox Court House when he surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865. After the Civil War, while Lee was president of Washington University (later renamed to Washington and Lee University) in Lexington, Virginia, Traveller was with Lee. Lee still enjoyed riding Traveller and often they went for rides in and around Lexington. Robert E. Lee is interred in a crypt beneath the Lee Chapel on the campus of Washington and Lee University and Traveller is buried just outside, showing how important the horse was to Lee. Many have wondered what this magnificent grey horse, a horse General Robert E. Lee was very fond of, was like in life.

Perhaps Captain Robert E. Lee (General Lee’s son) and General Robert E. Lee’s own words are our best source of information about Traveller. The below book excerpts are from Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee by Captain Robert E. Lee, His Son, and are from the year 1862:

"The General was on the point of moving his headquarters down to Fredericksburg, some of the army having already gone forward to that city. I think the camp was struck the day after I arrived, and as the General’s hands were not yet entirely well, he allowed me, as a great favour, to ride his horse "Traveller." Amongst the soldiers this horse was as well known as was his master. He was a handsome iron-gray with black points–mane and tail very dark–sixteen hands high, and five years old. He was born near the White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, and attracted the notice of my father when he was in that part of the State in 1861. He was never known to tire, and, though quiet and sensible in general and afraid of nothing, yet if not regularly exercised, he fretted a good deal especially in a crowd of horses. But there can be no better description of this famous horse than the one given by his master. It was dictated to his daughter Agnes at Lexington, Virginia, after the war, in response to some artist who had asked for a description, and was corrected in his own handwriting:"

"If I were an artist like you I would draw a true picture of Traveller–representing his fine proportions, muscular figure, deep chest and short back, strong haunches, flat legs, small head, broad forehead, delicate ears, quick eye, small feet, and black mane and tail. Such a picture would inspire a poet, whose genius could then depict his worth and describe his endurance of toil, hunger, thirst, heat, cold, and the dangers and sufferings through which he passed. He could dilate upon his sagacity and affection, and his invariable response to every wish of his rider. He might even imagine his thoughts, through the long night marches and days of battle through which he has passed. But I am no artist; I can only say he is a Confederate gray. I purchased him in the mountains of Virginia in the autumn of 1861, and he has been my patient follower ever since–to Georgia, the Carolinas, and back to Virginia. He carried me through the Seven Days battle around Richmond, the second Manassas, at Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, the last day at Chancellorsville, to Pennsylvania, at Gettysburg, and back to the Rappahannock. From the commencement of the campaign in 1864 at Orange, till its close around Petersburg, the saddle was scarcely off his back, as he passed through the fire of the Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbour, and across the James River. He was almost in daily requisition in the winter of 1864-65 on the long line of defenses from Chickahominy, north of Richmond, to Hatcher’s Run, south of the Appomattox. In the campaign of 1865, he bore me from Petersburg to the final days at Appomattox Court House. You must know the comfort he is to me in my present retirement. He is well supplied with equipments. Two sets have been sent to him from England, one from the ladies of Baltimore, and one was made for him in Richmond; but I think his favourite is the American saddle from St. Louis. Of all his companions in toil, ’Richmond,’ ’Brown Roan,’ ’Ajax,’ and quiet ’Lucy Long,’ he is the only one that retained his vigour. The first two expired under their onerous burden, and the last two failed. You can, I am sure, from what I have said, paint his portrait."

Barnes&Noble: The Cavalry During the Civil War

There can be little doubt that Traveller was just as an extraordinary horse, as Lee was a general!

As fond as Robert E. Lee was of Traveller, Lee did not completely escape the hazards and risks of an equestrian. The following excerpt (also from 1862) describes how Traveller was once responsible for injuring General Lee’s hands (as was alluded to in the above excerpts.) Captain Robert E. Lee writes:

"He was much on foot during this part of the campaign, and moved about either in an ambulance or on horseback, with a courier leading his horse. The accident which temporarily disabled him happened before
he left Virginia. He had dismounted, and was sitting on a fallen log, with the bridle reins hung over his arm. Traveller, becoming frightened at something, suddenly dashed away, threw him violently to the ground,
spraining both hands and breaking a small bone in one of them. A letter written some weeks afterward to my mother alludes to this meeting with his son, and to the condition of his hands:"

"…I have not laid eyes on Rob since I saw him in the battle of Sharpsburg–going in with a single gun of his for the second time, after his company had been withdrawn in consequence of three of its guns having been disabled. Custis has seen him and says he is very well, and apparently happy and content. My hands are improving slowly, and, with my left hand, I am able to dress and undress myself, which is a great comfort. My right is becoming of some assistance, too, though it is still swollen and sometimes painful. The bandages have been removed. I am now able to sign my name. It has been six weeks to-day since I was injured, and I have at last discarded the sling."

The above mentioned book, Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee by Captain Robert E. Lee, His Son is available to read on screen, print, or l
isten to in NELLA_WARE’s software titled Civil War Books: Robert E. Lee. Learn more about Civil War Books: Robert E. Lee.

As the third day of battle began at Gettysburg, the North and South combined had already suffered approximately 35,000 casualties. This casualty number was highest yet for a Civil War battle. Yet on July 3, the number of casualties would only increase, with more and more injuries and deaths. After this day, the normally peaceful crossroads town of Gettysburg would forever be in the lore of American history.

Barnes&Noble: Gettysburg A Battlefield Atlas

On the second day of battle at Gettysburg, the management of the Army of Northern Virginia had not been at its best. It’s a fact that during the Battle of Gettysburg General Robert E. Lee was suffering from a common malady of soldiers in the Civil War…Lee had a bad case of diarrhea. Diarrhea was not a laughing matter for a Civil War soldier. Diarrhea, with its accompanying weakness and dehydration, was a leading killer in the Civil War. During the Civil War, disease killed twice as many soldiers as battle injuries.

The Confederate assaults were not coordinated, while the Union had been effective in responding with counterattacks during the second day of battle. The Union left and right flanks, Lee’s targets for destruction on July 2, remained securely in Union control. Lee’s ailment at Gettysburg may have affected his clarity of mind and judgment, but this is speculation.

Late the evening of July 2, General George G. Meade held a council with his generals. They determined to stay at Gettysburg and wait for Lee to attack, and if Lee did not attack their lines, then they would attack his lines. General Lee had tried the left and right flanks of the Union line without success. Now on July 3, he would try the center of the Union line. The Union army would be waiting.

General Lee planned a three-pronged attack upon the Union line on the third day of battle. After an artillery barrage, General George Pickett’s division was to attack the center of the Union line. Cavalry led by General Jeb Stuart (Stuart and the cavalry had arrived late at Gettysburg. Stuart’s cavalry was the eyes and ears of the Army of Northern Virginia, it was supposed to keep Lee apprised of the location of the Union army, but had failed to do this. During much of the Gettysburg campaign, Lee did not know exactly where the Union army was, and this put Lee at a disadvantage.), would take a circular route around the Union rear and attack there. General Ewell would again be attacking the Union right flank. With both ends of the Union line pinched, Lee expected to break through the Union line’s center…and win.

The center of the Union line would first have to be weakened before it could be overcome and broken. General Longstreet used a huge artillery concentration of 150 guns for a two-hour bombardment of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. The Union artillery responded in kind, so the artillery duel consisted of approximately 300 guns, all blasting away at once. This was an enormous amount of artillery in action at once, it was heard 140 miles away in Pittsburgh. The artillery fire on the third day of Gettysburg, was described as one of the loudest noises ever heard in North America.

Despite the extraordinary noise and clamor of the Confederate artillery bombardment upon Cemetery Ridge, it was for the most part, ineffective. The Confederate artillery aim was too high and many of the awful missiles soared harmlessly over the Union infantry that was safely hunkered down behind stone walls and breastworks. There was still death and destruction, but not as much as the Rebels needed before their infantry attacked the Union center. In a cunning move, the Union artillery had slackened its fire. By slowing its artillery fire, the Yankees kept their guns ready and spared ammunition for use on the Rebel infantry when it advanced. The Yankees hoped that by slowing their rate of fire, they might lead the Confederates to believe they were running out of ammunition, and that the bombardment had been successful in blowing apart Union guns and troops. However, the Union guns and troops had not been totally blown apart, and there was still plenty of ammunition.

Friday July 3, 1863 at Gettysburg was a steamer, the morning was hazy with the air humid and heavy. Around noon, the sun burned through and added to the heat. The Yankees on Cemetery Ridge were busy the night before reinforcing their defensive breastworks with limbs, stones, dirt, and whatever else, would provide them cover. The Confederate attack was soon sure to come, and troops shifted into position.

Barnes&Noble: The Gettysburg Campaign

The time spent by the Union troops on Cemetery Ridge as they waited and prepared for the Confederate attack, must certainly have been a nervous ordeal. Perhaps there was enough time and composure of mind for these soldiers to tend to a few common tasks like eating, heating and drinking coffee, tending to equipment, writing a letter (perhaps the last to ever be written) home, or praying. There can be little doubt that across the great open field and pasture that separated the men dressed in blue from their enemy, the men dressed in gray used some of the same tasks and prayers to pass their own nervous time, before whatever was to become of them all.

Barnes&Noble: Pickett’s Charge at Gettysburg Into the Fight

"General Pickett rode to confer with Alexander, then to the ground upon which I was resting, where he was soon handed a slip of paper. After reading it he handed it to me. It read: If you are coming at all, come at once, or I cannot give you proper support, but the enemy’s fire has not slackened at all. At least eighteen guns are still firing from the cemetery itself. Alexander. Pickett said, ‘General, shall I advance?’" -General James Longstreet, describing events before Pickett’s Charge. Edward Porter Alexander commanded Longstreet’s artillery.

"Up, men, and to your posts! Don’t forget today that you are from Old Virginia!"

-General George E. Pickett, to his men just before Pickett’s Charge. Many of these men never returned to "Old Virginia."

"It ain’t so hard to get to that ridge – The hell of it is to stay there."

-The thoughts of a Confederate soldier, just prior to Pickett’s Charge.

At 1:45 in the afternoon, General James Longstreet ordered the attack on the Union center. Confederate infantry numbering 15,000 began to move across a half mile of open ground. Pickett’s Charge had begun. Union artillery opened fire upon the advancing Confederates, quickly mowing many of them down. Union infantry, protected behind breastworks, held their fire…waiting for the enemy lines to come closer into better range. The Confederates paused a few hundred feet from the Union line to somewhat reorganize themselves for the final assault. A small clump of trees near an angle of a stone wall became the aim of the Confederate’s advance. Now the Union artillery used canister and its shotgun-like fire tore Confederate men apart into bits and pieces. The Confederates continued to come closer to the Union line.

Despite the instant death from canister and infantry fire, which was now raining hard down on them, General Pickett’s men bravely held their lines. Pickett’s division lost 75% of its men. Incredibly, about two or three hundred Confederates from Virginia and Tennessee were able to break through the Union line. Confederate General Lewis Armistead was able to place his hand on a Yankee cannon, just before he was mortally injured. The few charging Rebels able to break into the Union line were met by deadly point-blank fire. Soon hand-to-hand fighting began. It all only lasted about half an hour, then it was over, the Confederates began their retreat from Cemetery Ridge. Of the 15,000 Confederates who advanced across the open field toward Cemetery Ridge, only about half returned across the half-mile. The "High Tide of the Confederacy" was washed away.

"It’s all my fault, it is I who have lost this fight, and you must help me out of it the best way you can. All good men must rally."
-General Robert E. Lee, to the men of Pickett’s Charge as they return to their lines after being repulsed by the Yankees.

"This has been a sad day for us, Colonel, a sad day; but we can’t always expect to gain victories."
-General Robert E. Lee, to Colonel A.J. Lyon Fremantle of the British Army, at the end of fighting at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863.

Meade and the Union had won a major victory at Gettysburg. General Lee’s invasion of the North was both incomplete and unsuccessful, but it was finished. Both Meade’s and Lee’s armies were exhausted and spent after the three-day battle at Gettysburg. Meade cautiously pursued Lee’s retreating Army of Northern Virginia, but the Confederates crossed the Potomac River and escaped. President Abraham Lincoln wanted the Army of Northern Virginia destroyed and was unhappy Lee’s army escaped back to Virginia. Lincoln said Meade’s chase after Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia was like "an old woman trying to shoo her geese across a creek."

"You will, however, learn before this reaches you that our success at Gettysburg was not so great as reported-in fact, that we failed to drive the enemy from his position, and that our army withdrew to the Potomac. Had the river not unexpectedly risen, all would have been well with us; but God, in His all-wise providence, willed otherwise, and our communications have been interrupted and almost cut off."
-General Robert E. Lee, writing to his family after the Confederate defeat at Gettysburg. This quote is from; Recollections and Letters of General Robert E. Lee, by Captain Robert E. Lee, His Son.

"In many instances arms and legs and sometimes heads protrude and my attention has been directed to several places where hogs were actually rooting out the bodies and devouring them."
-A description of the Gettysburg battlefield three weeks after the July 1-3, 1863 battle. This quote is from a letter written to Andrew Curtain, the governor of Pennsylvania, by David Willis. Willis was a banker and civic leader.

Today at the Gettysburg National Military Park, you will find many monuments and statues. The Virginia Memorial at Gettysburg was dedicated in 1917 by the state of Virginia. This statue shows Confederate General Robert E. Lee on his famous gray warhorse, Traveller. All of Traveller’s legs are on the ground, this indicates that General Lee died of natural causes.

During the night of July 1, the Confederate and Union armies continued to arrive at the crossroads town of Gettysburg. As dawn came on July 2, approximately 65,000 Rebels faced 85,000 Yankees over Gettysburg’s terrain. The Union held the high ground with a fishhook-shaped line that stretched along Cemetery Ridge. At each end of the Union line, there were hills. On the right end, there was Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Hill, on the left was Little Round Top and Big Round Top.

Confederate General Robert E. Lee wanted the high ground taken from the Federals. In a discussion with his "Old War Horse" General James Longstreet, Lee explained as he pointed towards Cemetery Hill; "The enemy is there, and I am going to attack him there."

Barnes&Noble: Gettysburg the Second Day

Longstreet had doubts about attacking the Yankees at Gettysburg. Longstreet did not think attacking the enemy on their high ground was the wisest thing, he preferred another plan. Longstreet’s idea was for the Army of Northern Virginia to turn the Union’s south flank and position itself between the Army of the Potomac and Washington. Longstreet’s plan would compel General Meade and his troops to attack on ground the Confederates had chosen. Longstreet thought the tactical defensive position was best, but General Lee preferred aggressive offensive movements, right here and now at Gettysburg. The Army of Northern Virginia would follow Lee’s plan.

It is one of the great questions of the Civil War…what if the Confederates had followed Longstreet’s plan instead of Lee’s at Gettysburg?

Lee’s strategy was for Longstreet to attack the Union’s left flank at Little Round Top and Big Round Top. Meade would have to send troops to the left flank to answer Longstreet’s attack. General Ewell would attack the Union right flank at Culp’s Hill. If this plan worked, the Confederates would overtake both of the Union flanks, gain the high ground, and win the battle…and maybe the war.

Lee wanted Longstreet to begin his attack as soon as possible on the morning of July 2. Due to various reasons (in light of Longstreet’s disagreement with Lee over the Gettysburg battle plans, some historians question Longstreet’s diligence in proceeding with his attack on the Union left flank) Longstreet did not have his troops into position until 4:00 in the afternoon. Part of the problem Longstreet had getting his men into position, was that the Yankees were not where they were supposed to be on their left flank. It was Union General Dan Sickles and the 3rd Corps who were to be in position and hold the Union left flank.

Dan Sickles is an interesting character and he deserves some attention.

Before the Civil War, Daniel Edgar Sickles was a lawyer and a legislator. From 1853 to 1855 he served as President Franklin Pierce’s London Legation (at the time, the United States did not yet have formal embassies). Sickles was elected to the New York Senate, and then served as a Democrat in the United States Congress from 1857 to 1861.

In 1859 while serving in the United States Congress, Dan Sickles shot and killed Philip Barton Key at LaFayette Park, which was located across the street from Sickles’ home and the White House. Key was having an affair with Mrs. Sickles, so Sickles killed him. By coincidence, Philip Barton Key also happened to be the son of Francis Scott Key, the composer of "The Star Spangled Banner".

Sickles chose Edwin Stanton as his defense attorney (Stanton would later serve as Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of War). Stanton used a unique and new tactic to defend Sickles. Stanton claimed Sickles was innocent of murder because he was temporarily insane when he killed his wife’s lover. The jury agreed and Congressman Sickles was found innocent.

After killing her paramour, Sickles publicly forgave his wife and took her back. This outraged the public. It seems the public understood the business of an outraged husband shooting and killing his cheating wife’s lover (Sickles had the public’s understanding and sympathy during all this drama), but for the husband to then forgive his wife and take her back, well, that was just too much for people to stomach in 19th century America. With the loss of voter support, Sickles’ political career ended.

At the start of the Civil War, Dan Sickles saw opportunity and a fresh start for himself. After all, there is nothing like a war to help turn your life around. He raised the Excelsior Brigade of New York City, and later in June of 1861, he was commissioned as Colonel Sickles of the 20th New York. The politician Sickles new military career was now successfully underway. Perhaps the former congressman (and also formally temporarily insane) Dan Sickles went off to war humming the "The Star Spangled Banner" to himself…fighting as he was to save the Union. Nevertheless, Sickles was now back on both of his feet. Would he be able to hang onto both of the legs those feet were attached to?

On July 2, 1863, Dan Sickles found himself at Gettysburg as the General of the 3rd Corps. As fate would have it, it was Sickles who had the duty of holding the crucial left flank of the Union line. The terrain at the south end of Cemetery Ridge where the politician now turned general Sickles was positioned, concerned him. It was low and exposed ground. Without orders, General Dan Sickles took it upon himself to make an unauthorized movement of his two divisions half of a mile forward to ground that was higher and along a road running from Gettysburg. Now his troops were positioned at the Peach Orchard and in an area congested with rocks and large boulders below Little Round Top. This rocky area was Devil’s Den. Sickles unauthorized move had provided his troops and himself with better ground, it was higher and easier to defend, but now his troops were no longer connected with the rest of the Union’s line. More importantly, in terms of the grand scheme of the battle, the Union crucial positions of Little Round Top, Big Round Top, and the Union left flank, were now all completely undefended.

Barnes&Noble: American Scoudrel

General Meade was furious when he learned what Sickles had done. Meade ordered Sickles back to his original position. Sickles had no time to follow Meade’s orders, at 4:00 in the afternoon Longstreet finally (Lee had wanted Longstreet to make this attack as early as possible on the 2nd) began his attack on the Union left.

The Confederate troops advanced upon the Yankees. Confederate Colonel William C. Oates and the 15th Alabama made their way to the top of Big Round Top. From there, three hundred feet above the field of action, Oates could see that if he could move artillery to the heights of Little Round Top, he could then tear the Federal lines apart. A brigade of Alabamians advanced upon the smaller of the two Round Tops, since only a Union signal station occupied Little Round Top. General Meade had sent General Gouverneur K. Warren (Warren was the chief topographical engineer for the Army of the Potomac) and a young lieutenant named Washington Robeling to Little Round Top to scout out the situation.

Warren and Robeling quickly realized the dire circumstances for the Union at Little Round Top. Dan Sickles and his men had their hands full fighting the advancing Confederates in the Peach Orchard, and even as Warren and Robeling surveyed the situation Hood’s Rebel Texan troops were busy advancing up the rocky ravine between Little Round Top and Big Round Top. Warren called for reinforcements and four regiments were sent from the Union 5th Corps. One of these regiments was the 20th Maine, led by Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain.

These Union troops were desperately needed to hold Little Round Top secure. If Little Round Top fell to the Confederates, then the entire control of the Union lines would be lost, and probably so too, the Battle of Gettysburg.

Barnes&Noble: Through Blood and Fire at Gettysburg: General Joshua L. Chamberlain and the 20th Maine by Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain

Chamberlain was ordered to hold Little Round Top "at all hazards." The 350 men of the 20th Maine double-timed up Little Round Top and took positions behind boulders and whatever cover they could find. With no time to spare, Chamberlain sent troops from his Company B to between the two Round Tops to cover the left flank. Soon, very soon, Colonel Oates and his Alabamians came upon them and for almost two hours, the men from Maine and Alabama fought it out in deadly fighting. The Confederates made repeated assaults and finally one-third of Chamberlain’s men were either injured or killed, and the rest were completely or nearly out of ammunition. The Confederates were now preparing for another assault. Colonel Chamberlain and the 20th Maine, and the Union left flank, were in very serious trouble. With quick thinking, Chamberlain ordered part of his remaining line to drop back until it formed a right angle with the rest of the Union line.

Chamberlain had two choices, either advance or retreat. He chose to advance and ordered his men to fix bayonets. The right of the Maine regiment held its position while the left side made a running advance down the hillside of Little Round Top towards the Alabamians. The Union advance wheeled to its right during this advance, "like a great gate upon a post" according to a witness.

The Confederates were shocked and taken by surprise with this bold movement, some surrendered and others ran. As the Confederates ran they took more fire from Chamberlain’s Company B, which had taken cover behind a stone wall. The Alabamians were now caught in crossfire. Colonel Chamberlain and the 20th Maine had held Little Round Top for the Union. The left flank of the Yankee line was secure. Later, Chamberlain would receive the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions at Gettysburg.

Barnes&Noble: In the Hands of Providence

General Sickles and his troops were still fighting the Confederates in the Peach Orchard, and they were in bad shape. The Rebels were giving them Hell. Soon Sickles himself would personally be in bad shape too. Confederate artillery was tearing into Sickles’ men and they were giving up ground as they fought in places called the Wheat Field, Devil’s Den, and the Valley of Death.

During all this, General Dan Sickles’ right leg was blown off below the knee. Sickles was carried from the field calmly smoking a cigar. He would survive his wound, but no longer would he stand on both of his own two feet. Sickles donated his amputated right leg to an army medical museum. In the years after the Civil War, Sickles would stop by the museum to visit his leg.

Union reinforcements from Cemetery Ridge had hurried to the Wheat Field and this opened a gap in the center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. Now an Alabama brigade saw the weakness in the center of the Union line and rushed to take advantage of it. A small regiment, the 1st Minnesota, was ordered by General Winfield Scott Hancock to meet the advancing Confederates. With only 262 men in its force, the 1st Minnesota charged down a slope toward 1,600 advancing Confederates. Of the 262 Minnesotans, only 47 of them were not hurt or killed. The 1st Minnesota had 82 percent of its men fall within the first five minutes of their fight. The casualties suffered by the 1st Minnesota was the highest taken by a Union regiment in the entire Civil War. The Minnesotans were successful despite their severe losses; they had filled the gap in the center of the Union line.

Confederate General Ewell staged an attack on the right flank of the Union line just before dark. For various reasons Ewell’s attack had been delayed, this action was supposed to be coordinated with Longstreet’s advance upon the Union left flank – which itself occurred later than planned. Ewell’s attacks on Culp’s Hill and East Cemetery Hill, were repulsed.

Night came on Gettysburg’s second day of battle.

In June of 1863, Confederate General Robert E. Lee marched his invading Army of Northern Virginia into the Northern states of Maryland and Pennsylvania. This was Lee’s second attempt of invading the North, Antietam in September of 1862 being his first try. The goal of this second Confederate invasion was Washington, with Southern victory and a negotiated end of the Civil War. The Confederate plans of invasion and victory would die at the Battle of Gettysburg.

The Army of the Potomac had gained a new commander just before Gettysburg. President Abraham Lincoln had decided by the end of June that General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Hooker was not the man to lead the Army of the Potomac. On June 28, Lincoln made Major General George Gordon Meade his new commander of the Army of the Potomac. Meade would not have long to become familiar with his new position before he faced a huge challenge. Only three days after becoming the commander of the Army of the Potomac, Meade would fight against Confederate General Robert E. Lee and his invading Army of Northern Virginia at the quiet and peaceful crossroads town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

Barnes&Noble: Gettysburg the First Day

The Battle of Gettysburg began on July 1, 1863. Early in the morning Confederate soldiers belonging to General Henry Heth’s division (A. P. Hill’s corps) met up with unmounted Union cavalry led by General John Buford. The Confederates were heading towards Gettysburg in hopes of finding a supply of shoes supposedly stored in the town. The resulting skirmish on the outskirts of Gettysburg was the beginning of the three-day battle. General John Buford’s cavalry arrived at Gettysburg only slightly before the Confederate troops. General Buford realized Gettysburg was a key position because of the many roads from all directions leading into the town, and because of the high ridges and hills, which made up Gettysburg’s terrain. Buford’s clear and quick thinking allowed the Union troops to occupy the high ground of Gettysburg. This was an important advantage for the Union troops during the Battle of Gettysburg.

Buford’s unmounted cavalry had a technological advantage over the Confederates. Buford’s men were using seven-shot Spencer carbine rifles and single-shot breech loading Sharps carbines. These rifles allowed the Union men to fire at a rate comparable to a larger unit of men. The Yankees had fewer guns firing, but their guns could be loaded and fired faster than the Confederate’s guns. Buford’s unmounted cavalry successfully held off three times their number for two hours, allowing time for more Union troops to arrive.

Major General John Reynolds arrived on the field at Gettysburg at approximately 8:30 in the morning. Buford’s cavalry had held the high ground for the Union, and now they were under heavy fire and pressure from the advancing and gathering Confederates. Reynolds and the infantry Union I Corps were needed to relieve General John Buford’s unmounted cavalry. Reynolds met with Buford at the Lutheran Seminary and decided to hold the field position. Reynolds then rode to the field to direct the Union I Corps.

"The enemy is advancing in strong force. I will fight him inch by inch, and if driven into the town I will barricade the streets and hold him back as long as possible." -Words of General John Reynolds at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863.

Barnes&Noble: Stars in their Courses The Gettysburg Campaign

"Forward! For God’s sake, forward!" -General John Reynolds at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863, shortly before being killed by a Confederate sharpshooter’s minie bullet. At the time, Reynolds was directing Meredith’s Brigade into position at the edge of McPherson’s woods.

Reynolds died on the edge of McPherson’s woods. He was killed instantly when struck in the head by a minie bullet fired by a Confederate sharpshooter.

Reynolds was born only fifty miles from Gettysburg in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He was buried at Lancaster three days after his death. At the Gettysburg National Military Park, there is a statue on McPherson’s Ridge where Reynolds fell. Reynolds was forty-three years old when he died at Gettysburg. He was a brilliant soldier and would be missed by the Union.

By afternoon of the first day, all nearby Confederate and Union troops began to make tracks for Gettysburg. The fighting was furious. A division of the Union I Corps met the Rebel assault and stopped it. This division of the Union I Corps had a unit called the Iron Brigade, it was made up of five regiments from the Midwest. The Iron Brigade was known for its hard fighting and was distinctive because its members wore black hats. The Iron Brigade lived up to its hard-fighting reputation at Gettysburg. Two-thirds of the black-hatted Iron Brigade members were lost in this battle. General O. O. Howard’s 11th Corps arrived north of Gettysburg around noon; they faced units of General Ewell’s 2nd Corps who were arriving after a fast march from the Susquehanna. More and more troops from both sides arrived at Gettysburg. Eventually, approximately 24,000 Rebels faced approximately 19,000 Yankees along a line in the shape of a semicircle running north and west of Gettysburg.

Lee arrived at Gettysburg and ordered Generals Hill and Ewell to send all they had against the Union lines. The Yankees began to retreat through Gettysburg towards the high ground of Cemetery Hill. Fighting continued street by street, house by house, and yard by yard as the Yankees retreated.

The Union retreat through Gettysburg was harried, hurried, and full of confusion. Approximately two or three thousand Yankees were captured as they tried to escape through the streets of Gettysburg. Not knowing the layout of the town streets led to confusion and entanglement for the fleeing Yankees. The men in blue could never be sure as they ran down an unfamiliar Gettysburg street; there might be Confederates waiting for them behind a house or hidden in an alley, or the street may lead to safety. Afterward, some of the Yankee soldiers could joke about the situation. They said the Rebels caught them because the names of some of their 11th Corps officers had tripped them up. Some of the names of the 11th Corps officers were Lieutenant Colonel Detleo Von Einsiedel, Colonel Waldimir Kryzanowski, and Brigadier General Alexander Schimmelpfennig.

The Confederates pushed the retreating Yankees through the town of Gettysburg until General Winfield Scott Hancock organized strong Union positions on the high ground of Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Hill. General Howard had earlier placed a reserve division and artillery on Cemetery Hill. The Confederate advance ended late in the afternoon of July 1. Lee ordered General Richard Ewell to renew the attack on the Yankee troops holding the high ground before night fell. In his orders to Ewell, Lee said the attack should happen "if practicable." However, General Ewell thought his men needed rest, and renewing the attack on the Yankee-held high ground was impracticable. Therefore, Ewell chose not to attack.

Barnes&Noble: The Killer Angels

At the close of the first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, the Union held the high ground of Culp’s Hill and Cemetery Hill. During the night, General Meade and three Union corps arrived at Gettysburg. The Yankees held a formidable defensive position. Their lines stretched two miles in the shape of an inverted hook around Culp’s Hill, Cemetery Hill, and another hill named Little Round Top.

The Union held a convex interior line at Gettysburg. Picture a rainbow. The Union troops are inside the rainbow and the Confederates are on the outside of the rainbow’s arc. This meant the Yankees were able to move their troops faster from position to position than the Rebels could, and communication between Yankees was faster because the distance between the Union troops was shorter.

The holding of the high ground on the first day was an important advantage for the Union at the Battle of Gettysburg.

During May and June of 1864, Grant’s Army of the Potomac and Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia fought a series of battles in Virginia, which included The Wilderness, Spotsylvania, and Cold Harbor. General Ulysses S. Grant was on the attack and his goal was to destroy the Army of Northern Virginia. Cold Harbor was fought on June 1-3, 1864.

Note: the term "cold harbor" meant a place to stay overnight, but where no cooked or hot meals are served. This is how the town of Cold Harbor got its name.

Overall, during this campaign of May and June in 1864, Grant’s Army of the Potomac was always moving to its left, hoping to flank the Army of Northern Virginia on its right. In early June, with the give and take of battle, the two armies were in a race to see which one would get to the crossroads town of Cold Harbor first. Lee won the race to Cold Harbor, but Grant was right behind.

General Robert E. Lee was (as usual) outnumbered. At Cold Harbor Lee had 59,000 troops facing 109,000 Yankees. The previous four weeks of fighting had taken a considerable toll on both armies. The Union suffered casualties of 44,000, while the Confederates had casualties of 25,000. General Grant’s idea was to wear Lee’s army down by constant fighting, and cause Lee to lose by attrition. Grant knew by steadily forcing Lee to fight, and to continue to fight, eventually the superior numbers of men and firepower of the North would win the war against the Confederacy. If the Army of Northern Virginia could be ground down to a nub, the Confederacy would be defeated. Grant’s plan was working.

Barnes&Noble: Cold Harbor

On June 3, at Cold Harbor, the Army of the Potomac faced a well-entrenched Army of Northern Virginia that held a good, strong, and defensive position. A newspaper reporter described the Confederate trenches as "intricate, zig-zagged lines within lines, lines protecting flanks of lines, lines built to enfilade opposing lines…works within works and works without works." Their ranks contained seasoned soldiers who knew how to fight. Though outnumbered, the trenches gave the Confederates the advantage. At dawn, General Grant sent three Federal corps in a straight-on charge against the defensively entrenched Confederates.

This charge resulted in one of the bloodiest slaughters of the Civil War. Within only seven to eight minutes, seven thousand Union men fell at Cold Harbor. The dead and wounded covered a battlefield of five acres. A Confederate general commented; "I had seen the dreadful carnage in front of Marye’s Hill at Fredericksburg, but I had seen nothing to exceed this. It was not war; it was murder." The amount of fire the Confederates poured into the Union soldiers was enormous. An Alabama colonel who witnessed the slaughter described a common end to the lives of many Union soldiers in this way; "dust fog out of a man’s clothing in two or three places at once where as many balls would strike him at the same moment." A few men from a Zouave unit managed to come close to the Confederate lines, but soon shot down. A Zouave regiment colonel was struck by so many bullets that afterwards his remains could only be identified by brass buttons, which remained on what little was left of his officer’s uniform.

Grant knew by the afternoon he had lost, and no further attacks occurred. Cold Harbor was a Confederate victory. On the evening of June 3, Grant said; "I regret this assault more than any one I have ever ordered." Grant knew his decision of a frontal charge at Cold Harbor was a mistake.

Petersburg was next for the two opposing armies.

Barnes&Noble: Confederate Cavalrymen of the Civil War

Traveller and Robert E. Lee Confederate General Robert E. Lee came to Richmond, Virginia in the spring of 1861. During this visit, Lee was given a bay stallion named Richmond. Richmond was a nervous horse, and proved unsatisfactory. When Richmond was near strange horses, he would tend to squeal. This was not a good thing for a Civil War horse to do. Lee took Richmond to West Virginia and purchased another horse called The Roan or Brown-Roan. Unfortunately, The Roan began to go blind during the Seven Days’ Battle in June and July of 1862. The horse Richmond died after Malvern Hill. After Second Bull Run, cavalryman Jeb Stuart got Lee a mare named Lucy Long. Also around this time, Lee received a sorrel horse named Ajax.

When Lee rode to Appomattox Court House to surrender on April 9, 1865, he was riding his favorite and most known horse. This gray colored horse was Traveller. After the Civil War, when Robert E. Lee was president at Washington University (later renamed to Washington and Lee University), Lee’s favorite old war-horse Traveller was still with him. When Lee died, the horse Traveller walked behind Lee’s hearse in the funeral procession. Traveller walked with his head bowed and in a slow gait. Traveller is buried outside of the Lee Chapel on the campus of Washington and Lee University. Robert E. Lee is interred in a crypt beneath the Lee Chapel.

Lexington, Sam, and William Tecumseh Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman had two horses that were his favorites during the Civil War. These horse’s names were Lexington and Sam. Sherman rode Lexington at Atlanta and in the Grand Review in Washington at the close of the war. Sam was injured several times during the Civil War. At Shiloh, three of Sherman’s horses were killed during the battle. Two of these three horses died as an orderly held their reigns.

Cincinnati and Ulysses S. Grant As a young man, Ulysses S. Grant developed a love of horses when he worked at a farm his father owned. Grant became a skilled equestrian. While a cadet at West Point, Grant was an exceptional equestrian and he did not stand out as having exceptional talents in anything else while at West Point. Grant wanted a commission in the cavalry when he finished at West Point. Instead, Grant wound up in the infantry because the cavalry had no vacancies. The infantry assignment must have been a disappointment for the equestrian Ulysses S. Grant.

Barnes&Noble: Horses of Gettysburg Civil War Minutes

Grant’s favorite horse during the Civil War was Cincinnati. An admirer gave Cincinnati to Grant after the Battle of Chattanooga. Cincinnati was seldom ridden by anyone other than Grant, one notable exception being President Abraham Lincoln when Lincoln last visited City Point, Virginia. Other horses Grant had in the Civil War were Jack, Fox, and Kangaroo. Kangaroo was left on the Shiloh battlefield by the Confederates. This horse was described as ugly and raw-boned. Grant however, having an eye for horses, knew that Kangaroo was a thoroughbred. After becoming a Yankee horse, Kangaroo got rest and care and became a fine horse.

Old Sorrel and Stonewall Jackson
Old Sorrel was Confederate General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson’s horse. Stonewall was riding this horse when he was shot by friendly fire at Chancellorsville. Old Sorrel became Jackson’s horse in May of 1861 at Harpers Ferry. The horse was about eleven-years-old at this time.

That Devil Dan and George B. McClellan
Union General George B. McClellan’s favorite war-horse was named Daniel Webster. Members of General McClellan’s staff began to call this horse "that devil Dan" because Daniel Webster was a speedy horse. The horses of McClellan’s staff members had trouble keeping up with "that devil Dan." Daniel Webster was with McClellan at Antietam. This horse was described as being a dark bay, about seventeen hands high, a pure bred, handsome, and he seldom showed signs of fatigue. Daniel Webster was a fine example of a horse. When McClellan retired from military service, the horse Daniel Webster went with him. The horse nicknamed "that devil Dan" became the family horse of the McClellan family.

The Army of Northern Virginia Learns of Stonewall Jackson’s Death

General Robert E. Lee tells his army about General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson’s death with his General Orders, Number 61.

Barnes&Noble: All Things for Good

GENERAL ORDERS, No. 61. HDQRS. ARMY OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA, May 11, 1863. With deep grief the commanding general announces to the army the death of Lieut. Gen. T. J. Jackson, who expired on the 10th instant, at 3.15 p.m. The daring, skill, and energy of this great and good soldier, by the decree of an all-wise Providence, are now lost to us. But while we mourn his death, we feel that his spirit still lives, and will inspire the whole army with his indomitable courage and unshaken confidence in God as our hope and our strength. Let his name be a watchword to his corps, who have followed him to victory on so many fields. Let officers and soldiers emulate his invincible determination to do everything in the defense of our beloved country. R. E. LEE, General.

The Death of General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson

At Chancellorsville during the night of May 2, Stonewall Jackson is struck three times by friendly fire. A bullet each to Jackson’s right hand and left wrist, and a third to his left arm between the shoulder and elbow. The third bullet fractured Jackson’s humerus bone and injured his brachial artery, this wound was very serious and it bled profusely. Very early in the morning of May 3, doctors amputated Jackson’s left arm two inches below the shoulder.

As the days pass, Jackson is healing and recovering well from the amputation and other wounds. The prognosis for Stonewall’s recovery looked good.

Early in the morning on May 7, Jackson awoke and complained of a sharp pain in his right side. Doctors examined him and determined he had pneumonia. Since the amputation of his left arm Jackson had been alert and sharp of mind, but now he became feverish, and began to lapse in and out of consciousness.

Barnes&Noble: Biography Stonewall Jackson DVD

Sometimes he would speak coherently with those around him, and at other times he was in a delirium…giving orders to subordinates as if he was still on a battlefield.

Barnes&Noble: Stonewall Jacksons Book of Maxims

Jackson’s wife Anna was summoned to his bedside. Anna arrived on May 7, bringing the Jackson’s five-month-old baby, Julia. Stonewall had seen baby Julia only once before. In Stonewall’s good and lucid moments, he was able to visit with Anna and baby Julia. Jackson’s condition continued to decline. By the morning of Sunday, May 10, Jackson’s doctors knew the general’s time was short.

Stonewall Jackson was a devout Presbyterian; his faith in God was the cornerstone of his life. In his personal habits, Jackson neither drank or smoked. Anna was told her husband would not live through the day and she asked him, “Do you not feel willing to acquiesce in God’s allotment, if He will you go today?” and Jackson replied, “I prefer it.” Anna continued, “Before this day closes, you will be with the Blessed Savior in his glory.” Jackson replied to her, “I will be an infinite gainer to be translated.”

As this Sunday in early May continued, Jackson’s condition worsened more and more. He was becoming weak and exhausted, and his breathing was difficult. Anna asked her husband if he realized that before sunset he would be with his savior. Even at this stage, Jackson thought otherwise and told her, “Oh no, you are frightened my child, death is not so near. I may yet get well.” Anna told her husband the doctors said there was no hope.

Jackson called for his doctor, saying to him, “Doctor, Anna informs me that you have told her that I am to die today.” The doctor answered, “That is so.” Jackson replied, “Very good, very good, it is all right.” Later, when his strength was slipping further away, Jackson spoke, “It is the Lord’s day; my wish is fulfilled. I have always desired to die on Sunday.”

Jackson’s doctor noticed Jackson was conscious at 1:30 in the afternoon. The doctor told Jackson he had only but a couple of hours left to live. Brandy and water were offered, but Jackson declined saying, “It will only delay my departure and do no good. I want to preserve my mind to the last.” Soon he was back in a delirium. Jackson first gave orders like he was on a battlefield, then he was at a mess table talking with his staff, then with his wife and daughter, and then he was at his prayers…all this while lying in bed with his mind fogged and confused by a feverish delirium.

Barnes&Noble: Whatever You Resolve To Be

That Sunday was a beautiful spring day at Guinea Station, Virginia, where a great Confederate general lay dying in a farmhouse. In the early afternoon, General Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson (again in a delirium) spoke these words; "Order A.P. Hill to prepare for action! Pass the infantry to the front rapidly! Tell Major Hawks…"

After that Jackson paused, and then with a smile; “Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees.” At 3:15 in the afternoon on May 10, 1863 Confederate General Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson was dead.

Stonewall Jackson, General Robert E. Lee’s “right arm,” was now gone forever. The great Confederate victory at Chancellorsville, where Lee had gambled and won (it would be known as Lee’s “masterpiece"), had came with a great loss. Jackson could never be replaced. In battles yet to come, General Lee and the Confederacy would dearly miss Stonewall Jackson and his aggressive leadership.

The only home Stonewall Jackson ever owned is a brick house in Lexington, Virginia. Jackson owned this home before the Civil War as he taught at the nearby Virginia Military Institute (VMI). Today, the Stonewall Jackson House in Lexington is a Registered National Landmark and is open to visitors. A number of Jackson’s personal items are on display there. While in Lexington, you will find much about Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson at VMI’s museum. Also in Lexington is the Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery. Jackson is buried there along with other Confederate veterans.

Stonewall Jackson, shot by friendly fire the night of May 2, has his mangled left arm amputated early in the morning of May 3 at a field hospital. General Robert E. Lee says of Jackson’s importance to him and the Army of Northern Virginia; "He has lost his left arm, but I have lost my right. Any victory would be dear at such a cost."

The best artillery officer of the Confederacy, Colonel Edward Porter Alexander, reports to General James Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart early the morning of May 3 that a high piece of ground called Hazel Grove would be the perfect point to stage an artillery attack. Stuart sends a brigade made up of Tennessee and Alabama regiments to Hazel Grove. At dawn, the Confederates attack, just in time to capture four cannon and one hundred men of a Union rear guard.

Because of its very advantageous position for artillery, Hazel Grove is the key to the battlefield. If "Fighting Joe" Hooker controls Hazel Grove, he could keep the two wings of the Army of Northern Virginia separated. Hooker, with his superior number of troops, could then destroy Lee’s parted army.

Despite the great advantage of holding Hazel Grove, Hooker decides to abandon the position. Hooker chooses instead to have his troops fall back from Hazel Grove to an elevated clearing called Fairview.

Barnes&Noble: Lee’s Lieutenants: A Study in Command by Douglas Freeman, Abridged by Stephen W. Sears

Colonel Alexander quickly moves about 36 cannon into the open space of Hazel Grove and begins firing at Yankee artillery located about 1200 yards away at Fairview, and at the crossroads of Chancellorsville itself. The Confederate artillery is triumphant. It was recently reorganized into a battalion system, allowing it to have an ample amount of guns in large, mobile groups. This organization of the Confederate artillery made it much more efficient and effective. The advantageous high ground of Hazel Grove and the battalion system of artillery management led Douglas Southall Freeman (the Army of Northern Virginia’s leading historian) to comment; "At Hazel Grove the finest artillerists of the Army of Northern Virginia were having their greatest day." With the artillery support, the Confederate infantry stages a full attack on the Federal lines.

General "Fighting Joe" Hooker experiences personally some of the Confederate artillery. Hooker is at his Chancellorsville house headquarters leaning against a white porch column on the second-story veranda. A Confederate shell hits the porch column but does not explode. Hooker is knocked unconscious and suffers a concussion, but the dazed and groggy "Fighting Joe" continues in command.

Some of Hooker’s officers wish Hooker would start a counterattack in response to the Confederate offensive. These officers are disappointed when Hooker instead chooses to retreat one or two miles towards the north into a defensive line.

The two wings of Lee’s army reunite and Lee’s great gamble at Chancellorsville pays off. The Confederates push the Yankees back to the Chancellorsville crossroads intersection. General Lee rides his horse Traveller onto the battle scene, the sight of Lee with Traveller charges the enthusiasm of the Confederates and they cheer their general. Lee is in triumph and his men are celebrating, but a crisis soon comes.

Word comes from Fredericksburg that Lee’s rear guard is in trouble. General Jubal Early leads the rear guard and his 11,000 men are up against twice as many Union soldiers led by General John Sedgwick. On the morning of May 3, Confederate Colonel Thomas M. Griffen accepts (against regulations) a flag of truce. During the truce, the Federals see that they outnumber their enemy. The Federals advance upon the Confederates, moving over ground where so much loss and grief had occurred for them the previous December during the Battle of Fredericksburg. They cross the plain below Marye’s Heights, and move over the stone wall and Sunken Road, giving Sedgwick’s troops a path to the rear of General Lee’s position.

Sedgwick’s advance ends at Salem Church, about four miles west of Marye’s Heights. Five brigades of Alabama troops (all tough and veteran fighters) led by Marcellus Wilcox, use Salem Church for protection as they make a stand. Lee sends General Lafayette McLaws and his troops to Salem Church for reinforcement of Wilcox and his Alabamians. Later, Lee himself arrives. The fighting tapers off late in the day on May 3. On May 4, the Confederates push Sedgwick back to the Rappahannock River. The Union soldiers retreat across the Rappahannock on the night of May 4-5.

With Sedgwick now across the Rappahannock River, Lee returns to Chancellorsville on May 5 and begins planning a new offensive against Hooker’s men. Nevertheless, a new Confederate offensive proves unnecessary. On the morning of May 6, Lee learns from scouts that under the cover of night, the Yankees have retreated north of the Rappahannock River.

Barnes&Noble: Chancellorsville

President Lincoln has been monitoring the Chancellorsville battle from the telegraph office in the War Department. During the battle, Lincoln hears reports that are often contradictory or incomplete. On May 6 however, Lincoln learns the certain results of Chancellorsville. He is not pleased. A newspaperman wrote Lincoln’s face turned "ashen" upon hearing the bad news of Chancellorsville. The president exclaims, "My God! My God! What will the country say?" The country’s reaction to the Union defeat at Chancellorsville is not good. With the Union’s defeat at Fredericksburg, and now a loss at Chancellorsville, the country has been hearing too much bad news too often. Things are looking bad for the Union.

For General Robert E. Lee and the Confederacy, things are looking good. Lee has won a great battle at Chancellorsville, it his masterpiece.

Meanwhile, twenty-five miles southeast of Chancellorsville in a house at Guinea Station, General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson is healing from his wounds and amputation. The news from there is good too for General Lee and the South, as Stonewall seemed to be recovering…

The night of May 1, Generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson are sitting on Union hardtack boxes by campfire. Lee and Jackson are working on their battle plans. Outnumbered more than two to one, Lee still wants to take the offensive against Hooker. Lee knows the Federals hold a good defensive position on the high ground around Chancellorsville and the situation is too risky for a direct attack. Moreover, the Rappahannock River protects the Federal left, so turning it is impossible. Lee needs a way to go on the offensive. General Jeb Stuart soon provides the way.

Stuart’s cavalry scouts have found that Hooker’s right flank has no natural or artificial obstacle to protect it, Hooker’s right flank is "in the air" and vulnerable. To move without detection around to the Federal right flank, Lee and Jackson need a route through the Wilderness. One of Stonewall Jackson’s staff officers finds a man who lives in the area, and this local knows of a road used to haul charcoal to an iron-smelting furnace. Jackson can move his troops to the Federal right flank by using the charcoal-hauling road and a few other roads.

At Chancellorsville, Robert E. Lee gambles with his battle plans. Lee stays with only 15,000 men to face Hooker’s main force, while Jackson takes his corps of about 30,000 men through a way of roads and paths to the Federal right. Stuart’s cavalry will screen Jackson’s movement from the Federals and Lee will divert Hooker’s attention as Jackson’s men make their way. Meanwhile, General Jubal Early has his men at Fredericksburg. Splitting the Army of Northern Virginia into three separate groups is a big risk. If Hooker chooses to take the offensive, his superior number of troops can destroy any of Lee’s separated groups. Lee counts on "Fighting Joe" Hooker to do nothing while Stonewall Jackson makes his march to the Federal right flank.

Early the morning of May 2, Stonewall Jackson begins his march. As Lee remains behind with his relatively meager amount of troops, Jackson takes his 30,000 men on a twelve-mile march around Hooker’s army. Jackson has Stuart’s cavalry to screen his march, but Union infantry still detects the Rebel movements and troops under General Dan Sickles attack the tail of Jackson’s column. General "Fighting Joe" Hooker knows of Stonewall Jackson’s flanking movement, but Hooker thinks the Rebels are retreating instead of making offensive movements. Hooker does nothing to prepare for an attack on his right flank. By late in the afternoon of May 2, Stonewall has 30,000 men behind the unaware Federal troops.

Stonewall Jackson tells Major Eugene Blackford, "You can go forward then," and with their bone-chilling Rebel Yell battle cry, the Confederates advance out of the cover of the Wilderness. The 11th Corps, under command of General Oliver O. Howard, have the Federal right. Mostly made up of German-Americans, the 11th Corps is about 12,000 strong. The 11th Corps, known as the "Dutch Corps" (a mangling of the word "Deutsche" for "German"), has a poor reputation based on previous battle action. Today would not improve the "Dutch Corps" reputation. The Confederate attack took place near suppertime and most of Howard’s troops are preparing food or relaxing. The oncoming wall of attacking rebels surprises the Federals. By nightfall, Jackson’s men have backed the Federals up two miles. It was a moonlit night, and even after dark some fighting continues in the woods and thickets of the Wilderness. Night fighting was very rare in the Civil War, but this is an example of it. Finally, darkness ends the Confederate attack.

General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson and several other officers are looking for a way to renew the attack. They are out ahead of their lines in the darkness and confusion of the Wilderness, scouting for the best way to begin a new attack. As they are returning to their lines at a trot, they come upon a regiment from North Carolina. In the dark, the Tarheels hear the horses approaching and mistake their riders as Federals, the North Carolinians begin firing and Stonewall Jackson is shot. One bullet hits Jackson in his right hand, a second in his left wrist, and the third strikes him in his left arm between the shoulder and elbow. Stonewall’s frightened horse bolts and runs toward the Federal lines, bashing Jackson’s face into a low tree branch before Jackson regains control of the horse. The most damaging third bullet shatters bone and cuts an artery. Stonewall Jackson is severely injured. He is in great pain and moved to the rear on a stretcher, but not before urging his men to continue the fight and finish the victory. General Jeb Stuart assumes command of General Jackson’s 11th Corps.

Barnes&Noble: Smoothbore Volley That Doomed the Confederacy

Barnes&Noble: A Bullet for Stonewall

Night has now fallen and the fighting ends for this day. The morning of May 3 would renew the Battle of Chancellorsville.

Chancellorsville is "Lee’s Masterpiece" (Chancellorsville is a brick plantation house located in the area known as the Wilderness). At the Battle of Chancellorsville Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia is outnumbered by Union Major General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Hooker’s Army of the Potomac by more than two to one, yet Robert E. Lee and his "right-arm" General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson, defeat the Federals. Lee’s victory at Chancellorsville will provide him his path to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and another meeting with the Army of the Potomac in early July of 1863. Despite being Lee’s most canny and skillful victory, Chancellorsville will also bring a great loss to General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia.

General Joseph "Fighting Joe" Hooker was a bombastic, egotistical, and conceited individual. He was a person who thought his ends always justified his means and he would often disobey orders, jump over levels of command, or just flat out lie in order get what he wanted. Hooker was a handsome six-footer and popular with the women. Among the men Hooker served with, he was not so popular. He was not well liked or trusted.

General Joseph Hooker’s nickname of "Fighting Joe" came about by accident. The New York newspaper Courier and Enquirer had received a report about some action Hooker was involved in during McClellan’s Peninsular Campaign. The heading of the report said "Fighting – Joe Hooker" and it was meant to indicate that the report should be used to add more information to an already existing article about Joe Hooker’s part in the battle. Due to an error at the newspaper, this new report was treated as a separate article and was given the heading of "FIGHTING JOE HOOKER" with the hyphen omitted. The newspaper readers loved the nickname and it stuck. At first, Hooker himself did not much care for the nickname, but as time progressed, he liked it more and more.

President Lincoln (with some reservations) gave Hooker command of the Army of the Potomac on January 25, replacing General Ambrose Burnside. Ambrose Burnside had been a weak leader. He failed at Fredericksburg and later brought about a blunder known as the "Mud March."

The goal for the North was "On to Richmond!" If the Army of the Potomac could take the Confederate capital of Richmond, then the Confederate cause would be broken and the war won. Burnside’s loss at Fredericksburg left General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia firmly dug in with a defensive position at Fredericksburg, blocking the Army of the Potomac’s path to Richmond. With Hooker as the new commanding general, the Army of the Potomac would launch a new offensive on Richmond.

Joe Hooker went to work getting the Army of the Potomac into shape. Hooker reorganized the army and made changes in commands. The Army of the Potomac at this time consisted of nearly 150,000 troops and was the largest mobilized field army in the world. This army had become dispirited after the Union loss at Fredericksburg the previous December, but with Hooker it regained its morale. President Lincoln gave General Joe Hooker the freedom to make his own plans for the offensive campaign that would take place with the arrival of spring and the drying of the muddy winter roads. Lincoln did require two things of Hooker; that he go on the offensive as soon as possible, and that he leave Washington guarded.

Hooker planned to have one wing of his army march 40 miles upstream of the Rappahannock River and then cross it and the Rapidan River at fords located west of Confederate defenses. These troops then would move east and attack the Confederate left flank. The rest of the Army of the Potomac would cross the Rappahannock at a point below Fredericksburg to harass the Confederates there. "Fighting Joe" Hooker thought his plans were good, (his plans in fact, were not bad), and he was confident. Before the campaign he said; "My plans are perfect and when I start to carry them out, may God have mercy on General Lee, for I will have none."

Barnes&Noble: Chancellorsville

Hooker began his troop movements on April 27. General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia had spent the winter entrenched at Fredericksburg. Lee’s troops numbered about 61,000 men and Hookers’ troops about 134,000 men. Lee had less than half the men Hooker had. By April 30, Hooker had 50,000 men at a brick mansion named Chancellorsville. Chancellorsville was located at a crossroads in the dense, thicket-like, scrubby, secondary growth known as the Wilderness of Spotsylvania, ten miles west of Fredericksburg.

General Lee and his "right hand" General Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson had correctly sized up the situation. They realized that the Yankees at Chancellorsville, and not those who were opposite them and below Fredericksburg, were the main threat of Hooker’s offensive advance. The Confederates left a division to hold the Fredericksburg entrenchments, and the greater part of Lee’s army headed west toward Chancellorsville.

On the morning of May 1, Jackson’s troops met up with Hooker’s men a few miles east of Chancellorsville. Despite having a superior number of troops, Hooker fell back to a defensive position in the Wilderness terrain around Chancellorsville. The Union troops put up entrenchments around General Hooker’s Chancellorsville headquarters.

Barnes&Noble: Lee’s Terrible Swift Sword

Major General Darius N. Couch was the Army of the Potomac’s senior corps commander and he told General Hooker there was disappointment amongst the army leaders that Hooker had chosen a defensive posture at Chancellorsville. Couch himself, had favored an offensive strategy. "Fighting Joe" Hooker told General Couch "It is all right, Couch, I have got Lee just where I want him; he must fight me on my own ground." Couch was in disbelief with what Hooker had said to him; "To hear from his own lip that the advantages gained by the successful marches of his lieutenants were to culminate in fighting a defensive battle in tha t nest of thickets was too much, and I retired from his presence with the belief that my commanding general was a whipped man."

Hooker distributed to his corps commanders a circular that included these words, "The major general commanding trusts that a suspension in the attack to-day will embolden the enemy to attack him."

Lee and Jackson would meet the night of May 1 to decide upon a plan. What these two Confederate generals conceived during their night meeting was one of the most remarkable military gambles ever devised.

On the coming day of May 2, "Fighting Joe" Hooker was going to see emboldened enemy attacking him.

The Sultana is the deadliest maritime tragedy in United States history.

Camp Fisk, near Vicksburg, Mississippi, was a prisoner of war camp holding many Federal prisoners. On April 10, 1865 Confederate authorities sent orders to Camp Fisk for release on parole of all its prisoners. This order came the day after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to General Ulysses Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.

The Union prisoners of war at Camp Fisk previously were prisoners at camps such as Cahaba (Castle Morgan), near Selma, Alabama and at the hellhole known as Andersonville, in Georgia. The majority of these freed prisoners from Camp Fisk had suffered long, hard, imprisonments. The strain of existing in a Civil War prisoner of war camp had taken a toll on these men. They were weak with disease and malnourished, their release from Camp Fisk was a welcomed blessing … and a supposed lifesaver.

The Civil War was ending. The freed prisoners looked forward to shedding their old, worn, filthy war uniforms for new, and soon happily returning to their families and homes. Now on their path to freedom, the parolees would have to make a trip up the Mississippi River from Camp Fisk to Cairo, Illinois.

To move these former prisoners of war up the river to Cairo, the Federal government contracted with private steamboat lines. The steamship Sultana was hired to help transport men.

The Sultana was loaded with over 2,000 parolees and other passengers as it began its voyage to Cairo. This steamship, designed to carry only 376 passengers, was severely and dangerously overloaded. The Sultana had four boilers, and all of them required patching at one time or another. The stress of hauling this overload of human cargo proved too much for the Sultana.

Three Sultana boilers exploded about seven miles above Memphis.

The parts of the Sultana not immediately blown to bits in the explosion, soon caught fire. Passengers not killed outright in the explosion now found they were facing flames, or they were thrown into the muddy currents of the Mississippi River.

The freed prisoners were weak and sick from their captivity, many of them did not know how to swim and were injured by the boiler explosions. The final fate for many, after surviving cruel prisoner of war captivity, was drowning in the Mississippi.

Barnes&Noble: Sultana

The figures vary, but 783 to 786 people were rescued from the muddy Mississippi waters. Those saved from the water were taken to Memphis hospitals. Sadly, 200 of them later died from their ordeal. Estimates are that between 1,500 and 1,700 people died because of the Sultana explosion. The remnants of the Sultana explosion drifted down the Mississippi River, eventually sinking opposite the city of Memphis. Today, the Sultana’s remnants are buried deep in mud at the bottom of the Mississippi River.

More people died in the Sultana explosion, than died when the Titanic sank in April of 1912.

On April 22, 1861 Robert E. Lee took command of the Virginia troops. Lee fought for the Confederacy because his loyalty was to his home state of Virginia.

On this date Lee left his home of Arlington in Virginia, and would never return to it. Union forces soon occupied Arlington, and Robert E. Lee’s home became Union General Irvin McDowell’s headquarters. During the Civil War, Lee’s home of Arlington would become Arlington National Cemetery.

Barnes&Noble: Robert E. Lee

Colonel Robert E. Lee of the United States Army, resigns his commission on this day in 1861.

Robert E. Lee was born on January 19, 1807 at Stratford in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Lee spent his youth and adulthood in Northern Virginia. He ranked second in his class when he graduated from West Point in 1829.

Barnes&Noble: Robert E. Lee on Leadership

President Abraham Lincoln offered Robert E. Lee command of the Federal armies on April 18, 1861 after General Winfield Scott recommended Lee for this position. Virginia had seceded from the Union on April 17. Lee declined President Lincoln’s offer and on April 20, he resigned from the United States Army. Robert E. Lee had decided to fight for the Confederacy because his loyalty was to the state of Virginia.

Abraham Lincoln would say that he could not understand Lee and other southern officers, who broke their oaths of allegiance to the United States and fought for the Confederacy.

President Abraham Lincoln died on April 15, 1865 at 7:22 in the morning.

Upon Abraham Lincoln’s death, it was reported Secretary of War Edwin Stanton said; "Now he belongs to the ages." Abraham Lincoln’s assassination was a tragedy. The nation was in mourning.

Barnes&Noble: They Have Killed Papa Dead

Some in the defeated South were joyous over the news of Lincoln’s death…it had been a long, hard, bitter, and bloody war.

Others in the South realized they had lost a friend on their path to reconstruction and healing after the war. Lincoln’s death was not good news for the people of the South. Some leaders coming to power after Lincoln’s death would not have Lincoln’s conciliatory ideas for the South.

Almost immediately after his assassination, discussion begins for a memorial of some type for President Abraham Lincoln. The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. was dedicated in 1922. The Lincoln memorial has 36 columns to signify the number of states that were in the Union during Abraham Lincoln’s presidency. Carved into the marble of the south wall of the memorial is Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.

The Lincoln Memorial faces toward Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s former home of Arlington House, located across the Potomac River.

After General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to General Grant on April 9, at Appomattox Court House, Virginia he issued the following to his army. Known officially as "General Orders No. 9, it is more commonly known as "General Robert E. Lee’s Farewell Order." The Commander in Chief of the Confederate Army is saying goodbye to his loyal army.

Headquarters Army of Northern Virginia, 10th April 1865

General Orders No. 9

Appomattox Court House, Virginia

After four years of arduous service marked by unsurpassed courage and fortitude, the Army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming numbers and resources. I need not tell the brave survivors of some many hard fought battles who have remained steadfast to the last that I have consented to this result from no distrust of them. But feeling that valor and devotion could accomplish nothing that could compensate for the loss that must have attended the continuance of the contest, I determined to avoid the useless sacrifice of those whose past services have endeared them to their countrymen. By the terms of the agreement, officers and men can return to their homes and remain until exchanged.

Barnes&Noble: Appomattox

You will take with you the satisfaction that proceeds from a consciousness of duty faithfully performed; and I earnestly pray that a Merciful God will extend to you His blessings and protection. With an unceasing admiration of your constancy and devotion to your Country, and a grateful remembrance of your kind and generous consideration for myself, I bid you all an affectionate farewell. RE Lee

On April 9, in the parlor of Wilmer McLean’s house at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Union General Ulysses S. Grant. The Confederacy was defeated, and the Union preserved.

Wilmer McClean had moved to Appomattox Court House from Manassas, Virginia. During the battle of First Manassas (First Bull Run), McClean had an artillery shell come down his chimney and wind up in a stew cooking for Confederate General Beauregard. After this, McClean moved to Appomattox Court House in hopes of finding a more peaceful place to live. You could say that Wilmer McClean had the Civil War begin in the kitchen of his home at Manassas, and then end in the parlor of his home at Appomattox Court House.

With General Lee’s historic surrender at Appomattox Court House, not all activities and bloodshed of the Civil War immediately ended. War, and Confederate surrenders, continued on for a bit.

Barnes&Noble: Lee’s Miserables

At New Orleans on May 26, Confederate General Simon Boliver Buckner’s army is the last Rebel army to surrender. On May 13, in Texas at a place called Palmito Ranch (also called Palmito Hill) near the Rio Grande, there is a skirmish between Confederate and Union troops. This skirmish is recognized as the last military action of the Civil War. It was a Confederate victory, but it was too little too late.

Following their previous communication on April 7, Grant and Lee now set a time and a place to meet:

Barnes&Noble: April 1865

GENERAL R. E. LEE, Commanding C. S. A.: Your note of last evening in reply to mine of the same date, asking the conditions on which I will accept the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, is just received. In reply I would say that, peace being my great desire, there is but one condition I would insist upon-namely, that the men and officers surrendered shall be disqualified for taking up arms against the Government of the United States until properly exchanged. I will meet you, or will designate officers to meet any officers you may name for the same purpose, at any point agreeable to you, for the purpose of arranging definitely the terms upon which the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia will be received. U. S. GRANT, Lieutenant-General April 8th, 1865

LIEUTENANT-GENERAL U. S. GRANT

GENERAL: I received at a late hour your note of to-day. In mine of yesterday I did not intend to propose the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia, but to ask the terms of your proposition. To be frank, I do not think the emergency has arisen to call for the surrender of this army, but, as the restoration of peace should be the sole object of all, I desired to know whether your proposals would lead to that end. I cannot, therefore, meet you with a view to surrender the Army of Northern Virginia; but as far as your proposal may affect the Confederate States forces under my command, and tend to the restoration of peace, I should be pleased to meet you at 10 A. M. to-morrow on the old stage road to Richmond, between the picket-lines of the two armies.

R. E. LEE,

General

The life of the Army of Northern Virginia is nearing its end by April 7. The following important events during the Appomattox Campaign have come to pass by this date:

* Amelia Court House
Before midday on April 4, Robert E. Lee arrives at Amelia Court House. Lee’s men are hungry. His army needs rations and provisions, Lee is expecting supplies to be waiting at Amelia Court House. Unfortunately for Lee’s needy men plans did not work out. There are no supplies waiting for the Confederates at Amelia Court House. The failure to obtain supplies is a severe blow to the hopes of the Army of Northern Virginia.

* Sayler’s Creek (also known as Sailor’s Creek)
On April 6, cavalry under Major General Philip Sheridan and corps of infantry under Major General Horatio Wright and General Andrew Humphreys force the surrender of approximately a quarter of Robert E. Lee’s army. The Union victory at Sayler’s Creek is the death knell of the Army of Northern Virginia. Confederate Generals who surrender at Sayler’s Creek are; Richard S. Ewell, Joseph Kershaw, Custis Lee, Dudley DuBose, Eppa Hunton, and Montgomery Corse.

Barnes&Noble: A Place Called Appomattox

As General Robert E. Lee saw survivors of Sayler’s Creek walking along a road he said; "My God, has the army dissolved? " On April 7, the following communications were passed between the lines by General Ulysses Grant and General Robert E. Lee. Grant is asking Lee to consider surrender. Lee wants to know what Grant’s terms would be…

HEADQUARTERS, ARMIES OF THE U. S. 5 P. M., April 7th, 1865 GENERAL R. E. LEE, Commanding C. S. A.: The results of the last week must convince you of the hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the Army of Northern Virginia in this struggle. I feel that it is so, and regard it as my duty to shift from myself the responsibility of any further effusion of blood by asking of you the surrender of that portion of the Confederate States army known as the Army of Northern Virginia. U. S. Grant, Lieutenant-General

April 7th, 1865 LIEUTENANT-GENERAL U. S. GRANT, Commanding Armies of the U. S. GENERAL: I have received your note of this date. Though not entertaining the opinion you express of the hopelessness of further resistance on the part of the Army of Northern Virginia, I reciprocate your desire to avoid useless effusion of blood, and therefore, before considering your proposition, ask the terms you will offer on condition of its surrender. R.E. LEE, General