Rebels at the Gate: Lee and McClellan on the Front Line of a Nation Divided (52 page)

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Authors: W Hunter Lesser

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BOOK: Rebels at the Gate: Lee and McClellan on the Front Line of a Nation Divided
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209. Taylor,
Four Years
, 13; Alexander,
Military Memoirs
, 14; Guie,
Bugles in the Valley
, 126;
O. R
. ser. 1, vol. 2, 72, 915; Chesnut,
Diary from Dixie
, 126.

210.
O. R
. vol. 2, 236;Warner,
Generals In Gray
, 153; Armstrong,
25 Virginia Infantry
, 7. Colonel William L. Jackson was a second cousin of “Stonewall” Jackson.

211.
O. R
. vol. 2, 237–39, 255, 930–31; J.M. Heck to M.G. Harman, July 2, 1861 in The Staunton
Spectator
, July 1861. Captain James Corley, Garnett's West Point-trained adjutant, and later chief quartermaster for Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, selected the position for Camp Garnett.

212.
O. R
. vol. 2, 238; Cammack,
Personal Recollections
, 23–24; Ashcraft,
31 Virginia Infantry
, 121.

213. Rice, “The Letters of John Barret Pendleton,” 16; Taliaferro, “Annals of the War,” 7 ;
O. R
. vol. 2, 239–42.

214. McClellan,
Report on the Organization
, 19;
Wheeling Daily Intelligencer
, December 24, 1861; McClellan Papers in Waugh,
Class of 1846
, 177; Sears,
Civil War Papers of George McClellan
, 44; Sears,
George B. McClellan
, 83.

215. Ibid., 83; Sears,
Civil War Papers of George McClellan
, 32–33.

216. Ibid., 34; Hewett,
Supplement to the Official Records
, vol. 2, serial no. 2, 133–34;
O. R
. vol. 2, 195;
Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper
, August 3, 1861, 183.

217.
O. R
. vol. 2, 195.

218. Ibid., 196–97.

219. Sears,
George B. McClellan
, 85; Sears,
Civil War Papers of George McClellan
, 37–40.

220. Grebner, “
We Were the Ninth,”
61;
Wheeling Daily Intelligencer
, July 10, 1861; Lamers,
The Edge of Glory
, 6, 9, 14, 17–18; Reid,
Ohio in the War
, vol. 1, 314–15, 349, 877; Cox,
Military Reminiscences
, vol. 1, 111–12.

221.
O. R
. vol. 2, 195, 197–98.

222. Plum,
The Military Telegraph
, vol. 1, 44–45, 92–94, 97–98; Rice, “The Military Telegraph in Western Virginia,” 25. A description of McClellan's cipher is contained in Plum, 44–47.

223. Sears,
Civil War Papers of George McClellan
, 40; McClellan,
Report on the Organization
, 26;
O. R
. vol. 2, 199.

224. Elwood,
Elwood's Stories of the Old Ringgold Cavalry
, 30–32.

225. Sears,
Civil War Papers of George McClellan
, 41;
O. R
. vol. 2, 198–200; Sears,
George B. McClellan
, 19–20.

226. Hornbeck,
Upshur Brothers
, 45.

227. Cox, “McClellan in West Virginia,” 131, 137;
O. R
. vol. 2, 205, 268, 293; Sears,
Civil War Papers of George McClellan
, 43n; Benham,
Recollections of West Virginia Campaign
, 679–80; Hotchkiss,
Virginia
, 47; Sears,
George B. McClellan
, 88. McClellan stubbornly defended his inflated estimate of Garnett's strength; see
O. R
. vol. 2, 203.

228.
O. R
. vol. 2, 208–09; Sears,
Civil War Papers of George McClellan
, 44.

229. “Fight at Middle Fork Bridge,” Moore,
Rebellion Record
, vol. 2, Documents, 251–52;
O. R
. vol. 2, 200–01, 255, 259–60; Reid,
Ohio in the War
, vol. 1, 34; Beatty,
The Citizen-Soldier
, 15; Cox,
Military Reminiscences
, vol. 1, 28; John Higginbotham to his grandmother, July 17, 1861 in
Lynchburg Daily Virginian
, July 28, 1861.

230. Griggs,
General John Pegram
, 1–2, 7–8, 23, 25;
O. R
. vol. 2, 261.

231.
O. R
. vol. 2, 264; Miller,
Mapping for Stonewall
, 12, 15, 27–29.

232. McClellan,
Report on the Organization
, 25.

233. Sears,
Civil War Papers of George McClellan
, 46;
O.R.
vol. 2, 200–01.

234. Ibid., 205; Kepler,
History of the Three Months'
, 32–33; Beatty,
The Citizen-Soldier
, 18–19.

235. Merrill,
The Soldier of Indiana
, 36–37, 41–44;
O. R
. vol. 2, 218–19; Bierce,
Battlefields and Ghosts
, 8–9. Bierce failed to mention that while under fire he carried a mortally wounded comrade, Corporal Dyson Boothroyd, out of those woods.

236. Durham, “The Battle of Belington,” 121; R.S. Garnett to G. Deas, July 9, 1861, RG 109, Box 9, # 1940, NA; Skidmore,
Civil War Journal of Billy Davis
, 50; Terrell,
Report of the Adjutant General
, vol. 4, 45. By July 9, General Morris reported the loss of eleven Federals at Laurel Hill; another Federal officer estimated up to five casualties per day on each side. See
O. R
. vol. 2, 218 and Benham,
Recollections of West Virginia Campaign
, 681.

237. Hall,
The Diary of a Confederate Soldier
, 15; Hermann,
Memoirs of a Veteran
, 16–17. Hermann described some of the works at Laurel Hill as three and one half feet deep, with the dirt thrown towards the front, protecting him up to the shoulders.

238.
O. R
. vol. 2, 256; G.A. Porterfield to G.D. Hall, February 5, 1904 in Hall,
Lee's Invasion
, 154; R.S. Garnett to G. Deas, July 9, 1861, RG 109, Box 9, # 1940, NA.

Chapter 9. The Whole Earth Seemed to Shake

239. Thompson, “Bound for Glory,” 21; Sears,
Civil War Papers of George McClellan
, 50.

240.
O. R
. vol. 51, pt. 1, 12–15; Grebner, “
We Were the Ninth
,” 62–63; Orlando Poe to his wife, July 11, 1861, Poe Papers, LC;
Cincinnati Daily Commercial
, July 17, 1861;
The Wellsburg Herald
, March 28, 1862. The Ninth Ohio Infantry lost one man killed and two wounded in this reconnaissance, while capturing two Confederate pickets.

241.
O. R
. vol. 51, pt. 1, 13; U.S. Congress, “Rosecrans' Campaigns,” 2;
The Hancock Democrat
, July 31, 1861; McClellan,
Report on the Organization
, 28.

242. U.S. Congress, “Rosecrans' Campaigns,” 2–3; Frame, “David B. Hart, Rich Mountain Guide,” 65–68; Moore,
The Civil War in Song and Story
, 74.

243. U.S. Congress, “Rosecrans' Campaigns,” 3,7; Rosecrans, “Rich Mountain,”
National Tribune
, February 22, 1883.

244. Beatty,
The Citizen-Soldier
, 22–23; “Woodley's Reminiscence of Rich Mountain,” in Bosworth,
A History of Randolph County
, 138–39.

245.
O. R
. vol. 2, 215, 217; U.S. Congress, “Rosecrans' Campaigns,” 3, 7; Statement of David Hart,
Wheeling Daily Intelligencer
, July 22, 1861. The Thirteenth Indiana substituted for the Seventeenth Ohio, a unit of Rosecrans's brigade on detached duty.

246. Keifer, “The Battle of Rich Mountain and Some Incidents,” 8–10; Keifer,
Slavery and Four Years
, vol. 1: 194–95;
O. R
. vol. 2, 256, 260, 267.

247.
O. R
. vol. 2, 264, 267–69; David P. Curry to R.R. Howison, August 5, 1862, Hench Collection, UVA; Arnold, “Battle of Rich Mountain,” 47; Hotchkiss,
Virginia
, 691.

248.
O. R
. vol. 2, 256, 275.

249. U.S. Congress, “Rosecrans' Campaigns,” 3–4;
O. R
. 2, 215; Frame, “David B. Hart,” 68; Statement of David Hart,
Wheeling Daily Intelligencer
, July 22, 1861;
O. R
. vol. 51, pt. 1, 8–9.

250.
O. R
. vol. 2, 215–16, 270;
O. R
. 51, pt. 1, 9–10; Statement of David Hart,
Wheeling Daily Intelligencer
, July 22, 1861; U.S. Congress, “Rosecrans' Campaigns,” 3, 4; David P. Curry to R.R. Howison, August 5, 1862, Hench Collection, UVA.

251.
O. R
. vol. 2, 270–71.

252. Ibid., 207, 216, 270–71;
Cincinnati Daily Commercial
, July 17 and 19, 1861; David P. Curry to R.R. Howison, August 5, 1862, Hench Collection, UVA; Rosecrans, “Rich Mountain,”
National Tribune
, Februrary 22, 1883. In the chaos of battle, General Rosecrans's green regimental commanders repeatedly misunderstood his orders.

253. Pool,
Under Canvas
, 15.

254.
O. R
. vol. 2, 216, 271; Statement of David Hart,
Wheeling Daily Intelligencer
, July 22, 1861;
The Hancock Democrat
, July 31, 1861; Zinn,
Battle of Rich Mountain
, 14; U.S. Congress, “Rosecrans' Campaigns,” 3, 4;
Cincinnati Daily Commercial
, July 17, 1861.

255.
O. R
. vol. 2, 271; David P. Curry to R.R. Howison, August 5, 1862, Hench Collection, UVA; Arnold, “Battle of Rich Mountain,” 48. A 1925 letter by Clyde B. Johnson claims Aleck Hart counted 64 cannon shots. See “That Old Log Cabin,”
Randolph Enterprise
, July 16, 1925.

256. U.S. Congress, “Rosecrans' Campaigns,” 3, 4;
O. R
. vol. 2, 216; Statement of David Hart,
Wheeling Daily Intelligencer
, July 22, 1861;
O. R
. vol. 51, pt. 1, 11; George Rogers diary, July 12, 1861, IHS;
The Hancock Democrat
, July 31, 1861. The Confederate attempting to kill Rosecrans was said to be Second Lieutenant John G. Boyd, of the Twentieth Virginia Infantry. Private Benjamin Smith of the Thirteenth Indiana killed Boyd.

257.
O. R
. vol. 51, pt. 1, 9, 11;
O. R
. vol. 2, 260, 265, 269, 273;
Richmond Enquirer
, July, 26, 1861; “Woodley's Reminiscence of Rich Mountain” in Bosworth,
History of Randolph County
, 141.

258.
O. R
. vol. 2, 276–80;
Wheeling Daily Intelligencer
, July 18, 1861; David P. Curry to R.R. Howison, August 5, 1862, Hench Collection, UVA;
Richmond Enquirer
, July 26, 1861;
Richmond Daily Dispatch
, August 5, 1861.

259. U.S. Congress, “Rosecrans' Campaigns,” 4–5;
Lafayette Daily Journal
, July 19, 1861; Hotchkiss,
Virginia
, 49. A precise chronology of the battle of Rich Mountain is difficult to compile; the opening skirmish with Confederate pickets began around 2:30 P.M., the main engagement was underway by 3 P.M. and—with intermissions—ended sometime before 5:30 P.M.
See also O.R
. vol. 2, 217–18, 257, 260, 270, 272; Rosecrans, “Rich Mountain,”
National Tribune
, February 22, 1883; Arnold, “Battle of Rich Mountain,” 46; David P. Curry to R.R. Howison, August 5, 1862, Hench Collection, UVA;
Cincinnati Daily Commercial
, July 17, 1861.

260. U.S. Congress, “Rosecrans' Campaigns,” 5; Rosecrans, “Rich Mountain,”
National Tribune
, February 22, 1883;
O. R
. vol. 2, 216;
O. R
. vol. 51, pt. 1, 9–10.

261.
Cincinnati Daily Commercial
, July 17, 1861; C.R. Boyce to sisters, July 14, 1861, PC; Beatty,
The Citizen-Soldier
, 24–25.

262. McClellan,
Report on the Organization
, 30; Beatty,
The Citizen-Soldier
, 25;
Cincinnati Daily Commercial
, July 17, 1861.

263. McClellan,
Report on the Organization
, 30;
O. R
. vol. 2, 14; Keifer,
Slavery and Four Years
, 197–98; U.S. Congress, “Rosecrans' Campaigns,” 6.

264.
O. R
. vol. 2, 257, 261–63, 265–66; C. Tacitus Allen Memoirs, DU.

265.
O. R
. vol. 2, 216–17; U.S. Congress, “Rosecrans' Campaigns,” vol. 3, 5, 67; Arnold, “Beverly in the Sixties,” 61, 63; Ross, “Old Memories,” 154. General Rosecrans's official tally of prisoners included ten officers, five non-commissioned officers, and fifty-four privates.

266.
O. R
. vol. 51, pt. 1, 13–14;
O. R
. vol. 2, 206; Kepler,
Fourth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry
, 33; McClellan,
Report on the Organization
, 30.

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