Don't Call Me Lawrence

Peace on Earth, Good Will to Men

2005-11-16T12:34:00.000-05:00

This is to be my last official posting for my BUAD477 class, so I thought I’d do something a little different and compile a post about how soldiers in the Civil War spent Christmas. I can’t imagine how it must have felt to be away from home, especially later in the war, when men had missed a good many Christmases by that point. The following are some excerpts from letters soldiers sent home, which you may find interesting:

"During the days preceding Christmas, I received some boxes from home, full of nice comfortable things, and the letter which came to me at that time, you may be sure, made me feel homesick. On Christmas night, I left for St. Louis as my teeth were troubling me, and greatly in need of the services of a dentist. I was fortunate in finding a good one, and in a day or two the necessary repairs were made."
-Major John S. Brinton, 1861

"This is Christmas, and my mind wanders back to that home made lonesome by my absence, while far away from the peace and quietude of civil life to undergo the hardships of camp, and may be the battlefield. I think of the many lives that are endangered, and hope that the time will soon come when peace, with its innumerable blessings, shall once more restore our country to happiness and prosperity."
-J. C. Williams, 14th Vermont Infantry, 1864

"This is Christmas Day. The sun shines feeble through a thin cloud, the air is mild and pleasant, a gentle breeze is making music through the leaves of the lofty pines that stand near our bivouac. All is quiet and still and that very stillness recalls some sad and painful thoughts. The day, one year ago, how many thousand families, gay and joyous, celebrating Merry Christmas, drinking health to absent members of their family and sending upon the wings of love and affection long, deep, and sincere wishes for their safe return to the loving ones at home, but today are clad in the deepest mourning in memory to some lost and loved member of their circle… When will this war end? Will another Christmas roll around and find us all wintering in camp? Oh! That peace may soon be restored to our young but dearly beloved country and that we may all meet again in happiness."
-Tally Simpson, Confederate Infantryman, 1862

Tally, in his letter, goes on to describe a “Christmas truce” after the Battle of Fredericksburg between soldiers in the two armies, very like the famous World War I truce in 1914. This was a fairly common occurrence up and down the lines, since the soldiers of both armies had begun to see themselves as suffering the evils of war together. The men traded and shared much-needed or missed supplies like coffee and tobacco. Another moving moment occurred after the Battle of Stones River, when the opposing armies were camped very close to each other. A contest of patriotic singing arose until someone started singing “Home! Sweet Home!” and soldiers on both sides joined in, crying. The officers, however, insisted this was not good for morale and every effort was made to discourage any future fraternization. The Lincolns spent Christmas of 1862 visiting soldiers’ hospitals, Robert E. Lee wrote a heartbreaking letter to his wife, and Jefferson Davis spent his in the Confederate presidential mansion. I'm sure Christmas of 1865 was a mix of emotions for American families, with some being glad to have soldiers home and others lamenting the fates of the fallen. It makes you realize how much soldiers and their families today need your support; regardless of whether you supported the war or not (I didn't), we are all Americans and we must pull together to help those who are missing loved ones or are away from home during this festive season.

The picture in my post is a scan of the cover of Harper’s Weekly from Christmas 1862. In it, Santa Claus is depicted as visiting the Union camp. His gift to them is Jefferson Davis with a rope around his neck. Lincoln said it was a good picture in support of the war effort. It’s interesting, since you wonder if a popular magazine of today could get away with printing such an illustration!

I hope you have enjoyed reading my blog. I will try to keep posting from time to time, since I am still interested in the Civil War and hope to continue learning new things about it.

Civil War Christmas

2005-11-14T17:38:00.000-05:00

Now that the holiday season is coming, I’ve been doing my Christmas shopping early, since I’m not a last-minute shopper! My dad is very hard to buy for, but one of the gifts I’ve selected is a book on William T. Sherman, whom I’m writing about today. One note, before I begin, though: if you are interested in a great Civil War gift for someone new to reading historical novels, I’d definitely recommend the Shaara trilogy. You can purchase it at a huge discount from the list price at Amazon.

William Tecumseh Sherman is certainly one of the most controversial figures in Civil War history. He was born in 1820 in Ohio, the son of a West Point graduate. He worked several jobs until the Civil War began; at the time it started, he was superintendent of a military school in Louisiana, so he resigned to fight for the North after that state seceded. Oddly, he was a very racist man, but believed strongly in the Union cause. He quickly distinguished himself as a good soldier. At Shiloh, he had three horses shot out from under him!

Sherman is best known for his “March to the Sea” campaign in 1864. The purpose of the campaign was to demoralize the South. He led about 100,000 men through Tennessee and Georgia before moving up to the Carolinas. Sherman’s soldiers burned and pillaged the cities and farms they found along the way, although very few inhabitants were attacked. The true impact of the campaign was psychological and Sherman is credited with inventing the concept of total war, where even civilians are involved and affected. Sherman is also credited with creating the truism “war is hell”, although he never spoke those exact words. Some historians are very critical of Sherman for his total war policy, questioning if it was really necessary to be so brutal.

After the war, Sherman headed the entire U.S. Army, being given the post in 1869. He retired in 1884 and died in New York City in 1891. There’s a statue of him in Central Park, which you may want to check out next time you’re in NYC; it’s beautiful, as you can see from the picture here. Ironically, Joseph E. Johnston, the Confederate commander who opposed Sherman in his southern and western campaigns, was a pallbearer at his funeral! Even more strange was the fact that Johnston caught a cold at the funeral and died as a result. Talk about serious misfortune!

If you're interested in reading more about Sherman, check out the posting on him on the Great Commanders blog. There's other postings on Civil War generals, too, like Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.

The Spice of Life

2005-11-08T23:28:00.000-05:00

Variety is the spice of life, so I’m going to endeavor to write about two interesting officers in this entry, one Northern and one Southern!

When people generally think of the Civil War, they think about armies fighting. There were actually navies on both sides that fought battles too, the most famous being the Monitor v. Merrimac (please follow this link if you are unfamiliar with this famous battle and would like to read about it). Admiral David Farragut made a significant contribution to the war effort. He was born in 1801 in Knoxville, Tennessee, so he was actually a Southerner by birth! The thing I found most interesting about his background was that his father fought in the Revolutionary War and distinguished himself at the Battle of Cowpens. He later entered the Navy, so it was logical that his son followed in his footsteps. The younger Farragut entered the service at about ten years of age, though! It shows you what a different world it was two hundred years ago! During the Civil War, Farragut was instrumental in maintaining a naval blockade around New Orleans with his ship, The Hartford. He defeated the Confederates at Mobile Bay in 1864 and received the thanks of Congress after the Civil War. He passed away in 1870 after a brief but distinguished post-war career.

It only seems fitting that I would write about a Confederate admiral, in turn! I’ve chosen Admiral Raphael Semmes, whose life seems to run parallel to Admiral Farragut’s. He was born in 1809 in Maryland and entered the Navy at 15. However, he resigned from the U.S. Navy in 1861 to fight for the Confederacy. He was named a Commander and was instrumental in creating the South’s first warship, the Sumter. He spent most of his wartime career aboard the CSS Alabama (like USS but for the Confederacy) until she was sunk in 1864 by the USS Kearsearge. Semmes avoided capture and fought again with the James River Squadron in 1865. He surrendered with Johnston in North Carolina after being forced to burn his fleet to avoid its takeover by Union troops. He died of food poisoning in 1877.

The two pictures, as you may imagine, are the two aforementioned admirals, Farragut at the top left and Semmes on the lower right. I'd very much like to read a book on the Civil War and each side's respective navies, so please leave a comment and suggest a title if you know of a good one!

The Stuff of Soap Operas!

2005-11-04T10:09:00.000-05:00

This week, I heard the most interesting Civil War story I think I’ve ever learned. I woke up early on Tuesday, as always, to watch Civil War Journal, and this week’s episode was “Dan Sickles: The General Who Got Away With Murder”. I was so intrigued when I read the title on The History Channel’s website (you can find out what episode will be aired if you click The History Channel link on my page) that I was camped out on the couch waiting for it! I’ve been reading biographies of him online since then, as his life was such a dramatic story.

Sickles was born in 1819 and rose to political power through his connections in the infamous Tammany Hall. He was an uncontrollable youth and was sent by his parents to live with a rather bohemian family, where he met his future wife, Teresa (see the sketch below), who was several years younger than him. He was a Congressman by profession, but he was also what you would call a man-about-town. While this was acceptable behavior for men of the time, it certainly wasn’t for women, so when Teresa took Phillip Barton Key, son of Francis Scott Key (the man who wrote “The Star Spangled Banner”), as her lover, their affair became the talk of the town. Sickles seemed totally unaware of what was happening until a mysterious “friend” sent him a letter informing him about the affair and how the lovers managed to sneak off together. Key would come and wave a white handkerchief in front of Teresa’s window in plain view of everyone on the street, and they would go off together to a house Key had rented specifically for the purpose of seeing her.

Sickles was furious and confronted his wife, making her write out a full confession letter, which is fairly graphic for its time, and you can read a fascimile here. When Key came to the window, Sickles saw him and ran outside. He shot and killed Key out on the street, which was, ironically, just across the road from the White House! Sickles’ lawyer was the first to use the temporary insanity defense, which means that a person cannot be held responsible for their actions when they are under such emotional stress and are feeling such intense feelings. It worked, since Sickles was found not guilty.

Sickles was supported by society up until he reconciled with Teresa. People felt that if he could forgive her later, why couldn’t he have forgiven her originally and not killed Key? For so many, the Civil War was such a terrible event, but for Dan Sickles, it was a career-saver. Sickles fought it almost every major battle, some notables being Sharpsburg, Chancellorsville, and Gettysburg. At Gettysburg, he defied orders and marched his troops into the Peach Orchard, where they were cut to pieces by Longstreet’s men. Obviously, Meade and he had words over this. Sickles also suffered because he lost his right leg here, and was eventually given the Medal of Honor for the day. He donated his right leg to the Army Medical Museum, and I’ve included a picture of it here!

Even after the war, Sickles’ life was still exciting! He was appointed Military Governor of South Carolina and later was named Minister to Spain, where he carried on an affair with the former Queen of Spain, Isabella. He also was re-elected in Congress in 1893 and served for two years. He was an active participant in Civil War reunions, and brought his mistress to the fiftieth anniversary reunion at Gettysburg! He finally passed away in 1914 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

I’m graduating in six weeks, and somehow I doubt my life will ever be quite as exciting as Sickles’! His life is truly the stuff of soap operas! Please click here for some excellent primary sources about the Key murder, including some dramatized sketches of the actual murder and trial.

Neat Blog I Found

2005-10-31T23:30:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to bring to your attention this really cool blog I found this evening while browsing for Civil War links. It's called Mike's Civil War Musings and I would really recommend you check it out. He's got a lot of neat things on his website, particularly a lot of recent articles and a republishing of a very interesting serial on why the South lost the Civil War. I found the article about the Peach Orchard at Gettysburg being replanted fascinating, especially since it seems some locals are opposed, as you will see in his comments. You can find this article in the news archive for October 5th.

Daughter of the South?

2005-10-30T18:07:00.000-05:00

I seem to be writing about Confederate officers lately, so this week’s posting will definitely feature a Union officer! Perhaps it’s that I know less about Confederates, so I tend to read about them to make up for my lack of knowledge, and then write these postings.

I found an awesome website that I think anyone even mildly interested in the Civil War should read. It’s called Son of the South and it's one of the most impressive Civil War sites I’ve ever seen. It’s worth a visit simply for the graphics alone, as it has many photographs of soldiers, plus covers and articles from old Harper’s Weekly editions (a popular journal of the time). The article written shortly after Lincoln’s Assassination is well worth a read. The only thing I find a little creepy about the site is the music; if you click the Confederate Generals’ page, you will hear a strange version of “The Bonny Blue Flag” (a Confederate anthem, if you’re unfamiliar with the tune).

This particular website does feature a few Union officers, however, and I am writing about George Armstrong Custer today, as he’s one of the ones featured. Most of you probably know Custer from either his famous Last Stand or from the classic (and historically inaccurate) western, They Died With Their Boots On, starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. Custer actually started his career during the Civil War. He graduated last in his class from West Point (the second class of 1861, as the school produced two classes that year, one in May and one in June, to provide sufficient manpower for the Union). He made a name for himself in the Federal cavalry and was involved in many major battles, including Gettysburg, the Wilderness, and Five Forks. At the end of the war, he was a Brevet Major General, and this renown is what got him appointed as the Lieutenant-Colonel of the Seventh Cavalry.

I've added two pictures you may find interesting. The picture on the left is a photo of the real George Armstrong Custer, and the one on the right is of Olivia de Havilland and Errol Flynn from They Died With Their Boots On. My sister is a big Errol Flynn fan, and we both heartily recommend the movie for its entertainment value. It really rewrites history, but it's a good film.

The General with the Best Name

2005-10-25T19:56:00.000-05:00

This week, I’ve chosen to write about P.G.T. Beauregard, another Confederate general. Of all the people in the Civil War, surely he must have the very best name. His full name is Pierre Gustave Toutant de Beauregard; can you honestly do any better than that?

Beauregard was born in New Orleans. Interestingly, I recently learned he was the child of white Creole parents, so I guess he didn’t share the same background as some of his comrades, since he wasn’t born on a rural farm and wasn’t from a prominent Southern family. He was, however, like so many others, a West Point graduate and a Mexican War veteran. He later served as Superintendent at West Point too (so did Robert E. Lee, for a time). He resigned and left for home after Louisiana seceded.

Most people, I’m sure, are familiar with how the Civil War started with the firing on Fort Sumner. Beauregard was the commanding general at that engagement and actually ordered the first shots to be fired. He also played in important role in the First Battle of Manassas (known as the First Battle of Bull Run in the North, as the North tended to name battles for bodies of water and the South for nearby towns or landmarks). Beauregard was later transferred to the Confederacy’s western operations.

Beauregard’s life after the war was just as interesting, if not more so, than his pre-Civil War days. He wrote several military papers after the war, engaged in a war of words with former Confederate president Jefferson Davis, and defended the rights of freed slaves. He continued work as an engineer and an inventor, and rejected offers of military command abroad for Romania and Egypt. He continued his service to his home state as a politician and manager of the state lottery. He died in 1893 at the age of 74.

I’ve never read much about Beauregard, so much of this information is new to me. I hope to eventually read a biography on him. He’s a rather striking-looking person, as you can see by the photograph, and I’d particularly like to learn more about his decision to join the Confederacy and his days fighting in the west.

"Tell me, is he as wild as he looks?"

2005-10-17T18:54:00.000-05:00

John Bell Hood is one of my favorite Confederate generals in the Civil War. I suppose it’s silly to say I have “favorite” generals, so I’ll amend that to say that I find him one of the more interesting Confederate soldiers. He was born in Kentucky and, like many of his colleagues, attended West Point in 1849. He barely graduated because of demerits garnered from a severe reprimand for sneaking off-campus to go to Benny Haven’s tavern, a popular local hangout for West Pointers (so I suppose that doesn’t make him much different than many students here, although I wouldn’t know anything about such behavior myself). Hood served in California but is best known for his time spent in Texas.

At the beginning of the Civil War, Hood served under Longstreet and commanded a division. At Gettysburg, he was wounded during the second day’s battle and lost the use of his left arm permanently. He was transferred to the Army of Tennessee and fought in the Battle of Chickamauga, where he lost his right leg. Doctors actually thought his death was so likely that they sent his amputated leg to the house where he was staying so it could be buried with him when he died. Hood, however, defied the odds and survived, going on to command the Army of Tennessee when Joe Johnston was removed as commander in 1864. After many battles, Hood and the Army of Tennessee eventually surrendered on May 31, 1865.

Hood got married and fathered eleven children (having three sets of twins) after the war. He lost his fortune because of a yellow fever epidemic in New Orleans in 1979 that resulted in a citywide economic downturn, then died of the disease himself. His wife and eldest child also died, and the other children were adopted. His descendents run a really excellent website, which you can view here.

Winfield Scott Hancock

2005-10-12T11:38:00.000-05:00

Another one of my favorite generals is Winfield Scott Hancock, a great soldier and leader on the Union side. He was a Pennsylvania native, born on Valentine’s Day in 1824. He was a West Point graduate and a Mexican War veteran. When the Civil War began, he was in California, serving in the U.S. Army. He was originally given the position of quartermaster, which means he was in charge of managing supplies, but ended up commanding a brigade instead. During the disastrous early years of the war, Hancock managed to distinguish himself in several campaigns. I really like the second photo of him (at the bottom); it was taken by noted photographer Mathew Brady and I like seeing Hancock pictured with all of his staff.

At Gettysburg, he commanded the Second Corps of the army, and he was in charge of the center of the Union line. He successfully repelled the famous Pickett’s Charge offensive. There’s a statue of him on Cemetery Hill in Gettysburg. He had actually recommended that the Union fight at Gettysburg, which was certainly a turning point in the war. On the third day of the battle, he was wounded in the thigh by enemy fire and sadly, this wound would trouble him for a long time to come. However, despite his injury, he continued to serve in the army and distinguished himself in the Wilderness campaign and at Spotsylvania. He was brevetted Major General for his actions in the latter battle.

After the war, he ran for president in 1880 on the Democratic ticket, but lost to James Garfield. I think it’s neat that he was named for Winfield Scott, distinguished soldier in the War of 1812 and commanding general in the Mexican War. He certainly lived up to the name and the legend.

One interesting and really tragic anecdote concerns his best friend, Lewis Armistead, a Virginian who fought for the Confederacy. They parted ways in California at the beginning of the war, but always thought of each other fondly. Armistead led one of Pickett’s brigades at Gettysburg and was mortally wounded by Hancock’s men at the top of Cemetery Ridge. He died three days later, and sadly, they never saw each other. Armistead left his most treasured possessions, including his Bible, to Hancock and his wife. While it’s a really sad story, I think it’s good that they were still friends to the end and that bond was still always more important to each of them than the war.

Gettysburg

2005-10-04T10:02:00.000-05:00

I haven’t been to the battlefield at Gettysburg in several years, and I’m really hoping to go this autumn before it gets too cold to walk around. In one of my previous postings, I wrote all about my hero, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, and how he played a major role in defending the Union lines against the charging Confederates. So obviously, Little Round Top is one of the places I’d like to visit most, since I want to try running down the hill to see how difficult it was to make the bayonet charge.

For those people who aren’t that familiar with the battle, it lasted three days, from July 1 to July 3, 1863. I guess people are most familiar with the concluding part, Pickett’s Charge. The thing I found most interesting about this is that Pickett’s name was the one tacked onto the operation, but he actually wasn’t the one who made the decision to advance. Robert E. Lee made the decision and Longstreet ordered the men forward, so Pickett really doesn’t deserve the blame for the high number of Confederate casualties. His troops were a large part of the men ordered forward, but other brigades also made the charge, namely General Pettigrew’s and General Trimble’s.

The first day was also very significant. General Reynolds, a brilliant soldier and commander of the First Corps, was killed instantly by a Confederate sharpshooter. The Union was actually pushed back by the end of the day, but it was hardly a decisive Confederate victory. I would be very interested to learn more about the first day’s activities, and this is one of the main reasons I would like to visit the battlefield.

If you would like to visit Gettysburg too, visit the Gettysburg National Military Park’s website. They have all the information you could ever need, complete with maps and diagrams of troop movements.

A-moulderin' in the grave...

2005-09-27T15:12:00.000-05:00

This summer, my family and I vacationed in Lake Placid. Upon arrival, I was really surprised to find there was an important Civil War-related site there. John Brown, the legendary abolitionist, had a farm near Lake Placid, in North Elba. While today the Olympic ski jump facility is located there, originally it was just a small farming community. In the 1800’s, the land was donated to black families so they could make a living, since so many were left without anywhere to go after being freed or running away. John Brown moved there for the following two reasons: first, he wanted to show that black and white Americans could live peacefully side-by-side, and secondly, he wanted his family to be in a safe place where they would be out of harm’s way from pro-slavery supporters.

John Brown is famous for the raid on Harper’s Ferry, which resulted in his being hanged for treason, amongst other charges. There are so many ironies involved in the event. First of all, Brown took hostages when seizing the armory (he wanted to capture weapons to give to blacks, creating an uprising in the South), and one of these was Louis Washington, great-grandnephew of George Washington. The first person Brown’s men killed during the raid was a freedman keeping watch. Louis Washington’s in-law, Robert E. Lee, is the one sent to lead troops in to end the standoff. J.E.B. Stuart gives the signal for the soldiers to rush in after his negotiations fail. Some of the men keeping guard at Brown’s execution were from the Virginia Military Institute, one being Thomas Jackson, later known as “Stonewall”.

The most interesting thing I learned by going to Brown’s farm was that his grandfather was killed during the Revolutionary War. His grandfather’s headstone had been removed from the gravesite and replaced, so Brown asked for the stone to be placed on his grave instead. The stone also bears the name of two of his sons, who were killed in various abolitionist activities. I took these two photos at the site. The first is of the cabin itself, which is actually much bigger than it looks, and the second is of the gravesite itself. Brown's grave is the one on the left.

The King of Spades

2005-09-19T12:57:00.000-05:00

One of the most iconic generals in the Civil War has to be Robert E. Lee. I’ve always been taken by those old photographs of him, looking almost regal. His eyes seem to almost speak out from the flat surface. He just seems to personify nobility and devotion to duty.

I think it’s interesting how Lee is viewed in a totally different category from the other prominent Confederates. Whereas others are, even to this day, viewed as traitors to the Union, Lee is respected by nearly everyone as a brilliant general and a great human being. While I think it is commonly known that Lee fought for the South because he felt a loyalty to Virginia and not because he supported slavery or was actively supportive of the secessionist movement, people seem to almost excuse his decision. He did support the reunification of the country after the war, but he still turned his back on his country during the Civil War.

I read Jeff Shaara’s Gone for Soldiers this past summer; included in the book is an early photograph of Lee, where he is without his trademark beard and grey hair. I’d never seen a picture like that before, and it really struck me. He didn’t actually grow his beard until the Civil War began. You can make up your own mind about which you prefer from the pictures shown here! Also, I learned in the book that Lee was in the Army Corps of Engineers and had no battle experience prior to the Mexican War. I guess I’d always thought of him as being old and an experienced commander. I learned he worked closely with Winfield Scott, who was considered one of the greatest military minds in America at that time; Scott felt Lee would become a great commander if given the chance.

Lee didn’t actually take command of the Army of Northern Virginia until June of 1862 (the war began in 1861). The men actually called him “Granny Lee” because some felt he was too hesitant in his battle plans and he conducted defensive campaigns too much! He was also called “The King of Spades” because he ordered the men to dig many trenches and ground fortifications. It was only later, after Lee’s battlefield successes, that the men saw the value of his tactics and grew to respect him.

The History Channel is Letting Me Down!

2005-09-13T14:14:00.000-05:00

I’m a big fan of the History Channel’s Civil War Journal series, which unfortunately they don’t show often enough. It’s on Tuesdays at 7 AM, and despite my heavy class schedule on those days, I still wake up early and watch it religiously. The past few weeks, though, I’ve been really disappointed in the quality of the programming. I didn’t enjoy their program on George McClellan, as it gave no background into his early life. They just gave a generic overview of his career starting with his days at West Point and through the Civil War. To summarize in brief: he was so arrogant that his colleagues didn’t like him and even today’s historians don’t like him. I suppose anyone who calls President Lincoln an idiot won’t win any modern-day admirers. He even ran for president in 1864 against Lincoln, but (fortunately) lost. He was, however, elected governor of New Jersey, becoming yet another in a list of questionable choices made in that state (I speak as a Jersey native)!

While I admire his dedication to his men, he really wasn’t a very good general. His record says a lot; he was very panicky and always thought he was outnumbered, despite the fact that the Union Army usually had the upper hand. I would be interested to learn more about his early years to learn what, if anything, in his background caused him to develop those personality traits that would lead to his downfall. He was second in his graduating class at West Point, but somehow, contrary to Robert E. Lee, this did not translate into good commanding skills. I will do some research online; keep an eye on my future entries, as I’ll post what I’ve learned.

Hero of Little Round Top

2005-09-06T15:21:00.000-05:00

Despite the fact that this blog is a school project required for my BUAD477 class, Information Technology Applications in Marketing, I am really excited about working on this blog. If you would like to link to my blog, the feed can be found here.

You may be wondering why my blog is titled "Don't Call Me Lawrence". This is in reference to the film Gettysburg, where Col. Chamberlain of the 20th Maine frequently says the aforementioned line to his brother, Tom. One of my heroes is Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, who started out as a professor from Bowdoin College in Maine, but distinguished himself in combat and left the war a Major-General. Not only did he receive the Congressional Medal of Honor for his defense of Little Round Top at Gettysburg (he ordered a seemingly suicidal bayonet charge against Hood's men after running out of ammo), but he was shot six times during the war and survived. I can't even imagine that! He was actually reported as dead at one point. He felt so strongly about the Union cause that he volunteered to fight in a world so different from his own. I often wonder if I could make such a sacrifice and risk so much to defend my beliefs. Leaving a secure job to go off to war in unfriendly country is a pretty noble thing to do.

I read Chamberlain's memoir of the end of the war, entitled The Passing of the Armies, over the summer. The most interesting thing I learned was that General Grant selected him to receive the Confederacy's surrender of arms. True to Chamberlain's nature, he acted with dignity and respect and had his troops order arms to acnowledge the worthiness of the Confederate soldiers. This was quite a controversial decision at the time, but was in line with Chamberlain's philosophy and the reunification of the country. I think he did the right thing. It didn't signify that the Confederate cause was just; it simply meant that we were all one nation and one people and that the soldiers had been brave enemies.

The war certainly had a profound impact on Chamberlain's life, as until his dying day, he went to reunions and gave speeches about his wartime days. He was so intelligent and brave that I think he's one of the greatest men America has ever produced.

One funny story that is mentioned in both The Passing of the Armies and Jeff Shaara's The Last Full Measure is that Chamberlain once rode into a group of Confederate soldiers during a battle. His line had become fragmented and suddenly he was surrounded by the enemy. Cleverly, he put on a Southern accent (how a man from Maine can do this, I don't know) and rallied the Confederate men to "storm the Yankees"! Not only did Chamberlain get back behind Union lines safely, but he single-handedly led all those men to be captured!

Welcome!

2005-09-01T13:23:00.000-05:00

Welcome to my new Civil War blog! I have recently become very interested in the Civil War and especially in both the Union and Confederate officers who fought in it. I intend to make this blog fun as well as informative, since I've learned so many bizarre facts about these men, whom history paints in a very one-sided manner. As much as I enjoyed the history classes I took in school, I felt that my teachers focused strictly on who won what battle and not on the fact that these were real men who were placed in an extraordinary situation. I've often wondered what would have happened to, say, Stonewall Jackson had he not fought in the Civil War. Would he have been great in another walk of life or come to prominence as a talented soldier had he not had the chance to prove himself in such a theater? Also, I knew nothing about him until reading Jeff Shaara's Gods and Generals this past summer and watching a few documentaries on him. One interesting fact I learned was that he loved lemons. He'd cut them open and suck on them while riding and the like. That's something I would have never learned in class. I hope to post more of these little gems that you can use to amaze your friends!

Here's another little gem I'll mention before I end this entry, so you have the idea of where I'm going with this blog. Did you know that J.E.B. Stuart's nickname at West Point was "Beauty" Stuart because he was considered so homely by his classmates? The nickname stuck, and even during the Civil War, people would write notes to him beginning, "Dear Beauty"! I think that story is particularly funny, especially because after he grew his beard, I think he was really quite handsome and distinguished-looking! If you are interested in more information about J.E.B. Stuart, follow this link to the Laurel Hill website (Laurel Hill is Stuart's birthplace).