USA > Virginia > Campbell County > Campbell County > Annals of the Lynchburg Home Guard > Part 6
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burned. Virginians suspected of loyalty to their State must either take the oath of allegiance to the invading Government and give security for good conduct, or be sent South under penalty of death if they should re- turn. Lee, of course remonstrated in due form, and gave the Federal Government occasion to show itself as heedful of the courtesies as of the usage of civil war."-Greg's History of the United State, Vol. II, PP. 319 and 320.
As the forces of the Confederate States were very limited in number, the same troops had to be used over and over again, and though the "Seven Days' Fight'" had almost exhausted the men physically, it had trans- formed them into veteran soldiers, and what was per- haps of more importance, it had given them implicit confidence in Lee. But the time had come when the Army of Northern Virginia was to take the field against Pope and the Home Guard with the rest of its regiment and brigade went back to the section of the State from which it had recently gone to the Peninsula. We cannot go into full details of the campaign. For them we must refer our readers to the many histories of the war, but we will confine ourselves closely to the regiment. Kemper's Brigade, under the command of Colonel M. D. Corse, marched from Richmond and on the 28th of August we find it in bivouac at Thoroug- fare Gap, near the historic field of Manassas. On the morning of the next day, it moved from this bivouac, and took position about three miles from Gainesville, in the rear of Jenkins' Brigade and near the Manassas Gap Railroad. Soon after the brigade, with the excep-
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tion of the Twenty-fourth Regiment, which had been detailed to support Rogers' battery, was moved across the railroad and formed into line of battle near the out- skirts of the wood. The Seventh Regiment was sent forward as skirmishers under the fire of a battery of the enemy that was about 1,200 yards off, but the position taken was maintained for abont half an hour, until orders were received from headquarters to move forward and occupy a wood about 400 yards in advance. The Seventh was recalled and united with the rest of the brigade, and, although this movement exposed the men to full sight of the battery above mentioned, it was executed and the position taken. At about 4:30 in the afternoon orders came from Brigadier-General Kemper to advance and support the brigades of Jen. kins and Hunton. This was done, and at once the brigade became hotly engaged. A charge took place at this time all along the line held by Kemper's Brig- ade and as a result the enemy's cannon was captured. A destructive volley followed and the Confederates were left in full possession of the field.
In regard to the behavior of individuals in this bat- tle, we quote from the report of Colonel M. D. Corse, who commanded Kemper's Brigade on this occasion, Brigadier-General Kemper having three brigades under his command.
"Great gallantry was displayed by all engaged. Lieutenant-Colonel F. G. Skinner was the first to reach the battery, and I saw him dealing deadly blows with his sabre to the Yankee gunners.
"Major Adam Clement with the war-worn Eleventh, moved forward with veteran firmness."
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"Samuel Coleman, private in company E, Seven- teenth Virginia, in the hottest of the fight, wrested from the hands of the color-sergeant of the Eleventh Pennsylvania regiment, his regimental colors and handed them to me. These colors I have already had the honor to forward to yon."-(Official Records, Vol. 12, part II, pages 626, 627.)
Says General Longstreet in his report :
"One piece' of artillery, several regimental standards, and a number of prisoners were taken. The enemy's entire force was found to be massed directly in my front, and in so strong a position that it was not deemed advisable to move against liis immediate front; so the troops were quietly withdrawn at 1 o'clock the following morning. The wheels of the captured piece were cut down and it was left on the ground.
"The enemy seized that opportunity to claim a vic- tory, and the Federal commander was so imprudent as to dispatch his Government by telegraph, tidings to that effect."-(Official Records, Vol. 12, part II., page 565.)
This engagement, which is known as the battle of Groveton, was but a skirmish compared to that which occurred a day or two later, the Second Battle of Ma- nassas. In this, however, as in the first battle on the same field, General Longstreet's division had but little to do with the battle proper, We will let him speak for himself.
"At 3:30 in the afternoon I rode to the front for the purpose of completing arrangements for making a diversion in favor of a flank movement then under con- templation. Just after reaching my front line, I re- ceived a message for reinforcements for General Jack- son, who was said to be severely pressed. From an eminence near by, one portion of the enemy's masses
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attacking General Jackson were immediately within my view and in easy range of batteries in that position. It gave me an advantage that I had not expected to to have, and I made haste to use it. Two batteries were ordered for the purpose, and one placed in posi- tion immediately and opened. Just as this fire began, I received a message from the commanding General in- forming me of General Jackson's condition and his wants. As it was evident that the attack against Gen- eral Jackson could not be continued ten minutes under the fire of these batteries, I made no movement with my troops. Before the second battery could be placed in position the enemy began to retire, and in less than ten minutes the ranks were broken and that portion of his armny put to flight. A fair opportunity was offered me, and the intended diversion was changed into an attack. My whole line was rushed forward at a charge. The troops sprang to their work, and moved forward with all the steadiness and firmness that characterizes war- worn veterans. The batteries, continuing their play upon the confused masses, completed the route of this portion of the enemy's line and my attack was, there- fore made against the forces in my front. * * *
The battle continued till 10 o'clock at night, when utter darkness put a stop to our progress. The enemy made liis escape across Bull Run before daylight. Three batteries, a large number of prisoners, many stands of regimental colors, and 12,000 stands of arms, besides some wagons, ambulances, &c., were taken."
The Home Guard did not suffer very severely in this battle but in the Lynchburg Virginian of Septem- ber 4th we find this list of losses :
Killed : Privates E. W. Burks, Nicholas Kabler, George Keith Royall, G. W. Brown.
Wounded : Corporal W. C. Pitts, Privates R. T. Pe- ters. E. L. Litchford.
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THE INVASION OF MARYLAND.
Virginia being now free from invaders, and the army that "was accustomed to see only the backs of the enemy" and that considered "strong positions and lines of retreat unworthy of soldiers" being safely under the guns of Washington, General Lee thought it the proper time to carry out his long-cherished plan of transferring' the seat of war north of the Potomac. Accordingly preparations were made for the invasion of Maryland. General Lee hoped that the actual pres- ence of his army might induce that State to abandon its vacillating policy and embrace the cause which it had always claimed to favor, but in this he was doomed to disappointment. Maryland preferred let- ting its sympathy take the safe and inexpensive form of words, and throughout the war, its aid was never material. It is true that some few regiments were made of Marylanders, but as a State, its policy was that of a neutral, and in the pressing need of the South, who was not with her was against her.
On the 3rd of September, 1862, Lee started with his whole army. The Eleventh regiment was still in Kemper's brigade. The command marched via Dranes- ville and Leesburg, crossing the Potomac at White's Ford, to Frederick, Md., arriving there on the 7th of September. Resting in that delightful village during the 8th and 9th the march was resumed on the roth for Hagerstown, which was reached the next day. While on this march from Frederick to Hagerstown, news was received that a large army was coming from Washington to relieve Harper's Ferry, and six brigades were detached to carry that place by assault.
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It was while the Confederate army was in Frederick that the alleged episode of Barbara Freitche is said to have occurred. Careful inquiries made by the writer in person in Frederick, makes him think that this was purely imaginary, but it may be used to "point a moral and adorn a tale." Theold crone is represented as flaunting a United States flag in the face of Gen- eral Jackson's men, and taunting them-
"Shoot if you must this old grey head, But sparo your country's flag, she sald."
Even the malicious imagination of Whittier could put nothing but courtesy in Jackson's month, for ac- cording to the poet-
"Who touches a hair of yon grey head, Dies like a dog. March ou, he said."
When his conduct is compared with that of many Fed- eral officers under similar conditions, notably Butler in New Orleans and Pope in Alexandria, the difference is very marked. A higher compliment could not be paid the Confederate officers, and it is the more strik- ing as it is the unwilling homage of a foe. Says Percy Greg:
"Whittier brings out the more forcibly because un- awares, the contrast between the petulant impertinence of Mistress Barbara and the forbearance tinged with contempt, of the Confederate chief and soldierly. Such was the temper and such the discipline of the Southern troops with scarcely an exception, throughout the war. No retaliatory rudeness or severity was inflicted on Northern citizens. In no case had they to complain of personal injury or even discourtesy at the hands of those whose homes they had burned, whose families they had insulted, robbed and tormented."-History of the United States, Vol. II, p. 368.
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We give here, as has been our custom as the begin- ning of each campaign, an abstract of the organization of the Army of Northern Virginia embracing the Home Guard. The army corps of which it was a part, was commanded by Major-General James Longstreet, its division was under Brigadier-General David R. Jones, its brigade was under James L. Kemper, and its regi- ment was under Colonel David Funsten.
On the 11th General Lee took up a positon at South Mountain, a range near the little town of Boonsboro'. Says General Longstreet in his report:
"I reached Boonsboro' about 3 o'clock in the after- noon, and upon ascending the mountain, found Gen- eral Hill heavily engaged. My troops were hurried to his assistance as rapidly as their exhausted condition would admit of. The brigades of Evans, Pickett, (under Garnett), Kemper, and Jenkins, (under Walker) were extended along the mountain to our left. * * We succeeded in repulsing the repeated and powerful attacks of the enemy, and in holding our po- sition till night put an end to the battle. It was short but very fierce. Had the command reached the moun- tain pass in time to have gotten into position before the attack was made, I believe that the direct assaults of the enemy could have been repulsed with compara- tive ease. Hurried into action however, we arrived at our positions more exhausted than the enemy. It be- came manifest that our forces were not sufficient to resist the renewed attacks of the entire army of Gen- eral M'Clellan. He would require but little time to turn either flank and our command must then be at his mercy. In view of this, the commanding general ordered the withdrawal of our troops to the village of Sharpsburg. This position was regarded as a strong and defensive one, besides being one from which we
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could threaten the enemy's flank or rear in case he should attempt to relieve the garrison at Harper's Ferry."-(C. S. Battle Reports).
We may be pardoned for wandering from the strict thread of our narrative to record the death of one who was no longer a member of the Home Guard. In the battle at South Mountain on the 14th of September, 1862, Brigadier-General Samuel Garland, jr., was killed. As we give a sketch of him in the appendix, we have only space here to insert the notice of his death as given in General D. H. Hill's report of the battle .- Official Records, Vol. XIX, part I, p. 1020. "About 7 o'clock they opened a fire upon our right, and pushed forward a large force through the dense woods to gain a practicable road to our rear. Gar- land's Brigade was sent in to meet this overwhelming force and succeeded in checking it and securing the road from any further attack that day. This brilliant service, however, cost us the life of that pure, gallant and accomplished Christian soldier, General Garland, who had few equals and no superiors in the service."
We have been unable to get a list of casualties in the company in this battle, and aside from General Garland, we must suppose that none of its members were killed. T. D. Jennings, Jr., was wounded.
On the 17th of September the battle of Sharpsburg or Antietam was fought. Says Percy Greg, from whom we have quoted so much :
"According to the best Federal account* the odds were such as few European Generals would willingly confront, or be justified in confronting, on ordinary
*Seribuer's Campaigns of the Civil War. This writer was trying to show that the odds were not one to three.
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ground. The position of the Confederate; was advan- tageous, inasmuch as they held a line of low hills with a small stream in fro it, but they were not such as ma- terially to affect the chances or control the issue. Lee's total force when Jackson joined him did not reach 40,- 000; M'Clellan sets down his own numbers at over 87,000. The latter is, of course, a minimum; the Fed- erals were five to two."
The Confederate line of battle was drawn upon a range of hills extending from the right bank of the An- tietam and a fringe of hills extending from the village of Sharpsburg to the Potomac. Lee's right and centre were made up of Longstreet's Corps and D. H. Hill's Division, with Lee's, Garnett's and Walton's Artillery, while Jackson's Corps and Stuart's Cavalry composed the left. The right and center were protected by stone fences and ledges of rock. On the morning of the 18th the enemy advanced in full force but, though breaking through the Confederate lines at one place, were re- pulsed with terrific slaughter. The Federal loss in this battle as reported by General M'Clellan, (Official Records etc., Vol. XIX., part I., page 181), was 12,- 469, of whom 2,010 were killed. We are unable to give the total Confederate loss as no full report has been published, but as the entire Confederate army was but 40,000 at this time, according to General A. I .. Long, its loss must have been much less. The armies slept on their arms that night, both sides occupying the field, and Lee confidently expected the resumption of hostilities the next morning, but General M'Clellan says, ( Official Records, etc., Vol. XIX., part I., page 32): "A careful and anxious survey of the condition
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of my command, and my knowledge of the enemy's force and position, failed to impress me with any reasonable certainty of success if I renewed the attack without re-enforcing columns," and this, although he had five to two as it was. The next night, seeing that the Federals had no intention of renewing the battle, Lee withdrew his forces nnmolested.
In this battle the Home Guard was under the com- mand of Lieutenant W. J. H. Hawkins. Its losses were not heavy and comprised the following :
Killed: William H. Woods, R. T. Colhoun.
Wounded: S. M. Hawkins, R. L. Waldron.
CHAPTER IV.
FROM THE MARYLAND CAMPAIGN TO THE GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGN.
THE BATTLE OF FREDERICKSBURG.
As it is not the intention of the publishers of this record to write a history of the war, we will say noth- ieg more of the general conduct of the army until the battle of Fredericksburg. We will only mention the fact that although General M'Clellan claimed a victory at Sharpsburg, (or as he prefers to call it, Antietam) he remained inactive for several weeks and allowed the "vanquished" eneury to rest in peace and recover from the fatigue of a protracted campaign, a piece of consid- eration rare in military annals. It was clear that the
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government in Washington thought this strange in M'Clellan, for this conduct was productive of a long correspondence which culminated in M'Clellan's being relieved from command. His place was filled by Burn- side, who at once advised a move on Richmond by way of Fredericksburg. General Longstreet was ordered to that place to oppose him and, leaving Culpepper, where his troops had been camping, on the 24th of No- vember, he reached his destination the next day .* The Federals had been on the opposite side of the Rap- pahannock for about a week, but had not crossed the river, so that the heights around the town were easily taken and fortified.
At this time the Home Guard, with the rest of its regiment, was a part of Kemper's Brigade, which in turn was a part of Major-General George E. Pickett's Division. Pickett's Division was itself in the first army corps under General Longstreet. Ou the arrival of Longstreet his men were distributed in the following manner: McLaws' Division upon the heights inmedi- ately behind the city and south of the "Telegraph" road; Anderson's Division on MeLaws' left, and occu- pying the heights as far as Taylor's Hill on the Rappa- hannock; Pickett's Division on McLaws' right and ex - tending to the rear; Hood's Division near Hamilton's Crossing of the railroad; Ransom's Division in reserve near General Longstreet's headquarters.
The enemy remained in quiet possession of the Staf-
NOTE .- There is some confusion here. The date as wo give It is from General long's Memoirs of Les, but Longstreet's report gives November 19th as the date of hisarrival in Fredericksburg .. ..
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ford heights until 3 o'clock in the morning of the 11th of December, when an attempt was made to lay bridges across the river. This was so vigorously resisted, that the attempt was given up, though later in the day large numbers were landed at the town by boats.
The morning of the 12th of December was very misty and the ground was covered by a skim of snow. The attack was at first apparently made on the Confed- erate right, but when the fog lifted, the columns of the enemy were seen opposite the town, the heads resting on bridges thrown across the river during the night. The whole day was employed by the enemy in getting troops across the river and deploying his columns, and whenever these were inassed sufficiently a heavy artil- lery fire was opened on them. This invariably pro- duced a reply from the Federal batteries on the oppo- site heights, which was continued long after the Con- federate batteries ceased. About 11 A. M. the enemy's infantry began to advance, and General Longstreet ordered an artillery fire to be opened on the lines. This was well directed and even at a distance of a mile the gaps made by it were visible. The advance continued in spite of this fire, but the enemy had evidently lost heart and their attack was easily repulsed. This was repeated twice, but each time the same result followed.
About 2 o'clock the attack seemed to subside, when General Longstreet sent to General Pickett for two of his brigades. Kemper's and Jenkins' were sent and when they reported Kemper's was sent to General Ransom to be put in some safe place till needed, and
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Jenkins' was sent to replace Kershaw's in the line. Of course this assignment of Kemper's Brigade to the re- serve ended the battle for it, though General Long- street confidently expected to use the reserves the next day. The enemy, however, recrossed the river during the night, and another victory was added to the long list won by the Army of Northern Virginia.
As the brigade in which the Home Guard was, had been assigned to the reserves there was no opportunity for them to distinguish themselves in this fight, a cir- cuinstance to which General Longstreet calls attention in his report.
We have been unable to get the exact figures of the number of men engaged on each side in this battle, but an approximate number can be deduced. In General Lee's congratulatory order he says that "The immense army of the enemy completed its preparation for the attack without interruption, and gave battle in its own time and on ground if its own selection. It was en- countered by less than 20,000 of this brave army, and its columns were crushed and broken, hurled back at every point with such fearful slaughter that escape from entire destruction became the boast of those who had advanced in full confidence of victory." This would seem to indicate that less than 20,000 men were en- gaged on the Confederate side, whereas on the Federal side the losses alone, as given in the "Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies," (Vol. XXI., page 142) amounted to 12,653.
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CHAPTER V.
THE GETTYSBURG CAMPAIGN.
That portion of the Army of Northern Virginia that included the Home Guard was now stationed in a per- manent camp for the winter at Fredericksburg, and there it remained until the following spring. In the mean time the, battle of Chancellorsville had been fought, and though victory again crowned the banners of the Confederacy, it was accompanied by the loss of General "Stonewall" Jackson. This loss was irrepar- able, and sufficed to spread discouragement and dismay throughout the force. Much as we wish to pay a trib- ute to this great man, it lies too much beyond our province, for he was never directly or indirectly con- nected with the Eleventh regiment.
If Virginia had been exhausted by war in the sum- mer of 1862, her condition can be readily imagined in the spring of 1863. General Lee determined to make another attempt to transfer the seat of war to the enemy's country and to capture some of the Northern cities if possible.
On the third of June General Longstreet's corps moved from Fredericksburg and went to Culpepper Court House where it went into camp and remained until the 15th of that month. As usual we will give a partial account of the organization of the corps, so that allusions to brigades and divisions may be more intelligible. .
The Army of Northern Virginia was divided into three army corps, which were commanded by Generals
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Longstreet, Ewell, and A. P. Hill respectively. The first corps, Longstreet's, embraced the divisons of Ma- jor-General Lafayette McLaws, Major-General George E. Pickett, and Major-General Jolin B. Hood. Pick- ett's division, in which the Home Guard was, com- prised three brigades commanded by Brigadier-Generals R. B. Garnett, J. L. Kemper, and L. A. Armstrong, respectively with four batteries of artillery under Ma- jor James Dearing. In General Kemper's Brigade we find the First Virginia Regiment, under Colonel Lewis B. Williams; the Third under Colonel Joseph Mayo, jr .; the Seventh under Colonel W. T. Patton; the Eleventh under Major Kirkwood Otey; and the Twenty-fourth under Colonel William R. Terry.
We have gone so fully into the organization of the army, and especially of this part of it at this time be- cause the campaign that we are about to describe was the turning point of the war. Up to this time the record of the army is one of well-nigh continued success, but the Gettysburg campaign was to show the world that this army which had been glorious and moderate in success was also patient and courageous in defeat. It was also to be the fate of that division commanded by Pickett to make one of the most magnificent displays of military courage that the world has ever seen, and on that account if on no other, its organization should be recorded.
Leaving Culpepper on the 15th, General Longstreet's command four days later occupied the slopes of the Blue Ridge between Snicker's Gap and Ashby's Gap, supporting Hood who occupied the formuer. On the
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21st the cavalry of the enemy attacked Stuart in full force driving him through Ashby's Gap, and McLaw's Division was mached to his support. The enemy, how- ever, retreated without coming to an engagement. On the 24th of June the march into Maryland via Berry- ville, Martinsburg and Williamsport was commenced. The order of march was first, Pickett's Division, fol- lowed by the Reserve Artillery Battalions, next Hood's Division, and finally McLaw's Division bringing up the rear. The Potomac was crossed on the 25th and on the 27th the command reached Chambersburg, Penn., where a rest of two days was obtained, but on the 29th all of the corps except Pickett's Division which was left as a rear guard, marched off and went into camp at Greenwood. On the ist of July all the troops except Pickett's Division which was still on duty at Chambersburg, started for Gettysburg. The enemy had taken a position along the Emmitsburg road where an attack was made on him abont 4 o'clock in the af- ternoon on the 2nd of July. The Confederate artillery opened on the front of Hood's division, attacking the left, and McLaw's the center. The enemy was driven back and took possession of a precipitous hill, which besides its rugged base, had so many stone fences about it that it was almost impregnable. The enemy took possession of these one after the other with great pertinacity, but was driven back from point to point until nearly night when General Longstreet deemed it expedient to wait till his other troops should come np.
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