Echoes from Gettysburg: South Carolina's Memories and Images

South Carolina contributed two brigades of infantry, two regiments of cavalry and several artillery batteries to the Battle of Gettysburg in July of 1863. Their veterans related accounts of heroism and fear, triumph and loss for the remainder of their lives. These are their stories. Gleaned from diaries, letters and newspaper articles written immediately after the great battle and throughout the balance of the lives of its veterans, these stories place the reader in the boots of the men who lived the experience. Included with the firsthand accounts are maps of the fields fought for by these sons of the Palmetto State and photographs of a number of the soldiers involved. Along with battle histories and the individual exploits of the brigades led by General Joseph Kershaw, General Wade Hampton and Colonel Abner Perrin are accounts of the artillery batteries from South Carolina and the improvised cavalry command assembled from scattered companies by Colonel John Logan Black, who had been left behind due to wounds from an earlier battle. Black was determined to rejoin the army as soon as he was able and caught up with General Robert E. Lee with two companies and other miscellaneous cavalrymen who had been separated from their regiments. His improvised command participated in all three days of the battle before rejoining Hampton’s Brigade . Also covered are the annual reunions where the old soldiers gathered to camp once again on the fields of Gettysburg. The veterans recount many tales of reconnecting with old comrades, memories of those who never made it home, and their reconciliation with former enemies. Every strata of the soldier experience at Gettysburg is represented from the highest general to the lowliest private. Every life is a story and provides a piece toward completing the puzzle of the human experience at Gettysburg.

Echoes From Gettysburg: South Carolina's Memories and Images

History

Jones, J. Keith

Americas

Fox Run Publishing, LLC

We Ride a Whirlwind: Sherman and Johnston at Bennett Place

The events at Appomattox Court House in Virginia on April 9, 1865 have long been considered the end of the Civil War. However, there were still Confederate armies in the field. Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman, commander of the Union armies operating in North Carolina, still faced a 31,000 man Confederate army commanded by Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. In addition, another 60,000 Confederate soldiers remained under arms east of the Mississippi River. Johnston’s army inflicted heavy losses on Sherman’s forces at the Battle of Bentonville in March 1865, but was nearly captured when its escape route was nearly blocked by Sherman’s much larger army. Instead of pursuing Johnston, whose troops escaped to Smithfield, North Carolina, Sherman instead marched to Goldsboro, where his army was reinforced and spent two weeks resting and refitting. Unlike Lee’s army, which was surrounded at Appomattox and compelled to surrender, Johnston’s army was not surrounded and had a substantial head start on Sherman, who would face hard marches and possibly another bloody battle before he could compel Johnston to surrender. When Sherman learned that the Army of the Potomac had captured Richmond and caused Lee’s army to flee toward Danville, on the Virginia/North Carolina state line, he set his army in motion. By the time it reached Smithfield on April 12, Johnston had fallen back to Raleigh. Sherman pursued, prompting Johnston to evacuate Raleigh. But then word arrived of Lee’s surrender—an event that changed everything. Johnston, realizing that there was no further reason to flee in an attempt to link up with Lee’s army, asked Sherman to meet with him to discuss terms of surrender. Then came word of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, an event that prompted Johnston to say that with the death of the President of the United States, the South had lost its best friend. This set the stage for the dramatic events that occurred at James Bennett’s farm in modern-day Durham. In three remarkable meetings, Sherman and Johnston tried to not only set the terms for the surrender of the 91,000 Confederate troops east of the Mississippi River, but to make peace, once and for all. The new administration of President Andrew Johnson, eager for vengeance for the assassination of Lincoln, rejected the terms negotiated by Sherman and Johnston, excoriated Sherman in the press, and forced him to threaten Johnston with the renewal of hostilities if he did not surrender upon the same terms offered to Lee at Appomattox. Johnston wisely accepted those terms, leading to the surrender of his command and those other Confederates east of the Mississippi. This is the story of those events, told in detail, and often in the words of the participants themselves. Author Eric J. Wittenberg has masterfully told this compelling story. Numerous photographs and maps accompany the narrative describing the end of the great American tragedy of the Civil War.

Wittenberg,Eric J

Five or Ten Minutes of Blind Confusion: The Battle of Aiken, South Carolina, February 11, 1865

One of the few Confederate battlefield victories in the dark days of 1865 occurred at Aiken, South Carolina, on February 11, 1865. Aiken itself had little strategic significance to either side; Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman had intended to by-pass the small resort town. Sherman intended that his cavalry commander, Maj. Gen. Judson Kilpatrick head off in the direction of Augusta, Georgia to confuse the Confederates of his true target, Columbia, the capital of South Carolina. Since the Civil War began in South Carolina, both Sherman and the men of his army were eager to punish its population. Maj. Gen. Joseph Wheeler, the commander of the Confederate cavalry forces, had another idea. Aiken is approximately 13 miles from Augusta, Georgia and the largest gunpowder works in the Confederacy. Wheeler feared that Kilpatrick intended to destroy the powder works, which were critical to the continued military viability of the Confederate armies. On February 11, 1865, Wheeler set an ambush and drew the Union cavalry into his trap at Aiken, then pounced with nearly 3,000 Confederate horse soldiers. The urban street fighting was short and brutal. Kilpatrick himself was nearly captured, and only hard fighting by his troopers saved his command, which was able to extract itself from Wheeler’s trap. Wheeler followed, and a full day of combat ended with one of the final Confederate battlefield victories of the Civil War. It was a tactical victory for Wheeler, but a strategic disaster for the Confederacy. Wheeler’s stand made the defense of Columbia untenable, and just six days later, Columbia fell. Nearly the entire downtown was burned in a great conflagration, and the Palmetto State suffered. In Five or Ten Minutes of Blind Confusion: The Battle of Aiken, South Carolina, February 11, 1865, award-winning Civil War cavalry historian Eric J. Wittenberg tells the story of the Battle of Aiken in both tactical and strategic detail for the first time. Readers will learn of the near disaster that befell the Union troopers, and how Wheeler’s move was actually a strategic debacle. Featuring five fine maps by a master cartographer and approximately 50 illustrations, this book fills an important gap in the body of literature addressing Sherman’s 1865 Carolinas Campaign. It marks Wittenberg’s third book on aspects of the Civil War in the Carolinas in 1865.

Five or Ten Minutes of Blind Confusion: The Battle of Aiken, South Carolina, February 11,1865

Custer's Gray Rival: The Life of Confederate Major General Thomas Lafayette Rosser

Tom Rosser served in nearly every battle of the Army of Northern Virginia. The lanky officer, known as much for his temper as his fighting abilities, resigned from West Point two weeks prior to graduation when Virginia seceded from the Union. He began the war in the artillery, transferred to the cavalry, and ended the fight under a cloud of some disgrace―even after helping win the last victory in Virginia. Sheridan Barringer’s Custer’s Gray Rival: The Life of Confederate Major General Thomas Lafayette Rosser tells his story in the first serious biography of this important officer.The Virginia native won success as part of the famed Washington Artillery of New Orleans before General Jeb Stuart convinced Rosser to transfer to his cavalry command as colonel of the 5th Virginia Cavalry. Rosser soon became Stuart’s protégé and friend, and the dashing general did all he could to further his career. The only person who could derail Rosser, however, was Rosser, whose ability to take umbrage at the slightest offense was matched by his impatience and oversized ego.Rosser, who believed Stuart was conspiring to keep him from making general, finally achieved that rank in October of 1863 and went on to lead the famous Laurel Brigade in a number of campaigns. In 1864 after Stuart’s death, he accused his new commander, General Wade Hampton, of blocking his promotion to major general.The cavalryman’s most prominent service arrived in the Shenandoah Valley under Lt. Gen. Jubal Early in the fall of 1864, where Rosser led daring raids and achieved success in furnishing the army with valuable intelligence, livestock, and other supplies. His embarrassing failure in the Confederate debacle at Tom’s Brook on October 9 against his former classmate and rival George Custer, combined with his absence from the front at a shad bake at Five Forks during the war’s final days, cast a dark cloud over his otherwise solid record.Author Barringer mined manuscript collections, first-person accounts, and scores of letters and other memoranda written by Rosser himself to pen what is surely the most complete monograph of the gray cavalryman. Rosser, who looked upon life as a series of contests, loved the glory of combat. He continued fighting rivals, gray and blue, after the war by means fair and foul, unable to check his ego and short temper. He ended his military career “in the most unlikely fashion”―as a general in the United States army in the Spanish-American War. Custer’s Gray Rival is a long overdue study of one of American’s most interesting characters.

Biographies & Memoirs

Barringer, Sheridan R.

Historical

The West Virginia and Colorado Coal Mine Wars of the early twentieth century was a tumultuous and violent time in our nation's history. At the center of this saga is Charles Everett Lively, perhaps one of the deadliest of the undercover agents of the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency. Although it's been almost one hundred years since the bloodshed in La Veta, Ludlow, Matewan, and Welch, the names of William G. Baldwin, Thomas L. Felts, and Charles E. Lively can still stir an extraordinary level of hatred among those same coal mining communities. From the record, it's clear that Lively killed no fewer than three men in his lifetime, one in Colorado and two in West Virginia. It also appears that killing was something that came easy for him.The Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency was one of several private detective agencies like Pinkerton, that performed many freelance security and detective tasks, including strike breaking. Among the agency's best clients were the owners of the coal mines of West Virginia and Colorado. The dirty and dangerous work in the coal mines was accompanied by low pay. This led to strife and labor organizing. To combat this, mine owners hired detective agencies to disrupt labor organizing and break up strikes through espionage and strong-arm tactics.Lively's blue-collar coal mining roots allowed him to move quietly among the miners, but his brief stint working the mines held little allure for him. Lively became one of Baldwin-Felts' most effective undercover operatives and among their deadliest men. His activities included running a popular restaurant within which he gathered valuable intelligence. Local union leadership even held meetings in his establishment. Lively once did jail time in Colorado so that he could infiltrate miners who were locked up at the time.R.G. Yoho scoured every known source to bring this figure out of the shadows and provide a valuable piece to this fascinating yet overlooked period of American history and shines a light for the first time into the intrigue surrounding this controversial figure.

The Nine Lives of Charles E. Lively: The Deadliest Man in the West Virginia-Colorado Coal Mine Wars

Yoho, R.G.

Community & Culture

Echoes From Gettysburg: Georgia's Memories and Images

The first infantry actions of the Gettysburg Campaign involved Georgia troops. Brigadier General John B. Gordon's brigade crossed the Potomac River on June 22, 1863, and was the first Confederate infantry to march into the town of Gettysburg on June 26. They also flew their flag over a one-time seat of the Continental Congress in York, Pennsylvania and engaged in early action during an attempt to capture the bridge over the Susquehanna River at Wrightsville, Pennsylvania. Most discussion about Gettysburg focuses on the third day, obscuring the first two days in which Robert E. Lee' s troops were far more successful, in fact on the first day, they dominated. Thirteen thousand Georgia troops played a significant role in the three-day battle. Along with a comprehensive battle history of the Georgia troops at Gettysburg, this book contains a large collection of the personal recollections of the Georgia soldiers who fought at Gettysburg. This gives a peek into the experience from the perspective of the soldiers in all branches and all ranks. Newspaper articles, letters, and photographs allow the reader to relive history through the eyes of those who lived it.

Six Days of Awful Fighting: Cavalry Operations on the Road to Cold Harbor

Most students of the American Civil War know about the terrible fighting that occurred at Cold Harbor in Hanover County, Virginia, from June 1-3, 1864. However, few know about the severe cavalry fighting leading up to the battle of Cold Harbor. From May 27 to June 1, the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac and the Cavalry Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia slugged it out at places like Hanovertown, Haw's Shop, Matadequin Creek, Hanover Court House, Ashland, and, finally, Cold Harbor itself, setting the stage for the well-known infantry battle that broke out on the afternoon of June 1, 1864. One cannot truly understand how the battle of Cold Harbor played out unless one also understands how the armies got there. This book brings the armies to the battle of Cold Harbor. The May 28, 1864, battle of Haw's Shop was considered the harshest cavalry battle of the war to date; but, it was eclipsed two weeks later by the battle of Trevilian Station. Haw's Shop marked Maj. Gen. Wade Hampton's emergence as the new commander of the Army of Northern Virginia's Cavalry Corps in the wake of the death of the lamented cavalry chief, Maj. Gen. J. E. B. Stuart, 16 days earlier. This is the first monograph dedicated to telling the story of these largely overlooked cavalry battles. Familiar characters such as Philip H. Sheridan, Fitzhugh Lee, George A. Custer, and David M. Gregg play significant roles in these battles. So, too, do lesser-known participants. Approximately 70 photographs and 25 maps grace this book's pages.

A Fine Introduction to Battle: Hood's Texas Brigade at The Battle of Eltham's Landing, May 7, 1862

The Battle of Eltham's Landing on May 7, 1862 was the baptism by fire for the Texas Brigade of Gen. John Bell Hood. The Texans distinguished themselves throughout the war as members of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. The Battle of Eltham's Landing was considered small, compared to the battles the brigade fought soon afterwards: Gaines' Mill, Second Manassas/Second Bull Run, Sharpsburg/Antietam, Gettysburg and Chickamauga. However, the brunt of the fighting at Eltham's Landing was done by the Texans. Hood's Texas Brigade's first combat experience proved they were a force to be reckoned with. In these accounts, the soldiers wrote how bravely the brigade fought in its first battle. Newspapers throughout Texas, Georgia and the whole south expressed their pride about the gallantry and aggressiveness of Hood's Brigade in their first battle, and began building the reputation of Hood's Texans becoming Robert E. Lee's "Grenadier Guard." Confederate General Gustavus Smith wrote "the brunt of the contest was borne by the Texans, and to them is due the largest share of the honors." This collection of source material and photographs provide a valuable view of this overlooked, early battle through the eyes of the Texans, that reflected pride not only in themselves, but in fellow brigade members of the 18th Georgia and Hampton's Legion.

Owen, Joseph L.

Thomas Taylor Munford was the most senior, and likely the most important, cavalry colonel in Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. As a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute, Munford was well placed, but not a member of the West Point military elite. This likely contributed to his being overlooked repeatedly for promotion to brigadier general, despite having commanded Fitzhugh Lee's brigade in some of the war's most important battles and commanding a division at the end of the war. Bitterness over these snubs and other issues led to Munford's famous feud with Major General Thomas L. Rosser, the subject of author Sheridan Barringer's previous work. Col. Munford wrote prolifically about his experiences in the war and provided much insight into important officers within the cavalry corps of the Army of Northern Virginia. This is a biography worthy of shelf space in the library of every serious student of the American Civil War.

Unhonored Service: The Life of Lee’s Senior Cavalry Commander, Colonel Thomas Taylor Munford, CSA

This book is an organizational examination of North Carolina's Confederate hospitals and why they existed. The first two chapters provide the reader with a general understanding of the Confederate Medical Department and the military and civilians that were essential in the day-to-day operations of a hospital. The remaining chapters are arranged chronologically and discuss the key military operations and events that occurred in the state or in Virginia that drove hospital requirements.

North Carolina's Confederate Hospitals, 1861-1863, Volume I

Sokolosky, Wade

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