"The Happiest Moments of His Life"

Col. Ozora Pierson Stearns (1831-1896) of the Thirty-ninth U.S. Colored Infantry, in an interview with an historian, recounted his participation in the ill-fated Battle of the Crater along the front lines at Petersburg, Virginia, on July 30, 1864. In this excerpt, Stearns' graphic account of the battle caught my attention:

At the mine explosion in front of Petersburg July 30, Colonel Stearns’ regiment was the last to go into the fight after the rebels had rallied and formed a cordon of fire along the whole front. As they were passing the crater, moving by the flank, a cannon-ball took off the head of one of his men near the front of his regiment, and threw the head of the column into some confusion. The air was full of grape canister-shells and minie-balls. The colonel mounted a chunk of clay about three feet high, and drew his sword and shouted to his regiment with a voice that could be heard above the din of the battle, and it immediately came into line and filed past him in excellent order. Those were, he declares, the happiest moments of his life.

The last sentence brought to mind Gen. Robert E. Lee's often repeated quote, "It is well that war is so terrible — lest we should grow too fond of it." I suspect that Stearns, who went on to become a respected judge, serve a stint as U.S. Senator, and become a staunch supporter of women's suffrage, would not have ever wanted to be in such a position of danger again. And yet, it is clear that in that moment at the edge of the Crater, as he stood atop a boulder with a commanding view of the utter chaos unfolding around him in contrast to the orderly procession of his men, he experienced two extreme emotions almost simultaneously, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

How you or I would react to such battlefield stress is an unknown. Would we feel elated, as Stearns recalled in later years, or would we be forever damaged by the experience? Or both?

Stearns' recollection of the Battle of the Crater continues:

When the rebels made their final charge, after nearly the whole line had given way, Colonel Stearns rallied a few men and was holding a short piece of the line just at the right of the crater, when a shell burst, seemingly right in his face, which stunned him for a moment. When he recovered he was alone — all others had fallen or fled. There were some still fighting in the crater. He went into it to see what could be done. He saw it was impossible to hold it. This was just after the Forest massacre. He thought, if captured, he would be hung. He concluded to try and reach the Union lines, one hundred and fifty yards away. As he started, several started with him. They had gone but a few yards when every man that started with him had fallen. In his mind he gave up all hope and said: “Well, you’ve got me now, and you’ll shoot me in the back, but you shan’t shoot me running.” He then stopped running, took out his sword and walked slowly, clipping weeds. He reached the old line of works, leaped over them, and commenced preparing for an expected assault on that line. Just then another shell burst, seemingly in his face. Against his right shoulder was a cavalry soldier and against his left a colored soldier. The shell tore off the shoulder of the cavalry soldier so he could see the beating of his lung, and tore away the chin of the colored soldier. The colonel was unharmed. He lost in this engagement ten officers and one hundred and eighty-five men killed and wounded. His colors had thirteen ball holes through them. His color-bearer, at his request, was voted by congress a medal of honor for bravery in the battle.

— Butterfield, Consul Willshire. “Bench and Bar of Duluth.” Magazine of Western History (March 1889). Photo from Wikipedia.

An Acre at Malvern Hill

When the Civil War Preservation Trust (CWPT) call to action to help save 178 acres of Malvern Hill came in the mail the other day, my thoughts went to three captains that I've researched whose lives were touched by the fighting during this last engagement of the Seven Days' Battles.

George Pierce of the Tenth Massachusetts Infantry, who suffered a gunshot wound in the right arm in the fighting there on July 1, 1862. Dennis Moore of the Sixty-first New York Infantry, struck by an artillery shell in his right calf at nearby Nelson's Farm on June 30, 1862. A surgeon amputated Moore's damaged leg below the knee on the battlefield, and he lay there the next day as the battle raged at Malvern Hill. Motier Norton of the Eighteenth New York Infantry, who fell ill with typhoid fever shortly after the battle. Exposure to the rigors of campaigning in the field compromised his health and forced him to resign his commission. Each of these men are profiled in Faces of the Civil War: An Album of Union Soldiers and Their Stories.

It was with these veterans in mind that I wrote a check to save an acre of Malvern Hill. And to preserve the land that these three captains and tens of thousands of other soldiers fought over. And for future generations of men and women, boys and girls, who might someday walk across a pristine plot of ground in Virginia and wonder about the soldiers who happened on that spot a long, long time ago.

It feels good to contribute to something much larger than yourself.

Tis always the season.

Speaking and Book Signing at Manassas Museum

This Saturday, Aug. 15, I'll be at the Manassas Museum speaking about Faces of the Confederacy: An Album of Southern Soldiers and Their Stories. Afterwards, I will sign copies of the book. My presentation includes profiles of several Virginians featured in Faces, including the soldier on the cover, Sgt. William Crawford Smith of the Twelfth Virginia Infantry. Also included is a statistical survey of soldiers from my database of 200 Civil War veterans.

This event is part of the Civil War Trails Old Town Walking Tour. Led by guides in period clothes, the tour is focused on the Second Battle of Manassas (Bull Run), fought on Aug. 28–30, 1862. This year marks the 147th anniversary of the Confederate victory. The tour begins at 10 a.m. Cost: $10/person. For more information about this tour contact the Manassas Museum at 703-368-1873.

The museum is located at 9101 Prince William St., Manassas, VA 20110-5615.

Unexpected Discovery at Antietam Monument

Yesterday I visited Antietam with my friend Chuck and hiked several battlefield trails in humid conditions under an overcast sky. Along The Cornfield Avenue we came upon the State of New Jersey Monument, dedicated in 1903 to the Third, Fourth and Thirteenth Infantries and Hexamer's Battery (Battery A, First New Jersey Artillery).

Along the base of the monument is inscribed the names of the governor and three veterans, all commissioners who helped make the monument a reality. The name of the third commissioner instantly caught my attention, for John James Toffey is one of the seventy-seven soldiers featured in Faces of the Civil War. That Toffey's name should appear at Antietam is unexpected, for he did not serve in these units (he was part of the Twenty-first and Thirty-third infantry regiments) nor participate in the battle.

Toffey (1844-1911) received the Medal of Honor for his actions at Chattanooga in 1863.

Book Signing at New Market

Thanks to sutler Nick Sekela, I will be signing copies of my books at the The Battle of New Market Reenactment. I'll be set up in the bookstore tent, adjacent to sutler's row, on Saturday, May 16, from 10-3, and Sunday, May 17, from 10-2. I am informed that this year's event will be especially impressive, due in part to the cancellation of the Spotsylvania reenactment.

Hope to meet you there!

Searching for United Service Club of Philadelphia Address

A profile of Capt. John Huey Weeks (pictured here) that appeared in an 1887 edition of The Railroad Record and Investor's Guide mentions a paper that he delivered at the United Service Club of Philadelphia. The paper included a graphic account of the Battle of Fredericksburg, in which Weeks participated as an officer with the Ninety-first Pennsylvania Infantry.

Any leads on where I might obtain a copy of this paper are appreciated.

The Cloyds of Cloyd's Mountain

This passage on page 46 in McManus' history of the 1864 Virginia and Tennessee Railroad Raid, The Battle of Cloyds Mountain, led me to wonder if the Cloyd men who occupied two homes near the base of the mountain survived the war:

Surgeon Neil F. Graham of the Twelfth Ohio Infantry "recognized a need for more adequate shelter, and found James M. Cloyd’s residence with several verandas and two large end chimneys overlooking the battlefield, and, about a mile southwest of the battlefield, the home of Maj. Joseph Cloyd. These homes became the hospital, and the medical staff labored through the night."

Both men did outlive the war. I searched Ancestry.com and found James McGavock Cloyd (1828-1892), who acted as a Confederate scout and courier before the battle. Major Joseph Cloyd (1813-1884) acted as a purchasing agent for the Confederate government.

A Squirrel in Combat

In researching the Battle of Cloyds Mountain (May 9, 1864), I am reading Howard Rollins McManus' excellent volume on the subject. Page 9 includes an excerpt taken from the papers of James M. Comley in the Ohio State Historical Society in Columbus. It refers to breaking up winter camp and the liquidation of accumulated items before the May 1864 raid on the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad that culminated in the action on Cloyds Mountain:

"Extra clothing and bedding, cooking stoves, banjos, tamborines, stove pipe hats, fishing tackle, sidesaddles, rowboats and sailboats, pet raccoon, game cocks,...and one solemn looking blinking old owl, comprise a few of the extras disposed of to the highest bidder...One of the men carried a pet squirrel all through the raid."

The fate of this Southern squirrel in federal captivity was not revealed. Nor was his allegiance.

Where is the Body of Aaron Hunt Ingraham?

There can be no doubt that Aaron Hunt Ingraham of the Forty-eighth New York Infantry fell in action at Cold Harbor, Virginia, on June 1, 1864. His military service record, regimental history books, and other sources all confirm this fact, and that his body was buried on the battlefield and never recovered.

However, the location of his remains are now in question.

Yesterday, I received an email from Jim Kravchuk of the 150th New York Volunteer Infantry Association. Jim and others have been looking for grave sites of members of the regiment, and to date have identified more than 400. Jim, who lives in Amenia, the hometown of Aaron Ingraham, informed me that he "came across a large stone covered by brush that on one side of the stone it has one family [name] but the brush covered side has the Ingraham Family. Listed is Aaron H. Ingraham with a very old GAR marker in front of his name."

Is Lt. Ingraham's body buried beneath the stone? Or, does his remains rest on the Cold Harbor battlefield where he fell and the stone serve as a memorial to his life and military service? Further research will be necessary. One clue may be on the stone itself, which is located in the Amenia Island Cemetery. According to Jim, "the first burials at this cemetery didn't occur until 1869. There are some older stones there that were moved there from an older burial ground so that families could rest together."

Jim wants to clean the stone, and the Sons of Union Veterans have expressed an interest in rededicating the site.

If you have any information, please comment.