Gauley Bridge

From Gauley Bridge

The town of Gauley Bridge, West Virginia, like many others along The Midland Trail (US Rt. 60), attracts few visitors. Sited where the confluence of the Gauley River and the New River form the Kanawha River, the town probably sees little excitement these days. But when armies of the North and South contended for western Virginia in 1861, the town was an ideal location for a supply depot, while the bridge from which it derives its name controlled access to the Kanawha and New River valleys along the James River and Kanawha Turnpike.

Federal forces under General Jacob D. Cox advanced along the turnpike from Charleston Toward Gauley Bridge following McClellan’s victory at Rich Mountain in July 1861. Confederate Brigadier General Henry Wise, commanding a rag tag assortment of troops styled “Wise’s Legion,” abandoned Gauley Bridge, burning the bridge behind him. Troops of the 11th Ohio Infantry had established a reputation at effective bridge builders during Cox’s advance through the Kanawha Valley, and he tasked them with finding a way to repair the Gauley River crossing. Judging the 350’ span too difficult to rebuild, the resourceful Ohioans anchored cables to the stone abutments and constructed a ferry capable of carrying “two hundred men or four loaded army wagons and their animals, or two guns and their caissons” (Newell, Clayton, Lee vs. McClellan, p. 194).

Other sites of interest along US RT. 60 in West Virginia include Sewell Mountain, where forces of both sides entrenched during the later stages of the campaign. Here Lee struggled to find an opening to assault the Federal position, only to find as he finally marshaled his troops for an assault that the Federals had slipped away in the night. As a consolation, perhaps, Lee first saw Traveller on the slopes of Sewell Mountain. A state historical marker now stands nearby. Also not far from Gauley Bridge, Carnifex Ferry State Park preserves the site of a large skirmish between Federal troops under Rosecrans and the Confederate brigade of John B. Floyd.

The West Virginia campaign of 1861, featuring engagements best characterized as minor skirmishes by late war standards, nevertheless offers a fascinating glimpse into the character of the early war and the early careers of important leaders including Robert E. Lee and George Brinton McClellan.

Rich Mountain Battlefield

From Rich Mountain

Rich Mountain Battlefield lies a few miles from the town of Beverly, West Virginia along the old Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike. “It’s a turnpike,” I told my wife. “How bad can it be?” The old road is now used mainly by recreational vehicles. Surfaced in gravel, it snakes its way up the mountain to the site of the battle between Federal forces under William S. Rosecrans and a small Confederate detachment under Captain Julius De Lagnel. This is not one for the faint-hearted, but the site is accessible by car and is well worth the time to visit.

Rich Mountain, a minor skirmish by late war standards, loomed large in the early careers of Rosecrans and George McClellan. Of more significance, McClellan’s indecision in the face of uncertainty here foreshadowed his efforts in later campaigns. McClellan sent Rosecrans with 2000 men, guided by a local farmer’s son, to flank the rebel position at Camp Garnett at the western foot of Rich Mountain. The march was expected to take three hours. Ten hours later, Rosecrans finally reached his flanking position at the Hart House.

Lieutenant Colonel John Pegram, commanding the 1300 troops at Camp Garnett, dispatched five infantry companies (perhaps 350 men) and a six pounder under the command of Captain De Lagnel to defend an overgrown track near the Hart House at the crest of the mountain. Ironically, though De Lagnel was in the right place to intercept Rosecrans, he faced his line in the wrong direction, expecting an attack from the North. Skirmishers from both sides clashed at Rosecrans closed in on the Hart House. Though the rebels anticipated an attack from the opposite direction, the Federals labored under the false assumption that all of the Confederate defenders were at Camp Garnett..

Despite their initial confusion, De Lagnel’s troops managed to repulse the first two Federal attacks. The Confederates let out a cheer and assumed they had won the day. Rosecrans, undaunted, launched another assault and carried the position.

Meanwhile, McClellan, fretting in the absence of any communications from Rosecrans, called off his supporting attack until the following day. Pegram’s grasp of the situation was no better. Hearing the cheers of De Lagnel’s men, he assumed his forces had achieved victory, and was dismayed to learn of their defeat. Even worse, his main escape route along the turnpike was now occupied by a superior force. Determined to avoid capture, Pegram set out in an attempt to escape the trap. Two days later, exhausted, hungry, and possibly lost, he decided to surrender his command.

The battlefield today consists of a small tract at the top of Rich Mountain near the site of the Hart House. The house no longer stands and trees have encroached upon much of what open pasture there was at the time, so interpretation of the site takes a bit of imagination.

Several plaques detail the action and guide visitors to the stable yard, a key to the rebel defense. Large flat rocks cover the ground here, and several contain inscriptions left by veterans of the action. Standing at the foot of the wooded slope from which Rosecrans launched his attack, visitors can easily imagine the consternation in the rebel ranks as they reoriented their defense to repel an assault from the opposite direction.

Though I lacked the time to explore Camp Garnett further west along the turnpike, the site boasts well preserved earthworks and is certainly worth a visit. Rich Mountain Battlefield would not exist today but for the efforts of the (http://www.richmountain.org). See their web site for information on the campaign and battle, as well as a schedule of events.

Hauser's Ridge (Nicodemus Heights, Part 2)

From Hauser's Ridge Map

Their position atop Nicodemus Heights rendered ineffective by the West Woods as Federal Soldiers closed in on the Dunker Church, Pelham’s batteries limbered up and redeployed on Hauser’s Ridge to the south. The western edge of the West Woods hugs the base of the ridge, which rises steadily to its crest perhaps 200-300 yards farther west. Here, as if by design, the rebels deployed their guns directly in the path of the advance of Sedgwick’s Division of the Second Corps.

Edwin “Bull” Sumner led Sedgwick’s men forward to clear the West Woods. This accomplished, he planned a massive left wheel by the entire division to clear the northern part of the battlefield all the way to the town of Sharpsburg. Initially, the advance met with little resistance. As they emerged from the tree line, they met a storm of shot and shell from the batteries atop Hauser’s ridge. Remnants of Jackson’s Division joined in to halt the Federal advance. This was the first of several shocks that would virtually destroy Sedgwick’s Division as a fighting force for the balance of the battle.

Sedgwick’s lead brigade under Gorman faltered under a withering fire from the ridge in their. The 1st Minnesota, Gorman’s right flank regiment, suffered 118 casualties within minutes. In the center, the 15th Massachusetts regiment lost 348 men, over 50% of its strength. The commander of the 15th, Lt. Colonel John W. Kimball, reported twice driving off the batteries in his front before the left of the brigade collapsed under the weight of the flank attack by McLaws’s Division.

While the artillery fire was not the decisive factor in Sedgwick’s repulse, the rebel guns on Hauser’s ridge stalled the Federal advance and amplified the devastation of McLaws’s slashing attack from the south. Here, as on Nicodemus Heights farther north, Confederate artillerists established local superiority, providing critical support to their outnumbered infantry in tactical situations where their Federal counterparts lacked effective artillery support. Both positions were outside the range of McClellan’s large caliber rifles that so dominated the area around the Dunker Church, the “artillery hell” described by S.D. Lee, commander of the rebel artillery battalion assigned there. Pelham and other Confederate artillerists used this advantage to provide aggressive and effective support at the right place and time, materially assisting Jackson’s troops in their defensive efforts on that bloody morning.

Antietam 146th Anniversary Commemoration, Part 4 - The I and XII Corps at Antietam

The quiet, pastoral setting of the Cornfield and East Woods at Antietam National Battlefield stands in stark contrast to the ferocity of the struggle waged by veterans of the Army of Northern Virginia against some of the most experienced and greenest troops in the Army of the Potomac. Here the Iron Brigade and the Pennsylvania Reserves faced the likes of Hood’s Texans and the Louisiana “Tigers.”

The Federal I Corps under Major General “Fighting” Joe Hooker and the XII Corps under Major General Joseph K. Mansfield, fresh from a desk in Washington, crossed the Antietam at the Upper Bridge and nearby fords and advanced to attack Jackson’s wing of Lee’s army.

After a short discussion of the advance of the I Corps from the area of the North Woods, Brian guided us through the East Woods and across the fields where the men of the XII Corps deployed. Brian has a real knack for finding challenging terrain to explore. Here, it mostly consisted of a few briars and tall grass soaked with the morning dew. We paused to consider Mansfield’s foolhardy and fatal attempt to stop his troops from firing into their own men, only to suffer a mortal wound after discovering the men in his front were indeed the enemy.

The XII Corps was a patchwork organization built upon the nucleus of Banks’s corps, men who had fought with varying degrees of success against Jackson’s men in the Valley. New regiments joined the corps prior to Antietam, often exceeding the existing strength of their parent brigades. To describe these new men as green understates the sad fact that many had yet to master even the rudiments of military drill. And yet several of these regiments fought tenaciously when not called upon to execute complex maneuvers.

As we tramped back through the East Woods toward the southeast corner of the Cornfield, Brian discussed the open nature of the managed woodlots framing this section of the battlefield. He also paused here to consider the experience of the 6th Georgia Infantry. This regiment sustained horrific losses resisting the advance of XII Corps through the woods and the increasing pressure of Federal infantry battling for control of the Cornfield.

The hike concluded with an overview of the fighting in the Cornfield. I will be covering the Cornfield in more detail next year once the weather warms and I am able to get in a few more hikes. We returned to our starting point in the North Woods with a greater appreciation of the efforts of the men of the Union I and XII Corps in one of the fiercest struggles of the war.

Antietam 146th Anniversary Commemoration, Part 3

From Antietam 146th Anniversary Commemoration, Part 3 - The Middle Bridge

Many historians conveniently divide the battle of Antietam into morning, midday, and afternoon phases. This oversimplifies a complex battle and ignores the fighting around the Middle Bridge entirely. True, this was not one of the decisive contests of the battle, but understanding the action in this neglected area of the battlefield brings us one step closer to a more comprehensive picture of Antietam.

Ranger Brian Baracz led us over some of the most difficult terrain on the battlefield. West of the Middle Bridge, the typically rolling terrain condenses into a series of steep hills and deep ravines feeding into the valley of the Antietam, similar to the terrain faced by the IX Corps in their ill-fated advance later in the day. Brian has a knack for finding challenging terrain. He also finds quotes from reports, letters, and diaries that illustrate the salient points of the fighting and the experience of the men on the firing line.

We started off down the Boonsboro Pike, crossed at Rodman Avenue, and turned southeast along a recently restored stone wall bisecting the advanced position of Federal skirmishers who pressured rebel infantry and artillery cobbled together for the defense of Cemetery Hill (1). Continuing on, we crested the ridge and descended through a ravine to the banks of Antietam Creek, picking up a new trail along the creek to the Newcomer farm. The fields along the creek bottom here were filled with cavalrymen of the Army of the Potomac on September 17, 1862 (2). They waited in vain for an opportunity to sweep the rebel army from the field in a grand cavalry charge. Only a few batteries of horse artillery were engaged. This section of the trail will form a part of the Three Farms Trail, another step in the effort to create a series of linked trails covering the entire battlefield. Brian also informed us the park will soon acquire the Newcomer House, which was remodeled as a museum by its previous owner and will likely serve the same purpose in the future.

As skirmishers from the regiments of U.S. Regulars secured the area around he Newcomer Farm, Federal artillery crossed at the Middle Bridge and deployed on the heights beyond (3). Union guns positioned here dueled with rebel cannon posted on Cemetery Hill and beyond it to the south during the afternoon as the Regulars skirmished in the fields beyond, pushing Lee’s center to the breaking point. But General George Sykes, commanding the division of Regulars, chose discretion over valor and failed to push his advantage. Once again, as at other points on this bloody field, Lee’s army was saved by stubborn resistance and the unwillingness of Federal commanders to make one final push.

Despite Sykes’s caution, Federal skirmished managed to push nearly to the outskirts of Sharpsburg. A small triangular filed just west of the southern extension of Bloody Lane where it joins the Boonsboro Pike marks the position of the 4th U.S. Infantry. Skirmishers from this regiment pressed up the hill beyond before Sykes recalled them lat in the afternoon (4). The Hagerstown Pike is only a few hundred yards over the crest of the ridge beyond. Had McClellan pushed Sykes more aggressively and perhaps committed the Sixth Corps to the fray, Lee’s center must have collapsed under the strain. Perhaps not, but such are the perennial what-ifs of the battle of Antietam.

(Next Up: The I and XII Corps at Antietam with Ranger Brian Baracz)

Antietam 146th Anniversary Commemoration, Part 2

After a short break, I joined Ranger Mike Gamble to explore the route of the Irish Brigade in its legendary assault on the Bloody Lane. Mike’s guided walks are notable because he always provides maps with major points of interest noted for his particular subject. We started off along the trace of a lane between the Mumma and Roulette farms. The Mumma Farm is almost entirely a reconstruction, as the rebels burned the original structure, but the Roulette house maintains much of its original appearance. Mike pointed out the “witness hinges” on the cellar door of the house, and the Cultural Resources staff detailed some of the recent restoration efforts on several of the outbuildings.

Continuing along the Roulette Lane, we filed off into the ravine where the Irish Brigade formed up. Here the officers ordered packs down, and the men prepared to assault the Sunken Road. As the brigade left the shelter of the ravine, fire from rebel skirmishers on the crest of the ridge north of the lane began to tell. All of the regiments of the brigade, with the exception of the 29th Massachusetts, were armed with smoothbore muskets. Brigadier General Thomas Francis Meagher, leading his men from horseback, planned to deliver three volleys once he closed the distance to the road and then pitch in with the bayonet and trust to the impetuosity of Irish soldiers in close combat.

Soon Meagher was down – fallen from his horse. Neither Mike nor other historians I have questioned believe Meagher was drunk, as some have claimed. But the Irish fought on. The 29th Massachusetts, advancing on the right center of the brigade, approached on the reverse slope of the ridge north of the lane where the elevation shielded them from rebel musketry. This, and the superior range of their rifled muskets, combined to keep their casualties lower than the other regiments of the brigade. The 63rd, 69th, and 88th New York regiments were not so lucky. With most of the regimental commanders down and ammunition running low, the Irish brigade retired, and left the seizure of the Bloody Lane to Caldwell’s Brigade.

(Next Up: The Middle Bridge hike with Ranger Brian Baracz)