A Conversation with Stonewall Jackson

This week's post features an article originally published in the Detroit Free Press and copied in the June 17, 1863 issue of the Urbana Union. The article, in the form of a narrative, gives the experience of Captain William Duncan Wilkins at the Battle of Chancellorsville. 
Captain William D. Wilkins
(Detroit Historical Society)

 Captain Wilkins, a native of Detroit, had served during the Mexican War as an lieutenant in the 15th U.S. Infantry and was serving on the staff of Brigadier General Alpheus S. Williams. General Williams, another Detroiter, commanded the First Division of the 12th Corps at Chancellorsville. Captain Wilkins was wounded and captured on May 2, 1863 and brought to Stonewall Jackson for interrogation just as Jackson was lining up his troops for the late evening assault on the broken Union line. 

 Wilkins' account is an interesting one in that it adds another perspective on Jackson's final moments at Chancellorsville and I can't say that I've seen any other accounts from other Union officers personally interrogated by Jackson at the battle. Also, this was Wilkins second time in Confederate hands having been captured the previous August at the Battle of Cedar Mountain. So without further ado...
Urbana Union, June 17, 1863, pg. 1

 Captain William D. Wilkins of the staff of General A.S. Williams, commanding a division of the 12th Corps, who was wounded and taken prisoner in the battle of Chancellorsville returned to this city on Tuesday evening being on parole. From him we learn some interesting particulars of the battle never before published.

          
He was placed in charge of a guard who took him a short distance to the rear and to the plank road where he met General Jackson and staff. Jackson had at this time formed a column of attack on the plank road with the design of flanking our army and obtaining possession of United States Ford which would have undoubtedly resulted in the total annihilation of our army. The column consisted of upwards of 15,000 men, massed in columns of sections, having three batteries of artillery on the flank. It is said by learned military authorities that this column of attack has never before been adopted in modern warfare except by Bonaparte at Arcola. The military genius of Jackson shone brighter every day and had his plan succeeded, the result to our army cannot be estimated.
"Old Pap" Williams later led the 20th Corps during the
March to the Sea and earned a reputation as a hard fighter.
(Library of Congress)

    Jackson was sitting on his horse at the head of the column surrounded by his staff. He wore a new suit of gray uniform, and was a spare man with a weather-beaten face and a bright, grayish blue eye. He had a peculiarly sad and gloomy expression of countenance as though he already saw a premonition of his fate. It was but fifteen minutes later that he was mortally wounded. As they came into his presence, the guard announced “a captured Yankee officer.” 
Captain Williams was brought into Jackson's presence mere minutes before he was wounded on the evening of May 2, 1863. "Jackson was sitting on his horse at the head of the column surrounded by his staff. He wore a new suit of gray uniform, and was a spare man with a weather-beaten face and a bright, grayish blue eye. He had a peculiarly sad and gloomy expression of countenance as though he already saw a premonition of his fate." 

    Captain Wilkins asked if it was Major General Thomas J. Jackson. On being answered in the affirmative, he raised his hat. General Jackson said, “A Regular Army officer, I suppose. Your officers do not often salute ours?” Captain Wilkins replied, “No, I am not. I salute you out of respect to you as a gallant officer.” He then asked his name and rank. On being informed, he further inquired what corps and commanders were opposed in front. Captain Wilkins replied that as an officer, he could not return a truthful answer to such questions. Jackson then turned to the guard and ordered them to search him. He then had in the breast pocket of his coat Hooker’s confidential orders to corps commanders giving a plan in part of the campaign, the countersigns of the field for a week in advance, and the field returns giving the effective strength of the 12th Corps on the following day. These were exceedingly important papers.
Jackson and his staff surveying the carnage of battle. 

    Fortunately before the guard could carry the orders into execution, a terrific raking fire was opened on Jackson’s column by 20 pieces of artillery commanded by Captain Best from an eminence on the plank road. The first eight or ten shots flew over the heads of the column. The men and gunners dismounted, leaving their horses and guns. Our artillery soon got the range with more precision and the shells and round shot ricocheted and plowed through this dense mass of the enemy with terrific effect. Shells were continually bursting and the screams and groans of the wounded and dying could be heard on every side.

    As an instance of this terrific effect of fire, one of the guard was struck by a solid shot just below the hips sweeping off both his legs. A battery came dashing up, but when they got into the vortex of the fire, the gunners fled and could not be made to man them. An officer splendidly mounted and equipped attempted in a most gallant manner to rally them. A ball struck him on the neck, completely severing his head from his body and leaving his spinal column standing. His body rolled to the ground and the horse galloped to the rear. One of the shells struck a caisson full of artillery ammunition which, exploding, ascended in a crater of various colored flames and showered down on the heads of the men below a mass of fragments of shot and shell. The loss inflicted by this fire must have been terrible placing considerably over 1,000 men hors du combat and effectually breaking up the contemplated attack of the column.
This colorful if fanciful Kurz & Allison print depicts the wounding of General Jackson (on the right surrounded by mounted staff officers) on the evening of May 2, 1863. Jackson would subsequently lose his left arm and die of pneumonia eight days later at Guinea Station, Virginia with his beloved wife at his side. "Let us cross over and rest under the shade of the trees" were his last reported words. 

    An officer of Jackson’s staff subsequently stated that it was about 15 minutes after this that General Jackson with staff advanced to the front to reconnoiter our position, having accomplished which he returned by a different path toward his own men who, mistaking his approach for that of a party of our cavalry, fired upon him, killing and wounded four of his staff and wounding Jackson once in the right arm and twice in the left arm and hand.
Captain Wilkins cleverly disposed of his important papers
by offering them as kindling to his frustrated Confederate
guard. "The soldier took them and, not dreaming of their
importance, used them to kindle the fire," Wilkins wrote.

    While Captain Wilkins was being taken to the rear, he devoted his attention to disposing of the important papers which he had on his person. He dared not take them from his pocket to attempt to tear them up but continually placed his hand in his pocket and worked the papers into a ball and as they were passing along, got them into his bosom and finally into the arm pit under his arm where he carried them all that night. The next morning the guard halted to get their breakfast and a soldier was trying to kindle a fire to cook some coffee which they had taken from our men. The wood was wet and the fire refused to burn. The soldier swore at it until his patience gave out when Captain Wilkins asked him if he would not like some kindling and handed him the important papers. The soldier took them and, not dreaming of their importance, used them to kindle the fire.

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular Posts

Arming the Buckeyes: Longarms of the Ohio Infantry Regiments

Image
     A common question that comes up in conversation about Civil War Buckeye regiments is "What were they armed with?" We are fortunate in that the state of Ohio kept good records of how the regiments were armed when they went into service, this being especially true for those regiments which went into service in 1861 and 1862. The state adjutant general's reports for 1861 and 1862 have been heavily drawn upon to construct this article, as well as consultation with Phil Spaugy who has done extensive research on how Ohio's troops were armed during the war.      Buckeyes carried a fairly wide variety of weapons into the field, and the below article breaks this down into weapons of both domestic manufacture and imported arms. The early days of the war found the state of Ohio practically bereft of longarms; as an example, when the 1st and 2nd Ohio Volunteer Militia left the state in late April 1861, they left unarmed, being armed at Lancaster, Pennsylvania on their way to
Read more

Dressing the Rebels: How to Dye Butternut Jeans Cloth

Image
     In the early days of the Civil War,  the Southern states found themselves with an abundance of cotton but a shortage of cloth with which to make army uniforms. The trade in cloth prior to the war had largely been to send raw cotton or wool north to New England (or Great Britain) where it was converted into usable cloth; but now that trade was broken and the Southern states were thrown upon their own resources in their efforts to properly clothe the Confederate army.  This collection of Confederate enlisted men's frock coats and shell jackets gives some indication of the variety of shades of butternut worn during the war. All of them are shades of yellow brown, some heavier on the yellow and some heavier on the brown. The blue used around the collar or as rank insignia indicates that the soldier was in the infantry. Surviving Confederate uniforms are considered rather rare and command quite a healthy price in the collecting market. For an in-depth study of how Confederate jacke
Read more

Bullets for the Union: Manufacturing Small Arms Ammunition During the Civil War

Image
       Civil War bullets are perhaps the most common item collected from the era; the two armies expended bullets by the millions during the four years’ conflict and spent or deformed bullets of all shapes and sizes have made fascinating and affordable collectibles since the guns went silent in 1865.       I recently acquired a display piece featuring 35 different types of small arms ammunition used during the Civil War, including everything from a small .28 caliber ball up to a .69 caliber three-ring Minie and it triggered some questions: how did the Federal army obtain its small arms ammunition during the war? Where did the lead come from to make the bullets, and where and how was the ammunition manufactured? This post seeks to answer those questions. A typical .58 caliber 3-ring Minie bullet   “Whenever the blasts of war blow in the ears of men who trade in the implements of destruction, they are apt to experience more joy than the true warrior, for then comes the harvest of gain.
Read more

The Cannons are Now Silent: The Field of Death of Tupelo

Image
       The smoke of battle had drifted away from the battlefield at Tupelo, Mississippi on the hot afternoon of July 14, 1864, but the carnage of war lay spread across the open fields. “Scattered at intervals over the field of a few yards are dull gray blotches half shaded by grass,” an officer from the 7 th Minnesota Infantry recorded. “These are the Rebel dead. They have fought their last battle and lie generally in attitudes of rest; some of them look as if they had welcomed death. On the faces of two is imprinted a smile. One is a boy of 16 with delicate features, almost girlish in their beauty. His last gaze seems to have been directed toward his hand on the forefinger of which was a ring. A circle of purer white indicates its place; the ring was carried off as a trophy of the field.” The following account of the Battles of Tupelo and Old Town Creek was written by an unknown officer of the 7 th Minnesota Infantry, his account appearing in the August 5 th 1864 edition of the
Read more

The Vaunted Enfield Rifle Musket

Image
     The English-made Model 1853 .577 caliber Enfield Rifle Musket was widely regarded as the best infantry arm in the world at the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861. Favorable international press describing its efficiency in the Crimean War and in suppressing the Indian rebellion led to the widespread desire of American infantrymen (both Federal and Confederate) to be armed with these accurate and well-made arms. The lock plate of this well-worn P1853 Enfield rifle musket produced in 1862 shows the typical markings of a British-made weapon that made it through the Federal blockade.  ( Army of Tennessee Relics ) Enfield-pattern weapons were imported into the states by the tens and hundreds of thousands during the war years; one estimate stated that the Federal government purchased 500,000 while the Confederates purchased another 400,000. The Confederate government dispatched Captain Caleb Huse to Europe in April 1861 to purchase weapons and Huse focused on securing all the Enfi
Read more

Straw Already Threshed: Sherman on Shiloh

Image
  W illiam Tecumseh Sherman was enjoying retired life in New York City when just before Christmas in 1889 he was presented with an article written by John Cockerill, a former drummer boy in the 24 th Ohio who was visiting his father Colonel Joseph Cockerill of the 70 th Ohio of Sherman’s division when the Battle of Shiloh began. Cockerill’s article, originally published in the New York Journalist and later featured in the January 1893 issue of Blue & Gray Magazine, Sherman later pronounced as “the best war story ever written” and the truest account of Shiloh.           On New Year’s Day 1890, General Sherman composed the following letter to his friend Marshall P. Wilder thanking him for sending along Cockerill’s article and giving his own explanation of Shiloh. “This to me is straw already threshed for we have fought this battle on paper several times, a much more agreeable task than to fight with bullets,” he concluded. “When in England some years ago I was gratified to liste
Read more

Federal Arms in the Stones River Campaign

Image
  T he following list, constructed after many years of research, lists unit by unit which type of weapons were carried by the Army of the Cumberland during the Stones River campaign. A number of sources were consulted including state ordnance reports, Federal quarterly ordnance reports (thank you Research Arsenal ), Ken Baumann’s Arming the Suckers, regimental histories and memoirs, captured ordnance reports, and consultation with knowledgeable experts in the field of firearms. Some of this information has been shared on the blog before in “ Rosy’s Heavy Metal: Artillery of the Army of the Cumberland ” or “ Shoulder Arms: How Sheridan’s and Davis’s Divisions Were Armed at Stones River ” but this is the first time the army as a whole has been presented. The overall conclusion I drew from looking at this data is that the Army of the Cumberland in December 1862 was an organization in the midst of transformation as far as arms. Many of the regiments still retained their original issue
Read more

Escape of Captain Henry H. Alban of the 21st Ohio Infantry

Image
Captain Henry H. Alban was among the dozen officers of the 21 st Ohio Volunteer Infantry who were captured on September 20, 1863 at the Battle of Chickamauga. The regiment had held its position atop Snodgrass Hill against repeated Confederate assaults and now battered and without ammunition, with the darkness of evening enveloping the hill, the remainder of that gallant band found themselves at the mercy of the 54 th Virginia. A total of 12 officers and 121 enlisted men surrendered; the regiment’s colors were taken, and the men marched off the field into captivity. Captain Henry Harvey Alban, Co. F, 21st O.V.I. Captain Alban along with the rest went through a series of Confederate prison camps before arriving at Columbia, South Carolina in October 1864. Determined to make an escape, he watched for his chance and one night made his leap for freedom, successfully eluding the local camp guard and setting out along the railroad to head for the mountains of eastern Tennessee and
Read more

Knapsack Compression: Wilbur Hinman recalls the first step of becoming a veteran

Image
L ooking back on his experiences during the war, Captain Wilbur Hinman of the 65 th Ohio (perhaps best known as the author of Si Klegg and His Pard ) recalled that the first road along which his regiment marched was strewn “with debris. A pair of six-mule wagonloads might have been gathered of notions that had been flung aside by a thousand suffering “tenderfeet.” “The average young patriot started for the war with a wheelbarrow load of clothing, a bed quilt or two, books, photograph albums, toilet articles, and gimcracks of every sort,” he wrote. “Neither he nor the good homefolks had the slightest conception of the capacity of a knapsack, nor did they for a moment imagine that before the close of his first day upon the road every pound he carried would seem a hundred.” To the true mark of a veteran soldier was one who “learned to dispense with every unnecessary ounce of weight, and just in the ratio that he did this he increased his efficiency as a soldier. It was of the highest
Read more

Federal Arms in the Chickamauga Campaign

Image
T he ordnance returns of the Army of the Cumberland at the end of September 1863 show the results of a transformational year in weaponry. Since taking command of the army at the end of October 1862, General William S. Rosecrans had repeatedly pestered the War Department to supply his regiments with better firearms both to improve the command’s efficiency as well as expand its striking power. The results speak for themselves: for the infantrymen at the end of September 1863, 90% of them now carried Class I long arms (36,058 out of 39,959), 8.3% carried Class II arms, and a mere 1.5% carried Class III weapons. Most of the foreign-made weapons (except Enfields) were gone, and by and large the army had settled on a single common .58 caliber ammunition, although a few .54 caliber and .69 caliber weapons remained within the ranks. The English-made Enfield rifle musket was by far the most common arm, carried by 56% of the men while the second-most common arm was the .58 caliber M1861 Spring
Read more