Matters Looked Terrible: A Confederate atop Missionary Ridge

The assault by the Army of the Cumberland upon Missionary Ridge on November 25, 1863 is remembered as one of the most dramatic episodes of the Civil War, and today’s blog post features an account from an eyewitness of this assault, a Confederate staff officer serving with General William J. Hardee.

The letter, written the day after Missionary Ridge, never made it to its intended recipient. The author, Major John W. Green (1827-1914) who was Hardee’s military engineer, addressed the letter to his wife Fanny in Macon, Georgia after proving unable to send a telegram at Chickamauga Station. “To relieve all anxiety on my account, I will tell at once I am well and unhurt,” he assured her. Green then gave a sketch of the Battle of Missionary Ridge and describes the reaction of General Hardee to the disaster. However, Green’s wife never received the letter; it was inadvertently left behind, or the mail was captured by the Federal army once they moved into Ringgold. 

Ironically, it was another staff officer, First Lieutenant Allen Ellsworth (1836-1906), serving as aide-de-camp on the staff of Brigadier General Peter J. Osterhaus commanding the First Division of the 15th Army Corps, who picked up the letter from the battlefield at Ringgold. Lieutenant Ellsworth sent the letter home to the editor of the Bloomington, Illinois Daily Pantagraph newspaper who published it in its December 12, 1863 issue.

Lieutenant General William J. Hardee

Ringgold, Georgia

Thursday afternoon, November 26, 1863

My own darling wife,

          I used every effort last night at Chickamauga [Station] to induce the telegraph operator to send a dispatch to Macon [Georgia], but owing to the limited time he was to remain and the press of official business, he would receive no personal messages. To relieve all anxiety on my account, I will tell at once I am well and unhurt.

          The papers have prepared you for the unfortunate issue of yesterday’s battle of which I can give you now a hurried sketch. The enemy, instead of sending aid to the relief of Burnside as supposed and General [Braxton] Bragg felt convinced of, quietly waited until we were shorn of more than one-third of our strength in attempting the east Tennessee expedition, when on Monday they began operations by attacking in tremendous force and carrying by assault the Lookout Valley slope of the mountain. Our men, much inferior numbers, had to fight their way down at night and unite with the balance of the army on Missionary Ridge.

          The following morning, owing to our reduced strength, General Hardee advised falling back until Longstreet and other forces sent to east Tennessee could unite, but it was determined otherwise. On Monday morning, the enemy twice attempted to carry our position on the right but on each occasion was repulsed with great slaughter. Having given a full share of attention to that part of the line, the enemy massed heavily on our center (immediately under the command of General Patton Anderson of Hardee’s corps) and moved against the single line that defended it in overwhelming force, but our artillery and musketry mowed their advance line down, but another was ready to take their place. With the aid of the fourth line he took the position cutting the two wings asunder.

Missionary Ridge

          At this juncture, matters looked terrible and I will never forget the look of anguish written on poor General Hardee’s face. He sent me hurriedly to make some changes in his other divisions yet intact, and to hurry one forward to stem the tide of defeat that was rapidly assuming dreadful proportions. On returning, I found him with a fragment of the broken division attempting to rally them and a hard task we found it while the leaden hail of the exultant Yankees showered around us. It is most remarkable how he or those of his staff with him escaped so easily. Just before I arrived, Major [D.G.] White [assistant adjutant general] had his horse killed under him and I had found the General but a little while before his horse was wounded. Dr. [A.L.] Breysacker [medical director] had his cap cut while [Thomas Linn] Hunt [acting assistant adjutant general] and myself escaped entirely unhurt. At the juncture I spoke of the balance of the staff were off at other points executing various orders.

Captured Confederate cannon from Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain under guard by a Federal sentry in Chattanooga after the battle. 

          I cannot approximate our loss, perhaps from 3,000-4,000 killed, wounded, and missing, which I fear too plainly desertion. Our loss in artillery is heavy as Hardee’s corps lost 12 pieces and Breckinridge’s 26 pieces. I cannot tell when or where the next battle will be fought. I am not sure that the enemy will come out as far as Dalton where I think a stand will be made. I sent a note on Tuesday and will continue to keep you constantly informed. God has been so kind to me, darling, and I will try better to deserve his goodness.

          I must now say goodbye as I have but a few moments to send a note to mother.

As ever, your affectionate husband,

John W. Green

P.S. I would send a dispatch from this place, but the wires are down.

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 t...
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 ...
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 h...
Read more

The Wizard of Oz and the Civil War

Image
T he 1939 film The Wizard of Oz has delighted viewers for 85 years and ranks as a personal favorite, especially during the Halloween season. While watching it with the family the other night, I wondered if there were any connections between the film and the Civil War. Not surprisingly, the answer is yes and those connections touch both the blue and the gray.           Interestingly both “witches” in the film not only had Civil War ancestors but had connections with Civil War soldiers from Ohio. Margaret Hamilton, the “Wicked Witch of the West,” was born in Cleveland, Ohio on December 9, 1902, to attorney Walter Jones Hamilton and his wife Mary Jane Adams; Margaret’s grandfather was Judge Edwin Timothy Hamilton. Judge Hamilton had served as a private in Co. D of the 84 th Ohio Infantry during the summer of 1862. The 84 th Ohio, a three months’ regiment, served nearly the whole of its service attached to the Railroad District in western Ma...
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 se...
Read more

In front of Atlanta with the 68th Ohio

Image
  The arrow corps badge of the 17th Army Corps was worn by many members of the 68th Ohio in the latter days of the war.       Private Edward A. Bigelow of Co. F of the 68th Ohio Volunteer Infantry wrote this brief account of the Battle of Atlanta just two days afterwards to his father back home in Henry County, Ohio. The regiment formed a part of Colonel Robert K. Scott's three regiment all-Ohio brigade consisting of the 20th, 68th, and 78th regiments, being designated the Second Brigade of the Third Division of Frank Blair's 17th Army Corps. Bigelow's letter originally appeared in the Napoleon Press newspaper and was copied in the Toledo Daily Commercial which was providential as no known copies exist today of the wartime Napoleon Press.  
Read more

Charging Battery Robinett: An Alabama Soldier Recalls the Vicious Fighting at Corinth

Image
W riting 30 years after the Battle of Corinth, James A. McKinstry of the 42 nd Alabama recalled his experiences storming Battery Robinett with Colonel William P. Rogers of the 2 nd Texas and expressed guilt that it was perhaps his action that brought about the colonel’s demise. “On seeing a line of Federals approaching, and before giving the situation a thought, I immediately raised my gun and fired full into the breast of a Federal sergeant, who was in front of the column, and only a short distance from us.  'Twas then that Captain George Foster shouted, "Cease firing, men! cease firing!" and waved his handkerchief, then I realized the true situation. 'Twas too late! That fatal volley had been turned on our little band from the muzzles of 1,500 muskets. I was still standing just as I was when I fired my last shot, and within a few feet of Colonel Rogers, when a Minie ball went crashing through my left hip and turned me half round; another went tearing through my ...
Read more

Cook & Brother of New Orleans

Image
    The lockplate of a New Orleans-made Cook & Brother Enfield rifle produced in 1862 shows the fine craftsmanship that became the hallmark of the maker throughout the Civil War. Note the stars and bars flag at left, an emblem used on C&B's production throughout the war and the Cook & Brother, N.O. 1862 markings. Earlier production weapons at New Orleans had the flag located just above the maker's name while later weapons produced in Athens, Georgia would have a modified flag and Athens on the plate followed by the serial number.        In the spring of 1861, two English-born businessmen, Ferdinand and Francis Cook of New Orleans, perceived the need for the South to have its own domestic production of firearms and  set out to prove "that rifles could made here as well as in Yankee land or in Europe." The brothers  elected to produce copies of the British Model 1853 .577 caliber Enfield rifle as this was considered the benchmark longarm...
Read more

I Want to See a Battle: A Hoosier at Shiloh

Image
W riting in his diary, Private Manius Buchanan of the 29 th Indiana recalled the eagerness with which his regiment marched towards Savannah, Tennessee with the sounds of the battle of Shiloh ringing in their ears.           “The forced march was kept up until 2 p.m. when we were halted until 4 p.m,” he noted. “The rest was really needed, but the continual question is ‘Why are we stopped here?’ The sound of battle increased in volume and anxiety to be up and doing grows more intense. As I am weak from a late sickness, I am urged to fall to the rear; but no, in common with all, I want to see a battle and fear this will be my only chance.” The regiment would go into action the following afternoon, and of the four neighborhood boys who had enlisted together in Co. B, only Buchanan escaped unscathed. One afternoon's exposure to the horrors of battle was all it took to satisfy this Hoosier's desire to see the elephant. “I wanted to see a battl...
Read more

An Interview with Forrest in May 1864

Image
  “The noise of battle is the only music that ravishes the senses of Forrest.” I t was May 1864. Back east, the Army of Northern Virginia and the Army of the Potomac were locked in the deadly dance of the Overland Campaign while in Georgia, General William Tecumseh Sherman's army squared off against General Joseph E. Johnston and the Army of the Tennessee in the campaign for Atlanta.       Based in relatively quiet northern Mississippi, General Nathan Bedford Forrest bided his time waiting for a Federal advance from Memphis. Earlier in the month, General Samuel Sturgis led a brief campaign into Mississippi but Forrest was sure Sturgis would venture out again. In the meantime, he tried to keep his reorganized command intact despite persistent demands from his superiors that he return the absentees and deserters who inflated his ranks (nearly 1,000 in number) to their original commands.      Around this same time,  an old acquaintance from Me...
Read more