A Scene of Terrible Carnage: An Artillery Musicians' View of Second Bull Run

     William R. Jenvey of Marietta, Ohio enlisted as a musician with Battery C, of the 1st West Virginia Light Artillery on January 25, 1862. The English-born Jenvey had just turned 17 years of age when he went off to war; accounts vary as to whether he served as a bugler or a drummer; his enlistment record says a bugler, his obituary says a drummer. Regardless, Jenvey provides a unique perspective of his battery's action during the Second Battle of Bull Run which occurred August 29-30, 1862.

    After the war, Jenvey returned to Marietta and attended college, becoming an Episcoplian minister and going west to serve in Nevada then California. In 1883, he moved to the east coast where he served as rector of St. Paul's Church in Hoboken, New Jersey until his retirement in 1913. Through many of through years, he was an active member of Lafayette Post G.A.R. in New York, and left some vivid accounts of his experiences during the war. The account below was one that he provided for the county history of Washington County, Ohio which was published in 1881.

Private Davis J. Sheperd of the 11th New York Battery poses astride his horse and next to one of the battery's cannon. Battery C of the 1st West Virginia Light Artillery, like the 11th New York, was part of the Reserve Artillery of Pope's Army of Virginia. Battery C, also known as the Pierpont Battery named after Governor Francis H. Pierpont, was equipped with six Parrott rifles and had seen extensive service during the Shenandoah Valley campaign in the spring of 1862. Less than a week before Second Bull Run, the battery's commander Captain Frank Buell was killed in action at Freeman Ford leaving First Lieutenant Wallace Hill to lead the battery at Second Bull Run. 


    Bull Run was at length reached on the evening of the 28th of August 1862. Milroy's brigade deploying, encountered their skirmishers, drove them, and pushed back to take a portion of their lines and enabled our whole line to take position that night. All slept on their arms and tried to snatch a few moments sleep to enable them to do well their parts in the coming morrow.

    The next day's sun found us all bustle and activity. Aides-de-camp on jaded horses were dashing and tearing here and there, receiving and delivering orders. Brigade commanders were busy arranging and dis-arranging their lines. Division commanders, older and wiser, were coolly witnessing the preparatory maneuvers and concentrating all their energies for the desired time.

    Suddenly Milroy advanced, sought the foe, and full soon did he find them for with his characteristic recklessness he advanced too far and encountered a full Rebel division. Not a whit intimidated, he deployed his lines and opened a murderous fire, but numbers soon told on him. Rapidly his lines thinned, and he stood in imminent danger of being cut off, but collecting all his energies, he charged, extricated himself, and rejoined our line.

    By this time the battle had become general. Our battery, being in position near the Washington Pike, was keeping clear all before it. Maneuvers and counter-maneuvers took place, yet neither side gained any advantage. After noon, Hooker and Kearney coming up and taking position with us, we gained visible successes; gradually we gained ground though every step was hotly contested. Night closed on the combatants leaving the Union forces in possession of fully a mile of conquered ground. The sun of Austerlitz scarcely dawned with prospects of a more sanguinary conflict than did the sun of the 30th. McDowell had abandoned Thoroughfare Gap while Lee had largely reinforced Jackson and we had been reinforced by several divisions of McClellan's Peninsula army.

"Piercing their column appeared like piercing a rubber ball, the hole was scarcely made before it closed." ~Musician William R. Jenvey, Battery C, 1st West Virginia Light Artillery

    Our battery was scattered over three parts of the field. The right section under Second Lieutenant William W. Withrow was ordered to report to General Nathaniel McLean of Schenk's division. The center section, disabled by the heavy and incessant firing of the previous day, was nevertheless kept close at hand ready for any emergency, while the left section under First Lieutenant Wallace Hill, together with the three brass guns of his command, advanced up the Washington Pike and poking their noses fair into the midst of the Johnnies, soon created havoc and dismay in the Rebel ranks. The first day's fight taxed our energies greatly, but the exertions of the second were two-fold greater. The Rebels outnumbered us greatly and punished us terribly.

    The part of the field on which our right section was in position was a scene of terrible carnage, the Rebels opening with artillery strove in vain to dislodge us, the infantry was then called into requisition. Advancing in perfect order, they attempted to take the place by assault, a terrible discharge of canister met them and forced them back. Several times did they rally and advance, but as often were they repulsed. At last, largely reinforced, they took advantage of a piece of woods to our left and flanked us from that direction. Turning our guns on them, we poured storms of canister into their faces, cutting swaths through their massive ranks. Piercing their column appeared like piercing a rubber ball, the hole was scarcely made before it closed. Notwithstanding the dreadful havoc, on they came and still on until they nearly grasped our guns. Our canister had been all expended. [Private Alexander H.] Bukey, intent on fighting to the last, inserted a shell minus either fuse or cap in his gun and sent it as a solid shot right through their ranks. 

The extraordinary courage displayed by the enlisted men in both armies during the Civil War was simply astonishing. Jenvey recalled that one private of his battery was so intent on firing his cannon that he hurriedly loaded an unfused shell and sent it flying into the massed Confederate ranks. Another, determined to retrieve his sponge bucket, ran back through a hail of bullets to get it. And all for $13 dollars a month!

    McLean's brigade, not unlike the British Home Guards at Waterloo, sprang from their cover, and as we limbered to the rear to fall back, they closed in our rear and opened with such a storm of musketry that moral men could not withstand it. The Rebel charge was thus checked, and we were allowed to draw off in peace. Lieutenant Withrow, on mounting his horse, was badly wounded, eventually causing his discharge. Thomas Driscoll in a hurry forgot his sponge bucket and on going back after it, got several holes through his blouse, but fortunately none hit the brave fellow. Several horses were shot.

    In the meantime, Lieutenant Hill with the left section had been hard-pressed. Being in position in the center of the pike, he presented a fair target to the whole of the Rebel artillery and well did they improve the opportunity for shot and shell and the more deadly shrapnel fell on all sides with one continuous roar and hiss, and added to this the whistling of musket balls and the discharge of our own guns, it created confusion enough to try the bravest of hearts. During the while engagement, General Franz Sigel remained in our midst, his uniform and splendid staff drawing the fire of the Rebel sharpshooters on us quite briskly. After a while, General Hooker established himself with us and also for a while Generals Jesse Reno and Phil Kearney. The generals centering in us caused the tide of war to roll all around us. Assaults would be made in front, then the task would be comparatively easy, but when the flanking charges came, then came danger. Sergeant Wesley Miner, having possessed himself of a musket, had busied himself during the whole engagement picking off sharpshooters. One in particular we saw roll in the dust from his unerring aim.

"Fear had seized all and all sought to save themselves. Our battery, by strange and lucky fortune from their different parts of the field, found each other, and although three guns were disabled, we drew ourselves across the road and drawing sabers and revolvers, refused to let a man pass. Many a man did I see who, having escaped death in the two day's engagement, would be either shot or cut down for refusing to halt. It was hard, but it was necessary." ~ Musician William R. Jenvey, Battery C, 1st West Virginia Light Artillery

    To the right and left of us, the day was going badly. Fitz-John Porter, lying within hearing of our guns and knowing the fearful slaughter, refused to support us. Our overtasked and outnumbered boys were gradually obliged to give way, still we in the center held our own until the Rebels, concentrating their infantry and a portion of their artillery, opened on us most terribly; for awhile it seemed as if nothing could stay there and live. At last a shell, surcharged with destruction, came hurtling along and striking Sergeant [William H.] Goldsmith's gun on the right side, glancing, struck the elevating screw and bursting, it severely wounded Corporal James Wright and John Eaton, the former in seven places and most of them severe, the latter in four places and mortally. For a time all appeared confounded, so close did the shell come to all and so severe was the concussion. The shell passed over Sumner Ellis' shoulder, for a time stunning him. Soon the confusion died away, and they found the extent of their injuries. To stay longer was madness, for certain death awaited them, so limbering up and carefully supporting their wounded comrades, they slowly and coolly made way for the rear.

Jenvey related in his account of Second Bull Run that members of his battery drew swords and revolvers to stem the tide of retreat at the end of the engagement. This well-equipped but unidentified Federal artilleryman poses with just that type of equipment: a Model 1860 .44 caliber Colt Army revolver along with a what appears to be a Model 1840 Light Artillery Officer's sword. The sword could be a photographer's prop as enlisted artillerymen were typically equipped with the bulky straight-bladed Model 1832 Foot Artilleryman's Sword.  Wearing an 11-button shell jacket, floppy forage cap and sky blue trousers, this determined young man looks ready for service.

    All had now become lost: rout, ruin, and panic scattered all. The baggage wagons, having been foolishly brought up to the very front, commenced a base and confused retreat but one road led to rear, and to this road all fled. Artillery, baggage wagons, ambulances, and vehicles of almost every sort were locked in utter and inextricable confusion, unable to move themselves, and preventing egress to those who were retreating in good order. In vain did officers ride to the rear and entreat and curse and shoot and cut, and do all that mortal man could do to stop the rout. No; fear had seized all and all sought to save themselves. 

    Our battery, by strange and lucky fortune from their different parts of the field, found each other, and although three guns were disabled, we drew ourselves across the road and drawing sabers and revolvers, refused to let a man pass. Staff and field officers, perceiving our design, galloped to our aid and assisted in rallying. As soon as a battalion could be formed, an officer would put himself at their head and march them back. Thus our line was restored, and we were enabled to hold the enemy in check. Many a man did I see who, having escaped death in the two day's engagement, would be either shot or cut down for refusing to halt. It was hard, but it was necessary. The cause of the Union demanded that they should be checked, and even though it should cause the loss of the best half of the army, still it had to be done. The field of Bull Run was a terrible one; a full 8,000 had fallen, but the capital was saved and the Rebels designs foiled. They marched into Maryland and an Antietam they were most signally defeated. 

Source:

Williams, H.Z. & Bro. History of Washington County, Ohio with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches. Cleveland: W.W. Williams, 1881, pg. 180

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