Among the Flying Dutchmen at Chancellorsville

     It took the battle of Chancellorsville for Private Jacob Buroway of the 107th Ohio to see the difference in how Southern civilians treated their soldiers compared with the indifference and scorn he felt Northerners had for the boys in blue.

          “On Sunday about 10 o’clock, our men took a lot of prisoners and some of those prisoners were wounded seriously, especially one who was such a good-looking boy,” Buroway remembered. “He had his right arm shot off and one of them gals lead that boy to the hospital and the blood of his arm ran down over her silk dress that she was all one blood. That looked hard but she said that she would stick to him or else die with him. Now you can see how they stick together, they ain’t like folks in the North now. There is enough of the people in the North that just laughs at us soldier boys to be such fools as to go and fight but they never think that we stand between the enemy and their homes, to protect them and save the country.”

          Buroway would soon have ample cause to feel that stark difference in how the North treated its soldiers. Chancellorsville proved to be a disaster for the regiments of General Oliver O. Howard’s 11th Army Corps like Buroway’s as Jackson’s flank attack on May 2nd struck the corps badly out of position and rolled them up with heavy losses. To the rest of the army, it looked like the corps collapsed in a panic. The 107th Ohio, like many of the regiments of the corps, was predominantly German in character and earned the less-than-honorable sobriquet of “The Flying Dutchmen” along the scowls and hisses from their comrades in arms with the Army of the Potomac.

Horace Greeley of the New York Daily Tribune laid the onus for the defeat at Chancellorsville squarely at the feet of Buroway and his 11th Army Corps comrades. "If the 11th Corps had held its ground, the defeat and destruction of Jackson would have been inevitable, but when they fled, it became necessary to recall Sickles and the whole maneuver was foiled, “Greeley opined. “General Howard who commanded it is a brave and skillful general, but neither his efforts nor those of General Devens and General Schurz could arrest the panic. We trust that swift justice will overtake the regiments that broke; that if it be deemed too rigid to shoot them all, they may at least be decimated and then dissolved.”

          Buroway had it right. “Now you can see how they stick together, they ain’t like folks in the North now.”

          Buroway’s account originally appeared on Griff’s Spared & Shared website and this post represents our first collaboration.

 

This engraved Seated Liberty Quarter was made by a soldier in Co. C of the 107th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The regiment sustained heavy losses two months later at Gettysburg and was then transferred to South Carolina with both the 25th and 75th Ohio regiments where it served for the rest of the war.
(Union Drummer Boy)

 

Camp near Brooke’s Station, Virginia

May 8, 1863

          I take my pen in hand to announce to you that through the escapes that I have made lately, I still have the privilege of announcing to you that I am well and all right yet. We had to leave our camp days ago and they marched us some 30 miles around to head off the Rebs. We first went to Hartford Church and laid there until 4 o’clock in the morning, then we started all that day and night till 3 o’clock in the morning. Then we laid there till dinner. Then we started and marched on till 9 o’clock at night and crossed the Rappahannock River, marching that night till 3 o’clock in the morning. Then we stopped for probably two hours, then we had to sling knapsacks and travel on the battlefield. Then we laid there till about midnight and got the news that the enemy was near. Then we had to go to work and build up a fence to save us and laid behind that fence all night and watched for the enemy, but they didn’t come that night.

          The next day the pioneers dug rifle pits; this was on Saturday [May 2nd]. And on Saturday evening the Rebs made the attack on the right wing and there is where we were. They came on to us quite unexpected with 60,000 strong and fired on three sides and that came too heavy. We couldn’t hold our ground. We had to retreat or our whole brigade would have been captured. And so we fell back to where we got more forces, then we fought them till 10 o’clock at night. Then the Rebs gave up. But on Sunday morning, they attacked again at 8 o’clock in the morning and fought us on that day till 2 o’clock in the afternoon, but we weren’t in the fight on Sunday. We were right below the battle in the entrenchments looking to be attacked every minutes. But on Saturday evening, those old soldiers said that was the hardest artillery firing done that was known of yet.

 

The dense undergrowth at Chancellorsville saw combat again a year later during the Battle of the Wilderness. "It goes awful in battle," Buroway explained to his brother. "The dead men laid in piles and the road was full of wounded getting to the hospital." 

 “The rank and file of the 11th Corps are no more to be blamed for the rout than the pins in a bowling alley for falling when struck by the ball.” ~ Colonel John C. Lee, 55th Ohio

 

          My dear brother, it goes awful in a battle. The balls come as thick as hail. Oh brother, you ought to have just seen the killed and wounded, it is horrible to think over. The dead men laid in piles and the road was just full of wounded getting to the hospital. Some had their legs shot off, others arms, others hands. Some shot in the head, some wounded in the legs, some in the arms. I saw several that were shot right through the belly but weren’t dead. In the field where we fought was a nice big brick house and there were several women living in that house, but they were secesh women and they were dressed in silk. On Sunday about 10 o’clock, our men took a lot of prisoners and some of those prisoners were wounded seriously, especially one who was such a good-looking boy. He had his right arm shot off and one of them gals lead that boy to the hospital and the blood of his arm ran down over her silk dress that she was all one blood. That looked hard but she said that she would stick to him or else die with him. Now you can see how they stick together, they ain’t like folks in the North now. There is enough of the people in the North that just laughs at us soldier boys to be such fools as to go and fight but they never think that we stand between the enemy and their homes, to protect them and save the country. They never think of that. Now for instance, what would become of our country if we would all give up and go home? Why they would just come through our land and destroy everything that we have. Oh dear brother, I do wish this war would soon come to a close, you may believe me or not, brother.

Guidon flag carried by the 107th Ohio; a regiment would have two of these flags to mark the flanks of the regimental battle line. This particular flag features 34-stars which marks its production as before June 1863 when West Virginia was admitted to the Union. That said, it is possible that this flag was used at both Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. 


          You folks at home don’t imagine at all how hard the poor soldiers have it on the march. They marched us so hard that we had to throw everything away and the last five days it rained all the time and we hadn’t the sign of a shelter to go under but had to stick to the entrenchments all the time day and night. And yesterday when we came back to the old camp, we had to wade a run that took us nearly under the arms. We were all as wet as cats and hadn’t a dry stitch of clothing to put on and no shelter to sleep under and the weather was middling cold, especially after night. It was enough to killing any person without shooting them.

          We lost in our brigade 970 men and in our regiment 117. In our company, there were seven wounded and missing. Corporal Daniel Stahl got wounded slightly and Henry Dinns ain’t with the regiment yet; he is either taken prisoner or killed. It ain’t known yet for certain what became of him but William Buroway and I got through safe, never got touched by a ball, but narrow escapes we made. Took King Jesus for my captain. I trust in the Lord and He will take me through safe and by this I will come to a close hoping that these few unworthy lines may find you all well. Take care of yourself brother and live close to God for we don’t know how soon we may be parted on this world. Farewell brother, father, and mother; farewell to you, hoping to see you again.

  

Source:

Letter from Private Jacob M. Buroway, Co. A, 107th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, courtesy of Griff’s Spared & Shared website 

 

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