A Hoosier at Port Republic

Looking back on the events of the Battle of Port Republic, Private Elliott Winscott of the 7th Indiana laid the blame for his regiment's misfortunes on one man: Colonel Samuel Sprigg Carroll. In particular, he called into question Carroll's decision making on the Sunday afternoon on June 8, 1862. 

    "On Sunday, we were within 6 miles of Port Republic and the cavalry under the command of Captain Keughn of Shields’ staff was sent ahead to drive the enemy from the bridge that spans the Shenandoah Rover opposite the town," he noted. "The work was entrusted to a faithful officer and nobly did he discharge his duty, driving the enemy away and firing the bridge. Had he been left to use his own discretion, as he ought to have been, the bridge would have been destroyed and saved our defeat. But no sooner had General Carroll heard what had been done when he ordered the fire put out, and two pieces of short-range brass guns were ordered forward together with our brigade to support them. The purpose was to drive the enemy back and hold the bridge. The general must have been greatly deceived in the strength of the enemy or thought they were arrant cowards that would run at the first appearance of a few Yankees, or he would never have given such orders for the enemy at the least calculation were 20,000 strong while our force did not exceed 1,500." 

    Winscott was correct, and Carroll's decision set the stage for the fight on the following day where two brigades of General James Shields' division were overwhelmed when attacked by Stonewall Jackson's army. "There never was so unnecessary a sacrifice of life since the beginning of time," Winscott concluded. "No general was ever known to make an attack against such unequal numbers with so little show of accomplishing any good, and but for the want of sound judgment, all this sad casualty to life and the cause we are defending might have been avoided."

          Private Winscott’s account of the Battle of Port Republic first saw publication in the June 27, 1862, edition of the Dearborn County Democratic Register published in Lawrenceburg, Indiana.

 


Camp near Luray, Page Co., Virginia

June 11, 1862

          I doubt not that any news could have been more startling to the citizens of our state and particularly to some of those in Dearborn County than that which has recently flashed across the electric wires announcing the sad disaster to a portion of Shields’ division, composed partly of the 7th Indiana regiment. It is true we have met with a reversion in which several precious lives have been lost, causing anguish of heart to friends at home, but our defeat has been a dearly bought victory to our enemies.

          Probably it was fortunate to our boys that we met the enemy when we did, for although we lost some noble fellows in that battle, many more lives must inevitably have been sacrificed by fatiguing marches we were making order to give them fight. It is death, anyhow, to a soldier in Shields’ division and it were far better that he should fall on the battlefield by the hands of the enemy than to eek out a miserable existence after being broken down by long marches.


          We were enjoying one of those temporal reposes which are so seldom given us after a long march when on Saturday last, we were ordered to strike our bivouacks and be prepared to march at 2 o’clock in the afternoon. We drew short rations for two days, started, and marched till about midnight, a portion of the way over stony roads, and the balance through a miry swamp. Then we stopped and spread our blankets for sleep, having gone about 13 miles. At 3 o’clock in the morning, we were again awake and put in motion again. The advancing column consisted of the 7th Indiana in front, the 1st Virginia, and the 84th and 110th Pennsylvania following together, with a company or two of cavalry, all of which constituted the Fourth Brigade of General Shields’ division commanding by General Samuel S. Carroll.

          On Sunday, which has nearly always been an unfortunate day for making an attack, we were within 6 miles of Port Republic and the cavalry under the command of Captain Keughn of Shields’ staff was sent ahead to drive the enemy from the bridge that spans the Shenandoah Rover opposite the town. The work was entrusted to a faithful officer and nobly did he discharge his duty, driving the enemy away and firing the bridge. Had he been left to use his own discretion, as he ought to have been, the bridge would have been destroyed and saved our defeat. But no sooner had General Carroll heard what had been done when he ordered the fire put out, and two pieces of short-range brass guns were ordered forward together with our brigade to support them. The purpose was to drive the enemy back and hold the bridge.

Colonel Samuel S. Carroll
8th O.V.I. 

          The general must have been greatly deceived in the strength of the enemy or thought they were arrant cowards that would run at the first appearance of a few Yankees, or he would never have given such orders for the enemy at the least calculation were 20,000 strong while our force did not exceed 1,500. There were more belonging to the brigade, but most all of the 84th and 110th Pennsylvania fell out, some from exhaustion, and others doubtless for want of nerve.

          Port Republic is situated on an island formed in the Shenandoah River. That part of the river between us and the town is not large and not bridged and the town is reached by fording the stream. One of our pieces was crossed into the town and the other left on this side. Our artillery opened upon the enemy’s battery which replied in intervals as if merely making a formal resistance until our brigade was brought into range. Then they opened upon us with about 6 batteries of 5-6 pieces each from the opposite end of the bridge.

          The enemy’s guns were planted on the brow of the hill fronting the river commanding the road we had to come through for two miles at least, and for about an hour and a half, they poured shot, shell, and canister into our ranks that seemed to fall around and in the ranks almost as thick as hail in an April shower. To all this, we could only feebly resist with two pieces of artillery. The whole transaction looked, to a sensible mind, like an act of folly of foolhardiness. The folly of the move was seen by our general and a retreat ordered, but not until we had lost 8 men killed and several wounded out of our regiment. Captain Jesse Armstrong’s company escaped with but two casualties: James Gattenby received a slight contusion on the head and I was bruised in the side by a splinter from a rail knocked off by a bursting shell.

Pvt John Russell
Co. K, 7th Indiana Infantry

          The regiment retreated from the field about two and a half miles in good order, the enemy following up our retreat with a few pieces of cannon but without much effect. About 30 of the boys in Co. K were engaged and all behaved like brave men, but particular credit is due to William Merrill, Thomas Williams, James Lambertson, A.J. Connelly, and William Ripking for volunteering their services to bring up a cannon from under the fire of the enemy’s guns that the artillerymen had been compelled to abandon because they had broken the tongue out of the carriage. These men, with a few others from different companies of our regiment, went back nearly a mile in the direction of the enemy and brought out the piece with their own hands.

          Another instance of personal bravery: the color bearer was wounded by a shell and suffered the colors to trail on the ground when Thomas Grogan, another of Captain Armstrong’s boys, stepped forward, grabbed the flagstaff, and handing his gun to the color bearer, unfurled the colors again to the breeze and triumphantly bore them from the field. If brave conduct meets with its just reward, these men should receive for their bravery something more than a passing compliment from those whose duty it is to reward men for meritorious conduct.

          After we had fallen back under the shelter of an adjacent wood and remained for a short space of time, the Third Brigade [Colonel Erastus B. Tyler] came to our relief and the two brigades went back about 3 miles, stationing themselves along a hillside in a thick wood. But by this time, Blenker’s division had engaged the enemy on the opposite side of the river out of our reach but within the sound of their cannons. Heavy cannonading from both forces were heard by us all that afternoon. The result is unknown further than we learned from Rebel prisoners taken the next day that Jackson’s forces had driven Blenker’s division back 3 miles with heavy losses on both sides.

          During the course of Sunday night, the enemy crossed the bridge in large force and scattering a few men in a wheatfield, stationed the others in different positions in front to the left of us. Monday morning came and brought with it the clash of resounding arms. The enemy’s cavalry made their appearance in the road and our artillery opened on them, bringing on a general engagement. The 7th Indiana was posted on the extreme right and Co. K was deployed to skirmish in the field and had the first man wounded that day.


The skirmishers had fired but a few shots when the regiment was brought into contact with three of the enemy regiments. The enemy poured volley after volley into our ranks for three quarters of an hour and yet with their vastly superior numbers, they had to give way, our regiment driving them back to the river. The battle now commenced in earnest, the enemy came pouring out of the woods on our left in numbers almost innumerable, making it impossible for our forces to withstand their charge and we had to give way, retreating under their fire and leaving many dead and wounded upon the field.

The 7th Indiana had to make the attack, and when our forces were compelled to retire, she covered the retreat. The engagement on the part of the artillery lasted 6 hours and the infantry just 3 hours and all, even those who had fought in European wars, say that the firing was the sharpest they ever witnessed. Colonel [James] Gavin had his horse shot from under him. Lt. Colonel [John F.] Cheek was with the boys until compelled by sickness to leave the field. He should not have been there for the reason he had been unwell for several days before the battle. Our loss was heavy but the enemy lost two to our one.

The 7th Indiana lost 23 killed and 143 wounded and missing. None of the killed were of Co. K. Captain Armstrong, who commanded this company, was in all the fight at his post. Lieutenant [James F.] Vaughn was along with the company and through his coolness has the credit of saving many a soldier from an untimely grave. Only about 25 of Co. K were engaged in the fight on Monday and the casualty was great for the number engaged. The reason that there was not any more of the company in the fight was because they had no shoes to wear on the march.

There never was so unnecessary a sacrifice of life since the beginning of time. No general was ever known to make an attack against such unequal numbers with so little show of accomplishing any good, and but for the want of sound judgment, all this sad casualty to life and the cause we are defending might have been avoided.

       

Source:

Letter from Private Elliott Winscott, Co. K, 7th Indiana Volunteer Infantry, Dearborn County Democratic Register (Indiana), June 27, 1862, pg. 2

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