10 Myths & Misconceptions: Gettysburg

 No battle of the Civil War has captured the popular imagination more than the three-day affair at Gettysburg (July 1-3). As the quintessential battle of the War Between the States, if not American history in general, thousands of participants and contemporary writers were eager to maximize the drama through incredible or moving stories. Commanding officers were keen to enhance or restore their reputations and often sought to tear down others’. As a result, the events at Gettysburg have given rise to plenty of myths, most of which were credulously (though sometimes understandably) reported as fact by historians and documentarians.

#1: The Confederates Came to Gettysburg for Shoes

The story is that divisional commander General Henry Heth heard of a shoe factory in Gettysburg. Desperate to find footwear for the bare feet of his soldiers, he ordered a force towards the town for this express purpose. Thus the greatest battle of the Civil War began over shoes. This is a nice story showing how simple causes can lead to massive effects. However, Heth’s report states that he ordered his men into town to find all manners of supplies, shoes included. He added “especially shoes” because, for men marching hundreds of miles, exposed feet were a major concern. The Confederates would have had to scour the shops or try to take from civilians to find them, because Gettysburg in fact had no shoe factory.

#2: The Dutch Run Again

Statue of Francis Barlow at Gettysburg

Throughout July 1 the Union Army sent reinforcements north of Gettysburg to form a line and meet the also gradually expanding Confederate force. The defensive line, which had been holding up nicely, finally came undone when the German immigrants of the XI Corps panicked and fled, enabling the Confederates to unravel it and send the Unions running through town. The Germans, or “Dutch,” ran just like they did at Chancellorsville when Stonewall Jackson had marched into their flank. It was not cowardice that lost the first day of Gettysburg, however. It was in fact a tactical blunder on the part of General Francis Barlow, a divisional commander. Instead of connecting his left flank with Carl Schurz’s division, he advanced to the height of Blocher’s Knoll so the enemy could not use it. What resulted was an overextended salient which the Confederates were able to break through. The largely German XI Corps had no choice but to retreat with Confederates pouring into their right flank. Some critics also (more incorrectly) claimed that these men almost lost Cemetery Hill on July 2 by running again.

Kurz & Allison Part VII: Black Regiments

 Many white Union veterans had a deep respect for their black comrades in arms (check out Barbara Gannon’s The Won Cause, which shows how discrimination against blacks among veterans’ organizations was actually the exception rather than the rule). Louis Kurz was evidently among them, as he depicted black soldiers in a favorable light. I’ve already covered his use of helpful black civilians in the Monitor-Merrimac lithograph. This section contains three examples covering events from mid-1863 to early 1864.

Storming Fort Wagner

The summer of 1863 saw many attempts to capture the birthplace of secession: Charleston, South Carolina. In July General Quincy A. Gilmore sought to force Fort Sumter’s capture or surrender by seizing Morris Island and its Battery Wagner as a launching pad. The Federals landed on the island, but were not able to take the main objective. On July 18 the 54th Massachusetts, a regiment with Abolitionist white officers and mostly free northern blacks in the enlisted ranks, led a costly assault on Battery Wagner. The heavily outnumbered Confederates managed to repel the Union assault and only protracted siege warfare led to their abandonment of their post. Though a defeat, the battle proved to many that black soldiers could fight just as well as whites.

Indian Territory, 1862 Part III: Battle of Old Fort Wayne

 

Newtonia Taken

Newtonia was a big battle in terms of the Trans-Mississippi and the victors were enthused. A history of Shelby’s cavalry claimed that their victory “was decisive.”[1] This was hardly the case. While Salomon had been roundly beaten, his defeat did nothing to halt Union operations. He had simply gotten far ahead of thousands of other troops under his superior blunt and under Totten. The next day, October 1, General Blunt arrived with reinforcements. Schofield also departed Springfield and caught up with Totten’s division. Schofield took charge and ordered Blunt and Totten’s divisions to converge on Newtonia with their 12,000 men. An attack was projected at dawn on October 4. Colonel Douglas Cooper, aware of the oncoming Federals, called on General Rains for reinforcements. Rains said none could arrive. On October 3 part of Shelby’s brigade rode out and captured a few pickets, only to learn that Totten’s division was bearing down on them. On the same day Rains ordered Cooper to withdraw from Newtonia.

Nearby at Granby, Major Buster, who had barely made it in time to participate in the battle of September 30, also encountered advance elements of the Union and put up a short fight before retreating to Newtonia. Buster could not find any superior officer and took command himself, ordering Howell to deploy. Shelby showed up and prepared a defense. The civilians who had found themselves in the center of the last fight heard what was coming and fled into the prairie with their valuables. As it turned out Shelby wisely decided to retreat and he and the others headed south. Thus the Confederates abandoned the town that they had fought so long and hard to keep just a few days earlier.[2] These events also undid the Confederate concentration in southwest Missouri. General Hindman now planned to collect his forces in Northern Arkansas and then return to its northern neighbor. In the meantime Blunt had his eyes on the Arkansas-Indian Territory border.

Indian Territory, 1862 Part II: Battle of Newtonia

 

Road to Newtonia

While the Federals lost their foothold in Indian Territory, the rest of the Department of Kansas focused on developments in Missouri and Arkansas. Major General Samuel R. Curtis held overall command in this portion of the Trans-Mississippi, with General John Schofield managing affairs in the field with Blunt’s Frontier Division and General James Totten’s Missouri Division.  Southern forces under General Thomas Hindman had fortified Arkansas and by the end of August had formed a line along the border with Missouri. At any time they could make forays there to take advantage of that state’s forage and mills. Cooper played a role in this. Taking advantage of the Federal withdrawal in the latter half of July, he occupied a space in northeastern Indian Territory ten miles west of its border with Missouri. In response Blunt ordered Colonels Salomon and Weer to take their brigades south and look for possible signs of invasion. These various forces were in position for a small, but notable battle at the town of Newtonia. Though this town was in Missouri, not Indian Territory, I feel that it should be included because it shows how the Confederate Indians participated with the territory again back in their hands. It also set the stage for the next Federal entry.[1]

In preparation for his planned campaign in Missouri, Hindman directed several of his subordinates, including those in Indian Territory, to gain a foothold in the southwestern corner of the state, with an eye towards acquiring the Granby lead mines (helpful in creating ammunition).[2] The Confederates occupied a line across southern Missouri that paralleled the Arkansas border. One notable site was of course Granby and its lead mines. Newtonia lay east, to the south, and further south of that was Camp Coffee, where Shelby’s Missourians gathered. Roughly north of Newtonia was Sarcoxie, where in a few days Union army and militia units concentrate. The general area was noted for its mills, which produced vital cereal crops for man and animal alike.[3]

Kurz & Allison Part VI: The Battles for Chattanooga

 Given that he operated out of Chicago, it was only natural that Kurz would focus much of his work on the glorious moments of the Army of the Cumberland (Illinoisans and other Midwesterners were heavily represented in this army) in the Chattanooga and Atlanta Campaigns. He extensively covered the former, producing a lithograph for three of the main actions outside the Tennessee transportation hub. First, we’ll look at the battle that turned General George Thomas into a national hero.

Battle of Chickamauga

In the summer of 1863 General William Rosecrans’ Army of the Cumberland skillfully maneuvered General Braxton Bragg’s Army of Tennessee out of Chattanooga. Though Rosecrans captured all his objectives in Tennessee, the War Department was annoyed that he had not brought the Confederates into a major battle so he could crush them. Feeling intense political pressure, Rosecrans marched into Georgia. James Longstreet’s Corps arrived from Virginia to bolster Bragg’s force and the Confederates attacked the Federals near the creek of Chickamauga. Thanks to a mix-up, the Federals accidentally opened a hole in their line. The Confederates exploited this and shattered their right flank. General Thomas was able to form a defensive line on Snodgrass Hill and hold off the enemy so the rest of the army could escape. For this he was called the “Rock of Chickamauga.” Occurring on September 19-20, it was the second bloodiest battle of the Civil War and the largest (albeit pyrrhic) Confederate victory in the western theatres.

Indian Territory, 1862 Part I: The Summer Expedition

 

When it comes to the Civil War in Indian Territory, historians tend to gloss over or sometimes ignore the events between the Battle of Pea Ridge and the expedition of summer 1863. However there were many important developments in the territory during this period that saw momentum shift continually between the Union and Confederacy and also escalated various forms of violence within the territory. These events were also influenced by actions across the border in Missouri and Arkansas. This series covers three periods of Indian Territory, 1862. The first section covers the plight of Indian refugees in Kansas and the attempt to establish a strong Union presence in the summer of 1862. The second centers around the Battle of Newtonia, which was actually in Missouri, but saw heavy involvement by Indian troops. The third covers the Federal incursion of late 1862, which finally established a strong Union presence in the territory.

 

The Refugee Crisis

In the early days of the war in 1861, the Confederacy obtained alliances with most of the Indian peoples in Indian Territory. The issue was that, like the borderlands to the east, the inhabitants were deeply divided as to what course they should take. While most of the leadership sided with the Confederacy (they shared many cultural traits such as slavery), many favored the Union and others did not want to get involved at all. In a series of battles, Confederate Indians, backed by white troops from neighboring states, assaulted pro-Union Indians. Thousands of refugees escaped to Kansas in the midst of winter. The suffering exiles wanted to get back to their homes. Many within the Federal government and army were keen on seeing that happen.