Kurz & Allison Part IV: Late 1862

Surprisingly, Louis Kurz skipped battles from the summer of 1862, even though this period included the ascent of Robert E. Lee as head of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Perhaps as a former Union soldier living in a Northern city, Kurz felt no special need or pressure to present such moments as the Second Battle of Bull Run. This part of the series covers the battles of late 1862.

Battle of Antietam

After scoring a series of victories over the summer, Lee attempted an invasion of the North in hopes of riding his momentum to a decisive victory. However his army was severely understrength and once the Union Army under General George McClellan marched in force against him, he found himself desperately holding off waves of Federal attacks near Antietam Creek (outside Sharpsburg, Maryland) on September 17. The battle was tactically indecisive, but saw the end of his first northern invasion. It is bloodiest single day of combat in American history. Many also credit it with strengthening Lincoln’s political hand so that he could deliver the Emancipation Proclamation.

Kurz & Allison Part III: Early 1862

In part three of this series I look at five Louis Kurz lithographs depicting battles from the first few months of 1862. The emphasis appears to be on Union victories, which is no surprise given Kurz’s background and Chicago location.

Battle of Fort Donelson

Fort Donelson was one of the two forts guarding access the Tennessee River. Since the navy was unable to ground it into submission as it did Fort Henry, General Ulysses S. Grant had to start siege operations. The heaviest fighting came when the Confederates attempted to break out. They actually had a chance to escape, but their trio of incompetent commanders passed on it. The fort surrendered on February 16 and the Union now had a major invasion route into the South.

The Florida Expedition Part IV: The Death of the Florida Expedition

The Retreat

Colonel Barton claimed that his men had “not a single round of ammunition remaining.”[1] The artillery was in desperate straits as well. Langdon was down to 7 unwounded artillerists to draw his remaining guns off. Langdon ran for Seymour. All about him the firing was so intense that men were “being struck every instant.” Reaching his commander, he asked for men to help draw back the guns, as the caissons were far in the rear. There were no men to spare.[2]

Seymour tried to inspire his men to further defense. To instill caution in the enemy and slow them down, he suggested that the men give out loud cheers to give the impression that they were not so vulnerable. Captain Dana was about to order the cheers when a limping soldier passed by. Overhearing what the commander wanted, he issued a “hurrah for gen. Seymour and with the last word a stream of blood spurted from his mouth and he fell on his face dead.”[3]

The 54^th Massachusetts had refused the initial order to retreat as it came from the unpopular James Montgomery. Colonel Hallowell intervened and gave the order himself. This time they complied. They enacted Seymour’s cheering plan. The black troops gave nine shouts of victory, then in an act of audacious defiance about-faced and marched away from the Confederates at a regular pace. Every couple hundred yards they turned and delivered a volley. One staff officer of Seymour’s liked to believe that the cheering strategy gave the enemy doubts and produced the lack of a strong pursuit, but in reality darkness and exhaustion affected the enemy infantry.[4] Captain Robert Newell had a more chaotic take on the retreat. “There were a number of stragglers on my right and left, who had rushed forward & been fighting on their own account, several of these were hit, and I shall never forget the cry of agony of one poor fellow who was hurrying to catch up to the rest & fell forward on his hands & knees disabled, for the men expected no mercy if taken remembering Fort Wagner, & made desperate exertions to get away.”[5]

The Scalpings at Pea Ridge

The involvement of American Indians in the Civil War is a subject that has gradually gotten more attention in recent years. One incident with them, however, has long had a place in the American consciousness, albeit an incident reduced to an amusing or exotic anecdote to a lesser-known major battle in the West. The Battle of Pea Ridge, fought from March 7-8, was the largest battle west of the Mississippi River and also the largest to involve Indian units. Nearly 900 Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, and Chickasaw Indians marched out of Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma) to fight alongside Confederate units. After the Battle of Pea Ridge these Indian troops became the center of a controversy: the mutilation and scalping of killed and wounded Federal soldiers.

Historians have identified the culprits of these mutilations as the two Cherokee Regiments, the 1^st Cherokee Mounted Rifles under Colonel John Drew and the 2^nd Cherokee Mounted Rifles under Colonel Stand Watie. To understand why these Indians joined ranks with the Confederates, one would have to go back decades to the removal of Cherokees from their land in northwestern Georgia. The controversial treaties and resultant Trail of Tears towards the designated Indian Territory created antagonistic political divisions within the Cherokee Nation. On one side was Stand Watie and the Southern Rights Party. The Southern Rights Party consisted mostly of mixed-blood Cherokees who supported black slavery (which was practiced in the Cherokee Nation). With ties to white southern families and wealthier social status, they held significant political influence and were naturally inclined to pitch in with the Confederacy. On the other side was the National or Pin Party. Its members were more likely to be full-blooded Cherokees and more hostile to the idea of slavery. Ironically Stand Watie, the most prominent member of the Southern Rights Party, was three-quarters Cherokee while President John Ross, who relied on the support of the Pins and opposed an alliance with the Confederacy, was mostly white and a slaveholder himself. These two factions had in the past engaged in vicious blood feuds within Indian Territory. Wishing to end the fractious bloodshed and preserve his people, John Ross was able to soothe tensions with a general amnesty.[1] The divisions remained, however, and the Southern Rights Party eventually maneuvered the Cherokee Nation into the Confederate camp.

The Florida Expedition Part III: The Battle of Olustee

 

Hawley vs. Colquitt

Early in the afternoon, 4 miles east of Olustee, the 40^th Massachusetts Mounted Infantry met Confederate horsemen from the 2^nd Florida and 4^th Georgia Cavalry. The Confederate riders fell back, the Federals in pursuit.[1] Corporal William Penniman of the 4^th Georgia took credit for drawing the first shots of the battle.  He was with Colonel Caraway Smith on top of a railroad embankment. Smith was looking one way with his field glasses, Penniman another. Penniman saw Seymour’s force and directed Smith’s attention to it. Smith, noticing the presence of black regiments, said, “It’s the Yankees sure enough and they seem to be niggers.” Federal skirmishers came within 300 yards and discharged “quite a volley.” The two Confederates mounted their horses and escaped.[2]

According to the history of the 1st Massachusetts Cavalry (a battalion, as readers might recall, that was assigned to the Mounted Infantry to serve as an experienced core), they reported back to the rest of the army that there were at least three Confederate regiments. Captain Elder of the Horse Artillery came up and said but could only see “just one man.” The Confederates, per Finegan’s plan, had withdrawn, the Federals unaware of how large the opposing force was.[3] Elder’s Horse Artillery advanced and with the 7^th Connecticut established a firing line of skirmishers. Confederate cavalry would show themselves and then draw back, “as though inviting us to charge after them.”[4]

The Florida Expedition Part II: Marching through Florida

 Camp Finegan

Once enough of his army had landed, Seymour led a force out of Jacksonville on February 8. Gus Henry’s Mounted Infantry, the only mounted force, would of course be the advance guard. Those in the 54^th Massachusetts, who had been happy to leave fatigue duties at Charleston, were disappointed to learn that they would be staying behind on garrison duty for the moment. They entertained themselves by making a lot of noise in an attempt to make their regiment look larger to any Confederate partisans in the area. They were also pleased to find the civilians getting much friendlier than they had been during the landing.[1]

Seymour’s first target was Camp Finegan, the largest concentration of Confederate forces at that moment. The Rebels had destroyed all the bridges, so the Federals forded the stream instead. The mounted men led the way, surprising and capturing six pickets. In 10 minutes they were nearly upon the camp. Colonel Henry used a local guide, Mr. Alsop, to bypass the camp and strike an artillery camp at Pickett’s Station.[2]

Colonel Guy Henry. His 40th
Massachusetts Infantry was
constantly at the forefront of
the Florida Expedition.

The Confederates in the artillery camp, under Captain Joseph Dunham, were unaware of the danger. Outside, Henry formed his men for an assault, nearly surrounding the target, then said, “If ever you yell in your lives, boys, yell now!” The horsemen shouted to the calls of bugles. It was past 11 PM and most of the Confederates were already sleeping. A sergeant awakened Dunham, shouting, “Save yourselves if you can; the enemy is right upon you!” The captain yelled at everybody to grab horses, mules, or carriages, and flee to Baldwin. The Union riders entered the camp firing “their carbines and slashing with their swords shouting surrender you Rebel sons of bitches.” A Major Stevens gunned for a telegraph operator. An train was expected to arrive soon and the telegraph operator was determined to warn it away. “Major Stevens walked into the room and seized the fellow by the throat as he was on the point of sending another message. In a few minutes his instrument was knocked to pieces and the wire cut.” The Massachusetts riders quickly captured many Confederates, along with a few pieces of artillery. Much of the camp’s men escaped through the one opening, a system of swamps.[3] Henry’s men advanced further to Baldwin, driving off more Rebels and capturing more goods.[4]

Kurz & Allison Part II: First Battles

 Here’s part two of this series where I look at Louiz Kurz’s historical lithographs. For more context check out the opening of part 1. This second part will look at his depictions of Civil War battle from 1861. There are only two.

Battle of Bull Run

The First Battle of Bull Run (or First Manassas) was the first major battle of the Civil War. A Union army under General Irvin McDowell was rushed into the field against an equally green Confederate force under Generals Pierre G.T. Beauregard and Joseph E. Johnston. After a series of blunders, many which ended with friendly fire because of the inconsistent uniforms, the Confederates gained the upper hand at Henry House Hill and the Federals were routed.