Lee's Lieutenants

by Douglas Southall Freeman

  With Jackson and Longstreet promoted, two new major generals had to be named to take their old commands. In addition, as Ewell’s return to the field was doubtful, there was the possibility of a major general to lead Ewell’s division. A fourth promotion to the same grade was being arranged. Whiting’s division of two brigades, which Hood had led, now was increased to the standard of four brigades by the assignment of Tige Anderson’s and Toombs’s commands. Its head would be entitled to rank as a major general.

  Prospects of four promotions to coveted divisional rank aroused the ambitions of perhaps half a score. Trimble and Early made no concealment of their desire to change the buttons on their coat and to lead a division. Lawton, for his part, could not see why he, the senior brigadier of the entire army and ipso facto the senior in Ewell’s division, should not have Old Bald Head’s place. Toombs felt that he deserved, though he did not expect, promotion for his conduct at Sharpsburg. Longstreet sought promotion for George Pickett, who was his senior brigadier and in spirit his younger brother. Jackson felt that John B. Hood, though not under his command, deserved promotion and he so wrote the adjutant general.

  Hood’s record fully justified praise. He had remained under arrest as a result of his controversy with Shanks Evans, but on the afternoon of September 14, approaching South Mountain, Lee had told him, “I will suspend your arrest until the impending battle is decided.” After Hood’s stubborn and persistent fighting at Sharpsburg, no more was said about arrest. Hood himself described the fighting on the Confederate left as “the most terrible … by far, that has occurred during the war.”14

  Of Hood‘s merit Lee was no less appreciative. He had approved if he had not suggested the enlargement of Hood’s division. The one difficulty in the way of his promotion was to dispose of the difficult Whiting, who had now returned from sick leave. If Whiting took the division again, Hood’s promotion would be blocked. Lee found a way of effecting his purpose. He knew that Whiting had exceptional ability as an engineer, and he urged on the War Department that he be sent to some other post where engineering skill was needed. Within three days Whiting was ordered to repair to Richmond and report to the secretary of war for duty.15

  With the way cleared for Hood, who were the other new major generals to be? Jackson advocated the promotion of I. R. Trimble. Of an assault by Trimble at Second Manassas, Jackson wrote: “I regard that day’s achievement as the most brilliant that has come under my observation during the present war.” That was a tribute not lightly to be disregarded. “Brilliant” indeed was a feat which drew that adjective from Old Jack. Such commendation gave Trimble an advantage that his comrade in Ewell’s division, the shrewd and cynical Jubal Early, scarcely would have had a chance of overcoming; but Early’s achievement at Sharpsburg had been entirely comparable to that of Trimble at Manassas. Old Jubilee, in fact, was one of the heroes of September 17. He showed himself tenacious, cool, and hard-hitting, earning praise in the reports of Lee, Jeb Stuart, and Jackson himself. Early had, in short, shown himself capable of handling a division. The sole question was whether the War Department would regard Ewell as incapacitated and give his division to Early, or, failing that, could find a vacancy for Old Jube.16

  If three or four brigadiers were to be major generals, a corresponding number of vacancies in brigade command would be created. In addition, successors to Garland, George B. Anderson, and Branch had to be named. A leader for Starke’s brigade was already named: Colonel Francis T Nicholls, of Taylor’s old Louisiana brigade, who had been wounded at Winchester and later had been captured and exchanged. Roswell Ripley was to return to South Carolina at the request of Governor Pickens. No successors had been named to Gabriel Rains or Joseph R. Anderson. The brigades that David Jones and J. G. Walker had directed before they assumed divisional command should have regular commanders. With eleven, twelve, perhaps fourteen or fifteen promotions thus in prospect, there must have been extensive wire-pulling by ambitious colonels.

  Old Jack wanted a brigadier’s commission for his acting A.A.G., Major Frank Paxton, thirty-four years of age, God-fearing, industrious, and prior to the war a lawyer and bank president. Paxton had risen to be a major in the 27th Virginia of the Stonewall Brigade but had failed of election; he lacked the art of ingratiating himself with the men. Jackson had a good opinion of him, and wished not only to give Paxton three stars and a wreath on the collar, but also to entrust to him the Stonewall Brigade itself.

  In like spirit, Longstreet must have urged the advancement of John R. Cooke, whose performance with his 23rd North Carolina and the 3rd Arkansas was commended in every report from that of his divisional chief upward to Lee himself. Longstreet used the high phrase “very gallantly” in describing the charge of the young North Carolinian. On a par with Cooke’s performance, in the estimation of senior officers, was that of John B. Gordon. After receiving his fifth wound he was carried to the rear and thence across the Potomac, where he recovered under the devoted nursing of his wife. D. H. Hill styled Gordon the “Chevalier Bayard of the army” and asserted that he had excelled his feats at Seven Pines and in the later battles around Richmond. “Our language,” Hill concluded, “is not capable of expressing a higher compliment.”17

  In personal valor many had shone on the hills above the Antietam. Former Governor Smith—Extra Billy—of the 49th Virginia had been conspicuous. When Early had succeeded temporarily to Ewell’s division, command of Early’s brigade had passed to Extra Billy, who had just observed his sixty-fifth birthday. Thrice wounded, he directed his troops till the battle was over. Jeb Stuart observed the old colonel, dripping blood but fighting gallantly, “conspicuously brave and self-possessed.” Smith was rivaled in prowess by Colonel A.J. Grigsby, who late in the action led Jackson’s division, and by Colonel Leroy A. Stafford, who handled Starke’s brigade until a wound compelled him to leave the field.18

  Other colonels had distinguished themselves during the Maryland expedition not only for bravery but also for intelligent leadership and for their administrative capacity, on which Lee put high valuation. All this had to be taken into account in recommendations for promotion. For some brigades, seniority could be respected without risk to the service.

  Monty Corse of the 17th Virginia had been mentioned by Longstreet as “one of the most gallant and worthy officers in this army … distinguished in at least ten of the severest battles of the war.” Lee also had a word for the “gallant colonel” of the 17th Virginia. If Pickett were promoted, Corse seemed the logical successor in brigade command. Similarly, if Trimble or the long-absent Arnold Elzey became a major general, Jim Walker of the 13th Virginia fitly could take his place. Carnot Posey of the 16th Mississippi could measure up in the event that W.S. Featherston did not return from his sick leave. Should Bob Toombs conclude that he had won enough fame to avenge himself on Davis, then Toombs’s brigade could go to his fellow-Georgian, capable Tom Cobb, Howell’s younger brother—a succession that Toombs could not protest.19

  The decision at army headquarters was to fill the certain, the probable, and the hoped-for vacancies. Here, in the end, were the names Lee submitted on October 27:20

  To be major general

  George E. Pickett, for command of the larger part of Longstreet’s old division.

  John B. Hood, for command of the enlarged division already in his care.

  I. R.Trimble, for assignment to the command of Jackson’s division.

  Jubal A. Early, for command of Ewell’s division in the event that a successor to Ewell was deemed necessary.

  To be brigadier general

  Carnot Posey, colonel of the 16th Mississippi, to succeed W. S. Featherston of Anderson’s division, who was absent sick.

  M. D. Corse, colonel of the 17th Virginia, to have the brigade of George E. Pickett, promoted.

  J. B. Robertson, colonel of the 5th Texas, to be in charge of the Texas Brigade.

  G. T (Tige) Anderson, to permanent command of D. R. Jones’s brigade, which he had been directing as sen
ior colonel.

  T R. R. Cobb, colonel of Cobb’s Legion, in the event of a vacancy created by the wounding of Robert Toombs.

  John R. Cooke, colonel of the 27th North Carolina, to command the brigade of J. G. Walker, who was directing a small division.

  E. F. Paxton, major and A.A.G., to have the Stonewall Brigade.

  James A. Walker, colonel of the 13th Virginia, to command Trimble’s or Elzey’s brigade.

  William (Extra Billy) Smith of the 49th Virginia to the brigade of Ewell’s division not given Walker.

  George Doles, colonel of the 4th Georgia, to succeed R. S. Ripley, detached.

  S. Dodson Ramseur, colonel of the 49th North Carolina, to have the brigade of George B. Anderson, mortally wounded.

  John B. Gordon, colonel of the 6th Alabama, to command Rains’s old brigade, which had been under Colonel A. H. Colquitt.

  James H. Lane, colonel of the 28th North Carolina, to succeed L. O’B. Branch, killed in action.

  Alfred Iverson, colonel of the 20th North Carolina, to take the brigade of Samuel Garland, killed at South Mountain.

  E. L. Thomas, colonel of the 35th Georgia, to the permanent command of Joseph R. Andersons brigade, which he had been leading as senior colonel.

  Unfortunately, this list was marred almost as soon as it was made. General Featherston returned from sick leave and resumed command of his brigade, which Lee had planned to give to Carnot Posey. Next, Lee found that A. H. Colquitt had been promoted brigadier by the War Department, closing the vacancy to which Lee had been anxious to promote John B. Gordon. Still again, E. A. Perry of the 2nd Florida was named brigadier with a view to assigning him command of the Florida regiments. Whether or not this was engineered to remove Roger Pryor from temporary command of Anderson’s division, it had that effect. It deprived the editor and ex-congressman of his troops, and Lee made no effort to keep Pryor with the army by providing another brigade for him. He suggested Pryor for the force Gustavus Smith was developing in Southside Virginia.

  When Lee’s recommendations had been hammered to fit these conditions and then rolled through the political mill by a President who sought to please both Lee and the Senate, they emerged with these differences: Early and Trimble were not promoted; Gordon was appointed, but immediate confirmation was not sought; Carnot Posey, James A. Walker, and Extra Billy Smith were passed over. Those promoted to divisional command thus were Pickett and Hood. The new brigadiers were Monty Corse, T R. R. Cobb, J. B. Robertson, Tige Anderson, John R. Cooke, George Doles, S. Dodson Ramseur, Alfred Iverson, James H. Lane, E. L. Thomas, and Frank Paxton.

  One of the two recorded instances of outspoken resentment of the promotions was in Jackson’s cherished Stonewall Brigade, where the elevation of Frank Paxton made many faces red and loosed hot tongues. Jackson had asked the appointment because he did not think a single one of the regimental officers was as well qualified to direct the brigade as was Paxton. Within the brigade there was vehement disagreement. Jackson’s judgment of men often had been disputed; some of his appointees had been failures; his partiality for Presbyterians often had been alleged. Never had all these criticisms been so combined as now. The leader of the opposition to Paxton was the colonel of the 27th Virginia, Andrew Jackson Grigsby. He felt that he had earned promotion, and when he failed to receive it he resigned. “Colonel Grigsby was filled with resentment,” McHenry Howard remembered, “… and told me that for the good of the service he would do nothing while the war lasted, but that as soon as it ended he would certainly challenge Jackson.”21

  The other protest was over the promotion of Monty Corse instead of Eppa Hunton, who was his senior in commission and had been in more numerous battles. Other colonels of Pickett’s brigade came to Hunton and proposed that all of them resign in order to show their disapproval. Gallant Eppa Hunton would not hear of it: All of them must remain and do their duty.22

  This spirit eased the difficult task of General Lee, who had made the best of the material he had. Some good men he had found and promoted. In some he was to be disappointed. He could not hope quickly to replace such men as Winder and Garland, or to find division commanders to measure up forthwith to the stature of the wounded Ewell and Dick Anderson. When weak were balanced against strong, the unpromising against the able, the major gain of the reorganization was the advancement of Longstreet and Jackson.

  3

  THE BALANCE OF THE TWO CORPS

  The reorganization of the army into two corps, the First under Longstreet, the Second under Jackson, was announced formally on November 6. Longstreet was given McLaws’s, Anderson’s, Walker’s, Hood’s, and his own division, which last, after the two brigades were given Hood, was Pickett’s. To the Second Corps were apportioned Jackson’s own sadly depleted division, Ewell’s division, and those of A. P. Hill and D. H. Hill.

  From this organization, at the outset, disappeared David R.Jones.This was because of the failure of his health, not because of the failure of his leadership. He had not been a brilliant division commander but had been capable, direct, and honorable and had won Longstreet’s commendation. Lee, in his final report, had praise for his “determined and brave resistance” at Sharpsburg. Before this tribute appeared in the official accounts of the battle, Jones was to breathe his last, a victim of heart disease.23

  John G. Walker disappeared, also, before he fairly could take his place in the new First Corps. Promoted major general, he was ordered to the Trans-Mississippi Department. His two brigades passed temporarily to their senior brigadier, Robert Ransom, Jr. Almost at the same time, the army lost the picturesque Shanks Evans as the result of a call by the War Department for the dispatch of a brigade to Weldon, North Carolina.

  As the new corps took on some permanence of character, a critic might have compared their divisional and brigade commands and, in the light of the battles that had culminated at Sharpsburg, asked how well balanced they were. Was there anything in their constitution to suggest that the First might be the corps of defense and the Second of offense? Did the Second have in it men who would see that it outmarched the First?

  Of Longstreet’s divisional commanders, Hood could be regarded as a leader of high promise and Dick Anderson as a soldier of competence. Pickett was untried at his new rank, but he had been an excellent brigade leader and with Longstreet’s full support was apt to direct with wisdom his larger force. The one division chief of the First Corps regarding whom the Maryland expedition had raised any doubts was the stout and comradely Lafayette McLaws. During the greater part of the time the army was in Maryland, McLaws had exercised semi-autonomous command without conspicuous success. He erred in not making better reconnaissance at Crampton’s Gap, though he was unintentionally misled by Jeb Stuart concerning the strength of the enemy in that quarter. The second time McLaws went astray was in not picketing a road running under the flank of Maryland Heights, despite Stuart’s counsel. In consequence, on the night of the fourteenth all the Federal cavalry at Harper’s Ferry escaped, intercepting part of Longstreet’s trains en route.24

  More serious than this dereliction was the slowness of McLaws’s march to join Lee at Sharpsburg. He received his marching orders during the early afternoon of September 15, but it was 8:00 A.M. September 16 before he bivouacked at Halltown, four miles from his starting point. Sharpsburg was distant fifteen miles, but McLaws required twenty-three hours to cover that distance. In all, some forty-one hours elapsed from the time he received his orders on Maryland Heights until he reached his objective. He attributed his slow march to the exhaustion of his men from their fighting, their loss of sleep, and their inability to get or to cook rations. This excuse was not entirely acceptable to Lee. In his report he came as close to censure of McLaws as ever he did in written comment on his officers’ performances: “Owing to the condition of his troops and other circumstances, his progress was slow….” What the “other circumstances” were the commanding general, with his usual reserve, did not specify. His language did not carry with it any im
plications that McLaws had failed; it did raise a question whether McLaws would succeed and, more particularly, whether he could make his division march.25

  Longstreet’s five newly commissioned brigadiers would have to stand the test of promotion. Some at least might exhibit the familiar tragedy of being advanced beyond the grade for which they were qualified—and of remaining colonels in ability though they were generals in title. If Toombs refused to return to an army in which he was not a major general, his brigade would be well handled by Henry Benning. In the odd circumstance that led not Robert Toombs but Howell Cobb to stand aside in order that his brother Thomas might be a brigadier there was prospect for improvement; Howell Cobb was not held responsible for the bloody reverse at Crampton’s Gap, but he was not considered as able as his brother.

  With the best of these men of brigade and divisional rank Longstreet could hope to make his corps strong and reliable, but none save one had displayed qualities of eminence. The exception was Hood. In battle there was about him some of the effulgence of the true captain of men. Anyone would have said, after Gaines’ Mill, that of all the officers under Longstreet the most likely to be a great soldier was Hood.

  In the Second Corps there was no provision for filling E well’s place and none for supplying Jackson’s division with an officer of appropriate rank. Until Ewell was able to return to duty or was retired by formal action, the law left his troops in the care of his senior brigadier. This would put the division under Lawton when that earnest but relatively inexperienced officer recovered from the wound received at Sharpsburg. In the event Law-ton did not return, the division would be well used by Jube Early. Jackson’s division was intended for Trimble, but that vigorous fighter could not be assigned until he was well enough to serve. There was uncertainty on that score, for he had developed camp erysipelas and a malady that probably was an osteomyelitis.