Rebels at the Gate: Lee and McClellan on the Front Line of a Nation Divided

by W Hunter Lesser

  214. McClellan, Report on the Organization, 19; Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, December 24, 1861; McClellan Papers in Waugh, Class of 1846, 177; Sears, Civil War Papers of George McClellan, 44; Sears, George B. McClellan, 83.

  215. Ibid., 83; Sears, Civil War Papers of George McClellan, 32–33.

  216. Ibid., 34; Hewett, Supplement to the Official Records, vol. 2, serial no. 2, 133–34; O. R. vol. 2, 195; Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, August 3, 1861, 183.

  217. O. R. vol. 2, 195.

  218. Ibid., 196–97.

  219. Sears, George B. McClellan, 85; Sears, Civil War Papers of George McClellan, 37–40.

  220. Grebner, “We Were the Ninth,” 61; Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, July 10, 1861; Lamers, The Edge of Glory, 6, 9, 14, 17–18; Reid, Ohio in the War, vol. 1, 314–15, 349, 877; Cox, Military Reminiscences, vol. 1, 111–12.

  221. O. R. vol. 2, 195, 197–98.

  222. Plum, The Military Telegraph, vol. 1, 44–45, 92–94, 97–98; Rice, “The Military Telegraph in Western Virginia,” 25. A description of McClellan's cipher is contained in Plum, 44–47.

  223. Sears, Civil War Papers of George McClellan, 40; McClellan, Report on the Organization, 26; O. R. vol. 2, 199.

  224. Elwood, Elwood's Stories of the Old Ringgold Cavalry, 30–32.

  225. Sears, Civil War Papers of George McClellan, 41; O. R. vol. 2, 198–200; Sears, George B. McClellan, 19–20.

  226. Hornbeck, Upshur Brothers, 45.

  227. Cox, “McClellan in West Virginia,” 131, 137; O. R. vol. 2, 205, 268, 293; Sears, Civil War Papers of George McClellan, 43n; Benham, Recollections of West Virginia Campaign, 679–80; Hotchkiss, Virginia, 47; Sears, George B. McClellan, 88. McClellan stubbornly defended his inflated estimate of Garnett's strength; see O. R. vol. 2, 203.

  228. O. R. vol. 2, 208–09; Sears, Civil War Papers of George McClellan, 44.

  229. “Fight at Middle Fork Bridge,” Moore, Rebellion Record, vol. 2, Documents, 251–52; O. R. vol. 2, 200–01, 255, 259–60; Reid, Ohio in the War, vol. 1, 34; Beatty, The Citizen-Soldier, 15; Cox, Military Reminiscences, vol. 1, 28; John Higginbotham to his grandmother, July 17, 1861 in Lynchburg Daily Virginian, July 28, 1861.

  230. Griggs, General John Pegram, 1–2, 7–8, 23, 25; O. R. vol. 2, 261.

  231. O. R. vol. 2, 264; Miller, Mapping for Stonewall, 12, 15, 27–29.

  232. McClellan, Report on the Organization, 25.

  233. Sears, Civil War Papers of George McClellan, 46; O.R. vol. 2, 200–01.

  234. Ibid., 205; Kepler, History of the Three Months', 32–33; Beatty, The Citizen-Soldier, 18–19.

  235. Merrill, The Soldier of Indiana, 36–37, 41–44; O. R. vol. 2, 218–19; Bierce, Battlefields and Ghosts, 8–9. Bierce failed to mention that while under fire he carried a mortally wounded comrade, Corporal Dyson Boothroyd, out of those woods.

  236. Durham, “The Battle of Belington,” 121; R.S. Garnett to G. Deas, July 9, 1861, RG 109, Box 9, # 1940, NA; Skidmore, Civil War Journal of Billy Davis, 50; Terrell, Report of the Adjutant General, vol. 4, 45. By July 9, General Morris reported the loss of eleven Federals at Laurel Hill; another Federal officer estimated up to five casualties per day on each side. See O. R. vol. 2, 218 and Benham, Recollections of West Virginia Campaign, 681.

  237. Hall, The Diary of a Confederate Soldier, 15; Hermann, Memoirs of a Veteran, 16–17. Hermann described some of the works at Laurel Hill as three and one half feet deep, with the dirt thrown towards the front, protecting him up to the shoulders.

  238. O. R. vol. 2, 256; G.A. Porterfield to G.D. Hall, February 5, 1904 in Hall, Lee's Invasion, 154; R.S. Garnett to G. Deas, July 9, 1861, RG 109, Box 9, # 1940, NA.

  Chapter 9. The Whole Earth Seemed to Shake

  239. Thompson, “Bound for Glory,” 21; Sears, Civil War Papers of George McClellan, 50.

  240. O. R. vol. 51, pt. 1, 12–15; Grebner, “We Were the Ninth,” 62–63; Orlando Poe to his wife, July 11, 1861, Poe Papers, LC; Cincinnati Daily Commercial, July 17, 1861; The Wellsburg Herald, March 28, 1862. The Ninth Ohio Infantry lost one man killed and two wounded in this reconnaissance, while capturing two Confederate pickets.

  241. O. R. vol. 51, pt. 1, 13; U.S. Congress, “Rosecrans' Campaigns,” 2; The Hancock Democrat, July 31, 1861; McClellan, Report on the Organization, 28.

  242. U.S. Congress, “Rosecrans' Campaigns,” 2–3; Frame, “David B. Hart, Rich Mountain Guide,” 65–68; Moore, The Civil War in Song and Story, 74.

  243. U.S. Congress, “Rosecrans' Campaigns,” 3,7; Rosecrans, “Rich Mountain,” National Tribune, February 22, 1883.

  244. Beatty, The Citizen-Soldier, 22–23; “Woodley's Reminiscence of Rich Mountain,” in Bosworth, A History of Randolph County, 138–39.

  245. O. R. vol. 2, 215, 217; U.S. Congress, “Rosecrans' Campaigns,” 3, 7; Statement of David Hart, Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, July 22, 1861. The Thirteenth Indiana substituted for the Seventeenth Ohio, a unit of Rosecrans's brigade on detached duty.

  246. Keifer, “The Battle of Rich Mountain and Some Incidents,” 8–10; Keifer, Slavery and Four Years, vol. 1: 194–95; O. R. vol. 2, 256, 260, 267.

  247. O. R. vol. 2, 264, 267–69; David P. Curry to R.R. Howison, August 5, 1862, Hench Collection, UVA; Arnold, “Battle of Rich Mountain,” 47; Hotchkiss, Virginia, 691.

  248. O. R. vol. 2, 256, 275.

  249. U.S. Congress, “Rosecrans' Campaigns,” 3–4; O. R. 2, 215; Frame, “David B. Hart,” 68; Statement of David Hart, Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, July 22, 1861; O. R. vol. 51, pt. 1, 8–9.

  250. O. R. vol. 2, 215–16, 270; O. R. 51, pt. 1, 9–10; Statement of David Hart, Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, July 22, 1861; U.S. Congress, “Rosecrans' Campaigns,” 3, 4; David P. Curry to R.R. Howison, August 5, 1862, Hench Collection, UVA.

  251. O. R. vol. 2, 270–71.

  252. Ibid., 207, 216, 270–71; Cincinnati Daily Commercial, July 17 and 19, 1861; David P. Curry to R.R. Howison, August 5, 1862, Hench Collection, UVA; Rosecrans, “Rich Mountain,” National Tribune, Februrary 22, 1883. In the chaos of battle, General Rosecrans's green regimental commanders repeatedly misunderstood his orders.

  253. Pool, Under Canvas, 15.

  254. O. R. vol. 2, 216, 271; Statement of David Hart, Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, July 22, 1861; The Hancock Democrat, July 31, 1861; Zinn, Battle of Rich Mountain, 14; U.S. Congress, “Rosecrans' Campaigns,” 3, 4; Cincinnati Daily Commercial, July 17, 1861.

  255. O. R. vol. 2, 271; David P. Curry to R.R. Howison, August 5, 1862, Hench Collection, UVA; Arnold, “Battle of Rich Mountain,” 48. A 1925 letter by Clyde B. Johnson claims Aleck Hart counted 64 cannon shots. See “That Old Log Cabin,” Randolph Enterprise, July 16, 1925.

  256. U.S. Congress, “Rosecrans' Campaigns,” 3, 4; O. R. vol. 2, 216; Statement of David Hart, Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, July 22, 1861; O. R. vol. 51, pt. 1, 11; George Rogers diary, July 12, 1861, IHS; The Hancock Democrat, July 31, 1861. The Confederate attempting to kill Rosecrans was said to be Second Lieutenant John G. Boyd, of the Twentieth Virginia Infantry. Private Benjamin Smith of the Thirteenth Indiana killed Boyd.

  257. O. R. vol. 51, pt. 1, 9, 11; O. R. vol. 2, 260, 265, 269, 273; Richmond Enquirer, July, 26, 1861; “Woodley's Reminiscence of Rich Mountain” in Bosworth, History of Randolph County, 141.

  258. O. R. vol. 2, 276–80; Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, July 18, 1861; David P. Curry to R.R. Howison, August 5, 1862, Hench Collection, UVA; Richmond Enquirer, July 26, 1861; Richmond Daily Dispatch, August 5, 1861.

  259. U.S. Congress, “Rosecrans' Campaigns,” 4–5; Lafayette Daily Journal, July 19, 1861; Hotchkiss, Virginia, 49. A precise chronology of the battle of Rich Mountain is difficult to compile; the opening skirmish with Confederate pickets began around 2:30 P.M., the main engagement was underway by 3 P.M. and—with intermissions—ended sometime before 5:30 P.M. See also O.R. vol. 2, 217–18, 257, 260, 270, 272; Rosecrans, “Rich Mountain,” National Tribune, February 22, 1883; Arnold, “Battle of Rich Mountain,” 46; Davi
d P. Curry to R.R. Howison, August 5, 1862, Hench Collection, UVA; Cincinnati Daily Commercial, July 17, 1861.

  260. U.S. Congress, “Rosecrans' Campaigns,” 5; Rosecrans, “Rich Mountain,” National Tribune, February 22, 1883; O. R. vol. 2, 216; O. R. vol. 51, pt. 1, 9–10.

  261. Cincinnati Daily Commercial, July 17, 1861; C.R. Boyce to sisters, July 14, 1861, PC; Beatty, The Citizen-Soldier, 24–25.

  262. McClellan, Report on the Organization, 30; Beatty, The Citizen-Soldier, 25; Cincinnati Daily Commercial, July 17, 1861.

  263. McClellan, Report on the Organization, 30; O. R. vol. 2, 14; Keifer, Slavery and Four Years, 197–98; U.S. Congress, “Rosecrans' Campaigns,” 6.

  264. O. R. vol. 2, 257, 261–63, 265–66; C. Tacitus Allen Memoirs, DU.

  265. O. R. vol. 2, 216–17; U.S. Congress, “Rosecrans' Campaigns,” vol. 3, 5, 67; Arnold, “Beverly in the Sixties,” 61, 63; Ross, “Old Memories,” 154. General Rosecrans's official tally of prisoners included ten officers, five non-commissioned officers, and fifty-four privates.

  266. O. R. vol. 51, pt. 1, 13–14; O. R. vol. 2, 206; Kepler, Fourth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, 33; McClellan, Report on the Organization, 30.

  267. Cincinnati Daily Commercial, July 17, 1861; Keifer, Slavery and Four Years, vol. 1, 200; Pool, Under Canvas, 13–14; Beatty, The Citizen-Soldier, 26; Reid, Ohio in the War, vol. 1, 316. Cincinnati newsman W.D. Bickham described the works at Camp Garnett as four feet high and not more than three feet wide, “rude and incomplete.” The Federal soldiers thought them more formidable.

  268. Letter of Captain T.M. Kirkpatrick, July 21, 1861, Kirkpatrick Family Scrapbook, ISL; Ben May to brother Will, July 17, 1861, PC; Cincinnati Daily Commercial, July 17, 1861.

  269. Orlando Poe to wife, July 12, 1861, Poe Papers, LC; Haselberger, Yanks From the South!, 139, 176; Marcia L. Phillips diary, July 24, 1861, UCHS; O. R. vol. 2, 244–45, 267. A number of Federal casualties occurred late in the fight when the Nineteenth Ohio Infantry fired into members of the Indiana Thirteen by mistake. See also Landon, “The Fourteenth Indiana Regiment on Cheat Mountain,” 352.

  270. Logansport Journal, July 27, 1861; Cincinnati Daily Commercial, July 19, 1861; C.R. Boyce to sisters, July 14, 1861, PC; Augustus Van Dyke to folks, July 17, 1861, IHS. Some accounts refer to a pair of burial trenches. Many of the dead Confederates were shot in the head. See also Statement of David Hart, Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, July 22, 1861; Hancock Democrat, July 31, 1861; Pool, Under Canvas, 14.

  271. Cincinnati Daily Commercial, July 19, 1861; Hancock Democrat, July 31, 1861; Ross, “Old Memories,” 152.

  272. C.R. Boyce to sisters, July 14, 1861, PC.

  Chapter 10. Death on Jordan's Stormy Banks

  273. J.T. Derry to A.S. Garnett, December 27, 1902, Garnett Papers, VHS.

  274. Taliaferro, “Annals of the War,” 9–10; O. R. vol. 2, 206; Stevenson, Indiana's Roll of Honor, 55.

  275. Taliaferro, “Annals of the War,” 10–11; Maxwell, History of Tucker County, 327–28; Hannaford, The Story of a Regiment, 76. Garnett's own Confederates may have mistakenly felled trees over the road to Beverly. Federal troops did not occupy the town until nearly 1 P.M. on July 12. See also McClellan, Report on the Organization, 31.

  276. Benham, Recollections, 681; Cox, Military Reminiscences, 89; Warner, Generals in Blue, 30.

  277. Moore, Rebellion Record, vol. 2, Documents, 291–93; R.H. Milroy to S. Colfax, July 19, 1861, Colfax Papers, IHS; Benham, Recollections, 681–82; Stevenson, Indiana's Roll of Honor, 56; Skidmore, Civil War Journal of Billy Davis, 52; Hannaford, The Story of a Regiment, 76–77. A Cincinnati Daily Commercial account listed Benham's force as follows: Fourteenth Ohio Infantry, 750 men; Seventh Indiana, 550 men; Ninth Indiana, 500 men, and Barnett's First Ohio Light Artillery, 40 men, a total of 1,840.

  278. Reid, “Agate” Dispatches, 30–31; Stevenson, Indiana's Roll of Honor, 56; Hannaford, The Story of a Regiment, 77–78; Moore, Rebellion Record, vol. 2, Documents, 292; Benham, Recollections, 682.

  279. Ibid., 682; O. R. vol. 2, 222; Reid, “Agate” Dispatches, 31–32.

  280. O. R. vol. 2, 222, 285; Fansler, History of Tucker County, 20n; Benham, Recollections, 683; Moore, Rebellion Record, vol. 2, Documents, 292; Skidmore, Civil War Journal of Billy Davis, 53.

  281. O. R. vol. 2, 222, 285–86; Hermann, Memoirs, 19–21; Benham, Recollections, 683–684; Reid, “Agate” Dispatches, 32.

  282. O. R. vol. 2, 286; Taliaferro, “Annals of the War,” 14.

  283. Benham, Recollections, 685; Moore, Rebellion Record, vol. 2, Documents, 288; Report of Captain L.M. Shumaker, July 20, 1861 in Hewitt, Supplement, vol. 1, 143.

  284. Benham, Recollections, 683; Taliaferro, “Annals of the War,” 14–15; O. R. vol. 2, 286; Reid, “Agate” Dispatches, 34; Moore, Rebellion Record, vol. 2, Documents, 292.

  285. Ibid., 289, 291, 294; O. R. vol. 2, 286–87; Benham, Recollections, 684–85; Hall, Diary, 16; Skidmore, Civil War Journal of Billy Davis, 54; Report of Captain L.M. Shumaker, July 20, 1861 in Hewitt, Supplement, vol. 1, 143.

  286. O. R. vol. 2, 287; Howison, “History of the War,” 136; Taliaferro, “Annals of the War,” 16–17; Moore, Rebellion Record, vol. 2, Documents, 288, 543; Maxwell, History of Tucker County, 331. Corricks Ford is spelled “Carricks” in most contemporary accounts. The ford was named for William Corrick, whose home stood above the lower crossing. General Morris later used the Corrick home as headquarters. See Fansler, History of Tucker County, 162n.

  287. Moore, Rebellion Record, vol. 2, Documents, 289, 293; H.C. Ruler to A.S. Garnett, May 17, 1903 and J.W. Gordon to the relatives of the late R.S. Garnett, August 14, 1861, Garnett Papers, VHS; Indianapolis Star, November 22, 1928, Dumont Papers, ISL. Sergeant Burlingame of Company E, Seventh Indiana Infantry, was credited with the killing of General Garnett. When later queried of the event, Burlingame would only say, “I was there and was doing a little shooting.” He was reported as “a man who evidently does not like the notoriety he has acquired.” See also Thomson, Seventh Indiana Infantry, 34 and Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, July 24, 1861.

  288. Benham, Recollections, 685–86; Moore, Rebellion Record, vol. 2, Documents, 289–90, 295; Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, July 16, 1861; J.W. Gordon to the relatives of the late R.S. Garnett, August 14, 1861 and H.C. Ruler to A.S. Garnett, May 17, 1903, Garnett Papers, VHS. A second-hand tale of Colonel Dumont throwing up his hands and exclaiming “Poor Bob Garnett!” is contradicted by Dumont's account of the discovery of Garnett's body, in which he avowed no knowledge of the fallen officer's identity. Eyewitnesses suggest that Garnett died almost instantly, rather than after being carried to the Corrick house, as maintained by some historians. See also Indianapolis Star, November 22, 1928, Dumont Papers, ISL. The young soldier who fell beside Garnett was not Sam Gaines. He was variously reported as a Georgian or a Virginian, but Sampson Phillips of the “Richmond Sharpshooters,” Company H, Twenty-third Virginia Infantry, is listed on a muster roll as “Killed with Gen. Garnett.” See William B. Taliaferro Papers, “Muster-Roll of the Richmond Sharpshooters,” MC.

  289. O. R. vol. 2, 223–24; Skidmore, Civil War Journal of Billy Davis, 55; Benham, Recollections, 686–87; Moore, Rebellion Record, vol. 2, Documents, 293; Reid, “Agate” Dispatches, 37.

  290. Moore, Rebellion Record, vol. 2, Documents, 290.

  291. Ibid., 290–91. Confederate casualties at Corricks Ford were compiled from the report of Colonel Taliaferro in O. R. vol. 2, 288. No members of the First Georgia Infantry are included, so the total may be higher. Federal casualties were compiled from Moore, Rebellion Record, vol. 2, Documents, 293. Federal losses: two killed; two later died of wounds; eight wounded; total: twelve. Confederate losses: fourteen killed; fifteen wounded; total: twenty-nine (includes General Garnett). See also Haselberger, Yanks From the South!, 307–08 for another compilation of losses at Corricks Ford.

  292. Fansler, History of Tucker County, 162n; Reader, History of the Fifth West Virginia Cavalry, 30; Moore, Reb
ellion Record, vol. 2, Documents, 290–95.

  293. Taliaferro, “Annals of the War,” 17–19; Hagy, “The Laurel Hill Retreat,” 172; Benham, Recollections, 687.

  294. Hermann, Memoirs, 20–21; Lane, “Dear Mother,” 24–25. The Georgians passed through a portion of what is today the Otter Creek Wilderness.

  295. Hermann, Memoirs, 23–25, 27; Fansler, History of Tucker County, 165n; Lesser, Battle at Corricks Ford, 22–23.

  296. O. R. vol. 2, 224–30; 233; Report of Adjutant D.W. Marshall, August 6, 1861 in Hewitt, Supplement, 137; Sears, Civil War Papers of George McClellan, 58.

  297. Benham, Recollections, 686; Moore, Rebellion Record, vol. 2, Documents, 290, 295; Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, July 17, 1861; Fansler, History of Tucker County, 184; Merrill, The Soldier of Indiana, 57.