by Bruce Catton
Report of Colonel Henry L. Abbot, Official Records, Vol. XL, Part 1, pp. 664-65.
Manuscript letters of Henry Clay Heisler; History of the 12th Regiment New Hampshire Volunteers, p. 427.
History of DurreU's Battery in the Civil War, p. 228; History of the 36th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, pp. 246, 277; manuscript letters of Henry Clay Heisler; The Irish Brigade and Its Campaigns, p. 510.
Four Years Campaigning with the Army of the Potomac, p. 160.
The Story of the Regiment, pp. 367-68.
History of the 198th Pennsylvania Volunteers, by Major E. M. Woodward, p. 25.
Ibid., p. 27; History of the Ninth Massachusetts Battery, by Levi W. Baker, p. 155.
History of the 24th Michigan, p. 283.
South After Gettysburg, pp. 163, 165; History of the 87th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, p. 218.
My Life in the Army, pp. 135-36; Music on the March, pp. 203-4; History of the 7th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, p. 176; M.H.S.M. Papers, Vol. VI, p. 413; In the Ranks from the Wilderness to Appomattox Courthouse, p. 97; The Passing of the Armies, pp. 21, 23. For the recruiting and training of an entire new division of first-rate troops, see Military
History of the 3rd Division, Ninth Corps, Army of the Potomac, by Milton A. Embick, pp. 1-5.
19. Following the Greek Cross, p. 238.
Ibid., p. 240; manuscript letters of Lewis Bissell; History of the 2nd Connecticut Volunteer Heavy Artillery, p. 144.
Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion, pp. 533, 537-38.
Manuscript letters of Lewis Bissell; Musket and Sword, p. 303.
Following the Greek Cross, p. 240; History of the 2nd Connecticut Volunteer Heavy Artillery, p. 148.
History of Durrell’s Battery in the Civil War, pp. 232-34; History of the 51st Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, pp. 602-5. For early glimpses of Stephens and Lincoln, see Abraham Lincoln: the Prairie Years, by Carl Sandburg, Vol. I, pp. 378, 382 if.
There is a good discussion of the peace mission and the Davis-Stephens relationship in "Alexander Stephens and Jefferson Davis," by James Z. Rabun, in the American Historical Review, Vol. LVIII, No. 2. See also Abraham Lincoln: the War Years, Vol. IV, pp. 39-46, 48, 58-60; Jefferson Davis: the Unreal and the Real, by Robert McElroy, Vol. II, pp. 435-40; Diary of Gideon Welles, Vol. II, p. 237. There is a mention of the return of Lieutenant Murray from his Southern prison in Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer Infantry in the War of the Rebellion, p. 534.
Ibid., pp. 447, 520, 542.
History of the Ninth Massachusetts Battery, p. 160.
GREAT LIGHT IN THE SKY
1. History of the 1st Connecticut Artillery, by John C. Tay-
lor, p. 154; Major General Ambrose E. Burnside and the
Ninth Army Corps, p. 476.
Reminiscences of the War of the Rebellion, p. 262.
Memoirs of Chaplain Life, p. 335.
4. Military History of the 3rd Division, Ninth Army Corps,
Army of the Potomac, pp. 1-4, 14-16; Battles and Leaders,
Vol. IV, p. 584 ff. Hartranft's report on the fight is in the Official Records, Vol. XLVI, Part 1, pp. 345-49.
5. Grant's Personal Memoirs, Vol II, pp. 433-34; Humph-
reys, pp. 320-21; Official Records, Vol. XLVI, Part 3, pp.
141-42, 171.
Personal Memoirs of John H. Brinton, p. 265.
Grant's Personal Memoirs, Vol. II, p. 425.
8. Manuscript letter of Sergeant George S. Hampton, 91st
Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers, in the possession of Mr. J.
Frank Nicholson of Manassas, Virginia.
9. Sherman, Fighting Prophet, by Lloyd Lewis, p. 524.
10. Sheridan's report, reprinted in Moore's Rebellion Rec-
ord, Vol. XI, p. 634 ff.
11. Army Life: a Private's Reminiscences, p. 251.
12. Humphreys, pp. 322-25; Official Records, Vol. XLVI,
Part 1, pp. 50-51.
The Passing of the Armies, p. 34.
The Story of the Regiment, p. 381.
Annals of the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry, p. 330; Last Hours of Sheridan's Cavalry, by Henry Edwin Tremain, pp. 19-24.
Grant's Personal Memoirs, Vol. II, p. 439; Battles and Leaders, Vol. IV, p. 709; Moore's Rebellion Record, Vol. XI, p. 644; The Life of John A. Rawlins, pp. 309-10.
Horace Porter describes the meeting between Grant and Sheridan in Battles and Leaders, Vol. IV, p. 710. See also The Passing of the Armies, p. 62; Grant's Personal Memoirs, Vol. II, p. 437.
There is an engaging description of Devin's movements, with particular reference to the difficulties of the horse holders on the retreat to Dinwiddie Courthouse, in Last Hours of Sheridan's Cavalry, pp. 37-45.
Ibid., pp. 50-55; Sheridan's report, Moore's Rebellion Record, Vol. XI, p. 644; Battles and Leaders, Vol. IV, p. 711.
Grant's Personal Memoirs, Vol. II, p. 442; Battles and Leaders, Vol. IV, p. 711; Official Records, Vol. XLVI, Part 1, p. 380.
21. Last Hours of Sheridan's Cavalry, p. 56o
The Passing of the Armies, pp. 65-78; The Fifth Army Corps, pp. 781-83; Humphreys, pp. 330-34; Official Records, Vol. XLVI, Part 1, pp. 337, 817-18.
Campaigns of the 146th Regiment New York State Volunteers, p. 292; History of the Corn Exchange Regiment, p. 574; Humphreys, pp. 337-40; The Passing of the Armies, pp. 90-96; Official Records, Vol. XLVI, Part 1, pp. 820, 822. In his report on Five Forks Warren explained that since his troops were so close to the enemy it was impossible to summon them out by drum or bugle; verbal orders had to pass down a long chain which began at corps headquarters and ended with non-coms arousing individual soldiers by shaking them. For the confusing series of orders Warren got that night, see the volume just cited, pp. 365-67, 410, 419-20.
The Passing of the Armies, pp. 104, 121.
Humphreys, p. 356; Battles and Leaders, Vol. IV, p. 723.
The Passing of the Armies, introduction, pp. xii-xiv.
Grant's Personal Memoirs, Vol. II, p. 445.
In the Ranks from the Wilderness to Appomattox Courthouse, pp. 193-94.
The Fifth Army Corps, pp. 800-4; Humphreys, pp. 346-48; M.H.S.M. Papers, Vol. VI, pp. 249-52.
9. The Passing of the Armies, pp. 129-30.
Battles and Leaders, Vol. IV, p. 714.
Ibid., p. 713; The Passing of the Armies, pp. 133-34.
Very loyal to Warren but impressed by Sheridan in spite of himself, General Chamberlain describes all of these exchanges in The Passing of the Armies, p. 142. There are very extended descriptions of the battle of Five Forks, with particular reference to the movements of the V Corps, and with strong defense of Warren's actions, by Captain Charles H. Porter and Brevet Lieutenant Colonel William W. Swan, in M.H.S.M. Papers, Vol. VI, pp. 211-34, 237-55, 259-408.
Chamberlain, op. ext., pp. 143-44, 151.
Ibid., pp. 152-53.
Battles and Leaders, Vol. IV, pp. 714-15.
Following the Greek Cross, pp. 249-50; Humphreys, p. 364; "The Storming of the Lines at Petersburg," by Brevet Brigadier General Hazard Stevens, in Vol. VI, M.H.S.M. Papers, pp. 412-13, 418. The latter work has an exceptionally good description of the formidable Confederate defenses.
General Stevens, M.H.S.M. Papers, Vol. VI, p. 422; Red, White and Blue Badge, by Penrose G. Mark, p. 321.
Following the Greek Cross, p. 252; History of Durrell's Battery in the Civil War, pp. 241-42; manuscript letters of Lewis Bissell; History of the Corn Exchange Regiment, pp. 282-83.
19. M.H.S.M. Papers, Vol. VI, p. 423.
Ibid., pp. 426-28; History of the 5th Regiment Maine Volunteers, p. 344; General Wright's report, Official Records, Vol. XLVI, Part 1, pp. 902-4.
Following the Greek Cross, p. 253; History of the 5th Regiment Maine Volunteers, p. 345; Battles and Leaders, Vol. IV, p. 717.
History of the 2nd Connecticut Volunteer Heavy Artillery, pp. 159-60. The break-through of the VI Corps was by no means inexpensive, the corps
losing 1,100 men in fifteen minutes. The Confederate works at Petersburg were all but literally invulnerable, despite the extreme attenuation of Confederate manpower, and General Wright said later that the spot his corps attacked, which was the weakest place in the entire Confederate line, was the only place where an assault could possibly have succeeded. See Humphreys, p. 365.
THE ENORMOUS SILENCE
1. Letters of a War Correspondent, pp. 308-10; Days and
Events, pp. 439-40.
Music on the March, p. 227.
History of the 198th Pennsylvania Volunteers, p. 53.
4. The Story of the Regiment, p. 394; Last Hours of Sheri-
dan's Cavalry, p. 115; Official Records, Vol. XLVI, Part 1,
p. 510.
5. Army Life: a Private's Reminiscences, pp. 247-48; His-
tory of the Corn Exchange Regiment, p. 583; Gibbon's Per-
sonal Recollections, p. 302; The Story of the Regiment, p. 395.
Last Hours of Sheridan's Cavalry, pp. 97-101.
Meade's Headquarters, pp. 345-46.
Battles and Leaders, Vol. IV, pp. 719-20; The Generalship of Ulysses S. Grant, p. 351.
"A Recruit Before Petersburg," by George B. Peck, Jr., from Rhode Island Soldiers and Sailors Society, Personal Narratives, Second Series, p. 52; History of the 2nd Connecticut Volunteer Heavy Artillery, p. 160.
Last Hours of Sheridan's Cavalry, pp. 133, 149-52.
Four Years in the Army of the Potomac, p. 199.
Following the Greek Cross, pp. 262-63. There is an unforgettable glimpse of what Lee himself saw of this disaster in R. E. Lee, Vol. IV, pp. 84-86. For Meade's anger at what he considered Sheridan's attempt to assume sole credit for this victory, see Meade's Headquarters, p. 351.
Days and Events, p. 449; manuscript letters of Lewis Bissell.
Battles and Leaders, Vol. IV, pp. 729-30; History of the Second Army Corps, pp. 681-83.
Army Life: a Private's Reminiscences, pp. 251-52; In the Ranks from the Wilderness to Appomattox Courthouse, p. 212; History of the Corn Exchange Regiment, p. 587. Looking back from his old age, Grant wrote glowingly that "straggling had entirely ceased" (Personal Memoirs, Vol. II, p. 481), but the men who did the marching made no such claim.
Army Life: a Private's Reminiscences, p. 253. This unpretentious book has a very good description of the march to Appomattox, the final scene there, and the surrender ceremonies. The artillery-infantry fight on the dark road is also depicted in History of the Corn Exchange Regiment, p. 587.
Last Hours of Sheridan's Cavalry, pp. 214-18, 228 #.; History of the 17th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteer Cavalry, p. 315.
18. Army Life: a Private's Reminiscences, p. 254; The
Fifth Army Corps, p. 849; In the Ranks from the Wilderness to Appomattox Courthouse, p. 213.
The Sunset of the Confederacy, by Morris Schaff, p. 214; Gibbon's Personal Recollections, p. 315.
Ibid., pp. 31&-17; Sabres and Spurs, p. 456.
Army Life; a Private's Reminiscences, pp. 255-56o
The Sunset of the Confederacy, p. 215.
Army Life: a Private's Reminiscences, p. 257. The author of Last Hours of Sheridan's Cavalry says (p. 427): "We were too sleepy to move rapidly. We were too cross to be shoved by bullets."
The Sunset of the Confederacy, pp. 219-20; History of the 198th Pennsylvania Volunteers, p. 57; Last Hours of Sheridan's Cavalry, pp. 252-53.
Thirteenth Regiment of New Hampshire Volunteer In-fantry in the War of the Rebellion, p. 587; manuscript letter of Sergeant George S. Hampton, of the 91st Pennsylvania. For an interesting account of the presentation of the flag of truce, and a postwar letter from the Confederate officer who carried it, see History of the Corn Exchange Regiment, pp. 589-91.
Thrilling Days in Army Life, p. 187. The reference to the playing of "Auld Lang Syne" is from History of the 198th Pennsylvania Volunteers, p. 58.
Index
Abatis constructed before trenches, 228
Abolitionists, 236-37
Amelia Court House, 412-13
Amnesty proclamation of 1864, 5-6, 11, 18
Andersonville, Confederate prison camp at, 311-12
Appomattox Court House, 419-25
Army of James, 66, 150, 171, 209, 232, 384, 401-2, 405, 408, 418, 420, 423
Army of Northern Virginia. See Confederate Army of Northern Virginia
Army of Potomac, character of, in last year of war, 24-41; at Cold Harbor, 169-205; condition of, after two months of Wilderness campaign, 239-46; Grant made Federal commander in chief, 41-60; march to Appomattox, 407-25; in Petersburg campaign, 209-33, 246-55, 265-86, 357-406; in southward advance after Spotsylvania, 155-68; at Spotsylvania Court House, 107-15, 122-47; in Wilderness battle, 63-106. For individual units see under corps numbers and state names
Army of Shenandoah, 314-24,
332-56 Artillery, heavy, 53-54
Atlanta, Ga., captured by Sherman, 331-32 Averell, Gen. William W., 201 Ayres, Gen. Romeyn, 165, 281, 395-99
Banks, Gen. Nathaniel F., 237 Barlow, Gen. Francis, at Cold Harbor, 182, 190, 416; at Spotsylvania Court House, 135-42
Beauregard, Gen. P. G. T.,
212-14, 217-22 Belle Plain, supply base at,
163-64
Bermuda Hundred, Butler's
army held at, 150, 171, 209-
10, 212, 217, 232 Bethesda Church, 160 Biblical authority cited for
Northern victory, 259-60 Birney, Gen. David Bell, 136,
214, 221, 223-24 Blair, Francis P., 293 Blair, Montgomery, 293, 240 Bloody Angle, Spotsylvania
Court House, battle at, 142-
46
Bombproofs in Petersburg trenches, 229-30
Bounty soldiers, 26-35
Bragg, Braxton, 19
Breastworks. See Entrenchments
Brock Road, Wilderness, 69,
82, 85, 97-99, 104, 106 Brooks, Preston S. "Bully," 236
Burnside, Gen. Ambrose E., 59, 208; at Cold Harbor, 179, 192, 204; in Petersburg campaign, 217-25, 247, 249-55, 268-85, 376; at Spotsylvania Court House, 113, 132, 134, 141; in Wilderness battle, 70, 90-91, 96, 97
Butler, Gen. Ben, 66-67, 150, 171, 208-9, 232-35, 237; in attempt to seize Richmond, 7, 56; in support of Petersburg campaign, 209, 232
Campbell, John A., 371-72
Carroll, Gen. Samuel, 100
Casualties, care of, 115-23. For figures see specific actions
Cavalry, policy under Sheridan, 51, 54-55, 113-15
Cavalry divisions: 2nd, 342; 3rd, 4-5
Cedar Creek, battle of, Shenandoah Valley campaign (Sheridan's ride), 344-56
Chamberlain, Gen. Joshua, 396-401, 423-24
Chancellorsville crossroads, 70; in Wilderness battle, 90-91, 95, 106
Chandler, Zachariah, 236, 340 Chaplains, 242-43 Chase, Salmon P., 340 Chattanooga, battle of, 45 Chevaux-de-frise, 228, 357 Chicago Board of Trade, 311-12
Chickahominy River, 166, 174, 204
Christian Commission, 243 City Point, supply base at, 218, 359-60
City Point Railroad, 211, 359-60
Civilian reactions and attitudes, 195-199, 235-37, 311-12
Cold Harbor, battle of, 169-205; casualties, 186; success of first day, 169-74; frontal assault on Confederate position, 180-87; withdrawal from, 201-5
Colored Infantry, 36th Regiment, 263
Colored soldiers. See Negro soldiers in Union Army
Committee on Conduct of War, 208, 303
Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, 61-62; attack on Washington, 290-99; at Cold Harbor, 166-205; disposition of, before Battle of Wilderness, 6, 65-67, 69-70; in Petersburg campaign, 211-32, 247-55, 263-86, 357-406; in retreat to Appomattox, 407-25; in Shenandoah campaign, 332-40; at Spotsylvania Court House, 109-16, 123-47; in Wilderness battle, 71-106
Confederate intelligence operatives in North, 326-31
Connecticut regiments: 1st Cavalry, 382; 2nd Heavy Artillery, 173, 243, 300, 355; 12th, 337
Conscripted soldiers, 26, 34-35
Copperheads, 328-31
Cowards, treatment of, 153-54
Crater made by mine explosion at Petersburg, 273-86
Crawford, Gen. Samuel W., 81, 113, 230, 395-96, 398, 400
Crook, Gen. George, 201, 314, 333-36, 346-49
Custer, Gen. George Armstrong, 10, 22-23, 344, 355, 382, 385, 387-89, 414, 419