Tag Archives: 1864

A Christmas Raid – Gordonsville, 1864

28 Friday Dec 2018

Posted by in 1864, 1864 raids, 1st U.S. Cavalry, 2nd U.S. Cavalry, 5th U.S. Cavalry, cavalry, Civil War, Reserve Brigade, Uncategorized

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After the bloodiest year of the war for the 2nd U.S. Cavalry and the Reserve Brigade, troopers must have been looking forward to going into winter camp near Winchester in time for the holidays. After all, they had weathered hard fighting in multiple major battles in two different campaigns in two different areas over the course of the year. General Early’s army had been soundly defeated, and there were no Confederate forces of any strength remaining in the Shenandoah Valley the week before Christmas. Imagine their surprise, then, when the following order was received:

“Field Orders, Headquarters First Cavalry Division, December 18, 1864

The command will be prepared to march early to-morrow morning. Four Days’ rations will be issued and carried on the horses. Each man will be supplied with eighty rounds of carbine ammunition and the usual supply of pistol ammunition.

The Second Brigade will take along one section (rifled) of its battery, the best horses being selected for the march. Camp guards consisting of the dismounted men, and those mounted on unserviceable horses, will be left in camp in each brigade under charge of a field officer. The ranking field officer will take charge of the entire division camp, picketing and making other necessary dispositions for its safety.

No other wheels save those mentioned above will accompany the expedition, save the following: Six ambulances, two wagons to division headquarters, one wagon to brigade headquarters, three wagons for commissary supplies.

These preparations must all be made at once. Further instructions will be given as to the time of march, &c.

By command of Brevet Major General Merritt:

A.E. Dana, Assistant Adjutant-General.”

And so began ten miserable days of winter campaigning. Although General Sheridan had written somewhat dismissively to General Grant on the usefulness of cutting the Central Railroad to interdict Confederate supplies between the Shenandoah Valley and Richmond, he ordered the raid. In case there were any Confederate forces in the area, he ordered General Custer to take his division south through the Valley at the same time Torbert was departing with the other two divisions of the cavalry. General Torbert’s report is a pretty detailed account of the raid.

Headquarters Cavalry Corps, Army of the Middle Military Division

Winchester, Va., December 28, 1864

Sir: I have the honor to report that I started from Winchester on the 19th of December, with the First and Second Divisions of Cavalry, without artillery, about 5,000 men, across the Blue Ridge. On the night of the 19th I camped in Chester Gap, having marched about twenty-two miles, via Front Royal, crossing both branches of the Shenandoah River. It rained nearly all day. December 20, crossed the Blue Ridge, marched via Little Washington, Gaines’ Cross-Roads, and Sperryville, in the direction of Criglersville; marched about twenty-nine miles, Second Division camping on the Hughes River and the First Division on the Hazel. This night it hailed and sleeted all night. During the day the enemy’s vedettes were driven before the advance. December 21, at daylight the march was resumed, in a hail and snow storm which lasted all day, via Criglersville, to Madison Court-House, over one the worst roads I ever traveled. The First Division went to Madison Court-House, had an engagement with Jackson’s brigade of rebel cavalry, driving them from the town, with slight loss. Second Division camped on Robertson’s River near Criglersville. December 22, at daylight the march was resumed, Second Division leading, on the pike in the direction Liberty Mills and Gordonsville. The enemy’s cavalry – Generals Jackson’s and McCausland’s brigades, General Lomax commanding – were driven rapidly before my advance and across the bridge over the Rapidan, at Liberty Mills. On my advance reaching the bridge, which they did under a severe fire from men behind breast-works on the opposite bank, they found some of the flooring of the bridge had been removed. Immediately after reaching the river the bridge was fired by an explosion and soon destroyed. The ford, wich was a bad one, was barricaded and defended by men in rifle pits and artillery in position behind earth-works. It was impossible to effect a crossing in front. Some delay was caused by having to send through the country to find parties who knew the roads to fords above and below Liberty Mills, so that I could cross and flank them out of their position. Finally two columns were started, one to the right and one to the left. Two brigades of the First Division – First and Second, Second Brigade leading, commanded by Colonel Kellogg, 17th Pennsylvania Cavalry – were to cross at Willis’ Ford, about two miles above Liberty Mills, and come down on the Stanardsville and Orange Court-House road. One brigade Second Division, Colonel Capehart commanding, was to cross at Cave’s Ford, about three miles below Liberty Mills, and come up on the Orange Court-House and Stanardsville road. It was represented that both of these fords were good, and that the detour of these columns would be about four miles, when, in fact, the column at Willis’ Ford could only cross by twos and had to march about eight miles before getting to Liberty Mills, and the column by Cave’s Ford could only cross by file and had to march about seven miles before getting to Liberty Mills. This caused an unexpected delay, and it was not until just dark when the right column came in sight and immediately charged the enemy, driving them across the Gordonsville pike and in the direction of Orange Court-House; here they were met by my left column, and the enemy withdrew by a country road in the direction of Gordonsville. The fighting was all after dark, and not being able to tell friend from foe, and my own men having fired into each other, the firing was ordered to cease and hold their positions for the night. This day and night was intensely cold. December 23, at daylight the enemy was again engaged and all their artillery – two pieces – taken from them, and driven to within two miles and a half of Gordonsville to the top of the gap in Southwest Mountain. Here the pass was narrow and the enemy were strongly posted behind rails and earth breast-works, where a few men could hold three times their number in check. I attacked the position with nearly half of my force, but could not carry it, and I immediately started a column to flank them on the left by crossing the mountain several miles to the north. While waiting to hear from this column, which had got well on its way, the cars were heard about ten o’clock to arrive at Gordonsville, and about an hour after infantry was seen to file into the breast-works and relieve the cavalry. After becoming fully satisfied of the presence of infantry (Pegram’s division), I concluded it was useless to make a further attempt to break the Central railroad. I had at this time six or eight men killed and about forty wounded, more than I could transport, and the worst cases were left behind. I decided to withdraw and at once crossed to the north bank of the Rapidan. That afternoon and evening I marched to Madison Court-House and Robertson’s River. About thirty prisoners were taken, but having no provisions, and it being very difficult, if not impossible, for them to keep up, I paroled them. The guns, two 3-inch rifled, were brought to camp. December 24, at daylight started from Madison Court-House, marched, via James City, Griffinsburg, and Stone-House Mountain, to near Rixeyville. December 25, at daylight marched to the Fauquier White Sulphur Springs, crossing in the meantime the Hazel and the Rappahannock Rivers, the former with great difficulty indeed. December 26, march resumed at daylight, Second Division leading. On reaching Warrenton the Second Division went in the direction of Salem and Piedmont, camping near Paris. At Warrenton the First Division marched in the direction of New Baltimore, Georgetown, White Plains, and Middleburg, camping near the latter place. December 27, the Second Division marched, via Paris, Ashby’s Gap, to Millwood. December 28, First Division marched to camp near Winchester.

The country through which we passed was thoroughly cleaned of stock and forage. The command was obliged to live on the country for six days. Altogether it was an extremely hard trip on men and horses on account of the intense cold and bad weather. For six days out of the ten it either rained, hailed, or snowed, and sometimes all three.

A.T.A. Torbert,

Brevet Major General, Chief of Cavalry, Commanding.

To Brevet Brigadier General Forsyth, Chief of Staff, Headquarters Army of the Shenandoah.”

Total casualties from the raid were 7 killed, 38 wounded, 47 missing, 10 accidentally hurt, for an aggregate of 102. Torbert does not mention frostbite injuries, but there were over two hundred cases in his force, which was half as large and whose raid was half the duration of Torbert’s. Two hundred fifty eight horses were lost, over five percent of the total, showing the effects of weather and distance on the mounts.

Sources:

Official Records, Volume 43, Part I, pages 677-679 and Part II, page 803.

Starting the 1864 Campaigns

08 Thursday May 2014

Posted by in 1864, 1864 raids, 1st U.S. Cavalry, 2nd U.S. Cavalry, 5th U.S. Cavalry, manning, Reserve Brigade

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150 years ago today, the Army of the Potomac’s Cavalry Corps engaged in its first battle of 1864 at Todd’s Tavern. Before looking at the battle itself, I thought it would be helpful to look at the state of the three regular regiments in the Reserve Brigade as the campaign began. Listing the numbers may seem tedious, but it will go a long way to help the reader visualize the effects of the year’s battles on these understrength regiments. 1864 was an absolutely brutal year for these regiments, and one would be combat ineffective by year’s end.

On April 28th, the regiments of the Reserve Brigade moved out of their winter camps near Mitchell’s Station and encamped about 1.5 miles from Culpeper. At this time the brigade consisted of the 1st, 2nd and 5th U.S. Cavalry, the 6th Pennsylvania Cavalry, and the 1st New York Dragoons. Colonel Alfred Gibbs, commander of the 1st New York Dragoons, commanded the brigade, as Brigadier General Wesley Merritt was in temporary command of the First Division.

The 1st U.S. Cavalry was commanded at the beginning of May by Captain Nelson B. Sweitzer. This Pennsylvania native was the most experienced of the three commanders. An 1853 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, he had served in the regiment his entire career. It had 8 officers and 487 enlisted men present for duty of an authorized 42 officers and 1,189 enlisted men. Its twelve companies averaged 40 enlisted men each. On the April 1864 return, the regiment requested 356 recruits to bring it up to full strength.

The 2nd U.S. Cavalry started 1864 campaigning under Captain Theophilus F. Rodenbough. A civilian appointee from his native Pennsylvania in 1861, Rodenbough was by now a veteran, his only absence from the regiment a brief stint as a prisoner of war after Second Manassas. The regiment had eight officers and 271 enlisted men present for duty, with another 131 enlisted men on extra duty. Its twelve companies averaged only 21 enlisted men each. On the April 1864 return, the regiment requested 559 recruits to bring it up to full strength.

The 5th U.S. Cavalry was commanded at this time by Captain Abraham K. Arnold. Another Pennsylvanian, Arnold graduated from West Point in 1859. He missed the regiment’s ill-fated charge at Gaines Mill, serving as an aide de camp to General McClellan until March of the previous year. He distinguished himself multiple times during the Overland Campaign, earning a Medal of Honor. Only seven of the regiment’s twelve companies were present for duty, as Companies B, F, K and L served as escort to General Grant’s headquarters, and Company D served at Point Lookout, Maryland. Indeed, the regiment had 23 of its assigned officers and 263 enlisted men on detached service, at army headquarters and elsewhere. The seven companies present mustered only 6 officers and 206 enlisted men, an average of 29 men each. On the April 1864 return, the regiment requested 630 recruits to bring it up to full strength.

Unfortunately, I don’t presently have unit strengths for the 6th Pennsylvania and the 1st New York Dragoons. The 1st New York a relatively inexperienced unit, but the 6th Pennsylvania had served in every 1862 campaign of the Army of the Potomac, and its numbers reflected its veteran status.

The three regiments combined for a present for duty strength of 22 officers and 964 enlisted men, of an authorized strength of 126 officers and 3,567 enlisted men. Officer strength was 17.4% and enlisted strength was 27%. And the hardest year’s campaigning was about to begin.

Medal of Honor: Edward Hanford

27 Thursday Mar 2014

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Edward Raymond Hanford was born in Ohio in 1845, the second of three children. He grew up in Allegany County, New York. He worked on the farm of William Guilford near Belfast, New York prior to the Civil War.

Edward enlisted as a private in the 93rd New York Volunteer Infantry at Belmont, New York on a three year enlistment. He was mustered into Company E on January 30, 1862. Although only 16, he listed his age as 21 on his enlistment documents.

After service with his regiment during the New Bern and Antietam campaigns, Edward transferred to the regular army. He was one of more than two dozen members of his regiment to enlist in the 2nd U.S. Cavalry in October 1862. He was enlisted into Company H by regimental adjutant James McQuesten at Harpers Ferry, Virginia on October 22, 1862. His enlistment documents describe him as 5’7” tall, with gray eyes, brown hair and a fair complexion. He again listed his age as 21.

There was nothing particularly noteworthy about Private Hanford’s service over the next two years. He served as a private through all of the grueling campaigns of 1863 and most of 1864 without incident or wound.

This changed in the Shenandoah Valley on October 9, 1864 during fighting near Woodstock, Virginia, or the “Woodstock Races,” as they became known to the Cavalry Corps of the Army of the Potomac. Private Hanford captured the flag of the 32d Battalion Virginia Cavalry in hand to hand fighting. In General Orders dated October 14, 1864, Hanford was awarded the Medal of Honor for extraordinary heroism. Interestingly, he was not promoted following the award.

Private Hanford was discharged from the army at the expiration of his term of service at Hagerstown, Maryland on January 31, 1865. After the war, he moved to Calaveras County, California. In 1880, he roomed at Egan’s Hotel in Sheep Ranch, California, where he worked as a miner. He married Emma Viana Nunes later that year, on November 4th. Records of their life together are scarce, but in 1888 Hanford was registered as a farmer in nearby Rich Gulch.

Edward R. Hanford died in an accident on January 30, 1890 in Calaveras County at the age of 49, leaving behind a wife and four young children. He is buried in the Mokelumne Hill Protestant Cemetery, Calaveras County, California.

References:

California Voter Registers, 1888 (accessed online March 24, 2014).

Lambert, Joseph I. One Hundred Years With the Second Cavalry. San Antonio: Newton Publishing Company, 1999.

NARA, RG 94, Register of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914

NARA, RG 94, U.S. Returns from Regular Regiments, 2nd U.S. Cavalry

Official Records of the War of the Rebellion, Series I, Volume

Rodenbough, Theophilus F. From Everglade to Canyon with the Second United States Cavalry. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2000.

U.S. Census Data, 1850, 1860 and 1880 (accessed online March 24, 2014).

Book Review: The Last Battle of Winchester

02 Sunday Feb 2014

Posted by in 1864, book reviews

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The Last Battle of Winchester: Phil Sheridan, Jubal Early, and the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, August 7 – September 19, 1864.

Savas Beatie Publishing, 2013, hardback, 553 pages

In The Last Battle of Winchester, author Scott Patchan provides a comprehensive examination of the actions leading up to and including the pivotal battle of the Shenandoah Valley campaign.  Painstakingly researched, yet fast-paced and vividly written, I found it thoroughly enjoyable.

I’m always interested to see the evolution of a writer if I’m fortunate enough to read several of his or her works over time.  I enjoyed Patchan’s Shenandoah Summer (and reviewed it here), but to me this book was written on a higher level.

The author masterfully weaves an engrossing narrative on several levels simultaneously.  The book, as advertised, is indeed a battle history – over 200 pages address the battle itself.  Throughout the story, however, Patchan keeps the reader aware at all times of the larger context: within the campaign in the valley, within Grant’s overall strategy in Virginia, and within Lincoln’s political reality with an election looming.  Grasping this context is critical to understanding the battle and the campaign.  That he is able to do this while not bogging down the story is a tremendous feat.

I found the author’s coverage of the campaign very evenhanded.  He went out of his way to provide a thorough yet unbiased groundwork for the narrative.  I thought Early received a fairer treatment of his accomplishments prior to the battle than I had seen in other works.  Similarly, Sheridan’s caution before the battle and aggressiveness following it made much more sense to me after reading the book.

Patchan’s research is as enlightening as it is intimidating.  He obviously has spent years both researching the campaign and walking the ground on which it was fought.  His use of primary sources is remarkable, both for their sheer number and the way he weaves them into his narrative.  The descriptions of individual actions and combat at the regimental and company level bring the battle to life for the reader.

Cudos to Savas Beatie for using footnotes instead of endnotes.  Given the author’s extensive use of soldiers’ quotes to describe the action, footnotes greatly contributed to the book’s readability. And since I’ve mentioned the publisher, I must add that the book is of excellent quality and well worth the cover price.

Hal Jesperson’s maps are both detailed and plentiful, something all too seldom seen in battle and campaign studies.  I’ve previously found operations in the Valley confusing and difficult to follow, but in this book a map to orient myself was never more than a few pages away.  They provide a great support to the narrative.

Extensive citations, seven appendices and a bibliography over twenty pages long should satisfy even the most demanding reader or researcher.  Many of the primary sources appear to be previously unpublished.

This book provides extensive coverage of every move leading up to and including the battle itself.  I think anyone interested in this campaign or the Civil War would appreciate the book, and it is essential for the library of anyone seriously interested in operations in the Shenandoah Valley during the war.