Rebels at the Gate: Lee and McClellan on the Front Line of a Nation Divided (56 page)

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

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425. Barnwell, “The First West Virginia Campaigns,” 188; Jones, “The Mountain Campaign Failure,” 368; Warner,
Generals in Gray
, 266–67; Collier, “
They'll Do to Tie To!”
7; Seitz,
Horace Greeley
, 170–71; Taylor,
Four Years
, 23; Long,
Memoirs of Robert E. Lee
, 122.

426. Spec. Order No. 77, Head Qrs. Monterey Line, N.W. Army, August 16, 1861, Willis Papers, HL; Hewitt,
O.R. Supplement
, Record of Events, vol. 2, 321; Jones, “The Mountain Campaign Failure,” 368; Barnwell, “The First West Virginia Campaign,” 188.

427. Taylor,
Four Years
, 20, 23–27;
O. R
. vol. 51, pt. 2, 282–83.

428.
O. R
. vol. 5, 192.

429.
O. R
. vol. 51, pt. 2, 283; Head,
Campaigns
, 34–35; Hall,
Diary of a Confederate Soldier
, 34–35.

430.
O. R
. vol. 5, 188–89; Stevenson,
Indiana's Roll of Honor
, vol. 1, 169–70.

431.
O. R
. vol. 5, 191; Cammack,
Personal Recollections
, 35–36; Carson, “Recollections,” 18–19, VHS.

432. Head,
Campaigns
, 30–31; A Member of the Bar,
Cheat Mountain
, 62, 65–66; Warner,
Generals in Gray
, 74–75.

433. Head,
Campaigns
, 33; A Member of the Bar,
Cheat Mountain
, 64.

434. Ibid., 63–67, 69–70; Head,
Campaigns
, 32–33.

435. Ibid., 278–81; J.W. Gray to the Nashville
Union and American
, December 5, 1861 in Head,
Campaigns
, 38–39; A Member of the Bar,
Cheat Mountain
, 70–71, 90. Accounts vary as to the number of Federal pickets captured and killed on Stewart Run.
See also
Head,
Campaigns
, 36; H.H. Dillard, “Sixteenth Tennessee Infantry,” in Lindsley,
Military Annals
, vol. 1, 336; Womack,
Civil War Diary
, September 11, 1861.

436. Head,
Campaigns
, 36–37, 41; J.W. Gray to the Nashville
Union and American
, December 5, 1861 in Ibid., 39–40; H.H. Dillard, “Sixteenth Tennessee Infantry,” in Lindsley,
Military Annals
, vol. 1, 336–37; D.S. Donelson to R.E. Lee, September 17, 1861 in Hewitt,
O.R. Supplement
, vol. 1, 380–81; Hannaford,
The Story of a Regiment
, 129–30.

437. Head,
Campaigns
, 42; A Member of the Bar,
Cheat Mountain
, 74–77; H.H. Dillard, “Sixteenth Tennessee Infantry,” in Lindsley,
Military Annals
, vol. 1, 337. One Federal prisoner reportedly made his escape during the bear's appearance.

438. Toney,
Privations
, 22–23; Warner,
Generals in Gray
, 10; Beard, “The Story of a Five-Dollar Gold Piece,” 76; Hotchkiss,
Virginia
, 159–60; J.H. Moore, “Seventh Tennessee Infantry,” in Lindsley,
Military Annals
, vol. 1, 228; Dr. J.R. Buist to his uncle,
National Intelligencer
, November 22, 1861 in Freeman,
Lee
, vol. 1, 564. Marcus Toney of the First Tennessee Infantry claimed that General Lee traveled with Anderson's brigade during their march.

439.
Clarksville Jeffersonian
, September 24, 1861; Dr. J.R. Buist to his uncle,
National Intelligencer
, November 22, 1861 in Freeman,
Lee
, vol. 1, 566; Phillips,
Phillips Family History
, 86.

440.
O. R
. vol. 5, 188; Stevenson,
Indiana's Roll of Honor
, vol. 1, 171–72; Worsham,
One of Jackson's Foot Cavalry
, 17. The dead Yankee seen by John Worsham was either Pvt. Alexander Kent or Pvt. George Bealer of the Fifteenth Indiana Infantry.

441. Pool,
Under Canvas
, 37; David Beem narrative, 8, Beem Papers, IHS. Colonel Kimball's force on Cheat Mountain totaled nearly three thousand men, rather than the three hundred often quoted. The mistake originated from wording in the official reports of General Reynolds and Colonel Kimball. Jack Zinn ably documented the error. In early September 1861, Kimball's Federal force on Cheat included the Fourteenth Indiana, Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Ohio Regiments, Bracken's Indiana Cavalry company, and a six gun battery.
See also O.R
. vol. 5, 185, 187; Zinn,
R.E. Lee's Cheat Mountain Campaign
, 149; Augustus Van Dyke to his father, August 29, 1861, Van Dyke Letters, IHS; Taylor,
Four Years
, 21n; “Letter from an Indiana Volunteer,”
Cincinnati Gazette
, September 23, 1861 in Moore,
Rebellion Record
, vol. 3, Documents, 136–37.

Chapter 17. Robert E. Lee's Forlorn Hope

442. Taylor,
Four Years
, 27–29n; Jones, “The Mountain Campaign Failure,” 305–06;
O. R
. vol. 5, 186, 190–91; Letter to the
Southern Confederacy
, September 25, 1861; Diary of Christian Kuhl, 5, . The captured Federal wagons, from the Twenty-fourth Ohio Infantry, were en route to Huttonsville for provisions.

443. Hotchkiss,
Virginia
, 165; Pool,
Under Canvas
, 38;
O. R
. vol. 5, 186–87; “Letter from an Indiana Volunteer,”
Cincinnati Daily Gazette
, September 23, 1861 in Moore,
Rebellion Record
, vol. 3, Documents, 136–37.

444. Taylor,
Four Years
, 28; A Member of the Bar,
Cheat Mountain
, 78.

445. Levering, “Lee's Advance and Retreat,” 25; H.H. Dillard, “Sixteenth Tennessee Infantry,” in Lindsley,
Military Annals
, vol. 1, 337; Taylor,
Four Years
, 28–29.

446. Womack,
Civil War Diary
, September 12, 1861; H.H. Dillard, “Sixteenth Tennessee Infantry,” in Lindsley,
Military Annals
, vol. 1, 338; A Member of the Bar,
Cheat Mountain
, 79.

447. Savage, “Gen. R.E. Lee at Cheat Mountain,” 116–17; R.E. Lee to John Letcher, September 17, 1861 in Dowdey,
Wartime Papers
, 75; Head,
Campaigns
, 46–47.

448. Ibid., 47–49; Levering, “Lee's Advance and Retreat,” 23–24; A Member of the Bar,
Cheat Mountain
, 92; Letter of Capt. John Coons,
Indianapolis Daily Journal
, October 29, 1861. This little skirmish on Becky Creek, the baptism of fire for most, “did not exceed ten minutes duration.” The Confederates lost one or two killed and as many wounded. The Federals lost at least one killed, seven wounded and seventeen prisoners.
See also
H.H. Dillard, “Sixteenth Tennessee Infantry,” in Lindsley,
Military Annals
, vol. 1, 337; Womack,
Civil War Diary
, September 12, 1861; Landon, “The Fourteenth Indiana Regiment on Cheat Mountain,” 363.

449. Quintard,
Doctor Quintard
, 22–24; Taylor,
Four Years
, 27; Toney,
Privations
, 23; Phillips,
Phillips Family History
, 87;
O. R
. vol. 5, 190.

450. Levering, “Lee's Advance and Retreat,” 24–25; Pool,
Under Canvas
, 41; Van Dyke, “Early Days,” 27. Capt. Coons reportedly captured General Anderson's horse in this skirmish. Anderson's Confederates lost two killed, two missing and sixteen wounded. See also Quintard,
Doctor Quintard
, 23.

451. Watkins, “
Company Aytch
,” 55.

452. Quintard,
Doctor Quintard
, 24; Merrill,
The Soldier of Indiana
, 87; Levering, “Lee's Advance and Retreat,” 24.

453. Letter from “Nestor,”
Southern Confederacy
, September 25, 1861; Hermann,
Memoirs
, 52–53; Clayton Wilson to his mother, September 18, 1861, PC; Taylor,
Four Years
, 28.

454. Stevenson,
Indiana's Roll of Honor
, 178–79;
O. R
. vol. 5, 185; Taylor,
Four Years
, 29. Major J. Warren Keifer, commander of the Federal “grand guard” position in front of Camp Elkwater, reported that a small body of Confederates “feebly” assaulted his rear and were driven back on the rainy night of September 12. See Keifer,
Slavery and Four Years
, vol. 1, 222.

455. A Member of the Bar,
Cheat Mountain
, 81–82.

456. Ibid.; Benjamin Randals Journal, 74, PC.

457. R.E. Lee to his wife, September 17, 1861 in Dowdey,
Wartime Papers
, 73; Maxwell,
History of Randolph County
, 297. Generals Lee and Loring reportedly met at the Adam See house, along Tygart Valley River.

458. Ben May to his brother, September 20, 1861, PC;
Coldwater Republican
, May 24, 1878;
Wheeling Daily Intelligencer
, October 7, 1861. The unexploded projectile, a ten-pounder Parrott, was later displayed at a reunion of Loomis's First Michigan Light Artillery as the shell that almost killed Robert E. Lee. General Loring might have been the lucky officer targeted, instead of Lee.
See also
Tucker Randolph Diary, September 12, 1861, MC.

459. Wright, “Colonel John Augustine Washington,” 14–15; Stutler, “Death of Col. John Augustine Washington,” 14; Taylor,
General Lee
, 29–30; Moore,
Rebellion Record
, vol. 3, Rumors and Incidents, 37.

460. Wright, “Colonel John Augustine Washington,” 15; Levering, “Lee's Advance and Retreat,” 30–31; Keifer,
Slavery and Four Years
, vol. 1, 223; R.E. Lee to his wife, September 17, 1861 in Dowdey,
Wartime Papers
, 74. General Lee wrote that Washington and Rooney Lee were fired on from “within twenty yards.”
See also
R.E. Lee to John Letcher, September 17, 1861, Ibid., 75.

461. Levering, “Lee's Advance and Retreat,” 31–34; Keifer,
Slavery and Four Years
, vol. 1, 223–24; “The Killing of John A. Washington,”
Lafayette Daily Courier
, September 20, 1861. Some accounts claim that at least one additional member of Washington's party was wounded. The Federals were dismayed to find an Indiana newspaper article with Washington's belongings that detailed Union strength in the area.
See also
Letter to the editor,
Indianapolis Daily Journal
, September 23, 1861 and “Circumstances of the Death of John A. Washington,”
Wheeling Daily Intelligencer
, September 23, 1861.

462. Letter to the editor,
Indianapolis Daily Journal
, September 23, 1861; Lang,
Loyal West Virginia
, 50; Levering, “Lee's Advance and Retreat,” 33; Quintard,
Doctor Quintard
, 30.

463. R.E. Lee to his wife, September 17, 1861 in Dowdey,
Wartime Papers
, 74; R.E. Lee to Louisa Washington, September 16, 1861 in Hoover, “Col. John Augustine Washington, C.S.A.,” 26; Thomas,
Robert E. Lee
, 207.

464.
O. R
. vol. 5, 191–93. General Reynolds' official report (
O. R
. vol. 5, 184–86), describes action at Camp Elkwater on September 14 that clearly took place the prior day.
See also
Hannaford,
The Story of a Regiment
, 125n, for clarification.

465. Tucker Randolph Diary, September 15, 1861, MC; A Member of the Bar,
Cheat Mountain
, 86–87.

466. Ibid., 84; J.H. Slaughter to his brother, September 21, 1861, PC; “Historical Sketch of the 14th Tenn. Regt. of Infantry C.S.A. 1861–1865” by Sgt. R.T. Mockbee, T-833, MC; McBrien,
The Tennessee Brigade
, 9.

467. J.W. Ross to his wife, September 15, 1861, PC;
O. R
. vol. 5, 186–87; Nathan Kimball to J.J. Reynolds, September 18, 1861, PC; Stevenson,
Indiana's Roll of Honor
, 181; “Letter from Camp Kimball, Va.,”
Cincinnati Daily Commercial
, October 8, 1861.

468. Merrill,
The Soldier of Indiana
, 87; R.E. Lee to his wife, September 17, 1861 and R.E. Lee to John Letcher, September 17, 1861 in Dowdey,
Wartime Papers
, 74–75.

469. Hotchkiss,
Virginia
, 165; Taylor,
Four Years
, 29; Lee, Jr.,
Recollections and Letters
, 53; R.E. Lee to his daughter Mildred, November 15, 1861 in Dowdey,
Wartime Papers
, 86.