Fish Fear Me

“Let us pass over the river and rest in the shade of the trees”

150 years ago today, the body of General Thomas Jonathan “Stonewall” Jackson lay in state in the capitol of the Confederate States of America in Richmond, Virginia. Ten days earlier he had been mistakenly wounded by his own troops during the Battle of Chancellorsville. Struck once in the right hand and twice in the left arm, he was removed from the field and his left arm successfully amputated. He soon developed a case of pneumonia, though, and passed away from that on May 10, 1863. 

His reported final words are the title to this post.

The Richmond Dispatch described the arrival of his body in Richmond the next day:

The train was stopped at the corner of 4^th and Broad streets, and after a short delay the coffin containing the body was removed to the hearse in attendance. It was enveloped in the flag of the Confederacy. On the flag was placed wreaths of evergreen and rare flowers. A few minutes before 5 o’clock Gen. Elzey gave the command, and the procession started, marching in the following order:

Gen. Elzey and Staff, mounted; the Public Guard, Lieut. Gay, commanding; the 44^th N. C. Regiment, Pettigrew’s brigade, Col. Singletary commanding; the Armory Band, playing a funeral dirge; Col. Frank Skinner, 1^st Va. regiment, and some of the Governor’s Aids; the hearse containing the body, surmounted by raven plumes, and drawn by two white horses; the Staff of Gen. Jackson, including Major Pendleton, Adjutant General; Major W. I. Hawks, Chief Commissary of the Corps; Major D. B. Bridgford, Chief Provost; Capt. Douglas, Lieut. Smith, Aide-de-Camp; Dr. McGuire, Surgeon, and others; the members of the City Council, two abreast, and lastly, an immense host of citizens and strangers.

The procession thus formed, (the military with reversed arms,) marched slowly to the corner of 9^th street, and turned towards Main, entering the Capitol Square by the gate on Grace street. The military having formed a line extending across the Square past Washington ’s monument, the body was slowly conveyed down the line to the Governor’s mansion, and carried into the large reception room. The bells were tolled till sundown, till which time hundreds of people remained on the Square. We have never before seen such an exhibition of heartfelt and general sorrow in reference to any other event whatever as has been evinced by all since the announcement of the death of Stonewall Jackson.

Two days later Jackson's body was moved to VMI, where he was still on the roll as a faculty member, and lay in state there until burial the next day at Lexington Presbyterian Cemetery in Lexington, Virginia.

Jackson was a very strange, but brilliant officer. He had a rapport with Robert E. Lee that made the two of them as a team practically unbeatable. The men under his command would, and in many ways did, follow him to the Gates of Hell. The Confederacy could have tolerated the loss of any other general except Robert E. Lee at that time.

I think it can reasonably be argued, though of course it's unprovable, that the Battle of Gettysburg might have turned out in Lee's favor if he still had Jackson's counsel and leadership on his side. 

Some historians call Pickett's Charge the "high-water mark of the Confederacy," but my take is the beginning of the end for the South came with the death of Stonewall Jackson. 

I note his skills as a general and his passing here, and I admire his last words even if uttered in the midst of delirium, but he fought for an evil cause and was a slaveholder himself. Though he was a fervently pious man according to the standards of the time, I can't help but wonder if there might have been a little divine intervention in his demise and the blow that in turn delivered to the Confederacy. That, of course, is above my pay grade, but I can wonder.

150 Years Ago Today: "Cleanup On Aisle Richmond"

Shortages and inflation were taking a toll on the Confederacy by the spring of 1863. On April 2 that year, things came to a head in Richmond:

The civil war, now in the verge of entering its third year, has dramatically affected civilian life in the South. While the North has experienced an expanding economy and enjoyed an abundance of food from the west, the South has seen prices for basic food supplies skyrocket. The latest indication of a suffering Confederacy occurred today in the capitol of Richmond, Virginia where a mob of hungry and desperate women, began to protest the exorbitant price of bread and demand relief.  

Rebuffed by the Governor, the mob began shouting "Bread, Bread, Bread!"  Soon the protest turned violent as thousands broke into shops and began seizing clothing, shoes, food and jewelry.  The chaos was curbed only when Confederate President Jefferson Davis gave a speech and even threw the money from his pockets to the rioters, asking them to disperse, saying "You say you are hungry and have no money; here, this is all I have". The mob stayed put; only when Davis threatened to have militiamen fire on the mob did they disperse.

There seems to be a contradiction between that last line above and the contemporaneous account there that states that rice was issued to the women and then they dispersed. Regardless, tough times had come to Richmond.

Meanwhile, General Grant continued his efforts to take Vicksburg in the West while General Hooker readied the Army of the Potomac for the looming spring/summer campaign.

Hooker was generally well-regarded as a corps commander and he had spent the last several months restoring the fitness and morale of his army after Burnside's debacle at Fredricksburg the previous December. The results for the rank and file were impressive, though political cronyism and the open practice of, ahem, various vices riddled his officer corps. 

The important thing was to be prepared to take on Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia in the coming weeks. It appeared that they would be ready.

150 Years Ago Today

One of the downsides, or at least controversial aspects, of Abraham Lincoln's presidency:

Sunday, Feb. 8 1863
CHICAGO CIRCULATION CRUELLY CURTAILED

Respect for the First Amendment was not considered absolute in these times. There were quite a number of cases in which newspapers, magazines and other periodicals were threatened, harassed, fined, arrested or otherwise aggravated in their pursuit of truth, justice, and their right to editorialize. On this day, circulation of the Chicago Times was suspended by military order. The offense was the publication of disloyal statements. Abraham Lincoln had first authorized the suspension of the right of habeas corpus, despite the fact that the Constitution allows only Congress to do so.

I can't imagine a president today(or in the foreseeable future) attempting anything close to that. Impeachment would be the last of his or her worries. 

150 Years Ago Today

On the evening of this date in 1862 and two days after it had been sent, a letter from President Lincoln arrived at the headquarters of the Army of the Potomac in Rectorsville, Va. A stunned and dismayed Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan learned from that letter that President Lincoln had relieved him as commander of the Army of the Potomac. An equally stunned and dismayed Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside was named as McClellan's replacement.

Burnside accepted his assignment after protesting that he was not qualified. Events a little over a month later would prove him right.

150 Years Ago Today: "Yo Mama!"

A rare humorous post on the truly grim American Civil War:

Thursday Oct. 2 1862
TELECOM TECHNOLOGY TRIUMPHS

It is well known that war is a stimulus to new technology. Abraham Lincoln, in fact, was such a fan of any new gadget or gizmo that came down the pike that he would frequently go out to see new devices in action, from an early machine gun (called the “coffee mill gun”) to tethered balloon flights intended to spy out enemy movements. It should not be thought, however, that the Confederacy was lacking in technological innovation or the willingness to use it. Today a telegraph machine was installed right in the office of Confederate Secretary of War George W. Randolph. The line to which it was connected ran all the way to Warrenton, Va. This was, unfortunately, occasionally tapped by Yankee vandals who would send messages of their own, sometimes deceitful and sometimes simply rude.(emphasis mine)

I wonder what the rude ones were.

"Yo, I got yer "Stonewall" right here!"

"So Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and a slave walk into a bar..."

"Hey, this Egyptian cotton really breathes."

"Maryland, My Maryland"

150 Years Ago Today: Antietam

Today is the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam. By days end almost 23,000 Americans were dead, wounded, or missing, the bloodiest single day of the Civil War. Though it seems to be not much remembered by the general public, it is noteworthy not just for the horrific human toll, but also because it marked the end of the first Confederate invasion of the North in 1862 and dashed any hopes for recognition of the CSA by England or France. And while considered by most to be a tactical draw, the strategic ramifications clearly amounted to a Union victory and gave Lincoln the political capital he needed to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

As I mentioned about a week ago, four days prior to the Battle of Antietam a lost copy General Lee's orders to his Army of Northern Virginia had been discovered by the Union. Lee had been counting on the always pathetically cautious Union General McClellan to take his usual sweet time and he split his army up to take care of several major objectives needed to lay the groundwork for his further invasion northward. McClellan's response to the captured orders was still somewhat sluggish by most standards, but it was quick enough to put Lee's army in great peril.

What followed was an even less known but also critical battle: The Battle of South Mountain.

To get at Lee, McClellan had to get his army across the far north end of the Blue Ridge Mountain chain in Maryland. His men assaulted three passes held by rebels on September 14 and vicious fighting ensued up and down the South Mountain chain. When it was over, the Union had won the field, but the Confederates had bought precious time for Lee in re-consolidating his army.

Two days later the two armies prepared to face off. After a few skirmishes the day before, the armies clashed for real on September 17.

Both sides licked their wounds on September 18 and there is a good argument that McClellan in his caution once again missed a chance to wipe out Lee's army and possibly win the war. I think that is probably true.

As a long time part of the Army of the Potomac, the First Regiment Minnesota Volunteer Infantry was at Antietam also:

The regiment, only 435 men strong, was on the extreme right of the leading brigade (Gorman’s) as Sedgwick’s division charged through the West Woods. Bursting through the far side of the woods, the column was exposed to heavy fire from both flanks. While the First suffered less than regiments on their left, casualties in the action were: 15 killed, 79 wounded, and 21 missing. Unlike other regiments the First departed from the field in good military order, returning fire as they retreated. Color Sergeant Samuel Bloomer was left behind, wounded in the knee. He had saved away the First’s state colors in his shirt from the Confederates while they protected him from incoming shell bursts. He later returned with the colors and to have his leg amputated. The regiment remained camped on the stinking field, doing burial duty, until September 22nd, when they moved to Bolivar Heights overlooking Harper’s Ferry.

You can find stories about the Minnesotans killed and wounded that day at another 1st Minnesota site.

150 Years Ago Today: Special Order No. 191

On this day in 1862, five days into his first invasion of the North, Gen. Robert E. Lee wrote Special Order No. 191 detailing how he wished to split his forces and the objectives he had set for each of those commands. Four days later, a lost copy of the order was discovered by an Indiana volunteer in the Army of the Potomac named Corporal Barton W. Mitchell. Within hours the captured order was in the hands of the commander of that army, Union General George McClellan. 

The Union capture of Special Order 191 is one of the great "what ifs" of American history. A reasonable case can be made that without the order McClellan would have continued to dilly-dally and Lee would have confronted him in a place and time that better suited his army. That very well might have ended in Confederate victory and completely changed the outlook of the war, if not ended it then and there in favor of the CSA.

It's interesting stuff to speculate about over a beer, but that's about it for me. What happened next was historic enough. Four days after the order landed in his hands, McClellan would confront Lee's Army of Northern Virginia just outside the town of Sharpsburg, Maryland.

150 Years Ago Today: The Union Takes New Orleans

On this date 150 years ago, 5,000 Union troops under the command of  Major General Benjamin Franklin Butler marched into New Orleans and began to secure the occupation that had begun the week before with the landing of several hundred marines from Farragut's fleet:

Union Major General Benjamin Franklin Butler has assumed command of the City of New Orleans.  This morning, Union Marines were replaced by 5,000 Army troops who came marching into the city to the music of "The Star Spangled Banner."

Gen. Butler ordered some troops to the Algiers Ship Yard while the 31st Massachusetts and 10th Wisconsin Regiments bolstered by the heavy guns of Everett's Battery were deployed to the customs house.  Other Union outfits participating in the capture include the 21st Indiana, 30th and 39th Massachusetts, 4th Wisconsin, 6th Michigan, 9th and 12th Connecticut, 5th and 6th Massachusetts Battery and the 2nd Vermont Cavalry.  

Butler was one of the most controversial figures on either side during the war. He gained infamy in the South early in the war when he declared fugitive slaves to be contraband and refused to return them to their masters. Congress quickly followed up with laws to back him up. 

In New Orleans and greater Louisiana, he simultaneously angered the population with confrontational orders and placated them with astute politicking and actions such as feeding the poor and improving public sanitation. The latter is widely credited with breaking the annual cycle of thousands of Yellow Fever deaths in New Orleans. 

His most infamous action was General Order No. 28. The ladies of the city had immediately heaped scorn and disrespect on the occupying troops, to the point where garbage and even the contents of chamber pots were loosed down upon passing Union soldiers. After two weeks of that abuse, Butler issued the following:

HDQRS. DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF

New Orleans, May 15, 1862.

As the officers and soldiers of the United States have been subject to repeated insults from the women (calling themselves ladies) of New Orleans in return for the most scrupulous non-interference and courtesy on our part, it is ordered that hereafter when any female shall by word, gesture, or movement insult or show contempt for any officer or soldier of the United States she shall be regarded and held liable to be treated as a woman of the town plying her avocation.

By command of Major-General Butler:

GEO. C. STRONG,

Assistant Adjutant-General and Chief of Staff.

In other words, keep it up and Butler and his men would treat them as whores.

Naturally, this provoked a strong reaction and not just in New Orleans or the South in general. It instantly earned the general the nickname of "Beast Butler" in many quarters. It also, however, had the intended effect of ending the vile indignities that had been heaped upon Union troops.

Did the order go too far? I'm reluctant to agree with Butler here, but I think the answer is no. The ladies of New Orleans were pushing Union troops and their commanders to the breaking point of good order and discipline and some horrific sort of physical confrontation was eventually bound to happen if Butler didn't do something. I'll certainly listen to alternatives, but be prepared to be challenged.

Civil War Updates

A housekeeping note: I've updated the Civil War links on the side bar to the left. I'm going to try to get back into timely posts on the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War and those are the new helpful links I've found so far. If you see other good ones just let me know and I'll add them.

1862 started quietly outside of some skirmishes here and there. In the East, Union Army commander George McClellan was meticulously planning what would become known as the Peninsular Campaign. So meticulously that in January President Lincoln quipped that "..if McClellan is not going to use the Army anytime soon, I would like to borrow it." The war heated up more quickly in the West as the fight for the mid-Mississippi River region began in earnest.

Troops led by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant took Ft. Henry on February 6, 1862. Grant then earned the nickname of "Unconditional Surrender" when he received just that from the Confederate garrison at Ft. Donelson on February 16. Those victories opened the Tennessee River to the Union and 150 years ago tomorrow the first soldiers of Grant's Army of the Tennessee debarked at a sleepy place called Pittsburg Landing. They set up camp around a little log church named Shiloh.

Odds and Ends

I'll echo Rob and for now simply express my condolences to the people of Norway regarding Friday's terrible events. There will be time to analyze and argue in a few days after the police establish more facts about what happened and Norway has had its time of grief and mourning. 

The Long Recall has turned out to not be all that long after all. They are pulling the plug just after the 150th anniversary of the first major engagement. Obviously a lot of effort was going into what they were putting out each day and apparently it was too much. I'm very disappointed, but it's their call to make. I appreciated everything that they did post and I'll look for other sources and go from there.

Congratulations to Bert Blyleven on his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame today. I was just a little boy the first time he pitched for the Twins, and I guess from today's perspective, so was he at the age of 19. Bert's mouth and ego have got him into trouble over the years and I didn't like the guy by the time he was traded in 1976. But he came back and was part of the 1987 World Champions and that means most Twins fans will always have a soft spot for him. Way to go, Bert.

The Twins are only seven games out of first in the American League Central, but today I'm going to officially say stick a fork in them for this year. The first reason is they are 22-17 within the Central, but 1-7 now against the division leading Tigers after a 1-3 home stand against them. They just can't hang with the Tigers this year. On top of that is their 8-19 record against the AL East. Even if by some miracle they win the division they will go nowhere in the playoffs again. Nowhere.

The Taliban once again show their true face:

An 8 year-old boy was hanged by militants in Afghanistan's Helmand province after the boy's father -- a police officer in the southern city of Gereshk -- refused to comply with militants' demands to provide them with a police vehicle, officials said.

Can you imagine negotiating a truce with such people and then expecting them to leave you in peace afterward? I can't.

This is going to take its own post, oh yes: What will it take to get Americans to change our eating habits?