y Of The Potomac experiencing combat. Eventually assigned to Fort Monroe at the ti the Virginia Peninsula, the regim had no role in McClellan’s Penins Campaign. Instead, it underwent steady d ing at its encampment, eventually taking part in the relatively blo capture of Norfolk during a brief unique “campaign” under the command of Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase. The regiment finally was assigned to the Army of the Potomac in September 1862, enduring force marching to join up with that arm Second Corps on the eve of the Ba
There the 1st took part in the tack on the Confederate position
the Sunken Road, suffering a cost repulse. The 1st remained with th
vaunted Second Corps for the dura tion and seems to have had a “nos for desperate fighting. Biggs recounts the regiment’s bloody assault on the Confederate
defense at Marye’s Heights during the Battle of Fredericksburg; its in the January 1863 “mud march,” and the ensuing revival of the ar low morale by Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker. He also describes the unit’s self-extrication from a trap duri the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 3, 1863; its role in the back and-forth fighting around the Bli
Farm at Gettysburg on July 2, 186 when it was repeatedly abandoned by its commanding officer; and it
ticipation in the Federal defense Bristoe Station in October 1863;
the May 12, 1864, attack on the M Shoe Salient at Spotsylvania, and regiment’s part in the bloody rep
Finally, he relates its involv in the various offensives by the Second Corps outside Petersburg, including the debacle at Reams’ Station, and its experience in th war’s final campaign in April 186 when its long-time regimental and brigade commander Thomas Smyth became one of the Army’s last off fatalities. Delaware was a slave state, al though its population of slaves w only about 10 percent the size of population of 20,000 freed blacks Biggs details the persistently fervent Unionism of the unit’s soldiers despite strain from the
Lincoln administration throughout much of the war. It refused to pr
Biggs has done a thorough job finding and using primary sources the form of soldiers’ letters to lies and local newspapers, the re ment’s order book, and its mornin
present for duty reports. He also has made selective and judicious use of the unit’s 1884 official history written by Lt. William Seville, which typically presented things in a uniformly glowing fashion. Biggs pointedly adds informati about the dirtier side of war fro which this regiment was not immun — the cowardice or unsuitability
several officers, desertion, drun ness, the unreliability of bounty duced draft substitutes, and at l
members of other regiments brigad ed with the 1st to flesh out acco
es are supplemented with reliable secondary sources by authors such Stephen Sears, Marion Armstrong,
Thorough endnotes document the author’s research. Modern unit histories often con tain a substantial component focus on social, cultural and demographi characteristics of members. Biggs follows a more traditional approac but much is revealed about these s diers in the brief biographical ba grounds he interjects when recount ing specific exploits and casualti Biggs’s narrative style is a pa ular strong point. His accounts of the regiment’s fights are smoothly written and easily followed, with important addition of clear terrai descriptions.
often overlooked by writers of uni histories. He seamlessly ties the
1st’s localized fighting to the la er brigade, division, corps and ev
army contexts so that even a casua reader can comprehend the “bigger picture.” The maps generally are adequate consisting of battle maps borrowed
from a site by well-regarded Civil War cartographer Hal Jespersen or from other sources at the campaign level. A nice addition consists of maps by the author showing details of the 1st’s movements during the fighting at Antietam, Fredericksbu Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. Self-published books lack the i put of an editor, and that reality fully apparent here. There are nu-
merous instances — at stretches on every page — of typographical errors, missing words or erroneous
Rickards, is twice labeled James “Ricketts” (a Union general who
endnotes author Marion Armstrong becomes “Anderson.” The index is simply missing certain names, in-
the Second Corps at Antietam and Fredericksburg, Maj. Gen. Edwin V. Sumner. Ordinarily, such flaws would largely offset a book’s substantive value. Not so here, however. This is an excellent history of an important Union regiment that should find a place in the library of every student of the Union’s most famous army.
Reviewer John Foskett is a practicing attorney in Boston, Mass., and has a life-long interest in the Civil War.
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Vol. 42, No. 3 Battlefield Of Franklin Land Prese By GreGory L. Wade FRANKLIN, Tenn. — What is considered the bloodiest acreage i the Nov. 30, 1864, Battle of Frank is now being reclaimed as part of evolving Carter Hill Battlefield P Local preservation leaders recentl
from owners Reid and Brenda Lovell after a months-long process of coordinating various funding sources for the critical 1.6 acres adjoin the Carter House, a major battle landmark. Details were recently provided a press conference led by Franklin Charge board member Julian Bibb, who praised the “remarkable transition” of the Franklin battlefiel Franklin’s Charge is a coalition o civic and preservation groups who joined together more than ten year ago to purchase local battleground Over 150 years ago the Army of Tennessee stepped off in a series of charges to be virtually destroy by Federals under John Schofield i hopes of taking Franklin and later Nashville. At that time, most of the terra was open farmland on the outskirts of what was once a small Middle Tennessee farming community. Over time development covered much of the battlefield with houses, light dustry, and small businesses. All that remained of the critic area where the Confederates temporarily broke the Federal line wa the small farmhouse and a few acre known as the Carter House farm. The 1.6 acres purchased, which adjoin the southern boundary of th Carter House property, is comprise of two lots. Today, they are occup
Purchase that were turned over to the City of Franklin Parks Department by Franklin’s Charge and the Battle o Franklin’s Trust (BOFT), managers of the Carter House the nearby Car ton Plantation. The structures wil removed in coming months, possibly relocated for other use. The purchase is only the latest in a long and arduous effort to re build the Franklin battlefield. “It had to be a miracle,” quipp Civil War Trust (CWT) President James Lighthizer, referring to the most recent acquisition. Local res ident Michael Grainger, long time Trust board member and former chairman, said, “Local leadership has been incredible and will conti ue to be a partner [with the CWT]. In 2005, after years of frustra attempting to preserve Franklin ba tleground, local preservationists cided it would have to be done the hard way, by buying properties, of ten with buildings on them. The largest parcel of land was originally a local golf course sla to be sold to a developer to build houses on what was the right flank of the Confederate attack north to ward the Federal lines just south the town. It was then that Franklin’s Cha came into existence. Funds have
chase from private donors, the CWT the City of Franklin and others. T 110-acre segment, now fully interpreted and known as the Eastern Flank Battlefield, is what got the preservation ball rolling in Frank Since that time nine other parc in proximity to the Carter House have been purchased and have been, or will be, turned over to the Fra
at the Lovell purchase regory L. Wade photos)
lin Parks Department, according t Bibb. But it was the land just south Carter House, long considered the most bloodied ground in Franklin, and some say in America, that was the most coveted. BOFT Chief Executive Officer Eric Jacobson noted, “to not have this ground reclaimed and preserv would be like having Omaha Beach cut out of Normandy.” The most recent acquisition evolved when Franklin’s Charge an the BOFT began discussions with t Lovells, who have a strong sense the history of the land, having g up in Franklin. “I was born and raised in Fran lin on ground many believe should have been a national park,” said Lovell. He recalled when visitors came to town and had to envision what happened, not walk on ground where it transpired. “My great-grandfather, who fou here, and my parents would be pro of what we are doing here today,” said at the press conference. The Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted unanimously in February to fund part of the remaining debt on the Lovell property purchase. The previously
paid by the city on a non-interes basis over seven years. These funds will cover the bal now bridged by a local bank and w
be derived from the city’s hoteltel tax. Local banker Chuck Isaac was instrumental in working out t loans. All the city funds are all
by his employer, First Farmers an Merchants Bank.
Blackford, C.S.A. Vol. I. Edited by Fred L. Ray. Illustrated, photos, maps, appendix, bibliography, notes, index, 250 pp., 2015, CFS press,
Fred Ray is known for his groundbreaking study of the Army of Northern Virginia sharpshooters, Shock Troops of the Confederacy. One of the most significant figures in that book was Eugene Blackford, who, under orders from his brigade commander Gen. Robert Rodes, formed the first brigade sharpshooter detac ment in that army. Blackford, as we discover in this book containing selected correspondence and other papers edited by Ray, was a fascinating character in his own right. War stories often characterize peo ple as heroes and villains, disregar ing the complexity of most humans, and Blackford was certainly complicated. I am a firm believer that where a person is living at the outbreak of
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conflict is as much, if not more, of a determinant of what side he fights
on than ideology. It was certainly so in Blackford’s case. Born into a Virginia family that did not believe in secession or slavery, Blackford, University of Virginia graduate, was working as a teacher in Alabama in 1861. He was a vocal Unionist who was openly appalled at the secession movement in what he referred to as “Cottondom” and even received threats from locals. But Blackford still raised a company of infantry and borrowed friends’ slaves for his personal servants.
commissioned a captain in the 5th Alabama Infantry. The reluctant secessionist led his company though the Peninsula Campaign and was eventually promoted to major. In early 1863 Captain Blackford was instructed by his brigade commander and personal friend General
Rodes to form a sharpshooter detachment of soldiers from the brigade’s various units. These men were to be more or less permanent skirmishers, leading the brigade’s advance and covering it in retreat. They also targeted enemy officers and artillery batteries. The un Blackford formed turned out to be a model. Copying his example, similar organizations were created in th army’s other brigades, with varying success. Blackford was the scion of a lite ary family that included four brothers who served the Confederacy and remarkably survived the war. He left a rich personal history documented in his correspondence and papers, many of which have fortuitously survived. Fred Ray has been searching them out in a number of collections since he finished his previous work on sharpshooters. The letters and documents
hows for Shooters, d Militaria Enthusiasts Middle TN Civil December 3 &
reproduced in this book, the first o a three-volume series, tell a detail
tale of war and tactics, as well as personal life as a junior officer in Confederate army. That role was not always pleasant for Blackford. A Virginia aristocrat, he had pro lems dealing with his unit’s “rough mannered” Alabamans. Following the death of General Rodes, his fellow Virginian and mentor, Blackford was court-martialed on rather dubious charges apparently resulting from political squabbling within his regiment. Going through the more than 300,000 surviving words penned by
for Ray. Blackford was a university graduate and teacher, tossed in occa sional quotes in Italian and French in his correspondence, and wrote at least one passage in classical Greek But he also used some creative spell ing, which Ray let stand with the ad dition of “[sic].”
This volume provides wonderful detail, far more than most soldiers’ letters, on campaigns, battles, camp life, and interpersonal and family r lations of a junior officer in the A of Northern Virginia. It deserves a place on the booksh of any serious student of the Civil War. I highly recommend it and look forward to publication of the final two volumes in the series.
Reviewer Joseph G. Bilby is a member of the New Jersey Civil War Sesquicentennial Committee and an award-winning author and editor of books on the Civil War, firearms and New Jersey history. His most recent works are Small Arms at Gettysburg, Monmouth Court House: The Battle that Made the American Army and Freedom to All: New Jersey’s AfricanAmerican Civil War Soldiers.
Printed In Original Format The Civil War: Great Speeches and Documents. Edited by Bob Blaisdell. Bibliography, 220 pp.,
This book presents, in their orig nal and unedited formats, numerous significant Civil War documents. In cluded are battlefield reports from First Manassas, the battle between the Monitor and Virginia, and the Fort Pillow massacre. Political documents include Abraham Lincoln’s first and second inau gural addresses, the Emancipation Proclamation and the Gettysburg Address. From the Southern perspective, editor Bob Blaisdell’s selections range from an address to the people of South Carolina justifying secession to recruitment difficulties en countered by Gen. Jeff Thompson. For the human slant, he includes Gen. Robert E. Lee’s proclamation to the people of Maryland and Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard’s plea for more sacrifice by the Southern populace. Additional selections focus on im portant technological achievements
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during the Civil War. The Morse telegraph, new metal smelting techniques, and balloon reconnaissance are included. Sobering reminders of war’s cruelty appear in reports of burying the dead at Antietam, the horrors o prison life at Andersonville, and t scarcity of food and medicine in ev eryday camp life. Finally, official correspondence included from Gens. James Longstreet, Joseph Hooker, Henry Halleck, Benjamin Butler and John H. Morgan. Their personal thoughts,
ident. They all desire an end to th bloodshed yet do their duty as they see it. Primary-source material is alway valuable for Civil War historians who desire to bypass historical int pretation and bias. While this book presents unedite
primary source material, it misses the chance to be more valuable because it frequently presents only o side of an argument, often with a pro-Union bias. A more balanced approach, set in an interpretive cont would have been more valuable. There are a number of grammatical errors that more careful editi would have eliminated. I found only one historical error: Gen. Philip S George Cocke died in 1861, not 1895. This book is recommended as a quick reference, at an inexpensive price, for novice Civil War enthusiasts.
Reviewer Wayne L. Wolf is Professor Emeritus at South Suburban College and the author of numerous Civil War books and articles including “Gen. John Corson Smith and the Fighting 96th Illinois” and “The Last Confederate Scout.” He is past president of the Lincoln-Davis Civil War Roundtable.
