"They came in splendid order ..." Cresswell Waller and the Second South Carolina in the West Woods. Part II of III.

The advance of the 2nd, 7th, and 8th South Carolina
to the Dunker Church plateau at approximately
9:30 a.m. Tompkins battery's two detached
guns are directly in front of the 111th Pennsylvania.

Greenwood So. Car.

June 7, 1901

Genl. E.A. Carman,

Dear Sir;

Yours of 30th ult. was handed to me upon my return from the U.C.V.⁠[1] Reunion at Memphis Tenn. I am glad to hear from you again.

I think you are about right in estimation of aggregate strength of these regiments, if you consider, as the 2nd Regt. had not already been in, 550.

You know, as I perhaps, I have already estimated in a former letter⁠ [2], that some emerging together with the fact that Hood had been & was being driven out of the Church woods⁠ [3], led Kershaw to select the 2nd to go by the right flank, double quick, in advance of the brigade into the church woods on the right or Sharpsburg side of the woods_ This was done with complimentary remark from Genl Kershaw its first Colonel, which were received with cheers & regiment put promptly in motion by right flank in column of four_ We did not double quick all of the way.

You are perhaps aware of the surprises from the Union troops also had passed church on way to our line. Also difficulty of one making front formation on 1st company on [account?] of only part of fence being being down and that Col. Kennedy⁠ [4] had been wounded in the foot when climbing over the fence. The command, then devolving upon Maj. Frank Gaillard [5] with Capts. Wm. Wallace⁠ [6] & George Cuthbert⁠ [7] acting as field officers_ Three most remarkably brave men who invariably deported themselves as such__particularly George Cuthbert, Capt. of Palmetto Guards, who I took to be recklessly so until his death.

We had dropped back again into the woods on the Sharpsburg side of church when the other 3 regiments were sent in. They came in splendid order & condition in column of division or marched “fours front” to reduce front until ready for extension. When the 3 regiments 2nd, 7th, & 8th made a magnificent charge.

The left of 2nd touched & enveloped the Church. The 7th had a splendid front__ Col. D. Wyatt Aiken [⁠8] was wounded at the edge of woods & Maj. White [8a] sprang forward & led most gallantly the regiment almost right of to the Union battery⁠ [9] near which he fell in front of his command. Of course, the line became bunched somewhat in the rush for the battery. The 3rd Regiment seemed to have maneuvered to itself farther on the left, pretty much out of sight of the enemy_ the brigade & the division & brigade commanders, entirely satisfactory to its colonel commander as he claimed in his report,⁠ [10] but not fully satisfactory to the members of the brigade, though Kershaw & McLaws recognized in some degree the parade tactics.

I do not believe that either McLaws or Kershaw saw the 3rd Regt. until after it “retired to replenish ammunition” & until Kershaw had the other 3 at the wood fence__ Kershaw was mainly occupied in looking after the brigade battery, Read’s ⁠[11] I believe! He had commanded his & Barksdale’s brigades as a division in his Capture of Maryland Heights.

The brigade, Kershaw’s, was one of the finest & best drilled in the Army of No. Va. as well as the oldest organization. Special attention was paid to drilling before 1st Manassas or 1st Bull Run & often afterward. It was the right of the right division of Longstreet’s Corps. No person ever did it justice in writing but a careful student of the Campaign would find that it was an important figure in a great many emergencies. At 1st Manassas_Malvern Hill_Williamsburg in [ ] _ The 1st day_ Tolerably well at Sharpsburg_ Behind Stonewall at Fredericksburg_ Gettysburg_ First to break Union line at Chickamaugua & went farthest upon Snodgrass Hill__ 1st to Check Grant on plank road at Wilderness_ 1st to stop him at Spotsylvania_ when Longstreet came to Lee’s aid at Wilderness_ saved Cold Harbor &c &c_ The 2nd did not keep its alignment so well in the 2nd charge__there was more individual effort__

Some of our men spoke very highly of a Union Color bearer & his commanding officer who it seems had planted it once a great deal in advance of line just before charge.

Our men often admired gallantly of their foes_ I have seen many instances of distinguished gallantry on part of Union officers_

Thanks for kind enquiries & wishes_ I would like to purchase your history_

Yours Very Best,

C. A. C. Waller.

Notes ===

Source: C.A.C. Waller to Ezra Carman, June 7, 1901, National Archives, Antietam Studies, Record Group 94.

1 The 11th reunion of the United Confederate Veterans was held in Memphis, Tennessee from May 28th to 30th, 1901. For more on this reunion, visit http://www.historic-memphis.com/memphis-historic/ucv/ucv.html

2 See Cresswell Waller to Ezra Carman, December 14, 1899 and posted to this blog on September 2, 2013.

3 Dunkard Church, West Woods.

4 Col. John D. Kennedy. By July 28th, 1864 he will have received six wounds. He survived the war. NARA, RG 109, Roll 0156. Compiled service records of Confederate soldiers from South Carolina units, labeled with each soldier's name, rank, and unit, with links to revealing documents about each soldier. Hereafter RG109.

5 Major Franklin Gaillard, a graduate of The Citadel, would be killed at the Wilderness on May 6, 1864. War Between the States website maintained by The Citadel at http://www.citadel.edu/citadel-history/war-deaths/war-between-the-states.html; NARA, RG 109, Roll 0155.

6 Captain William Wallace, 37. NARA, RG 109, Roll 0160.

7 Capt. George B. Cuthbert, 33, would be killed at Guinea Station, Va. on May 13, 1863. NARA, RG 109, Roll 0154.

8 Col. D. Wyatt Aiken suffered "a gun shot wound which passed through his left side"of his chest. Surgeon's Certificate, June 10, 1864, NARA, RG 109, Roll 0214.

8a Major William C. White, 31. NARA, RG 109, Roll 0222.

9 This may have been John A. Tompkins Battery (1st Rhode Island Light Artillery, Battery A).

10 See Kershaw's Official Report at http://antietam.aotw.org/exhibit.php?exhibit_id=128

11 John P.W. Read noted in his Official Report (October 20, 1862) that "the axle of my 3-inch gun gave way" while moving it into position about 3 p.m. Kershaw signaled the battery out in his Official Report "Read's battery performed the most important service in a position of great danger. ... One gun was disabled and abandoned, and so many horses as to render it necessary to bring off their pieces severally. The acts of individual heroism performed on this memorable day are so numerous that regimental commanders have not attempted to particularize them." OFFICIAL RECORDS: Series 1, Vol 19, Part 1 (Antietam - Serial 27), pp. 862-866 (Kershaw) 866-67 (Read). Retrieved from Antietam on the Web at http://antietam.aotw.org/exhibit.php?exhibit_id=128 (Kershaw) and http://antietam.aotw.org/exhibit.php?exhibit_id=167 (Read).

7th South Carolina

On Sunday, early in the morning, a cold front rolled through northern Maryland. With it came rain which gave way to blue, sparkling skies, and cool breezes. The field was Spring in all its glory.

At this time of year, before summer vacations, the park is mostly quiet early in the morning. I decided to ramble across the old Poffenberger farm cornfield, due south from my post at the Philadelphia Brigade Monument. This walk, which is more of a cross-country bushwhack, takes you through a growing forest of trees interrupted every so often by a field of brambles and bushes. In the Fall this overgrown and protected land is home to a flock of wild turkeys and a small herd of deer. About midway from the Philadelphia Monument, you'll come across the recently-opened West Woods Trail, and, if you follow it to the left and rising ground, you will come out at the 125th Pennsylvania and 34th New York Monuments about 100 yards west of the Dunkard Church.

I wanted to capture some views of the part of the woods where the 125th Pennsylvania (XII Corps), 34th New York, and 7th Michigan (II Corps) met Barksdale's Brigade, the 49th Virginia of Early's Brigade, and the 2d South Carolina of Kershaw's Brigade a little after 9 a.m. on September 17.

Click on photo to enlarge.

The view above is that spot. Now it is a cornfield but at the time it was, like the rest of the West Woods, filled with 100 year old oaks and other hardwoods, widely spaced, with little underbrush. The photo, composite of three images stitched together, shows a wide angle view of the south- south west. This is the view the front ranks of the 125th Pennsylvania and the 34th New York would have seen as the 2nd South Carolina approached on the left and the 49th on the right. The 125th Pennsylvania monument is visible on the right.

Below is the Cope/Carmen map of this part of the field showing the locations of units between 9 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. The photograph above was taken from a point marked on the map below with blue arrows. The topographical lines show that the field falls away in elevation to the west. The woods are bounded by split rail fences which are represented on this map by squiggled lines. The post fences are represented by dots and dashed lines.

Click on map to enlarge.

The view below is the opposite of the images above. The 125th Pennsylvania and 34th New York Monuments are in the center of the frame. The Dunkard Church lies just beyond the tree line slightly to the right of the center of the photo.

Click on photo to enlarge.

Ezra Carmen, chronicles the events in that part of the field:

"The 2d South Carolina was the leading regiment of Kershaw's Brigade. It was commanded by Colonel John D. Kennedy and numbered 253 officers and men. Kershaw made a brief speech of encouragement and ordered it forward to clear the woods and retake a battery beyond the church, which it was reported had been abandoned. It moved double-quick by the right flank, passed to the right of G.T. Anderson's recumbent men, moved up along the south edge of the woods, and began to climb the fence to enter the woods at a point about two hundred yards southwest of the church, when it was fired upon by the retiring skirmishers of the 125th Pennsylvania. Colonel Kennedy was wounded, and Major Franklin Gaillard succeeded the command, but beyond this the regiment suffered very lightly. Being on lower ground, the fire of the Pennsylvanians went over it. ...After firing at Early and the 2d South Carolina, the Pennsylvania skirmishers rallied upon their regiment, and it opened fire. Monroe's battery threw shrapnel, and Early's men were checked and thrown into some confusion. Some men in front were killed and wounded by their comrades in rear. Colonel Smith of the 49th Virginia was severely wounded but continued on the field, and Lieutenant Colonel John C. Gibson of the same regiment was disabled by a wound in the leg. Early's men were old soldiers and well disciplined; they quickly recovered from the confusion into which they had been thrown and returned the fire of the 125th Pennsylvania with great effect. Early led the 49th Virginia in two charges up the hill and then fell back--the better, it is said, to confuse the aim of Monroe's gunners. These movements had the effect of breaking the alignment of the brigade and again throwing it into confusion." [1]

As Sedgwick's Division moved into the West Woods, the 34th New York, the left regiment of Willis Gorman's brigade and the far left of the division, "came up in rear of the left wing of the 125th Pennsylvania, its left going about thirty yards beyond the church. Perceiving that there was no support on his left, Colonel James A. Suiter, commanding the regiment, sent an officer to see what there was in that direction, and he learned that the 2d South Carolina was moving up the hill toward the church. The left of the 34th New York was now refused [see map above] and faced southwest; the right wing, in rear of the left of the 125th Pennsylvania, faced nearly west." The 7th Michigan, part of N.J.T. Dana's Brigade pulled up almost at the same time as the 34th but positioned itself on the right of the 125th. "Almost immediately two volleys in quick succession were poured into the right of the 125th Pennsylvania and left of the 7th Michigan, which broke the former and laid low one-half of the left wing of the latter. At the same time, the entire front of the 125th Pennsylvania and the 34th New York became involved. All these attacks were made by Barksdale's Brigade, a part of Early's, and the 2d South Carolina of Kershaw's. G.T. Anderson's Brigade was advancing to join the fray."[2] The left of Sedgwick's Division now began to crumble.

On my way back north to the Philadelphia Brigade Monument, I heard a booming voice that grew louder as I came nearer to the monument. Was it the ghost of Edwin Vose Sumner? The quiet of an early Sunday morning was certainly broken.

It was National Park Service Historian Emeritus, Ed Bearrs leading a group of headquarters staff around the park.

What a great way to start the day...little did they know that the long march had just begun.


Footnotes.
[1] The Maryland Campaign of September 1862: Ezra A. Carman's Definitive Study of the Union and Confederate Armies at Antietam, edited by Joseph Pierro (New York, Routledge, 2008), p. 259.
[2] Ibid., p. 263.