Fences--Part 2 of 3

Illustration 1. Dismantled Virginia Worm fencing,
Sunken Road.

Illustration 2. Before the Dunkard Church. Post and rail fencing. 

The first post of this short series described the section of Virginia worm fence that ran north along the east side of the Hagerstown Pike from the Dunkard Church/Smoketown Road for approximately 200 yards.

Anyone who has walked the fields of Antietam (and for that matter any CW battlefield) can attest to the sturdy construction of post and rail fencing.

Worm fencing, on the other hand, is built without posts sunk into the ground--it is a "surface" fence--and is easily built and just as easily disassembled.

Gardner's photos of the Sunken Road shows the bordering worm fence dismantled and used to reinforce that position (see Illustration 1).

At the same time, other Gardner photographs show intact or slightly damaged post and rail fences even in areas that saw heavy fighting (see Illustration 2). Troops encountering post and rail fences were forced to go over or around these structures; troops encountering worm fencing were most likely able to dismantle them thereby removing the obstacle to movement.

Illustration 3. 6:45 hrs.
Click on any map to zoom in.

Here is a hypothetical: Let's assume that the section of the worm fence just north of the Smoketown Road was taken down sometime on the 16th to allow units to more easily move back and forth across the Hagerstown Pike in order to support the Confederate left situated in the field just south of the Cornfield and to the east of the Pike.

The Cope-Carman 1908 map series showing the routes of Confederate movements out of the West Woods and into the fields east of the Pike seems to support this.

The 6:45 a.m. map (Illustration 3) shows the 1st, 4th, and 5th Texas streaming out of the Woods, crossing the Pike, and swinging northward toward the Cornfield. The 2nd and 11th Mississippi and the 6th North Carolina, just ahead of them, appear to have taken the same route.

Both formations crossed the Pike in the area where the worm fence appears on the Cope-Carman map. The map details Lawton's retreat along the same route, skirting the post and rail fence in favor of the passageway where the worm fence, which under this hypothesis, has been knocked down.

Illustration 4. 7:30 hrs.

The 7:30 a.m. map shows the movement of Law and Wofford along the same route (Illustration 4).

The 8:30 map shows Ripley, Colquitt, and Moody also heading southward before crossing the Pike in the same location as the units above (Illustration 5).

Could the routes these units took across the Pike indicate that the worm fencing in place on the 15th was down sometime on the 16th or early on the 17th? If so, it would explain the why numerous units traveled this route from the West Woods into the fields beyond.

Illustration 5. 8:30 hrs.

Notes: All maps from the Atlas of the battlefield of Antietam, prepared under the direction of the Antietam Battlefield Board, lieut. col. Geo. W. Davis, U.S.A., president, gen. E.A. Carman, U.S.V., gen. H Heth, C.S.A. Surveyed by lieut. col. E.B. Cope, engineer, H.W. Mattern, assistant engineer, of the Gettysburg National Park. Drawn by Charles H. Ourand, 1899. Position of troops by gen. E. A. Carman. Published by authority of the Secretary of War, under the direction of the Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army, 1908. 

All photos, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Selected Civil War Photographs Collection.

Fences--Part 1 of 3

Illustration 1. The George Poffenberger farmstead, ca. 1896. The
Hagerstown Pike is on the right.

Part 1 of a three part entry on fences bordering the West Woods.

There are numerous important resources available to the Antietam student--diaries, correspondence, ORs (well, mostly). Two resources that are key are the papers of Ezra Carman[1] and the series of maps produced in 1904 and 1908 [2] that depict movements throughout the day--some in 30 minute segments.

Recently, ANB Ranger Keith Snyder forwarded to me a photo of the West Woods taken from the Dunkard Church looking north up the Hagerstown Pike.

Illustration 2. Detail from Poffenberger farm photo above.
Note the Virginia worm fence on the right side of the
Hagerstown Pike and in the distance the post and rail
fence. Compare this image with the Cope-Carman
map detail below. Click on photo to enlarge.

The photo (illustration 1) shows the farmstead of George Poffenberger and in the distance the Philadelphia Brigade Monument and the William Starke mortuary cannon. Since the Philadelphia monument was dedicated in September 1896, the photo must have been taken about that time.

The photo is interesting in and of itself as it helps us understand the various changes this historic property has gone through over the past 149 years.

It also gives us some additional information on the value of the Cope-Carman maps. Note the detail on the extreme left of the image (illustration 2)--the fence line on the east side of the Hagerstown Pike. As you view the image, notice that the fence in the foreground is what is termed variably as a Virginia worm fence, zigzag rail fence, or snake fence. Further up the Pike, you'll notice that the fence changes to a pole fence (or post and rail fence) with the familiar horizontal rails. Now compare this fence sequence with the Cope-Carman map of 1908 (illustration 3)--it is the same sequence.

Illustration 3
Detail from the Cope-Carman
Map, 8:00 series, 1908
edition, Library of Congress.
The zig zag lines on east
side of the Pike represent
the Virginia worm fence
while the dot-dash lines
represent the post hole
fence further north.

Does this photograph show the fencing that defined the field in September 1862? Maybe. Fencing made of chestnut, locust, or oak would certainly last that long, especially the kind of worm fence construction with minimal ground contact (i.e., post and hole). Nevertheless, the fencing apparently was maintained over the years and the configuration, as evidenced by the map and photo, prove the original fence line and style remained the same.

While I suppose I should not be surprised that the mapmakers got things right, the photographic evidence that they did so makes these maps all that more trustworthy and therefore valuable to historians, visitors, and trampers.

Notes:

[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). Historian Thomas Clemens is also producing a two volume edition of the Carman papers. The first volume, now published, is devoted to the South Mountain battles and contains many annotations and an excellent map series.  Volume 2, on Antietam, will be going to press shortly.  The Maryland Campaign of 1862. Volume 1, South Mountain, edited by Thomas Clemens (New York: Savas Beatie, 2010).
[2] The full citation of the Cope-Carman maps is: Atlas of the battlefield of Antietam, prepared under the direction of the Antietam Battlefield Board, lieut. col. Geo. W. Davis, U.S.A., president, gen. E.A. Carman, U.S.V., gen. H Heth, C.S.A. Surveyed by lieut. col. E.B. Cope, engineer, H.W. Mattern, assistant engineer, of the Gettysburg National Park. Drawn by Charles H. Ourand, 1899. Position of troops by gen. E. A. Carman. Published by authority of the Secretary of War, under the direction of the Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army, 1908.  You can retrieve the entire series at the Library of Congress' American Memory Project at http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?gmd:65:./temp/~ammem_u20M::

"Dead, Yet He Liveth:" The Peculiar Case of William H. Lewis

"William H. Lewis"

This entry was suggested back in May by contributor Michael O'Brien who posted a note on Private William H. Lewis of Company F of the 34th New York which stood in the West Woods near the Dunkard Church. Michael's entry was in response to a post on William A. Salisbury, also of the 34th whose headstone, but not his remains, is at the National Cemetery. In Salisbury's case, soon after the battle a relative gathered his remains and returned them to Herkimer County, New York. In Lewis' case, he was severely wounded but survived the battle and went on to a long life. In both instances, headstones with their names on them are at the cemetery but neither man was ever interred there. Michael points us to an article that describes the peculiar case of William H. Lewis published in the Amsterdam Evening News, May 17, 1904 [1] which is excerpted below.


"Herkimer Citizen: William H. Lewis [2] of this village, a veteran of the war of the Rebellion, had a peculiar experience and for upwards of five years was to all interests and purposes a dead man. His grave and the marker which indicate where he was buried can still be seen in the national cemetery at Sharpsburg, Maryland. ..."

"Lewis went through the campaign without a scratch until the bloody battle at Antietam, when he was shot five times, twice in the legs and once in the face. He was left on the field for dead and for two days and nights laid out in the open, suffering untold agonies, worms and magots invading the wound in his face, and should Lewis live to be 100 years old, he will never forget the hours spent on that battle field."

"He was among the dead reported Sept. 17, 1862, and his body was supposed to have been removed from the battle field and placed In grave number 844 In the national cemetery at Sharpsburg, Md., the headstone bearing that inscription. Instead, however. Lewis was removed to a shed, where he remained a prisoner for seven days, when he was exchanged and transferred to Washington, being honorably discharged for surgical disability March 22. 1863."

"The wound in the face was a peculiar one and never since he was shot has he been able to open his mouth wide. In 1868, when he made application for a pension, Mr. Lewis was promptly Informed by the pension department at Washington that he was killed at the battle of Antietam and that there was no such man as William H. Lewis, a member of Co. F,  34th regiment. He had no trouble in securing affidavits from his captain, Charles Riley, and his colonel. James A. Suiter, establishing his identity, and his pension was soon forthcoming. Lewis enlisted at 23 years of age and tomorrow [May 18, 1904] he celebrates his 66th birthday."

After the war, William Lewis became a nurse, married, had children and was active in Post 604 of the Grand Army of the Republic (Herkimer County Post). Four years prior to the publication of this article, Lewis boarded in the household of Jonathan and Mary Saltsman. He listed his occupation as "nurse." Six years after this article, on October 12, 1910, Lewis applied to the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers (Bath, New York branch). In his application he reported that he was widowed, stood 5 foot 7, dark complexioned, blue eyes and gray hair. He listed his occupation as a nurse and his religion as Protestant. He identified his nearest relative as Miss [V]. H. Morrison, 409 Mohawk Street, Herkimer, New York.

William H. Lewis died on January 16, 1916. [3]

=====
Notes:
[1] "Dead, Yet He Liveth: William H. Lewis, A Herkimer Veteran, Was Officially Dead for Six Years." Amsterdam Evening Recorder, May 17, 1904, page 6. Retrieved at this location.

[2] William H. Lewis mustered in as a private with Company F of the 34th New York Volunteer Infantry on May 1, 1861.  He was discharged on March 17, 1863 "at Albany, N.Y. for wounds received at Antietam, Md." New York State Archives, Cultural Education Center, Albany, New York; New York Civil War Muster Roll Abstracts, 1861-1900; Archive Collection #:13775-83; Box #:116; Roll #:973-974 and retrieved from Ancestry.com. New York, Civil War Muster Roll Abstracts, 1861-1900 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.

[3] Abstract of General Orders and Proceedings of the Fifty-first Encampment, Department of New York, G.A.R., Held at Saratoga Springs, June 26, 27, and 28, 1917, Albany: J. B. Lyon Company, Printers 1917. Retrieved at this location; 1900 Federal Census, New York; Ancestry.com. U.S. National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: Historical Register of National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, 1866-1938; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1749, 282 rolls); Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15; National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Memorial Day 2011 West Woods

On Memorial Day, May 30, 1884, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. addressed the John Sedgwick Post No. 4, Grand Army of the Republic at Keene, NH. Holmes, as is well noted, fought with the 20th Massachusetts in the West Woods. Below, as a Memorial Day tribute, are the first three paragraphs of his address.

"Not long ago I heard a young man ask why people still kept up Memorial Day, and it set me thinking of the answer. Not the answer that you and I should give to each other-not the expression of those feelings that, so long as you live, will make this day sacred to memories of love and grief and heroic youth--but an answer which should command the assent of those who do not share our memories, and in which we of the North and our brethren of the South could join in perfect accord.

So far as this last is concerned, to be sure, there is no trouble. The soldiers who were doing their best to kill one another felt less of personal hostility, I am very certain, than some who were not imperilled by their mutual endeavors. I have heard more than one of those who had been gallant and distinguished officers on the Confederate side say that they had had no such feeling. I know that I and those whom I knew best had not. We believed that it was most desirable that the North should win; we believed in the principle that the Union is indissoluable; we, or many of us at least, also believed that the conflict was inevitable, and that slavery had lasted long enough. But we equally believed that those who stood against us held just as sacred conviction that were the opposite of ours, and we respected them as every men with a heart must respect those who give all for their belief. The experience of battle soon taught its lesson even to those who came into the field more bitterly disposed. You could not stand up day after day in those indecisive contests where overwhelming victory was impossible because neither side would run as they ought when beaten, without getting at least something of the same brotherhood for the enemy that the north pole of a magnet has for the south--each working in an opposite sense to the other, but each unable to get along without the other. As it was then, it is now. The soldiers of the war need no explanations; they can join in commemorating a soldier's death with feelings not different in kind, whether he fell toward them or by their side.

But Memorial Day may and ought to have a meaning also for those who do not share our memories. When men have instinctively agreed to celebrate an anniversary, it will be found that there is some thought of feeling behind it which is too large to be dependent upon associations alone. The Fourth of July, for instance, has still its serious aspect, although we no longer should think of rejoicing like children that we have escaped from an outgrown control, although we have achieved not only our national but our moral independence and know it far too profoundly to make a talk about it, and although an Englishman can join in the celebration without a scruple. For, stripped of the temporary associations which gives rise to it, it is now the moment when by common consent we pause to become conscious of our national life and to rejoice in it, to recall what our country has done for each of us, and to ask ourselves what we can do for the country in return."

"An erroneous account of the fight I had:" Early, Jackson, and Faulkner and the "Pious Fraud" in the West Woods

As reported on earlier posts, the Ezra Carman Papers at the Library of Congress, containers 15 and 16, include correspondence between Carman and participants of the battles of South Mountain and Antietam.[1] The containers include replies to inquiries by Carman asking individuals to recall their whereabouts on these fields. In a number of instances, writers enclosed marked-up maps--some apparently sent by Carman; others hand drawn--marking positions and movements. One of Carman's earliest correspondents in this collection was Jubal A. Early who wrote to correct "an erroneous account of the fight I had"--the account was contained in the Official Report filed by MGen. Thomas J. Jackson.

On November 19, 1868 Early wrote Carman to correct "errors...which I have noticed" in Jackson's report dated April 23, 1863. Early tells Carman that Jackson's assistant adjutant, Lt. Col. Charles J. Faulkner,[2] drafted the report from "subordinate reports" supplied by Jackson which were "very vague and unintelligible." Early then lays out "very strong evidence" why he believes that Jackson never examined the report furnished by Faulkner which then became the official record of April 23.

Charles James Faulkner
Library of Congress Collection

Jackson was seriously wounded at Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863 and died eight days later. On May 22, Lt. Joseph Graham Morrison, Aide-de-Camp to Jackson[3] wrote Lt. Col. Robert Hall Chilton, Assistant Adjutant and Inspector General, Department of Northern Virginia--

"Colonel: On opening General Jackson's trunk in Lexington, Virginia, we found in it the accompanying report of the operations of his command, from the fifteenth of August to fifth September, 1862. Also an unfinished report embracing operations of his command from fifth of September to the end of the Maryland campaign. The unfinished report Lieutenant Smith, A.D.C., has. He intendeds give it to Colonel Faulkner to finish; it will then be forwarded. I am, Colonel, Very respectfully, Your obedient servant, J.E. Morrison, A.D.C. To Lieutenant-General Jackson."[4]

Early's assertion to Carman and Morrison's note to Chilton appears to suggest that Jackson's Official Report dated April 23, 1863 was not actually filed on that date since Morrison reports finding the unfinished report in Jackson's trunk. If so, it was probably not completed until sometime after May 22 (and after Jackson's death).

Early's official report, completed and filed on January 12, 1863, was as the late Joseph Harsh observed, "although not without minor faults, there is no finer, more accurate contemporary description of the morning's battle."[5]

Below is the full letter to Carman (and his allegations regarding Faulkner). To compare, see Early's official report at Brian Downey's excellent site, Antietam on the Web. Also see, Jubal Early's autobiography now published online at Autobiographical Sketch and Narrative of the War Between the States.

Square brackets are my amendments to the document.

=============

[Early begins with a transcription of Jackson's official report].

"'Early being now directed, in consequence of the disability of General Lawton, to take command of Ewell's division, returned with his brigade (with the exception of the Thirteenth Virginia Regiment, which remained with General Stuart), to the piece of wood where he had left the other brigades of the division when he was separated from them. Here he found that the enemy had advanced his infantry near the wood, in which was the Dunkard Church, and had planted a battery across the turnpike near the edge of the woods and in open field, and that the brigades of Lawton, Hays, and Trimble, had fallen back some distance to the rear, etc.'

Then ensues an erroneous account of the fight I had. There is no explanation of where I had been, and this statement about my finding the enemy's infantry with a battery across the turnpike near the edge of the woods and the field, and my attacking them there, is entirely erroneous. I found neither artillery nor infantry at the point designated, but I rode across the Hagerstown pike at the very spot, to the rear of where Hood was then engaged on the east side of the pike, to find the other brigades of the division, and I found that they had left the field cut to pieces, and been replaced by Hood's division. I did not see or hear anything more of either of these brigades until after all the fighting on this part of the line was over. It was sometime after I returned to the woods, and after Hood had been compelled to fall back to the Dunkard Churrch, that the enemy advanced his infantry and artillery to the point indicated.

The facts were these.

Diagram 2: Map with Early's annotations
showing action in the West Woods. I will
post on Friday, higher resolution images
of these maps.
Library of Congress, Papers of Ezra A. Carman.

I had been sent very early in the morning to support some guns that Stuart had, beyond our extreme left, near the Potomac. A body of the enemy commenced moving between us and the rest of the Army, and we were compelled to move back by a circuitous route, nearer to the main line. We found a large force of the enemy on the west side of the pike moving up towards the northern or left end of the woods in which the Dunkard Church was located--that church being in the Southern or left end.

Just as I was taking position in the rear and of an elbow of the woods, running back from its left or Northern part, in order to confront a body of infantry seen in the fields in front, I received the message from General Jackson to return with my brigade and take command of the division.

On getting to the point where I had spent the night, I found that the enemy had penetrated the woods with his skirmishers at the Northern end, between the position I had just left and the pike, and I found Colonels Griggsby [6] and Stafford, who had rallied a part of Jackson's division, which had been entirely broken and forced back, skirmishing with the enemy's skirmishers in the woods, the latter being followed by heavy masses of infantry in the open fields beyond the woods on the West of the pike.

My brigade was at once advanced to the support of Griggsby and Stafford, until it came to  a low ledge or ridge running through the woods, nearly at right angles with the pike, which was here separated from the pike by a field or plateau higher than the woods.

Diagram 1: Early's movements "on the
extreme left." Higher resolution
image of this map will be posted on
Friday.
Library of Congress, Papers of Ezra A. Carman.

The brigade was halted there in line and Griggsby's  and Stafford's men formed on the left of it. The line as there established was at right angles with the pike, and was so thrown back to protect our rear from the enemy's advancing columns. The latter were checked and I then rode across the pike in rear of the position thus opened, to find the other brigades, and ascertaining that they had been cut to pieces and gone to the rear, and seeing that Hood was very heavily pressed and his men giving way, I rode to see General Jackson on the heights in rear of and a little to the right of the Dunkard Church, where I informed him of the condition of things, and the necessity for reinforcements, and he promised to get and send them as soon as possible.

I then rode to my brigade, and found the enemy massing a very heavy force in the fields in its front, all on the west of the pike.

The enemy now commenced pressing into the woods, checked to some extent by my skirmishers. I sent Major Hale to General Jackson to inform him of the urgency of the case, and just as he returned with the assurance that aid should be sent immediately, the enemy's artillery and a heavy column of infantry appeared at the point designated in the above extract.

Hood having then fallen back I did not attack the enemy at that point, was was to the rear of my right flank, but held my position, throwing back my right a little, being concealed from the enemy, and hoping that the reinforcements would come in time to meet the fire while I confronted the other enemy up in my front.

The column in rear of my right, which proved to be Grant's [Greene's] division of Mansfield's corps, hurried around into the woods between me and the Dunkard Church, and then I filed to the rear by the right, and moved to over take it, concealed from its view by some ledges of rock, while Griggsby and Stafford fell back in line confronting the other force, which proved to be Sedgwick's division of Sumner's corps supported by the rest of Mansfield's under Williams.

In getting up with Green's division I faced to the front, attacked it, and drove it out of the woods to the pike. Just then Barksdale's and Sumner's brigades of McLaw's division and Anderson's brigade of D.R. Jone's division came up, and we turned on Sedwick and the force supporting him, driving the whole in confusion out of the woods into the fields beyond, and clearing the west side of the pike for a long distance of the enemy.

In this movement Barksdale's brigade or the greater part of it went after Green's division, while Semmes' Anderson's, mine and Griggsby's and Stafford's men attacked the other force. When I made my report I thought Anderson's brigade belonged to McLaw's division and so stated, but it belonged to D.R. Jones.

Generals Walker and Ransom both state that they met parts of Hood's and my commands retiring before the enemy, and that they attacked the force following them. This statement so far as concerns my command arose from the fact that a part of Hays' brigade which had gone back joined Hood at the Dunkard Church and Hays was under my command next day.

I commanded nothing but my own brigade in the fight, and that did not fall back at all, except under my orders when Barksdale's brigade was coming up on its right as my brigade was pursuing Green, and I then drew it back to avoid Barksdale's fire in the one hand, and a fire in flank from the enemy on the left, wheeling the brigade to the left, after it had got out of Barksdale's way, and moving against Sedgwick. No troops to my assistance but the ones stated, and Walker's and Ransom's brigade met the enemy pursuing Hood's division.

General Jackson is made to say in the report: "At the close of the day my troops held the ground which they had occupied in the morning." This is an entire mistake. In the morning General Jackson had three brigades, Lawton's, Trimble's and Hays' on the east of the pike occupying the position Hood had held at the close oft he 16th, connecting D. H. Hill's left. At the close of the day he did not have a man on the east side of the pike. My brigade and 100 men of Lawton's which were brought in the evening after the battle was over constituted all the men he had in the line on the left, and they were on the west side of the road in the edge of the of the woods parallel to the pike, and facing it with skirmishers thrown up to the road. The remnants of Hays' and Trimble's brigades did not come up till next day, the enemy occupied all the east side of the road on this part of the line and the ground held there in the morning by General Jackson's troops.

It is true my left extended beyond where the left had rested in the morning, but the direction of the line was changed. I held the extreme left with Barksdale's brigade on my right, and two brigades of McLaw's division and Armistead on a line thrown back from about my center to the rear as show by diagram 1.[7] What of General Jackson's own division had been rallied was (after the fighting) supporting Stuart's guns near the Potomac. The two diagrams will explain the movements of my own brigade before and during the fight in which it was engaged.

I don't think General Jackson could have examined the report furnished by Faulkner. I know that the latter wrote it for I saw him at it, and he asked some explanation bout the battle of me, stating the most of the subordinate reports were very vague and unintelligible as they were. Lawton was absent and made no report. Starke commanding Jackson's division in the fight had been killed, and there was not one present in the battle to report the operations of that division.

General Jackson gave Faulkner the reports to draw up his from, and I don't think he (Faulkner) ever understood how the battle was really fought. He says in his certificate that the report was revised by General Jackson and was directed to be copied for his signature. He notices the fact of the omission of the usual notice of his staff. This is very strong evidence to my mind that General Jackson had not revised the report and directed it to be copied for his signature, for that was the time when he would have directed the notice to be inserted in order that it might all be compiled at the same time. Faulkner was very capable of committing a sort of pious froud [fraud] in order to complete the list [last?] of General Jackson's reports. I do not believe General Jackson would have sanctioned the statement that at the close of the 17th his troops held the same ground they did in the morning, nor do I believe he understood so little of the operations on the left as to have sanctioned the account given of my operations. I fully believe he never saw the report. However that may be, these are the errors in it which I have noticed, and they are not unimportant ones.

(Signed) J.A. Early
November 19, 1868."

========== 
Notes


[1] Jubal Early to Ezra Carman, November 19, 1868, Papers of Ezra Carman, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Container 16. Maps, Container 16.
[2] Charles James Faulkner, a Representative from Virginia and from West Virginia; born in Martinsburg, Va. (now West Virginia), July 6, 1806; was graduated from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., in 1822; studied law; was admitted to the bar in 1829 and practiced; member of the Virginia house of delegates 1829-1834, 1848, and 1849; commissioner of Virginia on the disputed boundaries between that State and Maryland; member of the State senate from 1838 to 1842, when he resigned; member of the State constitutional convention in 1850; elected from Virginia as a Whig to the Thirty-second Congress and as a Democrat to the Thirty-third, Thirty-fourth, and Thirty-fifth Congresses (March 4, 1851-March 3, 1859); chairman, Committee on Military Affairs (Thirty-fifth Congress); appointed United States Minister to France by President Buchanan in 1859; returned to the United States in August 1861 and was detained as a prisoner of state on charges of negotiating arms sales for the Confederacy while in Paris; released in December 1861 and negotiated his own exchange for Alfred Ely, a Congressman from New York who had been taken prisoner by the Confederates at Bull Run; during the Civil War entered the Confederate Army and was assistant adjutant general on the staff of Gen. Thomas J. (Stonewall) Jackson; engaged in railroad enterprises; member of the State constitutional convention of West Virginia in 1872; elected as a Democrat from West Virginia to the Forty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1875-March 3, 1877); resumed the practice of law; died on the family estate, “Boydville,” near Martinsburg, W.Va., November 1, 1884; interment in the family lot on the estate. Biographical Dictionary of the United States Congress at http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=F000044 
[3] Joseph Graham Morrison (1842-1906) served as aide-de-camp to his brother in law, Thomas J. Jackson. See further, entry for Morrison in Brian Downey's Antietam on the Web.
[4] Italics are in the original.  The Rebellion Record: A Diary of American Events, edited by Frank Moore, Vol. 9. (New York, D. Van Nostrand, 1866), p 575.
[5] Joseph L. Harsh, Taken at the Flood: Robert E. Lee and Confederate Strategy in the Maryland Campaign of 1862 (Kent, OH: The Kent State University Press, 1999), p . 570, note 31.
[6] Early spells Grigsby as Griggsby.  
[7] See illustrations in this post.

"The ominous booming of distant cannon admonished me to hasten on:" The Melancholy Mission of Bowen B. Moon to the West Woods, Part 3

This is the third and final entry of a multi part post on the journey from Herkimer County, New York of Bowen B. Moon to retrieve his brother-in-law William A. Salisbury, Company C, 34th New York who fell in the West Woods on September 17, 1862. [a]

In this post, Moon is in Sharpsburg and has spent the night sleeping on a bed of wood shavings in a cooper's shop in the village. It is now morning, October 2, 1862.

The location of the 34th New York in the West Woods, just west of the Dunkard Church.
The 34ths' monument ("erected on the extreme right of our most advanced position"[1]) is just to the right of the picture (the 125th Pennsylvania and Purnell's Legion monuments are in this frame). This view looks west south/west down the gradual slope of Confederate Avenue. At the time of the battle, this open field was filled with mixed hardwood trees, widely spaced, with little underbrush. The trees, mostly Northern White Oaks, included some that were over 300 years old.

About daybreak a large division of artillery went rumbling by; regiments of infantry and companies of cavalry were to be seen.

At the restaurant I again prepared for the days work. I should say that it was about 8 o'clock in the morning when the man who was to carry the coffin to the battlefield and thence to Hagerstown arrived at the shop. We were soon on the way. The man was to exhume the remains and take them to Hagerstown, ten miles, for ten dollars.

Arriving at the grave we found, as I had before observed, that the body lay between two other dead soldiers. The man I employed carefully removed the dirt until he came to a blanket that had been placed over three dead placed in one grave. Separating the blanket in the middle there I beheld the dead brother "sleeping the sleep that knows no waking." It was just two weeks subsequent to the battle, and the features and contour of his face was easily recognized.

But the most convincing evidence of recognition was the fact that he had a harelip; that mark was clearly observable. Thus the information received from Chas. Willoughby at Norway; the conversation with Capt. Corcoran of Company C. 34th N.Y., the map of the position of Company C of this Regt. during the battle which was received from Col. Suiter; and also assurance from a private soldier, Mr. William Chappel, with whom I was personally acquainted - he enlisted while residing a near neighbor of mine - and who belonged to the same Company C. [2]-- all these facts and circumstances thoroughly convinced me that I was not mistaken in the identification of the remains of brother William A. Salisbury.

William A. Salisbury's headstone at
Antietam National Cemetery and seen by
J.D. Henderson. The question then
and now: Who is buried here?

I am more particular about this identification as some time since our mutual friend J.D. Henderson (of Herkimer)[3] visited the battlefield and noticed a headstone erected to the memory of one Wm. A. Salisbury of Co. C N.Y. Vol. &c on the battlefield. I account for the fact that the government erected that headstone because they found there the head board erected by the soldiers when they buried him. I had left the headboard standing and had carefully refilled the grave after removing the body.

I relied on the recommendations of Judge Graves & Gov. Morgan[4] requesting all civil and military officers to assist me in executing the object of my mission. Except the experience at Albany hereafter mentioned I received unfailing courtesy and respect.

There were many other bodies being exhumed that day. The man I employed to do it for me had more orders than he could execute that day, as it was he took so many that he could not carry me: then I looked forward to my tramp of 10 miles to Hagerstown with rather uncomfortable prospects.

I had learned at Bolivar Heights that the 121st regiment in which many Russia boys and including my brother Clinton Moon had enlisted was encamped near the village of Bakersville on the turnpike from Sharpsburg to Hagerstown.[5] Of course I resolved to call on the boys and perhaps stay all night there. On arriving there I found several sick with typhoid fever and other malarial diseases. The regiment, such as were able, were drilling. I saw a portion of the drill and I must say that I would not want to face that line of soldiers with 'their fixed bayonets any more than the Rebels did at Rappahannock Station when after firing a single volley they rushed just at dusk through the Rebel rifle pits down to the Pontoons compelling 600 of the enemy to surrender.

After consulatation with brother Clinton, I decided to at once continue my journey. He (Clinton) said that there was much sickness in the camp; that they might be ordered to move any moment, and that I would be much hindered if any move was made, and that he would assist me to get out of the camp &c be. The consequence was that I did not have a chance to visit the Russia boys.
Subsequent events fully justified his advice and my acceptance of it. Being acquainted with the prominent men of Bakersville, he succeeded in getting a carriage or rather a ride for me to Hagerstown, distant some six or eight miles.

That ride was a great relief to me, being acquainted with all the roads the gentleman not only would take no pay for my ride, but was of great service to me at Hagerstown, recommending a good union hotel and giving me much valuable information as to route to take be.

The main road was filled with army transportation teams and at his suggestion we took other roads, going substantially in the same direction, so we arrived at Hagerstown much more early than we otherwise would. Bidding him good bye with heartfelt thanks, I proceeded to find the coffin at the place appointed.

I found it at once and not only that, but found that it was under guard of a U.S. soldier. He challenged me as I looked at it and asked me what I wanted of that coffin. I told of my errand and proceeded to show him my recommendations and he ordered me to his superior officer who upon a brief examination of my documents ordered the guard to deliver the coffin to me and asked if I wished any help to put it on the cars, which of course I did and thereupon four soldiers carefully, and as I then thought sympathetically, assisted me to put it aboard the car. I offered to pay them but they seemed to almost spurn my offer. Of course I thanked them and one of them remarked that he did not know how soon some of them might be in similar circumstances.

Just previous to this I had purchased tickets, one for the transportation of the body and one for myself, to some point in the state of Pennsylvania. I think it might have been Chambersburg or Lancaster and it might have been to New York.

The hotel keeper at Hagerstown where I had asked for lodgings for the night had advised me to stay and take the express train that would overtake the freight train on which I had put the coffin on, as I now remember Chambersburg or at least where we would have to change cars.

Having thus arranged matters for the night I took a stroll around the town of Hagerstown. I had not gone very far before passing a grocery or perhaps it might have been a saloon, I saw a group of men and heard them talking very excitedly about military matters. I very quietly stepped into the place and soon perceived that they were in positive sympathy to say the least with the rebels. I heard one of them with cursing and swearing about the D-- Yankees &c.

He and some of the company said that an expedition had started or was about to start that would show these — Yankees a thing or two.

His remark alarmed me to such an extent that I hastened back to my hotel, settled my bill for a meal I had taken there, cancelled my engagement for a room and started at once for the freight train about to start, aboard which was the coffin containing the body. The railroad agent again advised me to stay until morning as they would overhaul the freight at such a place on the line and that I would ride much more comfortable after a nights rest.

But I was (known to me only) badly frightened at what I had heard in the saloon and I said to them that I chose to take the same train on which the body was if possible - that I would be near if anything should happen to delay the train. Hence I took the caboose and slept on the seats the best I could. Soon after arriving home I learned that the rebel Gen. Stuart had made his celebrated march around the U.S. Army and had burned a portion of the city of Chambersburg, capturing much property and taking many prisoners and that this took place Oct. 10, 1862 and that previously a scouting party had captured an express train robbing the passengers be.

It was the evening of Oct. 2nd that I heard the men talking in the saloon and taking into consideration the distance from Hagerstown to Chambersburg, I came to the conclusion that the Express that I had thought of taking in the morning was the identical train taken by the scouts and that thus by acting on my fears I had escaped a peril of considerable magnitude.

It was early on a Friday morning that I had to change cars at the place above referred to and soon after the change I was speeding my way to New York. On my way through the State of Pennsylvania I took no note or observations of passing stations or cities, being content knowing that I was with my charge out of reach of hostile people. I arrived at New York just as the lamps were being lighted for the night.
The station agent informed me that I must get a permit to move a body out of the city so in haste I made my way, making frequent inquiries, to the Mayor's office and got there just as he was giving instructions to the police for the night.

The Mayor received-me very cordially and I returned to the railroad station; and giving some porters a dollar, I had the coffin put on the cars and soon was off for Albany. At an early hour on that Saturday morning I procured the necessary tickets to go to Ilion.

As I was about to have the coffin put on the cars I received notice that the railroad did not carry dead bodies that had begun to decompose. Procuring a mixture for filling any apertures I might find in the coffin, I proceeded to fill them and succeeded in doing so with fair success. I then applied for permission to load the body on the cars and was again refused; then I showed my recommendations to the agent but to no effect.

At this time I became quite urgent and indeed stated my case with much feeling - that I had come a great distance with the body and that I had been treated by the people along the route with great friendliness--that I was conveying home the remains of one who had given up his life for his country - that the Governor of the state recommended me--that I had purchased and paid for two tickets to Ilion - that I should immediately report the case to Gov. Morgan if I were not allowed to proceed.

Encouraged by a number of soldiers standing near, and they were new recruits awaiting orders to proceed to the front, I assumed a bolder tone and in substance told the railroad authorities that I was going to Ilion that day and if the body could not go on that train the train would not be allowed to move--in fact I was told by a military officer to insist on my rights and that the soldiers would totally wreck the train if I were not allowed to proceed. This threat of the soldiers made a sudden change in the situation. A trainman beckoned me to the back side of the car and told me if I would pay the baggage man a couple of dollars that he would take the body on the train. Taking counsel of prudence I paid the baggage man the two dollars and was soon on my way to Ilion.

I arrived there in due time. I stopped at Ilion because Mr. Harvey Farrington[6] (bless his memory) was an especial friend of the Salisbury family and I doubted not that it would be his pleasure to assist in getting to Norway. I found it so and after a brief talk one of his sons[7] hitched up a very convenient rig and in due time we were at Norway on a Saturday afternoon.

The news of my arrival spread like wild fire and the good people of that town greeted me with many a 'Well done.'

(Signed) Bowen B. Moon Sept. 12, 1907 "



Notes

a. In 1987 the Herkimer County Historical Society New York published an account of one man's journey to the West Woods to recover a family member lost there on September 17. Bowen B. Moon's "In the Wake of the Battle: an account of a journey to the field at Antietam on a most melancholy mission." (LEGACY - Historical Magazine Published By The Herkimer County Historical Society 2:1 pp. 7-10) featured a letter written on September 3, 1907 by Bowen B. Moon to his niece Clara Spencer recounting his journey to recover the body of his brother-in-law William A. Salisbury of the 34th New York. I would like to thank the Herkimer County Historical Society for their permission to republish this remarkable letter and acknowledge the work of Arthur Moon and his son Joseph Moon  who assisted the Society in the preparation for publication of Bowen Moon's account. I have added annotations to the original letter.
1.  Louis N. Chapin, A brief history of the Thirty-fourth regiment, N.Y.S.V.: embracing a complete roster of all officers and men and a full account of the dedication of the monument on the battlefield of Antietam, September 17, 1902 (New York:1903), p. 152.
2. Bowen Moon is probably referring to James Chappell who, at age 31, enlisted in Company C at Poland, Herkimer County, New York. There are no other Chapels or Chappels or Chappells listed in the regimental rosters.  Louis N. Chapin, A brief history of the Thirty-fourth regiment, N.Y.S.V.: embracing a complete roster of all officers and men and a full account of the dedication of the monument on the battlefield of Antietam, September 17, 1902 (New York:1903), p. 122.
3. John Dryden Henderson (1846-1910) an attorney and treasurer of the Herkimer Historical Society. As the Hon. J.D. Henderson, he delivered an oration at the dedication of the 34th's monument at Antietam on September 17, 1902. Arthur T. Smith, compiler, Papers read before the Herkimer County historical society During the Years, 1899, 1900, 1901, to July 1, 1902, Volume 2 (Herkimer and Ilion, N.Y.: Citizen Publishing Co., Printers, 1902), p. 55; 1870 Federal Census for Herkimer County, New York; Chapin, Ibid., p. 152;     p. 105.
4. Judge Ezra Graves (1809-1883) and Governor Edward D. Morgan (1811-1883), see previous post, April 20, 2011.
5. Captain Clinton Moon commanded Company C of the 121st New York. Mustered into service on August 23, 1862 it "left the state Sept. 2, 1862, and was immediately assigned to the 2nd (Bartlett's) brigade, 1st (Brooks') division, 6th corps, with which command it continued during its entire term of service. It joined McClellan's army in Maryland and was present but not active at the battle of Crampton's gap." James M. Greiner, Subdued by the Sword: A Line Officer in the 121st New York Volunteers (Albany: State University Press, 2003), p. 39; New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center, 34th Regiment New York Volunteers, Civil War Newspaper Clippings at http://dmna.state.ny.us/historic/reghist/civil/infantry/121stInf/121stInfMain.htm
6. In June of 1860, Harvey Farrington, a farmer in Herkimer County, headed a family of six children. 1860 Federal Census.
7. This was probably Harvey Farrington's oldest son, John Farrington, 20 years old in 1862. 1860 Federal Census.

"The ominous booming of distant cannon admonished me to hasten on:" The Melancholy Mission of Bowen B. Moon to the West Woods, Part 2

This is the second of a multi part post on the journey from Herkimer County, New York of Bowen B. Moon to retrieve his brother-in-law William A. Salisbury, Company C, 34th New York who fell in the West Woods on September 17, 1862.[1]

In due time I arrived at Harpers Ferry and by the assistance of Col. Loflin I found the location of the 34th on Bolivar Heights, a high hill overlooking the Ferry with an extended view up the Shenandoah Valley.[2] I soon found the tent of Captain Corcoran of Co. C. 34th Regt. N.Y. Vol. [3] The captain gave me a hearty welcome and insisted that I should occupy his tent that night.

Col. James A. Suiter
New York State Military Museum

It was late in the afternoon when I got there, but I saw the regiment drawn up in line and heard Colonel Suiter give them his orders for the night. Capt. Corcoran gave me an introduction to Col. Suiter and each gave me "Godspeed you" in your journey. Col. Suiter drew an offhand map of the battlefield and showed the position that Company C. occupied and indicated where I would probably find the body of William. All of the boys killed had been buried and headboards erected, and so what Chas. Willoughby had told me at Norway was substantiated by the Col. of the Regt.

I rested very well that night in Capt. Corcoran's tent though I must confess that I was a little nervous in the evening as on the Capt.'s cot I heard strange sounds and thought of the terrible results of grim war. I was awake and up at an early hour and from Bolivar Heights saw the sun's rosy fingers of light as they rolled up the curtains of the night. I saw the dread paraphernalia of war; Parks of artillery, piles of cannon balls - guns stacked ready for use, and indelibly stamped on the tablets of my memory is the picture of the landscape - the white tents of the soldiers - men rolled in their blankets sleeping in the open air - the distant haze of the morning as it veiled the fields of the valley of the Shenandoah - the smoke that curled upward from a thousand fires, built for the preparation of the morning meals. And there from Bolivar Heights I saw the Jefferson rocks at the base of which the waters of the historic Potomac mingle with those of the Shenandoah. I heard there, on that beautiful morning of Oct. 1, 1862 the bugle call, to the soldiers -reveille - the sharp commands of officers as they inspected the serried ranks - the neighing of horses - the rattle of side arms and the trampling of a company of cavalry - and more than all the ominous booming of distant cannon admonished me to hasten on.

Captain Emerson Northrup of Co. K. of the 23d,[4] with whom it was my good fortune to be acquainted, kindly assisted me in getting out of the lines of the army at Harpers Ferry. I took a look at the old Armory in which John Brown defied the slaveholders of the South and afterwards was hung as an enemy of his country. "But his soul goes marching on." What impressed me most as I was looking around the building was to see a German soldier in the U.S. service eating a luncheon of moldy bread and a piece of meat the worse for age. He could speak but a few words of English but there he was a stranger in a distant land trusted and deputed to guard one of the most important strategical points in the zone of contention.

The pontoon bridge at Harpers Ferry is under construction
in this 1862 photo from the Matthew Brady collection,
Historic Photo Collection, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.

At Harpers Ferry I first saw a pontoon bridge consisting of many large sized row-boats anchored side by side facing upstream and held together by string-pieces upon which planks were placed forming the bridge. I crossed the Potomac on this bridge and took a towpath of a canal and started for Sharpsburg. There was no water in this canal at that time. In going I deemed it best to avoid the main highways as I was liable to be challenged by sentinals posted along these main roads. I inquired from time to time of citizens as to the route to the town. The day (Oct. 1st) was very warm, the roads were dusty, indeed all vegetation, grass and trees and shrubs, were covered by a coat of dust. As I passed along this towpath I saw soldiers filling their canteens from a little stream that trickled from the side of a very high hill. I was not long in getting to that place of genuine refreshment. I rested for a while, chatted with some of the soldiers, took a bite of luncheon and pushed on.

I made no effort to dodge a soldier if in my course, and so, at one time, as I was going toward a park of artillery the sentinal motioned me to go around. Of course I was more than willing to obey as the last thing I wanted was to be examined by the military. I had not gone many miles before I left the towpath of the canal but I kept close to the river Potomac until I came to the lower bridge that crossed the Antietam creek below Sharpsburg. It was at this bridge that Gen. Burnside was ordered to cross and did so after defeating Gen. Tombs in a sharp engagement. The bridge was guarded by a small detachment and there was only a sentinel on the bridge as I attempted to cross. Being ordered to halt by this sentinel I took from my pocket those valuable letters. The guard took a hasty glance at them and ordered me to cross the bridge and report to the commandant, pointing me to a certain house. I so reported and the officer looked at the papers and at me, asked a few questions and pointing up a quite steep hill, said, "Get up that hill just as far as you can." I did not stand long after this order to go.
As soon as I had got to the top of the hill, I found that I was on the direct road from Harpers Ferry to Sharpsburg and so I ceased going crosslots and in by-ways and traveled on. I was soon overtaken by a peddler licensed to sell goods to soldiers. I asked him to ride to Sharpsburg, two or three miles away. He gave me a good seat and much information about roads to the battlefield etc.

The location of the 34th New York in
the West Woods just north of the
Dunkard Church. The time is
approximately 9:15 a.m.
Cope/Carman Map (1908), Library of
Congress.

I arrived at Sharpsburg, a town then about the size of Poland or Newport. The point I wished to find on the battlefield was perhaps a mile or little more on or near the main road leading from Sharpsburg to Hagerstown and near what is called Dunkards Church. Sharpsburg was literally filled with soldiers; infantry, cavalry and artillery. After thinking the matter over I concluded to visit the battlefield that evening before dark. I did so and by means of Col. Suiter's map I found the grave of Wm. A. Salisbury, as located by Willoughby and Col. Suiter.

Visiting a cooper's shop I found several carpenters making coffins. These coffins were solid and substantial, but I was told that to get an elegant coffin I would have to send to the town of Frederick or Baltimore and it would be several days before it would arrive. Of course duty required me to take one of the substantial coffins that many were using there. It was now nearly dark and I asked permission of the cooper to make my bed on a pile of shavings. He consented but said that they would be working most of the night and if I could stand the noise I would be welcome to stay there.

Partaking of a luncheon and a cup of tea at a restaurant nearby, I returned to the shop and soon was reclining on a bed of shavings, vainly trying to go to sleep. The workmen left the shop about midnight after which I slept more or less until daylight. Perhaps I should relate how I was startled a little towards morning. I heard an unusual racket near or under the shop. Of course I was anticipating that perhaps a part of Lee's army was on my track or that some person judging that I must have money while off on such an errand was arranging to give me a call - so 1 made plans for self-defense. I worked myself to quite a pitch of excitement in anticipation of a personal encounter. I soon found myself convulsed with uncontrollable laughter as I discovered that the noise proceeded from a nest of pigs under the shop.


to be continued...


Notes

1. In 1987 the Herkimer County Historical Society New York published an account of one man's journey to the West Woods to recover a family member lost there on September 17. Bowen B. Moon's "In the Wake of the Battle: an account of a journey to the field at Antietam on a most melancholy mission." (LEGACY - Historical Magazine Published By The Herkimer County Historical Society 2:1 pp. 7-10) featured a letter written on September 3, 1907 by Bowen B. Moon to his niece Clara Spencer recounting his journey to recover the body of his brother-in-law William A. Salisbury of the 34th New York. I would like to thank the Herkimer County Historical Society for their permission to republish this remarkable letter and acknowledge the work of Arthur Moon and his son Joseph Moon  who assisted the Society in the preparation for publication of Bowen Moon's account. I have added annotations to the original letter.
2. The 34th left Sharpsburg early on September 22 and arrived at Bolivar Heights at 3 p.m. that afternoon. The regiment remained at Bolivar until October 30th. Louis N. Chapin, A brief history of the Thirty-fourth regiment, N.Y.S.V.: embracing a complete roster of all officers and men and a full account of the dedication of the monument on the battlefield of Antietam, September 17, 1902 (New York:1903), pp. 71-72.
3. Thomas Corcoran, Captain, Company C, 34th New York. Corcoran as well as most in Company C was from Herkimer County. New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center, 34th Regiment New York Volunteers, Civil War Newspaper Clippings at http://dmna.state.ny.us/historic/reghist/civil/infantry/34thInf/34thInfCWN.htm
4. This appears to be a typo in the printed manuscript. Captain Emerson S. Northrup commanded Company K of the 34th New York not the 23rd New York. Twenty year old Captain Northrup was from Salisbury, Herkimer County, New York. New York, Civil War Muster Roll Abstracts, 1861-1900 record for Emerson S. Northrup; New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center, 34th Regiment New York Volunteers, Civil War Newspaper Clippings at http://dmna.state.ny.us/historic/reghist/civil/infantry/23rdInf/23rdInfMain.htm; 1860 United States Federal Census.