Orchard Knob

Today marks the 146th anniversary of the Battle of Orchard Knob. It is a relatively overlooked phase of the struggle for Chattanooga, but one that set the stage for the Union victory at Missionary Ridge, two days later. The Battle occured just before sunset on November 23rd, 1863 and was a rather one sided affair between two regiments of Arthur Manigault's Brigade (28th Alabama and 24th Alabamas), the 28th losing one of its colors, and Thomas J. Wood's Division. Manigault would later remember:

"About 4:30 o'clock the enemy formed two lines of battle with a skirmish line in front, and began to move forward. About five o'clock, their skirmishers came within range of ours, and the fight commenced. Out advanced troops were soon driven in by their line of battle, who moved steadily to the attack. Their first line was checked by our fire, but the second line coming to their assistance, together they moved forward in spite of our fire, which was not heavy enough to deter them, and came in contact wuth the reserve line of skirmishers. Both regiments behaved gallantly, many of them fighting hand to hand; but the odds against them were irresistible, and Lieut. Col. Butler, 28th Ala., Commanding, in order to save his regiment, was forced to give the order to retire. The other regiment, 24th Alabama, had already given way. Had they contended much longer, they would have been killed or captured to a man, as the lines to their right and left had broken, and the enemy were getting to their rear. The 28th lost a good many, the 24th fewer-in all about 175 men. Having obtained possession of our picket line and the hill mentioned, the enemy seemed satisfied, and pushed forward no further. Our skirmishers retired about 350 or 400 yards and halted. Whilst the enemy advanced large numbers immediately in front of the hill to protect and hold it, he set large parties to work upon it, building breastworks and batteries for their artillery. In rear also was a large reserve force, and for the security of this point to which they seemed to attach much importance they must have held in front at least 6,000 men, exclusive of the two lines in front."

Killer Angels and neo-Confederate Multiculturalism

Looking over the first page of the Introduction to The Killer Angels, I am -- no surprise here -- displeased with Shaara's characterization of the two armies.

Of the Army of Northern Virginia, Shaara writes:

They are rebels and volunteers. They are mostly unpaid and usually
self-equipped. ... It is Anglo-Saxon and Protestant. Though there are many
men who cannot read or write, they all speak English. They share common
customs and a common faith...

Of the Army of the Potomac:

It is a strange new kind of army, a polyglot mass of vastly dissimilar men,
fighting for union. There are strange accents and strange religions and
many who do not speak English at all. Nothing like this army has been seen
upon the planet. ... They are volunteers: last of the great volunteer armies,
for the draft is beginning that summer in the North.

Aside from beating these two descriptions up with big sticks of scholarship that, admittedly, have come largely since Shaara wrote, I have another important question. Would the modern neo-Confederate movement agree with this characterization of the Confederate Army anymore?

I pose this stemming from Jonathan Sarris' lovely characterization of the neo-Confederate movement's recent obsession with finding -- creating -- "Black Confederates" as an effort to find a "multicultural" Condfederacy and thereby counteract their well-deserved stigma of racism. Has the Anglo-Saxon Protestant A.N.V. been replaced by the equally mythological enlightened paradise of a rainbow coalition army fighting for libertarian values?

My my, What would the old boys think?

Interpreting Wiley's Material Culture.

During the Bell Wiley Panel last Saturday afternoon at the Southern, Pete Carmichael posed the interesting question of interpreting the evidence that Wiley had used descriptively. That is, how can historians use the material culture of the soldier - what he ate, what he wore, etc. - to better understand (and in the case of both the park service and the academy, to better teach) the dynamics of wartime life. Earl Hess raised the valuable point of the "battlefield detective" type work that has been done on some Civil War battlefields, but that is, of course, straying from Wiley's methods and sources, therefore being rather out of the spirit. Carmichael was on to something using sources like Wiley's letters and diaries.

I think that material culture has two important interpretative uses. 1) Strategic. As anyone who has been on one of Jim Ogden's staff rides at Chick-Chatt can attest, the materiel of the Confederate soldier is a window into the political economy of the Confederacy, Chattanooga being the gateway into the industrial heartland of the Confederacy. A Johnny writing home about the abundance of goods - and, yes, that happens despite mythology - reveals the extent of the (to quote The Ogden) "Confederate military-industrial complex."

2) Social. What do clothes say about the man? What prewar associations did soldiers make between cloth and status? Is the fact that the Confederacy resorts to the cotton-wool blended jean cloth vice the all-wool uniforms of regulation (and their U.S. counterparts) significant? I think it is, particularly with this army emerging from a southern slave society. How do Confederate soldiers, particularly those from elite backgrounds, react when they are issued uniforms of jean cloth? Is it degrading to wear the material often associated with "jeans wearers," a term antedating "redneck" and "hillbilly"? Is it more degrading when, after hauling off large quantities of jeans from the 1862 Kentucky Campaign, slaveowning Confederates are issued suits of the same goods marketed as "negro cloth" before the war?

This is, also, something I've been playing around with recently. I mentioned a while back poking around on a project on the relationship of the 5th Ky. Inf. to the rest of the Orphan Brigade. That issue of interpreting material culture, using it for more than its purely descriptive, "wonder what it was like..." value. In a paper I'm prepping for the Appalachain Studies Association's meeting in the Spring in Dahlonega, I bring out Kentucky Confederates' association of cloth and class. One brief illustrative point from my paper, my take on an account of the 5th Ky. joining the rest of the Brigade, which by that time was uniformly uniformed in what is now known as the "Columbus Depot" jacket.

"'Say, there backwoods, bawled one [Orphan], 'any more butternut jeans where you
came from?' And such attacks came quick and fast." Such attacks, of
course, associated both class - jeans coats - and space - the backwoods - with
the men of the Fifth Kentucky and as a consequence with the mountains as a whole
without regard to material evidence of the Fifth's actual range of sartorial
class presentations.

Lee, if I remember correctly, has found some similar evidence of disdain for rough jeans from his South Carolinians. Any more we're aware of?

Southern Recap and Some Postwar Musings

Freshly back from the Southern Historical Association's meeting in Louisville this weekend, I find myself thoroughly refreshed. The last few months have seen me studying for my PhD qualifying examinations in January and estranged from the archives to any meaningful extent. But, the scholarly environment of the Southern has rejuvenated me, and I figure that while I've got this burst of creative energy I could blog a bit, right?

Among the panels I attended was a session on the rise of a professional/middle class in the antebellum South. The standout presentation, in my opinion, coming from Jennifer Green, whose new -- excellent -- book traces the emergence, preservation, and reproduction of the southern middle class through the means of military education. It was my favorite new book this year. She ably used the case of brief Western-Theater-attendee Micah Jenkins to demonstrate the difficulty of distinguishing between middle class men and planters. Jenkins came from a wealthy planting family, but unlike his brothers attended the Citadel, a military school where Green shows he far outranked his classmates in land and slave ownership. After his graduation he both talked of buying land for a new cotton operation and opening a military academy of his own, having a foot in both the world of the planter and the middle class teacher.

Green challenges us to think of military schools not as bastions of Southern landed wealth and privilege as often seen in the late nineteenth- and twentieth centuries, but instead as academies of discipline, order, hard work, and a middling position of both subordination to higher authority and some independent command -- all demanded of both junior officers in the field and of the professional men of the South.

Given this training, I wonder what we might see if we take (if I remember correctly) Ken Noe's suggestion during the Bell Wiley retrospective panel on Saturday afternoon to understand more about the immediate postwar lives of the well-studied Johnny Reb. My own work on Kentucky's Ben Buckner -- though not a Johnny certainly a member of Green's Southern professional class and Kentucky Military Institute alum -- has revealed some interesting things about Blue-Gray reconciliation and cooperation to pick up the pieces of the old order. The formation of the Kuklux in a law office in Pulaski for similar ends might suggest the same. In the wake of the collapse of the plantation system was the county-seat-dwelling professional class all that was left to restore the what was salvageable of the status quo ante bellum? Can the rise of the New South in the latter part of the century be attributed to the leadership of this group, already rising in prominence by the 1850s and still standing in 1865?

Certainly, the post-Appomattox South is a cloudy picture and all these claims can be asterisked, complicated, and expounded upon. But that's no reason not to try to pitch in and find some answers. Please, Civil War public, let's not stop caring about the lives of these soldiers when they take off their uniforms.

West Coast Talk

I would be remiss if I didnt mention that over the weekend of October 23-25 that I along with fellow AOTer Chris Young spoke at the West Coast Civil War Conference in Clovis, CA, just outside of Fresno, we were part of an all star line up of Chickamauga-Chattanooga Campaign historians that included Dr. Steven Woodworth, Dr. Glenn Robertson, Jim Ogden, and Wiley Sword among others. It was an impressive program. I also, as I always do, came away having learned a lot from Glenn Robertson's talks. For those of you who dont know Glenn, he is the dean of Chickamauga historians, and I was truely honored to be part of the same program with him. Finally, my friend and fellow blogger, Dave Powell was there for the release of his book, the Maps of Chickamauga, published by Savas and Beatie, LLC. I had seen the draft of the book and scans of the maps, but was really impressed with the completed product. So once again, I will say that if you want to learn about Chickamauga, this book is required reading.

To wrap things up though, I spoke on September 19th, 1863, covering all of the actions of that day and The Battle of Ringgold Gap. Both seemed to be well received, and I managed to get through all 66 slides of my power point program in 50 minutes for the September 19th talk. I will conclude by saying it was really a pleasure.

Chickamauga Study Group Tour 2010

Dave Powell has posted the schedule for next years Chickamauga Study Group Tour of the Chickamauga Battlefield. These are great tours that get you out on the ground and cover in detail a particular action or personality of the the battle, so if you havent been on one of these and have the opportunity to do so, I highly recommend going on next years.

CCNMP Study Group 2010 tours March 12 and 13, 2010.

Friday Morning: Bragg in Command, part IBy Bus, we will trace Confederate Commander Braxton Bragg’s movements to the field between September 9th and 19th, discussing his command decisions and the information he had at the time. Stops will include Lee and Gordon’s Mills, Rock Springs, Lafayette, Leet’s Tanyard.

Friday Afternoon: Bragg in command, part IIBy Bus and foot. We begin with a hike down to Thedford Ford, discuss Bragg reaching the field on the 19th and subsequent decisions that day, then hike back. From there we will discuss the morning confusion with Polk, the decision to order everyone into action, and later meetings. We will visit Brotherton Field and the 20th HQ site near Winfrey Field.

Saturday Morning: Cleburne AttacksOn foot. While Breckinridge’s Division overwhelmed John Beatty’s Brigade and nearly broke through into Thomas’ Rear, the southern end of Kelly Field was assailed by DH Hill’s other Division, under Pat Cleburne. Cleburne’s men had a difficult fight that morning, and it was not the command’s best performance. We will examine Polk’s attack, Wood’s delay and wandering, and finally, Deshler’s desperate action at noon. We will visit Polk’s tablet on Alexander Bridge Road, move overland to Wood’s approximate departure point, track his brigade’s attack with Stewart into Poe field (visit Alabama Monument) and work our way up the ridge to Deshler’s mortuary monument.

Saturday Afternoon: Final defense of Battle line RoadOn foot, we will examine the defense of Battle line road, and the final retreat from that position on September 20th. We will focus primarily on Baird’s Division and the difficulties they experienced as they tried to disengage, on how well the overall retreat was managed, and on the nature of the final Confederate attack in this sector.

Chattanooga 146th Anniversary Events

Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park invites the public to attend special programs commemorating the anniversary of the Battles for Chattanooga the weekend of Saturday, November 21 and Sunday, November 22, 2009.

Battlefield staff and volunteers will offer a variety of educational programs; walks, talks, guided tours, and living history demonstrations throughout the weekend. These programs will take place throughout the Chattanooga area, including Moccasin Bend, Lookout Mountain, downtown Chattanooga, Orchard Knob, Missionary Ridge, Tunnel Hill, and Ringgold Gap. Living history demonstrations will occur at Point Park on the top of Lookout Mountain and include Union infantry and Confederate artillery. The Infantry and Artillery programs will describe the difficulties the Union Infantry and the Confederate Artillery faced during the Battle of Lookout Mountain. Both the infantry and artillery camps will be open throughout the weekend and visitors are encouraged to learn what life was like for the Civil War soldier and artilleryman.
Confederate Artillery DemonstrationsSaturday, November 21: 9:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:00 p.m., 3:30 p.m.Sunday, November 22: 10:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 2:30 p.m.
Union Infantry DemonstrationsSaturday, November 21: 10:15 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 1:15 p.m., 2:45 p.m., 4:15 p.m.Sunday, November 22: 10:45 a.m., 12:15p.m., 1:45 p.m., 3:15 p.m.
See the below program schedule for more details.

Throughout the day on Saturday, November 21 author Mark Hughes will be available to discuss and sign his book, “The New Civil War Handbook” at the Point Park Visitor Center. This book provides facts and photos for readers of all ages and is a quick reference guide to a huge range of topics on the American Civil War.

The Battles for Chattanooga, November 23-25, 1863, marked the end of a bloody, five month campaign for control of the key rail center and “Gateway to the Deep South.” In 1864, Chattanooga became General William T. Sherman’s supply and communication base for his Georgia campaign.

For more information about this event and the expanding number of programs at Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, contact the Chickamauga Battlefield Visitor Center at 706-866-9241, the Lookout Mountain Battlefield Visitor Center at 423-821-7786, or visit the park’s website at www.nps.gov/chch.

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21

Point Park Guided Walking Tour – 11:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.Explore the Campaign for Chattanooga from the perspective of Union and Confederate troops as they struggled for control of the “Gateway to the Deep South.” This 45 minute walking tour begins inside the Point Park Entrance Gate.“A Vicious Little Battery:” The Union Artillery on Moccasin Bend during the Siege and Battles for Chattanooga– 9:00 a.m.Union artillery entrenched on Moccasin Bend assisted in covering troop movements during the Siege of Chattanooga and the Battle of Lookout Mountain. Join Park Historian Jim Ogden on a 90 minute walking tour to learn more about the Civil War sites on historic Moccasin Bend. Please wear comfortable shoes. This tour begins on Moccasin Bend Road just north of the Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute grounds. Look for the “Special Program” signs and the park ranger who will direct you to the parking area.
Walking Tour of Downtown Chattanooga’s Civil War Sites – 9:30 a.m.As a railroad hub, Chattanooga was a growing town in the mid-19th century when actions in the Civil War made it militarily significant. Join Historian Patrice Glass in examining Chattanooga through the accounts of its residents and discover how military occupation affected the town. This 90 minute walking tour begins on the south entrance to the Walnut Street Bridge.

“An Inspiriting Sight:” The Engagement at Orchard Knob – 11:30 a.m. On November 23, 1863, Union forces moved out of Chattanooga and assaulted a small number of Confederates on Orchard Knob, a prominent knoll between the city and Missionary Ridge. Meet Park Ranger Christopher Young inside the Orchard Knob entrance gate at the corner of Ivy Street and Orchard Knob Avenue for this 90 minute tour.

Over the River and Through the Woods to Missionary Ridge: Grant and Sherman’s Main Effort at Chattanooga – 1:30 p.m.“Attack the Confederate right flank northeast of Chattanooga and drive the rebel army southward and into North Georgia.” That was the mission assigned to Major General William T. Sherman by the overall Union commander in the Chattanooga area, Ulysses S. Grant. It was intended to be Grant’s main strike at the Southerners arrayed outside of Chattanooga too. But, to accomplish this, Sherman had a number of obstacles before him, most notably a river and a significant wooded ridge. Join Park Historian Jim Ogden and U. S. Army Lieutenant Colonel and Historian Gerald Hodge for a two hour car caravan tour of some of the key points associated with Sherman’s execution of Grant’s main effort. The tour will examine the Tennessee River in the area of Sherman’s crossing, progress up onto Missionary Ridge as Sherman did and discuss the Confederate reaction. This program begins at the Tennessee Riverpark Fishing Park on Amnicola Highway just downstream/west of theC. B. Robinson Bridge.

“The Most Unbounded Enthusiasm…Ever Witnessed:” Missionary Ridge – De Long Reservation – 2:30 p.m. On the afternoon of November 25, 1863, the Union Army of the Cumberland, without orders, charged up Missionary Ridge and dealt the Confederate Army of Tennessee the decisive blow in the campaign for Chattanooga. Join Park Ranger Gerry Allen for a 45 minute program on the top of Missionary Ridge to learn about the “Miracle at Missionary Ridge.” Please wear comfortable walking shoes and dress appropriately for the weather. This tour is held at the De Long Reservation on Missionary Ridge.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22

Point Park Guided Walking Tour – 11:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.Explore the Campaign for Chattanooga from the perspective of Union and Confederate troops as they struggled for control of the “Gateway to the Deep South.” This 45 minute walking tour begins inside the Point Park Entrance Gate.

“The Tallest Fighting I Was Ever In:” Lookout Mountain – 1:00 p.m. On the morning of November 24, 1863, General Joseph Hooker’s Union forces were ordered to make a “demonstration” against Confederate forces defending the slopes of Lookout Mountain. Join Park Volunteer Ansley Moses on a 90 minute walking tour of the “Battle Above the Clouds.” Please wear comfortable walking shoes and dress appropriately for the weather. This tour begins at the Cravens House parking lot.

Cleburne and Stevenson Defeat Sherman at Tunnel Hill – 1:30 p.m.Park Historian Jim Ogden and U. S. Army Lieutenant Colonel and Cumming’s Brigade Historian Gerald Hodge will lead a two hour walking tour of the Tunnel Hill/Sherman Reservation area of the Missionary Ridge Battlefield looking at the ill-fated attacks by Union Major-General William Sherman on the carefully positioned and entrenched Confederates of Patrick Cleburne’s and Carter Stevenson’s divisions. We’ll walk the ground to describe a portion of the Southern line and look at how the Confederates dealt with the series of Union attacks on November 25, 1863. This program begins at the Sherman Reservation on Lightfoot Mill Road, just off Crest Road on Missionary Ridge.

“Senseless Exposure of Brave Men:” Ringgold Gap – 3:00 p.m. On the morning of November 27th, 1863, Union forces under GeneralJoseph Hooker clashed with the rear guard of the Confederate Army led by General Patrick Cleburne at Ringgold Gap in a small but vicious engagement. Join Park Ranger Lee White on a 90 minute driving tour beginning at the Ringgold Depot, located at the intersection of U. S. Highway 41 and Depot Street in Ringgold, Georgia.

LIVING-HISTORY DEMONSTRATIONS
“Without Producing the Slightest Result:” Artillery Demonstrations Join Park Ranger Anton Heinlein and living historians portraying Confederate artillerymen to learn about the attempts and difficulties that Confederate artillerists faced during the Siege of Chattanooga, as well as, the Battle of Lookout Mountain. Artillery demonstrations will be conducted in historic Point Park, a unit of Lookout Mountain Battlefield.
Confederate Artillery DemonstrationsSaturday at 9:30 a.m., 11:00 a.m., 12:30 p.m., 2:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.Sunday at 10:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.

“Does the General Expect Us to Fly:” Union Infantry DemonstrationsJoin Park Ranger Anton Heinlein and living historians portraying Union infantrymen to learn about the role of Union Infantry in the November 24, 1863 Battle of Lookout Mountain. Infantry demonstrations will be conducted in historic Point Park, a unit of Lookout Mountain Battlefield.
Saturday at 10:15 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 1:15 p m., 2:45 p.m. and 4:15 p.m.Sunday at 10:45 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1:45 p.m. and 3:15 p.m.

PLEASE NOTE THAT IN CASE OF INCLEMENT WEATHER ALTERNATIVE PROGRAMMING WILL BE OFFERED INSIDE THE VISITOR CENTER, INQUIRE AT THE VISITOR CENTER INFORMATION DESK FOR MORE INFORMATION.