Recent Readings on General Thomas

I picked my book on Thomas back up again and it has been great. I’m not too sure why I took such a long break but it was nice to read some fiction and what not. The past few chapters I have read have had a ton to do with the politics of officer assignments, and it was pretty crazy then, as I am sure it is now. A general’s clout had a lot to do with it all, who he knew, who is supporters were, and what politicians he knew. All of this often hurt the Army as a whole, anyone could see that through the appointments made by the Union at the start of the war, but they lasted well throughout the war as well. Bobrick (the author of the book) makes pretty big claims against some in Lincoln’s government and against Grant and Sherman. According to Bobrick everything from official reports to advisers minds were changed from time to time to make Thomas look a little less capable than what he was and Grant and Sherman more than they were. I don’t doubt that there was padding here and there, after all most of these men had major egos and hated to see them shrink. However to the extent that Bobrick claims that these changes and alterations were made, and the motivation behind them (to undo Thomas to build up Grant) I’m just not sure. Every historian has a bias so I am taking everything with a grain of salt. Thomas was a great commander and I am eager to read more on his successes. I do truly believe that he could have lead the Union armies to victory as well, however I will have to read some other sources in the future to determine if there were this many true plots against him.

Ironclad Star Destroyers and Death Stars

A few weeks ago Dan and I were watching a special on the secrets of the Civil War. In the special they were looking at Shilo and examining some artillery shells they had found that were somewhat larger than what one might expect to find. The guy who was describing the shells in the documentary had a thick Southern accent and was one of the go to guys throughout the show. At one point, when examining the shells he holds up a piece of shell fragment and begins to describe its size using his hand other hand to make a motion as to how big the shell would have been intact. At first his motion would make the shell around 2-3 yards in diameter, a clear error on his part, which he caught and then corrected his motion to a much smaller size. But was it truly an error or just a cover up of the truth? Dan and I began to theorize using the mans Southern accent:

As you can see by this fragment this shell was nearly 2-3 yards in diameter. This shell was most likely fired by the Union’s Ironclad Star Destroyer in geosyncronis orbit. The Ironclad Star Destroyer was the largest Union war machine produced, until the construction of the Ironclad Death Star in 1862. The Ironclad Death Star fired shells nearly 4,000 yards in diameter. This shell could easily take out any of the major cities in the South, which the North demonstrated in 1863 by destroying Richmond, Virginia.

And so, the Ironclad Star Destroyer and Death Star will always be remembered in my mind as the most ridiculous joke we have ever made about the Civil War.

Civil War Term of the Week(s) CWTW

This week I am dubbing it weeks because we didn’t update last week, so there will be one for last week and this week.

French Leave – To go AWOL (Absent Without Leave)

and

Housewife – Sewing Kit

Civil War Term of the Week (CWTW)

Iron Clad Possum – An armadillo dinner.

Civil War Term of the Week (CWTW)

The Civil War term of the week is:

Quick-Step – Diarrhea

Dis-ownership

The Civil War has always been described as a war that pit friends, family, brothers, fathers and sons against one another. There are plenty of documented cases of these situations, and Thomas was no different. When I first learned that he was Southern born, raised on a plantation, and decided to stay with the North I figured there would be some instance of his family or friends finding some distaste with him. I strongly expected this from others in the military, both in the North and the South. I thought Southerners would view him as a traitor (which they did) and that Northerns would look at him with unease, being from the very region in which many of the strongest southern supporters were from, which at times they also were. However, I thought that his family might be a bit more understanding, they were not. His wife, luckily, stayed by his side in support, however his immediate family was not so forgiving. Upon word that their brother had stayed loyal to the North and not his home state Thomas’ sisters turned his portrait to the wall and disowned him for his loyalty to the federal government. Now I will say that I am only part way into his biography and I do not know if his family ever changed their opinions about him (I will let you know later on). I just find it amazing that Thomas stayed with the North, he must have known that he would have been disowned, to desert one’s state was practically treason for the South and to do so was a great dishonor. Despite this, despite the scorn he was sure to receive, despite the pain it must have cause, Thomas stayed loyal to the oath he took to his country, and he would go on to fight and command valiantly for the North.

Battle Report

“About the latter hour 9 A.M. two lines of battle were formed by the 10th & 44 Regts which charged the. . .[camp] of the 41st Miss. On the route [they] were reinforced by a few recruits from the 7th & 9th Miss. The result of the battle was the dispersion of the 41 who for a short time fought stubbornly, the capture of their Colonel and several other officers and the occupation of their Regimental Parade. When we began to retire our adversaries rallied and being joined by our faithless allies of the 7th & 9th they made an attack upon our rear. Three times a halt was made and the attacks repulsed. After crossing the road and the brook which separate the camps of the enemy from our own we made a determined stand. Many unsuccessful attempts were made by the foe to pass the bridge and to cross the stream lower down. Discouraged by their repeated failures they finally withdrew altogether. In the afternoon they again advanced upon our camp in three columns, having previously made an insolent demand for the unconditional surrender of the army of the East, as we were called, allowing us ten minutes in which to decide. The demand being refused a hot attack was made and after an engagement of a half or three quarters of an hour terminated in their repulse. Their losses were their commdr in chief, their three corps commanders, besides several other officers of rank, and two or three stands of colors.”

Sorry about the punctuation, or lack there of, in the above quote but that’s why they call it a quote. What a blistering account of an actual battle during the Civil War! The only difference? It was a snowball fight. During winter quarters, soldiers on both sides had to account for the downtime presented to them considering both sides often stacked arms until Spring. The above account was written in the diary of Lieutenant T. Otis Baker on March 22, 1864. I guess Spring was behind schedule but I doubt the soldiers cared.

Generally, (pun intended) the General was off limits during these engagements but they sometimes made their presence known. Take General James Longstreet of the Confederacy for instance; he actually charged a regiment with an adjutant (assistant) and took a couple of prisoners during a particular snowball fight. I can’t make this stuff up.

Soldiers often lost teeth, received black eyes and bloody noses during these fights. It was even reported that two soldiers DIED during a snowball fight in Georgia. I can only imagine what was packed into those ice balls!

To me, this is what makes the Civil War so relatable. Everyone has been involved in a snowball fight or two, or ten. It’s so easy to view the soldiers on both sides as hardened, calloused veterans with thousand yard stares and nothing but contempt in their hearts. In reality, they were men (I use that term lightly considering most were still boys) who wanted to go beyond their farm or town and experience something that only their grandfathers had. Of course, their perception of war was far different than the realities of war but you can’t help but relate to a particularly difficult experience when you put it into terms that even we, 150 years later, can understand.

Quote is from The Life of Johnny Reb by Bell Irvin Wiley.