Richmond, VA, 1/19-20/2023

While in town for the Powhatan Civil War Roundtable last week, I had time to take in some sites, including things like the Tredegar Iron Works, Confederate White House, Robert E. Lee’s residence, Chimborazo Hospital, Glendale battlefield, Malvern Hill, White Oak Swamp, and the Oakwood, Glendale, and Hollywood Cemeteries. At the latter, I chased down the final resting places of a few Bull Runners (I realize there are more, but I had limited time):

Hollywood Cemetery

Hollywood Cemetery

Hollywood Cemetery

John Imboden, Staunton Artillery

James Ewell Brown Stuart, 1st Va. Cavalry

William Smith, 49th Va. Infantry Battalion

Raleigh Colston, Co. E, 2nd Va. Infantry

Hunter Holmes McGuire, Jackson’s Brigade

Eppa Hunton, 8th Va. Infantry

Philip St. George Cocke

Chatham Roberdeau Wheat, 1st Special Louisiana Battalion

While A. P. Hill was at Manassas Junction during the battle, I have to mention that I ran into these fellas on Malvern Hill. The next day, they were in Culpeper, Va. for the reinterment of the General’s remains.

Myself, Patrick “A. P. Hill” Falci, and collateral descendant of the General, John Hill, on Malvern Hill

Brig. Gen. P. G. T. Beauregard to Sec. of War LeRoy Pope Walker, on Advance to Positions Forward of Bull Run

CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS RELATING TO OPERATIONS IN MARYLAND, PENNSYLVANIA, VIRGINIA, AND WEST VIRGINIA FROM APRIL 16 TO JULY 31, 1861

CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. – CONFEDERATE

O. R. – Series I – VOLUME 2 [S #2] CHAPTER IX, p. 947

Headquarters
Army of the Potomac, Manassas Junction, Va., June 23, 1861.

Hon. L. P. Walker, Secretary of War, Richmond, Va.:

Sir: I have the honor to inform the Department that, in consequence of the large re-enforcements I have lately received, I have divided my forces into six brigades, as per inclosed statement,* and commenced a forward movement to protect my advanced position at Centreville, Fairfax Court-House, and Sangster’s Cross-Roads, and also to be within striking distance of the enemy, whose advance positions seem to be at and to the rear of Falls Church (seven -miles from Alexandria), where they have five regiments (First and Second Connecticut, First and Second Ohio, and Sixty-ninth New York), one troop of cavalry, and one light battery. They have also four companies at Annandale.

My advanced forces (three brigades of three regiments each) occupy the triangle represented by Mitchell’s Ford (Bull Run), one regiment; Centreville and a point half way to Germantown, one brigade; Germantown and Fairfax Court-House, one brigade; at the crossing of Braddock’s old road with the Fairfax Court-House and Fairfax Station roads, one regiment; at the latter station, one regiment and one battalion, and at Sangster’s Cross-Roads, one battalion. All these positions are in easy and short communication with each other and with these headquarters. Most of my cavalry is with the advance, scouting, reconnoitering, &c. One light battery is at Fairfax Court-House with General Bonham’s brigade, and another is to be sent to Centreville to act with Colonel Cocke’s brigade. I unfortunately have none to spare for my other brigades. I have thrown eight miles in advance of the latter town or village one battalion of infantry and two companies of cavalry to observe the country towards the Potomac and the movements of the enemy in that direction. As already reported to the Department, one regiment (Sloan’s South Carolina) has been ordered to Leesburg, to assist Col. E. Hunton in the defense of that important position. I regret much my inability to send him some artillery.

I must call the attention of the Department to the great deficiency of my command in ammunition, not averaging more than twenty rounds in all per man. If I were provided with the necessary materials, molds, &c., I think I could establish here a cartridge manufactory which could supply all our wants in that respect. Could not a similar arrangement be made at all hospital depots, State arsenals, penitentiaries, &c.? To go into battle each soldier ought to be provided with at least forty rounds of cartridges, and not less than sixty rounds in reserve.

I remain, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

G. T. BEAUREGARD,
Brigadier-General, Commanding.

*See General Orders, No. 20, p. 943

Maj. Gen. Robert E. Lee to Col. Eppa Hunton on Damaging Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad and Command Changes

CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS RELATING TO OPERATIONS IN MARYLAND, PENNSYLVANIA, VIRGINIA, AND WEST VIRGINIA FROM APRIL 16 TO JULY 31, 1861

CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. – CONFEDERATE

O. R. – Series I – VOLUME 2 [S #2] CHAPTER IX, p. 917

Headquarters Virginia Forces,
Richmond, Fa., June 10,1861.

Col. Eppa Hunton, Commanding, Leesburg, Va.:

Colonel: Your letter of the 8th instant has been received, and it is hoped that you have accomplished the destruction of the bridges upon the Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad, and otherwise rendered the road unserviceable to the enemy. Unless any of the rolling stock can be transferred to the Orange or Manassas Railroad, it must be destroyed immediately. Should it not already be demolished, the gondola and flats must not be permitted to fall into the hands of the enemy.

Lieut. Col. C. C. Cocke has been ordered to duty with your regiment. General G. T. Beauregard is in command of all the forces in Prince William, Fairfax, and Loudoun, through whom you should make your reports, and from whom you will receive instructions. Your letter of the 8th has been referred to him for his information and action. It is necessary to destroy the navigation of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, to prevent its being used by the enemy, and you will take measures to do so effectually, by cutting the dams at Seneca and Edwards Ferry, and blowing up the Monocacy Aqueduct.

Respectfully, your obedient servant,

R. E. LEE,
General, Commanding.

Col. Eppa Hunton to Col. Thomas Jordan on Provisions and Ammunition in Georgetown and Local Request for Reinforcements

CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS RELATING TO OPERATIONS IN MARYLAND, PENNSYLVANIA, VIRGINIA, AND WEST VIRGINIA FROM APRIL 16 TO JULY 31, 1861

CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. – CONFEDERATE

O. R. – Series I – VOLUME 2 [S #2] CHAPTER IX, pp. 915-916

Camp Mason, Leesburg, June 9, 1861.

Lieut. Col. Thos. Jordan, Acting Assistant Adjutant-General:

Sir: Inclosed please find a memorial from a committee on behalf of the citizens of this county, asking for additional forces for the defense of this point. If it is the design of the military authorities to defend this portion of Virginia, then it is very important that additional forces should be concentrated here. I feel very sensibly the importance of this fertile country to the subsistence department of our army and that of the enemy. Besides, if a good force be placed here, it will cut off the enemy from one of the routes to Harper’s Ferry. I earnestly second the wishes of the petitioners, and ask that at least twenty-five hundred men be sent here.

I have just learned from reliable information that there are ten canal-boats in Georgetown loaded with provisions and ammunition. I am assured from a clergyman who has been across the river that this information is reliable. With the additional force asked for we would probably be able to cut to pieces any force that they may send up, under the impression that we have only a few hundred men here. Send the force asked for if the exigencies of the service will allow it.

I have no information of any movement of the enemy on this side the river.

Your dispatch was received to-day in regard to tearing up railroad and burning the ties. Will you inform me whether I am to put the troops here at that work and stop their drill ? The guard duty here is very heavy, and if a force has to be detailed for the purpose indicated it will break up our drill, which is very important to our raw, undisciplined troops. Your orders shall be obeyed.

Very respectfully,

EPPA HUNTON,
Colonel, Commanding.

[Inclosure.]

Leesburg, Va., June 9, 1861.

Col. Eppa Hunton:

The undersigned, a committee in behalf of the citizens of Loudoun County, respectfully represent that it is our impression, in which we believe you concur, that the military force at Camp Mason, under your command, is totally inadequate to the protection and defense of this portion of the State of Virginia, which we are assured is attractive to the enemy, for the following reasons:

1st. We border upon the Potomac River, which forms our boundary for thirty miles, upon which there are not less than thirteen fords and ferries. Leesburg, the county seat, is within four miles of the nearest crossing. We are within thirty miles of Washington City, whence we can be approached by the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, which runs parallel with the Potomac River, and by the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad at the Point of Rocks.

2d. We are a large wheat and corn growing country, with heavy crops of the former now nearly matured. There are not less than twenty thousand cattle now being grazed in the county, a large proportion of which are fat and ready for market, and at least one thousand of these are upon the flats of the river. This is exclusive of the dairy stock, hogs, sheep, &c. There are large amounts of flour, bacon, and grain of last year’s growth. A very important item must not be omitted; that is, a large stock of the finest horses, suited to cavalry and artillery service.

We deem it well worthy of serious consideration that there is a large Union element in Loudoun, and that it is the policy of the Federal administration to intervene in their behalf. In view of these considerations, and of the fact that the Federal papers have frequently spoken of Leesburg as an eligible position for a camp for the Federal forces, by reason of its healthfulness and the productiveness of the surrounding country, we feel it highly important that a force of troops shall be immediately stationed here sufficient to successfully repel invasion, and respectfully beg that you will exert your influence to attain this end.

Respectfully,

THO. W. EDWARDS ET AL.

Maj. Gen. Robert E. Lee to Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston on Possible Coordination with Brig. Gen. Milledge L. Bonham

CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS RELATING TO OPERATIONS IN MARYLAND, PENNSYLVANIA, VIRGINIA, AND WEST VIRGINIA FROM APRIL 16 TO JULY 31, 1861

CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. – CONFEDERATE

O. R. – Series I – VOLUME 2 [S #2] CHAPTER IX, p. 894

Headquarters Virginia Forces, Richmond, Ya., May 30, 1861.

General Joseph E. Johnston,
Commanding, &c., Harper’s Ferry, Va.:

Sir: While at Manassas I made the following arrangements of light troops: A corps of observation, of cavalry and infantry, has been established, under Colonel Ewell, in advance of Fairfax Court-House, the right extending towards Occoquan, the left to the Leesburg road. Col. Eppa Hunton, commanding at Leesburg, has been ordered to have an advance post at Dranesville, and to extend his scouts down the Alexandria and Leesburg roads, to communicate with Colonel Ewell. He is to inform you of any movement of the U. S. troops, in the direction of Leesburg, tending to threaten your rear, through Captain Ashby, at Point of Rocks. In the event of such a movement, should you deem it advisable, and should you be unable to hold your position, I would suggest a joint attack by you and General Bonham, commanding at Manassas, for the purpose of cutting them off. I have given full verbal explanations to Capt. Thomas L. Preston, who leaves Richmond to-morrow, to join your command.

I am, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

R. E. LEE,
General, Commanding.

Brig. Gen. Milledge L. Bonham to Maj. Gen. Robert E. Lee on Destroying Bridges on Loudoun & Hampshire Railroad

CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS RELATING TO OPERATIONS IN MARYLAND, PENNSYLVANIA, VIRGINIA, AND WEST VIRGINIA FROM APRIL 16 TO JULY 31, 1861

REPORTS, ETC. – CONFEDERATE

O. R. – Series I – VOLUME 2 [S #2] CHAPTER IX, p. 42

No. 5. Reports of Brig. Gen. M. L. Bonham, C. S. Army, commanding at Manassas, Va.

Manassas, Va., May 24, 1861.

Dispatch received.* Colonel Terrett says two troops of cavalry crossed the Chain Bridge about 12 o’clock in the night. I have ordered some dragoons of Captain Green’s company to burn the bridges as soon as practicable. Will immediately send your dispatch to Colonel Hunton, however, who I hope has already accomplished the object. If you can, send some good artillerist and an engineer.

M. L. BONHAM.

General Lee.

*Of same date. See “Correspondence, etc.,” post.

[Filed here as Official Correspondence, but in the Official Records as Reports.]

Brig. Gen. Milledge L. Bonham to Maj. Gen. Robert E. Lee on Federals Moving on Alexandria

CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS RELATING TO OPERATIONS IN MARYLAND, PENNSYLVANIA, VIRGINIA, AND WEST VIRGINIA FROM APRIL 16 TO JULY 31, 1861

REPORTS, ETC. – CONFEDERATE

O. R. – Series I – VOLUME 2 [S #2] CHAPTER IX, p. 42

No. 5. Reports of Brig. Gen. M. L. Bonham, C. S. Army, commanding at Manassas, Va.

Manassas, Va., May 21,1861.

By all accounts, the enemy crossed the river last night in large force. They stopped the Leesburg train six miles from Alexandria, a reliable man informs me, who saw them. They may be moving on Leesburg; possibly on us. I have just heard from Hunton. He has taken necessary measures to prevent surprise by rail, but they will not move that way. If they attack us, we will defend the place to the last; but our troops are badly armed and deficient in ammunition. They have captured Ball’s dragoons. Send the ablest engineer to be had.

M. L. BONHAM.

General Lee.

[Filed here as Official Correspondence, but in the Official Records as Reports.]

Maj. Gen. Robert E. Lee to Brig. Gen. Milledge L. Bonham on Destroying Bridges on Loudoun & Hampshire Railroad

CORRESPONDENCE, ORDERS, AND RETURNS RELATING TO OPERATIONS IN MARYLAND, PENNSYLVANIA, VIRGINIA, AND WEST VIRGINIA FROM APRIL 16 TO JULY 31, 1861

CORRESPONDENCE, ETC. – CONFEDERATE

O. R. – Series I – VOLUME 2 [S #2] CHAPTER IX, p. 872

Richmond, Va., May 24, 1861.

General Bonham, Manassas Junction, Va.:

Send an express to Colonel Hunton, at Leesburg, to destroy all the bridges of the Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad as far down towards Alexandria as possible, and to keep you and General Johnston advised of the movements of the enemy towards Harper’s Ferry.

R. E. LEE,
Major-General, Commanding.

Recap: Brandy Station Foundation

On this past Sunday, Sept. 24, I delivered my Kilpatrick Family Ties program to the Brandy Station Foundation down in Culpeper, Virginia. This is a pretty long (4.5 hours) drive for me, so I turned it into a weekend trip and stayed in Warrenton. So let me recap my trip, with special emphasis on items of First Bull Run interest. Click on any image for a larger one.

I got into Warrenton around 6:00 PM, checked into my room, then headed to the historic district. I’ve never visited Warrenton before, so it was all new to me. First up was what is touted as the post-war home of Col. John Singleton Mosby though, based on length of residence, it may better be described as the post-war home of General Eppa Hunton, colonel of the 8th Virginia Infantry regiment at First Bull Run (read his battle memoir here, and his after action report here). Hunton made “Brentmoor” his home from 1877 to 1902, after purchasing it from Mosby.

In the “law complex” section I found California, the pre-war home of William “Extra Billy” Smith, who commanded the 49th Virginia battalion at First Bull Run (memoir here, official report here). After the war, this building housed Mosby’s law office. Smith was a pre-war and wartime governor of Virginia.

A few blocks away at 194 Culpeper St. is “Mecca,” a private residence built in 1859. It served as a Confederate hospital to the wounded of First Bull Run, and later as headquarters to Union generals McDowell, Sumner, and Russell.

The Warrenton Cemetery is the resting place for many Confederate soldiers, most famously Mosby. Also there is William Henry Fitzhugh “Billy” Payne, with Warrenton’s Black Horse Troop at First Bull Run.

Saturday was spent touring the battlefield of Brandy Station and sites associated with the Army of the Potomac’s 1863-1864 winter encampment with two experts on both, Clark “Bud” Hall and Craig Swain of To the Sound of the Guns. I admit to knowing very little about either of topic, but was given a good foundation for further exploration. I also learned that some red pickup trucks can go absolutely anywhere, and there is good beer around Culpeper.

L to R – Me, Bud Hall, Craig Swain

Not a whole lot of First Bull Run stuff on the field, though. But the first thing I saw when I got to Fleetwood Hill was “Beauregard,” the home in which Roberdeau Wheat of the First Louisiana Special Battalion recovered from his Bull Run wounds, first thought to be mortal. The name of the house at the time was “Bellevue.” Wheat recommended the name change, in honor of his commanding general and in recognition of the similar translation of both names.

View of “Beauregard” from Fleetwood Hill

Sunday found me back in Culpeper at the Brandy Station Foundation where, as I said, I presented Kilpatrick Family Ties to a modest audience. I made some late changes to the program on Saturday night, adding one pertinent site from Warrenton (the Warren Green Hotel where one of the characters in the presentation lived for a year) and “Rose Hill,” the home Kilpatrick made his HQ during the winter of 1863-1864. But I did run into a couple of Bull Run items. First, the monument to John Pelham that was previously located near Kelly’s Ford on the Rappahannock River (it was in a really bad location) has been relocated to the Graffiti House, home of the Brandy Station Foundation. Pelham, if you recall, was in command of Alburtis’s Battery (Wise Artillery) at First Bull Run (personal correspondence here).

As most of you know, the Graffiti House at Brandy Sation was occupied by both Confederate and Union soldiers during the war. Over its course, soldiers of all stripes inscribed on its walls with charcoal signatures, drawings, and sayings of an astounding quantity. These were both obscured and preserved by whitewash after the return of its exiled owners, and were rediscovered in 1993. The Brandy Station Foundation has lovingly restored and preserved much of the dwelling, and you should make the Graffiti House a bullet point on you bucket list.

Graffiti House, Brandy Station (Culpeper), VA

I’ll end this post with a shot of the signature of a prominent First Bull Run participant on one of the second floor walls. Can you see it? Here is his official report.

Signature of Joe Johnston’s First Bull Run cavalry chief

 

Review: Arwen Bicknell, “Justice and Vengeance”

I received Justice and Vengeance: Scandal, Honor, and Murder in 1872 Virginia from author Arwen Bicknell a while back, and intended on writing a brief preview. However, I was intrigued enough by the very limited details provided on the back cover (including a good blurb from John Hennessy) and website to read the whole thing. I don’t usually do this, but want to get the synopsis from Amazon out of the way so I can discuss the cooler parts of this book:

In Justice and Vengeance, Arwen Bicknell offers the first full account of the events leading up to the shooting of James Clark by Lucien Fewell and the sensational, headline-grabbing murder trial that followed. Set against the backdrop of Reconstruction, tumultuous Virginia politics, and the presidential election of 1872 featuring Ulysses Grant, Horace Greeley, and protofeminist Victoria Woodhull, the first female presidential candidate, Bicknell paints a vivid picture of the evolving South as she traces the families and fortunes of Lucien Fewell, a hellraiser with a passion for drink and for abusing Yankees and scalawags, and James Clark, a rising legal and political star with a wife, a daughter, and a baby on the way.

A marvelous work of historical re-creation, Justice and Vengeance is sure to fascinate anyone interested in crime drama, the Civil War and its aftermath, and the history of Virginia and the politics of the American South.

OK, so why would anyone interested in the First Battle of Bull Run be interested in this work, concerning a murder and trial which occur a decade after the battle? First of all, the bulk of the story takes place in the general Manassas vicinity, and particularly in Brentsville, and in the Brentsville jail house which you can visit today. Second, two fairly prominent Confederate participants in First Bull Run, Eppa Hunton of the 8th Virginia Infantry and Billy Payne of the Black Horse Troop, play very prominent roles as attorneys for the defense of the accused, Confederate veteran Lucien Fewell, who openly shot and mortally wounded Confederate veteran James Clark. Former Virginia governor Henry Wise assisted the prosecution.

But what is particularly fun is how the author pulls strings, albeit sometimes tenuously connected, to weave a wide ranging tapestry of the times in which these local events took place. It’s difficult to describe, which I imagine is why I found available summaries so dissatisfying.

Regardless, I recommend you give this book a tumble, if post-war politics, gender roles, legal proceedings, and general roller-coasterly good times flip your switch.