09September 2010
SEPTEMBER PROGRAM
On Wednesday September 15th at 7:30 pm the SDCWRT will hold its 289th meeting at Palisades Presbyterian Church, 6301 Birchwood St., San Diego, CA 92120.
This month’s speaker will be one of our own, Mark Shapiro. Mark has spoken to us in the past and each and every time it has been one our best programs, and this time will be no different. Be prepared for an educational treat.
On August 21, 1848, a Virginia slave named Nat Turner launched an insurrection that would shake the antebellum South to its core. Over the course of the rebellion, 56 white people, including men, women, and children were murdered. Turner was subsequently captured and was, along with 55 accused accomplices, put to death. In a paroxysm of fear and reprisal, more than 200 black people uninvolved in the rebellion were beaten, tortured and killed. These events and the far-reaching consequences will be explored in “Antebellum Fear: Nat Turner’s Rebellion”
August 2010 Meeting
By Travis Fuqua
On August 18, 2010, Barbara Bruff Hemmingsen presented “The Western Theatre of the Civil War: The Battle of Chickamauga, 19-20 September 1863”. Since it would have been impossible to enumerate the entire order of battle and all the maneuvers, Mrs. Hemmingsen instead took a more precise approach by focusing on one particular regiment—the 125th Ohio and Company A in particular. Mrs. Hemmingsen chose this in particular because her ancestor Joseph Bruff was a captain and then major and finally a lieutenant colonel in this regiment throughout the war and she has many of his letters describing the battles. It is from these letters that Mrs. Hemmingsen drew much of the content of her presentation.
There was first an overview of the Western Theatre in the beginning of the War which is often neglected. By the beginning of 1863, the western two-thirds of Tennessee were in Federal hands and soon General William Rosecrans, had designs on the capture of Chattanooga and the Confederate Army of Tennessee. Chattanooga was an important city to capture as it served as a central supply base for Confederate forces. Thus Rosecrans began to move his army towards Chattanooga and Captain Bruff describes the march through the Cumberland Valley with vivid attention to the scenery, uncommon for soldiers marching continuously.
General Rosecrans faced an tactical disadvantage as very few of the officers under his command had been to West Point and thus knew little about army maneuvers. As Rosecrans neared Chattanooga, Confederate General Braxton Bragg left the city and headed to the south on September 8th. The next day, Rosecrans began pursuit and over the next week the armies moved into position near the Chickamauga Creek. The Battle began on September 19th and the Federal XIV Corps fortified on the Kelly Farm and the Confederates moved along La Fayette Road. For the details of the forthcoming battle, Mrs. Hemmingsen relied on Peter Cozzen’s “This Terrible Sound” (1992, University of Illinois Press). In addition, only certain parts of the action and that concerning her ancestor were mentioned. Throughout September 19th, there was action along the Kelly Farm and La Fayette Road.
At the end of the day, the Federal Army lost its numerical superiority when a train of reinforcements from Confederate General Longstreet’s army in Virginia arrived in the evening and prepared for battle the next day. This move had surprised Federal commanders who did not anticipate the reinforcements. There were now 65,000 Confederate Soldiers to the Federal 60,000. At nine o’clock the following morning, fierce fighting broke out again at the Kelly Farm.
The fighting was so fierce that Major General Rosecrans began to demand rapidity in the Federal maneuvers, but there arose a miscommunication and the Federal lines began to fall out of order. Many blame Federal Brigadier General Thomas Wood for being resentful towards Rosecrans and acting on purpose, but the accusation, although repeated several times has limited contemporary support. The miscommunication resulted in General Wood moving his men and a hole was made in the Federal lines of which General Longstreet took advantage and advanced his men through the Federal lines and soon some of the Federal forces were surrounded, in disorder, and then began to retreat towards Chattanooga by noon. Other federal forces in the area also soon retreated. Other Federal forces, including the 125th Ohio did very well and managed to push the Confederate forces back against odds at the Dyer Farm for which the 125th was famously commended. In addition, 25,000 Federal soldiers fought 50,000 Confederate soldiers for seven hours at Snodgrass Hill for which there is a plaque and monument today to the monumental Federal feat which has been compared the famous Ancient Greek Battle of Thermopylae.
By the end of the day, only half of the Federal Army remained to fight the entire Confederate force as the other half had retreated or had become casualties. At dusk, the remaining Federal forces were ordered to retreat to Chattanooga effectively making the Battle a Confederate victory. There were 17,000 casualties on both sides making this amongst the bloodiest battles. The Federal Army retreated back to Chattanooga where they were placed under siege by Confederate forces for the next two months where they had an especially disadvantageous position where the Confederates were able to fire down into the city upon them. General Rosecrans’ career never recovered from the Battle.