Foundations

--> -->

First Lieutenant Leonard Martin age 22

As I continue my research, the first objective for my book project A Severe and Damaging Fire, is to get to know the officers who fought in the U.S. regular artillery establishment during the Civil War. This foundational information will be the basis for the more detailed research on the actions of the regular artillery in the Maryland Campaign.

To identify these officers, I started with the Army Register of 1861.  The Register contains the name of every regular army officer and his regimental assignment as of September 1^st. By that date, the war had begun in earnest. Many changes had occurred in the manning of the artillery regiments. Thirty-five southern officers had resigned or were dismissed. On May 4^th, 1861, a new artillery regiment was organized by direction of President Lincoln. The new Fifth Artillery, with 64 officers assigned by September, was the largest in the force.  It was organized at wartime levels vs. peacetime levels.  This meant there was additional major authorized in the headquarters and one additional lieutenant in each battery.  There were also more men, horses and guns.[1]   See table 1 for a comparison of officer staffing with the other four regiments.  Three officers had already killed in action.  Lieutenant John T. Greble  2^nd Artillery was the first to fall at Big Bethel on June 10^th, 1861.  A month later Lieutenants Douglas Ramsay, 1^st Artillery and Presley O. Craig, 2^nd Artillery were killed at Bull Run on July 21^st.

Also, many long serving artillery lieutenants jumped at the chance to get a captain’s appointment in the rapidly expanding staff departments of the War Department.  Positions as assistant adjutant generals, quartermasters, commissary of subsistence, ordnance officers, and paymasters were highly sought after and promised higher pay, further advancement, and better duty (sometimes).

Table 1 Officer Strengths in U.S. Artillery Regiments from Army Register 1861

Regiment	COL	LTC	MAJ	CPT	1LT	2LT	Total Present	Losses from table below
First Artillery	1	1	2	10	22	11	47	17
Second Artillery	0	1	2	12	23	7	45	14
Third Artillery	1	1	2	12	23	8	47	6
Fourth Artillery	1	1	2	11	18	6	39	18
Fifth Artillery	1	1	3	12	23	24	64
Totals	4	5	11	57	109	56	242	55

Table 2 Artillery Officer Losses from U.S. Army Register 1861

Regiment	Resigned	Commissions Vacated*	Died	Dropped	Dismissed	Total
First Artillery	7	7	1	1	1	17
Second Artillery	9	3	2	0	0	14
Third Artillery	5	0	1	0	0	6
Fourth Artillery	12	3	1	0	2	18
Totals	33	13	5	1	3	55

* Vacated commissions occur when an officer leaves the regiment to accept an appointment in a non-artillery organization like an infantry regiment or as an assistant quartermaster.  His regimental position is vacated and filled through promotion of another artillery officer or by a new appointment.

After establishing the baseline from the 1861 Army Register, the next step was identifying other officers appointed or commissioned after the start of the war.  During the entire war, an additional 197 artillery officers were appointed. With all the changes in 1861, there was suddenly, a great deal of upward mobility.  All the vacancies whether caused by artillery expansion, resignations, transfers, or battle losses had to be filled.  The Army added by far, the largest number of new officers in 1861.  In the end of that year alone, 133 new officers (or 67% of the total added during the war) were appointed or commissioned. Eighty-four more officers were added between 1862-1865.  By the end of the war, a total of 440 men had served in the ranks of the regular artillery at some point during the war. 

I found the other 217 names by reviewing the War Department General Orders (WDGOs). The WDGOs are a virtual human resources record of the regular army and contain all appointments, promotions, transfers, casualties, resignations, and retirements for all regular artillery officers.  They are listed by regiment.  The orders list the personnel action, officer’s name, and the effective date. If the action is caused by the loss of another officer, that officer’s name unit of assignment, and the the reason for his departure is listed.

--> Here is an example.  War Department General Order Number 8, dated April 3, 1861, announced the resignation of First Lieutenant Ambrose Powell Hill of Virginia from the First Artillery. The effective date of the action is March 1, 1861.  Subsequently General Order Number 24 dated May

General Order #24 May 22, 1861

22, 1861, announced the promotion of Second Lieutenant William M. Graham to First Lieutenant in Company D, First Artillery. Lieutenant Graham as the order announces is replacing Lieutenant Hill.  The effective date of Lieutenant Graham’s promotion is March 1, 1861.  In that same general order, William Maynadier is appointed a second lieutenant to fill the vacancy created by Graham’s promotion. The effective date of Maynadier’s appointment is May 1, 1861.  Maynadier is only a second lieutenant for 13 days before he is promoted to first lieutenant on May 14, 1861. That promotion is announced in General Order 64 dated August 2, 1861.  Maynadier fills a vacancy created by the dismissal of First Lieutenant James Slaughter another Virginian, from his slot in Light Battery K, First Artillery.  Graham would be promoted later in 1861 to captain of Light Battery K, First Artillery. He subsequently lead it at Antietam supporting Israel Richardson’s attack in the Sunken Road.  In the WDGOs, there are 930 such personnel actions like these for just artillery officers.  All these personnel actions are in my database.

I now have a nearly complete list that contains the names of 440 regular artillery officers.  The next step is to flesh out their biographies.  Francis Heitman’s  Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army From Its Organization, September 29, 1789 to March 2, 1903 contains a biographical sketch of each officer. For West Pointers, the definitive biography database is the work found in George Cullem’s  Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point N.Y.  Every West Point graduate has a “Cullem Number” and the register is invaluable in filling in the blanks on these officer’s careers.  Finally, the obituaries of many West Pointers can be found in the Annual Reunion of the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point New York.  These annual reports published for many years in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries contain the obituaries for those officers that died in the preceding year.  These obituaries can often include further personnel information.  I also am obtaining the cadet photographs from the West Point Library of all graduates in the classes of 1857 (when photographs began) thru 1864 who were commissioned in the artillery.

Only about half (223) of the artillery officers however are West Point graduates.  The rest were either appointed from civilian life or were enlisted soldiers who received commissions. Another biographical source is Major William H. Powell’s Record of Living Officers of the United States Army. His information comes from officers replying to a questionnaire that he sent to them and often contains a lot more personal information than Heitman. Powell reports on officers still alive in 1890 both retired and on active duty. Because he does not distinguish between West Pointers and non-graduates this resource sometimes serves to  fill in gaps for non West Pointers if they were still serving after the war or were retired. However Powell’s work only carries us to 1890.   

I use a powerful database called Filemaker Pro (FM) to compile all this information.  I now have a database record on each officer.  Using FM, I can find, sort, and report at an astonishing level of detail.  I plan to include an appendix that contains an abbreviated biography on every officer.

-->

Lieutenant Colonel Hays surrounded by the officers of the Horse Artillery

This research is allowing me to accomplish an important goal of this project.  As my work continues, a picture emerges for every man.  I feel at some level that I know him. They were the core of the artillery establishment. Most of them are lieutenants like Leonard Martin (USMA 1861) pictured above.  They are in their early twenties and were commissioned in that first big expansion of the regular army in 1861.  The youngster’s ranks are leavened with few “senior” captains.  Experienced artillerists like Tidball, Gibson, Ransom, Benson, Robertson, Best, and Terrill chose not to advance their careers by accepting a colonelcy in a volunteer regiment or a brigadier general’s commission.   This small cadre of 400 men lead by career artillerists like William Barry, Henry Hunt, and William Hays (pictured here), made Union artillery an awesome instrument of war feared and respected by friend and foe alike. 

---

[1] The “peace” organization of a 6-pound battery consisted of four officers, 76 enlisted men, 44 horses, and four guns.  The “war” organization had five officers, 150 enlisted men, 110 horses and six guns.  The other four artillery regiments would soon be brought on a war footing as well. This information comes from The 1864 Field Artillery Tactics authored by Captains William H. French, William F. Barry, and Henry J. Hunt.

“A Remarkable Artillerist”

-->

Getting our bearings

This Sunday, Jim Buchanan and I had the opportunity to visit the Greenbriar Farm located on the east bank of the Antietam north of Route 34. Owner Ann Corcoran was gracious enough to give us a brief history of the farm before we began our walk along the heights overlooking the creek.  As the area is teeming with hunters this time of year, Jim and I donned orange vests and cautiously proceeded south from the farm buildings along the ridge. I hoped I wouldn’t need to use my military skills of employing cover and concealment.

Carmen 0730 map.  Batteries center at bottom

On the Carmen maps, the property is known as the Ecker Farm.  The farm is located on a ridge up to 190 feet above the creek. It affords dominating positions for artillery and their shells ranged deep into the Confederate lines across the stream. Henry Hunt and his Artillery Reserve chief William Hays positioned four batteries on this high ground overlooking the creek. The were:

Commander	Unit	Assigned To	#	Armament
Capt Elijah D. Taft	5th Battery, New York Light Artillery	Artillery Reserve	4	20-lb Parrots
Lt. Alfred von Kleiser	Btry B, 1st Battalion New York Light Artillery	Artillery Reserve	4	20-lb Parrots
Capt Stephen H, Weed	Btry I, 5th U.S. Artillery	V Corps, 2nd Div	4	3-in Ordnance Rifles
Capt George W. Durell	Btry D Pennsylvania Light Artillery	IX Corps 2nd Div	6	10-lb Parrots

                                                                                                                                                               [1]

Stonewall Jackson accurately described the Union artillery, much of it coming from this position as inflicting “a severe and damaging fire.”[2]

The left: Miller's Sawmill Road

With most of the foliage off the trees, the views were stunning.  Behind us to the east, Red Hill loomed.  In front, looking west toward the battlefield, we could see the Tidball artillery position, the Observation Tower on the Sunken Road, and the Visitor Center (and the West Woods and Dunker Church behind it).  At the correct angle of view, the Philadelphia Brigade monument was directly behind the New York Monument.  The Hagerstown Pike south of the Visitor’s Center was clearly visible along with the Reel Ridge to the west.  Closer in, we could see the Boonsboro Pike. To the left of the road, we could plainly see the National Cemetery and the flag proudly flying over the graves of the fallen.  As we walked south and the views changed, the water tower in Sharpsburg emerged and to our great surprise, we saw the intersection of Branch Avenue and the Harpers Ferry Road and Miller’s Sawmill Road. 

The Right:  Sunken Road Tower and Visitor's Center

In the Civil War, the light artillery batteries employed by both sides were essentially limited to aiming and hitting targets that they could see.  Granted, shells fell short and others flew over intended targets out of view.  But under the stern tutelage of Henry Hunt, his Union artillerists were going to aim and shoot only at what they could see. Given the ranges of the guns on this ridge, everything that we could see, from the Sunken Road on the right to the final attack approach by A.P. Hill on the left was visible, within range and under the guns of the Union artillery. 

I couldn’t help but think as I viewed this position, of the story so well recorded by James Longstreet in his book From Manassas to Appomattox about one particular cannon shot fired from this position by Captain Stephen H. Weed.  Joseph Harsh in Sounding the Shallows puts the time of the shot at around 7:00 and 8:00 in the morning and the target as Cemetery Hill “twenty or so feet either north or south of the Boonsboro Pike.”[3]  Jim and I could plainly see the target. 

Lets follow Longstreet’s narrative which D.H. Hill subsequently described as “entirely accurate”:

"There is a shot for General Hill"

“During the lull after the reencounter of Walker’s Hill’s and Hood’s divisions against Mansfield’s last fight, General Lee and myself, riding together under the crest of General D.H. Hill’s part of the line, were joined by the latter.  We were presently called to the crest to observe the movements going on in the Union lines.  The two former dismounted and walked to the crest; General Hill, a little out of strength and thinking a single horseman not likely to draw the enemy’s fire, rode. As we reached the crest I asked him to ride a little apart, as he would likely draw fire upon the group. While viewing the field a puff of white smoke was seen to burst from a cannon’s mouth about a mile off.  I remarked, “There is a shot for General Hill,” and, looking towards him, saw his horse drop on his knees.  The dropping forward of the poor animal so elevated his croup that it was not an easy matter for one not an expert horseman to dismount a’la militaire.  To add to the dilemma, there was a rubber coat with other wraps strapped to the cantle of the saddle.  Failing in his attempt to dismount, I suggested that he throw his leg forward over the pommel.  This gave him easy and graceful dismount. This was the third horse shot under him during the day and the shot was one of the best I ever witnessed.”[4]

Longstreet goes on to record the statement of Union surgeon Major Alfred A. Woodhull who witnessed the shot from Weed’s position.

“On the 17^th of September, 1862, I was standing in Weed’s battery, whose position is correctly shown in the map, when a man on, I think, a gray horse, appeared about a mile in front of us, and footmen were recognized near.  Captain Weed, who was a remarkable artillerist, himself sighted and fired the gun at the horse, which was struck. “[5]

The National Cemetery

Stephen H. Weed was indeed a remarkable artillerist.  The native of Potsdam New York graduated from West Point with the outstanding class of 1854.  A cadet at the academy while Robert E. Lee was superintendent, Weed’s classmates included Lee’s son Custis, Oliver O. Howard, J.E.B. Stuart, Stephen D. Lee, Dorsey Pender, Grimes Davis, and a host of other men who contributed significantly to the war effort for both sides.  Weed was commissioned in the 4^th U.S. Artillery. The Fourth at the time was employed largely as part of the frontier constabulary.  Weed fought with his company in the Third Seminole War, and helped quell the Kansas disturbances. He was part of the expedition to Utah and along the way was engaged in skirmishes against the Indians.  A First Lieutenant since November 16, 1856, he was assigned with Battery K to Fort Ridgely Minnesota at the start of the Civil War.  A seasoned young veteran, Lieutenant Weed received a coveted battery command and promotion to captain in the new Fifth Artillery Regiment on May 14, 1861. Light Battery I and its commander fought with Fitz-John Porter’s Fifth Corps on the Peninsula, and at Second Manassas before the Maryland Campaign.  Weed’s star continued to rise after Antietam.  He commanded the Fifth Corps artillery with distinction at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville.  Promoted to brigadier general of volunteers on June 6, 1863, Stephen Weed, age 30, was be killed instantly at Gettysburg defending Little Round Top on July 2, 1863.

---

[1] Johnson, Curt and Richard C. Anderson. Artillery Hell The Employment of Artillery at Antietam. College Station Texas: Texas A&M University Press 1995, pages 36-37.

[2] War of the Rebellion Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies Series I, Volume 19, Part 1, page 956.

[3] Harsh, Joseph H. Sounding the Shallows. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 2000. page 203

[4] Longstreet, James. From Manassas to Appomttox. New York: Barnes and Noble. Originally published 1896. Page 208

[5] Ibid, 208