Social Networks 1844

John Tyler U.S. President in 1844 and future Confederate Congressman

-->

A talking point that we sometimes make when discussing the Battle of Antietam with visitors is the number and the impact of West Point officers at the battle and the idea that officers who studied at the Academy and then served together in the regular army took up arms against each other.  There is rarely time to give a lot of examples except perhaps for the famous Class of 1846 that had fifteen of its own fighting in Maryland.

For all these men, the majority of their careers were not spent in the intense atmosphere of battle.  They labored mostly in the more mundane and routine duties of garrison life.  It was not during war but the years working together that contributed more to the establishment of social networks, lifelong impressions and relationships. The most often cited relationship was attendance at West Point.  But that is just the beginning.  Relationships matured and grew by lifelong associations based upon their branch (infantry, artillery, dragoons, engineers etc), the specific regiment to which they were assigned, and the post or duty assignment where they served.  Wars and serious Indian campaigns were eagerly anticipated as ways to advance careers and rank but these episodes are few and far between. 

In an effort to look in some depth at these relationships, lets observe what those future Antietam combatants who were already in uniform back in 1844 were doing. There were 43 West Point graduates serving in the army who would later fight in the Maryland Campaign.  A further ten were had subsequently resigned their commissions and were pursuing civilian careers.[1]  The year 1844 was not a particularly eventful one but was certainly one more representative of a junior officer's career path. If you are familiar with the personalities at Antietam, you may be able to discern here how some of their working relationships, and friendships might bear on their connections at Antietam.

As the year 1844 dawned, no one could have realized that this would be the last year before relations with Mexico would deteriorate to war.  Already elements of the United States Army would deploy to the southwest border (Louisiana) as an Army of Observation under Zachary Taylor.  In the spring of 1844 the Third Infantry was transferred to Camp Wilkins, near Fort Jesup, and with the Fourth Infantry at nearby Camp Salubrity and seven companies of the Second Dragoons at Fort Jesup, became the " Army of Observation " under General Zachary Taylor. Its mission was to patrol the boundary of the Republic of Texas. Making that move from the Third Infantry were Second Lieutenants Israel Richardson (USMA 1841) and George Sykes (USMA 1842).[2]  From the Second Dragoons came Second Lieutenant Richard Anderson (USMA 1842) and Brevet Second Lieutenant Rufus Ingalls (USMA 1843).[3]  From the Fourth Infantry came Captain Robert Buchanan (USMA 1830) and Brevet Second Lieutenant James Longstreet (USMA 1842).[4]  Longstreet as a brevet lieutenant had not received his permanent regimental assignment and was temporarily with the Fourth Infantry.[5]  He  would ultimately be commissioned in the Eighth Infantry in 1845.  Another Fourth Infantry officer, already a close friend of Longstreet was Brevet Second Lieutenant Ulysses S. Grant who was also now at Jesup.  Also stationed in Louisiana at the time were Second Lieutenants Lafayette McLaws (USMA 1842) and Napoleon Dana 1842), West Point classmates and fellow officers of the Seventh Infantry.[6]  McLaws was at Baton Rouge and Dana was assigned to Fort Pike, a coastal fort 20 miles east of New Orleans. 

These regiments had been fighting the Seminoles in Florida for years.  There still remained a sizeable force in that state in 1844.  Among them were Captain Dixon Miles (USMA 1824) now a staff quartermaster at Pensacola.[7]

For the most part, the artillerists continued to man the coastal forts or protect the northern border with Canada.  In the First Artillery, First Lieutenant Joseph Hooker (USMA 1837) served as the regimental adjutant at Fort Columbus.[8]  This fort was one of several  guarding the harbor of New York.  Hooker's classmate, First Lieutenant William French (USMA 1837) was at Fort Adams Rhode Island.[9]  For a time that year, Second Lieutenant James Ricketts (USMA 1839) was stationed at  Hancock Barracks in remote backwoods Maine but would move to Fort Sullivan on the coast later in that year.[10]  With Ricketts at Hancock was Brevet Second Lieutenant James Hardie (USMA 1843).[11]  These outposts in Maine kept an eye on the British across the border in New Brunswick still unsettled from the Aroostook“War” earlier that decade. Also manning the Canadian border at Sackett’s Harbor New York was First Lieutenant Marsena Patrick (USMA 1835) and Second Lieutenant Alfred Sully (USMA 1841) both of the Second Infantry.[12]  

With Hooker at Fort Columbus were several Second Artillery officers.  They included his West Point classmate First Lieutenant John Sedgwick (USMA 1837) and Second Lieutenants Henry Hunt  (USMA 1839)  and William Hays (USMA 1840).[13]  Across the harbor at Fort Hamilton were Brevet Second Lieutenants Seth Williams (USMA 1842) and Henry Clarke (USMA 1843).[14]  On August 31, 1844, Williams would receive his permanent commission as a second lieutenant with the Third Artillery and be reassigned to Hancock Barracks.   The gunners would no doubt have made the acquaintance of Captain Robert E. Lee (USMA 1829) of the Corps of Engineers.[15]  Lee since 1841 labored on the construction and repairs of the defenses of the Narrows entrance to New York harbor. 

 

At that time, Third Artillery officers typically garrisoned coastal forts in the mid-Atlantic region.  At Fort Moultrie guarding Charleston South Carolina was Second Lieutenant John Reynolds (USMA 1841) and Brevet Second Lieutenant Abner Doubleday (USMA 1842).[16]  Doubleday would return to Charleston South Carolina many years later. He started the year at Fort McHenry Maryland with Brevet Second Lieutenant Roswell Ripley (USMA 1843).[17]  Both officers then did a short stint at Fort Johnston North Carolina on the Cape Fear River before Doubleday proceeded to Fort Moultrie and Ripley went to Augusta Arsenal in Georgia. Another Brevet Second Lieutenant in the Third was D.H. Hill (USMA 1843).[18]  He was stationed at Savannah Georgia with another renowned engineer, Captain Joseph K.F. Mansfield (USMA 1822).[19]  Mansfield already a 22-year army veteran was the superintending engineer for the construction of Ft. Pulaski, a project for which he had labored since 1830. 

 

From the Fourth Artillery, Second Lieutenant George Getty (USMA 1840) was stationed for most of the year at Fort Monroe Virginia.[20]  In November he went with Company K to Carlisle Barracks Pennsylvania for the instruction of light artillery. 

 

While the artillery protected America’s coasts, the infantry regiments and horsemen of the First Dragoons continued to man the outposts on the western frontier.  Captain Edwin V. Sumner, First Dragoons commanded Fort Atkinson in present day Nebraska.[21]  One of his officers there was Brevet Second Lieutenant Alfred Pleasonton (USMA 1844), freshly minted from the West Point Class of 1844.[22]  Another First Dragoon officer, First Lieutenant Robert Chilton (USMA 1837) was assigned to Fort Gibson now in Oklahoma.[23]  Chilton no doubt was acquainted with Lafayette McLaws who served at Fort Gibson as a brevet second lieutenant in the Sixth Infantry before receiving his permanent commission in the Seventh and a new assignment at Baton Rouge Louisiana. 

 

Winfield Scott Hancock (USMA 1844) was another brand new brevet second lieutenant, and was temporarily assigned to the Sixth Infantry.[24]  Hancock after graduating from West Point in 1844 spent his first duty assignment at Fort Towson on border between the Indian Territory and the Republic of Texas. 

 

Other infantrymen along the western frontier were Second Lieutenant William T. H. Brooks (USMA 1841), Third Infantry, Second Lieutenant Richard Garnett (USMA 1841), Sixth Infantry, and First Lieutenant Randolph Marcy (USMA 1832), Fifth Infantry.[25]  Brooks served at Fort Leavenworth Kansas.  Garnett was at Fort Smith Arkansas and Marcy was assigned at far off Fort Gratiot on Lake Huron 70 miles north of Detroit. 

 

Besides the engineering projects already cited for Mansfield and Lee, Second Lieutenant Henry Eustis (USMA 1842) was Assistant Engineer for the construction of the Fort Warren seawall in Boston harbor.[26]  Brevet Second Lieutenants William Franklin (USMA 1843) and James Abert (USMA 1842) of the Topographical Engineers participated in the surveys of the Northwestern Lakes.[27]  Second Lieutenant George Meade (USMA 1835) worked on projects in the Delaware Bay.[28]  First Lieutenant Andrew Humphrey (USMA 1831) worked in Washington DC at the Topographical Bureau and Coastal Survey Offices while Robert E. Lee also served in Washington for a time as the Assistant to the Chief Engineer.[29]

 

In 1844, five officers served as assistant professors at the Military Academy.  Assistant professors were officers of the line who were not permanently tenured at West Point but who, based upon their knowledge and experience, were detailed to the Academy.  The were:

·      Second Lieutenant E. Parker Scammon (USMA 1837), Topographical Engineers, Principal Assistant Professor History, Geography, and Ethics.[30]

·      First Lieutenant Israel Vogdes (USMA 1837), First Artillery, Principal Assistant Professor of Mathematics.[31]

·      Second Lieutenant Francis N. Clarke (USMA 1840), Fourth Artillery, Assistant Professor of Mathematics.[32]

·      Second Lieutenant Albion Howe (USMA 1841), Fourth Artillery, Assistant Professor of Mathematics.[33]

·      Brevet Second Lieutenant James A. Hardie, First Artillery, Assistant Professor of Geography, History, and Ethics.  (Hardie reported to West Point in September having been previously stationed at Hancock Barracks)

 

Graduates of the Class of 1844 were Alfred Pleasonton and Winfield Scott Hancock.  Attending West Point as cadets were the future classes of 1845-1848[34] that included 36 future officers who would fight one day at the battle of Antietam.[35] 

This was a microcosm of the Army in 1844.  It was not a particularly eventful year in the careers of those who would fight at Antietam 18 years later.  It was a year when they performed their duties as career officers in a very small regular army establishment. Engineers improved harbors; artillerymen garrisoned the coastal fortifications; infantryman and dragoons patrolled the western frontier.

---

[1] The following officers had resigned their commissions before 1844 but would return to duty during the Civil War:  George Greene (USMA 1823), Thomas Stockton (USMA 1827), Thomas Drayton (USMA 1828), James Barnes (USMA 1829),  William Pendleton (USMA 1830), Rufus King (USMA 1833), George Morell (USMA 1835), Charles Whiting (USMA 1835), Jubal Early (USMA 1837), and Alexander Lawton (USMA 1839).

[2] Sykes commanded the Second Division, Fifth Corps, Army of the Potomac.  Richardson commanded the First Division, Second Corps, Army of the Potomac.  Richardson would be mortally wounded as he reorganized his troops for a final push past the Sunken Road.  Note that all positions cited in the footnotes are at the time of the Battle of Antietam.

[3] Richard Anderson commanded a division under Longstreet in the Army of Northern Virginia. Ingalls was McClellan’s superb quartermaster.

[4] Robert Buchanan commanded a brigade of Regulars in George Sykes division.  Longstreet commanded the Right Wing of the Army of Northern Virginia.

[5] Brevet rank was given to West Point graduates until a permanent Second Lieutenant vacancy occurred in a regiment.  The wait time could be years.  While officers might receive their permanent rank in the same regiment that they held their brevet rank, it was very possible to move to another regiment.  In 1844, Seth Williams gave up his brevet rank in the Second Artillery to accept a permanent commission in the Third.  This necessitated a move from comfortable Fort Hamilton New York to more spartan Hancock Barracks in Maine.  Similarly Richard Anderson moved from the First to the Second Dragoons relocating from Fort Washita Indian Territory (Oklahoma) to Fort Jesup Louisiana.  Lafayette McLaws moved from the Sixth at Fort Gibson to a Seventh Infantry position at Baton Rouge.

[6] McLaws commanded an infantry division under James Longstreet.  Dana commanded the Third Brigade, Second Division, Second Corps.  Their troops would clash in the West Woods during the Battle of Antietam.

[7] Dixon Miles commanded the Union garrison at Harpers Ferry.  He would surrender the garrison to Stonewall Jackson on September 15, 1862 and be mortally wounded in a final fusillade of artillery fire shortly afterward.

[8] Hooker commanded the First Corps, Army of the Potomac.  He would be wounded leading the attack into the Cornfield.

[9] French commanded the Third Division, Second Corps, Army of the Potomac.  He led this division for the first time at the Sunken Road.

[10] James Ricketts commanded the Second Division, First Corps under Hooker.  His troops would be among the first to enter the Bloody Cornfield.

[11] Hardie was a staff lieutenant colonel that served as an acting assistant adjutant general at Headquarters, Army of the Potomac.

[12] Marsena Patrick commanded the Second Brigade, First Division (Doubleday), First Corps.  Sully commanded the First Minnesota Infantry, part of Gorman’s brigade of Sedgwick’s division.  Patrick and Sully were instrumental in halting the surging Confederates who were advancing out of the West Woods after crushing Sedgwick’s division. 

[13] Sedgwick commanded the Second Division, Second Corps that advanced into the West Woods and was outflanked by troops of McLaws, and other Confederate troops.  He would be killed at Spotsylvania in May 9, 1864. Hunt commanded the artillery of the Army of the Potomac.  William Hays, a lieutenant colonel at Antietam would command Hunt’s Artillery Reserve.

[14] Seth Williams was McClellan’s brilliant Adjutant General.  Colonel Henry Clarke was Chief of the Commissariat for the Union Army during the Maryland Campaign.

[15] Robert E. Lee commanded the Army of Northern Virginia from June 1, 1862 until the end of the Civil War.

[16] Reynolds commanded the Pennsylvania Reserve Division but on September 13, 1862 much to his disgust, was detached to command the Pennsylvania Emergency Militia for the duration of the Maryland Campaign.  He was killed at Gettysburg on July 1, 1863.  Doubleday commanded the First Division, First Corps, Army of the Potomac.  Doubleday commanded a company at Fort Moultrie/Fort Sumter in April 1861.

[17] Roswell Ripley, originally from Ohio, commanded a brigade in D.H. Hill’s division.  His troops fought in the Cornfield.

[18] Daniel Harvey Hill commanded a Confederate infantry division.  His troops were engaged in the Cornfield and Sunken Road.

[19] Mansfield assumed command of the Twelfth Corps, Army of the Potomac on September 15, 1862.  He was mortally wounded in the East Woods leading his corps into action and died on September 18, 1862.

[20] George Getty, a lieutenant colonel at Antietam commanded Ninth Corps artillery .

[21] Sumner commanded the Union Second Corps. 

[22] Alfred Pleasonton commanded the newly organized Union Cavalry Division.

[23] Colonel Robert Chilton was Lee’s Chief of Staff and Assistant Adjutant General.  His counterpart on the Federal side was Seth Williams.

[24] Initially, Hancock commanded First Brigade, Second Division, Sixth Corps.  McClellan placed Hancock in command of Richardson’s division upon the wounding of that officer therefore beginning Hancock’s historic association with the Second Corps. 

[25] W.T.H. Brooks commanded the Vermont Brigade, Second Division, Sixth Corps. Richard Garnett commanded a Confederate brigade in David R. Jone’s infantry division. Marcy was McClellan’s Chief of Staff and Chilton’s counterpart in the Federal army.

[26] Eustis commanded the 10^th Massachusetts Infantry, First Brigade, First Division, Fourth Corps.

[27] Franklin commanded the Union Sixth Corps.  Captain Abert was the Twelfth Corps Topographical Engineer.

[28] Meade commanded the Pennsylvania Reserve Division.  Upon the wounding of Joseph Hooker, he ascended to command the First Corps.

[29] Humphrey commanded the Third Division, Fifth Corps in the Maryland Campaign.

[30] Scammon commanded a brigade in the Kanawha Division, Ninth Corps.

[31] Major Vogdes was a staff officer serving with John Reynolds and the Pennsylvania Emergency Militia during the Maryland Campaign.

[32] Clarke was artillery chief of the Second Corps.

[33] Howe commanded the Union Second Brigade, First Division, Fourth Corps.

[34] The Class of 1848 reported to the Academy on or about July 1, 1844.

[35] These numbers included from the Class of 1845 William F. Smith, Fitz-John Porter, John Hatch, Delos Sacket, William Wood, David Russell. From the Class of 1846, George B. McClellan, Jesse Reno, Darius Couch, Thomas Jackson, Albert Magilton, Truman Seymour, Richard Rush, Samuel Sturgis, David Jones, George H. Gordon, Frederic Myers, Delancey Floyd-Jones, John Wilkins, Nelson Davis, and Cadmus Wilcox;  From the Class of 1848 Orlando Willcox, A.P. Hill, Horatio Gibson, Ambrose Burnside, John Gibbon, Clermont Best, Romeyn Ayres, Charles Griffin, and Thomas Neill; From the Class of 1848 James C. Duane, Robert Williamson, Joseph Clark, John Tidball, John Buford, and George Evans.

50,000 Visits - Thank You

I am humbled and gratified to have received over 50,000 visitors to South From the North Woods and over 90,000 visits to Antietam Voices.  I have been really busy these days and sadly have neglected my two friends but I will be back soon.  I have been doing lots of research on West Pointers at Antietam, the Regular Army artillery batteries, and of course my quote collection as well.  Please stay tuned and thanks for your interest. 

The Reel Ridge – Confederate Artillery Redoubt

-->

As the Sunken Road fighting reached its crescendo in the noon hour, the Confederate position looked bleak.  Israel Richardson’s division had at long last ripped the center of the Confederate line in the Sunken Road.  A Longstreet-inspired counterattack by elements of Colonel Van H. Manning’s brigade against the Union right flank of the Sunken Road had been brushed back by Nathan Kimball’s veteran troops.  George Greene’s division continued to hold a bridgehead west of the Hagerstown Pike around the Dunker Church.  Further north, two divisions of the Union Sixth Corps were coming on line.  In the center, a cavalry division with its horse artillery elements clattered across the Middle Bridge and the gunners opened fire on Cemetery Hill.  Fifth Corps infantry lead by Buchanan’s brigade of regulars inched passed the Newcomer House toward Cemetery Hill along the Boonsboro Pike.  Farther south, Ferraro’s brigade of the Ninth Corps was launching its ultimately successful assault against the Lower Bridge as Rodman’s division capture Snavelys Ford.  A.P. Hill’s division was somewhere out there in the direction of Harpers Ferry but its arrival time was unknown.

It was a critical moment but the Federals had problems of their own.  In Richardson’s sector there was a definite lack of artillery to support a continued attack.  First, Second, Sixth and Twelfth Corps artillery was largely concentrated in the northern area of the battlefield.  Richardson got some support from the Artillery Reserve across the creek and from Pleasonton’s Horse Artillery led most famously by John Tidball.   These batteries however had other targets that they were engaging and were not solely dedicated to Richardson.  He possessed no artillery under his direct control until Fitz-John Porter dispatched William Graham’s Battery K, 5th U.S. Artillery to him late in the morning.

We tend to view the Sunken Road fight on a north-south axis with French and Richardson pushing south against D.H. Hill’s depleted division and Richard Anderson’s poorly employed brigades.  Richardson and French however had problems on their right flank which are often overlooked.  As mentioned, Van Manning brigade lead an unsuccessful attack against the Federal forces along the Mumma Farm Lane.  This is one of those actions that get little attention in the scheme of things at Antietam.  Longstreet is usually remembered for little more than stoically puffing on a cigar and sporting a red carpet slipper as his staff mans an abandoned gun from Miller’s battery at Piper’s Orchard.  In fact Longstreet played an active and aggressive role in confronting this Second Corps attack by orchestrating Manning’s counterattack against French.  Robert E. Lee also recognized the dire situation and beside sending McLaws and Walker forward, had taken other measures to shore up defenses in the threatened Confederate center.

West of the Hagerstown Pike south of the Dunker Church is the Reel Ridge.  The ridge is part of the network of high ground on that side of the road that begins with Nicodemus Heights, continues south to Hauser’s Ridge and ends as the Reel Ridge.  The ridge is the same elevation as the ground in the Cornfield and dominates the Sunken Road position.  Throughout the morning, units of the artillery battalions of the Richard Anderson, D.H. Hill, and John Walker’s divisions were positioned on the Reel Ridge.  All told, 20 guns were positioned on these heights.  While eight were the nearly worthless six-pound and ten pound short-range howitzers, twelve were the much more effective and longer range 10-pound and 3-inch ordnance rifles.  At right angles were 33 more guns in and around the Piper Farm Lane and on Cemetery Hill.  These 53 guns created a kill zone that it was very difficult for Richardson to counter. William Graham’s six Napoleons were woefully outranged and outgunned, as he would relate in his official report.  Our tendency to look only at the activities east of the Hagerstown Pike can cause us to overlook the critical role played by the Confederate artillery west of the Pike.

Looking east from the Reel Ridge toward Sunken Road

Zoom in of Sunken Road from Reel Ridge

These pictures shows this very clearly.  Taken today during a ranger-lead hike along the Reel Ridge, we can clearly see the Sunken Road and Observation Tower spread out before us.  Slightly to the left of the Observation Tower would have been the location of Graham’s Napoleons.  On the Carmen-Copes map of 12 o’clock we see the enfilading fire that the Confederate guns were capable of levying on Richardson’s advancing forces.  It is very possible that one of these guns on the Reel Ridge mortally wounded the aggressive Richardson and halted the Union drive over the nearly prostrate Confederate center.

Things would not go well for the Union on other sectors.  The Sixth Corps never went into action.  Greene’s division pulled back from its Dunker Church salient after running low on ammunition.  Syke’s regulars were halted short of Cemetery Hill and the Ninth Corp’s forward motion after its successful capture of the Lower Bridge stalled until fresh troops from Orlando Willcox’s division were brought forward to continue the advance.  So much time ensued that A.P. Hill’s division was able to arrive and halt Burnside’s final attack toward Sharpsburg.

A key to the Confederate success in denying the Army of the Potomac a decisive tactical battlefield victory on September 17^th lay in Lee and Longstreet’s efforts in the center.  Skillful use of the terrain advantages gained by positioning artillery batteries on the Reel Ridge was instrumental.  The next time you visit Antietam, go to the Sunken Road and look west at the important Reel Ridge position.  You will appreciate the importance of that key terrain just as Lee, Longstreet (and I dare say Richardson) did.

The Northern Disturbances

Ft Kent Maine, D.H. Hill's first duty assignment

In the late 1830s a series of confrontations between disaffected lumbermen in Maine and New Brunswick over the disputed international border in that area caused the War Department to deploy additional military forces to the northern frontier.  Their mission was a show of force, but the regulars were also compelled to keep the unruly local Maine militias under control.  No actual fighting occurred and a diplomatic solution between Great Britain and the United States known as the Webster Ashburton Treaty resolved the border issues.

The Army was extremely stretched in 1838 when these troubles began.  A significant amount of the combat force was in Florida fighting the fiercely resistant Seminoles.  Other troops manned the western frontier of posts along the Mississippi River.  For many, their mission was disagreeable and consisted of moving the Cherokees and other eastern tribes from ancient homelands into the barren Indian Territories west of the Mississippi.  With a new crisis along the Canadian border, where would the forces that were needed for this new mission come from? 

The Army’s only true mobile forces in 1838 were the First and Second Regiments of Dragoons.  The First was stationed at Fort Leavenworth keeping an eye on the relocations of the eastern tribes and making occasional forays deep into the wilderness west of the Mississippi.  The Second after a brief respite at Fort Columbus NY was back in Florida.  Both regiments were not available.

Florida was consuming most of the infantry regiments in 1838.  Five of the eight infantry regiments (First, Second, Fourth, Sixth, and Seventh) were stationed in Florida along with the Third Artillery.  The Third Infantry was at nearby Ft Jesup Louisiana ready to deploy to Florida if needed.   The Fifth Infantry had headquarters at Fort Snelling Minnesota with its companies stationed in Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois and Nebraska.  The Eighth Infantry had just been authorized by Congress in 1838 and was organizing in upstate New York.

This left the artillery regiments.  During this period, most of the artillery when it was not stationed in a coastal fort that had heavy artillery guns mounted fought as infantry.  A regiment was fortunate if even one company (the units were not yet referred to batteries) was outfitted as “light” artillery and equipped with guns and horses.  The troops not in coastal forts were used as infantry. 

The Army would use three of its four artillery regiments to meet the new emergency. The Third Artillery remained in Florida fighting Seminoles.

In 1838 the First Artillery was sent to the northern frontier to stations in Vermont and New York.  Shortly after their arrival, a new company was added to each of the artillery regiments. In 1840, the regiment redeployed eastward to the Maine frontier.

In the middle of the disputed area was Hancock Barracks located near Houlton Maine.  On today’s international border, Houlton was then a hotbed of local Maine lumberman and the center of the disputed area.  Built in 1828, Hancock Barracks became the headquarters of the First Artillery Regiment in 1840 and had up to four companies of the First Artillery deployed there.  Among the officers at one time or another were 1LT Joseph Hooker (USMA 1837) and 1LT William French (USMA 1837).

Before heading north, both French and Hooker served briefly in Florida after graduating from West Point in 1837. In fact with the exception of Israel Vogdes[1], all of the artillerymen from the Class of 1837 (French, Hooker and Sedgwick) saw action right after graduation in Florida.  They were no doubt pleased with the prospect of moving to the northeast frontier and serving in more reasonable climes.

Also pulling duty at Hancock Barracks (among other locations on the northern border) were newly graduated 2LTs James Ricketts (USMA 1839) and Alexander Lawton (USMA 1839).  West Point classmates and regimental comrades, Ricketts and Lawton would lead their respective infantry divisions against each other for possession of the bloody Antietam cornfield 23 years later.   Both men would be wounded there. 

In 1842 after graduation from West Point, Brevet 2LT Daniel H. Hill’s (USMA 1842) first posting would be at remote Fort Kent Maine, nearly the most northern point in the lower 48 states.  Hill would transfer to the Third Artillery in 1843, still as a brevet officer.  He would not receive a Second Lieutenant’s commission until an opening became available in the 4th Artillery in 1845.

In July 1838 as soon as its duties in the Cherokee country were completed, the Second Artillery was ordered to the Niagara frontier. A battalion went to Detroit, while the rest of the regiment went to Buffalo, where headquarters were established. Eight companies were at regimental headquarters during most of the time the regiment was on the Niagara frontier. Arriving at Buffalo New York in 1839 was First Lieutenant John Sedgwick and another newly commissioned West Pointer – Henry Hunt (USMA 1839.)  They were joined a year later by newly commissioned 2LT William Hays (USMA 1840).  Hunt who commanded the Union artillery at Antietam would supervise William Hays who commanded the Artillery Reserve at the Battle. 

In the autumn of 1839, the Fourth Artillery was ordered to the Lake Frontier.  Regimental headquarters and seven companies took station at Detroit. The regiment protected the border along the Michigan boundary with Canada. Companies A and K moved to Fort Gratiot, Company G, was at Cleveland, Ohio and Company H was sent to Fort Mackinac. Two graduates of the class of 1840 were immediately dispatched to Detroit as officers of this regiment.  George Getty (USMA 1840) went to Dearbornville Michigan.  Francis N. Clarke (USMA 1840) was at Detroit. Albion Howe (USMA 1841) joined the regiment in the summer of 1841 after his graduation from the academy.

With the exception of the First Artillery, which largely remained on the Maine-New Brunswick border until the beginning of the Mexican War, the other regiments gradually moved back to their former posts as the crisis subsided.

In the First Artillery Regiment, Hooker left the frontier and briefly served as adjutant at West Point in 1841 before being posted to Fort Columbus NY as regimental adjutant.  French would stay on the frontier a while longer. In 1843 he lead a detachment of sappers assigned to escort the Northeast Boundary Survey on their rounds.  Ricketts would remain in Maine until 1846 when the regiment was sent to Texas for the Mexican War.  For Alexander Lawton, this would be his only assignment as an officer of the United States Army. On December 31, 1840, he resigned his commission and return to Georgia.

The Second Artillery’s stint on the border was somewhat shorter. In August 1841, the regiment left Buffalo by canal.  Regimental headquarters and companies B, D and G went to Fort Columbus in New York harbor.  Company A was across the Narrows at Fort Hamilton with company E at Fort Lafayette, also in the New York harbor.  Companies F and I went to Fort Adams, Rhode Island and companies C, H and K moved to Fort Monroe. Sedgwick’s company was assigned at Fort Monroe Virginia.  William Hays soon followed him there in 1842.  2LT Hunt was reassigned in 1841 to Fort Adams. 

The Fourth Artillery’s headquarters moved to Buffalo in 1841 displacing the Second Artillery.  George Getty moved with it to the Niagara Frontier.  Francis Clarke served only briefly with the regiment in Michigan and as it took up new stations in western New York, Clarke joined Joe Hooker at West Point as an Assistant Professor of Mathematics.  Clarke who served at Antietam as Sumner’s Chief of Artillery would teach at West Point until 1852 later teaching Chemistry, Mineralogy, and Geology until 1852. In May 1842, the regiment was ordered from the northern frontier to the seaboard. Headquarters and all the companies, excepting B, arrived at Fort Columbus in June and July. It was again transferred with eight companies at Fortress Monroe, one at Fort McHenry, and one at Fort Severn. Getty was at Fort Monroe and Howe at Fort Severn.

For a brief period in 1840, a significant part of the military might of the United States Army was positioned on the Canadian border.  Even when tensions were highest, there was probably little prospect for a hot war.  Nevertheless, for soldiers like Hooker, French, Hunt, D.H. Hill, Ricketts, Lawton, Getty, Howe, and Clarke, the experiences and relationships formed along the frontiers of Maine, New York and Michigan would form life long impressions.  They could hardly know as young lieutenants where history would take them.  For Hooker and Ricketts it would be fighting in the Cornfield against Lawton.  French’s division would attempt to wrest the Sunken Road from D.H. Hill.   The others would adhere to their roots in the artillery and lead important elements of the Army of the Potomac’s artillery commands.  Henry Hunt commanded all the artillery; William Hays the Artillery Reserve; and Clarke and Getty, were artillery commanders for the Second and Ninth Corps respectively.

---

[1] Second Lieutenant Israel Vogdes (USMA 1837) spent the first twelve years of his career as an Assistant Professor of Mathematics at the Military Academy.  It wasn’t until 1849 that he left West Point for assignment with his regiment that was back in Florida.  Vogdes may not be among those usually recognized as a participant in the Maryland Campaign.  However he served on the staff of Major-General John Reynolds on the Pennsylvania assisting in the mobilization of the Pennsylvania Emergency Militia.  Most of his subsequent duty however was in South Carolina and tidewater Virginia

Intermittent Streams - Avenues of Approach

-->

Looking North on the Burnside Bridge

I spent much of Saturday hiking along the west bank of the Antietam with fellow guide and good friend Bill Sagle. We wanted to look at the points where four intermittent streams entered the creek.  The Antietam is fed by a number of such streams. Intermittent streams carry water a considerable portion of the time, but cease to flow occasionally or seasonally. They flow at lower elevations cutting through higher ground.  These streams are easily visible from the air by the trees that grow along their banks. They cut through the ravines that overlook the banks of the creek and form natural gateways away from the Antietam. The military term is avenues of approach.  As we walked the length of the creek, I realized how important these seemingly insignificant features are.  One need only look at the Carmen Copes maps to appreciate the degree of military activity that occurred around these four intermittent streams.

North of Middle Bridge

Stream 1

We began our hike at the Mumma Farm and the source of the first stream.  The stream begins at the Mumma springhouse.  It flows southeast to a pond on the Roulette Farm and then east for a quarter mile before making a slight turn to the southeast entering the Antietam one quarter of a mile north of the Middle Bridge site. While federal troops did not cross the Antietam at this stream, Richardson’s troops used its upper reaches as the staging area for his advance against the Sunken Road.

Stream 2

South of Middle Bridge

The second intermittent stream is the longest of the four. It begins on the Piper Farm and flows out of a depression near the northwest corner of the orchard in a southeasterly direction.  More often just a dry depression the stream bed crosses the Boonsboro Pike at the intersection with the Sunken Road and for the last quarter mile, flows through a very deep gorge behind the picnic area on Route 34.  It empties into the Antietam ¼ mile south of the Newcomer Barn.  The 1st Battalion, 12th U.S. Infantry and the 2nd and 10th U.S. Infantry of Syke’s Division used this streambed as an avenue of approach in their advance south of the Boonsboro Pike toward Sharpsburg. 

North of Burnside Bridge

Stream 3

The source of the third stream is a pond on the southeast corner of Sharpsburg.  This stream flows one half a mile in a southeasterly direction along the Burnside Bridge road. Passing between the Sherrick and Otto houses it empties into the creek just south of the new Burnside Bridge.  This stream has a constant source of water and flows year round.  This was the avenue of approach of Wilcox’s division.  Christ’s brigade advanced north of this stream and Welsh’s brigade advanced south of this stream on their attack towards Sharpsburg.   

Stream #4

Snaveley's Ford

The final stream has its source at a very small pond just each of Branch Avenue and 3/8ths of a mile south of the Otto Farmhouse.  The stream flows in a southerly direction 5/8ths of a mile and empties into the Antietam at Snavely’s Ford.  General Isaac Rodman’s division crossed at this ford and his division advanced northward along this stream as it linked up with the rest of the Ninth Corps to the north.

The intermittent streams of Antietam lay off the beaten path.  You can stand at the Mumma springhouse or look out across the Piper orchard and not realize that these seemingly unimpressive depressions are an important aspect of the Battle of Antietam.  However for serious students of the battle, they deserve your undivided attention.

Geography Lesson

-->

Hill 876 & Showman Farm (top left) Elk Ridge (lower right)

The signal station image that I discussed in my last post was made famous by Civil War photographer Alexander Gardner. The image is titled Signal Tower. Elk Mountain, Overlooking Battlefield of Antietam, Maryland.  The problem is that this particular station is NOT on Elk Mountain or more commonly known Elk Ridge. 

I unintentionally perpetuated this mistake in my last post about our visit to this signal station site. 

What is known as Elk Ridge begins its rise from the ground just south of Dogstreet Road.  The ridge runs generally south south west for a distance of 9.4 miles to the Potomac River. At its southern terminus overlooking the Potomac at Harpers Ferry it is known as Maryland Heights.  At its highest elevation, Elk Ridge towers at some points over 1,500 feet above sea level.

Most people don’t realize that there is another ridge to the west and assume that the Elk Ridge is a solid mass of rock that rises up just west of Keedysville.  That was the error that Gardner made when he titled the signal station image. 

This other ridge also rises south of Dogstreet Road but is about one mile west of Elk Ridge.  It is bisected about three miles to the south by Sharman’s Run, a tributary of the Antietam.  The northern half of the ridge is Red Hill.  It is about three miles in length. Porterstown Road crosses the hill at its midsection.  At its highest elevation Red Hill is about 900 feet above sea level. 

"Showmans Knoll" site of the signal station

The southern half of this ridge is really a series of hills identified on the topographical map only by their elevation. Burnside Bridge Road and Sharman Run form the northern boundary of this ridge.  Mills Road is the western boundary.  Just south of Sharmans Run on Mills Road is the Showman Farm.  Sharman in fact is a corruption of Showman.  This was the site of McClellan’s headquarters for several weeks after the battle and one of the locations that Lincoln visited.  The signal station is behind the house on one of the hills of that unnamed ridge. 

After I incorrectly referred to the signal station as being located on Elk Ridge, I had several e-mail conversations with Tom Clemens and Dennis Frye about the precise location of the signal station.  Dennis who has done a great deal of research and hiking in this area identifies Hill 876 as the location. While not an official designation, Dennis refers to the site as Showman’s Knoll. The next time you view the Gardner image of the signal station, consider again the importance of being precise when it comes to identifying geographical features and locations.