John C. Tidball on Thomas J. Jackson

I first heard about John C. Tidball on a hike last spring lead by Antietam Ranger Brian Baracz. During the early spring, Antietam National Battlefield rangers conduct a series of hikes on Sunday afternoons that take one across the length and breadth of the field. Brian, whose hikes are noted for their masterful assessment of the terrain, took us to the high ground west of the Antietam Creek near the bridge on the Boonsboro Pike. Views are particularly grand with no foliage on the trees and one can see aspects of the terrain not normally seen at other times of the year. On this hike, we noted the different positions that Tidball's command, Battery A, 2nd United States Artillery, maintained in the center of the Union line for most of the day. Tidball himself reported that he fired "in all about 1,200 rounds" on the seventeenth of September. Later as I grew more interested in the artillery units of Antietam, I came upon one of the best civil war era photos of an artillery battery. Pictured among the gunners was the steely Tidball himself (third from the right). John Tidball returned to my attention again recently when I read James I. Robertson's excellent biography Stonewall Jackson The Man, The Soldier, The Legend. Roberston cites a number of quotes by Tidball in his work. I learned that Tidball made many candid observations of key military figures of the Civil War era in his unpublished memoir titled Getting Through West Point by One Who Did and for Those Who Want to Know. His observations about Stonewall Jackson are particularly revealing.

Tidball and Jackson share many similarities. Both are West Point graduates. Tidball was two years behind Jackson, graduating in 1848. Both men were from western Virginia. Jackson was born on January 21, 1824 near Clarksburg. Tidball was born almost exactly one year later on January 25, 1825, in the Wheeling area. Both were devout Presbyterians though Jackson didn't embrace the denomination till somewhat later in life. The two men even bear a striking resemblance to each other as shown in the photos in this post. But most important, Jackson and Tidball were gunners at heart. They both loved the artillery. Jackson made a name for himself as a gunner under Prince John Magruder in Mexico winning promotion to first lieutenant and two brevets for gallantry to the rank of Major. Tidball graduated too late to engage in any of the fighting there but maintained a lifelong devotion to the artillery. He served in the usual artillery assignments in the old Regular Army. Tidball was part of the Harpers Ferry expedition to suppress the John Brown Raid in 1859 and there became acquainted with Robert E. Lee and JEB Stuart. During the Civil War when many of his West Point colleagues accepted US Volunteer commissions as brigadier generals in the infantry, Tidball elected to remain in the artillery though advancement was much slower. Except for a brief stint as Commandant of Cadets at West Point in 1864, he served in artillery commands in the Army of the Potomac throughout the war, reaching the volunteer rank of brigadier general by the end of the war. After he was mustered out of volunteer service on September 30, 1865, General Tidball resumed his position of Captain in the 2nd U.S. Artillery. He served in the west, where he was promoted to Major in 1867, and in Alaska, where he was in command of the District of Alaska. Tidball wrote the Manual for Heavy Artillery which later became a standard text at the Artillery School at Fort Monroe. He was the Superintendent of Artillery Instruction at that institution from 1874-1881, when he became General Sherman's aide-de-camp. Tidball accompanied Sherman on his 1883 expedition across the western United States and Canada. In 1884 he returned to Fort Monroe Virginia where he commanded the Artillery School until his retirement in 1889. He died on May 15, 1906 at the age of 81.

Tidball offers several revealing caricatures of Jackson. Among them is a somewhat humorous description of Cadet Jackson at West Point: "In consequence of a somewhat shambling awkward gait, and the habit of carrying his head down in a thoughtful attitude, he seemed less of stature than he really was...Being an intense student, his mind appeared to be constantly pre-occupied, and he seldom spoke to anyone unless spoken to, and then his face lightened up with a blush, as that of a bashful person when complimented. His voice was thin and feminine-almost squeaky-while his utterances were quick, jerky and sententious, but when once made were there ended; there was...no hypothesis or observation to lead to further discussion. When a jocular remark occurred in his hearing he smiled as though he understood and enjoyed it, and never ventured comment to promote further mirth. There were occasions as I observed when his actions appeared strangely affected; as for instance, a drenching shower caught sections returning from recitations, or the battalion from the mess-hall and ranks were broken to allow the cadets to rush for shelter to the barracks, [but] Jackson would continue to march solemnly, at the usual pace, deviating neither to the right nor the left. This, and other things like it, I saw him do time and again, showing a design to it; but what the design was he alone appeared to know, for no one bothered themselves to discover it or did more than remark: "See old Jackson!"

At the Academy, Jackson shared a room with future Union cavalry general and fellow introvert George Stoneman. Tidball who bunked down the hall had this to say about the pair: "they were such quiet neighbors I scarcely knew they were there".

Tidball didn't see combat in Mexico but descried Jackson's battery commander and future Confederate general John Bankhead Magruder in these not so flattering terms: "Prince John Magruder, as he was called because of his affected elegance, was in reality only a prince of humbugs. No greater difference could possibly exist between men than between Magruder and his lieutenant" [Jackson].

Tidball marveled at Jackson's tenacity and ability to serve credibly under the difficult Magruder and distinguish himself in battle when he said: "Being in a subordinate position, [Jackson] evinced no higher trait than that of indomitable sticking qualities."

Despite the humorous portraits, Tidball clearly admired his fellow Virginians military ability. "His chief characteristics as a military leader were his quick perceptions of the weak points of the enemy, his ever readiness, the astounding rapidity of his movements, his sudden and unexpected onslaughts, and the persistency with which he followed them up. His ruling maxim was that war meant fighting and fighting meant killing, and right loyally did he live up to it. Naturally taciturn, and by habit a keeper of his own designs, it was as difficult for his friends to penetrate them as it was easy for him to deceive the enemy...In any other person this would have been taken as cunning and deceit; but with him it was the voice of the Lord piloting him to the tents of the Midianites."

Lest I weave too complex a tale here, I found one other Antietam connection in the story of John Tidball. Tidball married twice. His first wife, Mary Hunt Davis, died of complications after child birth in 1857. His second wife, Mary Langdon "Mamie" Dana was born when Tidball was a second year cadet in West Point in 1845. She was the daughter of Major General Napoleon J. T. Dana who commanded an infantry brigade in Sedgwick's Division of Sumner's Second Corps. Dana, it will be remembered was part of the abortive Union attack into the West Woods. Dana, only three years older than Tidball (and six ahead of him at West Point graduating in 1842), understandedly opposed the match. However, given Tidball's sterling reputation and the obvious affection displayed by the couple, he finally consented and John and Mamie were married on March 19, 1870.

While searching for Tidball's unpublished manuscript, I came across a biography on him titled No Disgrace to My Country: The Life of John C. Tidball, by Eugene Tidball. The book appears to draw heavily on Tidball's own papers. I found a reasonably priced copy online and snapped it up. I look forward to adding more of Tidball's unique perspectives and observations to my digest of quotes.

Hiatus

I have been away for some time this month with the passing of my Dad on February 17th. As we were going through his papers we uncovered literally dozens of letters that he wrote home while an enlisted man in World War Two. Dad was never in combat but had been shipped to the Philippines in 1945 with an artillery battalion that was staging for the invasion of Japan. The photo shown here is of him and his sister Betty sometime in 1944 when he was home on a furlough. The letters along with a diary of his that I found on an earlier visit tell the story of a nineteen year old boy a long way from home. It makes for compelling reading. I have committed myself to organizing these papers in some fashion, not necessarily for public consumption, but for the family. Drawing back to my interest in the Civil War, these letters are not unlike those of another generation of young American men, in the 19th century, also far from home facing dangers unimagined. So this new project goes on my plate. Reading these letters is like meeting and talking to a long lost relative. He mentions family members that I know and places that I have been to though many years later. It is eerie but in some ways comforting to realize there are more things I will learn about and from my father in his letters. He was quite a man!

My Quote Count

I just updated my quote count. For those not familiar with my blog, as I read books, I highlight noteworthy quotes and add them to a spreadsheet. I now have 328 quotes made by or about the men you see to the left of this blog post. This week, most are new Stonewall Jackson quotes. I am reading James Robinson's terrific biography on the great Stonewall. Its been around a number of years but it is a great read and I dare say a fair appraisal of Jackson. I have also read Mr. Robinson's great biography on A.P. Hill. I enjoy his work because of the extensive quotations that he has by and about his subjects. Both are important additions to your library if you like civil war biographies like I do.

Winter Views of the Cornfield

Winter offers some extra special views of Antietam Battlefield. These photos taken the weekend of January 24th when I was volunteering at the Park, show different views of the Cornfield, mostly from points along Smoketown Road. What is often striking is the lay of the land. We often think of farm fields as very flat with no significant terrain features. Yet when you look at these photos, you can easily see the rolling nature of the land. One technical point...the photos appear to scroll quickly here. If you doubleclick on the slide show, you can watch them at your own pace. Also by doubleclicking, you can see a google map location where I actually took the shot.

Pry Ford on Antietam Creek

Last Monday, my colleagues fellow Antietam volunteer Jim Buchanan and intern Justin McIntyre went off the beaten path so to speak and hiked over to the area where the Pry Ford is located. The photos here are taken from the east side of Antietam Creek generally facing west. If you click on the slide show you will see in Google maps exactly where I shot the photos.

If you are around the park on weekends, there is a great chance you will meet up with Jim if you visit the Philadelphia Brigade monument in the West Woods at stop 5 on the battlefield tour. Jim is a student of the West Woods fighting. Last Monday he was looking for the area where the Union Second Corps crossed the Antietam early on September 17th, 1862. Sumner's lead division under John Sedgwick very likely crossed in the area that these photos were taken. Withing hours of crossing there, Sedgwick's division would meet its destiny in the West Woods. In desperate fighting, over half of the 5,000 men in this division would become casualties in under one hour. Come and see Jim and he will show you where this action occured.

Recollections of a Confederate Staff Officer

I just finished reading G. Moxley Sorrel’s classic Recollections of a Confederate Staff Officer. A well connected young Georgian, Sorrel makes James Longstreet’s acquaintance on July 21, 1861 literally amid the shot and shell of First Manassas. Longstreet immediately takes to the young man and assigns him to his staff, first as a volunteer captain and aide de camp, and eventually as his assistant adjutant general (AAG) and chief of staff. Sorrel and Longstreet are virtually inseparable from that day forward until nearly three years later when Longstreet is seriously wounded in the Wilderness. During this period, Sorrel will serve Longstreet as his principal staff officer through all the campaigns of the First Corps. Young Sorrel is an amazingly astute and perceptive young officer. In his position close to Longstreet and the high command of the Army of Northern Virginia, Sorell will come to know all of its principal commanders. His amazingly perceptive and evocative sketches of these men are true classics. In all, I found 53 quotes worth collecting from this work. As Sorell himself admits, his work is not a formal autobiography but what he calls a series of sketches. He writes from memory nearly forty years later and while he occasionally admits to lapses of memory his work is amazingly clear and compelling reading. Many of his portraits have found their way over the years into the works of other authors. Those of Longstreet, Lee, and D.H. Hill are well known. However, deep in the pages of his book are perspectives of other lesser known but important soldiers that should again see the light of day.

Sorrel paints a particularly interesting and humorous sketch of William “Little Billy” Mahone. This officer commanded a brigade in the summer of 1862 but is not present at Antietam having been seriously wounded on August 30th at Second Manassas. His brigade however participates in the Maryland Campaign under the command of Colonel William “Gus” Parham. It sustained so many casualties at Crampton’s Gap in the Battle of South Mountain on September 14th that it is temporarily attached to Pryor’s Brigade of Richard Anderson’s division. There, it fought in the Sunken Road.

Upon Sorrel’s promotion to brigadier general, in October of 1864, he is transferred to A.P. Hill’s Third Corps and assigned command of a brigade of Georgia troops. This brigade (commanded at Antietam by Ambrose Ransom “Rans” Wright) is now part of Mahone’s (formerly Richard Anderson’s) division. Sorell says this about his new boss:

"Maj-Gen William Mahone was a Virginian, about forty years of age. His appearance arrested attention. Very small both in height and frame, he seemed a mere atom with little flesh. His wife said "none." When he was shot (slightly) she was told it was only a flesh wound. "Now I know it is serious," said the good lady, "for William has no flesh whatsoever."

If you haven’t picked up this classic work, I urge you to do so. And if you read it long ago, this gem is worth another look. As we leave Moxley Sorrel, I close with the following sentiment made by the good Georgian and loyal aide to James Longstreet.

"An awful lot of lies circulate nowadays about the Civil War, and it is so long ago there is hardly anybody to contradict them."

"For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn."

Whatever your political persuasion, I think that you can agree with these words made this afternoon by our new President. The lone soldier from the 124th Pennsylvania standing his post at Antietam recalls for us the sacrifice made on that field by another generation of Americans who gave their all.

"As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment - a moment that will define a generation - it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all." Excepts from President Barak Obama’s Inauguration Speech, January 20, 2009.