Thanks to the Westerns that many of us watched growing up, we are familiar with the idea of “circling the wagons.” In an effort to provide some security overnight, the wagons were formed in a circle, creating an ad hoc fort to ward off attacks. But did such an event occur during the war? According to an officer in the 12th Alabama, yes it did.
Forming a defensive
formation was not an alien concept. The concept of the infantry square or
hollow square went back two millennia and were used by Roman legions. In
forming this large box, there would not be an exposed rear for enemy cavalry to
slash through. If the fire coming from the soldiers in the square was staggered,
then it might present a continuous wall of fire. Plus, the wall of bayonets
might deter a rush of mounted men through the formations. Infantry squares had
their zenith of popularity during the Napoleonic Wars and were used at battles
like Quatre Bras and Waterloo.
It was a tactic taught
to new regiments being formed in the 1860s, both Gray and Blue, but was seldom
used. Those handful of times include the Battle of Rowlett’s Station and the
battle of Valverde, both in Texas; and the first day at Gettysburg and at
Chickamauga.[1]
Those early training
camps were probably where Robert E. Park learned of the formation. Born in
Troop County, Georgia, in 1843, Park was a student at the East Alabama Male
College (now Auburn University) when he received word that the last twelve-month
company being accepted by the Secretary of War was being formed. Park joined
that company, the “Macon Confederates,” and was sent to Richmond where the
company, joined by other Alabama companies, became the 12th Alabama
Infantry. He was mustered in as a private. When the regiment was reorganized
for three years or the war in the spring of 1862, Park was elected second lieutenant
of Company F. The 12th Alabama was in Robert Rodes’ Brigade, and was
active in the campaigns at Williamsburg, Seven Pines, Seven Days, Boonsboro,
Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville Gettysburg, the Overland Campaign,
the Valley Campaign, and ended the war at Appomattox.[2]
In January 1863,
Park, now a first lieutenant, was assigned to duty as acting quartermaster of
the 12th Alabama. Park was instructed to “report to the wagon yard,
take charge of the wagons with the horses and mules, teamsters, and such
baggage as I might find.” The role of the “wagon corps” on a regimental level
is not one that gets much press, and his descriptions of his duty are fairly
significant for the study of history.[3]
During the battle
of Chancellorsville in May 1863, Park was with his regimental wagons at
Hamilton’s Crossing when he was told by a member of JEB Stuart’s command that
Federal cavalry was approaching (see this post on Stoneman). At this time,
they were in O’Neal’s Brigade, Rodes’ Division. The division quartermaster
placed Park in command of the division’s wagons, “composed of quartermasters,
wagon masters, cooks and stragglers.” Maybe Park’s prior combat experience led
to the division quartermaster’s faith in Park’s abilities. Park then armed the
band, “about ninety men,” from the ordnance wagon, “and gave them directions
how to meet the cavalry when they approached. I had the wagons parked in a
square, with the horses and men within the square, and the guns were stacked
and ready for use, one man being on guard to each wagon and on the lookout.” To
defend themselves against Federal cavalry, Park “circled the wagons.”[4]
“Fortunately, the
cavalry did not attack us,” Park wrote, “as it was very probable my entire
crowd . . . would have fled without delay, upon hearing the first gun.” Are
there other examples of the wagons forming a square on the approach of a
possible cavalry attack? That would be great to know. Following the battle of
Chancellorsville, Park transferred back to his company. He was captured at
Boonsboro, wounded in the hip at Gettysburg, wounded in the leg at Winchester
and captured. Park survived the war and returned to Georgia, becoming the state
treasurer. He passed in May 1909 and is buried in Riverside Cemetery, Bibb
County.[5]
Park’s accounts of
his war-time service originally appeared in the Southern Historical Society Papers.
They were published in 1906. In 2022, they were reissued by Scuppernong
Press and are available at https://www.scuppernongpress.com/
You can check out additional articles on wagon trains here and here .
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