Remembering Snodgrass Hill

    For many, remembering the war brought painful thoughts of the past. Commanders of companies and regiments frequently had to relive the war when families wrote asking about the details of the deaths of their loved ones. John B. Palmer served as colonel of the 58th North Carolina Troops and fought at the battle of Chickamauga in September 1863, (you can read more about his life here). David B. Kirby, a cousin-in-law to Colonel Palmer, wrote the colonel about a decade after the war, asking about the details of the death of Edmund Kirby, his brother. Not only does Palmer provide details on the death of Kirby, but details on the role of the 58th North Carolina’s first charge against Snodgrass Hill. On their second charge at the close of the battle, they met the 21st Ohio Infantry. The Ohio soldiers retreated after the charge and the 58th North Carolina held the hill.

Col. John B. Palmer

   Columbia, S.C., June 10, 1875

MY Dear David: - Your letter of the 1st reached here during my absence in Baltimore. I will enceavor [sic] to answer your enquires as correctly as possible.

   At the battle of Chickamauga the 58th N.C. was in Kelly’s Brigade, Preston’s Division, Buckner’s Corps. Your brother Edmund was killed on the evening of the second day’s fight, in an attack on a strong position . . . It was the first charge by our division, but another division, Hindman’s, I think had previously charged and been repulsed.

   If my recollection serves me it was about 4 P.M. when your brother, who had been out in command of a skirmish line, was ordered back with two companies of the 58th. As soon as they reported I, in temporary absence of the brigade commander, was instructed to move with the brigade for the purpose of charging the Ridge [Snodgrass Hill]. We moved forward at a double quick and formed in line with the balance of the division near the base of [Snodgrass Hill], and I resumed command of my regiment. Here an officer, Gen. Hindman, I think, whose command had just been repulsed, at the request of our brigade commander, formed out brigade line for us, and we moved forward. Unfortunately instead of forming us on a line with the balance of the division, and parallel with position we were to charge, we were moved through the timber at a considerable angle, so that when the 58th emerged from the woods and got fairly under fire, the balance of the brigade was under cover. My regiment was a large one, consisting of twelve companies. Leit. Col. Kirby on the right, Maj. Dale [Dula] on the left. In spite of my efforts, seconded by Lieut. Col. Kirby, it was impossible, owing to the angle at which we were advancing, to keep in contact with the brigade on our right, and thus our left being so far in the rear and some little interval existing on our right, the right company, then right wing, and then the whole regiment became subject to a fire from the front, right and left of the enemy’s position. It was terrific. Company A, Capt. Tobey, started on the charge with thirty-four muskets, and reached the top of the hill with only twelve, losing twenty-two in the charge. In the very hottest of the fight, your brother, encouraging the men, and as he fell, I heard him cry, “push them men, (or boys) push them!” In this charge the regiment lost sixty-five men, the Lieut. Colonel, the Major and myself (slightly) wounded, and more than half the other officers either killed or wounded.

Lt. Col. Edmund Kirby

   In the regiment were three young men – boys, in fact – sons, and relatives of wealthy gentlemen of my acquaintance. These youth’s names were Childs, Sherwood and Phifer, all warm personal friends of your brother; indeed Childs had slept under the same blanket the night before. When after the fight I looked for your brother’s body, I found all the four together, almost within reach of each other. They were the most intimate friends your brother had in the regiment and must all have offered up their lives at the same moment.

   Shortly after dark our brigade, temporarily under my command, succeeded in capturing the troops who had been opposing us. They proved to be Ohio and Michigan troops, and I understood the officer to say, as I passed them to the rear, that they belonged to Granger’s command. Some of them said that when the 58th charged with such apparent recklessness, and without any apparent support, they thought we must be drunk.

   I think I told you that your brother had assumed the duties of Lieutenant Colonel only the day before the battle, and that having no proper uniform, he had cut four stars out of tin and affixed them to his collar to designate his rank; two of these stars were perforated by bullets.

Very truly yours,

John B. Palmer

David N. Kirby, Esq., New York

Lt. Col. Edmund Kirby's grave.

Lieutenant Colonel Edmund Kirby’s remains were exhumed after the war and were reburied at Shockoe Hill Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia, next to the remains of his brother, Pvt. Reynold Marvin Kirby, Richmond Howitzers. The brother died of typhoid fever in July 1861. 

Palmer’s account appeared in the October 1876 issue of Our Living and Our Dead. A stone was placed on the grave of Edmund Kirby in 2012 through the work of the Col. John B. Palmer Camp 1946, Sons of Confederate Veterans.

 

Bringing Home the Confederate Generals killed during the Maryland Campaign

   There were eight generals, four from the Confederate army and four from the Union army, killed or mortally wounded at the battle of Sharpsburg in September 1862. None of the eighth are buried on the battlefield along Antietam Creek. All were taken back to their respective states and interred therein.

   Samuel Garland, Jr. was born in Lynchburg, Virginia, in 1830. After graduating from the Virginia Military Institute in 1849, he obtained a law degree from the University of Virginia, setting up practice in Lynchburg. Garland was commissioned colonel of the 11^th Virginia Infantry in April 1861. His regiment was involved at First Manassas, and at Dranesville, and he was wounded at Williamsburg. Promotion to brigadier general came on May 23, 1862, with Garland being assigned a brigade in D.H. Hill’s division. The battles of Seven Pines and the Seven Days followed. Hill’s command was back with the Army of Northern Virginia as it made its way to Maryland. Hill’s division was tasked with guarding Fox’s and Turner’s Gaps at South Mountain, protecting the rest of Lee’s army engaged with the capturing of Harpers Ferry.[1]

   At Fox’s Gap, Garland was checking on his hard-pressed left flank when he was struck in the left hip. Garland told Colonel Ruffin “Col. I am a dead man, send for Col. McRae to take command.” Garland was placed in a blanket by four men and taken off the field, dying on the porch of the South Mountain Inn about fifteen minutes after his wounding.[2] Garland’s remains were first taken to Richmond, arriving on Thursday, September 18.[3] They were then transported to Lynchburg where he was buried at the Presbyterian Cemetery on September 24, 1862.[4]

   William E. Starke was born in Brunswick County, Virginia, in 1814. Prior to the war, he operated a stage line then moved to Mobile, followed by New Orleans, working as a cotton broker. When the war came, he returned to Virginia, serving as an aide to Brig. Gen. Robert S. Garnett. Later, Starke was commissioned as colonel of the 60^th Virginia Infantry, fighting during the Seven Days battles. His commission as brigadier general came on August 6, 1862, and he commanded a brigade in Jackson’s division. He led the brigade at Cedar Mountain, Groveton, and Second Manassas (where he held division command).

   During the Maryland Campaign, Starke was placed under arrest by Jackson. Some “Foreign” troops were accused of vandalizing a store in Frederick. Starke commanded the Louisiana brigade, containing the famed Louisiana Tigers. Ordered to return to Frederick with his brigade so the culprits could be identified, Starke refused unless the other brigades in the division also returned. Jackson placed Starke under arrest but allowed him to remain in command. He helped with the investment of Harpers Ferry, and at Sharpsburg, was rushed to the Confederate left to shore up the line.[5] Starke, commanding a demi-brigade, rushed out of the west woods into a clover field, countering the Federal advance. His brigades were caught in a crossfire. As Starke attempted to help get the brigade of Alabama and Virginia troops moving toward the Federals, he was struck by three bullets. Sources differ on whether he was killed instantly or died about an hour later.[6] Starke’s remains were taken to Richmond, arriving on Sunday, September 21, 1862. His funeral was held in St. Paul’s Church on September 24, and he was buried in Hollywood Cemetery.[7]

   Geroge B. Anderson was born near Hillsboro, North Carolina, in 1831. A graduate of both the University of North Carolina and the United States Military Academy. When North Carolina left the Union, Anderson resigned from the United States Army. He was commissioned colonel of the 4^th North Carolina State Troops. At Seven Pines, Anderson commanded W.S. Featherston’s brigade and was promoted to brigadier general shortly thereafter. Anderson’s brigade was assigned to D.H. Hill’s division during the Seven Days battles, where he was wounded. They missed Cedar Mountain and Second Manassas, but were back with the Army of Northern Virgina for the Maryland Campaign.[8]

   Anderson was heavily involved at the battle of Fox’s Gap, but survived unwounded. At Sharpsburg, his brigade was posted in the Sunken Lane (now Bloody Lane) during the middle portion of the fight. As the struggle for the Sunken Lane heightened, Anderson was struck in the foot, near the ankle joint.  Under fire, he was hauled out of the Sunken Road and taken to the Piper Farm, where his wound was examined and declared to be not dangerous. He was later borne via a stretcher further to the rear, under fire, placed in an ambulance, and taken to Shepherdstown where he found refuge in the Boteler home.  As the Confederate Army pulled back, Anderson was placed in a wagon and made his way to Staunton, catching a train through Richmond and on to Raleigh. It took him over a week to make the journey. Not long thereafter, it was discovered that the ball was still lodged in his ankle. Infection set in, and although the limb was amputated, Anderson died of his wounds on October 16, 1862, and is buried in Oakwood Cemetery, Raleigh.[9]

Lawrence O’ Branch was born near Enfield, Halifax County, North Carolina, in 1820. He graduated from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton College) in 1838, and later studied law. Prior to the war, he was the president of the Raleigh and Gaston Railroad and served in the United State House of Representatives. He declined to serve as Secretary of the Treasury in the Buchanan administration. At the start of the war, he served as quartermaster of the state of North Carolina, colonel of the 33^rd North Carolina Troops. Branch was promoted to brigadier general on November 16, 1861. He commanded the Confederate forces at the battle of New Bern in March 1862 – a Confederate defeat, and a brigade at Hanover Court House in May 1862, also a Confederate defeat. Following Hanover, his brigade was placed in A.P. Hill’s Light Division. Branch led his brigade through the Seven Days, Cedar Mountain, Second Manassas, and Chantilly.[10]

 At the start of the Maryland Campaign, Jackson had Hill under arrest, with Branch leading the Light Division. He was active in the capture of Harper’s Ferry and made the seventeen-mile march from Harpers Ferry to Sharpsburg on September 17, arriving late in the day. Most of the members of Branch’s brigade were posted on the hill overlooking Antietam Creek. Late in the day, as Branch was conferring with two other officers, a Federal soldier fired into the group, striking Branch as he was in the process of raising his field glasses to his eyes. Branch was instantly killed. One of Branch’s staff officers, Maj. Joseph Engelhard, escorted the general’s body home. In Richmond, Engelhard was met by four men, including William Blount and William Rodman, both relatives and former staff officers under Branch. When Branch’s remains arrived in Raleigh Thursday evening, military forces met the train and escorted the General's body to the Capitol rotunda, while providing a guard throughout the night. All businesses were closed on Friday morning, and the number of people on hand were said to rival the visit of Henry Clay in 1840. The next morning, funeral services were conducted by Episcopal clergyman Rev. Dr. Mason inside the Capitol. Branch was laid to rest in the Old City Cemetery, Raleigh.[11]

   The Federal generals killed during the campaign were Maj. Gen. Jesse L. Reno; Maj. Gen. Joseph K.F. Mansfield, Maj. Gen. Israel B. Richardson (mortally wounded), and Brig. Gen. Isaac P. Rodman (mortally wounded). They were likewise transported North for burial. Reno is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, D.C.; Mansfield is buried in the Indian Hill Cemetery, Middle, Connecticut; Richardson is buried in the Oak Hill Cemetery, Pontiac, Michigan; and, Rodman is buried in the Rhode Island Historical Cemetery South Kingstown, Rhode Island.

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[1] Davis, The Confederate Generals, 2:165.

[2] Hartwig, To Antietam Creek, 319; Richmond Times-Dispatch, September 25, 1862.

[3] Richmond Enquirer, September 23, 1862.

[4] Richmond Times-Dispatch, September 25, 1862.

[5] Davis, The Confederate Generals, 5:199.

[6] Sears, Landscape Turned Red, 194; Hartwig, I Dred the Thought of the Place, 64.

[7] Richmond Dispatch, September 23, 1862.

[8] Davis, The Confederate Generals, 1:18-9.

[9] Pawlak, Shepherdstown in the Civil War, 82, 103-4.

[10] Davis, The Confederate Generals, 1:118-9.

[11] Weekly State Journal, October 1, 1862; The Raleigh Register, September 27, 1862, October 1, 1862.