"The fallen lay three or four feet deep in some places, and, with but few exceptions, they were shot in and about the head. Arms, accouterments, ammunition, cannon, shot and shell, and broken foliage were strewn about. With much labor a detail of Union soldiers buried the dead by simply turning the captured breastworks upon them. Thus had these unfortunate victims unwittingly dug their own graves. The trenches were nearly full of muddy water. It was the most horrible sight I had ever witnessed."
Memorial Day is a day for Americans to remember their war dead. It was started in the aftermath of the American Civil War. For this post I'm going to return to a Civil War battlefield, if fact to just to a portion of a Civil War battlefield, to remember how much some have suffered and lost in defense of our Nation.
The Bloody Angle at Spotsylvania was the scene of the most ferocious fighting in that most brutal of all American wars. Early in the morning, under a thick mist, Union troops commanded by General Hancock attacked the Southern lines. They broke through and drove deep into the Confederate positions until finally the Southern troops stalled the advance.
The Bloody Angle was some earthworks the Confederates held in the middle of the Yankee advance. Union troops slid along both flanks of the position, creating a horse shoe shaped salient. As a heavy rain began to fall, both sides fed troops into the battle at the salient -- the Union troops to try completely shatter the Southern lines, the Rebels desperately holding as a fallback series of earth works were being prepared.
The two sides fought for nearly 24 hours over that rain drenched piece of land and both sent hundreds of men into its bloody maw. Many of them fired the single shot from their muskets and then stood upon the dead to fight hand-to-hand using their rifles as clubs, until they too joined the pile of dead and were replaced.
After the war, in the 1880s, Century Magazine published a series of articles about the Civil War written by veterans of the war. These articles were eventually published in the 4 volume set, Battles and Leaders of the Civil War (the link takes you to an online version of the entire set).
Most of the articles were written by officers, but an enlisted man named G. Norton Galloway wrote the article regarding the fight at the Bloody Angle. I've reproduced it below. I've removed the footnotes, and a few of the typos, but no doubt many more typos remain.
If you're inclined, there is also a wealth of information about the battles of Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania at the blog Mysteries and Conundrums. I recommend a visit to that site for those that like Civil War history, or are just curious to learn more.
(Hellooooo visitors from Instapundit)
Hand-to-hand Fighting at Spotsylvania
by G. Norton Galloway
GENERAL HANCOCK's surprise and capture of the larger portion of Edward Johnson's division , and the capture of the salient "at Spotsylvania Court House on the 12th of May, 1864, accomplished with the Second Corps," have been regarded as one of the most brilliant feats of that brilliant soldier's career ; but without the substantial assistance of general Wright, grand old John Sedgwick's worthy successor, and the Sixth Corps, a defeat as bitter as his victory was sweet would have been recorded against the hero of that day.The storm which had set in early in the afternoon of the 11th of May continued with great severity, and but little rest was obtained during the night. Soon after dark, however, a remarkable change in the weather took place, and it became ed in small groups about half-drowned fires, with their tents stretched about their shoulders, while some hastily pitched the canvas on the ground, and sought shelter beneath the rumpled and dripping folds. Others rolled themselves up, and lay close to the simmering logs, eager to catch a few moments' sleep ; many crouched about, without any shelter whatever, presenting a pitiable sight.
Throughout the day some skirmishing and sharpshooting? had occurred, but this had been of a spasmodic character, and had elicited no concern.
About dusk the Sixth Corps moved to a position on the right and rear of the army. The stormy night was favorable to Hancock's movement, and about 10 o'clock he put his troops in motion, marching to a point on the left of the Sixth Corps' former position in the neighborhood of the Brown house, massing his troops in that vicinity. [See map, p. 167.]
General Grant's orders to Hancock were to assault at daylight on the 12th in cooperation with Burnside on his left, while Wright and Warren were held in readiness to assault on his right. The Confederate army was composed of three corps-Longstreet (now R. H. Anderson) on their left, Ewell in the center, and A. P. Hill (now under early) on the right. The point to be assaulted was a salient of field-works on the Confederate center, afterward called the "Bloody Angle." It was held by General Edward Johnson's division. Here the Confederate line broke off at an angle of ninety degrees, the right parallel, about the length of a small brigade, being occupied by General George H. Steuart's regiments. This point was a part or continuation of the line of works charged and carried by General Upton on May 10th, and was considered to be the key to Lee's position.
Just as the day was breaking, Barlow's and Birney's divisions of Hancock's corps pressed forward upon the unsuspecting foe, and leaping the breastworks after a hand-to-hand conflict with the bewildered enemy, in which guns were used as clubs, possessed themselves of the ithree thousand prisoners were taken, including General Johnson and General Steuart. Twenty Confederate cannon became the permanent trophies of the day, twelve of them belonging to Page and eight to Cutshaw.
Upon reaching the second line of Lee's works held by Wilcox's division, who by this time had become apprised of the disaster to their comrades, Hancock met with stern resistance, as Lee in the meantime had been hurrying troops to Ewell from Hill on the right and Anderson on the left, and these were sprung upon our victorious lines with such an impetus as to drive them hastily back toward the left of the salient.
As soon as the news of Hancock's good and ill success reached army headquarters, the Sixth Corps - Upton's brigade being in advance - was ordered to move with all possible haste to his support. At a brisk pace we crossed a line of intrenchments a short distance in our front, and, passing through a strip of timber, at once began to realize our nearness to the foe. It was now about G o'clock, and the enemy, reenforced, were making desperate efforts to regain what they had lost.
Our forces were hastily retiring at this point before the concentrated attack of the enemy, and these with our wounded lined the road. We pressed forward and soon cleared the woods and reached an insidious fen, covered with dense marsh grass, where we lay down for a few moments awaiting orders. I cannot imagine how any of us survived the sharp fire that swept over us at this point - a fire so keen that it split the blades of grass all about us, the minies moaning in a furious concert as they picked out victims by the score. [continues after jump]
