Glendale-Malvern Hill - 18-20 April 2008

[Charles Heath]

Date: 18-20 April 2008
Name: Battle of Glendale & Malvern Hill NPS LH
Location: Henrico County, VA
Sponsor/Host: POC'R Boys/CWPT & NPS
Capacity: Two to four companies of infantry with artillery
POC: Ley Watson (Registrar)
Email: ley74@rcn.com
Event Website: TBA
CWPT Info: http://www.civilwar.org/travelandeve...alvernhill.htm
NPS Info: http://www.nps.gov/rich/index.htm
Forum: AC Forum Subforum
Listserver: Participant Level
Preservation Component: Donation to CWPT
Notes: Pending final approval, a 7.5-mile march has been incorporated into the event.

[Charles Heath]

Re: Glendale-Malvern Hill - 18-20 April 2008

This is a nice little excerpt from Chapter 6 of Jeffry Wert's 2005 book The Sword of Lincoln: The Army of the Potomac , which is still readily available from the usual booksellers.

By the morning of June 30, seven divisions and a brigade of the Union army lay at or around Glendale, where Charles City, Long Bridge, and Quaker roads intersected. If the Confederates seized the crossroads, the Federal army could be divided and vulnerable to piecemeal destruction. The defense of Glendale on this day was vital to the passage of the army to the James River.

McClellan conferred with Sumner, Heintzelman, and Franklin and oversaw the deployment of the units, before riding away with his staff. "Why he left was an enigma," stated one of Heintzelman's headquarters clerks. McClellan expected a Confederate assault -- "The roads will be full enough tomorrow," as he predicted the day before -- and still he fled from another battlefield. It was, as historian Hubbell declared, an "inexplicable and inexcusable" decision. McClellan went to Haxall's Landing on the James, where he boarded the gunboat Galena and had dinner, while at Glendale, his army struggled for its survival.

The burden of command fell upon the three corps commanders. Heintzelman noted in his journal that Sumner remained angry about the Third Corps's march away from Savage Station and "avoided speaking to me." The Federal position formed a reverse L, with William Smith's and Israel Richardson's divisions and a Fourth Corps brigade, under Franklin, covering their rear, or base of the L, at the White Oak Swamp crossing. The main Union line extended from north to south, from Charles City Road to Long Bridge Road, manned by the divisions of Henry Slocum, Philip Kearny, George McCall, and Joseph Hooker. Eighteen batteries supported the infantrymen. In all, about 55,000 Yankees waited.

Before noon the Charles City and Long Bridge roads were "full enough." Since the previous morning, it had been Lee's plan to interdict the Federal retreat, and he had expected more than Magruder's troops to be engaged at Savage Station. He now directed his units toward Glendale and the opportunity to sever, if not destroy, his opponent's army. He ordered Stonewall Jackson to cross White Oak Swamp and to assail the Union rear. From the west, Benjamin Huger's three brigades were to attack along Charles City Road, while the divisions of James Longstreet and A. P. Hill were to charge on Long Bridge Road. If his subordinates fulfilled their roles, nearly 70,000 Rebels would assault the Yankees.

"With great suddenness and severity," wrote a Confederate staff officer, the Battle of Glendale erupted. In its intensity and bloodletting, it rivaled Gaines's Mill. While Huger's feeble attack stalled quickly before Slocum's troops, Longstreet's Rebels charged with ferocity toward McCall's Pennsylvanians. These Fifth Corps men had been encamped near Glendale because of the previous night's countermarch. It was fortuitous for the Federals that they were available, but as the unit's historian claimed, "Most of the men were fitter subjects for the hospital than for the battle-field."

"The fire of hell was let loose upon us," exclaimed a Pennsylvania captain, as shells and canister from Confederate batteries swept in upon their ranks. Behind them, gray-coated infantrymen charged. In front of the Keystone State volunteers, six Union batteries blasted the Rebels. The deployment of cannon in front of infantry was faulty. In turn, the Southerners drove toward the inviting targets. A furnace of artillery and rifle fire blew across the ground into the ranks of both attackers and defenders. Sergeant Michael Miller of the 1st Pennsylvania Reserves swore to his wife that bullets "flew in every Square inch of air around me except the little Space I stood in." A comrade asserted, "To believe any man desires to go into battle, is to believe him a fool."

Longstreet hurled more troops into the fury. His men overran some of the batteries, clubbing and shooting the Union crews. Colonel Seneca G. Simmons, who had succeeded John Reynolds in brigade command after the general's capture, was killed. Another brigade commander, George Meade, suffered bullet wounds in the right forearm and in his side. An officer who witnessed Meade's wounding wrote of the general, "He did not fall from his horse -- only winced a little and rode slowly to the rear." He would not return to the army for seven weeks.

No Federal troops had fought more valiantly or suffered more than these Pennsylvanians during the campaign. They had little left, and their ranks began to crumble under the enemy onslaught. McCall tried to rally the men and found himself a prisoner. When taken to the rear, McCall met Longstreet, a former subordinate of the Union general. Longstreet offered his hand to his old friend. McCall refused it, remarking: "Excuse me, sir. I can stand defeat but not insult."

Before he was captured, McCall had met Kearny, who was leading regiments of his division to the support of the Pennsylvanians. Accounts of his men are universal in their praise of Kearny's conduct during the campaign. Kearny seemed tireless to the troops as he "rode along from front to rear, from rear to front, alive to the welfare of his men." They remarked about "his armless sleeve flapping up and down," riding with his horse's reins in his mouth, and his confident words to them. A New Yorker believed that he looked "like a Knight errant of old," as they trudged through the night from Savage Station. They had learned, as a lieutenant put it, "he would go into a fight, as an eater would go to a banquet." They had also heard that the Rebels called him "the one armed devil on the white horse."

When Kearny ordered his men into an attack, he liked to tell them to "go in gaily." Whether he used the phrase on this day is unknown, but few, if any, of his troops would have thought of gaiety at this time. "The Rebels were as thick as blackberries," wrote a lieutenant. Toward them came three Confederate brigades, Southerners from Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and South Carolina. The opposing lines stiffened and hammered each other. A soldier in the 20th Indiana claimed, "We fired so rapidly that our guns were too hot to hold."

Colonel Alexander Hays and the 63rd Pennsylvania typified the Union resistance. A West Pointer, Hays had left the army after the Mexican War to hunt for gold in California and then to build railroads in his native Pennsylvania. Elected colonel of the regiment in August 1861, he proved to be "a most kind-hearted and patient man with a private soldier." He possessed an "impetuous, even fiery" personality, and like Kearny, a passion for battle. On this day Hays and his men saved a Union battery with a counterattack. Kearny called it "this most heroic action," and Hays's brigade commander, Hiram Berry, declared "that I have not in my carreer in military life seen better fighting or work better done."

Additional Federal units came up in support of Kearny, sealing the breach where McCall's Pennsylvanians had been broken. As the 15th Massachusetts charged, Sumner shouted to its members: "Go in, boys, for the honor of old Massachusetts! I have been hit twice this afternoon, but it is nothing when you get used to it." On the left, Hooker's troops unleashed volleys into the attackers. Two days earlier, Private William C. Wiley of the 70th New York had complained in a letter home, "It seems as if General McClellan has no other Division in his Army but Hookers." Another soldier admitted later that he had had "a dread of it at first," but "I wanted to go in and give the Rebs a try, but it was awful work."

The Union lines held. A Confederate artillerist contended, "[N]owhere else, to my knowledge, [occurred] so much actual personal fighting with bayonet and butt of gun." At places, the combat had been hand-to-hand, and volleys had been triggered into foes at less than a hundred yards. Although imprecise, casualty figures are estimated at 3,500-3,800 in killed, wounded, and missing for the Federals, and 3,500-3,700 for the Confederates. Adjutant Robert Taggart of the 9th Pennsylvania Reserves recorded in his diary that night: "When will it end....It is terrible. Yet this is war. Heaven interpose."

Glendale had offered Lee his finest chance to inflict a crippling, if not fatal, defeat upon McClellan's army. Instead of coordinated assaults, Longstreet's and Hill's divisions bled and died virtually alone against five Union divisions. They had fought "for all they were worth," but Federal reserves proved decisive. Huger had performed miserably, but most critically, Jackson had done little to execute his orders. His mysterious conduct has been controversial ever since. For whatever reasons, he failed Lee and the army. E. Porter Alexander, a Confederate artillery officer and the army's finest chronicler, stated it bluntly: "never, before or after, did the fates put such a prize within our reach."

McClellan, who had witnessed none of the fighting, wired the War Department that night, saying in part: "My Army has behaved superbly and have done all that men could do. If none of us escape we shall at least have done honor to the country. I shall do my best to save the Army." Hours later, he sent a second telegram, requesting 50,000 additional troops. "With them," he avowed, "I will retrieve our fortunes. More would be well, but that number sent at once, will, I think, enable me to assume the offensive."

Lincoln responded to both dispatches in separate messages. He advised the general: "Maintain your ground if you can; but save the Army at all events, even if you fall back to Fortress-Monroe. We still have strength enough in the country, and will bring it out." As to his request for reinforcements, the president stated, "When you ask for fifty thousand men to be promptly sent you, you surely labor under some gross mistake of fact." The government had barely 60,000 troops in the other departments in Virginia and in Washington's defenses. The idea, said Lincoln, "is simply absurd."

At the time McClellan telegraphed the War Department, he issued orders to the troops at Glendale to withdraw to Malvern Hill. For a second night in a row the men trudged through the darkness. "We did little more than drag ourselves along," said a soldier. A comrade likened it to "a funeral procession." Hooker's division remained at the crossroads as a rear guard until nearly daylight. Hooker's men watched Rebels, with lanterns, search for missing friends. He stated in his report, "The unbroken, mournful wail of human suffering was all that we heard from Glendale during that long dismal night."

I like the way he writes.

[Stonewall_Greyfox]

Re: Glendale-Malvern Hill - 18-20 April 2008

Any news on the impression for this event? Federal/Confederate?

Paul

[Charles Heath]

Re: Glendale-Malvern Hill - 18-20 April 2008

Any news on the impression for this event? Federal/Confederate?

Short answers: Not yet. Both.

Long, rambling, far more fun answer:

Not to steal any of Dave's thunder, but six of us had a very nice site visit yesterday, and for once the cornucopia of regiments at these two engagements may require hiring King Solomon to make a few impression decisions. Don't look for anything definitive on either the confederate or federal impressions before late November, and most likely they will be in the form of guiding impressions, to borrow a phrase from the AoP.

None of this is set in concrete, but here are some random thoughts worthy of Timothy Leary:

We have an opportunity for a little tramping around in forest and field, as well as some good public interpretation. Perhaps a couple of miles to stretch the legs, and then some good demos and interaction. Pretty normal mobile LH stuff in many respects.

The amount of land the CWPT has recently added to this battlefield is beyond impressive. It is simply astounding. For those who have their Steven Stanley maps handy, check out the newly added pieces, as well as the older parcels in blue.

I had not been to Malvern Hill in a number of years, so seeing the deforested areas was a real treat. If you were familiar with the APCWS addition, then you'll know the area, and may well remember that event. Yep, some of this has been done before.

The caretaker's house in the Glendale National Cemetery is a small visitor center. As many times as I had visited that spot in bygone years, I'd never been inside the house. Nice.

Willis Church still looks great, and there may be specialty impression opportunity at that location. Another specialty impression could be possible as a sharply shot "sideshow of the big show," for those who like dug hard rubber buttons and little green men on the actual ground. Probably no interest in that sort of thing, though. ;)

Depending on the final Federal impression selection, dead animal parts could play a role. Yeah, this could be really scary, but the logistics of issuing corps badges (not at this event) and dead animal parts are similar. The old Federal Campaign Battalion (predecessor to the Potomac Legion) enjoyed a late war western federal zouave battalion impression a few years ago, so why not be gutsy once again? The obvious impression is slated for another event in 2008, so that's why it isn't on the table for this one.

We asked the horse question. We'll probably have an answer within 60 days. Seeing Dave Myrick in a general's uniform would be fun, if we can make that happen. Oh, General, there is some bad news historically for that possible vignette, so enjoy the first part of the ride.

The NPS would like a battery of artillery. One fine bunch came to mind, and we'll see them soon enough. They do have friends.

As to the Confederates, the 47th Virginia would certainly be the easy way out, but being a fan of Eppa Hunton, maybe we can do a little arm twisting. We need to do some more walking with maps and accounts in hand, and that will come soon enough. So much to choose from! Almost too much! I will say this, the last two Confederate positions will be worth the wait.

We are only dealing with a handful of property owners, but each one has specific givens and druthers. It's important to incorporate these as part of the event design. We can do some things in some places, but not all things in all places.

As to timing, our intent was not to conflict with a number of events clustered near the actual anniversary date. The primary landowner stated the program would not be in hot weather, so barring any unforeseen heat waves in late April, we'll be in a win-win situation.

We had the usual discusion about participant and visitor parking, water, wood, waste disposal, camping, and such. The event will incur some costs in these areas, and that will be reflected in the registration fee.

Frankly, I'm enjoying the reading. Glendale was a heck of an opportunity lost from one point of view, and a close call from the other point of view. It's sets up Malvern Hill, which would be "reenacted" on a much larger scale in Tennessee in 1864. Thanks, JBH!

Come to think of it, I'm probably be repping this one at the battalion meeting in two weeks.

[Dignann]

Re: Glendale-Malvern Hill - 18-20 April 2008

For those who have their Steven Stanley maps handy, check out the newly added pieces, as well as the older parcels in blue.

That map can be downloaded from the CWPT website.

Eric

[dusty27]

Re: Glendale-Malvern Hill - 18-20 April 2008

Thanks Eric,

I just received a new plea from the CWPT (hopefully some of you have as well:)) and the CWPT is now attempting to purchase most of the land between the two CWPT sites that Eric has linked to. An additional 319 acres from Kemper's lines to the Willis Church Road and beyond and north to include land where Seymour's troops and most of the Federal artillery was stationed for the battle.

[DougCooper]

Re: Glendale-Malvern Hill - 18-20 April 2008

Thanks Eric,

I just received a new plea from the CWPT (hopefully some of you have as well:)) and the CWPT is now attempting to purchase most of the land between the two CWPT sites that Eric has linked to. An additional 319 acres from Kemper's lines to the Willis Church Road and beyond and north to include land where Seymour's troops and most of the Federal artillery was stationed for the battle.

Ya know gang, there is nothing more important than an event like this. It ranks #1 in my mind simply because there is way more riding on this than the usual deal, even an NPS event - this is both an urgent preservation awareness and an NPS event in one. It would be excellent if we could manage it around the anniversary, but as Charles has already covered well, no can do with Gettysburg 2008 and other events in May-June. We can't postpone to 2009 because CWPT needs our help now.

This is an excellent example of the partnership we have forged between CWPT and ourselves and we need to make these events work. Ideally, we would field a healthy battalion per side, but we are being conservative (2-4 companies per side) due to the crowded schedule. I hope we are being pessimistic, but it is the right way to plan. The ground can support it, and it has been a long time since we did a long walk along those roads. Thanks to the visit by Charles and the boys, we have a good idea of the state of play.

Two of the greatest coups in CW preservation history play out this year and next, and we have two events to match - Glendale/Malvern Hill and After the Battle (Fredericksburg Slaughter Pen Farm). At the end of the day, or the end of your reenacting career, it sure would be nice to know you had a hand in helping save so much hallowed ground.

[Kevin O'Beirne]

Re: Glendale-Malvern Hill - 18-20 April 2008

Two of the greatest coups in CW preservation history play out this year and next, and we have two events to match - Glendale/Malvern Hill and After the Battle (Fredericksburg Slaughter Pen Farm).

Doug,

Both the Glendale-Malvern Hill event and "After the Battle: Fredericksburg" are in 2008. Neither one is in 2007.

[DougCooper]

Re: Glendale-Malvern Hill - 18-20 April 2008

Doug,

Both the Glendale-Malvern Hill event and "After the Battle: Fredericksburg" are in 2008. Neither one is in 2007.

Kevin - the intiatives (coups) by CWPT are 2007 and that is what I am talking about - the events follow on in 2008 to keep the momentum of the effort going.

[dusty27]

Re: Glendale-Malvern Hill - 18-20 April 2008

Here is a new map from CWPT with some targeted land:

http://www.civilwar.org/appeals/2007/Glendale/2007%20Glendale%20Appeal%20Map.pdf

Please try to make this event and help CWPT monetarily now if possible

[biddler165]

Re: Glendale-Malvern Hill - 18-20 April 2008

I won't be able to make it to the event, but I will donate to the CWPT through the CFC.

[JStiles]

Re: Glendale-Malvern Hill - 18-20 April 2008

Re: Glendale-Malvern Hill - 18-20 April 2008

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Any news on the impression for this event? Federal/Confederate?

Paul
__________________
Paul B. Boulden Jr.

RAH VA MIL '04
23rd Va. Vol. Regt.

Company of Military Historians
Member~Museum of the Confederacy


Hey Charles et all,
Two words for ya...Roll Tide!!!

Cadmus Wilcox is the mac daddy.............Jerry Stiles

[Kevin O'Beirne]

Re: Glendale-Malvern Hill - 18-20 April 2008

Selection of portrayals is up to the event coordinator--Dave Eggleston. That said, the CWPT property is the area where the Pennsylvania Reserves saw heavy action which may make them a good candidate for the Federal portrayal, at least at Glendale.

I've been part of discussions regarding potential US portrayals for the Malvern Hill portion of the event, but because there's a lot of candidate regiments I won't offer here, at this time, what ones were discussed, because it could easily change.

[Charles Heath]

Re: Glendale-Malvern Hill - 18-20 April 2008

Jerry,

I hear the song you and Paul are singing.

For the visitors, the juicy prospects of regiments like the 20th Indiana, 3rd Michigan, 20th Mass., and several of the NY and NJ group are hard to resist. Ya know, this would be the 2nd time in 6 years where we have had the opportunity to portray the 13th PA Res., but folks tend to recoil in horror at that thought. Obviously, as member units, the 5th NH and 1st MN come to mind, but the 7th, 4th, 3rd, 1st, 8th, 10th, and 12th PA Res. are really in the thick of things. Did I mention the Jerseymen are well represented here?

For the home team players, the MS, FL, AR, AL, SC, NC, TN, and G1stBG* regiments are particularly attractive, but it has been a long, long, long, long time since the Old Dominion had a shot at a regiment. All I have to say is the event committee will be meeting on Friday for about 9 hours, and then again Sunday for about 10 hours with laptop plugged into the power outlet of a certain green Ford truck. Good use of road trip time, methinks.

Glendale & Malvern Hill are like Disneyworld. We could spend a week there and not see and do it all.

Sunday? Oh, Lawdy.

Hey, is anyone out there in vendorland working on a Bully Buy for some nice federal issue painted ground cloths?

*Herb, tell 'em what they've won.

[GreencoatCross]

Re: Glendale-Malvern Hill - 18-20 April 2008

Chawls,

Don't count the chippies out. I think I can use my powers of persuasion to scare up a good sized platoon if the impression at Malvern Hill would be acceptable for the event staff.

Portraying the 1st U.S.S.S. circa July 1862 has always been my dream impression. Myself and others have done nearly a decade of research on the material culture side of the Berdan's Sharpshooters, and their appearance at the time of the battle was just so darn minimal that it was striking. And surprisingly, there were very few, if any, little green men running around at that time. Blue everything except for fatigue caps makes the impression a little easier to swallow!