New Website Focuses on Petersburg Campaign

Brett Schulte of TOCWOC fame has launched a new website sure to interest any student of the Civil War. Beyond The Crater focuses on the ten-month-long Petersburg Campaign, which lasted from June 1864-April 1865. As Brett states is in his introductory page, "Beyond the Crater is an information compilation site focusing on the Siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War." The 48th Pennsylvania Infantry was present for every single day of this campaign and although best known for digging the Petersburg Mine, they also suffered heavy losses during some of the campaign's many battles, including the assaults of June 15-17, 1864, Poplar Grove Church, and during the Final Breakthrough on April 2, 1865, where the regiment's colonel, George Gowen, was killed among many others. Head on over, and have a look. . .

Some Thoughts On Antietam's 147th Anniversary

Antietam: 2009 Battle Anniversary

(All-Day Hikers)

{Photo from Craig Swain's To The Sound of the Guns}

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Yesterday was the 147th Anniversary of the battle of Antietam, and a truly memorable day for me. I have had the great privilege to serve at Antietam for the past four years and I have had many an incredible, inspiring, and humbling moment on the battlefield. I still remember my first tour, my first Illumination, turning thirty at the Burnside Bridge. . .but yesterday, for the first time, I helped lead the all-day, battle anniversary hikes. The day began at 4:00 a.m. when I woke to a light drizzle. The hour-long drive was eerily quiet; it seemed I was the only one on the road. When I arrived at the battlefield at 6:00, I was the first one there. It was dark and foggy, the rain still falling, and all was quiet. To describe what it was like to witness the first gray lights of dawn on the battlefield on the anniversary of the battle is impossible. My colleagues, Rangers Brian Baracz and Keith Snyder, arrived a short time later and we prepared for our first hike, Morning in the Cornfield. The rain picked up, but it did not deter a crowd of nearly seventy from turning out to walk through the historic cornfield as Keith related the story of the fight, and Brian and I read first-hand accounts penned by those who survived the bloodletting. A somber mood prevailed for the duration of the program. The rain finally ended and after an hour-long break, we all convened once more at the New York State Monument, ready for the eight-hour, eight mile hike before us. In the morning, I was charged with telling the story of Edwin Sumner and the men of his Second Corps. We followed in the footsteps of Sedgwick's Division into the West Woods, then French and Richardson at the Sunken Road, all the while tramping over the same ground and at the same time of day during which the action occurred. Brian took the lead in telling of the First and Twelfth Union Corps and the Confederate troops in the Cornfield and Sunken Road; Keith told the stories of those who received the Medal of Honor for their distinguished gallantry. He also read aloud the list of Confederate soldiers who were chosen to be included in the Roll of Honor. The afternoon witnessed us hiking the southern portion of the field. Brian narrated the actions of the Federal Fifth Corps and the struggle for possession of the Burnside Bridge; I took the lead in telling of the Ninth Corps's final attack and its repulse at the hands of A.P. Hill, while Keith continued to pay tribute to those who went above and beyond the call of duty. The day ended at 5:15 in the National Cemetery, an exhausting day, but one I will always remember. Every now and then, I am reminded of just how fortunate I am to be doing what I love; to work at America's most pristine, best preserved battlefield park, honoring those who fought and those who died while presenting the story of the battle and interpreting its significance to the story of this nation. Yesterday was one of those times. As long as I live, I will remember helping guide the battlefield hikes on the anniversary of the battle for the very first time.

Going Home

My friend and colleague Mannie Gentile has a great post about the final journey home of a young soldier killed in action at Antietam 147 years ago this Thursday. The remains of this young soldier were discovered last October and today, a hearse left the Antietam Battlefield for the Saratoga National Cemetery in New York. Please see Mannie's thoughts on his blog, and the video below, which documents this very important, very moving ceremony.

Brevet Brigadier General Benjamin Christ Honored

This weekend is Anniversary Weekend at Antietam Battlefield, and while I am looking forward to our full schedule of events, I regret it very much that I will not be able to attend an important ceremony tomorrow in Minersville, commemorating the life and service of Benjamin C. Christ, a valiant soldier from Schuylkill County.

However, I do encourage all who can to attend this event.

From today's Pottsville Republican & Evening Herald:


Civil War General To Be Honored Saturday
by Leslie Richardson (staff writer lrichardson@republicanherald.com)
Published: September 11, 2009

MINERSVILLE - A local Civil War hero will be honored at 2 p.m. Saturday for his contribution to the Union cause.
On his 187th birthday, a Civil War marker will be placed at the gravesite of Brevet Brigadier General Benjamin C. Christ in the First United Methodist Cemetery, Branch Township.
"Carol Kalinich, a neighbor of the cemetery, was really the instigator, if you will, for this whole thing," said Peter Yasenchak, executive director of the Historical Society of Schuylkill County.
"A few months ago, she called me and told me there was a Civil War general buried in the cemetery and no one knows about it."
Yasenchak did some research and took his finding to the Veterans Administration. Later, it was agreed that a Civil War marker should be erected at the gravesite.
"There was no designation on the grave at all," said William Edmunds, president of the cemetery's board of trustees.
"He was a colonel for most of the war, was wounded three times, fought in numerous battles, and no one really knew he was there."
Edmunds said this was probably due to the fact that his remains were buried in an older part of the cemetery in 1869, but were moved when his sister, Elizabeth, bought the family plot in 1870.
Edmunds said Christ most likely lived in Philadelphia with his wife and two children after the war and died there. It seems his children never married and Edmunds said that is the likely reason the gravesite went unadorned.
A cemetery record indicates Christ was interred in the cemetery but the lot designation was left blank.
No one has been interred in the church-owned cemetery since the 1970s. Due to a declining and aging congregation, the cemetery fell into disrepair.
In 2007, Edmunds spearheaded an effort to clean up and maintain the burial ground, and in the process, preserve historical information recorded on the headstones that date back to the 1800s.
According to research done by Deborah Nouzovsky, Minersville, Christ was born in Orwigsburg on Sept. 12, 1822, and later moved to Pottsville and then Minersville.
Christ taught in the Minersville public schools in the 1840s and served as Schuylkill County treasurer in 1848.
In 1854, Christ was president of the Minersville School Board. In 1855, he was elected state representative.
By 1860, he was living in Minersville as an innkeeper.
"Even when you see his military career discussed, you don't see how important he and his family were in the community even before the war," Edmunds said.
Christ enlisted in the Union Army on April 21, 1861, as a lieutenant colonel in Company E, Pennsylvania 5th Infantry Regiment, nine days after Confederate soldiers opened fire on Fort Sumter, Charleston, S.C.
He mustered out of this unit after three months and was commissioned again July 27, 1861, as a field and staff officer, 50th Infantry Regiment, and was promoted to full colonel the same day.
Christ participated in the Battle of Port Royal; commanded the 1st Brigade at Chantilly, assuming temporary command after the death of Isaac Stevens; returned as commander of the 1st Brigade and fought at the battles of South Mountain and Antietam; commanded the 2nd Brigade in the 1st Division at the Battle of Fredericksburg; commanded the 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division in the IX Corps during the siege of Vicksburg; returned to command the 2nd Brigade during the Knoxville Campaign.
In the spring of 1864, Christ took command of the 2nd Brigade in the 3rd Division and fought at the battles of the Wilderness, Spotsylvania and Cold Harbor.
Christ was wounded when the Union army assaulted the Confederate works at Petersburg but returned to command the 1st Brigade, 3rd Division in the IX Corps.
He was promoted to brevet brigadier general on Aug. 1, 1864 and mustered out of Company S, Pennsylvania 50th Infantry on Sept. 30, 1864, six months before General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House in 1865.
According to a representative of the Veterans Administration, because he was promoted to general shortly before he was discharged, an honor often bestowed on an officer in his last months of active duty, he would have to be distinguished as colonel on the marker, Yasenchak said.
Saturday's ceremony will feature Edmunds, Nouzovsky, Yasenchak, Tom Shay of the Schuylkill County Civil War Round Table, Carol Kalinich, Friends of the Cemetery, the Rev. Nancy Gehres, pastor of First United Methodist Church, Minersville, and a color guard from the Pottsville Joint Veterans Council.
Donations to help maintain the cemetery will be accepted, and applications for membership in the historical society will be available Saturday.

Just How Far Was It. . .

My friend Jim Rosebrock has a great post on A.P. Hill's famed march from Harpers Ferry on September 17, 1862, on his blog South From The North Woods. An Antietam Guide and Park Volunteer, Jim calls into question one of the long-standing and remarkable episodes of the battle concerning those 17. . .er, 13.3. . .miles in 7 hours.

Sickles At Gettysburg Is Civil War History at Its Finest

I picked up James Hessler's Sickles at Gettysburg last week and have had a hard time since putting it down. Even when I finished this excellent book, I was somewhat disappointed: I wanted to read more. I have met Mr. Hessler on several occasions (he lives right down the road from me), and when I see him again I will be sure to congratulate him on a job well done. Although this is his first book-length study, Hessler writes with all the skill and clarity of a seasoned professional in bringing the remarkable story of General Sickles to life. Easily one of the most colorful and controversial figures of the Civil War, Dan Sickles continues to capture our interest, earning the veneration of some, the vehemence of most others. He was (is) one of those polarizing figures: most works have either portrayed him as the villainous scoundrel or, less commonly, as the man who saved the Union at Gettysburg but who suffered the discrimination of the army's West Pointers and professional soldiers. At last, Dan Sickles and his advancement of the Third Corps at Gettysburg receive fair historical treatment in Hessler's work; the author does not set out to prove that Sickles was either wholly this or wholly that, a villain or a hero. Focusing on Sickles's still controversial move on the afternoon of July 2, Hessler instead presents both sides of the story, and leaves much of the final determination up to the reader. There is much to admire about Sickles: his resiliency, his bravery, his patriotism and love for his troops, and his efforts at helping establish Gettysburg and other important sites as National Parks. But there is also much to despise: his philandering, his politicking, his relentless attacks on Meade both after the battle and after the war, and, most loathsome, his treatment of first wife Teresa and daughter, Laura. Still, his personal life aside, it was his move at Gettysburg that continues to define Sickles's legacy. In Sickles at Gettysburg, Hessler presents the best study of the general's actions during this epic battle. In addition to explaining Sickles's motivation for such a move (he advanced to avoid a repeat of a Chancellorsville-like, sweeping flank attack against the Federal left), and going into great detail about how this move was viewed among his fellow officers and the soldiers in the ranks, Hessler also presents an excellent, and easy-to-follow tactical account of the confused fighting on July 2 in an around Devil's Den, the Wheatfield, and the Peach Orchard. The value of Hessler's book, however, goes far beyond the actual battlefield of Gettysburg. The author does a great job in explaining how Sickles and his supporters set about to shape and manipulate the historical record both while the war was still being fought and well into the Twentieth Century by including testimony from the hearings of the Committee on the Conduct of War, speeches delivered at monument dedications, and numerous newspaper accounts/editorials penned by the likes of Henry Tremain, Dan Butterfield, and Sickles himself. An epilogue presents a fine historiographical essay on how Sickles's move has been recently portrayed in print and on film.

In the end, this is a must-have book for Civil War enthusiasts and scholars. Sickles At Gettysburg is Civil War History at its very finest.