I heard of premature detonations, but never heard it as a recurring problem. I know the lead bands on the end of a parrot shell were often shed at the muzzle and killed friendlies posted in front of the guns. Parrots were forbidden to fire over head of friendly troops for this reason. The paper machete on a Shenkle wasn’t a problem. It was too light to have any force. The Shenkle worked very well from the 3” Rifle, or Rodman but the rifling in a parrot worked much better with the lead band . Cole says that even though they shared bore size, union gunners were to use parrot shells in Partot guns, and Shenkle in the 3” Rifle. I recall he said ther was a battery just south of the copse of trees that were pulled out for lack of ammunition just prior to Pickets advance. Afterward, it was found that the battery had dumped its shell behind a stone wall to justify withdrawing!😀 I don’t recall what battery, but there are many more stories of heroic defense of positions by batteries! Stuart’s Battery A, 4th US made a heroic stand at the railroad cut in 1 July. They never got the word to retreat. The defense of Sickel’s position on day two was full of such instances, and I believe everyone has heard of Cushing running his guns right up to the stone wall at The Angle.
"Preserving the Constitution, fighting off the nibblers and chippers, even nibblers and chippers with good intentions, was once regarded by conservatives as the first duty of the citizen. It still is." � Wesley Pruden
I believe that late on 2 July they muscled a battery of 6 10 pound Parrots up there. Those guns played havoc on Pickets right flank. The Parrots ain’t my favorite. They were pretty accurate, but prone to bursting the cast iron tube. Hunt was trying to phase them out, but they’re cheap and accurate. Maybe they killed some crew now and then, but the crew and gun are easily replaced.😀 I have always thought the 3” Rifles better, and the smoothbore Napoleons were much better with canister. The rifles had a smaller bore, and tended to throw a smaller pattern when firing canister. Those 12 pounder were like a giant sawed off shotgun. By the time of Gettysburg, IIRC, they accounted for 46% of Meades artty. Lees AONV was around 50%. But they still were fielding quite a few 6 pounders as well.
"Preserving the Constitution, fighting off the nibblers and chippers, even nibblers and chippers with good intentions, was once regarded by conservatives as the first duty of the citizen. It still is." � Wesley Pruden
Interesting video. Thanks for posting it. Garnett had no business going forward that day. Unable to walk, he rode at the head of his brigade on horseback. Almost suicidal. But he was under an unjust cloud, brought on by Stonewall after the battle of Kernstown. Garnett had withdrawn his (The Stonewall Brigade) from an untenable position, but without orders. Stonewall charged him for this, ordering a court martial. Stonewall died before anything had come of this, and Lee, recognizing a very good officer, moved him to Pickets division. He had a bum leg, having been kicked by a horse, but Richard thought he had to prove himself, and led his men toward that volcano on Cemetery Ridge. His body was never identified. In 1872, most of the dead of his brigade, presumably his own remains among them, were recovered from the field and reburied in the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond. I think it was 1870, when a confederate Brigadier General named George Steuart found Garnett’s sword in the window of a Baltimore pawn shop! Steuart recovered the sword, but died before he could return it to Richards family. The honor fell to his nephew, and the sword is in possession of Garnett’s family. His uncle L, Richard S Garnett was the first confederate General killed in the war!
"Preserving the Constitution, fighting off the nibblers and chippers, even nibblers and chippers with good intentions, was once regarded by conservatives as the first duty of the citizen. It still is." � Wesley Pruden
Pete and McLaws, both from Georgia, looked alike, talked and acted alike. Maybe They were too much alike to get along! But here, I don’t recall the particulars of the falling out. I’m gonna have to do a little research to refresh my memory before I can say anything else about it! I’ll get back to you on this.
"Preserving the Constitution, fighting off the nibblers and chippers, even nibblers and chippers with good intentions, was once regarded by conservatives as the first duty of the citizen. It still is." � Wesley Pruden
The falling out came over the Siege of Knoxville. After Chickamaugua. Longstreet had been “The Bull Of The Woods” there, but after Rosecrans withdrew to Chattanooga, Pete found it almost impossible to work with Bragg. (Nobody liked Bragg, but he was a friend of Jeff Davis) They split up, Pete took his corps to lay siege to Knoxville, where Burnside was holed up. McLaws and Longstreet In spite of this, McLaws defended Pete from the attacks on him for Gettysburg by Early and Pendelton! IIRC, there were some hard feelings between them after Pete wrote his autobiography, “From Manasses To Apomatox” , but to be honest, it’s been 15 years since read it. Pete was sometimes wrong in his recollections, but his book was written in reply to over ten years of slander from the Virginia crowd who held him as scapegoat for Gettysburg. Long story short. I think Pete was among the best generals the South had. Now I’ll admit, he made mistakes, but I place his leadership above Jackson and Stuart. Had he had the good luck to be born in Virginia, or had he died of his wounds at The Wilderness, I’m sure he would have found the same Sainthood as Lee, Stonewall, and Stuart enjoy.
"Preserving the Constitution, fighting off the nibblers and chippers, even nibblers and chippers with good intentions, was once regarded by conservatives as the first duty of the citizen. It still is." � Wesley Pruden
Pretty cool! I’m glad you found this! Reflecting here, but the Medal of Honor during the Civil War was much different from the Congressional Medal Of Honor now! Most of the guys who have earned this award, lost their lives in the action. OTOH, I know one awarded in the Civil War, got his for pouring a pot of coffee on a lit fuse of an artillery shell! Quite different from using your body to shield your buddies from a grenade!
Last edited by 7mmbuster; 03/26/24.
"Preserving the Constitution, fighting off the nibblers and chippers, even nibblers and chippers with good intentions, was once regarded by conservatives as the first duty of the citizen. It still is." � Wesley Pruden
Pretty cool! I’m glad you found this! Reflecting here, but the Medal of Honor during the Civil War was much different from the Congressional Medal Of Honor now! Most of the guys who have earned this award, lost their lives in the action. OTOH, I know one awarded in the Civil War, got his for pouring a pot of coffee on a lit fuse of an artillery shell! Quite different from using your body to shield your buddies from a grenade!
Yeah they didn’t mention that flag followed Gen Armistead over the stonewall with his hat on his sword under a hellish fire and waved it over one of Cushings guns 😃😃😃 proud moment for Virginia 👍
Without situational awareness due to lack of effective reconnaissance, Lee didn't know where the AOP was from the time that he started his march north until Heth's troops ran into Buford's troops on July 1st at Seminary Ridge.
Maybe he thought that he could defeat the AOP one Corps at a time as they came north, but he never gathered the AONV into a defensive posture. If Lee had withdrawn to the west of South Mountain instead of east and south towards Gettysburg he might have forced Meade to attack through the gaps on a narrow front where his forces would have had a big advantage. A portion of the AONV under Longstreet had been able to hold off a stronger Union force at the battle of Thoroughfare Gap/Chapman's Mill in 1862, before Second Manassas, so this could have been Thoroughfare Gap Version 2.0.
Gettysburg is something of an anomaly for Lee, as he was blind throughout the first 2 days. In every other fight of his he had fairly good intel and it always showed. He was always very aggressive, but to force the issue like he did on 2 July, lacking a clear picture, is a big mistake. Also on day two he never left his HQ after his morning visit with Pete, and he sent and received only one message according to his staff. All his units were to attack as the unit on their right went in. But this broke down in Hill’s sector, with was very near to his HQ. He always did let his subordinate commanders run their own affairs, but both Hill and Ewell were new as corps commanders, and to top that off the major rearrangements in creating new army corps many commanders of divisions and brigades were new to their post as well. One would think that after a major shake up of the commands, Lee should have been more attentive.
"Preserving the Constitution, fighting off the nibblers and chippers, even nibblers and chippers with good intentions, was once regarded by conservatives as the first duty of the citizen. It still is." � Wesley Pruden
Gettysburg is something of an anomaly for Lee, as he was blind throughout the first 2 days. In every other fight of his he had fairly good intel and it always showed. He was always very aggressive, but to force the issue like he did on 2 July, lacking a clear picture, is a big mistake. Also on day two he never left his HQ after his morning visit with Pete, and he sent and received only one message according to his staff. All his units were to attack as the unit on their right went in. But this broke down in Hill’s sector, with was very near to his HQ. He always did let his subordinate commanders run their own affairs, but both Hill and Ewell were new as corps commanders, and to top that off the major rearrangements in creating new army corps many commanders of divisions and brigades were new to their post as well. One would think that after a major shake up of the commands, Lee should have been more attentive.
More attentive and more cautious. Neither Ewell nor Hill were Jackson. Lee might have done better if he had replaced Jackson with Stuart and promoted someone else to lead the cavalry, but that didn't happen and since everyone who was there died long ago, almost everything else is pure speculation.
Gettysburg is something of an anomaly for Lee, as he was blind throughout the first 2 days. In every other fight of his he had fairly good intel and it always showed. He was always very aggressive, but to force the issue like he did on 2 July, lacking a clear picture, is a big mistake. Also on day two he never left his HQ after his morning visit with Pete, and he sent and received only one message according to his staff. All his units were to attack as the unit on their right went in. But this broke down in Hill’s sector, with was very near to his HQ. He always did let his subordinate commanders run their own affairs, but both Hill and Ewell were new as corps commanders, and to top that off the major rearrangements in creating new army corps many commanders of divisions and brigades were new to their post as well. One would think that after a major shake up of the commands, Lee should have been more attentive.
More attentive and more cautious. Neither Ewell nor Hill were Jackson. Lee might have done better if he had replaced Jackson with Stuart and promoted someone else to lead the cavalry, but that didn't happen and since everyone who was there died long ago, almost everything else is pure speculation.
I finished up “The Stars In Their Courses” last night, and I’m left with a couple thoughts worth pondering. Meade gets credit for a great victory n a battle he really didn’t fight much. The guys on the line, corps commanders and division commanders, even regimental and battery leaders won the fight. After Pickets withdrawal, at least 3 corps commanders urged him to attack with the two corps that had not been engaged. He thought driving Lee away was victory enough. He set there doing nothing while Lee was getting his wounded and supply trains away on 4 July. He conducted a half hearted pursuit of Lee, and failed to try and finish the fight, even with Lee trapped for a week by the flooded Potomac. Lincoln was sorta disgusted by this. He compared Meade to an “old woman, shooing the geese out of her yard”! Lee himself acted very differently from his conduct of the battle when it came to the retreat. Instead of discretionary orders, he was very specific about what he wanted Imboden to do with the wounded and supply trains, and he carefully mapped out Hills route to follow that evening. Lee accepted the blame, as did others. Ewell said “It took a dozen blunders to lose Gettysburg, and I committed most of them”! Pete likewise tried to share the guilt and sadness of his chief. He didn’t want anyone doubting that Lee was still the man who would make victory possible. But it seems to me that Stuart, letting himself get cut off by the AOTP, and leaving Lee blind on the invasion escaped any finger pointing. He also had the good fortune to be martyred along with Stonewall before people started analyzing what went wrong. And lastly, I have a hard time believing this was an invasion. With no supply of ammunition other than what they carried, no food, living off the land and requisitioning what was needed from the towns they captured, even the fact that they were scattered from South Mountain to York PA tells me this was a raid. Get into Pennsylvania, win a battle in their territory, then get back home safely was the objective. Sure, capturing one of the bigger cities like Philadelphia, Baltimore or Washington would surely be done if it happened to become possible, but it was not an objective. They were mainly to be used as a carrot and stick for maneuvering the AOTP into a situation where they would be forced to attack. The idea that the Confederate leadership had in this campaign, was hopefully to draw troops away from Grant, who had already corked the bottle that contained Vicksburg. A long shot at best. And one that points out that even in early 1863, the South was beginning to feel a little desperate.
"Preserving the Constitution, fighting off the nibblers and chippers, even nibblers and chippers with good intentions, was once regarded by conservatives as the first duty of the citizen. It still is." � Wesley Pruden
