The Petersburg Canon, Part X.B.1: The Battle of Five Forks

The Edwin C. Bearss/Chris Calkins book on the battle of Five Forks has required revision for some time.  Michael J. McCarthy’s book Confederate Waterloo gives an updated and more accurate picture of the fight without going much beyond the overview provided by A. Wilson Greene in his Breaking the Back of the Rebellion.  The reason is that McCarthy is more interested in exploring the subsequent struggle of Maj. Gen. Gouverneur Kemble Warren to demonstrate the injustice of his relief at the hands of Maj. Gen. Phillip Sheridan immediately after Warren won the battle.  The summary of the fighting is good, though I disagree with McCarthy’s figures on Confederate prisoners after having actually counted them—his figures are high, 4,500 as opposed to the 2,500 I counted in The Petersburg Campaign, assisted by the research of Bryce Suderow.  

The main problem with the book is that McCarthy doesn’t know enough about the Siege of Petersburg to put Five Forks in perspective.  He keeps insisting that Five Forks decided the Siege.  It most certainly did not.  The April 2 breakthrough by VI Corps ended the Siege, as A. Wilson Green has observed.  As I’ve pointed out in every book I’ve written on the Siege, page 922 of The Wartime Papers of Robert E. Lee makes clear that Pickett’s failure on March 31, 1865 to evict Sheridan from Dinwiddie Court House would have been decisive except for the slow response of Lee’s civilian superiors (Secretary of War Breckenridge and President Davis) to Lee’s request to evacuate.  Even on April 2, in the absence of approval from above to evacuate, Lee was marshaling forces to strike Sheridan similar to the way that Lee struck Hancock at Reams Station on August 25, 1864.  Unfortunately for Lee, Grant was not sick again as he was on August 25, 1864, leaving Meade to defend with his extraordinary passivity.  Grant defended by attacking, and ended the Siege.

Likewise, McCarthy doesn't understand the depth of bad blood between Warren and his superiors.  Major General George Gordon Meade does not seem to have forgiven Warren for failing to attack at Mine Run in December 1863, even though Warren was justified in calling off the attack.  Grant and Meade also held against Warren his failure to seize Petersburg in August 1864, even though he cut the Weldon Railroad.

Once we are finished with the actual fighting, McCarthy’s real story begins—how Warren obtained a court of inquiry and how that proceeded.  This part of the book is riveting and it is hard to set down.  Despite the protestations of Generals Grant, Sherman and Sheridan, as well as the Army’s chief lawyer, to the contrary, it appears that the unfortunate Warren established his case beyond a reasonable doubt.  Grant carelessly set up Warren to disappoint Sheridan and then invited Sheridan if disappointed to relieve Warren, with predictable results.

The Petersburg Canon, Part X.A: Grant's Ninth and Final Offensive

The last of the major works in the Petersburg Canon is a very good one, Wilson Greene's Breaking the Back of the Rebellion.  I agree completely with Greene that the Sixth Corps breakthrough on April 2, 1865, was the decisive battle compelling the evacuation of Richmond and Petersburg, not Five Forks on April 1.  I would have liked to see Greene point out that for Lee, the decisive battle was Dinwiddie Court House on March 31, where Pickett failed to evict Sheridan from that critical point.  If you don't think so, take a look at page 922 of The Wartime Papers of Robert E. Lee.  I've pointed this out in every book I've written on the Siege.  Problem was, Lee had superiors who appear to have dithered or required more convincing, so it took the Sixth Corps breakthrough on April 2 to end the Siege.

I would also have liked to see Greene explore the parallel between August 25, 1864, and April 2, 1865.  On both occasions, the Federals had forces in threatening positions, and Lee was marshaling his forces to attack them (Hancock in 1864 and Sheridan in 1865).  The difference was that Grant was sick in 1864 and well in 1865.  Meade defended passively in 1864 and Hancock was trounced at Second Reams Station.  Grant defended by attacking in 1865 and brought the Siege to an end.

Greene has a big canvas to fill, and provides solid background summary while getting to a more personal level with the Sixth Corps--a clever and economical strategy.  His judgments are sound and he has admirably dealt with the Siege's end.

But the Petersburg Canon is not finished!  My next and I think last entry on this subject will be Part X.B.

Thanks U.S., China, Philippines, Australia, Belgium, Russian, and Turkmenistan!

Thank you all in the U.S, China, the Philippines, Australia, Belgium, Russian, and Turkmenistan for looking at this blog!  People in the U.S. often say others, such as France, should be grateful to us for the aid our country has rendered.  But let's not forget the aid other countries have rendered us.  France helped the U.S. break free of Britain.  Russia supported the U.S. during the Civil War and shed the preponderance of blood in WWII.

But let's face it.  There is no gratitude in international affairs.  Naked self-interest rules.  So expecting gratitude is a waste of time and probably a harmful delusion..

Illustrate as You Go

I got the manuscript of my history of the 12th Virginia Infantry, the Petersburg Regiment, off to SavasBeatie last weekend.  Since then I've been reacquainting myself with what I've written about June 18-22, 1864, at the Cockade City.  I've found that as I reacquaint myself with the material, it's convenient to illustrate the chapters.  Finding Federal illustrations is much easier than finding Confederate illustrations!

The Petersburg Canon, Part IX: Missing Histories

Now comes a big gap in the history of the Siege of Petersburg, covered only by the general histories of the siege, not by any more detailed studies than perhaps a magazine article.

First, there is the Applejack Raid, also known as the Stony Creek Raid or the Weldon Railroad Raid, of December 7-12, 1864.  Grant sent a reinforced corps to wreck the Weldon Railroad from Stony Creek to Hicksford.  Lee dispatched A. P. Hill with infantry and Hampton with cavalry in pursuit.  Little fighting resulted, but there will always be speculation about what might have happened if Hill had adopted Mahone's plan to send half the infantry to Jarratt's Station to cut off Warren's retreat.  The destruction of a reinforced Federal corps might not have amounted to a Saratoga at this point, with the presidential election over.  A history of the Applejack Raid must also focus on the impact of the raid upon civilians.  It must draw upon many individual accounts.

Next, there is the naval Battle of Trent's Reach, January 23-25, 1865.  This affair was probably connected with the march of Mahone's Division to Belfield at the same time.  The Confederate James River Squadron sortied in the absence of almost the entire Federal fleet, which had gone to assist in the capture of Fort Fisher.  The mission was to bombard City Point, something that brings to mind Kongo and Haruna bombarding Henderson Field on the night of October 13, 1942.  The Confederate ironclads did not make it to City Point.  Though Virginia II and Richmond grounded, Fredericksburg made it through, frightened off the double-turreted monitor Onondaga, and then--turned back!  Never Send an Admiral on a Suicide Mission would be my title.  When fatigue sets in, sailors revert to their default mode--save the ship.  Look at Admiral Mikawa after Savo Island and Admiral Kurita at Leyte Gulf--charged with destroying the American transports, both turned back to save their ships after destroying everything in their way.  There was no point in saving their ships.

Finally, there is the Battle of Hatchers Run, February 5-7, 1865.  This was Grant's eighth offensive at Petersburg, with most of the Army of the Potomac fighting it out in terrible weather with elements of Lee's Second and Third Corps.  The offensive appears linked with the Hampton Roads Conference, where the Confederates tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a peace on terms better than unconditional surrender.  There will be many Federal regimental histories to draw upon and to get a balanced view, the author will have to do a lot of research into Confederate manuscripts and newspapers.

Back Up Those Files!

On Friday afternoon, just as I was putting the finishing touches on the manuscript of The Petersburg Regiment, 12th Virginia Infantry:  A History, an unsolicited download from Microsoft wiped the entire manuscript and all my legal work from my laptop.

Thank God for Carbonite!  By Friday evening, everything was back.  I had my files backed up otherwise, but not as well.

I'm not plugging a specific product, but two good friends have lost substantial work for want of back-up.  Get those files backed up!

Addendum to The Petersburg Canon, Part 1: Histories Dealing with the Entire Campaign

Originally, in Part 1 of the Petersburg Canon, I mentioned three general campaign histories and two two-volume works dealing with the campaign Southside.

There is a substantial work on the fighting on the York-James Peninsula--The Peninsula.  This is volume 2 of Henrico County, Field of Honor, written by Louis Manarin and published by Henrico County.  (Volume 1 covers the fighting in 1862, volume 2 the fighting in 1864.)  I disagree with many of the opinions expressed in volume 2 about the fighting in August 1864, but it is possible that the author may be right about them and I may be wrong.  The production values in this book are unparalleled--glossy paper, color photographs and color maps.  Furthermore, it fills a gap in the canon by covering virtually all the fighting on The Peninsula during the Siege.  It is unusually expensive, but it belongs on the shelf of every Siege of Petersburg aficionado who can afford it.