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Having perused this gem of a book which can be seen also on line at: http://docsouth.unc.edu/pickett/pickett.html
I have to disagree with you again, Cash.
Although Sally did go on to write after the war years, I have never yet read of anyone refuting the legitimacy of these letters in this book before. And I've discussed them on three or four Civil War message boards with some very learned people.
I believe they are to be the actual writings of General Pickett. If you've read extensively any of the writings of that period, they all wrote in this rather flowery prose. That's why Lincoln's prose is so admired.
Your servant, sir.
__________________ Thea
No one has permission to use any material from any of my posts on any CWT forum, the archives, or any other forum without my express written permission.
I refer you to the several biographies of General Pickett available, including <u>General George E. Pickett in Life and Legend</u> by Lesley J. Gordon and <u>Leader of the Charge: A Biography of General George E. Pickett, CSA</u> by Edward G. Longacre. Both agree that LaSalle fabricated most of the letters she published purporting to be from her husband. Historians know this by comparing the handwriting and writing style from known Pickett letters with what LaSalle claimed to be GEP's letters. They didn't match at all. GEP's writing style, even to his wife, wasn't the flowery, purple prose that LaSalle created for us. See also George Stewart, <u>Pickett's Charge: A Microhistory of the Final Attack at Gettysburg, July 3, 1863</u> for additional corroboration.
I've also read the Pickett letters, and even though there has been others, that claim, the letters are fake. I believe that the thoughts, and statements, that are contained, within the letters are those of George.
It may be true, that LaSalle may have rewritten some, of the letters, from memory, due to the original letters, being lost or destroyed, but they still contained the same basic information, that he had sent her.
"La Salle Corbell Pickett's penchant for hero-worship led her to exceed the literary license granted a memorialist and to violate the rules that guide the historian. In her quest to sanctify George Pickett as Southerner, general, husband, and father, she fabricated many of the wartime and postwar letters he supposedly wrote to her. Along with some genuine letters, she published many of the bogus missives under claim of authenticity, in two collections fifteen years apart. Much of the material contained in the fraudulent letters she lifted from the writings of her husband's contemporaries, virtuallly all of whom had passed from the scene by the time she published. Two examples among many are <u>Pickett's Men,</u> a book published in 1870 by his inspector-general, Major Walter Harrison, and the wartime letters of his artillery commander, Major James Dearing. ... Through her abilities as a dramatist she could make her husband appear even more romantic, more colorful, and more integral to the Confederate war effort than he was." [Edward G. Longacre, <u>Pickett: Leader of the Charge: A Biography of General George E. Pickett, CSA,</u> p. xi]
"In 1986, Civil War historian Gary Gallagher attempted to exorcise LaSalle's influence from George Pickett's life story and military career. He denounced her not only as the author of the published George Pickett letters but also as the plagiarizer of Walter Harrison's history of Pickett's division. Gallagher demonstrated convincingly that her <u>The Heart of a Soldier: As Revealed in the Intimate Letters of General George E. Pickett, CSA,</u> published in 1913, and Arthur Crew Inman's edited <u>Soldier of the South: General Pickett's War Letters to His Wife</u> sounded suspiciously similar to LaSalle's other writings and contained information George could not have known at the time of the letters. Although not the first to supsect LaSalle as the author of the letters, Gallagher has written the most thorough indictment of her. Judging the published letters 'worthless as a source on the general's Confederate career,' he concluded that LaSalle's desire to inspire readers who honor 'courage, loyalty and the love of man for woman' was a dismal failure. Instead of honoring him, Gallagher asserted, the doctored letters 'cast a shadow on him that will only be lifted if a cache of genuine letters comes to light.' " [Lesley J. Gordon, <u>General George E. Pickett in Life & Legend,</u>, p. 2]
Gallagher's writing, as referred to by Gordon, was Gary W. Gallagher, "A Widow and Her Soldier: LaSalle Corbell Pickett as Author of the George E. Pickett Letters," <u>Virginia Magazine of History and Biography,</u> Vol 94 (July, 1986), pp. 123-129.
It's pretty well established that LaSalle didn't just reproduce letters from memory but rather sat down and fabricated letters out of thin air.
I'd be interested to know what Pickett's various biographers made of his personal conduct at Gaines Mill. I ask because of the following passage in the memoirs of South Carolinian John Haskell:
"We pushed forward and soon came in front, quite near to the enemy, who were lying down behind a breastwork of timber and earth. On the way, I passed General Pickett, who was standing by his horse in a deep small hollow, almost like a well, bewailing himself. He called to me to send him a litter as he was mortally wounded, but I had none and was busy with my men. He was very slightly wounded and perfectly able to take care of himself."
"Pickett directed the charge on horseback although he must have suspected he would have a difficult time negotiating the broken ground in his front. He took the first slope without difficulty and, against a rain of rifle balls, splashed through the creek bottoms. In good order he started up the hill toward the abatis, cheering his troops onward. About seventy-five yards from the Yankee entrenchments he heard a thwacking sound like boards slamming together, felt a fiery pain in his right shoulder, and toppled from his mount.
As aides rushed up to minister to him, he regained his feet, examined the wound, and tried to keep pressure on it to prevent the flow of blood. Quickly regaining his presence of mind, he sent word to Colonel Hunton, his senior regimental leader, to take charge. (Minutes after assuming command, Hunton, himself weak from previous illness, collapsed from exhaustion, passing command to Colonel Strange.)
"With or without a leader, Pickett's troops rushed onward, screaming the Rebel yell, then pounded up the fire-swept slope toward the summit. Despite the searing pain spreading through his body, their general watched with pride and admiration as they topped the rise, surmounted the barricades there, and gradually but steadily drove the troops of Butterfield and Martindale from their impregnable-looking position. Pickett may not have been with them at the moment of their triumph, but in a sense he was, for his leadership and training had been instrumental in gaining success.
"Two writers, one who supposedly watched Pickett fall, the other who heard the story second-hand, offered differing accounts of the general's reaction to his wound. Artillery Major John Cheves Haskell claimed to be passing by when he found Pickett 'standing by his horse in a deep small hollow, almost like a well, bewailing himself. He called to me to send him a litter as he was mortally wounded, but I had none and was busy with my men. He was very slightly wounded and perfectly able to take care of himself.' For her part, La Salle Corbell Pickett would always insist that her husband argued with a surgeon who suggested he quit the field at once, protesting that 'my men need me!'
"Doubtless the truth lies somewhere between these extreme characterizations. While he may have mouthed them, the words Mrs. Pickett attributes to her husband smack of false bravado; they probably constitute yet another effort to embellish his image. Haskell's account appears similarly overdrawn, but for other reasons: he appears to have been animated by a desire to discredit Pickett, whom he personally disliked. Haskell strains credulity by asserting that 'a perfectly able' officer, repeatedly cited for courage and determination, would claim to a passing stranger that he lay at death's door. Then, too, Haskell went out of his way to downplay the severity of a wound which, while not life-threatening, would keep its victim out of active service for three months--three long, tedious months far from the fields of fire that held such an attraction for George Pickett." [pp. 86-87]
According to Gordon:
"Existing battle reports from Gaines's Mill make it difficult to reconstruct accurately the movements of Pickett and his brigade that day in June. Men guessed distance and time in the heat of battle, units became separated, and friendly forces sometimes fired into each other. 'The roar of musketry was so terrific,' one soldier recalled, 'that it was impossible to hear anything else.' Pickett's inspector general agreed: 'It was almost impossible to see or hear anything distinctively, such was the continual rush of the shot and shell.' Most senior officers had never seen a map of the battlefield; neither Lee nor Longstreet probably ever knew for certain just where Pickett's brigade was. Before nightfall, when the last Confederate lunge broke the exhausted Federal line, Pickett's brigade had sustained over 400 casualties. This number included their commander.
"Roughly a quarter of a mile from the Union line, while leading his brigade toward the clearing, Pickett abruptly fell from his horse. Some ten paces behind him, staff officer Walter Harrison remembered, 'I did not perceive his fall until he said to me in very expressive terms that--somebody--had hit him. I immediately dismounted, examined his wound and found the hole of a minie ball in his shoulder.' Harrison had no time to linger, pressing on with the rest of the brigade into the fight.
"LaSalle Corbell Pickett naturally painted a more melodramatic portrait of her husband's wounding. LaSalle described George being shot suddenly from his horse while he was leading and cheering his men forward. He struggled to go on, 'waving his cap and cheering his men, his arm hanging limp and helpless at his side.' A doctor rushed to the injured general's side and ordered him carried from the field. According to LaSalle, George refused to go: 'My men need me,' replied my Soldier, 'Take the bullet out here and fix me up quick, doctor, I must go back--see they need me.' The doctor obediently attended to the injured shoulder, while George continued to give orders until the loss of blood and pain overcame him and he was carried to a field hospital.
"Maj. John Cheves Haskell related a very different story. Haskell came across the injured brigadier a few moments after the bullet struck him. Haskell recalled passing by Pickett, 'who was standing by his horse in a deep small hollow, almost like a well, bewailing himself He called to me to send a litter as he was mortally wounded. I had none and was too busy with my men. He was very slightly wounded and perfectly able to take care of himself.'
"LaSalle's version of George's wounding is consistent with her postwar efforts to present her husband in the most favorable public light, and thus hers is probably factually inaccurate. Haskell's account, written no closer to the time of the battle than LaSalle's, may be closer to the 'truth,' but it is impossible to know for sure. The contrast between these two versions is worth noting. The George Pickett in Haskell's account is cowardly, unmanly, and weak. In LaSalle's, he is brave, selfless, and heroic. Haskell's scathing criticism of Pickett at Gaines's Mill is representative of wartime and postwar attacks on George's cowardice in battle.
"George's injury did prove serious enough to keep him out of action for several months. While Lee's army fought in the important and costly battles of Second Manassas and Antietam, George convalesced in Richmond. Sallie Corbell was allegedly constantly at his side, nursing him back to health. She told her postwar readers that she was on summer vacation from school and had plenty of time to spend with her soldier.
"During their many hours together, LaSalle recalled playing the role of nurturer, comforter, and protector, roles she assumed throughout their relationship, and roles upon which he increasingly depended. LaSalle's postwar writings described President Davis and Stonewall Jackson personally visiting George's bedside. Davis, whom LaSalle resented for taking up precious time with her lover, supposedly urged George's quick recovery with the plea, 'We need you in the field.' " [pp. 89-91]
Thanks very much for taking the trouble to copy these extracts. I really appreciate it.
Haskell's comments need to be seen in the context that he suffered a traumatic injury shortly afterwards: his right arm was torn off at the shoulder by artillery fire. Did this terrible wound distort his recollection of events earlier in the day or - conversely - did it render his memory pin-sharp even after several decades? I don't pretend to know much about the psychological effects of serious wounds, but my instinctive reaction is that Haskell's interpretation of Pickett's behaviour was substantially correct.
Doesn't Haskell have Pickett at Gettysburg hiding out in a barn? All the other sources I've seen show Pickett being exactly where a division commander was supposed to be during the Pickett-Pettigrew-Trimble Charge. Pickett's record in the Mexican War would seem to discredit Haskell's account on its face. One would expect that Pickett wouldn't be out of action for three months without an Army surgeon verifying the severity of the wound.
In his report on the Battle of Williamsburg, Longstreet wrote, "Brig. Gen. George E. Pickett, greatly distinguished on other fields, used his forces with great effect, ability, and his usual gallantry." [OR Series I, Vol 11, Part 1, p. 567]
In his report on the Battle of Fair Oaks, Joseph E. Johnston singled out Pickett and his troops for special mention: "On the morning of June 1 the enemy attacked the brigade of General Pickett, which was supported by that of General Pryor. The attack was vigorously repelled by these two brigades, the brunt of the action falling on General Pickett. This was the last demonstration made by the enemy. Our troops employed the residue in securing and bearing off the captured artillery, small-arms, and other property, and in the evening quietly returned to their own camps." [Ibid., p. 935] Had Pickett not performed well he would not have been so mentioned. Longstreet wrote in his report of the battle: "My own troops have been so often tried and distinguished on other fields that they need no praise from my lips. A truer, better body of men never marched upon a battle-field. I will mention, however, as distinguished for their usual gallantry and ability, Generals R. H. Anderson, C. M. Wilcox, George E. Pickett, R. E. Colston, and Roger A. Pryor, and Colonels Kemper and Jenkins (commanding brigades), Corse, Winston, Funsten, and Sydenham Moore, the latter twice shot, once severely wounded." [Ibid., p. 941]
D. H. Hill wrote of Pickett's performance at Fair Oaks, "Before these orders were received a furious attack was made upon Generals Armistead, Mahone, Pickett, Pryor, and Wilcox, and their brigades on the left of the road. Armistead's men fled early in the action, with the exception of a few heroic companies, with which that gallant officer maintained his ground against an entire brigade. Ma-hone withdrew his brigade without any orders. I sent up Colston's to replace him, but he did not engage the Yankees, as I expected him to do. Pickett, Pryor, and Wilcox received their orders to fall back after the firing began, and wisely resolved not to do so until the assault was repulsed. As soon as that was done Wilcox and Pryor withdrew, but Pickett held his ground against the odds of ten to one for several hours longer, and only retired when the Yankees had ceased to annoy him." [Ibid., p. 945]
The Pickett of those accounts does not match the Pickett of Haskell's account. Haskell seems to have detested Pickett and seems to have been motivated by a desire to cast Pickett in the worst light possible. Haskell's account doesn't appear to be credible.
The Civil War Diary of Lt. George Norris
19th Mississippi Infantry
March 24-March 27,1862
Monday - April 7th 1862
A false alarm at 2 oclock this morning. Our pickets fired at each other. All out on post. Set up until daylight. Capt Vaughan & Lt Walls returned with their recruits. Vaughan brought 37. Walls 37. No excitement today. Our battery shelled the Yankees in the peach orchard beyond us. Confirmation of the battle at “Shiloah” near Hamburg. Official notification. Our forces attacked the Yankees. Battle lasted 10 hours. Heavy loss on both sides. Captured 6,000 six thousand prisoners & 100 one hundred cannon captured. Genl A S Johnson killed leading his army. Leading them in the charge. Glorious news.
Tuesday - April 8th 1862
Rained considerably on last night. Got thoroughly wet. Very little firing between pickets. Went up to Yorktown with Barry through the rain and mud. Saw the fortifications of Lord Cornwallis and the scene of the surrender. Yorktown strongly fortified. A very old looking, shabby place. Saw the Yankee fleet. Eight vessels in sight. Saw a great many Yankees. Have received strong reinforcements. Saw a Yankee - Seller’s stock of goods confiscated. Soldiers told to help themselves. A free fight. Things went in a hurry. Took some few things. Exchanged our rifle muskets for Enfield Rifles & Sabre bayonets. A fine gun - General opinion that we will have no fight here. Raining again.
Thursday - April 10th 1862
Rained again on last night. Turned very cold. Had inspection. Recd orders from Brig Genl Rhodes to move our encampment and bivouac across the road out of reach of the rifle balls which are falling around us occasionally. 2 of our men killed and a Lieut wounded at the Redoubt by the Yankee sharpshooters. Capt Martin & Andrew Martin camped with us - cleared off this evening. An officer of the day & guard to each wing of our Regiment. Think a fight very doubtful at this point. I heard Genl Beauregard had been in another battle. Charley came out from camp bringing us provisions. Considerable fighting today between the Sharpshooters.
Friday - April 11th 1862
Very cold on last night. Come near freezing. Considerable firing between our respective pickets. A heavy frost this morning. A most beautiful day - Sunshine & pleasant. 26 picked men from the Regt under Lieut Lindsay Co “A” armed with Enfield Rifles and sent to the Redoubt. Visited by Capt Bibb 12th Ala - Regt. Heard that the 6th Ala Regt had 1 man killed & 5 wounded at Redoubt on yesterday. I heard that Genl Beauregard had fallen back to Corinth Miss. Having fought Genls Buell & Grant from early morning until 1 oclock when he retired losing as we hear the 100 pieces of artillery captured from the Yankees and all of his prisoners - so the Richmond papers state as he had only whipped the Yankee General Grant instead of Buell & Grant - Report of the loss of Beauregard of cannon not true as removed. Genl Beauregard followed Genl Grant as far as the Tenn river where he met Buell fought him 6 hours and drew off in fine style - having accomplished what he had undertaken. Heavy firing heard on the left. Heard shelling this evening. Saw two companies of skirmishers sent out who drove the Yankees headlong from the pines burning it and the house. 4 men wounded in the melee. Read a letter from Miss Lucie M. Watt of Columbus Ga.
Saturday - April 12th 1862
A glorious morning. Lt Lester & Sergt Hawkins and 31 recruits returned to Co. “G”. 5 men wounded in the skirmish of yesterday. One died this morning - Heard of a wonderful dream - A soldier dreamed he would die on a certain day at a certain hour and that the greatest battle ever fought on this continent would be fought in the vicinity of Corinth Miss between the 1st and 15th of April and that peace would be re-established as speedily as the war broke out by the first of May. The soldier died at the specified time and hour and it is now left for the future to develop the remainder - which I doubt most decidedly as regards its truthfulness. Resolved in Richmond that the 10th of April will be a day long to be remembered in the Southern confederacy. The reason for which assertion - I know not. Moved from our camp to Dam No.3 a half of a mile from our other position - relieved by the 9th Ala Regt and relieved the 14th Louisiana Regt. Our Company stationed with the Albemarle Artillery. The report of Genl Beauregard’s signal & glorious victory over Genl Buell confirmed with the death of Buell & the probable destruction of his entire army - glorious news. Beauregard the Mars of this war. The military chieftain of the age - heavy cannonading heard on yesterday in the direction of Newport News - Supposed to be the Virginia. The Yankees reported to be leaving this point - Do not expect a fight. Yesterday a most glorious and beautiful day - As lovely as a May Queen.
__________________ Thea
No one has permission to use any material from any of my posts on any CWT forum, the archives, or any other forum without my express written permission.
The Civil War Diary of Lt. George Norris
19th Mississippi Infantry
March 24-March 27,1862 (cont'd)
Sunday - April 13th 1862
Yankee drums heard beating nearly all of last night. Can hear them distinctly this morning - Never heard as many in my life - A very pleasant morning. Hope the Yankees will advance. want to see our boys under fire. Replyed to Lucie M Watt’s letter. Capt Tison returned who has been elected Lieut Col of Lowry’s Regiment. Am very much gratified at his promotion as it is well merited by him. One of Co “C” accidentally shot by one of his comrades -Dorman. A sad accident. Comp G moved over to support us on the left. A balloon sent up but twas a failure. Saw old Genl Early a poor looking excuse for a Genl. Examined our line of fortifications. Saw traces of Genl Washington’s old lines. Heard that the Virginia has captured 4 prizes. 2 borks & 2 barges.
Monday - April 14th 1862
Awakened at two oclock this morning by the bursting of shell firing hot and heavy for about 10 minutes - but after that ceased altogether. Threw up with Co G a breastwork of some 60 yards. A most beautiful day. Heard that Genl Beauregard had defeated, cut to pieces and captured Buell’s entire force. Do not believe it - The Yankees shelled our battery on the right of us and fired several shots at Genl Wilcox which came near hitting us in our camp. Printed orders From Genl Magruder that the battle had to be fought here on the Warwick River. No retreat or surrender. Genl Joe E Johnson arrived on yesterday who thinks that the battle will be fought mostly by artillery. A pleasant day.
Tuesday - April 15th 1862
Sick all of last night - and this morning. Made us some bomb proof coverings. Had our guns fired off. The roll of artillery carriages distinctly heard passing from left to right. Capt Malone came out tonight from Comp. Corpl Loudermilk returned. The Brigades of Genls Toombs & Jones arrived on last night - our entire effective force 30,000 men. Too small a number I fear - Yesterday 6 papers report the Yankees loss at Shiloah in the two days to be 15,000 Killed & wounded, we took 6,700 prisoners. Our loss supposed to be about 5,000 men & 76 pieces of artillery. Made some bomb proofs. Yankees quiet. A beautiful day. Sick all day. Genl Beauregard has fallen back on Corinth.
Wednesday - April 16th 1862
The Yankees did not disturb on last night. Finished our bomb proofs. The Yankee artillery opened lively this morning on our battery on their right of us. A heavy skirmish near Winn’s Mills. The 1st Ky Regiment surrounded but cut their way through and escaped. Col McKinney of the 5th NC killed leading a valiant charge. The battle lasted for about 3 hours, constant firing of small arms and our cannon was pouring in grape & Canister in raked discharges. Companies “B” & “G” ordered to go over the Warwick River on outpost duty. Started about 8 oclock. Relieved two companies from the 12th NC. Col Daniels horse killed and a NC Lieut leg shot off by a fragment in a shell.
Thursday - April 17th 1862
Cannons firing all night. Slept but little. Saw a Yankee balloon. The Yankees still firing at our battery. Fired at the Yankees several times and are occupying a very dangerous position in case of any attack. The Rounds made by Maj Hamilton 13th NC who says that Genl Magruder reports our loss to be about 93 killed & wounded. Yankee losses reported to be between 4 & 600. The Yankees fought bravely - charging our battery fortifications 4 different times and were driven back each time with great slaughter. Expect an attack this evening. A large force passing from right to left. The artillery duel still continued. Our papers report no Yankees about Manassas. All have retreated. One man killed at the battery yesterday & 4 horses. 2 men killed today by shells at Col Winston’s battery. I heard the true version of the fight. The 5th NC Regt were driven from the breastworks and their Colonel killed the first fire. Brig Genl Anderson’s Brigade coming up the 7th & 8th Ga Regts drove them out and across the stream. The Yankees fought bravely. The charge was made by 600 picked men from Vermont - supported by two Brigades. Our losses 18 killed and 40 wounded - Yankees 50 killed and 100 wounded. Relieved at 9 oclock by two Companies of the 14th NC. Feel relieved that we were not attacked while on our perilous position.
__________________ Thea
No one has permission to use any material from any of my posts on any CWT forum, the archives, or any other forum without my express written permission.
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