Battle Flag of 2nd Maryland infantry, CSA

Mdiesel

First Sergeant
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2nd csa.jpg

Battle flag of the 2nd Maryland Infantry, CSA. http://www.moc.org/support/flag-conservation-program

As seen in Don Trioni's "Band Of Brothers". The regiment was apart of Gen. George H. "Maryland" Steuart's brigade. The brigade was ordered into a hopeless attack on Culp's Hill July 3rd, 1863. The Marylanders made it further then any other rebel troops but were decimated with 50% casualties. Even their mascot "Grace", seen running out in front of the troops in Trioni's painting below, was killed. She was ordered to be honorably buried by Union Gen. Kane as, "The only Christian minded being on either side."

band_of_brothers_lg.jpg

I believe the officer at center of Trioni's painting, craddling his sword in one arm, represents Capt. William H. Murry. Although his company would have been located on the opposite flank of the regiment. This blond haired officer resembles Murray's likeness and this in only MHO.

CaptWHMurray.jpg

Capt. William H. Murray was the most popular and beloved officer in the regiment. Murray was a born soldier and in a letter, dated only "1863", Captain Murray related to his sister: "The happiest day I ever spent in the South was I think the eighth of last June at Cross Keys. I with rifle in hand had with fifteen others twenty most beautiful shots at a regiment of Yanks bearing their flag. Three times did it fall in the dust under our fire. My heart danced for joy as the cheers of our dear little regiment made the echoes sing....For six long hours did we face three regiments of Infantry and two batteries of artillery of the enemy. There was not an inch of ground around us that was not literally ploughed with shot and shell from the continued roar and bursting of these unpleasant messengers--for hours after the battle was over I could not hear my own voice. Such is the fun my foolish company now wishes to enjoy."

When the orders to advance across whats now known as "Pardee Field" were given, Murray and the other Marylanders had no illusions of victory. The Federal force in front of them now outnumbered them 2:1, and the field was easily covered by enemy artillery fire. Gen. Steuart would carry out the order under protest. Just prior to the attack, Murray shook the hand of each man in Company A saying, "Good-bye it is not likely that we shall meet again." Steuarts Brigade advanced into a deadly crossfire. One Sgt. of the 37th VA. (just to the left of the Marylanders) remembered a merciless fire seemed to wipe out the Maryland battalion, and left only a few of his own men standing. Another soldier recalled vividly, "The death shriek rends the air on every side".

This is quoted from Harry W. Pfanz's Gettysburg: Culp's Hill & Cemetery Hill pg 319.

"General Kane watched Steuart's men advancing toward his position. With admiration, he recalled their steady approach, rifles at right shoulder shift, dressing and redressing their lines as men went down. Then the column seemed to waver, and its men broke into a double-quick, then a run, toward the Union line. As the column fell apart, some of its more impetuous soldiers dashed against the Union line, some who were wounded doing so with their last breath."

As officers went down Murray found himself in command, but only for a moment. Murray was dropped by a minnie ball that struck him in the neck as he waved his sword in the air. According to Pfanz the attack seemed to have ended with the death of Murray...
After the boody assualt was turned back, the survivors limped back leaving "Pardee Field" carpeted with dead and wounded. Brig Gen Steuart was seen to weep, "My poor boys! My poor Boys!"


Link to source used on Capt. William H. Murray http://www.2ndmarylandcoa.com/murray.html


2nd MD reunion.jpg


Veterans of the 2nd Maryland at the dedication of their monument on Culp's Hill, 30 years later.
 
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Excellent post. And Maryland troops fought each other on Culp's Hill. During the second days fighting, the 12th Corps was sent from Culp's Hill to reinforce the Peach Orchard line. Confederates attacked and captured some of those breastworks.

Late that night, the returning 12th Corps troops under the command of Maj. Gen. Henry W. Slocum found the Confederates occupying the breastworks they had so painstakingly erected. Slocum's advice to his commanders was succinct: "Drive them out at daylight." And during this engagement on the 3d day Marylander fought Marylander, with one regiment in Johnson's division opposing three from Slocum's corps.

About 4:30 a.m., the Union troops threw themselves into furious battle against the enemy. It started with an artillery barrage that the rebels did not have the guns to answer. And during this phase of the battle, the 1st Maryland Battalion Infantry of the Confederate Army attacked within 30 yards of the Union's 1st Maryland, Potomac Home Brigade. Historian Harry W. Pfanz note in his book, "Gettysburg: Culp's Hill & Cemetery Hill," that Battery A, 1st Maryland Light Artillery participated in the opening salvo. "We can wonder if these Marylanders had any friends or relatives in the 1st Maryland Battalion that must have been at the bull's-eye of their target," Pfanz writes.
 
Yes, apparently the Union's 1st Maryland (PHG) advanced unsupported. They did well for their 1st combat experience but couldn't maintain their advanced position alone. The Federals may have missed a great opportunity here to force the Condederates off Lower Slope of Culp's Hill.
That action took place hours prior to the Attack of Steuart's. The fighting @ Culp's can be very confusing. For instance, there where two separate Union 1st Maryland Regiments! The 1st Maryland Potomac Home Guard and the 1st Maryland Eastern Shore. They were both originally enlisted to protect Maryland territory, but not to invade the South. The color bearer of the 1st Maryland Eastern Shore is said to have been the 1st cousin of the color bearer of the 1st Maryland Battalion (2nd MD) , CSA. It was indeed a fraternal struggle...


Not present @ Culp's Hill was another 1st MD infantry which saw action fighting Jackson during the Valley Campaign & had gone head to head with the 1st MD, CSA @ Port Royal.
 
PardeeField .jpg


This is a photo I took of the Pardee Field from the view point of the Confederates of Steuart's Brigade during their disastrous charge. The stone wall was originally built to separate Culp from Spangler land. During the charge Captain Murray's Co. A advanced on the right side of this wall while most of the Marylanders advanced on the left side of it... The target was the traverse breast works that were located in the saddle between Lower Culp's Hill & Upper Culp's Hill seen in the distance. In that saddle & just to the right of the stone wall is a small stone marker the denotes the furthest point reached by the Marylanders. The marker is very small & unseen in this photo, however it sits just next to the park road in the foreground.
 
Thanks AUG351, that an awesome photo of Pardee's Field! I like the link as well :smile:

The captured portion of the Federal breastworks were to the far right & mostly not in view. The monument of the 2nd Maryland (1st MD Battalion ) is on that site. It was the 1st Confederate Monument erected at Gettysburg.
 
Tough group of men to have captured any part of Culp's Hill. Walking around that hill this November and looking down from where the Confederates came from gives me a whole new respect for them!!!

Poor pooch: Grace, Sallie...any of the dogs, horses and mules that were following the orders or simply loyally following men into battle, but didn't return. They did nothing to deserve their fates!!!
 
Tough group of men to have captured any part of Culp's Hill. Walking around that hill this November and looking down from where the Confederates came from gives me a whole new respect for them!!!

Culp's Hill is one of my favorite places on the Gettysburg Battlefield, and its one of the most overlooked & least understood.... Most people tend to travel to Gettysburg in the summer months when Culp's Hill is overgrown and the landscape obscured by the folegde. Some don't even get out of the car until they reach the watch tower! The best time to visit Culp's Hill is definitely in the Fall. After the leaves are on the ground you can really explore & understand the topography.

People who don't get out & walk miss some really cool things. Have you ever seen the boulder near Spangler Spring with a Rebel soldiers name carved into it? A veteran of the 1st NC (Steuart's Brigade) returned years after the war & craved his name into the boulder. It marks the spot (or one of the spots) he fought from.
 
Culp's Hill is one of my favorite places on the Gettysburg Battlefield, and its one of the most overlooked & least understood.... Most people tend to travel to Gettysburg in the summer months when Culp's Hill is overgrown and the landscape obscured by the folegde. Some don't even get out of the car until they reach the watch tower! The best time to visit Culp's Hill is definitely in the Fall. After the leaves are on the ground you can really explore & understand the topography.

People who don't get out & walk miss some really cool things. Have you ever seen the boulder near Spangler Spring with a Rebel soldiers name carved into it? A veteran of the 1st NC (Steuart's Brigade) returned years after the war & craved his name into the boulder. It marks the spot (or one of the spots) he fought from.

I walked around Spangler Spring, but did not notice the carving. Thank you for pointing it out. I will look for it next year!!!
 
I walked around Spangler Spring, but did not notice the carving. Thank you for pointing it out. I will look for it next year!!!

Easy to find once you know where to look (ain't it always). Just park the car at Spangler Spring & walk in the direction your car is facing after pulling in. Walk toward the wood line to your front. You'll notice the boulders to your front/right as you near the woods about 30 yards away. Sometimes you can follow a small dirt path, but its usually overgrown in the summer. Look for a boulder that appears to have been cut neatly in-half. In the space between you'll find the carving on the stone 'floor' of a flatter boulder the 2 halves rest on. If you walk to the road on the right you've gone to far... TaKe a piece of chalk with you to outline the name. Its easier to read that way. I believe the carving reads ''A L Coble 1st NC reg''
 
Easy to find once you know where to look (ain't it always). Just park the car at Spangler Spring & walk in the direction your car is facing after pulling in. You'll notice the boulders to your front/right as you near the woods about 30 yards away. Look for a boulder that appears to have been cut neatly in-half. In the space between you'll find the carving on the stone 'floor' of a flatter boulder the 2 halves rest on. If you walk to the road on the right you've gone to far...
Thanks Diesel!!!
 
View attachment 9171
Battle flag of the 2nd Maryland Infantry, CSA. http://www.moc.org/support/flag-conservation-program

As seen in Don Trioni's "Band Of Brothers". The regement was apart of Gen. George H. "Maryland" Steuart's brigade. The brigade was ordered into a hopeless attack on Culp's Hill July 3rd, 1863. The Marylanders made it further then any other rebel troops but were decimated with 50% casualties. Even their mascot "Grace", seen running out in front of the troops in Trioni's painting below, was killed. She was ordered to be honorably buried by Union Gen. Kane as, "The only Christian minded being on either side."

View attachment 9172
I believe the officer at center of Trioni's painting, craddling his sword in one arm, represents Capt. William H. Murry. Although his company would have been located on the opposite flank of the regiment. This blond haired officer resembles Murray's likeness and this in only MHO.

View attachment 9196
Capt. William H. Murray was the most popular and beloved officer in the regiment. Murray was a born soldier and in a letter, dated only "1863", Captain Murray related to his sister: "The happiest day I ever spent in the South was I think the eighth of last June at Cross Keys. I with rifle in hand had with fifteen others twenty most beautiful shots at a regiment of Yanks bearing their flag. Three times did it fall in the dust under our fire. My heart danced for joy as the cheers of our dear little regiment made the echoes sing....For six long hours did we face three regiments of Infantry and two batteries of artillery of the enemy. There was not an inch of ground around us that was not literally ploughed with shot and shell from the continued roar and bursting of these unpleasant messengers--for hours after the battle was over I could not hear my own voice. Such is the fun my foolish company now wishes to enjoy."

When the orders to advance across whats now known as "Pardee Field" were given, Murray and the other Marylanders had no illusions of victory. The Federal force in front of them now outnumbered them 2:1, and the field was easily covered by enemy artillery fire. Gen. Steuart would carry out the order under protest. Just prior to the attack, Murray shook the hand of each man in Company A saying, "Good-bye it is not likely that we shall meet again." Steuarts Brigade advanced into a deadly crossfire. One Sgt. of the 37th VA. (just to the left of the Marylanders) remembered a merciless fire seemed to wipe out the Maryland battalion, and left only a few of his own men standing. Another soldier recalled vividly, "The death shriek rends the air on every side".

This is quoted from Harry W. Pfanz's Gettysburg: Culp's Hill & Cemetery Hill pg 319.

"General Kane watched Steuart's men advancing toward his position. With admiration, he recalled their steady approach, rifles at right shoulder shift, dressing and redressing their lines as men went down. Then the column seemed to waver, and its men broke into a double-quick, then a run, toward the Union line. As the column fell apart, some of its more impetuous soldiers dashed against the Union line, some who were wounded doing so with their last breath."

As officers went down Murray found himself in command, but only for a moment. Murray was dropped by a minnie ball that struck him in the neck as he waved his sword in the air. According to Pfanz the attack seemed to have ended with the death of Murray...
After the boody assualt was turned back, the survivors limped back leaving "Pardee Field" carpeted with dead and wounded. Brig Gen Steuart was seen to weep, "My poor boys! My poor Boys!"

Link to source used on Capt. William H. Murray http://www.2ndmarylandcoa.com/murray.html


View attachment 9175

Veterans of the 2nd Maryland at the dedication of their monument on Culp's Hill, 30 years later.
Great post ! Thanks !
The Confederate 3rd Maryland Artillery had several east Tennesseans in their ranks. They were recruited in Knoxville as much-needed replacements after Island # 10 I believe where the 3rd lost many of their members. One of the east Tennessee recruits was the father of my maternal great-grandmother, Private Jackson C. Simmons. He served till he was paroled at the surrender at Vicksburg. He returned to east Tennessee and hid out for a year before joining the Union 3rd Tennessee Mounted Infantry on July 4, 1864. By most accounts they were nothing more then a well-organized outlaw band. He later managed to obtain a Federal pension, much to the chagrin of several of his former rebel comrades he went to church with. They were even successful for a short time in stopping his pension !
 
The men of company b 2nd MD infantry were from St. Marys county MD and where first issued the rd 1.

Not sure what you mean by ''rd 1''. For some reason I'm thinking you mean the Richmond Depot shell jacket. But I'm not a reenactor so I'm not sure?
 
Great post ! Thanks !
The Confederate 3rd Maryland Artillery had several east Tennesseans in their ranks. They were recruited in Knoxville as much-needed replacements after Island # 10 I believe where the 3rd lost many of their members. One of the east Tennessee recruits was the father of my maternal great-grandmother, Private Jackson C. Simmons. He served till he was paroled at the surrender at Vicksburg. He returned to east Tennessee and hid out for a year before joining the Union 3rd Tennessee Mounted Infantry on July 4, 1864. By most accounts they were nothing more then a well-organized outlaw band. He later managed to obtain a Federal pension, much to the chagrin of several of his former rebel comrades he went to church with. They were even successful for a short time in stopping his pension !

Thanks for posting this, The 3rd Maryland artillery was the only organized Maryland Confederate unit to fight in the western Theater. I its cool that your GGGrandfather served with them. From what you've said, it sounds like he was a real character!
 
Thanks for posting this, The 3rd Maryland artillery was the only organized Maryland Confederate unit to fight in the western Theater. I its cool that your GGGrandfather served with them. From what you've said, it sounds like he was a real character!
Ha ! That would be putting it mildly ! Few years after the war he fathered two children with two widowed sister-in-laws and ended up in jail for awhile till he agreed to support them. He applied for and received a Federal pension. His claim was deafness caused by standing picket duty for two days and nights in rain, sleet, & snow as a Yank in the 3rd TN Mounted Infantry. Some of his neighbors and fellow church members who were Confederate veterans claimed they knew for a fact his hearing was affected by firing the big guns at Vicksburg as a Confederate ! They succeeded in stopping his pension for awhile. They later relented of their story, apologized to he and his wife publicly in church ! Jackson died in the early 1900's. He was hit by a train he obviously didn't hear !
 
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