Although I can't provide specific information on the experiences of your ancestor, I can offer the following description of the experience of the 5th Alabama Infantry Regiment at the Battle of Chancellorsville.
On May 2, 1863, General Lee, with a force numbering just under half the strength of his adversary, took a most unlikely course of action; he divided his army in two. Before dawn, he sent Jackson's entire Corp, which was led by General Rodes' Division with the 5th Alabama Infantry as the lead regiment,
[1] on a risky march through uncharted woods to gain the flank of the Union position. Major Eugene Blackford's Sharpshooters tramped between Jackson Corp and the Federal forces to screen the march. At times they were as little as 400 yards from the Union line. Blackford used his buglers often to create the illusion that he led cavalry rather than infantry. He later wrote, "I frequently passed in sight of the enemy troops, but they took no notice of us....as we took good care to keep under cover of the undergrowth."
[2] It was a very toilsome and fatiguing march and the men had very little to eat as their supply trains had failed to arrive the previous evening. And yet, the men submitted to their ordeal with cheerfulness. When the 5th Alabama reached the Orange Turnpike at about 2:30 P.M., Captain Marcellus Moorman and his battery of Stuart's horse artillery trotted past them and took the lead. At Jackson's direction, the column turned east on the pike for less than a mile and stopped on a long, low north-south ridge near Luckett's farmhouse.
[3] After their march of over twelve miles, they arrived in their required location late in the afternoon and now rested between three and four o'clock, while the balance of the troops came up and formed two lines of battle to their rear.
[4] Jackson's entire Corps, which included the Divisions of Rodes, A.P. Hill, Early, Colston, as well as the cavalry of J.E.B. Stuart had moved around the Union right flank completely undetected! The Battle of Chancellorsville was about to begin in earnest.
Rodes had crossed the Orange Plank Road, moved on a few miles to the turnpike and began to deploy. The battle line was formed perpendicular to and astride the Orange Turnpike, east of the Wilderness Tavern and west of the Wilderness Church. Iverson's Brigade was placed on the far left with O'Neal's Alabama soldiers next, their right flank on the turnpike. The left flank of the Alabama Brigade was held by the 5th Alabama. Across the road, Doles' Brigade was stationed, then Colquitt's. Ramseur's Brigade was aligned behind Colquitt and faced somewhat south to protect the flank. The other Divisions formed behind their line.
[5] The soldiers ducked and slashed their way through the pine, scrub oak, and thorny vines. Once the attack began, close control would be impossible. General Jackson issued strict instructions: When the bugles sound, the entire line will sweep forward together. Under no circumstances will there be any pause in the advance.
[6] After resting for about a half hour, the sharpshooters were moved forward, many of whom were from the 5th Alabama Infantry Regiment, followed closely by the remaining troops in line of battle.
[7] General Jackson ordered Major Blackford to scout in front while the rest of the Corps filed up and deployed. Blackford took a dozen men and advanced three hundred yards in front of the Confederate position, where they caught three Yankees out foraging. "They took us for their own men & walked up to us boldly – I never saw such amazement as when I told them they were prisoners" The three prisoners from the Union XI Corps confirmed that the Federals were cooking dinner and that "none of them had any idea that we were nearer than Fredericksburg."
Once the Sharpshooters were in position, about 300 yards in advance of the main line, and finally satisfied with his strength and alignments, Stonewall Jackson asked his leading division's commander, "Are you ready, General Rodes?" Rodes replied in the affirmative. "You can go forward then." It was about 5:15 P.M. when the lines moved forward on the attack. Rodes waved to Major Blackford, who turned to his bugler, Raif Grayson, of Sumter County, Alabama. The brass instrument
[8] sounded and the sharpshooters moved forward. Rodes' line followed, but there was a slight delay when the troops under Colonel O'Neil overran some of the sharpshooters who had evidently not heard the bugle command to move. This may well have been the men of the 5th Alabama, as they were positioned on the left flank of O'Neil's Brigade, farthest from the road. After a short delay, the advance began again. The Confederates moved silently forward about a quarter of a mile.
Fleeing wildlife puzzled and amused many of the relaxing Federal soldiers of the XI Corps positioned near or along the pike. However, General Carl Schurz of the Union 3rd Division of XI Corps knew there was trouble brewing and of his own volition, had ordered the 26th Wisconsin, 58th New York, and 82nd Ohio, to reform facing west and take up arms. By 5:00 P.M., soldiers in these regiments were already prepared to fight, rifle in hand, or close by, eyes facing west. Those who belonged to regiments not re-positioned had still been uneasy as the afternoon wore on. Rumors from various scouting parties filtered about and the men knew that something was afoot. Rifles were stacked, but soldiers sat near them. Campfires still cooked some of the freshly slaughtered beef, but the men ate quickly. When the rabbits, deer, and birds, frightened off by Jackson's advancing columns ran through their camp at about 5:45 P.M. they were not greeted by whoops of joy and hilarity. Schurz's men knew what was coming behind the animals and could already hear the approaching battle.
[9] Bugle calls from the thickets had soon clarified the deadly nature of the event as the sound of Blackford's bugles resounded through the forest.
The Sharpshooters approached with such speed that they were within 50 yards of the Federal troops, before the first shot was fired. Major Blackford wrote the following to his family: "Presently one of the men near me put up his gun and taking aim, fired, and instantly reloaded. I told him I would break his head if he fired again without seeing the enemy, he called me to him and pointed out the Yankee line of battle not 50 yds off lying down in a well worn road. I had not sounded more than a note or two of the "Commence Fire" when the whole line opened up with a terrible yell, which was too much for the Dutchmen of Sigel's Corps, and they ran off in confusion taken utterly by surprise."
[10]
This was closely followed by a few scattered shots, then from the opening in the road the whiz of a shell. Within a few minutes they came upon the enemy hitting like a thunderclap. The men of the Union Eleventh Corps ran for their stacked rifles knocking aside simmering pots of beef, but they were shot down by Rodes' front rank, or simply run over.
[11] The grey line moved forward with whoop and yell and the rattle of musketry. There was, there could be, no effective attempt at resistance.
[12]
The men of the 5th Alabama had moved forward, but were having a difficult time getting through the thick woods. Soon they heard the Sharpshooters firing and they moved to the "double-quick". A terrific volley of musketry opened on their right and the excitement grew. The men opened fire but were quickly admonished by their officers as the Yankees were not yet in view. The men reloaded and moved forward at a run. Suddenly, a line of blue could be seen retreating at a run. The men fired once again, cheered and continued their pursuit.
[13]
The first Union Brigade encountered, attempted to form a thin battle line and opened fire. To the left of the 5th Alabama, the 26th Wisconsin stood until it was flanked on both sides. Alongside the 26th Wisconsin, Captain Frederick Braun was shot off his horse, mortally wounded, as he deployed his 58th New York against the 5th Alabama. Colonel Frederick Hecker of the 82nd Illinois held his regimental colors high and ordered his men to charge with bayonets. At that instant he was shot, and within minutes Major Ferdinand Rolshausen, who relieved him, was struck down by the Alabamians.
[14] After one or two more volleys, their flanks were turned and the stampede to the rear began in earnest.
The Confederate lines were soon in tatters, with swifter men well ahead of others. The 5th Alabama suffered the same problem and several times the men in the lead had to stop and wait for fear of being shot by the men that followed, some of whom were firing wildly over their heads in the excitement. There were a number of men wounded by "friendly fire" during this pursuit.
[15]
Union General Shurz of the XI Corps attempted to rally his men at Wilderness Church. There he formed a battle line of about five thousand men. At about 6:15 P.M. this line too was broken by the surging Rebels.
[16] The Confederates brought a few artillery pieces up the Orange Turnpike and fired shot and canister into the fleeing Federals. About three hundred yards further down the road, in front of the Talley farm, the Yankees formed another line. The 25th Ohio Infantry fired three volleys and momentarily stopped the advance of Rodes' men, but this regiment too was enveloped and broke for the rear.
[17] O'Neal's and Doles' Brigades thundered along the roadway like two runaway trains. Within minutes they surged over the Union breastworks at the Talley farm.
[18] A Sergeant of the 25th Ohio later recorded, "In 10 minutes the ground was literally covered with the dead and dying, our colonel wounded and we were forced to give way for we had about two thousand against 20 thousand. Old Stonewall Jackson had flanked us with his whole corps and now rained grape and canister and minnie balls in our ranks like hail. In 15 minutes we were all cut to pieces. There was no place left us but to flee for our lives which we did with a right good grace. We soon became scattered to the four winds everyone for themselves."
[19]
Whenever the Federal troops would get behind a hill or breastwork, they would stop and shoot for a minute or two, but as the Confederates came charging upon them, they would be off at a run again. One Union soldier was standing by a tree with the butt of his gun in the air signifying that he wanted to surrender. Lieutenant Colonel Hobson called to him telling him to drop his gun and lie down or he would be killed. He did as instructed and Lieutenant Colonel Hobson told him to go to the rear.
[20]
The Confederate lines had lost their formation and men were getting scattered and mixed up with other regiments. All the while, Lieutenant Colonel Hobson continued forward, waving his sword as he gallantly led his men on. It was a running fight and the Rebels were finding it difficult to keep near enough to the Yankees to shoot them.
[21] Fifteen minutes later, the enemy was discovered in some entrenchments on their right where they were making a stubborn resistance. The regiment was wheeled to the right.
[22] The men pressed forward to Dowdall's Tavern where the last line of defence was made by the Union XI Corps. The well-constructed line complete with rifle pits, slowed the Confederate advance. Three guns supported the Federal infantry and punished Rodes' men with canister.
[23] Many of the lead men of the regiment lay down for a minute or two at the edge of a pine thicket, but on rushed the men following and engaged the Union batteries. Parts of the three Federal Batteries were captured. Within the Union lines, there was a large Newfoundland dog in the agonies of death with a ball through him.
[24] The Rebel front line formed a semicircle with both ends past the Federal flanks. By 7:15 P.M., both flanks were crushed and the Federal front completely collapsed.
[25] They fled precipitately, under a most destructive fire.
[26] Some Federal officer on horseback rode along the line trying to rally his troops, but to no avail and the Confederates would drive the Federals back another mile and a half or two, before darkness would bring a close to the fighting.
[27]
During the pursuit, Lieutenant Colonel Hobson continued to lead his men. They passed on down a slope and up the other side when a horse was spotted standing at the edge of some woods. Hobson started towards it calling to some of the men to grab it for him, when he was suddenly struck down by a ball which hit his leg above the knee. The men continued on led by Regimental Color Sergeant Archibald L. R. Thompson who had been with Lieutenant Colonel Hobson, but with the loss of formation, the men continued their advance in smaller groups.
[28] Having no other field officer with Colonel Hall at the time (Major Eugene Blackford being in command of the sharpshooters), the Senior Captain (W. T. Renfro) was placed in command of the right wing of the regiment and the pursuit continued.
[29]
Captain Renfro of the 5th Alabama kept far in advance of his men during the whole of the long charge of May 2nd.
[30] About half a mile farther the 5th Alabama carried some very strong log works.
[31] With less than one hundred men, they captured a Yankee Colonel and almost his whole regiment.
[32] This was Colonel Warren W. Packer of the Fifth Connecticut Regiment, and his
Lieutenant-Colonel.
[33] They would take 225 Federal prisoners to the rear.
[34] Shelby Chadwick of Company D would later report, "We drove them before us in the greatest confusion, and our boys rushed on in pursuit with deafening cheers of exultation. Scarcely any resistance was offered, and prisoners that we captured say we broke four successive lines of battle. Our Brigade captured portions of three batteries, an immense number of prisoners, and drove the enemy before us two miles or more with great slaughter. Night compelled us to desist from the exciting chase, and we threw ourselves down upon the red field we had won, in the midst of the dead and dying, to seek the repose we so much needed."
[35] Major Eugene Blackford wrote, "We pursued until it was too dark to see how to shoot and then rested for the night. Our loss was perfectly trifling; hardly a man killed and booty in abundance. As we had had nothing to eat for two days (not a mouthful for me) you can imagine how I enjoyed the fine 8 days rations with which the Yankees were supplied."
[36]
As mentioned, the regiment was greatly dispersed and intermingled with other troops. Small groups of three or four men that had rushed forward during the charge, now called out in the growing darkness as they tried to reconnect with their comrades. Private Samuel Pickens had tried to stay near Color Sergeant Archibald Thompson and fell in with Ed Hutchison, Charlie Haftner, John Cowin and Jim Arrington. Exhausted from their run of almost two miles, these men sat down in some pines to rest. Suddenly, the Federal batteries stated shelling the woods with grape shell. With shells bursting and grape cutting trees all around and above them, all they could do was lay close to the ground. After the terrifying cannonade ceased, a squad of men came by with some Yankee prisoners, so the men started back over the field to try and find something to eat. There was little left to find as the troops that had come up behind them had plundered all that was available. Finally, they found out where Colonel O'Neil was collecting the Brigade, on the Orange Turnpike just east of Wilderness Church, and they managed to join them. Everyone felt so grateful at coming out safely that he would shake each acquaintance warmly by hand and express delight at seeing him come out safely.
[37]
Of course many of the regiment had not come out safely. Amongst the wounded was Lieutenant Colonel Hobson who had received a flesh wound in the left leg, while gallantly leading the charge of his men. General Jackson had high praise for General Rodes and his men when he complimented them by saying, "The world could not beat the Alabamians!"
[38]
The men stacked arms and feasted on the captured Federal rations. Everyone was now well supplied with oil cloths, blankets, canteens and haversacks. After supper, the men were moved off the road and to the line of breastworks perpendicular to their rallying point. This was what the Federals had called the "Buschbeck line", a shallow, thousand yard north-south trench just east of Dowdall's Tavern. The 5th Alabama was again positioned on the extreme left of the Brigade, farthest from the road. The brigade alignment from the Orange Turnpike northward was: 3rd Alabama, 6th Alabama, 12th Alabama, 26th Alabama, and 5th Alabama. There was a great deal of artillery and heavy volleys of musketry ahead of them that continued until after midnight.
[39]
The scene was horrifying. The road for some distance, was covered with dead men torn to pieces; dead horses, cannon wheels, cannons broken off at the trunnions, caissons overturned, and desolation generally.
[40] At the break of dawn on Sunday morning, the Federal guns began to shell the Confederate positions again, although a dense ground fog obscured their view of the Confederate line. The hungry Rebels, nestled behind the Unions' second defensive line they had overrun the previous evening, began foraging for food, as the commissary wagons had not come up. General Rodes berated his Staff and the commissary officers, insisting the troops must be fed as action was imminent. Soon the wagons arrived and cold rations were hastily distributed as the bugles blew assembly. By 6:00 A.M. the men were formed. As mentioned, the 5th Alabama was on the left flank of the Brigade in the third and rear line of battle, Jackson's old division the second line, with A. P. Hill's the first. Federal troops had not been idle overnight. New earthworks of log and dirt extended across the turnpike and some distance north. The plateau at Chancellorsville was ringed with men and field artillery.
[41] In a few moments General A. P. Hill's Division was hotly engaged, and Jackson's men moved forward to their support. Their advance bogged down under the intense Federal artillery barrage and the Confederates took cover behind a breastwork that had been abandoned by the Federals.
Shortly before 8:00 A.M., Rodes' Division was summoned forward. The Division was aligned as it had been the day before with Iverson's Brigade on the far left, O'Neal's Alabamians next, their right flank on the roadway, then Ramseur's, Dole's, and Colquitt's Brigades. General Rodes gave his Brigade commanders specific instructions that they were to push forward until the enemy was encountered and to engage him vigorously, running over friend and foe alike, if in the way. Federal artillery was sweeping the approaches and Rodes knew he could not hesitate or falter once the men had begun to advance.
[42] As the men of the 5th Alabama moved forward "through the dense woods that border the heights around Chancellorsville, a most terrific storm of shot, shell, grape and canister ploughed into their lines. The air was alive with the roar of musketry, the boom of cannon, the bursting of bombs, the unearthly whizzing of shot and grape, and the confused din of strife."
[43]
After moving forward about a mile under a heavy fire from the enemy's artillery, the 5th Alabama along with the rest of O'Neal's Brigade, passed over the second line of battle, the men of Jackson's old division, that were then lying behind the log works in the woods. At about this time, the fearless Colonel O'Neal, the Brigade commander was shot through the thigh with an artillery fuse and limped to the rear.
[44] Command of the Brigade fell to the 5th Alabama's Regimental commander, Colonel Hall. This left Captain Renfro in charge of the Regiment because Lieutenant Colonel Hobson had been wounded the previous day. The men of the 5th Alabama moved steadily forward and soon overtook and passed the first line of battle, which threw the brigade in front.
[45] During the advance past the other lines of battle, the battle line of O'Neal's Brigade fragmented and the 5th, 26th Alabama, and part of the 6th Regiments became separated from the others. Due to the dense forest, this was not discovered immediately. These two regiments moved obliquely to the right under the immediate command of Colonel Hall and encountered the fire of the enemy's infantry posted behind a barricade on the right of the road and not two hundred yards from the Federal artillery on Fairview Heights. The Confederates returned fire and soon compelled the enemy to abandon the barricade and fall back. The Alabamians pressed on,
[46] moving forward along the edge of the Orange Turnpike. At some point beyond the Bullock Road, the right wing of the 5th Alabama Infantry and the 26th Alabama crossed to the south side of the road.
[47]
A man in the Alabama Infantry wrote the following regarding the noise, confusion and horror of the attack. "As we advanced, solid shot and shell greeted us, and when we got nearer, grape accompaniment was added. There must have been fifty guns at play in front and flank. The biggest tree afforded no protection. One might as well have been in front as behind it. Limbs and the tops were falling about us as if torn by a cyclone. Then from the rear shells came shrieking over our heads from Carter's battalion of artillery. We were enveloped, as it were, in a dense fog, the flashing of guns could be seen only a few feet away. A fellow can't see very far in a fight, but he sees plenty when he is scared. At every breath we were inhaling sulphurous vapor fresh and hot from cannon mouth and bursting shell. What a din. What a variety of hideous noises. The ping of the minnie ball, the sputter of canister, the whistling of grape, the "where are you" "where are you" of screaming shells and the cannon's roar from a hundred mouths went to make up the music for the great opera of death. I saw the arm and shoulder fly from the man just in front exposing his throbbing heart. Another's foot flew up and kicked him in the face as the shell struck his leg. Another disembowelled crawled along on his fours, his entrails trailing behind, and still another held up his tongue with his hand, a piece of shell having carried away his lower jaw. Others sank to the earth as if to rest, and some plunged forward, as though tripped by a snare, never to rise again."
[48]
The trees were alive with the heavy shelling from the Union artillery. "The scene was awful," recounted a soldier of the Brigade, "the thunder of the cannon shook the earth, while trees, struck by solid shot, toppled and fell with a crash as if smitten by lightening." Another man said that "grape shot rattled through the timber like hailstones."
[49] Ahead of them was a hill which had twenty-six pieces of artillery planted upon it behind a strong breastwork. It was supported by three lines of infantry.
[50] Still the order was "forward!" and after moving forward a short distance, the men soon found themselves confronting the breastwork of trees, and the battery which had been playing such havoc with them. The men were then ordered to lie down
[51]and immediately open fire. Being somewhat protected by an elevation in the earth, the right wing of the regiment made up of Companies B, D, F, G, and I, fired at the cannoneers and the horses that were occupying the earth works to the right of the road. The left wing, Companies A, C, E, H, and K, shot at the line of the enemy on the left of the road, that was immediately in their front, not more than seventy-five yards away.
[52] So heavy was the fire of the Alabamians on the Federal artillery on the hill, the gunners had great difficulty staying at their pieces and the artillery fire soon slackened. The Confederate infantry fire was kept up for the next fifteen to twenty minutes. During this time, Colonel Hall had discovered that they had been separated from the rest of the brigade and Captain Whiting, the Assistant Adjutant General, went back to bring forward the balance of the brigade. Very soon after halting, a Union Battery opened fire on their left, completely enfilading the entire line. However, due to their position, most of the shots passed harmlessly overhead. Colonel Hall again sent back orders to bring up the balance of the brigade, but it could not be found. The battery on the left continued its enfilading fire and now, heavy volleys of musketry indicated that the enemy was there with a strong force.
[53] The enfilading fire from the left started to take its toll, dealing destruction throughout the ranks. This is where many of the gallant men of the 5th Alabama were wounded. 1st Sergeant John Corwin received a mortal wound while gallantly fighting near the Regimental Colors.
[54] Colonel Hall then sent a message to General Rodes that if he was not reinforced, he would not be able to maintain his position. Shortly after sending this message, Colonel Hall noticed that the enemy in the works on the hill seemed in some confusion and had slackened their fire.
[55] The Federal troops in front of the left wing of the regiment began to fall back and the artillery in front of the right limbered up for a retreat.
[56]
Believing that the enemy on the left was being driven back, Colonel Hall immediately gave the order to charge. Once again, as they had on the battlefields of Seven Pines, 1st Cold Harbor, and Malvern Hill, the men were to make a direct frontal assault on Federal batteries spewing their missiles of death. However, not all the men of the Regiment had heard the order. Captain Renfro and many of the men charged through the thickest of the fight onto the heights at Fairview. There, at the very mouth of the enemy's cannon, fell Captain Renfro, pierced with four balls, all of which struck him at about the same time, inflicting a mortal wound.
[57] Due to the mortal wounding of Captain Renfro, while bravely leading the advance, Captain Thomas M. Riley of Company C, being the senior officer, now assumed command of the regiment.
The regimental Color Sergeant was also mortally wounded as they advanced. "Just as we were ordered to charge, our color-sergeant was wounded (Color Sergeant Henry Clay Estell of Company B) and George Nutting, seizing the colors, waved them in proud triumph and cried, "Come on, boys!" That portion of the regiment who heard the order to charge stormed the heights, charging up the hill. The colors of the 5th Alabama Infantry Regiment were the first planted in the breastworks.
[58] Now in possession of the works, the men continued firing upon the retreating enemy. The 26th Alabama and part of the 6th Alabama, joined the 5th Alabama in the works. The flag of the 26th Alabama was planted within a short distance of the 5th Alabama's flag. It was about 9:00 A.M. Noticing at that time that all the men had not moved forward at the order to charge, Colonel Hall moved back and ordered the rest of the men forward. While hurrying these men forward, Colonel Hall saw a body of men to his left, running back. He called to an officer that was passing, wanting to know whose men they were and what was going on. He was informed that they were from the Iverson's Brigade on their left and that they wouldn't fight. Colonel Hall pointed to the works and told him that his men held them, and called on the officer to rally his men and assist in resisting the Federal troops now advancing to their left and rear. The men could not be rallied.
[59]
The Federals continued to press upon the left flank and had nearly surrounded the men in the works. The Confederates fired a few rounds, and seeing that the enemy was too numerous for their small force, they retired, discovering at about this time that their right wing was now in the rear and was being driven back as well. Simultaneously, Carter's Battery opened upon the enemy on their left, and Captain Riley ordered the men to fire into the enemy on their right, in order to create as much confusion in their ranks as possible, which was promptly obeyed by all who heard the command. By this means many made their escape passing directly through the enemy's lines.
[60] However, not everyone escaped. George Nutting, who had been slightly wounded while advancing with the colors, was captured along with the regimental colors, and many of the men on the right flank.
[61]
The Yankees had surrounded the remnants of the regiment within the breastworks and ordered George Nutting to surrender the Colors, but he refused. Two other men of Company D were with him, and when the Yankees threatened to shoot them all, the others had begged him to surrender the flag. George threw it into the woods as far as he could, saying; "There is not a **** Yankee living that I would hand that flag to."
[62]
The flag was soon recovered and many of the men of the 5th Alabama who had made this gallant charge were captured at that time. According to Colonel Cobham of the 111th Pennsylvania Infantry, the colours of the 5th Alabama were surrendered to him by Captain Elijah Buckley Mosley of Company F, along with his sword. These men were quickly moved to the rear of the Union lines. They would be sent to Washington, D.C., the next day.
The men who were able to escape the redoubt or had not heard the order to charge, fell back into the woods. Private Jeremiah Tate of Company H recalls the moment, "…the remainder of the Company made their escape as I did by hard running the enemy was on three sides of us and there was but one little gap to run out at we made it safe, the balls came thicker around us than ever you saw June bugs around a peach tree. I expected any minute for one to strike me but I came out safe. The tide of affairs soon changed and the Yankees were going the other way as fast as quarter horses…"
[63] Going to the rear, the men joined with the troops advancing to the attack and carried the works again, but were a second time driven back, as before, from the left, due to insufficient support.
[64] On the slope of Fairview, a Union Major told a friend that "the Rebs seemed drunk," the way they kept charging in solid waves, three deep.
[65] Another Union officer left the following description. "Like the waves of the sea on a rock-bound coast, they dashed at the works, only to be broken and driven back in fragments. Re-forming and reinforced, on they came again, to halt in sheets of fire and be consumed."
[66] In a few moments the Stonewall Brigade charged up and the men of the 5th Alabama reformed their line of battle and went forward with them re-occupying their position atop the breastworks for a third time. This was about twenty minutes after the initial capture of the works in which the flag had been lost. Many of the men of the regiment, who were now in the works, were surprised to see on the field of battle so many of the 5th Alabama dead and wounded, not knowing that a short time ago other men of the regiment had occupied those breastworks.
[67]
The fighting which had been primarily carried by the infantry all morning, now changed into an artillery duel. The Confederate batteries battered the retiring enemy, while the Union guns worked to prevent any further advance by the Rebel troops. All the men were far too exhausted to carry the fight any further. As the artillery shells continued to explode amongst the trees, the underbrush caught fire. Hundreds of the wounded were burnt to death before they could be reached by the stretcher-bearers.
[69]
The regiment was now reformed on the left of the Orange Turnpike with the remainder of the brigade, to support the troops in front, but as the enemy soon retreated, their services were not needed again that day. Late in the day they were marched to Chancellorsville, and formed a line near that place,
[71] at the intersection of the Orange Turnpike and the eastern connection to the Orange Plank Road. The taking of the breastworks on the heights of Fair View clinched victory for the Confederates. The two wings of their army were now united. The Federal Army retreated to a strong defensive position north of the Chancellor House with their flanks protected by the Rappahannock River. The Confederates slept undisturbed on the field that night.
[1] "The Battle of Chancellorsville" text by Joseph P. Cullen, Civil War Times Illustrated, Eastern Acorn Press, page 22
[2] "Shock Troops of the Confederacy" by Fred L. Ray, page 53
[3] "Chancellorsville 1863 – The Souls of the Brave" by Ernest B. Furgurson, page 166
[4] Diary of Samuel Pickens
[5] "Warrior In Gray – General Robert Rodes of Lee's Army" by James K. Swisher, page 93
[6] "Chancellorsville 1863 – The Souls of the Brave" by Ernest B. Furgurson, page 5
[7] "The 'Burning Shame' of Chancellorsville" by John F. Krumwiede, America's Civil War Magazine, May 2001, page 31
[8] http://fredericksburg.com/CivilWar/Battle/chanc_story?dy=07272002&fn=677511 Robert K. Krick
[9] "Chancellorsville and the Germans" by Christian Keller, page 60
[10] "Shock Troops of the Confederacy" by Fred L. Ray, page 54-55
[11] "Warrior In Gray – General Robert Rodes of Lee's Army" by James K. Swisher, page 94
[12]Douglas, Henry Kyd
I Rode With Stonewall. St. Simons Island, Georgia: Mockingbird Books, Inc.
[13] Diary of Samuel Pickens– University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa
[14] "Chancellorsville 1863 – The Souls of the Brave" by Ernest B. Furgurson, page 183
[15] Diary of Samuel Pickens– University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa
[16] "Warrior In Gray – General Robert Rodes of Lee's Army" by James K. Swisher, page 94
[17] "The 'Burning Shame' of Chancellorsville" by John F. Krumwiede, America's Civil War Magazine, May 2001, page 31, 32
[18] "Warrior In Gray – General Robert Rodes of Lee's Army" by James K. Swisher, page 94
[19] Diary of Sergeant T. J. Evans – 25th Ohio Infantry Regiment
[20] Diary of Samuel Pickens– University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa
[21] Diary of Samuel Pickens– University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa
[22] O. R. Report of Colonel J. M. Hall
[23] "Warrior In Gray – General Robert Rodes of Lee's Army" by James K. Swisher, page 94
[24] Diary of Samuel Pickens– University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa
[25] "The 'Burning Shame' of Chancellorsville" by John F. Krumwiede, America's Civil War Magazine, May 2001, page 32
[26] O. R. Report of Colonel J. M. Hall
[27] Diary of Samuel Pickens– University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa
[28] Diary of Samuel Pickens– University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa
[29] O. R. Report of Colonel J. M. Hall
[30] "The Beacon" Greensboro, Alabama – June 5, 1863
[31] O. R. Report of Colonel J. M. Hall
[32] "The Beacon" Greensboro, Alabama – June 5, 1863
[33] O. R. Report of Colonel J. M. Hall
[34] Official Records--Series I--Volume XXV, page 951
[35]Shelby W. Chadwick- letter to "The Beacon" May 11, 1863
[36] "Shock Troops of the Confederacy" by Fred L. Ray, page 55
[37] Diary of Samuel Pickens– University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa
[38] Letter of Jeremiah Tate dated May 10, 1863 – The Gilder Lehrman Collection, New York Historical Society (GLC2082.33)
[39] Diary of Samuel Pickens– University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa
[40] "Four Years In The Stonewall Brigade" by John O. Casler
[41] "Warrior In Gray – General Robert Rodes of Lee's Army" by James K. Swisher, page 97
[42] "Warrior In Gray – General Robert Rodes of Lee's Army" by James K. Swisher, page 98-99
[43] Shelby W. Chadwick- letter to "The Beacon" May 11, 1863
[44] "Chancellorsville- The Soldiers Battle" by Frank A. O'Reilly, Blue & Gray magazine, XXIX, No. 5, 2013, page 42
[45] Official Records--Series I--Volume XXV/1 [S#39] April 27-May 6, 1863. The Chancellorsville Campaign. #373 Report of Capt. T.M. Riley, 5th Ala. Infantry
[46] Official Records--Series I--Volume XXV, page 943
[47] Official Records--Series I--Volume XXV, page 965
[48] "Third Alabama! The Civil War Memoirs of Cullen Andrews Battle, CSA" edited by Brandon H. Beck, pages 71-72
[49] "Chancellorsville- The Soldiers Battle" by Frank A. O'Reilly, Blue & Gray magazine, XXIX, No. 5, 2013, page 24
[50] Clarke County Journal- May 21, 1863.
http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/al/clarke/military/ghillgurd.txt
Submitted by Jackie Feldman
[email protected]
[51] "Chancellorsville- The Soldiers Battle" by Frank A. O'Reilly, Blue & Gray magazine, XXIX, No. 5, 2013, page 42
[52]Official Records--Series I--Volume XXV/1 [S#39] April 27-May 6, 1863. The Chancellorsville Campaign. #373 Report of Capt. T.M. Riley, 5th Ala. Infantry
[53] Official Records--Series I--Volume XXV, page 954
[54] "The Beacon" Greensboro, Alabama – June 5, 1863
[55] Official Records--Series I--Volume XXV, page 954
[56] Official Records--Series I--Volume XXV/1 [S#39] April 27-May 6, 1863. The Chancellorsville Campaign. #373 Report of Capt. T.M. Riley, 5th Ala. Infantry
[57] "The Beacon" Greensboro, Alabama – June 5, 1863
[58] Letter Written to "The Beacon" by Shelby Chadwick Dated May 11, 1863
[59] Official Records--Series I--Volume XXV, page 954
[60] Official Records--Series I--Volume XXV/1 [S#39] April 27-May 6, 1863. The Chancellorsville Campaign. #373 Report of Capt. T.M. Riley, 5th Ala. Infantry
[61] Letter Written to "The Beacon" by Shelby Chadwick Dated May 11, 1863
[62] Greensboro Record, January 14, 1904, "Captain Jonathan Whitehead Williams – His Life and Times With the 5th Alabama, C.S.A. Company "D" Greensboro Guards"
[63] Letter of Jeremiah Tate dated May 10, 1863 – The Gilder Lehrman Collection, New York Historical Society (GLC2082.33)
[64] Official Records--Series I--Volume XXV/1 [S#39] April 27-May 6, 1863. The Chancellorsville Campaign. #373 Report of Capt. T.M. Riley, 5th Ala. Infantry
[65] "Chancellorsville 1863 – The Souls of the Brave" by Ernest B. Furgurson, page 239
[66] Soldiers true; the story of the One hundred and eleventh regiment Pennsylvania veteran volunteers and of its campaigns in the war for the union, 1861-1865, by John Richards Boyle, page 97
[67] "The Flag of the 5th Alabama Regiment," Greensboro Record, April 9, 1904
[68] "Chancellorsville 1863 – The Souls of the Brave" by Ernest B. Furgurson, page 237-238
[69] Letter of Jeremiah Tate dated May 10, 1863 – The Gilder Lehrman Collection, New York Historical Society (GLC2082.33)
[70] Clarke County Journal, June 18, 1863, page 2, column 4
[71] Official Records--Series I--Volume XXV/1 [S#39] April 27-May 6, 1863. The Chancellorsville Campaign. #373 Report of Capt. T.M. Riley, 5th Ala. Infantry
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