Friendly Fire Incidents

[CTH]

Here is a list of a few of the many friendly fire incidents in the Civil War, just off the top of my head.
Stonewall Jackson and several of his staff at Chancellorsville.
Longstreet, Jenkins, and several staff at the wilderness.
Union soldiers wounded or killed by the gunfire from their own boats at Malvern Hill.
At Pea Ridge, one soldier was accidently shot in the back of his head by one of his comrades, according to William Shea in his book on the battle.
Early in the war, some Union soldiers wore gray and some Confederates wore blue, resulting in them being on the receiving end of friendly fire.
Some historians believe Union general Jesse Reno and Confederate general Albert S. Johnson to have been accidently shot by their own men.
Anyone know of any I may have missed?

 

[AndyHall]

At least one Texas Brigade soldier who witnessed Hood getting hit at Chickamauga believed the fire came from troops to the Texans' left, from Florida, who mistook the Texan's new uniforms for Federals.

 

[ErnieMac]

Official Records Series 1, Volume XIX, Part 1, Pages 312 - 314.
Numbers 62. Report of Lieutenant Colonel John W. Kimball Fifteenth Massachusetts Infantry, of the battle of Antietam.

HEADQUARTERS FIFTEENTH REGIMENT, MASS, VOLS.,
Camp near Sharpsburg, September 20, 1862

CAPTAIN: I have the honor to report that on Wednesday, 17th instant, at 7 o'clock a. m., I was ordered to hold my command in readiness .....

Meanwhile the second line of the division, which had been halted some 30 or 40 yards in our rear, advanced until a portion of the Fifty-ninth Regiment New York Volunteers, Colonel Tidball, had closed upon and commenced firing through my left wing on the enemy. Many of my men were by this maneuver killed by our own forces, and my most strenuous exertions were of no avail either in stopping this murderous fire or in causing the second line to advance to the front. At this juncture General Sumner came up, and his attention was immediately called by myself to this terrible mistake. He immediately rode to the right of the Fifty-ninth Regiment, ordered the firing to cease and the line to retire, which order was executed in considerable confusion. ......

I herewith append a list of the casualties in the late engagement.

Officers killed: Captain C. S. Simonds, Captain J. Saunders, First Lieutenant R. Derby, First Lieutenant William Berry, First Lieutenant F. S. Corbin. Officers wounded: Captain W. Forehand, slight; Captain G. C. Joslin, severe; Captain A. Bartlett, slight; First Lieutenant Thomas J. Spurr, severe; First Lieutenant L. H. Ellingwood, severe; Second Lieutenant W. Gale, slight; Second Lieutenant A. J. Bradley, slight. Enlisted men killed, 60; wounded, 238; missing, 38. Officers killed and wounded, 12. Enlisted men killed, wounded, and missing, 336. Total, 348.

I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

JOHN W. KIMBALL,
Lieutenant-Colonel, Commanding.

 

[JeffBrooks]

If I recall correctly, when the 54th Massachusetts was trying to break into Fort Wagner, the supporting regiments advancing behind them fired into the mass of men engaged in hand-to-hand fighting on the parapet, killing and wounding men of both sides.

 

[NedBaldwin]

At the battle of Iuka, some US regiments suffered more casualties from friendly fire than from enemy fire.

 

[Championhilz]

The last casualty of the Vicksburg Campaign was Private Samuel S. Miller of Company E, 38th Mississippi Infantry. While the regiment was stacking their arms to surrender on July 4, a detail of men was behind them gathering up muskets left in the trenches. One of the muskets was dropped, and when it hit the ground it discharged, sending a buck and ball load into Miller's back. He died in a matter of seconds from the wound.

 

[Miles Krisman]

Shiloh

There were several incidents of friendly fire among confederate troops during the Battle of Shiloh. These were between units from several states and were caused by the confusion of the battlefield and the blue coats worn by some Louisiana regiments during the battle. The battlefield confusion referred to the restricted visibility because of the battlefield smoke from the muskets and artillery pieces. Further, the trees and brush blocked vision at various times during the battle. Colonel Gibson's battle report, Official Reports, Volume X, Part I, Volume 10, makes no mention of any of his regiments being fired on. Colonel Henry Allen, the regimental commander does mention an incident of being fired on by a Tennessee regiment before the regiment went into the battle. Colonel Allen states the firing "killed and wounded a large number of my men". He does not mention any blue uniforms as the cause of the confusion. After this incident, the brigade, the 4th Louisiana included, went into the attacks on the Hornet's Nest.

Edward Cunningham mentions the incident in his book, "Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862", on pages 188-189. This account blames the firing on the 4th Louisiana when they fired on a confederate soldier who approached the regiment mounted wearing a union cap and with a captured US flag draped around his body. The regiment's fire killed him but the overshots hit the 13th Arkansas in Stewart's Brigade who returned fire thinking they were attacked. It is stated that the regiment suffered 105 casualties and the regiment was much shaken. Colonel Gibson , the brigade commander was much shaken up when his horse was hit.

The incident is also mentioned by Larry Daniel in his Book "Shiloh, The Battle that Changed the Civil War" on page 211. Aaron V Vertner, a relative of General Earl VanDorn, is identified as the man who caused the incident by riding towards the 4th Louisiana, wearning a blue uniform, with a captured union flag. The firing hit the 13th Arkansas which was standing in the Lost Field and returned fire into the 4th Louisiana in the Barnes field, as did some of soldiers of Colonel Stephen's brigade.


More friendly fire incidents. About noon, as Colonel Pond led his brigade forward through the Crescent field, he and his brigade received fire on his right flank from "our own forces". These confederate troops proved to be Trabue's Kentucky brigade, Some of Ponds regiments were wearing blue coats and the 18th Louisiana suffered some casualties. Pond's brigade was rattled and confused so Pond halted his advance and pulled back about 100 yards to the southern edge of the Crescent field. The result was that his advance was delayed by one hour and then, the brigade advanced northeasterly from the Crescent field through the woods and into the Jones field just as the last of Sherman's men withdrew from the Jones field about 2 pm. The confederate advanced continued as Pond led his brigade after Sherman's retreating men and crossed the Tilghman Branch ravine. Reference OR X, p. 517.

Another friendly fire incident was about 1 pm, when the 45th Tennessee fired into the 20th Tennessee as they were preparing to attack in the Sarah Bell Cotton field. Both regiments were part of Statham' brigade and quickly halted. The 45th Tennessee was a new just formed regiment and was unsettled by the fighting, they were in poor discipline. There has been suggestions that General Albert Sidney Johnston was shot by confederate troops after the 2 pm attack was launched. General Johnston led a portion of Statham's brigade forward in the center of the Sarah Bell Cotton field. As Statham's men moved past General Johnston, they engaged the federal troops in heavy fighting. Johnston was behind the fighting but close enough to be struck four times. The suggestion that he was hit by friendly fire has never been proven and has not received much support for this theory.


Beauregard's faulty attack formation forced corps commanders to cover the entire front. The gaps in the line and intermingling of commands would not have been as severe if the corps had to cover only one part on the battlefield. Deaths from friendly fire also became an unfortunate result of Beauregard's faulty attack formation. One such incident occurred in one of Hardee's other brigades. Brigadier General S.A.M. Wood's brigade was in the process of attacking an enemy position, when they received fire from the rear. The first volley of friendly fire killed five in Wood's brigade. His troops tried hiding behind logs but their effort was futile as they now received fire from both directions. Wood rode back trying to stop the Confederate troops from firing on his unit. The last volley of friendly fire shot Wood's horse out from under him. Wood's horse dragged him several hundred yards before he could free himself.

 

[Brenal]

Just goes to prove that there is nothing very friendly about friendly fire

 

[Northern Light]

The term"friendly fire" is such an oxymoron. When did it enter or vocabularies?

 

[thomas aagaard]

well, it works better than "blue-on-blue" when we are talking the civil war...

 

[WesB]

I think the 2nd Wisconsin was fired into at 1st Bull Run. They were wearing gray uniforms and changed to blue after the battle.

 

[Mike Serpa]

The term"friendly fire" is such an oxymoron. When did it enter or vocabularies?

[Ben] Zimmer identifies a citation for "friendly fire" that goes back as far as WWI and appeared in the New York Times on Oct. 18, 1918:

"When the infantry was advancing in a position exposed to cross fire he volunteered and carried a message to the advancing troops, informing them that a machine gun barrage laid down on the enemy emplacements was friendly fire from a unit not in their support and acting without orders to cover their advance."

http://www.poynter.org/how-tos/news...dly-fire-learn-its-history-before-you-use-it/


Use of the term "friendly" in a military context for allied personnel or materiel dates from the First World War, often for shells falling short.[3] The term friendly firewas originally adopted by the United States military. Many North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) militaries refer to these incidents as blue on blue, which derives from military exercises where NATO forces were identified by blue pennants and units representing Warsaw Pact forces by orange pennants.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friendly_fire

 

[rpkennedy]

IIRC, several men in the 69th Pennsylvania at Gettysburg were killed by cannon firing directly in their rear on July 3rd.

R

 

[Deleted member 8452]

I know Armistead's Virginia brigade got caught in a friendly fire incident that lead to their attack getting turned back during the battle of Seven Pines, as his men were moving through the thick brush, they become very disorganized, even more so after pushing back the first line of Union Troops, through the forest the units could not see each other well, and the 14th Virginia Infantry accidentally fired at the 53rd Virginia Infantry.

 

[Miles Krisman]

I know Armistead's Virginia brigade got caught in a friendly fire incident that lead to their attack getting organized during the battle of Seven Pines, as his men were moving through the thick brush, they become very disorganized, even more so after pushing back the first line of Union Troops, through the forest the units could not see each other well, and the 14th Virginia Infantry accidentally fired at the 53rd Virginia Infantry.

Another Confederate "Friendly Fire" incident at Seven Pines/Fair Oaks:
The following is from the Official Report of Colonel William Smith commanding the 49th Virginia Regiment: "Here I met with General Garland who stating that his brigade had been cut to pieces, urged me forward. I gave the word, and my gallant boys dashed into the abatis, pressing forward with every possible dispatch. My men were falling fast from the fire of an unseen foe – indeed, several had fallen in the timber through which we had just passed from the shell of the enemy, and yet they gallantly pressed forward and had more than half perforated the abatis, had passed the rifle pits, and were under a galling fire from front and flank before I opened fire. Never did men behave more like veterans under such trying circumstances. We were under heavy fire on both of my flanks and directly in front of the enemy, and also from the rear by our friends, some of whom skulked behind the brick ruins some 800 or 400 yards in my rear, and some from the brush, and galled us with their fire, until I had to dash back to the fellows before I could be relieved of their annoyance.

 

[Miles Krisman]

A Union "Friendly Fire" incident at Seven Pines/Fair Oaks:
It was now about 3:00 P.M. None of the Confederate Brigades were fresh, having taken significant if not heavy casualties in the fighting for the woods and the abatis. But they could all sense victory was at hand and were intent on continuing to drive the enemy. The Yankees concentrated their guns on the advancing Confederate infantry; however, Carter's Battery targeted the Yankee guns and soon drove them off. Too many horses had been struck down by Carter's fire forcing the Union Batteries to leave six of their guns behind. As the gray line advanced the Federal commander gave the order to spike the canons so as to make them useless to the Confederates. As the first man moved forward to do so, a rifle ball passed through his brain. Making matters worse for the Union troops, as the artillery in the redoubt went silent; the 8th New York behind it unwisely opened fire. One of its first shells burst prematurely over the heads of the 85th New York, killing and wounding a number of soldiers, and seriously shaking the morale of the regiment at the very centre of the line.

 

[Miles Krisman]

IIRC, several men in the 69th Pennsylvania at Gettysburg were killed by cannon firing directly in their rear on July 3rd.

R

This is another "Friendly Fire" incident involving Federal Artillery. It took place at the Battle of Gaines' Mill/ Cold Harbor on June 27, 1862. (Sorry, I have only the quote and don't know the units involved.)

"We are now on the extreme right, and the enemy is pushing up a column concealed by the woods directly in our front. Not only do they try to hurl us back frontally, but attempt to turn both our flanks and cut us off. Now the Zouaves are falling back and all our men of the 12th and 14th are lying down. Suddenly a yell as from a thousand Indians breaks from the woods, and shots strike thick and fast from a new direction. Our rifled cannon at the house send their shells close over us and into the Rebel battery on our left, which has been repeatedly reinforced. Our battery on the road to the rear opens with case and canister so close to us that we cannot move until they cease firing. I don't know of any more nervous position than to be in front of a battery firing canister, case shot, or grape. Its peculiar cracking sound is sharply menacing, and in this instance was so close that some of our men were wounded by our own fire."

 

[Rio Bravo]

At Antietam, the 1st Delaware were the first Union Troops to attack the Sunken Road and they did it with unloaded rifles (their C.O. thinking just the Bayonet would suffice). In less than 5 minutes 286/635 men and 8/10 Officers lay dead or wounded. The 1st Delaware made 4 fruitless charges with unloaded rifles.
To make matters worse the 14th Connecticut Regt, following behind the 1st Delaware, opened up a volley at the Confederates, but sadly shot their own soldiers in front of them. At this point in the battle NO Confederates had been killed.

 

[bankerpapaw]

Friendly fire isn't.

 

[Miles Krisman]

At Antietam, the 1st Delaware were the first Union Troops to attack the Sunken Road and they did it with unloaded rifles (their C.O. thinking just the Bayonet would suffice). In less than 5 minutes 286/635 men and 8/10 Officers lay dead or wounded. The 1st Delaware made 4 fruitless charges with unloaded rifles.
To make matters worse the 14th Connecticut Regt, following behind the 1st Delaware, opened up a volley at the Confederates, but sadly shot their own soldiers in front of them. At this point in the battle NO Confederates had been killed.

Here is a little more detail on this incident:

One thing was evident to Colonel Gordon. His opponent proposed to trust to the bayonet and attempt to break through Lee's centre by the sheer weight of his deep charging column. It might be done, there were only about 2500 Confederates opposing them. Here were four lines of blue marching on the one in gray. How should the charge be met? By immediate and steady fire, or by withholding his fire till the lines were face to face, and then pouring upon the Federals a blighting storm of lead? Gordon decided on the latter, believing that a sudden and withering burst of deadly hail in the faces of men with empty guns would be more than any troops could stand. All the horses were sent to the rear and the men were ordered to lie down in the grass, they being told by their officers that the Federals were coming with unloaded guns, trusting to the bayonet, and that not a shot must be heard until the word "Fire!" was given. This would not be until the Federals were close at hand. On came the long lines, still as steady and precise in movement as if upon holiday drill. Not a rifle-shot was heard only the marching of the columns. As neither side had artillery at this point, no roar of cannon broke the strange silence.[1]


One of the Union regiments in this advance was the 1st Delaware Infantry. They found themselves on the right of General Weber's Brigade where it advanced in line of battle, the first line of General French's Division. Moving forward through the woods and into a cornfield, the advancing Delawarean's came out into about 100 yards of open pastureland at the end of which was a sunken road some four feet below ground level. The 1st Delaware's Colonel John Andrews tipped his hat to the Rebel officers on the other side to which they responded in kind.[2] They were opposing the men of the Alabama Brigade.

The awaiting men in gray grew eager and impatient and had to be kept in restraint by their officers. "Wait! Wait for the word!" was the admonition. Yet it was hard to lie there while that line of bayonets came closer and closer, until the eagles on the buttons of the blue coats could be seen, and at length the front rank was not twenty yards away. Colonel Andrews of the 1st Delaware dashed in front of his line with the order: "Charge!"


The time had come. With all the power of his lungs Gordon shouted out the word "Fire!" In an instant there burst from the prostrate line a blinding blaze of light, and a frightful hail of bullets rent through the Federal ranks. Terrible was the effect of that consuming volley. Almost the whole front rank of the foe seemed to go down in a mass. The brave Union commander and his horse fell in a heap together. The horse had been killed, but the man was unhurt. In an instant more the Confederates were on their feet, an appalling yell bursting from their throats as they poured new volleys upon the Federal lines. The 1st Delaware's Lieutenant Tanner and eight others attempted to plant their regimental colors atop the Confederate precipice overlooking the sunken road but had to abandon the idea due to the intense fire. Almost the entire 1st Delaware color guard was killed. To make matters worse, the 14th Connecticut, a regiment of new recruits that had never been in battle before directly behind the Delawareans, opened up a volley at the Rebels and shot at their own soldiers in front of them.[3]


No troops on earth could have faced that fire without a chance to reply. These men from Delaware bore unloaded guns. Not a bayonet had reached the breast for which it was aimed. The Federal lines recoiled, though in good order for men swept by such a blast of death. Large numbers of them had fallen, yet not a drop of blood had been lost by the Confederates. In less than five minutes 286 men of the 1st Delaware Infantry's 635 and eight of ten company commanders lay wounded or dead. However, the gallant Colonel Andrews who led the Federals was not yet satisfied that the bayonet could not break the ranks of his foes. Reforming his men, now in three lines, he led them again with empty guns to the charge. Again they were driven back with heavy loss. With extraordinary persistence he clung to his plan of winning with the bayonet, coming on again and again until four fruitless charges had been made on the Confederate lines, not a man in which had fallen, while the Federal loss had been very heavy.[4]


[1]"Reminiscences of the Civil War, by General John B. Gordon, page 85-87

[2] http://www.state.de.us/facts/history/tanner.htm

[3] http://www.state.de.us/facts/history/tanner.htm

[4]"Reminiscences of the Civil War, by General John B. Gordon, page 85-87