High Bridge, VA

[bdtex]

Great photos. At first I thought it was the other high bridge.

In another thread @redbob said "One of the largest caches of Civil War shells/balls/bolts ever recovered were recovered from the forts that guarded High Bridge." Did you ever get a chance to hunt around there?

 

[UCVRelics]

In another thread @redbob said "One of the largest caches of Civil War shells/balls/bolts ever recovered were recovered from the forts that guarded High Bridge." Did you ever get a chance to hunt around there?

Nope

 

[redbob]

This is just a small portion of what was recovered from the fort's (s) magazines which were accessed by the young men tunneling down to them. The sites are now closed to the public due to the dangerous conditions in the area. The High Bridge projectiles are highly sought after by collectors as a number of rare types were found there.

 

[bdtex]

I have a friend who was a long time resident of Richmond but now lives in WV. His ancestors owned a place on the Cumberland County side of High Bridge. It served as a hospital. A convalescing Union soldier made a small cherrywood table in gratitude for his care by the family there. My friend in WV has the table.

 

[bdtex]

I get that part about being taken to such places, so was I. As you yourself can attest to but there comes a time when a generation "starts doing this on their own". Do you think the next generation(s) will?

I don't know. I'm 65. I hope I live long enough to find out.

 

[bdtex]

Whereabouts specifically were Read and Dearing when they mortally wounded each other?

The video posted above by Jamieva says that Gen. Dearing was accidentally shot in the head by one of his own men while leading a charge and died in Lynchburg.

 

[Marco 1975]

Is that available on YouTube?

Yes. You find it at " blue ridge streaming "

 

[New Haven]

Whereabouts specifically were Read and Dearing when they mortally wounded each other? Atop,beneath, near, by , close by, next to, etc.? One hears about those two killing each other "at" the battle of High Bridge. But "at" can mean different things to different people.

https://archive.org/details/campbel...ampbell-county/page/289/mode/1up?view=theater While covering the retreat of the army in a charge on the enemy who were endeavoring to burn High Bridge (on the Norfolk and Western railroad) Dearing was mortally wounded by an accidental shot from one of his own men. He had at that time in his possession a letter from General Lee stating that papers for his promotion to major-general were in the hands of the Secretary of War "a promotion too long delayed by reason of my inability to fill your present command of the Laurel Brigade." Colonel Dearing was carried to the Ladies Relief Hospital at Lynchburg where he died three weeks later and was buried on his 25th birthday.
During the Appomattox Campaign Dearing was given another brigade composed of the 7th, 11th and 12 Virginia Cavalry regiments and the 35th Virginia Battalion. At the Battle of High Bridge on April 6, 1865, Dearing was mortally wounded when he was shot through the lungs by his own men. He was then taken prisoner by Union forces. He was Brought to Lynchburg's old city hotel (christened "Ladies´ Relief Hospital"). On April 13 he was visited and paroled by his old West Point classmate, Brigadier General Ranald S. Mackenzie, then commanding in Lynchburg.[15] Dearing died on April 22 and was buried in the family cemetery at Avoca, in Campbell County, but later was reinterred in Spring Hill Cemetery, in Lynchburg.

 

[Kathy the history sleuth]

I didn't have time to visit High Bridge on my last visit to Appomattox. I will go there next time.

 

[New Haven]

View attachment 503862

I couldn't let today go by without some mention of High Bridge and I couldn't find a thread specifically about it.

While the Battle of Sailor's Creek was happening on the afternoon of April 6, 1865, the Battle of High Bridge was happening nearby on April 6 and 7, 1865. The April 6 action occurred in the morning and was a successful attempt to hold the bridge open to allow part of Lee's army to cross the bridge over the Appomattox River retreating westward from Richmond and Petersburg. The April 7 action was an unsuccessful attempt to destroy the railroad bridge and lower wagon bridge to keep pursuing Union troops from crossing them and the Appomattox River.

The picture above was taken in June 2022 from the modern bridge which is a popular hiking and biking trail. It is a state park now. The old bridge is long gone but there are sections of the original pilings remaining down below.

High Bridge

The American Battlefield Trust's Battle of High Bridge page contains maps, articles, and photos relating to this important 1865 battle in Virginia.

www.battlefields.org

At 27:11 –This is Professor James Robertson telling just part of the story and omitting the part where Colonel Dearing is shot through the lungs and mortally wounded by his own men. He is then captured by the Union army, hospitalized in a Union hospital and then visited and paroled by Union Brigadier General Ranald S. Mackenzie, his former classmate from West Point, who was then commanding in Lynchburg. Those West Point guys stick together, don't they.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N25eM2QeaA0&t=1636s

 

[Jamieva]

I drive by it multiple times a year still haven't gone. It's on my list for this spring/summer. My wife is more interested in the current high bridge walk than the civil war part.

The view s completely different now. There are trees everywhere and they are almost as tall as the bridge.

If you like to bike, bring them it's a long trail

 

[Coonewah Creek]

Private Sam Hankins, Company E, 2nd Mississippi
Incident at High Bridge, Farmville, VA, 1862

During the Civil War service of the average Confederate infantryman, sometimes things other than the fear of battle could be just as, or even more frightening. Private Sam Hankins was involved in such an incident:

Shortly after the Battle of Seven Pines, President Jefferson Davis appointed General Robert E. Lee to the command of the Army of Northern Virginia. Stonewall Jackson's recent smashing victories in the Shenandoah Valley against combined Federal forces three times as large as his own helped shape Lee's evolving plan to defeat McClellan. Wishing to maintain his options both in the Valley and in front of Richmond, Lee decided he would reinforce Jackson with Chase Whiting's two brigades. The trip took almost a week. Private Sam Hankins of Company E related a stressful incident during a portion of the trip made by rail:

"At Farmville, Va., we came to the noted long and tall bridge. This bridge had been reported unsafe, and the travelling public between Richmond and Lynchburg would go through Danville, Va., many miles out of the way, to avoid it. We had to risk it, though; and knowing about its being condemned, I had been dreading the danger for some time. I was on top of the car (my usual place) when we arrived at the bridge, and when near its center the train came to a standstill. I looked over the edge of the car far down into the valley, where cattle grazing looked as small as sheep. The engines began to puff and blow and slip, then a slack was followed by a quick jerk, when it seemed that the frail structure was giving way and sinking beneath me. This slacking and jerking lasted one hour, though it appeared to last longer than the war (four years). Conjectures were rife as to the cause of the delay. It was my greatest fright during the war. However, we passed over in safety."*

*Hankins, Samuel W. "Simple Story of a Soldier," Nashville: Confederate Veteran, 1912, p. 24.

Painting of High Bridge, Farmville, VA (circa 1862)

 

[Pollaco]

The provided response is not really answering my question. I'm still getting roughly the same answer, Dearing was "at" the bridge. Could someone point out exactly where He was standing when he received that fatal wound.
And speaking of "fatal Wounds", I've always heard that Dearing was killed in a pistol duel with Gen. Read.Now it seems to be an accidental shot in the lungs by his own men. Still another version calls it a head shot. Does anyone really know or is this speculation?
Also I'm no English Major but one of the replys contains this confusing sentence.."while making a charge on the enemy who were endeavoring to burn High Bridge". Who was trying to burn the bridge?

 

[New Haven]

The provided response is not really answering my question. I'm still getting roughly the same answer, Dearing was "at" the bridge. Could someone point out exactly where He was standing when he received that fatal wound.
And speaking of "fatal Wounds", I've always heard that Dearing was killed in a pistol duel with Gen. Read.Now it seems to be an accidental shot in the lungs by his own men. Still another version calls it a head shot. Does anyone really know or is this speculation?
Also I'm no English Major but one of the replys contains this confusing sentence.."while making a charge on the enemy who were endeavoring to burn High Bridge". Who was trying to burn the bridge?

Read this---https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Dearing
I think there was a lot of embarrassment about Dearing being killed by his own men and captured by the Union army. This is the kind of information that was suppressed by "gaslighting" the public, and not admitting that their star "general", who was not a general, but only a colonel , "the last Confederate soldier killed in the CW" was killed by his own troops, captured by the Union army, sent to a Union prison hospital, and finally paroled by his Union Army friend who came to visit him while he was dying. To me this is the story that should be told. The Union General took the time to perform some spiritual and corporal works of mercy. Visiting those in prison, visiting the sick, burying the dead and obtaining his release. Some might call that "Semper Fi" ------- Your comment "And speaking of "fatal Wounds", I've always heard that Dearing was killed in a pistol duel with Gen. Read" ---that sounds like a typical gaslighting passage in a lot of so-called historians' writing. Are you curious at all about any other things that you have read? Would you like to know about Dearing beating Forest for the cruelty trophy at Plymouth a year earlier. He had to be relieved of command and transferred to another section by REL's nephew.

 

[Jamieva]

The provided response is not really answering my question. I'm still getting roughly the same answer, Dearing was "at" the bridge. Could someone point out exactly where He was standing when he received that fatal wound.
And speaking of "fatal Wounds", I've always heard that Dearing was killed in a pistol duel with Gen. Read.Now it seems to be an accidental shot in the lungs by his own men. Still another version calls it a head shot. Does anyone really know or is this speculation?
Also I'm no English Major but one of the replys contains this confusing sentence.."while making a charge on the enemy who were endeavoring to burn High Bridge". Who was trying to burn the bridge?

Confederates were attempting to burn it

 

[bdtex]

Now it seems to be an accidental shot in the lungs by his own men. Still another version calls it a head shot. Does anyone really know or is this speculation?

I watched the Bud Robertson video posted by Jamieva.

 

[Pollaco]

I'm guessing there might be a person who really isn't so sure of the correct answer but just pretending to be knowledgeable on the subject. I asked several times just where specifically Dearing was when he was fatally shot. I got a whole lot of "answers" and replys but none to the asked question.

 

[bdtex]

I'm guessing there might be a person who really isn't so sure of the correct answer but just pretending to be knowledgeable on the subject. I asked several times just where specifically Dearing was when he was fatally shot. I got a whole lot of "answers" and replys but none to the asked question.

Maybe it isn't documented exactly where that was or the document is lost. Everyone who has responded to your inquiry has responded from the sources they know.

 

[Jamieva]

I think the reasonable answer to that question is we don't know as nobody has found documentary evidence of it
Heck we can't agree which side shot him

 

[bdtex]

I think the reasonable answer to that question is we don't know as nobody has found documentary evidence of it
Heck we can't agree which side shot him

I checked fold3 and didn't find a casualty report or medical records.