Notable acts of cowardice during the war.

At the Battle of Shiloh, the Union line formed up to stop the advancing Confederates. The infantry formed in a bent line and the 13th Ohio Light Artillery, commander Capt. John B. Myers, was placed out in front of the line. While they were placing their guns, they came under fire. One soldier was killed and a cassion was blown up. The entire crew and officers ran to the rear and all 5 guns.

The "Fleet-footed" 71st Ohio at Shiloh

Back in March 2015, I had the pleasure to participate in a tour led by Woody Harrell (former Superintendent of Shiloh Natl Military Park). Woody is a very interesting guy and everything he told us was fascinating! But he told about the "Fleet Footed" 71st Ohio who "left quickly" from their position as part of Gen David Stuart's 2nd brigade.

The 71st was organized in Feb 1862 so they were new recruits (about 800 men led by Colonel Rodney Mason and Lt. Col. Barton Kyle.) Many were not issued arms until March. The unit arrived at Shiloh and camped near Hamburg-Purdy Road near Lick Creek, having been assigned to General David Stuart's Second Brigade, Gen. William T. Sherman's Fifth Division of the Army of the Tennessee.

On Sunday April 6, 1862, situated on the Union far left flank, in an isolated position, Stuart's 2nd brigade was hit hard by Chalmers' Mississippians 'surprise' attack. The 71st (and its Col Rodney Mason) were accused of fleeing from the fight.

One account goes like this: "....the 71st Ohio whose Colonel permitted - perhaps even led- his regiment on a pell-mell retreat that did not end for 1/2 a mile; they fired no more than two or three rounds before fleeing the field." :nah disagree:

In the northern press, the 71st (and other Ohio units) were accused of cowardice. It is impossible to know exactly what happened there that day, but suffice to say that the men of the 55th Illinois certainly felt they had been abandoned by the 71st OVI. In his memoirs, Gen. Ulysses Grant recalls Col. Mason being “mortified at his action,” coming “with tears in his eyes” and begging “to be allowed another trial.”

Afterwards, the brigade tried to redeem their reputation but they were assigned to guard duty and, on Aug 18, 1862, surrendered to a much smaller force of Gen Adam "Stovepipe" Johnson's cavalry at Clarksville, TN. :nah disagree: Finally as part of the successful breakthrough of Hood's line at Nashville, the 71st would gain at least partial redemption of its tarnished reputation.

Still, they have a nice memorial at Shiloh.....
Fleet footed 71st Ohio.JPG


Here are a couple of other sources that include more details:
http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/n...lunteer-infantry-had-checkered-reputat/nNnDf/
http://www.cincinnaticwrt.org/data/Summaries_recent talks/Stewart_71st OVI.html
 
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I heard this first on a ghost walk, but it wasn't put across as cowardice, more as a funny story. What was he supposed to do? Surrender and be a prisoner of war? I'd hide in the pig pen, too!
"For he who fights and runs away,
Lives to fight another day."Demosthenes
Cowardice or pragmatism, your call.


Yes, I keep bumping into it? I think he was questioned officially- where in heck he'd gotten to. Maybe there were dark mutterings post war, even, the old vets used to swap stories via papers and things, argue different points pretty ferociously. I have no knowledge of this, it's a 'maybe ' based on quite a few war time hostilities coming to the surface post war. At Gettysburg, wish I could remember which officer rode through Gettysburg July 3 ( or 4 ? ) to find Schimmelfining leaning in a doorway watching the Union men go by. It was the home of the family who'd been slipping out, take him food and water.

Boy, bet if one of these men did get called ' coward ' through some story like this it was awfully offensive. They took that kind of thing really seriously, you can see why.
 
The 126th New York at Harper's Ferry, were unfairly named ( and redeemed themselves at huge cost ) the ' Harper's Ferry Cowards ', after getting captured. It wasn't an act of cowardice but touted as one at the time- am not clear why. There's a letter written by one of the officers speaking on what happened there. At Gettysburg a huge deal was made of this, ' The redemption of The Harpers Ferry Cowards '.

http://www.gdg.org/Research/Authored Items/rhfc.html

Letter from a Union soldier captured at Harpers ferry and later paroled, 8pp. 8vo., Camp Douglas, Chicago, Sep. 28, 1862. Pvt. Jonathan Yeckley of the 126th NY Infantry writes a lady friend, in part: "...you have probably seen, the disposition government has seen fir to make of the 'Harper's Ferry Prisoners'...we are prisoners but from no fault of ours, simply of the officers commanding...oh, what is our government composed of...it was a fact known or at least believed by every officer & soldier here that Col Miles was a traitor...it was criminal, nothing less...communication was cut off shortly after we reached there...men like Miles and McDowell who have already prolonged the war so much...the president is not what he should be if he retains them longer...You may perhaps have seen it stated that the 126th behaved disgracefully, ran away without discharging half of their guns in the battle on Maryland Heights. This is nothing more or less than an unmitigated lie. They bore the brunt of the battle, brought off more dead & wounded men...ordered back twice & covered the retreat both times. All behaved well with the exception of Co. A made up of loafers and bullies from Penn...Cos D & F held the left with a position of Garibaldi guards who were said to have driven our reg't back at the point of a bayonet, but so cowardly were they...fired over the heads of our men endangering their lives...Thus Maryland Heights were lost, with scarcely a struggle...We might have cut our way out, but Miles would not allow it...eight batteries opened fire upon us raking us from every direction...".

Yeckley would return to the front and be wounded at Gettysburg.
http://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/defending-the-126th-new-york-at-harpers-ferry-983-c-8634caa970

It's where JPK, Co. B 126th New York was killed.
 
Gideon Pillow. At Fort Donelson, he abandoned his command and forced a subordinate to surrender the post. At Murfreesboro, he commanded a brigade of Breckinridge's division. Breckinridge found him hiding behind a tree while his men were fighting up ahead and angrily ordered him to join his unit.

An all-around scumbag.
Agreed, though I would have to throw John B. Floyd in with him, as they both passed the buck to Simon B. Buckner ("Passing the Buckner?") at Fort Donelson.

Joseph E. Johnston retreating (and essentially surrendering) Harper's Ferry when it wasn't under any legitimate threat kind of stinks like a chicken-sh*t move as well.
 
Curious who talks the story up for tourists? Not arguing with you directly. Seems crazy. The man was fortunate to not have been captured in an occupied town- it's a great story from a human interest point of view. It was a shambles in there. July 4th Union troops only had Gettysburg citizens to tell them the town was no longer occupied. I've heard the ' cowardice ' thing too, always baffled how in heck the man was to have gotten back to his troops.

Much like NorthernLight, I first heard it on one of the ghost walks. It was told as a funny story there, but the next one I went on, with another company, made it seem like cowardice. I guess you can't really know the underlying motivations for the storytellers though. Seems like we all have our underlying themes in how we view the war.
 
Gideon Pillow. At Fort Donelson, he abandoned his command and forced a subordinate to surrender the post. At Murfreesboro, he commanded a brigade of Breckinridge's division. Breckinridge found him hiding behind a tree while his men were fighting up ahead and angrily ordered him to join his unit.

Thanks for bringing this up!
I always found this extremely interesting.

The groundwork was layed in '46 at Camargo and in '47 at Cerro Gordo when Pillow royally fumbled his assignments. McClellan described it as "worse than puerile imbecility". However, by all accounts at Cerro Gordo and later at Chapultepec - he also displayed a great deal of bravery.

A bit later, he would use the media to foulmouth & trashtalk his superiors, and was court-martialed for it. Who came to his aid and smoothed everything over? Breckenridge.

Fast forward to the ACW, and the 'fearless and brave' Pillow is seen hunkered down behind a tree... by none other than Breckenridge himself.

After Fort Donelson, Buckner met up with his old friend Grant and we have this hilarious exchange in regards to Pillow:

"He thought you'd rather get hold of him than any other man in the southern confederacy" Buckner told Grant.

"Oh," replied Grant, "if i had got him, I'd let him go again. He will do us more good commanding you fellows."

Grant had also previously written to his sister:

"I do not say he [Pillow] would shoot himself. I think, however, he might report himself wounded on the receipt of a very slight scratch.”

If i remember correctly, Sherman destroyed him further with a scathing series of quotes, also.

On the other hand, didn't both Johnston and Forrest think highly of him?

Gideon Pillow was a living, breathing oxymoron.
 
Notable Cowards... John Wilkes Booth sits at the top of the heap having shot a man in the back of the head after he had 4 years to join the CS cause and managed to avoid it. Others would disagree and consider the man a hero.

A particular pre-war politician who shoved a desk against a man to pin him then proceeded to wail upon him with a cane while a brave compatriot brandished a pistol on any who might have put a stop to it. Others would disagree and consider those two men heroes.

Howell Cobb; a man who saw just enough combat to say he had and then managed to finagle a REMF position. Others would disagree.

I don't often use the term coward in regards to an officer or soldier on the field of battle; I'm not one to judge a man who might well have mentally cracked under the stress. But stay behinders who criticized those on the sharp end from the safety of their armchair...

CS conscription & tithing officers who managed to turn that into a career managing to remain well in the rear. Again others would call them heroes.

Quantrill, Bloody Bill Anderson etc. Along with any guerilla who considered it a noble thing to fire into a hospital ship or hospital train. And again there are those who consider the men heroes because they were murdering "Yankees."

Any man who opted to murder captured USCT men instead of treating them as the soldiers they were. And there were & still are those who consider themheroes as they were only murdering black men.

Those men, and I use the term lightly, who post war would become the White League, Klan etc. to terrorize and attempt to re-enslave, in all but name, the black population. Again there are/were those who consider them heroes for terrorizing blacks.

Chivington and any man, again I use the term loosely, who would murder women and children. Men, even today, excuse them as their targets were only Indians.

There were ample cases of cowardice on both sides of the aisle as well as ample cases of bravery. No one side had a monopoly of gutless wonders or heroes. But when one side of an argument considers cowards heroes... there is no middle ground.
 
You mean right before he transferred those troops eastward and inflicted a decisive defeat on the Yankees at Manassas?
Johnston thought Harper's Ferry was indefensible from the time he got there and inherited the command from Jackson. He pulled out of there in the first week of June (and at the first opportunity he was allowed) despite the fact that there was no threat from the Union on the location. Having his troops positioned in the Shenandoah to support Beauregard at Manassas was simply luck and not good planning. Johnston had no way of knowing that the Battle of First Manassas would happen as McDowell didn't start moving Federal troops in that direction until July 16th. Even after the decisive defeat of the Yanks at Manassas Johnston didn't pursue them. He spent most of the Peninsula Campaign marching his troops backwards until Williamsburg and did much of the same thing when he was moved to the Western Theater.
 
Here is an interesting case. The famous American author Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) joined a Confederate militia outift in Missouri, the Marion Rangers, at the outbreak of the Civil War. He "quit" after two weeks and headed west and never rejoined the military. After he gained fame, Twain was criticized for allegedly being a deserter. Twain, himself, never thought of it that way and defended himself as an innocent youth who didn't know what he was getting into in the first place.
 
Good question, but I think it was his drunkenness/sickness. I don't know for sure, though. It did seem that it flared up the worst when action was imminent.

I have no evidence to support but could the drunkenness/sickness have been a symptom of an anxiety disorder of some kind. As I noted with my post on Col Christian there was not a lot of knowledge about various mental disorders such as anxiety or PTSD. I can't help but wonder how many people with these type of issues were in hindsight unjustly accused of cowardice.
 
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