First Bull Run The Army of the Potomac/ The Army of the Shenandoah - a most unexpected victory? Part Five

Hussar Yeomanry

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Part Five


Continued from: https://www.civilwartalk.com/thread...h-a-most-unexpected-victory-part-four.154358/
Part Three can be found here: https://www.civilwartalk.com/thread...-a-most-unexpected-victory-part-three.154279/
Part Two can be found here: https://www.civilwartalk.com/thread...ah-a-most-unexpected-victory-part-two.154169/
Part One can be found here: https://www.civilwartalk.com/thread...-–-a-most-unexpected-victory-part-one.154031/



As the final part of this I will look at the veritable who's who of the Confederacy that were present at the battle. (There will also be a single 'unifying' post looking at the two armies together).


So, in the Army of the Potomac we have Brigadier General P.G.T Beauregard. Very much the rising star of the Confederacy at this point due to disagreements with the President he will spend much of the war in secondary commands. Generally he does competently at this.


Commanding the 1st Brigade is Brigadier General Milledge L. Bonham. Not a West Pointer this lawyer and politician had however spent time as a Colonel during the Mexican war and as a result has a high rank in the South Carolina militia system. After the battle he will quickly leave the army first to enter the Confederate Congress. He will go on to become Governor of South Carolina (62-64). Then he returns to the army in a mostly administrative (recruiting) capacity.

2nd Brigade is Brigadier General Richard S Ewell.

3rd Brigade is Brigadier General D. R Jones. A Mexican War veteran and West Pointer he has links to General/ former President Taylor. Quickly attaining Divisional Command after Manassas he resigned from the army after Antietam due to ill health. He died soon thereafter.

4th Brigade is Brigadier General James Longstreet. Despite not having a great day at Manassas he will become Lee's warhorse.

5th Brigade is Colonel Philip St George Cocke. A West Pointer, Plantation owner and pre war Militia organiser. Despite being quickly promoted to Brigadier General he committed suicide in December.

6th Brigade is Colonel Jubal Early.

7th (Demi) Brigade is Major Nathan G. Evans. He is a West Pointer and career army man (in the cavalry). He will be quickly promoted to Brigadier General. However concerns about his alcoholism and general disagreeableness will result in him being court martialed (a charge he is found not guilty of). As such he will have a long and varied war until in the Spring of 1864 he will be badly injured in a buggy accident. He will eventually mostly recover from his wounds but will never be allowed field command again.

The Reserve Brigade is under Brigadier General Theophilus H. Holmes. Career army and well liked by the President he is quickly promoted after the battle to Major General and Divisional Command. He does not do well in the 7 Days Battle and is transferred to command the Trans Mississippi after questions are raised about his age. Promoted again to Lieutenant General however he is soon replaced by Kirby Smith under whom he serves in Arkansas. Again questions about his age surface and he ends the war commanding reserve formations in North Carolina.

Regimental Commanders at Manassas who will gain brigade (or higher) commands include:

Kershaw, Rhodes, Jenkins, Featherstone, Corse, Jones, Hunton, Barksdale, Kemper. (Almost certainly more but these were the ones I spotted and says something about Confederate strength at this level)


Meanwhile in The Army of the Shenandoah.


General Joe Johnston will have a controversial war. Opinions differ.


1st Brigade is commanded by some guy. Brigadier General Thomas J. Jackson. I am sure he will never be heard from again...

2nd Brigade is commanded by Colonel Francis S. Bartow. A Georgia lawyer and politician with a little militia experience. His career is ended by his participation in the battle.

3rd Brigade is commanded by Brigadier General Barnard E Bee. A career army officer whose career will also be terminated by his participation in the battle.

4th Brigade is commanded by Colonel A Elzey. A Mexican war veteran and career army officer he will later become a Major General with a Divisional Command. Shot through the head at Gaines Mill he will gain various administrative commands after he recovers. Later he was to become the artillery commander of The Army of Tennessee. However he arrives after the Battle of Franklin and there is little left for him to command. Therefore he ends up commanding militia in Georgia.

5th Brigade is commanded by Brigadier General Edmund Kirby Smith.

J. E. B. Stuart commands the cavalry.

Other notable individuals include Captain/ Colonel Pemberton, Imboden, Anderson, A.P. Hill, Steuart and Wilcox which again shows the strength of those present.
 
Regimental Commanders at Manassas who will gain brigade (or higher) commands include:

Kershaw, Rhodes, Jenkins, Featherstone, Corse, Jones, Hunton, Barksdale, Kemper. (Almost certainly more but these were the ones I spotted and says something about Confederate strength at this level)
I am certain that John B. Gordon was a Captain in the 6th Alabama under Colonel John J. Seibels in Ewell's Second Brigade. He replaced Seibels as Colonel in the May '62 reorg.
William "Extra Billy" Smith (49th Va), became commander of Early's Virginia Campaign in 1863, leading it at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. He'd resign to become the Governor of Virginia.
Barksdale (13th Miss) and Harry Hays (7th Louisiana) also became brigadier. Hays would lead the famed Louisiana Tigers brigade after the transfer of Richard Taylor. Barksdale would command the Mississippi Brigade in McLaws' division at Gettysburg, where he'd make his legendary charge on day 2, in which he was mortally wounded and captured.
Fagan (1st Arkansas) and Bate (2nd Tennessee) of Holmes' Reserve Brigade would go west and become generals. Both would fight at Shiloh. Fagan would go further west to command Arkansas troops in the state. Bate would become a Division commander in the Atlanta Campaign and the Franklin-Nashville Campaign.
 
4th Brigade is commanded by Colonel A Elzey. A Mexican war veteran and career army officer he will later become a Major General with a Divisional Command. Shot through the head at Gaines Mill he will gain various administrative commands after he recovers. Later he was to become the artillery commander of The Army of Tennessee. However he arrives after the Battle of Franklin and there is little left for him to command. Therefore he ends up commanding militia in Georgia.

5th Brigade is commanded by Brigadier General Edmund Kirby Smith.
Confused. No 5th Brigade to my knowledge. Smith in command of Fourth Brigade before wounding, giving command to Elzey.
 
Regimental Commanders at Manassas who attain Brigadier or higher after this battle (Army of the Shenandoah):

Ltc. John Echols (27th Virginia) - commanded a brigade of Virginians at the Battle of New Market; commanded a division as part of Jubal Early's Army of the Valley

Col. States Rights Gist - Volunteer Aide-de-camp to Barnard Bee. Took command of Bee's brigade after Bee's death.

Col. Elzey (1st Maryland) - Already mentioned

Ltc. George Steuart (1st Maryland) - Later became commander of what once had been Smith's/Elzey's Fourth Brigade after Chancellorsville. Fought at Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spotsylvania (where he was captured with most of Jackson's old division). Exchanged and given command of what had formerly been Armistead's Brigade after Seth Barton removed. Senior commander on the field at Five Forks disaster during Pickett's Shade Bake. Surrendered with Lee at Appomattox.

Col. john C. Vaughn (3rd Tn) - Later commanded an infantry brigade at Vicksburg. Brigade exchanged and mounted. Fought in Valley Campaign of 64/65. Excorted President Davis during his flight.
 
According to http://www.firstbullrun.co.uk/OOB/army-shenandoah-oob.html there is a 5th Brigade (I accept wiki and some other sites have no 5th brigade). I think the issue is, is that most of the 5th Brigade never makes it to Bull Run/ Manassas with the exception of the Thomas Artillery which to the best of my knowledge see no action.

Given the level of detail on the site I tend to believe it especially because Elzey's OR makes no mention of the fact that he is only in temporary command of the 4th Brigade. I would like to have read a report by Kirby Smith to confirm this but to the best of my knowledge (and probably due to wounds) I have not been able to find one.
 
Ignore what I just said.

I have belatedly worked it out. Elzey does mention Smith (I am apparently blind as a bat) and points out that Smith had 'accompanied' the 4th Brigade since Piedmont (where Smith's 5th Brigade has been left behind earlier that morning) and is in temporary command of it in the initial stages of the battle that follows. Whereupon Smith is hit and Elzey resumes command as is right and proper. (In my defence it is in one badly written paragraph of a much, much longer report, it is late over here... and I completely missed it :redface:)
 
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