A Tale of Two Brothers

 

Lieutenant Nicholas "Nick" A. Caufield

       The Caufield brothers lived in New Orleans, Louisiana when the Civil War began. The oldest Nick worked as an accountant. His younger brother William worked as a clerk. Both enlisted in Company F, 5th Louisiana Infantry which was sent for service in Virginia. Nick was elected lieutenant, while William served as a private. Nick was absent back home in New Orleans from November 1861 until February 1862 where he was recruiting for the regiment. 

       Not a lot is known about the two between February of 1862 and the Battle of Sharpsburg (Antietam) in September of 1862. We know they were both present for 2nd Manassas and Chantilly. It was at Sharpsburg in Maryland that the brother's, serving in Brigadier General Harry T. Hays's Louisiana Infantry Brigade, were posted in the "Bloody Cornfield." It was there that Hays had his men lie prone on the ground because of all the incoming artillery fire. 

Private William Caufield

       As they lay on the ground, William lay in front of his brother, reclining on his elbow and talking to a Lieutenant Gubbins. A Lieutenant Fitzpatrick beside them was wounded and Nick asked if he was hit. A moment later a shell struck hitting William passing completely through his body. The same shell cut off one of Private Fitzsimmons's legs, then cut off both of a Private Jenkins feet before striking Nick in the lower part of the back and exiting his chest. Nick's heart was torn from his chest. One Federal shell had killed Nick Caufield, William Caufield, and Private Fitzsimmons and wounded Private Jenkins. 

       The burial location of these three men are unknown, probably originally buried on the field and possibly removed to a cemetery later. Nick Caufield was 26 years old. His brother William was just 21. 

Stephen Dodson Ramseur: Among the best

Stephen Dodson Ramseur

       Stephen Dodson Ramseur was born on May 31, 1837, in Lincolnton, North Carolina. The above image is a very young photograph of Stephen Ramseur. He turned out to be a very aggressive commander under General Robert E. Lee in the Army of Northern Virginia. He had a very good education before obtaining an appointment to West Point. He was an excellent student, graduating just 14 out of 41 cadets. He stood just five feet, eight inches tall and was very slender. Ramseur was very religious, a member of the Presbyterian Church, he was very military in bearing, securing an appointment in the U.S. Artillery. 

       He never reported to his assignment, having resigned his commission before his native state left the Union. He was already a member of the Confederate Army before North Carolina seceded. Ramseur believed that much in 'States Rights.' His new command saw limited action before joining the army in Virginia that fought in the Seven Day's Campaign. He suffered a wound to his right arm at the Battle of Malvern Hill during the last engagement of the campaign. 

       Ramseur would miss action for the next six months, but upon his return would be promoted to brigadier general. He would take command of the North Carolina Infantry brigade of George B. Anderson, who had been mortally wounded at Sharpsburg (Antietam). He would lead his brigade at Chancellorsville in the spring of 1863 where he was once again wounded. General Robert E. Lee praised his young brigadier general for his action there. Ramseur seemed fearless in combat. Robert E. Lee declared Ramseur among the best of the brigadiers in his army. 

Brigadier General Stephen Ramseur showing premature balding

       During the first day of Gettysburg, Ramseur, along with Junius Daniel and George Doles, led his brigade to victory. His division commander failed him that day and he was forced to use his own judgement against the Federal troops. He would see no more action at Gettysburg and unfortunately, the Confederate Army would suffer a defeat as its best commanders missed the important part of the battle. 

        He would see action at the Wilderness where he would prove his worth as a commander. His finest day would come at the Battle of Spotsylvania just six day after the Wilderness battle. There, he led a counterattack that saved the day for General Lee. He was also wounded in this engagement. Robert E. Lee thanked him personally and his commander Richard Ewell also praised his gallantry. 

Brigadier General Stephen Ramseur as he would have appeared at the time of his death

       Ramseur was 27 at the time of his promotion to major general and command of a division. One problem that historians have found with Ramseur is his inability to properly scout the position his division was to assault prior to an attack. I have found very little to support this claim. He made a mistake in his first action as division command at Bethesda Church, but more than made up for it at Cold Harbor. Lee then sent Ramseur along with Jubal Early on the Shenandoah Valley Campaign of 1864. 

   Ramseur was successful at the Battle of Monacacy and then because of poor reconnaissance on his part (see above) at Stephenson's Depot, he made this greatest mistake of his career. Ramseur blamed his subordinates and men, this was a tragic mistake. He led his men forward at the Third Battle of Winchester and made up for his mistake. This would reverse itself several days latter at the Battle of Fisher's Hill. There, Ramseur commanded the entire division because of the loss of Robert Rodes. He would react slowly and see his division crushed. 

          At Cedar Creek in October of 1864, Ramseur hoped a victory would grant him a furlough to see his new born child. He urged his men forward and was an impressive commander. He placed a flower in his lapel as he urged his men forward. One soldier said that Ramseur's presence was electrical. Although the day soon turned against the Confederates, Ramseur remained with his division, rallying them at every reverse. A Federal bullet struck him in the side, penetrating both lungs before exiting his body. He was soon captured on the field. 

Belle Grove Plantation

       Ramseur was carried to Belle Grove Plantation where he died that night. He was checked on from time to time by Federal General Phillip Sheridan who had attended West Point with many Southern officers. Sheridan had hated everything Southern prior to the war and throughout his life. Ramseur would die without ever seeing his wife or newborn child again.

       

Sight where Ramseur was mortally wounded at Cedar Creek, this monument was unveiled by his daughter Mary Dodson Ramseur in 1921

Resting place of Stephen Ramseur

       Stephen Ramseur was just 27 years old. He rests today in Saint Luke's Episcopal Church Cemetery, Lincolnton, North Carolina. He never got to meet his daughter who was born just four days before he died. She would die in 1935 having been an art teacher. 

Mary Dodson Ramseur (daughter of General Ramseur)

Ellen Richmond Ramseur (wife of Major General Stephen D. Ramseur) she lived until 1900

The Allegheny Arsenal Explosion

       

       The Allegheny Arsenal was established in 1814. The original arsenal was built on thirty acres of land near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on the Allegheny River. Prior to the Civil War, about 300 people were employed at the arsenal. At the height of the Civil War, there were over 1,100 employed there. What was known as the main lab contained 158 employees, mostly young girls and women who were making cartridges for the Union army. 

Women employed to work with dangerous gunpowder

       What would come to be known as the largest civilian disaster of the war occurred at Allegheny Arsenal in the main lab on September 17, 1862. The initial explosion occurred at 2 p.m. Windows were shattered in the surrounding community. A total of three explosions would rock the arsenal. The explosions could be heard two miles away in downtown Pittsburgh. Not a lot has been written about the horrors that were witnessed there that day. There were 78 people killed, a total of 54 bodies couldn't be identified and were buried in a mass grave. 

       An employee named Mary Jane Black described one scene as "two girls behind me; they were on fire; their faces were burning and blood running from them. I pulled the clothes off one of them; while I was doing this, the other one ran up and begged me to cover her. I did not succeed in saving either one."

       The Daily Post had this to say about the tragic event. "Of the main building nothing remained but a heap of smoking debris. The ground about was strewn with fragments of charred wood, torn clothing, balls, caps, grape shot, exploded shells, hoes, fragments of dinner baskets belonging to the inmates, steel springs from the girls hoop skirts, cartridge paper, sheet iron, and melted lead. Two hundred feet from the laboratory was picked up the body of one young girl, terribly mangled; another body was seen to fly in the air and separate into two parts; an arm was thrown over the wall; a foot was picked up near the gate; a piece of skull was found a hundred yards away, and pieces of intestines were scattered about the grounds. Some fled out of the ruins covered with flame, or blackened or lacerated with effects of the explosion, and either fell and expired or lingered in agony until removed. Several were conveyed to houses in the borough and to their homes in the city. Of these, four or five subsequently died."

Colonel John Symington

       Although the investigation absolved Colonel John Symington, the commander of Allegheny Arsenal of the disaster, it appears he should be given some blame. There were reports that he fired boys who had worked there for Irish immigrant women who would work for less pay. Most believe the tragedy occurred because of leaking powder barrels that were being re-used as a shortcut in a time of need for powder. 

      

Powder Magazine Today

       All that is left of Allegheny Arsenal today is the powder magazine which serves as a present day storage shed for Arsenal Park. Below is the monument to the victims which rests on the mass grave where the unknown victims rest today. The event didn't gain a lot of attention at the time due to the fact that it occurred on September 17, 1862, the same day as the Battle of Antietam in Maryland. Antietam would come to be known as the single bloodiest day in American history. Allegheny Arsenal would come to be known as the worst civilian tragedy of the war. 

Marker on the burial site

Calvin R. Lackey: A Civil War Uncle

Corporal Calvin R. Lackey

       When I was a kid, my Uncle Lawrence Kent and I spent hours at our local library attempting to find a Civil War ancestor. We searched the Kent line, but came up empty (this was before the internet made searching other states and counties possible). We went up the Lackey line, which is my dad's mother. A member of the family has a family Bible that records our Lackey family tree back to the 1700's and Scotland. 

       Following that line back we knew that dad's mother Oma Leola Lackey's father was Elisha Franklin Lackey born in 1868 and died in 1943. I always thought his father named him this for a reason. There was a general in Lee's army named Elisha Franklin Paxton and I wondered if my great-great-grandfather may have fought under Paxton and named a son for him. I soon learned this to not be the case as far as I can tell. 

Elisha Franklin Lackey and Mary Elizabeth Burnett

       There is absolutely no record of Elisha's father serving in the Civil War on either side. His name was Isaac Reed Lackey and he was born in 1825 and died in 1887. He rests today in Macedonia Cemetery, Sand Mountain, Alabama. After my uncle died and about the time all this information began being placed online, I found that Elisha Franklin Lackey had a brother named Calvin R. Lackey and he served in Lee's army. Calvin was a corporal in Company E, 48th Alabama Infantry which served in Taliaferro's Brigade, Stonewall Jackson's Division at Antietam. Calvin enlisted on April 12, 1862 in Hendrixville, Dekalb County, Alabama for three years or the duration of the war. 

       In 1863, he is listed as a deserter and later I learned this to be a false report. He was actually wounded and captured during the Battle of Antietam in Maryland on September 17, 1863. He would eventually die of his wounds at Point Lookout, Maryland Prisoner of War Camp and buried there. The marker shown above is in Black Oak Cemetery in Grove Oak, Dekalb County, Alabama and is in memory of my long lost uncle who still rests in Maryland. 

The final resting place of Corporal Calvin Lackey

       I now know that Calvin R. Lackey most likely was wounded and captured in the Bloody Cornfield at Sharpsburg. I visited this place in 1996 and only wished at the time that I had known this information. I look forward to returning there and honoring the memory of my uncle who fought under Stonewall Jackson. 

       

Brigadier General Elisha Franklin Paxton

       Now lets take a long stretch and pretend that the names may mean something. Brigadier General Elisha Franklin Paxton was only a major at the Battle of Antietam. He was Stonewall Jackson's Chief of Staff during the Maryland Campaign. Following the battle, Jackson promoted Paxton from major to brigadier general much to the chagrin of A.P. Hill who disliked Paxton. This brings us to the question, was Elisha Franklin Lackey named for Paxton because of something Calvin Lackey wrote home about or was he named this by coincidence. Probably, I will never know, but the information definitely makes my head spin. 

A Live Major General or a Dead Brigadier: Abner Monroe Perrin

Brigadier General Abner Monroe Perrin

       Part of the problem of living with a sleep disorder is finding yourself wide awake at five in the morning and wishing you were asleep. Of course falling asleep about four yesterday afternoon and waking up at midnight has something to do with it. I thought I would use this time writing about one of my favorite Confederate generals. 

       Abner Perrin was born in 1827 in South Carolina. He fought in the Mexican War at the age of 19 and earned promotion to lieutenant while there. Following that war, he returned to South Carolina where he became an attorney. When the Civil War began, Perrin was elected captain in the 14th South Carolina Infantry.

       They would see their first action in the Seven Days battles around Richmond in the summer of 1862. Perrin and his men were heavily engaged at both Gaines' Mill and Frayser's Farm during the now famous Seven Days Campaign. 

       They fought at Cedar Mountain, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg (Antietam), and Fredericksburg. Perrin was slightly wounded at Fredericksburg where his brigade commander Maxcy Gregg was killed. Perrin received a promotion to colonel in January of 1863. At Chancellorsville when all the senior officers were killed or wounded, Perrin was placed in charge of the brigade. He would travel to Gettysburg in command of the brigade, but still only ranked colonel. He lost almost half his brigade in the attack on the first day there, but he led the brigade forward and broke the Federal line in his front. 

       Perrin was promoted to brigadier general in September of 1863. When his former commander Samuel McGowan returned to duty in February of 1864 after his long recuperation from Chancellorsville, Perrin took command of Wilcox's Alabama Brigade. He led his new brigade at the Wilderness, again proving himself to be a great leader. 

The "Mule Shoe" at Spotsylvania

       At Spotsylvania on May 12, 1864, Perrin was ordered to lead his brigade of Alabamians into the breach when the Federals overran the "Mule Shoe." He said, "I shall come out of this fight a live major general or a dead brigadier." He led his men into the breach and helped close the gap, stopping the Federal advance. Perrin didn't live to see his men triumph. He fell from his horse struck by several bullets. His body would be carried back to Fredericksburg, Virginia and buried in the City Cemetery. Although he didn't receive his desired promotion to major general, he was deserving of such rank. He'd proven himself on many battlefields and the wonder is that such a brave man lived as long as he did. 

Grave of Abner Monroe Perrin

Fighting Dick

Israel Bush Richardson

       Israel Bush Richardson was born in 1815 in Vermont. Supposedly a descendant of Revolutionary War hero Israel Putnam, he gained entry to the United States Military Academy. He graduated 38 out of 58 cadets in the West Point Class of 1841. He saw action in the Second Seminole War. He gained quite a bit of fame from his action during the Mexican War. It would be in Mexico that he earned the nickname, "Fighting Dick." 

       He left the army in 1855 to take up farming in Michigan. When the Civil War began, he helped organize the 2nd Michigan Infantry. He married Fannie Travor in early 1861. His regiment was sent to Washington where he again met Winfield Scott. Upon seeing him, Scott exclaimed, "I'm glad to have my 'Fighting Dick' with me again." 

       He disobeyed orders at Blackburn's Ford and engaged Longstreet against Federal General McDowell's wishes. His brigade was repulsed there, but he made up for this by covering the rearguard during the retreat to Washington. Following this action he was promoted to brigadier general. 

       He commanded a brigade during the Peninsula Campaign, seeing action at Yorktown, Seven Pines and the Seven Days battles. After the campaign, he was promoted to major general. He was engaged at Second Manassas and South Mountain. 

       Richardson would see his last action at Antietam. His troops smashed through the center of the Confederate line at what would later become known as 'Bloody Lane' and was in position to break Lee's army in half. Taking the lane, his men were hit by severe artillery fire from the Confederate reserve. He was talking with one of his artillery officers when an exploding shell sent shrapnel into his side, chest and shoulder. 

Site where Richardson was wounded

       While being carried from the field, he told a surgeon, "Tell General McClellan I have been in the front rank doing the duty of a colonel. I have done a hard days work, and have worked all day. I am wounded and he must detail someone to take my command."

        The wound was not considered to be dangerous. He was carried to the Phillip Pry house, the home McClellan used as his headquarters. Surgeons stopped the bleeding. President Abraham Lincoln visited Richardson in October, but infection set in, followed by pneumonia. He died in November. 

Phillip Pry House

       Richardson was forty-six years old. Nicknamed "Fighting Dick" and also "Greasy Dick" because of his fighting prowess. He was known for his courage in combat and was perfectly fearless in action. Fort Richardson in Texas is named for him. He rests in Oak Hill Cemetery, Pontiac, Michigan. 

Richardson's grave

       Not known for his social skills, his men loved him. He had said to them, "I won't ask you to go anywhere I won't go myself."

       I wonder if Todd Richardson, a good friend of mine, would deny being related to Israel Bush Richardson. Being a lieutenant in the 26th Alabama Infantry re-enacting group, I'm sure he would deny this. Maybe, I'll just nickname him "Greasy Dick."