Brother Against Brother, Part 1

Confederate Brigadier General James M. McIntosh

       Most everyone has heard stories about the Civil War being a war where brothers often fought one another. Few realize that this also occurred among the generals who fought. James McQueen McIntosh was born in 1828 in Florida while his father was stationed there in the U.S. Army. A year later, while still at that post James little brother John Baillie McIntosh would be born. Their father would be killed during the Mexican War. 

       James would miss the Mexican War while attending West Point. There he proved to be a very poor student. He cared very little for the classroom and like fellow Confederate General George Pickett, he would finish dead last in his class. His brother John wouldn't attend West Point, but served in the Navy as a midshipman during the Mexican War. 

Union Brigadier General John B. McIntosh

       When the Civil War began, James resigned his commission and became colonel of the Second Arkansas Mounted Rifles. He saw action at Wilson's Creek where he proved to be a daring cavalry commander. He was famous for his fearlessness in battle and his colorful language. Leading his men in desperate charges would prove his undoing. 

       He would receive a promotion to brigadier general for his actions in routing a numerically superior force. His first major battle following that promotion would prove to be his last. At the Battle of Pea Ridge after seeing his friend and commander Benjamin McCulloch killed. He charged forward in an attempt to recover the mans body and be shot through the heart. They would carry the high-strung officer back to the National Cemetery in Fort Smith, Arkansas where he rests today. James McIntosh was either 33 or 34 years old. His exact birth date has been lost to history. 

McCulloch and McIntosh were both killed in the treeline across the field

       When the war began, James's brother John was working in business in New Jersey. Like James, John would spend the war serving in the cavalry. He was with McClellan's army during the Seven Days. He served well during the  Battle of Chancellorsville. He led an attack against J.E.B. Stuart's cavalry at Gettysburg. His next action would be over a year later at the Battle of Winchester where he would lose a leg. 

       Following the war, John would return to New Jersey and die there in 1888 at the age of 59. He is buried in Elmwood Cemetery, New Brunswick, New Jersey. It makes you wonder how two brothers so close in age could ever consider fighting a war on opposite sides. 

James grave in Arkansas

John's grave in New Jersey

The Black Knight

      Turner Ashby

       Turner Ashby was born in Virginia in 1828. His father, Turner Ashby, Sr., served as a colonel in the War of 1812 and died while he was very young. His grandfather was a captain in the Revolutionary War. Turner Ashby was privately tutored and after finishing, he purchased a farm near his mother's home. He named the home Wolf's Crag.

Wolf's Crag

       Turner Ashby was known for his chivalry, horseman ship, and as an avid outdoorsman. He was a natural leader and when the war began, he took command of a cavalry unit. The man was described as about five feet, eight inches, weighing about one hundred-sixty pounds and had a dark complexion from all the time he'd spent outdoors. He earned the nickname 'Black Knight of the Confederacy' because of his jet black hair and dark eyes. Always riding either a solid black horse or a solid white horse, he was a fearless leader. His command would follow him anywhere, but he was without formal military training and had lots of trouble because of his lack of discipline.

       Ashby was soon assigned to Stonewall Jackson's command in the Shenandoah Valley. Jackson gave him the job of patrolling the Potomac River north of the valley. In an engagement there, his brother Richard Ashby would be killed. Turner was told that Richard was bayoneted to death while attempting to surrender. No one for certain exactly what happened there, but regardless, Turner believed the story. From that point forward, he hated Northern troops and fought with a vengeance. 

Ashby in the militia uniform of Virginia before the war

       Ashby was soon promoted to colonel and given command of the 7th Virginia Cavalry Regiment. Many were pushing for Ashby to be promoted to brigadier general, but Jackson was against the idea. Jackson didn't think Ashby was capable of higher command because of the lack of discipline in his command and no proper military training. A brave fighter, Ashby never learned how to properly drill his men. Despite what Jackson suggested, Ashby was promoted to brigadier general in May of 1862. He would hold that rank for just ten days.

       Although Ashby was brave to a fault, there were times when he failed Jackson. Cavalry being the eyes of an army, it was Ashby's job to give Federal positions and troop strengths. At Kernstown, he greatly underestimated the size of the Union army. Jackson attacked the position and was defeated. Near Winchester, Virginia, after Jackson's infantry had defeated Nathaniel Banks force, Ashby's soldiers were too busy plundering captured wagons and allowed the retreating enemy to escape. Had Ashby's men been trained properly and disciplined, most of Banks force would have been captured.

       On June 6, 1862, General Ashby was fighting a rearguard action near Harrisonburg, Virginia. His force was being attacked by both Federal cavalry and infantry. His men easily repulsed the first attack. When the second attack began, Ashby's horse was killed. Rising from the ground, Ashby charged the enemy force, yelling, "Forward, my brave men!"

Monument marking the place where Ashby was killed

       Those were his last words. A bullet had hit him in the heart. He was killed instantly. It has been suggested that he could have been hit by friendly fire leading his men forward, but this seems highly unlikely. Turner Ashby's body was carried to the Kemper Home in Port Republic, photographed and then laid out in one of the rooms. Jackson soon arrived to view his remains.

Frank Kemper Home

       Despite the differences between Jackson and his cavalryman, the Confederate commander retired to his tent when he learned of his Ashby’s death. He later wrote, “As a partisan officer I never knew his superior; his daring was proverbial; his powers of endurance almost incredible; his tone of character heroic, and his sagacity almost intuitive in divining the purposes and movements of the enemy.”

Room where Jackson viewed Ashby's body

       Ashby rests today in the Stonewall Cemetery, Winchester, Virginia next to the body of his brother Richard. Turner Ashby was thirty-three years old. 

Ashby photographed in death

Grave of both Turner and Richard Ashby