I’ve read it countless times in soldier’s letters, “I saw the glistening bayonets of heavy masses of infantry…” or something to that effect. The impact of seeing a brigade (or larger) of the enemy in their front with bayonets fixed cannot be overstated. However, there is some debate as to the use and effectiveness bayonets had on combat during the American Civil War. For example, The 1870 Surgeon General’s Medical…

Colonel William H. Kinsman of the 23rd Iowa Infantry was a hero on May 17, 1863. After his smashing defeat at Champion’s Hill, Confederate Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton decided one last time to stop or at least slow Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s advance on Vicksburg at Big Black River and an important bridge that resided there. Brigadier General Michael K. Lawler’s Second Brigade (21, 22, 23 Iowa, 11…

Major General Joseph Hooker actually had a pretty good strategic plan in place before the Battle of Chancellorsville. He intended to secretly march part of his army northwest, cross the Rappahannock and attack Lee’s rear. Meanwhile, with Major General John Sedgwick and his 30,000 men at Fredericksburg, Hooker intended to hit the Rebels with a large double envelopment. He also initiated a cavalry raid (Major General George Stoneman) to Lee’s…

During the American Civil War about three quarters of all operations performed (about 60,000) were amputations. “The amputation and surgical set consists of a rectangular, wood case with hinged lid and fourteen instruments. Both the lid and the bottom of the case are lined with faded, red velvet with compartments fitted to the instruments. The instruments are a capital saw, a rongeur, a tourniquet, two trephines (one with a brass…

The 2d Wisconsin Infantry was primarily raised in Madison, Racine, Milwaukee, Oshkosh, and La Crosse and entered into Federal service on June 11, 1861. The regiment would have 1203 soldiers enroll into its ranks throughout its service with 238 killed or wounded in battle for a 19.7% rate.(1) Therefore, according to William F. Fox’s study, the 2nd Wisconsin suffered the highest rate of losses in battle. However, the figures of…

The battle took place in and around the town of Fredericksburg from December 11-15, 1862. Union Major General Ambrose E. Burnside maneuvered his army near the town and awaited the arrival of pontoon boats to cross the river. During this critical delay, Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia dug in on the high ground outside of town and awaited for a battle that Burnside would surely be…

[Originally Posted on November 16, 2008 at my old site blog4history.com which I sold a couple years ago! I am preparing some research on the Topic “Urban Combat in the Civil War,” maybe find enough for a nice length feature article or who knows, maybe more! I do know that there has been an article published, “The United States Army and Urban Combat in the Nineteenth Century,” War in History,…