Another Walk in the Park: The Most Glorious Fourth

In July, 1863 Union armies almost simultaneously concluded the most significant battles of the Civil War at Gettysburg, PA and Vicksburg, MS. At Gettysburg, Lee's Army of Northern Virginia was repulsed when Gen. George Pickett failed to take Cemetery Ridge. On July 4, Lee retreated back across the Potomac. Gettysburg is often called the high water mark of the Confederacy and Lee was never again able to mount an offensive campaign. Union commander George Meade had only been in charge for a few days and the decisive battle did not unfold at all the way he had planned it--or even where he had planned it.
Lincoln had declared that Vicksburg was the key to breaking the Confederacy in two and closing out the war, After many futile attempts, Gen. Grant's Army, in conjunction with navy gunboats under the command of Capt. David Porter, concluded a 47-day siege when Confederate Lt. Gen. John Pembroke surrendered on July 4. Pembroke was a Northerner by birth so the surrender opened him to charges of treachery from the South. (It is a curiosity of history that a significant number of leaders on both sides were natives of the other side.) The twin victories, after so many military debacles, were celebrated in the Union as The Most Glorious Fourth.
Today there are military parks and cemeteries at both locations that feature impressive monuments, most of which were erected through the subscription of veterans on both sides who were proud of the valor with which they had fought there. In addition, there are monuments sponsored by the states from which the the various regiments were drawn.
And that's a key point from my perspective. Do a web search for photos of the huge gathering of Union and Confederate veterans 50 years later. Men who willing to kill each other are shown shaking hands and expressing their mutual admiration. They endured, after all, horrendous hardships in the causes they defended and each side earned the respect of the other. One hundred fifty years after those battles such an amicable reunion is difficult to imagine. Political Correctness has declared one side totally irredeemable and monuments to that side unacceptable. A plethora of complicated political, moral and emotional factors have been reduced to a single issue.

One of the benefits of studying Civil War history is the recognition that most Union soldiers thought they were fighting to preserve the Union, not to free the slaves. And most Confederate soldiers thought they were defending their homeland from an invading army rather than to preserve slavery. Only a very tiny percentage, after all, were slave owners. On a personal level, motivations varied widely on both side, of course. It seems to me that too many young people have either little knowledge at all or a profoundly superficial understanding of our heritage and the sacrifices required to create and preserve the nation we have become.

The magnitude of the struggles at Gettysburg and Vicksburg are reflected in the efforts to immortalize what was done there through numerous, grand monuments. Just for perspective, consider that there are 1,320 monuments at Gettysburg. Ohio alone has 18: 12 for infantry, 4 for artillery, and 2 for cavalry. Though Ohio sent 309,000 to fight in the war, most were engaged in the West; that is, west of the Appalachians but east of the Mississippi--not what we think of today as the West. At Gettysburg, there were only 4,400 Ohioans. The total number of monuments at Vicksburg is about the same as Gettysburg. There are 37 there that honor the presence of Ohio units. The sheer number of monuments for both sides and for both battles makes it impossible to record them here--yet another reason you should go see for yourself.

Gettysburg

One of the greatest speeches ever given was only 272 words long. The complete text is inscribed on bronze tablets to either side of the man who wrote it and delivered it at the dedication of the cemetery.

The full text is repeated on the monument erected by the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

The Soldiers' National Monument is topped by a statue of Liberty. Around the base are allegorical representations of a Soldier telling the story of the battle to History, recording it on a tablet, an American mechanic representing the blessings of Peace, and a female symbolizing Plenty, holding wheat and the fruits of the earth.

The Gettysburg Address makes an appearance yet again on the base--but only the last four lines.

The New York State Memorial is a 94 ft. granite column surmounted by a 16 ft. statue of New York extending a wreath over the graves. There were 6,700 NY casualties at Gettysburg.

Gen. Winfield Scott Hancock became known as Hancock the Superb during the Peninsula Campaign, led a charge of Marye's Heights at Fredricksburg, and was wounded rallying his troops during the heavy artillery barrage that preceded Pickett's Charge.

Gen. Oliver Otis Howard quarreled with Hancock over precedence, claiming to be the ranking officer on the field. But Hancock bore written orders from Meade placing himself in charge. If you look closely, you can see Howard's right sleeve pinned up--he had lost his arm a year earlier at the Battle of Seven Pines.

Gen. John Reynolds died on the first day, July 1, while deploying his Union forces against two approaching Confederate brigades. He is credited with holding off the Confederates until the rest of the Union forces could arrive at favorable ground overlooking Gettysburg. Reynolds has two other monuments: an equestrian statue and a marker where he was killed.

Reynolds mounted.

This is why Lincoln came to deliver this address.

Gen. George Meade, commander of Union forces, was appointed by Lincoln on June 28. When the battle began on July 1, Meade was not even there yet. He had chosen Pipe Creek as the more defensible position from which to confront Lee.

Michigan's 24th Regiment

The North Carolina Memorial was sculpted by Guzlon Borglum, better known for Mt. Rushmore.

Union artillery in the Copse of Trees helped repulse Confederate advances.

Robert E. Lee was Lincoln's first choice to lead the Union Army but Lee chose to fight for his own "country." After the war, the United States became a grammatical singular: the US is... Before the war, the US had been a grammatical plural: as in, the United States are... The grounds of Lee's family home, Arlington House, became the site of Arlington National Cemetery.

Technically, this is not a Lee monument but the Virginia State Monument.

Gen. James Longstreet was Lee's "Old War Horse" but also a great friend of U.S. Grant. Many West Point classmates and close friends found themselves on opposite sides in the Civil War.

The Mississippi State Memorial stands where the Mississippi Brigade began its attack on the part of the battlefield known as the Peach Orchard.

The Louisiana Memorial, called Spirit Triumphant, could be interpreted as the fallen taken Home by the Angel of Death with a trumpet's mighty blast.

Gen. Gouverneur Warren reinforced a weakness at Little Round Top just minutes before the Confederate attack. Sometimes saving Little Round Top is credited with saving Gettysburg and, therefore, with saving the Union.

The Pennsylvania State Monument is an impressive rotunda.

The Copse of Trees on Cemetery Ridge was the focal point for Pickett's Charge because it was a clearly identifiable landmark on the skyline.

Vicksburg

Entrance to Vicksburg National Military Park

At the base of the 90 ft. Minnesota Monument is a statue of Peace with the sword and shield of both Union and Confederacy symbolically placed in her keeping.

The Louisiana Memorial is a Doric column holding a marble impression of an eternal flame.

Michigan is represented by a 37 ft. obelisk honoring seven regiments and two artillery batteries.

The Illinois Memorial is a rotunda similar to the one for New York at Gettysburg. It was designed by W. L. B. Jenney who had served as a major at Vicksburg.

Andrew Hickenlooper, Chief Engineer 17th Army Corps, designed the trench approach and mines that helped tighten the noose around Vicksburg.

The Wisconsin Memorial features a sculpture of their mascot Old Abe, the war eagle. overlooking the battlefield.

On the left side is a bronze sculpture that could easily stand on its own.

And on the right is...

The Ohio-Vicksburg Battlefield Commission chose to erect 37 separate monuments--one for each of the Ohio units--rather than a single huge monument. The Commissioners, veterans of Vicksburg chosen by the governor and legislature, contracted with the Hughes Granite and Marble Co. of Clyde, OH.

You might think the memorial for the 1st and 3rd Mississippi Infantry Regiments is for Confederate soldiers. Actually, it recognizes African-Americans in the Union Army who enlisted after the Emancipation Proclamation.

The 7th Rhode Island Infantry, the only regiment from their state, is honored by an impressive statue of a color bearer with a battle-tattered flag.

"Here brothers fought for their principles. Here heroes died for their country and a united people will forever cherish the precious legacy of their noble manhood." The five bronze plaques represent Pennsylvania unit commanders at Vicksburg.

Thomas Welch rose from enlisted man in 1846 to Brigadier General at Vicksburg. He was responsible for protecting the rear of Grant's army from the anticipated attack by Confederate Gen. Joseph E. Johnston.

Navy Capt. David Porter's gunboats were instrumental in the success of the siege at Vicksburg not only as floating artillery but as troop transports that helped Grant get around to the back side of the Fortress City. The Cairo (pronounced Kay-row) was a shallow-draft ironclad gunboat sunk while clearing mines from the Yazoo River about 7 miles from Vicksburg. It lay encased in river mud and silt until about 1960 when salvage operations began. The Cairo was one of the City Class boats named for cities along the upper Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. The resurrected boat is a historic time capsule with thousands of artifacts housed in the museum.

Lt. Commander Thomas Selfridge, US Navy, commanded the Cairo and later Battery Selfridge. Navy guns were loaned to the army at Vicksburg but Battery Selfridge was the only place where they were manned exclusively by sailors.

At Cedar Grove, a shot from a gunboat burst through the front door and lodged in the parlor wall. It has been preserved since 1863 as another form of monument to the struggle at Vicksburg.

There are 18,244 interred at Vicksburg--simply horrendous by our standards. Equally devastating is the knowledge that 12,954 of them are unidentified.

The Massachusetts Memorial was the first erected at Vicksburg. This soldier represents the three regiments from the state.

Gen. U. S. Grant

The Missouri Monument honors the 42 regiments that served at Vicksburg--25 Union, 15 Confederate. The monument stands where two Missouri regiments clashed. Brother against brother was sometimes quite literal.

Confederate Gen. Llloyd Tilghman just had no luck. Graduated from West Point near bottom of his class, was a railroad construction engineer before the war and, because of engineering background, was ordered to build Forts Henry and Donelson where he was forced to surrender to Grant. As a prisoner, he was exchanged for John Reynolds, who died a hero at Gettysburg. Tilghman was sent to Vicksburg, where he confronted Grant yet again, and was killed at the Battle of Champion Hill.