Archive Record
Metadata
Accession number |
2002.310 |
Catalog Number |
2002.310 |
Collection |
Pearce Civil War Collection |
Object Name |
Letter |
Title |
Edwards (Clark S.) Papers, 1861-1899 |
Creator |
Edwards (Clark Swett) |
Date |
1861-1899; bulk 1861-1864 |
Dates of Creation |
1861-1899; bulk 1861-1864 |
Scope & Content |
Correspondence, printed material, financial documentation, and creative works document the military career and civilian life of Clark Swett Edwards of Bethel, Maine. The letters cover a variety of topics within the scope of the life of a soldier in the 5th Maine Infantry: battles, politics, and camp life. BATTLES Edwards's regiment was an active member of the Army of the Potomac. Its service started in 1861, and first engagement was First Bull Run (Manassas); its service ended after Grant's Overland Campaign stalled outside of Petersburg. Although all the battles the 5th Maine participated in are significant to the Civil War, there are a select few that stand out in Edwards's letters: Eltham's Landing (part of the siege of Yorktown), Crampton's Gap (Maryland Campaign), Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness and Spotsylvania. At Eltham's Landing, the 5th Maine was under Brigadier General William Buel Franklin's 1st Division in the Department of the Rappahannock. The regiment was part of an amphibious landing at the mouth of the York River on May 7, 1862. General McClellan deployed Franklin's men on May 6 when the Confederates evacuated Yorktown. Franklin's men were to land at Eltham's Plantation and cut the Confederates line of communication. Upon landing, the Union engaged two brigades of Confederates under the command of Major General Gustavis W. Smith. The Confederates were protecting the railroad and the Barhamsville Road on which Johnston's army was retreating. Franklin's men disembarked during the night of May 6 by torchlight and engaged the enemy early the next morning. After Johnston's army passed the landing, the Confederates fell back from the field, their mission accomplished (letters: 1862, 05/01-05; Fragment 1). The 5th Maine participated in the Maryland Campaign in September of 1862, although their activity at Antietam was limited. The most remarkable battle of the campaign for the 5th Maine was Crampton's Gap. In September, the 5th Maine was in the Left Wing of the Army of the Potomac under Franklin (VI Corps), 1st Division (Major General Henry Warner Slocum), 2nd Brigade (Colonel Joseph Jackson Bartlett). On September 14 Franklin's wing was ordered to take Crampton's Gap on South Mountain and then continue on to Harper's Ferry to engage Stonewall Jackson. The Union faced about one thousand Confederates while their own force numbered near thirteen thousand. In order to take Crampton's Gap the Union had to pass through the town of Burkittsville and force their way up South Mountain. The Confederates used man-made obstacles (stone walls and roads) and natural defenses to defend the Pass. The Union attacked in mid afternoon and pushed up the mountain with Bartlett's brigade leading the force into the town. At one point the Union were stalled when a brigade of thirteen hundred Confederates joined the fight but by evening the pass was secured (letter: 1862, 09/15). In December of 1862, the 5th Maine was camped along the Rappahannock outside of Fredericksburg, Virginia. Again the regiment was under Franklin's Left Grand Division, the VI Corps under Major General William Farrar Smith, 1st Division commanded by Brigadier General William Thomas Harbaugh Brooks, and the 2nd Brigade under Colonel Henry L. Cake. On December 11, three pontoon bridges below Fredericksburg were put into place and the men in the Left Grand Division started to cross the Rappahannock. However, the three bridges in Fredericksburg were still under construction so Franklin's men were ordered back across until the whole army was able to attack. On December 12, the Army of the Potomac crossed the river and while the men in Fredericksburg attacked Marye's Heights, the soldiers below the city attacked Jackson's men. On December 13, Edwards wrote his position was three-fourths of a mile from the river and a few rods (a rod is 16 feet) from the enemy. Edwards and his regiment were entrenched along the Richmond road, part of Smith's VI Corps they were held in reserve for most of the day and experienced artillery attacks and counterattacks. Brooks's command was on the far left of the Union flank, closest to Fredericksburg and after the Union was pushed back to their original line, the division was engaged (letters: 1862, 12/15; 1862, 12/26; received 1893, 04/02). In the battle of Chancellorsville, the 5th Maine was in the VI Corps under Major General John F. Sedgwick, the 1st Division under Brooks and the 2nd Brigade under Bartlett. On May 3, 1863, the Division under Newton attacked Lee's men on Marye's Heights in a successful frontal assault. Driving the Confederates in front of them Franklin, with Brooks division, headed to Chancellorsville along the Plank Road, leaving two divisions to follow. Franklin believed the Confederate forces in front of him were inferior but in reality he faced one brigade and two divisions. At Salem Church a few miles from Chancellorsville, the Confederates made a stand and fierce fighting ensued. The Union was pushed back but soon reinforced by Newton and Howe's divisions and formed a horseshoe shaped line near Salem Church. On May 5, Franklin and his men retreated safely across Banks' Ford (letters: 1863, 05/05; 1863, 05/10). In May of 1864 Sedgwick's VI Corps crossed Germanna Ford on the Rappahannock River in what would be known as the opening movements of the Wilderness. The 5th Maine (VI Corps, 1st Division under Major General Horatio Gouverneur Wright, 2nd Brigade under Colonel Emory Upton) proceeded down Germanna Plank Road to Wilderness Tavern on the Orange-Fredericksburg Turnpike as Sedgwick's Corps was sent to cover the Right flank. There the corps camped for the night, unknowingly within five miles of the Confederates under Ewell. On May 5, the Confederates and Union surprised each other on the Turnpike and began an engagement. Two divisions were sent along the turnpike to test the strength of the Confederates. Brigadier General Charles Griffin passed straight down the road and Wright's command entered the woods from Spottswood on Griffin's right. The route of Wright's men was almost impassable and they did not link with Griffin until later in the day. On May 6, Sedgwick and Warren (V Corps) attacked the Confederates but were repulsed and entrenched. Fighting continued all day and was sporadic, fierce and confusing. At 5:30 PM Sedgwick again attacked and was once again repulsed, in part because of the coming night. On May 7, at 8:30 PM the Union pulled out of their defenses and moved towards Spotsylvania (letter: 1864, 05/13). On May 8, the Union reached Spotsylvania behind the Confederates. On May 9, the VI Corps commander, Sedgwick was killed by a sharpshooter and replaced with Horatio Wright. The 5th Maine was involved in the most famous events at Spotsylvania. On May 10, they participated in a charge designed and executed by Colonel Emory Upton. Under Upton twelve regiments came within 600 yards of the western part of the Mule Shoe Salient and then charged in columns. The frontal assault was successful in breaking the Confederate line, however, there were no reinforcements to fill the breach and the Union retreated in confusion. On May 12, Hancock's II Corps again attacked the Mule Shoe in the same fashion as Upton's earlier charge. Hancock was at first successful as Lee had removed men and artillery from the salient in anticipation of an attack on another line, however he responded quickly with reinforcements. When it became apparent the Confederate line would not break, Grant sent in elements of Wright's Corps, the 5th Maine included. Meanwhile, Lee set men to work forming a second line behind the salient so when complete the Confederates could fall back. This particular engagement is now referred to as the Bloody Angle. Fighting continued on the salient until the second line was complete at 3 AM on the morning of May 13 (letter: 1864, 05/13). POLITICS Edwards's letters document his strong dislike for the removal of McClellan as commander of the Army of the Potomac. He wrote about the foolishness of Lincoln in removing such a fine man from command and foretold doom to McClellan's successor. McClellan was relieved of his command on November 5, 1862 after his failure to launch a campaign against Lee following the Maryland Campaign. Lincoln instead turned his favor to General Ambrose Burnside, a man well liked by the Radical Republicans. The Radicals did not like McClellan because of his views of slavery. McClellan believed that the war should not be one to end slavery but to bring the South back into the Union. Lincoln needed a general that was well liked and shared the same views of his government in order to have continued support for the war. Edwards raged that Lincoln's concern should not be the opinion of the Senate but who is best able to lead the army. Edwards, like a majority of the Army of the Potomac, was a true admirer of McClellan; he even named his horse Mac (letters: 1862, 11/10; 1862, 11/29-12/3). Edwards's thoughts on Burnside were much of the same mind as the general himself. Edwards referred to Burnside as incompetent and unable to direct a large army (letter: 1862, 12/26, 1863, 01/25). The Mud March in January of 1863 was a source of scorn by Edwards regarding Burnside. Whereas, the battle of Fredericksburg excited pity for Burnside, the Mud March sealed Edwards's dislike and disgust for the general (1863, 01/05; 1863, 02/07). When Hooker took command of the army, Edwards's political opinions about the men in Washington came to surface in one sentence: "I think Hooker will do well if they will let him do his own planning, but if the thing is to be run by the powers at W why the results will be the same as it has been of late." (Letter: 1863, 02/07) Edwards was perhaps referring to the problems Burnside faced during the Fredericksburg Campaign and Henry Halleck; however, Edwards's opinion of Hooker changed drastically after Chancellorsville. Hooker was allegedly intoxicated during the battle, a sin that Edwards could not forgive (letter: 1863. 05/18; 1864, 04/09). Finally, when Grant was appointed commander of the Army of the Potomac, Edwards repeats the same sentiment concerning the leaders in Washington. He believed Lincoln, Halleck and Stanton would have to give Grant more control if he was to achieve any success with the army. Edwards penned approval of Meade and believed too much was expected of Grant (letter: 1864, 03/20). Slavery and abolition was a subject little approached by Edwards but when he did write on the subject, Edwards was, like in so many other things, very confident and adamant about his opinions. Edwards was not an abolitionist, rather he believed that slavery should be kept out of the territories. Edwards was of the same opinion as McClellan, that the war should not be fought to end slavery, but to preserve the Union (letter: 1861, 08/27-28; 1863, 02/08; 1863, 05/28). Edwards referred many times in his letters to a group of people in Bethel as Copperheads. Copperheads were a faction of the Democratic Party that protested the war and advocated immediate reconciliation with the South. The faction enjoyed most of its support from German and Irish Catholics and Butternuts. Butternut was a term used to define a cultural class in the southern Midwest. These people were farmers by trade and largely produced corn, whiskey and hogs. They traded their goods exclusively on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and worn homemade clothes dyed with butternut oil. The majority of Butternuts were southern Baptist, illiterate, with an intense dislike of banks and blacks. In one particular letter, Edwards expounded on the New York Draft Riots. On July 11, 1863, draft officers started to pull names for conscription in New York City. The first day the proceedings were calm and quiet; however, on July 12 the people rioted, protesting the actions. When the city was finally subdued on July 17, one hundred and five people were dead. The rioters targeted government officials, buildings, blacks, and newspapers. During this time the soldiers that were normally stationed in New York were with Meade pursuing Lee through Pennsylvania and Maryland (1863, 08/14). Edwards expressed a deep disgust for the rioters and in an earlier letter, those men in Maine who cross the border into Canada to escape the draft (letter: 1862, 07/17). CAMP LIFE Edwards started his career in the 5th Maine as a captain; eventually he moved out of Company I to the Field and Staff Headquarters. Edwards was a very observant man and in a position to witness events sometimes unknown to the common soldier. In 1861, while camped in Alexandria on the Potomac River, Edwards recorded seeing a hot air balloon over the camp. He referred to the balloon as Professor Lowe's: "I just say Prof Lowe balloon over Arlington Heights. I can see his Balloon allmost every afternoon hovering observing the camp." (Letter: 1861, 09/13) The balloon was the creation of Professor Thaddeus S.C. Lowe, who organized an army Balloon Corps. The balloons were used mostly during the Peninsula Campaign to gain knowledge about enemy troop movements and battlefield terrain. A balloon was used once during battle, covering artillery fire. As a field and staff officer, Edwards was often called to Court Martial duty. At one time he was even the president of the council. Edwards and a panel of jurors tried many cases, most often those of intoxication and desertion. In a series of letters Edwards recorded the trial of a man (Thomas Jewell, 5th Maine Infantry, Company D), who was found guilty of desertion and sentenced to execution. The last letter mentioning Jewell details the soldier's public execution (letters: 1863, 08/02; 1863, 08/10; 1863, 08/14). Another man, also guilty of desertion was convicted and sentenced to two years of hard labor, a twenty pound ball chained to his leg, and a D branded on the back of his right hand (letter: 1863, 07/28). In another instance, the regiment Adjunct resigned to avoid court martial for "saucing" the lieutenant colonel (letter: 1862, 10/12). Sutler is defined as a follower of an army camp who peddled provisions to the soldiers. Edwards came into contact with the Sutlers on many different occasions, two came from Bethel. Edwards makes many different references to sutlers but three letters stand out as the most descriptive of sutler life. The first letter, written August 2, 1863, records an instance in which twenty-five sutlers were captured by the Confederate Cavalry under Colonel John Singleton Mosby and then recaptured by the Union cavalry. The second letter, undated (Fragment 5), accounts the sale of $1400 of provisions in one night; the sutler even sold the shirt off his back. Finally, Edwards notes on April 9, 1864, all sutlers were ordered to be out of the camps the following week. |
Finding Aids |
Available in the archives or online at www.pearcecollections.us |
People |
McClellan, George Brinton Lincoln, Abraham Seward, William Henry Scott, Winfield Wormell, Cyrus Monroe Mosby, John S. Lee, Robert E. Johnston, Joseph E. Burnside, Ambrose Everett Bragg, Braxton Hooker, Joseph Slocum, Henry Warner Edwards, Clark S. |
Search Terms |
Battle of Antietam Battle of Rappahanock Station Battle of Cold Harbor Battle of Chancellorsville Battle of Fredericksburg Mud March 5th Maine Volunteer Infantry Casualties Effects of war Medicine/Surgery Battle of Gettysburg Black Regiments 16th New York Volunteer Infantry Battle of First Bull Run / First Manassas Vicksburg Campaign Battle of Crampton's Gap Politics |
Credit line |
Pearce Civil War Collection |
Copyrights |
The copyright of these materials is managed by the Navarro College Archives on behalf of the Navarro College Foundation, 3100 W. Collin St., Corsicana, Texas 75110 Phone: 903-875-7438. Internet: archives@navarrocollege.edu. Reproductions of original materials and transcriptions may be available. Please contact the archivist for further information. |