remain in position until reinforced. As he waited, the Union feint was activated; when Capt. William Duff’s 18th Miss. company skirmished with the 15th Mass., both sides were alerted to the other’s presence. Baker went to see Stone, who briefed him on the situation and the availability of boats. He was not to advance unless the enemy’s force was inferior to his own. In writing, Stone put him in overall command of what he thought was a reconnaissance mission and gave Baker the discretion to cross more troops or to withdraw those already there.
By the time Baker arrived at Harrison Island, the 20th Mass. with their howitzers were on the bluff. Instead of going into the field to evaluate the situation, Baker spent the next three or four hours expediting the men crossing the river with the few boats. He didn’t reach the skirmishing until after 2 p.m.
West Pointer Col. Milton Cogswell, 42nd NY, was appalled by the chaos that greeted him when he reached the Potomac. Worse, the Federals were positioned in an open field with heavy woods on both sides, facing hills with their backs to a steep bluff above a bottlenecked river crossing. Cogswell informed Baker that his line was defective and could easily be overrun by the enemy. Baker ignored Cogswell’s suggestions and ordered him to “take charge of the artillery,” squandering the opportunity to drive forward.
During the argument, C.S. Col.
“The best little book on Barnard”
Eppa Hunton, 8th Va., repositioned his line. In the process, one quarter of the 8th Virginia under Lt. Col. Tebbs’s fell all the back way to Leesburg. Evans previously told a messenger, “Tell Hunton to hold his ground till every d___ man falls.” Now Evans sent in the 18th and 17th Miss.
“… The bullets flew about very thick, and I saw many of my men fall all about me... Col. Baker came down near me and cheered on the men ... he was shot. He got up again and then fell, struck by eight balls,” recounted Capt. Caspar Mass.
Without a designated a replacement, the Federal force fell in disarray. Under fire, Capt. William F. Bartlett, 20th Mass. led his men down the bluff. “The water was full of human beings, struggling with each other and the water, the surface of which looked like a pond when it rains, from the withering volleys that the enemy were pouring down from the top of the bank.”
Bartlett encouraged those who could swim to do so. The others he led upriver where they found a skiff that could hold five men. Using a rotation system, he was able to save eighty men and three officers from being taken prisoners.
The battle cost the Federals 223 soldiers’ lives, 226 wounded, and another 553 taken prisoner. The northern public’s outcry resulted in a Congressional Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War that would cause
The American Civil War was the first war in which both sides widely used entrenchments, repeating rifles, ironclad warships, and telegraphed communications. It was also the first American War to be extensively photographed. Mathew Brady, Alexander Gardner and Timothy O’Sullivan are famous for having made iconic photographs in the Civil War’s eastern theater. George N. Barnard deserves to be ranked in this top tier for his photographic work in the war’s western theater. A civilian photographer hired by Gen. William T. Sherman’s chief engineer to take pictures of fortifications around Atlanta, Barnard took several hundred of them in and around the city in the fall of 1864. His most famous is the site of Union Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson’s death in the battle of Atlanta, July 22, 1864. Thus far, no comprehensive, definitive listing has been made of the photographer’s work. For this book we have chosen a hundred images we deem “significant.”
conflict between the politicians and generals.
After a good night’s sleep, Bartlett woke to discover he was the highest-ranking officer in camp. Taking a page from McClellan’s playbook, the future general “… thought it best to have a dress parade as usual, both to let the men see that everything was not broken up, and to cheer them with the music. It had a very good effect.”
✤ Morgan III, James A. A Little Short of Boats: The Battles of Ball’s Bluff & Edwards Ferry, October 21–22, 1861: Savas Beatie, 2011 Gottfried, Bradley M. Maps of First Bull Run: An Atlas of the First Bull Run (Manassas) Campaign, including the Battle of Ball’s Bluff, June – October 1861: Savas Beatie, 2009 Francis William Palfrey. Memoir of William Francis Bartlett: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1878 Bruce, George Anson. The twentieth regiment of Massachusetts volunteer infantry, 1861–1865: Houghton, Mifflin and company, 1906