times during the day must have annoyed Morris and his men.
On May 9, following orders to realign a couple of his regiments and while riding along his line, Morris “was wounded by a rifleball and rendered unfit for service in the field.” The shot apparently struck him near the right knee. Morris was still at the divisional field hospital the following morning, May 10, where he wrote his brigade’s official report
The repeating rifle that William Morris and Charles L. Brown developed before the Civil War never went into production. Charles L. Brown became major of the 34th New York Infantry and was killed at Malvern Hill on July 1, 1862. (Public domain)
that covered the Battle of the Wilderness to his wounding at Spotsylvania.
A Confederate sharpshooter, or sharpshooters, made life along the VI Corps line particularly miserable on May 9. The marksman, or marksmen, made it dangerous for Battery H, 1st New York Artillery to operate their guns. A soldier in the 15th New Jersey noted that, “a rebel rifleman was posted on our right, in a tree. He seemed to kill at almost every shot and was said to have taken twenty lives.” One of the victims was the color sergeant for the 15th New Jersey, Samuel Rubadeau, who was shot through the chest. The same bullet also wounded Sgt. Israel Lum in the thigh.
Was the harassing Confederate marksman who shot Brig. Gen. Morris the same one who shot these men and soon after killed Sedgwick? It is difficult to know definitively, however, Sgt. Berry Benson, a sharpshooter in the 1st South Carolina Infantry, hinted in his memoirs of who he thought it was. Benson explained that a soldier named Ben Powell (officially a member of the 12th South Carolina), who was also in Gen. Samuel McGowan’s brigade but operated independently as what we would today call a sniper, came in from his day’s work on May 9 and said that “he had killed (or wounded) a Yankee officer.”
Powell utilized a long-distance shooting Whitworth rifle with a telescopic sight for his work. Benson noted that “[Powell] had fired at long range at a group of horsemen he recognized as officers. At his shot, one fell from his horse, and the others dismounted and bore him away.” Benson speculated that Powell’s officer victim was Sedgwick and left it at that. However, several pieces of evidence indicate that Sedgwick was standing, not mounted, when killed; but Morris was riding, and his staff probably helped carry him to get medical attention. McGowan’s brigade was not in the area on May 9, but if Powell operated independently, as Benson explained, Powell might have wounded Morris.
Morris spent several months recuperating from his painful wound. Although not requiring an amputation, he did not return to the field, serving instead on court martials in Washington D.C. until he formally left the service in August 1864. A doctor’s report on January 1, 1865, noted that Morris’ wound still “has not healed, and the limb remains swollen and painful.”
After leaving the army, Morris stayed busy writing. He published Infantry Field Tactics in 1864 and Infantry Tactics (two volumes) in 1865. He also served in the New York Constitutional Convention in 1866. Morris received a brevet major general of volunteers rank from Congress in 1867. In addition, Morris continued editing the New York Home Journal. In 1879, Morris published another tactics book for troops using breechloading and repeating weapons. Dying at age 73 in 1900, Morris rests in Mountain Avenue Cemetery in Cold Spring, N.Y.
CVBT has helped save over 150 acres of Spotsylvania battlefield land. The mission of CVBT is to preserve land associated with the four major campaigns of Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Mine Run, and the Overland Campaign, including the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House. To learn more about this grassroots preservation non-profit, which has saved over 1,700 acres of hallowed ground, please visit: www.cvbt.org.
General Sedgwick A Short Note
On May 9, 1864, during the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House in Virginia, General Sedgwick met his untimely end. He was standing with his staff and troops when Confederate sharpshooters began firing at them from a distance of about 1,000 yards. As the soldiers sought cover, Sedgwick reportedly showed characteristic bravery and dismissed the danger, declaring, “They couldn’t hit an elephant at this distance.” Tragically, those were his last words, as moments later, a bullet struck him just below the left eye, killing him instantly.
The news of Sedgwick’s death spread rapidly, sending shockwaves throughout the Union ranks and eliciting profound grief from soldiers and civilians alike. He had been a highly respected and effective leader, known for his calm demeanor, strategic acumen, and genuine concern for his men’s welfare.
September 2023
Abraham C Myers was the first quartermaster general of the Confederate States Army. He is not as well-known as Lee nor as illustrious as Stuart, but for the first three years of the War, no one had a more critical job, acquiring supplies necessary for the army and conveying them to the front. As the Quartermaster General, Myers was responsible for managing and supplying the Confederate Army with provisions, food, clothing, and equipment.
Background
Myers was born in Georgetown, South Carolina on May 14, 1811. He was the son of Abraham Myers, a Charleston attorney who had fought in the South Carolina Militia during the Revolutionary War.1 Myers was accepted to the United States Military Academy and entered in 1828; after repeating his freshman year, he graduated in the 1833 class.2 During the Second Seminole War (1841–1842) he served as an assistant quartermaster in the United States Army, and was promoted to captain in 1839. He then was in service at Fort Moultrie. During the Mexican
Figure 1. The Acts of the Confederate Congress Establishing Myers as Chief, CSA Quartermaster Department.
War he was brevetted to lieutenant colonel for “gallant conduct,” which is highly remarkable for someone in the quartermaster service. General Taylor was so impressed that Myers rose to command all quartermaster operations in his army.3 From 1848 to 1861, he served in the Quartermaster Department under Quartermaster General Joseph E. Johnston. He held numerous important administrative posts in several forts throughout the Southern United States.4 Myers was the quartermaster for the Army’s Department of Florida5 in 1850; Fort Myers, Fla., was named after Abraham Myers.
The Onset of the Civil War
In January 1861, Myers was stationed in New Orleans as chief quartermaster of the Southern Department.5,6 When Louisiana passed the Ordinance of Secession, several Federal officers immediately resigned. Maurice Grivot, Adjutant General of Louisiana, carrying out orders issued by Governor Moore, moved to sequester the remaining Federal property in the state.7 Myers, a secessionist and man of Southern heritage, promptly resigned his commission from the United States Army and personally turned the supplies over to Confederate authorities. He was immediately named Quartermaster General of Louisiana.8
The Confederate Quartermaster
Myers actively sought the position of Quartermaster General of the Confederate Army. After the Confederate Congress created the position of Quartermaster General, Myers made his official nomination February 15, 1862. It was passed February 17 (see figure 1).9 Myers served as the first Quartermaster General for the Confederate States of America.
When the Confederate capital moved from Montgomery to Richmond, Myers’ bureau grew into an extensive administrative arrangement. The Quartermaster Bureau had its offices on the second floor at the southwest corner of 9th and Main Streets. The staff would eventually become the largest in the Confederacy’s supply administration, including 88 members.
The role of the Quartermaster General was crucial in maintaining the logistics and efficiency of the Confederate military operations. Abraham Myers played a significant part in ensuring Confederate forces were adequately equipped and provisioned throughout the war. The CSA faced numerous challenges due to limited resources; blockades imposed by the Union impacted their ability to sustain their war effort. The Confederate government lacked nearly all manufactured production and had little capacity to generate them. Most industry and transportation facilities in the United States were in the North. Along with its lack of manufacturing, the South had to contend with a formidable blockade of its ports, which severely hampered the Southern economy. Myers, who like most Southerners thought the war would be a short one and that the South would prevail, did not initially believe these were insurmountable problems.
His experience prewar southern postings and his prewar contacts were especially valuable. Myers sent agents into the domestic market, contracting with local manufacturers, and paying competitive rates. The department bought cotton, woolen cloth, and leather goods. He also established shops for making clothing, shoes, tents, wagons, and other equipment, and purchased livestock at market prices for as long as possible. During the first few months the South had sufficient supplies to cobble together a supply chain.10
A quartermaster department is responsible for creating a supply network for the army; in particular, the procurement, maintenance, and transportation of military materiel, facilities, and personnel. It is the functional bridge between economics and tactical operations. To operate optimally, the logistical network must connect the combat forces with the strength and capabilities of the society it defends. It is not merely an administrative task; it is an enterprise in itself that requires using technological and economic resources to overcome an enemy and sustains military forces by supporting its warfighting readiness.11
The South lacked the infrastructure required to produce and manufacture the required huge quantities of food, shoes, and clothing, and it further was incapable of transporting them long distances in a timely manner. The Confederacy also lacked the machinery and personnel to maintain its existing railroad network, or build new locomotives and railroad cars to replace equipment that wore out.
Settling in for what would be a long war they had not planned for, the supply deficits developed into a crisis as the financial weakness of the country led to runaway inflation. Perhaps even more problematic than limited resources was the “pervasive ineffectiveness that characterized every aspect of Confederate administrative life, especially its logistical and supply arrangements.”12 Creating a new country with a new financial system, revamping its rail system, and developing an industrial capacity posed inconceivable and perhaps impossible problems for a state oriented government system. Trying to accomplish these tasks while being invaded by a much larger, resource rich country bordering its most critical strategic areas was likely beyond anyone’s capacity.
Myers immediately began advertising for tents and other camp equipment from Southern vendors.13 As president of the military board, Myers helped design the first Confederate Army uniform: “a blue flannel shirt, gray flannel pants, a red flannel undershirt, cotton drawers, wool socks, boots, and a cap.”14 Blankets, shoes and wool remained scarce. Quartermaster depots were created at Richmond and Staunton, Va.; Raleigh, N.C.; Atlanta and Columbus, Ga.; Huntsville and Montgomery, Ala.; Jackson, Miss.; Little Rock, Ark.; Alexandria, La.; and San Antonio, Texas.15
Supplying uniforms in bulk in 1861 was a huge problem.16 Myers estimated that he needed 1,600,000 pairs of shoes for the first year, but he could only locate 300,000.17 He also estimated that he would need hundreds of thousands of blankets, socks, and shirts, and almost no industry was present in the South to manufacture them. They would have to be purchased in Europe and brought through the blockade.
It was not enough to purchase these items; they had to be transported to the armies. He devised a system of supply depots; Richmond and Nashville would be the main depots for the two theaters, with multiple satellite storage areas closer to the front.18 Railroads were the primary means of transport; overland wagon routes were slow, roads were bad, and draft animals were required by the military. River traffic provided some relief but the armies did not operate along navigable rivers very often.
Despite a very large department, Myers was hampered by a lack of funds, inflation, and poor railroads, over which he had no control. His department was criticized by field commanders because the South could not obtain supplies to outfit the Army. His inability to provide shoes and uniforms was an especially serious problem.
He set goals and controls for Southern manufacturing throughout the war. By commandeering more than half the South’s produced goods for the military, the quartermaster general, in a counterintuitive drift toward socialism, appropriated hundreds of mills and controlled the flow of Southern factory commodities, especially salt.19
