Monthly Archives: October 2011

Depression

Posted on October 29, 2011 by

Perhaps thinking of the deserters recently rounded up by soldiers of his division, Gen. Lafayette McLaws wrote his wife Emily on August 14 of the depression events had caused in some Confederates. “The condition of our affairs is calculated to … Continue reading →

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Deserters

Posted on October 26, 2011 by

While Gen. McLaws was writing his wife at home in Georgia, portions of his division were rounding up part of a pack of Confederate deserters who had formed a camp they had named Texas. That August 12, a Wednesday, Spartan … Continue reading →

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Orange Court House

Posted on October 23, 2011 by

Gen. Lafayette McLaws had his division headquarters at Orange Court House, south of the Rapidan River. There he wrote his wife, Emily, on August 12, 1863, that he had camped in the yard and on the premises of a farmer … Continue reading →

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Moving to the Rapidan

Posted on October 20, 2011 by

Both the Union and Confederate armies in Virginia were recuperating from their losses at Gettysburg. But Union cavalry was pressing Lee’s army at Culpeper. August 1, 1863, Spartan Band diarist William H. Hill wrote: “The enemy Cavalry, consisting of 2 … Continue reading →

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On Pony Mountain

Posted on October 14, 2011 by

Starting on  July 25, 1863, the 13th Regiment spent the first of five days bivouacked on the slopes of Pony Mountain, about two miles south of Culpeper Courthouse. It was a time of rest and preaching by the brigade’s chaplains … Continue reading →

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The Journey: Culpeper bound

Posted on October 12, 2011 by

On Monday, July 20, 1863, the 13th Regiment broke camp at daylight, formed up with the rest of McLaws Division and marched south. It was “a hard day’s march,” the 17th’s Private Robert A. Moore recorded in his diary. “The … Continue reading →

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Five days of rest, more or less

Posted on October 10, 2011 by

The brigade left its camp at sunrise on Wednesday, July 15, 1863, and marched thirteen miles, passing through Martinsburg. They finally camped at Bunker Hill, a hamlet beside the Winchester Pike, on Mill Creek, a tributary of Opequan Creek. The … Continue reading →

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Return to Virginia

Posted on October 8, 2011 by

“Monday. Heavy rain last night, raining again today. Our wagon trains commenced crossing the Potomac at Williamsport, Maryland, this morning.” So wrote Spartan Band diarist William H. Hill on July 13, 1863. The 13th Regiment had left their rifle pits … Continue reading →

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Digging in

Posted on October 6, 2011 by

Spartan Band diarist Will H. Hill wrote in his diary on Saturday, July 11, 1863, that the brigade had moved two miles north towards Hagerstown. They were shoveling up fortifications and digging rifle pits to defend against an expected Union … Continue reading →

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On picket duty

Posted on October 4, 2011 by

On Tuesday, July 7, another day of rain, the Mississippi Brigade was ordered out on picket duty at Downsville, Maryland, four miles southeast of Williamsport on the swollen Potomac River. The pontoons over their intended crossing at Falling Waters had … Continue reading →

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