Down to Chalmette

Yesterday being a nice day, I made a little trip inspired by Old AF Sarge's recent post.

Chalmette Battlefield. The place where the last battle of the War of 1812 was fought in January of 1815.

The Treaty of Ghent had been signed a month prior (but not yet ratified), and this treaty "officially" ended the war, but none of the thousands of British and Americans who assembled here knew about it, so the British attacked, doing their best to grab control of New Orleans and by extension, the entire Mississippi River Basin and the lands it gave access to. In their way: Andrew Jackson, American hero, leading a pick-up fighting force comprised of a few regular army types, volunteer militias from Kentucky and Tennessee, sailors and marines from a few sunken gunboats, local landowners and other members of the creole elite society, a band of Choctaw Indians who were loyal to the Americans, and a passel of pirates from the Barataria base of Jean Lafitte, who came with cannons and powder that the Americans lacked. (Pretty sure Old NFO was around somewhere too, but cannot confirm at this time.)

The battlefield looked like this:

There was a small canal that ran from a mangrove swamp where St. Claude Avenue and the rail line are today down to the river. The Americans threw up an earthwork on the New Orleans side of that canal and emplaced what cannon they had, a mix of artillery that included naval guns from privateers.

It's been restored as much as could be to what it looked like then.

Use your imagination and ignore the freighter at anchor on the river behind the battlefield. That wasn't actually there in 1815.

Here's a view of the American defensive line where the cannon crews and riflemen awaited the British as the sun was coming up that morning.

Looking out over the field in the direction that the British came from. The British had hoped to advance under cover of some convenient fog, but it lifted suddenly when they were about half way across. Awkward...

They made perfect targets in the early morning light. Making things worse for them, a unit of Redcoats who'd been tasked with bringing up ladders and fascines which were essential to bridging the canal and scaling the earthworks were out of position, so when the British troops who survived the fire pouring into them as they attacked got to the edge, they stalled and were cut down en masse by the muskets, rifles and cannon on the other side. In less than half an hour, the British suffered 700 killed, including General Packingham himself. They also had over 1,400 wounded and lost 500 more as prisoners, most of whom only survived by playing dead until the shooting stopped.

The Americans only had 13 troops killed. It was a total shellacking.


On this day, there were no soldiers, red-coated or otherwise. But the cannon were there.

Of course I brought my gun crew.

"Battery Five manned dogged and ready, Sir!"

"Bring on the Brits!"

The dogs got down in the canal too, which still has as much nasty black mud in it as it ever did.

"OK, I'm muddy now. Let's get back in the car!"

We strolled around for a couple of hours, and as the main gates were locked we pretty much had the place to ourselves because, while you can walk in, it's a bit of a hike in the heat.

Chalmette Dock just next door. Also not here in 1815.

I took the hounds over the levee so they could get a drink of Mississippi River water.

And along came a tow boat.

Murphy's just gotta run.

And play on logs.

Belle's a bit more of a Daddy's girl and just wanted to stay close to me once she got her drink.

It really was a beautiful day, and being surrounded by history like this made it perfect.

Here's an observation tower built as a monument after the war.

At the base are bronze plaques listing the units that fought here.

Andrew Jackson was truly the hero of the day and the savior of much of America, because had the Brits won here, it's doubtful that they'd have left the whole Mississippi region, treaty or not.

Harriet Tubman, by all reports, was nowhere to be seen.

Bolivar Heights

So how to spend an Easter Sunday? Why with a trip up to Bolivar Heights to hike the battlefield, contemplate events of days gone by, and throw a tennis ball with the tennis-ball-whipping stick for Murphy.

I haven't been up here in a bit, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Park Service has emplaced more cannon here.I loves me some cannon.
This picturesque hill was the site of a large Federal garrison in September of 1862, and on September 12th, Confederate States General Robert E. Lee decided to attack and secure the guns and ammunition stored here at the Harpers Ferry Arsenal as part of his invasion of the North. The fact that he was outnumbered by a force twice his size and being pursued by another Federal force under McClellan really didn't deter him (Hell, McClellan wouldn't have deterred a Boy Scout troop, he moved so slow.) so he attacked, dividing his force into three elements, one of which drove the Federals off of the high ground on Maryland Heights and penned them up here on this spot where the other two trapped them and began shooting them to pieces. Key defensive positions that could have helped prevent this weren't manned, and the Confederates surrounded the town with plenty of cannon and began slugging this position hard. After ceding their best strongholds and stupidly allowing themselves to be boxed up on a bare hilltop surrounded by enemy artillery, the Union army surrendered without even trying to fight and 12,000 Union troops were marched off into captivity in the South before McClellan's relief force could arrive. This was the largest surrender of US forces in history up until Bataan and Corregidor fell in World War Two. Lee them went just a bit north and west and engaged Union forces again at a little town called Sharpsburg, better know today as the Battle of Antietam, where his attack was blunted as the two sides fought to a draw before Lee abandoned his invasion of the North and slipped back into Virginia leaving 23,000 dead and wounded from both sides behind.
So I'm looking at this cannon and wondering how much fun I could have some night with a pound or two of black powder and a cannonball.

Below is the remains of one of the old defensive trenches dug by the Union troops.We had a good time and played fetch until Murphy got tired, then we adjourned and left the hilltop to the thick clouds of gnats that seem to own it now.

Traveling with Murphy is always an adventure. He gets so excited that he absolutely will not just lay down in the back of the SUV and relax."But I AM in the back! My two hind legs are still in the cargo compartment so it counts!"

Out and about

So because it was a beautiful day--fall colors, nice temperature in the 70's--I took the bike out for another ride. Today's venue: Antietam National Battlefield, Sharpsburg, Maryland.

On September 17, 1862, these hills and fields saw some of the most vicious fighting of the Civil War (or War of Northern Aggression for my Southern readers). In fact, on that day, more Americans were killed or wounded than on any day of that war or any other war before or since. The sun set on over 23,000 casualties on both sides. Many of the nearly 4,500 Union troops killed there that day are buried in a national cemetery in Sharpsburg. The Confederate dead were not allowed there, though--they are buried in cemeteries in Frederick and Hagerstown, MD and across the river in Shepherdstown, WV.

This battle followed right on the heels of the Confederate Army under General Robert E. Lee giving the north a serious shellacking at Harpers Ferry two days prior, resulting in the capture of 12,000 Union troops, a number not surpassed until 1942, when Bataan and Corregidor fell to the Japs during World War Two.

At Antietam, it all started out when Union Forces caught up with Lee's army and swept down across Miller's Cornfield, hitting them there and at the nearby Dunker's Church.
Now the Dunkers--a pacifist church opposed to the war--had the incredible bad luck to have put their church in a spot where it eventually turned out to be the most prominent landmark in the center of the Confederate lines. Predictably, it became a goal for one side and a rallying point for the other, and the fighting was heavy all around it as riflemen exchanged balls and cannon like this one of the 4th Battery, USA (below), raked the landscape with canister and solid shot from about 200 yards away.




During and after the battle, it was used as a field hospital for Confederate troops (translated: a place where the surgeons chopped off arms and legs) and when they finally withdrew, the Union army moved in and used it as an embalming station for their dead.

Mr. Miller's cornfield across the road didn't fare any better, what with thousands of soldiers battling in it and cannons and cavalry horses wiping out his crops as Union General Hooker's army moved through it to smash into Lee's forces repeatedly, being shoved back each time. Numerous monuments to the fallen from various states now adorn the area.

A bit further south, along a sunken road now referred to as "Bloody Lane", the Union troops advanced upon the Confederates who were positioned in the lane. The Yankees had about a two-to-one advantage over the Rebels but the Southerners had an excellent position in the lan , using it as it it were one long rifle pit. And from that lane they poured a murderous fire on the Union troops in the open, just mowing them down. Finally the Union troops sweeping across Mumma's Farm broke the Confederate center along that road and drove them back, but it cost them big. When the smoke cleared, 5,600 men lie dead or wounded and the Confederates were falling back, routed. A determined follow-up by the Union forces could probably have finished things right then and there, but it wasn't done. Overall commander McClellan wasn't exactly known for seizing the moment when opportunity presented itself; he allowed the Confederates to pull back across Antietam Creek where they regrouped on the south side.

Here's Mumma's Farm. Nice place for a battle, eh?Moving down to the creek, the day saw Union General Ambrose Burnside doing his best to dislodge a force of Georgian troops that were hastily dug in atop the southern creek bank. However his best wasn't very good and Burnside made three incredibly stupid attacks across this bridge, each one forcing his troops to advance in the open against entrenched riflemen and guns despite the fact that this shallow river could have been forded almost anywhere else.
Burnside's forces finally crossed about a mile upstream and outflanked the Georgians, and the Confederates fell back towards Sharpsburg itself with the Union troops in pursuit. But just when it looked as if it was all coming to a close, Confederate General Hill's troops from Harpers Ferry showed up and stopped the Union attackers cold, pushing them right back to the creek again.

At this point, night fell. Lee and his shattered army pulled out and headed south again, back into Virginia. Their attack into Northern territory was over. McClellan, true to his nature, refused to pursue and attack them and once again let a golden opportunity pass. The fight was declared a Union victory--something that was pretty rare in those days, and President Lincoln used it to give voice to his Emancipation Proclamation, which he'd been saving for just such a victory. Granted, this proclamation of his actually freed no one, since it only applied to slaves held in Confederate states over which he had no control. Slaves in the Union slave-holding states--Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware--were excluded so they just had to suck it up.

But anyway...That was a long time ago. Now we're talking about my ride. My ride basically revolved around fall colors, lots of cannon, and hills...lots of hills. This ride was only about eight and a half miles, but the hills killed me. I'd have much rather done twenty miles on the nice, flat C&O Canal towpath than the eight and a half miles on these hills.Stupid hills. Next time we have a Civil War (Are you listening, Democrats?), can we please have it someplace flat?

And as for cannon, here's a few gratuitous artillery piece shots:
The one in the foreground is a 12lb. howitzer.

One of several sitting to the west of the Sunken Road. The cows in the background apparently don't mind.

More.


This bronze Howitzer sits below Burnside Bridge.

Here's a "gunner's view" of the Southern position.Regrettably I didn't see the SUV drive into the shot as I was lining it up. If only this gun could fire just one more time...

All in all, it was a great day for a ride. Still, I was about done in by the hills, so I came back to the Lair and Lagniappe and I took a well-deserved afternoon nap.

USS Constitution prevails over commie condo crowd.

"Old Ironsides", otherwise known as the USS Constitution, is our nation's oldest warship. Launched in 1797, she's retained her commission as an active United States warship ever since. In her long history, this ship has fought and defeated Barbary Pirates, the British and the Confederates. And 2010 will forever be remembered as the year that the Constitution whupped the damned Yuppies.




You see, the Constitution has maintained a tradition going back over 200 years, that being that twice daily, she fires a gun and plays the national anthem. I've heard it and it's a wonderful way to begin and/or close out one's day. Every American has a reason to feel proud when they hear that anthem and look upon the Stars and Stripes flying from Old Ironsides' jackstaff.



Unfortunately, this longstanding patriotic tradition--one that dates back to 1798--is now under attack by a handful of unpatriotic assholes who have recently moved into condominiums which were built not too long ago near Old Ironsides' berth at the Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston Harbor. These whiners--each of whom moved into the neighborhood knowing that the Constitution was already there--have tried to silence these ceremonies, objecting to the cannon fire and in particular to hearing the national anthem every day. They recently sent a letter to Commander Timothy Cooper, the ship's current Commander, asking him to stop playing the anthem and use less powder in the guns or cease firing them altogether.

I'm proud to say though that Commander Cooper stuck to his guns, literally and figuratively, and refused. The guns shall continue to fire and the anthem will play on.As for the jackalopes in the condos...well they can just up and move if they don't like it, preferably to another country. I'm willing to bet that they're all Obama-voting liberals anyway as any real American would feel honored to live in the shadow of that wonderful ship and no patriotic citizen ever tires of our nation's anthem.


Suck on this, you zipperheads!

USS Constitution Museum page.

Manassas

After the gun show, I went to Manassas National Battlefield to see what there was to see. I still hadn't been there after all this time living in Harpers Ferry, and I'd always meant to find the time. Well today I found it.

Manassas, or Bull Run, was the sight of two vicious battles in the Civil War (often referred to around here as The War of Northern Aggression). Fought primarily on July 21, 1861, it was the first major land battle of the armies in Virginia. Just 25 miles away from Washington DC, the cannons could clearly be heard by the citizens in the Capitol. As it was expected by many Yankees to be the battle that put an end to the rebellion, lots of people rode out to watch the fighting and have picnic lunches. Most of them wound up fleeing with the remnants of the beaten Federal army as the victorious Confederates swept the field clean of bluecoats and carried the day. 60,680 men participated, and 4,700 became casualties. Needless to say, the war did not end. Buoyed by their victory, the South pressed on and slapped the Union forces around for the next year. But the slaughter wasn't nearly as bad as the second battle fought there thirteen months later.

On August 28, 1862, the Confederates came back again and attacked Union troops in Manassas again. The last time, both Northern and Southern troops had been green, untested soldiers who weren't very good at killing. But by the second battle, they'd learned well and the casualty count was much,much higher--over 22,000 men were killed or wounded this time. And like the last time, the majority of the casualties were Union troops. Robert E. Lee was in command now, and he went on to capture 14,000 more Union troops at Harpers Ferry on his way to the bloodbath at Antietam. The madness would go on for another three years.

Today, it's a peaceful place.

Here's a line of cannon adjacent to the old Henry farmhouse. The guns are in the position occupied by Union General Ricketts, a veteran of the western Indian Wars. Ricketts engaged Stonewall Jackson's forces across the field while the house was occupied by elderly bedridden widow Judith Henry. Unfortunately for her, the house was also occupied by Confederate sharpshooters, who used it to pour a devastating fire down on Ricketts' gun crews. Lacking infantry to send after them, Ricketts turned his cannon on the house and the widow Henry was killed.







Here's a line of guns in the position held by Jackson's forces. It was here that Jackson earned the name "Stonewall" when he refused to break and run in the face of a Union attack as many of the other Confederates were doing. But when the other Southern troops saw Jackson holding his place "like a stone wall", they rallied behind him and the tide turned.



And here's the Old Stone Bridge over Bull Run. After the first Union defeat in 1861, the Confederates blew it up to deny it's use to Union forces. After the Confederates left, the Yankees rebuilt the bridge, which was probably a good thing for them because they wound up retreating across it again 13 months later.


If you like history and you're in the area, visiting Manassas National Battlefield is a good way to spend a few hours. There are many miles of walking trails to various markers and structures, and much of it can be accessed by car as well. These days most people seem to have forgotten the carnage that took place here less than 150 years ago. But an in-person visit and an up close view of the actual fields of battle brings it all back and makes it real.