Tag Archives: West Angle

The beginning of IF

I have been working on an article about the events of May 11 and into the wee hours of May 12. Having just finished the first draft and started the editing process I wanted to share some portion of it. … Continue reading

Posted in 1864, American Civil War, artillery in the Overland Campaign, Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Battle of the Muleshoe, Bloody Angle, Doles Salient, Earthworks and trenchs, field fortifications, Hancock's assault on the Muleshoe, Johnson's Division, May 12, Mule Shoe, Overland Campaign 1864, Uncategorized, Upton's Charge | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Who was Colonel Alexander? (updated 5/31/17 and 6/10/17)

One of the fascinating things about the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse and its aftermath is the amount of things that we have no answers to. One of them is a simple straight forward question. Who was Colonel Alexander? Now of … Continue reading

Posted in American Civil War, Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Battle of the Muleshoe, Doles Salient, Earthworks and trenchs, field fortifications, Hancock's assault on the Muleshoe, Johnson's Division, May 12, Mule Shoe, Muleshoe, Overland Campaign 1864, Richmond Howitzers, Upton's Charge | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Stonewall Brigade” lines out in the McCoull Field – updated 6/01/17

Recently I was back out at Spotsylvania with the camera. If you’re like me, fascinated by the earthworks, and the story they can tell us, the Stonewall Brigades line across the McCoull field is quite interesting.  At first glance it … Continue reading

Posted in 1864, American Civil War, artillery in the Overland Campaign, Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Bloody Angle, Cutshaw's Battalion, Doles Salient, Earthworks and trenchs, field fortifications, Hancock's assault on the Muleshoe, Johnson's Division, May 12, Mule Shoe, Overland Campaign 1864, Upton's Charge, West Angle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

It doesn’t always go right. Or “Oh, fudge!”

Sometimes when we read about history it seems that everybody did the right thing, and at exactly the right time. And generally that it was a perfect plan, brilliantly executed by super humans. It was only the fact that somebody … Continue reading

Posted in American Civil War, artillery in the Overland Campaign, Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Battle of the Muleshoe, Bloody Angle, Carrington's Battery, Cutshaw's Battalion, Doles Salient, Earthworks and trenchs, field fortifications, Hancock's assault on the Muleshoe, Johnson's Division, Mule Shoe, Richmond Howitzers, Tanner's Battery, West Angle | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Could it have been the Confederates that built the Line to the Landram House and beyond?

When you look at a map of the trenches around the Mule Shoe one of the things that jumps out at you is the line of works which runs out to the Landram House and beyond. Since this line starts … Continue reading

Posted in 1864, American Civil War, artillery in the Overland Campaign, Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Battle of the Muleshoe, Bloody Angle, Earthworks and trenchs, field fortifications, Hancock's assault on the Muleshoe, Johnson's Division, May 12, McHenry Howard, Mule Shoe, Overland Campaign 1864, Steuart's Brigade | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Learning to look for Earthworks from the Air – with a little help from the RAF

Following up on the surprisingly positive reaction to my post “Some facts to ponder about the march back to the Salient” I thought I would follow up with a similar article about photographs. Back in 2000 I made a connection … Continue reading

Posted in 1864, American Civil War, artillery in the Overland Campaign, Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Battle of the Muleshoe, Bloody Angle, Earthworks and trenchs, field fortifications, Hancock's assault on the Muleshoe, May 12, Mule Shoe, Overland Campaign 1864, Upton's Charge | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Pop, Pop, Pop”

“Pop, Pop, Pop,” those words were written by Brig. Gen. James Walker, commander of the Stonewall Brigade in May of 1864. What the General was evidently attempting to explain at least partly explain the ineffectiveness of the Confederate defense the morning … Continue reading

Posted in 1864, American Civil War, artillery in the Overland Campaign, Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Battle of the Muleshoe, Bloody Angle, Cutshaw's Battalion, Earthworks and trenchs, field fortifications, Hancock's assault on the Muleshoe, Johnson's Division, Jone's Brigade at Spotsylvania Courthouse, May 12, Mule Shoe, Overland Campaign 1864, Page's Battalion, Steuart's Brigade, West Angle | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Artillery used like shotguns – the Confederate Ammunition Supply at Spotsylvania

It has been said that at Spotsylvania the Confederates used their artillery like giant shotguns. Short ranges and the need to add power to the infantries line necessitated just that. The guns by and large were in the trenches, firing … Continue reading

Posted in American Civil War, artillery in the Overland Campaign, Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Bloody Angle, Earthworks and trenchs, field fortifications, Hancock's assault on the Muleshoe, May 12, Mule Shoe, Overland Campaign 1864, Uncategorized, West Angle | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Statement that has kept me up at night. (slight clarification)

In all my studies of Spotsylvania there is one statement that I keep returning to. Two sentences that could unlock so much, yet never will. They were written in a letter from Wilfred Cutshaw to James McDowell Carrington in 1905. … Continue reading

Posted in 1864, American Civil War, artillery in the Overland Campaign, Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Battle of the Muleshoe, Bloody Angle, Carrington's Battery, Cutshaw's Battalion, Earthworks and trenchs, field fortifications, Hancock's assault on the Muleshoe, Mule Shoe, Overland Campaign 1864, Tanner's Battery, West Angle | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Charlottesville Artillery aka Carrington’s Battery

Contrary to what some people may think there were actually two batteries left along the line of Edward Johnson’s division on the night of May 11/12, 1864. Both Carrington’s battery and Tanner’s battery were with Cutshaw’s battalion and had been … Continue reading

Posted in artillery in the Overland Campaign, Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse, Battle of the Muleshoe, Bloody Angle, Carrington's Battery, Earthworks and trenchs, field fortifications, Hancock's assault on the Muleshoe, Johnson's Division, May 12, Mule Shoe, Overland Campaign 1864, Tanner's Battery, West Angle | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment