Tag Archives: Army of Northern Virginia

Whipping Bobby Lee

Posted on January 13, 2013 | Leave a comment

Robert E. Lee was among the great officers in the history of the United States Army.

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Undoubtedly, Lee was the greatest officer in the Confederate States Army.

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My great-grandfather, Archibald Van Orden, twice fought against the CSA Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by General Robert E. Lee. In the US Infantry, Archie was seriously wounded in battle. In the US Cavalry, Archie was captured.

Some may say that war is not personal. Archie would tell us war gets personal fast when someone is shooting at you. Yet he would also see boys his age, just 16, shot and even killed on battlefields of Virginia, both Union and Confederate soldiers.

So who do you fight? The boy shooting at you? Or the man in command? Both.

Like many Northerners, Archie would personalize war on the enemy’s General. Colloquially, it was all about “whipping Bobby Lee”, before he whipped you.

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Bloody Lane: No Turning Back

Posted on January 12, 2013 | Leave a comment

Antietam is a name most Americans have heard. We learn it in high school history. However, many don’t recall why they know it, or even where it is.

Here’s where it is: Robert E Lee’s first invasion of the North occurred near Sharpsburg, Maryland. He was pressing southern momentum at Antietam Creek, toward Washington D.C after recent Confederate victories in Northern Virginia.

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Here’s why it matters: More Americans — both Southern and Northern — died at Antietam  on September 17, 1862, than any other battle ever fought on our soil.

The deadliest place was the sunken road, later named Bloody Lane. Thousands from both sides fell here while cannon, muskets and men fought tooth and nail.

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My great-grandfather, Archie Van Orden, was in New York at that time, after mustering out from the Union infantry, recovering from serious battle wounds. But Antietam enflamed his patriotism, even if he could not walk. He yearned to rejoin troops fighting for Union. Months later he would enlist in the US Cavalry.

Mere days after the costly standoff at Antietam, with casualties of nearly 23,000, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. In the South, this was a monumental change. No longer was this a war over states rights, they now viewed it as a conflict to pursue a way of life, in which slavery was necessary. For the North, there was finally a future in which no slavery was permitted.

That’s why after Bloody Lane, there was no turning back. Too many Americans on both sides had given their lives for opposed beliefs. Only a winner would take all.

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Unconditional Surrender Grant

Posted on January 9, 2013 | 1 comment

Most Americans did not know the name Ulysses Simpson Grant in early 1862. However, by late 1868, all knew who he became: President of the United States.

The man known as U.S. Grant seemed destined for the highest office in the USA. He first came to national notice with a nickname: Unconditional Surrender Grant.

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Here’s how that came to be. After the defeat of the Union army by Confederates at the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861, Northerners became worried, and even despondent, about possibly losing a war they thought would be won in Virginia.

Out west, General Grant was marching his Union troops to surround by land the southern stronghold, Fort Donelson in Tennessee, while the Union navy attacked from the Cumberland River. At first, the battle did not go well for the North — Fort Donelson’s powerful cannon repulsed the Union boats. Then Confederate forces broke through Grant’s lines, seeking their escape from the trap.

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U.S. Grant rose to the occasion, rallying his volunteers to resume the offensive, hold their lines, and drive Confederates back into their fort. On February 16, 1862, Southern General Buckner had no choice but to seek terms for surrender.

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“No terms except unconditional and immediate surrender” was Grant’s reply. Telegraphs spread the news of this Union victory like wildfire, vaulting the General to celebrity with his new nickname “Unconditional Surrender Grant.”

In April 1865, my great-grandfather Archibald Van Orden would meet U.S. Grant while serving in his Union honor guard at the long-fought-for surrender of Robert E. Lee’s entire Army of Northern Virginia at Appommattox Courthouse.

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Deadly See-Saw: The Battle of Gaines’ Mill

Posted on December 19, 2012 | Leave a comment

It is June 27, 1862 — exactly 6 months after Private Archibald Van Orden enlisted in the NY 12th Infantry. He and his Union comrades are now near Richmond, VA, preparing to attack the capitol of the CSA. They are attached to the 3d brigade (General Butterfield), 1st division (General Morell), 5th corps (General Porter), Army of the Potomac, commanded by General George B. McClellan.

Their location is near a home owned by a Mr. Gaines. Colonel G. K. Warren posted his 3d brigade troops, including Archie’s company, on the far left flank of Union lines. To reach them, Confederate forces under General Longstreet attack across treacherous swamps. At 2PM, the Battle of Gaines’ Mill engages in full.

Gaines' Mill Battle

Major Henry B. Clitz, leading the 12th Infantry, counterattacks charging rebels, repulsing them in a cacophonous, back-and-forth struggle of muskets and men. Union forces held on for dear life. Confederate forces lashed out again and again.

As evening neared, southern General “Stonewall” Jackson erupted in a fury over inability to displace federals, exhorting his men to sweep ahead with bayonets. General Sykes was forced to withdraw to a second ridge, but ordered the 12th Infantry to stand their ground, protecting the rest of the brigade as it retreated.

Gaines' Mill Nightfall

By nightfall, 894 Union troops sacrificed their lives in the Battle of Gaines’ Mill. It was considered a tactical victory by General Robert E. Lee, because his men pushed Union lines farther away from Richmond. But it came with a cost of thousands of casualties from his Army of Northern Virginia. While battered, McClellan’s Army of the Potomac would live to fight again — for four more days in the Seven Days Battles, which ended the Peninsula Campaign of 1862.

USA General McClellan and CSA General Lee, opposing commanders in the Seven Days Battles.

USA General McClellan and CSA General Lee, opposing commanders.

One of the fallen at Gaines’ Mill was Private Archibald Van Orden. His wound, though grave, was not fatal. Archie, too, would live to fight another day. But there were daunting challenges standing before him until that day arrived in 1864.

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