Author Interview: Gettysburg's Southern Front

I enjoyed this interview with Bjorn Skaptason at Abraham Lincoln Book Shop, Inc. about my new book, Gettysburg's Southern Front, from University Press of Kansas.  You can check out the interview here and order the book here.

Book Review from Civil War Books and Authors: Gettysburg's Southern Front

Drew Wagenhoffer at Civil War Books and Authors is out of the gate with the first review of Gettysburg's Southern Front from University Press of Kansas.

"As expected, Newsome marshals all of his prodigious research abilities and writing talents, along with strong map support, to craft yet another masterful microhistory of a lesser-known military operation. Dix's campaign was conducted in distinct phases, all of which are recounted in detail."

Full review is here.

When 20,000 Federals Advanced on Richmond During the Gettysburg Campaign

From the jacket of Gettysburg's Southern Front:

On June 14, 1863, US Major General John Adams Dix received the following directive from General-in-Chief Henry Halleck: “All your available force should be concentrated to threaten Richmond, by seizing and destroying their railroad bridges over the South and North Anna Rivers, and do them all the damage possible.” With General Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia marching toward Gettysburg and only a limited Confederate force guarding Richmond, Halleck sensed a rare opportunity for the Union cause.

In response, Dix, who had lived a life of considerable public service but possessed limited military experience, gathered his men and began a slow advance. During the ensuing operation, 20,000 US troops would threaten the Confederate capital and seek to cut the railroads supplying Lee’s army in Pennsylvania. To some, Dix’s campaign presented a tremendous chance for US forces to strike hard at Richmond while Lee was off in Pennsylvania. To others, it was an unnecessary lark that tied up units deployed more effectively in protecting Washington and confronting Lee’s men on Northern soil.

In this study, Newsome offers an in-depth look into this little-known Federal advance against Richmond during the Gettysburg Campaign. The first full-length examination of Dix’s venture, this volume not only delves into the military operations at the time, but also addresses concurrent issues related to diplomacy, US war policy, and the involvement of enslaved people in the Federal offensive.

Gettysburg’s Southern Front also points to the often-unrecognized value in examining events of the US Civil War beyond the larger famous battles and campaigns. At the time, political and military leaders on both sides carefully weighed Dix’s efforts at Richmond and understood that the offensive had the potential to generate dramatic results. In fact, this piece of the Gettysburg Campaign may rank as one of the Union war effort’s more compelling lost opportunities in the East, one that could have changed the course of the conflict.

Gettysburg's Southern Front is published by University Press of Kansas.

Gettysburg's Southern Front: Crump's Crossroads East of Richmond, July 2, 1863

Map of New Kent County, Crump's Crossroads Detail (LOC)

Gettysburg's Southern Front includes an in-depth look at Erasmus Keyes' anemic efforts against Richmond's defenses. In early July 1863, Keyes advanced from John Dix's base at White House Landing to demonstrate against Bottom's Bridge on the Chickahominy River. If successful, Keyes would have prevented Confederate reinforcements from intercepting George Getty's march to the South Anna railroad bridges, key components of Robert E. Lee's line of communication with Richmond. But Keyes’ operation came to an abrupt halt after an engagement with D.H. Hill's forces at Crump's ("Baltimore") Crossroads -- on the same day the Union left at Gettysburg managed to hold against James Longstreet's massive assault.

Erasmus Keyes (LOC)

I'm struck by how poorly Keyes performed at Crump's Crossroads. He never got close to Bottom's Bridge and spent several days at Talleysville (Baltimore Store) and Crump's doing pretty much nothing. Though his political views contrasted sharply with those of his professional nemesis, George McClellan, the two shared similar command traits. Cautious and ineffective, Keyes seemed to spend most of his energy in July manufacturing excuses for his failure. The campaign would mark the abolitionist's last field command. He would fade into obscurity - and little would be written about his actions before Richmond during the Gettysburg Campaign. His lengthy autobiography, published eleven years before his death in 1884, ends abruptly in 1862 and, not surprisingly, ignores the events of July 1863.

Book Release Day: Gettysburg's Southern Front

The new book is here - Gettysburg's Southern Front: Opportunity and Failure at Richmond! 

Many thanks to Joyce Harrison, Kelly Chrisman Jacques, Derek Helms, and the rest of the staff at University Press of Kansas.  I really enjoyed this project about a little-known chapter of the Gettysburg Campaign - it was a great opportunity to dig deep into some new ground.

Gettysburg's Southern Front: From the Catalog

 

Gettysburg's Southern Front: Available For Preorder

My new book, Gettysburg's Southern Front: Opportunity and Failure at Richmond, is available for preorder from University Press of Kansas (and elsewhere).  

"Gettysburg’s Southern Front by Hampton Newsome illuminates Union efforts to threaten Richmond while Robert E. Lee was invading Pennsylvania. It does so with commendably thorough research, clear writing, and useful analysis about why and how this sideshow was planned and executed and why its results fell short of what was expected. It is a model study of a small, unknown operation of the Civil War.”"  —Earl J. Hess, author of Pickett’s Charge--The Last Attack at Gettysburg

Talks in June

The global speaking tour continues:

June 7 - CWRT of Eastern PA (Allentown) - "Gettysburg's Southern Front"
June 14 - Charlottesville CWRT - "Fight for the Old North State"

If you're in the area, stop by and say hello.

Here's the Cover!: Gettysburg's Southern Front

The rest of the book will come out later this year from University Press of Kansas. 

Book Update: Gettysburg's Southern Front

The copy-edited files are back with the University Press of Kansas and there is a title: Gettysburg's Southern Front: Failure and Opportunity at Richmond. 

I've really enjoyed this project. The book covers the little-known Federal operations against Richmond during the Gettysburg Campaign - an effort by a 20,000-man force led by Major General John Dix. The Federal advance on Richmond was directly connected to Lee's drive into Pennsylvania. Indeed, the primary purpose of Dix's operation was to the cut the railroads linking Lee's army to Richmond and to threaten the city itself as the Army of Northern Virginia marched north. Many Federal leaders at the time saw great potential in the venture, which produced engagements in the fields east of Richmond and at the railroad bridges over the South Anna. I expect many readers will find compelling events and intriguing stories they knew little or nothing about before. 

The book demonstrates how Dix's effort at Richmond (coupled with smaller operations in NC and western Va.), was part of a Henry Halleck plan - albeit a weak and poorly-coordinated one - to counter the advance of Lee's army north in June and July. Integral to the study (and discussed at length) are issues such as Lee's logistical situation before, during, and after the battle Gettysburg; debates in Washington about the Richmond strike and other efforts to counter or blunt Lee's Pennsylvania foray; reaction to Lee's invasion by commanders in various US and Confederate departments behind his column; the decisions and efforts of Confederate leaders to defend Richmond while supporting Lee's offensive - among other related issues. 

Fingers crossed for a release later this year.

Feb. 1864: That Time George Pickett Executed NC Soldiers in Blue

With the anniversary of the New Bern Expedition and the Kinston Hangings (both covered in detail in The Fight For the Old North State (Univ. Press of Kansas, 2019)), I wanted to re-post a little background on those little-known events.

The Fight For the Old North State 

On February 1, 1864, Confederate forces led by George Pickett attacked the Union base at New Bern. The plan originated with Robert E Lee, who proposed the operation to Jefferson Davis in early January.  Lee believed success would alleviate the supply crisis plaguing the Army of Northern Virginia and quell an emerging peace movement in North Carolina. As N. C. Supreme Court Justice Walter A. Montgomery later explained: "A great majority of the people . . . thought that the time had arrived when the question of peace with the United States government should be considered. It was thought that the contest was hopeless after the surrender of Vicksburg and the defeat . . . at Gettysburg, and that the further effusion of blood and destruction of property should cease." Understanding these concerns, Lee proposed operations in North Carolina hoping to open up the rich agricultural region for Confederate subsistence officers and to boost Confederate morale in the state.

New Bern, N.C.

Over several days, Pickett's forces sought to find a way to take the Federal base. The offensive generated pockets of fighting at Bachelor Creek, Newport Barracks, and Brice's Creek. During the expedition, Confederate forces nearly captured and boarded a train headed into the New Bern defenses and managed to seize a Union gunboat, the Underwriter, only to be forced to abandon the prize almost immediately. Ultimately, the Union forces at New Bern under Innis Palmer managed to fend off the rebels and maintain Union control over eastern North Carolina.

George Pickett

On the retreat from New Bern, Pickett's forces determined that several dozen Union prisoners captured during the expedition had previously served in Confederate units within the state. A court-martial quickly reviewed the cases and passed judgment. Some of the prisoners escaped the ordeal with their lives. One was transferred to civil authorities; another, described as mentally and physically impaired, received a year of hard labor; and three more were branded with a four-inch "D" (for deserter), shackled with a ball and chain, and confined to hard labor for the rest of the war. But most of the accused were not so lucky. The first men identified in the dragnet were hung almost immediately after Pickett’s return to the Confederate base at Kinston. The condemned struck one witness as illiterate, hardened men who expressed little concern for their own plight and “marched to the gallows with apparent indifference.” Several more executions followed, carried out on gallows constructed of "rude" material in a field behind the Kinston jail and all witnessed by troops in Pickett's command. 

The hangings triggered swift and widespread condemnation in the Northern press and produced protests from Union officers. Lieutenant Colonel Charles Henry Foster, commander of the 2nd North Carolina Union Volunteers (NCUV,) labeled the hangings an "inexcusable massacre." John Peck, in charge of Federal troops in North Carolina, protested and provided a list of his men captured a New Bern. A truculent Pickett taunted Peck, pointing out that the list "so kindly furnished . . . will enable me to bring to justice many who have up to this time escaped their just desserts."

The executions would follow Pickett after the war as the U.S. government conducted several inquiries into the circumstances behind the incident. Eventually, Pickett avoided prosecution in the wake of Andrew Johnson's general amnesty announced on Christmas Day in 1868. The larger impacts of the hangings in eastern North Carolina are remain murky even today. The executions appear to have dissuaded many local men from joining the Federal ranks, an important goal for Confederate military leaders. However, the Confederates also aimed to quell the growing unhappiness among North Carolinians, particularly those who were threatening to pull the state out of the Confederacy. Ultimately, Pickett’s decision to execute the deserters may not have advanced this political goal. Indeed, some North Carolina soldiers and citizens doubted the guilt of the condemned men, and even among those who found them culpable, there was a feeling that the punishment did not fit the crime. For those in North Carolina wavering between support of the Confederate war effort and withdrawal from the war on favorable terms, Pickett’s actions may not have had the impact Confederate officials desired.