I’d like to tell you about the greatest conflict our nation ever fought, the War Between the States. Between 4 and 5 million men saw service in this war, and 625,000 men died during its brutal course. More men died during the conflict than in all of our nations wars combined, from the Revolution to the Persian Gulf. It is probably the most studied conflict of our nation, as the causes, tactics, and strategies are still debated in the 1,000+ books that are published each year. If the old adage that, “those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them” is true, then that level of interest is warranted, for another reprise of the conflict with today’s technologically lethal battlefields would lead to an even greater bloodbath.
I want to mainly make my points by telling stories. Stories from the War Between the States are an easy way to capture the emotion, the passion, and the irony. We will begin with a tale about the South’s greatest soldier, General Robert E. Lee.
On May 6, 1864 the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia found itself locked in mortal combat with the numerically superior Union Army of the Potomac in the tangled forest in Virginia called The Wilderness. After one day of combat between the lead elements of the two armies, the situation stalemated with both sides fought out and waiting for reinforcements to arrive. Holding the line against a vast blue host was the battered III Corps commanded by General A. P. Hill. Hill was told that the I Corps, commanded by General James Longstreet was due to arrive before morning and that he would be relieved on the battle line.
General Hill was told by one of his subordinates that the Corps should entrench and wait for the attack just in case the anticipated reinforcements failed to arrive. Hill disagreed and refused to give the order to gird for the attack. He was about to learn an important lesson in military planning: That which is planned to occur is guaranteed not to happen, while that which is declared impossible is disastrously imminent.
Sure enough, Longstreet was delayed in departure, and failed to arrive by first light, when a Union juggernaut rolled through the Wilderness. Caught unprepared, the Army of Northern Virginia did something that it had seldom done: it fled the field. Struggling to fall back, to find comrade, and to reform. the veteran army gave way quickly before the Union II Corps commanded by General Winfield Scott Hancock.
Longstreet’s men began to arrive on the field just as this disaster got underway. The lead element was Hood’s Texas Brigade. From the former swollen ranks of 5,000 Texans, only 800 remained. But they were lean, they were mean, they were tough. In short, they were soldiers, like only a Texas can be. They had marched all night long, 35 grueling miles on a hot spring day. As they marched into the dawn’s early light, one of the veterans of the brigade thought that the sunset reminded him of the Red Sun of Austerlitz, the famous omen that had lead another famous soldier, Napolean Bonaparte, to launch his operations on the field of one of his greatest victories. They arrived on the field as the army to their front gave way.
On the field, General Lee did what he could to stem the rout, but there was little to be done. He found a single battalion of artillery and directed their fire into the advancing Union vanguard. Across a small clearing only a few hundred yards wide, 5,000 Union soldiers milled about as their officers brought them on line, fussed with their alignment, and prepared to move them forward. When that order was given, Lee saw little hope that they would be stopped. He looked for something, anything, that he could do to turn the tide. Repeatedly, he looked back in the smoke to see if Longstreet was coming up. Repeatedly he saw nothing. Finally, among all the other soldiers streaming to the rear, he saw a lone soldier moving forward, then another and another. The men came near and began to group and form up. He asked what unit they were with. “Texas Boys!” was the reply.
Lee knew them well. Hood’s Texas Brigade is sometimes called Lee’s Grenadier Guard, his shock troops, the men he relied upon in the tightest places. He took off his wide-brimmed hat and yelled, “Hurrah for Texas!” His men had never seen him act this way. As they completed their alignment, the Texans were ordered forward by their commander, Brigadier General John Gregg with the command, “Attention Texas Brigade! The eyes of General Lee are upon you! Forward… March! The Texans were shocked to see Lee ride into position in their front. It was obvious to all of them that Lee himself, their beloved commander, intended to lead them in this attack, which was clearly suicidal.
The stage is now set for what was arguably the most electrifying moment of the war. The Texas Brigade, without orders, slacked its pace, not wanting to see Lee accompany them on the attack. From one throat a cry arose, “Lee to the Rear!”, and it was echoed again and again, through the Virginia countryside. One bold private even stepped forward and grabbed the reins of Lee’s horse, Traveller. Gregg rode to Lee and assured him that his men would drive the Yankees off if only he would ride to the rear and safety. Finally, a kind staff officer arrived with what was probably a little white lie about Lee being needed elsewhere, giving the stately Virginian a face-saving compromise. He rode to the rear, and the Texans again swept forward. As they moved out, Lee stood in his stirrups and yelled, “Texans always move them!” In ten minutes of savage combat, over half the Texans were killed or wounded, but they bought Lee the time he needed to set up a devastating flank attack that Hancock later said “rolled me up like a wet blanket.”
As he rode to the rear, he encountered the next brigade, from Alabama. Upon learning their identities, Lee said “God Bless the Alabamians!” They asked him for orders, and they were simple: “Just try to keep up with the Texans.”
It is in remembrance of men such as these; whose devotion to duty was matched only by their love for their beloved commander. This is why we remember.
It is our responsibility to teach our children that their ancestors fought for an honorable cause; one for independence, for the right to govern themselves through their home states, or to be able to leave a federal government that did not fairly represent them, or for their commitment to duty and fierce patriotism for their Southland.
Mark Raines
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