The casualties were astounding, a stouinstounding to soldiers, generals and those left back home. Amidst the staggering losses at cole harbor, for every soldier killed, wounded or captured, there was a family. Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons, daughters that also felt the loss. The loss of the men that fell at cole harbor in the spring of 1864 reverb rasreverberated thr kmunlts a communities across the north and south. The battlegrounds left indelible kbag impacts on the living left behind. So, too, were the believes of the men who fought that bloody spring. Indeed, in spite of so many lost lives, those believes and ideas about nation, government and home became even more deeply enslie enshrined in the hearts and minds of those left to fight on tonight to reflect upon and learn from today. Writing soon after the war with a perspective on hindsight. Sally putnam came to believe that in its own unique way, cole harbor had been a landmark event in the 1866 Campaign Across Central
At this point in the war, he was the commander of the unions middle atlantic department, which was basically his job was he was military governor of baltimore. It wasnt a very plum assignment. Well, reading the same intelligence that the union high command got and didnt do anything about, wallace did something. The other thing that helped him here was that the head of the b. N. O. Railroad, a man named john garrett, he had his network of intelligence who were the station masters all along the b. O. Railroad. They are heading your way. So wallace picked up on this and on his own, dont forget he was in hot water with grant and halllock, no orders, he gathered up 2800 men, about all he could get, and came down to the western most point of his jurisdiction, which was right here, and he set up on the eastern bank on the monacacy river. Lou wallace, after the war, became a novelist and he wrote the second most popular novel of the 19th century, which was benhur and also wrote an 800page memo
Been going on for some three years. Massive casualties and losses. Tremendous disaffection in the north with the war. It looked like it would go on forever. Abraham lincoln, of course, is up for reelection. Its important to have battlefield victories for the north and its important to win battles in virginia. Virginia is still the preserve of robert e. Lee and the storied army of Northern Virginia. So lincoln brings east his best general, thats going to be ulysses s. Grant, the general who won all the battles in the west. And he gives grant a basically a twopart requirement. First, to bring organization, to bring continuity to the union war effort. And secondly, to defeat the army of Northern Virginia. And grant goes about making it possible to carry out that charge with a vengeance. First he puts together a program, unlike any that the war has yet seen. He realized that up to this point, battles would last a couple of days, and then the armies would pull apart for months. Grant would
To a pleasant day agenda. Its called political correctness. Its nonsense. You cannot alter the past. You can only learn from it. And believe me, history is the best teacher any of you will ever have. So we have to look back to see where were going, and there is no other guide. So today we look back at the wilderness. We look back with all with reverence and installation. What those men in the north and south gave we all share. We must treasure those sacrifices always as being among our richest possessions. May god continue to bless this land we all call our home. Thank you. [ applause ] [ applause ] the incredible violence of 1864 reflected the immense stakes, and the men in both armies recognized that connection. Before 1864, soldiers might have been under fire for eight hours during an entire year. During the overland campaign, they were sometimes under fire for eight hours or more in a single day. On may 12th, 1864, walter battle of the fourth North Carolina fought just a few hundre
There. Units from washington came out to do some skirmishing. The next morning, july 11th, early, whos one of those generals out on the horse leading the men, made it right out here, right to the outskirts of fort stevens. If you can picture washington, d. C. As shaped like a diamond, we are right at the very top of the diamond, in the northwest portion of washington, d. C. Early about noontime was out of the gates of fort stevens right out here. He had the capitol dome in his sight at noontime, and what did he see . He saw this very impressive series of forts. He saw this fort and it was connected to several other forts around here. It looks impregnable and he saw troops here. Early did not know these were 100 days men and the call went out for civilians to come out and help man the barricades, so you had clerks from the state department, men from the Quarter Master corps, people who have never fired a weapon in their life. The word motley comes up more than once, but early did not kn