Harvard's Civil War: A History of the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer InfantryThe Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was one of the most influential northern units in the Army of the Potomac. It's nickname, the Harvard Regiment, was derived from the preponderance of Crimson-connected officers on its roster. The fortunes of war placed this unit at the lethal crossroads of nearly every major battle of the Army of the Potomac from Ball's Bluff (1861) through Grant's Overland Campaign. After going through it's baptismal fire at the debacle of Ball's Bluff, the Harvard Regiment was the first to plant its colors on the Confederate works at Yorktown; fought McClellan's rear guard actions during the Seven Days' Campaign; was mauled in Antietam's West Woods, on Fredericksburg's streets, and on Marye's Heights; faced Pickett's charge at Gettysburg; and was at the deadly intersection of the Orange and Plank Roads at the Battle of the Wilderness. But the regiment's influence far transcended its battle itinerary. It's officers were drawn from elite circles of New England politics, literature, and commerce. This was the regiment of Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., of his cousins, William Lowell Putnam and James Jackson Lowell, both nephews of James Russell Lowell; of Pa of Declaration of Independence signer Robert Treat Paine. Because it's officers were highly educated, many of the Harvard Regiment left copious collections of diaries, memoirs, and letters, many published. Yet the history of the Twentieth Massachusetts comprises a social document beyond the evocative and tragic recollections of it's highly literate leadership. Although the Boston elite dominated the regiment's officer corps, half of it's recruits were immigrants, mostly German and Irish. The ethnic tension that dogged the regiment during it's existence reflected an uneasy mix. The regiment included Copperhead and abolitionist gentlemen, radical German emigres from the failed Revolution of 1848, the sons of prominent Republicans, and the sons of Lincoln-haters. Miller adroitly weaves a social history of the period into his narrative, offering readers a fascinating backdrop that enriches vivid descriptions of battlefield triumphs and catastrophes. The influence of the Harvard regiment continued to reverberate long after the war. as Herman Melville and John Greenleaf Whittier, and by alumni such as Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. and William Francis Bartlett, the experiences of the Twentieth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry would define how later generations of Americans understood the Civil War. |
Contents
21 July 1865 | 1 |
January 1861 | 10 |
Filling the Roster | 16 |
Camp Massasoit | 29 |
Maps | 30 |
Balls Bluff | 51 |
Balls Bluff | 60 |
A Regiment Sundered | 84 |
Street fight in Fredericksburg 11 December 1862 | 196 |
Second Fredericksburg | 217 |
Second Fredericksburg Chancellorsville 3 May 1863 | 234 |
Gettysburg | 243 |
Battle of Gettysburg day three 3 July 1863 | 263 |
Bristoe Station and Mine Run | 278 |
Battle of Bristoe Station 14 October 1863 | 296 |
The Fatal Grind Begins | 314 |
The Peninsula Yorktown and the Seven Days | 105 |
Twentieth Massachusetts area of operations on the peninsula | 106 |
Battle of Fair Oaks 31 May 1862 | 124 |
Battle of Allens Farm 29 June 1862 | 138 |
Battle of Glendale 30 June 1862 | 146 |
To the Antietam | 154 |
Battle of Antietam 17 September 1862 | 166 |
The Battles of Fredericksburg | 181 |
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Common terms and phrases
advance Antietam army arrived artillery attack August Ball's Bluff Bartlett battle Boston Daily Advertiser brigade camp Captain Charles Colonel Lee column command Company Confederate crossed Crowninshield December declared division Doctor Hayward Doctor Perry Donnelly Dreher EDL-II enemy Fallen Leaves Federal fire Fredericksburg front George Nelson George Nelson Macy Gibbon Governor Andrew Hallowell Hancock Harvard Henry Abbott Henry Lee Jr Henry Ropes Herbert Mason infantry James John Codman Ropes July June later Lee's Lieutenant Colonel Macy's Magnitzky McClellan Meade Memoir miles Murphey Nantucket Nantucket Experience Nineteenth Massachusetts officers ordered Palfrey Patten Paul Revere picket Pickett's Charge Potomac prisoners railroad ranks rear rebel recruits regiment reported Reports-I Revere Memorial Richmond River Ropes Letters Ropes to John Second Corps Sergeant Seventh Michigan shot Sixth Corps skirmishers soldiers Street Summerhayes Sumner Paine Touched with Fire Twentieth Massachusetts Wendell Holmes William Raymond Lee woods wounded York