Chapter Seventy-Seven
A Day of Seven Battles
From "In Column to Battle - The Army of the Potomac in the Battle of Pipe Creek" by George Cresap Ord
MacMahon Publishing
"On the Union right Sickles had given Charles Field and Jubal Early bloody noses. David Birney’s Division had found a ford near the Mount Union Bridge which coincided with the meeting of Field’s and Early’s flanks. In the words of General Sickles “
bloody mayhem” ensued. Ultimately Jackson pulled two brigades from A.P.Hill’s section of the line to reinforce his left and plug the gap. Sickles attack was supposed to be a demonstration, and without reserves, Birney pulled his troops north of the creek.
The reason Jackson was able to pull troops from elsewhere in his sector of the Rebel defensive line was because von Steinwehr’s demonstration petered out before midday. The XI Corps had been severely tested at Gettysburg and marched hard to Pipe Creek. XI Corps was in no condition to mount a major demonstration on the Trevanion Road. Dick Ewell was more than able to cover any moves made by the XI Corps while A.P.Hill loaned troops to the rebel left…
On the Union left, ironically where many felt the ground least favored the Union, Williams XII Corps made good progress. General Zealous B. Tower’s brigade was deployed entirely as a skirmish line and aggressively advanced on Dug Hill. Dug Hill was forward of the rebel defensive line, and therefore the handful of rebel skirmishers from D.H.Hill’s Division (Johnson’s Corps) were quickly pushed off the hill. As soon as the hill was secured General Barnard had his engineers and laborers cutting back the woods to clear space for artillery positions. In the meantime Williams prepared his three divisions, Geary Greene and Ruger, for an assault on the sector held by Shanks Evans, D.H.Hill and Robert Rodes. Williams was supported by General John Buford’s cavalry (2 divisions of Pleasanton and Devin) which attacked towards Manchester. The road to Manchester was blocked by Ransom’s North Carolina Brigade and Carnot Posey’s Mississippians…
A contemporary presentation of the Battle of Pipe Creek
Allegheny Johnson’s sector was particularly hard pressed. With Buford attacking towards Manchester on his right. Williams’ 3 divisions attacking aggressively towards his centre, and with Trimble exposed on the left to the attack on Union Mills Johnson’s full force would quickly be committed to the battle. By mid-afternoon Johnson’s sector was in trouble. General Greene had stumbled on an unguarded farm road that ran down from Dug Hill and crossed Pipe Creek via an unknown ford. One Greene’s troops were across they tenaciously held onto their bridgehead in the centre of Johnson’s line. Henry H. Lockwood, at the head of Greene’s second brigade would particularly distinguish himself in breaking up Johnson’s (mainly D.H.Hill’s) counterattacks. However the nature of the ground meant that Greene could not push much beyond the creek bank…
Johnson had no choice: a galloper was sent to General Lee to request reinforcements. General Lee’s response was prompt. General George Pickett’s Virginia Division was dispatched to Johnson’s aid. Although it would take a few hours to reach him, Johnson was confident that, come the morning with Pickett’s help, he would throw the Yankees back across the creek…
In the centre, and under Reynolds own watchful eye, four Union Corps attacked en masse. The defending Confederates consisted of three of Longstreet’s divisions: Anderson, Wilcox and Hood with Trimble’s Division of Johnson’s Corps holding the right of the threatened sector. Many historians of the battle treat these engagements as two separate battles: the Battle of the Stone Road, with Humphreys and Stevens attacking Anderson and Wilcox, and the Battle of Union Mills, with Hancock and Wallace attacking Hood and Trimble….
Humphreys approach was extremely difficult. His troops had to cross one creek before getting into position in the waterlogged ground beyond prior to his attack across the main Pipe Creek. The Stone Road itself was in the words of Stevens “
a death trap covered by several masked batteries of the rebels…the first hundred men to set foot on the bridge were certain to fall”. Humphreys instead focused on trying to ford the creek along a broader line on either flank of the bridge...
Humphreys would make strong headway across the creek but the main rebel works were several hundred yards to the rear. The battle would be defined by the struggle for two "prominences" Perry's Hill and Mahone's Hill. The battle for Mahone's Hill was fierce as Anderson's division resisted attacks by Sykes' Division. The attacks would costs George Sykes his life and no man from V Corps would put a foot atop Mahone's Hill that day. Cadmus Wilcox's defense of Perry's Hill was more haphazard and the position more exposed. Further Stevens' attack down the Arters Mill Road threatened to flank the rebel position...
Barnes division (Humphreys' Corps) supported by Harland's division of Stevens Corps attacked Perry Hill. All three brigade commanders of Barnes' division would be injured, Charles Griffen, Strong Vincent and Henry Prince. In the end it was a former professor of rhetoric at Bowdoin College who would lead the remains of Vincent's brigade in an uphill bayonet charge that would rest Perry's Hill from the rebels...
Further progress in exploiting this break in the line between Anderson and Wilcox was prevented by the arrival of two brigades of rebel cavalry under Fitzhugh Lee who fought them as dragoons, quickly moving between the threatened points of breakthrough on horseback before dismounting to repel the next attack. Lee's plan to use the ground to defend in depth was working..."
Hancock's attack on Union Mills
From “Yankee Dawdle - the Memoirs of a Private of Pennsylvania” by Anonymous
"I have been in many a shooting match, but none to compare with a day at Union Mills. We were fair ground down in that mill...
The old 1st Corps marched on one road towards the rebels, and the 4th on another. But didn't both roads meet at the rebel line at a place called Union Mills. Our Superb [General Winfield Scott Hancock] and the Shiloh Dodger [General Lew Wallace] were hell bent on breaking that rebel line and it was into hell they sent us. The worst damn ground I ever saw. Credit though to them both - they were fool enough to ride with us in the front line like two men in search of death. No one called Wallace the Shiloh Dodger after Union Mills..."
From "In Column to Battle - The Army of the Potomac in the Battle of Pipe Creek" by George Cresap Ord
MacMahon Publishing
"Reynolds main attack was on Union Mills and down the Littletown Pike. If he could breakthrough in the centre he could march right down the pike and split the rebel army. He relied on his own old command the I Corps and Wallace's IV Corps to make the attack. It alone might have ensured the Battle of Pipe Creek's place as the bloodiest battle during the War in the East had even the second day's fighting not occurred...
Hancock and Wallace worked admirably as a team that day, a glimmer perhaps of the roles they were to place in our country's political future. Their converging attack pierced the rebel line between Hood's right and Trimble's left. Hood fought his division admirably. He and his men would slow Wallace's assault dramatically, but Trimble's piecemeal counterattacks were swallowed up by Hancock's aggressive push, though that aggression would cost the bad tempered martinet Marsena Patrick his life...
This was a potential disaster for Lee's army, but the attack had been anticipated. Hancock's and Wallace's preparations had been fully visible to Longstreet. French's Division had already been dispatched from the reserve by Lee sometime earlier in anticipation of Hancock's attack...
As Robinson's Division broke free of the rebels the pike opened up before them. This was the breakthrough Reynolds had hoped for. But John C. Robinson's boys were not alone. A gray and butternut line was shaking out before them. Samuel Gibbs French and his four brigades launched themselves at the Yankees and Robinson's troops fixed bayonets and counter-charged. All seemed to fight as though this were the deciding conflict...
Robinson fell wounded. Conrad F. Jackson inherited command for no more than 6 minutes before he too was injured. Command of the division devolved on George Stannard of Vermont. He rallied the division before unleashing his own Vermont brigade in another attack...
Sam French was killed resisting the Vermonters attack. Junius Daniel rose to command the division but the rebels fought by brigades not knowing French was down...
In end Hancock himself had to give the recall order for Stannard would not. As Hancock withdrew his troops to Union Mills and the hard won heights around it Stannard is said to have wept..."
From "Always The General - The Life of John Fulton Reynolds" by Jed Bradshaw
Penn State 1999
"As night fell and the attacks petered out men of I Corps recognized John Reynolds as he rode through Union Mills. "
Let us try again General!" "
One more try General and they'll break!". "
Men" said General Reynolds "
come the morning you'll get your chance. We'll not leave this field until it is ours..."