Monroe County Civil War Roundtable “Exploring, preserving and sharing the history of the American Civil War”

The Sentinel Volume 12, No. 6 February 2016

Fred’s Top Ten Generals of the Civil War

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by most legitimate historians today,

Visionaries were men like U.S. Grant and Wil-

liam T. Sherman. When Lincoln found Grant, he knew he

had someone who would do what he, the commander-in-

chief, needed done to win the war, not what needed to be

done to win the next battle or campaign. The same was true

of Sherman for Grant. They saw the long view of the war.

Charismatics can only br ing to mind the fir st

two of the Confederates to appear in this review, Robert E.

Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Both men had an incredible in-

fluence over their men. Neither was perfect, but both accom-

plished things with their armies that would most likely have

not been done by lesser personages.

Fighters? George Thomas (A Union Virginian,

by the way), John A. Logan, Andrew A. Humphreys and

James “Old Pete” Longstreet top this category. Tenacious,

unforgiving, and truly on top of their abilities in the field.

Hancock, Hooker, Terry, and Gibbon would also be in this

group on the Union side, as would Cleburne, Hood, Ewell,

Early and both Hills in the CSA ranks.

Horsemen and Gunners, also stalwar t fighter s,

would cover the likes of John Buford, the hero of day one at

Gettysburg, David Gregg, Wade Hampton and Henry Hunt.

Steady and Reliable? George Gordon Meade,

“The Turtle”, and E.O.C. Ord were Grant’s go-to guys when

it came to subordinates.

OK, there is the background that Fred uses to make

his choices. But who are the actual Top Ten? Wait no long-

er! In order of importance, from the best to the tenth best,

here is Fred’s list:

1. Ulysses S. Grant 6. John A. Logan

2. William T. Sherman 7. Andrew Humphreys

3. George H. Thomas 8. Patrick Cleburne

4. Robert E. Lee 9. Henry Hunt

5. James Longstreet 10. George G. Meade

Do you agree? Probably not! And where are fa-

mous names like Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, George

Armstrong Custer and Nathan Bedford Forrest? They were

not even mentioned as contenders in any of the categories

that Fred gave us. A lively post-presentation Q&A period

brought out some of his thinking as to why these men were

not included. There is far too little room here to present the

arguments...or perhaps we should say reasoning...for his

choices, but, as always, the talk was recorded on DVD and is

available for you to check out and play on your computer at

home. Then you can form your own opinions.

And the obvious question now is “Does Fred have a

worst ten list?” Of course! Maybe next year? Let’s hope so.

Heaven knows we all have opinions. If we didn’t,

what would we have to argue about? And our speaker this

month, our own Fred Johanson, wanted us all to be clear that

his talk on the ten best generals of the war were his opinions

and the rest of us would not necessarily have the same ones.

But to begin with, rather than launching immediately

into a David Letterman-like list, he made sure we understood

what his list was based on and what his selection parameters

were. There were, after all, a lot of generals in the war and

many of them that we never even heard of were very good.

The first thing to look at were the categories that he

used to make his selections. These included facilitators, men

who were able to make things happen and get the “goods” into

the hands of their soldiers. Then there were the organizers,

what Fred called the “fathers or midwives” of the major ar-

mies. Next were the visionaries, commanders who saw the war

far beyond their immediate location and situation. Then came

the charismatics, those who had the ability to get almost super-

human effort from their troops by the combination of personal-

ity, audacity and military skill. Fighters were commanders who

won their fame on the battlefield instead of the campaign.

Horsemen were those who did a rough job without flash

and flourish. Gunners, a category based on Napoleon’s idea

that artillery was the “Queen of Battle”. Steady and reliable

were those professional soldiers who were always ready to

stand by their commanders, especially Grant and Lee. There

were, of course, the politicians and civic leaders, those who

got their positions by means totally not based on their military

prowess. Finally, Fred wanted to mention the “should-have-

beens”, those who were good leaders but never actually

made general for one reason or another.

So, who were the men that fit these categories? Facili-

tators were men like Randolph Marcy, Lorenzo Thomas,

James D. Ripley, George Ramsay, Daniel McCallum and Her-

man Haupt. The odds are very good that you have never heard

of most of these men because they did their work behind the

scenes. Perhaps the one supreme facilitator you might have

heard of was Montgomery Meigs, at right, Lincoln’s Quarter-

master General and close advisor. It was Meigs, for

example, who had 60,000 fresh, complete uniforms

waiting for Sherman and his army when they

reached Savannah after the March to the Sea.

Organizers included Henry Halleck, or

“Old Brains” as he was called, Don Carlos Buell and, of

course, George McClellan (below) for his crea-

tion and training of the Army of the Potomac. If

McClellan had been less cautious, he might well

have gone down in US history as one of the

greatest general in the nation’s past...and the war

might have ended years sooner. As it turned out,

he is almost laughed at

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It Happened in February

1st [1861] Texas secedes.

1st [1865] Sherman moves into the Carolinas.

5th [1864] Sherman enters Jackson, Miss..

6th [1862] Fort Henry, TN, falls.

6th [1865] Lee becomes general-in-chief of all CSA

forces.

9th [1861] Jefferson Davis elected President of the

Confederacy.

11th [1861] Lincoln leaves Springfield to be inaugurat-

ed.

12th [1809] Abraham Lincoln is born in Hodgenville,

Kentucky.

16th [1862] Fort Donelson, TN, falls.

17th [1865] Charleston, SC, occupied by Sherman.

18th [1861] Jefferson Davis is inaugurated.

20th [1865] CSA authorizes the use of slave troops.

25th [1864] US occupies Nashville, TN.

Join Us in March!

Do you know who Jedediah Hotchkiss (at right in

1890) is? Our next speaker does and is again one

of our own, Lou Malcomb. She will tell us about

“Maps, Mapping and Mapmakers of the Civil

War: a Novice Explorer’s Perspective”

Lou is Emerita Librarian Government

Information, Maps and the Geo-Sciences at IU.

She began studying the Civil War seriously after

she retired in 2014, particularly maps and mapmaking. She

will describe what she has learned about Civil War maps, map-

making and mapmakers, but will also explore the availability

of civil war maps online and at various repositories.

Lou served as a librarian for the IU Bloomington Li-

braries for 39 years, both as Head of Undergraduate Library

Services and Head of Government Information, Maps, and

Microforms and Librarian for the Geosciences. She is best

known for her expertise with state and federal government in-

formation. She has also been active in the restoration and

preservation of historic cemeteries through her work with our

own Monroe County History Center’s Cemetery Commit-

tee. She is also an active member of the Indiana Barn Founda-

tion, the Government Documents Roundtable, and the Associa-

tion of Gravestone Studies.

Looking Ahead-A Change to the April Program!! We have had a change with the April program. Our

scheduled Wiley Lecturer, Eric Wittenberg, had an unavoida-

ble schedule conflict and will now be presenting this season’s

Wiley Lecture on May 10, 2016. That program will discuss

Ulric Dahlgren and the Infamous Dahlgren Raid.

So for a substitute for April’s program, we will com-

memorate the Battle of Shiloh (April 6-7, 1862). After a brief

summary of the battle we will see an investigative video that

discusses some theories on why the South lost the advantage it

had initially gained during the battle. After the video, we will

have a brief discussion period as time allows. So please join us

April 12th for our program entitled: Shiloh Revisited

***Quotes of the Month*** A quote about or by each of Fred’s Top Ten generals.

Grant- “Retreat? No, I propose to attack at daylight and whip

them.” -At Shiloh on the night of April 6, 1862.

Sherman- “You fellows make the best paid spies that can be

bought.” - His opinion of newspapermen.

Thomas– “If we do not run risks, we never shall know any-

thing of the enemy”- To Gen. Absalom Baird, 4/24/64.

Lee- ”I hate to see McClellan go. He and I had grown to

understand each other so well.” - Tongue firmly in cheek in a

letter to his wife Mary after Lincoln fired McClellan.

Longstreet- “Keep cool, obey orders and aim low.” Advice

to his troops in June, 1862.

Logan- "John A. Logan may be the most noteworthy nine-

teenth century American to escape notice in the twenty-first

century."- historian Gary Ecelbarger.

Humphreys- “Young gentlemen, I intend to lead this as-

sault; I presume, of course, you will wish to ride with me?”

Humphreys to his staff at Marye’s Heights at Fredericksburg.

Five of the seven he said this to were wounded or killed.

Cleburne– “I am with the South in life or in death...we pro-

pose no invasion of the North, no attack on them, and only ask

to be left alone.” - In a letter to his brother in 1861.

Hunt- " Young man, are you aware that every round you

fire costs $2.67?" To a young gunner. Fast firing also implied

to Hunt that the gun crew was not brave enough to stand, want-

ing to get back behind the lines for resupply.

Meade- “Not years, but General Lee himself has made me

gray.” - When someone commented on how gray he was.

Need a Challenge? If you enjoyed our annual quiz at the holiday dinner or

even later in the newsletter, you might want to visit the Civil

War Trust site in the link below. (Don’t forget, our roundtable

is a member!) There is a whole series of quizzes that you can

take, and some of the questions are definitely not for the faint

of heart! So sit back, test your knowledge and have fun!

http://www.civilwar.org/education/quizzes/

Reminder! Park Day is April 2!

Spring is still a bit far off, but then it

is never too early to start thinking about it!

Each year the Civil War Trust (our

roundtable is a member) and many Civil War

sites sponsor a Park Day for volunteers to aid

in the upkeep of these sometimes financially

strapped venues. This year that day will be on Saturday, April

2. In the past, the MCCWR has attended

Park Day at the General Lew Wallace

(above) historic site in Crawfordsville and

assisted with grounds upkeep, moving and

storing items, etc. This year we are planning

to do that again as a reflection of our com-

mitment to preserving Civil War sites.

Please think about joining us for an

early drive up to the Lew Wallace study in Crawfordsville

(above right) for a few hours of light work and great rewards.

The last time we went, the group was home by mid-to-late

afternoon. This should also be an opportunity to see the results

of several years of renovation efforts at the study as Larry

Paarlberg and his staff always offer a free tour after the morn-

ing’s work. We will be making more definite plans closer to

the date, but we hope you can join us in April!

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A Local Soldier’s Story from the War [Ed. Note: The following is an account of a Bloomington boy who

went off to war, served first with honor, then was discharged dis-

honorably for cowardice, but was much later in life exonerated.

Seldom does the war strike this close to home. This story was sent

to us from the research and writing efforts of Lee Ehman, a volun-

teer in the Research Library of the Monroe County History Center.]

At the beginning of 1900 a local paper ran a story

reporting that Capt. Henry L. McCalla was granted an honor-

able discharge from his Civil War service. The article ex-

plained that it took an act of Congress to “restore his name.”

Who was McCalla, and why did his name need restoring?

Born in about 1827 in South Carolina, Henry Law-

rence McCalla came to Monroe County in 1835, one of 12

children of Samuel McCalla and his two wives, Jennet

[Hemphill] and Elizabeth [Thompson]. They settled on a 160

-acre farm east of Bloomington. John, second eldest of the

sons, became a successful businessman, owning a dry goods

store located on the west side of the square. Samuel’s young-

est daughter Margaret became the first female superintendent

of schools in Indiana in 1875. Bloomington’s McCalla

School was named for her.

Joseph, the eldest son, died early in the Civil War.

Three of the other sons also served, Henry, Christopher, and

Samuel Jr. Henry, a 33-year old farmer from Bloomington,

helped organize and was elected Captain of Company G of

the 31st Indiana Volunteers in September 1861. The 31st first

fought in the battle for Fort Donelson in Tennessee in Febru-

ary, 1862. Then they fought in the Battle of Shiloh in April,

where on the first day the regiment was part of the key Un-

ion defense in the “hornet’s nest.”

In early June, the 31st was part of the pursuit of

Confederates after the battle of Corinth, during which Henry

commanded the whole regiment because “[due to]…fear or

sickness the field officers of the 31st…could not take com-

mand of the Reg’t….” In this “forced reconnaissance” they

were in a “hot little engagement.” Col. Sedwick wrote in his

report that “Captain McCalla, commanding the 31st Indiana

Regiment…behaved in the most orderly manner, obeying all

orders and moving promptly to any part of the field when

ordered.” Perhaps in recognition of this action, he was pro-

moted to Major on October 2, 1862.

At Gallatin, Tennessee, McCalla’s fortunes

changed. Charges of cowardice and absence without leave

were preferred against him. The official charge, dated No-

vember 20, 1862 and signed by Col. John Osborn, com-

mander of the 31st, states:

“Henry L. McCalla, Capt. of Co “G” and Major elect…having made application to the field officers for leave of absence (which was refused) did…while heavy cannonad-ing was heard in our front, take his trunk, and leave in the direction for Louisville, KY, swearing that he “would go where he pleased.”

An endorsement written by his former regimental

commander, Brig. Gen. Charles Cruft, stated that “The of-

ficer is a good man outside of a continual example of insub-

ordination.” McCalla was discharged as captain on Nov 24,

1862. “The order was read on dress parade, much to the dis-

may and disgust of the men of Co. G.”

Various descriptions of his discharge are found in

Co. G’s soldiers’ diaries, two regimental histories, and later

testimonials in the Congressional Record. Most of these

accounts acknowledged that McCalla left without permis-

sion, and explained that he went to Bloomington to bring

back his horse, which he believed necessary for his taking on

responsibilities as major in the regiment. None of the ac-

counts seemed to view his absence as a serious matter.

McCalla himself viewed it as a misunderstanding.

Regarding the cowardice charge, the soldiers and

fellow officers unanimously rejected it, vouching for his

bravery in combat. Some comment that Col. Osborn’s refer-

ence to “heavy cannonading in our front” was a fabrication to

justify the “trumped up” accusations. They attributed Os-

born’s desire to get rid of McCalla to his and other staff of-

ficers’ jealousy, and Gen. Cruft’s wish to promote others

rather than McCalla. Nearly all commented on the unusual

haste, four or five days, of the discharge. John Smith a fellow

company commander, and later commander of the 31st, af-

firmed his bravery and leadership, and stated: “…I know that

Captain McCalla had no more intention of quitting the ser-

vice or dodging a duty than had the general commander of

the Army.”

After his dismissal, Henry returned to Bloomington.

During Morgan’s raid in southern Indiana in July 1863, Hen-

ry commanded a local militia company for five days. Despite

this local affirmation of his willingness to serve, the disgrace

of his wartime dishonorable discharge, justified or not, must

have worn heavily on Henry. Over the years McCalla’s vet-

eran comrades worked to reverse what they believed was a

miscarriage of justice. Finally, a local attorney, Robert W.

Miers, was elected to Congress, and pushed through the bill

exonerating McCalla in 1903. From 1870 to his death, he lived on his Perry Twp.

farm east of Bloomington. He never married, nor did Marga-

ret or Sam. He lived with them until his death on November

11, 1911, at age 83. According to his obituary he was a Mon-

roe County commissioner and graduate of Indiana Universi-

ty. He willed half his library to the newly-build McCalla

School, and half the rest of his estate each to Margaret and

Sam. Margaret died in 1912. Samuel suffered from chronic

diarrhea and eye disease

after the war, and committed

suicide in 1913.

Henry’s grave is

marked by a large stone

[foreground] in Rose Hill

Cemetery in the Civil War

monument section. During

the last years of his life he

must have drawn satisfac-

tion that his war service was

no longer besmirched. [Many thanks go out to Lee for

providing this Bloomington

“exclusive”- Ed.] [Footnotes and bibliography for this article available upon request.]

McCalla School when it was new...and in 2016

Capt. Ephraim Waterman Wiley, Co. H, 8th Maine Inf.—Grandfather of former MCCWR President David Wiley. Present

or active at Port Royal, Fort Pulaski, Drewery’s Bluff, Cold Harbor, Chaffin’s Farm, Deep Bottom, Spring Hill, White Oak

Road, Fort Gregg, Fort Baldwin, Petersburg and Appomattox.

Sgt. Charles Thomas Shanner, Co. A, 63rd Indiana Volunteer Inf.- Great-grandfather to MCCWR board member John Crosby.

Chattanooga-Atlanta Campaign, Clay Springs, Battle of Atlanta.

Col. James McMannomy, Commander, 63rd Indiana Volunteer Inf.- Ancestor of MCCWR member Matt Hoagland. Second

Manassas, fought Morgan’s Raiders at Shepherdsville, Kentucky.

Pvt. William Nicholas Shiflet, Co. I, 10th Alabama Infantry—2nd Great Grand Uncle to Kevin Shiflet, MCCWR member. En-

gaged, to some degree, at Dranesville, Yorktown, Williamsburg, Seven Pines, Gaines Mill, Frazier’s Farm, Second Manassas, Harp-

ers Ferry, Sharpsburg, Hazel River, Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Second Cold Harbor, Petersburg, High

Bridge, Farmville and Appomattox. Pvt. Shiflet is only one of a total of seventeen of Kevin’s ancestors who served the Confederacy,

including thirteen cousins, two third great granduncles and two second great granduncles.

Jacob Mann, Co. A, 16th Iowa Inf.- Ancestor of Allan Sather , MCCWR member . Fought at Resaca, Adairsville, New Hope

Church, Kennesaw Mountain, Peachtree Creek, and Bald Hill (Atlanta) where he was captured and sent to Andersonville Prison.

Sgt. Miles M. Oviatt, US Marine Corps- Great grandfather of Mary Pat Livingston, MCCWR member . Served aboard USS

Vanderbilt, USS Brooklyn. Fought in Battles of Mobile Bay and Fort Fisher. Commended for Medal of Honor for his service at Mo-

bile Bay. Voyages included south Atlantic, Indian Ocean chasing blockade runners and capturing those renegades ships.

Pvt. Luther Oviatt, Pennsylvania 14th Cavalry, Co. I- Gr -Gr-Gr Uncle of Mary Pat Livingston, member MCCWR. Harper's Fer-

ry, Monocacy Bridge protection of B&O RR. Died at Hammond Hospital, Point Lookout while on duty. Buried Arlington Cemetery.

Pvt. Cyrenas A. Young, 85th New York Infantry, Co K.- Oviatt ancestor of Mary Pat Livingston. Plymouth, Kingston, New

Bern, Petersburg, Suffolk. Spent time at Andersonville Prison, then sent to Florence Prison where he died days before the war ended.

Cpl. James Dickson- 10th

Wisconsin Infantry, Co. D; 3rd great grandfather of MCCWR member Scott Schroeder. His only real

engagement was at the Battle of Perryville where he was killed in action.

Pvt. William Taylor Neville- 8th Iowa Infantry, Co. A; 3rd great grandfather of MCCWR member Scott Schroeder. Engagements:

Battle of Shiloh, Vicksburg, Red River Campaign. Captured at Shiloh in the Hornets’ Nest. Exch. Oct. ’62 and returned to his unit.

Reuben Newman—27th Indiana Infantry, Co. I, “Putnam County Grays”- Great-great-grandfather of member Eric Newman.

Wounded at Antietam. Also fought at Gettysburg, Winchester, etc. Served Aug. ‘61-Nov. ‘64. Died June 13, 1905. Buried in New

Providence Cemetery in Putnam County, IN.

Cpl. James Stark– 124th Ohio Infantry– Saw service in Kentucky, then Tennessee in the Chattanooga campaign. In action at

Spring Hill and in the Tullahoma campaign. Killed at Chickamauga, Sept. 19th, 1863.

Cpl. Graham Wilson– 4th Virginia Cavalry– Great-great-grandfather of member Steve Rolfe. Born and raised in westernmost VA

(today WV) across the Ohio River from KY, Wilson survived the war and is buried today in Louisa, KY.

MCCWR Roster of Honor

Contact Information General inquiries 322-0628 info.mccwr@gmail.com

Pres./programs Scott Schroeder 876-9751 sts.mccwr@gmail.com

Sec./newsletter . Steve Rolfe 322-0628 srolfe@indiana.edu

Treasurer Tom Cadwell 360-2058 tomcadwelll@yahoo.com

Webmaster Rick Watson 332-4483 rawatson@indiana.edu

Hospitality Randy Stevenson 824-5284 rks_jfs@yahoo.com

Board Rep John Crosby 339-2572 marjohn28@comcast.net

Board Rep Ray Beeker 331-8925 marvin.beeker4117@comcast.net

Board Rep Kevin Shiflet 361-7491 keshift@aol.com

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The MCCWR is proud to be an arm of the Monroe County History Center, 202 E. 6th St. Bloomington, IN 47408, 812-332-2517.

We meet on the second Tuesday of each month, September thru June, at 7 pm. Meetings are always free and open to the public.