Christian B. Keller
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- March 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780823226504
- eISBN:
- 9780823234899
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fso/9780823226504.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, Social History
Not all the events preceding the battle of Chancellorsville boded so negatively for the German American regiments. In early February, the regimental commanders of the Eleventh ...
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Not all the events preceding the battle of Chancellorsville boded so negatively for the German American regiments. In early February, the regimental commanders of the Eleventh Corps submitted status reports to their brigade commanders. The news was very good. Both the twenty-seventh and seventy-fifth Pennsylvania, for instance, were in excellent condition, numbering 449 and 355 effectives, respectively. Colonel Franz Mahler of the seventy-fifth mentioned the “flattering remarks made on several occasions by our esteemed Brigade Commander, Col. Wladimir Krzyzanowski”, about the precision in drill of the regiment. Later, on the tenth of April near Brooks Station, Abraham Lincoln and other notables from Washington reviewed the Eleventh Corps as it paraded by at the salute. Lieutenant Colonel Alwin von Matzdorff called his regiment's performance “brilliant”, and remarked “that all were astonished at the grand appearance of the Dutch!”. Private Adam Muenzenberger of the twenty-sixth Wisconsin boasted to his wife that his regiment was the largest in the Eleventh Corps, and “also the cleanest and the neatest”.Less
Not all the events preceding the battle of Chancellorsville boded so negatively for the German American regiments. In early February, the regimental commanders of the Eleventh Corps submitted status reports to their brigade commanders. The news was very good. Both the twenty-seventh and seventy-fifth Pennsylvania, for instance, were in excellent condition, numbering 449 and 355 effectives, respectively. Colonel Franz Mahler of the seventy-fifth mentioned the “flattering remarks made on several occasions by our esteemed Brigade Commander, Col. Wladimir Krzyzanowski”, about the precision in drill of the regiment. Later, on the tenth of April near Brooks Station, Abraham Lincoln and other notables from Washington reviewed the Eleventh Corps as it paraded by at the salute. Lieutenant Colonel Alwin von Matzdorff called his regiment's performance “brilliant”, and remarked “that all were astonished at the grand appearance of the Dutch!”. Private Adam Muenzenberger of the twenty-sixth Wisconsin boasted to his wife that his regiment was the largest in the Eleventh Corps, and “also the cleanest and the neatest”.
Christian B. Keller
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- March 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780823226504
- eISBN:
- 9780823234899
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fso/9780823226504.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, Social History
This book is first and foremost a history of northern German Americans during and after the battle of Chancellorsville. Thus, it is a work of both ethnic and Civil War history, ...
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This book is first and foremost a history of northern German Americans during and after the battle of Chancellorsville. Thus, it is a work of both ethnic and Civil War history, but it is more firmly rooted in the latter. Its goal is to create a greater understanding of the United States' largest ethnic group during the Civil War by carefully examining the event that proved most pivotal to it. The book analyzes how well the German regiments in the battle actually performed by reconstructing their actions through the eyes of those who fought. It determines the extent of the Anglo–American criticism that followed the battle, and ascertains if it was justified. Most importantly, the book documents the German–American reactions to that criticism and how it affected the Germans' thinking and behavior later in the war, and even in the postwar period. Embedded in that analysis is the larger question of whether or not the Civil War helped to assimilate the German-born immigrants who lived and fought through it.Less
This book is first and foremost a history of northern German Americans during and after the battle of Chancellorsville. Thus, it is a work of both ethnic and Civil War history, but it is more firmly rooted in the latter. Its goal is to create a greater understanding of the United States' largest ethnic group during the Civil War by carefully examining the event that proved most pivotal to it. The book analyzes how well the German regiments in the battle actually performed by reconstructing their actions through the eyes of those who fought. It determines the extent of the Anglo–American criticism that followed the battle, and ascertains if it was justified. Most importantly, the book documents the German–American reactions to that criticism and how it affected the Germans' thinking and behavior later in the war, and even in the postwar period. Embedded in that analysis is the larger question of whether or not the Civil War helped to assimilate the German-born immigrants who lived and fought through it.
Earl J. Hess
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780807829318
- eISBN:
- 9781469611778
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9780807829318.003.0008
- Subject:
- History, American History: Civil War
This chapter examines the use of fortifications by the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia at the battle of Chancellorsville during the Civil War. Chancellorsville, a key crossroads ...
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This chapter examines the use of fortifications by the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia at the battle of Chancellorsville during the Civil War. Chancellorsville, a key crossroads ten miles west of Fredericksburg and four miles south of the junction of the Rapidan and Rappahannock, was one of the most successful flanking maneuvers of the war. Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker of the Union devised a plan very similar to the flanking movement introduced by his predecessor, Ambrose Burnside, in hopes of defeating Confederates General Robert E. Lee, who made intelligent and judicious use of fieldworks at Chancellorsville.Less
This chapter examines the use of fortifications by the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia at the battle of Chancellorsville during the Civil War. Chancellorsville, a key crossroads ten miles west of Fredericksburg and four miles south of the junction of the Rapidan and Rappahannock, was one of the most successful flanking maneuvers of the war. Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker of the Union devised a plan very similar to the flanking movement introduced by his predecessor, Ambrose Burnside, in hopes of defeating Confederates General Robert E. Lee, who made intelligent and judicious use of fieldworks at Chancellorsville.
Christian B. Keller
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- March 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780823226504
- eISBN:
- 9780823234899
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Fordham University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5422/fso/9780823226504.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Social History
Often called Lee's greatest triumph, the battle of Chancellorsville decimated the Union Eleventh Corps, composed of large numbers of German-speaking volunteers. Poorly deployed, the ...
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Often called Lee's greatest triumph, the battle of Chancellorsville decimated the Union Eleventh Corps, composed of large numbers of German-speaking volunteers. Poorly deployed, the unit was routed by “Stonewall” Jackson and became the scapegoat for the Northern defeat, blamed by many on the “flight” of German immigrant troops. The impact on America's large German community was devastating. But there is much more to the story than that. Drawing for the first time on German-language newspapers, soldiers' letters, memoirs, and regimental records, this book reconstructs the battle and its aftermath from the German–American perspective, military and civilian. It offers a fascinating window into a misunderstood past, one where the German soldiers' valor has been either minimized or dismissed as cowardly. It critically analyzes the performance of the German regiments and documents the impact of nativism on Anglo–American and German–American reactions—and on German self-perceptions as patriots and Americans. For German–Americans, the ghost of Chancellorsville lingered long, and the book traces its effects not only on ethnic identity, but also on the dynamics of inclusion and assimilation in American life.Less
Often called Lee's greatest triumph, the battle of Chancellorsville decimated the Union Eleventh Corps, composed of large numbers of German-speaking volunteers. Poorly deployed, the unit was routed by “Stonewall” Jackson and became the scapegoat for the Northern defeat, blamed by many on the “flight” of German immigrant troops. The impact on America's large German community was devastating. But there is much more to the story than that. Drawing for the first time on German-language newspapers, soldiers' letters, memoirs, and regimental records, this book reconstructs the battle and its aftermath from the German–American perspective, military and civilian. It offers a fascinating window into a misunderstood past, one where the German soldiers' valor has been either minimized or dismissed as cowardly. It critically analyzes the performance of the German regiments and documents the impact of nativism on Anglo–American and German–American reactions—and on German self-perceptions as patriots and Americans. For German–Americans, the ghost of Chancellorsville lingered long, and the book traces its effects not only on ethnic identity, but also on the dynamics of inclusion and assimilation in American life.
Graham T. Dozier
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- January 2015
- ISBN:
- 9781469618746
- eISBN:
- 9781469618760
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of North Carolina Press
- DOI:
- 10.5149/northcarolina/9781469618746.003.0006
- Subject:
- History, American History: Civil War
This chapter presents the letters written by Thomas Henry Carter to his wife Susan between January 20 and June 25, 1863. In these letters, Carter talks about how the opposing armies settled into ...
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This chapter presents the letters written by Thomas Henry Carter to his wife Susan between January 20 and June 25, 1863. In these letters, Carter talks about how the opposing armies settled into winter quarters on opposite sides of the Rappahannock River following the Battle of Fredericksburg; the changes in Carter's King William Artillery in the first half of February, including the departure of Major General D. H. Hill to assume command of Confederate forces in North Carolina; Brigadier General William Nelson Pendleton's reorganization of the artillery of the Army of Northern Virginia; Hill's request to Carter to serve as his artillery chief, which the latter refused; the Battle of Chancellorsville on the Orange Turnpike; the confrontation between Stonewall Jackson and Major General Joseph Hooker; and Robert E. Lee's decision to invade the North for the second time.Less
This chapter presents the letters written by Thomas Henry Carter to his wife Susan between January 20 and June 25, 1863. In these letters, Carter talks about how the opposing armies settled into winter quarters on opposite sides of the Rappahannock River following the Battle of Fredericksburg; the changes in Carter's King William Artillery in the first half of February, including the departure of Major General D. H. Hill to assume command of Confederate forces in North Carolina; Brigadier General William Nelson Pendleton's reorganization of the artillery of the Army of Northern Virginia; Hill's request to Carter to serve as his artillery chief, which the latter refused; the Battle of Chancellorsville on the Orange Turnpike; the confrontation between Stonewall Jackson and Major General Joseph Hooker; and Robert E. Lee's decision to invade the North for the second time.
