Carolina Campaign and the Burning of Columbia15 Feb – 20 Feb 1865

1. THE CAROLINA CAMPAIGN: The Context

a. MAP EXERCISE: The Movement of Sherman’s Armies from Savannah/ Beaufort. Positioning of Union Corps on the approach to Columbia

SHERMAN’S CENTER OF GRAVITY: THE CAROLINA CAMPAIGN. Provide a brief analysis of MG Sherman’s operations during the Carolina Campaign that identifies the enemy’s Center of Gravity and how he planned and conducted Union military operations around it.

1) CW 2 Watson

2) CW 2 Keene

President Lincoln and General Grant’s Resistance to the campaign? Concern for Supply and communications. Come north on the seas and help me subdue Gen Lee, but eventually gives way to Sherman’s plans

MG HAZEN ON THE CARNIVAL OF DESTRUCTION:The military occupancy of Beaufort had prevented the abuse of private property at that place but no sooner had we passed Pocotaligo than the demon of destruction seized possession of everybody South Carolina had fired the first gun and even the smallest drummer boy seemed determined to get even. . . We were not out of sight of Port Royal Ferry when the black columns of smoke began to ascend. . . . Here began a carnival of destruction that ended with the burning of Columbia in which the frenzy seemed to exhaust itself. . . . An order prohibiting the destruction of property in any particular case was of no effect beyond one’s immediate presence and power to enforce it.

MG William B. Hazen,Cdr, 2d Division, XV Corps, Army of the Tennessee

b. SUSTAINMENT: Logistics and the Center of Gravity. Placing special emphasis on Sherman’s “bummers” and Special Field Orders 120, describe Union logistics during the Carolina Campaign and the policy and methods used to sustain Union soldiers.

Element of the Operational Art. A center of gravity is the source of power that provides moral or physical strength, freedom of action, or will to act (JP 5-0).

Union Logistics during the Campaign:

Transportation and Forage

2,500 wagons (6 mules per wagon);

600 ambulances (2 mules per wagon)

Total Mules = 16,200 mules/ Total Horses = 19,000 horses (35,000 total)

Forage: 14 lbs of hay per day per animal; 12/9 lbs of grain per horse/ mule).

Meat on the Hoof. 3,000 Head of beef.

6 Mile Long Corps Train. Corps marched on separate roads and troops marched alongside the wagons rather in front of them. This made for a roughly 6-mile long train for each corps.

Sherman’s Bummers. Regiment per brigade to gather stores and supply. Rotating responsibility.

Surgeon John Moore, Medical Director, Military Division of the Mississippi:Forty-eight days were spent in actual marching, and the average . . . . has been about ten miles. Some of the corps made on emergencies as much as twenty-five miles in a day. No part of the regular ration was issued on the campaign except sugar, coffee, and salt; everything else was obtained from the country by regularly detailed foragers. A great part of the march was through a region sparsely settled, an unbroken flat and sandy region, yielding little in return to the farmer. But our foraging parties would go to distances of five or ten miles from the road, and always returned loaded with bacon, poultry, and flour or meal.

Death to Foragers. 109 hanged, shot in head, had throats slit. Some had been butchered.” The common practice for the Confederates was to leave the bodies of the men alongside the road for Sherman’s men to see.

Special Field Orders, No. 120

Headquarters Military Division of the Mississippi, In the Field, Kingston, Georgia, November 9, 1864

IV. The army will forage liberally on the country during the march. To this end, each brigade commander will organize a good and sufficient foraging party, under the command of one or more discreet officers, who will gather, near the route traveled, corn or forage of any kind, meat of any kind, vegetables, corn-meal, or whatever is needed by the command, aiming at all times to keep in the wagons at least ten day’s provisions for the command and three days’ forage. Soldiers must not enter the dwellings of the inhabitants, or commit any trespass, but during a halt or a camp they may be permitted to gather turnips, potatoes, and other vegetables, and to drive in stock of their camp. To regular foraging parties must be instructed the gathering of provisions and forage at any distance from the road traveled.

2

Sustainment Warfighting Function: Related tasks and systems that provide support and services to ensure freedom of action, extend operational reach, and prolong endurance.

V. To army corps commanders alone is in trusted the power to destroy mills, houses, cotton-gins, &c., and for them this general principle is laid down: In districts and neighborhoods where the army is unmolested no destruction of such property should be permitted; but should guerrillas or bushwhackers molest our march, or should the inhabitants burn bridges, obstruct roads, or otherwise manifest local hostility, then army commanders should order and enforce a devastation more or less relentless according to the measure of such hostility.

C. WEATHER/TERRAIN. Utilizing the METT-TC element of Terrain and Weather, provide a brief analysis of the terrain and the weather affecting operations during the Carolina Campaign to include the Union occupation of Columbia.

On the Roads and Path of March: By far the most serious obstacle encountered during the first ten days was the bad condition of the roads. The face of the country was intersected with innumerable streams, spreading over a wide extent of bottom, through which the streams flowed in numerous channels, with intervening marshes impracticable for roads except by continuous corduroy and bridging. To do this work and to extricate wagons and artillery from mire great numbers of the men were wading through water and mud from morning until night. The roads through this part of the State would have been through fens and marshes, only to be crossed on causeways even in dry weather and without opposition, but several days’ heavy rain so swelled the streams as to cover the whole face et the country with water, so that the marching columns were almost constantly in water, often knee deep.

Surgeon John Moore, Medical Director, Military Division of the Mississippi

Frozen Uniform Vignette.

Sherman on Weather/ Terrain: “No one ever has and may not agree with me as to the very importance of the march north from Savannah. The march to the sea seems to have captured everybody, whereas it was child’s play compared with the other.

D. CONFEDERATE UNITY OF COMMAND. Generals Hardee, Beauregard, and Hampton are the principal Confederate leaders during the Carolina Campaign. Define the principle of Unity of Command, and provide a brief analysis of its presence or absence during the Carolina Campaign and how it served to either degrade or enhance the effectiveness of Confederate military operations. You might want to take a look at General Beauregard’s letter to General Lee (16 Feb 1865/ Staff Ride Study Manual).

Beauregard Assumes Command (16 Feb). I returned last evening from Charleston. I shall assume command today of all forces in South Carolina. The present military situation is thus: Our forces, about 20,000 effective infantry and artillery, more or less demoralized, occupy a circumference of about 240 miles from Charleston to Augusta. The enemy, well organized and disciplined, and flushed with success, numbering nearly double our force, is concentrated upon one point (Columbia) of that circumference. Unless I can

3

Unity of Command. Ensure unity of effort under one responsible commander for every objective.

concentrate rapidly here, or in my rear, all available troops, the result cannot be long doubtful. General Hardee still hesitates to abandon Charleston, notwithstanding I have repeatedly urged him to do so, thereby losing several days of vital importance to future operations.

Beauregard to Lee (Columbia, S.C., February 16, 1865–2 p.m.)

Problem of Concentrating Confederate troops? (Army of Tennessee scattered and figuring the direction of Sherman’s march).

When did Beauregard first realize that Sherman’s true intention was to invest the city of Columbia (15 Feb)?

“Generals Stevenson and Hampton report from Columbia enemy has appeared in their front and driven their pickets across Congaree at railroad bridge near Kingsville. They consider movement on Columbia serious.”

2. BATTLE OF CONGAREE CREEK – APPROACH TO COLUMBIA (15 Feb 1865).

a. MG OLIVER O. HOWARD ON THE WEATHER:

“Fog was particularly thick as they approached the Congaree Creek Bridge. Men sank into the mud at every step, particularly bad for the horses and cavalry. Deep ditches on both sides of the State Road.” A misty cold rain that had been falling most of the day.

b. PROTECTION. Define the element of Protection and its application to Confederate defenses at the Battle of Congaree Creek.

QUESTION: What do the Confederates have in the way of defenses here at Congaree Creek?

Confederate Defenses.

South Side – “Tete-de-Pont.” Arc shaped “temporary breast-works of rails.” Two cannons were manned at the tete-de-pont.

North Side – Strong earthwork. Earthworks salient 350 feet long. Large, broad moat, 25 feet wide, was excavated in front of a earthen parapet – 10 feet from the top of the parapet to the bottom of the moat – earthen parapet at the salient is 25 to 30 feet thick and 10 to 15 feet wide at the top. To the east and west of the salient, the earthworks were three feet high and five to 10 feet wide with a trench about three feet deep and up to 10 feet wide. Three additional cannons near the bridge.

Troops

4

Protection: Related tasks and systems that preserve the force so the commander can apply maximum combat power to accomplish the mission.

Dibrell’s Cavalry Brigade. Dibrell’s Cavalry Brigade plus scattered infantry under the command of MG Carter L. Stevenson.

Orders from LTG Hampton: “to hold the other side of Congaree River as long as practicable. Without endangering safety of the troops, then hold bridge-head long enough to save all wagons, artillery, &c.; then if forced back from there destroy a part of the bridge at both extremities.”

c. MOVEMENT AND MANEUVER. Utilizing the element of Movement and Maneuver, provide a brief analysis of the Battle of Congaree Creek (15 Feb 1865) focusing on the leadership of MG Charles Woods and the brigades of the 1st Division, Union XV Corps.

3) CW3 Rivera

4) CW2 Ray

De Gress’ Battery/ Woods’ Brigade. Opened on the enemy’s front just as this movement was going on the flank and posted his brother’s brigade in front to fix the enemy in place.

Pushed Catterson’s Brigade to the Front and Right. General Woods confronted the enemy’s line with his skirmishers and first worked to the right in order to ascertain the character of the position, and to turn the enemy’s left.

Fortieth Illinois (Col. Hiram W. Hall/ Springfield, Illinois) Forty-sixth Ohio (COL Edward Upton/ Worthington, Ohio)

Pushed Stone’s Brigade to the Left. About half a mile to the left of the State road, and pushed it on until the skirmish line had waded through a large swamp and come upon the bank of the Congaree Creek.

4th Iowa, Maj. Albert R. Anderson (Council Bluffs, Iowa).9th Iowa, Maj. Alonzo Abernethy (Dubuque, Iowa).25th Iowa, Lieut. Col. David J. Palmer (Mount Pleasant).

GO TO THE WEST BRIDGE: DIBRELL’S RIGHT FLANK. PROCEED TO EAST BRIDGE TO UNION LINE AND CATTERSON’S LINE OF EFFORT.

HDQRS. SECOND BRIG., FIRST DIV., 15TH ARMY CORPS,Columbia, S.C., February 19, 1865.

COL Robert Catterson’s AAR:On the morning of the 15th of February, in compliance with orders received, I moved my brigade from bivouac at a point on the Orangeburg and Columbia road where it crosses Sandy Run, and proceeded in the direction of Columbia. After moving about one mile the enemy was discovered on our front. Four companies of the Fortieth Illinois (Col. Hiram W. Hall Springfield, Illinois) were deployed as skirmishers, and pushed forward, driving the enemy at a rapid pace as far as Savannah Creek, where he made a stand. Four other companies were sent forward to strengthen the skirmish line and

5

Movement and Maneuver. The related tasks and systems that move and employ forces to achieve a position of relative advantage over the enemy and other threats.

the enemy was driven back to Congaree Creek, where another stand was made. I at once formed line of battle and moved the skirmish line to a point about 300 paces from the enemy's position. At this point the Congaree Creek makes a curve describing something less than a semicircle, running well down to the right of my position. The enemy had constructed a strong barricade of rails across the road near the bridge, and had two pieces of artillery in position on the road. I moved one regiment, the Forty-sixth Ohio (COL Edward Upton/ Worthington, Ohio), up the creek on the right of the skirmish line, until almost opposite the left of the enemy's position. Here the enemy was discovered intrenched on the opposite side of the creek, which rendered it impracticable to advance it farther, as it was exposed to an enfilading fire. I immediately reported the fact to the general commanding, and it was decided to cross above and below the enemy's position. I was ordered to construct a crossing below the bridge, which I did by felling trees across the stream, after which I asked permission to cross my brigade, but it was determined to send a reconnoitering party only. I at this moment rode forward to the skirmish line, and discovering the enemy's attention drawn to a portion of the Third Brigade, who were moving down the river from above, my skirmishers were immediately moved forward, driving the enemy from his barricade, reaching the bridge (which had been fired) in time to extinguish the flames before it was destroyed. I moved my brigade across the creek and camped about one mile beyond. The enemy evacuated a strong position on the opposite side of the creek, and fell back about two miles to a fortified position. During the day the brigade lost in killed, 5; wounded, 10.Respectfully, your obedient servant,

ROBT. F. CATTERSON, Colonel, Commanding Brigade.

3. SUSTAINMENT: CASUALTY MANAGEMENT. Describe the casualty management system (or perhaps lack thereof) during the Civil War and its ability to sustain the morale of soldiers, families, and people on the home front.

• Union Casualties. TOTAL: 6 killed / 18 wounded/ Catterson: 5 killed/ 10 wounded

• Form 1156?

5. CW2 Miles

6. CW2 Coleman

4. SUSTAINMENT: REPLACEMENTS. Provide a brief analysis of the Civil War replacement system, focusing on both unit and individual replacements, and the part the Draft (Conscription Law of 1863) played in sustaining Union military operations during the Civil War.

7) CW2 Cardenas

6

Sustainment Warfighting Function: Related tasks and systems that provide support and services to ensure freedom of action, extend operational reach, and prolong endurance.

8) CW2 Hernandez

7. MOVING ONTO COLUMBIA

XV Corps Camps for the Evening North and South of Congaree Creek

Encamped along Congaree River (15-16 Feb). On high ground beyond Congaree Creek they were fired on by Confederate artillery all night long.

Casualties in Hazen’s Division. One officer killed and two men were wounded.

Sherman’s Take on the Cannonading. “The basest act he’d ever heard of” with no other object than to “kill some miserable Devils rolled in their blankets

TRAVEL TO GERVAIS STREET BRIDGE.

8. XV CORPS AT THE GERVAIS STREET BRIDGE.

GO TO BRIDGE RUINS

a. ORIENTATION: XV Corps on the Western Heights above the Congaree River (16 Feb). Soldiers could see for the first time the houses, church steeples, and railroad stations.

Soldier from the 93rd Illinois/ Smith’s Division, XV Corps (16 Feb 1865)

On the 16th, the regiment moved at 6 o’clock a.m., joined the division an hour later, when the whole division moved forward. Between 11 and 12 o’clock in the afternoon, we came in sight of the city of Columbia, the capital of the State. . All of the right wing, certainly, and, it was said, the whole army, was maneuvered, in plain view of the city, in a large open field southwest from the city, on the opposite side of the Congaree River. The field was on a slope that gradually rose from the river and extended to the heavy timber, nearly two miles away. Over this fine open field, that great mass of troops, infantry, artillery and cavalry, marched and counter marched to positions, in such manner as produced one of the most brilliant and imposing spectacles ever witnessed in this country, or, perhaps, anywhere.

Congaree River Bridge Fired by Confederate Cavalry. Still smoldering as Union troops approached it. The entire 15th Corps marched into open ground in review formation – the entire corps of 15,000 men all within sight of the people of Columbia on the other side of the river.

State House Building under Construction. Dominating the sky from this position was the unfinished new state house building that was being built of granite and marble.

b. SHERMAN AND HAZEN AT THE BRIDGE.

7

Hazen through his Binoculars. Cotton Breastworks on Columbia Side of the River. Two-three thousand bales of cotton used to

construct breastworks between the South Carolina Railroad depot and the Congaree River.

Arsenal Academy Boys. On the opposite side of the river young boys of the Arsenal Academy were digging firing positions to prevent Sherman’s crossing at Gervais Street.

Hazen Orders His Men Not to Shoot Them. The Union soldiers let the boys dig. “They were such young things, mere boys, said Hazen.”

Hazen’s Division Suffers Casualties. Two of Hazen’s men were wounded from the shots from across the Congaree River.

Sherman and DeGress. Sherman comes across DeGress’ battery firing shells into downtown Columbia exchanging shots w/ Confederate Artillery.

4 Twenty-pound Parrot Rifled Artillery Pieces. The 20-pound Parrot was the largest field gun used during the war, with the barrel alone weighing over 1,800 pounds.

Sherman Directs Battery Fire.

South Carolina Railroad Depot. Sees civilians running about in the streets and a crowd threatening to loot a warehouse.

New State House Building: Limits DeGress to a few shots at the unfinished state house

walls. Six brass star markers on the South Carolina State House façade indicate the damage to the structure done by Captain De Gress’ twenty-pound Parrot cannons in 1865.

Home of the Mayor of Columbia: Thomas Jefferson Goodwyn lived on Gervais across the street from the capitol grounds. He had the front steps of his home blow up by a Union artillery shell.

c. DECISION TO CROSS CONGAREE:

• Congaree River Too Broad and Swift. Sherman ordered his troops to go north and cross the Saluda and Broad rivers, which were less treacherous.

• Short of Pontoons. Didn’t have enough Pontoons.

• Arsenal Boys. Didn’t want to force the crossing where the boys were located.

7. CROSSING THE SALUDA. Old State Road Bridge, a covered bridge crossing the Saluda River.

a. SALUDA RIVER FACTORY/ CAMP SORGHUM. One of South Carolina’s oldest textile mills constructed out of granite blocks around 1830. Several other businesses were located next to the factory

8

including a general store, gristmill, tavern and several boarding houses. Women workers hurriedly loaded up on cloth and began running from the factory upon the arrival of Union troops.

b. SUSTAINMENT: PRISONERS OF WAR AS A LOGISTICAL EXERCISE. During Operation Desert Storm several AG and Finance Corps personnel were drafted away from their primary missions and into prisoner of war duty. As in all wars, taking care of POWs is an immense logistical burden. From a logistical point of view, provide a brief analysis of the Civil War prisoner exchange system, and the rise of prisoner of war camps (1863-1864) to include the one here in Columbia, SC where the Confederacy became responsible for housing, feeding, and supporting enemy combatants.

9) CW2 Middleton

10) CW2 Holmes

Camp Sorghum. About five acres of open space / As many as 1800 Federal officers incarcerated / Space enough for maybe 500/ Holed up in shanties and holes in the ground / Sweet sorghum cereal grass.

“Here we spent part of a terrible winter exposed to the storm and rain. We had no shelter save such as we made at last of sticks and logs that we were allowed to carry in from neighboring wood. Our food was wretched, we had almost no clothing, and the weather was very bad nearly all the time. Our food was still the half cooked corn and cobbs together with quantities of corn an sickly sorghum molasses. . . . In ridicule of the rations, the prisoners dubbed this prison pen, Camp Sorghum

Major S.H.M. Byers

Prisoners.

Most had been trained to another holding area in Charlotte, NC.

400 Moved to SC Asylum (Upper Boundary/ Bull Street). About 400 moved to the Asylum prior to the occupation. Most of these had escaped and were walking the streets of downtown Columbia when Sherman’s troops began filing into town. All with an ax to grind.

Sherman on Night of 16 Feb. Sleeps near “Camp Sorghum.”

c. SALUDA RIVER CROSSING (16 Feb) Jones’ Brigade from Hazen’s Division Cross. Division moved opposite Columbia, and soon after to

the crossing of the Saluda, near Saluda Factory, where two regiments of Col. Theodore Jones’ brigade (30th / 55th Illinois) were pushed across the Saluda River in boats./

Jones’ Brigade. A small force of the enemy was driven over the crest of the ridge. Jones’ soldiers remain in place covering the working party until the bridge was completed.

d. MOVEMENT AND MANEUVER: ENGINEERS CAROLINA CAMPAIGN. Define the concept of Movement and Maneuver, provide a brief analysis of how Union COL Orlando Poe and his team of engineers facilitated it during the Carolina Campaign of 1865.

9

Engineers construct a

pontoon bridge across the Saluda. Tell us about the contributions of Union engineers in Columbia at the Saluda and Broad Rivers.

e. TO THE BROAD RIVER: Sherman hopes to get to the bridge spanning the Broad before the Confederate rear guard burned it.

Beauregard to Wheeler (16 Feb): “I regret to learn that the enemy has crossed the Saluda. Endeavor by all means to prevent him from crossing the Broad. Burn the bridge should it become necessary.”

Cornelius C. Platter (Civil War Diary, 1864 – 1865), 81st Ohio, 4th Division, XV Corps (Thursday Feb 16). We advanced several miles up the River. Crossed the Saluda and went into camp 8 p.m. but it was 11 1/2 P.M. before the wagons got over and 12 1/2 before eating our supper. – distance marched 6 mile – I think we will cross Broad River tomorrow and enter Columbia. It is said the “Rebs” have left the city and only a skirmish line remains. We shall see tomorrow.

GO TO THE BROAD RIVER CROSSING

8. BROAD RIVER CROSSING [THURS/ 16 FEB]

a. WHEELER’S MEN ON THE HIGH GROUND ABOVE THE BRIDGE.

Resistance from Wheeler’s Men: [Our] rear guard held a strong position on a hill overlooking the bridge. One of [our] privates said he and the boys were braced by generous helpings of gin they referred to as “fear tonic.” When they noticed flames shooting skyward from the bridge, they pulled their hats down over their faces and made a mad gallop across the burning bridge, many of them receiving severe wounds, others not being able to cross at all. After only 30 minutes, the bridge had been consumed by the flames and had fallen into the Broad River.

William Carey Dodson, “Burning of the Broad River Bridge,”

Confederate Veteran, XVII (Sept 1909)

b. UNION CROSSING OF THE BROAD RIVER

Describe the bridging of the Broad River.

Rope Ferry for Stone’s Brigade (0300). Under a heavy rainstorm at night. Engineers succeed in getting a rope across just above the burned bridge. With the rope they put together a temporary ferry to get Stone’s brigade across the River. It was a difficult task given the exceedingly swift current and the width of the River.

10

Movement and Maneuver. The related tasks and systems that move and employ forces to achieve a position of relative advantage over the enemy and other threats.

Union Artillery / Infantry Support. Our artillery situated on a high bluff and our skirmishers up and down the river aided the brigade thrown over.

Confederate Rear Guard [Wheeler’s Cavalry]. The whole bank was covered with wood and thick underbrush. Under this cover the rebels kept a strong skirmish line and fought with as much obstinacy as at any other point.

Secured the East Bank of the Broad? (0800 / 17 Feb). Finally succeeded in getting his Third Brigade across the Broad at 0800 on the morning of the 17th. Moved forward up the east bank, sweeping everything before him. Several prisoners were taken during the advance.

Stone’s Brigade begins Moving Up River Road toward the City. Extends skirmish line and begins moving toward the city.

c. CONFEDERATE EVACUATION OF COLUMBIA:

Beauregard and Hampton Depart (1000 hrs). Taking a northerly route toward Chester where they will form a juncture with Hardee.

Butler / Wheeler Depart. After Beauregard and Hampton. The last to leave. The last of Butler’s cavalry rode out of town with Wheeler’s Cavalry providing the rear guard.

9. MAYOR GOODWYN SURRENDERS CITY TO COL STONE

a. White Flag of Surrender (1000 hrs). Hampton refuses to allow Goodwyn to raise the white flag of surrender until the very last moment. Goodwyn raises white flag to surrender the city at about 0830.

b. Mayor Surrenders to COL Stone. Mayor waving a white sheet of surrender meets up with Stone. Stone offers the Mayor unconditional surrender. The Mayor and aldermen accept and together they ride in the carriage to town.

Wheeler’s Cavalry Fires on Union Soldiers. Wheeler’s men begin firing upon Stone’s men and Stone puts Mayor and alderman under guard and orders the guard to shoot the Mayor and aldermen if Wheeler’s cavalry wounded or killed any of his men.

Stone Assures Mayor Goodwyn. His brigade will protect the city. Sends word back to MG Sherman that the mayor had requested guards for private property of citizens.

Sherman Sitting on a Log w/ Howard: Stone sends back word that he had met with the mayor who had surrendered the city.

10. MAIN STREET AT STATE HOUSE (Statue)

a. COMMAND CLIMATE. “There is a disturbingly frequent correlation between Marines who act poorly and units with poor climates.” The correlation has been identified in many of the high profile, negative

11

incidents involving the military over the last decade in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as those involving sexual assault.” (Gen James Amos, Commandant of the Marine Corps). Define the concept of Command Climate, and provide a brief analysis of the Union Army’s command climate and arguing whether or not it precipitated the destructive events of 17 February 1865 in Columbia, SC.

.

11) CW3 Reyes

12) CW2 Hallis

B. THIRD BRIGADE’S ENTRY INTO THE CITY.

Freed Slaves/ Freed Union POWs / Local Merchants / Rowdy Civilians. Hundreds congregating in the city greeted Stone’s troops as they came into the downtown area. Many of them were already inebriated from the free and wholesome supply of liquor uncovered in the downtown area.

Cotton Piled in the Streets. Piled high on Main Street and on other downtown streets (Cotton Town /Gervais near State House Building / Sumter Street. Some of it smoldering from earlier firing. Some bales were ripped open, piled three high in an intermittent row down Richardson Street, some of it was blowing from tree to tree and building to building as Sherman’s soldiers entered the city.

Weather. Friday morning the sky was clear but a hard, steady wind blew out of the northwest. The wind was blowing so hard it blew clouds of dirt and debris.

COMMAND INTENT AND LIQUOR/ COTTON. Confederate leadership (Hampton and Beauregard) proved indecisive about the massive amounts of cotton and liquor stored in Columbia, SC.

LARGE QUANTITIES OF WHISKEY, BRANDY, AND WINE. Government distillery (500 gallons per day). Barrels of liquor taken from storage areas appeared on the streets. Blacks and whites, some of whom were already inebriated, began encouraging Stone’s soldiers to partake of the free liquor.

COTTON TOWN. Cotton Warehouse along the northern boundary of the city

STONE LEAVES HIS MEN TO RAISE THE U.S. FLAG.

Flag Already Raised. Gets to the state house only to discover that soldiers of the 13th Iowa (XVII Corps) had sneaked across the Congaree in the night and had raised the flag before he could get there.

12

Command Climate The culture of a unit. It is the way a unit “conducts business.” The leader of the organization is solely responsible for the organization’s command climate. Commanders at all levels establish thisclimate by what they say and what they do

Condition of the Brigade upon Return. Stone is gone about 1 hour when he returns he sees that many of his men had fallen out and had been drinking the easily accessible supply of liquor.

Ordered all Liquor Destroyed. Orders were obeyed but there was too much to be destroyed.

Vignette #3Availability of Whiskey and the Beginning of the Fire (One of Stone’s soldiers):

“[Whiskey] brought out in buckets, bottles and in every conceivable manner treated the men to all they would drink. The men were very much worn and tired and drank freely of it, and the entire brigade became drunk. The enemy had taken the cotton out of the store houses and piled it in the main streets and set it on fire, which the citizens and soldiers, when we entered were trying to subdue, and had nearly accomplished. But when they became thoroughly intoxicated, they began to break open the stores and plunder freely. . . . The day was dry and the wind blowing a gale. The fire in the cotton sprang up, and set some of the buildings on fire. By this time all parties were willing to assist it on.”

Stone Posts Sentries. Orders Jenkins to guard the homes of residents who requested assistance, posted sentries at intersections.

AS THE AFTERNOON WEARS ON:

Brigade Breaks Up. Mix of Stone’s soldiers doing and ignoring their duty. Other soldiers begin to filter into town.

Stone Requests Help on 2 Occasions. He knows he’s losing control late in the afternoon.

Vignette #8Stone Requests Help from Woods on 2 Occasions:

“My command was so scattered throughout the city I found it necessary to have a stronger guard, and therefore applied through my acting assistant adjutant-general to Brevet Major-General Woods twice, once in writing, for one or two more regiments for patrolling the city, but received no re-enforcements.”

GO TO WEST SIDE OF STATE HOUSE

c. SHERMAN’S ESTIMATE OF THE SITUATION:

Sherman’s Arrival (1200hrs). Just before 1200 hrs 15th Corps began marching down Main Street toward the Capitol building. Logan and Howard are with him. XVII is following behind but bivouac out Two Notch Road on the city’s northeast side.

13

Vignette # 5Sherman’s Description of Blowing Cotton and Fire

“A high and boisterous wind was prevailing from the north, and flakes of cotton were flying about in the air and lodging in the limbs of the trees, reminding us of a Northern snow-storm. Near the market-square we found Stone’s brigade halted, with arms stacked, and large detail of his men, along with some citizens, engaged with an old fire-engine, trying to put out the fire in a long pile of burning cotton bales, which I was told had been fired by rebel cavalry on withdrawing from the city that morning. I know that, to avoid the row of burning cotton-bales, I had to ride my horse on the sidewalk.”

Sees a Number of Drunken Soldiers (Stone’s Brigade). Tells Howard to take care of it and Howard has them placed under arrest.

Rides to South Carolina Railroad Depot. In the Vista and then rides North with Howard before he is warned of the presence of Confederate Cavalry. The depot had blown up the night before and was still burning the morning of the 17th as the Union 15th Corps began occupying Columbia.

Crowd of People (Evening/Morning 16-17 February) Began looting the government supply depot at the South Carolina Railroad depot.

Set Fire to Stock of Gun Powder. Using torch light to see their way in the dark they inadvertently set fire to a stock of gunpowder and ammunition that exploded with such a force that it shook the ground of the entire city. As many 30 looters were killed in the explosion and many others were severely injured.

Mayor Escorts to the Headquarters [Duncan – Blanton Home (1400hrs)]. 4 blocks east of where we are. Contractor from Louisville, KY who printed Confederate Money and who had fled with Hampton’s Cavalry.

Mayor Escorts to Harriet Simons Home. Sherman visits an old friend from his days as a Lieutenant stationed in Charleston at Fort Moultrie. Spends the rest of the afternoon at the Harriet Simons home on Laural Street.

Goes to his Headquarters on Gervais Street. Late in the afternoon for dinner and a Nap.

d. MG HOWARD’S ESTIMATE OF THE SITUATION:

Guards Carefully Established. The guards were carefully established in different streets, and seemed to be attending to their duty very faithfully.

Intoxicated Placed Under Guard. “I noticed a few men under the influence of liquor, and immediately directed that they should be placed under guard.”

Orders a Brigade to Replace Stone [1700hrs]. Howard gives order to have Stone’s brigade replaced on provost duty.

14

Order was the First of Kind. That Howard could remember, relieving the lead unit from provost duty after Sherman’s army had occupied a town. Indication of the seriousness of the situation.

Howard to the McCord House. To his Headquarters, the McCord House on the corner of Bull and Pendleton near the USC Campus?

e. 15th Corps Moves into Columbia. Takes all afternoon. MG John Smith’s 3d Division (1600-1630). Followed Hazen’s 2d Division down Richardson Street

and east out Gervais between 1600 and 1630 in the afternoon and notes the number of drunken soldiers milling about. Smith decides to confine his soldiers to camp.

MG John Corse’s 4th Division (1730-1800). Last of the XV Corps divisions. Probably did not get to their encampment until after dark 1730-1800.

XVII Corps Encampment. Follows the XV Corps across the Saluda and Broad Rivers and encamps about 1-4 miles to the northeast out Two Notch Road parallel the railroad.

11. COLUMBIA AFTER DARK

a. SOLDIERS COMING INTO TOWN. Soldiers from XV Corps/ XVII Corps early evening begin filtering into the downtown area gaining access to the freely distributed liquor.

Soldiers Fire Residences. Eyewitnesses see Union soldiers go House to house with turpentine, balls of cotton, pine sticks aflame, straw, and torches.

One Soldier Braggs about Setting 17 Homes on Fire. One soldier bragged later that he had set 17 homes on fire.

Union Soldiers Burn to Death. Howard reported that some of the drunken soldiers passed out in burning buildings and the flames consumed them.

Old State Capital Building / Wade Hampton Plantation Home

b. LOOTING AND THEFT. Soldiers, freed slaves, Union POWs, and disaffected Columbia civilians breaking into stores and private residences cleaning homes of food, clothing, guns, watches, silver, and jewelry.

c. OWNER OF THE BLOODHOUNDS. Escaped prisoners of war from Confederate Prison camp.

Remember Citizens Spitting on Them. Some of the former prisoners remembered the citizens of Columbia who had spat on Union prisoners and wanted to destroy their homes.

Slaves / POWs Go After Owner of Bloodhounds. Escaped POWs and a group of blacks led a group of soldiers to the home of the man who owned the bloodhounds used to track down runaway slaves and Federal soldiers. Tied the man to a tree where several of the slaves took turns flogging him, killed his hounds, and burned his home.

15

12. TIME AVAILABLE. Utilizing the principle of Time Available, provide a brief analysis of the time required (and the implications thereof) to return order and stability to Columbia, SC after the breakdown of Union command and control during the morning and evening of February 17, 1865.

13) CW2 Lee

14) CW2 Baldud

Replacing Stone’s Brigade. At about 1700 on 17 Feb MG Howard gives an order to his adjutant to have COL Stone’s 3d Brigade replaced. Stone’s brigade was the first Union brigade to enter Columbia and was charged with securing the town. Do you know when a replacement brigade finally showed up to police up the drunk and disorderliness?

Replacement Order:

Woodhull to Logan (15th Corps Commander). Howard gives the order to XV Corps Assistant AG MAJ Max Woodhull who is to give it to the 15th Corps commander, MG John Logan. Woodhull arrives at the Preston home approx 1800 hrs with Howard’s order. Logan not available immediately when Woodhull arrives.

Logan Directs Woodhull to MG Woods (1830-1900). Headquarters on Senate Street/ 6.5 blocks away on Senate Street. To relieve Stone’s Brigade “to clear the city of the rioters, and, if possible preserve order during the night.”

Woods Directs Woodhull to his Brother, BG William Woods.

BG Woods Receives Order at 2100hrs. 4hrs from the time Howard had issued the order to Logan.

BG Woods to the Site. Chances are Woods didn’t get his brigade on the site until 2200 at the earliest.

Stone Relieved at 2000hrs. I received orders that I was relieved by Brevet Brigadier-General Woods and I sent the brigade to camp about one mile out of town, but remained in the city myself, working all night to assist in extinguishing the fire.

Woods’ Brigade Diverted to Fire Fighting. Orders were to restore order, but became consumed by fire fighting when they arrived. Tries to get enough soldiers to tear down building and create fire breaks, but in the melee, riot and confusion was unable to get together enough men to get the job done.

16

Time Available. Offensive operations become harder to conduct when the defender has more time to organize the ground and bring up more troops.

Drunks and Rioters Still on the Loose.

Howard/ Logan Order Hazen to Deploy a Brigade (0300-0400hrs).

BG John Oliver’s AAR: “February 18, at 4 a.m. the Third Brigade was called out to suppress riot; did so, killing 2 men, wounding 30, and arresting 370.”

Restoring Order. Deployed across the streets and in unison moved southward amid the fire and rubble. In a wide dragnet the soldiers marched steadily, stopping only to arrest men in their path. Those who resisted were shot.

Wind Dies (0600). Facilitates Oliver’s mission to restore order. Charred, blackened area of Columbia covered 36 blocks (400 bldgs and residences)

GO TO THE MCCORD HOME

13. MCCORD HOUSE (1849): MG HOWARD’S HEADQUARTERS

a. LOUISA S. McCORD: Home of Louisa S. McCord. Formerly married David J. McCord, a lawyer of Columbia, who died in 1855. She had three children – Only son killed at the Battle of First Bull Run.

• Author / Accomplished Lady. She was educated in the north (Philadelphia), and was the author of several books of verse. Writer on economics, politics, slavery, women's rights.

• Superintendent of the Hospital. Also assumed presidency of both the Soldier's Relief Association and the Ladies' Clothing Association.

• Howard’s Headquarters. Louisa stayed in her home with her daughters and an aunt in the upstairs portion of the home.

b. HOWARD’s ARRIVAL:Without any warning our back gate burst violently open and in rushed pell mell . . . such a crowd of men I have not seen before or since. They seemed scarcely human in their fierce excitement . . . . In one instant the large yard was full of them. One horrible looking man wore a coonskin cap with the tail hanging down behind, and the awful way in which that tail swung and jump will always come to me whenever I think of that day. . . . The doors were all locked, and we saw them all looking at a log lying in the yard, evidently suggesting its use as a battering ram. Fearing that violence would only excite more violence, my Mother told us girls to bolt the door after as she went out and that she would go downstairs and let them in. . . . In came a perfect stream of robber and thieves who . . smashed tore, and pocketed everything they could get . . . . What might have happened, I don’t know, but . . . just then the doorbell rang . . . the men stopped instantly and the door rang a second time. [My aunt] said to them, “There are some of your officers, and you had better not let them find you here.” In one minute, they were gone. Just like a flock of vultures. Sure enough, it was an officer – General O. O. Howard, second in command to General Sherman.

17

Louisa S. McCord: Poems, Drama, Biography, LettersBy Louisa Susanna Cheves McCord, 242-243

c. MG HOWARD AWAKENED 2030 hrs:

Goes to the Scene on Main Street. Meets Generals Logan and MG Charles Woods leading soldiers in the fight to put out the fire. Strenuous efforts, however, were made to arrest the flames (estimated 2000 troops fight the fire). Gets there before BG Woods’ relief brigade.

What do you see when you arrive in the downtown area?

Displaced People. Old men, women, and children, with everything they could get out, were herded together in the streets.

Kind Hearted Soldiers. At some places we found officers and kind-hearted soldiers protecting families from the insults and roughness of the careless.

Fire on Main Street (2200hrs). All businesses and building on Main Street from Elmwood to the Capitol building were on fire being fanned by the wind that continued to blow hard out of the northwest.

d. MG SHERMAN:

Sherman Walks into Town (2300 hrs). Walks down Gervais Street into Town with his adjutant (COL Dayton). Dressed in Civilian clothes, Sees burning balls of cotton blown across two blocks and burning shingles being carried at least 100 yards by the wind.

Encounters a Drunken Union Soldier. COL Dayton shoots him after the private resists arrest.

Encounters Generals Howard, Logan, Woods, and Hazen. Directing efforts to put out the fires. Several of Sherman’s aides had faces, whiskers, and hands singed from fighting the fire.

GO TO THE HORSESHOE AREA

14. UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA HORSESHOE

a. THE “HORSESHOE.” Original campus of the University of South Carolina, the former South Carolina College founded in 1801. The buildings were used as a hospital during the war.

Goodwyn’s Surrender Note. The South Caroliniana Library’s holdings include the surrender note sent to General Sherman by Columbia Mayor Thomas Goodwyn.

Flaming Rooftops. Doctors, nurses, and a few soldiers found themselves on the roofs of these buildings knocking off sparks, coals, and other burning debris brought southeast by the wind still coming out of the northwest.

18

Mayor Goodwyn and Dislocated Citizens. Mayor and family who lost their home. Mostly women and children wrapped in blankets, had taken refuge on the grounds of the USC Campus. The evening before they had watched the fire to the north and west of here burn out of control.

Elijah P. Burton, Surgeon, 7th Illinois. As he walked around Columbia on the morning of February 18th, etched itself into his memory:

“Groups of women and children sitting on their litter— all that was left them—all looked tired—Many crying & despondent. Some all patient, submissive & quite— & some complaining terribly about the Yankees. I think a large proportion were poor & mostly women and children. I talked with some but it made me feel too bad to be endured.’26

b. HOWARDS ORDERS SHOOT TO KILL(18 Feb): “It is ordered that all commanding officers and provost-marshals use the utmost vigilance by establishing sufficient guards and patrols to prevent at all cost, even to the taking the life of any refractory soldier.”

c. OCCUPATION OF COLUMBIA (18- 20 Feb 1865)

• Saturday / Sunday. Spent destroying war-related facilities and materiel as well as cleaning up odds and ends related to the fire. Burial details pulled charred bodies from the ruins of burned buildings.

• LTC William E. Strong (Chief of Staff). LTC Strong superintends the destruction of the public buildings, cotton, railroad depots, machine-shops, and manufacturing establishments. Report from Lieut. Estimates are:

1,000 bales of cotton / 19 locomotives (all the locomotives in and about the city)

20 box-cars (all that were not destroyed by the fires)

South Carolina Railroad and Depot/ Confederate Mint.

Twenty-five powder mills / Confederate States Armory along the Congaree River.

Destruction of the Railroads into and out of the city.

Soldier’s Diary 93rd IllinoisExplosion of Stored Ammunition (19 Feb):

On the 19th, John Templeton, wagoner of Company G, was mortally wounded by the accidental explosion of shells. He died on the 25th, and was buried at Columbia. The explosion was caused by the dropping of a shell onto the hard road, at the river bank south of the city, while shells were being unloaded from wagons and thrown into the river, the shells having been taken from the Confederate armory. The shell that was dropped exploded, and that caused the explosion of three wagon-loads of shells then at the river bank and being disposed of . . . . . A captain and four men were instantly killed, and about twenty others wounded, some of them mortally. There were about thirty men engaged there. The captain and one or two of the men were literally blown away, so that no part of their bodies or clothing was to be found anywhere. They were mostly of the Sixty-Third Illinois. On the 18th and 19th, the arsenals, armories, machine shops, factories, railroads depots and warehouses and public buildings, that had escaped destruction in the conflagration of the previous night, were all destroyed, under orders for that purpose.

19

d. MAYOR TO SHERMAN FOR CHARITY: Mayor goes to Sherman for help and support in feeding the people of Columbia who had been left homeless and destitute after the fire:

“Sherman had a crisp manner at times when things bothered him. He said to the Mayor: “Go to Howard. Howard runs the religion of this army. Go to him, he commands the troops that hold this city. He will treat you better than one of your own generals.”

Provides Cattle and Rifles to the Mayor. 100 rifles and 500 head of cattle that grazed in the open area to my rear.

Refugee Train Organized (19 Feb). “During the 19th ultimo a refugee train was organized, consisting of inhabitants of Columbia and the neighboring country who desired to go north with our army, and an equal distribution was made of the same among the several divisions. To this train accessions were made daily during our march through the country, and with negroes who abandoned their homes/ plantations at different places along our line of march the trains grew to great size.”

e. ARMY OF THE TENNESSEE DEPARTS (Mon 20 Feb). Sherman’s 15th and 17th Corps departs the city, in three columns. One marching north out Main Street on the Winnsboro Road; Another following the totally destroyed Charlotte railroad; and the last going east out Taylor Street to the Camden Road and turning northeast toward Camden.

f. OBJECTIVE AND ENDING THE WAR. MG Sherman negotiated the peace with Confederate General Joseph Johnston in late April 1865 ending the Civil War in the western theater of operations. For his efforts, Sherman was rebuffed by civilian officials for offering terms of peace that were too lenient. Utilizing the Principle of the Objective, explain the dispute and how the issue was eventually resolved.

15) CW2 Puckett

16) CW2 Brosh

g. MISSION COMMAND/ LEADERSHIP. In the classic military movie, A Few Good Men, Lieutenant Commander Galloway says to Lieutenant Kaffee, “I want you to let 'em be judged! I want you to stand up and make an argument!” In the form of a brief analysis, stand up and make an argument about MG Sherman’s leadership during the Carolina Campaign particularly in terms of Mission Command and the relationship between his military operations and Southern civilians. Let your fellow career course students be the judge.

17) CW2 Jones

18) CW2 Fabor

15. INTEGRATION: Provost Marshall in Baghdad

COL Teddy Spain, Cdr, 18th Military Police Brigade, Operation Iraqi Freedom:

20

“The first time I went into Baghdad, they were breaking into ministries and burning buildings, but I didn’t have any assets – all my people were down south guarding supply routes and EPWs. With those troops I might have been able to bring security to Baghdad. If I had my military police companies that had been dropped from the invasion plan months earlier, I think we could have taken control of the streets much better. I just didn’t have the assets.”

Assumptions for Planning and Conducting the Operation. Top Cop during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Brigade whittled from 20 down to 3 companies for the planned invasion. All based on assumptions about the invasion of Iraq and the occupation of Baghdad that turned out to be wrong.

METT-TC ANALYSIS: In terms of METT-TC, is there any similarities between the Union occupation of Columbia in 1865 and the U.S. occupation of Baghdad in 2003?

Did Union soldiers have a Mission plan for occupation?

Were assumptions about troop numbers to provide security valid?

Were assumptions about the enemy accurate?

Were assumptions about civilians and non-military actors in the urban terrain valid?

21