Peachtree Creek 2: Charlie Crawford's expert overview and tour of battle sites

C. Crawford

Earlier this week, we had a post about my visit to the site of the Battle of Peachtree Creek in north Atlanta. It gave very general information and had some photos. I asked Charlie Crawford, president of the Georgia Battlefields Association, for his thoughts on the battle’s significance and places to see. By permission, the Picket offers here his wonderful and detail-rich tour overview, along with maps showing the battle movements and wartime and current roads in Buckhead. The post starts with his thoughts on the battle and how a sound plan ultimately went wrong for Gen. John Bell Hood, his subordinates and Confederate troops on July 20, 1864.

CRAWFORD’S OVERVIEW OF BATTLE:

Overview of troops, roads and other Atlanta fixtures. Click to enlarge (GBA)

The plan was to have seven Confederate divisions (French, Walthall, Loring, Maney, Walker, Cleburne, Bate) attack four Union divisions (Williams, Geary, Ward, Newton), but the plaque wording (at Tanyard Creek Park) makes it appear that this was another charge by Confederates who knew they would be outnumbered from the get-go.

It was the Confederates’ fault that they didn’t get the three missing brigades from Stewart’s Corps (one each from French’s, Walthall’s, and Loring’s divisions) into position in time.  Likewise, Maney’s division didn’t fight well, Cleburne’s division was held back to exploit the hoped-for breakthrough, and Bate’s division got lost in the swampy ground around Clear Creek.

John Bell Hood

Consequently, the participating brigades form Walthall’s and Loring’s divisions and the entirety of Walker’s division did almost all the fighting.  In that sense, the Confederates were outnumbered, but it wasn’t by design.

Hood was trying to bring superior numbers to bear (i.e., his plan was sound), but coordination and execution of the plan were poor. Certainly, Hood is ultimately responsible, but he wasn’t well-served by his subordinate commanders (particularly Bate and Maney, and partly Hardee).  So this wasn’t the oft-portrayed circumstance of the outnumbered, ill-clad, starving, brave Southern boys charging the immigrant, well-supplied, overwhelming Yankee hosts.

The Confederates came close to breaking the Federal line and achieving at least part of their objective, though not at all in the manner in which they hoped.

CRAWFORD’S TOUR

Confederate assault. Click to enlarge (GBA)

Normally, I start at the north end of West Peachtree St.  The Land Lot 104 marker at the crest of the hill (on WSB property) refers to the Confederate outer line that ran through the site, and I stop at the small parking lot (just above where the MARTA tracks go underground) and explain the Confederate position on the morning of 20 July 1864 and the intended advance northward.

I then drive north on Peachtree Street and turn east on Palisades (another marker is there) to talk about Bate's inability to advance up the Clear Creek Valley.  I follow Palisades to Huntington and Wakefield, showing how low the ground is there and explaining how swampy it was at the time.  I turn left on Brighton to show the high ground occupied by Bradley's brigade as they repulsed the Confederates.

I emerge from Brighton at Peachtree Road (two more markers) and show the 1944 monument on the grounds of Piedmont Hospital, turn south on Peachtree to show the misplaced stone dedicated to Howell's battery, and continue to a right (west) on 28th Street, the old Montgomery Ferry Road, pausing at the marker that refers to Stevens' mortal wounding.  Continuing west on 28th, I turn north on Ardmore Road, passing Ardmore park on the left, with its one correct marker (Featherston's brigade) and two relocated (and now misleading) markers to Wood's and Coburn's brigades

George Barnard image of grave headboards (LOC)

I go north on Ardmore to a left on Collier (Mississippi brigade marker at corner), point to the location of Barnard's photo of the grave headboards, then turn into the parking lot at Tanyard Creek Park. The plaques have a wealth of information but a decidedly Confederate viewpoint (especially regarding the size of opposing forces).  If I have enough time, I walk the group south through the park, talking about the capture of the 33rd New Jersey flag (marker on east side of Walthall Drive) and the advance of Scott's brigade across this ground.  We walk under the railroad trestle, through Ardmore park (past the three markers again), north on Ardmore Road, cross Collier to pause at the site of the Barnard photo, then north on Dellwood to a left on Redland, where the clash was intense as Ward's division advanced to fill the gap in the Federal line (marker on Collier Road).  At the bottom of the hill is about where Collier's Mill stood, and we turn south along the creek to Harrison's brigade marker at the intersection with Collier. Scott's brigade marker is across Collier Road.

Next, it's west along Collier, then north on Overbrook to Northside to explain how Geary's line was bent back by Walthall. Rather than a dangerous (heavy traffic) walk along Northside, I normally head back to the bus or car to leave the Tanyard Creek parking lot and go west on Collier (past a marker for Geary's division) to north on Northside and turn right into the Bitsy Grant tennis center. The marker to Williams' division has always been at the corner (on the back slope of a green on Bobby Jones golf course), but three other markers have recently been relocated there (and are consequently misleading): one (O'Neal's brigade at the ravine) was at the point where the ravine crossed Northside; two (Geary's refused line and O'Neal's brigade) were at the intersection of Northside Drive and Collier Road. The markers were relocated because they were difficult to reach on foot.  At least now, there's a better chance that they'll be read as a group.

Turn around at the tennis center and go back south on Northside Drive a short distance to a right on Norfleet Road to point out the still existing ravine on the south side and the high ground (Williams' position) on the north side. Following Norfleet to Howell Mill, I may mention the marker farther north on Howell Mill that indicates the right of the 20^th corps. Then I turn left on Howell Mill and stop at the shopping center on the right to dismount and talk about the Preston marker that faces on Howell Mill. I usually end the tour there.

There are a few other markers that could be seen, but the Preston story is evocative for many and is a neat way to summarize what Hood was trying to accomplish and all the ways in which he failed, mostly through bad luck, bad coordination among his subordinates and a competent opponent rather than bad planning.

Vintage baseball team honors Civil War soldiers, traditions of the game

• Part 1: Georgia fort teams square off Sunday

Gib "Judge" Young can't quite see second base when he's umpiring for the Huntington Champion Hill Toppers, a group of guys who play old-timey baseball in Indiana.

Not to worry.

Sometimes he all ask fans, cranks as their known in the parlance, whether a ball was caught for an out or if a player was tagged in time.

He might even call a vote.

"The players accept that. There is no arguing," said Young. "Only a ruffian or a common laborer would argue with an umpire."

Welcome to this Indiana town's version of vintage baseball.

The Hill Toppers play by 1862 rules, used during the Civil War and used by ballists (players) in the Union Army. Popular in New York and parts of the Northeast before the war, baseball spread like wildfire after it, with amateur and community teams forming in the Midwest and mid-Atlantic states.

The Hill Toppers follow Vintage Base Ball Association rules, but there are some allowances for their graying ranks when they play at home -- virtually no stealing or sliding. Nine-inning games seldom last longer than 75 minutes.

"We play for the spirit of the game and camraderie and the aim of nobody getting hurt," says Dennis "Pops" Wiegmann, 33, a hurler (pitcher) for the Hill Toppers. (photo, above)

The team, formed in 2005, was named in honor of a pivotal Mississippi battle in May 16, 1863. The Battle of Champion Hill occurred during Ulysses S. Grant’s operations against Vicksburg. The bloody clash ended in a full Confederate retreat.

Seventeen boys from Huntington County, southwest of Fort Wayne, were killed or mortally wounded in the engagement.

Young, who had several ancestors who fought for the Union, said Huntington has one of the few remaining Grand Army of the Republic room's in the state, on the second floor of the courthouse.

The GAR, the largest Union veterans group, was hugely influential in Indiana and other states for a few decades after the war.

"If you were Republican and wanted to be elected, you wanted to have the GAR on your side," he said.

The Vintage Base Ball Association (VBBA), with about 115 teams, posts several 19th-century rules on its website and provides a history of the game, which has evolved over 150 years.

Vintage teams pitch the ball underhanded and can get a player out by catching a fly ball or the ball on one bounce. Ballists use no gloves. Strikes and balls are not called as they are today, because it's a hitter's game. Walks are not issued.

"Before the Civil War there was a contest between the Massachusetts game (rounders) and the New York game, like it is today. The New York game was more popular and competitive and won out," said Young.

The farther west it traveled, the game became more community-oriented, rather than the focus on the club.

One St. Louis team, became an artillery unit during the Civil War, according to Young.

"There were games played in various camps," he said. "By the time the war ended, there probably wasn't a county in the North where someone wasn't exposed to or played in the game of baseball."

Last year, the modern-day Hoosiers traveled to Gettysburg, Pa., to play the game (photo, right).

Wiegmann, a school teacher, says the game of that era -- before it became more professional -- was focused on gentlemanly conduct and getting the ball over the plate, so the striker (batter) could hit it.

"You cheer a guy (even on the other team) when they make a good play," said Wiegmann.

The VBBA is most popular in the Northeast and Midwest, with Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, New York and Massachusetts leading the way. There are only a handful of teams in the South and West.

Observers say VBBA teams in the East are more competitive and strictly adhere to the rules.

For the VBBA's Hill Toppers, a game is as much a social event as an athletic enterprise.

After every match, the host team hosts a meal for the opposing teams, with names like the Deep River Grinders, Cincinnati Buckeyes and the Cleveland Blues.

That doesn't mean the Hill Toppers don't try to come out with a win -- but it's how they play the game that matters as much as the score.

"When I hurl I try to get it to a place where they swing. I don't put it right where they want it," said Wiegmann.

Getting new players and fans is not easy at a time when social media means more than group participation.

Without sponsorship, players on the team must pay for uniforms, postgame meals and other expenses.

"Eighteen-year-old old boys have a hard time spending money that way," said Young. The average age of the Hill Toppers roster is about 50.

Interaction with the fans is an important part of vintage baseball. The umpire and ballists have a lot of fun with it.

The Hill Toppers lead a team song at the end of the seventh inning.

"When we do get them (fans), the judge issues finds for spitting and cussing," said Wiegmann. "When a lady wears shorts, he might admonish players for looking at a lady's ankles. They have to play a quarter fine."

Young, 63, is a State Farm agent with many interests, including membership in the Sons of Union Veterans. He also makes appearances as President Theodore Roosevelt.

A founder of the Hill Toppers, Young (photo, left) said baseball is a romantic and historic game that grew during the Industrial Age.

The umpire's main role is ensuring decorum and good sportsmanship on the field.

"We are gentlemen ballists first. We are sportsmen," said Young. "Arguing is beneath us. Our guys like that part of the game. Winning or losing does not matter. When we get new people, we tell them, what matters is we have a good time."

All photos courtesy of Dennis Wiegmann, except for photo of Gib Young.

• Huntington Champion Hill Toppers
• Vintage Base Ball Association

Tour takes in Civil War Savannah: Preserved, possible and lost to history

The Georgia Battlefields Association conducted its annual March tour this year in and around Savannah. About 30 people took in well-known forts Pulaski, Jackson and McAllister, as well as lesser-known locations, including Rose Dhu, Shaw’s Dam and the privately-owned site where the Old Augusta Road crosses Ebenezer Creek. The Picket spoke with GBA President Charlie Crawford (above), who guided the group.

Q. What is the purpose of these tours?

A. They are to raise awareness of sites that can still be preserved if the opportunity arises. We can tell the contextual stories of where they are. Pulaski already is saved. Before then we went to Battery Halleck (above) , which is virtually unprotected. (Halleck was one of the Union batteries that fired upon Fort Pulaski in April 1862). Halleck is grown over but you can still see two big pits where they fired large mortars. I think the county is trying to buy it but they have been unsuccessful in finding who owns the property. There were 11 Federal batteries and that is the only one they could find evidence of.

Q. Could you please tell me about some of the stops?

A. We went to Fort Jackson and by Battery Boggs, which is on the golf course. There’s no mistaking it. Obviously it’s been damaged by the golf course but now that it’s there it will be preserved. We also went to Fort Wimberly, a [Confederate] battery that was built to protect the causeway. It was an attempt to protect the internal lines of communication. There is a noticeable and large remnant of the battery. It is on the grounds on Wormsloe state historical site. It could eventually be eroded away because it is right on the water.

Then we went to Rose Dhu (battery, above). The owner deeded the property to the Girl Scouts long ago. It protected another approach to the city. The mounds are taller than at Wimberly. They are both distinctive. At Rose Dhu and Wimberly you can see in several cases where the gun emplacements were. The trouble with digging pits it doesn’t take very long before you get to water. The Confederates had to build up for protection, as opposed to digging down. (A portion of Rose Dhu is being partially eroded by the river, photo, above).

Q. Was there a first for you on this trip?

A. I had never had been to Rose Dhu before. Rose Dhu is well south of the city [Savannah].

Q. Part of the tour was by water. What sites do you see from there?

A. We took a boat trip to see Gibson’s Point, Turner Rock, Thunderbolt, Bonaventure and Causton’s Bluff to see the sites of the Confederate batteries. Now there is hardly anything to see. Most of them are in people’s back yards. They were put there because once Pulaski fell the Confederates still needed to protect the rivers, including Bull Creek and Wilmington. At Causton’s Bluff there are a couple of mounds that are in a gated community. Fort Bartow on Causton’s Bluff was the largest fort in the area besides Pulaski and it’s almost gone because of the housing. When the housing recovers someone will build the last few. There’s no chance we will have the money to go buy the lots. It’s not a high priority because it wouldn’t be publicly accessible to interpret.

Q. What about the stop at Ebenezer Creek in Effingham County?

A. We were the first tour group to see the site. The Old Augusta Road is now in private hands. Several people wrote about an old road bed. The terrain is much the same as people described it. [On Dec. 9, 1864] the Union 14th Corps was passing through [on the way to Savannah]. The Confederates were annoying and following them. Because the 14th was on a narrow road they were anxious to get across the creek. They made a pontoon bridge, but when they were done they pulled it up. The black people [trailing the Union Army] were left wondering what the hell happened.

Confederate Gen. Joseph Wheeler talks about picking up 2,000 slaves, but that applies to several days’ worth. About 500 to 600 were left at Ebenezer. Some were picked up and put in the provost, some drowned and others made it across. The Confederate policy is you give them back to their owners. Jefferson Davis, the 14th Corps commander, quite consciously ordered them to pick up the bridge. He didn’t like black people, anyway. He was saying, ‘Why I am I wasting time on these contrabands’? [Editor’s note: The episode caused an outrage in the North and Secretary of War Edwin Stanton met with black leaders in Savannah after the city fell. Four days later, President Lincoln approved Sherman’s Special Field Orders No. 15, confiscating over 400,000 acres of coastal property and redistributing it to former slaves in 40-acre tracts.]

Q. Where else did you go?

A. We followed the route of the 14th Corps to Monteith Swamp. Went past a couple HQ sites. Also to Savannah Christian Preparatory School and saw the earthworks there with historian Barry Sheehy.

Q. What were some of the highlights?

A. Ebenezer Creek was a highlight. Rose Dhu was pretty cool. Hardly anybody had been there before. Savannah Christian School is relatively protected. They use it as a teaching area about the environment. There are wetlands nearby. There is a preservation opportunity nearby. The owner knows there are earthworks on his land but he wants to put in a warehouse, but not directly on them. The land has the continuation of trenches and there is an opportunity to preserve. We went to Battery Jones, which is essentially already lost. [Gen. William] Hardee used defenses in the wetlands. It’s overgrown, has a lot of bugs and poisonous plants. McAllister(photo, above) is protected as a state park. Jackson is a private non-profit. We did a walking tour of downtown, where the slave market used to be. On the western side of the city, there’s an awful lot of it that is already gone. It would be nice to protect what’s left.

Photo credits: Battery Halleck by the Picket; first Rose Dhu photo courtesy of LAMAR Institute; all others courtesy of Georgia Battlefields Association.

A report on CWPT meeting in Ky.

We asked Charlie Crawford, head of the preservation group Georgia Battlefields Association, his impressions of the recent meeting of the Civil War Preservation Trust in Lexington, Ky.

"Lexington is a historic city: the cemetery alone is a Civil War tour, with Henry Clay, John Hunt Morgan, John C. Breckinridge, Gordon Granger, and most of Mary Todd Lincoln's family buried there.

"Kentucky has done a good job of preserving and adding to the Perryville battlefield. Madison County has made great efforts to preserve the Richmond Battlefield. Two examples where a state/commonwealth and a local government have stepped up in the absence of federal preservation.

"[President] Jim Lighthizer's speech focused on having CWPT save 50,000 acres by the end of the Sesquicentennial in 2015. CWPT has saved 29,000 acres in 20 years, so 21,000 more in five years is ambitious; but goals should be set high.

"CWPT got a four-star rating from Charity Navigator. Revenue is up 20% in 2010 compared to 2009, which is notable in a down economy.

"Georgia Battlefields Association was well-represented. We had at least eight members at the conference, including three of the six members of the board of trustees."

-- Charlie Crawford, GBA