July 25, 2025 • 13 mins
Embark on a historical journey as Abner Doubleday, a Union officer in the Civil War, recounts his experiences from the frontlines. Beginning with the bombardment opened on Ft. Sumter in 1861, Doubledays memoirs unravel the tale of two pivotal campaigns - Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. Delve into the strategic errors at Chancellorsville that led to a Union defeat and explore the leadership crisis that plagued the camp. After Chancellorsville, Doubleday covers the unexpected clash of the armies at Gettysburg. When he takes command following the death of his superior, he leads his outnumbered division with courage and resilience. Despite being replaced due to a mistaken report of his divisions defeat, Doubledays narrative doesnt falter. Instead, he critiques the missed opportunities post-battle that could have ended the war. This book is not just a memoir, but Doubledays resolute response to the injustices he faced.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Part two, Chapter three of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. This LibriVox
recording is in the public domain and is read by
Mark Smith of Simpsonville, South Carolina. Chancellorsville and Gettysburg by
Abner Doubleday, Part two, Chapter three, Stuart's raid the Enemy
(00:22):
in front of Harrisburg meets plans. At dawn of day
on the twenty ninth, Stuart's command, after writing all night,
reached the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and commenced disabling it
so far as the limited time at their disposal would allow,
by burning a bridge at Sykesville and tearing up a
(00:42):
portion of the tract at Hood's Mill. They remained at
the latter place during the day to rest, but started
again in the afternoon and reached Westminster about five p m.
At this place they were gallantly attacked by the first
Delaware cavalry, which Stuart says was driven off after hard fighting,
and pursued some distance toward Baltimore, adding very much to
(01:05):
the panic there. At night, the head of his column
halted at Union Mills, halfway between Westminster and Lyttlestown. It
may as well be stated here that Stuart found himself
greatly embarrassed by attempting to hold on to the long
train he had captured at Rockville. It lengthened out his
column to such an extent that it became difficult to
(01:27):
defend all parts of the line without scattering and weakening
his command. As Kilpatrick's division was waiting to intercept him
at Littlestown, this consideration became a matter of considerable importance.
Greg's division also moved in the morning to head him
off at Westminster, but owing to the roads being very
much blocked up by our infantry and trains marching in
(01:50):
that direction, Gregg did not succeed in reaching his destination
until some hours after Stuart had passed. At night, two
brigades of Bufford's Division of Cavalry covered the left flank
of the Union Army near Fairfield, with one brigade at Mechanicstown.
The first and eleventh Corps were at Emmittsburg, the third
(02:11):
and twelfth at Middelburg, the fifth Corps at Teineytown, the
second corp at Union Town, and the sixth Corps at
New Windsor. The advance of the rebel cavalry under Jenkins
were now within sight of Harrisburg and skirmishing only four
miles from the town. Jenkins's object was to make a
thorough reconnaissance in order to ascertain the best positions to
(02:35):
be taken for an attack. There was a perfect exodus
from the city. All business was suspended too in Philadelphia,
and the authorities there busied themselves in hastening the work
on the fortifications in the suburbs of the city. They
were active enough now, and large numbers were enrolled. Pleasanton,
(02:56):
who was under general orders to guard the flank nearest
the enemy, erected Bauford on the twenty ninth to occupy
Gettysburg the next day and hold it until the Army
of the Potomac came to his relief. He realized the
importance of the position to the future success of our arms.
Hill's corps was at Fayetteville on the twenty ninth, but
(03:18):
one division, that of Heath, was thrown forward on that
day to Cashtown, within eight miles of Gettysburg. The object
of the movement was to join Ewele at York and
cooperate with him in the destruction of the railroads on
the other side of the Susquehanna et cetera. This plan,
as I have already stated, was suddenly changed on the
(03:39):
evening of the twenty eighth, when Lee found his communications
endangered and now all the advanced troops under his command
turned back to concentrate at Gettysburg. Longstreet left Chambersburg and
marched to Fayetteville, leaving Pickett's division behind to guard the trains.
Early received the order to return in the afternoon of
(03:59):
the twentyeth recalled Gordon's brigade from Wrightsville and made preparations
to start the next morning. Rhodes and Johnson's divisions left
Carlisle and marched on Gettysburg, the former by the direct
route and the latter by way of Greenwood, to convoy
the trains full of stolen property. A number of partisan
(04:20):
skirmishes took place during the day which were creditable to
our troops, particularly that at Mcconnellsburg, to the west of Chambersburg.
The raid against Richmond ended by the return of Colonel
Spears's regiment to the White House. Hooker had urged that
General Dix assumed command of all his available troops, march
(04:41):
against Richmond and plant himself firmly on Lee's line of communications,
but his recommendations were slighted by Halleck. There was much
disappointment in the North at this failure to make a
serious attack on the rebel capitol, for it was generally
believed that it might have been captured by a coud
of mans. On the thirtieth, General Meade advanced his army,
(05:04):
still nearer the Susquehanna. At evening, his extreme left, the
first Corps, was at Marsh Creek on the Emmitsburg Road,
while the extreme right, the sixth Corps, was away off
at Manchester. The intermediate corps were posted the eleventh at Emmittsburg,
the second at Union Town, the third at Teiney Town,
(05:25):
the fifth at Union Mills, and the twelfth at Frizleburg.
General French moved from Harper's Ferry with the bulk of
the garrison and occupied Frederick. The first Corps was ordered
to Gettysburg, but General Reynolds halted it at Marsh Creek,
as the enemy were reported to be coming from the
direction of Fairfield. Meade now resolved to take up a
(05:48):
defensive position on Pipe Creek. He threw out his forces
as before in a fan shape, but any corps encountering
the enemy was expected to fight in retreat until it
reached the new line, where all the corps were to assemble.
This line, as laid out, was a long one, extending
from Manchester to Middleburg, a distance of about twenty five miles.
(06:11):
Falling back to fight again is hardly to be commended,
as it chills the ardor of the men. Nor is
it certain that Lee would have attacked the entrenchments at
Pipe Creek if he found them formidable. He might have
preferred to fight on the defensive with two corps while
the third corps took Harrisburg and broke up the railroad
lines to the west, or marched directly against Philadelphia, or,
(06:36):
as Pipe Creek did not interfere with his communications in
any way, he might have chosen to let it severely
alone and have kept on depredating in Pennsylvania after capturing Harrisburg.
This would have forced Mead sooner or later to attack him.
On the night of the thirtieth, Yule's corps had reached Heidlersberg,
(06:57):
nine miles from Gettysburg, with the exception of Johnson's division,
which was at Greenwood Road's division had marched direct from
Carlisle by way of Petersburg, Longstreet, with two divisions, was
at Fayetteville. The other division, that of Pickett, was left
at Chambersburg to guard the trains. Hill's corps had reached
(07:17):
Cashtown and Mummusburg, except Anderson's division, which was still back
at the Mountain Pass on the Chambersburg Road. Stewart, ascertaining
that Early was no longer at York, and not knowing
that the army was concentrating on Gettysburg, turned toward Carlisle.
He had bivouacked halfway between Westminster and Littlestown, but, having
(07:39):
ascertained that Kilpatrick was waiting for him at the latter place,
attempted to avoid the encounter by going through crossroads to Hannover.
He found Farnsworth's bagade of cavalry there, however, and charged
their rear, driving them back and capturing some prisoners and ambulances.
The fifth New York made a counter charge under Major
(07:59):
Hammon and drove him out again. He claims to have
taken the town by the aid of Hampton's brigade, which
arrived in time to reinforce him. Custer's brigade then came
up from Abbotstown. The battle lasted until night, when Stewart
gave up the contest and retreated, leaving Kilpatrick in possession.
(08:20):
Part of his cavalry also attacked the fifth and sixth
Michigan regiments at Littlestown, but were repulsed. He then, having
no time to spare, kept on his way toward York
to find the army he had lost. He passed within
seven miles of Yule's column on its way to Gettysburg,
and neither knew that the other was near. Had they
(08:41):
effected a junction, it would have saved the rebel cavalry
a long, fruitless and exhausting march, which kept him out
of the battle on the first day. It was one
of those accidental circumstances which seemed to favour us in
this campaign, while almost every incident at Chancellorsville was against us.
(09:01):
Finding Ewele had left York, Stuart turned and marched on Carlisle,
which he found occupied by our troops. He demanded the
surrender of the place under a threat of bombardment. General W. F. Smith,
one of the heroes of the Peninsula, was not to
be affected by menaces, and Stuart, whose time was precious
(09:22):
and who had no ammunition to spare, turned off in
hopes of reaching Gettysburg in time to take part in
the battle. He arrived there on the afternoon of the
second with horses and men worn out by their extraordinary exertions.
On their way, whole regiments slept in the saddle. This force,
when it reached the field, found Robertson's, Jones's, and Jenkins brigades,
(09:45):
and White's battalion ready to join it. By evening, Meade
was fully apprized by telegrams and Buford scouts that the
enemy were concentrating on Gettysburg. He knew that Reynolds at
Marsh Creek was on only about six miles from Hill
at Cashtown, but he sent no orders that night. He
simply stated that the enemy were marching on Gettysburg and
(10:09):
he would issue orders when they developed their intentions. Thus,
the opposing forces were moving in directions that would necessarily
bring them in contact, and a fight or retreat was inevitable.
Reynolds had the true spirit of a soldier. He was
a Pennsylvanian, and inflamed at seeing the devastation of his
(10:29):
native state, was most desirous of getting at the enemy
as soon as possible. I speak from my own knowledge,
for I was his second in command, and he told
me at Poolsville soon after crossing the river that it
was necessary to attack the enemy at once to prevent
his plundering the whole state. As he had great confidence
(10:50):
in his men, it was not difficult to divine what
his decision would be. He determined to advance and hold Gettysburg.
He directed the eleventh Corps to come up as a
support to the first, and he recommended but did not
order the Third Corps to do the same. Beauford, with
two of his cavalry brigades, reached the place that night,
(11:12):
but not without considerable difficulty. He left Fountaindale Gap early
in the morning and attempted to move directly to his destination,
but it came upon Pettigrew's brigade of Hills Corps and
was obliged to fall back to the mountains again. Later
in the day, he succeeded by going around by way
of Emmittsburg. Before evening set in, he had thrown out
(11:36):
his pickets almost to Cashtown and Hunterstown, posting Gamble's brigade
across the Chambersburg Pike and Devid's brigade across the Mummusburg Road,
his main body being about a mile west of the town.
While these great movements were going on, some minor affairs
showed great gallantry on the part of partisan officers. Captain
(11:58):
Ulrich Dalgren made to raid upon the rebel communications, capturing
some guns and prisoners, and gaining very important information which
will be referred to hereafter. The two armies now about
to contest on the perilous ridges of Gettysburg, the possession
of the Northern States and the ultimate triumph of freedom
or slavery were in numbers as follows, according to the
(12:22):
estimate made by the Count of Paris, who is an
impartial observer, and who has made a close study of
the question. The Army of the Potomac under General Meade
eighty two thousand men and three hundred guns. The Army
of Northern Virginia under General Lee seventy three thousand, five
hundred men and one hundred ninety guns. Stuart had eleven thousand,
(12:47):
one hundred cavalry and sixteen guns. Pleasanton had about the
same number of cavalry and twenty seven guns. End of
Chapter f
Part two, Chapter three of Chancellorsville and Gettysburg. This LibriVox
recording is in the public domain and is read by
Mark Smith of Simpsonville, South Carolina. Chancellorsville and Gettysburg by
Abner Doubleday, Part two, Chapter three, Stuart's raid the Enemy
(00:22):
in front of Harrisburg meets plans. At dawn of day
on the twenty ninth, Stuart's command, after writing all night,
reached the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and commenced disabling it
so far as the limited time at their disposal would allow,
by burning a bridge at Sykesville and tearing up a
(00:42):
portion of the tract at Hood's Mill. They remained at
the latter place during the day to rest, but started
again in the afternoon and reached Westminster about five p m.
At this place they were gallantly attacked by the first
Delaware cavalry, which Stuart says was driven off after hard fighting,
and pursued some distance toward Baltimore, adding very much to
(01:05):
the panic there. At night, the head of his column
halted at Union Mills, halfway between Westminster and Lyttlestown. It
may as well be stated here that Stuart found himself
greatly embarrassed by attempting to hold on to the long
train he had captured at Rockville. It lengthened out his
column to such an extent that it became difficult to
(01:27):
defend all parts of the line without scattering and weakening
his command. As Kilpatrick's division was waiting to intercept him
at Littlestown, this consideration became a matter of considerable importance.
Greg's division also moved in the morning to head him
off at Westminster, but owing to the roads being very
much blocked up by our infantry and trains marching in
(01:50):
that direction, Gregg did not succeed in reaching his destination
until some hours after Stuart had passed. At night, two
brigades of Bufford's Division of Cavalry covered the left flank
of the Union Army near Fairfield, with one brigade at Mechanicstown.
The first and eleventh Corps were at Emmittsburg, the third
(02:11):
and twelfth at Middelburg, the fifth Corps at Teineytown, the
second corp at Union Town, and the sixth Corps at
New Windsor. The advance of the rebel cavalry under Jenkins
were now within sight of Harrisburg and skirmishing only four
miles from the town. Jenkins's object was to make a
thorough reconnaissance in order to ascertain the best positions to
(02:35):
be taken for an attack. There was a perfect exodus
from the city. All business was suspended too in Philadelphia,
and the authorities there busied themselves in hastening the work
on the fortifications in the suburbs of the city. They
were active enough now, and large numbers were enrolled. Pleasanton,
(02:56):
who was under general orders to guard the flank nearest
the enemy, erected Bauford on the twenty ninth to occupy
Gettysburg the next day and hold it until the Army
of the Potomac came to his relief. He realized the
importance of the position to the future success of our arms.
Hill's corps was at Fayetteville on the twenty ninth, but
(03:18):
one division, that of Heath, was thrown forward on that
day to Cashtown, within eight miles of Gettysburg. The object
of the movement was to join Ewele at York and
cooperate with him in the destruction of the railroads on
the other side of the Susquehanna et cetera. This plan,
as I have already stated, was suddenly changed on the
(03:39):
evening of the twenty eighth, when Lee found his communications
endangered and now all the advanced troops under his command
turned back to concentrate at Gettysburg. Longstreet left Chambersburg and
marched to Fayetteville, leaving Pickett's division behind to guard the trains.
Early received the order to return in the afternoon of
(03:59):
the twentyeth recalled Gordon's brigade from Wrightsville and made preparations
to start the next morning. Rhodes and Johnson's divisions left
Carlisle and marched on Gettysburg, the former by the direct
route and the latter by way of Greenwood, to convoy
the trains full of stolen property. A number of partisan
(04:20):
skirmishes took place during the day which were creditable to
our troops, particularly that at Mcconnellsburg, to the west of Chambersburg.
The raid against Richmond ended by the return of Colonel
Spears's regiment to the White House. Hooker had urged that
General Dix assumed command of all his available troops, march
(04:41):
against Richmond and plant himself firmly on Lee's line of communications,
but his recommendations were slighted by Halleck. There was much
disappointment in the North at this failure to make a
serious attack on the rebel capitol, for it was generally
believed that it might have been captured by a coud
of mans. On the thirtieth, General Meade advanced his army,
(05:04):
still nearer the Susquehanna. At evening, his extreme left, the
first Corps, was at Marsh Creek on the Emmitsburg Road,
while the extreme right, the sixth Corps, was away off
at Manchester. The intermediate corps were posted the eleventh at Emmittsburg,
the second at Union Town, the third at Teiney Town,
(05:25):
the fifth at Union Mills, and the twelfth at Frizleburg.
General French moved from Harper's Ferry with the bulk of
the garrison and occupied Frederick. The first Corps was ordered
to Gettysburg, but General Reynolds halted it at Marsh Creek,
as the enemy were reported to be coming from the
direction of Fairfield. Meade now resolved to take up a
(05:48):
defensive position on Pipe Creek. He threw out his forces
as before in a fan shape, but any corps encountering
the enemy was expected to fight in retreat until it
reached the new line, where all the corps were to assemble.
This line, as laid out, was a long one, extending
from Manchester to Middleburg, a distance of about twenty five miles.
(06:11):
Falling back to fight again is hardly to be commended,
as it chills the ardor of the men. Nor is
it certain that Lee would have attacked the entrenchments at
Pipe Creek if he found them formidable. He might have
preferred to fight on the defensive with two corps while
the third corps took Harrisburg and broke up the railroad
lines to the west, or marched directly against Philadelphia, or,
(06:36):
as Pipe Creek did not interfere with his communications in
any way, he might have chosen to let it severely
alone and have kept on depredating in Pennsylvania after capturing Harrisburg.
This would have forced Mead sooner or later to attack him.
On the night of the thirtieth, Yule's corps had reached Heidlersberg,
(06:57):
nine miles from Gettysburg, with the exception of Johnson's division,
which was at Greenwood Road's division had marched direct from
Carlisle by way of Petersburg, Longstreet, with two divisions, was
at Fayetteville. The other division, that of Pickett, was left
at Chambersburg to guard the trains. Hill's corps had reached
(07:17):
Cashtown and Mummusburg, except Anderson's division, which was still back
at the Mountain Pass on the Chambersburg Road. Stewart, ascertaining
that Early was no longer at York, and not knowing
that the army was concentrating on Gettysburg, turned toward Carlisle.
He had bivouacked halfway between Westminster and Littlestown, but, having
(07:39):
ascertained that Kilpatrick was waiting for him at the latter place,
attempted to avoid the encounter by going through crossroads to Hannover.
He found Farnsworth's bagade of cavalry there, however, and charged
their rear, driving them back and capturing some prisoners and ambulances.
The fifth New York made a counter charge under Major
(07:59):
Hammon and drove him out again. He claims to have
taken the town by the aid of Hampton's brigade, which
arrived in time to reinforce him. Custer's brigade then came
up from Abbotstown. The battle lasted until night, when Stewart
gave up the contest and retreated, leaving Kilpatrick in possession.
(08:20):
Part of his cavalry also attacked the fifth and sixth
Michigan regiments at Littlestown, but were repulsed. He then, having
no time to spare, kept on his way toward York
to find the army he had lost. He passed within
seven miles of Yule's column on its way to Gettysburg,
and neither knew that the other was near. Had they
(08:41):
effected a junction, it would have saved the rebel cavalry
a long, fruitless and exhausting march, which kept him out
of the battle on the first day. It was one
of those accidental circumstances which seemed to favour us in
this campaign, while almost every incident at Chancellorsville was against us.
(09:01):
Finding Ewele had left York, Stuart turned and marched on Carlisle,
which he found occupied by our troops. He demanded the
surrender of the place under a threat of bombardment. General W. F. Smith,
one of the heroes of the Peninsula, was not to
be affected by menaces, and Stuart, whose time was precious
(09:22):
and who had no ammunition to spare, turned off in
hopes of reaching Gettysburg in time to take part in
the battle. He arrived there on the afternoon of the
second with horses and men worn out by their extraordinary exertions.
On their way, whole regiments slept in the saddle. This force,
when it reached the field, found Robertson's, Jones's, and Jenkins brigades,
(09:45):
and White's battalion ready to join it. By evening, Meade
was fully apprized by telegrams and Buford scouts that the
enemy were concentrating on Gettysburg. He knew that Reynolds at
Marsh Creek was on only about six miles from Hill
at Cashtown, but he sent no orders that night. He
simply stated that the enemy were marching on Gettysburg and
(10:09):
he would issue orders when they developed their intentions. Thus,
the opposing forces were moving in directions that would necessarily
bring them in contact, and a fight or retreat was inevitable.
Reynolds had the true spirit of a soldier. He was
a Pennsylvanian, and inflamed at seeing the devastation of his
(10:29):
native state, was most desirous of getting at the enemy
as soon as possible. I speak from my own knowledge,
for I was his second in command, and he told
me at Poolsville soon after crossing the river that it
was necessary to attack the enemy at once to prevent
his plundering the whole state. As he had great confidence
(10:50):
in his men, it was not difficult to divine what
his decision would be. He determined to advance and hold Gettysburg.
He directed the eleventh Corps to come up as a
support to the first, and he recommended but did not
order the Third Corps to do the same. Beauford, with
two of his cavalry brigades, reached the place that night,
(11:12):
but not without considerable difficulty. He left Fountaindale Gap early
in the morning and attempted to move directly to his destination,
but it came upon Pettigrew's brigade of Hills Corps and
was obliged to fall back to the mountains again. Later
in the day, he succeeded by going around by way
of Emmittsburg. Before evening set in, he had thrown out
(11:36):
his pickets almost to Cashtown and Hunterstown, posting Gamble's brigade
across the Chambersburg Pike and Devid's brigade across the Mummusburg Road,
his main body being about a mile west of the town.
While these great movements were going on, some minor affairs
showed great gallantry on the part of partisan officers. Captain
(11:58):
Ulrich Dalgren made to raid upon the rebel communications, capturing
some guns and prisoners, and gaining very important information which
will be referred to hereafter. The two armies now about
to contest on the perilous ridges of Gettysburg, the possession
of the Northern States and the ultimate triumph of freedom
or slavery were in numbers as follows, according to the
(12:22):
estimate made by the Count of Paris, who is an
impartial observer, and who has made a close study of
the question. The Army of the Potomac under General Meade
eighty two thousand men and three hundred guns. The Army
of Northern Virginia under General Lee seventy three thousand, five
hundred men and one hundred ninety guns. Stuart had eleven thousand,
(12:47):
one hundred cavalry and sixteen guns. Pleasanton had about the
same number of cavalry and twenty seven guns. End of
Chapter f
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.