“The Prestige of Success:” the North Carolina Campaign of 1862
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“THE PRESTIGE OF SUCCESS:” THE NORTH CAROLINA CAMPAIGN OF 1862 AND THE ASCENSION OF AMBROSE BURNSIDE A Thesis by SHANE D. MAKOWICKI Submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Chair of Committee, Lorien Foote Committee Members, Adam Seipp Jasen Castillo Head of Department, David Vaught May 2016 Major Subject: History Copyright 2016 Shane Makowicki ABSTRACT Historians have roundly criticized President Abraham Lincoln’s appointment of Union General Ambrose Burnside to the command of the Army of the Potomac in the fall of 1862. Many have viewed Burnside, who subsequently suffered a severe defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg, as an incapable general who should never have been elevated to this position. By the fall of 1862, however, Burnside was in fact the logical choice for the command. He had achieved a great deal of success in an independent command in North Carolina, a campaign that has far too often been ignored, and he had become a hero in the eyes of the Northern public and the Northern press. Therefore, this thesis draws on a vast array of previously untapped Union and Confederate archival documents, pertaining both to the military and civilian spheres, to illustrate Burnside’s rise to prominence and high command, and demonstrate why Lincoln thought so highly of the general. Because no Union generals had pre-war experience handling large armies, Lincoln’s selection of commanders to lead the Army of the Potomac was not a simple process. He ultimately came to rely on two primary criteria: demonstrated success in the field and public opinion. Burnside’s victories at Roanoke Island, New Bern, and Fort Macon in the first half of 1862 not only displayed military ability, but made the public think very highly of him. Therefore, it is essential that his rise to command be linked with his earlier successes. This thesis does so by providing one of the first archival based accounts of Burnside’s 1862 campaign on the North Carolina coast (commonly referred ii to as Burnside’s expedition), and analyzing the Northern response to that campaign. It also examines Lincoln’s decision making process in selecting commanders and thus sheds light on the complex restraints that wartime presidents are forced to operate under. iii DEDICATION For my parents, who showed the way, and my brother, who led by example. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS While failure can be the work of one person alone, rarely can the same be said of success. Such is the case here. The completion of this thesis owes a great deal to many people. A complete list would run as long as the thesis itself, but it would be most ungracious for me not to recognize those to whom my debts are most unpayable. At the University of Connecticut, Dr. Robert Forbes and Dr. Robert Gross, who served as my undergraduate thesis advisor and my honors history advisor, respectively, did much to nurture a young historian whose work was passionate but extremely raw. Likewise, Dr. Allen Ward did all he could to make me a better writer, and by his exceedingly pleasant demeanor and unflagging care for a student whose interests in no way aligned with his own, set a shining example for how I could be a better man. At Texas A&M University, I have found a home in every sense of the word. To the history department, thank you for taking a chance on a student straight out of undergrad, and in doing so helping me fulfill my goals and dreams. Indeed, completion of this thesis would not have been possible without the generous research bursary the department provided. I could not be prouder to be a member of said department. Every professor and every one of my peers have stimulated my intellectual curiosity, shown me a level of respect I can only hope I have returned, and forced me to reevaluate preconceived notions on many occasions. Special thanks must go to the members of Dr. Roger Reese’s research seminar in war and society, who helped me work through drafts of several chapters of this thesis and now know more about Ambrose Burnside than they v probably ever wanted to learn. Thanks must also go to Dr. Adam Seipp and Dr. Jasen Castillo, who as members of my committee provided both support and illuminating advice and critiques. Undoubtedly, I owe my largest academic debt to my graduate advisor, Dr. Lorien Foote. She has shown remarkable patience in working to shape me into a better historian, while still providing me ample leeway to both make and (hopefully) learn from my own mistakes along the way. She is a model of not only all that a historian should aspire to, but all that a teacher, a mentor, and a person should be. Though she still remains loyal to her beloved Oklahoma Sooners (one of our only sources of disagreement!), she nevertheless embodies the Aggie spirit and everything that makes Texas A&M such a special place. Last but most importantly, it is a simple truth that I would never have made it this far without not only the support but also the example of my friends and family. From Stratford and Storrs, Connecticut, to College Station, Texas, and everywhere in between, I have been blessed to come into contact with the most extraordinary people. They are driven, they are inspiring, they are selfless, and they are, and always will be, close to my heart. They will hopefully forgive me for not mentioning them all by name, as I wish I could. If the past is any indication, they will, for they have forgiven many of my faults, for which I am eternally grateful. With them in my corner, it would be hard not to succeed. As for my family, words cannot express how much I owe them or how much I love them. Their support, particularly that of my parents, Sally and David Makowicki, vi has been unparalleled. Not many fathers would show such interest in reading their son’s work, and not many mothers would silently trudge around Civil War battlefields in 100 degree heat. It is thanks to their love, and to the example of my brother, Daniel, who demonstrated how to stay humble and put in a hard day’s work, that I am the man I am today. To any I may have omitted, please know that I am truly sorry, and that I appreciate you as much as I do the rest. And to all: thanks and Gig ’em! vii NOMENCLATURE LHS Litchfield Historical Society LOC Library of Congress LV Library of Virginia O.R. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies NA National Archives NCSA North Carolina State Archives RIHS Rhode Island Historical Society SHC Southern Historical Collection USAHEC United States Army Heritage and Education Center viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………...... 1 CHAPTER II “THE WOLF IS AT THE DOOR”: THE PERILOUS POSITION OF NORTH CAROLINA AND THE FORMATION OF THE BURNSIDE EXPEDITION.............................................................................................................. 22 CHAPTER III “EVERY PATRIOT HEART WILL BE FILLED WITH GRATITUDE”: BURNSIDE’S SUCCESSES IN NORTH CAROLINA…...……… 75 CHAPTER IV “BURNSIDE IS A TRUMP”: THE NORTHERN RESPONSE TO BURNSIDE’S EXPEDITION…………………….………………………………… 155 CHAPTER V “THE LAST THING ON WHICH I WISH TO BE CONGRATULATED”: BURNSIDE TAKES COMMAND..........................…....... 204 CHAPTER VI CONCLUSION: “THE HADES OF LOST REPUTATIONS”....…. 235 REFERENCES…………………………………………………………………...…. 240 ix CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Near the end of January 1862, President Abraham Lincoln and Major General George Brinton McClellan received a report on a Union military expedition that had been sent to the North Carolina coast. The expedition, under the command of Brigadier General Ambrose Burnside, had been struggling to cross into the North Carolina sounds and had been hit with violent storms that wrecked several vessels. While he listened to the report, McClellan took notes, but remained mostly silent. When Lincoln, however, learned of the setbacks, he was greatly disheartened. The President rose from his chair and exclaimed to the room, “I see. It is all a failure. This is very discouraging.”1 But within weeks, Burnside would provide ample evidence that his expedition was anything but a failure, by winning a complete victory at Roanoke Island, and thereafter following it with several others. Lincoln’s despair would subsequently turn to gratitude, much of which he reserved for the general who had done so much to prove his gloomy prediction of failure wrong. Up until February of 1862, the Civil War had not gone well for the North. After the Confederacy inaugurated the conflict by firing on Union-held Fort Sumter in April of 1861, little had happened to shake the South’s belief that it could win independence. The Confederates had won the first major battle of the war at Bull Run in July, and achieved 1 F. Sheldon to Ambrose Burnside, 2 February 1862, Record Group (RG) 94, Ambrose E. Burnside Papers, Box 1, Folder 4, National Archives (NA). 1 several smaller victories in both the Eastern and Western Theaters in the following months. Though the North’s newly minted Army of the Potomac, under the command of McClellan, had been growing greatly in numbers and training religiously around Washington, McClellan had yet to unleash it, despite the urgings of many Northern citizens and newspapers. Every day made Northern politicians, soldiers, and citizens more restless for a significant military victory, but until Burnside thundered down upon the North Carolina coast, no such victory had yet been won.2 Nearly all Civil War historians have depicted Burnside as a strategically and tactically bankrupt Union general, who should never have received command of the Union’s most celebrated fighting force, the aforementioned Army of the Potomac, in November of 1862.