Civil War Background & Interest

Years ago, I became interested in my family history and in particular the events in the life of my great-grandfather, William Landon Waters, who fought in the Civil War with the 14th South Carolina Volunteers, Gregg/ McGowan Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia. I had inherited his Colt cap-and-ball pistol, a Bible given to him by his messmate on April 4, 1864 (one month prior to my great-grandfather’s capture), and several photos both before and after the war. The compiled records indicate that he was captured on May 6, 1864 which would have been at the Battle of the Wilderness. Robert Kirk indicated he was captured at the Battle of Spotsylvania Courthouse in his chapter, “An Insurmountable Barrier between the Army and Ruin, The Confederate Experience at the Bloody Angle,” The Spotsylvania Campaign, edited by Gallagher; and in his book “The 14th South Carolina Infantry Regiment of the Gregg/McGowan Brigade, Army of Northern Virginia.” Following his capture, he was transferred to Belle Haven, Virginia and then to Fort Delaware where he remained a prisoner for the remainder of the war. The compiled records show he took the” Oath of Allegiance” in June 1865 after the war was over and was released to return home. He married and settled in Jalapa, South Carolina near Newberry and is buried at Beth Eden Lutheran Church. He belonged to the James Nance Camp (#336) of the UCV, Newberry, S.C. and was awarded the Confederate Medal of Honor by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Colonel James Nance was from Newberry and was killed at the “Battle of the Wilderness.” By obtaining his compiled records, I also learned that he had been hospitalized with malaria at the Confederate hospital, Chimborazzo, in Richmond, Virginia. There is also evidence he may have been wounded.

Battle of the Spotsylvania Courthouse

A friend and weekly breakfast companion, Robert Keating, wrote a successful book on the regiment of his great-uncle, the New York 7th Heavy Artillery, entitled “Carnival of Blood,” publisher Butternut and Blue. Being thoroughly knowledgeable about Civil War battles, he brought to my attention the poignant observation that my great- grandfather’s capture was a blessing based on the devastation that occurred with the Gregg/McGowan brigade at the Battle of the Spotsylvania Courthouse a few days after the Battle of the Wilderness. The Gregg/McGowan Brigade was sometimes referred to as the McGowan Brigade as General Maxcy Gregg had been mortally wounded during an earlier battle at Fredericksburg, Virginia. Bob continued, “His capture most likely saved his life. Furthermore, if he had not been captured, it is doubtful you (meaning me) would have ever existed!” I investigated the fate of the brigade following the “Battle of the Wilderness,” and I realized the validity of his comment.

The “Bloody Angle’s” Toll

At the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House which occurred a few days after the Battle of the Wilderness, the McGowan Brigade was positioned in the “Mule Shoe” salient where the famous battle of the “Bloody Angle” occurred. There were nearly 20 hours of hand-to-hand combat. Robert Kirk quoted Colonel Joseph N. Brown, the 14th Regiment’s commanding officer, who took command of the brigade after McGowan was wounded: “ ‘that despite being in all of the army’s battles’-he specified Sharpsburg and Gettysburg-he ‘never saw anything to equal in desperate character that of the Bloody Angle.’ ” The McGowan Brigade was positioned (according to a map-JNB) immediately to the right of the famous 22-inch oak tree that was cut down by the barrage of rifle bullets.

“There is a huge oak tree a few feet from the line, upon the tough trunk of which the bullets rattle like hail. They are chipping it away piece by piece… The bullets are clipping the very heart of the large oak; if the firing continues it will fall. The tree is tottering-it comes tumbling down, and wounds several of the First Regiment….Every flash of the guns lights up the ghastly faces of the dead , with whom the ground is thickly strewn. …. The tree which fell upon the First Regiment is carefully examined (later). It was literally cut down by bullets. Not a shell touched it. On measuring the stump left standing it is found to measure over twenty inches in diameter. Around its base are bullets mashed into many shapes….

It is not claimed that the brigade (i.e., Gregg/ McGowan Brigade composed of five South Carolina Volunteer Regiments at the “Bloody Angle”) behaved better than any confederate troops would have acted in a like position. They discharged their duty. They upheld the martial renown of the state to which they belong, and they accomplished all that valor and self-sacrifice heroism could. Every district of the state was represented. It lost nearly 600 men at Spotsylvania, and almost half of whom were killed or died of wounds. (“A Colonel at Gettysburg and Spotsylvania, the Life of Colonel Joseph Newton Brown and the Battles of Gettysburg and Spotsylvania,” Varina Davis Brown, The State Company, 1931, pp. 124-126.)

The stump of the tree was later removed and placed on display at the Smithsonian Museum. An insight into the soldiers’ experience at the battle is provided by a surgeon’s description of the “Bloody Angle” as quoted by E. Wayne Wilson:

“The most terrific battle I ever witnessed….it was perfectly fearful. I never experienced such anxiety in my life. It was an awful day, and it seemed to me as if all the “Furies of Darkness” had come together in combat. Everyone who was not firing was pale with anxiety, but our noble soldiers stood their ground fighting with the utmost desperation” (“GALLANT SOLDIERS, Four Years with the McCalla Rifles,” Gallant Soldier Publications, 2011, p. 112)

Colonel Brown, in an address in 1910 at the reunion of Orr’s Regiment (Gregg/McGowan Brigade) commented that the Federals who assaulted the works and saw the dead the next day named it “the Bloody Angle.” However, the Confederates from their position on the other side of the works saw it as a curve and called it ”the Bloody Bend.” The Federal name, “the Bloody Angle,” has prevailed.

The Federal burial detail that came upon the Confederate dead described the experience:

“Hundreds of Confederates, dead or dying, lay piled over one another in those pits. The fallen lay three or four feet deep in some places, and with but few exceptions they were shot in and about the head … With much labor a detail of Union soldiers buried the dead by simply turning the captured breastworks upon them. Thus had these unfortunate victims unwittingly dug their own graves … It was the most horrible sight I had ever witnessed.”

(Editor’s note: The Confederate General McGowan says “The trenches on the right in the ‘Bloody Angle’ ran with blood and had to be cleared of the dead bodies more than once.”), “Leaders and Battles of the Civil War,” Castle, IV, p.174.

James McPherson gives additional information about the encounter of the Union burial detail with the aftermath of the battle:

“Next morning the Bloody Angle contained only corpses. Union soldiers on a burial detail found 150 dead southerners piled several deep in one area of trench measuring 200 square feet and buried them by simply pushing in the parapet on top of them.” James McPherson, “Battle Cry of Freedom,” Oxford University Press, 1988, p. 731.

My Great Grandfather (and I) Lived to Tell About It

Bob Keating’s observation was spot-on correct. My great-grandfather and consequently myself are indeed the fortunate ones. The lives of so many combatants on both sides of the war, unfortunately, were ended, including Bob Keating’s great-uncle to whom he dedicated his book. I, like Bob, answered the call from the past of our ancestor. They beckoned us to learn who they were and who we were as a people so that we might understand and, in most instances, appreciate who we are and where we are today. But, in the final analysis, is not that one of the great benefits of history! Sometimes it takes an ancestor to get us motivated.

When William Landon was captured, his family received word that he was missing and they were worried that he had been killed. His sister was asked to write about the experience in an article for the Newberry Herald and News, Newberry S. C. Her description appeared in the May 3, 1901 edition in a section entitled ”Reminiscences of the Civil War between the States.” In it she described receiving the news on the “Sabbath” and the distress of her aged parents that followed. Not believing he was dead she decided to write General Ulysses S. Grant. “I wrote him a nice and kind letter, appealing to his honor as a soldier and gentleman and asked him to ascertain where my brother was, if still living.” She subsequently received “the long looked for and welcome message” informing the family that her brother was alive and imprisoned at Fort Delaware. She continued “General Grant treated my letter with all the due respect and courtesy for which I am thankful to this day. He never knew how much I appreciated his kindness.” She concluded that she had kept the report for years. Her brother later lent it to friends to publish in the Union Times, Union S. C., and it was never returned. (I am, personally, grateful and most indebted to Mr. Robert K. Krick who Included the report to the Waters’ family in his two publications referenced above and kindly provided me with the source of the reference.)

My Great-Great-Great Grandfather and the Revolutionary War

Interestingly, William Landon’s grandfather, Landon Waters, fought in the American Revolution at the Battle of King’s Mountain. He married Margaret Musgrove, the daughter of Edward Musgrove, who owned the mill where another famous Revolutionary War battle was fought, the Battle of Musgrove’s Mill. There a Patriot force of militia overwhelmed a much larger force of British Provincials and Loyalists. Christine R. Swager (“Musgrove Mill Historic Site,” Infinitary Publishing, 2013) states Margaret was a daughter of Edward’s third wife, Nancy, and was born in 1771. Landon and Margaret gave each of their children the middle name of Musgrove. A son, the father of William Landon, was named Landon Musgrove Waters

Visiting the present-day site of the Chimborazo Hospital, I obtained several books written about medicine as practiced at that time. This stimulated in me a desire to investigate in depth the theories of disease, diseases prevalent amongst the troops, therapeutic modalities, and the management of traumatic injuries during that period in history. My background in medicine, surgery, trauma, and critical care was immensely valuable in analyzing and understanding the total picture of medical practice prior to, during, and after the war. I became aware and appreciative of the important advancements that occurred in American medicine as a result of the war and recognized, specifically, the monumental contributions of two Civil War surgeons, Dr. Jonathan Letterman and Surgeon General Hammond, to American medicine. They introduced innovations in both patient care and knowledge acquisition that have impacted American medicine in general and the care of the victims of trauma in particular which, in turn, have influenced all aspects of medicine as practiced today.

In summary, my family history, my medical/surgical background including trauma and critical care, my research into medicine during the Civil War as well as understanding it in the context of both the antebellum and post bellum periods have been significant influences on my presentation.