1864 Six Antique Prints - Virginia - Army of the Potomac at Mine Run

Description

A fine collection of six original engravings relating to the Civil War in Virginia published in Harper's Weekly on January 2, 1864 and entitled as follows:
"The Army of the Potomac at Mine Run - Rebel Line in front of General Sedgwick" - see below
"
The Army of the Potomac at Mine Run
- Rebel Earth-Works commanding the passage at Germania Ford"
"The Army of the Potomac at Mine Run - General Warren's Troops Attacking"
"The Rebel Position at Mine Run"
"Scene at Germania Ford"
"The Army of the Potomac - Rebel Line at Mine Run, Opposite General Warren's last position"
Good condition
- see scans
. Unrelated text to the reverse. Page size 11 x 16
inches
These are original antique prints and not reproductions . Great collectors item for the civil war historian - see more of these in Seller's Other Items which can be combined for mailing
.
Battle of Mine Run
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Battle of Mine Run
Part of the
American Civil War
Artillery bombardment with Warren's troops awaiting attack
(from
Harper's Weekly
)
Date
November 27, 1863 – December 2, 1863
Location
Orange County, Virginia
Result
Inconclusive
Belligerents
United States
(
Union
)
CSA (Confederacy)
Commanders and leaders
George G. Meade
Robert E. Lee
Units involved
Army of the Potomac
Army of Northern Virginia
Strength
81,000
[1]
48,000
[1]
Casualties and losses
1,272
680
The
Battle of Mine Run
, also known as
Payne's Farm
, or
New Hope Church
, or the
Mine Run campaign
(November 27 – December 2, 1863), was conducted in
Orange County, Virginia
, in the
American Civil War
.
An unsuccessful attempt of the
Union
Army of the Potomac
to defeat the
Confederate
Army of Northern Virginia
, it was marked by false starts and low casualties and ended hostilities in the
Eastern Theater
for the year.
Contents
1
Background
2
Opposing forces
2.1
Union
2.2
Confederate
3
Battle
4
Aftermath
5
Battlefield preservation
6
Notes
7
References
8
Further reading
9
External links
Background
[
edit
]
Mine Run campaign
Confederate
Union
Troops crossing at Germanna Ford during the Mine Run campaign (from
Harper's Weekly
)
After the
Battle of Gettysburg
in July, Confederate
Gen.
Robert E. Lee
and his command
retreated
back across the
Potomac River
into
Virginia
. Union commander
Maj. Gen.
George G. Meade
was widely criticized for failing to pursue aggressively and defeat Lee's army. Meade planned new offensives in Virginia for the fall. His first attempt was a series of inconclusive duels and maneuvers in October and November known as the
Bristoe campaign
.
In late November, Meade attempted to steal a march through the Wilderness of Spotsylvania and strike the right flank of the Confederate Army south of the
Rapidan River
. Meade had intelligence reports that Lee's army, half the size of Meade's Army of the Potomac (actually 48,000 to Meade's 81,000), was split in two, separated by Clark's Mountain, with the two flanks anchored at Mine Run and Liberty Mills, over thirty miles apart. His plan was to cross the Rapidan at points beyond
Maj. Gen.
J.E.B. Stuart
's cavalry screen, overwhelm the right flank (
Lt. Gen.
Richard S. Ewell
's
Second Corps
) and then follow up with the remainder (Lt. Gen.
A.P. Hill
's
Third Corps
).
[2]
Unlike Maj. Gen.
Joseph Hooker
's plan in the
Chancellorsville campaign
earlier that year on essentially the same ground, Meade planned no diversions; he intended a lightning strike with his entire army. The army marched on November 25 and got off to a good start, aided by fog on Clark's Mountain, which screened his movements from Confederate lookouts. However, Maj. Gen.
William H. French
's
III Corps
got bogged down in fording the river at Jacob's Ford, causing traffic jams when they moved their artillery to Germanna Ford, where other units were attempting to cross.
Opposing forces
[
edit
]
Union
[
edit
]
Further information:
Union order of battle
Confederate
[
edit
]
Further information:
Confederate order of battle
Battle
[
edit
]
Speed had escaped Meade, who was furious with French, and this allowed Lee time to react. Lee ordered Maj. Gen.
Jubal A. Early
, in temporary command of Ewell's Second Corps, to march east on the Orange Turnpike to meet French's advance near Payne's Farm. Brig. Gen.
Joseph B. Carr
's division of French's corps attacked twice. Maj. Gen.
Edward "Allegheny" Johnson
's division counterattacked, but was scattered by heavy fire and broken terrain.
After dark, Lee withdrew to prepared field
fortifications
along Mine Run. The next day the Union Army closed on the Confederate position. Meade planned a heavy
artillery
bombardment followed by Maj. Gen.
Gouverneur K. Warren
's
II Corps
attack in the south, then Maj. Gen.
John Sedgwick
's
VI Corps
in the north an hour later. Lee planned an assault for December 2 that would have exploited the dangling left flank of the Union line, discovered the previous day by Maj. Gen.
Wade Hampton
's cavalry. Although the Union bombardment began on schedule, the major attack did not materialize; Meade concluded that the Confederate line was too strong to attack (although Warren is credited with getting the attack canceled) and retired during the night of December 1–2, ending the fall campaign. Lee was chagrined to find he had no one left in his front to attack.
[2]
Aftermath
[
edit
]
The Army of the Potomac went into winter quarters at
Brandy Station, Virginia
. Mine Run had been Meade's final opportunity to plan a strategic offensive before the arrival of
Ulysses S. Grant
as general-in-chief the following spring. Lee also regretted the inconclusive results. He was quoted as saying, "I am too old to command this army. We never should have permitted those people to get away." Confederate hopes of repeating their Chancellorsville triumph had been dashed. The Mine Run Campaign was Meade's last and failed attempt in 1863 to destroy Lee's Army of Northern Virginia before winter halted military operations.
[3]
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
wrote the 1863 poem "Christmas Bells", which became the carol "
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
", in response to learning of his son Charles Appleton Longfellow being severely wounded in the battle.
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Mine Run campaign