Category: Civil War Art

Civil War Art at the Battle of Gettysburg For God’s Sake Forward General John Reynolds (left center, between two trees) and the 2nd Wisconsin at the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1, 1863. Soldiers of the 2nd Wisconsin Infantry Regiment, a unit of the Iron Brigade, charge to relieve General John Buford’s cavalrymen at McPherson’s Ridge. Civil War Art by Don Troiani Highest Ranking Soldier Killed at Gettysburg Pennsylvania native John Reynolds was a West Point graduate, and soon after the American Civil War began, he was promoted to brigadier general. During the 1862 Peninsula Campaign in Virginia; Reynolds was taken prisoner by the Confederates but was released some weeks later. After his return to the army, Reynolds was named commander…

A Regiment in the Famous Irish Brigade When the Civil War broke out, thousands of Irishmen joined the Union Army. Three all-Irish infantry regiments were raised in New York City, and these units would become the core of the Irish Brigade: the 63rd, 69th, and 88th Infantry Regiments, New York State Volunteers. Confederate General Robert E. Lee gave them the nickname ‘Fighting 69th’; that designation continued in later wars. General Thomas Meagher and the Irish Brigade, Fredericksburg, Virginia, December 2, 1862 The Fighting 69th’s battle flag appears next to the U.S. flag. Fighting 69th, the Paintings In 1991, artist Mort Kunstler had accepted a commission from the U.S. Army War College to paint Raise the Colors and Follow Me!, which…

Mustering In The 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment was the first volunteer black regiment raised in the North. The ranks were filled with former slaves and free blacks. The 54th was initially formed at Readville, Massachusetts in late February 1863 and then were mustered into service from March 30, 1863 through May 13, 1863. On May 28, 1863, their commander Colonel Robert Gould Shaw led the 54th in a triumphant parade through Boston to the docks, and then the regiment departed on the steamer De Molay for Hilton Head, South Carolina on May 28, arriving there June 3. Col. Robert Shaw and the 54th Massachusetts by Mort Kunstler Assault on Fort Wagner Initially assigned to manual labor details, the 54th did…

Cavalry Battle in the Mississippi Backwoods Standing at six feet two inches tall, broad-shouldered, athletic and powerful, General Nathan Bedford Forrest towered over most men of his era. As his personal weapons, Forrest carried a Colt 36 caliber revolver and an 1840 model cavalry saber, which he sharpened to a razor’s edge. Forrest did not send men into battle; he led them. Image: Vengeance at Okolona by John Paul Strain Major General Nathan Bedford Forrest Battle of Okolona, Mississippi February 22, 1864 Backstory In late January 1864, General Ulysses S. Grant sent General William Tecumseh Sherman with 20,000 troops to Meridian, Mississippi, an important railroad center. On February 1, Grant ordered seven thousand cavalry under General William Sooy Smith to…

Largest Charge of the Civil War: Gaines’ Mill Image: Desperate Valor by Dale Gallon Brigadier General John Bell Hood leads the 4th Texas Regiment at the Battle of Gaines Mill and achieves the first breakthrough in the Union line. McClellan Threatens Richmond In early April 1862, USA General George B. McClellan‘s Army of the Potomac landed at the tip of the Virginia Peninsula between the York and James Rivers. This force of more than 100,000 Union soldiers then fought its way up the Virginia peninsula. McClellan planned to capture the capital of the Confederacy and perhaps end the war. By mid-May they had reached the outskirts of Richmond. Lee in Command When CSA General Joseph E. Johnston was severely wounded…