I32845: Warren BUCKNER (ABT 1780

Notes

James Johnston Pettigrew (From the Confederate Military History): "Brigadier-General James Johnston Pettigrew was born on the shores of Lake Scuppernong, in Tyrrell county, N. C., July 4, 1828, at "Bonarva," the home of his father, Ebenezer Pettigrew, representative in Congress. The family was founded in America by James, youngest son of James Pettigrew, an officer of King William's army, rewarded by a grant of land for gallantry at the battle of the Boyne. Charles, son of the founder, was chosen the first bishop of North Carolina. Young Pettigrew was graduated at the State university in 1847, with such distinction that President Polk, who attended the commencement, accompanied by Commodore Maury, offered the young student one of the assistant professor ships in the observatory at Washington. He held this position until 1848, when he began study for the profession of law, which he completed under his distinguished relative, James L. Pettigrew, of South Carolina. After traveling in Europe two years he entered upon the practice of his profession at Charleston, and in 1856 was elected to the South Carolina legislature. In 1859 he again visited Europe and sought to enter the Sardinian service during the Italian war, but was prevented by the early close of that struggle. Returning, he took an active part in the military organization of Charleston, and became colonel of the First regiment of rifles of that city. During the early operations in Charleston harbor, he was in command at Castle Pinckney, and later on Morris island. On account of some disagreement about the admission of his regiment to the Confederate service, he went to Richmond and enlisted in the Hampton legion, but in May, 1861, received a commission as colonel of the Twenty-second North Carolina infantry. With this regiment he was engaged in constructing and guarding batteries at Evansport, on the Potomac, until the spring of 1862. He was then, without solicitation and over his objections, promoted brigadier-general, and assigned to a brigade which he led to the peninsula. At the battle of Seven Pines, July 1st, in which his brigade lost heavily, he was severely wounded in the shoulder, and while lying unconscious on the field was captured. He was confined as a prisoner two months, during which he asked that his rank might be reduced so that he could be more easily exchanged. But without this sacrifice he returned to the service,and while yet an invalid was assigned to command at Petersburg, and a new brigade of North Carolinians was formed for him. He operated with much skill and gallantry in North Carolina in the fall of 1862 and spring of 1863, defended Richmond against Stoneman's raid, and then accompanied Lee to Pennsylvania, his brigade forming a part of Heth's division, A. P. Hill's corps. The conduct of his men on the first day of the battle of Gettysburg was magnificent, and their loss was terrible. General Heth being wounded, Pettigrew took command of the shattered division, and on the third day led it in the immortal charge against the Federal position on Cemetery hill. A remnant of his brave men gained the Federal lines, but were crushed back by sheer weight of lead and iron. At Gettysburg his brigade suffered the greatest loss in killed and wounded of any brigade in the army, over 1,100 out of a total of 3,000. Though painfully wounded in the hand, Pettigrew kept the field, and was on duty during the painful retreat which followed. On the morning of July 14th, Heth's division reached the Potomac at Falling Waters, and while Pettigrew was receiving orders from Heth to remain there in command of the rear guard, a body of about forty Federal cavalrymen, who had been allowed to approach under the error that they were Confederates, dashed recklessly into the Confederate troops, demanding surrender. General Pettigrew's horse took fright and threw him to the ground. Rising he drew his pistol, and was about to take part in the skirmish, when he was shot and mortally wounded. He was borne tenderly across the river and to a hospitable home at Bunker Hill, Va., where he yielded his life with Christian resignation, July 17, 1863."

GENERAL JAMES JOHNSTON PETTIGREW, CSA VITAL STATISTICS BORN: 1828 in Tyrell County, NC DIED: 1863 in Falling Waters, MD.
CAMPAIGNS: Seven Pines, Gettysburg, and Falling Waters
HIGHEST RANK ACHIEVED: Brigadier General

BIOGRAPHY: James Johnston Pettigrew was born on July 4, 1828, in Tyrrell County, North Carolina. He studied at the University of North Carolina at the age of 15, did extremely well academically, and was appointed by President Polk to be assistant professor at the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. Pettigrew. often called by his middle name, Johnston, held the position for two years, then traveled to Germany and studied Roman law. He settled in Charleston, South Carolina, practiced law, took part in the militia and was elected to the state legislature. After participating in the capture of Fort Sumter, Pettigrew enlisted in the Confederate service, and was commissioned a brigadier general on February 26, 1862. He led a brigade at the Battle of Seven Pines, and was wounded and captured there. He later commanded a brigade at Pickett's Charge, remaining on the field despite a wound in the hand. Pettigrew was severely wounded in the abdomen at Falling Waters, Maryland, on July 14, 1863, and died from the wound on July 17, 1863.

"Brigadier General James Johnston Pettigrew: Brigadier-General James Johnston Pettigrew was born on the shores of Lake Scuppernong, in Tyrrell county, N. C., July 4, 1828, at "Bonarva," the home of his father, Ebenezer Pettigrew, representative in Congress. The family was founded in America by James, youngest son of James Pettigrew, an officer of King William's army, rewarded by a grant of land for gallantry at the battle of the Boyne. Charles, son of the founder, was chosen the first bishop of North Carolina. Young Pettigrew was graduated at the State university in 1847, with such distinction that President Polk, who attended the commencement, accompanied by Commodore Maury, offered the young student one of the assistant professorships in the observatory at Washington. He held this position until 1848, when he began study for the profession of law, which he completed under his distinguished relative, James L. Pettigrew, of South Carolina. After traveling in Europe two years he entered upon the practice of his profession at Charleston, and in 1856 was elected to the South Carolina legislature. In 1859 he again visited Europe and sought to enter the Sardinian service during the Italian war, but was prevented by the early close of that struggle. Returning, he took an active part in the military organization of Charleston, and became colonel of the First regiment of rifles of that city. During the early operations in Charleston harbor, he was in command at Castle Pinckney, and later on Morris island. On account of some disagreement about the admission of his regiment to the Confederate service, he went to Richmond and enlisted in the Hampton legion, but in May, 1861, received a commission as colonel of the Twenty-second North Carolina infantry. With this regiment he was engaged in constructing and gnarding batteries at Evansport, on the Potomac, until the spring of 1862. He was then, without solicitation and over his objections, promoted brigadier-general, and assigned to a brigade which he led to the peninsula. At the battle of Seven Pines, July ist, in which his brigade lost heavily, he was severely wounded in the shoulder, and while lying unconscious on the field was captured. He was confined as a prisoner two months, during which he asked that his rank might be reduced so that he could be more easily exchanged. But without this sacrifice he returned to the service,and while yet an invalid was assigned to command at Petersburg, and a new brigade of North Carolinians was formed for him. He operated with much skill and gallantry in North Carolina in the fall of 1862 and spring of 1863, defended Richmond against Stoneman's raid, and then accompanied Lee to Pennsylvania, his brigade forming a part of Heth's division, A. P. Hill's corps. The conduct of his men on the first day of the battle of Gettysburg was magnificent, and their loss was terrible. General Heth being wounded, Pettigrew took command of the shattered division, and on the third day led it in the immortal charge against the Federal position on Cemetery hill. A remnant of his brave men gained the Federal lines, but were crushed back by sheer weight of lead and iron. At Gettysburg his brigade suffered the greatest loss in killed and wounded of any brigade in the army, over 1,100 out of a total of 3,000. Though painfully wounded in the hand, Pettigrew kept the field, and was on duty during the painful retreat which followed. On the morning of July 14th, Heth's division reached the Potomac at Falling Waters, and while Pettigrew was receiving orders from Heth to remain there in command of the rear guard, a body of about forty Federal cavalrymen, who had been allowed to approach under the error that they were Confederates, dashed recklessly into the Confederate troops, demanding surrender. General Pettigrew's horse took fright and threw him to the ground. Rising he drew his pistol, and was about to take part in the skirmish, when he was shot and mortally wounded. He was borne tenderly across the river and to a hospitable home at Bunker Hill, Va., where he yielded his life with Christian resignation, July 17, 1863."
Pettigrew's Brigade
http://www.mwt.net/~ysys/brigade.htm.
Pettigrew's Brigade
At the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1-3, 1863

First Brigade Brig. Gen. J. Johnston Pettigrew
Heth's Division Maj. Gen. Henry Heth
Third Army Corps Lt. Gen. A. P. Hill
Army of Northern Virginia General Robert E. Lee

"I consider Pettigrew the most promising young man of the South."

"Though penned by an admirer of the handsome North Carolinian, James Johnston Pettigrew was indeed one of the more promising individuals born into southern aristocracy. Born on July 4, 1828 in Tyrrell County, North Carolina, Pettigrew entered the University of North Carolina at the age of 15 where his distinguished scholastic record has never been equaled and he even earned praise from President James K. Polk. After graduation, Pettigrew traveled abroad where he learned to speak and write French, German, Italian, and Spanish, and to read Hebrew and Arabic. He grew to admire the Spanish and Italians as a warm, generous, chivalrous, and brave people, comparing them in kind to many Southerners that he knew. On the other hand, Germans and the English were cold, grasping, and hypocritical, similar by his comparison to many of his Northern acquaintances.

Returning to America, he received a special gift from his namesake James Johnston- fifty thousand dollars. The gift, it was hoped, would provide Pettigrew with a sound financial base so he could devote his life to public service. Despite his gift of foreign languages and civil knowledge, Pettigrew leaned toward the military as a way to serve his country and his state. Promotions came rapidly and by December 1860, he was serving as an aide to the governor of South Carolina and participated in the negotiations between the governor's office, South Carolina military authorities, and the Union commander of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.

When war was declared, Pettigrew returned to North Carolina and accepted the command of the 22nd North Carolina Infantry. Because of a need for qualified officers, the new colonel was soon ordered to Virginia to accept a promotion to brigadier general on February 26, 1862. When a young relative requested a "safe place" on Pettigrew's staff, he replied, "I assure you that the most unsafe place in the Brigade is about me. By all means let him get rid of this idea of a safe place, which he will regret after time. The post of danger is certainly the post of honor." He was true to his word. During the Peninsula Campaign in the summer of 1862, Pettigrew was severely wounded and captured. Exchanged two months later, the general recovered from his wounds and returned to his North Carolina brigade just in time to begin the Gettysburg Campaign.

Pettigrew's Brigade was one of the strongest in Henry Heth's Division. Freshly uniformed and armed with rifles from state military depots, his regiments presented a fine military appearance during the march through the Pennsylvania countryside. Some of his regimental officers were also members of the North Carolina planter "aristocracy", including Colonel Collett Leventhorpe leading the 11th North Carolina Infantry and twenty one year-old Harry Burgwyn at the head of the 26th North Carolina. Not having been in serious combat for nearly a year, his brigade mustered a strength over 2,500 officers and men.

Pettigrew's Brigade tangled with the Iron Brigade on July 1 at the McPherson and Herbst Farms, where all four regiments suffered devastating losses. General Pettigrew was appointed to command the division after the wounding of General Heth that afternoon, and attempted to reorganize the battered division during the next day's battle as they lay behind Seminary Ridge. On July 3rd, he fought valiantly in the famous infantry assault now known as "Pickett’s Charge", where he was severely wounded in the left hand by a canister ball. Despite the great pain he was in, Pettigrew remained with his soldiers until it was obvious that the attack had failed. Holding his bloody hand, the despondent officer walked toward Seminary Ridge and encountered General Lee. Pettigrew attempted to speak, but Lee, seeing the horrible wound, spoke first: "General, I am sorry to see you are wounded; go to the rear." With a painful salute, the handsome officer said nothing but continued to the rear.

General Pettigrew continued to command the division during the retreat to the Potomac River until Heth was finally well enough to return to command. Stopped by the flooded Potomac River at Falling Waters, Maryland, Pettigrew's command was deployed in a dense skirmish line. Union cavalry probed the southern defenses throughout the night as Lee's army crossed the pontoon bridges into Virginia. On morning of July 14, Pettigrew's command was one of the last Confederate units still north of the Potomac River, when the Union troopers closed in. On foot and in the front line, Pettigrew was directing his soldiers when he was shot by a Union cavalryman at close range, the bullet striking him in the chest. He was immediately carried to the rear and across the Potomac River where he died three days later near Bunker Hill, Virginia.

The loss of Pettigrew emotionally devastated his family and there was an official day of mourning held for him in North Carolina. His death also affected Lee who remarked, "The army has lost a brave soldier and the Confederacy an accomplished officer." General Pettigrew's body was returned to North Carolina and interred at his family estate in Tyrrell County."
http://www.nps.gov/gett/getttour/tstops/tstd3-21jjp.htm.

"Brigadier General James Johnston Pettigrew: James J. Pettigrew commanded a brigade in Henry Heth's division. On 30 June, Pettigrew was ordered to march to Gettysburg to investigate reports of there being a large quantity of shoes in the town. Approaching via the Chambersburg Pike, Pettigrew noticed John Buford's Union cavalry on McPherson's Ridge. Aware of Robert E. Lee's order to not bring on an engagement, Pettigrew turned about and returned, reporting his sighting to Heth and A. P. Hill. Hill and Heth believed that it was Pennsylvania Militia and not Union Regulars that Pettigrew had seen and, on 1 July Hill sent Heth's entire division, supported by the division of Dorsey Pender back to Gettysburg, where they encountered not only Buford's cavalry, but also John Reynolds' I Corps. In the ensuing battle, Heth was wounded, and command of the division passed to Pettigrew.

On 3 July, Heth's division, commanded by Pettigrew, formed a single line on the left of George Pickett's division in James Longstreet's assault on Cemetery Ridge. Pettigrew's left flank, occupied by John Brockenbrough's brigade was subjected to enfilading fire from Franklin Sawyer's 8th Ohio, and crumbled. Pettigrew's North Carolinians, disorganized, reached the Union lines, but did not breech them.* During the assault, Pettigrew's right hand was crushed by a cannister shot.
Pettigrew was know for his, well justified, reputation as a scholar. He could speak French, German, Italian, and Spanish, and read Hebrew, Greek, and Arabic.

* This controversy is fueled by conflicting Virginia and North Carolina Official Records and the fact that the Union lines in front of Pettigrew were approximately 50 yards (46 metres) farther back than those in front of Pickett."

James Johnston Pettigrew
"It is a great pleasure to me, that I have never yet been taken for a Yankee or a Locofoco."

The challenges presented to North Carolinians by the War Between the States produced many able young leaders. Of them, none had a more interesting career and personality then James Johnson Pettigrew for whom Pettigrew State Park was named.
Pettigrew was born on July 4, 1828, at Bonarva plantation on the shore of Lake Phelps. He was the youngest son and eighth of nine children of Ebenezer and Ann Blount Shepard Pettigrew. His father was an able agriculturalist, operating several large plantations in Tyrell and Washington counties.

In 1843, at age 14, Pettigrew entered the University of North Carolina where, it was said, his academic prowess in Latin and Greek was unequaled. President James K. Polk and secretary of the Navy attended the 1847 commencement ceremonies in Chapel Hill where Pettigrew gave the valedictory address. They were so impressed by his genius and poise, they gave the 18 year old graduate a professorship at the US Naval Observatory.
Pettigrew spent six months at the observatory as an astronomer but in 1849 began to study law. Later that year, he sailed to Europe. He studied at the University of Berlin and mastered German, French, Italian and Spanish. He also learned to read Arabic and Hebrew and became an accomplished pianist.

From 1852 until the onset of war, Pettigrew lived in Charleston, South Carolina, practicing law with his second cousin James L. Petigru, one of the most famous attorneys in the nation. Incidentally, Petigru was a slaveholding Unionist, while James Johnson Pettigrew was a non-slaveholding secessionist. In addition to practicing law, Pettigrew edited a newspaper, wrote magazine articles did historical research on Spain and the Moors and served in the South Carolina legislature.
Convinced that the cause of secession would eventually triumph and a war would be necessary to achieve freedom from the North, Pettigrew began to ready himself for military service. He was active in the South Carolina Militia and became knowledgeable about military tactics, engineering and artillery. In 1856 he became adjutant General of the South Carolina Militia.
In 1859, war broke out as the Kingdom of Sardinia sought to overthrow Austrian domination of Italy. Pettigrew rushed to Europe and offered his services to the King of Sardinia, but alas, an armistice was signed, so he saw no action. So, he traveled to Paris and studied Napoleonic tactics at St. Cyr. Then he returned to Spain where he completed his book entitled “Notes on Spain and the Spaniards” which was published in 1861.
When South Carolina seceded, Pettigrew was elected colonel of the SC First Regiment of Rifles and was appointed chief military aid to Governor Francis Pickens. After North Carolina seceded, Pickens followed the example of Lee and offered his services to his native state. He was soon elected Colonel of the 22nd North Carolina and was promptly sent to the Potomac. Pettigrew soon established the policy of eating the same food as the privates and denying himself anything he could not offer his men. Heeding what he had learned in Europe, Pettigrew took extraordinary health and sanitation precautions to protect his men from epidemics.

Pettigrew's Brigade at Gettysburg
"In the midst of all our trials it is a consolation to reflect, that our reputation, next to Greece, will be the most heroic of nations."

While serving at the Potomac, Pettigrew was promoted Brigadier General, but refused the promotion, declaring that no one should be a general unless he had led men in combat. Later, amidst heavy fighting, Pettigrew was ordered to accept the promotion and placed in command of North Carolina, Arkansas, Georgia and Virginia troops. During the Peninsula campaign when McClellan’s Union troops approached Richmond, Pettigrew’s troops were among the troops in opposition. A musket ball pierced Pettigrew’s throat and shoulder, permanently disabling his right arm. When soldiers tried to carry him to the rear, he ordered them back to the front ranks. Pettigrew lost consciousness on the battlefield and was captured. In August of 1862, he was exchanged for a Northern general in Confederate hands and immediately reported for duty, though he was partly incapacitated. Soon, he was given command of the 26th North Carolina brigade which came to be known as Pettigrew’s Brigade and was one of the most distinguished in the war.

On June 1, 1863, Pettigrew’s Brigade joined the Army of Northern Virginia under General Robert E. Lee on the march to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The first day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Pettigrew’s Brigade attacked and, in desperate fighting, drove the Union forces off their positions at McPherson’s Ridge. Casualties were tremendous in this half hour fight. In fact the 26th North Carolina lost more then any one regiment in any day in the entire war, North or South. Pettigrew’s division superior, Harry Heth, was wounded so Pettigrew was given command of the entire division. On the third day of Gettysburg, this division took part in the famous assault on Cemetery Ridge, often reffered to as Pickett’s Charge. While some of Pickett’s men went up to the stone wall, some of Pettigrew’s men went over the stone wall. Though Pickett directed his division from a distance, Pettigrew was one who went up to the wall and was one of the last to return to Confederate lines. Thus, Pettigrew’s Brigade filled out the middle part of North Carolina’s Confederate boast “First at Bethel, Farthest to the front of Gettysburg and Chickamauga. Last at Appomattox.”

Brigadier General James Jonshton Pettigrew C.S.A
"For non who fought so briefly in the Army of Northern Viginia was there more praise while living or more laments when dead."

Pettigrew was shot in the stomach during the retreat after Gettysburg. He was told that the only hope of saving his life was to be immobilized and left behind where Union doctors might find him. He refused saying that he would rather die then be in another yankee prison. He was carried to Bunker Hill where he died two weeks after his 35th birthday. Funeral services were attended by a huge crowd at the North Carolina Capitol Square in Raleigh.

A South Carolina friend wrote of Pettigrew, “more than anything he loved liberty, but he felt that to love liberty was an empty mockery unless that love was exhibited in sacrifice which its acquisition requires.”
http://www.savesilentsam.com/pettigrew.htm.

Ashley Wilkes for Real by J.O. Tate
Carolina Cavalier: The Life and Mind of James Johnston Pettigrew by Clyde Wilson
Rockford, Illinois: Chronicles Press; 303 pp., $24.95

For those who know it, the Huguenot-derived name "Pettigrew" immediately evokes the associated word, "Gettysburg." Brig. Gen. Johnston Pettigrew was prominent on the first day of that battle, as the commander of Pettigrew's Brigade, and on the third day, as the commander of Heth's Division, which included his brigade. Pickett's Charge might as well have been called Pettigrew's Charge, or, as Clyde Wilson suggests, "Longstreet's Assault." But as it is, there is still no Gettysburg without Pettigrew. Not long after that Fourth of July that coincided with the fall of Vicksburg and Pettigrew's own birthday, the Army of Northern Virginia was without Pettigrew. He was killed in the chaos of a rear-guard action at Falling Waters, and his loss was much lamented, for it seems that everyone knew his quality.

Pettigrew's Civil War career was not consonant with his ability, and that was almost certainly a matter of luck. He was active in organizing the defense of Charleston before the Fort Sumter crisis but played no great role in the thing itself. He was wounded and captured at Seven Pines or Fair Oaks Station, the beginning of the Seven Days. Exchanged, he served under D.H. Hill in the abortive action at New Bern and at the affair at Blount's Creek. Clyde Wilson has not written for us the story of a Confederate brigadier, however, but an account of a mind and sensibility that could not be completely expressed in the Civil War.

Johnston Pettigrew grew up as the scion of a distinguished and landed family in North Carolina. He excelled at school and at the university at Chapel Hill. He was soon surveying stars for Matthew Fontaine Maury at the National Observatory. But what was Pettigrew to do as his lifetime calling? Though Pettigrew eventually did much legal work in Charleston, Wilson has shown how his energy and sensitivity were focused by his travels in Europe. Unusually mature for his age and exceptionally responsive to the various environments, Pettigrew's two trips to Europe were the high points of his life. His mind and imagination were excited to a remarkable degree by his encounters with others, and, as always with him, there was a gap between his emotional and intellectual responses. Pettigrew was later to declare that he wished as his lifework to write a history of the Moors in Spain. He did not live to do it, but his serious intent speaks volumes about his imagination, his historical sense, and his ability to think past the provinciality that is often the lot even of intelligent people.

Pettigrew did not write of medieval Spain, but he did write a book, in the spring of 1861, about Spain, his travels there, and his reflections. He had the ability to see past the surface into the depths of culture and character. Though a man of his age and place, he could and did respond to Spain as a 19th-century romantic with a pronounced streak of intellect. He loved the Spanish dignity and passion, the hierarchical sense, the manners of the don and the do–a. And he was quite explicit about the political affinities he sensed between the American and European Souths. As he wrote on entering Spain for the second time,

Adieu to a civilization which reduces men to machines, which sacrifices half that is stalwart and individual in humanity to the false glitter of centralization, and to the luxurious enjoyments of a manufacturing, money age!

On his first trip to Europe, Pettigrew had learned that he could not enjoy the values of the English and the northern Germans. He instinctively was pulled to the south, where he became as besotted by Italy as many another has been. But then there was Spain, for which he felt a high degree of knowing identification. For a man of his background and cultural assumptions, his ease in relating to another world was remarkable, and so was his mastery of languages. Pettigrew was not unique in that regard, however, for the story of American attraction to the repudiated continent is old and varied. Even so, his degree of self-consciousness, his sense of himself as a Southerner, and his sense of himself and his heritage in historical perspective are notable achievements by a man of many talents. Pettigrew's sensibility is oddly modern in its development. He seems to have arrived at something like Henry Adams' position 40 years before that South-despising ironist did. And therefore, Wilson's life of Pettigrew is much more than a military tale. Rather, it is a valuable contribution to American intellectual history.

As Professor Wilson has said of Pettigrew's work at the very beginning of the Civil War,
Still, strangely, the zeal with which Pettigrew immersed himself in his pressing tasks did not at all preclude his customary ironic detachment, the hallmark of a good mind able to rise above its immediate circumstances.

Just so. The fact that this particular cavalier, lawyer, scholar, and scientist wore gray and was glad to do so says much about his own age, but also something about ours. Clyde Wilson's elegant performance is addressed not only to the shade of Johnston Pettigrew and the world that died not long after he did but to the consequence of that collapse and the continuing cultural calamity. Carolina Cavalier is an antidote for, or a rebuttal to, the contemporary propaganda that suffuses the airwaves and clots the presses. It is the best historical work I have seen in a long time and an invaluable statement about the Civil War, its meaning and character, its causes and issues, and its abiding significance. I missed this book upon the occasion of its first publication but can now only feel that I was lucky in that mischance. I have had the serendipitous pleasure of a delayed first reading, and, in that glow, I think I will be far from alone.
J.O. Tate is a professor of English at Dowling College on Long Island.

Lee's Tar Heels:
The Pettigrew-Kirkland-MacRae Brigade by Earl J. Hess Publisher: University of North Carolina Press; (May 13, 2002) ISBN: 0807826871

Earl J. Hess is associate professor of history at Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee. He is author, most recently, of Pickett's Charge--The Last Attack at Gettysburg (UNC Press, 2001).
Book Description
The Pettigrew-Kirkland-MacRae Brigade was one of North Carolina's best-known and most successful units during the Civil War. Formed in 1862, the brigade spent nearly a year protecting supply lines before being thrust into its first major combat at Gettysburg. There, James Johnston Pettigrew's men pushed back the Union's famed Iron Brigade in vicious fighting on July 1 and played a key role in Pickett's Charge on July 3, in the process earning a reputation as one of the hardest-fighting units in Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Despite suffering heavy losses during the Gettysburg campaign, the brigade went on to prove its valor in a host of other engagements. It marched with Lee to Appomattox and was among the last Confederate units to lay down arms in the surrender ceremony.
Earl Hess tells the story of the men of the Pettigrew-Kirkland-MacRae Brigade, and especially the famous 26th North Carolina, chronicling the brigade's formation and growth under Pettigrew and its subsequent exploits under William W. Kirkland and William MacRae. Beyond recounting the brigade's military engagements, Hess draws on letters, diaries, memoirs, and service records to explore the camp life, medical care, social backgrounds, and political attitudes of these gallant Tar Heels. He also addresses the continuing debate between North Carolinians and Virginians over the failure of Pickett's Charge.

*****A first-rate history of NC's most illustrious brigade, July 15, 2002
Reviewer: Chris Carter (Greensboro, NC United States) - See all my reviews

Lee's Tar Heels is a superb narrative of one of North Carolina's premier brigades in the Civil War. Author Earl Hess delivers a very readable and interesting account of the brigade, which included the 11th, 26th, 44th, 47th, and 52nd NC regiments. Hess draws on a large number of period resources, including some priceless accounts from brigade members, some of whom did not survive to see the war's end.

The book basically covers the entire history of the brigade, from its early days participating in the relatively small skirmishes and battles of Eastern NC, until its true baptism of fire at Gettysburg, in which it suffered appalling casualties and gained immortal glory. One thing I liked about the book is the consistency with which he covers all the regiments of the brigade, and not just the more famous 26th NC. It would be easy to have written a book on the 26th, with scant reference to the other equally deserving member regiments, but Hess never fails to present the brigade as a whole.

He also tells of a number of interesting side stories, including devoting much space to the famous Moravian band which travelled with the regiment. He talks about the Quaker members of the brigade, who were caught up in a situation they hated, yet earned the sympathy of their fellow soldiers. Each aspect of the brigade history is presented in a readable way, including discussions on desertion, camp life, and politics.
He also talks a great deal about the three leaders of the brigade; Pettigrew, Kirkland, and McRae. He is candid about each of their leadership styles, including any blunders they may have perpetrated, but he is quick to come to their defense when he feels it is warranted. One thing I was impressed with was the natural talent that the last commander, William McRae, exhibited. If not for the end of the war, he surely would have gone on to be a fine division commander.

Hess also addresses the post-war controversy over the blame for the failure of Pickett's charge between North Carolina and Virginia. Several prominent Virginia newspapers printed accounts of the Tarheel's actions at Gettysburg that were biased and inaccurate. There is a whole chapter on "After the War", which deals with the efforts of various members of the brigade to rectify the incorrect accusations of the Virginians, and to accord the brigade the credit it was due. He also writes about the eventual fate of many of the soldiers you come to know through the reading of the book, some of whose stories are absolutely fascinating.

This brigade was present at pretty much every large battle of the ANV from Gettysburg until the end of the war, including a number of smaller engagements which are generally overlooked. It gained a reputation for hard fighting, and was often used in situations where extreme measures were called for. Hess writes about them with an obvious enthusiasm, but never loses his objectivity. I will have to admit, this is the first brigade history I have ever read, but I cannot imagine it gets much better than this. If you enjoyed the book he co-wrote on Pea Ridge, I think you will find this one just as good, maybe even better. I simply cannot recommend it highly enough.
**************
The Most Promising Young Man of the South: James Johnston Pettigrew and His Men at Gettysburg (Civil War Campaigns and Commanders Series) by Clyde N. Wilson Publisher: McWhiney Foundation Press; (November 1, 1998) ISBN: 1886661189

Carolina Cavalier: The Life and Mind of James Johnston Pettigrew by Clyde N. Wilson Publisher: Chronicles Press; (August 1, 2002) ISBN: 0972061606

The Long Lost Journal of Confederate General James Johnston Pettigrew by Dan Bauer Publisher: Writers Club Press; (January 1, 2001) ISBN: 059512416X Book Description
One of the first to answer the South's call to arms was James Johnston Pettigrew. He served in the Southern army from the opening guns at Fort Sumter until his tragic death during the Confederate retreat from Gettysburg. Using newspapers, letters, diaries, and other accounts of the time, Dan Bauer tells General Pettigrew's remarkable story in journal form. Pettigrew's fictionalized journal offers a first-hand, day-by-day account of the Civil War. Here are the experiences of planters, common soldiers, slaves, women and officers of the Confederate South.

What kind of men did it take to lead Southern troops into the bloody battles of the Civil War? Were they daredevils risking all for glory, or patriots striving to build a new nation? The story is contained within these pages...

[348613]
was returning from Gettysburg Battle

My Southern Family

Warren BUCKNER

ABT 1780 - ____

ID Number: I32845

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Ishmael DUNN

ABT 1790 - 21 Dec 1859

ID Number: I71541

Notes

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Caleb ELLIS Jr.

ABT 1730 - AFT 1762

ID Number: I103415

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Mary GRAVES

ABT 1730 - 17 Apr 1826

ID Number: I23562

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BARBARA LEWKNOR

ABT 1555 - ____

ID Number: I84145

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America "Mecca" MCCANTS

ABT 1830 - ____

ID Number: I36166

Sources

Lucinda Jane "Lucy" MILLS

12 Mar 1825 - 5 Jan 1905

ID Number: I76908

Sources

HAVOISE "HAWISE" de NORMANDY La Bonne Normande

ABT 0970 - 21 Feb 1034

ID Number: I28929

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Gen. James Johnston PETTIGREW C.S.A.

4 Jul 1828 - 17 Jul 1863

ID Number: I69995

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Peter H. QUIN C.S.A.

15 Sep 1825 - ABT 1890

ID Number: I2776

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Clara STEMMONS

1900 - 1996

ID Number: I6097

Sources