Remarkable Photographs and Sketches of Camp Griffin on the Library of Congress Website

Over the last few years, I have devoted considerable attention to the Union Army encampments in the vicinity of present-day McLean, Virginia. Gen. William F. "Baldy" Smith's division established Camp Griffin in October 1861 on property near the villages of Langley and Lewinsville. (The Pennsylvania Reserves, meanwhile, settled down at Camp Pierpont, which stretched along the Georgetown-Leesburg Turnpike and passed through Langley.) Whenever possible, I've tried to publish illustrations related to the camps, including some of George Houghton's fascinating photographs of the Vermont Brigade at Camp Griffin.

Thanks to a fellow blogger at Chooeubhaokhaossian the Great's Temple of History, I recently discovered a treasure trove of photographs and sketches of Camp Griffin on the Library of Congress's Prints & Photographs Online Catalog.  (Click here for the set of images.) The LoC's online collection appears to have expanded. I previously located a few Houghton photographs on the site, and in particular a set showing the separate companies of the 6th Vermont. Now several images (including a few photographs that are entirely new to me) are available for study and exploration. Moreover, the site offers some sketches by Larkin Goldsmith Mead, who was an artist for Harper's Weekly assigned to the Army of the Potomac. According to the LoC, Mead also made topographical drawings for Baldy Smith. I hope to return to some of these remarkable images in the future. For now, head over to the LoC website and take a look at life in camp around Washington during the first fall and winter of the war.

Here is just a sampling of the images:

"Union soldiers in front of tents, probably at Camp Griffin, Langley, Virginia," by George Houghton (courtesy of Library of Congress).

"Second Vermont Camp Griffin 1861," by George Houghton (courtesy of Library of Congress).

"Photographers on the Potomac. Camp Griffin, Virginia," by Larkin G, Mead (courtesy of Library of Congress).

"Baldy" Smith's Division and Dranesville

Today marks the 151st anniversary of the Battle of Dranesville.  I've written a few times about this engagement that pitted Gen. E.O.C. Ord's brigade of Pennsylvania Reserves against a smaller force under Gen. Jeb Stuart.  I even authored the lead piece on the battle for the Civil War Trust's website.  Not too long ago historian John Hennessy sent me a period newspaper article that has shed some additional light on the events surrounding the fight at Dranesville.

Ord's men, accompanied by the famed Bucktails and a force of artillery and cavalry, set off from Camp Pierpont in Langley, Virginia during the early morning hours of December 20, 1861.  Gen. George A. McCall, commander of the Pennsylvania Reserves, ordered Gen. John F. Reynold's brigade to follow in support.  Ord ran into Stuart's men at the tiny hamlet of Dranesville, and a brisk fight ensued.  Reynold's troops, who were stopped at Difficult Run along the Leesburg-Georgetown Turnpike (VA-193), marched towards the battlefield.  Gen. George G. Meade's brigade of Reserves also left Langley and headed down the pike to Dranesville.  Both brigades arrived too late to participate in the fight, which resulted in a Union tactical victory.

The role that Reynolds and Meade played (or did not play) is well known.  Thanks to the article that John Hennessy sent my way, I recently learned that the Gen. William F. "Baldy" Smith's division also got involved in the day's events.  Smith's men were quartered for the winter at Camp Griffin, in the same general vicinity as Camp Pierpont (today's McLean, Virginia).  His command included the Vermont Brigade and another brigade under Gen. Winfield S. Hancock.  According to a December 24, 1861 account from a soldier-correspondent of the 6th Vermont:

On Thursday last, Gen. McCall had a fight with some 8000 of the enemy.*  About one o'clock, on that day, our brigade was drawn up, together with Gen. Hancock's brigade, the batteries of [Capt. Thaddeus] Mott and [Capt. Romeyn] Ay[res], also some Maine regiments, for the purpose of proceeding to the scene of action and if possible to flank the enemy on their retreat. ** We marched at a rapid pace some ten or twelve miles in the vicinity of Hunter's Mills and Drainsville [sic], but come to a sudden halt on account of a bridge being burnt.  All we had to do was to "about face" and march back, reaching camp a little before eight, tired enough to rest.  The next morning at four we were tramped out on picket. ("A March," Vermont Journal (Windsor), Jan. 4, 1862, courtesy of John Hennessy.)

This article intrigued me, as I didn't recall coming across any references to Smith's men playing a role, however remote, in the engagement at Dranesville.  I at once searched for additional references and found a letter that Corporal Dan Mason, Co. D, 6th Vermont sent to his fiancee, Harriet B. Clark.  The facts in this correspondence closely track the details from the Vermont Journal article.  On December 27, 1861, Mason wrote:

I dare say you have heard of the battle at Drainsville a few days since We heard the firing from our camp. Gen McCalls division of Penn soldiers went out in the morning on a foraging & scouting expedition (this Div is encamped about a mile north of our camp) Our division started about 2 oclock P M. to assist them if nessessary We marched 12 miles we came to a branch of the Potomac the rebels had burned the bridge so that we were compelled to face about & march homeward the boys were in the best of spirits until the order to about face came. that made them look disappointed quite a number fell out by the way & were picked up the ambulances which follow an army to pick up those that are wounded or sick & are not able to march. . . . (spelling and grammar as in original; courtesy of Vermont Historical Society, On-Line Collection of Dan Mason Letters.)

Co. D, 6th Vermont Volunteer Infantry at Camp Griffin (courtesy of Library of Congress)

Both of these accounts explain that the march to Dranesville was interrupted when Smith's men stumbled upon a destroyed bridge.  Given that the Pennsylvania Reserves moved freely back and forth along the Leesburg-Georgetown Turnpike, including the portion that crosses the Potomac tributary of Difficult Run, it appears that Smith's men took a different route towards Dranesville.  Their line of march towards Dranesville may have continued due west from Camp Griffin (today's McLean) in the direction of Hunter's Mills, or could have turned northwest onto the Leesburg-Alexandria Turnpike (current VA-7).  Both routes passed over creeks, and Confederate soldiers may very well have burned the bridge at any of the crossings.  (For a detailed map, see here.)

The mobilization of Smith's men on the afternoon of December 20 makes sense.  A fight had erupted at Dranesville between a Union brigade and a Confederate force of unknown size.  As word reached the camps around Langley, Smith took action to render assistance to the Pennsylvania Reserves.  Of course, Ord beat Stuart without needing help from other brigades.  In any event, Smith's men were blocked at the site of a burned down bridge, and it is unclear how much they could have contributed that day.

Notes

*The Battle of Dranesville occurred on a Friday, not a Thursday.  The correspondent greatly exaggerated the size of Stuart's force, which consisted of 1,600 infantry, 150 cavalry, and a four-gun battery of artillery.  (OR, 1:5, 490.)
**"Our brigade" means the Vermont Brigade.  Two Maine regiments --the 6th and 7th Maine-- belonged to Smith's division. The 6th Maine was part of Hancock's brigade.  (See George B. McClellan, Report on the Organization and Campaigns of the Army of the Potomac (1864).)

Union Soldiers in Northern Virginia Welcome Victories From Far Afield

Although the military situation in Northern Virginia was relatively calm in February 1862, elsewhere in the Confederacy the Union Army was on the move and scoring important victories.  Ft. Henry fell to Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant on February 6, followed by Ft. Donelson on February 16.  The Union capture of the two forts opened the path for an advance into the state of Tennessee along the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers.  Meanwhile, the Union secured a key foothold on the North Carolina coast when Brig. Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside and Flag Officer Louis Goldsborough beat an inferior Confederate force at Roanoke Island on February 7-8.   The news of the distant victories reached the Union Army's winter camps in Virginia and boosted the men's confidence in their cause.  Perhaps the defeat of the Rebellion would come sooner rather than later.

"Capture of Roanoke Island, Feby. 8th 1862: By the federal forces, under Command of Genl. Ambrose E. Burnside, and gunboats under Commodore L.M. Goldsborough," Currier & Ives (courtesy of Wikipedia)

Brig. Gen. George G. Meade, a brigade commander with the Pennsylvania Reserves at Camp Pierpont in Langley, wrote to his wife on February 9 about the capture of Ft. Henry.  He asked her enthusiastically, "Is not the news from Tennessee glorious?"  (Meade 245.)  Meade felt that Ft. Henry, along with the victories at Dranesville and Mill Springs, Kentucky "prove most conclusively that [the Confederates] are not invincible, and will run just as soon, if not sooner, than we will."  (Meade 245.)  He reported that these wins "have had a most beneficial effect on our morale, and I think all hands are now here looking forward to the period when we can do something."  (Meade 245.)  A few days later, on February 11, Meade told his wife:

To-night we have the good news that Roanoke Island has been taken by the Burnside fleet, and while I write the camp is cheering all around me. There are no particulars, so that our cheers are unmingled with mourning.  (Meade 245.)

All told, however, Meade was still a bit measured in his enthusiasm.  In a February 16 letter, he warned:

Foolish people consider the war over because we have had a few victories, but I consider it just begun. I believe, though, if we continue to be as fortunate as we have recently been, that it will not be long before the other side will have enough of it.  (Meade 246-47.)

Enlisted men in Northern Virginia rejoiced at the news of the recent wins.  Elijah Brown, a private from Co. F, 2nd Vermont at Camp Griffin in Lewinsville, wrote to his sister on February 14 about the capture of Roanoke Island:

The Burnside Expedition has gained [] A great Victory . . . .  Sissy we shall have them well cornered soon they will have to give up soon and surrender to the Gallant Banner of stars and stripes . . . .*

A.F. Hill of the 8th Pennsylvania Reserves described with perhaps a bit of embellishment his regiment's reaction as a mounted messenger rode into Camp Pierpont with news of Ft. Donelson's surrender:

A soul-stirring cheer went up; every man in the regiment shouted with gladness on hearing the welcome news. Other regiments took up the cheer, and ere long fifteen thousand men were yelling at the top of their voices; and they continued to do so until they were hoarse.

Our brass band now came forth, took its position on the most elevated spot in our regimental street, and played all the national airs they could think of; beginning with "Hail Columbia," and winding up with "Yankee Doodle." The whole regiment gathered around, cheering at intervals in a deafening manner.  (Hill 198.)

Hill noted that most men felt that the victory spelled the end of the war, although one soldier dared to shout, "Ah boys, the war is not over yet."  (Hill 199.)  This young man was more realistic in his assessment than many would have cared to admit. 
 
Dan Mason, a corporal with Co. D, 6th Vermont at Camp Griffin, summed up the impact of February's victories in a letter to his fiancee on February 22:

One month has wrought a great change.  our army has been successful at every point. many Forts & important places with thousands of rebel prisoners have been taken by our gallant troops. As you will get the news in the papers long before this reaches you I will not give the particulars here. The daily newspapers (which are brought from Washington every day by little news boys) are filled with cheering news. Our arms are crowned with successs at every point. Camp Griffin is often made wild with joy on receiving the glorious news loud hurahs rend the air. it is deafening to hear the shouts of the excited soldiers. the wildest enthusiasm prevails.*

Mason, however, also doubted the prospects for an advance in Northern Virginia anytime soon.  He told his fiancee that "it is so very muddy now (& has been for the last 6 or 8 weeks) that it is impossible to move heavy artillery & the baggage waggons which must nessessarily attend the advance of an army." 

Mason was on to something.  The Army of the Potomac would have to wait a bit longer before Gen. George McClellan would make a move, and even longer before a major victory on the battlefield.  Until that time, the soldiers around the nation's capital would have to draw inspiration from Union victories elsewhere.

Note
*The spelling and grammar in the soldiers' letters are as in the original.

Sources
A.F. Hill, Our Boys: The Personal Experiences of a Soldier with the Army of the Potomac (1864); Letters of Elijah Brown, On-Line Collection, Vermont Historical Society; Letters of Dan Mason, On-Line Collection, Vermont Historical Society; George G. Meade, The Life and Letters of George Gordon Meade, Vol. 1 (1913).

The Sickliest Soldiers in the Army: The Vermont Brigade at Camp Griffin

Fall colors dot the landscape this time of year across Northern Virginia.  But feeling a little scratch in my throat, and hearing co-workers cough and sniffle, I am reminded that fall also brings colds and flu.  Our contemporary sickness, however, is nothing compared to what young soldiers experienced during the first autumn and winter of the Civil War.  The Union Army camps around Washington were breeding grounds for disease, which spread rapidly from one person to the next in unsanitary and crowded conditions. 

The Vermont Brigade suffered from a relatively high rate of illness during its stay at Camp Griffin near Lewsinville, Virginia from October 1861 to March 1862.  The outbreak of diseases became noticeable starting in November 1861, as typhoid and other fevers, measles, pneumonia, and diarrhea spread through Camp Griffin.  State authorities in Vermont soon became aware of the epidemic, and the governor dispatched Dr. Edward E. Phelps to investigate.  In December, he observed:

. . . of the men of the five regiments, numbering 4,939 on the ground, no less than 1,086, or about one-fourth, were excused from duty in consequence of sickness. Of these, 201 were sick in hospital, 245 sick in their tents, and 550 able to be up and about though unfit for duty. (Benedict 237.) 

Dr. Phelps considered that the rate of illness was possibly due to the fact that "the regiments had been too long stationary in their camps, on soil which had became saturated with noxious elements."  (Benedict 238.)

By January 1862, the Army of the Potomac's medical director, Charles S. Tripler, reported:

[T]he Vermont regiments in [Gen. W.T.H.] Brooks's brigade give us the largest ratio of sick, of all the troops in this army, and that ratio has not essentially varied for the last three months. They suffered in the first place from measles. Since then they have been and are the subjects of fevers, remittent and typhoid. (in Benedict 238-39.)

The reasons provided by doctors for this high ratio is laughable by 21st century standards.  Because food and clothing were allegedly adequate at the time, Tripler attributed the disease among the Vermonters to some ill-defined "nostalgic element" that affected them "unfavorably."  (in Benedict 239.)  The confidence of the Union Army's doctors in the Vermonters' constitution never rose very high.  In an 1863 report on conditions during his time as medical director, Tripler noted that "[t]he frequent alarms in some portions of our lines were considered by some of the medical officers as a cause of disease. This was particularly the case in front of some of the Vermont troops in Brooks' brigade."  (OR, 1:5, 83.)  So much for Yankee toughness.

Disease affected the various regiments of the Vermont Brigade differently.  Benedict's account of Vermont in the Civil War records that before the end of November 1861, the 6th Vermont had around one-third unfit for duty due to disease, with forty felled by sickness each day.  (Benedict 211.)  Tripler reported that in January 1862, "the Fifth Vermont, 1,000 strong, had 271 sick; the Fourth, 1,047 strong, had 244 sick; while the Second, 1,021 strong, had but 87, and the Third, 900 strong, had but 84."  (OR, 1:5, 92.) 

The exact cause of the variation in rates of disease within the same brigade is the subject of speculation.  The 4th Vermont, which suffered from a great proportion of sick, was encamped near a brook that received runoff from ground where the cavalry had kept about one thousand horses.  (Benedict 160-61.)  When the 4th Vermont moved to a better spot in December, the disease rate began to drop.  Benedict attributed the lower overall rate of illness in the 2nd Vermont to the "more healthful location" of its camp and the "excellent care taken of the men by its colonel and his medical staff."  (Benedict 100.) 

Hospital tents in the vicinity of Washington, DC (courtesy of Library of Congress)

The dreadful conditions in camp had a profound impact on the men.  They never quite knew whether they would be next to fall ill.  As one soldier of the 2nd Vermont remarked upon the appearance of smallpox, "I hope and pray that we shall not be visited by this awful disease." (in Zeller 52.)  And pray some of the men did.  The 6th Vermont, surrounded by the death and suffering associated with disease, held well-attended prayer meetings every evening.

The state and federal authorities took various steps to remedy the dire situation faced by the Vermont Brigade.  Tripler felt that removing the sick Vermonters from the view of their fellow soldiers would boost morale and lessen susceptibility to illness.  The medical director therefore sent convalescents to Philadelphia to free up room for the Vermont Brigade in the general hospitals around Washington.  Five additional surgeons were sent to the brigade, log cabins were built to replace hospital tents, and soldiers were supplied with adequate clothing.  Officers also worked to improve camp sanitation.  In all, these palliative measures helped to decrease the sick rate by the time the Vermonters moved out of Camp Griffin in March 1862. 

Sources
Aside from the OR, the following sources were helpful in compiling this post: George Grenville Benedict, Vermont in the Civil War, Vol. 1 (1886); C. Keith Wilbur, M.D., Civil War Medicine (1998); Paul G. Zeller, The Second Vermont Volunteer Infantry Regiment, 1861-1865 (2002).

More Images of Camp Griffin: 6th Vermont Volunteer Infantry

A couple of weeks ago I decided to look for more period photographs of the Union Army camps around Lewinsville and Langley from October 1861 to March 1862.  I wasn't sure what I would find, since I thought I had located nearly all such photographs available on the Internet.  However, as everyone knows, you never can be sure you have found everything out there!  Below are two photographs that I uncovered of the 6th Vermont at Camp Griffin:

Camp of 6th Vermont Infantry, Camp Griffin (U.S. Military History Institute, via Vermont in the Civil War)

Co. H, 6th Vermont Infantry, Camp Griffin, Virginia (Library of Congress) 

Neither source gives a date for these photographs.  The first picture is a camp shot, showing a mass of tents laying at the base of a long ridge line.  A small home is off to the far left of the photo.  A flag flies high over the encampment, and a group of soldiers appears to be arranged in formation off to the left.  More soldiers are standing on the right side of the photograph, although it is unclear what they are doing.  The ground is barren and marked by what appear to be patches of snow, or muddy puddles.

The second picture is a posed shot of Company H of the 6th Vermont.  Company H was composed of boys from Washington County, Vermont.  In this photo, a flag waves in the breeze at the center of the semi-circle of soldiers.  The soldiers display an "H" wreath made out of leaves and branches.  The trees behind the company still have leaves, indicating that the photo may have been taken during the early part of the company's stay at Camp Griffin, before the arrival of dead winter.

About the 6th Vermont

The 6th Vermont was recruited from across Vermont.  Mustered into service on October 15, 1861 for three years, the 6th Vermont headed to Washington on October 19.  The regiment arrived on the 22nd, and proceeded to Camp Griffin in Lewinsville two days later, where it joined soldiers of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Vermont, attached to General "Baldy" Smith's division.  All of these Vermont regiments together comprised what became known as the "Vermont Brigade."  The winter in camp was harsh for the 6th Vermont.  Soldiers suffered from a various diseases.  There were 278 cases of typhoid fever, 330 of measles, 90 of diphtheria, and 180 of mumps.  More than 50 died.

The 6th Vermont, attached to the Fourth Corps of the Army of the Potomac, headed to the Virginia Peninsula on March 10, 1862.  The regiment was engaged at the Battle of Dam No. 1 on April 16, 1862.  Assigned to the new Sixth Corps in May 1862, the 6th Vermont fought at the Battles of Golding's Farm (June 28, 1862) and Savage's Station (June 29, 1862). 

After the Peninsula, the regiment engaged at the Battle of South Mountain (September 14, 1862) during the Antietam Campaign, as well as at Chancellorsville in May 1863 in front of Mayre's Heights and at Bank's Ford.  As the armies fought at Gettysburg, the regiment reached the town by forced march, and was put into position late on July 2, 1863.  Fortunately, the 6th Vermont experienced no causalities at Gettysburg.  The regiment took part in all of the major battles of the Overland Campaign in May-June 1864, including at the Bloody Angle on May 12, 1864 during the Battle of Spotsylvania.

The 6th Vermont was sent to Washington in July 1864 to halt Confederate General Jubal Early's advance on the nation's capital.  The regiment was then attached, along with the rest of the Sixth Corps, to General Philip Sheridan's Army of the Shenandoah, where it participated in the pivotal battles of Sheridan's Valley Campaign, including Cedar Creek (October 19, 1864).  In December 1864, the 6th Vermont rejoined the Army of the Potomac at Petersburg, and helped to secure final victory over the Army of Northern Virginia in April 1865.

Thanksgiving at Camp Griffin, November 1861

I would like to wish readers a Happy Thanksgiving!  As we celebrate this holiday, I thought you might enjoy the following excerpts from a letter written by Zebina Y. Bickford, a private with the 6th Vermont, Company D, who passed the winter at Camp Griffin in Lewinsville.  On November 28, 1861, he wrote to Ms. Emily Bickford:

It is Thanksgiving Day and I have not much to do but write and thinking perhaps you did not hear from Virginia any oftener than you wished to I thought perhaps a few lines from some of us cousins would be very acceptable. . . .  It is just about the time that Vermonters are taking their thanksgiving supper and I have no doubt you are enjoying it first rate. Well so are we soldier boys. You may think that we are home sick today but it is not so, not with me at any rate for we received a box of clothing and a few nicknacks consisting of eatables, from Glover last night and that makes a very good thanksgiving for us. The clothing is the best part of it however. It came just the right time we were all wishing it would come the night before thanksgiving. Our company are gone out on picket guard that is all the well ones and if I had been able I should have gone with them, but I have been sick with the measles and was not able to go. Supper is ready so I can't write any more now. . . .

Thanksgiving supper is over you cant imagine what a lot of fine things we had for supper, so I must tell you. In the first place we had a piece of sour bread and salt pork. This is what we usually have although the bread is not always sour. We generally have good bread and of late enough of it, but when we first came here we were kept pretty hungry we did not have half enough to eat and our meat a part of the time was not cooked at all. Well I almost forgot I was telling you what I had for supper. After the bread and meat I had some of mother's cookies and doughnuts that came in our box. They tasted a good deal like Vermont victuals. Well you must wait a few moments until I can read a couple letters that have just come in. . . .  One of my letters was from Sarah & Alice. They gave me a very cordial to come and spend Thanksgiving with them but the letter was one day to late for Thanksgiving day is passed and evening has come. Therefore I shall have to wait until next year before I accept their invitation. . . .  Charley Refford is passing around his cake that was sent him from home and I must stop once more and help them eat the cake. It was first rate cake I tell you a good deal better than we get here everyday. I suppose you have had a good sleigh ride before this time. I have not had one yet nor do I expect one while we stay in Va. We have not had any snow here yet that stayed on the ground all day. It snowed a little one night but it melted away before noon the next day. The days are very warm here but the nights are very cold. It has been the warmest thanksgiving day I ever saw it as warm as it is in Vermont in September. Last night when we were on dress parade the Colonel read the proclamation of the Governor of Vermont and requested us to keep the day as Vermonters should. After dress parade was over our first Lieutenant told us that those who did not go on picket might get up just as good a supper as the circumstances would permit of we might have baked turkey chicken pie or anything else we chose, but nothing of the kind could be purchased here with love or money. Three were of us went out this forenoon to try and get something for supper but we could not find anything that we wanted so we concluded to let it go till next year when we hope to be at home it does not seem as though this war could last more than a year longer but perhaps it will there is no one knows how long we shall have to stay here I suppose we have got good leaders and those who are capable of managing our army. I hope so at least. . . .

Remember friends that are far away. Write as soon as you get this and do not fail to write over half a dozen sheets for I have nothing to do now but read letters. My love to all. Write soon. Write soon. Write soon. Write soon. Write soon and often. This from Zebina (spelling and grammar as in original)

Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1861, by A.R. Waud.  Sketch made in camp of Union General Louis Blenker, around Washington, D.C. (courtesy of Wikipedia)

The Vermonters celebrated the holiday with what little they had.  At least Zebina and his fellow soldiers were able to enjoy some sweets from home.  Zebina's meal stands in stark contrast to the feast at the camp of the 2nd Wisconsin Regiment in Arlington.  There, men dined on oysters, turkey with jelly, ducks, spring chickens, lamb with mint sauce, sirloin beef, pig, wild goose, baked beans, corn bread, cole slaw, pumpkin pie, and many other culinary delights.  The menu likely had something to do with the visit to camp of Wisconsin Governor Alexander Randall.

Zebina, like many others, celebrated his last Thanksgiving that year.  He died of disease on April 30, 1862 during the Peninsula Campaign.  Zebina is buried at the National Cemetery in Yorktown, Virginia.  The letter in its entirety can be found here, on the website of the Pilgrim Hall Museum in Plymouth, Massachusetts.