period of three score years, it is not to be wondered at that when the
most typical American was sought to be represented in Statuary Hall, at
Washington, the popular eye was directed at once to Dr. Jabez LaFayette
Monroe Curry.
ROBERT E. RODES
Of the many chieftains developed from the Alabama soldiery during the
Civil War, none eclipsed in dash, efficiency, and brilliance of
leadership, Gen. Robert Emmet Rodes. A native of Virginia, and the son of
Gen. David Rodes, the subject of this sketch was trained for war by a
thorough military course at the Virginia Military Institute at Lexington,
from which institution he was graduated on July 4, 1848. So distinguished
had been his career as a student, that he was retained for two years as
assistant professor, and when a commandant was to be chosen, the name of
Rodes was mentioned in close connection with that of Thomas J. Jackson,
afterward "Stonewall," for that position.
Entering on the career of a civil engineer, Rodes was first employed in
that capacity in his native state, in the construction of a railroad, but
he was later induced to go to Texas as an engineer. In 1855 he became
assistant engineer of the Alabama and Chattanooga Railroad, where after
two years' service he was made chief engineer, during which time he was
located at Tuscaloosa, where he was married.
He was a resident of Tuscaloosa when the war began. Even in advance of a
declaration of hostilities he raised a company of cadets and went to Fort
Morgan. In the spring of 1861 he became the colonel of the Fifth Alabama
regiment, which command saw its first service at Pensacola. It was here
that he gave evidence first of his superior soldiery qualities on the
drill ground and the camp. Superb and exacting as a drill officer, and a
martinet in discipline, he did not at first impress a citizen soldiery,
and to the proud southern youth, unused to control, the young colonel was
not at first popular. In disregard of all this, he pitched his code of
discipline on a high plane, and enforced with rigid hand the strictest
army regulations.
While the raw volunteer troops were lying inactive at Pensacola, the
authorities watching the drift of the initial events of the war, Colonel
Rodes was daily drilling his troops, and gave them a pretty thorough taste
of war, even in the camps. When later in the spring of 1861 his command
was ordered to Virginia, it was believed by many competent officers that
Colonel Rodes had the best drilled regiment in the army. So distinguished
did the regiment become in army circles, that officers of other commands
would attend on the drill of the Fifth Alabama regiment to witness the
accuracy of its evolutions and to note the perfection of the condition of
the accoutrements of each soldier. When the young troops had become inured
to actual army life, and the habits of the soldier had become fixed by
reason of time, the rigid and exacting commander was transformed into an
object of admiration, and that which at first excited opposition was
transmuted into popularity.
The regiment of which he was the colonel barely missed becoming engaged in
the first battle of Manassas. The regiment, belonging to the command of
Gen. Joseph E. Johnson, came upon the scene just after McDowell's lines
broke, and the flight to Washington began.
In October, 1861, Rodes was made a brigadier general. He was under fire at
Williamsburg, but the battle of Seven Pines was the first in which the
command was actually engaged. Here the estimation of the troops of their
brilliant young commander was greatly heightened, as they were led by him
in this series of bloody contests. In this battle, Rodes received a wound
in his arm, but was able to lead his troops into the battles of Boonsboro
and Sharpsburg. At Chancellorsville, one of the bloodiest of the war,
Rodes was entrusted for the first time, with the command of a division,
one of the three of Jackson's corps.
The division of which he had command led the army in the assault on the
enemy, and thrilling his troops with the cry, "Forward, men, over friend
and foe!" they fought with unwonted valor. With an impetuosity rarely
witnessed, the division commanded by Rodes swept like a wave on a stormy
sea to the utter dismay of the enemy.
As is well known, both Generals Jackson and A. P. Hill were wounded during
the night, and on the young commander was imposed the movement so
auspiciously begun, which movement was checked only by the darkness of the
night. General Rodes was preparing to renew the daring movement with the
break of day, and would have done so, had not Gen. J. E. B. Stuart arrived
to take command, in response to a message from Colonel Pendleton of the
artillery.
On the arrival of Stuart, Rodes quietly yielded the command, under the
impression that the superior officer could inspire more confidence in the
troops. That General Rodes would have more successfully executed the
original plans had he retained command, was the belief of not a few army
officers. In view of his brilliant movements on the preceding day,
confidence in him was well nigh supreme. As a result of his skill and
courage on the field at Chancellorsville, Rodes was made a major general.
Appearing before his old regiment, he made the fact known, and said: "The
Fifth Alabama did it." It proved as easy for him to command a division as
it had previously been that of a regiment, as was shown in the battles of
Gettysburg, the Wilderness, Spottsylvania and the second battle of Cold
Harbor.
By this time, Rodes had become the idol of his troops, and his skill and
fighting qualities were subjects of general comment throughout the army.
So impressed was General Lee by his splendid charge at Gettysburg that he
sent an officer to General Rodes to thank him and his gallant command for
their conduct in that bloodiest battle of the Civil War.
On the retirement of Early's corps from Maryland, Rodes was in position to
inflict severe blows on the enemy at Castleman's Ferry and Kernstown. At
Winchester, he fought his last battle. His death was a calamity to the
army. As General Early testifies in his history, "In the very moment of
triumph and while conducting the attack with great gallantry and skill,"
General Rodes was killed by the fragment of a shell striking near his ear.
He survived the wound but a few hours.
On the night following the day in which he fell, many of the wounded of
his command were huddled in a large warehouse near the scene of conflict.
The groans of the suffering men filled the air, none of whom had heard of
the fate of their loved commander. The wareroom was densely dark, to which
was imparted additional horror by the piercing moans of the suffering.
During the reign of terror, another ambulance train brought in a fresh
supply of wounded from the field. Some one overheard the remark that
General Rodes had been shot through the head on the battlefield and was
dead. For an instant every voice was silent, and in another, men began to
weep like babes, over the fall of their great and gallant general.
Rigid as General Rodes was, even sometimes to sternness, his troops almost
worshipped him, and a sight of him invariably evoked cheers which were
rarely given to any excepting to Lee and Jackson. In his work on the war,
General Early says of Rodes, "He was a most accomplished, skillful and
gallant officer upon whom I placed great reliance."
As a soldier, he acted in thorough response to duty, and as a commander he
demanded the same respect for duty which he himself exemplified.
JOSEPH WHEELER
If ever one honorably won a sobriquet it was "Fighting Joe Wheeler." He
was a born fighter, a bold and brave commander, and an efficient officer.
The beginning of the Civil War found him in the regular army as a
lieutenant of cavalry, located in New Mexico, having graduated from West
Point just two years before. When he resigned his commission in the army
of the United States and offered his sword and service to the Confederate
states, he was just twenty-five years old.
His ascent in promotion in the army of the Confederacy was rapid. First
becoming a lieutenant of artillery, he was promoted to a colonelcy of
infantry, then he became a brigadier general, later a major general, and
the close of the war found him a lieutenant general of cavalry.
So early as 1862, little more than a year after the war began, he
commanded the cavalry corps of the western army, and was made senior
cavalry general of the Confederate armies on May 11, 1864. He had been in
the army scarcely a year before he received the thanks of the Confederate
Congress for his magnificent service, and of the legislature of South
Carolina for his defense of Aiken.
Always active, his course through the turbulent years of the Civil War was
marked by a series of splendid achievements, scarcely equaled in number by
that of any other officer in the army. Without the dash and daring of
Forrest, Wheeler was just as effective a fighter. Forrest's method was
that of Indian warfare, keeping an eye always on the slightest advantage
afforded, and at great risk oftentimes going to a reckless extent in order
to win. He would often win all by risking all. In his case this proved
effectual, and so signal became his success, and so often, that the enemy
came to regard him as a sort of wizard of battle.
As a West Pointer, Wheeler was far more scientific in his methods and
movements, and more cautious, but dashing as any when occasion required.
His were the tactics of the schools; the tactics of Forrest found apt
expression from him on one occasion when he said that his plan was "to get
thar first with the biggest crowd."
It was Wheeler who captured General Prentiss' division in the battle of
Shiloh, and later with his division of cavalry covered the retreats from
Shiloh, Corinth and Perryville, and accomplishing this with such skill as
to win the commendations of the Confederate generals.
At Murfreesboro he was again conspicuous, turning Rosecrans' flank,
capturing many prisoners and wagons, and destroying gunboats and supplies.
He distinguished himself at Chickamauga, and after the battle had been
fought made his famous raid around Rosecrans' rear, destroying one
thousand two hundred loaded wagons. Wheeler's feats of valor in east
Tennessee and in the retreat from Missionary Ridge and during the eventful
struggle from Chattanooga to Atlanta were marvelous. In his active
strategic movements he captured many wagon trains, thousands of beef
cattle and thwarted Cook's great raid.
Wheeler saved Macon and Augusta during Sherman's march to the sea, and by
hanging on the flanks and rear of Sherman, harassed and embarrassed him
during his invasion of the Carolinas. For the services rendered in Georgia
in the protection of two of its chief cities, he received the personal
commendation of President Davis.
Wheeler's personal presence in the lead of his command was always an
inspiration to his troops. None was braver, and oftentimes he was exposed.
In consequence, he was three times wounded, had sixteen horses shot under
him during the war, seven of his staff officers were killed, and
thirty-two wounded. This brief and rapid summary of his achievements
affords but a bare idea of the strenuousness of his career during the
stormy days of the Civil War. Becoming a planter after the war closed, in
the northern part of this state, he was chosen for many successive years
to represent the eighth district in congress. His activity in
congressional life was as distinguished as it had been on the field. An
indefatigable student of affairs, he rested not till he had probed to the
bottom of all important questions. His statistical information was
wonderful, and when accuracy on all great issues was needed, it became a
proverbial suggestion about the capitol at Washington to "ask Wheeler."
Frequently he could give offhand a long series of statistics, and was
resorted to as an encyclopedia.
When the Spanish-American War began, President McKinley made Wheeler a
major general and sent him to Cuba, where he was placed in command of the
cavalry. His fighting qualities had not become diminished, nor was his
force abated. In the two chief battles, Santiago and El Caney, he was the
most conspicuous figure. Smitten by the Cuban fever, he quit his sick bed
and went on horseback to the front of the line all day at San Juan, and,
though burning with fever, after twelve hours of fierce battle and
exposure, interposed before discouraged officers who were suggesting
retirement from positions already won, and that could be held only by
unflinching bravery, and in the face of every officer indignantly declined
to hear of retreating one foot. General Shafter was in command, and
Wheeler warned him against the proposal to retreat, and by his splendid
and fearless courage of heart and determination, turned the disheartened
ones the other way by infusing into them his own tenacity of purpose. The
victim of a raging fever, he appeared before his troops at one stage
during the hardest fighting at San Juan, and, forgetting, for the moment,
his whereabouts, he said in a brief address to his men: "Now, at them,
boys, and wipe those Yankees off the face of the earth." This was the
occasion of much merriment, but indicated the spirit of the little man of
one hundred and ten pounds who stood ready to lead the charge. Wheeler was
the occasion of the success of the two great battles.
At his own request, he was sent to the Philippines, but there he was
hampered by the authorities in his operations, while opportunities were
given to others. He returned to the United States, was retained with his
commission in the service and assigned to duty near New York, where, after
a few years, he died.
RAPHAEL SEMMES
No more picturesque figure was there during the war between the states
than Admiral Raphael Semmes. As far as one could, he supplied the sad
deficiency of the navy to a young and struggling government such as the
southern Confederacy was. Daring in the extreme, Semmes was just the man
to turn to practical advantage the slim facilities at the command of the
infant government of the Confederate States. His was a sort of guerrilla
warfare on the high seas.
For a long period of years, Semmes had been a rover of the deep, but,
after seeing much service, he had retired to private life. As early as
1826 he was appointed a midshipman by President John Quincy Adams. Later
he studied law under his brother at Cumberland, Md., and received his
license to practice in 1834. The first duty assigned him in the navy after
he had undergone an examination, was that of second master of a frigate,
but he was soon promoted to a lieutenancy in the national navy. For
several years he cruised the seas of the globe, and in 1842 removed to a
home on the Perdido River, and seven years later took up his residence in
the city of Mobile.
When the Mexican War began Semmes served under Commodore Conner at Vera
Cruz, where he was in command of a battery of breaching guns. Throughout
the war with Mexico, he served in the American fleet. After the
declaration of peace, he was made inspector of lighthouses on the Gulf of
Mexico, and in 1858 he rose to the position of a commander in the fleet,
and was made secretary of the lighthouse board, with headquarters at
Washington.
Resigning his position when Alabama seceded from the Union, he repaired to
Montgomery, the first capital of the Confederacy, where he was made
commander of the Confederate navy. With the "Sumter," which Secretary
Mallory had named in honor of the first victory of the war, Semmes began
his "services afloat." The "Sumter" was a slender vessel and one of small
capacity, but it was all that could be practically called the Confederate
navy. But with this light cruiser, Semmes scoured the seas, and within a
few months captured seventeen merchant vessels, after which the small
vessel was disposed of, and Semmes having the "Alabama," a real gunboat
for that time, built in England, and secretly sent to the Azores Islands,
he assumed command of it and began in real earnest an offensive warfare on
the high seas. He wrought rapid havoc with his little gunboat, burning
fifty-seven of the enemy's ships and releasing many others on ransom bond.
There being no ports open for condemning, Semmes burned his captures as
permitted by international law.
Dashing here and there over the deep, the operations of the "Alabama" were
a series of brilliant exploits which attracted the attention of the world.
Now at the Azores, again within two hundred miles of New York, then
appearing unheralded in the regions of the West Indies, he suddenly
appears in the waters of the Gulf off Galveston, Texas, sinks the federal
steamer "Hatteras," capturing and paroling the crew, then dashing away to
the coast of South America, he crosses the Cape of Good Hope, sweeps over
the Indian Ocean, and in his work goes half way round the globe. That
which was being done by the most daring and dashing commanders on land,
was being done by Semmes on the high seas. Swift and tactical, he would
appear at the most unsuspected time and in the most unconjectured quarter,
and spread terror and destruction.
For three years, Semmes roamed the seas of the world uninspired by the
press and people of the South, for his deeds of daring were unknown, by
reason of the blockaded ports of the Confederacy, and yet single-handed
the little gunboat accomplished results that were wonderful. The story of
a phantom ship ploughing the seas and accomplishing amazing feats, could
scarcely be more romantic than was that which was actually done by Semmes
and his little gunboat.
The enemy, discovering what havoc the gunboat under Semmes might
eventually work, had built a better and stronger vessel of more improved
pattern to pit against her. The "Kearsarge" was ready for action early in
1864, and sought the "Alabama" in French waters. Semmes was blockaded at
Cherbourg, where he remained as long as he could in a neutral port, and on
June 19, 1864, he steamed out of that port, aware of the fact that he was
going against a vessel every way his superior. It was known that an
encounter would take place, and the people of Cherbourg sought every
elevated place to witness the naval duel. After some slight maneuvering
the battle began. A hundred-pound shell was fired from the "Alabama" and
was buried in the rudderpost of the "Kearsarge," which rudderpost was
unarmored, and the shell failed to explode. It was well directed, and it
is believed that had it exploded the "Kearsarge" would have been sunk.
Unharmed by the guns of Semmes, the new vessel did speedy and effective
work, and the "Alabama" began to sink. Together with Semmes stood Kell,
his second in command, on the deck of the ill-fated vessel, till it was
ready to sink, when they cast their swords into the sea and leaped
overboard. They, together with the rest of the crew, were taken from the
water by the "Deerhound," an English vessel, and taken to England.
Returning to the South, where he was made rear admiral, Semmes was placed
in command of the James River fleet, which suffered destruction on the
fall of Richmond. Escaping with his command to North Carolina, Semmes
joined the army of General Johnston and his men were formed into a brigade
of artillery. The war was now practically over, and Semmes was paroled at
the capitulation along with all others, but was afterward imprisoned for
several months, and finally pardoned.
After serving as a professor in the Louisiana Military Institute, Admiral
Semmes returned to Mobile and began the practice of law, giving his
attention, for the most part, to constitutional and international law. He
died in Mobile, which city honors his memory, as is attested by a monument
which adorns the most conspicuous spot in the city.
The deeds and valor of Semmes have not yet been recognized. Had the
independence of the South been achieved, he would have been one of her
most honored heroes, but he belonged to a lost cause, and that fact will
serve to dim for a period of years his history, but one day it will be
known in its fullness, and then will it shine among the most resplendent
of the daring heroes of the deep. His career was as brilliant as it was
daring.
JOHN PELHAM
The heroism of Alabama manhood was never more essentially embodied than it
was in the career and character of the gallant young soldier, John Pelham.
His name was repeatedly mentioned on the lips of the Confederate
chieftains as "the gallant Pelham." By no other name was he so generally
known in the great galaxy of heroes in the Army of Northern Virginia.
Pelham was especially admired by Generals Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson
and J. E. B. Stuart. A prodigy of valor, he enjoyed the admiration of the
entire army.
The Civil War found Pelham a cadet at West Point. He was then about
twenty-two years old. He was not specially gifted in his textbooks, but
his work as a student was solid and substantial. Just before he would have
received his diploma he quit the military academy, early in 1861, and
started southward. The country throughout was feverish with excitement,
and everyone going toward the South was eyed with suspicion, which made it
difficult to get through the lines. By the employment of stratagem, Pelham
was enabled to slip through the lines at Louisville, professing to be a
secret scout of General Scott.
Making his way to Montgomery in April, 1861, that city then being the
capital of the new Confederacy, Pelham tendered his services to Honorable
Leroy Pope Walker, secretary of war, and was at once given a commission as
first lieutenant of artillery in the regular army, and promptly assigned
to duty at Lynchburg, Va. His efficiency was at once recognized, and he
was transferred to Imboden's battery, at Winchester, where he was assigned
to duty as drillmaster.
Pelham's first taste of war was at the first battle of Manassas, where his
skill was so conspicuous and his courage was so daring as to attract the
attention and admiration of the commanders of the army. This was followed
by a commission to raise a battery of six pieces of horse artillery, which
he proceeded to do during the months immediately following the July in
which the first great battle of the war was fought. His battery was
rapidly gotten into admirable shape, and he was soon ready for effective
service.
The battle of Williamsburg afforded him the first opportunity of engaging
the men of his new command. Pelham was so cool and skillful in the
fiercest parts of the battle that he excited the wonder of his superiors.
With a steadiness unshaken by the thunders of battle, he directed his guns
with unerring skill, and no insignificant share of the glory was his as he
steadfastly held the enemy at bay. Again at Cold Harbor he displayed so
much tactical force combined with accuracy and effectiveness that General
Stonewall Jackson grasped the youthful commander by the hand and told him
of his high appreciation of the service rendered. At Cold Harbor he
engaged three batteries of the enemy with a single Napoleon, and
throughout the entire day stubbornly held his position, dealing
destruction and death to the enemy. Shortly after the battle of Cold
Harbor Pelham's battery engaged a gunboat at the "White House" and
compelled it to withdraw.
By this time, Pelham had gained the reputation of a famous boy fighter,
and his steadiness in battle would have done credit to a seasoned veteran.
His battery became famous, was the subject of general comment in army
circles, and the commanders came to lean on the young officer as one of
the indispensable adjuncts to the entire command. In a crisis, or at a
difficult juncture, young Pelham was thought of as one to meet it.