His wife and two cats and he enjoys eating oysters, some liquor and peace and quite. Drew gruber. [ applause ] so at this time i will introduce my coauthor Doug Crenshaw who will come up and lecture about williamsburg today. Okay. I sat down last night to review my notes and i couldnt help, but think about how ryan ended his presentation yesterday and it caused me to rewrite the whole thing. Thanks, ryan. I was going open with a really cool quote and i thought about it, we have this morbid fascination with body count and only big, bloody battles are important and Richard Lewis said something last night where he said the guy who falls from dysentery, thats his forgotten battle and the one guy thats out on picket by himself on a cold day, thats probably his most important battle. So im going to open with a quote from not a historian, just a guy who fought at the battle of williamsburg. This guy gets hit in the shoulder with a 6pound ball. His friend next to him says its just a flesher and he gets back up and keeps going. And yet edwin brown if the first massachusetts will go on to fight for the remainder of the war and in his diary, years after, he says this. The battle of williamsburg has received less importance in history than it has merited and wouldnt you believe thats just not the case with edwin brown . When you go back and look at the diaries of the men who fought at williamsburg, they did not forget it, so why have we . Thats a good question and thats what i intend to go over with you, but what a miserable honor to have. A forgotten battle. So all you guys who fought that day, youre not nearly as cool as chancellorsville, but why . Why have we forgotten about williamsburg . Think about it. When you think about williamsburg . What is the first thing that comes to mind . Rockefeller. I forgot this is an academic room. The juxtaposition by the British Empire in the transatlantic marketplace. Geez you guys are awake no, George Washington breezes the American Revolution. Nobody thinks about civil war at williamsburg, but think about williamsburgs actual colonial history when he marches down the duke of gloucester street on his way to york town, there is one single business open. Just one. Not a real bustling town as it would be today, but still, our public memory commands Colonial Williamsburg. Jamestown and of course, yorktown. So we dont often think of civil war williamsburg and its also forgotten in the period because after a few short weeks after the battle of williamsburg, we have the massive class of richmond and when theyre getting ready to write about williamsburg switch. Okay. Well write about seven day, instead. The failures of scholarship over the last 150 years and its only over the last 50 years and the importance of the peninsula campaign. So why not write about williamsburg . When you go back through the books and some of our favorite hiftor knowia, one in particular has six pages about the battle of williamsburg. Six pages thats it. Maybe its not a sexy topic. Maybe its not nearly as interesting and maybe the publisher said no. So it would be my goal here in the next three and a half hours of my lecture [ laughter ] sorry, steve. To make you realize that civil war williamsburg is the historic triangles most important period. So many of you have been to the battlefield . Yeah. Let me back up. How many of you have been to Busch Gardens . Yes. You have been to the battlefield, the robert e. Log. How about for the die hards, how many of you have actually been to fort mcgruder. Not the hotel. I mean the actual fort. How many of you have been to Colonial Williamsburg . Lovely and they say history is dying. You are on the civil war battlefield, there, too because theres the ren building at the college of william and mary. So my goal is to make you realize that this is an exciting, sexy topic and yes, youll want to buy the book that doug and i are working on and yes, youll want to bid on the walking tour thats in the back and i will also do it in the lens through personal stories because for the guys that fought there, this battle was immensely confusing and since were not standing on the battlefield today where i can point and say there is where the first massachusetts was, im not going to talk about heavy battlefield maneuvers. It doesnt pair well with a heavy, big lunch and then ill talk about what preserves it and youre on point and on tank the next couple of speakers and these are forgotten battles and what weve not asked ourselves as a community is what can we do to fix it . So off we go. Why here . When i arrived to williamsburg, the articles said it was ill conceived and poorly planned and of course, you have all these people who have benched their careers on backseat generaling 150 years after the fact. Well, he was slow. He didnt know the terrain. He should have gone around to the right. You werent there. [ laughter ] think about this. The battle of williamsburg happens because williamsburg is at the narrowest point of the peninsula and these are smart people and they studied history to predict their future. The chief of the algonkuin have decided this is a strategic place. They moved during the American Revolution because this is a strategic place. Wash wish will go past williamsburg on his way to yorktown, because it is a strategic place and the british will come to williamsburg because it is a historic place, thus, friend, when the confederacy is born, they will first look at williamsburg as a place to build a defensive line because it is a strategic place. Benjamin youll from the college of william and mary in 18 1 to cop struck in the pen ins well. Theyre excited about the idea of independence and freedom and are not necessarily excited about digging earth works. So benjamin and the local commanders go to the plantation owners and say lend us your slaves to dig your earth works and the local plantation owners say no. They get very few slaves to help dig the earth works at williamsburg. So robert e. Lee sends engineers down to williamsburg with this order. The civil officers will notify ablebodied, free negros that they are to assist these works of defense and that failure to attend will be visited by severe penalty. So this line of 14 earth works at williamsburg at the narrowest point of the peninsula is dug by free africanamerican men pressed into confederate services. It comes in different sizes and shapes. Theyre 200 yards apart and they have connected earth works and between them are swamps, creek, slashings, and shavo, that you would see at the petersburg front is seen here at williams work. Eversees the intersections of two roads and the road from hampton, virginia and yorktown, virginia. So lets say you have 130,000 men, blue uniforms and your objective is richmond and you might land your boats at fortress monroe. There is one road you must go down to travel east to west on the virginia peninsula and you know that today as the duke of gloucester street which is why the earth works show up at williamsburg. Of those earth works there are seven left ask there were eight until three months ago when the Virginia Department of transportation removed one earth work for the widening of interstate 64 and let me tell you, 14s i had the honor of being out there with william and mary and that told me more about the American Civil War in williamsburg than i would ever imagine. It was perfectly intact. Every single archaeological layer was all there and it was beautiful and you can write a report if you wanted to today, but there were seven left today. In the spring of 1862 and the prem nigsz getting to richmond by way of the peninsula. He will land and begin their march up to yorktown. Many of you know what happens at yorktown. He prepares for a siege. Both armies are critically aware that once the lines at yorktown break it will be a race to richmond because you have two deep, navigable rivers on either side of the virginia peninsula. Both sides hedge their bets and it will open in 1862 to distract of the Confederate Army almost silently. Of course, this befuddles george b. , but he doesnt wait and i quote, around 2 00 a. M. On the 4th the firing ceased and between that hour and daylight our troops entered the works soon after daylight and the message was received from morehouse and our flag flies over yorktown. By sunrise, about two and a half hours after they realize the confederates are gone. Two and a half hours george mclellans flying column is on the road chasing the confederates on the two roads that will lead to fort mcgruder. So we set the stage. Why here . One from hampton and the First Division of the first core of the union army will be put on transport boats and they will fly by both armies on the york river on to a place called the landing and that was a forgotten battle. The Confederate Army is trying to outrace Union Transport boats on the york river and it is a race. Almost immediately after leaving yorktown, stoneman, the Union General in command of this column runs up after the rear guard of resistance and for 12 miles on may 4th there is constant rear guard action and one of the most incredible places is here at whitakers mill. At whitakers mill, they make a stubborn defense under wade stewart and wade hampton occupy this battery and for about 15 minutes they hold. Stonemans column will crack this within a few short minutes and will drive the confederate troopers back to the earth works at williamsburg and theyll have infantry meven funneling into the earth works exactly as planned. Noticing that the union trooper slowly back off the earth works, stewart and wade hampton dont wait around. They pitch right into them. This is a nasty fight on may 4th, on roads just like this, in a drizzle. For mounted troopers means that the battle on may 4th is being named in columns so theyll literally ride atop the road and drop their horses down on top of the opposite force. Several troopers come and that was the only time in the war they would use their saber to effect pistol shots to the chest and its a race for 3 1 2 hours to see who can push who back into the road, drop on top of them and keep pushing them back again. Its a mess of a fight. William pain will lose his jaw from the fourth virginia cavalry and theyll lose their colors. Union artillery will lose one iron gun and by the end of the day, one of those two brothers on the top right will be dead and burr ed in the road somewhere near water country, usa, today. The brothers that you see there are stephen and moises from the hampton legion. Steve sen killed and hes 22 years old and his body will remain there until 1866 until its picked up and brought back to south carolina. That night a peculiar thing happens. The whole union army is stacked up both of these roads and hancocks brigade itself will sleep within snoring distance of the confederate earth works. Talk about walking into and out of each others fire that night as they try to stay warm against the impending rain. Mcgruders division who had helped dig these earth works and knew the terrain is pulled out and sent west toward the landing and richmond. Long Streets Division is a division that set into this line of 14 earth wakes to help stall the union army for the following day and then it begins to rain. So the battle begins may 4th and all night long theres this maneuvering of army. So today this area, whitakers mill is set to be a new sams club and mixed use housing. If any of you are scholars of the American Revolution you know about joseph plum martin and this is where he loses his wallet right down here and Washingtons Army will march on their way to yorktown. Theres little interest in these sites and now we get to the main show. In dawn on may 5th, the cinco de mayo, if you will. Its closest to fort mcgruder and the central earth work that commands this road network and of course, edwin brown with the first and the 11th massachusetts will deploy against mica jenkins whose men are in those earth works trying to hold off this union army. Grovers men from new england will realize you cant take fort mcbruder in all of these 14 earth works this had been meticulously engineered to cover the intersection of this road. So begins a trend for the battle of williamsburg. Each side all day will slowly funnel in one regimen at a time, one brigade at a time as their front is cleared and this is where the confusion sets in for the men on the field. Hooker to support grover is going to send in a guy named major charles wayinwright, and some of his regulars on the field. Regular army men deploy their section of canons quickly targeted by stewarts artillery and flee their guns. It was one of the most embear a embarrassing volunteers. He brings up another section of artillery as he starts to notion that grovers left is being turned. Team gray has not sat ideally by either. Wilcox and his three reg mends, the 9th and 10th alabama and the 19th mississippi will not wait nicely in these prepared earth works and they head into a place that will be known as the ravine. So the Confederate Army is already beginning to shove the union army back away from these earth works. As wilcoxs brigade goes down into the ravine, hookers next brigade is the new jersey brigade under francis paterson. They can see grovers brigade down in the ravine. They can see the wounded coming back up from it, but they cant see it, about you they can see across the top of the ravine and they go down into the ravine. Its a mirror image on both sides of the field and you cant see the fighting, but you can see the guys who are about to go into it, and four regiments file off to the left of grovers brigade and they slowly descend down into the ravine. I also say richard prior, but roger pryors brigade, was there no fighting in the earth works so down they go into the ravine. At this point, Francis Patterson is feeling a little bit of pressure. His four regiments are now stacked up against six . Its a confusing fight. The rain gets worse and the smoke gets heavier. The ravine is not cleared and its the only area where you can get around the fort mcgruder and on either side. Their breyers, theres mud and bordered by slashing. There is no form or semblance of regular combat. So when you think about Company Commanders taking part of them change that, and its not the Company Commanders and were talking about battle buddies. Sections of four or six men, platoons trying to take some advantage of the situation down in the morass that would be in the ravine and within the hour patersons men have turned back around and called for reinforcements because theyre out of ammunition. So i wake you up with this question. Do we have mathematicians in the audience . Anyone good with math at all . Try this on for size. No, seriously, is there someone good in the room with math . Humanities people. Lovely. There are about 350 guys. Theyre engaged for an hour. At 60 pourounds of ammunition p piece, not much larger than the yard behind us will fire 21,000 rounds of ammunition in an hour and thats 350 rounds of ammunition per minute and thats six rounds per second and thats onesixth of the force fighting in an area thats only a few hundred yards. Think about this. And then think about the mechanics behind it as these are soldiers fighting in a rainstorm with gunpowder, muzzle loading rifles. It will become importants in a few minutes. A. P. Hill and we know its hill because very clearly this man in a bright red shirt has descended down from the hill of williamsburg with his brigade behind him and patterson sees a. P. Hills brigade come on to line at the earth works and do they wait at the earth work, friends . Down into the ravine they go, and you see this pattern happening that both armies, once they get clearance get it. Theyre not waiting. Patter sorn calls the third time with reinforcements and waiting to go into the battle is under colonel Nelson Taylor and its the excelsior brigade, and one man who is so beside himself waiting to go into combat sits down in a driving rainstorm and makes himself a cup of tea. [ laughter ] the excelsior brigade is so large that it takes each regimen about an hour to come from column into line. Think about that. So were setting a scene for you. Three confederate brigades squaring off against three Union Brigades in a space not bigger than this while shooting and six rounds per second at each other. So here are some men who squared off with each other. Thomas ridell and hes about where the 711 is today as best as i can figure. Hes 24, shot dead in the ravine and they were buried on the battlefield in two rows of which thomas was noted as being in the first row. The man who likely saw thomas fall is this guy here. Lucious quintus cincinatus ii. Not only do they have this dude, we have valerus giles, and cynthia and tucker coleman. They moved so fast. Lucious is the colonel commanding the 1950 mississippi and they square off against new jersey and these two men leakly saw each other and lamar becomes the judge advocate for long street staff probably because he married long streets niece. In 1862 he becomes the diplomat to russia. Were investigating collusion. And in 1872 hes the first brought back during the house of representatives and yet nobodys written a biography for him. We continue to set the scene. Down in the ravine things are confused and there are white flags that go up. There are people that claim youre shooting at your friends only to be shot down themselves. One soldier wrote, quote, it was pandemonium broke loose. The excelsior brigade was behind them and grovers men were patching holes in the line and the rest of team gray are down in the ravine trying to force team blue out and here comes george picket with his column who can see over the ravine, but not into it. So he brings his brigade and does he wait there . No. Here comes picket. The battle had swollen into one of gigantic proportions. Williamsburg resident his turned out to watch despite the rain. Several of them with glasses watching the tide of battle go back and forth. As it is jersey brigade retires the confederates in the ravine sort of sense this shift. The lieutenant captured the moment. He said as we were going up out of the ravine, a tremendous cheer was sent up into the woods. So think about this. Its the rebel yell. Now we have almost 6,000 confederates cheering the rebel yell and the men at the top of