"We need more ammunition."

Sunday, March 26, 1865, in trenches.

No one slept on Friday night. The brigade was ordered to stand to in order to repel an attack on Saturday morning. Nothing happened. We waited in the darkness, cold and rain for a chance to shoot Yankees and we waited in vain. We might not have done anything but we heard plenty. All the firing came from the north of our works. We could not tell if we attacked them or they us. Whichever it was, the sounds of musketry and artillery were quite fierce. All of us who heard the sounds of death commented that it must be the Yankees attacking us somewhere.

Most of us cheered at the thought that some long-awaited combat may be coming our way. Three hours later, it was our turn. We observed the Yankees moving across our front towards the north, towards the sounds of battle we had heard earlier. And then, we ourselves were charged. They flooded from across the concealment of a ridge straight towards us. In front of us were our skirmishers. The combat rapidly became a point-blank affair. Many of our people were killed or captured. It was difficult for us not in the skirmish line to fire in support of them as we would have run the risk of shooting our own men.

More Yankees came from our left. And then our right was assaulted. Everyone had enough Yankees to go around. A good deal of our skirmish line was captured and then manned by the Yankees who started throwing lead at us. We had artillery but only two pieces which did not have much effect on so many of the enemy. A battery of guns arrived and opened up but without much more effect than the two lone guns.

Our battalion of sharpshooters were ordered forth to seize the captured skirmish line. As we cheered, the sharpshooters poured it into the Yankees in expectation of their retiring from their newly-captured works but they did not. They hunkered down but they would not be moved. There were enough of them to put up enough return fire to keep the sharpshooters at a respectable distance.

Two regiments of Thomas' brigade on our left were ordered forward. They, with the support of our guns, were able to make some headway but then more Yankees came up. This new batch were badly situated and Thomas' boys managed to shoot them in their flank. They wavered, seemingly hurt. More of the enemy came up and their numbers carried them forward against our most spirited fire.
Our ammunition was running low and we feared a general retreat.

Brigadier General E.L. Thomas, commander of a brigade of Georgians.

It took some hours for things to die down. We spent the night making new works for a skirmish line . We are dangerously close to each other. They could sweep across and bag us all in short order. We are all on a watchful vigil.

Our artillery suffered badly. One of their ammunition chests was struck by an enemy shell causing the chest to blow all to pieces. I do not think that we damaged them as much as they damaged us. Our cabin suffered a direct hit from one of their shells and everything inside was destroyed. We spent the rest of the night licking our wounds and preparing new works.

Corporal White is missing and is feared captured as is Gordon.

We have spent all day today improving our works and keeping a close eye on the Yankees. They have been taunting us by impaling loaves of bread on their bayonets and shoving them above the edge of their works. They call upon us to surrender for the bread. The Yankees can be most cruel.

Our battalion of sharpshooters has been ordered to go near a hill with all the other such battalions in the brigade. The fog is settling in. This would be a good time for either side to attack. We need more ammunition.


I Send You These Few Lines


The spring campaign season has begun and Lee started it. The big commotion that Tooms wrote of and all of his pads heard was a large assault on the Union Fort Stedman. General Lee thought that if he could bring enough power to bear on a part of the Union line, he could cause enough damage to upset Grant's plans and throw his timetable off. General Gordon, was chosen to organize and command the attack.

Major General John B. Gordon

Fort Stedman was named after the Colonel of the 11th Connecticut Infantry. He was killed at Cold Harbor in the summer of 1864.

Colonel Griffith Stedman.

The pre-dawn attack started well. A good part of the Union line, including Fort Stedman and some smaller forts. Gordon's men lacked support and could not hold what they took. Union reinforcements of the IX Corps arrived and in some very bloody fighting, took back everything they had lost.

Interior of Fort Stedman.

Interior of Fort Stedman.

Map showing action around Fort Stedman.

I must admit that I have not had much good luck at finding maps that were good enough to be included in this blog. Most maps that I have found lack the detail required to assist the reader in understanding the diary entries. This map is not bad. Tooms, the diarist for this blog, would be off the map to the lower left corner.

Corporal John G. White, of Company I, was indeed captured this day. He took the oath and was released from captivity at Fort Delaware and was released on June 22, 1865.

John Gordon, also of Company I, was captured and sent to Point Lookout, Maryland via City Point, Virginia.

Lee has taken a great gamble with the attack on Fort Stedman. Lee is a gambler and his decision is characteristic of his generalship. That it did not work has been the subject of much debate ever since. Lee's adversary, Grant, has realized that if Lee was able to muster so much strength for the attack, that Lee must have thinned his lines somewhere. Where could that be?