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Tag Archives: Vermont Brigade
If You’re Not First, You’re Last: Charles Gould’s Medal Citation
Recently I have fielded a couple inquiries about who I really believe was the first Union soldier to breach the Confederate earthworks outside of Petersburg, Virginia. I still remain convinced that Captain Charles Gould, 5th Vermont Infantry, was the first … Continue reading
Vermont Brigade at the Petersburg Breakthrough
April 2, 2019 marked the 154th anniversary of the last day of fighting around Petersburg, Virginia. My research has largely focused on the breakthrough assault by the Sixth Corps southwest of the city during the early morning. I have devoted … Continue reading
Posted in Battles
Tagged cartography, Lane's Brigade, Petersburg Breakthrough, Petersburg Campaign, Vermont Brigade
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The Superhuman Henry Recor at the Petersburg Breakthrough
I have yet to find a Civil War story as compelling and consequential as that of Captain Charles G. Gould, the first Sixth Corps soldier to breach the Confederate lines on the morning of April 2, 1865. Union soldiers from … Continue reading
Bittersweet Appomattox
First Lieutenant Robert Pratt belonged to the 5th Vermont Infantry, a regiment that rightfully claimed credit as the first unit to irreparably break the Confederate lines southwest of Petersburg on April 2, 1865. Pratt played a pivotal role in the … Continue reading
Celebrate the Expected Capture of Richmond with a New Stove!
I found this humorous newspaper article while searching through historic Vermont newspapers. Burlington entrepreneur J.B. Wardell hoped to cash in on the public’s joy at what he anticipated to be the end of the Civil War by attaching that jubilation … Continue reading
A Head Start to Battlefield Tourism by a VI Corps Carpetbagger
See third paragraph under “Local and State Items.”
Like Sheep
The use of cliché is prevalent in Civil War combat narratives. Every attacking force, by their description, always had to charge through “a hail of grape and canister.” This was repeated ad nauseam regardless of whether or not there was … Continue reading
A More Appropriate Arthur’s Swamp
During the VI Corps pre-dawn assault against the Confederate earthworks on April 2, 1865, the Vermont Brigade utilized the middle branch of Arthur’s Swamp to guide them to the enemy works. This battlefield feature is frequently dried out throughout the … Continue reading
Breakthrough at Petersburg: First Man Over the Works
Charlie Gould seemed destined for adventure in his life. The young lad scarcely made it safe through his toddler years before his heroic deeds in front of Petersburg at the end of the war caused many to declare him the … Continue reading
Question of the Week: March 30, 2015
Last week at Pamplin Historical Park we poured a small base to support a new monument hewn from Vermont granite. It will commemorate the six men from the Green Mountain State who received the Medal of Honor for their actions … Continue reading
