An actual tie-in to the design on the 1995 Civil War commemorative silver dollar
BillJones
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One of the more popular modern commemorative coin sets is the 1995 Civil War series. These coins had the added bonus of coming in a reproduction of the “Union Case” that was used to house mid 19th century photographs. The three coins in the set are also quite attractive, which adds greatly to their collector interest.
The obverse of the silver dollar features a depiction of a Union soldier offering water to a wounded Confederate enemy. The implication was that there was camaraderie between the opposing forces. When I visited the Fredericksburg battlefield last fall, I was surprised to find a monument that depicted a scene similar to that shown on the commemorative silver dollar.
The monument depicted a scene from the battle during which a Confederate soldier, Richard Kirkland, who served in the 2nd South Carolina volunteers risked his life to bring water to wounded Union troops. When the Union forces realized what Kirkland was doing, they held their fire and cheered his efforts. Unfortunately Kirkwood would be killed at the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863
The Fredericksburg battle, which was fought in December 1862, was a disaster for the Union forces. Ambrose Burnside, who had recently taken command of the Army of the Potomac from George McClellan, very foolishly sent his troops up against a well-entrenched Confederate force that held the high ground. The result was that the Confederate forces slaughtered their Union attackers like fish in a barrel. At one point Confederate general, James Longstreet, commented that, “A chicken could not survive on that field.”
Toward the end of the battle Burnside was prepared to lead his forces personally into the holocaust. Fortunately his support staff talked him out of it. After Burnside led his me on the fruitless “mud march” in which he vainly tried to flank the Army of Northern Virginia, Burnside was relieved of command.
The obverse of the silver dollar features a depiction of a Union soldier offering water to a wounded Confederate enemy. The implication was that there was camaraderie between the opposing forces. When I visited the Fredericksburg battlefield last fall, I was surprised to find a monument that depicted a scene similar to that shown on the commemorative silver dollar.
The monument depicted a scene from the battle during which a Confederate soldier, Richard Kirkland, who served in the 2nd South Carolina volunteers risked his life to bring water to wounded Union troops. When the Union forces realized what Kirkland was doing, they held their fire and cheered his efforts. Unfortunately Kirkwood would be killed at the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863
The Fredericksburg battle, which was fought in December 1862, was a disaster for the Union forces. Ambrose Burnside, who had recently taken command of the Army of the Potomac from George McClellan, very foolishly sent his troops up against a well-entrenched Confederate force that held the high ground. The result was that the Confederate forces slaughtered their Union attackers like fish in a barrel. At one point Confederate general, James Longstreet, commented that, “A chicken could not survive on that field.”
Toward the end of the battle Burnside was prepared to lead his forces personally into the holocaust. Fortunately his support staff talked him out of it. After Burnside led his me on the fruitless “mud march” in which he vainly tried to flank the Army of Northern Virginia, Burnside was relieved of command.
Retired dealer and avid collector of U.S. type coins, 19th century presidential campaign medalets and selected medals. In recent years I have been working on a set of British coins - at least one coin from each king or queen who issued pieces that are collectible. I am also collecting at least one coin for each Roman emperor from Julius Caesar to ... ?
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<< <i>One of the more popular modern commemorative coin sets is the 1995 Civil War series. These coins had the added bonus of coming in a reproduction of the “Union Case” that was used to house mid 19th century photographs. The three coins in the set are also quite attractive, which adds greatly to their collector interest.
The obverse of the silver dollar features a depiction of a Union soldier offering water to a wounded Confederate enemy. The implication was that there was camaraderie between the opposing forces. When I visited the Fredericksburg battlefield last fall, I was surprised to find a monument that depicted a scene similar to that shown on the commemorative silver dollar.
The monument depicted a scene from the battle during which a Confederate soldier, Richard Kirkland, who served in the 2nd South Carolina volunteers risked his life to bring water to wounded Union troops. When the Union forces realized what Kirkland was doing, they held their fire and cheered his efforts. Unfortunately Kirkwood would be killed at the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863
The Fredericksburg battle, which was fought in December 1862, was a disaster for the Union forces. Ambrose Burnside, who had recently taken command of the Army of the Potomac from George McClellan, very foolishly sent his troops up against a well-entrenched Confederate force that held the high ground. The result was that the Confederate forces slaughtered their Union attackers like fish in a barrel. At one point Confederate general, James Longstreet, commented that, “A chicken could not survive on that field.”
Toward the end of the battle Burnside was prepared to lead his forces personally into the holocaust. Fortunately his support staff talked him out of it. After Burnside led his me on the fruitless “mud march” in which he vainly tried to flank the Army of Northern Virginia, Burnside was relieved of command. >>
Cool story, terrible slaughter in the battle. Actually, the quote about the chicken was made by the Chief of Artillery. Longstreet's famous quote, when General Lee expressed concern that another assault was massing, was, "General, if you put every man now on the other side of the Potomac on that field to approach me over the same line and give me plenty of ammunition, I will kill them all before they reach my line."
One of the keys to the battle was the sunken road, manned by Cobb's brigade, they were invisible to the attacking units. Another great quote by Lee - "It is well that war is so terrible - we should grow too fond of it."
Burnside could have crossed over to Fredericksburg for several weeks, but he was waiting for his pontoon units. The delay was fatal, as the Confederates had time to develop perfect defenses.
A decent, but not perfect depiction of the battle is in the movie, "Gods and Generals."
John
SFC, US Army (Ret.) 1974-1994
from
http://www.brotherswar.com/Fredericksburg-3.htm
link
<< <i>The stone wall:
from
http://www.brotherswar.com/Fredericksburg-3.htm
link >>
It is a stone wall now, but it wasn't then - it was covered by earth - like a berm. If it were a stone wall then,
it would have been pulverized by Union Artillery.
John
SFC, US Army (Ret.) 1974-1994
<< <i>
<< <i>The stone wall:
from
http://www.brotherswar.com/Fredericksburg-3.htm
link >>
It is a stone wall now, but it wasn't then - it was covered by earth - like a berm. If it were a stone wall then,
it would have been pulverized by Union Artillery.
John >>
The link I provided shows a photo with dead soldiers next to the wall. The Parks department has restored the wall so it looks close to what it looked like back in 1862. The artillery of that era was notoriously inaccurate, the exception being for extremely close range. Most rounds landed harmlessly over the heads of the enemy because of the tendency to aim too high, too far.
<< <i>
<< <i>
<< <i>The stone wall:
from
http://www.brotherswar.com/Fredericksburg-3.htm
link >>
It is a stone wall now, but it wasn't then - it was covered by earth - like a berm. If it were a stone wall then,
it would have been pulverized by Union Artillery.
John >>
The link I provided shows a photo with dead soldiers next to the wall. The Parks department has restored the wall so it looks close to what it looked like back in 1862. The artillery of that era was notoriously inaccurate, the exception being for extremely close range. Most rounds landed harmlessly over the heads of the enemy because of the tendency to aim too high, too far. >>
"...the 480-yard length of Telegraph Road that ran parallel to the river along the face of Marye's Heights. The road was 'sunken,' carved out of the shoulder of the hill in 1831 and bolstered by a shoulder-height stone wall on the downhill side. The wall itself was further reinforced by the excavated dirt shoveled from the cut and compacted level with the outside of the wall. It would withstand all the furies of h*ll. Moreover, it was nearly indiscernible by an enemy approaching from downslope. McLaws described the wall as 'invisible from the front.' General Kershaw, who would take command of the sector when Cobb went down, likewise described the wall as "not visible above the surface of the ground."
"...Today's visitors to the Fredricksburg battlefield see in many places a reconstructed, free-standing stone wall and wonder why Union artillery failed to pulverize it during routine preliminary bombardment. In 1862, however, the wall was almost completely covered by earth; the only 'targets' were the occasional rows of gray caps and butternut slouch hats, immediately obscured by sheets of flame and gray smoke."
- Joseph H. Alexander, Defending Marye's Heights, from the book With My Face To The Enemy, Edited by Robert Crowley, Putnam, 2001
Doesn't surprise me at all that the graphic shows a portion of stone wall. Fact is, the Sunken Road, with the Stone Wall, looks a lot different now than it did in 1862... You can tell by the link you posted (the difference between the color (now) and B/W image (then))!
John
SFC, US Army (Ret.) 1974-1994