Gettysburg gift shops should sell a kids T-shirt reading “My great-great-great-grandfather fought here.” (see Wendel Pedigree Chart)
We looked all over for one when we walked in the footsteps of the 45th New York Infantry. The 45th fought hand-to-hand as they ran thru the streets and hid in doorways, so we drove our van thru town, turning at each street corner to follow their route.
Only to find that my kids’ 3xgreat-grandfather never fought in Gettysburg. He had been captured at the Battle of Chancellorsville.
That may have saved his life.
Valentin, a Bavarian emigrant, enlisted in August 1861 at age 33, leaving son Joseph and pregnant wife Christine at home. Why? Germans had a cultural respect for the military. Or he felt he should fight for his new country. Or to get citizenship. Or for the paycheck. Christine had a community, since her brother and brothers-in-law fought too.
Valentin mustered into the 5th German Rifles, as the 45th was known since the vast majority were immigrants. Their officers gave orders in German, and they drank daily rations of beer. The 45th mainly fought in Virginia and found themselves at the Wilderness. That is a misnomer, as I always imagined an impenetrable forest with bears and mountain lions, untouched by humans. But the Wilderness was an area that had been occupied years ago and abandoned. Meadow had grown into an impenetrable barrier of bramble bushes.
A combination of Union armies waited to engage the enemy the next day. The men were told to rest. Three sources at three separate times warned General Hooker that the rebel army was, impossibly, marching thru the Wilderness. Hooker laughed the intelligence off. By the third warning, he was so enraged he accused the messenger of cowardice. “You are just saying that because you don’t want to fight!”
The 45th was positioned at the extreme right flank; they weren’t even facing the enemy but had formed a corner. The first ones in the way.
It is dinnertime. Everyone relaxes. Lively music plays. Mouth-watering smells rise from the campfire. Guns lay aside, in tents. Suddenly a flood of deer, rabbits, and squirrels come running and leaping into camp. Sometimes a confused deer did wander into camp, so most of the men laugh. Only a couple realize the flood of animals portends a flood of people and reach for their weapons. But it is too late. Stonewall Jackson’s soldiers burst into camp, brambles in their hair and uniforms torn to shreds. There is nothing to do but surrender.
The 45th and nearby regiments were captured without resistance. The battle was well on before the Union Army got themselves together. Needless to say, it was a rout. Many German soldiers just ran, heading for the river whence they came, yelling, “Wo ist das Boot?”1 “Where is the boat?” They became known as Howard’s Cowards after their general. I don’t believe Valentin was a runner, tho. On the extreme flank, he was captured before anyone knew enough to panic.
In six months, he was paroled back to his unit.
1. Pronounced "Vo ist doss bote?"
References and Further Reading:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/45th_New_York_Infantry_Regiment
https://museum.dmna.ny.gov/unit-history/infantry/45th-infantry-regiment
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