Is there anything I can do with my present to help keep things clear?
A Glorious Union or America: the New Sparta
- Thread starter TheKnightIrish
- Start date
Is there anything I can do with my present to help keep things clear?
Chapter Thirty-Two The Battle for Richmond Part II - The Attack Goes In
Chapter Thirty-Two
The Battle for Richmond
Part II - The Attack Goes In
The Battle for Richmond
Part II - The Attack Goes In
From “The Battle for Richmond” by James Myles Davies
New York 1997
"General Longstreet did not see any reason why his reserves (Hood's Division) would be required to the north. The demonstration by von Steinwehr had not impressed Longstreet. Indeed he wished it would turn into an attack. Therefore when he received Stuart's message he was not surprised that the Federals were making an attack elsewhere. What did surprise him was the location - the west. The Plank Road was defended by the Forts of Lee and Johnson, but these forts were only manned by one regiment of heavy artillery and Walker's 3 brigades: Ransom at Fort Lee, Manning at Fort Johnson and Posey in reserve. Longstreet perceived this was a potential weak point and promptly ordered General Hood to take his troops from their reserve position at the Toll Gate to redeploy them in support of Walker. This action was to have critical consequences for Pickett who defended Fort Winder and the surrounding area with his 6 brigades...It was now about 2am..."
Medal of Honor Winner Major Philip Kearny of the 11th New Jersey Volunteers
From "The Dashing Cavalier - J.E.B. Stuart in Three Wars" by Maximilian P. Stuart
Sword and Musket 1996
"Warning General Walker in person, General Stuart agreed to maintain his troopers in reserve until the nature and force of the attack developed. General Walker was not particularly concerned "Who would attack two well manned forts and supporting works at night? It simply ain't done"...
From “The Battle for Richmond” by James Myles Davies
New York 1997
"Hays and Gibbon successfully maintained contact during the march, and even during the skirmish with Stuart, and as a result their leading brigades were in a position to assault Fort Lee together. Much later Israel Richardson recorded "the highest credit must go to my leading divisions. Generals Hays and Gibbon carried out the most difficult of tasks, a contested night march, with a skill unsurpassed in any like undertaking I am aware of"...
Fort Lee erupted into a maelstrom of fire as General Ransom realized he was under attack, as Hays attacked from the north west and Gibbon the west. The resulting cannon fire immediately alerted the garrisons of Forts Winder, Johnson, and French (across the James) that an attack of some seriousness appeared to be underway. Longstreet rushed to Walker's section of the defences, hurrying Hood along the way..."
Hays troops gain an initial foothold in Fort Lee before being driven out by Hood's men
From “A Thunderbolt on the Battlefield – the Battles of Philip Kearny: Volume III” by Professor Kearny Bowes
MacArthur University Press 1962
"The advance of the Railroad and Deep Run Turnpike columns had been held up by the one thing Kearny feared - the Army of the Potomac firing on itself. Augur's troops at the head of the Railroad column had fired on Sturgis' troops, in the Deep Run column, as they passed in the dark. After the battle Kearny had one of Augur's regimental commanders cashiered for allowing his troops to march with loaded firearms. More worryingly Whipple and Sickles, who were supposed to be in contact with one another at the head of the Deep Run column, were not and when they ultimately did make contact more firing erupted. Sickles left hand brigade was responsible but neither the brigade commander nor his regimental commanders would end the night on their feet for Kearny to cashier...
The firing of cannon at Fort Lee and the eruption of fire to the west alerted Pickett's brigade commanders who quickly got their troops into their assigned positions. Drayton's brigade held Fort Winder with some of Cobb's artillerymen. The remaining 5 brigades deployed south of the Fort astride the road in two lines of prepared works..."
From “Kearny the Magnificent” by Roger Galton
NorthWestern
"The battle was one lead by captains and sergeants. An officer could only command those men he could see. Corps commanders were helpless. Divisional and brigade commanders were lucky if they could command more that a company..."
From “The Battle for Richmond” by James Myles Davies
New York 1997
"Hays and Gibbons had almost driven Ransom out of Fort Lee when Hood arrived. Warren's troops were already coming up on Gibbon's flank and engaging Posey's works. Richardson had gone back to find Baldy Smith to assist in leading his corps towards Fort Johnson. Hood's arrival, with Longstreet, and his four brigades shored up Posey's position and helped Ransom drive the II Corps elements from the Fort...
As Stoneman brought up his division tentatively, he came under fire not only from Fort Johnson, but Fort French across the river. The night was bright with flares and cannon fire. By 4am four of the six divisions on the Plank Road were in action against Walker and Hood. It was a brutal head on attack against well entrenched and defended positions manned by veterans. Union casualties were high. Of Richardson and his three divisional commanders, only Warren remained uninjured though Richardson remained on the field for some time despite having been shot in the thigh...
William Farrar Smith arrived to find control of the attack in disarray. Dawn was not far away and an attack in daylight on the rebel positions would have been "undesirable". Albion Howe's division was directed to support Stoneman's assault on Fort Johnson. Isaac Rodman was directed to the support of the attack on Fort Lee, and with both Hays and Gibbon injured, Rodman in practice directed the attack. Smith believed that if either fort could be taken, the intervening works between them would be untenable..."
From “A Thunderbolt on the Battlefield – the Battles of Philip Kearny: Volume III” by Professor Kearny Bowes
MacArthur University Press 1962
"Despite Kearny's intention that the centre column (the Deep Run column) ignore Fort Winder, it was to become a magnet for Union troops. As Augur's attack was beaten off, General Kearny himself directed first Whipple and then Sturgis to lead their divisions against the western face of the fort while General Mansfield's troops assaulted it's north face.
The attack on the works to the south of Fort Winder, now fully manned by Pickett's division, was left to Joe Hooker to direct. With Whipple withdrawn from his first line, and Sturgis from his second, it would have taken Hooker and Reno some time to get Birney's and perhaps Steven's divisions into the first line. Hooker did not wait - he sent Sickles in alone. Sickles four brigades would run headlong into the section of the line defended by George Tige Anderson and Micah Jenkins. They could not take the works from the rebels, but rather than withdraw Sickles men lay down on the western face of the works and began to snipe and jab at every movement, and the rebels replied in kind...
The second wave went in almost an hour later. Birney had Hooker accompanying his division in person, just as Stevens had Reno. Even officer was needed to maintain command and control in the confusion and dark. They joined Sickles men on the lip of the works as the action became general all along Pickett's line. But while Walker could call on Hood's reserves, none were available to Pickett. With six brigades or two divisions, Longstreet faced Baldy Smith with six divisions. Pickett with his lone division of six brigades now faced a total of nine Union divisions in action, with Hancock's further three in reserve..."
The men of the 3rd United States Colored Pioneer Regiment breach Fort Winder
From “The Battle for Richmond” by James Myles Davies
New York 1997
"It was the men of Alpheus S. William's Division that took the credit for planting their flag inside Fort Winder. Both the men of the 20th Connecticut and the 3rd United States Colored Pioneers claim credit for being the first into the fort. As Drayton's men fled the fort in the first light of dawn it was clear that Pickett's line would be attacked in the flank and rear as Union troops poured into and beyond Fort Winder. Pickett began to withdraw his troops towards the city itself...
The attack by Stoneman and Howe on Fort Johnson failed. Its only consequence was that Generals Smith and Stoneman were injured. The Plank Road was proving extremely costly in terms of senior Union officers...
Rodman's attack on Fort Lee was a success. A tangled collection of troops from Hays', Gibbon's and Rodman's divisions seized a tenuous hold of most of the fort. General Longstreet ordered General Hood to make two successive counterattacks to retake Fort Lee...As dawn broke the Stars and Stripes flew over Fort Lee."
General Alpheus S. Williams
From “The Gray Fox – Robert E. Lee” by R. Southey-Freeman
Orange & West 1958
"The dawn brought a terrible realization to Lee as he received the latest reports of Longstreet and Pickett. As he reached the edge of the city his own eyes told him the truth of those messages. The defenses of Richmond had been penetrated..."
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No, no I was just being lazy. Had read the first couple posts but then stopped keeping up, wanted to get back in the flow.
Keep on it!
Today's question: should Lee abandon Richmond or fight street to street/house to house?
If Lee abandons the city he will finally be free of having to defend/screen the city. He can add the garrison troops to his army. He also doesn't have to worry about policing a difficult population. The city fathers will be happy and the civilian population will be spared the horror of an urban battleground. Kearny will then have to leave troops behind to garrison the city (and Petersburg) and ties him down to screening the city. Lee however looses him main supply base (all be it an unreliable one), the President will go apeshit, and it will be a major morale defeat for the Confederacy.
If Lee stays and fights the city will certainly be laid waste whoever wins. The population of the city will suffer tremendously (they already hate Davis). It will be brutal street fighting over which Lee will have little control. Onces that kind of fighting starts it maybe difficult to withdraw - large pockets of troops may be cut off. The President may order the city's defence. The South will struggle if they loose Richmond's industry.
What should Lee do? Fight or flight?
If Lee abandons the city he will finally be free of having to defend/screen the city. He can add the garrison troops to his army. He also doesn't have to worry about policing a difficult population. The city fathers will be happy and the civilian population will be spared the horror of an urban battleground. Kearny will then have to leave troops behind to garrison the city (and Petersburg) and ties him down to screening the city. Lee however looses him main supply base (all be it an unreliable one), the President will go apeshit, and it will be a major morale defeat for the Confederacy.
If Lee stays and fights the city will certainly be laid waste whoever wins. The population of the city will suffer tremendously (they already hate Davis). It will be brutal street fighting over which Lee will have little control. Onces that kind of fighting starts it maybe difficult to withdraw - large pockets of troops may be cut off. The President may order the city's defence. The South will struggle if they loose Richmond's industry.
What should Lee do? Fight or flight?
Truth is I haven't quited decided myself yet. I will write the update this evening though...
I think Lee retreats from Richmond, maybe down to the Carolinas. Keeping the ANV intact has to be one of his primary goals, especially since they were always more of an army of maneuver than a garrison force.
The thing I have to keep reminding myself is that Kearny is not General of the entire Union Army, just the Army of the Potomac. The Union doesn't really have a unified tatical campaign plan at this point. If Lee slips away, the war continues, but losing and having to garrison Richmond...
...oh, crap.
Especially having to garrison Richmond AFTER the executions.
Good luck, Kearny.
If the Confederacy loses Richmond, there are several key points. Having lost its "capital", it loses whatever overseas political legitimacy it might have left at this point. This also means that even within the unoccupied CSA the value of Confederate currency drops with rampant inflation. The Tredegar works are the only large foundry in the CSA, lose that and the ability of the CSA to manufacture cannon, rails, armor for ironclads, etc is reduced from small to almost nil. Lastly, the CSA's bureaucracy is dispersed and rendered totally ineffective. No matter that the "central government" was weak compared to the Union, absent some sort of functioning central authority coordination of military activity and especially any sort of rational distribution of the already scarce military supplies goes away. Some units may be awash (relatively) in food or boots or whatever while another unit elsewhere is rendered ineffective due to lack of same.
The reality is that fighting house to house in Richmond will impose a terrible cost on both armies, but the Union can afford those losses if the ANV is effectively destroyed then game over. Even if Lee "wins" a "Stalingrad" in Richmond, his army is trashed as is the city - a Pyrrhic victory at best - IMHO the ANV can't win a battle in Richmond, all they can do is bleed the AoP while destroying themselves and the city. Unlike the Soviets at Stalingrad, the CSA is on the wrong end of the manpower pool equation.
FWIW a city battle will be very ugly - you'll see a slave insurrection (with ugliness from the slaves against the whites and brutality the other way) & the presence of armed Negro units in the fight......
It's a lose-lose for Lee but militarily if he can retreat and keep the ANV intact he can at least hope. If the ANV is wrecked, game over. Lee will elect to retreat to fight again another day - but will Davis let him or will he be ordered to fight in the city, or even be relieved & replaced by a general willing to do that....
The reality is that fighting house to house in Richmond will impose a terrible cost on both armies, but the Union can afford those losses if the ANV is effectively destroyed then game over. Even if Lee "wins" a "Stalingrad" in Richmond, his army is trashed as is the city - a Pyrrhic victory at best - IMHO the ANV can't win a battle in Richmond, all they can do is bleed the AoP while destroying themselves and the city. Unlike the Soviets at Stalingrad, the CSA is on the wrong end of the manpower pool equation.
FWIW a city battle will be very ugly - you'll see a slave insurrection (with ugliness from the slaves against the whites and brutality the other way) & the presence of armed Negro units in the fight......
It's a lose-lose for Lee but militarily if he can retreat and keep the ANV intact he can at least hope. If the ANV is wrecked, game over. Lee will elect to retreat to fight again another day - but will Davis let him or will he be ordered to fight in the city, or even be relieved & replaced by a general willing to do that....
Good analysis. Some government function has been transferred to Atlanta but it sounded like very little. Richmond will be a better prize for Lincoln that Gettysburg in OTL.
Also with no Second Manasass, Antietam, Chancellorsville, Fredericksburg or Gettysburg the only full on AoP v AoNV battles have been Rappahannock and Ashland. The AoP has a lot of manpower it had lost by now in OTL. It can afford a street fight for Richmond.
It was ineffective in comparison, but Emory Thomas points out the Confederate government employed more people than the Union government. They also tried to dictate prices, drafted men to keep them from striking, required blockade runners to carry government cargoes for free, dictated rates to railroads, confiscated civilian firearms, instituted internal passports and tried to institute Prohibition.
Chapter Thirty-Three Fight ot Flight Part I - Kearny Pauses On The Barricades
Chapter Thirty-Three
Fight ot Flight
Part I - Kearny Pauses On The Barricades
Part I - Kearny Pauses On The Barricades
From “Kearny the Magnificent” by Roger Galton
NorthWestern
NorthWestern
“For those who knew Kearny the pause that morning was a surprise. Kearny was considered by his own officers as impulsive, never careless or foolhardy, but impulsive. Sickles, Stevens and Rodman are all on record as assigning that instinct to his Irish blood. Hooker’s comment is best known – “On his father’s side he was Irish, and thence he derived his impulsive, roving, danger-courting blood, the temper that never stops to count odds or calculate chances”. Which is all why his officers were astonished that, with Forts Winder and Lee is his hands, and with Fort Johnson being abandoned, Kearny’s order was to secure the forts and the intervening entrenchments only. General Hancock was to promptly come up with his fresh corps, but the army was to “rest” on its gains that morning.”
From “Kearny and the Radicals” by Hugh W. McGrath
New England Press 1992
New England Press 1992
“The Radicals and Liberals were quick in later years to assign Kearny’s pause to his “southern democrat sympathies”. Banks was to refer to it 1876 as the “most abject act of treason”. “With not only Lee’s ragged army, put the whole machinery of rebel government at his mercy, Kearny sat back and waited. His backwardness that morning risked prolonging the war and condemning many a good boy, north and south, to death” was Horace Greeley’s comment on Kearny’s actions that day…”
General Isaac Rodman on his horse Rhodes.
(General William T.H. Brooks, acting commander of VI Corps' III Division, can be seen in the background).
From “A Thunderbolt on the Battlefield – the Battles of Philip Kearny: Volume III” by Professor Kearny Bowes
MacArthur University Press 1962
MacArthur University Press 1962
“General Hancock rode to find Kearny on the right at Fort Lee in the company of General Rodman. Both Hancock and Rodman, in later life, recorded Kearny’s comments to Hancock’s anxious demand to know why the army paused:
“If we press them, then their proud Virginian officers and politicals will make them fight and both armies will bleed to death and we’ll have won nothing but a charnel house. They’ll fight block by block, and house by house, but only if we press them.
Lee will not want to fight here. Not in the streets of Richmond. He is too much of a gentleman for that, to fight among civilians. If we give him room enough he will withdraw and we shall have the city without further bloodshed. If this were Europe in the religious wars then I’d say his walls are breached and he risks the sack if he does not yield the city. He fears Richmond will be a Magdeburg and I Tilly.”
NOTE: Kearny’s two favourite generals as a child were Tilly (disturbing for a child) and William, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe.
From “Kearny the Magnificent” by Roger Galton
NorthWestern
NorthWestern
“Sedgwick, in the form of Humphreys’ Division, continued to raise hell on Lee’s east flank, but along the rest of the line only the artillery duel continued, and that haphazardly. Kearny hoped that if Lee was given the chance to break contact a chaotic battle through the streets could be avoided. If was perhaps the greatest gamble of his career to that time…”
The seige and sack of Magdeburg - the fate of Richmond?
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As I see it there are three options:
1. Lee evacuates the city as Kearny expects. If so Lee would start to pull out supplies and cannon immediately. Once the citizens find out their may be panic. Nonetheless an evacuation should become obvious to Keany very quickly.
2. Lee stays and Kearny attacks. A house to house blood bath.
3. Lee stays and Kearny 'beseiges' the city. I've always been puzzled by why the siege of Petersburg was called a siege and it was never cut off. It was more of a low intensity prolonged battle as Grant searched for the flanks. Perhaps Kearny hasn't the troops to surround Richmond. Also Kearny's on the wrong side of the city to get his supplies by sea. They must come all or part of the way by land. Still a creeping, artillery driven siege might be preferable to a street brawl.
Can't wait to see what Lee does.
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Chapter Thirty-Four Part II - The Decision
Chapter Thirty-Four
Part II - The Decision
From “The Gray Fox – Robert E. Lee” by R. Southey-Freeman
Orange & West 1958
Orange & West 1958
“John Walker had been carried from the field and was not expected to live.
It was a dramatic picture on the edge of the city that morning. Lee was surrounded by generals and colonels. A tally would include Jeb Stuart, James Longstreet, Richard Anderson, Lewis Armistead, an immaculately dressed George Pickett, a blood drenched James Kemper, George T. Anderson, Eppa Hunton, Robert Ransom, Howell Cobb…
Lee appeared comparatively calm to those officers less familiar with him. Private correspondence belonging to both Longstreet and Stuart indicated that they both observed Lee to be very disturbed from his manner and address…
There was a clamour for orders and the offering of advice. Virginians Hunton and Armistead were willing to fight through the city. Newly minted general Eppa P. Hunton was particularly outspoken. A pale Jimmy Kemper, who was drenched in the blood and brains of two of his staff, wanted to know what would remain of Richmond after such a contest, “the victors can crow over the charred remains of Richmond”…
It was Longstreet who demanded silence. A courier confirmed that Jackson had turned around all but one of his divisions and was marching back through the city…”
From "American Art Movements of the 20th Century" by Cornelius Parker Cortlandt
Fretwells 2009
Fretwells 2009
“The Anglo-American painter Paine Childers is best known for his immortalisation of the moment when Lee made his decision, surrounded by his generals. His painting, The Crossroads of Rebellion, is considered a masterpiece of the Jingoist artistic movement of the Edwardian era. Lee, straight backed on Traveller; the city burning in the background; the two camps of generals viving for attention; the contrast of bloodied Kemper and the dandy Pickett. On Lee’s face the artist has captured beautifully the agony of the decision to abandon the city…”
Donald Hoyland's "The Last Morning" is less well known that Cortlandt's masterpiece but dates from the same period
From “The Battle for Richmond” by James Myles Davies
New York 1997
“So began the most chaotic 2 days in the history of the city of Richmond. General Cobb, though in theory not under Lee’s command, was invited by Lee to remove or destroy such of the artillery in the fortresses as he sought fit. General Pendleton was to assist in attempting to retrieve as many pieces as could reasonably be saved and to prioritise pieces that could be used in the field…
Longstreet was ordered to fortify the western blocks of the city. Lee thought it unlikely Kearny would pause for long once he realised Lee was trying to secure supplies and munitions before withdrawing. Whether as a rearguard or a delaying force, Longstreet’s fighting was unlikely to have ended…
An armed “guard” was provided to Lucius Northrup as Lee sought to secure supplies for the army as well as seeking to make appropriate arrangements to destroy everything that could not be carried away. Gray and butternut clad soldiers began commandeering every wagon and horse they could find…
General Stuart was given perhaps the two most undesirable tasks in the army that day. First one of his brigades was to secure the city’s crossings over the James River to Manchester, ensuring they were used exclusively by the army, while a second brigade sought to keep the roads cleared.
The second task was given to Fitzhugh Lee. He was to secure the President and the cabinet and escort them south to safety and a railcar south. General Lee was prevailed upon by his nephew for a written order. The city would fall and the President was to be escorted out of the city. Both generals believed convincing Davis to go would be one of the greatest trials of the day...
Civilians evacuate the city during the night.
In the morning WHL Lee secured all the bridges for exclusively army use
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I get the feeling you would probably have to arrest Davis to make him leave....and even then i have doubts...
MORE!!!
Soon. Away for the Jubilee weekend here but using my time to read up on Kearny and Davis (I'm still drafting Davis' response). I have a great book on Kearny - the Personal and Military History of Philip Kearny by John Watts De Peyster.
Chapter Thirty-Five Part III - The Curtain Falls
Chapter Thirty-Five
Part III - The Curtain Falls
From “The War Between the States” by Otis R. Mayhew
Sword & Musket 1992
Sword & Musket 1992
“Fitzhugh Lee found that the cabinet had already ordered the evacuation of their various departments. Some were better prepared than others. Stephen Mallory had ensured his department's most vital papers had been boxed up for transport for several weeks and had reserved several wagons for the purpose of moving them. The difficulty the more prepared government officials faced was resisting army attempts to requisition their wagons and railcars. There were jurisdictional fights all over the capitol…
Fitzhugh Lee was given the thankless task of trying to escort President Davis from Richmond
The one government officer who was not prepared was Jefferson Davis. He berated General Fitzhugh Lee for attempting to act on “an illegal order”. Only the President had the authority to order the evacuation of the city and General Robert E. Lee had failed to seek such orders. Though Fitzhugh Lee quickly abandoned his entreaties to the President, the other cabinet officials likewise ignored the President’s attempts to countermand the evacuation. “The cabinet were acting on a course of action agreed some weeks ago, primarily under auspices of Vice-President Stephens and Secretary Mallory, and sought to use the shield of General Lee’s military authority to ignore the orders of the President. Were it not for the immediate crisis all around them, the people of Richmond might have noticed that a coup of sorts was in operation. A benign coup perhaps, but nonetheless the President’s power was being usurped by the army and the cabinet.” (Karl Schenk – “The Paper Constitution – the Flaws in the Confederate Experiment”)…”
From “The Gray Fox – Robert E. Lee” by R. Southey-Freeman
Orange & West 1958
Orange & West 1958
“Lee received word from his nephew that the President not only would not evacuate, but that he was actively trying to countermand the withdrawal. Lee left Longstreet, Stuart and Pendleton to co-ordinate with the civilian authorities and rode himself to the Executive Mansion…
The details of the private discussion between Davis and Lee remains largely a mystery for obvious reasons. Their respect staffs, excluded from the meeting, report “raised” or “strained” voices. However Lee’s brief emergence from Davis’s office to request a map of Virginia and Maryland from Major Walter H. Taylor before returning, speaks volumes in the context of the campaigns of late 1863…
Contrary to this J.B Needham painting from 1923, President Davis and General Lee were alone.
General Jackson was still with his corps.
President Davis consented to evacuate the city. Furthermore it is at this time that it becomes clear that the intention of the Confederate Government is to evacuate both Richmond and Petersburg. As units and supplies are rushed from the city one thing is clear – the rally point is beyond the Appomattox River…”
From "The Dashing Cavalier - J.E.B. Stuart in Three Wars" by Maximilian P. Stuart
Sword and Musket 1996
Sword and Musket 1996
“The evacuation was extremely tense. On several occasions W.H.L. Lee’s regimental and company commanders had to threaten to fire on civilians to ensure the roads, and critically the bridges over the James, were kept clear. In one instance troops opened fire on “panicking [sic] and rampaging slaves”. Order in the city was being to fall apart…”
From “The Battle for Richmond” by James Myles Davies
New York 1997
New York 1997
“Having allowed the better part of the day to “uncork the bottle”, in the words of Dan Butterfield, Kearny renewed the attack on the western edge of the city. “Lee has decided to withdraw from the city. Good. But he will do so on our terms” Kearny declared to Hancock who led the renewed attack with his fresh troops…
General Winfield Scott Hancock's I Corps were the first troops in the city proper.
The whiff of panic in the streets became a stench as Hancock attacked Longstreet’s rearguard who had barricaded streets on the edge of the city. The situation deteriorated as, on the orders of Lucius Northup, “excess stores” were set alight. This was in direct contrvention of the written orders of Generals Lee and Cobb. It is not known whether he acted on his own initative or on the verbal orders of the President (as he later claimed)...
The night was lit up by the light of Richmond burning, not at the hands of the damned Yankee, but at the hand of a South Carolinian…
Lee’s last troops in the city crossed the James at 4.15am that morning. The capitol of the Confederacy had fallen…”
In a twist of fate occupying Union troops are quickly employed in putting out the fires, assisted by elements of Richmond's citizenry
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I am heading back west for my next instalment. You easterners will have to wait to find out what happens next to Kearny and Lee...