Battle of White Plains Anniversary

Yesterday, October 28th, was the anniversary of the Battle of White Plains, fought in 1776 near what is now the City of White Plains, NY.  For those of you not familiar with the engagement, suffice to say that it was an important battle in the British conquest of southern New York and precipitated Washington's retreat across the Hudson into New Jersey.  Once in New Jersey, the Continental Army won the battles of Trenton and Princeton, restoring the army's, and the nation's, morale after a long series of severe reverses.  Since it's only a short drive from my house to the battlefield, I decided to inspect the site more thoroughly than I had in the past to mark the anniversary.

Much of the battle was fought along Chatterto'sn Hill (now called Battle Hill), a long, steep-sided ridge that overlooks the Bronx River and guards the southern approach to the village of White Plains.  The village was sited on one of the very few flat pieces of ground in Westchester County, through which also ran most of the few roads that existed in the colonial period, most notably the Boston Post Road.  The Continental Army had retreated northward to White Plains after being driven from New York City and surrounds, and Lord Howe decided to force an engagement in the hope that Washington would finally capitulate.  In summary, Howe launched a fierce assault, throwing two columns across the Bronx River and up the sides of Chatterton's Hill.  The Continentals held their ground until the Hessian column under Rall, having seized another hill just South of Chatterton's, outflanked Washington's line and began to roll up his right flank.  As the Continental flank gave way, the British column carried the rest of the Hill, and Washington promptly withdrew to North Castle.

The battlefield today is largely a pleasant residential area, and the houses both obscure one's view of the field and preclude much tramping around in search of topographical features.  Washington's extreme left was situated where a memorial park now stands.

The park's flagstaff flies not only the Stars and Stripes but also the 1775 American flag and the flag of the City of White Plains, a sword and Phrygian cap with the motto "Liberty or Death."

It's a nice, quiet spot, and one can little imagine that it was the scene of a fairly ferocious fight. There are some signs that give a good impression of the course of the battle.

The "You are Here" marks the location of the park, on the Continental left.

Below the Hill is the memorial proper, which can also be glimpsed from one's car as one drives on the Bronx River Parkway.

While walking around, I tried to find the location of the Continental right flank, where the battle was decided by Rall's Hessians.  (Rall would himself be on the receiving end of a Continental assault only two months later at Trenton, where he was killed.)   It is of course difficult to use today's topography as a guide; the ground undulates considerably, and how much it has changed in the past 230 years I cannot say.  Nevertheless, by walking along the ridge-line I was able to come to the southern end of the hill, where the ground dipped down sharply to form a saddle between Chatterton's Hill and another hill immediately to the Southwest.  I presume this was the point where the Hessian battalions dislodged the defenders.  Those of you who might wish to visit the spot should look for the intersection of Lee and Chase streets.

The memorial park had been decorated with a few small American flags, but in general there seemed to be no sign that anyone had "observed" the anniversary.  Suddenly, however, I noticed a house flying the Pine Tree flag and a Liberty or Death flag - surely no coincidence.

Also, given the time of year, I was able to examine the many Halloween decorations that residents had put up.  This was my favorite:

Work in Progress

Hurtling along the production line is my next regiment, the 41st NYSVs (aka the De Kalb Zouaves), raised by the fiery Leopold von Gilsa, a former Prussian officer.  The De Kalb Zouaves are probably best known for being on the extreme right of the XI Corps at Chancellorsville, in which position they were the first Federal troops to receive Jackson's assault.  For a thorough and impartial history of the 41st and its actions at Chancellorsville and Gettysburg, please see this post from Michael Bell's excellent (and, sadly, seemingly defunct) blog on the XI Corps.

The 41st began the war with a highly unusual uniform that merged the cut of US Army fatigues with the traditional colors of German Jäger uniforms: a dark green frock coat, trimmed in red and with Prussian cuffs, grey trousers striped red, and a dark green kepi.  By '62, however, the regiment had been issued a new uniform consisting of the typical dark blue short New York sack coat and trousers, Prussian half-boots, imported Prussian cartridge and percussion cap boxes (both worn on the belt), and a distinctive metal cap-badge for the dark blue kepi.  (Both of these uniforms doubtless pleased von Gilsa with their Prussianness.)  Like the 8th NY (and so many German regiments), the men were issued with the 1842 smoothbore musket, in spite of the soldiers' avowed emphasis on marksmanship.

History has left us a remarkable photograph of Company C, 41st NYST in Manassas, VA only a few weeks before Second Bull Run.  Apart from being an excellent visual reference for the uniform, it's somewhat haunting to see the faces of the very men one is trying to bring back to life in miniature.

Here are some greens and the test scheme for the 41st.  The boots came out rather too bulky (compare to the photo), and I decided to leave the cartridge boxes as they were because it would have been a terrible pain to cut them off even the plastic miniatures, let alone the metal ones.  Overall, though, I think they give a good approxmiation of the regiment's appearance in '62.

Company A of the 41st, however, had existed before the war as a kind of para-military fraternity.  It had its own uniform, zouave dress with a unique pattern of yellow embroidery on the sleeves; once again, Don Troiani's painting, copied after a jacket in the Smithsonian, served as a model.

The regiment is nearly complete, but while I wait for a new draft of recruits to arrive in the mail, I'm making progress on the brigade's next unit, the 27th Pennsylvania, which will make an appearance shortly.

Another Fall, Another Blog

Hello, all.

Since my Stoke Field project is slowing down a bit, I figured it was time to start a new blog.  This one will focus primarily on my Second Bull Run project, though my various other efforts will doubtless make an appearance here as well.

To begin with, here is the first regiment of the first brigade, first division, I Corps: the 8th New York State Volunteers, then under the command of Lt. Col. Hedterich.

The regiment was also called the 1st German Rifles or Blenker's Rifles, after its founder, Col. Ludwig Blenker.  Composed of German immigrants, almost all of whom had seen service in various German (and revolutionary) armies, the regiment was noted for its discipline, and at a review in 1861, Winfield Scott called it the finest volunteer regiment in Federal service.

Perhaps its most notable deed was the covering of the Federal retreat/rout after First Bull Run, when it intercepted and repulsed a Confederate cavalry charge aimed at the mass of fleeing Union troops.  Joseph E. Johnston, surprised that there was still fight in the Union army, called off all subsequent pursuit, and the Federal army was thus allowed to slip back to the safety of Centreville.

The 8th continued to perform well, especially at Cross Keys (suffering almost 40% casualties) and at Second Bull Run, both on the first day and, once again, during the covering of the Federal retreat.  It was mustered out in early '63, but many of its men were either folded into the 68th NYSV or into an independent HQ company.  By the end of its service, it had lost more than twice as many men to wounds as it did to disease, which was fairly unusual in the Civil War.

The regimental colors are conjectural.  This design is copied from a real NYS color, but I don't know whether the 8th carried this or a more normal variant.

Figures are Perry Confederate infantry in frock coats, with some GS additions to "Unionize" them.  I also put in a regimental sapper (I believe these were rarities in the Civil War) in reference to Don Troiani's painting.

More Federals to follow soon.