First Person Civil War Podcast

Episode 65: Breakthrough at the Peach Orchard, Battle of Gettysburg

At the Battle of Gettysburg, 2 July 1863, PVT J.S. McNeilly of the 21st Mississippi as part of BG Barksdale’s Mississippi Brigade charged the salient created by the Union III Corps. The 21st Mississippi smashed into COL Tippin and the 68thPennsylvania which held the line in a Peach Orchard. After the Confederates successfully broke the III Corps’ line, PVT McNeily and the 21st Mississippi continued their charge, eventually by themselves, toward the newly formed hole in the Union line. With no infantry for support, LTC McGilvery of the 1st Volunteer Brigade had to sacrifice SGT Baker and the 9th Massachusetts Battery, to slow the Mississippian’s advance, and buy enough time to pull any artillery he could find into a new line east of the Trostle Farm. Sources used for this episode: McNeily, John S. “Barksdale’s Mississippi Brigade at Gettysburg, ‘Most Magnificent Charge of the War.’” In Publications of the Mississippi Historical Society, vol. 14. University Mississippi, 1914. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b3497860&seq=5. Baker, Levi W. History of the Ninth Massachusetts Battery. J. C. Clark Printing Co., 1888. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044024337172&seq=13.  Scott, Robert N. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Ser. 1, vol. 27, pt. 1: Reports. Government Printing Office, 1889. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924077699761&view=1up&seq=3.

Episode 64: PVT J. P. Blessington and the 16th Texas at the Battle of Mansfield

At the Battle of Mansfield, 8 April 1864, PVT J.P. Blessington and the 16th Texas form a line of battle to await the first Union column marching north along the Mansfield Road. After retreating up the Red River to consolidate forces, the Confederate Army now had a large enough force to turn around and face the Union Army which intended to seize Shreveport. Having successfully broken the first two Union lines, PVT Blessington and the 16th Texas joined in the pursuit down the Mansfield Road and eventually ran into a third prepared line.   Sources used for this episode: Blessington, Joseph P. The Campaigns of Walker’s Texas Division. By a Private Soldier. Lange, Little & Co. Printers, 1875. https://archive.org/details/campaignsofwalke00bles/page/n6/mode/1up.  Davis George B., Perry, Leslie J., Kirkley, Joseph W. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. ser. 1, vol. 34, pt. 1: Reports. Government Printing Office, 1891. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924077700288&view=1up&seq=3.

Episode 63: SGM George N. Carpenter and the 8th Vermont at the Siege of Port Hudson

At the Siege of Port Hudson, which began in May 1863, SGM George N. Carpenter and the 8th Vermont manned the trenches north of the town. The Army of the Gulf was working in conjunction with the MG Grant’s siege of Vicksburg to the North. Much rode on the success of these sieges. Vicksburg and Port Hudson were the last two Confederate fortresses on the Mississippi River. If the Army of the Gulf could quickly take the town, they could march to Vicksburg and reinforce Grant. On 27 May, SGT Carpenter and the rest of the Army began their assault. Sources used for this episode: Carpenter, George N. History of the Eight Regiment Vermont Volunteers. 1861-1865. Press of Deland & Barta, 1886. https://archive.org/details/historyofeighthr01carp/page/n8/mode/1up. Scott, Robert N. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. ser. 1, vol. 26, pt. 1: Reports. Government Printing Press, 1889. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924077743049&view=1up&seq=3.

Episode 62: SGT Walter A. Clark and the 63rd Georgia at the Battle of Bentonville

At the Battle of Bentonville, 19 March 1865, SGT Walter A. Clark of the 63rd Georgia and the Army of Tennessee advanced against the Left Wing of MG William T. Sherman’s Army. Though outnumbered when the Union Army was combined, General Joseph E. Johnston wanted to negate this by sending his Army of the South against one Wing at a time. After breaking the first line which consisted of the XIV Corps, SGT Clark and the 63rd Georgia continued their advance and met elements of the XX Corps which had just reformed after a retreat.   Sources used for this episode: Clark, Walter A. Under the Stars and Bars: or, Memoirs of Four Years Serving with the Ogelthorpes of Augusta, Georgia. Chronicle Printing Company, 1900. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=loc.ark:/13960/t5fb59b55&seq=7. Davis, George B. Perry, Leslie J. Kirkley, Joseph W. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. ser. 1, vol. 47, pt. 1: Reports. Government Printing Office, 1895. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924077725947&view=1up&seq=3.

Episode 61: PVT Philip Cheek and the 6th Wisconsin at the Battle of South Mountain

At the Battle of South Mountain, on the evening of 14 September 1862, PVT Phillip Cheek and the 6th Wisconsin advanced upon Turner’s Gap, one of three passes at South Mountain. Alongside the 19th Indiana, 2nd and 7th Wisconsin Infantries, the men of BG John Gibbon’s 4th Brigade met heavy resistance from COL Alfred H. Colquitt’s Brigade of Georgians and Alabamians but steadily advanced up the slope to within a close range where both sides poured volleys into each other. Despite running low on ammunition, PVT Cheek and the rest of his Brigade held their ground until the Confederates retreated that night. Observing the advance upon Turner’s Gap from his headquarters, MG McClellan, commander of the Army of the Potomac remarked to MG Hooker, the I Corps commander, about the fighting spirit of the men that, “They must be made of iron.” From that day, PVT Phillip Cheek and the men assigned to BG Gibbon became known as the Iron Brigade. Sources used for this episode: Cheek, Philip and Pointon, Mair. History of the Sauk County Riflemen, Known as Company “A,” Sixth Wisconsin Veteran Volunteer Infantry, 1861 – 1865. Democrat Printing Company, 1909. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=nnc1.cu01504851&seq=11. Scott, Robert N. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. ser. 1, vol. 19, pt: 1 Reports. Government Printing Office, 1887. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924079609610&view=1up&seq=3. Wisconsin Historical Society. “The Origin of the Famous Iron Brigade’s Name.” Accessed 18 March 2026. https://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS3518.