ACW: Battles of Glendale & White Oak Swamp - “Battle for the Crossroads”

[@WarhawkYT]

⚔ Download Vikings: War of Clans for FREE here ➡ clik.cc/XXt0h and join the anniversary celebrations today! 🏹

[@chroniccinema5628]

Great video thanks for posting it, it's very interesting to see a captured reg fight for the enemy.

[@WarhawkYT]

​@@chroniccinema5628 what do you mean captured reg?

[@kennethhamby9811]

Stick it. I hate click baiters.

[@raymondlortssr6247]

Pp

[@MrOrdgar]

My Great Great Great Grandfather was in the 63rd Pennsylvania during this engagement. Proud to have a family member fight under the Red Patch with Kearny!

[@WarhawkYT]

Lets go Red Patchers!

[@Be4real_5960]

Again, this excellent video is a great supplement to written material. Much better than static maps can ever be.

[@lukeskywalker3329]

An intense battle. The union can be thankfull that Stonewall Jackson was not his usual self .

[@1987palerider]

That "oblivious Confederate captain" caption had me cracking up

[@gallantcavalier3306]

Oh boy, I’ve been EXCITED for this battle!!! The Irish Brigade in action!!! Love to see it!!!

[@WarhawkYT]

Woo Hoo!

[@johnross2086]

I think your treatment of the 7 days as indeed the rest of your series the best I have ever encountered and having visited the battlefields in the 90s without benefit of reference materials enormously revealing of the actual situations ... Bravo and on to Malvern Hill and beyond!

[@Stiglr]

Once again, a superlative account of this seesaw battle, and just when I'm in the midst of doing info gathering for a wargame on these pivotal 7 Days battles!! THANK YOU for these wonderful descriptions, and detailed tactical maps.

[@WarhawkYT]

You're welcome Stiglr!

[@3idraven714]

To McClellan's credit, He built the Army that was there, which was good for it's time and place, and it had many men and commanders that were willing to fight. His Peninsular Campaign was methodical and conservative, which had some positives, it blooded his men, gave him time to set his lines of supply, he had the men, the weapons, the logistics, supplies, and fainted when Lee moved to outflank him. Clearly many of his subordinates were astonished to run, at the gates of Richmond, the whole months long journey, for nothing, running back to the gunboats, destination Washington, and The Army of the Potomac.

[@davidvonkettering204]

He stuck his troops in a mosquito-riddled swampland for months then ran away making the sacrifices all for naught. Magruder said in his official report to Gen Lee that McClellan could have pushed right through in the initial battles all the way to Richmond but; McClellan being McClellan he defeated himself.

[@docjw8914]

This is a great series. Thank you for your hard work. I had an ancestor in the 12th MS Regiment who was originally from Virginia. It's pretty cool to see what exactly his regiment and he were doing in each battle.

[@frederickiiprussia7699]

I'm pleased to see that in my absence the great historian Wat Hawk continues his polished high tier content; this is Hohenzollern approved 👍

[@michaelmccabe3079]

The Confederacy was definitely playing on Easy Mode against McClellan. Their legendary generals had to learn a lot of lessons the hard way, and their compatriots in the western theater didn't have the breathing space.

[@WarhawkYT]

for real

[@richardjohnson4238]

Many years ago, I used to deer hunt all over this area. Good presentation. Thanks.

[@WarhawkYT]

Thats awesome Richard!

[@markperrault5678]

Any ghosts

[@richardjohnson4238]

@@markperrault5678 No, not in that area, although, in a couple of other places, some "odd" things did occure.

[@yankeebrit9399]

I don't know why but when I was watching the part with the constant counter attacks all I imagined was the union and conferderates throwing down reverse uno cards

[@WarhawkYT]

basically is tbh

[@gallantcavalier3306]

All throughout this campaign, McClellan has not been were the army is fighting. Either off in the rear doing administrative work, or worrying about his supply trains and artillery reserves. I’ve said it before in the comments of past videos on the Seven Days Battle and on the Peninsula Campaign battles… MCCLELLAN DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO COMMAND ARMIES IN THE FIELD!!!!

[@calinmarian98]

Because he's not Grant,Meade or Sherman. He's better suited in a Berthier role around Napoleon,aka chief of staff.

[@marshalberthier2402]

@@calinmarian98 That might be true, be he still wasn't as dedicated as I was and was too involved in the politics of the day to be as effective as I was.

[@elmascapo6588]

@@calinmarian98 still had a positive k/d ratio, unlike the three you mentionated

[@WarhawkYT]

Who would think a logistics guy could lead an army?

[@TheBasedGoat]

@@WarhawkYT joe biden

[@donchichivagabond1578]

What a chaotic battle!

[@WriteInAaronBushnell]

Either side would have won this war with a recon plane and a dozen radios

[@donchichivagabond1578]

@@WriteInAaronBushnell the way this battle had no clear coordination from either side I see it as a mutual defeat. They all must've walked away and been like "lets pretend this didn't happen and go fight somewhere else."

[@WarhawkYT]

It quite is and was quite fun to animate!

[@donchichivagabond1578]

I wasn't aware of this battle so I am very appreciative you brought it to the fore. 💯

[@davidvonkettering204]

@@WriteInAaronBushnell The had the Intrepid and Enterprise, but I don't know whether GB McClellan ever went up. Know Heintzelmann rode the balloon.

[@JefferyMckay-qy8tc]

My highschool commencement took place at shady Grove church Jackson's hq at these battles. Many roadside markers tell the story

[@thomasjmitchell2306]

Cant wait to check this out after work today!

[@WarhawkYT]

i hope you enjoy!

[@thomasjmitchell2306]

@@WarhawkYT I love the seven days battle! Robert E Lee's aggressive pursuit of the federal with his constant blows that he dealt it as they retreated!

[@davidvonkettering204]

@@thomasjmitchell2306 Yes, but the Rebels suffered horrendously high casualties and Lee greatly weakened his army' attacking against Lil Mac was the only way he could have done this safely.

[@jackjack_HD]

This Joe Hooker seems competent. I think he’d make a good army Commander

[@WarhawkYT]

Surely he will

[@christopherlynn755]

I've read in Thaddeus Lowe's remembrances of the war that the fire on Hill, Lee, Longstreet, and Davis was directed by him in one of the Union Army balloons. Perhaps just a fancy of Lowe's, but the balloons were used extensively during the Peninsula Campaign.

[@WarhawkYT]

yep, we talked a lot about him and his balloons during the yorktown videos.

[@michaelcarlin9153]

great video - these are the best animated battles I've yet seen. Keep up the excellent work!!

[@WarhawkYT]

Glad you like them!

[@derekgray4313]

Liked seeing Jenkins brigade of the video. I had 6 ancestors in the 5th SC.

[@WarhawkYT]

Thats cool to hear!

[@derekgray4313]

I do know that 2 of the 6 were part of the 263 that surrendered at Appomattox.

[@MatthewChenault]

Union Batteries: *Open fire.* Richard Sykes: “Ow! My ears burn!”

[@WarhawkYT]

lol

[@janlindtner305]

As usual, excellent and serious.

[@WarhawkYT]

Thanks Jan!

[@shmigo.gambino]

I think Kearny use to fight his battles drunk, he was consistently wandering into the enemy lines. I see how he lost an arm😂

[@esem8500]

love your vids keep it up!

[@WarhawkYT]

Thanks EseM, fellow 1stTX gamer

[@esem8500]

@@WarhawkYT oh its you from bcof, damn i knew your voice sounds similar but didnt knew from where haha now i know.

[@h.j.d.2624]

ALWAYS entertaining and informative.

[@WarhawkYT]

Thanks HJD, glad to hear!

[@Michael-ws7rc]

Outstanding.

[@WyomingTraveler]

Another excellent video, I have said this before, but we’ll say it again, you do an excellent portrayal of Civil War battles. I have enjoyed following you covering the peninsula campaign. I realize with the Baldor of Malvern Hill the peninsula campaign will be over. are you going to stay with the army of northern Virginia, or look at other actions during the summer of 62.?

[@WarhawkYT]

I will post a schedule of our upcoming vidoes in the community section after Malvern Hill (which will be a two parter) is finished. But we will be going west for a bit for the CSS Arkansas and Battle of Baton Rouge before coming back for the Northern Virginia Campaign. Then we wont go back west until Antietam is complete.

[@CivilWarWeekByWeek]

Really hope that Jackson can follow orders or else Lee will have to replace him

[@WarhawkYT]

It would be a shame if lee removes him after the campaign, he did so well during the valley smh

[@general-cromwell6639]

Thanks!

[@greaserbubtheoriginal7923]

as allways very good thank you

[@WarhawkYT]

Thanks Greaser!

[@lucagleeson4400]

Incredibly high quality video as usual! I do have one question though, you've shown on a number of occasions throughout this series instances where cannon batteries went toe to toe in head on gunfights with infantry regiments or sometimes even entire brigades. I've always wondered how this could be possible though, I understand that they could somewhat match the firepower of a regiment thanks to things like cannister shot, but what I don't understand is how one or two volleys from an infantry regiment of 500-1000 men wouldn't instantly decimate a battery with an absolute maximum of 10 men per gun

[@WarhawkYT]

Batteries could be lucky and not have their men get shot, sometimes the infantry will supplement the battery teams whenever their own members are taken out, and of course infantry support near by helps in dissuading infantry from pushing for the guns.

[@lucagleeson4400]

@@WarhawkYT ahh I see, thank you!!

[@michaelmccabe3079]

The accuracy rate in that era was 1 shot in 50 finding its mark against a comparable infantry line. Gunners would be more spaced apart, and so most men would miss by feet and inches.

[@ferda9476]

@@michaelmccabe3079 also the artillerists would, in the moment, have their actual cannons and caissons as cover. Much harder to hit those 10 guys than 500 infantrymen in an open field.

[@ImVeryHarsh4020]

McClellan: retreating after having multiple opportunities for victory Me: wow wow wow now, you got to much dip on your chip

[@WarhawkYT]

lol

[@The_Unrepentant_McClellanite]

Imagine getting taken captive by 𝘍𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥'𝘴 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘥𝘦 lmao

[@WarhawkYT]

legit shitters of Virginia units

[@paulceglinski3087]

Love all your videos Warhawk. Hope you put the 7Days into a long video. I tried to do the premier this A M., but the vid doesn't stabilize until later. Sorry bout that, but it's worth the wait. Cheers.

[@joshk96]

I don't think I got to see Glendale when touring the Peninsula Campaign, I think there was just a couple of the road signs to see. Malvern Hill though was absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to see your video on it!

[@MatthewChenault]

You actually pass by it when going to Malvern Hill. Most of the land is owned by the American Battlefield Trust, but isn’t a part of the NPS. However, Glendale National Cemetery and Willis Church (mainly it’s graveyard) are remnants of the battlefield.

[@WarhawkYT]

As far as I remember, there is no actual park for the battle.

[@3idraven714]

Note the guy that outnumbers the enemy by 3-2 minimum (and that is with hinesight, proven), is RUNNING. Not only that, but his men have a far superior weapons advantage, and FAR superior logistics and supply line. Tiny Mac was a joke as a American General. He had no gutts. I recall the line from the movie "Patton" , quote "the precise instrument, at the precise time"

[@MatthewChenault]

The current state of both the Glendale Battlefield and the White Oak Swamp battlefield is that both are fairly well-preserved. White Oak Swamp does have some development at the artillery positions; the north bank is where Elko was built at the turn of the century while the south is farmland with some new houses in the area. However, the land in between is still swampland and marshes where the creek, even today, will flood over the original roadway embankment whenever there’s a significant amount of rainfall in the White Oak Creek basin. Glendale, on the other hand, has been preserved thanks to the efforts of the American Battlefield Trust, which has bought much of the land around Glendale National Cemetery and Willis United Methodist Church. The original Glendale crossroads also still exists and, though some development has happened in the area (a small gas station, an American Legion post, and some developments north along Charles City Road), it’s still rural land. The most notable features of the Glendale Battlefield that can be visited is the Glendale National Cemetery and Willis United Methodist Church. The former has many of the federal troops killed at Glendale and Malvern Hill. The later, however, is interesting because the church is a historic church in the area. The current building is a newer construction, since the original church burned down in 1946 (it’s not the first church to burn down in the area and not the last) and was rebuilt. However, the nearby graveyard is a part of the original church and has a number of pre-20th century burials. The most notable burial in the graveyard is that of Captain Joel Blackard of the 7th Virginia Infantry Regiment, who died on June 30th, 1862 after being mortally wounded at Glendale and was initially being treated at the field hospital that was set up at Willis Church and it’s surrounding grounds. He is unique because he represents one of the few, known examples of a battlefield burial. There are other exhumed graves further to the south on the Malvern Hill Battlefield, but Joel Blackard is one of the few who remained where they were initially buried. He also has a cousin - Willoughby B. Blackard of the 24th Virginia Infantry Regiment - buried at Oakwood Cemetery who’d died two months prior. If anyone wishes to visit the area, there are a few ways to get there: 1. You can drive down Elko Road, which connects to Williamsburg Road, southward along the route Thomas J. Jackson was taking to meet the Union Forces. 2. You can travel down Charles City Road, which links up with Airport Drive south of Richmond International Airport. That will take you down the route Huger was taking to meet the Union Army (this route also passes by the location of Imperial Airlines Flight 201/8’s crash landing, which was the second deadliest accident of a single civilian aircraft in US History). 3. Finally, you can take Darbytown Road, which links up to Laburnum Avenue, from the west. This is the route that the bulk of Lee’s army, including Magruder, Longstreet, and A. P. Hill, took to meet the bulk of the Union forces.

[@WarhawkYT]

The Glendale area is quite beautiful and is lucky it hasnt been swallowed by Richmond yet

[@davidvonkettering204]

What an intelligent and enjoyable comment. I've been reading all the reports from the 7 Days' and topology and geographical information makes it much clearer.

[@JefferyMckay-qy8tc]

You must specify old Williamsburg Rd. Or new , as now there are two

[@MatthewChenault]

@@JefferyMckay-qy8tc, where it connects with Elko Road is after the two roads merge back together. “Old Williamsburg Road” diverges around Sandston and merges back up before Elko Road.

[@sirkylewilliams]

Any chance you’ll ever do Third Winchester or Cedar Creek 1864 Valley Campaign?

[@WarhawkYT]

We will when we get there, We are doing a chronological walkthrough of the civil war so those battles will come up!

[@andrewzy]

Another goodie of a video

[@WarhawkYT]

Thanks Andrewzy!

[@alanpattee4383]

Greatness

[@WarhawkYT]

Thanks Alan!

[@markperrault5678]

Is that the correct battle flag for Lee's army in the battle of glendale

[@WarhawkYT]

yes

[@chasechristophermurraydola9314]

I can’t wait for malvern hill and I am looking forward to seeing it because leading one of the assaults on malvern hill is a friend of General John F Reynolds and Winfield Scott Hancock and that Friend is Confederate Brigadier General Lewis Addison armistead aka Lothario who is the nephew of George Armistead Defender of fort McHenry and defender of the original star spangled banner but I also can’t wait to see the battle of malvern hill because during this battle my 3rd great grand uncle corporal and future captain George E Kitzmiller was captured however after he was captured he was confined to Richmond Virginia until he was paroled at Aiken’s landing on August 5th 1862.

[@WarhawkYT]

Malvern hill is up next!

[@WriteInAaronBushnell]

Who is worse at thier job: General McCellan or Alex Jones' lawyer?

[@calinmarian98]

Jackson and Huger when Lee orders them to move.

[@elmascapo6588]

@@calinmarian98 i hope Jackson learns to move, otherwise Lee will have to replace him with hood or something

[@WarhawkYT]

Why not both?

[@elmascapo6588]

@@WarhawkYT we are not in atlanta yet The confederates are not that desperate

[@3idraven714]

What IF, McClelland had attacked McGruder in the defenses of Richmond, taken it, then take the forts on the James to the south, and shift his base of supply to the James, while Lee fumbled around N of the Chickahominy, with McDowell attacking his rear, stuck between a taken Richmond, and Washington, the Union center of mass. AH what if, so many men would not have had to die for the next 4 years.

[@avenaoat]

Exactly! The stupide decisions caused so many died people for three years. From the begining Lyons got strong advice from Fremont to retreat from Springfield to Rola in Missouri one year earlier in 1861. There in Missouri the retreat would have been the good decide. Fremont could have sent reinsforments to Rola by train. There Lynon should have accepted Fremont's advice for retrire! These cause a 4 years long mini local Civil War in Missouri. Here McClellen would have fallen off his horse before Richmond that would have helped to survive 400 000 people.............. Rosecrans would have fallen off his horse before Chickamagua that only would have helped to survive 200 000 people in 1863.......

[@liverpoolirish208]

Magruder and Holmes had ca. 40,000 effectives in the fortifications, and the fortifications were fully manned, permanent forts. Any assault would have been repulsed with slaughter. It worth noting that until the end of the 27th, McClellan was advancing as per his plan. It was a "bite and hold" strategy aiming to occupy Old Tavern. From there, heavy artillery could reduce the fortifications, rendering an assault possible. The great what-if is what if McDowell had moved by water as everyone recommended. It would have meant the lines north of the Chickahominy would be able to be extended to stop Jackson.

[@3idraven714]

@@liverpoolirish208 I admit it was too late by the time of events in this video to attack Richmond Fortifications, I’m just thinking “what would US Grant have done when he found out that Lee had 2/3 of his army north of the Chickihominy (a formidable barrier) with McClelland having most of his weight still facing the fortifications. I suspect Grant might have ordered a all out attack on the southern fortifications, never mind casualties, while attacking along the south bank of the Chickahominy to trap Lee north, and make him withdrawal west to try and get back to Richmond with McDowell harrying him from the rear all the way. Hindsight is 20/20, and it looks to me that McClelland did a great job building a good army, had the logistics, supplies, ammo, weapons, and had pushed the Rebs all the way up the Peninsula, with relatively minimal loses, and albeit slow, blooded his Army. And at the moment that the enemy made a bold move (Mechanicsville) his constitution failed him and he ran to the gunboats.

[@raylast3873]

From where I‘m sitting, the Confederates have a lot of battles (Gettysburg) that they could have *conceivably* won *if* you squint really hard so therefore they get advertised as near-misses; when in fact most of the time there was no clear path to victory, or any obvious tactical advantage that could be exploited to win out. This looks like one of those battles. In this instance, at best Lee is attacking a similar-sized force in good defensive position with his own army (again). That‘s not an advantage. Yes the Confederates had a large number of troops that never reached the field due to confusing commands, but not many more than the reserves available to the Federals. The Armies were similar-sized. Now Lee‘s defenders will always say „well, but if this or that attacking force broke through (Gettysburg) then if they were able to then get into the Union rear that would potentially cause a rout. And that‘s true as far as it goes, but not only did those breakthroughs usually didn‘t happen for obvious and predictable reasons (Round Top, Culp‘s Hill) but also a defender of similar or greater number will usually have enough reserves to counter that (Round Top). It‘s only when your opponent is weaker or dealing with a serious tactical disadvantage that you can count on a decisive blow actually landing and doing what you want it to. You don‘t just win a battle by smashing your army into the enemy and hoping they perform better. If you look at Stonewall Jackson‘s big wins, he almost always managed to outmaneuver his opponents to where he had a numerical advantage, OR had a tactical edge due to terrain or surprise. Lee‘s own victories followed a similar pattern: Fredericksburg he‘s defending almost the best ground you can possibly imagine, and at both Chancellorsville and Second Manassas, he has a local superiority by catching a section of the enemy army by itself with no sufficient reserves and therefore he triumphs Likewise at Shiloh, Sidney Johnston just managed to get the jump on Grant. Here the armies are of similar size but Grant wasn‘t expecting a general engagement and it could have cost him his Army. The Rebels still lose because they fail to slam the trap shut on the first day and Grant gets major reinforcements overnight. But they had a much better path to victory than they did for example at Gettysburg. They had a clear tactical advantage and only poor coordination and heroic defense action by outnumbered Union brigades really stopped them. The best Lee could hope for at Glendale was that McClellan might have weakened his rearguard too much and allowed them to get outnumbered. But really, McClellan won the operational game here by having enough of his force together so that he was never in real danger. I would criticize McClellan‘s retreat from Richmond, but once he made that decision he did very well to not give Lee any advantage or let him outmaneuver any part of his army.

[@liverpoolirish208]

The timings here are way off. You have the barrage at White Oak Swamp (start ca. 1400) and Jenkins' first charge (ca. 1645) being simultaneous. This is a general problem caused by one of Sumner's brigadiers moving timings by 2-3 hours in his report, the division commander copying that, and Sumner copying that. The 1st and 3rd Pennsylvania Reserves met the skirmish line of the 3rd Va Cavalry about 1500. At 1400 Meade wasn't even aware he was in the front line; he thought he was behind Kearny. Around 1430 he became aware he wasn't and sent skirmishers forward. Around 1600, Jenkins' skirmishers (6th SC) push Meade's skirmishers out of the woods, and around 1630 Jenkins' Brigade Battery opens fire, and is met with immediate counterbattery. He then orders Jenkins to silence the guns with his sharpshooters, but Jenkins charges instead, without the 6th SC (who were his skirmishers, and he didn't have time to recall them). This charge is repulsed in great disorder within 10 minutes. Jenkins' first charge didn't take Cooper's battery, which was taken around 2000 by Field's Brigade. The exact timings are difficult, but Longstreet gave attack orders to 4 more brigades (Kemper, Strange, Pryor and Featherstone), thinking that an attack was in progress and needed to be supported. Kemper's brigade were in camp routine and cooking their dinner, and so it took some time for them to get things together. Wilcox never got an order to attack, and simply joined in when he saw Strange's Brigade advancing. From ca. 1800 to ca. 1930, these six brigades are engaged (with Jenkins making a second charge with the 6th SC and elements of his spent regiments).

[@jonathanwoody2936]

Thanks for the response. I would say this was one of the most difficult battles for me to gather research on and piece together a thorough, written account of what was happening because the reports I read in the Official Records were all varying in their times and accounts of what happened. Thanks again for the feedback!

[@liverpoolirish208]

@@jonathanwoody2936 Indeed, and the even more important AAR, Jenkins', is in the Supplement to the OR and so not accessible to most people.

[@caos1925]

This was like that awful game of thones battle putting artillery in front of infantry.

[@Cba409]

Hey some1 got a sponsor!

[@WarhawkYT]

Yeah!

[@lesc3969]

Vikings game can kiss my behind. That's got nothing to do with the civil war.

[@jeffreyallen3461]

Let's Go Hooker!

[@WarhawkYT]

Hookers on it!

[@jelk1188]

The ads are absolutely ruining this fine series. It's time to secede.

[@WarhawkYT]

Yeah but they help fund this channel, I don’t earn enough with an average of 15k views per video so sponsors supplement the income