Firearm Types

The different firearm types and their quantities are central to the study of the battle. From the firearm types, we can begin to appreciate the variety of arms used by the combatants. Both the historic documents and archeological record provide some insight into the range of weapons available and used in the battle.

Although the historic documentation is not extensive on the firearm types present at the battle, there are accounts of the Confederates using pistols, presumably revolvers, in their charge, and the Union troops beating them back by using Spencer carbines. And there is a reference to the Confederate attack collapsing when the Confederates mistook the rifled musket-bearing members of the Fourth Provisional Brigade as arriving infantry support.

The archeological firearms data is rich and varied and indicates there were significant varieties of firearms present during the engagement. Table 8 summarizes the available archeological and collector data regarding firearms evidence.

Table 8 indicates there were at least 20 small arms types represented in the archeological collection. In several cases, only a single bullet provides that evidence, but in most instances both the archeological and private collections have multiple examples of these arms' ammunition. Table 9 provides some additional basic information on caliber, type of round, and rate of fire for most of these firearms.

The five most common ammunition components represented are Burnside, Spencer, Sharps, .58-caliber muskets, and Enfield-type muskets. Both the Confederate and Union historical record focus on the Spencer repeating carbine as a decisive element in turning the Confederate tide during the battle. It was the most commonly found cartridge case and third most commonly found bullet. The Spencer case and bullet distribution indicate it was used primarily along the ridge paralleling the old Blue's Road. The four Spencers represented by the multiple matched cases indicate some individual movement. Case FS1688 was found southwest of Blue's Road and near the southeast-northwest trending road alignment. A probable match to that case is FS1506, found north of the house site and north of the firebreak road and FS2042, found in the artillery impact buffer area below the junction of the current Morganton Road and Blue's Road. Another Spencer movement is also represented by three cases. FS1178 was found south of the house site along the ridge; FS1698 was found north of the firebreak road, and the third matching case, F52042, was found below the junction of the current Morganton Road and Blue's Road. The last group of matched firing pin marks, FS2043 and 2046, was also found below the junction of the current Morganton Road and Blue's Road.

Coates and Thomas (1990) report that the 5th Ohio Cavalry was armed with Spencers at some point during the war. If this is accurate, then the Spencers may indicate some deployment and movement of that unit.

The second most common bullet is the .58-caliber minie ball, represented by a total of 44 specimens from both the archeological and private collections. This caliber is seen in many varieties. The .58-caliber was used only in muskets, thus their presence in the battle is identified. It is entirely possible some Confederate units were armed with muskets. It is also known that Kilpatrick's Fourth Provisional Brigade, a composite and dismounted unit formed to guard the wagon train, was armed with muskets instead of carbines.

The .58-caliber minie balls were found scattered along the ridge near the old Blue's Road alignment. Several were also found west of Nicholson Creek in the Confederate position. At least one dropped or unfired bullet was found in that position, as well as one near the south end of the ridge. This distribution pattern suggests an intermixing of .58-caliber weapons and bolsters the supposition that both Union and Confederate units were armed with this caliber musket.

The Burnside cartridge and bullet (37 and 32 specimens respectively) are the third most common type. The cartridge cases, often in association with percussion cap concentrations, are primarily distributed at the south end of the ridge and to its immediate west. Stanley Dahl and Fred Raber report large numbers of Burnside cases were recovered in the immediate vicinity of the house site, primarily to its north side. The archeological data is consistent with that evidence.

The fired bullets were found scattered along the ridge and well to the north of the house site. A significant number were also found along Nicholson Creek and west of the creek in the presumed area of Humes' Texas Brigade's attempt to cross the creek. The 1st Alabama (U.S.) reported they engaged Humes' men in their attempt to cross the creek. Thus it would appear that the 1st Alabama (U.S.) was also armed with the Burnside carbine. Coates and Thomas (1990) note the 5th Kentucky (U.S.) was also armed with Burnsides at some point during the war.

The third most common bullet is the Enfield in various calibers, but primarily .577-caliber. The bullets concentrate in two areas, with a few strays in between. The first is along the east side of Nicholson Creek where Humes engaged the 1st Alabama (U.S.). If, as it appears, these are Confederate-fired bullets, then the Texas Brigade was likely armed with a mixture of .54-caliber carbines and .577-caliber or .58-caliber muskets. The presence of .58-caliber minie balls in these positions, as noted earlier, can be taken as additional evidence for this supposition. Coates and Thomas (1990) report the 8th Texas as variously armed with .69-caliber muskets, Austrian muskets, Belgian or French muskets, 1841 Mississippi Rifles, Burnside carbines, and double-barrel shotguns. All of these are consistent with the archeological data.

The second concentration was found north of the firebreak road. Stanley Dahl reported finding a concentration of Enfield bullets in this area as well. Again they are a mixture of .54-caliber and .577-caliber Enfield bullets. This area may reflect a mixture of Union and Confederate weapons, but the concentration may more likely represent Confederate bullets fired in either the initial attack or perhaps during the Confederate withdrawal covered by Dibrell's brigade.

The .52-caliber Sharps is represented by only 15 bullets. Yet, the archeological distribution is definitely patterned. Two dropped bullets were found at the south end of the ridge, along the old Blue's Road alignment. The remainder were found in a linear pattern, along the old Blue's Road alignment, with the majority north of the house site.

Possibly, the bullets represent the charge of one of Butler's Confederate units into the camp. However, it is more likely that the bullets, since the dropped or unfired ones are near the gun position, represent reformed, Union units firing upon Dibrell's Brigade as it moved north covering the Confederate withdrawal.

The .44-caliber pistol bullets represent at least three different types of revolvers. There is no pattern to their distribution. They were found throughout the battlefield area. This is not unexpected because both combatant groups were undoubtedly armed with revolvers and used them extensively in combat. Both Union and Confederate sources report that Confederates, in their initial charge into the Union camp, fired pistols and wielded sabers.

Deformed bullets and lead balls were also ubiquitous across the battlefield. Undoubtedly, if some of the deformed bullets could have been identified, they would have further confirmed the identifiable bullet distribution. There are so few balls that their distribution is nearly meaningless. They are present on the field, and some may very well be battle-related. However, they could just as easily represent earlier or later hunting episodes.

The seven, Joslyn-fired . 56-56-caliber cartridges indicate some unit or company was armed with these carbines. Because only one was recovered in situ archeologically, no meaning can be inferred from the distribution of the cartridges.

Lead shot was found primarily east of the ridge near the 27-man grave (Test Area C) and north of the firebreak road. It may merely represent hunting episodes unassociated with the battle or it may represent shotguns used by the attacking Confederates, as well as elements of .69-caliber buck and ball loads. The shot distribution pattern suggests a battle association because the pieces were recovered with definite, battle-related bullets.

The other bullets, Smith carbine .54-caliber and .51-caliber, are so few that speculation about them is dubious at best. The few Smith carbine and .51-caliber bullets cluster in areas believed associated with Confederate areas, although the data is only suggestive, not definitive.

The final ammunition component category is artillery-related artifacts. The possible wheel bolt and all but one friction primer were recovered near the south end of the ridge about 50 meters south of the 27-man grave (Test Area C) along Blue's Road. In this case, the archeological evidence does not correlate with the historic facts. All historic documentation about the engagement identifies the gun section within 15 to 25 meters of the house site. (Twenty paces is interpreted to be about 15 to 25 meters). James Legg (personal communication October 30, 1995) identifies the gun position as being just east of the old Blue's Road and about 25 meters southeast of the house site. There he found two fired friction primers. During the recent investigations, we recovered a friction primer pull-ring from immediately south of the house and a friction primer 150 meters south of the house. This southern area is also where Stanley Dahl found several friction primers.

The archeological evidence strongly suggests that the section of 3-inch ordnance rifles was located at the southern or southwestern area of the camp and above the swamp. This position is also on some of the highest ground and commands the best field of fire available. Assuming the forest was more open and more fields were present than today's vegetation suggests, then the battery would have commanded Blue's Road, the house and outbuildings, Nicholson Creek, and the area to the northwest of the house. Examining the distribution of iron shrapnel, lead balls that may have been case shot shrapnel, the canister iron balls, and the fuze adapters, as well as Stanley Dahl's finds of shell bases, and the unexploded shell strongly supports the idea that the area about 50 meters south of the 27-man grave where most of the friction primers were found was the place where the battery was located.

Schreier (1993:17) and Naisawald (1960:545-550) indicate the Hotchkiss case shot had its bursting charge below the lead balls and was designed to scatter the balls forward along the projectile flight line. The soft iron case also tended to fragment forward and to the sides. Thus the finds of balls and shrapnel should be either to the side or forward of the shell's bursting point. Knowing the bursting pattern provides a means for detecting the placement of the guns.

Some shrapnel was found west of the 27-man grave (Test Area C) and west of the old Blue's Road alignment, some to the east toward Nicholson Creek, but most was north of Test Area C. Some shrapnel was found along the ridge and near the house site, but the majority concentrated north of the firebreak road and west of the house site (Test Area A).

Not only did the shrapnel concentrate there, but the complete fuze adaptor, a canister ball, and some lead balls were also found in this area. The fragment of a fuze adapter and another lead ball were found south of the current Morganton Road and west of the previously mentioned concentration. Such a dispersal of cannon projectile fragments and parts suggests the battery fire was concentrated to the north. At least one round of canister and two case shot were fired in this direction. Stanley Dahl's finds also indicate one case shot that did not explode fired to the northwest and at least two others that did explode fired to the east. Thus it appears the battery fired a minimum of one canister and four case shot or shell to its right, left, and front. This projectile fragment distribution is consistent with the battery's point of origin south of the 27-man grave site (Test Area C). Assuming a consistent bursting pattern and using the known locations of case shot or case fragments, lines can be drawn along a projected shell flight path. All projectile flight paths converge in the area of the primary friction primers finds. The primers may have been lost from a limber or caisson that was behind the guns, but the artifact distribution certainly points to this area as the most likely locale for the gun position.

The canister and case shot fired to the front (or north) are consistent with the reports of the gun or guns firing into concentrated Confederate troops as they were attempting to cut down the wagons and capture supplies. General Butler and General Wheeler both reported that when Stetson's gun began firing it caused great confusion.

It seems likely that the Confederates, laboring over the wagons, were some distance away from the guns because they should have been able to repulse the Union movement to retake the guns. Evaluating the historical statements against the archeological evidence argues for a reassessment of the historical sources. A reanalysis indicates that the guns were in the vicinity of the southern or southwestern area of the camp and further away from the wagons than historical sources suggests.

During their initial attack, the Confederates were able to charge through camp and scatter the surprised Union troops. Some numbers of the Confederates halted near the house and the wagon park to destroy the wagons and capture supplies. Wright's Confederates in their charge through the camp may have taken the guns and perhaps begun to destroy one or both guns. They may have also tired to harness the animals and capture the guns.

Stetson, perhaps in the swamp with many other Union troops and seeing the Confederate activity around the guns, may have rounded up and reformed a Union unit, probably armed with Burnside carbines. They then rushed the Confederates around the guns and forced them to retreat. Stetson was then able to unlimber and load his guns, at some point with crew support, and fire point blank at the Confederates near the wagon train. Late in the battle, another and last Confederate charge came within 15 or 20 paces of the guns. The Confederates were halted by the combined fire of the cavalry carbines and a burst of case shot or canister, or both. The Confederates report sustaining losses of about 60 men (Table 11) in approximately five minutes during this last charge.

This period was undoubtedly a critical point for the Union troops because they were beginning to regain their organization and command structure. Whether Stetson's action was a galvanizing element or was a focal point of after-the-action remembrances is uncertain, but the tactical stability of the Union troops was regained at about the time of his efforts.

MOVEMENTS AND ACTIONS AT THE MONROE'S CROSSROADS BATTLE

To interpret events that occurred during the battle using the archeological evidence, it is necessary to break the battle into a series of discrete elements. These breaks are artificial, in a sense, because they are elements identified for discussion purposes only. The battle, while it lasted, was continuous and evolving. Only in retrospect does the conflict have discrete and definable elements. Certain things happened simultaneously, but for description and discussion purposes they are broken into a variety of specific actions or elements. The following interpretations combine the archeological evidence with historical documentation. Agreements and disagreements between the data sets are noted, and where disagreements are found a reinterpretation is offered based on both sets of evidence.

Chapter 6 (continued)

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