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Near Spotsylvania Courthouse in Spotsylvania County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
 

The Flying Dutchmen

The Battle of Chancellorsville

— Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park —

 
 
The Flying Dutchmen Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Craig Swain, November 10, 2007
1. The Flying Dutchmen Marker
Inscription.
The target of Jackson's attack was General Oliver O. Howard's Eleventh Corps, which extended for more than a mile along the Orange Turnpike. The Eleventh Corps was relatively new to the Army of the Potomac. Its 11,000 men included a large percentage of German immigrants - men with names like Peisser and Buschbeck, Schurz and Schimmelfennig.

Union pickets had warned Howard of the enemy's approach, but he had ignored their reports. Headquarters had assured him that the Confederate army was in retreat. Now, as the Southerners bore down upon Howard's flank, the men of the corps broke ranks and fled. Although the general and his officers eventually restored order, they could not restore the corps' reputation. From then on, the Eleventh Corps would be known derisively as "the Flying Dutchmen."

"Why did we run? Well, those who didn't are there yet!"
-Private William B. Southerton, 79th Ohio Volunteers
 
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil.
 
Location. 38° 19.019′ N, 77° 41.134′ W. Marker is near Spotsylvania Courthouse, Virginia, in Spotsylvania County. Marker can be reached from Plank
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Road (State Highway 3), on the right when traveling west. Located at driving tour stop eight of the Battle of Chancellorsville. The site is west of the visitors center. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 10127 Plank Rd, Spotsylvania VA 22553, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Pressing the Attack (here, next to this marker); Jackson Attacks (here, next to this marker); 154th New York State Volunteer Infantry (approx. 1.1 miles away); Here Fell General Alexander Hays (approx. 1.6 miles away); No Turning Back (approx. 1.7 miles away); On to Richmond! (approx. 1.7 miles away); 12th Regiment New Jersey Volunteers 1862 - 1865 (approx. 1.7 miles away); The Climax (approx. 1.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Spotsylvania Courthouse.
 
More about this marker. On the lower left, "Clutching a Union banner under the stump of his amputated right arm, General Howard endeavored to rally his panic-stricken troops near Dowdall's Tavern. 'I felt...that I wanted to die,' Howard wrote, '...and I sought death everywhere I could find an excuse to go on the field."

On the lower right, "The Eleventh Corps, caught off guard by Jackson's unexpected attack, fled toward Chancellorsville in panic."
 
Regarding The Flying Dutchmen. This is one of several markers
Three Markers at the Jackson's Flank Attack Tour Stop image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Craig Swain
2. Three Markers at the Jackson's Flank Attack Tour Stop
for the Battle of Chancellorsville along the Jackson's Flank March and Attack trail. See the Jackson's Flank March and Attack Virtual Tour by Markers in the links section for a listing of related markers on the tour.
 
Also see . . .
1. Battle of Chancellorsville. National Park Service site. (Submitted on December 2, 2007, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.) 

2. Jackson's Flank March and Attack Virtual Tour by Markers. This virtual tour covers the optional Jackson Flank Trail route of the driving tour and concludes at Jackson's Flank Attack (stop 8) of the driving tour, tracing the route of Jackson's march to deliver the decisive attack of the battle. (Submitted on December 8, 2007, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.) 
 
Orange Turnpike image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Craig Swain, November 10, 2007
3. Orange Turnpike
The present day Virginia Highway 3 follows the path of the historic Orange Turnpike. Originally the 54th New York and 152nd Pennsylvania Infantry Regiments were posted as the extreme right flank of the Eleventh Corps. The regiments managed three volleys before giving way to overwhelming numbers.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on July 9, 2021. It was originally submitted on December 2, 2007, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. This page has been viewed 1,371 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3. submitted on December 2, 2007, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.

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Mar. 18, 2024