One Brigade Alone

One Brigade Alone. May 24, 1864 3:00 - 4:00pm. The first unit of the Union Ninth Corps to cross the North Anna was Brigadier General James H. Ledlie’s brigade. His 1,500 infantrymen were ready to advance by 3:00 p.m., despite having been soaked up to their armpits while crossing the river. Unfortunately for the Federals, one of the worst generals in the Union army commanded them. Ledlie had commanded the brigade for only seven days and had obtained little knowledge of his men. Worse, the general had consumed a large amount of whiskey and was dreadfully drunk when he led his men into battle. When he approached the Confederate trenches in the area before you, Ledlie ordered one of his regiments to test the Confederate line. The 35th Massachusetts advanced into what was then an open field but were easily routed. The survivors hurriedly returned to the relative safety of Ledlie’s main battle line., “The General was inspired with that artificial courage known throughout the army as ‘Dutch courage,’ the quantity of which seemed to be sufficient to sustain him through this or any other trying ordeal, but the quality was not of the enduring kind.” Captain John Anderson, 57th Massachusetts Infantry, Ledlie’s Brigade, (sidebar) , Presented to the people of the United States by the loyal legion of battlefield students known as The Bearss Brigade., (captions) , Brigadier General James H. Ledlie , Officers of the 56th Massachusetts Infantry, Ledlie's Brigade