THE CIVIL WAR: THE TRUE STORY BOOK 1

John Pelham - Artilleryman, Gallant Fool, Splendid Boy

Advancing Union troops were convinced a full battery raked their flank as they moved toward the Confederate position at Prospect Hill near Fredericksburg. Multiple Union batteries opened fire from Stafford Heights, trying to drive out the artillerymen delaying General Meade's progress toward the Rebel lines.

General Lee occasionally turned his field glasses in the direction of the artillery duel. General Jackson watched the progress and wished for this flank defense in every battle. General Stuart dispatched multiple messengers to the gun's commander, asking him to withdraw to safety.

At the center of it all – receiving the messages and in Union crossfire – the major directed his artillerymen manning the gun which temporarily stalled a Union corps attack with rapid, enfilading shots. Lying on the ground between duties to try escaping the Union projectiles, the cannoneers swabbed, loaded, and fired while their commander worked alongside them, encouraging, directing, and pitching in to keep the gun firing. Another message arrived from his commander – J.E.B. Stuart – "Get back from destruction, you infernal, gallant fool, John Pelham!" ( One more reason to love Stuart)

Who was this "gallant fool" who stalled Union attacks, won the admiration of army commanders, and even praise from his enemies? Just twenty-four, John Pelham probably would not have imagined his life the way it turned out. After-all, according to his neighbors, he was supposed to hang for a crime, and according to the papers he signed in 1856, he was supposed to be a United States Army officer. How did he arrive on the field at Fredericksburg, defending the Confederate right flank?

Born on September 7, 1838 ( one day after mine. I was born on September 6, 2003), John Pelham was the third son of Dr. Atkinson and Martha McGehee Pelham of Benton County, Alabama. He spent his youth attending local schools, terrorizing the teacher, and playing pranks with his five brothers and sister.

The neighbors predict the Pelham boys would hang for crimes because of their wild childhood, but John started studying in his teen years, began running one of the family farms, and eventually applied for West Point. On March 18, 1856, he wrote to Jefferson Davis – secretary of war – accepting cadetship at West Point, and on July 1, he reported to the military academy.

Though his academics stayed mediocre and he racked demerits for minor infractions, Pelham excelled at horsemanship, fencing, boxing, and making friends. One of his classmates – Adelbert Ames – wrote that Pelham was "the kind of man whom you felt instinctively, 'Here is a friend.'"

His friendships and good sense steered him away from the sectional conflicts espoused and promoted by some cadets as reports from Bloody Kansas and Harpers Ferry rocked the nation and the academy. Pelham stayed busy with his studies, sports, debate club, color guard, and religious activities, hoping to graduate in 1861. (At that time, cadets studied for five years.)

However, national events and his homestate's choice created a dilemma for Pelham. He wanted to graduate, believed in America and the Constitution, and felt allegiance to his state. When Alabama seceded, Pelham offered his services but waited to leave West Point, desperately hoping conflict might be avoided. "Although I am a most ultra Secessionist, I am still proud of the American Flag," he wrote to his family, trying to make sense of the situation and what he should do.

In the end, on April 17, 1861, John Pelham became one of the last Southern cadets to resign from West Point; he started his sneaky journey back to Alabama on April 22nd, traveling with his classmate and friend Tom Rosser, a future Confederate cavalry commander.

By May 15, 1861, Pelham received a commission as first lieutenant in the Confederate army with orders to report to Virginia and assist with ordinance. Assigned to Alburtis Battery with Johnston's army in the Shenandoah Valley, Pelham spent weeks teaching the new recruits how to drill, handle cannon, and prepare for battle while Alburtis, the commander, figured out how to command this new unit. Training seven hours per day paid off when the battery arrived on the battlefield near Manassas in July. Unexpectedly, Alburtis fell ill on the morning of July 21, 1861, leaving command to Lieutenant Pelham who maneuvered the batteries six outdated cannons into position on the far right of "Stonewall" Jackson's line, near Robinson House. By the end of the fight, Pelham had personally shot down three United States flags with his artillery skill, dueled with Griffin and Ricketts' Union batteries, maneuvered forward to halt Sherman's infantry advance, and secured the praise of his superiors. He had also – unknowingly – caught the attention of a Confederate cavalry commander, James Ewell Brown Stuart.