Major General Robert E Rodes of the Army of Northern Virginia

A Biography

Darrell Collins

• Publisher: Savas Beatie
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781611214208
• eBook ISBN: 9781611210095
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: American Civil War History
• Index: History

FINALIST FOR BIOGRAPHY, 2008, ARMY HISTORICAL FOUNDATION DISTINGUISHED BOOK AWARD WINNER, 2009, THE DOUGLAS SOUTHALL FREEMAN AWARD FOR BEST BOOK ON SOUTHERN HISTORY Jedediah Hotchkiss, Stonewall Jackson's renowned mapmaker, expressed the feelings of many contemporaries when he declared that Robert Rodes was the best division commander in the Army of Northern Virginia. This well-deserved accolade is all the more remarkable considering that Rodes, a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and a prewar railroad engineer, was one of a very few officers in Lee's army to rise so high without the benefit of a West Point education. Major General Robert E. Rodes of the Army of Northern Virginia: A Biography, is the first deeply researched scholarly biography on this remarkable Confederate officer. From First Manassas in 1861 to Third Winchester in 1864, Rodes served in all the great battles and campaigns of the legendary Army of Northern Virginia. He quickly earned a reputation as a courageous and inspiring leader who delivered hard-hitting attacks and rock steady defensive efforts. His greatest moment came at Chancellorsville in the spring of 1863, when he spearheaded Stonewall Jackson's famous flank attack that crushed the left wing of General Hooker's Army of the Potomac. Rodes began the conflict with a deep yearning for recognition and glory, coupled with an indifferent attitude toward religion and salvation. When he was killed at the height of his glorious career at Third Winchester on September 19, 1864, a trove of prayer books and testaments were found on his corpse. Based upon exhaustive new research, Darrell Collins's new biography breathes life into a heretofore largely overlooked Southern soldier. Although Rodes' widow consigned his personal papers to the flames after the war, Collins has uncovered a substantial amount of firsthand information to complete this compelling portrait of one of Robert E. Lee's most dependable field generals. Darrell L. Collins is the author of several books on the Civil War, including General William Averell's Salem Raid: Breaking the Knoxville Supply Line (1999) and Jackson's Valley Campaign: The Battles of Cross Keys and Port Republic (The Virginia Civil War Battles and Leaders Series, 1993). A native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, Darrell and his wife Judith recently relocated to Conifer, Colorado.

| Notes

Introduction

1 Willis Brewer, Alabama, Her History, Resources, War Record, and Public Men (Montgomery, AL.: Barrett & Brown, Steam Printers and Book Binders, 1872), 568; Jedediah Hotchkiss to wife, September 20, 1864, Jedediah Hotchkiss Papers, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

2 Thomas M. Owen, ed., Report of the Alabama History Commission to the Governor (Montgomery: Brown, 1901), 184.

3 Brewer, Alabama, 458; Charles D. Walker, Memorial, Virginia Military Institute (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1875), 457; Preston L. Ledford, Reminiscences of the Civil War, 1861-1865 (Thomasville, N.C.: News Printing House, 1909), 79.

Chapter One

1 Howard J. Rhodes, comp., The Rhodes Family in America (New York: Greenwich Book Publishers, 1959), 18-19, 393; Joseph Hunter, comp., “The Rodes Family,” The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, vol. vii (June 1900): 188-191; W. Paul Treanor, great-grandson of Robert Rodes, papers regarding Rodes genealogy, Robert Rodes file, Archives of the Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Va. (all references to these archives hereafter cited as VMI Archives); unp. letter of Jennie H. Fletcher, Blackwell-Rodes file, Manuscript Dept., Alderman Library, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.

2 The other cooler head being John Coles. Edgar Woods, History of Albemarle (Charlottesville: Michie Co. Printers, 1900), 306; W. Paul Treanor unp. papers regarding Rodes genealogy, Robert Rodes file, VMI Archives; “A List of Taxable Articles Taken by Magistrates appointed April 10th 1782, Together with the Amount of Tax Thereon,” Magazine of Albemarle County History, vol. 5 (1944-45): 61.

3 Hunter, “The Rodes Family,” 203-204; Woods, History of Albemarle, 306; W. Paul Treanor unp. papers, Robert Rodes file, VMI Archives.

4 Ibid.

5 V. W. Southall, sheriff, to David Rodes, May 2, 1822, Matthew Rodes will, Sept. 30, 1833, both from David Rodes Collection, Handley Regional Library, Winchester-Frederick County Historical Society, Winchester, Va. (all references to this source hereafter cited as David Rodes Coll.).

6 Various letters exchanged over a number of years between David and his brother Robert Rodes, David Rodes Coll.

7 W. Paul Treanor unp. papers, Robert Rodes file, VMI Archives.

8 While building up and running his own plantation, Joel Yancey also served as the chief overseer of Jefferson’s nearby second home, “Poplar Forest” (1815 to 1821). Rosa Faulkner Yancey, Lynchburg and Its Neighbors (Richmond, Va.: J.W. Ferguson, 1935), 29, 99, 269, 440-442; Lynchburg Virginian, Nov. 29, 1822; Rothsay destroyed by fire in 1912—W. Paul Treanor unp. paper in Robert Rodes file, VMI Archives.

9 Rhodes, Rhodes Family, 393; Deed Book P and will of David Rodes, Lynchburg Circuit Courthouse, Lynchburg, Va.; Edward Burton to David Rodes, March 3, 1838 (describes trip to Richmond, Phila.,& N.Y), Burton to Rodes, March 11, 1839 (“how are improvements in our store going, will they be completed by the time new goods arrive?”), Anthony M. Duprey to David Rodes, Feb. 12, 1839 (regarding store competition in Martinsburg), all from David Rodes Coll.; W. Paul Treanor unp. papers, Robert Rodes file, VMI Archives.

10 On March 8, 1825, Capt. David Rodes of 2nd Bn., 53 Va. Reg., issued battalion orders for muster and drill later that month, and later that year he issued regimental orders. David Rodes Coll.; Yancey, Lynchburg and Its Neighbors, 402; Christian W. Asbury, Lynchburg and Its People (Lynchburg, Va.: J.P. Bell Company, 1900), 84-86. The three other men appointed with David Rodes to assess Jefferson’s estate were Archibald Robinson, William Gough and Henry Langhorne. R.H. Early, Campbell Chronicles and Family Sketches (Lynchburg, Va.: J.P. Bell, 1927), 276.

11 Asbury, Lynchburg and Its People, 92-96.

12 Thomas M. Owen, History of Alabama,4 vols. (Chicago: S.J. Clark Pub. Co., 1921), vol. 4, 1456; Presbyterian Cemetery, Lynchburg, Va.; Yancey, Lynchburg and Its Neighbors, 99.

13 Allen S. Chambers, Lynchburg: An Architectural History (Charlottesville, Va.: University of...

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication Page
• FM
• Content
• Maps
• Introduction
• Acknowledgments
• From Childhood to Manhood
• The Engineer
• From Engineer to Brigadier General
• The Peninsula
• Maryland & Fredericksburg
• Chancellorsville
• Across the Potomac, Again
• Gettysburg
• Bristoe, Kelly's Ford, and Mine Run
• The Overland Campaign
• Into the Valley
• Epilogue
• Notes
• Bibliography