THE HOWLING STORM Conflicting Worlds New Dimensions of the American Civil War T. Michael Parrish, Series Editor Kenneth W. Noe THE HOWLING STORM Weather, Climate, and the American Civil War Louisiana State University Press Baton Rouge Published by Louisiana State University Press www.lsupress.org Copyright © 2020 by Louisiana State University Press All rights reserved. Except in the case of brief quotations used in articles or reviews, no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any format or by any means without written permission of Louisiana State University Press. Printed in the United States of America First printing Designer: Laura Roubique Gleason Typeface: Whitman Printer and binder: Sheridan Books Jacket illustration: Winter Campaigning: The Army of the Potomac on the Move, 1863, by Alfred R. Waud. Courtesy Library of Congress. Maps created by Hal Jespersen. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Noe, Kenneth W., 1957– author. Title: The howling storm : climate, weather, and the American Civil War / Kenneth W. Noe. Other titles: Climate, weather, and the American Civil War Description: Baton Rouge : Louisiana State University Press, [2020] | Series: Conflicting worlds: new dimensions of the American Civil War | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2019058460 (print) | LCCN 2019058461 (ebook) | ISBN 978-0-8071- 7320-6 (cloth) | ISBN 978-0-8071-7419-7 (pdf) | ISBN 978-0-8071-7420-3 (epub) Subjects: LCSH: United States—History—Civil War, 1861–1865—Environmental aspects. | Nature—Effect of human beings on—United States—History—19th century. | United States—Environmental conditions—History—19th century. Classification: LCC E468.9 .N64 2020 (print) | LCC E468.9 (ebook) | DDC 973.7/1—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019058460 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019058461 For Nancy Contents Maps . . . . . ix Acknowledgments . . . . . xi Introduction . . . . . 1 1. The Darkest Clouds: Fort Sumter to Manassas, Spring and Summer 1861 . . . . . 12 2. The Elements Are Hard to Conquer: Missouri and West Virginia, Summer 1861–Winter 1862 . . . . . 35 3. Mud Is Triumphant: On the Potomac, Summer 1861–Winter 1862 . . . . . 56 4. Blood on Ice: The Trans- Mississippi, Winter–Spring 1862 . . . . . 78 5. Noah’s Day: The West, Winter 1861–62 . . . . . 97 6. A Perfect Bog: The Peninsula, Spring 1862 . . . . . 122 7. Hopeless, Starless Night: Virginia, Spring–Summer 1862 . . . . . 144 8. Most Awful Dry: Virginia, July–November 1862 . . . . . 162 9. Drought Almost Unprecedented: The West, May–October 1862 . . . . . 182 10. A Fruitless Winter Campaign: Fredericksburg, November 1862– January 1863 . . . . . 203 11. Misery: The Mississippi River Valley, September 1862–March 1863 . . . . . 227 viii  |  contents 12. Dreary: Tennessee, October 1862–April 1863 . . . . . 246 13. Nature Conspired against Us: Chancellorsville, January–May 1863 . . . . . 260 14. Unsurpassed in Inclemency: Gettysburg, May–August 1863 . . . . . 276 15. Heat and Drought: Vicksburg and Port Hudson, March–August 1863 . . . . . 299 16. A Specimen of the Four Seasons: Tennessee, May–October 1863 . . . . . 318 17. The Hardest Spell of Weather: East Tennessee, Winter 1863– 1864 . . . . . 340 18. At the North Pole: Virginia, Fall 1863–Winter 1864 | 359 19. Distant Thunder: The Mississippi River Valley, Winter–Spring 1864 . . . . . 375 20. Festering in the Sun: Virginia, April–June 1864 . . . . . 397 21. This God- Forsaken Country: Virginia, June–December 1864 . . . . . 417 22. Appeal against the Thunderstorm: Georgia, February–September 1864 . . . . . 436 23. Yankee Weather: The Trans-M ississippi and the West, September– December 1864 . . . . . 453 24. Tears of Rain: The War Ends, December 1864–May 1865 . . . . . 473 Conclusion . . . . . 492 Notes . . . . . 497 Works Consulted . . . . . 605 Index . . . . . 649 Maps Eastern Theater, 1861 . . . . . 23 Trans- Mississippi Theater, 1861–1862 . . . . . 37 Western Theater, September 1861–May 1862 . . . . . 98 Eastern Theater, March–November 1862 . . . . . 127 Western Theater, May–October 1862 . . . . . 186 Eastern Theater, December 1862–December 1863 . . . . . 205 Western Theater, December 1862–September 1863 . . . . . 238 Western Theater, November 1863–April 1865 . . . . . 341 Trans- Mississippi Theater, 1864 . . . . . 380 Overland Campaign, May–June 1864 . . . . . 400 Richmond- Petersburg Defensive Lines, 1864 . . . . . 420 Siege of Petersburg, Actions October 27, 1864 . . . . . 432 Appomattox Campaign, March 25–April 9, 1865 . . . . . 486