Dahlgren affair facts for kids
The Dahlgren affair was a big event during the American Civil War. It happened after a failed attack by the Union Army on Richmond, Virginia, which was the capital of the Confederacy. This attack took place in March 1864. Brigadier General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick and Colonel Ulric Dahlgren led the raid. Their goal was to free Union prisoners held at Belle Isle and damage important Confederate buildings and supplies.
The attack didn't work. Colonel Dahlgren was killed while trying to escape during the Battle of Walkerton. Papers found on his body caused a huge scandal. These papers seemed to show orders to free Union prisoners, give them things to burn, set Richmond on fire, and even kill Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his top advisors (called his "cabinet").
Newspapers in Richmond quickly published these papers. This made people in the South very angry. Many thought President Abraham Lincoln himself had given these harsh orders. An angry crowd even dug up Dahlgren's body and treated it badly in Richmond. News of how Dahlgren's body was treated made people in the North furious. Union newspapers and Dahlgren's father, Union Navy Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren, said the papers were fake. Union Major General George Meade had to personally tell Confederate General Robert E. Lee that the Union Army had not approved such orders. This whole argument might have even played a part in John Wilkes Booth's decision to kill President Lincoln later on.
The original papers later disappeared. So, no one has ever truly figured out if they were fake, or if they were written by Dahlgren, Kilpatrick, Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, or President Lincoln.
Contents
Why the Raid Happened
In the winter of 1863-1864, Confederate prison camps were very crowded. Places like Belle Isle and Libby Prison were overflowing. This was partly because the Confederacy refused to exchange captured Black Union soldiers for Confederate prisoners. It was thought that about 1,500 Union soldiers were dying each month in these prisons.
Spies reported that Richmond, the Confederate capital, had very few guards. Because of this, Brigadier General Hugh Judson Kilpatrick got permission to lead a daring cavalry raid on the city. Kilpatrick was known for being reckless, which earned him the nickname "Kill-Cavalry." He asked Colonel Ulric Dahlgren to help with the attack. Dahlgren had lost a leg after being hurt at the Battle of Gettysburg. He was very eager to return to fighting after he recovered.
The Kilpatrick-Dahlgren Raid
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Kilpatrick and Dahlgren led this operation to attack Richmond, Virginia. Their main goals were to rescue Union prisoners from Belle Isle and destroy Confederate supplies and buildings. This operation is also known as the Battle of Walkerton.
On February 28, Kilpatrick and Dahlgren started their journey from Stevensburg, Virginia. Kilpatrick planned to attack Richmond from the North with 3,500 soldiers. Dahlgren was to attack from the South with 500 men. An unexpected winter storm brought snow, sleet, and rain. This bad weather slowed down their attack.
Dahlgren's troops were guided to a shallow crossing point on the James River. But they couldn't cross because recent rains had made the water too high. Dahlgren then changed his plan. He led his troops to attack Richmond from the East. They heard sounds of fighting and rushed to help Kilpatrick. Instead, they ran right into a Confederate Home Guard force, which stopped their advance. Dahlgren then retreated East, trying to meet up with Kilpatrick's main force.
Confederate soldiers kept bothering the Union troops as they retreated. The Union forces became separated. On the night of March 3rd, Dahlgren and some of his men were ambushed. This happened near King and Queen Court House. About 150 Virginia cavalrymen, led by Lieutenant James Pollard, attacked them. Dahlgren was shot four times and died right there on the battlefield. Several other Union soldiers were killed in the ambush, and 135 were captured.
The Dahlgren Papers Are Found
A 13-year-old boy named William Littlepage searched Dahlgren's body. He was looking for valuable items. Instead, he found a packet of papers. He gave these papers to his teacher, Edward Halbach. The papers seemed to be orders. They said to free Union prisoners from Belle Isle. Then, the prisoners were to be given things to burn. The city of Richmond was to be set on fire. The orders also said Union troops should capture and kill Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his top advisors.
Other reports say that Major Heros von Borcke led the group that killed Dahlgren. These reports claim von Borcke searched the body and found the papers. His lieutenant then gave them to Fitzhugh Lee. The names 'Halbach' or 'Littlepage' are not found in some historical newspaper records related to Dahlgren's death.
One of the papers supposedly said:
The men must keep together and well in hand, and once in the city it must be destroyed and Jeff. Davis and Cabinet killed.
Halbach quickly told his commander, Captain Richard H. Bagby, about the discovery. At 2 p.m. on March 3, Bagby gave the papers to Lieutenant James Pollard. Pollard was told to deliver them to his commander, Colonel Richard L. T. Beale. Beale then ordered them to be taken to the Confederate command in Richmond right away. Pollard arrived in Richmond at noon on March 4. He gave the papers to General Fitzhugh Lee. Lee was shocked by what they said. He immediately took the papers to President Davis and Secretary of State Judah P. Benjamin. Davis read the documents quietly. When he saw the order about killing leaders, he paused. He then said to Benjamin, "That means you, Mr. Benjamin." Lee was then told to take the papers to the War Department. There, Secretary of War James A. Seddon received them. Seddon decided to make the documents public. He asked Davis for approval to do so. The Richmond newspapers were called for a meeting at the War Department. They were given copies of the orders. The next morning, March 5, the papers were published. The Richmond Examiner printed them, which caused huge anger in the South. The newspapers compared Dahlgren to Attila the Hun and suggested that Lincoln himself had given these orders.
Union Denies the Papers
Newspapers in the North claimed the orders were fake. Dahlgren's father, Union Navy Rear Admiral John A. Dahlgren, strongly said his son would never be part of such a scandal. Union Major General George Meade had to personally promise Confederate General Robert E. Lee that the Union Army had not approved these orders. This big argument might have helped John Wilkes Booth decide to kill President Abraham Lincoln a year later.
It was never proven who wrote the orders. It could have been Dahlgren, Kilpatrick, Edwin M. Stanton, or President Lincoln. The papers misspelled Dahlgren's name, which made some people doubt he wrote them. After the war, the Confederate Government's papers were collected by Francis Lieber. They were moved to Washington D.C. The Dahlgren papers were specifically asked for by Stanton. They have not been seen since.
Many historians, like Duane Schultz in his book The Dahlgren Affair: Terror and Conspiracy in the Civil War, believed the papers were fake. They thought the papers were made to excuse the many plots by the Confederate Secret Service to kidnap Lincoln or blow up the White House. However, a new study of the handwriting on the papers by the Smithsonian Channel seems to suggest the documents are real. This study suggests that Stanton might have been the one who ordered the assassination.
Images for kids
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Ambuscade and Death of Colonel Dahlgren from Harper's Weekly
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Dahlgren Raid Headline March 1864
