Winthrop, Theodore (1828-1861) [Special order of General Benjamin Butler]
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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC03915.02 Author/Creator: Winthrop, Theodore (1828-1861) Place Written: Fortress Monroe, Virginia Type: Autograph document signed Date: 7 June 1861 Pagination: 1 p. : docket ; 24.7 x 19.6 cm. Order a Copy
Written 3 days before Winthrop famously became the first Union officer killed in the Civil War. Winthrop was an aide de camp to General Benjamin Butler at Fortress Monroe in Virginia. Document marked "Special order." Winthrop wants this order posted for the "so-called Naval Brigade" to see. Says the Naval Brigade will be inspected. Says each man that passes will be formed into companies for a regiment. Will be given clothing and equipment and be allowed to elect their officers. All those who do not want to enlist will be sent back to New York. Before the war Winthrop was a novelist, lawyer, and world traveler. At the Battle of Big Bethel on 10 June 1861, he volunteered for General Ebenezer Pierce's staff and drew up a crude plan of battle. After a Federal attack to the enemy right flank was foiled, Winthrop lead an ill-fated assault on the Confederate left held by four companies of the 1st Regiment North Carolina Infantry, under the command of Colonel (later Lieutenant General) Daniel Harvey Hill. In the heat of battle, Winthrop leapt onto the trunk of a fallen tree and reportedly yelled, "One more charge boys, and the day is ours." Soon thereafter, he was killed by a musket ball to the heart and became the first casualty for the northern side in what history regards as the first pitched land battle of the Civil War. Ironically, ardent abolitionist Winthrop was shot by a Black Confederate soldier -- Private Sam Ashe of the 1st North Carolina.
Before the war Winthrop was a novelist, lawyer, and world traveler. At the Battle of Big Bethel on 10 June 1861, he volunteered for General Ebenezer Pierce's staff and drew up a crude plan of battle. After a Federal attack to the enemy right flank was foiled, Winthrop lead an ill-fated assault on the Confederate left held by four companies of the 1st Regiment North Carolina Infantry, under the command of Colonel (later Lieutenant General) Daniel Harvey Hill. In the heat of battle, Winthrop leapt onto the trunk of a fallen tree and reportedly yelled, "One more charge boys, and the day is ours." Soon thereafter, he was killed by a musket ball to the heart and became the first casualty for the northern side in what history regards as the first pitched land battle of the Civil War. Ironically, ardent abolitionist Winthrop was shot by a Black Confederate soldier -- Private Sam Ashe of the 1st North Carolina.
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