Henry Kyd Douglas (September 29, 1838 – December 18, 1903) was aConfederate staff officer during theAmerican Civil War. He participated in most of the battles of theSecond Corps, Army of Northern Virginia; serving on the staffs ofStonewall Jackson and his successors. Severelywounded on the third day of thebattle of Gettysburg, he became aprisoner of war for almost ten months. At the end of the war, he commanded a brigade at the last battle of the war. After the war he returned to his civilian occupation as alawyer, got involved in state politics, later as aGold Democrats, and became an officer in theMaryland National Guard, eventually holding the appointment asAdjutant General. Today Douglas is foremost known for his wartimememoir,I rode with Stonewall, first published in 1940.
Douglas was the son of the Scottish bornminister, Robert Douglas and his wife Mary, born Robertson. The Reverend Douglas was anephew of theAttorney General of PennsylvaniaSamuel Douglas, and studied theology at the Theological Seminary atYork, Pennsylvania, before being admitted to the ministry in theGerman Reformed Church.[1] Henry Kyd Douglas grew up onFerry Hill Place, on the opposite site of thePotomac River fromShepherdstown, then inVirginia, not far fromSharpsburg, Maryland.[2] His home not being more than two miles fromHarpers Ferry, he watched the storming of the engine house by theMarines that endedJohn Brown's raid, and later witnessed thetreason trial that followed.[3] Douglas graduated fromFranklin & Marshall College inPennsylvania 1858, studied law inLexington, Virginia, and was admitted to thebar atCharleston, then in Virginia, 1860. Having moved toSt. Louis, he returned to Virginia at the outbreak of the civil war.[4]
In April 1861, Douglasenlisted at Harpers Ferry as aprivate in Company B,2nd Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment which formed part of what was later to become theStonewall Brigade. The reality of war struck home when the Virginia forces retreated and he was among the men detailed to burn the bridge over the Potomac at Shepherdstown, in which his father ownedstock. Douglas rose through the ranks, fighting atBull Run as afirst sergeant, and commanding his company as alieutenant atKernstown. In the spring of 1862 he was, through the intervention of his friendSandie Pendleton, detailed on special duty atStonewall Jackson'sheadquarters.[5][6] Soon after having joined Jackson's HQ, Douglas made an extraordinary ride of 103 miles, fromMount Jackson toBrandy Station, crossing theBlue Ridge Mountains in a heavyrainstorm, with orders from Stonewall toGeneral Ewell.[7] As a reward for his efficient fulfillment of duty, he was, the day after his return to HQ, madeassistant inspector general on Jackson's staff.[8][9]
Douglas' task as inspector general was to see to the proper execution of orders and commands given. When Stonewall's men were destroying a section of theB&O railroad, it was his job to check its thorough completion; being in the saddle all day and inspecting the whole stretch to be demolished. In battle, he rode with orders and reports. AtAntietam, he wore out two horses and fainted of exhaustion already at noon. A delicate task that once fell upon Douglas was when ordered to relieve GeneralA. P. Hill from his command, due to his division's tardiness. Hill's vehement protests eventually led to hisarrest by order of Stonewall. Another time, Douglas was approached byBelle Boyd, whom he knew since before the war, in the afternoon just before thebattle of Front Royal, who urged him to inform General Jackson that the enemy force was very small and easy to defeat through a rapid advance.[10][11][12]
Late in the fall of 1862, when the army was about to go into winter camp, a delegation from his old company approached Douglas and wanted him to take command of the company. After consulting with Stonewall, he accepted a commission as captain of Co. B, 2nd Virginia Vols. Soon thereafter, he also became assistant inspector general of the Stonewall Brigade, while keeping his company command. When Stonewall Jackson fell wounded atChancellorsville, Douglas visited him and spent an hour talking about the recent battle. After Stonewall's death, Douglas accompaniedMrs. Jackson and the staff with the general's body on the train toRichmond. In the funeral procession, he sat with the other staff officers in the carriage behind Mrs. Jackson and PresidentJefferson Davis, and saw Stonewall's earthly remains put onlit de parade in theConfederate Capitol. When Douglas returned from Richmond, he accepted an offer fromGeneral Edward Johnson, the newcommanding officer of the Stonewall Division, to beassistant adjutant general, with the rank ofmajor, on his staff.[6][13][14]
On the third day of thebattle of Gettysburg, Douglas was severelywounded in his left shoulder, for a timeparalyzed in his left arm, while guidingExtra-Billy Smith's brigade into position during an early morning attack onCulp's Hill. He was taken several miles towardsHunterstown, and left in the house of the Henry Picking farm, that served as a Confederate field hospital, while quite a number of wounded soldiers had been left in thebarn. His mother and sister, who at the news of his wounding had travelled through the lines, soon came to visit him. After a few days, amajor of the 4th Pennsylvania Cavalryparoled Douglas and the soldiers in the barn. Tendered with care by the Picking family he soon could receive visits from friends he had known in college. After a fortnight, Douglas was moved to theGettysburg Theological Seminary. His doctor there was an old college chum, Henry Leaman, and Douglas complimented the care with which he was treated. He could now walk about and visited the town in female company. In Gettysburg, Douglas remained for a month before he was taken toBaltimore hospital. As he was held as aprisoner of war, Douglas began a lengthy correspondence with theUnited States Army in order to convince it to honor his parole. That was denied, however, on the grounds of it being issued by an officer who had exceeded his powers. After a couple of months in Baltimore, Douglas had recovered enough to be transferred to theprison camp for Confederate officers atJohnson's Island. He found the camp cold, very cold, the food sufficient, the treatment, although not as friendly as in Baltimore, kind enough. In February 1864, Douglas was transferred to thePoint Lookout prison camp in southernMaryland. Ill from the cold at Johnson's Island, he was hospitalized in the new camp.[15][16][17]
At the end of March 1864, Douglas, through the intervention ofGeneral Benjamin Butler, was sent home, although not formally exchanged. On the southbound steamer were not only a number of properly exchanged officers and soldiers, but also one ofPresident Lincoln'ssisters-in-law, who returned toAlabama with a special pass from the president. On parole, Douglas could go back to the army before being formally exchanged. It was not until the first day of thebattle of the Wilderness that Douglas returned to the service, as assistant adjutant general (AAG) ofGeneral Edward Johnson's division, fighting at theWilderness and atSpotsylvania, where he managed to escape when the general and 3,000 of his men were captured. During the rest of the battle, Douglas served onGeneral Gordon's staff, later being transferred toGeneral Early's division as AAG. Early took command of theSecond Corps, Army of Northern Virginia atCold Harbor, taking his staff officers with him to the new command, Douglas becoming the AAG of that corps.[6][18][19]
As theUnion Army drove the Confederates up theShenandoah Valley,General Lee, June 12, 1864, ordered Early and his corps to strike at the Union forces, proceed down the Valley and threatenWashington, with the hope ofGrant diverting his forces in order to protect thecapital.[20] Outside Washington, Douglas rode bySilver Spring,Francis P. Blair's home, saw the house full of Confederate stragglers, and chased them away. It then became headquarters for Early, at least for a night. Having failed to make any permanent impression on the defenses of Washington, Early's corps returned to the Shenandoah, in order to fightSheridan's advancing army. GeneralJohn B. Gordon took command of the Second Corps, November 11, with Douglas remaining as AAG. The corps was now transferred to the trenches ofPetersburg, making a failed but bloody attack onFort Stedman, March 25. Douglas now became commander of the much depletedWalker's Brigade, which he led atSailor's Creek and at the last battle of the civil war in Virginia, atAppomattox Court House, and at the final surrender.[6][21]
Immediately after he had returned from the war, Douglas ran into trouble with the United States military authorities. He wasarrested and sentenced to three months inprison, because he had been seen in public in his Confederate uniform. Douglas did not serve the full term of thesentence, but was dragged into theinvestigation after theassassination of President Lincoln, taken to Washington as awitness before themilitary commission that tried theassassins. After his release in Washington he was arrested, and discharged several times, before taken toFort Delaware where he after some time in confinement was set free by military orders.[22] Douglas practiced law, at first inWinchester, but after two years, he moved his law office to Hagerstown, where he remained for the rest of his life. Douglas was a successful lawyer and an effective speaker. He ran for Congress in 1886, and was leader of theGold Democrats in Maryland 1896. He was appointedassociate justice of theMaryland Court of Appeals byGovernor Jackson, but was not confirmed in thejudicial elections in November the same year. Douglas kept his military interest alive; in 1876 appointedcolonel on the staff ofGovernor Carrol. During therailway strike of 1877, Douglas commanded the Maryland forces in the Western Department of the state. His commission expiring with the outgoing governor, Douglas in 1880 became captain of a Hagerstownmilitia company (Hagerstown Light Infantry), and the following yearlieutenant colonel of the 1st Infantry Battalion,Maryland National Guard, andcolonel of the 1st Infantry Regiment, Maryland National Guard 1886 until 1891. Douglas was appointedadjutant general of Maryland 1892, and served underGovernor Brown's term, until 1896. During theSpanish–American War, he was offered a commission asbrigadier general ofvolunteers, but had to decline due to ill health. Douglas died in Hagerstown oftuberculosis in 1903.[23][24][25]
Douglas maintained an interest in the history and memory of the civil war all his life. He was a member of theSociety of the Army and Navy of the Confederate States in the state of Maryland, and had a special interest in theWashington Confederate Cemetery and theOak Grove Cemetery. During the war, Douglas kept adiary, which he used after the war as a source for a largemanuscriptmemoir finished about 1867. The manuscript was later used in writing his two contributions toBattles and Leaders of the Civil War: "Stonewall Jackson's Intentions at Harper's Ferry" and "Stonewall Jackson in Maryland". In 1899, Douglas reworked the manuscript. At his death, hisnephew inherited the manuscript, and it was not published until 1940, asI Rode with Stonewall, by the University of North Carolina Press.[24][26][27][28][29]
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