Frank A. Haskell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1828-07-13)July 13, 1828 |
| Died | June 3, 1864(1864-06-03) (aged 35) |
| Buried | Silver Lake Cemetery Portage, Wisconsin |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | United States Army Union Army |
| Service years | 1861–64 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Commands | 36th Reg. Wis. Vol. Infantry 1st Brig., 2nd Div.,II Corps |
| Conflicts | American Civil War |
| Other work | Lawyer, author |
Franklin Aretas Haskell (July 13, 1828 – June 3, 1864) was an American lawyer andUnion Army officer during theAmerican Civil War. He spent much of the war as a top aide to GeneralJohn Gibbon, as Gibbon ascended the ranks from brigade to division to corps command. On the third day of theBattle of Gettysburg, their corps bore the brunt of the pivotal Confederate assault; Haskell personally rallied the troops of Gibbon's division after Gibbon was wounded. Gibbon later commented that "I have always thought that to him, more than to any one man, are we indebted for the repulse of Lee's assault."
In 1864, Haskell was promoted to colonel and given his own command, but he died just a few months later at theBattle of Cold Harbor. Before his death, Haskell wrote a famous account of the Battle of Gettysburg that was published posthumously.
Haskell was born atTunbridge, Vermont, to Aretas and Anna E. Folsom Haskell. He moved toWisconsin to study law in the office of his brother Harrison. He graduated fromDartmouth College in 1854 and returned toMadison, Wisconsin, to practice law.[1] During this period, Haskell became the drill master of amilitia company.[2]
When the Civil War began, Haskell enlisted inCol.Lysander Cutler's6th Wisconsin Infantry ofBrig. Gen.Rufus King's Brigade. This brigade would eventually be known as theIron Brigade. He served asadjutant for the regiment with the rank offirst lieutenant until April 1862, when he was madeaide-de-camp for Brig. Gen.John Gibbon, the new Commander of theIron Brigade.[1] While with the Iron Brigade, Haskell saw action during theNorthern Virginia Campaign and theMaryland Campaign. When Gibbon was promoted to command of the 2nd Division,I Corps, Haskell went with him and remained his aide. This division saw action at theBattle of Fredericksburg. After Gibbon suffered a wound at Fredericksburg, he took time off to recuperate and had been replaced in command of his division. He was given command of the 2nd Division,II Corps and again Haskell remained his aide. This division saw action during theChancellorsville Campaign.[3]
Gibbon's Division headed north towardPennsylvania during theGettysburg campaign and was inTaneytown, Maryland, when theBattle of Gettysburg began.[4] Gibbon was given temporary command of II Corps after I Corps CommanderMaj. Gen.John F. Reynolds was killed and Maj. Gen.George G. Meade ordered II Corps Commander Maj. Gen.Winfield S. Hancock to Gettysburg to assume command.[5] Haskell and II Corps did not arrive on the battlefield until July 2, 1863. There they took part in the defense ofCemetery Ridge, the area around the Nicholas Codori Farm, and supportedIII Corps, commanded byDaniel E. Sickles, in their defense of thePeach Orchard.[6] In his recollections of the Battle, Haskell was highly critical of Sickles as a soldier and a person as well as his move forward that led to his III Corps being attacked by the Confederates.[7]
That night, Gibbon took part in a council of war called by Meade which Haskell recorded in his recollections of the Battle.[8] On July 3, Gibbon was back in command of his division and Haskell was by his side. Late that morning, Gibbon hosted a meal for much of the Union high command which Haskell also recorded for posterity.[9] Shortly after the luncheon broke up Confederate artillery began to shell the area where Gibbon's men were positioned. Gibbon's position bore the brunt of the Confederate attack known asPickett's Charge.[10] Haskell rallied Gibbon's men after the Confederates had breached the stone wall and Gibbon had been wounded. Hancock,[11] Gibbon,[12] Brig. Gen.William Harrow,[13] Col.Norman J. Hall,[14] and Col. A.F. Devereux (19th Mass.)[15] commended Haskell for his performance, with Gibbon later writing that "I have always thought that to him, more than to any one man, are we indebted for the repulse of Lee's assault."[16]
A few weeks after the Battle, Haskell wrote the account of what he had experienced at Gettysburg to his brother Harrison inPortage, Wisconsin.[1] At the time, Harrison could not even get a newspaper to publish the account. Haskell's account would be published in 1898 as a book calledThe Battle of Gettysburg. This account was hailed byBruce Catton as "One of the genuine classics of Civil War literature."[17]
Gibbon and Haskell returned to Gettysburg in November 1863 to attend the dedication of theSoldiers' National Cemetery and witnessed PresidentAbraham Lincoln'sGettysburg Address after recreating their role in the battle for some tourists on Cemetery Ridge.[18]
On February 9, 1864, Haskell was appointed colonel of the36th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment.[19] On June 3, he assumed command of the 1st Brigade, 2nd Division, II Corps, when its commander Col. Henry Boyd McKeen was killed during theBattle of Cold Harbor. Shortly after taking command he was shot through the temple and killed while leading a charge.[1][20] A distraught Gibbon cried out: "My God! I have lost my best friend, and one of the best soldiers in theArmy of the Potomac has fallen!"[21] Gibbon wrote to his wife that he had planned to promote "poor Haskell" to field command after the battle.[22]
Haskell's writings were instrumental in influencing the direction ofPeter Rothermel's1870 painting of Pickett's Charge.[23]
Haskell's account is reprinted in volume 43, "American Historical Documents", ofThe Harvard Classics.
InThe Killer Angels, the novel byMichael Shaara, part 4 ("Friday, July 3, 1863"), chapter 3 ("Chamberlain"), Col. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain goes to seeGen. Sykes, his corps commander, where there is a lunch for the senior commanders, and is finally taken some chicken by Lt. Haskell himself. That lunch is from Haskell's account.[24]
InThe Civil War, the documentary byKen Burns, the subtitle of Episode 5, "The Universe of Battle", comes from Haskell's account, where, shortly after the lunch, he and Gen. Gibbon are sitting, watching the great cannonade of the third day. During "Gettysburg: The Third Day",Garrison Keillor reads a relevant excerpt.[25]
