All for the Union: The Saga of One Northern Family Fighting the Civil War

When the South bombarded Fort Sumter in April 1861, the Ellithorpe family in rural New York answered President Lincoln’s call to defend the Union. For the next four years, the two Ellithorpe brothers and two of their brothers-in-law fought in some of the Civil War’s most storied regiments, on nearly every major battlefield in the East. In this utterly unique Civil War history/biography, John A. Simpson reconstructs the intertwined lives and wars of four Union soldiers, from Bull Run to Gettysburg and beyond.

When the Civil War broke out, Phillip Ellithorpe, Philander Ellithorpe, Asa Burleson, and Oliver Moore did not hesitate to volunteer to fight for the Union. Their service would encompass virtually every branch of the Northern army: infantry (including sharpshooters), cavalry (mounted and dismounted), and artillery as well as commissary, engineering, and ambulance duty. They would serve in six different regiments: the 13th Pennsylvania Reserves (the legendary Bucktails); the 27th New York Infantry (the Union Regiment); the 2nd New York Mounted Rifles; the 5th Vermont Infantry; the 1st New York Dragoons; and the 1st Minnesota, which gained immortality at Gettysburg. They would participate in the major battles of the war’s Eastern theater: First Bull Run, the Peninsula, Second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Grant’s Overland campaign through Petersburg. Phillip would die at Gettysburg, and the other three would return home and live under the shadow of the Civil War for the rest of their lives.

All for the Union tells the dramatic story of these four soldiers, weaving their lives and wars into a tapestry of how one family navigated home front and battle front during the Civil War. Based on 180 family letters, voluminous primary and second sources, and visits to homes and battlefields from Allegany County, New York, to Richmond, Virginia, All for the Union is a remarkable contribution to Civil War history.

1139799690
All for the Union: The Saga of One Northern Family Fighting the Civil War

When the South bombarded Fort Sumter in April 1861, the Ellithorpe family in rural New York answered President Lincoln’s call to defend the Union. For the next four years, the two Ellithorpe brothers and two of their brothers-in-law fought in some of the Civil War’s most storied regiments, on nearly every major battlefield in the East. In this utterly unique Civil War history/biography, John A. Simpson reconstructs the intertwined lives and wars of four Union soldiers, from Bull Run to Gettysburg and beyond.

When the Civil War broke out, Phillip Ellithorpe, Philander Ellithorpe, Asa Burleson, and Oliver Moore did not hesitate to volunteer to fight for the Union. Their service would encompass virtually every branch of the Northern army: infantry (including sharpshooters), cavalry (mounted and dismounted), and artillery as well as commissary, engineering, and ambulance duty. They would serve in six different regiments: the 13th Pennsylvania Reserves (the legendary Bucktails); the 27th New York Infantry (the Union Regiment); the 2nd New York Mounted Rifles; the 5th Vermont Infantry; the 1st New York Dragoons; and the 1st Minnesota, which gained immortality at Gettysburg. They would participate in the major battles of the war’s Eastern theater: First Bull Run, the Peninsula, Second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Grant’s Overland campaign through Petersburg. Phillip would die at Gettysburg, and the other three would return home and live under the shadow of the Civil War for the rest of their lives.

All for the Union tells the dramatic story of these four soldiers, weaving their lives and wars into a tapestry of how one family navigated home front and battle front during the Civil War. Based on 180 family letters, voluminous primary and second sources, and visits to homes and battlefields from Allegany County, New York, to Richmond, Virginia, All for the Union is a remarkable contribution to Civil War history.

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All for the Union: The Saga of One Northern Family Fighting the Civil War

All for the Union: The Saga of One Northern Family Fighting the Civil War

by John A. Simpson
All for the Union: The Saga of One Northern Family Fighting the Civil War

All for the Union: The Saga of One Northern Family Fighting the Civil War

by John A. Simpson

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Overview

When the South bombarded Fort Sumter in April 1861, the Ellithorpe family in rural New York answered President Lincoln’s call to defend the Union. For the next four years, the two Ellithorpe brothers and two of their brothers-in-law fought in some of the Civil War’s most storied regiments, on nearly every major battlefield in the East. In this utterly unique Civil War history/biography, John A. Simpson reconstructs the intertwined lives and wars of four Union soldiers, from Bull Run to Gettysburg and beyond.

When the Civil War broke out, Phillip Ellithorpe, Philander Ellithorpe, Asa Burleson, and Oliver Moore did not hesitate to volunteer to fight for the Union. Their service would encompass virtually every branch of the Northern army: infantry (including sharpshooters), cavalry (mounted and dismounted), and artillery as well as commissary, engineering, and ambulance duty. They would serve in six different regiments: the 13th Pennsylvania Reserves (the legendary Bucktails); the 27th New York Infantry (the Union Regiment); the 2nd New York Mounted Rifles; the 5th Vermont Infantry; the 1st New York Dragoons; and the 1st Minnesota, which gained immortality at Gettysburg. They would participate in the major battles of the war’s Eastern theater: First Bull Run, the Peninsula, Second Bull Run, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and Grant’s Overland campaign through Petersburg. Phillip would die at Gettysburg, and the other three would return home and live under the shadow of the Civil War for the rest of their lives.

All for the Union tells the dramatic story of these four soldiers, weaving their lives and wars into a tapestry of how one family navigated home front and battle front during the Civil War. Based on 180 family letters, voluminous primary and second sources, and visits to homes and battlefields from Allegany County, New York, to Richmond, Virginia, All for the Union is a remarkable contribution to Civil War history.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780811770880
Publisher: Globe Pequot Publishing
Publication date: 04/01/2022
Sold by: SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format: eBook
Pages: 432
File size: 3 MB

About the Author

John A. Simpson is a retired high school history teacher. He earned a doctorate in history from the University of Oregon and has written a handful of books on the Civil War and several on baseball history. He lives in Kelso, Washington.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Introduction 1

Part I Beginnings

Chapter 1 In Search of the Ellithorpes of Western New York 5

Part II War

Chapter 2 Duty, Honor, Country: The Ellithorpe Brothers Prepare for War 29

Chapter 3 The Road to Bull Run 57

Chapter 4 Retooling the Army of the Potomac 77

Chapter 5 The Fight for Richmond: The Peninsula Campaign and the Seven Days 103

Chapter 6 Watchful Waiting and Second Bull Run 131

Chapter 7 The Loss of Innocence in Maryland 149

Chapter 8 The Saddest Hour at Fredericksburg 171

Chapter 9 "I Have Seen Enough of This Unjust War": The Ellithorpe Brothers and the Limits of Patriotism 193

Chapter 10 "Death before Dishonor": Gettysburg 219

Chapter 11 In and Out of the Saddle: The Overland Campaign 245

Part III Remembrance

Chapter 12 A Trunkful of Letters 271

Postscript: Bivouac of the Dead 279

Appendix A Order of Battle for the Ellithorpes 303

Appendix B Bucktail Requiem 309

Notes 323

Bibliography 391

Index 409

What People are Saying About This

New York Military Affairs Symposium

"All for the Union is not only based on the family letters, but also draws on other sources, is well-written, and a fast moving, engaging read. This reviewer came away with a better understanding of the many aspects of the family and the regiments that the men served with."

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