A Melancholy Affair at the Weldon Railroad: The Vermont Brigade, June 23, 1864

A Melancholy Affair at the Weldon Railroad examines what occurred on a single afternoon to a brigade of Vermonters during the last year of the Civil War, and why it happened. Vermont, though a small, rural state, contributed far beyond its size and wealth to preserve the Union in the struggle of the Civil War. The worst moment and greatest sacrifice for Vermont was the disaster that befell the proud Vermont Brigade of the Army of the Potomac on June 23, 1864-forever "Black Thursday" in the Green Mountain State. Cowardliness, negligence and inept behavior by multiple officers resulted in the needless capture of more than four hundred Vermonters by the Confederates at the Petersburg & Weldon Railroad south of Petersburg, Virginia. The enlisted men were sent to Andersonville and later to other Confederate prisons where 60 percent of them perished. Many of the survivors came home mere wrecks of men. Exactly what occurred at the Weldon Railroad-what went wrong and who was to blame-is thoroughly examined for the first time. The Vermonters' Andersonville experience is studied to understand the cause of the lethal statistics, and the performance of the Confederate and Federal commanders is assessed. The debacle at the Weldon Railroad explains much about the problems confronting Ulysses S. Grant in his attempt to crush the Army of Northern Virginia and end the war in 1864. The story of the suffering endured by the four hundred Vermonters captured at the Weldon Railroad is a tale of remarkable courage and devotion to country. Book jacket.