Dartmouth's Forgotten Hero

By Michael C. Russell | Friday, March 3, 2006

War is one of few things that inspire men to commit courageous acts, and Dartmouth men have proven no exception. Graduates of the College have served their country and its ideals from Antietam to Normandy to Kabul. Recently Dartmouth read of Nathaniel Fick ’99’s account of his time serving in Iraq in One Bullet Away , and learned that Dartmouth’s proud history of service was still alive. Unfortunately, many other men who served as nobly as Fick have been forgotten, their lives relegated to obscurity in the archives of Rauner Library, or to be remembered as a name on a wall. Yet all of those names have a story—a story that deserves at least a moment of our time.

One of these heroes was Colonel Frank W. Haskell 1854, who fought for the Union in the War Between the States and became famous, posthumously, for his letters home describing the conflict from Bull Run to Gettysburg. He was also the officer who rallied the Union brigades during Pickett’s Charge, a moment that many felt would preserve his heroic memory for generations. A warrior and a scholar, Colonel Haskell represents a generation of great leaders that Dartmouth sent to war.

Frank Haskell was born on July 13, 1828, in rural Turnbridge, Vermont. Like most boys of his age he worked the farm through most of the year and had only a month or so of schooling annually, after the harvest. However, by the age of 17, he had taught himself Latin, history, and English and was employed as a school master. This education proved sufficient to pass the Dartmouth Oral Exam in September 1850 and he enrolled soon after.

By the end of his four years at Dartmouth, Frank had established himself as a class leader, owing both to his age (he was four years older than his peers) and his imposing height of nearly six feet in a generation whose average was 5’4”. He excelled in the study of rhetoric during his time at Dartmouth, as well as ancient languages and philosophy. He established himself academically to the extent that he was nominated for membership to Phi Beta Kappa, which he flatly refused “on the ground that the local chapter had become more a social than an honorary society.” Still, when the eminent Professor of Latin Edwin D. Sanborn reflected on the young scholar’s time at the College, he said Haskell was as “ambitious as Lucifer and possibly mischievous and irregular.” This characterization as “mischievous” owes to his reputation as a prankster on campus.

After graduation, he moved to Madison, Wisconsin and read law under the apprenticeship of the distinguished firm of Orton, Orton and Atwood. Within two years, Haskell had won his admission to the bar and joined the firm as a junior partner. As he became a more visible lawyer and citizen in Madison, he also became more active in politics and soon became a devoted Republican; he was even chosen as a mayoral candidate in 1858.

Thanks to his education and activity in the Governor’s Guard, a civic group in Madison, Haskell received a commission as a First Lieutenant, and was assigned as Adjunct of Company I of the 6 th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry. This position should not be overlooked, for it made him the commander’s chief assistant, even though he held a low rank. He stayed on as an Adjunct of the regiment until April 14, 1862, at which time General John Gibbon, commander of the “Iron Brigade,” chose Haskell to serve as his aide-de-camp.

In his new capacity, Haskell saw the string of losses suffered by the Union leading up to the Battle of Gettysburg, and participated in the battle of Chancellorsville. His letters provide an insight into the attitude a disillusioned Union Army, at a time when Confederate hopes and confidence were riding high. However, as General Gibbon’s staff officer at Gettysburg, when the Army of the Potomac met Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, he was in a prime position to observe the watershed moment for the Union. At the side of Gibbons, who had command of the Union divisions at the center of the thrust of the famous Pickett’s Charge, Haskell observed not only the intense battle but also the politics of generals from his front row seat.

More importantly for the Union than Lieutenant Haskell’s observations were his deeds at this crucial moment. He traveled on horseback along the side of Cemetery Ridge, only yards from where Pickett’s force made its main thrust over the stone wall and into the 71 st Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment. In the face of the massive attack, the 71 st quickly began to scatter. Seeing this and finding no other officers, Haskell drew his saber, raised it above his head, and took command of the troops and had them hold the line against the rebels. Then he left the front lines to secure reinforcements. He found General Webb, who brought his three small regiments to support the besieged Pennsylvanians, and to his left flank, Colonel Hall, who provided further support.

Having secured reinforcements, Haskell mustered the scattered and broke troops of General Harrow’s brigade, hailing from Maine, Massachusetts, New York, and Minnesota, to attack the enemy’s right. Lt. Haskell formed the troops into ranks and marched them “double quick” at the rebels, and saw them first stagger and then break under the concentrated attacks by Hall’s troops. Haskell then called out to his troops as the lines broke, “See! See the ‘ chivalry, ’ See the gray-backs run!” With this rallying-cry, his troops roared and came to the aid of Hall, securing the crest for the Union forces.

Following the battle, Haskell wrote his famous letter to his brother describing the events that has since served as a primary source for many histories of the battle. Lt. Haskell’s unique perspective provides a riveting insider tale of the battle. He tells of riding with General Gibbon to meet General Hitchcock and discussing tactics for the battle, and later of General Meade riding up during Pickett’s Charge and inquiring as to the status of the battle. The letter also presents interesting characterizations of the other officers in the battle that can be, to say the least, scathing. It angered such men as General Webb, who objected to the idea that his Pennsylvania Brigade had nearly been routed. Since Haskell never meant for the letter to be published for posterity, it has a certain frankness that cannot be found in other works of the time.

After Gettysburg, Haskell became attached to General William Hays, Gibbons successor for the period of his convalescence. He proved himself capable of both leading troops and maintaining both morale and discipline throughout General Meade’s campaign against the Confederacy, as he had ever since his appointment. The Sixth Wisconsin began to earn a reputation in the Army of the Potomac as one of the best regiments and, according to the records of his superiors a great deal of this reputation was due to Haskell’s efforts.

Though the Democratic governor of Wisconisn had passed Haskell over for a promotion in 1862 because of Haskell’s Republican ties, Haskell proved himself to a good deal of the upper echelon of the Union Army in subsequent years. Once the Democratic governor’s term ended, Haskell was promoted to the first available colonelcy, that of the 36 th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. This amounted to a four rank jump for the former staff officer and fulfilled his ambition to lead a regiment into combat.

Unfortunately, the Army gave Haskell little time to train his new unit and within days of receiving their rifles, the 36 th Wisconsin boarded trains headed for Virginia to meet up with the Army of the Potomac. Prior to his first engagement, he remarked to a friend from Dartmouth that he had too little time with his unit and would most likely fall in his first battle. This prediction proved to be prescient, for his first engagement was the disastrous Battle of Cold Harbor, fought in Hanover County, where he died on June 3, 1864.

Though he suffered a tragic end, Frank Haskell’s penchant for displays of bravery, seen at both Fredericksburg and Gettysburg, earned him a place in the history of the Civil War. His distinguished rallying of the troops against Pickett’s Charge during Gettysburg earned him a place on a canvas commissioned in remembrance of the Battle.

However, today his courage is little-remembered, rather, the first hand accounts he compiled in letters home have established his reputation as an author. These descriptions, while caustic, proved popular and a lasting testament to the Dartmouth man who turned the tide at Cemetery Ridge in one of the most devastating encounters of the Civil War.

Dartmouth's Forgotten Hero

Article Tools

Related Articles