John Houston Thorpe
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In the 1920s, he began gathering historical documentation of his old regiment which he eventually published as an official history of the regiment. Many years later Harry Turtledove found this book to be a very useful reference in writing The Guns of the South.
John Houston Thorpe in "The Last Reunion"
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After some reticence, John Houston Thorpe decided to attend a reunion of Civil War veterans in Richmond in 1932. He generally enjoyed himself, but was painfully aware of his age. He befriended a number of veterans, especially an old forager named Jeb Ledbetter.
Some of the events were business meetings of the United Confederate Veterans, the organization which ran the reunions. Thorpe didn't mind attending since it let him catch up on his sleep from late nights by napping. He wasn't the only veteran to do so either.
Other events, while not parties, were interesting. One was the dedication of the Richmond Battlefield Parks. While in of itself it might have been almost as boring as a business meeting, one of the speakers was U.S. Army Colonel U.S. Grant III, the grandson of the Federal General. On learning this, Thorpe immediately joined the crowd of veterans waiting to shake his hand and exchange a few words. Not all felt this way. Ledbetter refused but Thorpe noticed he clapped as loudly as anyone after Grant finished his speech.
One night, after an evening of dancing, Thorpe died in his sleep. His ghost joined those of the men who died in battle during the Civil War, re-enacting various battles in a far more congenial manner.[1]
John Houston Thorpe in The Guns of the SouthEdit
John Houston Thorpe commanded his company on Robert E. Lee's 1864 campaign against the Army of the Potomac, the campaign in which the Army of Northern Virginia took Washington City. His Company A was something of a rival to Company D of the 47th North Carolina.[2]
Capt. Thorpe took part in the Battle of the Wilderness on May 5-6, 1864. The first day of the battle scattered troops throughout the undergrowth such that Thorpe found himself the sole officer in the van of the Confederate advance south against General Hancock's II Corp on the second day. The advance was stalled by Federal soldiers' field fortifications despite the superiority of the Confederates new repeaters. Thorpe succeeded in rallying the mixed group of Confederate forces and organizing an assault which forced the Federals from their positions. Later that day, Thorpe's troops linked up with units of Longstreet's I Corp fighting north thus eliminating Hancock's II Corp as an organized threat.[3]
ReferencesEdit
- ↑ See, e.g., Departures, pgs. 156-173.
- ↑ The Guns of the South, pgs. 135-137.
- ↑ ibid.
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