Swim, Surrender or Die

Book excerpt: The war was still new. Soldiers on both sides had much to learn about fighting and killing. The Union volunteers who fought at the Battle of Ball’s Bluff had never “seen the elephant”—that is, they had never been in battle. They saw war as all glory and honor, and if death and wounds occurred, they would happen to someone else. Ball’s Bluff taught them otherwise. It was a small battle that had little or no effect on the overall military picture. But its effects were far-reaching, causing profound grief to the residents of the White House and leading to the formation of the Committee of the Conduct of the War. That committee would decide who was responsible for the Union debacle at Ball’s Bluff, and they would have a profound influence on the rest of the Union war effort.