THE HASKELL MEMOIRS. The Personal Narrative of a Confederate Officer

A vivid and excellent Confederate memoir from a highly decorated and respected artillery commander.

“John Cheves Haskell came out of a rich French, Scotch and Scotch-Irish heritage of the Santee river country of South Carolina. The grandson of Langdon Cheves, a prominent South Carolinian, John was brought up on “The Home Place” plantation in the Abbeville district. When the Civil War broke out, he was a student at South Carolina College, but he left his textbooks and joined Beauregard’s command at Charleston. His family was well represented in the conflict, for he had six brothers in the Confederate army.

Intelligent and enthusiastic, Haskell rose quickly in favor with his superior officers. He served on the staffs of Generals Joseph E. Johnston and G. W. Smith until he lost his right arm at Mechanicsville. After his recovery, he commanded the artillery in North Carolina until the late spring of 1863, when he was at last given an opportunity to display his talents as a field commander of artillery. At Gettysburg Haskell jointly commanded an artillery battalion in Longstreet’s corps, himself in the Richmond-Petersburg lines, and was chosen by General Lee to lead the Confederate artillery to the place of surrender at Appomattox. His attitude under fire won the consistent praise of his superiors during the war, especially at Gaines Mill, where he was praised by no less than five generals”. - THOMAS LAWRENCE CONNELLY