Abner Doubleday

Doubleday

(1819-1893)

Abner Doubleday the staunch Union loyalist from New York, served under some of the most influential men in Civil War history. President Lincoln was one of those men.

The support that the man from New York demonstrated to Lincoln and the anti-slavery organizers, created quite a stir in South Carolina. Doubleday saw the Carolinians as traitors against the Union and the entire United States and vowed to rid the country of their presence. Doubleday had few friends left in Charleston after his public comments. Doubleday laid low for a bit. His wife on the other hand did just the opposite; she loaded up and went to Washington to speak with the President herself. It seemed that Mrs. Doubleday had a bone to pick with the President on a variety of subjects. She decided since her husband had already run his mouth, she might as well too.

During the battle of Ft. Sumter, Doubleday fired the very first defensive shot in response to the rebel shelling which ignited the Civil War. Abner Doubleday was there when the Union forces defended, to no avail, the tiny ill-equipped coastal fortress in South Carolina. His expert note-taking ability proved to be quite beneficial to himself and his family as his wife, on her trip to Washington, showed the letters to the President.

The essential qualities of an effective leader are control and direction, Abner Doubleday readily displayed both of these characteristics on the battlefield and off. The Civil War saw Doubleday leading and fighting in over six of the minor battles that happened near the Carolinas and some parts of Georgia. The ability of Doubleday to get in and get out was one of the many positive qualities that made him an instrumental leader in the war. Doubleday also fought bravely during the first day of the battle of Gettysburg holding off the rebel advance for 5 hours before he and his men were forced to retreat to Cemetery Ridge. It was Doubleday and his corps that were the first infantry troops to arrive on the field in support of John Buford’s cavalry. His men were severely outnumbered and suffered horrendous casualties during the fighting.

It was still the legacy that he created at the battle of Ft. Sumter, and those intrepid letters detailing the action at the fort, that made Doubleday an icon in Civil War history. Besides that battle, Doubleday did little else in terms of winning or losing a battle. He just did not have any other major battle experience, which explains why there is little written about the man. If the opportunity would have presented itself to the man from New York, than it is certain that he would have risen to the occasion.

General Doubleday died in his sleep at his retirement home in Mendham, New Jersey, in 1893. The reasons for his death are well documented as he was a sort of celebrity for a sport he claimed not being responsible for. The sport of baseball was deemed invented by Abner Doubleday yet when asked about this on his deathbed, the always-honest Doubleday stated an emphatic, no.

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