Baird, who also had been in the 9th Va. Baird’s neighbor, Confederate Secretary of State R. M. T. Hunter, helped him obtain a position as an aide to Pickett in Febru- ary 1862. Baird remained with Pickett throughout the war and witnessed the highs and lows of the general’s career. After the war, he served as superintendent of Essex County schools. Pickett proved most competent when commanding a brigade. His troubles began when he was promoted to major general and given command of an entire division containing five brigades. Only three of these brigades, all from Virginia, made the fateful march to Gettysburg. Shouting “don’t forget you are from
old Virginia,” on July 3, 1863, Pickett led an attack by an estimated 13,500 men across an open field outside Gettysburg, in a last-ditch effort by Gen. Robert E. Lee to defeat the Union Army of the Potomac. “Pickett’s Charge” ended in bloody defeat, but the commander and his men gained immortality. The failed attack signaled the beginning of the end of the Confederacy. Accusations and blame for the charge and the loss of the battle began to fly be- fore nightfall. Lee, and others, said it was
his own fault. Many blamed Longstreet, Pickett’s longtime friend. Ironically, the man who replaced Pickett in the North- ern Neck also received a share of the blame. Col. John M. Brockenbrough and his brigade, which included the 55th Va., failed miserably when ordered to support Pickett’s attacking columns. Controversy concerning Pickett and his famous charge continue today. Pickett’s career went from bad to worse. At Five Forks, Va., April 1, 1865, Pickett’s forces were routed while he at- tended a shad bake. Although relieved of command by Lee, he stayed with the army and surrendered at Appomattox Court House. He died July 30, 1875, in Norfolk, and was buried at Richmond’s Hollywood Cemetery. Edward Baird made sure his memory of the flamboyant Pickett lived on along the banks of the Rappahannock. Speak- ing to the Essex County Division of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Baird exclaimed, “To me he was gallantry personified.”
“Brilliant in his strategy he had the courage of a man with the tenderness of a woman.” H
Maj. Gen. George E. Pickett’s grave at Hollywood Cemetery. Photo by the Dale Harter.
The House & Home Magazine
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