French Harding: Civil War Memoirs
Overview
The memoirs of Captain Joseph French Harding (b. 1838) were discovered in the summer of 1999 and published in October 2000. Harding enlisted as a Confederate soldier in May 1861 and was elected commander of Company F of the 31st Virginia Infantry in the Spring of 1862. Company F was composed mainly of men from Randolph County, Virginia (now West Virginia). After the battle of Rich Mountain, which catapulted McClellan to fame, the county was "occupied" by Federal troops until the end of the war. Some of the most dramatic moments in the memoirs arise from the danger inherent in returning to Randolph County to visit the family.
But the book is not simply an informative regional history. The "Table of Battles" and the "Operations" map reveal Harding's extensive participation in many of the key battles in the Virginias and, of course, Gettysburg. In fact, his account ot the Battle of Cedar Mountain resolves a mystery about who carried the 31st Virginia's battle flag in the countercharge noted with such admiration in General Early's report. The memoirs include some interesting accounts of being in Stonewall Jackson's "Foot Cavalry" (see the Sample Chapter). There are equally interesting stories of riding with the 20th Virginia Cavalry in the Shenandoah Valley in 1864.
How Harding became a cavalry officer is a major story in itself. He notes several confrontations with the 31st Virginia's colonel -- usually over how the men in his company should be treated. This conflict came to a head with Harding's arrest in November 1863 and was finally resolved with his resignation in February 1864. This sequence of events reveals some of the trials (and triumphs) of a company grade officer. Harding immediately joins Company C of the 20th Virginia Cavalry (another Randolph County unit). He is soon promoted to lieutenant, and one of the things readers will admire about Harding is his natural warrior and leadership abilities.
After becoming used to his 19th Century prose style, readers will also notice Harding is a very good writer. He spices his story with many examples of battlefield humor (see Index) and pathos. The loss of his two brothers within three months of each other, and many other friends, is told with grace and sadness.
Harding's reputation as a leader carried beyond the war. He was elected to serve in West Virginia's 1872 Constitutional Convention, and in 1876 he was elected Sheriff of Randolph County. He also served two terms in the State House of Delegates. At age 47 he became an attorney and worked at that profession until ten days before his death in 1919. His obituary appeared on the front page of both county newspapers, and his valorous wartime exploits are frequently mentioned in the turn-of-the-century county histories. Like many of his contemporaries who served in the Civil War, he underwent severe tests of courage and endurance (sometimes bordering on the heroic), and then returned to a life of normalcy involving public service and much deserved domestic tranquility. His exciting and powerful story might have been lost, but good luck prevailed. Now readers who admire the triumph of the human spirit and revel in history have a new document to enjoy.
French Harding: Civil War Memoirs is a softcover book with 280 pp. It includes maps, photos, an extensive index, and two other original documents: an ca. 1863 letter from French Harding to a former schoolmate from Randolph County, Maggie Hutton; and a diary by his brother Marion which covers the first six weeks of the Civil War.
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