Talk:William E. Miller (soldier, born 1836)/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: Hog Farm (talk · contribs) 18:31, 16 October 2020 (UTC)

Lead

• Link Confederate Y

Early life

• Include the exact date of birth. Because it's not cited inline anywhere, the February 5 part is technically uncited Y

Civil War service

• "as a Second Lieutenant on August 8, 1861" - Second lieutenant isn't capitalized if it's not being used as a title. Y
• "Miller first saw service during the Peninsula campaign." - Specify that this was in 1862 Y
• "Miller was ordered by General Samuel P. Heintzelman to deliver a message to General George B. McClellan back at Yorktown" - You're gonna want to find another source besides the NPS thing to give the exact ranks of Heintzelman and McClellan. The rank this implies is General (United States), but McClellan was only a major general. I don't remember if Heintzelman was a major general or a brigadier general at this point. If you're near a library that has a copy of this book, that'll give promotion dates, which can be compared to the date that this incident occurred. If you can't access a copy of that, I've got a copy somewhere I can track down to get the information for you.

  Great point, WorldCat isn't showing a copy of the book that's accessible near me but I'm sure through the archives I can find this specific information.

Y Found a copy through the Internet Archive, fixing all these ranks! (Should they be capitalized?)

Depends on the context. If it's used directly as a title, yes; if not, no. For instance, Major General Joseph Hooker, vs Joseph Hooker, who was a major general.

• "Company H was directed to assist Union General Joseph Hooker" - Likewise, General, wasn't Hooker's exact title Y
• "as promoted to Captain for his efforts and bravery" - Here and in the next sentence, make captain lowercase Y
• What did Company H do during Antietam? Hooker's corps fought in the Miller cornfield and the woods near the Dunker church. Did the company serve in a staff/courier role, or was it in the main fighting?

Fleshed this out a little Y

• What brigade was the unit in at Gettysburg?
• "and assist the 1st New Jersey regiment" - Infantry or cavalry? Also link, as I believe we have an article on both. Y
• ", Miller noticed a large contingent led by Confederate General Fitzhugh Lee" - Again, not Fitz Lee's proper rank Y
• Who ordered him to remain on the ridge? Was it his regimental, brigade, or division commander?
• The NPS source gives a lot more detail about his Antietam actions that should be added Y
• "During the melee, Miller received a musket wound to the right arm" - Source doesn't specify a musket wound. Also, a good deal of the Confederate army at this point was armed with rifles and rifled muskets, so musket proper can't be assumed Y -- reworded this sentence
• Find the link for court martial and add it

  Multiple sources state there was not a court martial - should I include more references to this sentence?

Referring to this quote " "I have been ordered to hold this position, but, if you will back me up in case I am court-martialed for disobedience" - Wiklink to court martial for any non-military-familiar readers, as it's a slightly jargon term.

• "It was stated at the time Miller's action" - Add a "that" between time and Miller's Y
• "In a later biography by Arthur L. Wagner on military tactics," - By definition, a biography is not about military tactics Y (Ha, very true)

Personal life

• "Betsy died of typhoid at the age of 24 before the Civil War began" - Give the exact date. Since we aren't given the date when Betsy was born, this doesn't tell the reader when this occurred besides pre-1861 Y -- Though I hope the reference is adequate?
• "ogether they moved to Carlisle, Pennsylvania where Miller" - Need a geographic comma after Pennsylvania Y
• " and served as secretary of its library until 1918" - When did his term begin?

  This is not expressly stated in the biography that mentions this position, though I'll continue to look. It's fairly trivial - would it be fine to end the sentence without mentioning a specific timespan?

Yeah, that's fine. If it's not available, it's a pretty minor point anyway, so don't worry about it.

Infobox

• Preceded and succeded in the state senate is uncited

  I don't think I've ever seen those templates with citations inside them, even when the names are to unlinked individuals. I can find a citation if it's required though!

It's acceptable for GA, I guess, since it's noncontroversial information, but would need to be added somewhere for further levels.

• If we're being technical here, his middle name is never cited anywhere (also never mentioned outside of the infobox)

  How about if I add it to the lead? It's spelled out in some of the references.

It's in the early life now, which is where it's probably logical to put it.

References

• When you're giving page ranges, spell out the full page numbers. Instead of pp 166-7, use pp 166-167 Y
• ". Biographical annals of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania : containing biographical sketches of prominent and representative citizens and of many of the early settled families" - Lacks the publishing date (1905) Y
• "The official website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly" - Just give the publisher as Pennsylvania General Assembly Y

That's it for the first pass. Respond to these, and I'll give it another look. Hog Farm _Bacon 21:48, 16 October 2020 (UTC)

Hog Farm, I appreciate not only the speed at which you accepted this nomination, but the thoroughness that you've brought to the process. I will continue to look back into my sources to find the additional depth you have requested, for now I made the simpler changes. I'm currently away from home, and therefore my Civil War texts, so I'll hopefully get more information on Anteitam and Gettysburg in a couple days (if I can't find it available online first!). SEMMENDINGER (talk) 23:40, 16 October 2020 (UTC)

• @Hog Farm: Minus two of your previous points, I've made all the other recommended changes. Thanks again for the direction! I'm having a hard time figuring out which brigade Miller's regiment was in during Gettysburg. The 3rd PA was part of Gregg's overall brigade, and since Miller was in charge of the 3rd PA, I'm assuming he took his orders from Gregg, but I can't find that expressly written. I'll keep looking though. SEMMENDINGER (talk) 18:17, 22 October 2020 (UTC)

The Gardner reference states the closest I can find to who was in charge of Miller's position, "He was recommended for the award by his former Commanding Officer, General D. McM. Gregg." This might answer both my final questions. SEMMENDINGER (talk) 18:21, 22 October 2020 (UTC)

I think it's fine for GA now. Looks like McIntosh was the brigade commander, and D. McM. Gregg was division (also another Gregg in the cavalry at Gettysburg). [1] (PDF). Hog Farm _Bacon 18:28, 22 October 2020 (UTC)