USA > Tennessee > The military annals of Tennessee. Confederate. First series: embracing a review of military operations, with regimental histories and memorial rolls, V.2 > Part 1
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61
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M. L.
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01085 6331
THE
MILITARY ANNALS OF TENNESSEE
CONFEDERATE.
V. 2
FIRST SERIES:
EMBRACING
A REVIEW OF MILITARY OPERATIONS,
WITH
REGIMENTAL HISTORIES AND MEMORIAL ROLLS,
COMPILED FROM ORIGINAL AND OFFICIAL SOURCES,
AND EDITED BY JOHN BERRIEN LINDSLEY, M.D., D.D.
Printed for Subscribers.
NASHVILLE: J. M. LINDSLEY & CO., PUBLISHERS. 25 South Eighth Street. 1886.
ELECTROTYPED AND PRINTED AT THE SOUTHERN METHODIST PUBLISHING HOUSE. :
F882,51
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MILITARY ANNALS OF TENNESSEE.
being sick from the miserable water we had to drink from the lagoons, the low lands we occupied, and poor rations. The sieges of Port Hudson and Vicksburg were being pressed with great vigor by the Federal fleet and army. We could hear the roar of artillery day and night at Vicksburg, and were in hourly expec- tation of the surrender of Port Hudson and of being ordered to the aid of Vicksburg. The surrender occurred July 4, and the night before preparations were made for our retreat at daylight, as the besieging army was then at liberty to pay attention to us. The retreat continued in good order (for no General ever equaled Joseph E. John- ston in a retreat ) till we reached Jackson, where he had prepared to make a stand. Earth-works were thrown up, artillery was placed in position, and every pos- sible arrangement was made for a fight. The siege lasted about one week, the enemy being repulsed in every assault, but the disparity of numbers and nature of the country forbade a regular siege, as there was no obstacle to their marching to our rear. Gen. Johnston therefore withdrew to Meridian, and the Federal army to Vicksburg. Considering that we were under fire so long, our loss was light, as we fought from our earth-works, always repulsing the enemy with heavy loss.
Our brigade went into camp at Enterprise, and remained there drilling till about September 10th, when we were ordered to the aid of Gen. Bragg, who was falling back from Chattanooga. In a railroad accident at Cartersville, Ga., the brigade lost some seventy-five killed and wounded -- the loss falling mostly on the Fiftieth Tennessee and Colmis's Battalion. We arrived at Ringgold the evening of September 17th, and before going into camp we were ordered out to meet a raid of Federal cavalry; but they soon retired, and we went into camp with orders to cook three days rations, furnish each man with sixty rounds of ammunition, and be prepared to march at a minute's notice. At sunrise of the 18th our brigade was ordered to march to the front, and on passing through Ringgold the cavalry was hastily sent forward to meet the Federal cavalry, and we followed immediately after them. Our cavalry drove back those first met, but it was soon ascertained that the cavalry of the entire Federal army was in our front and estimated to be at least ten thousand. Thereupon five brigades of infantry were placed in line of battle, with a skirmish line in front, and with all our cavalry under Gens. Wheeler and Forrest formed on our wings, a forward march was ordered; then from 10 A.M. till dark we moved forward through woods, creeks, and field-, con- stantly skirmishing or fighting with the Federal cavalry, but all the time driving them back and preventing them from flanking us. Twice during the evening they went into camp, but each time we drove them out with a charge, and just at dark we forced them back to their infantry supports, where the battle of Chickamanga con- menced, September 19, 1863. We bivouacked on our arms without fires, as the . Federal army was in front of us and moving into position all night, and we were momentarily expecting an attack. It was intensely cold for the season, and next morning showed us a heavy white frost; and the entire army of Rosecrans was in our immediate front and ready for battle. Both armies were getting in line and manenvering for position till about 1 P.M., when the battle opened upon the extreme right, and then extended toward the center. The battle was a stubborn one and very fierce, but finally the Confederates succeeded in driving the Federal forces; and to counteract this the Federals, about 3 P.M., made a furious attack on our left wing. Gregg's brigade occupied the extreme left, Suggs's Fiftieth
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Tennessee Regiment occupied the left of the brigade, and the Thirtieth and Tenth Tennessee regiments next. Our skirmish line was being driven in very rapidly, and I was ordered by Gen. Gregg to go forward and find out the cause of this. I could not get any thing out of the pickets or rally them as they rushed past me, so I stopped and took a peep through the thick young pines, and in fifty yards of me two lines of Federals were rapidly advancing. Just as I turned to retreat I was shot nearly through my right breast by a Minie-ball, but succeeded in reach- ing our lines before falling.
The left of the army was commanded by Gen. Hood. Our forces were drawn up in two lines, and just as I reached my brigade both sides opened at close range - with an earnestness and deadly furor that I have never seen equaled. In a few minutes one-third of our brigade had been shot down in their tracks, either killed or wounded. They were too brave to retreat, and would not advance until or- dered; but finally the second line was pushed forward to aid us, and both lines charged the enemy, driving them some distance. The enemy were reenforced, and our men returned, re-formed, and again drove them. At this point I was carried back to Chickamauga Creek, received surgical aid, and remained there till Sunday evening, when I was sent to a hospital in Atlanta.
During the entire evening the battle on the left was a very severe one, but without any definite result to either side. No grander or nobler example of her- oism was ever shown than by Gregg's brigade of Tennesseans and Texans that fatal Saturday evening. Not a man left his place when wounded till one-third had fallen in their ranks, and for three hundred yards our line was clearly marked by the dead and dying. The field officers of the Thirtieth all being wounded or absent, Capt. Douglass commanded as senior officer late Saturday evening and all day Sunday. On Sunday morning, Sept. 20, the battle did not commence till 10 o'clock; but then it opened along the entire line, and soon I could hear the sound of two hundred and fifty pieces of artillery and some one hundred and twenty-five thousand muskets until it was merged into one continuous roar, and no distinct discharge of artillery or musketry could be heard.
Five division hospitals were located near where I was lying, and it seemed that in a short time the entire army would be back there wounded. Gradually the fir- ing receded toward Chattanooga. Once in awhile I could hear the rebel yell above the roar of battle; and who that has once heard it can ever forget the yell of five thousand Confederates rushing on to victory or death? Our brigade contin- ved in the fight till Sunday night, sometimes driving the enemy and sometimes being driven by superior numbers. The loss of officers killed and wounded was fearful. At the close of the battle the brigade was commanded by Col. Suggs, Gen. Gregg having been severely wounded. Regiments were commanded by Captains, companies by Lieutenants and Sergeants.
The loss of our brigade and of the Thirtieth Tennessee was one-half of those who entered the fight Saturday morning. The survivors all came out with new guns and cartridge-boxes which they had taken from the enemy, not having been supplied at all in two days with ammunition from our side. Gregg's brigade was engaged all day Sunday, and during Sunday evening charged one point six times, finally holding it, together with a battery of artillery they captured. After these various charges, the Tenth and Thirtieth regiments had but few men not de:ul or disabled.
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The battle was fought between Southern and Northern troops, and with a stub- bornness and bravery not excelled, if equaled, by any other contest of the entire war; and though outnumbered to some extent, our army had obtained a great and glo- rious victory. A Stonewall Jackson or a Bedford Forrest would have forced the surrender of the Federal army on Monday; but the fruits of the great victory were completely thrown away, and without cause.
I was unable to return to my command till a day or so before the battle of Mis- sionary Ridge (November 25). When I returned I found the brigade reorganized. Gen. Gregg had been sent to the Army of Virginia, where he was afterward killed in battle, and Col. Tyler was commanding the brigade. We were assigned to (ien. Bate's division. Many of the wounded had returned for duty, but many others had died or were maimed for life. Constant skirmishing and shelling were going on, and on the 25th of November Hooker's division attacked our troops, located on Lookout Mountain. Our brigade was stationed a short distance from and in full view of the mountain, and with fearful interest we saw the celebrated battle above the clouds. Foot by foot the Federals fought up that steep and rugged mountain, facing death at every step. The evening was wet and murky, and the smoke and clouds obscured a view of the troops; but the firing and yelling above the clouds soon indicated that our forces were slowly retiring before supe- rior numbers, yet contesting every inch of ground till the top was reached, from which they were forced to a rapid retreat after a contest of some five hours. This compelled the entire army of Gen. Bragg to give up the valley in front of Chat- tanooga that night and retire to Missionary Ridge, which we did in good order before daylight.
This ridge averages a height of from one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet. It is quite steep, and might have been easily fortified, but no orders to that effect were given; and up to within an hour of the commencement of the battle officers and men were in doubt as to whether we were to retreat or fight. From our po- sition on Missionary Ridge, Chattanooga, the Tennessee River, Lookout Mount- ain, and the valley of some miles in length and breadth, were in full view. By 10 A.M. we could see the Federal army crossing the river and moving into posi- tion with the intention of a forward movement and attack. By 3 p.M. some titty thousand troops were in our immediate front and marching in two lines of battle to the foot of the ridge, while Schofield's corps was flanking our position on the left. As soon as the Federals came within range our artillery opened on them, and continued the fire till they reached the ridge; but the fire was not effective, owing to the plunging shots. The Federal army gained the foot of the ridge in good order. As they commenced ascending, our muskets again opened fire upon thein, but with little effect, as it was evident our troops were overshooting them to a great extent.
The position occupied by my command-the Tenth and Thirtieth regiments- was only a good skirmish line, and as we were heavily assaulted some three bat- talions and parts of regiments were sent to our assistance. We drove the enemy in our front and wings far down the ridge. I was pressing them when Capt. Tur- ner hurried up and informed me that Day's and Manigault's brigades had broken on our left and right, and I then saw that the Federals occupied the ridge at these points, and were turning our own artillery on us. I ordered an immediate retreat to the top of the ridge. I could then see our forces, except our brigade, retreat-
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ing in great disorder. Our brigade then consisted of the Tenth, Fifteenth, Twen- tieth, Thirtieth, and Thirty-seventh Tennessee regiments, the Thirty-seventh Georgia, and Caswell's battalion of sharp-shooters. As we started to retreat from the ridge Col. Tyler was severely wounded, and I assumed command of the bri- gade as the senior officer. We fell back about fifteen hundred yards to where there was a considerable ridge, and where Gen. Bragg and staff were attempting to rally the army and make a stand; but he had lost the confidence of the army, and officers and men dashed by without heeding his commands or appeals. Our brigade was in good condition, and on reaching this ridge I halted it and in a few minutes had a line of battle formed across the road. Our division commander di- rected me to follow on to the pontoon bridge at Chickamauga Creek, the sun then being nearly an hour high. Cobb's battery and a number of detached soldiers, numbering some five hundred, came up and fell into our line of battle. As all the Generals had left and we were free to act independently, we concluded to stop the Federal forces at this point till darkness should arrest their advance, Cobb's battery opened upon the enemy vigorously, and I directed Major Caswell to de- ploy his battalion of sharp-shooters, consisting of five companies splendidly drilled and armed, and cover our front and feel of the enemy, and if forced to retire to do so slowly and contest every inch of ground. The order was executed to the letter, as this command never failed to do its duty. Soon they were botly engaged, and though compelled by force of superior numbers to retreat, they did so very gradually, holding a large force in check till dark, when they fell back, and took position in our line.
As soon as the Federals cane in range both sides opened with great spirit. We had the advantage of position and full knowledge of the ground, but were out- numbered by at least three to one. The Federals had advanced to close range, and the firing was very severe. In the meantime the brigade was nearly out of ammunition, and it was quite dark, being at least an hour after sunset. At this juncture Gen. Breckinridge and a part of his staff came up from the rear and in- quired what command it was and why remaining there. I informed him, and he said his entire command had been broken and were retreating, and that hear- ing the firing he came to it, but ordered me to retire at once, as we were sur- rounded on all sides except the rear ly overwhelming forces. I issued the order for a retreat, yet nothing but the darkness and our knowledge of the roads enabled us to get out, as some of the regiments on the right of the line came out to the roads in a few yards of the Federal line.
The line of retreat was taken up in good order and without pursuit, and we reached Chickamauga Creek about midnight and just as they were preparing to remove the pontoon. Gen. Hardee had maintained his position on the right, and at night retreated in good order; but two-thirds of the army seemed to be disor- ganized and badly demoralized, and many had thrown away their guns in retreating the night before. At daylight the retreat continued, the Federal army pressing our rear mile by mile till the gallant Cleburne whipped and drove them back at Taylor's Ridge, and the latter part of this battle being hand-to-hand. Our brigade remained in the rear, helping to protect it and keeping it in perfect or- der till the retreat ceased at Dalton. Here Bragg's army went into camp for the winter, while the Federal army occupied Chattanooga and the railroad to Ring- gold. Gen. Bragg was reheved in a few days, and Gen. Joseph E. Johnston as-
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sumed command. He found the army much depleted, poorly armed, equipped, and . clothed, and badly demoralized; but with his wonderful capacity for organization he soon had this remedied, and by spring he had a splendid army, full of conti- dence in their General and his ability to win success.
Gen. T. B. Smith relieved me of the command of the brigade some time in De- cember, and I took charge of my old command, the Thirtieth and Tenth Tennessee.
Very little of interest occurred in this army from December till May; every ef- fort, however, was made to drill, discipline, and recruit the same, in which we were eminently successful; and the army had acquired the greatest confidence in Gen. Johnston's prudence and generalship.
During the winter the Federals made a feint or two, but on the 1st of May, 1864, their entire army commenced a forward movement. It then numbered not less than seventy-five thousand, while ours barely reached fifty thousand; and by May 4 the respective armies were confronting each other at Rocky Face Ridge. This was a strong position and well fortified; and though a number of small engagements occurred, yet we repulsed the enemy at all points. Our bri- gade occupied a position to the left of the road and reaching to the summit of the ridge, and was under fire several times, losing a few men from the artillery-one shell bursting in quite a crowd of the Tenth and Thirtieth regiments, killing and wounding some ten men. As the Federals could not drive us from our position after trying for a number of days, Gen. Sherman commenced flanking it on the left, which maneuver Gen. Johnston met by falling back and again fortifying. And then commenced the celebrated Georgia campaign between two of the ablest Generals that were produced by the war.
I cannot undertake to give a detailed account of this campaign, as space forbids -lasting, as it did, from May 4, at Rocky Face Ridge, to the bloody battle of Jonesboro, August 31. There were not ten days or nights of the four months in which our brigade and my command were not under fire for some hours. We in- trenched and fought till flanked, and then fell back and again intrenched-this being kept up for nearly four months, scarcely a day passing but some one was killed or wounded; yet we scarcely ever failed to inflict greater damage on our ene- mies, as we nearly always fought from our works. Our rations were cooked and sent to us from the rear, and much of the time we were required to keep two or three days' cooked rations on hand, ready for any emergency. Our picket lines were usually but a short distance in front of the intrenchments, and generally the pickets were well protected by riffe-pits and head-logs. These pits usually held from four to eight men, and were from forty to one hundred feet apart; and generally there was a regular firing upon the part of the pickets, so as to keep . the lines marked and prevent any surprises or a sudden rush. Thousands were killed or wounded on these skirmish lines, the deadly sharp-shooters on both sides getting in their fatal work every day.
As I was division pieket officer on an average every five nights, I saw much of this terrible war at night -- when a word spoken, the stirring of a leaf, or the cracking of a stick, brought upon you a volley from the enemy. For four months we had no tents, and most of that time had to remain in the trenches, often in mud, or be picked off by the enemy's sharp-shooters. During these four months I was not inside of a house, and very rarely in a tent.
Having had my right ankle injured at Rocky Face Ridge, I could not wear a
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boot or shoe on that foot during the campaign, but managed to keep at the front and on duty.
But a faint idea can ever be formed of the number of miles of intrenchments made by the army on our retreats; and I can only approximate it from a diary kept by Capt. Simpson, Assistant Quartermaster. It shows that he occupied some twenty-six different camps during the campaign, and this closely approximates the number of retreats, or fall-backs, and lines of intrenchment during the four months; and as cach line would average four miles, it makes about one hundred miles of intrenchments and fortifications built by our army during this period.
As the armies were usually in hearing of each other, and the least strange noise attracted the attention of the other side, a retreat was generally attended with danger, and great care had to be exercised. As Sherman's army greatly outnum- bered that of Gen. Johnston, he could keep a full force in our front and com- mence flanking with a corps; of which Gen. Wheeler-who protected the wings with his cavalry-always gave timely note.
When the division picket officer went on duty at night he was informed as to the retreat, and was usually given a strong picket force, who were carefully in- structed in their duties. Between dusk and 2 o'clock A.M. the infantry would quietly begin to retire, the artillery often being moved out by hand, while the pickets would keep up a regular fusilade, so as to drown all noise. After the army had gotten out of the way, and sometimes had reached their new position and formed a new line, the pickets would be gradually retired, those remaining always increasing their fire; and before day all would be on some road slowly fall- ing back, often keeping in check the Federal advance. Our men became so pro- ficient that in a few hours they could fairly intrench themselves.
Gen. Johnston rarely risked an open field engagement, but carefully husbanded his men behind his earth-works, and inflicted upon the enemy a terrible loss, the average being three to one-as we were protected by our works and the enemy assaulted them. His retreats have never been surpassed. The morale of the army had been fully maintained, he had lost no supplies or deserters, and was gradually drawing out and weakening his wily opponent; but just as he had the Chattahoo- che in rear of his enemies, and while we were at Peach-tree Creck, the fatal or- der of July 18 came, relieving him and assigning Gen. Hood to the command of the Army of Tennessee. It was a sad and gloomy day to officers and men-it seemed that every one had lost a personal friend. All admired the gallant Hood as a division or corps commander, but seemed to know intuitively that the mantle of a great General should not have fallen on him, and that with Johnston gone little hope of success was left, as the sequel proved. The miserable mistake and failure by Hocd on the 22d of July, which Gen. Johnston had so carefully guarded against- and whose plans, had they been carried out by Hood, would have resulted in an easy capture of MePherson's corps and the retreat of the entire Federal army-con- vinced our troops that Gen. Hood was clearly incompetent to handle an independ- dent command. The next thing was to lose a large part of the Federal army, finding it at last when it was well on its way to Jonesboro; and when we arrived there it had intrenched itself, and the tacties of Gen. Johnston were turned upon us. Never can our brigade forget the fatal charge at Jonesboro, Angust 31, upon the well-intrenched position of the Federals, protected by an abatis, well-servel artillery, and two lines of infantry. Our commands lost fully one-third in killed
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and wounded, and we accomplished nothing. A few of my command reached the works, but simply to be captured; and how any of us escaped death from the ter- rible artillery fire and musketry at short range, is something I have never under- stood. My only brother, Capt. J. H. Turner, while leading his company, received four mortal wounds in less than a minute, and as I saw him fall I was struck by two shots and disabled.
At the close of the Georgia campaign, I found that the Thirtieth had lost about one-half of its number in killed, wounded, and captured-its officers suffering in greater proportion.
Just after the battle of Jonesboro the army was visited by President Davis, and soon it was reorganized and partially strengthened by the sick and wounded returning to their commands; and preparations were hurried forward to make the campaign to Tennessee. The Thirtieth was in the entire campaign to Nashville, being engaged in the battles of Franklin, Murfreesboro, and Nashville, and losing heavily .. It retreated with Hood's army, and in January was sent to North Caro- lina, where it participated in the battle of Bentonville; and upon the reorgani- zation the last of April, it had only fifty men left fit for duty. We retreated with the army back to Charlotte, where the surrender of Gen. Lee's army was ascer- tained; and soon the terms of surrender were agreed upon, and the entire army prepared to return, under the old flag, to homes that had been desolated by four years of war-a conflict which, in many respects, has no parallel in ancient or modern times. We reached our State about the 15th of May, 1865, not having seen our homes, friends, or families since the fall of 1861.
Want of time and space forbid my making special mention of the many brave men and officers who quit their homes in 1861 to enlist under the banner of the South, giving up homes and families to fight for a principle that was dearer to them than life itself. They illustrated upon twenty-three battle-fields, in pris- on, in camp, and upon the tiresome march, all the heroism, bravery, and capacity for physical endurance of trained veterans. To-day many fill unmarked graves in other States, yet their many acts of gallantry deserve at the hands of posterity some permanent memorial that will show to future generations the highest type of Southern manhood, which this contest developed. But few escaped un- hurt those four years of war's cruel fate, and I see very many maimed for life who, as citizens, illustrate their energy and other noble qualities.
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