USA > Tennessee > Johnson County > History of the Thirteenth Regiment, Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry, U. S. A. > Part 24
USA > Tennessee > Carter County > History of the Thirteenth Regiment, Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry, U. S. A. > Part 24
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Captain Carter was a brave man and an efficient officer and possessed a bright, genial disposition. He died at his home near Elizabethton in 1896.
LIEUTENANT JEREMIAH B. MILLER, CO. H.
Lieutenant Miller was born near Elizabethton, Tenn .; Feb. 3, 1838, and was raised in Carter county, Tenn. He was a brother of Col. John K. and Captain B. A. Miller. He took an active part with the Union men of his county in resisting the Confederate authorities, and giving aid to the Union cause.
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He joined the Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry at its or- ganization and was commissioned First Lieutenant of Company H, October 28, 1863. He served with the com- pany until assigned to post duty at Gallatin, Tenn., where he remained several months. He rejoined his company and did duty with it until compelled to resign on account of failing health.
After the war Lieut. Miller married the oldest daugh- ter of Dr. Abram Jobe and settled in Elizabethton, Tenn. He was a highly respected citizen and held several offices in the county.
Though quiet and unpretentious he was a good soldier and officer and performed his duties to the entire satisfac- tion of his superior officers. He gained the respect and good will of his men and of the officers of the Regiment. He died at his home in Eizabethton, Tenn., January 26, 1900. Lieut. Miller had a genial disposition and was a true and honorable comrade and friend, a good soldier and a good citizen. His widow, two sons and two daugh- ters reside at Elizabethton, Tenn.
LIEUTENANT JAMES N. FREELS, CO. H.
Lieut. Freels is a native of Anderson county, Tenn., and is still an honored and respected citizen of that county.
He joined the Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry at Camp Nelson, Ky., being a part of the detachment brought to the Regiment by Major G. W. Doughty. He was as- signed to duty as First Lieutenant of Company H, and commanded that company a large portion of the time owing to Captain Carter being absent, sick, or unable for duty.
Lieut. Freels was among the youngest commissioned officers in the Regiment, being only 22 years old. He was a brave and competent young officer and was highly respected, both by the men and officers of the Regiment.
With Captain Doughty's men recruited for the 17th
LIEUT. C. M. EMMERT. (See page 305.)
LIEUT. JEREMIAH B. MILLER. (See page 303.)
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TENNESSEE VOLUNTEER CAVALRY.
Tennessee Cavalry Lieutenant Freels assisted Captain Doughty and Lieut. Walker in supplying subsistence to Gen. Burnside's army during the siege of Knoxville, for which they received commendation from Gen. Burnside. After joining the Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry he fol- lowed its fortunes to the end of the war, engaging in all its raids, marches, skirmishes and battles with credit to himself and honor to the service.
After the war Lieut. Freels engaged in business at Elizabethton, Tenn., for a time. While there he made a large number of friends, by whom he is still kindly re- membered. His present home is near Scarboro, Ander- son county, Tennessee.
LIEUT. CALEB M. EMMERT, CO. H.
Caleb M. Emmert is a native of Carter county, Tenn., where he was born January 9, 1840. He took an active part in the Carter county rebellion, was arrested, but made his escape as noted elsewhere. He enlisted in Com- pany H, on the organization of the company September 24, 1863, and was appointed First Sergeant October 20, 1863, and promoted to Second Lieutenant June 22, 1865. He remained in the service until the muster-out of the Regiment, September 5, 1865.
Lieutenant Emmert was a loyal man and a good soldier, and was highly esteemed by both officers and men. After the war he studied medicine under Dr. James M. Cameron and has been a successful practitioner. He resides at Elizabethton, Carter county, Tenn.
SERGEANT JOHN J. MCCORKLE, CO. H.
John J. McCorkle was born in Sullivan county, Tenn., January 4, 1846. His parents moved to Carter county in 1851. It will be seen from the date of his birth that at the beginning of the Civil War he was but little past 15
1
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HISTORY OF THE 13TH REGIMENT
years of age, yet he took an active part in the Carter county rebellion. He and Jordan Croy and Harrison Hendrix were the scouts that were sent out from Taylor's Ford to locate Capt. McClellan's company of rebels, and found their pickets at the little brick church two miles from Carter's Depot and drove them in. He was in the Taylor's Ford fight and was with the army of the little rebellion throughout its brief campaign. He enlisted in Company H, Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry September 21, 1863, and though not yet 18 years old was appointed Quartermaster-Sergeant of his company. He was with the Regiment in all its marches and battles until January 21, 1865, when a few days past 19 years old he was pro- moted to 2d Lieut. Co. I, Ist U. S. C. T. through the recommendation of Gen. A. C. Gillem, then in command of the Department of Tennessee, Army of the Cumber - land, for gallantry and meritorious conduct while on the Stoneman raid into Southwest Virginia in December, 1864, and later breveted Captain of same company for his energy and faithfulness in the discharge of his duties as an officer. Captain McCorkle remained in the service until April 6, 1866, when he was honorably discharged. Upon his retirement from the army his fellow-officers of his Regiment presented him with an unsolicited endorse- ment of his fidelity and integrity as a soldier and officer.
Captain McCorkle returned to Carter county, where he engaged in farming and stock raising, in which he has made a decided success, being now one of the wealthiest land-owners and tax-payers in the county, and is regarded as a safe and able financier. For his honesty, ability and energy he has been elected to almost every civil office in the county, having served as Trustee three terms, Chair- man, or Judge of the County Court six years, and four years in the General Assembly of the State.
The Captain lives at his "Border View Farm." two miles north of Elizabethton, Tenn., still taking an active interest in religion, politics and agriculture, and bids fair to have before him many years of usefulness and enjoy- ment.
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TENNESSEE VOLUNTEER CAVALRY.
CAPTAIN SAMUEL E. NORTHINGTON AND LIEUTENANT HECTOR C. NORTHINGTON, FATHER AND SON.
S. E. Northington was the proprietor of a hotel at Taylorsville, now Mountain City, when the war came. He and his two sons were all intensely loyal and their Union sentiments soon made them objects of hatred to the Con - federate authorities and it soon became necessary for them "to cross the mountains" or fare worse. The father and two sons, Hector C. and C. E. B. Northington made their way to Kentucky and joined the 4th Tenn. Infantry in 1862. Samuel E. and Hector C. were discharged from that regiment to accept commissions as Captain and First Lieutenant, respectively, of Co. I, Thirteenth Ten- nessee Cavalry April 13th, 1864.
From that time until the Regiment was mustered out these two officers were in all the conflicts and campaigns in which the Regiment was engaged and were held in the highest esteem both as brave officers and as genial and worthy comrades and friends. They were in the charge into Greeneville, Tenn., on the morning of Sept. 4, 1864.
Lieut. H. C. Northington is an honored citizen of Den- ver, Colorado.
Captain S. E. Northington was born in Wake county, N. C., and came to Johnson county, Tenn., before the war. He died in Emporia, Kansas, May 20, 1884.
SERGEANT ELI W. MULICAN, CO. I.
Eli W. Mulican was born near Clemmonsville, David- son county, N. C., September 15, 1840. At the outbreak of the Civil War he took strong grounds for the Union. When his native State passed the Conscript Act, he, in company with John P. Nelson, left his home on the 3d day of July, 1862, and made his way to Johnson county, Tennessee, where he remained for six months. He was
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HISTORY OF THE 13TH REGIMENT
arrested by Col. G. N. Folk's Confederate Cavalry and taken to Boone, N. C., and put in jail. He remained in jail six days and then made his escape in company with John P. Nelson and David King, the latter from Ashe county, N. C. They left Boone at midnight and walked 22 miles and reached Johnson county, Tenn., at daylight.
In July, 1863, Captain Lafayette Jones and Mulican raised a company of 100 men in Johnson and Carter counties, Tenn., for the Federal army. The company was organized by electing Lafayette Jones Captain, E. W. Mulican First Lieutenant and John P. Nelson Second Lieutenant.
On July 23 they started to Kentucky under the well- known pilot, Daniel Ellis. The rebels finding their trail headed them off near Johnson's Depot, Tenn., and the company was compelled to turn back. Captain Jones was captured soon afterwards.
When the Federal troops arrived at Johnson's Depot, now Johnson City, Mulican joined them, taking into the army 52 men, for which he received no credit or promo- tion but many promises which were never fulfilled. He joined the Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry September 22, 1863; was appointed Company Clerk of Company F at Nashville, Tenn., and Brigade Clerk at Gallatin, Tenn. He was appointed Regimental Ordinance Sergeant by Col. W. H. Ingerton and later, transferred to Company I as First Sergeant of that company, which position he held until the Regiment was mustered out at Knoxville. Tenn., September 5, 1865.
We will add a few words to this sketch, which Ser- geant Mulican, being somewhat modest, may skip. Though only a non-commissioned officer we believe there were few men better known or more popular in the Regi- ment than Sergeant Eli W. Mulican. He was a brave soldier, always ready to do his whole duty whether in camp, on the march, or in front of the enemy. He was and is genial and companionable, and has won hosts of friends both in the army and in civil life. Since the war he has devoted much of his time to the ministry, being a minister in good standing in the Christian church.
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TENNESSEE VOLUNTEER CAVALRY.
CAPTAIN JOHN G. DERVIN. CO. K.
This officer came to the Regiment with Company K, and was part of Major G. W. Doughty's detachment that joined the Regiment at Camp Nelson, Ky. He was mustered into service December 31, 1864, and remained with the Regiment until it was mustered out.
Captain Dervin was a native of Massachusetts. He was 22 years of age and was a bright, intelligent and agreeable officer and comrade, and had many friends in the Regi- ment. After the close of the war he returned to the East and we have learned nothing of his history since that time.
LIEUTENANT HENRY M. WALKER, CO K.
Lieut. Walker joined the Regiment at Camp Nelson, Kentucky, in December, 1863, having previously done valuable service under Captain G. W. Doughty during the siege of Knoxville, mention of which is made in the history of Captain Doughty's detachment. As First Lieutenant of Company K he was frequently in com- mand of that company, and was a brave and active officer, always ready to perform every duty assigned him.
He took part in every march, skirmish and battle in which the Regiment was engaged. He was in the fights at Greeneville, Lick Creek, Carter's Depot, Tenn .; Salt- ville, Witheville and Marion Va., and Saulsbury, N. C. He was mustered out at Knoxville, Tenn., Sept. 5. 1865.
Lieut. Walker was not only a good officer but a most genial comrade and friend, liked by his men and popular with the officers of the Regiment.
He has resided in Washington county, Tenn., since the war, and is still living, a prosperous and highly respected citizen.
LIEUTENANT WILLIAM F. M. HYDER, CO. K.
Lieutenant Hyder belonged to an old and highly re- spected Carter county family. He was born in that county
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HISTORY OF THE 13TH REGIMENT
January 20th, 1824, and died at the place of his birth March 22, 1892.
He was an original and uncompromising Union man, a Lieutenant in the Carter county rebellion and a bridge burner.
Lieut. Hyder went out with the Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry and was sent back from Strawberry Plains to recruit men for the Regiment. He sent in a number of men and was elected Lieutenant in Company H. He had recruited about 50 men in Carter county and had then concealed in the gorge of Gap Creek mountain, awaiti ig the opportunity to start through the lines with them when they were betrayed and were attacked by the rebels, one of them killed, twenty-two captured and the remainder scattered. He commenced recruiting again, but Long- street's army being in East Tennessee and the country full of rebel soldiers he found it impossible to get back to the Regiment and was compelled to hide in the mountains all winter. He went through the lines in March, 1864, with 20 recruits and rejoined the Regiment at Nashville, Tenn. He found that in his absence another man had been mustered in his place. He was then appointed Brigade Ambulance-Master. Later he was commissioned Second Lieutenant to date back to October 31, 1863, and assigned to duty with Company K. He did duty with that com- pany on the march from Gallatin and in the campaigns in East Tennessee and the Stoneman raid into Southwest Virginia in December, 1864. He was in the fights at Greeneville, Carter's Depot, Morristown, Saltville and Marion and all the marches and skirmishes up to March 20th, 1865, at which time he tendered his resignation, on account of an injury received while in the service. His resignation was not accepted and he was mustered out with the Regiment.
Dr. Nat. E. Hyder now ( 1902) Chairman of the County Court of Carter county, though a mere boy at the time, was with his father, Lieut. Hyder, in the army for more than a year. He was with the Regiment at Nash- ville and Gallatin and in the campaign in East Tennessee,
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TENNESSEE VOLUNTEER CAVALRY.
but was too young to be mustered into service. He re- sides at the old Hyder homestead on Gap Creek, 5 miles south of Elizabethton, Tenn.
CAPT. JOHN W. ELLIS, CO. L.
This officer was a brother of the noted scout and pilot, Captain Dan. Ellis, and was born and raised in Carter county, Tenn. Like his brother, he was intensely loyal to his country and ready to meet any danger rather than make any concessions to an enemy.
Captain Ellis had moved his family to Greene county, Tennessee, just previous to the war and hence he was not connected with our history until he was commissioned Captain of Company L, April 11, 1865. He was with the Regiment in its campaign in East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, an'l was a brave and efficient officer, always ready to do his whole duty. Having a family consisting of a wife and several small children, when he joined the army he moved them into Greeneville, where they occupied the home of Governor Andrew Johnson, whose family had been sent through the lines. His wife, Mrs. Ann M. Ellis, sister of Adjutant S. P. and Private Jas. R. Angel of the Regiment, died at the Johnson home in June, 1865. His young childen needing his care, and the war being ended he resigned his commission in the army July 15th, 1865, and was dscharged by special order of the War Department.
Capt. Ellis moved to Washington Territory-now State, soon after the war. where he died a number of years ago, having remarried before his death. His widow, Mrs. Bettie Ellis, and sons, Nat. T .. Samuel A. and W. R. Ellis, now reside at Colfax, Washington.
CAPTAIN GILSON O. COLLINS, CO. M.
Gilson O. Collins is a Carter county man, and remained steadfast to the Union cause through many dangers and difficulties. Being a man of decided opinions and with
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HISTORY OF THE 13TH REGIMENT
courage to assert and maintain them, he early lost favor with the Confederate authorities. After assisting to burn the bridge at Union, or Zollicoffer, as detailed elsewhere, and engaging in the Carter county rebellion he fled to Kentucky and joined the 2d Tennessee Mounted In- fantry and served with that regiment until its capture, Nov. 6, 1863. Collins, at that time a private soldier ab- sented himself from his command on account of striking a Federal officer for making disparaging remarks about Tennesseeans, and though his absence was known and ap- proved by Col. Carter he was marked on his company rolls as a deserter. Since the war the facts were made known and he received an honorable discharge from the 2d Tennessee Infantry as well as from the Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry.
Captain Collins was commissioned as Captain March 22d, 1865, and assigned to duty with Company M. He was in command of his company in the last Stoneman raid in pursuit of President Davis.
Captain Collins is still living near Valley Forge, Carter county. Tenn.
LIEUT. ANDREW C: FONDREN, CO. M.
This officer is a native of Carter county, Tenn., and one of that county's most active and daring Union men Though quite a young man when the war began he took a very active part in the affairs of the Union men, as did his brother, John Fondren, of whom it was said, "He was one of the coolest and bravest men at the burning of the Zollicoffer bridge."
Lieut. Fondren was in the Carter county rebellion, and we cannot better relate his service than by quoting from a personal letter received from him in answer to a letter of inquiry. The letter is dated at Harriman, Tenn., Oc- tober 24, 1902, and we quote as follows: "I was in the organization at Elizabethton, Tenn., (Carter county re- bellion), in line with the long rifles and single-barreled pistols and cavalry armed with pitchforks, at the fight at
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TENNESSEE VOLUNTEER CAVALRY.
Taylor's Ford, retreat to Hyders old field in the Doe River Cove, was in line near Douglas' with Dan Ellis, J. I. R. Boyd, Brownlow Fair and others when the pickets were fired on and where we were overpowered and had to disband. Scotted my way to Cumberland Gap, reaching there August 6, 1862. I was sent back into East Tennessee by Gen. S. P. Carter to recruit and organize men for the U. S. Army, which I did until I ac- cepted a commission as Second Lieutenant Company M, Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry, April 19, 1864. During my 18 months' recruiting service from Watauga county, N. C., through the Confedracy, very often to Lexington, Ky., and as far west in East Tennessee as the Cumber- land Gap ; sometimes the route would be infested by rebel soldiers as far across the mountains as Lexington, Ky. We scouted through, very often skirmishing with them with our long rifles and single-barreled pistols the greater part of the way."
After joining the Regiment in April, 1864, Lieut. Fon - dren was on duty with his Company (M) throughout the campaigns in East Tennessee and its raids into Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia. He was a quiet, unassuming, but a brave and efficient officer who had the respect and confidence of his men and that of the men and officers of the Regiment.
The following is a list of officers, most of whom re- signed or were discharged before the Regiment was mus- tered out.
We have been unable to obtain any reliable informa- tion in regard to them and can only give their military history as it appears in the report of the Adjutant-Gen- eral.
John M. Honeycut, Ist Lieut. Co. B .; enlisted, Sept. 23, '63 ; mustered in, Nov. 8, '63; resigned.
William B. Honeycut. Ist Lieut. Co. B .; enlisted. Sept. 23, '63; mus- tered in, Nov. 8, '63 ; resigned, July 12, '64.
General H. Franklin, Ist Lieut. Co. C .; enlisted. July 1, '63 ; mustered in, July 1, '63.
John L. Hyder, 2d Lieut. Co. C.
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HISTORY OF THE 13TH REGIMENT
William W. Wilkinson, 2d Lieut. Co. D .; enlisted, Nov. 8, '63; mus-
tered in, Nov. 8. '63 ; resigned, Mar. 16, '65.
John G. Johnson, 2d Lieut. Co. E .; enlisted, Sept. 24. '63; mustered in, Nov. 8, '63 ; dismissed, Sept. 14, '64.
Jacob Taylor, 2d Lieut. Co. F .; enlisted, June 22, '65; mustered in, July 4, '65.
William Arrendell, 2d Lieut. Co. I .; enlisted, April 13, '64; mustered in, April 13, '64.
W. T. L. Hyder, 2d Lieut. Co. K .; enlisted Oct. 31, '63; mustered in, Oct. 31, '63; resigned.
William M. McQueen, Ist. Lieut. Co. L .; enlisted, June 22, '65; mus- tered in, June 22, '65.
Henry H. Haymer, Ist Lieut. Co. L. ; enlisted, April 11, '64; mustered in, April 11, '64; resigned (date unknown).
Geo. W. Luttrell, Ist Lieut. Co. M .; discharged by order of Secretary of War.
In closing this chapter we would make the observation that whatever credit is due the officers and men of the Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry for the service they per- formed for the Union cause, bothi as citizens and soldiers, either as individuals or as an organization, is due wholly to their own merits as soldiers and citizens. Both officers and men came from the fields, the forges, the workshops and the desks. They were farmers, mechanics, teachers, clerks and laborers. There were no paid staff officers to give them fictitious fame. None of them had influential friends or relatives "near the throne," or those who had had place or power in high civil or military offices from whom they could receive the reflections of greatness. They were not ambitious men fighting for honor and glory, but comnon citizens fighting for their homes and country -fighting over again the battles their fathers had al- ready won-the rights of freemen and the privileges of a sovereign people.
The heroic deeds performed by these men if told sepa . rately would fill volumes ; we give a few instances of what we conceive to be the highest type of heroic action, not to laud a few names above the others, but as examples of what we believe a large majority of the Regiment were capable of, and most of them did acts equally brave.
The instances we give were not all the acts of brave East Tennesseeans, but we divide the honors with two other brave and noble men who first saw the light of day
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in other states, but cast their fortunes with us, the one to lead the Regiment gallantly until cut down by an assas- sin's bullet, and the other to take his place, and with equa! gallantry, lead them to the end. We select the following :
At Carter's Depot the Regiment made a charge through a corn-field, and one company, receiving a heavy enfilad- ing fire unexpectedly, fell back in some confusion. Col. Miller who was watching the fight rode forward (he was brigade commander ) and said : "Lieutenant, reform your men and follow me, there is no better place to die than on the soil of our native county; no enemy shall remain here while I'm alive." The charge was made and one buliet grazed the Colonel's neck while another wounded his horse, but the enemy was dislodged.
At Greeneville, Tenn., on the morning of September 4th, as we have related elsewhere, Col. W. H. Ingerton had taken a position near the town, unaware of the close proximity of an enemy, except Vaug!in's Brigade west of him, and which he was prepared to fight, just then a Union citizen rushed up to him and told him, "Gen. Mor- gan with 5000 men is encamped on College Hill, for God's sake get away from here or the last one of you will be killed or captured!" The man went on to say that Morgan and his staff were at the residence of Mrs. Wil- liams, a short distance away from his men. Col. Ingerton did not take time to think of retreating, but grasped the situation in a moment, and sent Captains Wilcox and Northington into town to capture Morgan, and at once reversed the position of his Regiment to meet and fight Morgan's whole force until the remainder of the Brigade could come up, which, owing to the tardy movements of Gen. Duke, they did before he was attacked by that officer. We have always regarded Col. Ingerton's courage and prompt action on that occasion as worthy to be recorded as among the bravest of deeds.
The heroism of Wilcox and Northington and their men in riding into Greeneville, driving away Morgan's guards, taking possession of his artillery for a time, and capturing a number of prisoners in the very midst of his army, were
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deeds worthy to be immortalized by a future Tennyson and placed alongside the "Charge of the Light Brigade."
Again at Morristown on the morning of October 28, 1864, the enemy was drawn up in line of battle on an eminence, extending across the open, a distance of about 800 yards. Gen. Gillem rode up and said to Col. Inger- ton: "Colonel, can you break that first line with a sabre charge?" Col. Ingerton replied, "I can try." We give the result of that sabre charge in the body of this history as Gen. Gillem told it in his official report.
At Saltville, Virginia, in December, 1864, the Thir- teenth Tennessee Cavalry, commanded by Leut .- Col. B. P. Stacy, was ordered at night to take the Regiment and go to the Saltworks and burn and destroy everything he could, and make all the noise possible. The Regiment started with Col. Stacy at the head of the column, and had not proceeded far when the guns of Fort Breckenridge turned loose. Discovering a picket or vidette some dis- tance ahead Col. Stacy dashed onto him before he had time to fire, took his gun from him and ordered him to lead the way to the fort, and the rebels were soon pouring out and our men actually riding into it. It is the only instance we know where a fort occupied by soldiers and guns was captured by cavalrymen. WVe quote in the body of the history. what Gen. Stoneman says about this affair. Our men rushed in, pell-mell, vieing with each other who should be first, but the horses of some of them fell into ditches and trenches and it was sometime before they reached the fort. The reader may imagine it was a warm time in the old town that night, and so it was in a sense, but the thermometer was hovering down close to zero and no fires were allowed, so that the men found other reasons for shivering after the excitement was over besides fear.
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