USA > Tennessee > History of the Twentieth Tennessee regiment volunteer infantry, C.S.A > Part 11
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Our loss in this day's (Monday's) fight was heavy again; and of Company E, Bailey Tucker was killed, and W. E. Brothers wounded.
We have a vivid recollection of both day's fighting as far as could be seen and understood by men fighting in the ranks. We observed on both days acts of courage and individual heroism, that could they be shown just as they occurred, would cause the actors names to be handed down in the pages of history for generations to come.
On Sunday afternoon Frank Crosthwait who was Color Bearer at the time, was lying down watching the enemy re- form. He had his chin resting on the spur of an elm tree when he saw a cannon ball coming straight towards him, bouncing and bumping along. He dropped back and moved his head just be- fore the ball struck where his chin rested. The gay little fellow looked back and laughed and remarked that "his head was not there."
Bunk Ridley who |was killed was a member of the second Tennessee, and was furloughed from Virginia, and volunteered to go into this fight with his brother, W. T. Ridley of Company E, was as big hearted and brave a man as ever battled for the Confederate's cause.
Late in the afternoon the retreat back to Corinth commenced ; the spare wagons and ambulances filled with the worst wounded, those who were unable to walk. W. E. Brothers, John Neblett and J. T. Shelton casually dropped in together. All were wounded, Brothers in the head, Neblett in the arm and Shelton in the shoulder. Shelton being weakest from loss of blood took position in the center, thus they marched through mud and water, wading 'swollen streams, until they met the wagons, one of the teamsters was Buck Hamilton of Company E, who said "he was ordered to the general hospital, but he'd be d-d if he didn't take this squad back to camp." Soon he had sixteen men of the 20th. in his wagon, when he came to a fellow lying by the road side with a bayonet hole through his thigh, who pleaded piteously to be ta-
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J. HARTMAN, Co. E. See page 438.
A. J. ROBINSON, Co. E.
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ken up. Buck said, "you see what I've got, if my boys say so I will take you if it pulls the necks off my mules." The boys said so, and Buck's little mules pulled seventeen men through the mud to Corinth.
The army went into camp at Corinth, Miss., and were drilled incessantly. Our brigade did the provost work for the town, and the pranks and jokes were just such as to make memory pleasant yet to recall. The duty we were on prevented us from engaging in the almost daily skirmishes with the enemy in our front.
While stationed here our army was re-organized. Thomas B. Smith of Company B was made Colonel; J. S. Gooch of Com- pany E, Lieutenant Colonel ; F. M. Lavender of Company H, Major; Lieutenant Harvey Ralston was made Captain of Com- pany E; W. T. Ridley was made first Lieutenant ; M. M. San- ders, Second Lieutenant ; and Jo. W. Peyton, Third Lieutenant ; Frank B. Crosthwait was made First Sergeant; P. Latimer, Second Sergeant ; W. E. Brothers, Third Sergeant ; aud W. W. Batey, Fourth Sergeant; W. D. Martin, and others not re- called were made Corporals.
Genl. Beauregard determined on changing his base, now drop- ped back to Tupelo, Miss., and from Tupelo, Breckin- ridge's Division was ordered to Vicksburg, Miss. We moved west through Potontoc to Abbeville where we took the cars to Jackson, thence to Vicksburg, where we did picket work for about six weeks, and drank bad water until only a few of us were able to answer at "roll call."
We met with no casualities at Vicksburg, notwithstanding we were constantly shelled by the lower federal fleet.
One day we were ordered on board the cars, but only four of Company E were able to go; other companies being just as bad off as ours. We went to Tangipaho, La. Here we left the cars, and Company E left one of her four men and started to Baton Rouge, La., with three men, but when we reached Amite River we left another member of Company E sick, the two remaining, W. E. Brothers and W. W. Batey, went on.
We halted at Comite Bridge and started at two o'clock next morning to surprise the enemy. We moved rapidly until within three miles of the enemy, a swamp on one side and a cane field
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on the other, when suddenly a dreadful roar was heard just ahead. Brothers was left file next the field when everything pressed his way. Just then some one yelled " Yankee Cavalry!" Brothers tripped and fell, the boys jumped over him as he made it on "all fours" to the fence. He tried to climb it, but the rails were rotten and would break and he would drop back. The boys on the other side had commenced to shoot, and Broth- ers was afraid they would hit him, and at the same time he was expecting some Yankee to chop his head off with a sabre. He dropped back close up in a corner of the fence, and as he saw a man passing on a horse he shot at him. Just then Col. Smith commanded the men to cease firing, as they were our own men, and he hoped no man in the 20th had fired a gun. Brothers hopped out of his corner, his gun still smoking, and promptly replied that he did not think any man in the 20th had fired. Smith reported this to Breckinridge and was complimented for the good behavior of the 20th Tennessee. But we soon moved on and a little after daylight we formed our line and marched straight ahead through the cane field into the edge of Baton Rouge, then we moved to the left, then forward again through the enemy's abandoned camp.
Here we halted, and then charged driving the enemy, and when we had re-arranged our line we were not ordered forward again, as the enemy now had the protection of their fleet, and the " Arkansas Ram " which was to have assisted us had been destroyed. The battle of Baton Rouge was a brilliant engage- ment, but was useless as our gunboat failed to show up. W. W. Batey commanded Company E in the latter part of the engagement, as W. E. Brothers had retired from the field with a chill on his hands, the first one he ever had, (perhaps in keeping cool in action, he had over done it, and got too cool).
We then retired to our camp, and in a few days went to Port Hudson, La. Lieut. M. M. Sanders with other convalescents had now rejoined us. Our company had no casualties on this campaign. In a short while we were ordered to Jackson, Miss., and after resting and taking quinine for a few weeks, were ord- ered on the cars to Holly Springs, or near there. Here we re- mained only a few days, when we started to re-enforce Bragg in Kentucky. While at Jackson, Miss., they were exchanging
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prisoners at Vicksburg. Spivey Stanfield who was captured at · Fishing Creek came in, and to our great joy and surprise, W. A. Vardell came in too ; he had been left for dead at Shiloh and his name had been dropped from the roll.
We left Holly Springs on the cars and returned through Jack- son, then to Mobile, Montgomery, Atlanta, and Knoxville. Here we learned of the battle of Perryville, Ky., and that Bragg was on his way back to Tennessee. We then proceeded to Mur- freesboro, where we remained until joined by Bragg's main army from Kentucky. Our regiment being near their homes, most of them were allowed, a few at a time, to visit their homes for a few days. The 20th and 45th Tennessee Regiments were sent to Stewart's Creek on the Nashville Pike to support our cavalry who were at Lavergne.
Many of Company E lived near here, and it was impossible to keep them in camp, but they would not stay away long at a time, and could hardly be missed. One day we were double quicked down to Lavergne, the enemy had driven our cavalry out, and when we formed and went in the enemy were going out on the other side, but they had fired the village as they went out, the greater portion of it being in flames as we went in. We returned to Stewart's Creek and in a few days went back to Murfreesboro where the great battle was soon to be fought. The boys had all been home, after an absence of about twenty- two months.
The enemy came up in our front on Dec. 29th, 1862, and on the 30th there was a good deal of skirmishing and cannonading. We were still in Breckinridge's division, on the extreme right of the army, and on the east side of Stone's River. The battle opened proper on the extreme left, on the morning of the 31st. We were not engaged until in the after-noon of that day, when we were double-quicked to the ford of the river, waded it, and moved to the left, crossed both turn-pike and railroad and started directly forward at the enemy. On account of the railroad our regiment moved in line behind the one that should have been next on our left, until we came under fire, then we moved to the right and came into our place between the river and railroad at Cow- an's Pond. (Cowan's house had been burned.) We now charged the bluff, and after a sharp fight held it, but we could
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not cross the field, and were forced back under the bluff on ac- count of a portion of our brigade giving way on our left and letting the enemy in behind us. But our regiment killed, wounded, and captured a great many of the enemy. Our loss was also quite heavy. Lieut. F. B. Crostwaite' was killed. Lieut. M. M. Sanders and W. P. Neal were wounded, with others not recalled.
That night we were withdrawn further to the left into the ce- dars, where we remained during the day of January Ist, 1863 and the morning of January 2nd. Early in the afternoon of the 2nd, we were hastily withdrawn from the advanced line and rapidly marched across the river at the same ford we waded be- fore, and down to the Mitchell House, where we, being on the extreme right, were the last to get into line of battle. But we immediately moved forward, crossed a high fence, then straight across a field to the crest of a low wooded ridge; this crest had a few trees that were mixed with bushes and briars, and was not more than one hundred yards in width. The enemy was drawn up with this in their front, and just as we came to the timber they fired. We dropped down, returned the fire and then charged. The enemy broke and fled across the open field to- wards the river. They had a second line mid-way of the field. We broke this too, and still pursuing, we struck a third line near the river, and they all went down under the bluff together, as we again dashed forward. As we pursued them across the field, we had left a line of Federals behind that now over-lapped us, but some of our Cavalry dismounted and chased them across the field. They were to our right, but really we were in advance of them, and they took shelter behind Ross' Gin. It was here that Frank Battle, carrying the colors, found them so badly shot and torn as to be hard to handle, and having gone some fifty yards in advance, dropped down, the colors falling on him. We thought he was killed, and Capt. W. T. Ridley rushed out to get the col- ors but Frank jumped up and commenced to wave them. He had only been tieing the fragments together.
But now the enemy had his time. We had only a few pieces of artillery, while the Federals had fifty-eight pieces on the bluff opposite us. They opened on us furiously, and we could do nothing more than go back across the field, through the timber
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and rally at the Mitchell House. The battle of Murfreesboro was over and our loss was heavy. Bud Vinson and Geo. Elder were killed. Jno. Allen Sanders was also killed. Geo. W. Wal- den was wounded ; other casualties are not recalled.
On the night of January 3rd, we started on the retreat, our command taking the Manchester Pike. We went back to Tul- lahoma, where we spent the remainder of the winter without any unusual incidents. We did lots of drilling while. here, and got in good shape for another campaign. It was here we re- ceived the "Breckinridge Flag," presented to us by the Gen- eral's wife. The fact should have been stated previously that while at Vicksburg, Miss., Capt. Harvey Ralston resigned and First Lieutenant W. T. Ridley became Captain of Company E by promotion. M. M. Sanders Ist Lieutenant, J. W. Pey- ton 2nd Lieutenant, and Frank B. Crostwaite was made 3rd Lieutenant. W. B. Sanders was made Ist Sergeant. While at Tullahoma, W. E. Brothers was made 3rd Lieutenant to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Lieut. Crosthwaite. In the spring we came back to Wartrace and camped near Fairfield. We were now in Stewart's Division, Bates' Brigade. While here the enemy advanced from Murfreesboro and drove our cavalry from Hoover's Gap.
A part of our brigade, the 4th Georgia Battalion Sharp Shoot- ers and our regiment was gotten in line immediately and pro- ceeded to meet them, with the 4th Georgia in front, our regi- ment following close behind. We moved steadily up a steep hill to the edge of a heavy woods. Just here the 4th Georgia wav- ered, and Col. Smith ordered them to move up, or get out of the way. We pressed right into the woods, the 4th Georgia falling in with us. Right here we met the biggest odds we had ever met on any field ; they were reported forty thousand strong. We were repulsed with heavy loss. Henry Davis of Company E was killed, and James Ingle was wounded; other casualties not recalled.
After skirmishing along for several days, Bragg retreated towards Chattanooga, stopped and skirmished a little at Tulla- homa. Our regiment was stopped at Bethpage Bridge across Elk River, to burn the bridge after our army had crossed. With the hot weather and the assistance of the Yankees, we had
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a warm time, but lost no men. We were ordered to remain there until relieved by Genl. Bragg's orders, but after burning the bridge, Genl. Wharton, who was commanding our cavalry there, told Col. Smith that he was going to retire from there, as the enemy were fording the river both above and below, and would soon have him and us cut off, and advised Smith to move us out, which he did.
We had gone some distance South when we were met by a Courier from Genl. Bragg, ordering us back to the river, with instructions to stay there until he (Bragg) ordered us away. So we marched back and deployed along the bank of the river and staid there until quite late, when a Courier came to relieve us.
Our command was now twelve hours ahead of us, and we had had nothing to eat since breakfast, and no prospect of getting anything soon. We trudged on up the mountains, tired, hungry, and sleepy, when we came up with Genl. Forrest and escort, resting beside the road. The General asked how we came to be so far behind, and on being told of the duty that had been inposed on us, asked if we had anything to eat. We told him not since breakfast ; he then fed us from the haversacks of his men and allowed us to pass on. We continued the retreat to Chattanooga, and after a short time went into camp at Tyner's Station, above Chattanooga on the E. T. V. & Ga. Railroad. We remained here until Rosecrans crossed the Tennessee River and occupied Chattanooga. We were then sent to McLemore's Cove, and right here somebody made a fatal blunder, and while there was no fight, it was quite plain there should have been, for we surely had Genl. Thomas bottled up in that cove. We stopped around Lafayette, Ga., until we marched to the deathly banks of Chickamauga. In this battle Company E was almost annihilated. We entered the battle numbering twenty-three, rank and file, and as we made our first charge, seventeen of those gallant men fell either killed or wounded. We had not fired a gun, nor did we fire until the battery in front of us was ours. This was a glorious charge. The remainder pressed right on for a distance of half a mile or more, when we were met by fresh troops, which forced our much shattered little band back, but we held the ground occupied by that fatal battery.
Our brigade in this charge advanced fully a half mile beyond
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our alignment. We simply retired to our regular line. When the battle closed on the evening of the second day, only two men in Company E, out of twenty-three were unhurt. They were R. J. Neal and Sam Walden. Neal's clothes were actually shot off of him ; he looked like he had been picked, but he was unhurt.
The second day's fighting was terrific also, but not so fatal to us as the first. Every officer and non-commisioned officer of our company was killed or wounded. The loss of Company E in this one battle was estimated at 952/3 per cent. It would be al- together unnecessary to make any comment whatever on the courage of men who went into such a "slaughter pen," for it is said that figures wont lie, and these are the figures. Lieut. M. S. Mason and Lucian Weakley were killed. Capt. W. T. Ridley, Lieut. M. M. Sanders, Sergt. W. W. Batey, Geo. A. Neal, Geo. W. Walden were wounded, other casualties are not re. recalled.
We would like to recall all the names, but the lapse of time has so dulled our memory that we can't do it. The battle over, the enemy retired into Chattanooga, our army closing in around and occupying Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain. Here we lived on short rations, and dug rifle pits until the enemy were heavily re-inforced. Then Longstreet was sent to Knoxville, and the remainder of the army was left to make the unequal fight at Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain. The night before the battle of Missionary Ridge, that portion of our army in the valley witnessed the battle of Lookout Mountain, some times called "the battle above the clouds." By the flashes from the guns we could plainly locate both lines, our men being steadily driven back.
About II o'clock that night our army was moved back upon Missionary Ridge. To add to our depression and the gloom of defeat, the moon was undergoing a total eclipse, and from our side the effect was anything but inspiring, every one seemed impressed with impending disaster. No amount of reasoning would throw off the gloom. Why should it presage defeat to us? Why not to the Yankees?
We reached the crest of the ridge, near Bragg's headquarters, and rested untill morning; but it seemed as if the gloom of the pre-
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ceeding night still hung over us. The artillery was parked be- hind the ridge, the horses were poor and weak. We watched them trying to get the guns up the hill, but the horses would not, or could not, pull them up even with double teams; but one shot from Fort Cheatham, and a single team carried its guns up promptly, the excitement of battle enabled them to do so.
We moved along the ridge about a mile north of Bragg's head- quarters and took our place on the line of battle. Our brigade, (Tyler's) formed the right of Bate's Division. The 4th Georgia Batallion to the the right, the 20th Tennessee next and so on. The enemy had formed outside his works and was moving across the valley towards us, we being on the crest of the ridge. It was indeed a grand spectacle for our little band to see-perhaps in modern times an entire army had not witnessed such a scene. The valley between the ridge and Chattanooga had been occupied by both armies for near two months, and was now almost desti- tute of timber ; and across this denuded valley Grant's Army of from 80,000 to 100,000 were marching in plain view of every Confederate soldier. We could plainly see every movement. When about half way across the valley our artillery opened on them and they could not well reply. How we did enjoy that cannonading,-no shells were disturbing us - we watched the effects of our artillery on them. It seemed distressing, but on they came, and when they reached the foot of the ridge, our guns could not be depressed sufficiently to play on them any longer.
Now our small arms were brought to bear on them as they climbed up the ridge. In order to cover a long front, we formed in one rank. At the right of our regiment, our line turned from north to the north-east, conforming to the crest of the ridge. In about a hundred yards it turned north again. This hundred yards was occupied by the 4th Georgia Batallion. As the enemy came up every thing in our front was driven back, so also in the front of the Georgia Batallion, and to the north of this, as they came steadily on, never halting.
Our regiment could only look on, we could not fire to the right oblique, for that would endanger our Georgia Batallion, and from the "lay of the land," they could not see the enemy. With
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CAPT. W. T. RIDLEY, Co. E. See page 150.
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bated breath we watched to see the result (no enemy in our front). Steadily Dea's men with their weak line fired into that brave, as well as overwhelming host of the enemy. We saw them as they staggered up to the half-finished rifle pits, a few passed on, then three stands of Federal colors in a bunch, mounted the works.
Dea's line was broken, not to their discredit however, for it would have taken more men to have done more. They were too heavily outnumbered. The Yankees first turned right and left, flanking our men out of the ditches. They next went for a bat- tery, in position between Dea's and Tyler's Brigades. Our men wheeled two guns and fired, at not more than a hundred feet dis- tance at the Yankees, but many of them were now over the works, and they rushed at the battery with fixed bayonets. The cannoniers fought them with their swab sticks, but they were soon overpowered and killed or captured with their guns. Every survivor deserved a medal, and every one killed, a monu- ment. The enemy now turned the guns down our trenches, and who can tell the suspense until they fired? Fortunately it was in- fantry and they could not sight a cannon with any degree of ac- curacy, and the charges of canister, for the most part went wild, one charge however tearing up a large stump in the rear of Com- pany E. Colonel Shy commanded us to move out by the left flank. We moved a short distance, and were commanded to move by the left flank again, which threw us into line again at an "about face." As we were moving back we noticed that our entire line south toward's Bragg's headquarters was broken and our men in full retreat. As we moved back our brigade contin- ued to fire at the pursuing enemy, until we got them checked, in a measure, and other brigades now began to reform, and order was partially restored. Colonel Shy discovered our field band in the rear, and ordered them to play " Dixie." This seemed to do more toward rallying the men than all else. We came to a field, and just across this was General Bragg, sitting on his horse with a large flag, appealing to the men to stand. Finley's Brigade now reformed, and our brigade was placed with the field in our front, Finley to our left, but before we finished our formation the en- emy advanced on us.
Night was fast approaching, and they made no determined charge, but kept up a pretty heavy firing, until darkness had
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gathered around us, so we were firing only at the flashes of each other's guns. It was thus that the enemy was checked, giv- ing the left wing of the army a chance to cross the Chickamauga river. Just here quite a singular incident occured :- Capt. W. G. Ewing of Co. A, not knowing the men on our right were gone, and hearing a command on his right, stepped out and asked what command it was. The answer being 18th Regt. Mich. State. He immediately reported to Col. Shy, who com- manded us "about face, forward march," and off we started on quick time, but some of the Yankees were suspicious and fired at us in the dark. Ewing's Company fired back, when Lieut. Brothers of company E innocently yelled out, "you are .shooting at our own men." Shy and Ewing repeated it, and luckily for us the Yankee officers heard it, and believed it and repeated it to their men, saving us from a scathing fire at close range. We did not wait for explanations, but crossed the 'Chickamauga river that night and retreated along the W. & A. railroad by Ringold, Tunnel Hill, and finally rounded up for the balance of the winter at Dalton, Georgia. Company E had borne its part well in this unfortunate battle. Captain W. T. Ridley was wounded in the head, and as he was being borne from the field another shot struck him in the leg, from these wounds he never fully recovered. George W. Davis and . O. C. Holland were captured, other losses of the Company are not recalled.
.- At Dalton we went into winter quarters, each mess built its own house, and the styles of architecture · were something wonderful, they would doubtless have aston- ·ished the Greeks and Romans. At any rate the houses kept ' us fairly dry and comfortable. We drilled here by Compan- · ies, Regiments, Brigades, Divisions and Corps, and when the campaign opened next spring the discipline was splendid, and ' we were prepared to meet Sherman. While here at Dalton, . Sergt. A. J. Irwin was made Lieutenant to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Lieut. J. W. Peyton, who was killed · at Chickamauga.
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