USA > Tennessee > History of the Twentieth Tennessee regiment volunteer infantry, C.S.A > Part 16
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On January 21, 1861, there was also a convention held jointly by the Bell and Everett and Douglass parties, which passed a resolution stating, "that we deplore the existence of a Union to be held together by the sword and the laws enforced by standing armies."
About this time a Union State Central Committee was gotten up composed of John H. Horney, Wm. F. Bullock, Geo. D. Prentice, James Speed, Charles Ripley, Wm. P. Boon, Phillipp Tompert, Hamilton Poe, Nathan Wolfe and Lewis E. Harvis.
About the middle of April Fort Sumpter fell, and the Presi- dent called on Governor McGoffin of Kentucky to furnish his quota of troops for invading the South, to which he responded : " Kentucky will furnish no troops for the wicked purpose of subdueing her sister Southern State." On the seventeenth day of April, two days after the Governor declined to furnish troops to the Federal Government, Hon. John J. Crittenden, who had just retired from the United States Senate, made a speech in Lexington endorsing the Governor's action in regard to furnish- ing troops to the Federal Authorities; and on April eighteen, the Central Union Committee issued an address to the people of Kentucky endorsing the Governor's course and favoring an armed neutrality. This Committee said also, " that if the enter- prise announced in the President's Proclamation, should at any time hereafter assume the aspect of a war for subjugating the
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seceding States, we do not hesitate to say, that Kentucky should promptly unsheath her sword in behalf of what will then become a common cause, in defence of a people jealous of their liberties, and when Kentucky detects this meaning she ought at once without counting the cost take up arms against the Govern- ment."
There was also a large meeting held in Louisville, that was addressed by Hons. James Guthrie, Arch Dixon and John Young Brown, and advocated the policy of armed neutrality. The Southern element of Kentucky was anxious to avert a war, and Gen. John C. Breckinridge, representing that element, clasped the hand of Hon. John. J. Crittendon as an approval of the armed neutrality question, and his followers sustained him in it. Had Hon. John C. Breckinridge declined to accept the neutrality proposition, and insisted on the State taking immedi- ate action with the South, there is but little doubt but Kentucky would have at once swung into line with the young Confederacy, but he yielded to the seductive persuasion of men who had scarcely sealed the compact before they broke it.
It is sickening to recall the duplicity that followed. A com- mittee of Union men at once visited Mr. Lincoln at Washington, and they returned and said that the President gave every assur- ance that their armed neutrality would be respected; yet in thirty days, secret emissaries were sent from Washington to organize in the State of Kentucky recruits for the Federal Army. The chief of them was one William Nelson, a native Kentuckian and a lieutenant in the United States Navy, who was well ac- quainted with a number of Southern Leaders, so he mingled with them without suspicion; at the same time, he was em- powered to issue commissions to officers, and make contracts for mules, beef and other army supplies. Through Nelson's instru- mentality there were 5,000 stands of arms shipped into Ken- tucky by May 20, 1861. How could he have gotten these arms and had them shipped into Kentucky without the consent of Presi- dent Lincoln, who had promised the Union men of Kentucky not thirty days before that he would respect the armed neutrality agreement ? These arms were shipped to Camp Dick Robinson, where several Federal regiments were organized and armed.
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This same William Nelson who was sent here by the Wash- ington Government, went all through Middle and Eastern Kentucky, issuing commissions from the Federal Government to Colonels, Captains and so on, if they would raise commands.
This is where the by-word originated, "as numerous as Ken- tucky colonels."
The Legislature of Kentucky met in called session May 6, 1861, and appropriated $750,000 to arm the State in defence of neutrality, under the direction of a military board composed of the Governor, Samuel Gill, Geo. T. Wood, Gen. Peter Dudley and Dr. Jno. B. Peyton, with instructions that these arms were not to be used against the United States or the Confederate States unless in protecting the soil of Kentucky against lawless invasions.
In the meantime recruiting was going on from both sides. The Confederates had a camp in Montgomery County, Tenn., which they called "Camp Boon," and the Federals had a camp in Southern Indiana that they called "Camp Joe Holt." The recruiting that was going on in Kentucky was secretly done by William Nelson and Joshua F. Speed, the latter was a bosom friend of President Lincoln.
This same William Nelson received a letter from L. Thomas, Adjutant General of the Federal Army, dated Washington, July 1, 1861, authorizing him " to raise regiments of infantry in East Tennessee and one regiment of cavalry ; also one regiment of in- fantry in West Tennessee, and appoint their officers and send their names to that office, and he would send to his care 10,000 stand of small arms, and one battery of six guns at Cincinnati, Ohio." Now was not this in keeping with the neutrality pro- position ?
The Southern sympathizers had done all that they could to de- fend the neutrality of their State, but the intreagues from Wash- ington, and the double dealing of the Union men of their own State, in breaking the compact that they made when John C. Breckinridge clasped the hand of John J. Crittenden, is a stain on Kentucky's fair name that will take years to wipe off.
The Federal Government now threw off its mask and advo- cated the occupation of the State of Kentucky; so on the 15th of
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August, 1861, by general order No. 57, issued from Washington, Kentucky and Tennessee were to constitute the Department of the Cumberland, and Gen. Robert Anderson was assigned to its command. This order ended the armed neutrality of Kentucky, and the Washington Government did what it intended to do from the biginning, viz : occupy the State with Federal bayonets. A great deal more could be said on Kentucky's position.
We will now return to our campaign in Eastern Kentucky.
January 1, 1862, found Gen. Geo. B. Crittenden, a son of Jno. J. Crittenden, of Kentucky, a graduate of West Point, and who at the outbreak of the war was a Lieutenant Colonel of Mounted Riflemen in the Federal service, in command of the Department of Eastern Kentucky, with the rank of Major General, and he had in his division the brigades of Felix K. Zollicoffer and Wm. H. Carroll. Zollicoffer's brigade was composed of the following regiments which had crossed over the Cumberland Rim opposite Mill Springs, and fortified the horse shoe bend of the river and called it "Camp Beech Grove" : The Fifteenth Mississippi, Sixteenth Alabama, Nineteenth, Twentieth, Twenty-fifth, Twenty-ninth Tennessee Infantry Regiments, and two companies of cavalry and eight pieces of artillery ; while General Carroll was on the south side of the river, and the following commands composed his brigade : The seventeenth, twenty-eighth and Thirty-seventh Tennessee Regiments, First Tennessee Batallion of Cavalry, two independent companies of cavalry, and four pieces of artillery, under Captain McClung, making in all about 4,000 effective men and twelve guns.
At this time, the Federal General, Thomas, occupied Somer- set, eighteen miles north of Camp Beech Grove, with eight regiments. Thomas also had stationed at Columbia, thirty-five miles north-west of Camp Beech Grove, five more infantry regi- ments under Colonel Bramlette, Colonel Carter's Brigade at London, and Colonel Hoskins with his regiment near Somerset, and General Schoopff with the Seventeenth and Thirty-eighth Ohio and Standart's Battery at Waitsborough, and five hundred of Wolford's cavalry that was ordered to reinforce Hoskin's near Somerset, all of these were watching the little command of Crit- tenden's of about 4,000 men.
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After Zollicoffer had crossed over his Brigade, and before Crittenden had taken command, he,-Zollicoffer,-received a letter from Gen. Albert Sidney Johnson, disapproving his crossing the river, to which Zollicoffer replied, " I inferred from your letter that I should not have crossed the Cumberland, it is now too late; I cannot with safety recross in face of the enemy with my limited means."
Now that our readers may understand the situation of the Confederate's army at this place, I will say that Mill Springs is a small hamlet on the south bank of the Cumberland, Beech Grove was just across the river on the north bank, and Fishing Creek flows from the north and empties into the Cumberland just above Mill Springs. General Crittenden learned on the 18th of January that the forces under Colonel Bramlette had moved up from Columbia to Logan's Cross Roads, only ten miles north of Beech Grove, with the expectation of effecting a junction with Thomas' forces at Somerset, which would give Thomas a force superior to his, and that this junction would be retarded by the swollen condition of Fishing Creek.
Crittenden held a council of war, and it was determined to attack the enemy in detail if possible. He therefore moved Carroll's Brigade across the river and united his forces on the north bank, and at twelve o'clock that night moved out his command with Bledsoe and Saunder's Cavalry Companies in ad- vance, on the road leading to Logan's Cross Roads, with Zolli- coffer in front of Carroll. At daylight our cavalry advance came upon the enemy's pickets two miles from their camps ; the skirmishing began, and a line of battle was formed, a cold winter's rain pouring down at the time. The enemy was not taken by surprise, and besides they had effected a junction. Zollicoffer formed his line of battle by throwing the Fifteenth Mississippi and the Twentieth Tennessee to the right of the road. The Tenth Indiana under Colonel Mason was already drawn up in line of battle waiting the Confederate attack. The Fifteenth Mississippi moved forward on the Tenth Indiana, which was stationed in a heavy woods, and was pressing them back, when Colonel Mason ordered the Fourth Kentucky Regi- ment, under Col. Speed S. Fry, to his support. At about this
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BRIG .- GEN. THOS. BENTON SMITH. See page 393.
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juncture Battle's Regiment of Zollicoffer's Brigade engaged the fourth Kentucky and attempted to flank them, but was checked by Carter's Brigade of East Tennesseeans.
Colonel McCook, with the Ninth Ohio and Second Minnesota, . was ordered up to the support of the Tenth Indiana and a section of Kenney's Battery, and fourth Kentucky, which made eight regiments and one section of artillery that the Fifteenth Missis- sippi and the Twentieth Tennessee were fighting. Zollicoffer attempted to form his line on the left of the road with the Nine- teenth and Twenty-fifth and Twenty-ninth Tennessee Regiments while he placed the only artillery that he had in the road ; this section of two guns were under the immediate command of Lieut. Mark S. Cockrill and was the only artillery that was fired by the Confederates.
The Federals kept extending their line to the left by bringing their reinforcements into action, the Mississippians moving to their right to keep from being flanked, and the Twentieth Ten- nessee trying to keep in touch with the Mississippians, left a gap between the left of the Twentieth Tennessee and Cock- rill's guns in the road, and in the dense mist of the rainy morning General Zollicoffer rode into this gap on the right of the road up to the Fourth Kentucky, whom he mistook for the Twentieth Tennessee, as that regiment was the only regiment between the Mississippians and Cockrill's Battery, and was fired on by a por- tion of Fry's Regiment, and he and his aid, Henry B. Fogg, were both killed.
The Nineteenth, Twenty-fifth, and Twenty-ninth Tennessee Regiments that were on the other side of the road were being engaged, but not near so heavily as the Twentieth Tennessee and Fifteenth Mississippi. As Zollicoffer's Brigade began to be forced back, Carroll's Brigade was formed, but could not stem the tide of confusion that was caused by the death of General Zollicoffer, and the forcing back of the Fifteenth Mississippi and Twentieth Tennessee who had bravely borne the brunt of the battle up to this time, the Twentieth Tennessee being armed with flint lock muskets, not one in five would fire on account of the incessant rain.
In the engagement on the left of the road, the Nineteenth
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Tennessee was the most hotly engaged, and after the death of General Zollicoffer, Colonel Cummings of the Nineteenth Ten- nessee, being Senior Colonel, took command of Zollicoffer's Brigade. Colonel S. S. Stanton of the Twenty-fifth Tennessee was severely wounded ; he also made the mistake that Zollicoffer did, viz., that he was firing on his friends, and ordered his regi- ment to cease firing and fall back. The enemy was now gaining ground on our left. Carroll's Brigade was now ordered up, the Nineteenth, Twenty-fifth and Twenty-ninth Tennessee were being driven back. It was here that the Seventeenth Tennessee gallantly met and held in check for some time the entire right wing of Thomas's Army, but was finally forced back by superior numbers and superior arms.
' The Twenty-ninth Tennessee under Colonel Powell came to the rescue of the Twentieth Tennessee and Fifteenth Mississippi and kept them from being flanked for a while, by pouring a galling fire into the enemy at close range. It was here that its gallant Colonel was wounded.
The Sixteenth Alabama, under Col. W. B. Wood, also ren- dered good service, but the battle was lost; a combination of cir- cumstances was against the Confederates, viz .: the loss of their principal officer at the opening of the engagement, the incessant rains that rendered one-third of the arms of the Confederates useless, and the superior arms of the enemy. A retreat was ordered back to Beech Grove, (and it did not take much order- ing), and the Federals followed us up that evening, and by dark were throwing shells into our camp. Crittenden recrossed his army that night, on a little steamboat named "Noble Ellis," leaving his camp equipage, twelve pieces of artillery, about 1,000 horses and mules and a number of small arms and the worst of our wounded. He retreated across the mountains about ninety miles to Gainesboro on the Cumberland River, where he received supplies from Nashville. This march in the dead of winter, was one of the most severe that I experienced during the four years of war. We lived almost the entire ten days on parched corn.
In the battle of Fishing Creek the following forces were en- gaged on each side : The Federals had in the engagement and
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on the grounds, Ninth, Fourteenth, Seventeenth, and Thirty- first Ohio, Second Minnesota, Tenth Indiana, Carter's Brigade of East Tennesseeans, Fourth, Tenth, and Twelfth Kentucky Regiments, Wolford's Kentucky Cavalry Regiment and Ken- ney's, Wetmore's and Standart's Batteries, making fourteen regiments and twelve guns; and General Thomas reported that he lost thirty-nine killed, and two hundred and seven wounded ; but General Crittenden said that the Federal loss was seven hundred.
The Confederates had the following commands in the battle : The Fifteenth Mississippi, forty-four killed, one hundred and fifty-three wounded ; Twentieth Tennessee, thirty-five killed, fifty-nine wounded ; Nineteenth Tennessee, ten killed, twenty- two wounded ; Twenty-fifth Tennessee, ten killed, twenty-eight wounded ; Seventeenth Tennessee, eleven killed, twenty-five wounded ; Twenty-eighth Tennessee, three killed, four wounded; 'Twenty-ninth Tennessee, five killed, twelve wounded; Sixteenth Alabama, nine killed, five wounded, making one hundred and twenty-five killed, three hundred and eight wounded, and ninety-nine missing.
General Zollicoffer's remains were kindly treated by General Thomas, who had them embalmed and carried to Lebanon, Ky., thence to Louisville, and shipped to Nashville, where he was buried in the Old City Cemetery within two hundred yards of where I am now sitting while penning these words.
The right wing of Albert Sidney Johnston's line of defence was now broken, Forts Henry and Donaldson had fallen, and Critten- den's Army at Gainesboro, had orders to meet Johnston's forces from Bowling Green at Murfreesboro, on their way to Shiloh. The Twentieth Regiment camped at Murfreesboro for a few days, and while here Gov. Isham G. Harris and Secretary of State Whitthorne made speeches to the Twentieth Regiment to en- courage them in the sadness they felt in leaving their homes, friends and State, to the mercies of an advancing foe ; but this was unnecessary. When orders came we fell into line like soldiers and patriots and left all behind, many of us to return no more, for the cause of our beloved Southland.
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On our way to Shiloh, we passed through Shelbyville, Fay- etteville, Tenn., and Athens, Ala., on to Decatur, where we took the cars to Iuka, Miss., where we camped a few days, and while here an alarm came that the Yankees were moving on us from East Port, a landing some ten miles from Iuka on the Tennessee River. The Twentieth Tennessee Regiment was marched out some three miles in that direction to meet them, but they did not come.
We were in a few days ordered fourteen miles further down the Memphis and Charleston R. R. to the little town of Burns- ville, where we camped until ordered out to the battle field of Shiloh.
While at Burnsville, only a few days before the battle of Shiloh, the Twentieth Tennessee Regiment drew new Enfield rifles with new accoutrements and English ammunition, and if there was ever a body of men that appreciated a good thing, it was this regiment, for they had experienced the inferiority of their arins to that of their enemy on the battle field of Fishing Creek.
And now as we were well armed and equipped, we thought that the Twentieth Tennessee Regiment was able to meet suc- cessfully a like number of any troops. When the accoutre- ments were being issued, one box turned out to contain thirty- three pairs of sewed boots. As there were ten companies in the Regiment, Colonel Battle, in order to acquaint the men with their new guns, ordered that three pairs of boots be issued to each company, and each Captain have his company shoot two hundred yards off hand, and the three best shots in each company to take the boots, the three remaining pairs of boots were shot for by the company officers.
While on dress parade at Burnsville, Miss., on the evening of April 3, 1862, was read to the Twentieth Tennessee Regiment Albert Sidney Johnston's "Famous Battle Order " that he issued just before the battle of Shiloh, which was as follows : -
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HEADQUARTERS ARMY OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
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Corinth, Miss., April 3, 1862.
SOLDIERS OF THE ARMY OF MISSISSIPPI : -
I have put you in motion to offer battle to the invaders of your country. With the resolution and disciplined valor, becoming men fighting as you are for all worth living or dying for you can but march to a decisive victory over agrarian mercenaries sent to subjugate and despoil you of your liberties, property and honor. Remember the precious stake involved, remember the dependence of your mothers, your wives, your sisters and our children on the results, remember the fair, broad abounding land, the happy homes and ties that will be desolated by your defeat. The eyes and hopes of 8,000,000 of people rest upon you.
You are expected to show yourselves worthy of your valor and lineage, worthy of the women of the South, whose noble devotion in this war has never been exceeded in any time.
With such incentives to brave deeds, and with the trust that God is with us, your Generals will lead you confidently to the combat, assured of success.
A. S. JOHNSTON. General Commanding.
When Genl. A. S. Johnston issued the above order, his army was composed of four Corps, commanded respectively : First Corps, Major Genl. Leonidas Polk ; Second Corps, Major Genl. Braxton Bragg; Third Corps, Major Genl. W. J. Hardee; Fourth Corps, Brig. Genl. John C. Breckinridge.
First division Polk's Corps, commanded by Brig. Genl. Chas. Clark, was composed of the following regiments and brigades, with the names of the Brigade Commanders.
First Brigade, Col. R. M. Russell commanding : 11th Louisi- ana, 12th, 13th, and 22nd Tennessee, and Bankhead's Battery.
Second Brigade, Brig. Genl. A. P. Stewart commanding : 13th Arkansas, 4th, 5th, and 33rd Tennessee, and Stanford's Battery.
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Second Division of Polk's Corps, Brig. Genl. B. F. Cheatham commanding : -
First Brigade; Brig. Genl. Bushrod Johnson, commanding : Blythe's Mississippi Battalion, - and 15th Tennessee, 154th Tennessee Regiment (Senior), and Polk's Battery.
Second Brigade, Col. W. H. Stephens, commanding : 7th Kentucky, Ist, 6th, and 9th Tennessee, and Smith's Battery.
The First Corps numbered 9, 136 men.
Second Corps, Major Genl. Braxton Bragg, commanding.
First Division, Brig. Genl. Daniel Ruggles, commanding : -
First Brigade, Col. R. L. Gibson : Ist Arkansas, 4th, 13th, and 19th Louisiana, and Bain's Battery.
Second Brigade, Brig. Genl. Patton Anderson : Ist Florida Battalion, 17th and 20th Louisiana, 9th Texas, Louisiana Con- federate Guards, and Hodgean's Battery.
Third Brigade, Col. Preston Pond, Jr .: 16th and 18th Louisi- ana, Crescent Regt., La., - Tennessee, and Ketchum's Battery.
Second Division of Bragg's Corps, Brig. Genl. James M. Withers, commanding : -
First Brigade, Brig. Genl. A. H. Gladden : 21st, 22nd, 25th, and 26th Alabama, 17th Louisiana, and Robertson's Battery.
Second Brigade, Brig. Genl. J. R. Chalmer's : 5th, 7th, 9th, and roth Mississippi, 51st and 52nd Tennessee, and Gage's Battery.
Third Brigade, Brig. Genl. J. K. Jackson : 17th, 18th, and 19th Alabama, Alabama Battalion, Arkansas Battalion, 2nd Texas Battalion, and Garordey's Battery.
Second Corps numbered 13,589 men.
Third Corps, Major Genl. W. J. Hardee, commanding : -
First Brigade, Brig. Genl. T. C. Hindman : 2nd, 5th, 6th, and 7th Arkansas, 3rd Confederate, Miller's Battery, and Smith's Battery.
Second Brigade, Brig. Genl. Patrick Cleburne : 15th Arkan- sas, 6th Mississipi, 2nd, 35th, 23rd, and 24th Tennessee, Cal- vert's Battery, Trigg's Battery, and Watson's Battery.
Third Brigade, Brig. Genl. S. A. M. Wood : 7th and 16th Alabama, 8th Arkansas, 9th Arkansas Battalion, 3rd Mississippi Battalion, 27th, 44th, and 55th Tennessee, and Harper's Battery. Third Corps numbered 6,789 men.
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Fourth and Reserve Corps, Brig. Genl. J. C. Breckinridge, commanding : -
First Brigade, Col. R. P. Trabue : 4th and 31st Alabama Battalions, 15th Arkansas, 3rd, 4th, and 5th Kentucky, Crew's Tennessee Battalion, Byrn's Battery, and Lyon's Battery.
Second Brigade, Brig. Genl. J. S. Bowen : 9th and 10th Arkansas, 2nd Confederate, Ist Missouri, and Hudson's Battery.
Third Brigade, Col. W. S. Statham : 15th and 22nd Missis- sippi, 19th, 20th, 28th, and 45th Tennessee, and Rutledge's Battery.
The Reserve Corps numbered 6,439 men ..
Johnston had 4,382 Cavalry under the command of Brig. Genl. F. Gardner. This gave A. S. Johnston a force of 35,953 infantry and artillery with the 4,382 cavalry added, a sum total of 40.335 soldiers to fight the battle of Shiloh.
Genl. U. S. Grant was at Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River, eighteen miles from Corinth with five divisions of Federals, each averaging 9,000 men, making a total of 45,000, under the following division Commanders : Prentiss, Sherman, Hurlburt, McClernand, and Smith ; Genl. Lew Wallace's Division of 8,000 was five miles below Pittsburg Landing at Crump's Landing, and was not in the first day's engagement.
Gen1. Don Carlos Buell was moving from Nashville out through Columbia on to the Tennessee River by forced marches, with an army of 25,000 men in four divisions, commanded by Generals Nelson, McCook, Crittenden and Thomas, to form a junction with Grant at Pittsburg Landing, which would have given Genl. Grant an army of 78,000 men, while the Confederate Commander only had 40,335 soldiers to meet them in a death struggle.
Johnston determined to move on Grant's 45,000, with his 40,335 and crush him before Buell could reach him ; so he moved out from Corinth and Burnsville on April 4, with his commands on the following roads.
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