USA > Tennessee > The military annals of Tennessee. Confederate. First series: embracing a review of military operations, with regimental histories and memorial rolls, V.1 > Part 44
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On the 16th of Sept., Munfordsville, Ky;, was reached. The enemy, there strongly fortified, had repulsed Chalmers's brigade with great slaughter. For the purpose of assailing the enemy's port at daylight on the morning of the 17th, Buckner's division, under cover of the night, was pushed up as near as possible to the line of fortifications occupied by the enemy, and the men slept on their arms in line of battle. Just before dawn Gen. Buckner rode up behind the regiment, and the officers and men, expecting an order to move on the enemy at once, took their places in line. In the presence of the regiment Gen. Buckner informed the officer commanding it that terms for the surrender of the Federal forces had been agreed upon; that at sunrise he was to take possession of the enemy's fortitica- tions, and that on account of its discipline he had selected the Seventeenth Reg- iment to accompany him. The General added that it was his purpose to avenge himself for the unkind treatment he and his command had been subjected to at the surrender of Fort Donelson, and laid upon the regiment a special injunction that no insult should be offered the enemy, and that there should be no exulta- tion over their misfortunes; that the undisturbed possession of their private property should be secured to both officers and privates of the surrendering forces. With an additional injunction to the men that they minst preserve an unbroken silence, the regiment was marched into the fortifications, fronted, and brought to a parade rest. As the Federals had a large lot of new uniform clothing, they donned it on the morning of the surrender; and as the regiment had marched from Chattanooga through a heavy dust, and without an opportunity to wash their clothing, the contrast between the appearance of victor and conquered was very striking. The men of the regiment stood in line, silent as statues, with their eyes to the front at regulation distance. The presence of an enemy in their forti- fications inspired a profound quiet among the Federal soldiers. It seemed that the whole affair on both sides was to be conducted with perfeet decorum and for- mality. The silence was broken by a wit among the Federal troops asking in a loud voice, " When is wash-day at your house, boys?" In violation of orders, a wag from Company A, in a like voice replied, "We have come up this morning to draw our soap!" All were convulsed by these sallies, formality was immedi- ately broken down, and Federals and Confederates fraternized, and the morning was spent in friendly intercourse.
Gen. Bragg having selected an eligible position in front of Munfordsville to de- liver battle, sought to draw Gen. Buel !-- who was following him -- into an engage- ment; and with this view he sent Gen. Buckner back in Gen. Buell's direction,
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REGIMENTAL HISTORIES AND MEMORIAL ROLLS.
with instructions to maneuver in his front, draw him into an attack, and then re- tire to his place in line. This movement was made; but Gen. Buell remaining purely on the defensive, and refusing to engage, Gen. Bragg recalled Gen. Buck- ner, and resumed his march.
In the march from Bardstown to Perryville the regiment occupied the rear, and as the enemy was pressing our cavalry, we were formed in line several times to receive them, but the cavalry repelling all these attacks, the regiment was not engaged until the Sth of Oct., on the field of Perryville. Here the regiment was on the left of the line, and the engagement began at 2 o'clock in the evening by an advance en échelon from right to left by brigades. The ground was firm and the evening clear and pleasant. The entire field of battle lay in unobstructed view between opposing elevations occupied by the respective armies. Not more than fourteen thousand Confederates were engaged, but the long march had left none in line save the best soldiers. In moving to the onset the soldiers marched with the order and regularity of the drill-field. The battle beginning on the left rolled to the right as each brigade in order followed en echelon. Nearly midway
between the point occupied by the regiment and the enemy was a rock fence, and the protection of this both sought to secure. There was no firing on either side as they advanced, except the shelling of the opposing batteries, which, occupying the slopes in rear, fired over the heads of their advancing lines. The regiment first reached the rock fence, while the enemy halted at a rail fence not more than sixty yards away. The firing opened with the utmost fury, but the regiment, pro- tected by the stone fence, suffered but slightly, while the enemy suffered severely. The enemy held his position stubbornly, and did not retire until the line of fence he occupied was strewn with his dead and wounded. When the foe retreated Gen. Buckner, pushing the Washington Artillery to the front, directed the regiment to support it. There were fourteen guns in the battery, and they were handled with surpassing skill. All the enemy's guns in reach were trained upon it, and the rain of shot and shell was terrific. Gen. Buckner remained by the guns in person, and from time to time he would turn to the men and tell them they must never permit the enemy to take the battery. His cool courage and manifest confidence in the men so inspired them that they entreated the General to allow them to charge the enemy at once. Night fell; the enemy quit the field; the full moon rose up and starel in the ghastly eyes of the dead who lay around the regiment which at midnight was withdrawn from the field, and the next day began the return march. Knoxville was reached on the 26th of October, and on that day the snow fell to the depth of four or five inches. On the march the men suffered a great deal from hunger. On the 6th of November the regiment started to Middle Tennes- sce, and reached Camp Harris in Franklin county on the 10th of November; on the 14th they marched for Shelbyville, reaching that point on the next day, and there remained until the Ist of December, when it proceeded to College Grove. While at College Grove, Gen. Buckner was called to the command of our forces at Mobile, much to the regret of his division, and Gen. Cleburne was appointed to its command.
As soon as General Cleburne took command of the division the regiment won his confidence and esteem, and while it remained with him no regiment contrib- uted more to the buildling np of his enduring fame.
On the 28th of December the regiment marched to Murfreesboro, and on the 23
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MILITARY ANNALS OF TENNESSEE.
29th the division proceeded through the town and formed in line in rear of Breck- enridge's division on the Confederate right; and here it remained until the even- ing of the 30th, when it was transferred from the extreme right, behind Stone's River, to the extreme left beyond the river. The line of battle was formed about 10 o'clock at night, and the men slept upon their arms. At dawn the next morn- ing the advance began. At sunrise the enemy was encountered, and the battle began and raged with uninterrupted fury until 2:30 o'clock in the evening.
It was a bloody march of two and a half miles by Cleburne's division, asailing and breaking line after line of the enemy without relief or support. During the time the regiment charged and captured three batteries. In front of the first one hundred and twelve men of the regiment fell killed and wounded, and at 2:30 o'clock that afternoon the regiment's loss in killed and disabled reached two hundred and forty-six. Forty-one commissioned officers entered the battle, an l twenty-two were killed and wounded.
When Cleburne's division was halted it had been under fire nine hours, and was literally ent to pieces. When he halted he had pressed the Federal right back perpendicular to the line of battle; and had it not been protected by the railroad cut, the destruction of the Federal army was inevitable.
On the evening of the 31st Cleburne's division was retired to a woodland six hundred yards in rear of the point to which he had advanced, and south of the turnpike. Here it remained inactive during the first and second days of Jannary. At 10 o'clock on the night of the 2d it was moved from the left to the right to support Breckenridge's division, which had been repulsed that evening. Here it remained inactive until 11 o'clock on the night of the 3d, when the ariny retired to Tullahoma and Shelbyville, at the former of which places Cleburne's division took post.
At Tullahoma a question arose as to whether the regiment or another command had contributed most to the capture of a particular battery in the battle of Mur- freesboro, and the issue being referred to Gen. Bragg, he, after hearing all the evidence, ordered that a device of two cannons crossed should be placed on the colors of the regiment as a testimonial of its distinguished gallantry upon the battle-field of Murfreesboro. From this time to the close of the war the regiment enjoyed the liighest confidence and esteem of Gen. Bragg. When the grand re- view of the army was had at Tallahoma in the spring of 1863, as the regiments passed, Gen. Bragg, pointing to the Seventeenth Tennessee, said to Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, "That is one of the regiments that broke the Federal right at Mur- freesboro."
After the battle of Chickamauga, Gen. Bragg did not see the regiment again until it marched through Richmond in 1864. When, as it marched, the regiment saw Gen. Bragg, it cheered bim long and loudly. A cloud had then fallen on the fame of Gen. Brags, and the compliment paid him by the regiment touched him deeply. To the Major of the regiment, who was then wounded and off duty, he said: "As soon as I saw the Seventeenth Tennessee I knew her by her walk. It was a proud day for me when that gallant regiment from my old army cheered me so cordially."
The long stay and favorable season at Tullahoma offered opportunity for drill- ing, an I after a competitive contest, to the Seventeenth was awarded the first place in Hardee's corps in drill. When this contest was had the regiment was commanded
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REGIMENTAL HISTORIES AND MEMORIAL ROLLS.
by its own officers, and none but the old soldiers were allowed in line. Afterward, and on the occasion of a general review by an arrangement between Gens. Polk an I Hardce, the regiment was drilled against the Fourteenth Louisiana of Polk's corps. The regiment, having no notice of anch purpose, went to the review with a large number of raw recruits in its ranks, which placed it at a disadvantage it could not overcome. In addition to this embarrassment, it had no field officer present, and was commanded by Gen. B. R. Johnson in the drill. In the field movements it was declared equal to its competitor, but inferior in the mannal of arms. Mortified by the unmerited defeat, the regiment demanded an opportunity to meet its competitor on equal terms. In a few days, by constant exercise in the - manual of arms, as well as in movement, it achieved perfect proficiency in both; but before a second contest could be had, military movements made it impossible.
On the 23d of April the regiment was removed from Tullahoma to Wartrace, and on the 20th of May Johnson's brigade was detached from Cleburne's division, marched to Fairfield, and then became a part of Stewart's division, which was formed at that time.
On the 24th of June the Federals forced Hoover's Gap, and on the evening of the 25th the regiment reached that point and at once began a skirmish with the enemy. The regiment, being detached, took position on a hill fronting the gap on the night of the 25th, and the next morning it was assailed by a brigade of the enemy, which failed to dislodge it. In the engagement the regiment lost several men killed and wounded. As the position of the regiment was isolated, the Fed- eral force abandoned the attack in front, and marching by its left compelled it to retire to another line of hills, which it occupied till the next day, when nnder orders it began to fall back before the enemy; and from that day until July 3d. when it ascended Cumberland Mountains, it was in the rear of the army and maneuvering in the presence of the advancing enemy and supporting the cavalry.
The regiment reached Loudon, East Tennessee, on the 11th of July, and re- mained there and at Charleston until the 4th of September, when it marched in the direction of Chickamauga; and it continued to march and countermarch in the neighborhood of Chickamauga until the 18th of September, when it encountered the outposts of the enemy at Pea-vine Creek and drove it across Chickamanga Creek. The regiment crossed Chickamauga Creek that evening and took position in front of Alexander's bridge and bivouacked in line of battle. The next day the battle of Chickamauga opened on the right, and about 11 o'clock in the morning the regiment engaged the enemy. The battle was stubbornly contested, and at one time the left of the regiment being uncovered the enemy turned it and ob- tained the rear of the regiment. As speedily as possible the regiment was rescued from its perilous position by placing it on a line perpendicular to the line of battle and fronting the flanking enemy, but in the movement -eventy men were ent off and captured. The regiment successfully maintained its position until night closed the conflict. The next day the fighting was renewed, and the regi- ment was on the front and engaged until after sundown, when the enemy was finally driven from the field. The casualties of the regiment in the battle amounted to one hundred and forty-five.
The regiment moved up in front of Chattanooga, and remained there until the 23d of November, when Johnson's brigade severed its long connection with the Army of Tennessee, and marched away to participate with Longstreet in the
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MILITARY ANNALS OF TENNESSEE.
campaign of East Tenessee, and arrived at Knoxville on the 25th. Gen. Lout- street was then investing the town, and hal prepared himself to assault Fort Loudon the next morning. The weather was very cold; the ground was freezing, and many of the men were without shoes. At 6 o'clock on the morning of the 29th the regiment was moved into position to support MeLaws's assault upon Fort Loudon. At sunrise the attack began, and while MoLaws's men assaulted with a courage never surpassed, they found it impossible to carry the fort, and were forced to retire after great slaughter. The supporting line was within four hundred yards of the fort, but was not moved forward, as the attempt was olivi- ously hopeless. In this engagement there were several casualties in the regiment.
On the 4th of December, Longstreet retired from Knoxville to Rogersille. By reason of the want of shoes, clothing, and food, the men suffered minch. On the 13th of December the command moved from Roger-ville to attack the en- emy at Bean's Station, and on the evening of that day that point was reached and the enemy engaged at once. The day was cold and freezing. The enemy, protol in the village of Bean's Station, had a wide sweep of open country in his front. The regiment in line of battle-the men with their guns at a right-shoulder, their bats waving above their heads, and the rebel yell ringing-moved right on to the enemy. A creek intervened, and without a word the men planged in and crossed it, and still advanced upon the enemy. In a little while the enemy gave way and the victory was won. In this battle, which lasted but a short time, the regiment lost four men killed and several wounded.
The command returned immediately to Morristown, and during the rent inder of the winter it was moved from point to point in upper East Tennessee, in the severest weather; but there was no other engagement while the command re- mained in East Tennessee, except an occasional skirmish with the enemy. On this campaign the men suffered sorely for clothing and food. When the re. i- ment left the Army of Tennessee it was badly clad. and the winter was passed without any addition to their supply of clothing. In the month of March, 1.4. hungry, barefooted, and in rags, the men of the regiment were asked to reenlist for the war, as their term of service had nearly expired. The colors were advanced, and all who were willing to enlist for the war were asked to form under the roi- ors. Every man in the regiment stepped up to the old battle-flag and enlisted for the war.
On the 2d of May, 1864, the regiment took the train at Abingdon, Va., for Petersburg, but the condition of the roads and engines delayed it several days, and it arrived in Petersburg just in time to front a large force of the enemy. com- manded by Gen. Butler, who were attempting to reach Richmond on that line. The Confederate force was too small to offer battle, but it being all important to delay Butler's march, so that Gen. Beanregard with his command might arrive, for seven days the command retired before the enemy, and assailed him at every eligible point with so nich spirit that Butler did not reach Dary's Bluf wmail the 15th of May; and Gen. Beauregard having arrived that night, the next morn- ing at dawn the regiment was put in line and moved upon the fortifications oo cupied by the enemy. The regiment assaulted in the most gallaut manner, and after a desperate struggle scaled the works and drove the enemy from behind them. The enviny abandoned at the works several twelve-pound guns with the caissons open and supplied with manunition. One of the companies of the
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REGIMENTAL HISTORIES AND MEMORIAL ROLLS.
regiment, having been drilled to handle artillery for such occasions, intmediately took charge of the guns and turned them upon the enemy with terrise effect. The assaulting colunin on the right of the regiment had not met a like -access, and while the regiment was occupying the works it had gained, and was engaged in driving the enemy in its front, shots were fired from the left by the enemy, and by one of these Col. Watt Floyd fell. There never lived a better man or died a better soldier. The regiment had lost several men in killed and wounded in the retreat to Denny's Bluff; and in asailing the enemy's line on the morning of the 16th it had twelve men killed and fifty wounded.
This battle opened the road to Petersburg, and the regiment retired there a: once and engaged in building fortifications in front of that town. From this time down to the month of February, 1965, the regiment alternated between the defenses around Petersburg and those around Richmond as the exigency demand- ed, and so constantly was it engaged in repelling the a -- aults of the enemy the limits of this sketch will not allow a relation of the separate affairs in which it participated; one of them was so remarkable, however, it will be noticed. Gen. Hancock made an assault upon the defenses at Petersburg, and one of his regi- ments, marching to the assault, was suffered by the regiment to march up within fifty yards of it, and then, to the astonishiment of the Federal regiment, rose np from behind its line of defense, and, without firing a gun, demanded the surren- der of the Federal regiment. The command was obeyed, and without the di -- charge of a piece the Federal regiment threw down their arms and marched over the works prisoners of war.
February 5, 1865, the regiment engaged the enemy at Hatcher's Run, and here it won great applause for its gallant charge. After a short and bitter struggle, i: drove the enemy from the field. In this action the regiment lost several men killed and a number wounded.
When the end was coming, the regiment was again in the defenses around Pe- tersburg, and on the morning of April 2d, 1805, it fought its last battle. The enemy assailed the line occupied by the regiment, and it repulsed the assault; but the enemy carried the line of works to the left, and at once the regiment attacked the enemy that had carried the works and drove them back. After the regiment had resumed its place in line the enemy repossessed himself of the nn- defended line, and again the regiment returned to the assault and drove him back. The Confederate force at this point was small, and while the regiment was cect- pied in the effort to hold the line against overwhelming odds, it was almost com- pletely surrounded by the enemy. In the action the loss in killed and wounded was severe, and more than one-half of the survivors were captured. The re- mainder of the regiment marched to Appomattox, and there on the 9th of April, 1865, for the last time, the regiment stacked its guns.
Omcial.] FIELD AND STAFF, SEVENTEENTH TENNESSEE INFANTRY.
Colonel, A. S. Marks; Lieutenant-colonel, W. W. Floyd; Major. James C. Davis; Adjutant. N. M. Bryant ; Surgeon, Alfred Jones: Quartermaster. R. P. Hanter.
Davis, Major James C., d. at Lewisburg, Tenn., Dec. 15, 1864. COMPANY A. Captain, James D. Hoyl.
Campbell, Lient. Robert A. k. at the battle of Beavers. J. W. B. k. at the battle of Perry- Perryville, Ky., Oci. s, 1862. . ville, Ky,, Vet. 9, 1902.
£
358
MILITARY ANNALS OF TENNESSEE.
Norvill, Daniel L., d. at Wilson's Giap, Tenn. Lower ;. J. t. N., k. at the battle of Murderes. Out. 6, 1891. boro, I.p. 1. 150. Ray, O. M., d. at Bardstown, Ky, Sept. 27, Smith, V. C, d. at Tullahoma. Tenn, Feb. 21, 1802. COMPANY B. Captain, W. A. Landis.
Broomfield Jolin. K. at the battle of Fishing Redden, J. W., k. at the battle of Fishing Creek, Jan. 9, 1 62. Creek, Jan. 9, 18 2. Crebbe, C. G., k. at the battle of Fishing Creek, Traxler, P. G., d. at MLIl Springs, Ky., Dee. st, Jan. 9, 1×02. Fuller, George, k. at the battle of Fishing Creek, Jan. 9, 1862.
Brown, W. A .. k. at the battle of Fishing Creek Jan. 9, 1999.
Jones, T. H., k. at the battle of Fishing Creek. Jan. 9, 1962.
Karr. J. S., h. at the bottle of Perryville, Ky., Vel. M. I.02. Traxler, George, k. at the Battle of Martines. boro, Dec. 31, 1-62. Willluns, Jos. P. k. at the battle of Murfrees- buro. Dec. 31, 1:02.
COMPANY C. Captains: F. M. Oir atal James C. Davis.
Bryant, Thomas De. Kvin engagement at Rock Rosson, Tecumseh R. k. in engagement at Castle, Det. 21, 1881. Rock Castle, Oct. 21, 1501. Cochran, Thomas, k. in engagement at Rock Orr, Cipt. F. M. k. at the battle of Murien .. Castle, Ocr. 21, 1861. boro, Dec. 31, 1862.
Duncan, Brantley W., k. in engagement at Glenn. M. A. C., k. : t the battle of Murfrees- boro, Dec. 31, 1862.
Rock Castle, OPr. 21. 1x01.
Jones, William N., k in engagement at Rock
Gonll, Thomas, k. at the battle of Murfrees- Castle, Oct. 21, 1861.
boro, Dec. 31, 1542.
Jordan, J. M., d. Feb. 17, 1863.
COMPANY D. Captain, H. HI. Cardan.
Cardan, Capt. H. H. k. at the battle of Per- Smith, Solomon, k. at the battle of Murfrees- ryville, Ky .. Oct. S. 1862. : boro, Dec. 31. 1sc2.
Corn, Lienr. G. W .. k. at the battle of Mur -!
freesboro, Dec. 31, 1862.
COMPANY E. Captain, A. S. Marks.
Tipps, G. d. at Carthage, Feb. 15, 1862. Limbough, H. H., d. Sept. 7, 1801.
Tipps, J. F., d. Nov. 19, 1861. Gaither. Philip, k. at the battle of Rock Castle,
Newman, O. I. k. at the battle of Rock Castle, Oct. 21. 1:31.
Oct. 21, 1sb1. Taft. J. T., k. at the battle of Rock Castle, O .t.
Scott, W. W .. k. at the battle of Rock Castle, 21. 1501.
Oct. 21. IS/1. Franklin, B. H., b. at the battle of Rock Cas. tle, Oct. 21, 1861.
Speck, Amos, k. at the battle of Rock Castle, Oct. 21, 1sc1.
COMPANY F. Captain, R. P. Hunter.
Green, W. D., d. Dec. 4, 1861.
i Smithson, J. O. P., d. at Camp Buckner, Ky.
Robinson, W. J .. d. at Camp Hope, Tenn., Sept. 20, 1s 1. Sept. 11, 1×1. Vaden, W. N., h. at the battle of Murfree --
Putnam. J. T., d. at Camp Hope, Tenu., Sept. boro, Dec. 31, 1802.
25, IsGi.
COMPANY G. Captain. J. L. Arnistrong. Norton, N. G., d. at Cumberland Gap. Nov. 2, Lloyd, J. R. k. at the battle of Fishing Crees. 1861. Jan. 109, 1862. Carr, Nathaniel. k. at the battle of Fishing Manning. T. E .. k. At the battle of Fishing Creek, Jan. 10, 1962. Creek, Jan. D), Irc2. Norton. W. N. k. a: the battle of Fishing MeCrory, JJ. H, k. at the battle of Fishing Creek, Jan. 1., 1-62. Creek, Join. 10, 1992.
£
Palmer
359
REGIMENTAL HISTORIES AND MEMORIAL ROLLS.
Ward, W. B., k. at the battle of Fishing Creek, ; Napier, J. M., k. at the battle of Murfrees- Jan. 19. 1862.
Jacobs, William, k. at the battle of Murfrees-
boro, Dec. 31, 1862.
boro, Dec. 31, 1sc2.
COMPANY H. Captain, R. H. MeCrory.
Wilson, Thomas, k. at the battle of Fishing ; Stran, Allen, d. at Corinth. May, 1862. Creek, Jan. 10, 1:62. Cochran, W. J., k. at the battle of Murfrees
Appleby, James L., d. Sept. 23, 1861. boro, Dec. 31. 1502.
Harris, G. L., k. at the battle of Perryville, O'Neal, Capt. Geo. W., k. at Fort Harrison, Sept. 29, 1864.
Ky., Oct. 8, 1862.
COMPANY I. Captain, W. J. Matthews.
Rose, Stephen, d. Nov. 1, 1861.
f Russell, John, d. at Corinth, May 15, 1862.
Anderson, G. S., k. at the battle of Murfrees-, Pelham, Thaddeus, k. at the battle of Mur- boro, Dec. 31. 1:52. freesboro, Dec. 31, 1862.
Tomkins, G. W. k. at the battle of Murfrees- Clark, Henry, d. July 8, 1864. boro, Dec. 31, 1862.
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