USA > Tennessee > The military annals of Tennessee. Confederate. First series: embracing a review of military operations, with regimental histories and memorial rolls, V.2 > Part 10
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After our surrender the privates were sent to Camp Douglas, Illinois, the ofli- cers to Johnson's Island. The privates were exchanged at Vicksburg, Miss., in September, 1862; the officers were exchanged in Virginia, but soon joined us at Vicksburg. The regiment reorganized at Clinton, Miss, about the last of Sep- tember, 1862. W. A. Quarles was again elected Colonel, and I. N. Hulme was elected Lieutenant-colonel. Levi McCollum was reelected Major. The five Al- abama companies who had served with us until now were put with Alabama com- panies, and we received five Tennessee companies in their stead. The Forty- second was then composed of ten companies of Tennesseans from Middle and West Tennessee.
From Clinton the Forty-second journeyed exactly as did the Forty-ninth, to which the reader is referred. In March, 1863, Col. Quarles was made Brigadier- general, when, by seniority, Hulme became Colonel; MeCollum, Lieutenant-col- onel; and Hubbard, Major.
We left Port Hudson, La., on the 6th of April, 1865, en route for Jackson, Miss. Thence we were ordered to Vicksburg to reinforce Gen. Pemberton. We were within fourteen miles of that place when it surrendered July 4, 1863. . We be- gan our retreat from Bird Song Pond on the morning of the 5th of July, falling back to Jackson, at which place we held the enemy in check for several days. We were with Gen. Loring, and served under Gen. Johnston in his campaign in Mississippi. We were next sent to Mobile, Ala .; thience to Dalton, Ga .; thence back to Mobile; thence to Mississippi again.
Gen. W. A. Quarles was now commanding our brigade. Our former command- er was Gen. S. B. Maxey, of Texas, a gallant and chivalrous officer; and though the brigade loved him dearly, yet they had great satisfaction in his successor, Gen. Quarles, whom every soldier in the brigade loved and served as a son does a fa- ther. When off duty he was "one of us," but when occasion demanded it he was dignity itself. Ile was a brave and brilliant soldier, yet careful and prudent; wise in counsel; full of executive ability. Our division commander was Gen. French, Lieut .- gen. Polk commanding the corps. We went from Meridian, Miss., to Mobile, Ala., being thence transferred to the Army of Tennessee. Our divis- ion commander then was Gen. E. C. Walthall, of Coffeeville, Miss., an excellent officer. We were in the engagements at New Hope Church in May, 1864, Pine Mountain and Kennesaw in June. At Pine Mountain Gen. Polk was killed. After his death Gen. Johnston took charge of the corps.
We were in the engagements at Smyrna Depot, Peach-tree Creek, Atlanta, and Liek-skillet Road. At Peach-tree Creek and Liek-skillet we suffered severely, particularly at the latter. The battle of Franklin, however, was more destruc- tive to our regiment by far than any previous battle had been. We were only a skeleton when the battle began. The Forty-seconi went into that battle with
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MILITARY ANNALS OF TENNESSEE.
about one hundred and seventy-five men, and came out with about half that nam- ber. Here our Colonel, I. N. Hulme, received a wound from which he never re- covered. I would mention here our Color-bearer, an Irishman named Maney. :: man literally without fear. He had his head nearly severed from his body while trying to plant the flag on the third line of the enemy's works. To the best of my recollection, the Forty-second came out of the battle of Franklin with about eighty-five men. The company to which I belonged went into the battle with twenty-seven men, and came out with thirteen killed and wounded, eight of whom were killed dead on the field. Our Brigadier-general, Quarles, received a severe wound in the arm in this battle. Maj .- gen. Walthall had his horse shot under him. Adjt .- gen. Stephen A. Cowley was killed, with many other brave and true Tennesseans, whom I would gladly mention, but cannot recall their names; so I "leave them alone in their glory."
From Franklin we pursued the enemy to Nashville, arriving there December 16, 1864. We contended with the Federal forces there for three days, but accom- plished nothing, and retreated on the 20th. On this retreat I was captured near Spring Hill, Tenn., and sent to Camp Chase, Ohio. Was exchanged in March, 1865, by way of Richmond, Va. Was siek in a hospital at Greensboro, N. C., when the armies surrendered. Hence my story of the Forty-second Tennessee Infantry practically ends with the battle at Nashville.
[Thomas A. Turner was a private in Co. G .- J. B. L.]
QUARLES'S BRIGADE.
Composed of the Forty-second Tennessee, Col. I. N. Hulme; Forty-sixth Tennessee, Col. R. A. Owens; Forty-eighth 'Tennessee ( Voorhies's), Col. W. M. Voorhies; Forty-eighth Tennessee (Nixon's), Col. H. G. Evans; Forty-ninth Tennessee, Col. W. F. Young; Fifty-third Tennessee, Col. J. R. White; Fifty-fifth Tennessee, Col. G. B. Black; Fourth Louisiana, Col. S. E. Hunter: Thirtieth Louisiana, Lieut .- col. Thos. Shields; Fenner's battery, Louisiana, Capt. C. E. Fen. ner.
QUAELES AND STAFF.
Wm. Andrew Quarles, Tennessee, Brigadier-general ; date of rank, Aug. 25, 1863. Raised a regiment at Camp Cheatham, 1861. Sent to Fort Donelson. Captured and sent to prisen. and exchanged in September, 1862. Severely wounded twice at battle of Franklin. The hospital that he occupied was afterward captured by the Federal army, and he did not recover from his wounds till long after the close of the war.
Thos. G. Cox, District of Columbia, Capt. and A. A. G .; date of rank, Oct. 1, 1863. Age twen- ty-six years. Served through war. Died since.
W. B. Munford, Tennessee, A. A. A. G. Age twenty years. Killed at battle of Franklin.
S. A. Cowley, Virginia, Capt. and A. I. G .; date of rank, Sept. 9, 1863. Age twenty years. Killed at battle of Frank in.
T. L. Bransford, Tennessee, Capt. and Ordnance Off .; date of rank, Aug. 25, 1803. Sarrei through war. Died since.
Ashton Johnson, Missouri, Lieut. and A. D. C .; date of rank, Aug. 25, 1863. Age eighteen · years. Killed at battle of Lick-skillet Road, Atlanta, Ga., July 28, 1861.
Polk G. Johnson, Tennessee, Lieut. and A. D. C .; date of rank, July 20, 1804. Age nineteen years. Wounded at Atlanta, Ga. Served through war.
G. S. Atkins, Tennessee, Maj. and Q. M .; date of rank, Aug. 25, 1863. Died in service just before close of war.
John Q. Thomas, Kentucky, Maj. and Com .; date of rank, Aug. 25, 1803. Served through war.
Theo. Westmoreland, Alabama, Maj. and Surg. Served through war.
The following officers acted on the staff at different times during the war by detail :
A. F. Smith. Tennessee, Lient, and A. A. A. G. Detached from Forty-ninth Tennessee Reg- iment, as such, for some time. Served through war on staff of Gen. E. C. Walthall. Wound- ed in North Carolina, 1865.
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REGIMENTAL HISTORIES AND MEMORIAL ROLLS.
Clarence Quarles, Arkansas, A. A. D. C. Served through war.
G. L. Harris, Tennessee, Capt., A. Q. M., and Com. Served through war. W. R. Poindexter, Kentucky, Capt. and A. Com. Served through war. James M. Jackson, Maj. and A. Surg. Served through war. R. S. Napier, Tennessee, Capt. and A. Surg. Served through war. Jas. Shute, Louisiana, Capt. and A. A. D. C. Served through war. Ed. Biddel!, Missouri, A. A. D. C. Served through war.
Lieut .- gen. A. P. Hill, Third Corps, Army of Northern Virginia. Staff: Frank W. Green, Tennessee, Capt. and A. C. S .; date of rank, May 17, 1862. Surrendered st Appomattox.
Brig .- gen. D. C. Govan, Cleburne's division, Army of Tennessee. Staff: W. S. Sawrie, Ten- nessee, Adjt. and A. A. A. G .; date of rank, Sept., 1863. Surrendered at Greensboro, N. C.
To staff officers from Tennessee: In the volume which has been so long in preparation, I wish to record each Tennessean who filled a staff position, whether with a General from Ten- nessee or any other State. This circular is sent out as a specimen, so that parties interested may have an opportunity of furnishing the requisite information.
On Jan. 1, 1884, printing will commence. All details should be in by that date. J. BERRIEN LINDSLEY, Editor Military Annals of Tennessee. Nashville, Aug. 25, 1883.
N. B .- The above was widely circulated, but in vain. Will not the friends of Tennessee Confederate history at once prepare such tables for volumes yet to follow ?
Official.] FORTY-SECOND TENNESSEE INFANTRY.
COMPANY A. Captain, J. L. Morphis.
Smith, Robert, k. in battle.
Fulton, L. D., d. May 9, 1862.
Foster, W. A., d. March 22, 1863.
Flowers, J. H., d. May 19, 1862.
Rhoten, W. H. H., d. Dec. 4, 1862.
Gibson, L. J. A., d. Aug. 1. 1862.
Reynolds, W. H. H., d. Oct. 6, 1862.
Anderson, W. J., d. Dec. 12, 1862.
Kinchen, A. J., d. Aug. 28, 1862. Magee, A. J., d. Jan. 10, 1862.
Avery, J. A., d. Nov. 12, 1862.
Morton, Benjamin, d. July 20, 1862.
Clifton, W. R., d. June 19, 1862.
Depositor, R. F., d. Aug. 29, 1862.
Essary, T. P., d. May 12, 1862.
Forsythe, John, d. Nov. 21, 1862.
Forsythe, Solomon, d. Aug. 12, 1862.
Fulton, J. W., d. Nov. 29, 1862.
Willis, J. H., d. Jan. 12, 1863. Welsh, J. W., d. March 2, 1862.
COMPANY B.
Captain, Josiah R. Hubbard.
Owing, Samuel H., k. at Fort Donelson.
į Howell, Geo. W., d. a prisoner of war.
Carter, Frank, k. at Perryville.
Askins, W. W., d. Feb. 9, 1863.
Boyd, Wesley, d. Feb. 9, 1863.
Fox, George, d. Oct. 27, 1863.
.
Woods, Francis M .. d.
Gilbert, Webster, d. a prisoner of war.
Yates, Major J., d. May 6, 1863.
COMPANY C. Captain, J. R. Farabee.
Strong, L. H., d. June 10, 1863. Baxter, D. N., d. Feb. 4, 1963. Brandon, J. B., d. May 7, 1863. Cranch, D. W., d. Sept. 5, 1863. Foster, J. E., d. July 3. 1802. Foster, E. G., d. April 25, 1852. Humphreys, W. T., d. Dec. 6, 1862 Hammer, T. B., d. July 4, 1862. Harrell, B. F., d. June 7, 1862. Jones, J. H., d. June 7, 1862.
Ray, J. R., d. Nov. 25, 1862. Reed, James, d. Oct. 11, 1862. Richardson, Berry, d. April 18, 1862. Surratt, Jacob, d. June 12, 1862.
Jeanes, Carter, d. a prisoner of war. Millburn, Oliver P., d. a prisoner of war. Rochelle, John G. W., d. March 1862.
Jones, W. B .. d. May 10, 1862. Kuncell, J., d. Jan. 12. 1863. Lemmon, S. T., d. Dec. 12, 1862. Mize, W. H., d. May 15, 1863. Meacham, F. L., d. May 21, 1862. Moore, W. J., d. May 20, 1862. Patrick, J. F., d. May 26, 1862. Rodgers, V. B., d. April 11, 1862. Randall, J. J., d. April 20, 1862. Randall, F. M., d. April 27, 1862.
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MILITARY ANNALS OF TENNESSEE.
Sawyers, J. L., d. March 30, 1862. Thompson, H. A., d. May 4, 1863. Wiles, S. H., d. May, 22, 1862.
Wiles. J. M., d. May 5, 1862. --
COMPANY D.
Captain, James M. Grace.
Grace, Capt. James M., d. March 3, 1803. Thearin, J. T., d. July 6, 1863.
Reed, Wm, d. Aug. 15, 1862.
McCarter, W. M., d. May 3, 1862. Adams, 'T. C., d. in prison. Carter, T. E., d. Feb. 12, 1802. Eaton, W. M., d. July 1, 1862.
Erwin, Thomas, d. March 10, 1862.
Freeman, Thomas, d. May 19, 1363.
Fortner, R. J., d. May 21, 1862. Gee. George, d. May 6, 1862. Grantham, J. B., d. April 3, 1862. Johnson, D. J., d. Oct. 7, 1862.
Kennedy, Jolın, d. April 16, 1862. Reed, J. C., d. a prisoner. Roach, Jesse, d. March 10, 1862. Ragon, J. S., d. Aug. 6, 1562. Shannon, J. K., d. Feb. 23, 1863. Scott, Jesse, d. June 10, 1862. Thearin, A., d. May 22, 1862. Stephenson, W. J., d. a prisoner. Tilmon, J. S., d. Oct. 31, 1862.
Thompson. P. H., d. May 24, 1862.
Williams, J. N., d. March 30, 1863. Webb, T. A., d.
COMPANY E. Captain, C. C. Henderson.
MeCauley, P., d. a prisoner of war. Branning, E., d. a prisoner of war.
Miller, E., d. a prisoner. 1
Miller, W. H., d. Dec. 8, 1862.
Brake. B., d. a prisoner of war.
Morgan, J. A., d.
Cushing, J. P., d. a prisoner of war.
Oglesby, Wm., d. a prisoner of war.
Cushing, W. B., d. a prisoner of war.
Chance, A., d. Nov. 21, 1801.
Dixon, C., d. March, 1862.
Fletcher, J., d. May 6, 1863.
Hackler, R. R., d. a prisoner.
Hackler, Hall, d. July 28, 1863.
Smith, J., d. a prisoner of war.
Jones, F., d. March 20, 1862.
Lennings, W. P., d. March, 1863.
Miller, S. L., d. a prisoner.
COMPANY F. Captain, B. F. Coleman.
Sanders, T. G., d. May 11, 1862. Sutton, O. M., d. April 4, 1862.
Åskins, Lewis, d. Oct. 7, 1862.
Blackwell, Wm., d. Nov. 12, 1861. Baker, G. W., d. April 14. 1862.
Bastian, D. L., d. March 29, 1862. Bastian, W. C., d. June 12, 1862. Chandler, J. N., d. March 9, 1862. Chandler, J. G., d. April 12, 1862. Chandler, J. M., d. March 17, 1862. Coyle, Adam, d. April 7, 1863. Cunningham, S. M., d. June 14, 1863. Groves, David, d. Oct. 22, 1863.
Hughes, W. A., d. Sept. 13, 1863.
Hutcherson, J. M., d. Aug. 25, 1863. Jones, John, d. Nov. 18, 1861. Lowe, Cyrus, d. June 30, 1862.
Murphy, A. S. D., d. Nov. 9, 1862. Morrison, T. B., d. Aug. 17, 1862. Richardson, Rufus. d. Oet., 1862. Michael, Wm., d. May 15, 1862. Morrison, A. J., d. Feb. 17, 1862. Sparks, Jesse, d. March 1, 1862. Sawyers, James, d. March 14, 1802. Vernon, John, d. April 11, 1862. Viek, T. W., d. June 2, 1862.
COMPANY G. Captain, G. M. Pardue.
Dye, G. H., k. at Fort Donelson. Fambrough, W. H., d. Aug. 24, 1862. Hogan, G. F., d. April 12, 1862. Jones, Wm., d. March 28, 1863. Jackson, H. E., April 2, 1862. Johnson, J. S., d. Feb. 28, 1863. McDaniel, Thomas, d. Ang. 30, 1862. Mc Daniel, Wm , d. Jan., 1862. Miles, M. L., d. Oct. 20, 1862. Noblitt, S. O., d. Aug. 26, 1803.
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Pickering, W. F., d. Jan. 30, 1863. Stack, W. H., d. April 26. 1862. Smith, W. J., d. Jan. 5, 1863. Smith, A., d. April 12, 1863. Stecasley. F. M .. d. Feb. 5, 1863. Frawler, J. W., d. Jan. 25. 1863. Weakley, R. L., d. Oct. 15, 1863. Weakley, J. W., d. June 10, 1862. Weakley, W. E., d. June 6, 1562.
. ..
Wesson, J., d. March 22, 1862.
Odam, .I. A., d. a prisoner of war. O'Niel, M., d. a prisoner of war. Pinner, G. W., d. a prisoner of war. Pilcher, G., d. a prisoner of war. Rankin, J. W., d. a prisoner of war.
Strickland, J. L., d. a prisoner of war. Brown, W. E., d. a prisoner of war.
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REGIMENTAL HISTORIES AND MEMORIAL ROLLS.
COMPANY H. Captain, W. P. MeCollum.
Moore, J. H., d. Feb. 25, 1863.
Roberts, Elijah, d. Ang. 28, 1863. -
Sunderland, Levi, d. Oct. 4, 1863.
McKinney, Eli, d. Feb. 13, 1861.
Kirkland, Aaron, d. March 11, 1863.
Fowler, T. J., d. Feb. 20, 186 !.
Rice, Stephen, d. March 3, 1863.
Page, John, d. April 11, 1862.
COMPANY I.
Captain, G. W. Lovett.
Flayer, W., d. Dec. 8. 1862. Meadlow, C., d. June 12, 1862.
Conners, J., d. Aug. 2, 1862. Jackson, W., d. June 12, 1802.
Kelley, R .. d. June 1, 1862.
Burns, L. A., k. in battle.
Cockran, M., d. Oct. 4, 1861.
Sparks, J., d. Oct. 21, 1862. Shungrough, J., d. Aug. 14, 1862.
COMPANY K. Captain, Isaac N. Hulme.
Dobbs, Hugh, d. Ang., 1862.
Hensley, E. T. D., d. Aug., 1862.
Dixon, Alexander B., d. April 22, 1863.
Harden, Thomas HI., d. Dec. 19, 1861.
Hensley, James B., d. April, 1862.
Hunt, Joel, d. March, 1862.
Brakefield, Lemuel, d. Dec. 12, 1863.
Randall, J. C., d. Aug. 6, 1862.
Cates, John H., d. March 14, 1863.
Spurlock. John, d. April, 1862.
Clayton, Wm., d. Dec. 3, 1861.
Sharp, Levi, d. March, 1962.
Depriest, James, d. Feb. 26, 1863.
Stanley, J. A. W., d. Sept. 14, 1862.
Evans, Geo. W., d. June, 1563.
Ward, H. G., d. April, 1862.
Herrington, W. H., d. Feb. 4, 1862.
Ward, Thomas D., d. April, 1802.
FORTY-THIRD TENNESSEE INFANTRY. BY J. N. AIKEN.
WHEN the State of Tennessee determined to raise a provisional army to resist what our people considered Federal aggression, Governor Harris appointed Brig .- gen. Caswell, with Maj. D. M. Key, of Hamilton county, as Assistant Adjutant- general, and the Hon. James W. Gillespie, of Rhea county, as Assistant Inspect- or-general, to organize the regiments to be raised in East Tennessee. These troops were turned over to the Confederate authorities when Tennessee, in June, 1801, became a member of the Confederacy. Then Gillespie and Key determine i to raise a regiment of their own, and for this purpose associated with themselves Capt. Lawson Guthrie, of Hamilton county. Gillespie had served as Major of cavalry in the Mexican war, and Guthrie had served as Captain of infantry. , Each of them had distinguished himself in more than one battle during that great war, and each of them was brevetted for gallantry at Cerro Gordo. After the Mexican war Gillespie was elected Major-general of militia for the division of East Tennessee, served several terms as representative of his people in the Legislature, and was one of the most popular and influential men in the State. Guthrie, after the Mexican war, settled quietly down on his farm, and was an em- inent example of that good citizenship which the American soldier always exhib- its. He was disabled by wounds at Vicksburg, and retired from the service, and Capt. W. H. MeKamy was promoted Major in his stead.
A short time after the organization of the regiment President Davis tendered Col. Gillespie a Brigadier-general's commission; but he would not leave his te- loved regiment, and marched home at the head of its few surviving veterans, in
Mate, D., d. Sept. 29, 1861. -
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MILITARY ANNALS OF TENNESSEE.
May, 1865, having received but one slight wound during the entire war. It is but just to state, however, that during the last eighteen months of the war, Gen. Vaughn being in command of a division of cavalry, Col. Gillespie, as senior Col- onel, commanded Vaughn's brigade; Capt. J. N. Aiken, as senior Captain, during this time being in command of the Forty-third Regiment. Col. Gillespie during this period-which embraced the battle of Piedmont, Gen. Early's celebrated raid on Washington City, and his active campaign in the Valley of Virginia during the summer and fall of 1864, of which much will hereafter be said-exhibited on all occasions his eminent fitness for a higher command, had he desired promotion. As these two gallant officers and beloved comrades have since the war quietly and peacefully "passed over the river to rest under the shade of the trees," I have thought it not inappropriate to say this inch of them here.
Judge Key, of whom I shall have more to say hereinafter, is still in the prime and vigor of his usefulness, and, having a national reputation, it would be super- fluous for me to speak of his eminent qualification for the undertaking he entered into with Gillespie and Guthrie in the summer of 1861. Nor will it be hard to persuade the reader that the efforts of these three men soon resulted in raising a regiment that they were proud to command. The regiment was organized in November, 1861, by the election of James W. Gillespie, Colonel; D. M. Key, Lieutenant-colonel; and Lawson Guthrie, Major. S. A. Key was appointed Ad- jutant; Dr. L. Y. Green, Surgeon; A. C. Day, Assistant Quartermaster; and Thomas L. Wallace, Assistant Commissary Subsistence.
The regiment was composed of the following companies: Co. A: Captain, John Goodman; from Polk county.
Co. B: Captain, A. J. Caywood; from Rhea county.
Co. C: Captain, J. D. Hill; from Bledsoe county.
Co. D: Captain, A. W. Hodge; from Meigs county.
Co. E: Captain, John Phillips; from Hawkins county.
Co. F: Captain, Sterling Turner; from Roane county.
Co. G: Captain, James Neff; from Jefferson county.
Co. H: Captain, W. L. Lafferty; from McMinn county.
Co. I: Captain, W. H. MeKamy; from Bradley county.
Co. K: Captain, J. N. Aiken; from Hamilton county.
Rev. A. T. Brooks, of the Holston Conference, Methodist Episcopal Church, South, was appointed Chaplain; and no soldier discharged his duty more faithful- ly than this man of God, who ministered to the wounded, sick, and dying, on all occasions, as gently and kindly as a good woman would have done.
The regiment did guard duty at the bridges along the East Tennessee, Virgin- ia, and Georgia railroad during the winter and spring of 1961 and 1862. At the reorganization of the regiment in May, 1862, the field officers were reelected, and the following changes were made in the staff and company officers: Dr. A. W. Hodge was appointed Surgeon, instead of Dr. Green, resigned; Lieut. John Toni- kins was elected Captain of Company A; Lient. Alexander Robinson was elected Captain of Company C; Lieut. Richard Binion was elected Captain of Company D; Lieutenant Joseph Huffmaster was elected Captain of Company E; Lieut. Wm. Wiseman was elected Captain of Company G: and Lieut. Thomas Bryant was elected Captain of Company H.
The left wing of the regiment, under command of Lieut .- col. D. M. Key, in
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REGIMENTAL HISTORIES AND MEMORIAL ROLLS.
June, 1862, was sent to report to Brig .- gen. Ledbetter, at Chattanooga, to resist a raid of the Federals then advancing on that place; and after they retreated the whole regiment was assembled at Charleston, where for two mouths it was kept under the strictest military discipline, and daily exercised in battalion drill by Lieut .- col. D. M. Key, and his brother, Adjutant S. A. Key, who were eminently qualified for these important duties. In August, 1862, the regiment was ordered , to Castlewood, Russell county, Va., and assigned to duty in Gen. Humphrey Mar- shall's brigade, which in a short time entered Kentucky through Pound Gap, and joined Gen. Bragg's army at Mt. Sterling. The ladies of Mt. Sterling presented the regiment with a beautiful stand of regimental colors, which was received by Lieut .- col. D. M. Key, in an eloquent and graceful speech. The regiment was in all of the movements of Bragg's army in Kentucky, doing much hard service, but was in no important engagement. Retreating through Cumberland Gap to Le- noir's Station, on the East Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia railroad, a large number of the men were sent home on furlough for a few days to get winter cloth- ing, preparatory to our transfer to Vicksburg. On the 22d of December the regi- ment took the cars for Vicksburg, and arrived there on the first day of January, 1863, where, with the Third, Thirty-first, and Fifty-ninth Tennessee regiments, it was assigned to duty under command of Brig .- gen. A. W. Reynolds, as the fourth brigade of Stevenson's division. These four regiments remained in the same brigade until the close of the war; and when I hereinafter speak of the bri- gade they will be referred to. The brigade was immediately marched to Chicka- saw Bayou, where Sherman was attempting to effect a landing, but after some skirmishing the Federals retreated, and the brigade moved down six miles below Vicksburg and went into camp. Here we remained, drilling, doing picket duty along the Mississippi, and building fortifications at Warrenton, ten miles below Vicksburg, until the 1st of May, when we were ordered to Port Gibson, forty miles below Vicksburg, where Grant had effected a landing the day before; but the bat- tle had been fought before we got there, and we met our army falling back to the Big Black River. The regiment was in the battle of Baker's Creek, or Champion Hill, and did important service as rear-guard of our army on the retreat into Vicksburg. It also served as rear-guard to Stevenson's division as our army fell back across the Big Black, in its retreat from Port Gibson; and at this point Lieut. C. J. Ewing, of Company K, who was in command of a small company of sappers and miners, in the face of a terrific fire from the advance-guard of the enemy, ent up and destroyed the pontoou bridge upon which our army had just crossed the river. It was a daring act, gallantly performed.
The regiment fell back into Vicksburg on Sunday, the 17th of May, it being the last or extreme rear-guard of our army. The Federals threw their forces around the city that night and the next day, and the siege began.
Our division comprised about one-third of Pemberton's army. Our regiment and Wall's Texas Legion, composed of fifteen hundred as brave troops as the Lone Star State ever sent to war, were assigned to duty as a reserve for our division. This was the post of honor, as we were to support any weak point on the line of our entire division. On the 22d of May the enemy massed their forces and as- saulted our lines. Our regiment was sent to support Gen. Stephen D. Lee's bri- gade. The enemy was driven back with great slaughter. Our loss was not heavy, but among the killed was Capt. Sterling Turner, of Company F, as gallant an off-
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524
MILITARY ANNALS OF TENNESSEE.
cer and as pure a patriot as ever drew his sword in defense of his country. He was succeeded in command by his gallant young Lieutenant, Clere Jones. Our Assistant Surgeon, W. B. Johnson, who was a universal favorite, received a mor- tal wound while caring for the wounded and dying. Our able and efficient Lieut .- col. D. M. Key, was also wounded, and before he recovered from his wound was stricken down with malarial fever, from the serious and debilitating effects of which he did not recover until long after the war was over. This was an irrep- arable loss. He had drilled and disciplined the regiment. and made it one of the best commands in the whole Southern army. Had his health permitted him to remain in the active service, he would unquestionably have greatly distin- guished himself.
During the remainder of the siege the regiment was kept on outpost duty, which was very hazardous, and resulted in frequent attacks by our command up- on some one of the enemy's outposts, or their attack upon ours. In these daring attacks-all of which were made after night-the Forty-third lost many good of- ficers and men. Two of these outpost raids are worthy of special mention.
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