USA > Texas > A comprehensive history of Texas, 1685-1897 > Part 21
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I By Charles I. Evans.
576
A COMPREHENSIVE HISTORY OF TEXAS.
Infantry accepted, with some feeling of disappointment. Although it was the first infantry regiment organized in the State, and justly entitled to that designation, the determination was universal that it could be of as much service to the Southern cause, and achieve as much fame, under the designation of the Second. At the completion of its organization the regiment was composed of the following com- panies and officers, viz. :-
Company A was raised in Harris County, and its officers were : captain, Hal G. Runnels ; first lieutenant, Dan Gallagher ; second lieutenant, John Roach ; junior second lieutenant, Joe Smith.
Company B was raised in Harris County, chiefly in the city of Houston, and its officers were : captain, William C. Timmins ; first lieutenant, James W. Mangum ; second lieutenant, James D. McCleary ; junior second lieutenant, Andrew S. Mair.
Company C was raised in Harris County, on Cedar Bayou, and its officers were : captain, Dr. Ashbel Smith ; first lieutenant, J. P. Harrell ; second lieu- tenant, M. A. Lca ; junior second lieutenant, P. M. Woodall.
Company D was raised in Harris County, and its officers were : captain, E. F. Williams ; first lieutenant, Ed Daly ; second lieutenant, Andrew Gammel ; junior second lieutenant, James E. Foster.
Company E was raised in Robertson and Brazos Counties, and its officers were : captain, DI. Belvidere Brooks ; first lieutenant, J. H. Feeney ; second lieu- tenant, George Green ; junior second lieutenant, J. L. Arnett.
Company F was raised in the city of Galveston, was composed almost entirely of Germans, and its officers were : captain, John Mueller ; first lieutenant, Jackson McMahan ; second lieutenant, - Dittmar ; junior second lieutenant, Ferdinand Halley.
Company G was raised in Burleson County, and its officers were : captain, John W. Hood ; first lieutenant, C. C. McGinnis ; second lieutenant, E. J. Chance; junior second lieutenant, Joseph C. Rowland.
Company H was raised in the western part of Burleson, in what is now Lce County, and its officers were : captain, N. L. McGinnis ; first lieutenant, Thomas S. Douglas ; second lieutenant, Jerome I. McGinnis ; junior second lieutenant, George Harris.
Company I was raised in Gonzales County, and its officers were : captain, G. W. L. Fly ; first lieutenant, W. D. Goff ; second lieutenant, Reuben de Borde ; junior second lieutenant, George Weakley.
Company K was raised in Jackson County, and its officers were : captain, Clark L. Owen ; first lieutenant, Dr. A. B. Dodd ; second lieutenant, Maurice K. Simons ; junior second lieutenant, Joseph M. B. Haynie.
The regimental officers were, by appointment of the War Department, as fol- lows : colonel, John C. Moore ; lieutenant-colonel, William P. Rogers ; major, X. B. de Bray.
Staff .- Adjutant, J. H. Feeney, first lieutenant, Company E; regimental quartermaster and commissary, J. M. B. Haynie, second lieutenant, Company K ; surgeon, Dr. - Howard.
A short time after organization, Major de Bray was promoted to be colonel of a cavalry regiment, and Captain Hal G. Runnels, of Company A, was promoted to
577
TEXAN TROOPS IN THE CONFEDERATE ARMY.
be major. The lieutenants of Company A declined promotion without an election of the company, and in truth they preferred another man for captain. They waived their rights, and an election was held, which resulted in the unanimous choice of Sergeant William Christian, of Company B, and they cheerfully acquiesced in it, and rendered to him, as captain, faithful and patriotic obedience.
During the first four months, the regiment was quartered in cotton compresses and warehouses in the city of Galveston, and six hours every day, except Sunday, were spent in the most arduous drilling. Both officers and men worked and studied hard to become as proficient as the drill-master told them they ought to be ; but there was much complaint at the strict discipline and hard drilling, and much chafing at the delay which retarded the advance of the regiment to the front, where active service was to be seen. The men were anxious to go forward to the scenes of conflict and participate in the glorious achievements which they confidently believed awaited them ; and much fear was expressed that the war would be over, the Yankees whipped, and the independence of the Southern Confederacy estab- lished before they could have an opportunity of firing a gun in the glorious cause. But whatever chafing and impatience may have been felt at the time, it was after- wards acknowledged that during this period, by reason of the rigid discipline and hard drilling to which the regiment was subjected, was laid the foundation of its subsequent achievements, among which was the proud distinction of being the best- drilled regiment in the Confederate army.
While stationed at Galveston, Lieutenant M. A. Lea, of Company C, resigned, and Lieutenant P. M. Woodall was promoted to second lieutenant and R. D. Haden to junior second lieutenant.
In December, 1861, the regiment was moved from Galveston to quarters near Houston, called Camp Lubbock, and sometimes Camp Bce. While at this place the venerable and majestic form of General Sam Houston was frequently to be seen moving among the men. He had a kind and encouraging word for every one, and claimed to be a private in Company C, commanded by his friend Dr. Ashbel Smith. To the inquiry if he was not too feeble for the service, he would reply, "I can at least stand on the right of the line and be counted."
At last orders came for the regiment to report to General Van Dorn in Arkan- sas. The day before its departure the ladies presented the regiment with a beauti- ful silk battle-flag, which was received with the usual flow of oratory. At the same time General Houston addressed the regiment in a fatherly talk. He said, among other things, that while he had disagreed with the masses of his countrymen as to the policy of secession, he liad. no doubt as to the legal right of the State to secede ; that he believed it would have been the best policy to have remained in the Union and to have fought for our rights under its flag ; he portrayed the strength and advantages which the North possessed, the case with which the Confederacy could be cut in two on the Mississippi River, and suggested a policy of concentration west of that river, which, had it been adopted, might have prolonged the struggle until the recognition of its independence by some of the great European powers would have made the Southern Confederacy a possible success. He did not speak of these things, he said, to discourage ; he hoped that they would not prove true ; but "to be forewarned was to be forearmed." He further said that he was not ashamed Vol. II .- 37
578
A COMPREHENSIVE HISTORY OF TEXAS.
to have his name linked with that of the regiment ; that he saw in the men compos- ing it the material that would reflect credit upon the State and add lustre to any name that might be connected with it ; and he knew that he would hear only good reports of it. He gave it his parting blessing in most pathetic terms, and bade it be strong and valiant, remembering that his eyes and prayers should follow it, and he committed his beloved son to its fate.
When marching orders were received, Lieutenant Feeney requested to be relieved from duty as adjutant and allowed to rejoin his company, which was granted, and Lieutenant James W. Mangum, of Company B, was appointed adjutant in his place. Lieutenant J. C. Rowland, of Company G, resigned about this time to enter the cavalry service, and Dr. Dodd, first lieutenant of Company K, resigned, and Second Lieutenant M. K. Simons was promoted to be first lieutenant, J. M. B. Haynie advanced to second lieutenant, and W. H. Kirk was promoted to junior second lieutenant. .
On March 12, 1862, the regiment went by rail to Beaumont, on the Neches River, thence by steamboat to Weiss's Bluff, and from there overland to Alexandria, Louisiana. Here the whole regiment embarked on a large river steamboat down Red River to its mouth, and thence up the Mississippi to Helena, Arkansas. At this place orders were received to proceed to Corinthi, Mississippi, by way of Mem- phis, and Corinth was reached on the evening of the Ist of April, 1862, the regiment being about thirteen hundred strong.
On the 3d of April, the line of march was taken towards the little hamlet of Monterey, in Tennessee ; many of the men having worn out their shoes on the trip from Texas were barefooted, but no murmur of complaint was heard. The immense columns of moving troops were something new, and were looked upon with wonder and admiration. After the entire day was spent in waiting, camp was pitched not more than two miles from where the regiment had started in the morning.
The next day it reached Monterey, and bivouacked near there that night. The regiment having been assigned to the Third Brigade, commanded by Brigadier- General John K. Jackson, Withers's division, Second Corps, was placed on the right of the Confederate line, next to Chalmers's brigade. The brigade was com- posed of the Second Texas, Colonel John C. Moore ; Nineteenth Alabama, Colonel Joseph Wheeler ; Eighteenth Alabama, Colonel Eli S. Shorter ; Seventeenth Ala- bama, Colonel Robert C. Ferris ; and Captain I. P. Girardey's battery of light artillery. On Friday night the regiment bivouacked within three or four hundred yards of the enemy's camps, and could distinctly hear their roll-call and occasional conversations. Orders were received not to speak above a whisper, and the night was a silent but anxious one. At daylight the next morning the regiment moved forward in column of companies as a part of the reserve, and it was not long before General Gladden's brigade in its front became hotly engaged, and at this time the regiment had one man killed, Private James Forney, of Company B (the first cas- ualty in the regiment), and two or three wounded before it had ever fired a gun. However, about eight or nine o'clock it moved to the right, and took position on the right of Gladden's and the left of Chalmers's brigades, on Lick Creek. Soon after taking position its skirmish line met the enemy's and drove it back ; but in
579
TEXAN TROOPS IN THE CONFEDERATE ARMY.
the first engagement, among other casualties, Captain Brooks, of Company B, was mortally wounded. Following the enemy some two or three hundred yards to the brow of a hill, on the opposite side of a ravine, the regiment opened fire and ad- vanced to the hill, when the clear, ringing tones of Colonel Moore's voice was heard from one end of the regiment to the other in the command, "Double-quick!"' The regiment sprang forward as one man up to the brow of the opposite hill and halted. The breathing spell here was a short one, as the enemy a short distance in front were firing on the regiment from their camps and from behind houses with deadly precision. After a momentary survey of the situation the colonel gave the order, "Charge!" which was obeyed with such impetuosity as to drive the enemy from the camp with considerable loss on their side, for the killed and wounded were scattered all through the camp. Thus was kept up the engagement for a mile and a half, charging line after line in the enemy's camps, they sometimes giving way slowly and stubbornly, and at other times breaking and running in a confused rout. At one time during the day the regiment met a Union battery of light artillery going through the woods to take a position, not knowing that the Union line had been driven back and that it was outside of it. The drivers mounted on their horses and the gunners sitting on the ammunition-chests, with the battery fully equipped, were all captured without the firing of a gun. Among other casual- ties, Captain Ashbel Smith, of Company C, was wounded in the arm. Shortly after this, when the regiment had advanced near half a mile farther, a large body of the enemy was discovered on the left in the interval between the Second Texas and Gladden's brigade, and the regiment fell back about one hundred yards for the purpose of charging them at a left half-wheel But just as the line had been dressed for executing the movement, the cry of " White flag!" was heard, and an officer rode up and said that his brigade wished to surrender to the Texas regiment. Captain John W. Hood, of Company G, was sent to the front to receive the sur- render, and soon returned laden with the swords of the officers. This proved to be Prentiss's brigade, about three thousand strong, and they were turned over to a regiment of cavalry, who escorted them to the rear. The regiment advanced over a broken country, and as it approached several camps of the enemy and threw forward lines of battle, they fled as soon as the Texas yell was raised. At last the right of the regiment rested on the south bank of the Tennessee River, between the mouth of Lick Creek and Pittsburg Landing. After proceeding down the river some distance it halted in front of a high hill, which was crowned with artillery, and anxiously awaited the order to charge. Word was passed along the line that it was waiting for other troops to come up and take position on its left and join in the assault.
Several times the forward movement was ordered and then countermanded, but the enforced delay was fatal to the golden opportunity for complete victory, and, darkness now coming on, the regiment was withdrawn a short distance, where it bivouacked for the night. All night long the whooping and yelling of men, the rumbling of wagons and artillery, told all too plainly of the arrival of reinforcements for the enemy. The men had had nothing to eat all day, except such as they were able to snatch from the well-spread tables in the enemy's camps and from the cooking-vessels on the fire as they hurriedly passed through in pursuit of the fleeing
5So
A COMPREHENSIVE HISTORY OF TEXAS.
enemy. The rain fell steadily all night, and the men huddled around in groups, seeking what rest they could, with their arms in their hands.
Before daylight next morning it was discovered that the regiment was between the enemy's new line of battle and the Tennessee River, and silently it retraced its steps up the river to the mouth of Lick Creek and then turned off to the south, and in a little while met with some other remnants of the late victorious army in front of the enemy's line. About this time Colonel Moore was placed in command of a tem- porary brigade, consisting of the Second Texas and the Nineteenth and Twenty-first Alabama Regiments, and Lieutenant-Colonel Rogers took command of the Second Texas. Shortly afterwards the regiment was ordered forward, as was said, to sup- port General Breckinridge, but as it advanced, unsuspecting the enemy in its imme- diate front, the supposed line of General Breckinridge proved to be the enemy's, and opened a murderous fire upon the front and flanks of the regiment, so that it wavered and fell back beyond the range of the enemy's guns. Lieutenant-Colonel Rogers here reformed the alignment, made a short talk of encouragement, and ordered the regiment to advance. When in sight of the enemy's line, he con- manded "Charge!"' the men sprang forward with a yell, and the regiment pursued the flying enemy nearly half a mile. Following up the pursuit, the regiment arrived at the edge of a ploughed field, which was quite green with wheat just coming up, and it was here halted and reformed.
In endeavoring to drive the enemy farther the regiment was repulsed. In this contest with General Buell's fresh troops the loss in the regiment amounted to more than the entire loss of the preceding day. The fire of the enemy was at close range, and the number of the killed largely exceeded the wounded. The regiment slowly fell back with saddened hearts, and was among those troops which covered the retreat of the army to Corinth. The loss in the regiment during both days amounted to about thirty-three and one-third per cent. in killed, wounded, and missing, and of those known to be killed about ten per cent.
Thus ended the battle of Shiloh, one of the most memorable engagements in modern warfare. The retreat was a sad and weary march for the exhausted men, along a muddy rond, obstructed by mired and broken-down vehicles, under a drenching downpour of rain.
In a few days an order by General Beauregard was read on dress parade com- mending the regiment for its gallantry in the recent battle, and in commemoration thereof directing that the name " Shiloh" be inscribed upon its battle-flag. After the battle, Lieutenant J. M. B. Haynie asked to be relieved from service as regi- mental quartermaster, and he returned to the line and took command of his com- pany, K, and Lieutenant Maurice K. Simons, of the same company, was thereupon made regimental quartermaster. Colonel Moore was promoted to brigadier-general a short time after, and some who were among the missing, but whose fate was unknown, were promoted for distinguished gallantry in action, and the offices were reserved for them many months awaiting their return, a daily reminder of their sad fate. But few of the brave fellows ever appeared to claim the reward of their gal- lantry and patriotism : the others rest in unmarked graves upon the field made famous by their heroic deaths.
Upon the promotion of Colonel Moore to brigadier-general, Lieutenant Maurice
58
TEXAN TROOPS IN THE CONFEDERATE ARMY.
K. Simons, regimental quartermaster, was promoted to brigade quartermaster with the rank of major, and Lieutenant James W. Mangum was promoted to assistant adjutant-general on General Moore's staff with the rank of captain ; Lieutenant Arthur K. Leigh, transferred from the artillery, was made adjutant of the regiment, and Lieutenant J. I. McGinnis, of Company H, was assigned to duty as regimental quartermaster. Sergeant G. F. Johnson, of Company G, was promoted to second lieutenant of that company, vice J. C. Rowland, resigned. He was among the missing, and was promoted for gal- lantry in battle.
In Company E an unusual fatality occurred ; the captain and first lieutenant were both killed in battle, and both the second lieutenants died of dis- case within ten days afterwards, and Sergeant Wil- liam Holder was promoted to captain, vice Brooks, /: killed ; Sergeant William Allen was promoted to first lieutenant, vice J. H. Feeney, killed ; Sergeant John GENERAL JOHN C. MOORE. Lloyd was promoted to second lieutenant, vice George Green, deceased ; and Sergeant --- Gillis was promoted to junior second lieu- tenant, vice J. L. Arnett, deceased.
Camp duties, almost constant picket duty, with an occasional skirmish with the enemy's pickets, and the general routine of a soldier's life passed with recurring regularity for about a month. There was much sickness among the men during this time, and many deaths occurred. About this period, but the exact time cannot be ascertained. the following changes took place in the officers of Company C, viz .: Lieutenant Harrell resigned on account of ill health, and Second Lieuten- ant P. M. Woodall was promoted to first lieutenant and B. W. Le Compte and O. J. Conklin, the latter from Company B, were made second lieutenants.
Among the killed at the battle of Shiloh was Captain Clark L. Owen, of Com- pany K, who had served in the Mexican War with distinguished gallantry as colonel.
Major Maurice K. Simons, who entered the service as second lieutenant of Captain Owen's company and had been promoted to brigade quartermaster, had also served with distinction in the Mexican War, where he had lost one leg. and prior to his promotion presented the most unusual spectacle of a man on a crutch serving in the infantry. But he was always found where duty called. and all the survivors of the regiment have abundant cause to remember him for his watchful care of their interests after his promotion.
On the evening of the Sth of May the regiment was ordered out, and took a southerly direction from Corinth. All were wondering what was its destination, when the line of march was suddenly changed to the left, in an easterly direction. All night long the march was kept up at a quick step over hills, through bogs and quagmires, the men floundering in the mud. Just before day a halt was called and a little rest taken. While sprawled upon the ground, seeking what repose was possible under the circumstances, the startling sound of cannon was heard not more than half a mile to the left, followed by a brisk rattle of musketry. Instantly every
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A COMPREHENSIVE HISTORY OF TEXAS.
man was upon his feet and the order to fall in promptly obeyed. The regiment had been resting on a hill near Seven Mile Creek, a short distance south of the road leading from Corinth to Farmington, and at the sound of battle advanced at double-quick up the creek towards the bridge. General Ruggles's division had attacked General Pope's advance-guard lightly, so as to draw him out away from the creek, and the Second Texas was sent around to take the enemy in the rear, burn the bridge, and cut off their retreat. When it reached the road at the bridge but one brigade of the enemy was on the west side of the creek. A part of it was confronting General l'atton Anderson's brigade, and two regiments of it were en- sconced in a cut in the road, and as the Second Texas charged up the hill across an old field they fled, and made their escape through the bog and water almost waist-deep with several parting volleys sent after them. Among other plunder were captured all the well-filled knapsacks of this brigade, and they contained many treasures of which the Texans stood in great need. About a thousand stand of small-arms and forty or fifty prisoners were also captured. This was the battle of Farmington, which furnished General Pope the occasion for one of his boastful despatches.
On the return to camp picket duty was resumed ; the enemy approached nearer and nearer, day after day, and light skirmishes became more frequent, indeed of almost daily occurrence. On the evening of May 29, 1862, the regiment broke camp about dark and took up the line of march to the southward. After marching a few miles at quick-step the march was diversified by the double-quick, and was kept up all night, with alternations from one to the other. A little before daylight next morning a lurid glare lit up the horizon in front, indicating that a mysterious fire was raging. A short time after this discovery terrific explosions were heard, as if a spirited engagement of artillery was in progress. These unknown but exciting phenomena added to the celerity of the march ; but before the regiment reached the scene of conflagration the dépôt at Booneville, warehouses, and long trains of cars filled with ordnance and commissary stores were a smouldering mass of ruins. The only persons in sight were several hundred sick Confederate soldiers and a few dead and wounded of both armies. Then it was found out that the regi- ment had been running a race all night with Sheridan's cavalry, trying to beat himn to Booneville to save the stores at that place.
About June 5, 1862, Major Runnels resigned, and the following promotions were made to fill the vacancies caused thereby, and by the promotion of Colonel Moore to be brigadier-general, viz. : Lieutenant-Colonel William P. Rogers to be colonel, vice Moore, promoted ; Captain Ashbel Smith, of Company C, to be lieutenant-colonel, vice Rogers, promoted ; Captain W. C. Timmins, of Company B, to be major, vice H. G. Runnels, resigned. The promotion of Captain Smith to be lieutenant-colonel over the head of Captain Timmins, who was his senior, may seem to military critics to have been irregular, and to imply a slur upon the military character of the latter ; but the truth will reveal one of those cases of unselfish patriotism and deference to his senior in years which was peculiarly characteristic of the noble and chivalric Timmins, and which was manifested on more than one occasion by the officers and men of this regiment. Living witnesses can attest that this was done at the voluntary request of Captain Timmins, made without the
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TEXAN TROOPS IN THE CONFEDERATE ARMY.
knowledge of Captain Smith ; and that when Captain Mangum, his former first lieutenant, and the then assistant adjutant-general, endeavored to persuade him not to waive his seniority, he calmly replied that he had fully determined to do so, because, as he expressed it, "Captain Smith is an old man, who has long been in public life, and has served the republic and State of Texas in various civil capacities, and I am a young man and can afford to wait." And in compliance with his unwavering determination, he was promoted to be major of the regiment and Cap- tain Smith to be lieutenant-colonel.
The regiment arrived at Tupelo about June 5, where it remained in camp with the whole army about three months. During this summer the drilling, which had been neglected for some time, was again resumed. The first colonel was now the brigade commander, and he thought that his old regiment was the best-drilled regi- ment in the army. The first colonel of the Third Louisiana Infantry, Louis Hebert, had also been made a brigadier-general, and he took issue with General Moore, and claimed the palm for his old regiment. The result was that the two regiments had to march out twice a week to test the matter in competitive drills and reviews before some general officer as umpire. In these contests the Second Texas always carried off the honors ; but the Third Louisiana was a splendid regiment, and was well drilled. Shortly after arriving at Tupelo, Lieutenant-Colonel Ashbel Smith returned to Texas to enlist recruits for the decimated ranks of the regiment.
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