USA > Texas > A comprehensive history of Texas, 1685-1897 > Part 23
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55
But the fire of the Texans must have been more deadly than that of the enemy, for the commanders of the two regiments which they encountered, the Forty-third and Sixty-third Ohio, officially reported that their regiments lost fifty and fifty-three per cent. respectively on the second day alone.
The remnant of the Second Texas, with the balance of General Price's corps, bivouacked the night of this bloody day on the Pocahontas Road, about six miles from Corinth, where the nearest water was accessible. Captain N. L. McGinnis, of Company H, being the senior officer present, took command of the regiment. It is but a matter of justice that history should record the name of private Ben Weed, of Company 1, as the man who bore the flag of the regiment from the field when it fell from the nerveless grasp of the gallant Rogers. This young man was but eighteen years old at the time, and died about three weeks afterwards in the Texas hospital at Quitman, Mississippi, of disease contracted in the Corinth campaign.
The next morning the Confederate army began its retreat towards Ripley, Mississippi, but in the afternoon was intercepted at Davis's Bridge, on the Hatchie River, by a large Union force from Bolivar, Tennessee, under Generals Ord and Hurlbut ; and Moore's brigade, being in front, first came in contact with the enemy.
When within two or three miles of the bridge the order to double-quick was. given, and it was obeyed with wonderful alacrity. considering that the men were so much exhausted by hunger and hard service. The Second Texas was in the rear of the brigade, and as the bridge was reached the front regiments were thrown across and rapidly formed in line of battle. The whole brigade at this time did not have more than three hundred men in ranks, and all of them had not crossed over the bridge when the enemy's batteries opened on it and knocked it to pieces beneath the feet of the inen, some of them going down with it. When the Second Texas reached the bridge it was gone, and so it formed a line facing the river. The few men who had crossed the river made a gallant resistance, but were eventually driven back to the bank of the river by the greatly superior forces of the enemy, and swam or waded across.
When the Confederates retreated under the bank of the river, the enemy came charging after them, and the Second Texas received them with such a hot fire that the pursuit was speedily checked, and nearly all of the Confederates succeeded in getting across. The enemy were held in check by the close and accurate fire of the Second Texas for more than an hour, when it was reinforced by Phifer's and Cabell's
591
TEXAN TROOPS IN THE CONFEDERATE ARMY.
brigades, and then they were held at bay by these combined forces until the Con- federate army moved down the river about six miles, built a bridge on the dam at Crum's Mill, and crossed over in safety, the Second Texas being the last to cross.
The march was resumed to Ripley, and on to Holly Springs, where the army tarried but a few days, and then moved south twelve miles to Lumpkin's Mill, where it arrived about the 10th day of October, and expected to go into winter quarters. The men had no tents and very little bedding, and they suffered greatly from the extreme cold. The snow-fall was the heaviest ever seen by inany of the men ; but by digging caves in the hill-sides and the banks of a deep gulch, covering them over with puncheons and dirt and building great fires at the openings, they were moderately comfortable and kept from freezing. While here, the army was sus- tained entirely by the voluntary contributions of the citizens of the surrounding country ; foraging parties were sent out almost daily, and they never returned empty-handed. The good, patriotic people seemed glad to divide what little they had with the soldiers, and the quantities of sweet potatoes, pumpkins, cashaws, cornmeal, some fresh meat and a little bacon, constituted a welcome feast for the hungry men. But such a good thing was not destined to last long, and about the middle of November the army took up the march for Abbeville, still farther south. The weather still continued very cold, and the men constructed winter huts at this place, eight by ten feet in size, by leaning slabs together so as to form a steep roof, and covering them with a layer of grass and cornstalks, and throwing dirt upon this. The inside was then dug out a foot or two in depth, and it made a very acceptable protection against the cold. The men, however, enjoyed the protection of their winter quarters but a short time, as the regiment was soon ordered back across the Tallahatchee River on picket duty. Most of the time the army remained in Abbeville the Second Texas was on this kind of duty, and during the time had two or three lively skirmishes with the enemy. It rained almost incessantly, the river was very high, and the water spread over the bottom from knee- to breast- deep, and every time the men went to or returned from the picket line they had to wade or swim it.
On the 2d day of December the army continued the retreat to Oxford, and, as usual, the Second Texas formed the rear-guard. A detail from the regiment burned the bridge, and when it left Abbeville the branches of the trees were stiff with ice, the ground was frozen hard, and many of the men were barefooted ; but their move- ments were accelerated by occasionally hearing the noise made by the army of the enemy, off to the right, as it moved along the railroad parallel with the road on which the Confederate army was retreating. With the exception of a little brush with the enemy's advance-guard at Water Valley, and another at Coffeeville, there was no fighting on this retreat. The weather was very severe, and the men were badly prepared to withstand it. They had scarcely anything else to eat during the time than sweet potatoes ; and if one wants to die with heartburn, just let him try that diet exclusively for a week. The citizens along the route were kind and hospi- table, seeming anxious to share their last crust with the soldiers. At one place where the regiment stopped to camp for the night, the old gentleman who lived near by came into camp and said : " Boys, it's awful cold ; just pitch into that fence there and burn all the rails you can to-night." It was generally thought that he knew
-
592
A COMPREHENSIVE HISTORY OF TEXAS.
the boys were going to do that anyhow, and he intended to put a good face on the matter by inviting them. But all doubt of the genuineness of his hospitality was removed when he further told them that there was a house full of sweet potatoes up in the yard, and for them to come up and get all they wanted.
At Oxford and Coffeeville, the latter place particularly, the ladies showed their love for the soldier boys. These noble women lined the streets as the regiment passed through, accompanied by servants bearing great hampers of cakes, chicken, ham, pies, sandwiches, salads, and steaming hot coffee, and the regiment was halted long enough to partake of their bountiful hospitality. No women ever appeared to man so like ministering angels as did those lovely Mississippi ladies to that lot of ragged Texans.
The regiment arrived at Grenada the 5th day of December, and after a much- needed rest resumed the duties of camp life, with plenty of drilling. During the sojourn here President Davis visited the West and reviewed the army. During that review, as the general officers and their staffs passed along the line, following in the wake of the President and his staff, not a word was uttered until General Price approached, and then the cheering and hurrahing for "Old Pap" marked his course along the line of the army.
While at this place Lieutenant-Colonel Ashbel Smith was made colonel, vice Rogers, killed at Corinth ; Major William C. Timmins was made lieutenant-colonel, vice Smith, promoted ; Captain N. L. McGinnis, of Company H, was made major, vice Timmins, promoted ; and Lieutenant B. W. LeCompte, of Company C, was made adjutant. A number of promotions were also made in several of the con- panies. Among those now remembered were, in Company B, Sergeants Ster- ling Fisher and Dan C. Smith, who were made second lieutenants ; in Company C, Second Lieutenant B. W. LeCompte was made first lieutenant, vicc R. D. Haden, resigned ; the other officers were promoted one grade, and T. S. Reeves was pro- moted to junior second lieutenant ; in Company D, Lieutenant Andrew Gammel was promoted to captain, vice Ed Daly, killed at. Corinth ; in Company F, Lieutenant Jackson McMahan was promoted to captain, vice John Mueller, killed at Corinth ; in Company H, Lieutenant Thomas S. Douglas was promoted to captain, vice N. L. McGinnis, promoted to major ; Second Lieutenant J. I. McGinnis was promoted to first lieutenant ; Junior Second Lieutenant George Harris was made second lieutenant ; and Sergeant W. A. Parks was made junior second lieutenant.
Christmas dinner was eaten here, and two days afterwards the regiment started to Vicksburg by rail. The boys enjoyed that railroad ride immensely, as it was the first they had had since the preceding March, when they rode from Houston to Beaumont.
Upon arriving at Vicksburg, about eleven o'clock in the night of December 29, the regiment immediately took up the march to reinforce General Stephen D. Lee, who was confronting a large army of the enemy under General William T. Sher- man at Chickasaw Bluffs, seven miles from Vicksburg. The march was accelerated by tidings that fighting had been going on all day. After floundering along in the rain and mud all night, the advance of the regiment reached the Bluffs about sun- up, wet, bedraggled, and completely covered with mud. There were then only about eighty men in line, but these took position in the rifle-pits, and the balance,
593
TEXAN TROOPS IN THE CONFEDERATE ARMY.
singly and in squads, came straggling in during the day, and by noon they were all in their places, about two hundred and fifty or three hundred strong.
When the regiment arrived a heavy cannonading was going on between the Confederate artillery, planted on the hills and bluffs in rear of and overlooking the rifle-pits, and the Union artillery, located down in the swamp across Chickasaw Bayou ; and the sloping field in front of the riffe-pits was thickly strewn with the enemy's dead and wounded. The enemy had made five desperate assaults on the works the day before, and, although many reached to within a few feet of the rifle- pits, as was evidenced by their dead bodies still lying there, the assaults were repulsed every time with tremendous slaughter. Two or three days were spent lying in the trenches, drying clothes and practising at long-range sharp-shooting. In his report General Sherman says that this rifle practice cost his army the lives of several valuable officers and men and many wounded. About eleven o'clock on the 2d day of January, 1865, a member of the Second Texas came to the con- clusion that the enemy had evacuated their works across the bayou and ventured upon the field on a tour of discovery, and, as he was not fired at, the conclusion immediately became general that there was no enemy in front, and the field soon became covered with Confederate soldiers. In a few minutes General Stephen D. Lee came galloping up, and ordered a company of the Second Texas to deploy as skirmishers and advance upon the enemy's works. This was done in a few minutes, and the bayou and works were soon cleared and not a Union soldier was in sight. The skirmish line continued to advance, and when a large field was reached the whole regiment was deployed as skirmishers and advanced towards the enemy's landing on the Yazoo River. Near the centre of the field a corporal and five or six men, who were guarding a large pile of commissary stores, were captured, together with the stores. As the river was approached a line of battle could be seen drawn up on the bank, and a large number of steamiboats crowded with blue uniforms and about a dozen gunboats were in the river. When within about one hundred yards of them the command was given to "Commence firing!" Until then not a shot had been fired by the enemy, but they all looked on at the advancing skirmish line as if it were drilling for their entertainment. After firing a few shots the two regiments of infantry on the bank marched off by the right flank down the river at double-quick, and the decks of the steamboats were cleared with great rapidity. The gunboats began pouring their broadsides across the field, and for better pro- tection against their fire the Texans rushed forward and took position behind the levee just on the river bank and behind a very large and tall pile of bales of hay. From these positions they poured a deadly fire into the immense crowds upon the steamboats as they hurriedly cut their cables and passed out of range around the bend of the river. A great many men were seen to jump into the water from the top decks of the boats, as they could not get down the narrow stair- ways fast enough. When the steamboats were out of sight the Texans turned their attention to the gunboats, and soon became so proficient at shooting into the port-holes that they could not fire a shot as they passed up and down the river. During the engagement the fire of the guns ignited the hay behind which many of the Texans were standing, and in a short time the whole pile was ablaze, and a shot from a gunboat struck the burning pile and made a fine display of fire- VOL. II .-- 38
594
A COMPREHENSIVE HISTORY OF TEXAS.
works, when the men abandoned it and sougl.t refuge under the low bank of the bayou just to the right, which forms a confluence with the river at this point. Finding the exchange of shots with the gunboats to be unprofitable, the regiment was withdrawn ; but this experience taught the men an important lesson by which they profited, -that gunboats were not near so dangerous as they appeared to be. The only loss in this engagement was the gallant commander of the regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel William C. Timmins, whose ankle was shattered by a rifle-ball. This necessitated amputation, and he died under the operation. He had scarcely recovered from the wound received at Corinth, and his system was too feeble to withstand the shock. His loss was deeply lamented, for he possessed many of the elements of a fine soldier, and was one of the bravest, most patriotic, and unselfish men who ever died in his country's cause. One man was struck on the breast by a Minie-ball, which knocked him breathless for a short time, but he soon recovered without any other inconvenience than a severe bruise.
The enemy under General Sherman having completely failed to reach Vicks- burg by this route abandoned the attempt and retired up the Mississippi River, and succeeded in capturing Arkansas Post a few days afterwards. A short time after this affair the regiment went into camp a short distance from where it occurred, in a beautiful walnut grove, which was called, in honor of its lamented lieutenant- colonel, "Camp Timmins." It remained here about two months, and during the time Colonel Ashbel Smith returned from Texas with about one hundred and fifty recruits. These were apportioned among the companies in proportion to the strength of each one, so as to make them nearly equal in numbers. They proved to be good men, worthy of the State, and fit comrades of the brave men who made the reputation of the gallant Second Texas.
About the same time Major N. L. McGinnis was promoted to lieutenant-colonel, vice W. C. Timmins, killed, and Captain G. W. L. Fly, of Company I, was pro- moted to major, vice N. L. McGinnis, promoted. Lieutenant James McFarland, transferred from General Moore's staff, was promoted to captain of Company I, vice Fly, promoted to major. In Company G, Sergeant John S. Atchison was pro- moted to second lieutenant, vice Frank Johnson, deceased ; and Lieutenant J. R. Henry, having been transferred to the Second Texas from another regiment at his own request, was assigned to duty temporarily with Company G to fill the place of Lieutenant Persons, who was disabled from a wound received at Corinth. In Com- pany K, H. McDonnell and E. A. Mathews were promoted to second lieutenants, vice J. M. B. Haynie, killed at Corinth, and John Tucker, transferred to the ar- tillery.
Early in March the regiment was ordered to Fort Pemberton, at the junction of the Yalabusha and Tallahatchee Rivers, forming the Yazoo, which was being defended by General W. W. Loring with a few troops against the attempt of General Washburn to descend to the rear of Vicksburg by those streams. The whole regiment embarked on an immense Mississippi steamboat, and the trip was a pleasing recreation. The waters were very high, the whole face of the country seeming to be inundated, except an occasional high bluff. Upon arrival at Fort Pemberton, the whole Confederate force confronting General Washburn's entire army was Wau!'s Texas Legion and a few artillerymen. The old steamship Slar
---------
----- 1 1
-----
595
TEXAN TROOPS IN THE CONFEDERATE ARMY.
of the West was sunk in the Tallahatchee opposite the Confederate fortifications, and chain-cables stretched across the channel prevented the enemy's boats from descending the stream. With the exception of one or two cannonades there was very little fighting here. A scouting party of fifteen men under a lieutenant from the Second Texas was kept constantly on watch up the river to observe and report the movements of the enemy to General Loring ; and they occasionally let their valor-or more correctly speaking their love of fun-get the better of their discre- tion and prompt them to fire upon the enemy's boats. This always resulted in a return of the fire in heavy broadsides, which cut wagon roads through the cane- brakes, but fortunately no damage was ever done the Texans. At this place the regiment had its first serious experience in making breastworks. It was thought that the enemy might cross the river above and come in on the rear of the fortifica- tions, and very suddenly one afternoon a good long line of rifle-pits was ordered to be constructed. The regiment worked at it by details the whole night long, and next morning the rifle-pits were there where there had been none the day before. At one time the enemy came down on the opposite side of the river from the Second Texas, and some very fine and spirited rifle practice was indulged, but they went back to their boats in a few days. The water began to recede, and, for fear he might get caught high and dry on the little stream, General Washburn re- traced his steps up the Tallahatchee and through the bayou, which in time of high water connects it with the Mississippi River a short distance below Memphis. The Second Texas returned to its old quarters at Camp Timmins about the middle of April and enjoyed a short rest and recreation, which was much needed. About the ist day of May it was ordered down to Warrenton, on the Mississippi River, twelve miles below Vicksburg, to guard the road leading from Grand Gulf to that place. The regiment remained on this duty about two weeks, during which time rations were very scarce ; but the men did not suffer greatly on this account. There was plenty of cornmeal in the country, and bread was plentiful. Occasionally the men could buy some butter, eggs, and poultry, and some of the good people fur- nished a small quantity of milk ; but these were not the staples upon which the men subsisted. It was soon discovered that the ditches in and around the town of Warrenton were full of crawfish and that they were palatable. Then it was an every- day occurrence to see forty or fifty mien coming into camp with gunnysacks filled with the fish swung on a rail or pole carried on the shoulders of two men. Nor were they difficult to catch. The water being shallow, they were scooped up by the hands in large quantities. It was generally conceded that they were as fine fish as ever were eaten. Honey was also to be had in abundance. Some enter- prising scout discovered one day that almost every cypress-tree in the swamp near by was a bee tree ; and the first honey obtained was from the top of a large tree that had been cut off by a shell from a Federal gunboat lying in the river. When it fell to the ground, it was examined and found to contain about a barrel of honey. There was not an axe in camp, and the problem as to how the honey was to be obtained became a puzzling one. At last some prying eyes discovered a cross-cut saw in a gin-house near by and the great problem was solved. That saw went to the swamp at once with a crowd of men and the work began in earnest. Many giant cypress-trees succumbed to its teeth, and the result was the whole camp
- -- ---- -
596
A COMPREHENSIVE HISTORY OF TEXAS.
soon had an abundant supply of honey as well as crawfish, and it became known as "Camp Crawfish and Honey." This camp was a beautiful location in a magnifi- cent grove of magnolia-trees, which the men were loath to abandon. The broad creamy-white leaves of the flowers are very sensitive to the delicate scratch of a pin, which makes a lasting impression, and many letters were written upon them to loved ones at home and many love sonnets were traced upon them by those who possessed the divine gift of poetry.
One beautiful sun-bright Sabbath morning, while divine services were being held, and in the midst of the chaplain's prayer, the boom of a cannon was plainly heard off to the east, and the prayers of all at once became more ardent and earnest. Even those who had just suspended an interesting game of "old sledge," and hid their cards beneath the corner of a blanket spread upon the ground, became quite serious, and forgot to resume the game when the service was ended. These were the guns at the battle of Baker's Creek or Big Black, and was the signal that the Union army was making the circuit successfully, and was approaching Vicksburg from the rear. After services were concluded the bugle sounded the "rally," the pickets were called in, and the regiment took up the marcli to Vicksburg, where it arrived that evening, May 17, 1863, and took position in the fort on the Baldwin's Ferry Road and the trenches adjacent to it.
As the regiment passed along the streets, many ladies thronged the sidewalks and encouraged the men by words of praise and declarations of undying devotion to the cause. As they read " Shiloh," "Farmington," "Iuka," and "Corinth" on the regimental flag, many were heard to exclaim : "Thank God, there's the Second Texas ! They'll never desert us !" Could anything on carth appeal more strongly to the pride and courage of brave men ?
The fort occupied by the regiment was the most advanced position on the whole line, and was on a hill just to the right of the Baldwin's Ferry Road, which circled around the left side of it through a deep cut ; and a disconnected rifle-pit led off from its right in the direction of the Jackson Railroad, there being a space of ten or twelve feet between the two which was entirely unprotected. This fort and rifle-pit were occupied by the six right companies of the regiment, under the immediate command of Colonel Ashbel Smith, with Major G. W. L. Fly second in command. The other four companies, under command of Lieutenant-Colonel N. L. McGinnis, occupied a rifle-pit on the opposite side of the road and about a hun- dred yards in the rear of the fort on the crest of a lower hill. The fortifications were found to be very poorly constructed and afforded very little protection to the men behind them ; therefore the first night and the next day were spent in work- ing on them, making the ditches deeper and raising the breastworks. The re- maining trees in front were cut away and the houses burned. As the gray dawn of morning began to break on the 18th, the columns of dust rising above the hills to the east foretold the approach of cavalry upon the hill-tops, and the appearance of an occasional battery of light artillery as it " unlimbered to the front" announced that Vicksburg was invested. Soon the puffs of white smoke and the occasional rattle of musketry told that the skirmish lines of the two armies had met. As the enemy's infantry advanced in strong force the Confederate skirmishers fell back, while the shriek of shells passed above their heads. In a short time the artillery
597
TEXAN TROOPS IN THE CONFEDERATE ARMY.
firing on both sides became rapid and fierce, the enemy throwing battery after bat- tery into position with great rapidity, until every hill and mound seemed to be crowned with engines of destruction. At occasional intervals their infantry would appear and approach near enough to attract the fire of the Confederate infantry, but would hastily retire as the well-aimed shots from the trenches warned them of the danger of approaching too near. The Confederate sharp-shooters had a fine opportunity for displaying their marksmanship, and they made good use of it on the enemy's artillerists. Thus wore the day away, and as darkness covered the beleaguering and the beleaguered armies as with a mantle, both seemed eager for the approaching carnage. All night long the rumble of artillery and the noise of moving troops could be heard as the enemy went into position, and when the dawn of another day rose over the hills, it revealed to the eyes of the beleaguered im- mense siege-guns crowning almost every hill-top, and long lines of bayonets glisten- ing in the morning sun. By sunrise the cannonading had commenced, and as the day advanced it became louder and more terrific. Nor was the enemy's infantry idle, but it kept up a continuous fire from every available position where the men could find shelter, and seemed bent on wasting as much lead as possible. By the middle of the afternoon the whole line was one continuous blaze of fire. The Texans, who had ever been uncovered in the thickest of former battles, could not fully realize that this was a battle. They stood in small groups, here and there, where the best outlook could be had, picking out their targets, and with unerring aim pouring a deadly fire into the enemy's columns and batteries. They were cool and deliberate, and, as ordered, were not disposed to waste any ammunition, but made every shot tell. They were eager for the fray, and seemed anxious to find out how it felt to engage the enemy from behind breastworks, as they had always previously been on the other side of them. A few weak efforts were made to advance upon the works, the enemy boldly presenting themselves to view, as if the mere ap- pearance of such a formidable army flushed with recent victories was sufficient to frighten the Confederates ; but upon being met with a determined fire, they soon be- came satisfied there was no efficacy in the charm of their appearance, and retired be- hind the hills. As night approached the smoke of battle enshrouded hill and valley in a seeming attempt to shut out each of the contending armies from the view of the other. About sunset, the new guns and fresh troops which had been brought into positions during the day seemed anxious to add their voices to the roaring tumult, and the whole line burst out afresh in maddened fury with smoke and flame and shot and shell, and with a spirit of defiance the Confederate batteries answer back the angry challenge. Tons upon tons of iron and lead are poured into the be- leaguered city, and go serenming, howling, and mewing through the air above the fortifications. Houses are fired in the suburbs of the city, and as the lurid flames light up the awful scene, the sun hides his face behind the western horizon, as if to shut out the sight of the dreadful spectacle. As darkness approaches thousands of screaming shells course through space, leaving behind a comet-like train of blaze and spark, crossing and recrossing each other, sometimes meeting in mid-air like angry demons. Great quantities of incendiary shells, charged with Greek fire, are seen to explode in the air and spread out immense sheets of liquid fire in red, blue, and green, and fill the air with a stifling stench. Few eyes could close in sleep
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.