Bullet'n Backstory

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Bullet'n Backstory Bullet’n Backstory Volume 9, Issue 6 Joint Munitions Command June 2021 Standoffs and Skirmishes: The Siege of Chattanooga (September — November 1863) Following the Battle of Chickamauga (September 18-20, 1863), Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans’ Army of the Cumberland limped back to Chattanooga, defeated but not destroyed. Credit for saving the ar- my largely went to Maj. Gen. George H. Thomas, whose efforts to combine and rally scattered forces - after Rosencrans and other commanders fled the field - earned him the nickname, “Rock of Chickamauga.” Maj. Caleb B. Cox of the 84th Illinois Volunteer Infan- try Regiment, wrote to his wife immediately following the battle to de- scribe the situation and assure her that he had emerged from the clash largely intact. “I am still safe,” he wrote. “I received a slight bruise on one ankle, made by a piece of shell… Our regiment has lost about one hundred killed, wounded, and missing, up to this time.” Others faced more horrific injuries as well as unknown fates. Among the most harrowing accounts at Chickamauga came from Merritt James Simonds of the Ill. 42nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regi- ment. Receiving a shattered knee on the final day of the battle, he remained on the field with other soldiers who were too wounded to retreat. His daily diary, written as he lay helpless on the bloodied bat- tlefield for a full week, provides a heartbreaking record: Sunday 20th — I lay here until night. The rebs promise to take me off but do not. Monday 21st — The rebs carry off their wounded and bury their Maj. Caleb Brinton Cox dead, but do not take us off… the rebs give us some blankets 84th Ill. Vol. Inf. Reg. and water. We lay here all day suffering a great deal. Tuesday 22nd — We passed a restless night, do not know wheth- er our enemies intend to take us off or not. God help us to en- dure it. Wednesday 23rd — We have lain here now three nights and nearly four days and no signs of relief. Thursday 24th — Some of our men and a Doctor come to see us today. We are removed away from the dead bodies around us… My leg is much swollen and very painful. Friday 25th — Still alive. I bear up my sufferings as well as I can with God’s help… I know others are suffering with me. We get some soup and coffee from the Hospital and the promise of being taken off tomorrow. Saturday 26th — The morning dawns and two are taken from here. Myself and the 42nd are here yet. We patiently await un til noon and no relief comes. Simonds was finally moved to a Field Hospital at some point on the 26th and later transferred to the Military Hospital in Chattanooga, where he died on October 29, age 22. Occupying the heights of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, Confederate forces under Gen. Braxton Bragg commenced a Merritt James Simonds siege of Chattanooga that would continue for two months. This peri- 42nd Ill. Vol. Inf. Reg. od saw a combination of hard work and hardship for the Army of the Cumberland and the 84th Ill. Both Cox and regimental compatriot Louis A. Simmons described weeks spent fortifying their positions while continually harassed by Confederate artillery. Worse, rations were cut to half and then “less than half” as Confederate positions constrained Union supply lines to a single, muddy route. Maj. Cox fell ill within a week following Chickamauga. “Nothing serious,” he explained, “only wore out.” Re- fusing a hospital bed in favor of more seriously wounded men, Cox found accommodations with the Quarter- master for several days of convalescence. During the siege, mail was as restricted as food, meaning soldiers struggled to keep abreast of military and civilian affairs elsewhere in the country. However, widespread cele- brations erupted throughout the camp when news arrived in late October of favorable election results in Pennsylvania, Iowa, and especially Ohio. In the latter, antiwar Democrat Clement Vallandigham — who had escaped Confederate exile for candidate — lost his bid to became Governor of Ohio in a landslide victory by pro-Union War Democrat William Brough. In a letter to his wife, Cox reported that, “The army is now giving the news three cheers.” Simmons went further, writing, “this election extinguished the last lingering hope in the minds of the rebels that the North was divided and that they would receive assistance from the North- west. The result of this election proved the North to be no longer a distracted and divided people, but united indissolubly for the suppression of the rebellion, by force of arms.” The JMC Archivist has been given exclusive access to the personal papers of Caleb Brinton Vol. 9 Cox, an abolitionist Union soldier from Vermont, Illinois. For the next year, the Bullet’n Backstory Iss. 6 will trace Cox’s Civil War service. Special thanks to Thomas Evans for the Simonds materials. Pg. 2 At 2 a.m. on October 25, Palmer’s Division crossed the army’s narrow pontoon bridge over the Ten- nessee River and climbed to the summit of Walden’s Ridge. The 84th Ill. faced new leadership, however, as Maj, Gen. Ulysses S. Grant reorganized the Department of the Cumberland. Thomas officially took command of the Army of the Cumberland and recalled Palmer to Chattanooga to command the XIV Corps. That placed the 84th Ill. in the 3rd Brigade (Col. William Grose), 1st Division (Brig. Gen. Charles Cruft), IV Corps (Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger). Following this change, Cruft’s Division re-crossed the Tennessee Riv- er a few miles downstream from Chattanooga using a new pontoon bridge. Here, with Brig. Gen. William B. Hazen’s 2nd Brigade (3rd Division) and troops commanded by Maj Gen. Joseph Hooker at Bridgeport, the 3rd Brigade opened the river to Chattanooga, establishing a supply route known as the “Cracker Line.” Bragg attempted to prevent and later reverse the Union move several times, using Lt. Gen. James Long- street’s Corps. However, Longstreet twice ignored orders — First, failing to reinforce Lookout Valley in preparation for a potential Union crossing; Second, failing to move against the newly established Union bridgehead at Wauhatchie. A final effort to dislodge Federal troops came in a midnight raid by Longstreet who, though following orders to attack, committed too few men, resulting in a Confederate withdrawal from the valley to the heights of Lookout Mountain. By early November, the 1st Division held Bridgeport (1st Brig.), Shellmound (2nd Brig.), and Whiteside (3rd Brig.), effectively breaking the siege. If Bragg wanted Chattanooga, he would have to fight for it. (to be continued) ~ ~ PTF Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant This Month in Military History June 4, 1615: Following a siege, an army of the Council of Five El- ders led by Tokugawa Ieyasu cap- tures Osaka Castle from the Toyotomi clan, ending the last re- maining armed opposition to the establishment of the Tokugawa shogunate in Japan. June 11, 1776: The 2nd Continen- tal Congress establishes the Committee of Five, a group of rep- resentatives tasked with drafting a Declaration of Independence by 1 July. The committee included JMC Historical Document Collection Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sher- The JMC Public and Congressional Affairs Office (PCA) maintains man, and Robert R. Livingston. the JMC Archives, which collects and maintains historically significant June 18, 1815: Coalition British records, including: emails, manuscripts, letters, reports, studies, images, and Prussian forces under the videos, films, photographs, oral history interviews, briefings, SOPs, poli- command of Lord Wellington, de- cies, decision papers, memoranda, statistics, newspapers, newsletters, feat French troops at Waterloo, brochures, maps, blue prints, drawings, artifacts, and more. Such rec- effectively ending Napoleon Bona- ords are pertinent to the Army’s institutional knowledge of active and parte’s reign as Emperor. His final predecessor installations, the ammunition industrial base, and JMC mis- exile to the island of Saint Helena would last from December 1815 sions. JMC regularly uses these materials to research command history, until his death in 1821. and to answer research queries. When JMC workers leave positions or make physical moves, it is vital that their records be assessed before June 25, 1876: Sioux and Chey- enne warriors led by Crazy Horse disposal. If employees are uncertain about the historical value of materi- and Sitting Bull defeat the U.S. als, the best policy is to make the items available to Command Historian 7th Cavalry under Brevet Maj. Keri Pleasant ([email protected]) or Archivist Paul Ferguson Gen. George Armstrong Custer at ([email protected]) in Room 661 for assessment. the Battle of Little Bighorn. .
Recommended publications
  • History of the Central Area
    History of the Central Area Thomas Veith Seattle Historic Preservation Program City of Seattle Department of Neighborhoods 2009 Contents The Central Area Defined p. 3 Preliminaries p. 5 Territorial Period: 1853 – 1889 p. 12 Early Urbanization: 1890 – 1918 p. 25 Between the Wars: 1918 – 1940 p. 49 The Years of Transition: 1940 – 1960 p. 53 Period of Turmoil: 1960 - 1980 p. 63 The Central Area Today p. 85 Bibliography p. 89 Appendix A: Landmarks p. 93 The Central Area Defined Unlike some Seattle neighborhoods, the Central Area has never existed as a political entity separate from the City of Seattle. In addition the Central Area‟s development was not part of a unified real state scheme with coordinated public improvements (such as the Mount Baker community). For these reasons, it has never had official boundaries and various writers describe its extent in various ways. Almost all attempts to describe the neighborhood include a core area bounded by Madison Street on the north, Jackson Street on the south, 15th Avenue on the west, and Martin Luther King, Jr. Way (formerly Empire Way) on the east. In 1975, Nyberg and Steinbrueck identified the eastern boundary of the Central Area as 30th Avenue (more or less), and also included extensions to the north and south of the core area. The extension to the south of Jackson Street was bounded by 30th Avenue (approximately) on the east, Interstate 90 on the south, and the mid-block alley just east of Rainier Avenue South on the west. The extension to the north of Madison Street was bounded on the west by 23rd Avenue, on the east by the Washington Park Arboretum, and extended north to a line just north of East Helen Street marking the boundary between the plats known as the Madison Park Addition and the Hazelwood Addition Supplemental.1 Walt Crowley describes the neighborhood as a “sprawling residential district .
    [Show full text]
  • Biographies from History of Shawnee County
    Kepre$(ntativc Citizens DAVID WASSON STORMONT, M. D. With the death of Dr. David Wasson Stormont, at his beautiful home in Topeka, Kansas, on August i8, 1887, was brought to a close a useful and well-rounded life, rich in good deeds and dear to the memory of thousands. He was born September 26, 1820, at Princeton, Gibson County, Indiana. His father was a substantial man of that locality who was able to give his son the advantages of a college education. Dr. Stormont received his degree in 1845, and began and continued his practice until 1859, in the village of Grand View, Illinois, in the meantime adding to his medical knowledge and surgical skill by post-graduate courses at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1862 he sought the attractive field offered by the rapidly growing city of Topeka, with which city he was identi- fied during the succeeding 25 years. He was connected with many medical organizations and was a strong supporter of the movement that was organ- ized to spread a knowledge of advanced methods and to require a higher standard of medical education for the profession. For a number of years he was secretary of the State Board of Health. In practice he was all that could be desired in a physician, adding to this medical skill the true sympathy of a tender-hearted man. The influence Dr. Stormont wielded, both directly and by his stimulating example, was not confined in its effects entirely to the medical profession, but was apparent in the promotion of educational and philanthropic works.
    [Show full text]
  • FOR THOSE WHO STILL HEAR the Gunsrm by William Glenn Robertson
    FOR THOSE WHO STILL HEAR THE GUNSrM by William Glenn Robertson Dave Rmh of B&G The Armies (~ollide Bragg }~orces His Way Across (~hickamattga (~reek The failure of Gen. Braxton Bragg's bold and bring the remainder to La Fayette, Ga. (see Mills on the previous day by elements of effort to cripple the Federal XIV Corps in Pg. 51). By 8:30a.m., Bragg had decided upon Thomas J. Wood's Federal division, was to McLemore's Cove on September 11, 1863 (see the next offensive action to take. Believing that remain in contact with the Federals in its Maps, Pp. 10-ll) did not break the offensive Maj. Gen. Thomas L. Crittenden's XXI Corps front. On Armstrong's right, Brig. Gen. John spirit of either the Army of Tennessee or its might be vulnerable, he resolved to send forces Pegram was to deploy his two brigades in an commander. After a few hours of fitful rest, north from La Fayette to strike any elements arc stretching southeast toward the hamlet Bragg was again issuing orders as early as of that corps that could be found. ofVillanow, Ga., on the direct route from La seven o'clock the morning of the 12th. At that Accordingly, Lt. Gen. Leonidas Polk was Fayette to Resaca. When he learned around hour he directed Brig. Gen. Bushrod R. told to move Frank Cheatham's large five­ noon that Armstrong had broken contact with Johnson to continue shielding the army's supply brigade division ten miles north on the the Federals at Lee and Gordon's Mills, line by blocking any Federal push toward Chattanooga road to Rock Spring Church (see Bragg sternly sent him forward again.
    [Show full text]
  • The Shiloh Letters of George W. Lennard
    “Give Yourself No Trouble About Me”: The Shiloh Letters of George W. Lennard Edited by Paul Hubbard and Christine Lewis” Hoosiers were stout defenders of the Union in the Civil War, and one who came forward willingly to serve and die was George W. Lennard. When the Thirty-sixth Indiana Volunteer Infantry regiment was organized in September, 1861, Lennard joined its ranks as a private soldier but was immediately elected lieutenant and named as adjutant. His duty with the Thirty-sixth was short-lived, however, because within weeks he was made a captain and assigned as aide-de-camp to Brigadier General Thomas J. Wood, who in the Shiloh campaign com- manded the Sixth Division of Major General Don Carlos Buell’s Army of the Ohio. Shortly before the battle of Murfreesboro, or Stone’s River, December 31, 1862-January 2, 1863, Lennard was commissioned lieutenant colonel of the Fifty-seventh Indi- ana Volunteer Infantry, and at that battle he was wounded while fighting with his regiment. After convalescing in the spring of 1863, he rejoined his unit for the campaign against Chattanooga under Major General William S. Rosecrans. When the Federal forces occupied that city in September, 1863, Len- nard was detailed as provost marshal, and he had no part in the Battle of Chickamauga. The Fifty-seventh Indiana, how- ever, did participate in the storming of Missionary Ridge in November, and Lennard escaped unscathed in that dramatic assault. In the spring of 1864 fortune deserted him, and as the Army of the Cumberland marched toward Atlanta, he was wounded at Resaca, Georgia, on the afternoon of May 14 and died that evening.’ * Paul Hubbard is professor of history, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona.
    [Show full text]
  • Battle of Richmond Historic Areas Other Names/Site Number Ma-90, Ma-9 I, Ma-92, Ma-93
    NFS Form 10-900 (Rev. 8-86) United States Department National Park Service National Register Registration Form This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations of eligibility for individual pjnnirtiiii ni IIIHin 11 See instructions in Guidelines for Completing National Register Forms (National Register Bulletin 16). Complete each item by marking "x" in the appropriate box or by entering the requested information. If an item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, styles, materials, and areas of significance, enter only the categories and subcategories listed in the instructions. For additional space use continuation sheets (Form 10-900a). Type all entries. 1 . Name of Property historic name Battle of Richmond Historic Areas other names/site number Ma-90, Ma-9 I, Ma-92, Ma-93 2. Location street & number see continuation sheet i LaJ not for publication city, town see continuation sheet vl vicinity state Kentucky code KY county Madison code I5i zip code 40475 3. Classification Ownership of Property Category of Property Number of Resources within Property Cxl private I I building(s) Contributing Noncontributing I I public-local I"x1 district 4 16 buildings I I public-State I I site ____ ____ sites I~x1 public-Federal I I structure ____ ____ structures I I object ____ ____ objects 4 16 Total Name of related multiple property listing: Number of contributing resources previously na _____ ____ listed in the National Register ) 2______ 4. State/Federal Agency Certification As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, as amended, I hereby certify that this LXJ nomination LJ request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60.
    [Show full text]
  • Indiana GAR Posts & History
    Grand Army of the Republic Posts - Historical Summary National GAR Records Program - Historical Summary of Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) Posts by State INDIANA Prepared by the National Organization SONS OF UNION VETERANS OF THE CIVIL WAR INCORPORATED BY ACT OF CONGRESS No. Alt. Post Name Location County Dept. Post Namesake Meeting Place(s) Organized Last Mentioned Notes Source(s) No. PLEASE NOTE: The GAR Post History section is a work in progress (begun 2013). More data will be added at a future date. Reviewed to 1884-1889, 1891-1901. 000 (Department) N/A N/A IN Org. 20 Aug. Ended 1949 Department of Indiana organized 20 August 1866. Although it Beath, 1889; Carnahan, 1893; 1866; Re-org. 3 numbered as many as 300 Posts, it made no reports and paid no National Encampment Oct. 1879 dues to National HQ, causing it to soon dissolve. An attempt to Proceedings, 1949; Dept. reorganize a Provisional Department was made in 1871, but failed. Proceedings, 1901 A new Provisional Department was organized 11 August 1879, becoming a Permanent Department on 3 October 1879. The Department came to an end with the death of its last member in 1949. ? Corydon Harrison IL Chart'd 23 May Described only as the "Post of Corydon" in the Harrison District of Nat'l Encampment 1866 the GAR. Proceedings, 1892 001 Post No. 1 Porter IL No namesake. Known only by its Org. 13 Dec. Dis. about 1869 Thirty-three charter members. Disbanded three years after being Vidette-Messenger, 18 Aug. number. 1866 chartered. 1936 001 051 Oliver P.
    [Show full text]
  • The Union Artillery and Breckinridge's Attack
    , UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE F ILE CODE: TH£ UNION ARTILLERY AND BRECKI NRIDGE'S A'l'fACK - (Research Proje ct #2) - Chapt er I "The Yankee' s Occupy a Dangerous Posit ion - The Rebels Prepare to Counter-at tack" Chapter II 11 Br eckinr idge 1 s Assault" Chapter III - "The Union Counter- Att ack" II . By: Edwi.n C. Bearss Research Hi storian FROM : Region Ore IMPORTANT July, 1959 !1'!• :~ file constitutes a part of Ute official records of ~ TO: \] Park Sen·ice and should not be separated or papers ~v.'11 ,,.. ithout ~-ore:ss authority of the official in charge. Oe\ ~il•• should 1x:· returned promptly to the File Room. bc~als and employees will be held respon$ible for failure Storres River Ni>tional Saffteflef3 t: ~:rv~ these rules, '"'hich a:r-e nccc-ssary to protect the Rt. :o. Box 495. ()!d ~..=as:1v: : !e Hwy. tn'tty of the official ~onls. · Mumeestoro, Ten;iessee 37130 :rHE UNION ARTILI.E.~Y _4ND 9RECKINRIIGE 1 S ATTACK Chapter I -nIB '!".~l;KSE'S OCCUPY A DANGEROUS POSITIO!l 'fd£ REBEIS PREPARE '.!O COUNTER- ATTACK Once t he terrible f i ghting of the ) 1st had drawn to a close Brigadier General Horatio P. Van Cleve found t hat the slight wound which he had received earlier i n Uie day had become unbearably painful, Therefore the general found it necessary to turn over the co=nd of his di vision to his ranking brigade commander - Brigadier General Samuel Beatty. 1 At) a .
    [Show full text]
  • Charles M. Smith Documents and Papers, 1861-1913
    Collection # M 0956, OM 0467 CHARLES M. SMITH DOCUMENTS AND PAPERS, 1861-1913 Collection Information Biographical Sketch Scope and Content Note Contents Cataloging Information Processed by David Pfeiffer 20 February 2008 Manuscript and Visual Collections Department William Henry Smith Memorial Library Indiana Historical Society 450 West Ohio Street Indianapolis, IN 46202-3269 www.indianahistory.org COLLECTION INFORMATION VOLUME OF 1 Manuscript Box and 7 Oversized Folders COLLECTION: COLLECTION 1861–1913 DATES: PROVENANCE: James Bopp, Jr. Terre Haute, IN January 2008 RESTRICTIONS: None COPYRIGHT: REPRODUCTION Permission to reproduce or publish material in this collection RIGHTS: must be obtained from the Indiana Historical Society. ALTERNATE FORMATS: RELATED HOLDINGS: ACCESSION 2007.0388 NUMBER: NOTES: BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Charles M. Smith was born in Middletown, Ohio in May 1828. He later moved to Vigo County, Indiana and lived in Terre Haute. While in Ohio, he became a tinner. He served in the Mexican War as a private in Company K, 1st Regiment of United States Mounted Rifleman, which formed in New Orleans, Louisiana. After the war, he joined a filibustering campaign to Cuba in 1850 under Narciso Lopez, but the campaign ended in failure and the troops retreated to Key West. At the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, he was commissioned as a 1st Lieutenant in the 14th Indiana Infantry in Company F, and then he resigned and enlisted in the 31st Indiana Volunteers, and was elected captain of Company K in September 1861. This unit was part of fellow Indianan Lew Wallace’s 3rd Division at Fort Donelson and later took part in the Battle of Shiloh.
    [Show full text]
  • A Case Study of the Henry County Historical Society, 1887-1950
    THE MAKING OF A HISTORICAL CONSCIOUSNESS IN HENRY COUNTY, INDIANA: A CASE STUDY OF THE HENRY COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 1887-1950 Benjamin Joseph Badgley Submitted to the faculty of the University Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in the Department of History, Indiana University August 2017 Accepted by the Graduate Faculty, Indiana University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. Master’s Thesis Committee _________________________________ Philip V. Scarpino, Ph.D., Chair ________________________________ Robert G. Barrows, Ph.D. ________________________________ Anita Morgan, Ph.D. ii Acknowledgements As I entered the Public History Graduate Program at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, I was given a valuable piece of advice from Dr. Philip V. Scarpino that helped guide me through the selection of a thesis topic: “Choose a topic meaningful to you, which can be supported with an abundance of primary source material.” A case study on the Henry County Historical Society served me well in both regards. As a native of Henry County, Indiana, my association and appreciation for the Henry County Historical Society dates back many years. The organization’s rich history inspired me to learn more about not only the historical society movement in Indiana but also the movement at the national and regional levels as well. Few organizational histories exist for local historical societies in Indiana. I was motivated to tell the story and document the significant history of an institution with a past intermingled with my own. I am indebted to many special individuals who provided support and guidance through the process of researching and writing this thesis.
    [Show full text]
  • (Pdf) Download
    Army of the Cumberland Regimental Commanders and Order of Battle for the Stones River Campaign December 26, 1862-January 5, 1863 Compiled by Daniel A. Masters Revised to May 31, 2005 Army of the Cumberland Major General William Starke Rosecrans Chief of Artillery- Colonel James Barnett, 1st Ohio Volunteer Light Artillery Provost Guard- Lieutenant Colonel Joseph W. Burke, 10th Ohio Volunteer Infantry General Escort- Second Lieutenant Thomas S. Maple, Anderson Troop, Pennsylvania Cavalry Additional Escort- Second Lieutenant Elbridge Geary Roys, Company L, 4th U.S. Cavalry Right Wing Major General Alexander McDowell McCook First (former 9th) Division Brigadier General Jefferson Columbus Davis Escort- Company B, 36th Illinois Volunteer Cavalry Captain Samuel Baldwin Sherer Escort- Company G, 2nd Kentucky Volunteer Cavalry Captain Miller R. McCullough (killed in action early morning of December 31, 1862) First Lieutenant Harvey S. Park First (former 30th) Brigade Colonel Phillip Sidney Post 59th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Captain Hendrick Ellsworth Paine 74th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Colonel Jason Marsh 75th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Lieutenant Colonel John E. Bennett 22nd Indiana Volunteer Infantry Colonel Michael Gooding 5th Wisconsin Light Artillery Battery Captain Oscar F. Pinney (severely wounded in thigh and captured about 7:30 a.m. December 31, 1862, died of wounds February 17, 1863) First Lieutenant Charles B. Humphrey Second (former 31st) Brigade Colonel William Passmore Carlin 21st Illinois Volunteer Infantry Colonel John Washington Shields Alexander (seriously wounded in right foot early morning of December 31, 1862) Lieutenant Colonel Warren Emmitt McMackin 38th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Lieutenant Colonel Daniel H. Gilmer 101st Ohio Volunteer Infantry Colonel Leander Stem (wounded in spine early morning of December 31, 1862, died of wounds January 5, 1863) Lieutenant Colonel Moses F.
    [Show full text]
  • 15Th Infantry Regiment October to December 1863 and Chattanooga by Mark W
    15th Infantry Regiment October to December 1863 and Chattanooga By Mark W. Johnson In the aftermath of the Battle of Chickamauga, the Army of the Cumberland found itself bottled up in the town of Chattanooga. With the enemy controlling Chattanooga’s river and rail approaches, the Army of the Cumberland’s lifeline consisted of a narrow, twisting road up and over Walden’s Ridge north of town. Desperately needed supplies and reinforcements had to travel more than fifty miles on this difficult route from the Federal depots at Bridgeport and Stevenson in Alabama. Only a trickle got through, but part of that trickle was a battalion of Regulars. On October 2, 1863, Maj. John R. Edie reported to the Regular Brigade’s camp at the head of a begrimed and exhausted column of troops: the 2nd Battalion, 15th U.S. Infantry. Their journey had been a long one, covering more than 400 miles by river steamer, railroad, and foot in just less than two weeks. When Col. Oliver Shepherd took command of the 15th U.S. in May 1863, he knew that the Regular Brigade would put 2/15th’s services to good use; it would certainly be a better use of Regular manpower than having the battalion continue with its garrison duty in Grant’s Department of the Tennessee. Shepherd started working through the red tape and requested an assignment to the Army of the Cumberland for Edie’s Memphis-based troops. General Grant was understandably reluctant to part with a battalion of Regulars (he had only three in the Army of the Tennessee, the others being 1/13th U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • The Paper Trail of the Civil War in Kentucky 1861-1865 1
    The Paper Trail of the Civil War in Kentucky 1861-1865 1 The This publication pertaining to Paper the Civil War in Kentucky is a special edition spanning the Trail four years of the Civil War 1861-1865. Almost every entry Of the in this publication is refer- enced to the specific item it was Civil War obtained from. In Kentucky It will be incorporated into the “work in progress” book enti- 1861-1865 tled, “The Paper Trail of the Ken- tucky National Guard” that will be published in 2002. The finished book will be a compilation of the military his- tory of each of the 120 counties Compiled by Colonel (Ret.) Ar- of the Commonwealth. mando “Al” Alfaro The over 720 pages will be an excellent reference book on Kentucky’s military history from the War of 1812 to the Al Alfaro 651 Raven Drive present day Army and Air Frankfort, KY 40601 Kentucky National Guard. 502 223-8318 [email protected] The Paper Trail of the Civil War in Kentucky 1861-1865 2 Index Pg Index Pg Civil War Casualties 3 Henderson 36 22 Courthouses Burned 3 Henry – Hickman 37 Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address 3 Hopkins – Jackson – Jefferson 38 Civil War Unit Organizations 3 Jessamine 41 Civil War Skirmishes 3 Johnson 42 Riders Horse Hoof Determines Death 3 Kenton 43 Kentucky Confederate Units 3 Knott – Knox 44 Kentucky Union Units 4 Larue – Laurel 45 Kentucky US Colored Troop Units 5 Lawrence – Lee – Leslie – Letcher - Lewis 46 Taps 5 Lincoln – Livingston - Madison 47 Civil War Campaign Streamers 6 Logan – Lyon - Madison 48 Seven Civil War Soldiers Become 6 Magoffin 49 Presidents Marion
    [Show full text]