LIBRARY OF jj^ORYUNIVERSJXv ijfklfiirii'ifihlfililriiVitititilrtMilMi'ititiiMfifihlifiliii'.i'iffWfa 1)23057 vAfg28 1341 1861 vs. 1882. i i CO. AYTCH," MAURY GRAYS, m .MRST TENNESSEE REGIMEN ^) OR, A SIDE SHOW OF THE BIG SHOW. By SAM. R. WATKINS, COLUMBIA, TENN. " Quneque ipse miserimu viJi, Et quorum pars mugn,i fxd.'' NASHVILLE, TENN.: CU.MllEULAXI) PKESBYTERIAK PUBLISHING HOUSE. 1882. Entered according to Act of Congress, in tiie year 1882, by MRS. VIRGINIA J. WATKINS, in the office of the Librarian of ('ongres.s, at Washington. TO THE MEMORY OF MY DEAD COMRADES OP THE MAURY GRAYS, AND THE FIRST TENNESSEE EE(UM£NT, AVHI- DIED IN DEFENSE OF SOUTHERN HOMES AND LIBERTIES; ALSO TO AIY LIA'ING COMRADES, NEARLY ALL OF AV H O Al SHED THEIR BLOOD IN DEFENSE OF THE .SAME CAUSE, THIS BOOK IS RES­ PECTFULLY DED­ ICATED BY THE AUTHOR. PREFACE. " Co. AYTCH."—This week's Herald contains the last number of " Co. Aytch " that Avill be published in the paper. The Generals, and President, and Vice-President, and other high officials have published their accounts of the war, but Sam Watkins is the first high private who has written up the common soldier side of the matter. In big, gilt-edge books, the General, the President, and the Vice-President, tell about their plans, their battles, their retreats, their measures, and their ideas, and not a word about what the poor, sore-footed, hungry, and naked soldier felt. In "Co. Aytch," we see the old "webfoot," dressed in a dirty, greasy, gray suit—or rather non-suit—a cotton blanket thrown across his shoulder, and fastened under his car­ tridge-box belt; a greasy, dirty haversack hanging down—very thin and flabby; with shoes of untanned leather. There he goes, footsore, tired, and hungry, but chipper and sassy, and ready for the battle. In " Co. Aytch " we see this same " webfoot" in camp, cooking his rations—corn meal bread, corn meal coffee, corn meal soup, blue beef, with not an eye of grease on it. He lies down on the cold ground, in an old thin blanket, and shivers through tlie night. In " Co. Aytch," Ave hear this " webfoot" talking to his comrades, cheering their drooping spirits, discussing the situation, defending the General, hoping for final victory, and a glorious re­ turn home to father, mother, and sweetheart. In " Co. Aytch " we see this same " webfoot," hungry, ragged, dirty, and footsore, " on the battle's perilous edge," the light of victory in his eye, a gun with a gleaming bayonet in his hands, springing forward like a deer, a ringing shout upon his lips, rushing up to the breastworks, behind which belch Napoleon guns and volleys of musketry; see him cross the abattis at a bound; see him as he stands upon the enemy's ramparts, shouting victory! In " Co. Aytch " we see this same "webfoot" shot down by a minnie ball, and lying cold and stark in death, and thrown into a common shallow grave, unhon- ored, unknown, and unsung, far away from fond loved ones. In "Co. Aytch" we see other soldiers, driven by hunger, stealing hogs, others deserting and going home. All this we see in " Co. Aytch." Every old soldier, and every son of an old soldier, should have a copy of it.— Colunihia. Herald. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I.—AP'L 14, ISfll, o. AP'L 14,1882. CHAPTER IX.—CHKKA.MAUGA, We arc one and undivided 7^ Battle of Chickamauga... M.T The bhtody chasm 11 .After the battle '.'..Z',', Ve Eighteen hundred and .si.vty-one 12 A night among the dead iiiiiii. 1)7 Camp Cheatliam i:'> On the road 15 CHAPTER X.—MISSIONARY RIDGE. Staunton , IC Missionary Ridge (|t| Warm Springs 17 Sergeant Tucker and Generai wiid'er.'. 1()0 Cheat Mountain 20 Moccasin Point jm Sewell Mountain 21 Battle of Missionary Ridge.... 101 Romney 23 <Jood-bye, Tom AVebb '.'.'.',[ lor, Standing picket on the Pot')mac 25 The rear guard io6 Schwartz and Pfifer 27 Chickamauga Station .'.'.'.'.'....' 107 The court-martial 28 The battle of Cat creek m^ The death watch 29 Ringgold (lap .'..'.!'.'..!.' Kill Virginia, farewell .30 CHAPTER XL—DALTON. CII.APTER II.—SHILOH. Gen. Joe E. Johnston takes command. Ill Shiloh 32 Commissaries 115 Dalton '_ 1J5 CHAPTER III.—COKi.N'Tii. Shooting a deserter !....'............ 116 Corinth 38 Ten men killed at the mourners-bencii 110 Rowland shot to death 41 Dr, C. T. Quintard 117 Killing a Yankee sharpshooter 42 y'a, you got my hog us Colonel Field 43 Target shooting 121 Captain Joe P. Lee 44 Uncle Zack and Aunt Daphne 122 Corinth forsaken 45 Red tape 12;; I get a furlough 125 CHAPTER IV.—TUPELO. Tupelo 46 CHAPTER XII—HUNDRED DAYS' BATTLES. The court-martial at Tupelo 47 Rocky Face Ridge ]2.S Raiding on roastingears 48 Falling back ..i.... 130 Battle of Resacca 131 CHAPTER v.—KENTUCKY. Adairsville octagon house 134 AVe go into Kentucky 50 Kennesaw line 136 The battle of PerryVille 52 Detailed to go into the enemy's lines.. 136 The retreat out of Kentucky 57 Death of General Leonidas Polk ]3s Knoxville 61 General Lucius E. Polk wounded 139 Ah, Sueak 62 Dead Angle 141 I jine the cavalry 63 Battle of New Hope Church 150 Battle of Dallas 151 CHAPTER VI.—MUKFKEESBOKO. Battle of Zion Church 152 Murfreesboro 64 Kingston 1.^4 Battle of Murfreesboro 66 Cassville 1.54 Robbing a dead Yankee 69 On the banks of the Chattahoochee 165 Removal of Gen. ,Ioe E.Johnston 156 CHAPTER VII.—SHELEYVILLE. Gen. Hood takes command 157 Shelby ville 70 A foot race 70 CHAPTER XIII.—ATLANTA. Eating mussels 71 Hood strikes igji Poor Berry Morgan 72 Killing a A'ankee scout 159 Wright shot to death with mu!3ketry... 73 An old citizen 162 DayeSublett promoted 74 My friends 163 Down Duck river in a canoe 77 An armv without cavalry 164 Shineral Owledowsky 78 Battle of July 22nd, 1864 165 The attack igg CHAPTER A'lIL—CHATTANOOGA. Am promoted 171 Back to Chattanooga 80 28th of July at Atlanta 172 Am visited by my father 80 I visit Montgomery 172 Out a larking 82 The hospital '. 174 Hanging two spies 83 The Capitol , 175 Eating rats 84 Am arrested 177 Swimming the Tenn. with roastingears 84 Those girls 178 Am detailed to go foraging 85 The talisman 173 Please pass the butter 86 The brave Captain i7y We evacuate Chattanooga 88 How I got back to Atlanta isu The bull of the woods 88 The death of Tom Tuck's roaster 182 The wing of the "Angel of Death " 91 Old Joe Brown's pets 184 COXTEXTS. CHAPTER r^HU.—Continued. CHAPTER XV.—ADVANCE INTO TENNESSEE AVe go after Stoneman 185 Gen. Hood makes a flank movement... 210 Bellum Lethale 1«7 We capture Dalton 213 Death of a Yankee Lieutenant 190 A man in the well 214 .Atlanta forsaken 191 Tuscumbia 215 CHAPTER XIA'.—JONESBOKO. En route for Columbia 215 Battle of .lonesboro 194 CHAPTER XA'L—BATTLES IN TENNESSEE. Death iif Lieutenant John AA^hittaker.. 196 Then comes the farce 199 Columbia 218 Palmettt 201 A fiasco 219 Jeff Davis makes a sjieech 203 Franklin 220 Armistice only in name 204 Nashville 224 X scuut '. 205 CHAPTER XA'II.—THE SURRENDER. AVhat is this Rebel doing here 207 Lookout, boys 208 The last act of thedram^ 231 -Vni captured 209 Adieu 233 COMPANY -AYTCH;' FIRST lENNESSEE REGIMENT. CHAP. I.—APRIL 14, 1861, vs. APRIL 14, l^x% "• WE ARE ONE AND UXDIA^IL)E1>." About tAventy years ago, I think it was—I Avou't be certain, though—a man whose name, if I remember correctly, Avas Wm. L. Yancy—I write only from memory, and this was a long time ago—took a strange and peculiar notion that the sun rose in the east and set in the west, and that the compass pointed north and south. Now, everybody knew at the time that it was but the idiosyncrasy of an unbalanced mind, and that the United States ot America had no north, no south, no east, no west. Well, he began to preach the strange doctrine of there being such a thing. He began to have followers. As you know, it matters not how absurd, ridiculous and preposterous doctrines may be preached, there will be some followers. Well, one man by the name of (I think it was) Ehett, said it out loud. He was told to "s-h-e-e." Then another fellow by the name (I remember this one because it sounded like a graveyard) Toombs said so, and he was told to " sh-sh-ee-ee." Then after a while whole heaps of people began to say that they thought that there was a north and a South ; and after a while hundreds and thousands and millions said that there was a south. But they were the persons Avho lived in the direction that the water courses run. Now, the people who lived where the water courses started from came down to see about it, and they said, " Gents, you are very much mistaken. We came over in the Mayflower, and we used to burn witches for saying that the snn rose in the east and set in the west, because the sun neither rises nor sets, the earth simply turns on its axis, and we 2 10 APRIL 14, 1861, vs. APRIL 14, 1882. know, because we are Pure(i)tans." The spokesman of the party was named(I think I remember his name because it always gave me the blues when I heard it) Horrors Greeley; and another per­ son by the name of Charles Sumner, said there ain't any north or south, east or Avest, and you shan't say so either.