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Military Reminiscences
of
Gen. Wm. R. Boggs, C.S.A.:
Electronic Edition

Boggs, William Robertson, 1829-1911

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First edition, 1997.
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Academic Affairs Library, UNC-CH
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
1997.
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Call number C970.78 B67m (North Carolina Collection, UNC-CH)

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Library of Congress Subject Headings, 21st edition, 1998




The John Lawson Monographs
OF THE
Trinity College Historical Society
VOLUME III

MILITARY REMINISCENCES
OF
GEN. WM. R. BOGGS, C. S. A.

INTRODUCTION AND NOTES
BY
WILLIAM K. BOYD

THE SEEMAN PRINTERY
DURHAM, N. C.
1913


COPYRIGHTED 1913
BY
TRINITY COLLEGE HISTORICAL SOCIETY


TABLE OF CONTENTS


Page VII


INTRODUCTION

        No military conflict has ever been the theme of so many memoirs by its participators as the American Civil War. The narratives of Sherman and Johnston, McClellan and Longstreet, Grant and Hood, Schofield and Mosby, and of other leading generals are but the vanguard of an almost endless amount of similar testimony. Indeed it seems that the cherished desire of well-nigh every patriot engaged, if he had the gift of self-expression, has been to give to posterity an account of his part in our great national tragedy, and as the ties of mortal life weaken, this desire becomes stronger. Hence as the number of survivors diminishes, the number of memoirists increases, so that during the past decade the publication of personal accounts of the Civil War seems to rival that of the earlier years just after the conflict when the memory of all readers was full of military recollections.

        It is therefore eminently fitting that the Reminiscences of General William R. Boggs should be given to the public. Their value well merits the attention of all interested in Confederate military history. By taste and training General Boggs was a soldier, having graduated with high honors from West Point. His military activity under the Confederacy was entirely in fields which popular interest too often neglects, the erection of fortifications on the coast and the Confederate operations in Kentucky and the southwest. Even

Page VIII

more important is the fact that he wrote for the information of his children, not for the public, his manuscript being prepared in 1891. His criticisms are therefore those of a professional soldier, stated most frankly and without reservation, concerning Confederate operations too often overshadowed in the memory of Southerners by the glories of the Virginia battlefields.

        The ancestors of William Robertson Boggs were distinguished in both civil and military affairs. His maternal great-grandfather was "Scotch Billy" Robertson of Chesterfield County, Virginia, who served in the colonial wars. The next in line, John Robertson, likewise served the colony and his son, William Robertson (1786-1859) removed from Virginia to Abbeville, South Carolina, served in the South Carolina militia during the Second War with Great Britain, and afterwards became surveyor, then Superintendent, of the South Carolina Railroad, and also manager of a line of steamboats on the Savannah River. His wife was Pamela Moseley, daughter of Joseph Moseley, who had migrated from Virginia to South Carolina contemporaneously with the Robertsons. Their daughter, Mary Ann, married Archibald Boggs, a merchant of Augusta, Georgia. To them were born nine children. Of these seven survived infancy. Three sons, William Robertson, Robert, and Archibald, served in the Confederate army. Of the four daughters two remained single and two married brothers of the Butt family; one, Pamela Robertson, became the wife of Joshua Willing Butt, one of their sons being Major Archie

Page IX

Butt, who lost his life in the Titantic disaster of April, 1912; the other, Catherine Joyner, married J. D. Butt, who served in W. H. T. Walker's Brigade of Georgia troops.

        William Robertson, the oldest of the above named children, was born at Augusta, March 18,1829. Comparatively little is known of his early youth, but his training and associations awakened talents quite in keeping with those of his ancestors. His preparatory education was secured at the old Augusta Academy. To the memory of its rector, William Ernenputsch, he paid the following tribute; "What a kind old teacher he was, a German of a small stature, and small frame, but a large head, and big heart. He used to punish sharply and severely, but not cruelly. There was not a boy in that school who would not have fought for him."

        Very early his interest in science was awakened. Once he heard a lecture on the impossibility of applying steam navigation to the ocean; at another time he saw the principle of "galvanism" illustrated with a small battery, but the impracticability of its use for industrial purposes on account of the high cost of mercury was pointed out. Once he and his playmates gave his great-grandfather, Joseph Moseley, an account of a steamboat they had seen on the Savannah River. According to tradition the old gentleman listened politely, then gave each narrator a sound thrashing for trying to impose on his credulity. Later when Mr. Moseley himself saw a steam boat at Augusta he gave each of the boys five dollars in gold as recompense for the chastisement.

Page X

        Young Boggs' summers were spent at the Sand Hills, now Summerville, South Carolina, then as now a resort. There an interest in military life was aroused by visits to the army post located near by. Born with traditions of fighting and engineering, with a latent interest in science and military affairs awakened, it was natural for him to find his way to the leading scientific as well as the best military school of the time, the United States Military Academy at West Point. He entered as a cadet from Georgia in July, 1849 at the age of twenty and graduated four years later among the first five of his class.

        Among the students at the Academy at that time were many who later gained distinction in both the Union and Confederate armies. Among Boggs' classmates were John B. McPherson, Philip H. Sheridan and John M. Schofield, later Union generals, and John B. Hood of the Confederate service. Cadet Boggs ranked high in his class and in the entire student body. At the end of his first year he was tenth in scholarship in a class of seventy-four, second in conduct among the entire 221 cadets enrolled. At the close of the second year he was second among his classmates in point of scholarship, being surpassed only by McPherson, and in conduct tenth in the entire academy. The third year found his scholarly standing unchanged, but his rank in conduct ninth. At graduation in 1853 his rank in scholarship had dropped to fourth, that in conduct had risen to third.

        Traditions of his student life at West Point centre around artistic rather than military tastes. In 1851

Page XI

while Boggs was on adjutant duty a new cadet entered. His name was James McNeill Whistler. Boggs was at once interested in the new matriculate because the lad's father had attained distinction as an engineer. Whistler soon formed the habit of visiting the adjutant's office; frequently he spent the time in sketching scenes described in books or suggested by life at the academy. Boggs preserved three drawings illustrative of West Point, two suggested by characters in Dickens, and one representing Russian soldiers. In 1852 through Boggs' influence a drawing of Whistler's - the wood cut also being carved by Whistler - was used to decorate the dance cards for the academy ball. These are probably the earliest existing products of Whistler's art. 1

        Boggs' talents were evidently for the scientific problems of military service. On graduation he was made Brevet-Second Lieutenant, was assigned to the Topographical Bureau, and spent some time in the office of the Pacific Railroad Surveys. In 1854 he was transferred to the Ordnance Corps and was made assistant at the Watervliet Arsenal, Troy, New York. In December of the same year he became Second Lieutenant and in 1856 he was promoted to the rank of First Lieutenant. While at Watervliet Arsenal he married Mary Sophia, daughter of Col. John Symington, the commandant, the date of their marriage being December 19, 1855. In 1857 he was transferred to the Louisiana Arsenal at Baton Rouge, Louisiana; in 1859 he became inspector of Ordnance at Point Isobel, Texas,

1. See "Whistler's First Drawings," Century Magazine Sep., 1910.
Page XII

and on December 14 took part in an engagement with Cortino's Mexican Marauders near Fort Brown, for which he was given honorable mention by General Scott. Soon after, he was transferred to the Alleghany Arsenal at Pittsburg, to which Col. Symington had also been assigned. Evidently the service that opened before Lieutenant Boggs in the Army of the United States was that of scientific expert rather than the command of troops.

        In 1861 the choice of fighting with or against his native state was forced upon him. He did not believe in the wisdom of secession, but like many of his countrymen he cast his destiny with the South, resigning from the United States Army the very day that the Georgia Convention adopted an ordinance of secession. Altogether twenty-two relatives by blood or marriage entered the Confederate armies. His father-in-law, however, having been born in Delaware, having been appointed to the Academy from Maryland, and having spent thirty-five years in the Army, remained in the United States service. Yet friendship and interest in his son-in-law were not interrupted. On Jan. 31, 1861, he wrote, - "So my dear Boggs, the deed is done so far as your resignation is concerned, and we must look into the future with hope that this change may eventuate to your full satisfaction and prosperity. You are of the right stuff and I have every confidence that, from your energy, perseverance and upright honesty you will succeed in any object you may give your attention to."

        The nature of Boggs' service in the Confederacy

Page XIII

was similar to that in the Army of the United States, that of an engineer and ordnance officer. He was always on staff duty and was never given the command of troops. His criticisms of military operations therefore suggest the observer rather than the leader of men. This characteristic, together with his scientific training and utter frankness, give a distinct value to his account of the three operations in which he was active, perfecting fortifications and supplies in 1861, Kirby Smith's invasion of Kentucky in 1862, and Kirby Smith's administration west of the Mississippi from 1863 to 1865.

        When Lieutenant Boggs resigned from the Army of the United States, he tendered his services to the State of Georgia and was immediately appointed to the staff of Governor Brown. He was soon entrusted with the duty of purchasing supplies for his native State.

        At his suggestion it was determined to send an agent to Europe to procure an outfit for the manufacture of small arms, while Boggs himself was to place orders for heavy ordnance in Richmond. T. Butler King was ordered to Europe but he postponed his departure in order to carry orders for the Confederate government just being organized. The delay was fatal and Georgia never secured from Europe its much needed machinery. Boggs, however, went to Richmond, carrying with him the latest designs for guns that had been worked out in Union arsenals, and placed large orders for the State of Georgia. He also superintended the conversion of the State Penitentiary into a foundry.

Page XIV

        Soon he was transferred to the Confederate service, going first to Charleston where he assisted Beauregard in preparing its defenses for war. In April he was sent to Pensacola to assist General Bragg in erecting defenses. He found the first urgent need to be supplies for the troops. To meet it he spent $40,000 which had been entrusted to his use. A second problem was the rearrangement of the defenses. To this end Boggs removed the barbette guns from the forts and placed them along the bluffs overlooking the harbor and along the beach, and erected a concealed battery south of Fort McRee. With these arrangements completed, it was the intention to attact Fort Pickens, which was held by the Federals. The plan was frustrated by the credulity of Bragg, who allowed Lieutenant Worden, of the United States Army, to cross from Pensacola to the Federal fleet. Immediately Fort Pickens was strongly reinforced. The effectiveness of the Confederate defenses was also impaired by the arbitrary action of Bragg. While Boggs was temporarily absent he placed a battery of casement guns in the open, south of Fort McRee. These, having about one-half the range of the barbette guns, were ineffective during the Federal bombardment and Fort McRee was silenced. But the Federal men-of-war, the Niagara and the Richmond, as they reached the shore were forced to retire by Boggs' concealed battery. "It was sometime in the afternoon," says Boggs, "when I observed them swing around head on, and saw them move slowly up to a new position. Having no other means after they had taken up their new

Page XV

position and commenced firing, I got their distance by sight and sound. My first shot, afterwards so reported, passed between the masts of the Richmond and the second one hulled the ship so effectively as to disable her. When some of her timbers floated ashore next day my Georgians claimed them, and Bragg endorsed their claim."2

        Inefficiency and lack of judgment were not the only weak points in the military policy of the Confederacy. While at Pensacola Boggs saw places of high rank in the Army given to civilians while young officers like himself failed to get promotion. Bragg, on behalf of the officers under him, complained of the discrimination but the most he could secure for Boggs was a nominal appointment in 1862 as Superintendent of the Louisiana State Seminary, a military school. However, the relations between Boggs and Bragg became cool; an estrangement gradually developed, with the result that Boggs resigned from the service of the Confederate States and re-entered that of the State of Georgia.

        Again, Boggs' assignment was to engineering work, being made Chief Engineer with the rank of Colonel by Gov. Brown. He was sent to Savannah in March, 1862, to aid in erecting fortifications. Again the impression he received was one of inefficiency and lack of foresight on the part of those in authority. He urged the necessity of fortifying the islands on the South Carolina side of the Savannah River. The Confederate commander did not think it possible to stand on these,

2. See page 99.
Page XVI

much less to occupy them, and that a gun would sink out of sight, and seemed to rely upon some torpedoes that Captain Ives had placed there to keep the gunboats from coming into Wall's Cut and getting between us and Fort Pulaski. "There were some of us who had very little confidence in Ives' loyalty and the fact that Ives had been seen at work down the river caused us still more anxiety... One morning we found the Federal gunboats in Wall's Cut on the Carolina side, in which Ives' torpedoes were supposed to be. They, with the boats already in the St. Augustine's Creek, on our side, cut off all communication by water with Fort Pulaski . . . General W. H. T. Walker was very indignant; he proposed a plan for the capture of the gunboats, offered to take all the responsibility, and make the necessary preparations, and attack with his own Brigade. Had his plan been promptly accepted, it would, in my opinion, have been successful. But it was taken into consideration. Before the consideration was concluded those islands on which a man could not stand were covered with tents and troops; and those estuaries which had been filled with torpedoes, were full of gunboats." 3

        In recognition of Boggs' work at Savannah one of the forts was named for him. Today its site is occupied by a fertilizer factory. From Savannah he was sent to the interior of Georgia to erect fortifications along the upper Appalachicola to protect cotton plantations from raids by federal gun boats. His mission was not effective because the civil authorities failed

3. See page 26.
Page XVII

to co-operate. In August 1862, he was again in the service of the Confederate States because Kirby Smith had asked aid of Governor Brown in his impending invasion of Kentucky, and Brown's reply was to send Boggs and some artillery harness to Knoxville.

        The campaign that followed forms a new chapter in the experience of Colonel Boggs. Hitherto he had been engaged in fortification; now as a member of Kirby Smith's staff he was in close touch with an aggressive military movement. Indeed the invasion of Kentucky was one of the most brilliant, as well as one of the most disastrous, of the early Confederate campaigns. Kirby Smith crossed the Cumberland mountains from Knoxville, while Bragg advanced from Chattanooga northward across Tennessee, crossing into Kentucky by way of Gainesville. With their armies united they hoped to win Kentucky for the Confederacy and to force Buell beyond the Ohio. Kirby Smith was first on the scene of operations. By August 30 he reached Richmond, Kentucky, and drove back the enemy. How narrow was the margin between victory and defeat is well described by Boggs. During the afternoon General William Nelson, commander-in-chief of the Union forces in Kentucky, personally took the leadership and formed a new line of battle south of Richmond. "This was so unexpected," said Boggs, "that General Kirby Smith and myself, riding leisurely up the road in advance of the army, came within short range before we were aware of it. Seeing an officer gallop down the road and hearing him command to 'bring on the cavalry,' I rode close up to and alongside

Page XVIII

the fence, expecting them to come up with a rush, and saw our victory turned into rout. Had they come Sheridan's charge at Winchester would have been a duplicate. They did not come and we had time to get out of the road and form line; then a single charge of the infantry, before the artillery could be brought into action, drove them through Richmond."4

        From Richmond the victorious Confederates pressed on toward Lexington. Boggs, with a band of infantry and cavalrymen, marched before the regular army. When the outskirts of Lexington were reached, he rode back to camp and found everything in confusion. "A sudden halt had been ordered, the advance drawn back to where I found it, all the wagons were being unloaded and sent back to bring Heth's division. A herald was being gotten ready to summon the Federal commander at the sound of a midnight bugle to evacuate Lexington or come outside of it and fight. It looked very much like a panic. There was no answer to the bugle and the herald rode into town without being questioned. The Federal commander, Gilbert, had also been seized with an uncertainty, and while we were preparing the herald he was making hot haste in another direction. We now found out that, if we had followed the Federals up closely we could have gone into Lexington the night before and have captured valuable supplies."5

        The tide of success now changed. Instead of advancing on Cincinnati Kirby Smith awaited orders from General Bragg, his superior. Bragg's advance

4. See page 38.

5. See page 40.
Page XIX

had been delayed for various reasons so that Buell outreached him in the race for Louisville. He now ordered Kirby Smith to fall back to Frankfort and participate in the inauguration of Richard Hawes as Confederate Governor. Bragg, leaving his army at Bardstown, arrived at Frankfort in due time. The ceremony took place on October 4, 1862, but in the afternoon news came that Buell was advancing from Louisville. Believing that the movement was directed against Frankfort, Kirby Smith retired to Versailles and Bragg rejoined his army which advanced to Harrodsburg. Boggs' narrative of the events of the day well illustrate the confusion and the uncertainty of the Confederate commanders. 6

        During the Kentucky campaign Col. Boggs won the confidence of his superiors and on General Kirby Smith's recommendation he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General and became Chief of Staff under him in the Trans-Mississippi Department in the spring of 1863. The task in the Southwest was complicated and difficult. Grant was besieging Vicksburg, and Banks threatened an invasion from New Orleans. There was need of co-operative organization of army posts in Louisiana, Texas, and Arkansas, while the heavy production of cotton raised the question of its disposal beyond the lines of the army. Unfortunately there was a distinct lack of unity in the councils of the Confederate leaders. Broadly speaking the cleavage was between Kirby Smith and his subordinates, especially Richard Taylor; later Governor Allen and Kirby

6. See page 43.
Page XX

Smith were at cross purposes. 7 Charges of inefficiency, favoritism and secret influences were prevalent. The whole story of the situation has never been revealed.

        General Boggs soon found himself out of sympathy with the two active military plans of Kirby Smith. First of these was the demonstration against the Federal lines around Vicksburg, which was then besieged by Grant. This was entrusted to General Holmes of the District of Arkansas but his attack on Helena, made early in July, was too late to change the fate of the city. The other military purpose, to prevent the conquest of western Louisiana and Texas, was accomplished, not, however, without a conflict of wills among Confederate generals. The Federals took the aggressive and inaugurated two movements in the spring of 1864, an invasion by Banks from New Orleans and one from Little Rock by Steele. Believing that Banks was the weaker of the two generals Kirby Smith decided to engage him first and gave that part of the defense to General Richard Taylor, whose headquarters were in southern Louisiana. General Price, who succeeded Holmes in Arkansas, was ordered to forward to Taylor all his infantry and artillery, keeping only his cavalry to harass the advance of Steele. However, these reinforcements were halted at Kirby Smith's headquarters at Shreveport and it was planned for Taylor to harass, not engage, Banks. The cause of this change of plans, according to Boggs, was the influence of Dr. Sol Smith, Surgeon to Kirby Smith. "The animus of change was that Doctor Smith

7. Dorsey, Recollections of Henry W. Allen, passim.
Page XXI

disliked General Taylor as much as he liked General Smith; Taylor was to harass Banks up to the last moment, and then General Smith was to move down with additional troops, take command, and carry off the glory of the pitched battle." 8 Kirby Smith's orders reached Taylor too late to prevent him from turning and defeating Banks first at Mansfield, then at Pleasant Hill. These victories presented another problem; should Banks be pursued and New Orleans possibly be attacked, or should attention be given to Steele? Taylor of course advised the former course, but Kirby Smith chose the latter. However, Steele, when he heard of the defeat of Banks, gave up his invasion and fell back to Little Rock.

        An estrangement developed between the commanding general and his chief-of-staff soon after the Banks-Taylor campaign. Dr. Sol Smith supplanted Boggs in the councils of Kirby Smith. Boggs resigned and was for a short time commander of the District of Louisiana. He was soon superseded by General Harry Hays. He then returned to Shreveport. Early in 1865 he enlisted in an expedition to enter military service in Mexico. Finding that the purpose of its leaders was to fight for Maximilian, rather than Juarez, he withdrew his name. With the collapse of the Confederate armies in the East, Kirby Smith moved his headquarters to Houston, Texas. The surrender of his army was made by his subordinates, in which General Boggs participated, the parole of Boggs being dated June 9, 1865.

8. See page 76.
Page XXII

        Such was the course of General Boggs' service in the war and such were the impressions made upon him by the military policy of the Confederacy. His unreserved frankness, together with his military training, give his words great weight. No one can read them without being impressed with the inefficiency of the Confederate preparations for the war, the inexcusable failure of the Kentucky campaign of 1862, and the friction among the Confederate generals. If it had not been for the genius of Lee's defense of Virginia, how much earlier might the conflict have ended!

        After the close of hostilities General Boggs engaged in the profession of engineering, participating to a great extent in railroad construction in the west. In 1875 he was appointed Professor of Mechanics in the Virginia Polytechnic Institute at Blacksburg, a position he held until a reorganization of the Faculty in 1881. Writes one of his colleagues: "He was highly valued by his associates as a man of force and culture; was esteemed by the student body as an attractive and honest teacher; by the people of the community as an upright, genial, agreeable gentleman. Politics was alone responsible for his removal." The later years of his life were spent in Winston-Salem, N. C., where he died September 11, 1911, at the age of eighty-two.

        As previously stated, General Boggs married in 1854 Mary Sophia, daughter of Col. John Symington and Elizabeth McCaw Johnston Symington. To them were born five children: William R., Jr., a mining engineer, who was murdered in Mexico in 1907; Elizabeth McCaw, John Symington, Edith Allston (deceased),

Page XXIII

and Henry Patterson. To the second of these, Mrs. Elizabeth Boggs Taylor, of Winston-Salem, the Historical Society of Trinity College is indebted for the permission to publish these Reminiscences. This introduction may well close with the lines to General Boggs, written by his grandson, Henry Porterfield Taylor:

                        Fight on, O Soul, keep in the fight
                        And ever strive thee for the right;
                        Fight on through all the gloomy night.
                        Fight on, fight on
                        Till break of dawn,
                        When Death, thy friend, will set thee free.
                        And take thee o'er the stormy sea
                        To that fair land
                        Eternity;
                        Where strife's no more,
                        But with sword drawn
                        Light points the way
                        To glorious day;
                        Fight on, O Soul, fight on.

WM. K. BOYD.

        Trinity College, Durham, N. C.,
June 12, 1913


Page 1


Military Reminiscences of General
William R. Boggs, C. S. A.

CHAPTER I

PURCHASE of ARMS: DEFENSES AT CHARLESTON - THE CONFEDERATE ORDNANCE BUREAU - OPERATIONS AT PENSACOLA - CRITICISM OF CONFEDERATE MILITARY APPOINTMENTS.

        In 1860 I was an officer of the United States Army, detailed on special duty at the Fort Pitt Foundry at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, to superintend the manufacture of the new pattern eight and ten-inch Rodman Guns, under the new Rodman process. I was delightfully situated, proud of my profession and not a secessionist.

        The Presidential election of that year was most bitterly partisan; and with election of Mr. Lincoln, I could not see how an intestine war was to be avoided. I was afterwards very much surprised to find that Mr. Davis and his Cabinet had thought that the Southern States would be permitted to withdraw from the union peaceably. I believed then as I do now, that men who held such opinions were unfit to direct our affairs. I believed then as I do now, that an active, determined, and unhesitating policy would have brought about an early and honorable settlement.

        But, let me make a fresh start. The Georgia Legislature had, at its session just previous to the election,

Page 2

created the office of Adjutant General and elected Major Harry Wayne to fill the office. It had also appropriated money to purchase heavy Ordnance and other war material, and had selected Colonel W. J. Hardee, of the U. S. Army, and a native Georgian, to make the purchases. By a strange fatality he made his contract for the heavy guns with the Fort Pitt Foundry. The proprietor took the contract, remarking that if Georgia should not want the guns or there should be any difficulty about delivery, the United States would take them. The United States took them. Had the contract been given to almost any other foundry, especially Anderson's at Richmond, Georgia would have got her guns. It is a singular fact that nearly all the heavy ordnance intended for the Southern seacoast were on skids in Northern Arsenals.

        In casting the first fifteen-inch Rodman gun, the Fort Pitt Foundry had, for the want of room, taken the risk of altering one of their furnaces in a manner contrary to all accepted rules. The alteration proved a marvelous success. So soon as Mr. Lincoln's election was assured, I made a very careful drawing of this furnace; I also made drawings of the latest bullet press and other machines and models that I thought would soon be needed down South. When I went I took them with me; but as the New Government proposed to live in peace and harmony with all mankind, especially the Yanks, my labors were cast aside.

        On the morning after the election a young man, Nicholas Wade by name, boasted that he had voted for Mr. Lincoln for the sole purpose of seeing what the South was going to do about it. I remarked that "if

Page 3

he stood by his vote, he and I would soon be shooting at each other." There were two other young men, Metcalfs by name, very whole-soured and liberal in their views, who remarked that "if we were forced into a war by politicians, they would take no part in it." I told them they would have to; for that in the beginning their bar-room bullies, roughs, toughs, and gutter-snipes would rush into their army to have a good time, that we had no such characters or but few in the South, and furnishing soldiers with higher motives and principles, we would whip them so badly that for the honor of their section they would have to go. I heard of the Metcalfs and others, who did not vote for Mr. Lincoln, in order to see what the South was going to do about it, being in the Federal Army; but never of Mr. Wade or men of his like, North or South.

        When a Convention of the people of Georgia was called to consider their relations with the Federal Government, I obtained a leave of absence for thirty days and went home to Georgia. On the day that the State, in Convention assembled, voted the State no longer a member of the Union, I resigned my commission in the United States Army.

        At the request of the Governor I went to Milledgeville for consultation. One of my first suggestions was that he send some trusty person to Europe for the express and sole purpose of purchasing an outfit for the manufacture of small arms; that if this was done at once, it could be brought in before a blockade was established. Mr. King, T. Butler King I think, was written to and accepted. It was arranged that I, with a master armorer, should meet him in Philadelphia,

Page 4

I lost some time waiting but he never came. On my return to Milledgeville I suggested to the Governor that Mr. King was probably waiting the formation of the Confederate Government so that he might act for both. Such proved to be the case and we got no armory. My meeting Mr. King in Philadelphia was in connection with other duties, I having received authority from the Governor to purchase war material wherever I could find it.1 I will say, just here, that I, on behalf of the State of Georgia, purchased and ordered manufactured more war material than all the other seceding States put together, or than was provided for by the Confederate Congress. I now busied myself converting the State Penitentiary into an arsenal of construction. It was while so engaged that the Confederate Government was formed and Beauregard made a Brigadier-General and sent to Charleston.

        It had been expected that on Beauregard's arrival the bombardment of Fort Sumter would begin. But his inspections and a few shots to the seaward satisfied him that something was wrong. W. H. C. Whiting, recently of the engineer corps, and I, of the Ordnance, being the nearest available officers, he asked Governor Brown to send us to him for a short time. At the General's request we made a thorough examination.

        At Fort Moultrie, the small but important omission of putting the swinging props under the trails of the gun carriages had caused the guns to dismount themselves when fired with shot. Anderson no doubt removed

1. See Appendix, Commentary II, p 92.
Page 5

these props before he abandoned the Fort. Their only fuses were old style wooden mortar fuses and for economy they had been sawed into two or more pieces; the shock of the discharge would drive the small ends into the shell and explode the shell either in the gun or just after leaving it. Their mortar beds were made of wood, from patterns intended for iron and brass. Morris Island beach was exposed to an enfilading fire from Fort Sumter and required heavy epaulments to protect its batteries from that fire. We remained with General Beauregard until Governor Brown summoned us to Savannah.2

        I had ordered from Anderson's Foundry at Richmond an unlimited number of heavy guns, with the irons for their carriages and four hundred rounds each of shot and shell for each gun. They were to be shipped, as fast as made, in box cars, by the way of the East Tennessee R. R. In daily expectation that these guns would begin to arrive, we determined not only to arm Fort Pulaski, but also to occupy Tybee Island and to place some of the guns in lunettes on the Island. The guns ordered by me were diverted by the Honorable Secretary of War, and sent to Mobile. Therefore Fort Pulaski was never armed or Tybee Island occupied.3

        While in Savannah, Senator F. S. Bartow, chairman of the committee on military affairs in the Confederate Congress, came there. He asked me what I thought of his bill for the organization of the army.

2. Boggs was recalled to Savannah early in March, 1861. See Appendix, Commentary I, page 89. (ED.)

3. For further light on the shipment of guns, see Appendix, Commentary II. page 92. Fort Pulaski and Tybee Island are near Savannah. - (ED.()
Page 6

My reply was that I would hardly call it his bill since Mr. Davis' hand was to be seen in every line of it. Bartow blushed. I mention this, as I shall mention some other matters, in order to show Mr. Davis' determination to direct the smallest affairs in connection with the army.

        It was not long before I was summoned to Montgomery, and with the consent of Governor Brown, I went.4 Arrived at Montgomery, I was requested to take temporary charge of the Ordnance Bureau, (the head of that department, as of most others, being held in reserve for others who were supposed, intended, or might be induced thereby to come South). Among the first things needful was a competent clerk. I called upon the only resident of Montgomery that I knew and requested his assistance to procure one. The very next morning the Honorable Secretary of War, Pope Walker, informed me that I would need a clerk and that he had sent for one for me. There was no hurry about anything connected with the New Government except in providing places. In a short time my Pope Walker clerk came; so far as his usefulness was concerned he might as well have remained at home and drawn his salary there. Mr. Walker was not the only Cabinet member interested in providing clerks; L. W. O'Bannon resigned his commission in the United States Army and came to Montgomery; he received an appointment and was sent to Pensacola as quartermaster; the night before he went he received an intimation purporting to come from Mr. Mallory, as to whom he

4. I have not been able to find when Boggs was called to Montgomery. (ED.)
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should appoint as clerk. He requested the messenger to say to Mr. Mallory, "that if the egg was rotten before it was laid, to let him know, and he would return to Washington and ask to be taken back into the Union."

        My first care was to examine the appropriations for the ordnance department. I found them most picayune; the appropriation for gunpowder was not sufficient to have fired the guns mounted at Pensacola for two days, and the appropriation was for one year. All other material was in the same ratio. I made haste to inform the Secretary of War. He told me that the appropriations were for a peace establishment, that treaty commissioners had been sent to Washington and we must do nothing that implied war. I satisfied him that even for a peace establishment the appropriations were too small. I finally succeeded in getting an additional appropriation. I was then sent to examine a foundry at Mobile to see if it could be converted into a gun foundry; and also to inspect the defences of New Orleans. At Mobile I was surprised to find that the foundry already had orders from Mr. Walker to manufacture an unlimited number of canister shot for twenty-four and thirty-two pounder guns. What he proposed to do with them was past finding out. At New Orleans I suggested that some of the heavy guns be taken out of the Forts and placed in one or, at most, two gun batteries along the banks of the river above the Forts.

        On my return to Montgomery, I found several proposals from English houses to furnish many much needed supplies. The proposals were very liberal in

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every respect; they even offered for 10 per cent. of the original cost to run the blockade and deliver guns to the C. S. A., and no harm could have arisen from accepting them. They remained unacted upon, either upon the supposition that the United States would permit us to depart in peace, or because the proper person to have charge of such affairs, had not yet come South. I never knew, and it was soon too late.

        An agreement had been entered into that we should make no effort to capture Fort Pickens, nor the Federals to reinforce it, without a previous notice of twenty-four hours. A severe storm accompanied by a gale seemed to suggest an opportunity to capture the Fort. I proposed to General Cooper, Adjutant General of the Army, that he should call Mr. Walker's attention to the opportunity. He insisted that the idea having originated with me that I should see Mr. Walker. I lost no time in doing so; the Secretary left me immediately, I presumed to see Mr. Davis. I heard nothing more of it until sometime afterwards, when, in conversation with General Bragg I happened to speak of it. He told me that he also had seen the opportunity and had telegraphed the Secretary for permission to take advantage of it, but had received no reply until too late, and then it was to ask him, if he had established "reserved batteries," and that he had never yet understood what the Honorable Secretary meant.

        Late one afternoon I was standing at the counter in a book store, when I felt a gentle touch on the shoulder. It was the Secretary of War who took me to one side, and informed me that our commissioners had

Page 9

been rejected; and that we were going to have war. He further informed me, that he wished me to go to Pensacola as soon as possible. It was arranged that I should take the next train; and that I should meet him at his office immediately after supper for instructions. I was on hand at the appointed time: but also was Jerry Clemens, erstwhile a member of the United States Congress, now Major General and Commander in Chief of the Military Forces of Alabama. General Clemens was an out and out Union man, bitterly opposed to the secession movement, as were the people he represented, as were in fact a majority of the voters of Alabama. Clemens was still a power in Alabama, and Mr. Walker seemed to remember it: for he submitted to be bull-dozed by him until after two o'clock in the morning.

        All this time I sat patiently waiting the pleasure of the Secretary, or rather that of Jerry Clemens. When Clemens got through with him, he was in no condition for further labor; he could only tell me to take the first train for Pensacola and be governed by circumstances. 5

        Arrived at Pensacola I reported to General Bragg. The General informed me that they were sending him regiment after regiment; but no supplies of any kind, nor the means of moving or distributing them if he had them. Fortunately, at that time, everybody was enthused and were sending or bringing ample supplies of food. I informed the General of all the circumstances of my orders, and thought he need not hesitate

5. Boggs left for Pensacola on April 8, 1861. See Appendix, Commentary I, page 90. - (ED.)
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to take almost any responsibility. 6 O'Bannon, his chief quartermaster, was called into consultation and, with the aid of the telegraph, it was not many days before he had a well equipped army.

        General Bragg expressed the wish that I would remain with him. Being most heartily tired of the inaction at the seat of government, as well as of preparing a place for someone else, I was glad of the opportunity. That was the way in which I became attached to General Bragg's staff. 7

        For a while the work was continuous and heavy. Captains Stevens and S. H. Locket of the Engineer Corps were engaged in putting heavy guns in lunettes along the beach; and in the end, all the heavy barbette guns were taken out of the Forts and placed along the beach. When the rush was over, I went to Georgia and brought my wife and children.

        In anticipation of an opportunity, I had prepared two portable platforms for eight inch guns; which with the guns and carriages were so placed as to be easily shipped for transportation to Santa Rosa Island. Special details were made, who were taught to handle these guns. Should we attempt to carry Fort Pickens by assault, it was intended that these guns were to be mounted in the sand hills near the outer beach to engage the fleet. All the details had been arranged; Col. John H. Forney was to command and was to assault from the glacis, Stevens to attack the sallyport, and I through the embrasures. During this

6. Boggs was authorized to spend $40,000 at Pensacola as he saw fit. fit. Appendix, Commentary I, page 90. - (ED.)

7. Boggs became Chief of Engineers on the staff of Bragg. Official Records, War of the Rebellion, Series I, Vol. 6, p. 752. - (ED.)
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time, some transports made their appearance off the Island and it was evident that the Federals intended to reinforce Fort Pickens upon the first favorable opportunity. One night General Bragg sent Stevens and myself to Santa Rosa Island for the purpose of ascertaining, as near as possible, the exact condition of affairs. We went up to the glacis, captured, and conversed with a sentinel. While Stevens and I were upon the Island, an officer of the United States Navy arrived at General Bragg's headquarters, with orders from Mr. Davis to permit him to communicate, at once, with the fleet. 8 What the Confederate Government proposed to gain by such courtesy I have never been able to ascertain: but I do know, that a battallion of regular artillery was that night thrown into the Fort and the sixth New York volunteers landed upon the beach. Fort Pickens was now, by the grace of the Confederate Government, fully garrisoned.

        Soon after Mr. Lincoln's inauguration, Fort Sumter was bombarded and captured. Mr. Lincoln then called upon the different States for their quota of troops to put down the rebellion. This caused the remaining slaveholding States to withdraw from the Union and join their fortunes with the seceding States. The seat of government was now removed to Richmond.

        About this time I received a letter from Thomas R. Cobb, of Georgia, informing me that he had received authority to organize a legion, to be composed of Infantry, Cavalry and Artillery, and to be known as "Cobb's Legion," that I had been recommended to

8. This was Lieutenant Worden who came direct from Washington. See Appendix, Commentary I, pp. 90-91.
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him to organize it, and that he would have me appointed his Lieutenant Colonel, if I would accept. I declined. I had the confidence of General Bragg, was engaged upon duties for which but few persons in our service were qualified, and had no doubt but that I would be promoted to a rank commensurate with the duties I was performing. Again, here was a lawyer appointed by the President to the command of three branches of service, all at once, under the high sounding name of "Legion" and who seemed perfectly confident, that at his say-so the President would appoint me his Lieutenant Colonel. From what will appear hereafter, it would have been a most peculiar act on the part of the President. When the Government moved to Richmond, Robert Toombs, Secretary of State, suggested that as the cabinet had been formed from the first five seceding states, it would be a proper thing for the cabinet to resign and permit Mr. Davis to form his cabinet from all the States. He resigned; but the rest were too well satisfied with themselves and their places. By and by, when pressure began to bear and changes were inevitable, the Secretary of War began to organize a brigade for himself to command when he ceased to be Secretary.

        In the progress of this organization, Joseph Wheeler, ("Point Wheeler" of West Point), Lieutenant in the C. S. Army, detailed as Adjutant General to an Alabama Brigade, told me of the proposed organization and that the officers of his Brigade would help him to get promotion in it, if he would apply. He said he felt a delicacy in doing so, because there were so many of his comrades, right there, who had seen so much more

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service than he had. I advised him not to hesitate on that account, for none of us would be jealous of his promotion. Pope Walker was from north Alabama, so was Wheeler and the officers of the Brigade to which he was attached. When he finally decided to apply for a Majority, I asked him if he did not consider himself more competent to command a regiment than any of the Colonels under whom he was serving. The talk ended in my writing, for him, the following application, to wit:

To the Hon'l Pope Walker
Secretary of War,
Richmond, Va.

SIR : -
        I have the honor to apply for promotion in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States.

        I remain sir very respectfully, your obedient servant,

        By my advice he made a copy of this letter, which, having shown to the officers of his Brigade, he then forwarded through regular channels. I told General Bragg all of the circumstances. He endorsed the application with his approval and at the same time called attention to his repeated recommendations of O'Bannon, Slaughter, Villepigue and myself, all of whom ranked Wheeler and were equally worthy of promotion. The return mail brought Wheeler his Colonel's commission and orders to proceed to north Alabama.

        I have gone into these details for two reasons: one, to show that the Cabinet was as much governed by their personal interest at Richmond as at Montgomery; the other, because this application, written by me, has

Page 14

been quoted as a specimen of military brevity, surpassed only by Caesar and as the foreshadowing of the distinguished officer that Wheeler afterwards became. He is now a member of the United States Congress, and for him I have always had a high regard.

        After the battle of Bull Run July 21st, 1861, there was a rush to Richmond. Some of General Bragg's officers, on short leaves, took advantage of their leaves to go to Richmond and were promoted. Two went without leave and were promoted. These things, Beauregard's two battles, but more specially, the appointment of Mansfield Lovell, a late comer, to the command at New Orleans, with the rank of Major General, (a command that General Bragg wanted and to which he felt himself entitled) rankled General Bragg very much and made him feel it was necessary to do something to bring himself into notice. 9 Having determined to burn "Billy" Wilson's Camp and the supply buildings that had been built outside of Fort Pickens, he sent Lieut. J. E. Slaughter and myself to Santa Rosa Island on the night before the proposed attack, for the purpose of ascertaining if it was possible to surprise them. Our mission was successfully accomplished. The following night General Richard H. Anderson with a command of details from all the different regiments, made a descent upon the Island and succeeded in burning the camp. Captain L. A. Nelms and a few men were killed and General Anderson

9. For Boggs' criticism of the appointment of Wheeler and the neglect to promote other officers, see Official Records, War of the Rebellion. Series I, Vol. 6, pp. 744, 758, also Appendix, Commentary IV, page 99. - (ED.)
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and some others wounded. He brought off Major Vogdes and some other prisoners. 10

        General Bragg's command was now extended to include the State of Alabama. He sent me to inspect the defences at Mobile. When I had completed my inspection I determined to return on horseback by the way of Perdido Bay. I took with me an escort of two cavalrymen. The steamboat landed us low down on Mobile Bay, at a turpentine distillery. After passing the turpentine plantations, the roads disappeared. We came upon a young man leaning upon a gate of a pretty residence: although living in the house in which he had been born, he professed to know nothing about the roads or to have ever heard of Perdido Bay. We could only keep as near east as the Savannah would permit and trust to luck. In the midst of the forest we found a single room cabin, in which there lived a wood chopper and his family. Upon enquiring our way he kindly volunteered to take us across what he called the laurel swamp and the old mill dam: which he said would be impossible without a guide. He got us across and pointed out our direction. The man was a native of Georgia, his occupation to chop wood, which he floated down the stream, on which the old mill had stood, to the gulf, where it was loaded on floats for the Mobile market. He declined taking any pay for his services; but happening to have some gold

10. Bragg, reporting on the affairs at Santa Rosa, said: "To Captain W. R. Boggs, Engineer C. S. Army, and First Lieutenant J. E:. Slaughter, C. S. Artillery, acting inspecting-general, I am indebted for the perfect knowledge of the enemy's pickets and positions, obtained by close reconnaisences, on which the expedition was based, and for the secret and complete organization which insured its success." See Official Records, War of the Rebellion, Series I, Vol. e, p. 459. - (ED.)
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dollars in my pocket I gave him three of them for keepsakes. When it was nearly sundown we found a path running north and south crossing our route: we decided to go north and after swimming one stream arrived at the ferryman's house. We were not sorry to find that he had not come home; for having fasted since breakfast we were glad to wait and have supper. Our ferryman proved to be a Spaniard of many occupations, a dark, wiry, leather-skinned old chap. It was now dark, but he said he could take us over all the same. When I saw the boat in which he proposed to accomplish it I was not so confident. It was a scow, with a pointed bow not over twenty-five feet long and about four feet wide, at its widest part. In this boat he proposed to, and did, take three men and their horses, two negro oarsmen and himself across a bay three miles wide, and not only that, but so soon as we were clear of the shore, he hoisted sail. I prepared and handed to General Bragg a written report; it determined him to go at once to Mobile. On his return he sent for me and read me his report to the Secretary of War. It was singularly like the one I had made to him, but to which it made no reference: he did, however at the close of it, ask the President to make me a Brigadier, and he would place me in command of the defences of Mobile. Some little time afterwards, he informed me that Captain Page, recently of the U. S. Navy, had been appointed to the command. 11

11. Reference is here doubtless to a letter of Bragg, suggesting Slaughter, Boggs, Vellepigue, and O'Bannon as qualified to command forts at Mobile with the rank of Brigadier. See Official Records, War of the Rebellion, Series I, Vol. 6, p. 757. - (ED.)
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        About this time Billy Wilson's Zouaves had been reembarked and disappeared. One day, November 22nd, I was crossing to the camp at Live Oak Point, when Major Brown opened, unexpectedly, with all his guns. He had selected the moment when our transports had arrived from Pensacola and tied up at the Navy Yard Wharf. The pilot of the tug Nelms stuck to his boat, backed her out, and started up the bay. He got her safely off, notwithstanding every gun that could be, was brought to bear upon her. From my position I had an unobstructed view of the race between the tug and the shot and shell: one of my darky oarsmen exclaimed, "ain't that barbarous?" The other crew abandoned their boat and sought safety in the woods. While returning across the bay, it occurred to me that so furious a cannonade must be for the purpose of covering a landing at Perdido. 12 I joined General Bragg and was sent to superintend the firing at the fleet from a battery on our extreme right. Finding that the fleet was out of effective range, I caused the battery to cease firing. When the fleet moved up closer we opened again; after the second shot the fleet again retired, with the Hartford disabled. The cannonading lasted for two days, the only result being a great waste of ammunition and that thereafter our supplies could not be landed at the dock.

        Upon the arrival of the transports, the teams and

12. When I reached my little cabin I found my son William watching "the bombs burst in air," my wife making a camp kettle of coffee and the cook, Jane, picking a turkey. My wife had wisely concluded that in the midst of so much excitement, the preparation of necessary food would, probably, be overlooked. When she directed Jane to kindle a fire, put on water and kill the turkey; poor Jane exclaimed, "de-laws Miss Mary, you ain't thinking bout eatin' now, is you?" I sent them by the first train to Montgomery.
Page 18

teamsters and the working details, and a good many idlers also, were generally on the dock. Major Brown dropped his first shells into the midst of this crowd, causing panic and confusion. The appearance of General Richard Anderson walking cooly about and that of an old soldier, who looking up and saying, "there seemed to be a considerable of a shower," raised his umbrella, stopped the panic and confusion. An Alabama soldier, to whom I had done a kindness, narrated the above in connection with his own experiences It seems he was an idler, and, following his first impulse, he took refuge in the stone dock. He and some others found it a jolly place until the rising tide drove them out. Making way through the heavy sand he heard himself called and looking round saw Pell, the master ship-carpenter, sitting behind one of the big cisterns; as there was plenty of room, he went there also. It was all very well for awhile; but a heavy shell coming over the cistern and exploding sufficiently near to cover them with sand they concluded to seek other quarters.

        With the first gun all the negro employees disappeared and were not seen again until the firing had ceased. We then learned that for some time they had been digging bomb-proof shelters, called gopher holes, and provisioning them for just such occasions. Gaps had been cut in the wall surrounding the Navy Yard; through these women, children and others not on duty found their way out of range. An orderly brought Mrs. Anderson a horse without saddle and only an old rope for a bridle; so mounted, with one

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of her children behind her, she was making her way out of range when she passed Justice Moulton: all at once her womanly instincts returned, and stopping her horse she asked Mr. Moulton to please assist her to adjust her seat and skirts. Just then a large shell came tearing through the woods; the old man informed her that she was doing very well indeed and rushed on. Justice Moulton was the owner of our principal transport, "The Steamboat Times;" that morning found him confined to his berth on the boat, with a severe attack of inflammatory rheumatism. He was heard afterwards to remark that he had found a rapid cure for rheumatism. Young Francis Parker, Jr., aide-de-camp to General Bragg, and one of the most gallant officers of the whole war, hearing General Bragg ask if anyone knew whether the enemy were firing hot shot, replied: "Yes, for one of them falling near him, he had gotten off his horse and spat upon it, and it fizzed."

        A soldier was placed in the covered way of Batchelers battery, First Louisiana, to watch the fight of the shot and caution the men at the guns, when to take cover: he would call out "that is to the right," or, "left," or, "look out boys;" when a shot from a rifle gun cut the sand bag on which he was leaning, he never moved, but in his usual tone remarked "Pretty d--d close." Notwithstanding all restriction and care these same Louisiannians were frequently the worse for liquor and it was some time before the cause was ascertained. Mrs. Bragg had sent to this regiment, from her plantation, a hogshead each of sugar and

Page 20

molasses; these, the soldiers were distilling into rum.13

        Up to the time of General Bragg's visit to Mobile I had enjoyed his full confidence: since then there appeared to be a change. For some time I had very little active employment, in fact all of our duties were simple routine; a number of troops had been ordered from us to Virginia: others upon condition of reorganizing for the war, had been permitted to go home on furlough. I could not understand my treatment in Richmond or General Bragg's cool official manner. I determined to have a talk with the General and let the result of that interview decide my course of action. After the interview I sent in my resignation; it was promptly forwarded and promptly accepted.14

        After forwarding my resignation General Bragg had gone to Mobile and had not returned. When I was ready to leave Pensacola I called on General Anderson (Bragg was still absent) to make my adieus and also wish him and his family the compliments of the season, - it was new year's day, 1862. While chatting with them, there was a roar of artillery, followed by the shrieks of shot and shell. All the officers present mounted and rode to the Navy Yard. After remaining with the General a little while I rode back to my quarters. Finding an extra horse, I took my wife to a point between Fort McRee and the lighthouse: from there we witnessed the firing until darkness

13. The date of the engagement here described was Nov. 22, 1861 For supplementary details see Appendix, Commentary III, page 98. - (ED.)

14. Later, In 1862, Boggs was appointed Superintendent of the Louisiana State Seminary, a military school at Baton Rouge on the recommendation of Bragg. The Superintendent at the opening of the war was W. T. Sherman. Boggs was granted a leave of absence and never assumed charge of the school.
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put a stop to it. On our way back I noticed some soldiers kindling a fire to cook their suppers, directly in the rear of their battery. I rode to them and suggested that they had better make their fire to one side, as it certainly would be fired at. I had scarcely ceased speaking when a shell came roaring by, followed by the sound of the gun from which it was fired. The fire disappeared in a hurry, and so did my wife and I.

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CHAPTER II

MILITARY SERVICE OF GEORGIA - DEFENSES OF SAVANNAH - PROBLEMS OF THE APPALACHICOLA RIVER AND THE INTERIOR OF GEORGIA - CHARLESTON.

        I was now, against my will, free to do as I pleased. While in the United States Army I had been frequently detailed to different foundries either to inspect or superintendent the manufacture of heavy ordnance. At New Orleans there was a large foundry; I also considered New Orleans as one of the most important places in the Confederacy; therefore I went to New Orleans. Shortly after my arrival the commanding officer, General Mansfield Lovell, sent for me. He expressed a desire to have me on his staff. I informed him fully of my position and my belief that Mr. Davis would not consent. He insisted on trying, saying Mr. Davis had refused him nothing as yet and if I would consent to serve on his staff with the rank of Colonel he would take the risk of refusal. He was refused. In the interval I had received a dispatch from Governor Brown, saying that the State needed my services and requesting me to come to Milledgeville. On my return to Georgia, my mother gently, but decidedly, made me understand that she did not approve of my leaving the Confederate service, and I have now to admit that she was right.

        While journeying home, I travelled with some of the twelve month volunteers returning home. I was surprised to learn from them that General Bragg had

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placed General Anderson under arrest, and preferred charges against him, on account of the cannonade of January the first. This cannonade was begun by Fort Pickens, and because a young officer of the First Louisiana, detailed on special duty by General Bragg, had ordered one of the steam transports to tie up at the Navy Yard dock. When he was called upon for an explanation, he stated that he had authority from General Bragg to do so. So soon as I reached a stopping place I wrote to General Bragg expressing my surprise, and stating the facts as I knew them; I also wrote to General Anderson telling him I had done so, and if he should need me as a witness for his defense, at any time or place, to let me know and I would come. 1

        I reported to Governor Brown at Milledgeville, and was appointed by him Colonel and Chief Engineer of the State Forces. There were already on his staff Harry Wayne, Adjutant General, and Lachlan McIntosh, Chief of Ordnance. The State had in the field a division under the command of Major General Henry R. Jackson, consisting of three brigades, commanded by Brigadier Generals W. H. T. Walker, G. P. Harrison, and J. W. Capers.

        Late in the month of March, 1862, the Governor received a dispatch from Savannah, stating that the Federal gun boats had appeared in one of the estuaries (Vernon River) and were in sight of Causton's Bluff, four miles from Savannah. Taking the night train, I reached Savannah a little after daylight and hastened to the headquarters of the State troops: finding no

1. See also Appendix, Commentary V, page 105 - (ED.)
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one there I went to the headquarters of the Confederate troops, to find no one there. It began to look as if no one was very much alarmed after all. About ten o'clock the staff began to appear, and later the commanding officers. I was furnished with a horse and we galloped out to Causton's Bluff. Having examined into the situation I made up my mind what to do if permitted. I called on General A. R. Lawton, commanding the Confederate forces, and in discussing the situation suggested the propriety of occupying the Islands (especially Venus' Point) on the South Carolina side, or at least of establishing a few batteries. He did not think it possible to stand on them, much less occupy them, and that a gun would sink out of sight. I suggested that those were difficulties to be overcome. He seemed to rely upon some torpedoes that Capt. J. C. Ives had placed there to keep the gun boats from coming into Wall's Cut and getting between us and Fort Pulaski. There were some of us who had very little confidence in Ives' loyalty; and the fact that Ives had been at work down the river, caused us still more anxiety.

        General R. E. Lee had arrived and assumed control of operations. 2 There were no active operations undertaken by him; whether for the want of troops and material I do not know. 3 All that was done, was to build batteries at Causton's Bluff and on Elba Island in the Savannah river.

2. General Lee was appointed to the command of the Department of the Coast of S. C., Gal, and ,Fla., on Nov. 5, 1861. - (ED.)

3. Similar criticisms had been offered by General Lawton in September, 1861. Official Record, War of the Rebellion. Series I, Vol. 6, pp. 272, 28v. - (ED.)
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        At State headquarters it was determined to employ the State troops in building a line of defence around the city. I expressed a wish to examine the city archives for the oldest county map. Captain Gladding, a volunteer aide-de-camp, said he knew where it was and would get it. I could not have had one better suited to my purpose. Governor Brown, General Wayne, and Major McIntosh came down from Milledgeville. It was desired to establish the line of defence as quickly as possible: with the map for a guide, and a pocket full of fencing nails and a hatchet in my belt, I verified the map. Having found what I thought was a first rate line, and General Lee having examined and approved, it was begun at once. About this time we heard that the Federals were in the habit of landing on Tybee Island every night and leaving again before day. Tybee Island being in the State, it was decided, at State headquarters, that I should go down and if possible ascertain what they were doing on the Island. Gladding volunteered to furnish the boat and crew and accompany me. The following night was fixed upon for the attempt: but for some reason, unknown to us, General Henry R. Jackson reported our intentions to Confederate headquarters and we were forbidden to go. One morning we found the Federal gun boats in Wall's Cut on the Carolina side, in which Ives' torpedoes were supposed to be. They, with the boats already in St. Augustine Creek, on our side cut off all communication by water with Fort Pulaski. Commodore Josiah Tatnall took down one load of supplies, receiving their fire going and coming. General W. H. T. Walker was very indignant: he proposed

Page 26

a plan for the capture of the gun boats, offered to take all the responsibility, and make the necessary preparations and attack with his own Brigade. Had his plan been promptly accepted, it would, in my opinion, have been successful. But it was taken into consideration. Before the consideration was concluded, those Islands, on which a man could not stand, were covered with tents and troops; and those estuaries, which had been filled with Ives' torpedoes, were full of gun boats. On the tenth day of April, we could hear distinctly the bombardment of Fort Pulaski. At the end of twenty-four hours the stillness assured us that it was in the hands of the Federals.

        Governor Brown now insisted upon pushing the line of defence and obstructing the river. While so engaged we received the news of the battle of Seven Pines, of Johnston's being wounded, and also of passage of the infamous conscript law. Gen. Lee being ordered to the command of the army of Virginia, called to make his adieus to General Jackson. During this call he suggested that I should reorganize one of the State regiments, which under the conscript law would soon be claimed by the Confederacy, stating that in so doing I would not be in the way of anyone wishing to be Colonel, as he had no doubt I would soon be given a Brigade. I told the General that "it was not my desire to remain out of the Confederate service: but, for some cause unknown to me, Mr. Davis would not give me a command."

        In that respect I was in good company: General W. H. T. Walker had been one of the most distinguished officers of the United States Army, one of a very few

Page 27

receiving more than two brevets in the Mexican war. On the day that his State seceded, he sent in his resignation, and upon its acceptance, offered his services to his State. Upon the formation of the Confederate Government, he tendered his services. He was after a while appointed a Brigadier General; but being kept inactive, in subordinate positions, he resigned and accepted the command of Brigade of State troops. 4 He was now, by the conscript law, deprived of that command. 5 With ample means he might have lived comfortably, in his forced retirement; but being every inch a soldier, he once more entered the Confederate service and was killed at Atlanta, while serving under men whom he could, and should have, commanded. So much for Mr. Davis' pique!

        I will mention but one of many cases in contrast, and that not by way of disparagement of the person: - for I believe that Pemberton did his very best. Pemberton came south after the war had begun. He was, at once, appointed a Brigadier and sent to take command at Charleston. When Lee was ordered to Virginia, he was, without having fought a battle, made a Major General and given command of the States of Georgia and South Carolina. In less than one year, before his qualifications had been tested, he was made a Lieutenant General and sent to command Vicksburg, the most important command in the southwest: and which he surrendered on July the fourth, 1863. Steven D. Lee had been tested at Vicksburg, where he had repelled

4. The date of his resignation was Oct. 29, 1861. - (ED.)

5. Act of April 12, 1862. - (ED.)
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Sherman's attack. So much for Mr. Davis' judgment!

        With the fall of Fort Pulaski, there was a general move of women and children from Savannah. Major Lachlan McIntosh's mother and half sisters and Mrs. Gladding, wife of my most valuable assistant, Captain Gladding, went to my house in Milledgeville until they could be provided for.

        The Army of the State of Georgia having been reduced by the conscript law, to the Governor, its commander-in-chief, Henry C. Wayne, its adjutant general, Lachlan McIntosh, its chief of ordnance, and myself, its chief engineer, we retired to Milledgeville, the seat of government, to await events. Within a few days after our return Governor Brown received a letter from General Pemberton requesting that I be sent to him for a special duty. It appeared that sundry persons, having hid away a large amount of cotton, over 80,000 bales, on the Appalachicola river, were becoming uneasy as to its safety. The town of Appalachicola, the Bay, and the mouth of the river were already in the hands of the Federals. The Honorable Judge Iverson had been sent to Richmond, on the fall of Pulaski, to ask help to protect the cotton; the people of Columbus, Georgia, and Eufala, Alabama, promising to furnish the labor, tools and supplies necessary to construct such defences as might be decided upon. The petition and proposals were sent to General Pemberton; he now directed me to make a careful examination and after having decided what to do to report to and call upon Judge Iverson for the necessary

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assistance. I invited Captain Gladding to accompany me.

        At Columbus we were furnished with a comfortable boat and good crew. Our first landing after leaving Eufala was at the landing of the Chattahoochee Arsenal. We were now in a distinct civil and military department and I proceeded to pay my respects to the nearest commanding officer, Col. (Judge) Finley. He was encamped with his regiment at the Arsenal, nearly two miles off. When I suggested, in our interview, that it would be advisable to station a sentinel at the landing to protect his supplies, he remarked "why, it is two miles off!" At Rickoos Bluff I found an effort being made to plant a battery; the guns were on top of a bluff at least three hundred feet above the river, with a range of only half a mile. The most of the cotton was some twenty miles further down the river: near it was a small battery of field artillery, behind an epaulment, supported by a battalion of infantry. Owing to a deep creek coming up to a very short range in their rear the position was untenable. Below this point the Federals were in full possession. Having requested and obtained a company of infantry for an escort I proceeded down the river, where I examined all the creeks, lakes and old river beds. These streams were very crooked but very deep. Having completed my examinations and decided what to do, I was about to return up the river when the captain, who was the principal owner of the boat and, when at home, a resident of Appalachicola, suggested that we run down, and if we found it practicable, to land at Appalachicola, and load up with machinery, casting, and such other

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things as we sadly needed. Concealing the soldiers on the lower deck, we continued down the river. As soon as we saw that the Federal ship was at anchor some distance down the Bay, we put on steam, made the wharf, and took on a good load, the soldiers working with a will. On my way up the Captain called my attention to Owl Creek, the mouth of which was very much lower down than our explorations had extended, and I determined to explore it. It was very deep but very difficult to navigate on account of its crookedness. We surprised and were surprised by an old planter, who had, as he thought, hid himself and his negroes there. When the coast had been abandoned, he had moved all his negroes and supplies to that pine forest, built comfortable cabins and fixed himself for the war. When he saw the smoke of the boat he thought it was the Federals, and like Pell and the bomb shell wondered where they would come next. Leaving the boat at his landing I got him to ride out to ..........river. 6 On the bank of this river I found a fisherman and his family, who, having abandoned his home on the gulf was living in a tent made of a sail. The country near this river is exceedingly beautiful.

        Having finished my explorations I left the boat at Bainbridge, Georgia, and went to Tallahassee, Florida, to report my presence and duties in that district. Returning to the boat, we went on it up the river as far as Fort Gaines, Georgia. There I wrote letters to the mayors of Eufalla and Columbus, stating what labor and materials I should need and requesting that they be ready for me on my return to Columbus, on a fixed

6. The name of this river is omitted in the Mss. - (ED.)
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date. When we reached Milledgeville, Gladding found a letter informing him that there was a vessel loaded with cotton ready for him to take out, and requesting him to come to Savannah at once. Gladding had been an officer of the United States revenue marine. He had already run the blockade successfully. He succeeded in getting out with his cotton, but was captured on his return trip. After I had been made a Brigadier General I asked his appointment as captain and adjutant general on my staff and that he be exchanged. When exchanged, he insisted on returning by the way of Hilton Head: there, for some reason, he was placed in irons and died in close confinement.

        On my return to Columbus, I found neither workmen or materials, and no steps had been taken to provide them. The scare was off and the labor was needed in the crops, so it was proposed to put off the work until later in the season. Having read my report to General Pemberton and to Judge Iverson, I then forwarded it by mail and returned to Milledgeville.

        I had been there but a short time when the battle of Secessionville, South Carolina, took place. 7 This and other fighting on James Island implied that the Federals intended to follow the path of the British and endeavor to take Charleston in the rear.

        I obtained Governor Brown's permission to go to Charleston. This effort of the Federals had created uneasiness at Richmond and General Cooper was sent there. I was very glad of the opportunity of meeting him as it enabled me to enquire into my status at Richmond. He told me that my resignation had been

7. June 16, 1862. - (ED.)
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received at an unfortunate time; that many others had, like myself, sent in similar papers about that time; that Mr. Davis had been very much annoyed thereat and bunched the whole, determined to take no further notice of them. Then I asked him why it was that previous to that, no notice had ever been taken of the various applications for my promotion and especially the one with reference to the command at Mobile. Concerning that one he knew that in the same envelope there was a private letter to Mr. Davis, explaining that while he considered the promotion due me, that he (General Bragg) could not well dispense with my services on his staff, and that the promotion be withheld for the time being. This was news.

        I also took advantage of the opportunity to inquire concerning the charges made by General Bragg against General Richard Anderson and to state facts in that case as I knew them. General Cooper asked me if I would object to giving him what I had stated in writing. So far from it, if it would be of any service to General Anderson, I would do so gladly. I did give him a written statement, and shortly afterwards had the satisfaction of seeing the promotion of that chivalrous officer.

        The Federal assault on Secessionville, June 16th, 1862, had been made in force; being repulsed with heavy loss they withdrew from James Island.

        On my return to Milledgeville I urged the Governor to permit me to construct defensive lines about Atlanta. This was objected to, through fear that it might have a demoralizing influence. It was determined that I should visit the mines, nitre caves and foundries in

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upper Georgia, for the purpose of ascertaining if State control or aid would facilitate the working of them. Very soon after my inspection and before any decided action had been taken, the Nitre and Mining Bureau of the Confederate Government was created. I had found that the abandoned copper mines near Canton yielded lead and thought, in a time of such emergency, they ought to be worked for it. The iron at Etowah and Rome was well adapted to ordnance purposes; but we were in need of persons familiar with the manufacture of modern guns. The Nobles at Rome were casting some small guns, but they were of old patterns. They were very proud of their guns, and were casting their names and place upon the bunions. I suggested that the first one captured by the Federals would lead to a raid to destroy their foundry. And it so happened.

        On my return to Milledgeville I found a telegram from Mr. Davis inviting me to accept a position on his personal staff. I have always thought that this was due to either General Lee or Cooper or both, and that courtesy to them, as well as to Mr. Davis, demanded my acceptance, but I could not possibly make up my mind to do so, and declined.

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CHAPTER III

        THE INVASION OF KENTUCKY (1862) - BATTLE OF RICHMOND CAPTURE OF LEXINGTON - THE INAUGURATION AT FRANKFORT - RETREAT.

        In August Governor Brown received a letter from General E. Kirby Smith at Chattanooga asking for assistance. The Governor could offer only some artillery harness and my services. He accepted both and I was sent to Chattanooga.

        When I reached Chattanooga, General Kirby Smith had gone to Knoxville, leaving General Henry Heth in command: before the harness arrived, General Jno. P. McCown took command and his brother, who was his chief of artillery, took possession of the harness on his arrival. Finding I could do nothing, either within my own State or out of it, without a Confederate commission, I so informed the Honorable Secretary of War, in a most respectful letter: and in reply received a commission as Colonel of Artillery in the provisional army, with orders to report to General E. Kirby Smith.

        I found the General completing his preparations for an advance into Kentucky. Leaving General Carter Stevenson's division of infantry, and Colonel Ben Allston's Brigade of Cavalry to hold the Federals in Cumberland Gap, he ordered General (then Colonel) John H. Morgan with his division of cavalry to keep well out towards the center of Tennessee and Kentucky, and to meet him in Lexington on the second day of September.

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        General Kirby Smith's staff consisted of aide-de-camps, Captains E. Cunningham and E. Walworth; Assistant Adjutant General, Captain (afterwards Colonel) J. F. Belton; H. P. Pratt, private (afterwards captain and assistant adjutant general) of the Eufala Artillery, as clerk; Colonel J. A. Brown, Chief of Artillery and Ordnance; Colonel John Pegram, detached from General Bragg and acting as Chief Engineer; 2 Freret, private (afterwards Captain of Engineers) of the Washington Artillery of New Orleans, as draughtsman; Captain J. G. Meem, chief signal officer, and also doing duty as aide-de-camp; Dr. Sol Smith, surgeon; Lieutenant Colonel H. McD. McElrath, quartermaster; Major Thomas, commissary; Prince Polignac, with the rank of Colonel, and myself unassigned. The army with which we crossed the mountains consisted of two brigades of Arkansas troops, commanded respectively by Brigadier Generals P. R. Cleburn and T. J. Churchhill; one Texas brigade, commanded by Brigadier General Wm. McCray; one Tennessee brigade, commanded by the gallant Colonel Wm. Baker, afterwards Governor ; 3 one Florida brigade, commanded by the same Colonel J. J. Finley, that I had met at Chattahoochee; one brigade of cavalry, commanded by Colonel Jno. S. Scott, of Louisiana; and one by Colonel Gano of Georgia; 4 one battery of light artillery from Florida, and one company of Florida cavalry at headquarters.

2. According to the Official Records Pegram was Chief of Staff. Series I, Vol. 16, Pt. 2, p. 973. - (ED.)

3. According to the Official Records, the Tennessee Brigade was commanded by Alpheus Baker; but he was never Governor of Tennessee. - (ED.)

4. Apparently reference is to R. N. Gano of Kentucky, not Georgia. - (ED.)
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        Taking the route through Clinton and Jacksborough we crossed the Cumberland mountains at Big Creek Gap. At the "Clear Fork" of the Cumberland River we were overtaken by General McCown, who, having expressed a doubt as to the propriety of pushing on to Barboursville, leaving a large force of Federals at the gap in our rear, the afternoon was spent in debating the question. McCown was the only other Major-General in the command and had come up unexpectedly. We persuaded General Kirby Smith that if McCown remained and continued in the same spirit there was no hope of success, and finally to order him back to the command of Tennessee.

        We pushed on rapidly to Barboursville, so rapidly as to surprise all the country, capture a few officers, and some supplies. The country through which we had come was intensely Union. Its young men, having to choose between being conscripts or Union soldiers, had enlisted in the Union army. Its elderly men, so soon as they found out who we were, bushwhacked us at every turn of the road. While waiting to hear from or of General Bragg the troops were moved up the Cumberland valley towards the gap.

        Not hearing from General Bragg, General Kirby Smith decided to move on Lexington. When the troops marched back down the valley they thought it was a retreat, and marched in silence, with banners furled; but when they turned north through Barboursville, flags unfurled, drums beat and the rebel yell was distinctly audible. One determined young woman stood upon a balcony and waved the stars and stripes over us as we passed. The soldiers cheered her. General

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Kirby Smith directed me to ride in advance with Scott's cavalry, not only to keep him advised as to what was going on in front, but also, should the necessity arise, of settling a question of rank between Generals Cleburn and Churchill.

        The afternoon before the battle of Richmond we came suddenly upon the Federals in line of battle. It was nearly sunset and we considered it advisable to withdraw. When I reached Cleburn's brigade, which was in advance, he was bivouacing it in line of battle. I informed him of the disposition of the Federals and how near they were to his front. P. P. Cleburn was one of the very best officers in the southern army: he should have commanded a corps: he was killed at Nashville. 5 Shortly after I left him the Federal Cavalry came dashing down the road; the disposition of his troops enabled him to give them a warm reception. From there to headquarters I found that the soldiers had lain down where they were halted and gone to sleep without food. Reaching General Kirby Smith, he informed me that he had given orders for the troops to be put in motion before daybreak. I begged him not to, told him the condition of his own troops, also that of the Federals; that they were fresh and prepared to receive him. I advised that the command be permitted to sleep as long as they wished to, that they be permitted to cook and enjoy their breakfast, for there was a hard day's work before them. When he consented to do so, instead of wakening some of the young men about headquarters, he sent me to the various commands with his change of orders. Thanks to

5. This officer was killed at the Battle of Franklin, in 1864. - (ED.)
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the change, our soldiers went into the fight in splendid condition and we whipped.

        General Cleburn, who opened the fight, sent word that the Federals were moving heavy masses to his right. General Kirby Smith directed me to investigate. With Freret and a young engineer I rode too far to the right and came out in the rear of the Federals. They were in full retreat and seeing, as they thought, cavalry in their rear, surrendered.

        Between the first and second fights a cloud of dust indicated a large body of troops on our left. General Kirby Smith sent me to see who they were. I found Scott's cavalry who, having lost the road, had moved towards the firing. I explained the situation and directed him to move on rapidly and get between the Federals and Lexington. This he accomplished so successfully that he captured General M. D. Manson and his staff and nearly all the Federal Army.

        During the afternoon General William Nelson, known as "Bull Nelson," formerly of the Navy and afterwards killed by Jefferson C. Davis at Louisville, took command, and forming a third line of battle just south of Richmond, offered us battle. This was so unexpected that General Smith and myself, riding leisurely up the road in advance of the army, came within short range before we were aware of it. Seeing an officer gallop down the road, and hearing him command to "bring on the cavalry," I rode close up to and along side of the fence, expecting them to come by with a rush, and saw already our victory turned into a rout. Had they come Sheridan's charge at Winchester would have been a duplicate. They did

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not come, and we had time to get out of the road and form line: then a single charge of the infantry, before the artillery could be brought into action, drove them through Richmond and on to Scott. 6 The following day we remained in Richmond equipping our men with captured arms and ammunition (those that had armed with smooth-bore muskets). The following day with a small force of infantry, 107 all told, and 20 cavalrymen for couriers, and Freret for company, I was sent in advance. My orders were to push forward and to keep General Kirby Smith advised. The Federals were on the north bank of the Kentucky River. They retired and permitted us to cross unmolested. I gave Freret permission to worry them with the mounted men, which he did, capturing a few prisoners. At Todhunter's I was informed that a full and fresh regiment of cavalry had just come out to cover the retreat of the Federals and that my force was too small and we would be captured.

        We went on until we came in sight of them in line of battle. A thousand fresh cavalry, in new uniforms and freshly mounted, in line of battle is a beautiful sight. Not knowing how far I was ahead of the army I did not see any more safety in going back than in remaining. I sent a message to General Kirby Smith and requested that he would send me a couple of pieces of smooth-bore cannon. Whenever the retreating troops would have retired sufficiently, the cavalry would wheel about by companies and gallop back to a new position. After a long time General Kirby Smith

6. The date of the conflict at Richmond was August 30, 1862. -- (ED.)
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sent me a rifled cannon; we fired one shot at the cavalry, but the next one stuck in the gun. Captain Cunningham, one of General Smith's aides, came up about this time. I showed him the Federal line, our small force, and disabled gun; also I told him that there was plenty of water just ahead for camping purposes, but that I needed a few more troops and above all some artillery. I heard nothing more from General Smith, and after waiting until sunset I withdrew my command. We went back nearly six miles before we found our pickets and nearly two more before we reached headquarters.

        As I approached headquarters I heard one soldier ask another, "where those wagons were going?" He replied, "that the train wagons were being emptied and sent back to bring up Heth's division;" the first then remarked, "that means retreat, for the Yanks could reinforce faster than we could."

        At headquarters I found a rather peculiar state of affairs. A sudden halt had been ordered, the advance drawn back to where I found it, all the wagons were being unloaded and sent back to bring Heth's division. A herald was being gotten ready to summon the Federal commander, at the sound of a midnight bugle, to evacuate Lexington or come outside of it, to fight. It looked very much like a panic. There was no answer to the bugle, and the herald rode into town without being questioned. The Federal commander, C. C. Gilbert, had also been seized with an uncertainty, and while we were preparing the herald he was making hot haste in another direction. I afterwards heard that Gilbert received a brevet for skill in withdrawing

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his command; but when the circumstances became better known, the brevet was revoked. We now found that, if we had followed the Federals up closely, we could have gone into Lexington the night before, and have captured valuable supplies.

        Early in the morning of September the first, I rode into Lexington with the advance guard, just one day earlier than was fixed for General Morgan to report there. Morgan came in on the next day. The town seemed deserted; but at the front door of one house there were a lot of ladies who appeared excited, and were concealing something. Presuming it to be a Confederate flag, I called them to let it wave; and they did.

        The Federals being very much demoralized I had presumed that we would push rapidly towards Cincinnati. I was very much surprised when headquarters were established at Lexington. I do not know, but afterwards inferred, that it was done by the advice of Dr. Sol Smith. I shall always regard this as another of those grand opportunities lost. 7

        The Federals at Cumberland Gap under General G. W. Morgan finally abandoned it. When General Smith heard of this, he went over to General Humphrey Marshall's brigade, at Mount Sterling, for the purpose of intercepting them: but we were too late. Marshall had been sent from West Virginia across the mountains to report to General Smith.

        General Smith's army, under the immediate command

7. The Official Records show that the Kentucky campaign was planned by Kirby Smith. Bragg, however, was superior in command and he directed Kirby Smith to await his arrival in order to make a joint attack on Louisville. Official Records, Series I, Vol. 16, Pt. 11, pp. 8, 15, 6. There is some evidence that Kirby Smith wished to attack Cincinnati - Memoir of Kirby Smith, p. 221. - (ED.)
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of Heth, moved on towards Cincinnati, but with positive orders not to go within the neck of land made by the Ohio river, opposite to it. Heth found the whole country in a panic and believed he could cross the river and enter Ohio. He sent more than one messenger to General Smith asking his permission to be allowed to enter Covington. What a grand diversion in favor of Generals Lee and Bragg it would have been!

        We soon learned that General Bragg had turned Nashville and was upon General Buell's line of communication, compelling Buell to follow him. Now occurred one of General Bragg's peculiar movements. He deliberately stepped to one side and let Buell pass him with his, Buell's, whole flank open to his attack and never molested him.

        General Kirby Smith received orders from General Bragg to concentrate at Frankfort, as it was his, General Bragg's, intention to inaugurate the Confederate Governor there. The day before the expected arrival of General Bragg and the future Governor, General Kirby Smith formed his line of battle on the west bank of the Kentucky river. After inspecting his line he sent me to inspect the pickets. I found our cavalry about a mile in front of our line but no pickets, not even a sentinel. Colonel Scott promised to send out pickets at once. Every one had had supper when I got back. General Bragg and staff, the future Governor, a number of prominent men, and many ladies were at the hotel. The Governor was to be inaugurated the next day at noon. General Bragg, with great confidence, informed the ladies that they might witness a

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battle the next day or, at the latest, the day after. His army had not yet come up, but was in easy supporting distance.

        Our right rested on a ravine; General Kirby Smith was uneasy about this flank and had directed me to go up this ravine early next morning, to move slowly, keep a good look out, and if necessary send him messengers. I started very early and was still moving away from our line, when I heard the inauguration salute fired. From the remarks of the escort it appeared that they were recruits; upon enquiry, I found, to my anxiety, that there was not an old soldier among them. As the afternoon advanced, hearing nothing more and having seen nothing, I returned to Frankfort. It was dark when I crossed the bridge. As I crossed the Railroad, I saw a train of passenger and box cars filled with people. Seeing some ladies that I knew in one of the box cars, I rode up and asked if it was the fear of the coming battle that drove them away from the inauguration ball that General Bragg had promised them. One of them with much indignation asked me if this was any time for trifling. I then noticed that some of them were in tears. One pointing up the hill asked me what that meant; it was the rear guard of a retreating army. Looking in the other direction I saw the bridge that I had just crossed was burning. I apologized, stating what I had been doing all day. My negro man, Shadrick, coming up with my extra horse, I told the ladies that so soon as I had fed my horses and myself I would return and keep them company until the train started. When Mrs. Humphreys asked me where I proposed to get supper, I could not say,

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but that with the prospect of an all-night ride I would do my best. She insisted on getting out of the car and taking me to the house of a friend. Having been sumptuously fed we returned to the car. When the train left, I left, to follow one of the most unnecessary and disgraceful retreats recorded in history. 8

        After waiting at Versailles a day General Kirby Smith, taking me with him, rode down to General Bragg's headquarters at Harrodsburg. The two armies were now touching each other, forming together the largest and best western army we had ever had, or were likely again to have.

        We reached General Bragg's headquarters about noon. He was surrounded by a large retinue of hangers on, and it was hard to get a quiet interview. His conversation and actions were unaccountable, they were like those of a wild man. He gave General Kirby Smith to understand that he did not need his army, that with his own troops he could whip anything the Federals could bring against him. General Smith returned to Versailles completely at a loss what to do. During the next morning he gave General Marshall permission to return to Lexington and await events. We tried to persuade him to do so also: but during the afternoon the sound of battle in Bragg's direction decided him to go at once to his assistance.

        While waiting on the train at Frankfort, I telegraphed to Shropshire that, if he proposed to leave Kentucky with our army he had better start, that I would share my bed and board with him. He joined me the afternoon that General Bragg was fighting

8. The evacuation of Frankfort was on October 4, 1862. - (ED.)
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the battle of Perryville, October 8th. My bed consisted of a few blankets on the ground under a tree where we were repeatedly roused, during the night, by couriers. While sharing my breakfast next morning, served direct from the cooking utensils, Shropshire asked, "Well, Colonel, is this your bed?" "Yes!" "Is this your board?" "Yes!" "Well! if you will not. feel hurt, I will go at once to Knoxville." I made no objections and when I saw him again, it was at Knoxville.

        Without orders and unsolicited, General Kirby Smith moved his army to the assistance of General Bragg. When we reached Harrodsburg, General J. M. Withers' command was all that we found of General Bragg's army; the remainder were in retreat to camp Dick Robinson. General Smith bivouaced his army in line of battle, and then asked me to find a place for headquarters. I found a comfortable house, a short distance in front of his line, which had been abandoned in hot haste. Overcoming his objection to being in front of his line we were not only most comfortable for the night but were a protection to the property. Our escort and couriers now consisting of a company of Georgians commanded by Captain Nelson, posted a few sentinels between us and the Federals. About dusk I was sent with orders to General Withers: while tying my horse on the lawn in front of his quarters, I was ordered, most peremptorily and brusquely, to untie my horse and take him off the lawn. Instead of so doing I walked up to General J. M. Withers, whom I had recognized, and remarking, "there are orders from General Smith which I could not deliver without

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tieing my horse!" I bade him good evening and without further ceremony mounted and left him.

        When General Smith rode to Harrodsburg the day before the battle of Perryville, we met Major General Frank Gardner's division in the road. The two armies were then touching each other. The day following, during the afternoon of which the battle was fought, the two armies were getting further apart and Humphry Marshall with his brigade had started for Lexington. The next day General Smith was hurrying to General Bragg's assistance, and General Bragg was running away to Camp Dick Robinson.

        The following day I was given half a dozen mounted men and orders to burn certain bridges after all the troops had passed, and then to ride with the rear guard. General Duncan, who commanded the rear brigade, was an old acquaintance, and we rode along together very sociably. We first noticed some cavalry to the south, moving parallel with us. As we made out some blue overcoats among them, it was determined to ascertain who they were. It turned out to be Allston's brigade, having among them some captured overcoats. Presently one of General Smith's aides spoke to General Duncan. Duncan referred him to me as representing General Smith. It was concerning this same cavalry that he was enquiring. I told Captain Cunningham to inform General Smith who commanded the rear guard, and that nothing could be more satisfactory. Again and again would General Smith send back, and finally came back himself, Duncan remarking to me, "The commanding General having taken command of the rear guard he, Duncan,

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would ride at the head of his brigade." Putting spurs to his horse he proceeded to do so.

        That afternoon the two armies were, for the first time, together at camp Dick Robinson. 9

        Late in the afternoon General Smith ordered me to go back to the river (Dicks River) and if possible to gather some men and tools, and obstruct the crossing. Both banks were high bluffs and the road on both sides was a long ramp cut from the banks. When I reached the river I found Robinson's battery unlimbered, with the men at their posts ready for action. Robinson was a West Pointer, being a native of Texas and having straight dark hair he was nicknamed "Comanche," and had served with me at Pensacola. He called to know where I was going. He then told me that the Federal skirmishers were already on the other bank of the river, firing from behind trees at anyone they could get a shot at, and that he was only waiting for them to appear in force to open with his battery. While I agreed with Robinson, that it was too late to obstruct the road, I did not like to go back without making a personal investigation. Leaving my horse with him I walked to the bank, and avoiding the road, on down to the river. There were some ten or more of our men at the river filling canteens. Returning just behind a soldier loaded with canteens, he fell at the same instant that I heard a musket shot. I thought that he was shot, and for a moment so did he; finding himself unhurt, he picked himself up and looking around remarked "It was that durned old root and I

9. The battle of Perryville was fought Oct. 8, 1862; Kirby Smith joined Bragg at Camp Dick Robinson Oct. 11. - (ED.)
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thought it was a bullet." Fortunately it was getting dark. Having gotten my horse I returned to camp. Robinson became a Brigadier before the close of the war.

        On the following day there was a grand council of war; it lasted several hours and resulted in a most disgraceful retreat. General Bragg started immediately, by the way of Crab Orchard, and never stopped until he reached Richmond.

        General Smith returned by the way of Big Hill. When we reached the foot of the hill, we found that all of the captured and many other wagons had been turned upon our road. Forty-five miles of wagons on our road in order that the retreat of Bragg's army should not be impeded! When General Smith became aware of it, General Bragg was out of reach, and his army rapidly becoming so, leaving our entire flank exposed to attack. He at once sent a messenger to General Polk explaining the situation. General Wheeler was ordered to keep upon our flank.

        Polignac and myself were ordered to the foot of the hill with instructions to pack all wagons that were not loaded with supplies. Here we found a most disgraceful state of affairs, many wagons being loaded with dry goods, shoes, trimmings and trumpery of all kinds. The headquarter wagons of one Major General, accompanied by his quartermaster, were already going up the hill. Two days afterwards this Major General came into our bivouac while we were eating a hearty breakfast; in his hand and pockets he carried parched corn. He remarked how well we fared, but that he had had nothing but parched corn for two days. I did not ask him where his headquarter wagons were.

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CHAPTER IV

        INSPECTION OF CUMBERLAND GAP - PROMOTION - WITH KIRBY SMITH IN THE TRANS MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT - RICHARD TAYLOR, T. H. HOLMES, AND SMITH - SPIES - CONTRABAND TRADE IN COTTON - OFFICERS UNDER GENERAL SMITH - PROBLEM OF COMMUNICATIONS.

        Arrived at Knoxville, General Smith received instructions to come to Richmond. Before leaving he directed me to go to Cumberland Gap for the purpose of ascertaining if it could be fortified. East Tennessee was intensely Union and it was very unsafe to go a few miles without an escort. With Freret for a companion, and an escort of ten men detailed from an East Tennessee cavalry regiment, and a full company to meet me at Clinton, we set out by the way of Clinton and Powell's river. During the first morning we met General Churchill and staff. He advised me take some other route as there was nothing left on that road.

        All of my escort being natives of that region, knew where to find food and forage. Nearly every night found us near the homes of some of my escort; they would get permission to spend a night at home and being supplied with money for the purpose would always bring in supplies when they returned. One morning a liberal supply of eggs, milk and apple brandy were brought in; the weather was cold, and that night, borrowing a large bowl from a neighboring house, I got Freret to concoct what is called in Louisiana hot egg-nog. Taking out our share I sent the sergeant

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with the remainder to the men. I heard one of the men as he sipped it say, "If that is the sort of truck the Colonel makes out'n eggs, milk and apple-jack, he was bound to have it every night on this trip."

        We arrived at the Gap in a snow storm: leaving the men to pitch camp in as sheltered a place as we could find, I went to pay my respects to General W. G. M. Davis of Florida, the commanding officer.

        While with him his servant announced dinner: with an apology for his meager fare, the General invited us down. I told the General that we had ordered a dinner of mutton chops and mushrooms and unless he could improve on that he had better dine with us.

        "Mutton chops and mushrooms! Are you joking?"

        "No, put on your overcoat and come along."

        We dined out of doors in a snow storm; but the dinner was served "hot and hot."

        To fortify Cumberland Gap would be a difficult, expensive and useless labor. It is isolated, can be easily flanked, as we had already proven, and easily carried by assault. To prevent the last, I recommended Cohorn mortars or hand grenades.

        On my return to Knoxville, General Smith informed me that the object of his call to Richmond was Mr. Davis' desire for a personal interview; that he had consented, upon Mr. Davis' urgent solicitation, to continue to serve under General Bragg for the present.

        In the recent campaign General Bragg had proved himself unfit for a high command. When General Smith found himself deserted by him, he told me that on no conditions would he consider to serve under him again. But General Bragg was retained in command

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and Murfreesboro and Missionary Ridge are lasting monuments to Mr. Davis' will power.

        General Smith brought me my commission as Brigadier General. 1 He told me Mr. Davis objected on the grounds that my services were needed on the staff and that the administration of the army was being destroyed by personal ambition. General Smith called his attention to the fact that my being a general officer need not prevent my being on staff duty; but on the contrary that, if I was to remain with him, he preferred that I should be his chief-of-staff with the additional rank, and would promise for me that I should not ask for a command. This fixed my rank and place for the war.

        There being no immediate urgent demand for my services I went, on leave of absence, to pass the Christmas holidays with my family. While being feasted and made much of, I received orders to meet General Smith at Chattanooga on his way to take part in General Bragg's new campaign. When I reached there I found orders to return to Knoxville and make preparations to move headquarters across the Mississippi River. I do not know by what lucky chance the transportation of our headquarters was placed in charge of Major Ezell, quartermaster. I had known the Major at Pensacola, he was then a private in the first Georgia, and on account of his many splendid qualities was of inestimable value to me.

        Everything having been provided for the move, I

1. The date of appointment was Nov. 4, 1862. - (ED.)
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went to Milledgeville for my family. 2 At Atlanta we met General Smith and the