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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
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
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.
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
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,
Century Magazine Sep., 1910.
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
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.
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
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,
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
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
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
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
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
passim.
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.
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),
WM. K. BOYD.
Trinity College, Durham, N. C.,
June 12, 1913
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,
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
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,
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
Official Records, War
of the Rebellion, Series I, Vol. 6, p. 752. - (ED.)
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
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
my
writing, for him, the following application,
to wit:
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
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
Official Records, War of the
Rebellion. Series I, Vol. 6, pp. 744, 758, also Appendix,
Commentary IV, page 99. - (ED.)
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
Official Records, War of the Rebellion,
Series I, Vol. e, p. 459. -
(ED.)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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.)
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
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,
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
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
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,
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
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.
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
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
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
At Montgomery the party separated, General Smith
with a few officers and his family going to Mobile by
rail, some of the young officers with Walworth by the
way of his home on the Mississippi River, the
remainder with me by boat to Mobile. My brother
Robert, my aide-de-camp, joined me at Mobile. Our
route was then by the way of Meridien to Jackson.
The quartermaster at Jackson was profuse in his
attentions, and having assured me that the necessary
transportation had been provided, I went on to Osyka.
When I reached there it looked as if the
aforementioned quartermaster had been anxious to get
us away. There
Sherman denies the destruction of Columbia by his army and it
may be so: but in the winter of '66 and '67 I had occasion to
visit that lower part of South Carolina bordering the Savannah
river and the line of railway between Charleston and Savannah.
The imagination can not take in the extent of the wanton
and malicious destruction of property of all kinds; which it can
not be denied was done by his army; and which could not have
been done, had he any desire to prevent it.