Showing posts with label Samuel G French. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Samuel G French. Show all posts

Thursday, February 1, 2024

Diary of Private Daniel L. Ambrose: Monday, October 3, 1864

On Monday, the third of October, it was known to General Sherman that General Hood, with thirty thousand foot and ten thousand horse, supplied with the necessary munitions of war to give battle, was on the north side of the Chattahoochee River, moving northward. Never before in the annals of American history had there been such a succession of startling events. The bridge over the Chattahoochee had been washed away in a storm, Forrest had severed communications between Chattanooga and Nashville, drift-wood had leveled the bridge spanning the Austanula River at Resaca, and a large body of rebel cavalry held Big Shanty. Such was the situation when the stars peeped out from their ether bed in the clear blue sky Monday morning. It was apparent to Sherman that Hood would throw a considerable force against the weak garrison at Allatoona Pass, where were stored over two million of rations. Sherman knew if these were taken his men would be in a perilous condition. A commander with less resources than General Sherman would have contemplated the situation with horror; but not so with the hero of Rocky Face, Kenesaw and Atlanta. Signaling from the summit of Kenesaw, thirty miles across the country, to General Corse, commanding at Rome, he directs him to take all his available force to the Allatoona Pass, and hold it against all opposition until he (Sherman) himself could arrive with help. In compliance with these orders General Corse, with the Twelfth Illinois Infantry and Colonel Rowett's brigade, consisting of the Seventh, Fifteenth and Fifty-seventh Illinois Infantry, and the Thirty-ninth Iowa Infantry, in all about fifteen hundred, proceeds by rail towards the Allatoona hills, where we arrive late in the night and find that one division from Hood's army, commanded by General French, was already surrounding the place. The train that carried Corse and his fifteen hundred might have been checked. The enemy saw the train approaching and permitted it to pass in unmolested, thinking it was a train from Chattanooga loaded with supplies for Sherman's army, and therefore would make a fine addition to their game, which with their overwhelming force they were considering as good as captured. Sad, sad mistake was this, as the sequel will show. As soon as the train moves through the pass the regiment leaps from the train; General Corse and Colonel Rowett soon form their battle lines, making all necessary dispositions for the threatening battle, after which the men are ordered to lie down upon the ground to rest; but it is a night before the battle and the soldiers cannot rest. Men are hurrying to and fro; their voices are hushed, for thought is busy with them all; they are thinking of the coming strife, thinking whether they will live to see the old Union's battle flag float over these hills triumphant; thinking of the sables of grief that will be unfolded in memory of those who will lie down to sleep death's silent sleep ere the sun sinks again beneath the ocean's wave.

“Day is dawning dimly, grayly,

In the border of the sky;

And soon the drum will banish

Sleep from every soldier's eye."

The sun is now rising from behind the eastern hills. The rebels have been at work all night preparing for the assault. Companies E and H, commanded by Captain Smith, are now deployed forward on a skirmish line down the railroad south of the depot. A demand for General Corse to surrender is now made by General French. Says he to Corse: "I have Allatoona surrounded by a superior force, and to stay the needless effusion of blood I demand your surrender." General Corse replies: "I am prepared for the 'needless effusion of blood." Firing soon commences upon the skirmish line from the south, and directly a rebel battery opens with grape and canister upon our line, killing one man belonging to Company H—private John Etterlain, the first to fall in Allatoona's great battle. About ten o'clock we discover the enemy massing their forces on the Cartersville road west of the railroad. Colonel Rowett perceiving that the main battle would be on his front, sent Captain Rattrey, of his staff, to order the companies forming the skirmish line south, to report to the regiment immediately. The skirmish line falls back in order, contesting manfully every foot of ground.

"Hark! A roaring like the tempest !

’Tis a thundering of the war steeds!

Like a whirlwind on they're rushing;

Let them come, but come to die;

Finding foemen ever ready

For the fray, but not to fly."

We cast our eyes to the south-east and behold heavy force moving towards the depot. This force soon strikes our left and forces it back. The whole rebel force, six thousand strong, is now sweeping on to the Allatoona hills. The Seventh Illinois and the Thirty-ninth Iowa are standing like a wall of fire in the outer works to the right and left of the Cartersville road. The storm breaks upon them in all its mad fury; the Seventh is now struggling against the reckless rush of the infuriated rebels that are swarming towards their front. The sixteen-shooters are doing their work; the very air seems to grow faint as it breathes their lurid flame. Colonel Rowett soon after the first onset discovers a rebel regiment charg[ing] on to the right flank from the northwest, threatening to sweep it back like so much chaff. Captain Smith, with noble Company E, is ordered to stem the wild tide in that direction. In a moment he doubles into confusion this rebel regiment. It is soon discovered that it will be madness to attempt to hold the weakly constructed outer works. A retreat is ordered; the Seventh and Thirty-ninth Iowa fall back slowly; rebel shot are plowing great furrows in the earth; rebel shot fill the air; they fly everywhere; men are falling; the ground is being covered with the dead and dying. Colonel Rowett is taken to the fort wounded, from which he soon recovers and vigorously enters into the fight. The forts were gained by a fearful sacrifice. Colonel Rowett, with the Seventh and a few companies of the Fifty-seventh and Twelfth Illinois and the Thirty-ninth Iowa, is now in the fort, west of the railroad. Colonel Toutellotte, with the Ninety-third Illinois, Fiftieth Illinois (Colonel Hanna's old half hundred), takes possession of the fort east of the railroad. General Corse takes his position in the fort with Colonel Rowett's brigade, where seems to be the main drift of battle. The retreat into the forts and the necessary dispositions were all performed in a moment performed amid fire and smoke, while noble men were dying. The hurried retreat into the fort seemed to encourage the demons.

"At once they raised so wild a yell,

As if all the fiends from heaven that fell

Had pealed the banner cry of hell."

On, on, with fiendish yells they come rushing to the breach. Over the hills and up the ravines they charge; it is now hand to hand, man to man; Colonel Rowett and his men fight desperately. General Corse is now wounded; he has been fighting manfully; man never before stood as he stood in this scene of death; never before contended as he contended against these fearful odds. Fainting from loss of blood, he has fallen back upon the blood stained ground. It is now half-past ten o'clock. Colonel Rowett assumes command; his first order is to send for Colonel Hanna and his "half hundred." He knows they are the true steel. By the severe fire from the fort west of the railroad the enemy's lines are broken. Colonel Hanna is now cutting his way to Rowett's fort. Crossing the railroad near the depot, he strikes the enemy attempting to burn the warehouse containing the two millions of rations and in a gallant manner drives them back; he rushes into Rowett's fort with a heavy loss. The rebels are now preparing for another desperate charge; reformed, they rush up like mad men threatening to crush into dust the gallant fifteen hundred.

"I heard the bayonets' deadly clang,

As if a hundred anvils rang."

The hills tremble; the fort is wrapped with fearful flame. Amid dying groans the cannon crashes, to sweep down the angry rebels to a suicidal death. The grand one-half hundred, the reckless Seventh, the undaunted Fifty-seventh Illinois, and the fiery Thirty-ninth Iowa, barricade the Allatoona walls. with their frightful steel. Men are falling; their life blood is streaming. The rebels driven to desperation, attempt to cross the defences, but they are thrown back in wild confusion. But lo! they are rallying again, preparing for a third charge. Again they rush on to engage in the awful work of carnage. The smoke from our cannons makes wrathful heaves. Terrible red hot flames of battle shoot from the hill. During the last three hours an interested spectator has been standing upon Kenesaw, watching the progress of the battle. Soon a dispatch is read in the fort:

 

"Hold Allatoona! hold Allatoona, and I will assist you.

 

(Signed)

W. T. SHERMAN.”

 

Closer and closer the determined rebels come; Many have already fallen. Weaker and weaker the command is becoming. The Seventh, with their sixteen-shooters, which has been the main dependence, is now running short of ammunition, and Colonel Rowett orders them to hold their fire, and let the Fiftieth Illinois and the Thirty-ninth Iowa bayonet the rebels in case they attempt again to scale the defences. General Corse, as brave a spirit as ever battled in the cause of human freedom, raises from his matress and cries "Hold Allatoona! hold Allatoona." The third time the rebels are driven back from the fort; they are now preparing for the fourth charge; Colonel Rowett's fort has become one vast slaughter-pen. But look! the frenzied rebels come swarming on to the breach again. This is the hour that will try our steel. They are now passing over their already beaten road, stained with blood. Again they are charging up to crush the Spartan band. It is now one o'clock; for three long hours clouds of darkness have mantled these hills; they now seem to be growing darker. The command is every moment growing weaker and weaker; a large portion of the fifteen hundred have been killed and wounded, and still the battle rages in its mad fury; still the besieged are pressed hard. Colonel Rowett now succeeds in getting the artillery loaded and manned, which for some time has been silent. It is shotted to the muzzle; all ready, the men are commanded to raise the yell, and into the very faces of the rebels the death messengers are hurled, which is repeated several times until the rebels commence to give way in despair. Just at this moment, half-past one o'clock, Colonel Rowett is badly wounded in the head. Captain Rattrey, a member of his staff, being the ranking officer left, now assumes command and heroically carries on the battle. The awful work of death is drawing to a close; the rebels are now flying.

The Seventh, with their sixteen-shooters, are performing a terrible work of death; the enemy is driven from the Allatoona hills like chaff before the winds of heaven.

"None linger now upon the plains,

Save those who ne'er shall fight again."

The great battle of Allatoona is now over; the six thousand rebels, save those who are dead and wounded, are now retreating in commotion from the Allatoona hills. Corse, Rowett and Tourtellotte, with the survivors of the gallant fifteen hundred, fling their tattered and blood washed banners triumphantly over this field of death. As victors of the Pass they stand with about half of their number lying dead and wounded at their feet. We now look around us and behold the forts dripping with blood. Who do we see lying here, cold and stiff? It is our comrade, Samuel Walker. We cast our eyes to another spot; who is that who lies there in such agony, so fearfully wounded? It is the brave Sergeant Edward C. Nichols. Gallant spirit, we fear it will soon take its flight from its tenement of clay. Noble soldier, thy work is done; no more will you be permitted to stand in war's tempest of fire; no more will you battle in this struggle for man's equality. We attempt to move through the fort defended by Colonel Rowett's brigade, and we find it almost impossible without trespassing upon the dead. Oh! what an awful work of death! Has the blood-wrought history of the nineteenth century equaled it! We think not, and we dare say that this generation will pass away ere another Allatoona shall be given to the history of the western world. We succeed in changing our position. Who do we see here, wounded and bleeding? we look again. Our heart beats quick. 'Tis the Hackney brothers, lying side by side. We are wont to say, here we see the embodiment of manhood. They looked like boys before the battle, but they look like men now. Look at that cheek, behold that frightful gash. 'Tis a mark of royalty. When future years shall have rolled down the stream of time, and when the country is at peace, on that cheek will be a scar that will lead the mind back to the eventful years that saw this nation leap like a giant from her thralldom of tyrany. Night now comes on, and soon it commences to rain. The larger companies, E, H and K, with what men they have left, are placed on picket. This is the most doleful night that ever dawned upon the Seventh. While we stand here on these hills, amid storm and rain, our hearts are sad when we look around and see so many of our number still and cold in death, and so many wounded and dying.

"Ah! this morning how lightly throbbed

Full many a heart that death has robbed

Of its pulses warm, and the caskets lie

As cold as the winter's starless sky."

But we all feel glad to-night to know that we hurled back from the pass Hood's angry hosts; that we sustained the flag, saved the two millions of rations, saved Sherman's army, and helped to save the Union. While out here in these dark woods, while the cold winds are blowing, we are thinking of our noble comrades who were wounded to-day. We know that they are suffering to-night. We are all anxious about the gallant Rowett, for the Surgeon tells us that he is dangerously wounded. The prayer of the Seventh to-night is that he may recover; that he may yet live to lead forth, if need be, the gallant old Third Brigade in other battles in the war for the Union.

SOURCE: Daniel Leib Ambrose, History of the Seventh Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, p. 251-61

Diary of Private Daniel L. Ambrose: October 6, 1864

The morning of the sixth dawns beautifully, but upon a field of death-a field of blood; but thanks be to God, it dawns with the old flag triumphant. We will again walk among the dead and wounded. The loss of the Seventh has been fearful. At Fort Donelson, Shiloh and Corinth our loss was heavy, but our loss in this battle exceeds our whole loss in those three great battles. The following list of the Seventh's casualties in this battle will speak for itself; will alone tell how fierce was the storm of battle that raged on these hills.

STAFF. Wounded: Colonel R. Rowett, in the head, severely; Adjutant J. S. Robinson, severely.

COMPANY A.—Killed: Corporal Henry C. Hasson. Wounded: Sergeant James O'Donnell.

COMPANY B.—Killed: Privates Philip Saules, Jonathan Bishop; Wounded: private John Hunter.

COMPANY C—Killed: Privates Andrew Hellgoth, John McAlpine; Corporal John B. Hubreht.

COMPANY D.—Company D was left at Rome on guard duty, therefore was not with the regiment at the Allatoona Pass.

COMPANY E.—Killed: Privates James F. Burk, George W. Eversole, Michael F. Galbraith, Marion R. Kampf, Francis Love, David Roberts, Lewis C. Stroud, Calvin A. Summers, John W. Watt, W. H. Burwell, Lewis J. Allman, Levi Allen, Ezra M. Miller, Elias Hainline, Leonidas Burkholder, Corporal William Smith. Wounded: Sergeant and Color Bearer Joseph Bordwell; Privates L. D. Barnes, George G. Brooks, Lewis A. Burk, Abner W. Burwell, Samuel H. Ewing, Angelo V. Faucett, Albert Gardner, Phillip J. Gossard, John F. Hainline, James A. Hedges, George Sullivan, Edwin R. Jones, Thomas Gardner, A. N. Roelofson, James M. Allman, John L. Forbes, Joseph Lancaster, Eli Mushrush, Samuel M. Watt. Corporal Henry C. Montjoy; Taken Prisoner: N. A. Bovee, Samuel H. Jones, William E. Verry, William H. Miller.

COMPANY F. —Killed: Privates Philip Hale, John Phillips, Henry M. Robbins, Eldridge Walton, Nathan D. Atchison. Wounded: Privates James Kelley, Robert B. Kelley, George Brenton; Sergeant John McTurk.

COMPANY G.—No separate record given—consolidated with Company I.

COMPAMY H.—Killed: Corporal Samuel Walker; Privates Henry Bigler, John Etterlain, William T. Taylor, John White, Timothy Hoblitt, James L. Parish. Wounded: Sergeant William P. Hackney, severely; Edward C. Nicholas, severely; Privates Oscar J. Hackney, slightly; John E. J. Wood, severely; Richard P. Graham, severely; James M. Halbert, slightly; Aaron Watkins, slightly; Ferdinand Capps, severely. Taken Prisoner: Thomas Caylor, William R. Skiver, George W. Ballard.

COMPANY I.—Killed: First Lieutenant John E. Sullivan, Sergeant Charles Myres, Corporal William Ecker, Privates John W. Johnson, Ira Carey. Wounded: Privates Daniel O'Keefe, Alfred Scott, James Andrews, George Harris, William Massey.

COMPANY K.—Killed: Privates E. Thompson, Martin V. Kelton, Jesse C. Botkins. Wounded: Corporals John W. Bowman, Walter Smith; Privates Grundy McClure, Thesbold Steinberg, Lewis P. Moore, Albert H. Duff, John P. Van Dyke, Julius Wolf. Total killed, 42, total wounded, 53.

Though the Union loss is heavy, though Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota, offered a fearful sacrifice; we behold in looking around us a great many more of the traitors weltering in their gore. Six hundred rebels poured out their life blood—poured it out upon these hills for naught-six hundred lie still in death, and as many more are wounded. Ah! what an ill-fated field Allatoona has been to them. "They came for bread; Corse gave them war and lead." Their wounded tell us they never fought such men. Says a rebel officer, "I believe those Illinois and Iowa boys who were in yonder fort (pointing to the fort General Corse, Colonel Rowett and his Third Brigade occupied,) would have all died before they would have surrendered." All day the 6th we are engaged caring for the wounded and burying the dead. On the hill the Seventh bury their fellow-heroes. The regiment is now small, the survivors look sorrowful; now and then we see tears steal down the bronzed cheeks to fall and perish upon the lonely graves. Praises for Colonel Rowett are on every tongue. Allatoona tells us that no braver warrior ever drew a sword in battle. In the thickest of the conflict he was ever found, cheering his men when disaster threatened, leading amid dire confusion. In Allatoona's great battle he stood by the flag, and around him and it his men rallied; rallied to fall and die; rallied to see it victorious. But how sad were his men when they saw him fall; when they saw him bleeding; when they saw him fainting from loss of blood. But remembering his words of cheer; remembering his command to die rather than let the flag be lowered; his men struggled on and proved themselves true to their Colonel and their flag, and the sun went down with the fifteen-hundred triumphant, and that evening the Union's proud banner looked more beautiful than it had ever before looked—more beautiful because it stood upon another victorious field.

Lieutenant John E. Sullivan, of Company I, fell fighting like a Spartan. Heroically he braved the frightful tempest and went down crowned all over with laurels of glory. He fell mortally wounded in the early part of the day, and died .about ten o'clock the next morning. We were called to his side as his last moments of life were drawing nigh. Says he, "Give my sword to the gallant William Hackney of Company H," (which company he commanded until he fell.) "Brave men, I will soon leave you,—will soon pass the river of death." We stood by his side again, but his spirit had departed, and the noble warrior was free from the angry strife of men.

Lieutenant John S. Robinson, A. A. A. G. on Colonel Rowett's staff, was severely wounded during the last charge of the rebels, and no one performed his part more gallantly in this great battle than did this officer. Where the battle raged fiercest there he was ever found. He was standing by the side of Colonel Rowett, struggling against the wild tide of battle as but few men have ever struggled in this terrible war, until the scales began to show signs favorable to the fifteen-hundred, when he was stricken down, (which was but a short time before the battle closed.) He is dangerously wounded and we fear his days will soon be numbered. Courageous soldier! we can only say of him he was true; that he did his duty, and did it well.

Colonel Hanna, the dashing commander of the Fifteenth Illinois, was among the most conspicuous in this battle. With his impetuous and irresistible regiment he stood as firm as a gigantic rock, and against his front of bristling steel French's hungry rebels hurled themselves, but in vain did they attempt to crush the gallant "half-hundred," for when the fearless Hanna threw himself into the most dangerous ordeal, making his clarion voice heard above the loud din of battle, the eyes of his brave men grew brighter and each heart was kindled with the fire that ever warms the patriot's heart. We remember when the very air was red with flame, when the earth was strewn with the mangled dead, when the sun seemed to be hid behind an awful sheet of fire; how anxiously we watched Colonel Hanna moving with his regiment from beyond the railroad to the support of Colonel Rowett. Oh! that was a trying hour; the leaden hail flew thick and fast; it was a march of death, for ere they reached Colonel Rowett's fort many of their number had fallen. But how glad were the men of the Seventh Illinois when that grand old regiment rushed into the fort and waved over the ramparts their shattered battle flag. It was a glorious hour, glorious because we felt encouraged and strengthened. We will never forget that period in the battle; will never forget Colonel Hanna and his noble men who made that memorable charge across the railroad and cut their way through to Colonel Rowett's fort, a work which for fierceness has, we believe, never been surpassed in this war.

Captain Rattrey of the Fifty-seventh, aid to Col. Rowett, excited the admiration of every one for his bravery, accompanied with so much coolness and judgment. He was found constantly by Colonel Rowett's side, executing his orders with a promptness that was indeed remarkable. When the crushing tide of battle bore down Colonel Rowett, Captain Rattrey could not find a field officer in the brigade to report to; every one down to his rank having fallen as victims—either dead or wounded. The gallant defenders of the Pass who had been struggling through long weary hours, were now making their last desperate struggle, and signs were appearing that seemed to tell of a turning point in the battle, seemed to tell that the boys in blue were about to gain the mastery, were about to hurl back from the pass Hood's insane legions. There was no time to lose, and Captain Rattrey fearing that the men who had fought so long, and so well, who had seen so many of their comrades fall and die, would soon become exhausted, leaped like a giant from where lay the bleeding and seemingly lifeless Rowett, and with the robust courage of an angel in his soul assumed command of the gallant old Third Brigade and conducted the battle to its glorious consummation. There seemed to be no post of danger that Captain Rattrey did not wish to occupy.

In looking around us we miss many noble men who are now sleeping in death's cold embrace, Liberty in its great trial claimed them as sacrifices on its altar; but not for naught, as history will declare when this generation shall have long passed away. Private soldiers though they were, they performed their part, and hence are as worthy the country's gratitude as those in higher positions, who offered up their lives in this battle.

We cannot pass without alluding to the gallantry of Corporal Samuel Walker of Company H. He was standing with Colonel Rowett, and while fighting bravely in one of the desperate rebel charges the flag comes falling down over his head, and ere it reaches the blood stained earth, Corporal Walker is seen to grasp its shot-riven staff, and with its silken shreds falling around him, he mounted the works and there in one of the wildest battle storms that ever left blood in its wake, he waved it defiantly in the face of arch-treason,—waved it until a minie went crashing through his brain,—waved it until he fell, and there in blood under that grand old flag, the pride of his heart, the glory of his manhood, he died—died for the flag, died for his country, died for liberty. Glorious spirit! may his name ever shine bright in the book of perpetual remembrance as one of the boldest who helped to defend this second Thermopylae!

But all were brave, and like the legions of Bruce and the lovers of Sparta, they struggled against an adverse tide; for four fearful hours they held it in check; at last they turned it, and above streams of blood, the groans of the dying and the shouts of victors, light from the Union's proud banner seemed to flash against the sky. How proud were the Illinois and Iowa boys when the noble Corse, wounded and bleeding, said there was not a coward in the great battle of the Allatoona Pass; and prouder still were the men of the Seventh, when he said, "Colonel, your regiment sustained the heaviest loss; I will give it the post of honor." Before leaving the battle-field, Sergeant Major S. F. Flint writes:

Winds that sweep the southern mountain,

And the leafy river shore,

Bear ye not a prouder burden

Than ye ever learned before?

And the hot blood fills

The heart till it thrills,

At the story of the terror and the glory of the battle

Of the Allatoona hills.

Echo from the purple mountains,

To the dull surrounding shore;

'Tis as sad and proud a burden,

As ye ever learned before.

How they fell like grass

When the mowers pass,

And the dying, when the foe was flying, swelled the cheering

Of the heroes of the pass.

Sweep it o'er the hills of Georgia

To the mountains of the north;

Teach the coward and the doubter,

What the blood of man is worth.

Toss the flag as you pass,

Let their stained and tattered mass

Tell the story of the terror and the glory of the battle

Of the Allatoona Pass.

After burying the dead and caring for the wounded, which are placed on the cars to be sent to Rome, we return to our old camp on the Etawah. At no time during the war have we seen so much of sadness depicted upon the faces of the men as we have seen since our return to Rome. The men stand around in the camp lonely and silent, without a word to say to each other. There is indeed sorrow in the Seventh; sorrow for their brave comrades whom they left wrapped in death's pale sheet on the Allatoona hills. The Seventh felt sad when they stood on Shiloh's field and gazed upon their dead and wounded companions; their hearts were moved when they saw so many of their number who had perished on Corinth's plain, but the blood that flowed from the heroes of the Allatoona Pass has completely unnerved these strong men; and will our readers call it weakness when we tell them that after that work of blood at the Pass, while standing around the camp fires near the banks of the Etawah, we saw stalwart soldiers weep; saw tears sparkle in their eyes for those brave boys who had surrendered their lives in the great war for human liberty?

SOURCE: Daniel Leib Ambrose, History of the Seventh Regiment Illinois Volunteer Infantry, p. 261-70

Friday, January 27, 2023

Diary of John Beauchamp Jones: October 8, 1864

 Cloudy, windy, and cold.

The fighting yesterday was more serious than I supposed. It was supposed the conflict would be resumed to-day, but we have no information of any fighting up to this hour—5 P.M.

From Gen. Hood we have a dispatch, saying Major-Gen. French attacked Altoona day before yesterday. He carried all the outworks, but failed at the inner one, and learning a body of the enemy were approaching his rear, Gen. F. withdrew to the main body of the army. He says nothing of the loss, etc., on either side.

At the Tredegar Works, and in the government workshops, the detailed soldier, if a mechanic, is paid in money and in rations (at the current prices) about $16 per day, or nearly $6000 per annum. member of Congress receives $5500, a clerk $4000.

SOURCE: John Beauchamp Jones, A Rebel War Clerk's Diary at the Confederate States Capital, Volume 2p. 301

Sunday, October 23, 2022

Official Reports of the Campaign in North Alabama and Middle Tennessee, November 14, 1864-January 23, 1865: No. 245. — Report of Maj. Gen. William W. Loring, C. S. Army, commanding division, of operations November 29-30, 1864.

No. 245.

Report of Maj. Gen. William W. Loring, C. S. Army, commanding division,
of operations November 29-30, 1864.

HEADQUARTERS LORING'S DIVISION, STEWART'S CORPS,                
ARMY OF TENNESSEE,        
Near Nashville, Tenn., December 9, 1864.

CAPTAIN: In accordance with circular from army headquarters calling for a report of the number of flags lost in the engagements of 29th and 30th of November, I have to report four, those of the Third, Twenty-second, and Thirty-third Mississippi Regiments, Featherston's brigade, and that of the Fifteenth Regiment, of Adams' brigade, and inclose herewith a statement from each brigade commander.

Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
W. W. LORING,        
Major-General, Commanding.
Capt. W. D. GALE,
        Assistant Adjutant-General.
_______________

[Inclosure No. 1.]

HEADQUARTERS FEATHERSTON'S BRIGADE,        
December 9, 1864.

MAJOR: In obedience to orders from army headquarters I would respectfully report that three stand of colors were captured from my brigade on the 30th of November, belonging to the Third, Twenty-second, and Thirty-third Mississippi Regiments. The color-bearers of the Third and Twenty-second planted their colors on the enemy's works, and were wounded and captured with their colors. The color-bearer of the Thirty-third was killed some fifteen paces from the works, when Lieut. H. C. Shaw, of Company K, carried them forward, and when in the act of planting them on the works was killed, his body falling in the trench, the colors falling in the works.

Very respectfully,
W. S. FEATHERSTON,        
Brigadier-General.
Major ROBINSON,
        Assistant Adjutant-General.
_______________

[Inclosure No. 2.]

HEADQUARTERS ADAMS' BRIGADE, LORING'S DIVISION,        
December 9, 1864.

MAJOR: In obedience to orders from army headquarters I have the honor to report that one flag was lost in the engagement of the 30th ultimo of the Fifteenth Mississippi Regiment. Four men were shot down in bearing it.

I am, major, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
ROBERT LOWRY,        
Colonel, Commanding Brigade.
Maj. HENRY ROBINSON,
        Assistant Adjutant-General.
_______________

[Inclosure No. 3.]

BRIGADE HEADQUARTERS,        
December 9, 1864.

I would respectfully report that no flags were lost in this brigade on the 29th and 30th ultimo.

Respectfully,
JOHN SNODGRASS,        
Colonel, Commanding Brigade.
Maj. H. ROBINSON,
        Assistant Adjutant-General.
_______________

ADDENDA.

Report of the killed, wounded, and missing of Loring's division in the engagement of November 30, 1864, near Franklin, Tenn.

Command.

Killed.

Wounded.

Missing.

Aggregate.

Officers.

Men.

Officers.

Men.

Officers.

Men.

Featherston's brigade

16

60

22

178

4

72

352

Adams' brigade

10

34

39

232

1

21

337

Scott's brigade

2

29

23

125

2

6

187

Total.

28

123

84

535

7

99

876


Respectfully submitted.
Capt. W. D. GALE,        
Assistant Adjutant-General.
W. W. LORING,
        Major-General, Commanding.
_______________

HEADQUARTERS FRENCH'S DIVISION,        
Near Nashville, Tenn., December 10, 1864.

Report of flags lost in engagement November 30, 1864:

Cockrell's brigade: Second and Sixth Missouri Infantry lost one. Ector's and Sears' brigades not in engagement; absent on detached service.

Respectfully submitted.
S. G. FRENCH,        
Major-General, Commanding.
_______________

HEADQUARTERS FRENCH'S DIVISION,        
December 12, 1864.
Capt. W. D. GALE,
        Assistant Adjutant-General:

CAPTAIN: I have the honor to report that no flags were captured from Sears' brigade November 30, 1864.

I am, captain, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
S. G. FRENCH,        
Major-General, Commanding.
_______________

Return of casualties in French's division at the battle of Franklin, Tenn., November 30,1864.

Command.

Killed.

Wounded.

Missing.

Aggregate.

Officers.

Men.

Officers.

Men.

Officers.

Men.

Cockrell's brigade1

19

79

31

198

13

79

419

Sears' brigade

5

25

26

142

1

34

233

Total

24

104

57

340

14

113

652

1 Eighty-two officers and 614 men in fight. The missing from Cockrell’s brigade are known to be prisoners of war (from men who escaped”, captured in the enemy’s works.

The above is the loss from the two brigades, the third one being on duty detached. The loss is over one-third of my troops engaged.

S. G. FRENCH,        
Major-general.
_______________

Report of casualties in French's division December 4, 1864.             

 

Killed.

Wounded.

Aggregate.

Cockrell's brigade.

 

 

 

Sears’ Brigade1

2

19

21

Ector's brigade

1

14

15

Total

3

33

26

1 Colonel Andrews wounded.

Respectfully submitted.
S. G. FRENCH,        
Major-General, Commanding.
_______________

Report of officers and men of Sears' brigade who reached the main line of the enemy's works at Franklin, November 30, 1864.

Names.

Rank.

Co.

Regiment.

Remarks.

James M. Swearingin

Corporal

A

35th Mississippi

 

C. D. Grady

Private

A

do

 

E. T. Eldridge

do

A

do

 

J. L. Conner

First lieutenant

D

do

 

E. S. Holman

Private

D

do

 

J. A. Harrison

Captain

E

do

 

T. B. Walsh

Second lieutenant

E

do

 

J. F. Walsh

First sergeant

E

do

 

F. M. Hester

Sergeant

E

do

 

A.J. Cooper

do

E

do

 

J. H. Rice

Corporal

E

do

 

J. R. Barrett

Private

E

do

 

A. Lowry

do

E

do

 

J. N. Strait

do

E

do

 

H. W. White

do

E

do

 

W. H. Youngblood

Sergeant

F

do

 

J. M. Robinson

Private

F

do

 

A. L. Barnett

Sergeant

I

do

 

J. S. Fox

Private

I

do

 

W. J. Brown

do

I

do

 

J. N. McCoy

First lieutenant

A

35th Mississippi

Reached abatis and wounded.

H. B. Hudnall

Second lieutenant

A

do

Do.

W. F. M. Tate

Corporal

D

do

Do

E. H. Parks

Private

D

do

Reached abatis.

J. A. Killingsworth

do

D

do

Do

J. A. Killingsworth.

Second lieutenant

E

do

Do

A. M. Page

Private

K

do

Do

George Dockery

do

K

do

Do

J. F. Green

do

K

do

Do

G. W. Davis

do

K

do

Do

Isaac Carroll

do

K

do

Do

J. D. Harrington 

do

K

do

Do

Munroe Watson

do

K

do

Wounded three times near interior works.

J. W. Saunders

do

K

do

Reached abatis.

R. Calvert

do

K

do

Do

W.W. Witherspoon.

Colonel

--

36th Mississippi.

Killed near interior works

G. M. Gallaspy

Captain

C

do

 

W.J. Smith

do

F

do

Wounded between works.

P. H. Davis

Lieutenant

A

do

 

J. N. Denson

First sergeant

F

do

 

H. B. Williams

Sergeant

F

do

Wounded between works.

D. F. Pace

Corporal

F

do

 

E.J. Pace

Private

F

do

 

S.S. Braswell

do

F

do

 

M. N. Sojourner

Sergeant

G

do

Wounded between works.

Nicholas Pace

Captain

A

46th Mississippi

 

C. L. Nichols

Private

A

do

 

Isaac Whatley

do

A

do

 

J.T. Duckworth

Lieutenant

B

do

 

W. H. Barnett

 

D

do

 

J. W. Pennington

Sergeant

D

do

 

W. Deavers

Private

D

do

 

J. S. Hill

do

D

do

 

A. Phillips

do

D

do

 

J.C. Phillips

do

D

do

 

J M Ross

do

D

do

 

R. H. Sewell

do

D

do

 

D. Hildebrand

Sergeant

E

do

 

A. Screws

Corporal

E

do

Wounded.

T. P. Wiggins

Captain

F

do

 

W. M. McElroy

Sergeant

F

do

 

J. W. Kittrell 

Private

F

do

 

W. W. Harvey

Sergeant

F

do

Wounded severely at main ditch.

J. A. Epting

Lieutenant

G

do

 

W. Warren

Corporal

G

do

 

A.M. Anderson

do

G

do

 

J. M. Eakin

do

G

do

 

J. Drummond

Private

G

do

Wounded.

S. B. Windham

do

G

do

 

J. B. White

do

H

do

 

T. Burgess

Captain

I

do

Wounded twice severely while near main ditch.

T. A. Florence

Private

K

do

 

M. J. Albritton

Corporal

A

7th Mississippi Battalion.

 

G. D. Hartfield

Captain

B

do

Wounded near second line.

M. Glover

Private

B

do

 

H. Steward

do

B

do

 

W. B. McDonald

do

B

do

 

W. W. Jordan

Corporal

E

do

 

A. J. Thompson

Captain

G

do

Wounded near second line.

W. Carter

Private

F

do

 

J. B. Smith

Sergeant

A

4th Mississippi

Wounded.

W.J. Butler

Private

A

do

 

W. J. Pearson 

do

A

do

 

W. W. Nations

do

A

do

 

Isaac McCafferty

do

A

do

 

G. G. S. Patterson

Corporal

B

do

 

A. J. Strickland

Private

B

do

 

J. T. Thornton

Corporal

B

do

Killed.

W. H. Cook

Private

B

do

Do

W. B. Smith

do

C

do

 

J. J. Graham

do

C

do

 

W. D. Thompson

do

C

do

 

 J. J. Cowey

Corporal

C

4th Mississippi

Killed

L. O. Paris

Captain

D

do

Do

W. H. Patton

Private

D

do

Do

W. H. Sartain

do

D

do

Do

W. E. Brasher

Sergeant

D

do

Wounded.

C. C. Clements

Corporal

D

do

Do

J. W. Stevens

Private

D

do

Do

Wyatt Brasher

Sergeant

D

do

Do

Henry Counts

Private

D

do

Do

W. Counts

do

D

do

Do

M. J. West

Sergeant

D

do

 

C. W. McCain

Private

D

do

 

J.M. Levain

do

D

do

 

O. E. Townsend

Second lieutenant

E

do

 

W. H. Lowriman

Private

E

do

 

John Stafford

do

E

do

 

John Boland

do

E

do

 

L. J. King

do

E

do

 

J. S. Yelington

do

E

do

 

P.S. Webb

do

E

do

 

E. P. Holmes

Sergeant

E

do

Wounded.

John A. Pyron

Private

E

do

Do

W. A. Stafford

do

E

do

 

W. M. Nabors

Sergeant

E

do

 

S.W. King

Corporal

E

do

Wounded.

Samuel Fox

First lieutenant

F

do

 

H. L. Bailey

Sergeant

F

do

 

J. M. Hastings

Private

F

do

 

G. D. Taylor

Sergeant

H

do

Killed.

G. W. Kerr

Corporal

H

do

Wounded.

J. W. Russell

do

H

do

 

R. W. Anderson

Private

H

do

 

W. E. Black

do

H

do

 

Jesse Riddle

do

H

do

 

J. B. Minter

do

H

do

 

H. J. Russell

do

H

do

Wounded.

W. S. Massey

Sergeant

K

do

 

J. E. Bowie

Corporal

K

do

Wounded.

W. S. Dulin

do

K

do

 

A. C. McComb 

do

K

do

Wounded.

T. T. Bates

Private

K

do

Do

J. P. Garner

do

K

do

 

W. H. McComb

do

K

do

 

S. T. L. Ramage

do

K

do

 

E.G. Liles

Captain commanding

--

39th Mississippi.

 

J. F. Newsom

Sergeant

A

do

 

D. J. Drummond

Private

A

do

 

S. M. Brooks

do

A

do

 

H. D. McNease

do

A

do

 

Wm. B. Hemphill

do

A

do

 

S. A. Farmer.

Do

A

do

Killed.

J. S. Donnell

Corporal

B

do

Wounded.

T. Speaks

Private

B

do

Do

W. W. Thacker

Sergeant

B

do

 

G. W. Elliott

First lieutenant

C

do

Wounded.

Tom Waters

Private

C

do

 

D.M. Adams

Sergeant

D

do

Killed.

E. Carleton

Sergeant, acting adjutant

D

do

Slightly wounded twice.

J. S. Ware

Corporal

D

do

Slightly wounded twice.

R. Wilner

Private

D

do

Wounded twice.

J. S. Smith

do

D

do

Do

J. D. Sims

do

D

do

Do

M. Williams

do

D

do

Do

B. Chaney

do

D

do

Do

G. R. Sims

do

D

do

 

M. C. Nichols

do

D

do

 

M. Russell

do

D

do

 

Thomas Parks

do

D

do

 

J. M. Loper

do

D

do

 

R. J. Williams

do

E

do

Wounded.

M. Townsend

Captain

F

do

Killed.

D. J. Grubbs

Private

F

do

Do

William Hutson

Corporal

F

do

 

A. Hutson

Private

F

do

 

J. B. Mahoffy.

do

F

do

 

Joseph B. Garrett

do

F

do

 

E. T. Kersh

Corporal

G

do

 

Jacob D. Kersh

Private

G

39th Mississippi

 

J. P. Hodges

Corporal

I

do

Killed.

J. D. Jones

Private

I

do

Do

R. Crisswell

do

I

do

 

E. Dockery

do

I

do

 Killed.

J. T. Hodges

do

I

do

 

J. Neely

do

I

do

 

W. D. Coney

Second lieutenant

K

do

 

B. F. Elzey

Sergeant

K

do

 


Respectfully submitted.
J. W. BENOIT,        
Assistant Adjutant-General.
NEAR NASHVILLE, TENN., December 14, 1864.
_______________

[ First indorsement.]

Respectfully forwarded.
R. H. SHOTWELL,        
Lieutenant-Colonel, Commanding Brigade.
_______________

[Second indorsement.]

HEADQUARTERS FRENCH'S DIVISION,        
December 14, 1864.
Respectfully transmitted.

These gallant men merit honorable mention; they were foremost amidst the forlorn hope.

C. W. SEARS,        
Brigadier-General Commanding Division.

SOURCE: The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume 45, Part 1 (Serial No. 93), p. 714-9