In the Miller Cornfield with the 18th Georgia

     The fighting in the Miller Cornfield during the Battle of Antietam is remembered as some of the bitterest combat of the war, and on the Confederate side is largely remembered as a fight of the Texas Brigade. However, the Texans didn’t fight alone in the Miller Cornfield; they fought alongside both Hampton’s South Carolina Legion and the subject of today’s post, the 18th Georgia, both members of Colonel William T. Wofford’s brigade of Hood’s Division.

          The Georgians, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Solon Z. Ruff, went into action at Antietam with 176 men and in that killing field lost 101, a casualty rate of 57%. Less than a week after the battle, an unknown soldier of the 18th Georgia writing under the nom-de-plume of “Potomac” penned a superb account of the 18th Georgia’s role in both Second Manassas and Antietam for the Atlanta Southern Confederacy newspaper. Potomac’s missive first saw publication on page two of the October 11th, 1862, edition of that paper.

 

The Miller cornfield counts among the most scared ground at Antietam, marked by the sacrifice of units such as the 18th Georgia who fought through it. 

Camp near Martinsburg, Virginia

September 23, 1862

 

          Early on the morning of the 14th of September, General Longstreet took up his line of march from Hagerstown towards the Potomac which he aimed to cross at Shepherdstown. On the same morning, General Daniel Harvey Hill, whose small division had been left to hold the gap through the Blue Ridge, was attacked by an immensely superior force of the enemy. Fighting continued all day, our men disputing most manfully every inch of ground, but in the evening, it became apparent that Hill would not be able to hold the gap and a part of Longstreet’s forces, the Texas brigade among them, was sent to his support. They arrived at the top of the mountain at dark and took a position so near the enemy’s lines that they could be heard talking, expecting to have a hot time on the return of daylight. But our trains having passed, the troops were ordered to follow and before daylight the whole army was again en route for the Shepherdstown Ford.

          The enemy pursued closely, hoping to overtake and beat our forces before they could be concentrated in a body strong enough to meet. The next morning, General Lee halted at Sharpsburg and took up position between the town and the Antietam Creek to await the arrival of the enemy. An hour afterwards, sharp picket firing announced the arrival of their advance guard at the brigade. The whole of that day and the next was spent in skirmishing and cannonading at long range. Late the next evening, it was ascertained that the enemy was moving large bodies of troops to our left, endeavoring to turn that flank. Quickly the old 3rd and Texas brigades were wheeled into line to receive them. Just at dark a sharp skirmish occurred which lasted considerably into the night when both parties ceased firing by mutual consent to renew it again on the return of daylight. During the night, the Texas brigade was withdrawn in an adjacent woods to cook rations, it having been out for some days, a Tennessee brigade taking its place.

General John Bell Hood

          At daylight the next morning, the battle opened in earnest and raged with fury until 7 o’clock when the enemy, having been reinforced, began to drive the Louisianans before them slowly. Seeing this, General Hood brought forward his division and sent the Texans in on their old ground. The drove the Yankees back most gallantly for a considerable distance, leaving the ground darkened with carcasses. The enemy fell back through a cornfield with the Texans following, then through an open field into the woods. Here their retreating line suddenly unmasked a fresh line of troops and several batteries, both of which immediately opened upon their already thinned ranks with Minie balls and grape. Unfortunately in their advance, the different regiments had been compelled to leave wide intervals between each other in order to cover the enemy’s front. This greatly weakened their line and disconcerted the movements of the brigade. With this broken line, however, they drove the enemy till they retired behind a continuous line of much greater length of fresh troops, which immediately commenced flanking our brigade on both sides. Seeing this, each colonel with one consent began to fall back slowly.

Colonel William T. Wofford

          The 18th Georgia had advanced to within a few yards of the enemy’s battery which had been playing on its ranks with terrible effect and had silenced the guns when the long dark line of the enemy was seen sweeping around to its left, threatening to cut it off. Two-thirds of its men had already fallen, but the rest undaunted still continued to advance and pour a deadly fire into the enemy in their front. When ordered to retire, they did so, continuing to fire upon the line that was sweeping around to outflank them. The shattered remnant of the brigade was reformed in the woods but for want of support, the enemy outnumbering them by at least ten to one, they were ordered to retire further. The enemy gained ground for a short time, bur fresh troops coming up, they were driven back again to their original position, leaving hundreds of their dead and wounded in our hands. The Texas brigade, much shattered, reformed and took its original position, ready to renew the conflict.

          Thus ended the fight in the hardest contested part of the field. The enemy fought his best troops (Porter’s Regulars) and outnumbered us by at least four or five to one. At night, both sides slept on their original ground and the next days exchanged flags of truce to bury the dead and recover the wounded. The 18th Georgia carried into the fight 176 men and lost 101 in killed, wounded, and missing. Most of the missing were killed or wounded and left behind in the enemy’s lines. Lieutenants T.C. Underwood and J.M.D. Cleveland while gallantly leading Co. K on to the battery fell, supposed to be killed. Captain J.A. Crawford and G.W. Maddox received serious wounds. Lieutenant Calahan of Co. C, Macon and Gilbert of Co. D, Crawford and Putnam of Co. E, Wooley of Co. F, Maddox of Co. G, Grant of Co. H, and Williams of Co. I are among the wounded.

          Colonel William T. Wofford commanded the brigade during the fight and acted with great coolness and decision. Lieutenant Colonel Solon Z. Ruff commanded the 18th Georgia and as usual behaved himself well. Every officer and man acted with the most distinguished coolness and bravery. As to the general result of this bloody battle of Sharpsburg, I would add that to the right and left of the point where the Texas and Louisiana brigades fought, our forces drove the enemy back a considerable distance. The enemy claim a drawn battle, but they clearly suffered a defeat since they were the attacking party and were repulsed at every point.

 

Potomac

 

Source:

Letter from Potomac, 18th Georgia Infantry, Southern Confederacy (Georgia), October 11, 1862, pg. 2

Comments

Post a Comment

Most Popular Posts

Arming the Buckeyes: Longarms of the Ohio Infantry Regiments

Image
     A common question that comes up in conversation about Civil War Buckeye regiments is "What were they armed with?" We are fortunate in that the state of Ohio kept good records of how the regiments were armed when they went into service, this being especially true for those regiments which went into service in 1861 and 1862. The state adjutant general's reports for 1861 and 1862 have been heavily drawn upon to construct this article, as well as consultation with Phil Spaugy who has done extensive research on how Ohio's troops were armed during the war.      Buckeyes carried a fairly wide variety of weapons into the field, and the below article breaks this down into weapons of both domestic manufacture and imported arms. The early days of the war found the state of Ohio practically bereft of longarms; as an example, when the 1st and 2nd Ohio Volunteer Militia left the state in late April 1861, they left unarmed, being armed at Lancaster, Pennsylvania on their way to
Read more

Dressing the Rebels: How to Dye Butternut Jeans Cloth

Image
     In the early days of the Civil War,  the Southern states found themselves with an abundance of cotton but a shortage of cloth with which to make army uniforms. The trade in cloth prior to the war had largely been to send raw cotton or wool north to New England (or Great Britain) where it was converted into usable cloth; but now that trade was broken and the Southern states were thrown upon their own resources in their efforts to properly clothe the Confederate army.  This collection of Confederate enlisted men's frock coats and shell jackets gives some indication of the variety of shades of butternut worn during the war. All of them are shades of yellow brown, some heavier on the yellow and some heavier on the brown. The blue used around the collar or as rank insignia indicates that the soldier was in the infantry. Surviving Confederate uniforms are considered rather rare and command quite a healthy price in the collecting market. For an in-depth study of how Confederate jacke
Read more

Bullets for the Union: Manufacturing Small Arms Ammunition During the Civil War

Image
       Civil War bullets are perhaps the most common item collected from the era; the two armies expended bullets by the millions during the four years’ conflict and spent or deformed bullets of all shapes and sizes have made fascinating and affordable collectibles since the guns went silent in 1865.       I recently acquired a display piece featuring 35 different types of small arms ammunition used during the Civil War, including everything from a small .28 caliber ball up to a .69 caliber three-ring Minie and it triggered some questions: how did the Federal army obtain its small arms ammunition during the war? Where did the lead come from to make the bullets, and where and how was the ammunition manufactured? This post seeks to answer those questions. A typical .58 caliber 3-ring Minie bullet   “Whenever the blasts of war blow in the ears of men who trade in the implements of destruction, they are apt to experience more joy than the true warrior, for then comes the harvest of gain.
Read more

The Cannons are Now Silent: The Field of Death of Tupelo

Image
       The smoke of battle had drifted away from the battlefield at Tupelo, Mississippi on the hot afternoon of July 14, 1864, but the carnage of war lay spread across the open fields. “Scattered at intervals over the field of a few yards are dull gray blotches half shaded by grass,” an officer from the 7 th Minnesota Infantry recorded. “These are the Rebel dead. They have fought their last battle and lie generally in attitudes of rest; some of them look as if they had welcomed death. On the faces of two is imprinted a smile. One is a boy of 16 with delicate features, almost girlish in their beauty. His last gaze seems to have been directed toward his hand on the forefinger of which was a ring. A circle of purer white indicates its place; the ring was carried off as a trophy of the field.” The following account of the Battles of Tupelo and Old Town Creek was written by an unknown officer of the 7 th Minnesota Infantry, his account appearing in the August 5 th 1864 edition of the
Read more

The Vaunted Enfield Rifle Musket

Image
     The English-made Model 1853 .577 caliber Enfield Rifle Musket was widely regarded as the best infantry arm in the world at the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861. Favorable international press describing its efficiency in the Crimean War and in suppressing the Indian rebellion led to the widespread desire of American infantrymen (both Federal and Confederate) to be armed with these accurate and well-made arms. The lock plate of this well-worn P1853 Enfield rifle musket produced in 1862 shows the typical markings of a British-made weapon that made it through the Federal blockade.  ( Army of Tennessee Relics ) Enfield-pattern weapons were imported into the states by the tens and hundreds of thousands during the war years; one estimate stated that the Federal government purchased 500,000 while the Confederates purchased another 400,000. The Confederate government dispatched Captain Caleb Huse to Europe in April 1861 to purchase weapons and Huse focused on securing all the Enfi
Read more

Straw Already Threshed: Sherman on Shiloh

Image
  W illiam Tecumseh Sherman was enjoying retired life in New York City when just before Christmas in 1889 he was presented with an article written by John Cockerill, a former drummer boy in the 24 th Ohio who was visiting his father Colonel Joseph Cockerill of the 70 th Ohio of Sherman’s division when the Battle of Shiloh began. Cockerill’s article, originally published in the New York Journalist and later featured in the January 1893 issue of Blue & Gray Magazine, Sherman later pronounced as “the best war story ever written” and the truest account of Shiloh.           On New Year’s Day 1890, General Sherman composed the following letter to his friend Marshall P. Wilder thanking him for sending along Cockerill’s article and giving his own explanation of Shiloh. “This to me is straw already threshed for we have fought this battle on paper several times, a much more agreeable task than to fight with bullets,” he concluded. “When in England some years ago I was gratified to liste
Read more

Federal Arms in the Stones River Campaign

Image
  T he following list, constructed after many years of research, lists unit by unit which type of weapons were carried by the Army of the Cumberland during the Stones River campaign. A number of sources were consulted including state ordnance reports, Federal quarterly ordnance reports (thank you Research Arsenal ), Ken Baumann’s Arming the Suckers, regimental histories and memoirs, captured ordnance reports, and consultation with knowledgeable experts in the field of firearms. Some of this information has been shared on the blog before in “ Rosy’s Heavy Metal: Artillery of the Army of the Cumberland ” or “ Shoulder Arms: How Sheridan’s and Davis’s Divisions Were Armed at Stones River ” but this is the first time the army as a whole has been presented. The overall conclusion I drew from looking at this data is that the Army of the Cumberland in December 1862 was an organization in the midst of transformation as far as arms. Many of the regiments still retained their original issue
Read more

Escape of Captain Henry H. Alban of the 21st Ohio Infantry

Image
Captain Henry H. Alban was among the dozen officers of the 21 st Ohio Volunteer Infantry who were captured on September 20, 1863 at the Battle of Chickamauga. The regiment had held its position atop Snodgrass Hill against repeated Confederate assaults and now battered and without ammunition, with the darkness of evening enveloping the hill, the remainder of that gallant band found themselves at the mercy of the 54 th Virginia. A total of 12 officers and 121 enlisted men surrendered; the regiment’s colors were taken, and the men marched off the field into captivity. Captain Henry Harvey Alban, Co. F, 21st O.V.I. Captain Alban along with the rest went through a series of Confederate prison camps before arriving at Columbia, South Carolina in October 1864. Determined to make an escape, he watched for his chance and one night made his leap for freedom, successfully eluding the local camp guard and setting out along the railroad to head for the mountains of eastern Tennessee and
Read more

Knapsack Compression: Wilbur Hinman recalls the first step of becoming a veteran

Image
L ooking back on his experiences during the war, Captain Wilbur Hinman of the 65 th Ohio (perhaps best known as the author of Si Klegg and His Pard ) recalled that the first road along which his regiment marched was strewn “with debris. A pair of six-mule wagonloads might have been gathered of notions that had been flung aside by a thousand suffering “tenderfeet.” “The average young patriot started for the war with a wheelbarrow load of clothing, a bed quilt or two, books, photograph albums, toilet articles, and gimcracks of every sort,” he wrote. “Neither he nor the good homefolks had the slightest conception of the capacity of a knapsack, nor did they for a moment imagine that before the close of his first day upon the road every pound he carried would seem a hundred.” To the true mark of a veteran soldier was one who “learned to dispense with every unnecessary ounce of weight, and just in the ratio that he did this he increased his efficiency as a soldier. It was of the highest
Read more

Federal Arms in the Chickamauga Campaign

Image
T he ordnance returns of the Army of the Cumberland at the end of September 1863 show the results of a transformational year in weaponry. Since taking command of the army at the end of October 1862, General William S. Rosecrans had repeatedly pestered the War Department to supply his regiments with better firearms both to improve the command’s efficiency as well as expand its striking power. The results speak for themselves: for the infantrymen at the end of September 1863, 90% of them now carried Class I long arms (36,058 out of 39,959), 8.3% carried Class II arms, and a mere 1.5% carried Class III weapons. Most of the foreign-made weapons (except Enfields) were gone, and by and large the army had settled on a single common .58 caliber ammunition, although a few .54 caliber and .69 caliber weapons remained within the ranks. The English-made Enfield rifle musket was by far the most common arm, carried by 56% of the men while the second-most common arm was the .58 caliber M1861 Spring
Read more