Marching to Georgia Southern Style

After a 430-mile, 24-day march from Tupelo, Mississippi to Chattanooga, Tennessee in the summer of 1862, Mississippi artillerist Benjamin W.L. “Leigh” Butt waxed eloquently on the beauty of the southern landscapes through which he passed. But Chattanooga and specifically Lookout Mountain topped them all.

          “Here the scenery which presented itself to view was magnificent and sublime,” he wrote after climbing to the summit. “We were seated apparently in the center of an enormous circle rimmed with ranges of lofty hills, rising one above another until they blend with the distant horizon. Down below us was the scattered town of Chattanooga and at our feet flowed the Tennessee, making its way through the far-off mountains like the windings of a gigantic, glistening serpent.”

The Mississippian appreciated Chattanooga’s historic importance. “In after days, this spot and its vicinity will be visited as classic ground. Already these mountains have re-echoed the booming of hostile cannon. The Yankees some weeks since unceremoniously bombarded Chattanooga, frightening the old ladies and children almost out of their wits,” he stated. “Our army is now on the move and soon you may expect to hear of grand events in this part of Tennessee. Everything now bids fair for our success and by the aid of a just and righteous God we expect soon to put an end to Yankee dominion in this fair portion of Dixie’s land.” He was right; within days, General Braxton Bragg would set his army in motion destined for the bluegrass region of Kentucky. The western Confederacy was taking the war to the North.

          Corporal Butt’s letter describing the overland march of Bragg’s artillery batteries and wagon trains first saw publication in the August 26, 1862, edition of the Memphis Daily Appeal. The newspaper was then being published from Grenada, Mississippi as the Federal occupation of Memphis in June 1862 forced editors John R. McClanahan and Benjamin F. Dill out of town.

 

This Confederate artilleryman wears a secession badge upon his chest. Confederate jackets often used the traditional U.S. Army branch of service colors on the collar: red for artillery, yellow for cavalry, and blue for infantry. (Liljenquist Collection)

Chattanooga, Tennessee

August 18, 1862

          The artillery of our division (Cheatham’s) has just completed its long march from Tupelo to this place, the last of the trains arriving here on the 16th instant. In the course of 24 days, we traveled 430 miles. Our horses held out much better than we expected as we lost but few on the road. Though the head and dust were often intense and oppressive, and the journey toilsome, yet the boys have had fine health and high spirits and today the health of Stanford’s battery is better than it has been since its members bade adieu to their peaceful homes.

          There were three other batteries of our division along with us, the remaining one having been sent around by rail. The presence of dozens of cannons with their caissons and the wagons of multiple brigades made a long train, one well calculated to make an impression upon the honest country people along the route. At every house along the road where our approach had been heralded, flocks of old folks, children, and maidens were assembled to wonder and admire and the invariable question to this in front was “Mister, how far is the artillery behind?”

While Braxton Bragg sent his infantry via railroads to Chattanooga, his wagon train and artillery batteries had to hoof it. It proved to be a 430-mile march that took 24 days to complete. Once the train reached Rome, Georgia, they turned north and proceeded by rail into Chattanooga, all of them arriving by August 16, 1862. By that time, General Edmund Kirby Smith had already started on his march into Kentucky and Bragg would soon follow with the bulk of his Army of Mississippi.  


          In our march we passed through Aberdeen and Columbus, Mississippi, Tuscaloosa, Montevallo, Shelby Springs, Talladega, and Jacksonville in Alabama, Cave Springs and Rome in Georgia. From the latter place we proceeded direct to Chattanooga so your readers can have some idea from the above of the roundabout way we came to this place.

          The country through which we passed, after leaving the prairies of Mississippi, was very poor, mostly covered with rocks and very hilly, and the crops were generally light, being even shorter than common in consequence of the extreme drouth. But a better watered country I have never seen. Cool wells and springs and brooks of crystal clearness were abundant. Many of these springs are nothing less than bold creeks bursting forth from the rocky hillsides. Cave Spring, Georgia was one of the most delightful places along our route. It derives its name from a large cave near it containing a magnificent spring of icy coldness. This cave, like many others in the vicinity, affords large quantities of saltpeter, and the works near it are already turning out from 75-100 pounds per diem. We passed many factories showing that our people are alive to the great work before them and that the immense resources of our own sunny South are being rapidly developed.

          But let me not forget to mention the invariable kindness and hospitality of the good citizens along the way. We had plenty of fruit, milk, honey, vegetables, chickens, etc. either given to us or sold at reasonable rates. At nearly every place we camped, we were visited by the citizens, especially the ladies. The boys were frequently invited to dinner or supper and in one or two instances a public dinner was given to all the soldiers present. All these things were calculated to make us hopeful, cheerful, and more than ever determined to fight to the bitter end for a people characterized by such patriotic devotion to the cause of freedom and independence.

"At every place we camped, we were visited by the citizens, especially the ladies," Leigh remembered. "All these things were calculated to make us hopeful, cheerful, and more than ever determined to fight to the bitter end for a people characterized by such patriotic devotion to the cause of freedom and independence." 

          On the day after our arrival in Chattanooga, I obtained a pass from the provost marshal for myself and five others and early the next morning we set out for Lookout Mountain, one of the finest summer resorts in the South. First, we walked down the railroad to the point where it passed between the foot of the mountain and the river. Here the view is truly sublime. On the one hand, the cliff rises abrupt and perpendicular hundreds of feet in the air while on the other just a few feet distant from the mountain’s base rolls the broad and majestic Tennessee. Along this narrow track the iron horse, fearless of danger, dashes along with fearful speed. In the side of the cliff is a long cave winding through the mountain and said to have an outlet in Georgia some 15 miles distant. At its mouth, close by the railroad are saltpeter works furnishing about 100 pounds per day. Near the cave in the riverbank is the blowing spring, an aperture from which a strong current of cold air constantly issues.

          Leaving this interesting spot, we commenced our ascent by a winding path leading us over huge masses of rocks, interspersed with spruce pine and other stunted growth, and conducting us from elevation to elevation until at length, after many resting spells and pauses to “blow,” we reached the summit of the mountain. Here the scenery which presented itself to view was magnificent and sublime. We were seated apparently in the center of an enormous circle rimmed with ranges of lofty hills, rising one above another until they blend with the distant horizon. Towering far above the others was a branch of the Blue Ridge as it appears in the “Old North State.” In another direction may be viewed the hills of Georgia while in the southwest loom up the heights of northern Alabama. Scattered here and there among the distant hills might be seen curls of smoke and tiny white objects indicating the encampments of our army.

          Down below us was the scattered town of Chattanooga and at our feet flowed the Tennessee, making its way through the far-off mountains like the windings of a gigantic, glistening serpent. One of these bends together with the green woods that fringe its edges forms a striking imitation of an Indian’s moccasin, hence the name Chattanooga or Moccasin Gap. In after days, this spot and its vicinity will be visited as classic ground. Already these mountains have re-echoed the booming of hostile cannon. The Yankees some weeks since unceremoniously bombarded Chattanooga, frightening the old ladies and children almost out of their wits. After throwing about 300 shells, they were repulsed, having done about $50 worth of damage, the casualties being one “Union” cow killed and one little Negro slightly wounded.

          Our army is now on the move and soon you may expect to hear of grand events in this part of Tennessee. Buell is from 20-40 miles distant, strongly posted in the mountains. His forces are to a great extent demoralized. His soldiers, especially those from east Tennessee and Kentucky, are deserting daily and many of them have been brought to this place. They represent Buell’s men as being badly fed, weakened by disease, and generally dissatisfied. On the other hand, the Army of the Mississippi was never in better health and finer spirits. Everything now bids fair for our success and by the aid of a just and righteous God we expect soon to put an end to Yankee dominion in this fair portion of Dixie’s land.

 

In mere days, Corporal Butt and Stanford’s Battery would march into Kentucky where on October 8, 1862, at the Battle of Perryville they fought their first major engagement. To read Leigh’s description of that fight, click here to see “A Mississippi Gunner at Perryville.”

         

Source:

Letter for Corporal Benjamin Watkins Leigh Butt, Stanford’s Mississippi Battery, Memphis Daily Appeal (Tennessee), August 26, 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