Who Really Captured the Flag of the Clark County Farmers? A Tale of Hatchie Bridge

In the aftermath of the Battle of Hatchie Bridge in October 1862, Captain William H. Bolton commanding Battery L of the 2nd Illinois Light Artillery was presented with the flag of the Clark County Farmers, Co. D of the 7th Battalion Mississippi Infantry, by the order of his divisional commander General Stephen Hurlbut. Captain Bolton proudly sent the flag back to Chicago for presentation to the city little knowing that a fellow Illinois captain would hotly dispute his battery’s claim to the flag. The story, convoluted as it may be, requires a touch of explanation.

         


On October 5, 1862, Hurlbut’s division of Rosecrans army, fresh from their hard-fought victory at the Battle of Corinth, was in hot pursuit of the Confederate army under the command of Generals Sterling Price and Earl Van Dorn. A clash developed at Hatchie Bridge that morning with the Federals pushing along State Line Road, eventually compelling the Confederates to retreat to their second position on the eastern bank of Hatchie River.

Bolton’s Battery (see previous post "A Scene Awful and Sublime") joined in the Federal pursuit and took position on the far left of the Union line. “Here was as hot a place as one need be in for the enemy’s batteries were on a hill and had good range on us, the grape falling like hail,” First Lieutenant Edward James wrote. “He had two batteries playing on us and I can assure you that the shot and shell flew thick and fast.” The 7th Ohio, 15th Ohio, and 1st Missouri batteries extended the gun line to the south by deploying on the right flank of Bolton. 

But in their front, a Confederate brigade had formed and was advancing to attack. “Sergeant Dunlap of my first piece sung out, ‘Here they come’ and sure enough there was a whole brigade charging upon two Ohio batteries which were about a quarter of a mile to our left. But they reckoned without their hose for as we opened on them with a terrible shower of canister, they dropped their two stands of colors on the field and left and this ended the fight. As we were the only ones that fired a shot at this brigade, we are to have the colors that were left on the field,” Lieutenant James continued.

          That Bolton’s Battery was hotly engaged at Hatchie Bridge is beyond dispute. Captain Silas Burnap, commanding the 7th Ohio Battery, reported that his four-gun battery was ordered into position on the right of Bolton “which was stoutly contending for the position it then held. Burnap ordered his first section to open fire upon a Confederate battery in the road while his second section he moved to the far right of the line where “it paid our special respects to the enemy’s infantry which seemed to be moving on the direction of our right flank. In this position my command was briskly engaged for about three quarters of an hour.”

Capt. William H. Bolton
Battery L, 2nd Illinois Lt. Art. 

          Captain William H. Bolton wrote in his official report of the action that he saw the Rebel infantry charging Burnap’s battery. “Discovering this movement, I ordered my pieces to open with canister upon them. After a few rounds, they left precipitately, leaving their colors on the ground. As neither infantry nor artillery assisted in repulsing this charge, I would most respectfully ask the stand of colors should be awarded as a trophy to my command.”

General Hurlbut evidently agreed with Captain Bolton and ordered that Captain Alfred C. Campbell of the 32nd Illinois turn over the colors his men had retrieved from the field, evidently believing they were the ones brought down by Bolton’s guns. Captain Campbell obeyed, believed the colors were being collected from all commands to be sent to the War Department.

On October 12 at Bolivar, Tennessee, General Hurlbut gathered all the artillery of his divisions and formed them into a hollow square for the presentation ceremony. After Hurlbut gave the colors over to Captain Bolton, the general passed along his thanks “for the honor done them in presenting these colors and they were more acceptable as they were won unassisted by either artillery or infantry which demonstrated the material of the Chicago battery.”

The flag in question originally belonged to Co. D of the 7th Battalion, Mississippi Infantry. It was described as “six feet long and four feet wide, made of red merino with a blue silk field. There are four stars upon it, one in each corner of the field. The inscription across the center reads ‘Clark County Farmers’ which is the name of the company from which it was captured,” the Chicago Tribune noted. Coroner James, father of Lieutenant Edward James, presented the colors to City Council on November 20, 1862, who gratefully accepted them and had inscribed upon them who captured them, meaning Captain Bolton and his battery.

Upon reading these proceedings in the Tribune, Captain Campbell of the 32nd Illinois cried foul. He claimed that a corporal in his company was the one who actually carried the colors from the field. “Corporal Anderson Reaughr spied a knapsack lying on the ground which he opened and upon examining the contents, found inside one leg of a pair of drawers a flag on which was inscribed ‘Clark County Farmers,’ he observed. “This flag he handed to Lieutenant John P. Campbell by whom it was retained until we reached Bolivar when it was given up very reluctantly on an order from Major General Hurlbut.”

Capt. Alfred C. Campbell
Co. E, 32nd Illinois Infantry

Campbell claimed that Bolton truly had no claim on the flag and disputed Bolton’s claim that he had seen these colors on the field, claiming the colors were found furled, i.e. not open to the breeze. “The fact of its being found between the battery and the river, exactly the opposite direction from the way the enemy fled when they left the battery and the fact of its being found in a knapsack is conclusive evidence that Bolton does not deserve the honor, if there was any, of taking that flag,” Campbell argued.

          Captain Campbell’s protest elicited a rejoinder in the form of a letter from Major C.C. Campbell, the chief of artillery on Hurlbut’s staff, who disputed the captain’s claim. “I commanded all the artillery at the battle of the Hatchie. I saw this flag with my field glass unfurled and borne aloft amidst three columns of infantry advancing to take Spears’ battery I read the inscription ‘Clark County Farmers.’ Immediately after giving my orders, I saw that flag stricken down by a shot fired by Lieutenant E.A. James of Bolton’s battery who at the same time poured such an incessant charge of grape and canister on the advancing foe that they were driven from the field, leaving their colors behind them.”

          “After the battle, Captain Bolton and other members of the battery went to pick up the captured flag but could not find it. Afterwards it was ascertained to be in the possession of Co. E, 32nd Illinois. This fact was made known to General Hurlbut and he being acquainted with the facts above stated, immediately ordered the flag to be delivered up and he presented it to Bolton’s Chicago Battery. I was also present when the flag was presented to Bolton’s battery by General Hurlbut as a token of their bravery. All the officers and men of the artillery and many of the officers of the infantry were at the presentation and no claim to the flag was made by Captain Campbell or anyone else,” Major Campbell stated.

          So, who really captured the flag of the Clark County Farmers? Did Bolton’s Battery bring the colors down on the battlefield as they claimed, or were they discovered furled up in the leg of a pair of drawers in a knapsack as Captain Campbell claimed? Did Corporal Reaughr actually pick them up from the field and make up the story that he found them in a knapsack in a ploy to keep the colors himself, or at least with his regiment? And where are the colors of the Clark County Farmers today? The last newspaper mention I could find showed that they were featured at the Northwestern Sanitary Fair in November 1863. And now they are apparently lost to history…as is the truth of who rightly could claim to have captured them at Hatchie Bridge on October 5, 1862.  

Sources:

Letter from Captain William H. Bolton, Battery L, 2nd Illinois Light Artillery, Chicago Tribune (Illinois), October 16, 1862, pg. 4

Letter from First Lieutenant Edward James, Battery L, 2nd Illinois Light Artillery, Chicago Tribune (Illinois), October 14, 1862, pg. 4

Letter from Captain Silas Burnap, 7th Ohio Battery, Pomeroy Weekly Telegraph (Ohio), October 31, 1862, pg. 2

Letter from Captain Alfred C. Campbell, Co. E, 32nd Illinois Volunteer Infantry, Chicago Tribune (Illinois), December 4, 1862, pg. 4

“Presentation of a Rebel Flag to Bolton’s Chicago Battery,” Chicago Tribune (Illinois), October 22, 1862, pg. 3

“Flag Presentation to the City by Bolton’s Battery,” Chicago Tribune (Illinois), November 21, 1862, pg. 4

“Flag Captured by Bolton’s Battery, Chicago Tribune (Illinois), December 23, 1862, pg. 4


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