Co. Aytch, or a Side Show of the Big Show

by Sam Watkins

  5. Union General Grant had finally placed the Confederate fortress at Vicksburg, Mississippi, under a siege in 1863. It lasted from May 19 to July 4. During that period, the Vicksburg garrison was surrounded and could get few supplies from outside.

  6. This is a biblical reference to Genesis 22:8.

  7. During the war, armies that were low on supplies would often “forage” by simply taking whatever they could find that was useful from nearby residents. Sometimes they paid for what they took, sometimes not. If not paid, or paid in currency of little value, the practice amounted to government-sanctioned theft.

  8. The Latin phrase means “word for word,” but Watkins is actually satirizing the sermon.

  9. Presumably, Sam intends for “presentment” to mean “premonition.”

  10. This is a biblical reference to Matthew 10:29–31.

  11. Fought on Saturday and Sunday, September 19 and 20, 1863, Chickamauga was the biggest battle in the western theater. Confederate General Bragg commanded sixty-two thousand troops, while Union General Rosecrans had sixty-five thousand. Bragg was reinforced with soldiers from Robert E. Lee's army, which was defeated at Gettysburg only two months earlier. Lieutenant General James Longstreet's entire corps was transported by railroad from Virginia to north Georgia.

  12. This is a biblical reference to Mark 7:37.

  NINE

  CHICKAMAUGA

  BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA

  Sunday morning of that September day, the sun rose over the eastern hills clear and beautiful. The day itself seemed to have a Sabbath-day look about it. The battlefield was in a rough and broken country, with trees and undergrowth that ever since the creation had never been disturbed by the ax of civilized man. It looked wild, weird, uncivilized.

  Our corps (Polk's), being in the engagement the day before, were held in reserve.1 Reader, were you ever held in reserve of an attacking army? To see couriers dashing backward and forward; to hear the orders given to the brigades, regiments and companies; to see them forward in line of battle, the battle-flags waving; to hear their charge, and then to hear the shock of battle, the shot and shell all the while sizzing, and zipping, and thudding, and screaming, and roaring, and bursting, and passing right over your heads; to see the litter corps bringing back the wounded continually, and hear them tell how their command was being cut to pieces, and that every man in a certain regiment was killed, and to see a cowardly colonel (as we saw on this occasion—he belonged to Longstreet's corps) come dashing back looking the very picture of terror and fear, exclaiming, “O, men, men, for God's sake go forward and help my men! They are being cut all to pieces! We can't hold our position. O, for God's sake, please go and help my command!”

  To hear some of our boys ask, “What regiment is that? What regiment is that?” He replies, such and such regiment. And then to hear some fellow ask, “Why ain't you with them, then, you cowardly puppy? Take off that coat and those chicken guts; coo, sheep; baa, baa, black sheep; flicker, flicker; ain't you ashamed of yourself? flicker, flicker; I've got a notion to take my gun and kill him,” etc. Every word of this is true; it actually happened. But all that could demoralize, and I may say intimidate a soldier, was being enacted, and he not allowed to participate. How we were moved from one position to another, but always under fire; our nerves strung to their utmost tension, listening to the roar of battle in our immediate front, to hear it rage and then get dimmer until it seems to die out entirely; then all at once it breaks out again, and you think now in a very few minutes you will be ordered into action, and then all at once we go double-quicking to another portion of the field, the battle raging back from the position we had left.

  General Leonidas Polk rides up and happening to stop in our front, some of the boys halloo out, “Say, General, what command is that which is engaged now?” The general kindly answers, “That is Longstreet's corps. He is driving them this way, and we will drive them that way, and crush them between the ‘upper and nether millstone.’” Turning to General Cheatham, he said, “General, move your division and attack at once.” Everything is at once set in motion, and General Cheatham, to give the boys a good send-off, says, “Forward, boys, and give ’em h—l.” General Polk also says a good word, and that word was, “Do as General Cheatham says, boys.” (You know he was a preacher and couldn't curse.)

  After marching in solid line, see-sawing, right obliqueing, left obliqueing, guide center and close up; commence firing—fire at will; charge and take their breastworks; our pent-up nervousness and demoralization of all day is suddenly gone. We raise one long, loud, cheering shout and charge right upon their breastworks. They are pouring their deadly missiles into our advancing ranks from under their head-logs. We do not stop to look around to see who is killed and wounded, but press right up their breastworks, and plant our battle-flag upon it. They waver and break and run in every direction, when General John C. Breckinridge's division, which had been supporting us, march up and pass us in full pursuit of the routed and flying Federal army.2

  AFTER THE BATTLE

  We remained upon the battlefield of Chickamauga all night. Everything had fallen into our hands. We had captured a great many prisoners and small arms, and many pieces of artillery and wagons and provisions. The Confederate and Federal dead, wounded, and dying were everywhere scattered over the battlefield. Men were lying where they fell, shot in every conceivable part of the body. Some with their entrails torn out and still hanging to them and piled up on the ground beside them, and they still alive. Some with their under jaw torn off, and hanging by a fragment of skin to their cheeks, with their tongues lolling from their mouth, and they trying to talk. Some with both eyes shot out, with one eye hanging down on their cheek. In fact, you might walk over the battlefield and find men shot from the crown of the head to the tip end of the toe. And then to see all those dead, wounded and dying horses, their heads and tails drooping, and they seeming to be so intelligent as if they comprehended everything. I felt like shedding a tear for those innocent dumb brutes.

  Reader, a battlefield, after the battle, is a sad and sorrowful sight to look at. The glory of war is but the glory of battle, the shouts, and cheers, and victory.

  A soldier's life is not a pleasant one. It is always, at best, one of privations and hardships. The emotions of patriotism and pleasure hardly counterbalance the toil and suffering that he has to undergo in order to enjoy his patriotism and pleasure. Dying on the field of battle and glory is about the easiest duty a soldier has to undergo. It is the living, marching, fighting, shooting soldier that has the hardships of war to carry. When a brave soldier is killed he is at rest. The living soldier knows not at what moment he, too, may be called on to lay down his life on the altar of his country. The dead are heroes, the living are but men compelled to do the drudgery and suffer the privations incident to the thing called “glorious war.”

  A NIGHT AMONG THE DEAD

  We rested on our arms where the battle ceased. All around us everywhere were the dead and wounded, lying scattered over the ground, and in many places piled in heaps. Many a sad and heartrending scene did I witness upon this battlefield of Chickamauga. Our men died the death of heroes. I sometimes think that surely our brave men have not died in vain. It is true, our cause is lost, but a people who loved those brave and noble heroes should ever cherish their memory as men who died for them. I shed a tear over their memory. They gave their all to their country. Abler pens than mine must write their epitaphs, and tell of their glories and heroism. I am but a poor writer, at best, and only try to tell of events that I saw.

  One scene I now remember, that I can imperfectly relate. While a detail of us were passing over the field of death and blood, with a dim lantern, looking for our wounded soldiers to carry to the hospital, we came across a group of ladies, looking among the killed and wounded for their relatives, when I heard one of the ladies say, “There they come wit their lanterns.”

  I approached the ladies and asked them for whom they were looking. They t
old me the name, but I have forgotten it. We passed on, and coming to a pile of our slain, we had turned over several of our dead, when one of the ladies screamed out, “O, there he is! Poor fellow! Dead, dead, dead!” She ran to the pile of slain and raised the dead man's head and placed it on her lap and began kissing him and saying, “O, O, they have killed my darling, my darling, my darling! O, mother, mother, what must I do! My poor, poor darling! O, they have killed him, they have killed him!” I could witness the scene no longer. I turned and walked away, and William A. Hughes was crying, and remarked, “O, law me; this war is a terrible thing.” We left them and began again hunting for our wounded. All through that long September night we continued to carry off our wounded, and when the morning sun arose over the eastern hills, the order came to march to Missionary Ridge.

  * * *

  1. General Leonidas Polk was a West Point graduate, a friend of President Jefferson Davis's, and an Episcopal bishop. He would be killed with a well-aimed cannon shot within a year.

  At the end of the first day of fighting (Saturday night), Bragg announced in conference that he wanted Confederate attacks at the north end of the Union line renewed at dawn on Sunday morning. The chief object was to cut off a federal retreat path to Chattanooga. General Polk commanded the right wing of the west-facing Confederate army and was therefore responsible for triggering the effort. Yet Polk went to sleep Saturday night without informing key subordinates of Bragg's plan. It was merely one of a long list of Polk blunders during the war. Consequently, the attacks didn't get rolling until 9:30 a.m.

  Owing to Polk's negligence, many Confederate units were out of position because they were not told about the planned dawn attack. Cheatham's division was among the ill-placed units blocking the way of others that were ready. As a result, Cheatham's division—along with Watkins—was simply moved to the rear where it would be out of the way. Watkins mistakenly assumed they were put in reserve because of their bloody contributions the previous day. In reality, they were supposed to be a part of the assault but were improperly positioned to participate.

  2. Late on Sunday, Cheatham's division was finally called into action. It joined the assault on Union General George Thomas, who earned the moniker “the Rock of Chickamauga” by standing firm while the rest of the federal army collapsed. Nonetheless, Thomas was outnumbered, and by day's end his troops were forced to retreat into Chattanooga, as illustrated in the map above.

  TEN

  MISSIONARY RIDGE

  AFTER RETREATING FROM CHICKAMAUGA, the Yankees attempted to re-form their broken lines on Missionary Ridge. We advanced to attack them, but they soon fell back to Chattanooga. We knew they were in an impregnable position. We had built those breastworks and forts, and knew whereof we spoke. We stopped on Missionary Ridge, and gnashed our teeth at Chattanooga. I do not know what our generals thought; I do not know what the authorities at Richmond thought, but I can tell you what the privates thought. But here we were on Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain, looking right down into Chattanooga. We had but to watch and wait. We would starve them out.1

  The Federal army had accomplished their purpose. They wanted Chattanooga. They laughed at our triumph, and mocked at our victory. They got Chattanooga. “Now, where are you, Johnny Reb? What are you going to do about it? You've got the dry grins, aren't you? We've got the key; when the proper time comes we'll unlock your doors and go in. You are going to starve us out, eh? We are not very hungry at present, and we don't want any more pie. When we starve out we'll call on you for rations, but at present we are not starving, by a jug full; but if you want any whisky or tobacco, send over and we'll give you some. We've got all we wanted, and assure you we are satisfied.”

  The above remarks are the supposed colloquy that took place between the two armies. Bragg, in trying to starve the Yankees out, was starved out himself. Ask any old Rebel as to our bill of fare at Missionary Ridge.

  In all the history of the war, I cannot remember of more privations and hardships than we went through at Missionary Ridge.2 And when in the very acme of our privations and hunger, when the army was most dissatisfied and unhappy, we were ordered into line of battle to be reviewed by Honorable Jefferson Davis. When he passed by us, with his great retinue of staff officers and play-outs at full gallop, cheers greeted them, with the words, “Send us something to eat, Massa Jeff. Give us something to eat, Massa Jeff. I'm hungry! I'm hungry!”3

  SERGEANT TUCKER AND GENERAL WILDER

  At this place the Yankee outpost was on one side of the Tennessee River, and ours on the other. I was on the detail one Sunday commanded by Sergeant John T. Tucker. When we were approaching we heard the old guard and the Yankee picket talking back and forth across the river. The new guard immediately resumed the conversation. We had to halloo at the top of our voices, the river being about three hundred yards wide at this point. But there was a little island about the middle of the river. A Yankee hallooed out, “O, Johnny, Johnny, meet me half way in the river on the island.” “All right,” said Sergeant Tucker, who immediately undressed all but his hat, in which he carried the Chattanooga Rebel and some other Southern newspapers, and swam across to the island. When he got there the Yankee was there, but the Yankee had waded.

  I do not know what he and John talked about, but they got very friendly, and John invited him to come clear across to our side, which invitation he accepted. I noticed at the time that while John swam, the Yankee waded, remarking that he couldn't swim. The river was but little over waist deep. Well, they came across and we swapped a few lies, canteens and tobacco, and then the Yankee went back, wading all the way across the stream. That man was General Wilder, commanding the Federal cavalry, and at the battle of Missionary Ridge he threw his whole division of cavalry across the Tennessee River at that point, thus flanking Bragg's army, and opening the battle. He was examining the ford, and the swapping business was but a mere by-play. He played it sharp, and Bragg had to get further.4

  MOCCASIN POINT

  Maney's brigade fortified on top of Lookout Mountain.5 From this position we could see five states. The Yankees had built a fort across the river, on Moccasin Point, and were throwing shells at us continually. I have never seen such accurate shooting in my life. It was upon the principle of shooting a squirrel out of a tree, and they had become so perfect in their aim, that I believe they could have killed a squirrel a mile off. We could have killed a great many artillery men if we had been allowed to shoot, but no private soldier was ever allowed to shoot a gun on his own hook. If he shot at all, it must by the order of an officer, for if just one cartridge was shot away or lost, the private was charged twenty-five cents for it, and had to do extra duty, and I don't think our artillery was ever allowed to fire a single shot under any circumstances.

  Our rations were cooked up by a special detail ten miles in the rear, and were sent to us every three days, and then those three days' rations were generally eaten up at one meal, and the private soldier had to starve the other two days and a half. Never in all my whole life do I remember of ever experiencing so much oppression and humiliation. The soldiers were starved and almost naked, and covered all over with lice and camp itch and filth and dirt. The men looked sick, hollow-eyed, and heart-broken, living principally upon parched corn, which had been picked out of the mud and dirt under the feet of officers' horses. We thought of nothing but starvation.

  The battle of Missionary Ridge was opened from Moccasin Point, while we were on Lookout Mountain, but I knew nothing of the movements or maneuvers of either army, and only tell what part I took in the battle.6

  BATTLE OF MISSIONARY RIDGE

  One morning Theodore Sloan, Hog Johnson and I were standing picket at the little stream that runs along at the foot of Lookout Mountain. In fact, I would be pleased to name our captain, Fulcher, and Lieutenant Lansdown, of the guard on this occasion, because we acted as picket for the whole three days' engagement without being relieved, and haven't been relieved yet. But that battle has gone into history
. We heard a Yankee call, “O, Johnny, Johnny Reb!” I started out to meet him as formerly, when he hallooed out, “Go back, Johnny, go back; we are ordered to fire on you.” “What is the matter? Is your army going to advance on us?” “I don't know; we are ordered to fire.” I jumped back into the picket post, and a minnie ball ruined the only hat I had; another and another followed in quick succession, and the dirt flew up in our faces off our little breastworks. Before night the picket line was engaged from one end to the other.

  If you had only heard it, dear reader. It went like ten thousand wood-choppers, and an occasional boom of cannon would remind you of a tree falling. We could hear colonels giving commands to their regiments, and could see very plainly the commotion and hubbub, but what was up, we were unable to tell. The picket line kept moving to our right. The second night found us near the tunnel, and right where two railroads cross each other, or rather one runs over the other high enough or the cars to pass under. We could see all over Chattanooga, and it looked like myriads of blue coats swarming.7

  Day's8 and Manigault's brigades got into a night attack at the foot of Lookout Mountain. I could see the whole of it. It looked like lightning bugs on a dark night. But about midnight everything quieted down.9 Theodore Sloan, Hog Johnson and I occupied an old log cabin as vidette. We had not slept any for two nights, and were very drowsy, I assure you, but we knew there was something up, and we had to keep awake.

  The next morning, nearly day, I think I had dropped off into a pleasant doze, and was dreaming of more pretty things than you ever saw in your life, when Johnson touched me and whispered, “Look, look, there are three Yankees; must I shoot?” I whispered back “Yes.” A bang; “a waugh” went a shriek. He had got one, sure. Everything got quiet again, and we heard nothing more for an hour. Johnson touched me again and whispered, “Yonder they come again; look, look!” I could not see them; was too sleepy for that. Sloan could not see them, either. Johnson pulled down, and another unearthly squall rended the night air. The streaks of day had begun to glimmer over Missionary Ridge, and I could see in the dim twilight the Yankee guard not fifty yards off. Said I, “Boys, let's fire into them and run.” We took deliberate aim and fired. At that they raised, I thought, a mighty sickly sort of yell and charged the house. We ran out, but waited on the outside.