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

by Sam Watkins

  BATTLE OF DALLAS—BRECKINRIDGE CHARGES THE HEIGHTS

  We are ordered to march to Dallas.33

  Reader, somehow the name and character of General John C. Breckinridge charms me.34

  That morning he looked grand and glorious. His infantry, artillery, and cavalry were drawn up in line of battle in our immediate front. He passed along the line, and stopping about the center of the column, said, “Soldiers, we have been selected to go forward and capture yon heights. Do you think we can take them? I will lead the attack.” The men whooped, and the cry, “We can, we can,” was heard from one end of the line to the other. Then, “Forward, guide center, march!” were words re-repeated by colonels and captains. They debouched through the woods, and passed out of sight in a little ravine, when we saw them emerge in an open field and advance right upon the Federal breastworks. It was the grandest spectacle I ever witnessed. We could see the smoke and dust of battle, and hear the shout of the charge, and the roar and rattle of cannon and musketry. But Breckinridge's division continued to press forward, without wavering or hesitating. We can see the line of dead and wounded along the track over which he passed, and finally we see our battle flag planted upon the Federal breastworks. I cannot describe the scene. If you, reader, are an old soldier, you can appreciate my failure to give a pen picture of battle.

  But Breckinridge could not long hold his position. Why we were not ordered forward to follow up his success, I do not know; but remember, reader, I am not writing history. I try only to describe events as I witnessed them. We marched back to the old church on the roadside, called New Hope church, and fortified, occupying the battlefield of the day before. The stench and sickening odor of dead men and horses were terrible. We had to breathe the putrid atmosphere.35

  The next day Colonel W. M. Voorhies' Forty-eighth Tennessee Regiment took position on our right. Now, here were all the Maury county boys got together at New Hope church. I ate dinner with Captain Joe Love, and Frank Frierson filled my haversack with hardtack and bacon.

  BATTLE OF ZION CHURCH, JULY 4,1864

  The 4th day of July, twelve months before, Pemberton had surrendered twenty-five thousand soldiers, two hundred pieces of artillery, and other munitions of war in proportion, at Vicksburg. The Yankees wanted to celebrate the day. They thought it was their lucky day; but old Joe thought he had as much right to celebrate the Sabbath day of American Independence as the Yankees had, and we celebrated it. About dawn, continued boom of cannon reverberated over the hills as if firing a Fourth of July salute.36

  I was standing on top of our works, leveling them off with a spade. A sharpshooter fired at me, but the ball missed me and shot William A. Graham through the heart. He was as noble and brave a soldier as ever drew the breath of life, and lacked but a few votes of being elected captain of Company H, at the reorganization. He was smoking his pipe when he was shot. We started to carry him to the rear, but he remarked, “Boys, it is useless; please lay me down and let me die.” I have never in my life seen any one meet death more philosophically. He was dead in a moment. General A. J. Vaughan, commanding General Preston Smith's brigade, had his foot shot off by a cannon ball a few minutes afterwards.37

  It seemed that both Confederate and Federal armies were celebrating the Fourth of July. I cannot now remember a more severe artillery duel. Two hundred cannon were roaring and belching like blue blazes. It was but a battle of cannonade all day long. It seemed as though the Confederate and Federal cannons were talking to each other. Sometimes a ball passing over would seem to be mad, then again some would seem to be laughing, some would be mild, some sad, some gay, some sorrowful, some rollicking and jolly; and then again some would scream like the ghosts of the dead. In fact, they gave forth every kind of sound that you could imagine. It reminded one of when two storms meet in mid-ocean—the mountain billows of waters coming from two directions, lash against the vessel's side, while the elements are filled with roaring, thundering and lightning. You could almost feel the earth roll and rock like a drunken man, or a ship, when she rides the billows in an awful storm. It seemed that the earth was frequently moved from its foundations, and you could hear it grate as it moved. But all through that storm of battle, every soldier stood firm, for we knew that old Joe was at the helm.

  KINGSTON

  Here General Johnston issued his first battle order that thus far he had gone and intended to go no further.38

  His line of battle was formed; his skirmish line was engaged; the artillery was booming from the Rebel lines. Both sides were now face to face. There were no earthworks on either side. It was to be an open field and a fair fight, when—“Fall back!” What's the matter? I do not know how we got the news, but here is what is told us—and so it was, every position we ever took. When we fell back the news would be, “Hood's line is being enfiladed, and they are decimating his men, and he can't hold his position.” But we fell back and took a position at…

  CASSVILLE

  Our line of battle was formed at Cassville.39

  I never saw our troops happier or more certain of success. A sort of grand halo illumined every soldier's face. You could see self-confidence in the features of every private soldier. We were confident of victory and success. It was like going to a frolic or a wedding. Joy was welling up in every heart. We were going to whip and rout the Yankees. It seemed to be anything else than a fight. The soldiers were jubilant. Gladness was depicted on every countenance. I honestly believe that had a battle been fought at this place, every soldier would have distinguished himself. I believe a sort of fanaticism had entered their souls, that whoever was killed would at once be carried to the seventh heaven. I am sure of one thing, that every soldier had faith enough in old Joe to have charged Sherman's whole army. When “Halt!” “Retreat!” What is the matter? General Hood says they are enfilading his line, and are decimating his men, and he can't hold his position.40

  The same old story repeats itself. Old Joe's army is ever face to face with Sherman's incendiaries. We have faith in old Joe's ability to meet Sherman whenever he dares to attack. The soldiers draw their regular rations. Every time a blue coat comes in sight, there is a dead Yankee to bury. Sherman is getting cautious, his army hacked. Thus we continue to fall back for four months, day by day, for one hundred and ten days, fighting every day and night.

  ON THE BANKS OF THE CHATTAHOOCHEE

  Our army had crossed the Chattahoochee. The Federal army was on the other side; our pickets on the south side, the Yankees on the north side. By a tacit agreement, as had ever been the custom, there was no firing across the stream. That was considered the boundary. It mattered not how large or small the stream, pickets rarely fired at each other. We would stand on each bank, and laugh and talk and brag across the stream.

  One day, while standing on the banks of the Chattahoochee, a Yankee called out:

  “Johnny, O, Johnny, O, Johnny Reb.”

  Johnny answered, “What do you want?”

  “You are whipped, aren't you?”

  “No. The man who says that is a liar, a scoundrel, and a coward.”

  “Well, anyhow, Joe Johnston is relieved of the command.”

  “What?”

  “General Joseph E. Johnston is relieved.”

  “What is that you say?”

  “General Joseph E. Johnston is relieved, and Hood appointed in his place.”

  “You are a liar, and if you will come out and show yourself I will shoot you down in your tracks, you lying Yankee galloot.”

  “That's more than I will stand. If the others will hands off, I will fight a duel with you. Now, show your manhood.”

  Well, reader, every word of this is true, as is everything in this book. Both men loaded their guns and stepped out to their plates. They were both to load and fire at will, until one or both were killed. They took their positions without either trying to get the advantage of the other. Then some one gave the command to “Fire at will; commence firing.” They fired seven shots each; at the seventh shot,
poor Johnny Reb fell a corpse, pierced through the heart.

  REMOVAL OF GENERAL JOSEPH E.JOHNSTON

  Such was the fact. General Joseph E. Johnston had been removed and General J. B. Hood appointed to take command. Generals Hardee and Kirby-Smith, two old veterans, who had been identified with the Army of Tennessee from the beginning, resigned. We had received the intelligence from the Yankees.

  The relief guard confirmed the report.

  All the way from Rocky Face Ridge to Atlanta was a battle of a hundred days, yet Hood's line was all the time enfiladed and his men decimated, and he could not hold his position. Old Joe Johnston had taken command of the Army of Tennessee when it was crushed and broken, at a time when no other man on earth could have united it. He found it in rags and tatters, hungry and heart-broken, the morale of the men gone, their manhood vanished to the winds, their pride a thing of the past. Through his instrumentality and skillful manipulation, all these had been restored. We had been under his command nearly twelve months. He was more popular with his troops day by day. We had made a long and arduous campaign, lasting four months; there was not a single day in that four months that did not find us engaged in battle with the enemy.

  History does not record a single instance of where one of his lines was ever broken—not a single rout. He had not lost a single piece of artillery; he had dealt the enemy heavy blows; he was whipping them day by day, yet keeping his own men intact; his men were in as good spirits and as sure of victory at the end of four months as they were at the beginning; instead of the army being depleted, it had grown in strength.

  'Tis true, he had fallen back, but it was to give his enemy the heavier blows. He brought all the powers of his army into play; ever on the defensive, ’tis true, yet ever striking his enemy in his most vulnerable part. His face was always to the foe. They could make no movement in which they were not anticipated. Such a man was Joseph E. Johnston, and such his record. Farewell, old fellow! We privates loved you because you made us love ourselves. Hardee, our old corps commander, whom we had followed for nearly four years, and whom we had loved and respected from the beginning, has left us. Kirby-Smith has resigned and gone home. The spirit of our good and honored Leonidas Polk is in heaven, and his body lies yonder on the Kennesaw line. General Breckinridge and other generals resigned. I lay down my pen; I can write no more; my heart is too full. Reader, this is the saddest chapter I ever wrote.41

  But now, after twenty years, I can see where General Joseph E. Johnston made many blunders in not attacking Sherman's line at some point.42

  He was better on the defensive than the aggressive, and hence, bis peccare in bello non licet.43

  GENERAL HOOD TAKES COMMAND

  It came like a flash of lightning, staggering and blinding every one. It was like applying a lighted match to an immense magazine. It was like the successful gambler, flushed with continual winnings, who staked his all and lost. It was like the end of the Southern Confederacy. Things that were, were not. It was the end. The soldier of the relief guard who brought us the news while picketing on the banks of the Chattahoochee, remarked, by way of imparting gently the information:

  “Boys, we've fought all the war for nothing. There is nothing for us in store now.”

  “What's the matter now?”

  “General Joe Johnston is relieved, Generals Hardee and Kirby-Smith has resigned, and General Hood is appointed to take command of the Army of Tennessee.44

  “My God! is that so?”

  “It is certainly a fact.”

  “Then I'll never fire another gun. Any news or letters that you wish carried home? I've quit, and am going home. Please tender my resignation to Jeff Davis as a private soldier in the C. S. Army.”

  Five men of that picket—there were just five—as rapidly as they could, took off their cartridge-boxes, after throwing down their guns, and then their canteens and haversacks, taking out of their pockets their gun-wipers, wrench and gun-stoppers, and saying they would have no more use for “them things.” They marched off, and it was the last we ever saw of them. In ten minutes they were across the river, and no doubt had taken the oath of allegiance to the United States government. Such was the sentiment of the Army of Tennessee at that time.

  * * *

  1. With the return of campaigning weather, two federal armies advanced on May 4, 1864, south past Ringgold Gap where Watkins fought in the rear guard that saved the Army of Tennessee the previous autumn after the defeat at Missionary Ridge (Chattanooga). At Tunnel Hill, the federals deployed to unsuccessfully challenge Johnston's Confederate army entrenched on Rocky Face Ridge. Meanwhile, Union troops under General James McPherson circled behind Johnston's rear by May 9. McPherson failed to defeat soldiers under Confederate Leonidas Polk, which enabled Johnston to withdraw from Rocky Face Ridge without being cut off. He retreated to Resaca, Georgia.

  2. Dave was a half brother. Sam's dad married twice.

  3. After the Kentucky invasion in autumn 1862, the ranks of the 1st Tennessee were so depleted that it was combined with the 27th Tennessee. The resulting regiment was identified as the 1st–27th Tennessee.

  4. Among Southerners, “Sherman's incendiaries” is a derogatory term for Sherman's soldiers. Later in the war they would march virtually unopposed from Atlanta to Savannah, cutting a sixty-mile-wide path of destruction, leaving burned-out farms and plantations in their wake.

  5. Sherman was indeed reluctant to take the offense in a battle owing to the high casualties that often resulted. Instead, he would maneuver as much as possible to accomplish his objectives. After the fall of Atlanta such reluctance led him to pass up opportunities that could have destroyed Watkins's entire army.

  6. Sam is venting his frustration that Sherman would avoid attacking if he could instead maneuver Johnston's army out of a strong defensive position.

  7. From the “Atlanta Campaign” map it may be observed that Johnston was maneuvered out of his strong defensive position at Rocky Face Ridge after Sherman sent General McPherson's corps around Johnston's left flank in an attempt to occupy Resaca. But Johnston was able to arrive first, forcing Sherman to attack. Casualties were about forty-five hundred for Sherman and three thousand for Johnston, but Johnston was forced to retreat again when federals crossed to the south side of the Oostanaula River. The future President Benjamin Harrison fought at this battle.

  8. It was Polk's corps that arrived in time at Resaca to prevent McPherson from capturing the town.

  9. Cheatham's division had been moved to Hardee's corps at the battle of Chattanooga, whereas at Stones River it was part of Polk's corps. Sam's regiment remained part of Maney's brigade, which was returned to Cheatham's division after Chattanooga, where Bragg had moved it to Walker's division.

  10. The hollow square was an infantry formation used in the Mexican-American War (and earlier) against cavalry charges. Jefferson Davis himself used it at the battle of Monterey, Mexico, almost twenty years earlier.

  11. When Sam's unit passed over the bridge at Resaca, it was retreating. Johnston was maneuvered out of Resaca once Union troops got south of the Oostanaula River. Sherman used newly delivered pontoon bridges to accomplish the crossing.

  12. Hood was furiously attacked at the north end of the Rebel line, but his situation was not as desperate as Sam implies. In fact he later made a counterattack, but it was shortly after Johnston learned that Sherman had succeeded in getting parts of his army south of the Oostanaula. With Sherman south of the river, Johnston felt he must retreat and called off Hood's attack. Hood later became an unpopular commander, and Sam's comment here may chiefly reflect his personal attitude toward Hood rather than a valid opinion of Hood's battlefield abilities.

  13. The Chattahoochee River was one of the last defensive lines for Atlanta. When Johnston failed to hold it, President Davis replaced him.

  14. The fight at Adairsville was a rearguard action, but it was hotly contested because the pursuing Union corps commander was under pressure to march quickly and assumed
that resistance at Adairsville was inconsequential. Therefore he probed Confederate defenses aggressively and paid the price in unnecessary casualties.

  15. Sherman was trying to maneuver Johnston to abandon a strong defensive line by continually making Johnston extend his defense on the flanks. Sherman hoped to create a thin spot somewhere in the Confederate lines, which eventually stretched to over five miles of entrenchments. Ultimately, however, Sherman settled on a single day, June 27, 1864, for an attack. He mistakenly concluded the weak spot was where Watkins's regiment was stationed—“Dead Angle.”

  16. By walking on “as if I was just relieved,” Sam was pretending to be a Union sentinel who had just been relieved of duty and was returning to his company's bivouac. In the vernacular, “Dutch” was commonly used to describe German immigrants owing to the word's similarity to the German word “Deutsche” (“German”).

  17. Pine Mountain was about a mile and a quarter north of the Confederate defense line at Kennesaw Mountain.

  18. Few historians would agree with Sam's assessment of the military merits of General Leonidas Polk, but he was evidently well liked by the troops.

  19. The church was more commonly known as Gilgal Church.