C. S. A.
Written by Dr. George Little
_and_
Mr. James R. Maxwell
Published by R. E. Rhodes Chapter
United Daughters of the Confederacy
Tuskaloosa, Alabama
Transcriber's Note: Minor typographical errors have been corrected
without note. Original spellings, punctuation and discrepancies have
been retained, including the list of Privates with numerous names out
of alphabetical order.
This History of Lumsden's Battery was written from memory in 1905 by
Dr. Maxwell and Dr. Little, with the help of a diary kept by Dr. James
T. Searcy.
From organization Nov. 4, 1861, to Oct. 15, 1863, this data is the work
of Dr. George Little, from Oct. 15, 1863, to its surrender May 4, 1865,
the work of Mr. James R. Maxwell.
LUMSDEN'S BATTERY
Its Organization and Services in the Army of the Confederate States.
At the close of the spring term of the Circuit Court of Tuscaloosa
County, Alabama, in May, 1861, Judge Wm. S. Mudd announced from the
bench that Mr. Harvey H. Cribbs would resign the office of Sheriff of
the County for the purpose of volunteering into the Army of the
Confederate States and would place on the desk of the Clerk of the
Court an agreement so to volunteer signed by himself, and invited all
who wished to volunteer to come forward and sign the same agreement.
Many of Tuscaloosa's young men signed the same day.
By the end of the week following the list had grown to about 200 men.
Capt. Charles L. Lumsden, a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute
was commandant of Cadets at the University of Alabama and had been
contemplating the getting up of a company for service in Light or Field
Artillery and had been corresponding with the War Department and Army
officers already in service concerning the matter.
These volunteers, on learning this fact, at once offered themselves to
Capt. Lumsden as a company of such artillery.
Dr. George W. Vaughn, son of Edward Bressie Vaughn (who afterwards gave
two other younger sons to the cause) and Mr. Ebenezer H. Hargrove, also
of Tuscaloosa County, had married two Mississippi girls, sisters, the
Misses Sykes of Columbus, Mississippi, and were engaged in planting in
Lowndes County, Miss. Hearing of this Artillery Co. they sent their
names to be added to the list. Dr. George Little, Professor of
Chemistry in Oakland College, Mississippi, and his younger brother,
John Little, Principal of the Preparatory Department, resigned their
places and returned to Tuscaloosa to join this Company. Edward Tarrant,
Superintendent of Education for Tuscaloosa County, had a flourishing
educational institute called the Columbian Institute at Taylorville
four and a half miles south of Tuscaloosa. He gave up his school and
joined the Company, where two of his sons, Ed William and John F.,
afterwards followed him.
Joseph Porter Sykes, a nephew of the Sykes sisters, had been appointed
by Pres. Davis a Cadet in the regular C. S. Army and at his request was
assigned to this Company. Dr. Nicholas Perkins Marlowe and Drs. Caleb
and Wm. Toxey served as surgeons at different times and Dr. Jarretts
and McMichael and Dr. Hill also later. We mention these doctors who
entered the ranks as privates as emphasizing the spirit that was moving
the young men of the time in every trade and profession. But their
country had too crying a need of medical men, in a few weeks, to permit
them to continue to serve with arms in their hands, and all of them
were soon promoted to the service for which their education fitted
them, serving as Regimental and Brigade surgeons and high in their
profession after the close of the war. In May the election of officers
was held and resulted in election of Charles Lumsden, Captain; George
W. Vaughn, Sr., First Lieutenant; Henry H. Cribbs, Jr., First
Lieutenant; Ebenezer H. Hargrove, Sr., Second Lieutenant; Edward
Tarrant, Jr., Second Lieutenant; Joseph Porter Sykes, Cadet.
The following were appointed non-commissioned Officers:
George Little, Orderly Sergeant; John Snow, Quartermaster Sergeant;
John A. Caldwell, Sergeant; A. Coleman Hargrove, Sergeant; Sam
Hairston, Sergeant; Wiley G. W. Hester, Sergeant; Horace W. Martin,
Sergeant; James L. Miller, Sergeant; Wm. B. Appling, Corporals; Wade
Brooks, J. Wick Brown, James Cardwell, Thomas Owen, Alex T. Dearing,
Wm. Hester, Seth Shepherd, Wm. Morris, Artificer, Wheelwright; Wm.
Worduff, Artificer, Harness; C. W. Donoho, Bugler; John Drake, Farrier.
At the request of Capt. Lumsden, Dr. George Little went to Mobile and
offered the service of the Company to Maj. Gen. Jones M. Witters, who
accepted it and promised a six gun Battery fully equipped and ordered
the Company to report at once for duty at Mobile. It went down on a
service steamboat and was first quartered in a cotton warehouse,
Hitchock's, on Water St., and mustered into service by Capt. Benjamin C.
Yancy of the regular C. S. Army. Horses and equipments were furnished
and the Captain was ordered to take two 24-lb. siege guns to Hall's
mills, a turpentine still fourteen and a half miles south west of
Mobile where Gen. Gladden was encamped with a Brigade of Infantry and
where a battalion of artillery was organized under the command of Major
James H. Hallonquist, a West Point graduate, and when in a camp of
instruction we were broken into the life and duties of soldiers, a life
very different from the experience of any of the company hitherto. On
March 3, 1862, the command was marched to Dog River Factory, a march of
about fifteen miles, when we boarded the Steamer Dorrance and were
carried to Ft. Gaines on Dauphin Island at the mouth of Mobile Bay.
At Ft. Gaines the drudgery of camp life was experienced in mounting
guns, blistering hands with shovels and crowbars and noses and ears by
the direct rays of a semi-tropical sun.
When bounty money was paid to the command, another new experience was
had by many, for released from restraints of home, church and public
sentiment, it did not take long for many to learn to be quite expert
gamblers. But the more thoughtful sent most of their money home to
their families and parents, and the general sentiment being against
such a lowering of the moral tone of the command, Capt. Lumsden issued
orders, absolutely forbidding all gambling in the camp, with the
approval of the great majority of his men.
About this time by some unknown means, it was reported in Tuscaloosa
that Capt. Lumsden was intemperate or addicted to drink. As soon as the
command heard of this report, they took immediate steps to "sit down on
the lie," to the great relief of friends and relatives at home. Neither
then nor in any succeeding years could any such charge have been
truthfully made against him. The boys thought this year's service
around Mobile a tough experience. They could not keep cleanly in their
dress nor enjoy all luxuries of life to which they had been accustomed
but the time soon came when they could look back to their first year's
experience of soldier life as luxurious, in comparison to rags and
semi-starvation that afterwards fell to their lot for months at a time.
Two steamboats were each making their weekly trips to Tuscaloosa and
back. Parents and friends came and went. The least expression of a
need, to the folks at home brought the wished for articles. Nothing was
too good for the boys at the front and fish and oysters were abundant
in season. The latter were in those days only considered eatable in the
R. months, as the saying was: i.e., during the months whose names
contained the letter R. So that from May to August, the poor things
could enjoy life without the fear of man. Ice was not then available to
preserve them during the summer months.
At Fort Gaines, Lt. Cribbs was given charge of the Ordnance Department.
In the early spring, the company received as recruits from Tuscaloosa
many good men. Feb. 24, 1862 there arrived with Lt. Tarrant, James T.
Searcy, John Chancellor, James Manly, Ed. King, Jno. Molette, T. Alex
Dearing and ten or twelve others, E. R. Prince, Jas. F. Prince. It is
from a personal diary kept by James T. Searcy that much of this first
and second year's experience of the command has been culled and all of
the dates.
On the trip down the boat "scraped the woods" considerably, butted out
one tree by the roots, butted another that staggered the boat without
injuring the tree, but left about twenty feet of the guards in the
water as the tree's trophy in the encounter. Such incidents were in
those days quite common in steamboat travel in low water.
Mumps, measles and kindred camp diseases made their usual inroads on
the health of the command, and many of them had to spend a part of the
time in the hospital in Mobile, George W. Smith and James L. Miller
among them.
Major Hallonquist was in command of the Artillery at Ft. Gaines but on
April 4th was ordered to join Gen. Bragg at Corinth, Tenn., and Col.
Melanclhan Smith took command of the Fort. Officers and men were
longing to meet the enemy in battle.
At Ft. Gaines, a few Yankee vessels blockading could be seen in the
distance, but the monotony was wearing, and each commanding officer was
pulling all possible ropes to secure orders to proceed to the front, in
this case to Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston's army near Corinth. Capt.
Lumsden got promises but by perhaps some political pull Gage's Mobile
battery secured the deserved privilege to report at Corinth and in the
battle of Shiloh got badly cut up and after the battle was ordered back
to Mobile to recuperate and Lumsden's was ordered to Corinth and given
the same guns and equipment.
On Sundays near Mobile Dr. Hill, a private, often officiated as a
preacher so that during this first year, Sundays could be distinguished
from the other days of the week. He was from near Columbus,
Mississippi, and a practicing physician as well. Tuesday, April 15,
1862, three days after the battle of Shiloh, found the command at
Corinth, having left Mobile on Monday and it took possession of Gage's
guns, etc., on April 16th, got tents 4:00 p.m. April 17th, so for the
first time for two nights, they slept on the ground in the open air, a
new thing then, the general rule thereafter.
Several Tuscaloosa Doctors were near Corinth, assisting in caring for
the wounded, amongst them Drs. Leland and Cochrane. Even to see so many
gathered as in this first army was a new sight and experience to these
raw troops.
On April 23rd the battery was attached to Chalmers Brigade, and marched
twelve miles over awful roads of sticky mud and water to Monterey,
where everything was next morning put in line of battle but the rifle
and cannon firing was a mere reconnaissance of the enemy and all hands
bivouaced in place on the wet ground.
Here much sickness prevailed and the rains were continuous. The
hospital tent was soon filled and on one day Orderly Sergeant Little,
out of a roll of 170 men took to a church in Corinth used as a hospital
in charge of Dr. N. P. Marlowe, sixty men sick. They had measles,
pneumonia, erysipelas, typhoid fever and chronic diarrhea. At this
evacuation of Corinth, the battery had barely enough men to drive the
horses and Gen. Chalmers made a detail from the 10th Mississippi
infantry to fill out the company.
Want of vegetable food, drinking water from seep wells and exposure to
cold rains caused the sickness. It was general in the army and probably
made necessary the retreat to Tupelo when, with better water, the
company and army quickly secured usual health. The evening of May 3,
1862 and that night found company under arms in line of battle with
Chalmer's Brigade, but no enemy appeared. Within two weeks ending May
8th, five of the men died: Fulgham, Hall, Hyche, Sims and Lingler. They
gave their lives to the cause.
To die in hospital was harder, much harder, than to die in the
excitement of battle, on the field. J. T. Searcy was unable to walk
from a carbuncle on his knee.
On Friday, May 9th, one section of two guns with their complement of
men, having been sent forward on Monterey road, at noon opened fire on
a considerable body of Yankee Infantry and a battery near Farmington.
The battery replied and a considerable duel was fought. Lumsden had no
causalities, but did fine shooting, as scouts reported, who passed over
ground that had been occupied by the enemy, that quite a number of
bodies were left by them on the field. This was the first time under
fire and their action was commended by the General in command. The
other section was on the Purdy road at the time, but did not get
engaged.
On May 9th, Friday, two new scouts reached the battery from Tuscaloosa,
Chas. J. Fiquet and John Little, the latter having given up a good
position in a Mississippi College.
On the 8th a gentleman named Bozeman came to the command and proved up
his son to be a minor, thus releasing him from service. The battery
remained near Tupelo about two months. Lieutenant Vaughn left the
battery here on sick furlough. On July 26th battery left Tupelo for
Chattanooga, Tennessee marching through Columbus, Mississippi, and
Tuscaloosa, Alabama. On Sunday, Aug. 3rd, at Columbus many of the
command were glad of the opportunity to attend church once more, in
civilized fashion, with friends and relatives of many of the command.
Nothing was too good to be lavished upon the soldier boys. Before
reaching Columbus, Gen. Bragg in passing the column noticed Lt. Cribb's
condition; inquired about him and ordered that he report at
Headquarters on reaching Columbus. When Lt. Cribbs did so, Gen. Bragg
furnished him one of his ambulances and ordered him to Tuscaloosa
ahead, to stay until recovered. John A. Caldwell was sent with him. He
was down with camp fever for some weeks and reached the battery again
near Cumberland Gap, after the retreat from Kentucky.
On Friday, Aug. 8th, the Battery reached Tuscaloosa where it remained
with the home people until Sunday, the 16th.
For one week, they had the freedom of the city and county, and were
with their families at their own homes for the last time 'till the
close of the war.
Leaving Tuscaloosa, Aug. 16th, for one week they were on the road to
Chattanooga and all sorts of a time was experienced. Some "coon juice"
"tangle-foot" was occasionally in evidence and caused some exhilaration
and subsequent depression and some insubordination temporary. One good
man, the Captain felt compelled to buck near Ringston, Ga., and some
excitement was created among the men thereby. It is often hard for
volunteers to submit to punishment of that sort even when deserved, but
patriotism prevented any outbreak among the party's friends.
Sunday, August 31st, found the battery near a little town called
Dunlap, the county seat of Sequatchie County, Tennessee, having been
crossing the Cumberland mountains for two days. Thence to Sparta, White
County, Tennessee on Sept. 6th on an air line 40 miles from Dunlap, but
much more over the Cumberland mountain route. Friday, Sept. 19th, found
the battery on a hill overlooking the Federal fort at Munfordville,
Kentucky, having marched from Sparta some 120 miles during the 12
preceding days. Part of time in bivouac at Red Sulphur Springs, part of
the time marching, drenched to the skin for 24 hours at a stretch,
passing Glasgow and Cave City. At midnight of Tuesday the 16th, the
Federal force in the front surrendered and the next day marched out and
surrendered their arms, with due pomp and circumstances of war, 4200
men well clad in new uniforms of blue. Sergeant Little says, he had the
night before one corn nubbin and that day a piece of pumpkin of the
size of two fingers and sat on the fence eating it, while the prisoners
stacked arms and thought of the 10th Satire of Juvenal and the vanity
of military glory.
As our General entered the Fort, he volunteered as an aid to Gen. Bragg
and passed the picket line and seeing a box of crackers on the side of
the hill resigned the honorary position on the Staff and began
foraging. Just as he had filled his haversack, he was halted by a
sentinel and told that it was against Gen. Bragg's orders, whereupon he
desisted, but soon found another box and filled his "nose bag" with
crackers and returned to the battery, giving Capt. Lumsden and others a
cracker apiece until all were exhausted and he then distributed a
handfull of crumbs to the rest of the men.
On Sept. 22nd at Hagonsville, on 23rd at Bardstown, through a land
flowing with milk and honey, but themselves out of bread and living on
parched corn.
There was at Bardstown a Catholic College and some of the men purchased
here paper and envelopes and Dr. Little going through the library saw a
volume of Humboldt's Kasmas and on telling the Librarian that he had
breakfasted with Humboldt in 1858, at the home of the American
Minister, Gov. Wright of Indiana, at Berlin, Prussia, he told him that
this was an odd volume and he could have it. While reading it the next
day, seated on the top of a rail fence, he was called off suddenly by
an order for the battery to move and the battle of Perryville was on,
after the fight he returned to look for his book and the fence had
disappeared to make a temporary breastwork and the ground was
disfigured by the debris of battle.
Battery remained in camp in a beech grove for 11 days until Saturday,
Oct. 4th, and surely did enjoy the rest and the hospitality of many of
the citizens, who visited the camp daily. Buell's army was at
Louisville and to the southwest of that city and the close proximity of
the enemy, prevented much foraging at any distance from camp, for there
was a liability of a call to arms at any moment. Yet some of the
available supplies of the country fell to our lot, both eatable and
drinkable. Frank's forge was kept busy. Vandiver told his yarns about
his brother-in-law in Arkansas. Shepard's discourses came with heavy
weight through his ponderous beard. Peterson and his crowd entertained
the camp with music and song describing how "He sighed and she sighed
and she sighed again and she fatched another sigh and her head dropped
in." Billy Buck, Reuben, and Isham (Caldwell's servant) cooking biscuit
and meat and pumpkins.
Charley Fiquet and others watching the cooking wistfully, a little
having to go a long ways. All these remembrances of the camp near
Bardstown pass in review, and then it is remembered that we had a foot
deep of wheat straw, between our bodies and the wet earth, under the
stretched blanket or tarpaulin. All this while the regular military
duties, to care for man and beast go forward in regular routine, and
all ready at a moment's notice to be rushed into line of battle at some
indicated move of the enemy.
On Oct. 4th leaving vicinity of Bardstown, the battery passed through
Springfield, just as citizens were leaving church on the 5th Sunday,
and on the 6th passed through Perryville and on to within a mile of
Harrodsburg and bivouaced for the night.
On Tuesday 7th, the command retraced its march back to within two miles
of Perryville, sleeping at their guns during the night.
Next morning Lumsden's and Selden's (Montgomery, Alabama) Batteries
opened the fight in a duel with two Yankee batteries, Lumsden going
forward into the battle and unlimbering under fire of the enemy, losing
one horse from the fourth gun.
The fighting was severe during two hours, 4:00 p.m. to dark. Sims and
another man were wounded in the head by pieces of shell and Goodwyn by
rifle ball. The 4th piece was dismounted and two more horses killed,
then our infantry charged and drove the enemy for two miles with
considerable loss to the Federals.
The battery fired about 2000 rounds, the distance being about one half
mile and after the battle, the battery opposing us was seen knocked all
to pieces, horses piled up and haversacks and canteens strewn over the
ground, while in rear was a long line of knapsacks and overcoats laid
down by the infantry before going into battle and left in their hurried
retreat. Many of our men secured blue overcoats which they wore until
the close of the war. Sergt. Little says he saw a thousand of them but
never thought of securing any booty, but that night as it was very
cold, paid a member of the company $7.00 for one which he wore until it
was shot off him at Nashville.
Eventually Yankees fell back nine miles. The ground was strewed with
Yankee dead, overcoats, canteens, muskets etc. Lumsden got wheels from
Captain Greene to fix up the dismounted gun and remained in field until
noon the next day. This was Lumsden's first battle with the whole
battery. Leaving battle field about noon next day, the battery passed
through Harrodsburg and on Sunday the 12th passed Camp Dick Robinson
and on through Lancaster on the 13th toward Chab Orchard, the army
retreating through Cumberland Gap, via Wild Cat, through a very poor
and thinly settled country, mostly mountains. Troops lived on parched
corn and beef broiled on coals without salt.
Private Kahnweiler was left sick at Munfordville, Sergt. James Cardell,
at Harrodsburg. Private Wooley and Bates missing after Perryville,
supposed to have been killed.
At Camp Dick Robinson, we buried some cannons in an apple orchard
inscribed with Spanish to prevent the Yankees getting them. Here were
4000 barrels of pork, that had been collected from the country and a
good many barrels of whiskey, for which there was no transportation and
they were burned. Bushwhackers lined the route to Cumberland Gap and it
was not safe to get away from the main road.
Near Knoxville on Saturday, Oct. 25th, members of the company who had
been left behind sick at commencement of the Kentucky campaign rejoined
the company. Letters from home, decent clothing and more rations made
the men feel better, yet still clothing was too thin for on Oct. 26th
the whole army found itself covered with a blanket of snow about
daylight which continued to fall the entire day. At Knoxville, Dr.
Moore of the company died as also Dr. Jarrett's negro man Wash. Henry
Donoho rejoined command. Ed King was left at Knoxville sick and Brown
was transferred to the Ordnance Department.
Nov. 9th found battery again at Dunlap, Tenn., whence it went to
Shelbyville by the 25th.
On Thursday, Nov. 27th, Sergt. Horace Martin was detailed to go to
Tuscaloosa to obtain clothing for the company. Lt. Eb Hargrove left
same day on furlough. Friday, Dec. 5th, it was snowing heavily, but the
orders were received to cook two day's rations and be ready to move by
12:00 o'clock but weather proved too bad for any movement.
On Dec. 7th John F. Tarrant got his discharge for disability. Left
Shelbyville on Dec. 7th, travelled pike 6 or 8 miles and bivouaced for
night. A stable made quite comfortable quarters for as many as it would
hold. On Monday marched through Unionville to one and a half miles from
Eaglesville and camped. Friday, Dec. 20th, Eaglesville to Murfreesboro,
joining again Reserve Battalion and meeting Wick Brown just arrived
with three boxes of goods from Tuscaloosa, bringing something for
nearly everybody.
On Dec. 28th Capt. Lumsden started for Richmond, Va., sick, taking
Corporal Sheperd with him. Lt. Cribbs was left in charge of the reserve
artillery, and Lt. Ed Tarrant in command of the Battery.
On Dec. 30th the rifle section was ordered to report to Gen.
Breckenridge on the extreme right of the army, facing the enemy on
Stone River north of Murfreesboro. The other section was in position in
yard of Mr. Spence's negro quarters but was moved nearer to the enemy
later in the afternoon where it remained all next day, the 31st of
Dec., 1862.