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-List of Civil War Battles <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_Civil_War_battles>
-Mississippi Units in the Civil War: <http://mississippiscv.org/MS_Units/mississippi_history.htm>
-Battle of Vicksburg, Confederate Order of Battle: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vicksburg_Confederate_order_of_battle>History:
Histories are generally written by the winners. Thus, we can easily learn the disposition of the Federal forces who were engaged in the many battles of the Civil War. While compiling theses vignettes of the many Confederate Regiments, the task is to put together the dispositions of the enemy forces--our veterans-- who were engaged, creating a historical narrative.
The facts contained in the following narrative were gleaned from multiple sources, chief of which was "7th Mississippi Infantry," Military History of Mississippi (1803-1898), 1908. <http://mississippiscv.org/MS_Units> 18 May 2015.
Organization
The 7th Miss Infantry was one of the original eight regiments called into service under the first call for troops from Mississippi on 3/9/1861. And, the many companies were enrolled from April to August, primarily from Franklin Co MS. The total original enrollment was 911 officers and men. Immediately, the Regiment was ordered to Bay St. Louis MS for coastal defense.
The new troops of the 7th Miss Infantry moved to Natchez where they boarded boats for transportation to the Mississippi Coast. The Regiment was organized on 9/25/1861 at Shieldsboro, Adams Co MS. And, the Companies were deployed at Camp Goode at Shieldsboro, Camp Clark at Bay St. Louis and at Pass Christian.
The Battle of Shiloh
In early 1862, the Regiment was ordered to move by rail to northern Mississippi. But on 2/27/1862, there was a railroad collision at Ponchatoula LA with heavy loss of life. As the Regiment approached Jackson TN, they were recalled to Corinth MS when the Union Army of the Tennessee invaded up the Tennessee River Valley.
The 7th Miss Infantry was assigned to the newly organized Confederate Army of Mississippi under LTG Albert Sydney Johnston and assigned to Chalmer's Brigade in Wiither's Division of Gen. Bragg's Corps.
The Union Army of the Tennessee under MG Grant was assembled at Pittsburg Landing at the confluence of Shiloh Creek and the Tennessee River, awaiting the arrival of three divisions consisting of about 20,000 men from the Union Army of the Ohio. So, Confederate LTG Johnston decided to attack Grant before the second Union army arrived. On Sunday, 4/6/1862, the 7th Miss Infantry as part of Gen. Bragg's Corps charged into the Union encampment. And, the ferocity of the ensuing battle was unprecedented in the western theater. LTG Johnston's Army continued to push the Federals back toward the river. Were it not for two Union divisions under BG W.H.L. Wallace and BG Prentiss--the equivalent of an entire army Corps--who stood their ground until overrun, this would have been a Confederate victory. However, the next day with the arrival of the reinforcing divisions of the Army of the Ohio, the tide turned. And, the 7th Miss Infantry along with the remainder of the Army of Mississippi retreated to Corinth MS where they were besieged.
The Kentucky Campaign
In September of 1862, the 7th Miss Infantry, Chalmer's Brigade, Wither's Division, Polk's Corps deployed by rail through Atlanta to central Kentucky where they fought in Gen. Bragg's Kentucky Campaign. Having arrived at Glasgow KY, the Regiment moved up the Louisville and Nashville Railroad to Munfordville where they were part of the assault and siege of the Union fortifications from 9/14 to 9/17/1862.
From Munfordville the 7th Miss Infantry and Chalmer's Brigade moved north toward Louisville but were stymied when the Union Army of the Ohio, who had been trailing them from Tennessee, moved around the left then north into a blocking position at Louisville. Thus, Chalmer's Brigade moved to Bardstown by 9/22/1862 where they were the left flank of the Army of Mississippi which was deployed in a 50-mile long line from Bardstown to Frankfort.
In early October, Union MG Buell and the Army of the Ohio pushed south out of Louisville in three columns, one Corps per column, striking a heavy blow to the Confederate line and forcing Gen. Bragg to consolidate his disparate forces. The Battle of Bardstown was fought on 10/4/1862 where Terry's Texas Rangers, CSA fought a successful rearguard action. And, the 7th Miss Infantry marched toward Perryville to join up with the main body of Bragg's Army.
When the army reached Perryville KY, Gen. Bragg detached Wither's entire division toward Frankfort KY to establish a blocking position. And, Wither's Division arrived at Harrodsburg and Danville by the day of the battle.
On 10/8/1862, MG Buell and the Army of the Ohio's three Union Corps--McCook (I Corps) on the left, Gilbert (III Corps) in the center, Crittenden (II Corps) on the right--caught up with Bragg's Confederate Army of Mississippi minus Wither's Division at Perryville KY. Buell's intention was to attack the next morning with all three Corps. But, Confederate Gen. Bragg attacked with his outnumbered Army against the Union left. The ensuing first day of battle was described as a "hard-fought contest that continued past sunset" and resulted in Union MG Gilbert's I Corps nearly destroyed.
Also on 10/8/1862 and unbeknownst to the Gen. Bragg, an additional Union Division was heading south from Franklin KY. But, Gen Smith, who was in operational control to the east, sent Wither's Division to block the advance.
Having achieved success on 10/8, the Confederates were not in a position to rejoin the battle the next day; as the soldiers were exhausted and there were no reserves. And, Gen. Bragg finally understood that he was actually facing all three Union Corps. Thus, Gen. Bragg elected to withdraw, leaving the Confederate dead and wounded.
Research Note: PVT Thomas W. Burke of the 7th Miss Infantry is buried in the Confederate section of Bardstown City Cemetery along with 66 other Confederates. The inscription on his stone has the date 10/31/1862. Grandpa Thomas was killed or mortally wounded somewhere between 10/4 and 10/7/1862 before the Battle of Perryville; as the scattered dead from the immediate vicinity were gathered and re-interred in Bardstown City Cemetery. And, the hundreds of Confederate dead from the 10/8/1862 battle were buried on the knoll at Henry Bottom's farm west of Perryville.
The next day, Union forces secured the battlefield and swept into Perryville. And, Union Cavalry followed the retreating Confederate Army toward the Cumberland Gap and into Tennessee.
With control of the battlefield and the Confederates in retreat, the Battle of Perryville was a Union victory and was the pivotal engagement of the Campaign. And, the Regiment retreated with the rest of the renamed Confederate Army of Tennessee through the Cumberland Gap into eastern Tennessee then down to Chattanooga, advancing toward Nashville to meet the Union Army of the Cumberland under MG Rosecrans. And at Chattanooga, Grandpa J.B. Wilkinson, veteran of the Mexican-American War and Gen. Bragg's campaigns to date, was discharged.
Stone River Campaign
At the Battle of Murfreesboro, halfway between Chattanooga and Nashville, Chalmer's Brigade and the 7th Miss Infantry were positioned in the dead center of the battle on the right flank of Polk's Corps. On the morning of 12/31/1862, the Brigade hurled themselves upon prepared Union defenses in the second of three successive assaults. The one point of the Union line which held was directly across from Chalmer's Brigade. BG Chalmer led his Brigade in a frontal charge, suffering horrific casualties. In fact, the ground in front of the Union position came to be known as "Hell's Half-Acre" or "the Mississippi Half-Acre" for the stacks of dead and wounded from Chalmer's Brigade. After the battle, an accounting was taken which showed that of the approximately 12,000 Confederates who participated in the successive assaults, 4,000 were killed or wounded.
Tullahoma Campaign
Having suffered another defeat, Gen. Bragg and the Army fell back to the Tullahoma Line between Murfreesboro and Chattanooga where the 7th Miss Infantry was stationed at Bridgeport AL in a blocking position on the Tennessee River west of Chattanooga until August 1863.
Chickamauga Campaign
With the loss of Chattanooga, the entire army withdrew to Lafayette GA. By 9/10/1863 the 7th Miss Infantry and the Mississippi Brigade were assigned to MG Hindman's Division, which was formed from the remnants of Confederate units from Arkansas, in Polk's Corps.
In the Battle of Chickamauga on 9/19/1863, the 7th Miss Infantry and the Mississippi Brigade fought on the extreme left of the Confederate line at Lee and Gordon's Mill. Many of the men, "barefoot, all on short rations, hungry, thirsty and worn by night marches," ran into Union MG Crittenden's Corps of the Army of the Cumberland.
The next day, 9/20/1863, the Regiment went into the fight with LTG Longstreet's Cops of the Army of Northern Virginia, still with Hindman's Division on the southern flank of the entire army where they assaulted through MG Crittenden's Corps on the Union right flank. Hindman's Division captured 17 cannons and over 1,000 prisoners. When Union MG Rosecrans withdrew the Army of the Cumberland retreated to Chattanooga, Confederate Gen. Bragg positioned his Army of Tennessee on Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge, cutting off Chattanooga from re-supply.
Research Note: The 7th Miss and the Mississippi Brigade are described as barefoot and bedraggled. But, Bragg wanted to stack his best division with Longstreet's Corps for the knockout blow on the Union right. And, Bragg picked Hindman's Division. If the 7th Miss and the Mississippi Brigade were his best, how bedraggled was the rest of Bragg's Army.
Chattanooga Campaign
After the Battle of Chickamauga, the Confederate Army of Tennessee realigned its units. And, the 7th Miss Infantry, Col. Bishop commanding, was assigned to Anderson's Brigade of Hindman's Division of Hardee's Corps.
The campaign to push Bragg's Confederate Army out of Tennessee and relieve the near siege of Chattanooga began on 11/23/1863 at Orchard Knob, just in front of Missionary Ridge. Units from 3 Union armies--Grant and the Army of the Tennessee, Thomas and the Army of the Cumberland, and Hooker's Corps (+) from the Army of the Potomac--14,000 soldiers assaulted the 600 Confederate defenders. And, Orchard Knob was directly in front of the 7th Miss Infantry and Anderson's Brigade.
Editor's Note: 14,000 Yankee soldiers, en parade, with fixed bayonets coming towards you at the double-quick. Holy Cow!
On 11/24/1863, MG Hooker and his Corps from the Union Army of the Potomac swept the Confederate defenders off Lookout Mountain. And, the Confederates consolidated on Missionary Ridge east of Chattanooga.
On 11/25/1863, Grant assaulted the entire Confederate line on Missionary Ridge with Sherman's Corps on his left, Thomas' Army of the Cumberland in the middle, and Hooker's Corps (+) on the right. And, Bragg's Confederate Army had no choice but to withdraw. Again, the 7th Mississippi was staring the entire Union Army of the Cumberland from across about 2,000 yards of open ground. Their fellow Mississippians with the 8th Miss Infantry were just to their right in Cleburne's Division. The 8th lost heavily in soldiers captured during their retreat. Most likely, the 7th did also. And after the retreat from Chattanooga, Bragg's Army went into winter quarters at Dalton GA.
After the defeat and withdrawal from Chattanooga, the Confederate Army of Tennessee again reorganized its units. Gen. Bragg resigned and was replaced by LTG Joseph E. Johnston. And, the 7th Miss Infantry was assigned to Tucker' Brigade, Hindman's Division of LTG Hood's Corps.
Atlanta Campaign
In May of 1864, LTG Grant assumed command of the entire Federal Army and MG Sherman replaced him as Commander of the Federal Division of the Mississippi, consisting of the Army of the Tennessee, the Army of the Cumberland, and one corps from the Army of the Ohio. Sherman continued Grant's plan to drive on Atlanta and destroy the economy of the South. And, LTG Johnston replaced Gen. Bragg as Commander of the Confederate Army of Tennessee.
Sherman began by pushing Confederate LTG Johnston south toward Atlanta by bypassing Johnston's prepared defenses in successive moves, primarily around the Confederate left. The 7th Miss Infantry was assigned to Tucker's Brigade, Hindman's Division, Hood's Corps--Oh! Good--and fought at Rocky Face Ridge 5/8, Resaca 5/14, Adairsville 5/17, and New Hope Church 5/25. After which, Johnston entrenched west of Marietta on Kennesaw Mountain.
On 6/22/1864 Johnston sent Hood's Corps from the north on the Confederate right around and behind to a blocking position on the far left on Powder Springs Rd at Kolb's Farm. But, Hood took it upon himself to attack the Federal line. And, the 7th Miss and Sharp's Brigade suffered heavily from Federal artillery. Although Hood did accomplish the ultimate goal of blocking the Federal army's flank to the south, the same would have been accomplished without an attack by sitting astride the road.
On 6/27/1864 Sherman sent his armies in a deliberate attack against the center of the Confederated line on Kennesaw Mountain. And, the 7th Miss and Sharp's Brigade were entrenched in the center of Hood's Corps near Powder Springs Rd. Although Sherman suffered a tactical defeat, the Federal Cavalry did flank the Confederate line. On 7/9/1864, the 7th Miss Infantry and the Army of the Tennessee crossed the Chattahoochee River, settling in front of Atlanta.
On 7/18/1864 LTG Hood replaced LTG Johnston as Commander of the Army of Tennessee. And again, the Army reorganized its units. The 7th Miss Infantry was assigned to Sharp's Brigade, Hindman's Division of MG Cheatham's Corps.
Research Note: Confederate Gen. Bragg was replaced by Gen. Joseph E. Johnston after the the defeat in the Chattanooga Campaign (good idea) who was replaced by Gen. Hood after the army evacuated Kennesaw Mountain (very, very bad idea).
On 7/20/1864 at Peachtree Creek (vic. Vinings GA), Hood attacked the Federal Army just after it crossed the Chattahoochee. And, the 7th Miss were positioned with Cheatham's Corps on the far right, defending against Federal encirclement.
The "Battle of Atlanta" was fought on 7/22/1864, east of Atlanta, and was the most disastrous battle of the campaign. The 7th Miss and Sharp's Brigade emerged from the defenses of Atlanta in the center of Cheatham's Corps to the rear of Hindman's Division under the command of BG Brown. And, the brigade was in right place to prosecute the Confederate breach of the Federal line along the Georgia Railroad. Having achieved initial success, moving through the breach and then south, the brigade and the Confederate attack was stymied when massed cannons in the vicinity of Sherman's headquarters on Copen Hill blunted the Confederate assault.
Manigault's South Carolinians and Alabamians, followed by Colonel Jacob H. Sharp's brigade of Brown's Confederate division, poured through the cut and forced the Union defenders to retreat. Manigault's troops fanned out to the north and captured the Troup Hurt House and Captain Francis De Gress's twenty-pound Parrott battery of four guns. . .Sharp's contingent, in close support of Manigault's Brigade, fanned out to the south, striking a Federal brigade positioned just south of the Georgia Railroad. Other elements of Brown's and Clayton's Confederate divisions joined the attack north and south of the railroad. Together, the combined action of these two divisions opened a half-mile gap in the Union line that if further exploited could have turned the tide of the battle against the Federal Army of the Tennessee. However, the Confederate successes were short-lived, and they were soon driven back by a ferocious Yankee counterattack.
"The Battle of Atlanta: History and Remembrance," <http://southernspaces.org/2014> 29 March 2016.
On 7/26/1864 LTG SD Lee replaced MG Cheatham. On 7/27 Lee's Corps was positioned west of Atlanta and was commanded to push the Federals back from the Lickskillet Road. Sharp's Brigade marched out three miles and attacked twice, failing both times and suffering heavy casualties. Anderson's entire division went to work entrenching west of Atlanta and was engaged in this work and constant skirmishing for about a month.
A major criticism of Hood by officers and soldiers alike, which has come down to us in the histories, was the detachment of Confederate Cavalry during the Battle of Atlanta. On 8/18/1864 Sherman sent a 4,500 man Division of Federal Cavalry under BG Kilpatrick south to attack Confederate supply lines along the railroad to Macon. Hood's only available response was to force march his infantry south where Cleburne's Division was "heavily engaged" on 8/20 at Lovejoy Station. This battle proved Hood's Achilles Heel was his lifeline along the railroad to Macon.
After the effective failure by the Cavalry, MG Sherman again bypassed the Confederate's prepared positions, going west of Atlanta and deployed the majority of the Federal armies to cut Hood's re-supply line south of Atlanta. Confederate MG Hardee took two Corps, Hardee & SD Lee, out of the Atlanta defense and marched south through Jonesboro to Lovejoy Station GA.
A large Federal force moved toward the town of Jonesboro, about 18 miles south of Atlanta. . .In response, Hood sent two corps under Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee to attack Sherman’s force and defend the vital Macon & Western and Atlanta & West Point Railroads. Confederate attacks on the afternoon of Aug. 31, 1864, were repulsed by stiff resistance from Union forces who had crossed the Flint River and were entrenched within rifle shot of Jonesboro. The Southern troops suffered heavy losses and had little to show for it. That evening, Hood ordered Lt. Gen. Stephen D. Lee’s corps, comprising half of the Confederate force at Jonesboro, to return to Atlanta. Hardee, who was already outnumbered, was in a desperate situation.
"Battle of Jonesboro," The Civil War in Georgia <http://www.gacivilwar.org/story/battle-of-jonesboro> 28 March 2016.
Editor's notes:
-Hood had no knowledge that the main body of the Federal armies had by-passed Atlanta around the Confederate left and was marching southeast on Jonesboro.
-Jonesboro is a short march north from Lovejoy Station. Hardee and his 2 Corps attacked Federal units of unknown strength, marching west and northwest into the main Federal line.On 8/31/1864, both corps under Hardee went into full assault against Sherman's armies at Jonesboro, attacking with "great gallantry and perseverance" twice, both times ending in failure. Surprise! Hardee and the 2 Confederate Corps just attacked 6+ Federal Corps. Having merely halted the Federal maneuver on the Confederate life-line at Jonesboro, SD Lee's Corps, including Sharp's Brigade, was ordered back to the prepared defenses in Atlanta.
Hood abandoned Atlanta on the night of 9/1/1864. And, the remainder of the Confederate Army of Tennessee slipped past the Federal Army at Jonesboro, heading south to Lovejoy Station.
"Infantry Battle at Lovejoy," Nash Farm Battlefield and Museum <http://www.henrycountybattlefield.com> 30 March 2016.
Hood's Tennessee Campaign
Having lost Atlanta, LTG Hood and the Confederate Army of Tennessee withdrew to the west, bypassing Atlanta and the Union Army of the Tennessee [Army #1] and heading back north from whence they came, aiming at Chattanooga and Nashville. In October 1864 on the Atlanta and Chattanooga Railroad, Lee's Corps invested Resaca. Finding the Union Army of the Cumberland [Army #2] at Chattanooga TN, Gen. Hood withdrew to the west and Sharp's Brigade held Snake Creek Gap against Sherman while the remainder of the Confederate Army slipped toward Gadsden AL.
In northern Alabama and after the loss of many officers, the Confederate Army of Tennessee again reorganized. Sharp's Brigade was joined by Brantley, Dea and Manigault's Brigades to form MG Edward Johnson's Division of S.D. Lee's Corps. And in late November of 1864 in the snow, Johnson's Division crossed the Tennessee River and marched on Columbia TN.
On 11/29/1864, the Federal garrison at Columbia and other disparate Federal units of the Army of the Ohio [Army #3] withdrew north toward Franklin TN. Despite the battle at Spring Hill, the Federals marched in good order. And, unbeknownst to LTG Hood, during the night, Federal units from Columbia and the battle at Spring Hill slipped straight up the road right through his lines to reinforce the garrison at Franklin where they occupied hastily but expertly built fortificataions.
In preparation for the coming battle, Johnson's Division was detached from Lee's Corps to participate in the general attack. On 11/30/1864, the Confederate Army of Tennessee arrived at Franklin at about 1 PM. And at about 4 PM, LTG Hood threw 3 reinforced Confederate Corps--Cheatham's Corps on the left and Stewart's Corps on the right, with Nathan Bedford Forrest's Cavalry Corps in support--against 2 Union Infantry Corps and their Cavalry Corps in a deliberate attack.
Research Note: Gen. Hood attacked the fortifications at Franklin with 7 Infantry Divisions consisting of 20 Infantry Brigades totaling 20,000 soldiers from over 100 individual Regiments. Sound military doctrine dictates a 3:1 ratio for a deliberate attack against a fortified enemy position. Even though LTG Hood massed about 80% of his army in the attack, the ratio of attackers vs. defenders was only 3:2. And, I will let other historians discuss MG Hood's character and motivations.
The 7th Miss Infantry and Johnson's Division were sent into the attack as reinforcements. But due to the late hour, their assault was after dark. Arriving at the Union breastworks, the division "suffered under heavy fire of artillery and musketry, driving the enemy from portions of his line." The dead of Sharp's Brigade were "mostly in the trenches and the works of the enemy" where they "nobly fell in a desperate hand-to-hand conflict." And, Col. Bishop, Commander of the 7th Miss Infantry was among those killed.
Our honored veterans took part in the "memorable assault upon the fortified line" in which MG Cleburne (KIA), Division Commander in Cheatham's Corps, and more than 60 brigade and regimental commanders were killed or wounded. In example, Co B, 8th Miss Infantry (Pinckney Guards) took 27 men into the "sacrificial battle"; 10 were killed on or near the Union breastworks, 7 wounded and 4 captured. [Six soldiers were left in the entire company.]
What was left of the 7th Miss Infantry and Sharp's Brigade followed the victorious Federals as they withdrew to Nashville. With the death of so many senior officers, the Confederate Army of Tennessee was forced to reorganize again. By the Battle of Nashville, regiments were commanded by Captains and Lieutenants and companies were commanded by Sergeants. Specifically with the death of Col. Bishop, the 7th and 9th Miss Infantry were consolidated under the command of Maj. Henry Pope.
At the Battle of Nashville, LTG Hood went into the defense, attempting to draw the Federals out from behind their defenses where they could be defeated. And on 12/15/1864, the Federals obliged. During the Battle of Nashville, the 7th Miss Infantry along with Lee's Corps was positioned in the center of the Confederate line and repulsed several Union assaults. During the night, Hood withdrew to a smaller defensive position, and Johnson's Division was sent to the assistance of Stewart's Corps where Sharp's Brigade was positioned on the far left of the Corps. The next day, 12/16/1862, the Federals broke the Confederate line at Bate's Division, adjacent to Johnson's Division, the commander MG Johnson was captured, and a "general disaster" ensued. And, the remnants of Johnson's Division, without MG Johnson, retreated toward Franklin TN.
After the defeat at Nashville on 12/15 & 16, most units of the Army of Tennessee were finished. MG Nathan Bedford Forrest, his Cavalry Corps, and several Infantry brigades had been sent in a feint to Murfreesboro TN. This ad hoc Corps continued the campaign until falling back into the mountains of North Carolina. The 7th Miss Infantry and the remainder of Sharp's Brigade re-crossed the Tennessee River on 12/26 and marched barefoot through the snow with LTG Hood into Northeast Mississippi.
For the 7th Miss, their fight but not the war was over. At the time, neither armies knew the full extent of the casualties inflicted on Hood's Army of Tennessee. But, both commands knew that Hood's Army was finished. With collection of records from both sides, historians cite that the Hood's Army went into the fight for Franklin and Nashville with 38,000 and withdrew with 18,000. That's about half.
Johnston's Carolina Campaign
The period after Nashville and before the end of hostilities is not well documented for many Confederate units. By late 1864, the Confederate States Army had only two fighting armies, Lee in northern Virginia and Hood and Johnston in Tennessee. There were other commands, the Army of Virginia at Richmond which was folded into the Army of Northern Virginia and some of the isolated coastal commands as in Mobile AL. But in reality, the War in the West was over.
Sharp's Brigade was furloughed from Columbus MS until 2/12/1865. (At the beginning of the war, a Brigade consisted of three Regiments of 1,000 soldiers apiece.) A total of 274 or less than 1/10th of the authorized strength reported to the Confederate railhead at Meridian MS for transportation to North Carolina.
On 4/9/1865 in the organization of the Army of Tennessee under Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, near Smithfield NC, the 7th Miss, 9th Miss, 10th Miss, 41st Miss and 44th Miss Infantry Regiments were consolidated as the 9th Miss Infantry Regiment with Col. Richards, Commanding. And, the remnants of Lowrey's Mississippi Brigade--5th Miss Inf, 8th Miss Inf, 32nd Miss Inf and the Miss 3rd Battalion--and Manigault's Brigade were both consolidated into individual battalions. And, these three new battalions were assigned to BG Sharp's Brigade, D.H. Hill's Division, Lee's Corps of the Army of Tennessee. This newly reorganized army surrendered 4/26/1865 and was paroled at Greensboro NC.
Key Campaigns:
Dates Major Action Results 08/1861 to 05/1862 Louisiana and the Trans-Mississippi Campaign Withdrew Mississippi 08/1862 to 10/1862 Kentucky Campaign Withdrew to Tennessee 12/1862 to 06/1863 Stone's River Campaign Withdrew to East Tennessee 06/1863 to 07/1863 Tullahoma Campaign Withdrew to Georgia 08/1863 to 09/1863 Chickamauga Campaign Advance on Chattanooga TN 10/1863 to 11/1863 Chattanooga Campaign Withdrew to Dalton GA 05/1864 to 09/1864 Atlanta Campaign Withdrew to Tennessee 10/1864 to 12/1864 Hood's Tennessee Campaign Withdrew to Mississippi 12/1864 to 04/1865 Johnston's Carolina Campaign Surrendered 4/26/1865
My Veterans:
5. PVT Joseph Brannoc Wilkinson (aged 38) served in Co A "Franklin Rifles," 7th Mississippi Infantry, CSA. This unit served on the Mississippi coast, fought at Shiloh TN, saw action in Kentucky, then was assigned to Generals J.P. Anderson's, Tucker's, and Sharp's Brigade, Army of Tennessee. The 7th participated in many conflicts with the army from Murfreesboro to Atlanta, marched with Hood to Tennessee, and fought in North Carolina. Grandpa J. B., a veteran of the Mexican-American War, served for about a year and a half and was discharged 12/6/1862 after the Kentucky Campaign. According to NARA records, PVT J.B. Wilkinson was discharged because he was over 40 years-old. J.B. who was born 11/16/1822 had just turned 40 by his date of discharge.
7. PVT Thomas W. Burke [KIA] (aged 38) served in Co E "Franklin Beauregards," 7th Mississippi Infantry, CSA. This unit served on the Mississippi coast, fought at Shiloh TN, saw action in Kentucky, then was assigned to Generals J.P. Anderson's, Tucker's, and Sharp's Brigade, Army of Tennessee. The 7th participated in many conflicts with the army from Murfreesboro to Atlanta, marched with Hood to Tennessee, and fought in North Carolina. Grandpa Thomas died in October of 1862 during the Kentucky Campaign. According to NARA records, Grandpa Thomas was "captured and died in the hands of the enemy in Kentucky." Let us be generous and presume that he died of wounds suffered in battle. Grandpa Thomas is buried at Bardstown City Cemetery, Nelson Co KY. And, his tombstone shows date of death as 10/31/1862. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Perryville#Confederate>