Aot - 1865

[larry_cockerham]

February 1, 1865 Cheatham’s Corps in Montgomery, Alabama. It took three days for Cheatham’s Corps to travel from Montgomery to Macon, a distance of only a about one hundred fifty miles (?) via railroad.

This day Sherman’s army began their northward march from Pocotaligo, South Carolina.

From the History of the 33rd Mississippi:

On 1 Feb. 1865 the regiment was ordered to take the cars to Mobile, Alabama. The few men remaining in Featherston's Brigade knew they were heading to the Carolinas and would be up against their old nemeses, Gen. William T. Sherman. For many Confederate soldiers it was just too much. Desertions became frequent and soldiers proclaimed their own decision about the fate of the Confederate States of America by removing themselves from the war and going home.

Looking at the other side of the line for a moment we find Sherman’s army split at two locations this day. The right wing was at Pocotaligo, Georgia forty miles north of Savannah and the left wing at Robertsville, Georgia twenty miles west of Pocotaligo. Both divisions started north for Columbia, SC on their route to Goldsboro, NC.

[larry_cockerham]

By the year 1865, the railroad extended east from Montgomery to West Point, Georgia near the AL-GA state line. At Auburn, Alabama the line split, going northeast to Atlanta and east to Columbus and Macon. The route from Montgomery to Columbus to Macon included Chehaw Station, Notasulga, Loachappka, Opchlika, Auburn, Girard, Columbus, Butler, Fort Valley and on to Macon. The northern route going near Atlanta was from Auburn to West Point to Grantville to Newnan to East Point and then south to Griffin, Barnesville and on to Macon.

Which one of these routes was used by the Army of Tennessee. Maybe both, I don’t know at this point in time, but I’m still digging!

The railroad from Selma to Montgomery was not completed until 1870 so a march was necessary for that connection. This was costing valuable time, but could not be avoided.

[larry_cockerham]

Assembling at Fort Tyler

The fort was commanded by Brig. Gen. Robert C. Tyler. When notified of the imminent approach of the Federals, Tyler assembled a small group of approximately 120 Confederates inside the fort composed of soldiers on leave, hospital aides, and local boys.¹ (Note there are varying accounts of the number of Confederate soldiers that fought within the fort and in the town of West Point. These range from 120 to 265) They manned the earthen fort and named it in honor of their General.² The fort, built 18 months earlier, contained three artillery pieces: a 32-pounder which was placed on the southeast corner of the fort, and two 12-pound Parrot guns, one of which was placed on the southwest corner and another on the northwest corner. Numerous stories and folklore abound concerning that Easter Sunday. Most notable are stories of young boys wanting to help in the battle. One such story is about "Major" Anderson.

Once in West Point, the fight started early, 10-11 a.m., and it went on 'til dusk. The Union cavalrymen commanded by Col. Oscar LaGrange easily circumvented the fort and took a river bridge, but they couldn't feel secure with Tyler's 32-pound cannon aimed at their backs.³

[larry_cockerham]

February 4, 1865

From Jeff Weaver’s Regimental History of the 58th North Carolina:

"Palmer's Brigade rode the rails to Branchville, South Carolina. On February 4, 1865 they challenged Sherman again and took an active part in several actions at several crossings of the North and South Edisto, repulsing the Federals "in all cases." The 58th was involved in the skirmish at Orangeburg, South Carolina, where some were captured and others wounded. No records survive to indicate the number killed. The Wytheville Dispatch after the war ran a story about Jackson Grubb and Joseph Headrick of Company H, 63rd Virginia and their encounter in South Carolina, near Orangeburg, with Federal Soldiers. From the Grubb and Headrick version of events, a Union soldier was found dead in the swamps. Retribution, part of Sherman's total war philosophy, was taken seriously by his bummers. Grubb and Headrick of Company H, who had been captured near Orangeburg, were included in a party of prisoners forced to draw lots, to see who would die in revenge for the dead Yankee. A South Carolinian lost and was executed. "

G. D. Gouge took a few minutes out of the hectic army schedule at Branchville, South Carolina on Feburary 8 to drop a few lines to his sister in Yancey County, NC.:

We are still near Branchville, S.C., where Colonel Silver left us and are expecting a fight every day. The Yankees are so near that we can hear their drums every morning and some of them came up in sight yesterday but went back without firing guns.

I can say to you that we have been seeing hard times this fall and winter, but we are very well pleased with getting so near home. We think if we can't come home, we can hear from you oftener.

I have been in hopes that they would make peace sometime this spring, but we have just heard this morning that would not receive our commissioners at Washington unless they would come back to the union and free the negro in our country, and if this be so, I see no chance for the war to stop soon.

One must assume that the 63rd Virginia was close geographically to the remainder of Palmer’s brigade at this point, though various regiments moved on different trains and marched in some differing routes. Sherman’s army had been split in two corps moving north from Savannah. Skirmishing occurred at numerous sites in South Carolina during February 1865.

[Notice in soldier Gouge's letter above that he knew about slavery and that it was a problem. He didn't own any and wasn't in the fight for that reason. Obviously he lamented the situation. Like many others, he was a soldier caught up in a war he didn't start.]

[larry_cockerham]

February 5, 1865 Cheatham’s Corps in Macon, Georgia

The city of Macon was in a relatively protected location and had a strong link to the railroad system in the southern states. Wounded Confederates could be easily transported here because of the rail access as was the case when Whitfield Monroe Parker was wounded in nearby Atlanta on August 9, 1864. The old city fairgrounds served as a prison location and scarce gold reserves were sent to Macon for safe storage. The Findley Iron Works is said to have built eighty 1,500 - pound cannon between 1862 and 1864. General William Sherman’s “March to the Sea" managed to miss Macon and its arsenal. Governor Joseph E. Brown decided to move the capital to Macon, to keep the state's records safe from yankee destruction. A legislature was seated in the old city hall from February 15 until March 11, 1865. Macon was finally captured by General James H. Wilson at the end of the Civil War. Two armies, same road.

[larry_cockerham]

February 7, 1865 Cheatham’s Corps in Milledgeville, Georgia

Milledgeville, Georgia

Milledgeville was the capital of Georgia from 1803-1868. The city was occupied Nov. 22-25, 1864 by Gen. Sherman’s army’s left wing, which came together here briefly from Eatonton and Shady Dale to cross the Oconee River. The governor’s mansion located at 120 St. Clark Street , was built in 1838. During the brief occupation General Sherman “slept in his bedroll on the floor of this historic home, from which the furnishings had been evacuated to Macon along with Gov. Joe Brown. Brown was later arrested at this site in May 1865.”

Sherman’s men blew up the Milledgeville arsenal, but left the State Capitol building standing, “if only to serve as an amusement park for the rowdy soldiers. They ransacked the State documents, littering them throughout the building, while spitting tobacco upon the floor. For some fun, the men called a mock session of congress to order, and debated the merits of whiskey while consuming mass quantities of it. They then took the liberty of revoking Georgia's secession from the Union, and wrote up articles proclaiming Georgia's allegiance to the United States.” An internet source says that one of the most interesting locally occupied sites was St. Stephens Episcopal Church. The story is that the Federal army stabled their horses inside, leaving still visible hoofprints under the original wooden pews. The men also reportedly poured molasses down the pipes of the church organ, to "sweeten the sound." Although the organ has been replaced, the memory of disrespect remains.”

The Army of Tennessee was not taking a scenic tour in February, 1865. They were hell bent on doing battle with William Tecumseh Sherman’s army. The survival of the Confederacy was at stake. Whitfield Parker likely thought more about his often painful wounds than he pondered the long-term survival of the Confederacy. One of General Sherman’s parrot guns had brought the discomfort which was to last a lifetime. He wouldn’t have minded returning the favor. The chance would come in North Carolina.

[larry_cockerham]

February 8, 1865 Augusta, Georgia

Enemy cut railroad to Charleston yesterday morning near Blacksville. Lee’s Corps is in position on the South Fork of the Edisto, protecting the approaches to Columbia. Head of Cheatham’s Corps arrived here last night. McLaw’s Division is at or about Branchville. I shall leave here tomorrow for Columbia – G.T. Beaugregard, Gen.

Augusta, Georgia

Augusta’s contribution to the war was the Confederate government financed Powder Works, a large facility very quickly erected on the Augusta Canal by ordnance expert George Washington Rains. Under his supervision this plant made nearly 3 million pounds of superior gunpowder for Confederate use.

The following was written by Richard J. Lentz and has been extracted from The Civil War in Georgia, An Illustrated Travelers Guide:

"Augusta, like Columbus and Macon, played an important role as a fall line industrial, transportation, and trade center for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Augusta was the location of the Confederacy's Powder Works Factory, which supplied the Southern states with badly needed explosive powder. Cotton is what shaped and supported Augusta in the antebellum and post Civil War years, giving its citizens wealth and importance. Although no battle was fought here and Gen. W.T. Sherman’s men didn't march through its streets on their way to the sea, much Civil War history is to be found in the Garden City. Augusta, the birthplace of "Fighting" Joe Wheeler, supplied many fighting men to the cause. Five hospitals were located here. Augusta is the second oldest city in Georgia, established in 1736 by Gen. James E. Oglethorpe as an Indian trading post on the Savannah River. It was the state's capital from 1785-95, and many of Georgia's historical "firsts" happened in Augusta. The oldest railroad in Georgia continuously operating under its original charter, the Georgia Railroad and Banking Company, carried more than 100,000 Confederate soldiers to their homes without charge after the War."

[larry_cockerham]

Augusta Canal, Confederate Powder Works

A 168-foot obelisk chimney is all that remains from the Confederate Powder Works, which is the only permanent structure begun and completed by the Confederate government. The Powder Works Factory was the second largest munitions factory in the world during the Civil War, consisting of 26 buildings which stretched two miles down the first level of the Augusta Canal. In July 1861, President Jefferson Davis ordered West Point-trained engineer, Col. George Washington Rains to select a place for a gunpowder plant, and Rains selected Augusta. The munitions factory operated under Rains from 1862 until April 18, 1865, manufacturing 2,750,000 pounds of gunpowder of the highest quality then made from saltpeter smuggled through the Federal blockade from India via England. Rains was known to boast that no battle was lost for want of gunpowder. The factory also produced cannons, cartridges, percussion caps, grenades, and signal rockets. Churches donated their bells, and local women donated their lead window weights to be melted into bullets. Other war industries along the canal produced pistols, uniforms, shoes, bedding, hospital supplies, baked goods, and gun and horse harnesses. The city bought the dilapidated powder works from the U.S. government in 1872 and tore down the mills to make way for new industries. Col. Rains, then a professor of chemistry and pharmacy at the Medical College of Georgia, appeared before the city council requesting that "at least the noble obelisk be allowed to remain forever as a fitting monument to the dead heroes who sleep on the unnumbered battlefields of the South." Large stone tablets on the base of the chimney pay tribute to the fallen Confederacy and Rains, who "under almost insuperable difficulties erected, and successfully operated these powder works — a bulwark of the beleaguered Confederacy."

[The Raines brothers had Nashville connections, as most folks do. One of their little "inventions" was the "torpedo" used somewhat effectively by the sparsely populated Confederate Navy. Science was progressing with this war, if not much else.]

[larry_cockerham]

February 9, 1865

Cheatham’s Corps in Augusta, Georgia .

Today Robert Edward Lee was named commander of all Confederate forces.

[larry_cockerham]

February 11, 1865

From the History of the 33rd Mississippi:

From Mobile the 33rd Mississippi ferried across Mobile Bay to the Tensas River and on up to the railroad at Tensas, Alabama. From there they took the cars through Pollard and Montgomery, Alabama, over to Columbus, Georgia and there on to Macon and Milledgeville, Georgia, where they got off and marched to Augusta, Georgia. They arrived on 11 February 1865. Within two days the men of Featherston's Brigade were ordered to march northward to Graniteville, South Carolina. They were in poor condition for a march and the column stretched for miles over the bad country roads.

Calvin Livesay who was separated from the 63rd Virginia along with a few of his comrades, apparently followed much of this same roundabout path from northern Mississippi down to Mobile and back north. Calvin’s diary still exists near his Virginia home and is referred to often in this document.