2nd Texas Infantry at Shiloh

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The 2nd Texas Infantry’s experience at the Battle of Shiloh was somewhat unique from other units during the battle. The Texans were heavily involved in both day’s actions. Here are the Official Reports of Colonel John C. Moore, commanding officer of the 2nd Texas.*
Regards
David

Reports of Col. John G. Moore, Second Texas Infantry.
Hdqrs. Second Regiment Texas Infantry, Camp, near Corinth, Miss., April 19, 1862.
Sir: I have the honor to make the following report of the part taken by the Second Regiment Texas Infantry in the battle of Shiloh on the 6th instant:
In justice to my regiment permit me to say that no other regiment entered the fight on that day under more unfavorable circumstances than the Second Texas.
Leaving Houston, Tex., on March 12, we arrived here on April 1, after a long and exhausting march.
Remaining in camp but one day, we left on the 3d for the field of Shiloh. Not having received the provisions ordered for the regiment, we left with a short two and a half days’ rations. By Saturday morning our provisions were all exhausted, yet the men moved forward with light hearts and buoyant spirits without a murmur of complaint.
By this time many who had left camp with worn-out shoes became totally barefooted, and many of the men, as well as some of the officers, returned to camp after the battle in their bare feet.
Early on the morning of the 6th, while the regiment acted as a support to General Hardee’s division, we lost 1 man killed and 2 or 3 wounded.
At about 8.30 o’clock we moved to the right, and took position in the front line of battle on the left of General Chalmers’ brigade. This brought us near a small stream, which I was told is known as Lick Creek.
Soon after we took position the enemy, deployed as skirmishers, opened fire on our line, wounding two or three of our men and also mortally wounding Captain Brooks, who was carried to the rear, and died on the 8th.
The enemy being concealed behind trees and logs, Captain Smith was ordered to deploy his company as skirmishers, cover our front, and ascertain the precise position of the enemy. At the same time Captain Girardey’s battery was thrown forward, and by firing into the woods seemed to disperse the enemy’s forces.
Being now ordered to advance, we proceeded some 200 or 300 yards to the brow of a hill, where the enemy appeared in considerable force within range of our guns, but on the opposite side of a narrow bottom of low land. Opening fire, we advanced to the foot of the hill when I gave the command, “‘Double-quick,” which being done, the right of the regiment passing through an open field under a fire, we reached the brow of the opposite hill and halted. We were now near the enemy’s camp and under the fire of a large force at a short distance in front, sheltering themselves in houses which were in front of their camp. Seeing the right of our regiment suffering severely and the advantage of the enemy in their sheltered position, I again gave the order, “Charge,” which was well done, driving the enemy before us from the camp, killing and wounding a considerable number and taking 6 prisoners. On reaching the road passing through the encampment we were fired on by a large force to our right from behind or through openings in a collection of farm houses, As the enemy seemed intending to turn our right flank we fell back some 50 yards, protected from their fire by rising ground in front. Here we changed direction to the right and again charged the enemy, driving them from the houses across a ravine and over the opposite hill. On reaching the ravine we halted, Captain Girardey’s battery having opened a fire from the hill in our rear, the shots passing over our heads. While in this position Colonel Chalmers’ forces were engaging the enemy to our right. They were exposed to a galling fire from a large force, and, though fighting like heroes, seemed at last to be giving back, and Captain Girardey’s battery suffering severely at the same time, Adjutant Mangoom, a brave and efficient officer, was ordered to request the battery to cease firing, that we might advance to the assistance of the Mississippians without being exposed to the fire of our own guns. The space between the right of Colonel Wheeler’s regiment and the left of General Chalmers’ brigade being sufficient for a line of only three companies, I ordered forward Captains Smith, McGinnis, and Christian, with their companies. They advanced at a double-quick, and after a short but severe engagement routed the enemy, being supported by the other companies of the regiment close in the rear of the line. As we passed over the ground in front the number of dead and wounded showed that our balls had done fearful execution in the ranks of the enemy.
The line being now reformed, after crossing a deep ravine we were ordered to sweep around by a slow wheel to the westward and proceed to where we now heard a heavy fire of artillery and musketry. After proceeding in this direction for perhaps half a mile we came up to a force covering our entire front and to the right and left as far as we could see through the woods. In this position the right wing of our regiment rested in a deep ravine, the left on a high hill, exposed to a very heavy fire, which passed over or through the ranks of our Mends in front.
Here we halted and ordered the men to lie down, but remained in this position but a few minutes, amid a perfect shower of balls, wounding several of the men, though prostrate on the ground. The left wing being now thrown into some confusion under a fire which they could not return, it fell back some 50 yards and reformed. The command “Forward” was given immediately, and on coming up again to the first position it was found that the right wing had advanced as the left fell back. Being but a short distance in the rear, the left advanced at a double-quick and soon joined the other in certainly one of the most brilliant actions of the day.
We think we may be permitted to say that the regiment had already done noble work, yet this last and closing action of the day may be remembered with pride by the officers and men of the Second Texas Infantry. They charged the camp with a shout in the face of the enemy’s artillery and musketry, and though they met an obstinate resistance, they soon drove the enemy from their encampment into the woods beyond, taking some 5 or 6 prisoners on the ground.
On reaching the northwestern side of the encampment, where we were still engaging the enemy, a Federal officer (a colonel) came dashing up near our lines and cried out, “Boys, for God’s sake stop firing, you are killing your friends.” The boys, not being deceived, ordered him to halt as he dashed off, but declining to accept the invitation, he soon fell dead, with his horse. At this place our men also shot an officer who was driving off* at a furious rate in a buggy. On being shot he sprang to his feet and fell backward from his buggy. We now observed the enemy in force, formed in line to the front and left of us, and supposing from their position that it was their intention to try to turn our left flank and cut us off from our forces on that side, the interval on the left being at that time very considerable, we fell back about 100 yards to the left and rear, still keeping up a fire at long range. While the line was thus being formed the cry “ White flag” was raised, the command “Cease firing” given, and in a few minutes an officer, unknown to us, rode up and said that a force of 1,000 of the enemy wished to surrender to the Texas regiment. At this time a regiment of cavalry passed between us and the prisoners, and before we could get further information on the subject they were in the hands of other parties. This caused our men much regret, as they had just had an obstinate contest with these very men, and we feel certain it was their colonel who was shot from his horse, as he rode directly from their position on approaching ours.
Capt. Ashbel Smith was wounded severely in the arm at this camp. He had borne himself with great gallantry during the day, and we thus lost for the present the services of a brave and excellent officer.
From this point we marched to the eastward, toward the Tennessee River. As we were about marching a shell from the enemy fell and exploded in our ranks, mortally wounding 2 men of Captain Owen’s company. After advancing about half a mile we came to a deep ravine, and found ourselves in front of a heavy battery of the enemy at the distance of 400 or 500 yards on our front. They opened on us a fire of shot and shell, which did but little damage, as the balls generally passed over our heads and across the ravine. After having kept up this fire for a considerable time they then changed the position of some of their guns, placing them so as to bring on us a raking fire up the ravine from our right. Seeing this state of things, we made a rapid retreat from our unpleasant position and proceeded back to the camp last taken, having been told that we would here receive further orders. It was dark when we reached camp, and after waiting an hour or so we bivouacked near this encampment in a drenching rain. First Lieut. Daniel Gallaher was sent to look for ammunition soon after we took this camp. He did not return, and is supposed to have been taken prisoner.
After having passed the night in the rain, and having had our sleep occasionally disturbed by the bursting of a shell in our vicinity, we proceeded early the next morning about half a mile and joined Colonel Wheeler’s regiment. Here we received orders from General Withers to march again to meet the enemy. After marching some 2 miles we halted near the enemy’s lines, and having been placed in command of a brigade, I turned over that of the regiment to Lieut. Col. W. P. Rogers.
Lieutenant-Colonel Rogers and Major H. G. Runnels, of this regiment, did their duty nobly on the 6th, and we doubt not their coolness and courage attracted the attention of the general commanding. The company officers, so far as we could observe, with one exception—Lieutenant Foster, now under arrest—performed their respective parts bravely; so much so, indeed, that it seems to me if I should mention favorably only a portion of them I would be doing injustice to the others.
Accompanying this report I have the honor to submit a list of the killed, wounded, and missing on the 6th.* (Not found in Records)
This report is much longer than I intended it to be when I commenced, but I trust you will at least excuse this, perhaps its least fault.
I am, captain, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
JNO. C. MOORE,
Colonel Second Regiment Texas Infantry.
Capt. J. R. Cummings,
Assistant Adjutant-General^ Withers1 Division.
P. S.—I have omitted to state that at the last camp taken by our regiment we captured two pieces of artillery, but having shot the horses, and the cannoneers making their escape on foot, we were unable to bring them off the field
(Pages 560-564)

*https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924077730160;view=1up;seq=560


 
Colonel Moore was one of the few who wrote separate Official Reports for each day of the battle. Here is the April 7th report.
Regards
David

Report of Col. John C. Moore, Second Texas Infantry, commanding temporary brigade,
Camp, near Corinth, Miss.,
April 21, 1862.
Sir: I have the honor to report that on arriving near the enemy’s lines on Monday, the 7th instant, I was placed by General Withers in command of a brigade, composed of the Second Texas and Nineteenth and Twenty-first Alabama Regiments.
Up to this date I have received no reports from the commanders of regiments. Being only nominally in command of an irregular organization, reports of the action may have been made to other commanders.
Before advancing, an officer and staff rode up and inquired for General Withers. The general not being present just then, the officer gave orders to throw forward two companies as skirmishers, cover bur front, learn the position of the enemy, and then fall back.
On asking from whom I received this order I was answered, “General Hardee.” The order was given, but before execution was countermanded by the same authority. The brigade then moved forward* under the personal direction of General Hardee and staff, with a full warning that General Breckinridge was in our front engaging the enemy.
After advancing some 200 yards a large force was seen in our front and to the right, but in a thick woods. This force was still believed to be our friends, and the caution again and again given not to fife, as they were Breckinridge’s men. The left wing of the brigade, passing through an open field, were now considerably in advance of the right, which passed through a thicket of low, small brushwood.
We soon learned that a truly sad mistake had been made respecting the force in front, for, permitting us to come up near their lines where they had a deadly cross-fire on our left wing, still in an open field, the enemy, from the shelter in the woods, now poured into the whole line a most murderous fire. So sudden was the shock and so unexpected was the character of our supposed friends, that the whole line soon gave way from right to left in utter confusion. The regiments became so scattered and mixed that all efforts to reform them became fruitless. Many of the officers, however, succeeded in gathering squads and joined other commands during the battle.
I have included in my report of the 6th the entire number of killed, wounded, and missing of the Second Regiment-Texas Infantry.
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,

(Pages 556-557)
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924077730160;view=1up;seq=556
 
General Hardee's Official Report which was not written until February of 1863 contained a bombshell. Hardee accused the Texans of being less than stalwart troops which precipitated a flurry of counter-charges and reports. Here is the account which lit the fires.
Regards
David

Reports of Lieut. Gen. William J. Hardee, C. S. Army, commanding Third
Gorps.
Hdqrs. Hardee’s Corps, Army of the Tennessee, Tullahoma, Tenn., February 7, 1863. *
Excerpt (Page 570)
On Monday, about 6 o’clock, portions of my command were formed upon an alignment with other troops on the left to resist the enemy, who soon opened a hot fire on our advanced lines. The battle reanimated our men, and the strong columns of the enemy were repulsed again and again by our tired and disordered, but brave and steadfast, troops.
In one instance, that of the Second Texas Regiment, commanded by Colonel Moore, the men seemed appalled, fled from the field without apparent cause, and were so dismayed that my efforts to rally them were unavailing.
*https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924077730160;view=1up;seq=588
 
And here is Colonel Moore's response to hearing that his regiment "having acted badly on the field of battle" was charged with a serious offense which impacted on the 2nd Texas's honor. The difference in the dates of Hardee's report and Moore's response is confusing yet it gets better when the Honorable Louis T. Wigfall becomes involved in the fray.
Regards
David

Hdqrs. Third Brigade, Withers’ Division,
Camp, near Corinth, Miss, April 25,1862.*
Sir: Having heard that the Second Regiment Texas Infantry, of which am proud to have the honor of being colonel, has been spoken of as having acted badly on the field of battle on the morning of the 7th instant, I feel it my duty, in justice to the regiment, to make the following special report for the information of the general commanding the Second Corps, Army of the Mississippi: As stated in my former report, I was not in command of my regiment on that day, having been placed by General Withers in command of a brigade, composed of the Nineteenth and Twenty-first Alabama and the Second Texas Regiments. Having formed the brigade in line of battle, as ordered (the Twenty-first Alabama on the right, the Second Texas in the center, and the Nineteenth Alabama on the left), a general officer and staff rode up and inquired for General Withers, who had just left our position. He ordered me to throw forward skirmishers, cover our front, feel the position of the enemy, and then fall back. On asking from whom I received the order, I was answered “General Hardee.” The order was immediately given for deploying the skirmishers, but before it could be executed it was countermanded, and the brigade, except a part of the Nineteenth Alabama, which acted as a support, advanced under the personal direction of General Hardee and staff, who generally gave orders directly and not through myself as commander of the brigade.
I beg permission to state here that General Bragg, who did me the honor to recommend me for promotion, perhaps feels (as I am told) some little doubt of the propriety of the recommendation since hearing the remarks referred to at the beginning of this report. If, as commander of the brigade, I had taken upon myself the responsibility of advancing upon the enemy without first feeling his position with skirmishers, then I might justly be held responsible for the result; but such was not the case.
Before the advance was ordered we were told that the brigade was to act as a support to General Breckinridge, who was engaging the enemy in front, and while advancing we were warned again and again by one or more staff officers not to fire on our friends in front. The greater part of the Second Texas passed over an open field and the enemy allowed them to approach near their lines before firing. Even after the enemy opened fire the officers of the Second Texas report the order was still given not to fire on our friends, and in one instance, after a private returned the fire of the enemy, a staff officer rode up and drew his pistol, threatening to blow off the man’s head if he fired again.
Major Runnels reports that while the order not to fire was being reported to the regiment he saw that the force in front were not friends, and ordered the men to fire and charge them; but just at that time a most galling cross-fire was poured into the regiment, and the cry “Fall back” being heard in a voice unfamiliar to him, he countermanded the order; but it was too late to be effective. The men fell back in great confusion with the result detailed in my former report.
I doubt not that our failure to drive back the enemy at this time and place may be attributed wholly to the mistake regarding the character of the force in front, the multiplicity of commands, and the consequent confusion of the men not knowing whom to obey.
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
JKO. O. MOORE,
Colonel Second Texas Regiment, Commanding Brigade.
Capt. D. E. Huger,
Assistant Adjutant-General, Wither’s Division.

(Pages 563-564)
*https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924077730160;view=1up;seq=581
 
The 2nd Texas was also known to have gone into battle at Shiloh wearing white, undyed uniforms, as told by their then Colonel John C. Moore in this account:

SOME CONFEDERATE WAR INCIDENTS
BY GEN. J. C. MOORE, MEXICO, TEX.
When my regiment, the Second Texas Infantry, was organized, at Galveston in 1861, not being able to procure Confederate gray, the men were supplied with Federal blue uniforms captured at Texas military posts. When, in March, 1862, we were ordered to report to Gen. A. S. Johnston, then at Corinth, we marched across the country to Alexandria, and thence were conveyed by steamer and railroad to our destination.
Not believing Federal blue a life prolonging color for a Confederate's uniform in battle, I sent an agent with a requisition on the quartermaster at New Orleans for properly colored uniforms. He met us at Corinth a few days before marching for the Shiloh (or Pittsburg Landing) battlefield. When the packages were opened, we found the so-called uniforms as white as washed wool could make them. I shall never forget the men's consternation and many exclamations not quoted from the Bible, such as "Well, I'll be d-----!" "Don't them thing's beat h---" "Do the generals expect us to be killed, and want us to wear our shrouds?" etc. Being a case of Hobson's choice, the men cheerfully made the best of the situation, quickly stripped off the ragged blue and donned the virgin white. The clothing having no marks as to sizes, articles were issued just as they came hit or miss as to fit. Soon the company grounds were full of men strutting up and down, some with trousers dragging under their heels, while those of others scarcely reached the tops of their socks; some with jackets so tight they resembled stuffed toads, while others had ample room to carry three days' rations in their bosoms. The exhibition closed with a swapping scene that reminded one of a horse-trading day in a Georgia county town. A Federal prisoner at Shiloh inquired: "Who were them hell-cats that went into battle dressed in their grave clothes?"

- Confederate Veteran, vol. 12 (March 1904), p. 116.
 
In a letter to his wife, Colonel William Rogers wrote in June of 1862, that General Beauregard had cited the Second Texas: “For conspicuous gallantry in the battle of Shiloh, the Second Texas will have SHILOH inscribed on its battle flag.”* That was offensive to Hardee who mentioned to Brigade Commander of the 2nd Texas about the incident at Shiloh.
The Honorable Louis Wigfall, Senator from Texas, soon learned of Hardee’s statement and preferred charges against the General. Hardee addressed himself to General Samuel Cooper instead of Wigfall.
Regards
David


General S. Cooper,
Adjutant and Inspector General 0. 8. Army.
Knoxville, Tenn., October 29, 1862.
General S. Cooper,
Adjutant and Inspector General C. S. Army^
General: I have the honor to inclose herewith a report in answer to charges preferred against me by the Hon. Louis T. Wigfall.
Yery respectfully, your obedient servant,
W. J. HARDEE,
Major-General.
Knoxville, Tenn., October 29, 1862.
General: I am in receipt of the charges and specifications preferred against me by the Hon. Louis T. Wigfall, and beg leave to submit the following report:
On the morning of April 7, at the battle of Shiloh, being in command of the right of our line, I ordered Colonel Moore’s Second Texas Regiment into action. I was near the regiment when it was moved forward, and could not have been more than 40 yards from it when it was placed in line of battle. I was about the same distance from it when it commenced firing; and apparently before half the pieces of the regiment were discharged it broke and fled disgracefully from the field. I [then] sent Captain Clare, then acting on my staff, to pursue and rally the regiment. He afterward informed me it could not be rallied; that a portion of the regiment swore they would not return to the field, and when told that I would call them a “pack of cowards,” said they did not care a **** what I might call them. So far as I know the regiment did not return to the field on that day.
Captain Clare’s report is herewith inclosed. Lieutenant Kearney, the only other staff officer I had with me at the time, is now, I regret to say, absent in Arkansas. His testimony, as I know, would confirm all that I have stated.
These facts I stated substantially to the Hon. James Phelan at Tupelo. I did not state to him, however, that while attempting to rally this regiment I received from it a volley by which “I expected to be riddled.” I made no attempt in person to rally this regiment. On another occasion on the same day, while attempting to rally another regiment, I was fired into by it. This statement I made to the honorable Senator, and in relating it he probably confounded one with the other.
I do not remember to have requested Senator Phelan, in the event Colonel Moore’s name should be presented to the Senate for brigadier-general, to oppose his confirmation.
I have made no report of the battle of Shiloh but the conduct of Colonel Moore’s regiment was reported by me orally to my superiors, Generals Beauregard and Bragg, immediately after the battle of Shiloh.
Being present at a review of General Price’s army near Tupelo, and seeing “Shiloh” conspicuously emblazoned on the colors of the Second Texas Regiment, I told General Little, to whose brigade it was attached, the facts concerning the conduct of this regiment at Shiloh, and requested him to communicate what I had said to Colonel Moore, desiring him, at the same time, to say to Colonel Moore that if he had any explanation to make I would be glad to receive it. I have never heard, in this connection, from either General Little or Colonel Moore. I have no personal acquaintance with Colonel Moore, nor have I any desire to injure him or to interfere with his promotion, if he deserves it.
I have the honor to be, general, with high respect, your obedient servant,
W. J. HARDEE,
Major-General.
General S. Cooper,
Adjutant and Inspector-General G. 8. Army.
[Inclosure.]

*The Summer and Fall of ’62 http://www.9thtexas.org/ROAD TO CORINTH - Part 2.pdf (Page 2)
^ (Pages 571-572) Official Records https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924077730160;view=1up;seq=590
 
Hardee called upon his volunteer aide-de-camp, W. Clare, at Shiloh for his testimony regarding the behavior of the 2nd Texas at Shiloh. This is a far as I have gotten about this subject and I want to quickly state I have no opinion about the validity of the charges. I suspect that this was truly an example of the "fog of war" in that Hardee's staff officer saw what they think they saw but it was not like that. On the second day of the battle, men were short of water, supplies and patience. "War Is Hell" as Sherman said and no glory was to be found. Death and destruction had covered the field and morale was low and I am sure that some spiffy looking staff officer giving orders and directions did not sit well with the worn and weary Texans who had been in combat since early the morning before.
Regards
David

Knoxville, Tenn., October 29, 1862.
General: In reply to your communication, asking of me a statement in reference to the conduct of the Second Regiment Texas Volunteers on Monday at the battle of Shiloh, I have the honor to submit the following:
While with you in the capacity of volunteer aide-de-camp, when forming line of battle early on Monday morning of the battle of Shiloh, you ordered a regiment, designating it as the Second Texas Regiment, which I understood to be commanded by Colonel Moore, to take its position in line of battle, and noticing the slowness with which the order was executed, you remarked, “Those men don’t move as if they would fight,” or to that effect. I was surprised at such a doubt entertained of Texas troops and think I so expressed myself. Shortly after the line of battle referred to was formed it became engaged, and before the regiment could have had time to reload after the first fire—if, indeed, all the arms had been discharged once, of which I am by no means certain—it broke and fled in disorder to the rear. You turned to me and others, crying out, " Stop those men—the cowards!” or words of similar import. This I attempted to do, but was unable to rally the regiment or to induce a single man to return to the field. While endeavoring to execute the order I saw a commissioned officer and some men of the regiment sheltering themselves behind a tree. These I ordered to the front, but they refused to stir; and when the officer was upbraided with his conduct and told of what you said, he replied that he didn’t care a ****. At this point I was severely wounded and left the field.
Very respectfully, your obedient servant,
W. CLARE
Major and Inspector-General, Second Division,
Left Wing, Army of the Mississippi.
Maj. Gen. W. J. Hardee

(Pages 571-572) Official Records https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924077730160;view=1up;seq=591
 
Below is the marker of the position of the 2nd Texas on Monday, April 7th where all the trouble took place just north of the Hamburg/Purdy road on the Confederate Right.
Regards
David

1557544231486.png

1557544254253.png

C. S.
ARMY OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
19th ALABAMA, 2d TEXAS,
Jackson's (3d) Brig., Withers' (2d) Division,
Bragg's Corps.


These regiments were engaged here April 7, 1862
until about 1 p.m.
 
@Vicksburger weren't your people in the 2nd Texas Infantry?
Yes they got their baptism at Shiloh. I frankly am amazed that they survived Shiloh and Corinth and even made it to Vicksburg, when one brother was killed at Vicksburg. The other brother survived to get home to Texas then died in 1866 at the ripe old age of 29. The third brother stayed behind to help with the ranch and later was called up with the Commissary Dept of the Trans-Miss. Department. (Shipping cattle across the Miss.) That is the brother I am off of. He lived until 1917 and no doubt his missing S, C and V is why I'm here.
 
Below is the marker of the position of the 2nd Texas on Monday, April 7th where all the trouble took place just north of the Hamburg/Purdy road on the Confederate Right.
Regards
David

View attachment 306862
View attachment 306863
C. S.
ARMY OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
19th ALABAMA, 2d TEXAS,
Jackson's (3d) Brig., Withers' (2d) Division,
Bragg's Corps.


These regiments were engaged here April 7, 1862
until about 1 p.m.
Interesting, I never knew for sure where it was on the battlefield.
 
And here is Colonel Moore's response to hearing that his regiment "having acted badly on the field of battle" was charged with a serious offense which impacted on the 2nd Texas's honor. The difference in the dates of Hardee's report and Moore's response is confusing yet it gets better when the Honorable Louis T. Wigfall becomes involved in the fray.
Regards
David

Hdqrs. Third Brigade, Withers’ Division,
Camp, near Corinth, Miss, April 25,1862.*
Sir: Having heard that the Second Regiment Texas Infantry, of which am proud to have the honor of being colonel, has been spoken of as having acted badly on the field of battle on the morning of the 7th instant, I feel it my duty, in justice to the regiment, to make the following special report for the information of the general commanding the Second Corps, Army of the Mississippi: As stated in my former report, I was not in command of my regiment on that day, having been placed by General Withers in command of a brigade, composed of the Nineteenth and Twenty-first Alabama and the Second Texas Regiments. Having formed the brigade in line of battle, as ordered (the Twenty-first Alabama on the right, the Second Texas in the center, and the Nineteenth Alabama on the left), a general officer and staff rode up and inquired for General Withers, who had just left our position. He ordered me to throw forward skirmishers, cover our front, feel the position of the enemy, and then fall back. On asking from whom I received the order, I was answered “General Hardee.” The order was immediately given for deploying the skirmishers, but before it could be executed it was countermanded, and the brigade, except a part of the Nineteenth Alabama, which acted as a support, advanced under the personal direction of General Hardee and staff, who generally gave orders directly and not through myself as commander of the brigade.
I beg permission to state here that General Bragg, who did me the honor to recommend me for promotion, perhaps feels (as I am told) some little doubt of the propriety of the recommendation since hearing the remarks referred to at the beginning of this report. If, as commander of the brigade, I had taken upon myself the responsibility of advancing upon the enemy without first feeling his position with skirmishers, then I might justly be held responsible for the result; but such was not the case.
Before the advance was ordered we were told that the brigade was to act as a support to General Breckinridge, who was engaging the enemy in front, and while advancing we were warned again and again by one or more staff officers not to fire on our friends in front. The greater part of the Second Texas passed over an open field and the enemy allowed them to approach near their lines before firing. Even after the enemy opened fire the officers of the Second Texas report the order was still given not to fire on our friends, and in one instance, after a private returned the fire of the enemy, a staff officer rode up and drew his pistol, threatening to blow off the man’s head if he fired again.
Major Runnels reports that while the order not to fire was being reported to the regiment he saw that the force in front were not friends, and ordered the men to fire and charge them; but just at that time a most galling cross-fire was poured into the regiment, and the cry “Fall back” being heard in a voice unfamiliar to him, he countermanded the order; but it was too late to be effective. The men fell back in great confusion with the result detailed in my former report.
I doubt not that our failure to drive back the enemy at this time and place may be attributed wholly to the mistake regarding the character of the force in front, the multiplicity of commands, and the consequent confusion of the men not knowing whom to obey.
I am, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant,
JKO. O. MOORE,
Colonel Second Texas Regiment, Commanding Brigade.
Capt. D. E. Huger,
Assistant Adjutant-General, Wither’s Division.

(Pages 563-564)
*https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924077730160;view=1up;seq=581
Yeah that's why I have never liked Hardee. You wonder how much this caused Rogers to be recklessly bold at Corinth, to prove their manhood. Like Gen. Garnett at Gettysburg having been called a coward by Stonewall.
 
Thanks for the thread and reports @Ole Miss . Fell asleep early last night and woke up very early this morning and just spent an enjoyable few minutes reading through the posted reports. I have only read one book on Shiloh so far and I recall some information on this controversy,if you want to call it that, being in that book. I tend to give the contemporaneous reports a bit more weight than a report written 10 months later.
 
I knew little about Colonel Rogers or the 2nd Texas when I started this thread so I began to study both. Below are a few facts about this remarkable person. He truly was a Renaissance Man
Regards
David
Colonel William Peleg Rogers (1819-1862)
Born in Georgia
Moved to Aberdeen, MS
Went to Medical School became a Doctor and practiced in Pontotoc, MS
Studied Law and became an Attorney
Captain of Company K, First Mississippi Volunteer Infantry Regiment, popularly known as the "Mississippi Rifles," commanded by Col. Jefferson Davis in the Mexican War
He felt slighted by Davis in the Official Reports to the War Department and developed a dislike for Davis
Appointed United States Consul at the port of Veracruz in Mexico in 1849 but his wife urged him to return to the US
He returned to Texas to practice law
He was elected a delegate from Harris County to the Texas secession convention and signed the ordinance of secession on February 1, 1861.
He accepted a commission as lieutenant colonel of the Second Texas Infantry, commanded by Col. John Creed Moore.
In August 1862 the principal officers from at least twenty regiments in the army addressed a letter to the War Department urging Rogers's promotion to major general and command of a division.
He believed that Jefferson Davis would not approve his promotion and as happened he was not promoted but remained the Colonel of the 2nd Texas Infantry
On October 4 at Corinth, MS, in a series of headlong frontal attacks against the enemy's heavily fortified position, Battery Robinett, he was killed.
His bravery caused Union General, General Rosecrans, to accord Rogers a burial attended with full military honors, a ceremony normally reserved only for Confederate general officers.
http://alcorncounty.org/colrogers.aspx

In 1912 the United Daughters of the Confederacy, together with several Rogers family descendants, dedicated a white marble obelisk to mark his grave site atop a hill overlooking the battlefield at Corinth.
1557604735513.png
 
I knew little about Colonel Rogers or the 2nd Texas when I started this thread so I began to study both. Below are a few facts about this remarkable person. He truly was a Renaissance Man
Regards
David
Colonel William Peleg Rogers (1819-1862)
Born in Georgia
Moved to Aberdeen, MS
Went to Medical School became a Doctor and practiced in Pontotoc, MS
Studied Law and became an Attorney
Captain of Company K, First Mississippi Volunteer Infantry Regiment, popularly known as the "Mississippi Rifles," commanded by Col. Jefferson Davis in the Mexican War
He felt slighted by Davis in the Official Reports to the War Department and developed a dislike for Davis
Appointed United States Consul at the port of Veracruz in Mexico in 1849 but his wife urged him to return to the US
He returned to Texas to practice law
He was elected a delegate from Harris County to the Texas secession convention and signed the ordinance of secession on February 1, 1861.
He accepted a commission as lieutenant colonel of the Second Texas Infantry, commanded by Col. John Creed Moore.
In August 1862 the principal officers from at least twenty regiments in the army addressed a letter to the War Department urging Rogers's promotion to major general and command of a division.
He believed that Jefferson Davis would not approve his promotion and as happened he was not promoted but remained the Colonel of the 2nd Texas Infantry
On October 4 at Corinth, MS, in a series of headlong frontal attacks against the enemy's heavily fortified position, Battery Robinett, he was killed.
His bravery caused Union General, General Rosecrans, to accord Rogers a burial attended with full military honors, a ceremony normally reserved only for Confederate general officers.
http://alcorncounty.org/colrogers.aspx

In 1912 the United Daughters of the Confederacy, together with several Rogers family descendants, dedicated a white marble obelisk to mark his grave site atop a hill overlooking the battlefield at Corinth.
View attachment 306909
I don't know what the problem was between him and Jefferson Davis. It had to have been from the Mexican War but I never have read what it was about. I think had it not been for Davis he would have been at least a BG by the time of Corinth. Of course JD never thought much about a soldier unless he was a West Point graduate, and Rogers was not one. Ironic that his family and friends put a quote from JD on his monument, I have always thought it was neat: "The gallantry which attracted the enemy at Corinth was in keeping with the character he acquired in the former service." (Jefferson Davis) Does anybody know what the dispute was about?
 
Rogers felt that Davis and General Taylor were slighting him in their reports. Of course Rogers did not follow all of Davis’ orders and created problems with his truculent behavior.
All of these Southern Gentlemen were quick to sense any personal offense and ready to seek satisfaction
Creating Davis as an enemy hurt Rogers chances for promotion as proven by his being denied promotion to General.
Davis spent as much effort fighting political enemies as he did the Federals
Regards
David
 
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