Key to Corinth by Keith Rocco. The 2nd Texas Infantry attacks Battery Robinett at Corinth, Mississippi, October 4, 1862.
2nd Texas Infantry
Company A - Harris County, "San Jacinto Guards", Capt. Hal G. Runnels
Company B - Harris County, "Confederate Guards", Capt. William C. Timmons
Company C - Harris & Chambers County, "Bayland Guards", Capt. Ashbel Smith
Company D - Harris County, "Confederate Grays", Capt. Edward F. Williams
Company E -Robertson & Brazos County, Capt. Belvedere Brooks
Company F - Galveston County, Capt. John Muller
Company G - Burleson County, "Burleson Guards", Capt. John W. Hood
Company H - Burleson & Lee County, "Lexington Grays", Capt. Noble L. McGinnis
Company I - Gonzales County, "Gonzales Invincibles", Capt. George W. L. Fly
Company K - Jackson County, "Texana Guards", Capt. Clark L. Owen
Edit: I formerly had the TSHA Handbook of Texas article on the regiment posted here. As pointed out in later posts, it contains some errors and is lacking a lot of information, so I'm replacing it with a much more detailed description from Ralph A. Wooster's Lone Star Regiments in Gray:
The Second Texas Infantry was made up of ten volunteer militia companies from coastal and Central Texas. The companies were brought together as a regiment under the command of Col. John Creed Moore. A West Point graduate and former artillery officer in the U.S. Army, Moore was teaching at Shelby College in Kentucky when the states of the lower South seceded. An ardent supporter of southern rights, Moore resigned his teaching position immediately to accept a commission in the Confederate army. He was sent to Texas in late spring 1861 to construct defensive fortifications for the state. When it became obvious that additional troops were needed, Moore was ordered to organize an infantry regiment from local militia.
The men in the ten companies that made up the new regiment were primarily from the Houston-Galveston-lower Brazos River area. Joseph E. Chance, who has written the most complete modern account of the Second Texas, points out that the ranks of the regiment were filled "by proud, young volunteers imbued with a spirit of adventure and eager to serve." Among those in the regiment were the sons of former Texas presidents Sam Houston and Dr. Anson Jones. The older Houston initially opposed his son's enlistment but eventually came to take an interest in the unit and later claimed to be a private in Company C, the Bayland Guards.
Moore's regiment was mustered into Confederate service in September 1861 as the First Texas Infantry. However, Louis T. Wigfall, former U.S. senator and now Confederate senator, claimed that the Texans who had gathered in the Richmond, Virginia, area were entitled to the honor of being "first." Due to Wigfall's political influence the Confederate War Department agreed that the Texans in Virginia should be designated as the First Texas Infantry. Moore's regiment thus became the Second Texas Infantry.
The Second Texas was quartered in a cotton warehouse in Galveston while organization of the unit was completed. Well-known Texas lawyer and Mexican War veteran William P. Rogers was chosen lieutenant colonel of the regiment. Rogers, who had served with distinction in Jefferson Davis' Mississippi Rifles in the Mexican conflict, was a cousin of Sam Houston's wife and a long-time friend of Houston. Like Houston, Rogers initially opposed secession but with Lincoln's election came to believe separation from the Union was necessary if southern rights were to be protected. After Texas seceded, Rogers was offered command of the First Texas in Virginia by Jefferson Davis, but at his wife's insistence he accepted the lieutenant colonelcy of the Second Texas instead. Hal Runnels captain of Company A was chosen major of the regiment. His place as captain of Company A was filled by William Christian.
The men of the Second Texas were put through a rigorous training pace by their new officers. Colonel Moore had the reputation of being a strict disciplinarian, a reputation which seemed fully merited. In December moved to Camp Bee in Houston, where the training continued as the commander sought uniforms and equipment for the men. The routine drill was occasionally interrupted by social activities provided by the local townfolk. Ralph Smith, a private in Company K from Jackson County, noted in his memoirs that the young Texans were supremely confident of victory when they met the enemy. "The possibility of such a thing as defeat never for a moment entered the minds of our inexperienced corps," he wrote. "Day after day we were dined, wined, and flattered. Night after night we floated on a sea of glory. The ladies petted and lionized us; preechers prayed with and for us, declaring the lord was on our side, so we need have no fears." Even the admonitions of Sam Houston, who occasionally visited the drills, had little effect upon their self-confidence. When the old warrior cautioned the young Texans that the resources of the North were almost limitless and would wear them down, Smith observed "he might as well had been giving advice to the inmates of a lunatic asylum. We knew no such word as fail."'
The regiment had been formed to provide protection for the Texas coastline, but in March Colonel Moore received orders to report to Corinth, Mississippi, where Albert Sidney Johnston was concentrating all available troops for an attack on the Union army at Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River.
The Second Texas departed from Houston on March 18, 1862. The regiment traveled by rail to Beaumont, then by steamboat up the Neches River to Wiess' Bluff, and then overland by foot to to Alexandria, Louisiana. From rom there they proceeded by steam boat on the Red and Mississippi Rivers to Memphis, and from there by overland march to Corinth, arriving on April 1.
Moore's regiment, nearly 1,300 men strong, reached Corinth as Johnston was completing his concentration of troops for the attack on Grant's army on the Tennessee River. Already two other Texas regiments, the Eighth Texas Cavalry and Ninth Texas Infantry, were with the army as it completed preparations for the twenty-mile march to Pittsburg Landing. Supplies of the Second Texas were virtually exhausted afted the long journey from Houston, but the Confederate commissary at Corinth could provide Moore with rations for only two and a half days.
After only a day's rest, the regiment moved with Johnston's army on April 3 as it headed toward Pittsburg Landing. The march took three days rather than two as Johnston had hoped. Many of the men in the Second Texas had consumed their rations and others had worn out their shoes on the march from Texas and were barefoot. To make matters worse, the Texans were wearing ill-fitting, undyed white cotton uniforms that were issued to them at Corinth.
In the great battle that took place near the small country church named Shiloh on April 6-7, 1862, the Second Texas was in the thick of the fighting. As a part of John K. Jackson's brigade in Jones Withers' division, the Texans were on the right flank of Johnston's army during the attack. They overran the outlying Federal camps as the Union cooks were preparing breakfast. Young Sam Houston, Jr., a member of Capt. Ashbel Smith's Bayland Guards, scalded his hand as he took a large piece of beef from a boiling pot. Other Texans paused to pick various mementos from the Federal tents.
By midday the Union troops had formed a defense line along a sunken road flanked by open fields on both sides. Here Union General Benjamin Prentiss rallied his troops to make a stand. The rifle and musket fire was so severe that the embattled soldiers were soon referring to the area as the "Hornet's Nest." The fighting went on until late afternoon, when Prentiss finally surrendered to the Second Texas.
As the other Federal troops fell back toward the Tennessee River, the advancing Confederates, including the Second Texas, came under artillery fire from Union gunboats. When evening came the exhausted Confederates bedded down for the night. They had only partially achieved success that day. Although they had driven the enemy back several miles, the cost had been high. Albert Sidney Johnston, the highest-ranking field officer in the Confederate army, had been killed while trying to rally Confederate troops on the right flank in the early afternoon. Hundreds of Confederates were killed and wounded. The Second Texas sustained more than one hundred casualties that day, including Capt. Belvedere Brooks of Company E, who was mortally wounded in the opening attack. Capt. Ashbel Smith was shot in the right arm and was later sent to a hospital in Memphis.
When fighting resumed on the morning of April 7, the Confederate forces found themselves outnumbered by Grant's army, which had received reinforcements during the night. Throughout the day the Confederates slowly gave ground, retreating back past the spot of their initial assault. In the confusion of the day's activities the Second Texas became the center of controversy between Col. John C. Moore and corps commander William Hardee. The Texans had performed so well under Moore's leadership in the first day's fighting that division commander Jones M. Withers appointed Moore as temporary brigade commander, replacing Brig. Gen. John Jackson, who had become separated from the brigade. About 11:00 that morning the Second Texas, now commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Rogers, was ordered to advance against the enemy without proper reconnaissance. When they encountered unexpected heavy enemy fire, they gave ground and fell back. General Hardee, who was on the scene, blamed the Texans for breaking and fleeing "disgracefully from the field."
In his report of the battle, Hardee was highly critical of both officers and men of the Second Texas. In the instance "of the Second Texas Regiment, commanded by Col. Moore, the men seemed appalled, fled from the field without apparent cause, and were so dismayed that my efforts to rally them were unavailing," he reported.
Moore, who was proud of the regiment and sensitive to any personal criticism, replied angrily to Hardee's charges. In a special attachment submitted with his regular report of the battle, Moore noted that Hardee's staff had not followed the proper chain of command. Staff officers had shouted orders to the Texans, adding to the confusion of the battle. Several men in the regiment, Moore contended, had heard orders to fall back. And, finally, Moore pointed out that Rogers was actually commanding the regiment that day, not Moore (who headed the brigade), as Hardee reported. Historian Joseph Chance, who studied the issue carefully, agreed that numerous errors were made by Hardee and his staff, but pointed out the Second Texas Infantry and General Moore "made a powerful enemy in General Hardee," a highly respected officer with considerable influence in Confederate affairs. Another historian, Kevin R. Young, was more critical of Hardee, writing that it is highly possible that Hardee was using Moore and the regiment as a scapegoat for his own military blundering.
Following the second day of fighting at Shiloh, the defeated Confederates, now commanded by Gen. P. G.T. Beauregard, retreated. The Second Texas formed part of the rear guard as the army made its way back to Corinth. The Confederate losses were heavy: 1,728 killed, 8,012 wounded, and 959 missing. The exact number of casualties in the Second Texas is not clear, as Moore's summary of losses was not found by the compilers of the Official Records; however, muster rolls indicate slightly over 30 percent casualties for the regiment. William P. Rogers, who commanded the Second Texas during the fighting on April 7, was injured by a limb that was snapped off by a cannon ball. Captains Edward F. Williams of Company D, Belvedere Brooks of Company E, Clark Owen of Company K, and Lt. John H. Fenney of Company E were all killed. Captains J. W. Hood of Company G and George W. L. Fly of Company I were seriously wounded. Ashbel Smith, wounded himself, had to report to his old friend Sam Houston that his son, Pvt. Sam Houston, Jr., was among the missing. Young Houston fortunately survived. He was found wounded on the battlefield by a Union chaplain, given medical attention, and taken as a prisoner to Camp Douglas, Illinois. After several months of imprisonment he was released and allowed to return home.
For the next several weeks the Second Texas was camped near Corinth. The regiment took part in a small battle at Farmington, Mississippi, on May 9 in which it helped drive back Federal troops commanded by John Pope. Later that month several organizational changes took place as Colonel Moore was promoted to brigadier general and given command of a brigade consisting of the Second Texas, Fifteenth Arkansas, Twenty-third Arkansas, and Thirty-fifth Mississippi regiments. At the same time William P. Rogers was promoted to colonel, Ashbel Smith to lieutenant colonel, and William Simmons to major.
In late May the Confederate army, under heavy enemy pressure, evacuated Corinth and fell back to Tupelo, fifty miles to the south. There the army rested and reorganized. Moore's brigade was now part of Sterling Price's Army of the West.
In June the Second Texas received a citation from division commander Dabney A Maury for its service at Shiloh. The citation allowed the Texans to place the word "Shiloh" on their battle flag. At the same time the Second Texas was designated as the "sharpshooters" regiment in Moore's brigade. This designation meant that the regiment, from now on often referred to as the Second Texas Sharpshooters, would lead the brigade in the attack. Colonel Rogers and the men of the Second were pleased with this recognition, but as historian Joseph Chance pointed out, it was "an honor which . . . cost the Texans dearly in casualties."
The Second Texas saw little action during the summer months of 1862. Because the regiment now had only slightly more than 500 present for duty, Col. Ashbel Smith was sent back to Texas to enroll a group of conscripted troops, a move not altogether popular with the volunteers.
While Smith was back in Texas, Sterling Price's army was ordered north to prevent a linkup of the armies of William S. Rosecrans and U S. Grant in northern Mississippi. Price moved his army, including the Second Texas, to the small town of Iuka, thirty miles east of Corinth on the Memphis-Charleston Railroad. Although the Confederates occupied the town with little difficulty, they were attacked by Rosecrans' army on September 19. In the fierce fighting that took place, the Texas Third and Twenty-seventh cavalries were heavily involved, but the Second Texas saw only limited action.
The Confederates held their own in the fighting on the 19th, but having suffered heavy casualties and fearing Union encirclement, Price reluctantly abandoned Iuka the following day. As the Confederates retreated, Rosecrans, now joined by Edward O. C. Ord's Corps from Grant's army, attempted to cut off the withdrawal. During this action the Second Texas, supported by a Missouri artillery battery, played a major role in driving off an attack by the Iowa Cavalry that threatened the Confederate withdrawal.
Price's battered army made its way southward to Baldwyn, Mississippi, a town thirty miles south of Corinth. From there Price moved northwest to Ripley, where he joined other Confederates commanded by Earl Van Dorn. In late September, their combined forces, numbering around 22,000 troops, marched north in attempt to recapture Corinth, a key railroad juncture.
Sterling Price, shaken by his failure at Iuka, was opposed to the attack on Corinth. The city was garrisoned by only 15,000 Union troops, but Rosecrans, the area commander, could bring up an additional 10,000 men. More importantly, the Federals were well entrenched in defense lines previously built by the Confederates and strengthened during Union occupation. In spite of Price's objections, Van Dorn, who was senior in command, was determined to capture the city.
Van Dorn hoped to surprise the enemy at Corinth by first moving his army north as if driving into southern Tennessee, then swinging back in a southeasterly direction toward the city. Unfortunately for the Confederates, Rosecrans, though puzzled somewhat by the Rebel movement, was prepared when the Confederates made their attack on the morning of October 3.
Dabney Maury's Division, which included Moore's Brigade and the Second Texas, was on the Confederate right during the initial attack. Throughout the day Moore's Confederates battled with Federal troops from Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, and Wisconsin. The tide of battle ebbed and flowed, and casualties were heavy. Maj. William Timmons, leading the Texans in the assault, was seriously wounded, but Capt. John Muller of Company F took his place as the battle went on. Successive bayonet attacks by the Second Texas helped force the enemy slowly back so that by darkness the Confederates occupied the outer defenses of the city.
The Confederate attack resumed the next morning. . . . When heavy enemy artillery and musket fire threatened to halt the advance, Colonel Rogers . . . rallied [the men]. At the head of his troops Rogers led a handful of Texans against the breastworks of Battery Robinett [an earthen fortification in the Federal line, containing three 20-pound Parrott Rifles] For a brief moment the flag of the Second Texas fluttered over the battery, but a powerful enemy counterattack swept the Confederates back. Colonel Rogers, possibly trying to surrender in face of the overwhelming odds was killed along with several of his men. Those who could do so fell back toward the Confederate lines. The desperate fighting continued for another hour before Van Dorn conceded failure. Around noon he called off the attack. The next day the Confederates withdrew across the Hatchie River. . . .
Confederate losses at Corinth were high. Dabney Maury suffered the heaviest division losses, with nearly 2,500 casualties out of the 3,800 men who took part in the battle. John C. Moore's brigade was particularly hard hit, losing 1,295 of 1,895 men engaged. The Second Texas, in the center of the fighting, sustained 116 casualties of 314 troops who were in the battle. Among the casualties, in addition to Colonel Rogers, was Maj. John Muller (promoted when Major Timmons was wounded the first day). Muller was killed within twenty paces of Battery Robinett while leading his men. Capt. George W. L. Fly of Company I and Capt. W. F. Goff of Company K were both captured but later paroled.
The Confederate army retreated to Holly Springs, Mississippi, after the battle at Corinth. The Second Texas was temporarily commanded by Capt. Noble L. McGinnis of Company H, the senior officer with the regiment following the deaths of Colonel Rogers and Major Muller and the wounding of Major Timmons at Corinth. In late November the advance of the Union army forced the Confederates to move to Grenada, seventy miles to the south. While there, promotions were announced. Ashbel Smith, still in Texas enrolling conscripts, was appointed colonel. William Timmons, returned to duty from medical leave, was made lieutenant colonel and temporary commander in Smith's absence. Noble McGinnis, commander of H Company, was promoted to major.
In late December the Second Texas was ordered to Vicksburg to assist in the defense of that city. Union general William T. Sherman had attempted an amphibious landing at Chickasaw Bluffs, seven miles north of Vicksburg. The Second Texas joined Brig. Gen. Stephen D. Lee's Confederate forces there just as Sherman was trying to withdraw his troops by transport vessels. The Texans, led by Lieutenant Colonel Timmons, launched an immediate attack on the enemy, pouring deadly rifle fire on the transports. Although Sherman was able to withdraw his troops, the fire from the Second Texas resulted in many enemy casualties. In his report of the affair, Lee praised the Texans: "this most gallant regiment with a dash rushed almost up to the boats delivering their fire with terrible effect on their crowded transports." His superior, Lt. Gen. John C. Pemberton, also praised "the noble Second Texas" for its performance.
Lieutenant Colonel Timmons, who was wounded in the ankle while leading the regiment in the encounter at Chickasaw Bluffs, died later when surgeons attempted to amputate his foot. To fill his position Noble L. McGinnis was promoted to lieutenant colonel. Capt. George W. L. Fly was promoted to major.
The regiment remained in camp at Chickasaw Bayou for the next two months. In January, Colonel Smith returned from Texas with 150 conscripted soldiers. Although there was some resentment among the veterans, the new infantrymen slowly won acceptance by members of the regiment.
Confederate authorities learned in late February that Union general Grant was attempting to bring troops down the Yazoo River by transport vessels. Under the command of Maj. Gen. W. W. Loring, the Confederates hurriedly constructed Fort Pemberton at the confluence of the Tallahatchee and Yalobusha rivers as a defensive barrier to the move. In early March the Second Texas was moved by steamboat up the Yazoo to join Loring's command. Soon after the Texans arrived, they helped other Confederates in driving back the enemy in what some called the Battle of Tallahatchee. For their part in the successful Confederate defense Colonel Smith and the Texans won the praise and commendation of General Loring.
When it became apparent that Grant was abandoning the Yazoo River approach, the Second Texas returned to its camp at Chickasaw Bayou. The regiment remained there until early May, when it was ordered to Warrenton, twelve miles south of Vicksburg. Grant's army had crossed the Mississippi at Bruinsburg to the south. The Second Texas was assigned to guard the road coming north from Grand Gulf.
On March 17 the Texans were ordered to fall back to the defensive lines around Vicksburg. Confederate efforts to block Grant's advance had failed, and the city was rapidly being encircled.
The Second Texas was assigned a fort in the center of the Confederate defense line commanding the Baldwin Ferry Road and the Southern Mississippi Railroad. Under Colonel Smith's direction the Texans immediately set to work improving the fort and the adjacent area. Because the fortification was designed in a half-moon shape, the position quickly became known as the Second Texas Lunette.
Smith's troops had barely finished improvements to their defensive position when Grant's army opened fire. Shelling began on May 19, but the main assault on the Texas position came on May 22, when five Union regiments attacked the Texas Lunette. Throughout the day wave after wave of Federal troops charged the Confederate line while the Texans poured lethal fire through the embrasures. During one of the heaviest attacks, fires were started in the cotton bales that were used inside the fort for protective cover. The fires were quickly put out. Some Federal troops attempted to scale the parapet but were driven back. A brief lull in hostilities took place around 3:00 P.M., but Union reinforcements resumed the assault soon after. The firing went on until nightfall. The ground in front of the lunette was covered with the bodies of dead Union soldiers.
Union attacks on other Confederate positions were also unsuccessful and costly in casualties that day. As a result Grant decided that Vicksburg could not be taken by assault without prohibitive losses. With his troops encircling the city and the Union navy controlling the Mississippi River, Grant ordered a siege. For the next six weeks the Confederate defenders suffered from daily artillery bombardment, enemy probing efforts, sickness, hunger, and exposure. Joseph E. Johnston, who had been appointed overall Confederate commander of the Mississippi-Tennessee Department, attempted to raise sufficient forces to break the siege but was unsuccessful. On July 4, 1863, Lieutenant General Pemberton, commanding the besieged garrison, surrendered to General Grant.
Under the terms of surrender the Confederate troops at Vicksburg were given paroles on condition they not perform military duties against the United States until properly exchanged. The Confederates were sent to a camp near Brandon, Mississippi, to await exchange, but many of the men, particularly those from the Trans Mississippi, began leaving for home. General Pemberton, recognizing the futility of keeping men against their will, agreed to permit furloughs for many of his troops. On July 17, 1863, Colonel Smith received orders furloughing his men until exchanged.
The men of the Second Texas made their way home as best they could in late July and early August. Although the journey was difficult, they found assistance from their fellow Southerners. Ralph Smith, the private who had been wounded and captured at Shiloh but exchanged in time to suffer through the Vicksburg, reported "we found the people along our route, though illy provided themselves, willing to divide their last morsel with us...." By late August most of the men of the Second Texas were home for the first time in more than a year.
The Second Texas was declared exchanged in October 1863 and ordered to report to Houston for reorganization. The regiment, now reduced in numbers to little more than 200 men, was reassigned to the District of Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico under the command of Maj. Gen. John B. Magruder. The Second Texas was ordered to Velasco near the mouth of the Brazos and then to Fort Caney at the mouth of the Caney River to help defend the Texas coast against an anticipated enemy invasion. The regiment remained there during the winter of 1863-1864 under the command of Maj. George W. L. Fly, who assumed command when Ashbel Smith was assigned other duty in Houston.
In late spring the Second Texas joined other Texas units guarding Galveston Island. Colonel Smith rejoined the regiment in August. When Brig. Gen. James M. Hawes, commander of the Galveston defenses, contracted yellow fever, Smith assumed command of all troops on the island.
The Second Texas remained on Galveston Island for the last months of the war. Although Colonel Smith attempted to keep discipline and order, morale in all the Confederate units was low. Yellow fever, inadequate rations, and lack of pay contributed to a general deterioration. On one occasion the Second Texas was called upon to quell a riot by disgruntled soldiers. When word was received that Robert E. Lee had surrendered in Virginia, many of the men decided the war was lost and headed home. At the urging or Colonel Smith a few remained on the island until the final surrender by Kirby Smith on June 2.
Also, here is an excellent article detailing the regiment from its organization to the battle of Corinth:
http://www.9thtexas.org/ROAD TO CORINTH - Part 1.pdf
http://www.9thtexas.org/ROAD TO CORINTH - Part 2.pdf
Bringing the