The 9th Texas Infantry was organized on November 4, 1861, mainly from companies recruited in Northeast Texas, and was mustered into service on December 1, 1861, under Colonel Sam Bell Maxey of Paris, Texas. The Ninth would bear the distinction of serving in the Army of the Mississippi/Army of Tennessee longer than any other Texas regiment. Throughout most of the war it would serve as part of Ector's Texas Brigade, one of two premier Texas infantry brigades in that army.
Initial organization of the regiment:
Company A - Lamar County, Capt. E. J. Shelton
Company B - Red River County, Capt. Smith Ragsdale
Company C - Grayson County, Capt. William Hugh Young
Company D - Titus County, Capt. James H. McReynolds
Company E - Lamar County, Capt. James Hill
Company F - Hopkins County, Capt. James A. Leftwich
Company G - Hopkins County, Capt. Joseph A. Moore
Company H - Fannin County, Capt. Harvey Wise
Company I - Collin County, Capt. J. J. Dickson
Company K - Lamar County, Capt. Miles A. Dillard
The Ninth was organized at Camp Rusk in Lamar County, but due to poor quality of the water and many coming down with measles and pneumonia they were moved to Camp Benjamin in Fannin County shortly thereafter. In January 1862 they marched across the Mississippi River, arriving at Iuka in February and thence to Corinth, Miss. On March 4, Col. Maxey was promoted to brigadier general and left the regiment; Major Wright A. Stanley then took command.
While at Corinth the 9th Texas was placed in J. Patton Anderson's brigade, Ruggles' division, Bragg's II Corps, and would see their first action at Shiloh the following month. Due to sickness and the detachment of two companies, the Ninth carried only 226 officers and men into battle. Heavily engaged on the first day, April 6, the regiment suffered a loss of 14 killed, 42 wounded, and 11 missing. Capt. Dickson and Lt. Hamil were among the killed, and Capt. Moore died of his wounds on April 11.
Following the Conscription Act, the regiment was reorganized at Corinth on May 8, 1862. William Hugh Young was elected colonel by the men. At only 24 years old, he would command the regiment for the next two years.
Colonel William Hugh Young of the 9th Texas Infantry. Wounded six times throughout the war.
Previously armed with a mix of weapons, "double-barreled shot-guns, sportsman's rifles, and muskets, many of them in bad order", on August 15, 1862, Ordnance Sgt. Ben R. Milam sent in a requisition for 400 Enfield rifles. He noted that the regiment had only 25 Enfield rifles at the time. They never did receive the new Enfields, but did acquire 360 Belgian rifles.
As part of Cheatham's Division, the 9th Texas served among Tennessee regiments in Preston Smith's/Alfred J. Vaughn's Brigade throughout the latter half of 1862, seeing action at Perryville and Stones River/Murfreesboro. The Ninth was heavily engaged in the latter. In the fighting on December 31 at what became known as the "Slaughter Pen" they were separated from the brigade and came face to face with the 35th Illinois. The Illinoisans' fire staggered the Ninth for a second, but Col. Young, shot off his horse, grabbed the colors and rallied the regiment, ordering them forward with a shout "a la Texas" and driving back the 35th Illinois. With the subsequent advance of other troops to their right and left, the Federal line at the Slaughter Pen collapsed.
In his official report, Gen. Cheatham wrote that "The 9th Texas Regiment, under the command of that gallant officer, Col. W.H. Young, who did not hear the order [to withdraw] became detached and was farther to the left. It remained in the woods and continued to fight the enemy, and at last charged them on their flank and drove them from the woods on their entire right, losing very heavily."
Of 323 officers and men engaged, the 9th Texas lost 18 killed, 102 wounded, and 2 missing. They would never again rebuild their strength back up to 300 men. Col. Young was shot through the shoulder and had two horses shot from under him in the battle.
On January 21, 1863, the 9th Texas was placed in Brig. Gen. Mathew D. Ector's Texas Brigade, which then consisted of the 10th, 14th, and 32nd Texas Cavalry (dismounted). The men of the Ninth were glad to finally fight alongside fellow Texans and would remain in Ector's Brigade through the war. Two North Carolina regiments, the 29th and 39th, would later be added to the brigade as well.
In May 1863 they were sent to Jackson, Miss., to join Joe Johnston's Army of Relief, taking part in the battle and siege there following the surrender of Vicksburg in July.
Rejoining the Army of Tennessee by late summer of 1863, Ector's Brigade was engaged at Chickamauga as part of Brig. Gen. States Rights Gist's small division. On the morning of September 19 Forrest personally sent Ector's men into the fight at Jay's Mill on the far Confederate right flank in support of Dibrell's cavalry brigade. Charging up against Van Derveer's Federal brigade, they were caught in a short but intense firefight. Suffering heavy losses and unable to push Van Derveer's men back, they withdrew from the field. To make matters worse, the brigade was later attacked on the flank and a number of men were captured. The 9th Texas, positioned on the right of Ector's Brigade in the initial charge, suffered losses of 6 killed, 36 wounded, and 6 missing out of only 145 taken into action, or 41.4%; Col. Young was again wounded, this time in the chest. Ector's Brigade lost over 50%, Ector himself slightly wounded four times and two horses shot from under him. The following day, September 20, they were lightly engaged in the action at the Kelly Field.
After Chickamauga the brigade was sent back to Mississippi for the next seven months. There Ector's Brigade was assigned to Polk's Corps (later Third Corps of the AoT), Maj. Gen. Samuel G. French's Division. Also in the division was Cockrell's Missouri Brigade and Sears' Mississippi Brigade; the Texans made quick friends with the Missourians, giving each other the nicknames "Jakes" and "Chubs" and participating in mock battles with flaming pine cones.
Arriving in Rome, Ga., May 17, 1864, Ector's Texans and North Carolinians would again rejoin the Army of Tennessee and begin the Atlanta Campaign. Though not engaged in every major battle, they were under fire daily for the next four months - marching and digging entrenchments in the summer heat or rain and mud when they were not. The Ninth saw particularly heavy skirmishing at New Hope Church, the Latimer House, and Kennesaw Mountain. At Kennesaw they fought off the Federal attacks up Pigeon Hill on June 27; Col. Young suffered yet another wound there in the neck and jaw. Only lightly engaged at Peach Tree Creek, they were in the trenches at Atlanta throughout the siege, always under fire. On July 27 Gen. Ector was wounded by a shell fragment in the lower left thigh, necessitating its amputation and permanently removing him from the field.
After Atlanta fell, French's Division took up position south of the city at Lovejoy's Station. Throughout the campaign the Ninth suffered a loss of 16 killed, 39 wounded, 1 captured. In the skirmishing around Jonesboro and Lovejoy's Station two color bearers were lost: Ensign Ben Milam, recently been promoted, was shot and disabled, and C.B. Douglass was mortally wounded.
Following the Atlanta Campaign, French's Division would march north to Allatoona Pass with the objective of ransacking the Federal supply stores and Western & Atlantic R.R. there. Attacking the Federal fortifications at Allatoona on October 5, 1864, Ector's Brigade and the Ninth would see perhaps the fiercest fighting they would ever take part in throughout the war. Shortly before they were ordered forward, Maj. James H. McReynolds of the Ninth reported that the "men were addressed in a few brief words by our gallant brigadier-general (Young), telling us what was expected of us and directing us what part of the enemy's lines to charge. . . . We then rushed forward under a very destructive fire, every man striving for who would be the first to mount the enemy's works."
In support of Cockrell's Missourians, the Texans and North Carolinians would charge Rowett's Redoubt, running over open ground through tree stumps and abatis under a hail of fire from the Henry repeater-armed 7th Illinois. They then engaged in a bitter hand-to-hand contest over the works, forcing the Federal troops back to the Star Fort. Unable to dislodge the garrison from there and with approaching Federal reinforcements, the attack was called off and French's troops reluctantly withdrew.
Out of only 101 men engaged, the 9th Texas lost 43 killed and wounded and two missing. The officer corps of the Ninth suffered heavily. Major McReynolds, commanding the regiment, was wounded; Capt. Jesse Bates, Adjutant Griffin, and Lt. Dixon Wetzel were all killed; and Captains T. J. Van Noy of Company D and Dee Ridley of Company K, along with Lieutenants Agee of Company F and D. P. Tunnell of Company I were all wounded. William H. Young, who had been promoted to brigadier general and was commanding the brigade at Allatoona, had his horse shot out from under him in the charge; proceeding to lead the men on foot, he then took a shot through the left ankle. He was captured after the battle when the ambulance carrying him took a wrong turn. Young later had his foot amputated in a Federal hospital and was imprisoned at Johnson's Island for the remainder of the war, not released until July 1865.
With less than 600 effectives after Allatoona Pass, Ector's Brigade - now under Col. David Coleman of the 39th North Carolina - followed the Army of Tennessee as it embarked on Hood's Tennessee Campaign in November of 1864. Guarding the army's supply train, they were lucky enough to miss the bloodletting at Franklin, returning only to find Cockrell's and Sears' brigades shot all to shreds. On December 15 at Nashville, Ector's Brigade fell back in the wake of the Federal advance. The following day the brigade was initially positioned atop Shy's Hill but was moved south to support the cavalry on the flank, avoiding the major rout there and standing their ground, helping to guard the retreat. In his report, Gen. A. P. Stewart stated that "I have been told [Ector's Brigade] were characterized by the usual intrepidity of this small but firm and reliable body of men." The brigade was chosen as part of the rear guard during Hood's retreat. At least 9 men in the 9th Texas were wounded and 16 captured during the campaign.
Returning to Mississippi to rest for a time, French's Division was detached from the Army of Tennessee in early 1865 and sent to Mobile in defense of Mobile Bay. The Ninth under Lt. Col. Miles A. Dillard and Ector's Brigade under Col. David Coleman of the 39 North Carolina, they were stationed at Spanish Fort. With a major Union advance on Mobile - Gen. Edward Canby with two corps, 45,000 men - forts Blakely and Spanish Fort on the eastern side of the bay would come under siege. Spanish Fort was under siege from March 27 through April 8, 1865. Ector's Brigade manned the left flank. Both sides only 30 or so yards apart, the siege was marked by constant sharpshooting and raids on each other's picket lines. After a terrific bombardment on April 8 an assault finally fell on the Confederate left. The Federal advance led by the 8th Iowa, many of the Texans and Tar Heels were captured, fled, or died literally fighting in the last ditch. Those who got away escaped with the rest of the garrison that night on a narrow treadway to Fort Huger, thence boarding boats across the bay to Mobile.
In the 9th Texas at least 14 men were wounded and 8 captured at Spanish Fort. With the Ninth down to company strength and Ector's Brigade about the size of a regiment, what few men remained surrendered with the rest of the Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana on May 4, 1865, in Meridian, Miss. Out of 1,018 Texans who had served in the Ninth, only 8 officers and 79 men remained to lay down their arms. In a last act of defiance, Pvt. Charles P. Matthews cut the flag from the staff, tucked it away, and carried it home with him. The men were paroled on May 11 and finally allowed to make their way back home to Texas.
A good history of the 9th Texas Infantry by Tim Bell can be read here: http://www.lamarcountytx.org/civilwar/9hist.shtm
Roster: http://www.lamarcountytx.org/civilwar/9thinf.shtm
More info: http://www.lamarcountytx.org/civilwar/9thmain.shtm
Initial organization of the regiment:
Company A - Lamar County, Capt. E. J. Shelton
Company B - Red River County, Capt. Smith Ragsdale
Company C - Grayson County, Capt. William Hugh Young
Company D - Titus County, Capt. James H. McReynolds
Company E - Lamar County, Capt. James Hill
Company F - Hopkins County, Capt. James A. Leftwich
Company G - Hopkins County, Capt. Joseph A. Moore
Company H - Fannin County, Capt. Harvey Wise
Company I - Collin County, Capt. J. J. Dickson
Company K - Lamar County, Capt. Miles A. Dillard
The Ninth was organized at Camp Rusk in Lamar County, but due to poor quality of the water and many coming down with measles and pneumonia they were moved to Camp Benjamin in Fannin County shortly thereafter. In January 1862 they marched across the Mississippi River, arriving at Iuka in February and thence to Corinth, Miss. On March 4, Col. Maxey was promoted to brigadier general and left the regiment; Major Wright A. Stanley then took command.
While at Corinth the 9th Texas was placed in J. Patton Anderson's brigade, Ruggles' division, Bragg's II Corps, and would see their first action at Shiloh the following month. Due to sickness and the detachment of two companies, the Ninth carried only 226 officers and men into battle. Heavily engaged on the first day, April 6, the regiment suffered a loss of 14 killed, 42 wounded, and 11 missing. Capt. Dickson and Lt. Hamil were among the killed, and Capt. Moore died of his wounds on April 11.
Following the Conscription Act, the regiment was reorganized at Corinth on May 8, 1862. William Hugh Young was elected colonel by the men. At only 24 years old, he would command the regiment for the next two years.
Colonel William Hugh Young of the 9th Texas Infantry. Wounded six times throughout the war.
Previously armed with a mix of weapons, "double-barreled shot-guns, sportsman's rifles, and muskets, many of them in bad order", on August 15, 1862, Ordnance Sgt. Ben R. Milam sent in a requisition for 400 Enfield rifles. He noted that the regiment had only 25 Enfield rifles at the time. They never did receive the new Enfields, but did acquire 360 Belgian rifles.
As part of Cheatham's Division, the 9th Texas served among Tennessee regiments in Preston Smith's/Alfred J. Vaughn's Brigade throughout the latter half of 1862, seeing action at Perryville and Stones River/Murfreesboro. The Ninth was heavily engaged in the latter. In the fighting on December 31 at what became known as the "Slaughter Pen" they were separated from the brigade and came face to face with the 35th Illinois. The Illinoisans' fire staggered the Ninth for a second, but Col. Young, shot off his horse, grabbed the colors and rallied the regiment, ordering them forward with a shout "a la Texas" and driving back the 35th Illinois. With the subsequent advance of other troops to their right and left, the Federal line at the Slaughter Pen collapsed.
In his official report, Gen. Cheatham wrote that "The 9th Texas Regiment, under the command of that gallant officer, Col. W.H. Young, who did not hear the order [to withdraw] became detached and was farther to the left. It remained in the woods and continued to fight the enemy, and at last charged them on their flank and drove them from the woods on their entire right, losing very heavily."
Of 323 officers and men engaged, the 9th Texas lost 18 killed, 102 wounded, and 2 missing. They would never again rebuild their strength back up to 300 men. Col. Young was shot through the shoulder and had two horses shot from under him in the battle.
On January 21, 1863, the 9th Texas was placed in Brig. Gen. Mathew D. Ector's Texas Brigade, which then consisted of the 10th, 14th, and 32nd Texas Cavalry (dismounted). The men of the Ninth were glad to finally fight alongside fellow Texans and would remain in Ector's Brigade through the war. Two North Carolina regiments, the 29th and 39th, would later be added to the brigade as well.
In May 1863 they were sent to Jackson, Miss., to join Joe Johnston's Army of Relief, taking part in the battle and siege there following the surrender of Vicksburg in July.
Rejoining the Army of Tennessee by late summer of 1863, Ector's Brigade was engaged at Chickamauga as part of Brig. Gen. States Rights Gist's small division. On the morning of September 19 Forrest personally sent Ector's men into the fight at Jay's Mill on the far Confederate right flank in support of Dibrell's cavalry brigade. Charging up against Van Derveer's Federal brigade, they were caught in a short but intense firefight. Suffering heavy losses and unable to push Van Derveer's men back, they withdrew from the field. To make matters worse, the brigade was later attacked on the flank and a number of men were captured. The 9th Texas, positioned on the right of Ector's Brigade in the initial charge, suffered losses of 6 killed, 36 wounded, and 6 missing out of only 145 taken into action, or 41.4%; Col. Young was again wounded, this time in the chest. Ector's Brigade lost over 50%, Ector himself slightly wounded four times and two horses shot from under him. The following day, September 20, they were lightly engaged in the action at the Kelly Field.
After Chickamauga the brigade was sent back to Mississippi for the next seven months. There Ector's Brigade was assigned to Polk's Corps (later Third Corps of the AoT), Maj. Gen. Samuel G. French's Division. Also in the division was Cockrell's Missouri Brigade and Sears' Mississippi Brigade; the Texans made quick friends with the Missourians, giving each other the nicknames "Jakes" and "Chubs" and participating in mock battles with flaming pine cones.
Arriving in Rome, Ga., May 17, 1864, Ector's Texans and North Carolinians would again rejoin the Army of Tennessee and begin the Atlanta Campaign. Though not engaged in every major battle, they were under fire daily for the next four months - marching and digging entrenchments in the summer heat or rain and mud when they were not. The Ninth saw particularly heavy skirmishing at New Hope Church, the Latimer House, and Kennesaw Mountain. At Kennesaw they fought off the Federal attacks up Pigeon Hill on June 27; Col. Young suffered yet another wound there in the neck and jaw. Only lightly engaged at Peach Tree Creek, they were in the trenches at Atlanta throughout the siege, always under fire. On July 27 Gen. Ector was wounded by a shell fragment in the lower left thigh, necessitating its amputation and permanently removing him from the field.
After Atlanta fell, French's Division took up position south of the city at Lovejoy's Station. Throughout the campaign the Ninth suffered a loss of 16 killed, 39 wounded, 1 captured. In the skirmishing around Jonesboro and Lovejoy's Station two color bearers were lost: Ensign Ben Milam, recently been promoted, was shot and disabled, and C.B. Douglass was mortally wounded.
Following the Atlanta Campaign, French's Division would march north to Allatoona Pass with the objective of ransacking the Federal supply stores and Western & Atlantic R.R. there. Attacking the Federal fortifications at Allatoona on October 5, 1864, Ector's Brigade and the Ninth would see perhaps the fiercest fighting they would ever take part in throughout the war. Shortly before they were ordered forward, Maj. James H. McReynolds of the Ninth reported that the "men were addressed in a few brief words by our gallant brigadier-general (Young), telling us what was expected of us and directing us what part of the enemy's lines to charge. . . . We then rushed forward under a very destructive fire, every man striving for who would be the first to mount the enemy's works."
In support of Cockrell's Missourians, the Texans and North Carolinians would charge Rowett's Redoubt, running over open ground through tree stumps and abatis under a hail of fire from the Henry repeater-armed 7th Illinois. They then engaged in a bitter hand-to-hand contest over the works, forcing the Federal troops back to the Star Fort. Unable to dislodge the garrison from there and with approaching Federal reinforcements, the attack was called off and French's troops reluctantly withdrew.
Out of only 101 men engaged, the 9th Texas lost 43 killed and wounded and two missing. The officer corps of the Ninth suffered heavily. Major McReynolds, commanding the regiment, was wounded; Capt. Jesse Bates, Adjutant Griffin, and Lt. Dixon Wetzel were all killed; and Captains T. J. Van Noy of Company D and Dee Ridley of Company K, along with Lieutenants Agee of Company F and D. P. Tunnell of Company I were all wounded. William H. Young, who had been promoted to brigadier general and was commanding the brigade at Allatoona, had his horse shot out from under him in the charge; proceeding to lead the men on foot, he then took a shot through the left ankle. He was captured after the battle when the ambulance carrying him took a wrong turn. Young later had his foot amputated in a Federal hospital and was imprisoned at Johnson's Island for the remainder of the war, not released until July 1865.
With less than 600 effectives after Allatoona Pass, Ector's Brigade - now under Col. David Coleman of the 39th North Carolina - followed the Army of Tennessee as it embarked on Hood's Tennessee Campaign in November of 1864. Guarding the army's supply train, they were lucky enough to miss the bloodletting at Franklin, returning only to find Cockrell's and Sears' brigades shot all to shreds. On December 15 at Nashville, Ector's Brigade fell back in the wake of the Federal advance. The following day the brigade was initially positioned atop Shy's Hill but was moved south to support the cavalry on the flank, avoiding the major rout there and standing their ground, helping to guard the retreat. In his report, Gen. A. P. Stewart stated that "I have been told [Ector's Brigade] were characterized by the usual intrepidity of this small but firm and reliable body of men." The brigade was chosen as part of the rear guard during Hood's retreat. At least 9 men in the 9th Texas were wounded and 16 captured during the campaign.
Returning to Mississippi to rest for a time, French's Division was detached from the Army of Tennessee in early 1865 and sent to Mobile in defense of Mobile Bay. The Ninth under Lt. Col. Miles A. Dillard and Ector's Brigade under Col. David Coleman of the 39 North Carolina, they were stationed at Spanish Fort. With a major Union advance on Mobile - Gen. Edward Canby with two corps, 45,000 men - forts Blakely and Spanish Fort on the eastern side of the bay would come under siege. Spanish Fort was under siege from March 27 through April 8, 1865. Ector's Brigade manned the left flank. Both sides only 30 or so yards apart, the siege was marked by constant sharpshooting and raids on each other's picket lines. After a terrific bombardment on April 8 an assault finally fell on the Confederate left. The Federal advance led by the 8th Iowa, many of the Texans and Tar Heels were captured, fled, or died literally fighting in the last ditch. Those who got away escaped with the rest of the garrison that night on a narrow treadway to Fort Huger, thence boarding boats across the bay to Mobile.
In the 9th Texas at least 14 men were wounded and 8 captured at Spanish Fort. With the Ninth down to company strength and Ector's Brigade about the size of a regiment, what few men remained surrendered with the rest of the Department of Alabama, Mississippi, and East Louisiana on May 4, 1865, in Meridian, Miss. Out of 1,018 Texans who had served in the Ninth, only 8 officers and 79 men remained to lay down their arms. In a last act of defiance, Pvt. Charles P. Matthews cut the flag from the staff, tucked it away, and carried it home with him. The men were paroled on May 11 and finally allowed to make their way back home to Texas.
A good history of the 9th Texas Infantry by Tim Bell can be read here: http://www.lamarcountytx.org/civilwar/9hist.shtm
Roster: http://www.lamarcountytx.org/civilwar/9thinf.shtm
More info: http://www.lamarcountytx.org/civilwar/9thmain.shtm