"Co. Aytch" - Captain Field's 7 Shot Rifle

[Mr. King]

Folks,
I started reading "Co. Aytch" last night, the Pvt. Sam Watkins memoir, and within the first few pages, I ran across this story:

The Yankees were reported to be in close proximity to us, and Captain
Field with a detail of ten men was sent forward on the scout. I was on
the detail, and when we left camp that evening, it was dark and dreary
and drizzling rain. After a while the rain began to come down harder
and harder, and every one of us was wet and drenched to the skin--guns,
cartridges and powder. The next morning about daylight, while standing
videt, I saw a body of twenty-five or thirty Yankees approaching, and I
raised my gun for the purpose of shooting, and pulled down, but the cap
popped. They discovered me and popped three or four caps at me; their
powder was wet also. Before I could get on a fresh cap, Captain Field
came running up with his seven-shooting rifle, and the first fire he
killed a Yankee. They broke and run. Captain Field did all the firing,
but every time he pulled down he brought a Yankee. I have forgotten the
number that he did kill, but if I am not mistaken it was either twenty
or twenty-one, for I remember the incident was in almost every Southern
paper at that time, and the general comments were that one Southern man
was equal to twenty Yankees. While we were in hot pursuit, one truly
brave and magnanimous Yankee, who had been badly wounded, said,
"Gentlemen, you have killed me, but not a hundred yards from here is the
main line." We did not go any further, but halted right there, and after
getting all the information that we could out of the wounded Yankee,
we returned to camp.

Can I safely assume that this was a Spencer Rifle? "Seven shot" kind of narrows it down a bit.

I'm a little amazed that a captain from Tennessee would have a Spencer in 1861. I'm sure he was awfully short of ammo after a few fights.
Shortly after this, Sam says that Captain Fields was the only officer he ever saw that did much shooting.

 

[johan_steele]

There was question on this several years ago iirc over the AC & I believe it was concluded to be a Colt revolving rifle.

 

[Mr. King]

There was question on this several years ago iirc over the AC & I believe it was concluded to be a Colt revolving rifle.

I would agree with that. The Colt was probably much more readily available in the South.

The Colts were 5 & 6 shot versions, right?

I guess he must have had several cylinders loaded and ready to rock if he hit that many Yankees. Could a Spencer be loaded as quick or quicker than a Colt with loaded and waiting cylinders?

 

[Chattahooch33]

I would agree with that. The Colt was probably much more readily available in the South.

The Colts were 5 & 6 shot versions, right?

I guess he must have had several cylinders loaded and ready to rock if he hit that many Yankees. Could a Spencer be loaded as quick or quicker than a Colt with loaded and waiting cylinders?

If...

 

[ole]

I would agree with that. The Colt was probably much more readily available in the South.

The Colts were 5 & 6 shot versions, right?

I guess he must have had several cylinders loaded and ready to rock if he hit that many Yankees. Could a Spencer be loaded as quick or quicker than a Colt with loaded and waiting cylinders?

Even if he had to feed bullets in a Spencer one at a time, it would be much faster than loading a Colt because it had the same loading procedure as a handgun: pour in powder, ram in ball, seal with grease, put on caps, commence firing.

Spare cylinders are a product of spaghetti westerns.

 

[johan_steele]

I would agree with that. The Colt was probably much more readily available in the South.

The Colts were 5 & 6 shot versions, right?

I guess he must have had several cylinders loaded and ready to rock if he hit that many Yankees. Could a Spencer be loaded as quick or quicker than a Colt with loaded and waiting cylinders?

Swapping the cylinder on a Colt isn't quick or easy.

There were a variety of Colt Revolving Rifles available. .58 was a 5 shot military model there were also .36 & .44 which were 6 shots per cylinder.

There was also a LeMat Revolving rifle in .41 which was actually a 9 shot another in .41. Some have been recorded w/ a .58 rifled barrel instead of the shotgunthough there were only something like 200 total of those produced and they ran the gamut. One of the questiojns is that almost all that have been recorded show Brit military markings. The CS connection is really tentative and questionable due to the timing of their manufacture and the per unit cost.

 

[ole]

What we are speculating about is a rarity. And we do that. A lot.

 

[johan_steele]

What we are speculating about is a rarity. And we do that. A lot.

Tell me about it. I spent more than an hour looking for that old thread.

I remember the speculation on the LeMat carbine being a choice like an AK-47 in 1945 was a choice. Spencer the same deal. IIRC the general consensus was it had to be a Colt or Paterson revolving rifle or carbine.

 

[Mr. King]

He mentions the 7 shot repeater again at Perryville. This time, Col. Hume Fields was acting commander of Maney's Brigade and also blasting away with his repeated on horseback. This dude was a real multitasker.

Perhaps he was a firearms enthusiast who always kept the latest technology on hand, much like the modern folks who wait outside an Apple store for 36 hours when a new phone comes out...

 

[Camp Randall Armory]

In my opinion, Sam Watkins embellished a lot of his story, and this little tale was highly embellished if not an outright fabrication. Throughout this book Watkins pretty much worships this officer. He wrote his book some twenty years after the war, the story of a super deadly officer was a great tale to tell, but I don't think that is how it really happened. A single Soldier, and officer no less, taking out 20 or 30 enemy combatants is a very notable feat to achieve. If someone has other accounts his story to confirm the kills, I'd love to read them.

 

[44 Henry]

Unless he had a prototype of a Spencer which is not likely he did not have a Spencer since there was none in 1861.

 

[kevikens]

When Watkins wrote this memory down it was long after repeaters like the seven shot Spencers had embedded themselves into the memory of Civil War soldiers. My guess is that Watkins used the term seven shot simply because it became the most well known capacity for a repeater by the end of the war.

 

[Dave Wilma]

I tried a search through the Smithsonian's digitized newspaper records and did not find a contemporary mention of Captain Fields. His story could well have appeared after the war, but I did not search those years. Sam wrote his memoirs 20 years after the fact.

 

[Mr. King]

I tried a search through the Smithsonian's digitized newspaper records and did not find a contemporary mention of Captain Fields. His story could well have appeared after the war, but I did not search those years. Sam wrote his memoirs 20 years after the fact.

How prolific is the Smithsonian's collection of digitized newspapers?

 

[Mr. King]

How well received is "Co. Aytch" here? Am I among fans or naysayers?

 

[kevikens]

I find these first hand accounts, reminiscences, if you will, are excellent for establishing the ambience of the time and for reminding us that the war was fought by average people, in many cases caught up in a situation they had no control over.

 

[Camp Randall Armory]

Watkins is a good story teller, saw and experienced a lot and the book is a good read, for sure. However if you want a good historical, nothing but the facts day to day diary it's not.

 

[AUG]

How well received is "Co. Aytch" here? Am I among fans or naysayers?

I think it's well received by most. Co. Aytch has always been a favorite of mine. However, as with almost any memoir, it should be taken with a grain of salt. Watkins does exaggerate at times, for instance suggesting Cleburne was shot over 40 times at Franklin. Also, he does leave out some facts, such as the 1st Tennessee being consolidated with the 27th, or Co. H being disbanded at Columbia in 1864. I recall reading that Watkins actually made his way up to lieutenant, when in his book he only mentions being promoted to corporal. I agree that his memoir is an excellent first hand account, but not every single detail should be taken as fact.

 

[Dave Wilma]

How prolific is the Smithsonian's collection of digitized newspapers?

I think the word you want is "comprehensive."

The digitized collection is certainly not the totality of newspapers published nor those that survived, but it's a pretty good representation. In the 19th Century papers often reprinted stories that appeared in other papers, without attribution and occasionally with some amplification so it's reasonable that had a story appeared in many papers, some of those in the collection would have it. When Watkins says the story was in all the papers I suspect he meant after the war. I don't think soldiers in the Army of Tennessee got a lot of papers. And Watkins might simply be incorrect.

All that said, his account of the life of a Confederate soldier is required reading for any buff. I would like to see some scholar parse out his book and match it up with the facts. One thing I am curious about is the number of executions conducted by Bragg. Watkins says the sound of firing squads was almost daily occurrence.

 

[Craig L Barry]

I am a fan but Watkins is quick to point out that Co Aytch is not intended as a history. There are numerous inconsistencies especially on many of these type details. This is to be expected writing from memory 20 years post bellum. My favorite re-remembering of events is in the most recent edition published by his great-granddaughter where she found intended revisions made many years later in an old desk and incorporated them into a "new edition" of Co Aytch. In the excellent chapter called "Pass the Butter" Sam originally writes that he would have gladly given ten years of his life to steal a kiss from one of the farmer's attractive daughters. Many years later, no doubt after hearing about that particular choice of words from his wife, Sam apparently changed his mind and they weren't nearly as attractive as the gal he married. Plus ca change, plus c'est le meme chose.