2nd Alabama Cavalry
Sergeant
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2019
Sarah Catherine "Kate" Lee (1841-1928), a daughter of William Henry Lee, a cousin of General Robert E. Lee, and the war time bride of Brig. General Samuel Wragg Ferguson, led a very exciting life during the Civil War. She was married to Sam Ferguson at "Ditchley Plantation" on 25 Aug 1862 by the Reverend John Beckwith, Rector of the Episcopal Parish of Washington County, Mississippi. Just after the nuptials were taken, Kate Lee Ferguson was said to have changed her wedding gown for a riding habit, and rode out of her father's yard beside her new husband on horseback, and thus rode by his side through the next three-years, comprising the war. There were a few times when Sam Ferguson would be ordered out on a very dangerous expedition, which required him to send her to a safer location for a few days, but he would then send for her as soon as he could. She had many wartime experiences herself and was with the command quite a few times when they were fighting just a few hundred yards from her, with some of the men of Ferguson`s brigade commenting on it in letters home and in their daily journals, to include letters sent home by my own 3rd Great Grandfather, who served in the 2nd Alabama Cavalry Regiment (1862-1865), specifically in Ferguson`s brigade from 27 Aug 1863 to 5 May 1865.
Kate Lee Ferguson was often out campaigning with her husband and his command from 1862-1865, during much of the hard fighting in Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and then later regarding the march through the Carolinas. Many who served under General Sam Ferguson`s command looked at her sort of like a second mother during the war, even though she was the same age or younger than they were in most cases. In the daily journals and letters home of some of the soldiers in Ferguson`s brigade, they wrote of how fond they were of her and how she brought sunshine to them as well as her inspiring them to fight when she was near.
Below is an account given from Pontotoc, Ms. circa October-November 1863, from Mrs. Kate Lee Ferguson. Taken from pages 254-255 of the book; "Camp Fires of the Confederacy, A Volume of Confederate Poems and Selected Songs," circa 1898:
"I was married during the war, and was one of the women brave enough, or foolish enough, to follow their husbands, learning to love the sound of cannon better than the cackle of hens in a farm yard. I hardly know where to begin my story, and must fain rake over the ashes of the brightest fires I have ever known. The brigade, commanded by my husband, was my only home for three years, and I grew to care for the army and our own men more than I can tell. My first experience was when the command was ordered into North Mississippi, I lead a rough-and-tumble life; on horseback or rolled up in a blanket.
The staff were very kind to me, often sharing their food and covering with me. When General Johnston reviewed the troops at Pontotoc we were all together, and Gen. S. D. Lee was there, too. The people in that part of the country were very inhospitable to us, and I had to take refuge in the old hotel that the generals had made headquarters. There were only three rooms in the building. In one they stowed the saddles; the staff slept in the other, and the third was used as a mess hall. In this last was a long dismal-looking table, a few chairs and the biggest of fire places; three or four dirty windows lit the whole most imperfectly. It was here the generals looked over dispatches and planned the coming campaign while I curled myself up behind an old trunk, and played checkers with a "cousin Billy" till I fell asleep with my head upon my arm and dreamed of a far better campaign than they ever planned or executed.
Pontotoc is a beautiful place. There is a high bluff from which the road descends, winding far below and then up again for a long distance. I remember well the morning I left the command, they were to go into Tennessee on a short raid, while I returned to Okolona. As I drew rein upon this eminence and waited for my ambulance to overtake me, my eye was turned to view the scenery before me as slowly the brigade moved into line, and through the valley at my feet like a great serpent it wound, while the soft rays of the November sun shone brightly against its countless guns and gleaming sabres. A slight frost lingered o'er hillside and field, which enhanced the beauty of it all. As thus the whole passed before me like a gorgeous panorama, a feeling of love and pride rushed o'er my heart, and I breathed a blessing for them as I turned and galloped away."
Note: "Billy" was William Barker, a cousin of Sam Ferguson. The 'short raid into Tennessee', to which she was making reference, was Maj. General Stephen D. Lee`s Tennessee River Expedition, intended to oppose Sherman`s march from Memphis to Chattanooga. Which was mostly conducted in northern Alabama on both sides of the Tennessee river. They were gone from 6 Oct - 18 Nov 1863 on this expedition. At which time Kate Lee Ferguson was sent to Okolona, MS., where she awaited the return of her husband and his command.
In the 27 Sep 1889 issue of "The Pascagoula Democrat-Star," published at Pascagoula, MS, the following was written of Kate Lee Ferguson:
"...She was married in the saddle and rode all through the late war at the head of Sam. W. Ferguson`s Brigade. She once commanded a masked battery, which opened with grape from a canebrake, scattering the enemy at dawn."
On 30 Aug 1863, from Tupelo, MS., Capt. William Lewis Nugent (AAG), Ferguson`s Cavalry Brigade, stated in a letter home to his wife Nellie, that they were at Tupelo and mentioned that Mrs. Kate Lee Ferguson would soon join them again. He wrote:
"Mrs. Ferguson will come up soon, and will give us a little sunshine."
In a letter to Samuel Wragg Ferguson, by Mr. J. H. Steele, of Union City, TN, written on December 20, 1911, an old soldier of Ferguson`s brigade wrote of Mrs. Ferguson, as well as other events regarding his experiences during the war. He wrote:
"I never will forget Mrs. Ferguson and her dark roan pony. How her presence used to stimulate us. I remember very distinctly on several occasions, in going into a fight, Mrs. Ferguson was near, how it stimulated us."
Note: The letter above was written by Mr. James H. Steele, formerly a Corporal of Perrin`s 11th Regiment Mississippi Cavalry, F-Troop. He was the son of Capt. S.A.D. Steele, of Kemper county, MS., who commanded F-Troop. James H. Steele was just 15 years of age when he first enlisted into his father`s company of Perrin`s Regiment Mississippi Cavalry (later the 11th Mississippi Cavalry), and 16 years of age when he joined Ferguson`s brigade at the beginning of Sherman`s Meridian Campaign. In which he served from 3 Feb 1864 - 5 May 1865, he was two days shy of his 18th birthday, as part of President Jefferson Davis` personal escort and body guard from North Carolina to Georgia, when Ferguson`s brigade was disbanded at Washington, GA. on 5 May 1865, and the men told to return to their homes.
Mrs. Kate Lee Ferguson led a very exciting life, at her husband`s side throughout the war, and had many experiences which she would share and regale to her children, family and friends for decades to come after the war.
Kate Lee Ferguson was often out campaigning with her husband and his command from 1862-1865, during much of the hard fighting in Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and then later regarding the march through the Carolinas. Many who served under General Sam Ferguson`s command looked at her sort of like a second mother during the war, even though she was the same age or younger than they were in most cases. In the daily journals and letters home of some of the soldiers in Ferguson`s brigade, they wrote of how fond they were of her and how she brought sunshine to them as well as her inspiring them to fight when she was near.
Below is an account given from Pontotoc, Ms. circa October-November 1863, from Mrs. Kate Lee Ferguson. Taken from pages 254-255 of the book; "Camp Fires of the Confederacy, A Volume of Confederate Poems and Selected Songs," circa 1898:
"I was married during the war, and was one of the women brave enough, or foolish enough, to follow their husbands, learning to love the sound of cannon better than the cackle of hens in a farm yard. I hardly know where to begin my story, and must fain rake over the ashes of the brightest fires I have ever known. The brigade, commanded by my husband, was my only home for three years, and I grew to care for the army and our own men more than I can tell. My first experience was when the command was ordered into North Mississippi, I lead a rough-and-tumble life; on horseback or rolled up in a blanket.
The staff were very kind to me, often sharing their food and covering with me. When General Johnston reviewed the troops at Pontotoc we were all together, and Gen. S. D. Lee was there, too. The people in that part of the country were very inhospitable to us, and I had to take refuge in the old hotel that the generals had made headquarters. There were only three rooms in the building. In one they stowed the saddles; the staff slept in the other, and the third was used as a mess hall. In this last was a long dismal-looking table, a few chairs and the biggest of fire places; three or four dirty windows lit the whole most imperfectly. It was here the generals looked over dispatches and planned the coming campaign while I curled myself up behind an old trunk, and played checkers with a "cousin Billy" till I fell asleep with my head upon my arm and dreamed of a far better campaign than they ever planned or executed.
Pontotoc is a beautiful place. There is a high bluff from which the road descends, winding far below and then up again for a long distance. I remember well the morning I left the command, they were to go into Tennessee on a short raid, while I returned to Okolona. As I drew rein upon this eminence and waited for my ambulance to overtake me, my eye was turned to view the scenery before me as slowly the brigade moved into line, and through the valley at my feet like a great serpent it wound, while the soft rays of the November sun shone brightly against its countless guns and gleaming sabres. A slight frost lingered o'er hillside and field, which enhanced the beauty of it all. As thus the whole passed before me like a gorgeous panorama, a feeling of love and pride rushed o'er my heart, and I breathed a blessing for them as I turned and galloped away."
Note: "Billy" was William Barker, a cousin of Sam Ferguson. The 'short raid into Tennessee', to which she was making reference, was Maj. General Stephen D. Lee`s Tennessee River Expedition, intended to oppose Sherman`s march from Memphis to Chattanooga. Which was mostly conducted in northern Alabama on both sides of the Tennessee river. They were gone from 6 Oct - 18 Nov 1863 on this expedition. At which time Kate Lee Ferguson was sent to Okolona, MS., where she awaited the return of her husband and his command.
In the 27 Sep 1889 issue of "The Pascagoula Democrat-Star," published at Pascagoula, MS, the following was written of Kate Lee Ferguson:
"...She was married in the saddle and rode all through the late war at the head of Sam. W. Ferguson`s Brigade. She once commanded a masked battery, which opened with grape from a canebrake, scattering the enemy at dawn."
On 30 Aug 1863, from Tupelo, MS., Capt. William Lewis Nugent (AAG), Ferguson`s Cavalry Brigade, stated in a letter home to his wife Nellie, that they were at Tupelo and mentioned that Mrs. Kate Lee Ferguson would soon join them again. He wrote:
"Mrs. Ferguson will come up soon, and will give us a little sunshine."
In a letter to Samuel Wragg Ferguson, by Mr. J. H. Steele, of Union City, TN, written on December 20, 1911, an old soldier of Ferguson`s brigade wrote of Mrs. Ferguson, as well as other events regarding his experiences during the war. He wrote:
"I never will forget Mrs. Ferguson and her dark roan pony. How her presence used to stimulate us. I remember very distinctly on several occasions, in going into a fight, Mrs. Ferguson was near, how it stimulated us."
Note: The letter above was written by Mr. James H. Steele, formerly a Corporal of Perrin`s 11th Regiment Mississippi Cavalry, F-Troop. He was the son of Capt. S.A.D. Steele, of Kemper county, MS., who commanded F-Troop. James H. Steele was just 15 years of age when he first enlisted into his father`s company of Perrin`s Regiment Mississippi Cavalry (later the 11th Mississippi Cavalry), and 16 years of age when he joined Ferguson`s brigade at the beginning of Sherman`s Meridian Campaign. In which he served from 3 Feb 1864 - 5 May 1865, he was two days shy of his 18th birthday, as part of President Jefferson Davis` personal escort and body guard from North Carolina to Georgia, when Ferguson`s brigade was disbanded at Washington, GA. on 5 May 1865, and the men told to return to their homes.
Mrs. Kate Lee Ferguson led a very exciting life, at her husband`s side throughout the war, and had many experiences which she would share and regale to her children, family and friends for decades to come after the war.
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