One of the best Confederate memoirs out there, is that of Philip Dangerfield Stephenson of the Washington Artillery, who served with Bate's division in the last year of the war. He gives Bate credit as a brave and conscientious officer, but explains his lack of competence was a trying sore point for every man in his command. His mode was to seek the point of danger, from there put his men "in the bag" and force them to fight their way out of it...
Growing sick of it, they would run like sheep rather than abide, but again, having been put in the bag as they said, escape cost them as many men as otherwise... Stephenson states Bate was the kind of officer who could demoralize the best troops in the world... and proved it.
It was all rather unnecessary. Before the Atlanta campaign commenced, General Johnston wanted to transfer Bate off to a more suitable command. The Richmond War department wouldn't have it, and Bate was assigned a permanent division command...
(see, Official Records Armies, ser. I, vol. 32, part 2, p. 806.]
Most of his command comment that faith in Bate's leadership was entirely abandoned after debacle at Dallas, Georgia on May 28, 1864, where 2/3rd of his division were launched, mistakenly, into a frontal attack on the Union entrenchments. Bate's Division REPORTED total losses of 24 killed, 233 wounded, and 55 missing as a result of this battle. HOWEVER, the Florida brigade ALONE
actually suffered over 300 killed and wounded, a third of its effective strength, in fifteen minutes...and to not the slightest purpose.
Stephenson's account is corroborated by Lt. Hugh Black of the 6th Florida. After the clumsy frontal attack at Atlanta on July 22nd, he noted the Florida Brigade which once contained nearly 2,000 men was now reduced to 350-400 effectives after the losses of July 22nd. The 6th Florida entered that fight with ten good sized companies. Afterwards they were consolidated into five small ones. Black reported, "the Confederate Army is demoralized and will never fight as heretofore." He also reports General Bate and his command had developed a reputation as the "poorest fighters in the army." Some the Florida troops believed the same, but regardless considered the demoralized command as brave men as there is in any army. They considered their poor showing as a direct result of their division's leadership, and they officially begged to be transferred elsewhere... which only came in North Carolina on April 9, 1865 when transferred to J.C. Brown's (formerly Cleburne's) division!
Three days later, a letter from Governor Allison in Florida, who was unaware of the disasters in Virginia and that the brigade had finally been relieved from Bate's command, penned an official letter from Florida begging President Davis to relieve the Florida brigade from Bate's immediate command.
The Kentucky Orphan Brigade had sought relief from Bate's command, even before the campaign commenced:
It was only after the bloodletting at Dallas and Atlanta that the brigade got out from under him...
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