The Michie House & the Battle of Shiloh: More than Just a Hospital Site

lelliott19

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Thanks to the graphic account left by Dr. David Jasper Noblitt, Surgeon of the 44th Tennessee, most people interested in medical care at the Battle of Shiloh already know that the Mickey House served as the brigade field hospital for Sterling Alexander Martin (SAM) Wood's brigade. But there's so much more to the place than that!

On Saturday, September 26, 2020 @Diane123 and I provided a presentation on Confederate medical service at the Battle of Shiloh. Through the effort of friends @MS2623 and @16thAL along with the generosity of the current landowner, we were able to provide the presentation on the site of the Mickey House. We were standing on the very place where our 2x great grandfather established his brigade hospital; the same ground he walked on, talking about amputations at the same place where he performed them 158 years ago. It was a humbling and surreal experience to say the least. I can't thank @MS2623 and @16thAL enough for making it possible.

As most of you know, I enjoy research, so in preparation for the presentation, I compiled some primary source materials that help to paint a vivid picture of the activities at, and around, the Mickey House during and after the Battle of Shiloh.

The Michie (pronounced Mickey) House was once located near the intersection of the Monterey-Savannah Road with the present-day Chambers Store Road. At the time of the battle, it was most likely the home of David Stoneman Michie, his wife Nancy Usseries Michie, and their children. I've read that the family was not at home immediately prior to or during the battle, but their absence evidently didn't prevent their house from being used for a variety of purposes.

You'll find Michie's house mentioned in reports and correspondence of the Union and Confederate armies - sometimes as the Mickey House, Mickey’s House, Mickey's farmhouse, Mickey’s White House, Mickey's, Michie's, Michie's house, etc. It's important to note that references to "Michie's" in correspondence and in the OR should not be confused with the nearby town of Michie, TN. The present day town of Michie (pronounced Mickey) was called "Monterey" until 1882, when the town applied for a post office and found the name Monterey had already been taken. So Civil War era references to Michie's refer to the farmhouse residence, not the town.

First and perhaps most importantly, Mickey's House was the designated rendezvous point for the entire Confederate Army of the Mississippi. Travelling by various roads, the Corps of Leonidas Polk, Braxton Bragg, William J. Hardee, and John C Breckinridge were ordered to rendezvous at the Mickey House. And, on April 5, 1862 the Confederate Army struck off from the Mickey House for their approach to the April 6th attack.

At various times during the week of April 4-10, 1862, the site served as headquarters for Maj Gen Braxton Bragg, Maj Gen William J Hardee, and Brig Gen John C Breckinridge, as well as Hospital Headquarters for Hardee's corps. The brigade field hospitals for all three brigades of Hardee's Corps were located there. Soldiers from both armies -wounded Confederates and wounded and captured Union prisoners - were treated there. And, later, in May 1862, the 3rd Division US Army (Lew Wallace's) encamped on the site.

From the time that Hardee's Corps arrived at the location on the evening of April 4, 1862, the Mickey house and surrounding area was critically important to the Battle of Shiloh. I'll post a few of the accounts in this thread as time allows.

Sources:
  • OR, Report of Brigadier General James Patton Anderson, 2nd Brigade, Ruggles’ Division, 2nd (Bragg’s) Corps. Official Records, Series I, Volume X, Part I: Reports, pp. 494-495.
  • Account of Captain Benjamin Franklin Sawyer, Company I, 1st Blythe’s Mississippi Infantry Battalion (later designated 44th Mississippi Infantry) entitled “The Battle of Shiloh from the Diary of a Confederate Officer,” as published in The Newberry Herald. (Newberry, SC), March 11, 1874, page 1.
  • "Forty-Fourth Tennessee Infantry by Dr. D.J. Noblitt, Lincoln County, Tennessee." Military Annals of Tennessee (Confederate), First series: embracing a review of military operations, with regimental histories and memorial rolls, comp. from original and official sources, and ed. by John Berrien Lindsley, 1886, pp. 530-532.
  • Manuscript and letters of Civil War POW, Captain A. W. McCormick (77th Ohio), Historical Auctions, 2011. Link to content
  • "Letter from a prisoner at Corinth," Captain A. W. McCormick (77th Ohio) to his wife, Daily Ohio Statesman, (Columbus, OH), June 1, 1862, page 2.
  • OR, Report of Col. Robert Paxton Trabue, 4th Kentucky, Commanding Orphan Brigade. Official Records, Series I, Volume X, Part I: Reports, page 619.
  • OR, Correspondence of Brigadier General John C Breckinridge to Major General Braxton Bragg, dated Mickey's, April 8, 1862, 5:45 pm. Official Records, Series I, Volume X, Part II: Correspondence, page 401.
  • OR, Report of Major General John A. McClernand, Commanding Reserve Corps, Army of the Tennessee, dated July 4, 1862. Official Records, Series I, Volume X, Part I: Reports, page 754.
  • OR, Correspondence of Assistant Adjutant General Thomas Jordan to Brigadier General John C Breckinridge, dated Headquarters, Army of the Mississippi, Corinth, Miss., April 8, 1862. Official Records, Series I, Volume X, Part II: Correspondence, page 401.
  • OR, Correspondence of Brigadier General John C Breckinridge to Assistant Adjutant General Thomas Jordan, dated Mickey's, April 9, 1862, 9:30 am. Official Records, Series I, Volume X, Part II: Correspondence, page 403.
  • Tennessee Place Names and Post Offices > Part 3 > J - O https://sos.tn.gov/products/tsla/tennessee-place-names-and-post-offices-part-3-j-o [A list based on records at National Archives listing postmaster appointments from 1832 to 1971, National Archives microfilm publications M1131 and M841.]
 
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View attachment 376587
Thanks to the graphic account left by Dr. David Jasper Noblitt, Surgeon of the 44th Tennessee, most people interested in medical care at the Battle of Shiloh already know that the Mickey House served as the brigade field hospital for Sterling Alexander Martin (SAM) Wood's brigade. But there's so much more to the place than that!

On Saturday, September 26, 2020 @Diane123 and I provided a presentation on Confederate medical service at the Battle of Shiloh. Through the effort of friends @MS2623 and @16thAL along with the generosity of the current landowner, we were able to provide the presentation on the site of the Mickey House. We were standing on the very place where our 2x great grandfather established his brigade hospital; the same ground he walked on, talking about amputations at the same place where he performed them 158 years ago. It was a humbling and surreal experience to say the least. I can't thank @MS2623 and @16thAL enough for making it possible.

As most of you know, I enjoy research, so in preparation for the presentation, I compiled some primary source materials that help to paint a vivid picture of the activities at, and around, the Mickey House during and after the Battle of Shiloh.

The Michie (pronounced Mickey) House was once located near the intersection of the Monterey-Savannah Road with the present-day Chambers Store Road. At the time of the battle, it was most likely the home of David Stoneman Michie, his wife Nancy Usseries Michie, and their children. I've read that the family was not at home immediately prior to or during the battle, but their absence evidently didn't prevent their house from being used for a variety of purposes.

You'll find Michie's house mentioned in reports and correspondence of the Union and Confederate armies - sometimes as the Mickey House, Mickey’s House, Mickey's farmhouse, Mickey’s White House, Mickey's, Michie's, Michie's house, etc. It's important to note that references to "Michie's" in correspondence and in the OR should not be confused with the nearby town of Michie, TN. The present day town of Michie (pronounced Mickey) was called "Monterey" until 1882, when the town applied for a post office and found the name Monterey had already been taken. So Civil War era references to Michie's refer to the farmhouse residence, not the town.

First and perhaps most importantly, Mickey's House was the designated rendezvous point for the entire Confederate Army of the Mississippi. Travelling by various roads, the Corps of Leonidas Polk, Braxton Bragg, William J. Hardee, and John C Breckinridge were ordered to rendezvous at the Mickey House. And, on April 5, 1862 the Confederate Army struck off from the Mickey House for their approach to the April 6th attack.

At various times during the week of April 4-10, 1862, the site served as headquarters for Maj Gen Braxton Bragg, Maj Gen William J Hardee, and Brig Gen John C Breckinridge, as well as Hospital Headquarters for Hardee's corps. The brigade field hospitals for all three brigades of Hardee's Corps were located there. Soldiers from both armies -wounded Confederates and wounded and captured Union prisoners - were treated there. And, later, in May 1862, the 3rd Division US Army (Lew Wallace's) encamped on the site.

From the time that Hardee's Corps arrived at the location on the evening of April 4, 1862, the Mickey house and surrounding area was critically important to the Battle of Shiloh. I'll post a few of the accounts in this thread as time allows.

Sources:
  • OR, Report of Brigadier General James Patton Anderson, 2nd Brigade, Ruggles’ Division, 2nd (Bragg’s) Corps. Official Records, Series I, Volume X, Part I: Reports, pp. 494-495.
  • Account of Captain Benjamin Franklin Sawyer, Company I, 1st Blythe’s Mississippi Infantry Battalion (later designated 44th Mississippi Infantry) entitled “The Battle of Shiloh from the Diary of a Confederate Officer,” as published in The Newberry Herald. (Newberry, SC), March 11, 1874, page 1.
  • "Forty-Fourth Tennessee Infantry by Dr. D.J. Noblitt, Lincoln County, Tennessee." Military Annals of Tennessee (Confederate), First series: embracing a review of military operations, with regimental histories and memorial rolls, comp. from original and official sources, and ed. by John Berrien Lindsley, 1886, pp. 530-532.
  • Manuscript and letters of Civil War POW, Captain A. W. McCormick (77th Ohio), Historical Auctions, 2011. Link to content
  • "Letter from a prisoner at Corinth," Captain A. W. McCormick (77th Ohio) to his wife, Daily Ohio Statesman, (Columbus, OH), June 1, 1862, page 2.
  • OR, Report of Col. Robert Paxton Trabue, 4th Kentucky, Commanding Orphan Brigade. Official Records, Series I, Volume X, Part I: Reports, page 619.
  • OR, Correspondence of Brigadier General John C Breckinridge to Major General Braxton Bragg, dated Mickey's, April 8, 1862, 5:45 pm. Official Records, Series I, Volume X, Part II: Correspondence, page 401.
  • OR, Report of Major General John A. McClernand, Commanding Reserve Corps, Army of the Tennessee, dated July 4, 1862. Official Records, Series I, Volume X, Part I: Reports, page 754.
  • OR, Correspondence of Assistant Adjutant General Thomas Jordan to Brigadier General John C Breckinridge, dated Headquarters, Army of the Mississippi, Corinth, Miss., April 8, 1862. Official Records, Series I, Volume X, Part II: Correspondence, page 401.
  • OR, Correspondence of Brigadier General John C Breckinridge to Assistant Adjutant General Thomas Jordan, dated Mickey's, April 9, 1862, 9:30 am. Official Records, Series I, Volume X, Part II: Correspondence, page 403.
  • Tennessee Place Names and Post Offices > Part 3 > J - O https://sos.tn.gov/products/tsla/tennessee-place-names-and-post-offices-part-3-j-o [A list based on records at National Archives listing postmaster appointments from 1832 to 1971, National Archives microfilm publications M1131 and M841.]
It was an awesome presentation!! And a nice little "take away" too from the weekend!! :wink:
 
View attachment 376587
Thanks to the graphic account left by Dr. David Jasper Noblitt, Surgeon of the 44th Tennessee, most people interested in medical care at the Battle of Shiloh already know that the Mickey House served as the brigade field hospital for Sterling Alexander Martin (SAM) Wood's brigade. But there's so much more to the place than that!

On Saturday, September 26, 2020 @Diane123 and I provided a presentation on Confederate medical service at the Battle of Shiloh. Through the effort of friends @MS2623 and @16thAL along with the generosity of the current landowner, we were able to provide the presentation on the site of the Mickey House. We were standing on the very place where our 2x great grandfather established his brigade hospital; the same ground he walked on, talking about amputations at the same place where he performed them 158 years ago. It was a humbling and surreal experience to say the least. I can't thank @MS2623 and @16thAL enough for making it possible.

As most of you know, I enjoy research, so in preparation for the presentation, I compiled some primary source materials that help to paint a vivid picture of the activities at, and around, the Mickey House during and after the Battle of Shiloh.

The Michie (pronounced Mickey) House was once located near the intersection of the Monterey-Savannah Road with the present-day Chambers Store Road. At the time of the battle, it was most likely the home of David Stoneman Michie, his wife Nancy Usseries Michie, and their children. I've read that the family was not at home immediately prior to or during the battle, but their absence evidently didn't prevent their house from being used for a variety of purposes.

You'll find Michie's house mentioned in reports and correspondence of the Union and Confederate armies - sometimes as the Mickey House, Mickey’s House, Mickey's farmhouse, Mickey’s White House, Mickey's, Michie's, Michie's house, etc. It's important to note that references to "Michie's" in correspondence and in the OR should not be confused with the nearby town of Michie, TN. The present day town of Michie (pronounced Mickey) was called "Monterey" until 1882, when the town applied for a post office and found the name Monterey had already been taken. So Civil War era references to Michie's refer to the farmhouse residence, not the town.

First and perhaps most importantly, Mickey's House was the designated rendezvous point for the entire Confederate Army of the Mississippi. Travelling by various roads, the Corps of Leonidas Polk, Braxton Bragg, William J. Hardee, and John C Breckinridge were ordered to rendezvous at the Mickey House. And, on April 5, 1862 the Confederate Army struck off from the Mickey House for their approach to the April 6th attack.

At various times during the week of April 4-10, 1862, the site served as headquarters for Maj Gen Braxton Bragg, Maj Gen William J Hardee, and Brig Gen John C Breckinridge, as well as Hospital Headquarters for Hardee's corps. The brigade field hospitals for all three brigades of Hardee's Corps were located there. Soldiers from both armies -wounded Confederates and wounded and captured Union prisoners - were treated there. And, later, in May 1862, the 3rd Division US Army (Lew Wallace's) encamped on the site.

From the time that Hardee's Corps arrived at the location on the evening of April 4, 1862, the Mickey house and surrounding area was critically important to the Battle of Shiloh. I'll post a few of the accounts in this thread as time allows.

Sources:
  • OR, Report of Brigadier General James Patton Anderson, 2nd Brigade, Ruggles’ Division, 2nd (Bragg’s) Corps. Official Records, Series I, Volume X, Part I: Reports, pp. 494-495.
  • Account of Captain Benjamin Franklin Sawyer, Company I, 1st Blythe’s Mississippi Infantry Battalion (later designated 44th Mississippi Infantry) entitled “The Battle of Shiloh from the Diary of a Confederate Officer,” as published in The Newberry Herald. (Newberry, SC), March 11, 1874, page 1.
  • "Forty-Fourth Tennessee Infantry by Dr. D.J. Noblitt, Lincoln County, Tennessee." Military Annals of Tennessee (Confederate), First series: embracing a review of military operations, with regimental histories and memorial rolls, comp. from original and official sources, and ed. by John Berrien Lindsley, 1886, pp. 530-532.
  • Manuscript and letters of Civil War POW, Captain A. W. McCormick (77th Ohio), Historical Auctions, 2011. Link to content
  • "Letter from a prisoner at Corinth," Captain A. W. McCormick (77th Ohio) to his wife, Daily Ohio Statesman, (Columbus, OH), June 1, 1862, page 2.
  • OR, Report of Col. Robert Paxton Trabue, 4th Kentucky, Commanding Orphan Brigade. Official Records, Series I, Volume X, Part I: Reports, page 619.
  • OR, Correspondence of Brigadier General John C Breckinridge to Major General Braxton Bragg, dated Mickey's, April 8, 1862, 5:45 pm. Official Records, Series I, Volume X, Part II: Correspondence, page 401.
  • OR, Report of Major General John A. McClernand, Commanding Reserve Corps, Army of the Tennessee, dated July 4, 1862. Official Records, Series I, Volume X, Part I: Reports, page 754.
  • OR, Correspondence of Assistant Adjutant General Thomas Jordan to Brigadier General John C Breckinridge, dated Headquarters, Army of the Mississippi, Corinth, Miss., April 8, 1862. Official Records, Series I, Volume X, Part II: Correspondence, page 401.
  • OR, Correspondence of Brigadier General John C Breckinridge to Assistant Adjutant General Thomas Jordan, dated Mickey's, April 9, 1862, 9:30 am. Official Records, Series I, Volume X, Part II: Correspondence, page 403.
  • Tennessee Place Names and Post Offices > Part 3 > J - O https://sos.tn.gov/products/tsla/tennessee-place-names-and-post-offices-part-3-j-o [A list based on records at National Archives listing postmaster appointments from 1832 to 1971, National Archives microfilm publications M1131 and M841.]
We all have our favorite ways of absorbing the Civil War. We read, visit, collect, reenact, etc. But nothing can be more meaningful than the experience you had at Shiloh, @lelliott19. You were able to stand at the exact historical spot where a long ago relative of yours stood--- to tell and relive his war story. That's a deep and moving experience few of us can ever have in a lifetime. Thank you for sharing your ongoing information on the little known Mickey House.
 
S.A.M. Wood & Staff.jpg


The full photo (reversed as it is a hard image ambrotype or tintype) of Brig. Gen. Sterling Alexander Martin Wood, seated at right, and members of his staff, including Major and Doctor Noblitt standing at far left. Wood was an interesting character who I encountered as first commander of the Alabama Brigade in which served my own G-G-Grandfather Jasper Blair of the 33rd Alabama (which was not present at Shiloh as it was a new regiment raised in the summer of 1862 and not assigned to the brigade until immediately prior to the invasion of Kentucky). Wood's brigade served in Hardee's Corps at Shiloh alongside that of Pat Cleburne, who assumed command of a division containing both and other brigades after Perryville. Wood apparently had an unhappy experience serving under Cleburne, who he easily could've resented since both were once brigade commanders at Shiloh and Perryville. Along with some other generals, he also seems to have had a "problem" remaining with his unit during battle; supposedly Cleburne was going to have him brought up on charges of cowardice after Chickamauga, prompting his resignation and return to private life. He was replaced by his senior regimental colonel Mark Lowrey who was apparently satisfactory in the discharge of his duties, surviving the carnage at Franklin to command the remnant of Cleburne's Division.
 
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including Major and Doctor Noblitt standing at far left.
That's my gg grandfather, Dr Wm C Cross, standing at far left in the group photo - not D J Noblitt.

ID of all in the group photo:
Standing L>R
Sr Brigade Surgeon Wood's brigade, Dr. William Cordwell Cross
Rev. Alexander Lockett Hamilton
and (most probably) AQM Martin Vanburen Walt
Seated L>R
Aide-de-camp Henry Clay Wood (SAM Wood's brother)
and Brig Gen Sterling Alexander Martin Wood
 
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First and perhaps most importantly, Mickey's House was the designated rendezvous point for the entire Confederate Army of the Mississippi. Travelling by various roads, the Corps of Leonidas Polk, Braxton Bragg, William J. Hardee, and John C Breckinridge were ordered to rendezvous at the Mickey House. And, on April 5, 1862 the Confederate Army struck off from the Mickey House for their approach to the April 6th attack.
Before your presentation, I don't think any of us there knew that. A lot of troops were there.
 
Before your presentation, I don't think any of us there knew that. A lot of troops were there.
Right. I guess I should have suggested that we START the day at the Mickey House site, instead of having it last on the agenda, but that would have ruined the surprise. :wink:
 
Before your presentation, I don't think any of us there knew that. A lot of troops were there.
Albert Sidney Johnston's Special Orders No. 8, dated Corinth, Miss., April 3, 1862. instructed the entire Confederate Army of the Mississippi to assemble at the Mickey House. He had hoped they could arrive the evening of April 3, but "the impracticable condition of the roads" delayed the march.
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[Source: Official Records, Series I, Volume X, Part I: Reports, pp. 392-393.]
 
Great Presentation and Thread. I glad you were able to do it there instead of at the field hospital stop in the park :D
 
That's my gg grandfather, Dr Wm C Cross, standing at far left in the group photo - not D J Noblitt.

ID of all in the group photo:
Standing L>R
Sr Brigade Surgeon Wood's brigade, Dr. William Cordwell Cross
Rev. Alexander Lockett Hamilton
and (most probably) AQM Martin Vanburen Walt
Seated L>R
Aide-de-camp Henry Clay Wood (SAM Wood's brother)
and Brig Gen Sterling Alexander Martin Wood
Sorry - I'd forgotten his name, and a quick search failed to turn up your previous threads about him! (Of course, it didn't help without his name to look for.)
 
Here's a map from the Library of Congress that shows the names and locations of some of the landowners on and near the Shiloh Battlefield at the time of the battle. The map was created by Léon Joseph Frémaux and endorsed in ink: "Approved G.T. Beauregard, Genl. Comdg." I've highlighted the Mickey House located to the lower left center of the map. Just east of the Mickey House, along the Bark Road, is Chambers'. For those who would like to access the entire map and enlarge it to see the names of other landowners, here is the link
1602822150902.png
 
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