The Last Moments of Two Mississippi Brothers

 

On top is Lt. Enoch Henderson Williams and on bottom is Joseph Green English Williams, both of Company C, 40th Mississippi Infantry. (Photo's courtesy of Danny Jones.)

       One of the saddest stories of the Civil War happened at the Battle of Franklin in Tennessee. Two brothers fought in the same company in the 40th Mississippi Infantry. Enoch Williams was born in 1806 in Georgia. He died one year before the war began. At some point he moved his family to Atalla County, Mississippi. Nothing is known about his wife except her name was Nancy. He had five children, four boys and a girl (some sources state that he actually had six boys and a girl). His oldest son William Williams died two years before the war began at the age of 26. 

       Enoch's second son was named Enoch Henderson Williams. He enlisted in Company E, 18th Mississippi Infantry when the war began. Just after the Battle of Shiloh, Enoch transferred to Company C, 40th Mississippi Infantry where he was commissioned a lieutenant. Enoch's brother Joseph Green English Williams also enlisted in Company E, 18th Mississippi Infantry. It was noted that as the two brothers were growing up, they were inseparable. They both attended Mississippi College together and it quickly became obvious that the younger brother Joseph was the better student. It made sense that they would both join the Confederate Army together. Joseph transferred to the 40th Mississippi with Enoch and was also commissioned a lieutenant. 

Private Columbus Marion Williams (Photo courtesy of Danny Jones)

       Another brother Columbus Marion Williams joined Company E, 18th Mississippi Infantry and records show that he got sick, was sent home where he died. Family sources say he was severely wounded at Gettysburg and was captured. When he was exchanged he was sent home to Mississippi to recuperate. According to the family, he died of gangrene in the still unhealed wound in 1870 at the age of 25.

       The source that claims there were six brothers says five of them died in the war and only Columbus survived. The names of these brothers or where they possibly served and died are not known if they even existed. 

       The story becomes much more melancholy. At the Battle of Franklin, Enoch and Joseph were still lieutenants in the 40th Mississippi Infantry in Winfield Featherston's Brigade. They went into the assault on the right flank of the Confederate Army having to fight their way past an Osage abatis. At some point in the fight, Enoch was shot in the stomach and Joseph was severely wounded in the arm. They were found the next morning, both had deceased, both holding the other brother's wound attempting to staunch the flow of blood. Each had tried to save his brother's life over his own. 

       They were probably buried together, the Confederate dead were placed in the ditch outside the earthworks. Later, Carrie McGavock of the Carnton Plantation had these men exhumed and placed in the Confederate Cemetery behind her house. Enoch was recognized (probably by something written in his pocket), however Joseph was not. Enoch rests in the Mississippi Section of the Confederate Cemetery in grave number 3. Joseph rests in an unmarked grave either in the Mississippi Section or the Unknown Section of the Cemetery. We can only hope they are buried near each other. Enoch was 27 and Joseph was 24. 

       The only information I could find about the one surviving sibling was Nannie Elizabeth Williams married a man named Johnson. I couldn't find any information on whether they ever had any children. Nannie died in 1911 at the age of 62. She rests today in Elmwood Cemetery, Memphis, Tennessee. The story becomes even sadder when you realize that the only chance for the family line to continue was through Columbus. He married Francis "Fannie" Elizabeth Sallis. They had two children, one child which was born dead in 1868 and a daughter born in 1869 named Elma Marion Williams. Unfortunately, she died at the age of three. Fannie lived until 1926. All four rest today in Sallis Cemetery, Sallis, Mississippi. 

       

       

William Felix Brantley: I have no brigade

No uniformed photograph exists of General Brantley

       William Felix Brantley was born in Alabama in 1830. His parents moved to Mississippi while he was a youngster. Brantley became a lawyer in Greensboro, Mississippi in 1852. He voted to take Mississippi out of the Union and became captain of Company D, 15th Mississippi Infantry. He led his company at the Battle of Mill Springs in Kentucky in January of 1862. 

       They then moved to Corinth, Mississippi and he led the company in the Battle of Shiloh in April. When the regiment was reorganized, Brantley was elected lieutenant colonel of the 15th Mississippi Infantry. He fought again at Munfordsville, Kentucky, but missed the Battle of Perryville. He would be promoted to colonel and lead the regiment at the Battle of Murfreesboro. There, he was slightly wounded by an exploding artillery shell in the fight for the Cedar thicket on the Union right flank. He would lead a regiment at Chickamauga and fight near the Craven's House on Lookout Mountain in Chattanooga. He was praised for his courage there. 

        During the Atlanta Campaign, his men withstood assault after assault at Resaca all while receiving enfilade fire from Union artillery. They saw repeated action during the Atlanta Campaign. When Samuel Benton was mortally wounded at Atlanta, Brantley was promoted to brigadier general of the Mississippi Brigade. He led his brigade into the unsuccessful Battle of Ezra Church. They would lose heavily there and again at the Battle of Jonesboro. 

       The recently exchanged Major General Edward Johnson of Robert E. Lee's Army would soon command Brantley's Brigade. They would advance into Tennessee and become participants in the horrific fighting at Franklin. His corps commander Lieutenant General Stephen D. Lee would praise both Brantley and Zachariah Deas's troops for their actions in the bloody fighting there. His brigade advanced after dark against the area just west of the Carter House. After the repulse, Major James Ratchford wrote, "After the firing had ceased, about midnight, I was sent along our corps front with orders from General Lee to the Brigadiers and Major Generals to get ready for a renewal of the fight at daylight. I found General Brantley, who had commanded a Mississippi Brigade, sitting almost stupefied on the ground near the line of battle. I gave him the order, but he seemed not to hear me. I put my hand on his shoulder and tried to rouse him, repeating the instructions for his brigade. He mumbled, 'I have no brigade.' I asked him where the men were, and he replied, 'They're all dead.' I said, 'Surely not all,' and added that if he did not make some effort to get his men together, I would be compelled to report it to General (Stephen D.) Lee. He roused himself then and said, 'I'll see if there are any left.' The next morning he had gathered up about two hundred men, all that remained of a whole brigade that went into the fight." A brigade during the Civil War usually consisted of 1500 to 2000 men. 

  

A pre-war image of William Brantley

       Brantley's dead were in the trenches and on the earthworks near the Carter House. He took the remnants of his brigade on to Nashville, where they faced Steedman's black troops. They held part of the line on the extreme Confederate right. They would get their vengeance there for the suffering they received at Franklin. They repulsed a desperate charge at Nashville. Following the campaign, he would reform his brigade in Mississippi. They numbered 152 men by this time. 

       Following the war, he returned to Mississippi and his law practice. He'd been warned about travelling between Winona and Greensboro, Mississippi, but he'd replied that he would travel wherever his business took him. He'd survived four years of bloody Civil War, to be killed in a shotgun blast on the road between the two towns. He was in the process of bringing the murderers of his brother Arnold to justice. His assailants were never found. His brother Edmund was killed in a duel. Another brother John was killed in Texas by David Balzell. In 1870, his brother Arnold, the mayor of Winona was shot dead in cold blood. William was attempting to bring his murderers to justice when they ambushed and killed him. 

       It was said of Brantley, that he would not turn from doing what was right once his mind was set. He was a fearless man, as can be proved by his Civil War record. He rests today in the New Greensboro Cemetery, Webster County, Mississippi. He was 40 years old. 

The grave of William Felix Brantley

John Adams: Where No Sorrows Come

       

Charles McDougall (father-in-law of John Adams)

       I know I've already written at least one blog on Confederate Brigadier General John Adams. He happens to be one of my favorite Confederate generals. I recently bought a book at Carnton Plantation in Franklin, Tennessee entitled Where No Sorrows Come: The Life and Death of Confederate Brigadier General John Adams by Bryan Lane. This book is a must have. I finished it in two days, despite having a severe migraine on the last day during the last one hundred pages. The book is well researched and well written. My hat is off to Mr. Lane. This blog consists of a letter quoted in Mr. Lane's book from John Adams's father-in-law (who happened to be strongly pro-Union) to John Adams's sister. The letter is extremely touching. 

       "We are a thousand times obliged for your last favor. The sad detail of my dear son's (John Adams, his actual son-in-law) fate with its sorrows had much of comfort. Long before I dreamed of any nearer situation between John and myself we were mess mates on an Indian campaign, and on which begun our friendship.

       Our relation of father and son were those of very tender and strong attachment - in him was all a father could wish - We loved him as we did our own children who all loved him as their own dear brother, and in all our intercourse as with every member of my family, not a word or look or thought to mar our happiness.

       He loved Georgie as he did his life, even more, and not a wish had she but it was always anticipated. At one time Georgie was suddenly very ill. I despaired of her life and I thought it advisable to tell him. When I did so he fell as if shot in overpowering grief - and when the crisis was past and announced, his joy knew no bounds - the happiest man I ever saw.

       He was fun, without guile, chivalrous, affectionate and all that relatives or friends could wish him. He leaves in his example a rich legacy to his children - God bless them. 

       How much we have desired to see you all and mix our griefs and tears with yours, to unburden our hearts as cannot be done by writing. Tell my darling daughter that she and her dear ones are never out of our thoughts - that although she has kind and loving friends, who will do everything for her, yet her fathers home is where she ought and must come to. What little of life which is left to her parents will be devoted to her and the children, and we pray our Heavenly Father that we may live for their sakes. 

       Please mention to Georgie to notify me that she will come and when, so that I can prepare. Her mother and myself will meet her wherever she may indicate. Early information will govern the time I shall her rent her a house which now are hard to procure. 

       And now dear sister of my beloved son (now in Heaven) accept from us our deep and sincere condolence and we pray God to sustain you in your affliction and that we may all meet where no sorrows come."

       C. McDougall

Only known photograph of John and Georgiana Adams together

Short, But Desperate

Brigadier General Otho French Strahl

       Otho French Strahl was born in 1831 near Elliotts Cross Roads, Ohio. If you look at the photograph above, you'll notice that this Ohioan is wearing a Confederate Brigadier General's uniform. Both of his grandmothers had been raised in the South and he came to appreciate their Southern heritage. After graduating from Ohio Wesleyan University, he read law and moved to Dyersburg, Tennessee where he opened his law practice. 

       When the Civil War began, Strahl became a captain in the 4th Tennessee Infantry. He had been promoted to Lieutenant Colonel by the time the regiment fought at Shiloh. Following that battle, the unit was consilidated with and became known as the 5th Tennessee Infantry. Strahl then became the regiment's colonel. Strahl would serve throughout the war and eventually be commissioned brigadier general of a Tennessee brigade. 

       

Lieutenant John H. Marsh

       Standing on Winstead Hill before the Battle of Franklin, Strahl was with one of his staff officers named John H. Marsh. Marsh was a lieutenant. The men of Strahl's brigade could overhear Brigadier General Mark Perrin Lowrey to their right giving his brigade a speech. Yet, Brigadier General Strahl remained quiet with a look of sadness on his face. Chaplain Quintard, who had been presented with Strahl's horse the day before noticed Strahl had already decided this would be his last battle. Finally, Strahl said, "This fight will be short, but desperate."

       When the order was given for the line to advance, Lieuteant Marsh rode forward ahead of the brigade while mounted on his white horse. When the horse was killed, Marsh charged forward on foot to within three hundred yards of the Federal main line when a bullet penetrated his brain and killed him instantly. 

        General Strahl continued with his brigade to the main line where they broke through and pushed the Federals back to their retrenched line. Strahl and his men remained in the ditch outside the main line and exchanged fire with the Federals in the retrenched line. The ditch outside the main line of works quickly filled with the dead and dying. Because of the breastworks being extended around the Carter Cotton Gin, enfilade fire was horrendous for Strahl's Brigade. 

Strahl's Brigade suffered enfilade from troops near cotton gin

       Sergeant Sumner Cunningham was in the ditch near Strahl. Strahl was standing in the ditch loading rifles and passing them up to the volunteers who mounted the embankment to fire toward the retrenched line at the Carter House. Cunningham loaded his Enfield and passed it to a man on the embankment. The man cocked the weapon and took deliberate aim when he was shot dead, tumbling into the ditch below. 

       Strahl then turned to Sergeant Cunningham and ordered him to mount the embankment. Cunningham didn't hesitate, but walked over the dead and wounded, standing with one foot on dead men and the other planted in the side of the embankment. Strahl then handed loaded rifles up to Cunningham. There was a man on Cunningham's right firing, but between them and the Columbia Pike about 50 feet to their right was not a living soul. All those had been shot down by the enfilade fire. 

Sergeant Sumner Cunningham

       Sergeant Cunningham realized the situation was hopeless. He turned to General Strahl to inquire whether they should surrender or attempt to race to the rear. He asked, "General, what shall we do?" Strahl replied, "Keep firing." 

       At that moment, Strahl was shot down in the ditch, Cunningham believed his commander had been killed. The man to his right was struck and fell against Cunningham's right shoulder, groaning in agony. Cunningham asked the man where he was wounded. General Strahl, thinking Cunningham was talking to him, raised himself up and announced he was shot in the neck and needed to turn command over to Colonel Stafford. Strahl then began to crawl over the dead and wounded in the ditch about twenty feet to where Colonel Stafford was standing. 

       Arriving at the position of his subordinate, Strahl found Colonel Stafford had been killed, yet his body was wedged in the ditch between the dead and wounded in such a way that he was still standing. Sumner Cunningham noted the next morning that he appeared standing as if ready to give commands to the dead. 

       Several men attempted to carry General Strahl to the rear, but he received another gunshot wound and finally a third that blew out the back of his head, killing him instantly. Sergeant Cunningham then raced for the rear to inform Major General John C. Brown of the state of affairs at the front. He encountered one of Brown's staff officers who informed him that Brown had been wounded and that Strahl was in command of the division now. For the first time, Cunningham realized that those in command had no idea how bad things had become. He then went in search of Major General Benjamin Cheatham to inform him. 

       

Grave of General Strahl

        Brigadier General Otho French Strahl rests today in Dyersburg, Tennessee beneath the cannon shown above. Lieutenant John Marsh was carried with his commander's body to St. John's Episcopal Church just south of Columbia, Tennessee and buried by his side. Following the war, Strahl would be reinterred in Dyersburg, but Marsh still rests at St. John's. 

Grave of Lieutenant John Henry Marsh

The Myth of the Six Dead Generals

The Myth of the Six Dead Generals

My buddy Seab Hunter and I in behind the Carnton Plantation. The bodies of the generals were laid out on the lower back porch to the right.

The bodies of the generals were laid out on the far end of this photo.

I often hear about the six Confederate generals that were killed at Franklin. When people hear that I'm a Civil War historian and especially that I've written a book about the Battle of Franklin, they tend to tell about the bodies of the six Confederate generals that were laid out on the back porch of the Carnton Mansion. I'm not the type person to correct people, so I usually just listen politely.

In truth, there were only four generals brought to Carnton the morning after the battle. Major General Patrick Cleburne and Brigadier General John Adams were brought back in the same wagon. Brigadier General Otho Strahl and Brigadier General Hiram B. Granbury were also brought to Carnton. Brigadier General John C. Carter was mortally wounded, gut shot to be exact and lingered for about a week at the Harrison Home south of Winstead Hill. Brigadier General States Rights Gist was mortally wounded, shot in a leg and the chest and died during the night at a field hospital. He would be buried in the yard of a resident named William White the next day.

So how did the legend of six Confederate generals being laid out on the back porch of the Carnton Plantation get started. Usually, when a legend begins, it is based on some fact. That is the same in this case. As the bodies were brought in, they were laid out on the lower back porch of the Carnton plantation. Strahl, Adams, Cleburne, and Granbury were placed gently on the porch. So how could four bodies be mistaken for six generals?

There were two more officers laid out on the porch with the generals. Lieutenant Colonel Robert B. Young of the 10^th Texas was found near his commander Brigadier General Hiram B. Granbury and also brought there. He lay on the porch next to his commander. Lieutenant John Marsh, one of Brigadier General Otho F. Strahl's staff officers was carried back to Carnton with his commander and placed on the porch. So we know there were six bodies placed side by side on the back porch at Carnton and there is where the rumors began.

Me at the grave of Colonel Robert B. Young, one of the bodies who lay with the generals at Carnton. Cleburne, Strahl, and Granbury would have been buried beside him here until removed to their homes. Lieutenant John Marsh still rests here beside Young.

Somewhere down the line, knowing there were six generals killed during the Battle of Franklin and hearing veterans talk about seeing the six bodies laid out on the back porch, people jumped to the conclusion that all six were generals rested there momentarily that morning.

People enjoy telling this story because it makes for a much more interesting tale. It has just become one more myth produced from that war. The truth doesn't take anything away from the heroism that occurred on that field of battle. Below are the pictures of the generals killed at Franklin and the officers laid out beside the generals at Carnton.

Brigadier General John C. Carter died a week later at the Harrison home.

Brigadier General States Rights Gist was buried at William White's house.

Major General Patrick R. Cleburne was carried to Carnton.

Brigadier General Hiram B. Granbury placed on the back porch at Carnton.

Brigadier General John Adams was brought to Carnton.

Brigadier General Otho F. Strahl was brought to Carnton.

Lieutenant John Marsh, aide to Strahl was brought back to Carnton. I have yet to find a photograph of Lieutenant Colonel Robert Young who was also laid out on the back porch with his commander General Granbury.

The Battle of Franklin by James R. Knight

The Battle of Franklin

       If your interested in the Battle of Franklin then I strongly suggest this book by James R. Knight. Mr. Knight is a volunteer at the Carter House Museum in Franklin, Tennessee. I purchased my book while there almost two years ago. Mr. Knight is very friendly and signed my book while I was there. He is a retired pilot who flew DC-10's for Federal Express.

       I remember asking him if his book was as good as Eric Jacobson's book on the Battle of Franklin and he very humbly replied that it wasn't. The next time I was at the Carter House I saw James again. He didn't remember me, but I walked up and told him I was upset with him because he had lied to me. I think he realized I was pulling his leg. He asked me what had he done. I reminded him of what he had told me about his book and informed him that his book was as good as Eric's. He then thanked me. 

       Truthfully, there is no book more informative on the Battle of Franklin than Eric Jacobson's For Cause and Comrades. Eric is the historian at the Carnton Plantation which is also located in Franklin. That is not to say that James book isn't also a great read. I found a few stories and anecdotes that weren't in Eric's book. I strongly recommend both books if your a big fan of the battle.

James R. Knight

       Mr. Knight's book is written as part of a series, whereas Eric's book is written from lifelong study. You would expect his book to be more in depth. If you don't have the time to read a long book with lots of detail, I would recommend James' book. If your like me and devour everything you can on the Civil War, then I would buy them both.

       He also has a book out on the Battle of Fort Donelson that I haven't purchased yet. Next time  I'm in Franklin, I plan on stopping in and seeing James and have him autograph a copy for me.

An excerpt from my upcoming book 'Die Like Men'

Captain Samuel D. Stewart

       Civilians had gathered along the roadside to cheer on the advancing army. It made the men feel good. A beautiful girl standing beside the road shouted, “Keep moving. You’ll capture every one of the Yanks; they’re running for their lives.”

          The regiment raised a cheer to her. Joe Thompson shouted back at her. “We’ll catch those rascals and skin 'em, ma’am. Will you cook 'em up for us?”

          Everyone broke into laughter. The girl blushed and then managed a smile.

       They had already passed at least thirty broken-down wagons that had been abandoned by the Union army. Their spirits were beginning to soar. The weather had turned off warm. It was a beautiful Indian summer day. They were actually working up a sweat as they marched.

          They marched on up the road, their pace beginning to pick up. Mack Keenum knew they were getting close to the Union army. He could feel the tension building. Soon, they arrived at a beautiful brick home on the left side of the road.

          Joe Thompson pointed toward the house and asked, “You boys know whose house that is?”

          “Before this war, I ain’t never been outside Tuscumbia,” Tom Barrett gave a toothy grin. “How you think I’m a gonna know who lives way up here?”

          “It’s William Harrison’s home,” Joe said. He looked at Tom’s blank face, and then asked, “You do know William Henry Harrison, don’t you?”

          “Never heard of him,” Tom shook his head. “Should I know 'im?”

          “He was just the president of the United States once,” Joe chuckled.

          Mack looked amazed. He asked, “Is he home now?”

          Joe laughed. “No, he’s been dead for years. That’s where he used to live.”

       Mack shrugged and looked at Tom. They both smiled at each other. They loved the way they got on Joe’s nerves with their ignorance. Not everyone had the opportunity to go to school and get an education like Joe had. Most of them had to stay home and work on the farm. Mack still remembered what his dad had told the teacher who had tried to get him to send his children to school. “Those boys don’t need no schooling. They gettin’ all the schooling they need from me on this here farm,” he’d said.

          Up ahead, they could see the Union rearguard on the hills. Before they got within range of their guns, the line made a sharp turn to the right. They were moving east.

          Joe said, “Boys, looks like we’re flanking 'em again.”

          They marched east a ways and hit another road running north. Someone said it was the Lewisburg Pike. They turned north there and started toward the hill just north of them. There were no Union soldiers on the hill over here. It’s a good thing someone’s using  their head today, Mack thought.