A Live Major General or a Dead Brigadier: Abner Monroe Perrin

Brigadier General Abner Monroe Perrin

       Part of the problem of living with a sleep disorder is finding yourself wide awake at five in the morning and wishing you were asleep. Of course falling asleep about four yesterday afternoon and waking up at midnight has something to do with it. I thought I would use this time writing about one of my favorite Confederate generals. 

       Abner Perrin was born in 1827 in South Carolina. He fought in the Mexican War at the age of 19 and earned promotion to lieutenant while there. Following that war, he returned to South Carolina where he became an attorney. When the Civil War began, Perrin was elected captain in the 14th South Carolina Infantry.

       They would see their first action in the Seven Days battles around Richmond in the summer of 1862. Perrin and his men were heavily engaged at both Gaines' Mill and Frayser's Farm during the now famous Seven Days Campaign. 

       They fought at Cedar Mountain, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg (Antietam), and Fredericksburg. Perrin was slightly wounded at Fredericksburg where his brigade commander Maxcy Gregg was killed. Perrin received a promotion to colonel in January of 1863. At Chancellorsville when all the senior officers were killed or wounded, Perrin was placed in charge of the brigade. He would travel to Gettysburg in command of the brigade, but still only ranked colonel. He lost almost half his brigade in the attack on the first day there, but he led the brigade forward and broke the Federal line in his front. 

       Perrin was promoted to brigadier general in September of 1863. When his former commander Samuel McGowan returned to duty in February of 1864 after his long recuperation from Chancellorsville, Perrin took command of Wilcox's Alabama Brigade. He led his new brigade at the Wilderness, again proving himself to be a great leader. 

The "Mule Shoe" at Spotsylvania

       At Spotsylvania on May 12, 1864, Perrin was ordered to lead his brigade of Alabamians into the breach when the Federals overran the "Mule Shoe." He said, "I shall come out of this fight a live major general or a dead brigadier." He led his men into the breach and helped close the gap, stopping the Federal advance. Perrin didn't live to see his men triumph. He fell from his horse struck by several bullets. His body would be carried back to Fredericksburg, Virginia and buried in the City Cemetery. Although he didn't receive his desired promotion to major general, he was deserving of such rank. He'd proven himself on many battlefields and the wonder is that such a brave man lived as long as he did. 

Grave of Abner Monroe Perrin

Fought Like Hell: William Barksdale

William Barksdale

       William Barksdale was born in 1821 in Tennessee.  His father had served in the War of 1812.  He moved to Columbus, Mississippi, became a lawyer and editor.  He was a captain in the Mexican War and proved himself to be an excellent commander.  

       Returning from the Mexican War a hero, he was elected to the United States Congress where he served until Mississippi left the Union.  He had never supported secession, but stated that he would join Mississippi if it should secede because the South had borne the burdens of maintaining the Federal government. 

       He began the Civil War as Colonel of the 13th Mississippi Infantry.   At the battle of First Manassas, he and members of his regiment stumbled into a nest of angry yellow jackets, their only action in that battle.  He was almost court-martialed for drunkenness, but promised to abstain from liquor for the duration of the war.    

       When Brigadier General Richard Griffith was killed at Savage's Station, Barksdale was promoted to Brigadier General.   McLaws had recommended him for promotion after witnessing him leading his brigades charge with the Confederate battle flag at Malvern Hill.  He missed Second Manassas, but fought at the Battle of Antietam.

       His best day of the war came at Fredricksburg in December 1862.  His brigade was assigned to defend Federal river crossings into town.  He sent General Robert E. Lee a message, asking him if he wanted a bridge of dead Yankees.  Once the Federal troops forded the river, Barksdale and his men fought an excellent rearguard action through the streets of town to the heights where Lee's main army was entrenched.  He defended the stonewall at Fredericksburg during the Battle of Chancellorsville, helping to secure Lee's right flank.  Heavily outnumbered they were pushed out of the way, but managed to move into the enemy's rear after he passed by to assault Lee and helped to save the day. 

       

No uniformed photo of Barksdale exists (all are pre-war)

       Barksdale and his brigade arrived at Gettysburg just after midnight on July 2, 1863.  They formed on the right flank the next day which mean they would be assaulting the Peach Orchard.  Beyond the Peach Orchard was the Trostle House where the Ninth Massachusetts Artillery was located.  The Federal battery was shelling Barksdale's men furiously.  Barksdale begged his division commander Lafayette McLaws and corps commander James Longstreet for permission to charge the little battery.  Both instructed him to wait.  Barksdale begged Longstreet to just give him five minutes and he would take those cannons.  Longstreet told him that they would all be going in shortly. 

       William Barksdale then called all his brigade's officers for a conference.  He stated, "The line in front must be broken.  To do so, let every officer and man animate his comrades by his personal presence in the front line."

       Barksdale was on a white horse and positioned himself just behind his line in the center of his brigade.  When the message from McLaws reached Barksdale to advance, the man's face radiated with joy.  He held his hat in his hand and his long white hair waved behind him.  He instructed his men that they would advance to within seventy-five yards of the Federal battery, halt, fire and then charge with the bayonet.  He then spurred his horse fifty yards in front of his brigade to lead them.  Advancing toward the Trostle house, Barksdale's brigade captured fifty men and General Graham.  He expertly maneuvered his brigade across the road.  When two of his colonels begged him to stop and reform, he refused.  Barksdale yelled, "We've got them on the run! Move your regiments!"

       

Area where Barksdale was wounded

       He then shouted for his men to charge. He yelled, "Advance! Advance! Brave Mississippians, one more charge and the day is ours!"

       Leading his men forward, William Barksdale was hit nine times by rifle fire.  Legend has it that a Federal captain ordered his entire company to fire at the mounted officer.  He told one of his couriers, "Tell my wife I am killed, but we fought like hell."

       Barksdale's brigade would enter the battle with 1,420 men and lose 730 men killed, wounded or missing.  His brigade broke the Federal line, overran the artillery battery, but just wasn't strong enough to hold the ground they'd won.  Captured, Barksdale was carried to the Hummelbaugh house.  He told surgeons there that Hancock had better watch his back because Pete (James Longstreet's nickname) would have a surprise for him in the morning. 

Hummelbaugh house and backyard

       He told the Federal soldiers who captured him that he had never regretted the choices he'd made and prayed that God would be a father to his boys and care for his wife.  General Barksdale survived until the next day when he was seen lying in the backyard of the Hummelbaugh house.  A young boy was there dipping water into his mouth, while the general burning with a fever, oblivious to the boy's presence was begging for water.  Federal soldiers raided his body for souvenirs.  They cut the buttons, collar insignia and gold lace from his uniform.  He was buried in the backyard of the Hummelbaugh house.

       Before the war was over, Misses Barksdale traveled to Gettysburg to retrieve the body of her husband.  She took William's dog along.  When they reached the grave where Barksdale was buried, the dog began to act peculiar.  When they began digging, the dog began to behave irrationally.  Once the body was removed and placed in the wagon, the dog could not be coaxed away from the grave.  Misses Barksdale spent the night in Gettysburg and before leaving the next morning attempted once more to take the dog home.  Still the dog would allow no one to approach the old grave.  Barksdale's wife was forced to leave the dog in Gettysburg and return home to Mississippi.  The dog refused to leave his masters old grave site and within a week died of dehydration.  Barksdale's dog now rests in the original grave of William Barksdale, somewhere in the backyard of the Hummelbaugh house at Gettysburg. 

       Local legend states that Barksdale's voice can still be heard there begging for water and at other times his dog can still be heard howling mournfully for his lost master. 

Barksdale's Grave

       William Barksdale was one of the most aggressive general's who served during the Civil War.  He was described as being fearless.  I have an uncle and several cousins who fought under his command during the war.  Some survived to return home, while a few did not. 

       General Barksdale rests today in Greenwood Cemetery, Jackson, Mississippi.  He was forty-one years old.   It was inevitable that a general possessing his personality would be killed in battle.  The most amazing thing was that he lasted as long as he did. 

The Ghost of Thomas Cobb

Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb

       The very first blog I wrote was on Thomas R.R. Cobb. I wrote about the conspiracy theory surrounding his death. Some said he was killed by artillery shrapnel, others say a bullet, and yet another claimed it was friendly fire. Recently, I have learned of another Cobb story.

       Thomas Cobb built his house in 1830. In 1850 he added octagonal wings. It was still on its original site in 1984, when the city decided it needed to be torn down. The house was in a state of disrepair. The home was then moved to Stone Mountain Park where it was to be restored. The restoration never occurred. In 2004, a non-profit organization had it brought back to Athens and restored to its original condition. It opened for tours in 2007. 

Cobb House today in Athens, Georgia

       The present staff have some very strange stories to tell about the place. According to them, two priests have visited the home and asked who the ghost is. Both priests said they saw a man dressed in gray descend the stairs and walk into General Cobb's library where he stood by the fireplace. They also tell a story of some newspapers catching fire in the house while no one was there. The papers were found the next morning completely burned, but none of the house was touched. One of the priests said that the house was being protected by Cobb. 

       The staff also claims to hear footsteps and a little girl laughing when there are no visitors in the home. The Cobb's had three children die inside the home. The staff believes the girl laughing is one of Cobb's deceased children. There is also an armoire that belonged to General Cobb. The doors on the cabinet are very difficult to open. Often times the staff will arrive in the morning to find the doors wide open. The staff believes Cobb's spirit is there looking for something.

       There is a part of this story I find a bit difficult to believe. According to the priests and the staff, General Cobb's ghost is benevolent and appreciates what is occurring at his old home. I've studied Confederate Generals all my life and there is one thing that is certain. In life, General Cobb was not a benevolent person. The man had a violent temper and often seemed paranoid. During the war he constantly complained about his superiors. He didn't agree with Davis's policy and even labelled Robert E. Lee as being haughty and crude. 

       Maybe Cobb haunts his old home place. If I'm ever in Athens, Georgia, I would like to tour the house. Regardless, if ghosts are real, it would be a man like Thomas Cobb who would have a restless spirit. 

Death of Confederate General Cobb: A Conspiracy Theory

      

        Confederate Brigadier General Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb was born on April 10, 1823 in Jefferson County, Georgia. Incredibly, he weighed twenty-one and one-half pounds at birth.

He attended college at what is now the University of Georgia and finished first in the class of 1841. He became a lawyer in the state of Georgia before his nineteenth birthday. By the time the Civil War began, he had accumulated a fortune worth 120,000 dollars and owned 23 slaves.

Thomas Cobb was known for his mercurial temper. During the war, he constantly complained about his superiors especially Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee. He was always faultfinding and finding reasons to argue with others. Elijah H. Sutton, one of his soldiers, declared that his own men despised him. W.R. Montgomery claimed that his men admired him because he was brave and gallant.

        The brigadier seemed to be paranoid, once writing about General Lee, “Lee hates me and sneers whenever my name is mentioned.” After meeting Lee, he wrote, “Lee is haughty and boorish and supercilious in his bearing and is particularly so to me.”

He missed all major combat until December, 1862. He was present with his brigade at Fredericksburg. Ironically, his first major battle would also prove to be his last. Cobb’s brigade held the Stone Wall at the Battle of Fredericksburg. He was seen waving his hat over his head and crying to his men, “Get ready, boys, here they come.”

As to what happened next remains a mystery. According to historian Robert K. Krick, a piece of artillery shrapnel struck General Cobb in the left thigh and severed his femoral artery. General Cobb collapsed in the sunken road about two in the afternoon and bled to death. 

        In 1901, an anonymous veteran announced that General Cobb had been killed by a Confederate soldier who lived at Lost Mountain. According to this veteran, General Cobb had berated several men for stopping on a march to fill their canteens with water. Cobb had then ordered them to pour out the water, but one soldier had refused. He then told the others that he would kill Thomas Cobb when the first opportunity presented itself. 

According to this anonymous veteran, General Cobb was killed by a shot from Phillip’s Legion, the same unit that this man served with. This veteran approached the man who had made the threat against the general and asked, “Sam, did you shoot General Cobb?”

(Sam was later identified as Samuel Drake of Phillip’s Legion.) Sam replied, “Well, I got him.”

         Later in the battle, Samuel Drake was shot in the chest and carried to the field hospital. The anonymous veteran went there and asked him, “Sam, you are going to die and I want you to tell me did you kill General Cobb?”

“I did,” Sam replied, “I always do what I say I will.”

According to this anonymous veteran, he had spoken to General Cobb’s descendants after the war and they told him they had always known that Thomas Cobb was killed by one of his own men.

Historian Robert K. Krick writes, “That story cannot be substantiated and in fact is clearly inaccurate, its calm assertion lends credence to the other negative declarations about Cobb.” 

Doctor Gilmore, chief surgeon of McLaws division stated that Cobb was hit by a bullet that passed through a plank fence and a tourniquet would have saved his life. He stated that N.H. Hammond of Flippen, Georgia was within thirty feet of Cobb and can substantiate that the general died in this way. 

According to Derek Smith, author of The Gallant Dead, General Cobb was hit by either artillery shrapnel or a Federal sharpshooter. He fails to mention the friendly fire theory at all. 

        General Joseph Kershaw reported that Cobb was killed by Federal sharpshooters posted near his left flank. Colonel Porter Alexander reported that Cobb was killed by a Union sniper about one hundred and fifty yards from his front. 

        It seems fitting that a man that was so paranoid would be surrounded by controversy as to who killed him following his death. There were several Confederate generals hit by friendly fire, Stonewall Jackson being the most famous. Micah Jenkins and James Longstreet were also hit by friendly fire. Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb seems to be the only one that a witness has come forward and claimed that it was intentional. Was Cobb shot by Samuel Drake? The story seems a little far fetched and we will probably never know.