Thomas Muldrop Logan: Sherman's Youngest Confederate General

Thomas Muldrop Logan

       Thomas Muldrop Logan was a long lanky Confederate Brigadier General by the end of the war. He was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1840. He graduated first in the South Carolina College in 1860 and began the war as a private. Following the bombardment of Fort Sumter, he was elected 1st lieutenant in the Hampton Legion. He saw his second serious action at the Battle of Manassas on Henry Hill. He action there won him a promotion to captain. 

       During the Seven Days battles, he was severely wounded at Gaines Mill and put out of action a few months. Though not quite healed yet, he returned in time to fight at Second Manassas. The Hampton Legion overran an artillery battery there and he won even more praise for his performance. At Sharpsburg (Antietam) he won even more praise for his distinguished bravery. 

The Boyish Looking Thomas Logan

       Following that battle, he transferred to Micah Jenkins South Carolina Brigade as a lieutenant colonel. He was praised in that capacity as well. Along with the rest of Micah Jenkins men, he missed the Battle of Gettysburg. At the Battle of Chickamauga, he was placed in charge of all the sharpshooters in John Bell Hood's division. He continued in that capacity to the Battle of Knoxville where Longstreet praised him for his courage and skill.

       Logan was then sent to Drewry's Bluff where he served Beauregard as a staff officer. Following an engagement there, he won promotion to colonel and was given command of the famous Hampton Legion. There were two Hampton Legion's at this time, one of infantry and one of cavalry. Logan commanded the cavalry regiment. He saw action at Riddell's Shop where he suffered another serious wound. 

       After he recovered, he was assigned to command Butler's South Carolina Cavalry Brigade. Fitz Lee recommended he be promoted to brigadier general and permanently assigned to that command. His promotion to brigadier general ranked from February 15, 1865. At the time, he was the youngest general in the Confederate Army. He saw action at Bentonville as a general and the war came to a close. 

One of only three photographs of Logan in uniform

       During the surrender ceremonies, Sherman met Thomas Logan and could hardly believe that such a "slight, fair haired boy" was a general. He imagined that Logan must be the youngest general in the war. He of course was wrong, that distinction belonged to Union Brigadier General Galusha Pennypacker who was four years younger than Logan. (Legend sometimes has it that Pennypacker was promoted by Lincoln because he thought his last name sounded comical.) 

       General Logan asked Sherman if he could take the train home to Charleston, South Carolina. Sherman surprised him by offering him a seat on the train about to leave for Raleigh. Logan was surprised by the kindness of Sherman, but replied that he wasn't ready to leave just yet. He wanted to say goodbye to his men. Sherman told him to just find General Kilpatrick when he was ready to go and he would direct him to Sherman who would ensure he had a seat on a train. Logan thanked Sherman for his kindness. 

Kate Virginia Cox

       Following the war, Thomas Logan borrowed five dollars and married Kate Virginia Cox of Virginia. He studied law in Richmond and soon became a railroad tycoon. He was one of the lucky ex-Confederates that didn't struggle to make a living. He was often associated with John D. Rockefeller. He died in New York City in 1914 and is buried in Hollywood Cemetery, the "Arlington of the Confederacy" in Richmond, Virginia. 

A post-war photograph of Thomas M. Logan

       

My buddy Jerry (right) and I at the grave of Thomas M. Logan

John Gregg: The Confederate General who kept sticking his neck out

John Gregg

       John Gregg was born in Lawrence County, Alabama in 1828. He obtained a college education at Lagrange College in Franklin County (now Colbert County), Alabama. He studied law in Tuscumbia and then moved to Fairfield, Texas where he practiced law and became a district judge at the age of 28. 

       In 1858, Gregg returned to Alabama, traveling to Morgan County where he married Mary Francis Garth. Mary's father was Jesse Winston Garth, who owned hundreds of slaves and his personal property was worth 150,000 dollars. It would be equal to 3.9 million dollars in todays money. Jesse Garth was a strong Unionist and stated that he would gladly give up all his wealth to maintain the Union. 

       John Gregg returned to Texas with his new bride and continued his law practice. When the war began, Gregg was worth over 13,000 dollars. It was equal to 355,000 dollars in todays money. 

       He and his father-in-law would never agree on the secession issue. Gregg would serve as a member of the Texas secession convention and voted to take the state out of the Union. 

       Gregg would be elected to the Confederate Congress and travel to Montgomery, Alabama and later to Richmond, Virginia when the capital was moved there. Longing for active duty, he resigned his seat in congress in August of 1861 and returned to Texas. He organized the 7th Texas Infantry Regiment and was made the colonel commanding the unit. 

John Gregg's piercing eyes

       The 7th Texas was sent across the Mississippi River and stationed at Fort Donelson. Gregg and his men were surrendered there in February of 1862. He was sent to Fort Warren in Boston, Massachusetts. He was held there for six months until exchanged in August of 1862. 

       Upon his release, President Davis promoted Gregg to brigadier general. He was sent to Mississippi where he commanded a brigade consisting of his 7th Texas, 1st, 30th, 41st, and 50th Tennessee Infantry regiments. He and his brigade helped repel the assault made by Sherman at Chickasaw Bayou. Sherman lost over 1100 men compared to less than 200 Confederate casualties.

       At the Battle of Raymond, Gregg's brigade faced a Union force under McPherson that was about 12,000 strong. Gregg's brigade had 4,000 men engaged. He was then pulled back to Jackson, Mississippi by General Joseph E. Johnston where he saw action before Johnston retreated from the town. 

Raymond battlefield

        After the fall of Vicksburg his brigade was sent to Braxton Bragg's army in Georgia. At the battle of Chickamauga, Gregg's brigade was assigned to Longstreet's Corps. His men were part of the force that broke the Federal army. During the fighting there, Gregg was shot in the neck and left for dead. His body was robbed by Federal soldiers. He recovered despite the severe wound and was rewarded by Longstreet for his part of the battle. Longstreet placed Gregg in command of Hood's old Texas Brigade. 

Brigadier General John Gregg

       He was a perfect fit for this brigade. The man even favored John Bell Hood in appearance. He was repeatedly commended for his bravery under fire from the Wilderness to Petersburg. During the siege of Petersburg, General Robert E. Lee sent Gregg north of the James River to drive the Federals from in front of Richmond. On October 7, 1864, he led his men against a Federal position fortified with abatis. The Union soldiers were armed with Spencer repeating rifles. Gregg's men actually penetrated the Federal lines, but Gregg was shot in the neck again and killed. His second in command was shot in the shoulder and wounded. The attack quickly fell apart. 

       John Gregg's body lay in state in the Confederate Capital. His men loved him so much that Lee granted their request to escort his body to Hollywood Cemetery for burial. His wife traveled to Richmond to retrieve his body and upon reaching the Confederate Capital she suffered a nervous breakdown. She recovered a month later and carried her husband back to Aberdeen, Mississippi where her father owned land. He was buried in Odd Fellows Cemetery there. 

Grave of John Gregg

Inscription on Gregg's Tombstone

Headstone at Gregg's Grave

       John Gregg was described as a rugged and unrelenting fighter, without personal fear. He was also called pugnacious in battle. The man was a very capable brigade commander and probably would have made a bold division commander if given the chance. He was 36 years old. Gregg County, Texas was named in his honor. 

John Gregg bust at the courthouse in Gregg County, Texas

Two Tragic Families: Lincoln and Davis

       Not long ago, someone asked me what Lincoln and Davis had in common while serving as our Civil War presidents. I replied that they both lost sons during the war. Someone standing nearby asked in which battles did they die. I had to explain that neither died in combat because neither child was old enough to fight.

       Besides the tragic loss of a son during the war, both families understood the tragedy of losing children. Only one of Lincoln’s sons lived beyond the age of eighteen. Davis had only one child to live to see her fifties. 

       Davis lost his first wife after only three months of marriage to malaria. Sarah Knox Taylor was only twenty-one when she died. Lincoln was in love with a girl named Ann Rutledge in 1831 and there is evidence the two planned to marry. In 1835, Ann contracted typhoid fever and died. During thunderstorms, Lincoln would be seen collapsing upon her grave and people began to worry for his sanity.

Robert Todd Lincoln

       Lincoln’s oldest son was named Robert Todd Lincoln. He lived to the age of 82. He wasn’t very close to his mother or father and unlike his brothers, he’s not buried with the rest of the family in Springfield, Illinois. He rests today in Arlington Cemetery. 

       

Edward Baker Lincoln

       The Lincoln’s second son was named Edward Baker “Eddie” Lincoln. He died in 1850 at the age of four. His death was listed as consumption, but many today believe he died of thyroid cancer. 

William Wallace Lincoln

       They’re third child was named William Wallace “Willie” Lincoln. Willie was Lincoln’s favorite, although many considered him a mama’s boy. Willie was intelligent and likable. During the Civil War, drinking water was taken straight from the Potomac River to the White House. Ironically, the Potomac River also served as the city’s septic tank. Willie and his younger brother Tad both caught typhoid fever from drinking feces contaminated water. Tad would survive the disease. Willie lingered a few weeks before succumbing. Lincoln was devastated. Twice, Lincoln had Willie disinterred so he could view his little boys body. Mary Lincoln probably suffered a nervous breakdown from the boys death. 

Thomas Lincoln

       Thomas Lincoln was three years younger than Willie. Lincoln nicknamed him “Tad” because he was born with such a large head. Tad was closer to his father due to the fact he had a learning disability and had a severe speech impediment. Some have suggested the boy may have been mildly retarded as he didn’t learn to read or dress himself until he was twelve years old. Tad would only outlive his father by six years, dying at the age of eighteen from tuberculosis.

       Life wasn’t very kind to the Davis household either. Samuel Emory Davis, the first born of Jefferson and Varina would die in 1854 at the age of two from measles. 

       

Margaret Howell Davis

       Margaret Howell Davis was born next and she lived to be 53 years old. She was the longest living child of Jefferson Davis. The cause of her death has never been established.

       

Jeff Davis, Jr.

       The third child, Jefferson Davis, Jr., was born in 1857. The boy was care free and entertaining. Davis and his wife had a difficult time with the boy. Jeff, Sr., had him taken out of the Virginia Military Institute because he fully expected him to be expelled. Margaret’s husband managed to get him a job as a bank clerk in Memphis, Tennessee. He would die there in a yellow fever epidemic at the age of twenty-one.

       The fourth child was Joseph Evan Davis was born in 1857 and this was the child that the Davis family lost during the war. He was only four years old when playing on the east portico of the White House of the Confederacy, he slipped and fell fifteen feet onto the concrete below. His skull was fractured near the forehead and he died a few moments later. Varina and Jefferson were heartbroken. Joseph was Jefferson’s favorite because he was very intelligent. Rumors abounded that Jeff, Jr., had pushed him, but nothing was ever proven. The children of Richmond raised forty dollars to buy a headstone to Joseph. Davis had the portico removed.

       

William Howell Davis

       They’re fifth child was named William Howell Davis, born in 1861. He would die of diphtheria at only ten years old. They’re last child was named Varina Anne “Winnie” Davis. She would live to adulthood, dying at age 34 of malaria having never married. She is famously known as the “Daughter of the Confederacy”. 

Varina Anne Davis

       It would be difficult to imagine losing a child, but these two families tragically outlived most of their children. It must have been horrible for both of them.

Marker for Joseph Davis, paid for by the children of Richmond

Who is Richard Brooke Garnett

Long believed to be a photo of Richard Brooke Garnett

       Richard Brooke Garnett came from a famous Virginia family. His cousin Robert Selden Garnett was the first Confederate general to die in the Civil War. Like his cousin Robert, Richard attended West Point and was serving in the United States Army when the war began. When Virginia seceded from the Union, he immediately resigned his commission and entered Confederate service.

       He is now known as a hero because of his bravery at Gettysburg, but that wasn’t always the case. Being a Virginian, he rose to take command of the famed “Stonewall Brigade” and his career took a turn for the worse after the Battle of Kernstown. Jackson had received bad intelligence and attacked a Federal force twice the size of his own. Garnett’s brigade found itself being overwhelmed and running low on ammunition. In order to save his men, he ordered a retreat. 

       General Jackson was so infuriated by the action that he had Garnett arrested, accusing him of cowardice in the face of the enemy and neglect of duty. The entire episode is a black mark on the career of Stonewall Jackson. Garnett had undoubtedly done the right thing, but Jackson had accomplished his goal. None of his subordinates would ever retreat again without orders. (Ironically, Garnett didn’t hold a grudge against Jackson. He believed the entire incident was a huge misunderstanding and after Jackson was killed at Chancellorsville he served as a pallbearer in his funeral.)

       General Robert E. Lee released Garnett from arrest and placed him in command of George Pickett’s brigade of Virginians. All  General Garnett wanted was a chance to redeem his honor. In command of his new brigade, he saw minor action at Antietam, was held in reserve at Fredericksburg and missed Chancellorsville entirely. 

       Needless to say, Richard Garnett wasn’t a happy man when he arrived at Gettysburg. He had been kicked by a horse a few days earlier and was unable to walk. He was running a high fever, wearing a coat in the hot July sun because of chills. Lee ordered all officers to walk during “Pickett’s Charge” because of the target a man on horseback would make. Garnett couldn’t walk and refused to miss the battle for fear he would be called a coward again. 

       Richard Garnett would ride his large black horse “Red Eye” to just in front of the clump of trees. Garnett never pulled his sword, but cheered his men forward with the black felt hat he wore. At some point    he was hit by canister fire, some say in the waist. His blood covered horse was seen galloping toward the rear. 

Death site of Richard Garnett

       Richard Brooke Garnett was never seen again. Years later, his sword was found in a Baltimore pawn shop by Confederate General George Hume Steuart.

Garnett's sword

       The mystery of General Garnett only began with the finding of his sword. There is a picture long thought to be that of Richard Brooke Garnett, but many believe that picture is of his cousin Robert Selden Garnett who was killed at Corrick’s Ford. According to a family member Garnett was the opposite of his cousin, having blonde hair, blue eyes and no beard. This family member wrote this description in 1908 and many historians believe he never met Richard Garnett. Interestingly, the family of Richard Garnett identified the original photograph as that of the general at the time of the war. Why would they identify the original photograph as Richard if the photograph is indeed Robert. 

Robert Selden Garnett

       To further complicate the matter, many believe that a photograph labeled as Confederate Major General Franklin Gardner is actually a picture of Richard Garnett. The matter became even more complicated a couple of years ago when a photograph surfaced with Richard Garnett’s name on the back. It shows a blonde haired gentleman that looks nothing like Robert Selden Garnett. Another historian believes this photograph is actually Confederate congressman Muscoe Russell Hunter Garnett of Virginia. 

Confederate General Franklin Gardner

Photograph labeled Franklin Gardner that many believe is that of Richard Garnett

Mystery Photograph with Richard Garnett's name on the back

       Prior to the Civil War, Garnett had a son by an Oglala Souix woman. They named the boy William “Billy” Garnett and there are several photographs of him in existence. Many historians try to take this photograph and compare them to the three photographs claimed by many to be Richard in order to figure out which is the famed general. 

Billy Garnett

       Garnett’s body was never found following the grand charge and many believe he was probably reinterred with the Confederate dead of Gettysburg in Hollywood Cemetery. The question still remains, which of these three are Richard Brooke Garnett or is it possible he never had a photograph taken that survived. We may never know. 

Monument in Hollywood Cemetery for Richard Brooke Garnett

A Sad Tragic End

Philip St. George Cocke

       Philip St. George Cocke was born in 1809 in Virginia. His father had served as an officer in the War of 1812 and secured Philip with an appointment at the United States Military Academy. He graduated from West Point in 1828, ranking sixth out of forty-five cadets. He would serve in the artillery for six years before resigning to return to Virginia where he would become a planter. He would devote the rest of his life to the management of his plantation in Powhatan County, Virginia and other plantations he owned in Mississippi. 

       The same year he resigned, he married Sallie Elizabeth Courtney Bowdoin. Cocke became very interested in agriculture and believed in trying new techniques with his crops. As a result, he wrote numerous articles about planting and eventually rose to become president of the Virginia Agricultural Society. He also served on the board of visitors at the Virginia Military Institute. 

       When Virginia seceded, Cocke was made brigadier general in the Virginia militia and ordered to protect the area just south of the Potomac River. He reported to Robert E. Lee that he had just three hundred men to protect Alexandria, Virginia with against what he thought were over 10,000 enemy troops. Lee implored Cocke to not abandon the town even if it meant fighting against overwhelming numbers. Despite Lee’s pleas, Cocke abandoned the town without a fight. 

Cocke around the time the war began

       Despite this failure in the eyes of Lee, Cocke had studied the terrain around Manassas and it seems he was the first to conceive of that place as the ideal place to make a defensive stand. When Cocke’s troops were merged into the Provisional Army of the Confederate States, he was made a colonel in that army. Cocke was dejected and may have considered resigning, but General Lee must have convinced the man he was needed. 

       Beauregard took command of the army at Manassas and placed Cocke in command of a brigade. The man saw minor action at Blackburn’s Ford and was praised for leading his brigade into combat during the Battle of Manassas, although his was a minor engagement. After the battle, President Davis promoted Cocke to brigadier general in the Confederate army. 

       At this point, General Cocke’s life began to spiral downward. He seemed to have been suffering from what would later be called a nervous breakdown. When Eppa Hunton’s regiment was assigned to Cocke’s brigade, he was invited to eat dinner with the man. While he and Cocke rode back to the general’s tent, he suddenly blurted out, “My God, my God, my country!”

       This shocked Hunton and he was of the opinion from that moment forward that Cocke’s mind was a little off. The man had been in the field for eight months with huge responsibilities resting on him. Responsibilities that he didn’t seem capable of coping with. A few weeks later he returned home and as one Confederate noted, he was “shattered in body and mind.” 

Belmead Plantation

       He perceived imaginary slights from General Beauregard on his conduct at the Battle of Manassas. (In fact Beauregard had nothing but praise for Cocke’s performance there.) The man was mentally exhausted having placed too much pressure on himself and his actions. On December 26, 1861, he shot himself in the head at “Belmead” mansion, Powhatan, Virginia and was buried on the grounds there. In 1904, he would be reinterred in  Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia which is known at “the Arlington of the Confederacy.”

       Eppa Hunton may have summed it up best when he had the following to say about General Philip Cocke, “he was a brave man, a good man, an earnest patriot, but he was not a military man.” 

Cocke's grave in Hollywood Cemetery

The "Roll Tide" General

Confederate Brigadier General John Caldwell Calhoun Sanders

       When my Auburn fans are giving me a good ribbing, I like to ask them a trivia question. Which state university provided a Confederate general who gave his life for the Southern cause. Few people have heard of John Caldwell Calhoun Sanders. It may seem I'm desperate to go that far back, but then again, that's the only era that I study. 

       John Sanders was born on April 4, 1840 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. He was twenty years old when Alabama seceded and a cadet at the University of Alabama. At the time, he was serving as orderly sergeant of the cadet corps and his commandant called him the best soldier and officer of the group. Despite the fact that his family wished he would stay and finish his education, Sanders withdrew from school and helped raise Company C, 11th Alabama Infantry. Because of his stellar record at the University of Alabama, he was elected captain of the company.

       The 11th Alabama would be rushed to Virginia, but failed to arrive in time to fight at First Manassas. After that battle, the 11th would be placed in Cadmus Wilcox's all Alabama brigade. Sanders would see action at the battles of Seven Pines, Gaines' Mill and Frayser's Farm where he was wounded in the leg. The wound was severe enough to keep him out of action for a month. 

       Because of the attrition in the 11th, Sanders would return to find himself the ranking officer. He would lead the regiment at the Battle of Second Manassas. He was then promoted to Major and led the regiment again at Antietam where he was slightly wounded in the face. After Antietam, Sanders would be promoted to colonel at the age of 22. 

       He would next lead the regiment at the Battle of Chancellorsville where he received high praise from General Wilcox. At Gettysburg on July 2, 1863, Sanders would be hit in the knee by rifle fire while leading the regiment in an assault on Cemetery Ridge. The wound was serious enough to keep him out of action for five months. When he was able to return to command, he found that Wilcox had been promoted to Major General and he was the senior colonel of the brigade. He would lead the brigade in action during the Mine Run Campaign, but Lee felt he was too young to receive promotion to Brigadier General. The command was given to Abner Perrin. 

       Sanders returned to command of the 11th Alabama and saw action at the Battle of the Wilderness. At Spotsylvania, when the Federal army overran the "Mule Shoe", Perrin would be killed and Sanders took command of the brigade once again. He helped repulse the Federal onslaught and this time, Lee recommended him for promotion to Brigadier General. He led an impressive attack at the North Anna River and fought at Cold Harbor. His greatest day of the war would come at Petersburg during the Battle of the Crater. He personally led a counterattack that retook the crater. His men would take three Federal battle flags and capture over seven hundred prisoners. 

       His worst day would come at the Battle of Globe Tavern. Leading his brigade in an attack on foot, he would be shot through the thighs, severing both femoral arteries. He didn't collapse, but ordered his adjutant to take him to the rear. Losing blood rapidly, he would ask to be lain on the ground where he bled to death in a very few minutes. John Sanders was 24 years old. 

       His men had nothing but praise for the gallant young commander. It was said there were none braver in the Confederate army than General Sanders. Others said he was born to command and possessed the first qualities of a soldier. A Charleston newspaper wrote that none were more beloved and no death more regretted that the young Alabama general. 

General Sanders original burial site in Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, Virginia

       His body would be carried back to Richmond and buried in Hollywood Cemetery, the "Arlington of the Confederacy." There is a marker in Hollywood Cemetery to the young general, but the exact location of his grave has been lost to history. There is a marker for him in Greenwood Cemetery, Montgomery, Alabama. 

The marker for John Sanders in Greenwood Cemetery, Montgomery, Alabama