Another Civil War Gasm

       I was very lucky to go on two Civil War Gasms in one week, this time while babysitting.  Jerry and I planned a trip that would add another ten Generals graves to our collection.  The only problem with this trip was the fact that it was pouring down rain here at home.  Jerry swore up and down that his intuition (women's intuition is what I think it is)  told him that it wasn't raining south of us.  We'll come back to this part later.  

Me and Timmy at the grave of William F. Tucker

       

       Our first stop was in Okolona, Mississippi at a cemetery called Odd Fellows.  I told Jerry that he should be buried in a cemetery by this name.  Luckily for us General Tuckers grave was easy to find.  We had just gotten our pictures made at the grave site when the bottom fell out.  We were forced to run to the car and while running Timmy announced "that old man got us wet!"  Brigadier General William Feimster Tucker lead Mississippi infantry in the  Army of Tennessee.  He was severely wounded at Resaca only two months after his promotion, disabling him from service for the rest of the war.  This resulted in him not being one of the well known Confederate Generals.  

More Mississippi road signs

       Again Jerry found road signs that made no sense in the state of Mississippi.  He insisted I stand out in the rain to take a picture of this phenomenon.  We are driving down the road and approach a 'do not enter' sign and just 50 yards beyond is a stop sign.  Jerry's question is, "if you're not supposed to enter, why do you need a stop sign?"  Jerry is always on the lookout for such things.  Between Okolona and Aberdeen he found  a county road that went into a cotton field and ended.  I talked him out of stopping and forcing me to take a picture of this, thank goodness because we were running behind.  

       

Timmy and I at the grave of Samuel Gholson

       We left Okolona and the dark cloud that follows Jerry everywhere he goes and went south to Aberdeen.  At another cemetery where Jerry should be buried, also called Odd Fellows, we found the grave of Brigadier General Samuel A. Gholson.  General Gholson lost an arm in a cavalry skirmish in Egypt, Mississippi.  We passed through Egypt on the way to Aberdeen and I had to talk Jerry out of stopping and asking where the pyramids were.  

Jerry and I at the grave of John Gregg

       About 20 yards from Gholson we found the grave of one of my favorite generals.  Brigadier General John Gregg was born in Lawrence County, Al and attended college at LaGrange which was considered the West Point of the South.  LaGrange is less than 10 miles from my house.  He fought in the Vicksburg campaign, was wounded in the neck at Chickamauga, and transferred to Lee's army in Virginia where he was shot in the neck again just outside of Richmond and killed. For more on General Gregg please see my John Gregg blog April 2011.   I never thought I would get a four year old to take a good picture, but the picture of Jerry and I was taken by Timmy.  As soon as he took the picture he announced,  "I got you and that old man with the white mustache."  

Confederate New Jersey Cavalry?

       In the confederate section of the Aberdeen cemetery we found a private John Wallace company B 2nd regiment, CSA.  Jerry was amazed to find that New Jersey provided regiments for the confederate army.  I told him that I thought the J should have been a C and it had to be North Carolina cavalry, but I learned Jerry was right this time.  There was a sign at the cemetery entrance that told the story of John Wallace.  Apparently John Wallace was a deserter from the 2nd New Jersey Cavalry, U.S. He burned the house of an elderly southern gentleman which resulted in the mans death.  The mans son then killed John Wallace.  There was still no explanation why this criminal was buried beneath a confederate marker.  

Me and Timmy at William Baldwin's grave

       We then traveled on southward to Columbus, Mississippi and to Friendship Cemetery where three confederate generals rest.  The first grave we found was of another one of my favorite generals, Brigadier General William Edwin Baldwin.  The first words out of Jerry's mouth was, "There is no drain hole in the bowl on top of the stone.  I wonder what keeps the water from freezing and bursting this bowl?"  

       I replied sarcastically, "Jerry, that is just the question I was about to ask after I finished paying tribute to one of my Confederate heroes."  You can read more about William Baldwin in my blog, 'Confederate General Killed by DUI?'  August 2011.

Photo taken by Timmy of Tim and the Old Man with General SD Lee

       The next general was one of Jerry's heroes, General SD Lee.  Jerry's ancestor served under Forrest who in turn served under Lieutenant General SD Lee at times.  Following the war, Lee was the first president of Mississippi State University.  

Timmy with General Sharp

       Brigadier General Jacob Hunter Sharp is also buried in this cemetery.  General Sharp led a brigade in the Army of Tennessee from Chickamauga to Bentonville.  

Me and Timmy with Phillip Roddey

       We arrived in Tuscaloosa only 30 minutes before sunset.  While I was frantically hunting the graves of Brigadier Generals George D. Johnston and Phillip D. Roddey Jerry was being entertained by two police officers attempting to arrest a man in a house next to the cemetery.  General Roddey was called 'the defender of the Tennessee Valley'.  

Timmy and I with Josiah Gorgas

       It was almost dark when we found the graves of Josiah Gorgas and S.A.M. Wood.  Wood was a native of Florence, Alabama.  He saw action from Shiloh to Chickamauga where he lost control of his brigade during a night fight and resigned.  One could throw a stone from these two officers graves and hit Bryant Denny Stadium.  It had been a great trip. We had gotten ten generals grave photos.  Any trip with Jerry that doesn't end with an arrest is a good trip.

Timmy in the cemetery with Bryant Denny Stadium in the back

Who killed Albert Sidney Johnston

Albert Sidney Johnston

       There is a mild controversy among historians as to who actually killed Albert Sidney Johnston at Shiloh. The Kentucky born general had adopted Texas as his home state and because of his friendship with Jefferson Davis was made the highest ranking field general in the Confederate Army. Davis had once said, "If Johnston is not a general, then we have no general."

       What is known about Johnston's death is that he led a charge against the Peach Orchard sector of the battlefield. He was struck in the back of the knee, the bullet slicing his popliteal artery and he bled to death on the field. There is more to the story, however. 

Johnston led his men from the far tree line

       On February 7, 1837, Johnston fought a duel with Texas General Felix Huston. He was struck in the hip by a pistol ball. The wound damaged a nerve in Johnston's right leg and he lost a good bit of sensation as a result. When he was struck by the bullet at Shiloh, he had no idea that he'd been wounded. 

Popliteal Artery located behind the knee

       Johnston wore high riding boots and the blood poured into his boot and as a result was unnoticed by members of his staff. It wasn't until moments later that he was observed under a tree slumping in the saddle. His staff took him off his horse and carried him into a nearby ravine and searched for the wound. When they removed his boot, they found it filled with blood. Ironically, Johnston carried a tourniquet with him, but none of his staff understood how to use it. Johnston soon lapsed into unconsciousness and died. 

Site where Johnston was noticed to be wounded

Ravine where Johnston died

       The story gets even murkier at this point. A surgeon dug the bullet out of the back of Johnston's leg and announced that it was an Enfield bullet. Federal soldiers in that section of the battlefield weren't carrying Enfield's. The Confederate soldiers that Johnston was leading in the charge were carrying Enfield Rifles. That would mean in all probability that Johnston was shot by his own men by accident. 

       One account states that Johnston, Harris and Breckinridge placed themselves about forty paces in front of the line of about 5,000 men and led the charge. It was the highest ranking charge in American history. Johnston was the ranking field general in the Confederate Army, Breckinridge was the ex-vice president of the United States, and Harris was the current governor of Tennessee. As a side note, the Confederate governor of Kentucky George Johnson was killed at Shiloh on another part of the field while serving as a volunteer private on line with men from his state.

       

Albert Sidney Johnston in C.S. Uniform

       It can be argued that Johnston was hit in the back of the knee by a Confederate bullet during the charge. It could also be argued that his surgeon misidentified the bullet. One could also argue that Johnston was killed by Felix Huston in the duel 25 years before that fateful day. Had he not had the nerve damage in his leg, he would have felt the wound when it occurred. Regardless, Sidney Johnston remains one of the great what-ifs of the war. I plan on doing another blog on his generalship in the future. 

       It is a strong possibility that Johnston was the first Confederate general to be shot by his own men, but he certainly would not be the last. Stonewall Jackson (Chancellorsville), Micah Jenkins (The Wilderness) and James Longstreet (The Wilderness, but survived) would be other Confederate's hit by friendly fire.