A Thousand Words a Battle: Chickamauga

Battle of Chickamuaga
Sept. 18-20, 1863

Among the most celebrated units to fight in the bloody battle of Chickamauga was Hood’s Texas Brigade, part of Longstreet’s Corps that had been rushed via railroads to North Georgia in the late summer of 1863 to try to save the critical railroad hub of Chattanooga, Tennessee.  Arriving just as the battle commenced on September 18, the Texans faced hard fighting for the next two days—in the Viniard Field on September 19 and then as part of Longstreet’s breakthrough near the Brotherton Farm on September 20.

One of those seeing the action was Sgt. D. H. Hamilton of Company M, 1st Texas Infantry from Trinity County, Texas.  Hamilton later recalled the hard fighting:

“On the morning of the 19th we were deployed in line of battle on a ridge on which was some timber. We remained there under a heavy shelling until two o’clock in the afternoon; by this time the Yankee batteries had about topped all the timber around us. The shells had kept every man as busy as a Cranberry Merchant dodging their flying fragments. We could hear the singing noise of the shells and their frequent crashing in the timber about us. At last we were ordered to advance down a slope under heavy fire of the Yankee batteries.

About the time we got up and began to form in line a shell cut the top of a tree out nearby and knocked John Stewart down and addled him very badly. The field surgeon ran to him and called for litter bearers to take him from the field but about that time John began to regain his senses, just enough for purposes of locomotion, and to feel the sense of fright. When he regained his feet his face happened to be toward the rear and his legs and feet commenced rapid operation. He ran like a deer, except that he made as much noise as a yoke of oxen. He left the surgeon cursing him. Willoughby Tullos, who stood nearby as he ran off, yelled, “Whoa Muly”—“Muly” was a nick name by which John was known in the company—but Willoughby’s “Whoa Muly” did not stop him.  He never stopped until he got to the hospital, where he remained three days, having the injuries on his head and face repaired.

The Yankees in front of us occupied an old farm; they had torn down the rail fences and made breast works of them for about a mile in length and were lying behind this barricade when we charged them.  When we got within about one hundred yards of them they arose, fired one volley and ran like turkeys. That one volley, however, was very destructive.  All who were not killed or wounded, the Rebel yell and took up the chase. After we had chased them about a half mile another command relieved us and we marched back over the field.  Our company had five killed and about twenty five wounded in that charge. Among the killed were Jack Adams, George Oglesby and Joe Ratcliff, but I do not recall the names of the others.

We rested that night and the next morning we were moved to the front and formed in line of battle, and at about three o’clock we were ordered to charge with Law’s Brigade on our right and Jenkin’s Brigade on our left. We charged, but somehow, the command was misunderstood by the Brigades on our right and left and they failed to charge until we had driven the enemy in front of us some distance, making a gap in their line. The first notice we had of the failure of the other Brigades to charge was that a hail of bullets was coming from three ways, the front and both sides. We were ordered to fall back and did so. About that time George Lock was shot down near me. When I got to him I found him unconscious.  I poured all the water I had in my canteen on his face to revive him and picked him up and carried him out. About that time General Hood, who was nearby riding up and down the line, was shot from his horse. Another Brigade relieved us and, upon a general charge of the line, as was first intended, the enemy was driven back about a mile. It was in fact a regular stampede. By this time it was nearly night but the Yankees never stopped running. . . .”[1]

— William Lee White

Part of a series.

[1] D.H. Hamilton, History of Company M: First Texas Volunteer Infantry, Hood’s Brigade, Longstreet’s Corps, Army of the Confederate States of America (Waco, TX: W.M. Morrison, 1962) 32-34.