Col. J. J. Dickison, Confederate Military History, a library of Confederate States Military History: Volume 11.2, Florida
Clement Anselm Evans, Ed.

Chapter 8:

• Florida troops in the Western army
-- the First infantry -- Third infantry -- Fourth infantry -- Stovall's brigade at Chickamauga -- First cavalry -- Sixth infantry -- Seventh infantry -- Trigg's brigade at Chickamauga -- Finley's brigade.

The regiment was mustered into the Confederate States service at Chattahoochee arsenal April 5, 1861, electing for field officers James Patton Anderson, of Jefferson county, colonel; Wm. H. Beard, of Tallahassee, lieutenant-colonel, and Thaddeus A. McDonell, of Gainesville, major. They were ordered to proceed to Pensacola, and on the 12th of April reached that place and reported to General Bragg. Early in the fall of 1861, they were engaged in the battle on Santa Rosa Island, in which Capt Richard Bradford was killed. In the spring of 1862, Colonel Anderson was promoted to brigadier-general. The regiment having served one year at Pensacola, a sufficient number re-enlisted to organize six companies. General Anderson being assigned to the command of a brigade of infantry in the division of General Ruggles, then at Corinth, Miss., the re-enlisted battalion was added to it and was engaged in the battle of Shiloh. In his report of that [165] battle General Anderson said: ‘Maj. T. A. McDonell, commanding the Florida battalion, was borne wounded from the field before the action had fairly begun. The command devolved upon Capt. W. G. Poole, who bore himself most gallantly throughout the two days conflict. The skill with which he handled his command reflected the highest credit upon him as an officer, while the desperation with which his troops fought brings new luster to the arms of the State they represented, and paints imperishable fame upon the colors they so proudly bore.’ Captain Poole reported that Lieut. L. M. Anderson, commanding Company A, was shot in the forehead and instantly killed, and his successor, Lieut. E. C. Stevens, was soon severely wounded. Capt. T. S. Means, Lieuts. J. T. Miller, Tucker, and O. P. Hull were wounded, the last mortally.

The battalion was next in battle at Farmington, during the siege of Corinth, and then, consolidated with a battalion under William Miller, the united command was known as the First regiment, Col. William Miller commanding. The regiment was assigned to John C. Brown's brigade, with the Third Louisiana and Forty-first Mississippi, for the Kentucky campaign, in the division of Patton Anderson. In the fierce assault at Perryville General Brown was wounded and Colonel Miller took command of the brigade. The regiment lost heavily in this battle, and before the next great conflict it was consolidated with the Third. It was attached to Preston's brigade, then to Stovall's, and finally to Finley's brigade.

The Third regiment Florida infantry was organized in August, 1861, and was assigned to service in the State until May, 1862, when it was ordered to the army in northern Mississippi. Many of the companies had reenlisted for the war and an election was had of officers to serve permanently, at Midway, Gadsden county, where they were in camp about three weeks.

The officers elected and appointed were as follows: [166] W. S. Dilworth, colonel; L. A. Church, lieutenant-colonel; E. Mashburn, major; Captain Hickman, quartermaster; Capt. D. Lewes, commissary; Dr. Cam, surgeon; Dr. M. G. Jordan, assistant surgeon; H. Steele, adjutant; C. H. Stebbins, sergeant-major; P. E. Lowe, commissaryser-geant; Theodore Bridier, ordnance-sergeant; Wm. P. Moseley, quartermaster-sergeant; B. Frank Moseley, hospital-sergeant; Captains:—Company A, J. B. Oliveros; B, J. L. Phillips; C, Walter Saxon; D, D. L. Frierson; E, D. B. Bird; F, A. Drysdale; G, Thomas Langford; H, M. H. Strain; I, C. H. Ross; K, William Parker.

In June the regiment marched to the Chattahoochee, went up the river in boats to Columbus and thence to Montgomery, and after a short detention back to Mobile, where the orders to join General Bragg's army in Mississippi were countermanded and they were put on duty to guard the city. When General Bragg's army was transferred from Mississippi to east Tennessee preparatory to an onward movement toward the Ohio river, the Third regiment was transferred to Chattanooga early in August, 1862, and camped near the foot of Lookout mountain, and with the First Florida was attached to the brigade of Gen. John C. Brown in Gen. Patton Anderson's division. With the army the Florida regiments marched across the Cumberland mountains into middle Tennessee and thence northward into Kentucky. After a few days' delay they proceeded toward Louisville, camping at different points, part of the time a few miles from Bardstown, the most northern point reached. On the 8th of October, at Perryville, the two regiments received their terrific baptism of fire and blood, losing heavily. Capt. D. B. Bird commanded the regiment during the greater part of the day, and late in the afternoon fell mortally wounded. He had commanded the regiment most of the time after it left Chattanooga and was endeared to the men by his constant attention to their wants and his never-failing kindness. Courageous to a fault, prompt in action, he was [167] loved and respected by all, and his death cast a gloom over the entire command.

In subsequent operations the regiment was distinguished for gallantry and dauntless heroism. At the battle of Chickamauga, consolidated with the First Florida regiment, the heroic conduct of the command is recorded in the report of Col. Wm. Dilworth. Subsequently the history of the First and Third was that of the Florida brigade until the surrender at Greensboro. ‘Had anyone told that the regiment would never see Florida again, and that the few who would be so fortunate as to return would come back one by one after years of toil and suffering, he would have been regarded as a faithless prophet of evil. One by one they fell by the wayside. Some lie buried by Georgia streams, some on the hillsides of Alabama, some in the valley of Tennessee, some on the bloody fields of Kentucky, some under the blue skies of Mississippi; some survived and struggled on until they reached the Carolinas; while a few came back to the old homestead and died in the arms of their loved ones. There is many a vacant space in the old lines; some fell victims to disease in camp and hospital; some offered their lives on the battlefield, and others pined away in the prisons of the North. Many unnamed and now sunken mounds cover brave hearts who marched shoulder to shoulder firm in the resolve to be faithful unto death.’

The Fourth regiment was organized and mustered into the Confederate army in June, 1861. The companies, commanded by Captains Gee, Hunter, Dial, Sheffield, McGehee, Lane, Lesley, Hunt, Barnes, and Fletcher, were assigned to duty in different points in the State, and were actively engaged until ordered to the Western army. On the 1st of May, 1862, the Fourth was reorganized with J. P. Hunt, colonel; W. L. L. Bowen, lieutenant-colonel; Edward Badger, major; and Dr. C. C. Burke, adjutant. Three weeks later they were ordered to Corinth, Miss. On reaching Mobile the order was countermanded, [168] and they were kept on provost guard until July, when they were ordered to west Florida to check a raid from Pensacola. Thence they were ordered to Chattanooga, Tenn., and from there in October to Murfreesboro.

Colonel Hunt died at Chattanooga and LieutenantCol-onel Bowen was promoted colonel; Major Badger, lieutenant-colonel, and Capt. John T. Lesley, major. On the 5th of November, under command of General Forrest (Gen. John T. Morgan commanding the cavalry and Colonel Palmer, of the Eighteenth Tennessee, commanding the infantry), they advanced on Nashville, but found that the Federals had been reinforced the night before by General Rosecrans. They returned to Murfreesboro and remained in camp until late in December, 1862. On the morning of the 28th they were ordered to move into line of battle on the Lebanon pike, and on the afternoon of that day the First, Third and Fourth Florida regiments were brigaded under Gen. William Preston.

This brigade and Palmer's were the last of Breckinridge's command transferred to the west side of Stone's river on the 31st, and made the final unsuccessful assault upon the Federal center, where hundreds of brave men had already fallen. The First and Third Florida, under Colonel Miller, gained the cedar brake so prominent in the action in that part of the field, and the Fourth, under Colonel Bowen, advanced as far, but with much heavier loss. Ordered back to the east side of the river they fought bravely in the attack made by Breckinridge on January 2d. On the 31st the Fourth lost 55 in killed and wounded, and captured 250 rifles from the enemy. On the 2d, it was the last regiment to leave the field, and it made a gallant fight to save the brigade battery, sustaining heavy loss. First-Lieut. S. D. Harris, commanding Company I, distinguished for dauntless bravery, was mortally wounded and left on the field. Sergt. L. N. Miller and two other color-bearers were shot down. Colonel Miller and Adjt. C. C. Burke were also among the wounded. The First and Third, with a [169] strength of 531, lost at Murfreesboro 138 killed, wounded and missing. The Fourth, 458 strong, lost 163 killed and wounded, and 31 missing.

In this battle the battery of Capt. F. H. Robertson, claimed by both Alabama and Florida, was the center of a brisk fight on December 30th, in which several of the artillerymen were wounded and an ammunition chest exploded. The battery took a prominent part during the remainder of the conflict.

In May, 1863, the brigade, under Gen. M. A. Stovall, and including the Forty-seventh Georgia, was transferred to Mississippi, under General Johnston, to relieve Vicksburg. Reaching the Big Black river the day before Vicksburg surrendered, next morning the army retreated to Jackson, where General Johnston reported that on the 12th of July ‘a party of skirmishers of the First, Third and Fourth Florida, Forty-seventh Georgia and Cobb's battery, struck the enemy's flank, and captured 200 prisoners, and colors of the Twenty-eighth, Forty-first, and Fifty-third Illinois regiments.’

On August 26, 1863, Stovall's brigade was ordered to Chattanooga, thence to Lafayette, Ga., where they remained until September 15th. Next day they marched to Glass' mill, and on the 19th Breckinridge's division, to which the brigade was attached, took position south of Lee & Gordon's mill, leaving Colonel Dilworth to skirmish with the enemy. On the night of the 19th the division crossed the Chickamauga and took position on the right of Bragg's army. In Brigadier-General Stovall's report of the service of his brigade in the battle of Chickamauga, he makes special mention of the gallantry of the Florida troops under his command; the First and Third infantry commanded by Col. W. S. Dilworth, and the Fourth infantry commanded by Col. W. L. L. Bowen. At sunrise, September 20th, when Stovall formed his line of battle, his brigade being in the center of the division, and skirmishers were deployed, Lieut.-Col. Edward Badger, [170] of the Fourth Florida regiment, was selected to command them, and subsequently when orders were received to advance the line thus deployed, and for a regiment to be thrown forward in support, the Fourth Florida was chosen for that duty. The part taken by the Florida regiments is described in the reports of the colonels commanding.

Colonel Dilworth wrote:

On the morning of the 19th inst. I was left with my regiment and a section of Cobb's battery at Glass' mill, with instructions from MajorGen-eral Breckinridge to dispose of my command so as to repel any attack of the enemy, and remain until I should be relieved. During the afternoon a force of cavalry and infantry appeared across the creek, threw out a line of skirmishers and began to advance, but finding us ready to oppose them, they fell back at the first fire of our skirmishers, and made no further demonstrations. At 9 p. m. I received an order from Major-General Breckinridge to join the division, so I left the position in charge of a detachment of Wharton's cavalry, which had just come up, and hastened on with my command. Unfortunately, soon after leaving the main Chattanooga road the guide lost his way, and with my best exertions I was unable to reach the division until about 8 o'clock the next morning, after marching constantly all night, a distance of not less than 18 miles. I, however, arrived just in time to take my position as the brigade was being formed in line of battle. A little before 10 o'clock the order was given to advance. My regiment was on the right of the brigade, and Adams' brigade was on my right. We pushed forward through the woods and were in a few minutes engaged. As we charged, the enemy fell back through the woods and an open field beyond, leaving three brass pieces in the front of the right wing of my regiment and many prisoners to fall into our hands. One of these pieces I sent to the rear, but judging it to be imprudent to withdraw many men from the ranks, as the guns were already safe, I left them on the field and they were removed subsequently [171] by Adams' brigade, which came up a little after us.

I was then ordered to take a new position to thwart an anticipated flank movement of the enemy from the left, rendered practicable by the advance of our division. This movement was not attempted, and soon the whole brigade was formed on the prolongation of my line, throwing me on the extreme left. In a few minutes we were ordered to move forward and a line of skirmishers was thrown out and they immediately opened a brisk fire.

It became apparent that the right of the enemy extended considerably beyond my left, and, as there was no support for my left, I feared that the enemy would turn my flank; but the order to advance was positive, and we advanced up the hill at a double-quick, under a galling fire from the enemy, who was fighting behind some hastily constructed breastworks. The colors were not more than a dozen steps from the enemy, and in another minute we would have driven them from their works, but the regiments to my right were already falling back and, as I had anticipated, the enemy was getting in my rear and pouring a destructive fire upon my left flank. I therefore gave the order to fall back, and, by obliquing to the left, I withdrew the regiment in safety and rallied it at the foot of the hill. Lieut. J. Cabell Breckinridge, of Major-General Breckinridge's staff, was here of essential service to me. Riding fearlessly along where the balls fell thickly about him, he cheered the men by his noble example and rallied them by his encouraging words.

My loss in the charge was very heavy. Samuel Neeley, the color-bearer, fell near the breastworks and Robert McKay, of the color-guard, close to his side, both severely wounded, and 4 of the color company were left dead on the field. The infirmary detail did its duty faithfully and by removing the wounded as they fell prevented the enemy from capturing them. The brigade was now withdrawn and not brought into action again until [172] nearly sundown, affording the weary men an opportunity to enjoy a few hours' rest.

About sundown the brigade was formed for another charge; and, after being exposed to an artillery fire for some time, in which I incurred no loss, we were moved forward and swept through the woods and over the breastworks we had failed to take in the morning, driving the routed enemy across the Chattanooga road. Here our line was halted and, after loud and prolonged cheers at the glorious success of the day, I stacked arms at the edge of the woods and bivouacked for the night. I lost from the regiment 9 killed, 70 wounded and 13 missing, making a total of 92 out of 273 that I carried into the fight. Two officers were slightly wounded and one is missing. The provost guard under Lieut. J. G. Butler, Company A, Third Florida, was formed on the right of my regiment during the greater part of the day. They volunteered to go out as skirmishers early in the morning, much to the relief of my weary men, and in every place they served they did their duty faithfully and efficiently.

My field officers, Maj. G. A. Ball, First Florida, and Capt. C. H. Ross, Company I, Third Florida, and my adjutant, C. H. Stebbins, Third Florida, were constantly by me and assisted me greatly. Captain Whitehead and Lieutenant Hanson of Brigadier-General Stevall's staff afforded much encouragement to the men by their fearless courage and cheering words. There are many others who deserve special notice, among them Corp. C. P. Ulmer, Company H, Third Florida, of the color-guard, who seized the colors when they fell from the hands of the color-bearer while under a heavy fire, and bore them bravely through the rest of the contest. I regret that I cannot enumerate all the deeds of courage that came under my observation during the day; for notwithstanding the long march, the loss of rest and want of food, there were few who skulked from the fight. All seemed resolved to do their best to check the advance of the invader.

Col. W. L. L. Bowen's report is as follows:

Early in the morning (September 20th) we were moved to the front and formed in line of battle facing due west. A line of skirmishers was deployed and my regiment thrown forward to support it, with orders to advance and develop the position and strength of the enemy in our front. Soon the brigade advanced and I moved my regiment by the left flank to its position in line, left of the brigade. We very soon encountered a heavy line of skirmishers and drove them back, suffering a small loss and capturing a number of prisoners. Just at this time the regiment on our right moved off by the right flank, leaving us somewhat detached from the brigade, but I continued to advance in order to clear the strip of woods on our left of the enemy's sharpshooters and prevent their firing on our rear and flank, while we would otherwise have occupied a position in the open field with no enemy in our immediate front. After emerging from the woods and advancing a little beyond the main Chattanooga road, I found that I was considerably in advance and to the left of the brigade.

Helm's brigade, falling back from my left, abandoned a piece of captured artillery, which Company A, Lieutenant Owens commanding—detached from my regiment— rescued and carried off the field. This left my regiment exposed to a heavy fire of grape and canister and I moved it by the right flank to join the rest of the brigade, but at the instance of Major Graves, chief of artillery, Breckinridge's division, I went to the support of a battery a little in our front. Here I was notified to join the brigade, after which we formed line of battle perpendicular to the Chattanooga road and to our former line, facing to the south, the First and Third Florida regiments on my left and the Sixtieth North Carolina and Forty-seventh Georgia respectively, on my right. With this disposition we advanced against a strong position and heavy force of the enemy until we arrived in the edge of an open field, where we halted and opened fire. The enemy poured a concentrated [174] and effective fire upon us for some time; and at length, a support failing to come up in due time, we were forced to yield ground and retire to a more secure position. We were then relieved by fresh troops and rested until the afternoon, when we moved forward to support a line then engaged, and formed our line in the edge of a wood facing northwest, and about 5 o'clock p. m. moved forward swinging around to the left until we faced due west. The enemy was dislodged from his fortified position and our whole line charged gallantly over his works and rushed forward with a triumphant and deafening shout, adding confusion to the complete rout of the enemy and rescuing the whole of the previously contested field. Our line ceased to pursue them beyond the Chattanooga road and rested on it for the night. In this last charge the regiment captured one fine piece of artillery and a number of prisoners, and the next morning secured a quantity of small-arms.

My loss during the day was 9 killed, 67 wounded and 11 missing. The number of prisoners captured I estimated at not less than 100, 2 pieces of artillery and a quantity of small arms, blankets, etc. Lieutenant-Colonel Badger and acting adjutant Lieut. A. S. Pope are both worthy of complimentary mention for gallantry on the field. In the absence of Major Lash, who was detained on other duty, Captain Gorman acted major and rendered efficient service. The whole command, officers and men, were distinguished for their gallantry and good conduct during the action.

At the battle of Missionary Ridge, of the 172 men engaged of the Fourth, all were killed, wounded or captured but 18. At Dalton, on the 23d of February, 1864, the regiment was consolidated with the First Florida dismounted cavalry, which had lost all its field officers, and of 200 men engaged only 33 effectives were left. The consolidated regiment participated in all the gallant career of the Florida brigade, until the surrender at Greensboro. [175] June 9, 1862, at the Chattahoochee river, Fla., the Fourth regiment was composed of 926 men and 47 officers. April 26, 1865, it surrendered 23 men.

The First regiment Florida cavalry was composed of companies commanded by Captains Haddock, Roberts, Coxe, Cone, Summerlin, Clarke, Hughes, Footman, Hull, Harvey and Cobb, mustered in at different times and places from the 12th of May to the 1st of July, 1861.

About the middle of August the regiment was stationed at Camp Davis, 6 miles south of Tallahassee, in camp of instruction. Its officers were W. G. M. Davis, colonel; George Troup Maxwell, lieutenant-colonel, and William T. Stockton, major. In the spring of 1862 they were ordered to Chattanooga, where Colonel Davis resigned and Lieutenant-Colonel Maxwell became colonel, Major Stockton, lieutenant-colonel, and Captain Footman, acting major. Seven of the companies voluntarily dismounted on leaving Florida and went through the war as infantry. The three companies that remained mounted were Company A, Captain Roberts, afterward Capt. M. I. Coxe; Company E, Captain Cone, and Company F, Captain Footman. They served as scouts under Captain Footman until April, 1863, when being dismounted they joined the other seven companies in Gen. Robert C. Trigg's brigade, formerly commanded by Gen. William Preston. The mounted battalion participated in the battle of Richmond, Ky., August 30, 1862, and the seven dismounted companies took part in the battle of Perryville, October 8th, of the same year.

In the Chickamauga campaign the regiment rendered efficient service under Col. Troup Maxwell in Trigg's brigade and subsequently was identified with the record of the Florida brigade until the close of the war.

The Sixth regiment Florida infantry was organized at Chattahoochee, Fla., in March, 1862, as State troops. The field officers were Col. J. J. Finley, Lieut.-Col. Angus McLean and Maj. Daniel Kenan. The companies composing [176] the regiment were commanded by Captains H. B. Grace, L. Y. Finley, Hagan, McMillan, Basseth, Attaway, S. B Love, R. H. Davidson, Evans and McLean. Soon after the organization of the regiment it was transferred to the service of the Confederate States. Before this was effected Colonel Finley was assigned by the governor of the State to the command of the troops stationed on the river from Chattahoochee to Apalachicola, but very soon after the organization of the regiment it was ordered to report to Maj.-Gen. E. Kirby Smith at Knoxville, Tenn. Upon its arrival at Chattanooga it was ordered to report temporarily to General Leadbetter, who had planned an expedition across the Tennessee river at Shell mound, but this expedition being abandoned, the Sixth proceeded to Knoxville and remained there until General Smith was ordered to move into Kentucky. During the battle of Richmond, Ky., the Sixth regiment was on a detached expedition to Williamsburg, Ky., to break up and prevent the reported organization of a Federal regiment of Kentuckians. On their return from this duty the Sixth and Seventh Florida regiments, with a section of artillery, under command of Colonel Finley, rejoined the army. From Lexington, the Sixth, with a large portion of General Bragg's army, was ordered to Frankfort, Ky., where it remained until General Smith made his forced march to form a junction with Bragg. After General Smith returned to Knoxville, Tenn., with his army, Colonel Finley was assigned to the command of the troops that were left at Cumberland Gap. The Sixth Florida remained at the Gap until Colonel Finley was relieved by General Gracie, and was then ordered to report to General Smith at Knoxville, where the army went into winter quarters in 1862-63. In the summer of 1863 General Smith's command formed a junction with General Bragg at Tullahoma, Tenn., where a battle was expected. After Bragg's retreat General Smith returned to Knoxville with his command. In the battle of Chickamauga [177] the Sixth Florida won for itself a proud name, and at Missionary Ridge it did gallant duty under General Bate. After that the record is covered by the account of Finley's brigade. Capt. R. H. M. Davidson, of the Sixth, for distinguished gallantry was promoted to lieutenant-colonel late in the war, and during one of the battles of the brigade received a wound which disabled him for some time.

The companies constituting the Seventh regiment Florida infantry were commanded by Captains York, of Bradford county; Dudley, of Alachua and Marion; Vallandigham, of Alachua; N. S. Blount, of Polk; Sloan, of Sumter; Robert Bullock, of Marion; Wade Eichelberger, of Marion; Moseley, of Putnam; Gettes, of Hillsboro, and Smith, of Monroe county. They were organized into a regiment and mustered into the Confederate army at Gainesville, Fla., in April, 1862, electing for their field officers Col. Madison S. Perry, Lieut.-Col. Robert Bullock, and Maj. Tillman Ingram. Before their regimental organization they had served as independent volunteer companies at different important points in the State, principally at Smyrna and Tampa. At Smyrna the commands of Captains Bullock, Eichelberger and others engaged the enemy's gunboats, preventing the landing of forces for the purpose of destroying the arms, ammunition and other supplies that had been brought in by blockade runners, and by this timely action they secured superior equipment for their commands. In June, 1862, the regiment was ordered to the Western army, and very soon after their arrival at Graham's ferry on the Tennessee river were engaged with the enemy on the opposite side of the river. The Seventh, like the Sixth, was subsequently employed in skirmishing and picket duty at Loudon and Knoxville, and in the Kentucky campaign under Gen. Kirby Smith. After the retreat they remained at Cumberland Gap until December. Colonel Perry resigning command, Lieutenant-Colonel Bullock was promoted to colonel, Major Ingram [178] to lieutenant-colonel and Capt. N. S. Blount, major. The regiment at Knoxville, and during the winter of 1862-63, was engaged in guarding bridges on the East Tennessee & Virginia railroad. In the summer of 1863 the regiment moved to Tullahoma, and returning to Knoxville remained there until fall. The Seventh was ordered to West Virginia to guard the salt works, and from that point to join the army soon to be concentrated at Chickamauga. After the brilliant victory at Chickamauga, in which they won distinction, they engaged in the siege of Chattanooga and then became identified with the record of Finley's brigade.

Col. R. C. Trigg's brigade, consisting of the First Florida dismounted cavalry, Sixth and Seventh infantry and one Virginia regiment, and forming part of the division of Brig.-Gen. William Preston, Buckner's corps, crossed the Chickamauga river at early dawn, September 19, 1863, and formed line of battle near Hunt's house on the prolongation of Brigadier-General Bate's line. While occupying this position the enemy threw shot and shell into the lines from a battery on the right. In this engagement the Sixth lost 1 lieutenant, 1 sergeant and 1 private killed, and 2 privates wounded. The brigade being under heavy fire moved forward to get under cover of the opposite hills, then reformed under the crest of a ridge, about a half mile above its former position. As soon as the line was formed Colonel Maxwell's regiment was deployed as skirmishers, 300 yards in advance, and covered the entire front of the brigade. This regiment soon became engaged with the enemy's infantry, in a cornfield and the woods to the right of the field. For more than two hours it kept up a brisk action with the enemy's sharpshooters and artillery, when the right was driven in by a destructive fire of grape and canister. At this crisis the brigade was ordered to reinforce Brigadier-General Robertson, of Hood's command, about a half mile distant. Colonel Trigg then obliqued to the right, bringing the [179] front of the brigade to the cornfield fence, where they sustained a most destructive fire from the enemy's artillery, which was protected by earthworks and supported by a long line of infantry drawn up in the field and in rifle-pits. The brigade advanced until near the fence, then opened fire. The enemy broke in confusion and the brigade was ordered to charge them before they could rally. The Sixth Florida regiment gallantly responded, leaping the fence, and dashed forward to the crest of the ridge, forcing the enemy's broken line to seek the nearest cover. This heroic regiment regained the ridge, cleared the cornfield of all the infantry, drove nearly all the gunners from the battery and would have certainly captured it but for an unfortunate interference which necessitated the withdrawal of this command, thus relinquishing the capture of the battery which but a few minutes before was regarded as almost accomplished. On the morning of September 20th Trigg's brigade was ordered to support General Manigault's brigade. The position of the enemy being indicated the battery assigned was ordered to take position and open fire. After several rounds, the enemy failing to respond, it was evident they had withdrawn from that part of the field. The next movement of the brigade was to support Williams' battalion of artillery. After giving it two hours support they were ordered to take position to resist an anticipated rear attack by the enemy's cavalry. For this purpose Colonel Trigg moved back with two regiments, the Seventh Florida and the First Florida dismounted cavalry. During the absence of these forces an urgent order came from General Preston, division commander, for the brigade to move rapidly forward to the support of the remainder of the division, and Colonel Finley, taking command of the two remaining regiments, the Sixth Florida and Fifty-fourth Virginia, moved rapidly toward the ridge where the enemy had made an obstinate stand. While the battle was raging furiously, Colonel Trigg arrived with the [180] Seventh, which he formed on the left of the Fifty-fourth Virginia, which, with the Sixth, was already in line on the left of Kelly's brigade. At this time the First dismounted cavalry, on the way to join the brigade, was detached by order of General Preston and sent to support General Gracie's brigade. Without faltering or wavering these gallant troops drove the enemy steadily before them, capturing the Twenty-second Michigan, Eighty-ninth Ohio and part of the Twenty-first Ohio regiments. During this brilliant engagement Sergt. L. E. Timmons, Company I, Seventh Florida regiment, captured the regimental flag of the Twenty-first Ohio regiment.

Attached to the battalion of artillery commanded by Major Williams in this battle was the Florida battery, organized in Marion county as the Marion light artillery. This battery had done brilliant and effective service at the battle of Richmond, Ky., under the command of Capt. J. M. Martin. It was the only Florida battery ordered to join Gen. Kirby Smith and assigned to duty in the army of Tennessee.

Colonel Maxwell, of the First cavalry, reported his loss on the 19th at 2 killed and 15 wounded and 1 missing. ‘Among the killed was Lieut. Richard F. Hart, Company E, a most excellent officer and worthy gentleman. Courteous and polite in his social relations, and firm but kind in his official capacity, he was respected and loved by all who were brought into intimate intercourse with him. Prompt, faithful and energetic in the discharge of his duties, his company and regiment have lost a noble and gallant officer and his country a devoted patriot.’ Continuing, Colonel Maxwell reported that after being ordered on the afternoon of the 20th to the front, where ‘a most terrible contest was going on along our whole line,’ he met a staff officer of General Preston's and was directed by him to a point about a mile in advance as the place where Trigg's brigade was fighting. ‘I double-quicked to the point indicated, receiving a fire from the enemy's [181] sharpshooters through most of the field. Arriving at the woods I formed line and looked about in vain for any of our troops. I advanced into the woods and was met by a storm of balls from the rifles of the enemy, who was strongly posted behind breastworks upon the crest of a hill. Then and there I met General Gracie, who informed me that his brigade had been twice repulsed from the same hill. Not being able to find my own brigade commander I put myself under his orders. He at first directed me to take the hill, but upon my suggestion that it was hardly possible for my small regiment to do what his large brigade had failed to accomplish, he ordered me to remain where I was until he could reform his brigade, the locality of which he did not then know. Being exposed to a severe fire, to which they could not reply, I ordered my regiment to fall back to the cover of a fence in the cornfield, which they did in good order. My loss on this occasion was 1 killed and 9 wounded. Among the latter were Lieut.-Col. William Stockton and Capt. Gaston Finley, both slightly.’

Col. J. J. Finley, Sixth Florida infantry, in his official report described vividly the experience of the 19th, when ‘the whole of my line was subjected for some time to the enemy's fire, solid shot and shell passing over and near, diagonally in many places, from right to left, frequently striking in front and ricocheting over my men, who were in a lying position. It was at this time that a shell from the enemy's guns exploded upon the right of the third company, instantly killing First Lieut. James Hays, then in command of his company, and his first sergeant, S. F. Staunton and also Second Sergt. W. R. F. Potter and wounding Lieut. S. Simmons, on the left of the second company, commanded by Captain White.’ Of the gallant advance made by the regiment later in the day he said: ‘My regiment moved forward through the open field at a double-quick to the crest of the ridge, the distance of about 300 yards, under a raking fire from a battery of the [182] enemy which was posted on my left, as well as from smallarms and sharpshooters in front. When the crest of the ridge was attained, which brought us within about 60 yards of the enemy's advance, another battery in our front and still another diagonally to our right opened a hot and fierce fire upon us, still aided by the battery upon our left, which kept up without intermission an enfilading fire upon our whole line, which told with terrible effect upon my command. After engaging the enemy in this position for about half an hour without any support, we were ordered to retire by the colonel commanding the brigade, who advanced with my regiment in the charge, witnessed its conduct and also fully apprehended the necessity of falling back to prevent the utter annihilation of the regiment. While engaged with the enemy from the crest of the ridge his battery in our front was not more than 150 yards from our lines, and upon our first arrival in this position some of his infantry were not more than 50 yards in our front. From this point we poured in a welldi-rected fire upon the infantry and the gunners in our front, which soon drove them back to the rifle-pits in rear of their battery—which I estimated to be about 150 yards in the rear of their battery—leaving the guns unmanned and the battery flag cut down. The casualties of the regiment in the battle on the 19th were: officers, 2 killed, and 11 wounded; enlisted men, 33 killed, 119 wounded.’

Of the work of the regiments under his command on the evening of the 20th Colonel Finley reported that in their advance in front of Gracie's and Kelly's brigades, they opened fire upon the enemy and continued to advance steadily and constantly ‘until we swept the heights, silencing the fire of our adversary, driving him from his position and causing him to retire.’ Being annoyed by a battery on the right, in an oblique direction, he ordered a bayonet charge against it, but before this could be accomplished the enemy had retired and succeeded in withdrawing his piece. Later the Sixth and Seventh and the [183] Fifty-fourth Virginia made a movement by which some 500 of the enemy were captured, besides a large number of small-arms. In this engagement the casualties of the Sixth were 1 private killed, 2 lieutenants and 4 privates wounded; missing, 1 private, supposed killed.

Col. Robert Bullock, Seventh Florida infantry, in his report detailed the service of his regiment on the two days, closing with the gallant participation in the evening fight of the 20th, which resulted in the capture of about 150 prisoners, 1 stand of colors and 12 Colt revolving rifles. Among the prisoners were Colonel Carlton and Lieutenant-Colonel McLaw. There were few casualties in his command, nearly all of which occurred on the 19th.

Maj.-Gen. J. P. Anderson in this campaign commanded Hindman's division of Polk's corps. In his report he made the following special mention of Lieut. William Davidson, of Quincy, Fla., a young officer on his staff: ‘Lieut. William M. Davidson, aide-de-camp, was, as he had been at Shiloh, Perryville and Murfreesboro, constantly by my side, ever ready, active and intelligent in the communication of orders or the rallying of a broken line.’

When the army of Tennessee had invested the Federal forces under Rosecrans at Chattanooga, the Florida regiments theretofore in Trigg's and Stovall's brigades were transferred to a new brigade, organized November 12, 1863, to which Col. J. J. Finley, promoted brigadier general, was assigned as commander. It was part of Breckinridge's division, commanded by General Bate. This Florida brigade was composed of the Sixth infantry, Lieut. Col. A. D. McLean; Seventh infantry, Col. Robert Bullock; First cavalry, dismounted, Col. G. Troup Maxwell; First and Third infantry, Col. William S. Dilworth; Fourth infantry, Col. W. L. L. Bowen. On November 24th, the day before the battle of Missionary Ridge, the main part of the brigade was stationed at the crest of the ridge, immediately to the right of General Bragg's headquarters. Requisition having been made upon General [184] Bate to furnish a picket force to confront the enemy in the valley below, the First dismounted and Fourth regiment were detailed for this duty. Said General Bate, ‘The pressure of the enemy on our front, on the morning of the 25th, forbade the relief of this force, and hence it remained on that day; the officer of the day being Lieutenant-Colonel Badger of the Fourth Florida. By repeated application from the front I was induced to send the Seventh Florida as a reserve to our picket line. This little force under the frown of such a horrid front remained defiant, and in obedience to orders maneuvered handsomely amid the peril of capture until, by order, it found a lodgment in the trenches at the foot of Missionary Ridge, with its right resting at Moore's house. I ordered that it hold the trenches at all hazards.’

The overwhelming onslaught of superior numbers forced the troops below, after they had retired to the intrenchments, from them up the slope, where they were exposed to a continual fire, and many were killed, wounded or captured. The troops in the trenches and those at the summit all fought gallantly, and after the ridge was lost fell back about a mile, where General Bate formed a line to protect the crossing of the Chickamauga. This line was put under command of General Finley, while General Bate withdrew the Sixth Florida and moved it back as a nucleus for a second line upon which the Confederate troops might rally. The line under General Finley was soon hotly engaged with the victorious enemy, but returning the fire with spirit and firmness checked the pursuit After a short engagement the enemy ceased firing in the darkness, and Finley withdrew his line in good order across the pontoon bridge which he had so manfully guarded for the passage of the artillery and other troops. In the meantime a third line had been formed under Colonel McLean, which was also withdrawn across the creek in safety. General Bate reported the loss of his division at 43 killed, 224 wounded, missing 590, and added: ‘Most [185] of the latter were Floridians who were in the trenches.’ Colonel Bullock, of the Seventh, and Colonel Maxwell and Maj. William T. Stockton, First cavalry, were among the captured. Captain June, of the Seventh, a gallant young soldier, was killed, and several other officers severely wounded.

At the opening of the campaign of 1864 the regiments of the brigade were commanded as follows: Third and First, Maj. Glover A. Ball; First cavalry and Fourth, Lieut.-Col. Edward Badger; Sixth, Col. Angus D. Mc-Lean; Seventh, Lieut.-Col. Tillman Ingram. The brigade took part in the fighting at Dalton, Mill Creek gap, Rocky Face ridge, and Resaca. In the latter engagement General Finley was wounded and Col. Robert Bullock, who had been exchanged, took command of the brigade. They were under cavalry fire at Calhoun and Adairsville, and skirmished at Cassville. Reaching Dallas on May 23d they charged the Federal line on the 28th and suffered severe loss, and skirmished on that line until the Federal army was withdrawn. Subsequently they were engaged at Acworth, and on the Pine mountain line, until on June 18th they were placed in reserve one mile west of Kenesaw mountain. Marching thence to the southwest they were in the battle of July 2d, holding their position within 60 yards of the enemy on Cheatham's bend. Crossing the Chattahoochee river on the night of July 9th, they participated in the service of Bate's division at the battle of Peachtree Creek, and shared the desperate fighting of Hardee's corps in the flank attack and battle of July 22d.

Then being transferred to the extreme west flank of the army they were under a terrible fire on August 3d, and marched a mile in advance of the general line and established General Bate's picket line near Utoy creek, where they fought the enemy, repulsing every attack in the memorable battle of the 6th. They were engaged in continual skirmishing during the siege of Atlanta, and on [186] August 27th were ordered to Rough-and-Ready. After skirmishing near Flint river the brigade moved to Jonesboro, where they participated in the battles of August 31st and September 1st. On the retreat they skirmished at Lovejoy station, Bearcreek and Palmetto. During Hood's campaigns against Sherman's communications the Florida soldiers assisted in the capture of Dalton and the blockhouse in Mill Creek gap, skirmished at Decatur, Ala., and Columbia, Tenn., and under the command of Colonel Bullock took a gallant part in the bloody battle of Franklin, November 30th. In this fight Lieutenant-Colonel Badger, commanding the First cavalry and Fourth infantry, was wounded three times before he left the field, exemplifying the determined heroism of his fellow-soldiers. The brigade was with Bate's division in the campaign against Murfreesboro, and in a gallant fight at Overall's creek Colonel Bullock was wounded. Another severe fight followed on the Wilkinson pike, near Murfreesboro, and the brigade moved to Nashville in time to do gallant service as Hood's line was crumbling under the assault of Thomas' legions. In his report of this campaign General Bate commends the service of Colonel Bullock and his brigade, stating that after Bullock was severely wounded on December 4th, near Murfreesboro, Maj. Jacob A. Lash took command of the brigade until the arrival of Maj. Glover A. Ball. At Nashville Major Lash was captured. The Florida brigade was finally in the field during the campaign in the Carolinas, under the command of Col. Daniel L. Kenan, of the Sixth. It took part in the battle of Columbia, February 17, 1865, and, greatly reduced in numbers, reached the field of Bentonville, March 19th, and went into battle, Colonel Kenan commanding Bate's division. In this last great battle of the army of Tennessee the Florida troops fought with their old-time gallantry and suffered severe losses. Colonel Kenan displayed brilliant soldier ship and received a severe wound amid the thickest of the fight, which caused the loss of a leg, ‘depriving [187] the country,’ said General Bate, ‘of the services of a most gallant and efficient officer.’

In the final reorganization of the Army April 9th, the remnants of the brigade were consolidated in one regiment, the First Florida, under command of Lieut.-Col. Elisha Mashburn, in Gen. James A. Smith's brigade, Brown's (late Cleburne's) division, Hardee's corps, and thus it was surrendered with the army at Greensboro, April 26th, and disbanded at Augusta, Ga., May 14, 1865. Four companies of independent cavalry commanded by Captains Partridge, Smith, Leigh, and Vaughan, rendered effective service in Alabama. Captain Henderson's independent company of infantry served at Island No.10, and all were captured but the captain and five men. Captain Johnson's independent company of infantry served at Fort Pillow.