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Battle
at Sharpsburg Virginia
(Antietam)
William,
Robert & Thomas
Served in Co H 48th AL Inf.,
Robt., & Thos, died the same day
Sept 17, 1862, Battle of Sharpsburg
Henry & Jesse were in the 19th AL
Inf., Jesse was killed in the Battle of
Resaca GA, Wm & Henry survived.
23, 100 were killed and wounded
at Sharpsburg, 12,000 at Resaca GA.
Antietam
(Sharpsburg) Battle Description
The Battle of Antietam (or Sharpsburg) on
September 17, 1862,
climaxed the first of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's two attempts
to carry the war into the North. About 40,000 Southerners were pitted
against the 87,000-man Federal Army of the Potomac under Gen. George
B. McClellan. And when the fighting ended, the course of the American
Civil War had been greatly altered.
After his great victory at Manassas in August, Lee had
marched his Army of Northern Virginia into Maryland, hoping to find
vitally needed men and supplies. McClellan followed, first to
Frederick (where through rare good fortune a copy of the Confederate
battle plan, Lee's Special Order No. 191, fell into his hands), then
westward 12 miles to the passes of South Mountain. There on September
14, at Turner's, Fox's, and Crampton's gaps, Lee tried to block the
Federals. But because he had split his army to send troops under Gen.
Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson to capture Harpers Ferry, Lee could
only hope to delay the Northerners. McClellan forced his way through,
and by the afternoon of September 15 both armies had established new
battielines west and east of Antietam Creek near the town of
Sharpsburg. When Jackson's troops reached Sharpsburg on the 16th,
Harpers Ferry having surrendered the day before, Lee consolidated his
position along the low ridge that runs north and south of the town.
The battle opened at dawn on the 17th when Union Gen. Joseph
Hooker's artillery began a murderous fire on Jackson's men in the
Miller cornfield north of town. "In the time I am writing," Hooker
reported, "every stalk of corn in the northern and greater part of
the field was cut as closely as could have been done with a knife,
and the slain lay in rows precisely as they had stood in their ranks
a few moments before." Hooker's troops advanced, driving the
Confederates before them, and Jackson reported that his men were
"exposed for near an hour to a terrific storm of shell, canister, and
musketry."
About 7 a.m. Jackson was reinforced and succeeded in driving
the Federals back. An hour later Union troops under Gen. Joseph
Mansfield counterattacked and by 9 o'clock had regained some of the
lost ground. Then, in an effort to extricate some of Mansfield's men
from their isolated position near the Dunker Church, Gen. John
Sedgwick's division of Edwin V. Sumner's corps advanced into the West
Woods. There Confederate troops struck Sedgwick's men on both flanks,
inflicting appalling casualties.
Meanwhile, Gen. William H. French's division of Sumner's
corps moved up to support Sedgwick but veered south into Confederates
under Gen. D. H. Hill posted along an old sunken road separating the
Roulette and Piper farms. For nearly 4 hours, from 9:30 a.m. to 1
p.m., bitter fighting raged along this road (afterwards known as
Bloody Lane) as French, supported by Gen. Israel B. Richardson's
division, also of Sumner's corps, sought to drive the Southerners
back. Confusion and sheer exhaustion finally ended the battle here
and in the northern part of the field generally.
Southeast of town, Union Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside's troops
had been trying to cross a bridge over Antietam Creek since 9:30 a.m.
Some 400 Georgians had driven them back each time. At 1 p.m. the
Federals finally crossed the bridge (now known as Burnside Bridge)
and, after a 2-hour delay to reform their lines, advanced up the
slope beyond. By late afternoon they had driven the Georgians back
almost to Sharpsburg, threatening to cut off the line of retreat for
Lee's decimated Confederates. Then about 4 p.m. Gen. A. P. Hill's
division, left behind by Jackson at Harpers Ferry to salvage the
captured Federal property, arrived on the field and immediately
entered the fight. Burnside's troops were driven back to the heights
near the bridge they had earlier taken. The Battle of Antietam was
over. The next day Lee began withdrawing his army across the Potomac
River.
More men were killed or wounded at Antietam on September 17,
1862, than on any other single day of the Civil War. Federal losses
were 12,410, Confederate losses 10,700. Although neither side gained
a decisive victory, Lee's failure to carry the war effort effectively
into the North caused Great Britain to postpone recognition of the
Confederate government. The battle also gave President Abraham
Lincoln the opportunity to issue the Emancipation Proclamation,
which, on January 1, 1863, declared free all slaves in States still
in rebellion against the United States. Now the war had a dual
purpose: to preserve the Union and end slavery.
Antietam
Other Names: Sharpsburg
Location: Washington County
Campaign: Maryland Campaign (September 1862
Date(s): September 16-18, 1862
Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan [US];
Gen. Robert E. Lee [CS]
Forces Engaged: Armies
Estimated Casualties: 23,100 total
Description:
On September 16, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan confronted Lee's
Army of Northern Virginia at Sharpsburg, Maryland. At dawn September 17,
Hooker's corps mounted a powerful assault on Lee's left flank that began the
single bloodiest day in American military history. Attacks and counterattacks
swept across Miller's cornfield and fighting swirled around the Dunker
Church. Union assaults against the Sunken Road eventually pierced the
Confederate center, but the Federal advantage was not followed up. Late in
the day, Burnside's corps finally got into action, crossing the stone bridge
over Antietam Creek and rolling up the Confederate right. At a crucial
moment, A.P. Hill's division arrived from Harpers Ferry and counterattacked,
driving back Burnside and saving the day. Although outnumbered two-to-one,
Lee committed his entire force, while McClellan sent in less than
three-quarters of his army, enabling Lee to fight the Federals to a
standstill. During the night, both armies consolidated their lines. In spite
of crippling casualties, Lee continued to skirmish with McClellan throughout
the 18th, while removing his wounded south of the river. McClellan did not
renew the assaults. After dark, Lee ordered the battered Army of Northern
Virginia to withdraw across the Potomac into the Shenandoah Valley.
Result(s): Inconclusive (Union strategic victory.)
CWSAC Reference #: MD003
Preservation Priority: I.2 (Class A)
National Park Unit: Antietam NB
UP^
Battle
at Resaca Georgia
Jesse David
Golightly (CSA)
Died May 19th, 1864
Served: Co H 19th Alabama Infantry
Resaca
Other Names: None
Location: Gordon County and Whitfield County
Campaign: Atlanta Campaign (1864)
Date(s): May 13-15, 1864
Principal Commanders: Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman [US];
Gen. Joseph E. Johnston [CS]
Forces Engaged: Military Division of the Mississippi [US];
Army of Tennessee [CS]
Estimated Casualties: 5,547 total (US 2,747; CS 2,800)
Description:
Gen. Joseph E. Johnston had withdrawn from Rocky Face Ridge to
the hills around Resaca. On the 13th, the Union troops tested the Rebel lines
to pinpoint their whereabouts. The next day full scale fighting occurred, and
the Union troops were generally repulsed except on the Rebel right flank
where Sherman did not fully exploit his advantage. On the 15th, the battle
continued with no advantage to either side until Sherman sent a force across
the Oostanula River, at Lay's Ferry, towards Johnston's railroad supply line.
Unable to halt this Union movement, Johnston was forced to retire.
Result(s): Inconclusive
CWSAC Reference #: GA008
Preservation Priority: II.3 (Class C)
National Park Unit: Antietam NB
TOP
19th Alabama Infantry
Regiment History
Jesse D &
Henry H served in the 19th
(Jesse killed at Resaca
GA)
Brother-in-law Pvt Thomas B Miller Co G of the 19th
(married sister Nancy Susan Golightly)
19th Battle Flag - Shiloh
(Mar/Apr 1862 to 1863)
 |
19th Flag - Aug 1861 - Mar 1862
The regiment was organized at
Huntsville, Ala., August 14th, 1861, with the following Field
and Staff Officers:
Colonels - Joseph Wheeler of Georgia,
promoted; Samuel K. McSpadden of Cherokee County, captured at
Resaca.
Lieutenant Colonels - Edward D. Tracy
of Madison County, promoted to Brigadier General; S. K.
McSpadden, promoted; George R. Kimbrough of Pickens County;
Nicholas Davis, temporary command.
Majors - S. K. McSpadden, promoted;
George R. Kimbrough, promoted; Solomon Palmer of Blount County;
James A. Savage of Cherokee County.
Adjutants - Clifton Walker of Madison
County, wounded at Shiloh and transferred to General Tracy's
staff; C. G. Hale, wounded at Murfreesboro; William T. Bell
Others of staff not known.
The regiment was composed of companies
from the counties named:
Co. A - "Picken's Rough and Ready's",
Pickens.
Co. B - "Blount Continentals" (also
called "Continentals" of Blount), Blount.
Co. C - "Jefferson Warriors",
Jefferson.
Co. D - "Curry Guards" (also called
"Jake Curry Guards"), Cherokee.
Co. E - "Cherokee Guards", Cherokee.
Co. F - "Davis Guards", Cherokee.
Co. G - "Cherokee Mountaineers",
Cherokee.
Co. H - "Cherokees", Cherokee.
Co. I - "Cherokee Rangers", Cherokee.
Co. K - "Blount Guards", Blount.
The 19th Alabama Regiment remained
three months in camp in Huntsville under the instruction of its
able commander, Colonel (later Lieutenant General) Joe Wheeler.
In November 1861, the regiment was ordered to Dog River, below
Mobile (Camp Memmemger). After two months camping at Dog River,
it was ordered to the Navy Yard at Pensacola, Fla.; stationed
there a few weeks, was ordered to Corinth, Miss., via Montgomery
and Mobile.
At Corinth, the 19th Ala joined General
Albert Sydney Johnston's army, concentrating there, preparing
for the great Battle of Shiloh, fought April 6th and 7th, 1862.
In this fearful, bloody battle, the regiment received its first
baptism of blood and lost 219 killed and wounded, amounting to
one-third of its aggregate strength. Quoting from Colonel
Wheeler's report:
"The Regiment here exhibited an
example of cool, heroic courage which would do credit to
soldiers of long experience in battle. Subjected as they were to
a deadly fire of artillery and a crossfire of infantry, they
stood their ground with firmness and delivered their fire
rapidly, but with cool deliberations and good effect. ...Exposed
as they had been for two nights previous, to drenching rains,
without tents and with little covering, they were, of course,
somewhat jaded, but at the first sound of the enemy's guns they
moved forward with a cheerful alacrity and good order that
showed clearly that it was such music as they loved. Under fire
almost incessantly the first day, they moved from one position
to another as they were ordered, not only with firmness, but
with enthusiasm."
Thence, it constituted part of General
Bragg's Army of Tennessee; thence via Mobile, Montgomery and
Atlanta to Tyner's (near Chattanooga, Tenn.) and camped two
weeks. On the 10th of August, 1862, began its march invading
Tennessee and Kentucky, and on the 28th of October came out to
Knoxville; thence via Chattanooga to Tullahoma and camped a
month; thence to Murfreesboro and fought the great battle of
Murfreesboro (Stones River), Dec. 30th, 31st, and Jan. 1, 1863,
with many killed and wounded. Thence marched to Shelbyville
(Duck River) and camped till the 23rd of June, 1863.
The Regiment marched thence to
Chattanooga and camped until the bloody Battle of Chickamauga,
Sept. 19th and 20th, 1863; engaged in the battle two days and
lost heavily in killed and wounded, and followed the retreating
Federal army to Missionary Ridge. Remained there until the
Battle of Missionary Ridge, Nov. 24th, 25th, and 26th, 1863, and
lost many; marched thence to Dalton, Georgia, and camped until
May 1864.
In May 1864, fighting began around
Dalton, the beginning of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's grand retreat
from Dalton to Atlanta, 100 miles in about 100 days; was in the
battles of Resaca, Cassville, New Hope, Alabama Hill, Kennesaw
Mountain, Noonday Creek and Atlanta, July 22nd to 28th and
Jonesboro, Ga., Aug. 1864. Thence followed Gen. Hood via Resaca,
Dalton, Lafayette, Summerville, Ga., Gaylesville, Gadsden,
Summit and Danville, Ala., crossing the Tennessee River at
Florence, Ala.; thence to Pulaski, Spring Hill, Columbia to
Franklin, Tenn., and was in that terrible battle Nov. 26th,
1864; thence to Nashville and was in that battle December 16th,
1864. The Regiment recrossed the Tennessee River at Bainbridge;
thence to Tupelo, Miss., Mobile, Montgomery, Ala.; Columbus,
Macon, and Augusta, Ga.; thence via Columbia, S.C. to Charlotte,
Kingston, Goldsboro, to Bentonville, N.C., the last real battle
of the war.
Thence via Smithfield, Raleigh,
Greensboro to Saulisbury, N.C., where it surrendered, April
26th, 1865, when, after four years of untold sacrifice, patient
endurance, and heroic struggle, under the most trying conditions
in all history of the time, their army, without resources, but
still devoted patriots; yielded to vastly overwhelming numbers
of the Northern army. Only 76 members of the regiment were
present at the surrender.
As to the soldierly conduct of the
command, the 19th Alabama Regiment furnished the Confederate
service its peerless Lieutenant General Joe Wheeler, one of the
world's most famous cavalry commanders; its gallant and
chivalric Tracy, a Brigadier General without a superior; and its
ever true and faithful leader, Col. George R. Kimbrough,
commanding the last year of the war. |
