"Few if any units, North or South, saw as much action as the 1st Missouri Brigade," wrote Edwin C. Bearss, chief historian of the National Park Service. "Their combat record is more distinguished than that exhibited by the better publicized Stonewall or Iron Brigades."
The battle honors of the Confederate Missourians read like a list of Southern might-have-beens. They fought Nathaniel Lyon to a stalemate at Wilson's Creek. They helped smash the Union right at Elkhorn Tavern and were furious at Van Dorn's order to withdraw. Their regiments stormed the entrenchments of Corinth but were unable to sustain their gains. The Brigade helped defend Port Gibson against Grant's debarking legions, and they led the counterattack at Champion Hill.
They stood their ground at the Big Black River Bridge as other units broke around them. Throughout the siege of Vicksburg, the Missourians formed Pemberton's mobile reserve and were rushed from one danger point to another. They fought through the Atlanta campaign and were a key element in the assault of Allatoona. At Franklin, the Missourians vied with Cleburne's men in the attack as the Brigade band played in encouragement. They were part of the rearguard in the retreat from Nashville, and they fought to defend the forts of Mobile as Lee surrendered at Appomattox. No Brigade saw more desperate action than did the First Missouri Brigade. Few saw less hope of victory.
In the summer of 1861, Missouri's pro-Southern legislators voted for secession and formed the Missouri State Guard to offer armed resistance to the Federal forces. Governor Claiborne F. Jackson appointed Sterling Price, a former Congressman, Mexican War hero and a recent governor, to command the State Guardsmen. The Missourians were fond of the 51 -year old soldier because he looked after his constituents as any good citizen-soldier would. Under Price, the State Guard and troops from Arkansas successfully repulsed Nathaniel Lyon's Federal forces at the battle of Wilson's Creek on August 10, 1861. The Missourians then moved north to lay siege to the Union forces encamped at Lexington, Missouri. As winter came on, General Price led his State Guardsmen south through Springfield, Missouri, into northwest Arkansas to rest and refit.
In December, Price received permission from Richmond to enlist Missourians in the service of the Confederate States of America. A separate camp was established and transfers from the Missouri State Guard quickly filled the 1st and 2nd Missouri Infantry Regiments, commanded by Colonels John 0. Burbridge and Benjamin A. Rives. The 1st Cavalry Regiment was created under Colonel Elijah Gates. Wade's and Churchill Clark's batteries provided heavier firepower. Under the command of Brigadier General Henry Little, the small brigade fought alongside the as yet "unenlisted" Missouri State Guard at the battle of Elkhorn Tavern in March, 1862.
The young brigade was fortunate to have Henry Little in command. A Marylander by birth and son of a long-time Congressman, Little had been commissioned directly into the army in 1839 at the age of 22. He had served on active duty continuously since then, including service in the Mexican War. In Missouri when the war broke out, he was quickly recognized by General Price as a talented soldier. Little gave the Brigade professional leadership in its critical formative months and in many ways set the standard for its later performance. Despite his "old Army" background--too often a handicap in dealing with the independence of volunteers--he seems to have been successful in winning the admiration and respect of his men.
More Regiments
The formation of more regiments followed. By February, five infantry regiments, two cavalry regiments and a battalion, and six batteries had been formed. During the winter it was learned that Colonel John S. Bowen had enrolled the 1st Missouri Infantry in Memphis, Tennessee, from members of the Missouri State Guard exchanged after the seizure of Camp Jackson in St. Louis in July, 1861. Recognizing the seniority of Bowen's 1st Missouri, Burbridge's regiment was renumbered the 2nd Missouri Infantry and Rives' regiment was renumbered the 3rd Regiment.
With the storm brewing that would result in the battle of Shiloh, Van Dorn and Price's troops were ordered east of the Mississippi to reinforce A. S. Johnston's army. The Missourians boarded steamboats at Des Arc, Arkansas, and steamed up the White River to the Mississippi and then turned south to Memphis. Most of the Missourians were thrilled by the ride. The 1st Cavalry Regiment and the 3rd Cavalry Battalion were uneasy, however, about leaving their horses behind to be brought later. After they crossed the Father of Waters, the troops were informed by Confederate authorities that there was too much cavalry in Mississippi and that the troopers would not be remounted. The 1st Missouri Cavalry Regiment and the 3rd Missouri Cavalry Battalion would be called cavalry for the rest of the war, but they would never again fight mounted.
The Missourians arrived in Memphis to find themselves the center of attention. A soldier of the 3rd Infantry remembered that "a great many thronged our camp to look at us. Some said that they imagined that the Missourians had horns, but they saw we were just like anybody else, and seemed to be surprised."
Van Dorn's Army of the West had arrived too late to have an impact on the outcome at Shiloh. When Van Dorn was moved to supervise the defenses at Vicksburg, Price took command of the Army of the West and Little advanced to command one of its divisions. Two of Little's four brigades included Missourians. The First Missouri Brigade was led by Colonel Elijah Gates of the 1st Cavalry and consisted of the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th Missouri Infantry; the 16th Arkansas Infantry; the 1St Missouri Cavalry (dismounted); and Wade's Missouri battery. Brigadier General Martin Green's brigade, sometimes referred to as the Second Missouri Brigade, included the 4th and 6th Missouri Infantry; the 43rd and 7th Battalion Mississippi Infantry; the 3rd Missouri Cavalry (dismounted); and Guibor's and Landis' Missouri batteries.
In northern Mississippi, Price had been assigned the difficult task of cooperating with Van Darn while aiding Bragg in his invasion of middle Tennessee. Frustrated by conflicting instructions and objectives, Price finally moved to Bragg's aid by advancing on the rail junction at the lightly defended village of Iuka, Mississippi. Price drove out the few Union defenders with little difficulty and distributed his forces in defensive fashion north and west of Iuka.
On September 19, Union General William S. Rosecrans attacked Price from the southwest, but unable to deploy his two divisions successfully, he was stopped by Hebert's and Martin's brigades of Little's division. The Missourians in Gates' and Green's brigades were only lightly engaged after they came up in support as darkness fell. Their loss, however, was heavy; General Little, their first brigade commander, had been killed by a shot in the forehead as he conferred with General Price in planning the Confederate attack. Little was buried by torchlight in luka that night.
Battle of Iuka
Convinced that Grant's larger force to the north was preparing to close in on Iuka and complete a near-encirclement, Price reluctantly agreed to withdraw southward from Iuka on the night of September 19-20. (Readers of The Zouave may recall Ryan Toew's tactical scenario of the Iuka battle in Volume 1, No. 3.)
Price moved his two divisions quickly to join Van Dorn and Mansfield Lovell's division around Ripley, Mississippi. Van Dorn believed that Rosecrans was isolated at the important rail junction of Corinth and determined to attack him there despite the extensive entrenchments around the town, built in part by the Confederates to oppose Henry Halleck's advance the previous summer.
Corinth
At Corinth, the 1st Missouri Infantry Regiment was in the same force as the other Missouri infantry units for the first time. It would fight at Corinth as part of a brigade led by Brigadier General John Bowen, its former commander, in the division of Mansfield Lovell.
Van Dorn's plan called for an advance toward Corinth from the east and then a turn south to attack. Facing south, Van Dorn's three divisions arrayed left to right (east to west) were Hebert's, Maury's and Lovell's.
Hebert and Maury were under Price's command. Lovell reported directly to Van Dorn. The four brigades of Hebert's division were deployed in line with Gates on the left, making Gates the left of the Confederate army. Green's brigade deployed to Gates' immediate right.
The Missourians carried battleflags from the Army of the West into the fight at Corinth. The Army of the West pattern had been used first west of the Mississippi by the two divisions of Van Darn's corps. It was retained in use although Van Darn had yielded his command to Price. Individual flags varied in size, but most were approximately 45 inches on the staff by 60 inches on the fly. The red field had a border of white or yellow 3.5 inches wide on the three free edges. The staff edge was sometimes, but not always, bordered with 2 inches of white. A crescent moon was displayed in the upper staff corner and 13 five-pointed stars were distributed in five rows (3/2/3/2/3) across the red field. The moon and stars were always white. Battle honors might be added to the field in white. The flag carried by the 4th Missouri conformed in general to this description but differed in two respects. The red field had no border but was fringed with yellow. The 13 stars were distributed in three rows (4/5/4) rather than in five.
By noon on October 3, 1862, the attacking Confederates had passed over the outlying obstructions of Corinth and driven the Federal defenders back on the fortifications near town. The pursuit was rapid, and as the temperature became unseasonably warm the advance began to lose momentum. A decision was made late in the afternoon to postpone the final assault until the next morning in order to give the worn attackers time to regroup.
Before daybreak, the Confederate artillery began a bombardment of the town, the prelude to the attack by Hebert's division. Unknown to Price, however, Hebert had abandoned his command to report sick to Van Dorn's headquarters. Missourian Martin Green was hastily put in command of the division and, as one of his officers recorded, soon demonstrated that he was "hopelessly bewildered, as well as ignorant of what ought to be done.
It was nearly 9:30 am before the Confederate line went into action. Despite the delay, the Confederates successfully penetrated the Union defenses and were soon swarming into the streets of Corinth, reaching the railroad junction and capturing Rosecrans' reserve artillery. Again disorganization cost them dearly. Gates' brigade, on the Confederate left, tried in vain to hold the redoubt it had captured. It was forced to retreat when its ammunition gave out. An Arkansas brigade attempted to retake the redoubt abandoned by the Missourians but only succeeded in leaving a third of its strength on the redoubt's slopes.
Losses for the Missourians had been heavy. From Gates' brigade, 385 men were killed or wounded. Green's brigade suffered even more heavily. Nearly 450 of its men were casualties. In total, the casualties of the two brigades containing Missourians represented almost 70 percent of the division's casualties. Green's brigade suffered as many men killed as did Lovell's entire division, a testimony to the ferocity of the fight in the Missourians' sector.
In the fall and winter of 1862, Price's force was reorganized repeatedly as the result of the departure and arrival of troops. Two of the arrivals were General John Bowen and the 1st Missouri Infantry. Bowen superseded Gates in command of the Brigade. The 1st Infantry was consolidated with the 4th Infantry as a result of their losses.
For the first time, all of the Missouri infantry units east of the Mississippi were serving together in the same brigade. The six infantry regiments were supported by the Missouri batteries of Guibor, Landis and Wade.
Price's other brigade was commanded by Martin Green. Its core was six Arkansas infantry units but it also included the 1st and 3rd Missouri Cavalry (dismounted) and Dawson's and Lowe's Missouri batteries.
In February, 1863, the event dreaded by the Missourians finally happened. Sterling Price received orders to return to the Trans-Mississippi but without his beloved Missourians. For a time, Confederate authorities feared Price's departure would lead to mutiny or mass desertions among the former State Guardsmen, but their fears proved unfounded. Had the Missourians known all their future entreaties to return to Missouri would be denied, perhaps they would have reacted more forcefully. Bowen advanced to command Price's division, and the First Missouri Brigade was placed in the hands of Colonel Francis Marion Cockrell, a native Missourian.
During the winter of 1862-1863, the flags of the now-scattered Army of the West were exchanged for a new pattern that has become known as the "Missouri battle flag." The flag was smaller than its predecessor and of a much simpler design. The flags typically measured from 32 to 36 inches on the staff and from 47 to 51 inches on the fly. A white border 2 or 4 inches wide bounded the blue field on its three free edges. Centered but near the staff edge was a white Latin ("Christian") cross whose arms were 2 or 4 inches wide. The Missouri regiments carried flags of this pattern with them throughout the Vicksburg siege later that summer.
Although the loss of "Old Pap" Price was difficult for the First Missouri Brigade, the campaigning of early 1863 was not. Everything changed at the end of April.
Vicksburg Campaign
On April 30, 1863, Major General Ulysses S. Grant, USA, made an unopposed landing on the east bank of the Mississippi River at Bruinsburg, Mississippi. General Bowen, commander in the area of Grant's landing, organized Green's brigade and a brigade of Alabamans under General Edward D. Tracy into a defensive force near Port Gibson, an important point on the Federal line of advance. Colonel Cockrell was left behind at Grand Gulf with four Missouri infantry regiments. Bowen feared the Bruinsburg landing might be a feint and wanted reliable troops in the Grand Gulf entrenchments.
When Bowen arrived at Port Gibson early on May 1, he immediately sent riders back to Grand Gulf for Baldwin's Mississippi brigade and the Missourians. The 6th Missouri Infantry under Colonel Eugene Erwin was the first to arrive. It was immediately committed to plug a gap in the thin line established by Green and Tracy. Late in the afternoon, Federal numbers began to tell. Grant's troops threatened to envelop and crush the outnumbered Confederates. Bowen's last reserves were the 3rd and 5th Missouri.
Cockrell formed his two regiments in a column of battalions with the 5th Missouri leading. He hoped to strike the Federal right flank with sufficient force to cause it to withdraw. General John McClernand's right flank brigade was "rolled up like a carpet" by the Missourians' counterattack, but they were met by a withering fire from other Union infantry and 24 artillery pieces. After an hour of vicious fighting the 3rd and 5th began to withdraw. Bowen galloped up to the rallying regiments and said to the Missourians, "...I did not suspect that any of you would get away, but the charge had to be made, or my little army was lost." Bowen, whose force consisted of fewer than 7000 men at the start of the fight, retreated across Big Bayou Pierre. He had been unable to repulse the 25,000 soldiers of Grant's Army of the Tennessee opposing him.
During the night, the lst/4th Infantry and 1st Cavalry (dismounted) joined the other elements of the Brigade behind Bayou Pierre. Lieutenant Colonel Pembroke S. Senteny and the 2nd Missouri remained at Grand Gulf to prepare it for evacuation. The regiment dismounted and spiked the guns that could not be transported and exploded the magazines. The Confederate army began a concentration north of the Big Black River at the railroad bridge. Grant's forces remained south of the river as they headed eastward for Jackson, Mississippi. The move gave the Missourians a brief respite from combat but not from hard marching.
The battle of Champion Hill (or Baker's Creek) on May 16, 1863, has been described as the most severe of the Vicksburg campaign. Champion Hill, a prominent knoll about 75 feet high, provides a good position for blocking the roads to Vicksburg from the east. The Confederates had pulled together some 22,000 troops to oppose two Federal corps of 29,000 men under McClernand and General James McPherson.
Bowen's division included only two brigades, the First Missouri Brigade under Cockrell and the Arkansas and Missouri units commanded by Green. The infantry regiments of the First Missouri Brigade were supported by fourteen guns: Wade's six-gun battery under Lieutenant R. C. Walsh, Landis' four-gun battery under Lieutenant J. M. Langan, and the four guns of Guibor's battery under Lieutenant W. Corkery.
The First Missouri Brigade was deployed at the center of the Confederate line, but a wide gap to its left separated it from Confederate General Carter Stevenson's division which extended the line to the north. McClernand made contact with the Rebel right at mid-morning but did not press his attack. McPherson, however, fell on the Rebel left with full force around 11 a.m. By 1:30 p.m., Stevenson's line was shattered. Bowen was contacted for help, and once again the task fell to the First Missouri Brigade. Facing left, the Brigade moved north to Stevenson's relief, the infantry leading the artillery. Green's brigade followed.
Reaching the point of counterattack, Cockrell's Missourians deployed into line. Green's brigade formed on Cockrell's right. About 2:30 p.m. Bowen's 5000 soldiers threw themselves at McPherson's line. Cockrell's men recaptured the crest of Champion Hill as Green's troops swept across a cornfield and into the wooded country beyond. In less than an hour, Bowen's division had hurled the Yankees back nearly three-quarters of a mile. It was a costly success. After the battle it would be learned that the First Missouri Brigade lost nearly 360 killed or wounded; another 240 were missing. Green's brigade received more than 200 casualties.
Bowen's counterattack might have won the battle for the Confederates but his success could not be sustained. Soon the line was pulling back under the pressure of superior Federal numbers. Stevenson's division had been badly hurt and Bowen's suffered heavily in coming to its support. To the south, Pemberton's third division under General W. W. Loring had been cut off and would soon be lost to the defense of Vicksburg. The demoralized Confederates retreated to take up another defensive position at the Big Black River Bridge.
The battle of Big Black River Bridge on May 17, 1863, has been capably described by Ryan Toews in Volume 1, No. 6 of The Zouave. As Toews explains, the Confederates occupied a line of works that ran roughly north and south. The Missourians defended the portion of the line south of the railroad that ran nearly east-west through the position.
Unable to see over the railroad embankment dividing the Confederate line, the Missourians were unaware of the Union penetration north of the embankment. Cockrell climbed up on the entrenchments to see over the obstacle and realized the Tennesseans to his north were no longer giving effective resistance to the Federals. He ordered the Missourians to retreat. As one veteran remembered it, "Here a Tennessee brigade on the left disgraced themselves by running in wild disorder, which caused a great many of the Missourians to get captured, who were disposed to stand their ground though the enemy completely flanked them." Some of the Missourians lingered to form a rear guard and were treated to the sight of their escape route--the railroad bridge and a riverboat used as a temporary bridge--go up in flames. A few moved south along the bank of the Big Black River and then swam across to relative safety in Vicksburg. Many, including Colonel Gates of the 1st Cavalry, were captured.
The 47-day siege of Vicksburg began on May 19, 1863, with a rush on the entrenchments by Grant's men, repulsed without much loss by the tired Confederates. Bowen's two brigades formed Pemberton's mobile reserve. Soon Martin Green's brigade was put into the city's works, leaving the First Missouri Brigade under Colonel Cockrell as the only available reserve. This reserve status meant the Missourians were more actively engaged in combat than they might have been had they been placed in the "ditches." With each alarm, they were rushed to the point of danger.
The experience of the First Missouri Brigade in repelling Grant's assault on May 22 was typical of their work throughout the siege. The 5th Missouri occupied a line on the right of the 36th Mississippi in General Hebert's brigade while the 3rd Missouri occupied the Stockade and the redan to its right on the Graveyard Road. Five companies of the 2nd Missouri occupied a portion of the line of the 27th Louisiana Infantry, and the other five companies were held in reserve. Six companies of the 1st/4th Missouri were in the trenches with the 36th Mississippi Regiment, while one of its companies occupied the redan to the right of the Mississippians. The three remaining companies of the lst/4th and the 6th Missouri were in reserve. The 6th was later sent north of the Jackson Road to reinforce General Moore's brigade. In this single day's struggle, the First Missouri Brigade incurred more than 120 casualties.
By the end of June, the effects of confinement in the Vicksburg trenches were beginning to affect both body and spirit. One member of the 3rd Missouri recorded: "About 10 o'clock our rations were brought to us and I must say that I felt more hungry that morning than was usual, but I was always hungry now. I drew my rations and divided it and began to eat my little breakfast consisting of a little bacon--a very little--cooked peas and a piece of bread made of peas ground and baked and hard enough to kill a dog. The battery that I had kept silenced for three weeks began to shoot, but I was so hungry I thought I would let it alone until I finished my meal."
On July 4, Pemberton surrendered. Since Grant's landing at Bruinsburg, the First Missouri Brigade had seen more than 1000 of its men killed or wounded. A few more than 1500 were surrendered and paroled. Commanders of three of the brigade's five infantry regiments had been killed. LTC Finley Hubbell died of wounds received at Champion Hill, the third commander of the 3rd Infantry to die since the regiment crossed the Mississippi with Price. Colonel Eugene Erwin died leading the 6th Missouri in a counterattack after a mine was exploded under the Confederate lines on June 25. LTC Pembroke Senteny, commanding the 2nd Infantry, was killed later the same day. Both Missouri generals at Vicksburg also lost their lives. General Martin Green was shot in the head by a Union rifleman as he conducted a reconnaissance on June 27, and General John Bowen succumbed to illness shortly after the surrender. He had been promoted to major general to rank from May 25, 1863, for his service in Mississippi.
Camp of Parole
The Missourians moved into a "camp of parole" at Demopolis, Alabama, while they awaited their exchange. There the units were reorganized for the last time, coming together in the organization in which they would finish the war. Colonel Cockrell was promoted to Brigadier General and remained in command of the brigade. The 1st/4th Infantry was now commanded by Colonel A. C. Riley. The 2nd and 6th Infantry were united and placed under the command of Colonel Peter C. Flournoy who had succeeded LTC Senteny in command of the 2nd Infantry. Colonel James McCown led the consolidated 3rd and 5th Infantry.
The Missouri cavalry units, still dismounted, were also combined and at last placed in the same brigade as the infantry. The batteries of Wade, Landis and Guibor were together barely able to muster enough men to man four guns. They too were consolidated and placed under the command of Captain Henry Guibor. Although the consolidated battery would remain in the same division with the First Missouri Brigade, it fought more frequently as part of the divisional artillery battalion than it did in direct support of the Missourians.
In September, 1863, the First Missouri Brigade was notified that its men had been exchanged. The Brigade was placed in the division of General Samuel G. French in the Army of Mississippi under General Leonidas Polk.
In mid-October, General Joseph E. Johnston supervised a drill in which the First Missouri Brigade won a flag for "greatest perfection in the tactics." In January, 1864, the 1st/4th won another flag at a drill held in Mobile, Alabama, where the Missourians had been sent to suppress a supposed mutiny. An admiring officer from Mississippi wrote of a review he observed in Demopolis in March: "Next came the fair fancied Missouri Brigade. They are the brag men of this or any other army. They fight better, drill better, and look better than any other men in the army: clean clothes, clean faces and all in uniform and every man in step. General Cockrell commands them. He is a young man and very ordinary looking. I can not see anything is his looks that entitles him to the command of such men. They passed in the finest order possible."
The flags carried by the Missourians were the flags of the Army of Mississippi. They were very similar to the flag popularly known as the Confederate battle flag. The flags were commonly 46 inches on the staff edge and from 53 to 55 inches on the fly. The red field carried a dark blue St. Andrew's cross 6 to 8 inches wide with a 1-inch border of white.
Unlike the Army of Northern Virginia patterns, flags of the Army of Mississippi carried only 12 stars, three on each of the four arms of the blue cross. Some flags carried the regimental number and state in the upper field quadrant and battle honors in other quadrants as needed. The Missourians carried these flags until the end of the war.
The relative inactivity of late 1863 and early 1864 was beneficial in reconstructing the combat effectiveness of the First Missouri Brigade. It numbered approximately 1600 men distributed as follows: staff-30; 1st/4th Infantry-240; 2nd/6th Infantry-560; 3rd/5th Infantry-340; 1st/3rd Cavalry-350; Guibor's Battery-110.
In April, 1864, French's division was summoned with the rest of Polk's "army" to join the Army of Tennessee in Georgia. When the Brigade left Mobile, it was beginning a year-long circular combat that would ultimately return it Mobile reduced to less than regimental strength.
The First Missouri Brigade joined General Joseph E. Johnston's army near Cassville, Georgia, in mid-May. It retreated with the army to New Hope Church, where Colonel Riley, commanding the 1st/4th Infantry, was killed by a stray bullet as he lay sleeping on a stretcher. His command passed to LTC Hugh Garland.
Battle of Kennesaw Mountain
On June 19, the Brigade took up position on Little Kennesaw Mountain, described by one of its officers as "the strongest and most easily defended works to which the Brigade had ever been assigned. When General William T. Sherman's attack came on June 27, the Missourians were ready. An officer of the 3rd/5th Regiment recorded the final assault: "Then came another column, the heaviest that had yet appeared, which made the final, as well as the most determined assault, and which stood their ground longer than the others. Some of these men came twenty or thirty yards up the side of the mountain, but they were nearly all shot down, which deterred the others from following. Our men shot with unusual accuracy, because they had the low stone breastworks, which we had constructed with so much labor, on which to rest their guns. In three-fourths of an hour the attack was over and the Federals were gone."
From Kennesaw Johnston fell back across the Chattahoochee River where the army was allowed a brief rest. Johnston was relieved in favor of John Bell Hood on July 17. Johnston, in whom "faith and confidence were strong and abiding," was given up "with great reluctance" as an officer of the 2nd/6th recalled. "Like brave and true soldiers and patriots" the Missourians "were willing to fight cheerfully for a cause so dear under whatever commander might be appointed."
The First Missouri Brigade was spared from significant participation in Hood's ill-advised attacks to save Atlanta. With Hood's failure to thwart Sherman's movements, the orders came to General French to abandon the city. On September 1, his division became the Confederate rear guard and moved slowly to Lovejoy Station, 25 miles south of the city. The Federals in his front having fallen back to Atlanta, Hood then moved his army back north to Palmetto Station. By the end of September, the First Missouri Brigade was back on the north side of the Chattahoochee River and moving toward Tennessee.
Battle of Allatoona
Hood hoped to cause Sherman to withdraw from Atlanta by threatening the rail lines back to Chattanooga. In early October, Hood ordered French's division to the station at Allatoona to break the rail lines and capture the garrison. Later it was learned that Allatoona also held a tremendous stockpile of supplies.
Allatoona was a strong natural position. The Federals were atop a ridge that ran roughly east-west and was penetrated by a deep north-south cut through which the Western and Atlantic Railroad ran. The position had been improved by the addition of three redoubts or forts: one on the eastern end of the ridge, another in the center just east of the cut, and a third just west of the cut (a larger six-sided affair with a surrounding ditch). The western end of the line was strengthened by a series of well-constructed rifle pits complete with headlogs. Approximately 2000 Union soldiers manned the positions.
On the morning of October 5, 1864, French's three brigades of 3300 men set out to attack Allatoona from the north and west. Sears' Mississippi brigade attacked the north side of the ridge east of the railroad cut. The First Missouri Brigade would attack the western end of the Union line. Ector's small Texas brigade (commanded by General William H. Young) followed in support of Cockrell's men. As the First Missouri Brigade went forward against the rifle pits, the ridge became so narrow that when the line was deployed the wings were in the woods on the steep sides of the ridge. The Missourians worked forward for an hour through the thick entanglements. The first line of entrenchments was carried by the Missourians' skirmishers, and the troops regrouped for a serious assault.
"With fiery impetuosity our boys rushed upon them with the bayonet," one veteran recorded. "The furious strife lasted about twenty minutes, during which the bayonet was the chief weapon used." The First Missouri Brigade, backed up by the Texans, had driven their enemies from the western trench line back onto the center redoubt. While this fighting went on, Sears had succeeded in capturing the eastern fort and was also moving to attack the Union center.
For two hours, the Confederates lay siege to the large redoubt without success. The Federals were completely pinned, but the Confederates could not find a way to crack the defenses. French ordered a withdrawal, believing a message that Federals were moving to his rear to cut him off from Hood. Colonel Elijah Gates, commanding the dismounted Missouri cavalry, was furious. He declared he could capture the fort in twenty minutes after more ammunition was distributed, because he believed the Federals were so crowded inside that few men could fire. French believed he could not wait. The Confederates withdrew to rejoin Hood's army.
A correspondent traveling with Sherman would claim the losses at Allatoona were "the most terrific of the war" for the numbers involved. Each side lost roughly a third of the troops engaged. More than 220 men of the First Missouri Brigade were killed or wounded, including Major Owen Waddell commanding the 3rd/5th Infantry in Colonel McCown's absence.
Battle of Franklin
Hood led the Army of Tennessee west and north for the next two months in an attempt to precipitate Sherman's retreat from Georgia, but he underestimated Sherman's determination and the ability of General George H. Thomas to organize effective resistance in Tennessee. Hood narrowly missed an opportunity to trap John Schofield's corps at Spring Hill, Tennessee, on the night of November 29, 1864. The next morning he "was almost beside himself with rage and chagrin" as he ordered his army to press on to attack the Federals at Franklin, Tennessee.
Franklin sits on elevated ground in a bend of the Harpeth River which borders the town on the east and north. Entrenchments ringed the town south of the river. Fortifications on the north side of the river added to the town's defenses. General John Schofield and 32,000 troops waited for the Confederate advance.
Stewart's corps formed the Confederate right. From right to left, Stewart's divisions of Loring, Walthall and French went into line. French's two brigades, the left of Stewart's corps, were near the center of the Southern line. To French's left was deployed the three-brigade division of General Patrick Cleburne, commanding the right of Cheatham's corps. Hood's third corps and nearly all of his artillery had not arrived when he ordered the attack against Franklin around 3:30 pm.
Franklin was situated as if the Federal positions were at the hub of a wheel. The Confederate lines were sited as if along the wheel's rim. As the Rebels advanced toward the hub, their lines were forced to compact as they drew nearer their objective. Commands would be intermingled and tactical control virtually lost, but those lessons were yet to be learned.
The Rebel advance was "a glorious and imposing sight." The open terrain allowed everything to be in full view. The Brigade's band cheered the men on with the strains of "Dixie."
The First Missouri Brigade formed French's second line, but it moved up and to the left to fill a gap which appeared while Cleburne's division dealt with two Union brigades in Franklin's outlying defenses. The divisions of Loring and Walthall to French's right were delayed by rough terrain. As a result, French's division was the first to test the strength of the main Federal entrenchments.
A survivor of the 2nd/6th remembered how the Union infantrymen held their fire until the Brigade was within thirty steps of the works, when it was met by a deadly and terrific fire from troops armed with the seven-shooting Spencer rifle. "In less than half a minute" most of the Missourians went down. The dead lay two or three deep in places. Smoke reduced visibility to less than twenty yards.
The battle continued until after dark on this short winter's day, but the outcome was never in doubt. In the center, Cleburne's command succeeded in crossing the Federal entrenchments but were met and contained by Federal reserves. The Confederates had advanced across open ground without artillery support to attack entrenched troops, some of whom were armed with repeating rifles. The cost had been tremendous. Five Confederate generals--including Cleburne--were dead, a sixth was dying, another captured, and five more were seriously wounded.
"General Sears' men, those that were repulsed, fell back with some order," wrote General French, "but Cockrell's Brigade had nearly all disappeared." The First Missouri Brigade entered the battle with slightly fewer than 700 men. Now nearly 100 were dead, more than 200 lay wounded, and another 100 were missing. Total casualties in the First Missouri Brigade were 41 9, more than sixty percent of its strength.
Colonel Hugh Garland, commanding the 1st/4th, and Major Patrick Caniff, commanding the 3rd/5th, died in the attack. Colonel Gates would lose an arm to his wounds. General Cockrell had been wounded four times: twice in the right arm, once through the left leg, and once in the right ankle. After the battle, Colonel Peter C. Flournoy commanded the Brigade because he was the only active field officer remaining. The eight consolidated regiments were commanded by captains and lieutenants.
During the night the Federals retreated to Nashville and Hood moved on to "invest" them. The First Missouri Brigade was spared the humiliation of Hood's second defeat of the Franklin-Nashville campaign by being on detached service to the west of the army when the assault of General George Thomas smashed the thin Confederate lines on December 15 and 16, 1864. The Brigade did not rejoin its corps until December 26. Though protected relentlessly by a rearguard under Nathan Bedford Forrest, Hood's command had become little more than an armed rabble.
By the end of December, General P. G. T. Beauregard had been directed to assume command of Hood's tired soldiers. He ordered them to concentrate at Tupelo, Mississippi, in early January and began the process of once again trying to rebuild. Over the next few weeks, the troops were dispersed in response to the many needs for defense. The First Missouri Brigade was sent to Mobile and reached there in early February, 1865. The Brigade remained in camp near the city for the next two months and was strengthened by the return of stragglers and wounded men from the winter's campaign, including General Cockrell and Colonel Gates. Even with these additions, the Brigade mustered only 400 men.
Mobile was now the object of a final display of the massive Federal resources that had worn down the Confederacy. General E.R.S. Canby led a force of 45,000 men against the 9,000 Confederates manning Mobile's defenses. General Cockrell now commanded French's division, French having temporarily lost his eyesight as a result of an illness after Franklin. Colonel Gates commanded the Brigade.
The eastern land defenses of Mobile hinged on entrenched positions at Spanish Fort and Blakely. By April 4, 1865, both sites had been invested by Canby's forces. On the afternoon of April 8, more than ninety siege and field guns were in action against the 4,000 men in the Spanish Fort position. By midnight, Spanish Fort had fallen. Attention turned to Blakely.
Last Fight at Mobile
As Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox, the First Missouri Brigade was engaged in the last infantry fight of the war. Around 5:30 pm on April 9, Canby ordered a general assault by 16,000 soldiers against the Confederate lines manned by the First Missouri Brigade, the "Alabama boy reserves" of W.T. Thomas, and two Mississippi brigades. General St. John Liddell commanded the 2700 defenders. The First Missouri Brigade took its place near the center of the line.
The Federals broke through the Confederate lines without difficulty. Soon the Missourians realized they were taking fire from volleys fired at their flanks from inside the trenchlines. Union soldiers were pouring over the works on the Missourians' right where the "boy reserves" had been stationed. Lieutenant G. W. Warren of the 3rd/5th Infantry remembered that we saw in a moment the jig was up." With their backs to Mobile Bay, the First Missouri Brigade had no choice but to surrender.
It is difficult to measure objectively whether the First Missouri Brigade stood more stoutly than the Stonewall Brigade, fought with more determination than the Iron Brigade, endured more hardship than the Kentucky "Orphan" Brigade, attacked with more ferocity than Hood's Texas Brigade, or served with more spirit than the Irish Brigade. But without question, the First Missouri Brigade stands in the company of the finest brigades to serve either side in the war.
Back to The Zouave Vol III No. 2 Table of Contents
Back to The Zouave List of Issues
Back to Master Magazine List
© Copyright 1989 The American Civil War Society
This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web.
Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com