1861: The Regiment is Formed and Goes to War

In April 1861, in response to the growing secession crisis in the South, the Nashville, Tennessee militia—the Rock City Guards—was expanded from one company to three. Company B consisted of 104 men, under the command of Captain James B. Craighead. They drilled in Edgefield, across the Cumberland River from Nashville and on Nashville’s square from April 15 to May 10, 1861. On that day, the three companies that made up the Rock City Guards were joined by seven other companies and mustered into service as the 1st Tennessee Infantry Regiment. The other militia units that were consolidated into the regiment included the “Williamson Grays” (Company D), the “Tennessee Riflemen” (Company E), the “Railroad Boys” (Company F), the “Brown Guards” (Company G), the “Maury Grays” (Company H), the “Rutherford Rifles” (Company I), and the “Martin Guards” (Company K). George E. Maney, a 34-year-old lawyer from Nashville and Mexican War veteran, was elected colonel of the new regiment.

The 1,250 men of the regiment marched out of Nashville for Camp Harris in Franklin County to begin their training. After just a few weeks at Camp Harris, the 1st Tennessee was moved to Camp Cheatham in Robertson County, some thirty miles north of Nashville. While at Camp Cheatham, the young ladies of the Nashville Academy presented the men of the 1st with a regimental flag.

Disease swept through the training camps and reduced the strength of the regiment. By June, Maney’s regiment had been reduced to 944 men and was reported in East Tennessee.

In early July, Maney’s regiment was ordered to Virginia to reinforce Confederate forces there. They left for Nashville where they boarded a train at the Nashville and Chattanooga Railroad Depot for their journey east. The train left Nashville at 8 AM and arrived in Chattanooga at 8 o’clock the next morning. Two days after leaving Nashville the regiment arrived in Knoxville where they remained for a few days. From there, they went on to Johnson City and Lynchburg, Virginia.

On July 21, the first great battle of the Civil War took place near Manassas Junction, Virginia. Confederate forces routed the Federal forces of Brigadier General Irwin McDowell and sent them fleeing back towards Washington, DC. The 1st Tennessee was still in Lynchburg while the battle was fought. Instead of continuing on to Manassas Junction, the regiment was ordered into the Allegheny Mountains of northwestern Virginia. For the next several months, they participated in a series of frustrating and unmemorable campaigns under leaders that would become Civil War legends.
On July 24, the regiment was prepared to move to Staunton as soon as suitable transportation could be arranged. Along with the 7th and 14th Tennessee Infantry Regiments, the 1st was assigned to Brigadier General Samuel R. Anderson’s (Tennessee) Brigade in Brigadier General William W. Loring’s Division of the Army of the Northwest.

On August 1, the regiment was mustered into Confederate service at Big Springs, near Valley Mountain, Virginia. While there, Captain Craighead resigned. Lieutenant John Patterson was elected to replace him as the commander of Company B.

In September, General Robert E. Lee led the Army of the Northwest in the Cheat Mountain Campaign. While moving into position to assault the Federal position on the summit of the mountain, the regiment was ambushed. While few casualties were suffered, the regimental flag was apparently lost in the confusion of the unexpected encounter. With the failure of Lee’s campaign, the 1st Tennessee returned to Big Springs. From there, they proceeded to join Brigadier General John B. Floyd’s command near Raleigh Courthouse, Virginia. In early December, the regiment was ordered to Winchester, Virginia.

1862: A Year of Optimism and Hope

On January 1, 1862, Brigadier General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson assumed command of the Army of the Northwest. Just a few days later Jackson launched his Romney Campaign. On January 4, Maney’s regiment played a prominent role in forcing the Union troops to abandon their positions at Bath, Virginia. A few days later, Romney was occupied by Confederate troops.

By January 31, General Loring’s Division was ordered to return to Winchester. There was considerable dissension among the troops in Loring’s command. The Tennessee troops had not been supplied with adequate uniforms for a winter campaign in the mountains of western Virginia. They suffered greatly from exposure and morale was at a low point. Several units in Loring’s command were on the verge of mutiny.

Meanwhile, the news from home was not good. Early 1862 brought disaster to the Confederates in Tennessee. Large forces of Union troops were threatening to attack at several points. Confederate forces in eastern Tennessee, where Union sympathies remained strong among the population, had been defeated at the Battle of Mill Springs (Fishing Creek) in Kentucky. General Albert Sidney Johnston asked the War Department in Richmond for reinforcements. In short order Fort Henry on the Tennessee River and then Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River fell to Union troops under the command of Brigadier General Ulysses S. Grant. This made the defense line that General Johnston had established across Kentucky untenable and he withdrew his troops back to Tennessee.

At the same time, the Tennessee troops serving in Virginia were viewing developments in Kentucky and Tennessee with alarm. They asked to be sent back home to help defend their families and property. As early as February 8, the Secretary of War, Judah P. Benjamin, had notified General Johnston that three Tennessee regiments in Virginia—Maney’s 1st, Bate’s 2nd, and Vaughn’s 3rd—were being ordered to Knoxville in eastern Tennessee. The 1st Tennessee began its return trip to Tennessee on February 17.

On March 10, Major General E. Kirby Smith, newly appointed to command the District of East Tennessee, reported that Maney’s regiment was in Knoxville. Two days later he reported that General Johnston had ordered the 1st Tennessee to Huntsville, Alabama. Within a few days, Maney’s regiment had been split into two battalions. On March 20, Colonel Maney and his battalion (Companies F, G, H, I, and K) were ordered to join General Kirby Smith’s command at “Jacksborough.” The other battalion (Companies A, B, C, D, and E) was ordered to Chattanooga to help defend that city from a rumored Federal advance.

By April 1, Colonel Maney and his battalion were in Corinth, Mississippi where General Johnston and General P.G.T. Beauregard were assembling as many Confederate troops as they could find to stop the advance of Grant‘s army marching south through Tennessee. The other battalion was still in eastern Tennessee awaiting transportation. On April 4, General Johnston ordered his army to attack the Federal troops at Pittsburg Landing, some 22 miles northeast of Corinth. On April 6-7, the Battle of Shiloh took place. Only the half of the 1st Tennessee that had accompanied Colonel Maney to Corinth participated in the battle. Colonel Maney and his battalion acquitted themselves well, playing a prominent role in overcoming Federal resistance at the Hornet’s Nest. The other half of the regiment, including Company B, did not arrive at Corinth until April 7, too late to participate in the battle.

Following the Battle of Shiloh, the Army of Mississippi was reorganized. General Johnston had been killed in the fighting. General Beauregard became ill after the battle and General Braxton Bragg was given command of the army. Colonel Maney was promoted to brigadier general and given command of a brigade. Major Hume R. Feild was elected colonel of the 1st Tennessee, replacing Maney. Captain Patterson was elected lieutenant colonel and Bailey Steele was elected to replace him as the captain of Company B. As part of this reorganization, the three companies of the Nashville Infantry Battalion were consolidated and became Company L of the 1stTennessee. The re-united 1stTennessee was assigned to the Second (Maney’s) Brigade, Second (Cheatham’s) Division, First (Polk’s) Corps, Army of the Mississippi (later renamed the Army of Tennessee).
During the summer, Bragg moved his army east towards Chattanooga. From there, he launched an invasion of Kentucky in August. On October 8, 1862, the 1st Tennessee was engaged in fighting on the right flank of General Braxton Bragg’s army at Perryville, Kentucky. During the battle, the 1st Tennessee attacked a Federal artillery battery. In the process, the regiment lost its second flag. All 16 members of the regiment’s color guard were killed in the fierce fighting. Company B lost “20 out of 26 men assigned.”
After the Battle of Perryville, General Bragg decided to withdraw his army back to Tennessee. Returning to Chattanooga, he ordered his men to proceed to Murfreesboro, some 30 miles southeast of Nashville. It was here that the next great battle was fought along the banks of Stones River from December 31, 1862 to January 3, 1863. Again, the 1stTennessee played a prominent role and suffered considerable casualties. Following the battle, another reorganization of the army took place. The 27thTennessee Infantry Regiment was consolidated with the 1stTennessee under the overall command of Colonel Feild.

1863: A Year of Disappointment

General Bragg withdrew his troops after the Battle of Murfreesboro to the area around Tullahoma, Tennessee. Constant maneuvering by Federal forces starting in late June 1863, forced the Army of Tennessee to continue to withdraw back towards Chattanooga and northwestern Georgia.
In the consolidation of the 1st and 27th Tennessee Infantry Regiments that took place in January 1863, Companies A, C, D, E, F, G, and H came from the original 1st Tennessee and Companies B, I, and K were composed of men from the 27th Tennessee. By early 1864, the three companies that had made up the original Rock City Guards had been consolidated into a single company. In effect, Company B ceased to exist.

The majority of casualties suffered by Company B did not occur in battle. Many men became unfit for further service because of disease. On March 21, 1862, Private Ferdinand Berry of Company B died. On May 22, 1862, Private George Keeling died at Grand Junction, Mississippi. Among the dead of Company B at Perryville were 2nd Lieutenant John D. Blakely, 3rd Lieutenant Charles L. Davis, Privates Charles H. Buster, David V. Culley, Samuel A. Fraser, A.J. Goodbar, Robert S. Hamilton, Alex H. Irwin, Joseph McNish, Achillus B. Moore, James K.P. Smith, Morgan A. Smith, George E. Wharton, J.M. Wherry, and Musician John H. Myers. When the war ended in the spring of 1865, there were only 32 men still alive that had served in the ranks of Company B at one time or another.

The regiment, and the remaining survivors of Company B, went on to fight in numerous other engagements. They saw action at the Battle of Chickamauga (September 19-20, 1863) and the subsequent siege of Chattanooga. At the battles of Missionary Ridge and Lookout Mountain, the 1st formed a portion of the rearguard and the Army of Tennessee retreated into northern Georgia. After the retreat from Chattanooga, General Joseph E. Johnston replaced Braxton Bragg as the commander of the Army of Tennessee.

1864: The Year of Defeat

During the Atlanta Campaign, the 1st fought as such places as Cat Creek, Rocky Face, Resaca, Adairsville, New Hope Church, and Dallas. On June 27, 1864, the regiment was at Kennesaw Mountain awaiting the Federal attack. They were located at a place now referred to as the "Dead Angle" at Cheatham's Hill. Here the 1st help repulse over two Union divisions as they attacked the heavily fortified Confederate position with heavy losses. During this engagement, the 1st refused to be relived because they wanted to finish the fight.

Following the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, the Army of Tennessee retreated back towards Atlanta. The 1st fought in the engagements at Symrna Campground, Peach Tree Creek, and at Calhoun’s Farm. They fought in the Battle of Atlanta and at Jonesboro. Following the Battle of Atlanta, General Johnston was replaced by General John Bell Hood.

Hood led the Army of Tennessee west and north. There followed the Tennessee Campaign of late 1864. The 1st was at Columbia, Spring Hill, and fought in the Battle of Franklin (November 30, 1864). At Franklin, the 1st was part of General John Carter’s command and was part of the massive frontal assault on the Union breastworks. Carter was one of six Confederate generals to die on that day and the Army of Tennessee was virtually destroyed. Still, Hood decided to carry on the fight and followed the Federal army to the outskirts of Nashville. At Nashville, the 1st was brigaded with the remaining Tennessee units under General Mark Lowery where they fought a rearguard defense as the Army of Tennessee crumbled away.

1865: The End at Last

Hood retreated into northern Mississippi. At Tupelo he furloughed 3,000 men and then resigned. The Tennessee Campaign of 1864 was now over as the Army of Tennessee was a mere shadow of what once was. The remains of the Army of Tennessee then moved to South Carolina where they reunited with General Johnston before the final battle at Bentonville.

General Johnson surrendered what remained of the Army of Tennessee on April 26, 1865. Only 65 men of the original 1st Tennessee Infantry Regiment were present for the surrender. On May 1, the regiment was paroled in Greensboro, North Carolina, and on May 3, they left High Point to return home. The regiment arrived back in Nashville on May 21, 1865.

Recommended Reading

•     “Co. Aytch,” Maury Grays, First Tennessee Regiment; or, A Side Show of the Big Show by Sam R. Watkins (Morningside Bookshop, Dayton, OH), 1982.
•     Tennessee’s Forgotten Warriors: Frank Cheatham and His Confederate Division by Christopher Losson (The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, TN), 1989.
•     The Army of Tennessee by Stanley F. Horn (University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, OK), 1941.
•     Army of the Heartland: The Army of Tennessee, 1861-1862 by Thomas L. Connelly (Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, LA), 1967.
•     Autumn of Glory: The Army of Tennessee, 1862-1865 by Thomas L. Connelly (Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, LA), 1971.
•     Tennesseans in the Civil War: A Military History of Confederate and Union Units with Available Rosters of Personnel, In Two Parts (Civil War Centennial Commission, Nashville, TN), 1964