The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 44, July 1940 - April, 1941 Page: 24
546 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Southwestern Historical Quarterly
Texas Infantry, was promoted to the command of the
brigade and although your father was only a captain
he was promoted over majors and lieutenant-colonels
and became, at the age of twenty-four, colonel of the
9th Texas Infantry.
Father was engaged in nearly all the great battles of the Army
of Tennessee in Kentucky, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia.
Many of his horses were wounded or killed, and the principal
occupation of Lee, who accompanied him as orderly, was to
keep him in horses and food. In several of these battles Father
was severely wounded, but he always returned to his regiment,
and at the age of twenty-six he was commissioned brigadier
general, the youngest, I am told, in the Confederate Army.
At the great battle of Atlanta when it was so heroically de-
fended by the Confederates, my father commanded a brigade
that lost heavily in the fierce fighting that has been so roman-
tically described in Gone with the Wind. When General Hood
assumed command and decided to evacuate the city and return
with his army to Tennessee, to Father's brigade was assigned
the difficult task of capturing the fort commanding Allatoona
Pass, while the rest of the army escaped into Tennessee. This
proved to be my father's last fight.
His small army of seven thousand men had driven the Union
forces back over mountainous terrain until they made their
final stand at the fort towering above Allatoona Pass. The
desperate condition of the Union defenders was signaled to
General Sherman on Kennesaw Mountain some ten miles away.
Back came the signal, "Hold the fort, for I am coming," a mes-
sage that has been immortalized in the Union war poem of the
same name. The battle raged most of the day, and the Confed-
erates with consummate dash carried all before them. Father
was following his men closely, and the capture of the fort
seemed imminent when a shell fragment struck him down.
With a badly splintered leg, Father was put in an ambulance
and carried off the field. Lee was close by. Slowly they made
their way over mountain roads to reach a line of evacuation,
Lee bringing the two horses, one of which he rode. Other
wounded were encountered, and at Father's orders Lee dis-
mounted and put these Confederates into the saddles and led
the horses. Suddenly from around a hill appeared a troop of
Union cavalry. The ambulance had taken the wrong road. As
Father had been in command of the Confederate forces, his24
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Related Items
Other items on this site that are directly related to the current periodical.
Van Dorn's Trails, 1858 - 1859 (Map)
Survey map of Van Dorn's Trails, showing Texas and Oklahoma counties, towns, rivers, creeks, and Indian reservations.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 44, July 1940 - April, 1941, periodical, 1941; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth146052/m1/30/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.