Happy Memorial Day

The Martin family wishes you and yours a very safe and enjoyable Memorial Day Holiday.  Our thanks and prayers go out to all those in uniform serviing their country, whether here at home or on far distant seas and fields.
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I would like once again to offer my article on the origins of Memorial Day.  It can be read here.

Comfort From Home

As with soldiers of all wars, the men of the First Georgia Volunteers quickly felt pangs of homesickness; longing for home and for correspondence from their loved ones.  Wanting to offer the troops from Washington County a bit of comfort and encouragement, an unnamed young lady penned a touching note to the men, replete with patriotic flourishes, which was printed in the Sandersville Central Georgian of May 15, 1861:

For the Central Georgian.

To the Washington Rifles, near Pensacola,

Florida.

“But few shall part where many meet,

The sand shall be their winding sheet,

And every turf beneath their feet

Shall prove a soldier’s sepulcher.”

            Thinking perhaps it would be interesting to you at camp to see something from home, I have concluded to write you a short communication, to let you know that you are not forgotten by us—notwithstanding I am aware of the fact, that nothing would be interesting from my pen, but from the fact it is from Home.

 

             Home?  How many pleasant memories linger around the word.

 

             It has been said that the three sweetest words in the English language are, Mother, Home, and Heaven.  No doubt all of you can realize more fully the meaning of those words since you left Old Washington—the birthplace of many of you, the adopted home of many others.  You have forsaken friends, Home, and many of the comforts and luxuries of life for the toils and hardships of peril and camp life.  You seem to be in great danger; but put your trust in the God of Battles.  “He will be with us in six troubles and in the seventh He will not forsake us.”

 

            We are rejoiced to hear you are holding prayer-meetings.  Neglect them not; call upon God to assist you in all your undertakings.  “If the Lord be for us, who can prevail against us.”  Pray for yourselves, and the prayers of Mothers, Sisters, Pastor and Friends, (whose homes and rights you have so gallantly gone forth to defend), will daily ascend the throne of grace in your behalf—for the preservation of your lives and health, and to spare us from the calamities of civil war—brother fighting against brother.

 

            We would not call you back though our heart-strings should burst asunder at parting.  We will say, Go! And may the God of our forefathers of the Revolutionary war go with you.  We pray God that he will bring you safely back to us: but if it is His will that you should fall “mid the clashing of steel and the roar of cannon,” we feel confident that you, the “Washington Rifles,” will never disgrace the honored name you represent, but will nobly defend by “Wisdom, Justice, and Moderation,” the beautiful flag you bear, and never suffer it to trail in the dust, or “Yield it to our country’s foes,” until your very heart blood is spilled in its defence.

 

            Rest assured that you will not be forgotten by those you have left behind you.  The remembrance of your loved forms, and the happy hours we have spent in your society, will ever be “green spots in our memories garden.”

 

            We unhesitatingly place in your keeping the honor of our noble Empire State, knowing you will defend the rights of our country, even at the point of the bayonet.

 

            In conclusion, we would say, we hope and pray for your safe return to your “Mothers and Homes;” and if it is not the will of God that you should return home, may we all meet in that eternal Home, Heaven, where parting is unknown.

 

A DAUGHTER OF WASHINGTON.

Another Roster Correction

Happily, I continue to receive emails regarding members of the First Georgia.  Thanks to George Stanholtz for providing the burial location of Private Wesley Pressley of the Dahlonega Volunteers.  Pressley’s amended roster entry is as follows:

Pressley, Wesley: Enl. 24 July 1861. D. Romney, VA 31 January 1862. B. Indian Mound Cemetery, Romney, Hampshire Cty, WV.

I'd also like to thank Wendy Hockenberry, a descendent of several First Georgia soldiers, for contacting me regarding her relations from Company I, the Walker Light Infantry. In my research for the rosters, I found in my sources entries for two John M. Weigels, one born in 1811 and another in 1841. Other than these dates, the information for the two men is almost identical; thus, the following entries in I Will Give Them One More Shot:

Weigel, John M. (2): Enl. 1 August 1861. Enl. Co. A, 12th Bn., GA Art. 13 July 1862. Converted to Co. A, 13th Bn. GA Art. October 1862. Co. converted to Co. A, 63rd Inf. Regt. December 1863. Appt. 11th Cpl. July [August] 1863. WIA Kennesaw Mountain, GA 27 June 1864. D. from wounds 13 July 1864. [Other records show enl. Augusta Battery.] B. 1841. Bd. Magnolia Cemetery, Augusta, Richmond Cty.

Weigel, John M. Sr., (2): Enl. 1 August 1861. Enl. Co. A, 12th Bn., GA Art. 13 July 1862. Co. converted to Co. A, 63rd Inf. Regt. December 1863. WIA Kennesaw Mountain, GA 27 June 1864. D. from wounds 11 July 1864. B. 29 May 1811. Bd. Magnolia Cemetery, Augusta, Richmond Cty.

With information provided by Ms. Hockenberry, it appears that the two were not father and son, but were possibly related.  Also, burial records show a slightly different spelling of the last name. One was born in Maryland in 1842 and lived until 1907, while the other was born in Richmond County (Augusta) in 1841 and died of wounds in 1864.

The corrected roster entries for the two read as follows:

Weigel, John [Weigle] (2): Enl. 1 August 1861. Enl. Co. A, 12th Bn., GA Art. 13 July 1862. Converted to Co. A, 13th Bn. GA Art. October 1862. Co. converted to Co. A, 63rd Inf. Regt. December 1863. Appt. 11th Cpl. July [August] 1863. WIA Kennesaw Mountain, GA 27 June 1864. D. from wounds 13 July 1864. [Other records show enl. Augusta Battery.] B. [29 May] 1841. Bd. Magnolia Cemetery, Augusta, Richmond Cty.

Weigle, John Michael [Weigel], (1, 2): Enl. 16 December 1863 Capt. Holleyman’s Co., 1st Regt. Local Troops (Augusta). Elected 2nd Corp. Reenl. 24 July 1864 when Co. converted to Co. C., 1st Regt. Local Troops. Prom. 5th (Orderly) Sgt. Listed on muster rolls as “Exempt as practical printer” through April, 1864. B. 23 February 1842.  D. 20 November 1907. B. Magnolia Cemetery, Augusta, Richmond Cty.

These entries will be corrected in any future editions of I Will Give Them One More Shot.  It has always been my desire to make the rosters as accurate as possible, and I continue to encourage any descendents of First Georgia soldiers to contact me with updates.

More "Shameless Self-Promotion"

My Brother, My Friend, My Enemy is now available in Nook format through Barnes and Noble.  The listing is available here.

This book has been very much a labor of love for me.  I started it over 16 years ago following a conversation with my aunt Cecil Costine about ancestors who served in the Civil War.  During the research for the novel, I became enthralled with the story of the First Georgia Volunteers, so this manuscript ended up on the shelf while I completed that book.  I finally resumed rewriting just about a year ago, and am thrilled to finally have it out.  I hope everyone enjoys it.    

What If?

On February 17, 1862, the First Georgia, along with two Tennessee Regiments, received transfer orders.  They were to head west to join the forces under General Albert Sidney Johnston.  Excitement prevailed in camp, as written by a correspondent for the Atlanta Southern Confederacy:
 

CAMP MASON, NEAR Winchester, Va.,

February 17, 1862.

Editors Southern Confederacy:

            Great excitement and activity prevails this morning throughout the camp of Gen. Loring’s whole former command.  This officer was recently promoted a Major-General, and no doubt, will be assigned to another Department of the Army.  His former Brigade have all been transferred from the Valley District to other Divisions of the army; and have been disposed of as follows:  The 1st Georgia, 1st and 3rd Tennessee Volunteers, received orders late yesterday evening to report without for delay for duty, in Gen. A. S. Johnston, at Knoxville, Tenn.  Orders were issued at the same time to the 3rd Arkansas, 7th and 14th Tennessee Volunteers to the effect that those Regiments should report forthwith to Gen. Holmes, commanding the Aquia District, at Fredericksburg, Va.  The remainder of Gen. Loring’s late command, comprising the 21st, 23rd, 37th, 42nd, and 48th Virginia Volunteers, together with Maj. Munford’s Battalion of Irish Regulars, are ordered to report immediately to Gen. Joseph E. Johnston at Manassas.

            This is a complete re-organization of Brigades, and I havn’t, as yet, been able to learn under whose immediate command the several Brigades will be placed.  I learn Geo. Kirby Smith’s Brigade are marching hither from Manassas, to supply the place of the troops before mentioned in the Valley District.

            We will leave this place for our several points of destination as soon as we can get transportation.  Quartermasters are actively employed this morning devising means of transportation.  Wagon-masters and teamsters are equally as busy in getting their wagon trains and teams ready for the march.

            There is an expression of joy resting on every countenance at the prospect of leaving this frigid, rigorous climate.  There is not a single regret in the heart of any one of us at the thought of leaving the snow-clad mountains of Northern Virginia.  The truth is, we’ve performed such hard service, and experienced such intense suffering in this field of military labor, that we were willing and anxious to be transported to some other department of the army.  We now go with cheerful hearts to meet the ruthless invader of our soil in new and different fields.  Clothed with justice and right, our valiant boys, with strong arms and brave hearts, will meet the Hessians successfully on any field in which anything like an equal number is engaged on either side.

            We’ve had one or two considerable snows here of late.  This is cold and disagreeable day.  It is sleeting very heavily.  We will march to Strasburg, 18 miles distant; thence we will go by Railroad to our point of destination.

            Please change my paper to Knoxville, Tenn.  I while away many hours profitably and pleasantly perusing your almost invaluable paper.  You will hear from me again soon.  Haven’t time to write more at present.

                                                                                                                        NESTOR.

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The First Georgia would not make it to Johnston's army.  Landslides on the railroad halted the regiment.  Because the First was close to the end of its one-year term of service, it was decided to divert the regiment back to Georgia to muster out.

I have often wondered what would have happened if the tracks had not become blocked.  Would the First Georgia have joined General Johnston's army?  Would they then have been held in service long enough to participate in the horrendous Battle of Shiloh? 

Thanks to the Visitors

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of those who visit this blog.  As of this week, One More Shot has had over 10,000 pageviews!  By far, the most visited page is one of my earliest posts, entitled "WHICH First Georgia?" (located here).  I sincerely hope that over the past three years that I have been able to provide good information to my visitors.  Many Thanks!

Witness To Suffering

On January 19, 1862, Lieutenant Evan P. Howell of the Washington Rifles wrote home to his uncle of the suffering his company had endured during the march from Winchester to Bath and then on to Romney.  The letter was published in the February 5 edition of the Sandersville Central Georgian.

3 MILES WEST OF ROMNEY, Va.,

January 19, 1862.

Dear Uncle:  I have had nothing of much importance to write up to the first of this month; and since then we have been moving from place to place so that I could not write.

On the 1st of January, as you have heard from the newspaper, we left Winchester, taking a western course.  Three days match, camping at night without tents or blankets on the snow-covered ground, brought us to Bath, where the celebrated Berkley Springs are.  Here there was quite a large force of the enemy, but on our approach they ran off, leaving their sick, a number of tents, provisions, stores, &c.  Our troops double quicked through the town in pursuit of them, but were unable to get but twenty prisoners.  These belonged to the 39th Illinois Regiment.  I saw them and was near by when one was captured.  I had charge of the Ordnance train on that day, and had gone forward to know what to do with it when a little fellow run down to the road and said there was a Yankee at his house, which was about two hundred yards distant.  We sent up some men who found the Yankee under the bed.  He appears very well satisfied with his situation.

At Bath our troops were divided,--Col. Rusk, of the 3rd Arkansas Regiment, took his Regiment and the 37th Virginia and went west of Bath towards the Capon Bridge with the object to burn this bridge, which is on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad while the balance of our troops went north toward Hancock, Maryland.  We arrived at that place in a short time—or more properly opposite it, for it is on the other side of the Potomac—stayed there for two days without anything to eat or a blanket to sleep on.  We shelled the town to our satisfaction, and Col. Rusk returning after having accomplished his object, we all turned back, having, I presume, done all we intended.  We came twelve miles from Bath where we camped three days to recruit our health.  After the experation of that time we took up our line of march for Romney, where there were 4,000 of the enemy under Gen. Kelly.  We reached Romney after a march of five days and found the Yankees had left just as soon as they heard we were advancing on them, notwithstanding they were strongly fortified.  We got a considerable lot or stores from them here but not as much as we got at Bath and Hancock.

Now I have told you what we have done I will next tell you what it has done for us.  Our Regiment left Winchester with seven hundred men and brought to Romney only two hundred and forty men.  The Washington Rifles left Winchester with sixty-two men and now have twenty-five.  Two-thirds of our Regiment are now sick enough to be in the Hospital.  I notice that the army correspondence from Manassas think it is hard for their sick to lay in the horrid Hospitals, and speak of the hardships their troops undergo in winter quarters.  But what would they think of our fix?  In the bleak climate of North Western Virginia, the ground covered one foot deep with snow, with the meager protection of a common tent and half the time not even that, traveling in the day over the rough frozen road, some men with their bare feet on the ground.  This is no exaggerated picture, we see it every day.  I marched day before yesterday seven miles with my toes on the icy road, having worn out the second pair of shoes since I left Winchester.

It would move the heart of any one who is not in the army (for all of us are used to it,) to go through this camp and hear the terrible coughing—some coughing until they vomit.  Yet we have no Hospital for our sick.  Few men at home have any idea what we are undergoing, nor is it possible to tell all we have stood.

Yours affectionately,
E. P. HOWELL.