All contents copyright 1996-2014, Geoff Walden, Laura subsequent mounted engagements. The shattered remains of Major Thomas B. Monroe were buried by his men beneath a giant oak tree not far from Shiloh Church. Their backgrounds are particularly remarkable when one recognizes that few Kentuckians then had any formal education at all. (Listed on rolls as Dr. Benjamin B. Scott Some friends of mine once employed the epigraph to Chapter Eight as an epigraph to a study of Kim Philby . JOHNSTON, George Edwards. at Washington, GA, 7 May 1865. March 1862. Fought at Shiloh, Vicksburg, Baton Rouge, Murfreesboro, Jackson, Chickamauga, and Army. Enlisted 14 September 1861 at Camp Burnett, age 23. a dark complexion, dark hair, and gray eyes. The ironclad Arkansas, expected to hold Federal gunboats on the Mississippi at bay, failed to appear. National Archives Record Group 109 (microfilm M836, Roll 3, Frame 409). better known by its post-war name "Orphan Brigade." Consequently, those who joined the Orphan Brigade not only defended their cause against the national government, but wound up isolated from their own native stateexpatriated if you willduring four years of bloody and disheartening campaigns. NICHOLS, Joseph. Also spelled Dafforn, Dafran, Dafford (also Married 1st, Eliza Jane Moore (sister of ); 1860 census - County or Nelson County, KY. WHITE, John B. Commanded by Colonel Robert Trabue, the Orphan Brigade was 2,400 men strong and part of General John C. Breckinridges Reserve Division when it went into the fighting near Shiloh Church on Sunday, April 6, against General Ulysses S. Grants five Union divisions. Born 16 January 1835 in Green Co. Paroled at Camp Chase, 24 From the shallow victory of the Army of the Tennessee at Chickamauga, the Orphan Brigade, commanded after the death of General Helm by General Joseph H. Lewis once again, its 6th commander since the war began, moved to heights overlooking Chattanooga known as Missionary Ridge. farmer (1850 census, age 18, laborer), cousin of William L. Smith (below). at the Kentucky Confederate Home at Pewee Valley, 22 May 1907; buried in the Pewee Valley From Wayne Co.(?). ATKINS, Joseph Alexander. Married Mary Ann (Polly) Singleton, 17 May 1869 in Wayne Co. See courtesy Marsha Smith-Hamilton, via Steve Menefee. United States arsenals were seized by the seceded states and militias were organized. The Orphans had beaten the enemy on April 6, but luck eluded them. Green, age 19 or 20. His cousin, Brigadier General William Preston of Louisville, descendant of among Kentuckys earliest Virginia pioneer settlers, lawyer and President James Buchanans minister to Spain, as well as one-time brother-in-law of Kentuckian General Albert Sidney Johnston (who would die in Prestons arms at the Battle of Shiloh), would lead the Orphans at Vicksburg and would be closely identified with the brigade throughout much of the war. Anyone military record. Letter From J.P. Benjamin to Fleming B. Miller Regarding Prisoners Requesting Release. Theseearly regiments, combined with others raised that fall at Bowling Green after it was named the rival Confederate capital, were organized into the First KentuckyBrigade. 1912.). L. Smith (? August 1861 at Camp Burnett, age 22. Buried in Confederate Circle, Mt. Smith, 1905 veterans photo complexion, dark hair, and hazel eyes. file number 1714. Took the Oath of Allegiance in Nashville, 20 May 1865. Elephant," Vol. Absent sick, November 1862 - April 1863. Camp Burnett, age 19. Discharged by order of Gen. Bragg, 15 November 1862. Click here to see the complete Appointed 3rd Corporal, 13 September 1861 (? IRVINE, Henry C. From Columbia, KY. Mustered into service 13 pay as Musician. The 2nd Kentucky lost 108 of its 422 men taken into the fighting. No further Geoff Walden, "Company F, Fourth Kentucky Volunteer There were town boys, but, more often than not, those who served in the Orphan Brigade were yeoman farmers; rugged, independent and self-reliant. Some of these EDWARDS, Frank M. Enlisted 14 September 1861 at Camp Burnett, age 24. To the right of the 4th Kentucky was the 41st Alabama. Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, and Dallas; from Dallas to Atlanta; Peachtree, Intrenchment, and without the permission of the owners. September 1861 at Camp Burnett, TN, age 22. In the cold November 25, 1863 the Orphans were forced to abandon Missionary Ridge in the face of tenacious assaults by the Union Army of the Cumberland under its new commander, General Ulysses S. Grant. marker in McLoud, OK. SMITH, Samuel W. From Green Co., son of John A.W. Noticed by triumphant Union soldiers more than 24 hours after the fighting ended, and aided by no less a figure than Union Brigadier General Alexander McDowell McCook, Johnson died aboard the Union hospital ship Hannibal on the Tennessee River. Roster of Cobb's Battery, Kentucky Light Artillery. line had already been abandoned by then). Edit Details JOHNSON, Jesse. We offer Financing and Insurance Billing. From Green Co., 23-year-old farmer in 1860 census. From Alabama. All contents copyright 1996-2014, Geoff Walden, Laura Fought at Shiloh, Vicksburg, Reminiscences of a Soldier of the Orphan Brigade. Fought at Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, From Green Co.; son of John A. W. Smith (? Named to The cry of General Breckinridge, My poor Orphans! was not in vain. Louisville, Kentucky, June 1905 (this photo is large and may take some time to load; copy In 1862, Breckinridge was promoted to division command and was succeeded in the brigade by Brig. Enlisted 1 September 1861 at Camp Burnett, age 24. Paroled at Washington, GA, 7 May 1865. Centre College, Transylvania Law School, Harvard Law School, Yale College, Princeton College, and the United States Military Academy were the schools those four commanders attended. ); first cousin of Daniel and Harley Smith. Kentucky. This wound rendered him Amanda Decker, of Wayne Co. (see above entry). Elected 3rd Sergeant, 13 September 1861. Lived in Taylor The Paper Trail of the Civil War in Kentucky 1861-1865 3 Civil War Casualties The North put 2.2 million men in uniform - half of its entire draft-age population; the South mustered 800,000 Discharged at campaign. Ridge, Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, and Dallas; from Dallas to Atlanta; at Peachtree, of Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta. Enlisted 1 August 1861 at My poor Orphans," noted brigade historian Ed Porter Thompson, who used the term in his 1868 history of the unit. Confederate Cemetery. and died from the effects at Jonesboro, MS, 7 June 1862. Most of the men in Company F Return HATCHER, Luther T. 1860 Green Co. census - son of Josiah. Appears in photo of Kentucky GAFFORD, John B. Surrendered including the right of subsequent publication or presentation in any form. When the 2nd and 3rd Kentucky Infantry regiments and Cobbs and Gravess batteries moved north to Bowling Green, Kentucky with General Buckners command in September 1861, they were joined by Colonel. For references to a wooden canteen he owned while in the 6th Kentucky Enlisted 18 September 1861 at Camp Burnett, age 31. Fought at Baton Rouge, but ill Gen. Benjamin Hardin Helm was also mortally wounded during the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863. Paroled at Camp Morton, IL, 23 May 1865. from a reunion photo taken in 1905 Generals Buckner, Breckinridge, Preston and Helm were highly educated men. Fought at Murfreesboro, where he was wounded on 2 and Margaret (Peggy) Decker Daffron, of Wayne Co.). Born 28 May 1827 in Lawrence Co., Known to history as the "Orphan" Brigade, the First Kentucky Brigade was one of the finest and fiercest in Confederate service. Soldiers of ordinary goodness will stand several defeats; but to endure the despair which such adverse conditions bring for a hundred days demands a moral and physical patience which, so far as I have learned, has never been excelled in any other army.[16]. Enlisted 15 August 1861 at Camp Was "The Atlanta Campaign of 1864," Vol. DOBSON, Edward L. From Green Co. Enlisted 25 August 1861 at Camp Burnett, age Louisiana Battalion, and enlisted in Co. F on 10 October 1862 at Knoxville, TN. Also available in digital form. Ancestry.com and our loyal RootsWeb community. From Wayne Co., KY. Enlisted 1 November 1862 at Not all of the brigade commanders were highly educated, however. Ancestry.com and our loyal RootsWeb community. In the end, the Orphans left behind a magnificent legacy, one never to be repeated in Kentucky. Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, and Dallas; from Dallas to BLAKEMAN, John T. Born 11 September 1838 in Green Co., family of Moses and Narcissa The origins of the nickname are uncertain, but the veterans certainly felt the sentiment was appropriate and embraced it. Riding among the brigade's survivors at Stone's River, Breckenridge, now the division commander, lamented the bloody results of a charge he had vehemently opposed ordering. General Bragg summoned General Breckinridge to his headquarters at noon and directed him to advance his Kentuckians against elements of Kentuckian Major General Thomas Leonidas Crittendens Union XXI Corps massed on the Union left in front of a bluff overlooking Stones River. From the ice, cold and death at Murfreesboro, the Orphan Brigade marched to Tullahoma, Tennessee, and, from Tullahoma, it moved south to join General. Livingston, Sumter Co., Alabama. The Orphans slammed into Brigadier General Benjamin Mayberry Prentisss hastily-assembled Union lines along a sunken farm lane in an area covered with scrub trees and underbrush known to the soldiers as the Hornets Nest. As the fighting intensified, General Breckinridge, fearing the brigade was being prematurely withdrawn, led the Kentuckians himself. Historical Sketch & Roster of the South Carolina 8th Infantry Regiment (South Carolina Confederate Regimental History . Militia, Confederate States of America. Glasgow, KY, cemetery. Before arriving in Dalton in November 1863 with Gen. Braxton Bragg's retreating Army of Tennessee, they had served with distinction in major battles, including Shiloh, Stones River, Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge. January 1862. Regimental Promoted to 4th Sergeant, 15 The ground it had gained on April 6 had been lost. Died of disease at Nashville, 23 November 1861. Jefferson Davis' First Inaugural Address, February 18, 1861. KELLY, Thomas L. (also spelled Kelley) Born 10 January 1844 in Lexington, KY; From that point onward, most of the Orphan Brigade carried the long three-band Model 1853 Enfield rifle. sharing of their information, this project would be much less complete: Beth Breisch, - the Pine Mt. Army. January 1863; returned to the company in May 1863. Vol. Sick in hospital in Bowling Green, January 1862. NOTE: This listing is arranged by rank for The Fourth Kentucky Infantry was Fought at Vicksburg and Murfreesboro. wounded 6 April 1862. Named to the Confederate Roll of Honor for Married Mary J. Harper, 14 July 1867. Group 109 (microfilm M319, Rolls 96-105). Thompson, Edward Porter. Robert and Catherine Blakeman Wilson). General Breckinridge, a Lexington, Kentucky lawyer, grandson of Thomas Jeffersons attorney general (John Breckinridge), Congressman from Henry Clays Ashland district, former Vice President of the United States under President James Buchanan and United States Senator, was not the only personality of national importance who would lead the Orphans. So great was the enemy gunfire that in the 4th Kentucky infantry alone, 7 commissioned officers were killed and 6, including Lieutenant Colonel Joseph P. Nuckols, were wounded. 1861 at Camp Burnett, age 21. Laura Cook: lcook62 (at) hotmail.com. Many and many a noble heart beat high with hope, and with the pride that the expectation of the great achievements naturally inspires, was now stilled in death. Born in West Point, Hardin Co, ca. From Greensburg, brother of John B. Moore and Mark O. Appointed 2nd Corporal, 13 September 1861. Absent sick at Kingston, GA, March-April 1864, badly Shauff. Enlisted 1 September 1861 at Camp Fought at Murfreesboro, where he was wounded. Enlisted 1 September 1861 at Camp Burnett, Fought at Baton Rouge, Murfreesboro, Jackson, Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, and Dallas. Point Lookout, February 1865. Part 3 The Orphan Brigade at Vicksburg Although a battle honor for "Vicksburg(h)" appears on original Orphan Brigade flag, and "Vicksburg" is listed as a battle among the company rosters in Thompson's History of the Orphan Brigade (1898), the Orphans' actions there should not be confused with the campaign in the summer of 1863 which resulted in the fall of the city. courtesy Jeff McQueary. [8], One soldier described the day of January 2 as gloomy and cloudy. It was cold and peculiarly dreary, wrote another. Moore's Grave Marker in the men doubtless were enlisted in other units after prolonged absences, and others may have 18 September 1861 at Camp Burnett, age 20. Born in Tazewell Co., VA; moved to Taylor Co., KY. Charged $55 on payroll of December 1863 for lost gun and bayonet. They went to war to fight for what they believed was principle. Camp Burnett, age shown as 29 (age shown as 21 on roll of September 1862). 1865 (Iowa State Historical Society). Enlisted 1 August 1861 at Camp Boone, age 22. February 1863 - October 1864. Trabue ordered the men to fix bayonets and then called for the brigade to advance. Vicksburg, Baton Rouge, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Rocky Face Ridge, Laura Cook: lcook62 (at) hotmail.com. We gratefully acknowledge the further military record. 14, No. Married Martha Anna Jeter. As the Orphans poet, a Union Soldier, wrote: In the earth that spring where the heroes sleep. further record. WAGGONER, Edward Arthur. Utoy Creeks; Jonesboro and the mounted campaign. Eliza Jane Brewster Kennedy; 2nd, Matilda "Kate" Noland; and 3rd, Wilmoth Although almost always without adequate clothes, and most of the time, ravenously hungry and ill-equipped, they fought in an armythe Army of the Tennessee which was often poorly led and, consequently, suffered devastating blows from an enemy of overwhelming numbers sent to the field by a nation that had an industrial capacity second-to-none on earth and with a government that focused and unleashed, for its time, almost unlimited political, economic and military might. And though they believed they fought for their beloved Kentucky, their state not only did not support them, it aligned itself with their enemy. gallant and meritorious conduct while in command of the sharpshooters. Fought at Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Atlanta; at Peachtree, Intrenchment, and Utoy Creeks; and at Jonesboro. 1905 Hill Cemetery, Whitewright, TX. Enlisted 15 August 1861 at Camp Burnett, age 30. Olivet Among the first to fall was General Roger Weightman Hanson, Old Flintlock, who was struck below the left knee by the burning iron fuse from a spherical case shot that exploded nearby. Oldham Co., where he taught school, and later worked in the Louisville Public Works Dept. wounded in the right leg calf at Resaca, 14 May 1864. The new legislature went so far as to make joining or supporting the Confederate Army a felony. shortly after his return home by Union guerrillas William Ayres and Jesse Bell (Ayres was 48-49; Part 4: Listed as deserted asthma, 1 April 1914; buried in Ryder Cemetery, Lebanon, KY. Kentucky Confederate pension Discharged in consequence of these wounds, 24 July 1862. (?). 7."). Enlisted either 15 August or 14 September 1861 at Camp Burnett, 2nd Lieutenant, 1 April 1863. Probably buried in the Confederate lot, Frankfort Cemetery. Died of disease at Milledgeville, GA, 25 March 1864. Elected 5th Sergeant, 13 September 1861. AL, September-October 1863), Missionary Ridge, Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, and Dallas; from Married Rebecca Buchanan, 10 August 1865. Died from inflammation of the brain, at Beech Grove, TN, 3 May On January 19, 1862, while the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th and 9th Kentucky infantry regiments and Cobbs, Gravess, and Byrnes artillery batteries were at Bowling Green, Kentucky, Johnstons right flank was crushed at the Battle of Mill Springs, in Pulaski County, Kentucky, and the Confederacys northern frontier began to collapse. age 20. Volunteer Infantry, CSA. The Orphans never arrived in time. Only a week before the Battle of Shiloh, every regiment except the 9th Kentucky was issued a supply of Enfield rifles imported from England (the 9th armed themselves with Enfields captured during the battle). Described as 6 26. No further information. 1865. BRYANT, Daniel M. From Adair Co. Enlisted 1 August 1861 at Camp Boone, age 23. GILFOY, J. R. Enlisted 24 May 1862 at Corinth, MS. William "Curly Bill" and Louisia Thompson (family from Taylor Co.). almost within their grasp, had been snatched from them [on April 7], and their dead comrades were now mourned as those who shed their blood in vain.[7]. 1854. further record. Absent sick in February 1862, and sick Barnesville, GA. him as 5 feet 7 inches tall, dark hair, eyes, and complexion, occupation farmer. The 1st Kentucky Artillery (also known as Cobb's Battery) was an artillery battery that was a member of the Orphan Brigade in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Wounded at Shiloh, 6 April 1862, 1830 or 1831. Fought at Murfreesboro and Chickamauga. (standing on the left; the man All photos except the following also 1998, Geoffrey R. Walden; all rights Infantry, CSA, https://sites.rootsweb.com/~orphanhm/cof4ky.htm, https://sites.rootsweb.com/~orphanhm/index.htm. Barnett-Marshall Cemetery, Green Co. SMITH, William Ambrose. A shell exploded nearby. 1 st Nebraska, Veteran Volunteers: Roster Co. B, 2 nd Brigade, 1 st Nebraska Mil. Enlisted 18 Promoted to 1st uremic poisoning; buried in the Perkins Cemetery, near Bloyds Crossing, Green Co. Fought at Shiloh, Vicksburg, and Murfreesboro (where he was wounded). The war had moved into Kentucky with Generals Braxton Braggs and Edmund Kirby Smiths invasion of the Orphans native state in the summer and fall of 1862. Detailed for extra duty at Brigade HQs, photo of the Orphan Brigade veterans taken at the reunion of Confederate Veterans in Transferred to 3rd Kentucky Infantry, 15 April 1862. By 1882, they began holding annual reunions, the first being held at the Blue Lick Springs Hotel in Robertson County that year. family of Hugh and Eliza Jane Gilmer Atkins; store clerk in fathers saddle shop in Later moved to Louisville and engaged in the coal business. Paroled at Washington, GA, 7 May 1865. his company and was paroled at Washington, GA, on 7 May 1865. 12, No. Paroled at Washington, GA, 7 May 1865. It is easy for men to bear great trials under circumstances of victory. They lost more commanders and suffered more casualties than any comparable command. Quickly, General Johnston sent the 2nd Kentucky infantry and Gravess battery to Fort Donelson on the Cumberland River below the Kentucky border. Those fearless blows were not enough to break the Union lines. Company F Served in the McMinnville Guard, March-April 1863. During fighting on August 5, they lost more than 100 killed or wounded. Listed as a private in Moved to Texas in Allowance should be made in some cases for those listed as deserted. Discharge certificate describes Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1980. SMITH, Thomas Jefferson. The survivors of the Orphan Brigade finally came home to their beloved Kentucky in 1865. Burnett, age 23. age 12, as company drummer. Appointed The Battles of Dalton, Resaca, Pine Mountain, Kennesaw Mountain, Intrenchment Creek and Jonesboro are written in red with the blood of those Kentuckians. Cincinnati: Caxton Publishing House, 1868. Settled in Oldham Co. as a farmer. part in the mounted campaign, and was paroled at Washington, GA, 7 May 1865. PETTUS, William F. From Taylor Co. Enlisted 15 August 1861 at Camp Burnett, BARKER, Hugh B. Breckenridge was replaced by Brig. 52-57; Part 2: "Company F Sees the Allegiance and went to Pulaski Co., TN. were recruited from the south-central Kentucky counties of Green, Taylor, Wayne, and Serving as a volunteer aid to Colonel Trabue was George Washington Johnson of Scott County, Kentucky. John Cripps Wickliffe became Circuit Judge of Nelson County, Kentucky before President Grover Cleveland appointed him United States Attorney for the District of Kentucky in 1885. COFFEY, Andrew J. John Blakeman. Enlisted 18 August 1861 at Camp Burnett, age 18. Having detached the 3rd Kentucky and the two battalions from Alabama and Tennessee and now left to his own discretion, Trabue advanced his commandthe 4th, 6th and 9th Kentucky infantry regiments and the 31st Alabama Infantry (with Morgans Kentucky squadron of cavalry abreast) supported by Cobbs and Byrnes batteries across the fields toward the Tennessee River. Appears The 2nd Kentucky Infantry went into the fighting at Chickamauga with 282 men and lost 146, including its colonel, James W. Hewitt, who was killed at the head of his regiment along with 3 of his company commanders; the 9th Kentucky Infantry lost 102 men out of 230 taken into battle, including Colonel John W. Caldwell who was desperately wounded. MAYS, Joseph D. (also spelled Mayze) From Green Co. Enlisted 11 September Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2002. Born 28 May 1838, from Taylor Co. Enlisted 30 October