The Astonishing Dalton Revival, 1864

During its 5 months in winter quarters at Dalton, Georgia, the Army of Tennessee began to experience a remarkable outpouring of spiritual revival. Soldiers and officers alike made professions in Jesus Christ as Savior as Christian revival spread through every regiment.

The signs of spiritual renewal began the previous winter as the army took up its quarters in Tullahoma following the Battle of Murfreesboro (see "Ministering to soldiers' spiritual needs"). Through the early months  of encampment in 1863, army chaplains, local pastors, and even soldiers and officers regularly preached to the troops. Bibles and Christian publications were freely distributed among the men. So well received was this Christian literature that calls went out to the public pleading for more. In William J. Hardee's Corps, for example, his Presbyterian chaplain, J.H. Bryson, wrote a joint letter of appeal with another Episcopal chaplain, C.T. Quintard,

We feel that we need only mention the fact that our brave soldiers are asking for the Word of Life in order to secure from a generous public the most liberal contributions. Who can withhold, when the sick and wounded who fill our hospitals ask for the word of God to cheer and sustain them during their days of affliction, their nights of weariness and suffering? We feel confident that there are many who will give neither grudgingly nor of necessity, but with cheerful hearts and liberal hands. The religious interests of our soldiers demand and must receive prompt attention from every lover of good order, civil liberty, and piety towards God.

Dalton, Georgia, 1880
Source: Georgia Archives

Thousands of appeals like this were made, and there was a tremendous response by Southern churches and individuals. Thus the seeds of the great revival to come in the west were sown in camp during the early months of the war.

Chaplains and ministers recorded many accounts of great revival throughout the armies in the east and west.¹ J. William Jones's Christ in the Camp and W.W. Bennett's, The Great Revival in the Southern Armies are two comprehensive and compelling collections of these accounts, and I'm pleased to have both in my library. Many eyewitness descriptions were made by soldiers in letters home or in published accounts provided after the war. My own great grandfather, Nathan Oakes, a private in Hardee's Corps, was a witness to these amazing events. In fact, the Confederate Veteran published a couple of his letters to the editor, one in which he wrote of a close comrade who made a profession of faith during this period at Dalton.

Sadly, overlooked by most Civil War historians is this compelling phenomenon of religious revival in the Southern armies. The Army of Tennessee at Dalton, now under the command of Gen. Joseph E. Johnston, was ground zero for the spiritual rebirth of thousands. Rev. W.W. Bennett noted, "The work at Dalton while the army lay there was almost without parallel. In the coldest and darkest nights of winter the rude chapels were crowded, and at the call for penitents hundreds would bow down in sorrow and tears."

That the seeds had been sown for missionary work is evident in the words of Rev. S.M. Cheery, chaplain in Bate's Brigade: "Often I am approached by the soldiers, who inquire, "Parson, is there no chance to get a Bible. I am very anxious to procure a copy, and am willing to pay any price for a pocket-Bible." We are unable to supply one-fourth of the demand for the Scriptures..."

Rev. A.D. McVoy of the 38th Alabama in Stewart's Corps, wrote on February 3rd about the spread of spiritual revival in his brigade and throughout the division.

We have a large Brigade church built, in which we have been holding services for two weeks. About ten days ago we commenced a series of nightly meetings; at first more on the order of prayer-meetings, but the interest began to increase so rapidly that in three nights we found a revival springing up in our midst. Great crowds gather nightly. We find our church too small. Large numbers are seeking the Lord—forty to fifty every night. The word of God and religious services seem to be better appreciated than ever before in this brigade. Men's minds appear to dwell more on religion and the soldiers more concerned about their soul's eternal welfare... The prospect before us is very encouraging. Wickedness and vice seem restrained. Members of the Churches are becoming revived. The Spirit of the Holy One is present and felt. Good resolutions are being formed in every regiment. A number are endeavoring to fulfill their promises made to God upon the eve of and during the late battles. We are expecting and praying for great things.

And the spiritual fervor was not only evident among the soldiers. Gens. John B. Hood, Otto Strahl, and even Joseph E. Johnston himself were baptized. Gens. William Hardee and Daniel Govan were confirmed in the Episcopal Church. In fact, many other officers in Johnston's army were influential in fanning the flames of the Dalton revival. Rev. J.J. Hutchinson reported of what he witnessed:

Ten days ago Gen. Pendleton, a hero of Manassas memory, preached to the soldiers at Dalton. General Johnston and very many other officers were present. On the same day Major-General Stewart, who is an Elder in the Presbyterian Church, assisted in this brigade in the administration of the sacrament of the Lord's supper. On the same day I preached to Gen. Finley's brigade, where the General and his staff were present, and where he united audibly with our prayers.

Hutchinson's account continues with a mention of Maj. Gen. Patrick R. Cleburne, who, according to author John Wesley Brinsfield, had constructed in the center of his division a platform specifically for religious services. Hutchinson also was quite impressed with Brig. Gen. Mark P. Lowrey, a Baptist minister before the war, now commanding a brigade including my great grandfather's 32nd Mississippi Infantry Regiment. 

Gen. Cleburne, the hero of many battle-fields, treated me with much attention and kindness—had a place prepared for preaching in the center of his division, where himself and most of his officers were present, and where I was assisted by Brigadier-General Lowry [sic], who sat in the pulpit with me and closed the services of the hour with prayer. I partook of the hospitality of Gen. L. at dinner, and spent several delightful hours in profitable religious conversation. The General is a Baptist preacher, and like the commander of the division, is a hero of many well-fought battle-fields. He takes great interest in the soldiers' religious welfare, often preaches to them, and feels that the ministry is still his high and holy calling. I wish I had the space to give you more of his interesting life's history, and to speak of this noble and pious officer as he deserves.

On another occasion, Rev. A.A. Worrell along with other ministers, including Gen. Lowrey, held a series of meetings for soldiers gathered in the camp. Lowrey preached on the text from Revelation 3:20, "Behold! I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open unto me, I will come in, and sup with him, and he with me." Worrell recalled, "The sermon was clear, pointed, strong, and persuasive; and, at its close, many came forward for prayer and instruction. How many were converted that night I do not know; but I believe there were many."

Rev. Brig. Gen. Mark Lowrey

Of this period of Christian revival in Dalton, reaching its climax in camp in April-May, but continuing throughout the entire Atlanta Campaign, Gen. Lowrey makes humble mention of his role in his autobiography:

I often preached in camp. While in camp at Dalton, Ga., in the Spring of 1864, there was a general revival of religion in the army, and I participated in it, preaching very often to my command. Within two weeks, I baptized over 50 of my own men in camp, on the march, and in the field.²

As Lowrey's words indicate, the revival didn't stop when in May the Confederates broke camp at Dalton. Bennett writes, "The constant movements of the armies in all sections of the South at this period of the war greatly interfered with the work of the revival; but the fire still burned and often on the outer lines the most delightful meetings were held in which many gave their hearts to God." 

Indeed, wrote Rev. McVoy about the battles the army fought in its retreat toward Atlanta, "The work of God is going on amid the cannon's roar, the fatiguing monotony of the trenches, and the heroic movements of the picket line. Religion is infusing a spirit of fortitude, endurance, and determination into the hearts of the soldiers that no hardship, no suffering, can undermine or break down."

No doubt in the months of conflict after Atlanta, when disappointments and the deprivations of war where at their most extreme, the comfort and hope received at Dalton helped sustain the army. The revival, which reached its apex at Dalton, made Christian believers out of at least a third of the army. The eastern army experienced a similar result. "The discipline of war was terrible to the people of the south," writes Rev. Bennett, "but in the end it was beneficial. In the midst of desolation and blood they turned their thoughts to Him who holds in his hands the destinies of nations, and out of great sufferings the patience and faith of the gospel shone forth in brightness and power." He concludes his book, published a decade after the war, by observing the spiritual and cultural effects of the Great Revival in the Confederate Armies on the Southern people:

Strange as it may seem to many readers, the call to preach the gospel of Christ came to the hearts of the men of war on the tented field; and no sooner were their carnal weapons laid aside than they buckled on the Divine armor, and, seizing the sword of the Spirit, entered the battle against the powers of darkness. In this we find one of the strongest proofs of the genuineness of the Army Revival. Truly, its fruits are still enduring. Thousands who were participants in that glorious and, to some, strange work, have passed the flood of death and are seen no more among men, but the seed they sowed in trench and camp and hospital, in the bivouac, and on the weary march, was watered from above and has borne a rich harvest. And may we not hope that the full fruition of this work is to be realized in that era of peace and good will which is even now descending upon our common country?

In so many ways, the War Between the States has no parallel in history. But particularly in its astonishing Christian revivalism and reformation is it distinguished from all other wars, at least since Cromwell's New Model Army. "Whatever may be the judgment of the world as to the principles on which the Southern people entered into the strife," writes Bennett, "it must be admitted that they brought with them a strong religious element. Their convictions of right in what they did were second only to their convictions of the truth of the Christian religion."

¹ Indeed, the wave of Christian conversion and renewal wasn't contained only within the Army of Tennessee. Lee's army in Virginia experienced a similar revival that swept through his entire army.

² Lt. Thomas J. Stokes of Cleburne's Division at Dalton, wrote home in April 1864 to his sister, Mary Gay, "General Lowry [sic] baptized about thirteen of them who were from his brigade. He is a Christian, a soldier and a zealous preacher, and his influence is great. It was truly a beautiful sight to see a general baptizing his men. He preaches for our brigade next Sabbath." The revival continued right up to the Federal attack on the Confederate stronghold at Dalton in early May. Stokes writes again on May 5, 

The great revival is going on with widening and deepening interest. Last Sabbath I saw eighty-three immersed at the creek below our brigade. Four were sprinkled at the stand before going down to the creek, and two down there, making an aggregate within this vicinity of eighty-nine, while the same proportion, I suppose, are turning to God in other parts of the army, making the grand aggregate of many hundreds. Yesterday I saw sixty-five more baptized, forty more who were to have been there failing to come because of an order to be ready to move at any moment. They belong to a more distant brigade... If we do not move before Monday, Sabbath will be a day long to be remembered—‘the water will,’ indeed, ‘be troubled.’ Should we remain three weeks longer, the glad tidings may go forth that the Army of Tennessee is the army of the Lord. But He knoweth best what is for our good, and if He sees proper can so order His providence as to keep us here. His will be done.

Sources: The Great Revival in the Southern Armies, W.W. Bennett; Christ in the Camp, J. William Jones; The Spirit Divided: Memoirs of Civil War Chaplains: The Confederacy, John Wesley Brinsfield; Confederate Veteran, Vol. 7, 1899; Mark P. Lowrey Autobiography; Life in Dixie During the War 1861-1862-1863-1864-1865, Mary A.H. Gay

Reenlistment in the 32nd Mississippi Regiment

Sometime in January 1864, the Army of Tennessee began a reenlistment drive among its troops. Many, like my Great Grandfather Nathan Oakes, had enlisted for 3 years, and enlistment for these men was soon to expire. It was a difficult time for the army. Having experienced a disastrous defeat at Missionary Ridge, and now encamped around Dalton, Georgia in bleak winter conditions, many a man's mind and heart turned towards family back home, so many of these also enduring terrible circumstances under Federal occupation.

Inspired by Gen. Patrick Cleburne's exceptional leadership and profound sense of duty to his country, almost all of his men reenlisted for the war's duration (as did most of the troops at Dalton). It was an amazing display of patriotism on the part of his dedicated troops, among whom were Great Grandfather Oakes and his future brother-in-law, William D. Turner, serving in Gen. Mark Lowrey's 32nd Mississippi Infantry Regiment.

Source: Patrick Cleburne: Confederate General, Howell & Elizabeth Purdue; Huntsville Historical Review, Vol 26, No. 2. 1999: Huntsville Historical Review, Vol 26, No. 2. 1999: Transcription of Capt. Daniel Coleman Diary, Univ. North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Camp Life at Dalton, 1864

During its encampment in and around Dalton, Georgia, over the winter of 1863-64, the Army of Tennessee under Joseph E. Johnston, experienced much needed improvement in condition and morale. Johnston saw to his troops' needs of clothing, equipment, and supplies. In time, the depleted army was restored and a sense of pride also returned. Pvt. Sam Watkins, who was stationed at Tunnel Hill near where Great Grandfather Oakes was camped, wrote in his famous memoir, 

A new era had dawned; a new epoch had been dated... [Johnston] restored the soldier's pride; he brought manhood back to the private's bosom... We soon got proud; the blood of the old Cavaliers tingled in our veins. We did not feel that were serfs and vagabonds. We felt we had a home and country worth fighting for, and, if need be, worth dying for.

Discipline had returned to the army, especially as commanders saw to reestablishing routine and structure in daily camp life.

Craig L. Symonds, in his book, Stonewall of the West, about Great Grandfather Nathan Oakes's division general, Maj. Gen. Patrick R. Cleburne, provides some insight into camp life at Tunnel Hill.

[C]amp life resumed its orderly routine. Reveille was at daylight, followed by roll call and breakfast. Cleburne supervised drill from 10 to 11:30, when the troops had their lunch, or what was then called dinner. Then it was more drill from 2:30 to 4:00, often followed by a dress parade at sunset. Tattoo was at 8:00, and taps at 9:00. Meals were dominated by corn bread, often seasoned with red peppers and supplemented by beef when it was available, and potatoes. Occasionally the men were issued bacon, which was especially welcome. At night, the companies often engaged in singing while gathered about the fires. They preferred maudlin and sentimental tunes like “Annie Laurie” and “Do They Miss Me at Home.” Another favorite was “Silence, Silence, Make No More Noise nor Stir.”

Provision was made in the daily schedule for the soldiers' spiritual needs, too. Pvt. Watkins also writes that chaplains now had freedom to return to their work of ministering to the troops. "[They] held divine services every Sabbath, prayer was offered every evening at retreat, and the morale of the army was better in every respect." Lt. Thomas Stokes, also in Cleburne's Division, also noted that some companies established evening prayer meetings. "Religion is the theme," he wrote home to his sister, Mary Gay. Everywhere, you hear around the camp-fires at night the sweet songs of Zion. This spirit pervades the whole army."

Sources: Stonewall of the West: Patrick Cleburne and the Civil War, Craig L. Symonds; Co. Aytch, Sam R. Watkins; Life in Dixie During the War 1861-1862-1863-1864-1865, Mary A.H. Gay

Proposal to enlist Southern salves

Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne
(Library of Congress)

On today's date in 1864, Confederate Gen. Patrick R. Cleburne made a startling proposal to his fellow officers. In a formal letter he recommended arming slaves in exchange for their freedom. By now it was obvious to Cleburne that the Confederacy was losing the war due to the growing limitations of its manpower and resources. Recruiting slaves into the ranks seemed an obvious way to increase the size of the Confederate army.

For Cleburne, Southern independence was more important than preserving slavery. Besides, as he saw the issue, slavery was the South's “most vulnerable point, a continued embarrassment, and in some respects an insidious weakness.” In other words, he argued, slavery had become the South's liability. Slaves were a military hazard for the Confederacy because they were being recruited into the Union army as it took control of Southern territory. And European governments would not likely ever recognize the Confederacy unless slavery were abolished.

Cleburne's argument had a certain moral appeal regarding abolishing slavery:

… we can give the negro not only his own freedom, but that of his wife and child, and can secure it to him in his old home. To do this, we must immediately make his marriage and parental relations sacred in the eyes of the law and forbid their sale. The past legislation of the South concedes that a large free middle class of negro blood, between the master and slave, must sooner or later destroy the institution. If, then, we touch the institution at all, we would do best to make the most of it, and by emancipating the whole race upon reasonable terms, and within such reasonable time as will prepare both races for the change, secure to ourselves all the advantages, and to our enemies all the disadvantages that can arise, both at home and abroad, from such a sacrifice.

And then there's the political logic of his argument: "It is said slavery is all we are fighting for, and if we give it up we give up all. Even if this were true, which we deny, slavery is not all our enemies are fighting for. It is merely the pretense to establish sectional superiority and a more centralized form of government, and to deprive us of our rights and liberties."

Cleburne had the support of many of his subordinates. His letter was signed by 14 of the division's officers, including Gen. Mark Lowrey, Great Grandfather Nathan Oakes's brigade commander, as well as the colonel of his 32nd/45th Mississippi Infantry Regiment, Aaron B. Hardcastle.

Almost all the other generals present at the meeting were politely, but strongly opposed. At least one, W.H.T. Walker, was downright horrified. He considered Cleburne's proposal so dangerous that he forwarded it around the chain of command to the President. Davis then ordered it to be suppressed, "Deeming it to be injurious to the public service that such a subject should be mooted, or even known to be entertained by persons possessed of the confidence and respect of the people…" So effective was the suppression that Cleburne's controversial proposal wouldn't resurface for another 30 years.

Photo by David Seibert, July 14, 2011, Dalton, Georgia

Source: Historical Marker Database

Ironically though, in March 1865, with defeat looming, the Confederate Congress approved recruiting slaves. A small number actually were enlisted, but none saw combat. In the North, however, nearly 200,000 free African Americans and escaped Southern slaves served as soldiers and sailors in the U.S. military.

In 2011, Gen. Cleburne finally received recognition at Dalton for his radical idea. A marker commemorating his proposal was placed by the Georgia Historical Society on the site where he first delivered it.

Sources: Autumn of Glory, Thomas Lawrence Connelly; "Biographical Sketch of Major-General Patrick R. Cleburne," Gen. William J. Hardee, Southern Historical Society Papers, Vol. 31; "Patrick Cleburne's Proposal to Arm Slaves," Civil War Trust

Johnston assumes command

On today's date in 1863, Gen. Joseph Eggleston Johnston took over command of the Army of Tennessee, currently under the temporary command of Gen. William J. Hardee. His announcement to his troops was simple: "By order of His Excellency, the President, I have the honor to assume command of this army." His appointment was well-received by the soldiers encamped in and around Dalton, Georgia.

Born to scottish emigrants in Virginia in 1807, Johnston graduated from West Point in 1829, ranking 13th of 46 in his class. His first appointment was as second lieutenant in the 4th U.S. Artillery. In 1837, he resigned his commission to study civil engineering. Rejoining the army in 1838, he served with honors in the Mexican-American War, the Seminole Wars, and as a quartermaster general in California in 1860.

When his home state seceded in 1861, Johnston became the highest-ranking U.S. Army officer to resign his commission. He was appointed brigadier general in the Confederate army and was assigned the post at Harpers Ferry in May of 1861. He soon organized the Army of the Shenandoah, later consolidated with P.G.T. Beauregard's army as the Army of the Potomac. Johnston was the senior Confederate commander at First Manassas/First Battle of Bull Run. During the 1862 Peninsula Campaign he defended the Confederate capital of Richmond, withdrawing under the pressure of a superior force commanded by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan. He suffered severe wounds at the Battle of Seven Pines, after which he was replaced by his West Point classmate, Robert E. Lee, who led the now renamed Army of Northern Virginia throughout the rest of the war.

After recovering from his wounds, Johnston went on to command in the western theater, ascending to command over John C. Pemberton's Department of Mississipi and East Louisiana, and more importantly, the Army of Tennessee following Braxton Bragg's resignation. Johnston was criticized by Richmond for his failures in the Vicksburg Campaign, of which he was not completely at fault since he was not entirely in control. After assuming direct command of the Army of Tennessee on today's date, he was engaged in a series of defensive battles against Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman from Dalton through most of the Atlanta Campaign. Critical of his series of retreats to Atlanta, President Davis relieved Johnston of command on the eve of the defense of that city in July of 1864.

Yielding to political pressure, the president reinstated Johnston in February 1865 as commander of the Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. Soon, the remnants of the Army of Tennessee were transferred to Johnston in the Carolinas Campaign. By now the consolidated army was outnumbered and undersupplied, but it did experience one last success at the Battle of Bentonville. Robert E. Lee's surrender on April 9 led Johnston to finally surrender his department and the Army of Tennessee to Sherman on April 26, 1865. It was the largest single surrender of the war—89,270 soldiers.

After the war, Johnston worked in business and as railroad commissioner under President Grover Cleveland. Later, he served a term in the U.S. Congress. He also became close friends with his old opponent, William T. Sherman. In fact, Johnston was a pallbearer at Sherman's funeral in 1891, when he contracted pneumonia and died several weeks later. He is buried in the Green Mount Cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland.

Now in command of the Army of Tennessee at Dalton, Georgia, Gen. Johnston started preparing his force for the coming spring campaign. He began by improving morale, which had reached its low following the rout at Missionary Ridge in late November. He improved his rail supply line from Atlanta and increased rations for his 39,000-man army. He made efforts to provide shoes and uniforms for his tattered soldiers. He strengthened discipline while also creating a system for granting furloughs to his weary men. His new measures worked, and thousands of absentees returned and reinforcements were added to the ranks. By April, the army had increased to 54,000. As the men began to trust their new commander, order and a sense of confidence were restored, returning the Army of Tennessee to a formidable force over the next few months.

Read more here: http://www.sunherald.com/2013/12/21/5211918/davis-selects-johnston-to-command.html#storylink=cpy

Johnston did some reorganization to his army about this time. But apparently he was satisfied with the organization of Cleburne's Division, in which my Great Grandfather Nathan Oakes was serving in Lowrey's Brigade, stationed on today's date outside of Dalton, since he made no important changes. Neither was there any significant military activity while the division was stationed at Tunnel Hill.

Joseph E. Johnston monument in Dalton, Georgia
Source: Hal Jespersen | Wikimedia Commons

Sources: The Army of Tennessee, Stanley F. Horn;  Civil War Trust

I heard the bells on Christmas Day, 1863

On this date in 1863, American poet, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, father of a recently wounded Union soldier, penned this famous and poignant poem, now a beloved Christmas carol.

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
and wild and sweet, the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along, the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound the carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn the households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong, and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail, the Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."

Cleburne's war college

In early December, Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne's Division established its winter quarters at Tunnel Hill, 7 miles northwest of Dalton, Georgia, where the rest of the Army of Tennessee is encamped. Cleburne's men, including Great Grandfather Nathan Oakes's 32nd Mississippi Regiment, guarded the crest of Tunnel Hill and the wagon road to Dalton. Since there was no longer an immediate threat from the Federal army at Chattanooga, Cleburne turned some of his attention to training and disciplining his division.

Most of the Confederate army was made up of volunteers or conscripts with little to no experience at being soldiers—except, of course, what they picked up on the job. Cleburne insisted upon military discipline and obedience to orders. Part of maintaining discipline and fighting readiness in his division included regular drilling of his brigades. At the Tunnel Hill outpost, he went so far as to construct a log cabin classroom where he personally instructed his brigade commanders in the art of war. He taught them from Hardee's Rifle and Light Infantry Tactics and listened to their recitations. Cleburne's brigadiers, in turn, taught the officers under their various commands.

Maj. Gen. William Hardee was quite impressed with Cleburne's work and its results. After the war he wrote in the Southern Historical Society Papers about Cleburne's war college at Tunnel Hill and the men he trained:

[Cleburne] devoted the winter months to the discipline and instruction of his troops, and revived a previously adopted system of daily recitations in the tactics and the art of war. He himself heard the recitations of his brigade commanders—a quartette of lieutenants worthy of their captain—the stately Granberry [sic], as great of heart as of fame, a noble type of the Texan soldier; Govan, true and brave as he was courteous and gentle; [Polk], young, handsome, dashing and fearless, and Lowry* [sic], the parson soldier, who preached to his men in camp and fought with them in the field with equal earnestness and effect. These brigadiers heard the recitations of the regimental officers. The thorough instruction thus secured, first applied on the drill ground and then tested in the field, gave the troops great efficiency in action.

With such careful attention paid to training his men, it's no wonder that Cleburne's Division earned so much praise for its prowess on the battlefield. And Federal troops were heard to say they dreaded to face the blue battle flag of Cleburne's Division more than any other across the battlefield.

* Brig. Gen. Mark P. Lowrey was the commander of Great Grandfather Nathan Oakes's brigade.

Sources: Pat Cleburne: Confederate General, Howell & Elizabeth Purdue; "Biographical Sketch of Major-General Patrick R. Cleburne," Gen. William J. Hardee, Southern Historical Society Papers, Vol. 31

Bragg's departure

On today's date in 1863, Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg took his leave of the Army of Tennessee, which he had led in victory and disaster since assuming command in Tupelo, Mississippi, in June the year before. In an emotional ceremony he surrendered his command of the army, now at Dalton in North Georgia, to Lt. Gen. Hardee. The following is Bragg’s farewell order to his army:

General Order, No. 214. 

Upon renewed application to the President, his consent has been obtained for the relinquishment of the command of this army. It is accordingly transferred to Lieutenant-general Hardee. The announcement of this separation is made with unfeigned regret. An association of more than two years, which bind together a commander and his trusted troops, cannot be severed without deep emotion. For a common cause, dangers shared on many hard-fought fields have cemented bonds which time can never impair. The circumstances which render this step proper will be appreciated by every good soldier and true patriot. The last appeal the general has to make to the gallant army which has so long nobly sustained him is to give his successor that cordial and generous support essential to the success of your arms. In that successor you have a veteran whose brilliant reputation you have aided to achieve. To the officers of my general staff, who have so long zealously and successfully struggled against serious difficulties to support the army and myself, is due, in a great degree, what little success and fame we have achieved. Bidding them and the Army an affectionate farewell, they have the blessings and prayers of a grateful friend. 

Braxton Bragg.

Upon assuming command, Lt. Gen. Hardee issued his own General Order to his men. Considering the unfriendly relations these two men shared, Hardee's remarks about his former commander sound generous and conciliatory.

Soldiers of the Army of Tennessee: 

Gen. Bragg having been relieved from duty with the army, the command has devolved upon me. The steady courage, the unsullied patriotism of the distinguished leader who has shared your fortunes for more than a year, will long be remembered by this army and the country he served so well. 

I desire to say, in assuming command, that this is no cause for discouragement. The overwhelming number of the enemy forced us back from Missionary Ridge, but the army retired intact and in good heart. Our losses are small and will be rapidly repaired. The country is looking upon you. Only the weak need to be cheered by constant success. Veterans of Shiloh, Perryville, Murfreesboro and Chickamauga require no such stimulant to sustain their courage. Let the past take care of itself. We can and must take care of the future.

W. J. Hardee.

Hardee's command will only be temporary, and President Jefferson Davis will soon pick a more permanent replacement. After asking Gen. Robert E. Lee to consider, who declined, Davis appointed Joseph E. Johnston.

Bragg's departure will be mourned by few under his command. As Civil War author Peter Cozzens writes, "Even Bragg's staunchest supporters admonished him for his quick temper, general irritability, and tendency to wound innocent men with barbs thrown during his frequent fits of anger. His reluctance to praise or flatter was exceeded, we are told, only by the tenacity with which, once formed, he clung to an adverse impression of a subordinate. For such officers—and they were many in the Army of the Mississippi—Bragg's removal or their transfer were the only alternatives to an unbearable existence."

Bragg's patriotism and sense of duty are without question. However, his actual leadership skills were a serious mismatch for the demands of a commander-in-chief of an army second to only Robert E. Lee's in Virginia.

Contrary to the warm farewell he delivered to his command, as his official reports and letters demonstrate, it was an embittered Bragg who departed the army on today's date. His own record contains scathing criticisms of his subordinates, and a shifting of blame to them for his own mistakes. He even went so far as to accuse his men of cowardice, which is remarkable considering the actual bravery and indomitable spirit they displayed in their many hardships and sacrifices for this unappreciative general.

So, it is no surprise that many rejoiced to see Bragg go. However, he will soon become the president's  top military advisor, and in that position, continue to wield power and influence over the Army of Tennessee.

Sources: No Better Place to Die, Peter Cozzens; Mountains Touched With Fire, Wiley Sword; Official Records, Vol. 31, Pt. 3

Ringgold Destroyed

On November 27, 1863, Maj. Gen. Patrick R. Cleburne's defense of Ringgold Gap, Georgia, had been a complete success. His division, tasked with holding the gap at all costs while Gen. Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee retreated beyond to Dalton, defeated Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker's army of superior strength and numbers.

On today's date in 1863, Hooker withdrew the last of his occupation force from the town of Ringgold, but not before destroying it. On the previous day, its citizens had been herded outside of town and informed that their village would be destroyed as a military necessity. Overnight, Federal soldiers systematically set fire to the buildings and homes, an terrorist tactic that the Union army will use to maximum effect in the months ahead. The entire town—home to more than 2,000 people—was completely and needlessly reduced to ashes.

Source: Mountains Touched With Fire, Wiley Sword

Bragg resigns

On this date in 1863, following the disastrous rout from Missionary Ridge, Braxton Bragg's resignation was formally received by President Davis, and he was relieved from command of the Army of Tennessee, now at Dalton, Georgia. He was ordered to turn over his command temporarily to Lt. Gen. William Hardee, which will take place on December 2.

In typical style, a bitter Bragg will depart the army still reproaching his subordinates for his campaign blunders. In his official report and a letter sent to President Davis on December 1, he blamed the Missionary Ridge disaster on the cowardice of some of his subordinates and on Maj. Gen. John C. Breckinridge's drunkenness. He will continue to attach his misfortune to the perceived venality and ambition of some of his generals.

Following his resignation, Bragg will continue to receive the President's loyalty and support. On December 7, Davis will publicly shift the responsibility for Missionary Ridge away from his friend. Reporting to Congress Davis said, "It is believed that if the troops who yielded to the assault had fought with the valor which they had displayed on previous occasions... the enemy would have been repulsed with very great slaughter, and our country would have escaped [this] misfortune." Certainly, this is unjust criticism of the troops who so faithfully endured long months of hardship and deprivation under the disapproving and unsolicitous general.

Not surprisingly, many in the army were delighted to see Bragg go. However, he will soon become the president's military advisor, and in that position, continue to wield power and influence over the Army of Tennessee.

Source: Mountains Touched With Fire, Wiley Sword

Winter Quarters for Bragg's army at Dalton | Tunnel Hill

Following an astounding victory on the 27th over Federal Maj. Gen. Hooker's army at Ringgold Gap, Maj. Gen. Patrick Cleburne moved his division to its winter quarters at Tunnel Hill, about halfway between Ringgold and the town of Dalton, where the rest of Braxton Bragg's army is encamped. Together with Gen. Joseph Wheeler's cavalry, Cleburne is tasked by Bragg to guard the army from any Federal advance from Ringgold. Cleburne's men, including Great Grandfather Nathan Oakes's 32nd Mississippi Regiment, guarded the crest of Tunnel Hill and the wagon road to Dalton. In time, Cleburne's men were able to construct crude log huts complete with fireplaces to keep warm through the approaching winter. They will remain encamped here into February of next year.

Area of the Confederate encampment around Dalton,

Georgia, during the winter of 1863-1864

Source: The USGenWeb Archives Project

The Confederate headquarters was in Dalton, Georgia, a small town at the junction of the Western & Atlantic and the Georgia Railroads. It was a good defensive position, protected by the Rocky Face Ridge that ran about 12 miles from north to south. About 3 miles from the northern end of the ridge, and 3 miles northeast of Dalton, the Mill Creek and the railroad cut through the ridge at Mill Creek Gap (or Buzzard Roost). About 4 miles south of the gap was another pass through Rocky Face known as Dug's Gap. The road ran through Dug's Gap to the village of Villanow, about 14 miles southwest of Dalton.

After its defeat at Ringgold Gap on the 27th, Federal Gen. U.S. Grant decided to break off pursuit of the Confederates. His attention now was focused on reinforcing Gen. Ambrose Burnside at Knoxville, presently under siege by Gen. James Longstreet's Confederates. On today's date in 1863, Longstreet unwisely launched an attack, which was repulsed with heavy loses on the Rebel side.

In the meantime, Grant sent Gen. W.T. Sherman with 25,000 Union troops from Chattanooga to assist Burnside. Longstreet was forced to withdraw and soon abandoned Eastern Tennessee for Virginia, his one opportunity for independent command ending in failure.

Tunnel Hill, Georgia Cir. 1905
Source: Georgia Archives

Cleburne’s Division went into winter camp at another “Tunnel Hill,” this one halfway between Ringgold and Dalton, 9 miles away. The winter passed with relatively few incidents. Cleburne had a log structure built that became a military school for his division. Time passed in drilling and instruction of the troops in preparation for the engagements that would come in May of 1864.

In the organization of the Army of Tennessee, on December 10, temporarily commanded by Lt. Gen. William J. Hardee following Bragg's resignation, the 32nd and 45th Mississippi Consolidated Regiment was commanded by Col. Aaron B. Hardcastle. The regiment remained in Brig. Gen. Mark Lowrey’s Brigade of Cleburne’s Division, in Hardee’s Corps (commanded by Maj. Gen. Benjamin Cheatham). Also in the Brigade are the 16th Alabama (Maj. Frederick A. Ashford), 33rd Alabama (Col. Samuel Adams), 45th Alabama, Lieut. Col. H. D. Lampley), and the 15th Battalion Mississippi Sharpshooters (Capt. Daniel Coleman).

Sources: The Third Battalion Mississippi Infantry and the 45th Mississippi Regiment, David Williamson; Pat Cleburne: Confederate General, Howell & Elizabeth Purdue; Official Records, Vol. 31, Pt. 3

Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation, 1863

Today's observance of Thanksgiving marks the 150th anniversary of the first national Thanksgiving Day, which, unbeknownst to many Americans, has a direct link to the War Between the States. It was proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln on October 3, 1863,* in the aftermath of the carnage at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, and the Union defeat at Chickamauga. His proclamation set the precedent for America's national Thanksgiving observance.

The holiday's history in America is rooted in English traditions dating from the Protestant Reformation, and those customs on ancient celebrations from biblical times. Prior to Lincoln's announcement, church leaders or individual states decided their own Thanksgiving holidays, observing days of prayer and thanksgiving at different times in the calendar. They followed the tradition of George Washington, who was the first president to proclaim a day of thanksgiving in 1789, and the earlier Plymouth colonists who celebrated their first harvest in 1621. In Lincoln's proclamation he set apart the last Thursday of November "as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise." Since 1941, the holiday is officially celebrated on the 4th Thursday of November.

Ironically and unintentionally, Lincoln's national proclamation went into effect on November 26th, 1863, the day after the defeat of the Army of Tennessee on Missionary Ridge near Chattanooga, Tennessee. As Northerners were celebrating, Gen. Braxton Bragg's beaten army was retreating across the Chickamauga Creek near where it had witnessed a magnificent victory only weeks before. Serving in the army's rear guard in Patrick Cleburne's Division, was my 18-year old Great Grandfather Nathan R. Oakes.

________________________________________________________

By the President of the United States of America. 

A Proclamation. 

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union. 

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed. 

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth. 

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

* See the history of the proclamation and a copy of the document at the National Archives website