Contents
Preface
Department
of Western Virginia and East Tennessee – Order of Battle 28/02/1865
Notes
and Appraisal
Conclusion
References
Preface
The
below Order of Battle – for the Confederate Department of Western
Virginia and East Tennessee – takes as its basis the “Abstract
from Return of Forces” and “Organization of Troops” tables of
said department given in OR
Volume XLIX.1.1021-1022 (dated February 28th
1865, the last provided in the OR), with the general context and much valuable information being
given in Volumes XXXIX, XLV, and XLIX. Beyond that, researching
individual units online has tended to be the best way of pinning down
numinous information, given the relative obscurity of the theatre
(the best formal resources I have found tend to be books dealing with
Kentucky in the war). However, it is an interesting theatre,
microcosmic of many issues in the war in 1865 as a whole, and the
Confederate forces included an interesting variety – Echols' hardened veterans, the remnants of Morgan's Men, and Vaughn's mounted
infantry foremost amongst them. The various large skirmishes in late
1864 are of some interest to the wargamer, too – Bull's Gap,
Morristown, Marion, and 2nd
Saltville. The references given at the end of this article are
representative only and not exhaustive.
Department
of
Western
Virginia and
East Tennessee – OOB 28/02/2015
Brigadier General John Echols (commanding Echols'
Brigade)
Artillery and Engineers – 12-16 Field Guns, 127
Engineers
Page's Battalion
– 12-16 Field Guns
Major Richard C.M. Page
Burroughs'
Battery (Tennessee)
– 2 3-Inch Navy Parrotts & 2 6-Pounder Iron Smoothbores ~
Captain William H. Burroughs
Lynch's
Battery (Tennessee)
– 4 US 3-Inch Ordnance Rifles ~ Captain Peyton Lynch
McClung's
Battery (Tennessee)
– 19 Gunners ~ Lieutenant W.G. Dobson [1]
Botetourt
Light Artillery (Virginia)
– 4 12-Pounder Howitzers ~ Captain Henry C. Douthat [2]
Engineer
Battalion
– 127 Engineers
Captain Richard C. McCalla
3rd
Confederate Engineer Regiment, Company A
3rd
Confederate Engineer Regiment, Company E –
Captain William T. Hart
Infantry – 928+ Infantry [estimated 968-1028]
Echols'
Brigade [Wytheville,
Virginia]
– 662 Infantry
22nd
Virginia Infantry Regiment
– Lieutenant Colonel John C. McDonald
23rd
Virginia Infantry Battalion
–
Major William Blessing
26th
Virginia Infantry Battalion
– Lieutenant Colonel George M. Edgar
Preston's
Brigade
[Saltville, Virginia in 12/1864]– 266+ Infantry [estimated 306-366]
Colonel
Robert T. Preston (commanding 5th
Reserves)
5th Virginia Reserve Infantry Regiment – 222 Infantry
5th Virginia Reserve Infantry Regiment – 222 Infantry
4th
Virginia Reserve Infantry Battalion
– 44 Infantry ~ Lieutenant Colonel Samuel M. Wallace
13th
Virginia Reserve Infantry Battalion
– Lieutenant Colonel Robert Smith [3]
Cavalry – 2808+ Cavalry [estimated 2908-2958, including unknown number dismounted]
Cosby's
Brigade
– 243 Cavalry
Brigadier General George B. Cosby
6th
Confederate Cavalry Battalion
– Lieutenant L.C. Norman
2nd
Kentucky Mounted Rifle Battalion
– Captain J.K. Bradshaw
3rd
Kentucky Mounted Rifle Battalion
– Captain William T. Havens
Duke's
Brigade [Abingdon,
Virginia] – 324 Cavalry [4]
Brigadier General Basil W. Duke
1st Kentucky Cavalry Battalion
– Colonel William W. Ward
2nd Kentucky Cavalry Battalion
3rd Kentucky Cavalry Battalion –
Colonel Joseph R. Tucker
4th
Kentucky Cavalry Battalion
– Captain W.R. Messick
Giltner's
Brigade
[Lee County, Va.; Va.-Ky. Border]
–
823+ Cavalry [estimated 923-973]
Colonel Henry L. Giltner
7th
Confederate Cavalry Battalion
– ~200 [23/02/65] ~ Lieutenant Colonel Clarence J. Prentice [5]
4th
Kentucky Cavalry Regiment
– Captain John G. Scott
10th
Kentucky (Diamond's) Cavalry Regiment
– Lieutenant Colonel George R. Diamond [6]
13th
Kentucky Cavalry Regiment
– Colonel Benjamin
E. Caudill [7]
Jenkins'
Cavalry Company (Kentucky)
– Captain Barton W. Jenkins
64th
Virginia Infantry Regiment (Mounted) –
Colonel Auburn L. Pridemore
Vaughn's
Brigade
[Bristol, Tennessee] – 1303 Cavalry
Brigadier General John C. Vaughn
13th
Georgia Cavalry Regiment
– Lieutenant Colonel Samuel J. Winn
1st
Tennessee (Carter's) Cavalry Regiment
– Colonel James E. Carter
12th
Tennessee Cavalry Battalion
– Major George W. Day
16th
Tennessee Cavalry Battalion –
Lieutenant Colonel John R. Neal
3rd
Tennessee (Lillard's) Infantry Regiment (Mounted)
– Colonel Newton J. Lillard
39th
Tennessee Infantry Regiment (Mounted)
– Colonel William M. Bradford
43rd
Tennessee Infantry Regiment (Mounted)
– Colonel James W. Gillespie
59th
Tennessee Infantry Regiment (Mounted) –
Colonel William L. Eakin
60th–61st–62nd
Tennessee Infantry Regiment (Mounted)
– Colonel James G. Rose
Abbott's
Scout Company (Tennessee)
– Captain W.R. Abbott
Witcher's
Brigade
– 215 Cavalry
Lieutenant Colonel Vincent A. Witcher
34th
Virginia Cavalry Battalion
– Major John A. McFarlane
Swann's
Cavalry Battalion (Virginia)
– Lieutenant Colonel Thomas B. Swann
Notes
and Appraisal
Artillery
Notes
1: McClung's Battery had been all but destroyed at the
Battle of Morristown on the 28th October 1864; its 19
remaining personnel were attached to Lynch's Battery thereafter.
2: In March Douthat's battery seems to have been ordered
to Richmond; it was ordered back to Wytheville a few days later,
before being ordered into different positions at Richmond a few days
after that.
Appraisal
Lynch's, McClung's, and Douthat's had all served at
Vicksburg and elsewhere; Burroughs' had only served “domestically”,
in east Tennessee. On the whole the gunners will have been good,
experienced troops. Their artillery armament was probably better than
Echols reported; there were 16 guns in the department prior to the
assignment of first King's and then Douthat's batteries to the
Petersburg lines. Even if they had taken their guns with them (which
is not certain, especially as Douthat's manned emplaced guns at
Richmond), this would have left 8 guns under Echols' command, and
indeed Federal reports are that Echols had spiked 16 guns at
Christiansburg when he dissolved his command. Though few, they
probably will have performed respectably.
Engineers
Appraisal
The 3rd
Engineer Regiment was raised late in the war from the states in which
this department operated – Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee, as
well as North Carolina. Many had served at Atlanta and in the
Franklin campaign, whilst some may have been with Early in the Valley in
1864. They may have ended up fighting alongside Early at Waynesboro,
though the evidence is scarce. One might safely assume they were fit
for their task, but badly under-resourced.
Echols'
Brigade
Appraisal
Echols' Brigade had chiefly been raised in the future
West Virginia, and were seasoned veterans of many encounters. The
22nd Regiment and the 23rd Battalion had both
seen service in the 1861 operations in western Virginia during the
Cheat Mountain Campaign, and then later at Droop Mountain. The 26th
Battalion was formed of members of the 59th Virginia (Wise
Legion) not captured on Roanoke Island, and saw action thereafter in
the Seven Days Battles. It spent its service after that along the
eastern coast of the Confederacy, before returning north in 1864 to
fight Virginia. All three saw action at New Market, at North Anna and
Cold Harbor, and then during Early's Valley Campaign. They performed
creditably throughout, and probably represent the best troops in the
Department. Echols himself, too, had a respectable war record,
starting in the Stonewall Brigade and leading its 27th
Virginia at 1st Bull Run and in the Valley. He then spent
several years chiefly in Western Virginia, losing with honour intact
at Droop Mountain against significantly superior forces, before
commanding a division under Breckinridge in Early's Valley campaign.
Preston's
Brigade
Notes
3: The 13th Battalion, Virginia Reserves were on
furlough at the time of the report. Their strength is not included in
the brigade total; I would estimate the unit strength at between
40-100, given the strengths of other battalions of Virginia Reserves
in 1865, both here as well as in the Valley and the Petersburg lines.
Appraisal
We may presume that Preston's troops were fairly par for
the course for Reserve troops, consisting of old men and young boys,
drilled intermittently, with a high absentee rate. They might perform
adequately on their day, especially if in fortified positions, but
are usually to be considered very unreliable. Preston commanded his
troops at 2nd Saltville and seems to have kept them in
good order in retreat.
Cosby's
Brigade
Appraisal
Cosby's troops had all been recruited locally and only
fought locally. The 6th Confederate Cavalry Battalion
consisted of men from Virginia and Kentucky. Though they put in a
solid showing at Marion defending breastworks, they are unlikely to
have been of the highest grade. Cosby was a competent Chief of Staff
to Buckner, Polk, Bragg, and in the District of the Gulf, before
receiving a cavalry brigade under Forrest, which he seems to have
commanded solidly if not with such inspiration as to remain in
Forrest's command.
Duke's
Brigade
Notes
4: Duke's four small battalions were the remnants of
“The Raider” Morgan's cavalry division, which had been mostly
captured in his 1863 raid into Indiana and Ohio; much of the
remainder had been captured at 2nd Cynthiana, during his
1864 Kentucky raid. The remnant regiments who were consolidated into
the four battalions are as follows: 2nd Kentucky (Duke's)
Cavalry Regiment; 5th Kentucky Cavalry Regiment; 6th
Kentucky Cavalry Regiment; 7th Kentucky Cavalry Regiment;
8th Kentucky Cavalry Regiment; 10th Kentucky
(Johnson's) Cavalry Regiment; 11th Kentucky Cavalry
Regiment; 14th Kentucky Cavalry Regiment; 9th
Tennessee Cavalry Regiment. Some online resources report that
officers of Morgan's Men were recruiting in west Kentucky at the end
of the war; I have found no evidence for this in the OR, other
contemporary accounts, or more scholarly works.
Appraisal
Many of Duke's men were combat veterans of one or other
of Morgan's disastrous raids. That notwithstanding, however, the
remaining troops are unlikely to have been of the very highest
quality; on the one hand they had the potent memory of “The Raider”
Morgan's reputation to buoy them, but on the other hand their hero
was dead and over 2,000 of their comrades languished in Union prisons
as a result of their exploits. John Ferry, in JTS's Campaign
Overland, is likely harsh in rating them Quality E (on an A-F scale).
They performed adequately in the retreat from Cloyd's Mountain, and
quite well at Marion. They will have been armed with carbines and
rifles, and been used to serving in a mounted infantry role. Duke was
Morgan's brother-in-law, and a competent soldier.
Giltner's
Brigade
Notes
5: The 7th Confederate Cavalry Battalion also
failed to file a return; Giltner reported that they numbered around
200 (likely present rather than effective) in late February.
6: The OR entry notes that the Tenth Kentucky Cavalry
did not file a return; given the denotation of Caudill's regiment as
mounted rifles, I judge this to mean Diamond's regiment. An estimated
strength of around 100-150 – given the strength of the rest of the
brigade – would be reasonable.
7: Referred to regularly as the 10th Kentucky
Infantry; certainly sometimes officially known, and most usefully
referred to, as the 13th Kentucky Cavalry. Marked as
mounted rifles in the OR entry.
Appraisal
Giltner gives a grim picture of his brigade in late
February, fairly typical of the Confederacy at the time; many of his
men are dismounted or without weapons and many of the remainder have
lame horses. Their morale is mixed, and absenteeism, desertion, and
bushwhacking are common. Giltner himself seems to have remained
willing to take to the field, though he wryly comments on the state
of the roads. Giltner's old regiment, the 4th Kentucky,
had performed excellently as rearguard at the debacle at Rheatown in
1863, arguably saving the whole Confederate force there from
destruction. The other Kentucky units and the 64th
Virginia had been raised and stationed locally from about 1863, and
have the fairly ordinary record common to most such units.
Vaughn's
Brigade
Appraisal
Vaughn was of the same breed as Kirby Smith, constantly
assailed by care, offering his resignation, keenly describing the
plight of his badly armed, badly clothed, and badly fed troops, but
nonetheless willing to assay any necessary effort to impede the
overwhelming Federal advances upon his country. Some of his troops
had been with him since 1st Bull Run, where he commanded
the 3rd Tennessee; he had led them as infantry at
Vicksburg, before mounting them in late 1863. He fought at Piedmont,
earned the victory at Bull's Gap, but was routed at Morristown. His
brigade joined President Davis' Last Ride and surrendered with him.
They are likely to have been the best-mounted troops in the
department, and will generally have been of a reasonably high
quality.
Witcher's
Brigade
Appraisal
Witcher's 34th Virginia Cavalry Battalion had
been raised in the future West Virginia, and had seen action, having
fought as part of Albert Jenkins' command at Gettysburg, and then at
Piedmont and in Early's Valley Campaign that followed. They may be
regarded as of reasonable quality. Swann's battalion had taken a
great deal of time to raise, and only completed organization in late
1864; it is likely to have been of better quality than normal Reserve
units, but still fairly raw.
Conclusion
As late as mid February, Vaughn was raiding successfully beyond
Knoxville; at Marion, the Kentucky brigades successfully resisted a
massively superior Union force for two days, and only withdrew due to
a lack of ammunition; in October, the department's cavalry had beaten
Gillem at Bull's Gap on a successful foraging mission; Vaughn's
brigade contained troops who had fought at 1st Bull Run;
and Echols' brigade consisted of hardened veterans with a good
record. Its commanders were of respectable record, especially Echols
and Vaughn. It only left the field when dissolved by Echols at
Christiansburg on the 12th April, having heard of Lee's
surrender – whilst Marse Robert fought, they were willing to fight also.
On the other hand, it would have been hampered as a
field force not just by its small numbers. It struggled for
foodstuffs (foraging, after all, being the chief objective of the
Bull's Gap expedition), mounts for cavalry, clothing, and sometimes
munitions. Morale was spotty, and some units had seen very little
action – and some, perhaps, had seen too much. It technically had
responsibility for a vast area of land, and some of its practical
limitations are perhaps best illustrated by Vaughan's urgent messages
to Echols over Stoneman's raid into North Carolina in March and April
of 1865. Vaughan failed to receive much response from Echols,
indicating both the poor state of communications available, and
perhaps Echols' attention shifting to what was happening at
Petersburg as the Confederacy finally collapsed. Vaughan eventually
suggested that he might pursue
Stoneman in accordance with Lee's general orders, albeit with a
vastly numerically inferior force, but he evidently did not hold out
much hope of success. Echols' command, by Spring of 1865, would
likely have fought well in pitched battle, but struggled to function
as an operational force.
References
General
Kentuckians in Gray: Confederate Generals and Field
Officers of the Bluegrass State edited by Bruce S. Allardice and
Lawrence Lee Hewitt
http://www.kykinfolk.com/adair/confederate.htm
– Kentucky Confederate Units
Page's
Battalion
http://www.tngenweb.org/civilwar/csaart/burrough.html
– Burroughs' Battery
http://burroughsbattery.tripod.com/id2.html
– Burroughs' Battery
http://www.tngenweb.org/civilwar/csaart/lynch.html
– Lynch's Battery
http://www.tngenweb.org/civilwar/csaart/mcclung.html
– McClung's Battery
http://barrsbattery.tripod.com/id17.html
– Botetourt Light Artillery
3rd
Engineer Regiment
http://www.angelfire.com/rebellion2/engineers/history.html
– History of the Confederate Engineer Corps
Echols'
Brigade
http://www.blueandgraymarching.com/army-of-the-valley-district/pattons-brigade.html
– Echols' Brigade (then Patton's) in December 1864
http://www.wvcivilwar.com/22nd-virginia-infantry/
- 22nd Virginia Infantry Regiment
http://www.wvcivilwar.com/23rd-virginia-infantry-battalion/
- 23rd Virginia Infantry Battalion
http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=CVA0026BI
- 26th Virginia Infantry Battalion
Cosby's Brigade
http://www.history-sites.com/cgi-bin/bbs62x/kycwmb/arch_config.pl?md=read;id=1778
- 6th Confederate Cavalry Battalion
http://www.wvcivilwar.com/2nd-battalion-kentucky-mounted-rifles/
- 2nd Kentucky Mounted Rifles Battalion
http://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=CKY0003B0T
- 3rd Kentucky Mounted Rifles Battalion
Giltner's Brigade
http://tn.gov/tsla/cwsb/1863-10-Article-117-Page166.pdf
– account of the Battle of Rheatown
http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/military/civilwar/rosters/va7th.txt
- 7th Confederate Cavalry Battalion
Witcher's
Brigade
http://www.wvcivilwar.com/34th-battalion-virginia-cavalry/
- 34th Virginia Cavalry Battalion
http://files.usgwarchives.net/wv/wayne/military/VAStateLine.txt
– Swann's Cavalry Battalion
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