After being released from Parole Camp at Demopolis, Alabama; the 42nd Alabama moved to join Braxton Bragg’s Army of Tennessee near Chattanooga. Although the regiment didn’t arrive in time to participate in the Battle of Chickamauga, the unit joined the siege forces around Chattanooga during October 1863, fully participating in the Battles of Lookout Mountain and Missionary Ridge. Following the November 25th defeat on Missionary Ridge and subsequent retreat from Chattanooga, the Army of Tennessee moved to Dalton, Georgia for winter camp and reconstitution. Bragg resigned as the commander of the Army of Tennessee, which was completely shattered and demoralized. One soldier of Moore’s brigade described desertions at a rate from six to thirty every day.[1] On 14 December, the 42nd Alabama had a total effective force of 311.[2] In a letter to his wife, Private R. B. Ledbetter of Moore’s brigade described the demoralization of the soldiers within the Army of Tennessee, “Old Jeff don’t feed his servants well. I am of the opinion that a great many of them will run away from him . . . I think the men of this army intend to run out of every battle not because they are afraid but because they have lost confidence in the cause . . . I think this Confederacy is about played out . . . I consider this army perfectly demoralized.”[3]
Private Sam Watkins added, “depleted by battles; and much worse, yea, much worse by desertions. The men were deserting by tens and hundreds, and I might say thousands. The morale of the army was gone. The spirit of the soldiers was crushed, their hope gone. The future was dark and gloomy. They would not answer at roll call. Discipline was gone. A feeling of mistrust pervaded the whole army.”[4]
Another Confederate soldier, John S. Jackman of the Army of Tennessee, while in Dalton, Georgia, entered into his dairy on January 18, 1864, “The winter is wearing away, and soon our battle flags will have to be unfurled to the breezes of spring, and the lines of gray will have to be drawn up—a living wall, against which the tide of invasion, it is hoped, will beat in vain.” He continues with, “The old year closed down upon us with defeat, disaster. May the present year bring us victory and success. The hour is dark and full of gloom, but such generally comes before the dawning of beautiful day.”[5]
On December 27, General Joseph E. Johnston assumed command of the Army of Tennessee. Johnston was not pleased with the condition and shortage of supplies within his units, “Instead of a reserve of muskets there was a deficiency of six thousand and as great a one of blankets, while the number of bare feet was painful to see. The artillery horses were too feeble to draw the guns in fields.”[6] He immediately set to the task of repairing and refitting his new command in order to prepare for the upcoming spring campaign.
While in Winter Camp, not only did Joe Johnston refit his army materially, he also refit his army spiritually sponsoring a ‘great revival’. Bibles were distributed, Chapels constructed, and sermons prepared. One chaplain explained, “The whole army is a vast field, ready and ripe to the harvest…The susceptibility of the soldiery to the gospel is wonderful, and doubtful as the remark may appear, the military camp is most favorable to the work of revival. The soldiers, with the simplicity of little children, listen to and embrace the truth.”[7] A Mississippi soldier wrote in a letter home how the revivals affected the soldiers as well as their leaders, “The religious spirit transcended rank. Lieutenant-General {Leonidas} Polk, an Episcopalian bishop in civil life, baptized Generals Johnston, Hardee, and Hood while at Dalton. Particularly touching was the baptism of Hood, who, unable to kneel because of his amputated leg, supported himself on a crutch and bowed his head…Nearly all of our first generals have joined the Church.”[8] The Reverend James P. McMullen, minister of the Pleasant Ridge Church of Greene County, Alabama and acquaintance of Lieutenant Colonel Lanier joined the 42nd Alabama as a volunteer Chaplain while the unit was at Dalton. His son, William F. McMullen, was a member of the 36th Alabama Infantry, one of the 42nd Alabama’s sister regiments in the same brigade. Reverend McMullen continued with the Regiment until he became a fatality during the Battle of Resaca on May, 15 1864.
John B. McFerrin recorded several accounts of the revivals at Dalton, Georgia, which lasted from December 1863 to May 1864. He told his biographer, “Preaching was kept up in Dalton every night except four for nearly four months, and in the camps all around the city preaching and prayer meetings occurred every night. The soldiers erected stands, improvised seats, and even built log churches, where they worshipped God in spirit and in truth. The result was glorious; thousands were happily converted and were prepared for the future that awaited them. Officers and men were alike brought under religious influence. Our custom was to admit persons into any Church they might choose, while in an army association we were all one.”[9] While in Winter Camp it is certain that the soldiers of the 42nd Alabama participated in these revivals and attended the services conducted by Reverend McMullen.
Many of the soldiers and officers probably had a rare opportunity spend a portion of the holidays during the winter 1863 – 1864 back home on furlough. The payroll receipt for 1st Lieutenant G. W. Askew, of the 42nd Alabama, for December 1863 lists him stationed at Dalton, Georgia as being on Furlough. G.W. Askew was paid $180 dollars on December 22, 1863 for the period of October 1 through November 30, 1863; certainly a very difficult period, in which I am sure he more than earned his $90 dollars a month. He must have also had the rare opportunity to spend some time back home in Mississippi; his payroll receipt for December 1863 lists him as ‘On Furlough’ when the payroll was distributed on January 15, 1864.
In addition to the Revivals, the soldiers often participated in snowball fights in order to break the monotony. At times these snowball fights were conducted on a grand scale, pitting division against division. At one point Stewart’s division, of which the 42nd Alabama was a part, participated in one of these great snow ball fights. Private Jackman recounts the incident, “A courier came over from Tyler’s brigade, stating that all of Stewart’s division was marching on our division … They came steadily forward, and soon the air was full of snow-balls. … All of Stewart’s men had ten rounds each of snow-balls in their haversacks, and we had to fall back.”[10] Captain Ridley of General Stewart’s staff stated, “That snowballing at Dalton … the Army of Tennessee [and] I will never forget. It was the biggest fight for fun I ever saw and there was so much rivalry between the troops that a number of soldiers had their eyes put out.”[11]
It was also a time that many soldiers sought medical recuperation or discharge. After three years of near constant campaigning and fighting, it was taking a toll on their physical condition, and some sought a medical discharge. In March 1864, G.W. Askew served as a character witness for 1LT E. A Portis of Company K, 42nd Alabama, who was seeking a discharge due to medical disabilities after nearly three years of continuous hardship. 1LT Askew testified, “I have known Lieutenant E. A. Portis Co K 42nd Alabama Regiment as an officer since June 1862 and have never known him to avoid duty or fail to carry out orders when in health. He has suffered a great-deal from his disease. And I have known him to do duty and have been on duty with him when suffering from his disease, and when excused by the surgeon. He is in my opinion, in every way efficient and capable of performing the duties of an officer when not suffering with his disease. Lieutenant Portis has never been court-martialed or reprimanded by a superior officer for anything.”[12] E.A. Portis was discharged in May 1864.
On March 5, Alpheus Baker was promoted to Brigadier General and assumed brigade command over the 37th, 40th, and 42nd Alabama. By spring 1864, Johnston was better prepared stating, “The instruction, discipline, and spirit of the army were much improved . . . its numbers were increased.”[13]
Sherman assumed command of the Western Department upon General Grant’s selection as General-in-Chief of all Union Forces. On April 24, Sherman began his campaign to move against Johnston’s army and “break it up”. The 42nd Alabama remained in Dalton until the spring of 1864, when William T. Sherman began his opening moves of what would become known as the Campaign for Atlanta. The tranquility of winter was broken as the 42nd Alabama once again faced combat at Mill Creek Gap during the Battle of Rocky Face Ridge on 7-12 May 1864.
[1]Greene Family Papers, personal letter E.W. Greene Co D 37th Alabama. Dated 1863. Microfilm Drawer 199, Box 69, Georgia Archives.
[2]OR, 31.3, (Washington, D.C. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1880-1901), 822.
[3]Personal Letters of R. B. Ledbetter, Company D, 40th Alabama Regiment. Dated 25 December 1863. Microfilm Drawer 199, Box 69, Georgia Archives.
[4]E. Raymond Evans, The Confederate Army of Tennessee in Winter Quarters at Dalton, Georgia, (CASI, 2001), 16.
[5]Davis, William C., Diary of a Confederate Soldier, John S. Jackman of the Orphan Brigade, (University of South Carolina Press, 1990), 104.
[6]Joseph E. Johnston, “Opposing Sherman’s Advance to Atlanta”, Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, (Century, 1889), 260.
[7] Reports of the Revival. Christian History Magazine, Issue 33, Volume XI, Number One, Gardiner H. Shattuck, Jr. Christianity Today: Carol Stream, Illinois, 1992. Page 29.
[8] Soldiering In The Army Of Tennessee, Larry J. Daniel. The University of North Carolina Press: Chapel Hill and London, 1991. Page 122.
[9] Religious Life In The Army Of Tennessee.” The United Daughters Of The Confederacy Magazine. Virginia Wood Alexander. May 1988. Page 52.
[10] E. Raymond Evans, The Confederate Army of Tennessee in Winter Quarters at Dalton, Georgia, (CASI, 2001), 52.
[11] E. Raymond Evans, The Confederate Army of Tennessee in Winter Quarters at Dalton, Georgia, (CASI, 2001), 53.
[12] 42nd Alabama Microfilm Records
[13] Joseph E. Johnston, “Opposing Sherman’s Advance to Atlanta,” Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, (Century, 1889), 261.