Adjutant’s Call - May 2023
Link to Original May 2023 Newsletter
Circular Memorandum #546 -May 2023
“The Civil War in the Texas Hill Country” Presented by Dr. Donald S. Frazier
Dr. Donald S. Frazier is the Director of The Texas Center at Schreiner University in Kerrville. A graduate of The University of Texas at Arlington and Texas Christian University, Frazier is the award-winning author of six books on the Civil War including Blood and Treasure, Cottonclads, Fire in the Cane Field, Thunder Across the Swamp, Blood on the Bayou and Tempest Over Texas. His other work includes serving as co-author of Frontier Texas, Historic Abilene, and The Texas You Expect, as well as general editor of The U.S. and Mexico at War and a collection of letters published as Love and War: The Civil War Letter and Medicinal Book of Augustus V. Ball.
Frazier has taught in college classrooms at Texas Christian University, McMurry University, and Schreiner University. In addition to his classroom teaching, Frazier has been very involved in public history, working on Civil War and frontier heritage trails in Texas, New Mexico, and Louisiana, and work on historical projects in Europe and Mexico. He helped design Frontier Texas!, a museum-attraction in Abilene, Texas. He is the writer and director for the video Our Home, Our Rights: Texas and Texans in the Civil War, a winner of the Mitchell Wilder Award for Excellence in Publications and Media Design from the Texas Association of Museums. He also serves on the board of the Heart of the Hills Heritage Center, a museum attraction and visitors center that tells the story of The Texas Hill Country. Come and Take It, a treatment of the life story of Susannah Dickinson, is his first full length play.
He also heads an educational adventure enterprise, Bear Leader Tours as well as State House Press, a publishing imprint in consortium with Texas A&M University Press.
Dr. Frazier is an elected member of the prestigious Philosophical Society of Texas, the oldest learned organization in the state, a Fellow of the Texas State Historical Association, and a Director-Scholar on the board of the Texas Historical Foundation. He is also an advisor to The Alamo, the State Board of Education. Governor Gregg Abbott recently appointed him to the advisory committee for the Texas 1836 Project.
“The Civil War in the Texas Hill Country”
Don Frazier will speak to us on the Civil War in the Texas Hill Country, the subject of his aware winning book. “Tempest Over Texas”. This is the story of the Civil War in Louisiana and Texas after the fall of Port Hudson and Vicksburg, Tempest Over Texas describes Confederate confusion on how to carry on in the Trans-Mississippi given the new strategic realities. Likewise, Federal forces gathered from Memphis to New Orleans were in search of a new mission. International intrigues and disasters on distant battlefields would all conspire to confuse and perplex war-planners. One thing remained, however. The Stars and Stripes needed to fly once again in Texas, and as soon as possible.
LCWRT Field Trip to Atlanta
Pictured above are the twenty-four attendees who made the trek to Northern Georgia to learn about Sherman’s 1864 campaign to capture Atlanta. Leaving on the 19th , we arrived at our headquarters at the Fairmount Inn in Marietta a few miles north of Atlanta proper. That evening we enjoyed our traditional Mexican restaurant meal and then had an orientation session at the hotel with our guide, Robert Jenkins. We began our three day battlefield tour the next morning and here are some observations about our trip.
(1) On Thursday the 20th we started our campaign at New Hope Church on Johnston’s left flank where Sherman sent Joe Hooker and his 20th Corps attacked Confederates under A.P. Stewart who were waiting and easily replused Hooker’s men. This was a pattern throughout the campaign. Every attack whether by Union or Confederate forces was defeated often with heavy loses for the attacking force.
(2) We next visited a site near Dallas where Confederates in the famed Orphan brigade were ordered to assualt a very strong Federal position and were slaughtered. It was pretty emotional visiting this site which is now a subdivision and listening to some of the letters written afterwards about their experience.
(3) We had a wonderful lunch at the Hickory Hut BBQ there in Dallas. Delicious food served in abundant portions. I don’t think anyone in our group was able to eat the huge portions of food they served. After lunch we visited the site of General Leonidas Polk’s demise as he ventured out into an exposed position and was killed by an artillery shell fired by an Indiana battery. Sad to report that the monument on that site has been vandalised but is still there marking the spot where Polk was killed. We finished the day at the Kolb’s Farm where another ill fated attack was made by Confedreates and repulsed then dined at some restuarants in downtown Marrietta.
(4) On Friday the 21st we headed out to Pickett’s Mill state battlefield park near Dallas. The battle was fought on May 27, 1864, just two days after New Hope Church. Pickett’s Mill is a remarkably preserved battlefield with the entire battlefield saved and it looks very much like it did at the time of the battle. Those of us who were will not soon forget it. Hiking down steep trails and ravines that followed the Union attack we realized that what goes down must come up! The hike out back to the visitor’s center was slow and arduous. The trail was steep and rugged, and we gained a new appreciation for the difficulty the attacking force under O.O. Howard faced as Pat Cleburne’s men were waiting for them at the top. Approximately 1,500 of Howard’s men were killed, wounded, or captured in a short period of time. After hiking the terrain, we now understand what they faced.
(5) Friday afternoon brought us to Kennesaw Mountain National Historic Park. Johnson’s men were well dug in along the ridges of Big Kennesaw and Little Kennesaw Mountains hoping Sherman would attack. After a bus ride up to the top of Kennesaw which offered some spectacular views, we moved on to the site of the Union attacks. On June 27th Sherman ordered attacks to be made on portions of the Confederate line. Unfortunately for the attacking Union troops he chose those positions held by the divisions of Cheatham, Cleburne, and the Missouri brigade-three of the best and toughest infantry outfits in the entire Confederacy. Though conducted with great bravery, they were bloodily repulsed at every point losing 3000 killed and wounded to only 500 Confederate. We walked up a very steep grade following the footsteps of the Illinois troops to the site of their furthest advance marked by a very large monument to their honor. We returned to the hotel for our traditional Beer and Pizza night.
(6) On Saturday morning we ventured into Atlanta first stopping to see the famous Shoupes. These were small arrow shaped forts designed to be manned by about 40 men and connected to about 200 others built along a line Johnson had hoped would keep Sherman from crossing the Chattahouchee River. We visited 3 that were in a residential neighborhood but well preserved. They never saw combat as Sherman flanked Johnston out of this line forcing him back across the river. Johnston was then replaced by John Bell Hood and he immediately took the offensive. We crossed the Chattahoochee and found our way to the site of the Battle of Peachtree Creek fought on July 20, 1864. The battlefield is actually preserved by a golf course! Standing on a bridge over Peachtree Creek, we had a clear view of the ground over which Confederate divisions assaulted, the result of which was a bloody repulse. Hood had failed in his first attempt to stop Sherman.
(7) After lunch we spent an hour in Oaklawn Cemetery, Atlanta’s historic cemetery visiting the Jewish section, the grave of Kenny Rogers and Bobby Jones and then the Confederate section which contains the dead of most of the men killed in an around Atlanta, many buried in mass graves. The very large Confederate Monument erected in 1873 is still there though the “Sleeping Lion” monument watching over the Confederate dead had been removed due to continued vandalism.
(8) We then traveled to the Atlanta History Center to finish up our touring. Spending two hours there, we saw the Texas locomotive which was the engine chasing the General in the “Great Locomotive Chase”. Then it was on to see the cyclorama, the huge painting of the Battle of Atlanta and this is truly a fascinating and very accurate presentation of the battle. Painted in the 1880’s by a team of German artists and featuring 120 figurines that blend into the painting, it is spectacular. We then visited the Dubose Civil War Museum section which is one of the largest and best collections of Civil War artifacts in existence including guns, uniforms, artillery, flags, and many other items. It is probably the best museum of this type I have ever seen and though it took an hour to go through it, only 20% is on display because of space! We returned to the hotel then ventured into downtown Atlanta for our grand finale dinner at the historic Mary Macs Restaurant where we enjoyed a good old southern buffet dinner.
(9) We were privileged to have Robert Jenkins serve as our guide and he did a great job for us. Robert has spent the last 30 years of his life researching, writing, and giving tours of the Atlanta campaign. His enthusiasm and depth of knowledge were evident as he led us to these historic sites. What we didn’t know was that Robert was also an entertainer often spicing up his presentations with southern themed jokes and bursting into song seemingly spontaneously morphing into Elvis Presley. Thank you, Robert, for serving as our guide!
(10) Finally, I would like to thank everyone who went on this trip! Without you, these field trips would not be possible. We are already planning for next year’s trip to the Wilderness and Spotsylvania Courthouse April 17-21, 2024 with Gordon Rhea as our guide.
Tebbs Bend Battlefield Association
Two events are being held to remember Battle of Tebbs Bend’s 160th Anniversary: First, July 7-8, Western Theater of the Civil War & TBBA are holding “General John H. Morgan Tour & Symposium” in Campbellsville. Two tours on July 7: battlefield at 1pm EDT gathering at 327 Tebbs Bend Road; evening tour CW in downtown Campbellsville. July 8 Symposium (5 speakers, various talks), Taylor County Extension Office. Contact 270.789.9880 or FB: westerntheatercivilwar.com. Fee $30 includes lunch. June 15 pay deadline.
Second, On August 25-26, the Morgan’s Men Association’s meets at Campbellsville, featuring tours of Columbia, Tebbs Bend, and Lebanon concluding with dinner on Aug 26 with speaker Thomas Hines. Contact Ralph Widowski for registration and fees. rjwidowski@gmail.com.
APRIL 2023 QUIZ
1. What were the chances of surviving a wound in the Civil War?
According to Bud Robertson, the chances were 7 to 1.
2. What was the name of the creek that ran through the Confederate Andersonville prison?
It was known as Sweet Water Creek.
3. What gift of sympathy did Pope Pious IX send to Jefferson Davis?
He sent Davis a crown of thorns woven by the Pope himself.
4. Who were General William T. Sherman’s “bummers”?
They were the foragers during Sherman’s march through Georgia.
5. Who commanded General Sherman’s XIV Corps in the March to the Sea Campaign?
That was Union General Jefferson C. Davis.
MAY 2023 QUIZ
1. In which state occurred the largest number of Civil War engagements?
2. How were Union Corps numbered?
3. How long was the typical bayonet?
4. What was the average marching speed?
5. What was the original name of West Virginia after seceding from Virginia?