James Dinkins - 1861 To 1865 By An Old Johnnie: Personal Recollections And Experiences In The Confederate Army

DEDICATION.

TO THE MEMORY

OF THE

GALLANT SPIRITS WHO FELL IN DEFENSE OF THE LOST CAUSE,

TO

THEIR SURVIVING COMRADES,

AND TO

THEIR WIVES AND DAUGHTERS,

This volume of reminiscences is affectionately inscribed by THE AUTHOR.

Fair Freedom is sadly and silently weeping

O'er Martyrs who dared for her honor to die, But myriads of Angels are sacredly keeping

Unslumbering ward o'er the spot where they lie. Rest, Comrades! the tumult of battle shall never

Break in on your dreams, nor disturb your repose; Your valor and names shall be cherished, and even In high honor held, 'till times' records close.

Simmons.

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PREFACE.

The papers comprising this volume were begun without any plan or purpose of writing a book or of publishing them in pamphlet or any other form. They were written as opportunity permitted, in the intervals that could be spared from the duties of active business, and without any attempt at elaboration. I had entered the Confederate army when a mere lad, barely sixteen years of age; was in the first battle of the war and in very nearly the last, and when the " Bonnie Blue Flag" was furled after the surrender of Generals Lee and Johnston, I gave my parole, along with my comrades at Gainsville, Alabama, where General Dick Taylor surrendered the department in which I was then serving. I had served through the entire war, from the beginning to the end, the first half in Virginia and Maryland, and the last in Mississippi, Tennessee and Alabama. Thirty years later I was impelled, not only by the suggestions of friends, but by my own feelings and inclinations, to commence writing my reminiscences , of the war and my personal experiences during the more than four years of service, more as a record for my descendants and friends to read in after years, than with any view of coming before the public in the role of author. I knew then,

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as I now know, that sketches, papers, reminiscences and volumes, almost "ad infinitum," had been written and published, until the reading people had become wearied, if not surfeited with that class of literature. With only my original purpose in view, therefore, I continued to write as time and opportunity permitted, and now and then in order to compare recollections, submitted a paper or two to some comrade or friend in whose judgment I had confidence and upon whose memories I believed I could rely. Those to whom they were submitted were few, for I had no desire to make a public display of my simple narrative of the war, nor to give it any publicity whatever; yet, those friends and comrades who read the MSS. advised me with one accord, and some even urged me to continue and complete the sketches, and when completed, give them to the public in a volume, assuring me that they would be interesting to the public generally and specially so to all survivors of the lost cause and the descendants of those who had crossed over the river; they believed that the book would be valued by the living and the descendants of the dead who had served under Griffith, Barksdale, Forrest and Chalmers, or any where near them; and they were so flattering in their estimate, as to declare that it would be a valuable and reliable contribution to the history of the period extending from 1861 to 1865, although such a thought had never entered my mind. They believed, too, that people of the Northern States, from whose minds

and hearts all bitterness had been obliterated, would read with interest truthful sketches from a Southern standpoint, of scenes and" battles in which many of them had participated and of which they had heard and read.

Yielding to these opinions and representations of comrades and friends, I have endeavored to give my observations and experiences in plain and simple language, and to avoid any and every expression that might wound or offend, and in no instance to violate the laws of truth.

Reader ! the result is before you ; be your own judge of the merits of my work of love. JAMES DINKINS.

The Little Confederate, Frontispiece

" Billy" Blake, 37

A Sickening Sight on the Battlefield of White Oak Swamp, 51

Suddenly a Shell Exploded in their Midst, 61

Traffic on the Rappahannock, 66

The Little Confederate and his Niggers, So

General James R. Chalmers, 89

A Texan makes use of his Lasso, .,.,.. 123 Lieutenant-General Nathan Bedford Forrest,.... 125 Captain George Dashiell (of General Forrest's Staff), .. 127

Accused of Wearing a Corset, 157

Lieutenant Bleecker, September, 1864, 243

Major-General Edward Gary Walthall, 253

Colonel L. T. Dickinson, 280

The Old Johnnie, 281

We Stand ready to Defend it, 283

CHAPTER VI.

The Battles of White Oak Swamp and Malvern HillPresident

Davis, General Lee and others Meet 47

CHAPTER VII.

McLaws' Division Left at RichmondGeneral Lee Moves toward WashingtonA sickening sight on the Battle Field of White Oak SwampMcLaws Joins General Lee at Manas-sasThe Second Battle of ManasasThe Army Crosses the PotomacThe Surrender of Harper's Ferry 51

CHAPTER VIII.

The Army Recrosses the PotomacThe Battle of Sharpsburg

General Sims WoundedD. H. Hill and his Nerve 56

CHAPTER IX.

The Army Goes into Camp at WinchesterSmall-pox Breaks OutThe March to FredericksburgThe Men's Clothes Freeze on themThe Battle of FredericksburgThe Enemy Capture Barksdale's Works, but are Driven BackThe Washington Artillery cheer Barksdale's Mississippi Brigade Billy Blake and a Little Dog Frighten the People in Church 64

CHAPTER X.

The Men of both Armies become very FriendlyThe Little Confederate is appointed First Lieutenant in the C. S. Army, and presents himself to the Secretary of War 75

CHAPTER XI.

The Little Confederate Leaves the Army of Northern Virginia,

and Spends a Few Weeks at Home 84

PART II.

CHAPTER XII.

Lieutenant Bleecker Reports to General James R. Chalmers for

Duty, and is Assigned to the Command of an Artillery Section. 89

CHAPTER XIII.

General Chalmers organizes his Forces The Fight at Coldwater RiverGallant Conduct of Colonel McCullochCaptain Carroll gives McCulloch a DiningGallant Conduct of Major Grant Wilson of the Federal Army 89

CHAPTER XIV.

The Men Taught how to Jerk BeefColonel Young and "the Colt "Gallant Conduct of Major ChalmersNarrow Escape of General Sherman 106