5th Tennessee Regiment, Organization Page

5th Tennessee Regiment
Infantry

Actual accounts from Military Dispatches, from and about the
5th Tennessee Regiment.

Organization

Report of Brigadier-General, CHAS. CLARK.
UNION CITY, August 5, 1861.
Maj. Gen. L. POLK, Memphis:
     GENERAL: By telegraph to-day I ordered the South Carolina, Alabama, and Louisiana companies from Corinth to Memphis. As I had ordered them to leave Corinth for this post to-day at 12 m., I doubt not they were ready and their destination changed by your wishes, as I at the same time telegraphed the agent of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad to send them to you without delay. I hope you will have received them before you get this letter. I am informed that the force at Cairo has to be increased to 12,000 men. This is the lowest estimate. I am also informed from two sources, both of which are believed to be reliable (one of them certainly so), that General Prentiss has assured the Union men of Ballard County, Ky., that he will send troops to protect them, and that after Monday (to-day) he would not regard the neutrality of Kentucky, and only delayed until the election was over lest it might have an unfavorable bearing on their friends. This column is in a sad condition. The two Mississippi regiments have more men fit for duty than all the Tennessee regiments here and at Trenton, if I may judge from the partial reports submitted to me. One regiment (Colonel Travis') has not a captain present, and not 100 men for duty. I hope, however, that they may soon return, as it is time this election frolic was over. I send to-night to gain information of the troops at Trenton and to provide them with muster-rolls. But how are troops to be mustered when in one regiment there are three companies which have not one officer or non-commissioned officer present, and in one of them but seven privates present, and four of them reported sick? I do not make this report for official notice, as I think I can speedily correct these things, if they can be corrected, but to give you information of our condition. I have no cavalry and no means of verifying a hostile movement. The artillery of Captain Polk are, I understand, without harness, and those of Captain Smith without horses. Colonel Pickett verbally reports 500 men for duty, with three rounds of ammunition. Colonel Travis has 80,000 cartridges. As I have not been authorized to call for official reports, I can give you nothing definite in regard to the others. As to General Withers' brigade, I fear from reports that not much can be expected there in a hurry, but of this I suppose you are more fully informed, as I hear that General Withers has gone to Memphis. If the enemy is permitted to occupy the heights above Columbus, which I hear is a very strong natural position, we may have some trouble to dislodge them. It is to be regretted that we are not permitted to occupy them first and fortify them. It [should] have a head to the column and enable it to cover Randolph and Memphis. For if General Pillow leaves the river, what is to prevent a large force threatening Randolph and Memphis?
     Hoping that the circumstances will excuse this long and too indefinite letter, I am, general, most respectfully,
CHAS. CLARK,
Brigadier-General, C. S. Army.

     P. S.--May I respectfully suggest that a reconnaissance by a topographical engineer of Columbus could not now be considered a violation of the neutrality of Kentucky.

GENERAL ORDERS, No. 19

Report of Captain, E. D. Blake, C. S. Army, Acting Asst. Adjt. Gen.
HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT N0. 2,
Columbus, Ky., September 7, 1861.

     In organizing the Confederate forces now at Columbus, Ky., into field brigades, the major-general orders and directs the following:
     The First Brigade will be composed of the regiments of Col. P. Smith, Col. W. E. Travis, Col. T. J. Freeman, Col. Charles Carroll, and the battalion of Lieutenant-Colonel Blythe, and will be commanded by Brig. Gen. B. F. Cheatham.
     The Second Brigade will be composed of the regiments of Colonels Bowen, Marks, Scott, and Neely, and will be commanded by Col. John P. McCown.
     The Third Brigade, composed of the regiments of Cols. R. M. Russell, Wright, and Pickett, will be commanded by Colonel Russell.
     The Fourth Brigade will be composed of the regiments of Colonels Stephens and Douglass, and will be commanded by Colonel W. H. Stephens.
     The field batteries of Captains Hudson and Smith will compose a part of the First Brigade. Those officers will report accordingly.
     The field batteries of Captains Bankhead and Stewart will compose a part of the Second Brigade, and those officers will report accordingly.
     The field battery of Captain Jackson will compose a part of the Third Brigade. He will report accordingly.
     The field battery of Captain Polk will compose a part of the Fourth Brigade, and he will report accordingly.
     The battery of siege artillery of Captain Hamilton will be under the immediate orders of Brigadier-General Pillow, who will command the whole column.
     Major Miller's battalion of cavalry, and the separate companies of cavalry commanded by Captains Hudson, Cole, and Klein, will be organized into one battalion, and will, in addition to its major, elect a lieutenant-colonel.
     The six companies of Tennessee cavalry, commanded by Captains Logwood, White, Neely, Haywood, Hill, and Ballentine, and two companies of Alabama cavalry, commanded by Captains Bowie and Faulkner, will be organized into a battalion by the election of a major and lieutenant-colonel. The election for field officers of the Tennessee battalion having been suspended by appeal and the necessity of the public service demanding battalion organization, this organization becomes a necessity.
     By command of Major-General Polk:
E. D. BLAKE,
Captain, C. S. Army, Acting Asst. Adjt. Gen.

Report of Brigadier-General, John A. McClernand.
CAIRO, ILL., September 7, 1861.
Major-General FREMONT:
     Further reports render it morally certain, in my opinion, that the enemy under Polk is about 6,000 strong at Columbus; that yesterday their heavy cannon were lying on the ground under the bluff, and that Thompson, with an additional force, was encamped opposite [in] Missouri. The account is that the force at Columbus is from Union City and Madrid, and this is poorly equipped.
JOHN A. McCLERNAND,
Brigadier-General.

GENERAL ORDERS, No. 13

Report of Captain, E. D. Blake, C. S. Army, Acting Asst. Adjt. Gen.

HDQRS. FIRST DIV., WESTERN DEP'T,
Columbus, Ky., October 24, 1861.

     The following will hereafter, and until further orders, be the organization of this command:
     The First Division will be under the command of Brigadier-General Pillow, and will be composed as follows:
     The First Brigade, First Division, commanded by Col. J. K. Walker, will be composed of the regiments of Cols. J. K. Walker, C. M. Carroll, and John V. Wright. Capt. M. T. Polk's battery of artillery will compose a part of the First Brigade, First Division.
     The Second Brigade, First Division, commanded by Col. R. M. Russell, will be composed of the regiments of Cols. R. M. Russell, E. Pickett, and T. J. Freeman. Capt. W. H. Jackson's battery of artillery will compose a part of the Second Brigade, First Division.
     The Second Division will be commanded by Brig. Gen. B. F. Cheat-ham, and will be composed as follows:
     The First Brigade, Second Division, commanded by Col. Preston Smith, will be composed of the regiment of Col. Preston Smith and the battalion of Lieutenant-Colonel Blythe. Captain Hudson's battery of artillery will compose a part of the First Brigade, Second Division.
     The Second Brigade, Second Division, commanded by Col. W. H. Stephens, will be composed of the regiments of Cols. W. H. Stephens and H. L. Douglass. Capt. M. Smith's battery of artillery will compose a part of the Second Brigade, Second Division.
     The Third Division will be commanded by Brig. Gen. J. P. McCown, and will be composed as follows:
     The First Brigade, Third Division, commanded by Col. S. F. Marks, will be composed of the regiments of Col. S. F. Marks and Lieutenant-Colonel Kennedy's battalion Jackson regiment. Capt. S. P. Bankhead's battery of artillery will compose a part of the First Brigade, Third Division.
     The Second Brigade, Third Division, commanded by Col. R. P. Neely, will be composed of the regiments of Cols. R. P. Neely and T. M. Scott. Capt. R. A. Stewart's battery of artillery will compose a part of the Second Brigade, Third Division.
     The Fourth Division, commanded Col. John S. Bowen, will be composed as follows:
     The First Brigade, Fourth Division, commanded by Col. John D. Martin, will be composed of the regiments of Cols. John D. Martin and John S. Bowen. Capt. Daniel Beltzhoover's battery of artillery will compose a part of the First Brigade, Fourth Division.
     The Second Brigade, Fourth Division, commanded by Col. D. W. C. Bonham, will be composed of the regiments of Cols. D. W. C. Bonham and Thomas D. Merrick. Capt. W. O. Williams' battery will compose a part of the Second Brigade, Fourth Division.
     The siege battery of Capt. S. H. D. Hamilton is attached to the division of Brigadier-General Pillow until further orders.
     Lieutenant-Colonel Logwood's battalion of Tennessee cavalry is attached to, and will form a part of, the First Division.
     Lieutenant-Colonel Miller's battalion of Mississippi cavalry is attached to, and will form a part of, the Second Division.
     Capts. Warren Cole's, J. L. Faulkner's, and A. W. Bowie's companies of cavalry will form a part of the Fourth Division.
     Capts. Robert Haywood's, J. J. Neely's, and C. S. Hudson's companies of cavalry will form a part of the Third Division.
     The regiments commanded by Colonels Travis, Tappan, and Bradley are temporarily attached to the First Division, as the Third Brigade, and will be commanded by Col. W. E. Travis.
     By command of Major-General Polk:
E. D. BLAKE,
Capt., C. S. Army, Actg. Asst. Adjt. Gen.

GENERAL ORDERS, No. 13

Assistant Adjutant-General., W. C. Whitthorne, Adjutant-General's Office

ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE,
Nashville, Tenn., November 18, 1861.
His Excellency ISHAM G. HARRIS,
Governor, &c. :
     In obedience to your order I report that it appears from the records of this office that the following are the numbers of the regiments of infantry organized by you and turned over to the service of the Confederate States, viz: One hundred and fifty.fourth, Col. Preston Smith; First, Col. George Maney; Second, Col. J. Knox Walker; Third, Col. John C. Brown; Fourth, Col. R. P. Neely; Fifth, Col. W. E. Travis; Sixth, Col. W. H. Stephens; Seventh, Col. Robert Hatton; Eighth, Col. Alfred S. Fulton; Ninth, Col. H. L. Douglass; Tenth, Col. A. Heiman; Eleventh, Col. James E. Rains; Twelfth, Col. R. M. Russell; Thirteenth, Col. John V. Wright; Fourteenth, Col. W. A. Forbes; Fifteenth, Col. Charles M. Carroll; Sixteenth, Col. John H. Savage; Seventeenth, Col. Taz. W. Newman; Eighteenth, Col. J. B. Palmer; Nineteenth, Col. D. H. Cummings; Twentieth, Col. Joel A. Battle; Twenty-first, Col. Ed. Pickett, jr.; Twenty-second, Col. T. J. Freeman; Twenty-third, Col. Mathias Martin; Twenty-fourth, Col. R. D. Allison; Twenty-fifth, Col. S.S. Stanton; Twenty-sixth, Col. John M. Lillard; Twenty-seventh, Col C. H. Williams; Twenty-eighth, Col. John P. Murray; Twenty-ninth, Col. Samuel Powel; Thirtieth, Col. J.W. Head; Thirty-first, Colonel Bradford; Thirty-second, Col. E. C. Cook. I remark about the One hundred and fifty-fourth Regiment, commanded by Colonel Smith, that it was a corporate body previous to our present difficulties, and when the volunteer force was called for it preserved its corporate name and was so accepted.
     The officers of the regiments named above were commissioned by you, and hence the order of their numbers. There is no official record of any other regiment numbered by the State, yet the State has others in the Confederate service, viz: at Manassas, Colonel Bate's, Colonel Turney's, and Colonel Vaughn's, who went into said service early in May last; at Bowling Green, Col. B. J. Hill's, who went into service about 1st of September. Under Brigadier-General Carroll, three regiments, commanded, as I am informed, by Colonels White, Looney, and Avery, recently formed and organized, and the regiment commanded by Colonel Churchwell, organized in the month of August. The precise date upon which these regiments entered the Confederate service can only be ascertained from the record at Richmond. The numbers used in the State organization accord with the date of organization, and determine the rank of the officers of the different regiments. If the War Department designates these unnumbered regiments as Tennessee regiments, then properly the next infantry regiment formed should be numbered as desired by the Secretary of War in his request, through favor of Acting Assistant Adjutant-General Groner of the 11th instant, and confusion therein be avoided. With these facts before the Department, the Secretary of War by special order can so arrange the numbers as to conform to those already adopted by the State, and avoid all questions of rank; and to preserve this harmony in future this office will report to the Department, in accordance with the favor of [Acting] Assistant Adjutant-General Groner referred to or any special order the Secretary of War may make in regard thereto. No mention of the cavalry battalions and artillery companies turned over to the Confederate Government is deemed necessary at this writing.
     Respectfully,
W. C. WHITTHORNE,
Assistant Adjutant-General.

**Report of Brigadier-General, CHAS. CLARK.**
*UNION CITY, August* 5, 1861.** Maj. Gen. L. POLK, Memphis: GENERAL: By telegraph to-day I ordered the South Carolina, Alabama, and Louisiana companies from Corinth to Memphis. As I had ordered them to leave Corinth for this post to-day at 12 m., I doubt not they were ready and their destination changed by your wishes, as I at the same time telegraphed the agent of the Memphis and Charleston Railroad to send them to you without delay. I hope you will have received them before you get this letter. I am informed that the force at Cairo has to be increased to 12,000 men. This is the lowest estimate. I am also informed from two sources, both of which are believed to be reliable (one of them certainly so), that General Prentiss has assured the Union men of Ballard County, Ky., that he will send troops to protect them, and that after Monday (to-day) he would not regard the neutrality of Kentucky, and only delayed until the election was over lest it might have an unfavorable bearing on their friends. This column is in a sad condition. The two Mississippi regiments have more men fit for duty than all the Tennessee regiments here and at Trenton, if I may judge from the partial reports submitted to me. One regiment (Colonel Travis') has not a captain present, and not 100 men for duty. I hope, however, that they may soon return, as it is time this election frolic was over. I send to-night to gain information of the troops at Trenton and to provide them with muster-rolls. But how are troops to be mustered when in one regiment there are three companies which have not one officer or non-commissioned officer present, and in one of them but seven privates present, and four of them reported sick? I do not make this report for official notice, as I think I can speedily correct these things, if they can be corrected, but to give you information of our condition. I have no cavalry and no means of verifying a hostile movement. The artillery of Captain Polk are, I understand, without harness, and those of Captain Smith without horses. Colonel Pickett verbally reports 500 men for duty, with three rounds of ammunition. Colonel Travis has 80,000 cartridges. As I have not been authorized to call for official reports, I can give you nothing definite in regard to the others. As to General Withers' brigade, I fear from reports that not much can be expected there in a hurry, but of this I suppose you are more fully informed, as I hear that General Withers has gone to Memphis. If the enemy is permitted to occupy the heights above Columbus, which I hear is a very strong natural position, we may have some trouble to dislodge them. It is to be regretted that we are not permitted to occupy them first and fortify them. It [should] have a head to the column and enable it to cover Randolph and Memphis. For if General Pillow leaves the river, what is to prevent a large force threatening Randolph and Memphis? Hoping that the circumstances will excuse this long and too indefinite letter, I am, general, most respectfully, CHAS. CLARK, Brigadier-General, C. S. Army. P. S.--May I respectfully suggest that a reconnaissance by a topographical engineer of Columbus could not now be considered a violation of the neutrality of Kentucky. GENERAL ORDERS, No. 19 Report of Captain, E. D. Blake, C. S. Army, Acting Asst. Adjt. Gen. HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT N0. 2, Columbus, Ky., September 7, 1861. In organizing the Confederate forces now at Columbus, Ky., into field brigades, the major-general orders and directs the following: The First Brigade will be composed of the regiments of Col. P. Smith, Col. W. E. Travis, Col. T. J. Freeman, Col. Charles Carroll, and the battalion of Lieutenant-Colonel Blythe, and will be commanded by Brig. Gen. B. F. Cheatham. The Second Brigade will be composed of the regiments of Colonels Bowen, Marks, Scott, and Neely, and will be commanded by Col. John P. McCown. The Third Brigade, composed of the regiments of Cols. R. M. Russell, Wright, and Pickett, will be commanded by Colonel Russell. The Fourth Brigade will be composed of the regiments of Colonels Stephens and Douglass, and will be commanded by Colonel W. H. Stephens. The field batteries of Captains Hudson and Smith will compose a part of the First Brigade. Those officers will report accordingly. The field batteries of Captains Bankhead and Stewart will compose a part of the Second Brigade, and those officers will report accordingly. The field battery of Captain Jackson will compose a part of the Third Brigade. He will report accordingly. The field battery of Captain Polk will compose a part of the Fourth Brigade, and he will report accordingly. The battery of siege artillery of Captain Hamilton will be under the immediate orders of Brigadier-General Pillow, who will command the whole column. Major Miller's battalion of cavalry, and the separate companies of cavalry commanded by Captains Hudson, Cole, and Klein, will be organized into one battalion, and will, in addition to its major, elect a lieutenant-colonel. The six companies of Tennessee cavalry, commanded by Captains Logwood, White, Neely, Haywood, Hill, and Ballentine, and two companies of Alabama cavalry, commanded by Captains Bowie and Faulkner, will be organized into a battalion by the election of a major and lieutenant-colonel. The election for field officers of the Tennessee battalion having been suspended by appeal and the necessity of the public service demanding battalion organization, this organization becomes a necessity. By command of Major-General Polk: E. D. BLAKE, Captain, C. S. Army, Acting Asst. Adjt. Gen. Report of Brigadier-General, John A. McClernand. CAIRO, ILL., September 7, 1861. Major-General FREMONT: Further reports render it morally certain, in my opinion, that the enemy under Polk is about 6,000 strong at Columbus; that yesterday their heavy cannon were lying on the ground under the bluff, and that Thompson, with an additional force, was encamped opposite [in] Missouri. The account is that the force at Columbus is from Union City and Madrid, and this is poorly equipped. JOHN A. McCLERNAND, Brigadier-General. GENERAL ORDERS, No. 13 Report of Captain, E. D. Blake, C. S. Army, Acting Asst. Adjt. Gen. HDQRS. FIRST DIV., WESTERN DEP'T, Columbus, Ky., October 24, 1861. The following will hereafter, and until further orders, be the organization of this command: The First Division will be under the command of Brigadier-General Pillow, and will be composed as follows: The First Brigade, First Division, commanded by Col. J. K. Walker, will be composed of the regiments of Cols. J. K. Walker, C. M. Carroll, and John V. Wright. Capt. M. T. Polk's battery of artillery will compose a part of the First Brigade, First Division. The Second Brigade, First Division, commanded by Col. R. M. Russell, will be composed of the regiments of Cols. R. M. Russell, E. Pickett, and T. J. Freeman. Capt. W. H. Jackson's battery of artillery will compose a part of the Second Brigade, First Division. The Second Division will be commanded by Brig. Gen. B. F. Cheat-ham, and will be composed as follows: The First Brigade, Second Division, commanded by Col. Preston Smith, will be composed of the regiment of Col. Preston Smith and the battalion of Lieutenant-Colonel Blythe. Captain Hudson's battery of artillery will compose a part of the First Brigade, Second Division. The Second Brigade, Second Division, commanded by Col. W. H. Stephens, will be composed of the regiments of Cols. W. H. Stephens and H. L. Douglass. Capt. M. Smith's battery of artillery will compose a part of the Second Brigade, Second Division. The Third Division will be commanded by Brig. Gen. J. P. McCown, and will be composed as follows: The First Brigade, Third Division, commanded by Col. S. F. Marks, will be composed of the regiments of Col. S. F. Marks and Lieutenant-Colonel Kennedy's battalion Jackson regiment. Capt. S. P. Bankhead's battery of artillery will compose a part of the First Brigade, Third Division. The Second Brigade, Third Division, commanded by Col. R. P. Neely, will be composed of the regiments of Cols. R. P. Neely and T. M. Scott. Capt. R. A. Stewart's battery of artillery will compose a part of the Second Brigade, Third Division. The Fourth Division, commanded Col. John S. Bowen, will be composed as follows: The First Brigade, Fourth Division, commanded by Col. John D. Martin, will be composed of the regiments of Cols. John D. Martin and John S. Bowen. Capt. Daniel Beltzhoover's battery of artillery will compose a part of the First Brigade, Fourth Division. The Second Brigade, Fourth Division, commanded by Col. D. W. C. Bonham, will be composed of the regiments of Cols. D. W. C. Bonham and Thomas D. Merrick. Capt. W. O. Williams' battery will compose a part of the Second Brigade, Fourth Division. The siege battery of Capt. S. H. D. Hamilton is attached to the division of Brigadier-General Pillow until further orders. Lieutenant-Colonel Logwood's battalion of Tennessee cavalry is attached to, and will form a part of, the First Division. Lieutenant-Colonel Miller's battalion of Mississippi cavalry is attached to, and will form a part of, the Second Division. Capts. Warren Cole's, J. L. Faulkner's, and A. W. Bowie's companies of cavalry will form a part of the Fourth Division. Capts. Robert Haywood's, J. J. Neely's, and C. S. Hudson's companies of cavalry will form a part of the Third Division. The regiments commanded by Colonels Travis, Tappan, and Bradley are temporarily attached to the First Division, as the Third Brigade, and will be commanded by Col. W. E. Travis. By command of Major-General Polk: E. D. BLAKE, Capt., C. S. Army, Actg. Asst. Adjt. Gen. GENERAL ORDERS, No. 13 Assistant Adjutant-General., W. C. Whitthorne, Adjutant-General's Office ADJUTANT-GENERAL'S OFFICE, Nashville, Tenn., November 18, 1861. His Excellency ISHAM G. HARRIS, Governor, &c. : In obedience to your order I report that it appears from the records of this office that the following are the numbers of the regiments of infantry organized by you and turned over to the service of the Confederate States, viz: One hundred and fifty.fourth, Col. Preston Smith; First, Col. George Maney; Second, Col. J. Knox Walker; Third, Col. John C. Brown; Fourth, Col. R. P. Neely; Fifth, Col. W. E. Travis; Sixth, Col. W. H. Stephens; Seventh, Col. Robert Hatton; Eighth, Col. Alfred S. Fulton; Ninth, Col. H. L. Douglass; Tenth, Col. A. Heiman; Eleventh, Col. James E. Rains; Twelfth, Col. R. M. Russell; Thirteenth, Col. John V. Wright; Fourteenth, Col. W. A. Forbes; Fifteenth, Col. Charles M. Carroll; Sixteenth, Col. John H. Savage; Seventeenth, Col. Taz. W. Newman; Eighteenth, Col. J. B. Palmer; Nineteenth, Col. D. H. Cummings; Twentieth, Col. Joel A. Battle; Twenty-first, Col. Ed. Pickett, jr.; Twenty-second, Col. T. J. Freeman; Twenty-third, Col. Mathias Martin; Twenty-fourth, Col. R. D. Allison; Twenty-fifth, Col. S.S. Stanton; Twenty-sixth, Col. John M. Lillard; Twenty-seventh, Col C. H. Williams; Twenty-eighth, Col. John P. Murray; Twenty-ninth, Col. Samuel Powel; Thirtieth, Col. J.W. Head; Thirty-first, Colonel Bradford; Thirty-second, Col. E. C. Cook. I remark about the One hundred and fifty-fourth Regiment, commanded by Colonel Smith, that it was a corporate body previous to our present difficulties, and when the volunteer force was called for it preserved its corporate name and was so accepted. The officers of the regiments named above were commissioned by you, and hence the order of their numbers. There is no official record of any other regiment numbered by the State, yet the State has others in the Confederate service, viz: at Manassas, Colonel Bate's, Colonel Turney's, and Colonel Vaughn's, who went into said service early in May last; at Bowling Green, Col. B. J. Hill's, who went into service about 1st of September. Under Brigadier-General Carroll, three regiments, commanded, as I am informed, by Colonels White, Looney, and Avery, recently formed and organized, and the regiment commanded by Colonel Churchwell, organized in the month of August. The precise date upon which these regiments entered the Confederate service can only be ascertained from the record at Richmond. The numbers used in the State organization accord with the date of organization, and determine the rank of the officers of the different regiments. If the War Department designates these unnumbered regiments as Tennessee regiments, then properly the next infantry regiment formed should be numbered as desired by the Secretary of War in his request, through favor of Acting Assistant Adjutant-General Groner of the 11th instant, and confusion therein be avoided. With these facts before the Department, the Secretary of War by special order can so arrange the numbers as to conform to those already adopted by the State, and avoid all questions of rank; and to preserve this harmony in future this office will report to the Department, in accordance with the favor of [Acting] Assistant Adjutant-General Groner referred to or any special order the Secretary of War may make in regard thereto. No mention of the cavalry battalions and artillery companies turned over to the Confederate Government is deemed necessary at this writing. Respectfully, W. C. WHITTHORNE, Assistant Adjutant-General.

Go on to Columbus, Ky., March 2-3, 1862.

"OR"