(THE BATTLE OF PEACHTREE CREEK AT BUCK HEAD, GA, NORTH OF ATLANTA. UNCLE PATRICK WAS ONE OF THREE SURVIVORS OF COMPANY “H.”)
SO, UNCLE PATRICK FOUND HIMSELF AS CAPTAIN OF COMPANY “H,” FOR THE LAST BIT OF THE CONQUEST OF THE SOUTH BY THE FEDERAL FORCES. LIKE ELECTIONS, WARS HAVE REAL CONSEQUENCES. I WILL GET TO SOME OF THOSE IN A MOMENT, THOUGH I HAVE TO SAY PATRICK’S REMARKABLE NARRATIVE, REVILED BY SOME HISTORIANS OF THE MODERN AGE, PETERS OUT AT THIS POINT.
IT IS SO RICH AND SO PERSONAL THAT THE REST OF THE WAR IS STRANGELY IMPERSONAL AS THINGS FELL APART.
THERE IS A POPULAR, THOUGH I THINK MEAN-SPIRITED, ATTEMPT TO PAINT OUR UNCLE AS A COMPULSIVE TALE-TELLER, REPLETE WITH SELF-AGGRANDIZEMENT. I THINK IT WAS JUST A FUNCTION OF TIME AND DISTANCE FROM THE EVENTS. UP TO RAYMOND, AND THE FALL OF COLONEL RANDALL MCGAVOCK, THERE WAS A CERTAIN ROMANCE TO THE WHOLE ADVENTURE. AFTER THAT MOMENT, AND THE SAD FUNERAL AND THE GRIM REALITY OF CAPTIVITY, THERE WAS NEVER AGAIN THE INNOCENCE OF THE CAUSE. WHAT HAPPENED WAS TECUMSEH SHERMAN’S QUITE MODERN IDEA OF TOTAL WAR, DEMONSTRATED ON HIS DEVASTATING MARCH TO THE SEA FOLLOWING THE DESTRUCTION OF ATLANTA.
MY COON-ASS COLLEAGUE NOTED SOMETHING ABOUT IT AND HOW THE DEFEAT HAD AFFECTED HIS FAMILY. HE WROTE ME A NOTE ON AGED VELLUM PARCHMENT, DELIVERED BY PASSENGER PIGEON FROM METARIE, LOUISIANA, WHERE THE TOMB OF GENERAL JOHN BELL HOOD IS LOCATED. HE COMMENTED:
“THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THAT A YANKEE OFFICER NAMED “CAPTAIN NEFF” WAS MENTIONED. MY MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER’S MAIDEN NAME WAS NEFF. I NOW OWN THE NEFF FAMILY TOMB IN METAIRIE CEMETERY, WHERE GENERAL HOOD RESTS. THE NEFF FREE-RANGE EXTENDED FROM SOUTHWEST MISSISSIPPI TO EAST TEXAS. ONE OF THEM BECAME THE 28TH GOVERNOR OF TEXAS, 1921 TO 1925.
THERE WERE NEFF SEA CAPTAINS AND RIVERBOAT PILOTS. I’VE NEVER HEARD OF A YANKEE NEFF BEFORE, BUT THAT IS TO BE EXPECTED. IF THERE HAD BEEN ONE, THE REST OF THE FAMILY WOULD HAVE DISOWNED HIM.
HAVING A YANKEE IN THE FAMILY AT THE TIME OF THE WAR OF YANKEE AGGRESSION WAS A BIT LIKE OUR CHEROKEE BLOOD AFTER PASSAGE OF THE “CORRUPTION OF THE BLOOD ACT,” SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD KEEP SECRET. IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY THIS “CAPT. NEFF” WASN’T A YANKEE ARMY OFFICER BUT A MERCHANT OFFICER CONNECTED TO THE PRISONER TRANSPORT BOAT FROM WHICH YOUR UNCLE ESCAPED. IF THAT WAS THE CASE I CAN SEE HOW THIS “CAPT. NEFF” ENDED UP WORKING FOR THE YANKEES. IF YOU WERE A US-LICENSED MASTER OR PILOT WORKING RIVER TRANSPORT BETWEEN MEMPHIS AND POINTS NORTH WHEN THE WAR BROKE OUT AND YOUR VESSEL WAS IN UNION-CONTROLLED TERRITORY, YOU WERE IN A REAL PICKLE.
A MERCHANT MARINE OFFICER’S LICENSE COMES WITH THE OATH TO THE UNITED STATES. THAT MEANS THERE IS AN AUTOMATIC NAVAL AUXILIARY ROLE IN WARTIME. STUCK ON AN AMERICAN FLAG TRANSPORT, LICENSED BY THE STEAM BOAT INSPECTORS, THE BOAT WOULD QUICKLY BE PUT IN THE SERVICE OF THE ARMY. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BASICALLY A DECISION TO GO YANKEE OR HANG. IF I’VE GOT THIS RIGHT, THAT “CAPT. NEFF” IN YOUR STORY WAS A RIVER STEAMER OFFICER, I’D BET HE IS A BLACK SHEEP RELATIVE FROM THE COLLECTION OF PILOTS IN THE FAMILY.
IT IS A SMALL WORLD AND SHIT HAPPENS. I’M OK WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF A RELATIVE WORKING THE YANKEE SIDE BACK THEN. BUT I’M SURE GLAD THAT MY GRANDMA ISN’T AROUND TO HEAR ABOUT THIS. OR MAYBE SHE KNEW. SHE DIDN’T TELL ME ABOUT OUR CHEROKEE RELATIONS UNTIL AFTER THE CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1964 PASSED AND THE “CORRUPTION OF THE BLOOD STATUTE” IN LOUISIANA WAS BOUNCED BY THE COURTS.
MY GRANDMOTHER HAD A LOT OF STORIES TOLD TO HER FIRST HAND BY HER PARENTS OF THE UNION OCCUPATION, AND SUFFERED THROUGH THE ECONOMIC PROBLEMS OF THE POST OCCUPATION. THERE WERE TWO THINGS SHE HAD NO USE FOR AND THIS SOUNDS LIKE AN ODD COMBINATION GIVEN PEOPLE’S IMAGES OF THE SOUTH. SHE HATED YANKEES AND SEGREGATIONISTS, ESPECIALLY RACE BAITING POLITICIANS. I OFTEN WONDER WHAT SHE WOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF YANKEES, IF THE OCCUPATION HADN’T OF BEEN SUCH A HORROR.
IF WE HAD A TURN-COAT PILOT IN THE FAMILY, SHE WOULD HAVE BEEN TAUGHT TO DISOWN AND HATE HIM, SINCE HE HELPED USHER IN THE OCCUPATION THAT COST BOTH SIDES OF MY FAMILY SO MUCH. THIS REALLY IS A SMALL WORLD, AND PAST ISN’T REALLY SO DISTANT, IT HARDLY SEEMS PAST.”
BOATS IS QUITE RIGHT ON SEVERAL LEVELS. AS FAR AS PATRICK GOES, THERE ARE SOME DATA POINTS IN FAMILY LORE, AND DOTS THAT CAN BE CONNECTED FOR WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM AFTER HE WAS ELECTED CAPTAIN OF COMPANY “H,” 10TH TENNESSEE INFANTRY.
I KNOW WHAT PATRICK SAID ABOUT THE GEORGIA CAMPAIGN, BUT THE UNIT HISTORY GETS QUITE SCRAMBLED THROUGH THE END OF 1863.
YOU DO NOT GET A SENSE OF MUCH ABOVE THE SMALL UNIT LEVEL IN PATRICK’S ACCOUNT OF THE WAR BETWEEN THE STATES. OFTEN, THE NARRATIVE IS ONLY ABOUT THE PERSON TO YOUR SIDE IN THE RANKS, AND COMBAT IS INTENSELY LOCAL AND DEMONSTRABLY PERSONAL.
THE ORIGINAL CADRE OF SOLDIERS HAD BECOME MINGLED AS THE NUMBER OF DEAD, WOUNDED AND MISSING CONTINUED TO GROW. BY DECEMBER OF 1863, THE BRIGADE WAS COMPOSED OF THE 37TH GEORGIA REGIMENT, THE 4TH GEORGIA BATTALION SHARPSHOOTERS, 10TH, 15TH, 37TH, 20TH, 30TH TENNESSEE INFANTRY REGIMENTS AND 1ST TENNESSEE INFANTRY BATTALION.
THE “BLOODY TINTH,” COMMANDED BY MAJOR JOHN O’NEILL, WAS EXACTLY THAT: THE DAILY MUSTER REPORTED ONLY 69 EFFECTIVES IN THE RANKS. BY FEBRUARY 20, 1864, THE 1ST TENNESSEE BATTALION WAS GONE. BY JULY, 1864, THE 2ND TENNESSEE INFANTRY WAS ADDED TO THE BRIGADE. NO FURTHER CHANGES IN THE COMPOSITION OF THE BRIGADE WERE SHOWN UNTIL AFTER THE BATTLE OF FRANKLIN, NOVEMBER 30, 1864. DURING THIS TIME, THE BRIGADE HAD FOUGHT AT MISSIONARY RIDGE, THROUGHOUT THE RETREAT TO ATLANTA, AND THE MARCH BACK INTO TENNESSEE.
PATRICK LEFT THE FORMATION AFTER THE BATTLE OF PEACHTREE CREEK, AFTER WHICH HE REPORTED HE WAS ONE OF ONLY THREE SURVIVORS OF COMPANY H. AT THAT POINT, THE UNIT HAD EFFECTIVELY CEASED TO EXIST, AND PATRICK WAS AN ENTERPRISING YOUNG MAN. HE VOLUNTEERED TO JOIN NEWLY-INSTALLED COMMANDER JOHN BELL HOOD’S SCOUTS, AND SET OFF TO RAID THE LOGISTICS SUPPLY LINE OF THE UNION ARMY.
SON OF A RAILROAD MAN, HE BECAME REMARKABLY ADEPT AT DERAILING LOCOMOTIVES AND PLUNDERING THE BOXCARS BULGING WITH UNION SUPPLIES. ACCORDING TO HIS OBITUARY, THE GENERAL HIMSELF COMMENTED ON THE EFFICACY OF HIS EFFORTS AT RAIDING, AND PRESUMABLY PATRICK STAYED WITH THE GENERAL’S STAFF IN THE WITHDRAWAL FROM GEORGIA TO TENNESSEE, AND THE FIGHTING AT THE BATTLE OF FRANKLIN, AND THEN IN ASSOCIATION WITH GENERAL NATHAN BEDFORD FORREST’S CAMPAIGN TO DESTROY BRIDGES AND LINES OF COMMUNICATIONS.
(GENERAL NATHAN BEDFORD FORREST. PHOTO LIBRARY OF CONGRESS).
BY THE END OF 1864, THE HEAD-ON ASSAULT TACTICS OF JOHN BELL HOOD HAD CUT A SCYTHE THROUGH HIS ARMY, AND PATRICK WAS FORTUNATE TO BE MOUNTED AND SEMI-INDEPENDENT. AT THE BATTLE OF NASHVILLE THE 2ND, 10TH, 15TH, 20TH, 30TH AND 37TH TENNESSEE REGIMENTS WERE ALL COMBINED INTO ONE RAG-TAG UNIT IN THE VICINITY OF SHY’S HILL IN THE GRANNY WHITE PIKE SECTION. AFTER THAT FIGHT, THE DIVISION WAS VIRTUALLY ANNIHILATED. OF THE COMBINED UNITS PRESENT, ONLY 65 ESCAPED, AND THESE NOT AS A COMMAND, BUT AS INDIVIDUALS.
WHEN THEY REFORMED INTO SOMETHING LIKE AN INFANTRY FORMATION, THE TROOPS WERE DISPATCHED TO JOIN GENERAL JOSEPH E. JOHNSTON IN NORTH CAROLINA IN TIME TO PARTICIPATE IN THE FINAL BATTLE AT BENTONVILLE. THOSE SURVIVORS OF A DOZEN PROUD UNITS WERE PAROLED BY UNION FORCES AT GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA MAY 1, 1865.
PATRICK WOULD HAVE STAYED WITH JOHN BELL HOOD, WHO WAS BEING TAKEN APART LIKE THE ARMY HE HAD COMMANDED. HE LOST HIS LEFT ARM AT GETTYSBURG, AND HIS RIGHT LEG AT CHICKAMAUGA. RETREATING WITH THE SHATTERED REMNANTS OF THE ARMY OF TENNESSEE INTO NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI, HE WAS ORDERED BY JEFFERSON DAVIS TO TRAVEL TO TEXAS AND ATTEMPT TO RAISE AN ARMY TO CONTINUE THE FIGHT IN THE WEST, AND I AM SURE PATRICK WOULD HAVE ENJOYED THE ADVENTURE.
HOWEVER, AFTER LEARNING OF LEE’S SURRENDER AND THE CAPTURE OF DAVIS, HOOD SURRENDERED TO FEDERAL AUTHORITIES IN NATCHEZ, MISSISSIPPI ON MAY 31, 1865. IT WAS OVER.
PATRICK CLAIMED SERVICE IN 24 GENERAL ENGAGEMENTS IN HIS TIME IN UNIFORM, AN IMPRESSIVE FEAT OF SURVIVAL. BY 1905, THE DEVASTATION HAD HEALED TO THE RECOLLECTIONS OF AN OLD MAN IN A TAILORED GRAY SUIT. HERE IS THE WAY HE SUMMED IT UP IN HIS ADDRESS TO THE OTHER CONFEDERATE VETS AND THEIR CHILDREN THAT NIGHT IN NASHVILLE:
“OF COLONEL MCGGAVOCK’S REGIMENT, TO MY KNOWLEDGE, ONLY SEVEN OF THE ORIGINAL MEMBERS ARE NOW LIVING: LIEUTENANT COLONEL S. M. THOMPSON, CAPTAIN THOMAS GIBSON, CAPTAIN CHARLEY STOCKDALE, AND COMMISSARY SERGEANT BARNEY MCCABE, MIKE CARNEY, AND JOHN FLEMMING. THE LAST NAMED TWO ARE AT THE SOLDIERS’ HOME. COLONEL THOMPSON LIVES AT FLORENCE, ALABAMA, THE OTHERS RESIDE IN NASHVILLE, AND I AM THE SOLE SURVIVOR OF THE ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FOUR MEMBERS OF THE “SONS OF ERIN.”
I KNOW OF NO OTHER REGIMENT WITH A RECORD OF THREE FULL COLONELS BURIED IN ONE GRAVEYARD. THE REMAINS OF COLONELS HEIMAN, MCGAVOCK. AND GRACE, OF THE 10TH TENNESSEE INFANTRY, IRISH, LIE WITHIN THE SHADOW OF THE CONFEDERATE CIRCLE MONUMENT IN BEAUTIFUL MOUNT OLIVET CEMETERY, AT NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE, WHERE IT ALL BEGAN SO MANY YEARS AGO.”
(WHAT IS LEFT OF A DEPOT NEAR ATLANTA. BOTH SIDES BECAME QUITE ADEPT AT THIS SORT OF DESTRUCTION. PHOTO LIBRARY OF CONGRESS).
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