Aleutian06 (talk | contribs) →Organization: Expanding article |
Aleutian06 (talk | contribs) Expanding article |
||
Line 89: | Line 89: | ||
== Organization== |
== Organization== |
||
The battery was recruited and organized in [[Arkadelphia, Arkansas]] in May 1861, immediately following the outbreak of the war. Organized by [[Captain (United States)|Captain]] Franklin Roberts, a local watch maker and first commander of the unit, the battery was made up mostly of [[Clark County, Arkansas|Clark County]] men, with a few from Hot Springs County. The initial battery officers were: |
The battery was recruited and organized in [[Arkadelphia, Arkansas]] in May 1861, immediately following the outbreak of the war. Organized by [[Captain (United States)|Captain]] Franklin Roberts, a local watch maker and first commander of the unit, the battery was made up mostly of [[Clark County, Arkansas|Clark County]] men, with a few from Hot Springs County. The initial battery officers were:<ref name="couchgenweb1"/> |
||
Captain Franklin Roberts |
Captain Franklin Roberts |
||
Line 96: | Line 96: | ||
3rd Lieutenant W. T. Crouch |
3rd Lieutenant W. T. Crouch |
||
The battery was enrolled in Confederate service at Little Rock, Arkansas on |
The battery was enrolled in Confederate service at Little Rock, Arkansas on July 15, 1863<ref name="couchgenweb1"/> and was initially sent to the depot at Pitman's Ferry, near [[Pocahontas, Arkansas]].<ref>United States. War Dept.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 3., Book, 1881; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth154606/m1/697/?q=Arkansas Battery : accessed February 13, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, Texas. </ref> Though he expected immediate deployment to operations in [[Kentucky]], the depot's commander, [[Colonel]] [[Solon Borland]], placed a hold on this artillery battery, opting to instead keep them at the depot to defend against a possible [[Union Army|Union]] attack. It remained in this duty for two months, then was sent for service in [[Mississippi]]. The battery received little to no formal military training, learning about military movements, operations and strategy almost entirely through trial and error.<ref name="couchgenweb1"/> |
||
== Battles== |
== Battles== |
||
Line 103: | Line 103: | ||
During the [[Battle of Shiloh]], a.k.a, Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, Sunday, April 6, 1862 – Monday, April 7, 1862, the battery, was listed as unattached. The unit became involved in the largest concentration of artillery in North American up to that time. By the afternoon of Sunday, April 6, 1862, men of Prentiss's and W. H. L. Wallace's divisions had established and held a position nicknamed the ''Hornet's Nest''.<ref>Cunningham, O. Edward. Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862. Edited by Gary Joiner and Timothy Smith. New York: Savas Beatie, 2007. ISBN 978-1-932714-27-2, pp. 241–42.</ref> The Confederates assaulted the position for several hours rather than simply bypassing it, and they suffered heavy casualties during these assaults.<ref>Eicher, David J. The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. ISBN 0-684-84944-5. p. 227, cites 12. See Also, Daniel, Larry J. Shiloh: The Battle That Changed the Civil War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. ISBN 0-684-80375-5 p. 214,</ref> It was not until the Confederates, led by Brig. Gen. [[Daniel Ruggles]], assembled over 50 cannons, including Robert's Arkansas Battery, into a position known as "Ruggles's Battery"<ref>Historians disagree on the number of artillery pieces the Confederates massed against the Hornets Nest. Cunningham, p. 290, can account for 51. Daniel, p. 229, argues for 53. Eicher, p. 228 and Sword, Wiley. Shiloh: Bloody April. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1992. ISBN 0-7006-0650-5. First published 1974 by Morrow. p. 326, report the traditional count of 62, which was originally established by battlefield historian D.W. Reed.</ref> to blast the line at close range that they were able to surround the position, and the Hornet's Nest fell after holding out for seven hours.<ref>Nevin, David, and the Editors of Time-Life Books. The Road to Shiloh: Early Battles in the West. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1983. ISBN 0-8094-4716-9. pp. 121–29, 136–39; See also Esposito, Vincent J. West Point Atlas of American Wars. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1959. OCLC 5890637, map 36; Daniel, pp. 207–14; See Also Woodworth, Steven E. Nothing but Victory: The Army of the Tennessee, 1861–1865. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 0-375-41218-2. pp. 179–85; See Also Eicher, p. 227. Sword, p. 306, lists 2,320 captured; Eicher, p. 228, 2,200; Daniel, p. 214, 2,400.</ref> |
During the [[Battle of Shiloh]], a.k.a, Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, Sunday, April 6, 1862 – Monday, April 7, 1862, the battery, was listed as unattached. The unit became involved in the largest concentration of artillery in North American up to that time. By the afternoon of Sunday, April 6, 1862, men of Prentiss's and W. H. L. Wallace's divisions had established and held a position nicknamed the ''Hornet's Nest''.<ref>Cunningham, O. Edward. Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862. Edited by Gary Joiner and Timothy Smith. New York: Savas Beatie, 2007. ISBN 978-1-932714-27-2, pp. 241–42.</ref> The Confederates assaulted the position for several hours rather than simply bypassing it, and they suffered heavy casualties during these assaults.<ref>Eicher, David J. The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. ISBN 0-684-84944-5. p. 227, cites 12. See Also, Daniel, Larry J. Shiloh: The Battle That Changed the Civil War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. ISBN 0-684-80375-5 p. 214,</ref> It was not until the Confederates, led by Brig. Gen. [[Daniel Ruggles]], assembled over 50 cannons, including Robert's Arkansas Battery, into a position known as "Ruggles's Battery"<ref>Historians disagree on the number of artillery pieces the Confederates massed against the Hornets Nest. Cunningham, p. 290, can account for 51. Daniel, p. 229, argues for 53. Eicher, p. 228 and Sword, Wiley. Shiloh: Bloody April. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1992. ISBN 0-7006-0650-5. First published 1974 by Morrow. p. 326, report the traditional count of 62, which was originally established by battlefield historian D.W. Reed.</ref> to blast the line at close range that they were able to surround the position, and the Hornet's Nest fell after holding out for seven hours.<ref>Nevin, David, and the Editors of Time-Life Books. The Road to Shiloh: Early Battles in the West. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1983. ISBN 0-8094-4716-9. pp. 121–29, 136–39; See also Esposito, Vincent J. West Point Atlas of American Wars. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1959. OCLC 5890637, map 36; Daniel, pp. 207–14; See Also Woodworth, Steven E. Nothing but Victory: The Army of the Tennessee, 1861–1865. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 0-375-41218-2. pp. 179–85; See Also Eicher, p. 227. Sword, p. 306, lists 2,320 captured; Eicher, p. 228, 2,200; Daniel, p. 214, 2,400.</ref> |
||
In early May 1862, Confederate forces underwent an army-wide reorganization due to the passage of the Conscription Act by the Confederate Congress in April 1862.<ref>UPTON, EMORY, Bvt. Maj. Gen., United States Army; "THE MILITARY POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES" WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1912, Page 471, Congressional edition, Volume 6164, Google Books, Accessed 4 November 2011, http://books.google.com/books?id=2-tGAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA471&lpg=PA471&dq=Confederate+conscription+law+reorganization+regiment&source=bl&ots=7ptDBF0n2D&sig=-K_6PQoHglmh_SOzuobv_JyNWUw&hl=en#v=onepage&q=Confederate%20conscription%20law%20reorganization%20regiment&f=false</ref> All twelve-month regiments and units had to re-muster and enlist for two additional years or the duration of the war; a new election of officers was ordered; and men who were exempted from service by age or other reasons under the Conscription Act were allowed to take a discharge and go home. Officers who did not choose to stand for re-election were also offered a discharge.<ref>United States. War Dept. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 10, In Two Parts. Part 2, Correspondence, etc., Book, 1884; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth154614/m1/500/?q=Army of Mississippi : accessed June 17, 2012), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, Texas.</ref> The reorganization was accomplished among all the Arkansas regiments and unit in and around Corinth, Mississippi, following the Battle of Shiloh.<ref name="history-sites"/> On May 25, 1862, Captain Roberts resigned, and Jannedens H. Wiggins, who had risen from first sergeant to first lieutenant, was elected captain. The battery would hereafter be known as Wiggins’ Battery, and the compiled service records of the men are filed under this designation at the National Archives.<ref name="couchgenweb1"/> On July 23, 1862, a number of men from Captain Thomas M. Austin’s (formerly Trigg's Arkansas Artillery Battery]] disbanded Arkansas light battery were assigned to the Clark County Artillery. |
|||
On May 25, 1862, Captain Roberts resigned, and Jannedens H. Wiggins, who had risen from first sergeant to first lieutenant, was appointed as captain. The battery would hereafter be known as Wiggins’ Battery, and the compiled service records of the men are filed under this designation at the National Archives.<ref name="couchgenweb1"/> |
|||
Equipped as a "horse artillery" unit, the battery was fully mounted, making it extremely mobile and capable of fast movements during battle actions. For this reason, in the re-organization of Confederate forces in the fall of 1862 following the Kentucky and Oorinth Campaigns, the battery was placed under the command of [[Lieutenant General]] [[Nathan Bedford Forrest]], so that it could support Forrest's fast moving [[cavalry]]. To support Forrest's rapid fluid movements, the battery generally operated in three widely separated [[cannon]] sections, which enabled their effective support of the cavalry, but left them in a dangerous position and exposed to attack if the cavalry moved too far from the battery.<ref name="couchgenweb1"/> |
Equipped as a "horse artillery" unit, the battery was fully mounted, making it extremely mobile and capable of fast movements during battle actions. For this reason, in the re-organization of Confederate forces in the fall of 1862 following the Kentucky and Oorinth Campaigns, the battery was placed under the command of [[Lieutenant General]] [[Nathan Bedford Forrest]], so that it could support Forrest's fast moving [[cavalry]]. To support Forrest's rapid fluid movements, the battery generally operated in three widely separated [[cannon]] sections, which enabled their effective support of the cavalry, but left them in a dangerous position and exposed to attack if the cavalry moved too far from the battery.<ref name="couchgenweb1"/> |
Revision as of 13:24, 16 August 2013
2nd Arkansas Light Artillery, (1861–1865) was a Confederate Army artillery battery which served during the American Civil War. The battery spent the majority of the war serving in Confederate forces east of the Mississippi River. The battery is also referred to as the Clark County Artillery, Robert's Arkansas Battery and Wiggins Arkansas Battery
Organization
The battery was recruited and organized in Arkadelphia, Arkansas in May 1861, immediately following the outbreak of the war. Organized by Captain Franklin Roberts, a local watch maker and first commander of the unit, the battery was made up mostly of Clark County men, with a few from Hot Springs County. The initial battery officers were:[1]
Captain Franklin Roberts 1st Lieutenant Peter E. Greene 2nd Lieutenant William C. Adams 3rd Lieutenant W. T. Crouch
The battery was enrolled in Confederate service at Little Rock, Arkansas on July 15, 1863[1] and was initially sent to the depot at Pitman's Ferry, near Pocahontas, Arkansas.[2] Though he expected immediate deployment to operations in Kentucky, the depot's commander, Colonel Solon Borland, placed a hold on this artillery battery, opting to instead keep them at the depot to defend against a possible Union attack. It remained in this duty for two months, then was sent for service in Mississippi. The battery received little to no formal military training, learning about military movements, operations and strategy almost entirely through trial and error.[1]
Battles
They operated in this capacity from late 1861, seeing action during the Battle of Fort Donelson and the Battle of Shiloh, in addition to smaller actions.[1]
During the Battle of Shiloh, a.k.a, Pittsburg Landing, Tennessee, Sunday, April 6, 1862 – Monday, April 7, 1862, the battery, was listed as unattached. The unit became involved in the largest concentration of artillery in North American up to that time. By the afternoon of Sunday, April 6, 1862, men of Prentiss's and W. H. L. Wallace's divisions had established and held a position nicknamed the Hornet's Nest.[3] The Confederates assaulted the position for several hours rather than simply bypassing it, and they suffered heavy casualties during these assaults.[4] It was not until the Confederates, led by Brig. Gen. Daniel Ruggles, assembled over 50 cannons, including Robert's Arkansas Battery, into a position known as "Ruggles's Battery"[5] to blast the line at close range that they were able to surround the position, and the Hornet's Nest fell after holding out for seven hours.[6]
In early May 1862, Confederate forces underwent an army-wide reorganization due to the passage of the Conscription Act by the Confederate Congress in April 1862.[7] All twelve-month regiments and units had to re-muster and enlist for two additional years or the duration of the war; a new election of officers was ordered; and men who were exempted from service by age or other reasons under the Conscription Act were allowed to take a discharge and go home. Officers who did not choose to stand for re-election were also offered a discharge.[8] The reorganization was accomplished among all the Arkansas regiments and unit in and around Corinth, Mississippi, following the Battle of Shiloh.[9] On May 25, 1862, Captain Roberts resigned, and Jannedens H. Wiggins, who had risen from first sergeant to first lieutenant, was elected captain. The battery would hereafter be known as Wiggins’ Battery, and the compiled service records of the men are filed under this designation at the National Archives.[1] On July 23, 1862, a number of men from Captain Thomas M. Austin’s (formerly Trigg's Arkansas Artillery Battery]] disbanded Arkansas light battery were assigned to the Clark County Artillery.
Equipped as a "horse artillery" unit, the battery was fully mounted, making it extremely mobile and capable of fast movements during battle actions. For this reason, in the re-organization of Confederate forces in the fall of 1862 following the Kentucky and Oorinth Campaigns, the battery was placed under the command of Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest, so that it could support Forrest's fast moving cavalry. To support Forrest's rapid fluid movements, the battery generally operated in three widely separated cannon sections, which enabled their effective support of the cavalry, but left them in a dangerous position and exposed to attack if the cavalry moved too far from the battery.[1]
During the Battle of Stone's River, December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, the battery was assigned to Brigadier General Joseph Wheeler's Cavalry Brigade.[10] During the skirmisihing leading up to the battle, the battery fought as independant sections under Lieutenants J.P. Bryant, and J.W. Calloway. Lieutenant Bryan lead one gun of one section whicy accompanied Major General John C. Breckinridge's attack on the Union left flank on January 2, 1863. [11]
During a minor action near Shelbyville, Tennessee, on June 27, 1863, a section of the battery commanded by Captain Jannedens H. Wiggins was cut off from the main force, and left vulnerable to attacking Union forces. The battery was overtaken, resulting in the capture of their artillery and thirty soldiers. Twenty nine of those would remain prisoners of war until well into the summer of 1865, after the war's end, before being released in a general parole. However, Captain Wiggins was sent to an officers' prison, and was released during a prisoner exchange in the early summer of 1865, before the war ended. Thus, he was able to return to duty for the unit's last action.[1]
The artillery battery was augmented with replacements twice during the war, to replace casualties suffered. In late 1862 they received a number of replacements from the 1st Alabama Cavalry. In April 1865, Captain Wiggins, recently released from his prisoner of war status, reunited with his battery, which was by this time attached to the 14th Georgia Artillery Battalion in North Carolina.[citation needed]
Surrender
On April 19, 1865, during a minor combat action near Newton, North Carolina, the battery was forced to surrender after being overrun following the collapse of the Confederate infantry to whom they were in support. Of the just over 160 men that had served in the battery from the beginning of the war, only 11 remained at the time of their surrender.[1]
See also
- List of Arkansas Civil War Confederate units
- Lists of American Civil War Regiments by State
- Confederate Units by State
- Arkansas in the American Civil War
- Arkansas Militia in the Civil War
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "2nd Arkansas Light Artillery". Edward G. Gerdes Civil War Home Page. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
- ^ United States. War Dept.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 3., Book, 1881; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth154606/m1/697/?q=Arkansas Battery : accessed February 13, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, Texas.
- ^ Cunningham, O. Edward. Shiloh and the Western Campaign of 1862. Edited by Gary Joiner and Timothy Smith. New York: Savas Beatie, 2007. ISBN 978-1-932714-27-2, pp. 241–42.
- ^ Eicher, David J. The Longest Night: A Military History of the Civil War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. ISBN 0-684-84944-5. p. 227, cites 12. See Also, Daniel, Larry J. Shiloh: The Battle That Changed the Civil War. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997. ISBN 0-684-80375-5 p. 214,
- ^ Historians disagree on the number of artillery pieces the Confederates massed against the Hornets Nest. Cunningham, p. 290, can account for 51. Daniel, p. 229, argues for 53. Eicher, p. 228 and Sword, Wiley. Shiloh: Bloody April. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 1992. ISBN 0-7006-0650-5. First published 1974 by Morrow. p. 326, report the traditional count of 62, which was originally established by battlefield historian D.W. Reed.
- ^ Nevin, David, and the Editors of Time-Life Books. The Road to Shiloh: Early Battles in the West. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1983. ISBN 0-8094-4716-9. pp. 121–29, 136–39; See also Esposito, Vincent J. West Point Atlas of American Wars. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1959. OCLC 5890637, map 36; Daniel, pp. 207–14; See Also Woodworth, Steven E. Nothing but Victory: The Army of the Tennessee, 1861–1865. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 0-375-41218-2. pp. 179–85; See Also Eicher, p. 227. Sword, p. 306, lists 2,320 captured; Eicher, p. 228, 2,200; Daniel, p. 214, 2,400.
- ^ UPTON, EMORY, Bvt. Maj. Gen., United States Army; "THE MILITARY POLICY OF THE UNITED STATES" WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1912, Page 471, Congressional edition, Volume 6164, Google Books, Accessed 4 November 2011, http://books.google.com/books?id=2-tGAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA471&lpg=PA471&dq=Confederate+conscription+law+reorganization+regiment&source=bl&ots=7ptDBF0n2D&sig=-K_6PQoHglmh_SOzuobv_JyNWUw&hl=en#v=onepage&q=Confederate%20conscription%20law%20reorganization%20regiment&f=false
- ^ United States. War Dept. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 10, In Two Parts. Part 2, Correspondence, etc., Book, 1884; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth154614/m1/500/?q=Army of Mississippi : accessed June 17, 2012), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, Texas.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
history-sites
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ United States. War Dept.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 20, In Two Parts. Part 1, Reports., Book, 1887; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth154629/m1/671/?q=Columbus Kentucky Arkansas Battery : accessed February 13, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries, Denton, Texas.
- ^ United States. War Dept.. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 20, In Two Parts. Part 1, Reports., Book, 1887, Page 965; digital images, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth154629/m1/976/?q=Wiggins Arkansas Battery : accessed August 16, 2013), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department, Denton, Texas.
Bibliography
- This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Civil War Soldiers and Sailors System, National Park Service
- Daniels, Larry (2005). Cannoneers in Gray: The Field Artillery of the Army of Tennessee, 1861–1865. Tuscaloosa, AL: Fire Ant Books.