Statewide County TN Archives Military Records.....Chapter XX Civilwar 1st TN Cavalry (Union) ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/tn/tnfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com April 13, 2007, 10:57 pm Chapter XX CHAPTER XX. CLOSING SCENES-UNDER THE TATTERED ELAG-MUSTERED OUT-FAREWELL GREETING-RECEPTION BY THE LOYAL PEOPLE. The First Tennessee was now about to leave the service, and the writer makes the modest claim that it made an honorable and creditable record, one that their country and children may well be proud of. The list of engagements and its death-roll tell part of the story, and during its service won the name of "The Fighting First," and although not one of Fox's three hundred fighting regiments, yet it was a brave and gallant body of men, and wherever it was engaged its losses bore evidence of its valor. It carried the Stars and Stripes and marched under its waving folds when screaming shot and hissing shell were sweeping them away. The period when the regiment was organized was one when disaster seemed at hand and the fate of the nation hung trembling in the balance. The inducements for enlisting were the very poorest. No magnificent bounties or "big pay" were offered, or mild service to lure them into the ranks. All that was left "in that dark and trying hour" to give the volunteer impulse was: "Your country needs you; go!" Never was there such a patriotic uprising of the loyal people all over the land. The men composing the First Tennessee have already transmitted to posterity on the pages of history the evidence of its valor on the field of battle. Hundreds of its members will never again respond to any earthly roll-call or spring to arms at the nation's call. Their work is done, and their voices are silent. Captains Lane, Bowman and Cannon; Lieutenants Whitehead, Stapleton, Cox, Roberts and Hull; the long list of sergeants, corporals and privates, sleep the unending sleep of death. Their forms have decomposed into dust, the origin and the end of man. They died in the mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee, by the banks of the Cumberland, Tennessee and Chattahoochee Rivers, on the battlefield, in the hospital and in prison. No monuments mark their resting-places, but a deathless fame immortalizes their deeds. What a strange and happy change was now going on- the war over and the soldiers being mustered out! About a million of Union soldiers threw off their blue uniforms, laid down the weapons of war, and putting on citizens clothing took up the arms of peace, soon to be lost sight of in a busy world. Never had the wrorld witnessed such a change. In 1861 -2 the great Union army, which had sprung into existence from the loyal and patriotic people of the United States, were now as suddenly transformed back to the peaceful pursuits of civil life. The writer has endeavored in this brief work to give the reader a correct account of the gallant record made by the First Tennessee from 1862 to 1865. It has been a labor of love as well as a pleasant duty to record the many heroic deeds performed by the regiment. The First Tennessee had brave, competent and faithful officers, while in the ranks the men who carried the carbines and wielded the saber were also brave and patriotic and discharged their duty faithfully. The regiment was composed of good material-mostly farmers-and was organized and led by volunteer officers. The moral character was good and no regiment in the service was more religiously inclined. This was doubtless due in a great measure to its worthy chaplain, who was a most excellent Christian gentleman. He preached to the men every Sunday, when it was possible to do so, and his meetings were always largely attended and of the most devout character. It had as few camp fights as any regiment in the service. There were several officers and enlisted men of the First Tennessee commissioned in other regiments, while others were detailed to fill various positions of trust and responsibility, and the writer is unable to recall a single instance where anyone betrayed the confidence or degraded the office he was called upon to fill. In the preparation of this work the writer has as times almost given up the enterprise for want of proper information and facts. Those who are familiar with the early organization of the Tennessee regiments will remember that they were made up in the State of Kentucky, and the irregular way in which the men composing these regiments made their escape in order to enlist will realize at once the great difficulty in collecting facts for such a work. The State was also a battleground most of the time. But after a year of hard and patient labor this brief history has been prepared, in which the many thrilling and heroic deeds are recorded, and the writer feels warranted in saying that a grateful people fully appreciate your untiring sacrifice and devotion to the "old flag" and that your blood was not spilled in vain. The recruits remained in the service until the 14th of June, when they were mustered out. Major Russell Thornburgh, being the senior officer left, commanded the recruits until they were discharged. The men were paid, the final discharge given, and after marching to their quarters we exchanged farewell greetings with those of our comrades who were to remain in the service for a short time. It was a sad parting, one that all will remember. Many letters were sent home by the boys who remained behind. The regiment as a unit assembled for the last time under the folds of its old flag, and as the grim warriors gazed at its tattered folds under which they had marched and fought for three long years, many tears could be seen trickling down the bronzed faces of the men. Our thoughts went out in loving memory for those of our comrades who had fallen in battle, died in the hospital or in prison-the last the saddest of all. It is true our efforts to help crush the rebellion were successful, but the highways along which we marched and fought have also been made moist and crimson by the blood of our own dead. It is true the rebellion could have been put down without the aid of the First Tennessee, yet the small streams help to make up the ocean. On the 11th day of April the Knox County boys and a large number of the men from the upper East Tennessee counties left camp and marched to the depot and embarked on the cars for home, leaving behind a record that has already passed into history. At Cleveland, Tennessee, we heard of the assassination of President Lincoln at Washington. On reaching our respective homes we were warmly and cordially received by the loyal people, who greeted us with open arms. Grim war nor cruel treatment had dampened their love for the Union or sympathy for the boys in blue. All over East Tennessee the returning soldiers were greeted with outstretched arms, and banquets were given in their honor. What a relief from an almost unbroken strain, after three years of faithful service at the front! We said goodbye, drill and dress-parade; goodbye, saber, gun and tent; adieu, faithful horse and much-beloved canteen; farewell, old hard-tack and army bean: An affectionate adieu To each of you. Each returning soldier recalled the fact that others had gone out with him, but would never return. They also recalled the days of battle and of death in hospital and in prison. But with these sad memories came peace-no more battles, no more prisons, no more hospitals. The boys were welcomed home, and the people were ready and willing to help the boys begin life again, and nothing was too good for a returning soldier. The recruits remained on duty in Nashville until the 14th of June, 1865, when they were all mustered out and returned home. Now, comrades of the First Tennessee, I have attempted to follow your movements for three years and to correctly record your deeds and the part you took in the great struggle, but will let you judge of their correctness. I have followed as best I could your movements in the States of Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi, the States in which you performed distinguished service. And now, having followed all of your movements from enlistment to muster-out at Nashville, the capital of your own State, and being unable to follow you any further or to accompany each one of you home, I will leave you and bid each one a long and affectionate farewell. Comrades, it has been one of the most pleasant duties of my life to write a history of your service. But remember, comrades, this has been no small undertaking, and if any errors have been made they are of the head and not the heart. Since the close of the war the surviving members of the regiment have organized an association known as "The First Tennessee Cavalry Association," which meets annually. These annual gatherings are well attended and are seasons of great enjoyment. Through the kindness of Mrs. W. G. Brownlow, the mother of our colonel, the old flag under which the regiment marched and fought was presented by her to the association and is an interesting memento at our meetings. The whitening hair, the failing vision and the halting step all prefigure the inevitable hour when all must pass over and join the silent majority beyond. Additional Comments: Extracted from: HISTORY OF THE FIRST REGIMENT OF Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry IN THE GREAT WAR OF THE REBELLION, WITH THE ARMIES OF THE OHIO AND CUMBERLAND, UNDER GENERALS MORGAN, ROSECRANS, THOMAS, STANLEY AND WILSON. 1862-1865. BY W. R. CARTER, COMPANY C. ILLUSTRATED. KNOXVILLE, TENN.: GAUT-OGDEN CO., PRINTERS AND BINDERS. 1902. Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1896, by W. R. CARTER, in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington, D. C. TO THE SURVIVING MEMBERS OF THE FIRST TENNESSEE CAVALRY; TO THE MEMORY OF OUR DECEASED COMRADES AND THEIR KINDRED; TO THE MARTYRED PATRIOTS OF EAST TENNESSEE WHO DIED ON THE GALLOWS AND IN PRISON, AND TO THE LOYAL AND PATRIOTIC PEOPLE WHO SYMPATHIZED WITH THEM, THIS VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, IN FRATERNITY, CHARITY AND LOYALTY, BY THE AUTHOR. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/tn/statewide/military/civilwar/other/u1sttncav336nmt.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/tnfiles/ File size: 10.6 Kb