Williamson County TN Archives News.....Stories of the War - A Snow Battle During The War December 21, 1886
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Linda Blum-Barton http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00003.html#0000645 March 15, 2006, 11:25 pm

The Weekly Constitution, Atlanta, Ga. December 21, 1886
Just after the battle of Fredericksburg the brigade commanded by the gallant 

general, Clement A. Evans--now a devout disciple of the Prince of Peace-- was 

in winter quarters on the Rappahanock river near Port Royal.  



A snow storm came and snow fell to a depth of a foot.



General Hoke, of North Carolina, who was quartered near by with his brigade of 

three thousand men marched over and sent word to General Evans that he must 

surrender or stand the consequence.  Of course there was no surrender.  The 

North Carolinians who were making the demand for surrender attacked the 

Georgians on the flank where the Thirty-First and Thirty-Eighth regiments 

chanced to be.  The assault was so unexpected and the attacking forces were so 

well massed that they swept everything before them, going through the camps and 

having things their own way.  When the troops of General Hoke had pretty well 

routed General Evans, they struck the 13th Georgia, and had such a lively 

tussle that the rest of the Georgians were encouraged, reformed, charged the 

North Carolinians, and accomplished a complete rout, driving them pell-mell 

through the snow to their winter quarters, three miles away.  The Georgians 

withdrew, but later in the day planned an attack on General Hoke's camps, 

intending to bring away anything portable that could be captured.  The 

Georgians were repulsed, however, without difficulty, as a good many of the old 

soldiers refused to go on the raid, and Genral Hoke's forces outnumbered the 

forces of General Evans.



In the retreat, the distinguished "Bull" Averitt, of the 31st Georgia, fell 

into a gully fifteen feet deep, and couldn't get out.  He tried to surrender 

but the North Carolinians informed him that they were not taking any prisoners 

that day.



"You came after an oven!"  a Carolinian would exclaim, "here is a biscuit to 

put in it!" and the unfortunate Bull would catch it in the eye or behind the 

ear.  Whe Bull got back to camp he was without his hat.  The two battles taken 

together made the day's fighting a draw, and on that each side rested.



Between six and seven thousand men were engaged in the snow balling.



In January '64, while the confederate troops were in winter quarters at Dalton, 

there came a big snow storm and twenty thousand soldeirs went into a regularly 

organized snow balling.



On one side of the branch was the parade ground of the Georgia and South 

Carolina troops, and back of that the quarters.  On the opposite side of the 

branch was the parade ground of the Tennesseeans and back of their parade 

ground was their quarters.



The ground was frozen to a depth of five feet, the snow was a foot deep and no 

indication of melting.



A day was appointed for the snow battle.



The Tennesseans marched out and formed a line of battle, their drums beating, 

bugles blowing, colors flying, and officers mounted.



Every soldier had a knapsack full of snow balls.



The Georgians formed and prepared to make the attack by crossing the branch. 



There were ten thousand men on each side and the scene was very imposing.



As soon as the Georgians crossed the branch they met a terrific fusilade from 

the Tennesseans who were at home in the snow.



The commander of the Tennesseans, a handsome fellow named Gordon, who was from 

Franklin, Tennessee, was capturned but a bold dash was made by the Tennesseans, 

and he was rescued.



The Georgians and South Carolinians being unused to the snow, were at a great 

disadvantage, and were forced back across the branch.  As the Tenneseeans 

crossed the branch they wet their snowballs, and the next volley fired at the 

Georgia and Carolina boys was terrible in its effect. Pressing on, the 

Tenneseans captured the quarters and proceeded to loot the whole shebang, 

carrying off rations, tobacco, piopes, and everything else that did not belong 

to the government.  That snowballing, in which twenty thousand men took part, 

was no doubt the biggest thing of the kind that ever occurred in Georgia, or 

will ever again.  



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