THE FIFTY-EIGHTH ALABAMA INFANTRY

The Fifty-eighth regiment was formed from the Ninth battalion. This battalion was organized at New Bern, November, 1861, and proceeded to Corinth in the spring; was engaged at Shiloh, Farmington and in a number of skirmishes with slight loss, but suffered more severely at Blackland, losing about 20 men killed and wounded, besides a large number by disease at Corinth and Tupelo. It was sent to Mobile in the summer of 1862, and remained there until the following spring. Proceeding to Tullahoma, it was placed in Clayton's brigade and was in several small engagements, chiefly at Hoover's gap. In July, 1863, two additional companies were added and the Fifty-eighth Alabama was formed. Consolidated with the Eighth Tennessee, under Col. Bushrod Jones, it was placed in Bate's brigade and took part in the battle of Chickamauga. On the first day of this great conflict it assisted in the capture of four pieces of artillery; and on the second day it was in the desperate charge which broke the enemy's line, losing in the battle 148 out of 254 men engaged. This regiment was one of the most distinguished at Chickamauga. It was saluted on the field by General Bate, its brigade commander. General Clayton commends the excellent order which marked its movements and relates how Captains Lee's and Crenshaw's companies accompanied him several miles in pursuit of the routed enemy. It was united with the Thirty-second Alabama and placed in Clayton's brigade in November, 1863, taking part in the Chattanooga-Ringgold campaign. Out of 400 present at Missionary Ridge, it lost 250. The regiment wintered at Dalton and accompanied the army of Tennessee in the Dalton-Atlanta campaign, engaging in numerous battles and skirmishes, often with heavy loss. It fought at Resaca, New Hope and Kenesaw, and within ten days lost more than 100 in killed and wounded. Transferred to Holtzclaw's brigade, it moved with Hood into Tennessee; was severely engaged at Columbia, and took part in the terrible battles of Franklin and Nashville. It then went with the brigade to Mobile and was sent to assist General Gibson in his brilliant and heroic defense of Spanish Fort, March 31 1865. It fought gallantly there and at Blakely, and finally was surrendered at Meridian. Col. Bushrod Jones was a very able and gallant officer. He was frequently in command of a brigade, and is mentioned by General Gibson as one of the brigade commanders present at a council of war at Spanish Fort. His place at the head of the regiment was filled by Lieut.Col. John W. Inzer, and for a short time, in the spring of 1865, by Major Kimbell. There were many casualties among the officers of this regiment. At Chickamauga, Capt. John Clow and Lieutenant Rader were killed, and LieutenantColonel Inzer, Major Thornton, Adjutant Harris, Captains Crenshaw, Harrell, Avirett and Holland were wounded. Major Thornton was also wounded at Resaca and Atlanta; here Adjutant Hungerford and Captain Avirett were killed. Capt. Sidney F. Lister was killed at Missionary Ridge, and Capt. Sid Holland at Spanish Fort. Capts. W. E. Lee and George S. Harkham were captured at Missionary Ridge. Source: Confederate Military History, vol. VIII, p. 220 Chickamagua after battle report: Report of Col. Bushrod Jones, Fifty-eighth Alabama Infantry. HDQRS. FIFTY-EIGHTH ALABAMA REGT., Near Chattanooga, Tenn., September 29, 1863. Maj.:In obedience to General Orders, No. --, I respectfully submit the following report of the action of my command in the skirmish on the 18th instant and in the battle of Chickamauga on the 19th and 20th instant: About 3 p. m. on the 18th instant, the regiment met the advance of the enemy near Pea Vine Creek and was very heavily shelled for an hour or more, but the enemy were too distant for the use of small-arms. One man (Tom Mize, of Company A, int the infirmary corps) killed was the only loss sustained. The bearing of both officers and men was entirely satisfactory. The next morning about 9 o'clock, after having crossed the Chickamauga and moved forward in line of battle a mile or more, we were again shelled by the enemy about an hour. R. J. Turner, assistant surgeon, was seriously stunned and shocked by the explosion of a shell and slightly wounded in the head by splinters. He was borne insensible from the field, but has since recovered and returned to duty. The battle had already opened on the right, and the roar of small-arms was almost incessant, varied by rapid peals of artillery. We were moved with the brigade by the right flank about a mile, and at 1 p. m. were in position in supporting distance of the brigade on the front line, then actively engaged with the enemy. For two hours we were under a very heavy fire of grape and shells. Several men were wounded, none killed. At 3 p. m. we were ordered forward to relieve the brigade, then retiring, and in a few moments the fire of small-arms was brisk and active. My command was the third battalion of the brigade in line of battle, and stationary during the first half hour of the firing; the battle-field, an open, woody country. The enemy advanced to within 200 or 300 yards, but could not be plainly seen on account of the smoke, trees, &c. After the firing had been continued about thirty [minutes] Clayton's brigade was moving forward to engage the enemy and to our support. The noise of battle was so great I could not hear any command; but thinking it an opportune moment for a charge, and seeing some of the brigade on my right move forward, I advanced to the front of my command and ordered a forward movement. The men and officers promptly and gallantly obeyed the command. The movement began at the moment when the Thirty-sixth Alabama Regt. (Col. Woodruff commanding) was in the act of passing over my command in the charge, and the two regiments, commingled, charged in a run with loud and enthusiastic cheers. The enemy gave way and fled in confusion. We pursued them through the woods about a mile. I halted the regiment a short distance before reaching the field in front, after repeated unsuccessful efforts, on account of the impetuosity of the men. I ordered the halt, thinking farther pursuit fruitless and hazardous, as we had already gone far in advance of the general line of battle, and were exposed to an enfilade fire of grape from the right. The officers of the left wing not hearing the command "halt," on account of the noise and excitement, continued the pursuit several hundred yards farther, capturing 20 or 30 prisoners and passing a battery of three guns that had been abandoned by the enemy. The officers to whom I refer are Lieut. Hinton, commanding Company A; Lieut. Mills, commanding Company K, and Capt.'s Lee, Holland, and Crenshaw, and their subordinates. They are entitled to a share of the honor of capturing this battery; but not the exclusive honor, as portions of the Thirty-sixth and Thirty-eighth Alabama Regt.'s, and perhaps others, assisted in its capture. Having halted the regiment and formed line, I waited about a half hour for the return of those who had gone ahead of the line and for support on the right and left. But believing the enemy were again advancing, I retired slowly and in good order about a quarter of a mile, where I found Gen. Clayton and Gen. Bate reforming their respective brigades. I reported to Gen. Bate what I had done and he replied, "You have done right; I take off my hat to your regiment." The engagement of my command with the enemy began at 3 p. m. and lasted until nearly 5. Lieut.-Col. Inzer behaved with conspicuous gallantry during the engagement, and rendered much valuable aid, by words and example, in causing the men to charge with enthusiasm and in reforming the regiment. Maj. Thornton's bearing was cool and gallant. He received a wound in the ankle early in the action, which temporarily disabled him, preventing him from participating in the charge; but he found a loose artillery horse, mounted and soon rejoined the regiment. Adjt. R. T. Harris, who had been wounded in several battles, received a severe flesh wound in the thigh early in the fight, while standing bravely at his post inciting and encouraging the men. I commend the conduct and bearing of both officers and men as deserving the highest praise. I saw none who failed to do his whole duty. The casualties were 3 killed and 58 wounded. The next morning, at 9 a. m., we were again at our appointed place in line of battle and under a heavy fire of shells, which continued until 11.30 a. m. I was ordered to have logs piled as breastworks in our front, which I did; but this afforded no protection against shells. At 11.30 a. m. the brigade was again ordered forward. In obedience to the order I moved forward, the men and officers obeying the command with promptness and enthusiasm. The regiment advanced, cheering, on a run, amid a shower of grape from twelve pieces of artillery 400 yards distant, and a terrific storm of Minie balls that made dreadful havoc in the ranks, the fire increasing as we approached the enemy. Advancing the first 200 yards up a hill the men were partially protected, but after passing the crest we descended a gentle slope about the same distance, over which the combined fire of grape and Minie balls was terrific, but not a man faltered in his duty or shrank from the danger. On arriving at the edge of the woods, we were within 100 yards of the enemy's batteries and long lines of infantry support, still thinning our ranks with increasing fury. An open field alone separated us. If the brigade had been on a line with me and in good order the batteries, I believe, cold have been captured by a charge, but when I arrived at the edge of the woods with every man of my command who had not been made by the whole line, would have been the extreme of rashness, and would probably have caused the sacrifice of every man in the regiment in a vain attempt. I therefore ordered a halt just at the edge of the woods. Under cover of trees, logs, and such irregularities of the ground as furnished any protection, my command held this advanced position, pouring repeated volleys of musketry into the ranks of the enemy, until 12. 30. I noted the time by my watch. I looked anxiously, but in vain, for re-enforcements and assistance; but thinking I had held the position as long as practicable, after conference with Lieut.-Col. Inzer, I resolved to retire as soon as a slackening of the enemy's fire would permit, being unsustained except on the left. Not a man fell back until I ordered it and fell back in person; but some not hearing the order, and being in the bushes, including Lieut.-Col. Inzer, Maj. Thornton, Capt. Avirett, and Lieut. Goodwyn, [did not fall back] until they received orders from me, sent through Capt. Avirett. I would state that during this whole time (one hour of the most intense and incessant fire) I received no order either to hold my position, to advance, or retire. In falling back I acted on my own judgment, and retired only after half of my men were killed and wounded. On reforming the regiment every man was at his post. This dreadful charge was the last engagement we had with the enemy. The regiment numbered before the first day's fight 30 officers and 258 men with muskets. During the two days' fighting the total casualties were 25 killed and 124 wounded. A complete list of the casualties has already been forwarded. The bearing of the regiment in the second day's fight was even more gallant and the losses were heavier than on the first. Lieut. W. H. Rader, Company F, was the only officer killed. He fell gallantly leading his men in the charge. Lieut.-Col. Inzer and Maj. Thornton, as on the first day, were eminently and conspicuously brave. Capt. Harrell and Lieut. Johnson were severely wounded before the charge. Capt.'s Crenshaw and Holland, Lieut.'s Clow, Ward, Perry, Rourk, and Anderson, and Lieut. Mills were severely wounded, after charging gallantly with their companies. Capt. Avirett was wounded on the shoulder by a fragment of a shell before the charge, but he remained with his company, and behaved with great coolness and gallantry. Capt. Lee, Company C; Lieut. J. F. McClellen, Company F, and Lieut. Goodwyn (after Mills was wounded), and Lieut. Vandegrift, Lieut. Hinton, Company A, commanded their respective companies with skill and bravery, leading them at all times and in the hottest fire. Late in the evening the remnant of the regiment united in making a last charge, when the enemy broke in wild confusion, and assisted in hemming and capturing a large number of prisoners. If the conduct of the regiment on Saturday was gallant, on Sunday it was heroic. Though the regiment was never in a regular battle before, its bearing was that of veterans. The heavy loss in killed and wounded mournfully attests its gallantry and heroism and its readiness to face danger in obedience to orders. In commending the regiment to my superiors in command I would ascribe all honor to the young and gallant officers of my command, and to the individual courage of the men in the ranks. Regretting that the losses are so heavy, I am happy to be able to state that most of the wounds are slight, and that in a few weeks most of the wounded will be fit for duty. Very respectfully, your obedient servant, BUSH. JONES, [Col. Fifty-eighth Alabama Infantry.] Maj. GEORGE W. WINCHESTER, Acting Assistant Adjutant-Gen.

Source: Official Records CHAP. XLII.] THE CHICKAMAUGA CAMPAIGN. PAGE 388-51 [Series I. Vol. 30. Part II, Reports. Serial No. 51.]

Alabama 58th Infantry (Confederate)

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