Who is your WBTS Hero or Heroine?

[Jon The Beloved]

Forgive a new recruit if this has been asked before.. but who is your hero or person of great admiration or study who served in any capacity during the War Between The States? I'd prefer you not choose a relative or ancestor but if you must.. you may.

Mine, you may ask, is E.M. Bounds. Though he never carried a rifle (that I know of) he did serve with some of the best.


Born in Shelby County MO, Bounds, apprenticed as an attorney, and admitted to the bar, was then called into the ministry. He was ordained by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1859, in Monticello, MO. He became a chaplain in the CSA (5th Missouri Regiment) serving faithfully for 3 years until he was taken prisoner during the 1864 Battle of Franklin. During the heat of the battle, the army reported that Chaplain Bounds marched along side the lines of troops about to meet their disastrous fate with his back turned to the enemy carrying a Bible and compelling the boys to come to Christ before it was too late. He received a wound during the battle which led to his capture. Upon his release, he felt compelled to return to war-torn Franklin, TN and help rebuild it spiritually. He established weekly prayer sessions that sometimes lasted several hours. Bounds was regionally celebrated for leading spiritual revival in Franklin and eventually began an itinerant preaching ministry throughout the country. His ministerial travels took him from Missouri to Atlanta, Nashville to New York City. He was said to be a man of fervent prayer- he would go on to pen many works on the very subject that would become classics. He was one of many chaplains who served the ranks in both armies during the American Civil War.

Neat eh?

Now I ask, friends, who is yours?

- Pvt. Jno M. Harris

"Dippin' Gourd Mess"

[Lone Guard]

John Teal

The following text is taking from John C. Cremony's, Life Among the Apaches. This is just part of his summary of the Battle of Apache Pass.

John Teal we believe to be killed, as we saw him cut off by a band of fifteen or twenty savages, while we were unable to render him any assistance.’’

The wagons were ordered to be parked, every man was supplied with ammunition and posted to the best advantage; proper attention was paid to my wounded sergeant, and the camp arranged in such a manner as to insure a warm reception to a large body of savages. We remained on the qui vive until one o'clock A. M., when to my extreme surprise and sincere gratification, we were joined by John Teal, who was supposed to have been killed. He brought with him his saddle, blanket, sabre and pistols, having lost his horse and spurs. His narrative is so full of interest, and so well illustrates a phase of Apache character, that it is worth recording:

‘‘Soon after we left the pass,’’ said he, ‘‘we opened upon a sort of hollow plain or vale, about a mile wide, across which we dashed with speed. I was about two hundred yards in the rear, and presently a body of about fifteen Indians got between me and my companions. I turned my horse's head southward and coursed along the plain, lengthwise, in the hope of outrunning them, but my horse had been too sorely tested,

and could not get away. They came up and commenced firing, one ball passing through the body of my horse, just forward of his hind quarters. It was then about dark, and I immediately dismounted, determined to fight it out to the bitter end. My horse fell, and as I approached him he began to lick my hands. I then swore to kill at least one Apache. Lying down behind the body of my dying horse, I opened fire upon them with my carbine, which, being a breechloader, enabled me to keep up a lively fusilade. This repeated fire seemed to confuse the savages, and instead of advancing with a rush, they commenced to circle around me, firing occasionally in my direction. They knew that I also had a six-shooter and a sabre, and seemed unwilling to try close quarters. In this way the fight continued for over an hour, when I got a good chance at a prominent Indian and slipped a carbine ball into his heart. He must have been a man of some note, because soon after that they seemed to get away from me, and I could hear their voices, growing fainter in the distance. I thought this a good time to make tracks, and divesting myself of my spurs, I took the saddle, bridle and blanket from my dead horse and started for camp. I have walked eight miles since then.’’

It is needless to add how gratified I was to receive this brave and loyal soldier again, and find him free from wound or scar. We subsequently learned that the man he shot was no less an individual than the celebrated Mangus Colorado, but, I regret to add, the rascal survived his wound to cause us more trouble.

You can find an online version of Cremony's book here.

-S. Martin Aksentowitz

[Secesh]

Re: Who is your WBTS Hero or Heroine?

Si Klegg....maybe Shorty....

[boozie]

Re: Who is your WBTS Hero or Heroine?

Brigader General Alvin P. Hovey has to be one my favorite people to study. Not only was he from the Hoosier state, his star was really bright during the Vicksburg campaign. He was on the top of his game at Champion Hill. He also showed a true love for the men under his command.

[DougCooper]

Re: Who is your WBTS Hero or Heroine?

Any soldier who reenlisted for the war after having seen combat. Men like Ben Falls from Massachusetts, who, realizing that the war could not be won by draftees and bounty men, said: "If Uncle Sam wants a man, here is Ben Falls."

[Indianabugles]

Re: Who is your WBTS Hero or Heroine?

This one made me really think, I thought of all the wonderful characters I had read about, admired and studied and eventually shortlisted it down to three, all the finalists are non-rifle characters as well!
William Lloyd Garrison, Henry Clay Work or George Fredrick Root. Eventually settled on Work.
Ben Butler, and Sherman were the nearest two Military contenders.

But Henry Clay Work is my choice.

[Arch Campbell]

Re: Who is your WBTS Hero or Heroine?

W. T. Sherman
David Moore
Samuel Curtis
Frank Herron
John Corse
Samuel Kirkwood
Marcellus Crocker
Grenville Dodge
John Logan
James McPherson
Nathaniel Lyon

there's probably more, those are the easy ones.

[Pennvolunteer]

Re: Who is your WBTS Hero or Heroine?

I have a soft spot for Southerners who chose to stay with the Union in spite of the fact that their families and friends scorned them, and in many cases they were treated with suspicion by their Northern peers.

Two of my favorites were John Gibbon, one because he is a fellow Regular Army artilleryman, but a North Carolinian whose brothers went South and he remained loyal to his oath, and had tremendous success in the Army of the Potomac. The other is George H. Thomas, who stayed with the Union (another Artilleryman at USMA commissioning, maybe a pattern here) but a man who struggled greatly with the decision of resignation while he watched his fellow officers of the 2nd US Cavalry, Lee, A.S. Johnston, and Hardee all resign. More importantly, he suffered permanent alienation from his family in Virginia. On top of this, an excellent and capable officer who probably was under-rated and treated poorly by Grant. Even with all of that, served his country superbly.

[Infernal Mechanic]

Re: Who is your WBTS Hero or Heroine?

Zere McDaniel, for having the nerve to attempt destroying an ironclad with two 5 gallon demijohn bottles of cannon powder, a length of copper wire and two friction primers. His attempts were not futal. Within weeks of setting up his camp on the Red River outside of Vicksburg he managed to sink the USS Cairo.



Bob Brown
www.infernal-machines.com

[Philo]

Re: Who is your WBTS Hero or Heroine?

My GG Uncle

http://www.shelbycountyhistory.org/schs/archives/people/vanfossenpeoa.htm

Would have like to have known him.

[fedcampaigner]

Re: Who is your WBTS Hero or Heroine?

I have to echo what Mr. Cooper said. Any man who voluntered so serve his state and country. I also have to add Jackson to the list. In my opinion he was a brilliant commander. It would have been interesting to see what happened if he wasn't killed.

[EVOC]

Captain Jack Hinson

"They murdered my boys (two civilian sons) and may yet kill me, but the marks on the barrel of my gun will show I am a long ways ahead in the game now and am not done yet".

John Hinson, familiarly known during the war of the Confederacy as Captain Jack Hinson, was conspicuous among the scouts and partisan rangers who supported the Confederate cause. He was a native of North Carolina, born in 1805. Before the war he was an intense Union man, and did all in his power to prevent the armed conflict of the sections, but when the Federal army had invaded his home region he was led to take up arms against the invaders. During the investment of Fort Donelson, in February 1862, General Grant made his headquarters in Hinson’s house, but when the Southern troops had left that section the Federal soldiers committed such outrages and destroyed property to such an extent, without justification, that Hinson organized an independent company, and swore vengeance against the Northern army. Thus began a career, which continued throughout the war and made his name famous in Kentucky and Tennessee. He was an expert in the use of the Kentucky rifle, and at the close of the war there were more than two score notches on the stock of his gun, each recording a victim of his unerring aim. On one occasion, single-handed, he fired into a transport going up the river loaded with troops, and so deadly was his fire that the captain of the boat ran up the white flag. But while Captain Hinson could attack effectively he could not presume to take the surrender of a transport, and after waiting some time for an armed force to appear and take the prize, the boat proceeded without further molestation. This daring soldier survived the dangers of war, and died in 1874, leaving a large family, but two of whom are now living: Charles S. Hinson, an influential citizen of Jackson, Tenn., and Thomas W. Hinson, of Ocala, Fla.

Joe Allport
Confederate Department of Bushwhackers

[Dale Beasley]

Re: Who is your WBTS Hero or Heroine?

Like it was said above, as in any war, its the kids who step up to the plate, fight for something that they are told to fight for...thier tooo young "to believe". The families that are left behind, they are are heros, the mothers who watch thier sons march off, and wonder everyday what is happening to them. It is the wife who takes care of the kids and the farm.

[Charles Heath]

Re: Who is your WBTS Hero or Heroine?

Now I ask, friends, who is yours?

A solitary name oft seen on many gravestones:

"UNKNOWN"

[Yellowhammer Rebel]

Re: Who is your WBTS Hero or Heroine?

I would have to say that my hero in the war is the everyday common soldier that we don't know the name of but for a few exceptions. The generals get the name recognition but the average private that put his all on the line for what he believed was right is the real hero, the "unsung hero".

Now for the people whose names we recognize, I would have to say that my hero of the General caliber is George H. "Pap" Thomas, probably the most underrated and even the best general of the war.
Andrew Schultz