The Daniel Kinsey Story
The Daniel Kinsey Story
Compiled by Dennis R. Kinsey
Daniel Kinsey , whom I found some evidence was the son of one Henry Kinsey, served in
Company C (Robertson 5 Shooters), 4th Texas Infantry (Hood's Brigade). He enlisted March 3,
1861 at the town of Oenaville, Bell County (just a few miles from Belton). The new private
was sent home for the next few months, waiting until orders came for his newly formed
unit.
Sometime around July 22, 1861, he and his fellow comrades started the trip to Harrisburg,
then a small town 6 miles southeast of Houston. Harrisburg was were they were to be
trained and prepared for the trip to Virginia. Most likely, they followed a main road of
the day that roughly paralleled present-day Texas Highway 6, down to the town of Millican,
the northern terminus of the Houston and Texas Central Railroad.
Traveling on the railroads was to become a routine part of the new soldier's live.
Whenever possible, units traveled by train as near as possible to the site of battles,
then disembarked and marched in to the actual battlefield.
At Harrisburg, company C became one of 20 newly formed Confederate companies bound for
Virginia. The campsite was named Camp Earl Von Dorn. For those of you that have been to
Houston, you can likely understand the description of the Rebels' campsite as being in a
low pine valley, a generally unhealthy region." The new soldiers did a great deal of
close order drill and learning the army way. On the night of August 9, 1861, they had a
fiddle and banjo "party."
Finally word came that on August 16 the brigade would start the trip to Virginia. The
first leg of the trip was to New Orleans, approximately 400 miles. In the afternoon of
August 16, the troops climbed aboard the Galveston, Houston, and Henderson Railroad cars,
then switched to the Texas and New Orleans Railroad, and by the night of August 17 they
were in Beaumont. They boarded the steamer "Florilda" which carried them down the Sabine
River to a spot near the present day town of Orange, Texas. The soldiers and their
equipment were left on the shore, to make their way across southern Louisiana with 8
mule teams and wagons. Given no choice, they started the march across more than 200 miles
of swamps. It took them 11 days of extreme ordeal to make it to the down of Brashear City.
From there, they were able to board railroad cars to take them the last 90 miles into New
Orleans. The train carrying Daniel Kinsey and his fellow soldiers arrived in New Orleans
the night of August 31, 1861. The troops were quartered in an old cotton warehouse. The
trip across the swamp had destroyed their clothing and equipment, so they were issued new
uniforms and other personal equipment. Then they started the final 1,200 mile leg of the
trip to Richmond, Virginia. Again they relied upon the railroad. Every type of car
imaginable was pressed into service. Boxcars, flatcars, cattle cars, passenger cars, and
cabooses, anything with wheels and a platform was hooked up and loaded up. The Texans'
route took them north from New Orleans to Jackson, Miss. and then on to Grand Junction,
Tenn. From there they turned east to Chattanooga and then northeastward via Knoxville and
Bristol to Lynchburg, Va. and then finally to Richmond. On the final train trip to
Richmond they had traveled on 8 different railroads, and rode over one-seventh of the
total railroad mileage in the Confederacy.
Daniel Kinsey arrived at Richmond on September 12, 1861. The newly arrived Texans
marched along the north bank of the James River to Rocketts, and area on the southeastern
outskirts of the city. A few days later they moved to a more permanent camp area about 5
miles east of town. Formally named "Camp Bragg," it was quickly renamed "Camp Texas."
Jefferson Davis visited the Texans and addressed them, making reference to the Alamo.
Shortly afterward, John Bell Hood was assigned as Colonel of the newly formed 4th Texas
Regiment. He as a Kentuckian by birth but a Texan by choice. He and his new troops seemed
to be a good fit for each other.
Daniel Kinsey and his regiment stayed in Camp Texas through October of 1861, preparing
for their eventual assignment to a position in the Confederate defense line. They did a
great deal of drilling, as well as the daily chores of cooking, washing, and policing the
camp area. John Hood's brand of firm but pragmatic discipline quickly took hold on the
Texas 4th Infantry.
During this time, the new Texans were exposed to another unavoidable aspect of their new
soldiering life: body lice. That is when the learned that the "graybacks" did not show up
on grey uniforms, which was good because given the situation, they were impossible to get
rid of entirely. A poem that they often quoted was:
"Now I lay me down to sleep,
The Gray-backs o'er my body creep;
If they should bite before I wake,
I pray the Lord their jaws to break."
November 4, 1861, Daniel and the 4th Texas Infantry marched north and took up positions
on the right flank of the Potomoc line. From a military standpoint, it was a relatively
inactive fall and winter. But during that first fall and winter for the Texans in Northern
Virginia, they experienced a widespread epidemics of disease and sickness, along with snow,
sleet, and biting cold of a sever winter. Mumps, measles, typhoid fever, typhus, pneumonia,
jaundice, hepatitis, diarrhea, and dysentery all ran rampant through the camps. For their
winter quarters, the troops constructed substantial huts, with log walls and clapboard
roofs. They also built a theater to house the newly-formed "Hood's Minstrels", a troupe
that included an acting company, a brass band and a choir. During the winter, the theater
became so popular that it even featured performances by legendary banjoist JoelSweeney and
also Harry McCarty, author of "The Bonnie Blue Flag.
On March 2, 1862, they were ordered to abandon the Potomoc line and moved to a camp 2
miles west of Fredericksburg, Virginia. About that time, March 8 to be precise, Colonel
Hood was promoted to Brigadier General. Though he had been their regimental commander for
less than a year, General John Bell Hood was close to his fellow Texans at least partly
because of his "open tent" policy and his custom of visiting with the men around the camp
fires almost every night.
April 18, 1862 they moved to the area around Yorktown, Va and 2 days latter had their
first, but somewhat limited action with the Yankees. Armed with the accurate Enfield
rifles, the marksmanship of the Texans allowed them to pick off a few of the more brazen
and careless Federals that were sniping at the Rebels from trees and behind bushes. Being
a Yankees sniper was a very short lived experience around the Texans.
On May 6, 1862, Daniel and his comrades had their first real battle with Union soldiers,
north of Barhamsville, in the vicinity of Eltham's Landing. Here they prevailed,
withstanding brisk fire, advancing against an experienced enemy, driving the union troops
of Gen. William B. Franklin back to their gunboats anchored in the Pamunkey River. These
troops were known as some of the best and most experienced Union soldiers. The battle had
started around 7am and lasted until almost 3 PM.
One of the somewhat humorous stories of this relatively minor battle that became known as
the Battle of Eltham's Landing: It seems that there was a full-blooded Indian of few words
in one of the Texas companies who fought like a tiger during the early skirmishing phase
of the battle. He had even captured a Yank, gun and all, whom he turned over to a nearby
Confederate Major with the remark, "Yank yours, gun mine." The Indian then hustled back
to the fight. As the Texans advance close to the river where the Union gunboats were
anchored, they came under Union artillery and gunboat fire. When the first shell came
sailing through the trees, the Indian was rattled. He listened intently as he crouched
behind a tree with head cocked to one side and eyes protruding from their sockets until the
deadly missile landed a little ways beyond him. In another instant, a second screaming,
whistling shell came over an burst over the heads of the Rebels, showering the Indian with
leaves and branches. At this point the Indian sprang to his feet exclaiming "No good for
Indian" and "made for the rear with the agility of an antelope" never to be seen again.
Daniel Kinsey and Company C of the Texas 4th Infantry participated in their first major
battle on June 27, 1862, at Gaines' Mill, part of the Seven Days Battle.
After a long day of forced march, the Texans arrived at the battlefield about 4:30 in the
afternoon. As they were forming into a battle line, General Robert E. Lee approached
General John Bell Hood and asked him if his troops could break the strong Federal lines.
Hood's response was " I shall try, sir." In the fighting that followed, Hood assumed
personal command of his old unit, the Texas 4th, and was at the lead as they moved toward
the Union entrenchments. At 800 yards the Union artillery opened on them. As they advanced,
they were able to view the panorama of the terrible battle taking place all around them.
Dead and wounded littered the field to their front, broken and splintered equipment was
all around, and the bodies of horses dotted the landscape. Ignoring all this, General Hood
gave 2 orders: The men were not to fire until he gave the command, and regardless of what
happened the regiment was to keep together and in line. In the light breeze, John Bell
Hood led his men with a clear, ringing " Forward, quick march!" As the 500 men of the 4th
Texas advanced, the artillery fire increased in intensity, and combined with volleys from
the Federals' muskets, "showers of grape, canister, and shell ploughed through their
ranks, tearing gaping holes in the battle line. As the Texans advanced over a final rise
in front of the Yankees, all hell broke loose; sheets of fire leaped from the Union
trenches cutting down the oncoming Texans "like wheat in a harvest." Although the
casualties were great, Hood still did not give the order to fire. With the federal lines
less than 100 yards away, the General gave the order to fix bayonets while on the move
and then to charge at the double-quick. All along the line sounded the high-pitched Rebel
Yell; It could be heard above the noise of the battle as the remnants of the regiment,
with bayonets fixed, charged through the low swamp grass determined to drive through the
opposing lines. With ranks still fairly well aligned, the Texans leaped across the narrow
Boatswain's Creek, scrambled up the bank, and in a few heartbeats were on top of the
troops of Martindale's and Griffin's Union Brigades. The sight of pointed steel and the
scream of the Rebel Yell was too much for the yankees that had beaten back 3 previous
Rebel assaults that afternoon. They deserted their breastworks and fled panic stricken to
the rear. Hood's men finally opened fire on the fleeing Federals, and inflicted great
slaughter. The Texans cleared out the few remaining Yanks, and then charged nearby Union
artillery guns that were hitting them with deadly canister fire. They quickly captured 14
of the 18 pieces of artillery. About that time, Union General Phillip St. George Cooke'
cavalry reserve came charging at the 4th Texas's flank. At 40 yards range, the Texans met
the galloping cavalry charge with a volley from their leveled Enfields. Of the 250 union
cavalrymen in the charge, barely 100 survived. The Federals were defeated for the day,
and fled the battlefield to the south. Of the 40 officers and 506 mend of the 4th Texas
that were in that day's battle, 75 were killed outright or mortally wounded, and 180 were
wounded for a total casualty rate of almost 50%. The colonel of the 4th was killed, the
lieutenant colonel was mortally wounded, and the major suffered a serious wound. Half of
the company officers were also casualties. That day they had earned the name the "Hell
Roaring Fourth." Although the Texans in Lee's Army would know many glorious days during
the war, the breakthrough at Gaines' Mill was their greatest day of glory. It was one of
the few bayonet charges made during the Civil War and certainly one of the most
successful ones. The reputation gained by the 4th Texas that day "nearly exhausted them
to achieve and nearly finished them to maintain." The Texans sat out the remaining days
of the Seven Days Battle.
On their way into Maryland, Daniel Kinsey very likely participated in an unusual action
that took place near the Rapidan River.
The Confederates came into contact with Pope's Union Army for the first time on August 22,
1862, when they struck Gen. Franz Sigel's Division as it crossed the Rappahannock. After a
preliminary skirmish, Sigel was driven back across the river and Hood's troops forded the
stream to keep contact with the Federals. That night the brigade camped on the edge of a
large, ripening cornfield. The scouts of Sigel's division had set up camp on the opposite
side of the same field. On the following day, August 23, 1862, a number of Texans, unable
to resist the opportunity to forage for fresh corn, invaded the adjacent patch of roasting
ears. The yanks on the other side of the field had the same idea and it was inevitable that
sooner or later the hungry foragers would bump into each other among the cornstalks. Upon
meeting at mid-field, and either unencumbered by firearms or not wishing to use them, the
foragers engaged in tossing roasting ears at each other, fist fighting and wrestling for
possession of the corn. Cries, shouts, groans, and grunts emitting from the fracas along
with the violent swaying of the corn tassels soon brought comrades from both sides into
the now tangles field. Lugging their rifles into the arena, the new arrivals soon
threatened to turn what had been a gentleman's battle royal into a deadly affair. Not
wishing to bring on a general engagement, both sides with heads bloody by unbowed, moved
back to their respective campsites on the edges of the field. This riotous and boisterous
incident, which understandably is NOT listed among the official engagements in the War
Between the States was referred to by the veterans of Hood's Brigade as the "Roasting
Ears Fight."
Battle of Second Manassas
Early on August 29 of 1862, the march was resumed, and at midday they arrived on the old
Manassas battlefield. Posted near the middle of the Confederate line, the Texans attacked
at 7 p.m. on the 29th and drove back the Yankees near Groveton. Stiffening Northern
resistance and nighttime command problems soon put an end to the fighting with only light
Texan casualties. The next morning the Texans moved against Chinn Ridge, one of the key
positions of the battlefield. Routing a line of New York Zouaves, the brigade moved on to
capture a Union battery, and then cleared the Yankees from the woods at the foot of the
ridge. By now the Texans were badly disorganized, but some, especially the men of the 5th,
advanced up the ridge and aided Kemper's Virginia division in the final successful assault.
Once again, the Texan's gallantry had played a key part in the Southern victory, but at a
great cost. 627 men of the brigade were killed or wounded, including at least 225 in the
5th Texas.
The Texans left the battlefield of Manassas on September 1
Battle of Antietam
On September 5, 1862, Daniel Kinsey and the 4th Texas forded the Potomac at Point of Rocks,
to the tune of "Maryland, My Maryland", played by the brigade's brass band. On September 7,
they went into camp on the Monocacy River near Frederick City, and on the 10th, marched on
to Hagerstown.
On the 14th, the Texans were ordered to march for Turner's Gap in South Mountain, where a
small contingent under D. H. Hill needed help in holding off the Yankee advance, a strong
force that included the Iron Brigade. A bayonet charge by the Texans helped hold the field
until nightfall, when the Confederates withdrew to begin a concentration around the village
of Sharpsburg.
By this time the Texans were becoming quite ragged. One veteran recalled, "No clothing or
shoes had been furnished since it left Richmond, and in a month and a half of hard marching
and harder fighting hundreds of the men had become ragged and barefooted, while lack of
provisions forced them to subsist on green corn and green apples." But they went into
battle in high spirits. On the evening of the 16th, the Division took position in an open
field in front of the Dunker Church, north of Sharpsburg. About an hour before sunset,
they met a probe by Hooker's Corps, and fought a brief battle that caused the Yankees to
retire. The Texans now spent the night cooking the first rations that they had seen in
several days, but at 6 a.m. they were ordered to prepare to advance to the support of
Lawton's division in a cornfield north of the church. Raising the rebel yell, they advanced
through heavy musket and artillery fire, driving the Yankees out of the corn. Soon the 4th
was locked in a firefight with the Iron Brigade. By 7:30 a.m., Hood's men had reduced
Hooker's Corps to a shambles, but at terrible cost. Of the 854 men of the Texas Brigade
who went into the battle, 519 were casualties. The 1st Texas had set a particularly
gruesome record: 82% of its men were killed or wounded, the highest percentage of loss
for any Confederate regiment in any battle throughout the war. About 9 a.m., Hood's men
were withdrawn to the Dunker Church, where they spent the rest of the day in reserve. On
September 18, Lee's army retreated to Virginia, with the Texans in his rear guard. There
they went into camp north of Winchester in the Shenandoah Valley. The Battle of Antietam
was over.
October
As October began, the Texans were resting near a large spring about three miles north of
Winchester in the Valley of Virginia. They had little to do. The men's memoirs report
occasional short drills. Food was ample, and large quantities of clothing and shoes were
issued. Some men remembered changing their clothes for the first time since leaving
Richmond in early August! Also at Winchester, the men of the 4th received the first
mail distributed since leaving Richmond. One break in camp routine came on October 8,
when the brigade was reviewed by Generals Longstreet and Hood. While camped at Winchester,
the 4th was notified on October 10th that their former colonel, John B. Hood, had been
promoted to Major General. Henceforth, they would serve in a new formation that was
officially styled "Hood's Division." Finally on October 26th, the Texans broke camp.
Shadowing the movement of the Federal Army, they crossed the Blue Ridge in perfect
autumn weather and turned their steps toward Culpepper Court House.
November-December
As November dawned, the Texans were on the move, headed southeast from their camp near
Winchester towards Culpepper Court House. The weather was fine for marching, and the troops
were allowed almost two weeks to make the march, arriving in Culpepper on the 5th of
November. They remained there until the 19th, when the brigade began to move north,
arriving at Fredericksburg on November 22. Although the brigade had received some clothing
while camped at Winchester, they were still very short of foot-gear. Chaplain Davis of the
4th Texas wrote a letter to the Richmond Whig describing the destitution of the Texans,
"...too far from home to look to our friends there for help...." Various civilian groups
answered by collecting hundreds of pairs of shoes, socks and gloves, as well as other
wearing apparel. While enroute to Culpepper on November 1, Col. Jerome Robertson of the
5th Texas was promoted to Brigadier and assigned to command the brigade. On November 26,
the 18th Georgia and the infantry companies of the Hampton Legion were transferred out of
the brigade, and replaced by the 3rd Arkansas. The reorganization was celebrated by four
or five hours of drill each day up until the battle of Fredericksburg. The weather turned
very cold about the 6th of December, with a heavy snow. The troops built small two- and
three-man huts they called dog houses, floored with dry leaves. By pooling blankets, the
inhabitants were able to keep comfortable. At Fredericksburg, the position assigned to
Hood's Division was the right of Longstreet's Corps, with the Texas Brigade in the center
of the division. The Texans dug entrenchments on the floor of the valley, behind Deep Run,
but their role in the battle was primarily as spectators, as the fighting all occurred
well to their left and right. The Texans lost only one man killed and four wounded. After
the battle, the Texans had an excellent opportunity to gather abandoned Yankee gear.
Blankets were especially sought after, as several inches of snow fell shortly after the
battle. Real coffee and desiccated vegetables also were found in abundance, and the latter
were turned into soup that helped ward off the cold. Nor did they forget the kindness of
the citizens of Virginia who had provided winter clothing. To repay the favor, the soldiers
of the Texas brigade contributed a large fund from their pay to provide for the refugees
whose homes had been destroyed by the Yankee occupation of Fredericksburg.
1863
January-February
The Texans spent January and most of February encamped near Fredericksburg. One Texan
reported, "...The weather was cold and dry, although snow lay on the ground for days at a
time; fuel was abundant, guard and fatigue duty light, and drilling not required...." The
principal diversions were snowball fights and performances at the brigade theater, a
single-story log building erected by the Texans. The theater featured plays and
performances by the brass band of the 4th Texas.
This peaceful interlude ended on February 16, when Hood's Division took up the march to
Richmond in a heavy snow over slushy, muddy roads. They passed through Richmond on February
22nd, where Secretary of War Seddon commented favorably on "...their general appearance,
spirit and cheerfulness...." The brigade ended their march at a new camp four miles south
of Richmond at Falling Creek, near the Richmond & Petersburg R.R.
While at Falling Creek, the Texans enjoyed frequent passes to visit Richmond. The various
memoirs report that both liquor and gambling houses were readily available in the city.
At camp, they also were issued new clothing, although hats remained in short supply. The
Texans remained at Falling Creek for the remainder of the month of February.
March-April
The first of March found the Texans resting at their camp on Falling Creek, about four
miles south of Richmond, near the Confederate battery at Drewry's Bluff. Here the men were
issued new clothing and received frequent passes to visit the Confederate capital.
On March 17th, the Texans were notified that the Army of the Potomac was on the move, and
the next day they began a forced march to rejoin Lee's army. They had almost reached
Ashland, Va. when the summons was canceled, allowing the Texans to make camp for the night.
Daylight revealed to the shivering Texans that their camp was covered with several inches
of new-fallen snow, and the men began the return March to Falling Creek in a blinding snow
storm. As the brigade passed through Richmond, it practically disappeared as men fell out
to find spirits that would warm them up. "Aunt Pollie" Robertson, the brigade commander,
was scandalized and planned a round-up by a provost guard, but Hood intervened to allow
the men this break from duty.
After this brief spree, the Texans returned to the Falling Creek camp and remained there
until April 1, when they moved south to Petersburg, remaining there three or four days.
They then took up the march to Suffolk, arriving about April 6.
At Suffolk, the Texans participated in Longstreet's siege of the Yankee-held town while
foraging far and wide in a relatively untouched part of the state. Their efforts netted
large quantities of bacon and corn for Lee's army, though the town's defenses proved too
strong to be taken. The Suffolk expedition ended for the Texans on April 29, when
Longstreet received orders to return to Lee's army to help counter the Union maneuvers
that became the Chancellorsville campaign. April 30 was spent breaking off the siege,
gathering in the foraging wagons, and preparing to depart.
May
On May 2, Longstreet received orders from Lee to break off the siege of Suffolk and to
hurry Hood's Division north to help repel Hooker. A day was spent gathering in the
foraging wagons, and on May 4 the Texans started north, expecting to be two days on the
march to Petersburg and the railroad. Their orders directed them to move north via the
Blackwater Road, cross the Blackwater River at Franklin, and burn the pontoon bridge behind
them.
No sooner had the Texans left Suffolk, however, than news was received of the
Confederate victory at Chancellorsville, and the pace of the movement was slowed. Too late
to join in repelling Hooker, the Texans could point with pride to their part in an
expedition that reportedly gathered over 2.5 millions pounds of bacon for Lee's army.
The Texans marched at an easy rate through Petersburg and Richmond, arriving at the
capital about the 10th. From there they set out to Fredericksburg. They remained in
Fredericksburg for two weeks before moving to Verdiersville in the Wilderness, and from
there to Raccoon Ford on the Rapidan River. They were at this camp for almost three weeks.
While camped on the Rapidan, the units were inspected, artillery and transportation put
in good order, and the men prepared for the summer campaign. The period of refitting was
climaxed on May 27 by a review of the division, an event that included a mock artillery
duel and bayonet charge. Several ladies visited the camp to watch the review, and they
were watched in turn by appreciative Texans. The rest period was climaxed with a 14-mile
training march under full packs on May 31.
While the Texans were passing through Petersburg early in the month, they came under the
eye of a prolific diary writer The diarist was Captain Samuel T. Foster, of the 24th Texas
Cavalry (dismounted), a member of the garrison captured at the battle of Arkansas Post in
January 1863. Exchanged with the rest of that command in the spring of that year, Foster
and his comrades found themselves in Petersburg, Va. on their way to a new assignment in
Tennessee. Here's what Foster had to say about Hood's Texans as they appeared in May, 1863:
May 6. We take the cars for Richmond, Va. but to get to the cars, we walk across the
river on the bridge -- just here we learn that the 4th and 5th Texas Inf. are coming along
-- They have been down on the Blackwater towards No[r]folk; and are on their way back to
Gen. Lees army. We can hear their Band playing "Old John Brown came tearing out of the
Wilderness."
I stop to see them and here I find my brother Hale Foster [a member of the 4th Texas
band] -- he is bare footed carrying a frying pan and a blanket.
Taken all together they are the hardest lot of men I ever met -- If this is soldiering,
then it is certain we have not seen any yet -- These men have no baggage wagons -- Carry
all their baggage and cooking utensils on their backs, and are not burdened at that.
-- Bare footed men are plenty -- some were bare headed -- some had pieces of clothing on.
Some had a piece of meat on his Bayonett [sic]. Some had his frying pan stuck on his gun
barrel -- as a convenient way to carry it.
June
The Texans left their camp on the Rapidan on June 4 and set out for Culpepper, arriving
the same day. Two days later they moved to the west in a feint that brought them back to
the Culpepper on the 7th. There they camped until the 13th.
The brigade's next move was to Cedar Mountain, where curious men visited the sight of the
previous summer's battle, marked by gruesome unburied skeletons. On the 15th, they set out
towards Ashby's Gap on the Blue Ridge, crossing the summit on the 18th and camping near
the small town of Millwood, on the western slope. The next day they were ordered to
Snicker's Gap and took position at the summit. They remained there during three days of
heavy fog, and then on the 23rd returned to Millwood, from whence they took up the march
toward Williamsport, Md.
The morning of the 26th found the Texans camped near the northern border of Virginia.
About noon, they forded the Potomac and entered Williamsport in a hard, driving rain.
There the men stacked arms and built fires to dry their clothing, but there was little or
nothing to eat. To warm his men, General Hood kindly ordered that each man be issued a
gill (a quarter of a pint) of some captured whiskey. The non-drinkers shared their rations
with their less temperate comrades, and, according to Texan John Stevens,
...inside of half an hour there was more drunk men in Williamsport than I think I ever
saw in my life. ...some laughed, some cried, some hooped and yelled, some cussed and swore,
others ripped and tore and called for gore. It kept the sober boys busy to keep the drunk
ones from killing each other. Soon some fell by the wayside, helpless, and were dumped
into wagons and ambulances, and hauled the balance of the day.
Just at this place the state of Maryland is only seven miles wide. On we move, and about
5 p.m. we reach the Pennsylvania line....We march a mile or two into Pennsylvania and
stopped for the night near the city of Greencastle....Hood's division on that day
performed a feat never performed by any troops during the war. We ate breakfast in
Virginia, dinner in the state of Maryland, supper in the state of Pennsylvania and slept
in the state of intoxication--four states in 24 hours....
Several veterans ruefully reported in their post-war memoirs that this attempt at a
whiskey issue caused so much havoc that their commanders never offered the like again.
On the 27th, the Texans, led by a brass band playing "Dixie," marched north through the
rich Cumberland Valley and entered Chambersburg. As the Britisher Arthur Freemantle
described the scene,
[The Texans were]...full of good-humor and confidence in themselves and in their general,
Hood. They answered the numerous taunts of the Chambersburg ladies with cheers and laughter.
One female had seen fit to adorn her ample bosom with a huge Yankee flag, and she stood in
the door of her house, her countenance expressing the greatest contempt for the barefooted
Rebs; several companies passed her without taking any notice, but at last a Texan gravely
remarked, "Take care, madam, for Hood's boys are great at storming breastworks when the
Yankee colors is on them." After this speech the patriotic lady beat a precipitate
retreat.
That night the Texans camped a mile north of Chambersburg, Md. The commissary wagons were
slow to come up, and when they finally did, they supplied only musty flour and rancid
bacon. All day our Texans had passed well-stocked Pennsylvania farms, and they were hungry.
General Lee had issued orders prohibiting stealing from civilians, but self-appointed
moralists in the Texas ranks reasoned that this would not preclude the troops from purchasing
food from citizens for Confederate money.
The division remained in Chambersburg for two more days, and they were spent in foraging
through the country-side. According to brigade historian Polley,
...The greater part of the supplies that found their way into camp were paid for in
Confederate money, the rest were voluntary offerings. Soldiers as hungry as were the
Confederates could not be expected to refuse proffers of food, even when they suspected
such proffers were made through unwarranted fear of ill-treatment.
A Texan who rejoined the brigade late on the night of the 30th left a vivid description
of the scene that greeted him at dawn the next day:
...Every square foot of an acre of ground that was not occupied by a sleeping or standing
soldier, was covered with choice food for the hungry. Chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese
squaked, gobbled, quackled, cackled and hissed in harmonious unison as deft and energetic
hands seized them for slaughter,. . .and scattered around in bewildering confusion and
gratifying profusion appeared immense loaves of bread and chunks of corned beef, hams and
sides of bacon, cheeses, crock of apple-butter, jelly, jam, pickles, and preserves, bowls
of yellow butter, demijohns of buttermilk, and other eatables too numerous to mention.
July
The morning of July 1 found the Texans at Chambersburg, PA, recovering from their heavy
dinners of the night before. At 3 p.m. on the afternoon, the well-fed soldiers broke camp
and moved out on the road that led to a little town called Gettysburg. Once they finally
started, then the Texans were delayed for some four hours when they met the Second Corps
trains at an intersecting road. They finally went into camp near Cashtown about 2 a.m.
After only some two hours of sleep, the troops were on the road again, and reached
Seminary Ridge shortly after dawn. A halt for breakfast was abruptly terminated by orders
to move to Lee's right flank, where they took position in Biesecker's Woods, with the left
of the 4th Texas resting on the Emmitsburg Road.
At about 4:30 p.m., the Texans received the order to advance. As they moved across the
field with bayonets fixed, the brigade separated, with the 1st Texas and 3rd Arkansas
moving into Rose's Woods north of Devil's Den, and the 4th and 5th Texas following Law's
Alabama brigade south of Devil's Den.
Aided by Georgia and Alabama troops, the 1st and 3rd cleared the Devils' Den area and the
valley of Plum Run in fighting that one Texan called "one of the wildest, fiercest
struggles of the war." Meanwhile, the 4th and 5th pushed on through the woods on the northeast
flank of Big Round Top, stopping to dress their lines as their reached the open ground at
the foot of Little Round Top.
The battle raged until nightfall. Three times the Texans advanced up the boulder-strewn
slope against the center of Vincent's Union brigade, striking the 83rd Penna. and the 44th
New York, later reinforced by the 16th Michigan and the 140th New York. One company of the
5th advanced within 20 yards of the Union line. But each time the Texan assault was forced
back. It was the first time in the war that they had failed to carry a position that they
had assaulted.
Finally the Texans fell back to a position on the high ground above Devil's Den. There
they built a stone wall to protect their position. Skirmishing continued throughout the
next day, and the Texans were slightly involved in repulsing an attack by Union cavalry
under Elon Farnsworth, their hardest fighting was over.
Casualties among the Texans were heavy. The attack had scarcely begun when division
commander Hood was seriously wounded by a shell. Col. Key, Lt. Col. Bane and Major Carter
of the 4th were all wounded in the attack on Little Round Top, and brigade commander
Robertson was also wounded, just as the brigade was digging in for the night. Among the
soldiers of the brigade, 43% had become casualties.
The Texans left Gettysburg at dawn on the 5th, headed for the Potomac at Williamsburg.
They reached Hagerstown on the 7th, but their crossing was delayed by rain-swollen waters.
They finally passed the river on the 14th. Once back in Dixie, they via Martinsburg and
Darkesville to Bunker Hill, where they camped from the 16th to the 19th. The brigade then
moved via Chester Gap to Culpepper Court House, and pitched camp there on the 24th. They
remained at Culpepper for seven days.
August-September
The fall campaign commenced on Sept. 3, with a move further down the river to Port Royal.
After a few days on picket duty, the brigade left Port Royal on Sept. 8 and marched to
Bowling Green, where they boarded the Richmond, Fredericksburg & Potomac Railroad for
Richmond. One of the brigade's biggest adventures was under way. In common with
Longstreet and 12,000 of his men, they were en route to the west to reinforce Braxton
Bragg and the Army of Tennessee.
The Texans marched through the capital on the morning of the 9th and boarded trains of
the Richmond & Petersburg Railroad. The rolling stock provided was primarily freight cars
-- boxes, flats, and a few stock cars. Many men climbed onto the roofs for a better view,
while those inside used bayonets to pry off siding for light and ventilation.
Traveling on over the Petersburg and the Wilmington & Weldon, the Texans arrived in
Wilmington, NC. There it was necessary to change trains, as the railroads entering the
port from the north were a different gauge from those leaving to the south. This delayed
the movement one day and night.
Underway again, the Texans were routed over the Wilmington & Manchester Railroad to
Kingsville, S.C., and thence via the South Carolina Railroad and the Georgia Railroad to
Atlanta. John C. West of the 4th reported that
At every depot and station throughout the state [of South Carolina] the ladies, young and
old, flocked in loaded with baskets of provisions, fruits and delicacies of every character
which these scant times afford, which were offered amid smiles and tears and expressions
of congratulations and encouragement to every soldier.
At Sumterville, reported Val Giles, the Texans detrained to eat supper at a long table
spread with food cooked by the ladies of the town. In general, however, the trains moved
night and day, and diarist Mary Chestnut, who saw them pass through Kingsville, SC, spoke
of
...what seemed like miles of platform cars, and soldiers rolled in their blankets lying
in rows with their heads all covered, fast asleep. In their gray blankets packed in
regular order, they looked like swathed mummies.
The Texans appear to have reached Atlanta by the 14th, and then spent some time sidetracked
at Resaca, Ga, but on Sept. 17, 1300 strong, they unloaded at Catoosa Station on the
Western & Atlantic Railroad, a short distance south of Chattanooga. The first of Longstreet's
men to complete the journey, they had traveled over 900 miles using eight different
railroads in nine days. The train had been delayed by a derailment shortly before reaching
Atlanta, and one man was killed when he fell from the cars south of Wilmington, but otherwise
the movement had been a huge success.
Robertson's Brigade joined other newly-arrived troops from Mississippi in a provisional
division of five brigades under Bushrod Johnson, and moved to the front the next morning.
Hood arrived later that afternoon and assumed command of the division. There was light
fighting on the 18th as Federal troops were pushed back to Chickamauga Creek, but the
highpoint of the day was a meeting with the first troops from home that the brigade had
encountered since the start of the war: the 8th Texas Cavalry and the 3rd Arkansas
Cavalry.
On 19th, Hood took over Longstreet's Corps, leaving his division to General Law. The
Texans became the extreme left of the Confederate line as it moved that afternoon against
the Federals holding the Viniard farm.
There they faced Union breastworks backed by Wilder's Lightning Brigade, armed with
Spencer seven-shot repeaters. Though the Texans eventually captured the farm, the heavy
fighting put three of the brigade's four regimental commanders out of action, and left
the 4th under the command of Capt. J. T. Hunter of Co. H.
During the night, the brigade moved a short distance north, and it attacked again in
late morning, advancing almost a mile in the face of Union artillery fire. At one point
the Texans even came under fire from Confederate troops, an incident the men believed was
due to the new uniforms issued at Fredericksburg, made of a gray said to be so dark that
it appeared blue.
In the fighting on the 20th, the 4th Texas suffered especially heavy losses. Three color
bearers were shot down, and a fourth was badly wounded but stuck to his place until the
fighting ceased. The regiment came out of the fight with only 150 men, and of the 1300
members of the brigade who had traveled from Virginia, 570 were killed, wounded or missing.
General Hood had also been badly wounded.
The 21st was spent burying the dead. On the 22nd, the Brigade moved north towards Lookout
Mountain on the Tennessee River. The troops took up a position about a mile and a half
east of the mountain on the 23rd, and helped initiate the siege of Chattanooga by building
regular breastworks, the first the brigade had ever constructed. The rest of the month
was spent on the siege line.
Daniel Kinsey died in action at Chickamauga on September 19, 1863. It is very likely that
he was killed between 2:30 and 4pm, near Viniard Field. Many Texans lost their lives that
day to the new rapid firing Spencer rifles being wielded by two regiments of "Wilder's
Lightning Brigade." The battle had been going well for the Confederates, with the front
line yankees already fleeing and being chased. As the Rebels followed and were attacking
a Yankee battery,, they ran into a buzz-saw delivered by the union's reserves. Quoting a
first hand Union report from the battle:
"Wilder's men cut loose a rapid and accurate fire, devastating the charging Rebels. In 2
minutes there was not a man � seen on his feet in our front." The Texans were driven back
in disorder.
For those of you that didn't sleep through my talk last year on the use of GPS, the
location of Daniel's death is 085W16'06" 34N54'29".
Co-incidentally, John Thomas Kinsey, son of Peter Kinsey, was also at the battle of
Chichamauga, serving nearby with the 11th Texas Infantry. But John Thomas's story is for
another day. Hood's brigade took great casualties during the battle of Chichamauga, and
was never quite the same for the remainder of the war. It did go on to see action in
Knoxville, Battle of the Wilderness, the battle of Spottsylvania Court House, the battle
at Cold Harbor, at Petersburg (south of Richmond), and 145 men of the 4th Texas were at
the surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. After a difficult trip home,
what was left of the 4th Texas Infantry arrived by train in Houston on June 2, 1865, where
they were met by a large crowd. The next day, they were treated to a round of dinners by
the townspeople. Later that day, June 3, 1985, the brigade disbanded.
By the end of the war, 1343 men had served with the 4th Texas Infantry. Of those, 19%
were killed in battle. Another 36% were wounded. 12% were captured by the Yankees. .4%
(5 soldiers) were missing in action. Of the 1343 men that served, by war's end 909 were
battle casualties. 67.7%, more than 2 out of every 3 men, were battle casualties.
This page maintained by Cathy Wood Osborn.
Last updated 11 December 2003.