SOLD!!!
Here is an incredible find of two Forrest Cavalry units holding a reunion in 1891. A third national Confederate flag graces this ribbon. Written on the side of the flag is "Reunion. - Barteau's 2d Tennessee Regiment and Morton's Battery, at Pleas Smith's , Sept. 18, 1891.". I have the histories of both units attached below. This is an incredibly hard to find Forrest Cavalry specific unit reunion ribbon. It is hard enough to find just a Forrest Cavalry badge but this is one of his units reunion ribbon. Probably will not get an opportunity to see this one again, especially in this condition.
22nd (BARTEAU'S) TENNESSEE
CAVALRY REGIMENT
Originally and usually called 2nd Tennessee Cavalry Regiment.
Also 2nd Tennessee Cavalry Battalion
Organized June, 1862; reorganized June, 1863; reorganized May 10, 1864; consolidated February, 1865 with 21st (Wilson's) and paroled May, 1865 as 21st and 22nd Consolidated Regiment.
Colonel C. R. Barteau, on a muster roll, not dated, but evidently in 1864, gave the following account of the confusion surrounding the organization of this regiment, which is typical of that of many other cavalry organizations: "I have stated that the regiment was organized June 6, 1863, but it is almost impossible to determine what is the proper date. It was organized and designated as the 2nd Tennessee Cavalry Regiment by Brigadier General Beall, June 13, 1862, with seven companies present, and three (not known) which he had ordered to report to it. He was immediately relieved of the cavalry command, the three companies did not report, and the regiment remained with seven companies until June 6, 1863, when three companies were added to it by Brigadier General Ruggles. I dated the organization of the regiment from this period, for the three companies (Captain Gurthay's Alabama Company, Captain Carpenter's Mississippi Company, and Captain Morphis's Tennessee Company, which were added by General Ruggles) did not report until the Alabama Company was again transferred by Brigadier General Ferguson to Colonel Boyle's Alabama Regiment, and the other two companies, which were operating near the Tennessee-Mississippi line, were allowed to go into other commands (during the time I was not in command of the regiment from July 12, 1863 until December 16). The regiment is not officially known at Richmond; no appointments have been made to it from the War Department. The original order of the organization was not forwarded by General Beall. He was captured at Port Hudson, and the original muster rolls, as well as the original order has been lost. No record of the organization of June 13, 1862 exists. At that time no organization less than a regiment could be received at Richmond. Captain N. Oswell dropped from (report torn) by order Brigadier General Ferguson and not yet returned from West
To this may be added the information that the original seven companies were a consolidation of 1st (MeNairy's) Battalion and 7th (Bennett's) Battalion (q.v.) In May, 1864, Brigadier General A. Buford assigned three more companies to complete the regiment, and finally on February 15, 1865, the War Department directed: "The organization of Barteau's Tennessee Cavalry Regiment made by the addition of the companies commanded by Captain 0. B. Fans, S. H. Reeves and B. Edwards by order of Brigadier General A. Buford is hereby confirmed to date from the 10th day of May, 1864. It will be known as the 22nd Tennessee Cavalry Regiment."
FIELD OFFICERS
- Colonel-Clark R. Barteau
- Lieutenant Colonel-George H. Morton
- Majors-William Parrish, O. B. Farris
CAPTAINS
- Nicholas Oswell, Co. "A". A consolidation of "A" and "B", McNairy's Battalion.
- William Parrish (to major), Thomas B. Underwood, Co. "B". A consolidation of "C" and "D", McNairy's Battalion.
- Moses W. McKnight, Co. "C". Formerly Co. "E", McNairy's Battalion.
- W. T. Rickman, Co. "D". A consolidation of "A" and "C", 7th Battalion.
- Christopher L. Bennett, William A. DeBow, Co. "E". Formerly Co. "B", 7th Battalion.
- Micajah Griffin, John A. Brinkley, Co. "F". Formerly "D", 7th Battalion.
- Thomas Puryear, Jonathan M. Eastes, Co. "G". A consolidation of "E" and "F", 7th Battalion.
- These were the original seven companies.
CAPTAINS
- A. J. Guttery, 1st Co. "H". An Alabama company assigned June 6, 1863, and assigned to 56th Alabama Cavalry as Co. "L". No muster rolls of this regiment were found for Carpenter's and Morphis's companies. Morphis's Company served as 2nd Co. "I", 15th (Stewart's) Tennessee Cavalry (1st organization), and later in the 3rd (Forrest's Old) Regiment.
The companies assigned in May, 1864 by General Buford were:
CAPTAINS
- B. Edwards, 2nd Co. "H". Men from Gibson, Obion and Weakley Counties.Samuel H. Reeves, Co. "I". Organized December 1, 1863 at Newbern, Dyer County of men from Gibson and Obion County.
- Oliver B. Farris, Co. "K". Organized December 1, 1863 at Newbern, Dyer County of men from Obion County.
- Barteau served as lieutenant colonel until June, 1863, when he was appointed colonel. Parrish resigned in April, 1864, and Captain B. Farris succeeded him as major.
The regiment for most of the war was stationed in North Mississippi. A report from Co. "A" dated October 30, 1862 at Guntown, Mississippi said: "It has from constant service been so reduced until at the present it is totally unfit for duty. It has changed commanders so often it is almost totally devoid of discipline." Other company reports told of constant outpost duty, scouting and picketing, and also of being with Brigadier General Frank Armstrong on his raid into West Tennessee beginning August 22, 1862, with engagements at Medon Station, September 1, Britton's Lane and Denmark, September 21, 1862. After this expedition, the regiment was with Brigadier General Sterling Price in the campaign around Iuka and Corinth, Missisppi in October 1862.
On January 31, 1863, the regiment was ported in Brigadier General Daniel Ruggles' 1st Mississippi District; and on March 6, General Ruggles, in reporting on the condition of his forces, said: "Lieutenant Colonel Barteau's troops are miserably armed, deficient in numbers, with not even ammunition sufficient for a skirmish." On March 20, he reported Barteau's Regiment had 235 to 315 men fit for duty.
On April 21, at Palo Alto, Mississippi, the regiment was part of a force under General S. J. Gholson which met and defeated the 2nd Iowa Cavalry, and pursued it to near Birmingham. On May 5, at King's Creek, near Tupelo, still with General Gholson, the regiment was mentioned in Federal reports as being engaged in a skirmish at that point.
On May 8, Bishop Paine, in a letter to President Jefferson Davis, reporting on conditions in North Mississippi, listed ''Barteau's regiment, 540, 40 with horses, principally armed with shotguns." On May 17, a detachment under Captain Puryear was involved in a skirmish near Albany, Mississippi, and Lieutenant Anderson H. French was commended by General Ruggles for conspicuous gallantry.
On August 27, 1863, the regiment was reported in Brigadier General S. W. Ferguson's Brigade at Okolona, Mississippi, along with the 2nd Alabama, 56th Alabama and 12th Mississippi Regiments. Barteau's regiment reported an aggregate of 548 on roll. It moved with General Ferguson to Courtland, Alabama in October, 1863, and en route, was engaged at Fulton, Mississippi on October 25. In reporting on this engagement, General Ferguson said: "Lieutenant Colonel Morton is due more than a passing tribute. He led his gallant band with a cool skill and determination, admirable in the extreme."
The regiment remained in Ferguson's Brigade, Chalmers' Division, until January 26, 1864, when it was ordered to report to Major General N. B. Forrest, who had assumed command of the cavalry forces in North Mississippi. In Forrest's first move to reorganize his command on January 25, 1864, he placed Barteau's Regiment in Colonel (later Brigadier General) T. H. Bell's Brigade, along with Russell's, Greer's, Newsom's, and Wilson's Regiments. All of these, except Barteau's, were irregular organizations raised during the fall of 1863 in West Tennessee. All of them, again with the exception of Barteau's, were shortly after consolidated and reorganized by General Forrest. On March 7, Bell's Brigade, of Brigadier General A. Buford's Division, was organized with Barteau's Regiment, 2Oth (Russell's) and 21st (Wilson's) Regiments. These regiments, with later additions, remained in Bell's Brigade until the end.
The regiment was with General Forrest in his running battle with the force under Major General William Sooy Smith, which ended in the latter's total defeat in the Battle of Tishomingo Creek, or Brice's Crossroads, February 20-21-22, 1864. Reporting on the fighting on the 22nd, Forrest wrote: "About 300 men of the 2nd Tennessee Cavalry, under Colonel Barteau, and the 7th Tennessee Cavalry, Colonel Duckworth, received repeated charges from seven regiments of the enemy in the open field, and drove them back time after time, capturing three stands of colors and one piece of artillery."
The regiment took part in the capture of Fort Pillow on April 12, 1864, where Bell's brigade was placed temporarily under the command of Brigadier General I. R. Chalmers. Its next major engagement was the Battle of Harrisburg, July 13-15, 1864. Here the brigade had been increased by the addition of the 18th (Newsom's) Tennessee Cavalry Regiment. Barteau's Regiment suffered 66 casualties, including Colonel Barteau, who was wounded and furloughed.
It was with General Forrest on his raid into Middle Tennessee, beginning with the capture of Athens, Alabama on September 24, and ending with the recrossing of the Tennessee River October 8, 1864. As part of Buford's Division, it took part in General Hood's invasion of Tennessee in November 1864, and withdrew into Mississippi again, after this campaign ended in disaster at Nashville.
On February 13, 1865, General Forrest ordered all the Tennessee forces in his command to report to Brigadier General W. H. Jackson, for consolidation into six regiments. As a result of this order the regiment was consolidated with the 21st (Wilson's) Regiment to form the 21st and 22nd Consolidated Tennessee Cavalry Regiment. On May 3, 1865, still in BelUs Brigade, the consolidated regiment reported 31 officers, 317 men present for duty, 260 effectives, 423 aggregate present, 641 aggregate present and absent.
The consolidated regiment was paroled at Gainesville, Alabama in May, 1865.
CAPTAIN JOHN W. MORTON'S TENNESSEE
LIGHT ARTILLERY COMPANY
"Burns Light Artillery"
Formerly Captain Thomas K. Porter's Tennessee Light Artillery Company.
This company was organized July 1, 1861 as State troops, and mustered into Confederate service on September 30, 1861 at Nashville, with some men detailed to it from the 3rd (J. C. Brown's) and 18th (Palmer's) Tennessee Infantry Regiments. On September 15, 1861, prior to the muster into Confederate Service, Porter's Battery was reported at Camp Trousdale. On October 28, 1861, in the organization of the Army Corps of Central Kentucky, it was placed in Brigadier General Simon B. Buckner's Division at Bowling Green, Kentucky.
On February 6, 1862, Buckner, at Russellville, Kentucky, objected to an order for Porter's Battery to report to General Floyd, saying that it would leave his division without any artillery. At any rate, both Buckner's Division and Porter's Battery soon moved to Fort Donelson, where the battery took part in the struggle there, attached to Buckner's Division. Brigadier General John B. Floyd, in his report of the Federal attack on February 13, said: "Too high praise cannot be bestowed upon the battery of Captain Porter for its participation in the rout of the enemy in this assault." It was again prominent in the Federal assault on Buckner's lines late in the afternoon of February 15. Buckner reported: "I cannot bestow sufficient praise on Captains Porter and Graves for the gallant and efficient handling of their batteries." In this attack Porter's battery lost more than half of its gunners, Captain Porter was severely wounded, and Lieutenant Morton took command of the battery. Morton reported 31 killed and wounded out of 48 cannoneers. Reports from brigade and regimental commanders were unanimous in the chorus of praise heaped upon the battery for its conduct in the three day fight.
The battery was surrendered on February 16, along with the rest of the forces surrendered at Fort Donelson. Captain Porter had to have his leg amputated as a result of his wound, and never served with the battery again. Upon his exchange he was promoted to Chief of Artillery, Department of East Tennessee, on November 5, 1862.
The battery was exchanged at Vicksburg, Mississippi September 16, 1862. According to a letter from Captain Morton, the battery, when exchanged about October 25, 1862 was ordered by Brigadier General Lloyd Tilghman to report to Major General J. C. Breckinridge at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, which it did. When General Bragg arrived at Mui{reesboro, he ordered Lieutenant Morton to report to Brigadier General N. B. Forrest at Columbia, to take charge of his Horse Artillery. Upon reporting, Forrest told him that he had only one battery (Freeman's) with a full complement of officers, and did not want it disturbed. Morton replied that he would like to serve in Forrest's Command unfil Forrest could give him a battery, but Forrest referred him to Brigadier General Joseph Wheeler for assignment. Upon request to Wheeler, he was ordered to report to Forrest for assignment to duty about December 5, 1862. On his West Tennessee raid the last half of December, Forrest captured a section (two pieces) of artillery and gave it to Morton, and at Middle-burg, on December 23, ordered a section commanded by Lieutenant Gould "of Colonel Napier's regiment to be thrown with mine, thus forming a battery" to which Forrest appointed Morton as captain. From this time on, Morton's Battery was attached to Forrest's Cavalry Command.
In Forrest's report of his West Tennessee raid, he stated that on December 20, Lieutenant Morton, with two guns, was sent with Colonel George Dibrell to destroy the bridge over the Forked Deer River, but they were driven off by superior forces. He also stated that Captain Freeman and Lieutenant Morton, with all their men, deserved special mention for their actions in the Battle of Parker's Crossroads on December 31, 1862.
Morton's Battery was sent with Dibrelrs Cavalry Regiment to Florence, Alabama, on February 24, 1863, where they remained until April 10, and while there, had a brush with Federal gunboats on March 25, 1863. Freeman's and Morton's batteries composed the artillery attached to Forrest's Division until after the Battle of Chickamauga. Morton's company report showed station at Kingston, Tennessee, on June 30. At Chickamauga, Morton's Battery was attached to Dibrell's Brigade, Brigadier General F. C. Armstrong's Division of Forrest's Corps. On October 9, 1863, the company report showed station at Dalton, Georgia.
On November 7, 1863, Morton's Battery, with four officers and 67 men was assigned as part of the tiny force with which General Forrest moved to West Tennessee to assume command of the cavalry forces in West Tennessee and North Mississippi. On November 28, the battery was reported at Okolona, Mississippi with four rifled guns, and this constituted its armament for the rest of the war.
On February 5, 1864, Colonel J. E. Forrest's Brigade and one section of Morton's Battery were ordered to Grenada, Mississippi in preparation for a planned raid into Middle Tennessee, but the plans were disrupted by a Federal force under Major General William Sooy Smith moving into North Mississippi. In a running battle February 20-22 culminating at Okolona, Mississippi, General Forrest defeated this force and pursued it to the Tennessee border, and Morton's Battery was engaged in this struggle.
On April 4, General Forrest, at Jackson, Tennessee, advised General Leonidas Polk: "I have ordered Morton's battery to Tupelo, and shall bring it on here unless ordered to the contrary. I need its rifled guns, as the small guns I have are of little use." On April 24, Polk advised; I have ordered Morton's Battery and Chalmers' Brigade to meet an enemy force moving up the Yazoo River."
On May 10, 1864, in the organization of Forrest's Cavalry forces, Hudson's Mississippi, Morton's and Rice's Tennessee, and Thralls Arkansas Batteries were reported as the artillery attached to the command. On May 13, these batteries were formed into a battalion of artillery. On May 13, Forrest appointed Captain Morton as acting Chief of Artillery, and directed Lieutenant T. S. Sale to assume command of the battery. On May 15, Forrest advised: "Buford's Division, and Morton's and Rice's batteries go to Corinth to-morrow.
The battery was engaged in the Battle of Tishomingo Creek, or Brice's Crossroads on June 10; and again in the Battle of Harrisburg, July 15. General A. Buford, in reporting on this battle, stated: "On July 13, about 5:00 P. M., with Belrs Brigade, and Morton's Battery, I attacked the enemy (Major General A. J. Smith) on his right flank during the march."
On September 24, the battery was with General Forrest at the capture of Athens, Alabama, and on his subsequent raid to Pulaski, in Middle Tennessee. On October 29, it formed part of the force at Fort Heiman and Paris Landing which shelled and captured the steamer Mazeppa, with two barges; and on October 30, the steamer Cheeseman. A shell from Morton's Battery was credited with disabling the Mazeppa, thus leading to its capture. On November 4, with Morton as acting Chief of Artillery, and Lieutenant Tully Brown in command of the battery, the battery took part in the bombardment and burning of the Federal Depot at Johnsonville, Tennessee.
Hardly pausing for breath, it then moved into Middle Tennessee the last half of November in General Forrest's operations in support of General John B. Hood's invasion. In his reports of this campaign, General Forrest made specific mention of Morton's Battery twice. He reported that on December 1, he moved across the Harpeth River (near Franklin) and advanced up the Wilson pike where he struck the enemy in considerable force at Owen's Crossroads, and ordered Morton to open upon him with his battery. On December 3, Morton's battery was mentioned as taking part in the shelling and capture of Stockade Number Two on the railroad from Nashville to Murfreesboro.
Following this campaign, Forrest's forces withdrew into Mississippi, where, on February 13, 1865, in the reorganization of his forces, Morton's Battery was attached to Brigadier General W. H. Jackson's Division. Along with the rest of Forrest's command, it was paroled at Gainesville, Alabama in May, 1865; and so ended, after almost four years of service, the career of one of the best known, and most highly regarded, of the Tennessee batteries.
Antietam