The
American Civil War
Near Ringgold, Cleburne fortified a high ridge line in the path of the
Federal advance. Northern troops under Brigadier General Peter J.
Osterhous attacked Cleburne's Confederate forces. Defending the
Confederate left was the 6th and 15th Texas (Combined) Infantry
Regiment. After ferocious fighting depleted the Southerners'
ammunition, Cleburne ordered the unexpected: a bayonet charge
counterattack. "At the command the whole [force] rushed forward with a
cheer," Cleburne later reported. "The enemy, completely surprised, fled
down the foot, the Texas troops on the left pursuing him beyond the
foot and nearly across the open ground in front Our charging columns
returned with many prisoners and a stand of colors." Four of the eight
Northern battle flags were captured by Texans.
After another assault was turned back, the Federals pounded the ridge with a deadly artillery barrage. "Immediately after his last repulse the enemy opened a rapid and revengeful artillery fire on Tunnel Hill from his batteries," Cleburne reported, "And under cover of this fire he went to work felling trees and fortifying his position." It was a long day's fight for the Texans and the rest of Cleburne's command, but they held firm despite heavy casualties. Eventually, however, Cleburne's division was ordered to withdraw. They had held their ground in the face of repeated attacks and had inflicted severe casualties on their pursuers. "The enemy must have suffered severely," Cleburne reported, "the hill-side and the valley were thickly strewn with his dead...." When Cleburne's Texas troops were recalled, they reluctantly left the bloody ridge they had defended so fiercely.
The 6th Texas Infantry was organized in November of 1861, and entered Confederate service at Camp McCullough near Victoria, Texas. Colonel Robert R. Garland was the 6th's first commander. For approximately six months, the regiment served in the Department of Texas. In the spring of 1862, the Texans joined the Confederate Army of the West, serving in General Dabney H. Maury's Brigade, and participated in the Corinth Campaign. In August of 1862, the regiment was transferred to the District of Arkansas in the Confederate Department of the Trans-Mississippi, and served in General Thomas Churchill's command. The regiment participated in the defense of Arkansas Post, a Confederate stronghold on the Arkansas River. Arkansas Post fell to Federal forces on January 11,1863, and the regiment was surrendered with the rest of Churchill's troops. The Texans were prisoners of war for several months, until paroled by Federal forces and exchanged for Northern prisoners in April of 1863.
In July of 1863 — its ranks depleted by battle and
imprisonment
— the 6th Texas was consolidated with dismounted troops of
the
15th Texas Cavalry and elements of the 10th Texas Infantry as part of
General Patrick Cleburne's Division in the Confederate Army of
Tennessee. Under Cleburne, the survivors of the 6th Texas were engaged
at the Battle of Chickamauga on September 19-20,1863.
Commanded
by Lieutenant Colonel Thomas S. Anderson, the Texans and their brigade
endured some of the bloody battle's worst fighting while defending a
hill on the Confederate right.
"We advanced to the crest of the hill, some 200 yards in front of the enemy's barricades and breastworks, when he opened a destructive fire upon us," recalled Colonel R.Q. Mills, who was the 6th's brigade commander. "We were ordered to lie down and commence firing. We now began the engagement in earnest, but at great disadvantage. The enemy was behind his defenses and we without cover. He had two batteries of artillery; we had none...." Chickamauga ended in a Confederate victory, but was a short-lived gain: Bragg's army was soon forced to retreat into northern Georgia.
After Chickamauga, the troops of the 6th Texas were engaged in the Siege of Chattanooga, at the Battle of Taylor's Ridge and in the defense of Atlanta. The troops of the 10th Texas were detached from the regiment, leaving the 6th Texas consolidated with the 15th Texas Cavalry. During the Atlanta Campaign, the regiment was engaged at Pickett's Mill, New Hope Church, Atlanta, and Jonesborough. As part of the Army of Tennessee under General John Bell Hood, the 6th Texas participated in the bloody fighting at Franklin and Nashville, then — under the command of General Joseph E. Johnston — helped defend the Carolinas against General William T. Sherman's invading army. The surviving members of the 6th Texas saw their last serious fighting at the Battle of Bentonville in North Carolina on March 19-21,1865. Consolidated with survivors from a half-dozen other Texas regiments as the 1st Infantry Consolidated, the war-weary troops of the 6th Texas Infantry surrendered to Sherman with the rest of Johnston's army at Durham Station, North Carolina on April 26,1865. The Texans from the 6th who returned to the Lone Star State were a slim fraction of the excited throng of new recruits that went to war in 1861.
6th
Texas Infantry Regiment
As Northern forces charged up a steep ridge at the Battle of Taylor's
Ridge, they were suddenly hit by a hail of rocks hurled by desperate
Confederate troops. The battle occurred on November 27,1863, as General
Braxton Bragg's Confederate Army of Tennessee abandoned Chattanooga and
withdrew into the mountainous country of northern Georgia. Pursued by
elements of two Northern armies commanded by General Ulysses S. Grant,
Bragg dispatched a division of troops under General Patrick Cleburne to
hold off the advancing Federals."Many Prisoners and a Stand of Colors"
After another assault was turned back, the Federals pounded the ridge with a deadly artillery barrage. "Immediately after his last repulse the enemy opened a rapid and revengeful artillery fire on Tunnel Hill from his batteries," Cleburne reported, "And under cover of this fire he went to work felling trees and fortifying his position." It was a long day's fight for the Texans and the rest of Cleburne's command, but they held firm despite heavy casualties. Eventually, however, Cleburne's division was ordered to withdraw. They had held their ground in the face of repeated attacks and had inflicted severe casualties on their pursuers. "The enemy must have suffered severely," Cleburne reported, "the hill-side and the valley were thickly strewn with his dead...." When Cleburne's Texas troops were recalled, they reluctantly left the bloody ridge they had defended so fiercely.
The 6th Texas Infantry was organized in November of 1861, and entered Confederate service at Camp McCullough near Victoria, Texas. Colonel Robert R. Garland was the 6th's first commander. For approximately six months, the regiment served in the Department of Texas. In the spring of 1862, the Texans joined the Confederate Army of the West, serving in General Dabney H. Maury's Brigade, and participated in the Corinth Campaign. In August of 1862, the regiment was transferred to the District of Arkansas in the Confederate Department of the Trans-Mississippi, and served in General Thomas Churchill's command. The regiment participated in the defense of Arkansas Post, a Confederate stronghold on the Arkansas River. Arkansas Post fell to Federal forces on January 11,1863, and the regiment was surrendered with the rest of Churchill's troops. The Texans were prisoners of war for several months, until paroled by Federal forces and exchanged for Northern prisoners in April of 1863.
"A Destructive Fire"
"We advanced to the crest of the hill, some 200 yards in front of the enemy's barricades and breastworks, when he opened a destructive fire upon us," recalled Colonel R.Q. Mills, who was the 6th's brigade commander. "We were ordered to lie down and commence firing. We now began the engagement in earnest, but at great disadvantage. The enemy was behind his defenses and we without cover. He had two batteries of artillery; we had none...." Chickamauga ended in a Confederate victory, but was a short-lived gain: Bragg's army was soon forced to retreat into northern Georgia.
After Chickamauga, the troops of the 6th Texas were engaged in the Siege of Chattanooga, at the Battle of Taylor's Ridge and in the defense of Atlanta. The troops of the 10th Texas were detached from the regiment, leaving the 6th Texas consolidated with the 15th Texas Cavalry. During the Atlanta Campaign, the regiment was engaged at Pickett's Mill, New Hope Church, Atlanta, and Jonesborough. As part of the Army of Tennessee under General John Bell Hood, the 6th Texas participated in the bloody fighting at Franklin and Nashville, then — under the command of General Joseph E. Johnston — helped defend the Carolinas against General William T. Sherman's invading army. The surviving members of the 6th Texas saw their last serious fighting at the Battle of Bentonville in North Carolina on March 19-21,1865. Consolidated with survivors from a half-dozen other Texas regiments as the 1st Infantry Consolidated, the war-weary troops of the 6th Texas Infantry surrendered to Sherman with the rest of Johnston's army at Durham Station, North Carolina on April 26,1865. The Texans from the 6th who returned to the Lone Star State were a slim fraction of the excited throng of new recruits that went to war in 1861.