Re: We came, we didn't see, so we went home -- Banks Grand Retreat

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Date Posted: 13:45:22 03/17/09 Tue
Author: HarrisonHolloway
Subject: Re: We came, we didn't see, so we went home
In reply to: Cousin Hank 's message, "Re: We came, we didn't see, so we went home" on 16:24:58 03/15/09 Sun

I brought my book to have it signed. Any chance I could send it to you to sign it?

Holler
Hairy Nation Boys

>Hiya, Steve,
> It speaks well of everyone that there was little
>sign of our week-long habitation. We all tried to
>pick up trash.
> Thanks for reminding us of the hardships of Walker's
>Division. Four brothers of my mother's clan (named
>Mann) were in that division, three of them died of an
>epidemic in that winter camp. There wasn't much
>source of clean water and too many troops were packed
>into winter quarters in a small area so it's no wonder
>so many got sick and died. They were assigned to a
>Confederate force posted on the White River near Des
>Arc, Arkansas, as part of a large force defending
>Memphis, Tenn. I got the following info from a book
>titled titled �Captain Jack and the Tyler County Boys
>� a history of Company K, 13th Texas Cavalry
>Regiment.� by Thomas Reid :
>
>Co. K (my g-g-grandfather's company) started as a
>mounted cavalry unit, but on July 24, 1862, they were
>redesignated as infantry and lost 40 cents a day in
>pay with the loss of the horse.
>After they were �dismounted� and the horses sent home,
>James Mann wrote to his little sister Mary, �John says
>he don�t want you to let his horse go for he says one
>of us might get back and we will want him�.
>
>On their march north toward Memphis in 1862, the 13th
>Cavalry passed through Little Rock. Sept. 5, the men
>cleaned everything, groomed themselves and drilled for
>four hours to get ready for the dress parade at the
>state house the next day. They marched splendidly at
>the dress parade, drawing compliments from the
>Governor of Arkansas and the generals in attendance.
>
>Continuing north, the soldiers reached Camp Hope,
>Arkansas, near the city of Austin, Arkansas. While on
>the march and for several days afterward the weather
>was awful � rain, drizzle, cold, wind, mud, not many
>tents or winter clothing. At Camp Hope, 20,000 men
>were in close quarters, with no clean water to drink,
>so bacterial and viral illnesses broke out. Four to
>six men were buried every day. It was estimated that
>the division lost 1500 men dues to illnesses, none to
>enemy action.
>
>John Pinkney Mann (my g-g-grandfather)was in a
>hospital there at Camp Nelson from November to
>January, then rejoined the unit.
>J.P. Mann continued with Co. K through several marches
>and engagements in Louisiana through 1863 and in April
>1864 he was part of the Confederate forces that beat
>the Yankees at Mansfield and Pleasant Hill. The
>Walter P. Lane Rangers were there too.
>He was in the Battle of Jenkins� Ferry at the Saline
>River, Arkansas on April 30, 1864.
>The division continued operation in Louisiana and
>Arkansas, and in late 1864 were in winter quarters
>near Minden, LA, not far from Shreveport. The Tyler
>County men were skilled in felling trees and building
>cabins, which they did just before the cold and sleet
>came. Some were granted leave around Christmas and
>made it back to Tyler County.
>In March 1865, the division marched from Shreveport to
>Hempstead, arriving at Camp Groce on April 15, 1865.
>Back then it was 2-1/2 miles from Hempstead. (We've
>walked those grounds at Liendo Plantation.)
>There, the men heard rumors of Lee�s surrender. They
>ignored such wild stories and continued to drill and
>perform their duties in the usual manner. They were a
>very large and undefeated army and as yet there were
>no enemy troops in Texas.
>But as April ended, men started to slip away. Pvt.
>John P. Mann, the last of the four brothers, was
>reported absent on the morning of April 30th and no
>one thought badly of him. (Family history says he was
>sent home to apprehend deserters.) A couple of days
>later it became clear that Gen. Kirby-Smith was
>negotiating a surrender of the Trans-Mississippi
>Department. On May 19, most of the troops left for
>home. All the Tyler County boys were probably home by
>May 28th and started clearing fields, building fences
>and putting in crops.

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Replies:

Be more than happy to -- Steve Mayeux, 14:57:46 03/17/09 Tue
- Re: Be more than happy to -- Holler, 06:36:48 03/20/09 Fri