Civil War Articles by Julian WilliamsThe Wilderness Adds To Unbelievable Ocmulgee Casualties
This article was compiled by Julian Williams.
Not only did the dismal abyss of The Wilderness cut through the ranks of the Georgia 49th; the unthinkable killing place also exacted a terrible toll on the Telfair and Coffee soldiers of the Georgia 20th Regiment, Company H. The Wilderness casualties for that unit were:
2nd Lt. Henry McRae - Killed.
Francis M. Allagood - Wounded.
Joshua Coffee - Wounded.
Mark W. Coffee - Wounded.
Robert H. Hart - Wounded.
D.W. McCrimmon - Wounded. (Note: Another brother of Sgt. John McCrimmon of the 49th)
David Yancey - Wounded.
Perry J. Adams was also wounded and permanently disabled in 1864. Place was not noted.
We can only imagine the thoughts running through the heads of the soldiers. Lt. Julius Warren Boyd might have been thinking of getting back to the south side of the Ocmulgee River (recently-created Coffee County) and developing Oak Grove Methodist Church. Pvt. Henry Fussell probably would just like to get back to Blockhouse Baptist Church - period. His Telfair descendants today include Preston Fussell, Vaunita Fussell Waldon and Stanley Wells. His Coffee County descendants include Jackie Fussell and Janice Fussell Lewis. First Cpl. Jacob Fussell was probably also yearning for a return to church services. One source put it this way:
"There seems to be an extraordinary interest exhibited in religious works at the present time. The First Baptist Church continues to be crowded night after night, and many persons are seeking the way to become Christians. At Wesley Chapel, the revival progresses with unabated zeal and interest, and accounts from various parts of the army state that our soldiers are enlisting in great numbers under the banner of the Most High."
The horrors of warfare had indeed been made manifest to the soldiers of the 20th, Co. H. Their numbers were dwindling and a look at their casualties makes us aware of the heartache that must have swept through the homes of their relatives:
For the year 1861:
William L. Rogers - Disabled - Manassas, VA
Nathaniel A. Shelton - 3rd Sgt. - Died - Manassas, VA
Charles Adams, Died - Fairfax, VA
Bartlett Allagood - Died - Fairfax, VA
Larkin M. Ball - Died - Richmond, VA
Josiah S. Burgess - Died - Union Mills, VA
Luke W. Campbell, Sgt. Maj.- Died - Fairfax, VA
Joel W. Dilborn - Died - Fairfax, VA
William J. Jones - Died - Fairfax, VA
William Riley McEachin - Died - Fairfax, VA
Charles McRae - Died - Union Mills, VA
George W. Nash - Disabled - Culpeper, VA
Ira Nasworth - Died - Fairfax, VA
Jacob Parker - Died - Culpeper, VA
Alexander Charles Powell - Died - Fairfax, VA
James A. Powell - Disabled - but returned to action and surrendered at War's end with General Lee
William A. Reeves - Died - Manassas, VA
James R. Shelton - Died - Fairfax, VA
James L. Tillis - Died - Culpeper, VA
Obediah Varnadoe (or Varnadore) - Died - Union Mills, VA
William Yancey - Disabled - Richmond, VA
For the year 1862:
Thomas J. Williams, 4th Sgt - Wounded - Sharpsburg, MD
William Roberson - Discharged sick.
E.N. Allagood - Died - Richmond
J.C. Anderson - Wounded - Sharpsburg, MD
W. Alexander Ashley - Killed - Malvern Hill, VA
Carson H. Culbreath, 2nd Lt. - Killed - 2nd Manassas, VA
Robert W. Dopson - Disabled - Richmond, VA
David J. Holder - Wounded - 2nd Manassas - Died - Richmond, VA
E.I. McCackin - Died - Lynchburg, VA
Jordan B. McEachin - Died - Lynchburg, VA
George McRae - Wounded - Thoroughfare Gap, VA
William Wesley Pittman - Wounded - 2nd Manassas, VA
Charles Powell - Disabled
George Wilcox - Died - Front Royal, VA
John N. Wootten - Killed - 2nd Manassas, VA
For the year 1863:
John A. Coffee, Capt. - Wounded - Chickamauga, GA
D.C. Anderson - Died - Richmond, VA
Marion Anderson - Wounded - Gettysburg, PA
Charles Harrison Ashley - Killed - Gettysburg, PA
Radford Jordan Browning - Wounded - Gettysburg, PA
W.H. Bryan - Died - Petersburg, VA
William Jordan Burgess - Wounded - Gettysburg, PA
William Levi Hall - Wounded - Chickamauga, GA
Benjamin T. Hunter - Captured and Died - Ft. Delaware, MD
Daniel J. Johnson - Killed - Gettysburg, PA
John D. (or B.) McArthur, 2nd Lt. - Killed - Chicka- mauga, GA
Neil (or Neal) McCranie - Killed - Chickamauga, GA
Farquhar McCrimmon - Killed - Gettysburg, PA (Note: this is another brother of Sgt. John McCrimmon of the Georgia 49th)
John J. McLeod - Died - Richmond, VA
William Wesley Pittman - Wounded - Gettysburg, PA
George R. Reeves - Killed - Gettysburg, PA
Joshua Smith - Wounded - Gettysburg, PA
Thomas L. Varnadoe (or Varnadore) - Wounded -
Gettysburg, PA
Jesse Vaughn - Died - Mount Jackson, VA
Daniel P. Watson - Wounded - Gettysburg, PA
As General Grant flicked the ashes off his well-chewed cigar, he pointed toward Spotsylvania Courthouse with a resolve that inspired awe in both sides. He was not letting up and more men would fall before the terrible War ended. Grant wanted to end the War so he and Julia could go on with their lives. But Julia would not be deterred. She would often visit the battlefields to be with her beloved husband, "Ulys."
Not only were Georgia soldiers falling in Virginia and Maryland and Pennsylvania, but they were falling in Georgia, too:
In Atlanta on this day, merchant Samuel P. Richards wrote in his diary:
"After dinner Sallie and I and the children rode out to the cemetary [Oakland]. The saddest sight that I have seen is the acre of fresh-dug graves that are filled by dead soldiers, the result of this terrible war. Not a blade of grass left growing there."
There would be more sad sights.
Credits:
"Georgia 49th Regiment" by John Griffin;
"Georgia 20th Regiment" by Willie Garner;
"Don't Drink The Water" by John and Anita Rigdon;
"Atlanta and Environs: A Chronicle of Its People and Events" by Franklin M. Garrett;
"Dear Mother: Don't grieve about me. If I get killed, I'll only be dead." by Mills Lane (ed.).
