Civil War Articles by Julian WilliamsBloody Spotsylvania Court House Battle Killed One, Spared One
This article was compiled by Julian Williams.
I was talking with my friend the other day - Isaac J. Roberson. I.J. was telling me of his search for his grandfather, Isaac B. Roberson, and it occurred to me that I had come across one Isaac B. Roberson who was one of the unfortunate soldiers in the Civil War to sustain quite a few wounds.
I.J.'s search for his grandfather proved to be fruitful for he found him in the Zion Hope Church Cemetery between McRae and Chauncey. The marker did not have dates but the markers of other relatives next to the grave confirmed, to a great degree of confidence, that this was indeed his grandfather. The name on the marker was quite readable - Isaac B. Roberson.
The Isaac B. Roberson I found, and possibly I.J.'s grandfather, was in the Civil War and must have been quite an adversary. He was wounded at Cold Harbor in 1862, was wounded and permanently disabled at Gettysburg in 1863, but proved all wrong about the "permanent" part, and returned to do battle at the Wilderness in 1864, and of course, true to his nature, was wounded. This put Isaac B. Roberson out of the War and into the Invalid Corps that same year.
The timeline of Isaac B. Roberson brings us to another great battle of the War. Up to this time the Northern generals had not been able to figure out General Lee. What made it so hard was that about the time they got to figuring, Marse Robert was charging with all the might and fury of his Confederate fighting machine. But the might and fury, over the past three years of fighting, had left him with more sound and scurry than might and fury. Some of the opposing generals did not notice this. One who did was General Ulysses S. Grant and he decided to focus in on the current circumstances. He decided to pursue Lee, at all costs, until he had destroyed him. Now that was focus. And he pursued it.
We just saw how horrible the Wilderness was. Now, just down the road, Grant intended to again engage Lee without letting up. The Virginia place was, and the battle would come to be known as, Spotsylvania Court House. One of the worst.
For some reason, certainly obvious to the people who now write about such things, one of Lee's commanders formed a defensive line that came to be known as the "Mule Shoe." This position jutted out like a sore thumb and was open invitation for Grant's men to attack - with might and fury.
We will not go into the descriptions of just how awful the fighting was. One writer described it "as the worst close-hand, face-to-face combat of the War - one of courage and carnage." For both sides.
On the line that day were two brave men from Telfair County. In fact, they were from a little settlement located in what would become a triangle between Jacksonville, Lumber City and McRae. The little community was, and still is, called Neilly. It is said the community was named for one of the ladies in the Smith women, Mrs. Neilly Smith.
The two brave men from Neilly were John Tyler Smith and his brother, Lt. T.J. Smith. The sons of Columbus Smith had gone off with the Georgia 49th, as had Isaac B. Roberson, to fight for their country.
I was talking with a grandson of Lt. T.J. Smith, CSA. I enjoy talking with Mr. Alex Smith because he is intensely interested in the history of the area. He said the two brothers were fighting on the line together when one fell with a fatal wound. Seeing his brother die beside him must have been a heart-wrenching and painful experience for the young lieutenant from between the Ocmulgees.
One can only imagine what he felt - how would he tell their parents? Would he, himself, finish this horrible battle alive? What would happen tomorrow, next week, next month, next year? Would he be able to bury the body of his dear brother? Would he be able to find the chaplain, and if he did find him, would he be alive? So many thoughts probably confused him as he sweated and led his men in yet another defensive thrust against overwhelming odds. But, somehow, he made it out alive to tell about it.
A later letter, reflecting on the War, is probably in more collected tones and measured language than was his disposition on that hellish day at Spotsylvania Court House:
"General Grant was now put in command, and May 5, 1864, he made an onslaught but was driven back to Spotsylvania Court House, ten miles distant. Here May 12th the Federals again attacked, broke through our lines, and captured Jackson's division. My brother, John T. Smith, was killed in this fight, and buried on the battlefield. His grave was plainly marked by Rev. J.J. Hyman, Baptist Chaplain of our regiment; afterwards his body with more than a thousand others was re-interred in Fredericksburg Cemetery by a patriotic order of Southern women, where he now rests."
The dead soldier's brother, Lt. T.J. Smith, made it back home to Telfair. He later became Captain of the local unit of Confederate veterans and was affectionately referred to by all as "Capt. Tom."
Mr. Alex told me that his grandfather, Capt. Tom Smith, returned to his old community of Neilly in 1865 and lived and worked there until around 1900, when he moved to McRae. From all accounts, he had a great work ethic and financial ability. He accumulated property and wealth and set his children on the road toward promising futures.
And the family always remembered the people and events of the past. A recent article in the Telfair Enterprise told of the christening of a new Smith baby, Malcolm McNeil Smith III. The christening robe worn by the baby was not your usual attire worn for such an occasion. The dress was made by the baby's great-great-grandmother, the late Mrs. T.J. Smith (the old soldier's wife), 102 years ago. The baptismal water was brought from the River Jordan in the Holy Land. Also, if I remember correctly, another Smith grandchild, Alexander Peterson Smith IV, was christened about the same time.
And that was not the only thing left behind by the old soldier, Lt. (Capt.) Thomas Jefferson Smith. If you have the time, as you enter McRae from Jacksonville, turn right and go down Huckabee Street to the next-to-the-last house on your right. There you will find a symbol of endurance, a man's statement that he made it back and tried to do the best he could. A symbol left for posterity - to remember a time that tried the hearts of men but only bent, and did not break, the spirit which drives us all to persist and endure, and accomplish, even when circumstances become adverse. If the old beautiful house could speak it would be able to tell many interesting tales of a people and a day gone by.
Credits:
"History of Telfair County" by Floris Perkins Mann;
"History of Telfair County (1807-1987)"; Information from Alex Smith;
The Telfair Enterprise;
"Don't Drink The Water" by John and Anita Rigdon;
Various other sources.
