Category Archives: Gen. Lafayette McLaws

Firing the 1861 Springfield

A Hungarian fellow who styles himself capandball on the Internet has a really thick accent but if you listen closely you can get the gist of his description of the 1861 Springfield percussion rifle-musket he’s firing here. The South imported … Continue reading

Posted in Armament, Battles: Maryland Heights, Gen. Lafayette McLaws | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

General McLaws’ court martial

Although convened in February, 1864, McLaws’ court martial for dereliction of duty in the assault on Fort Sanders at Knoxville, was on-again, off-again, for the next several weeks. Finally, on March 11, the trial commenced at a private home in … Continue reading

Posted in Battles: Fort Sanders, Gen. Benjamin G. Humphreys, Gen. James Longstreet, Gen. Lafayette McLaws, Humpreys Mississippi Brigade, Siege of Knoxville | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Longstreet relieves McLaws, who is challenged to a duel

The 13th Regiment lost its longtime division commander on Dec. 18, 1863. “Friday. Cloudy and very windy and cold,” Spartan Band diarist William H. Hill recorded. “General Longstreet today relieved General McLaws from command of this division. “The reasons that … Continue reading

Posted in Gen. James Longstreet, Gen. Lafayette McLaws, The Spartan Band, William H. Hill Diary | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Journey: Pursued through East Tennessee

The 13th Regiment marched with the rest of Longstreet’s reduced Corps through the cold and drenching night, Dec. 4-5, 1863, dressed only in ragged summer clothing. They all stopped about 4 a.m. and rested for a few hours before starting … Continue reading

Posted in Gen. Lafayette McLaws, Humpreys Mississippi Brigade | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Withdrawal: Miles of fence on fire

After the failed first-light attack on Fort Sanders, General Burnside offered his old West Point classmate General Longstreet a flag of truce. “The morning being very cold and frosty, and the enemy’s wounded in our ditch and in front of … Continue reading

Posted in Battles: Fort Sanders, Gen. James Longstreet, Gen. Lafayette McLaws, Humpreys Mississippi Brigade, Siege of Knoxville, The Commanders, The Spartan Band, William H. Hill Diary | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

The Battle of Fort Sanders

By Nov. 28, 1863, the siege of Knoxville was entering its second week. Longstreet, who had been dithering on the question of where best to attack the Union defenses, had finally settled on one—the red-dirt Fort Sanders (above, looking west) … Continue reading

Posted in Battles: Fort Sanders, Confederate Veteran Magazine, Gen. Benjamin G. Humphreys, Gen. James Longstreet, Gen. Lafayette McLaws, Humpreys Mississippi Brigade, Jess N. McLean, Nimrod Newton Nash, Siege of Knoxville, The Battle Flags, The Lauderdale Zouaves, The Minute Men of Attala, The Spartan Band, William H. Hill Diary | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The fight at Campbell’s Station

General Burnside’s federal army was retreating to Knoxville. Pursuing them, after crossing the Tennessee River on Nov. 15, General Longstreet divided his two divisions. He accompanied Hood’s Division along the Hotchkiss Valley Road to Lenoir City and sent McLaws’ Division … Continue reading

Posted in Gen. James Longstreet, Gen. Lafayette McLaws, Humpreys Mississippi Brigade, Siege of Knoxville, The Spartan Band, The Winston Guards, William H. Hill Diary | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Furloughing resumes

“Some excitement among the souldiers,” Second Lieutenant Robert A. Moore of the 17th Regiment wrote in his diary on Thursday, Aug. 20, “caused by the resumption of a system of furloughing in the army & the drawing therefore. “[Two] are … Continue reading

Posted in Gen. Lafayette McLaws, Humpreys Mississippi Brigade, The Spartan Band, William H. Hill Diary | Tagged | Leave a comment