Category Archives: The Spartan Band

Pvt Joseph Pearson Sanders

Posted on April 4, 2017 by Dick Stanley

Sanders, aka Josiah P. Saunders, was one of the oldest living veterans of the 13th Regiment, dying in 1927 at the age of 96. Buried in the Beauvoir Confederate Cemetery, one of six 13th veterans buried there. McLean lists him … Continue reading →

Posted in The Lauderdale Zouaves, The Spartan Band, Wayne Rifles | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

A Mississippian in Texas

Posted on April 19, 2013 by Dick Stanley

Independent historian Jess McLean of Dallas, author of the only compendium of the troops of the 13th Mississippi Infantry Regiment is trying to preserve this old grave in Lyons, southwest of College Station, Texas. The lieutenant named on the tombstone, … Continue reading →

Posted in Jess N. McLean, The Spartan Band | Tagged , , | 5 Comments

The “stillness” at Appomattox

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Dick Stanley

The less-than-one-company-sized pittance that was the 13th Mississippi Regiment at Appomattox Courthouse played no recorded role in the events surrounding General Lee’s formal surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia on April 9, 1865. It was the Christian holy day … Continue reading →

Posted in Captured at Saylor's Creek, H. Grady Howell Jr., Humpreys Mississippi Brigade, Jess N. McLean, Mississippi, Muster Rolls, Newton Rifles, The Minute Men of Attala, The Pettus Guards, The Spartan Band | Tagged , | 12 Comments

Captured at Saylor’s Creek

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Dick Stanley

One hundred and forty-eight years ago this morning, on a cloudy Thursday, the Army of Northern Virginia fought its last battle. It was little more than a skirmish, actually, though it extinguished Humphreys’ Mississippi Brigade and most of the 13th … Continue reading →

Posted in Captured at Saylor's Creek, Humpreys Mississippi Brigade, Newton Rifles, The Alamutcha Infantry, The Kemper Legion, The Secessionists, The Spartan Band | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Desertions reached epidemic proportions

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Dick Stanley

S.A. Gerald of Matagorda, Texas, wrote Confederate Veteran magazine after the war: “…for two or three months [in 1865]…I was on detail on the ‘dead line,’ on duty at night, the only object being to catch any who might desert to the Yankees.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Humpreys Mississippi Brigade, Muster Rolls, Newton Rifles, Siege of Petersburg, The Minute Men of Attala, The Pettus Guards, The Secessionists, The Spartan Band, The Winston Guards | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Battles: Cold Harbor

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Dick Stanley

On the night of May 31, 1864, the First Corps, including the 13th Mississippi Regiment, marched for Cold Harbor. Plans called for getting onto Grant’s left flank and rolling it up while the rest of Lee’s army attacked Grant’s front. … Continue reading →

Posted in Battles: Cold Harbor, Humpreys Mississippi Brigade, Jess N. McLean, Newton Rifles, The Alamutcha Infantry, The Kemper Legion, The Lauderdale Zouaves, The Minute Men of Attala, The Pettus Guards, The Secessionists, The Spartan Band, The Winston Guards, Wayne Rifles | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Deserter: Brigade down to 800 men

Posted on May 21, 2012 by Dick Stanley

With the end of our last known diary by a 13th Regiment soldier [i.e. the Spartan Band’s William H. Hill] or, for that matter, any Humphreys’ Brigade soldier, we’re left to use the words of those outside either unit in … Continue reading →

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

Their feet bleeding at every step

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Dick Stanley

On New Year’s Eve, a Thursday, it was sleeting while Spartan Band diarist William H. Hill wrote the last entry in what is apparently his last extant diary. “It turned very cold suddenly and sleeted for several hours. Our men … Continue reading →

Posted in Humpreys Mississippi Brigade, The Spartan Band, William H. Hill Diary | Tagged , | 1 Comment