Battle of Peachtree Creek: Featherston's Mississippi brigade led the charge, suffered massive casualties as other units got lost or were delayed in the confusion

Gen. Featherston, park at center of fighting (Picket), brigade is fourth arrow from left (Georgia Battlefields Association)

Whether he was called “Old Sweat” because he was a seasoned veteran or for his tendency to perspire, Confederate Brig. Gen. Winfield S. Featherston was cool under fire.

From commanding the 17^th Mississippi Infantry to a brigade, Featherston performed ably at First and Second Manassas, Ball’s Bluff, Fredericksburg, Vicksburg and during the Atlanta Campaign.

“I know of no negative comments or vices or disputes concerning Featherston throughout his Confederate military service,” says Civil War historian Robert D. Jenkins, executive director of the Blue and Gray Education Society. He authored a book about the Battle of Peachtree Creek, where Featherston figured prominently.

Before Saturday, I had never heard of the general. I came across his name while reading markers at Tanyard Creek Park in Atlanta, the center of the failed Confederate attack at Peachtree Creek, which occurred on July 20, 1864. The Atlanta Beltline, a 22-mile loop of trails, goes through the leafy park, which is situated in an upscale neighborhood in the Buckhead community.

The venue is popular with dog walkers, bicyclists and joggers. A creek, Tanyard Branch, runs north-south in what was the center of the Confederate assault on Union divisions waiting for them just below the east-west Peachtree Creek.

The Battle of Peachtree Creek saw Lt. Gen. John Bell Hood’s ill-fated debut as the head of the South’s Army of Tennessee. Hood had hoped to isolate and destroy Maj. Gen. George Thomas’ command before two other Federal armies could come to his help.

The men in gray began the assault mid-afternoon on July 20, 1864, and things got tough quickly. The hilly terrain and ravines made communication and coordination difficult. Confusion and late troop arrivals reigned.

Featherston’s Mississippi brigade, part of Loring’s division, led the charge over what is now called Collier Road and toward Peachtree Creek.

His troops broke through the Federal line near Collier Mill (Picket photo, above) and they fought against three times their number in hand-to-hand combat for some 20 minutes before having to retire, but continued to fight to contest possession of the ridge top until dark, Jenkins says.

His men stubbornly pressed assault at Peachtree Creek

“Featherston carried 1,230 men into Battle at Peach Tree Creek, and fought toe-to-toe with approximately 5,500 Federal soldiers of Ward’s division,” Jenkins wrote on The Atlanta Campaign History Discussion Group on Facebook after I submitted a query..

Marker at Tanyard Creek Park prominently mentions Featherston's role (Picket photo)

“(Featherston) would remark bitterly about the failure of the Tennessee division to his right and of Hardee’s corps for not supporting his breakthrough during that battle,” Jenkins, who lives in northwest Georgia, added.

The 43-year-old general’s regiments suffered the highest casualties at the battle of Peachtree Creek, and were among the highest casualties at Franklin, Tenn., later in 1864.

Charlie Crawford, president emeritus of the Georgia Battlefields Association, is an expert on the fighting at Peachtree Creek and other Atlanta Campaign sites. (The battle used to be called Peach Tree, not Peachtree.)

The lack of coordination and prompt movement doomed the assault, the historian says.

One of many battle markers in the Collier Road area (Picket photo)

Hood and others didn’t get the three missing brigades from Stewart’s Corps (one each from French’s, Walthall’s, and Loring’s divisions) into position in time. 

“Likewise, Maney’s division didn’t fight well, Cleburne’s division was held back to exploit the hoped-for breakthrough, and Bate’s division got lost in the swampy ground around Clear Creek.” Crawford says.

“Consequently, the participating brigades form Walthall’s and Loring’s divisions and the entirety of Walker’s division did almost all the fighting. In that sense, the Confederates were outnumbered, but it wasn’t by design.”

Three large markers (in background) detail the fighting (PIcket photo)

The end of the day saw a Union victory, just two days before the Battle of Atlanta. Confederates suffered about 2,500 casualties in just a few hours.

Of Featherson, Crawford says: “At least his brigade followed through on the attack when several others never got there.”

Why he was transferred to fight in Western Theater

Featherston, a native of Tennessee, saw military service early in life, fighting against Creek Indians. He moved to Mississippi, becoming a lawyer and served two terms in Congress before the Civil War.

After fighting well in Virginia and being wounded in combat, Featherston wrote a letter to Gen. Robert E. Lee in fall 1862 requesting that he and his brigade be reassigned to Mississippi for the defense of the Magnolia State, which was under pressure by Grant, says Jenkins.

1964 state of Georgia map put out to mark Civil War centennial (Picket photo)

“Lee responded by telling Featherston that he could transfer, but Lee could not afford the loss of his troops from his army,” he says.

“Some have mistakenly assumed that Lee was getting rid of Featherston, but in fact, Featherston simply wanted to go where he thought he could do the most good in the defense of his home state.

His brigade went onto additional fame in Virginia with another commander, but it was Featherston who started that brigade on its course of reliability and combat effectiveness, Jenkins argues.

George Barnard's photo of temporary graves at Peachtree Creek (Library of Congress)

Jenkins says Featherston was dubbed “Old Sweat“ because of his exposed forehead.

“He had an early receding hairline/baldness. His forehead would wrinkle, and he would sweat easily when under stress or in hot weather.”

(Some Featherston histories spell the moniker “Old Swet.”)

Featherston’s brigade was one of only seven that was in good enough fighting condition to be used as part of a rear-guard defense during their retreat following the Confederate disaster at Nashville, Jenkins says.

After the war, Featherston returned to Holly Springs, Ms., and resumed his law practice. He died in 1891 at age 70.

READ MORE ABOUT PEACHTREE CREEK:

https://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/2021/07/three-men-clashed-at-peachtree-creek-on.html

https://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-atlanta-campaign-threw-thousands-of.html

https://civil-war-picket.blogspot.com/2014/05/peachtree-creek-2-charlie-crawfords.html

This Mississippi officer was killed by -- of all things -- a falling tree. Lt. Col. Columbus Sykes left letters and a trove of artifacts. Check out 8 of them at Kennesaw Mountain

Lt. Col. Columbus Sykes and his kepi, glove, duster and sock (Photos: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park)

At Georgia’s Kennesaw Mountain, Lt. Col. Columbus “Lum” Sykes of the 43^rd Mississippi Infantry narrowly escaped death when a Union battery fired upon his position. The officer, dozing under the shade of a tree, scrambled to safety moments before a second shell smashed his blanket.

“Had I been a few moments later in moving, my head would have probably been blown to atoms,” Sykes wrote in a June 29, 1864, letter home. “We have escaped to many imminent dangers during this campaign, that I can but gratefully attribute our escape to a special interposition of Providence.”

Sykes’ correspondence, which I found on Civil War historian Dan Vemilya’s blog, rings particularly ironic when considering what happened to him seven months later in Mississippi when he was resting under a tree.

He wasn’t so lucky that time.

Sykes, 32, was making his way back home to Aberdeen, Ms., in January 1865 when he and two other soldiers bunked down near a decaying white oak in Itawamba County. During the night, the tree fell, crushing the men. Sykes lingered a short time. According to one account, the officer lamented dying in such a way, rather than battle. “Tell my dear wife and children I loved them to the last.”

Visitors to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park northwest of Atlanta are fortunate Sykes left behind more than his letters to his wife and children. A half dozen items belonging to him were donated by a family member in the late 1940s, received by longtime park superintendent B.C. Yates.

The 43rd Mississippi – famous for its connection to “Old Douglas,” a camel that saw service until it was killed at Vicksburg -- served at Kennesaw Mountain. It was in Adams' brigade (Featherston’s division) in Loring’s Corps, which was deployed near the Western & Atlantic Railroad.

“The location would be just off of the park's northern property to the east of the visitor center,” said Amanda Corman, a park ranger and curator at the site.

The regiment hauled cannon to the Confederates' commanding heights but was not involved in defending against the worst of the June 27, 1864, Union assault, given it was on the far right of the Rebel line.

During a brief visit recently, I studied the Sykes items on exhibit under dark light and asked Corman for additional details and photos.

“The Sykes artifacts are able to provide a personal look into items that an officer may own and take into battle. Unfortunately, there (are) rarely personal items of the common solider to compare such items to an officer's belongings,” she wrote.

I am grateful to Corman and the park for these descriptions of the artifacts. All photos are from the National Park Service.

Leather trunk (right): The item has brass studs and a conventional design, and is 18 inches high, 15 inches wide and nearly 28 inches long. It was embossed at top with a small but ornate design. Trunks were often sent to the rear for safekeeping during marching and fighting. Sherman's cavalry captured hundreds of pieces of Confederate baggage near Fayetteville, Ga., in late July 1864.

Field cap (kepi): The butternut headgear – made from cotton and dyed wool jean cloth -- is homespun with a black oilcloth brim. It features cloth lining, a cardboard button and an oilcloth sweat band. Oilcloth was a substitute for leather. The kepi was copied from a design worn by the French army.

Money belt (above): This artifact is believed to be made of suede or soft leather. It features several compartments, white pearl buttons and strings for tying at the waist. As a lieutenant colonel in infantry, Sykes earned about $170 a month. But it was common for soldiers to go months without being paid.

Sock: It is made of a simple chain weave and the thread is unbleached. Jolie Elder with the Center for Knit and Crochet wrote this about Sykes’ sock: “I wasn’t able to measure the sock, but to my eyes the gauge looked finer than typical for today. I was impressed with how many times the heel had been darned. Sock-making was surely a time-consuming chore and someone was determined this sock get the maximum wear possible.”

Linen duster: At hip length, the garment has outside patch pockets and cloth-covered buttons. Sykes may have worn this jacket in hot weather in place of a frock coat.

Sash (above): Made of a red and black floral design, the sash is about 6 feet long and 1-inch wide. The park on Facebook said this of the garment: “Unique in its design, the sash features a floral motif, common in textile patterns of the Victorian Era. If you look closely, you’ll see the pattern is of roses and thorns, often interpreted as symbols of love and the pains that one must sometimes endure for the sake of love. Could it be that Sykes was gifted this sash of roses and thorns by his wife, Emma, as a reminder of her and the love they shared?”

Glove: The tan item was made for the right hand. The Union and Confederate armies did not supply gloves, so soldiers had to purchase their own.

Frock coat: The coat has Federal eagle buttons and two large gilt wire stars on each collar to signify Sykes’ standing at lieutenant colonel. It featured no braiding. Because of shortages, Confederate officers commonly pilfered Union buttons to replace those they lost.

The 43^rd Mississippi Infantry was formed in summer 1862 with 11 companies. It surrendered in April 1865.

A lawyer, husband and father from a wealthy Mississippi slaveholding family, Sykes survived every hardship of the Atlanta Campaign.

The lieutenant colonel's brother, William, was killed in combat at Decatur, Ala., in 1864. Earlier in the war, Lum was wounded and taken prisoner at Corinth, Ms.

I’ll close this post with part of another June 1864 letter written by Sykes, as published in Vermilya’s blog associated with his 2014 book “The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain” from Arcadia Press. (Vermilya is currently a ranger with Gettysburg National Military Park).

“As long as this unprecedented campaign continues we will have to rough it in the same way, marching, lying, and sleeping in line of battle ready to move at a moment’s notice, day or night. I am now using Paul’s horse, the celebrated ‘Plug Ugly’ as he calls him, as near no horse has ever troubled a man in or out of the army.”

Updated: Family proud of Cushing's service receives Civil War hero's Medal of Honor

Alonzo Cushing while at West Point

(Updated)

Just a month past his 22nd birthday, 1st. Lt. Alonzo H. Cushing wrote a letter to an aunt from his camp in Virginia, telling her of his new command of Battery A, 4th U.S. Artillery.

"I ... have been working hard all day, endeavoring to put things in proper shape," he wrote. "I shall have the Battery in superb fighting condition before the Army is ready to move."

His unit indeed was well-prepared four months later when it found itself at ground zero of Pickett's Charge at Gettysburg, at a spot dubbed "The Angle." It took a severe pounding from Confederate artillery trying to soften Union positions. Cushing suffered two grievous wounds and directed the operation of a field piece during the massive Rebel advance before a bullet to the head killed him instantly.

Thursday afternoon, more than 151 years later, Cushing posthumously received the Medal of Honor from President Barack Obama for demonstrating conspicuous gallantry, inflicting severe casualties on the enemy and helping to turn back the charge. A descendant living in California accepted it on Cushing's behalf.

"This medal is a reminder that no matter how long it takes it's never too late to do the right thing," Obama said during the brief ceremony at the White House Roosevelt Room.

Cushing refused to leave the field at Gettysburg when he was asked to do so by his first sergeant, who did receive the Medal of Honor in his lifetime.

"His mere presence there, I think, was a tremendous symbolic boost to his men," Mark Bradley, historian for the U.S. Army Center of Military History, said of Cushing during a conference call Wednesday in which the Civil War Picket participated.

1st Lt. Alonzo Cushing (center, back row) in 1862. (Library of Congress)

The ceremony was the culmination of a long campaign for Cushing to receive the honor.

It was rare for a Federal officer during the war to receive a Medal of Honor and historians acknowledge efforts to recognize Cushing at the time probably were sidetracked because others survived the momentous July 1863 battle in Pennsylvania and wrote about their service.

It was largely up to the descendants of Cushing, who like his three brothers had no children or direct descendants, to keep alive his legacy, saving his letters, traveling to Gettysburg and sharing stories around the Thanksgiving table.

Helen Ensign

"I was under 5 years old when I heard about Cushing," said Helen Loring Ensign, 86, of Palm Desert, Calif., who received the medal from President Obama. Ensign is Cushing's first cousin, two generations removed, the closest surviving blood relative and primary next of kin, as confirmed by the Army's Past Conflict Repatriations Branch.

Among those joining the Cushing and Loring families in Washington, D.C. for the White House and U.S. Army ceremonies was Margaret E. Zerwekh, 94, of Delafield, Wisc., where Cushing was born.

Zerwekh lives on property once owned by the Cushing family, did research on him and petitioned a congressman years ago to support the honor. She helped prepare paperwork for the nomination. Efforts involved additional politicians and military experts who studied records of the young artilleryman's stand at Gettysburg.

“Margaret made it happen," said Jessica Loring, Ensign's niece and Cushing's first cousin, three generations removed.

Obama cited 25 years of work by Zerwekh. "She managed to bring Republicans and Democrats together to make this happen. Margaret we may call on you again," he said to laughs.

Cushing late last year received a congressional waiver of a requirement that the medal must be recommended within two years of the event and presented within three years.

The medal, the country's highest military award, is bestowed to American soldiers who display conspicuous "gallantry above and beyond the call of duty."

Cushing sent Confederate currency in letter to his aunt

Descendants told reporters that they plan to lend the medal to West Point, where he graduated; Gettysburg, Delafield; Fredonia, New York, where Cushing grew up; and the McClurg Museum, in Westfield, N.Y.

“It is very much a medal for the nation," said Loring. "It should not sit on someone’s mantle place and stay there.”

The museum's curator, according to news reports, pushed for Ensign to receive the medal after the initial announcement that it would go to two first cousins, three times removed -- rather than two times removed, like Ensign.

Frederic Stevens Sater, of New York City, and Frederic Cushing Stevens III, of Hoschton, Ga., also were expected to be at the White House ceremony Thursday.

The McClurg Museum has the letter Cushing wrote to his Aunt Margaret, said the Post-Journal in Jamestown, N.Y.

The lieutenant and his brothers all served in the Civil War. One sibling, Lt. William B. Cushing, is best known for sinking a Confederate ironclad during an October 1864 raid.

“His whole family was a brave family," said Loring. ''His mother said, ‘Death before dishonor.’”

Loring has a grandson named for Alonzo Cushing.

Cushing's battery -- which consisted of 126 officers and enlisted men -- was at the center of the objective for 13,000 attacking Confederates at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863. The battery suffered nearly 40 casualties and was left in shambles during the long, pre-attack bombardment.

The lieutenant was wounded in the stomach and right shoulder. Propped up by Sgt.  Frederick Fuger, he continued to direct his men.

“That’s excellent!” he told his men, according to the Civil War Trust. “Keep that range."

He was killed by a bullet as the battery returned fire. Pickett's Charge failed. Cushing later was named a brevet lieutenant colonel. The full honor came Thursday with the Medal of Honor.

Obama acknowledged those who turned the tide at Gettysburg: "I might not be standing here today as president if not for the courageous sacrifices of these men."

The young hero's grave at West Point.