A Stovepipe And Blindness

Confederate Adam Rankin “Stovepipe” Johnson was promoted Brigadier General on September 6^th 1864.

Adam Rankin Johnson was born February 8^th 1834 in Henderson, Kentucky the son of Thomas J and Juliet (Rankin) Johnson.  He attended local schools before going to work at the age of 12 in a local drugstore.  He moved to the Hamilton Valley, in Burnet County, Texas in 1854, where he became a surveyor.  Johnson also supplied and drove stagecoach for the Butterfield Overland Mail stations, and was a noted Indian fighter.

When the Civil War started, Johnson returned to his native state of Kentucky, and joined Nathan Bedford Forrest’s cavalry as a scout.  He escaped being captured at Fort Donelson, and received a promotion to Colonel for his and his regiment’s actions well behind Union lines in Kentucky.  In a raid against Newburg, Indiana, Johnson with twelve men captured the city by using two joints of stovepipe he mounted to an old wagon convincing the Union presence it was a cannon.  This was how he picked up the nickname “Stovepipe”.  In 1863 Johnson took command of a brigade in Confederate Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan’s cavalry.  When Morgan’s raid came to an end at the Battle of Buffington Island, Johnson led 350 troopers across the Ohio River to safety.  He was appointed Brigadier General September 6^th 1864.  An accidental shot by one of own men on August 21^st 1864 at the Battle of Grubb’s Crossroads blinded Johnson.  He was captured by Union soldiers and spent most of the rest of the war in Fort Warren as a prisoner of war.

After the war ended and Johnson was paroled, he returned to Texas.  Even though he was blind, Johnson founded the town of Marble Falls, Texas; known as “The Blind Man’s Town”, founded the Texas Mining Improvement Company  and worked to try to harness the Colorado River for water power.  He died October 20^th 1922 in Burnet, Texas and is buried in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, Texas.  His body was laid in state in the Senate Chamber of the Texas State Capitol.

The Navy Man Of The West

Union Rear Admiral Andrew Hull Foote died June 26^th 1863.

Andrew Hull Foote was born September 12^th 1806 at New Haven, Connecticut the son of Senator Samuel Augustus and Eudocia (Hull) Foote.  He was a good student and received an appointment to the United State Military Academy at West Point in June 1822.  Only six months later he left West Point on December 4^th 1822 and joined the United State Navy as a midshipman on the USS Grampus.  He became a Lieutenant in 1830.  In 1837 Foote serving on the USS John Adams circumnavigated the globe.  In 1849 he became the commander of the USS Perry sailing off the coast of Africa.  It was this duty that caused him write the book “Africa and the American Flag” about the evils of the slave trade.  In 1958 Foote became the commander of the Brooklyn Navy Yard in Brooklyn, New York, where he would be serving when the Civil War started.

On June 29^th 1861 Foote was promoted to Captain and took over the command of the Mississippi River Squadron.  In February 1862 the now Flag Officer Foote in conjunction with Union General Ulysses S Grant captured Fort Henry on the Tennessee River.  This was followed in a few days by the fall of Fort Donelson.  Foote was wounded in this battle.  After this he joined with Union General John Pope in a campaign against the Confederate held Island Number Ten on the Mississippi River.

With a promotion to Union Rear Admiral he was on his way on June 26^th 1863 to take command of the South Atlantic Blockading Squadron when he died of Bright’s disease.  Foote is buried in the Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut.

Killed In Thier First Fight

Confederate Colonel Jeremiah Morrill Clough was killed during the Battle of Fort Donelson February 15^th 1862.

Jeremiah Morrill Clough the son of Joseph and Mehetable was born June 28^th 1819 in Canterbury, New Hampshire.  He practiced law and fought in the Mexican American War.  Clough married Louisa Van Zandt in 1850 and they settled in Marshall, Texas.

Clough enlisted at the start of the Civil War as a private in the Texas Volunteers on May 1^st 1861.  They became the Confederate 7^th Texas Infantry October 4^th 1861.  On November 10^th 1861 Clough was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel.  The first action that 7^th was involved in was the Battle of Fort Donelson in Dover, Tennessee.  Clough was killed leading his troops during the fight on February 15^th 1862.

Clough was buried behind the Female academy in Clarksville, Tennessee.  Latter his body was moved to the Greenwood Cemetery.

Unconditional Surrender

Fort Donelson was surrendered unconditionally to Union General Ulysses S Grant on February 16th 1862.

Following the capture of Fort Henry on February 6th 1862 Union General Ulysses S Grant moved his men overland to Fort Donelson. On February 12th and 13th 1862 they made a few probing attacks. The Union Navy fired on the Fort on February 14th, but were drove away by batteries from the Fort. Confederate Brigadier General John B Floyd finding Fort Donelson surrounded made a surprise attack on Grant’s army trying to find an escape path on February 15th 1862. Grant rallied his men, and Floyd pulled his troops back into their entrenchments.

Floyd and his second in command, Confederate Brigadier General Gideon J Pillow turned over the Fort on the morning of February 16th 1862. Excepting the unconditional surrender terms from Grant. They left command of the Fort to Confederate General Simon B Buckner and made their own escape. Buckner surrendered about 14,000 troop along with 48 guns, equipment and provisions. About 800 men on both sides were killed during the battle, with another 1,500 wounded. Some of the wounded left on the field, froze to death in a snowstorm. The capture of Fort Donelson opened up the Cumberland River to the Union for the invasion into the South.

The Phantom General

Thomas Edwin Greenfield Ransom a civil engineer and Union General in the Union army died October 29th 1864.


Thomas Edwin Greenfield Ransom was born November 29th 1831 in Norwich Vermont the son of Colonel Truman B Ransom. Ransom’s father was killed in action at the Battle of Chapultepec when he was fourteen. In 1848 Ransom entered Norwich University or Norwich Military Academy, following three years in school he moved to Illinois. He lived with an uncle in Peru Illinois and become known as the “Boy Surveyor” and he joined in business with fellow Norwich graduate Grenville M Dodge.

Ranson was working for the Illinois Central Railroad when the Civil War started. He raised troops for what would become Company “E” of the 11th Illinois. By November 9th 1862 Ransom was commissioned Brigadier General and was in command of a brigade in the Sixth Division of the XVII Corps. He was wounded four times in the fighting, at Fort Donelson, during a skirmish near Charleston Missouri, the Battle of Shiloh, and at the Battle of Sabine Cross Roads. This last time his wound were bad enough that he was sent to Chicago for treatment. He was assumed to have been killed so many time that he became known as the “Phantom General”. Returning the command in Georgia he was struck with typhoid, which weakened him and led to his death. Just before Ransom died he said, "I am not afraid to die, I have met death too often to be afraid of it now." He died near Rome Georgia October 29th 1864 and is buried in the Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago Illinois.

The Second Neck Wound Killed Him

Confederate General John Gregg died October 7th 1864 during the Siege of Petersburg.


John Gregg was born September 28th 1828 in Lawrenceville, Alabama the son of Nathan and Sarah Pearsell [Camp] Gregg. He graduated from LaGrange College in 1847 and taught mathematics at the school. Gregg would go on the study law at Tuscumbia, Alabama. He moved in 1852 to Texas, settling in Fairfield, Texas, where he would serve as district judge until 1860. Gregg was one of the founders of the “Freestone County Pioneer” a secessionist newspaper.

Gregg served in the Provisional Confederate Congress on February 15th 1861, resigning in August 1861 to enter the Confederate Army. Returning to Texas Gregg formed the 7th Texas Infantry. As their Colonel, Gregg and the 7th Texas saw their first action at the Battle of Fort Donelson in February 1862. Gregg along with most of the garrison was captured and sent to Fort Warren in Boston, Massachusetts. He was exchanged August 15th 1862 and promoted to Brigadier General. During the Battle of Chickamauga Gregg was wounded in the neck. After recovering he was placed in command of Hood’s Texas Brigade, a part of the Army of Northern Virginia. During the Siege of Petersburg, Gregg was shot a second time in the neck and killed along the Charles City road near Richmond, Virginia, while leading a counterattack on October 7th 1864. Gregg’s widow Mary Frances [Garth] Gregg traveled through the siege lines to bring his body back for interment in the Odd Fellows Cemetery in Aberdeen, Mississippi.

Ben Hur

Union General, lawyer, governor, and author Lewis Wallace was born April 10th 1827.


Lewis Wallace was born April 10th 1827 in Brookville Indiana the son of David and Esther French [Test] Wallace. He worked as a clerk and studied law. During the Mexican American War Wallace served with the First Indiana as 2nd Lieutenant, seeing only minor action. Following the war in 1849 he became a lawyer, and finally became an Indiana State Senator.

At the beginning of the Civil War Wallace served as the Indiana Adjutant General helping to raise troops, but then moved on to Colonel of the 11th Indiana. He continued to move up in rank to Brigadier General and saw action at Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Monocacy and others. At the close of the war Wallace sat on the court-martials trail that sent Andersonville commander Henry Wirz and the Lincoln conspirators to the gallows. Wallace resigned from US service November 30th 1865. He would latter serve the government as a doplomat to Turkey, and as Governor of the New Mexico Territory during the “Lincoln County War“. After all this what Wallace is best remembered for is writing, he was the author of “Ben Hurl”.

Wallace died in Crawfordsville Indiana February 15th 1905 most likely from cancer. He is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery.

His Stirrup Broke

Confederate officer William Edwin Baldwin died February 19th 1864.


William Edwin Baldwin was born July 28th 1827. He owned a bookstore in Columbus Mississippi and was a member of the local militia. Baldwin enlisted in the Confederate army when Mississippi seceded, and was commissioned a Colonel in the 17th Mississippi Infantry. He was briefly posted in Pensacola Florida, before the Unit was sent to Tennessee and then Kentucky. Baldwin was captured at the Battle of Fort Donelson. After being exchanged he was sent to West Tennessee and promoted to Brigadier General. Baldwin took over command of a brigade of Tennessee and Mississippi soldiers, who saw service at the Battle of Coffeeville, and in the Vicksburg Campaign. He was captured again, but once again managed a release and was assigned to the District of Mobile. Baldwin died February 19th 1864 when his stirrup broke and he fell off his horse near Dog River Factory in Alabama.