The Senior Tennessee Regiment

The 154^th Tennessee Infantry; a Confederate, unit surrendered and was paroled May 2^nd 1865 at Greensboro, North Carolina.

The organization of the 154^th Tennessee Militia dated back to 1842.  When the old militia system was dropped in Tennessee in 1859, the officers and men of the 154^th took out a charter and were incorporated by an act of the Tennessee Legislature March 22^nd 1860.

When the Civil War started the regiment was organized at Randolph, Shelby, Tennessee, and it retained its old number.  It was given permission to add “Senior” to its regimental number to indicate that it came before regiments which had a lower number.  They mustered into Confederate service at New Madrid, Missouri on August 13^th 1861.  In September the 154^th became part of Brigadier General Benjamin F Cheatham’s Brigade.  They were in action during the Battle of Belmont on November 7^th 1861.  They were at the Battle of Shiloh, entering the battle with about 650 men, the 154^th lost 199 in killed, wounded and missing.  After this the 154^th became part of Confederate Brigadier General Preston Smith’s Brigade.  They were in heavy fighting at the Battle of Richmond in Kentucky August 30^th 1862.  After fighting at the Battle of Murfreesboro, where the 154^th lost 100 men, they were consolidated with the 13^th Tennessee.

When Confederate General Joseph E Johnston’s Army was reorganized for the last time on April 9^th 1865, the 154^th made up a part of the 2^nd Consolidated Tennessee Infantry.  Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel George W Pease the Consolidated Tennessee was made up of what remained of the 11^th, 12^th, 13^th, 29^th, 47^th, 50^th, 51^st, 52^nd and 154^th Tennessee Infantries.  They surrendered at Greensboro, North Carolina May 2^nd 1865, and were paroled the same day.

The Youngest General

Confederate Brigadier General John Herbert Kelly, the youngest Confederate general to die during the war, died September 4^th 1864 at the age of 24.

John Herbert Kelly was born March 31^st 1840 in Pineapple, Pickens, Alabama, the son of Isham and Elizabeth (Herbert) Kelly.  As both of his parents died before he was seven, Kelly was raised by his Grandmother Harriet Herbert Hawthorne.  He received an appointment to the United State Military Academy at West Point with the help of an Uncle who was a Congressman.  After South Carolina seceded he left without graduating on December 29^th 1860.

Kelly joined the Confederate Army in Montgomery, Alabama with the rank of Second Lieutenant and was assigned to Fort Morgan at the mouth of Mobile Bay through the fall of 1861.  In late 1861 he joined the staff of Confederate Brigadier General William Joseph Hardee in Missouri.  In April 1862 he received at appointment to Major of the 9^th Arkansas Battalion and led them in the Battle of Shiloh.  May 5^th 1862 Kelly became the Colonel of the 8^th Arkansas Infantry.  He was wounded in the arm at the Battle of Murfreesboro, and commanded a brigade at the Battle of Chickamauga, where he had his horse shot out from under him.  On November 16^th 1863 Kelly received his promotion to Brigadier General, while only 23 years old.

While leading Cavalry on a raid to disrupt Union communication, near Franklin, Tennessee on September 2^nd 1864, Kelly was shot in the chest by a Union Sharpshooter.  He was carried from the field in a blanket to the Harrison House to be seen by a doctor.  To badly hurt to be moved he died there September 4^th 1864.  He was buried first in the garden of the Harrison House, but was moved in 1866 to the Magnolia Cemetery in Mobile, Alabama.

Killed Over A Twenty Year Fight

Confederate General St John Richardson Liddell was killed February 14th 1870 near his home .


St John Richardson Liddell was born September 6th 1815 on his families plantation near Woodville, Mississippi. He attended the local school, where he was a classmate of Jefferson Davis. He received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1837, but resigned before graduating. Liddell set up his own plantation “Llanda” near Harrisonburg, Louisiana.

After the Civil War started and Louisiana secessed, Liddell enlisted in the Confederate Army as a Colonel. During the early part of the war Liddell served as a staff officer for Generals William Joseph Hardee and Albert Sidney Johnston. He was promoted to Brigadier General July 17th 1862 and given command of the Arkansas Brigade in Cleburne’s division of the Army of Tennessee. They saw action during the battles of Perryville, Murfreesboro and Chickamauga, where his son was mortally wounded. Liddell turned down a promotion to Major General in hopes of getting a command closer to his plantation. After Chattanooga Liddell was transferred to District of Northeastern Louisiana, where he commanded during the 1864 Red River Campaign. In December 1864 he wrote to Confederate Senator Edward Sarrow suggesting emancipation of slave in order secure foreign assistance with the war. Liddell took on Union Major General Edward R S Canby in the Battle of Spanish Fort, where he was captured April 9th 1865.

After the war Liddell began writing a memoir in 1866 which was critical of Confederate leadership. The memoir was a collection of letters and battlefield records, which he hadn’t brought together at the time of his death. On February 14th 1870 while having dinner on a steamboat, Liddell was shot to death by Confederate Colonel Charles Jones. The murder was the ending to a twenty year real-estate dispute.

One Battle As General

Roger Weightman Hanson the commander of the Orphan Brigade was wounded at the Battle of Murfreesboro and died January 4th 1863.

Roger Weightman Hanson was born in Clark County Kentucky August 27th 1827, the son of Samuel and Matilda [Calloway] Hanson. When he was 18 Hanson was elected Lieutenant of a volunteer company serving in the Mexican American War, where he received a citation for bravery at the Battle of Cerro Gordo. After returning from the war he study law in Lexington Kentucky, before traveling to California. Hanson returned to Kentucky and married in 1853 to Virginia Peters.

Hanson established a law practice in Lexington, and entered politics. When the Civil War started Kentucky stayed in the Union. Hanson raised a regiment of Confederate troops in Lexington and was named their Colonel. Hanson’s 2nd Kentucky Infantry were taken prisoner when Fort Donelson fell. After being exchanged he was promoted to Brigadier General and placed in command of his old unit along with the 4th, 6th, and 19th Kentucky Infantries, the 41st Alabama and Cobb’s Battery. The Battle of Murfreesboro was his first as a general. Hanson was wounded on January 2nd 1863, struck above the knee by an artillery shell. He died two days latter at the age of 35 on January 4th 1863. He is buried in Lexington Cemetery in Lexington Kentucky.