HISTORY OF 4TH (NEELY'S) TENNESSEE INFANTRY COMPANY E
Of the field officers,Colonel Neeley died in May,1862;Colonel Strahl was promoted to brigadier general in July,1863;and Major Henry was killed at Shiloh in April,1862. The regiment was organized on July 18 1861 and moved to Fort Pillow Tn,where it was accepted into Confederate Service on August 16,1861. The regiment was placed in a brigade commanded by Col. Neeley.The brigade moved to Columbus,Kentucky on September 5,1861,where it was placed in Major General John P. McCown's Division. After the fall of Fort Donaldson the 4th. was ordered to Corinith,Mississippi,arriving April 2, 1862 with 512 men present for action. In the battle of Shiloh,April 6-7,1862,the regiment was in Brigadier General Alexander P. Stewart's Brigade. The regiment was on the extreme right of the brigade,and was commended for valiant action in storming and capturing a Federal battery. Col.Neeley and Lt.Col.Strahl also recieved individual commendation.In this charge the regiment lost 191 men killed and wounded. The regiment was reorganized after the Battle of Shiloh,with Otho F. Strahl as Colonel.With the Army,it went through the seige of Corinith,the withdrawal to Tupelo,Mississippi,and the subsequent move to Chattanooga,via Mobile and Montgomery,Alabama.On August 17,1862,the march to Kentucky was begun,the route being through Pikeville,Sparta,and Gainesboro,Tennessee,to Munfordville,Kentucky,which was captured September 19,1862. There followed the Battle of Perryville,Kentucky,on October 8,1862,in which the regiment had 85 casualties.The retreat from Kentucky led through Knoxville,Tennessee,Bridgeport,Alamama,Tullahoma,Tennessee, to Murfreesboro. At Murfreesboro,the 4th.and 5th. Tennessee Regiments had become so greatly reduced in numbers that they were consolidated for field purposes to form the 4th/5th Consolidated Tennessee Infantry Regiment.Seperate muster rolls were maintained through April 1864,after which the combined regiments were mustered as a unit.Captain W.T.Cargil's Company;"D"and "E" remained under the command of Colonel Otho Strahl. In the Battle of Murfreesboro,beginning December 31,1862,the 4th.again formed the right wing of Stewart's Brigade,and played their part in the capture of the Federal pices captured by the brigade.On January 3,1863,it withdrew to Shelbyville,where it did outpost duty at Guy's Gap untill June 28,1863,when the retreat to Chattanooga began.On July 28,1863,Col.Strahl was promoted to brigadier general and took command of the brigade,which was henceforth known as Strahl's Brigade.Tehe brigade at this time was composed of the 4th/5th,19th,24th,31st,and 33rd Tennessee Infantry Regiments. In the Battle of Chickamauga,September 19th and 20th,1863,the brigade was in Cheatham's Division of Polk's Corps.At Missionary Ridge,November 26,1863,the brigade was in Stewart's Division,Major General John C. Breckinridge's Corps.By this thime the 24th. Tennessee was no longer in the brigade.The 4th. was posted in the rifle pits,in the rear of the 31st and 33rd,who were deployed as skirmishers,Driven back to the summit of the ridge,Strahl's Brigade held the line untill both flanks were turned,and it was forced to retreat.The brigade helped cover the retreat to Dalton,Georgia,where it went into winter quarters untill May 7,1864.From then on,the 4th. was under fire in 60 of the next 71 days,almost constantly fighting in the campaign from Dalton to Atlanta,to Jonesboro,Georgia.Engagements mentioned were Dug Gap,Mill Creek Gap,Resaca,Ellsbury Mountain,Kennesaw Mountain,where they were in the famous"Dead Angle,"the seige of Atlanta,and the Battle of Jonesboro.From Jonesboro,the regiment marched back to Tennessee with General John B. Hood.In October,it had reached the Tennessee River;it was at Spring Hill November 29,and at Franklin November 30.In this Battle the regiment planted its colors upon the main Federal works,but at a terrible cost.In this charge,the brigade commander,General Strahl, was killed.At Bashville,December 15,1864,the regiment was in the Granny White Pike area.When the lines were broken it retreated via the Franklin Pike to Brentwood.As part of the brigade,they were in the force under Major General Edward C. Walthall.which co-operated with General Nathan B. Forrest's Cavalry Corps in covering the retreat of the army to the Tennessee River.Once across the river,the army moved to Corinth,Mississippi,where on January 5,1865,the regiment was furloughed for 30 days with orders to assemble at West Point,Mississippi,and almost to the man,they did.The regiment reached General Joseph E. Johnston on the field at Bentonville,North Carolina on March 19,1865.It was placed by him in the old division,in reserve.In the final reorganization of Johnston's army on April 9,1865,the 4th.,5th,19th,24th,31st,33rd,35th,38th,41st Tennessee Infantry regiments and a few from the 22nd(Murray's)Tennessee Infantry Battalion formed the 3rd Consolidated Tennessee Infantry Regiment.Its field officers were Col.James D. Tillman,Lt.Col.Luke W. Finlay,and Major G.S.Deakin.The 4th./5th. Regiment formed Company "D" under Captain John F. Chapman,in the consolidated regiment.As such,they were surrendered at Greensboro,North Carolina on April 26,1865,paroled May 1,and started on the long journey home,by way of Ashville,North Carolina,Greenville,Chattanooga and Nashville,thence by boat down the Cumberland River.
"IN MANY A LONELY THICKET , FAR FOM LIFE'S BEATEN TRACK , THE SCOUT AND GUARD AND PICKET , THE BOYS WHO NEVER CAME BACK : THEY DIED WHERE THE CANNON'S THUNDER MADE SAVAGE PULSES THRILL , THAT THE FLAG THEY BATTLED UNDER MIGHT WAVE O'ER FREE MEN STILL". CAPT.HENRY A. FORD,4TH.TENNESSEE INFANTRY COMPANY E,1997
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