Confederate Soldier Photos

Confederate Soldier Photos

Note: Ranks shown here were the ones held at the battle of Fishing Creek. Many of these images date from later in the war, after the soldiers had been promoted.


Pvt. John Leonard Weeks Co. K, 16th Ala. Inf. courtesy J. D. Weeks	Pvt. Charles Currin Frierson Co. F, 15th Miss. Inf. courtesy Gay E. Carter	Pvt. Thomas J. Shuler Co. A, 15th Miss. Inf. Killed at Fishing Creek from "Long Creek Rifles"


Pvt. John Thomas Parker Co. E, 15th Miss. Inf. courtesy Henry McCabe III	Lt. John B. Love Co. A, 15th Miss. Inf. from "Long Creek Rifles"	Pvt. Henry A. Moore Co. F, 15th Miss. Inf. Confederate Calendar, 1990 collections of Greg Gibbs / Larry Jones


1st Lt. Elijah Young Fleming Co. A, 15th Miss. Inf. courtesy Joe E. Fleming Fleming Family Confederates	Pvt. Asa E. O'Neal Co. E, 15th Miss. Inf. courtesy Hal Fleming and Bruce O'Neal	Pvt. Jefferson Ellis O'Neal Co. E, 15th Miss. Inf. courtesy Hal Fleming and Bruce O'Neal


Pvt. Robert Gray Co. B, 15th Miss. Inf. collection of Robert Betterton from "When the South was Southern" by M. A. Grissom		1st Sgt. Thomas Tristram "Tress" Smith Co. D, 15th Miss. Inf. courtesy Barbara Bowden, gt-grand- daughter of T.T. Smith (read Smith's battle narrative)


Pvt. Miles N. Hines Co. I, 15th Miss. Inf. private collection	Pvt. Lafayette Pollard Cos. E & I, 15th Miss. Inf. courtesy John Pollard	Pvt. Laurence Synnott Co. D, 15th Miss. Inf. courtesy James Synnott, Jr.


Corp. Elias Green Gore Co. D, 15th Miss. Inf. Killed at Fishing Creek courtesy Bill Gore	Pvt. Thomas Madison Gore Co. D, 15th Miss. Inf. courtesy Bill Gore	Pvt. James McGovern Co. I, 15th Miss. Inf. courtesy Don McGovern


Dr. (Maj.) Watson M. Gentry 17th Tenn. Inf. Confederate Veteran, Sept. 1932

Dr. Gentry is shown wearing a very early Confederate uniform. His collar insignia consists of one star and one bar, indicating the rank of Major in a scheme adopted by the Confederate War Dept. about May 1861. Shortly thereafter a new system was adopted wherein Major was shown by a single star on each collar.


Lt. Col. Francis Marion Walker 19th Tenn. Inf. "The Old Nineteenth Tennessee"	Capt. Abraham L. Gammon Co. G, 19th Tenn. Inf. photo by Louise Rowland (see note on uniform below)	1st Lt. James A. Rhea Co. G, 19th Tenn. Inf. photo by Louise Rowland


Pvt. John Moore House Co. E, 19th Tenn. Inf. collection of Ellen Allran and Victoria Guthrie	Pvt. A. Kyle McCarty Co. K, 19th Tenn. Inf. private collection	Pvt. William T. Lane Co. C, 19th Tenn. Inf. collection of Anthony Hodges


1st Lt. Bailie Peyton, Jr. Co. A, 20th Tenn. Inf. Killed at Fishing Creek Ridley, "Battles & Sketches of the Army of Tennessee," p. 39	1st Lt. Richard E. Johnson Co. F, 20th Tenn. Inf. Killed at Fishing Creek courtesy Ken Thomson and Tim Bowman	Pvt. Sheldon Crosthwaite Co. E, 20th Tenn. Inf. Killed at Fishing Creek "History of the 20th Tenn. Inf."


2nd Lt. Evan B. Shields Co. C, 20th Tenn. Inf. serving on Gen. Zollicoffer's staff Killed at Fishing Creek "History of the 20th Tenn. Inf."	Theodrick "Tod" Carter Co. H, 20th Tenn. Inf. courtesy the Carter House Museum, Franklin, TN (see note on uniform below)	Lt. Thomas G. Williams Co. B, 20th Tenn. Inf. "History of the 20th Tenn. Inf."


Capt. John S. Gooch Co. E, 20th Tenn. Inf. wounded at Fishing Creek "History of the 20th Tenn. Inf." (see note on uniform below)	2nd Lt. Fred Claybrooke Co. D, 20th Tenn. Inf. commanded co. at Fishing Creek "History of the 20th Tenn. Inf." (see note on uniform below)	1st Sgt. William G. Ewin Co. A, 20th Tenn. Inf. shown as an officer "History of the 20th Tenn. Inf."

Both Capt. Gooch and Lt. Claybrooke appear to be wearing Federal uniforms (also Capt. Gammon in the 19th Tenn., above). Early in the war, it was very common for Tennessee Confederate officers to wear regulation US Army officer frock coats, with shoulder epaulettes showing their rank, US-style. Photos of Gen. Zollicoffer wearing such a uniform exist, and the images of Lt. Johnson and Tod Carter above show them also wearing their insignia on their shoulders, US-style. Later in 1862, most Confederate officers adopted the style of uniform coat and insignia worn by Sgt. Ewin (shown here as an officer, after the battle of Shiloh). Early-war images often show Tennessee enlisted soldiers in dark frock coats, presumably blue, and this type of uniform was probably in use at Fishing Creek, very possibly leading to some confusion during the battle.


2nd Sgt. W. J. McMurray Co. B, 20th Tenn. Inf. "History of the 20th Tenn. Inf."	Pvt. James L. Cooper Co. C, 20th Tenn. Inf. "History of the 20th Tenn. Inf."	Color-Corp. William M. Shy Co. H, 20th Tenn. Inf. "History of the 20th Tenn. Inf."


2nd Lt. Albert Roberts Co. A, 20th Tenn. Inf. "John Happy" "History of the 20th Tenn. Inf."	Capt. Robert D. Anderson Co. G, 20th Tenn. Inf. "History of the 20th Tenn. Inf."	Capt. John Holman (left) and Lt. Spencer Talley 28th Tenn. Inf. Diary of Lt. Spencer Talley http://www.tennessee-scv.org/talley.html


Lt. Mark S. Cockrill Rutledge's Tenn. Btty. (from a photo in the Tennessee State Library, Nashville)	Pvt. Philip N. Matlock Tenn. Harding Artillery "History of the 20th Tenn. Inf."


Pvt. Inslee Deaderick Branner's 4th Tenn. Cav. Bn. Seymour, "Divided Loyalties"	Pvt. Thomas B. Collins Brazleton's 3rd Tenn. Cav. Bn. Kentucky Historical Society	Pvt. Moses Poor Bledsoe's Tenn. Cav. Co. courtesy Witt Boone

I wish to express my sincere appreciation to the following individuals who supplied copies of some of the photos shown here: J. D. Weeks, Gay Carter, Tim Burgess, Henry McCabe III, Wes and Barbara Bowden, John Pollard, Tim Bowman, Bill Gore, Don McGovern, James Synnott Jr., Witt Boone, Hal Fleming, Joe Fleming, and John Wallwork. If you have a photo of a Confederate soldier who fought at Fishing Creek, that you would like to submit for this page, please send me an e-mail.

Return to Battle of Mill Springs Homepage