Scouting, South of the Connesauga River - Murray County, Georgia, December 1863

(U.S. Scouting, Murray County, Georgia) "The country south of Connesauga River is infested by small parties driving off the stock and hunting conscripts."

15 Dec. 1863, Cleveland, Tenn., O.O. Howard to Major-General Sherman
Series 1, Vol. 31, Part 3 (Correspondence), p.416
https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth152608/m1/425/

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Citation: 

United States. War Department. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 31, In Three Parts. Part 3, Correspondence, etc., book, 1891; Washington D.C.. (texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth152608/m1/425/?q=Connesauga%20River%20is%20infested: accessed August 26, 2017), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.
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Note: The name of the river in modern times is Conasauga River.

Oliver O. Howard, Eleventh Corps, Army of the Cumberland (reference)

Oliver O. Howard
Eleventh Corps, Army of the Cumberland
1863 Reference in Official Records

"Oliver O. Howard, Eleventh Corps, Army of the Cumberland" is referenced in an 1863 report. [Note: I don't know if this is before or after reorganization of troops. I thought that Oliver O. Howard was in charge of Eleventh Corps, Army of the Potomac, and that, once he was transferred to the Army of the Cumberland, he was put in charge of the IV Corps. This may be some in-between state of things, or could be a fluke of the officer writing the report.]

The reference is in:

Official Records, Series 1, Volume , Part 1, Reports, Report no. 50
"Itinerary of the Eleventh Army Corps (Army of the Cumberland), Maj. Gen. Oliver O. Howard, commanding." [The footnote says, "from Returns for November and December."]
https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth152578/m1/446/?q=eli%20long

Lt. Louis Alden Simmons, 84th Illinois Infantry (stationed at Cleveland, Tenn., Spring 1864)

Identity of Lt. Simmons in the Myra Inman Diary

The Myra Inman diary mentions Lt. Simmons, also known as A. Simmons, who courts her in the Spring of 1864 while he is stationed at Cleveland, Tennessee. She is Southern and says that she dislikes him (though there were signs that she liked him, at times). This Lt. Simmons has his 31st birthday on March 16, 1864 (Inman Diary pg. 254). After he leaves Cleveland, he gets married. On December 27, 1865, she learns the news about Mr. Simmons from a friend, Lizzie Lea, who received a letter. Myra hears "that he was married to a woman from Lynchfield, Mass. (Inman Diary 333)."

William R. Snell, ed. Myra Inman: A Diary of the Civil War in East Tennessee, (Macon: Mercer University Press, 2000), 254, 333.

Bibliog. info on Myra Inman: A Diary of the Civil War in East Tennessee
http://musescivilwar.blogspot.com/2016/08/myra-inman-diary-bibliographic.html

My identification, based on genealogy profiles and sources, is that he is:

Louis Alden Simmons, 1st Lieutenant and 2nd Major, 84th Illinois Infantry, and author of the regimental history, is the son of Hezekiah and Zoa (Daily) Simmons, who married in North Bridgewater, Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1830. Louis Simmons was born in Massachusetts on March 16, 1833 (which would make him 31 in 1864). He married (1) Maria Theresa Harwood on November 20, 1865, in Fitchburg, Worcester, Massachusetts (not Lynchfield, as Myra recalled the town's name). The marriage occurred about a month before Myra heard the news. Simmons moved to Illinois by about 1850, eventually settling in Macomb, McDonough, Illinois. Simmons died December 6, 1888, and is buried at Prairie Lawn Cemetery, Wellington, Sumner, Kansas, US.

I attached some notes about the Inman diary to this soldier's profile on FamilySearch.org.

Current Individual ID:

Louis Alden Simmons  •  L8HQ-W3W
16 March 1833 – 6 December 1888

URL (requires account and log-in):
https://familysearch.org/tree/#view=ancestor&section=details&person=L8HQ-W3W


Louis A. Simmons's own memoir, The History of the 84th Reg't. Ill. Vols., is very much a regimental history and doesn't give many details as to the author's own social experiences within the town, except to say that it was a pleasant town, full of loyal Unionists who made the soldiers feel welcome. He doesn't mention the young Southern lady (not a loyalist) who apparently won his heart.

He does tell about the march to Cleveland and the gladness of the soldiers to find that they would camp there for the winter. Pages 148 to 152 of his book describe the march, first to Charleston, Tennessee, and on to Cleveland. Simmons's account has slightly conflicting dates; he first has the brigade leaving its camp at Tyner's Station (now part of Chattanooga) on February 3, 1863, but then mentions that they marched toward Charleston on the 2nd to escort a wagon train (this may have been a detachment). The 84th marched in a northeasterly direction toward Cleveland, Tennessee. (They probably followed a route approximating today's I-75 from Cleveland to Chattanooga, passing through a gap of White Oak Mountain.) The soldiers' first encounter with the town was a brief but pleasant one. Their unit soon left Cleveland, but later returned to be quartered there--some at Cleveland and some at nearby Blue Springs. These camps were very agreeable to them. Chapter 12 (page 153) is entitled, "Camp at Cleveland--Reconnoisance to Rocky Face Ridge and Preparation for the Atlanta Campaign."

Simmons must have marched on February 2nd. He and his unit camped overnight near Cleveland, and the next day "passed through Cleveland about noon" (Simmons 149).

Apparently this was February 3rd, because Myra Inman notes in her diary on that day that "A Lt. Simmons came in and stayed about an hour and talked" (Inman diary 245). This would have been their first meeting.

Toward the end of February, the troops left Cleveland and marched to Dalton, Georgia, to make an assault against Bragg's army. It was unsuccessful and the army returned to Blue Springs. Simmons is disappointed because the soldiers are ordered to stay at Blue Springs, and don't get to return to their comfortable camps at Cleveland, which he blames on the despised Colonel Grose (Simmons 158).

The History of the 84th Reg't Ill. Vols
https://archive.org/details/historyof84threg00simmo
L.A. Simmons, (Macomb: Hampton Brothers, Publishers, 1866). Archive.org

U.S. Census References (index and images):
1850: Warren county, Warren, Illinois, pg. 476: Lewis A Simmons, age 17, white, male. Birth: 1833, Massachusetts; listed in the household of Hezekiah Simmons.

1860: Macomb 4th Ward, McDonough, Illinois, pg. 205: L A Simmons, age 27, male, apparent head. Birth: 1833, Ills. Occupation: Atty at Law.

1870: Ward in city of Macomb, McDonough, Illinois, pg. 9: S A Simmons [as indexed; should be 'L A.' Compare 'L' in 'Louisa']. Male, age 37, born Massachusetts. Occupation: Attorney-at-Law.

1880: Macomb, McDonough, Illinois, pg. 462 B: Louis A Simmons, age 47, male, self (head). Birth: 1833, Massachusetts.

Various NARA microfilm publications (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); as indexed at FamilySearch.org (with viewable document images).

84th Illinois Infantry

84th Illinois Infantry was attached to Oliver O. Howard's 4th Army Corps from October 1863 to June 1865. It was one of the regiments of Col. William Grose's Third Brigade, in Maj Gen. David S. Stanley's First Division. Note that even though this was an infantry regiment, it was placed in a cavalry brigade. This is not so unusual in the Civil War.  General Oliver O. Howard's Fourth Army Corps was headquartered at Blue Springs, five miles in advance of Cleveland, Tennessee, in February 1864.

The following extract is courtesy of 
Illinois in the Civil War:
That website cited A Compendium of the War of the Rebellion, vol. III, Regimental Histories
by Frederick H. Dyer [1908]

84th Regiment Illinois Infantry

• Organized at Quincy, Ill., and
• mustered in September 1, 1862.
• Left State for Louisville, Ky., September 23.

• Attached to 10th Brigade, 4th Division, 2nd Army Corps, Army of the Ohio, to November, 1862.
• 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, Left Wing 14th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to January, 1863.
• 3rd Brigade, 2nd Division, 21st Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, to October, 1863.
• 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, 4th Army Corps, to May, 1865.
• 2nd Brigade, 1st Division, 4th Army Corps, to June, 1865.

• Passage of Cumberland Mountains and Tennessee River and Chickamauga (Ga.) Campaign August 16-September 22.
  • Reconnoissance from Rossville September 17.
  • Ringgold, Ga., September 17.
  • Battle of Chickamauga, Ga., September 19-20.
• Siege of Chattanooga, Tenn., September 24-November 23.
• Chattanooga-Ringgold Campaign November 23-27.
  • Lookout Mountain November 23-24.
  • Mission Ridge November 25.
  • Pursuit to Ringgold, Ga., November 26-27.
  • Ringgold Gap, Taylor's Ridge, November 27.
• March to relief of Knoxville November 28-December 17.
• At Whiteside, Tyner's Station and Blue Springs till May, 1864.
• Demonstration on Dalton, Ga. February 22-27, 1864.
  • Near Dalton February 23.
  • Tunnel Hill, Buzzard's Roost Gap, and Rocky Faced Ridge February 23-25.
• Atlanta (Ga.) Campaign May to September.
• Tunnel Hill May 6-7.
• Demonstration on Rocky Faced Ridge May 8-11.
• Buzzard's Roost Gap May 8-9.
• Demonstration on Dalton May 9-13.
• Battle of Resaca May 14-15.
• Kingston May 18-19.
• Near Cassville May 19.

Reference for the location of the 84th Infantry as part of Oliver O. Howard's First Division: O.R., Ser. 1, Vol. 32, Pt. 3, p.551. Link to page 551.

Related, this blog: Oliver O. Howard HQ at Blue Springs, Tennessee ; Location and Description of Blue Springs, Tennessee     

Fourth Army Corps: Oliver O. Howard, Commanding. HQ at Cleveland and Blue Springs, Tennessee, April 30, 1864.

Organization of Oliver O. Howard's Fourth Army Corps, April 30, 1864 (as one of the corps in the Department of the Cumberland, under Major-General George H. Thomas).

After the Battles of Chattanooga in November 1863, Union troops came into the mountains around East Tennessee. Colonel Eli Long and various divisions had set up camp in Charleston and Calhoun, Tennessee, in December 1863, later moving down to Cleveland. According to Myra Inman (from her published diary), O.O. Howard's troops were camped near Cleveland on December 13, 1863.

(William R. Snell, ed., Myra Inman: A Diary of the Civil War in East Tennessee, (1859-1866), (Macon: Mercer University Press, 2000), 234.

These next references are later, in the spring of 1864. In Official Records, it shows that some of the brigades were headquartered at Cleveland, Tennessee, and some were headquartered at nearby Blue Springs, Tennessee. This is not the same Blue Springs, Tennessee, that is in Greene County (now called Mosheim). This area was a community near Cleveland, Tennessee, known as a mineral spring or watering place. It is identified in O.R. as being between Cleveland, Tennessee, and Dalton, Georgia:

"One division (Stanley's), Fourth Corps, is stationed at Blue Springs (5 miles in advance of Cleveland, on the railroad between that place and Dalton) and at Ooltewah."

Quoted from:
Official Records, Series 1, Volume 32, In Three Parts. Part 3, Correspondence, etc., 90. https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth152650/m1/99/

FOURTH ARMY CORPS: OLIVER O. HOWARD
Headquartered at Cleveland, Tennessee, and nearby Blue Springs, Tennessee.
Partial extract of: Official Records, Ser. 1, Vol. 32, Pt. 3, 551.

FIRST DIVISION, COMMANDED BY DAVID S. STANLEY
Headquartered at Cleveland and Blue Springs, Tennessee.

First Brigade (Cleveland, Tennessee), commanded by Brigadier General Charles Cruft.

Second Brigade (Blue Springs, Tennessee), commanded by Walter C. Whitaker.

Third Brigade (Blue Springs, Tennessee), commanded by William Grose.

Artillery (Blue Springs, Tennessee), commanded by Captain Peter Simonson.


SECOND DIVISION, COMMANDED BY JOHN NEWTON
Headquartered at Cleveland, Tennessee.

First Brigade (Cleveland, Tennessee), commanded by Col. Francis T. Sherman.

Second Brigade (Cleveland, Tennessee), commanded by Gen. George D. Wagner.
 
The above divisions consist of various regiments from Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Missouri, a few of which are on furlough or just returned from furlough. These are listed specifically under the division headings. Refer to source for complete listing.

O.R., Ser. 1, Vol. 32, Pt. 3, 551.

Source Citation:

Official Records, Series 1, Volume 32, Part 3 (Correspondence, etc.), 551.

The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 32, In Three Parts. Part 3, Correspondence, etc. 

In 1864, The Fourth Army Corps (Oliver O. Howard, commanding) is under General George H. Thomas in the Department of the Cumberland.

Citation for 1863 Southeastern Tennessee Information Map:

United States Army. Department Of The Cumberland. Topographical Engineers. [Information map: Southeastern Tennessee]. [Chattanooga: Topographical Engineer Office, Head qrs., Army of the Cumberland, 1863] Map. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2006635115/. (Accessed August 22, 2016.)

The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union And Confederate Armies. Series 1, Volume 32, In Three Parts. Part 3, Correspondence, etc.

Autobiography of Oliver O. Howard (via Tufts University) (links)

Autobiography of Oliver Otis Howard, major general, United States army (in two volumes)

Transcribed with the support of Tuft University
Presented via Perseus Digital Library, Tufts University

Oliver O. Howard's 1908 Autobiography, Volume 1
http://bit.ly/Oliver-O-Howard-1908-autobiogr-vol01-via-Tufts-University

Links to beginning of Chapter 1, page 3; previous pages include dedication and blank pages.


Oliver O. Howard's 1908 Autobiography, Volume 2
http://bit.ly/Oliver-O-Howard-1908-autobiogr-vol02-via-Tufts-University

I created the short URLs from a relative URL. No permalink was available. In case the link doesn't work, here's some info to help locate the book:

Citation: Howard, Oliver Otis. Autobiography of Oliver Otis Howard, major general, United States army: volume 2 (Baker and Taylor, 1908). 19th Century American Collection. Perseus Digital Library. Tufts University (transcr. via Tufts Univ.).

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Note:
Page 270, in the chapter about the Battle of Wauhatchie (near Chattanooga), has a reference to the "charge of the mule brigade," about which a parody of the same name was written.

Here is my short link for that page: http://bit.ly/1908-Oliver-O-Howard-biog-chp26-p470-via-TuftsU.

Citation for "mule charge" reference: Howard, Oliver Otis. “Chapter 26: transferred to the West; battle of Wauhatchie” (448-470) in Autobiography of Oliver Otis Howard, major general, United States army: volume 1 (Baker and Taylor, 1908). 19th Century American Collection. Perseus Digital Library. Tufts University (transcr. via Tufts Univ.), 470. http://bit.ly/1908-Oliver-O-Howard-biog-chp26-p470-via-TuftsU.

XI Corps, Army of the Potomac (link to article)

The “German” XI Corps at Gettysburg July 1, 1863
LINK TO ARTICLE
Article by Patrick Young, Esq. (link)

The XI Corps, Army of the Potomac, (a corps comprised mostly of German or "Dutch" immigrants) was under the command of Oliver O. Howard. The men did not like Howard, a prejudiced, preachy Puritan. Also, they blamed him for the loss at Chancellorsburg, Virginia.

Article on LongIslandWins.com

http://www.longislandwins.com/columns/detail/the_german_xi_corps_at_gettysburg_july_1_1863

Also by Patrick Young:
The "Germans Run Away" at Chancellorsville


Related posts (this blog): XI and XII Corps, Army of the Potomac