19th Tennessee Infantry The 19th Tennessee Infantry Regiment , or Nineteenth Tennessee Volunteer Infantry Regiment , was an infantry regiment in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War . The 19th Tennessee fought in every major battle and campaign of the Army of Tennessee except the Battle of Perryville . 1st Lt . Robert D . Powell of Company K , killed at the Battle of Barbourville , Kentucky , is believed to be the first soldier killed in the Civil War outside of Virginia . The 19th Tennessee was formed from companies of men from the counties of East Tennessee and was mustered into the Confederate army at Knoxville , Tennessee , in the spring of 1861 . Beginning the war with a force of over 1 , 000 men , only 78 soldiers were present when the 19th surrendered . Fifty - eight of the remaining 78 soldiers were from the initial muster at the beginning of the war . The remaining 20 soldiers had joined the regiment later . The regiment was encamped at Greensboro , North Carolina , when the Army of Tennessee surrendered on April 26 , 1865 . The 19th Tennessee ' s regimental flag was not surrendered to the Union army , and its final disposition and whereabouts are unknown . The Antebellum Period in East Tennessee . The state of Tennessee consists of three major divisions — East , Middle , and West Tennessee . The geography of Middle Tennessee consists of rolling hills , and West Tennessee is generally flat , but East Tennessee has some of the most rugged terrain in the Appalachian Mountains . The rugged terrain of East Tennessee hampered the development of agricultural land in the region , and delayed the development of roads and railways , while obstructions in the Tennessee River below Chattanooga hampered the development of water transportation , making it difficult for East Tennesseans to bring any products to markets . Thus , the agrarianism of the region was limited to food production rather than the production of " cash crops " . This began to change with the completions of the East Tennessee and Georgia Railroad in 1855 , linking Knoxville to Georgia , and the East Tennessee and Virginia Railroad in 1858 , linking Knoxville to Bristol . With the completion of these railways , farmers in East Tennessee could finally transport produce , primarily hogs and corn , to Virginia and the Deep South , and a new cash crop emerged in the regions economy : wheat . By the mid - 1850s , wheat production in the region had risen by 300 percent . With the increase and development of agriculture in East Tennessee , there was a corresponding increase in the slave population of the region during the decade of the 1850s — some 21 percent , as opposed to an increase of only 14 percent in the white population . While only about one - fourth of Southerners , as a whole , could afford to own any slaves at all , and the majority being owned by the wealthiest 6 percent , only about 10 percent of East Tennesseans were slaveholders . Though Tennessee had a strong Union loyalist coalition , with East Tennessee having a particularly strong Unionist presence , in the months following South Carolina ' s secession , the coalition soon began to splinter . Lincoln ' s call for 75 , 000 volunteers to put down the rebellion in the South left many of loyalists feeling betrayed . With most loyalists feeling betrayed by Lincoln , secessionist leaders quickly moved to exploit the shift in public opinion . On April 25 , 1861 , only thirteen days after General P . G . T . Beauregard ' s Confederate gunners opened fire on Fort Sumter , Tennessee ' s legislature met to consider the question of secession . On May 6 , the legislature declared the state independent from the United States . The legislature also granted Governor Isham G . Harris the authority to create a state army of 55 , 000 men . Though a military alliance was signed with the Confederate States of America the very next day , Tennessee ' s Declaration of Independence was submitted for a referendum to be held on June 8 . Almost 70 percent of the voters approved of secession , but 69 percent of East Tennesseans voted against it . While Union loyalists viewed the coming war as a struggle for Republican government , secessionists saw Lincoln as a tyrant and many citizens abandoned the old Union for the new Confederacy to remain true to the principles of the Founding Fathers . Formation of the 19th Tennessee Infantry . By the end of May , more than twenty volunteer companies met just outside Knoxville at Camp Cummings , named after David H . Cummings , a prominent farmer and attorney of the region . The 19th Tennessee Infantry was officially formed there as East Tennessee ' s second Confederate regiment on June 11 , 1861 , and Cummings was elected as its first colonel . That month , William Phipps wrote home to his sister , Charlotte , " we are the pick regiment of Tennessee . " According to Worsham ' s first person account , at the time of the regiment ' s formation , there were 1 , 012 men in the 19th ' s rank and file , and 48 commissioned officers , for a total of 1 , 060 soldiers . Organization . The original command structure of the 19th was as follows : Colonel - David H . Cummings Lt . Colonel - Francis Marion Walker Major - Abram Fulkerson Adjutant - V . Q . Johnson Sgt . - Major - Henry M . Doak Surgeon - Joseph E . Dulaney Asst . Surgeon - Samuel Carson Quarter Master - Addison D . Taylor Chaplain - Rev . David Sullins Musicians - Rufus Lamb , James Tyner , and W . J . Worsham Company A ( The Hamilton Grays ) - Hamilton County , Tennessee 97 Men Captain - John D . Powell 1st Lieutenant - V . Q . Johnson 2nd Lieutenant - Daniel Kennedy 3rd Lieutenant - Frank Foust Company B - Washington County , Tennessee 100 Men Captain - Zadoc T . " Zeb " Willett 1st Lieutenant - Joseph Conley 2nd Lieutenant - Nathan Gregg 3rd Lieutenant - James Deaderick Company C ( The Blountville Guards ) - Sullivan County , Tennessee 104 Men Captain - James P . Snapp 1st Lieutenant - Charles St . John 2nd Lieutenant - George H . Hull 3rd Lieutenant - John M . Jones Company D ( The Gillespie Guards ) - Rhea County , Tennessee 103 Men Captain - Warner E . Colville 1st Lieutenant - Pete Miller 2nd Lieutenant - James A . Wallace 3rd Lieutenant - S . J . A . Frazier Company E ( The Knoxville Guards / Grays ) - Knoxville , Tennessee 106 Men Captain - John W . Paxton 1st Lieutenant - John M . Miller 2nd Lieutenant - J . K . Graham 3rd Lieutenant - William M . Lackey Company F - Polk County , Tennessee 93 Men Captain - John H . Hannah 1st Lieutenant - P . C . Gaston 2nd Lieutenant - J . M . Sims 3rd Lieutenant - J . C . Holms Company G - Sullivan County , Tennessee 110 Men Captain - Abraham L . Gammon 1st Lieutenant - Jas . A . Rhea 2nd Lieutenant - Robert L . Blair 3rd Lieutenant - James Carlton Company H ( The Milton Guards ) - McMinn County , Tennessee 94 Men Captain - William H . Lowry , Jr . 1st Lieutenant - U . S . York 2nd Lieutenant - D . A . Wilds 3rd Lieutenant - Thomas Maston Company I ( The Marsh Blues ) - Hamilton County , Tennessee 110 Men Captain - Thomas H . Walker 1st Lieutenant - B . F . Moore 2nd Lieutenant - Warren Hooper 3rd Lieutenant - John Lovejoy Company K ( The Hawkins Boys ) - Hawkins County , Tennessee 100 Men Captain - Carrick W . Heiskell 1st Lieutenant - Robert D . Powell 2nd Lieutenant - Sam P . Powell 3rd Lieutenant - Sam Spears Cumberland Gap . In July 1861 , the 19th Tennessee received its first assignment to guard the pass at Cumberland Gap from any attempted incursions by the Union army from Kentucky , which remained a Union state and had declared neutrality despite the efforts of secessionists , into East Tennessee or Southwest Virginia . The gap is located at the junction of the three states and would have been a key invasion route into that region of the Confederacy , just as it was a key migration route through the rugged , mountainous terrain for settlers moving west . In his autobiography , Rev . David Sullins , the 19th ' s chaplain , claims to have been the first Confederate soldier to enter Cumberland Gap . The regiment began building breastworks and fortifying the mountain pass , but was soon stricken with an epidemic of measles and mumps that nearly incapacitated the entire command . The regiment also recorded its first casualties at Cumberland Gap when a sergeant shot himself through the hand and when a box of percussion caps exploded , severely injuring Col . Francis M . Walker ' s hand . In September , Maj . Gen . Leonidas Polk committed one of the Confederacy ' s worst strategic blunders by seizing Columbus , Kentucky , and ending the state ' s neutrality , thereby opening the door for Union forces to move through the Bluegrass State . General Albert Sidney Johnston was forced to move a considerable portion of the forces under his command to Bowling Green , Kentucky , to close the hole in his defensive line , and the 19th Tennessee , along with two other regiments , was relocated by General Felix Zollicoffer to Cumberland Ford , now Pineville , Kentucky , where they established Camp Buckner . Other regiments were brought up from the rear to reinforce Cumberland Gap . Battle of Barbourville . Union loyalist sentiment was as strong in Eastern Kentucky as it was in East Tennessee , and Zollicoffer feared that local Home Guard units might take action against his forces . On September 18 , Zollicoffer sent a mixed force of 800 troops , including Companies B and K of the 19th , to destroy Camp Andrew Johnson , a Union training facility at Barbourville , KY . In a dawn attack , the Confederates surprised about 300 Bushwhacker s . The Unionists fled after a brief exchange of gunfire , and the Confederates took the camp and captured a meager store of supplies . Though several were wounded , only one man was killed . Lt . Robert D . Powell of Company K acquired the dubious distinction of being the first Confederate killed in the Western Theater of the American Civil War . The regiment remained in Kentucky for a time , even managing a couple of successful raids to acquire supplies , but the assorted diseases that spread through the camps like wildfire were taking their tolls . By the end of the month , only about 600 men from the regiment were fit for duty . By late October 1861 , General Zollicoffer was receiving reports that a Union invasion somewhere between Cumberland Gap and Bowling Green was impending . His brigade returned to Tennessee , leaving a large garrison at Cumberland Gap , and the rest , including the 19th marched to Jamestown . Indeed , also believing that invasion was imminent , Unionist guerillas had stepped up actions in East Tennessee , including the burnings of several key railroad bridges , but the revolt was soon suppressed by Confederate reinforcements in the region . Mill Springs . With the local rebellion under control , Zollicoffer ' s forces , including the 19th Tennessee , returned to Kentucky in late November to establish winter camp near the tiny hamlet of Mill Springs on the south bank of the Cumberland River . The Union ' s Army of the Ohio responded by sending a brigade under the command of General Albin F . Schoepf to nearby Somerset to prevent Zollicoffer from crossing the river and advancing into Central Kentucky . Zollicoffer committed a potentially grave tactical error by crossing the Cumberland and established a fortified position on the north bank at Beech Grove — he had a numerically superior force on his front , and a flood - prone river to his rear . Camp Beech Grove appeared quite formidable with the river guarding its flanks , and breastworks and chevaux de frise protecting its front , but the appearance was deceiving . The entrenchments could not dispel a determined attack , and disease was continuing to deplete the brigade ' s manpower . By the middle of December , President Jefferson Davis replaced Zollicoffer as commander of the Department of East Tennessee , though he remained in command of his brigade , with Maj . Gen . George B . Crittenden , but it would be almost a month before Crittenden arrived . By the time he took command in January , the river was flooded and the brigade was backed into a tactical corner if the Yankees attacked . Before arriving , Crittenden had ordered Zollicoffer to move to the south bank , but he continued to hold his position . Union reinforcements were on their way into the area and so Crittenden , having been reinforced as well , chose to attack them before the two groups could unite . His troops set out at about 11 : 30 P . M . on January 19 , 1862 , marching through mud sometimes over a foot deep . Zollicoffer ' s brigade led the advance out of the entrenchments intending to attack at dawn , but bad weather and muddy roads slowed their advance . They encountered Union pickets about 6 : 00 A . M . and the element of surprise was lost . The 19th Tennessee and 15th Mississippi engaged the Federal pickets in a running skirmish for a quarter of a mile . Zollicoffer ' s brigade reformed and pressed the attack , but the Federals had reinforced as well and the firing became more intense . The 19th and 25th Tennessee charged the Yankees and drove them back into the woods , but the attack faltered as confusion and chaos set in from limited visibility due to the rain , fog , smoke , thunder , and lightning . Nearsighted Zollicoffer became convinced that the 19th Tennessee was firing on the 15th Mississippi and , attempting to stop what he thought was friendly fire , rode toward the Union army . He realized his mistake too late when an aide began firing his pistol at the Yankees , but Zollicoffer was killed in a hail of fire before he could escape . The 19th had begun to break ranks to follow him , but fell back in confusion after he was killed . Crittenden placed Colonel Cummings of the 19th Tennessee in command of Zollicoffer ' s brigade , and he attempted to correct his battle lines , but artillery support was ineffective , and the infantry ' s assortment of inferior rifles , including many flintlock muskets and country rifles that were misfiring in the rain and dampness , were no match for the Federals ' superior . 58 caliber , percussion cap Enfields . At 9 : 00 A . M . , the Federals fixed bayonets and charged , and the Confederate lines broke . In the retreat , the 19th ' s surgeon , Joseph Dulaney , refused to leave the wounded and was captured , but later released . The cold and exhausted Confederates retreated to Camp Beech Grove to dry off and prepare a meal , but the order to abandon the camp soon came . As Federal and Confederate cannons exchanged fire through the night ; the troops were ferried across the river by a steamboat named the " Noble Ellis " . Some soldiers tried to swim and were drowned or swept away . After all the troops were on the south bank , Crittenden ordered the boat burned to prevent the Federals from following . The Confederates had to abandon their stores and had few provisions for the retreat . The troops were finally resupplied after reaching Gainesville on January 26 . Two weeks later , they moved to Camp Fogg near Carthage , then to Murfreesboro , where the brigades joined with Albert Sidney Johnston ' s army . Shiloh . General Beauregard was assembling a new army and requested Johnston to join him . Johnston marched his army south into Alabama while considering the offer . Along the way , some of the troops were issued new Enfield rifles , but the 19th Tennessee received reconditioned rifled muskets . Still , they were a vast improvement over the weapons that had contributed to their defeat at Fishing Creek . Johnston decided to join Beauregard and so the 19th Tennessee , along with the rest of the brigade , left Decatur , Alabama , on March 15 , 1862 , and arrived in Corinth , Mississippi , on March 20 . The combined forces of Beauregard and Johnston became the Army of Mississippi . When Crittenden was arrested for drunkenness , he was replaced by John C . Breckinridge , and the 19th Tennessee fell under his command . Beauregard and Johnston hoped to liberate Middle and West Tennessee from Union control by attacking Major General Ulysses S . Grant ' s Army of the Tennessee at a riverboat port at Pittsburg Landing on the Tennessee River near Shiloh Church . By attacking Grant before Buell ' s Army of the Ohio arrived , Beauregard hoped to defeat the two armies separately . By the time the attack was supposed to begin on the morning of April 4 , it was already twelve hours behind schedule and a cold rain began falling that turned the roads into muck , forcing Johnston to postpone until the next morning . The rain continued through the night and by the afternoon of April 5 , Beauregard ' s army was still not properly deployed , forcing another postponement . They finally achieved their staging positions late that night . The attack on the Federal camp opened at 5 : 00 A . M . , but Col . George Maney ' s battalion , the 19th Tennessee , and General Nathan Bedford Forrest ' s cavalry were sent to scout the Confederate rear in case Buell attempted a landing there . By 11 : 00 A . M . , Maney was convinced that they were safe from Buell , so he detached the 19th Tennessee and Forrest ' s cavalry from his command , and they returned together to the front . As they approached Sarah Bell ' s Field , Maney was approached by Maj . Gen . Frank Cheatham , who ordered him to take men of his choice and attack a Federal battery near the George Manse cabin . Maney chose his 1st Tennessee Battalion , 9th Tennessee , 6th and 7th Kentucky Infantry , and the 19th Tennessee to attack the position known as " The Hornet ' s Nest , " with the 19th deployed on the right of his line . Maney ' s forces attacked the Federal position at 2 : 30 that afternoon , with the 19th crossing a cornfield and approaching Manse ' s cabin . Federal fire from the position intensified with the 19th taking several casualties — among others , Colonel Cummings lost a finger , Maj . Abram Fulkerson was shot in the thigh , and captains " Zeb " Willett of Company B and Thomas Walker of Company I were killed . The Confederates stayed on the attack — the 19th stormed the cabin and took the woods to the west of the field . The 19th was released and sent back to the brigade . By 4 : 00 P . M . , they had rejoined , and Breckinridge was launching an attack against the left flank of the Hornet ' s Nest . By 5 : 00 P . M . the nest was withering ; a half - hour later , it fell . As they disarmed the Federal troops , the 19th Tennessee exchanged their reconditioned muskets for the Yankee ' s . 58 caliber Enfields . Lt . Colonel Walker received Brig . Gen . Benjamin M . Prentiss ' sword in surrender . That night , the 19th Tennessee ate well from the overrun Federal camps . Some bedded down in captured Federal tents and others on the ground , but they probably slept little that night . Union gunboats fired shells into the Confederate lines starting a brushfire that burned a considerable amount of ground where the dead and wounded still lay , and nature unleashed another deluge about 10 : 00 P . M . that lasted until 3 : 00 in the morning . Meanwhile , Buell ' s rested army landed and reinforced Grant . Breckinridge had managed to keep his men assembled through the night , but many of the other regiments were scattered , which would cause considerable command and control problems the next morning . With the battle engaged , Grant ' s somewhat recovered army was exerting considerable pressure on the Confederate left flank to the west . Breckinridge had assembled his men and moved towards the Hornet ' s Nest , with the 19th Tennessee posted in the woods on the center - right of his line , where they began taking considerable artillery fire . Federal troops advanced from the woods near Bloody Pond toward the Manse cabin , but were met by intense artillery and musket fire from Bowen ' s and Stratham ' s brigades , including the 19th Tennessee . The Confederates counterattacked , but Federal artillery stopped their advance . The Yankees pressed again , broke the Confederate line , and captured a battery of Washington artillery . The Rebels rallied in the woods and charged again to recapture the cannons with the Crescent Regiment of Louisiana engaging the Yankees hand - to - hand . Breckinridge asked who could aid them , and Lt . Colonel Francis Walker replied that the 19th Tennessee could . The 19th charged into the fighting with other elements of Stratham ' s brigade and pushed the Federals back , retaking the artillery battery . The 19th Tennessee Infantry Reenactors have an emblem of crossed cannon barrels on their regimental flag , signifying this action . By noon , the Confederates were losing momentum and their lines starting to give way . Near Duncan Field , the 19th watched the Federals approach and opened fire on a regiment that had remained in column formation , and drove them back . William Tecumseh Sherman described the shooting as " the severest musketry fire I ever heard . " The Federals counterattacked and pushed Breckinridge ' s corps from Duncan Field back toward Shiloh Church . By 2 : 00 P . M . , the entire Confederate line was collapsing in the face of superior numbers and better rested and supplied Federal troops . Breckinridge ' s corps organized a rear guard action and held the Federals off , allowing the Army of Mississippi to safely retreat . The next day , the corps moved to Mickie ' s Farm near Corinth and held the position , allowing Beauregard to organize a defense near the Mississippi town . The Battle of Shiloh was over , but at a cost of 23 , 000 combined casualties . Beauregard and , likewise , the 19th Tennessee suffered about 25 percent losses , from which the regiment never fully recovered . A journalist from New Orleans wrote , " after Shiloh the South never smiled again . " The 19th Tennessee spent the next few weeks at Corinth in provost duty and reorganizing the regiment to compensate for their losses . Vicksburg . On May 22 , 1862 , Beauregard ' s army boarded trains for Tupelo as the 19th covered their withdrawal . The 19th followed on June 2 and arrived at Vicksburg on July 1 . Union gunboats on the Mississippi River were starting to threaten the town and the troops were garrisoned there as protection . The men of the 19th found the town charming and the people welcomed the soldiers at first . Soon , the soldiers were not as welcome as food ran low and the soldiers ' presence began to draw fire on civilian positions . The soldiers ' water source became contaminated and disease ran rampant with epidemics of measles , malaria , and dysentery among others . The ranks were severely depleted by death and disease , and a number of soldiers received medical discharges . In late July , the Yankees ceased fire for the time being and the first assault of Vicksburg was over . Later on , when the Union gunboats resumed and the town was under siege , soldiers and civilians had to resort to eating rats and mule meat to survive . Baton Rouge . The 19th ' s division was removed from Vicksburg and sent into Louisiana to attack Federal positions at Baton Rouge . By this time , the 19th Tennessee was a regiment in name only and could only muster less than 100 healthy men , so they were consolidated with the remnants of other regiments to form a battalion . One - third of the Confederate force had no shoes , many lacked shirts and coats , and some were almost naked . They carried no tents and had only two days worth of rations in their haversacks . The heat and humidity of the march took their toll , as well as a lack of sources of clean drinking water . The men of the 19th were soon beset with exhaustion , fever , chills , and bloody diarrhea from dysentery . By the time they reached the Comite River , ten miles from Baton Rouge , only about 2 , 600 effective soldiers remained and many of those were seriously ill . When the divisions marched on the Union positions just before dawn , fog limited the ability to see more than " twenty steps " and there were not enough troops to form the standard double battle line . Still , the Confederates managed to press the attack and drove the Union army back , but only to a prepared defensive position . The CSS Arkansas , a Rebel gunboat , had been intended to provide support , but it had run aground . With only about 1 , 000 soldiers still fit to fight and having run out of water , the Rebels could not risk another attack . Civilians helped gather the wounded and the dead . The Confederates occupied Port Hudson for a time and fearing another attack by them , Union forces abandoned Baton Rouge on August 18 . Murfreesboro . The men of the 19th recuperated for the rest of the month in Jackson , Mississippi and the troops left ill at Vicksburg and Baton Rouge began to trickle back in . The men of the 19th Tennessee stitched the battle honors of Fishing Creek , Shiloh , Vicksburg , and Baton Rouge into their regimental flag , to which they were fiercely devoted . The 19th ' s flag was never surrendered to the Yankees at the end of the war and its whereabouts are unknown . In September , the 19th ' s brigade was sent to Knoxville via Chattanooga in cattle cars on a train that the men described as " filthy beyond description " . By this time , the 19th could only muster about 150 effectives , but that number increased to about 380 by the end of Fall . On October 15 , the regiment was moved to Loudon where they continued recruiting and building their depleted numbers . By Winter , they were in Murfreesboro . As Union forces under the command of Gen . William Rosecrans approached , one of the strangest battles of the war commenced : a battle of musicians . When Union bands played " Yankee Doodle " , the Confederates answered with " Dixie " and " Bonnie Blue Flag " was answered with " Hail Columbia " . Finally , the bands of both sides joined in playing " Home Sweet Home " and the men of both sides sang together . The Confederates decided to seize the moment and attacked first , driving Union forces back for some two miles before grinding to a halt . The men of the 19th Tennessee overran and artillery battery that had shelled them , but was met with another fusillade of fire , killing the regiment ' s flag bearer . Corporal John Mason picked up the flag and held it high and inspiring the troops , who forced the Federals back . The Confederates forced the Union all the way to the Nashville Pike before the attack petered out after a heavy barrage of Union canister . The Rebels managed to capture 300 small arms , ammunition , and supplies , along with 50 Federals , but the 19th , who had entered the battle with 382 men , suffered 136 casualties . First Sergeant Amos C . Smith of Washington County was among those cited for gallantry . The Federals dug in , eventually forcing Gen . Braxton Bragg to withdraw his forces , which severely demoralized the troops . The 19th winter quartered at Shelbyville . Chickamauga . During the winter of 1863 , a Christian movement of " big revivals " developed among the Army of Tennessee , along with a great deal of dissension against Gen . Braxton Bragg . Bragg was a fairly good military strategist , but his personality was strongly detested by his commanders and ranks . Thus , his campaigns tended to be well planned , but poorly executed by his commanders . Bragg ' s army entered Chattanooga on July 7 , 1863 . By this time , Vicksburg and Middle Tennessee had fallen , and Lee had been defeated at Gettysburg . The 19th Tennessee dug in on a hill above the town ' s landing and awaited the federals . Federal artillery soon began to bombard the town on soldiers and civilians alike . On September 8 , Bragg realized that Rosecran ' s army was behind him and that the Army of Tennessee would have to abandon its fortifications or be cut off , and so his forces abandoned Chattanooga and marched toward Rome , Georgia . By this time , Federal troops occupied much of East Tennessee and with Unionist guerrillas anxious to punish the region ' s Rebels and their families , desertions from the army rose dramatically , taking their toll on on all units , including the 19th . However , some " deserters " were actually decoys sent by Bragg to make the Confederate Army of Tennessee ' s dilemma appear worse than it actually was in an attempt to bolster overconfidence and force the Union army into careless acts that Bragg could exploit . On September 12 , Bragg ordered Gen . Leonidas Polk to take a division and attack the Yankees , but Polk ignored the order . By the next day , an entire Union corps was positioned on the opposite bank of Chickamauga Creek . Even after Bragg sent reinforcements , Polk was still overly cautious and did not move until 9 AM . A brief skirmish ensued with Polk attempting to draw the Yankees out , but they didn ' t take the bait . The 19th Tennessee , tired , hungry , and apprehensive , did not join the fighting until September 18 . By that time , Bragg ' s army had crossed the creek around 7 AM . The dense brush and undergrowth made advancing difficult and commanders had to pause to straighten their lines . Passing near the 19th , Gen . Benjamin Cheatham yelled , " Give them hell , boys , give them hell ! " Gen . Polk , a bishop in the Episcopal church , yelled , " Give them what General Cheatham says , we will pay off old chores today . " About that time , a shell crashed nearby wounding two men . Within minutes , the Rebels and Yankees were heavily engaged . The Confederates managed to force the Federals back into their breastworks , but the attack stalled as ammunition ran low . Reinforced by reserve units , the Rebels pressed again with the 19th on the extreme right of the line . In fifteen minutes , 75 of the unit ' s 242 men were struck down , but the steady nerve of Colonel Francis Walker held them together . A number of Company level officers were cut down . The Confederate lines began to buckle as the Federals advanced , but a Rebel artillery barrage of canister and grapeshot , effective turning the big guns into shotguns , forced the Yankees to retreat . The 19th lost 40 % of its total strength , with 8 killed , 66 men wounded , and 20 missing , but the Tennesseans held their ground . The Rebels attacked again at dusk , but the attack sputtered in the darkness . Temperatures that night fell to near freezing , but the proximity of enemy forces prevented the use of campfires . Meanwhile , the Federals spent the night fortifying their earthworks . The battle resumed about 9 : 30 the next morning and about 11 AM , a mix up in orders caused the Federals to pull a division out of the center just as the Rebels came screaming in . The Yankees panicked and their lines splintered . The Army of Tennessee had its victory . Bragg received word that the Federals had abandoned Chattanooga , but arrived there to find them entrenched . He decided to lay siege to the town and it worked , with the deprivation of the Federals soon matching that of the Confederates . Two divisions , including the 19th Tennessee were sent to Sweetwater to prevent Rosecrans from being reinforced , but there was little for them to do . This was the last time that the East Tennessee Confederates would see home until the end of the war . The 19th Tennessee Infantry Reenactors . A group of Civil War reenactors from Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia represents Company B ( Washington County ) of the 19th Tennessee Infantry . The unit was organized in the late 1980s and continues to the present . The group participates in many reenactments of Army of Tennessee battles , gravesite and monument dedications , parades , school programs , and other events . They served as the Honor Guard at the gravesite during the funeral for the crew of the H . L . Hunley ( submarine ) on April 17 , 2004 , at Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston , South Carolina . Previous captains of the 19th Tennessee Infantry Reenactors were Scott Templeton , Jerry Nave , Richard Gouge , Richard Ragle and Scot Koenig . The unit is currently commanded by Captain Ric Dulaney