1860
Following John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, the young men in the vicinity of present day Glady's, Virginia, organized a volunteer infantry company. My father Richard Morgan, gave the company its name "Clifton Grays' after a nearby stream.
Officers were:
Capt. Adam Clement
1st Lt. Joseph A. Hobson
2nd Lt. H.H. Withers
3rd. Lt. James A. Connelly
4th Lt. Robert M. Cocke (He was my brother-in-law.)
I was elected the company's Orderly Sergeant. Two of my brother's also served in the outfit:
Sergeant George W. "Coon" Morgan
Robert W. "Bob" Morgan.
We wore uniforms of steel gray with matching caps.
May 1861
The Clifton Grays were mustered into Confederate service at Lynchburg as one of ten companies of the 28th Virginia Infantry, under the command of Col. Robert T. "Bob" Preston.
There was some discontent among the troops when they learned they would be receiving old flintlock muskets instead of Mississippi Rifles. I told my comrades that it was their duty to defend their home state even if they were armed with nothing but "rocks and sticks," and called each man willing to fight under present circumstances to follow me. I marched out of camp with the whole company following me. We camped in a grove west of College Hill, in what is now Miller Park.
June 1861
The regiment received orders to proceed to the front, and marched through Lynchburg to the railroad depot. The streets were lined with cheering crowds. En route to the front, we stopped briefly at Culpeper and fought high winds to pitch our tents. But before we could finish, we were ordered to strike camp and reboard the train. We proceeded to Manassas, where my company was transferred to the 11th Virginia Infantry, commanded by Col. Samuel Garland of Lynchburg, and attached to Gen. Longstreet's Brigade. We camped on the north side of the railroad tracks, just west of the depot.
Longstreets Brigade marched down Bull Run to Blackburn's Ford, but my regiment was held in reserve south of the stream and above the ford. The remainder of the brigade engaged Yankee pickets in some heavy skirmishing.
July 18, 1861
My regiment was sent to relieve the troops who had skirmished the previous day. We took position on both sides of Bull Run, and saw our first dead Yankee.
July 21, 18861
The Battle of Bull Run
Most of the fighting occurred to the left of my position at Blackburn's Ford, where my regiment was pinned by Union artillery. It was a hot day, and I grew sleepy, dozing between artillery rounds. The battery ceased fire in the afternoon, and Longstreet's Brigade marched forward toward Centreville. We stopped at an abandoned Yankee campsite, strewn with abandoned food, and equipment. We were afraid to eat any of the food for fear that the enemy might have poisoned it before their departure. In the evening, General Longstreet passed by the camp and the man gave him three cheers.
July 22, 1861
I joined my brigade in scouring the area between Centreville and the Stone Bridge for abandoned weapons and supplies. The men converged at the Stone Bridge, crossed it, and made camp atop a long hill along the Warrenton Turnpike. During our march we encountered a dazed, wounded Yankee soldier and made him our prisoner.
July 23, 1861
The brigade marched back to Manassas, passing over the battlefield. We saw many unburied bodies of New York Slaves.
July 24, 1861
The brigade marched to the outskirts of Centreville and set up camp. We were occupied with drills for the next few weeks.
August 10, 1861
The brigade marched 7 miles to Fairfax. An intensely hot day, many men fell victim to heat exhaustion. At Fairfax, my brother "Coon" contracted measles. I arranged for a sick furlough, and sent him by train to Lynchburg. Rev. H.M. Linney, a Methodist minister from our neighborhood, accompanied "Coon" on the train and delivered him to my brother-in-law George A. Burks. "Coon" spent the duration of his illness in the Burks home. Meanwhile, the brigade was occupied with picket duty near Alexandria. We were close enough to Washington to see the Capitol dome. Once, on picket near Annandale, my company was warned of cavalrymen approaching our position on the Centreville road.
We took position along a roadside fence in hopes of ambushing the horsemen. But the approaching men turned out to be Confederate cavalry. Another time, when on picket near Falls Church, my company was assigned to protect an artillery unit as it fired on a house in which the Yankees had established a post. The inhabitants of the Falls Church vicinity were very friendly with the Confederate soldiers and I remember one family feeding us a huge breakfast of buckwheat cakes with butter, honey and milk.
October 1861
We returned to Centreville and made camp on the same site we had preciously occupied. We still picketed as far as Fairfax. While on picket there during the winter, I became ill with fever and was sent home on a sick furlough. I was cared for my Dr. Robert Withers, and got to meet my firstborn son, Dixie Morgan, who was born September 25th.
During my absence, my company suffered its first casualty when William H. Hobson, a cousin of my wife, was killed in a skirmish near Draisesville. When I returned to the camp at Centreville, the troops were visited by Gov. John Letcher, who presented each Virginia regiment with a new state flag.
March 1862
My company followed the rest of the Confederate Army in its withdrawal from Manassas. On the march south, since our term of enlistment was about to expire, we elected officers for the upcoming year. Adam Clement was reelected captain, I was elected 1st. Lieutenant, James Connelly was reelected 2nd Lieutenant, and Jabaz Rosser was elected 3rd. Lieutenant. Joseph Hobson and H.H. Withers, not being reelected, retires.
The troops marched through Prince William, Spottsylvania, Hanover, and Henrico counties. Meanwhile, Gen. Longstreet was promoted Division Commander and Col. A.P. Hill was promoted to Brigadier General and placed in command of my brigade.
April 12, 1862
The troops reached Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy. There we were put on steamboats and sent down the James River to King's Landing. We marched sever miles through Williamsburg, continuing down the peninsula to the lines near Yorktown.
May 1862
Gen. Joseph E. Johnston ordered the Confederate Army to retreat back up the peninsula when he received word that the Union Army was planning on sending troops up the York River and surround us. My brigade marched back through Williamsburg and made camp in an open field just west of the town.
May 5, 1862
Battle of Williamsburg
Gen. Hill marched his brigade back through Williamsburg to take up position on the extreme right of the new Confederate line east of town. My company was on the left side of the 11th Regiment, putting me very close to Col. James L. Kemper, the commander of the 7th. Regiment.
I spotted a number of Yankee soldiers moving through the woods ahead and brought this to the attention of Col. Kemper. Col. Kemper alerted General Hill, who looked through his field glasses and confirmed that they were indeed Yankees and ordered the men to attack. Col. Kemper called out, "Now, boys, I want you to give it to those blue-coated fellows! Ready, aim, fire!" After the initial volley, General Hill took out his pistol and rushed to the front and called the men to follow. The whole line rushed forward, over a fence and down a slope of about 50 yards. During the charge, I came across a Yankee straggler and pulled my pistol; but, it failed to fire, and I had to pick up a loaded musket from the hands of a dead soldier. About this time, word reached my company that the Yankees were in full retreat.
My regiment pursued them for over a quarter-mile until we got to the eastern edge of the woods where the Yankees had constructed a fortress of rough-hewn timber. Col. Garland came forward and ordered the men to charge the fortress, and many of the Yankees fled in front of us. A good number of prisoners were captured, and the man returned to the safety of the woods until nightfall. After dark, we marched back to the edge of Williamsburg. We slept on the wet, muddy ground.
May 6, 1862
My regiment left Williamsburg and marched toward Richmond. We did not hurry, and spent a number of days camped on the east bank of the Chickahominy River. We tallied up our casualties from the recent battle and found eight dead and many wounded. Among the dead was my brother-in-law Miffram Bailey, who had only been with the company about a month.
Col. Garland was promoted to general and put in command of a North Carolina brigade. Col. Kemper was also promoted and succeeded General Hill as commander of my brigade. I became ill on the retread, and had to be transported by ambulance as far as the Chickahominy. The men passed by many old historic homes, including that of former President John Tyler, whose newly erected tombstone stood my the roadside.
May 15, 1862
My regiment made camp at Darbytown, near Richmond. I obtained a pass into the city where I purchased an officer's uniform.
May 27, 1862
The regiment moved to a camp near Howard's Grove.
May 31, 1862
Battle of Seven Pines
I was temporarily in command of my company as Capt. Clement had been promoted to major and had gone home for his horse and equipment. I was nervous and had a premonition that I would be wounded in the pending battle. Our brigade was held in reserve, and posted in an open field about 3/4 of a mile from the front. Eventually, we were ordered to charge to the front. We found a great number of Confederate dead and an abandoned Yankee breastworks and campsite. We continued to pursue the retreating Union Army, but were forced by heavy return fire to fall back to the breastworks. In the retreat, Capt. Henry Fulks of Company F was shot dead only a few feet from me. My company lost three men in the fight. We remained in the breastworks until after dark when we were relieved and marched back a short distance to sleep under some oak trees. George Bright, a kinsman from Prince Edward County serving as a courier for Gen. Kemper, came to ask how we had fared and gave me a Yankee blanket he had picked up in the battle.
June 1, 1862
Kemper's Brigade marched back toward Richmond and set up camp northeast of the city.
June 26, 1862
Kemper's Brigade received orders to march north, and crossed the York River Railroad, where we observed an observation balloon tracking the movement of enemy forces.
June 27, 1862
While crossing the Meadow Bridge over the Chickahominy River, my company had a brief encounter with Gen. Robert E. Lee riding his horse "Traveler" He asked the men what regiment we belonged to, and a dozen or more men answered "Eleventh Virginia."
In the ensuing Battle of Gaines' Mill later that day, the regiment was held in reserve so we saw no fighting.
June 28, 1862
I became ill, and obtained a sick-pass to return to the regimental campsite. Soon thereafter, several old men from my neighborhood came to Richmond to look after the welfare of my company. They put me up in a hotel to recover in a comfortable bed. Eventually, I was sent back home to recover completely. In my absence, the brigade was engaged in a fight at Frazier's farm.
August 30, 1862
Second Battle of Bull Run
I was still recovering at home when this battle was fought, but my brother Bob was badly wounded in the fight. He was taken to Warrenton where out father, Richard Morgan, met him. But, our father came down with a severe case of typhoid fever and was not much help. My company lost four men in the battle.
September 25, 1862
I rejoined my company near Winchester, where they had retreated from the Battle of Sharpsburg. We had lost two men in the fight.
October 25, 1862
The brigade left Winchester and marched up the rock road before turning toward the Blue Ridge. We waded across the Shenandoah River and crossed through Thornton's Gap near Sperryville. We passed through Madison, Rappahanock, Orange and Culpeper counties.
November 19, 1862
The brigade left Culpeper and moved toward Fredericksburg.
November 25, 1862
The brigade arrived in Fredericksburg and build what we thought would be our winter quarters some two miles south of town. The Yankee army was in plain view, camped on the opposite side of the Rappahannock River.
December 11, 1862
I was awakened by the sound of Yankee artillery shelling Fredericksburg.
December 13, 1862
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Confederate lines stretched for four miles, and I was near the middle. The morning was very foggy, and did not lift until after nine o'clock. When it did lift, the battle began. My brigade was held in reserve. Eventually, we were ordered to relieve the troops on Mary's Hill and marched down the telegraph road toward Fredericksburg. About sundown, the firing ceased and we went around the hill to the left and relieved the front line troops. We were stationed on the outskirts of Fredericksburg, to the left of the stone wall.
To be Continued
Published U.S. Legacies December, 2002
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