13th Tennessee Infantry Regiment, CSA

13th Infantry Regiment, organized at Jackson, Tennessee, in June, 1861, contained men from Dyer, Fayette, Shelby, Gibson, McNairy, and Chester counties. The 13th Infantry was originally composed of ten companies which assembled at Jackson, Tennessee, where they were mustered into state service. They were organized into the regiment on June 4,1861.

Immediately after organization the regiment moved to Randolph, Tennessee to join Brigadier General John Sneed, of the Provisional Army of Tennessee. On 26 July 1861 the regiment was ordered to New Madrid, Missouri, where it was accepted into Confederate service, and placed in a brigade with the 154th Senior Tennessee Infantry Regiment, with Colonel J. P. McCowan as brigade commander. On 7 September 1861, the regiment was placed in a brigade commanded by Colonel R. M. Russell (of Trenton), consisting of the 12th,13th, and 21st Tennessee Infantry Regiments and moved to Columbus, Kentucky. On 24 October 1861, the regiment was in Colonel J. Knox Walker's Brigade, which was composed of the 2nd, 13th,and 15th Tennessee Infantry Regiments. The brigade was in Brigadier General Gideon J. Pillow's Division, and as part of Pillow's forces, the regiment participated in its first engagement at Belmont, Missouri on 7 November 1861. In this battle, the 13th was one of the regiments which crossed the Mississippi River to the Missouri side and received the first brunt of the Federal attack. The regiment lost 149 men in killed, wounded and captured, of whom 54 were from Company A.

The regiment remained at Columbus, Kentucky until the fall of Fort Donelson necessitated the evacuation of this point and the regiment moved via Union City to Corinth, Mississippi; arriving 29 March 1862. Despite this fact, on 10 December 861, at Dublin, Virginia, Assistant Adjutant General George Deas wrote a note to Adjutant General S. Cooper, which stated "Donelson's Brigade, 1300 strong, moves today for Petersburg. 8th and 13th Tennessee, Floyd's Brigade, require repose." This is symptomatic of the confusion which existed in the early days of the war with regard to the numbering of the Tennessee regiments. The 13th was never in the Virginia theatre.

On 13 March 862,while still at Columbus, Kentucky, the 2nd Tennessee had replaced the 21st in Russell's Brigade, now shown in Brigadier General J. P. McCowan's Division. At Shiloh, on 6 and 7 April 1862, Russell's Brigade was in Brigadier General Charles Clark's Division, and was composed of the 11th Louisiana, 12th, 13th and 22nd Tennessee Infantry Regiments. In this battle the 13th captured a Federal battery, but sustained 137 casualties.

At the reorganization in April Vaughn was reelected Colonel, Morgan Lieutenant Colonel, but Peter Cole replaced Winfield as Major. By 30 June 1862, the brigade was beginning to assume the form which it maintained throughout the war. The 11th Louisiana had been transferred, the 22nd Tennessee consolidated with the 12th Tennessee, and the 47th and 154th Tennessee Infantry Regiments added to the brigade, which was still in Clark's Division. About this time Brigadier General Preston Smith, formerly Colonel of the 154th Tennessee, assumed command of the brigade, which was in Major General Benjamin Franklin Cheatham's Division.

The brigade moved from Corinth to Tueplo, Mississippi, and there via Mobile, Alabama and Atlanta, Georgia, then to Chattanooga, to participate in the invasion of Kentucky. On 10 August 1862, the brigade was detached to Knoxville, where it was placed in Brigadier General Partick Cleburne's Division of Major General Kirby Smith's Army. With General Smith, it moved into Kentucky and fought at the Battle of Richmond on 30 August 1862,where it sustained 48 casualties. In this battle Cleburne was wounded, Smith assumed command of the division, and Vaughn of the brigade.

The brigade rejoined Cheatham's Division of General Bragg's Army at Harrodsburg, Kentucky, prior to the Battle of Perryville on 8 October 1862. However,the brigade was held in reserve at this battle, and was not actively engaged, although it came under artillery fire.

From Perryville, the brigade retreated to Knoxville, thence to Tullahoma, and from there to Murfreesboro, arriving the latter part of November 1862. Here the 13th was detached from the brigade for some weeks due to a smallpox outbreak in its ranks ,but rejoined on 28 December, in time to take part in the first Battle of Murfreesboro on 31 December 1862, where it lost 110 casualties, forty-four percent, out of 252 engaged. Colonel Vaughn was in command of the brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Morgan, and later Captain R. F. Lanier in command of the regiment, after Morgan and Major Cole were mortally wounded.

After the Battle of Murfreesboro, the brigade went in to winter quarters at Shelbyville, Tennessee. In March1863, the 13th and 184th Regiments were consolidated for field operations into one unit, under the command of Colonel Vaughn, but maintained separate muster rolls. This field consolidation continued until the close of the war.

There followed the retreat to Chattanooga and the Battle of Chickamauga from 19 to 20 September 1863. Here General Smith was killed and Vaughn, soon to be promoted to Brigadier General, again took command of the brigade. The 13th/154th was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel R. W. Pitman. The regiment took 300 prisoners and the colors of the 77th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment. The list of casualties was not found, but the severity of the fighting is indicated by the report of the ordnance officer that the 13th/154th used 10,338 rounds of ammunition.

After Chickamauga, the brigade was again detached from Cheatham's Division to that of Major General Thomas Hindman's, of Lieutenant General James Longstreet's Corps, and the 13th/154th moved briefly to Sweetwater, but returned in time for the Battle of Missionary Ridge on 25 November 1863. In December 1863, the 13th/154th totaled 428 men and 263 arms. Then came the retreat to Dalton, where on 20 February 1864, the brigade was again placed in Cheatham's Division where it remained until the end of the war. The 13th/154th remained at Dalton until the resumption of fighting in May1864, except for one expedition in February to Demopolis, Alabama, and return, when they had started out to reinforce General Leonidas Polk in Mississippi, but were recalled on reaching Demopolis.

From here on the regiment participated in the retreat to Atlanta, the return to Tennessee, and the final journey to join General Joseph Johnston at Bentonville, North Carolina. On 30 April 1864, the 13th/154th was commanded by Colonel Michael Magevney, Jr., of the 154th; on 10 December 1864, the 13th/51st/52nd/154th Consolidated was commanded by Major John Williamson of the 51st; on 31 March 1865, and by Major Marsh Patrick of the 154th.

On 9 April 1865 the 11th,12th, 13th, 29th, 47th, 50th, 51st, 52nd and 154th Tennessee Infantry Regiments formed the 2nd Consolidated Tennessee Infantry Regiment, command by Colonel Horace Rice, of the 11th. As such they were paroled at Greensboro, North Carolina on 2 May 1865.

Partial Roster

Company L

William Anderson Acord (1843-1903) Private. Hardeman County, Tennessee. Son of Enoch and Martha Acord, husband of Anna Amanda Ussery. Transferred to the 2nd Consolidated Tennessee Infantry Regiment on 9 April 1865. His wife applied for a widow's pension after his death. Buried in Ussery Cemetery, Harden County, Tennessee.