Walton Taber, “Confederate Battle Line at Chickamauga.”

The account of Chickamauga by Private Lawrence Daffan, Company G, 4th Texas Infantry:

On my return from Fredericksburg to the camp at Port Royal, I asked General J. B. Robertson and the Captain of my company for permission to stop for a week or ten days at my uncles’ homes, two of them, which were about twelve miles east of Fredericksburg. They granted this request. . . .
One warm September evening we saw the dust rising down the main road, and we slipped around to see what it was. We went through the corn and his to see what was coming. The army was moving. The first brigade was Benning’s, of Georgia; the second was Law’s, of Alabama; and the third was Hood’s Texas Brigade, my brigade. I saw the Fifth Texas pass, then came the Fourth, my regiment, and I wondered where they were going.
In a few days I found I had been left in Virginia, for my brigade had gone to Georgia. In a few days I became “homesick,” as it were, to be with my company, but how to reach them was a problem. Having some idea of military affairs, though a boy of eighteen, I proceeded at once to Richmond to report to the provost marshal.
He understood my condition at once, and gave an order for transportation and rations to a point in Georgia, I believe Resaca, where I expected to find the brigade. I reached there on Friday, September 18, 1863, just in time to join them in the battle on Sunday at Chickamauga.
I received my only injury during the war at Chickamauga; a ball struck my gun between the rammer and the barrel, shivering the stock and knocking me down. This was at the cabin [Viniard?] in front of Longstreet’s Corps, Saturday evening, September 19, 1863.
Our men made a gallant charge on the Federals and there were two lines of battle of Federals. We received a terrible volley of musketry there – the most terrible during the war. If they, the Federals, had shot low, it seems to me we would all have been killed. From six to thirty feet on the timber showed the effects of this terrible volley of musketry. I think ten of my company were killed at Chickamauga and thirty or forty wounded. Nearly all killed were shot in the breast or head, which indicated excited and high shooting by the Federals. We took their position, but did not press them further that evening. I was on picket Saturday night; the lines changed somewhat during the night. As well as I can know, we were fronting west Saturday evening, and changed out front to north Sunday morning. In the charge Sunday morning we captured a battery, driving the enemy back, and here general Hood was wounded. I am satisfied that General Hood was wounded by his own men, Confederates off to our left. I think they were Florida troops.
They mistook us on account of our neat, new standard uniform. They took us for Federals, as Bragg’s army had never seen a well-uniformed Confederate regiment. The couriers were sent to these troops telling them to cease firing, and to explain the situation. Were we in this battle, supporting the Western army, under Bragg.
Hood wounded at Chickamauga. Illustrated London News, December 26, 1863.
I saw General Hood wounded, and saw the men wrap him and carry him away in a blanket. I rushed up and pulled the blanket open to be sure that it was General Hood; the officer in charge of the litter corps spoke very rough to me about this, saying, “yes, it is General Hood; say nothing about it.”
This was all under fire. These places all have special names now, but I give my account as a boy soldier.
___________

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My family in Texas, served under Gen. Hood at Gettsburg..! When war was over my Great Grandfather, walked home from the war bare footed ! took him 6 months !
Little Round Top, eh?
You’ll want to read this:
https://deadconfederates.com/2013/07/02/how-val-giles-made-second-sergeant-2/
My understanding that Chickamauga battle was the bloodiest of the war, after Gettysburg, even more so than Antietam.
That’s correct. The Park Rangers at Chickamauga also make a terrific argument about why Chickamauga is more important than Gettysburg as well.