Graves' Artillery Battery, also known as entuckyIssaquena Artillery Battery, was organized as a

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

artillery battery from

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

(mainly Kentucky) on November 8, 1861. During its formation, as a still understrength battery, the first commander was Captain Selden Spencer.Sifakis, 2007, p. 9. In December, at Bowling Green, Kentucky, then Confederate Army Brigadier General (CSA)

John C. Breckinridge John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...

chose Captain Rice E. Graves, Jr., as captain of the new battery to be attached to the 2nd Kentucky Infantry Regiment and assigned to his division. The unit was first assigned to Reserve, 1st Geographical Division, Department #2. Then the regiment was assigned to the Kentucky Brigade, Army of Middle Tennessee, Department #2 in October–November 1862. In November 1862, the regiment was assigned to the Kentucky Brigade, Breckinridge's Division, 1st Corps, Army of Tennessee in November 1862, nicknamed the "

Orphan Brigade The Orphan Brigade was the nickname of the First Kentucky Brigade, a group of military units recruited from Kentucky to fight for the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. The brigade was the largest Confederate unit to be ...

Graves

Rice Evan Graves Jr., was attending the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Ame ...

, on a Presidential appointment recommended by the

second congressional district representative

Samuel O. Peyton Samuel Oldham Peyton (January 8, 1804 – January 4, 1870) was a United States House of Representatives, U.S. Representative from Kentucky. Born in Bullitt County, Kentucky, Peyton completed preparatory studies. He was graduated from the medica ...

, when he resigned to join the Confederate Army at

Camp Boone Camp Boone, Tennessee was located on Guthrie Road/ ( Wilma Rudolph Boulevard) U.S. Route 79 near the Kentucky - Tennessee border at Clarksville, Montgomery County, Tennessee (in the area formerly known as Saint Bethlehem, Tennessee before annexat ...

Saint Bethlehem, Tennessee Saint Bethlehem or St. Bethlehem, also called "St. B" by locals, was an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Tennessee, located just northeast of downtown Clarksville, Tennessee, Clarksville. St. Bethlehem has been incorporated into Clark ...

Graves was born in Virginia and raised near

Yelvington, Kentucky Yelvington is a small unincorporated community in the U.S. state of Kentucky, located approximately 12 miles east of Owensboro along U.S. Route 60 east and near the Daviess-Hancock county line. Demographics History The original boundaries of ...

, about 12 miles east of

Owensboro, Kentucky Owensboro is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. It is the fourth-largest city in the state by population. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about southwest of Lou ...

on Kentucky Highway 144.

Armament

The battery initially was armed with two 6-pound smoothbores and two 12-pound howitzers.

Battles

Major Graves led his battery at the Battle of Fort Donelson near Dover, Tennessee, where he was taken prisoner and his artillery confiscated when the Fort was surrendered by the Confederates to the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

forces commanded by then

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

. Colonel, Later brigadier General,

Roger Hanson Roger Weightman Hanson (August 27, 1827 – January 4, 1863) was a brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The commander of the famed "Orphan Brigade," he was mortally wounded at the Battle of Murfreesbo ...

and the 2d Kentucky prisoners were exchanged on August 5, 1862. At the Battle of Stones River at

Murfreesboro, Tennessee Murfreesboro is a city in and county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 152,769 according to the 2020 census, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010. Murfreesboro is located in the Nashville metropol ...

Graves was severely wounded. Breckinridge's division was sent to Vicksburg too late to reinforce the Confederate garrison before they surrendedered on July 4, 1863. The 1st Kentucky Brigade moved to Jackson, Mississippi on July 7, 1863, and after being engaged at the Siege of Jackson, retreated from there on July 16 when the Confederates abandoned the city. Major Graves was mortally wounded at the

Battle of Chickamauga The Battle of Chickamauga, fought on September 19–20, 1863, between United States, U.S. and Confederate States of America, Confederate forces in the American Civil War, marked the end of a Union Army, Union offensive, the Chickamauga Campaign ...

on September 20, 1864, and died by the next morning. The brigade went on to fight in the Atlanta Campaign and in retreat to Savannah and South Carolina, At end if the war, the brigade was direct to Washington, Georgia to surrender and take parole on May 7, 1865.Davis, 251, 257.

Fort Donelson Monument

The Fort Donelson National Battlefield, maintained by the

U.S. National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properties ...

at Dover, Tennessee has a large section of the battlefield named in honor of Major Graves entitled "Graves Battery".

Citations

References

* Davis, William C. ''The Orphan Brigade: The Kentucky Confederates Who Couldn't Go Home The Orphan Brigade: The Kentucky Confederates Who Couldn't Go Home''. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1983. . * Sifakis, Stewart. ''Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, the Confederate Units and the Indian Units''. Westminster, MD: Heritage Books, Inc., 2007. .

External links

National Park Service site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graves' Battery People from Daviess County, Kentucky Units and formations of the Confederate States Army from Kentucky Orphan Brigade Artillery units and formations of the American Civil War 1861 establishments in Tennessee Military units and formations established in 1861