The Orphan Brigade was the nickname of the First Kentucky Brigade, a group of military units recruited from
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 ...
to fight for the
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. The brigade was the largest Confederate unit to be recruited from Kentucky during the war. Its original commander was
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 ...
, former
United States Vice President
The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice pr ...
, and Kentucky's former Senator, who was enormously popular with Kentuckians.
History
The regiments that were part of the Orphan Brigade were the
2nd
A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI).
Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to:
Mathematics
* 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'')
* Second of arc, an angular measurement unit ...
,
3rd
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (d ...
American South
The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
during the war, including the
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh (also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing) was fought on April 6–7, 1862, in the American Civil War. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater. The battlefield i ...
. In 1862, Breckinridge was promoted to division command and was succeeded in the brigade by
Brig. Gen.
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 ...
Roger W. Hanson
Roger Weightman Hanson (August 27, 1827 – January 4, 1863) was a Brigadier General (CSA), brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The commander of the famed "Orphan Brigade," he was mortally wounded at ...
. At the
Battle of Stones River
The Battle of Stones River, also known as the Second Battle of Murfreesboro, was a battle fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the culmination of the Stones River Campaign in the Western Theater of the Ame ...
, the brigade suffered heavy casualties in an assault on January 2, 1863, including General Hanson. Breckinridge—who vehemently disputed the order to charge with the army's commander, General
Braxton Bragg
Braxton Bragg (March 22, 1817 – September 27, 1876) was an American army officer during the Second Seminole War and Mexican–American War and Confederate general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, serving in the Weste ...
—rode among the survivors, crying out repeatedly, "My poor Orphans! My poor Orphans," noted brigade historian Ed Porter Thompson, who used the term in his 1868 history of the unit. The name came from how the Confederacy viewed its soldiers from Kentucky (which remained neutral in the Union, though half the state seceded and formed the
Confederate government of Kentucky
The Confederate government of Kentucky was a shadow government established for the Commonwealth of Kentucky by a self-constituted group of Confederate sympathizers during the American Civil War. The shadow government never replaced the electe ...
, was claimed by the Confederacy, and was represented by a star in both countries' flags and had representation in both governments). The term was not in widespread use during the war, but it became popular afterwards among the veterans.
The Orphan Brigade lost another commander 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 ...
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
's brother-in-law, was mortally wounded on September 20, 1863, and died the following day.
Major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
Rice E. Graves, the artillery commander, was also mortally wounded.
The Orphan Brigade served throughout the Atlanta Campaign of 1864, then were converted to mounted infantry and opposed
Sherman's March to the Sea
Sherman's March to the Sea (also known as the Savannah campaign or simply Sherman's March) was a military campaign of the American Civil War conducted through Georgia from November 15 until December 21, 1864, by William Tecumseh Sherman, major ...
. They ended the war fighting in South Carolina in late April 1865, and surrendered at
Washington, Georgia
Washington is the county seat of Wilkes County, Georgia, United States. Under its original name Heard's Fort, it was briefly designated as the state capital during the American Revolutionary War. It is noted as the place where the Confederacy ...
, on May 6–7, 1865.
Captain Fayette Hewitt, Helm's assistant Adjutant-General, had all the Brigade's papers (over twenty volumes of record books, morning reports, letter-copy books as well as thousands of individual orders and reports) boxed up and taken to
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
. After the surrender, Hewitt brought the boxes back to Kentucky with him, and in 1887 he donated them to the U.S. War Department.
File:John C. Breckinridge from Waveland Collection cropped.jpg,
Brig. Gen.
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 ...
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 ...
commanded the Kentucky Brigade until 1862
File:Brigadier General Benjamin Hardin Helm (1831-1863).jpg, Brig. Gen. Benjamin H. Helm was mortally wounded while leading the Kentucky Brigade at
Chickamauga Chickamauga may refer to:
Entertainment
* "Chickamauga", an 1889 short story by American author Ambrose Bierce
* "Chickamauga", a 1937 short story by Thomas Wolfe
* "Chickamauga", a song by Uncle Tupelo from their 1993 album ''Anodyne (album), Ano ...
Arms
When the Orphan Brigade was mustered into service, weapons were in short supply. The troops were armed with old smoothbore muskets (some flintlock and others percussion) along with shotguns and hunting rifles (Hawkens). They were given a bounty if they brought their own rifle. Some men had no arms at all. Only a week before the
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh (also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing) was fought on April 6–7, 1862, in the American Civil War. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater. The battlefield i ...
, every regiment except the 9th Kentucky was issued a supply of Enfield rifles imported from England (the 9th armed themselves with Enfields captured during the battle).
From that point onward, most of the Orphan Brigade carried the long three-band Model 1853 Enfield rifle. When the unit surrendered in March 1865, some men were still carrying the same rifles they had had since Shiloh.
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 ...
, July 17, 1861
*
3rd Kentucky Infantry
The 3rd Kentucky Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It was part of the First Kentucky Brigade through August 1862.
Service
The 3rd Kentucky Infantry was ...
, organized 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 ...
, July 20, 1861
*
4th Kentucky Infantry
The 4th Kentucky Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It was part of the First Kentucky Brigade.
Service
The 4th Kentucky Infantry was organized on September 13, 18 ...
, organized at Camp Burnett, September 13, 1861
*
6th Kentucky Infantry
The 6th Kentucky Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It was formed from Nelson, Barren, and surrounding counties. It was also part of the First Kentucky Brigade.
...
, organized at
Bowling Green
A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls.
Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep on ...
, November 19, 1861
*
9th Kentucky Infantry
The 9th Kentucky Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It was part of the First Kentucky Brigade.
Service
The 9th Kentucky Infantry was organized October 3, 1861, ...
, organized at
Bowling Green, Kentucky
Bowling Green is a home rule-class city and the county seat of Warren County, Kentucky, United States. Founded by pioneers in 1798, Bowling Green was the provisional capital of Confederate Kentucky during the American Civil War. As of the 2 ...
October 3, 1861, as the 5th Kentucky Infantry (Preliminary organization; final organization not complete until May 15, 1862.Thompson, 1898 ed., p. 434)
* Cobb's Battery, organized at Mint Springs, Kuttawa, Kentucky, 1861 (After a period of training at Camp Boone the troops moved to Bowling Green, Ky. in September 1861 and The First Kentucky Battery was formally brigaded under Gen. John C. Breckinridge)
* Graves' Battery, commanded by
Major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
Washington County, Mississippi
Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 51,137. Its county seat is Greenville. The county is named in honor of the first President of the United States, George Washingt ...
, July 1861. (Disbanded during summer 1862, at
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Vicksburg is a historic city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the county seat, and the population at the 2010 census was 23,856.
Located on a high bluff on the east bank of the Mississippi River across from Louisiana, Vic ...
, with men and guns being transferred to Cobb's Battery.)
* Morgan's Men, organized at Bowling Green, November 5, 1861
Other units that joined the Orphan Brigade
* 5th Kentucky Infantry
* 41st Alabama Infantry (fought as part of the Orphan Brigade at Murfreesboro, the Siege of Jackson and Chickamauga)
* 31st/49th Alabama Infantry
Formally in but not directly serving with
* 1st Kentucky Cavalry, organized at Bowling Green 1861
Notable members
Source:
*
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 ...
John Hunt Morgan
John Hunt Morgan (June 1, 1825 – September 4, 1864) was an American soldier who served as a Confederate general in the American Civil War of 1861–1865.
In April 1862, Morgan raised the 2nd Kentucky Cavalry Regiment (CSA) and fought in t ...
List of Kentucky Civil War Confederate units
This is a list of Kentucky Confederate Civil War Confederate units. The list of Kentucky Union Civil War units is shown separately.
Infantry
* 1st Kentucky Infantry, 1st Infantry Regiment
* 2nd Kentucky Infantry, 2nd Infantry Regiment
* 3rd K ...
*
Kentucky in the Civil War
Kentucky was a border state of key importance in the American Civil War. It officially declared its neutrality at the beginning of the war, but after a failed attempt by Confederate General Leonidas Polk to take the state of Kentucky f ...
Notes
References
* Hughes, Nathaniel Cheairs, Jr., ''The Pride of the Confederacy: The Washington Artillery in the Army of Tennessee'', Louisiana State University Press, 1997, .
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