Samuel Rush Watkins (June 26, 1839 – July 20, 1901) was an American writer and humorist. He fought through the entire

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 ...

and saw action in many battles. Today, he is best known for his memoir ''"Co. Aytch"'' (1882), which recounts his life as a soldier in the

1st Tennessee Infantry Regiment The 1st Tennessee Infantry Regiment (also known as the "First Tennessee") was an infantry regiment in the Confederate States Army during the Civil War, and was successively commanded by Colonels George Maney and Hume R. Field. History The Regim ...

Early life

In May 1861, 21-year-old Sam Watkins of

Maury County, Tennessee Maury County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee, in the Middle Tennessee region. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 100,974. Its county seat is Columbia, Tennessee, C ...

, rushed to join the army when his state left the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

. He became part of Company H (or Co. "Aytch," as he called it), 1st Tennessee Infantry Regiment, fought from Shiloh to Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, and acted as one of only seven men who remained in the company when it was surrendered to U.S. Major-General

W. T. Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...

in North Carolina, April 1865. When he died at 62, Watkins was buried with full military honors.

"Co. Aytch"

In 1881, with a "house full of young 'rebels' clustering about my elbows," Watkins began to chronicle his experiences in the First Tennessee Regiment. ''"Co. Aytch"'' is considered to be one of the great memoirs written by a soldier of the field. Originally published as a serial newspaper column from 1881 to 1882 in '' The Columbia Herald'', his stories were collected and printed in book form in 1882. The charming prose captures the experience of the common private soldier, from the hardships of camp life to the horrors of battle, the camaraderie of a unit to the loss of a brother, the pride in one's state to the devastation of defeat.

Memorials

Camp No. 29 (established 1986) of the

Sons of Confederate Veterans The Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) is an American neo-Confederate nonprofit organization of male descendants of Confederate soldiers The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the militar ...

in Columbia, Tennessee is named after him.

In popular culture

Watkins is featured and quoted in

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary film, documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle United States, American History of the United States, history and Culture of the ...

' 1990 documentary titled ''The Civil War'' and in the film titled ''Civil War: The Untold Story'' (See specific quotes from Watkins in Wikiquote

) The song "Kennesaw Line" by Don Oja-Dunaway tells a heart-breaking vignette of the

Battle of Kennesaw Mountain The Battle of Kennesaw Mountain was fought on June 27, 1864, during the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War. It was the most significant frontal assault launched by Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman against the Confederate Army of Tennes ...

on the morning of June 27, 1864, from the perspective of Sam Watkins, with part of the lyrics directly paraphrasing his description from the book "Company Aytch" (see the section entitled "Dead Angle").For example, in the book he wrote "Well, on the fatal morning of June 27th, the sun rose clear and cloudless, the heavens seemed made of brass, and the earth of hot iron, and as the sun began to mount toward the zenith, everything became quiet, and no sound was heard save a peckerwood on a neighboring tree." The corresponding lyrics:

Well the sun rose high above us that morning
On a clear and cloudless day
A peckerwood, he tapped on a tree
That would soon be shot away
The heat blistered down through the leaves on the trees
The air seemed hot enough to catch fire
Heaven seemed to be made of brass
The sun rose higher and higher

The best-known version of this song is sung by

Claire Lynch Claire Lynch (born February 20, 1954) is an American bluegrass musician, singer, songwriter, and producer. She is a three-time winner of the International Bluegrass Music Association's Female Vocalist of the Year honors. She is considered one of ...

on the album ''Lines & Traces'' by the Front Porch String Band.

References

Notes Sources *

External links

*
Samuel R. Watkins Camp No. 29
of the

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, Samuel R. 1839 births 1901 deaths 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American short story writers 19th-century Presbyterians American autobiographers American columnists American humorists American male non-fiction writers American male short story writers 19th-century American memoirists American Presbyterians Burials in Tennessee Confederate States Army soldiers Deaths in Tennessee Farmers from Tennessee People from Maury County, Tennessee People from Mount Pleasant, Tennessee People of Tennessee in the American Civil War Writers from Tennessee