(inset of Marshall T. Polk)In my novel, I placed a central character in the fictitious unit, the 5th Texas Artillery. Early on in my research I looked for units who participated in key points in the battle. As far as I can determine, the 5th Texas did not participate at Shiloh. In my story, the 5th Texas was amalgamated with a Tennessee battery under Captain Marshall T. Polk, a west point graduate of the class of 1852 and given the task of whipping the Texas volunteers into shape, drawing upon his regular army experience. Though Polk figures only as a minor character in the story, it does allow for delving into a uniquely Confederate habit of referring to its artilery batteries.
Though most state raised units were given a designation based upon the order by which they were raised, the state affiliations of Confederate artillery units are extremely hard to track even in the official records as they are almost always referred to by their commanding officer at the time. So, the Tennesseans who made up "Polk's Battery" are traceable in the records from the time they were raised until the battle of Shiloh, then it becomes harder as Captain Polk, who lost a leg at Shiloh, drops from the record until showing up on a command roster dated May 20th, 1863 as a Lt. Col. in charge of Leonidas Polk's Artillery Corps. What became of his battery is absent from the record, although from the roster there are two Tennessee Artillery units Scott's and Carne's batteries. From the following link, I learned what did become of "Polk's Battery".
http://www.tngenweb.org/civilwar/csaart/polk.html
Although, from other records and reports it is not stated that Capt. Polk was ever captured, he did lose his leg and the battery was disbanded with many of its men being consolidated with Carne's battery after the battle of Shiloh and back in Corinth, Mississippi.
No comments:
Post a Comment