William Henry Roach



Introductory Note: The original six pages from William Henry Roach's journal are handwritten. Many of the sentences are in fragments, letters are sometimes difficult to discern, the word "and" is virtually never written, a plus symbol is used and punctuation is relatively non-existent. Where parentheses surround a word or letter, the insertion has been made for reading ease while maintaining as much of the original text style as possible for the purpose of accuracy. See footnotes for reference to specific questionable points which are not clear in the text.

Attwood - May 19th 1913

I, W. H. Roach, was born August 18th, 1841 in Carroll Co(unty)., State of Tenn(essee). (I) Worked on the farm and went (to) the old field school until the fall of 1860 when I attended a good school kept by a young man named Scates; Jo Scates. 1 But in the spring of  (18)61, the war started and that put a stop to my school days.

(I) Enlisted in a company raised by Capt(ain) Bill Marshall of Trezevant. I was sick when the Co(mpany) went to Trenton and became a part of the 22nd Tenn. Regt. Later in Oct(ober), (I) was sworn in a member of Co. G Tenn. Vol(unteers).

(I) Saw service first in Battle of Belmont. (The) Federals commanded by Gen(eral) Grant - Confederates by Gen. Polk. 2 Shiloh Church 3 was the next fight in which I took part. (I) Witnessed many brave deeds and many sad sights. After the death of Gen. Johnston and the defeat of the Confed(erate) army on the 7th, we fell back to Corinth, Miss(issippi) and fortified but was forced to retreat to Tupelo, Miss. in July. From there in August 1862, we went to Chattanoga (Tennessee) by way of Mobile, Alabama, Atlanta, Georgia thence to Knoxville, Tenn. and on to Kentucky.

(We) fought the battle of Richmond (Kentucky) August 30th. From (there) to Lexington, Ky. and fought the Perryville Battle; October 8th 1862. (We) Retreated by the way of the Cumberland Gap to Knoxville, Tenn. Thence by the way of Tulahoma to Murfreesborough. The battle was fought on the 31st day of Jan. 1862 4 in which I was captured and finally ended up in Camp Douglass about the 15th of Jan. 1863. From there, On March 31st (18)63, we started to be exchanged going by Pittsburg, Pa., Harrisburg, Pa, the capitol 5, thence to Baltimore, Mary. Fortress Monroe, City Point, Va. Petersburg, Linchburg, Bristol, Va. Thence by rail to Shelbyville, Bedford Co. where the Confederate Army had wintered after the retreat from Murfreesborough.

In the campaign which culminated in the Battles of Chickamauga and Missionary Ridge began sometime about the last of June 1863. Falling back to Chattanooga where we fortified a good deal, foraged some for the yellow-leged rooster 6 and Irish potatoe, onions and other edibles and doing about lots. (That) Brought us the 19th of Sept. (18)63 Battle of Chickamauga. And on Nov. 25th (18)63, the Battle of Missionary Ridge was fought in which great display of bravery by federal Soldiers. Our Army, falling back to Dalton, Georgia, went into winter quarters and while there the Army was reorganized in which each soldier enlisted for the war; let it last as long as it would.

The campaign of (18)64 began about he 10th of May that year. From Dalton to Lovejoy Station, (there) was a constant series of battles and Skirmishing almost daily took place. Building breast works, marching over mountains barefooted, sometimes lying in picket post day and night, often in the rain with little to eat. Rasca 7 May 28th, Adairsville about the 20th, New Hope Church May 27th, Kenesaw Mountain June 24th to 27th, Peach Creek July 20th, Atlanta July 22nd to 28th, Jonesborough, Ga. sometime in Sept. - I forgot what date.

We marched back to Tennessee and fought the Battle of Franklin in which I (was) wounded for the first time the 30th of Nov. (18)64. (I) Came home in March of (18)65. (I) Went to Gen. Forrest's Calvary and was in two pretty hot skirmishes. (I) was surrendered with his command at Gainsville, Alabama. (I) Got home May 19th, 1865 four years lacking (un)till about the middle of June.

How wonderful is his mercy and goodness to us who careth for us. 8

Dedicated to my children,     

W. H. Roach

Footnotes:

1. Mr. Roach's "s" and "r" are very similar. The name could be "Scater".
2. Missouri is not specified but the dates coincided with the skirmish at Belmont. Mo.
3. The southern interpretation of battle names were typically towns or settlements while their antagonists used geographic features. It is interesting to note that he went as far as including the designation that Shiloh was a church.
4. January, from the original, should have been December to coincide with the correct date for Murfreesborough.
5. Note that the original text did not capitalize the word. There are other instances of the same error within the text. This one may or may not have represented an intentional slur.
6. We have researched this colloquialism and it is assumed to be either crow or vulture. Our best guess is vulture considering the unpleasant assumptions which can be made associated with battle.
7. Spelling is a problem here due to the difficulty in determining his handwriting.
8. The journal ends with a prayer. Mr. Roach was reputedly very religious. The prayer reflects a writing style of the day following the letters of the Bible.

Article and photo of Mr. Roach and his wife, Mary Alice Langsdon Roach, were submitted by Bill Frazier, High Point, North Carolina. Please contact the webmaster for permission to use.