James Glover, Private
James, John R., William J. and Samuel D. P. Glover
joined together. James was the son of William Evans Glover. William E. Glover and
Samuel were brothers. The others are also related. They all joined, served and
died early in the Civil War.
James Glover joined Company H, 37th Ala. Inf. Regiment
at the age of 18 on March the 18, 1862 at Lawrenceville, Henry County, Alabama when the
unit was originally formed. He was on the muster in roll, Auburn, May 13, 1862.
James fought and was captured in Vicksburg, Ms. he went on to fight at the
Chattanooga.
James died in battle Nov.
24, 1863 in the battle of Look Mountain on Missionary Ridge. He is listed in Moore's Brigade
list of causalities. You will not find a cemetery at Look Out
Mountain. The men were buried in shallow graves and were later moved it is
believed to Marietta, Georgia. The Federal troops were moved to a the
first National Cemetery and the Rebel families were told to do with them as they
pleased.
James was the son of
William E. Glover and the grandson of John
Paschal Glover and Drucilla Evans of Barbour County, Alabama
James Died on the 24th as a part of Moore's Brigade
November 24. At 2:30 a.m. Sherman's
troops north of Chattanooga where they have been hidden for the last day and
spring forward and cross the Tenn. River north of the tip of Missionary Ridge a
bridgehead is established and all cs pickets on south side of river are
captured. Throughout the morning Sherman builds a bridge and expects a crushing
counter attack at any moment...none comes....The bridge is finally complete. By
mid- afternoon Sherman ponderously moves forward with four Union Divisions. In
the late afternoon Sherman calls a halt believing his force is squarely on the
northern end of Missionary Ridge. He halts his advance just as his troops make
contact with southern infantry for the first time all day. Sherman reports he is
in position as ordered. Tomorrow will be the 'pay-off'. While Sherman is making
his move... Grant at Thomas' continued prodding has also authorized Hooker to
make a demonstration against Look Out Mountain on November 24th... perhaps it
will divert attention from Sherman's movement---clearly the movement that
Grant's battle plan is based upon.
Hooker sees his great chance to redeem
himself... the mountain . To capture it would be his salvation. There was no way
he could actually capture the summit but the lower shelve was possible . On Nov
24 the elements of the 11th 12th corps and Osterhause's division assaulted the
position and drove the lone confederate brigade defending western face back to
the Craven's house position Here Walthall's Miss. regiments where joined by Moore's
brigade of paroled Vicksburg defenders...the worst equipped units
of the AoT. These two brigades fought for their position the rest of the
afternoon. The overall commander of the Southern lower shelve was "MUDWALL"
Jackson. Jackson never comes to the actual front. Command and coordination by
southern forces are non-existent. Southern troops on the top of Lookout Mountain
can do little but watch... some light artillery shells and throw them at the
advancing federals below. At dark a decision is made to evacuate the Mountain to
try and hold the lower shelve seems unlikely of success and to wait longer may
result in the loss of the other cs. troops on the summit... In the dark the
confederates abandon the mountain. Grant would later call the "Battle Above
the Clouds" pure fiction. Hooker would call it the most magnificent feat of
the war. The truth lay in between for those men that fought there it was a truly
nasty little engagement.
On the afternoon of Nov. 24th
Cleburne's division had been ordered by Bragg to race to the northern end of
Missionary Ridge to meet the threat of Sherman's ponderously slow advance on the
AoT's right flank. At About 3:30 Cleburne's troops arrive at the northern end of
the totally undefended ridge. Cleburne sees the advance elements of the union
advance and sends his Texas brigade under A.J. Smith to blunt their advance...
the Texas charge down the ridge and hit the union advance on the next adjacent
hill ( Now called Goat's Hill). The union advance halts but the Texas can not
force the Federals back. Cleburne recalls his Texans and places his division in
a series of criss crossing field of fire positions. Cleburne reports to Hardee
that there is no way his lone division can cover the entire 2 miles assigned it
. Cleburne places his men facing to the north and ignores his own exposed left.
Cleburne realizes that if Sherman advances any further he will actually be on
the north end of the ridge. and the whole AoT will be cut off from its base at
Tyne Station. Sherman HAS MADE A FATAL ERROR... HE IS NOT ACTUALLY ASTRIDE THE
RIDGE! Sherman if he had taken the time to personally look would have seen he
was not in possession of the ridge. Whether he could have taken on Nov. 24 it in
the face of Cleburne's Division is unknown .
As night begins to fall on Nov 24 here
is the situation... Grant believes incorrectly that Sherman is in position to
sweep down Missionary Ridge tomorrow and flank Bragg and cut him off from
Longstreet and the other forces in Eastern Tenn. Grant orders Hooker to keep the
pressure up on Bragg's Left. Grant tells Thomas to be prepared to conduct a
demonstration to aid Sherman's effort on the confederate right. On the
confederate side... Bragg, Breckenridge and Hardee are meeting to determine what
to do. Hardee advises retreat he argues that the Missionary Ridge position can
be flanked by either or both Sherman or Hooker... get out while the getting is
good. Breckenridge ( who Bragg later charges is drunk) argues that the ridge
position is too good and that 'if we can not whip them here where can we?' Bragg
agrees with Breckenridge...calling into question whether Bragg really thought
Breck was drunk! All this is good OH YES FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!! FOR THE FIRST
TIME SINCE Sept.24TH!! FOR THE FIRST TIME BRAGG ORDERS THE AOT TO DIG IN!!!!
Bragg orders the Missionary Ridge position to be prepared for defense over and
above the rifle pits at their base.
Cleburne who had expected to be
ordered to retreat learns at 9 p.m. there will be no retreat. He hastens his
troops efforts to dig in. The key to his defense is a knoll held by his Texas
Brigade. Along the rest of Missionary Ridge the preparations that night and the
next day can best be called the 'Keystone Cops" prepare for defense. Not
enough shovels...a engineering officer that laid the line at the top of the
ridge and not at it military crest and then apparently some one who came up with
the brilliant idea that the forces would stay in their rifle pits at the base of
the ridge and when any union advance got to within 200 yards these troops would
retire upon the ridge and join their comrades at the top for the final defense!
As if this idea was not bad enough only about of the troops at the base ever got
the word and the troops at the top of the ridge apparently knew nothing of the
plan! This plan appears to have been Hardee's or perhaps Breckenridge... I
believe the evidence more strongly indicates Hardee.
At Dawn Sherman realizes his mistake
he turns to his Brother in law Gen Ewing and says "Well Ewing you might as
well go forward and do not ask for help unless you really need it"....
Without going into the operational details by 2;00 it is clear to everyone that
Sherman's grand advance is stuck. In fact Sherman's four divisions have not been
able to even make a lodgment on Missionary ridge. Cleburne's reinforced division
has stopped Sherman cold in its tracks. Grant is nervous and he is showing it.
At Orchard Knob he begins to get visibly nervous and upset. He walks to Thomas
and says that a demonstration must be made to stop Bragg from continually
reinforcing the troops facing Sherman. IN FACT NO LARGE NUMBERS HAVE BEEN SENT
TO CLEBURNE. At 3:00 p.m. Four divisions of the Army of the Cumberland begin
their advance.. The four divisions are from left to right Baird, Wood, Sheridan,
and Johnson. They start out with virtually no coordination as to their
objective...many of the regimental commanders would later say they understood
they were to capture the ridge fully as many others would say they understood
they were just to press the rifle pit positions.
The struggle up Missionary ridge
lasted almost 1 hour. The advance was in several disjointed and uncoordinated
regimental size triangles. The colors leading the way and soldiers fanning out
behind. Some units started up the ridge under orders to do so. Some units
started up the ridge because to stay at the base of the ridge was to imitate the
often mentioned fish in a barrel. In some places units actually climbed nearly
half way up the ridge only to come back down when ordered to do so. The fire was
heavy and in some places local confederate commanders executed very effective
counter attacks. The initial union breakthrough occurred in the area of Tucker's
Miss. Brigade of Anderson's Division. The site is generally called Sharp's
Spur.At a critical point in the struggle a caisson of Slocum's famed Washington
Artillery battery exploded causing confusion and disorder in the counter
artillery barrage. The CS artillery had not been properly dug in. As the
federals of Willich and Hazens Brigades cracked the CS position at Sharp's Spur
they moved to the right and left widening the breach. Bragg had no strategic
reserve and could do nothing to close the breach. Because the CS position ran
along the top of the ridge they was no method for lateral movement of the
defenders. Before long other breaches occurred. The confederate infantry men of
Anderson and Bate's Divisions in large groups turned and ran rather than await
being flanked and captured. By 5:00 p.m. the federal Army of the Cumberland
stood atop Missionary Ridge...the terrible shame of the rout at Chickamagua had
been erased from their banners! At its conclusion Grant by all rights should
have uttered under his breath. "I would rather be lucky than smart
anytime!", because that was what General Grant had been --- very very
lucky!
37th Alabama Infantry Regiment
The 37th Alabama Infantry Regiment was organized at Auburn, in the spring of 1862, under the requisition of President Jefferson Davis for 12,000 more Alabamians.
The members were recruited from Barbour, Chambers, Henry, Macon,
Pike, Russell, and Tallapoosa counties.
Ordered to Columbus, MS, after a short time, the regiment proceeded to Tupelo. There it
was placed in Gen'l Henry Little's Division, and in the Brigade of Col. Martin of TN, with
three Mississippi regiments.
Gen'l Dabney Herndon Maury succeeded Gen'l Little when the latter was killed at Iuka,
where the 37th was first engaged, with some loss.
The regiment took part in the Battle of Corinth, losing heavily in casualties. The brigade
commander fell at Corinth, and the 37th was thrown into a brigade with the 2nd TX, and
42nd AL, Gen'l John C. Moore commanding. The winter was spent in MS -- the regiment
retreating from Holly Springs and taking part in the repulse of the invaders at Chickasaw
Bayou. Early in 1863, the 37th was sent to the Sunflower River but went back in time to
take part in the battles of Port Gibson and Champion Hill, where its losses were severe.
The regiment was then assigned to the garrison of Vicksburg and was captured with the
fortress. Exchanged soon after, the regiment was in parole camp at Demopolis. Ordered to
the Army of Tennessee, it lost heavily at Lookout Mountain and quite a number at Mission
Ridge. The winter passed at Dalton, GA, where Gen'l Alpheus Baker of Barbour took charge
of the brigade. The regiment was then engaged at Chattanooga (73 casualties our of 407 men
present), Resaca, Noonday Creek, Kennesaw, and the battles around Atlanta. In one charge
at Atlanta, 22 July, the regimental commander and 40 men were killed outright, out of 300
men present.
During the fall and winter, the 37th was on garrison duty at Spanish Fort but moved into NC. It broke the enemy line at Bentonville, and furled its colors a few days later, with 300 of its number present out of the 1100 who took the field originally.
Field officers: Col. James F. Dowdell (Chambers Co., captured at Vicksburg and retired). Lt. Cols. A. A. Greene (Chambers Co., wounded, Iuka, Mission Ridge; KIA, Atlanta); and W. F. Slaton (Macon Co.). Majors John P. W. Amorine (Pike Co., transferred); W. F. Slaton (wounded, Corinth; captured, Lookout Mountain; promoted); and Joel C. Kendrick (Covington Co.)
[The 37th Alabama Infantry Regiment, Consolidated, was organized on 9 April 1865 by combining the original 37th Alabama with the 42nd and 54th Alabama regiments, at Smithfield, NC. The unit(s) surrendered on 26 April 1865 at Durham Station, Orange County, NC. Field officers: Col. John A. Minter and Lt. Col. William D. McNeill.]
History: Harry Innes Thornton's "Recollections of the war by a Confederate officer from California," in Southern California Quarterly, vol. XLV (1963), pp. 195-218.
Historical info is from the Civil War Center a must site for all
researchers
