Hardy M.B. Greer; 18th & 45th Tennessee Inf.

Post-war image of Hardy Greer

Hardy Greer; known as ”Bud” by friends and family, was born in Rutherford County, Tennessee January 15, 1841. He was the last child born to Nathaniel (b. 1790) and Sarah “Sallie” (Childress) Greer (b. 1792). The couple had eleven children. Nathan and Sallie both ended up in Rutherford County during the western migration of their parents from North Carolina. Sallie’s father Isham was a veteran of the Revolutionary War, as was Nathan’s father John. Nathan was also a veteran; serving in Captain Carson’s Company of Tennessee Militia. He would be present at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in Alabama.

 

 

 

 

The Greer family owned several hundred acres in northern Rutherford county. The east fork of Stones River and Bradley’s creek bordered their land.  Hardy would have a lot of area to explore while young man, as well many adventures; i’m sure. By 1856 most of the children were out of the house. On August 1st of this year Hardy’s father would pass away. Nathaniel would leave 70 acres of land to Sallie and Hardy, the 1860 census shows Sarah and Hardy as the only two people in the household.

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As the clouds of war gathered Hardy felt he would have to make a decision. After Tennessee voted to leave the Union, it did not take long for Hardy to enlist. He would travel to the county seat of Murfreesboro and enlist as H.M.B. Greer on May 2, 1861. The men from Rutherford County would travel to Camp Trousdale where they would be mustered into the Provisional Confederate  Army. Hardy would belong to Company I (Cainsville Guards), 18th Tennessee Infantry. By September 1, 1861 the regiment was with the rest of the army at Bowling Green, Kentucky along the Green River. A defencive line had been established there to protect Tennessee from invasion. The excitement soon faded for the soldiers at Bowling Green; it was apparent to all that they would spend the winter on this line. Dreams of great battles and heroism soon gave way to sickness. First hand accounts talk about the cold and dampness along the Green River; many soldier’s would die of disease at this place.  On January 20, 1861 Hardy Greer would desert from the army. Why he did is not certain. There is one clue besides spending a severe winter in Kentucky.

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In early 1862 a new regiment was being formed in Murfreesboro. Hardy’s brother-in-law; James Lillard had enlisted in Company G, 45th Tennessee Infantry. The company was  made up of men from Rutherford county. Hardy would join the 45th Tennessee on February 28, 1862. Maybe fate was kind to Hardy. The 18th Tennessee had been sent to help defend Ft. Donelson, which sat on the Cumberland River. The whole regiment had been captured, and sent north to Union prison camps. The 45th Regiment had not been properly trained or armed in late Febuary. Because of the Confederate defeat at Ft. Donelson, the regiment was quickly placed in Statham’s Tennessee Brigade. The brigade which consisted of the 19th, 20th, 28th, and 45th Tennessee Regiment’s, was sent to Corinth, Mississippi. A build-up of Confederate forces was taking place in order to repeal the Union invasion of West Tennessee.

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On April 6, 1862 Hardy and the 45th Tennessee would face their first major battle. Shiloh would rank as one of the bloodiest battles during the war. As part of General Breckinridge’s reserve corps, Statham’s Brigade would be placed in line of battle when corps or brigade commanders needed more strength in their lines. It did not take long for the call, Hardy would soon be fighting in the “Peach Orchard” sector of the battlefield.  Written accounts state that the men could tell they were close to the action. The sounds of firing on their right became louder and their step quickened. The 45th Tennessee would be engaged around the Sarah Bell Farm, taking cover in a small ravine, they started a long range shooting contest with the enemy. The men of the regiment had never been under fire before and had been little trained in school of the soldier. At one point in the battle, they accidentally fired into the backs of the advancing 20th Tennessee Regiment.  The men were worried about crossing a double row fence in front of an open field where the Sarah Bell Cabins stood. Some of the men in the 45th Tennessee would start to drift back out of line; officers would heard the stragglers back.

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 During the fight at the Peach Orchard, an officer came up to General Albert Sidney Johnston; overall commander, and stated there was a Tennessee regiment that would not fight. After several attempts to advance the regiment by staff members, including Governor Isham Harris of Tennessee, General Johnston approached the regiment. He was carrying a tin cup he had picked up from a Union camp and began twirling it in his fingers while the regiment was put into line. Once in line, General Johnston began riding by the 45th Tennessee, he was tapping his cup on the tips of the men’s bayonet’s. He then stated “Men, they are stubborn; we must use the bayonet.” He then brought his horse to the center of the regiment and yelled, “I will lead you!” The General then led the whole brigade forward under heavy enemy fire. General Johnston would be killed later that day leading a different brigade in the Peach Orchard.

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Hardy and the 45th Tennessee learned a lot about soldiering that day. On April 7th the battle would resume, and the Confederate Army would retreat back to Corinth that day a defeated army. Battered and bruised, they would settle in for a siege. Orders came for Breckinridge’s Corps to report to Mississippi; help was needed to protect the Vicksburg area. On July 27, 1862  Breckinridge’s Corps marched out of Vicksburg, the target was Baton Rouge. On August 5, 1862 the 45th would fight again. The battle of Baton Rouge had started off well, until the Union Army was pushed back to where the Union Navy’s  gunboats were. The heavy artillery fire from the ships soon pushed Breckinridge’s men back. They would retreat to Jackson, Mississippi. Back in Tennessee, Confederate General Bragg was invading Kentucky. He wanted Breckinridge and his corps back, it contained the First Kentucky Brigade. His hopes were that Kentucky citizens would flock to the colors of the First Kentucky Brigade. By the time Breckinridge reached Tennessee, Bragg had been defeated at the battle of Perryville.

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Breckinridge’s Corps stayed in Murfreesboro; where the rest of the Confederate Army would gather. On December 31st, 1862 the battle for Murfreesboro was started, Hardy and the 45th Tennessee were lightly engaged on this day. On January 2nd, 1863 Breckinridge’s Corps was chosen to make an attack on the Union Army. They would have to cross a large open field and ford Stones River under fire. The attack was a nightmare; Breckinridge’s Corps was cut to pieces by Union Artillery fire in the open field. Once near Stones River the Union Infantry opened with musketry fire on the advancing Confederate columns. In this poorly conceived attack, the 45th Tennessee lost 113 men killed, wounded and missing. General Bragg would retreat from Murfreesboro with nothing to show from the fight, except a long casualty list of men he could not afford to lose.

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After the battle of Murfreesboro the Confederate Army stayed in the East Central Tennessee area. At some point Hardy left the army. Perhaps a “French Leave” as soldiers called it. He was captured near his home; Milton, Tennessee on February 13, 1863. Also captured that day was a John F. Miller, Company I, 18th Tennessee Infantry; Hardy’s old regiment. No one knows the reason, desertion after a terrible battle; need of clothes; or to check on Sallie, who at the time was living in the middle of a war zone. Hardy and John were sent north to Camp Butler, Illinois.  Hardy was at Camp Butler until March 14, 1863. He was then sent to City Point, Virginia where he was exchanged along with other Confederate’s for Union prisoners. It is unclear if Hardy returned to the army, no other service record exists for him after his release.

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Hardy would return to the banks of Bradley’s Creek and resume farming after the war. On August 7, 1885 his mother Sallie would pass away. Hardy would marry Miss Mary Judith Nolan on September 23, 1885, they would have 7 children.  Hardy Greer died in Rutherford County, Tennessee on April 26, 1901.

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Written by Scott Busenbark

 

 

Stephen P. Taylor; 31st Tennessee Inf.

1864 Dalton issue flag of the 31st Tennessee Infantry

Stephen P. Taylor was born in 1837 Gibson County, Tennessee. He was the son of John D. and Mary (Pybass) Taylor. John D. was born in North Carolina circa 1807, he migrated first to Rutherford County, Tennessee and then to Gibson County, Tennesse with at least two brothers. The family owned a farm in district 12; the Tuckersville area of Gibson County. There were five children in John and Mary’s family, all appear to have helped on the farm as the family owned no slaves.

At the outbreak of the Civil War a local Militia Captain; James B. Robinson started recruiting men in the area to enlist into the Confederate Army. At one point he held a large picnic near Browning Springs in hopes of drawing recruits. Stephen Taylor enlisted as a private in this local company known as “Sons of the South”  at  Trenton, Tennessee on September 27, 1861. Stephen’s company was organized, along with nine other companies into the 31st Tennessee Infantry at Camp Trenton. The regiment reached the field on November 29, 1861 at Columbus, Kentucky, joining General Polk’s army for the purpose of defending the Mississippi River from invasion. They would be moved several times along the Mississippi River in early 1862; New Madrid, Missouri; Island No. 10 and Ft. Pillow. They would miss the battle of Shiloh on April 6th and 7th because of their duty at Ft. Pillow, Tennessee. During this time the regiment was reported as being “well armed with Enfield Rifles.”

After the Confederate defeat at Shiloh the regiment was moved to Corinth, Mississippi with the main body of the Confederate Army. Here they would face off with the Union Army for several weeks, Stephen and his comrade’s would be involved in several small skirmishes here.

During late April and early May there were several desertions within the regiment. One of the deserters had been the company wagoner, the job of the wagoner was to drive a wagon with the company mess equipment. Stephen would get the job, thanks in part to his relative; 1st Sergeant William W. Taylor of Company E. The new duty meant Stephen would draw extra pay, although the duty was not as easy as it sounds. It took a person who could care for and handle a team of horses. There were many hazards being in an army’s wagon train, bushwhackers, Union Cavalry raids,  and moving in a long slow wagon column on bad roads.

The regiment was placed in General Alexander P. Stewart’s brigade; later led by General Otto F. Strahl of the 4th Tennessee Infantry. In later years after the war, the men would say with pride that they were in Strahl’s Brigade.

The first large battle for the regiment was at Perryville, Kentucky. The 31st Tennessee lost 100 men killed and wounded, but had shown their grit to the other veteran regiments in the brigade. The 31st would fight at Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Chickamauga, Georgia; Missionary Ridge (Chattanooga) during 1862 and 1863. After the loss of Chattanooga the army spent the winter in Dalton, Georgia. Here the army was refitted and reorganized for the upcoming spring campaign. In early May 1864 the Union Army started the Atlanta Campaign, the regiment was under fire for 100 days. They were heavily engaged at Resaca, Georgia and Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia.

 By July of 1864 the Confederate Army was bottled up around the city of Atlanta. The battle of Peach Tree Creek was fought on July 20 outside of Atlanta; which ended in Confederate defeat. The Confederate Army under General John Bell Hood was going to try and push the Union Army back on July 22. Strahl’s Brigade would be in the thick of this fight. Every man was needed, including Stephen. It appears he was placed back on line with his regiment. The July 22nd battle would be known as the Battle of Atlanta. Strahl’s Brigade would attack the Union Army’s defencive line at a place Union soldier’s call Bald Hill. The attack started well, but Strahl’s line was soon broken. There were many Confederate prisoners taken, one of them was Stephen Taylor.

Stephen, along with many other prisoners,was sent to Louisville, Kentucky and then shipped to Camp  Chase, Ohio. He would stay at Camp Chase until Feb. 12, 1865. He was then moved to the P.O.W. Camp at Point Lookout, Maryland. By March 1st, 1865 he had been paroled. By the time Stephen reached Tennessee the war had ended.

Stephen returned to Gibson County after the war and started farming again. He was married in Gibson County to Miss Nancy L. White, the couple had no children. Sometime after 1880 Stephen and Nancy moved to Huntington,Carroll County, Tennessee.  In 1905 Stephen applied for a Confederate pension, which was granted to him. He gave the following written statement:

” I was a Confederate soldier, Company E, 31st Tennessee Infantry that enlisted (in) the service September 1861 and served through the war. I left Richmond Virginia March 1st 1865; having parole furlow for 90 days and the war closed before the furlow expired. These facts could be readily proven, but my comrades are all dead or there where abouts unknown. I am 69 years old, penny less and totally unable to do manual labor, have no estate what ever and no one legally bound for my support. I make this application only for the due necessity to which I am reduced -my post office address is Huntington, Carroll County, Tennessee.”

Stephen P. Taylor January 2, 1906

Another Confederate veteran gave a written statement to the Tennessee Pension Board on behalf of Stephen:

“I am well acquainted with Stephen P. Taylor, was with him at Richmond, Virginia March 1865. We left there on the 12th day of March, 1865 after being exchanged and went with him to Jackson, Tennessee where we parted way about March 22, 1865 when I went home to Carroll County, Tennessee. We were both paroled. I was a member of (the) 1st Kentucky Regiment; Jackson Regiment. Stephen P. Taylor belonged to (the) 31st Tennessee Regiment; Cheatham’s Command. I am well acquainted with said Taylor now and know  he is in needy circumstances and a worthy old Confederate Veteran and fully entitled to state pension. I have no interest in his claim for state pension except that justice be done.”

J.T. Smith; August 5th, 1905

Stephen is assumed to have died in Carroll County, Tennessee, date unknown. There are no death records for him and no cemetery record exists for Stephen or his wife.

Written by Scott Busenbark

The Fighting Pybass Brothers

Samuel Pybass grave

James Pybass grave

Gibson County Confederate Veterans

 

For myself, some of the most interesting family members that served during the Civil War  has to be the Pybass brothers of Gibson County, Tennessee. I have always been drawn to these boys for some unknown reason. The parents of the Pybass brothers were Nathaniel Pybass (b. 1810 Rutherford Co. Tenn.) and Paulina Allen Vaughn, they would have a total of eleven children and settle in Gibson County, Tennessee by 1850. The boys Grandparents (authors 4th Great Grandparents) were William Pybass and Elizabeth Greer; both  natives of North Carolina. They were living on the banks of Bradley’s Creek in Rutherford County, Tennessee by 1810. William enlisted in the Tennessee Militia during the War of 1812. He would not return home, he died a soldier on Feb. 6, 1815 at New Orleans. His wife would receive a soldiers pension for his service, she would later marry a Mr. James Yearwood.

Nathaniel Pybass would move his family into the West Tennessee community of Trenton, where he ran a tailor shop on the town square. At the outbreak of the Civil War his son Samuel Newell Pybass would leave his job as a tailor and enlist at the age of 23  at Germantown, Tennessee as a member of the ”West Tennessee Riflemen” on May 15, 1861, this was one of the first Confederate units raised in Gibson County. The “West Tennessee Riflemen” would become company F, 4th Tennessee Infantry. After learning drill  the 4th Tenn. was moved to Columbus, Kentucky on September 5, 1861. Their mission was to fortify the high bluffs overlooking the Mississippi River; a major waterway that was thought to be the Union Army’s main route for the invasion of the south. Conditions, as well as the weather were very poor, many men became ill at this place. At some point Samuel became very sick, he would be confined to a bed in the army hospital. Samuel Newell Pybass would die of disease; inflammation of the bowels on October 18, 1861. His body was returned home and he was laid to rest in the Oaklawn Cemetery at Trenton.

On December 20th, 1862 Samuel’s brother Parks Jefferson Pybass would enlist in company F, 12th Kentucky Cavalry. Another brother; James Thomas Lewis Pybass enlisted on July 25, 1863 in company D of the 12th Kentucky Cavalry. A few companies of this regiment were raised in Kentucky, but more than one half of the regiment was raised from West Tennessee men. They would be in Lyon’s Brigade of cavalry that served under  General Nathan Bedford Forrest, who’s name was known and feared by Union commanders throughout the western theater of operations. Forrest’s men carried no saber’s, they were mostly armed with captured weapons; each trooper carried a rifle musket and two revolvers. These men fought more often then not  dismounted, advancing as infantry. P.J. and James would fight many actions in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky. Both boys were engaged in the battle of Brice’s Cross Roads, Miss.; a battle that is still studied by military students to this day. P.J. would be captured during Forrest’s raid on Memphis, Tennessee and spend some time in a Union prison camp. By order of the Confederate War Department James would be transferred, along with the other Tennessee men in the 12th Kentucky Cavalry; into the 19th/20th Consolidated Tennessee Cavalry. James served until the surrender of Forrest’s command at Gainesville, Alabama on May 10, 1865. He would pass away July 19, 1872 at the age of 39, most likely from the hardships he endured during his Confederate service. He is buried beside his brother Samuel in the Oaklawn Cemetery; Trenton, Tennessee.

P.J. filed for a Tennessee Confederate pension, which was granted to him. On August 25, 1927 he gave a written statement of his service in the 12th Kentucky Cavalry to the Tennessee State Pension board:

” I Parks Jefferson Pybass, native of the State of Tennessee, resident at Trenton, Gibson County, Tennessee; do solemnly swear that I was born October 10, 1844, in Gibson County, Tennessee. I enlisted in the Confederate Army on December 20, 1862, in Company F, 12th Kentucky Cavalry; Colonel Faulkner, Commander; John M. Carroll, Captain; General Lyon’s Brigade. In battles at Tishomingo Creek (Brice’s Cross Roads), Harrisburg Mississippi, Athens Alabama (Sulphur Trestle), Pulaski Tennessee, Oxford Mississippi and other smaller skirmishes, was not wounded. I was captured near Memphis, held in prison at Alton, Illinois for about three months, and exchanged at City Point, Virginia. Paroled at Gainesville, Alabama.”

P.J. Pybass

After the war P.J. would return to Trenton and marry Stella Hooker, they would  raise a family of two daughters. P.J. would be active in the United Confederate Veterans, attending veteran reunions. He would live a full life, passing away on September 19, 1934. He is buried beside his wife in Oaklawn Cemetery, Trenton, Tennessee.

Written by Scott Busenbark

Pvt. Henry Merdith Alward; 40th Indiana Inf.

Grave of Pvt. Henry M. Alward, Stones River National Cemetery

Henry M. Alward was the son of Henry Arista and Eva Maria (DeCamp) Alward. Henry M. was born August 9, 1844 at Elkhart County, Indiana. The family moved to Wallace, Fountain County, Indiana during the 1850′s, Henry’s mother would die there in 1857.  By 1860 Henry Sr. had sold the farm in Fountain County and remarried, the family then moved to Montgomery County, living in the town of Waveland. His father’s occupation was a plasterer and farmer, he owned a 2 acre farm in Waveland and rented farm ground. In a statement for state pension, Henry Arista stated his son Henry Merdith had helped provide income for the family by his work on the farm.

Henry was not old enough to enlist in 1861, he was just 17 years old. One of Henry’s best friends, Thomas “Poney” Moody was working as a hired hand on the Alward farm. He had just enlisted in Company C, 40th Indiana Inf. on September 13, 1862. Thomas Moody leaving to enlist, probably had a lot to do with motivating Henry to enlist. They worked together and had became close friends.  Henry recieved his fathers blessing and enlisted as a private in the Company H, 40th Indiana Infantry. Captain Dewitt W. Wallace (Graduate of the Waveland Academy) of Company C  was the recruiting officer. Henry signed his enlistment papers on September 17, 1862, and received a $25.00 bounty. He is described in his enlistment papers as being 5 feet 6 inches tall, Complexion; Light, Eyes; Hazel, and Hair; Brown.

On December 6, 1862, Henry M. had caught up with his regiment, then in camp around the city of Nashville.In statements after the war for Henry Arista’s pension, Thomas Moody and another local friend, Chauncy Smith (Co. H) stated that they saw Henry quite often. He had written several letters home and had sent money to his father once. Henry was among his friends.

 The Army of the Cumberland would soon be on the march to Murfreesboro, Gen. Rosecrans wanted to push Gen. Bragg’s Army of Tennessee out of middle Tennessee. After being in the regiment only 25 days, Henry was engaged in the battle of Stones River on December 31st, 1862; January 1st and 2nd, 1863. On December 31, the regiment was pounded by heavy artillery fire along the railroad as it waited for it’s place on the front line. On the evening of December 31, the 40th Indiana was finally placed on the front line. A Confederate regiment was baring down on the regiment’s position. After several volleys of musketry from the regiment, the Confederates were in retreat. On January 2, 1863 the 40th was only lightly engaged, but were able to see the Confederate attack fail. Losses for the 40th in the battle were 4 Killed, 68 Wounded and 13 Missing. Henry had stood the test and survived the battle unscathed. After the Union victory at Stones River, the Army of the Cumberland settled into winter quarters around Murfreesboro. In April of 1863, Henry suddenly became ill while in camp at Murfreesboro. Confined to the Regimental Hospital, Henry Merdith Alward died on April, 23, 1863, of what doctors called remittent fever.

Pvt. Henry Merdith Alward is buried in the Stones River National Cemetery. History was not kind to Henry, his headstone reads “H.M. Alwood”, instead of Alward. Unfortunately, the NPS will not replace the marker of my 2nd Great Grand Uncle. Sadly he will always be seen as “H.M. Alwood” to the visitor’s that walk through the cemetery.

Written by Scott Busenbark