April 30, 1864: The Battle of Jenkins' Ferry

According to Gary Dillard Joiner in his One Damn Blunder From Beginning To End: The Red River Campaign of 1864, “Confederate casualties were listed as 800 to 1,000 killed, wounded, or missing of 6,000 committed” at the battle of Jenkins’ Ferry. “Union casualties were approximately 700 killed, wounded, and missing” (p. 134). As in other military history books, I read numbers such as this but can’t really put them into perspective. So, here’s a little exercise. The 28^th Texas Cavalry (dismounted) served in Colonel Horace Randal’s brigade at Jenkins’ Ferry and had casualties totaling 20 killed, 1 mortally wounded, 40 wounded, and 1 wounded/captured/died in prison. Below is the casualty list for this regiment as taken from the May 16, 1864 issue of the Houston Daily Telegraph; ages listed are from the 1860 census. Scroll through the list and then read the concluding comments.

 Brigade Staff:

Colonel Horace Randal, 27, mortally wounded [commanding brigade but organizer and first commander of the 28^th Texas]

Company A:

John Amason, 14, wounded and captured; died in prison at Little Rock, Arkansas

Benjamin F. Beavers, wounded slightly in the hand

James Bralley, 35, wounded slightly in the arm, leg, and hand

Isaac Hays, 25, killed

Stephen H. Oats, 15, wounded severely in the jaw

Peter L. Rohus, wounded slightly in the side

Benjamin H. Schooler, 36, killed

A. J. Shaw, wounded severely in the hand

Jefferson E. Thomas, wounded severely in the wrist

William A. Walling, 28, killed

Total: 3 killed, 1 wounded/captured/died, 6 wounded

Company B:

William M. Holloway, wounded slightly in the shoulder

William M. Lowe, 17, wounded slightly in the abdomen

C. L. Stafford, 23, killed

Total: 1 killed, 2 wounded

Company C:

Sergeant James S. Anderson, 26, killed

J. A. Barber, wounded slightly in the arm

Phillip Essry, wounded slightly in the fingers

D. Guttery, wounded slightly in the thigh

Total: 1 killed, 3 wounded

Company D:

J. C. Clingman, wounded severely in the leg

W. H. Gilliam, wounded severely in the shoulder

J. P. Hamilton, killed

Samuel Meggs, 34, wounded severely in the arm

Total: 1 killed, 3 wounded

Company E:

G. R. Clure, wounded slightly in the arm

W. C. Dawson, 15, wounded slightly in the arm

J. A. Dennis, killed

J. M. Maddox, killed

William Oldham, wounded slightly in the leg

Corporal T. H. Wynne, killed

Total: 3 killed, 3 wounded

Company F:

1^st Lieutenant A. J. Agnew, wounded slightly in the side

2^nd Lieutenant Rene Fitzpatrick, 28, killed

Sergeant G. W. George, 30, wounded slightly in the toe

J. D. Hartley, 15, wounded in the arm

Corporal W. A. J. Lewis, wounded severely in the breast

D. Mahoen, wounded severely in the arm

Total: 1 killed, 5 wounded

Company G:

Horace B. Bishop, wounded severely in the arm

R. M. Garrett, 37, wounded severely in the thigh

W. T. Trim, wounded severely in the foot and arm

Total: 3 wounded

Company H:

2^nd Lieutenant William G. Blain, 29, wounded slightly in the thigh

F. M. Bartlett, killed

F. M. Brown, killed

J. J. Burleson, 23, killed

Sergeant E. A. Means, 29, killed

James Strickland, 27, wounded severely in the thigh

Total: 4 killed, 2 wounded

Company I:

2^nd Lieutenant Morgan Rye, 32, wounded slightly in the arm and leg

John H. Albright, killed

Joseph M. Armstrong, 29, wounded severely in the back

L. C. Mills, wounded slightly in the thigh

Chamer C. Scane, 33, killed

Thomas J. Tipton, wounded severely in the hip

Sergeant George W. Turner, 27, wounded slightly in the shoulder

John K. Wise, killed

Total: 3 killed, 5 wounded

Company K:

2^nd Lieutenant M. M. Samples, 23, wounded severely in the arm

Corporal William P. Burns, killed [had also been wounded at either Mansfield or Pleasant Hill]

Henry Carroll, wounded severely in the arm [had also been wounded at either Mansfield or Pleasant Hill]

Gabriel R. W. Corley, wounded slightly in the shoulder

George Fleummons, wounded severely in the hand

Thomas Hill, wounded dangerously in the thigh

Sergeant William E. Midyett, killed

George T. Nail, wounded severely in the hip

Thomas M. Parrish, 21, killed [had also been wounded at either Mansfield or Pleasant Hill]

O. F. Ramsey, 30, wounded slightly in the shoulder [had also been wounded at either Mansfield or Pleasant Hill]

J. M. White, wounded severely in the thigh

Total: 3 killed, 8 wounded

Consider that this list would need to be extended by at least 738 more names (and possibly as many as 938 more names) to list all of the Confederate casualties at Jenkins’ Ferry. For the Union force, another list of at least 700 names would need to be included. Somehow, seeing the names of actual casualties helps me grasp the human cost of the war more than just reading numbers. The impact of the battle of Jenkins’ Ferry also rippled outward to affect thousands of people: wives, children, parents, siblings, other relatives, and friends. As William T. Sherman aptly wrote: “War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it….”