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HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE IMPORTANCE OF MONTEREY, MCNAIRY COUNTY, TENNESSEE
Laquita Thomson
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Monterey Trail, now present day Michie Tennessee.
All of District 9 (present-day District 7) in the southeast corner of McNairy County was involved in the Confederate approach to Shiloh, its retreat after the battle, and the month-long siege of Corinth The district’s hamlet of Monterey (present-day Michie), being about halfway between Shiloh and Corinth, was heavily involved in all of these events. It hosted a large Confederate reconnaissance campsite in March 1862; it was the venue for all the Confederate generals to have their final battle-planning meeting on April 4, 1862; it was a hospital site on April 6, and for weeks afterward; and it was the site of many skirmishes during the siege of Corinth in late April and May 1862 Unfortunately, not many personal accounts from those who lived in Monterey during this time were passed down, and many probably evacuated after the battle of Shiloh, at least for a short time Certainly by the time of the May siege, the Federals were reporting many deserted houses all the way to Corinth
In 1860 there were approximately 880 white people living in the 9th District of McNairy County, Tennessee, along with about 68 slaves. Though most of the whites were farmers, only 13 were slaveholders, seven of whom had 5 or fewer slaves. David Cogdell, living on what was called the Old State Line Road had the largest number of slaves, with seventeen Monterey was the only village of any size, though there were small settlement clusters, usually at crossroads throughout the district The Old Notchy Trail that had been used by buffalo, Indians, and finally, settlers, after it became the Congress Road in 1817, ran right along the ridge through the district dividing the watersheds of the Mississippi and Tennessee Rivers. Monterey sat on this ridge, which sometimes gave it the moniker Pea Ridge in official reports from the war, and by area residents Why it was called Pea Ridge is unknown and is sometimes confused with the name of another battle site in Pea Ridge, Arkansas fought just the month before Shiloh It seems the entire ridge area near Monterey was called Pea Ridge to distinguish it from the actual village of Monterey that was named after an 1846 battle in Mexico which the Americans won. It is believed that Monterey in McNairy County came into being around 1847 when the Mexican War battles were still fresh on people’s minds Montezuma in McNairy County and Cerro Gordo and Saltillo in nearby Hardin County also honored Mexican War battles
In 1860 amenities and services to be had in Monterey, or near it, in the 9th District included a general mercantile establishment run by surveyor, Benjamin Sanders’s son Franklin, and one to the north nearer Stantonville, run by J E Perkins. Other services for farming included those necessary to keep animals and equipment ready for use There were blacksmiths such as Davidson Miller in Monterey, as well as Charles Davis out in the country Saddlers included A A Tully and G. W. Pratt and his son, Benjamin. Area wheelwrights and millwrights, sometimes called mechanics, included J. H. Rinehart, Joseph T Hobson, T F Short and Joseph Donnell One carpenter, Lewis Wiley, was listed in the 1860 census, but no cabinetmakers nor shoemakers. There was one overseer, John B. Atkins, though it is unknown for whom he worked. All the rest were farmers, tenant farmers or day laborers who would have hired out for cotton picking, corn pulling, cutting and hauling wood, and any number of other myriad jobs needed by those who had no slaves to do the work.
In the 9th District in 1860, Robert Michie identified as a Christian clergyman, probably serving the Clear Creek congregation near Stantonville Two men identified as Methodist clergymen, William Cook and G. W. Williams. Cook, along with A J Carroll, G G Michie and John R Michie were listed as school teachers They all taught in what were known as old field schools, where parents raised a subscription fee to pay the teacher, and often provided a school house for students in their own neighborhoods The curriculum was scanty, probably some reading and arithmetic, along with being able to sign one’s own name, at least The school year usually consisted of about three months during the winter when farm work was minimal Better-heeled parents sent their sons and daughters to board away from home and receive a much better education at places such as Purdy College in Purdy or perhaps the Corona Female College in Corinth. In 1860, those listed as students who would have gone to these type schools were David Cogdell’s son, James M Cogdell, George Chambers who lived at J S Atkins’s home, as well as Amanda Atkins, Reuben’s daughter. There were at least three doctors serving the 9th District. Dr. John H. Cypret, originally from Lawrenceburg, boarded at Benjamin Sanders’s house in Monterey Dr James M Mitchell lived near Monterey, and Dr Isaac Castleberry, both a farmer and a physician, lived in the Acton area. By the time secession fever was heating up in late 1860 and early 1861, Monterey sometimes served as the scene of meetings to discuss the issues Nearby Gravel Hill and Stantonville [Mt. Zion Chapter], as well as Hamburg in Hardin County had Masonic chapters, where District 9 men no doubt gathered and debated, as well Some likely also attended advertised speakings at Purdy on the issues In the presidential election in November 1860, which Lincoln won though he was not on the ballot in Tennessee, the state, and the majority of McNairy County voted for John Bell or Stephen Douglas, both of Unionist leanings. Lincoln’s election upset and galvanized Tennessee, so that by February 9, 1861, enough rhetoric had been bandied about that a referendum was called to decide whether to hold a convention to discuss secession, and to choose delegates to it. District 9 was one of McNairy’s districts that voted overwhelmingly to hold the convention, along with districts 2 (Rose Creek), 10 (Stantonville), 12 (Enville), 13 (Gravel Hill), and 16 (Milledgeville). The ones in the southeast part of the county were the most populous of the slaveholding districts Approximately 160 households (some headed by women who could not vote) had Monterey as their polling place for District 9 and its results were 95-0 for holding the convention in Nashville. Did this mean there were no Unionists in District 9? Probably not, it just meant that they didn’t come out to vote, or chose to keep a low profile hoping cooler heads would prevail. The overall outcome of the state-wide vote was to not hold a convention.
By the time of the convention vote in Monterey on February 9, 1861, seven Southern states had already seceded from the Union. After Ft. Sumter on April 12 and Lincoln calling for the mobilization of 75,000 troops to quell the rebellion, the four other Southern states seceded, Tennessee being the last one on June 8, 1861 In the secession vote on June 8, 1861 In the secession vote on June 8, McNairy County voted for secession, 1318 votes to 586 votes. The District 9 vote held in Monterey was 145 for secession and 0 against secession Obviously, any Unionist-leaning men in District 9 stayed home There was no turning back, but in the euphoria and glee of establishing a new nation, any doubts were pushed into the background by most people as the locals prepared to whip the Federals quick
The older sons of prominent farmers in the area were the first to volunteer for the army. The earliest units were outgrowths of the militia companies that already existed By May 1861, even before Tennessee seceded, the 154th Tennessee Militia unit in Memphis organized as the 1st Tennessee Volunteers soon after the fall of Ft. Sumter. Of the 10 companies comprising this unit, one was from McNairy County Other early volunteers especially from Purdy signed up in Jackson in June 1861 This was the 13th Regiment of Tennessee Infantry and was led by Purdy son, John V. Wright. By September 1861, Camp Trenton in Gibson County was a major recruitment center for McNairy Countians Later, McNairy County boys, especially after the Conscription law of April 1862 passed, signed up at Corinth or in Alabama after Corinth was in Union hands.
The battles of the summer of 1861, especially First Manassas or Bull Run kept recruitment for the Confederacy high. However, the battles in Missouri and Kentucky late in the year had not gone so well and had introduced the to-be nemesis of the war, General Ulysses S Grant for the Federals by February of 1862 Union military capacity and offensive strategy in the West became apparent as Fort Henry, Fort Donelson and the city of Nashville fell to combined Federal army and naval operations in quick succession However, when on February 8, even before Donelson and Nashville, three daring Union gunboats went up the Tennessee River past Crump, Pittsburg Landing and Hamburg, the people in McNairy County became alarmed Some McNairy men even went to Corinth to try to find what these boats could mean. It was obvious to all, especially the Confederate brass in the west, that Corinth with its crossed railroads was probably the next goal for the Union army, and the gunboats were putting out feelers for the best way to take it.
In the last half of February and all through March, the Confederates concentrated at Corinth with all eyes toward the Tennessee River Monterey lay in the direct line between Corinth and the principle landing point on the river, Pittsburg Landing. Therefore, on February 28 nine companies of the 18th Louisiana who had only arrived in Corinth two days earlier were sent out toward Pittsburg Landing to set up some artillery pieces on the bluff Accompanying them were Miles Artillery and part of the 1st Alabama Cavalry. They arrived on March 1, and barely had time to roll the guns into place when they saw smoke coming around Diamond Island from the Federal gunboats Tyler and Lexington An overanxious gunner fired too early without the range and only managed to alert the gunboats with their longer range to the Southerner’s position For 3 hours, the gunboats pounded the position The Confederates had retreated to a ravine and held their fire as four small boats came ashore and about 80 Union soldiers advanced toward the ravine When the Federals were near, the Confederates opened fire on them, killing three and wounding seven or eight The Confederates lost 3 killed and several wounded. Thus ended the first Battle of Pittsburg Landing, March 1, 1862
It was late afternoon by the time the battle ended and the 18th Louisiana retreated to the area around Shiloh Church The next day they sent scouts to watch the river and the gunboats reappeared and shelled again, but did not venture to land The Confederates fell back to Lick Creek that night On March 4, they went one mile beyond the village of Monterey on the Corinth road where they could easily scout toward Pittsburg Landing and toward Hamburg, near the two main roads from those places that went toward Corinth Nine companies of the 18th Louisiana camped there and this meant at least 500 men, a significant tent camp. They called the camp “Camp Bush” after one of the officers of the regiment, Captain Lewis Bush They apparently bought food and fodder from the nearby locals since everyone still had plenty at that point. On March 21 the 18th Louisiana went back to Corinth and were replaced at the camp by the 16th Louisiana Again, Monterey was more or less hosting soldiers on its doorstep Unfortunately, few records have come down to us from either the soldiers or the locals The ones that have show camaraderie among the soldiers and the permanent citizens
By mid-March locals such as Benjamin Sanders and the scouts for the Louisiana regiments and the First Alabama Cavalry saw that the Federal army was disembarking and setting up a huge camp at Pittsburg Landing One daring scout, Lieutenant Leopold L Armant of Company E, 18th Louisiana, who was camped at Monterey got close enough to be able to climb a tree and count campfires, and could even hear the Federal voices During the night he clambered down the tree and became a hero for his daring On March 16 units under Brig. General W. T. Sherman probed in the directions of Corinth and Purdy toward the railroads. The Federals were led by Lieut Col Thomas T Heath of the 5th Ohio Cavalry They didn’t get far before they ran into Confederates who sent them bloodied back to Pittsburg Landing. As part of this same probe, either on March 16 or 17, there was an “accidental” meeting between Confederate cavalry from Monterey and Major S M Bowman’s 86-man detachment, Company M of the 4th Illinois Cavalry. Bowman’s group went by night out on the Corinth Road from Pittsburg Landing and had an engagement in what was called the Skirmish of Black Jack Forest The location of Black Jack Forest seems to be in the area encompassed by “6 miles from Shiloh” and “5 miles from the Mississippi line.” This probably placed it north of Lick Creek and more than 5 miles from the actual Mississippi line The Federals who reported this location, at this point may not have known that the Old State Line Road was not actually on the state line. After this engagement, both sides more or less laid low during the next two weeks due to excessive rain
On April 3 Sherman instructed the Fifth Ohio Cavalry led by Col William H H Taylor to move out 6 miles on the Corinth Road, then go south toward Greer’s and capture any enemy pickets In conjunction, he would dispatch an infantry regiment to Greer’s to seize prisoners among the Confederate pickets in order to get information regarding the disposition of Confederate forces. The Fifth Ohio Cavalry left Shiloh at midnight with 400 men going down the Corinth Road They had no guide, so halted until daybreak, then proceeded They stopped at A J Chambers’ house (near Chambers/Fisher Store) to seek a guide. Someone calling himself Dr. Parker was there, but he said he didn’t know the surrounding country and had no horse They got someone else as a guide and went on toward Bartlett Greer’s where they ran across Parker again. They took him prisoner because they knew he had alerted the country to their coming. There was skirmishing on this reconnoiter, but Sherman still believed there were only scattered cavalry units in the area In fact, neither side knew the strength of the other, and bad weather kept each side from gaining much veritable information during the last week f March and early April
Meanwhile, Confederate Generals P. T. Beauregard, Leonidas Polk, William J Hardee, and Braxton Bragg had already gathered in Corinth, and finally, on March 22, General Albert Sidney Johnston got there by coming from Murfreesboro down to Huntsville and across northern Alabama and Mississippi On March 24 the generals huddled and Beauregard argued that they needed to move the headquarters to Monterey to be closer in order to strike the enemy first. Johnston disagreed because all of his scattered units in the Army of Mississippi had not yet arrived He did order the cavalry units to be strengthened at Purdy and Monterey and a line of pickets set to stretch from Bethel to Corinth to guard the Mobile and Ohio railroad. In Monterey, Gen. Joe Wheeler’s Cavalry was one of the reinforcement units Johnston was also grasping for information wherever he could find it He sent out Joseph H Fussell to make rough sketches of the area and he depended on citizens such as Benjamin Sanders and Lafayette Veal to provide information. For example, on March 29 a civilian scouting party led by Benjamin Sanders crossed Lick Creek and found the Federals in force
In Corinth, on April 2, General Johnston and General Beauregard came to the conclusion that they needed to take the fight to the Federals before General Don Carlos Buell could reinforce them at Pittsburg Landing On April 3 a portion of the army set out to the northeast along the Pittsburg Landing road and the Purdy Road for a planned rendezvous at the Mickey (Michie) house by April 4 The weather did not cooperate and, with congestion and confusion in the units, the going was slower than they had planned. On the evening of April 4, the Generals went into camp at Monterey, still 10 miles from Pittsburg Landing Monterey was described as having about a dozen log houses (likely the double pen logwith dogtrot type) and one painted house. Though it is unknown who owned the painted house, it probably belonged to Benjamin Sanders Johnston took one of the log houses for his headquarters Hardee’s men had pushed ahead to Mickey’s and had had a skirmish in which they captured about a dozen Federals who they brought to Johnston in Monterey for questioning One of them was a quite arrogant, but talkative officer, Major LeRoy Crockett of the 72nd Ohio From him they learned that the Federals had no idea an army this size was near and that there had been no entrenching at Pittsburg Landing
Early on April 5 all the Confederate Army started lumbering toward Shiloh, but with myriad snags. No one seemed to know where they should be, and several, including former United States Vice-President, John C Breckinridge, along with Nathan Bedford Forrest, were just arriving from Burnsville By the late afternoon, most everyone had eaten all their rations and it was obviously too late to attack. Everyone was sure the Union army knew they were there, so the discussion was whether or not to retreat to their strong entrenchments in Corinth while they could Johnston made the final decision that they would attack at daybreak So began the two day battle of Shiloh
David Michie had evacuated and C.S.A. military surgeons had prepared his house as an official hospital by flying a yellow flag By mid-morning of April 6, the house was already full of wounded, and the overflow took up every house in the direction of Monterey, and then Monterey itself where another hospital, as well as all the village houses were taken for the wounded The noted hospital in Monterey was some sort of shed or warehouse that Benson Lossing sketched on April 24, 1866 and labeled “Confederate Hospital at Monterey.” It was near the current water towers.
Late afternoon on April 7 a disorganized and demoralized Confederate Army, minus General Johnston, whose body had been taken back to Corinth earlier that day, started south. From most accounts it was a two-day trip, primarily on the most direct route through Monterey The weather produced torrential rains and the few who bothered to remember the horror of it all later, spoke or wrote of sleeping in sheds or under wagons or under trees. Fortunately, the Federals had little appetite to pursue On April 8 Sherman, on a reconnaissance in force to ascertain whether the Confederates were actually in full retreat, or were re-grouping to attack, made a rude acquaintance with Nathan Bedford Forest at Fallen Timbers The Union Army, though victorious at Shiloh, was in administrative disarray, which took the arrival of Major General Henry Halleck a few days later, to straighten out. In addition, the victors were left with the spoils, literally thousands of dead bodies of men and horses to bury and burn Pursuit of the Confederates would wait
From April 8 or 9 when most of the Confederates got back to Corinth, until April 28, when the three Union armies under General Halleck began their advance on Corinth, units from both sides sent pickets and scouts to try to see what the other was doing Of course, this again put Monterey in the hot seat. Its logistical position, its commanding heights, and it's many converging roads meant that skirmishers on both sides tried to take it or keep it Many small-scale fights took place in and around it In general, the overwhelming strength of the Federal army came up against smaller Confederate cavalry units. There would be shots from both sides and the Confederates would disappear south This happened over and over for half the month of April and all of May Most of the skirmishes only get a mention in the Official Records and scant or no detailed reports filed. On April 17 and May 14 skirmishes took place “ near Monterey” without official reports Two skirmishes that did get reports are identified by the local Atkins family name. On April 26 a skirmish took place at Atkins Mill on Little Lick Creek (southwest of Bartlett Greer’s ford) and east of Monterey The account is minimal, but interest is raised because of the identification The mill belonged to Ephraim Atkins, one of five Atkins brothers who had come to McNairy County from North Carolina around 1832.An excerpt from the report of Union General Gordon Granger, Cavalry Commander, stated that “4 companies [of the Second Michigan Regiment] under Major Snow, drove in the enemy’s pickets at Atkins Mill Had one man wounded Col. Elliott’s force [Second Michigan] for several days were continually scouring the country toward Monterey ” Also on April 28, Gen John Pope, who had just started with his left wing on the siege of Corinth, gave a report of the Confederate force at Monterey: “Small force, about 2,000 at Monterey, with one or two light batteries ”
The second more significant skirmish involving the Atkins name, took place near the Reuben Atkins’s house at Acton on April 29, 1862. It was part of a larger sweep the Federals were making as they started toward Corinth The reports were filed by Brig Gen Patton Anderson for the Confederates, and Brig Gen David S Stanley for the Federals Patton Anderson, born in Tennessee, was now from Florida, and he, a few days later was heavily involved in the Battle of Farmington David S Stanley was from Ohio, went to West Point, and knew many of the Northern and Southern officers He wrote a memoir in the early 20th century that is caustic and self-serving. An interesting fact from Anderson’s report is that it puts Forrest’s Cavalry, though minus its illustrious leader, at Acton Forrest’s Cavalry had retreated from a skirmish with Pope’s left wing at the Babb house at Liberty, and as it was retreating, heard the artillery at Acton and came to see if they could help. The artillery belonged to the Confederates and after Stanley’s Federals came across Wardlow Creek, they received fire that killed one and wounded several. They retreated back toward Monterey.
By mid-May, the three wings of the Yankee juggernaut were advancing toward Corinth, stopping often to entrench [Halleck had taught entrenching at West Point], but sweeping all the smaller Confederate cavalry units ahead of it. General John Pope’s eastern or left wing hurried ahead on the HamburgCorinth Road and camped at Mt Olivet church at Liberty on April 28 General Buell had the center and took the Purdy Farmington Road. General George H. Thomas had the right wing and was the one going directly through Monterey Sherman held the far right of Thomas’s right wing General Halleck was with the center and right group, along with demoted General Grant. Also in the center was the future president, James A Garfield If one can imagine this great diagonal thrust about 12 miles across, it will be easy to imagine the Confederates skirmishing and escaping in the western direction of the Mobile and Ohio Railroad or south toward Corinth Monterey’s heights were controlled by the Federals from April 29 until the Union army vacated it in 1864 One incident reported from the Confederate side during the siege of Corinth involves Monterey In 1866, from a jail cell in Holly Springs, Confederate spy, DeWitt Clinton Fort wrote a series of letters about his war exploits. His memory, especially of his captors’ names, are not always accurate, but the gist of his story probably is true Fort wrote that he and his brother, Tom Henry Fort, went out on a scout on May 10, 1862.“…five miles from Corinth in the direction of Monterey, Tenn, but inside the enemy lines, Tom and I were captured by a Union scouting party consisting of a Lieutenant and 10 men from the 2nd Illinois Cavalry Regt “ The Forts tried to pass off as Union scouts, but were taken to the field headquarters where they were questioned by General G H Thomas From Thomas’s field headquarters on the way to General Halleck at Monterey, Fort asked to stop at the nearby house of Thomas Mason for a drink of water. Fort was a relative of Mason and knew that through him General Beauregard would learn that Fort had been captured Fort and his brother were taken to Halleck’s headquarters “in a deep hollow between two high hills, at the little village of Monterey.” DeWitt Fort remained in the guardhouse tent at Monterey for 24 hours with two other Confederate prisoners While he was at Monterey he was conducted to Halleck’s tent a second time and was interviewed by Major John C. Key. “I learned much about the strength and movements of the great Union army. It was much greater than I had ever dreamed of felt uneasy for General Beauregard ” He was later taken to Pittsburg Landing where he was imprisoned May 11-June 16, 1862. Later he escaped from a steamboat on his way north to a Federal prison and returned to active scouting duty for the Confederacy
Halleck entrenched on the Old State Line Road near David Cogdell’s house, at Acton near Reuben Atkins’s house, and several times near New Hope and at the Mississippi state line in the 9th District Because of the time taken for entrenching, the Union army’s advance to Corinth was slow This meant that the Confederates ultimately had time to evacuate Corinth The six-weeks siege also gave the 9th District and Monterey an importance that they might have lacked otherwise
Corinth fell into Federal hands on May 30, 1862 and continued to be a Union center of operations under Generals Grant, William S Rosecrans, and Grenville M Dodge until late 1863 While General Dodge was in charge for most of 1863, he established a spy ring that involved Unionist citizens from McNairy County including some from the Monterey area In late 1863 the Federals shifted their focus to Middle and East Tennessee At the same time General Forrest determined to bring several small and scattered Confederate units together. As part of this effort, on February 1, 1864 at Monterey Capt J G Sharp enrolled Company H for the 18th Regiment
Tennessee Cavalry [later the 19th Regiment Tennessee Cavalry]. Several of the companies in this regiment involved local men from McNairy County and the Monterey area By this time the Federals considered Forrest and those under him guerillas
After May 1862 Monterey and the 9th District of McNairy County endured three more years of war and several years of partisan revenge that was more insidious than when the official armies were there Things were especially bad for anyone who wasn’t a Unionist during 1863 when General Dodge was in charge at Corinth At least two immediate postwar accounts exists that speak of the condition of Monterey at that time Benson J Lossing who was in Monterey on April 24, 1866, made notes and sketches that later became a book in which he gave a sense of the desolation of Monterey just after the war was over It confirmed that most of the residents of Monterey had left or were adversely affected by the presence of official armies in 1862 and/or by regular and irregular units afterward. “On the ridge we came to the site of the once pretty little hamlet of Monterey where the only building that remained was a store-house which the Confederates used for a hospital Near it was a ruined house, around which were the remains of what had doubtless been a fine flower-garden ” About four months before Lossing was in Monterey, John Townsend Trowbridge went through it on December 20, 1865 and wrote in his book about what he saw Before getting to Monterey he made note of the entrenchment near Atkins’s house and the many horse, mule and cattle skeletons along the road He also gave a beautiful description of the view from Pea Ridge: “A crest showed us a magnificent sweep of level country on the west and south, like a brown wavy sea, with tossed tree tops for breakers ” This same view can be seen from the ridge today In addition, on a clear day, one may see the water towers at Farmington and at Corinth, sites of significant battles.
Monterey’s location and history prior to the war was important primarily because it was the seat of the 9th District of McNairy County Its height and location, being halfway between Pittsburg Landing and Corinth, and the role it played in March, April and May 1862 gives it much further importance It was the main reconnaissance camp for the Confederates; it was the final Confederate planning venue for the Battle of Shiloh; it was a hospital site after the battle; and it was a prize in the many skirmishes as the Federals executed their siege of Corinth For these reasons, Monterey needs to be recognized and marked
1888 drawing of Monterey (Michie) by former Hospital Steward Arminius W Bill, who had served there May 8-15, 1862 He got Hardee’s Route wrong in the drawing Only house standing may have belonged to Virgil Sanders, son of Benjamin.
