Sam Watkins
<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>
Samuel Rush Watkins | |
---|---|
200x300px
Sam. R. Watkins
|
|
Born | Maury County, Tennessee |
June 26, 1839
Died | Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist. Maury County, Tennessee |
Resting place | Zion Presbyterian Church, Maury County, Tennessee |
Pen name | Sam. R. Watkins |
Nickname | "Sam" |
Occupation | Farmer |
Language | English |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | Jackson College |
Period | 1881-1900 |
Notable work | "Co. Aytch" |
Years active | 1861-1882 |
Spouse | Virginia Jane Mayes (m. 1865–1901) |
Military career | |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Service/ |
Confederate States Army |
Years of service | 1861-1865 |
Rank | Private |
Campaigns | Civil War |
Samuel Rush Watkins (June 26, 1839 – July 20, 1901) was an American author and humorist. He is best known for his memoir of life as a soldier in the Confederate army, called Co. Aytch or A Side Show of the Big Show (1882).[1]
Contents
Early life and education
Watkins was born on June 26, 1839 near Columbia, Maury County, Tennessee, to a wealthy, slave-owning family.[2] He received his formal education at Jackson College in Columbia.[citation needed]
American Civil War
He originally enlisted in the “Bigby Greys” of the Third Tennessee Infantry in Mount Pleasant, Tennessee, but transferred shortly thereafter to the First Tennessee Infantry Regiment, Company “H” (the “Maury Greys”) in the spring of 1861.[citation needed] Watkins faithfully served throughout the duration of the War, participating in the battles of Cheat Mountain, Shiloh, Corinth, Perryville, Murfreesboro (Stones River), Shelbyville, Chattanooga, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge, Resaca, Adairsville, Kennesaw Mountain (Cheatham Hill), New Hope Church, Zion Church, Kingston, Cassville, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Franklin, and Nashville.[citation needed] Of the 120 men who enlisted in Company “H” in 1861, Sam Watkins was one of only seven alive when General Joseph E. Johnston’s Army of Tennessee surrendered to General William Tecumseh Sherman in North Carolina April, 1865. Of the 3,200 men (1,250 when the regiment was first raised, plus a further 1,950 recruited or conscripted between then and then end of the war) who fought in the First Tennessee, only 65 were left to be paroled on that day. Samuel's brother, David Watkins, served in the First Tennessee Cavalry, commanded by (among others) Colonel J. H. Lewis.[citation needed]
Later years
Soon after the war ended, Watkins began writing his memoir, entitled "Co. Aytch" or "A Side Show of the Big Show". His memoir is recognized around the world and is sometimes used for teaching purposes. This helps students learn what life was like during the Civil War. It was originally serialized in the Columbia, Tennessee Herald newspaper. “Co. Aytch” was published in a first edition of 2,000 in book form in 1882. “Co. Aytch” is heralded by many historians as one of the best war memoirs written by a common soldier of the field. Sam’s writing style is quite engaging and skillfully captures the pride, misery, glory, and horror experienced by the common foot soldier. Watkins is often featured and quoted in Ken Burns’ 1990 documentary titled The Civil War. (See specific quotes from Watkins in Wikiquotes[1].) Watkins died on July 20, 1901 at the age of 62 in his home in the Ashwood Community. He was buried with full military honors by the members of the Leonidas Polk Bivouac, United Confederate Veterans, in the cemetery of the Zion Presbyterian Church near Mount Pleasant, Tennessee.[3]
In popular culture
The song "Kennesaw Line" by Don Oja-Dunaway, tells a heart-breaking vignette of the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain on the morning of June 27, 1864, from the perspective of Sam Watkins, with part of the lyrics directly paraphrasing his description from the book "Company Aytch" (see the section entitled "Dead Angle, on the Kennesaw Line").[4]
See also
Notes
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.nps.gov/chch/learn/historyculture/sam-watkins.htm
- ↑ Information about his gravesite can be found at the "Find a Grave" website. Sam Watkins at Find a Grave
- ↑ For example, in the book he wrote, "On that awful day the sun rose in a clear and cloudless sky; the heavens seemed made of brass and the earth of hot iron." Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. The corresponding lyrics:
Well the sun rose high above us that morning
On a clear and cloudless day
A peckerwood, he tapped on a tree
That would soon be shot away
The heat blistered down through the leaves on the trees
The air seemed hot enough to catch fire
Heaven seemed to be made of brass
The sun rose higher and higherLua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. The best-known version of this song is sung by Claire Lynch on the album "Lines & Traces" by the Front Porch String Band.Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
References
- Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Sam Watkins at Find a Grave
- Samuel R. Watkins Camp, No. 29, S.C.V.
- Lua error in Module:Internet_Archive at line 573: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- Works by Sam Watkins at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
- Works by Sam Watkins at Project Gutenberg
- Pages with broken file links
- Pages using infobox military person with embed
- Articles with unsourced statements from February 2015
- Articles with unsourced statements from October 2014
- Articles with Internet Archive links
- 1839 births
- 1901 deaths
- 19th-century American writers
- American autobiographers
- American humorists
- American male writers
- American memoirists
- American short story writers
- Confederate States Army soldiers
- People from Maury County, Tennessee
- People of Tennessee in the American Civil War
- Writers from Tennessee
- American male short story writers