Reminiscences of the Boys in Gray
Jessie Austin Holman

JESSIE AUSTIN HOLMAN, Comanche, Texas—Born June 4, 1842, near LaGrange, Texas. Enlisted in the Confederate Army Sept. 6, 1861, at Houston, Texas, as private in Company F, Eighth Texas (Terry's Rangers), Tom Harrison's Brigade, Holmes' Division. Wheeler's Corps, Army of Tennessee. My first Captain was Louis A. Stroble, first Colonel David Terry. We were temporarily with Gen. Longstreet in the East Tennessee campaign, but returned to the Army of Tennessee at the battle of Dalton and served with it till the end.

Was never seriously wounded, never was sick, and never was absent from roll call except the three months which I spent in prison. I had many close calls but was never wounded.

Was taken prisoner on the 31st of Dec., 1863, at Murfreesboro, Tenn. together with thirteen comrades, and was in Camp Douglas Barracks No. 1, Chicago, Ill. Was exchanged at City Point, Va., April 6, 1864.

I served quite awhile as Orderly Sergeant and in the absence of Commissioned officers commanded the company in several engagements. Was in the battles of Mumfordsville, Ky., Dec. 31, 1861; Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Mumfordsville again, Perryville, Ky.; Cumberland Gap, Murfreesboro, Tenn.; Chickamauga, McLamore's Cove, Bull's Gap, Massey Creek, Dalton, New Hope Church, Cartersville, Kennesaw Mountain, All Arount Atlanta, Adairsville, Averyboro, Bentonville, Columbia, S. C., and many others.

At Murfreesboro I was given a detail to take a captured battery of six guns out to our lines, but owing to the dense smoke we were surrounded and captured. On our way to prison many of the prisoners had their feet and hands frostbitten. Two escaped before getting to Chicago and two (Apperson and Hendricks) died in prison.

On the boat taking us to prison were 800 prisoners. We stopped at St. Louis, and we were marched up in the city and formed in two lines facting a two-story hotel where the officer in charge made us a speech, promising us liberty, anywhere inside the lines, if we would take the "Oath of Allegiance." When he was through he ordered all who would take advantage of the offer to step two paces to the front. The proudest moment of my war experience was when only two of that 800 ragged, starved and frozen bunch stepped to the front.

Then several ladies, who were on the upstairs porch, waved their handkerchiefs and cried out "Stand to your colors, God bless you; we love to see you do it!" Then came up out of that two feet of snow the "Rebel Yell" from those 800 throats, and a loud huzza for "Jeff Davis and the Southern Confederacy." Our answer to the Yankees was that we would rot and starve before we would take the oath, and many did.

The guards were brutal on the way, but when we got to Chicago we fared much better, and was fortunate in getting away before the retaliating practices were put in force. Of the Rangers who were with us only two are living, so far as I know. They are J. W. Hill, Orderly of Company D, now of Bastrop County, and William Byrd, living somewhere in Tom Green County.

We went from Texas with eleven full companies (1,100), men, or rather boys (for there were only forty married men in the regiment), and were recruited by about 600 men from Texas during the war. I think ther were only about 175 when we surrendered in North Carolina in 1865. As to the others the bones of most of them are scattered from the Ohio River to the Gulf.

Allow me to give this short sketch of Comrade JOHN HAYNIE:

He was born and brought up in LeGrange, Texas, and was about my age; was the son of James Haynie who was a prosperous merchant in his native town at the beginning of the war. He was in my company and part of the time in my mess. He was known throughout the company and regimetn as the most daring and reckless man in Harrison's brigade. I don't know that you could meet a ranger who could not tell of his own personal knowledge of some dare-devil, reckless acts of this man, John Haynie.

The realization of danger, or fear of death, seemed to be absent from his mind and makeup. He was never sick nor absent from duty, and was never wounded except slightly one time. Just before the close of the war he was drowned in the Saluda River just above the city of Columbia, S. C. It was a swift mountain stream and the bridge had been burned by our forces, and he was told that he could not swim it, but true to his record, he fearlessly plunged in and getting separated from his horse and with all his clothing and accouterments weighing him down, he went to the bottom.

In about two hours afterwards two other men and I came to the same place, but were advised not to try to swim, and we went back and miraculously escaped through the rear of Sherman's Army.

After we came home Haynie's father got our description of the place and the circumstances and confirmed our report.

One of the most reckless of the many daring things performed by Haynie was a rush he made on the center of a brigade of Yankees during our fight with them, and shot down the horse of the Colonel commanding, and brought him safely within our lines. The Ranger Association, after the war, got the details of this incident and had them published, and the correspondence is now somewhere in the archives at Austin.

The war experiences of this brave boy, if fully written, would fill a volume, and probably for thrilling incidents and cool courage could hardly be surpassed.

Yeary, Mamie. Reminiscences of the Boys in Gray. McGregor, Texas, 1912. pp. 344-346.

---