Samuel R. Watkins Explained

Samuel R. Watkins
Pseudonym:Sam. R. Watkins
Birth Name:Samuel Rush Watkins
Birth Date:26 June 1839
Birth Place:Mount Pleasant, Tennessee
Death Place:Maury County, Tennessee
Resting Place:Zion Cemetery,
Maury County, Tennessee, U.S.
Resting Place Coordinates:35.5987°N -87.145°W
Alma Mater:Jackson College
Period:1881–1900
Notablework:Co. Aytch
Years Active:1881–1882
Module:

Samuel Rush Watkins (June 26, 1839 – July 20, 1901) was an American writer and humorist. He fought through the entire American Civil War and saw action in many battles. Today, he is best known for his memoir "Co. Aytch" (1882), which recounts his life as a soldier in the 1st Tennessee Infantry Regiment.[1]

Soldier

In May 1861, 21-year-old Sam Watkins of Maury County, Tennessee, rushed to join the army when his state left the Union. He became part of Company H (or Co. "Aytch," as he called it), 1st Tennessee Infantry Regiment, fought from Shiloh to Nashville, and acted as one of only seven men who remained in the company when it was surrendered to U.S. Major-General W. T. Sherman in North Carolina, April 1865.[2] When he died at 62, Watkins was buried with full military honors.[1]

"Co. Aytch"

In 1881, with a "house full of young 'rebels' clustering about my elbows," Watkins began to chronicle his experiences in the First Tennessee Regiment. "Co. Aytch" is considered to be one of the great memoirs written by a soldier of the field.[2] Originally published as a serial newspaper column from 1881 to 1882 in The Columbia Herald, his stories were collected and printed in book form in 1882.[1] [3] [4] The charming prose captures the experience of the common private soldier, from the hardships of camp life to the horrors of battle, the camaraderie of a unit to the loss of a brother, the pride in one's state to the devastation of defeat.[1]

Memorials

Camp No. 29 (established 1986) of the Sons of Confederate Veterans in Columbia, Tennessee, is named after him.

In popular culture

Watkins is featured and quoted in Ken Burns' 1990 documentary titled The Civil War and in the film titled Civil War: The Untold Story[5] (See specific quotes from Watkins in Wikiquotes https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Civil_War_(documentary).)

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").[6]

See also

References

Notes

Sources

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Watkins, Sam . 2015 . 1st pub. Cumberland Presbyterian Publishing House:1882 . Furman . Katherine . Co. "Aytch": The First Tennessee Regiment or a Side Show to the Big Show . Complete Illustrated . Minneapolis, Minn. . . y . Back cover . 978-0-7603-4775-1 . 928999663.
  2. Book: Watkins, Sam . 2015 . 1st pub. Cumberland Presbyterian Publishing House:1882 . Furman . Katherine . Co. "Aytch": The First Tennessee Regiment or a Side Show to the Big Show . Complete Illustrated . Minneapolis, Minn. . . y . Front cover . 978-0-7603-4775-1 . 928999663.
  3. News: Leigh . Phil . March 15, 2013 . Private Watkins's War . The New York Times . Disunion . August 23, 2016.
  4. Book: Watkins, Samuel. [{{Google books|HyhCAAAAIAAJ|page=136|plainurl=yes}} "Co. Aytch": Maury Grays, First Tennessee Regiment; or, A Side Show of the Big Show]. 136.
  5. Civil War: The Untold Story http://civilwartheuntoldstory.org .
  6. For example, in the book he wrote "Well, on the fatal morning of June 27th, the sun rose clear and cloudless, the heavens seemed made of brass, and the earth of hot iron, and as the sun began to mount toward the zenith, everything became quiet, and no sound was heard save a peckerwood on a neighboring tree." Book: Watkins, Sam. R. . 1882 . "Co. Aytch", or, A Side Show of the Big Show and Other Sketches . 27 Sep 2018. 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 higher
    Web site: Kennesaw Line. 8 Oct 2014. The best-known version of this song is sung by Claire Lynch on the album Lines & Traces by the Front Porch String Band.Web site: Hills of Alabam – Front Porch String Band. Bluegrass Today. December 20, 2012 .