Orphan Brigade
Encyclopedia
The Orphan Brigade was the nickname of the First Kentucky Brigade, a group of military units recruited from the Commonwealth of Kentucky
to fight for the Confederate States of America
during the American Civil War
. The brigade was the largest Confederate unit to be recruited from Kentucky during the war. Its original commander was Major General John C. Breckinridge
, former Vice President of the United States
and candidate for President
, who was enormously popular with Kentuckians.
during the course of the war, including the Battle of Shiloh
. In 1862, Breckinridge was promoted to division command and was succeeded in the brigade by Brig. Gen. Roger W. Hanson. At the Battle of Stones River
, the brigade suffered heavy casualties in an assault on January 2, 1863, including General Hanson. Breckinridge—who vehemently disputed the order to charge with the army's commander, General Braxton Bragg
—rode among the survivors, crying out repeatedly, "My poor Orphans! My poor Orphans." noted brigade historian Ed Porter Thompson, who used the term in his 1868 history of the unit. The term came from how the Confederacy viewed the Kentucky (a union state) soldiers. The term was probably not in widespread use during the war, rather, it became popular after the war among the veterans.
The Orphan Brigade lost another commander at the Battle of Chickamauga
, when Benjamin Hardin Helm
was mortally wounded on September 20, 1863, and died the following day. Major
Rice E. Graves
, artillery commander, was also mortally wounded.
The Orphan Brigade served throughout the Atlanta Campaign
of 1864, then were converted to mounted infantry and opposed Sherman's March to the Sea
. They ended the war fighting in South Carolina in late April 1865, and surrendered at Washington, Georgia, on May 6–7, 1865.
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
to fight for the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The brigade was the largest Confederate unit to be recruited from Kentucky during the war. Its original commander was Major General John C. Breckinridge
John C. Breckinridge
John Cabell Breckinridge was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Kentucky and was the 14th Vice President of the United States , to date the youngest vice president in U.S...
, former Vice President of the United States
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
and candidate for President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, who was enormously popular with Kentuckians.
History
Units of the Orphan Brigade were involved in many military engagements in the American SouthSouthern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
during the course of the war, including the Battle of Shiloh
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the Western Theater of the American Civil War, fought April 6–7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and...
. In 1862, Breckinridge was promoted to division command and was succeeded in the brigade by Brig. Gen. Roger W. Hanson. At the Battle of Stones River
Battle of Stones River
The Battle of Stones River or Second Battle of Murfreesboro , was fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee, as the culmination of the Stones River Campaign in the Western Theater of the American Civil War...
, the brigade suffered heavy casualties in an assault on January 2, 1863, including General Hanson. Breckinridge—who vehemently disputed the order to charge with the army's commander, General Braxton Bragg
Braxton Bragg
Braxton Bragg was a career United States Army officer, and then a general in the Confederate States Army—a principal commander in the Western Theater of the American Civil War and later the military adviser to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.Bragg, a native of North Carolina, was...
—rode among the survivors, crying out repeatedly, "My poor Orphans! My poor Orphans." noted brigade historian Ed Porter Thompson, who used the term in his 1868 history of the unit. The term came from how the Confederacy viewed the Kentucky (a union state) soldiers. The term was probably not in widespread use during the war, rather, it became popular after the war among the veterans.
The Orphan Brigade lost another commander at the Battle of Chickamauga
Battle of Chickamauga
The Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 19–20, 1863, marked the end of a Union offensive in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia called the Chickamauga Campaign...
, when Benjamin Hardin Helm
Benjamin Hardin Helm
Benjamin Hardin Helm was a Kentucky politician, attorney, Confederate brigadier general, and a brother-in-law of Abraham Lincoln. He was also the son of Kentucky Governor John L. Helm.-Early life:...
was mortally wounded on September 20, 1863, and died the following day. Major
Major
Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Rice E. Graves
Rice E. Graves
-Early years:Graves was born in Rockbridge, Virginia but grew up near Yelvington, Daviess County ,Kentucky after a near tragedy in 1844 interrupted his family's planned move to St. Louis. His parents, Rice E. Graves, Sr...
, artillery commander, was also mortally wounded.
The Orphan Brigade served throughout the Atlanta Campaign
Atlanta Campaign
The Atlanta Campaign was a series of battles fought in the Western Theater of the American Civil War throughout northwest Georgia and the area around Atlanta during the summer of 1864. Union Maj. Gen. William T. Sherman invaded Georgia from the vicinity of Chattanooga, Tennessee, beginning in May...
of 1864, then were converted to mounted infantry and opposed Sherman's March to the Sea
Sherman's March to the Sea
Sherman's March to the Sea is the name commonly given to the Savannah Campaign conducted around Georgia from November 15, 1864 to December 21, 1864 by Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman of the Union Army in the American Civil War...
. They ended the war fighting in South Carolina in late April 1865, and surrendered at Washington, Georgia, on May 6–7, 1865.
The original units of the Orphan Brigade
- 2nd Kentucky Infantry2nd Kentucky InfantryThe 2nd Kentucky Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It was part of the First Kentucky Brigade.-Service:...
, organized at Camp BooneCamp BooneCamp Boone, Tennessee was located on Guthrie Road/ U.S. Route 79 near the Kentucky - Tennessee border at Clarksville, Montgomery County, Tennessee .Camp Boone was laid out in early 1861 by three men who had been authorized to raise a Kentucky Regiment for...
, July 17, 1861 - 3rd Kentucky Infantry3rd Kentucky InfantryThe 3rd Kentucky Infantry Regiment was a volunteer infantry regiment that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It was part of the First Kentucky Brigade through August 1862.-Service:...
, organized at Camp BooneCamp BooneCamp Boone, Tennessee was located on Guthrie Road/ U.S. Route 79 near the Kentucky - Tennessee border at Clarksville, Montgomery County, Tennessee .Camp Boone was laid out in early 1861 by three men who had been authorized to raise a Kentucky Regiment for...
, July 20, 1861 - 4th Kentucky Infantry4th Kentucky InfantryThe 4th Kentucky Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It was part of the First Kentucky Brigade.-Service:...
, organized at Camp Burnett, September 13, 1861 - 6th Kentucky Infantry6th Kentucky InfantryThe 6th Kentucky Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It was part of the First Kentucky Brigade.-Service:...
, organized at Bowling GreenBowling Green, KentuckyBowling Green is the third-most populous city in the state of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, with a population of 58,067 as of the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Warren County and the principal city of the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area with an estimated 2009...
, November 19, 1861 - 9th Kentucky Infantry9th Kentucky InfantryThe 9th Kentucky Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. It was part of the First Kentucky Brigade.-Service:...
, organized at Bowling Green, KentuckyBowling Green, KentuckyBowling Green is the third-most populous city in the state of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, with a population of 58,067 as of the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Warren County and the principal city of the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area with an estimated 2009...
October 3, 1861, as the 5th Kentucky Infantry (Preliminary organization; final organization not complete until May 15, 1862.) - Cobb's Battery1st Kentucky ArtilleryThe 1st Kentucky Artillery was an artillery battery that was a member of the Orphan Brigade in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...
, organized at Mint Springs, Kuttawa, Kentucky, 1861(After a period of training at Camp Boone the troops moved to Bowling Green, Ky. [September 1861] and The First Kentucky Battery was formally brigaded under Gen. John C. Breckinridge) - Graves' BatteryGraves' BatteryThe Graves Battery, which had 73 troops and was led by Major Rice E. Graves Jr., was a part of the First Kentucky C Company, led by General John C. Breckinridge...
, commanded by MajorMajorMajor is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Rice E. GravesRice E. Graves-Early years:Graves was born in Rockbridge, Virginia but grew up near Yelvington, Daviess County ,Kentucky after a near tragedy in 1844 interrupted his family's planned move to St. Louis. His parents, Rice E. Graves, Sr...
, Jr., organized at Bowling Green, November 8, 1861 - Byrne's Artillery BatteryByrne's batteryByrne's Battery was a light artillery battery in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. It fought exclusively in the Western Theater and suffered among the highest casualties of Confederate batteries at the Battle of Stones River....
, organized in Washington County, MississippiWashington County, Mississippi-National protected areas:*Holt Collier National Wildlife Refuge*Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge *Yazoo National Wildlife Refuge-Demographics:...
, July 1861. (Disbanded during summer 1862, at Vicksburg, MississippiVicksburg, MississippiVicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...
, with men and guns being transferred to Cobb's Battery.) - Morgan's Men, organized at Bowling Green, November 5, 1861
Other units that joined the Orphan Brigade
- 5th Kentucky Infantry5th Kentucky InfantryThe 5th Kentucky Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. In 1863 it became part of the First Kentucky Brigade.-Service:...
- 41st Alabama Infantry
- 31st/49th Alabama Infantry
Formally in but not directly serving with
- 1st Kentucky Cavalry, organized at Bowling Green 1861
Notable members
- John C. BreckinridgeJohn C. BreckinridgeJohn Cabell Breckinridge was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a U.S. Representative and U.S. Senator from Kentucky and was the 14th Vice President of the United States , to date the youngest vice president in U.S...
- Marcellus Jerome ClarkeMarcellus Jerome ClarkeMarcellus Jerome Clarke was a Confederate captain who in 1864 became one of Kentucky's most famous guerrillas...
(a.k.a. Sue MundySue MundySue Mundy was a fictional guerrilla character created by George D. Prentice, the editor of the Louisville Journal, who opposed the heavy-handed military rule of General Stephen G. Burbridge in Kentucky during the American Civil War.-History:...
) - Benjamin Hardin HelmBenjamin Hardin HelmBenjamin Hardin Helm was a Kentucky politician, attorney, Confederate brigadier general, and a brother-in-law of Abraham Lincoln. He was also the son of Kentucky Governor John L. Helm.-Early life:...
- John Hunt MorganJohn Hunt MorganJohn Hunt Morgan was a Confederate general and cavalry officer in the American Civil War.Morgan is best known for Morgan's Raid when, in 1863, he and his men rode over 1,000 miles covering a region from Tennessee, up through Kentucky, into Indiana and on to southern Ohio...
- Rice E. GravesRice E. Graves-Early years:Graves was born in Rockbridge, Virginia but grew up near Yelvington, Daviess County ,Kentucky after a near tragedy in 1844 interrupted his family's planned move to St. Louis. His parents, Rice E. Graves, Sr...
, Jr.
See also
- List of Kentucky Civil War Confederate units
- List of Kentucky Civil War Units
- Kentucky in the Civil WarKentucky in the Civil WarKentucky was a border state of key importance in the American Civil War. President Abraham Lincoln recognized the importance of the Commonwealth when he declared "I hope to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky." In a September 1861 letter to Orville Browning, Lincoln wrote "I think to lose...