Private William Archelaus Hughes

Private William Archelaus Hughes. Company H 1st Regiment Tennessee Infantry CSA. , John 15: 13 No greater love has a man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends., In John 15:13, Jesus proclaimed, "Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." An example of such a man lays in this hallowed cemetery section C row 2 headstone 7., William Archelaus Hughes was the son of Samuel Moore and Louisiana Armstrong Rutledge Hughes. He was born November 29, 1831 in Sullivan County, Tennessee. Not much is known about him except what was written by Sam R. Watkins (his mess-mate) in his book, Co. Aytch' Maury Grays, First Tennessee Regiment; or, A Side Show of the Big Show., In the 1850 Census, Hughes's occupation is listed as storekeeper. On May 1, 1861 in Columbia, Tennessee, Hughes was mustered into Captain William R. Johnson's Company, (later known as Company H) 1st Regiment Tennessee Infantry as a Private. Hughes fought at Cheat Mountain, Shiloh, Perryville, Murfreesboro, Chickamauga, Missionary Ridge and the Atlanta Campaign's Battle of Kennesaw Mountain until June 27, 1864., On that hot and humid day at the spur of the mountain, Co. H, 1st Tennessee dug in along the "Kennesaw Line." Their position would become known as the "Dead Angle." After repeated assaults by the United States Army, both William and his mess-mate, Sam, held firm fighting side-by-side. What happened next is Sam's eye-witness account: "As the enemy rushed yet again toward the Tennessee, salient, I fired, discharging my musket almost point-blank into the chest of a man. The bullet ripped out the soldier's back and smashed into a man behind him. Both infantrymen collapsed, mortally wounded. As I scrambled to reload in this wild melee, a third figure surged toward me. You have killed my two brothers, and now I've got you. Everything I had ever done rushed through my mind. Then in the blur of an instant, I heard the roar, and felt the flash of fire as the Yankee pulled the trigger. But this bullet was not for me." Reacting to the mortal threat that imperiled his friend, William A. Hughes instinctively grabbed the muzzle of the soldier's musket and pulled it toward himself taking the full impact of the gun's blast. Sam later wrote, "Reader, he died for me. In saving my life, he lost his own.... Не gave his life for me, and everything that he had. It was the last time that I ever saw him.", From the trenches at the "Dead Angle," Private William Archelaus Hughes was sent to Catoosa Hospital in Griffin. His wounds quickly turned gangrenous and on July 16, 1864, he died. His surviving personal effects were one pair of drawers, one pair of pants and one soft hat., On October 13, 1862, The Congress of the Confederate States of America created the Confederate Medal of Honor which was signed into law by President Jefferson Davis on the same day., In 1977, the Sons of Confederate Veterans began to award the Medals posthumously. Private Hughes's Confederate Medal of Honor Citation reads, "While the battle raged at close quarters with much of the fighting hand-to-hand, Private Hughes spotted a comrade in the line about to be shot at point-blank range. Rushing to his aid, Hughes grabbed the barrel of the musket and jerked it, bringing to himself the full shock of the gun's discharge. Grievously wounded, Private Hughes died of his wounds three weeks later, having given his own life to save that of a friend.", Private Hughes's medal is on display at the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park on permanent loan from the National Sons of Confederate Veterans in Columbia, Tennessee.