Adams' Louisiana Brigade

Adams' Louisiana Brigade. Perryville . The Battle For Kentucky. , As the Confederates were turning the flank of the Union forces northern end of the battle, the brigades commanded by Samuel Powel and Daniel Weisiger Adams were tasked with tying down Union Third Corps on Peters Hill. Adams, not seeing any enemy troops to his front, turned his brigade towards the northwest and moved towards the right flank of Union First Corps located Henry P. Bottom's barnyard. Upon arriving, Adams' brigade came across troops to their front. These troops turned out to be the Confederate brigade commanded by Bushrod Johnson., The 5th Company, Washington Artillery, from New Orleans, opened fire on Johnson's men, but were soon informed of their mistake. Meanwhile, Austin's Battalion of Louisiana Sharpshooters surprised the men of the 42nd Indiana Infantry who were resting and boiling coffee in the dry bed of Doctor's Creek. A quick and desperate fight ensued while the Indiana regiment made its escape and the two contending Confederate brigades sorted themselves out. Adams' men took position to the left of Johnson, moving upstream along Doctor's Creek. They attacked through this position towards Bottom's burning barn. The Union regiments occupying the barnyard were soon surrounded on three sides, as Johnson's men, supported by Cleburne's brigade, attacked out of the east. Adams' brigade then proceeded to roll up the Union flank. The Louisianans were then met with artillery fire from their rear from the guns of Philip Sheridan's division. This bombardment continued just briefly until Powel's Confederates commenced their attack on Sheridan, thus occupying the full attention of the Yankee gunners., After crushing the resistance in the area, Adams men continued farther to the west, but held up their advance because they did not want to expose their flank to the 22,000 veteran Union soldiers only 1,000 yards to their left. Adams' brigade, consisting exclusively of troops from Louisiana, was instrumental in breaking the Union line. From a strength of 1,920 men, the brigade suffered 7 killed, 78 wounded, and 67 missing or captured for a total of 152 casualties., There was no cringing, no dodging. The men stood right straight up on the open field (there were no woods) loaded and fired, charged and fell back as deliberately as if on drill. The Yankees were whipped at every point and driven back three miles. , - E.J. Ellis, 16th Louisiana Infantry, General Adams ordered a charge. Austin rode with us bareheaded and waving his hat. He was a charmed target. The enemy gave way in disorder, going down for fifty yards and then up a hill in a clean woods pasture. The poor fellows fell like leaves from trees in the fall of the year. It seems to me half of them were left on the ground in that pasture. , - John W. Headley, Austin's Battalion Louisiana Sharpshooters, We waited for the enemy-not in vain; not long. They weren't tardy at all, and they came thick, fast and plenty-no other than the Louisiana Tigers! I was shot down and fell into their hands. , - Amos J. Herald, 3rd Ohio Infantry, We finally retired when my ammunition was almost exhausted, and firing the last gun from our lines on those of the enemy - in all, 758 rounds during the action. , - Captain Cuthbert H. Slocomb, 5th Company, Washington Artillery [Louisiana]., (Captions):, The flag of the 5th Company, Washington Artillery. This flag, sewn in Richmond, Virginia by Mrs. Mary Jones in 1861, was the proto-type for all such flags carried in General R.E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. The flag was carried at Shiloh and Perryville before it was retired., Daniel Weisiger Adams , (May 1, 1821 - June 13, 1872) Commanded the Confederate Brigade that fought through this area. After losing his right eye at the battle of Shiloh, he was promoted to Brigadier General five months before the Battle of Perryville., Private Andrew Devilbiss of Austin's Louisiana Sharpshooter's Battalion.