Samuel R. Watkins: Difference between revisions

Samuel R. Watkins
Samuel R. Watkins
	Samuel R. Watkins, c. 1861
Born	Samuel Rush Watkins; June 26, 1839; Mount Pleasant, Tennessee
Died	July 20, 1901 (aged 62); Maury County, Tennessee
Resting place	Zion Cemetery,; Maury County, Tennessee; 35°35′55.2″N 87°08′42.0″W / 35.598667°N 87.145000°W
Pen name	Sam. R. Watkins
Occupation	Clerk, soldier, farmer
Alma mater	Jackson College
Period	1881–1900
Years active	1881–1882
Notable work	Co. Aytch
Spouse	Virginia Mayes; (m. 1865⁠–⁠1901)
Military career
Allegiance	Confederate States
Service / branch	Confederate States Army
Years of service	1861–1865
Rank	Corporal
Unit	Company H, 1st Tennessee Infantry
Battles / wars	American Civil War; Battle of Cheat Mountain; Shiloh Campaign; Battle of Perryville; Murfreesboro Campaign (WIA); Chickamauga Campaign; Chattanooga Campaign; Atlanta Campaign; Franklin Campaign; Nashville Campaign;

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Samuel R. Watkins (born Samuel Rush Watkins; June 26, 1839 – July 20, 1901) was an American writer and humorist. He fought through the entire Civil War and saw action in many major battles. Today, he is best known for his enduring memoir, "Co. Aytch" (1882), which recounts his life as a soldier in the First Tennessee.^[2]

Life

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, and would fight from Shiloh to Nashville and was 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.^[3] When he died at 62, Watkins was buried with full military honors.^[2]

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 greatest memoirs ever written by a soldier of the field.^[3] Originally published as a serial newspaper column from 1881 to 1882 in The Columbia (Tennessee) Herald, his stories were collected and printed in book form in 1882.^[2]^[4]^[5] The charming prose captures

Legacy

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

In popular culture

Watkins is often featured and quoted in Ken Burns’ 1990 documentary titled The Civil War, and also in the film titled Civil War: The Untold Story^[6] (See specific quotes from Watkins in Wikiquotes [1].)

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, on the Kennesaw Line").^[7]

References

^ Samuel Rush “Sam” Watkins (1839-1901) - Find A Grave Memorial Retrieved 2018-04-25.
^ ^a ^b ^c Watkins, Sam (2015) [1st pub. Cumberland Presbyterian Publishing House:1882]. Furman, Katherine (ed.). Co. "Aytch": The First Tennessee Regiment or a Side Show to the Big Show (Complete Illustrated ed.). Minneapolis, Minn.: Zenith Press. Back cover. ISBN 978-0-7603-4775-1. OCLC 928999663. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |nopp= ignored (|no-pp= suggested) (help)
^ ^a ^b Watkins, Sam (2015) [1st pub. Cumberland Presbyterian Publishing House:1882]. Furman, Katherine (ed.). Co. "Aytch": The First Tennessee Regiment or a Side Show to the Big Show (Complete Illustrated ed.). Minneapolis, Minn.: Zenith Press. Front cover. ISBN 978-0-7603-4775-1. OCLC 928999663. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |nopp= ignored (|no-pp= suggested) (help)
^ Leigh, Phil (March 15, 2013). "Private Watkins's War". The New York Times. Disunion. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
^ Watkins, Sam. R. (1882). 1861 vs. 1882. "Co. Aytch," Maury Grays, First Tennessee Regiment; or, A Side Show to the Big Show. Nashville, Tenn.: Cumberland Presbyterian Publishing House. LCCN 02017896.
^ Civil War: The Untold Story http://civilwartheuntoldstory.org .
^ For example, in the book he wrote, "On that awful day the sun rose in a clear and cloudless sky; the heavens seemed made of brass and the earth of hot iron." Watkins, Sam. R. (1882). "Co. Aytch", or, A Side Show of the Big Show and Other Sketches. Retrieved October 8, 2014. 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

"Kennesaw Line". Retrieved October 8, 2014. The best-known version of this song is sung by Claire Lynch on the album "Lines & Traces" by the Front Porch String Band."Bluegrass Today".

External links

Samuel R. Watkins at Find a Grave
Samuel R. Watkins Camp No. 29 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans
Works by or about Samuel R. Watkins at the Internet Archive
Template:Worldcat id
Works by Samuel R. Watkins at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)

[1] Samuel Rush “Sam” Watkins (1839-1901) - Find A Grave Memorial Retrieved 2018-04-25.

[Watkins2015bc-2] Watkins, Sam (2015) [1st pub. Cumberland Presbyterian Publishing House:1882]. Furman, Katherine (ed.). Co. "Aytch": The First Tennessee Regiment or a Side Show to the Big Show (Complete Illustrated ed.). Minneapolis, Minn.: Zenith Press. Back cover. ISBN 978-0-7603-4775-1. OCLC 928999663. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |nopp= ignored (|no-pp= suggested) (help)

[Watkins2015fc-3] Watkins, Sam (2015) [1st pub. Cumberland Presbyterian Publishing House:1882]. Furman, Katherine (ed.). Co. "Aytch": The First Tennessee Regiment or a Side Show to the Big Show (Complete Illustrated ed.). Minneapolis, Minn.: Zenith Press. Front cover. ISBN 978-0-7603-4775-1. OCLC 928999663. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |nopp= ignored (|no-pp= suggested) (help)

[4] Leigh, Phil (March 15, 2013). "Private Watkins's War". The New York Times. Disunion. Retrieved August 23, 2016.

[5] Watkins, Sam. R. (1882). 1861 vs. 1882. "Co. Aytch," Maury Grays, First Tennessee Regiment; or, A Side Show to the Big Show. Nashville, Tenn.: Cumberland Presbyterian Publishing House. LCCN 02017896.

[6] Civil War: The Untold Story http://civilwartheuntoldstory.org .

[7] For example, in the book he wrote, "On that awful day the sun rose in a clear and cloudless sky; the heavens seemed made of brass and the earth of hot iron." Watkins, Sam. R. (1882). "Co. Aytch", or, A Side Show of the Big Show and Other Sketches. Retrieved October 8, 2014. 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

"Kennesaw Line". Retrieved October 8, 2014. The best-known version of this song is sung by Claire Lynch on the album "Lines & Traces" by the Front Porch String Band."Bluegrass Today".

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 ==Legacy==
-Camp No. 29 (established 1986) of the [[Sons of Confederate Veterans]] in [[Columbia, Tennessee]], is named after him.
+Camp No. 29 (established 1986) of the [[Sons of Confederate Veterans]] in [[Columbia, Tennessee]], is named after him.hmgjfhgjhgfhgf
 ==In popular culture==

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