Sam Watkins
Samuel "Sam" Rush Watkins (born June 26, 1839 in Maury County, Tennessee , † June 20, 1901 in Maury County, Tennessee) was a soldier in the Army of the Confederate States of America in the Civil War . He became famous for his work Company Aytch: Or, a Side Show of the Big Show , which is often described as one of the best primary sources about the life of ordinary soldiers in the American Civil War.
Before the Civil War, Watkins attended Jackson College in Columbia.
After the outbreak of the Civil War, he first joined the 3rd Tennessee Infantry Regiment in Mount Pleasant, Tennessee and was transferred to Company H of the 1st Tennessee Infantry Regiment in the spring of 1861. Watkins fought in the battles of Shiloh , Corinth , Perryville , Stones River , Shelbyville, Chattanooga II, Chickamauga , Missionary Ridge, Resaca, Adairsville, Kennesaw Mountain, New Hope Church, Zion Church, Kingston, Cassville, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Franklin and Nashville . Of the 1200 men originally enlisted in 1861 and 2000 stragglers, Watkins and 65 others survived the surrender of General Joseph E. Johnston's Tennessee Army in North Carolina in April 1865.
Soon after the war ended, Watkins began writing Company Aytch: Or, a Side Show of the Big Show (Aytch, English for H , after his company). Originally this was published in sequels in the newspaper. A first edition of 2000 books was published in book form in 1882. Co. Aytch is considered by many historians to be one of the finest war memoirs written by common soldiers. In the documentary series The American Civil War (Engl. The Civil War) by Ken Burns Sam Watkins is frequently both shown and quoted.
Watkins died in the Ashwood community at the age of 62. He was buried with full military honors by the members of the Leonidas Polk Bivouac / United Confederate Veterans in the cemetery of the Zion Presbyterian Church near Mount Pleasant, Tennessee.
Web links
- Works by Sam Watkins at Project Gutenberg
- Full text from Co. Aytch
- Sam Watkins' grave at Find A Grave
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Watkins, Sam |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Watkins, Samuel Rush |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American soldier of the Confederate States of America in the Civil War |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 26, 1839 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Maury County , Tennessee |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 20, 1901 |
| Place of death | Ashwood Community, Tennessee |