Chickamauga - September - 1863
Captain Horace Porter was Chief of
Ordnance for the , Army of the
Cumberland. During the Battle of
Chickamauga Porter served as a
volunteer aide to General
Rosecrans. During the Confederate
breakthrough on September
20 Rosecrans yelled, "If you
care to live any
longer," "get away from here." Captain
Porter rallied retreating fugitives to
form a mounted defense that through
hard fighting saved the Army's wagon
trains, an action for which he would be
awarded the Congressional Medal of
Honor later. He received presidential
appointment to several positions after
the war. He served as U.S. Ambassador
to France from 1897 to 1905, and while
serving he located John Paul Jones'
remains, which were subsequently
brought back to the United States at his
expense, where they rest today in the
United States Naval Academy. He
received the Grand Cross of the Legion
of Honor from the French government
in 1904.
Orville T. Chamberlain was a student
at the University of Notre Dame in
northwestern Indiana. Early in the war
so many other students, including a few
of the priest instructors, followed his
example, that the school became known
as the home of the Fighting Irish. On
the second day of the battle at
Chickamauga the fighting was so
intense that ammunition became a
problem. During this
time Lieutenant
Chamberlain, in spite of the galling fire
from the Confederates, made his way
through the woods and found another
regiment that had plenty of ammunition.
He brought the very badly needed
ammunition back to his own company.
For this action he was awarded the
Congressional Medal of Honor.
When the war was over, a proud
Notre Dame welcomed back
several bona fide
war heroes and became home to a
unique veteran's organization: a Grand
Army of the Republic post composed
entirely of ordained priests or professed
brothers.
Anthony Taylor responded to
President Lincoln's call for volunteers
early in the war and enlisted on August
22, 1861 as a Private in Company A of
the 15th Pennsylvania Cavalry
Regiment. He was promoted to First
Sergeant on March 1, 1863 and to First
Lieutenant on May 8, 1863 as the Army
was preparing to move against the
Confederates at Tullahoma. During the
Battle of Chickamauga Lieutenant
Taylor was in charge of the couriers at
Rosecrans headquarters.
On September 20, while General
Rosecrans and the senior officers made
a rapid retreat toward Chattanooga,
Lieutenant Taylor joined a group
organized by Captain Horace Porter and
fought a rear guard action against great
odds, giving the Federal wagon train
and artillery time to escape.
At the end of the war, it was Anthony
Taylor who carried the
dispatch from
General Palmer that led to the capture of
Jefferson Davis, President of the
Confederacy.
He was awarded the Congressional
Medal of Honor, issued
on December 4, 1893, for
his heroic action in the
second day of fighting at Chickamauga.
His citation reads: "Held out to the last
with a small force against the advance of
superior numbers of the enemy."
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