Colonel Wier Boyd and the Early Days of the 52nd Georgia, by Dr. Gary Goodson, 2005

It was early February 1862 when Dahlonega attorney Wier Boyd penned a letter to his son, 17-year-old Augustus F. Boyd, who was off in the Carolinas and Virginia fighting with the Blue Ridge Rifles in Phillips’ Legion. Boyd’s letter reflected the alarm that was felt by many Georgians that winter, the bright prospects of an easy victory having faded quickly the previous summer after the costly success at Manassas. The Union army had been dealt a severe blow, but the proverbial sleeping giant of Northern industry and wealth had been aroused and would ultimately overwhelm the limited resources of the South. As Boyd penned his letter, he felt great concern about the naval blockade at Savannah and along the Georgia coast. Salt, coffee, and cloth were already in short supply. Union forces had taken Tybee Island and were laying siege to Fort Pulaski near the mouth of the Savannah River. All of Georgia anxiously awaited news, expecting any minute to hear of a mighty Federal invasion from the sea. Wier Boyd was not one to sit quietly in the midst of impending danger. In January 1861 he had obtained leave from Governor Joseph E. Brown to raise a regiment. In his letter to his son Gus, he said:

“I have been somewhat tired of doing nothing and am anxious to see this war come to a close and peace … prevail. And I have concluded the best way … is to convince the Lincoln government … that we were all ready to fly to arms in defense of the country. Therefore, I have applied to Governor Brown and have obtained leave to raise a regiment in Northeastern Georgia for the war.”

Traveling from county to county, Boyd enlisted the support of hundreds of men and prominent community leaders. It appears from the correspondence between Boyd’s daughter, Fanny, and his son, Gus, (These letters and papers of Colonel Wier Boyd are on microfilm at the Perkins Library, Duke University) that Harrison Riley also attempted to raise a regiment and probably competed with Boyd for leadership of the unit. However, Boyd was confident in his eventual election to the office of colonel. 

Indeed, on March 16, 1862, the men of the newly formed regiment at Camp McDonald elected Boyd to be their first leader. On March 20th, Governor Brown signed the commission making him a full colonel and commander of the 52nd Georgia Regiment. Although they had not yet faced hostile gunfire, the new recruits confronted many hazards and hardships. They had come down from the isolated little communities in the hills of Habersham County, from the gold mines of Lumpkin County, from the copper mines and mills of Fannin County, and from the cabins and farms of Dawson, White, Franklin, Towns, Union, and Rabun counties. They had come together and marched to Camp McDonald from the old rallying places of former Indian Wars with names such as the Dahlonega Mustering Grounds and the Denton Springs Mustering Grounds. These men marched down the mountains in the midst of torrential rainstorms, crossing swollen rivers, and trudging through the mud by day and sleeping in wet haystacks by night.

Nor were their troubles over when they reached the training camp near Big Shanty (Kennesaw) on Thursday, March 13th. In a letter written to his wife, Sarah, Boyd wrote, “We arrived safely at Camp McDonald on Thursday last amid great storms of rain. The authority had no tents for us and we, with several other companies from our region, stopped east of Camp McDonald some two miles.”

Disease was, by far, the greatest killer in the war. The microbe theories of Pasteur and Lister were virtually unknown among American physicians. Thus, the mechanisms of infectous disease and their propagation remained an enigma which would kill nearly two-thirds of the 700,000 American combatants who died between 1861 and 1865. 

 The 52nd Georgia experienced more than its fair share of deadly epidemics. With hundreds of young men fresh from the relative isolation of the mountains, and as yet unexposed to smallpox, measles, typhoid fever and malaria, most of the new soldiers of the 52nd Georgia fell ill in March and April of 1862. Scores of these men died and lie buried at Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta. Boyd’s letters reported the measles epidemic which ran rampant through Camp McDonald. “The men in my regiment … are all passing the ordeal of camp sickness. Seven men have died in my Regiment here. Over a dozen have died in Col. Henderson’s Regiment (42nd Georgia).

Based on an analysis of the incomplete data given in Lillian Henderson’s Roster of the Confederate Soldiers in Georgia, volume 5, no less than 89 men died of disease in the regiment over a three year period. However, through various means of estimation, it seems possible that nearly 220 men may have perished by disease. Of this total number, more than half died in March, April, and May of 1862.

On the morning of April 12, 1862, a Federal agent named James J. Andrews and some 20 disguised Union soldiers boarded a northbound passenger train at Marietta. Their mission was to steal the train and burn the bridges over the Chickamauga, Oostenaula, and Etowah Rivers. Pulled by the locomotive “General,” the train rolled into Big Shanty shortly after daybreak and stopped to add water and fuel and to allow its passengers and crew time to eat breakfast at the old Lacy Hotel. Just across the tracks from the hotel, the 52nd carried on its seemingly endless routine of drilling and marching at Camp McDonald. But something happened that day which made it a memorable one for the regiment.

Sergeant-Major Gus Boyd, learning earlier that his father had been elected colonel of the regiment, was transferred from the Phillips’ Legion to join his father in the 52nd Georgia. Gus Boyd arrived at Camp McDonald that faithful day in the midst of a great deal of excitement and uproar. In a letter written the following day to his his mother in Dahlonega, he describes the situation:

“The train came up here yesterday and stopped for dinner. While the train hands were over at their dinner, some persons (I suppose they were Yankees) loosened all the boxes but two and put on the steam and left. We soon procured an engine and Col. Phillips and several persons started after them. They overtook the train at Ringgold. When the scoundrels perceived that they were pursued, they stopped the car and made their escape. Our men are still hunting them, and I hope they may catch them. There are two here under arrest who are supposed to belong to the same crowd.”

On April 13th, it appears that the 52nd Georgia was mustered into the regular service of the Confederate Army and the men were paid their long awaited $50 enlistment bonus. On or about April 17th, the regiment boarded a northbound train and moved out for Dalton where they stayed only a few days. Then they moved on to Chattanooga. Because of a bitter feud between Governor Brown and Confederate President Jefferson Davis, the soldiers were ordered to leave their firearms behind and were told to expect to be armed by the Confederate government when they reached their destination.

Indeed, when the regiment arrived in Chattanooga, they were issued with brand new .58 caliber British Enfield rifles that had been confiscated by Confederate ordinance officers from the cargo of the raider C.S.S. Nashville. the 12 crates of rifles had been bought from England and were destined for delivery to Governor Brown in Milledgeville. This incident sparked a bitter exchange of communications between Brown and Confederate Secretary of War George Randolph.

By April 27th, the 52nd had reached Camp Van Dorn near Knoxville, where another epidemic was taking its toll among the soldiers. Colonel Boyd wrote Sarah:

“About half my regiment are yet unfit for duty. None, however, that we have brought here have died, and none are thought to be dangerously ill. Measles, mumps and fever are the prevailing diseases … a man of sympathy would be sick to see so much suffering as is seen here.”

Throughout May and the first part of June 1862, the regiment spent much time marching through the mountains of eastern Tennessee near Cumberland Gap, which was a strategic passage way through the mountains between Tennessee and Kentucky and Virginia. During this period, Wier Boyd became ill and was forced to return home to Dahlonega. Temporarily taking command, Lt. Colonel Charles Phillips was faced with the difficult task of keeping an effective fighting force on its feet in the wake of yet another epidemic which left only 300 men fit for duty. By June 18th, the Federal forces had mustered enough strength to push the Rebels out of Cumberland Gap. But the fighting and skirmishing continued as General Kirby Smith and General Braxton Bragg prepared to launch a southern thrust into Kentucky.

As the summer wore on, the fighting for control of the Gap became more intense. In another letter home, Gus Boyd described an engagement with Federal forces under General George W. Morgan at Tazewell, Tennessee in early August:

“We marched in about a mile and a quarter of the enemy and halted then … it was not long before we heard the boom of the cannon and the whistle of the ball … the fight was opened … our regiment was ordered onto the field. We marched on with a brave heart, and we soon reached our position … the firing became incessant, but when we opened up in our second volley, the enemy began to break their ranks. Then we gave a loud yell and charged down the hill and it would have done you good to have seen them run.”

Boyd also described a close brush with death, “Once me and Col. Phillips were crossing a fence, and just as we were getting over, a shell struck right under us but did not explode. If it had, it would have killed us both.”

Having partly recovered from his illness, Colonel Wier Boyd returned to the regiment on September 4th and wrote to his wife, ” I find the regiment in better health than since we left Camp McDonald …my captains are all now at their posts.” By October 26th, the 52nd Georgia had returned from the Kentucky campaign and crossed through the Gap. They were camped in four inches of snow near Rutledge, Tennessee. At that point, General Seth Barton advised the brigade to prepare for a winter campaign. Gus Boyd wrote home, “We are going to send one man home from each company to procure clothing for the men. You can send me a pair of pants and a coat. Tell Mother to make me a short coat.” This passage reflects an interesting reality of the Confederate uniform, that it was often supplemented with civilian clothing to provide adequate protection against the elements.

The balance of the cold autumn saw the 52nd Georgia moving from one campground to another in central Tennessee. It was during this chilly fall that many changes of command took place. Wier Boyd, now gravely ill in a hospital in Macon, Georgia, was examined by surgeons and found to be unfit for duty, with a disease “of the kidneys and liver.” Boyd submitted his resignation on November 1st, and was replaced by Charles Phillips, who was promoted to full colonel. Sergeant Robert Quillian was promoted to regimental adjutant, and Gus Boyd was elected by the men of Company B to be their captain, as John J. Moore had been promoted to major.