Lt. H. C. Holt... A Bio...

5fish

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I help Dixierifles from CWT to find the bio. of a Lt. H. C. Holt. He commanded Bucker Battery which had a rapid fire weapon called the Williams Gun. Dixierifles has his own Civil War and World War Two web site and I am copying Lt. H. C. Holt bio from it. It long story to go into the details of our research. This is Dixierifles summary of our findings...


Henry Clay Holt was born on February 6, 1841, in Rowesville, Orangeburg, South Carolina, and was the son of Dr. Archibald M. Holt, a physician. His family moved to Manchester, Bedford County(now Coffee County), TN, prior to the war. On September 15, 1858, Henry Holt entered the US Naval Academy. When the war began, he was in his thrid year and the academy released him to enter service. Henry Holt returned to Tennessee and became a Midshipman in the CS Navy serving on CSS Jackson. He participated in the naval battle Head of Passes outside New Orleans. He also fought in the first gunboat battle on the Mississippi River at the Battle of Lucas Bend, on January 11, 1862.

After the CS Navy loss most of their ships, Midshipman Henry Holt resigned and joined the privateer organization, the Confederate River Defense Fleet. He served on the flag ship, CSS Little Rebel. At the Battle of Memphis on 6 June 1862, the CSS Little Rebel was grounded. The Confederate River Defense Fleet was disssolved.

Henry Holt was commisioned a Lieutenant in the CS Army at Camp Moore,Tangipahoa, Louisiana, with the duty of Drill Master. He was given a special duty as liasion between Army General Daniel Ruggles and CSN Captain Isaac Brown, commanding the ironclad CSS Arkansas. Later he was assigned as Post Adjutant (or P.A.C.S.A.) at Camp Moore. He was commended for aiding in the attack on Baton Rouge on 5 August 1862. It is unclear how he actaully fought in the battle or if he provided supplies from Camp Moore.

While still performing the duty of Post Adjutant, he also began to lead Buckner Battery. Eventually, he was transferred to Brigadier-General James R. Chalmers as the official commander of the battery. While with Chalmers' cavalry division, Lt. Holt saw action in North Mississippi and participated in the October 1863 raid on Collierville, TN. In January 1864, Lt. Holt and Buckner Battery were transferred to Lieut-General Leonidus Polk's Army of the West. The Official Records continued to reference Lt. H. C. Holt and the Williams Gun but there is no futher mention of Lt. Holt after February 1864.
Note: there was a Lt. Holt serving in General Nathan B. Forrest's Staff but this is not the same person.

The Official Records of the war includes a few activities of Buckner Battery. In the service records of Lt. Holt, there are requisition forms for forage for 28 horses/mules which is also stated in Rowland's history of the unit. This would mean the size of the battery was no more than 28 men. Since the William Gun could be operated by only 3 men or less, and the battery contained 4 Williams Gun and one 3-inch Ordnance gun and probably a supply wagon, the congregant of 28 men and horses would be sufficient to move and operate this small battery in the field.

Lt. Holt issued a report on the Battle of Collierville where he describes the deployment of the battery. The reports by other commanders described Buckner Battery as being used at New Albany and Wyatt. At Collierville, it is said a section of the battery was advanced by hand with the attacking dismounted cavarly. By the time they retreated back to Wyatt, Buckner Battery was low on ammunition and only 2 guns were used to hold off the Union troops to allow the remainder of their forces to escape across the Tallahatchie River. Even though Lt. Holt's report describes the action, he does not mention the type of cannon he operated nor the caliber or number of rounds he fired.

An order in December 1863, required Lt. Holt to return the men who were on loan from General Ferguson's command. The service records of three of the names mentioned in Rowland's history identified them as members of the 56th Alabama Partisan Rangers who were detached for special service to Buckner Battery. This is why there is no roster for this unit as Buckner Battery was composed of men on detached served from other regiments.

After the war, Henry married Catherine A. Puckett and settled in Tullahoma and set-up a law business. In 1868, Henry got into an argument with another lawyer, James D. Aydelot. On August 8, 1868 Henry Holt called Aydelot to come out into the streets of Tullahoma. Henry drew a derringer pistol which misfired and Aydelot shot and killed him. He was buried on Sunday, August 9, 1868, in Oakwood Cemetery in Tullahoma, Coffee County, along with other members of his family. He was survived by his widow and daughter. James Aydelot would become mayor of Tullahoma many years later.

Before the war, two of Henry's brothers moved to Arkansas. One brother was George William Moreau Holt, also a physician like his father. He began service as a doctor in the war but was promoted to Brigadier General of the Arkansas’s state militia. On July 25, 1864, he was pursued and killed by Pvt. George Lucas of the 3rd Missouri Cavalry (US) who was awarded a Medal of Honor for his action. General George Holt was the only general of state militia to be killed in combat during the war.

Brief Bio of Midshipman H. C. Holt, CSN & CRDF


Midshipman H. C. Holt bio
 
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