5th Regiment Kentucky Mounted Infantry

My great,great grandfather Sylvester Manning was aPrivate in this Regiment:

CONFEDERATE KENTUCKY TROOPS

5th Regiment, Kentucky Mounted Infantry
5th Infantry Regiment, assembled during the late summer of 1861, included Freeman's Kentucky Infantry Battalion. Its members were raised in the counties of Pendleton, Breathitt, Morgan, Magoffin, Bath, Owen, Grant, Jessamine, Henderson, Harrison, Shelby, and Franklin. Being a twelve-month unit, when it became teim to reenlist some of its members refused and were transferred to the 9th Kentucky Regiment. Later men of the 5th did reenlist for the duration of the war. It became part of the Orphan Brigade or Louisville Legion. The regiment reported 134 casualties in the Battle of Shiloh , then was active at Baton Rouge before being assigned to Kelly's and J.H. Lewis' Brigade, Army of Tennessee. It was prominent at Chickamauga and later took an active part in the Atlanta Campaign. In the fall of 1864 it was mounted, aided in the defense at Savannah, and fought in the Carolinas. The unit had 91 men disabled at Chickamauga, totalled 201 men and 165 arms in December, 1863, and surrendered on April 26, 1865. Its field officers were Colonels Hiram Hawkins, Andrew J. May, and John S. Williams; Lieutenant Colonels John W. Caldwell and George W. Conner' and Majors Richard Hawes and William Mynheir.






The 5th Kentucky Infantry was organized on October 22, 1861. Reorganized for the war on October 20, 1862. Was consolidated into eight companies on November 18, 1862. Companies A and B, Desha's Infantry Battalion were assigned as 3rd Companies I and K, respectively, on August 22, 1863. The regiment became mounted at Barnsville, George on September 4, 1864. The 4th Kentucky Mounted Infantry surrendered on May 6, 1865 at Washington, Georgia. During its term of service, the Regiment participated in the following known engagements:



Ivy Mountain (November 8, 1861) Adairsville (May 15-18, 1864)
Piketon (November 9, 1861) New Hope Church (May 25 - June 4, 1864)
Middle Creek (January 10, 1862) Dallas (June 25-27, 1864)
Wolf Creek (May 15, 1862) Kennesaw Mountain (June 27, 1864)
Princeton (May 15-17, 1862) Peach Tree Creek (July 20, 1864)
Chickamauga (September 19-20, 1863) Atlanta (July 22, 1864)
Chattanooga Siege Ezra Church (July 28, 1864)
(September - November 1863) Atlanta Siege (July - September 1864)
Chattanooga (November 23-25, 1863) Utoy Creek (August 5-7, 1864)
Atlanta Campaign Jonesboro (August 31 - September 1, 1864)
(May - September 1864) Savannah Campaign
Rocky Face Ridge (May 5-11, 1864) (November - December 1864)
Resaca (May 14-15, 1864) Carolinas Campaign (February - April 1865)



The 5th Kentucky Mounted Infantry, during it's term of service, was assigned to the following military Organizations:




Marshall's Brigade, Army of Eastern Kentucky (November 1861 - May 1862)


District of Abingdon (May 1862)


District of Abingdon, Department of Southwestern Virginia
(May - November 1862)


District of Abingdon, Department of Western Virginia
(November 1862 - January 1863)


District of Abingdon, Department of East Tennessee (January - August 1863)


Kelly's Brigade, Preston's Division, Buckner's Corps, Army of Tennessee
(August - September 1863)


Kelly's Brigade, Preston's Division, Longstreet's Corps, Army of Tennessee
(September - October 1863)


Kelly's Brigade, Buckner's Division, 1st Corps, Army of Tennessee
(October - November 1863)


Kentucky Brigade, Breckinridge's Division, 2nd Corps, Army of Tennessee
November 1863 - February 1864)


Kentucky Brigade, Bate's Division, 1st Corps, Army of Tennessee
(February - September 1864)


Kentucky Brigade, Jackson's Cavalry Division, Army of Tennessee
(September 1864)


Kentucky Brigade, Iverson's Division, Wheeler's Cavalry Corps, Army of Tennessee (September - November 1864)


Kentucky Brigade, Iverson's-Young's Division, Wheeler's Cavalry Corps, Department of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida
(November 1864 - February 1865)


Kentucky Brigade, Humes' Division, Wheeler's Cavalry Corps, Army of Tennessee
(February 1865)


Kentucky Brigade, Humes'-Dibrell's Division, Wheeler's Cavalry Corps, Hampton's Cavalry Command (February - April 1865)


Kentucky Brigade, Dibrell's Division, Wheeler's Cavalry Corps, Hampton's Cavalry Command, Army of Tennessee (April 1865)


Kentucky Brigade, Dibrell's Division, President Davis' Escort
(April - May 1865)

History of Co. C, 5th KY

The men of the 5th Kentucky Co. C were predominately from Morgan and Bath counties. From 1861-1863 they served under Gen. Humphrey Marshall in the Army of Eastern Kentucky. This period found the 5th Kentucky in Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky, fighting at Ivy Mt., Ky, Middle Creek, Ky, and Princeton, Va, while always trying to liberate their state from Federal forces.

In May 1863 Gen. William Preston succeeded Gen. Marshall in command of the Army of Eastern Kentucky. Around this time Preston's command was ordered to Knoxville, Tennessee to form a division in gen. Simon B. Buckner's Corps of the Army of Tennessee. On Sept 19th & 20th, 1863 the 5th Kentucky took part in the Battle of Chickamauga, assaulting U.S. Gen. George Thomas' forces and reaching the crest of the famed Snodgrass Hill. During the Siege of Chattanooga, following Chickamauga, the 5th was transferred to the 1st Kentucky Brigade better known as the Orphan Brigade. The 5th Ky operated with the Orphan's for the remainder of the war.

The Orphans marched with the Army of Tennessee throughout the Atlanta Campaign, fighting at such famous places as Ringold Gap, Resaca, Kennessaw Mt., Entrenchment Creek (Atlanta), Peachtree Creek, Jonesboro, and many more. The Orphans were a gallant group of men, receiving more casualties than they had men, and suffering few desertions during the campaign.

With the fall of Atlanta, in September of 1864, the 5th Ky and the rest of the Orphans were finally granted their wish and became mounted infantry for the rest of the war. Their mounted service consisted harassing Sherman's Army on its infamous "March to the Sea" and than fighting delaying actions through the Carolinas. The 5th Ky surrendered on May 6, 1865 in Washington, Georgia. Of the close to 100 men who had enlisted in Co. C, only 27 were present to surrender.