Henry B. Mattingly

The 10th were armed with the Model 1842 smoothbore musket,[3] trained, and organized itself at Lebanon, Kentucky from the mustering date until January 1862 when it moved east to stop the ongoing Confederate offensive campaign in eastern Kentucky . Mattingly and his regiment were serving as supply train escorts while the rest of the 2nd Brigade of the Army of Ohio won the Battle of Mill Springs on January 19. Although ordered forward to rejoin the army on 17 January, the 10th's reunion with its brigade was slowed by impassably muddy roads.[4] Arriving after the Rebel retreat had begun, the 10th was sent in pursuit. The next day, Mattingly and the 10th were the first troops into the hastily evacuated Confederate cm where they captured a dozen pieces of artillery and large amounts of arms and equipment. [5][6]

The victory at Mill Springs was followed soon after by the fall of Forts Henry and Donelson, and the Confederate retreat of the from Kentucky. From Mill Spring the 10th marched to Louisville. From Louisville it went by steamboat down the Ohio, and up the Cumberland to Nashville, and from Nashville it marched to Pittsburg arriving after the Battle of Shiloh.[7]CITEREFU.S._War_Dept.,_Official_Records,_Vol._10/2 Mattingly as a member of the regiment spent May in the Siege of Corinth and spent June through August in Buell's Campaign in Northern Alabama and Middle Tennessee that eventually threatened the important transportation hub of Chattanooga.[8]

The Confederacy wanted to relieve the pressure on Vicksburg and Chattanooga, so Braxton Bragg decided to invade Kentucky hoping to reclaim it for the rebellion. Mattingly in Company B was in the garrison at Winchester, Tennessee when it joined Buell’s army marching to Kentucky to oppose Bragg. Rebel invasion culminated in the Union tactical defeat but strategic victory at Perryville. At the time of the battle, the 10th commanded by LTCOL Hays in BG Fry's 2nd Brigade, BGEN Schoepf's 1st Division of MGEN Gilbert's III Corps. The brigade did not become engaged in the battle, but when Bragg failed to follow up MGEN Polk's success, the brigade was part of the pursuit of the Rebels of the state and then marched to Gallatin, Tennessee, twenty miles northeast of Nashville on the north side of the Cumberland River.

Although Perryville was a strategic victory for the Union, Buell was subsequently relieved, and MGEN William S. Rosecrans was appointed to command the Army of Ohio and the Department of the Cumberland. He subsequently renamed his forces the Army of the Cumberland. The 10th remained in Gallatin into January 1863. On December 7, 1862, the brigade marched fifteen miles east to Hartsville, in response to Morgan's attack. Mattingly's unit reached the battlefield in time to observe the last of Morgan’s troops, but too late to rescue the captured garrison. They arrived in time to save much property, including several hundred guns and a large amount of cartridges. These arms were unissued Springfield Model 1861 rifled muskets. Since the 10th had "arms which were, in many respects defective, and in some respects entirely useless,"[9], Mattingly and his comrades turned their weapons in to the supply officers and replace them with the new .58 caliber Springfields which extended their firepower to several hundred yards.

While the Army of the Cumberland was embarking on the Stones River Campaign, Mattingly's regiment was sent north two weeks later into Kentucky to chase down Morgan who had raided deep into Kentucky. Mattingly and his comrade's rode the railroad from Gallatin to near Munfordville, from where they force-marched through Elizabethtown in time to catch Morgan’s force on the Rolling Fork, December 29th near Lebanon Junction. This area was home to many of Mattingly's comrades. Despite being slightly outnumbered by Morgan's force, Mattingly's brigade was concentrated and Harlan effectively used it to surprise Morgan's scattered cavalry and drive them off.[10][11]

Mattingly and his comrades spent the winter and spring of 1863 based in and around the Army of the Cumberland's base at Murfreesboro. The regiment continued to gain experience escorting logistics trains and fending off both regular and irregular Rebel cavalry raids. Mattingly's regiment saw the departure of its commissioning commander, COL Harlan, who resigned due to family commitments.[12]

In the Tullahoma campaign, the 10th was in the 2nd Brigade (BGEN Steedman)of the 3rd Division (BGEN Brannan) of MGEN Thomas’ XIV Corps. The Tullahoma campaign was marked by Rapid movement by the Army of the Cumberland facilitated by its increased cavalry and added mounted infantry such as Wilder’s Lightning Brigade. XIV Corps advanced on 24 June to seize Hoover’s Gap. Wilder outstripped the rest of XIV Corps (including the 10th that was bogged down in heavy rain and muddy roads at the rear of the corps’ line of march). When Wilder surprised the Rebels and drove them through the length of the gap, he disobeyed his orders to hold his position at initial contact to wait for the rest of the corps. Instead, he took up defensive positions on the far southeastern entrance of the gap and with his overwhelming firepower due to his new Spencers, held off Confederate attempts to retake the gap until reinforced by oncoming elements of the corps. As such, the XIV Corp advance was so slowed by the rains that the 10th and its brigade arrived at the gap on 25 June in the afternoon and were ordered through to Garrison’s Creek ten miles to the south to turn the Rebel left flank. The 10th saw some light skirmishing on the right flank as the Rebels were repulsed in their own attempt at flanking the 3rd Division’s left flank. [13] The 10th pushed forward the next day and by the 3rd of July, the Rebels had fled Tullahoma. In the action, Mattingly and his comrades lost one man. [14]

Through the summer, Mattingly and the 10th were pulled back to garrison various locations that had been abandoned by the Rebels in middle Tennessee until August 16, when it rejoined . On that date, Rosecrans launched his campaign of maneuvering to force Bragg out of Chattanooga without a pitched battle. It worked brilliantly. The 10th as part of Brannan's 3rd Division of XIV Corps, moved across the Tennessee near the mouth of Battle Creek fifteen miles upstream from the rest of XIV Corps toward Chattanooga. Brannan's division crossed the river with 1st Brigade (COL Connell) on August 29, but they encountered no opposition as they swam the river, pushing their bundles of clothing and equipment on logs or other pieces of wood in front of them. After they had ensured that there were no Rebels around the crossing point, on 31 August, COL Van Derveer's 3rd Brigade, the three divisional artillery batteries, and Mattiny within COL Croxton's 2nd Brigade swam and rafted across.[15] Once across, it concentrated with the rest of XIV Corps near Trenton, Georgia in position to move through Stevens' Gap to pursue Bragg's army.[16]

After Negley's 2nd Division of XIV Corps fought with Cleburne's Division of D. H. Hill's Corps at Davis's Cross Roads on September 11, 1863, the Army of the Cumberland hurried to consolidate their vulnerable separated corps. Mattingly and the 10th began moving northeast toward Chickamauga Creek.

By 18 September, XIV Corps had moved northeast and was anchoring the Arm of the Cumberland's left at Lee and Gordon's Mill. As a result of delaying actions at Reed's and Alexander's Bridges across Chickamauga Creek, Rosecrans realized his left flank was exposed and Bragg was trying to get between him and his base at Chattanooga. Due to this XIV Corps was moved further north to Kelly's Field. Mattingly was with the 10th when their 2nd Brigade positioned on the right of Brannan's 3rd Division at the extreme left of the XIV Corps flank. Rosecrans had placed his reserve Corps under MGEN Granger two miles to the north of Thomas' XIV left end at McAfee's Church. Mattingly and his surviving mates were luckier than their comrades on the line . A cold front had come through and after a very warm day, the temperature dropped. Mattingly and the 10th were lucky to have fires. Those soldiers on or closer to the front line were could not light fires due to the close proximity of the two armies in the night.[17]

On the morning of 19 September, Brannan received word that Rebel cavalry from Forrest's Cavalry Corps had been separated from the main enemy body in the woods between Reed's Bridge and Alexander's Bridge Roads. Mattingly and his messmates received the word to fall in while they were still making their coffee and were a little disgruntled at having to eat on the move.[18] As the 2nd Brigade moved forward to contact, the 10th in the second line was shifted to the extreme left of the brigade where it drove off Davidson's Cavalry Brigade of Pegram's Division under Forrest. The brigade was soon attacked by infantry from Walker's Reserve Corps. On the right of the brigade, the 74th Indiana found its right being outflanked by Rebels. Croxton pulled Mattingly's regiment from the other end of the brigade line at the double-quick to ahore up his right. The 10th passed through and behind the 74th and face perpendicular to the original line catching the Rebels in the right flank and stopping them. [19] The 74th regrouped and took the end of the right flank so that the brigade now formed an "L" shape in the woods with the 10th, 14th Ohio, and 74th in the stem and the 4th Kentucky and 10th Indian in the foot. In this position, the brigade fought fiercely resisting all Rebel attempts to shift it until they ran out of ammunition just before noon.[17] BGEN John King's brigade of U.S. Army regulars relieved them.

The action had been quite heavy and Mattingly's Company B was in the thick of the fighting, losing more than twenty men in one hour of fighting the woods.[20] The whole brigade withdrew a half mile out of the woods to La Fayette Road to replenish their ammunition. Once re-armed, they moved back to engage the enemy joining their division on its northern, left flank just to the right of Baird's 1st Division which was the new XIV left flank.[21] Their new position was on the crest of a ridge a quarter-mile west of their original position in the woods.[22]

Once again, the brigade repulsed attempts by Walker's Corps to break the Army of the Cumberland's line. By 14:00, they had again fired away all their ammunition, as had the rest of their division. This time, they were relieved in the line by Johnson's 2nd Division of McCook's XX Corps, and received direction from Brannan to withdraw west of La Fayette Road at the foot of Horseshoe Ridge to resupply.

While the division was resupplying, Baird's 1st Division was being steadily pressed back. By the time King's 3rd Brigade reached Brotherton Filed just east of La Fayette Road, it was flanked, overwhelmed and broke. Initially alerted, Mattingly and the 10th were kept below horseshoe ridge as Thomas chose the 92nd Illinois Mounted Infantry which had been detached from Wilder's Lightning Brigade in Reynolds'4th Division to act as a Corps quick reaction reserve. While Mattingly and his comrades looked on, the 92nd, three companies of whom were completely armed with Spencer rifles,[23] successfully stopped the Confederates with their superior firepower.[24]

It was by now 16:00, and the 10th were kept at the foot of the ridge as an ad hoc reserve.[25] Mattingly and his regiment had just fought their first "real" battle and had acquitted themselves well.[26] Mattingly and his regiment were moved further south back towards Lee & Gordon's Mill where they spent the cold night. Mattingly and his surviving mates were luckier than their comrades on the line . A cold front had come through and after a very warm day, the temperature dropped. Mattingly and the 10th were lucky to have fires. Those soldiers on or closer to the front line were could not light fires due to the close proximity of the two armies in the night.[27]

At 03:00, on the morning of 20 September, Mattingly moved northeast with his regiment back to the ridge crest they had occupied the prior afternoon. All along the line, Federal troops were building ad hoc breastworks.[28] After occupying the position for three hours, at 07:00, they were moved further left (North) so that they were on the right of the brigade on the left of the division.[25]

At 09:00, the Rebels attacked. Initially, Mattingly's foes were Stewart's Division of Buckner's Corps, and Mattingly and his comrades held them at bay. Unknown to them, Rosecrans' misread of the tactical situation around 11:00 led to a gap opening in the Federal line at the other end of their division's line. Also, during the night, Bragg had reorganized his army into two wings under LTGEN Polk (right) and LTGEN Longstreet (left, including finally all of his command from Virginia),[29] and at 11:00, an attack column of Longstreet's veterans from the Army of Northern Virginia hit the gap and broke through the Federal line.[30] The column under command of MGEN Hood poured through and caught Federal troops out of position on the march north from McCook's XX Corps to reinforce Thomas.[31] As well as Stewart's troops to their front, Mattingly and his regiment soon had Law's Division flanking their right. As the other brigades in the division began to give way under the onslaught, Col Croxton ordered the brigade to fall back to Horseshoe Ridge. Executing a fighting withdrawal, the 10th was pushed back with the rest of the division to the crest of the ridge by the Snodgrass House.[25]

On the ridge, Mattingly and the 10th, although having suffered heavy casualties, regrouped and replenished their ammunition which had almost run out during the withdrawal. The whole brigade was kept in reserve behind the developing Federal line on the ridge for the moment.[32] While the Army of the Cumberland's right was collapsing and reeling back along the roads toward Chattanooga, Brannan kept a cool head and faced his division southeast at the foot of Horseshoe Ridge. After a brief respite, at 11:30, he called Croxton to bring his brigade back into line. Mattingly and his regiment were brought forward and place in line next to some artillery that formed below the ridge at the northern edge of Poe Field just inside the trees.[32]

The brigade built breastworks again of whatever material they could find.[33] The Army of Northern Virginia veterans kept coming in greater numbers. The 10th's brigade were soon hotly fighting BGEN Robertson's Arkansans and Texans as first, COL James L Sheffield's Alabamans, and then BGEN Benning's Georgians crossed the southern end of Poe Field below the brigade, presenting their right flank. The artillery opened fire to great effect. While Sheffield continued west pursuing the broken Federals, Benning turned to face Croxton's brigade, and attacked north across the field to add to the weight of Robertson. The action grew even hotter for Mattingly and his comrades as it neared noon.

At this point of the battle, Croxton was wounded and Mattingly's commander, COL Hays had to assume command of the brigade. The 10th and the rest of the brigade broke under the weight of the two brigades attacking them and fell back in disarray up Horseshoe Ridge where the rest of XIV Corps and odd lots from XX and XXI Corps were forming a new line.[34] On the crest Hays was busy restoring order to the 14th Ohio and 4th Kentucky who had broken and streamed west to the ridge. Meanwhile, the 10th's new commander, LTC Wharton managed to rally the surviving members of the regiment, Mattingly included. Hays joined the 10th with the 10th and 74th Indiana and withdrew orderly north into Reynolds's division on Snodgrass Hill.[35]

Brannan was organizing the units from his shattered division along the heavily wooded ridge. Brannan, with the assistance of COL Walker and future congressman BGEN John Beatty (who had assumed command of the division from MGEN Negley who suffering from dysentery and exhaustion was rendered completely ineffective[36][37]) managed to construct a line along the ridge from the remnants of his and Negley's divisions. Mattingly and the 10th found themselved ordered to the middle, highest of three crests of Horseshoe Ridge. By 12:45, Mattingly was in a new Union line that was holding their position.

Brannan with The regiment fought on against the Rebel onslaught against Thomas' position holding Snodgrass Hill and which now included some brigades and divisions from XX and XXI Corps. The remainder of the Army of the Cumberland had dissolved to the point that the only cohesive, intact unit remaining south of the 10th and the rest of Thomas' command was Wilder's which had seriously mauled the left flank of Longstreet's attack column due to the firepower.[38]

After Missionary Ridge.

Mattingly received his medal in Kentucky on April 7, 1865.[2]{ In 1867, he married Amanda Georgia “Mandy” Tucker (1844-1926). They had five children, three boys and two girls: Phillip Raymond Mattingly (1869–1934), Sarah Rose Mattingly Dobson (1875–1961), James Henry Mattingly (1879–1975), John Cleveland Mattingly (1884–1963), and Mary Eva Mattingly Swanner (1887–1987) [1] He remained married to Mandy until his death in Shepherdsville, KY, at age 49 in 1893. He was survived by his wife, and children.[2][1]