FIFTH TENNESSEE CAVALRY
The 5th Tennessee Cavalry was commanded by Colonel William B. Stokes
of DeKalb County, Tennessee. One of its assignments was to clear White County,
Tennessee of the guerrillas operating in the county.
On Feb. 22, 1864, a scouting party of Company I, K and L of the 5th Tennessee Cavalry lead by Captain Ezekiel W. Bass were ambushed by the a force lead by Colonel Hughes and the guerrilla Champ Ferguson in White County, Tennessee. This battle is commonly called the Battle of Dug Hill, and was called Battle of Johnson’s Mills by the Union Army. This battle occurred on the Dug Hill Road which lead out of Dry Valley.
There has been published both in books and the internet claims of the number of Union soldiers killed in this battle. On a Champ Ferguson internet site it is claimed that "Federals lost half their party". Rev. Monroe Seals in his, "History of White County Tennessee", said that "about eighty or eighty five of the Federals were killed". In my research I noticed that Colonel Hughes overstated the casualties of the Union forces in which he fought against. The Muster Out Rosters of Union Companies gives the names of all members of the Company that died during the war including date, cause, and where death occurred. I checked the Company rosters for the 5th Tennessee Cavalry and only 22 men were killed in the battle. Another man, Pvt. Wesley Jenkins, was killed after he was captured. Several of these killed were from DeKalb County, Tennessee. The list of those killed is listed below:
Company I
Sgt James A. Finley, age 21
Sgt John G. Richardson
Corp Berryman Holder, age 37
Pvt Shelton Harris, age 21
Pvt Riley M. Richardson, age 26
Pvt Ling Vickers, age 44
Pvt Adam Vandergriff, age 21
Pvt William R. Vance, age 25
Pvt John McGee, age 18
Company K
Sgt David Grunstaff, age 27
Sgt George C. Turney, age 20
Pvt James Baugh, age 18
Pvt David A. Farmer, age 19
Pvt James Hail, age 40
Pvt Jonathan Jones, age 19
Pvt Thomas J. Pistole, age 20
Pvt Alexander Stanley, age 19
Captured
Pvt Wesley Jenkins, age 18
Company L
Pvt James H. Fuston, age 24
Pvt James K. P. Lee, age 18
Pvt John Foaks, age 27
Pvt Perry M. Puckett, age 18.
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