Episode 10: 1LT Fitch and the 21st Wisconsin Face PVT Watkins and the 1st Tennessee at the Battle of Perryville

First Person Civil War Podcast

At the Battle of Perryville, 1LT Michael H. Fitch of the 21st Wisconsin and PVT Sam Watkins of the 1st Tennessee follow their regiments into the fighting on the northern end of the battlefield. Both regiments directly engage each other in a Cornfield, where the 1st Tennessee, along with other Confederate Regiments, successfully route the 21st Wisconsin. 1LT Fitch and the 21st Wisconsin successfully rally and become the anchor for other Union Regiments to form around them. After Sam Watkins and the 1st Tennessee capture a Union Battery of Artillery, they move toward this newly reformed line of Union infantry and advance directly against the 21st Wisconsin for a second time. The Union line held firm and both regiments engaged each other at a distance for the remainder of the day.

Sources used for this episode:

Fitch, Michael H. Echoes of the Civil War as I hear Them. New York: R. F. Fenno & Company, 1905. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015003295188&seq=11.
Watkins, Sam R. Co. Aytch, Maury Grays, First Tennessee Regiment; Or, A Side Show of the Big Show. 2nd ed. Chattanooga: Times Printing Company 1900. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc2.ark:/13960/fk9t14v821&seq=3.
Scott, Robert N. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Ser. 1, Vol. 16, Pt. 1: Reports. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1886. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924079609594&view=1up&seq=3.