Pvt. Mark McMullen

C.S.A.

Private, Co.E, 19th Arkansas Infantry June 16th, 1862 - April 26, 1865

Mark McMullen (b. Dec. 16, 1829 TN) was the 9th of 14 children born to Cullen McMullen, Sr. (b. ~1794 NC) and Abigail Whitehead (b. ~1793 NC). Mark, his parents, and his sibs (Mary Eliza, b. 1818 NC; William A., b. ?; Andrew J., b. ?; Sarah Ann, b. ~1822 TN; Abigail, b. ~1826 TN; Alexander A., b. ~1827 TN?; Cullen Jr., b. ~1828 TN; Margaret A., b. ?; Martha J., b. ~1832 TN?; Martilla, b. ? TN; Almedia, b. ~1835 TN; Elanor, b. ~1837 TN; Nathan James, b. May 31, 1839 TN) lived in both Carroll County, TN and Tallahatchie County, MS as indicated by court and census documents between the years 1830-1850.

Family history states that Mark McMullen may have lived in Louisiana at this time, perhaps on the plantation supposedly owned by his father "along the bend of the Red River." Sometime in the mid-1850s, Mark McMullen moved to SW Arkansas since his name appears on an Oct. 15, 1856 land deed for Sevier Co. AR with his brother-in-law Wiley Bishop (b. 1813, NC). This land deed indicates that Mark McMullen and Wiley Bishop (husband of Mary Eliza McMullen) purchased 4,293 acres along the Red River, near Richmond, AR for $10,033 as co-owners.

The July 4, 1860 census taken for Richmond, Red River Township, Sevier (now Little River) County, AR lists Wiley and Mary Eliza Bishop living next to Mark McMullen; Wiley's real estate is valued at $13,000 while Mark's is valued at $18,000 - suggesting perhaps that Mark McMullen paid a majority of the 1856 land deed price. Both brothers-in-law owned considerable land and slaves during these last few years before the holocaust of the War Between The States.

On June 16, 1862, Mark McMullen was enlisted as a Private into Co. E of the 19th Arkansas Infantry CSA by Colonel Charles L. Dawson; this occurred at the town of Rocky Comfort, Sevier Co. AR. According to Merrill T. Pence, in his 1994 monograph 19th Arkansas Infantry Regiment CSA (Dawson's), the 19th Arkansas Infantry then assembled at Center Point, AR by June 20, 1862 and then marched to Camp Shaver, probably near modern day Pine Bluff, AR. Here Pvt. McMullen and his comrades were equipped and their regiment reorganized by election of new officers. At this time, the men of the 19th Arkansas Infantry were properly trained in movements and deployment as per Hardee's Tactics by Colonel R.G. Shaver. Sometime after their first pay muster on Aug. 31, 1862, when Pvt. Mark McMullen received his first monthly pay of $11.00, the 19th Arkansas Infantry was sent to guard Fort Hindman at Arkansas Post, AR, arriving there about Sept. 28, 1862.

The 19th Arkansas Infantry was part of the 5,000 soldiers commanded by CSA Brigadier General Thomas J. Churchill at Fort Hindman. The New Year of 1863 brought a Federal invasion force of some 33,000 men and 3 ironclad gunboats - all under the overall command of Major General John A. McClernand - to Arkansas Post. On Jan. 4, the Federal force attacked Fort Hindman from two directions. At this time, the 19th Arkansas Infantry was under the direct command of Lt. Colonel Augustus S. Hutchinson, and deployed at the far (East) end of the Confederate rifle pits immediately West of Post Bayou as documented in Bearss (1959, Ark. Hist. Quart. 18:237-279). At 1:00 pm on Jan. 11, 1863, the Federal ironclads Louisville, DeKalb, and Cincinnati on the Arkansas River commenced shelling the Confederate defenders, silencing Fort Hindman's cannons by around 4:00 pm. During the bombardment, Pvt. Mark McMullen and his 19th Arkansas comrades fought from behind trees while fending off two attempts by the 3rd Missouri and 31st Iowa Infantries to turn the Rebel flank. Federal Brigadier General Alvin P. Hovey then directed two 12-pounder Napoleon cannons to shell the Arkansawyers' precarious position; after two salvoes, white flags were displayed from the Confederate earthworks near the fort. Confusion ensued since some of the Southern defenders under Colonel James Deshler and adjacent to the 19th Arkansas Infantry kept firing their muskets despite the white flags. Negotiations then ensued between Reb and Yank - Major General William Tecumseh Sherman asking Colonel Deshler "What does this mean? You are a regular officer, and ought to know better!" Deshler angrily replied that he had received no orders to surrender, but was then convinced by CSA Brigadier General Churchill to have his men stack arms. Yankee casualties were reported as 134 killed, 989 wounded, and 29 missing; incomplete returns of Confederate losses indicated 60 killed and 80 wounded. However, 4,791 Confederate soldiers - including Pvt. Mark McMullen, Co. E, 19th Arkansas Infantry - were captured by the victorius Federals that day.

The next day, Jan. 12, 1863, lists of the Rebel prisoners were made before they were loaded onto Federal transport boats and departed for St. Louis; they arrived on Jan. 24 amid chunks of ice floating downstream the Mississippi River with snow falling. The enlisted men of the 19th Arkansas Infantry, including Pvt. McMullen, arrived at Alton, IL on Jan. 28 before departing in railroad cars to Chicago, where they arrived on Jan. 29, and being confined in unheated barracks at POW Camp Douglas. The bitter cold took its toll of the unaccustomed Southrons - 12 froze to death one night before they were moved to heated buildings. Pvt. Mark McMullen is listed on a Camp Douglas POW roll dated Feb. 8, 1863; family history states that he "...had smuggled gold coins into prison in his mouth, allowing him to bribe Yankee guards to buy him whiskey and this saved his life." During Feb. 1863, 387 of 3,884 Confederate POWs in Camp Douglas died - a loss of 10% in a single month! Exposure, disease, and poor diet killed 189 (30%) of the soldiers in the 19th Arkansas Infantry during their 3 month imprisonment. Camp Douglas records indicate that the POWs died from smallpox, typhoid, pneumonia, congestive heart failure, meningitis, and diarrhea (dysentery). Most, but not all of the dead POWs were buried in a mass grave in the Chicago Oak Woods Cemetery. Some survived by taking the Oath of Allegiance to the United States and were released. Pvt. Mark McMullen, not one of those, luckily survived (perhaps due to his whiskey obtained from bribed guards) and was exchanged/released from Camp Douglas on Apr. 2, 1863 before arriving at City Point, VA via railroad on Apr. 10.

From City Point, VA, Pvt. Mark McMullen and his fellow soldiers in the 19th Arkansas Infantry boarded ships for Williamsburg, VA on Apr. 11, 1863. The men of the 19th Arkansas Infantry then went by railroad to Petersburg, VA where they rested and hopefully recovered from their POW ordeal. On May 4, they were assembled and issued new arms and equipment before again taking trains to Richmond, VA - here they were reunited with their officers (imprisoned elsewhere in Federal POW camps) on May 6, 1863. A total of 331 enlisted men and 31 officers had been exchanged by their Yankee captors during April of 1863; according to Merrill T. Pence (1994), about 308 men (combined enlisted and officers) returned to active service in the 19th Arkansas Infantry during May of 1863. These soldiers, including Pvt. McMullen, departed Richmond, VA by train on May 11, reaching Tullahoma, TN on May 17 - here they were reorganized and placed in the (soon to be famous) Division of Major General Patrick Ronayne Cleburne, Hardee's Corps, Army of Tennessee under overall command of Lt. General Braxton Bragg. At this time, Pvt. Mark McMullen was one of only 30 men recorded for Co. E, 19th Arkansas Infantry; the regiment (total force of ~320 men) was at this time still commanded by Lt. Colonel Augustus S. Hutchinson. Because of its small size, the 19th Arkansas Infantry was consolidated with another understrength regiment, the 24th Arkansas Infantry, on May 23, 1863. Some survivors of Crawford's Battalion were also merged into the newly formed 19th & 24th Consolidated Arkansas Infantry about this time.

As shown on his CSA service records, Pvt. Mark McMullen was present during the so-called Tullahoma Campaign when Federal Major General William S. Rosecrans repeatedly outflanked the Confederate Army of Tennessee during the Summer of 1863. On June 24, the 19th/24th Arkansas Infantry became part of now Brigadier General James Deshler's brigade in Cleburne's Division. Bragg's Army of Tennessee continued to fall back towards Chattanooga, TN during this time; the 19th/24th Arkansas Infantry moving first to Tyner Station, TN during the last week of August and were deployed as skirmishers at that time. Pvt. Mark McMullen and the 19th/24th Arkansas Infantry then moved to Harrison, TN on Aug. 31, maintaining combat readiness while probing for Federal weaknesses.

Although no CSA service records have yet been found confirming Pvt. Mark McMullen's participation in the horrific battle of Chickamauga, GA (Sept. 19-20, 1863), family history states that he was indeed present at that time. The 19th/24th Arkansas Infantry saw action on both days during the Battle of Chickamauga. On Sept. 19 as the sun set, General Cleburne threw his division against the Federal brigades of Dodge, Willich, Baldwin, Starkweather, and Scribner just South of Jay's Mill and across the Winfrey Field. At 6:00 pm, Deshler's Brigade (including the 19th/24th Arkansas Infantry) advanced West and just South of the Winfrey House, but did not make actual contact with Federal Colonel Joseph B. Dodge's brigade until after nightfall; at this time most of Brigadier General Deshler's skirmishers blundered into their Yankee foes and were captured. In the dark and smoke, Deshler halted his brigade to reorganize while Goodspeed's Federal artillery battery shelled his right flank. Both Federal and Confederate brigades were unable to distinguish friend from foe in the smoky darkness and fell back to their main lines. Fighting renewed the next day, Sept. 20, but Cleburne's Division did not attack until after 11:00 am because of disorganization from the previous night's fire-fight. Deshler's Brigade was then positioned immediately behind the CSA brigades of Clayton, Bate, Wood, and Brown while facing West towards the La Fayette Road, just North of the Brotherton House. During its attack, Deshler's Brigade, including the 19th/24th Arkansas Infantry, veered at a 45o angle, moving Northwest towards the Southeast corner of the Kelly Field; there it struck the breastworks made by the Federal brigades of Brigadier Generals Hazen and Turchin. As documented by Peter Cozzens in his book This Terrible Sound: The Battle of Chickamauga (1992), the soldiers in Deshler's Brigade were hammered by cannon and musket fire so intense that they were forced to lie down flat and hold their positions as ordered by Major General Cleburne. During this time, Brigadier General James Deshler was eviscerated by a Federal shell, literally tearing his heart out of his thorax. The 19th/24th Arkansas Infantry again commanded by Lt. Colonel A.S. Hutchinson, fought over 3 hours before falling back; their casualties (8 killed, 97 wounded, 1 missing for a total of 106 out of 226 engaged) were not in vain, however. Major General Cleburne's desperate assault distracted Major General Rosecrans and his Federal forces into redeploying toward the North, away from the Brotherton House and Field; this just as Confederate Lt. General James Longstreet sent 8 brigades (~11,000 men) crashing across the La Fayette Road at that position. The main Federal line crumbled and was routed as a result - General Bragg and the Army of Tennessee had won its biggest victory, but at a horrendous cost: 2,312 killed, 14,674 wounded, 1,468 missing for 18,454 total Confederate casualties out of ~68,000 effectives. Rosecrans' Federal Army of the Cumberland losses were 1,656 killed, 9,749 wounded, 4,774 missing for 16,179 total casualties out of 57,840 engaged. The two-day battle produced combined Confederate/Federal casualties of over 34,600 men.

The CSA service records of Pvt. Mark McMullen, Co. E, 19th Arkansas Infantry confirm that he was present at the battles of Missionary Ridge/Tunnel Hill, TN and Ringgold Gap, GA when Federal forces now under the overall command of Major General Ulysses S. Grant broke the Confederate siege of Chattanooga, TN being conducted by General Bragg's Army of Tennessee. On Nov. 15, 1863 the 19th Arkansas Infantry was consolidated with the 8th Arkansas Infantry and the 24th Arkansas Infantry was combined with the 2nd and 15th Arkansas Infantries. On Nov. 25, the newly formed 8th/19th Consolidated Arkansas Infantry and other Arkansas regiments in Liddell's Brigade (now commanded by Brigadier General Daniel C. Govan) were positioned at Tunnel Hill, on the North end of Missionary Ridge, TN by Major General Cleburne. This was done to contest the advance of Federal forces under Major General William Tecumseh Sherman in concert with the major Federal assault against Confederate forces on Missionary Ridge proper. Cleburne's inspired resistance against Sherman's assault delayed the main Federal assault against Missionary Ridge for several hours; Govan's Brigade (containing the 8th/19th Arkansas Infantry and Pvt. McMullen) formed a reserve and helped support Cleburne's right flank while Sherman's main assault came against the left. When the Federal breakthrough by Major General George H. Thomas' Army of the Cumberland was made through the center of Missionary Ridge, Cleburne's Division made a fighting withdrawal until most of the Army of Tennessee had retreated to safety from immediate annihilation. The dispirited Rebels shouted at their commanding officer, General Braxton Bragg, as he passed: "Here's your mule!" and "Hooray for Bragg, he's bully on retreat!" The next day, Nov. 26, 1863 saw the defeated Army of Tennessee being pursued by Federal brigades commanded by Major General Joe Hooker; the Confederate supply wagons lagging behind the more rapidly moving infantry were in peril of being captured by the Yankee cavalry. In desperation, General Braxton Bragg specifically ordered Major General Patrick Cleburne and his crack division to defend the narrow gap just East of Ringgold, GA as a critical rearguard action.

Sometime after 10:00 pm on the night of Nov. 26, 1863, Major General Cleburne and his division were ordered to ford the icy waters of South Chickamauga Creek and enter Ringgold, GA for their holding action against Hooker's Federal forces. Thinking of his tired soldiers, Cleburne refused, saying he would bivouac his army on the Northern bank for the night and then ford the creek at 4:00 am the next morning. Another messenger from General Bragg gave Cleburne a written message shortly after midnight: "Tell General Cleburne to hold his position at all hazards, and to keep back the enemy until the transportation of the army is secured, the salvation of which depends upon him." Before dawn on Friday, Nov. 27, Pvt. Mark McMullen and his fellow Arkansawyers were awaken and moved toward South Chickamauga Creek, where large bonfires roared on the opposite bank. Shoes, socks, pants, and drawers were removed before quickly wading the stinging-cold, waist-deep water. Clambering up over the icy banks, the chilled men gathered around the fires, quickly dressed, warmed themselves - but not long enough to dry their clothing - and then marched through Ringgold to the gap beyond, located between Taylor's Ridge and White Oak Mountain. Ringgold Gap, 1/2 mile east of the town, was 1,000 feet wide and about 4,000 feet long; passing through it were the Western & Atlantic Railroad, wagon road to Dalton, GA, and South Chickamauga Creek; today Interstate-75 also passes through its narrow confines. Major General Cleburne personally placed the regiments under his command (4,117 men) for maximum effectiveness against the pursuing Yankee hordes - Pvt. Mark McMullen and the 8th/19th Arkansas Infantry were placed in the center of the gap itself, 5 paces directly behind the first line formed by the 5th/13th Consolidated Arkansas Infantry, and in front of the third line formed by the 6th/7th Consolidated Arkansas Infantry. These 3 regiments were directly behind and in support of the two Napoleon cannons of Lt. Richard Goldthwaite's section of Semple's Battery; these cannons were masked by screens of branches in front of the cannons for camouflage purposes. Major General Patrick Ronayne Cleburne waited there with his men in the center of Ringgold Gap, undoubtedly inspiring Pvt. McMullen and the rest of the outnumbered Confederates; the brigades of Granbury, Lowrey, and Polk occupied the heights of White Oak Mountain to the North of Cleburne's central position. At about 7:30 am, the head of Major General Hooker's force, 3 Federal divisions under Brigadier Generals Osterhaus, Geary, and Cruft (~15,190 men) came into view and advanced upon Granbury's Texans shortly after 8:00 am. Federal Brigadier General Woods then sent the 13th Illinois Infantry forward against the gap, advancing to within 50 yards of Cleburne's hidden position before he sang out in his Irish brogue, "Now, Lieutenant, give it to 'em, now!" as he supposedly jumped into the air and clapped his feet together. Goldthwaite's cannons blasted canister into the massed Yankees as Confederate muskets joined in - an event Pvt. Mark McMullen likely took part in since his position was directly behind the Confederate cannons. About noon, after several hours of continuous fighting, Cleburne received word from General Bragg that the Army of Tennessee wagon trains and the Army of Tennessee itself were now safe, so he began a slow, fighting withdrawal of his division from their rocky citadel. In almost 4 hours, Cleburne and his division lost 20 killed, 190 wounded, 11 missing out of 4,117 effectives; Federal casualties were reported as 65 killed, 424 wounded, 20 missing out of 15,190 engaged. For their Thermopylae-like struggle against overwhelming odds, General Cleburne and his division received a Resolution of Thanks from the Confederate Congress on Feb. 9, 1864. The unique flag of Cleburne's Division - the silver moon on the blue field - was now very well-known to their Northern adversaries.

After Ringgold Gap, GA, both Confederate and Federal forces encamped for the Winter, with General Braxton Bragg resigning as the commander of the Army of Tennessee on Dec. 2, 1863. Cleburne's Division, including Pvt. McMullen and the 8th/19th Arkansas Infantry, constructed their Winter quarters at Tunnel Hill, GA (7 miles North of the main Army of Tennessee encampment at Dalton, GA) shortly thereafter. On Dec. 27, 1863, General Joseph E. Johnston took command of the Army of Tennessee and began to restore the morale of its disillusioned soldiers. The mens' spirits obviously improved during this Winter hiatus from battle with the Federal forces. For on March 22, 1864, Cleburne's Division and the Army of Tennessee did engage in a memorable "snowball war" at Dalton, GA - Cleburne placed himself at the head of his old (now Polk's) brigade as they attacked Govan's Brigade with a barrage of snowballs. Govan's Brigade (including Pvt. McMullen and the 8th/19th Arkansas Infantry) counterattacked and "captured" their commander before being "paroled". Cleburne was released, the snowball war continued, and Cleburne was "captured" once again by Govan's men - this time they jokingly confronted him over his "violation of parole", calling for him to be "arrested and carry a fence rail" as punishment. However, Cleburne was "paroled" yet again before he authorized a ration of whiskey to his rowdy soldiers, and they all stood around great bonfires singing and yelling in glee. The relationship between Major General Patrick Ronayne Cleburne and his men was clearly a special one.

Pvt. Mark McMullen's CSA service records list him as "present" from Jan. 1 through May 1, 1864. There is no actual documentation for him between May 2 and June 29 except for his name on a receipt roll for clothing and dated simply "June 1864." During this time, Federal Major General William Tecumseh Sherman launched his Atlanta Campaign against General Joe Johnston's Army of Tennessee and the 8th/19th Arkansas Infantry (within Govan's Brigade of Cleburne's Division). The 8th/19th Consolidated Arkansas Infantry fought at Dalton (May 5-11), Resaca (May 14-15), New Hope Church (May 25-June 4), Pickett's Mill (May 27), and Kennesaw Mountain (June 27). It is not currently known if Pvt. McMullen was actually present with the 8th/19th Arkansas Infantry during these engagements involving Cleburne's men. At Pickett's Mill, GA on May 27, 1864, Govan's Brigade and the 8th/19th Arkansas Infantry (then commanded by Colonel George F. Baucum) played an important role in this major Confederate victory. Major General Cleburne's own battle report for the battle at Pickett's Mill reads thusly: "...The enemy, driving back some cavalry at this point, advanced completely across the field and passed some forty or fifty yards in its rear. Here, however, they were confronted by the Eight and Nineteenth Arkansas, consolidated, commanded by Baucum, hastily sent by Govan upon Granbury's request and representation of the exigency. In a sweeping charge Baucum drove the enemy from the ridge in his front, and with irresistible impetuosity forced him across the field and back into the woods from which he had first advanced. Here he fixed himself and kept up a heavy fire, aided by a deadly enfilade from the bottom of the ravine in front of Granbury....". The Federal brigade of Brigadier General William B. Hazen was decimated by this fierce counterattack of Colonel Baucum's 8th/19th Arkansas Infantry - the ambushed Yankees losing at least 500 men in the first 45 minutes! Total Federal casualties for the battle were estimated at 1,732 with Confederate losses reported at 448.

Service record documents again list Pvt. Mark McMullen, Co. E, 19th Arkansas Infantry as being present between June 30 and Sept. 1, 1864; he participated in the major battles of Peachtree Creek, GA (July 20), Atlanta, GA (July 22), and Jonesboro, GA (Aug. 31-Sept. 1). At Peachtree Creek, the 8th/19th Arkansas Infantry was part of new Army of Tennessee commander General John Bell Hood's flawed battle plan. Cleburne's Division (including Pvt. McMullen and the 8th/19th Arkansas Infantry) was sent on a forced march to the area of Bald Hill (intersection of Moreland Avenue and Interstate-20 in modern Atlanta), reaching there at midnight. The next morning of July 21, the two Federal divisions of Brigadier Generals Mortimer D. Leggett and Giles A. Smith attacked Cleburne's single division on Bald Hill, the shallow rifle pits there offering little protection against accurate artillery barrages from Yankee cannon. Now enfiladed by Federal artillery, the outnumbered Confederates were then forced from their position by Brigadier General M.F. Force's brigade. Almost immediately, Federal artilleries were placed on Bald Hill by Federal Brigadier General Leggett - Atlanta was now in range of his cannons. After fighting all day on soon-to-be-named Leggett's Hill, Cleburne's exhausted men moved back into the Atlanta defenses, bivouacked for a hour and were then ordered by General Hood to march once again - this time for 12 hours before fighting the 8-hour long battle of Atlanta on July 22. At about 12:45 pm on July 22, Cleburne's exhausted men attacked Brigadier General Giles A. Smith's 4th Division along Flat Shoals Road, between Bald/Leggett's Hill and modern Atlanta's Glenwood Avenue. Cleburne's 3 brigades of Govan (containing the 8th/19th Arkansas Infantry), Lowrey, and Smith struck the Yankees in flank and drove them northward over a quarter-mile. In the process, they captured 2 Napoleon cannons of Powell's 2nd Illinois Light Battery, 6 3-inch ordinance rifles of Murray's 2nd U.S. Battery, and also the entire (!!!) 16th Iowa Infantry. For good measure during their advance, the men of Cleburne's Division also killed Federal Major General James B. McPherson. Overall, an AMAZING performance by Pvt. Mark McMullen and his comrades in Cleburne's Division considering their lack of rest and almost constant marching/fighting since July 20!

The staggering losses of the Confederate Army of Tennessee at Peachtree Creek on July 20 (approximately 2,500 casualties) and Atlanta on July 22 (5,500 casualties, 1,388 from Cleburne's Division) actually resulted in Confederate President Jefferson Davis instructing General Hood to not attack Sherman's army when it was entrenched. However, on Aug. 20, 1864, Hood once again sent the hardened veterans in Cleburne's Division to Lovejoy's Station, GA by railroad cars in an unsuccessful attempt to trap Brigadier General Judson Kilpatrick's Federal cavalry division. On Aug. 30, Sherman sent his XVII, XV, XIV, and IV Corps to Jonesboro, about 20 miles South of Atlanta, in a massive attempt to finally cut the last railroad line into Atlanta. That night, the two Confederate Corps of Lt. Generals William J. Hardee and Stephen D. Lee came by railroad to defend Jonesboro against the Federal onslaught. Hardee's Corps was actually commanded by Major General Cleburne and Cleburne's Division was led by Brigadier General Mark Lowrey this day. On Aug. 31, the outnumbered Confederates were repulsed once again, this time with Hardee's Corps being isolated at Jonesboro as S.D. Lee's Corps was recalled to Atlanta by General Hood for some strange reason. At 4:00 pm on Sept. 1, 1864, Cleburne's Division was simultaneously attacked by 3 Federal Corps from the West (Logan's XV Corps), Northwest (Davis' XIV Corps), and North (Stanley's IV Corps). The main assault by the massed brigades of Lum, Mitchell, and Dilworth came against the salient held by Govan's Brigade and captured several cannon and over 600 men - including not only Brigadier General Daniel C. Govan, but also Pvt. Mark McMullen, Co. E, 19th Arkansas Infantry. Govan's Brigade was literally swamped by a blue tidal wave which shot, bayonetted, and clubbed the overwhelmed Arkansawyers into submission. Jonesboro fell to the victorious Federals and the last railroad linking Atlanta to the outside world was severed; on Sept. 2, General Hood and the Army of Tennessee evacuated Atlanta and left it to Sherman's forces. According to Merrill T. Pence (1994), the 49 men from the 19th Arkansas Infantry who were captured at Jonesboro, GA on Sept. 1, 1864 were first marched 22 miles up to Atlanta on Sept. 4 and housed in barracks there until Sept. 7; at that time, they boarded a train for Chattanooga, TN. On Sept. 14, Pvt. McMullen and comrades were shipped in boxcars from Chattanooga to Nashville, TN, arriving there the next day.

Pvt. Mark McMullen's service records and research by Merrill T. Pence (1994) indicate that Pvt. McMullen was exchanged and returned to Cleburne's Division in the Army of Tennessee on Sept. 22, 1864 at Rough and Ready, GA. No actual documentation for him occurs again until Apr. 26, 1865 when he appears on a muster roll of Confederate soldiers paroled at Greensboro, NC; this following the surrender by General Joseph E. Johnston to General William T. Sherman. At that time, Pvt. Mark McMullen is listed in Co. I, 1st Consolidated Regiment Arkansas Infantry (following reorganization on Apr. 9, 1865); one of only 50 men left from Dawson's original 19th Arkansas Infantry. Although not known for certain at this time, it is likely that Pvt. Mark McMullen saw action during Hood's disastrous 1864 Tennessee Campaign (Spring Hill, TN on Nov. 29, 1864; Franklin TN on Nov. 30, 1864; Nashville, TN on Dec. 15-16, 1864) and also during the battle of Bentonville, NC (Mar. 19-21, 1865).

After the war, Mark McMullen returned to Richmond, AR as documented by his name appearing on a June 6, 1868 deed of trust document from the newly formed Little River County. He next appears in the Aug. 22, 1870 census taken for Hillsboro, Precinct No. 3, Hill County, TX; at this time, living in the same area as his older sister and brother-in-law, Mary Eliza McMullen Bishop and Wiley Bishop. In 1879, Mark McMullen married Mary Ellen Koonce (b. 1862 - d. 1936) at Shinoak Springs, near Gorman, in Eastland County, TX. They had the following children: Mark Jr. (b. 1880), Lee Roy (b. 1881), William Henry (b. 1884), John Harvey (b. 1887), Christopher Columbus (b. 1889), Nathan James (b. 1892), and Mary Ruth (b. 1894). Family history as recorded by his children and grandchildren, states that Mark McMullen never talked much about his service in the CSA. He did, however, describe in graphic detail how in some of the battles he was in, one could walk from corpse to corpse without touching the ground - a description of the well-documented carnage at Pickett's Mill, GA or perhaps Franklin, TN?

Pvt. Mark McMullen, Co. E, Dawson's 19th Arkansas Infantry, CSA died in 1915 and was buried in Gorman, Eastland County, TX. The Masonic symbol is prominent on his grave marker.

May 30, 1999

- by

Dorothy J. McMullen Ainsworth, Santee, CA
Aubrey L. McMullen, Jr., Tucson, AZ
Kenneth E. Byrd, Indianapolis, IN

- Granddaughter of Pvt. Mark McMullen.
- Great-grandson of Pvt. Mark McMullen.
- Great-great-great-nephew of Pvt. Mark McMullen and
Great-great-grandson of Mary Eliza McMullen Bishop & Wiley Bishop.

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