My
great grandfather,
"E.D. Osburn - 68" in the 1912 Cadiz Co CSA Memorial
dedication
picture, apparently with Co B, 8th KY Regiment. His
headstone in the
Canton cemetery is no longer there (seem to remember a
picture of a short
obelisk with Co B, 3rd? KY -- but must have been the 8th
and that's gone now
too). The online burials list:
Yates Cemetery, Trigg, KY Headstone: Ephraim D.
OSBURN, May 4, 1844 -
Sept. 5, 1913 (Co. B, 8th KY Regt.) [C.S.A.].
The History of Trigg County, Historical and
Biographical, ed. W.H.
Perrin,
F.A. Battey Pub. Co., Chicago, 1884. Page 260. [Rock
Castle Precinct]
[Copied from http://www.starbase21.com/kybiog/trigg/osburn.ed.txt
(KY Biography Project)] lists:
EPHRAIM D. OSBURN, farmer, was born in Trigg County, Ky.,
May 4, 1842, and
is a son of Miles and Margaret (Sanders) Osburn, the
former a native of
Mississippi, the latter a native of Kentucky, of English
descent,
respectively. Miles Osburn came to Kentucky when
quite young; was reared
by his half-brother, and remained with him till [sic] he
was married; he
then settled in Rock Castle Precinct, and followed
farming; he remained
there till [sic] the fall of 1883, when he sold out and
moved to Illinois,
where he now resides; he is a member of the church, and
one of the leading
citizens of Trigg County. Ephraim D. Osburn remained
with his parents
until January 16, 1864, when he was married to Sarah E.
Luttrell, a native
of Kentucky. Nine children blessed their union, of
whom five sons and one
daughter are living. At about the age of eighteen
Mr. Osburn learned the
carpenter trade, and follows it in connection with
farming, his principal
occupation. In 1862 he enlisted in the Eighth
Kentucky Regiment,
Company
B, and served three years. Mr. Osburn is a
firm believer in the
doctrine
of the Baptist Church; he owns a farm in Rock Castle
Precinct, and is one
of the representative men in the county. Politically
he is a Democrat.
From HISTORY OF TRIGG COUNTY (1884)
CHAPT V Companies B and D, Eighth Regiment Kentucky Infantry.About the
beginning of September, 1861, two other Confederate
companies were organized in
the county, one at Noah's Spring, Montgomery Co.,
Tenn., under the
following officers: A. C. Buckner, Captain; William Henry,
First Lieutenant;
Preston H. Davis, Second Lieutenant; F. G. Terry, Third
Lieutenant, and
numbering eighty-five men, rank and file; the other at
Wallonia, under Jabez Bingham,
Captain; J. S. Wall, First Lieutenant; E. S. Pool, Second
Lieutenant; and
William Miller, Third Lieutenant, and numbering 104 men.
After remaining at
Noah's Spring some two weeks the one under Buckner moved
to Hopkinsville and
went into camp at the fair grounds, where they were
assigned to the Eighth
Regiment of Kentucky Infantry as Company D. The other
company remained at
Wallonia till about the 23d of October, when they also
moved to Hopkinsville
and joined the Eighth Regiment as Company B.
Shortly after the arrival of these two companies the
Eighth was reorganized
with Henry C. Burnett as Colonel, Reuben Ross
Lieutenant-Colonel, and First
Lieutenant William Henry of Company D promoted to Major.
On the promotion of
Henry, Lieutenants Davis and Terry were promoted in turn,
and George Wilford
elected Brevet Second Lieutenant. Another change in the
regiment took place in
a short while. Lieut.-Col. Rosa resigned and H. P. Lyon
was promoted from
Captain of Artillery to fill the vacancy. He joined the
regiment at Providence,
Tenn., January, 1862, while en route for Fort
Donelson, where
they were ordered to join the brigade under Gen. Clark.
Before reaching Fort
Donelson First Lieut. Wall, of Company B, died, and J. W.
Brown was elected to
fill the vacancy. The brigade under Clark was assigned to
a position on the
left of the "Winne Ferry" road, and for two days were
under a heavy
and galling fire from the shore batteries. On the morning
of the third day,
Saturday, they were sent to relieve Floyd's Brigade which
had been detached and
sent to another part of the field to make a flank
movement. The brigade were
not long in their new position before they were charged by
the enemy in heavy
force. Though for the first time face to face with an
enemy the men deported
themselves with the steadiness of veterans. The charge was
gallantly repulsed,
and $ countercharge made in turn in which the enemy were
driven, the famous
Swarta's battery captured, and a number of prisoners
taken. Among others in
this day's fight Lieut. Terry was wounded and sent back to
the hospital at
Nashville. On Sunday morning before the surrender Capt.
Buckner and Lieut.
Davis and some eight or ten men made their escape from the
fort, and with Terry
fell in with Johnston's army as they retreated through
Tennessee. The rest of
the command were sent to prison at Camps Morton and
Chase, where they
remained till the following September, when they were exchanged
at Vicksburg.
At Jackson, Miss., shortly after being exchanged, the
Eighth was re..organized
with Lyon, Colonel; A. R. Shacklett, Lieutenant-Colonel;
Jabez Bingham, Major;
and John Couch, Adjutant. The companies were reorganized
as follows: Company D,
F. G. Terry, Captain; George Wilford, First Lieutenant;
Lee Turner, Second
Lieutenant; W. D. Smith, Brevet Lieut3nant; and Joseph H.
Mitchell, Orderly
Sergeant; Company B, J. W. Brown, Captain; W. L. Dunning,
First Lieutenant; J.
E. Kelly, Second Lieutenant; and J. R. Gilfoy, Brevet
Second Lieutenant. From
Jackson the regiment was ordered to Holly Springs under
Gen. Baldwin,
Tilghman'e Division, to intercept Grant. Grant coming up,
Tilghman retreated to
Coffeeville, Miss., where he encountered and repulsed the
enemy under Gen. Lee.
After this the command went into winter quarters at
Grenada. In the spring of 1863
they were sent to re-inforce the garrison at Fort
Pemberton, at the head of the
Yazoo River, where, in about a month, the enemy
withdrawing, were sent to the
assistance of Gen. Bowen at Grand Gulf. On the march to
Grand Gulf the Eighth
was assigned to Buford's Brigade of Loring's Division, and
on reaching Big
Black River found Gen. Bowen, who had been compelled to
retreat.
Captain Terry's company were mounted at Big Black Bridge,
where they had been
sent to intercept the enemy's cavalry, and here, until
Pemberton had gathered
his forces in hand, defended this important crossing.
In the general battle which ensued at Champion Hill,
the Eighth took an
active part, and here Lieut. Kelly of Company B
was severely wounded.
Pemberton was defeated and fell back on the Big Black. The
enemy pursued with
vigor, and Pemberton continued his retreat to Vicksburg.
At the
"bridge" Col. Lyon got possession of a battery, and being
an
experienced artillerist succeeded in holding the Federals
in check till the
rest of the army were safely drawn off. This accomplished,
he turned and
contested the balance of the way to the works at
Vicksburg. The Eighth
,remained in Vicksburg only about a week, when being
mounted Col. Lyon was
ordered to make his way through to Grant's rear. This
perilous mission was
successfully accomplished in the night, and an immediate
dash made on Raymond,
where a lot of disabled Federals were captured who had
been wounded in a recent
fight between Gens. Lew Wallace and Gregg. Lyon operated
on the enemy's rear
with much success till Gen. Johnston came up with his
forces to relieve the
siege of Vicksburg, when he reported to that officer. On
the latter's advance
from Jackson, the Eighth was again dismounted and
assigned to Buford's
Brigade. At the Big Black, news of the surrender being
received, the
Confederates fell back on Jackson and awaited the coming
of Sherman. Here the
command participated in all the engagements pending the
in, vestment of the
place, and after, near the "Fair Grounds," with two other
regiments
of the brigade, made a stand against a much larger force,
that elicited the
praise of the Commanding General. General Johnston, who
witnessed the fight, is
said to have pronounced it the most gallant and stubborn
resistance he had
witnessed during the war. Many of the enemy fell within
ten or twenty feet of
the Confederate lines. After the evacuation of Jackson,
the brigade fell back
with the army to Forrest's Station, where they remained
inactive till
September, when with Gen. Loring they moved to Canton, and
afterward, in
February, to Demopolis, Ala., to intercept Sherman, who
was moving on Meridian.
Here the three Kentucky regiments of Buford's Brigade were
mounted and sent to
Forrest at Gainesville, and Buford being promoted to the
Second Division, Col.
A. P. Thompson took command; and here, also, companies D,
C, and F, were
consolidated, with the following officers: J. W. Brown,
Captain; Logan Field,
First Lieutenant; W. L. Dunning, Second Lieutenant; -
Rowland, Third
Lieutenant. Capt. Terry was assigned to duty as Ordnance
Officer of the
brigade. Thus organized, the command moved to join the
rest of Forrest's
forces at Tupelo, Miss., preparatory to a raid into
Kentucky and west
Tennessee. On this raid, at Paducah, through some mistake
Thompson made an
unsupported attack upon the fort with his brigade alone.
In the charge, Col.
Thompson was killed by a shell, and some 100 were killed
and wounded. The fatal
shell also killed a horse ridden by Capt. Al. McGoodwin of
the Third Kentucky,
who was riding on one side of the Colonel, while the
Colonel's flesh and blood
were scattered over Capt. Terry, who rode on the other.
The charge on the fort
was repulsed, but Lieut. Logan Field, with a portion of
his company, charged
and took the Marine Hospital on the right, from which they
fired a plunging
shot into the fort, till dislodged by the enemy's
gunboats. Night coming on,
after supplying themselves plentifully with commissaries',
quartermaster's and
hospital stores, the brigade drew off with Forrest into
western Kentucky. Here
the Kentuckians were permitted to return to their homes to
rest, recruit for a
time, and afterward rendezvous at Trenton, Tenn. From this
point, designing to
attack Fort Pillow, Forrest, about the 10th or 12th of
April, sent them to make
a feint on Paducah. Arriving in front of the town, they
made a dash in,
capturing a few prisoners and about 100 head of horses and
mules, and then
rejoined Forrest at Jackson, Tenn. From here, after a
short rest, Forrest moved
to Tupelo, Miss., and was again about to return into
Tennessee, when he learned
of Sturgis' raid into that part of the State. Turning, he
met him at Guntown
or Bryce's Cross-Roads, and with his usual
impetuosity charged at the head
of his columns. Here Lyon, who had been on detached
service and was promoted,
returned in time to command the brigade in the fight. He
was the first to
strike the enemy's advance, driving them back on the main
body, and holding
them for six or eight hours till the other commands came
up. About 1 P. M. the
fight became general and the enemy gave way. Brown's
company of Trigg boys
had the honor of capturing a piece of artillery in their
first charge; also two
or three ordnance wagons, which supplied them with
necessary ammunition. Capt.
Terry, Acting Inspector-General on Buford's staff, and one
other were the only
staff officers on the field. Sturgis, driven at all
points, was soon in
complete rout, losing not less than 3,000 killed, wounded
and captured,
seventeen cannon and eighteen caissons, 450,000 rounds of
cartridges, 350
wagons and ambulances, more than 1,000 horses and mules,
six months' medical
supplies, forty days' rations, and two wagon loads of
"John Barleycorn."
The latter it is supposed was carried along as a kind of
"spiritual
defense" against the more formidable enemy of that
section-malaria.
The subsequent operations of the Eighth under Forrest
in Mississippi
were at Pontotoc, Old Harrisburg and Town Creek, in July.
On the 4th October, 1864,
they were detached and sent into west Tennessee to gather
up the troops under
Cal. L. A. Sypert, who had been operating in Kentucky, and
was then at Paris,
Tenn. After this they reported to Forrest at Mt. Pleasant,
Tenn., and were
permitted by him to return with Col. Lyon into
southwestern Kentucky, to rest
and recruit. While on this visit, Lyon made an attack on
the garrison at
Hopkinsville, commanded by Col. Sam Johnson, and captured,
with the loss of one
man killed, thirty or forty prisoners, and seventy-five or
eighty horses and
mules. He next attacked and captured the garrison at
Eddyville, and then
without interruption crossed the Cumberland above
Clarksville, and rejoined
Forrest at Paris, Tenn. The next move was on Fort Heiman,
where four
steamboats, one gun and about two companies of furloughed
men were captured.
Next at Johnsonville, on the Tennessee River, where were
captured and destroyed
four gun-boats, fifteen steamboats, twenty-three barges,
and two warehouses,
supposed to contain over two and a half million dollars'
worth of army
supplies.
In November Lyon with a portion of the Eighth was detached
and sent into
southwestern Kentucky to collect up stragglers and create
advertisement in
favor of Hood, who was approaching to the attack of
Nashville. During his
absence Col. Ed Crossland took command of the balance of
the brigade, with
Capt. Terry Acting Assistant Adjutant-General on his
staff. Hood starting on
the march to Nashville, Forrest moved to join him at
Florence, Ala. On this
campaign they took part in the following engagements:
Lawrenceburg, Butler's
Creek, where Col. Crossland was wounded and the command
devolved on Col. W. W.
Faulkner, of the Twelfth Kentucky, Campbellsville,
Columbia, Maury's Mills,
Spring Hill, Franklin, Nashville, Smyrna, Murfreesboro and
all the subsequent
encounters on the retreat. At Corinth, Miss., Forrest
halted to rest both men
and horses, and the Kentucky Brigade went into camp near
Okolona at the same
time. Here they remained from January to March, 1865,
when they
rendezvoused at West Point, Miss., and thence moved to
intercept the raid of
Wilson on Selma and Demopolis, Ala. At Montevailo the
enemy were encountered
and a three-days' running fight ensued, in which nearly
oneohalf of the Eighth
were either killed, wounded or captured. The balance
escaping, returned to West
Point, Miss., where news of the surrender of Lee and
Johnston being received,
Forrest sent the Eighth to Columbus to guard
stores. And here, on the 15th
of May, 1865, the Eighth, decimated by disease,
capture and death to a mere
skeleton, surrendered to the enemy and were paroled.
Of the Trigg
boys there remained F. G. Terry, Joseph H. Mitchell,
Taylor Ethridge, A.B.
Crawley, Joseph Dabney, Zenas Alexander, Reuben
Stallions and Richard Lester.
The rest were either killed, wounded, captured, or
deserted.
Somewhat confusing account, but ED wasn't one of the last
8 Trigg boys that
surrendered at Columbus. I've not been able to find
him on any of the
online company roles (but these appear somewhat chaotic)
-- and have thought he
might have enlisted under a false name.
He remarried after my great grandmother Sarah died
(scandal to much younger
Curtis woman re news account previously on Trigg website)
but died before CSA
pension application was completed.
All I have are family stories about him (he owned slaves,
a stern master, and
was a dedicated rebel). Picture below shows ED in
rocking chair, my great
aunt Mary and my grandmother Rhene (shorter) standing
beside him.