Charles Erwin

Texans Who Wore The Gray by Sid S. Johnson.

Page 150: Charles Erwin, son of Col. Thos. B. Erwin, is a native of Chambers County, Alabama, born Feb. 11th 1842, and removed to Texas with his father's family in 1850, and settled in the county of Smith. When the stories of war rang through the land, he joined in 1861 the Douglas Texas battery and was killed in the first fight at Elk Horn Tavern. He was a fine soldier. He sacrificed his life on the battlefield in the cause of his people and in defense of the local self-government. He was among the young men that composed the flower of Southern chivalry that made the Confederate name reach the very ends of the world for devotion to a sacred cause. His fame is the heritage of the generations, now and to come.

First Lieutenant James P. Douglas of the First Texas Artillery Battery, in a letter to his sweetheart from Bentonville, Arkansas, dated September 4, 1861, commented:

“…I fear that the enemy have got possession of my Arkansas sweetheart as our troops have fallen back this side her home. Won’t that be awful? I regret to inform you that Robert Erwin of our company died on the 19th inst.” (Author’s note: Robert Erwin died from pneumonia due to exposure February 19, 1862)

In a subsequent letter from Van Buren, Arkansas dated March 15, 1862 he wrote:

“Since writing you last much has transpired of interest. We have made one of the most fatiguing marches on record and fought a very hard battle. We whipped the Federals and had them surrounded so that they must give up and be prisoners or fight through, so they concentrated all of their forces on one point on the 2nd day of the fight and cut their way through. I did three hours hand fighting during the engagement and had not less than one hundred cannon balls and shells to pass within 20 feet of me, but was not hurt in the least, not even bad scared. Charley Erwin was killed, fighting bravely. No one else of your acquaintance is badly hurt...” (Author’s note: Charles Erwin was killed March 7, 1862 in the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern)

 

LONE STAR PRIDE: THE GOOD-DOUGLAS TEXAS BATTERY, CSA 1861-1865
By Andrew F Lang  

Even though the "Smith County boys fought like Trojans," one member of the battery was killed on the final day of the battle. Twenty-year old Charles Erwin died manning his gun during the artillery exchanges on March 8. Charles was the brother of Robert Erwin who had died from pneumonia in January 1862, and the second of three brothers in the battery. The Good - Douglas unit to this point only had two deaths in the entire battery; however, they both came from the same Tyler family. Moreover, among the injured was fourteen-year old William Wilson who joined the battery as it marched through Fayetteville, Arkansas three days earlier. Wilson lost a leg on the final day of the combat.

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JAMES B. LUNSFORD (Pvt C.S.A)
Rutherford College, N. C. June 26, 1907

In February, 1862, the Federal Army under Gen. Curtis advanced south through Missouri. Our company marched out of winter quarters and marched and countermarched for some days waiting for Price and McCulloch to organize, and for Van Dorn to come with reinforcements and take command.

On the 6th and 7th of March, 1862, we went into the battle of Elk Horn. On the first day we were on the right till late in the evening. After Gen. McCulloch, commanding that right wing of army, and Gen. McIntosh, the next in rank, had been killed, we were ordered to the left to reinforce Gen. Price, who had engaged the enemy during the day at that point. Next morning our battery was placed in position south of the Elk Horn Tavern, in an exposed place, in some heavy timber. The enemy was across a field from us in force with several batteries. Our situation was different at Elk Horn from anything I saw during that four years of war. It seems that we were sent in there to engage the enemy while the rest of the army were in full retreat. We held that position for three long hours without any support. It was our first battle and I have always been astonished that we did as well as we did. We were under the cannonade of five or six batteries. The air was thick with flying shots and bursting shells; some of them went high and cut the timber, which fell among us. Strange to say, we had but one man killed, a beardless boy, Charlie Erwin, of Tyler. We had seven wounded and several horses killed. We exhausted our ammunition and were ordered out, and found that the army was retreating. We followed with scarcely horses enough to move the guns, but with the help of the cannoniers, after several days of hardship, we arrived at Van Buren, Ark. The army had retreated during the night and morning, going west, turning south at south at Bentonville, while the battery, unsupported by either cavalry or infantry, were directed due East across a wild, rugged country, making a curve South and southwesterly, until we made the junction with the main army. It was during this artillery duel and retreat that Lieutenant Douglas proved his capacity for command and insured his election to the captaincy.

Charley enlisted on June 10th 1861 with his brothers James Robert and Frank. He was 19 years old, James was 22 and Frank was 16. All three entered with the rank of private.