Captain William H. Burroughs' Tennessee Light Artillery Company, Confederate States Army, also known as the Rhett Artillery
The battery was assigned to Brigadier General Carter Littlepage Stevenson's Brigade on May 31, 1862. Stevenson, however, was promoted to division command 10 days later. Colonel Thomas H. Taylor assumed command of the brigade. Burroughs' battery remained at Cumberland Gap until it was abandonded to the Federals on June 18. The Rhett Artillery moved to Cedar Ford. Taylor's brigade engaged the Federals at Tazewell in July, 1862, but the artillery battery did not participate. Burroughs and his men did participate in the siege of Cumberland Gap from August 10 to Setpember 21, 1862. At this time, General E. Kirby Smith was preparing a multi-faceted invasion of Kentucky, and it was important to keep the Federals forward post at Cumberland Gap bottled up. General George Washington Morgan, Federal garrison commander at Cumberland Gap, abandonded that position on September 21. Burroughs' battery was moved to Lenoir, Tennessee, but was back at Cumberland Gap by December, but was reassigned to Brigadier General Archibald Gracie's Brigade.
After spending the winter at Cumberland Gap, Burroughs' battery was reassigned to Brigadier General Alfred E. Jackson's Brigade on April 5, 1863. The company moved to Zollicoffer. In June a section under Lieutenant Graham was assigned to Carter's Depot. Burroughs' battery remained at Zollicoffer until September, 1863, when the Confederates were pushed out of east Tennessee by Ambrose Burnsides' Federals. The Confederates regrouped in southwest Virginia under the overall command of Major General Samuel Jones. Reinforcements from eastern Virginia enabled the Southerners to make a concerted effort to retake the region.
Burroughs' battery fought at Livingston's Depot, September 8 and at Limestone Station on September 9 as part of Alfred Jackson's Brigade. On the 9th, the participated in the capture of a Federal blockhouse and 255 prisoners. Burroughs' battery fought at Rheatown on September 11 and at Carter's Station on the 20th. On October 10, the battery joining with Brigadier General John Stuart Williams' 2000-man-strong cavalry command fought at Blue Springs in Greene County. The following day the battery was engaged at Henderson Mills, near Rheatown, and on the 14th fought for five or six hours at Blountville with Brigadier General William Edmondson "Grumble" Jones's command. On October 28, the battery was ordered to report to Saltville and Major General Jones for reassignment.
Burroughs' battery was assigned to Lieutenant Colonel J. F. King's Artillery Battalion on November 30. The unit listed 78 men on the roll. In December, the battery had been detached from King's battalion and was back at Saltville with McClung's battery. Morale apparently sank, and by February it was only reporting 38 officers and men present for duty.
In May, 1864, General John Hunt Morgan led most of the forces out of southwest Virginia on a raid deep into Kentucky. Burroughs' battery remained in the Old Dominion, and the battery was moved to the Lead Mines in Wythe County by June 9. Many of the absentees returned and by August it was reporting a strength of three officers and 74 men present for duty to man four rifled guns.
Federal General Stephen Burbridge made a major effort to destroy the saltworks at Saltville in early October 1864. It was questionable whether or not the Confederates would be able to muster enough forces in time to thwart the attempt, but they did. Major General John Cabell Breckinridge returned to southwest Virginia from the Shenandoah Valley, and determined that the opportunity was right for the Confederates to raid into east Tennessee. Major R. C. M. Page was assigned to command the artillery in the department, and Burroughs' battery became part of his battalion.
Major Richard C. M. Page, a 23-year-old native of Albemarle County, Virginia, reported to General Breckinridge on October 7 at Wytheville. Breckinridge realized that his artillery needed help, and he had asked for an efficient officer to organize his cannoneers. Page was informed that McClung's Battery and the remnants of Lynch's and Byrne's batteries were camped with Vaughn's Brigade in Washington County, not far from Saltville. Some cannoneers were at Saltville proper; one battery, Burroughs' Tennessee Artillery, was near Max Meadows and the lead mines in Wythe County; and still another at Wytheville.
Page inspected Burroughs' Battery on October 12 at Max Meadows, and Douthat's Botetourt Virginia Artillery on October 14 at Wytheville. Both of these batteries were materially better off than those nearer Saltville. On October 14 Page recapped the artillery assets of the department. They had:
12-pounder howitzers 14
6-pounder howitzers 5
Confederate States 3-inch rifles 7
United States 10-pounder Parrotts 3
Total guns 29
Caissons 11
Battery forge 1
Serviceable wagons 8
Horses and Mules 177
Total effective officers and men 549
Page spent the next three weeks training his cannoneers and procuring or
repairing equipment for them. On October 28 he heard that McClung's
Battery, operating with Vaughn's cavalry in east Tennessee, had been cap-
tured, but some of the men had escaped. On this date he also informed
Breckinridge that he had condemned several guns as worthless; with the
capture of McClung's guns and the condemnations, the department only
had 17 guns remaining.A November 10, table of organization for the Department of Western Virginia and East Tennessee shows Barr's Battery still assigned there as part of Richard C. M. Page's artillery battalion. The other batteries in the battalion were Burroughs' Tennessee Battery commanded by Captain Will- iam H. Burroughs; and Lynch's Tennessee Battery under the leadership of Captain J. Peyton Lynch. Page's battalion's strength was reported as 12 officers and 202 men present for duty. By Confederate accounting, 367 men were assigned in the battalion, but 87 were prisoners of war.
On the 12th Breckinridge engaged the enemy near Bull's Gap in Hawkins County, Tennessee. The first day's fighting did not go well for the Confederates, who were compelled to fall back. On November 13 the battle resumed about 4 a.m. with more success for the Southerners. The Confed- erates captured all of the Federal guns--six Parrotts--as well as wagons, ambulances, and a large quantity of small arms. Lynch's Battery was given two of the captured guns and Burroughs' Battery was given the other four to replace those they had lost in October. On November 16, the artillery was ordered back to Wytheville.
There was little further fighting this winter in southwest Virginia. The Federals had finally managed to destroy the saltworks and other important facilities in the Stoneman raid in December. Burroughs' battery fought at Marion in Smyth County on December 16. It was almost a complete rout of the Southerners.
On January 10, 1865, Page returned to Wytheville from a journey to Richmond to procure equipment. At that time, Page completely reorganized his artillerists. Barr's, McClung's and Sawyer's batteries were merged with Lynch's and given the four captured and reconditioned United States 3-inch rifles. Burroughs' Battery consisted of two 3-inch navy Parrotts and two iron 6-pounders. King's battery was armed with three brass 12-pounders and one Richmond 3-inch rifle. Douthat's Botetourt Artillery consisted of four 12-pounder howitzers with caissons. The total number of guns in the department was now 16, only one less than before Stoneman's raid. Four of the number were with Douthat's Battery, which recently arrived in the department.
General Breckinridge was appointed the last Confederate Secretary of War in February, 1865. Brigadier General John Echols assumed command of the department, and maintained this position until the end of the war.
Echols collected his scattered forces and intended to join the Army of Northern Virginia at Lynchburg in early April, 1865. At Christiansburg they learned that the army of Northern Virginia had surrendered and Captain Burroughs, with twenty-five of his men, moved toward Johnston's army, joining it at Greensboro about the time of its surrender, in which they participated, and were paroled May 4, 1865.