Stephen H Vaughn

   Cause of his death was Thigh wound at Battle of Chicamauga, GA.

  General Notes:

1850 Hickman, Scott County, AR Census:

Name: Stephan Vaughan
Age: 17
Estimated birth year: abt 1833
Birth Place: Missouri
Gender: Male
Home in 1850 (City,County,State): Hickman, Scott, Arkansas

1860 United States Federal Census

Name: Stephen Vaughan
Age in 1860: 27
Birth Year: abt 1833
Birthplace: Missouri
Home in 1860: Hickman, Scott, Arkansas
Gender: Male
Post Office: Waldron

  Research Notes:

1850 Stephen was 17 and living in Hickman twp, Scott Co. AR.

1860 Stephen was living alone and working in Hickman twp, Scott Co. AR.

Feb 1862 Stephen joined Confederate Army at Waldron,Scott Co. AR

1863 Stephen was captured and sent to war prison in IL.

19 Sep 1863 Stephen died from fatal thigh wound at Battle of Chicamauga, GA.

Stephen H. Vaughn, was located on the 1850 Scott Co. AR. census in the
township of Hickman. Also located there was his brother William Vaughn.
Stephen was living with another family and working as a laborer. He was
only seventeen years old at that time.

His brother William was already married to Susan Yandell and had one
child, George; in 1850. Stephen and William and family, had apparently
migrated to Arkansas in the late 1840's, after their mother had died in
1846 in Miller Co. Missouri. His Father has been determined to be
Obidiah Vaughn married to Nancy (Vaughn) Vaughn and probably moved to
Miller Co, MO. from Washington Co. Kentucky.

Stephen had several more brothers and sisters, some who moved to Scott
Co. AR, in the 1860's but returned to Missouri. One other brother,
Obidiah Jr., stayed and raised a family in the Scott and Polk Co. AR.
areas.

Stephen joined the Civil War in Waldron, AR, on Feb 22, 1962. On Sept
19/20 at the Battle of Chicamauga in GA., he apparently was fatally
wounded with a thigh wound. William Washington Vaughn always told his
children, that his real father, had left his mother and he (when he was
six or seven years old) and never did return. She (Martha J. Yandell)
then married Charles Wright, and had several more children by him.

Dawson's 19th Arkansas Infantry
by
Merrrill T. Pence (1994)

CHAPTER 8. CHICKAMAUGA AND FOLLOWING DAYS.
The call to greatness is often missed, going unanswered by those who otherwise possess the raw talents to excel. How many times in life, do we wish to go back and start the day anew, but alas, that moment in time has closed. One special day in the history of this country was Sept. 19, 1863. It started as any other early fall day in northwest Georgia. The hot days of summer were gone, leaving a faint crispness in the air. A thin low fog lay in the valleys, waiting for the morning sun's warmth to melt it away. This day, however, was not destined to be ordinary. Before the shades of night fell on the following day, some 35,000 casualties would occur here. For days, two armies had been shifting around, attempting to locate the strength and weakness of the other, to establish a maximum effective position for themselves.
About Sept. 1, the Union Army had crossed the corner of Alabama into Georgia at a safe distance south of Chattanooga, forcing the Rebels to adjust their defenses. Leaving Harrison, Tenn. on the 6th, the 19th Ark., a part of Cleburn's Division, passed through Tyner's Station about 3 p. m. Continuing on to Chattanooga, they spent the night, marching south to Lafayette, Ga. the next day, arriving on the 8th. Their assignment was to guard against a flanking movement, coming through Catlett's, Dug or Bluebird Passes in Pigeon Mountain. Guarding the Confederate Left on Sept. 15, they retraced their march ten miles back to the north. The Confederate line was located on the east side of Chickamauga Creek, a Cherokee word for "River of Death". Arriving Sept. 18, the regiment lost Martin C. Smith (B), captured, likely on picket duty. Sept. 19th, the great battle of the west, Chickamauga, was started.
Not involved initially, Cleburn's Division moved across the rear of the entire Confederate line on the 19th, from left to right, through all the congested roads filled with marching men and wagons, arriving late in the day. The sun had gone down by the time they arrived in position, but there was still enough daylight left to press the retreating foe about half a mile. The curtain had risen on Scene One of the drama that day, but the 19th had seen action only in its lingering hours. As they rested on their arms that night, Breckenridge's Division was moved to their right in preparation for the following day.
About 9:30 the next morning, the sound of thunder was heard, the voice of the cannon, followed by the rattle of thousands of muskets. With hearts pounding and faces quivering, the cream of the south marched bravely across the field in the face of northern entrenchments, leaving the dead and dying where they fell. Breckenridge's Division, on the extreme right, started forward, and in 15 minute intervals, progressing to the left, other units marched forward, Cleburn's Division starting immediately after Breckenridge. Cleburn, with the 19th Ark., marched directly into the strength of the Union breastworks. Hill's Corps, numbering
56
less than 9,000, were thrown against the Union 14th Corps under George A. Thomas, numbering about 20,000. Following their Color Sgt., William H. Green, the 19th Arkansas was in the forefront of this action, for which they later received a General Commendation from the commander of the Confederate forces in Georgia.
This vicious part of the battle lasted about an hour, pressing Thomas so severely, he called for reinforcements from the Union right. Cleburn withdrew his troops behind a low hill, about 400 yards in the rear. His work was exceedingly well done., units from the Union right were dispatched to Thomas' aid, weakening that flank, The Confederate Left drove forward with tremendous success. Some Union units quit the field and fled toward Chattanooga, those remaining united with Thomas and were formed in a horse shoe position. Later in the afternoon, Cleburn rushed forward, this time with success in taking the first line of enemy breastworks. (See the Addenda, p181).
The fierce attack was matched only by the dogged determination and sheer military genius of Gen. George H. Thomas. His coolness under fire had kept the Union forces from a total collapse. Under cover of darkness, he made somewhat of an orderly retreat toward Chattanooga, and the Battle of Chickamauga was over. For his heroic stand, Thomas became known as the "Rock of Chickamauga". In this, the bloodiest two days fought in the entire war, about 35,000 casualties were claimed, with Confederates running about 1,000 higher than the Union. Bragg appeared to have a mindset before the battle that he would lose, perhaps because some of his Lieutenants didn't get into position as fast as he felt they should. He seemed not to believe he had won so great a victory, and initially would not allow his troops to pursue the enemy to pick up stragglers and fleeing groups of men.
True, when an enemy is on the run, they may still have a lot of fight in them, but not nearly so much as when given time to regroup and dig in. Perhaps Bragg made a mistake in this. The carnage littering the field after the battle was great, and some of the Confederate Army spent the next few days, largely, combing the field, gathering arms, treating the wounded and burying the dead. The effect this battle had on that little community is little understood. What procedure should be followed in burying thousands of bodies and the disposal of dead animals? Worse still, how could thousands of wounded men, many severely, requiring amputations and special treatment be cared for adequately? No doubt, many wounded men whose lives could have been saved, lay on the field for days, waiting helplessly and hopelessly for care to be administered, and eventually died where they lay.
The 19th Arkansas had suffered 96 known casualties at Chickamauga, with 8 killed outright and another 8 dying of wounds soon after, 80 more were wounded and one captured. Martin C. Smith (B) had been captured on the 18th. Among the wounded, J. R. Millard died December 21, William Cassell on November 19 and Z. P. Edens lingered until March 29, 1864, so we have counted them amoung those killed. Those known to have died were:
57
William Anderson (E) C. A. Blaylock (B) James Caneda (F)
William Cassell (K) Z. P. Edens (D) Thaddius Glass (H)
James P. Golden (A) Joseph Kennedy (B) L. F. Latimer (B)
J. Lemons (E) C. M. Lick (G) J. R. Millard (H)
Frank Shelton (E) Alex Smith (G) Wilson Tate (A)
Stephen Vaughn (H)
When the battle was over, the 19th Ark. counted 88 men wounded, some not requiring hospitalization other than administering field dressings. Only the severely wounded, 57 total, were included as such. Col. Hutchinson's report (p181) stated of the 226 men in the regt.,only 8 were killed and 97 wounded.

Stephen married Martha J Yandell, daughter of Jesse W Yandell and Sarah Anderson, about 1854 in Scott County, Arkansas. (Martha J Yandell was born about 1837 in MI or KY and died about 1876 in Freedom Twp, Polk County, AR.)