Person:Thomas Bates (28)

Thomas Kimsey Bates Thomas Kimsey Bates was born August 5, 1830 in Hall County, Georgia. He is the third child of nine. He is the son of Julius R. Bates and Lydia Hulsey Bates. He enlisted in the Confederacy into Company A, 12th Georgia Infantry as a Corporal. He was wounded at Manassas in Virginia. He was married in 1851 in Coweta County, Georgia to Halria Matilda Atchison. They had ten children. Thomas Kimsey Bates died July 31, 1913 in Cherokee County, Alabama. He is buried at Smith Cemetery in Cherokee County, Alabama. This was the first major land battle of the armies in Virginia. On July 16, 1862, the untried Union army under Brig. Gen. Irvin McDowell marched from Washington against the Confederate army, which was drawn up behind Bull Run beyond Centreville. On the 21st, McDowell crossed at Sudley Ford and attacked the Confederate left flank on Matthews Hill. Fighting raged throughout the day as Confederate forces were driven back to Henry Hill. Late in the afternoon, Confederate reinforcements (one brigade arriving by rail from the Shenandoah Valley) extended and broke the Union right flank. The Federal retreat rapidly deteriorated into a rout. Although victorious, Confederate forces were too disorganized to pursue. Confederate Gen. Bee and Col. Bartow were killed. Thomas J. Jackson earned the nom de guerre "Stonewall." By July 22, the shattered Union army reached the safety of Washington. This battle convinced the Lincoln administration that the war would be a long and costly affair. McDowell was relieved of command of the Union army and replaced by Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan, who set about reorganizing and training the troops.