At the start of the Civil war, Columbia, TN native Edmund Dillahunty Baxter was enlisted in the Harding Artillery, also know as Monsorrat's Battery, in 1861. This company was enlarged and divided into two companies. Baxter was promoted from Lieutenant to Captain and given command of Company B, which became Baxter's Battery.
Baxter led this battery at the Battle of Fishing Creek Kentucky and Shiloh as well as action around Corinth, Mississippi. In the summer of 1862, he was reassigned to post duty in Knoxville and his battery was turned over to Captain Ammariah Huggins.
In the fall of 1862, Baxter was commissioned to recruit another company of artillery. By this time, most of Middle and West Tennessee was under Union occupation, but the Army of Tennessee had returned to Middle Tennessee laying ground work for the upcoming battle at Murfreesboro. One area which was not occupied by the Federals was Western Williamson County and southern Dickson County. Several men from the area had joined various infantry and cavalry units in 1861, but the area had not been heavily recruited.
Baxter spent about six weeks recruiting in this area and enlisted about 110 men. The company was entered into Confederate service and elected officers on December 11, 1862 in Bethesda, TN and preceded to Camp in Shelbyville. The company was not engaged in the Battle of Murfreesboro, but was listed as reserve artillery.
In January 1863, the company was ordered to Cumberland Gap and was under the command of Brigadier General Archibald Gracie of the Department of East Tennessee. While at Cumberland Gap, several expeditions were made into Kentucky. Several men deserted and were captured near Richmond, KY and sent to Federal Prisons. Members of the units were also sent on expeditions in the union sympathizing countryside to forage for horses.
The company was next stationed at Bean Station, TN where an outbreak of typhoid fever occurred. Six men died of typhoid at Bean Station. In July and August 1863, the company was stationed at Sweetwater, TN. On August 6, while foraging near Knoxville, 10 men deserted and went home.
The company moved on to Georgia and was attached to the Army of Tennessee and was placed in Major Sam William's Reserve Artillery Corps. The company was held in reserve on September 19, 1863 during the first day of the Battle of Chickamauga. On the second day, the company was placed in line of battle with Jeffres' Virginia Battery on a bluff on the extreme left of the line near Lee & Gordon's Mill. The company was equipped with 2 three-inch rifles, expended 13 rounds of ammunition and suffered no casualties.
The company participated in the siege of Chattanooga. Sgt A P Beard, a preacher in civilian life, recorded in his diary that the troops were cannonading by day and praying by night. The company was engaged with a battery of the enemy for two and a half hours in the November 25, 1863 Battle of Missionary Ridge. The company was equipped with 4 three-inch rifles, fired 55 rounds of ammunition and placed an enfilading fire on the enemy to defend the tunnel. The company suffered no casualties and retreated down the mountain and crossed Chickamauga Creek during the night. The company remained with the Army of Tennessee in Ringgold and Dalton, GA until December 9, 1863 when ordered by General William Hardee to turn guns, horses and ammunition over to the Chief of Artillery and report to Col. Wright in Atlanta for post duty.
While stationed in Atlanta, Captain Baxter was detached on a recruiting mission to replace the troops lost by disease and desertion. During the siege of Atlanta, Baxter commanded batteries A & B in the line of entrenchments. At least one of his men was wounded during the siege. After the fall of Atlanta, several more men deserted and were captured near Jonesboro, Ga. The company next reported for post duty at Macon, GA where it remained for the duration of the war. The company guarded the railroad on the Clinton Road. Several of the men pulled extra duty of working in the Macon Arsenal manufacturing ammunition, for which they were paid 25 cents per day.
The company was captured in Macon on April 20 & 21, 1865 by the 1st Brigade of the 2nd US Cavalry Division. The men were paroled on April 28, 1865. Captain Baxter was captured May 5, 1865 in Milledgeville, GA and took the oath of allegiance on June 16, 1865 in Nashville, TN.
