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Soldier Profile - Inglet, Thomas W.G.
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| Full Name: Inglet, Thomas W.G. |
| Home State: Georgia |
| Allegiance: Confederate |
| Unit/Service Branch: 28th Infantry |
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Thomas W.G. Inglet enlisted in Company C, 28th Georgia Volunteer Infantry on September 10, 1861 at Griffin, Georgia. At the time he was 22 years old and was a farmer by occupation. He was married to Martha A. Inglet (maiden name Palmer) and had two small daughters, Lucy and Ruth. He and his wife apparently had a place of their own in Berzelia, Georgia, a small town near Augusta. Company C was made up of men from the counties around Augusta and contained a number of Thomas W. G. Inglet's neighbors and friends, including his sister Mary's husband, William H. Little. The company also contained Andrew Edwin Inglett and Thomas Inglett. Although their last names were spelled differently, the possibility of confusion between the two Toms may have been a reason for Thomas W. G. Inglet to use both his middle initials on all documents and letters.
After training at Ft. Stevens near Griffin, the regiment was ordered to Richmond and then to Manassas in November 1861. There Inglet got a first-hand view of the battlefield four months after the first battle of Bull Run. His letters describe a routine of picket duty, preparing fortifications, hearing the cannon from nearby actions, and waiting for letters from home, but no personal involvement in battle. On March 8, Inglet left Manassas with his regiment for Yorktown,Va. where he came under fire for the first time.
Inglet's first big battle was at Seven Pines on May 31, 1862, where his regiment lost over 150 men, including five killed and eight wounded from his own C Company. He was promoted to sergeant by June 21, since the envelope postmarked that date carries the new rank in his return address. Shortly thereafter Inglet appears to have gone home without authority because of the death of his two daughters.
Inglet rejoined his company near Winchester, Va., in early October. He participated in actions in the Shenandoah Valley under Stonewall Jackson in October and November 1862. In December his regiment moved from the valley to Fredericksburg where he saw action in the defense of that city. He remained in the vicinity of Fredericksburg until the end of March 1863 when he was granted a brief furlough (March 30-April 11) due to the illness of his father. On returning to his company Inglet participated in the Chancellorsville campaign where he was wounded in the temple and arm. He reported the death of Stonewall Jackson to his wife in his letter of May 14, 1863.
In June of 1863 Inglett moved with his unit to North Carolina and then in early August on to Fort Wagner, South Carolina. Shortly thereafter, he was one of nine men in his company who volunteered to help defend Fort Sumter where he underwent bombardment lasting 10 days. A break in his letters home between late November 1863 and January 1864 indicates that Inglet
was successful in his efforts to get a replacement to serve for him so he could get another furlough home.
After serving in the forts around Charleston, Inglet moved with elements of his unit to the vicinity of Lake City, Florida, in mid-February 1864. There he fought in the Battle of Olustee on February 20 in which he was wounded by a fragment in his leg. His company lost four killed, including a father and two sons, and seven wounded. While in Florida Inglet learned on April 8 of the death, apparently from smallpox, of his third child who had been conceived while home in August-September 1862.
From Florida, Inglet's unit returned to Charleston where it served provost duty for several weeks. During that period he reported being on a detail to guard 501 Yankees in route to Americus, Ga. In mid-May 1864 Inglet returned with his unit to Petersburg, Va. where heavy fighting was underway. He was in constant battle around Petersburg and Richmond in the summer and fall of 1864 until he was severely wounded in the right leg on October 7 and admitted to Jackson Hospital in Richmond.
On October 23,1864, Inglet was sent home on furlough to recover from his wound. He was back in the hospital in Augusta, Georgia during the final days of the war. He wrote a hopeful letter to his wife on April 2, 1865 stating that "Grant has got a good whipping. Old Bob give it to him." However, on April 20, 1865 he wrote "Lee's army is all captured and I don't know what will become of our little confederacy." That was the last of the existing letters that Thomas W. G. Inglet wrote home.
Inglet's letters span nearly the entire period of the Civil War. They provide comprehensive insights into the life and feelings of a common Confederate soldier who saw a lot of service in many of the major campaigns of that war and was wounded on at least three separate occasions. The letters reflect the hardships and loneliness for family of a soldier who lost three children while he was away at war, but also his faith in God and a determination to persevere in the Confederate cause. It is interesting that the last document saved by Inglet's descendants with his letters is the Oath of Allegiance to the United States signed by his wife, Martha A. Inglet, in Augusta, Georgia in June 1865.
At this time, no information is known about Thomas W. G. Inglet's life after the war.
Twenty-eighth Georgia Infantry
Originally known as the Twentieth Regiment, what became the Twenty-eighth Georgia Infantry was mustered into service at Camp Stephens, near Griffin in September 1861. Colonel T.J. Worthen originally commanded the regiment, which contained men from Cherokee, Emanuel, Jefferson, Merriwether, Richmond, and Washington counties. By November the regiment had reached Richmond and it was subsequently ordered to Manassas Junction There it suffered many losses due to disease in the winter of 1861-1862.
The regiment defended Yorktown, and was present at Williamsburg, but its first major battle was at Seven Pines, where it lost nearly 150 men. It then took part in the Seven Days Battles, losing its colonel at Malvern Hill. Missing the battle of Second Manassas, the Twenty-eighth fought at South Mountain and Antietam, held a supporting position at Fredericksburg, and was engaged at Chancellorsville.
By August 1863 the Georgians were in Charleston, and helped garrison Forts Wagner and Gregg on Morris Island, and later Fort Johnson and Fort Sumter. In February 1864 the Twenty-eighth fought at Olustee under the command of Captains William P. Crawford, until he was severely wounded in the leg and replaced by Captain James W. Banning. During the battle Captain James Rowe of Company E "planted the colors of the regiment over two Napoleon guns captured from the enemy." The Twenty-eighth lost ninety-five (ten killed and eighty-five wounded) men in the battle.
In the spring of 1864 the regiment returned to the Charleston defenses with the rest of Colquitt's Brigade. When the brigade was ordered to Virginia the Twenty-eighth remained in Charleston on provost duty for several days. When it reached Virginia it was temporarily assigned to Martins's Brigade, although it shortly thereafter rejoined Colquitt's command. The regiment then fought at Cold Harbor and Petersburg before being assigned to North Carolina, where it surrendered in 1865.
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Letters Written by Inglet, Thomas W.G.
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October 14th, 1864 - Jackson Hospital, Richmond, VA
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August 12th, 1864 - Petersburg, VA
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January 18th, 1864 - Camp James Island, SC
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April 21st, 1863 - Charleston, S.C.
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