This Day in Georgia Civil War History
September 28, 1863
Journal Entry on Wounded Son Returning Home
A Columbus man wrote in his journal of his son returning home with a serious wound from the Battle of Chickamauga.
“Willis got home on the 26th and badly wounded. The ball passing through both thighs and lodging in clothing. Today his fever was subdued and we think not dangerous. He has not walked or sat up, lies quiet in bed. He fell on Sunday. Chickamauga is the name of the battle in Georgia. Of four officers, Eugene is the only one who escaped unhurt. Three privates were killed and five wounded. Kelly [another son that John Banks had sent in search of his wounded brother] missed him as he went up. Got a letter today from him. He is still hunting for Willis.” Source: John Banks, Autobiography of John Banks, 1797 - 1870 (Austell, Ga.: privately printed by Elberta Leonard, 1936), pp. 29-30.
