USA > Indiana > The soldier of Indiana in the war for the union, Vol. II > Part 48
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69
Late in December, 1863, nearly all the troops in West Tennessee and North Mississippi were thrown out to catch Forrest, who had boldly posted himself at Jackson for re- cruiting and foraging purposes. But, as usual, cooperating forces did not cooperate. General A. L. Smith, with six thousand men from Memphis and its vicinity, succumbed to rain, cold and fathomless mud, returning to Memphis after a struggle of two or three days with these obstacles. General Mower, in consequence, who had advanced with a force from North Mississippi, went back to Corinth. General
36
---
562
THE SOLDIER OF INDIANA.
Grierson, with a cavalry division, was misled by a demon- stration of the enemy upon Colliersville, and allowed For- rest to pass him and escape over Wolf river on the only bridge which had not been burned. Grierson followed the enemy to Holly Springs, skirmishing sharply with his rear, but with no chance of overtaking his main force.
Everybody remembers the extraordinary change which oc- curred in the weather on the first day of 1864. The fore- noon had been soft and warm, with a gentle rain, or a melt- ing snow. Late in the afternoon a cold wind blew up, and rapidly lowered the temperature. By midnight, the mercury was at zero in Alabama; in Indiana, it was forty degrees below. Grierson, on his return march, was exposed to the bitterness of the change. Half his men froze the unlucky members,-hands, fect and noses,-which are comparatively unprotected. Many were unable to sit on their horses, and were carried in ambulances.
The Seventh, which was foremost in the pursuit and hind- most in the retreat, behaved admirably. Several men, who held out uncomplainingly throughout the long and dreadful march, died from the exposure, after their return to camp.
Even about Memphis, where the soldiers could generally find some means of shelter, there was very great suffering. Lieutenant Alexander, of the Fifty-Second, was frozen to death near Fort Pillow.
Soon after Sherman's return from Chattanooga to Vicks- burg, he set on foot an expedition for the destruction of Confederate public property, and if circumstances were en- couraging, for an advance into Rebel territory. The forces designated for his operations were to move in two columns, one from Memphis, under General W. S. Smith; the other from Vicksburg, under the direct command of Sherman, and were to meet, provided the former was not heavily opposed, at Meridian, a railroad centre on the eastern edge of the state of Mississippi. A. J. Smith moved down from Mem- phis, and reinforced Sherman with his division, which in- cluded the Twenty-Fifth, Fifty-Second and Eighty-Ninth regiments, and the Third, Ninth and Fourteenth batteries of Indiana troops. The Twenty-Third and Fifty-Third had
563
MERIDIAN EXPEDITION.
remained in the vicinity of Vicksburg since the siege, ex- cept during one or two important expeditions, and were al- ready included in Sherman's column.
February 3, with the Sixteenth corps under Hurlbut, and the Seventeenth under McPherson, his command in all amounting to twenty thousand infantry, twelve thousand cavalry and sixty pieces of light artillery, and with a wagon train carrying twenty days' rations, Sherman set out on sev- eral roads. After crossing the Big Black, he began to receive marks of the enemy's attention. The march, however, was not obstructed further than by lightly hovering skirmishers. The enemy was in two large divisions under French and Loring, and showed a formidable front at Champion Hills, Clinton, Jackson, and on Line creek; but, after slight en- gagements, melted away from each point. At Pearl river he even abandoned his pontoon bridge.
Before the appointed time, Sherman reached Meridian. He staid a week, advancing part of his force six miles north, and making his stay as destructive as possible. Then, not having been joined by the cooperating body from Memphis, he gave up, if he had ever entertained, the idea of penetrat- ing to Mobile, or any other distant point, and made a sort of triumphal return to Vicksburg, which he reached March 4.
General Smith suffered considerable delay in concentrat- ing his widely scattered cavalry, and was not able to leave Memphis until the tenth. His force consisted of nearly eight thousand horsemen and a small body of infantry, and in- cluded our Seventh cavalry, and the Seventy-Second mounted infantry, which was brought over from Middle Tennessee to Memphis in December. After two days of unopposed pro- gress, he was confronted on the Tallehatchie by Forrest's cavalry. Leaving his infantry at the point to hold the en- emy's attention, he hastened up the river thirty miles, effected a crossing without difficulty, and when rejoined by his in- fantry, pushed on through Pontotoc. He soon found him- self again in the presence of the enemy. Near Huston, at the entrance of a wide swamp, which was crossed by a single corduroy road, in the possession of a hostile force, he turned eastward under cover of a demonstration in front. He struck
1
564
THE SOLDIER OF INDIANA.
the railroad at Okolona, and advanced to West Point, tear- ing up the track and destroying stores.
The black inhabitants of the country, mounted on the horses of the white population, met him with welcome and thanksgiving, and joined him by hundreds. "God bless you!" "Has you come at last?" We've been lookin' for you so long, we'd most done give it up!" were oft repeated expressions of their simple and grateful hearts.
Beyond West Point, hostile forces held all the crossings of a swamp on the right, of the Octibbeha in front, and of the Tombigbee on the left, while at the same time they threat- ened the rear. It was high time to consider the situation. Encumbered by negroes, captured horses and mules, and by his pack trains; embarrassed by the marshy nature of the ground; aware that the enemy's force was much larger than his own, and calculating that his superior and coadjutor must by this time have left Meridian, Smith determined to face about. But it was no easy task. Over sixty miles the re- turn march was a continuous fight.
Our Seventh cavalry, eight hundred and thirteen strong, assisted by a battery of howitzers, covered the rear to Oko- lona, where, on the afternoon of the twenty-second of Febru- ary, skirmishing assumed the proportions of a battle. While the trains continued the journey and a heavy line of cavalry formed behind a hill in front of Okolona, the Seventh ad- vanced on the trot, exchanged shots with the enemy and withdrew, drawing the Rebels after it in full force to the sec- ond line. The shock of the collision unseated many a rider. Nevertheless, a close and fierce struggle followed. The Union troops clung desperately to each foot of ground, but the Rebels slowly drove them. The colors of the Seventh remained standing in the centre of the space when there were but sixty yards between the lines. The staff was thrust in the ground, and beside it, with his bridle in one hand and his revolver in the other, was the small, dauntless figure of the youngest soldier in the regiment. He had seen the bearer wounded, had raised the fallen standard and planted it in the ground, and now was conscious only of furious foes advanc- ing to snatch it away. Not while he lived should they touch
565
THE SEVENTH AT OKOLONA.
it. But through the din the peremptory order to fall back reached him, and both boy and banner gained the lines in safety.
While General Smith attempted to make a second stand, Colonel Shanks, with the Seventh cavalry, made a success- ful sabre charge, saving a battery which had been abandoned by its support, and repeating the charge as the enemy rallied.
The Seventh was complimented by Generals Smith and Grierson for its efficiency and valor in the battle of Okolona. It suffered largely, losing eighty-four men. One of its most daring officers was captured, although not until he was se- verely wounded.
After leaving Okolona, the Seventh moved with the ad- vance, and the Seventy-Second covered the rear.
Smith now raccd with the enemy for the 'Tallehatchie, and though the Rebels were on both his flanks, he reached it first, and crossed it with all his captures, at New Albany. Thence unmolested he pursued his way to Memphis.
So great destruction of Rebel property had never previ- ously been made as was effected by the two bodies engaged in the Meridian foray. McPherson's corps alone destroyed sixty miles of railroad,-a very important work, as the roads which connected the interior with the Mississippi afforded to the Rebels highly prized facilities for impeding navigation. Sherman suffered a total loss of one hundred and seventy-six men. Smith, beside a corresponding destruction of railroads and property, devoured and destroyed an enormous amount of the produce of the country. He burned a million bushels of corn, ate fifty thousand hams, and allowed nearly eight thousand negroes to escape from the land of bondage. He inflicted a loss of five hundred killed and wounded, and two hundred and fifty captured, while his own losses in men did not amount to more than two hundred and fifty.
The little hero who saved the flag at Okolona was James Weir Graydon, a boy of fifteen, and as well worth notice, in his way, as the good and valiant Colonel of the Seventh. Whether detailed or not, he was in every hazardous expedi- tion in which the regiment or any part of it was engaged. He seemed to have no sense of danger. Keen and quick
566
THE SOLDIER OF INDIANA.
as a hawk, he darted at a task and accomplished it while older soldiers were calculating its feasibility, or turning round to take a start. In the pursuit of Forrest in Decem- ber, when, at Egypt Station, a detachment of the Seventh was repulsed by the Rebel rear, Graydon's horse lagged be- hind, and he was set upon by five men. He shot three, and with Lieutenant Dumont, who hastened to his relief, cap- tured the others. While on a scout in Missouri, under Lieu- tenant Skelton, he was sent forward on the fleetest horse in the regiment in command of four men. Espying, near Pleas- ant Hill, a squad of about twenty Rebel horsemen, he directed a man to go back with the intelligence. But instead of waiting for orders or a reinforcement, he took his bridle in his teeth, a revolver in each hand, set spurs to his horse and flew over the ground, while his comrades, running at full speed, gallantly supported him. Dashing into the cavalry, and firing right and left, they not only cleared the ground, but pursued the enemy a mile or more. The boyish leader received a severe reprimand, which was counterbalanced the next moment by liberal commendation.
These stories are told by Lieutenant Braugher, and the same, with others of like character, are narrated by different members of the regiment.
With all his temerity, the young Hotspur never was harmed by lead or steel.
When we see names, which were known in the war for Independence, figuring bravely in the war of the Rebellion, (and Indiana has a good share of these names,) we are tempted to believe that the heroes of the past have not wholly withdrawn from sublunary things. One almost fancies that the gallant Captain Graydon, who lifted his sword for liberty with Washington, and in his later age, with equal grace, took up his pen, looked with curiosity not unmixed with sat- isfaction, on the young off-shoot of the family tree.
In March and April of 1864 the Union troops generally kept within their stations, while Forrest, breathing fire and slaughter, roamed through West Tennessee. He captured the entire force at Union City. Upon posts which were par- tially garrisoned by negro troops he denounced burning ven-
1
567
BATTLE OF GUNTOWN.
geance, threatening to "kill niggers for being niggers, and whites for fighting with niggers."
At Fort Pillow, in spite of a brave resistance, he had the fiendish satisfaction of putting his threats into execution, nailing men by the ears to fences and shooting them, bury- ing them alive, and leaving undone no horror which the in- genuity of a lost soul could invent.
In May the Union forces in West Tennessee concentrated at Memphis, and became the challenging and advancing party, for the purpose of holding Forrest from reinforcing Johnston in Georgia.
After several small preliminary operations General Sturgis, on the first of June, with twelve thousand troops, including the most of A. J. Smith's corps, lately returned from the Red river campaign, and Grierson's cavalry, three thousand in number, undertook a most perilous march, one hundred and sixty miles south-east, toward Tupelo, on the Mobile and Ohio Railroad. Rain was incessant. The enemy's skir- mishers were annoying. At Ripley the Seventh cavalry lost four killed in a skirmish. June 10, the first clear day of the march, near Guntown, Grierson encountered Forrest's horse, and driving it, confronted and engaged his foot, which was strongly posted on a high, sloping, naked bank, beyond Tish- omingo creek. General Sturgis whipped up his infantry, which was five or six miles in the rear, and his wagons, two hundred in number, and reached the front, with the latter all in disorder, and the former utterly exhausted, the day being intensely hot. Without delaying to form his infantry he threw it, regiment by regiment, against the Rebel line of bat- tle. The Seventh cavalry and Fourteenth battery, which had Grierson's extreme right, were already outflanked, and the centre and left were holding their ground with difficulty. The panting infantry at their heels, and the wagons crowding confusedly into the stream, apparently hurrying toward the front, necessitated disaster. Skirmishing began about eleven in the forenoon. About one the engagement became gen- eral and fierce. It lasted until four, when the enemy having turned the left, and nearly surrounded the force, a retreat was commenced. The Fourteenth was the last of the artillery to
568
THE SOLDIER OF INDIANA.
leave the field. In consequence of some of its horses being shot down, one of its guns had to be left on the ground.
The confusion among the teamsters was terrible. At midnight some of the wagons stuck fast in a swamp and so blocked up the road that it was found necessary to abandon the whole train,-wagons, ambulances and artillery.
The infantry was saved from destruction only by the faith- ful and gallant cavalry which closely covered the rear, until Ripley was reached, and there finally checked pursuit.
The defeat was a disaster of the worst character, except that the troops were not disgraced. The retreat was made in hunger as well as haste, supplies having been, of course, lost with the wagons. Not a few men marched a hundred miles without a mouthful of food. Many of the bravest and best fell victims to the stupidity and heartlessness of General Sturgis, who escaped unhurt.
The Sixth battery lost three men and ten horses. One section of the Fourteenth battery, with thirty-two men, was included in the expedition, and was under the command of Captain Morse, the successor of Captain Kidd. The men were mostly recruits, but they fought like veterans, with a valor deserving a better result. Beside all its horses and guns, it lost seven men.
The Seventh cavalry lost forty. Lieutenant Colonel Brown and Captain Elliott were wounded. General Grierson com- plimented the Seventh in the following terms:
" Your General congratulates you upon your noble conduct during the late expedition. Fighting against overwhelming numbers, under adverse circumstances, your prompt obedi- ence to orders and unflinching courage, commanding the ad- miration of all, made even defeat almost a victory. For hours, on foot, you repulsed the charges of the enemy's in- fantry, and again in the saddle you met his cavalry, and turned his assaults into confusion. Your heroic perseverance saved hundreds of your fellow soldiers from capture. You have been faithful to your honorable reputation, and have fully justified the confidence and merited the high esteem of your commander."
1
569
DICK DAVIS.
Two hundred and fifty-three of the Ninety-Third were killed, wounded or captured, the greater part captured.
Adjutant Moody was among the killed. Lieutenant Col- onel Poole and Lieutenant Reeves were wounded and cap- tured. Dr. Sackett and Captain Bodenhamer were cap- tured. Captain Courvoiser was wounded.
The part of A. J. Smith's command not engaged in the Guntown expedition was on its way up the Mississippi. It landed at Columbia, Arkansas, and marched round Lake Chicot, about fifteen miles, to find and disperse a force, under General Marmaduke, which had been firing on trans- ports. The advance met with a stubborn resistance, which yielded quickly to the main body. The Ninth battery and the Fifty-Second regiment were in the fight. The Eighty- Ninth regiment guarded the ambulances and buried the dead.
About the first of July, Lieutenant Hare, with a detach- ment of the Seventh Indiana cavalry, found, twenty miles southeast of Memphis, the bodies of five men, stripped, pu- trid and unburied. On inquiry, it was learned that these were the remains of Union soldiers, who, unarmed, footsore and alınost famished, on the retreat from Guntown, had been murdered in cold blood by Dick Davis and his gang. Lieutenant Hare and his men buried them in one grave be- neath the shade of a little oak.
Before the year was out, the chief murderer was brought to justice. October 2, Captain Skelton scouring the region south-east of Memphis, with forty men, was fired on by guerillas, who, having fired, scattered and fled from a wood in which they had lain in ambush. Skelton and his party dashed after them, leaping fences and overtaking and seizing four men before they had time to reload. The leader was collared by Skelton, and proved to be the notorious Davis. Ilis trial sealed his fate.
General A. J. Smith was in command of the next expedi- tion from Memphis. He skirmished hotly from the outset. and on the fourteenth of July, at Tupelo, fought a battle. His number was twelve thousand. Forrest, with fourteen thousand, made three unsuccessful assaults, and after a com- bat of three hours, retired, leaving on the field more dead
570
THE SOLDIER OF INDIANA.
and wounded than Smith lost in killed, wounded and miss- ing. After a short delay, during which his cavalry skirmished sharply, Smith started back to Memphis. On Old Town Creek, the enemy sharply attacked his rear, but was driven off. The Eighty-Ninth Indiana lost thirteen at Tupelo, and two on the road between Charleston and LaGrange, shot while in the railroad train. The regiment was under the command of Lieutenant Craven, Colonel Murray being in charge of the brigade, and supported the Third battery.
The Sixth battery lost eight. The Ninth battery, the Fifty-Second and Ninety-Third regiments, were also in the Tupelo fight. Lieutenant Herron, of the Fifty-Second, was killed. He was a fearless and efficient officer.
The Seventh cavalry was not engaged in the expedition to Tupelo, having previously been sent to Vicksburg. An account of its doings in that region is given in the following letter:
"CAMP WHITE STATION, NEAR MEMPHIS, TENN., July 25, 1864. S
"DEAR MOTHER :- According to orders we started to Mem- phis, to get on the boat on the Fourth of July. We pushed off about six in the evening. Arrived at Helena next morn- ing, and lay over until evening. About two next morning, we were fired into from the Mississippi side. Of course we were all up and on the lookout in a minute. But they thought best not to try it again. Arrived at Vicksburg on the evening of the seventh, and started out to Big Black Station, consequently did not see much of the ground Grant fought over.
"Nothing of interest occurred except a few skirmishes round peach and pear orchards, until, with a large force under General Slocum, we made a short raid down to Utica, where we had quite a fight. Lieutenant Skelton distin- guished himself. Being on picket duty with twenty men, he took two men and started on a patrol, coming unexpectedly across about twenty Jonnies, who fired at his small squad, wounding one man and the horse of the other. Nevertheless Skelton, with a revolver in each hand, put them all to a run,
571
FORREST VISITS MEMPHIS.
except three, who fell. Captain Wright had a similar en- gagement, but was accompanied by part of company D. From Rocky Springs to Port Gibson, the Jonnies were quite troublesome to the advance guard, company D. Our regi- ment was sent round in the rear of the town, and was just too late to capture a squad of cavalry commanded by Wirt Adams. However, we captured fifteen. Then we had good watermelons enough to feed three divisions; roasting-ears by the hundreds, and blackberries by the bushel.
The next morning all the column but our regiment was moving on the road to Grand Gulf, when our pickets were driven in, and we were attacked by about five hundred Reb- els under Wirt Adams. We held them in check as long as the Colonel saw fit, and lay in ambush for them after we crossed the Big Pierre. Presently they came a yelling, and we let into them. The way the saddles were emptied was a shame. We arrived at Grand Gulf on the evening of the eighteenth, and on the twentieth started for Memphis. It seemed like coming home to come back to Memphis.
"JAMES GRAYDON"
In August, General Smith started out with ten thousand men to have another fight with Forrest. He went to the Tallahatchie, spent several days looking for the Rebel chief, but found only small detached bodies of cavalry.
Meantime Forrest seized the opportunity to visit Memphis with three thousand of his best mounted men. He entered the city and began to destroy property, but as six hundred Union troops were in the vicinity, his sojourn was short, and his departure was hasty. He carried away with him three hundred prisoners, and left behind him two hundred.
H. D. Castetter tells the story of the expedition:
"CAMP OF THE NINETY-THIRD INDIANA VOLUNTEERS, " NEAR MEMPHIS, August 31, 1864.
"DEAR MICKEY :- As we are settled once more in our old homestead, (for Memphis seems like a home to the soldiers of this command, I assure you,) I will tell you of our late expedition. It was a failure. Forrest outgeneraled Smith
572
THE SOLDIER OF INDIANA.
entirely. But to begin at the beginning. We lay at Holly Springs four days, and at Waterford two, while our pioneers, with a small force of cavalry, went ahead to the Tallehatchie. They were bridging it, when the enemy got a couple of pieces of artillery in position on the opposite side, and shelled them so they could not work. So we went down to their help. We could hear the barking of the "pups" all the way, and I thought we would now have the tug of war sure. Our brigade went across the railroad bridge. We lay on our arms all night, the Rebels tossing over a shell once in a while, just to let us know they were still there. The bridge was finished during the night. Some of our cavalry crossed early in the morning, dismounted and took the advance, accompanied by a couple of "dogs." They pushed out a mile, had a little fight, and the Rebels skedaddled. We marched into their position, which was a very nice one. They had thrown up logs and rails for a breastwork. We lay there about ten days until the railroad was fixed up in running order, and brought out our provisions. Then we stayed three days, be- cause rain had made the roads impassable. We got started at last. When we got to Hurricane creek the Rebels made another stand, but soon skedaddled. We went on to Oxford, where a courier came to General Smith, with orders to hurry back to Memphis, as Forrest was there. We started imme- diately on the retrograde movement. The Rebels followed us up, supposing we would cross the Tallehatchie in a hurry, and they could play hob with our rear guard, but they were badly mistaken, and got their fingers burnt. We had a pretty sharp fight. They left ten dead and twelve wounded on the field, beside twenty prisoners. Orr loss was twelve wounded, of which one has since died.
"At La Grange we took the cars for Memphis, and here we arrived day before yesterday. Old Forrest and his men were in the city about twenty minutes. They ransacked the Gayoso House, and Forrest and his staff registered their names for breakfast. The troops round the city soon got waked up, and Mr. Forrest went off in a hurry. The joke is, that while Smith was away down in Mississippi, hunting for
573
COOLNESS OF SERGEANT ANDERSON.
him, he slipped in behind and came to Memphis. He carried off several prisoners, among them nine from our regiment.
"There is a rumor that we will go to Atlanta. I hope it is true, for I don't like to mareh all over Mississippi every month, and I would like to be with a big army."
The Seventh cavalry, after its return from Vicksburg, was put on out-post duty at Colliersville and Somerville. It was frequently engaged with Henderson's Texan Rangers. Once six men, under Sergeant Anderson, had a very narrow escape. They were on picket near Wolf river, with orders to patrol, every three hours, about four miles of the Raleigh road. Re- turning from the morning patrol, they found themselves threatened by ten times their number of Henderson's scouts. Anderson cut his way through a squad which had gained his front, and commenced a race for the ford over Wolf river. He took the rear. All were over but one man and himself, when his comrade's horse slipped and fell on the bank, with the rider underneath. Anderson immediately turned to one side of the road, waited for the pursuers, emptied the saddles of the first horses which approached, and plunged into the river only after the fallen man had risen, remounted and en- tered. He crossed amid the cheers of those who had already gained the further shore.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.