USA > Kentucky > History of the 3d, 7th, 8th and l2th Kentucky C.S.A > Part 15
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On the 28th of September, General Sherman telegraphed General J. D. Webster, at Nashville: "General Grant telegraphs me that he has ordered many troops to Nashville." On the same day Sherman informs Webster that he would send him another devision that night. On the 29th Sherman informs General Elliott that his cavalry must do more; he says: "It is strange that Forrest and Wheeler should circle around us thus. We should at least make ten miles to his hun- dred." On the 30th Sherman directs Thomas to push Forrest, and says to him: "We will never have a better chance at him than now." And it does seem that they ought to have had good chance at him, with the Tennessee River on the south and west of him, in the midst of a Federal force of thirty-five thousand or forty thousand, and of that number there were nine thousand or ten thousand cavalry more than twice the number of Forrest's whole force-who ought to have been able to move as fast as Forrest could.
Gunboats patrolled the river, and strong infantry forces were held at several points to prevent the Confederates from re-crossing to the south side. The dispatches from Grant, Sherman, Granger, Thomas and others show that the commanders of the armies of the Tennessee and Mississippi were concentrating all available forces in Middle Ten- nessee to crush Forrest. Probably at no other time during the war did as small a number of men attract so much attention and cause half as much anxiety. To all the efforts the Federals were making to destroy him, Forrest paid but the least bit of attention, and went right along tearing up railroads, burning bridges and capturing forts and blockhouses ; and if any portion of the Federal commands showed a strong disposition to fight, he would accommodate them with that. At Athens and Sulphur Springs trestle enough horses were captured to mount the men who had been following along on foot. On Sep- tember the 29th Forrest continued his movements north along the line of railroad in the direction of Pulaski. At Elk River the Con- federates destroyed an extensive bridge, together with another block- house. The Kentuckians destroyed several miles of railroad north of Elk River, and at Brown's plantation about two thousand negroes had been corraled by the Federals; the huts they occupied were burned and the commissary stores issued to the men.
On the 27th the command moved north again, the Kentucky brig- ade in advance. When within six or seven miles of Pulaski they en-
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HISTORY OF THE 3D, 7TH, 8TH AND 12TH KENTUCKY.
countered the enemy in strong force in a strong position. Buford pushed his whole division forward and was soon hotly engaged. For- rest formed some of the remainder of his command on the left of Buford's, and the engagement became general, which lasted for some- thing like an hour, at which time a general charge was made and the Federals gave way in disorder. In this engagement the Kentuckians lost some of their best men, owing to the fact that Crossland and Hale had not recovered from their wounds received at Old Town creek, and Lieutenant-Colonel Sherrell having been killed at the same place, Cap- tain Joel T. Cochran, senior captain, was in command of the regiment. General V. Y. Cook, at that time a mere boy, belonged to Company H, Seventh Kentucky; he commanded a regiment in the Spanish- American war, and wrote the following in regard to that engagement, which was published in the "Veteran :
"At Tarpley's Shop, five miles south of Pulaski, Tenn., on the morning of September the 27th, the Seventh Kentucky, in the advance, suffered severely in a ten minutes' skirmish with the Tenth and Twelfth Tennessee Federal dismounted cavalry, under command of the gallant Colonel George Spaulding, and a battalion each of the Ninth and Tenth Indiana Cavalry, mounted, in which at one time it appeared that the regiment would be over-ridden and sabered; but the com- mander of the Indiana battalions, Major George F. Herriott, hesitated at the critical moment. In the meantime the Seventh Kentucky was quickly dismounted by its gallant commander, Captain Joel T. Coch- ran, of Company E, and the other regiments of the brigade, coming up immediately, drove the Federals from their strongly selected position. We lost, however, Captain Cochran, who was in command of the regi- ment ; Captain David L. Nowland, Company G, and eight enlisted men killed, three of whom-Sergeant Jack Waddell, Williams Matheney and Thomas Hansberry-belonged to Company I; James Hatchell and John Hanelin, to Company E; John Wilson and John Oliver, to Com- pany K; and a Mississipian, who, by chance, was riding with the Ken- tuckians that morning. Immediately after the death of Captain Coch- ran, Captain Charles W. Jetton, of Company H, assumed command of the regiment, but almost instantly thereafter was wounded in the hand. Several others were wounded by the same volley.
Captains Cochran and Nowlan were buried in the same superficial army grave, where their remains still repose, as also the bodies of the other seven Kentuckians and the Mississippians rest in a nearby grave. These graves, we are informed, are being cared for and anually dec- orated with flowers by the good women of that vicinity.
"Time may efface the record of the Confederate soldier and ob- literate the memory of the confidence with which he went into battle; but never will the sublimity of devotion actuating these ladies and the womanly women of the South every day during that stupendous strug- gle to deeds of unparalleled self-sacrificing consecration to the needs of the Confederate sick and wounded, and to this day in honoring our dead comrades be expunged from that imperishable ledger of glory."
The enemy was pressed into the town and breastworks ; the fight-
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ing was almost continuous from early in the morning up to about I o'clock in the afternoon. The command remained in front of the town during the remainder of the afternoon, General Forrest in the mean- time having made a close reconnoissance and learned that the Federals in the fort outnumbered his force, and, believing it would be futile to attack them. The Confederates remained in this position until a lit- tle after nightfall, after having the men build up fires along their lines for the purpose of making the enemy believe they had gone into camp for the night. Forrest moved east in the direction of the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad ; after traveling in that direction for about ten miles they went into camp. Early the next morning the command resumed their march east and encamped for the night near Fayette- ville. From this point General Buford, with Kelley's and Johnson's brigades, was sent back to tear up the Memphis & Charleston Railroad between Huntsville and Decatur; and to put the artillery and wagons south of the Tennessee River. With the remainder of the command, consisting of Lyon's and Bell's brigades, the Seventh Tennessee and Forrest's old regiment, as reliable a little command as ever followedl a leader, Forrest commenced moving toward Spring Hill, after send- ing some detachments to strike the Nashville & Chattanooga and do what they could toward destroying bridges on that line. Forrest move 1 in that direction, causing the Federals to shift their forces to Tullahoma and other points on that road, leaving comparatively small forces to operate against Forrest about Spring Hill and Columbia. Leaving Shelbyville a little to the right he moved to Lewisburg, crossed Duck River at Hardison's ford, and was at Spring Hill about noon on October Ist, where some horses and other government property were found. The men were put to work destroying the railroad again, all moving in the direction of Columbia. Four more blockhouses with their garrisons were captured and the bridges they were built to protect were destroyed. The commander of one blockhouse refused to sur- render, but there must have been some sort of understanding that the garrison was not to fire on the Confederates as they marched by, for the writer remembers that the column marched by within a few feet of the blockhouse and no shots were fired at them.
On October the 2d Forrest re-crossed Duck River, moving south. The Federals were driven into their works at Columbia. Forming Bell's brigade on one side and Lyon's on the other, the town was in- vested for several hours, and then, withdrawing in the direction of Mount Pleasant, they encamped for the night. On the 3d Forrest moved his command south for the purpose of re-crossing the Tennessee River before the Federals could concentrate their forces in sufficient numbers to endanger his escape. The march was continued on the 4th and 5th, passing through Lawrenceburg and Shoal creek. Florence was reached on the 5th. The river was found to be much swollen, so much so it was out of the question to attempt to ford it.
General Buford, who, the reader will remember, had been sent back, arrived at Florence two days ahead of Forrest and had succeeded in crossing nearly all his command, including the artillery and wagon
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HISTORY OF THE 3D, 7TH, 8TH AND 12TH KENTUCKY.
train to the south side of the stream before Forrest arrived. The facilities for ferrying the river were very meager-three delapidated old flat-boats; they, however, were kept busy night and day crossing the men.
It was not until the morning of the 8th when the bulk of the command had succeeded in crossing that the enemy made his ap- pearance. Two heavy columns of the enemy were moving in the direction where the crossing was being effected, either of which was larger than Forrest's command. A regiment from Roddey's command and two from Bell's brigade met the Federals at Shoal creek and held them in check until the morning of the 8th. When the Federals did finally succeed in driving these regiments back there were yet some- thing like one thousand of Forrest's men on the north side of the river, who, if not saved by some immediate action, must be over- whelmed by the enemy. Forrest, always resourceful in emergency, knowing that there was an island a few miles down the river, at once transfered his crossing to that point. The boats were floated down the stream to the island and the men moved along down the bank of the stream. The men were soon ferried over to the island, and the horses were pushed off a high bluff into the water and forced to swim to the same point, where they were protected from the view of the enemy by the bushes and timber. This moving was effected without the loss of a man, and only a few horses. The regiment which was engaged in holding the enemy in check moved down the river from the front of the enemy, where they remained for a few days, and then effected their crossing and joined their command without the loss of men or horses.
The writer was with a detail of about thirty men from the Seventh Kentucky, commanded by Lieutenant B. P. Willingham, who were left on the north side of the river, and had not been able to cross be- fore the Federals came up. The lieutenant moved his men rapidly down the river for a few miles and then back into a hilly, thickly wooded country, where they remained for a few days waiting for an opportunity to cross the river. The rendezvous selected was back of Waterloo and about one mile from a public highway. The little com- mand had a sentinel all the time on a bluff overlooking the highway for the purpose of observing the movements of the Federals, who had taken position at several points on the river. One day the guard re- ported that a column of mounted men were moving up the highway that passed near the camp. Willingham ordered five men to remain with the horses at the camp, and with the others he marched to the top of a bluff overlooking the highway on which the Federals were march- ing. From that position the road could be seen for a mile each way. It soon developed that the Federal force was a foraging party robbing the farmers of hogs and chickens, together with smokehouse provender, and when they made their appearance at the foot of the bluff upon which the squad of Confederates were concealed it was discovered that the horses of the Federals were loaded down with plunder. When the main body of the foraging party was just under the Confederates, Willingham ordered his men to open fire on them, which caused the
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FORREST'S CAMPAIGN INTO MIDDLE TENNESSEE.
wildest stampede the writer witnessed during the war. Turning loose all they had taken from the citizens, they made a wild dash for safety, every fellow for himself. After they had disappeared we found the road strewn with chickens, hogs, flour, meal and every other con- ceivable article that could be carried on a horse. They never came out that way any more while we remained there. The citizens of the com- munity overwhelmed us with thanks and furnished us with an abund- ance of good provisions. In a little while we effected a crossing and pushed on after our command.
This remarkable campaign of General Forrest was accomplished in about fifteen days, and if it had been eight or ten months sooner it no doubt would have changed materially Sherman's campaign about Atlanta. While the campaign was brilliant beyond cavil, and a suc- cess from start to finish, yet it had been postponed too long to accom- plish the purpose for which it was originally intended. It is hard to conceive the facts concerning what was accomplished on that campaign. Less than five thousand men, putting a navigable river, patrolled by the enemy's gunboats behind them, take two batteries of artillery and a wagon train into a section where there were at least thirty-five thou- sand of the enemy's troops, capture or drive before them the smaller commands, and go around the larger ones, capture and take away hundreds of prisoners and thousands of dollars' worth of property, and re-cross the river on two or three old flat-boats, all before the Federals recovered from the shock of the audacity of the cavalry wonder.
In his report of this movement, General Forrest said: "My troops during the expedition acted with their accustomed gallantry. In camp, on the march and in battle they exhibited all the traits of the gallant soldier. I take pleasure in commending the steadiness, self- denial and patriotism with which they bore the hardships and priva- tions incident to such a campaign. General Buford's division fully sustained the reputation it has so nobly won. General Lyon and Col- onel Bell added new laurels to the chaplet which their valor and patriot- ism have already won."
RAID TO JOHNSONVILLE.
Before Forrest's command hardly had time to dismount from their jaded horses from the Middle Tennessee campaign they were put on the move into West Tennessee again, for the purpose of stopping, as far as possible, the navigation of the Tennessee River and the destruc- tion of a large quantity of army supplies known to be housed at John- sonville. Johnsonville had been made a great distributing point for the Federal armies in various sections. The Roddey and Wheeler con- tingent had removed from Forrest's command. General Chalmers' small brigade of about five hundred men, with which force on the 16th of October Forrest commenced moving north. The Kentucky brigade moved in the direction of Lexington. General Forrest went direct to Jackson, Tenn., where he established his headquarters, and from there he informed General Taylor of the wretched condition of both his men and horses, brought about by such constant hard service,
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HISTORY OF THE 3D, 7TH, 8TH AND 12TH KENTUCKY.
without time for any sort of recuperation. From Lexington, Buford and Lyon, with the Kentuckians, moved in a northerly direction through Huntington, Paris and on to the mouth of the Big Sandy River. Buford placed his command at old Fort Heiman and Paris landing on the Tennessee River. Bell's brigade, with a section of artillery, was put into position at Paris landing, and the Kentuckians, with a portion of Chalmers' brigade, were posted about five miles below at Fort Hei- man, and with that command were two twenty-pounder Parrott guns.
The Federals were in perfect ignorance of this formidable force, so well located to destroy their boats and obstruct the commerce of the river. On November the 29th, the "Mazeppa," a heavy-laden freight boat, with two barges in tow, came up the river. It was permitted to pass the lower batteries, and when between the two they opened fire and soon crippled her, and she was sent to the opposite or east shore. The crew made their escape to the woods, the commander remaining with the boat. There was not a small boat of any kind the Confed- erates could find to go over on.
There has been some contention as to who went over the river and captured the "Mazeppa," but it is now settled beyond a doubt that it was Captain Frank P. Gracey, Captain H. Clay Horn and Lieutenant Ed. Ross.
Manuscript from General V. Y. Cook :
"You are in error in according the honor of capturing the Fed- eral transport steamer 'Mazeppa' in the Tennessee River, to one Private W. C. West, of the Second Tennessee Cavalry. Dr. Wyeth was led into the same error, and by a correspondent not well advised in the matter. It was certainly Captain Frank P. Gracey, formerly of the Eighth Kentucky, a man bred and born at Hopkinsville, Ky., who was accompanying the expedition on leave of absence from his battery. He, Captain H. Clay Horn and Lieutenant Ed. Ross, of the Third Ken- tucky, first attempted the crossing of the river on an improvised cata- maran, which, owing to the smallness of the logs and the improper lashing together, they parted near the shore, immersing the three offi- cers, when Captain Gracey stripped his clothing, placing them and his pistols around his neck, threw one arm over one of the logs, and with the other paddled across the river, with the attending incidents de- scribed in your chapter.
"I did not then know Captain Gracey, but did know Captain Horn and Lieutenant Ross, and was told at the time who the other officer was, for his soldierly deportment attracted my boyish admiration. He has been dead several years, but has a son, Frank P. Gracey, Jr., living at Clarksville, Tenn., I think, and who can doubtless give you attend- ing facts.
"Captain Charles W. Jetton and Private James W. King, of Com- pany H, applied the torch to the steamer "Mazeppa," by order of General Buford, October 29th."
He made his way across and the captain of the steamer sur- rendered. A yawl was launched from the boat, in which other Con- federates were sent over, and by means of ropes the steamer was car-
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FORREST'S CAMPAIGN INTO MIDDLE TENNESSEE.
ried to the west side, and taken possession of by the Confederates. It was a rich prize, loaded with army blankets, shoes and other valu- able things of which the Confederates were so badly in need. The cargo was removed from the boat, and it was set on fire and destroyed.
The following morning a steamer came down the river and suc- ceeded in passing all the guns and made its way on down the river. It was struck a number of times, but none of the shots hit a vital place. When fired on by the big guns, where the Kentuckians were located, it turned in toward the shore as though it was coming in to surrender, but when close in under the bank where the guns could not be depressed to reach her, she turned her bow down stream and made a successful dash for liberty.
General Buford was known to be a little bit fond of a good drink. Colonel Crossland used to tell it on him that when the steamer com- menced moving in toward the shore, in anticipation of a toddy Buford threw his tobacco out and walked down to receive her, and when it whirled off down the stream, with a look of utter disappointment, he yelled out at the top of his voice, which was almost equal to a lion's, "Shoot h-1 out of her."
In a short time a transport and gunboat came down the river, and when they had passed the guns of Bell's brigade they opened fire on them, but damaged them but little. When they came within range of the guns with the Kentucky brigade they opened fire on them with such telling effect that they turned to make their escape up the river, past the guns they had passed coming down, but when they came in range of the guns with Bells brigade they opened on them with such a fusillade of shot that they were afraid to attempt to pass them again. They were then between the two batteries, neither of which could reach them. At this time another steamer came down the river and was captured between the two batteries. In the meantime, Rucker, with a small force and two guns, moved to a position between the two batteries, where he could reach the transport and gunboat. After a short engagement they both surrendered, and were taken charge of by the Confederates. The gunboat "Undine" was one of the most formidable on the river, its armament consisting of eight twenty-four-pounder howitzers. The commander, with his captured steamers, determined to organize a fleet and man it with his horse- man.
Up to this time the men who followed the great cavalry leader had done about everything he had called on them to do, but when he undertook to make mariners out of his charges, he gave them a job they were wholly incapable of performing, although willing to attempt anything. On November Ist the fleet, under Commodore Daw- son, commenced moving up the river with instruction to keep abreast with the cavalry column moving on the bank. The life of the famous "Forrest Fleet" was two days; at the expiration of that time they met some gunboats coming down, which soon put Dawson's fleet out of commission. The crews run some ashore and burned them; others were re-captured.
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HISTORY OF THE 3D, 7TH, 8TH AND 12TH KENTUCKY.
Forrest continued to move his command up the river until he reached a point opposite Johnsonville. On the 3d of November, Mor- ton selected a position for his guns from which he could open fire on the Federals storehouses in the town, and the steamers with which the wharfs were lined. At 5 o'clock in the afternoon, from their conceal- ment Morton's guns opened up. From the Federal forts and gunboats on the opposite side the enemy responded with vigor. The Confed- erates worked their guns with precision. In a short time the ware- houses and goods on the wharf, together with a large number of steam- ers, were a seething mass of flames. The Federals became panic- stricken and set some of their stores on fire themselves for fear they would fall into the hands of the Confederates. General Forrest esti- mated that he had captured and destroyed six million seven hundred thousand dollars worth of property. The Federal estimate was two million two hundred thousand.
Most of the Kentuckians were permitted to return to their homes for a few days before returning south to join Hood on his Nashville campaign. General Lyon was assigned to the command of a depart- ment created in Kentucky, and only commanded the brigade thereafter a short time.
CHAPTER XIV.
Hood's Campaign to Nashville. Federal Army Escapes from Colum- bia. Battle of Franklin. Forrest at Murfreesboro. Repulse and Retreat of Hood's Army from Nashville. Forrest Covering Re- treat.
The one thing that contributed more than all others combined to the immediate downfall of the Confederacy was the removal of Gen- eral Joseph E. Johnston from the command of the Army of the Tennessee, and placing it in the hands of General J. B. Hood. Not that General Hood was not a patriotic, courageous officer, and as ready to offer up his life upon the altar of his country as any man engaged in that hallowed struggle, but because of the fact that he was not. a general, and Johnston was among the very best that his generation produced. Everybody, both friend and foe, except the authorities at Richmond, recognized him as such. Some one has said that Hood's capacity was very well suited for a division or corps commander; he had courage and ability to obey an order, but was utterly helpless in handling an army. And that is about the estimate that the student of history will insist on placing on him.
On the 29th of September, 1864, General Hood moved his army from the front of Sherman and marched westward, crossing the Chat- tahoochee River, and moved north around to the rear of Sherman's army ; struck the railroad and destroyed it in a number of places, and captured the Federal posts at several points, and finally commenced moving toward the Tennessee River for the purpose of making a campaign into Middle Tennessee. General Hood says he hoped to cross at Gunter's landing, but not having a sufficient force of cavalry with him, the march was continued to Tuscumbia, Ala., reaching that point on the 31st of October. General Forrest had received from Gen- eral Beauregard an order on the 30th of October, while operating about Johnsonville, to report without delay to General Hood. As soon as Forrest was through with the destruction of property in that section, he commenced moving up the river, expecting to cross it at Perryville, but without facilities and the river rising rapidly, he found it im- possible to effect a crossing then. He did, however, succeed in throw- ing across a portion of Rucker's brigade and moved to Corinth with the remainder of his command. Both men and horses were much jaded, "but moved at once to Florence," and crossed the Tennessee on the 16th and 17th of November. General Forrest was placed in command of all the cavalry, consisting of about five thousand men and divided into three divisions-Buford's, Jackson's and Chalmers'. Col- onel Edward Crossland commanded the Kentucky brigade. On the morning of November 21st the command commenced moving forward. Buford, with the Kentuckians, in front, was ordered to move north on the military road. On the 19th a portion of the Kentucky brigade, at Butler's creek, came in contact with a Federal command and a sharp engagement ensued.
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