USA > Kentucky > History of the 3d, 7th, 8th and l2th Kentucky C.S.A > Part 9
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CHAPTER IX.
Kentuckians Mounted and Put Under Forrest; Moved North Through Tennessee; Captured Union City and Attached Paducah. Com- mand Visited Their Homes First Time in Three Years or Since the War Commenced.
While encamped at Demopolis, about the Ist of March, 1864, the three Kentucky regiments, Third, Seventh and Eighth, received in- formation that the War Department had ordered them to report to General Forrest, then in the vicinity of Columbus, Miss., who was to mount and attach them to his command. These regiments had served as infantry from the commencement of the war, and had participated in some of the hardest fought battles, and had therefore lost a great many of their number, with no chance of recruiting from their native State ; they had been reduced to mere skeletons. They went by boat up the Tombigbee to Columbus, and reported to Forrest near that point. There were but few available horses for them; the men were delighted with the change, however, for two reasons: First, it was understood that Forrest would, in a short time, move in the direction of their homes in Western Kentucky; and, secondly, they were glad to have an op- portunity of serving with the man who had made himself so famous at Fort Donelson, Shiloh, Bragg's campaign in Kentucky, the capture of Streight, Chickamauga, the campaign in West Tennessee, and his recent rout of General Sooy Smith's command at Okolona, that he was admired by every Confederate and feared by the Federals.
As we have stated, there were only a few available horses for the Kentuckians, but when it was known that Forrest was going to move his command in the direction of Kentucky, those who could not be furnished with horses indicated that they were willing to start on foot. Forrest organized his command into four brigades, the first commanded by Colonel J. J. Neely, the second by Colonel Robert McCullock, the third by Colonel A. P. Thompson, and this brigade was composed of the Third Kentucky, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel G. A. C. Holt ; the Seventh Kentucky by Colonel Ed. Crossland; the Eighth Kentucky by Colonel H. B. Lyon, and the Twelfth Kentucky by Colonel Faulk- ner ; Jeffrey Forrest's regiment by Lieutenant-Colonel D. M. Wisdom, and the fourth brigade was commanded by Colonel T. H. Bell. This was the commencement of the service of the Twelfth Kentucky with the regiments of which we wrote in former chapters, with whom from this time on to the close they continued to serve and share their part of the glory of the matchless campaigns of Forrest and his men.
General Buford, who had for a long time been brigade commander of the Kentucky regiments when in infantry, was transferred to For- rest, and was assigned to the command of a division composed of Bell's and Thompson's brigades. On the 15th of March the command was put in motion, with the head of the column to the north in the direction of home and loved ones, the Kentuckians who could not get horses
GEN. FORREST.
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ENGAGEMENT AT UNION CITY AND PADUCAH.
trudging along afoot, happy in the thought that they were going where they could get horses to ride and comfortable clothes to wear once more.
The Federals seemed to have a good idea of Forrest's intentions. General Hurlbut, whose headquarters were at Memphis, sent the fol- lowing dispatch: "It is reported that Forrest, with about seven thou- sand men, was at Tupelo last night, bound for West Tennessee. I think he means Columbus and Paducah, Ky." Although the Federals had such a good idea of Forrest's movements, they seemed to be power- less to prevent him from going. On March 20th the advance of Forrest's command reached Jackson, Tenn. A small body was sent out in the direction of Memphis to observe any movement of the Federals from that direction; another regiment was left at Jackson to hold that place as a garrison and to receive and assist forward the dis- mounted Kentuckians, who were following the mounted men as rapidly as they could march. On the 22d Forrest, with the Seventh Tennessee and Twelfth Kentucky Regiments, moved north to Trenton. This was the place he had selected for recruits to assemble. It was ascertained that there was a Federal command of about five hundred at Union City, a place near the Kentucky line and at the crossing of two rail- roads. General Forrest directed Colonel Duckworth to take his regi- ment, the Seventh Tennessee, and the Twelfth Kentucky (McDonald's battalion was afterward ordered to join them), and if possible to cap- ture the place. He arrived there on the morning of the 24th, and pro- ceeded to invest it at once. The Federals, under Colonel Hawkins, took shelter in a strong redoubt construction near the railroad crossing. Colonel Duckworth saw at once his command, without artillery, could not hope to successfully storm the fort, and therefore resolved to resort to strategy, after marching his men close up to the Federal works and opening up a brisk fire for some time, he sent in a flag of truce, demanding the surrender of Hawkins' command. After a par- ley of some time Hawkins surrendered, and at the time of the sur- render General Brayman was within six miles of Union City with a large reinforcement, going to the rescue of Hawkins.
After stating what regiments and brigades composed his com- mand, General Brayman said, in his report: "Arriving at a station six miles this side of Union City, I learned with great pain and sur- prise that Colonel Hawkins had surrendered at II in the morning, and had with his force been removed and his fortifications destroyed. The force of the enemy does not appear to have been more than a fourth of the number represented, and without artillery. The number of men surrendered is probably five hundred, some seventy-five hav- ing escaped. All were armed and equipped, about three hundred mounted. I learned that Colonel Hawkins' command had been re- cently paid for over a year's service, and that the aggregate of in- dividual loss on the part of the officers and soldiers would reach some sixty thousand dollars."
While the foregoing was transpiring at Union City, General For- rest had pushed forward with the Kentuckians and some other regi-
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HISTORY OF THE 3D, 7TH, 8TH AND 12TH KENTUCKY.
ments of Buford's division in the direction of Paducah, Ky., situated on the banks of the Ohio. On the night before the attack on Paducah Buford's command encamped near Mayfield. They were in their sad- dles early the following morning, moving rapidly in the direction of Paducah. Captain H. A. Tyler, with his company of the Twelfth Ken- tucky, was marching in front, as advance guard. When within three or four miles of Paducah, Tyler came in contact with the pickets, or a scouting party of Federals, and pushed them back to their encamp- ments in the outskirts of the city, closely followed by Buford with the Kentuckians in front. When within cannon-shot range of the fort, where the Federals had taken refuge, they opened on the Confederates with their artillery. The Kentuckians were dismounted and moved in line of battle in the direction of the fort. The alignment was main- tained until the more densely built-up portion of the city was reached, when it was broken by the buildings and the further advance had to be made along the streets in column by regiments or companies. When within rifle-shot of the enemy in the fort the Confederates were halted for a short time and protected themselves by getting behind the houses in the streets and alleys which ran at right angles to those leading out in the direction of the fort. After halting here for a short time they were moved forward again in the streets, the buildings on either side still preventing an advance in any sort of line until an open space was reached near the fort. While marching through the streets the com- mand was under a constant and withering fire from the fort by both small arms and artillery. When out in open space, the lines were somewhat adjusted before the final charge was made. When within a short distance of the fort it was discovered that it was surrounded by a deep ditch with such perpendicular banks as to render crossing impossible. A retreat was ordered back to the buildings, in which numbers took position, and from the· windows a terrific fire was kept up on the fort until near night, at which time the whole command was withdrawn a short distance from the city and went into camp for the night.
The foregoing is a brief statement of the engagement of Paducah, as the writer saw it and remembers it. The casualties in the engage- ment were not large in numbers but in material it was a very serious loss. A. P. Thompson, the commander of the brigade, was instantly killed by a cannot-shot while leading his troops in a charge. There was no more courageous soldier in the Confederate army, and one of the most intelligent and valuable officers in Forrest's command. His death was a sad loss to the Kentuckians. He fell on the threshold of his home, flushed with the prospect of crushing the enemy. Colonel Ed. Crossland received a serious wound. Captain Linch, of Company A, Seventh Kentucky, one of the most lovable characters in the regi- ment, lost his life there, as did First-Lieutenant McFall, of the same company. There are others whose names can be found in the mus- ter rolls of the companies.
It has been said that Colonel Thompson made the attack on the fort on his own account, without any orders from his superiors, as to
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ENGAGEMENT AT UNION CITY AND PADUCAH.
the truth of which the writer is not informed. It is a well-known fact that Forrest demanded the surrender of the fort, and neither Forrest nor Buford, in their reports, attach any blame to Thompson for mov- ing on to it.
Of this engagement General Forrest says: "I drove the enemy to their gunboats and fort, and held the town for ten hours; captured many stores and horses ; burned sixty bales of cotton, one steamer and a dry dock, bringing out fifty prisoners. My loss, as far as known, is twenty-five killed and wounded, among them Colonel Thompson."
There has been some controversy as to whether Colonel Thomp- son was or was not ordered to charge on the fort, and whatever the intention of the general commanding was, it is certain an order was delivered to Colonel Thompson to make the charge. Captain F. G. Terry, of the Eighth Kentucky Regiment, at the time of this fight serving on the staff of Colonel Thompson as acting ordnance officer, and with Colonel Thompson from the time of leaving Mayfield till his death, within sixty yards or so of the ditch, says, after the lines were formed, Captain McGoodwin, acting assistant adjutant-general, an in- telligent and valuable officer, was sent to General Buford to report Colonel Thompson's position and ask for instructions. When he re- turned he said: "General Buford says dismount your men and move against that fort, keeping your flanks well protected." The movement was commenced at once and continued until the death of Colonel Thompson. S. T. Mathewson, of the Third Kentucky A. A. C. S., was present and doubtless heard Captain McGoodwin deliver his order. The command, after the death of Thompson, devolved upon Colonel Crossman, of the Seventh Kentucky, who was, within a few minutes, severely wounded, and with Captain McGoodwin, who was badly wounded by the same shell that caused the death of Colonel Thompson, was removed from the field. It should be remembered that this charge on the fort was made by the Third and Seventh Kentucky. The Eighth had been, previously to the charge, deployed as skirmishers and cov- ered practically the whole front of the brigade; and the Twelfth Kentucky was in another part of the field, as was also Colonel Bell's Tennessee brigade.
Colonel S. G. Hicks, who was in command at Paducah, says: "On the 25th instant (March) my scouts came in at about 12 m., bringing no news of the enemy's whereabouts. I immediately ordered out others and directed them to proceed on the Mayfield road. They had gone but three miles when they were met by Forrest's advance guard, who fired upon them." (That was Captain Tyler they came in contact with.) "They hurriedly fell back and gave the alarm, and in less than ten minutes after they reported the enemy was driving in my pickets. I immediately ordered the little force under my command to double- quick to the fort, which order was promptly obeyed; yet, before they could reach there, such was the impetuosity of the attack, that their rear was fired upon by the enemy. At 2 in the afternoon the enemy took position surrounding the fort and a sharp fight commenced, which in a few minutes became furious and continued for about one
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HISTORY OF THE 3D, 7TH, 8TH AND 12TH KENTUCKY.
hour, when it was announced that a flag of truce was approaching. I immediately ordered my men to cease firing, and sent out to meet the bearers, from whom I received the following demand to surrender." Then followed the demand for the Federals to surrender, which was refused by Colonel Hicks, and in his report he further says : "As soon as the answer was returned they moved forward and our forces opened on them, and the fight became general. They attempted to storm our works, but were repulsed. They rallied and tried it again, and met the same fate."
One reading Colonel Hicks' report would come to the conclusion that General Forrest was cognizant of the attack, if not made by his order. But it is no part of the writer's intention to raise any con- troversy in regard to that matter ; it is his purpose to give facts, as he understands them.
On the following morning, after the attack on Paducah, General Forrest moved back to Mayfield, where the Kentuckians were dis- banded for a few days in order to give them an opportunity to visit their homes, from which they had been separated since 1861; and to their everlasting credit they all returned to their command at the appointed time. The most of them had procured good mounts and comfortable clothing ; and in the meantime they had succeeded in gath- ering up numbers of recruits, which brought the regiments up to something like their proper size again.
By the 5th of April the Kentuckians had come together at Tren- ton, Tenn. General Buford was ordered to take the Kentuckians and go back into Western Kentucky for two purposes: First, to direct the attention of the Federal commanders from Fort Pillow, which Forrest was planning to capture; secondly, to capture a lot of good horses and mules that were reported to be in the suburbs of Paducah. Buford arrived in the vicinity of Columbus on the 12th of April. Captain H. A. Tyler, with about one hundred and fifty men, was de- tached to make a demonstration on Columbus, which he did so suc- cessfully as to create the impression on the Federals at that point that they were going to be attacked by a large force of Confederates. Gen- eral Buford moved rapidly on to Paducah, and on the morning of the 14th appeared before the city with great show of force, pushing the Federals back to the fort and onto their gunboats, and held them there while he had the mules and horses gathered up, amounting to about two hundred fine animals. After procuring the horses General Buford's command moved leisurely back toward Trenton, giving some of the men another opportunity of visiting their homes.
From the middle to the close of the war portions of Kentucky and Tennessee were infested with gangs of robbers and murderers calling themselves "Home Guards," most of whom had some sort of affilia- tion with the Federal armies, and if they did not act under orders from the Federal commanders they certainly made no effort to restrain them. In the vicinity of Mayfield there was a gang of these cut-throats led by a man named Gregory. This band was a terror to the whole com- munity. It was said that they boasted of the fact that they never took
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ENGAGEMENT AT UNION CITY AND PADUCAH.
a prisoner-if a Confederate fell into their hands he was murdered; and they were guilty of as brutal conduct as any gang of cut-throats who roamed those sections during the time mentioned.
As has been stated, Colonel Edward Crossland, of the Seventh Kentucky, was painfully wounded in the leg at Paducah, and on the evening of the next day after the battle a portion of the Colonel's staff and a few other Confederates stopped at Mr. William Pryor's, about four miles south of Mayfield, to spend the night; and during the night they were raided by this Gregory gang. By the writer's request, Hon. Samuel H. Crossland, son of Colonel Ed. Crossland, writes the details of the horrible incident. It is as follows :
"To Hon. Henry George :
"I herewith give you the following statement, in compliance with your request, as to particulars of the murderous attack of Gregory's cut-throats at Pryor's, to-wit :
"The citizens were held in terror by the Yankees, and especially by Gregory's company, after the battle of Paducah, in which my father, Colonel Ed. Crossland, was wounded. He came to Mayfield, and was invited by his old friend and law student, Stokley W. Slayden, to go to his father's house and stay all night. Adjutant Roulhac in- formed Colonel Crossland that the father of Mr. S. W. Slayden had expressed fears that the Yankees would burn him out when the rebels left the country if he entertained him at his house, and he declined to go there, and started that evening to his step-mother's in Hickman county, a distance of about twenty miles from Mayfield. On the road, about four miles from Mayfield, he met Bill Pryor, who told him that the weather was so cold that he would freeze before he got to his destination, and insisted upon his staying all night with him. Being told by Crossland that he was afraid that the Yankees would burn him out if he stayed with him, Pryor still insisted, saying 'let them burn,' and he stopped with him. About II o'clock that night Cross- land was aroused by some one cursing at his window, whom he sup- posed was somebody drunk and told them to go away, and a shot was fired through the window by him at Crossland. Roulhac and Wilborn were sleeping on a pallet in the room, and were awakened by the shot. Asking what that meant, Crossland told them that he supposed it was a crazy man, and that he shot at him.
"By this time the door was burst open and Gregory gave the command to kill the last damn one of them. They asked Roulhac, who by this time was near the door, who he was and he replied that he was a rebel, and he was shot through the breast, and fell dead. Wil- born, who was not observed, crawled under the bed. This command was then addressed to Crossland: 'You damn son-of-a-bitch in that bed, surrender.' Crossland replied : 'I am wounded and helpless, and of course I surrender.' Then he was fired at, the bullet cutting through his armpit and lodging in the pillow. Crossland said: 'I am killed,' and fell back in the bed and lay there quietly. Gregory's cut-throats then went to a shed-room adjoining, beat upon the door and burst it in, cursed, kicked and beat, shot and cut with their sabers a detail of
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HISTORY OF THE 3D, 7TH, 8TH AND 12TH KENTUCKY.
Faulkner's regiment, composed of Lieutenant Oliver, Privates Burns, Front and Hatler. If there were others their names are not remem- bered.
"Finally Oliver and Hatler surrendered to them, and they were carried into the yard and were told to kneel. Oliver answered that he only knelt to his God. They shot and killed him at once. When the order to kneel was given, Hatler, understanding what they meant, broke away and ran. He was fired upon by a fusilade from Gregory's gang, about twenty-five or thirty in number, and as he ran by the guard he fired upon him, but he was not struck in the legs, and kept running and escaped. On the next morning he was brought to May- field and was found to be riddled with bullets; the surgeons cut twenty- eight bullets out of his body. After Oliver was killed, Gregory's men went to the stable, and Crossland, having been wounded in the leg at Paducah, was unable to walk. He crawled out of his bed and room, into the shed-room and to the back door, where he was halted by a guard; he crawled back into the shed-room and discovered Burns, who had been pierced and chopped with sabers; also Front, who had been shot in the melee by Gregory's men; and they by this time had found some pistols and gave Crossland one, and they determined to sell their lives if again attacked.
"Finding things had become quiet, Crossland, fearing the return of the Yankees, undertook to escape. He crawled out of the house and into a chicken house or coop, and covered with a wagon sheet to keep from freezing; but becoming apprehensive that they would return and burn the house, and that he would be discovered by the light, and killed, he crawled until he came to a stake-and-ridered fence, which he was unable to get over or pull down on account of his wounded and freezing condition, being in his night clothes. While there, Polk Wil- born, having escaped, came to him and took him on his back and carried him to the woods, where he left him and returned to the house to get some bedclothes to cover him with. When Wilborn went into the house he found a chunk of fire had been placed in the bed where Crossland had lain, but the bed was wet from bathing Cross- land's wound and the fire did not catch. After Crossland had gotten away, the Gregory gang of cut-throats returned to the room where Roulhac had been killed, and one of them caught hold of Roulhac's whiskers, pulled them and said, "Ah, yes, old Eddie, we've got you this time," mistaking Roulhac for Crossland; but Gregory looked at Roul- hac and told them it was not Crossland, that he had gotten away.
"Crossland and Wilborn remained in the woods until the next morning, when a regiment of cavalry came out from Mayfield and carried them back to Mayfield. The soldiers who were at Pryor's with Crossland, believing that there were no enemies in the country nearer than Paducah, had carelessly left the most of their arms with their sad- dles and horses at the stables, and, being surprised, were unable to make any defense. It was learned afterward that an old negro, named Mose Saxon, had learned that the rebels were at Pryor's and carried information to that effect to Gregory and his men, a few miles away.
TYREE H. BELL.
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ENGAGEMENT AT UNION CITY AND PADUCAH.
The Yankees took Roulhac's uniform coat (rebel gray) and Gregory wore it in the streets of Paducah, riding Crossland's fine roan horse, with great parade and gusto.
"This is a statement of the details of this affair, as I have fre- quently heard my father relate them.
"Your friend, "SAMUEL H. CROSSLAND."
As horrible as this was, it was only one of a number of the das- tardly things which frequently occurred throughout that section.
While General Buford was thus engaged in Kentucky, General Forrest, with Bell's and McCulloch's Brigades under the immediate command of General James Chalmers, captured Fort Pillow. The Kentucky brigade was not in that engagement, and but for the fact it was one of Forrest's most notable engagements, I would pass it by with merely a brief notice; but as Fort Pillow is so inseparable from the history of Forrest and his men, I deem it proper to at least give a sufficient outline to make the reader comprehend something of the facts of what occurred there.
Fort Pillow was situated on the east bank of the Mississippi River, about forty miles north of Memphis. Early in the war, when all that section was in possession of the Confederates, owing to the topography of the immediate surroundings of that point it was selected by General Gideon J. Pillow, as an admirable place for a fort, and while in command of Tennessee troops he fortified the place; and after it fell into the hands of the Federals they continuously occupied it as a garrison. It was the rendezvous of deserters from the Confederate armies and outlaw renegades of that section, and from that point gangs of robbers known as "Bushwackers" would make their sallies into the surrounding country for the purpose of robbery and terrorizing the citizens, and especially the families of those who had relations in the Confederate army, numbers of whom were with Forrest. For this reason the Tennesseans were anxious to have an opportunity of moving on to that doomed place.
General Chalmers, in command of the brigades as I have de- scribed, in his official report, says: "On the morning of the IIth in- stant, I moved this division from Sharon's Ferry, on Forked Deer, in the direction of Brownsville, and on the same morning moved Lieutenant-Colonel Chalmers' battalion through Brownsville on the Memphis road, and thence by a circutious route back again to the Fort Pillow road. I moved from Brownsville in person at 3:30 p.m. on the IIth, and reached Fort Pillow, a distance of forty miles, at day- light next morning. Colonel McCulloch, commanding advance, sur- prised the enemy's pickets and captured four of them. My orders from General Forrest were to invest the place, and I proceeded to do so as follows : McCulloch's brigade moved down the Fulton road to Gaines' farm ; thence north to the fort on a road running parallel with the Mississippi river; Wilson's regiment of Bell's brigade moved on the direct road from Brownsville to Fort Pillow, and Colonel Bell, with Barteau's and Russell's regiments, moved down Coal creek to attack the fort in the rear.
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