USA > Pennsylvania > The Seventh Pennsylvania veteran volunteer cavalry; its record, reminiscences and roster; with an appendix > Part 12
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THE FALL OF ATLANTA
the rear guard of the enemy was again engaged, while the battle of Alatoona Pass was in progress, and about a hundred of the Confederates were cap- tured.
Following Hood, the division continued to en- counter his rear in a series of successful skirmishes; and on the 13th an opportunity offered for the Ser- enth to charge, which it did effectively. This fight occurred near Rome, Georgia, and in describing it in a letter to Vale, Capt. Burns says :
"The Rome fight was one of the most gallant af- fairs the brigade ever participated in. There were not more than three or four hundred men in it, we having passed through a long and weary campaign. We were very much complimented at the time; among others by General J. D. Cox, commanding the Third Corps, who was present and saw the charge. Lieutenant Fisk, of your regiment, (the Seventh Pennsylvania), was the man who led the small ad- vance guard which captured the guns, and I believe they were all Seventh Pennsylvania men."
The Seventh lost in this fight one man killed, four wounded, and twenty-seven horses killed, and captured two guns. The division followed Hood as far as Galesville, Alabama. Here the pursuit ceased ; Hood being left to pursue his way, while Thomas was preparing, at Nashville, to meet and destroy him when he emerged from his meanderings through Alabama. The First Brigade, Second Division, Army of the Cumberland, now ceased to exist. For two years the Fourth Regulars, Fourth Michigan and Seventh Pennsylvania had camped together, marched together, fought together, and endured many hard- ships together. They had been faithful to each oth- er in many trials, and together they had won a repu- tation for gallantry second to no regiment in the great army to which they were attached. Now the time of separation had come. The Fourth Regulars
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were ordered to report to General Wilson, at Nash- ville, and the Fourth Michigan and Seventh Penn- sylvania turned their horses over to Wilder's brigade, and proceeded by railroad to Louisville, there to ho remounted for the final campaign.
AT COLUMBIA.
On Colonel Sipes' arrival at Columbia, Tennes- see-the reserve post of the cavalry of the Army of the Cumberland-where he had been ordered early in June, General Wilder turned the command over to him and went to his home in Indiana. The jurisdiction of this post extended from Franklin to Pulaski, on the Nashville and Decatur railroad, and indefinitely over the adjacent country, and there were on duty in it some two thousand effective men. About a hundred miles of railway had to be guarded, and roaming guerilla bands-composed of the worst men the war produced-looked after and kept down. In the town of Columbia there were three hospitals containing an aggregate of about six hundred patients. The most important duty imposed upon the commanding officer, in the early summer, was the guarding of the railroad, and every possible precaution was taken to prevent its injury or interruption. Block-houses of great strength were built at all bridges and tres- tles; these were carefully garrisoned, and kept well supplied with provisions and ammunition. Printed instructions were posted in these directing how they were to be defended, and assuring their defenders that unless assailed with artillery-which raiders rarely if ever had-they were impregnable.
On one of the high, symmetrical hills which sur- round Columbia a fortification had been commenced by Wilder, and this was continued until a position of considerable strength, defensively, was secured. Altogether, the condition of the post was satisfactory during the summer; the various camps were health-
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ful; the men cheerful; and the surrounding country quiet and peaceful, disturbed only by marauding bands who made the war a pretext for robberies and murders.
Efforts were of course made to rid the country of these bands and not without good results. Cap- tain Newcomer was sent after one of them, with a small mounted force, and succeeded in exterminat- ing it ; and Captain Garret rid the earth of a fiend and his companion who had, for their pleasure, flogged a citizen to death near his home, a few miles from the town. For these and other similar ser- vices General Robert Granger, commanding at De- catur, Alabama, complimented and thanked the offi- cers and men on duty at Columbia.
Wheeler made a raid through this section while the Atlanta campaign was in progress, but did very little damage to the railroad, and none to the Union soldiers. While on this raid he halted at Kallioka, -a station south of Columbia-where there was an important trestle, and demanded the surrender of the blockhouse defending it. The sergeant in com- mand-one of Wilder's men-peremptorily refused, whereupon an attack was made upon it and contin- ued for twenty-four hours. All kinds of threats were used to intimidate the little garrison, but they had no effect, and at last the attacking party rode away, the commander, under a flag of truce, telling the sergeant that he admired his bravery and devo- tion to duty. This blockhouse was visited soon after by the commanding officer at Columbia, and the fu- silade to which it had been subjected seen. Its log walls were thickly peppered with imbedded bullets- not the space that could be covered by the open hand escaped them-and yet not one of the garrison was injured.
Forrest raided through this section about the first of October, and remained several days in the
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vicinity of Columbia. It was reported at the time that he had ordered men he had enlisted, or con- scripted, to report to him there, and it was doubtless his intention "to take the town," but on investigating he discovered "it wouldn't pay." The commander of the place notified the citizens that the post would be defended to the last extremity, and that, should the hospitals be molested, the town would be shelled from the fort. Considerable anxiety prevailed for a while, but nothing very serious occurred. The only conquest Forrest made was of two blockhouses de- fending the railroad bridge across Duck river, about three miles from Columbia. These were surren- dered by Lieutenant Nixon, of the Seventh, without firing a shot. Forrest induced Nixon to come out of his blockhouse and parley with him. Then by threats, and the exhibition of "Greek fire," he so im- pressed the young lieutenant that he surrendered and tried to induce a non-commissioned officer, also of the Seventh, commanding an adjacent blockhouse, to do likewise. This he refused to do, or even to dis- cuss the subject of surrender with Forrest, calling out to Nixon that he was ashamed of him, and tell- ing the Confederate general that, if he came within rifle range, he would fire on him.
Nixon had no excuse for his conduct. In pur- suing the course he did, he violated positive and well- known orders, and subjected himself to dishon- orable dismissal from the service, with the for- feiture of all pay and allowances due him. Three days previous he had visited the com- manding officer in the town, and reported his blockhouse in perfect condition for defence. As soon as the news of the surrender reached Nashville, General Thomas telegraphed Colonel Sipes to report the facts immediately. This was done, and Nixon's dismissal followed as a matter of course. The bit- terest expressions against him came from the men of the Seventh, and had he appeared in Columbia then his reception would have been far from pleasant.
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Many of his comrades, however, believed then, and do yet, that he was dealt with more severely than the facts justified. Heretofore his record and con- duct as a soldier and officer were such as any man would be proud. He was a brave man. He rode at the head of the regiment at Lebanon; was in the front of his company in the charges at Unionville, Me- Minnville, Shelbyville and in all the engagements of the Atlanta campaign as far as Kenesaw mountain, from which place he was sent to the rear on account of sickness and given command of the blockhouse which he surrendered. His comrades yet insist that he should have had an opportunity to defend his conduet, and should not have been condemned while a prisoner of war. It was an unfortunate atfair and one which his comrades much regretted. Within a mile of this, was the blockhouse garrisoned by about 40 dismounted men of the 7th. Pa. Cav., commanded by Lieut. Jonas F. Long, of Company B, which was furiously attacked by Forrest at 2 o'clock in the af- ternoon and continued until midnight, when Forrest withdrew with considerable loss.
Jonas F. Long was a brave man and a good offi- cer. He was promoted to the captaincy of Co. B, Dec. 18th, 1864. He had been severely wounded in the battle of Chickamauga, and we are glad to re- cord, is yet amongst the living, at Vallejo, California.
After burning the bridge and the surrendered blockhouses, Forrest proceeded to Linnville, twelve miles south of Columbia, and demanded an inter- view with Lieutenant Sigmund. of the Seventh, who commanded the blockhouse there. To this demand Sigmund replied that he had no business to transact with General Forrest, that his business was to defend the blockhouse, and he intended to do it. Forrest made no serious attack on Sigmund's, or any other blockhonse, except the one commanded by Lieut. Jonas F. Long, of Co. B, as he well knew their strength, and was too much of a soldier to waste time
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and ammunition on a hopeless and fruitless under- taking. His plan was to induce the officer in charge to enter into a conference, and then overawe him into submission to his will. He failed in every instance, except that of Nixon, and there he succeeded only because the young man of twenty-three disobeyed or- ders, and came in personal contact with one of the strongest characters developed by the great war.
While General Forrest was in the vicinity of Co- lumbia, he made his headquarters at the residence of Mrs. General Pillow. General Pillow's plantation had been seized by the United States government, but his residence was left in the possession and occu- pancy of his wife, and a soldier of an Ohio regiment was detailed there as a safe-guard, to protect her from molestation by Union soldiers. This soldier was unmolested by Forrest and his men, and when they were about to depart he was called before the general who said: "After we are gone, I want you to go into Columbia, give my compliments to the offi- cer in command there, and say I thank him for the courtesy that has been shown to Mrs. General Pillow, and that, if it is ever in my power to reciprocate the kindness, I will do so with pleasure." The soldier delivered the message as quoted, and was then re- turned to his duty.
Early in September the effect of Atlanta's fall began to be felt by the Union posts distributed through northern Alabama and middle Tennessee. Being no longer retained by operations in western Georgia, or engaged in raiding Sherman's routes of communication, Forrest assumed the offensive on and near the Tennessee river, his object being the har- rassment and capture of Union outposts, thereby re- tarding Thomas' efforts at concentration, and at the same time opening the way for Hood's advance on Nashville, then conceded to be his objective. These movements of the Confederate cavalry enhanced the importance of Columbia as a post, because the coun-
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try between it and the Tennessee was entirely open and unguarded, and through it Confederate and gue- rilla bands roamed at will. For some time the pick- ets around Columbia were the outposts of the Union army, and most of the information obtained by the officers in Nashville, in reference to Hood's advance or Forrest's movements, came from or through that station.
To obtain this information, which was deemed of importance, several spies, of both sexes, were employ- ed, who made frequent journeys between the antagon- ists. No one credited all the news they carried, but a modicum of reliable information could be gained from them at times. One of these female agents re- ported with a story to the effect that a Confederato General, whose name she gave, had told her that he doubted whether she ever reached Nashville, she hay- ing represented herself as an agent for cotton buyers in that city, who travelled through the country secur- ing options on the coveted staple, and that she could only convince him of her truthfulness by bringing him, on her next trip, grey cloth for a uniform. "Now," said she, "I must take the cloth if I go back to Hood's army." She was asked where the cloth could be procured. "O, you Union soldiers don't know everything! There's lots of it in Nashville, but it costs money." She was enabled to make the pur- chase, and reported the receipt of a fabulous sum in Confederate money when she delivered the goods. She proved a serviceable agent, and her usefulness con- tinned as long as Columbia was occupied by the Un- ion soldiers. At the close of the war she was ap- pointed to a clerkship in the Treasury at Washing- ton.
Another of these paid purveyors of information came in one day, and said that Forrest had author- ized him to say to the officer in command at Colum- bia, that he (Forrest ) would permit the exchange of one hundred thousand pounds of cotton for an equal
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amount of bacon, on the Tennessee, and would guar- antee the safety of the boats in making the exchange. As cotton was then worth about ten times as much as "pork" in the markets of the north, the trade would have been a good one, but it went no further than the spy's report.
After the conquest of Vicksburg, and the open- ing of the Mississippi, the business of "cotton buy- ing" became a nuisance to officers on duty in the great valley. All sorts and conditions of people en- gaged in it, and they presented themselves with cre- dentials and testimonials that could not be ignored. The stronger their backing the greater were their de- mands, and thus it happened that trains of wagons were, during the summer of 1864, constantly passing through the Union lines, carrying into the enemy's country coffee, tea, and, most precious of all, quinine, which articles were more highly prized than silver and gold, bringing back cotton. This condition had for months prevailed at Columbia, a doubtful class of citizen traders passing through the lines at will, while ladies and children residing in the neighbor- hood were denied the privilege of entering the town to buy simple home comforts, or to secure medicines and needed medical attendance. The officer in com- man in the autumn of that year determined to end the unjust discrimination, and directed the guards to pass, during daylight, women and children. Many were made happy by this simple privilege, and some called to thank him personally, declaring that they had been suffering for pins and needles. One woman accompanied the introduction of her daughter with the information that the young lady had been born in the White House, in Washington.
Among these callers was a little lady who de- manded a private interview, and astonished the offi- cer by asking for a pass through the lines to the Con- federate army. "What, in the name of all the gods, do you want to go there for?" was the surprised inquiry.
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"I don't think you have any right to ask, but I am not ashamed to answer. I am going there to be mar- ried."
"You shall have the pass, madam, but why hurry matters? Why not wait until the war is over?"
"We have waited four years now, and that is long enough. If I don't go to him I may never see him, for God only knows when he can come to me!"
Tears filled her eyes as she confessed her anxiety. She was told to make her preparations, and, when ready, she and her servant would be started safely on their journey. Before leaving she asked the officer if he was going to Nashville soon. On being informed that in a few days he expected to run up, she desired to know if he would deliver in person a letter to her aunt, Mrs. President Polk. Assuring her that such a duty would be a pleasure, the interview closed.
A few days later the letter of the niece was deliv- ered to one of the most accomplished ladies who ever occupied the White House. During the brief conver- sation that ensued, the widow of the President re- marked that her position was one of embarassing anxiety. "Many relatives and connections whom I respect and love are in the Confederate armies, and vet I cannot wish them to succeed, for that would mean the destruction of the Union to which my hus- band was devoted, and which is very dear to me." As the officer was taking his leave, she smilingly re- marked : "I may as well confess that the letter of my niece was merely a pretext to give me an opportunity to thank you for acts of kindness to her and other friends."
Sometime in October an orderly brought a mes- sage from General Rosseau that he was on the march, with a considerable force, and would arrive in Co- lumbia in a couple of hours, where he desired to meet the officer in command. His troops halted at the outskirts of the town, and the General asked to be shown the preparations made for defending the post.
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He was conducted to the fort on the hill; this he examined; asked the number of men available, and the supply of ammunition, and then said: "Now, I will tell you why I am here. General Thomas is very anxious about this post, as it is likely to be the first struck by Hood. Thomas wants time to concentrate his forces, and he sent me down with a brigade to look over the place, and, if I thought it necessary, take command and reinforce it. His orders are to defend it to the last man. I don't see any necessity for me or reinforcements to remain, so I am going back to tell Thomas that everything is right here. No surrender, remember! This is a good place to die!" With this parting consolation, the fighting General departed for Nashville.
Then came weary and trying days of waiting and watching. All kinds of rumors filled the air, and spies and scouts told various stories about the po- sition of Hood's army, and the rapidity with which he was advancing. Amid many uncertainties one thing was sure-the Confederates had crossed the Tennessee, and were making their way toward the Nashville and Decatur railroad; it was only a ques- tion of time as to when they would reach it. In the midst of this trouble, the telegraph wires were ent, and for a week all direct communication between the post and Nashville was severed, and the anxiety at headquarters was great. Not being able to learn ac- curately Hood's movements, and knowing that he was somewhere between the Tennessee river and the railroad, heavy reinforcements were moved to the line of the latter. One day a distinguished-appearing officer entered the post headquarters and informed the commander that he was General Cox, ordered to take command at Columbia and relieve the cavalry- men there on duty. He dded, "Under existing cir- cumstances I have no doubt you are glad to see me."
Col. Sipes was ordered to report direct to Gen- eral Thomas, and did so. Entering the building of-
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cupied as headquarters in Nashville, he was received by an aide, who announced to the General his arriv- al. In a moment the great commander who was ney- er defeated appeared from an inner room, and cor- dially greeted the new arrival. "We were anxious about you for some days. Rumors came that you had surrendered, but Jordan of the Ninth Pennsylva- nia Cavalry, denied that emphatically. You might be dead', he said, but you had never surrendered.' Now I want you to collect all the cavalry belonging to the Army of the Cumberland, and take them to Louisville to be remounted. As soon as this is done, I can take care of Ilood; but I must have a cavalry force to do so." An order to this effect was issued, signed by General Wilson, and executed as far as possible; but Col. Sipes had sent in his resignation, based on surgeon's certificate of disability, to take effect in thirty days, and it having been so accepted, the limit of time was reached, and he ceased to be an officer.
In the early part of the war the cavalry was not organized into corps or even divisions! Insufficient cavalry or mounted men was one of the weaknesses of the Union armies of the West. In the years 1861 and 1862 regiments were subdivided and battalions or companies were attached to different commands, as was the Seventh Pennsylvania Cavalry during this time.
The mounted men up to and after the fall of At- lanta were very much inferior in number to the cay- alry of the Confederates.
The cavalry of the armies of the West were now organized-the cavalry corps of the military division of the Mississippi, which military division was under that one great and good General, Geo. H. Thomas, formerly the Commander of the Army of the Cum- berland, to which our regiment had been attached during the past two years. He was a loyal, incor- ruptible patriot-a brave and skillful officer and one
SERGT. JOHN ENNIS, Color Bearer.
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who had won the affection and confidence of the offi- cers and men under his command to a greater extent than any army or corps commander of the civil war. While historians call him the "Rock of Chickamau- ga," his soldiers loved to speak of him as "Pap Thom- as."
The cavalry corps was under the immediate command of Maj. Gen. James H. Wilson, a young and brilliant general, who had served on the staff of General Grant and had won his star with the Army of the Potomac.
The division, to which we were attached, was commanded by General Eli Long, a modest, brave, un- assuming man, who had distinguished himself in many of the engagements of the western army, had been several times severely wounded and was destined to receive another in the last hard fight of his divi- sion at Selma, Ala., where he was severely wounded in the head on the 2nd of April, 1865. The brigade was led by our old commander, Col. Robert H. G. Minty.
Col. Minty had for some time commanded the brigade, when it was composed of our regiment, the 4th Michigan, and the 4th Regulars, and the fame attained by Minty's brigade was exceeded by no bri- gade of troops in the Mississippi Valley.
Attached to the brigade was one other famous brigade, known as Wilder's brigade, from its distin- guished commander, Gen. John T. Wilder.
General Wilder was one of the remarkable men and officers of the army. His brigade was composed of four regiments-at this time his own regiment, the 17th Ind., also the 72nd Ind., 98th Ill., and 123rd Ill. Early in the war General Wilder discovered the dis- parity in the number of our mounted men and those of the enemy, and while his men were enlisted and armed as infantry, he determined to mount them and that he could beat the Great Southern Raiders, Mor-
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gan, Duke, Forrest, Wheeler, and others, at their own game. He began with horses captured from the enemy and in a brief time had one regiment entirely mounted. He continued until the entire brigade was mounted.
They were armed with the Spencer rifle, a long gun, and carried no sabers until at this time the 17th Indiana was given this weapon, and well did they show they could use it at Planterville, Ala., on the 1st of April, 1865.
The whole division was armed with the Spencer rifle or carbine, the cavalry having carbines. It was undoubtedly the most effective fire arm in use at this time. It was a repeating gun, having a magazine in the stock containing seven cartridges. A soldier could load and shoot these seven shots in less time than the ordinary army musket could be loaded and fired once. They were especially effective in the hands of Wilder's troop-they were men who could ride, and they were skilled in the use of the rifle. "Only cover our flanks and we can go anywhere," said Col. Abram O. Miller, who was in command of the brigade at Selma, to General Wilson. Many changes were made at this time in the officers of the regiment.
Some who had served three years were mustered out of the service, and others by reason of sickness, were incapacitated for further active service.
Capt. Charles C. McCormick, a gallant and ac- complished officer and gentleman, was promoted to the Coloneley of the regiment; Maj. J. F. Andress to be Lieut. Colonel, and after the wounding of Col. Me- Cormick, at Selma, succeeded to the command of the regiment.
REFITTING THE CAVALRY.
In reorganizing the cavalry of the Army of the Cumberland, the Seventh Pennsylvania became part of the Second Brigade, Second Division, Cavalry
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Corps, Military Division of the Mississippi, the other regiments composing the brigade being the Fourth Michigan, and the First, Second, Third and Fourth Ohio-Colonel Minty assuming command of the brigade, and General Long of the division. The Sev- enth had changed many of its officers, the three years for which they had volunteered having expired. Tho popularity of the regiment had not diminished, and Vale says it was filled to the maximum by recruits from home, and carried a surplus of nearly two hun- dred on its rolls as unassigned.
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