USA > Tennessee > History of Tennessee, its people and its institutions > Part 19
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352. Johnson Defeats Gentry .- Notwithstanding their firm attachment to the Union, the tendency of the people of Tennessee, as of all the South, was to come together in defense of the right of slavery. This tendency was causing the disintegration of the Whig party in the South. It was not long until such prominent Whigs as James C. Jones
1 Judge John M. Lea, President of the Tennessee Historical Society, quoted in a paper on Andrew Jackson, Tennessee, and the Union, by A. V. Goodpasture. published in the American Historical Magazine, Vol. I, p. 222.
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ANDREW JACKSON AND ISHAM G. HARRIS.
and James Williams came over to the Democratic party. In the mean- time, a secret political association, called the American, or Know- Nothing party, was formed, and many Whigs, out of accord with their party in the North, found it easier to cooperate with the Know-Nothings than with their old antagonist, the Democratic party. The Know- Nothing party, therefore, naturally gave their support to Meredith P. Gentry, whom the Whigs brought forward to oppose the reëlection of Governor Johnson, in 1855. Gentry was a statesman of solid parts, as well as' an orator of towering genius. John Quincy Adams pronounced him "the greatest natural orator in Con- MEREDITH P. GENTRY. gress.". Johnson made Know-Nothingism the leading issue of the can- vass, and in a memorable campaign defeated Gentry, being the first governor after James C. Jones who had been reelected.
353. Election of Governor Isham G. Harris .- The Democratic party had now gained a permanent ascendency in Tennessee. In the presidential election of 1856, the State went Democratic for the first time since the election of Andrew Jackson, in 1832. In 1857, Isham G. Harris, Democrat, was elected governor over Robert Hatton by more than eleven thousand majority.
354. The Code of Tennessee .- During this administration, the statute laws of the State were codified. The plan and arrangement followed was that of William F. Cooper, and the work has justly taken a place in the front rank of American codes. The State owes much to the circumstance that during the whole period when its system of jurisprudence was being formed. its ablest lawyers were induced to devote some- thing of their learning and ability to the work of compiling. digesting, and codifying its statute GOV. ISHAMI G. HARRIS. laws. No list of the most eminent lawyers of the State would be complete that did not contain the names of John Haywood, Robert L. Caruthers, Alfred O. P. Nicholson, Return J.
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HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.
Meigs, and William F. Cooper ; and so long as the Code of Tennessee remains, it will be a monument to their just conception of the genius of our laws, and the intelligent manner in which they have reduced them into a system ; and in an especial manner to the analytic and systematic mind and untiring labor of Judge Cooper.
GEN. WILLIAM WALKER.
355. "The Gray-Eyed Man of Destiny."- In 1857, the great filibuster, Gen. William - Walker, made his last visit to Tennessee. He was a native of Nashville, and a graduate of the University of Nashville. He was called the "Gray-Eyed Man of Destiny," and his career in Sonora and Nicaragua was one of the most romantic and brilliant in the annals of filibustering.
CHAPTER XXXI.
THE WAR CLOUD.
356. Harris' Second Term as Governor .- In 1859, Governor Harris was reelected, defeating John Netherland. His message to the Legislature showed the State debt proper to be $3,844,606.66, and its liability for bonds loaned for internal improvements, $12.790,000. He urged that the State debt should not be increased. In this year. John Brown made his raid into Virginia, with the purpose of inciting the negroes to insurrection. He was defeated, taken, and executed. This event, together with the growing abolition sentiment in the North, aroused a strong feeling of resentment in the South. The Presidential election of 1860 intensified the struggle, and precipitated the issue. Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate, was elected, and his elec- tion was regarded by the Southern States as placing them at the mercy of a party hostile to their institutions. They began to feel unsafe in the Union. December 20, 1860. South Carolina passed the Ordinance of Secession, and the Southern States were brought face to face with the great crisis.
357. Tennessee Refuses to Secede .- Before the end of January, 1861, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas had
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THE WAR CLOUD.
followed the example of South Carolina. Virginia, Kentucky, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina, while claiming the right of secession, still remained in the Union, hoping to find means of conciliation. In Tennessee, the majority of the people loved the Union. and did not wish to secede. The Legislature met January 7, 1861, and ordered an election at which the people should, at the same time, vote upon the question of holding a convention, and elect delegates to serve in case the convention should be held. The election took place February 9, and showed the sentiment in Tennessee - for the convention, 57.798 ; against the convention, 69,675; for delegates who favored secession, 24,749; for delegates who favored the Union, 88,803.
358. Coercion .- The first gun of the Confederate War was fired at Fort Sumter, April 12, 1861. April 15th, President Lincoln issued a proclamation, calling for 75,000 troops, and followed this with a series of proclamations, declaring the ports of the seceded States in a state of blockade, and all vessels acting under authority of the blockaded States. guilty of piracy.1 The announcement of the purpose of the Federal Government to resort to coercion, produced a revolution of sentiment in Tennessee.
359. Tennessee Secedes .- The Legislature convened in extra session April 25. May I, resolutions were adopted, authorizing the governor to enter into a military league with the Confederate States. The commissioners, Gustavus A. Henry, A. W. O. Totten, and Wash- ington Barrow, concluded "The League," May 7. One day before the conclusion of this league, the Legislature passed the Ordinance of Secession, and submitted it for ratification to a vote of the people in an election to be held June 8. The election was held at the appointed time, and the Ordinance was adopted by a vote of 104.913 in its favor, to 47,238 against it.
360. The Provisional Army of Tennessee .- Acts were passed by the Legislature to raise and equip an army of 55,000 men, and to appro- priate $5,000,000 for the defense of the State. Gideon J. Pillow and Samuel R. Anderson were appointed Major Generals; and Felix K. Zollicoffer, Benjamin F. Cheatham, Robert C. Foster, John L. T. Sneed. and William R. Caswell, Brigadier Generals. The staff officers were: Daniel S. Donelson, Adjutant General; V. K. Stephenson, Quarter Master General; R. G. Fain, Commissary General ; William Williams. Paymaster General; Paul F. Eve, Surgeon General; James D. Porter.
1 Messages and Papers of the Presidents, Richardson, Vol. VI, pp. 13-17.
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HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.
W. C. Whitthorne, Hiram S. Bradford, and D. M. Key, Assistant Adjutant Generals. Other officers were subsequently appointed, and a military and financial board, consisting of Neill S. Brown, James E. Bailey, and W. G. Harding. General Pillow established headquarters at Memphis, and speedily organized the "Provisional Army of Tennes- see." Hon. James D. Porter, in his Military History of Tennessee, states : "Before the close of the year 1861, the official records of the office of the Secretary of State show 71 regiments of infantry, 22 bat- teries of artillery, 21 regiments of cavalry, 9 battalions, and enough independent companies and partisan rangers to have constituted 8 full
regiments." This force is equivalent to about 108 regiments of all arms. Factories were established in Tennessee for the manufacture of powder, percussion caps, guns, quartermaster and commissary stores, Nashville and Memphis became depots of supply, not only for Tennes- see, but for the entire South.2 June 24, Gov. Isham G. Harris made proclamation that the political ties were dissolved which bound Tennes- see to the United States. July 31, 1861, the "Provisional Army of Tennessee," with all its equipments and stores, was transferred to the Confederate States, and became a part of the army of Maj. Gen. Leonidas Polk, commanding Department No. I, of the Confederate States, with headquarters at Memphis.
361. East Tennessee .- Meanwhile, a strong Union sentiment developed in East Tennessee. Leading statesmen of both parties, among whom were Andrew Johnson, William G. Brownlow, Thomas A. R. Nelson, and Horace Maynard, espoused the cause of the Union. A convention of the East Tennessee counties was called, and assembled at Knoxville, May 30, 1891. "The delegates present numbered four hundred and sixty-nine, representing twenty-six counties, which, with two other counties represented by two resident proxies, constituted nearly the whole of East Tennessee."3 The convention was in session two days, and adjourned to meet at Greeneville, June 17, after the adoption of resolutions protesting against the military league and the, recent acts of the General Assembly, favoring the policy of neutrality which had been recently adopted by Kentucky, and appealing to the people of the State, at the approaching election, to vote down the pro-
' See Miller's Manual, pp. 42-44; Confederate Military History, Vol. VIII, Tennessee, by Hon. James D. Porter, pp. 3-9.
$ Loyal Mountaineers, Humes, Chapter VII; East Tennessee in the Civil War, Temple, Chapters VIII and IX.
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CONTEST FOR KENTUCKY.
posed Ordinance of Secession, "while it is yet in their power, to come up in the majesty of their strength, and restore Tennessee to her true position." At the election, held about a week later, the State, as we have seen, gave a majority of 57,675 in favor of secession, but East Tennessee recorded a majority of about 20,000 against it.
362. Proposition to Form a New State .- The delegates to the Union convention of East Tennessee reassembled at Greeneville at the appointed time, June 17. Their ardor for maintaining the Union was not daunted by the overwhelming vote of the State in favor of secession. They adopted a "Declaration of Grievances," and appointed a committee consisting of O. P. Temple, John Netherland, and James P. McDonald to petition the General Assembly for the formation of a new State, to be composed of East Tennessee and such adjoining counties of Middle Tennessee as might vote to be included. If this petition should be granted, Kingston was appointed as the place for the convention of the new State to assemble. If the petition should not be granted, it was proposed to establish an independent State, and to raise an army, with John Baxter as General. The new State was never formed, but many of the East Tennessee Unionists, at once, joined the Federal army. Others followed later.
363. Bitter Animosity .- Thus divided against herself, Tennessee entered into the greatest civil struggle which history records. The Confederate authorities established the line of the Cumberland River. and held possession of the entire State until late in the winter of 1862. After that time, Tennessee became the battle-ground, different portions of the State being alternately in possession of Confederate and Federal troops. As is the case in all civil wars, fierce passions were aroused between the partisans on different sides, which deepened as the war progressed.
CHAPTER XXXII.
CONTEST FOR KENTUCKY.
364. Planning the Attack .- Kentucky adopted the policy of "armed neutrality," and prohibited either belligerent from occupying the soil of the State with armed troops. Both sides strongly desired military possession of Kentucky, for political as well as military reasons ; the Federal authorities in order to prevent the secession of the State, and
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HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.
to use it as the base of operations for the invasion of the South; the Confederate authorities, in order to encourage secession, to recruit their armies, and to use the Ohio River as a strong line of defense. Although each side hesitated for a time to be the aggressor, yet, in the end, neither respected the "neutrality of Kentucky." The Federal forces were assembling along the Ohio River. One army was at the mouth of the river at Cairo, another army was collecting at Louisville and other points. Camp Dick Robinson was established by General Nelson, in Garrard County, near the center of the State, as a Union recruiting camp. Gen. Robert Anderson, formerly the commander of Fort Sum- ter, was appointed by President Lincoln to command the Department of Kentucky. Early in September, Gen. W. T. Sherman and Gen. George H. Thomas reported to General Anderson for duty. October 7, General Sherman was appointed to succeed General Anderson, who had resigned on account of ill health. November 9, General Sherman was transferred to the "Missouri Department," and Gen. Don Carlos Buell was appointed to command the Department of the Ohio. This department included "Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, that portion of Ken- tucky east of the mouth of Cumberland River, and the State of Tennes- see." The portion of Kentucky west of the Cumberland River was attached to the Department of Missouri.
A fleet of iron-clad gunboats was collected on the rivers under com- mand of Commodore Foote. The disposition of these forces clearly indicated two purposes : first, as an object of the highest importance to secure possession of the Mississippi River, thus cutting the Confederate territory in two, and at the same time securing an invaluable line of transportation and supply ; second, to occupy Kentucky, and thence to invade Tennessee.1
365. Planning the Defense of the Mississippi .- Pending the transfer of the "Provisional Army of Tennessee" to the Confederate States, which was concluded July 31, 1861, General Pillow was sent by General Polk to Missouri with 6,000 men, and was soon after followed by General Cheatham with 3.000 men, to aid the Confederate cause in that State. July 28, General Pillow occupied and fortified New Madrid. Missouri, situated on the Mississippi River. September 4th, General Polk transferred the Tennessee troops to Columbus and Hickman, on
1 Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, by Jefferson Davis. Vol. I. Chapter VIII; Smith's History of Kentucky, pp. 609-622; American Comimen- wealths - Kentucky - Shaler. Chapter XV; Campaigns of the Civil War, Vol. II, Chapter I; Ibid., Vol. VII, Chapter I.
.
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CONTEST FOR KENTUCKY.
the Kentucky side of the Mississippi, and assumed command in person. At these points, strong fortifications were constructed to command the river, and reinforcements were sent from Tennessee; in order to meet an anticipated attack from the Federal army and gunboat fleet at Cairo. Defenses were, also, constructed at Belmont, on the Missouri side of the river. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was appointed, September I, to command the Federal forces assembled at Cairo, and arrived at that point three days before the occupation of Columbus by General Polk. He, at once, took possession of Paducah, at the mouth of Tennessee River, and Smithland, at the mouth of Cumberland River, and fortified both places. He then applied to the Federal authorities for permission to attack Columbus, which was refused.2
366. The Line of the Cumberland .- September 10, Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston was assigned to the command of the Confederate "Department of the West," including Tennessee, Kentucky, and other States. Upon assuming command, he found affairs in the condition above described. He promptly decided to establish "The Line of the Cumberland." The left of this line was already resting on the strongly fortified position at Columbus, on the Mississippi River, under the command of Gen. Leonidas Polk. It was extended nearly due east to Mill Springs, on the Cumberland River; thence southeast to its termi- nation, where its right rested on the entrenched position at Cumberland
Gap. The center, at Bowling Green, under command of Gen. S. B. Buckner, was strongly fortified, and threatened Louisville. The right was commanded by Gen. George B. Crittenden, who threw his forces forward north of the Cumberland. Troops were stationed at interme- diate points along the line. Gen. John B. Floyd commanded at Russell- ville, and General Clarke at Hopkinsville. In rear of this line. Forts Henry and Donelson, protecting, respectively, the Tennessee and Cum- berland rivers, were strongly fortified. Troops were stationed in reserve at Clarksville, Nashville, and other points.
367. Belmont .- The right-center of the Confederate line. at Bowling Green. was not seriously assailed. The efforts of the Federal commanders were first directed against the two flanks, with the view of gaining the important position of Cumberland Gap, and of removing the obstructions to the control of the Mississippi River. The first attack was made on the Confederate left flank. General Grant, with a
" Confederate Military History, Vol. VIII, by Hon. James D. Porter, pp. 9-11 ; Campaigns of Civil War, Vol. II, Chapter I - Official Records, etc.
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HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.
force of 3,114 mnen, accompanied by two gunboats, November 7, 1861, attacked Belmont, an outpost of the Confederate left flank, situated on the Missouri side of the Mississippi River, opposite the entrenchments at Columbus, Kentucky. The place was defended by a small force under command of Colonel Tappan. General Polk ordered General Pillow to cross the river to support Colonel Tappan, and subsequently sent General Cheatham with additional forces. General Grant's attack was at first successful, but, being assailed in the rear by General Cheat- ham, his forces were routed, and fled to the cover of the gunboats.
368. The Bridge Burners.3- The day after the Battle of Belmont, November 8, 1861, occurred the burning of the bridges in East Tennes- see. This enterprise was planned by William Blount Carter, of Eliza- betliton, Tennessee. It was agreed upon in a conference with General McClellan, Secretary Seward, and President Lincoln. The plan was to burn, on the same night, nine bridges between Stevenson, Alabama, and Bristol, thus rendering useless 265 miles of railroad, and interrupting the communications between Tennessee and Virginia. On the appointed night, five bridges were burned. The bridge at Sweet- water was saved by the heroic defense of the guard, James Keilan. The bridge burners worked with great secrecy, but six of them were arrested, tried by court-martial, and condemned. Colonel Ledbetter, acting under instructions from Judah P. Benjamin, Confederate Secretary of War, carried into execution the sentence of the court, and five were hanged. The sixth was pardoned by President Jefferson Davis. A number of Union men, suspected of similar designs, were imprisoned, and many Union men escaped and joined the Federal army. The circumstances connected with the burning of the bridges, and the severe measures used for the suppression of similar attempts, added greatly to the bitterness of sentiment in East Tennessee.
369. Fishing Creek, or Mill Springs,- The next movement to break the Confederate line was made against its right flank. General Thomas, commanding a strong Federal force, marched against Beech Grove, north of the Cumberland River, where the right wing of the Confederate army was entrenched. under the command of Gen. George B. Crittenden, having been thrown forward from Cumberland Gap. Learning of the approach of the Federal force, General Critten- den moved forward to anticipate the attack. General Zollicoffer, lead -. ing the advance, encountered the enemy near Fishing Creek, January 19. 1862. After a severe battle of more than three hours, in which General
3 East Tennessee and the Civil War, Temple, pp. 362, 370-388, 393, 418.
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TENNESSEE THE BATTLEGROUND.
Zollicoffer was killed, the Confederates were defeated, and driven back to Beech Grove. Finding his army unable to withstand the superior force of General Thomas, General Crittenden withdrew during the night to the south side of the Cumberland.4
The death of General Zollicoffer cast a gloom over the State. Be- loved by the Confederates, he had gained the esteem of the Unionists while in command at Knoxville. He fell, an early victim of the war, before partisan passions had reached the bitter stage, and was lamented by friend and foe.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
TENNESSEE THE BATTLEGROUND.
370. Fort Henry .- Fort Henry on the Tennessee, and Fort Don- elson, on the Cumberland, were twelve miles apart, protecting the navi- gation of the two rivers. Fort Henry was defended by a force of 2.610 men of all arms, under command of Brigadier General Loyd Tilghman ; Fort Donelson, by a force of about four thousand men, under command of Brigadier General Bushrod .Johnson. ' February 4, 1862, General Grant, with a force of 16,000 men, accompanied by a fleet of seven gunboats, carrying 54 heavy guns, began operations against Fort Henry. Finding that it was impossible to save the fort, General Tilghman deter- mined to save the garrison. He, therefore, on the third day of the siege, February 6th, ordered Colonel Heiman to proceed to Fort Don- elson with the main body of the troops, while he remained in person with one artillery company to engage the enemy and secure the retreat. Being immediately assaulted. the little garrison of 66 men maintained a gallant resistance for two hours and ten minutes, when they surren- dered, after disabling two of Commodore Foote's gunboats, and inflicted on his fleet a severe loss. This was the first battle of the Confederate War fought on Tennessee soil.
371. Fort Donelson .- General Grant now moved across the narrow peninsula between the two rivers, and invested Fort Donelson, February 12th. On the evening of that day, he was reinforced by six reg-
4 Rise and Fall of the Confederate States. by Jefferson Davis. Vol. II. Chapter XVI; Confederate Military History, Vol. VIII, by James D. Porter. Chapter II; Campaigns of the Civil War, Vol. VII, Chapter II; Smith's History of Kentucky, p. 621.
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HISTORY OF TENNESSEE.
iments of infantry and by Commodore Foote's fleet of gunboats. During the siege, he received additional reinforcements. His total force is variously estimated. General Buckner reported it to be 50,000 men. General Buell stated it to be between 30,000 and 35,000. The Federal statistical records generally place it at 27,000. In addition to this was Commodore Foote's fleet of six gunboats. Meanwhile, the garrison at Fort Donelson had been strengthened by the troops from Fort Henry, under Colonel Heiman, and the arrival of reinforcements ' under Generals Buckner, Pillow, and Floyd, and Gen. John B. Floyd had assumed the chief command. The total Confederate force has been variously estimated at from 11.738 to 20,000 men. No exact informa-
tion is attainable.1 The most reliable estimates place the total force at about 15,000. The siege lasted five days - February 12 to 16. The first fighting was favorable to the Confederates. The gunboats were disabled and forced to retire; the besieging lines were successfully assailed and driven back, and a road was opened for the retreat of the garrison. On February 15th, the day before the surrender, the defense had been brilliant and successful. Then followed a fatal misunder-
standing between the commanding officers. The road which had been opened for the retreat of the garrison was weakly abandoned. General Floyd turned over the command to General Pillow, and departed with a portion of his command. General Pillow turned over the command
to General Buckner, and likewise departed.
General Buckner an-
nounced his intention to surrender the garrison. Col. N. B. Forrest, after protesting against the surrender, marched out with his cavalry force, and a few other soldiers. February 16, General Buckner sur- rendered the garrison. It is the general opinion of military men that affairs were badly managed. The statistical records2 give the Federal loss in killed and wounded as 2.331, and the Confederate loss as 15.067. including prisoners. The Confederate loss is given as an estimate, and is evidently too great. The Confederate loss in killed and wounded, from reliable estimates, was about 1,420.
372. The Retreat .- The surrender of Forts Henry and Donelson was a serious blow to the Confederate cause. It broke the line of the Cumberland, destroyed all hope of holding Kentucky, and lost control
See Confederate Military History. Vol. VIII - Tennessee - by Hon. James D. Porter. pp. 18-32; Campaigns of the Civil War. Vol. II, Chapters II and III; Ibid., Supplemental Volume (Statistical Record), p. 94; Official Records, Vol. VII.
2 Campaigns of the Civil War, Supplementary Volume, p. 213.
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TENNESSEE THE BATTLEGROUND.
of Middle and West Tennessee. Bowling Green, Kentucky, and Nashville and all points in Middle Tennessee, were promptly evacuated, and Gen. A. S. Johnston concentrated his forces at Corinth, Mississippi. A portion of West Tennessee was held for a short time, in order to dispute the control of the Mississippi River. General Polk command- ing the defenses of the Mississippi, began the evacuation of Columbus, Kentucky, February 25th, and fell back to the Tennessee line, where he constructed defenses at Island No. 10, in the Mississippi River, and along the banks of the river, from New Madrid to Tiptonville. General McCown was placed in command of these defenses, aided by Commo- dore Hollins, with eight gunboats. General Pope, with a strong Federal force, assailed the Confederate works. March 16, Commodore Foote, with his fleet of gunboats and mortar boats, began the attack on Island No. 10. The island was gallantly defended for three weeks. when the whole line was abandoned, and the entire Confederate force began the retreat, which was intercepted at Tiptonville. At this place. General Mackall, who had succeeded to the command, surrendered about 3,000 men, April 8.
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