History of the Thirteenth Regiment, Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry, U. S. A., Part 19

Author: Scott, Samuel W; Angel, Samuel P., 1840-
Publication date: [c1903]
Publisher: Philadelphia : P. W. Ziegler
Number of Pages: 576


USA > Tennessee > Johnson County > History of the Thirteenth Regiment, Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry, U. S. A. > Part 19
USA > Tennessee > Carter County > History of the Thirteenth Regiment, Tennessee Volunteer Cavalry, U. S. A. > Part 19


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The next morning Col. Miller received orders to march towards Taylorsville, Patrick county, Va. We marched all day the 7th and after a short rest and feed continued the march through the night. During the night some of the men found two barrels of brandy and after the "spirits" went down the men's spirits went up and many men and officers began to get merry but the fun was spoiled by Col. Stacy having the heads knocked out of the barrels and the contents emptied. We fed at daylight and resumed the march, crossed the Blue Ridge and


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reached Taylorsville, N. C., at 2 P. M., where we camped for the night. At this place we rejoined Gen. Stone- man's Division.


On the 9th we passed through Danbury, N. C. This was a rough, poor country and forage scarce.


On the Ioth we again resumed the march, passing through Germantown, which looked to have been a nice. prosperous place before the war. We stopped and fed here, and resuming the march, passed through a fine sec- tion of country, reaching the Yadkin river at 7 A. M., crossed at "Shallow Ford," passed on through Huntsville, N. C., and rested for several hours and fed our horses one mile beyond this place. Marching again near noon on the Mockville road we passed the town and went in camp until 12 o'clock at night. At 12.30 A. M. the com- mand was again in motion, Col. Miller's Brigade in ad- vance. Marching three miles we came to the South Yad- kin river, a deep and rapid stream. A few rebels were on the north side of the river, but they offered no resistance to the passage of the command. Just at daylight on the IIth of April the Thirteenth came upon the enemy's pick- ets, which were driven back to Grant's Creek. Just be- fore reaching this creek our Regiment was fired on by artillery and musketry from the enemy stationed on the side of this stream next to Saulsbury. It was discovered that part of the flooring had been taken up from the bridge across this creek and piled up on the side next to the enemy. The trains could be heard going in and coming out of Saulsbury four miles distant. Cols. Mil- ler's and Brown's Brigades were closed up and a section of Captain Patterson's Battery under Lieut. Reagan (Cap- tain Patterson being now A. A. G. on General Gillem's staff), was ordered forward. About this time Major Donnelly, of the Thirteenth, with a detachment of about 100 men was ordered down the creek, and crossing, with other detachments that had been sent to cross at different points, engaged the enemy. As soon as the enemy were engaged by these detachments at different points, the Thir- teenth, under Col. Stacy, was dismounted under heavy


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fire from the enemy's artillery, and moving forward on foot drove the enemy from the bridge, and the flooring having been replaced by detachments of the Eighth and Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry, the Regiment charged across the bridge under a very heavy fire of artillery drove the enemy, their retreat soon becoming a rout. Our Regiment pursued the enemy and at the junction of the Statesville road were joined by Major Sawyer's battalion of the Eighth Tennessee Cavalry and Major Keogh of Gen. Stoneman's staff, who had captured all the artillery the enemy had been using against us on our right. The pursuit was kept up until those who were not captured had scattered and concealed themselves.


In this action we have found difficulty in finding from General Gillem's and other reports the exact position and part taken by the Eighth and Ninth Tennessee Cavalry and our Artillery. The part taken by our own Regiment is largely made up from a diary kept by one of our offi- cers, and from Gen. Gillem's official report to Major Bascom, Gen. Stoneman's Assistant Adjutant-General. Gen. Gillem in this report mentions Major Sawyers and one battalion of the Eighth which did splendid service, and we have no doubt the remainder of this gallant regi- ment did its full duty in this engagement, and the same may be said of the Ninth, which was a splendid regiment, always ready to perform its duty under all kinds of cir- cumstances and upon all occasions.


Adjutant Angel was riding a white horse at the open- ing of this fight and was therefore a conspicuous target for the enemy. When the Regiment was dismounted be- fore the charge across the bridge, and just as he was in the act of dismounting, a shell from the enemy's battery burst just over him frightening his horse so badly that lie fell, throwing the Adjutant to the ground, dislocating the middle finger of his right hand.


In Gen. Gillem's report above referred to he makes special mention of Col. John K. Miller's gallantry at Saulsbury and adds: "For which I respectfully and earn- estly recommend him for the brevet of Brigadier Gen-


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eral." He recommends Lieut .- Col. Stacy, "For his uni- form gallantry, especially at Saulsbury."


The Regiment left Saulsbury at dark on the 13th of April, marching all night reached Statesville in Iredell county at daylight, and Taylorsville, N. C., about noon on the 14th, where we remained all night.


On the 15th we marched in the direction of Lenoirs and moved slowly on account of being encumbered with prisoners captured at Saulsbury. Remained in camp the 15th. Our prisoners and a large number of negroes who were following the army and retarding its progress were sent from here under a guard of soldiers to Knoxville. Tenn. On the 17th we marched on the Morganton road, running on a small force of rebels, charged and routed them, capturing a piece of artillery. We feel safe in saying that at this place Lieut. James Atkinson, of Battery E, First Tennessee Light Artillery fired the last hostile shot fired by artillery in the Civil War. It will be remembered that Petersburg and Richmond had fallen, General Lee had surrendered to Grant on the 9th of April and President Lincoln had been assassinated by J. Wilkes Booth on the night of the 14th of April. These three events transpiring within the short space of a few days are perhaps the most noted in our historic calendar.


Reaching Morganton on the 17th we remained there until the morning of the 19th, when we marched on the Asheville road passing through Marion, N. C., and en- camped at Pleasant Garden on the Catawba river and remained over night. On the 20th crossed the river and went to Swannanoa Gap at the foot of the Blue Ridge, which we found blockaded and held by a small force of rebels. Gen. Brown's Brigade left us here, going in the direction of Rutherford. Our Brigade remained here in front of the enemy who occupied a strong position with artillery in the gap. all day of the 21st. By a singular co- incidence, here in the "Sunny South," we were again con- fronted with Vaughn's and Duke's men, whom we had met so often in East Tennessee. On the 22d we marched at 2 A. M. over the same road we


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had passed over two days before, passing through Marion and went into camp at Rutherford. Soon after daylight on the 22d a squad of Confederate officers, apparently of high rank, gave us our first information that President Lincoln had been assassinated, and confirmed the report of General Lee's surrender to Gen. Grant. The informa- tion of these two events, the one so sad, filling our hearts with the greatest sorrow left little room for the joy that would otherwise have filled our hearts over the good news that the war was virtually over, and our hardships were soon to end, and we would be able to turn from the scenes of suffering and bloodshed to the pursuits of peace and the pleasures of home and friends once more. But our great sorrow over the death of our loved and honored President left little room at this time to rejoice at any- thing.


On the morning of the 23d we moved early, passing through Columbus near the foot of the Blue Ridge, where we fed, got supper and continued our march until 12 o'clock midnight, crossing the mountain at Howard's Gap, reaching Hendersonville, N. C., on the morning of the 24th, where we camped until 7 P. M. ; marching again on the Asheville road went into camp late at night. On the next day we marched towards Asheville, Gen. Gillen intending to attack the strong garrison at that place, as he had not yet been officially notified of the truce or armistice that had been agreed upon between Gen. Sherman and Gen. Johnson. At 3 P. M. on this date Gen. Gillem received a flag of truce from Gen Martin commanding the Confederate forces at Asheville and was notified of the existence of the armistice which provided that hostilities should cease and not be resumed without giving notice. On the same afternoon General Gillem received official notice from General Sherman of the existence of the truce. It was now ar- ranged that General Gillem's Division, or at least Col. Miller's Brigade should return to our base at Greeneville Tenn., and our men were provided with three days' ra- tions. On the 25th we marched through Asheville, the


C


CAPT. FREDERICK SLIMP. (See page 296.)


LIEUT. B. B. FERGUSON. (See page 297.)


LIEUT. THOMAS C. WHITE. (See page 299.)


CAPT. S. W. SCOTT. (See page 298.)


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ênemy had stacked arms in accordance with the truce and rebel soldiers lined both sides of the streets, the soldiers on both sides guying each other. We camped ten miles north of Asheville that night and next day, now moving in the direction of Tennessee, we reached Marshall, N. C , where we were overtaken by a courier with orders to re- turn and join in the pursuit of President Davis, who had left Richmond and was trying to make his way across the Mississippi.


There was more or less disappointment at the idea of turning our backs instead of our faces towards Tennessee, but we had become somewhat accustomed by this time to doing not what we pleased but what it pleased "Uncle Sam" to have us do.


On the 26th, after receiving new orders, we returned to the same camps and remained over night. The next morning, returning to Asheville, Gen. Martin refused to let us pass back through that place, when we opened fire driving in his outposts, and after considerable skirmish. ing, our command passed back through the town, taking 50 or 65 prisoners, whom we sent back to Knoxville, Tenn., together with our sick and disabled men, artillery and all superfluous baggage.


On the morning of the 28th we moved out in the direc- tion of South Carolina, camping again at Henderson- ville. East of this town we took the Transylvania road and camped at Bravard, which was the county seat but not much town as yet, but since grown to be an important place.


On the 30th we crossed the Blue Ridge stopping on the summit at Cæsar's Head to muster for pay. We were now in the Palmetto State, the first to secede from the Union and fire the first shot at the old flag and we did not at that time have many scruples about despoiling the country. We reached Anderson, S. C., May Ist, where we remained in camp all day the 2d; marched at dark that night, and stopped to feed at daylight on the morn- ing of the 3d. At this place Gen. Palmer joined us with his brigade and the Thirteenth was detached and sent on


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in the direction of Athens, Ga. ; marched until late in the afternoon, when we stopped and rested a few hours. Re- suming the march we traveled all night, arriving at Athens early next morning, capturing 300 prisoners. That day Col. Stacy and staff took dinner with Gen. Reynolds, of the Confederate army. We marched at 2 P. M., reaclı- ing Lexington, Ga., where we camped for the night. Some of our men had done some looting at Athens, and after going into camp at Lexington the Regiment was called out, formed and every man searched ; twenty-two watches were found, which were placed in the hands of Lieut. Honycutt, who was sent to Athens to deliver them to Gen. Palmer, to be returned to their owners. It is to be re- gretted that in every large number of troops, in time of war and the suspension of civil law, there are always some men who do dishonorable acts that bring discredit upon the organization to which they belong.


Remaining all day in Lexington, we sent out scouting parties to look out for President Davis, who with his escort, were supposed to be in that vicinity. On the 6th we moved to Washington, Ga. Major Wilcox had pre- ceded us with a strong detachment, but was met by a strong force of the enemy near the town who refused to let him enter. A courier was sent back and the Regiment came up at a trot and found the rebels had withdrawn. Moving into town we found the place full of rebels, Presi- dent Davis having disbanded the greater part of his escort here, and left the town on that day. Had not Major Wil- cox been detained contrary to the agreement of the armis- tice he would, without doubt, have captured the President of the Confederacy, and this honor would have fallen to the Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry instead of the Fourth Michigan Cavalry by whom he was captured May 10th at Irwinville, Georgia.


On the morning of the 7th Col. Miller received orders to move south to Crawfordsville, Ga., the home of Hon. Alexander H. Stephens, Vice-President of the Southern Confederacy.


Adjutant Angel, of the Thirteenth, was the first officer


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of the Regiment that had the honor of meeting Mr. Stephens. He called on him at his home and met Judge Stephens, the brother of the Vice-President and the lat- ter's private secretary. Mr. Stepliens conversed pleasantly with Adjutant Angel in regard to the situation and the ending of the war. He said on that occasion that Presi- dent Davis could have had any settlement of the war he would have demanded, the only stipulation on the part of the Federal Government being the preservation of the Union of the States. Mr. Stephens also said that after the liberal proposition made to Mr. Davis by the author- ities of the Federal Government were rejected by him he (Stephens) left Richmond never to return. Mr. Stephens himself, at the beginning of the war had a strong attach- ment for the Union and opposed secession until his State passed an ordinance of secession, but Mr. Davis would be satisfied with nothing less than the recognition of the Confederacy as a separate and distinct republic, built upon the corner-stones of "Slavery and State's Rights."


In contending for this with the obstinacy characteristic of the man, the South lost what her people thought at that time to be her dearest rights, without which she could never prosper nor be happy. But time has proven that sla- very was a blight on the fair land, and since its extinction agricultural and manufacturing industries have prospered as never before, and the beautiful Southland with her gifted sons and daughters enjoying the products of her rich soil, her healthful climate, with great enterprises and the hum of industry on every hand, rivaling her Northern sister States in progress and prosperity, and in patriotism and loyalty to the country's flag, she is "the Garden- spot" of the nation and the world.


Mr. Stephens at first thought we would place him under arrest but was assured by the officers that they had no instructions or authority to molest him and did not desire to do so.


He extended a cordial invitation to our officers to take supper with him at his home. Col. Stacy, Major Wilcox, Adjutant Angel, Dr. Cameron and Lieut.


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Freels accepted the invitation and had the honor of being the guests of this distinguished gentleman for supper and breakfast. President Davis was captured by Federal officers and soldiers but Vice-President Stephens captured these officers of our Regiment by his sociability and hos- pitality. But it would appear from the following inter- esting clipping, which came into our hands later, that while our Regiment missed the honor (and reward) of capturing President Davis, it was through the orders of our Colonel. John K. Miller, and by a detail from our Regiment, one of whom was Corporal Burchfield, of Company G. that Vice-President Stevens and General Robert Toombs, the two most distinguished men, next to the President and General Lee, of the Southern Con- federacy, were arrested :


"Mr. John G. Burchfield, of the General Land Office. had a lot of experience in the war between the States, and was on hand while several stirring things were developing. He was one of the East Tennessee soldiers, and was for the greater part of the war in the cavalry. He was one of the men who pursued the fleeing officials of the Con- federacy.


"Mr. Burchfield was one of the eight men who arrested Gen. Robert Toombs, the Confederate Secretary of War, and one of the most brilliant and eccentric men in the South-a fire-eater of the rankest type. General Palmer, commanding a division of the Twenty-third Army Corps, had a body of troops which he marched from Virginia through the Carolinas and into Georgia in pursuit of the heads of the fallen government. Col. John K. Miller, of the Thirteenth Tennessee Cavalry, was ordered to detail men to arrest General Toombs, and Mr. Burchfield was one of the detail.


"The division had chased the President of the Confed- eracy and the members of his cabinet from Richmond, by Saulsbury, N. C., to Abbeville, S. C., where the last cabinet meeting was held. The Union troops arrived shortly after the President left. The pursuit was then bent toward Anderson, where the larger part of the funds


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of the Confederate treasury was left. The specie was in kegs, and a wagon load of the kegs was carried out of town and buried, but the place was pointed out by an old negro. The Union soldiers got several hundred thousand dollars, a great deal of it in silver and gold. The plates for printing the money were in the lot, and several of them are in existence to-day. The depot agent and a He- brew merchant were arrested and examined as to the movements of the President and the cabinet, but nothing could be elicited.


"General Toombs was found by Colonel Miller's detail at his home in Athens. He came out on the piazza and asked the boys to come in. He received them as if they were the most welcome guests in the world, and sent a negro to the cellar for wine. After a good dinner the soldiers put the General in his carriage and started to Mil - ledgeville. The party moved to Crawfordsville, where lived Alexander H. Stevens, the Vice-President of the Confederacy, the "great commoner" of Georgia. The old statesman walked on crutches to the piazza and wel- comed the soldiers, saying that he knew what they came for. There were several negroes about the place, and they were ordered to take the horses in charge. Sherman's army had made the feeding of horses a mere empty formality in that section, but the men fared better, and got a good meal. After a night's rest at Liberty Hall the soldiers resumed the march. Mr. Stephens was placed in the carriage with General Toombs. This was probably far from the liking of either of the eminent men, but they had to submit. They were inveterate enemies, hav- ing represented in many a fierce debate the respectiveclaims of the aristocracy and the common people. Gen. Toombs was a strenuous opponent of so-called popular rights, and was a fire-brand for secession. The distinguished pris- oners were put in prison at Milledgeville, but were soon brought to Washington, where they took the oath of al- legiance.


"Colonel Miller is now living at Bristol, Tenn., at an advanced age. He has some of the dies and plates cap-


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tured at Anderson. His command was at Washington, Ga., when Gen. Joe Wheeler's men were paid for the last time by Secretary of the Treasury Judah P. Benjamin. They were paid in coin and bought a great quantity of clothing from the Union troops, who had captured im- mense stores in Augusta. Later the Union troops gave the Confederates a lot of the Confederate trousers secured in Augusta."


We left Crawfordsville May 8th, marching in the rain, in the afternoon we arrived at Sparta, Ga., where Col. Stacy and staff were entertained by a gentleman who was at the head of an institution of learning at that place. He treated us with the old-time Southern courtesy and hos- pitality. We marched early on the morning of the 9th, reaching Milledgeville, the capital of the State of Georgia, where we went into camp and remained until Sunday. While here a number of our officers made headquarters at the residence of Col. Mckinley, an old planter who lived just across the Oconee river. The Colonel was, of course, a warm devotee of the now "Lost Cause," but his wife, a lady whom he had mar- ried in Boston, Mass., the birthplace, we might say, of abolitionism and opposition to Southern slavery, was apparently far more devoted to the South than her husband. Another affable Southern gentleman whom we met here was Major Hawkins. He and Col. McKinly made a pleasant visit to our camps on the day we left, the 13th, and Colonel Stacy, Major Wilcox, Dr. Cam- eron, Dr. Blackburn, Adjutant Angel and Lieut. Freels accepted an invitation to visit Major Hawkins' splendid home, three miles from town. Here we were served with the most elegant and sumptuous dinner we had while soldiering in Dixie. The side-board was provided with the rarest brands of wine and we disregarded all our former vows of total abstinence and indulged, though not excessively, in the tempting fluid.


Soldiering was so agreeable in this locality that we broke camp with some regret. We had now lost in- terest in the pursuit of Davis, he having been captured,


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if we remember correctly by Col. Pritchard, of the 11th Wisconsin Cavalry, and our duties consisted only of guard duty and some scouting. At I o'clock A. M. on the 14th we left camp marching north, and going 15 miles took breakfast at the home of an old maid who owned a plantation and 40 or 50 negroes who were still there and under the strictest discipline, as their conduct while we were present showed. She refused to open her crib, but with us necessity overcame our gallantry to the fair sex and an ax answered every purpose of a key. Her smoke house suffered the same fate. Hans and bread- stuff were found in abundance, and we put the negro women to cooking and kept them at it until all were fed. The negroes now aware of "Massa Lincoln's proclama- tion" did not neglect their opportunity. No one molested the old lady but she "blessed us" in language not found anywhere in the Scripture. When we left about a dozen of the finest negro men she had left with us. This was evidently the first taste of the results of the war this lady had and it did look hard we suppose from her standpoint. About noon we fed again, this time with a Mr. Jackson, who had married a Miss Lones, of Knoxville, Tenn. The treatment here was different on both sides. We were treated respectfully and civilly and returned the com- pliment to the family, treating them with every considera- tion.


We reached Greensboro, Ga., that evening at dark, and remained there, resting until the 20th of May. While there President Jefferson Davis passed through on the cars, under guard, on his way to Washington. A number of our officers and men who were at the depot had a view of the famous ex-President of the Southern Con- federacy, whose name had been "on every lip," both North and South for four years, and had been the theme of more blessings and curses, save, perhaps that of Abra- ham Lincoln, than that of any man living or dead.


Major Patrick F. Dyer, of the Thirteenth, who as we have stated was captured at the first battle of Bull's Run and imprisoned in Libby prison at Richmond, Va.,


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was present when the train bearing Mr. Davis pulled up and stopped at Greensboro. The Major got into the car and with the boldness of the Irish race addressed Mr. Davis, and said: "Mr. President I am glad to meet you. Probably you do not remember me. When I was in Libby prison I often saw you taking a ride past the prison on a fine white horse. You were at liberty then and I was a prisoner, now you are a prisoner and I am at liberty-such are the fortunes of war-good-day, Mr. President."


Greensboro was the base of supplies for the State of Georgia. Governor Brown and the State officers had absconded leaving large supplies for man and beast at this point which fell into our hands and were shipped to Atlanta for the use of General Wilson's army. Our men were supplied with underwear and blankets. The cloth- ing we did not care to wear as we were not partial to gray at that time.


We left Greensboro on the 20th on our return to East Tennessee. The war being now ended, the great anxiety of officers and men to return to Knoxville where it was believed we would soon be mustered out of the service was an incentive to hard marching and kept up the spirits of the men. We crossed the Savannah river the 21st, on some of the same pontoon bridges that had been used by Gen. Sherman's troops on their march South. On the 22d we passed through Williamson and camped three miles south of Greeneville, South Carolina. Just before reaching that place we were fired on from ambush by some guerrillas or "bushwhackers," and captured the men who were supposed to have been engaged in the firing. The next morning it was decided to shoot them without trial or ceremony, as it was felt that now that the war was over, examples must be made of men engaged in out- lawry. Lieut. T. C. White was ordered to take a squad of soldiers and after the command passed shoot these men, bury them and rejoin the command. After the main body of the command had passed and the rear guard came lip under Lieut. Freels, and Lient. White was ready to ex-




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