USA > Tennessee > History of the Twentieth Tennessee regiment volunteer infantry, C.S.A > Part 18
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do- go ahead with the current. Undauntedly they advanced to the attack of what Brown described as appearing like a whole navy, four or five ironclads, six or seven rams and the fleet of Farragut generally.
As the Arkansas neared the head of the line she opened with her bow guns on the Hartford, Farragut's flagship while at New Orleans, and soon all her guns were in action. The day was calm and the smoke settled down so that the gunners could only aim at the flashes of the fire which encircled them on all sides. The shock of missiles was continuous on the sides of the gallant Arkansas, and the rain of shrapnel made it impossible to remain on the shield-deck. Still she replied with unceasing vigor, firing in every direction "without the fear of hitting a friend or miss- ing an enemy." The approach of a ram at the stern was diverted by the powerful rifle guns. "Another ram was across our way ahead," says Brown, in an account of this wonderful fight. "As I gave the order, 'Go through her, Brady,' her steam went into the air and her crew into the river. A shot from one of our bow guns had gone through her boiler and saved the collision. We passed by and through the brave fellows struggling in the water under a shower of missiles intended for us. When near the end of this ordeal, a large ironclad was seen square in our front, which escaped ramming by steaming ahead, receiving the Arkansas' last shot in the fight, which must have gone through the vessel from rudder to prow."
As the ram approached Vicksburg, the lower fleet was seen, one vessel aground and in flames. But the Arkansas had no de- sire to engage them immediately. Her smokestack was cut to pieces, a section of plating torn from the side, and her dead and wounded demanded attention. Amid enthusiastic cheers from our land forces the ram made a landing opposite the City Hall, and dropping down to the coal depot began coaling and repairing under fire of the lower fleet.
This movement of Brown's compelled part of the fleet above the city to drop down again below Vicksburg, which was begun that evening. The Arkansas, notwithstanding her crippled con- dition, gallantly put out into the stream, but was immediately still more disabled by a 160-pound iron bolt which crashed
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through her engine room, injuring the engine and killing, among others, Pilot Gilmore, and knocking overboard the heroic steers- man, Brady. It also destroyed all the medical supplies and caused a very serious leak. . Nevertheless, the indomitable gunners stood to their work, sending broadside after broadside into the Federal boats as they dropped past. A few days later, as the Arkansas lay at anchor with only men enough to man two guns, and engines disabled, the ironclad Essex and ram Queen of the West endeavored to cut her out, or run her down under the guns of the batteries; but, though killing half the crew and further disabling the Arkansas, failed in their purpose and them- selves suffered severely. The fourth and final battle left the Arkansas, as Brown is fully justified in saying, " though reduced in crew to twenty men all told for duty, still defiant in the presence of a hostile force, perhaps exceeding in strength that which fought under Nelson at Trafalgar."
In the official report of Genl. M. L. Smith, Statham's Brigade was spoken of in very complimentary terms, which said, "The Brigade under the lamented Statham, showed a bravery in guarding the front of attack assigned him that could not be sur- passed.
"On one occasion having forced his way through a swamp deemed impassible, he made a rush upon the mortar boats, moored to the shore, driving the force guarding on board, and had the position of the boats been accurately known, would have taken possession of and destroyed several."
On July 27, 1862, Genl. John C. Breckinridge, with his division, left Vicksburg with less than 4,000 men, to fight the battle of Baton Rouge. The Federal General, Williams, after the attack on Vicksburg had been abandoned, fell back down the Mississippi River and went into camp at Baton Rouge, La., and Breckin- ridge's expedition was against him. When Breckinridge left Vicksburg, he went by rail to Jackson, Miss., thence to Tangi- pahoa, La., there a great many of our command fell victims to malarial fever. We had been on night duty so much in the 'swamps at Vicksburg, that the systems of the men had become so saturated with malaria, and now being exposed to the hot August sun, so that only about 2,600 of Breckinridge's 4,000
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reached the battle field of Baton Rouge, on account of sickness. At Camp Moore, General Ruggles, with a small force, joined the expedition. Here the forces were divided into two divisions, one under Genl. Charles Clark, the other under General Ruggles, and the entire force moved west to Baton Rouge. The Twen- tieth Tennessee Regiment was in Genl. Charles Clark's Division. Everything was ready for the attack on the morning of August 5, when it was understood that the Arkansas Ram would be on hand to engage the Federal Fleet, while General Breckinridge would crush General Williams on land, who had about the same number of troops as Breckinridge had. (The Confederates did not ask for anything more than to meet equal numbers. )
The famous little ram, although not in condition, with her commander sick and disabled, yet she set sail under Lieutenant Stephens for Baton Rouge. In her efforts to arrive on the morning of August 5, according to orders, she broke one of her engines, in sight of her destination ; and they saw the Federal gunboat, Essex, approaching her while in this condition. With the other engine, Lieutenant Stephens drove her ashore, landed his men, set fire to this little floating tornado, that defied both of the Federal fleets in whose combined strength was nearly one hundred vessels, and her colors were blown into the air, and her hull went to the bottom of the Mississippi River in sight of her foes.
General Breckinridge not knowing the fate of the Arkansas Ram, formed his lines on the morning of August 5, and as they were about ready to move forward, a roaring noise was heard in our front, and about that time some one yelled out, "Yankee cavalry!" This threw everything into confusion and it turned out to be a portion of our partisan ranger cavalry that had be- come stampeded and some of it ran through the Twentieth Tennessee Regiment and killed W. A. Hayes of Company " B." Order was soon restored and our lines reformed, and we moved on the enemy's entrenched camp, and drove them from it and burned the camp. The Federals fell back to their second camp, which was attacked by the Confederates, one of our brigades being led by General Breckinridge in person, when the enemy was driven back under their gunboats for protection, as they
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were at Shiloh. Breckinridge ordered his command to fall back, and after the battle, retired to Comite River, ten miles from Baton Rouge, where his command camped for several days.
Breckinridge lost in this engagement four hundred and forty- six killed, wounded and missing, our severest loss was the death of Brig. Genl. Charles Clark, and the gallant Captain Hughes, commanding the Twenty-second Mississippi, and a number of other gallant officers ; and the wounding of Colonels Helm, A. P. Thompson and H. W. Allen, and a number of gallant officers who were leading their men. Among the most con- spicuous, on the field of Baton Rouge, was Major Lucien Brown of Tennessee, who was chief of the commissary department of Breckinridge's Division. He was an old man about sixty-five years of age, with long white hair, armed with only a walking cane, and could be seen everywhere in the thickest of the fight, riding from one portion of the line to the other, rallying and en- couraging the men.
In the Federal's report they claim to have lost three hundred and eighty-three, including General Williams, their commander. The Federal gunboats were the only thing that saved their army from capture.
On August 13, 1862, General Breckinridge received orders from General Van Dorn to move his force from his camp on Comite River to Port Hudson.
On August 18, General Ruggles received orders from General Breckinridge to take command of all troops in this military dis- trict, except the troops from Kentucky and Tennessee, and they were to be sent by way of Clinton to Camp Moore, and from Camp Moore to Jackson, Miss., where we camped a while. The two Governments were at this time exchanging prisoners at Vicksburg, and several men of the Twentieth Regiment who had been captured on the different fields of battle were ex- changed and rejoined us here. We then boarded the cars and went to Holly Springs in North Mississippi, and in a day or two we were ordered by way of Jackson, Miss., Mobile and Mont- gomery, Ala., via Atlanta, Ga., to Knoxville, Tenn. We went by rail to Jackson, Mobile, Montgomery, Atlanta and on to Knoxville, with the expectation of following General Bragg into
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Kentucky, and while here learned of the great battle of Perry- ville, and how the Tennessee troops had distinguished themselves on this bloody field, winning fresh laurels for the Volunteer State. We also learned that Bragg was coming out of Ken- tucky, and Breckinridge's command was ordered to meet Bragg's forces at Murfreesboro. We arrived there by rail about the middle of October, and went into camp out on the Woodbury Road about one mile from town. In about two weeks the Twentieth and Forty-fifth Tennessee Regiments were ordered ten miles north of Murfreesboro on the Nashville pike to Stewart's Creek, to support a lot of our cavalry at Lavergne, still five miles further north toward Nashville. While here and at Murfreesboro a great many of the Twentieth and Forty-fifth Regiments got permission to go home to see their families, as many lived in the surrounding country near here. While we were in camp at Stewart's Creek, an alarm came one day that the Yankees in force had driven our cavalry from Lavergne, which was so, and our two regiments of infantry were hurried down there as quickly as possible. When within about one and a half miles of the village we were filed to the right into the cedars and rocks and formed line of battle, and marched in line of battle through cedar jungles until we reached the south edge of the village, and as we went in on one side, the Yankees had burned the village and were going out on the other, and as they did not halt to entertain us, we then retired to our camp back at the creek.
. Also while here at Stewart's Creek, the weather had begun to get quite cool and a snow of about two inches fell and we had a rousing rabbit hunt. The entire regiment formed in line of battle and swept through the woods with great success. A por- tion of the Forty-fifth Tennessee and one Company of the Twentieth Tennessee were largely raised in this community. The boys of the Twentieth knew that the Forty-fifth had in their camp a great many good things just from home, and now how to get them was the question. So the Twentieth Regiment got up a snow ball fight with them and a charge was ordered, and the boys of the Twentieth mixed up with the Forty-fifth in their own camp and the battle waxed warm, and while about
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three fourths of the Twentieth Regiment were waging war in the heart of the Forty-fifth's camp, the other one-fourth was packing off into our camp whatever they could get. When the fight was over the Forty-fifth did not have near as many good things as they did when it opened, they even lost a large per cent. of their cooking utensils, and the best of their arms. I fared badly in this charge. While in the thickest of the fight two large soldiers caught me and I was thrown into a ditch, one of them held me while the other nearly smothered me with snow, but I was doing my best to entertain them for I knew that some of our own men were confiscating what the Forty-fifth had. These two regi- ments, about December 1, were ordered back to Murfreesboro and went into camp on the little ridge just west of the depot, and re- mained there until we were ordered out to the battle field of Murfreesboro. On Christmas day the officers of the Regiment bought a barrel of whiskey for the men, that they might spend a "merry Christmas," and before night they were sorry for it, we had many a drunken fight and knock-down before the day closed. On the second night in the Christmas, the soldiers of Bragg's Army had a big ball in the Court House, which was the last ball that many of us ever attended, it was a magnificent dis- play of chivalry and beauty.
Now the Battle of Perryville had been fought on October 8, 1862, and Bragg was coming out of Kentucky with his forces heading towards Murfreesboro. Buell's forces were heading in the direction of Glasgow, and Bowling Green, Ky., on their way to Nashville.
About this time an order issued from the War Department at Washington, dated October 24, 1862, relieving Genl. Don Carlos Buell of the command of the army of the Ohio and creating the Department of the Cumberland, and putting Genl. W. S. Rose- crans in command. General Rosecrans assumed command on October 30, while at Louisville. On November 2, he moved to Bowling Green, and it was here that he issued an order forming the army of the Cumberland into three divisions, viz : the right wing, the center, and the left wing; the right under McCook with three divisions ; center under Thomas, with five divisions, and the left under Crittenden, with three divisions, making in
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all eleven divisions of infantry. Genl. D. S. Stanly was put in command of his cavalry.
Rosecrans now pressed on to Nashville to reinforce the garrison that Buell had left when Bragg forced him back into Kentucky. Bragg now at Murfreesboro reorganizing the Confederate forces and Rosecrans at Nashville, only thirty miles away, getting the Federal Army in condition for a winter campaign, nothing took place until December 26, except cavalry skirmishes and cavalry raids.
Bragg being fully aware of Rosecran's intentions of moving against him, on December 7, he ordered Genl. John H. Morgan with his cavalry force of six hundred men, and the Second and Ninth Kentucky Infantry, seven hundred strong, under Colonel Hunt, and Cobb's Battery of four guns, two of which were not in the battle, to move north, cross the Cumberland River near Hartsville and attack Col. A. B. Moore, who was at Hartsville with three full regiments of infantry, one of cavalry and two rifle cannons, in all two thousand men. After a fight of one hour and a half, the entire Federal Command surrendered to General Morgan, who crossed his two thousand prisoners and their arms and a large quantity of army stores over the Cumber- land, while there was a Federal force of five thousand men at Castallian Springs, ten miles from Hartsville in the direction of Gallatin.
This feat alone stamped Morgan as a masterful raider. There was no rest for Morgan and his gallant men. On the morning of December 22, he and his men were on the road to Kentucky, Bragg had ordered him to destroy the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and break Rosecrans' connection with Louisville. On the 24th, he had a skirmish with a battalion of Michigan cavalry, on the 25th he attacked Johnson's Regiment of Cavalry, then a stockade at Bacon Creek and caused it to surrender, and burned the railroad bridge ; he then passed on fourteen miles to Nolin, where another stockade surrendered without a fight, and here destroyed the bridge. On the 27th of December Morgan cap- tured Elizabethtown, with six hundred infantry in command of Lieutenant Colonel Smith, and next day moved along the rail- road destroying it for some distance.
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The principal object of Morgan's raid was the destruction of the two great trestles at Muldraugh's Hill, one of which was eighty and the other ninety feet high and each five hundred feet long, with the garrison of eight hundred men which he captured; this being accomplished, he moved south to Tennessee.
In the meantime the Federal Cavalry had moved out to Frank- lin, eighteen miles south of Nashville, and had a spirited engage- ment with some Confederate troops.
On December 26, 1862, General Rosecrans put his army in motion to attack Bragg at Murfreesboro, and moved out on the following roads with an army of 46,940 men, Bragg being at Murfreesboro with an army of 37,712 men, according to the official returns.
Bragg on the 26th was at Murfreesboro, his center under Polk, his left wing under Hardee at Triune and Shelbyville, and his right wing at Readyville twelve miles away under Genl. J. P. McCown, and his cavalry under Genl. Joe Wheeler, that game little fighter who was so ably seconded by Generals Wharton and Pegram.
On the morning of December 26, Rosecrans ordered his whole army forward, except a garrison left at Nashville. The right wing under McCook composed of the divisions of Johnson, Davis and Sheridan, moved out on the Nolensville Pike ; Thomas sent two Divisions out the Franklin Pike to Brentwood, and then took the Wilson Pike east towards Triune in order to threaten Hardee's left, a portion of whose corps was at Triune. Davis, who was in command of McCook's advance division, moved out the Nolensville Pike seven miles to the Edmondson Pike, and took this pike about six miles to Primm's blacksmith shop on the old Franklin and Jefferson dirt road, which he followed one mile and then took the right hand road to Nolensville, (I was born and raised within one mile of the forks of this road). In the meantime McCook, with the two divisions of Johnson and Sheridan, had moved on towards Nolensville on the Nolensville Pike, and a portion of them camped all around my mother's house that night ; the next morning, not a chicken, turkey, goose, hog, horse or cow could be found on the place, and not a
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rail near the house. The Yankees were the first to adopt the "no fence law" in our section.
Rosecrans' center moved out the Murfreesboro Pike with the divisions|of Rousseau, Negley and Fry, having sent two of his divisions out the Franklin and Wilson Pikes. The left wing under Crittenden, composed of the divisions of Wood, Palmer and Van Cleve also moved out the Murfreesboro Pike, and at the Chicken Pike out four miles took to the left, also at the Old Jefferson Pike, some eighteen miles out, both leading in a direc- tion to the left of Murfreesboro. The Federal's advance struck the Confederate pickets about Lavergne on this pike, and they gradually fell back, but the right wing under McCook, had heavy skirmishing from the first day with Wharton's Cavalry, just south of Nolensville and at Triune, it almost amounted to a battle.
Hardee had now begun to fall back on the Triune and Mur- freesboro dirt road to Murfreesboro about fourteen miles distant; McCown's Command of two divisions were brought in from Readyville. The Federals continued to press forward on the different roads, forcing back the Confederate Cavalry until they arrived in line of battle in front of Bragg's forces already drawn up in front of Murfreesboro. 'This took General Rose- crans four days to accomplish, at the rate of less than eight miles per day.
Nearly all of Rosecran's army was in front of Murfreesboro on the night of December 29, with Thomas in the center, which was about the Nashville Pike.
McCook on the right, extending from Thomas' right around south-east beyond the Murfreesboro and Triune Roads, while Crittenden, who commanded the Federal's left wing, extended Thomas' left across to the east side of Stone River, in the direc- tion of the Lebanon Pike.
Bragg began to form his line of battle as soon as he was satis- fied of Rosecran's advance, with Polk in the center with his right resting on Stone River, near the Cowan House, with his line extending nearly south, bending a little to the east, with the divisions of Cheatham and Withers. Hardee's Corps ex- tended from Polk's left across and beyond the Murfreesboro and
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Triune Road in a south-east direction, with the divisons of Mc- Cown and Cleburne.
Breckinridge, who commanded Bragg's right, was on the east side of Stone River with his left resting on Stone River and his right on the Lebanon Pike. Breckinridge had only his division, composed of the Brigades of Adams, Palmer, Hanson and Preston, the Twentieth Tennessee Regiment was in Preston's Brigade ; he also had the Batteries of Slocum, Moses, Wright, and Cobb, making sixteen guns. This was the position of Bragg's line on the night of December 30, while Rosecrans made but little change in his lines from the night of the 29th, except to extend his right wing.
On the evening of the 30th, McCook had Johnson's Division on his extreme right, then came on his left Davis, then Sheridan, these three divisions formed McCook's Corps, except the two brigades of Kirk and Willich. Kirk was next on the right of Johnson's line, and Willich was on the right of Kirk, but his line was thrown back at right angles to Kirk's line to keep the right wing from being flanked. On the left of Sheridan's Division of McCook's Corps, rested Negley's Division, and on the left of Negley was Palmer's right. It was this wing of Rosecran's Army that was assailed so vigorously on Wednesday, December 31, 1862, by Hardee, with the division of Mccown and Cleburne. General Rosecrans called his Corps Commanders together on the night before the battle and explained to them his plan of attack, which was, that Van Cleve, who was on the east side of Stone River, was to attack Breckinridge as soon as Thomas's skirmishers should advance on the next morning ; and Woods was to cross the river at the upper ford and join in the attack of Van Cleve on Breckinridge, making two divisions of Federals to one of Confederates ; therefore, force Breckinridge back through Murfreesboro by superior force, and Woods was then to place the guns of his division on an elevation near the east bank of the river, which would command the flank of Bragg's center, commanded by Polk. And all that he, Rose- crans, asked of McCook was, to hold his own for three hours after the battle had opened, and in that time, his two divisions on the east side would crush Breckinridge, Thomas would press
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Bragg's center, and his right wing would be turned, and the whole rebel force either destroyed or driven into the woods in the direction of Salem.
But alas, this magnificent victory that had been won on paper, was so near, yet so far, from being realized. There was a soldier by the name of Hardee that arose from his gray blanket too early on that memorable morning, and nipped Rosecrans' grand plan in the bud. Rosecrans ordered McCook's troops to rise early and breakfast, and attack at 7 o'clock, but this fellow that we called Hardee, rose before day and breakfasted his men and attacked McCook at daylight, while his men were at breakfast, and after that morning, until the day of his death, McCook never forgot Hardee as an early riser.
Now as it was Rosecran's plan to turn Bragg's right and force it back through Murfreesboro, and drive him into the woods in the direction of Salem, Bragg's plan of battle was just the opposite. He intended to throw Hardee's Corps of two divisions of Mccown and Cleburne like a tornado against the three divisions of Johnson, Davis and Sheridan and the two brigades of Willich and Kirk, and swing around to the right with Polk joining in and pushing his center, making Polk's right his pivot, and thus swing around to the N. & C. R. R. and the Nashville Pike, and cut off Rosecran's communications with his base at Nashville, and destroy his army or drive his whole force into the woods and the bottoms of Stone River, where he would have to go fifteen miles to the Lebanon and Nashville Pike before he could ever reach his base. Our readers will see that the plan of battle of each was equally bold.
On the morning of the 31st, both sides had orders to advance. While Johnson and Davis were at breakfast with their men, and getting ready to attack at 7 o'clock according to orders, Hardee hurled Mccown's Division against Johnson's Division and Kirk and Willich's Brigade, and struck them before they were through with breakfast, and it was like a whirlwind coming in contact with a pile of dry leaves.
The division of Johnson and the brigades of Kirk and Willich went to pieces. General Kirk was mortally wounded, and Willich was captured. Kirk lost four hundred and seventy-
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