USA > Tennessee > The Annals of the Army of Tennessee and early western history, including a chronological summary of battles and engagements in the western armies of the Confederacy > Part 27
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that he would await his pleasure. To the question, "When will the Federals come?" it was answered that General Buell had said that, if General Johnston did not consider Nashville worth holding, he did no: consider it worth taking. To the uninitiated, it appeared that the City of Rocks was about to drop into an inglorious obscurity between the two armies. The delay of the Federals to take formal possession of Nash- ville gave time for "the sober second thought of the people," which. Mr. Van Buren declared, is "always right and never wrong," to dispel the panic which had seized upon them with such virulence the Sunday previous; and when the Federals did come, their presence ex- cited none of that alarm which the bare mention of the name had conjured up but ten days previous. So much for delay !
Arrival of the Federal Pickets in Edgefield-Interview with the Mayor.
A bright and beautiful morning was'that of Sunday, the 23d. The city was remarkably quiet, and only here and there could be seen a Confederate cavalryman-the infantry and all who were able to travel having left. About nine o'clock it was announced that the Federal pickets had made their appearance in Edgefield, on the opposite side of the river, and, as the news spread through the city, a stream of human beings poured down to where the suspension bridge once was, and then down to the "lower landing," to get a peep at the men who were regarded with a curiosity akin to that which a traveling menagerie excites. A squad of perhaps half a dozen cavalrymen rode down to the bank of the river and took possession of, or rather stopped, a steamboat that was being used as a ferry-boat, and the captain was informed that he could not return to this side, and the reason said to be assigned for the detention was that the Confederates were not to be trusted with steamboats where they were likely to fall into the hands of the Federals, as they were in the habit of burning them under such circumstances. There had been a considerable amount of crossing that morning, but this action put an effectual stop to it.
Mayor Cheatham was sent for, and notwithstanding the river was considerably swollen and the surface almost covered with "drift- wood," he crossed over in a small skiff, to meet the avant couriers of the grand army that was to take orphaned Nashville under its protect- ing ægis. After a brief interview, the Mayor returned and addressed the people assembled upon the Public Square, informing them that he had just had an interview with the captain of an Ohio cavalry com-
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pany, who had authorized him to say that the property and rights of the people would be scrupulously protected. This assurance was very gratifying to the people, but still they were. grievously disappointed. They had expected that, when they should be turned over to the Fed- erals, a general, attended by "all the pomp and circumstance of glo- rious war," would come to receive them. Instead, however, half a · dozen cavalrymen had come to take the Capital of the great State of Tennessee! The reality presented so striking a contrast to their ideas of a week previous, that the lip of the most inveterate rebel who looked upon that picture was wreathed with a smile. It was certainly a ludi- crous finale to the scenes which the panic of the previous Sundey had pictured.
In the afternoon a colonel of Ohio cavalry called at the river, when the Mayor again crossed the swollen stream in a skiff, to hold a parley with this second representative from the Federal army. After a brief interview, the Mayor returned to the City Hall, and in a few words addressed to the expectant crowd, stated that he had been reassured that the property and rights of private citizens would be protected in the broadest sense; that the people ought to remain at home, as they would be permitted to pursue their ordinary avocations without moles- tation; that when the Federals took formal possession, no soldier would be allowed to come within the corporate limits of the city, except at the request of the Mayor to preserve the peace; and that the public stores must be turned over to them. The Mayor stated further that he had inquired, "What of the negro question?" and had received for reply, that the Federals came to re-establish the Union, and to offer the protection guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, and that in this spirit the property of every citizen, of whatever de- scription, would be protected. The assurance given in regard to the "nigger question" had a perceptible influence in quieting the fears of some who anticipated trouble on that point.
In regard to the surrender of the city, the colonel informed the Mayor that a general would be here on Monday or Tuesday following, when formal military possession of the city would be taken and the terms made known.
First News of the Gunboat.
F. Monday, the 24th, the steamer C. E. Hillman-which had been sent down to Dover on Friday under a flag of truce, by order of General Johnston, with a number of surgeons of this city, to render such serv-
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ices as were needed by the wounded at Fort Donelson-returned with the surgeons, whose kind offices were not needed, as the post was already supplied. They reported having passed a gunboat that morn- ing some thirty or forty miles below the city, and as it made only about four miles an hour and would "lie up" during the night, they supposed it would reach here about nine o'clock Tuesday morning, the .25th. That was the first reliable intelligence we had that a gunboa: was coming to Nashville.
Occupation of Nashville by the Federals.
At an early hour of the morning on Tuesday, the 25th, the gunboat, accompanied by a number of transports, was descried from the Capitol making headway around the bend below Nashville, and the news of the approach of the Federals spread through the city with almost tele- graphic rapidity. Curiosity was on tip-toe, and hundreds hastened to the "lower landing" to see the monster (for a gunboat was a greater curiosity than an elephant), as well as witness the debarkation of the Fed- eral troops. The fleet continued to approach nearer the city, and when opposite the gas-works the gunboat was made fast to the opposite shore, and, with its guns all run out at the portholes, frowning upon the be- leaguered city, told plainly what would be its fate if the people did not act with the propriety becoming the occasion. It was an unnecessary warning, for the people had made up their minds to submit to their new rulers. They had no notion of acting as the Honorable Thomas Corwin is reported to have said, during the war with Mexico, he would have done had he been a Mexican : to have "welcomed the invaders with bloody hands to hospitable graves." They were in no plight, and not in the humor if they had been in plight, to have given their visitors such a reception. But the Federals did not know this, and we are told they proceeded cautiously up the river, keeping a sharp look- out for "masked batteries," and before reaching the city forty rounds were issued to each soldier. To those of us who knew the defenseless condition of the people of Nashville, this preparation sounded odd enough ; but they did not know our people or our situation, and so they determined not to be caught napping.
The Diana steamed up to the landing with the Sixth Regiment of Ohio Volunteers, the United States flag flying, and the band playing " Hail Columbia." A few, among whom were some who had pro- fessed devotion to the Southern Confederacy, greeted the "invaders"
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with a few huzzahs. How much of sincerity or of devotion to the Union was in this demonstration, the action of the Federals shows they were competent to judge. The Sixth Ohio debarked, preceded by their band, who struck up the "Star Spangled Banner," followed by " Yankee Doodle," and the regiment immediately formed into line, marched to, and partially around the Public Square, and then up Cedar street to the Capitol, where General Nelson, in the name of the United States, took formal military possession of the Capital of Tennessee, at forty-five minutes past eight, and at fifteen minutes past nine the United States flag, after three attempts to run it up, was seen float- ing from the flag-staff on the Capitol, the flag of the Guthrie Greys hav- ing meantime been displayed from the cupola. As it was the first flag displayed from the Capitol, and its color dark blue, those who viewed it from a distance regarded it as "warnings, and portents, and evils ominous," not knowing it was a mark of distinguished consideration accorded the Guthrie Greys by General Nelson. The flag that floated from the flag-staff on the Capitol was a Nashville flag, and it had an unwritten history, which ran, that for six months it had been carefully hid away by a citizen who almost idolized that flag-sewed in a com- fort, we believe the story is, under which the old man rested his weary limbs when "civil night, the sober-suited matron, all in black, fills the wide vessel of the universe." At his request, this was the first flag to float over the Capitol under the re-establishment of Federal rule.
While this was going on, the transports, to the number of twelve or fifteen-laden with infantry, cavalry, artillery, baggage, wagons, pro- visions, ammunition, and the et ceteras of an army -- had taken position at the wharf and at various points along the river. The troops having debarked, marched to the Public Square, where the Twenty-fourth, Forty-first and Fifty-first Ohio and the Thirty-sixth Indiana remained nearly the whole of the day. Their bands entertained the "gaping crowds" that thronged the pavements to see the sights with various military airs, when they finally struck up "Dixie," which drew down the crowd with enthusiastic shouts. Late in the afternoon they moved to the camping-ground selected for them on the southern confines of the city. Transports continued to arrive during the day, bringing addi- tional troops, so that the number that had reached the city was com- puted at from ten thousand to twelve thousand.
The high tide in the Cumberland-the highest since 1847-enabled the largest class boats that navigated the Ohio to come up here in safety, and the river continued high for a considerable time.
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Interview with General Buell-Proclamation by the Mayor-General Order.
Generals Buell and Mitchell arrived in Edgefield on Monday even- ing, when the former notified the Mayor that he would be pleased to receive a call from him Tuesday morning at eleven o'clock. It had been previously arranged by the City Council that Mayor Cheatham and a committee of citizens, consisting of Messrs. James Woods, R. C. Foster, Ist, Russell Houston, Wm. B. Lewis, John M. Lea, John S. Brien, James Whitworth, N. Hobson, John Hugh Smith, and John M. Bass, should meet the Commanding General, make a formal sur- render of the city to him, and negotiate for the best terms they could in regard to the protection of the property and rights of the citizens. At the appointed hour the Mayor and the committee crossed the river in the steamer C. E. Hillman, which had been placed at their disposal, when they were met by Generals Nelson and Mitchell, by whom they were escorted to General Buell's headquarters. What transpired at this meeting of the conquerors and the representatives of the con- quered remains, and is likely to remain, a portion of the unwritten history of the war. General Buell was solicited, as we understand, to issue a proclamation to the people defining the policy of his govern- ment, but he declined, assigning as a reason that he preferred to let his acts speak for themselves. Mayor Cheatham issued the following proclamation the day succeeding the interview :
Proclamation.
The committee representing the city authorities and the people have dis- charged their duty by calling on General Buell, at his headquarters in Edgefield, on yesterday. The interview was perfectly satisfactory to the committee, and there is every assurance of safety and protection to the people, both in their per- sons and in their property. I therefore respectfully request that business be re- sumed, and all our citizens, of every trade and profession, pursue their regular vocations.
The county elections will take place on the regular day, and all civil business be conducted as heretofore ; and the Commanding General assures me that I can rely upon his aid in enforcing our Police Regulations. One branch of business is interdicted-the sale or giving away of intoxicating liquors. I shall not hesi- tate to invoke the aid of General Buell in case the recent laws upon this subject are violated.»
" The following is the law to which the Mayor referred :
An Act to Protect the Peace and Quiet of the City of Nashville.
Section 1. Be it enacted by the City Council of Nashville, That it shall hereafter be unlawful for any person to sell or give away any intoxicating liquors except for medicinal purposes, and
.
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I most earnestly call upon the people of the surrounding country, who are in- side of the Federal lines, to resume their commerce with the city, and bring in their market supplies, especially wood, butter and eggs, assuring them that they will be fully protected and amply remunerated. R. B. CHEATHAM, Mayor. February 26, 1862.
Subsequently (on the 5th of March), General Buell published the . following general order, which, it will be seen, bears the same date as Mayor Cheatham's proclamation :
General Orders-No. 13a.
HEADQUARTERS DEPARTMENT OF THE OHIO, Nashville, Tenn., Feb. 26, 1862.
The General Commanding congratulates his troops that it has been their privi- lege to restore the national banner to the Capital of Tennessee. He believes that thousands of hearts in every part of the State will swell with joy to see that hon- ored flag reinstated in a position from which it was removed in the excitement and folly of an evil hour; that the voice of her own people will soon proclaim its wel- come, and that their manhood and patriotism will protect and perpetuate it.
The General does not deem it necessary, though the occasion is a fit one, to re- mind his troops of the rule of conduct they have hitherto observed and are still to pursue. We are in arms not for the purpose of invading the rights of our fellow- · countrymen anywhere, but to maintain the integrity of the Union, and protect the Constitution under which its people have been prosperous and happy. We cannot, therefore, look with indifference on any conduct which is designed to give aid and comfort to those who are endeavoring to defeat these objects ; but the action to be taken in such cases rests with certain authorized persons, and is not to be assumed by individual officers or soldiers. Peaceable citizens are not to be molested in their persons or property. Any wrongs to either are to be promptly corrected and the offenders brought to punishment. To this end all persons are desired to make complaint to the immediate commander of officers or soldiers so offending, and if justice be not done promptly, then to the next com- mander, and so on until the wrong is redressed. If the necessities of the public service should require the use of private property for public purposes, fair com- pensation is to be allowed. No such appropriation of private property is to be made except by the authority of the highest commander present, and any other officer or soldier who shall presume to exercise such privilege shall be brought to
then only upon the written prescription of some one of the physicians appointed by the Mayor, which prescription shall state specifically the quantity needed. Any person violating the pro- visions of this bill shall be fined for each offense not less than twenty-five nor more than fifty dollars, besides suffering a forfeiture of his, her, or their liquors.
Sec. 2. Any person found intoxicated on the streets, lanes, alleys or other public places within the city, shall be fined not less than twenty-five nor more than fifty dollars, and shall, upon oath, declare the name or names of those furnishing him or her the liquors upon which he or she be- came intoxicated, who shall be arrested and tried upon such information ; and upon a failure to make such discovery, the party refusing shall be fined twenty-five dollars and be confined in the Work-house until such discovery is made by them. This act to take effect from its passage. Approved February 24, 1862.
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trial. Soldiers are forbidden to enter the residences or grounds of citizens on a :: plea without authority.
No arrests are to be made without the authority of the Commanding Generai. except in cases of actual offence against the authority of the Government; an. : in all such cases the fact and circumstances will immediately be reported in wri :. ing to headquarters through the intermediate commanders.
The General reminds his officers that the most frequent depredations are those which are committed by worthless characters who straggle from the ranks on ti. : plea of being unable to march ; and where the inability really exists, it will i. found, in most instances, that the soldier has overloaded himself with useless a !. : unauthorized articles. The orders already published on this subject must be en- forced.
The condition and behavior of a corps are sure indications of the efficiency an ! fitness of its officers. If any regiment shall be found to disregard that propriet; of conduct which belongs to soldiers as well as citizens, they must not expect :.: occupy the posts of honor, but may rest assured that they will be placed in posi- tions where they cannot bring shame on their comrades and the cause they are engaged in. The government supplies with liberality all the wants of the sol- dier. The occasional deprivations and hardships incident to rapid marches mu -: be borne with patience and fortitude. Any officer who neglects to provide prop- erly for his troops, or separates himself from them to seek his own comfort, will be held to a rigid accountability.
By command of General Buell.
JAMES B. FRY, A. A. G., Chief of Staff. Official : J. M. WRIGHT, A. A. G.
Incidents.
Thus, after ten days-and they were days of much anxiety to many- were we turned over to the Federal authorities. The agony was over, and so far nothing had occurred which seemed to justify the course of those who had so frantically torn themselves from their homes when the news of the reverse to the Confederate arms at Fort Donelson reached here.
A flag was here and there displayed, but we could learn of only four or five, and, strangely enough, these seemed to excite in the Federals more of contempt than admiration. They seemed to think, and, in- deed, some of them are reported to have said, a man's patriotism was not to be measured by the amount of bunting he might display. An old lady, who had clung to the Union with the devotion which a mother clings to her child, and had kept the stars and stripes flying over her mansion long after the State had withdrawn from the Union. was met by a "rebel," who asked why she did not have her flag out.
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Her reply was, she had taken it down in deference to public sentiment, and that now she would not flaunt it in the face of her neighbors to taunt them with what they perhaps regarded a misfortune.
While the Federal troops were being landed, quite a number of Col- onel John Morgan's scouts were passing about through the city, taking a survey of matters. One of them, more curious, perhaps, than the rest, dashed down to the lower landing to get a peep at the gun- boat, and, before he was aware that any of them had come ashore, the band, almost under his horse's nose, struck up "Yankee Doodle." Although his presence was, perhaps, unknown, he wheeled and re- traced his steps as fast as his fleet steed could carry him.
The Federal authorities took charge of the Confederate stores which had been left, and it is said they were of considerable value. We have heard the value estimated at from $1, 000, 000 to $3,000,000. Much of the pork and beef subsequently spoiled, but still there was a large amount that was good. Some cotton-perhaps two or three hundred bales- fell into the hands of the Federals. The greater portion of this cotton was used at Fort Zollicoffer, in preparing that fortification.
The distribution of provisions by order of the Confederate author- ities was most fortunate for the people of Nashville, as our market sup- plies were almost wholly cut off for weeks, the little that was brought in having commanded exorbitant prices. But for the stores thus dis- tributed, there would, undoubtedly, have been much suffering among the people, a large portion of whom were thrown out of employment.
The occupation of Nashville by the Federals was a bloodless achieve- ment, but it forms a memorable epoch in the history of the war. The panic that preceded it we have but faintly portrayed. It was rich in scenes which would have admirably illustrated the pages of Punch or Vanity Fair ; but these have probably been lost to history, or only preserved in the memory of those who passed through the Great Panic.
PRISON LIFE.
Reminiscences of Point Lookout, Maryland, and Elmira, New York.
D R. E. L. DRAKE :- Since the establishment of your historical magazine, I have been requested by several friends to contrib- ute to its pages my reminiscences of prison life at the North. It is a
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subject upon which detailed and specific information is needed, not t defend or excuse Andersonville particularly, but to show a state of things at Point Lookout and Elmira which may very properly become a subject of discussion and reflection in the same connection. These facts would have been brought to light long ago, and would have fur- nished weapons of defense to our people in the hot political discussions on the " Horrors of Andersonville," if a suitable publication had ex- isted in the South in which they could have been gathered and given to the world; but it is not too late now to make them a matter of record, not for the purpose of stirring up another strife over the ques. tion, but simply to ask the privilege of being allowed to tell our side of it. There is no injustice in such a demand. As to the accept- bility of the statements, that is altogether another question. They are not made in a hostile spirit, but simply to serve the purpose of histori- cal inquiry.
On the 12th of May, 1864, General Edward Johnson's Division. while defending a salient at Spottsylvania Court-house, Va., was taken in reverse by Hancock's Corps, part of which was commanded by Gen- eral Meagher, and General Johnson, with about twelve hundred of his men, was captured. After a march of seventeen miles, through a chilly, drenching rain, we were bivouaced in a miry field near Fredericksburg and closely guarded. The rain fell incessantly during the night, and the men crowded together in groups of four and five for warmth, there being neither blankets, shelter or any thing to eat. On the next day we were marched, without food, to Belle Plains, on the Potomac, where we remained five days, waiting for a vessel to take us to Point Lookout, Md. During the stay here rations were very scarce, every thing in the way of food being hurried forward for the use of General Grant's large army, which was now being reinforced by fifty thousand reserve veter- ans from the fortifications at Washington. The ration question was getting to be very serious, the small amount issued serving only to ex- cite the cravings of hunger to a distressing degree. It was seriously believed by many for a while that there was a deliberate attempt to starve us to death, and this in the presence of abundance. It was worse than on Stonewall Jackson's Romney Expedition, where we lived several days on parched corn. I was on the point of despair of getting something to eat when I was detailed to help unload commis- sary stores from the transports. I was on the lookout for a box of crackers in bad order for my load, but in this was disappointed. On
4
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the way up the hill I stumbled purposely, letting the box fall heavily : the ground, which fixed it all right for me. At the instance of the guard I shouldered it quickly, and on the way managed to fill my pockets with enough hardtack to last me several days. At the end of five days we took a steamer and were soon at Point Lookout, Md., which is a point of land extending into the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Potomac River, separated from the mainland by a nar- row strip twenty-five yards in width. The Point contained about twelve acres, upon which were distributed nearly twelve thousand prisoners captured from General Lee's army. Negro troops garri- soned the place, and this fact caused a good deal of indignation among the newly arrived, but there was no help for it. Their new uniforms, with epaulettes, polished shoes, burnished guns, white gloves and collars, while the perspiration streamed down their dusky visages, made a picture entirely new to me, and was so odd and comical that I could not restrain a laugh at the guard nearest to me. He noticed my sneers, and instantly brought his musket to bear upon me, at which I became quiet.
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