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 7
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52
61
AND EARLY WESTERN HISTORY.
the death struggle. A large number of the enemy surrendered at once, and the rest fled to the Chattanooga road and made their escape under the cover of darkness, which settled rapidly over the.scene. The pris- oners were mostly Irish, and, when our line passed over them, they rose and cheered the Confederates as the "domdest bravest min in the worreld !" The closing scenes in the great drama were thrilling and impressive beyond the power of language to express. The tug of two days' desperate battle had ended at sunset in a glorious victory for the South over her invaders; and the roar of conflict ceased amid a wild tumult of shouts which rose on the right and swelled into the grandest chorus as it rolled away in exultant tones to the left, to re- turn again in like volume of triumphant joy, and then die away among the Mission Hills, where the defeated host sought safety under the cover of darkness.
Pursuit ended at the Chattanooga road, along which the corps of Polk and Hill lay on arms that night. On account of the long drought which preceded the battle, this highway was filled with a light Just, which rose in dense clouds from passing horsemen and settled in great quantities among the men, who were ordered to remain in place, as the whereabouts and intentions of the enemy were still involved in uncertainty. This dust was stifling and disagreeable in the extreme, on account of the absence of water, of which there was none nearer than the Chickamauga, three miles away, and it was near midnight before the canteen detail returned. Hundreds of the Federal dead lay in ghastly array on the road-side, and among them Polk's Brigade made its bivouac that night. Being exhausted by the excitements of 2 two days' conflict, the men gave little thought to their disgusting sur- roundings, and dropped down to rest in the vacant spaces between their dead enemies without the least compunction. This night among the Jead had many loathsome features which are recalled now, but excited little concern at the time. As soon as the line halted, the work of prowling began. Bodies would be turned over to get at a pocket with as little compunction as a boy would turn over a log to find fishing worms. The haversacks of Granger's men were filled with hardtack, fat bacon, sugar and coffee; and were in particular demand. Knap- sacks, pocket-books, boots, shoes, hats and finger-rings, were taken without scruple, for these were the spoils of the hard-won victory, in which the soldier was immediately interested. Greenbacks at that time were little prized, and ranked under Confederate notes in value.
.
62
THE ANNALS OF THE ARMY OF TENNESSEE
There was one circumstance connected with our bivouac which will! never be forgotten by those who witnessed it .. It was that of a wounded Federal whose skull had been partly torn away by a bullet. He was constantly pulling out his brains with his fingers, and repeated, monot- onously, this sentence : " Bill, it is time to go on picket." He was off duty forever by the next morning.
When morning came, the loathsome nature of our surroundings was revealed in all of its horrid aspects. The faces and clothing of the dead were covered thickly with the dust of the highway, while the fingers and lips were begrimed with powder and smeared with dried blood. How foul a thing the human face can become, when the spirit has left it and no friendly hand is by to compose it into comeliness and remove, with loving care, all traces of the last dreadful struggle !
VIEUX SECONDE.
BATTLE OF BENTONVILLE.
Charge of the Fourth Tennessee and Eighth Texas Cavalry.
[WE will mention, in connection with Adjutant Guild's brief sketch of the bril- liant achievement of Colonel Baxter Smith and his heroic little band, that the Colonel had but lately returned from a long imprisonment at Johnson's Island, and, aside from a soldierly sense of duty, was animated on this occasion by a fierce fever of delight at the opportunity of meeting his enemy, sword in hand. and with an unshackled arm. The impetuosity with which he headed the charge alone saved the Army of Tennessee from probable destruction, as his feeble force would have been inadequate to such brilliant results in a more deliberate move- ment against such odds. We are sorry Adjutant Guild went so briefly into the details of this historic charge of a few hundred cavalry against Mower's Division of infantry. We believe it was in this affair that young Hardee lost his life almost in the presence of his illustrious father.]
T THE Battle of Bentonville, North Carolina, was the last general engagement in which what is known as the Army of Tennessee participated, and, we believe, was the last of the war between the States. It was fought on the 19th, 20th and 21st of March, 1865. But a small remnant of that noble army which General Hood had car- ried into Tennessee reached the field in time to take part in that battle. Generals Hardee and Bragg had brought up from the coast some re-
63
1
AND EARLY WESTERN HISTORY.
serves, sailors, and other detachments of troops, and had organized them as best they could. The army, if it could be called such, did not number, all told, over 14,000, while the enemy, under Generals Sherman, Schofield, and others, was at least 75,000. Bentonville, a small village, is situated on the bank of Mill creek, a large, dirty look- ing stream, with low and marshy approaches. There was but one bridge across the stream in that neighborhood, and that was con- tiguous to the village. Across this bridge our army passed and formed a line of battle in a semi-circle from the creek on our right and extending in the arc of a circle toward the left. But, the force being small, a considerable opening was left on our left flank. For the greater part of three days our small army had been contending with the overwhelming numbers of the Federals; and with considerable success, for we had captured over 900 prisoners, 3 pieces of artillery, and the enemy's dead and wounded far exceeded ours.
More than a decade of years has passed since the battle of Benton- ville, and the surrender took place in a few weeks thereafter ; but the writer of this has recurred with pleasure to the scenes of that mem- orable battle, and it has been to him a source of inexpressible gratifi- cation when he reflected with what courage and daring the Southern troops fought it. This particular time was certainly the darkest and gloomiest hours through which that army had passed. The Army of Tennessee had been almost annihilated in the diastrous campaign against Nashville. All of our coast defences had been abandoned. The Confederacy had only an uncertain tenure in two States-Vir- ginia and North Carolina. When we fought we knew it to be in the ratio of ten to one. Notwithstanding all this, I venture to say that our troops never fought better and with more spirit at Shiloh or Chick- amauga than they did at Bentonville. They went into the charge with the same wild shout that had ever characterized them, and was so dis- tinguishable from the weak hurrah of the Federals, and which had always been the certain precursor of victory. They were successful in every assault and repelled every attack made upon their positions. .
About 3 o'clock on the evening of the 21st, the enemy had been gradually extending his right, till, finding that our left flank was un- protected, his skirmishers having approached the town till they were about two or three hundred yards from the bridge across Mill creek, which was the only egress for the army. This destroyed, it would have been impossible for the army to have escaped. This information
64
THE ANNALS OF THE ARMY OF TENNESSEE
having been communicated to General Hardee, he immediately dis- patched couriers to the nearest troops to hasten to the spot and arrest, if possible, the threatened disaster. It happened that a portion of the brigade commanded by Colonel Baxter Smith was moving to a new position on the field, and, having obtained the information from the courier, Colonel Smith started, at a sweeping gallop, with a portion of the Eighth Texas and Fourth Tennessee cavalry, to the point indi- cated. General Hardee met us on the road, and hurried along with us, giving his instructions. As we charged down the road leading from the village to our left, the Eighth Texas deployed in line of battle to the right and the Fourth Tennessee to the left. With a wild shout we rushed through the woods, and soon drove in their skirmishers, capturing some and driving the rest in confusion on their main line, which seemed to be in the act of fortifying at the time. As we passed through the woods, a section of our artillery was just behind us, firing at random in the air and just to make a "fuss." The whole line partook of the confusion and panic, and were driven back hastily through the woods a distance of one-half mile. Before the enemy could recover or' un- derstand the matter, a division of our infantry reached the point and held the position till dark. That night the army passed safely over the bridge and withdrew.
There can be no doubt but that this charge saved our little army from destruction at Bentonville. The Federal troops engaged on this part of the line was General Mower's Division of infantry. It is almost incredible to believe that two small regiments of cavalry could have accomplished this; but the charge `was made at a most opportune moment, just when the enemy least expected it, and when along their whole line they seemed to be taking off their knapsacks and laying down their guns to intrench themselves; and before they could recover from their surprise or knew the exact character of the attack, a suffic- ient number of our troops had arrived to hold them in check and save the bridge. G. B. GUILD,
Adjutant of Fourth Tennessee Cavalry.
.
65
AND EARLY WESTERN HISTORY.
1
DIARY OF PRIVATE W. J. DAVIDSON, COM- PANY C, FORTY-FIRST TENNES- SEE REGIMENT.
[Continued.]
ON BOARD THE CONFEDERATE GUN-BOAT DR. BEATTY, -
February 19, 1863.
VESTERDAY the expedition for the "wiping out " of the Yankee Gun-Boat Indianola started, and I had the good fortune to ship as carpenter for the voyage. After many delays and false starts, we got under way and came up the river to the little town of Waterloo, where we tied up for the purpose of cooking and taking on more cotton; but as soon as the boat touched shore, the men started, at a double-quick, in search of a certain vile compound called Louisiana rum, and by night nearly every man and most of the officers were too drunk to stand on their pegs. About II o'clock the command "to arms" was given, as a boat was seen coming down on us. Then ensued a scene which, for the honor of some of our officers, had better not be described ; but, fortunately for us, it proved to be one of our own boats. I think that the effect of this lesson will be good, and may prove fortunate in the end.
I remained in the cabin and saw the " wounded " brought in. Our loss was one Irishman stabbed in three places, one (ditto) head broken in, and several with bruises. If the enemy had been aboard the Frolic, they could have taken us with ease. In the future, our officers will be in better condition, and, if they can keep the men under proper discip- line, they will make a good fight when the hour of action arrives. The command is made up of one hundred men from Miles' Louisiana Le- gion, fifty from the Fourth Louisiana, fifty from the Fifty-fifth Tennes- see, and Capttain Bowen's Louisiana Artillery.
I have been kept too busy to-day to notice the officers in detail, but I am satisfied they are a merry set of fellows, and will fight well. The worst to fear is that they will not enforce a strict discipline. Colonel Brend has pleased every one, so far, by his quiet, pleasant manners and his agreeable firmness in commanding.
Feb. 21 .-- Yesterday we had a pleasant time, compared with that of VOL. I, NO. 2 .-- 2.
66
THE ANNALS OF THE ARMY OF TENNESSEE
the day before. The whole command sobered off, and, the day being fine, we enjoyed the trip. It is certainly a great relief to get out of camp for a few days, even on such an expedition as this, from which it is not expected that many of us will return. The men are in fine spirits, and seem anxious to meet the foe. To-day may give them the opportunity, as the signal has sounded to get under way for the mouth of Red River, where the enemy's boat is posted. It is quite likely we will have to board her before night.
We passed some fine scenery yesterday, and the beautiful farm- houses, which make the west bank look like a long strip of town, cer- tainly belie the saying that the Mississippi is destitute of scenery. 5 o'clock p. m .- We have passed the danger for the present, and our boat is now steaming up Red river. The Indianola went up the Mississippi last night, and left the way open to us. It is the intention of our commander to join our fleet above and make a combined attack on the enemy as soon as our arrangements are complete. I understand that we have several boats up this river, among them an iron-clad gun- boat and the Queen of the West, lately captured by our batteries. We are having fine weather. The morning was ugly, but now it is as pleas- . ant as April. I confess to feeling some relief since we left the Missis- sippi.
Feb. 22. - Last night we tied up at the mouth of Red river, and this morning found our boat aground; but, after several hours' work, got her safely off and proceeded a few miles up stream, when we tied up again to take on wood and allow the men to cook. In a short time, the crew had stolen all the chickens in the neighborhood. The New Orleans Rats, of which this command is mainly composed, can beat the world stealing. [What say you, Rats?] I saw several coming in with honey and the bees swarming around it. During our memorable "big drunk " mentioned on a previous page, some one, more drunk than economical, threw away his shoes, and, on waking the next morning and finding him- self minus this important article of dress, had to go bare-foot or steal
from his neighbor. The latter plan suited his inclination, and the con- sequence was, a man in a different company was found to be shoeless and the thief with a tolerable pair of boots on. So it goes : one man is bare-foot all the time, but a different man every day.
Evening .- About one o'clock we met the balance of our fleet com- ing down, and our boat turned her prow down stream to act in concert with them. The whole fleet consists of the Queen of the West, the
67
AND EARLY WESTERN HISTORY.
Gun-Boat Webb, our own steamer (the Dr. Beatty), and the transport Grand Era. Altogether, we make quite a formidable appearance, and can certainly take one Yankee vessel.
We are steaming down stream at a rate that will soon bring us upon the broad bosom of the Mississippi, and, unless the Indianola has ske- daddled, we will soon be in our first naval engagement; and, to judge from the fitting out of our craft, it will be a novel one. I do not know the plan of action, and will have to wait for it to develop itself, when, if nothing prevents, I will record the events as they occur. I am en- joying the expedition more than I expected at the starting, and have no greater desire than to go into action.
Monday, Feb. 23 .- We are steaming up the river in search of the enemy, and have just passed the place where he lay-to last night; so that we are now in full chase, though not in sight. We are some dis- tance below Natchez at this writing, and the probability is that we will overtake him there. Our decks were cleared for action this morning, but the alarm proved false, and was occasioned by the Grand Era mis- taking the smoke of a sugar factory for the gun-boat. Yesterday evening the Queen of the West, in reconnoitering in Old river, ran aground, and had to signal the Era to come and tow her off; after which we entered the Mississippi again and ran all night without acci- dent or incident. The weather has been quite cool since 12 o'clock yesterday. Evening .- We have just had some sport. Five negroes hailed us, and on being asked if they wished to come aboard, answered "yes" with every demonstration of joy, as they supposed us to be Yankees. The shout that went up when they were safely aboard made the welkin ring. They never found out their mistake until Colonel Brend told the mate to take them below and pay them for their loyalty, which he knew how to do from long practice. They had been working on the fortifications at Vicksburg, and said they had "been trying to get with us for several months." One yellow rascal shouted for Lincoln as he" stepped aboard. We are now in sight of Natchez, and have not found the Indianola yet.
Feb 24 .- We stopped at Natchez for nearly an hour, and in that short space of time nearly every officer and man got decently drunk. Some of our crew went aboard other boats, not being sober enough to distinguish the difference. We got back the missing men at the wood- yard this morning. The ladies were out in full force on the bluffs, and during our stay presented us with a flag, in return for which we fired
68
THE ANNALS OF THE ARMY OF TENNESSEE
a salute of two guns. 12 o'clock .- We have just come in sight of the Yankee boat, and the excitement of the chase or the terrible conflict will soon begin. 7 o'clock p. m .- We had to stop and take on wood this morning, and that let the Indianola get a start on us, but we are in sight again. She is around a sharp bend of the river, and going at full speed. We will overtake her before midnight, and the dark- ness will be to our advantage, as it will prevent her taking us at long range with her sixty-fours. My duties as carpenter will consign me to the hold during the action, so that I cannot see the fun. I will probably be safer there than on deck, but I have an almost irresistible desire to witness a naval engagement at night. 12 o'clock p. m .- We came up with the enemy at half-past ten, and, after a spirited engage- ment of forty minutes, she surrendered to us unconditionally. We lost three men killed and wounded, all on the same boat, but I have not yet learned which. The Dr. Beatty was struck but once-a shot striking between two cotton bales on the upper deck and passing full length of the cabin, without again touching. All of our men behaved nobly, and the only trouble was to keep them behind the cotton bales. The Webb claimed the prize, though she surrendered to the Dr. Beatty, just as we were in the act of boarding her. The first throw of . our grapnels failed to hold, and as we turned to make another throw, a head appeared from a hole in the top of the Indianola and proposed to surrender. This was Lieutenant Brown, commanding her, and on his asking to whom he surrendered, Colonel Brend called out: "To Colonel Brend, commanding the Confederate States Mosquito Flect." The Webb is probably entitled to the prize, as she disabled her by ramming her in the wheel-house. She is said to be sinking. We got a fine lot of the ardent in her liquor chest. I know a man who came on board the Beatty with his arms full of fine bottled wine.
Feb. 25 .- We took one hundred and five prisoners on board the In- dianola, and a few are said to have gone down the river on a coal barge. The Beatty was sent down to look after them, and, on her return, she was run into by the Queen of the West, who mistook us for a gun-boat from above, which was reported as having passed Vicksburg a short time before. On our return we had passed the fleet in the darkness unobserved, and when we turned again, the Queen ran at us with the full speed of her powerful engines [they were the most powerful on the river], and did not discover her mistake until too late, although we signalled with might and main. At the last moment she managed to
69
AND EARLY WESTERN HISTORY.
sheer a little, and only took off our larboard quarter, carrying all of the cotton bales into the river on that side. The Beatty then careened to the heavy side, and we had to throw off the cotton in haste to keep her trim.
I have just been aboard the Indianola, and find her to be a splendid craft, mounting four guns : two 11-inch Columbiads forward, and two .9-inch Parrots aft. She is heavily ironed. We rammed her in the only vulnerable place, and if she could have worked her guns and her men had been more gallant she would have blown us into the middle of next week. However, she had little chance to work her guns, for the action was fought at close range, and our infantry poured a constant stream of bullets into her port-holes. Thousands of balls had flattened on her sides, particularly in the neighborhood of the port-holes. The prisoners themselves say that she was their best iron-clad.
The boys, following the example of the officers, have stripped her of every thing portable, from a fine sofa down to old newspapers. We didn't get much in the way of commissary stores, as the water was too deep in the hold this morning. A few barrels of flour and a box of soap were fished out. We will get a great many articles if we suc- ceed in raising her, which is extremely doubtful unless we go about it with more energy than has yet been shown. We have two men at work making pumps, but every one is too intent on plunder to think of raising a gun-boat worth millions of dollars to our government at this particular time.
The affair is now being badly managed, and I fear that the Yankees will run another boat past Vicksburg and recapture our prize before we can get her up. We are only twenty-five miles below this place, and they could plainly hear the firing. In our present crippled condi- tion we could 'nt make much of a fight, if we were to attempt it at all.
The Webb is in almost a sinking condition, from damage to her prow. The Queen of the West is the only one of the fleet uninjured. She is now up the river reconnoitering, and if danger approaches, will give us timely warning.
Feb. 25th, 7 o'clock, P.M .-- About 4 o'clock this afternoon we went up the river to bring down a company of artillery, and one of cavalry, to assist us in raising and repairing our prize. When we had taken the last man aboard, the Queen of the West was descried coming down stream under a full head of steam, and signalling violently that a gun- boat was in close chase of her. Lest we might not understand the sig-
70
THE ANNALS OF THE ARMY OF TENNESSEE
nal, some one aboard called out for us to follow at once. We now had a panic. The officer in command of the Beatty, Captain McDonald, of the Fifty-fifth Tennessee, ordered the two companies just taken aboard to get off. The order was misunderstood, and every man of the expedition, even to the cabin boy, started ashore, but the mis- take was rectified, except as to five of them, who failed to return. We are now in full retreat, the Queen of the West taking the lead, the Webb following in her wake as fast as her crippled condition will allow.
The Grand Era is some mile and a half behind the Webb, while the Beatty is bringing up the rear, and covering the retreat. She has thrown off some cotton to make her more trim and increase her speed. What is to become of our prize we have'nt the remotest idea, and the natural inference is that she will fall into the hands of the enemy again. We made no attempt to destroy her; and, in fact, the attempt would have been useless, unless we could have gotten to her magazine and blown her up; she would have only burnt to the water, which was deep in her. I am surprised at the precipitateness of our officers in abandoning the boat without an attempt to hold it. If they had placed some artillerymen on board, they could have made an impregnable bat- tery of it. Such is not their judgment, however, and it becomes not a private soldier to set up his opinions in opposition to superiors.
[To be continued.]
TALES OF FORREST'S ESCORT.
T HE names of few of Forrest's Escort have ever appeared in the gazette of its many desperate battles and combats. As a body of horsemen, having no superior in any age, its fame is widely known, but history has never recorded their names even, or given to its mem- bers the individuality on which that fame rests for its basis. This corps was not a machine of simply trained soldiers, delivering its blows. compactly, but each member was a host in himself, ready to act single- handed in any emergency, and to perform intelligently the work at hand in the most efficient manner.
We will select for this sketch the name of G. W. Cooper, as the most available at present, and as a fair type of the rest of this body.
71
. AND EARLY WESTERN HISTORY.
He was a stalwart blonde, who joined the company at sixteen, and passed unscathed through most of its eventful struggles. With Col- onel Jeffrey Forrest he headed the mad pursuit of Grierson's raiders after the latter was driven out of Okalona. Colonel Forrest, Cooper, and several others, being splendidly mounted, kept in advance and were constantly engaged in hand-to-hand conflicts with the enemy's rear guard. IAt one time a desperate struggle took place for the pos- . session of a Federal flag. One of its bearers being shot, its folds caught in an overhanging limb, and the staff was dragged from his nerveless. grasp; another, seeing its danger, returned under a hot fire and suc- ceeded in bearing it off, but was himself killed a few minutes later. At length it fell into the hands of the pursuers, after two of its guard had been killed and several wounded.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.