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 8
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The pressure of pursuit had now become so great that a heavy force was halted and put in a strong position, to check it. Towards this line Colonel Forrest's column dashed without halting, himself and Cooper in the lead, and fifty yards in advance. A withering volley from the enemy was poured down the narrow road, and Colonel For- rest 'and his horse fell to rise no more. Cooper's horse fell dead also, pinning him to the ground, helpless and unable to extricate himself. Up thundered the head of the column, but it was halted with the horses feet just short of the bodies in the road, and the action was fought out from this point. At length the enemy gave way, and Cooper was rescued by his comrades from his perilous position. In a few minutes a splendid-looking captured horse was brought back to him, and upon him he threw his saddle and was preparing to mount, when the noble animal, bleeding from a concealed wound, sank to the ground. Taking his saddle on his back, he pushed to the front to ob- tain a re-mount; he soon came upon an old, poor gray which some of the boys had exchanged with an accommodating prisoner, and on to him he mounted with many misgivings, but to a cavalryman he was de- cidedly better than no horse. He soon after overtook Major Tate, who had also been unhorsed, and he too mounted on to the old gray. At the first mud-hole the poor beast stuck fast, but at this instant the Major obtained a fresh horse from a comrade. Cooper extricated the fallen stud, and pushed forward in time to take part in the repulse of the famous sabre charge made in desperation by Grierson to hold his enemy in check. In the final charge an aid of General Grierson, mounted on a beautiful gray mare, passed in a few paces of him, and
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escaped a shot of his carbine to be killed a few minutes later by McCulloch's men, a short distance in the rear. He hurried after him on foot to obtain a mount, but on reaching the spot found that others had secured the prize, while the body of her gallant rider, de- spoiled and stripped, lay on the road-side, a victim to his own rashness, and a loser in the game he had played so harshly on the defenseless inhabitants in this section.
It was at this point that General Forrest and Major Tate killed five of the enemy, who set on them. Forrest was in the field in advance of his lines, and met the attack simply with his sabre at tierce. Aside from the necessity of a personal exhibition of courage before his little force, which was greatly outnumbered at this juncture, General For- rest was animated on this occasion by an avenging spirit, evoked by the death of his brother a few hours before, and he was little inclined to shrink from a personal encounter, however great the odds. At suc- cessive thrusts he killed three of his antagonists, his weapon burying itself to the hilt as he pushed his last victim from his horse. In the meantime, Tate dispatched the remaining two, winning, by his con- duct, promotion as Major. Forrest always had presence of mind enough to use his sabre at a thrust, an infinitely more dangerous pro- cedure than a cut, which is more easily parried and less effective at best.
Escort at Memphis.
In the attack on Memphis, the Escort was the first to break through the infantry camp to the right of the Hernando road, and soon after took a battery. . In this affair Cooper killed two of the enemy, at suc- cessive shots, while his horse was in full speed. One of these was a Dutchman, who might have escaped, but his habits of thrift detained him too long arranging his heavy knapsack and other accoutrements ; the other was a negro soldier, who fell in a few paces of his companion. After passing the battery, it was remanned, and a shot fired into the Escort tore off Tom McCord's leg and put thirteen grape shot into his mule. A regiment was ordered to charge, but being slow, the Es- . cort proposed to take it, and the General told them to go to work at it.
Their pistol practice soon told on the enemy, who abandoned their guns and aimed to make their escape across a field, in which a number of thein were overtaken and killed at a run.
But the crowning feat was yet to come. General Forrest, ever on
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the alert, sent Lieutenant George Cowan and Cooper to watch on the Hernando road, on the left. They had been on the ground but a short time, when a squadron of cavalry was seen approaching, but in the early morning light its character could'nt be made out. Lieuten- ant Cowan now rode forward to reconnoitre, when the officer in com- mand dashed upon him with drawn sabre, and forced him to retreat a short distance to where Cooper stood with his cocked carbine concealed behind a tent. As soon as Cowan cleared the way, Cooper fired, and his daring antagonist fell headlong from his horse. The facts were immediately reported to General Forrest, who started at once with the Escort to meet the movement. Taking advantage of the obscure light, the General led his men to a convenient position, and burst upon the enemy so impetuously that they were quickly borne backward and endeavored to escape. At the first dash Sam Donelson and Cooper broke for a crossing to intercept their retreat. Donelson being mounted on a fast horse, known throughout the command as the "Yaller Ram," was the first to reach the spot, and reined across the road ; horse and rider were quickly overthrown by the impetuous mass, but, fortunately for Donelson, he fell to the side of the road. As he lay stunned and bruised, a Federal officer reined in to give him the coup de grace with his pistol. At this critical moment Cooper reached the scene, and, seeing his comrade's peril, fired on his antagonist, re- peating the shot as he fell to make sure. At that instant another was bearing down on him with drawn sabre, and he had just time to club his Spencer rifle and deal his opponent a heavy blow in the face as his sabre grazed his head ; his own weapon was broken off at the breech by the force of the blow. He also gave number two a shot, for surety. He then leaped his horse across a pit and went to work on the passing horsemen with his pistols, of which he had four. After this party had passed, he descried two on foot, making off across the open field. As he galloped up in easy range, he called upon them to surrender ; he saw at once that the rearmost one meant fight, by the way he handled his gun, and as this one turned to fire, he killed him with his pistol while still in a gallop; the other threw up his hands and surren- dered. A great number of Federal dead were left on the scene of this combat, and of these Cooper had killed six or eight, at least.
The pistol was the favorite weapon with this corps, and, in fact, with all the Western cavalry; and a sabre charge, though formidable in appearance, had no terrors for the Escort. Lieutenant Nath. Boone,
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Jack Eaton, and a number of others, were splendid shots from horse- back, and in a close engagement made their marksmanship tell most effectively. Eaton rarely failed to bag three or four.
ERROR CORRECTED.
L IEUTENANT FRED. JAMES is credited, in the "Campaigns of { General Forrest," with the honor of capturing the enemy's pickets in the attack on Murfreesboro, July 13th, 1862. This service was most efficiently rendered by Captain Ed. Arnold, whose home was at this place, and to whom the locality was familiar. He had visited it a short time previously as a scout, and ascertained that there was a dis- sention between a Michigan and a Minnesota regiment which formed part of the garrison. The Minnesota men were unwilling to affiliate. with the negroes who flocked into the Michigan camp and were pro- tected, and they settled temporary trouble by moving out to a camp on The Captain made a hard ride to Altamont, and reported the facts to General Forrest. The General was not much inclined at first to make the venture, but when he became satisfied of the value of the opportunity presented by the division of the enemy's forces, he set about the task of their capture with characteristic nerve and boldness. The enemy's pickets were cut off and captured by Captain Arnold and a small detachment of the Eighth Texas, without giving any alarm. The reserve guards were also captured without alarm to the main camp. A sentinel was found walking his post at this place, and on being ordered to surrender, in- nocently replied that he was on guard and couldn't leave his post. He was rudely awakened to the difference between the theory and practice of war when loaded guns were presented at his head by hostile rebels.
ยท Stone river, a mile and a half from town.
After the capture of the pickets, General Forrest went with the ad- vance and took post at the corner of the college lot, where he aimed to cut off one hundred and fifty of Colonel Wharton's Texans for the attack on the Michigan encampment, but miscounted, and only sent one hundred on this errand. The Colonel, not being aware of the mistake, was a good deal disconcerted after the charge at finding that . he was fifty men short, and supposed they were killed or captured.
Lieutenant James was selected as a guide in the attack on Hewitt's
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Battery, which service he most gallantly performed; but he was not concerned in the capture of the picket post.
In consequence of the part taken by Captain Arnold in the capture of Murfreesboro, his family was afterwards subjected to a most brutal course of treatment, systematically carried out for six months, by a U'nion regiment from East Tennessee. One of his daughters was assaulted, and received a pistol wound from which she never fully re- covered. The members of the family were confined to the house, and their ears were daily regaled with the foul and dirty language of camp, often addressed purposely to insult. These things are not recorded with pleasure, but only to show the nature of the warfare waged in some instances against the defenseless, and as such they belong to history.
A Linen Duster as a White Flag.
During this engagement a force of the enemy was fortified at Maney's, where they held a number of the citizens as prisoners, among them Wallace McDowell. During the heat of the fight he noticed that the Federals were badly alarmed, and seemed at a loss to know what to do. He thereupon called out to them that they had better surrender, or they would all be killed. They said they were anxious to surrender, but didn't know how to go about it, as they had no white flag along. He quickly relieved their distress by pulling off his linen duster, none too white, and hoisting it on a stake. This had the desired effect at once, and many poor souls on both sides were made happy.
CAMP CHASE LETTER.
[THE Camp Chase Letter to the Richmond Enquirer gives such a graphic sketch of life inside of prison walls, that we are sure it will be read with the ame interest by our readers as ourselves ; besides, it is a contribution to history which will bear fixing in a more permanent form. The offenses which occasioned he imprisonment of these defenseless old men are not stated, but it is evident 'hat the punishment was harsh.]
To the Editors of the Enquirer-Gentlemen :
H AVING been a prisoner for some ten months, and knowing the deep interest felt in our welfare by our Government, our citi- zens, and our gallant comrades whose good fortune it is to be yet in
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the field, I avail myself of a passing opportunity to send you "install- ment first" of "Our Correspondence from the North." I reached Camp Chase, under the administration of one Lieutenant-Colonel Po- ten, a Hessian in character as in name. The prisons were crowded and filthy under his administration. For trivial offenses on the part of individuals, he would condemn whole barracks to reduced rations- thus clearing from his Government several hundred dollars per diem, which he pockets of course. In some cases he would order the sutler- stands closed entirely. At one time, an ordinary three-cent stamp was sold for eighty-five cents, in Federal currency ; and men scrambled over the scanty supply of fuel to pick off oak bark, which was used as a sub- stitute for tobacco. Lee Polk, of Maury co., Tenn., was shot down while going to the yard-gate to get a package promised him by an un- derling. He lived twenty-four hours, and his last words were, "I am a murdered man " The surgeon in charge, a humane man, under item of " Remarks," in his Monthly Report, entered opposite Polk's name. " Murdered by a sentinel." For this he was arrested and removed from his place, to make way for a more tractable and less conscientious indi- vidual. In February last, however, Poten was removed, and since then the post has been commanded by Colonel W. P. Richardson, of the Twenty-fifth O. V. I. His regiment is in Grant's army. The reg- iment on duty here is the Eighty-eighth O. V. I., under Colonel J. W. Neff. They have never seen any service but this-guarding prison- ers-and their gleaming muskets are guiltless of shedding any blood but that of the helpless and unarmed. Richardson, however, began at once the most beneficial changes. The ration was increased, the hospital re- modeled with improved ventilation, considerable additions were made to the quarterly requisitions for medicine, the inclosures were greatly enlarged, and the cabins refitted. A stream of water was arranged to be turned through the prisons each day, and effectually remove the old arrangement by which the sewerage was managed, and wonderfully ad- ding to our comfort and healthfulness. At once the spirits of the men improved, and since then we cannot reasonably complain as a body- for, of course, individual grievances occur now and then. There are now some four thousand prisoners-there are one hundred and fifty officers, two hundred citizens, and the remainder are privates. In. each class are representations from every State and every army of the Confederacy. Why is not something done for these old gray-haired citizens? I look around me and see feeble and elderly men-noble
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martyrs in the cause of that dear country which it would seem "it is treason to love and death to defend." There is Chisholm, of Ala- bama, and old Judge Van Dyke, of Tennessee, and old Sheppard Duval, of Kentucky, a minister of God. Yonder is Jonathan Hud- dleston, of Preston co.,-Va., once in your State Senate, and near by the patriarchal form of Colonel George Bowman, of Strasburg, whose long and perfectly white beard imparts to him a particularly venerable appearance. Surely our authorities only need to be reminded that these gentlemen are here, subjected to unwarrantable privation, to de- mand at once their release, and if refused, to promptly seize hostages for them. We respect the citizen-Union or not-so long as he was content to be only a citizen, and make no interference in matters be- yond his sphere. These unfeeling vandals, however, whom we op- pose, snatch the aged and the weak, the grandsire, the widow, the sucking-babe, the maiden (see Sherman's vile order sending four hundred poor employes of a Georgia factory north of the Ohio). No age, no sex, furnishes exemption. We who are soldiers will bear our lot firmly, we will do it cheerfully, but we reach forth our hands to you, from these gloomy walls, and implore you to act in behalf of these victims of a ruthless and cruel injustice. The so-called officers who have applied for that terrible humbug, "The Yankee Oath," amount to a small fraction, without influence, and many of them are only applicants to get out and go immediately South. There is one Lieutenant who heard the other day that his young sister, without money and without friends, had been banished by Sherman, whose hellish infamy is blacker than Butler's or McNeil's. Said he : "Even now I will stand firm, and put my trust in the prompt action of my Government." Speak again, sirs, in the thunder tones of truth, that these wrongs may be stopped, and some effort be made to right our cruel wrongs.
There is no general officer here. The most distinguished officers with us are Colonel O'Brien, of the Thirteenth Mississippi, who was captured on the parapet of Fort Saunders, in Longstreet's memorable charge ; Colonel Josey, of Arkansas, who is still suffering from his wound; Majors Calmees and Green, of Virginia, one of the cavalry and one of the engineer corps; and Colonel Wm. Hawkins, of the noted " Scouts of Middle Tennessee." At this capture the whole North- ern press villified and malinged this gallant young soldier, who was fresh from college walls when the war broke out; but Rosecrans him-
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self vindicated his claim to be treated as a prisoner of war. When two hundred and fifty officers left for Fort Delaware, in March, he was detained by special order, to punish him for repeated and persistent at- tempts to escape ; and the Yankees then spread, themselves, the report that he was completely subdued, to weaken, if possible, his influence ; but, since then, month after month has passed, and he is yet "the brightest, the truest, and the dearest" of our throng. His pen and voice have enlivened for us the weary hours, and his songs are the most popular we sing. One is the Marsellaise of our prison; and the authorities have at length tabooed it. I send you a copy of it-" The Triple-Barred Banner ;" also, one of his poems, published recently in your Cincinnati namesake, "The Guerrilla's Serenade," which, before publication, however, was emasculated of its very pointed, patriotic al- lusions. The Colonel has devoted himself to the sick, has organized a corps of volunteer nurses, established a hospital fund, and, by his per- sonal popularity and influence in the States of the border, has had numberless contributions forwarded to alleviate the condition of the sick and needy. We have no chaplains, old Parson Duval being too old for service, and Captain Phillips, of Staunton, being a victim of
. bronchitis. Colonel Hawkins, a lay member, has supplied with noble and ceaseless efforts the vacancy, and often have I seen him soothing our poor, forlorn boys in their dying moments, praying tearfully be- side them, or leaning tenderly over them to catch their last messages of expiring affection ; and I send you a list obtainedfrom him of the deaths this year, at this place. Your publication of it will be, to many, the first announcement that their dear ones are no more. We are per- mitted to have preaching every Sunday, and, rather than have the Federal chaplain come and deal out to us his blatant abolitionism and low befoulings of our cause and country, Colonel.H. speaks to us him- self. The last time he painted, with really wonderful orative power,
. the great naval fight off Cherbourg, and when his hundreds of auditors stood well-nigh breathless about him, " So," said he, " the Alabama of the soul must go down before the flaming port-holes of the Kearsage of sin. All would be lost, but God sends to us his Son and this dear book, this holy yacht, which comes 'like a thing of life and light' to bear us to the Land of Safety." The effect was electric, and, in fact, a deep religious feeling prevails where once there was so much idleness and folly, and daily prayer-meetings are now held.
A number of men are now here who were paroled at Port Hudson
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and Vicksburg. Have they not been exchanged for once ? Others are here who in 1863 signed, some of them, as many as three exchange rolls. Cannot this swindling process in some way be stopped ? or in some way counterplanned? There is a good deal of apprehension, 100, about our Confederate money. We could not refund it as re_ quired, being in durance vile. Will there be any provision made for our benefit ? Some men have several hundred dollars, and it is their ali.
And now, good-bye. The voice started from this house of bondage may not reach you, but if it does, let it say to you and to all that we are firm, hopeful and strong. We hope to come back to you better men and better soldiers. Our hopes, our prayers, are all with you, and, in the stern words of our prison poet :
" Go say to all our brothers, still wage your fight sublime ; For fast our car of triumph rolls along the grooves of Time ;
' For God and Right,' still form in might, your proud and peerless band, And Freedom's gleaming crown shall yet bedeck our native land."
Truly yours, 1 CAMP CHASE, OHIO, August 21, 1864.
EDGAR H. RANSOM, of N. C.
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EARLY WESTERN HISTORY
PRESIDENT ANDREW JACKSON.
Characteristic Letter from the Old Hero to General Richard G. Dunlap.
General Richard G. Dunlap, Knoxville, Tenn .- My Dear Sir :-
I HAVE just received your letter of the 30th ult., and snatch a mo- ment from public duty to reply to it. I am happy to learn that your health is improving, whilst I regret to hear that it has been feeble. If my good wishes for your vigorous health will give it, I send them with great sincerity. As I have but a moment to write, you will excuse my brevity on the various points of your letter.
Whilst it is pleasing to hear that the organization of my Cabinet meets with the approbation of Tennessee, as well the whole Union, I cannot omit a passing notice on your remarks on this subject, as it respects Major Eaton. It is this : "Major Eaton leaves the War De- partment by the consent of all parties." In this you are badly in- formed. He leaves it with the great regret of a large majority of the army and citizens of this place who, without regard to politics, ten- dered him a dinner, which he declined. This was not offered to any other of the resigned Cabinet. Great regret has been expressed by many of the citizens of Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and Indiana, to which you may add my own; whilst all approve the high, honor- able feelings that gave rise to Mr. Van Buren's and Major Eaton's resignations when they found harmony in the Cabinet could not be maintained. I fear, my friend, you have been reading and giving too much credence to the slang of General Duff Green's and other opposition papers, to be correctly informed as to the facts here. The plan of Duff Green & Co. is to slander, and if they could, draw from me every honest man in whom I ought and have confidence; and.it is now well known here that if Major Eaton could have been made the supple tool of Mr. Calhoun and become the enemy of Mr. Van Buren without cause, he, with Major Lewis, would have been ranked with the first and best men of our country. They, however, were too
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honest to be bought, and too virtuous to do injustice to Mr. Van Buren, who, permit me to say, has more honesty and candor, talent and frankness, than a hundred such as Mr. Calhoun. I never acted with a more frank and candid man than Mr. Van Buren. It is said that he is the great magician. I believe it; but his only wand is good com- mon sense, which he uses for the benefit of his country. You will open your eyes at this declaration, and perhaps not believe it. As to the depravity and duplicity of Mr. Calhoun, before I am done I will give you some facts ; but, before I do, one passing word as to Major Lewis; and, first, I most sincerely regret the language used with regard to him, without pointing to some fact that could justify it. I have seen such slang in opposition papers; I have heard it from Calhoun's tools in Nashville; but coming from General Dunlap, without detail- ing some facts that would justify it, has really astonished me. I have known him long ; I have known him well. He is honest and faithful, as far as I know and believe, and attends to his own, without inter- fering with others', business.
You must surely have been taking the slang of Duff Green, the Philadelphia Sentinel, and the City Journal, for your proof, without looking to the positive refutation of the whole in the Globe and Phila- delphia Enquirer. If I am right in this, then you might well believe all that Arnold says about Judge White and Mr. Lea; and I am sure you do not believe one word of Arnold's slander. The others are as foul; for I assure you, of my own knowledge, I do know of several instances where General Duff Green has wilfully stated falsehoods. . But suppose I was to send Major Lewis home, do you think that would appease my political, unprincipled enemies? No, no; I must send home Major Barry, Colonel Campbell, and every other friend of mine that will not become the pliant, supple tool of Mr. Calhoun, and the open enemy of the unoffending Van Buren, who it is pleasing to Duff Green to decry as a plotter, without proof, and who is as innocent of the plots charged as you are. General Dunlap could not ask me to bend to such humility ; and if he was to, I assure him I never part with well-tried friends to gratify my enemies, or for new ones. Therefore, for the present we'll neither part with Barry, Campbell, Smith, Ken- dall, Major Lewis. When any of them departs from the paths of honesty, sobriety, or truth, and it is made manifest to me, I will soon " send them home." Not before.
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