USA > Tennessee > The military annals of Tennessee. Confederate. First series: embracing a review of military operations, with regimental histories and memorial rolls, V.2 > Part 41
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REGIMENTAL HISTORIES AND MEMORIAL ROLLS.
J. R. Neal, Lieutenant-colonel; H. W. McElwee, Captain and Assistant Quar- termaster; F. J. Paine, Major; W. B. L. Reagan, Adjutant.
Co. A: W. C. Eblen, Captain; James Rodgers, First Lieutenant; Fred. A. I.e- noir, Second Lieutenant; J. C. White, Third Lieutenant. Eblen, Rodgers, and Lenoir, becoming disabled on a campaign in Kentucky in March, 1863, retired from the service, and T. J. Brown was appointed Captain and J. A. Work Lieu- tenant. Capt. Brown and Lieut. Work-the latter severely wounded at Chicka- mauga-being disabled, retired from the service, and G. A. Montgomery became Captain, and was in command of the company at the close of the war.
Co. B: R. F. Mastin, Captain; W. N. King, First Lieutenant; J. T. Vaughn, Second Lieutenant; J. M. King, Third Lieutenant. Lieut. W. N. King became disabled, resigned, and B. F. Hudson was appointed Lieutenant.
Co. C: W. P. Darwin, Captain; H. C. Collins, First Lieutenant; I. A. Armour, Second Lieutenant; John Thomasson, Third Lieutenant. Lieut. Thomasson was killed September 12, 1863, in battle at Leets's Tanyard, near Chattanooga, and his brother, W. P. Thomasson, was appointed Lieutenant to fill the vacancy. Lieut. Armour was killed in the battle at Fisher's Hill, Va., in 1864, and the vacancy was not filled.
Co. D: F. M. Murray, Captain; Thomas H. Mastin, First Lieutenant; - Campbell, Second Lieutenant; James Baine, Third Lieutenant. Capt. Murray was disabled from wounds, having lost his arm, and resigned. Thomas H. Mas- tin became Captain, and was in command of the company at the close of the war.
Co. E: Thomas S. Rumbaugh, Captain; Thomas Williams, First Lieutenant; William Williams, Second Lieutenant; W. P. Reed, Third Lieutenant. Capt. Rumbaugh was killed in battle October, 1864, near Morristown, Tenn., and Thos. Williams became Captain.
Co. F: Michael Staley, Captain; E. Eitson, First Lieutenant; D. F. Anderson, Second Lieutenant; Moses Anderson, Third Lieutenant.
On the 14th of March, 1863, Pegram's brigade, to which the Sixteenth Battal- ion had now been assigned, left the vicinity of Knoxville, Tenn., for a raid or campaign into Kentucky. The Sixteenth Battalion bore an honorable part in the several engagements with the enemy on this expedition at Danville, Kentucky River, Somerset, etc., recrossing to the south of Cumberland River on the morn- ing of March 31, 1863, having lost thirty-seven men.
About the 1st of June, 1863, the Sixteenth was joined by the Twelfth Battalion Tennessee Cavalry, under Major Geo. W. Daly, near Monticello, Ky., and soon after Col. E: W. Rucker was assigned to the command of both battalions, now bearing the name of the First Tennessee Legion.
During the summer's operations on the Cumberland River Col. Rucker, by his bold and rapid movements upon the enemy, infused a spirit of emulation and self- confidence into his officers and men, and gave a prestige to his command that was carried through the war. In July the command was recalled to East Tennessee to resist the raid of a large body of Federals under Sanders and Byrd.
In the latter part of August, 1863, Forrest withdrew our cavalry from Burnside's front to assist in meeting the advance of Rosecrans upon Gen. Bragg's position near Chattanooga. During the battle of Chickamanga and the several cavalry en- gagements immediately preceding and subsequent to the general engagement, the
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MILITARY ANNALS OF TENNESSEE.
Jegion sustained its well-earned reputation of "reliable," losing heavily in killed and wounded.
On the 17th of October, 1863, the legion, commanded by Col. Neal, in company with the First Georgia Cavalry (Col. Morrison), the Sixth Georgia Cavalry ( Col. Hart), the Third Confederate Cavalry (Col. Rice), and detached portions of other commands, all under Col. Morrison, in conjunction with Dibrell's brigade, left the right of Bragg's army to attack the enemy under Woolford, at Philadelphia, Tenn. After killing and capturing about one thousand of the enemy and driving the remainder north of the Tennessee River, the command held the line of the Tennessee River until the advance of Longstreet upon Burnside, at Knoxville. in November.
During Longstreet's campaign in East Tennessee the Sixteenth Battalion suf- fered severely, especially on the 2d of December, when Col. Neal, with the Six- teenth and detached portions of other commands, was ordered to harass and retard Sherman's advance as much as possible, the command being under fire the entire day.
On the 21st of March, 1864, Col. Rucker was transferred to the department of Mississippi, and soon after the legion was assigned to Gen. J. C. Vaughn's brigade, and constituted a part of his brigade during the remainder of the war.
In the summer of 1864 the brigade was ordered to the Valley of Virginia. The discipline and self-confidence of the Sixteenth previously acquired carried it with success through Early's terrible campaign, and the same Tennessee battle-yell that they had learned in Tennessee and Kentucky was heard amid the rough hills of old Maryland and from the beautiful slopes of the great Valley of Virginia. The Sixteenth Battalion buried its gallant dead killed in battle at Piedmont, Winches- ter, Fisher's Hill, Darksville, Newtown, and Monocacy.
In September, 1864, the brigade was ordered back to East Tennessee and South- west Virginia, where we were in almost a continuous skirmish or fight with Gillem and Stoneman until the surrender of Lee. After the surrender of Lee the bri- gade crossed the mountains into North Carolina to join Johnston's army. After the surrender of Johnston it proceeded to Washington, Ga., and surrendered.
The history of the Sixteenth Battalion would be the history of the war in East Tennessee, Kentucky, and South-west Virginia. Its gallant dead lie buried on more than a hundred battle-fields, picket posts, and skirmish lines of the war. May they rest in peace! The survivors, some of them with bat one arm or one leg, are as good and true citizens of this republic as any that live between the two oceans.
Official. ] SIXTEENTH BATTALION TENNESSEE CAVALRY.
Lieutenant-colonel, John R. Neal; Major, F. J. Paine; Quartermaster, H. W. MeElwee; Sur- geon, S. P. Hood ; Adjutant, W. B. L. Reagan.
COMPANY A. Captains : T. J. Brown, Wilnam C. Eolen, and G. G. Montgomery. Kindrick, J. F., k. in action June 9, 1863. near Monticello.
COMPANY B. Captain, R. F. Mastin.
Goodwin, W. L., d. at Athens, Tenn., May 15, | Franklin. J. R., d. April 15, 1803, near Monti- 1863. cello, Ky.
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REGIMENTAL HISTORIES AND MEMORIAL ROLLS.
Foster, S. W., d. Nov. 15, 1862. at Athens, Tenn. | Metcalfe, Robert L., d. at Athens, Tenn., Fet. Ellis, J. L., k. in action June 9, 1363. 17, 1863.
COMPANY C. Captain, Wm. P. Darwin.
Whaley, T. E., k. accidentally, June 6, 1863, by ( Locke, D. L., d. Dec. 22, 1804, in hospital at the premature discharge of his gun. Bristol.
Miller, J. E., drowned March 28, 1863, in Dix River. Ky.
Armour, J. A. S., k. at Fisher's Hill, Va., Sept. 22, 1864.
Ferguson, A. L., k. at Morristown, Tenn., Oet. 28, 1864.
Hail, A. J., d. Jan. 4, 1805, in Ashe county, N. C.
Crawford, T. H., d. Nov. 25, 1864.
Jackson, G. W., d. in prison.
Fondren, G. W., d. in prison.
Swafford, Abram, d. in prison.
Robinson, John, k. Sept. 26, 1864, in the Valley of Virginia.
COMPANY D. Captains : Benjamin T. Brown and F. M. Murray
Hamby, Reuben, d. Jan. 29, 1863, in hospital at | Beam, Thomas, k. in action at Winchester, Va .. Knoxville. July 24, 1864.
* Loden, John, d. May 20, 1863, in Cumberland county, Tenn.
Burlington, Hurst, d. May 1, 1864.
COMPANY E. Captain, Thomas S. Rumbaugh.
Finchen, Alexander, d. some time in May.
Quarrels, Eli, d. some time in October.
Pruitt, G. A., d. some time in Feb., 1863.
Rumbuagh, Capt. Thos. S., k. in action Nov. 12, 1864, at Morristown, Tenn.
Bowlin, T. C., k. July 24, 1SC4. Farnsworth, Isaac, k. July 24, 1304.
Hoyal, David, d. some time in November, 1804. in prison at Fort Delaware.
COMPANY F. Captain, Michael Staley.
Mahan, Lewis, k. accidentally. Powers, Harvey, k. Sept. 30, 1864, at Port Re- Edens, Rott., k. accidentally. public, Va.
From Forrest's Campaigns. SIXTEENTH BATTALION TENNESSEE CAVALRY.
FIELD AND STAFF OFFICERS. J. R. Neal, Lieutenant-colonel; W. B. L. Reagan, Lieutenant and Adjutant; H. W. McElwee. Assistant Quartermaster; Joseph Paine, Major.
COMPANY OFFICERS.
Co. A : James Rodgers, Captain; Frederick A. Lenoir, First Lieutenant; G. A. Montgomery and W. C. Pride, Second Lieutenants.
Co. B: R. F. Mastin, Captain; W. N. King, First Lieutenant; J. T. Vaughn and J. M. King Second Lieutenants.
Co. C: W. P. Darwin, Captain ; H. C. Collins, First Lieutenant ; - Armour and - Thom- asson, Second Lieutenants.
Co. D: F. M. Murray, Captain; Thomas H. Mastin, First Lieutenant; - Campbell and James Baine, Second Lieutenants.
Co. E: Thomas Rumbaugh, Captain; Thomas Williams, First Lieutenant; William Wi !!- iams and W. P. Reed. Second Lieutenants.
Co. F: Mike Stoley, Captain; E. Eitson, First Lieutenant; - Monegham and Moses An- derson, Second Lieutenants,
Matheny, S. R. S., d. March 24, 1863, in Roane county, Tenn.
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MILITARY ANNALS OF TENNESSEE.
ALLISON'S SQUADRON, TENNESSEE CAVALRY.
COMPANY A. Captain, John H. Allison.
Gann, Edward, k. in action at Chickamauga, | Gann, Joseph, d. at Tunnell Hill, Ga., Jan. 5, Sept. 19, 1863. 1864. COMPANY B. Captain, J. S. Reece.
Hullet, William, k. at Chickamauga, Sept. 19, ; Newsom, R. H., k. at Chickamauga, Sept. 19, 1863. 1863.
Jones, James, k. at Chickamauga, Sept. 19, 1863.
COMPANY C. Captain, Robert V. Wright. Clay, Garrett, k. in action at Chickamauga, Sept. 19, 1863.
COMPANY G. Captain, William Harrison. .
Cook, E. G., k. at Denmark, Tenn., Sept. 1, [ Cook, V. G., k. at Denmark, Tenn., Sept. 1, 1862. 1862.
BALLENTINE'S CAVALRY.
Oficial.]
Colonel, John G. Ballentine.
COMPANY C. Captain, Edward Ethel Porter.,
Broheust, James C., d. Dec. 1, 1802, near Mem- | Rumsey, C. H., d. Oct. 3, 1862, in De Soto coun- phis. ty, Miss.
Brown, Jeremiah, d. Feb. 16, 1863, at Alton, Ill.
Howell, John B., d. Dec. 2, 1863, at Alton, Ill.
Whitworth, Benjamin R., d. Jan. 5, 1863, near Okolona, Miss.
Chandler, D. W., d. of an accidental gunshot wound.
Wills, W. A., d. Aug. 7, 1864, from wounds.
Downing, W. R., d. in hospital at Atlanta, Ga., from wound received in action, May 28, 1864, near Dallas, Ga. No braver cr better soldier ever lived. He was from Schuyler county, Mo.
The following are memoranda appearing under the heading of " Record of Events: "
"This company was engaged with the enemy at Oxford, Miss., on the 3d of December. 1862. losing twelve men who were taken prisoners; and again at Water Valley, Miss., on the 4th of December, 1802, losing eight men-two wounded and six taken prisoners. It was with Maj .- gen. Van Dorn on his march from Grenada, Miss., to Bolivar, Tenn., and participated in the charge on the One Hundred and First Illinois Volunteers and the Twenty-seventh Illinois Volunteers. On the 21st of December, 1802, it took thirteen prisoners out of a block-house at Davis's Mills, Miss. The company left Charleston. Miss., on the 26th of January, 1863; left Okolona, Miss, on the 7th of February, 1863; and arrived at Columbia, Tenn., on or about Feb- ruary 26th.
"This company was engaged in skirmishing with the enemy in a recent raid upon Canton on the 16th, 17th, and the morning of the 18th.
" The squadron to which this company is attached was left to cover the retreat of Gen. Cos- by's brigade at - Creek on the evening of the 17th. The position assigned the squadron was held until ten A.M. on the 18th, when, by a peremptory order from Gen. Adams, com- manding the brigade, it fell back slowly in good order, and rejoined the command at four P.M. near Canton. The force of the enemy was generally estimated at twelve thousand.
"Since last muster this company has marched from Tuscaloosa, Ala., to Adairsville, Ga., about two hundred miles, where it was engaged with the enemy several hours. At Dallas, Ga, it was put into the ditches, and remained there several hours.
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REGIMENTAL HISTORIES AND MEMORIAL ROLLS.
" On May 28, 1864, the company was formed on foot, in connection with the regiment and brigade, and ordered to assault the enemy's works in conjunction with Gen. Bate's division of infantry, which it did, driving the enemy from their works, having one man mortally wounded and one seriously. From that time till the 19th of June it was engaged in several skirmishes. On the 19th of June it was with the regiment ordered to hold a bridge across Knowles Creek, which it did for nine hours under constant fire both of small arms and artil- lery, haring four men wounded. We have been in a skirmish or fight nearly every day since. GEORGE R. MERRITT,
"[Signed]
" First Lieutenant Commanding Co. C, Ballentine's Cavalry."
Dated June 30, 1864.
This company was mustered into service by authority of the Secretary of War, dated Rich- mond, February 20, 1862. The authority says :
" If you succeed in raising a company of cavalry, the men furnishing their own arms and horses, it will not be attached to any battalion or regiment, but will be held, nevertheless, subject to the order of superior officers.
" [Signed]
JUDAH P. BENJAMIN, "Secretary of War."
This company was created a partisan company by recommendation of Gen. Beauregard May 28, 1862; was authorized to increase its numbers to a battalion or regiment by Brig.gen. Villepigue July 11, 1862; was ordered to report to Col. Ballentine in 1862, since which time it has been claimed by him as Co. B of his regiment.
COMPANY D. Captains: John Engene Fola and J. A. Anderson.
Bagwell, W. D., k. in action at Holly Springs, | Fola, Capt. John Engene, d. May 10, 1863, at Miss., Dec. 20, 1862. Columbia, Tenn., from wounds received the Benoist, C. J., d. Dec. 20, 1862. night of the 7th of May, 1863.
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COMPANY E. Captains: William W. MeDowell and D. J. Jernigan. Stathope, Reeves W., k. May 28, 1864, near Dallas, Ga.
The following memoranda appear under the heading of " Record of Events:"
" G. W. Randolph, Secretary of War, instructed me to apply to the commander of the divis- ion of the army for authority to raise a company on the 10th of July. I made application to Gen. Villepigue, and he gave me a commission July 27 to raise a company for three years or the war.
"[Signed]
D. J. JERNIGAN. "Captain Commanding Co. C."
FORREST'S (OLD) REGIMENT, CAVALRY BY D. C. KELLEY, NASHVILLE, TENN.
NOTWITHSTANDING the many changes through which this regiment passed from its first organization in Memphis, Tenn., October, 1861, to its surrender at Gainesville, Ala., May 11, 1865, there was persistent refusal to accept any other name than that which heads this sketch, or to be known by any number.
Its field officers were as follows: N. B. Forrest, Lieutenant-colonel; D. C. Kel- ley, Major; C. A. Schuyler, Adjutant; Dr. S. M. Van Wick, of Huntsville, Ala., Surgeon; J. P. Strange, of Memphis, Sergeant-major.
As first organized the regiment was composed of Capt. Overton's Company (A), Brandenburg, Ky., some ninety men; Capt. Logan's Company (G), Harrodsburg, Ky., forty-five men; Kelley Troopers (Company F), Madison county, Ala., ninety men; Capt. Trewhitt's Company (E), Gadsden, Ala., eighty men; Capt. Bawt's
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MILITARY ANNALS OF TENNESSEE.
Company (B), South Alabama, eighty men; Capt. Milner's Company (H), Mar- shall county, Ala., eighty-five men; Capt. Gould's Company (D), Texas, ninety men; and Capt. May's Company (C), Memphis, Tenn., ninety men.
Later, as will be seen by the roster at the close of this sketch, it became by de- grees almost entirely a regiment of West Tennessee troops.
Immediately after the organization of the regiment six of the eight companies then composing it, under command of Maj. Kelley, were put in motion for Fort Donelson. The first expedition was to the neighborhood of Cadiz, Ky., to protect an engineer party of sappers and miners, who were engaged in the obstruction of the Cumberland River a little above Cadiz. The only remarkable feature of this first expedition was that the whole conmand was fed and foraged by the generous Ken- tuckians for two weeks, as a compliment to their presence, without charge to the Con- federate Government. Lieut .- col. Forrest arrived with the remainder of the reg- iment about the time this expedition was over. In this brief sketch we can only give the names of the engagements in which the regiment took part; Erst of which was a cavalry attack upon the gun-boat "Conestoga," in which the victory re- mained with the sharp-shooters, the gun-boat retiring after a combat lasting sev- eral hours. This occurred in the Cumberland River near Canton, Ky. This had been preceded, by two days, by the capture of a transport on the Ohio River loaded with Government supplies, by a battalion of the regiment under Moj. Kel- ley; and was quickly followed by the brilliant affair of Sacramento, Ky., in which Forrest, in cooperation with Col. Starnes, utterly routed a superior body of Fed- eral cavalry, and by his reckless daring set the key-note of his future greatness as a cavalry leader. Maj. Kelley, in notes written soon after the occurrence, thus depicts Col. Forrest as he appeared in this combat and chase of Sacramento: "It was the first time I had seen the Colonel in the face of the enemy, and when he rode up to me in the thick of the action I could scarcely believe him to be the man I had known for several months. His face was flushed till it bore a striking resemblance to a painted Indian warrior's; and his eyes, usually mild in expres- sion, were blazing with the intense glare of a panther springing upon its prey. In fact, he looked as little like the Forrest of our mess-table as the storm of De- cember resembles the quiet of June."
Soon after the regiment was ordered to Fort Donelson to meet the advance of the Federal army on that devoted post. They reached there Feb. 10th. On the 11th a battalion of the regiment under Maj. Kelley successfully held in check the advance of the Federal troops from the direction of Fort Henry, so that on the next day it was found that the heavier column of the enemy had changed to a par- allel road. Here, on the morning of the 12th, Col. Forrest was joined by the battalion under Maj. Kelley, and a dashing charge made, which delayed all far- ther advance of the enemy for that day. About three o'clock the cavalry were ordered within the fortifications. The men who had been in the saddle for two days, and fighting a great part of the time, worked on the fortifications all night. Next day a part of the regiment, armed with long-range guns, did excellent work pitted against the sharp-shooters of the enemy.
It seems well for us to correct some of the false impressions made by writers in reference to a number of events in the battle of Fort Donelson. General Lew Wallace, in the Century for December, 1884, in speaking of Feb. 14, says: "The supineness of Gen. Floyd all these years remains incomprehensible. A vigorous
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REGIMENTAL HISTORIES AND MEMORIAL ROLLS.
attack on the morning of the 13th might have thrown Grant back on Fort Henry." Gen. Wallace, as well as other writers, in mentioning the fact, seems to forget that Gen. Floyd himself only arrived that morning, and parts of his own command were not in place early on the morning of the 14th; so that he had no advantage over the Federal forces in the matter of concentration that would have enabled him to strike the blow here contemplated. This much is due the generalship at Fort Donelson, which needs all to be said in favor of it that can be truthfully said.
The delay of the Federal forces, helped so timely by the cavalry, enabled the Confederates to complete their earth-works, and conduced to the brilliant victor. of the 15th. On that day from 4 A.M. to 6 r.M. Forrest's Regiment was in the thick of the fight. A movement upon the part of this regiment turned the Fed- eral right, and was the beginning of their first recoil. Later in the day, in two separate charges-one led by Col. Forrest, the other by Maj. Kelley-they com- pleted the capture of two different batteries, the batteries and their support har- ing been seriously crippled by our infantry and artillery.
We turn to a later point in the battle-one graphically described by Gen. Wal- lace-indicating the time when the Federal brigade formed into line in the deep gorge just in front of a dense thicket, and was immediately attended by a battery which came up on a run and swung across the road. From the description of the place and occurrence, this was just after the writer had led a successful charge on a battery situated near a white house on the Wynn's Ferry road, capturing three guns. He was seated at the head of his command in full view of the Federal bat- tery at the time it was swung into position. Five minutes later, under orders, his regiment of cavalry was moved under cover, and their place taken by a division of infantry. The ten-minutes fight, which Gen. Wallace regarded as a serious matter, did not amount to more than a five-minutes skirmish, without effect on either side. He represents the Federals as pausing on the approach of Gen. Grant. I know that the Confederates retired under orders, not on account of any advance of the Federal forces. While one cannot be sure of time on the field of battle, I am inclined to place this event a full hour later than Gen. Wallace places it-viz., 3 o'clock in the afternoon. There was no fighting from this time on our left and the Federal right.
We now turn to Gen. Wallace, and what occurred on our right in reference to the attack of the Federal General Chas. F. Smith. It is true, while the trenches on our extreme right were deserted, or almost so, that Gen. Smith did succeed in finding a lodginent in a detached portion of our works. It is equally true that on the return of the Confederate brigade Smith's advance was not only rendered impossible, but only the coming on of night prevented his entire dislodgment.
Gen. Wallace is correct when he says that it was Gen. Pillow's inflation with the idea of an easy vietory next day which led to a change of the plans after the Confederates had won the ground necessary to their evacuation of Fort Donelson. It is equally true, however, that Gen. Pillow but represented the feeling of the whole army, perhaps with the exception of Gen. Buckner. It was not till after night-fall that Gen. Buckner's gloomy view of the situation began to impress it- self upon the other Generals. When Forrest was called to a council of the Gen- erals early in the night, and on his return reported that it was believed at head- quarters that the enemy had regained the ground from which they had been driven during the day, the writer earnestly protested, on the ground that he had remained
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MILITARY ANNALS OF TENNESSEE.
with the cavalry gathering up arms on the battle-field till after sunset, and left it without seeing any movement upon the part of the Federals to regain the position east of the Wynn's Ferry road. Forrest declared that he was satisfied that the tires which the scouts supposed to be camp-fires of the Federal army were in real- ity only rekindled tires of the night before renewed by the wounded men left upon the field to prevent freezing in the bitter cold of the night, Scouts were also sent out from our head-quarters, and made similar reports; but nothing could relieve the somber view of the situation taken by Gen. Buckner. The contagion canght Gen. Floyd, and finally penetrated the emotional nature of Gen. Pillow, and led to the conduct which will ever stain the one as unsuited to military affairs and the other as totally deficient in soundness of judgment.
Gen. Pillow had won high credit as a soldier during the day, and had fought his men with eminent success, unsurpassed in any action of the war. Gens. Floyd and Buckner had been almost useless throughout the day, and now in the evening paralyzed Gen. Pillow with their fears.
Besides the above proof that Gen. Wallace is mistaken when he claims that he occupied on the night of the 15th the ground which McClernand had occupied the night before, secondly, I know that in riding out with cavalry and artillery men over the frozen ground-many of whom in closing up brought their horses to a gallop, so that the hoof-beats could have been easily heard a mile in the stillness of the night-no Federal gun, even of a picket, was heard to break upon their march. Further, the writer paused at day-break within half a mile of the ground occupied by McClernand's head-quarters, and remained till 8 o'clock in the morn- ing without seeing or hearing any indications of the presence of any Federal forces. There was not a Captain in the Confederate army at the close of the war, with four years experience, who would have hesitated in deciding that the army from Fort Donelson could have begun its march at any time from 4 o'clock in the afternoon to midnight without having attracted the notice of the Federal forces, and could have been eight or ten hours in advance before the enemy would have discovered the movement or begun in earnest a pursuit.
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