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 51
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During the month of October the batteries proceeded with the army from Love- joy's Station, through Palmetto, Villa Rica, Cedartown, Gads len, Blountsville, Moulton, Courtland, and Tuscumbia, crossing the Tennessee River at Florence, Ala. It was now November, and three inches of snow fell. A halt of eight or ten days was made, and Marshall's Battery was placed on picket duty six miles east of Florence, on the Pulaski road and near Shoal Creek. No enemy ap- peared, but the battery men, observing that the site was that of an extensive plan- tation residence recently burned, and that the ground where the smoke-house had stood indicated long use as such, seraped up the earth saturated with salt brine, and, boiling it in water, obtained several pounds of fine salt about the color of brown sugar. The same weight of fine gold would not have been more appreci- ated. Each man took his share, and carried it with himself as carefully as be would diamonds in a foreign land.
At Florence the battery assisted, for the second time, at a military execution
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MILITARY ANNALS OF TENNESSEE.
and, as before at Shelbyville, not a man was present except those under compul- sion of superior authority. Wholesale killing on the line of battle had not made men blood-thirsty, though they might witness a legal execution without much civ- 'ilized emotion.
About the 20th the artillery moved with Lee's corps toward Nashville, by way of Waynesboro, Mount Pleasant, and Columbia, arriving near the latter place on the 25th. The infantry was halted about three miles south of Columbia, on the Mount Pleasant road, and Marshall's Battery was ordered to the front. The guns were put in position on a gentle elevation, which was the site of Judge William Pitt Martin's fine residence. Fire was opened on the intrenched line of the ene- my's works, about twelve hundred yards distant. This line, running directly across the Columbia pike, was held by the enemy's infantry alone. No reply was made to the artillery except by the fire of small arms. The battery remained in this position two days, when it proceeded to Columbia, the enemy having retired through town and intrenched on the other side of Duck River on the high ground about three hundred yards from the bank. Judge Martin's brick mansion saffered serious injury from the close proximity of the guns in action, and the walls, short- ly after the firing, were kept upright only by large braces on the outside. The Judge was cheerful and hospitable, notwithstanding he was evidently contributing more to the cause than should have been the average assessment. The battery men long remembered with admiration the resolute intrepidity of the Judge's venerable mother, who lived in a large frame house about midway between the opposing lines of battle, but who had been obliged to leave hurriedly the day be- fore and take refuge at the residence of Gen. Pillow, brother-in-law of her son, the Judge. On the morning after the first firing she, with her husband, the ven- erable George M. Martin, returned in a buggy from Gen. Pillow's to her son's place, where the battery was stationed, and declared she must make a visit to her house, though the enemy still held their lines and the Confederate line was mo- mentarily extending. During a lull in the firing four or five cannoneers prof- fered to accompany the brave matron. She would listen to no remonstrance, not even her husband's; and, going forward on the pike a few steps, the little party turned down a lane to the right, and when opposite the house three or four hun- dred yards off, the men took down the high fence, and all walked demurely, single file, the lady leading, to the rear door of the house, and entered. Why the ene- my did not fire was a wonder, as the whole circumstance occurred in plain view of both lines; but perhaps they were old soldiers, and appreciated the situation. The party soon emerged from the honse loaded with such articles as the lady di- rected to take, and returned safely to their point of departure. The lady's escort felt themselves amply compensated for their services by many an article of cloth- ing, which their kind benefactress bestowed upon them in a manner so liberal as to be quite equal to their wants.
Early the following morning the battery was ordered into Columbia, and soon afterward to the binff just above the town. The position was approached under a pretty heavy artillery-fire from the other side, but no casualties occurred till the inten:lel spot was gained. A few hours thereafter, while the guns were served as rapidly as possible against the hostile fire, Col. R. F. Beckham, conman ling the artillery regiment of Lee's corps, was struck on the temple ant mortally wounded by ? fragment of rock driven by the enemy's shot from some of the numerous
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bowlders with which the vicinity of the battery was thickly studded. Citizens sought shelter as they could from the wild fire of the enemy. No casualties took place among the men of the battery, but several horses were killed, and all the teams were in poor condition after the extended march of seven or eight hundred miles. After the retirement of the enemy toward Nashville the battery was placed in position on the so-called Mount Parnassus, in town, where perhaps a thousand prisoners were held, and the artillery officers were instructed to make strenuous efforts to obtain horses to supply the places of those killed and disabled. None could be had, however, either by force or persuasion.
On the 18th of December the report of the appalling disaster at Nashville was received. Fragments of the great army poured into Columbia. Mud- bespattered, hungry, and exhausted officers, as they arrived, were ready to lie down to sleep and rest as soon as any sort of shelter could be found. Whole droves of artillery-horses-ready harnessed, but starving and covered with mud -- traversed the roads. Marshall's Battery was at once furnished with eight or ten horses to each piece and each caisson. The Captain was then ordered to place one section on the bank of the river near the crossing, so as to cover the entrance to the pontoon-bridge, and another section similarly sitnated, in command of Lient. Cockrill, at the railroad bridge below town. The Captain was privately and pos- itively ordered to fire upon the mob on the north side of the river in case the de- moralized rabble, eager to cross, should overpower the guard at the bridge. The battery stood in position under this terrible order more than twenty-four hours. The officer delivering the order said the commanding General declared the scat- tered thousands of soldiers must be restored to their proper commands before they crossed Duck River; otherwise the army was lost. But happily, thrice hap- pily for the battery, the disintegrated elements of the army still retained the im- pulses of veterans as they were, and not the least attempt at violence was made about the guard at the bridge. The men of the various commands were assigned quickly to their proper places by their respective officers, and as the column touched the south bank of the river it was a perfectly organized force. The gloom of the recent overthrow indeed hunng like a pall over the old army that had fought with historic honor on so many battle-fields, but neither discipline nor power had vanished.
On the 221, before light, Marshall's Battery was ordered to report to Gien. Clay- ton, whose division was halted a mile or two out on the Pulaski road. Only two field-batteries belonging to the infantry now moved with the army, about eighty guns having been lost in front of Nashville. One of the batteries saved was Cer- put's, but it was unserviceable. The column of the retiring army reached Pulaski after dark, amidst a terrific storm of sleet. Before morning the weather became intensely cold. Several of the jaded horses fell dead at the pieket-rope, but the number of teams, such as they were, now exceeded the requirements of the few guns to be transported. The men of the battery crowded into a four-story factory, and all night the infantry poured along the streets, filling probably every house in town, as fires could not be had in the streets.
About nine o'clock on the following day the battery moved with Clayton's ali- vision, and made only nine miles that day over ground frozen enough to seriously impede travel.
On Christmas-eve the battery forded Shoal Creek, the men wading in four feet
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of water, and proceeded to within three miles of Bainbridge, where was the in- tended place of crossing the Tennessee River. After dark an order was received from Lient .- col. Hoxton, commanding the artillery regiment of Lee's corps since the death of Col. Beckham, to move the battery to a point five miles distant, below Bainbridge, on the bank of the river, and there to resist, if need be, the ascent of gun-boats. The gun-carriages were now drawn by ten horses each, and it was doubtful whether the teams, after the terrible usage of the last week or two, would be able to move the battery over the soft ground. However, after feeding they did better than could have been expected. The column moved from the miry fields into the Florence road, and proceeded toward that town past the picket-sta- tion occupied by the battery just before the advance on Nashville. The guide then turned into the field to the left, but as a dense fog prevailed about ten o'clock he declared himself unable to find the road. The company therefore bivouacked where they were, and at daylight followed the guide a mile and a half farther, the last mile through the woods, and duly arrived at the point of lookout. It was a high bluff upon the north side of the river, perhaps three hundred feet above the water. This point was approached by a moderately level road through the woods; but on each side, both above and below the promontory, was a deep, dense- ly-wooded ravine, produced by small branches emptying into the river. There was barely level ground broad enough on the brink of the cliff fronting the river to place the guns at proper intervals. The ravines on each side were impassable to horses on account of the steepness of their sides near the river; but farther back they could be crossed. A rivulet ran along the bottom of each. To bring the water required for the sponge-buckets up the precipitous slopes was a severe task. From the rear a squad of cavalry could easily dash into and take the battery with- out resistance, as no infantry or other force held ground in the vicinity. With these reservations the spot was admirable for its purpose. It commanded a view of the river two or three miles above and about twelve hundred yards below. At about this distance below the river disappeared to the right around a bluff similar to and a little higher than the one occupied. This bluff below the Captain and Lieut. Watson sometimes thought the better position of the two. It might have been less accessible, however. The ground was cleared off a little, just enough of the tall undergrowth rising above the edge of the precipice to mask the battery from an observer on the river being allowed to remain. When the sun rose the second morning of the watch the incipient pontoon-bridge, a mile and a half dis- tant in a straight line up the river, was in plain sight from the battery, though it was five miles off by the almost impassable wagon-road. The river was high, though not out of its banks. The construction of the bridge seemed to proceed slowly. The cables were in position and pontoon-boats spanned the stream, but plank for the floor had to be brought a considerable distance. The neighborhood for miles in every direction had to be scoured for material, and when obtained it was of very inferior quality, taken as it was from old fences, old buildings, and the like. The track on the bridge had to be closely watched and repaired every hour, for, though the artillery-train was almost a nullity, the army still consisted of about forty thousand men all told, and the ceaseless grinding of wheels on the inferior plank of the bridge kept the vigilant engineer corps repairing till they had a floor, such as it was, not less than six inches thick. However, not until the second day after the arrival at Baiabridge did the army begin to cross, and then
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REGIMENTAL HISTORIES AND MEMORIAL ROLLS.
but slowly and in a column of provoking tennity, as it appeared to the battery men on picket duty in an isolated spot apparently exposed to cavalry raids; while as to gun-boats, none could be heard of in the river. Citizens who called at the bluff to see the guns neither knew nor had heard any thing of Federal gun-boats within hundreds of miles. No corn was brought along, as the forage-wagons had been ordered out in quest of plank for the pontoon-bridge. At night, therefore, Sergeant G. W. Cheatham was sent out with half a dozen mounted drivers with sacks to procure rations for the teams. This supply could not be found nearer than three or four miles, but in this way only were the horses fed for three succes- sive days. Directly after occupying the position on the first day the battery had been made ready for instant action, and this readiness had all the time been scru- pulously maintained, for the order was, " Fire if you even see the smoke of a gun- boat." During the first and second days the men liad not much to do, unless to watch the slow column on the bridge and grumble at its slow progress. Every night a dense fog hid the river from sight, rendering its navigation impracticable, and sometimes the fog lasted till late in the forenoon. An island, a mile or two long by half a mile in breadth, lay in front of the battery, but the navigable chan- nel of the river was the pass between the island and the foot of the cliff on which stood the guns, the pass being perhaps two hundred yards wide.
About nine o'clock on the morning of the third day's watch, while considerable fog still hung over the river, the Captain and Watson noticed some streaks in the mist darker than seemed to belong to the vapor over the lower bluff twelve hun- dred yards distant. Presently all eyes were scanning this possible index of a gun- boat. Meantime an infantry-man, of the dozen or two who had reported at the station the day before to act as lookouts below the lower point that intercepted the farther view down stream, came scrambling breathless up the side of the deep ravine on the right, and said, "There's a boat coming up the river." Of course there was no doubt about the character of the boat, for the arrival of a large iron- clad at Florence the day before had been reported; but she could not ascend higher on account of the shoals which begin at that place. The so-called "tin-clads," however, could traverse the river at pleasure.
As the order to " fire if the smoke of a gun-boat were seen" had already been disobeyed by delay, it was concluded to wait still further and let the craft come into sight. In a few minutes the bow of a gun-boat peered around the lower bluff; and as the fog had rapidly vanished in the clear sunlight three port-holes on its side were discernible, and a piece of artillery stood on the bow. The deck was black with people standing and gazing intently, as it seemed, at the pontoon- bridge, which was in plain sight to them as soon as they rounded the bluff before- mentioned. The Captain ordered to load with solid shot, and directed the gun- ners to train their pieces upon the advancing vessel. When the boat had left the lower bluff perhaps fifty yards behind, a second boat, equipped precisely like the first, and like it covered with observers, made its appearance, and followed its pred- ecessor. The battery men were now eager to fire, but as the enemy appeared entirely unsuspicious of the proximity of resistance, the officers determined to wait till the boats should be nearly opposite the guns, when it would be possible to sink them both.
A glance at the bridge, from the middle of which the boats could also be seen, showed that the situation was well understood there; for a gap had formed in the
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MILITARY ANNALS OF TENNES EE.
middle of the colunin, the part nearest the south side rapidly passing over and off the bridge, while the other part of the column refused to advance, but could not easily recede, as the entrance of the bridge did not permit a view down the river, and therefore the cause of the halt could not instantly be made known to the rear.
The gun-boats, propelled by low-pressure engines, continued to move slowly up the river almost noiselessly. The rush of their bows and the splash of their wheels could now be heard. The guns were shotted and the lanyard in hand when the boat in front suddenly "yawed" to the right, evidently for the purpose of casting a broadside at the bridge. Instantly the order to commence firing was given in the battery, and four shots a minute from each gun began to be thrown. The densely packed decks were cleared as by magic, and before the second volley could be given nobody was in sight on either of the boats. But their gunners were ready to fire, and opened from both sides of the vessels simultaneously with the battery, as far as could be noticed. Their aim was wild, however, their shots passing through the tree-tops overhead, falling near the entrance to the bridge, and some even three miles distant, on the south side of the river. The attempt to present the broadside to the bridge was at once relinquished, and both boats began to back, at the same time keeping up a rapid and tremendous fire of their guns; and thus they continued to retire till they disappeared stern foremost around the lower bluff, behind which they got up a most unearthly and prolonged whistling. The battery pursued with solid shot till the boats were out of sight, and then sent some exploring missiles over their protecting bluff. At the time of the first shot the vessels were about eight hundred yards distant-a good range -and the slight effect of the fire was a wonder to all. At the first volley the stern of the foremost boat was struck, and this was the only hit certainly known to be made. The gunners were experienced, but not accustomed to firing at ob- jects below a horizontal range, and this may possibly explain the impunity which the enemy enjoyed.
A shell from the hostile guns fell close to Gen. Hood's quarters near the bridge, and the General quickly inquired, " What's that?" But Gen. Elzey, who was sitting near, said it was only the gun-boats that were trying to make acquaintance with one of his batteries, which would certainly engage the enemy's entire atten- tion. In quick succession two staff officers from head-quarters visited the picket- station in fifteen minutes after the firing to ascertain and report the exact nature of the skirmish. It was noticed also that when the boats disappeared down the river the column on the bridge again advanced with accelerated speed, and closed up densely. The best possible time was henceforth made at the crossing. Some had thought and asserted that to hold a battery in the exposed situation whence the gun-boats had just been repulsed was a needless challenge to the enemy's car- alry, but now the superior information or intuition of the commanding General was demonstrated.
It was hoped the battery would make good its crossing with the rest of the army; but, whether so or not, it was clear that the picket-station must be held till the last moment. However, no more gun-boats appeared or threatened, and about midnight of the fourth day of this solitary watch orders and a guide came from head-quarters to march to the bridge. It was pitch dark, the distance five miles, the road through the woods and old fields, and in the bottom near the river a conti-
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nent of mud. In ten minutes the march began, two cannoneers with lighted port- fires guarding the passage of each piece and each caisson. Through the ceaseless vigilance of every officer and man the low grounds half a mile from the river were reached without accident in an hour and a half. Over the remaining part . of the road-if road it might be called which was only one broad quagmire in the forest-the whole army had passed, and nothing but skillful driving and the power of ten horses to the carriage moved the battery across the slough to the entrance of the bridge. In fact, the rear piece finally mired down and stuck fast." At the same time the last port-fire burned out. The men waded around the team and carriage to find some way to relieve them; but nothing could be done till messen- . gers were sent forward, who brought back two whole teams, and these, with the team already attached, were able to force the piece along and at last to bring it upon firm ground. Through the skill and energy of Lieut. Finis E. White the column of caissons was also brought over this formidable road, and the battery was ready to cross. Not a dozen men besides were present, nor another gun-car- riage nor wheeled vehicle of any sort. The army had disappeared.
The bridge was vacant, and the artillery passed over quietly. The track on both sides was brilliantly lighted from shore to shore. In the bow and stern of each pontoon-boat sat a picked soldier, who kept a torch burning in a sort of iron basket, and thus he had a close and clear view of the great cables, the flooring, and all the appurtenances essential to the safety of the passage. The swift water rau and roared and welled and walloped under the floor and between the boats, but the structure was as firm as a pavement. In fact, the work seemed Titanic, and the thoughtful traveler could not pass over it without a sense of respect for the skill, the power, and the prudence that threw it across the otherwise impassable flood. The battery went into position on the bank a few yards below after crossing, and remained till after daylight.
Directly after the battery had passed the signal to take up the bridge was given; and when the sun rose the pontoon-boats were already launched into their proper wagons, and Bainbridge was left to its accustomed solitude. The pontoon-train, however, was taken two days after by a raiding party under the Federal General Steadman, south of Russellville, Ala., and burned. The battery proceeded with the army, accompanied for two or three days by a fusilade of the gun-boats in the river, westward through Tuscumbia, Jacinto, Rienzi, and then south through Cot- ton-gin Port and Aberdeen to Columbus. Camping-ground was found three miles west of this place for the artillery, but the infantry moved elsewhere, and were next seen on the east side of the Savannahi River by their old comrades at Bain- bridge.
At Columbus rearrangements had to be made and deficiencies had to be supplied. Twenty or thirty men from the infantry were assigned to Marshall's Battery, and a full complement of horses, harness, and other essentials were provided. About three-fourths of the field artillery-men of the army were ordered to report to the commandant of Mobile for duty on the siege-batteries of that place, as nearly all the field-pieces were lost at Nashville. Stevenson's battalion of artillery was now composed of Marshall's, Corput's, and Beauregard's batteries, the latter com- manded by a son of Gen. Beauregard. Rowan's battery, previously a member of the battalion, was lost at Nashville, and Capt. Rowan was there killed. Capt. Corput was absent on leave, not yet having recovered from his wound received
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while standing in Rowan's battery at Atlanta. Capt. Marshall was therefore sen- ior Captain present, and was ordered early in February, 1865, to take command of the battalion on the march eastward to join Gen. Joseph E. Johnston in North Carolina. At Columbus, Miss., Capt. Semmes, son of the great Admiral, paid both men and officers their dues, which had been accumulating upward of twelve months. The column was thus enabled to start on its great march to the East with plenty of money. The guns were sent around by rail, in charge of Lieut. James M. Cockrill, to Macon, Ga., where the two sections of the command were to be again united. Heavy rains had prevailed for two or three weeks, and it was not easy to ascertain at Columbus by what route the high waters of Sipsey River could be passed. A course was finally indicated by Lieut .- col. Hoxton, after con- siderable investigation, and found to be practicable.
Gen. Dick Taylor, now in command of the Department of the West, authorized the artillery column on this march to take all necessary supplies for men and horses wherever they could be found on the way, giving receipts which the Gov- ernment ordered to be accepted by the tax-collectors in lieu of tithes; also the column was authorized to demand whatever aid might be requisite in the construc- tion of bridges and the repair of roads for the transit of this section of the army. The latter privilege was not exercised, though the roads and bridges were gener- ally bad; but supplies had to be taken along nearly the whole extensive march, and always against the indignant protest of the forced contributors. The depart- ment had issued orders for the deposit of supplies at certain points on the road, so as to avoid, if possible, this offensive mode of collecting public dues, but not in a single instance was there a bushel of corn or a soldier's ration found at the des- ignated depots. It was no doubt in anticipation of the inefficiency of post quar- termasters that the carte-blanche authority was given to the moving column.
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