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 59
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From the time the regiment came to the mouth of the Hiawassee River we were under Maj .- gen. Wheeler's command. Gen. Armstrong left us at the His- wassee. The command of the brigade devolved on Col. Wheeler as senior Colo- nel. The regiment was commanded by Lieut .- col. Lewis. J. W. S. Frierson, Adjutant, acted on the staff of the brigade part of the time while Wheeler was commanding it. Henry Heiss was assigned to duty as Adjutant of the regiment. No truer man nor more gallant soldier enlisted in the army than Heiss. After the war he became connected with the Republican Banner's editorial corps; then with the St. Louis Times; subsequently became managing editor of the Nashville American, and afterward of the Nashville Union. He died a few months ago, lament- ed by a host of friends. He was promoted in his company, and commanded it at the close of the war. John B. Redman was also made Adjutant of the regiment. He was intelligent, brave, and true, making a splendid soldier.
The regiment eneamped a few days with Wheeler's command, then marched by the way of Decatur to Somerville, Ala .; thence across the mountains of Ala- bama and Georgia to the army on the line of Missionary Ridge, Lookout Mount- ain, and Wills's Valley, where it remained until the battle of Missionary Ridge. At this place it is allowable to turn aside from the narrative here recorded to remark that a wonderful myth has been woven about Hooker's " battle alove the clouds." Hooker and his men may have done some tough work and good swear- ing to climb the rough sides of old Lookont, but the Confederates had been ordered away before they arrived, and only some pickets or scouts were there to contest possession. The regiment then moved to Ringgold, on the Western and Atlantic railroad, and assisted in bringing up the rear of the army from that
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place to Dalton. There it took up its position at Tunnel Hill, six miles in ad- vance of the army, which went into winter-quarters at Dalton, Georgia. This was early in December, 1863. The regiment remained on outpost duty until the spring of 18644, the opposing piekets being in sight of each other near Ringgold. It participated in the battles of Resaca, New Hope Church, Pine Mountain, on the line of Kennesaw Mountain, and around Atlanta, in all the arduous and mem- orable campaigns between Sherman and Gen. Joseph E. Johnston in 1864. Dur- ing this struggle the regiment, together with other cavalry commands, was again and again dismounted and took the place of infantry in the trenches, holding the position assigned them; the difference against the cavalry being that the infantry was generally in two ranks, shoulder to shoulder, while the cavalry formed only in one rank, and then often with intervals of several feet between the men. We invariably whipped the enemy's cavalry and then fought their infantry.
On the line of New Hope Church, on the 2Sth day of June, the regiment, to- gether with the Ninth Tennessee Battalion, Held a large portion of Howard's corps on the right of Jolmston's army in check for more than an hour, until Cleburne's division came to their relief. Prisoners captured stated that it was their intention to turn Johnston's right, which certainly would have been done but for the stubborn defense made by these two small commands. They were evi- dently deceived as to our numbers. An hour later a terrific struggle ensued. It was at this place, and in front of Granberry's brigade of infantry, that General Johnston said that the enemy's dead lay thicker on the ground than on any field he had ever witnessed. Only about sixty men of the regiment were engaged, but they suffered severely, losing about half that number in killed and wounded- Lieut. Stalling and Capt. A. G. Freeman being wounded, the first-named mortally. After the army crossed the Chattahoocheeiver the command occupied a position on the south bank of the river and on the left of our army, guarding the various crossings of the river, at one time to a point as far west as Newnan, Ga., forty miles from Atlanta, at which place there was a large number of sick and wounded soldiers in the hospital; also a quantity of supplies for the army. The line was gradually drawn back to Atlanta. A few days later we aided in driving Gen. McCook's cavalry back from the rear of the army to the north bank of the Chat- tahooche. His force-estimated at about four thousand five hundred men-had gone around on the left, and had succeeded in destroying a number of wagons, cut- ting the Atlanta and Macon railroad, and capturing about five hundred prisoners.
The pursuit of MeCook occupied two days and nights. It was in the latter part of July. The weather was exceedingly warm, but we succeeded in capturing one thousand five hundred prisoners from his command, the recapture of the five hun- dred Confederates, also four pieces of artillery (all he had), and his ambulances. His command was thoroughly demoralized, so much so that about eighty men of the regiment, Lieut .- col. Lewis commanding, with about an equal number of the Ninth Tennessee Battalion under Maj. Aiken-at a point four miles west of New- nan, Ga., on the road leading from that place to La Grange-succeeded in holding McCook's entire force at bay until Gen. Wheeler came up with the body of his command from McCook's rear, and interposed between MeCook and the river. The woods at this point were densely studded with undergrowth. It was a game of bluff on our part. The two commands charged their advance, giving vent to the yell peculiar to the Southern soldiers, and drove them back on the main
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force, keeping up a steady fire until Gen. Wheeler came to our relief. It was then that most of the prisoners were captured. The labor had been exceedingly exhausting to both men and horses, which accounts for the small number of men present from the First and Ninth Tennessee.
Gen. Wheeler then marched to Covington, Ga., forty miles south of Atlanta. From this place, on the 10th of August, the regiment moved with Gen. Wheel- er's command to the rear of Sherman's army to Dalton, Ga., Cleveland, Athens, and around Knoxville, fording the Tennessee River above the mouth of the Hol- ston; thence across the mountains to Sparta, in Middle Tennessee. From a point near Athens, about eighty men and officers from the First, with about an equal number of the Fifth Tennessee Regiment Cavalry, whose horses were in the best condition, made a forced march by night to a point on the Tennessee River, near Decatur, Meigs county, Tennessee, and surprised a command of about three hundred Federals-a pari of them negroes-acting as guards for a large number of hands engaged in cutting logs in a gorge of the mountains to ship down the river to Chattanooga. The attack was made just at day-break, Col. McKinzer, of the Fifth Tennessee, and Licut .- col. Montgomery in command of the Fifth, and Lieut .- col. Lewis of the First Tennessee. It was a complete surprise. Our boys ran into camp with the pickets and captured more than two hundred white and negro soldiers, a large number of wagons, harness, and mules belonging to the Federal Government. We were so far away from Gen. Wheeler's command, and more than two hundred miles in rear of the Federal lines, that we were forced to parole the prisoners, after destroying all the Government property we could. We also recaptured about fifteen officers and men of the Fifth Tennessee, which these men had captured a few days before, one of whom was Col. McKinzer's son. These were the first negro soldiers our men had met in the Federal uniform with arms in their hands. It was with great difficulty that the men could be restrained from shooting them all, The negroes seemed crazed with fear. . They had their breakfast in preparation; had large camp-kettles full of coffee, plenty of bacon and crackers. The boys were weary and worn from days and nights on the march, fighting the enemy continually, and with but little to eat. They enjoyed this breakfast very much.
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We overtook our brigade near Knoxville, fording the Holston River a few miles below Strawberry Plains; thence to Sparta as before stated; from there to Smithville and to within a few miles of Nashville, across the country to Franklin, tearing up the track of the Nashville and Chattanooga railroad, destroying tres tles and bridges; also the Nashville and Decatur railroad, cutting Sherman's and Thomas's lines of communication. Garrisons were at Nashville and every im- portant town in the country through which we passed. More or less fighting oc- curred every day. In one of the affairs near Franklin Gen. Kelly was killed. We passed west of Columbia by way of Lynnville and Lawrenceburg, fording the Tennessee River at Colbert Shoals, below Florence, Ala. The Federals had gath- ered a force of cavalry and mounted infantry several thousand strong-more than twice the number of Gen. Wheeler's command-and were pressing us closely but cantiously.
On the evening of the day Wheeler's command crossed over. Our regiment brought up the rear, in the meantime skirmishing with the enemy. The regi- ment was small-not more than two hundred, men and officers. We were or-
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dered to hold the enemy in check at all hazards until dark, then ford the river and join the brigade. A guide, with a small detail of men commanded by a Lieutenant, was to wait for us at the bank of the river. The guide knew the ford well, his home being in the immediate neighborhood. At dark we were within a mile of the river, and could distinctly hear the water rushing over the rocks on the shoals. The head of the regiment reached the bank of the river about one hour after dark, but no guide was to be found. There was starlight, but no moon. The stream at this place was about a mile wide, including a small island near the center. It was difficult and dangerous to cross, but one of two things had to be done-either to attempt to ford the river, or be killed or captured the next moru- ing. The enemy was behind us thousands in number. We determined to cross the river. This was done by placing two men, good swimmers, on strong horses a few yards to the right and left of the column. When they found the water deepening in one place they turned to the right or left, as was necessary, the head of the troops marching midway between in column of twos. The ford was very tortuous and rough. The water rushed along, seething and foaming around us, making it very difficult for our horses to move forward. We reached the opposite bank just at daylight, having been in the water all night. The men were wet to the skin. In crossing, a few of the horses fell down; others got into swimming- water. Some of the men lost their guns. At this stage of the war the nien were inured to hardships and dangers, but not a few of them swore they would rather take their chances in battle than cross the river again under such circumstances. It turned out that the guide and men with him became alarmed for their safety, and followed in the rear of the brigade, leaving us to our fate. The next day they could not be found. We were now on the south bank of the Tennessee Riv- er, and the men enjoyed a few days' rest. The Georgia campaign began on the 6th of May, 1864. This was about the last of September, making a campaign of about one hundred and twenty days. It is only the men who participated in it that can appreciate the toils and dangers which they underwent.
About the Ist of October Gen. Forrest crossed the Tennessee River at Colbert's Shoals, and moved on Athens, Ala. The writer of this sketch was ordered to re- port to Gen. Forrest and return to Middle Tennessee to get np such portions of Gen. Wheeler's command as had been left there. He was assigned to duty tem- porarily as a member of Forrest's staff. Col. Wheeler had applied for permission for the regiment to return with Forrest's command to Tennessee; but Gen. Wheel- er declined the request, and moved with his entire command in the direction of La Grange, Ga. Athens was garrisoned by the Federals with a regiment of ne- groes-abont twelve hundred-and several hundred white soldiers, commanded by Col. Campbell. Most of these men were in a strong fort, which contained six or eight pieces of artillery. Gen. Forrest placed his men in position and sun- moned the garrison to surrender, which Col. Campbell refused to do until the Hag of truce was sent in the third time. Forrest became exasperated, and in his talk with Campbell swore that he would storm the fort, and would not be responsible for the consequences to Campbell's command if forced to make the assault. The latter seemed to doubt the strength of Forrest's command, and while the confer- ence was going on Col. Wheeler rode up. Forrest availed himself of this occur- rence to play a game of bluff. He addressed Col. Wheeler as Gen. Wheeler, and asked him if his command was well up. Col. Wheeler took in the situation, and
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said: "Yes; Hume's division, with my battery of artillery, is now on the feld, and Gen. Martin's division is not more than two miles away." The fact was, the divisions named were at least one hundred miles away, on their march to Georgia. The effect on the Federal officer was seen at once. He surrendered his command as prisoners of war. The negroes were terribly frightened. The name of Forrest was a terror to them, and also to the Federal troops. It turned out that Col. Wheeler had finally succeeded in obtaining Gen. Wheeler's consent, turned back from the march to Georgia, and joined Forrest's command at Athens just at the time before stated.
The command moved with Forrest, aided in capturing a force of four hundred men guarding the bridge at Elk River, on the Nashville and Decatur road, and all the stockades on the road as far as Pulaski, where the Federals had collected several thousand men to oppose Forrest; thence to the neighborhood of Shelby- ville and Wartrace. The stockades referred to were very strong; so much so that it was only the rifle guns in the battery of the gallant Morton that could make any impression upon them. Forrest's name in itself was equal to a division of men.
Information having been received that the Tennessee River was rising, owing to the heavy rains in the mountains, the command returned, and crossed the river below Florence, above Colbert's Shoals. The river was rising rapidly and the wind blowing almost a gale. The boats used in crossing had to be raised ont of the water, where they had been sunk by their owners to avoid destruction at the hands of the Federals. The passage of the men and horses of the regiment was very dangerous, but was effected without loss of life. The Federals were pursuing us by thousands, but did not seem inclined to make a vigorous attack. If they had even partially pressed their advantage, they would have given us a vast deal of trouble, with a great river in our front and with inadequate means of crossing.
The First Regiment moved with Forrest to Corinth, Miss., where he applied to Gen. Wheeler for its transfer to his command. This was declined. Forrest then telegraphed to the Secretary of War, who also declined to order the transfer. The men were very much attached to Forrest, and he had complimented them on ser- eral occasions for their gallantry on the field of battle. They were separated from him soon after the battle of Chickamanga, and up to October, 1864, had not served in his command again. They parted from him with reluctance, and marched across the country by the way of Aberdeen and Columbus, Miss., Tuscaloosa, Ala .. to La Grange, Ga. Here they again joined Gen. Wheeler's command about the 25th of November, after the most ardnoas service and a march of more than ser- en hundred miles.
Meantime Col. Wheeler, with a commissioned officer from each company, was ordered to return with Hood's army to Middle Tennessee for the purpose of ob- taining recruits for the regiment. It was greatly reduced in numbers, and the men's clothing was worn and ragged. Confederate money had greatly depreci- ated in value. The price of ordinary necessities of life was almost fabulous; yet the pay of officers and privates was precisely the same as if the Confederate Gior- ernment had paid in gold. The Government was largely in arrears at the close of the war. The following lines, written by S. A. Jones, editor of the Examiner. Aberdeen, Miss., in reference to Confederate money at the close of the war, are too good to be lost:
Representing nothing on God's earth now, And nanght in the waters below it, As a pledge of the nation that 's dead and gone, Keep it, dear friend, and show it.
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Too poor to possess the precious ores, And too much of a stranger to borrow, We issued to-day our promise to pay,
And hoped to redeem on the morrow,
The days rolled ou, the weeks became years, But our coffers were empty still ;
Coin was so rare the treasury quaked If a dollar should drop in the till.
But the faith within us was strong indeed, And our poverty well discerned ; And those little checks represented the pay Our suffering volunteers earned.
We knew it had hardly a value in gold, But as gold our soldiers received it;
It gazed in our fices with a promise to pay, And each suffering soldier believed it.
But our boys thought little of price or pay, Or of bills that were overdue; We knew it gave us bread to-day- "Iwas the best our poor country could do.
Keep it: it tells our history all over, From the birth of its dream to the last ;
Modest, and born of the angel hope, Like the hope of success, it passed.
The command moved with Wheeler to Griffin, Ga., where it first encountered Gen. Sherman on his "march to the sea." Sherman left Atlanta after having driven out the old men, women, and children, burned the city, and, as he says in his "Memoirs," marched out of the place with banners floating to the breezes and bands playing to the tune of "John's Brown's soul is marching on." The regiment accompanied Gen. Wheeler on all this arduous service. His command did not exceed two thousand five hundred men, but he was everywhere-in front of Sherman, then on the left, and again on the right flank of his army, which was estimated at not less than one hundred thousand men, of which about ten thousand were cavalry under the command of Gen. Kilpatrick. Wheeler had only a few thousand men-"Joe Brown's militia," as it was called-to assist him. The latter were good men, no doubt, but the enemy's shot and shell annoyed them exceedingly at Macon and one or two other places. Our boys seemed to be of the opinion generally that the militia could hardly be relied on when the "tug of war" came. That Sherman had ability as a commander no one doubts, but his "march to the sea," so much lauded by his friends at the North, was little less than a farce. He had no army to oppose him, the Confederacy was reduced to a shell, and the great parade about this movement from Atlanta to Savannah, Ga., is a very good exemplification of "much ado about nothing." He made war on old men, women, and children, burned cotton-gins and dwelling-houses, and de- stroyed property without stint. His army could be traced by the light of the burning houses by night and the smoke by day. This was true not only of lis march in Georgia, but also across the State of South Carolina. Who has not heard of Sherman's " bummers," whose chief employment seemed to be to attack helpless women and children, and by force take what did not belong to them? In numberless instances they left them without any means of support, without a home or a change of clothing. The regiment aided Wheeler in beating back Kilpatrick and his thousands of cavalry sent to destroy the arsenal and liberate a large number of Federal prisoners at Augusta, Ga. Kilpatrick held out about forty-eight hours, but was forced to abandon his raid on Augusta and seek protec-
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tion with the infantry of Sherman's army, after having lost a large number of prisoners, and being almost broken up. This was the last time Kilpatrick ventured out from the shadow of Sherman's infantry until after the close of the war.
The regiment crossed Savannah River a short distance above Savannah, and remained on the South Carolina side until after December 20, 1864, about which time Gen. Hardee evacuated Savannah; thence on to Branchville, Lexington, Co- lumbia, and Camden, S. C., to Grassy Island, Pedee River, where it forded that stream and entered North Carolina. We captured a great many prisoners, and were continually on the march. We saved the cotton-mills at Aiken, S. C., but the entire command could not save Columbia. Gen. Wade Hampton joined us near the last-named place, and became Chief of Cavalry. That Sherman ordered or was privy to the burning of Columbia, no one in our command doubted at the time. The regiment did all it could to assist in preventing the Federals from spreading over the country, and succeeded to some extent. Gen. Joe Wheeler's energy and gallantry were worthy of all praise.
Near Fayetteville, N. C., we assisted in the surprise of Kilpatrick's camp, which was along-side the infantry of a corps of Sherman's army. The surprise was just at day-break, and would have been more effective but for the difficulty of crossing a swamp peculiar to the low pine-lands near the coast. The fight was desperate, but we succeeded in capturing a number of prisoners and Gen. Kilpat- rick's head-quarters. The General made his escape in his night-clothes, it was said. We captured his uniform, saber, pistols, and two fine horses-one of them a calico horse, as the boys called him (white and bay spots), and the other a black. At the close of the war Gen. Wheeler had one of the horses and Gen. Allen, of Alabama, the other. In this affair Gen. Hume, Col. Harrison, of Texas, and Col. Henry M. Ashby, of the Second Tennessee, at the time in command of our bri- gade, were wounded; also privates and other officers were killed and wounded. We fought the Federal infantry, and crossed Cape Fear River at Fayetteville and assisted in destroying the bridge at that point. The command of the brigade then devolved on Lieut .- col. Lewis (and so continued until the close of the war), and that of the regiment on Maj. Joseph J. Dobbins, a splendid man and most gallant and efficient officer.
The regiment, with the brigade, reported to Lieut .- gen. Hardee, and under his command participated in the battle of Averysboro, then moved in rear of Hardee's command to Bentonville, and took part in the three days' fight at that place, first serving on the right of the army and then on the left. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston was in command of the Confederates, Gen. Sherman of the Federal forces. A por- tion of the regiment assisted in driving back a division of Federals which had succeeded in reaching the rear of the army, and had taken possession of the vil- lage of Bentonville and the general hospital there. Gen. Walthall was in com- mand of the infantry on the left of the army, the regiment being on his left. The contest was desperate, as we were engaged with the Federal infantry. Gen. Wal- thall, with his command, moved at one o'clock A.M., bringing up the rear of the infantry. The regiment, with the brigade, moved at two A.M., bringing up the rear of the army. We crossed the bridge at Bentonville after sunrise, and set it on fire. The Federal infantry rushed upon it, but were repulsed by the firing of two pieces of artillery loaded with grape-shot; also by dismounted men in the woods on the bank of the stream. The two guns were masked for the occasion.
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The bridge and the approach to it were thickly strewn with the enemy's dead and wounded. Lieut. Dobbins, a most gallant officer of Company E, and others, were badly wounded in this affair at the bridge.
The battle of Bentonville was the last of the war in which the Army of Ten- nessee was engaged. It was fought on the 19th and 20th of March, 1865. Sher- man having reached Goldsboro, united his force with that of Gen. Schofield. The regiment moved with the brigade to a point near Nahunta Swamp, and took posi- tion on the Weldon railroad. On the 10th of April Sherman advanced in the di- rection of Raleigh. The regiment, with the brigade, assisted in bringing up the rear of Johnston's army, passing through Raleigh, and by the way of Morris- ville to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, having frequent com- bats with the advance of Sherman's army. The last collision with the enemy oc- curred at a creek on the road leading from Chapel Hill to Raleigh, about two miles from the first-named place. This was the last conflict of the war, except Henry Court-house. That night Judge Battle informed us of the assassination of Mr. Lincoln, he having received the information from ex-Gov. Swain, and Swain from Gen. Sherman, to whom he had gone to ask protection for the college property. The next day's march on the road to Greensboro brought us to Haw River, where we first heard of the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia by Gen. Lee. An hour later we heard that Gen. Johnston was negotiating with Gen. Sherman for the surrender of the Army of Tennessee. Johnston's head- quarters were at Greensboro, about twenty miles away. There was little sleep in our camp that night. Brave men shed tears freely. Gloom and despondency settled down over the camp. The end had come to that long, terrible struggle which had cost the country, North and South, nearly a million of lives and im- mense sums of money and property. The loss to the South alone was immense. It was the land of "ashes and sorrow." It had lost $1,600,000,000 in slave : alone, to say nothing of horses, mules, cattle, fences, buildings, and every other kind of property.
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