USA > Texas > A comprehensive history of Texas, 1685-1897 > Part 27
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The next day, October 5, the legion, under cominand of Lieutenant-Colonel E. R. Hawkins, performed valuable and gallant service at Davis's Bridge, on the Hatchie River, in foiling the attack of the enemy upon the retreating Confederate army.
Shortly after this the legion was remounted, its colonel, John W. Whitfield, was promoted to brigadier-general, and with the Third, Sixth, and Ninth Texas Cavalry Regiments was organized into a cavalry brigade under his command. General Whitfield's failing health soon forced his retirement from active service, and Brigadier-General L. S. Ross succeeded to the command, and the further history of the legion will be found in the history of Ross's brigade.
Upon the promotion of Colonel John W. Whitfieldl to brigadier-general, Lieu- tenant-Colonel E. R. Hawkins was promoted to colonel, Major Broocks to lieu- tenant-colonel, and Captain John T. Whitfield was promoted to major.
Ross's Cavalry Brigade .- The command known as Ross's brigade was organ- ized at Granada, Mississippi, in November, 1862. It was composed of the Third Texas Cavalry, Sixth Texas Cavalry, Ninth Texas Cavalry, and Twenty-seventh Texas Cavalry (also called Whitfield's Legion). Each one of these was composed of ten companies, except the Twenty-seventh, which contained twelve. They were enlisted early in the war and had seen hard service prior to the formation of this brigade. They had been dismounted when sent from the Trans-Mississippi De- partment to Mississippi, and had there served as dismounted cavalry ; but in No-
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vember, 1862, their horses arrived from Texas, and they realized their long-deferred hope of being remounted and serving as cavalry, for which they had enlisted.
When first organized the brigade was commanded for a time by Colonel J. W. Whitfield, of the Twenty-seventh, and upon his numerous absences on account of ill health it was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel John S. Griffith, of the Sixth, and for a time by Colonel H. P. Mabry, of the Third. It was placed in the same command with W. H. Jackson's brigade of Tennessee and Mississippi cavalry and McCul- loch's brigade of Missouri cavalry, all under the command of General Earl Van Dorn, and known as Van Dorn's cavalry corps. The first expedition of this corps was in December, 1862, when it recap- tured Holly Springs from General U. S. Grant, with a large number of prisoners and the destruction of several millions of dollars'worth of stores, munitions, etc., which had been accumulated there for a de- scent on the rear of Vicksburg. This so discom- GENERAL L. S. Ross. fited General Grant as to cause him to retreat to Memphis and abandon this route to Vicksburg. Soon afterwards the brigade at- tacked and destroyed a Federal stockade at Davis's Mill, on the Hatchie River, after a hard fight, pushed on into Tennessee, and made a bold attack on Bolivar. But the enemy having concentrated a strong force at Grand Junction, the Confeder- ates were forced to retire to Central Mississippi. On this raid as many prisoners were captured and paroled as there were Confederates in the corps, a large num- ber of horses and mules were captured and brought off, and an immense quantity of stores destroyed. The Texas brigade bore its full share of the burden in this daring raid, and added new laurels to its already well-earned fame. The winter was spent in Mississippi between Aberdeen and Vicksburg, and on the Sth of February, 1863, the command took up the line of march for Tennessee by the way of Bainbridge Ferry, on the Tennessee River. The weather was intensely cold, with almost constant rain and sleet, the streams all swollen and often frozen over.
On March 5 they attacked a large force of Federals at Thompson's Station, and after a fierce contest, in which the Confederates were twice repulsed, they at last carried the day after a desperate charge, and captured the entire Federal force of some two thousand three hundred men. In this assault the Texas brigade, led by Colonel J. W. Whitfield, dismounted and charged on foot with six-shooters in hand, which, after discharging, they used as clubs.
They then threatened Nashville, caused serious apprehensions among the Federal commanders, engaged in almost daily skirmishes, some of which resulted in fierce and hotly-contested battles. On April 10 the Texas brigade, in conjunc- tion with Jackson's brigade, made a charge upon the Union garrison at Franklin, but the enemy were too strong and the Confederates were repulsed. On the 7th of May, General Van Dorn was assassinated at Spring Hill by a citizen residing near that place, and the death of the daring commander put an end for a time to the brilliant career of the cavalry corps. On May 19, Brigadier-General W. H. Jack-
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son, in command of the division composed of his old brigade and the Texas brigade, with King's Missouri battery, was ordered to join General Joseph E. Johnston in Mississippi. They reached Johnston's army at Canton, Mississippi, June 4, and were at once put to work harassing the rear of General Grant's army, then be- sieging Vicksburg. Constant skirmishing was the almost daily life of the soldier at this time. On the 4th of July the enemy moved out from Vicksburg towards Jackson in heavy force, driving everything before them. The Texas brigade, under General Whitfield, who had been promoted to brigadier-general, opposed this strong force day and night. Before the enemy reached Jackson, General Whit- field led the brigade around their flank, pressed to the rear, and captured a large pioneer train, with its wagons and cavalry escort, and carried the latter, with the mule teams, into General Johnston's lines.
For the next three months the brigade hovered around the army of the enemy, allowing no small bodies to get far from their stronghold without a fight, and in some instances a capture ; many hard skirmishes and some bold dashes were in- dulged, with plenty of hard fighting. During this time, in October, General Whit- field's health failed, and he was granted leave of absence and returned to Texas. Colonel H. P. Mabry, of the Third Regiment, then took command of the brigade. December 16, 1863, Colonel L. S. Ross, of the Sixth Regiment, having been pro- moted to brigadier-general, assumed command of the brigade and promised to give the boys something to occupy their minds. On the 22d the brigade moved towards the Mississipi River, but the destination was unknown. It proved to be a trip to the vicinity of Greenville, Mississippi, to put a large quantity of arms and Con- federate money across the river for the use of the Trans-Mississippi Department. Several attempts had been made, but so far unsuccessful. The weather was fear- ful ; the rain and cold made the roads almost inipassable, and the progress was necessarily slow and tedious. One night a sudden freeze encased the entire train in the mud, and it was impossible to turn a wheel. The brigade was about eight miles in the advance, and the Ninth Regiment was dismounted, returned to the wagons on foot, and each man took two extra guns besides his own and each officer took three and carried them to their horses, and late that evening the guns were safely deposited on the river bank amid a blinding storm of sleet. That night one boat- load was carried over, and the whole was accomplished in three days. During the time the boys could not resist the temptation to exchange shots with some gun- boats, which resulted in a terrific shelling of the woods.
The latter part of January the brigade returned to the Yazoo, and on the 28th of that month had a sharp engagement with a transport convoyed by a gunboat. Again, on February 3, they engaged in quite a severe battle with a gunboat and a transport near Liverpool, in which a force landed from the transport was driven back to the boat after a hand-to-hand conflict. On the 5th of February the brigade attacked a large number of vessels lying in the Yazoo River at Yazoo City, in which the light battery attached to the brigade did some splendid work, driving the fleet from the front of the city. The enemy landed a considerable force a short distance below the city, and the Confederates attacked it and drove it back to the boats after quite a severe engagement. February 8 a large force of Federals moved out of Vicksburg across the State of Mississippi, and the brigade tollowed and
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harassed its rear all the way to Meridian. While in the vicinity of Meridian a bat- talion of negro troops in Federal uniforms stumbled upon the brigade one day while resting for dinner, and the Confederates pursued them nearly to Yazoo City, killing quite a number of them in a running fight. On the 5th of March the brigade attacked the Union troops stationed at Yazoo City and drove the whole garrison to the gunboats for protection. About three hundred of the enemy were killed and captured, and one piece of artillery fell into the hands of the Texans. During the months of March and April, 1864, the brigade was engaged in scouting and skir- mishing with the enemy and in routing a band of bushwhackers in North Alabama. May 14, 1864, the brigade joined General Joseph E. Johnston's army at Rome, Georgia, where it was at once dismounted and sent in front "to feel the enemy." Here a stubborn battle was fought, and the brigade maintained its reputation as hard fighters. During this campaign a series of skirmishes ensued, often merging into hard-fought battles. At New Hope Church the Texas brigade held an army corps of the enemy in check for several hours in a stubborn hand-to-hand fight with its advance columns, one of the most noted instances of pluck and audacity. The latter part of July General McCook attempted with a large force of cavalry to de- stroy General Johnston's communications with the rear, and the Texas brigade followed him, and after several days' hard fighting captured his command near Newman, Georgia, after killing one hundred and fifty, wounding two hundred and fifty, and capturing twelve hundred prisoners, a battery of artillery, thirteen am- bulances, and one thousand head of horses and mules. About the middle of August General Kilpatrick, with a force of five thousand cavalry, made another attempt to accomplish what General McCook had failed to do ; and the Texas brigade followed him, hung on his rear and flanks, and assailed him so vigorously that he gave it up and sought the railroad at Lovejoy Station, where he found a large force of Confederate infantry, when he turned back, and after a bold dash he cut his way through with large losses. The Texans turned upon him and drove him back into the Federal lines. The months of September and October were spent in watching the enemy's pickets, looking after their scouting and foraging parties, and keeping close watch of every movement. From the time when the brigade reached Rome to the fall of Atlanta was one hundred and nine days, and the cam- paign averaged a fight for every day, and many of them were hard-fought battles.
On October 24, 1864, in compliance with orders, the Texas brigade withdrew froin its position near Cave Springs, Georgia, crossed the Coosa River at Gadsden the following day, and by rapid marches arrived in front of Decatur, Alabama, the evening of the 29th. It was here halted to observe the movement of the enemy while the Confederate army rested at Tuscumbia.
On the morning of November 8 a strong reconnoitring party of the enemy, consisting of three regiments of infantry and one of cavalry, came out from Decatur on the Courtland Road, and it was promptly met by the Texans, and after a sharp skirmish was driven back with some loss.
On the 21st of November, all things being ready for the advance of the Con- federate army into Tennessee, the Texas brigade was ordered forward, following in the rear of Armstrong's brigade. The effective fighting strength of the brigade at that time was as follows : Third Texas Cavalry Regiment, two hundred and
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TEXAN TROOPS IN THE CONFEDERATE ARMY.
eighteen ; Sixth Texas Cavalry Regiment, two hundred and eighteen ; Ninth Texas Cavalry Regiment, one hundred and ten ; Twenty-seventh Texas Cavalry Regi- ment (Whitfield's Legion), one hundred and forty ; making a total of six hun- dred and eighty-six. With this small force they joined the advance into Tennessee, strong in heart and resolved to make up in zeal and courage what was lacking in numbers. The day after crossing Shoal Creek, General Armstrong, still in ad- vance, came up with the Federal cavalry at Lawrenceburg. The fighting was chiefly with artillery, the battery with the Texas brigade participating freely and to good effect. About sunset the enemy withdrew in the direction of Pulaski, and early next morning the Texas brigade was ordered to take the advance and move out on the Pulaski Road. About twelve miles from Lawrenceburg it met the Federal pickets and drove them in. The Third Texas dismounted and, with two squadrons from the Twenty-seventh Texas, moved forward and attacked the enemy, forcing them from several successive positions, and following so closely and vigorously as to compel the precipitate abandonment of their camp with a large quantity of forage.
The next day, within five miles of Pulaski, the brigade changed direction to the left, following the route taken by the enemy on their retreat the evening before, and arrived about noon in sight of the village of Campbellsville. Here they found a large force of the enemy's cavalry, which proved to be Hatch's division, drawn up and ready to resist the advance of the Confederates.
Lieutenant-Colonel J. S. Boggess, in command of the Third Texas, was ordered to dismount his regiment and move it to the front. Young's Columbus, Georgia, battery, attached to Ross's brigade, was hurried up from the rear, placed in posi- tion, supported by the Sixth Texas, Colonel Jack Wharton commanding, and com- menced shelling the enemy's lines. In the mean while the Ninth and Twenty- seventh Texas were drawn up in column on a field to the right of the road, to be used as circumstances might require. After a very severe shelling by the Georgia battery the enemy showed by their movements a disposition to withdraw, and Brigadier-General Ross, believing this to be a proper moment to press them, ordered the whole brigade forward. The Ninth and Twenty-seventh Texas Regiments, led by their respective commanders, Colonel Dudley W. Jones and Lieutenant-Colonel J. T. Whitfield, rushed forward at a gallop and, passing through the village, fell upon the enciny's moving squadrons with such irresistible force as to scatter them in every direction, pursuing and capturing numbers of prisoners, horses, equipments, small- arms, accoutrements, and four stands of colors. The enemy made no effort to regain the field from which they had been driven by the Texans, but while endeav- oring to withdraw their shattered squadrons their rout was made complete by a vigorous attack in flank by General Armstrong's brigade, and about sunset the last of them disappeared, in full flight, towards Lynnville.
The loss of the Texas brigade in this affair was only five men wounded, while they captured eighty-four prisoners and all their horses, equipments, and arms, sixty-five beef cattle, and four stands of colors. Without any further opposition they arrived next day in front of Columbia, and took position on the Chapel Hill Pike.
November 26 was spent in front of the enemy's works, skirmishing freely and keeping up a lively demonstration. Being relieved by the infantry on the morning
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A COMPREHENSIVE HISTORY OF TEXAS.
of the 27th, the brigade moved over to the Shelbyville Pike, and next morning crossed Duck River at the mill nine miles above Columbia. Here it was directed to the right, on the Shelbyville Road, and when near the Lewisville and Franklin Pike again encountered the Federal cavalry. The Third Texas was sent forward to attack a train of wagons which was moving in the direction of Franklin. The regiment succeeded in reaching the pike, but was there met by a superior force of the enemy and driven back after a spirited engagement. Secing this, General Ross directed Colonel E. R. Hawkins to hurry up with the Twenty-seventh Regiment to the assist- ance of the Third, and ordered a charge. It was made in gallant style, and resulted in forcing the enemy from the field in confusion, with the loss of several prisoners and the colors of the Seventh Ohio Cavalry. In the mean while Colonel Jack Wharton with the Sixth Texas charged onto the pike to the right of where the Third and Twenty-seventh Regiments were engaged, and captured an entire company of the Seventh Ohio Cavalry, three stands of colors, several wagons loaded with ord- nance, and a considerable number of horses with their equipments. The Ninth Texas, under Colonel Dudley W. Jones, having been detached early in the day to guard the road leading to the right, was not otherwise engaged during the evening than a slight skirmish with the enemy's pickets, in which several prisoners were taken. It was then after night and very dark. The enemy had disappeared in the front and retreated in the direction of Franklin, but General Ross thought pru- dent before establishing camp to ascertain if any force of the enemy had been cut off and yet remained between his command and the river. For this purpose Colonel E. R. Hawkins was ordered up the pike with his regiment (the Twenty-seventh Texas), and had proceeded but a short distance when he was met by a brigade of the enemy's cavalry. An exciting fight in the dark ensued, lasting about half an hour, when the enemy, having much the larger force, succeeded in passing by the Texans, receiving as they did so a severe fire into their flanks.
The next day at Hurt's Cross-Roads, where the other commands of cavalry took the left towards Spring Hill, Ross's brigade advanced up the road towards Frank- lin. After advancing some distance it turned towards Thompson's Station in search of the enemy, who had disappeared in the direction of Franklin after being com- pletely whipped. When near the station a few wagons were discovered moving on . the pike, and General Ross sent Colonel Jones with the Ninth and Twenty-seventh Regiments to intercept and capture them. At the same time the Third and Sixth Regiments were drawn up in line, and a squadron from the Third despatched to destroy the dépôt. Colonel Jones was partially successful, capturing and destroying one wagon and securing the team. He then charged a train of cars which had come up from the direction of Franklin, when the engineer becoming frightened cut the engine loose and ran off to the south. The train thus freed ran down grade, and, in spite of obstructions thrown on the track, rolled back under the guns of a block-house and was saved. The guard, however, and all the men on the train were forced to jump off, and were taken prisoners. In the mean time the enemy at the dépôt, having observed the approach of the squadron from the Third Texas, applied the torch to all valuables, including a train of ears loaded with ordnance, and evacuated the place. Having accomplished all that could be done there, Gen- eral Ross fell back to a point near Spring Hill, to await orders from the division
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TEXAN TROOPS IN THE CONFEDERATE ARMY.
commander, General W. H. Jackson. About midnight orders came to again strike the pike and attack the enemy's train, then in full retreat towards Franklin. Guided by an officer of General Forrest's staff, who knew the country, the pike was soon reached, and, when distant about half a mile from it, three regiments were dis- mounted, the Ninth remaining mounted to guard the horses, and the advance was made cautiously on foot. The Texans got within about one hundred yards of the enemy's train without being discovered, when the Twenty-seventh Regiment, being in advance, fronted into line, fired a well-directed volley, killing several men, a number of mules, and rushing forward with a yell produced a perfect stampede among the teamsters and guards. They captured thirty-nine wagons with teams and a number of prisoners. After remaining in possession of the pike for a short time the brigade silently withdrew upon the approach of several bodies of the enemy's infantry, which, coming up from opposite directions, by mistake commenced firing into each other, and exchanged several volleys before discovering their error. Occupying a position upon the neighboring hills overlooking the pike, the Texans viewed the Federal army in full retreat. While this was passing, a regiment of the enemy's cavalry appeared in an open field in front of the Texans, as if to challenge them to the combat. The Sixth Texas attacked it in an impetuous charge, completely routed it, and drove it behind the infantry column. Keeping along parallel with the advancing columns of General Hood, the Texas brigade crossed the Harpeth River three miles above Franklin that evening, where only a small body of the enemy appeared to dispute the passage. Half a mile farther on, however, a regi- ment was found drawn up in line. The Ninth Texas at once advanced to the charge and routed them, but in the pursuit was met by a larger force, and was, in turn, compelled to give back, the enemy following in close pursuit. The Third Texas then rushed forward, checked the advancing squadrons of the enemy and hurled them back broken and disorganized, capturing several prisoners and driving the others back to the main line. The infantry of both armies coming up at this time engaged in a terrific combat, and the cavalry retired and took position on the flank, after having thus opened the bloody battle of Franklin. The gallant bearing of the men and officers of these two regiments on this occasion is referred to by General Ross as deserving of special commendation, and he says in his report : " It affords me much gratification to record to the honor of these noble regiments that the charges made by them at Harpeth River have never been and cannot be sur- passed by cavalry of any nation." By this charge the Texans gained possession of an eminence overlooking the enemy's position, which they held until late that after- noon, when, discovering an intention on the part of the Federal commander to advance his entire force, they withdrew to the south side of the river. Very soon the whole line of the enemy advanced, but, upon finding that the Texans had fallen back across the river, retired, and during the night withdrew towards Nashville. The next day the brigade moved forward, arrived in front of Nashville on December 3, and took possession of the Nolansville Pike, three miles from the city. Just in front was a line of works, and General Koss, wishing to ascertain what force occu- pied it, had two squadrons of the Sixth Texas to dismount, deploy as skirmishers, and advance. It was then discovered that the line was only occupied by the enemy's skirmishers, who withdrew upon the approach of the Texans. Having VOL. II .- 40
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A COMPREHENSIVE HISTORY OF TEXAS.
been relieved by the infantry soon after this, the cavalry retired to the rear, and were ordered to cook up rations.
On the morning of December 5 the brigade marched to La Vergne and found a small force of the enemy's infantry there, which took refuge inside the fort, but they surrendered after a feeble resistance. Moving thence to Murfreesboro', when within a few miles of the city the enemy's pickets were encountered, and, after a stubborn resistance, driven back by the Third and Sixth Texas, dismounted. A few days afterwards Major-General Forrest invested Murfreesboro' with his cav- alry corps and one division of infantry. The duty assigned to the Texas brigade was to guard all the approaches to the city from the Salem to the Woodbury Pikes, in which it was engaged in skirmishes alnost daily.
On December 15 the brigade captured a train of cars from Stevenson, heavily loaded with supplies for the garrison at Murfreesboro', about seven miles south of that city, which was guarded by a regiment of infantry. The guard fought des- perately for about an hour, having a strong position in a cut in the railroad, but was finally routed by a most gallant charge by the Sixth Texas, supported by the Third, and one hundred and fifty prisoners captured ; the others escaped to a block-house near by. The train contained fully two hundred thousand rations of sugar, coffee, hard-bread, and bacon, and the Texans regretted they were unable to carry it all with them, and were compelled to burn it.
The next day, in consequence of the reverse to the Confederate arms at Nash- ville, the brigade was withdrawn from the front at Murfreesboro', was ordered across to Triune, and thence to Columbia, crossing Duck River on the evening of the 18th. On the 24th of December, while bringing up the rear of the army, the encmy charged the rear-guard of the brigade at Lynnsville with a heavy force, and threatened to carry all opposition before them. The Sixth Texas, forming hastily, met and hurled them back, administering a severe lesson and giving a most whole- some check to their ardor. Again, when the Confederate army was crossing Rich- land Creek, near Pulaski, its rear pressed hard by the pursuing enemy, the Texas brigade held them in check by a bold front until all had crossed over. The next day, as rear-guard, the brigade was constantly engaged with the enemy's advance ; and nine miles from Pulaski, when the Confederate infantry halted and formed, the enemy made a determined effort to turn its right flank. General Ross discovered the movement in time to defeat it, and drove the flanking column back in confusion. At the same time the infantry charged and captured the enemy's artillery, adminis- tering such an effectual check that they did not again show themselves that day. Early the following morning, the enemy, still not satisfied, made their appearance, and the infantry again made dispositions to receive them. Reynolds's and Ector's brigades took position, and the Ninth and Twenty-seventh Texas were drawn up in column of fours immediately in their rear. The fog was dense, and the enemy advanced very cautiously. When near enough to be seen, the infantry fired a volley and charged. . At the same time the two Texas regiments sprang forward. and, passing through the infantry, crossed Sugar Creek in the face of a terrific fire, overcame all opposition in a gallant charge, and pursued the thoroughly routed foe quite a mile, capturing twelve prisoners with their horses, besides killing numbers of others. From the prisoners captured it was learned that the attacking enemy
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