USA > Virginia > Washington County > Washington County > History of southwest Virginia, 1746-1786, Washington County, 1777-1870 > Part 47
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"1862. May 18th. Adam Hickman died this morning at twenty minutes past nine o'clock, has been in bad health for about ten years.
"1862. July 1st. It rained very hard at sundown, just after the train got to the depot with the remains of Colonel Fulkerson, who was shot the evening of the 27th, in the battle below Richmond in a charge on the enemy's battery, which was taken, but the Colonel died the 28th, at twelve o'clock at night. His place cannot be filled in Southwest Virginia, and I doubt if it can be in the State. He was buried July 2d at twelve o'clock.
"1862. November 6th. got home to-day from Kentucky : has been there almost two months : brought a fine Bowie knife of a Union Tory and his cap (tip too)
killed him. Nothing now on this continent in the shape of man but thieves, robbers and murderers.
"1862. December 22d. Jerry and Jim, slaves of Allen. of Ten- nessee, were convicted for the murder of William McDaniel on the farm of Colonel John Preston and sentenced to be hung on the 23d day of January, 1863.
"1862. December 31st. It is said that 1,500 or 3.000 cavalry (Yanks) came through Stone Gap, and got to Blountville, the 30th, and took it.
"1863. January 23d. This day between twelve and one o'clock Jerry and Jim were hung in the Academy field for the murder of William McDaniel in October, 1862.
"1863. March 4th. This night. 1841, Charles B. Coale and
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myself were converted by Dave Shaver in what is called the Radical Church, to Methodism ; Hum-
"1863. March 28th. Yesterday was Jeff Davis' fast day, whether the people fasted or not I don't know, but they went to the different churches.
"1862. November 22d. William Fields died the 22d of Novem- ber, 1862, in the fifty-second year of his age, no better man has lived or died in Washington county. His father died New Year's morning 1829, just such a man."
By the fall of the year 1862, the Southern sympathizers living in the State of Kentucky were compelled to leave their homes, and . the provisional Governor of that State, after being inaugurated at Frankfort, Kentucky, on the 4th of October, was forced to leave his State and had his headquarters in Abingdon on the 31st of October.
In the month of December, 1862, shoes in Abingdon brought from $10 to $12 per pair, boots from $20 to $30 per pair, a pair of jeans pants, $20 ; a jeans coat, $30 to $40; a bushel of corn, $2.50 to $3 ; a bushel of wheat, $4 ; a barrel of flour, $25, and a bushel of sweet potatoes, $5.
The people of this county were greatly excited by the invasion of East Tennessee by about fifteen hundred Federal troops under the command of General Carter.
At the time, General Humphrey Marshall with his brigade was at Abingdon, and immediately started in pursuit, accompanied by a volunteer company from this county under Lieutenant Warren M. Hopkins.
The invaders succeeded in destroying the railroad bridge across the Holston and Watauga rivers and made their escape.
In January, 1863, the Governor of Virginia made a requisition upon the authorities of Washington county for one hundred and twenty slaves to work upon the fortifications around Richmond, which request was complied with, after some time.
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The court directed the sheriff and his deputies to ascertain the number of slaves in the county of all ages and sexes and the num- ber of male slaves between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years. The sheriff and his deputies and the commissioners of the revenue reported, ascertaining the number of slaves in this county to be twenty-seven hundred and eighty-seven, and the number of male slaves between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years to
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Washington County, 1777-1870.
be six hundred and fourteen; thereupon the court directed Tobias Smith, John N. Humes, Abram Mongle and Joseph W. Davis to apportion the one hundred and twenty slaves required from this county, upon the male slaves between the ages of eighteen and forty-five years, and required the slave-holders of the county to deliver his or her quota of slaves to the sheriff of this county at Abingdon, Goodson and Glade Spring on the 21st of February, 1863, and John L. Bradley and Moses Brooks were appointed agents or overseers for such slaves, and Floyd B. Hurt was directed to notify the railroad company of the number of slaves to be sent from this county to Richmond.
At the same term of the court an order was entered appointing the Rev. Thomas Catlett agent for the county to proceed to North Carolina to purchase cotton yarn and domestic for the destitute families of soldiers in this county.
In the summer of the year 1863, the portion of salt allotted to this county from the Saltworks was distributed among the people by T. G. McConnell, William R. Rhea and Robert C. Allison, in quantities not less than ten bushels and at $2 per bushel.
On Thursday evening, the 10th of September, 1863, Rebecca Lynch and Elizabeth Murray, of this county, were under an oak tree near Lynch's Spring on the turnpike at the head of McBroom's mill-dam, with two Confederate soldiers, during a storm. Light- ning struck the tree under which they had taken shelter and the four persons were killed.
In the fall of the year 1863, Washington county was overrun by stragglers and deserters from the army, claiming to belong to the cavalry service. These men traveled about and over the county in bands of from two to twenty, and robbed the citizens indiscrimi- nately of their money, clothing, horses, saddles, bridles, their grain and forage, by force and actual violence, and such was the condi- tion of affairs that the County Court of Washington county appealed to the General Assembly of the State for a remedy, stat- ing that they had appealed to the military authorities, but without avail.
In the fall of 1862 and the spring and summer of 1863 several companies of infantry and cavalry were organized in this county -- viz .: Company E, of the Sixty-third Virginia Regiment, Captain David O. Rush; Company F, of the Sixty-third Virginia Regiment.
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Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
Captain James Snodgrass; Company C, of the Twenty-first Vir- ginia Regiment, Captain R. J. Preston; Company -, Twenty- first Virginia Cavalry, Captain Fred Gray.
In the fall of this year another requisition was made upon the county authorities for eighty slaves to work upon the fortifications at Saltville.
The county had been threatened with an invasion by the enemy during the fall of the year and had been overrun as before described, and the County Court, at the October term, petitioned the Governor to exempt this county from the requisition, but their petition was refused and the slaves were furnished early in the year 1864.
At the same term of the court an order was entered appointing John Roberts a general agent for the county to purchase supplies for the families of soldiers who were in indigent circumstances, and district agents were appointed in the several districts of the county with authority to purchase supplies for the same purpose and to draw upon John G. Kreger for such sums of money as were needed for the purpose.
At the November court, 1863, the districts of the commissioners of revenue for the county were designated, pursuant to an Act of Assembly, the Western District being No. 1, and the Eastern District No. 2.
By December, 1863, the condition of affairs was such that the people of the county were threatened with a famine for bread, and the County Court entered an order calling the attention of the Con- federate authorities at Richmond to the condition of affairs in this county and asking their aid in every legitimate way to prevent any further appropriation of the means of the people of this county to the support of the army.
On the 16th of September, 1863, a company was organized at Abingdon for home defence. This company was officered as fol- lows :
Captain, Peter C. Johnson.
First Lieutenant, Joseph T. Campbell.
Second Lieutenant, Charles F. Keller.
Third Lieutenant, W. R. Trigg.
A full complement of sergeants and corporals were appointed and Saturday was fixed as the day for drilling. This was the sec-
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ond company organized for home defence in the town, the first com- pany having been organized on the 22d of June, 1863, and was officered as follows :
A. C. Cummings, captain.
John A. Campbell, first lieutenant.
G. V. Litchfield, second lieutenant.
Charles F. Keller, first sergeant.
James L. Davis, second sergeant.
Henry Roberts, third sergeant.
John Leach, fourth sergeant.
James A. King, fifth sergeant.
James S. Munsey, first corporal.
These two companies undertook the protection of this community upon ordinary occasions and discharged their duties well.
In the spring of this year, Colonel William E. Peters was elected to represent this district in the Senate of Virginia, while Colonel A. C. Cummings and Captain George Graham were elected to represent the county in the House of Delegates, but, in the fall, Colo- nel Peters resigned his position as a member of the Senate of Vir- ginia, and Colonel Joseph J. Graham, of Wythe, was elected to fill the vacancy.
The threatened invasion by the Federal troops from the West was so imminent that on the 16th of October, 1863, Abingdon was honored with two major and six brigadier-generals -- to-wit: Ran- som, Samuel Jones, Corse, Wharton, Williams, W. E. Jones, Jack- son and Crittenden.
By January 1. 1864, this county had furnished at least two thousand men, nearly all volunteers, to the army of the Confederate States, and had been subjected to the necessity of having quartered on them large numbers of troops, and provisions and forage were scareer in the county than they had been for many years. Serious apprehensions were felt that the poor of the county and the families of soldiers would suffer. During the fall of 1863, the brigades of Generals Corse, Jones and Wharton were encamped near Abing- don for more than a month, and had consumed large quantities of provision and forage. There were at this time about one thousand sick and wounded soldiers in the three hospitals in the county.
But. notwithstanding the situation of the people of the county. in the month of March, 1864, officers were impressing in the lower
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Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
end of this county all provisions to be found except five bushels of grain and fifty pounds of beef or bacon to each adult of the family, and one-half the quantity for those under fourteen years of age, for use by General Longstreet's forces, and by the summer of this year, wheat sold at $30 per bushel and corn at $24.
It seems that such a condition of affairs would have been unbear- able, but such was the patriotism and loyalty of our people to their Commonwealth, that they, with but little hesitation, furnished the officers of the Confederate government the greater portion of all the grain and provision that they could possibly secure.
General Buckner and General Morgan were both in Abingdon on the first of April, 1864.
A portion of General Morgan's Brigade were encamped for a few days near our town.
On the 5th day of February, 1864, a young man by the name of Jacob Mullens, of Wise county, Virginia, was shot by order of Colonel Prentiss, in West Abingdon, at the location of the colored graveyard. Mullens had deserted from his company and joined the enemy. The Abingdon paper in speaking of Mullens says: "He was an exceedingly ignorant young man, almost a heathen, having never read the Bible, nor heard it read until after his conviction, and never heard a sermon in his life. The chaplain of the post and several other ministers here gave him the benefit of their coun- sel and consolation, and he seemed to be penitent. He was greatly affected on the day of his execution, but exhibited a good deal of firmness and composure after arriving at the place of execution. He was sitting upon his coffin with his fingers in his ears when the order to fire was given. He expired almost immediately, five balls having pierced his breast."*
This is but one instance of the many that happened during the war, such executions being necessary to enforce discipline and to render the armies of the Confederacy effective.
The first day of April, 1864, was set apart as a day of humilia- tion, fasting and prayer throughout our Southland, and that day was observed by all our people.
On the same day James K. Gibson resigned his office as Con-
*" Abingdon Virginian."
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Washington County, 1777-1870.
federate States Depositary at Abingdon, and Floyd B. Hurt was appointed his successor.
The County Court at its April term, 1864, directed that $50,000 be levied upon the county to buy grain in Georgia or elsewhere to be distributed among the poor and the families of soldiers who were in indigent circumstances in this county, and Aaron L. Hen- dricks was appointed to purchase the said corn and have it con- veyed to this county, and committees were appointed in each of the magisterial districts of the county to solicit subscriptions and relieve the sufferings of the people as far as possible.
The County Court at this time had on hand six hundred and eighty bushels of salt, which was much more valuable than the Con- federate currency and county scrip, and the court directed Jonas S. Kelly to convey this salt to Tennessee and exchange the same for corn, to relieve the suffering families of the soldiers of this county.
The indebtedness of Washington county on the 23d of May, 1864, was ascertained to be $53,648.66.
To add to the sufferings of the people of the county, small-pox in a dangerous form appeared in the vicinity of Abingdon, produc- ing a great deal of uneasiness among the people.
On the 3d day of September, 1864, General John H. Morgan. who had been of great service to the people of this county, was foully murdered at the residence of Mrs. Dr. Williams in Green- ville, Tennessee. He was betrayed by a young Mrs. Williams, who had left her home upon the coming of General Morgan, and informed the Federal troops of the whereabouts of General Mor- gan and the number of guards on duty, and on Sunday morning the 3d, the house where General Morgan was sleeping was sur- rounded by Federal troops, and in attempting to escape General Morgan was shot through the right breast and killed, his body thrown across a horse and paraded through the streets of the town.
On Monday night the remains of General Morgan arrived at Abingdon, and were taken to the residence of Judge Campbell in the vicinity,* where Mrs. Morgan with one or two relatives were sojourning. On Tuesday evening at 4 o'clock. funeral services were performed by Chaplain Cameron, and the procession formed by General George B. Crittenden. It was the largest and most impos-
*Acklin, home of Mr. Mingea.
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Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
ing procession of the sort ever seen in this part of the country. The order was as follows :
1st. Hearse, with the body and guards on each side, without arms.
2d. Chaplains.
3d. Family of deceased.
4th. Military family, mounted by twos.
5th. Military court, mounted by twos.
6th. Officers of the army, mounted by twos.
7th. Privates, mounted by twos.
8th. Citizens, mounted by twos.
9th. Citizens, dismounted.
As the sun went down behind dark masses of clouds in the West, emblematic of the sorrow and gloom that pervaded the vast con- course in attendance, all that was mortal of the immortal John H. Morgan was consigned to the rest of the tomb, there to sleep, unmindful of the clash of arms and the terrible tread of armies, until the trump that marshals the buried millions shall break his slumbers.
The remains of General Morgan were interred in Sinking Spring Cemetery, but were subsequently removed to his home in Kentucky.
General Morgan was succeeded in his command by General Duke, of Kentucky, but from this time forward the people of this county were without hope and calmly awaited the inevitable.
The subscription price of the "Abingdon Virginian," at this time was $8 per year.
BATTLE OF SALTVILLE.
Major-General Burbridge, in command of about five thousand Federal troops, at this time entered Virginia by way of Pikeville, Kentucky, and proceeded up the Big Sandy and crossed the moun- tains into Tazewell county at Richlands. At the same time Gen- eral Gillem, at the head of a considerable force of Federal troops, was making every effort to enter Virginia from East Tennessee, but the progress of Gill'em was greatly retarded by the efforts of General Vaughan, who was in command of a considerable body of Confederate troops in that section.
It was known that the destination of General Burbridge and General Gillem was the Saltworks in this county, and the reserves
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Washington County, 1777-1870.
of this county (being boys under seventeen and men over forty- five years of age) were called upon to organize for the purpose of defending their homes, and, by the 30th day of September, four companies were ready for service under the command of Colonel James T. Preston, as follows :
Company I, Captain Thomas Patterson.
Company C, Captain William B. Campbell.
Company E, Captain John W. Worley.
Company F, Captain William Barrow.
A portion of these companies were organized some time pre- vious to this time.
At the same time, General Vaughan with his forces was ordered to Saltville from East Tennessee, where he had, until this time, successfully opposed the advance of General Gillem's Brigade. When it was known that General Vaughan had been ordered to Saltville, such a stampede as occurred among the people of this section had never before been witnessed in this county. The roads were crammed and blocked with cattle, sheep, negroes, wagons, bug- gies and great numbers of citizens with their families. The scene was almost indescribable, and Abingdon was deserted, with the exception of a very few old men, women and children.
About seven hundred reserves had gathered at Saltville under the command of Colonel Robert Smith, of Tazewell; Colonel Robert Preston, of Montgomery: Colonel James T. Preston, of Wash- ington, and Colonel Kent, of Wythe.
Colonel Robert Trigg, of the Fifty-fourth Virginia Regiment, being at Saltville at that time, took charge of this force and was actively engaged in organizing it when General A. E. Jackson arrived and took command and began to plan the defences of the place.
General Burbridge had followed the State road from Kentucky into Tazewell county and from Richlands directed his course by Cedar Bluff toward the Saltworks.
Giltner's Brigade, composed of the Fourth Kentucky, Johnson's Battalion, Jenkin's Battalion, Clay's Battalion. the Tenth Ken- tucky Cavalry and the Sixty-fourth Virginia Regiment, met Bur- bridge's army at Cedar Bluff, and from that point disputed his advance at every opportunity from the 30th day of September
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Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
until he had passed Laurel Gap in Clinch mountain on Saturday, October 1, 1864.
This brigade of Confederate troops was composed of probably the best soldiers in the Confederate army and numbered about twelve hundred men.
They not only assailed Burbridge's army at every opportunity, but cut trees across the road and placed every obstruction in the way that could be thought of to retard the progress of the Federal army through Tazewell county, and, notwithstanding the superior forces commanded by Burbridge, the Federal army was unable to pass through the Laurel Gap in Clinch mountain for more than a day.
When Giltner's Brigade had, by superior strength, been driven from the Laurel Gap, it was divided into two sections of about equal numbers, the first section passing down the Poor Valley road destroying bridges and obstructing the road in every possible way. This force was commanded by Dr. E. O. Guerrant, of Giltner's staff, and Colonel Pryor, of the Fourth Kentucky, while the second section crossed the river and followed the Valley road to Saltville, and was under the command of Colonel H. L. Giltner.
Colonel Giltner expected Burbridge with his army to march to the Saltworks that night, and if he had, the capture of the works would have been inevitable, but, to the surprise of the Confederate forces, Burbridge's army went into camp in the bottom on the south of Laurel Gap and remained until the following morning, Sunday, October 2, 1864.
The Federal forces began their march to Saltville and arrived on the north side of the river near Governor Saunder's residence between nine and ten A. M. of that day, and in the meantime and on the morning of the same day, General John S. Williams, of Wheeler's Cavalry, arrived at Saltville, with his division, which was composed of Robertson's Brigade, of soldiers from Texas, Dibrell's Brigade and the Ninth Kentucky Cavalry commanded by Colonel William C. P. Breckenridge.
The Confederate forces at Saltville at this time were as follows:
Colonel H. L. Giltner's Brigade, composed of the Fourth Ken- tucky, commanded by Colonel Pryor ; Tenth Kentucky, commanded by Colonel Edwin Trimble; Johnson's Battalion, Kentucky troops ; Clay's Battalion, Kentucky troops ; Jenkins' Battalion, Kentucky troops; the Sixty-fourth Virginia Regiment, commanded by
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Washington County, 1777-1870.
Colonel A. L. Pridemore; Brigadier-General John S. Williams' Brigade, composed of Robertson's Brigade, commanded by General Robertson ; Dibrell's Brigade, commanded by General George Dib- rell; Ninth Kentucky Cavalry, commanded by Colonel William C. P. Breckenridge; First Kentucky, commanded by Colonel Grif- fith; the Thirteenth Battalion of Virginia reserves, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Smith, of Tazewell county, the rank- ing colonel then present. This battalion was composed of the fol- lowing companies :
Company A, Smyth county, commanded by Lieutenant James Golahon.
Company B, Tazewell county, commanded by Captain Samuel L. Graham.
Company C, Washington county, commanded by Lieutenant J. S. Booher.
Company D, Smyth county, commanded by Anderson. Company F, Washington county, commanded by Captain Wil- liam Barrow.
Company G, Russell county, commanded by Captain A. P. Gilmer.
Company H, Tazewell county, commanded by Captain George E. Starnes.
Company I, Washington county, commanded by Captain Thomas E. Patterson.
Company E, Washington county, commanded by Captain Henry B. Roberts, was on duty at Abingdon, and did not reach the battle- ground until about sundown of October 2d.
Kent's Battalion, commanded by Colonel Kent and Major Houn- shell, of Wythe.
This battalion was composed of several companies of militia from Wythe, Carroll and Grayson counties ; the officers' names I do not know.
The forces at Saltville were under command of General A. E. Jackson until about 9:30 of the morning of the day of the battle. when he was succeeded by General Williams, who arrived at that time, and took command of all the forces then at Saltville.
General Williams began his preparations for the battle and arranged his forces as follows :
Colonel James T. Preston, with one hundred and twenty reserves,
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Southwest Virginia, 1746-1786.
was directed to form a skirmish line along the river and to defend the ford one-half a mile above the lower works.
The line of battle was formed from right to left on the south side of the river, the right wing of the army fronting the residence of Governor Saunders, the forces being arranged in the following order :
To the north of the road and on the extreme left the First Ken- tucky, Colonel Griffith, and, in the order named, to the right, the Ninth Kentucky Cavalry, Colonel William C. P. Breckenridge, Giltner's Brigade, as follows: Fourth Kentucky, Colonel Pryor ; Johnson's Battalion, Colonel Thomas Johnson; Jenkins' Bat- talion, Captain Jenkins; Clay's Battalion, Colonel Clay; Sixty- fourth Virginia Regiment, Colonel A. L. Pridemore; Tenth Ken- tucky, Colonel Edwin Trimble-this last regiment defending the ford.
To the south of the road and facing Governor Saunders' resi- dence, in the order named, the Thirteenth Battalion of Virginia Reserves, Colonel Ro. Smith; Kent's Battalion, Colonel Kent ; Robertson's Brigade, General Robertson, and Dibrell's Brigade, General George Dibrell-this last brigade forming the extreme right of the army, while the artillery under the command of Cap- tain John W. Barr, was placed on Church Hill, north of the pub- lic road near the position occupied by the First Kentucky and in a position that commanded the advance of the enemy.
William King's Battery was to the south of Robertson's Brigade and south of the ridge, and did not have an opportunity to take part in the battle.
The Federal forces were partly on the north side of the river and partly south of the river and cast of Dibrell's Brigade. Such was the position of the opposing forces when an overwhelming force of Federal troops, colored soldiers, assaulted Dibrell's Brigade, which brigade retired to the west side of Cedar creek, and had every advantage of the attacking forces.
A part of Kent's Battalion of Reserves commanded by Major Hounshell and stationed east of and near to Governor Saunders' house, thinking that Dibrell's Brigade were acting in a cowardly manner and not being themselves accustomed to war, refused to leave their position and for some time and without any assistance main- tained the contest against overwhelming numbers, suffering the loss
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