sent out from time to time with more or less success. A force of rebels,
under Major-General Van Dorn, on the 10th of April, attacked the
National force under Major-General G. Granger, at Franklin. The rebel
force was estimated at nine thousand cavalry, besides two regiments of
infantry, and was greatly superior to the Union force, which consisted
of only two regiments, under Generals Baird and Gilbert, numbering about
sixteen hundred men, and sixteen guns; and two cavalry brigades under
General Smith and Colonel Stanley, numbering about twenty-seven hundred
men, and two guns. The only natural defence of the place was a fort, not
yet completed, and which mounted two siege, and two three-inch rifled
guns. This fort was elevated some forty feet above the surrounding
country, and commanded most of the approaches to the town. General
Granger’s camp was situated on the north side of the river, and about
two-thirds of a mile from Franklin. General Baird received orders to
check any force of the enemy attempting to cross the fords below, and
General Gilbert was so placed as to meet any attack made upon the front,
with orders to reinforce either flank if required. About four miles on
the road to Murfreesboro’, Colonel Stanley was stationed, and General
Smith’s cavalry was held in reserve to reinforce Colonel Stanley. The
attack was opened by General Van Dorn on General Granger’s front, which
was instantly repulsed. The attack was then renewed on Colonel Stanley,
who was driven back before reinforcements could reach him. The enemy
pressed close upon them; when they had advanced into an open field, they
halted, and the Unionists suddenly faced about, and delivered such a hot
fire into their ranks that they fell back in confusion. Speedily
recovering, however, the enemy charged again, and were again repulsed
with loss. They fell back again; and the Unionists not wishing to follow
up the advantage they had gained, continued to retreat till they had
neared the town, and there they were charged upon by the whole force of
the enemy’s cavalry. The Unionists kept up a continuous firing upon the
advancing rebels, but the enemy’s column came steadily onward. The
National troops now executed a brilliant, and very skillful
movement—each front company delivered its fire, and then retreated to
the rear, leaving the next one behind in front, and so succeeding until
the one in rear was again in front. In this way the retreating
Unionists, still under a hot fire from the rebels, held them in check
till the town was gained in safety. Once there, the National troops
concealed themselves within the shelter of the houses, yard-fences,
hedges, &c., and from this cover they poured into the enemy’s ranks a
constant and murderous fire. The siege guns and batteries now opened
upon them, also, and succeeded in driving them discomfited from the
field. In this engagement, the National loss was very much less than
that of the rebels, notwithstanding the latter had so far outnumbered
the former.
On the 20th, a skirmish occurred between a Union force, part of
Major-General Reynolds’s division, Colonel Wilder’s mounted brigade, and
a cavalry force under Colonel Minty, and the enemy, who were stationed
at a place called McMinnsville. The rebels formed a line, and charged
upon the Unionists as the latter approached the city, where they had
been sent from Murfreesboro’, to scatter any Confederate force which
might be found at McMinnsville. The National troops encountered the
rebel line, breaking through it at once, and drove the whole force,
consisting of seven hundred men, from the town. Many men were taken
prisoners by this Union force, and much destruction of rebel property
accomplished. On the 29th, a small body of Union men, under Colonel
Watkins, captured one of the enemy’s camps, taking prisoners one hundred
and thirty-eight men.
COLONEL STREIGHT’S EXPEDITION INTO GEORGIA.
MAY 3, 1863.
About the 20th of April, an expedition was fitted out to proceed into
Northern Georgia, in charge of Colonel A. D. Streight, under whose
command was placed the Fifty-first Indiana and Eightieth Illinois,
together with portions of two Ohio regiments.
Colonel Streight was officially notified that the chief object of his
expedition was to push into Western Georgia, and cut the railroads which
supplied the rebel army, by way of Chattanooga; and that in pursuance of
this plan, he was not to allow incidental schemes, however promising as
to results, to involve him in such delays, as would endanger his safe
return. In order in deceive the enemy, he was to march long enough in
company with the army of General Dodge, to give rise to the belief that
he was a part of the expedition of the latter. He was further commanded
to refrain from pillage and marauding, but to destroy all depots of
supplies for the rebel army, all manufactories of guns, ammunition,
equipment, and clothing for their use, which could be done without
endangering their return.
In obedience to these instructions, Colonel Streight embarked his
soldiers from Nashville, and landed near Fort Donelson. From there he
crossed the country to the Tennessee river, thence proceeded to
Eastport, and conjointly with the forces of General Dodge, at the time
marching upon Tuscumbia, gave battle to the Confederate troops, and
defeated them with considerable loss.
At this point, Colonel Streight parted company with General Dodge, and
pursued his course toward Rome and Atlanta. General Forrest and Colonel
Rody, with a Confederate force, happening to be in the neighborhood of
Colonel Streight’s proposed route, were at once apprised of his
movements, and falling upon his rear, engaged in a running fight, which
lasted full four days, and comprised several sharp skirmishes, and two
battles. The Federal troops, however, managed to advance over a hundred
miles into the interior of the State, destroying on their way some
bridges, a large quantity of meal, and a foundry for the manufacture of
shot and cannon. But as the Confederate forces continually increased,
and both the ammunition and the men of Colonel Streight finally became
exhausted, he was obliged at a point some fifteen miles from Rome, (Ga.)
to make a complete surrender. His men, to the number of thirteen
hundred, were, according to custom, at once paroled, but his officers
were held and imprisoned, on the charge of having incurred the penalty
fixed by a statute of the State of Georgia, for inciting slaves to
rebellion. In substantiation of this claim, it was stated that black
men, uniformed, and bearing arms, were found in the command of Colonel
Streight. On the other hand, it was declared that these negroes had
marched from Nashville with the raiders.
In consequence of this refusal to parole Colonel Streight, the
Government suspended the exchange of Confederate officers, and General
Morgan and his officers were thrown into the penitentiary of Ohio.
Colonel Streight was subsequently released from imprisonment.
* * * * *
It was toward the end of June that General Rosecrans commenced a series
of movements, which were designed to bring on a conflict between the
forces under his command, and the rebels under General Bragg. His
purpose was to march small portions of his army on Shelbyville, and by
feints give an idea that a serious movement was intended in that
direction; while his really decisive blow was aimed at Tullahoma.
Accordingly the Twentieth corps, under General McCook, was selected to
make the advance on the right; and about seven o’clock General
Sheridan’s division, preceded by five companies of mounted infantry,
under Lieutenant-Colonel Jones, proceeded on the way to Shelbyville.
During the night, this division bivouacked on each side of the wood, and
the divisions of General Johnson and Davis advanced six miles on the
road, and on the left turned to Liberty Gap. The following day was very
stormy—notwithstanding which the mounted infantry under Colonel Wilder,
marched along the road leading to Manchester, and were closely followed
by General Reynolds, with the remainder of his division.
At about nine o’clock in the morning, Colonel Wilder met the enemy’s
pickets eight miles from Murfreesboro’, and drove them, together with
all their reserves, on a quick run before him, to beyond Hoover’s Gap,
which is a long winding hollow through a chain of hills which divide the
Stone and Duck rivers. For about two-thirds the distance through the
gaps the rebels had fortified a strong position, but were driven so
closely by the men under Colonel Wilder, that before they had time to
deploy into their works, the Union soldiers were inside also. The rebels
fled instantly, leaving behind the battle-flag of the First Kentucky
cavalry regiment, and also forty-two prisoners. For full four miles
beyond Hoover’s Gap, Colonel Wilder’s men drove them on a sharp run;
when he heard the long-roll sounded in the enemy’s infantry camp two
miles beyond the Garrison Fork, down Duck river toward the right.
Immediately the proper dispositions were made for an expected fight, for
Colonel Wilder determined to hold the gap until General Reynolds with
his force should come up to his assistance. Almost on the instant, two
brigades of rebel infantry came up on the double-quick, and formed in
line of battle; the Unionists poured a volley into their ranks, which
caused them to hastily turn about and beat a retreat; upon the right of
Colonel Wilder’s column five regiments of rebels had charged, and
outflanked the Seventeenth. The Ninety-eighth Illinois, Colonel
Fernhouser, hastened to their relief, before whom the rebels did not
stand more than five minutes. Wheeling about, the enemy, despite the
cries and entreaties of their officers, beat a hasty retreat, and with
great noise and clatter carried their batteries away with them, and
posted them behind some hills in their rear. General Reynolds’ division
held possession of the gap.
During these and subsequent preliminary movements, the rebel position
was as follows: Bragg’s main army occupied a strong position north of
Duck river, with their cavalry on the right toward McMinnville, and
their infantry extending from Shelbyville to Wantrace; on the left,
toward Columbia and Spring Hill, Forrest was concentrating and
threatening Franklin. Their main base of supplies was, of course, at
Chattanooga; but their superior and efficient cavalry force had enabled
them to command all the resources of Duck river valley, and the country
toward the south. Tullahoma, the large intrenched camp of the rebels,
was situated on the “barrens” at the intersection of the Nashville and
Chattanooga railroad with the McMinnville branch, and was their main
depot. The rebel infantry was well protected by a high range of rough
and rocky hills; the principal routes passed southward from
Murfreesboro’ toward Tullahoma, and the enemy’s line of communications.
By the way of McMinnville, Tullahoma is distant seventy-five miles from
Chattanooga; the Manchester pike passes the hills above referred to,
goes through Hoover’s Gap, and ascends to the “barrens,” through a long
and difficult cañon called Matt’s Hollow. The Wantrace road passes
through Liberty Gap, and into a road which runs parallel with the
railroad at Bellbuckle Gap. The Shelbyville road runs through a defile
called Guy’s Gap. A road called the Middleton dirt road, is also
situated near here; and the road along Versailles runs into the
Shelbyville and Triune roads, neither of which have any passes, and but
few defiles.
The enemy held all these passes, his main position being in front of
Shelbyville, and strengthened by a redan line which extended from Horse
Mountain on the east, to Duck river on the west, and was covered by a
line of abattis.
It being still uncertain whether the enemy would advance to test the
strength of the whole Union force, the following disposition of the
latter was made for the 25th: Major-General Crittenden was ordered to
advance on Lannon’s Stand, and from thence open communication with
General Thomas, who was then to drive the rebels toward Fairfield, where
the Fourteenth corps was stationed to receive them; and General McCook,
with that portion of his corps under his own immediate command was to
make a feint along the Wantrace road by the way of Liberty Gap. General
Stanley, with the cavalry under his command, was to occupy the attention
of the rebels at Fosterville; while General Granger with the infantry,
was to support Stanley at Christiana. If General Thomas succeeded in his
manœuvre, and found the rebels retreating towards Wartrace, he was to
cover that road with a division, and thus move on to Manchester with the
remainder of his command, while General McCook, moving in on Beech
Grove, was to hold Liberty Gap with one division, and after a time to
withdraw quietly, leaving a force sufficient to protect it, and move on
to Manchester.
During this day it rained heavily and continuously; and General Brannan
was, in consequence, prevented from joining the Fourteenth corps as soon
as was necessary. Finally everything was in position; General Reynolds’
division advanced upon the heights toward Fairfield, but made no
demonstration against the enemy. At Liberty Gap the enemy endeavored to
regain possession, but were utterly routed, and compelled to leave it in
possession of the Unionists.
The greater part of the movements ordered on the 25th were completed on
the 26th, notwithstanding the drenching rain which had continued day and
night. The divisions of Generals Reynolds, Rousseau and Brannan, made a
combined advance upon the enemy, and forced him to retreat toward
Fairfield; Wilder’s cavalry seized Matt’s Hollow, and held it, thus
securing the passage toward Manchester for Reynolds to move forward with
his division, which the gallant General did during the same night.
Headquarters were established in Manchester during the 27th; and in the
course of the night all the remaining portion of General Thomas’ corps
came in from the different directions in which they had been posted. All
was now in readiness to prepare for the coming contest; rations were
distributed to the troops, and the column was closed up around
Manchester.
While these preparations were going forward, General Rosecrans saw an
opportunity for cutting off the railroad in the rebel rear, and thus
accomplishing one of his main objects. He therefore sent forward
Wilder’s brigade to burn the bridges across Elk river, and to destroy
the railroad between Deckhard and Cowan. Brigadier-General John Beatty
was sent to Hillsboro’ with a brigade of infantry, to cover, and if
necessary, support the movements of Colonel Wilder. Upon reaching Elk
river it was found to be so swollen, in consequence of the recent rains,
that it was impossible to ford it. Nothing daunted, the brave Colonel
proceeded upstream along the banks, till he came to a place where there
seemed a possibility of swimming his horse across. A raft was hastily
constructed from the ruins of an old sawmill, and he thus floated his
mountain howitzer over, by towing it with ropes. The One hundred and
twenty-third Illinois, Colonel Monroe, had been sent on to destroy the
bridge, but on arriving there found that he was late by about ten
minutes, as three regiments of the rebel Withers’ division of infantry
had arrived there and were protecting the bridge. Colonel Monroe,
therefore, returned from his fruitless errand; and with the rest of
Wilder’s command, moved on to Deckhard during the same night. There they
had a sharp skirmish with about eighty men of the garrison, but finally
drove them out, and in the darkness the rebels effected their escape.
Colonel Wilder then destroyed the telegraph wires, captured the
instruments, set fire to the depot, and tore up about three hundred
yards of the Chattanooga railroad track. From there Colonel Wilder took
the road across the mountains to Chattanooga intending to strike the
bridges at Cow’s creek, near Stevenson, but was prevented on finding
three trains loaded with rebel infantry awaiting him, while the enemy’s
cavalry was in hot pursuit of him. Unwilling to give up his object, he
next attempted to attack Anderson, ten miles further on, and destroy all
the bridges in that direction, but there, also, he found a rebel brigade
awaiting him. Being thus threatened on every hand, he was obliged to
make his escape in order to save his troops from capture; and, with
Buckner’s brigade close upon his heels, made all possible speed to
return to Manchester. His men were utterly exhausted; they were out of
rations, and the horses, which had scarcely been unsaddled for seven
days, were nearly starved. But men and animals exhibited alike great
powers of endurance; and by his admirable management, Colonel Wilder got
his troops back to Manchester in safety, and without the loss of a
single man, at about one o’clock on the afternoon of the 30th, having
marched one hundred and twenty-six miles, swam four streams, and tore up
three railroad tracks.
In the mean time a force of the enemy’s artillery and cavalry at Guy’s
Gap had been attacked by General Stanley’s cavalry, and the infantry
under General Granger. The enemy was completely routed, driven from
stand to stand, till they reached their intrenchments, where the
Unionists made an impetuous charge upon them, and drove them out,
capturing three pieces of artillery. From the intrenchments, the rebels
fled back to Shelbyville, and gathering together all their remaining
force, made another stand, and for a time withstood the National forces
with the courage of desperation. It was in vain. The Union cavalry swept
down upon them with resistless strength and fire, and drove them back in
dire confusion into the river. Large numbers fell on the field, many
were drowned, and a large force were taken prisoners, together with much
commissary stores, and a quantity of arms. The Union troops then took
possession of Shelbyville, amid the waving of flags, and the cheers of
welcome from the inhabitants.
Upon the 30th, the whole Union force, in mass, was prepared to move upon
Tullahoma; but on the next day a dispatch was received by General
Rosecrans from General Thomas, announcing to him that the enemy had
evacuated Tullahoma during the night. Pursuit was ordered instantly. The
divisions of Brannan, Negley, and Sheridan entered Tullahoma, and took
possession. The infantry arrived about noon; and the divisions of Negley
and Rousseau pushed on after the retreating rebels, and overtook their
rear-guard at Bethpage Bridge, two miles above the railroad crossing.
The rebels, in strong force, occupied the heights at this place; and the
Unionists engaged in a brisk skirmish with them, in which the National
forces entirely routed the rebels. General McCook, in command of two
divisions, pursued the enemy, on the next day, along the road which lay
west of the railroad. The Elk river was found to be almost unfordable by
the cavalry; while the rebel cavalry on the opposite side did everything
in their power to resist the attempted crossing by the Union forces. But
the rebels were speedily driven away, and the National troops took
possession of the ford. General Thomas, with similar difficulty,
effected a crossing, the enemy having during the night burned the bridge
by which he had expected to cross. The small cavalry force under General
Turchin pushed forward to Hillsboro,’ on the Deckhard road; and finding
the enemy’s cavalry at Elk Ford, near Morris Ferry, engaged them, and
being very soon reinforced by General Mitchell’s troops they forced a
passage across the river, after a sharp conflict. Night then closed the
pursuit. Upon the 3d July, General Sheridan succeeded in crossing Elk
river, and, supported by General J. C. Davis’s division, pushed the
enemy to Cowan, where he learned that the rebels, with their artillery
and infantry, had crossed the mountains by University and Sweden’s Cove,
and that the cavalry alone would be found covering their rear. On the
same day General Thomas got his troops across, also; portions of the
cavalry from Sheridan’s division, and also from the main column were
sent forward, but they only learned that the enemy was gone. The roads
were found to be almost impassable from the heavy rains, and the troops
being well-nigh out of provisions a halt was ordered until supplies
could be forwarded from Murfreesboro’.
Thus ended a campaign of nine days’ duration, in which the enemy had
been driven from two strongly fortified positions, and which had
resulted in giving the Union forces possession of the whole of Middle
Tennessee, and preserving Kentucky from the danger of a second invasion.
* * * * *
The next advance of General Rosecrans was against Chattanooga. General
Bragg retreating on the south side of the Tennessee had reached this
place, and had there thrown up defensive fortifications. General
Rosecrans commenced his movement on the 16th of August; having spent the
time from July 3d to the middle of August in making the necessary
preparations. The advance was made, of course, across the mountains, its
front extending from the head of Sequatchie Valley in East Tennessee to
Athens in Alabama, a distance of about one hundred and fifty miles. The
army advanced in divisions, availing itself of various gaps in the
mountains, and crossing the Tennessee at various points. In the early
days of September the army of the Cumberland was threatening the rebels
under Bragg, all along that river from Whitesburg to Blythe’s Ferry.
General Rosecrans, having become convinced, from evidence gathered from
various sources, that General Bragg had commenced on the 6th of
September, to move on Rome, directed General Crittenden to hold
Chattanooga with one brigade and to pursue the enemy vigorously with the
remaining force at his disposal. General Crittenden occupied Ringgold on
the 11th, but Wilder’s mounted infantry pushed forward, skirmishing
sharply with the enemy as far as Tunnel Hill. Logan having joined
Crittenden, the whole corps advanced rapidly, on the twelfth, to
Gordon’s Mill. Wilder, while engaged in covering this movement, had a
desperate struggle with the enemy at Letts’ Tanyard. Negley, who had, in
the mean time, been reconnoitering in the vicinity of Dug Gap, where he
found the enemy in heavy force, was joined on the 11th by Baird’s
division, and, after a severe skirmish with the rebels, secured a strong
position in front of Stevens’ Gap. On the twelfth Reynolds and Brennan
closed up to sustain these two advanced positions.
General Rosecrans, having now ascertained that Bragg was not retreating
on Rome, but concentrating all his forces near La Fayette, behind Pigeon
Mountain, where he was receiving reinforcements from Johnston and from
Virginia, proceeded at once to concentrate his army. General McCook was
ordered to hold Dougherty’s Gap, with two brigades, and to join General
Thomas with the remainder of his command, with whom however, he did not
close up till the 17th. On the arrival of General McCook’s corps,
General Thomas moved down the Chickamauga, toward Gordon’s Mill. A
manœuvre was now made to cover the La Fayette road to Chickamauga, but
it was retarded by the narrowness of the roads and the disposition of
the troops, and, during its progress, Colonel Minty became engaged with
the enemy near Reed’s Bridge, and Wilder’s “Lightning Brigade” dashed
into a superior force, from which they escaped by the La Fayette road.
On the 11th, Minty’s cavalry and Wilder’s mounted brigade, were, after
an obstinate struggle, driven by the enemy from Reed’s and Alexander’s
bridges, to the Rossville road. General Thomas advanced during the night
to Kelly’s House on the La Fayette road, where Baird’s division was
posted. Here it was reported to him that a rebel brigade, isolated by
the burning of Reed’s bridge, was on his side of the Chickamauga.
Brennan, with two brigades, was sent out to capture it, and encountered
a strong column of the enemy, bent on turning the left of the Union
army, and on getting possession of the road between it and Chattanooga.
This movement opened the combat, and on the 19th of September, 1863, was
commenced.
THE BATTLE OF CHICKAMAUGA.
The enemy combined in heavy masses on the extreme left, and Croxton’s
brigade of Brennan’s division became engaged with the rebel General
Forrest’s cavalry, about ten A. M. General McCook, who had closed up to
Crawfish Springs as soon as Thomas’s column was out of his way, now sent
Johnson’s division to Thomas’s assistance. General Crittenden had
dispatched Palmer’s for the same purpose. The support was afforded most
opportunely. Croxton’s brigade, which had driven the cavalry under
Forest near half a mile, met at last Ector’s and Wilson’s brigades,
which made a resistance so obstinate, that Baird’s whole division was
advanced to Croxton’s support. The foe was again pushed back and many
prisoners captured. After an hour’s hard fighting against overwhelming
numbers, the ammunition of Croxton’s brigade was exhausted, and the men
were moved to the rear to enable them to fill their boxes. The united
forces of Baird and Brennan had driven the enemy from their immediate
front, and Baird was disposing his lines to receive an attack he had
reason to apprehend on his right, when Walthall’s and Govan’s rebel
brigades, under Liddell, impetuously assaulted Scribner’s and King’s,
and put them to flight, making several hundred prisoners, and capturing
Loomis’s and other batteries.
The regulars, outflanked after the withdrawal of Brannan’s men, fought
like tigers, but were rolled back and over Scribner’s brigade—the right
of which being too far advanced, was crumpled up and literally
surrounded. At this conjuncture, Johnson’s division of McCook’s corps,
and Reynolds’ division of Thomas’s arrived, and were placed in position,
connecting with the brigades already engaged.
The storm rolled upon them, and, as the most desperate valor was
displayed by both rebels and Unionists, the fortune of the fight
wavered, first on one side and then on the other. A tremendous onslaught
of the enemy broke Palmer’s lines, and scattered several of his
regiments in wild dismay. General Reynolds threw himself among the brave
but broken ranks, shouting, “Boys! are you the soldiers of the Sixth
Ohio, who fought so gallantly with me at Cheat Mountain in Virginia? You
never turned your backs upon traitors—will you do it now?”
“No! no!” they screamed, with frantic enthusiasm. “Lead us back. We will
fight it out! Lead us back!”