TERRY’S
TEXAS RANGERS
[Illustration: Texas Rangers Logo]
BY
L. B. GILES
_Copyright, 1911, by L. B. Giles_
CONTENTS.
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CHAPTER PAGE
I. Assembly and Organization of the Regiment 12
II. Woodsonville 20
III. Retreat 27
IV. Shiloh 29
V. Forrest at Murfreesboro 35
VI. Many Marches and Skirmishes--The Kentucky Campaign 40
VII. Murfreesboro 49
VIII. The Donelson Trip and Retreat to Chattanooga 53
IX. Chickamauga 58
X. Wheeler’s Great Raid 65
XI. East Tennessee Campaign 69
XII. Sherman’s Wagon Train and the Affairs with McCook
and Stoneman 81
XIII. Wheeler’s Second Raid into Tennessee 86
XIV. “The Rome Races” 90
XV. The Last Campaign 94
XVI. Conclusion 98
INTRODUCTION.
It is but natural that man should desire to leave some record of his
achievements for the information of succeeding generations. This desire
was manifested in the infancy of the race, and is shown in monuments
and chiseled stone, and in writings on skins and reeds.
Here in the South, when the great war of the ’60s had terminated and
the various actors in the great drama had time to look about them, the
desire was universal that the record made by Southern manhood should be
perpetuated. The regiment of Texas cavalry known as the “Terry Rangers”
shared that feeling; and when the survivors began to meet in annual
reunion this desire became manifest. Two propositions appealed to them:
one for a history which should tell of their campaigns, their marches,
battles, hardships, sufferings; one for a monument which should contain
the name of every man who served in the regiment. For reasons which I
need not discuss here the plan for the history failed. All funds raised
for either purpose were combined into one and placed in control of
the monument committee. The equestrian statue which now stands in the
grounds of the State Capitol in Austin is the result.
The desire for a narrative still survived, however, discoverable in
many personal sketches of events, some taking the form of memoirs,
written by various members of the command. I have long contemplated
such a work but have felt the lack of ability. It is now perhaps too
late to attempt anything like a complete history of the regiment, as
the necessary data can hardly be procured. Yet, when my former comrade,
D. S. Combs, appealed to me to write something that would supply his
children and grandchildren with some knowledge, however imperfect,
of the part borne by the Rangers in the great war, I unhesitatingly
promised to try it and do the best I could. I wish with all my heart I
could make my story as complete as it ought to be, for I firmly believe
that a well written narrative of the regiment’s wonderful career would
be the most entertaining book in the literature of war.
As a first step toward the accomplishment of the task I had undertaken,
I wrote to Comrade Combs asking him for such data as he might have or
such as his personal recollections might supply; also as to the scope
and form of the work as he wished it to appear. His answer is so kind
and trusting that I here insert it and, as the lawyers say, make it a
part of the record. His letter, written from his home in San Antonio,
is dated January 5th:
“My Dear Lee:
“Yours of the 26th of December came duly to hand, and I should have
replied sooner but I have been strictly on the go for the last ten
days, and I have neglected many things that should have had attention.
“Now, Lee, I wish to state with all the sincerity of my heart, that
all I want is plain statements of facts; and while I give you a brief
outline of my movements, from the day I was sworn into the service of
the Confederate States to the close of the war, I simply do this that
you may know where D.S. Combs was, and it is a matter of indifference
to me whether my name is mentioned a single time in your story of the
doings of the regiment, and, more especially, of the part old Company
D played in that drama.
“I was very fearful that the war would be over before I saw a live
Yankee. So Charley McGehee and I went fifty miles from home to join a
company, and joined Ferrell’s company between Bastrop and La Grange.
According to my recollection this was in the latter part of August,
’61.
“From that day to the day I left the regiment, I was not away from
Company D more than ten or twelve days, and then on account of
sickness; once at Shelbyville for five or six days; at another time
near Nolensville for about the same length of time.
“My initiation was at Woodsonville, and the last of the chapter was
at Mossy Creek, Dandridge, and the brick house where N. J. Allen was
killed and the artillery duel where Captain Littlefield was wounded.
This, I think, was early in January, ’64. Here I drew a furlough, and
in company with Ike Jones, Bill Fisher and Jeff Burleson, I struck out
for home. On my arrival at home my parents and sisters insisted that
I ask for assignment to duty on this side of the Mississippi. I had
lost one brother by sickness at Searcy, Arkansas, one had been killed
at the battle of Chickamauga, one badly wounded at Port Hudson, and
another desperately wounded at Mansfield, Louisiana.
“Accordingly, I applied to General E. Kirby Smith for such assignment,
and he gave me orders to report to General Magruder at Galveston for
assignment to duty in any cavalry command I might select. I chose
Colonel J. S. Ford’s command on the Rio Grande. I was attached to
Captain Carrington’s company in Major Cater’s battalion, and was
with that command in the last fight of the war. This was between
Brownsville and the mouth of the Rio Grande, and was about two weeks
after General Smith had surrendered the Trans-Mississippi department,
but the word had not reached us. I am glad to say that in this last
fight of the war the Confederate arms were victorious. A few days
after this we got word that the war was over. So we folded our tents
and quietly and sadly turned our faces homeward. As a company or
battalion we never surrendered. We simply laid down our arms and tried
to forget the past and all its disappointments.
“Now to go back and come over the story as it actually occurred,
I will simply say that I was never wounded during the war, but
particularly unfortunate with my mounts. I had three noble animals
killed under me, two at Murfreesboro, one at College Hill, opposite
Knoxville, also one wounded at Mt. Washington, near Louisville,
Kentucky.
“I was with you at Farmington and at Nolensville, where Ferg Kyle led
his line of dismounted men, deployed as skirmishers, up against a
solid line of blue, a regiment of infantry, who poured a galling fire
into our ranks and caused us to reel and stagger like a drunken man.
“I was with you at Woodsonville, Shiloh, Murfreesboro, Bardstown,
Perryville and Chickamauga. Also at Murfreesboro when Forrest with his
little band swooped down on the two camps and took them in out of the
damp.
“Again, Lee, I will say that I wish you to handle the story in your
own way, and I will be perfectly satisfied. What we want is the doings
of the _company_ and _regiment_. I care not for individual mention. If
you and I are satisfied I care not whether others are or not.
“I wish to emphasize this statement. I appreciate more than you know
your willingness to undertake this for me, and will gladly remunerate
you as far as it is in my power to do for the time you put in on the
work.
“Mrs. Combs and I wish to thank you and your daughter for the kind
hospitality to us during the reunion, and hope you may both find it
convenient to visit us in the near future. Wishing you both a pleasant
and prosperous New Year, I am,
“Always yours,
“D. S. Combs.”
If I had regretted my promise or had wavered in the slightest from my
intention, this letter would have renewed in me the purpose to do my
best. Yet I do not see why anyone who writes as well as Comrade Combs
should desire another to write for him. I would not, with intention, do
injustice to anyone; I know I can not do justice to many deserving the
highest praise; but I must say that the regiment had no better soldier
than D. S. Combs.
Since this work was well under way Comrade A. B. Briscoe of Company
K has kindly placed at my service a large lot of MS. of his personal
memoirs. I have used this in several instances, of which due credit is
given in the proper places.
Austin, May, 1911.
CHAPTER I.
ASSEMBLY AND ORGANIZATION OF THE REGIMENT.
When in 1861 it became evident that war between the sections was
inevitable and imminent, B. F. Terry, a sugar planter of Fort Bend
county, and Thomas S. Lubbock, of Houston, determined to be in the
fight from the start, hurried to Virginia, at their own expense,
where they participated in the first battle of Manassas, rendering
distinguished services as scouts before the action and in pursuit
of the routed enemy afterward. Later the War Department gave them
authority to recruit a regiment of Texans for mounted service in
Virginia. Returning to Texas they at once issued a call for volunteers.
The conditions were exacting. Each man must furnish his own arms and
equipment--a gun of some sort, Colt’s repeating pistol, a saddle,
bridle and blanket. Notwithstanding these requirements, the response
was so prompt that in less than thirty days the ten companies were on
their way to the rendezvous at Houston. Some of the companies had the
full complement of one hundred men, rank and file, and in a few more
days all would have been full. Probably two or more regiments could
have been raised at that time if the call had been made.
The personnel was of the very highest. Sons of leading families, many
of them college graduates, professional men, merchants, stockmen, and
farmers, served in the ranks as privates, all young, in their teens and
early twenties. Rank was scarcely considered. The supreme desire was to
get into the war in a crack cavalry regiment.
Since I write without data and from memory only, I must necessarily
deal more particularly with the company of which I was a member, known
as Company D in the regimental organization. It was recruited largely
from Bastrop, with contingents from Hays, Travis and Burleson counties.
This organization, full at the beginning, always one of the largest for
duty, sustained the greatest loss in killed of all the companies of the
regiment. The first officers elected were:
Captain, Stephen C. Ferrell.
First Lieutenant, Charles L. Morgan.
Second Lieutenant, Jesse W. Burdett.
Second Lieutenant, William R. Doak.
The assembly for the company was to be in the town of Bastrop, and
notice was given that on a certain morning the march would begin. The
men from the adjoining counties reached Bastrop the night before.
It was a bright, sunny August morning. The people, _en masse_, turned
out to bid us good-by. Men, women, children, with tears in their eyes,
said, “God bless you!” when they clasped our hands as we stood in line.
This painful ordeal over, we mounted and rode away on what we believed
was a few months’ adventure.
Alleyton, sixty miles away, then the terminus of the railroad, was
reached without any very exciting adventures. We sent our horses back
home and took the train for Houston. The trains were then run to
Harrisburg, but we were dumped off in the prairie at Pierce Junction
to await a train from Columbia. The hours passed, and the night. We
slept little on account of the mosquitoes, which were more numerous
and voracious than any I ever met elsewhere. Next morning, as there
was still no train, we walked into Houston, a distance of nine miles,
pushing by hand the freight car with our saddles and baggage. Here we
went into camp in an old warehouse and met some of the other companies.
From McLennan and adjoining counties Captain Thos. Harrison led a
company which became Company A. Captain John A. Wharton had a full
company raised chiefly in Brazoria and Matagorda counties. It became
Company B in the organization and continued the largest in enlistment.
Companies C, commanded by Mark Evans; E, by L. N. Rayburn; and I, led
by J. G. Jones, were recruited in Gonzales and surrounding counties.
Many of these were stockmen and expert horsemen. Company F was from
Fayette and commanded by Louis M. Strobel. Company G was from Bexar and
Goliad counties. Its first captain was W. Y. Houston. Company H was
from Fort Bend county chiefly, and commanded by John T. Holt. Company
K, Captain John G. Walker, was from Harris and Montgomery counties,
and was full. The word “chiefly” ought to be used in telling where
the companies were recruited, for all of them had men from several
counties. Here, too, on the 9th of September we were “mustered in,”
swearing to serve “so long as this war shall last.”
From Houston to Beaumont, over a newly constructed railroad, it took
nearly all day to make eighty miles. From Beaumont, by steamboat, down
the Neches and up the Sabine to Niblett’s Bluff; thence a hundred miles
on foot, through water much of the way; thence forty miles in carts.
It is easy to remember this cart ride. The wheels were six or seven
feet high. Motive power, oxen, two pairs to each cart. Engineers,
little bow-legged Creoles, each armed with a long, sharp-pointed pole.
The vehicles had no springs. As there were no seats, the six or eight
passengers in each conveyance had to stand on their feet. At New
Iberia, on Bayou Teche, we were transferred to boats, and went down
between the beautiful banks of that stream to Brashear, now Morgan
City. From there we went through an almost continuous sugar farm to New
Orleans. The trip from Houston to New Orleans took over a week. It is
now made in less than twelve hours, in a palace car.
In New Orleans we learned that our destination was not Virginia, but
Bowling Green, Kentucky, where General A. Sidney Johnston was trying to
assemble an army for the defense of that frontier. This was pleasing to
us, as General Johnston was a Texan, and personally known to many of us.
The box cars in which we left New Orleans had been used for shipping
cattle, and were not overly clean. Our seats were rough planks without
backs. In this luxurious fashion we rode for twenty hours until we
reached Nashville. There we encamped in the fair grounds. Ladies in
great numbers visited us, and for their entertainment our most expert
horsemen gave the first really-truly “wild-west” entertainment ever
seen east of the Mississippi.
At Nashville our first death occurred, Thomas Hart, whose loss saddened
us greatly. He was a promising young man, not personally well known to
me.
We had expected to receive our horses here and go on horseback to
Bowling Green, but one night Colonel Terry received orders to bring on
his regiment “at once.” At 1 o’clock in the morning we marched to the
station and waited till 2 p. m. for our train. That same afternoon we
reached Bowling Green. Our horses were driven through from Nashville
by a detail sent back after them. We now received tents, camp utensils
and wagons. Here, too, the companies were formally organized into a
regiment by the election of the following field officers:
Colonel, B. F. Terry.
Lieutenant Colonel, Thomas S. Lubbock.
Major, Thomas Harrison.
The following staff officers were appointed:
Adjutant, M. H. Royston.
Quartermaster, B. H. Botts.
Commissary, Robert D. Simmons.
Chaplain, R. F. Bunting.
Surgeon, Dr. John M. Weston.
Assistant Surgeon, Dr. Robert E. Hill.
Sergeant Major, W. B. Sayers.
Terry was a native of Kentucky, about 40 years old, of great force of
character, firm and self-reliant. His appearance was commanding, and in
all ways he was fitted for high rank.
Lubbock was some years older than Terry. He was a native of South
Carolina. He was small of stature, pleasant and affable, and made a
favorable impression on us. At that time he was in poor health, soon
had to go to Nashville for treatment, and we never saw him more.
Harrison was a native of Mississippi. He was a lawyer by profession. A
small, nervous, irascible man, who proved to be a fine soldier, became
a brigadier general of cavalry, and distinguished himself on many
fields.
Winter was now at hand, and the climate was trying on young men raised,
as we had been, in the far South. Many fell ill of measles, mumps,
pneumonia, and other diseases peculiar to raw levees. Scores went to
the hospital, and not a few under the sod. Still the spirits of all,
from the youngest private to the resolute colonel, were of the highest,
and all were anxious to meet the foe. Such as were able drilled daily,
mounted guard, and performed other duties incident to camp life in time
of war.