AN ACCIDENTAL INJURY—SHILOH—THE “MARK-TIME” MAJOR.
Our regiment, one night, was ordered out to report at daylight to some
point up the Tennessee River, the night being very dark—one of the
darkest nights we ever traveled in—and branches and small streams very
boggy. Colonel Wharton, at the head of the regiment, was riding a very
fast walking horse. We struck many places in these branches where it was
only possible for one horse to cross at a time, and Wharton, as soon as
across, would strike out in his fast walk, leaving the rest of his
command to come on as best they could. This threw the rear end of the
regiment considerably behind and we had to lope at full speed to catch
up with our file leaders after crossing these bad places. In one of
these races to catch up, my horse stumbled and fell, pitching me over
his head, with my left arm extended, and I sustained a dislocation of my
left arm. Considerably stunned by the fall, and suffering great pain
from this dislocation, a comrade was sent back with me to Corinth, where
I had a surgeon to replace my arm, with instructions to carry it in a
sling until it got well. Our regiment returned the next night without
having discovered any of the enemy and was then ordered to prepare three
days’ rations, as was also the rest of the army.
In the meantime, the enemy had landed a large force, under General
Grant, at Pittsburg Landing. Our regiment was ordered out with no one
knowing where they were going, until they moved in the direction of
Pittsburg Landing. They were immediately followed by the whole army, and
on the fifth of April, they engaged the enemy and fought the battle of
Shiloh; our regiment was moved about on the field from right to left. As
the dense woods did not afford an opportunity for mounted cavalry, they
were unable to do much fighting, except, about ten o’clock the first
day, they were dismounted and ordered to charge through a thicket at Owl
Creek, which they had to do single file, and were shot down by a large
infantry force as fast as the men made their appearance in the open.
Soon realizing that it was impossible to dislodge the enemy from their
position with this handful of men, they were immediately ordered to fall
back. This proved the extent of their active engagement, but they served
as a corps of observation on both flanks until Tuesday evening.
After the second day’s engagement, Grant’s army having been reinforced
on Sunday night by the whole of Buell’s army (as large as our army
originally), our army was compelled to retreat, which was done in a
heavy rain, rendering the road to Corinth almost impassable for
artillery and ambulances. Realizing that our army was in great danger of
being annihilated, General Beauregard sent for General Breckenridge, who
was on the field with his Kentucky Brigade, ordering him to cover the
retreat and try to save the army. General Breckenridge responded that he
would protect the army if it cost the last man he had. This occurred on
Tuesday after the battle. Our regiment, what was left of it, and Colonel
Forrest, with about fifty men, were ordered to support General
Breckenridge. Breckenridge’s Brigade was drawn up near the old
battlefield. In their front, about a quarter of a mile away, two lines
of battle of the enemy were seen to form with a brigade of cavalry,
mounted, in their front, covering their movement. Breckenridge’s Brigade
was then moved to the rear a short distance, to a position where they
were hid by lying down. Our regiment, in command of Major Harrison, and
Colonel Forrest with his fifty men, soon formed in front of
Breckenridge, preparing to charge the enemy.
As heretofore stated, Colonel Harrison, up to this time, on our retreat,
did not have the confidence or respect of the men on account of a
blunder he committed at the small town of Jimtown in Kentucky, which
caused him to be dubbed the “Jimtown Major;” then again, on account of
his ordering some boys to mark time on the Shelbyville Pike, was dubbed
the “Mark-time Major.”
A large number of the regiment had been congregated on the pike, at the
point from which Ash had led the prisoners, and when Major Harrison
reached the spot, after hearing what had been done, he was met by angry
glances on every hand for presuming to treat two gentlemen so
inconsiderately. Disregarding their menacing looks Major Harrison called
out, “Is there an officer of my regiment present who will execute my
orders?” when Pat Christian (then a lieutenant in Company K) stepped to
the front, with a salute, and said, “Major, I will.” Then Major Harris
ordered him to get a file of men and bring the two prisoners back to
complete their sentence, and to inform him instantly if interfered with.
It was here that Christian, afterwards captain of his company, and then
major and later lieutenant colonel, first attracted the attention of the
regiment, afterwards so devoted to him, for his gallantry and his good
traits of character, and here that the regiment had its first lesson in
military discipline, under an officer temporarily unpopular, who
afterwards won their high respect.
For the first time since our retreat, he was in command of the regiment,
Colonel Wharton having been wounded, and very soon the enemy commenced a
scattering fire, while the regiment was forming, occasionally striking a
man or a horse. The men became restive and wanted to charge, but Major
Harrison rode down the line saying to them, “Be quiet, boys, ’till your
‘Jimtown Mark-time Major’ gets ready for you,” in a very cool and
deliberate manner, and finally in ordering the charge said, “Now, follow
your Jimtown Major.” He led them on to the cavalry, which, in an
impetuous charge, they drove right in among their infantry, and, on
account of their being confused in the mix-up, the enemy fell back a
short distance, and the regiment brought out a number of prisoners.
While this charge proved a success, we lost a number of valuable men in
killed and wounded. This was the last fighting on the battlefield of
Shiloh.
I have not entered into any details of the battle, as history gives such
a complete account, written by both sides, that its details are well
known, and as the purpose of this writing is to recount my own personal
history and because I was not actively engaged with the regiment during
the battle, I find it unnecessary to give the details.
As heretofore stated, I was suffering with a dislocated arm, the effects
of my fall, and did not move out with the regiment when they started on
this trip; but on Sunday morning, hearing the guns of Shiloh in our camp
at Corinth, I mounted my horse and struck out for the field. Unable to
learn where our regiment was posted, I remained with an infantry
command, offering my services to the extent of what I was able to do,
but I was not called on during the several days’ battle, except to carry
a few orders from place to place.
I reached Corinth, Mississippi, where our camp was located, on Thursday,
aiding and assisting about a half dozen wounded men of the Second Texas,
allowing them to ride my horse when they were able. These men were
completely exhausted, as they did nothing else but stand in line all day
Sunday ’till four o’clock in the evening, firing their guns, and again
on Monday, opposed to Buell’s fresh army, which proved the hardest
fighting during the battle. “All honor to the Second Texas.”
Recalling General Albert Sidney Johnston’s promise in a telegram to
Colonel Terry at New Orleans, that we should never be brigaded as long
as he lived; his death at four o’clock on Sunday evening cancelled this
promise. General Beauregard then took command of the army.
A few days after the battle of Shiloh, having recuperated our horses, as
well as the men, Colonel Wharton was ordered to report to a General
Adams, who had a Kentucky regiment, and General Adams, with this
regiment and the Eighth Texas, was ordered on a raid into Middle
Tennessee, with instructions to capture and destroy everything of the
enemy he could meet up with and was able to handle.
We crossed the Tennessee River at Lamb’s Ferry, the ferry boat being
propelled by a paddle wheel, driven by a horse-tread power. Here we left
our wagons and all our extra luggage, as well as cooking utensils,
awaiting our return, but the Federal cavalry a few days after, crossed
the river, captured our entire storage and we never saw cooking utensils
or tents afterwards, and were thereby reduced to the condition of the
real Texas Ranger as on the frontiers of Texas.
Immediately after crossing the Tennessee River we struck a considerable
infantry force, with artillery. General Adams, in place of attacking
them, moved us around them in great haste, thereby avoiding a collision
and getting away, leaving them shelling the woods for several hours,
while we were making distance. We next struck the Pulaski Pike, finding
about two hundred wagons, loaded with two bales of cotton on each and a
guard of two men with each wagon. General Adams drew us out of sight and
hearing and would not allow Colonel Wharton to capture this train, which
could have been done without the loss of a man. But no doubt as General
Adams suggested, in doing this we would stir up a hornet’s nest and get
the whole Yankee army in pursuit of us. Wharton was powerless to do
anything, held back by General Adams.
When near the town of Fayetteville, Lincoln County, Tennessee, a citizen
sent out by the garrison of the town, numbering about five hundred
cavalry, told us to come in; they wanted to surrender; they were tired
of the war and wanted to go home. General Adams conceived this to be a
trick of theirs and declined their invitation, moving us around the town
in the night by a path in the woods, guided by a citizen, thereby losing
a splendid opportunity of capturing this garrison.
The second night after this, we camped at the town of Salem, about ten
miles south of Winchester, and at Winchester the next night, where
information reached us that about two thousand infantry, moving in
wagons, and a battery of artillery, had been in pursuit of us and had
been camped at Salem the next night after we were there, and was
expected to follow us to Winchester. The road from Salem to Winchester
was a straight lane with high rail fences on each side. At a point about
equal distance between Salem and Winchester, was a large woods lot,
running up to the lane, as noticed by Colonel Wharton. He suggested to
General Adams that we go back, remain concealed in this woods, close to
the road and when the enemy came along, riding in wagons, that we charge
them and force them to surrender. This seemed good to General Adams and
an opportunity he was willing to risk.
We moved around to this woods lot, remaining there until about daylight,
when information reached us that the Yankees had already passed and were
then occupying Winchester. We immediately returned to Winchester and
found them drawn up behind a railroad cut, with a commanding position
for their battery. They opened this battery on us, using shells, as soon
as we came in sight. Then Colonel Wharton, riding ’round hunting a place
to charge them, decided this could not be done without the loss of a
great many men and a charge might result in failure; we, therefore,
moved around Winchester, passing through Decherd’s depot and pitched
camp in Hawkins Cove, perhaps twenty miles distant from Winchester.
The second day in camp in Hawkins Cove, a citizen came and reported to
General Adams that the Yankees were at his house with a couple of
wagons, loading his meat, and begging him to send a small force to drive
them away. A company of the Kentucky regiment and Company B of the
Rangers, which was the company to which I belonged, were detailed for
this service. When we reached this man’s house they had already left
with his meat and were driving fast, back into town. We struck a lope,
endeavoring to catch up with them, but failed. The Kentucky captain,
being the ranking officer, was in command; riding at the head of the
column and running over the pickets on a bridge near town, he carried us
right into the town, up to the courthouse square. This charge proved a
complete surprise. We found the enemy scattered all over town and a
large party of them in the courthouse, being the only parties we felt
free to fire on, as there were no women and children about. We heard the
artillery bugle and concluded to get out of there, which we did very
promptly and in such good time the artillery never had a chance to fire
a shot at us.
Some years after the war, a Winchester paper was sent me, giving an
account of fifty Texas Rangers attacking two thousand infantry and
artillery in their town, with a loss of only one man, who had his arm
broken by an explosive ball.
We returned to our camp in Hawkins Cove. On that night General Adams
came down to Colonel Wharton’s camp fire and announced that he would
start across the mountain, for Chattanooga, the next morning, and secure
artillery, that he could not undertake to remain in Middle Tennessee
without it. Colonel Wharton had become exasperated at General Adams’
conduct the entire trip and told him to take his Kentucky regiment and
go to Halifax with it, if he wanted to—that he intended remaining in
Middle Tennessee and doing what he could to carry out the original order
of General Beauregard.
After a few days’ rest in Hawkins Cove, where the enemy did not attempt
to molest us, a messenger reached us, with orders from General Kirby
Smith at Knoxville, to report to Colonel Forrest at McMinnville, which
Wharton did, as soon as we reached there. After a day’s rest Colonel
Forrest (who had the First and Second Georgia and a Tennessee battalion,
all cavalry) in conjunction with our regiment, started, late evening,
for Murfreesboro, which was then the headquarters for Tennessee, of the
Federal Army, with Major General Crittenden in command. Murfreesboro’s
garrison consisted of the Ninth Michigan Infantry, a part of a regiment
of cavalry located in their camp to the right of town, the Third
Minnesota and a battery of artillery on the northwest of town. They had
about one hundred prisoners in the courthouse, upstairs, with a strong
guard downstairs.
Greatly outnumbering us, our success depended on a surprise. When near
their advance picket on the pike, Colonel Forrest asked for some Rangers
to capture this picket without the fire of a gun, which was done in very
short order. He then had a consultation with the commanders of the
different regiments, and it was decided that Colonel Wharton, with our
regiment in advance and the Second Georgia next in column, attack the
Ninth Michigan and the cavalry camp on the right. To reach them he had
to turn into a side street about two or three blocks from the
courthouse, where Colonel Forrest halted, awaiting for his part of the
command to come up to take them through town to the Third Minnesota and
battery camp, ignoring the courthouse as much as possible.
After our regiment had passed into the side street, following Wharton,
Forrest discovered that the Georgians and Tennesseans had failed to come
up and immediately decided to take what was left of our regiment and
lead them to the attack on the Third Minnesota and the battery north of
the town. This gave him a force of only about fifty or sixty men. By
this action he cut our company about half in two, which threw me into
the first set of fours at the head of the column, with Forrest riding by
my side, on my right. Nearing the courthouse, a couple of Federals up in
the second story door, dropped down on their knees and raised their guns
to fire, but Forrest and I fired ahead of them. When Forrest fired his
pistol, his horse dodged almost in front of me, just as I fired, very
nearly shooting Forrest through the head. I have often thought what a
misfortune this would have been, as I came very near killing a man who
turned out to be the Napoleon of cavalry.
In the upper story of the courthouse were confined about one hundred
prisoners, some of Morgan’s men, but mostly civilians, and the
courthouse was guarded by about one hundred men, who fired on us through
doors and windows. We moved around the courthouse, some to the left and
some to the right, as the courthouse was standing in the middle of the
square immediately fronting the center of the street we came up on.
About the time we reached the courthouse, Wharton, with the balance of
the regiment, had charged the Michigan camp, many of whom were asleep in
their tents, and the noise of the battle reached us about the time we
fired into the courthouse. As stated, Forrest with about fifty men in
columns of fours, except a few that were left on the courthouse square,
shot down by courthouse guards, moved on to the north of town, where he
lost his bearings and was compelled to get a citizen out of his house,
to pilot us to the Minnesota camp and battery. When we reached there we
found the men up and dressed and the battery opened on us, throwing a
few shells among us, which scattered us and caused the disappearance of
Forrest. We were in an old field, and on leaving, I was called by a
Kentuckian, who had volunteered to go with us into the fight and had his
arm shattered by a piece of shell, begging me to not go off and leave
him. He was hardly able to sit on his horse. I rode up, taking his horse
by the bridle, leading him up to a fence in the edge of the timber, with
a scattering fire directed on us. I dismounted and let down the fence,
leading his horse over it. While doing this, noticing I was trying to
get off a wounded comrade, they gallantly ceased firing on us. I now led
my wounded friend through the woods, until we reached a house, about a
mile from there, when the gentleman at the house hitched up his buggy,
and, placing my friend in the buggy, he drove around the town, with
myself following, leading the wounded man’s horse, until we reached a
point about a mile below town, where we found the Rangers collecting
what was left of them, out of the Michigan camp fight and also the few
men who were with Forrest in the old sedge field when fired on by the
Third Minnesota and battery.
The regiment formed and gathered at this point about a mile below town,
awaiting further orders, with Wharton, wounded again, directing the
formation, when a messenger came from Forrest, who was then up town with
his Georgia and Tennessee battalions, ordering us back up into town.
After joining the Georgians and having displayed about three times as
many men as he really had, by moving them around a block, in sight of
the enemy (who had gathered and formed, in a splendid position,
supported by their battery) Forrest went in, under a flag of truce and
demanded their immediate surrender, telling them that he had five men to
their one and was determined to take them; that if he had to make
another charge on them, on their own heads be the responsibility; that
the little fight had, was only with his advance guard, that he had five
hundred Texas Rangers he couldn’t control in a fight, and the
responsibility was with them. After deliberating on the matter for a few
minutes, they raised the white flag and surrendered. The result of this
surrender was a parole of eighteen hundred and sixteen privates at
McMinnville, the further capture of forty-seven commissioned officers,
including Major General Crittenden, with Colonel Duffield of the Ninth
Michigan badly wounded in the Michigan camp; thirty-eight wagonloads of
valuable stores; a magnificent battery of four pieces of artillery and
several million dollars’ worth of commissary and quartermaster’s stores,
destroyed by fire.
I would also mention the release of two citizen prisoners confined in
the jail, who were condemned to be hung the next day, as spies. The wife
of one of these men, with many other ladies, witnessed our passing
through Woodbury. Learning that we were going to Murfreesboro, she wrung
her hands and begged and plead with us to bring her husband back. Some
of the men who heard her, answered that we would surely bring her
husband back, which we did the next day.
A dastardly act I will recount here—of one of the Federal guards
stationed at the jail. When he found we were about to capture the town,
he set fire to the jail, which no doubt would have burned the poor
prisoners, but the fire was promptly extinguished by several of our men,
who succeeded in capturing the fellow who started the fire and in taking
him before General Forrest. Forrest pulled out his pistol and killed him
on the spot, a well-deserved punishment.
On marching our prisoners to McMinnville, the commissioned officers who
had been captured, were given the privilege of the pike, they taking a
parole not to attempt to make their escape. When this high privilege was
offered Major General Crittenden, he refused the courtesy, telling
Forrest that he could not accept, as his government didn’t recognize him
as a regular Confederate soldier and only knew him as a guerilla.
Forrest told him that it made no difference with him and he furnished
him with a guard of two Texas Rangers, dressed in buckskin, wearing
Mexican sombreros. These men were somewhat wild in appearance, no doubt,
to General Crittenden. After riding along with his guards for an hour or
two, one man on each side of him, occasionally nodding at each other,
the general concluded that perhaps they were planning to kill him, and
had them take him up to Colonel Forrest, when he asked Forrest to parole
him and give him the privilege of the pike, like the rest; saying he
verily believed that these men would kill him.
After paroling the privates at McMinnville, permitting them all to
retain their private property, which included a magnificent set of
silver band instruments, Forrest told the officers that they would have
to be taken to Knoxville to General Smith’s headquarters and directed
Colonel Wharton, who was wounded, with Company B, his old company, to
take charge of them, the battery and thirty-eight wagonloads of valuable
stores. He requested Colonel Wharton, when he got safely up on top of
the mountain, by way of Sparta, to send back a messenger, reporting that
fact, and I was sent back with this message to Colonel Forrest.
Reaching Sparta about daylight, I could not find any one who could tell
me the whereabouts of Forrest’s command, and struck out, back in the
direction of McMinnville, when incidentally I met a citizen, who
reported that they were camped at a certain place in the woods between
Sparta and Lebanon, which I succeeded in finding about noon. Reporting
to Colonel Forrest that Wharton had got up on top of the mountain safely
with his prisoners, artillery and wagons, I told him that I didn’t feel
like going back to catch up with my company, going to Knoxville, lying
around in camp and that I wanted to remain with the regiment and asked
his permission to do so. He kindly consented and told me to report to
the regiment and stay with them.