V v^ O^ \- .r. ^^^ <^^ \ ^'■ 'S>, %.^ A-i^" .<• .0^ -.■;)' 'S'. nV^' ^^, '^^> .^^''" .,^^^.. ^^^ V^' v;-' V .0 o .H^^' ,c. ■V-, ..nV ': ^^' ,-^'' x^^^. .^^ -^^ A. ... N^" • -^- '^, vtV ■ -M' .^^' -^^. V^'" 1 ^ " ^ ;^^^^ l^\ ^■^^ <&' .s^ •*. >0o 3 0^ ,^> .V '^ .^^^ 4. v^^ ■% ^^^l" \V tP, >^'\)^^* ^^ '^^^ '.^.^ ^c^^^^^.. '-C. ..^^' \^- 'A V^ ^^^ -^c. --y' • ■5'''"^' ,X\\^' '^/^, o 0' ■J- .y -X, ^ :i r ANNALS ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND COMPRISING BIOGRAPHIES, DESCRIPTIONS OF DEPARTMENTS, ACCOUNTS OP EXPEDITIONS, SKIRMISHES, AND BATTLES; POLICE RECORD SPIES, SMUGGLERS, AND PROMINENT REBEL EMISSARIES. TOGETHEK WITH '^imMt^, %nMmUf go^tvjj, ^^mm\$mut$, tU. OFFICIAL REPORTS OF THE BATTLE OP STONE RIVER AND OP THE CHICKAMAUGA CAMPAIGN. By JOHN FITCH, ATTORNEY AT LAW, ALTON, ILUNOIS, AND PROVOST JUDGE, AKMY OP THE CDMBERL4ND. Illiutrat«d with Steel Portraits, Wood Engramgg, and Maps. FIFTH EDITION. PHILADELPHIA: J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. Xi>:r^ 1864. Entered, accoriiing to Act of Congress, in the year 1863, by J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO. FOR THE AUTHOK, in the Clei-k's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. STEREOTYPED BY L. JOHNSON & CO. PRINTED BY LIPPINCOTT & CO. PEEFACE. To the soldiers of the Army of the Cumberland, and to their friends at home, the author presents this volume of portraits, sketches, and incidents, — a •work undertaken at the solicitation of many friends, with the view of affording pleasure to our soldiers and imparting information to the people, and, if it may be, to secure a fund for the erection of a monument to overlook the battle-field of Stone River, Tennessee, where rest, " unknelled, uncoffined, and unknown," hundreds of American citizens. This work is not intended as a history of the Rebellion, in a general sense, nor even as a detailed account of events occurring in the history of the Army of the Cumberland. It is simply a collection of sketches and portraits of many of its representative men, and a narration of many interesting events which have transpired within its lines. The more important of its military operations are given up to the time of going to press. The various departments are sufficiently described to illustrate their practical operation, at every fireside ; and in the grouping together of incident and anecdote, and of spy and smuggling events, the author has aimed to give life and zest to the volume. The work is issued almost regardless of cost, and is intended as a souvenir that shall remain when this army shall have been disbanded and these stirring times and scenes have passed away, — one which, it is hoped, the soldiers of the Cumberland will prize as their book, to be preserved by succeeding generations as a household treasure, its pages to be scanned by the descendant, while glorying in the deeds of a patriot sire during the dark days of the Great Rebellion. The author has endeavored to be modest and impartial in his meed of praise, — a most difficult task, where so much can be truly said of so many. The thousands of noble men in the Army of the Cumberland, who have left home, friends, fortunes, and high position, to brave the perils of camp and battle-field, all merit mention in such a work. Especially was it desirable that many particularly daring deeds of our officers and privates 3 4 PREFACE. should find record within these pages ; but the original limit of the work has already been greatly exceeded, and prudence restrains from a further advance. Although intended as a picture of our army, it is far from being complete. We have used but a small portion of attainable matter and portraits ; and many of our best and most notable generals — as Crittenden, Reynolds, Wood, Granger, Mitchell, Morgan, Turchin, and other high officers — we are unable to properly present in this volume. Ample material is left for a second volume of the " Annals," should its publica- tion prove desirable. To many friends in the army the author is indebted for assistance in collecting material, and with them any credit arising from the work is duly shared. The composition of such a volume amid the incidents and excitement of the camp will, we trust, constitute some apology for literary deficiencies. All responsibility respecting misstatement of fact in military movements, or of dulness or exaggeration in estimating individual character, rests with the author. Brief outlines were furnished, in some instances : for the rest, we have garnered here and there, with these pages as the result. This volume is published under peculiar circumstances ; and, in behalf of the officers of our army, — whom it represents, — the author tenders acknowledgment for its successful presentation to the public, as a work of art, to Messrs. Illman Brothers, the contracting engravers, for the sur- prisingly faithful likenesses of the portraits, — to Messrs. L. Johnson & Co., and to their admirable proof-reader and critic, for elegance of typography and correctness of diction, — to our publishers, Messrs. J. B. Lippincott & Co., for their encouragement, enterprise, and generous expenditure of capital, — and to all connected with the work, for despatch, it being issued within a period of ninety days from the commencement. Should the work prove sufficiently successful, the monumental idea will be carried out, and a shaft will be erected upon the battle-field, similar in design to that upon our title-page, — not of a boastful and vainglorious character, but simply to proclaim the story of the conflict and to transmit to posterity the moral of civil war. TuLLAHOMA, Tenn., August 10, 1863. PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION. The author, in behalf of the officers of the Army of the Cumberland, makes his grateful acknowledgments for the flattering reception given thu3 far to this volume. To the public press of the country he is especially grateful for their most liberal, and to himself gratifying, mention of the work. The present edition contains additional matter of much value, viz. : an account of the campaign of Chattanooga and the consequent battle of Chickamauga, with a map exhibiting the strategic operations of our army. With tJiis addition the work is complete as a history of the Army of the Cumberland under Major-General W. S. Rosecrans. This work having attracted unexpected attention, and its authorship having been questioned, and attributed to various persons in order to injure them by an implication of self-praise, the author, in justice to those gentle- men, appends his name to the title-page of this edition. His only motive for withholding it was a desire to avoid any notoriety in the connection, as book-making is not his trade. The author desires to assure the public that the work originated solely in the desire to do good, — to cheer and encourage the army, to enlighten the people at home, to advance the Union cause, and to erect a stone upon the first great battle-field of our army. This latter idea will be faithfully carried out if the work be sufficiently successful. If, however, the scheme shall prove inexpedient, owing to unquiet times in Tennessee in the future, or from other cause, the fund accruing from the sale of the volume will be directed to some charitable purpose or channel for the benefit of the invalid or crippled soldier of the Union, his widow or orphans. The Author. Chattanoooa, Tenk., Noy. 25, 1863. ILLUSTRATIONS. ^M pates. PAGB Major-General Rosecrans Frontiapiece Monumental Design Vignette General Rosecrans's Officers op Staff 40 Major-General Thomas and Staff 56 Ma.ior-General a. McD. McCook 73 Major-General Rousseau and Staff 79 Major-General Negley and Staff 91 Major-General Palmer and Staff 119 Major-General Sheridan and Staff 140 Brigadier-General Johnson and Staff 152 Brigadier-General Davis and Staff 158 Brigadier-General Van Clbte and Staff 174 Brigadier-General Morton and Staff 180 Colonel Innes and Staff 192 Major-General Stanley, Colonels Minty, Long, Stokes, and Captain Otis. 199 Brigadier-Generals Hazen and Carlin, and Colonels "Wilder, Heg, Stough- ton, and Burke 219 Colonel William Truesdail, Chief of Army Police 346 tooil (Huts. Field Hospital at Murfreesborottgh 289 Army Mail Escaping Guerrillas 309 Mass upon the Battle-Field 327 Kidnapping Negroes near Nashville 510 Strange Descent op Rebel Cavalry Boots 567 Guerrillas Burning Steamers on the Cumberland 615 Gathering Contrabands while at Church 619 Impressment of Vehicles, etc., at Nashville 632 Destruction of Railroad-Train by Bushwhackers 643 ^ithoigraphs. Map of Stone River Battle-Fields 331 Map showing General Rosecrans's Strategic Advance from Murfrees- BOROUGH to Chattanooga, and Plan of Battle of Chickamauga 459 CONTENTS. liojritphital §hklts. FAOl Major-Geseral William S. Rosecrans 9 Officers of Staff 40 Majok-Genekal George H. Thomas 56 Officers of Staff 66 Major-General a. McD. McCook 73 Major-General L. H. Rousseau 79 Officers of Stavf 88 Major-General J. S. Negley 91 Officers of Staff Ill Major-General John McA. Palmer 11* Officers of Staff 134 Major-General P. H. Sheridan 140 Officers of Staff • 146 Brigadier-General R. W. Johnson 162 Officers op Staff 154 Brigadier-General Jefferson C. Davis 158 Officers of Staff 170 Brigadier-General H. P. Van Cleve 174 Officers of Staff 175 Brigadier-General J. St. Clair Morton (Pioneer Brigade) 180 Officers of Staff 184 Colonel William P. Innes (1st Michigan Engineers) 192 Officers of Staff 196 Major-General D. S. Stanley (Chief of Cavalry) 199 Colonel R. H. G. Minty 205 Colonel Eli Long 210 Colonel William B. Stokes 213 Captain Elmer Otis , 215 Brigadier-General W. B. Hazen 219 7 8 CONTENTS. TAOn BRIGADrER-GrENEBAL "W. P. CarLIN 225 Colonel H. C. Heq 229 Colonel J. T. Wilder 233 Colonel W. L. Stoughton 238 Colonel J. W. Bdrke 239 Brigadier-General J. W. Sill (deceased) 243 Colonel J. P. Garesche (deceased) 246 Colonel G. W. Roberts (deceased) 250 Colonel Leandeb Stem (deceased) .,,, 252 Jirmg gc^artments. General Rosecrans's Head-Quarters 257 Quartermaster's Department 265 Commissary Department 274 Provost-Marshal General's Department 282 Medical Department 289 Artillery Department 293 Signal Corps and Telegraph Department 303 Army Mail 309 Army Directory 318 Army Chaplains 320 Head-Quarters Chaplain 325 United States Sanitary Commission 331 Army Police Department, and its Chlef 346 €^d\{kM, lattlcs, and ^hirmtsltcs Of the Army of the Cumberland 359 Jirmg police '§,emd Of Spies, Smugglers, and Rebel Emissaries 485 PisMlanc0us. Anecdotes, Incidents, Poetry, etc 647 gl^^cndk. Official Report of Generals Rosecrans and Bragg, of the Battle of Stone River 685 General Rosecrans's Official Report op the Chickamauga Campaign 704 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. "William Stark Eosecrans was born in Kingston, Delaware county, Ohio, on the 6th of September, 1819. His mother, the daughter of Stephen and Mary Hopkins, of Wyoming, Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, and his father, the eldest son of Daniei Eosecrans and a Miss Crandell, were married in Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, and in 1808 emigrated to Ohio. The lineal an- cestors of the family, about whom much discussion and inquiry have arisen of late, originally came from Brandenburg, whence they removed to Amsterdam, and subsequently, about the year 1660, emigrated to North Eiver, in what was then the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam, and now the State of New York. His name is a peculiar one, and has been variously written and pronounced. The correct spelling, however, as given above, is the same now as it has always been, and the proper, though not the popular, pronunciation is " Eosakrontz."* The father of the subject of this sketch was a prosperous business man, a farmer, and also engaged in mercantile pursuits. In the "War of 1812 he served as adjutant to a light-horse company under General Harrison, thus practically exhibiting that self-sacrificing patriotism which was through life one of his most marked characteristics. His intelligence, energy, and determination gave him a wide influence among his neighbors and friends. Though * The derivation is from " Rose," a rose, and " Kranz," a wreath, — making the signification " a wreath of roses," a beautiful idea imparted to nomencla- ture by a race noted for their appreciation of the poetical and musical. 9 10 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. quiet and unassuming, it was the general opinion that he was possessed of an iron will and a hot temper. His honesty was proverbial, and in those days of early pioneer life he was the arbiter of many disputes and controversies, which were referred to " Captain Eosecrans" with the confident assurance that his de- cision would be just and impartial. Thus as a friend and adviser of the surrounding people, who often came to him with their trials and difficulties and vexations, he lived as a patriarch in the land, honored and respected by all. Although his parents were in comfortable circumstances, his father being owner of a store, a farm, and a number of town lots and houses, young William was early taught habits of industry, attending school in winter and working in the garden and upon the farm in summer. At thirteen he had become quite a man upon the farm, and at fourteen was sent to the store of one David Messenger, seven miles from his home, to close up the business, which he did successfully. At times he acted as book-keeper in the store, collected debts, and for some months in 1837 was clerk in a clothing-store. At the age of sixteen he made a trip down the Mississippi Eiver for the purpose of seeing the country, and had proceeded as far as Vicksburg when he was taken ill and compelled to return. In 1837, when in his eighteenth year, he applied to the Secretary of War for an appointment to the Military Academy at West Point, and through the influence of Judge Alexander Harper, member of Congress from his district, and his home friends, obtained the position. The class which he entered numbered one hundred and twelve at the beginning of the course, but at the time he graduated, in June, 1842, it had decreased to fifty-six. In the generality of the studies he stood third, fourth, and fifth in rank. After graduating he entered the Engineer Corps as second lieutenant, and was ordered to report for duty to Colonel E. E. De Eussey, at Fortress Monroe, Virginia. Here he remained until the 20th of August, 1843, acting most of the time as First Assistant Engineer, having been promoted to a first lieutenancy in the preceding April. On leaving Fortress Monroe, he was ordered to West Point, as MAJOR-GENERAL W. S. ROSECRANS. H Assistant Professor in the Engineering Department, whicli posi- tion he held until the next year, when he was detailed as Assistant Professor of Philosophy. lu this department he re- mained one year, and for two years thereafter was First Assistant Professor of Engineering, during a portion of which time he also served, by request, as Post Commissary and Quartermaster, besides having for nine months entire charge of the erection of the cadet barracks then building at that place. In August, 1847, Lieutenant Rosecrans was detailed to relieve Lieutenant H. L. Eustis, engineer in charge of the fortifications in Newport harbor, Ehode Island. Here five years were spent in constructing a military wharf and completing the batteries and interior arrangements of the forts. Here also he designed a general system of permanent barracks, which was submitted to the War Department, and by it referred to a select committee, who reported favorably upon it. In 1852, a special appropriation was made to survey Taunton and New Bedford harbors, with a view to permanent improvements. Lieutenant Eosecrans was detailed to take the survey, and in three weeks made thirty thousand soundings. In the spring of 1853 he was ordered on detached service to report to the Secretary of the Navy at Washington, by whom he was assigned to the Chief of the Bureau of Docks and Yards, and detailed by the latter as con- structing engineer at the Washington Navy Yard. Here he constructed a marine railway, built a large saw-mill, and remo- delled and improved the Dahlgren ordnance buildings, which were found to be in a bad condition. He also made plans for an immense machine-shop, a block of buildings 450 by 288 feet. These were to be so constructed that one engine would drive the machinery of the establishment. Plans were also submitted for the blacksmith-shop, it being so arranged that the smoke from the forges would pass off from one stack. He also designed shops for the manufacture of anchors, cables, and blocks, to take the place of the old ones. These plans were submitted to the proper authorities, and approved, and the estimates for con- struction made. They were much admired at the time by all 12 ARMY OP THE CUMBERLAND who saw them ; and the general himself yet takes pride in them as among his best scientific efforts. Before steps were taken towards carrying them out, however, his health failed him, and he was told by his physician that he must have a rest of at least three months. Applying for leave of absence, he was told by the chief engineer that he could not be spared. He then re- solved to leave the service, and sent in his resignation to Jefferson Davis, at that time Secretary of War. The latter remonstrated, and reiterated the decision of the chief engineer, but finally gave him three months' leave of absence, telling him that at the expiration of that time he would probably change his mind, but if not his resignation would be accepted. His health not improving, he was obliged to persist in his resignation, which took effect Api-il 1, 1854. He then went to Cincinnati, and engaged in business as an architect and consult- ing engineer. His health was still feeble for several months; but he continued in that j)rofession until June, 1855, when the agent of an English and American coal company invited him to take charge of the company's mining-interests on Coal Eiver, Ka- nawha county, Virginia. One or two veins had been worked and exhausted, and the geology of the country was not then suflS^ciently known to enable the company to open new ones with any certainty. His first business in his new position was to examine and report upon the condition of the mines, and the next to make a geological survey of the country. This he did, and, by a series of scientific explorations, became so well ac- quainted with the topographical aspect of the vicinity that he was able to point out with an almost marvellous certainty the localities where new and profitable veins could be opened. Satisfied with the result of his survey, he submitted to the company plans for the development of the mines. To transport the coal from the mines to the river, it was necessary to construct a canal; and he became the president of the Coal Eiver Slack- Water Naviga- tion Company, formed for that purpose, of the stock in which three-fifths was owned by the State and two-fifths by private individuals. The company now desiring to engage in the manu- MAJOR-GENERAL W. S. ROSECRANS. 13 facture of coal oil, a practical engineer was employed to devise the plans. The result was a report that the oil could be made, but that a certain amount of capital must be furnished in advance. The sum stated was thought to be extravagantly large, and the disagreement which arose upon this point prevented further operations in that direction. General Eosecrans then determined to engage in the business himself, at Cincinnati. In company with a man who claimed to be experienced in the manufacture, he began the erection of a small establishment; but before it was finished he associated with him two other partners, and constructed largely increased works, capable of producing five hundred gallons per day. His first partner failing to make a marketable article, General Eosecrans determined to try it himself, and accordingly entered the laboratory and began a series of experiments with a view to the manufacture of a pure and odorless oil. After sixteen days' labor, he had about succeeded in his efforts, when he was terribly burned by the combustion of benzole gas, caused by using what was then supposed to be a patent safety-lamp. Although his clothes and flesh were badly burned, he had the presence of mind to make such dispositions that the fire was extinguished without injury to the works. He then walked home, — a mile and a half, — and took to his bed, where he lay nearly eighteen months, and for a time it was doubtful whether he could recover. The scars left by this accident have not yet disappeared, one upon his forehead being visible in his published portraits. During this time of illness his business languished and nearly ceased. His partners were honorable men, but inexperienced in chemistry and therefore not successful. Upon recovering, he again prose- cuted the business, and was getting his establishment into good working-order, when the rebellion broke out. The results of his investigations in the laboratory were nume- rous and vahiable. He believes he was the first to obtain a good article of odorless oil from petroleum. Directing his attention to the chemical composition of soaps, he made some valuable discovei'ies, among which was the finding of a cheap and sure 14; ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. process of manufacturing a soap with chlorine properties. He also experimented in the construction of lamps, was the first to successfully use the round wick in burning coal oil, and in- vented a lamp upon which short chimneys could be used with a satisfactory result. At the beginning of the rebellion General Eosecrans was a private citizen, pursuing the even tenor of his way, his time and attention being occupied with his business and his family affairs. He had never been a politician. He had no taste for the publicity of political life, preferring the ease and quiet of home. But he was known as a military man of experience and judgment, and petitions soon came thronging in upon him from the different wards to assist in drilling the Home Guards. In response to them, he gave his services to the 14th Ward Company, called the " Marion Eifles." When it became evident that mili- tary measures must be taken to crush the rebellion, the patriot- ism inherited from his sire would not permit of his remain- ing an idle spectator of the scenes about to transpire, and he immediately offered his services to Governor Dennison of Ohio. They were at once accepted, and he was requested to act as engineer and lay out Camp Dennison, which he did. He was next sent to Philadelphia to confer with gun-manufacturers, with a view to procuring a supply for the Ohio troops, and thence proceeded to Washington, to make arrangements for their clothing and pay. While at the capital, he presented to the War Department an application, endorsed by Generals Scott, McClel- lan, Totten, Mansfield, and others, for an appointment as a brigadier-general of volunteers. Eeturning to Cincinnati, he found awaiting him there the Governor's commission as Chief Engineer of Ohio, with the rank of colonel, it being intended that he should serve upon the staff of General MeClellan. The latter, however, having been appointed a major-general in the Eegular Army of the United States, it became obvious to Colonel Eosecrans that he could not serve in that position ; and he con- cluded to enter upon active service in the field. He was accord- ingly commissioned colonel of the 2od Ohio Eegiment, and MAJOE-GENERAL W. S. ROSECRANS. 15 repaired to Camp Jackson, at Columbus, which he named Camp Chase. Here he prepared a permanent camp for the 23d, 24th, 25th, and 26th Ohio Eegiments. Three days afterwards he re- ceived the appointment of brigadier-general in the Eegular Army, with orders to report to General McClellan, which he did the same night at Cincinnati. General Eosecrans was ordered immediately to "Western Yir- ginia. Arriving at Parkersburg, he assumed command of a brigade composed of the 8th, 10th, 17th, and 19th Indiana Eegi- ments. McClellan having himself reached Grafton soon after, General Eosecrans was ordered to proceed by rail with his" brigade to Clarksburg as fast as possible. Advancing from that place, he entered the town of Buckhannon without resistance, and proceeded twenty miles farther, in the direction of Beverly, camping at Eoaring Creek within three and a half miles of the enemy, who were intrenched in a forest near the western base of Eich Mountain. The rebel force was then estimated to number from five to ten thousand, but has since been ascertained to have been less. Their position was a gap in the Alleghany Mountains, ten miles from Beverly, through which the road to the latter town ran, and which was the only crossing over those mountains on what was known as the Central Eoad. The remainder of their force was intrenched on Laurel Hill, on the main road run- ning north to Grafton, Beverly being the centre at which both these roads met and crossed each other. On the 8th of July, 1861, General McClellan made an armed reconnoissance of the enemy's position, supported by General Eosecrans's brigade, which was left in the advance to lead the attack to be made the next morning. Eeturning to camp. General Eosecrans found there a young man for whom he had been searching some three days, and who was well acquainted with the country, his father living at the top of the mountain. From him he ascertained that there was a by-path by which he could reach the summit of the mountain without advancing on the road in which the rebels were encamped. This fact was at once reported to General McClellan by General Eosecrans, who proposed to take advan- 16 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. tage of it, surprising and seizing the rebel position. The plan was approved, it being arranged that General Eosecrans should move at three o'clock in the morning, enter the woods, reach the summit of the mountain, and attack the enemy, while McClellan, so soon as he should hear Eosecrans's guns, was to move upon their front. That portion of the work allotted to General Eosecrans was faithfully performed. Starting in the midst of a rainstorm, he reached the enemy's position after a severe march of ten hours through a rough and trackless forest. It was still raining heavily as he encountered the rebel advance- guard; but, after a brief reconnoissance, he began the attack, at half-past three in the afternoon. At five the battle was over. The gap had been carried, and two pieces of artillery and a number of prisoners were captured, the enemy retreating to their camp near the base of the moun- tain. McClellan failed to co-operate as was expected, and with his seventeen hundred men General Eosecrans prepared to hold the gap and advance upon the rear of the enemy's camp. At this juncture some of the scouts captured and brought in a rebel officer. Colonel Scott, of the 44th Yirginia Infantry, who said that his regiment was marching to reinforce the troops hold- ing the gap when that point was attacked and carried by the Fede- ral troops, and that it had retreated with the rest to the camp below. It was now six o'clock in the evening; the men were weary with their day's work, the one day's rations which they had brought with them were exhausted, and a heavy rebel force was in their front. The situation was now dangerous; but the general determined to hold his position at all hazards, and began preparations to that end. A portion of the 19th Ohio was posted on the ridge, covering his rear. One of the captured guns and a body of troops were posted on the road looking towards Beverly, and the other gun and a portion of the 8th Indiana placed in position looking towards the rebel camp. By this time it was quite dark, and the rain coming down in torrents. The pickets kept up a constant firing through the night, but, with this excep- tion, nothing occurred to disturb its stillness. At three in the MAJOR-GENERAL W. S. ROSECRANS. 17 morning a prisoner was captured, who stated that the enemy, alarmed at the dangerous j)Osition he occujiied between the two bodies of our forces, was preparing to withdraw from it. Upon receipt of this intelligence. General Kosecrans immediately moved upon their camp and captured it, with two hundred and eight tents, all their artillery, tools, axes, stores, and equii)age of every kind, eighty wagons, and some eleven hundred prisoners. The dispersion and capture of this force compelled the rebel General Garnett to retreat from his position at Laurel Hill towards the Northwestern Virginia Eoad. General McClellan now pushed on to Beverly, when, learning of Garnett's retreat, he advanced to Cheat Mountain, from whence he was summoned, immediately after the battle of Bull Eun, to Washington. The command in Western Virginia now devolved upon Gene- ral Rosecrans. Thus far success had attended the Federal arms in every important movement within his department; but the prospects for the immediate future were not bright. The term of his three-months men was just expiring, and he was faced by a rebel army flushed with their recent victory at Bull Eun. His orders were simply to hold Western Virginia as best he could His three-months troops were soon gone, ana all he could do was to occupy the Northwestern Virginia Eoad, Cheat Mountain, and other strong positions, and await reinforcements from the new levy of three hundred thousand men which had been ordered. These began to arrive in due season; and, learning soon after that Floyd was attempting to cross the river at Carnifex Ferry, thus threatening General Cox's command at Gauley, General Eose- crans, with seven regiments of raw troops with arms just put into their hands, marched to attack Floyd and relieve Cox. When within seventeen and a half miles of the enemy's position, he learned that Floyd was strongly^ intrenched at Carnifex Ferry. Advancing immediately, he reached the vicinity of the ferry that afternoon, and, after reconnoitring the position, began the attack at three o'clock. Night set in before any decisive result had been achieved, and our ti-oops lay upon their guns, ready to renew the oontest in the morning. When morning came, however, it was IB ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. found that Floyd had evacuated his position and retreated under cover of night, destroying the ferry-boat as he left. As soon aa the necessary prejiarations could be made, General Rosecrans crossed the river and began the pursuit, in the direction of Cheat Mountain. Floyd was joined in his retreat by "Wise, and their united commands — numbering five thousand three hundred men — strongly intrenched themselves upon the top of the moun- tain. The roads were in an almost impassable condition and the weather stormy and inclement, and further operations against the enemy in their present position were deemed inad- visable. Many of our troops wei-e nearly destitute of clothing; and General Rosecrans determined to fall back twenty-three miles, in order to be nearer his base of supplies. While thus waiting. General Lee, who had assumed command of the rebel forces in Western Virginia, prepared a plan to attack him in front while Floyd was to come down in his rear, hoping thus between the two forces to crush him, capturing or dis- persing his army. General Rosecrans*s knowledge of the country .now served him to good purpose. He knew that Floyd must come in at Gauley, and accordingly made preparations to meet .and capture him there. For some reason — owing to the bad roads, it was said — Lee failed to make his promised attack in front; but Floyd came up in the rear, as arranged, and was repulsed. Through the negligence of subordinate officers, the plan laid for his capture failed, and he escaped. This defeat of Floyd, however, and the subsequent retreat of the enemy to Eastern Virginia, practically ended the campaign, and "Western Virginia was virtually cleared of rebel troops. For the service thus rendered, General Rosecrans was presented by the Legis- lature of "Western Virginia with a vote of thanks. The winter season was approaching; active campaigning in the field was at an end; but General Rosecrans, as commander of the department, still found work for his troops in hunting up and dispersing the numerous guei*rilla bands with which the country was infested. This done, he established his outposts on the Kanawha River, concentrated his spare ti'oojis at New Creek MAJOR-GENERAL W. S. ROSECRANS. 19 Station and Eomney, and on the 6th of December, 1861, himself returned to Wheeling, making that city his winter head-quarters. In the latter part of that month he solicited and received per- mission to go to Washington to lay before General McClellan a plan of operations which he had devised. This was to concen- trate the troops in Western Virginia, and to obtain from Ohio and Indiana sufficient new ones to bring the entire number up to twenty-five thousand effective men. This force he would gather secretly at Eomney, and with it advance rapidly upon Winchester, which place he would seize and strongly fortify, thus flanking the rebel position at Manassas. Waiting in Wash- ington nearly three weeks for his plans to be received and con- sidered by General McClellan, he learned meanwhile that General Lander had been ordered to occupy the line of the Baltimore & Ohio Eailroad, and that all the troops in his own depart- ment, with the exception of seventeen hundred, had been sent to that general. With his hands tied, he accordingly returned to Wheeling, there to witness the dissipation of the military power of his command and to contemplate the ignoble results for which the lives of our soldiers were being wasted. Mean- time he perfected a long-cherished plan of a train of three hun- dred pack-mules, which he was the first to suggest and maintain as practicable, demonstrating its superiority in point of effective- ness over the ordinary transportation trains during the winter season, by drawing up and submitting to the Quartermaster's Department tables of the comparative cost of two-, four-, and six- horse or mule teams, and of the pack-mule train. He next formed the plan of a spring campaign, having for its object the possession of the Virginia & Tennessee Eailroad, and the penetration of East, Tennessee as far as Bonsell's Station, or farther, if practicable, towards Lynchburg, Virginia. This plan was approved by the Secretary of War and General McClellan, each writing him an autograph letter in relation to the matter. Meanwhile, however, the clamor of politicians and the necessi- ties of military rank compelled the administration to create the Mountain Department for the benefit of other generals and their 20 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. ^ friends. The new arrangement absorbed General Eosecrans's command, and he was ordered to report to the Secretary of War for further orders. Thus, to satisfy outside demands and please apolitical faction, a practical plan of operations, which promised a highly successful termination and would have proved of im- mense advantage to the Federal arms, was thrown aside, and the season frittered away in a widely different campaign, barren of results, and, on the whole, not over-creditable to those by whom it was conducted. Upon General Eosecrans reporting to the War Department, the Secretary expressed much regret at the necessities prevent- ing his assignment to the command of the Mountain Depart- ment, and deputed him to find General Blenker's command, of whose whereabouts no definite information could be ascertained. Strange, and even ludicrous, as the fact may seem, the division was actually lost, and an extended and systematic search had to be made for it. General Eosecrans was directed to confer with General Banks, and, after finding the troops of Blenker, to put them in serviceable condition and get them to Fremont as soon as possible. Proceeding to "Winchester, he sent out messengers and scouts, and through them learned that General Blenker had reached Berry's Ferry, and, in attempting to cross the Shenan- doah at that point, had swamped the ferry-boat and lost a number of men. Blenker Avas immediately directed to pro- ceed to Snicker's Ferry, cross the river, and come to "Win- chester. "While awaiting the arrival of this division, General Eosecrans occupied the time in conferring with General Banks upon the state of military affairs and planning for the coming campaign. The situation at that time was thus : General Banks, with thirty thousand men, was advancing up the Shenandoah Yalley, and was then sixty miles distant from his base of operations at Harper's Ferry. General Milroy, with five thousand eight hun- dred men, was at Huttonsville. The centre of Fremont's force, under General Schenck, and numbering about four thousand five hundred effective men, was at New Creek Station. On the rebel MAJOR-GENERAL W. S. R0SECRAN8. 21 side, Stonewall Jackson and Ewell were in the vicinity of Mount Jackson with a light column of from six thousand to eight thou- sand men. To make the rebels feel the weight of their heavy force, the following plan was agreed upon, after consultation with Generals Banks, Shields, and others, and telegraphed to the Secretary of "War. Blenker, without crossing the Shenandoah, was to move rapidly to Sperryville, thus cutting off Jackson's retreat through Luray Gap and compelling him to go south- ward to Brown's or Eockfish Gap. Banks was to advance im- mediately to Harrisonburg. The force at New Creek Station was to move up South Branch by way of Franklin, being no longer menaced by the rebels, and join Milroy, who was to come across Cheat Mountain to Middleburg. There the senior officer would take command of the whole force, and move on to Staunton and Charlottesville, while Blenker moved south along the Piedmont, with McDowell's force in echelon to support him. This dispo- sition would bring the weight of a heavy army corps on the left of the enemy's position at GTordonsville, while it would facili- tate the taking of the East Yirginia Eoad by Cox. The Secretary acknowledged the receipt of the plan, and submitted it to the President. The latter determined that it was too late to con- sult all the generals interested, and the whole plan came to naught. Thus a second opportunity to make an effective campaign was neglected, and a whole season lost. Perhaps its value may be best determined by the disastrous results which fol- lowed its non-adoption. The enemy made a raid northward, which this plan would have prevented. McDowell's plan of operations was rendered inoperative. Our magnificent oppor- tunities were wasted. The enemy was relieved of all apprehen- sion of danger from our forces in the Yalley. The crushing blow which McDowell, in aid of McClellan, had prepared to deal Jackson was averted, and the rebel general, making good his escape from the Shenandoah, was permitted to fall upon the right of our army on the Peninsula, and thus turn the scale of conflict. Such was the actual result. What would it have been had the plan 2§5 ARMY or THE CUMBERLAND. agreed upon by Generals Banks, Shields, and Eosecrans been adoj^ted and carried into effect? Jackson would have been forced southward, and his junction with Lee prevented. McClel- lan would have crushed the rebel army on the Peninsula, and McDowell, going in on McClellan's right, would have occupied Eichmond. To sum up all in a word, the campaign would have been illustrious, and the rebels have been driven from Virginia. About the 1st of April, General Blenker's division arrived, hungry and destitute, and went into camp. Their condition was wretched, resulting from neglect and incompetency. General Eosecrans at once inspected the corps and reported their con- dition to the "War Department. His whole attention was devoted to the supplying of their wants and equipping them for the spring and summer campaign. A rise in the Potomac Eiver delayed him somewhat, but he finally succeeded in getting them into serviceable condition, and marched with them to the vicinity of Moorefield, where he reported to General Fremont in person, on the 9th of May, 1862. This duty performed, the general pro- ceeded to Washington, arriving there on the 15th of May, and the same day was ordered to report to General Halleck at Corinth, Mississippi, then the great centre of public interest in the West as the probable field of an impending battle. Leaving his staff, horses, &c. behind, he hastened forward, and reached Corinth on the 23d, when General IIallec"k ordered him to report to General Pope, by whom he was placed in command of Colonel Jefferson C. Davis's division, which had just arrived from Pea Eidge, Arkansas. Four days afterwards, he was assigned to the command of the right wing of the Army of the Mississij^pi, just as it had advanced from its camp to the last line of trenches. While thus in the advance, sounds of constantly occurring explo- sions were heard within the enemy's lines; and he immediately sent to General Pope information that the rebels were un- doubtedly preparing to evacuate, and himself sent out two squadrons to reconnoitre. They advanced to Corinth, and, find- ing it evacuated, poured in with other troops. His command MAJOR-GENERAL W. S. ROSECRANS. *!3 was then ordered to take five days' rations and march in pur- suit. He followed the enemy until eleven o'clock that night, by which time our cavalry had arrived and engaged their rear at Tuscumbia. Passing through their deserted camps, in which many tents and mxich camp-equipage had been left, General Eosecrans pushed on to* Booneville, and stationed his outposts beyond that town. General Halleck followed Beauregard's forces thirty-three miles, and General Eosecrans pushed on twelve miles farther, reconnoitring with infantry and cavalry. At Twenty-Mile Creek he touched the main body of the enemy, in strong force, at several points. Two or three hundred prisoners were cap- tured, and many stragglers released. General Buell's force now reinforced him preparatory to an attack on the rebels; but they hastily retreated; and on the 13th of June General Eosecrans returned to Camp Clear Creek, seven miles from Corinth. On the 17th General Pope left for Virginia, and General Eosecrans assumed command of the Army of the Mississippi, consisting of four small divisions. Of these, two were ordered to reinforce General Buell, and marched to Tuscumbi^ while General Mitchel crossed at Eastport. This done, the remainder of the army returned to Corinth, — two and a half regiments having been left at luka. General Bragg's forces had now gone, leaving Price and Van Dorn on their front. Two days after General Stanley's division left luka Price advanced and took possession of the place. A reconnoissance made by Colonel Mowry having established the fact that Price was really there, with a force variously estimated at from twenty to thirty thousand men. General Eosecrans devised a plan to attack and capture or totally rout him. With this view, he proposed to General Grant that the latter should advance his forces on one road directly to luka, while he him- self would march his two divisions by way of Jacinto, get in Price's rear, and cut off his retreat southward. This was agreed to by General Grant ; and on the 18th of September General Eosecrans concentrated at Jacinto two divisions of infantry and 24 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. artillery and two regiments of cavalry. Starting at four o'clock on the afternoon of the 19th, and marching eighteen and a half miles, he arrived within a mile and a half of luka. Here the advance-guard of our forces, having skirmished for the last seven miles with the enemy's cavalry, encountered his infantry. Their camps being close by, a heavy force was rapidly pushed out to meet Eosecrans, who was obliged to deploy skirmishers on a narrow, wooded point, where there was room for only seven regiments. The enemy now opened with a heavy fire of canister and musketry, and the battle soon became very hotly contested. But two of General Eosecrans's batteries could be used, and one of these was in a cramped, unwieldy j)osition. Over this battery a fi"erce contest raged, the enemy seeming determined to capture it at all hazards. Thrice was it taken and retaken, and, a fourth time falling into the hands of the rebels, remained there until the next morning, when it was again recovered. Night put an end to the struggle, as yet undecided; and the wearied com- batants rested upon their arms almost within whisj)ering distance of each other. During the whole engagement General Eosecrans eagerly listened for Grant's answering guns, supposing that he was rapidly advancing in front; but, to his surprise, none were heard. Thus left in suspense as to the other column, he pre- pared to renew, unaided, the battle against the enemy's whole force. About midnight, however, he found that they had begun to retreat, and were already gone from his immediate front. Pursuit was at once made with cavalry and infantry, and the retreating column overtaken. The cavalry hung upon their flanks, and annoyed them to the extent of their power; but General Eosecrans's force was too small to cope with the rebels, and, having followed them to Bay Springs, a distance of twenty- five miles, he desisted from the chase. Eeturning to Jacinto, he moved thence to Corinth, and there established his head- quarters, having been placed in command of that district by General Grant, who had himself moved to Jackson, Tennessee. This was on the 21st of September. Eumors, various and inde- MAJOR-GENERAL W. S. ROSECRANS. 25 finite, followed the battle, and the movements of the enemy were closely scrutinized. It was finally ascertained that Price, marching rapidly in a southwesterly direction for thirty miles, had struck Baldwin; thence, making a detour to the northwest, he passed Dumas Post Office, fifteen miles from Baldwin, where he was joined by Van Dorn, who assumed chief command. The force now moved to Pocahontas, thirty miles, leaving Eipley a little on the left; and here it was joined by Lovell, whence they were reported to be about moving down to Chewalla, and thence to Corinth. To meet the emergency, General Eosecrans, upon learning the first movements of the enemy, on the 29th ordered in the troops from Eienzi and Jacinto, and they arrived at Corinth on the 30th and Slst. On the 1st of October it was definitely ascer- tained, from strong cavalry scouting-parties sent out for that purpose, that the rebels were moving from EijDley via Euckers- ville, and that the main body was at Pocahontas. They evi- dently meant work; but where would the blow fall ? From their position it was equally easy to strike Bolivar, Bethel, Jackson, or Corinth ; and the question was, which would it be ? ISTo map of the country northwest of Corinth could be found ; and it was not easy to determine whether the threatened attack upon Corinth was a feint to cover a movement upon some other point, or whether the feint would be made elsewhere and the blow struck there. Eumors that the attack was to take the direction of Jackson or Bolivar via Bethel were so rife, and the fortifications of Corinth were so well known to the rebels, that General Eose- crans had hopes they would undertake to mask him, and, pass- ing north, give him an opportunity to beat the masking force and cut oif their retreat. This hope gained some strength from the supposed difficulties of the country lying in the triangle formed by the Memphis & Charleston and Mobile & Ohio Railroads and Cypress Creek. To be prepared for eventualities, Hamilton's and Stanley's divisions were placed just beyond Bridge Creek, the infantry outposts were called in from luka, 26 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. Burrsville. Rienzi, and Danville, and tlie outpost at Chewalla retired to New Alexander, and strengthened by another regi- ment and a battery, early on the morning of the 2d. During that day it was ascertained that the country to the north- west was practicable, and that there were two good roads eastward from Chewalla, one leading directly into the old rebel intrenchments, and the other crossing over into the Pittsburg Landing road. Accordingly, at half-past one on the morning of the 3d, Gene- ral Eosecrans ordered the following disposition of the forces for that day : — " There being indications of a possible attack on Corinth, immediately the following disposition of troops will be made. General McKean with his division will occupy the present position ; General Davies will occupy the line between the Memphis & Columbus road ; General Hamilton with his division will take position between the rebel works on the Puvdy and on the Hamburg roads ; and General Stanley will hold his division in reserve at or near the old head-quarters of Major-General Grant. " The respective divisions will be formed in two lines, the second line being either in line of battle or close column by division, as their circumstances may require. "The troops will move towards their positions, with one hundred rounds of ammunition and three days' rations per man, by three o'clock a.m." The troops at nine o'clock on the morning of the 3d occupied positions as follows : — Hamilton on the right, Davidson the centre, McKean on the left, with an advance of three regiments of infantry and a section of artillery under Colonel Oliver on the Chewalla road, at or near Alexander's, beyond the rebel breast- works. The cavalry were disposed as follows : — a battalion at Burnsville, one at Eoney's Mill on the Jacinto and Corinth road. Colonel Lee, with the 7th Kansas and a part of the 7th Illinois, at Kossuth and Boneyard, watching the rebels' right flank ; Colonel Hatch and Captain Wilcox on the east and north fronts, covering and reconnoitring. These dispositions are said by General Eosecrans, in his detailed report, to have been made because of the fully exjDlained difficulties of the northwesterly approach, and of the possibility that the rebels mii^ht threaten on the Chewalla road and attack MAJOR-GENERAL W. S. ROSECRANS. 27 by the Smith's Bridge road, on his left, or go round and try him with their main force on the Purdy or even on the Piti.-biirg Landing road. The general plan to be pursued was verbally explained to the division commanders on the morning, and was in effect this : — to hold the rebels at a distance by approach- ing them strongly from our assumed position, and, Avhen their force became fully developed and they had formed their lines, to take a position which would give us the use of our bat- teries and the open ground in front of Corinth, that position to be exactly determined by events and by the movements of the enemy. Early in the morning the advance under Colonel Oliver per- ceived indications that the pressure under which he had retired on the 2d came from the advancing foe, and accordingly took a strong position on the hill near the angle of the rebel breast- works, with his three regiments and a section of artillery. . By eight o'clock there was sharp fighting at this point ; but it was still by no means certain that the main attack of the enemy would be on Corinth. By nine o'clock the enemy began to press them sharply and outflank them. An officer sent to the front reported wide-spread but slack skirmishing, and said that the position of our advance-guard was an advantageous one and would be of great benefit to the attacking force. "With this view, it was ordered to be firmly held. At ten o'clock word came that the enemy were pressing the point hotl}^, and that unless reinforced the position must be yielded. General Davies was ordered to send up from his division two regiments; but it was found that General Mc Arthur had taken four more reo-i- ments from Mclvean's division, and was stoutly contesting the ground. General Davies now asked permission to rest his right on the rebel intrenchments ; and it was granted, with the verbal instruction that he might use his own judgment about leaving his present position for that, but in no event was he to cease touching, if possible, the left on McArthur's right. Davies accordingly advanced to the breastwork, but leaving an interval between his own and McArthur's left. The rebels, seizing the 28 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. opportunity, developed their force along that line as McArthur retired from his position, and advanced behind Davies's left, and forced it, after an obstinate resistance, to fall back about a thousand yards, with the loss of two heavy guns. Our troops were fighting with great determination, firing low and very steadily. At one o'clock in the afternoon, Davies had resumed the position he occupied in the morning, and McArthur's brigade had fought a heavy force. The enemy were evidently in full strength and meant desperate work. There were no signs of any movement on our left, and only a few cavalry skirmishers on our right. It seemed certain that the attack in force would be made on our centre. Orders were accordingly given to McKean to fall back to the next ridge beyond our intrenchments, to touch his right on Davies's left, and Stanley to move north- ward and eastward, to stand in close echelon, but nearer town. General Hamilton was ordered to face towards Chewalla, and move down until his left reached Davies's right. Davies was informed of these dispositions, told to hold his gi'ound obsti- nately, and then, when he had drawn them in strongly, Hamilton would swing in on their front and rear and close the day. Owing to a loss of time in conveying the orders to Generals McKean and Davies, they were less perfectly conformed to than was wished, and the movement did not begin until about five o'clock. The enemy pressed Davies back with tremendous force ; and Stanley, with his division and his batteries held in reserve, was called upon, and sent a brigade under Colonel Mower to support Davies, whose right had at last become hotly engaged. Mower came up while Davies was contesting a position near the "White House, and Hamilton began to swing in on the enemy's flank, across the Columbus Eailroad, through a very impracti- cable thicket, when night closed in and put an end to the opera- tions for the day. General Eosecrans now had opposed to him the entire army which the rebels could muster in ISTorthern Mississij^pi, composed of Price's and Van Dorn's armies, Villepigue's and Lovcll's com- mands, and the remnants of Breckinridge's corps, all under the MAJOR-GENERAL W. S. ROSECRANS. 29 command of Van Dorn. They were in an angle between the Memphis and Columbus Eailroads, a position which rendered hi a left comparatively free but made his right very assailable. They undoubtedly outnumbered us two to one, and were now advised of our intended movements. New dispositions accordingly became necessary. The plan adopted was to rest our left on the batteries extending from battery Eobinette, our centre on the slight ridge north of the houses, and our right on the high ground, covering both the Pittsburg and Purdy roads, while it also covered the ridge roads between them, leading to their old camps. McKean had the extreme left; Stanley, with his well-tried division batteries, Williams and Eobinette, the Memphis Eailroad and the Chewalla road extending nearly to the Columbus road; Davies's sure division was placed in the centre, which was retired, reaching to battery Powell; Ha- milton's staunch fighting division was on the right, with Dillon's battery, supported by two regiments posted on the prolongation of Davies's line. Early in the evening, General Eosecrans called his division commanders together and explained to them the plans. By three o'clock in the morning, these dispositions were completed, and officers and troops, alike exhausted by fatigue, endeavored to obtain some rest. In a short time, however, and before day- break, they were awakened by the enemy's artillery — four bat- teries — firing upon battery Eobinette, within six hundred yards of which they had planted their guns. Shells flew thick and fast, perforating the Tishemingo House at Corinth, the telegraph- office, and the ordnance building. Our heavy batteries and the 10th Ohio, placed north of General Halleck's old head-quarters, silenced them by seven o'clock, one piece being captured and the rest withdrawn. The skirmishers and sharpshooters were sent forward into the woods on our front, and found the enemy in force, evidently preparing for an assault. No movement took place, however, until about nine o'clock, when the heads of their columns emerged from the woods and bore straight down upon our centre, attacking first Davies, then Stanley, and Hamilton 30 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. last. The rebels came on in gallant style; and our troops pnr- jjosely yielded and fell back, scattering among the houses. Ee- treating some two hundred and fifty yards, they rallied, and were reinforced by reserves from Hamilton's division. At the head of Price's right, storming columns advanced to near the hoiiscs on the north side of the square, in front of General Halleck's head-quarters, when they were greeted with a storm of grape from a section of Immell's battery, soon reinforced by the 10th Ohio, which sent them reeling back, pursued by the 5th Minnesota, which advanced to them from their position near the depot. General Sullivan was ordered and promptly moved to the suppoi't of General Davies's centre. His right rallied, and retoojc battery Powell, into which a few of the storming column had penetrated; while Hamilton, having played upon the rebels on his right, over the opening, very effectively with his artillery, advanced towards them, and they fled. The battle was over on the right. During this time the skirmishers of the left were moving in our front. A line of battle was formed on the bridge. About twenty miniites after the attack on the right, the enemy advanced in four columns on battery Eobinette, and were treated to grape and canister until within fifty yards, when the Ohio brigade arose and gave them a murderous fire of musketry, before which they broke and fell back to the woods. General Yan Dorn's attack was to have been simultaneous with that of Price. The generals had arranged to carry Corinth by one grand assault. But in their reconuoissance on Friday even- ing they entirel}" overlooked Fort Eobinette, — a fatal oversight. When they drove their wedge towards Corinth, one flange on the Bolivar road, the other on a branch of the Chewalla, they intended that both wings should move together. Topographical and artificial obstructions interrupted Van Dorn. He was obliged to sweep over a rugged ravine, through dense thickets, up hill over a heavy abatis, with his left ; it was necessary for his centre to dip down hill under the fire of Fort "Williams, Captain Gau's siege-guns in. the rear of the town, and under MAJOR-GENERAL W. S. ROSECRANS. 31 heavy musketry; while his right had to girdle a ridge and move over almost insurmountable abatis under the point-blank fii-e of both Fort Williams and Fort Eobinette, supported by a splendid division of veteran troojis. The latter fort had three ten- pounder Parrotts, and the former, thirty-pounder Parrotts. Price had nothing to delay him, and was in time. Van Dorn was too late, — a few moments only, but long enough to seal the fate of Price, who was overwhelmed and driven back. Van Dorn's situation was desperate. Nothing but a feat of daring whose success would be little short of a miracle could save his army from total rout. Battery Eobinette must be carried by storm ; and audaciously enough he attempted it. His men obeyed magnificently. Gallantly they were reformed and led to the charge by Colonel Eogers, of the 2d Texas, acting brigadier-general. The troops most relied on were those from Texas and Mississippi. Two brigades, one supporting the front at close distance, moved up solidly towards the face of the foi-t. The Parrotts of both redoubts poured a constant stream of shot and shell, grape and canister, into their close ranks, from the moment they began their advance; and at every discharge great gaps were made in their columns. But there was no faltering. The ranks were promptly closed, and steadily they moved to the front, bending their heads to the storm. Scores were slaughtered while thrusting themselves through the rugged timber, but no man wavered. Onward, onward they came, steady and unyielding as fate, their leader in front. The edge of the ditch is reached, and they pause to take breath for a final onset. It is a fatal pause. It gave our men time to recover from the surprise into which the boldness and audacity of the movement had thrown them, and they were now ready for the assailants. Eogers, the brave Texan, with the rebel flag in his left and a revolver in his right, advanced, firing, leaped the ditch, scaled thq parapet, waved his banner aloft, and tumbled head- long to its base. And now the deadly musketry fire of the in- fantry supports staggered and broke the ranks of his followers, and at the word " Charge I" the 11th Missouri and 27th Ohio 32 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. sprang up and forward at them, chasing their broken fragments back to the woods. Thus by noon ended the battle of the 4th of October. The day was extremely warm, and our troops were nearly exhausted. Water and ammunition were sent to them as they rested ^n the field, and they patiently awaited another advance of the enemy. No signs of their reappearance occurring, skirmishers were sent out, who soon found and reported that their skirmishers had gone from the field, leaving their dead and wounded. By four o'clock it was known that the enemy were retreating, at least to Chewalla. Having satisfied himself of this. General Eosecrans rode over our lines, announcing the result of the fight in person, and notified his victorious troops that after two days' fighting and two sleepless nights of pre- paration, movements, and march, he wished them to replenish their cartridge-boxes, haversacks, and stomachs, take an early sleep, and start in pursuit by daylight. The results of the battle aro thus briefly stated by the general in his ofiicial report : — "We fought the combined rebel force of Mississippi, commanded by Van Dorn, Price, Lovell.Villepigue, and Rust, in person, numbering, according to their own authority, thirty-eight thousand men. " We signally defeated them, with little more than half their numbers, and they fled, leaving their dead and wounded on the field. " The enemy's loss in killed was one thousand four hundred and twenty- three, officers and men ; their loss in wounded, taking the general average, amounts to five thousand six hundred and ninety-two. We took two thou- sand two hundred and forty-eight prisoners, among whom are one hundred and thirty-seven field-officers, captains, and subalterns, representing fifty- three regiments of infantry, sixteen regiments of cavalry, thirteen batteries of artillery, and seven battalions, making sixty-nine regiments, six battalions, and thirteen batteries, besides separate companies. " We took also fourteen stands of colors, two pieces of artillery, three thousand three hundred stand of arms, four thousand five hundred rounds of ammunition, and a large lot of accoutrements. The enemy blew up several wagons between Corinth and Chewalla, and beyond Chewalla many ammunition-wagons and carriages were destroyed, and the ground was strewn with tents, officers' mess-chests, and small arms. We pursued them forty miles in force, and sixty miles with cavalry." MAJOR-GENERAL W. S. ROSECRANS. 3S Something additional may be said in reference to the pursuit. It began early the next morning, and their rear-guard was over- taken at Chewalla. Pressing on, they made a short stand at Tuscumbia Hill, but were driven from it after a short struggle. As our forces advanced, they found innumerable marks of a pre- cipitate and disordered retreat. Tents, camp-equipage, wagons, &c. had been abandoned, and lay thickly scattered along by the roadside. The pursuit ^as still vigorously kept up. Upon reaching the Hatchie Eiver, the bridge was found to be destroyed ; but JMcPherson's engineers repaired it, and by dark our forces were crossing over and in hot pursuit. On our first day's ad- vance, General Hurlbut had met the rebels and driven them back towards Eosecrans; and now word came from Jonesborough that General Ord's command had fought them and driven them on to the route by which he was so rapidly pursuing them. Upon this intelligence. General Rosecrans requested General Hurlbut to support him, and also asked General Grant to send General Sherman to his assistance. The enemy were thoroughly beaten. Our own men were in the best of spirits, and eager for a raj)id, effective, and uninterrupted pursuit until the rebels were captured or destroyed It was explained to General Grant that if Sherman would come in on the west the enemy could be kept moving south, and thus be effectually scattered or driven to the wall. Sixty thousand rations were issued to his OAvn troops, thirty thousand were sent to Hurlbut, and eighty wagon-loads followed immediately from Corinth. But General Grant decided that further pursuit was inadvisable; and the army was recalled, greatly to its chagrin and mortification. Thus we failed to realize the full results of this magnificent victory. The rebels were demoralized and badly frightened, even going so far as to burn their stores at Tupelo. General Rosecrans is confident that had he been allowed to continue the pursuit he would easily have gone to Vicksburg, which was then but feebly defended, and have captured that important stronghold with but a tithe of the blood and treasure which have since been expended in its reduction. 3 3-4 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. Returning from the pursuit, General Roscerans re-established his heail-quarters at Corinth, remaining there until October 26, "when, in 2)ursuance of an order from the War Department, dated October 24, creating the Department of the Cumber- laud and the 14th»Army Corps, and assigning him to its direc- tion, ho left Corinth, arriving at Louisville on the 30th, and at once assumed command. From that time his military career is inseparably connected with that of the Army of the Cumberland, and is related in other pages of this volume. To them the reader is referred, Avith the confident assurance that he will there iind a record no less bright in all that goes to make his previous life one of usefulness to his country and of honor to himself. Xot only has General Eosecrans excelled as a military leader, but as a far-seeing statesman with military power, located in the midst of a rebellious and socially diseased community. During his several weeks' stay in Xashville, Tennessee, last winter, he was especially mindful of the social condition of that people, and labored with them in every possible direction, — with words of kindness and acts of favor, and at times with force and seve- rity, as occasion demanded. He devised a system of oaths and bonds as one medium of reconciling and persuading, and even forcing, a stitt-necked people to be loyal. Facilities of trade were afforded only to Union men, and passes to and fro were rigorously denied to rebels and traitors. Protection-papers were granted only where parties placed themselves in a proper atti- tude of loyalty to that power to which appeal was made for protection. He paid much personal attention to his scout and spy system, in connection with his Chief of Army Police, Colonel William Truesdail, with, at times, remarkably beneficial results. He heard complaints, and investigated serious personal charges, daily, restoring property here, condemning it there, and con- stantly dealing otit righteous, even-handed justice, with a quick- ness, sagacity, and prudence which were iiniversally appreciated. After the memorable tragedy oi Stone Eivcr, and during the past four or five months, General Eosecrans has been daily MAJOR-GENERAL W. S. ROSECRANS. 35 called upon to adjudicate in the manner of a magistrate and with the power and responsibility of a military autocrat. Through it all shine forth, daily and hourly, his native, inhe- rent love of truth and justice, and its attendant modesty, sim- plicity, and gentle kindness. As a rule, his action is in constant conformity to high principle. Recently he ordered the seizure of all serviceable horses in Murfreesborough, Nashville, and the adjacent country, for military necessities; and some seven hundred were thus gathered in and about the city of Xashvillc. A remarkable sensation ensued : prayers and petitions flooded in upon him for restoration, upon innumerable strenuous pleas, but in vain. He excepted but three cases, — one, of a team owned by and necessary to the manager of the State Insane Asylum, six miles in the interior; one horse owned by the aged Major Lewis, once an aide to General Andrew Jackson; and the carriage-horses of Mrs. Ex-President James K. Polk. " No, sir," said he to one persistent in his claims for restoration : " the Government needs your horses, and will pay you for them. I cannot restore them to you : I could not restore those of my old friend Bishop "Whalen, the Catholic Bishop of Nashville, nor can I yours." As is well known. General Eosecrans is a firm and consistent member of the Roman Catholic Church. His religious duties are a matter of daily thought and practice, whether at home or abroad, at the house of prayer or upon the field of battle. Night and morning find him a suppliant before the throne of the Eternal One, and the life of to-day seems a lesson impressive of the life to come. So believe those who during many months past have often witnessed his heartfelt, unostentatious attejition to sacred things. Especially in times of peril is this faith and confidence attended with happiest results. During the battles of Stone River, while riding over the fields through the fiery hail, the general's calm courage was remarked by all. He is truly a hero xipon the battle-field. In Western Virginia, and at luka and Corinth, he was personally present at each conflict, and at times in its very midst. His record as a general is no 86 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. brighter than is his record as a soldier. During those mo- mentous hours of undecided contest at Stone Eiver, he was everywhere amidst battle-dangers, cheering and reviving his scattered columns, while his adversary, the rebel Greneral Bragg, is said to have been safely seated in the cupola of the court- house at Murfreesborough, overlooking the field, and from thence momentarily despatching orders. Sustained by his religious faith, and therefore truly fearless of personal consequences, death for him had no terrors. "When told that the lamented Colonel Garesche, his chief of staff, had been killed, he remarked to his companions, " Brave men die in battle. Let us push on." Upon learning of the death of the gallant General Sill, and the reported death of Major-General McCook, he paid a brief tribute to their courage, and cheered those about him with words some- what as just related. When the tremendous battle of Friday evening was won, and Breckinridge and his rebel legions were BO signally repulsed, the general remarked, in response to the congratulations of the author, " Yes, God has truly blessed us." This faith in God and His goodness is the result of many years' belief in the doctrines of the Catholic Church, and of participa- tion in its rites. His parents were Episcopalians, and he was bred to that faith, but embraced Catholicism while a student at West Point, — as was also done about the same time by his bro- ther, now Bishop of Cincinnati, and one of the pillars of that Church in the West. While thus a devoted and earnest Catholic, the general is no bigot. His religion is a personal matter, and is not intruded upon others, he respecting the reasonable views of all, while adhering strictly to his own. His staff embraces religionists of various denominations and creeds, there being upon it but a single Catholic. In the walks of home life he inclines to associates of pure mind and refined understanding, as most congenial to his taste. In time of war ho wisely extends this preference, and, while he has due regard for intelligence and purity, is not unmindful of the brightness and beauty of the rough diamond, and delights to call around him the bold and daring. i MAJOR-GENERAL W. S. ROSECRANS. 37 Another of tlie geueral's characteristics is his pride in young- men. Of such his staff is mainly composed ; and many of his generals have not yet seen the midsummer of life. As with his officers, so with the masses of his soldiery, youth is their marked peculiarity and crowning glory. In this rebellion the general recognizes a contest in which the young and giant mind of the nineteenth century is battling against old systems of social and moral barbarism, and by which a new life and a higher civiliza- tion will be developed. He believes it to be a struggle of liberty, Heaven's choicest blessing to man, with human bondage, — a struggle in which the chains of the latter shall be broken, and idleness and the grovelling vices of a serfdom equally degrading to master and slave give place to labor and its concomitant virtues. Previous to the rebellion, no man's history was complete without the record of his political and partisan life. General Eosecrans has no such record. Party machinery was always uncongenial to him, and he thoroughly avoided it. His aversion to, and even contempt of, professed politicians, the managers of political clubs and caucuses, the connivers at election tricks and the winkers at -ballot-box frauds, is refreshingly hearty. He participates in no party caucuses, but votes for such men and measures as seem at the time to be best. Until quite recently, his political views and votes were not generally known beyond the circle of his more intimate friends. He believes that the strict adherence to party in times past, and the consequent party excesses, have been a bane to our national prosperity, and that it is this partyism which, lending strength to ambitious and dissolute leaders, has involved the country in all the calamities of civil war. At the last election he voted for Stephen A. Douglas for President, persuaded that the views of that states- man upon the all-absorbing slavery question, fairly and fully carried out, would best tend to avert the impending storm. When the first gun was fired at Sumter, with Douglas he came to the rescue, believing, with him, that the preservation or 88 ARMY OF TUE CUMBERLAND. destruction of the Government was now the only issue before the people. Upon the question of slavery General Rosecrans is decided, almost to radicalism. What he, would not have forced upon the South he is bow confident they have accomplished for them- selves. While he would have left their peculiar system to wrestle with the steady advance of free labor and thus through a gradual decline reach at last its inevitable end, he is now earnest in the belief that its days are numbered with the present century. The evils of slavery are with him a pregnant text. In the desolated fields and deserted homes of Yirginia and Ten- nessee he witnesses the vengeance of Heaven upon the iniquities of man, and in the sufi^ering and sorrow which war produces he recognizes a just retribution for the wrongs our nation has per- petrated upon a weak and lowly race. Especially is he severe in his comments upon the assumed superiority and aristocracy of the slaveholding portion of the South, The author has often heard him declare that " of all aristocracies upon earth, that of th« slaveholder is the most meaningless, the most contemptible, and the most damnable." The following extract from a letter written by General Eosecrans, dated at the head-quarters of the Army of the Mississippi, July 20, 1862, most forcibly portrays his sentiments respecting the rebellion, and the institution of slavery : — " For more than a year we have engaged in this struggle, into which an. arrogant and dictatorial slave-oligarchy has driven a free, happy, and peace- ful people, fighting for the rights of all. With true bravery and invincible patience our citizen soldiers have stood on this ground to the present moment, against violators of the laws of war and humanity. Remaining true to their principles, they have said, by words and actions, to their fellow-citizens in the South, We fight for common rights. If we win, you win. If the Govern- ment is maintained, you will dwell under the protecting shadow as freely as we. And there we stand, and thus we say, to-day. " But if the Confederates prevail, farewell peace and safety to us ; farewell freedom, forever ! Their principles and -leaders are known to us. They cheated us, crying out, No coercion ; holding out false hopes and deceitful assurances of friendly regard, while, assassin-like, they were preparing to destroy our Government and reduce us to anarchy or servitude. The past year's experience renders it certain that if they triumph, blood and desola- MAJOR-GENERAL W. S. ROSECRANS. 39 tion, fire and sword, or arbitrary subjection to their -svill, awaits every loliitt man who has Manhood enoiujh to dislike their system of slavei'ij, "They will omit no means, honest or dishonest, to insure success. Misre- presenting, calumniating our motives, ridiculing our honest efforts to mitigate the horrors of war, and inflaming the passions of the populace by low epithets, are among the milder and more ordinary means resorted to by this pseudo 'chivalry,' the meanest aristocracy that ever stood at the head of a civilized society." An incident is related whicli illustrates Lis disregard of popular and local prejudices. While in charge of the Government works at Washington, he was for some time superintendent of a Sabbath-school connected with his Church, where some seven hundred little negro children were taught their only lesson of Christianity, — an act creditable to the manliness that will thus rise above prejudices, and due to that true religion which teaches that all nations, all classes, all races, have an equal part and claim in the blood of Christ. Lest the author should be accused of partiality, which will, at times, mislead the judgment of the most cautious biogra- pher, he appends the following testimonj^ of ability and worth, from an enemy. A correspondent of the Atlanta (Ga.) " Com- monAvealth," in a letter published some two months after the battle of Stone Eiver, thus speaks of him : — • " General Rosecrans is a man of more than ordinary ability. In all the various positions in which he has been placed, he has exhibited the most untiring industry and indomitable energy. lie is an accomplished engineer, a wily strategist, and a brave and prudent leader. He is undoubtedlj^ the ablest general now in the Federal army. He is very different from the native Yankee, being bold, frank, outspoken, and possessing the dash and manner of the Western people. He is the idol of his officers and men, and possesses their entire confidence to an eminent degree. He will fight ; and he impresses it upon those* about him that hard licks alone will end the war. . " Sociallj', General Roseci-ans is modest, refined, polite, and affable. He would command respect and confidence in any community. In person he is five feet ten inches, and in weight about one hundred and sixty pounds. He stands very erect, with mllita'i-y dash and bearing strongly depicted in his person. His features are mild, but there is a striking expression in his clear gray eyes. His complexion is florid, hair slightly tinged with gray, and his features and person would be called handsome. General Rosecrans is a devoted member of the Roman Catholic Church." 40 ARMY or THE CUMBERLAND. In conclusion, we may add, the friends of General Eosecrans claim for him no Napoleonic attributes, nor do they attempt to clothe him with the Tyrian pui-ple of a Caesar. Every age has its hero; and the boast of one century may be the curse of another. All that we claim for him is that he is an honest, practical man, a shrewd, patient, skilful general, and an ardent, self-sacrificing patriot. The foregoing pages show that his life has been one of eminent usefulness tO' society and to his country. As a citizen, as a teacher, as a public servant, as a soldier, and as a commander, we may well regard him as a beaming light in the pathway of virtue, honor, and integrity. His genial coun- tenance, pleasing smile, and easy, unaffected manners, every- where the same, have kindled in all his friends an affection as lasting as it is warm ; and many a soldier and citizen will in after-years remember with feelings of admiration and love the present commander of the Army of the Cumberland. THE STAFP. The staff of General Eosecrans is composed as follows. The biographies of such as we have been able to obtain will be found following the list. Brig.-Gen. J. A. Garfield Chief of Staff Brig. -Gen. J. St. C. IMortox Chief of En (/^rs, com'crg Pioneer Brigade. Col. James Baenett, 1st 0. V. AvVy ...Chief of Artillery. Col. Jos. C. McKiBBiN Add'lA.n. C, A.A.I. Gen'l. Lieut.-Col. C.'GoDDARD A. A. Gen'l. Lieut. -Col. A. C. Ducat A.I. Gen'l. Lieut.-Col. Jno. W. Taylor Qr.M., Chief Qxtartermaxter. Lieut.-Col. Sam'l Simmons C.S., Chief Commissary. Lieut.-Col. Wm. P. Hepburn, 2d Iowa Cavalry , Insp. Cavalry. Major Wm. McMichael A. A. Gen'l. Major Ralston Skinner Judges-Advocate. Surgeon G. Perrin, U.S. A Medical Director. Surgeon A. H. Thurston, V.S.Y ......... Ass' t Medical Director. Asst.-Surg. Dallas Bache, U.S. A Staff Surgeon. Asst.-Surg. Jas. F. Weeds, U.S. A Medical Inspector. --% -:^-^^^°^-. '■^COLA.O-^'' -^^ €3^iEF QFSFrOSEMi ®3F aTAFF. B LIPPINCOTT &C0 PHlLADf BRIGADIER-GENERAL GARFIELD. 41 Major W. H. Sidell, 15th Inf. U.S.A... J.. A. G., and Chief Muslering and Dis- bursing Officer. Major W. M. Wiles, 44th Ind. Yols.... Provost-Marshal General Major Frank S. Bond Senior Aide-de-Camp. Capt. J. H. YouNO, 15th Inf. U.S. A Mustering Officer. Capt. J. C. Peterson, 15th Inf. 'U.S.A...A. A.I. G. Capt. Henry Thrall A.A.G. Capt. J. Bates Dickson A. A. Gen'l. Capt. James Curtis, 15th Inf. \J.S.A...A.A. I. G. Capt. A. S. Burt Add'l A.D. C, A.A.I. G. Capt. Hunter Brooke Add'l A.D. C, Acting Judge-Advocate. Capt. W. M. Warren A. Q.M., In chargeof Army Supply Trains. Capt. Elias Cosper, 74th 111. Vols Ist Ass' t Provost-Marshal Gen'l. Capt. R. M. Goodwin, 37th Ind. Y ols... 2d Ass' t Provost-Marshal Gen'l. Capt. G. S. Hubbard, 88th 111. Yo\a. ...Acting Ass' t Inspector- General. Capt. C. R. Thompson Add'l A.D. C, A.D. C. Capt. Horace Porter Ordnance U.S.A., Chief Ord. Officer. Capt. David G. Swaim A. A. G. 1st Lieut. Byron Kirby, Gth U.S. Inf. ..A.D. C. 1st Lieut. W. H. Greenwood, 51st 111. Vols Ass't Topographical Engineer. 1st Lieut. Henry Stone, 1st Wis. Vols.^.^..4. G. 1st Lieut. C. M. Brazee, 74th 111. Vols.^.^. Q.M. 1st Lieut. H. L. Newberry, 1st Middle Tenn. Cav Chief of Courier Lines. 1st Lieut. W. L. Porter, 56th 0. Vols..^.^.Z>. C. 1st Lieut. Jas. K. Reynolds, 6th Ohio Vols A.A.D.C. BRIGADIER-GENERAL GARFIELD. James Abram Garfield was born November 19, 1831, in Cuyahoga county, Ohio. His parents were natives of the New England States. By the death of his father he was, while yet a small boy, thrown upon his own energies and resources for a livelihood. At the age of sixteen he drove horses on the Ohio & Pennsylvania Canal, and in various other employments he " paddled his own canoe" successfully over the waters of varied fortune, and entered Williams College, Massachusetts, where he graduated in 1856. His plan of supporting himself while attending college was ingenious. He insured his life for a con- siderable amount, and borrowed the necessary funds by pledg- 4'i ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. ing the policy as security. After graduating, lie returned to the West, and during a period of three j-ears was President of a Collegiate Seminary at Iliram, Portage county, Ohio. In 1859 he was elected to the State Senate for the term of two years, and in 1860 was admitted to the bar as a practising attorney. Upon the breaking out of the rebellion. General Garfield was among the first to lay aside the ease and enjoyment of pri- vate life and the attractions of personal and political popularity and enter upon the arduous duties of the soldier. He set about raising a regiment among his pupils and friends and fellow- citizens; and mainly by his efforts the 42d Ohio Regiment was formed, of which he was appointed colonel, by Governor Denni- son, in August, 1861. On December 17 of that j^ear he left Camp Chase, Ohio, with his regiment, under orders for the Big Sandy Valley region, in Eastern Kentucky, reporting in person to General Buell at Louisville. Upon arriving in that city he was invited by General Buell to arrange his campaign; and he accordingly worked out a plan, which was submitted to and approved by the commanding general. The next day he started for his field of operations with a little army of four regiments and about six hundred cavalry. The Big Sandy was reached, and followed up for some sixty miles, through a rough, mountainous region, his force driving the out- posts of General Humphrey Marshall before them . for a con- siderable distance. On the 7th of January, 1862, he drove the enemy's cavalry from Paintville, after a severe skirmish, killing and wounding twenty-five of them. At a strong point, three miles above Paintville, Marshall had prepared to make a stand, with two batteries of six guns each, four thousand five hun- dred infantry, and seven hundred cavalry; but when his cavalry were thus unexpectedly driven in, his courage failed, and he hastily evacuated his works, retreating up the river. . The rapid marching, thiis far, had much exhausted General Garfield's forces: still he resolved to pursue, and, picking out eleven hundred of his ablest troops, continued on to Prestonburg, a distance of fifteen miles. There he found the rebels strongly BRIGADIER-GENERAL GARFIELD. 43 2)osted upon the crest of a liill, at once attacked them, and main- tained the battle during five hours, the enemy's cannon mean- while playing briskly. Although they were now under fire for the first time, the daring valor of the Union troops swept all before them : the rebels were driven from every position, and, after destroying their stores, wagons, and camp-equipage, they precipitately retreated to Pound Gap, in the Cumberland Moun- tains, sixty miles above. This was the first brilliant achievement of the war in the West, and a most complete and humiliating defeat to the rebels, their loss in killed and wounded amounting to two hundred and fifty, in addition to forty taken prisoners, while that of the Federals was but thirty-two, all told. It is related of General Garfield that at the time of this battle he had in his possession a letter written a short time befoi^ by "Humphrey Marshall to his wife, but intercepted by . General Buell and sent to General Garfield, in which he stated that he had five thousand effective men in his command. This letter the generar refrained from showing to his ofiicers and men until after the victory. His commission as brigadier dates from the day of the battle at Prestonburg. General Garfield now moved his force to Piketon, Kentucky, one hundred and twenty miles above the mouth of Big Sandy. Here he remained several weeks, sending out, meanwhile, expe- ditions in every direction wherever he could hear of a rebel camp or band, and at length completely clearing that whole country of the enemy. While thus employed, his provisions gave out, and, instead of sending, he went himself to the Oliio liiver for a new supply. The provisions were obtained, and a small steamer seized and loaded thercAvith. But now- a serious difficulty presented itself. The river was swollen by an unj)re- cedented freshet, and its navigation was extremely perilous. ISTo captain or pilot would take charge of the boat : it was an impossibility to navigate the Big Sandy with any thing in the shape of a boat; and they would not go. General Garfield, how- ever, was not to be balked in this way. Determined that the provisions should go through to his starving men, he took com- 44 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. mand of the boat himself, and piloted her up the river, standing at the wheel one day and two nights. It was a perilous voyage up an untried stream full of eddies and currents, in which the little boat quivered and turned, at times threatening to make instant wreck of itself and all on board; but the indomitable energy of the general carried him safely through all these diffi- culties, and in due season himself and his cargo arrived safely at the camp, greatly to the joy of his suffering soldiery. About the middle of March he made his famous Pound Gap expedition, for a proper understanding of which a few words descriptive of the locality will be necessary. Pound Gap is a zigzag opening through the Cumberland Mountains into Virginia, leading into a track of fertile meadow-land lying between the base 'of the mountains and a stream called Pound Fork, which bends around the opening of the gap at some little distance from it, forming what is called " the Pound." These names originated in this wise. This mountain locality was for a long time the home of certain predatory Indians, from which they would make periodical forays into Virginia for plunder, and to which they would retreat as rapidly as they came, cai'rying with them the stolen cattle, which they would pasture in the meadow-land just mentioned. Hence among the settlers it became known as " the Pound," and from it the gap and stream took their names. After his defeat at Prestonburg, as has been stated, Humphrey Marshall retreated with his scattered forces through this gap into Virginia. A force of five hundred rebels was left to guard the pass against any sudden incursion of General Garfield's force, who, to make assurance doubly sure, had built directly across the gap a formidable breastwork, completely blocking up the way, and behind which five hundred men could resist the attack of as many thousand. Behind these works, and on the southeastern slope of the mountains, they had erected commodious cabins for winter quarters, where they, spent their time in ease and com- fort, occasionally — by way of variety, and in imitation of their Indian predecessors — descending from their stronghold into Ken- tucky, greatly to the damage of the stock-yards and larders of BRIGADIER-GENERAL GARFIELD. 45 the well-to-do farmers of that vicinity, and to the fright of their wives and children. General Garfield determined to dislodge them f^-om their position and so put an end to their marauding expeditions. He accordingly set out with a sufficient force, and, after two days' forced march, reached the base of the mountains a short distance above the gap. Of the strength of the rebels and their position he had been well informed by the spies he had sent out, who had penetrated to their very camp, in the absence of the usual pickets, which were never thrown out by them, so secure did they feel in their mountain-fortress. It would have been madness to enter the gap and attack them in front; and the general did not propose or attemjjt it. Halting at the foot of the mountains for the night, he sent his cavalry early next morning to the mouth of the gap, to menace the rebels and draw them from behind their defences. This they did, arriving at a given time and threatening an attack. The rebels jumped at the bait, and at once came out to meet them, our men rapidly retreating, and the rebels following until the latter were some distance in front of their breastworks instead of behind them. Meantime, General Garfield with his infantry had scaled the mountain-side, in the face of a blinding snow-storm, and, marching along a nari-ow ridge on the summit, had reached the enemy's camp in the rear of his fortifications. A vigorous attack was now made, resulting in the complete rout of the rebels, many of whom were killed, wounded, or taken jirisoners, and the remainder dispersed through the mountains. The general now reassembled his forces and spent a comfortable night in the enemy's quarters, faring sumptuously upon the viands there found. The next morning the cabins, sixty in number, were burned, the breast- works destroyed, and the general set out on his return to Piketon, which he reached the following night, having been absent four days, and having marched in that time about one hundred miles over a rough and broken country. On his return, he received orders from General Buell, at Nash- ville, to report to him in person. Arriving at that place, he found 46 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. that Buell Lad already begun his march towards Pittsburg Landing, and pushed on after him. Overtaking the army, he was placed in command of the 20th Brigade, and with his command participated in the second day's fight at Shiloh. He was pr General Wright to assist in the defence of Louisville. His division, which had been placed in charge of General Mitchel BRIGADIER-GENERAL JEFFERSON C. DAVIS. 169 and attached to Buell's army, had arrived at Louisville, and he again assumed its command. "While in the city, an unfortunate personal difficulty occurred between himself and Major-General Nelson, which resulted in the death of the latter and led to the arrest of General Davis. After a few days' arrest, he was released, much to the gratification of the public, and ordered to report at Cincinnati for duty, where he was assigned to the temporary command of the forces around Newport and Covington. After the subsidence of the fear of an attack on Cincinnati, he was ordered to take command of his old division, and did so at Edgefield, opposite Nashville. At the battle of Stone Eiver this division was in the thickest of the fight, holding the centre of the right wing. After the attack upon General Johnson's division, the enemy fell upon it with crushing weight, and it too was forced back, but in comparatively good order. Its com- mander was faithful and brave as ever upon that memorable occasion ; and that his efi'orts were appreciated is evident from the fact that in the official report the commanding general places him second on the list of those whom he recommends to be made major-generals, or, as he terms it, who " ought to be made major-generals in our service." General Davis still commands his old division, which has marched more than five thousand miles and participated in ten battles and fights. As a whole, it has been engaged in five general battles — viz., Pea Eidge, Corinth, Perryville, Knob Gap, and Stone Eiver — and in almost numberless expeditions and reconnoissances. It was the first organized division in the West, and still retains its original number and position. Its record and the histories of its commanding officers would fill a volume, and would constitute a history that would well com- pare in thrilling interest with any written upon the wars of continental Europe during the Middle Ages. This old division, now the 1st of the 20th Army Corps, Army 01 the Cumberland, stands among the foremost in efficiency and popularity. Many of its gallant men sleep in heroes' graves, and its history is written in the blood of a wicked rebellion. i70 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. All honor to the loved and the lost from its ranks, and a country's gratitude to those who remain and are as determined as ever to maintain inviolate the integrity of the republic of the American fathers ! THE STAFF. Captain T. "W. Morrison, Assistant Adjutant-General, was born in Bloomington and raised in Salem, Indiana, and is twenty-one years of age. Ilis father, Hon. John J. Morrison, is a prominent citizen of Indiana, noted for his literary attainments, having for twenty-five years been Principal of the High School at Salem and the State University at Bloomington. In political life he is also known, having represented his county in both branches of the State Legislature. The subject of this sketch enlisted, July 26, 1861, as second lieutenant in the 18th Regiment of Indiana Volunteers, and served during the campaign in Missouri, bearing a conspicuous part in the battle of Pea Eidge. On the 8th of February, 1862, he was appointed aide-de-camp by General Davis. Accompanying the general to Corinth, he acted in that capacity there and through the campaigns in Northern Mississippi, Kentucky, and Ten- nessee, ending with the battle of Stone Eiver. For gallant con- duct in this engagement, upon the recommendation of Generals Davis and McCook, expressed in the most favorable and com- plimentary terms, he was commissioned by the President as assistant adjutant-general, February 27, 1863, and assigned to the staff of General Davis, with whose command he has been intimately connected for nearly two years. Captain Asa D. Baker, Commissary^ was born, January 18, 1828, in Waterloo, New York, where he received a business edu- cation. In 1859 he went to California, worked in the mines six CAPTAIN HAMILTON W. HALL. 171 montlis, and then engaged in mercantile business at Sacramentt City. In 1851 he returned to his native home, where he re- mained until 1855, when he removed to Chicago, Illinois, and opened a railroad-furnishing goods and machinery depot. Ho ! was the first to introduce steam fire-engines into the city of Chicago, and sold the first five steamers used by that city. At t the breaking out of the rebellion, he closed up his business and entered the service of the United States. He was one of the prime movers in the organization of the 37th Regiment Illinois Volunteers, and was with that regiment in its marches through Missouri under General Fremont. In December, 1861, he was appointed by General Julius "White (commanding the 2d Brigade of General Davis's division) act- ing assistant commissary of subsistence, and was with the brigade during their march across the Osage Mountains and into Arkansas. At the battle of Pea Eidge he acted as aide-de- camp to General White, and rendered gallant and important service. Having by his close attention to business qualified himself, he was recommended, immediately after the battle of Pea Eidge, by General Davis, General White, and others, for the appointment of commissary of subsistence, and was commissioned by the President November 18, 1862, and ordered to report to General Davis for duty, which he did on the 18th of January, 1863, at Murfreesborough, Tennessee. Captain Hamilton W. Hall, Division Inspector, was born July 17, 1837. At the age of sixteen he settled in the town of Urbana, Illinois, where, and at Mattoon, he spent several years in business pursuits. In April, 1861, he joined a company for military drill and discipline, and was made second lieutenant. Dui'ing the summer of 1861, this company was off'ered to the Government through the Governor of Illinois, but, owing to the fact that a surplus had already been offered, was not accepted. About the 1 st of August Lieutenant Hall and many others of the company determined to make another effort to get into the service; and, accordingly, he enlisted in a company raised by 172 ARMY OF TUE CUMBERLAND. Captain A. L. Taylor, in Charleston, Illinois, and upon its organi- f.ation on the 14th of August was chosen second lieutenant. The company was mustered into the United States service at St. Louis Arsenal, 16th of August, as Company H, 9th Eegiment Missouri Volunteers. This regiment was composed entirely of Illinois companies who had been led to enter into an organization out of their State by the difficulty of accej)tance at that time in Illinois regiments. Captain J. C. Kelton, assistant adjutant-general, became colo- nel, and with him the regiment entered the service at the time of Fremont's campaign, accompanying the division of General John Pope. Eeturning in November, the regiment spent the Avinter of 1861 and 1862 in tents or upon the mai'ch, at La Mine Eiver, Syi'acuse, and Sedalia, Missouri, until January 25, when, under command of General J. C. Davis, the division marched to join General Curtis's expedition, well known in the history of the war as the " Campaign of the Southwest." Meantime the regi- ment had memorialized the President and secured a transfer to its own State, becoming the 59th Illinois. After the battle of Pea Pidge, the expedition moved eastward, occupying the country south and east as far as Batesville, Ar- kansas. Up to that time (May, 1862) the regiment had marched over two thousand miles through a wilderness country-, Lieu- tenant Hall having been with his company upon every foot of the march, in every bivouac, skirmish, or battle. Since then he has been assigned to duty as assistant regimental quarter- master, assistant adjutant, and assistant commissary sergeant of his brigade, occupj'ing the latter position during the cam- paign of the Army of the Ohio in Kentucky, and until Janu- ary 6, 1863, when he was appointed assistant commissary ser- geant of 1st Division, 14th Armj^ Corps. At the time of the advance from Nashville he volunteered to act as aide-de-camp to Colonel P. Sidney Post, commanding his brigade of General Davis's division. In this capacity he was employed during the engagement which resulted in the occupation of Xolensvillc on the 26th of December, and in the skirmishes of the advance upon LIEUTENANT FRANCIS E. REYNOLDS. 173 the enemy's position on the 30th, and the engagement of the Slst at Stone River. Upon the 16th of January, 1863, at the request of Company F, 59th Illinois, Lieutenant Hall was commissioned as their cap- itain; and upon the same day ho was assigned to duty as In- jspeetor of the Ist Division, 20th Army Corps, on the staff of General Davis. Captain Thomas H. Daily, Aide-de-Camp, was born in Charlestown, Clarke county, Indiana, December 4, 1842. He enlisted in the 22d Indiana Volunteers on the 6th of July, 1861, was propaoted second lieutenant on the 12th of June, 1862, first lieutenant on the 21st of Xovember, 1862, and captain on the 23d of February, 1863. Lieutenant Francis E. Eeynolds, Aide-de-Camp, was born in Elmira, Chemung county, Xcw York, May 12, 1836. His family removing to Aurora, Kane county, Illinois, May, 1844, he re- ceived his education at that place, and was engaged as clerk in the post-office for nearly five years previous to the outbreak of the rebellion. He enlisted as private, August 2, 1861, in Com- pany A, cavalry, attached to the 36th Eegiment Illinois Infantry, and was promoted, April 1, 1862, as first lieutenant of Company B, cavalry, attached to the same regiment, for meritorious con- duct at the battle of Pea Eidge, Arkansas. For about four months he had command of the company, dui-ing which time it acted as escort for Generals Eosecrans, Gordon Granger, Jefferson C. Davis, and Eobert B. Mitchell. On the 6th of Janu- ary, 1863, he was appointed aide-de-camp on General Jefferson C. Davis's staff, for meritorious conduct during the battle of Stone Eiver. J^ricjucticr-dScncrnl loratio |l fun ^Um and ^taJJ. Horatio P. Van Cleve, Brigadier-General of Yolunteei-s, was born in Princeton, New Jersey, November, 1809. In 1827 he entered the Military Academy at West Point, graduated in 1831, and served in the 5th United States Infantry till 1836, when he resigned his commission and retired to civil life. At the commencement of the rebellion he tendered his services to his country; and, being at that time a resident of Minnesota, the Govei'iior of that State, on the 22d of July, 1861, gave him the command of the 2d Ecgiment of Minnesota Yolunteers. He re- ported for duty with his regiment to General Sherman, at Louis- ville, and in December was assigned to the command of General Thomas, then at Lebanon, Kentucky. He commanded the 2d Minnesota at the battle of Mill Spring, on the 19th of January, 1862. After this battle he marched his regiment to Louisville, and accompanied General Thomas, by way of Nashville, to Pitts- burg Landing. Having been promoted brigadier-general by the President on the 21st of March, 1862, on his arrival at Pittsburg Landing, General Buell gave him the command of a brigade in the division of General T. L. Crittenden, whom he accompanied in the campaign before Corinth, through Northern Ahibama, at Battle Creek, and from Battle Creek, by way of Nashville, to Louisville. At Louisville, on the 1st of October, 1862, he took command of the entire division. General Crittenden having been assigned to the command of a corps. He joined in the pursuit of Bragg's army as far as Wild Cat, Kentucky, at which point he turned and marched his division, by way of Somerset and Columbia, Kentucky, to Nashville. In the latter part of December he marched with General Ivosecrans's arm}- to attack Bragg at Murfreesborough, and was engaged, with his division, ut 174 ..-.'0\ ^^.©EM.¥A«©|_^^^ CAPTAIN E. A. OTIS. 175 the battle of Stone Eiver on the 31st. Having been disabled by a wound on this day, he was compelled to leave the field on the 1st of January, 1863. Upon his recovery he returned to the army and resumed the command of his division. In the battles of Mill Spring and Stone Eiver General Yan Cleve rendered distinguished service, and won favorable mention from his commanding generals for his soldierly management. By his men he is beloved and esteemed for his gentle, kindly manners and the warm interest he manifests in their affairs. The oldest in years of any general in the Army of the Cumberland, ho brings to the discharge of his duties, with his experience, the same ardor, energy, and patriotism that characterize his younger compeers. Courteous and affable in his manners, plain and simple in his life, and almost patriarchal in appear- ance, he presents a bright example of that patriotism which j-ields to the call of duty all that tends to make life comfortable and happy in its declining years. THE STAPP. Captain E. A. Otis, Assistant Adjutant- General, was born in Calhoun county, Michigan, on the 2d of August, 1835. He commenced the study of law in the summer of 1856 at Kala- mazoo, Michigan, graduated at the Poughkeepsie law-school in August, 1857, and immediately removed to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he commenced the practice of his profession in partner- ship with his brother, George L. Otis. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the 2d Eegiment of Minnesota Yolunteers on the 19th of August, 1861, and since that time has been constantly in active service. Upon the arrival of his regiment in Kentucky in the fall of 1861, he was appointed an aide-de-camp on the staff of Briga- dier-General Johnson, then commanding a brigade in General McCook's division. He remained with General Johnson durinir 176 ARMY OF THE CUMBEllLAND. the winter of 1861-62, marched Math the command to Nash- ville and Pittsburg Landing, participated in the memorable battle of Shiloh, and was honorably mentioned by his superior officers for gallantry and good conduct. After the battle he was j)romotcd to the position of assistant adjutant-general, with the rank of captain, on the staff of Brigadier-General Yan Cleve. He shared in all the prominent movements of the army of the Ohio in the summer and fall of 1862, marched through Ten- nessee and Kentucky, and was with his command in the advance from Kashville in December. He was engaged in the battle of Stone River, where he again received honorable mention from his division-general for bravery and good conduct. Captain Otis is now assigned as assistant adjutant-general to the 3d Division, 21st Army Corps, commanded by Brigadier-General Van Cleve. Captain Carter B. Harrison, Division Inspector, was born at North Bend, Ohio, September 26, 1840. At the outbreak of the war he was a student at Miami University. He entered the service of the United States on the 18th of April, 1861, as a private in a company of students raised at the university, and served with his company in Western Virginia until the ex- piration of the three-months enlistment. On the 12th of Oc- tober, 18G1, he was appointed adjutant of the Slst Eegiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, in which capacity he served until the 20th of November, 1862, when he was appointed brigade in- spector on the staff of Colonel Stanley Matthews, commanding the 3d Brigade of the 3d Division of the 2l8t Army Corps. He was present at the battle of Stone Eiver, after whieli he was promoted to a captaincy in his regiment. On the 1st of April, 1863, he was appointed acting assistant inspector-general on the staff of General Van Cleve, commanding the 3d Division of the 2l8t Army Coi*ps. Lieutenant Henry M. Williams, Aide-de-Camp, was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, January 24, 1843. In January, 1862, he left LIEUTENANT EDWARD S. SINKS. 177 the College of New Jersey, at Princeton, and entered the army as second lieutenant in the 11th Indiana Battery. October 7, 1862, he was appointed aide-de-camp to Brigadier-General Van Cleve, and served in that capacity during the battle of Stone Eiver. Captain Lucius H. Drury, Chief of Artillery, was born at Highgate, Vermont, December 20, 1825. At the commencement of the rebellion he was a resident of "Wisconsin, and on the 9th of September, 1861, received a commission as captain of the 3d Battery, Wisconsin Volunteer Artillery. Since October 1, 1862, he has acted as chief of artillery in General Van Cleve's division. Major Samuel D. Turnet, Medical Director, was born in Columbus, Ohio, December 26, 1826, and entered the service, as surgeon of the 13th Ohio Infantry, May 2, 1861. March 21, 1863, he was appointed Surgeon of Volunteers, United States Army, and is now medical director upon the staff of General Van Cleve. Captain Charles A. Sheafe, Provost- Marshal, was born in Somerset county, Maine, September 7, 1832. At the beginning of the war he was engaged in the practice of law at Hillsborough, Ohio. Desiring to aid in the suppression of the rebellion, he was commissioned by the Governor of Ohio as a captain in the 59th Eegiment of that State, and entered the service January 26, 1862. Following the fortunes of his regiment, he partici- pated in the battles of Shiloh and Stone River, besides numerous skirmishes of lesser note. Lieutenant Edward S. Sinks, Acting Assistant Quartermaster, was born in Bethel, Clermont county, Ohio, January 7, 1836. He entered the United States service in the 22d Eegiment Ohio Volunteers, April 23, 1861. September 27, 1862, he was 12 178 ARMY OF TUE CUMBERLAND. appointed second lieutenant in the 59th Ohio Yolunteers, and was promoted to first lieutenant and regimental quartermaster, August 1, 1862. In this position he continued until March 9, 1863, when he was detailed as acting assistant quartermaster upon the staft' of General Van Cleve. Lieutenant Edward Knoble, Aide-de-Camp, was born in Memphis, Tennessee, December 7, 1843. He entered the ser- v-ice of the United States, from Kentucky, September 20, 1861, as second lieutenant in the 21st Eegiment Kentucky Yolunteer Infantry. October 20, 1862, he was commissioned as first lieu- tenant by the Governor of Kentucky, and received the appoint- ment of acting aide-de-camp on the staff of Colonel Stanley Matthews, and as such was present at the battle of Stone Eiver. After this he was appointed acting assistant inspector-general of the 3d Brigade, and very soon afterwards received the appoint- ment of aide-de-camp on the staff of General Yan Cleve. Lieutenant H. H. Sheets, Ordnance Officer, was born at Indianapolis, Indiana, on the 9th of August, 1840. He en- listed in the service of the United States on the 8th of August, 1862, was commissioned as first lieutenant in the 79th Kegiment Indiana Yolunteers on the 21st of August, 1862, and was appointed aide-de-camp on Colonel Samuel Beatty's staff, Ist Brigade, 3d Division, 21st Army Corps, on the 22d of October, 1862, in which capacity he served up to and through the battle of Stone Eiver, when he was appointed ordnance ofiicer on General H. P. Yan Cleve's staff. Lieutenant T. Forrest Murdoch, Aide-de-Camp, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on the 2d of April, 1841. He enlisted as a private in the " Petite Zouave Guard" on the 18th of April, 1861. At the expiration of the three-months ser- vice he was commissioned by the Governor of Ohio as second lieutenant in the 13th Eegiment Ohio Yolunteer Infantry, and LIEUTENANT T. FORREST MURDOCH. 179 served with his command through the campaigns in "Western, Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee. After the battle of Shiloh he was promoted to a first lieutenancy, and on the 6th of October, 1862, was detailed as aide-de-camp on the staff of General Van Cleve, and in that capacity took part in the battle of Stone Elver griijadtcr-dicnfml James ft. dflalr PoHon and f laff, and the Jioncni ^rligadc. Our country is remarkable for the early development of her people ; and this feature is well exemplified in the Army of the Cumberland. A large j^roportion of our generals, of our subordi- nates in command, of our men of responsible j)08ition, and of our gallant rank and file, are young men, the flower of the Great West. The North and the East have also given to us many of their valorous sons. A marked character among the latter is the subject of this sketch. James St. Clair Morton was born in the year 1829, in the city of Philadelphia. His father. Dr. Samuel George Morton, well known to science in Europe and in our own country as a natu- ralist and ethnologist, was the author of " Crania Americana," and other noted works ujion that and kindred subjects. General Morton was educated at the United States Military Academy at "West Point, and graduated, in 1851, second in a class numbering forty -two members. His first military duty was performed at Charleston, South Carolina, in 1851-52, as assistant engineer, in the completion of Fort Sumter and a variety of harbor improve- ments. He was next employed as engineer in the construction of Fort Delaware and of other river and harbor improvements in Delaware Eiver and Bay. Subsequently he was made as- sistant professor of engineering at West Point, which position he filled for a period of two years, when he was apj^ointed by the TreasuT}' Department engineer and superintendent of the l^ew York light-house district. Upon the completion of the ne<'es- sary work of that district, he was selected by the Department of the Interior .as chief engineer of the Po omac Water-Works, 180 CO.PHILAD^ BRIGADIER-GENERAL JAMES ST. CLAIR MORTON. 181 and ehtvrged with the duty of superinteuding the finished por- tion of the Washington Aqueduct. lu l^dO, in pursuance of an act of Congress, General Morton was selected by the Navy Department to make an exploration of the Chiriqui country, Central America, to test the practica- bility of an inter-oceanic railroad-route across the Isthmus at a point midway between the present Panama and Nicaragua routes. With a i)arty of eight white persons as assistants, and a squad of Indians hired as laborers, the expedition set out upon its romantic though perilous journey, in the midst of the rainy season. The country had never been explored by whites, and Ijresented to the small band a continuity of matted jungle, dense forest, rapid rivers, and steep precipices. The journey was suc- cessfully accomplished, and an available railroad-route found. The expedition crossed mountains eight thousand feet in height, — the loftiest peaks of which commanded a view of either ocean, — and traversed swamps of vast extent, through one of which they were eight days in cutting their way. For days they subsisted solely upon cocoanuts ; and monkeys, huge alligators, boa-constrictors, and the myriads of tropical insect and animal life, were their constant attendants and visitors. The sun poured its rays upon them vertically, and each person lite- rally dwelt in his own shadow. The several months thus occu- pied by General Morton and his associates constitute an epoch in their lives never to be forgotten. A recital of those scenes now sounds more like romance than reality. When General Morton returned to Washington, he was placed in charge of the entire work of the Washington Aqueduct. In March. 1861, he was sent to the Gulf of Mexico, for the purpose of putting the fortifications of the Dry Tortugas in a state of complete defence. These works are built upon a coral reef or island which rises about two feet above the surface of the Gulf of Mexico. The fort is planned to mount over four hundred guns, and is considered the strongest on the continent and the key to the Gulf 182 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. Having been prostrated by a return of Chagres fever, General Morton was compelled to return Korth to recruit his health. Upon his recovery, in May, 1862, he reported for duty to Major- General Halleck, and was assigned as chief engineer to the Army of the Ohio, under General Buell. In that capacity he made the campaign of 1862, being busily engaged in superintending ibe building of bridges, stockades, and other defences upon railroads and pikes between Nashville and Huntsville. Upon the march of General Buell's troops to Kentucky, Cap- tain Morton was ordered to remain at ^Nashville and superintend the erection of fortifications in conjunction with Generals Negley and Palmer, it having been represented by him and others to General Buell that with proper fortifications the place could be successfully held. He pushed forward their construction most vigorously, employing the soldiery, and "pressing" the negroes of Nashville and vicinity, and teams of all kinds, without stint or scruple. The colored population of that city have probably not yet forgotten the suddenness with which his men gathered them in from barber-shojjs, kitchens, and even churches, and set them at work upon St. Cloud Hill, where was then a combination of rock and forest, but where now rise the frowning battlements of Fort Negley, commanding the entire city and surrounding country. The erection of this and other works unquestionably contributed greatly to the safety of the city, the rebel army not venturing an attack. Upon assuming command of the Army of the Cumberland, General Eosecrans organized the Pioneer Brigade, as related elsewhere in this chapter, and placed General Morton in com- mand. From that time until the present writing his labors have been constant and arduous, — at times dangerous. At the battle of Stone Eiver he acted a conspicuous and gallant part, proving himself equally the brave soldier and the skilful engi- neer. The following special mention of the action of the Pioneers and their commander upon that occasion is copied from General Kosecrans's official report : — BRiaADIER-GENERAL JAMES ST. CLAIR MORTON. 183 " Amoug the lesser commands which deserve special mention for distin- guished service in the battle is the Pioneer Corps, a body of seventeen hun- dred (1700) men, composed of details from the companies of each infantry regiment, organized and instructed by Captain James St. Clair Morton, Corps of Engineers, Chief Engineer of this army, which marched as an infantry brigade with the left wing, making bridges at Stewart's Creek, prepared and guarded the fort at Stone River on the nights of the 29th and 30th, supported Stokes's battery, and fought with valor and determination on the 31st, holding its position until relieved ; on the morning of the 2d advancing with the greatest promptitude and gallantry to support Van Cleve's division against the attack on our left ; on the evening of the same day, constructing a bridge and batteries between that time and Saturday evening. The efficiency and esprit de corps suddenly developed in this command, its gallant behavior in action, the eminent service it is continually rendering the army, entitle both officers and men to special public notice and thanks, while they reflect the highest credit on the distinguished ability and capacity of Captain Morton, who will do honor to his promotion to brigadier-general, which the Presi- dent has promised him." The promise of the President was faithfully redeemed, and Morton was nominated and confirmed brigadier-general, much to the satisfaction of his many friends and acquaintances. Since the battle of Stone Eiver the Pioneers have been " the observed of all observers." General Morton planned the bridges and fortifications of Murfreesborongh, which have been constructed with hardly a dollar of cost to the Government beyond the usual army expenses. The town is defended, as a base, and the work has given confidence to our army, and assured the secessionists of that region that we have gone there to stay, and intend to hold old Tennessee to the Union with triple hooks and bands of steel. The principal characteristic of General Morton is his indomi- table energy, coupled with extensive information and practical experience. He is out among his men early and late. If any special duty calls, he is always at hand. He does not say, " Go," but, "Come." This was recently exemplified at Stone Eiver, where his new railroad-bridge was in danger of being swept away during a sudden freshet by the accumulation of drift-wood against the piers. ~Eoi satisfied with the progress of the work, ne rushed into the water waist-deep, adjusted ropes to the 184 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. logs and trees, and gave the command to " heave away." He is the author of several pamphlets treating of military subjects, most of which have been published by the War Department in its official reports, and also of a new theory respecting fortifi- cations, which has occasioned considerable debate in military circles. As we have already remarked, one of the most noticeable traits of the people of our country is their early development ; and Brigadier-General Morton, with many other young generals and high officials in the Army of the Cumberland, may be cited as apt illustrations of the fact. The honors of such young men are true and lasting, — having been won through dangers, toils, and privations ; and their grateful countrymen will freely acknowledge that they were well deserved. THE STAFF. Lieutenant Cornelius V. Lamberson, Assistant Adjutant- General, was born in New York City, and is now twenty-six years of age. Previous to the war he was in business at Chicago, Illinois, where his family still reside. He entered the service April 17, 1861, and was with the first company that occupied Cairo, as first lieutenant in the 19th Illinois Infantry. He was in the Missouri campaign, and in General O. M. Mitchel's campaign through Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama, also in the skirmishes of Tuscumbia and Leighton, Alabama, and Eey- nolds's Station, Tennessee, and participated in the battle of Stone Eiver. Lieutenant Abram Pelham, Quartermaster, is a native of Delaware county. New York, and is now thirty years of age. His residence is Tecumseh, Michigan. He entered the service November 7, 1861. With his regiment he served under General LIEUTENANT JOHN B. REEVE. 185 Buell in Kentucky and Tennessee, most of the time acting as quartermaster. He was with the army at Nashville when Gene- ral Eosecrans assumed command, and was afterwards in the battle of Stone Eiver. His rank and position is that of first lieutenant in the 13th Michigan Volunteers. Lieutenant Kilbern "W. Mansfield, Commissary of Subsist- ence, is a native of Stanbridge, Canada East, and is twenty-six years old. His residence is in Otsego, Michigan, where before the rebellion he was a law-student. October 24, 1861, he enlisted in the 13th Michigan Volunteers as a private. He served through Buell's campaigns, and was in the battles of Shiloh, Stevenson, Alabama, and Stone Eiver. Lieutenant Thomas J. Kibkman, Inspector, was born in Jacksonville, Hlinois, in 1837, and at the time of the outbreak of the rebellion was an attorney-at-law in his native town. May 7, 1861, he entered the service in the 21st Illinois Infantry, and served in Missouri and Arkansas under General Curtis, with General Eosecrans in Northern Mississippi, and with General Buell in the fall of 1862. He has been in the following- skii-- mishes and battles : — Mount Washington, Fredericktown, Perry- ville, and Stone Eiver. Lieutenant John B. Eeeve, Aid e-de- Camp, is a native of Eush county, Indiana, twenty-eight years of age, and enlisted in the 37th Indiana Eegiment on the 10th of September, 1861. He served under General Mitchel in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama, and was present at the cannonading of Chattanooga by General Kegley in June, 1862. During the investment of Nashville by the rebels in October, 1862, he was on duty with the garrison, and in the battle of Stone Eiver took an active and gallant part. He is a farmer by profession. Francis Pearsall, Assistant Engineer and Volunteer Aide-de- Camp, is a native of Pennsylvania, and resides in Philadelphia. 186 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. His age is thirty-one; and he is a merchant and manufacturer as well as engineer. He served with General Morton in Central America and at Fort Jefferson, Key West. He joined the army at Naahville about the 20th of November, 1862, as assistant euii-ineer, and in the battle of Stone Kiver rendered valuable service. THE PIONEER BEIGADE. A NEW feature in the Army of the Cumberland is the Pioneer Brigade. The war for the suppression of the rebellion has peculiar difficulties and necessities. The armies are so large, and the territory traversed by them is so extended, that the construction and repair of roads, bridges, and railways have become matters of serious, often of vital, importance. Early in the war. General Eosecrans saw the necessity of an arm of the service which should be organized specially for the performance of mechanical and pioneer duties, and upon taking the command of the Army of the Cumberland he organized the Pioneer Brigade from the ranks of the 14th Army Corps, by the following general order : — " General Orders, No. 3. " IlEAD-QuARTEns 14th Arjiy Corps, Department of the Cumberland, Bowling Green, November 3, 1862. " There will be detailed immediately, from each company of every regiment of infantry in this army, two men, who shall be organized as a pioneer or engineer corps attached to its regi- ment. The twenty men will be selected with great care, half laborers and half mechanics. The most intelligent and ener- getic lieutenant in the regiment, with the best knowledge of civil engineering, will be detailed to command, assisted by two non-commissioned officers. This officer shall be responsible for all equipage, and shall receipt accordingly. THE PIONEER BRIGADE. 187 " Under certain circumstances, it may be necessary to mass this force : when orders are given for such a movement, they must be promptly obeyed. " The wagons attached to the corps shall carry all the tools, and the men's camp-equipage. The men shall carry their arms, ammunition, and clothing. " Division quartermasters will immediately make requisitions on chief quartermasters for the equipment, and shall issue t^. regimental quartermasters on proper requisition. " EQUIPMENT FOR TWENTY MEN — ESTIMATE FOR REGIMENT. Six Felling-Axes. Six Hatchets. Two Cross-Cut Saws. Two Cross-Cut Files. Two Hand-Saws. Four Hand-Saw Files. Six Spades. Two Shovels. Three Picks. Six Hammers. Two Half-Inch Augers. Two Inch Augers. Two Two-Inch Augers. Twenty lbs. Nails, assorted. Forty lbs. Spikes, assorted. One coil Rope. One Wagon, with four horses or mules. " It is hoped that regimental commanders will see the obvious utility of this order, and do all in their power to render it as eflScient as possible. " By command of Major-General Eosecrans. " Arthur C. Ducat, '^ Jjieutenant- Colonel, and Acting Cliief of Staff. "■ Official : — " A. A. A. a." The troops detailed in accordance with the above order num- bered about three thousand men. The duties assigned to them were the repair and construc- tion of roads and bridges, the manoeuvring of the pontoon-bridge equipage, the erection of fortifications, and, generally, the duties of sappers and miners. The distinction between their duties and those of the Michigan regiment of mechanics and engineers 188 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. of the same army is that the Pioneers move with the advance of the army, all the work that is required there devolving upon them, while the latter is chiefly employed on the lines of com- munication. The Pioneers, having been assembled in a camp of instruction at Nashville, were consolidated and organized as a brigade, the object being to enable the various descriptions of labor and workmanship demanded by the exigencies of a large army to be executed with more harmony and system, with, less incon- venience, and with greater despatch than could be attained were it necessary to call upon each regiment in the army, whenever a bridge, a block-house, or a field-work had to be constructed, for its detail of mechanics suitable for the work, its share of the tools, materials, &c. A great difficulty would have been met with in endeavoring to concentrate the labor of the Pioneers, had they not been consolidated, in the details from each regi- ment not being able to rendezvous with fheir tents or cooking- utensils, seeing that each two men would belong to a separate mess in their regiment ; nor could they have been organized, so as to draw their rations, to post guards, and to do military duty as it should be done, — ^viz. systematically and under the direction of the same officers. Many other sources of confusion and delay and bad work will present themselves to the commanding general ; but enough has been mentioned to prove the soundness of his order consolidating the details of pioneers. In that order it was required that the Pioneer details from the " centre" grand division of the army, now the 14th Army Corps, should constitute the first battalion, those from the " right," now the 20th Army Corps, the second, those from the "left," now the 21st Army Corps, the third. Each battalion was subdivided into ten or twelve companies of eighty or a hundred men, each of which was formed by aggregating the details furnished from the four or five regiments composing a single brigade. The field and company officers of the bat- talion were assigned according to rank,— the ranking lieutenant in each acting as lieutenant-colonel, and so on, the ranking THE PIONEER BRIGADE. 189 lieutenant in each brigade detachment of eighty or a hundred men acting as captain of the pioneer company constituted by such detachment. The campaign of Murfreesborough gave constant employment to the Pioneers; and the results of their labor show that the men and the organization are well adapted to the requirements of the service. Their constructions have been substantial and scientific, and are executed in a uniform style. The system of administration for the safe-keeping and trans- portation of the immense store of implements and materials necessary on a campaign remote from supplies has proved judi- cious. As a unit, the brigade has on the battle-field proved itself as soldierly as any other troops in the army, and when sepa- rated into detached parts, working at distant points and on long lines of road, its discipline has always been observed. There are at present in the ranks of the Pioneers sufficient proportions of the following-named trades and specialties, — viz. : military engineers, civil engineers, railroad engineers, surveyors, architects, sailors, draftsmen, printers, bridge-builders, car- penters, machinists, millwrights, wheelwrights, coopers, black- smiths, saddlers, sawyers, woodmen ; and there is no description of work that an army in the field can require, in all the multi- plied occasions which arise in an enemy's country, that cannot be executed with despatch by the brigade, which is fully ©quipped with the proper tools for all purposes. The Pioneer Brigade now comprises four battalions, numbering about three thousand eight hundred effective men. It has some fifty wagon-loads of tools, implements, and building and con- structing apparatus of all descriptions. There is also attached to the brigade a pontoon-train of eighty boats, forty of which they can move at one time in line of march. A system of order and celerity has been adopted by which this brigade can plan and superintend work in two hours' time from the commence- ment, employing ten thousand men in its execution. The labors already performed by this brigade are immense. It has fortified every railroad-bridge between Gallatin and JSTash- i 190 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. ville and between Nashville and Murfreesborough, and in such a manner that the enemy have not as yet risked a single attack upon them. In and about Nashville it performed very important work, especially in completing and perfecting the works of Fort Negley, rendering it one of the strongest fortresses in the West. As our army advanced upon the enemy from Nashville, the brigade erected two' bridges over Stewart's Creek, obtaining a portion of the timbers by tearing down some large log houses in the vicinity. During one night it threw a temporary bridge, some eighty feet in length, across Stone Eiver, upon which troops crossed and re-crossed. Since the battle the brigade has built two fine bridges over Stone Eiver near Murfreesborough, at points where the pike and railroad cross that stream. Its last work has been, with the assistance of details of troops of the line, the erection of the fortifications at Murfreesborough, — said to be the largest and finest field-works upon this continent. The several massive forts, the thousands of feet of high embank- ments upon every hand, the long lines of warehouses for the storing of army supplies, alongside of which railroad-tracks have been laid, and the comfortable houses (frames) which have been torn down elsewhere and re-erected within those works, all speak volumes in praise of the efficiency of the Pioneers. It must not, however, be inferred that the work upon the fortifi- cations is performed by them alone. The heavy earth-work — the digging, the wheeling and ramming — is done by details of soldiers and by hired refugees and contrabands. During several weeks some seven thousand workmen were thus at work upon these fortifications, the Pioneers planning and superintending, and executing the wood-work, &c. of the magazines and block- houses. Not only as composed of faithful workmen, but also of brave soldiers, is the Pioneer Brigade known throughout the Army of the Cumberland. As will be seen elsewhere in this volume, it occupied most responsible and important positions during the battles of Stone Eiver. During the hottest of the battle of the Slst, when the fortunes of the day wavered between contending THE PIONEER BRIGADE. 191 hosts, the Pioneers were ordered by the general commanding to hold an important position with their battery (the Chicago Board of Trade Battery), which was successfully accomplished, the enemy being repulsed three times at that point with signal slaughter. The members of this organization are proud of its success and its deserved popularity. The men are ever industrious and cheerful, and ready at a moment's call. So true is it that labor in camp, as well as at home, is the polishing process, to develop, preserve, and brighten the physical and mental forces. The Pioneer Brigade is a complete success, — fully realizing all that was expected of it by its practical, far-seeing originator, Major- General Eosecrans. No such body of skilful, energetic, intel- ligent men can be found in all rebeldom, — a little army of patriots who fight for their country equally well whether armed with the musket, the broad-axe, or the spade. ^ii;st Pkhijgan (gttjginccr (^orp and its €|fiqrs. This notable regiment was organized September 12, 1861, and left the State December 17, 1861. Crossing the Ohio Eiver, it reported to General Buell, commanding the Army of the Ohio, and encamped near Louisville, December 18, 1861. Colonel Innes, with three companies, was ordered to report to General McCook ; Lieutenant-Colonel Hunton, with three companies, to General Thomas; Major Hopkins, with two companies, to Gene- ral Nelson ; and Captain Yates, with two companies, to General Mitchel. Each of these generals commanded separate divisions of what was then the Army of the Ohio. The store-houses and forts at Green Eiver were built by this command; and, in com- pliment to the colonel, one of the forts was named by General McCook Fort Innes. Miles of road were constructed by Lieu- tenant-Colonel Hunton's command, in order to enable General Thomas to reach Mill Spring. Had it not been for their energy, the ammunition and supplies could not have reached General Thomas's troops. Major Hopkins's command was with General Nelson, and for its excellent service was highly complimented by the general. Captain Yates's command built several bridges, and cleared the road from Green Eiver to Bowling Green of all the obstructions placed there by the rebels. So rapidly was this woi'k done that the march of the column was not inter- rupted. These two companies, supporting Loomis's Battery, were the first troops to enter Bowling Green. They rendered most efficient service in crossing the army over Barren Eiver, the bridges being gone. When Buell's army arrived at Nash- ville, the regiment was ordered to duty under Colonel Innes; but so highly did General Mitchel value the detachment of Captain Yates that he persuaded General Buell to allow him 192 ©Ol.O"E^'"---t A m B »rEFS1SlEt ®F STAF2F. FIRST MICHIGAN ENGINEER CORPS AND ITS OFFICERS. 193 to retain them. The eight companies under Colonel Innes opened and repaired the Tennessee & Alabama Eailroad as far as Columhia, Tennessee, thus greatly facilitating the shipment of supplies for Buell's army, then on the march to Shiloh. They also built several road-bridges; and the rapidity with which they performed their work enabled General Buell to reach the field of Shiloh in time to rescue the army of General Grant. In front of Corinth the Michigan Engineers were busily engaged in building roads, planting siege-guns, erecting ho8j)itals, &c. Captain Yates's command in the mean time was engaged with General Mitchel in Northern Alabama, who acknowledged that he was indebted to them for his supplies being always furnished and communication being kept open. Between Corinth and Decatur Colonel Innes's command rej^aired the railroad-track, and built two thousand seven hundred and fifty-eight feet of bridging, at an average height of forty feet, in thirty days. After the evacuation of Corinth, the engineers marched along the line of the Memphis & Charleston Eailroad in advance of the whole army, and opened the road as far as Bear Creek. At this place they were attacked by a rebel force, which they quickly dispersed. They then opened the railroad as far as Decatur. On the 3d day of July they arrived at Iluntsville, and wore joined by Captain Yates's detachment. The regiment then proceeded to open the Nashville & Chattanooga Eailroad to Murfreesbprough, building a large bridge at Cowen's Station, several smaller ones at different points on the road, and clear- ing out the tunnels. They opened the Tennessee & Alabama Eailroad in an almost incredibly short space of time, building a bridge over Elk Eiver six hundred and fifty feet long, three bridges over Eichland Creek, each one hundred and forty feet long and thirty feet high, and rebuilding twelve hundred feet of trestle-work sixty feet high, — the most extensive piece of railroad trestle-work in the West. They also cleared out a tun- nel three-quarters of a mile in length, which completed the opening of the road from Iluntsville to Nashville. At Stevenson, Alabama, the regiment built one hundred pon- 13 194 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. toon-boats in three daj'S, which, however, were rendered useless by the falling back of Buell's army to Kentucky. Upon the evacuation of Stevenson Lieutenant-Colonel Hunton's three companies were the last troops to leave the post, and were hio-hly complimented by the general commanding for the manner in which they discharged their duties, having destroyed every thing that could be of use to the eneni}^, and burned the railroad and other bridges as fast as crossed by the rear trains. While at Stevenson, Colonel Innes, with five companies, was ordered to open the Louisville & Kashville Railroad, recently destroyed by the enemy; but while so engaged, having built three hundred feet of bridging and laid several miles of track, they were called oif to take the advance of the entire army, which position they occupied throughout the campaign. At Bowling Green the regiment was engaged in strengthening the fortifications at that place. Major Hopkins's three com- panies were in the hottest of the fight at Chaplin Hills (Perry- ville); while the rest of the regiment, with the commands of Major-Oeneral Crittenden and the late lamented General Sill, were not idle. On taking leave of the Army of the Ohio, General Buell made personal mention of Colonel Innes. Lieutenant-Colonel Hunton, and Major Hopkins, complimenting them highly and giving the regiment great credit. Tliey were the only field-officers of whom he made personal mention, and the regiment was the only •one which he mentioned specifically. The regiment arrived at Nashville November 7, 1862, when Colonel Innes was desired by General Eosecrans to open the Louisville & Nashville Railroad to Gallatin, and also to build the three bridges over Mill Creek on the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad, — all of which was accomplished in the short space of two weeks. On the 1st of January, 186.S, while the battle of Stone River was raging, the Michigan Engineer Regiment was stationed at Lavergne for the purpose of protecting the supply-trains of itiiemain army. FIRST MICHIGAN ENGINEER CORPS AND ITS d^FICERS. 195 At one P.M. of that day they were attacked by General Wheeler's cavalry and a battery of artillery, the force number- ing four or five thousand men. Single-handed and alone, the regiment fought the rebels for four hours from behind breast- works of brush-heaps and rails, when the enemy sent in a flag of truce demanding an immediate and unconditional surrender. But the brave colonel told the officer bearing the flag to say to General Wheeler, " We don't surrender much." They again attacked, were repulsed, and left the field covered with their dead. This was the first instance in the history of the war where a force attacked in this manner did not surrender. By this gallant fight the entire rear of the army and nearly all its baggage-train were saved. General Eosecrans in his official report gave the regiment credit for whipping ten times its number, and characterized the aff'air as one of the most bril- liant of the war. While at Lavergne, the regiment wielded the axe vigorously, and furnished sufficient ties to relay three miles of railroad-track. They were then ordered to Murfreesborough. After remaining at Murfreesborough a few days, the officers requested General Eosecrans to let the regiment open the Nashville & Chattanooga Eailroad from Nashville to Murfreesborough, promising to do it in ten days. On the ninth day the cars ran into Murfrees- borough. A citizen company had been for six weeks endeavoring to open the road, but had been almost daily driven off by guer- rillas. Colonel Innes next requested permission to open the Ten- nessee & Alabama Eailroad to Franklin. The work was done before the general commanding was aware it had been com- menced. The regiment has since constructed within the notable fortifications at Murfreesborough a large store-house capable of holding five million rations, a magazine one hundred and forty feet long, thirty-two feet wide, twelve feet high, and bomb-proof, and an ordnance-building one hundred feet long, thirty feet wide, and fourteen feet high, — all within thirty days' time. Its officers claim that there has not been an engagement of the 196 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. army, fiom the battle of Mill Spring to the battle of Stone Eiver, in which the regiment or some portion of it has not been engaged. The Engineer Eegiment is recognized as an inde- pendent corps, is not brigaded, and reports direct to the com- manding general of the department. Since the regiment has been in the service, they have laid over ten thousand lineal feet of railroad, built a number of high- way bridges, erected store-houses, and made over twelve miles of corduroy road at Shiloh, Mill Spring, and elsewhere. But one man has ever been injured while at work; and he is now on duty. The effective force of the regiment, May 1, 1863, is eight hundred men. OFFIOEES or THE PIEST MICHIGAN ENGIIfEEES. Colonel "William P. Innes entered the service September 12, 1861. By profession a civil engineer, he was engaged for a number of years on railroads in the State of New York. In 1853 he went to Michigan, and became largely engaged in the railroad-operations of that State. At the time of his entering the service he was chief engineer and superintendent of the Amboy, Lansing & Traverse Bay Eailroad. This is the largest " land-grant" railroad in the United States, except the Illinois Central. His residence is at Grand Eapids, Michigan. Lieutenant-Colonel Kinsma A. Hunton entered the service September 12, 1861. Previous to that time he was engaged on various railroads in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. In 1853 he removed to Marshall, Michigan, as master-mechanic of the middle division of the Michigan Central Eailroad, which position he left to enter the service. Eesidence, Marshall, Michigan. FIRST MICHIGAN ENGINEER CORPS AND ITS OFFICERS. 197 Major Enos Hopkins was formerly extensively engaged is. manufacturing at the East. In 1854, business brought him to Michigan, where he has since resided. He became identified with this regiment on its first organization, leaving a large and lucrative business to devote his energies to the service of his country. Residence, Jackson, Michigan. ^ Major John B. Yates, a graduate of Union College, has been all his life actively engaged in civil engineering. He commenced his career in New York. He accompanied Colonel Innes to Michigan in 1853, and has been with him ever since. . He en- tered the service as captain of Company A. He was promoted to be junior major, January 1, 1863, for gallant conduct at Lavergne. Eesidence, Ionia, Michigan. Surgeon William H. De Camp graduated at Geneva (New York) Medical College in 1847. After practising medicine in Western New York for eight years, he went to Michigan, and at the time of his joining the service he left a large and lucrative practice in the city of Grand Rapids, where he resides. Assistant Surgeon Willoughby O'Donoughue graduated at Albany (New York) Medical College in 1850, and practised four years in the New York hospitals. In 1854 he moved to Michigan, where he has since resided. He entered the service September 12, 1861. Residence, Albion, Michigan. Junior Assistant Surgeon Willard B. Smith graduated at the Medical College, Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1861. He was appointed by Governor Blair, December, 1862. Eesidence, Ann Arbor, Michigan. First Lieutenant Henry F. Williams, Regimental Quarter- master, entered the service as a private in Company I, September 15, 1861. He was appointed sergeant-major September 18, 1861, commissioned as second lieutenant January 30, 1862, as first 198 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. lieutenant July 30, 1862, and appointed regimental quarter- master December 1, 1862. Eesidence, Grand Eapids, Michigan. Second Lieutenant Charles W. Calkins, Adjutant, entered the service, as a private in Company B, September 26, 1861. He was promoted to sergeant-major January 30, 1862, was com- missioned as second lieutenant July 30, 1862, and appointed adju- tant December 1, 1?62. Eesidence, Grand Eapids, Michigan. m ^^.©ER.STAff^^ -P-"-''-'^.'A/. e.oy-'.-U^li'^fi, @FFa€E^® C^F-©^¥^Li^¥» J h i.LPri: THE CAVALRY SERVICE AND ITS OFFICERS. David S. Stanley, Major-General of Volunteers, and Captain in the 4th Eegular Cavalry, was born in Cedar Valley, Wayne county, Ohio, June 1, 1828. His father was a farmer. At the age of fourteen, upon the death of his mother, he became a member of the family of Dr. L. Fairstone, a physician of the county, with whom he remained until he was nearly nineteen. He then began in earnest the study of medicine ; but, before he had completed or fairly begun his course, he was, in the spring of 1848, appointed a cadet at the Military Academy at West Point, by the member of Congress from that district, Hon. Samuel Lahm. Entering the same summer, he graduated July 1, 1852, stand- ing eighth in a class which numbered about one hundred and twenty at first, but graduated only fortj^-two. Among his classmates were Major-Generals McCook, Hartsuff, Slocum, and Sheridan, and Brigadier-Generals Hascall, Crooks, and Woods. Five members of the class. were from Ohio, and all of them are now generals in the Federal service. After graduating, he was brevetted second lieutenant in the 2d Dragoons, — ^now the 2d Cavalry, — and for one year attended the school of instruction at Carlisle Barracks. In the spring of 1853 he was detailed as assistant to Lieutenant Whipple, in charge of the survey of a route for the Pacific Eailroad along the 35th parallel, by way of Fort Smith and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Upon this ser- vice he remained nine months, crossing the continent to San- tiago, California, by a then new and unexplored route, starting 199 200 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. from an Indian village north of the Gila Elver, and going by way of the Mohave Yalley to San Bernardino. Having in the mean while been promoted to a second lieutenancy, he returned to Washington at the close of his services in this expe- dition, in company with the present rebel General Hardee. Lieutenant Stanley's company was then stationed at Fort Chad- bourne, Texas, whither he proceeded and remained one year on ordinary garrison duty. In the spring of 1855, two regiments of infantry and two of cavalry were added to the army, in accordance with an act of Congress authorizing such increase. To command these new foj-ces, officers were selected in equal pro23ortions from civil life and from the army. Lieutenant Stanley now received a com- mission as first lieutenant in the 1st Cavalry, of which the late Major-General Sumner was colonel. The regiment rendezvoused tit Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Territory, and Lieutenant Stanley was assigned to Company D, of which General George B. McClellan was then captain. Ill health, however, would not allow him to join his command; and he was transferred to duty at Newport Barracks, where he remained during the winter and spring. Thence he was ordered to take charge of the recruits at Governor's Island, New York harbor, and proceed with them up the Missouri Eiver to join the force of General Harney, then commanding an expedition against the Sioux Indians. At the conclusion of this, he rejoined his regiment, then on duty in Kansas, engaged in preserving peace and order in the Territory, which was being ravaged by the two opposing parties, border- rutiians and jayhawkers. In pursuit of one or the other of these. Lieutenant Stanley marched over the Territory, from one border to another. The lieutenant-colonel of the regiment was the present rebel General Joseph E. Johnston, who, to do him justice, took a bold, manly stand against the border-ruffians overrunning Kansas. A large force from Missouri, under command of Dave Atchison, threatening Lecompton and Law- rence, he interposed to save them, assuring the Missourians that they could only succeed in their attempt by walking over the MAJOR-GENERAL DAVID S. STANLEY. 201 force under nis eommaud. As this consisted of a full Toatteiy and a regiment or two, he thought they would find it a rather difficult thing to do. In this position Colonel Johnston was sustained by Lieutenant Stanley, with the other officers of his command, and the invading force, under these circumstances, deemed it advisable to retire. The fall and winter were spent in similar efforts to quiet the distracted Territory. In the spring of 1857, Lieutenant Stanley was married to Miss Anna M. Wright, daughter of Surgeon Wright, U.S.A., of Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. Soon afterwards he was engaged in an expedition against the Cheyenne Indians. The forces marched in two columns, which joined each other at Pike's Peak, on the spot where Denver City now stands. At that time, however, it was an unbroken wilderness, the presence of gold not being even suspected. From this point the expedi- tion started on pack-mules, with twenty days' provisions, which were made to last two months. Supplying itself with buffalo- meat by the way, the expedition, after a most remarkable trip, came upon the Indians on Solomon's Fork, who were drawn up in line of battle about two hundred yards distant, — an unusual circumstance, and perhaps the first instance of the kind on record. Colonel Sumner at once ordered a sabre-charge, which put them to flight with the loss of several killed. This, with the destruc- tion of their village, compelled them to sue for peace. Upon returning from this expedition, he was ordered to the Indian Territory west of Arkansas, and in the spring of 1858 was en- gaged in scouting, making several expeditions, in one of which he surprised a party of Comanches, killing several of them and scattering the remainder. For gallant conduct in these opera- tions he was highly complimented by General Scott, in general orders. The next summer and winter he was stationed upon the frontiers of Northern Texas. At the outbreak of the rebellion, having previously been pro- moted to a captaincy, he was stationed at Fort Smith, Arkansas. Here he rendered inestimable service to the Government by assisting in the successful abandonment of Forts Smith, Wachita, 202 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. Arbuckle, and Cobb. Notwithstanding the large rebel force in Arkansas and Texas, all the ammunition, clothing, and other property of the Government was safely brought away. "With the garrisons of these forts he marched from Fort Cobb to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, being one month on the road. Upon reaching the latter place, Captain Stanley found the rebellion under full headway and Missouri in a blaze of excitement. Many officers were joining the rebels, and many were uncertain what to do. The times were dark, the prospect gloomy ; but he wavered not a moment. From the first he was uncompro- misingly loyal; and now, with his whole heart in the Avork, he gave his influence and his aid to the support of the Government. As a first step, he marched his command to Kansas City, Mis- souri, and took possession of that place. A considerable force of rebels had gathered at Independence, under the ostensible com- mand of Colonel Hollaway, an old United States officer. The State of Missoui'i, though much excited, had not actually seceded from the Union, and there was really no war in the State, except that carried on by bushwhackers and guerrillas not as yet in any regular service. Under such circumstances, the gathering at Independence partook more of the character of a mob than of a military camp. Still, as it might prove the germ of something formidable, Captain Stanley determined to ascertain its real character and the intentions of those composing it. Accord- ingly, a few days after arriving at Kansas City, he proceeded with a flag of truce to Independence, and had an interview with Colonel Hollaway. While engaged in remonstrating with the latter upon his course, Captain^^ Stanley observed that the rebels were closing in around him and his command. He directed Colonel Hollaway's attention to it, and asked him if his men did not mean to respect the flag of truce. Upon this Hollaway stepped up and waved the men back with his hand; but they were intoxicated and maddened with liquor, and either misun- derstood the motion or purposely disobeyed it, and fired upon Captain Stanley and his company, killing Colonel Hollaway and one of the Federal soldiers. The interview had taken place in MAJOR-GENERAL DAVID S. STANLEY. 203 a narrow lane, and the rebels had ranged themselves upon each side of it. The day was hot, dry, and dusty, and Captain Stanley's men, in making their escape, raised such a cloud of dust that their exit was not noticed by the rebels, who continued a rapid firing across the lane, killing and wounding a considerable number of their own men. Discovering their mistake, they spent the night in a fierce quarrel among themselves, and the next day, disgusted with this experience, i-etreated southward to join Price. Colonel Hollaway was acting in good faith, and fell a victim to the drunken fury of the men whom he could not restrain. Shortly after this. Captain Stanley crossed the river and cap- tured a large squad of rebels on their way to Price's army. Marching southward with General Sturgis in pursuit of Price, he joined Genei-al Lyon at Clinton, Missouri, and participated in the aflFair at Dug Springs and the battle of Wilson's Creek. In this engagement he won due credit by his gallant conduct and by the skilful manner in which he handled his men. He also accompanied the expedition which captured Forsyth, Missouri, and there had a horse killed under him. After the battle of Wil- son's Creek he returned with his command (the 4th Cavalry) to Eolla and St. Louis, and afterwards joined General Fremont in his march to Springfield. During the summer he received several off'ers of a colonelcy from Illinois regiments, and also one from an Iowa regiment, all of which he declined ; and on the 28th of September, 1861, he was appointed a brigadier-general of volunteers. During a part of the following winter he was unable to take the field, because of a broken leg, caused by his horse falling with him. Upon his recovery he was assigned to General Pope, then on his expedition against New Madrid. At the latter place General Stanley's division was the first to occupy the trenches in front of the enemy's position, which compelled them to evacuate the town. It engaged in the operations at Island No. 10, and was the second to cross the Mississippi to the Tennessee shore at the time of the capture of that place. After this he moved with the remainder of Pope's army down 204- ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. the river to Fort Pillow, and, its capture being deemed imprac- ticable, returned and ascended the Tennessee Eiver, in pursuance of orders from General Halleck at Corinth. Here General Stanley had command of the 2d Division of the Army of the Mississippi, a part of which was engaged in the battle of Far- mington. May 28, 1862, in a second engagement, he repulsed an attack of Cleborne's division upon our left wing. The fight was a desperate one, in which two of Stanley's batteries were captured by the enemy and were retaken in a few seconds thereafter. With his division he entered Corinth after the eva- cuation, and joined in pursuing the fleeing rebels as far as Boone- ville. Returning to Corinth, the division remained in camp until the latter part of August, when it occupied the railroad from luka to Decatur. After the battle of luka, in which it was engaged, it retui-ned to Corinth and participated in the battle at that i3lace. Here General Stanley commanded the left of the centre, supporting and occupying the ground about " Battery Robinette." It was the first time his troops had had occasion to use the bayonet; but the two regiments of his division which charged used it well. After the rebels retreated, General Stan- ley joined in the pursuit to Ripley, forty miles south, when the army was ordered to return to Corinth. Had the pursuit been continued, he is confident the entire rebel army would have been scattered or destroyed, and Vicksburg would have been occupied and held. Upon General Rosecrans's assignment to the command of the Department of the Cumberland, he applied for the transfer of General Stanley to the command of the cavalry in that depart- ment, which request was granted, and he joined the army at Nashville in November, 1862. Since then he has been engaged in many raids, skirmishes, and heavier engagements, — a more detailed account of which will be found in the history of the operations of the Army of the Cumberland, as narrated in this volume. By his cavalry the enemy were first driven out of Franklin, where a considerable fight occurred. He next made pursuit of Forrest, then drove the rebels from Liberty and COLONEL ROBERT H. Q. MINTY. 205 Bradyville, and, lastly, was engaged in the battles of Stone Eiver and Franklin. At the battle of Stone Eiver he added largely to his already great reputation by the marked ability and skill which he displayed. Of his services there General Eosecrans thus speaks in his official report : — " Brigadier-GeDeral Stanley, already distinguished for four successful battles, — Island No. 10, May 27, before Corinth, luka, and the battle of Corinth, — at this time in command of our ten regiments of cavalry, fought the enemy's forty regiments of cavalry, and held them at bay, and beat them vrherever he could meet them. He ought to be made a major-general for his services, and also for the good of the service." General Stanley is now in the prime of early manhood, and bids fair to give yet many days of gallant and honorable service to his country. In the annals of this war no brighter record than his can be found. Bold and dashing, his action is tempered and guided by skill and prudence, which make the successful commander. Colonel Slobert f. (i. pintg. Colonel Egbert H. G. Minty, 4th Michigan Cavalry, com- manding the 1st Cavalry Brigade, was born in the county of Mayo, Ireland, on the 4th of December, 1831. On the 9th of January, 1849, he was commissioned ensign in the Ist West India Eegiment of the British Army, in which he served for five years in the West India Islands, British Honduras, and on the west coast of Africa. In September, 1853, he retired from the English service, in consequence of a severe attack of inflammation of the liver, contracted at Sierra Leone, and came to America. On the call being made for cavalry regiments, he joined the 2d Michigan Cavalry as major; but before that regiment left the State he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel of the 3d Michigan Cavalry, and on the 28th of November, 1861, took that regiment to Benton Barracks, at St. Louis. His command formed part 206 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. of the Army of the Mississippi, which marched from Commerce, Missouri, on the 1st of March, 1862, under General Pope, and it took an active part in the capture of New Madrid on the 13th and of Island No. 10 on the 23d of March. After the arrival of the Army of the Mississippi before Corinth, Colonel Minty was engaged in constant skirmishes with the enemy. He commanded the cavalry in the first battle of Far- mington, and was favorably mentioned for his conduct on that occasion by Major-General Pope, in General Orders No. 104, of the 4th of May, 1862. On the 4th of July he was again favor- ably mentioned in General Orders No. 81, by Major-General Eosecrans, for having at Twenty-Mile Creek, — south of Black- land, Mississippi, — on the 16th of June, attacked and defeated four times his number of rebel cavalry, — his force consisting of one hundred and sixty-eight officers and men of his own regi- ment, the enemy's of Brewer's and Lay's regiments of mounted infantry, numbering eight hundred and seventy men. On the 4th of July, he commanded an expedition of one hundred and eighty-one men who marched from Eienzi to Salem, Mississippi, a distance of fifty-three miles into the enemy's country, return- ing after an absence of six days, with a loss of only two men. On the 21st of July he was commissioned colonel of the 4th Michigan Cavalry, then about to be organized. He left the 3d at Tuscumbia, Alabama, on the 1st of August, 1862, having up to that time led the regiment in thirty-six battles and skirmishes, in every one of which it had been successful. He opened camp in Detroit, Michigan, on the 14th of August, and on the 28th mustered in eleven hundred and eighty-seven enlisted men, and the full quota of officers. Contracts were at once awarded for the purchase of horses, the last of which were received on the morning of the 26th of September; and at ten o'clock a.m. the entire regiment started for Kentucky, and arrived at Jeffereon- ville, Indiana, on the 28th, where there was considerable delay in procuring supplies; but on the 10th of October the regiment marched fi*om Louisville for Perrj'ville, leaving tents, wagons, and camp -equipage of every kind behind them. They johied COLONEL ROBERT H. G. MINTY. 207 General Buell at Danville on the night of the 13th, and marched at one o'clock on the morning of the 14th, taking the advance in the attack on Stamford. Subsequently they followed Bragg as far as Crab Orchard, and were then sent in jDnrsuit of John .Morgan. At Munfordsville Colonel Minty was joined by the entire cavalry force under Colonel Kennett, and, after an un- availing chase of ten or twelve days, was, on the 7th of Novem- ber, detached, and ordered to report to General Crittenden at Gallatin. He crossed 'the Cumberland the same afternoon, drove in the enemy's pickets, and sent one company to Nash- ville, where it arrived in safety, much to the surprise and grati- fication of General Rosecrans. At three o'clock next morning the infantry and artillery crossed, when Colonel Minty imme- diately mounted and advanced on Lebanon, driving the enemy's pickets for seven miles, and went into town at a gallop with five hundred and forty-three men, driving out Morgan with seven hundred and fifty men and two pieces of artillery, and capturing nine wagons, twenty-six mules, five thousand bushels of wheat, and large quantities of clothing and provisions of every kind. From that time until the 22d of November he scoured the country in every direction, having constant skir- mishes with the rebels. On the 22d of November, he was ordered to Nashville to re- port to General Stanley, chief of cavalry, and was assigned to the 1st Brigade, Colonel E. M. McCook commanding. Constant picket-duty and skirmishing, with two or three important and successful expeditions, occupied him while at Nashville. On the 23d of December, Colonel McCook obtained leave of absence, and Colonel Minty was assigned to the command of the brigade. On the 26th the army advanced from Nashville, the Ist Brigade in advance, on the Murfreesborough pike, met the enemy five miles out, and fought and drove them to Lavergne that night. Heavy skirmishing with the enemj^'s cavalry took place every day until the 29th, when the array arrived before Murfrees- borough. The Ist Brigade, nine hundred and fifty strong, fought "Wheeler, "Wharton, and Buford, with two thousand five hundred 208 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. men and two pieces of artillery, for three hours, on the 31s L of December, — General Stanley leading one and Colonel Minty two charges, — and drove the rebels from the field with great loss. From that time until the present the cavalry arm of the Army of the Cumberland has been continuously at work, con- stantly engaged and, almost without an exception, successful. Some of its most important expeditions and operations we will briefly mention. On the 10th of January, the 1st Brigade, eight hundred strong, started in pursuit of Forrest, who had gone towards Harpeth Shoals with fifteen hundred men, and drove him across the Harpeth. The rising of that river rendering further pursuit impossible, they returned to camj) after an absence of ten days, during which time seventeen men were badly frost-bitten. On the Slst of January, the 1st Brigade,with the 4th U.S. Cavalry and part of the 3d Brigade, under Colonel Minty, marched with three days' rations. On the same day the 7th Pennsylvania made a sabre-charge, killing three and wounding forty-nine of the 8th Confederate Cavalry and taking a large number of prisoners, of whom ninety-four were sent the next morning to Murfreesborough. Forrest and Wheeler having gone to the attack on Fort Donelson, the cavalry followed them for the pur- pose of cutting off their retreat, but, learning near Charlotte that they had escaped through Centreville, returned to Murfrees- borough, having been absent fourteen days, the only casualties being tw^o men wounded, and having captured one hundred and forty-one prisoners, including two colonels, one major, and fourteen other commissioned officers. On the od of March, the 1st and 2d Brigades, and two com- panies of the 4th U.S. Cavalry, under the command of Colonel Minty, moved out with four days' rations, and met the enemy, four hundred strong, at Eover. The 7th Pennsylvania, one hun- dred and seventy men, supported by the 4th Michigan and 4th Regulars (in all, four hundred and thirty-seven men), charged and drove them back on an encampment of six hundred more at Unionville, charged again, and drove them all at a gallop to COLONEL ROBERT H. G. MINTY. 209 ■within five miles of Shelby ville, where they ran into the in- fantry pickets and captured seven of them. The result of this dash was sixty-four prisoners, seventeen wagons, forty-four mules and harness, forty-three tents, and a large quantity of commissary stores. The command then marched to Franklin, and took the advance in the attack on Van Dorn at Thompson's Station, south of Franklin, where the squadron of 4th U.S. Cavalry and sixty men of the 7th Pennsylvania drove Arm- strong's rebel brigade off the ground, killing five and taking thirteen prisoners. Crossing Eutherford's Creek in the face of Forrest's force, and driving him from the field with heavy loss, Colonel Minty followed Van Dorn to Duck Eiver at Columbia, where the destruction of the bridge prevented further pursuit. The Ist Brigade had the advance in the pursuit of the enemy to and attack on his position at Snow's Hill, east of Liberty, where the rebels met with a most signal defeat. On tho 20th of April, the Ist, 2d, and 3d Brigades, and the 4tb U.S. Cavalry, under Colonel JVIinty, formed part of the expedition to McMinnville under General Eeynolds. Colonel Long, with the 2d Brigade, destroyed the railroad about twelve miles west of McMinnville, and burned a train of cars and a large quantity of bacon. The 7th Pennsylvania took the advance in going into McMinnville, which place was entered at the gallop, completely surprising the rebels. Colonel Martin (rebel) was killed, and Major Dick McCann wounded and taken prisoner, in a charge made by Lieutenant Thompson, of the 7th Pennsylvania, with the advance-guard, twenty-five men. One hundred and thirty prisoners were taken, three railroad-bridges and large quantities of army stores were destroyed, in addition to what was burned by the mounted infantry under Colonel "Wilder, and the expe- dition returned to camp, after an absence of six days, without the loss of a man. 14 210 ARMY OF THE CtJMBERLAND. Moml (gli long. Colonel Eli Long, of the 4th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry, was born in Woodford county, Kentucky, June 27, 1836. His ances- tors were from "Wales on his father's side and from Germany on his mother's side, and his grandfather Long was among the early emigrants from Virginia to Kentucky. In January, 1852, he entered the Military Institute near Frankfort, Kentucky. Graduating at this institution in June, 1855, he went to "Wash- ington City, where he found employment in the Bureau of Con- struction under the Secretary of the Treasury and the imme- diate charge of Major A. H. Bowman, U.S. Engineer. He was •assistant computer on the Treasury extension, and made the working drawings for the vault in the Treasury Building. On the 27th of June, 1856, he was appointed second lieutenant in the let L^.S. Cavalry, at the instance of Secretary 'Guthrie, and joined his company (H) at Lecompton, Kansas, in Septem- ber, remaining nearly two months in that Territory. He was then detailed on recruiting service, and stationed at New Albany, Indiana, where he remained until April, 1857, when he rejoined his command at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In May he joined the column under General Sumner, then colonel of the 1st U.S. 'Cavalry, at a point very near Denver City, Colorado Territory. During this campaign he was distinguished by being the only white person in the command who killed an elk, — which he •did after a long and desperate struggle, and great personal -danger. After the return of the Cheyenne expedition in the fall. Lieu- tenant Long was stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas, during the •winters of 1857 and 1858, and was the first officer to escort the mail, in the month of December, 1858, to the crossing of the Arkansas River by the road to Santa Fe, New Mexico, a trip of nearly five hundred miles, for one hundred and fifty miles of which he was exceedingly ill, compelled to lie down in an ^ambulance provided for him. He succeeded, however, in get- COLONEL ELI LONG. 211 ting his command safely back to Fort Eiley, with the exception of six mules, most of which were frozen to death at night when tied up to the wagons. On one expedition his company was armed with Burnside's carbine, and he was oi'dered by the Ord- nance Department at Washington to make a report upon them, which he did, receiving a letter of thanks for his "excellent and intelligent report" from the Chief of Ordnance at "Washington. Changes and improvements were made in that arm in accordance with his suggestions; and those improvements appear on the Burnside's carbines issued by the Government at the present day. In Januarj'-, 1859, he made a march from Fort Riley of some two hundred and fifty miles through Kansas Territory, on which several teamsters and others — including himself — were frost- bitten, some of them severely. In the spring he marched, with a portion of his regiment, to the vicinity of the crossing of the Arkansas Elver by the Santa Fe road, where he formed a camp for the protection of the road, and remained there until the next fall, when the command, with the exception of Lieutenant Long and forty men, returned to Fort Riley. In the mean time war had broken out with tlie Kiowa Indians, and they had already killed some twelve of our people, including one lady and a mail-party, the most of whom were buried by Lieutenant Long, who was left behind with these forty men to escort two mails from Walnut Creek to the crossing of the Arkansas River, through the countrj^ of the Kiowas and the Comanches. This duty he performed, marching twenty-five miles per day for more than twenty days. Lieutenant Long was in command of his company upon an expedition to establish Fort AYise, Colorado Territory, and hauled the first load of timber to build thai post, — a work which was complimented by European papers. This post was built with hardlj'' any other implements or materials than those furnished by the woods and rock-beds. Here he remained until November, 1861, without any thing especial occurring except the capture by him in the summer of 1861, at a point some thirty miles southeast of Fort Wis<3, of a mounted 212 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. and well-armed company of thirty-eight rebels en route from Denver City, Colorado Territory, to join Price in Missouri. They were taken completely by surprise. Lieutenant Long and forty- one of his men (dismounted) being within less than fifty feet of the party, with carbines cocked and at an aim, before they knew he had left the post. In this expedition he marched one hundred and twenty miles in thirty-two hours, with the loss of but one horse out of fifty-five, and captured fifty-two horses and mules. There were five or six murderers in the party, and a considerable number of horse-thieves, all of whom were safely lodged in jail at Denver City. When it is remembered that this party, had they not been apprehended, would probably have captured and destroyed two Government trains of un- guarded wagons, each loaded with ordnance and other stores, and worth from one hundred and fifty thousand to two hundred thousand dollars, en route to New Mexico, it will be acknow- ledged that it was a most important capture. In November, 1861, he went to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and remained there with his command until the 10th of February, 1862, when it was ordered to report to General Buell in Kentucky. Arriving at Louisville about l^e 16th of February, Lieutenant Long served on Buell's escort until he was relieved by General Eosecrans. He was in the battle of Perryville until one o'clock in the day, when he was called in by General Buell. He was also with his regiment at the battle of Stone Eiver, where he was wounded, while at the head of his company, in the left arm. On the 22d of February, 1863, Lieutenant Long was appointed colonel of the 4th Ohio Cavalry, on the re- commendations of Generals Stanley and Eosecrans. Some two weeks after he took charge of the regiment, about two hundred men under his command, and a smaller number of the 3d Ohio Cavalry, defeated a brigade of rebel cavalry at Bradyville, Tennessee, his regiment taking fifty prisoners. Again, at Snow Hill, near Liberty, 'Tennessee, with about one hundred dismounted men of his regiment, Colonel Long de- feated a part of three regiments of rebel cavalry, killing and COLONEL WILLIAM B. STOKES. 213 wounding several, and driving them more than a mile through a thick wood and across a winding ridge. In General Reynolds's late expedition to McMinnville, Colonel Long, in command of the 2d Cavalry Brigade, one hundred men of the 2d Kentucky Cavalry, and one company of the 1st Middle Tennessee, — in all about five hundred and fifty men, — burned a trestle-work on the Manchester & McMinnville Eailroad, seven miles from Manchester, and three or four others between that and the large trestle-work at Morrison's Station, including the latter; also a locomotive, a train of cars, and the railroad depot, marching over forty-five miles in one day, and capturing many rebel soldiers on the road. "William B. Stokes, colonel commanding the 1st Middle Ten- nessee Cavalry, was born in North Carolina in 1814, and i-emoved to Tennessee in 1818. He was raised a farmer, and has lived in the neighborhood of his present home — Liberty, De Kalb county — since his first settlement in the State. He has long been in public life, having twice represented his county in the Legisla- ture, and De Kalb and Wilson counties in the State Senate for one term. He has ever been a Whig in politics, and at the time South Carolina seceded he represented the fourth district of Tennessee in the United States Congress. When the war broke out, he took a decided stand for the Government, and has been an unconditional Union man ever since. He worked and spoke earnestly against separation, and was the only ex-member of Congress in Middle Tennessee who made a regular list of ap- pointments for public speaking and kept them until the very day of election. The State having seceded and his Congressional term having expired, he remained in private life until July 22, 1862, when he was commissioned colonel, with authority to raise a cavalry 214 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. regiment. He had scarcely enlisted a single company when he was put on duty by the Government, and has been almost con- stantly in active service up to this time. His regiment was recruited rapidly, almost entirely in Middle Tennessee, and has rendered important service, particularly by furnishing a large proportion of the guides and scouts necessary for the various expeditions that are continually sent into the adjacent country. Colonel Stokes has been in many skirmishes and smaller engage- ments, routing Colonel Bennett's guerrillas in October last, and participating in the battle of Lavergne, and in General JSTegley's fight on tne Franklin pike, during the investment of Kashville. In the Stone Eiver battles, from first to last, he was actively engaged, making a remarkable charge upon a largely superior force of rebel cavalry under Wheeler, on Wednesday evening, December 31, driving them for the distance of a mile, killing many and capturing a large number of horses. Upon the retreat of the rebels, with his regiment he folloAved them eight or ten miles on the Manchester road, constantly and sharply skirmish- ing with their rear. On the 14th of March, 1863, ill health compelled him to resign his command, but, having again become able for duty, he was on the 16th of April, at the earnest request of his neighbors and friends and the men of his regiment, recommissioned, and again assumed command of his regiment. During the time he was out of the service, he accompanied Colonel Wilder on his expe- dition to Snow Hill, camping one night within a mile of his own house. The next morning he proceeded thither with four or five men in the advance, and succeeded in capturing a number of rebel pickets who were breakfasting there. This was done by an ingenious device. One man was dressed in " butternut," and, advancing cautiously, beckoned to the rebel picket to come to him. Not suspecting any danger, he did it readily enough, and when he reached the place was quietly shown a naniber of concealed men and ordered to drop his gun. Resistance being useless, he had no alternative ; and this operation was repeated until the whole were secured. CAPTAIN ELMER OTIS. 215 Colonel Stokes is but one of several thousand Tennesseeans in the Union service. Their patriotism is self-sacrificing, and allows nothing to stand in its way. For their country they have aban- doned their home, family, friends, fortune, — every thing. Es- caping from rebel despotism at the risk of their lives, they have shown their devotion to principle and their love of liberty by fighting for it. The services they have rendered, and are every day rendering, are invaluable. Their perfect knowledge of the country admirably fits them for guides and scouts ; and as such they are constantly employed with manifest advantage to the service. In every contest they have acquitted themselves cre- ditably ; and many have sealed their devotion to the Union by their blood. "When the history of this war is fully made up, no brighter page will be found than that on which is recorded the story of these loyal Tennesseeans, clinging to the Government and the faith of their fathers with a zeal and determination which cannot fail to excite the admiration of posterity. (Captain €hm ^tis. Captain Elmee Otis, of the 4th United States Cavalry, waa born February 27, 1830, in Westfield, Massachusetts, and was left an orphan at an early age. His grandparents moved to Hun- tington, Lorain county, Ohio, when he was three years old, where he was raised by them to work on a farm. In the beginning of 1849 he jH'OCured, by his own exertions, an appointment at West Point, through the influence of Hon. Joseph M. Eoot, M.C. of that district. He -graduated in 1853, in a class numbering fifty-two, and received a commission as brevet second lieutenant in the 1st United States Infantry. He served in Texas at difi'erent points until the middle of March, 1855, when he was promoted to a second lieutenancy in the 4th United States In- fantry, and ordered to join his regiment, then sei"ving in Oregon. 216 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND- At this time four new regiments were being raised, two of cavalry and two of infantry. Having a partiality for cavalry service, he applied in person to President Pierce, and obtained the appointment of second lieutenant in the 1st United States Cavalry. He was promoted to a first lieutenancy on the 28th of February, 1856, and joined his company about the 1st of May the same year. Soon after he was detailed to take a company of recruits, belonging to the 1st Dragoons, to New Mexico, and marched them there, arriving with horses in good condition. He met their regiment about seventy miles from El Paso, turned over the recruits, and returned to Fort Leavenworth in October, and found himself detailed for recruiting service and ordered to proceed to Eock Island, Illinois, and open a rendezvous. He arrived there about the 1st of November, and remained until about the Ist of April, 1857, when he was ordered to return to his regiment at Fort Leavenworth, wher^ it was preparing for a trip across the plains. The company to which he belonged formed a part of the force under Lieutenant-Colonel Joseph E. Johnston, for running the southern boundary of Kansas, as well as to co-operate with other troops against the Indians. This expedition returned to Fort Leavenworth the last day of Oc- tober, and Lieutenant Otis remained in garrison during that winter, meanwhile making several small expeditions through Kansas with the object of preventing lawless bands from accom- plishing their raids for plunder, &c. On the 18th of March, 1858, two companies of the 4th United States Cavalry were detailed upon the Utah expedition under the coramand of Lieu- tenant-Colonel Hoffmann. Lieutenant Otis's force was one of the companies detailed. He arrived at Fort Bridger, with supplies for the army, on the 9th of June. During this trip the command encountered several severe snow-storms, and on the morning of the 1st of May the snow was two feet four inches deep on a level. These two companies of Lieutenant Otis's regiment were the advance-guard of the army that marched into Salt Lake City. After making here several reconnoissances, the two companies started back on the 6th of August, and arrived CAPTAIN ELMER OTIS. 217 at Fort Leavenworth on the 22d of October, having marched over three thousand miles in one year. About the Ist of May, 1859, Lieutenant Otis with his force started, under command of Major John Sedgwick, on an expe- dition against the Kiowa Indians, and chased the Indians all summer, but came up with only a small party, all of the war- riors of which were killed but two, and the squaws and children, together with about forty ponies and mules, were captured. During this summer, about the 1st of August, his command was ordered to establish and build Fort "Wise (now Fort Lyon), on the Upper Arkansas. He arrived in the vicinity about the 28th of same month, established the post, and commenced laying stone for the quarters and stables on the 1st day of September. By the end of the month the horses of the four companies were in good stone stables; and the last of October found the men in comfortable stone houses. Here Lieutenant Otis continued until the Ist of May, 1861, when he was promoted to a captaincy. About the same time he was left in command of the post, with six companies, and so remained until the 22d of November, when he received orders to take the two companies of the 4th United States Cavalry and proceed with them to "Washington. He left Fort Wise on the 25th, and arrived at Fort Leavenworth the 18th of December. Here he reported to Major-General Hunter, and went into camp until further orders at Fort Leavenworth. On the 10th of Febru- ary he received orders to report to General Buell at Louisville, and from thence was sent to "West Point, at the mouth of Salt Eiver. About the middle of July, on his own application, General Buell assigned Captain Otis to duty, to report to Major Granger, at that time commanding the post of Louisville. He was then placed in command of Park Barracks. His regiment was sub- sequently the escort to General Buell, and accompanied him until he was relieved, in October last, by General Eosecrans. Captt»in Otis was during several months on General Buell's staff as chief of couriers. He immediately instituted a system 218 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. of posts and relief stations connecting different points, somewhat upon the French courier system, and which he continued under the command of JVIajor-General Eosecrans. In this way he has sent despatches thirty-two miles in two and a half hours. Notwithstanding his position as chief of couriers. Captain Otis still retained command of his regiment. At Nashville he received authority to recruit from the volunteers to fill his thinned ranks. About the last of November, recruiting was commenced, and the regiment was filled up, and two more companies raised according to the new organization. He also obtained six hundred fresh horses, rearmed and equipped the whole regiment, and drilled his men very thoroughly. This regiment was employed in running all the courier lines of different posts of the army, and, besides, formed the escort of General Eosecrans until he arrived in front of Murfrees- borough. On the 4th of January, Captain Otis was ordered to report to General Stanley, chief of cavalry, and was relieved as chief of couriers upon his own application. For gallant conduct and valuable services during the battle of Stone Eiver, Captain Otis and his command were specially mentioned by the genei'al commanding. Since then he has been constantly in the field except during a short period of illness ; and his dashing, well-drilled cavalry, under General Stanley, have often made their mark upon the enemy. Captain Otis's record is an honorable one, showing years of active and zealous service in behalf of his country. ^i^@ ©Qn^? ©rri^^ ^ ■'^f/V.vnL LI AW 'ilr ^^E ©yemE^^^^^^ ^T &. COFHILAD-ft- SKETCHES OF NOTABLE OFFICERS. William B. Hazen, Brigadier-General of Volunteei-s, was born in West Hartfoi-d, Windsor county, Yerniont, in the year 1830. His father, Stillman Hazen, was a grandson of General Moses Hazen, a native of Connecticut, whose commission as brigadier-general bears the oldest date of any of that grade in the first Federal army of the Eevolution. He was early asso- ciated with Generals Ethan Allen and Israel Putnam in their public services; and the friendship of the families was further strengthened by the marrying of the father of the present General Hazen to a direct descendant of " Old Put." When the colonies had achieved their independence. General Hazen and his two brothers, both of whom held commands in the army, emigrated to Yermont and located there the land granted for their valued services. The parents of General Hazen removed to Hiram, Portage county, Ohio, in 1833, and settled upon the farm which they now occupy. Here a family of three sons and three daughters have been reared. The sons and a grandson — all of the family capable of bearing arms — are now officers in the Union army. General Hazen was reared a farmer, receiving such an education as the limited means of his parents could command, until nearly twenty-one years of age, when, after much fruitless effort, he obtained the appointment of cadet at the national military school at West Point. At the time of entering this institution — in September, 1851 — he was within two weeks of the limit which would have rejected him. In 1855 219 220 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. he graduated most creditably, and in July of the same year was appointed brevet second lieutenant 4th United States Infantry. Tavo months after this he was promoted second lieutenant in the 8th Infantry; but before informed of this promotion he had started to join his company in the 4th Infantry, then serving in California and Oregon. In October, the month of the commence- ment of the famous Indian wars of 1856, '57, he joined his com- pany at Fort Inge, on the head-waters of the Sacramento, and on the following day was leading his men to Fort Lane, Eouge Kiver, where the war had already become serious. Keeping the field during this campaign, he served creditably until April, 1857, when he joined his new company in the 8th Infantry at Fort Davis, Texas. Here he was soon actively engaged with the Comanches of Western Texas. He commanded successfully in five fights, until, in December, 1859, in a hand-to-hand contest with the Indians, he received a dangerous wound, the ball passing through the left hand, entering the right side, and passing into the muscles of the back, Avhere' it yet remains. Eight days afterwards. Lieutenant Hazen with his little force reached the settlement of Western Texas; but it was not until February, 1860, that, having submitted to repeated surgical operations, he was sufiiciently recovered to set out for the Northern States. This closed the uniformly successful Indian service of the subject of this notice. Enterprise in the conception and energy and capacity in the execution of his plans were sufficiently apparent to attract the notice of the commander-in-chief of the army, and he was upon four occasions complimented in general orders. General J. E. Johnston, then assistant inspector-general of the army, in his report of the inspection of Lieutenant Hazen's post, commended that officer's " activity, perseverance, and courage" in his successful expeditions against the Indians; and the people of Texas, upon the occasion of his departure, after receiving his wound, held a public meeting at San Antonio, and adopted resolutions expressing their sense of the importance of his services to the State, and presenting him an elegant sword. The resolutions were as follow : — BRIGADIER-GENERAL WILLIAM B. HAZEN. 221 " Whereas, Lieutenant W. B. Hazen, U.S.A., in his services for the pro tection and defence of our Western frontier from the ravages of hostile Indians, by his uniformly prompt, timely, and determined action in their pursuit, by his deeds of marked daring and bravery in their encounter, — of which he bears the unmistakable evidence in a dangerous wound received in his last Indian engagement, and which for a time threatened to prove fatal, — and by his repeated success in the recovery and restoration to our suffering frontier settlers of their stolen property, has deservedly won the confidence, high esteem, and admiration of the people of Texas, and espe- cially of those upon the extreme frontier and of this community, and alike distinguished himself as a true and gallant officer, winning a high position in the army. " Resolved, That the thanks of this community and the entire frontier aie hereby tendered him. " Resolved, That as an evidence of our appreciation of his distinguishec services, and a token of our sympathy for his suffering and wounds, and as an acknowledgment of his noble gallantry, a sword be presented him. " Resolved, That a cppy of these proceedings be forwarded to the Secretary of War." In consequence of the wound mentioned, twelve months' leave of absence was granted Lieutenant Hazen, with permission to travel in Europe. The expirafion of that time found him with his arm still in a sling, but applying for duty; and in February, 1861, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Infantry Tactics at West Point Military Academy. In that capacity he served until his entrance upon the volunteer service in the present war. In June, 1860, he had been brevetted first lieutenant for meri- torious services, and on the Ist of April, 1861, was promoted first lieutenant in the 8th Infantry. May 14, 1861, he was appointed captain of the 17th Infantry, but declined, having at the same time been promoted to a captaincy in his own regiment. At the breaking out of the rebellion, Captain Hazen could not remain contentedly from the field of active service, and made strenuous efforts to obtain a release from duty at West Point. His ability was recognized in his own State, and, when the call for the first three hundred thousand men was made, many gentle- men of influence were anxious to have him in the army of volun- teers which Ohio was then putting into the field. This influence availed, after the failure of his own efforts, and Captain Hazen 222 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. was granted leave of absence to take command of the 4l8t Ohio Volunteer Infantry. This regiment was organized at Cleve- land; and when Colonel Hazen joined it for duty, September 15, 1861, the enlistment of the men was not half accomplished. Taking it in this state, he conducted with a vigorous hand its recruiting, organization, and instruction, — assuming himself the entire schooling and drilling of the officers and sergeants until they were competent to instruct the men. Being ordered to Gallipolis, on the Ohio Eiver, then threatened by the rebels of Western Virginia, Colonel Hazen projected an important movement upon them at a point beyond the reach of the Union troops at that time in Virginia, but, although asking no force but his own regiment, failed to obtain permission of the department commander to m.arch into his territory. In De- cember, 1861, Colonel Hazen, with his command, joined the army then organizing at Louisville, Kentucky, under Major-General Buell. During these and subsequent marches and changes of station, the sj'stem of instruction of Colonel Hazen was care- fully attended to ; and when the regiment reached JSTashville, in February, 1862, each company officer could drill the battalion, and had been instructed in every duty pertaining to his position. On the 6th of January, 1862, General Hazen was placed by General Buell in command of the 19th Brigade of the Army of the Ohio, including his own regiment, and belonging to General Nelson's (4th) Division. The care and labor that had been bestowed upon his regiment was extended to the entire brigade now under his command. At the battle of Shiloh, April 7, 1862, Colonel Hazen acted a conspicuous part. His brigade, arriving upon the field at the conclusion of the first day's fight, was immediately put in line, and, with the rest of Nelson's division, moved upon the enemy at daylight. General Hazen's skirmishers opened the second day's fighting on the left of the army; and for an hour his brigade was engaged under a sharp fire before the action became general. During this time, being in advance of the other troops, he was obliged to protect his position from flank attack, which he did BRIGADTER-GENERAL WILLIAM B. HAZEN. 223 Buccessfully, and finally led his brigade in so fierce a charge that, although one-third of the ofiicers and men were struck down before reaching the rebels, they forced back both of the enemy's lines, and captured a battery at the second line. During the subsequent operations of General Halleck at Corinth, and in the campaign of General Buell in Northern Mississippi and Alabama, Colonel Hazen served with his brigade. In the operations in Kentucky during the fall of 1862 his brigade performed many important services, driving the rebels sharply from Danville on the 12th of October. In the subsequent pursuit he was intrusted with the advance of General Crittenden's corps from Mount Vernon to London, — for eight days fighting with and driving Bragg's rear-guard through the passes of the mountains, until recalled from the pursuit. The prominent part taken by General Ilazen in the operations immediately preceding the battle of Stone Eiver, and in that struggle, have been presented to the public in every complete published account of them. From the time of leaving Nash- ville until the battle, his brigade was twice engaged with the enemy; and in the great contest he maintained through the day the position taken in the morning. The official acknow- ledgment of the brilliant service there rendered is contained in the report of General Eosecrans. It was nothing less than the protection of the left of the army from being turned under simultaneous attacks by superior forces in front and flank, and this at the critical period of the fight, when, the right wing and centre having been driven back, General Eosecrans was exerting every power to form a new line. On the 2d of January he com manded a portion of the troops that drove Breckinridge's men from the field. When the army took position at Murfreesborough after the battle. Colonel Hazen's brigade was selected to hold the town of Eeadyville, twelve miles from the army, on the extreme left, and the most dangerous post in the line. The subsistence for cavalry, artillery, and baggage-animals was drawn from the country in front; and, though this was con- stantly occupied by Morgan's and other cavalry forces, no loss 224 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. was sustained. On the contrary, the enemy were constantly annoyed by expeditions against them, resulting in the capture of greater or less numbers of men and horses. On the 2d of April an expedition in command of General Hazen surprised a rebel camp at Woodbury, killing three and capturing about twenty-five men and horses, the entire baggage-train, with camp- equipage, &c., and dispersing the whole force. From these operations and those during the pursuit of Bragg in Kentucky, " Hazen's Brigade" is probably better known among the rebels than any other in the army. It has never been attacked, though the enemy has often had four times its strength within a day's march. Finally, the general, always daring, has never attempted to lead his men against the enemy and failed : the rebels have never seen the backs of his men. General Hazen received his commission as brigadier-general of United States Volunteers in April, 1863, after being three times nominated to the Senate by the President. He had for more than a year held a general's command, and had led it through two great battles and several minor operations. In treatment of subordinates, possessing in a remarkable degree the faculty of quickly and accurately judging the character and fitness of men, no one is kinder to those who make faithful effort to per- form their duties, whether successful or not, but there are none more severe with those who wilfully neglect their obligations. Understanding thoroughly every detail of official duty, there is no portion of a soldier's life too trivial to receive his attention. With a vigilance that during three years of active service has never left him a moment unprepared or liable to surprise, a quickness to perceive and readiness to strike a weak point, — with a hearty love of the flag his fathers fought for, and, in the discharge of duty, an honesty not to be tampered with, — Bri- gadier-General William B. Hazen gives high promise that his future service will increase in value with the enlargement of the means intrusted to his control. BRWADIER-GENERAL WILLIAM P. CARLIN. 225 Srtfjiulier-dencral ^ulilliiim §. (Unrlin. Brigadier-Gteneral William P. CaIilin was born in Greene county, Illinois, ISTovember 24, 1829. In 1846, at the age of sixteen, he entered the United States Military Academy at "West Point, where he graduated in 1850. He was assigned to the Gth Regiment U.S. Infantry as brevet second lieutenant, and joined his company at Fort Snelling, Minnesota Territory, in, October, 1850. In 1851 he was jjromoted to the second lieu- tenancy of Company II, Gth Infantry, then stationed at Fort Eipley, Minnesota. Nearly four years were passed at the latter post and in the Indian country. In October, 1854, his regiment was ordered to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, where it remained till March, 1855, when it scouted over the Western plains on the Sioux Expedition under General Harney. Having passed through that expedition, he was stationed at Fort Laramie, JSTe- braska Territory, as quartermaster and commissary of the post,, and was occasionally in command of detachments and com- panies in expeditions against the Indians. In the summer of 1857 he commanded a company in the expedition of Colonel Sumner against the Cheyenne Indians, who were defeated and routed in a battle on Solomon's Fork, Kansas Territory, August 29, 1857. In September, 1857, he, with his company, was ordered; into Kansas to protect the legal voters at the October election. In the spring of 1858, the Gth Infantry was ordered to join the Utah Expedition under General A. S. Johnston, then encamped at Fort Bridger, Utah Territory. Lieutenant Carlin acted as; commissary of the regiment until its arrival near the North Platte Eiver, near Bridger's Pass of the Eocky Mountains, when he, with forty men, was selected by the commanding officer to. accompany the engineer company, under command of Lieutenant J. C. Duane, to open the road through that pass, to build bridges, ferries, &c. The regiment arrived at Fort Bridger about the 1st of August, 1858, when it was learned that the Mormon trouble 15 226 ARMY OP THE CUMBERLAND. had been adjusted. The regiment then received orders to pro- ceed to California. The journey was resumed, and the regiment arrived at Benicia, California, on the 15th of November, 1858, having marched two thousand two hundred and fifty miles during the season, Lieutenant Carlin's company, after a rest of three weeks, proceeded north to the head of Eussian Eiver, and was stationed in that region of Indian country for eighteen months. For nine months of the time, Lieutenant Carlin was in command of Fort Bragg, a military post on the Pacific coast and on the Mendocino Indian Eeservation. From July, 1860, to September 1, Lieutenant Carlin — having been promoted to a captaincy on the 2d of March, 1860 — was on recruiting service for the Eegular Army. On the 15th of August, 1861, he was offered the colonelcy of the 38th Illinois Volunteers, which was :accepted. He had previously been elected lieutenant-colonel of a New York regiment, and had been proffered the lieutenant- colonelcy of an Iowa regiment, — which were declined, as he had intended if he entered the volunteer service to go with men from his native State. Immediately after organizing his regi- ment it was ordered to Ironton, Missouri, where Colonel Carlin .assumed command, being the senior officer present. The force consisted of the 21st, 33d, and 38th Eegiments Illinois Infantry, and four companies of the 1st Indiana Cavalry, About the 14th of October, the rebel forces in Southeast Missouri made demonstrations of attack against Pilot Knob, and, as a prelimi- nary, attacked the guard at the Big Eiver bridge, on the Iron Mountain Eailroad. A large portion of the force under Colonel •Carlin being detailed to guard this railroad, his available force was not deemed sufficient to advance against the rebel forces, which had been concentrated, about the 15th of October, :at Fredericktown, twenty-one miles southeast of Pilot Knob, :and which were estimated at six thousand, under G-eneral Jef- ferson Thompson. General Fremont, commanding that depart- ment, being absent from St. Louis on his march for Springfield, Missouri, his adjutant-general. Captain McKeever, took the a-esponsibility of ordering the 8th Wisconsin Volunteers, and BRIGADIER-GENERAL WILLIAM P. CARLIN. 227 part of the 24th Missouri Yohmteers, with four pieces of artillery, to reinforce Colonel Carlin at Pilot Knob. The last of these forces arrived at the Knob on the 18th of October, and it wa& Colonel Carlin's wish to march against the enemy on the day following; but, the officer in command of the artillery having insisted that it was necessary to drill his horses, it was decided to delay one day. The forces marched on the 20th of October, and arrived at Fredericktown on the morning of the 21st. But the rebels had very hastily retreated, in consequence of having received information of the movement against them from Cape Girardeau, under Colonel J. B. Plummer. Plummer had sent a despatch to Colonel Carlin, calling for reinforcements, which despatch was intercepted by Thompson, who, not expect- ing an attack from Carlin, supposed that its possession would prevent the command of the latter from co-operating with Plummer. Thompson finally concluded to attack Plummer, and returned to the vicinity of Fredericktown and commenced the battle. The rebels were totally routed, the forces of Carlin and Plummer having formed a junction at Fredericktown about an hour before the fight began. This defeat of Thompson destroyed the rebel power in Southeast Missouri, except at the post of New Madrid, which they held until caj)tured by General Pope in the spring of 1862. Soon after General Halleck assumed command of the Depart- ment of the Missouri he appointed Colonel Carlin commander of the district of Southeast Missouri, which position he held till March, 1862, when he was relieved by General Steele. Colo- nel Carlin next commanded a brigade, under General Steele, in the expedition into Arkansas, and marched as far as Jackson- port, when he was ordered with the 21st and 38th Illinois Volunteers to Corinth, Mississippi, via Cape Girardeau, Mis- souri. He made forced marches to Cape Girardeau, and embarked immediately for Hamburg Landing, where he arrived on the 24th of May. Joining General Pope's army, he was at Farmington when the rebels evacuated Corinth, and participated in the pur- suit of the enemy to Booneville, Mississippi. After returning 228 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. from this pursuit, his command — a brigade of General Davis's division — formed part of an expedition towards Holly Springs, but was recalled before reaching that point, and till August was stationed in the vicinity of Jacinto, Mississippi. About the 10th of August, Colonel Carlin's brigade, with the remainder of the division, then under command of General E. B. Mitchell, was ordered to join Buell's army in Tennessee. Marching via luka, Eastport, Florence, Columbia, and Franklin, it arrived at Mur- freesborough, Tennessee, about the 1st of September. After a rest of a day or two, the command proceeded to Nashville, and thence to Louisville, by forced marches. From Louisville Colo- nel Carlin marched with Buell's army to Perryville, Kentucky, where he was engaged in the battle of October 8, 1862. Colonel Carlin's brigade distinguished itself in that battle, as will be seen by reference to the official reports of General Mitchell, commanding his division. General Gilbert, commanding the corps, and General Buell, commanding the army. Colonel Carlin continued his march to Crab Orchard, Kentucky, and from thence to Bowling Green, — where General Eosecrans assumed supreme command, — and subsequently to Nashville, Tennessee. When the army of General Eosecrans moved towards Murfreesborough, on the 2Gth of December, Colonel Carlin commanded the 2d Brigade of General Davis's division, which had a sharp engage- ment with the rebel cavalry, under General Wharton, at Knob Gap, near Nolensville. Colonel Carlin's brigade here charged a strong position of the enemy, held by artillery and dismounted cavalry, and gallantly carried the position, capturing one gun and a few prisoners. On the 30th of December his brigade had a severe engagement with the enemy near Murfreesborough. On the 31st it passed through the terrific engagement of that day, and continued before the enemy till their retreat on the night of the 3d of January. Colonel Carlin's command sufi'ered more severely during this series of engagements than any other in the army. The official reports of Brigadier-General Da^ is, commanding the division, and of General Eosecrans, commander- in-chief, afford sufficient evidence of the gallantry of that bri- THE SCANDINAVIAN REGIMENT AND ITS COLONEL. 229 gade, consisting of the 21st and 38th Illinois, lOlst Ohio and 15th Wisconsin, and the 2d Minnesota Battery. Colonel Carlin was, subsequently to the battle of Stone Eiver, pro- moted to the rank of brigadier-general, and still retains the command of his old brigade. W^e ^oimllmmn Slejgimcnt ami its (Holon^I. One regiment in the Army of the Cumberland — the 15th Wisconsin Volunteers — is composed entirely of Scandinavians, mostly Norwegians. With the exception of Company A, en- listed in Illinois, and Company K, from Minnesota and Iowa, the regiment was raised in the State whose name it bears. Its organization, which was effected about the 1st of October, 1861, was mainly due to the efforts of its colonel, Hans C. Heg. On the 2d of March, 1862, it left Camp Eandall, at Madison, Wisconsin, for the seat of war. Forming a part of the expe- dition against Island No. 10, it was the first regiment that landed on the Tennessee shore on the 8th of April. On the 31st of March, being yet quartered on transports, in company with the 27th Illinois, under the command of Colonel (now General) Bu- ford, it started on an expedition against Union City, Tennessee, where there was a rebel force about fifteen hundred strong. The town and camp were completely surprised on the morning of April 1, and the rebels driven in every direction. Nearly one nundred horses and mules, several wagons, and all the camp- equipage were captured, without the loss of a man by the attacking party. On the 11th of June, eight companies of the regiment left Island No. 10 for Union City, and thence marched to Corinth and Jacinto, Mississippi, where they were attached to Colonel Carlin's brigade, in which they remained until recently. 230 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. Since the regiment joined Colonel Carlin's brigade, the his- tories of the two have been identical. It marched with Gene- ral Mitchel's division from luka, Mississippi, by way of Florence, Alabama, and joined Buell's army at Murfreesborough on the Ist of September. Continuing with the Army of the Ohio, it endured all the hardships of the rapid march to Louisville. Leaving that city on the 1st of October, it participated in the battle of Chaplin Hills (or Perryville) ; and Company B of the regiment, deployed as skirmishers, were the first to enter the village of P.erryville the morning after the engagement. Sub- sequently it took part in a skirmish near Lancaster, Kentucky, where a few of its men were slightly wounded. Reaching Nash- ville as a portion of General Eosecrans's army, it left that city on the 26th of December, as a part of General McCook's corps. On the same day, in company with the remainder of the brigade, it charged on a rebel battery at Knob Gap, and captured one gun and -carriage, four horses, and three prisoners. Colonel Heg being the first man to reach the gun. In the battle of Stone Eiver it played a conspicuous part, passing through that long and bloody contest with the cool courage and deter- mined valor that have ever characterized its action, winnincr encomiums from the brigade commandei', Colonel Carlin, and others, at the time. On the 29th of April, by command of General Eosecrans, it was transferred from the 2d to the 3d Brigade of the 1st Divi- sion, on which occasion the following order was issued by Bri- gadier-General Carlin : — "Special Order No. 2. "Head-Quarters 2d Brigade, 1st Division, 20th Army Corps, April 29,1863. " The general commanding the brigade has to regret that the interests of the service have induced Major-General Rosecrans, commanding the depart- ment, to transfer the 15th Wisconsin Volunteers, Colonel Hans C. Heg, from this brigade. " In parting with this regiment, the general commanding tenders to both officers and men his sincere thanks for the soldierly and honorable manner in which they have conducted themselves on all occasions. In camp they have been obedient and faithful to duty, and on the battle-field they have THE SCANDINAVIAN REGIMENT AND ITS COLONEL. 231 had no superiors in gallantry. Tliey may feel assured that they will carry "with them the best wishes of the general commanding and the other regi ments of this brigade. " By order of Brigadier-General W. P. Carlin, " Commanding 2d Brigade. " Samuel P. Voris, " Captain and Acting Assistant Adjutant-General." Though the Scandinavians in this countiy now number about one hundred thousand, scattered through the various States of the Union, but mostly in the Northwest, the 15th Wisconsin is the only regiment of its kind in the service of the United States; and it is as especially representing this vast, enterprising, and rapidly increasing portion'of our population that it is worthy of notice. But, though it be the only regiment representative of their distinct nationality in the field, thousands of Scandina^ vians have joined our armies, and may be found in every regi- ment organized in the Northwest. They are among the best and bravest of our soldiers. Descendants of the sturdy vikings of medieval times, they have in the long lapse of years lost none of that daring valor, power of endurance, and remarkable coolness in times of excitement, which characterized their an- cestors. Next to bravery, their most marked quality is calm- ness. Always cool and collected, they act with the same delibe- ration and forethought in the trying hours of danger as in the transactions of every-day life. Temperate and virtuous, obe- ■ dient and well disciplined, they are in every respect model soldiers, and challenge the admiration and respect of all whose good fortune it is to mingle with them. Long may they live to enjoy that freedom of speech and of thought for which they are so nobly contending ! And not less than America's own sons will they be honored in the days of returning peace, — wheij the sword shall once more be beaten into a ploughshare, and the spear into a pruning-hook. Hans C. Heg, Colonel of the 15th Wisconsin Volunteers, com- -nanding the 5th Brigade, Ist Division, 20th Army Corps, was born near tho city of Drammen, in Norway, December 21, 1829. 232 ARMY OF T"HE CUMBERLAND. In 1840 his father, Evan H. Heg, came to Ameiica and settled near Milwaukee, "Wisconsin, being one of the first emigrants from ZSTorway to this country. In 1849 the subject of this sketch, then twenty years of age, proceeded to California by the over- land route, where he spent two years, returning in 1851. From that time until 1859 he resided near Milwaukee, engaging prin- cipally in farming and merchandising, and became one of the prominent business men of the State. In 1859 he was nomi- nated by the Eepublican State Convention of "Wisconsin for the office of State Prison Commissioner, and was elected by a large majority. This office he filled, with credit to himself and profit to the State, until he entered the service in 1861. That year Colonel Heg was nomin^ated for the same office by both the Union and Eepublican conventions; but he preferred to serve his adopted country in a different sphere, and called upon his countrymen to rally around his standard for the defence of the Union and the Government. "While yet in civil life, he was appointed by the Governor major of the 4^h Regiment of "Wis- consin State Militia, and in October, 1861, entered the service as colonel of the 15th "Wisconsin "Volunteers. Since that time his history is identified with that of the regi- ment. "With it he has served constantly and faithfully. Always at the head of his men, — the post of danger as well as of honor, — he has won their love and esteem by his cheerful participation in all their sufferings and privations. At the battle of Stone Eiver he was with his regiment from first to last, never despond- ing for a moment, even when affairs seemed most discouraging. His services there and elsewhere have not escaped the notice of his superiors, and he has been highly complimented in the official reports of General Carlin. He is now in a position where hia abilities as a military commander can be of even more se^'vice to the Government than heretofore, having on the 29th of April, 1863, been assigned to the command of the 5th Brigade, 1st Division, 20th Army Corps, to which his regiment was at th« eame time transferred. Colonel Heg possesses the peculiar characteristics of his coun- COLONEL JOHN T. WILDER. 233 trymen in a marked degree. His bravery, demonstrated in many engagements, is unquestioned. It is not, however, the reckless daring of an unskilled and careless man, but the cool and determined valor of a competent, thoughtful commander. He is prudent, but not timid; deliberate, but not slow in move- ment. In person he is of medium size, rather slender, and with features more than ordinarily prepossessing. "With the courage he has the power of endurance so natural to the Scandinavian, and is as well calculated to share the hardships and privations of a march as he is to direct the movements of his command. dolonel John W, WiMn, John T. "Wilder, Colonel of the 17th Indiana Infantry, com- manding the 1st Brigade of Mounted Eifles, was born in Ulster county, New York, in the year 1880. His is decidedly a fighting family. His great-grandfather, Seth "Wilder, lost a leg at Bunker Hill ; and his grandfather, Seth "Wilder, Jr., then sixteen years old, served in his father's stead, and participated in the battles of Saratoga, Monmouth, and Stony Point, in the latter of which he was wounded by a bayonet-thrust. In the "War of 1812 his father, Eeuben "Wilder, raised a company of light horse, and fought at Plattsburg and Sackets Harbor. He is still living, and, though lacking but a year of the allotted threescore and ten, his patriotism has not dimmed in the lapse of years, as is evidenced by the fact that he recently wrote from his home in Kingston, ISTew York, to his son, asking permission to come to Murfr^esborough and serve upon his stafi". The subject of our notice was educated as a civil and hydraulic engineer, and at the age of nineteen moved to Columbus, Ohio, where he remained three years. Eemoving in 1852 to Greens- (jurg, Indiana, he engaged in the machine and foundry business, ju conjunction with his more scientific professional pursuit of 234 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. hydraulic engineering. In this he has been more extensively engaged than any other one man in the "West, — in almost every principal town of which he has built mills, both steam and water. His labors extended beyond the State of his residence to Illinois, Wisconsin, Western Virginia, and even Tennessee, in which he has constructed several mills, and where he now owns several hundred acres of land. His nine years of work may be thus summed up. He has built over one hundred mills, has sent en- gines (all built by contract) to every part of the "West, has con- structed several large hydraulic works, and has been granted three patents on turbine water-wheels. When the war broke out, his business was in a flourishing condition. He had become a proficient in hydraulics, and was recognized as an authority in such matters to so great an extent that he was sent for as a witness and to act as umpire from all parts of the country. In politics he had been a Democrat ; but when Mr. Lincoln was elected he fired a salute for him as his President, notwithstanding the objections of many of his brother Democrats. At the first sign of war he cast two steel six-pounder guns and donated them to the State. Artillery not being desired at that time, he inte- rested himself, and was mainly instrumental, in raising the first three-years regiment from the State, of which he was appointed lieutenant-colonel. Leaving his extensive shop and foundry, employing one hundred hands, — which, it may be remarked, is still in constant operation, — in charge of his foreman, he accompanied his regi- ment, then commanded by Colonel Haskell, to Western Vir- ginia. Lieutenant-Colonel Wilder, however, was in command at Cheat Mountain and Greenbrier, and in all the severe skir- mishes and fights under Generals Eeynolds and Eosecrans. His regiment, the 17th Indiana, killed John A. Washington, was very prominent in the repulse of Lee, and at Greenbrier covered the retreat of General Eeynolds, building, repairing, and main- taining the roads over which our forces moved. In December, 1861, Colonel Wilder marched with his regiment to Louisville, and accompanied Buell's army through all its varied fortunes. COLONEL JOHN T. WILDER. 235 Soon after the evacuation of Corinth he was taken ill with typhoid fever, and was compelled to absent himself from the field for nearly three months, the disease proving at one period nearly fatal. Soon after he recruited a company for his regiment, and also assisted in raising a regiment of thirty- days men, of whom six hundred and forty-one were enlisted during one day, to serve in Kentucky and repel the rebels at Henderson, — the same gang who had crossed into Indiana and had again recrossed the river. The men were raised, as stated, in less than twenty-four hours, and in forty-eight hours were armed, equipped, and in Kentucky, two hundred and sixty-five miles from Greensburg, Colonel Wilder accompanying them. In September, 1862, in command of less than four thousand men, — of whom only twenty -two hundred were fit for duty, — he made his memorable defence of Munfordsville, repulsing a desperate attack of the rebels, nearly ten thousand strong, under General Chalmers, and maintained himself until he was surrounded by a force of twenty-five thousand, with forty -five cannon, under the personal command of General Bragg. By this brilliant and gallant defence Colonel Wilder gained due credit as a gallant and determined officer in whom confidence could be placed in time of need. For two months he was a prisoner, when he was paroled, and went to Washington, where he procured an immediate exchange, and at once rejoined his regiment. When General Eosecrans assumed command of the Army of the Cumberland, Colonel Wilder was assigned to his present brigade, consisting of the 17th, 72d, and 75th Indiana, and the 98th Illinois. In December he was stationed at Gallatin, Ten- nessee, and on the 17th of that month joined in the pursuit of Morgan on his last raid, in company with General Reynolds's division. After the battle of Stone River he escorted a train of one hundred and twenty wagons from Cave City to Nashville. Since then he has been constantly engaged in raids and expe- ditions through the country, scarcely having a day of rest from 236 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. active service. Determining to mount bis brigade and thus beat Morgan at bis own game, Colonel Wilder began, with six horses, to caj^ture others for his men. On one expedition — the first — to Liberty and Lebanon he obtained some six hundred, on the second, about seven hundred, and on the third, five hundred and seventy-eight. Gradually others have been procured, and three regiments are already finely mounted; and before this is seen by the reader the fourth will, without doubt, be simi- larly fortunate. He has also procured an ample supply of fine mules for a battery of six rifled ten-pounder guns, also for one of four twelve-pounder mountain-howitzers; and this has been done without a dollar of expense to the Government. During the entire winter, and until the 1st of April, no corn or forage was drawn by this brigade for its animals, — they supply- ing themselves from the surrounding country. Colonel Wilder's brigade is an independent command, — and in more senses than oiie. It builds its own wagons, — ironing them from the wrecks of others scattered along the road, — shoes its own horses, and makes its own coal for its forges. Each man carries a hatchet with a handle two feet in length, — whence they have acquired the sobriquet of "The Hatchet Brigade." Their hatchets are described as handy and efi'ect- ive both in bivouac and in fight. Each company also makes for itself a fine mess-chest. Every teamster, cook, and extra- duty man in the brigade is a negro, and every white is an effect- ive soldier in the ranks. The colonel is a firm believer in the friendship and good will of the negroes. He relates numerous instances in which they have exhibited these qualities and rendered valuable service, among which is the following. Upon one of his expeditions, during a dark, rainy night, he was visited in his camp by a very black negro woman, about twenty years of age, and married,— the property of one HaAvkius, a large farmer living six miles from Lebanon, Tennessee. She had walked the whole distance to his camp — six miles — in the mud and rain for the purpose of telling him where there were several barrels of salt hidden behind her master's garden-fence, as well COLONEL JOHN T. 'WILDER. 237 as to reveal the locality of a certain cave where were concealed a number of horses and mules and some guns. " I could not help bringing her in with me," said the colonel; and he added, "The negroes are our best friends." Colonel Wilder is emphatically what may be called a live man. He realizes the nature of the struggle in which we are engaged, and enters into the work with all his mind and strength. He believes in fighting, and plenty of it. Peace- upon-any-terms sticklers, and rebel sympathizers, meet with no sympathy from him. He was the first one to suggest the idea of having the soldiers appeal to their friends at home to unite in an earnest, hearty support of the administration in its eiforts to crush the rebellion. To this end he used his influence among the Democrats in the army; and they co-operated with him, — with what result is known to the whole loyal North. Pure patriotism has impelled him in his course. His whole time and energies are devoted to the work. In addition to his salary, he has expended over seven thousand dollars for the cause, — having equipped from sixty to seventy men at his own expense. Still in the prime of life, understanding the nature of the enemy with whom he is contending, fertile in invention, and prompt in execution, Colonel "Wilder and his mounted brigade cannot fail, in the days yet to come, to add largely to their already wide- spread reputation. The brigade is composed as follows : — the 17th Indiana, Lieu- tenant-Colonel Jordan, 72d Indiana, Colonel Miller, 75th In- diana, Colonel Eobinson, and the 98th Illinois, Colonel Funk- houser. It is called the First Mounted Eifles, and its services are in constant demand. Scarcely an expedition goes out of which it does not form a part; and wherever it goes it is sure to " make its mark." The rebels have learned to respect and fear it; and the name of its gallant leader has already become throughout the South a synonym for all that is bold and daring. 238 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. Coloni?! WiWvm %, ^touijhton. Colonel William L. Stougiiton, 11th Michigan Yoltmteers, is a native of the State of New York, and was born March 2, 1827. Moving with his family to Ohio in 1839, he was educated at Madison Seminary. In 1849 he went to Michigan, and on the completion of his legal studies was admitted to the bar, and practised law till the fall of 1861. For four years he was prose- cuting attorney of St. Joseph county, and had the reputation of being an able criminal lawyer. He was also a member, and one of the secretaries, of the National Eepublican Convention in 1860, which nominated President Lincoln, and took an active l)art in the subsequent canvass. In the spring of 1861 he was appointed United States District Attorney for the district of Michignn, and held the office till the fall of that year, when he resigned, and accepted the appointment of lieutenant-colonel in the 11th Michigan Infantry, and in April, 1862, was appointed colonel. During the spring and summer of 1862 he was on duty in Tennessee and Kentucky. On the invasion of Kentucky by John Morgan in July, he was sent with the 11th Michigan to intercept him, if possible. He reached Cave City the next evening after Morgan's raid was known at Nashville, and made a forced march to Glasgow to attack him; but he had left five hours before the regiment arrived, and his command, being mounted on the best of stolen horses, escaped. From this point commenced the cele- brated chase of Morgan through the State of Kentucky, in which our infantry constantly pressed the marauder, driving him from every point, but unable to make him fight. After this he was ordered to Nashville with his regiment, where he was assigned to General Ncgley's division, and was in Nashville during the blockade. In the course of the siege he was sent by General Negley, with three regiments and one section of artillery, sixteen miles down the Cumberland Eiver, on a foraging expedi- tiou and rcconnoissance. When near Fort Eiley, the train was COLONEL J. W. BURKE. 239 fired into by guerrillas, who were speedily put to flight. On reaching the road between the bluffs and the river, it was found to be cut away, leaving only a bridle-path, with trees felled across it to prevent the passage of wagons. With great labor the obstructions were removed, and the road bridged so as to allow the train to pass. On reaching the opposite side, the head of the train was again fired into by guerrillas; but they were repulsed and driven across the river, and an abundance of forage obtained. On the return of the train, the enemy made a spirited attack from a bend in the river opposite the bluffs, but were repulsed with the loss of sixteen killed and wounded. Colonel Stoughton was subsequently at the battle of Stone Eiver, — where he acted a gallant and conspicuous part, — and was ap- pointed provost-marshal of the post on the occupation of Mur- freesborough. This position he has filled with notable success. Mond J. m. 3mh, Of the 10th Ohio Yolunteer Infantry (Head-Quarters Guard), was born in "Westport, county Mayo, Ireland, in the year 1836, and was educated for the English service, in which four of his elder brothers had reached high rank and distinction. Politic- ally opposed to the Government and policy of Great Britain, and belonging to that class of young men whose genius and efforts in the cause of Irish nationality made the ill-timed Eevo- lution of 1848 celebrated, he abandoned all idea of serving in "•her Majesty's forces," and emigrated to the United States, where he devoted himself to the study of law, and practised his profession at the Cincinnati bar for three years before the breaking out of the war. He commenced his military career as chief of staff to General "William Lytle, commanding at Camp Harrison, and assisted that gallant officer in organizing some of the finest regiments Ohio sent into the field. Shortly after the call of the President for 240 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. three-months troops, the Irish citizens of Cincinnati resolved to raise a regiment and send it to the field in defence of the Govern- ment. The Montgomery Eegiment (10th Ohio) was thus organ- ized, — composed mainly of this class of citizens, — counting among its officers some of the most promising and brilliant young men of the city. The regiment was commanded by Colonel (now General) William H. Lytle, — Colonel Burke enter- ing as major. The regiment was among the first to leave for the war in Western Virginia, and served under General McClel- lan during his short campaign, until General Eosecrans took command. Colonel Burke was put in command of an outpost, — a posi- tion requiring much tact and energy, — and soon gained the atten- tion and confidence of his keen-sighted general. His regiment was the advance-guard of General RoseCrans's forces when the army marched to the Gauley Eiver to engage the rebels under General Floyd, and distinguished itself highly at Carnifex Ferry, where it charged the works of the rebel general, mounting eight guns and defended by three thousand infantry. The brave Lytle was severely wounded within a few feet of the rebel redoubt, and the command of the regiment devolved upon Bui-ke, who fought his men with the utmost courage and obsti- nacy until night put an end to the contest, when the rebel general retreated in confusion, leaving his works and large quantities of stores, ammunition, and arms. The campaign in that region having been terminated by the expulsion of Floyd, Wise, and Lee, the regiment was ordered to Kentucky, and fell under the command of the lamented General Mitchel, serving with that officer in his brief but brilliant career in Northern Alabama. " The 10th" acquired the title of "the bloody 10th" at the battle of Carnifex Ferry; and the impression gained ground wherever they marched that it was composed of wild, lawless men: so that, it is said, citizens fled at the approach of the regiment, to return surprised that their horses and property were left unharmed. This impres- sion prevailed particularly in Huntsville, Alabama; and great COLONEL J. W. BURKE. 241 was the consterDation among the citizens when Colonel Burke was announced as provost-marshal and his regiment as provost- guard. But the discipline and fine bearing of the regiment soon dispelled that impression. When the Federal forces under Buell followed Bragg into Kentucky, the "10th Ohio" was assigned to the division of General Eousseau, of McCook's corps, and at the battle of Perry- ville was honored with the advance of the army. The gallant bearing of the regiment at that fight formed a theme for the admiration of the country. It went into action with five hun- dred and twenty-eight men, and lost two hundred and sixty- three killed and wounded. Sui-rounded at one time by masses of the enemy, their numbers diminishing at every step, the regi- ment cleared its way to the point where a great portion of the line had fallen back and taken up the final position of the day. Immediately on General Eosecrans assuming the command of Buell's army, he assigned to the regiment the highly honorable position of Head-Quarters and Provost Guard to the Army of the Cumberland, — a compliment well deserved by the gallant fellows who followed him with such devotion in his earlier campaigns. At the battle of Stone River Colonel Burke and his command received the laborious and responsible task of keeping open the communications. Posted at Stewart's Creek, a short distance from the field, it protected large army-trains, rescued one from the rebel cavalry, — which it finally drove away, — kept open the line of communications, and returned to the army over two thousand stragglers who were found skulking to the rear. For these gallant services the general commanding publicly thanked Colonel Burke and his regiment, — an honor any ofilcer might well covet. He also received the following despatch from head- quarters : — "January 2, 1862, 8 o'clock a.m. " LiKUTENANT-CoLONEL BuRKE : " The general commanding instructs me to say that your despatch is re ceived, and that your conduct is highly gratifying to him. " Respectfully, yours, &c, "Frank S. Bo^d, A.D.C. " By command of Major-General W. S. Roseceans." 242 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. In liis official report General Kosecrans says : — " The 10th Regiment of Ohio Volunteers, at Stewart's Creek, Lieutenant- Colonel J. AY. Burke commanding, deserve especial praise for the ability and spirit with which they held their post, defended our trains, secured their cars, chased away Wheeler's rebel cavalry, saving a large wagon- train, and arrested and retained in service some two thousand stragglers from the battle-field." The Special correspondent of the " Cincinnati Gazette," speak- ing of the gallantry of the regiment, pays it the following high compliment : — " To the heroic conduct of Colonel Burke at Stewart's Creek, where, with his unconquerable 10th Ohio, he so gallantly held his ground and repulsed the masses of Wheeler's rebel cavalry, is due the saving of an immense train of supplies, the loss of which, at a time when the army was reduced to horse-flesh and a scanty supply of hard crackers, might have been attended with the most disastrous consequences. Neither is it too much to say that his success, and that of Colonel Innes, of the Michigan Mechanics and Engi- neers, saved our army from an assault in the rear by the whole force of the enemy's cavalry." In a short sketch like the present it is impossible to do justrce to Colonel Burke and his brave men. The regiment, though decimated in number by its many fierce contests, has a well- earned reputation for discipline, dash, and fine appearance. THE DEAD OF OUR ARMY. We have concluded our sketches of the living ; and it is meet that we close this portion of the "Annals" with a tribute to the noble dead of the Army of the Cumberland. Fallen heroes ! — sleeping upon the banks of the lonely river, upon adjacent cotton-fields, and among the cedars which skirt its meandering waters, they yet live in the memories of their surviving com- rades. Unable to present their loved features in these pages, yet who of us who knew them so well can ever forget them ? Perhaps two thousand of our gallant band have " slept the sleep" upon the battle-fields of Stone Eiver, or have since languished and pined away unto death from wounds there received. Let the monument stand, an offering of the army and of the people, emblematic of their lineaments, their hei'oism, and their sacrifice. The following sketches of prominent officers slain at the battle of Stone Eiver, December 31, 1862, will be read with a deeper interest than any other chapter in this volume. Srijgadier-iSencntl Josltim ^oodroiu ^ill. (bT a lady contributor, CANANDAIGUA, new YORK.) Joshua Woodrow Sill, the youngest brigadier-general in the army, and the only Union general slain at Murfreesborough, was the second son of the Hon. Joseph Sill and Elizabeth, daughter of Joshua "Woodrow, of Hillsborough, Highland county, Ohio. He was born December 6, 1831, in the city of Chillicothe, where 243 244 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. his father — a native of Northeastern New York — has resided since the year 1814. Joshua's early education was watched over by his father, who spared from an active legal practice time necessary to give his son much instruction. As a child he was gentle, obedient, and studious; and before reaching the years of manhood he succeeded in mastering both rapidly and thoroughly some of the most ab- struse sciences, particularly mathematics ; while his proficiency in Latin and Greek, in standard English and French literature, gained for him the approbation and admiration of all. His father intended him for the legal profession ; but this he de- clined, and, at his own request, Avas in 1849 appointed a United States Cadet from the Chillicothe Congressional District. His life at West Point was remarkable only for the attention he bestowed on his studies and his strict performance of every required duty. He ranked among the first and best scholars, aud graduated third in his class. Chosen for an ordnance ap- pointment, he was in 1854 stationed at "Watervliet Arsenal, West Troy. The following year he was recalled to West Point as one of the instructors. Two years passed, and he was ordered to Pittsburg Arsenal, where for a few months, awaiting further orders, he occupied himself with drafting for and testing- ordnance. In May, 1858, he sailed for Yancouver, Washington Territory, to superintend the building of an arsenal there ; but the Vancouver Island difficulty with the British Government prevented its construction. In September he returned, and was again stationed at Watervliet, but a few months afterwards was ordered to Fort Leavenwo'rth. There his long-cherisifed intention of leaving the army took effect. Sill was willing to wield a sword when his country required it, but he could not endure the inactivity of army-life in times of peace. Early in the spring of 1860 he gave notice of resignation; and in September of that year he accepted the Professorship of Mathematics and Civil Engineering in the Brooklyn Collegiate and Polytechnic Institute, — a position he filled with distinguished ability. For a few months he seemed happy in his congerial BRIGADIER-GENERAL JOSIIUA WOODROW SILL. 245 occupation and duties ; but, as the time drew near when his re- signation must be either perfected or withdrawn, the threatening aspect of affairs greatly disturbed and engrossed him. Many of our ablest statesmen believed the peril of civil war would be averted. Sill sought, and finally accepted, the advice of reliable military friends, and perfected his resignation. Still he was not content : a presentiment that the time would soon (5ome when he must part from all the enjoyments of his new profession caused him anxious thought. The news of the bombardment of Sumter, flashing through the laud, startling and. firing the indig- nation of every patriot, found him calmly, quietly prepared. He resigned his professorship, and offered his services to the Governor of Ohio. In May, 1861, he was summoned to Colum- bus, and made assistant adjutant-general of the State, in which department he aided in the organization of the Ohio forces. In August, 1861, he was commissioned colonel of the 33d Ohio Volunteers. He accompanied Genei'al Nelson in his Eastern Kentucky expedition. After his return, his regiment being assigned to General Mitchel's division. Sill was placed in com- mand of a brigade. He was pi-omoted to the rank of brigadier- general, and confirmed by the United States Senate, July 29, 1862. After the promotion of General Alexander McD. McCook to the rank of major-general and to the command of an army corps, Sill was assigned to the command of a division. This division he led with consummate skill and energy; and, although engaged in constant skirmishing with the enemy, such was his vigilance and dexterity that he sustained but trifling losses. Upon the reorganization of the army under Major-General Eose- crans, he was assigned to the command of a brigade in General Sheridan's division. He fell at the head of this brigade, with which he had three times checked the furious onset of the rebels upon our right wing on the disastrous Wednesday of the battle of Stone Eiver. Gifted with more than ordinary abilities, he had by unwearied and successful cxtlture trained them to a high degree of perfec- tion. The unsullied purity of his life was rare and admirable. 246 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. He was geutle and sensitive to excess : yet in unswerving in- tegrity, cool practical sagacity, chivalrous courage, and unyield ing resolution, he vei-ified his title to the noblest attributes of manhood. It is an eloquent tribute that, when their brave leader fell, his men gave way to no shallow ebullition of sorrow. As the word passed down- the line, there ensued no disorder, no confusion. Moved as one man by one fierce impulse of vengeance, they pressed forward and crushed the enemy who had slain him. His loss, though keenly felt, should not be selfishly mourned. Through duteous self-sacrifice the brave, the gallant Sill has entered " the noble army of martyrs." (Koloncl Julius |. d5ar,t?srh£ Colonel Julius P. Garesche (Chief of Major-General Kose- crans's Staff) was born in Cuba, of American parents. He entered West Point at the age of sixteen, and graduated in 1841, at twenty. He was married in 1849 to Miss He Laureal, of St. Louis. He served some years in Texas, and in Mexico during the war. During eight years previous to the rebellion he was on duty in "Washington City as assistant adjutant-general. Upon the commencement of the war he became anxious for active service. He declined, however, a commission as brigadier- general, — not wishing to accept such an appointment until he had won it on the field. He was made chief of staff to General Eosecrans upon the latter's taking command of the Department of the Cumberland, and immediately proceeded to the West and entered upon his duties. His life in the army has been one of work, and the services rendered by him to his fellow-officers and his country have been of the most important character. As chief of staff he was an invaluable aid to his commander, through his long experience and practical knowledge of martial affairs. Eemarkably well COLONEL JULIUS P. GARESCHE. 247 vei;5ed ia military law as regarded matters of rank and customs, precedents of courts-martial, &c., his decisions were universally respected; and his published orders are yet spoken of, among our army officers, as models of correctness, precision, and elegance of diction. As a man, modest, unobtrusive, kindly to all, and easy of access to both high and low, — to the humblest private as well as to the bearer of the sword and epaulette, — he was loved by all, — all mourn his loss. A Washington corresj)ondent of the " National Intelligencer" thus alludes to Colonel Garesche : — *' On one of the days of battle before Murfreesborough, during a critical moment of the conflict, Colonel Julius P. Garesche, chief of General Rose- crans's staff, was killed. There are things connected with the life and cha- racter of this gentleman, and with the years of his residence in this city, which make it fitting to allude to his death more at length than we have heretofore done, and, in a few words of special reverence to his memory, to call the attention of our citizens to the loss they have suffered in his fall. " Of the high esteem in which he was held by the officers of the army nothing need be said. The grief expressed by his companions in the service sufficiently attests their appreciation of his stainless character and important services. His life in this city, to those who knew him best, seemed one continued act of charity. Prior to the war, when the duties of the Adjutant- General's office were not so pressing, his evening hours were almost in- variably devoted to visiting the poor and sick. He sought for them in their homes, learned the history of their lives, consoled them in sorrow, and administered to them when in want. He denied himself many of the sim- plest comforts of life that he might be better enabled to alleviate the suffer- ings of the unfortunate. In the exercise of his charity he was at all times delicate as a true gentleman, generous as a perfect Christian. There are incidents in his life, familiar to a few, of such great heroism of virtue as would win for him, if widely known, the applause of all men. One of these we will relate. He learned of a fttmily destitute of means and smitten with the small-pox. He visited them, finding the father beyond hope of recovery and one of the children dying. They were entirely deserted. Colonel Garesche visited them regularly, obtained for them the consolations of re- ligion, stood by the bedside of the man when death closed his sufferings, and held the dying child in his arms while the priest administered baptism. Nor was this all. He went to three different undertakers, and each one refused to assist him to bury the dead. He applied to the city authorities, and was referred to one who conducts pauper funerals. He obtained this man's services, but defrayed the burial-expenses himself, lest the feelings of the widow should be hurt if her husband was buried as a pauper at the city expense. When one who had a right to remonstrate chided him for this 248 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. exposure of himself and his family, this Avas his simple answer: — 'I felt it to be my duty ; I could not help it.' " It was a splendid thing to die as he died,— suddenly, in the front of battle, in a deadly crisis of the day, fighting for a cause most pure and true : and it was proper that for such a man there should be reserved so grand a death. Yet in this there was nothing half so greatly heroic as the watchirg by the bedside and at the burial of that wretched victim of infeistion and the baptism of that smitten child. " He was one of the founders of the Society of St. Vincent of Paul in this city, and was at the time of his departure the president of one of its con- ferences. He was a man of simple, unaffected piety, and untiring in chari- table works. Those who knew him from youth never knew of him an evil deed or word. His wife and little ones, in their sudden bereavement, have the sincere sympathy of our citizens and of every ofBcer, of whatever rank, in the army, and also the "tears of many who in similar affliction found in him a consoler and a friend." The manner of the deatli of Lieutenant-Colonel Garesche is well known. He was by tlie side of his general during the storm, advising, cheering, and executing, orders. Calm yet courageous of heart, during that day he was observed, at an opportune moment, to retire to a private place, scan a page of his pocket-Bible, and to move his lips in prayer. He seemed, then, fearless of death : may Ave not say he was ready and Avilling to die for his country? Towards the middle of the day, while galloping over an open cotton-field upon a special mission, his head was blown away by a cannon-ball, a fragment of the lower jaw only remaining, his blood and brains being spattered over his attendants. Brigadier-General Hazen, one of the gallant spirits of that hour, and of the truly brave and pure of our arm}', thus writes : — . . "In Camp, Readyville, Tennessee, June 4, 18C3. "Author of ' the Annals.' " Dear Sir : — At your request I pen you a few lines respecting poor Garesche. AVhen killed, as you know, he was left just as he fell, there being no time then to give attention to the dead. About ten minutes after Colonel Gdddard informed me of his death, I chanced to pass the spot where he lay. He was alone, no soldier — dead nor living — near him. I saw but a headlesa trunk: an eddy of crimson foam had issued where his head should be. I at once recognized his figure, it lay so naturally, his right hand across his breast. As I approached, dismounted, and bent over him, the contraction of a muscle extended the hand slowly and slightly towards me. Taking hold of it, I COLONEL JULIUS P. GARESCHE. 249 found it warm and lifelike. Upon one of the fingers was the class-ring, that (to me) beautiful talisman of our common school. This I removed ; and, also taking from his pocket his Bible, I then parted with all that re- mained of one who in life was my dearest friend, and possessed of tlie highest virtues that grace the brave and honest man. There was no time for tears. I soon after sent an aide-de-camp, with men, who carried the body through the shower of iron that ceased not to rain upon that spot during most of that day, to a place where, whatever might be the fate of battle, it would be recovered. Yours, very truly, " W. B. Hazen." The loss of Garesehe was a shock to the army and to the country. Being killed within a few feet of General Eosecrans, the event thereby assumed a peculiar significance, and no battle- field death of this war has occasioned more thought and remark. His remains were buried in a little graveyard which chanced to be near where he fell, and after a few days were raised and taken to Cincinnati. His funeral honors are thus mentioned by the Cincinnati " Commercial" of January 14, 1863 : — "Honors to Colonel Garesche. " The remains of this gallant oflBcer reached our city early yesterday morn- ing. The Young Men's Sodality received and escorted them to St. Xavier's Church, on Sycamore Street, where they were laid in state. " A magnificent requiem mass was chanted over the body, the brother of the deceased, Father Garesche, S.T., being the celebrant. Rev. C. O'Dris- coll, S.T., followed in a short panegyric. " Guards were posted during the day, and a stream of visitors continued until the body was removed. About five p.m. the escort to accompany it to tlie depot was formed, in the following order : — " Advance Guards. Band. Six companies of Infantry, in columns of platoons, with arms reversed. Hearse. Pall-bearers. Band. Young Men's Sodality. Carriages. " The procession was several squares in length, and, after a short detour, it proceeded to the Little Miami depot. The body will be forwarded imme- diately to the family of the departed hero, who reside in Washington City." 250 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. Colonel Egberts, 42d Illinois Volunteers, commanding 3d Brigade, 3d Division, 20tli Army Corps, was born in Westchester county, Pennsylvania, October 2, 1833. After tlie necessary preparation, he entered the sophomore class at Yale College, and graduated in 1857. Adopting the law as his profession, he studied in his native county, where he was admitted to the bar, and continued to practise until the spring of 1859, when he removed to Chicago. There, while in the successful exercise of his profession, he determined to enter the army, and, in company with David Stuart, began recruiting for the 42d Eegiment Illi- nois Yolunteers. On the 22d of July he received his commission as major of the regiment, and on the 17th of September was elected lieutenant-colonel. Upon the death of Colonel Webb, December 24, 1861, he was chosen colonel. With his regiment Colonel Eobcrts took part in the well-known march of General Fremont to Springfield, after which the 42d went into quarters at Smithtown, Missouri. After the fall of Fort Donelson, the colonel proceeded with his regiment to Fort Holt, near Cairo, where he held command of the post, at that time garrisoned by the 42d Illinois, 8th Ohio, and a battery of the 2d Illinois Artillery. Thence he was ordered to Columbus, after its eva- cuation by the enemy, and next proceeded to Island No. 10, where he performed most valuable service during a night-expe- dition, in spiking a number of guns. Here Colonel Eoberts first made his mark, as one of the heroes of the army. Seeing that the boats could not pass the island unless the upper battery was silenced, the muzzles of the guns of which were but a few inches above the water, and which could have sunk any boat which might try to pass, he conceived the idea of spiking the guns. On the dark and stormy night of April 1, 1862, when almost a hui-ricane lashed the waters of the Mississippi, he embarked, with but forty men of his regi- COLONEL GEORGE W. ROBERTS. 251 ment in five small boats, upon that perilous expedition. Its success is history. The regiment was next ordered to Fort Pillow, and from there accompanied General Pope up the Ten nessee and took part in the engagement at Farmington. He distinguished himself in that battle, where he with Company B, 42d Illinois, covered the retreat. At the siege of Corinth he was in the advance, and was one of the first to enter the rebel fortification. In the pursuit of the rebels to Booneville and Baldwin he gained sj)ecial praise from General Posecrans for the rapidity with which he advanced. He then served under Brigadier-General Palmer, and marched fi-om Decatur to Nashville, in command of the 1st Brigade, 1st Division, of the Army of the Mississippi. Colonel Eoberts dis tinguished himself in several skirmishes with the rebels while intrusted with this command, particularly during the siege of Nashville and its bombardment, November 5, 1862, in which he repelled the enemy from every point assigned to him to defend. Wearied with garrison-life, he soon after applied to General Eosecrans for more active duty, and was ordered to report with his brigade to General Sheridan. On the morning of December 30 he had the advance of the 20th Army Corps, and his skir- mishers drove the rebels to their breastworks. On the Slst his brigade fought most bravely, engaging two rebel divisions at once, — one in front and one on the right flank ; and not till a third division of the rebels came on his left flank and rear did his troops fall back.- He then changed front along the Wilkerson pike, and, while gallantly inspiring his men with his words and deeds, a fatal ball struck him, wounding him mortally. One in- cident is worthy of mention. While a rebel division (Cloborne's) wei'e driving some of our regiments before them, he asked per- mission from General Sheridan to charge upon the enemy, — which was granted. Galloping up before the 42d Illinois, he waved his cap and ordered them to fix bayonets. The men, filled with enthusiasm at this exhibition of bravery by their loved commander, rushed upon the rebel ranks with irresistible vehe- 252 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. mence, and the enemy broke and fled in great confusion. The discomfiture of the rebel force at that moment was most oppor- tune. It delayed their renewed attack upon our right w'.ng for a considerable time, thus permitting the reforming of our broken columns, and, unquestionably, greatly contributed to stem tlie adverse tide of fortune, and to the achievement of the final victory. , Colonel Eoberts needs no further eulogy. He yet lives in the memory and affections of our army. (bT a contributor, tiffin, OHIO.) The 101st Eegiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry was organized under the call of the President for three hundred thousand addi- tional volunteers, in July, 1862, rendezvoused at Camp Mon- roeville, and was mustered into the service of the United States on the 30th of August, with Leander Stem, of Tiffin, as colonel. It was ordered to active duty in Kentucky on the 5th of Sep- tember, to assist in the defence of Cincinnati, then threatened by the rebel forces under command of General Kirby Smith. It was subsequently ordered to Louisville, and accompanied the army of General Buell in the pursuit of Bragg through Kentucky. The regiment was present at the battle of Perry- ville, and, in connection with the 31st Brigade, to which it was attached, took part in the splendid action of the division com- manded by General Mitch el. The coolness and courage exhi- bited by Colonel Stem on this occasion elicited high praise from bis superior officers, and gained for him the admiration and con- fidence of the men of his command. This regiment also took a prominent part in the bj-illiant engagement at Knob Gap on the first day of the advance of General Eosecrans from Nashville COLONEL LEANDER STEM. 253 upon Murfreesborough. Here again the perfect self-possession and indomitable courage of Colonel Stem was the subject of general remark among the officers who witnessed his conduct, and of enthusiastic praise among the men of his regiment. The 101st was again hotly engaged at the battle of Stone River, where it suffered severely. Early in the morning of the 31st of Decembei' — that disastrous day of battle — Colonel Stem fell, mortally wounded. His gallantry, conspicuous on all previous occasions, here shone out with uncommon excellence. He fell while cheering on his men, close to the loved colors of his regi- ment, lamented by his superior officers and by the officers and men of his command, who felt for him the most devoted attach- ment and chei'ish his memory with the most affectionate ten- derness. The great epochs of history have always been marked by singular contrasts. While, on the one hand, the heart of the philanthropist has been sickened by the corruption of partisan leaders and the desolation of war, on the other it has been cheered and strengthened by the patriotism and heroic courage of those who have stepped nobly forward between their country and its peril. This truth has been eminently exemplified in the present rebellion. While some have labored energetically to destroy the most beneficent civil Government ever organized, others have displayed the most disinterested patriotism and self- sacrifice in its defence. The subject of this sketch is a signal illustration. Colonel Leander. Stem was born in Carroll county, Maryland, and was the third son of Jacob Stem deceased. When our country and Government were assailed by treason and rebellion, he manifested an intense interest, not as a mere party politician, but as a true friend of humanity. For years his hearty sym- pathy with human rights had led him to fear for free institu- tions while witnessing the plotting of their enemies. He felt it his duty to enlist in the military service of his country, and was appointed colonel of the lOlst Eegiment of Ohio Yolunteer Infantry, and was with his regiment in the army, under the 254 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. command of Major-General Eosecrans, at Nashville, Tennessee. He was wounded and captured at the battle of Stone Eiver, or. the 31st of December, 1862, and died at JMurfreesborough, in a rebel hospital, January 6, 1863. At the time he fell, his regiment was surrounded on three sides by the enemy, and was the last of the brigade to retire from the field. His last words on the field, while endeavoring to rally his men, were, " Stand by your colors, boys, for the honor of old Ohio !" Colonel Stem was a man of most pleasing and urbane deport- ment, and interesting and improving in his social intercourse. As a legal advocate he was successful, and prosecuted his pro- fession with acknowledged untiring industry. He will be missed and lamented the more for the gallant and heroic manner in which he offered himself up on the altar of his country. The following article from the Sandusky (Ohio) " Register," an- nouncing his death, is a truthful tribute to his memory : — " The death of Colonel Stem of the 101st Regiment, in the recent and terrible battle near Murfreesborough, is not one of the least important losses sustained in that bloody conflict. Though not a military man, unlearned in the art of war, he was a true man and a gentleman. " Respected, esteemed, and trusted by all who knew him in all the busi- ness and social relations of private life, he had become alike respected and trusted by the men composing his regiment. The manliness of his nature, the good sense and sound judgment which he displayed in the performance of his military duties, and the interest which he felt in the men under his command, had made him what a colonel should be, — both the commander and the friend. The 101st Regiment, in the death of Colonel Stem has suffered an irreparable loss. Yet doubtless the influence of his example and his life will long be felt by them. But if his loss be irreparable to them, what is it to his family and friends ? The hearts of the many who have suffered like bereavement only can estimate it. " Colonel Stem is another of the victims of the accursed treason and rebellion which so many are now engaged in covering with a cloak of ex- cuses and the drapery of palliation ! How many more victims shall yet fall, God only can tell 1" * THE DEPARTMENTS ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. A DAY AT HEAD-QUARTERS. The Army of the Cumberland we "will estimate, in round numbers, at fifty thousand men, — an extensive family, whose subsistence, discipline, and health are the daily care of its com- mander. We are encamped at Murfreesborough, — have been located' there for five full — but not solitary — months. Why so long a stay there ? involves a combination of answers which the author does not feel called upon to give as " in duty bound." But the reasons ai'e sound, as the result has shown. General Rosecrans moves when he is ready ; and he knows the full meaning of that word. In all his military movements, without a single excep- tion, he has made his " good ready," and by that sign has he conquered. In AVestern Yirginia, at luka and Corinth, Mis- sissippi, at jyiurfreesborough, and now upon his march into the vitals of central rebeldom, he prepared for victory, and so care- fully and practically, that he has not yet failed in his advance, nor has he lost a foot of the ground, thus gained, by a forced retreat. When he moves on, it is to conquer and to possess. Say you, good reader, that here is a digression, and that we are no further on in our chapter than Murfreesborough ? Not so. We do not propose to journey : we have aimed to " spend the day" at General Eosecraus's head-quarters with his bustling family. So sit you down, and, if it be your wont, fill up and light your pipe, ply your crochet, or unroll joxlv knitting, and let us witness a day of in-door army life and appreciate this stated preparation for victory. 17- 25r 258 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. Let US first make ourselves masters of the position. Our army is drawn around Murfreesborough, in an elliptical circle, one and a half miles in diameter. Upon first entering the town, after the battle, this circle was much more extended, — say four miles in diameter, some of the division head-quarters being three miles from the court-house. This was needless; and the general commanding wisely reduced his lines, to avoid un- necessary travel, teaming, and picket-duty. So here we are, our divisions posted at every point of the compass from the court-house; and walk where we may, in any given direction, by day or by night, at the outer line of pickets (for we have town-pickets, street-patrol, &c. in addition) we are sure to bring up against a soldier, gun in hand, pacing his walk of fifty to two hundred feet, with a commanding " Halt !" And thus it is that iif those "boys" on picket but do their duty, nor man, nor dog, nor rabbit, hardly, can steal into or out from this devoted town. We may add that far beyond the general picket-line, on every Toa,d, lane, and field susceptible of approach, we have posted •cavalry pickets, singly, by groups, or in squads, as may be •deemed prudent : so that siirprise is impossible. Thiis surrounded by his great family, General Eosecrans has his head-quarters in the heart of the town. He has taken possession of the Keeble residence (if the author remembers the name correctly). It is a fine, two-story, country-town house, with a large, pretty garden attached. Its owner was a lawyer, ■county clerk, and secessionist, and now holds a position in the rebel army. He fled with Bragg after the Stone Eiver defeat, during the memorable Saturday night, taking his wife and smallest children. The flight we know was sudden ; it could not have been in the least anticipated by him. for on the next Monday, upon our entering, his house was found filled with family goods, as though he and his had simply turned the key and gone upon a stay-over-night visit. Of course this was all •quite convenient, even to the kitchen-quarters, which shone with burnished stove-ware. Also gleamed there the ivories of a igroup of great and small Africans, mainly of the feminine A DAY AT HEAD-QUARTERS. 259 gender. These were not quite so convenient, and were " sent to the rear." General Eosecrans and staff, who had been almost constantly in the rain and mud for ten days, now luxuriated upon white sheets and spring-mattresses, and " Philip," his steward, concocted dinners from army rations which were " fit to set before a king" in war-times. Truly, the "Yankee in- vaders" had arrived, and not only at this house, but at Colonel Rejftly's, — where General John H. Morgan had been married to his daughter, in the presence of Jefferson Davis, Bragg, Bishop Polk, and other rebel potentates, three weeks before, — and at the other best houses in the town. True, these " Yankees" had only come to the possession and enjoyment of their "rights," after all. This house is but a con- catenation of Yankeeism pure and (now) undefiled. Look about with us for a moment. It was planned by a " Yankee," or patterned after some pretty Northeim double-story-porch- and-wing. It was built by educated " Yankee" labor, we are sure. It is painted with Northern oil and lead. Every carpet comes from the land of " white slavery," as also the tasty window- curtains, the bedspreads, and the snowy pillow-cases. See you those genuine "Yankee" mirrors and elegant picture-frames and mantel-ornaments? And, alas! we " see ourselves as others see us," by reflection from those highly polished black marble fire-fronts, wrought by miserable Vermont " mudsills" from quarries away up under the shadows of the old Green Moun- tains. Why, the elegant chair you sit in, friend, and the sofas and tables and stands and what-nots before you, were manu- factured by low plebeians in the greasy town of Cincinnati; the clear white table-ware you notice spread out for dinner was sent here by some firm of sand-treading, clam-baking Jerseymen • while the knife and fork you may soon be invited to ply so industriously " grew," like Topsy, alongside of a counterfeit nutmeg, in some lowly vale of Connecticut. And open the carved doors of those showy library cases. Ah ! what a con- centration and intensity of Yankeeism ! The brain of a Kent and of a Story finely preserved in Massachusetts calf for 260 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. KecblCj the glories of Irving and Bancroft and Wi/lis, gor- geously clothed in " purple and fine linen" and tipped with gold by enterprising Northern publishers. Here, there, upon every shelf, are stored emanations of Northern art and genius, almost heaven-born, so beautiful and rare are they, by which are brought to view the lights and shadows of far-away foreign lands, the images of grand old mountains and the flashings of darksome ocean-caves, the fire-flash and the roaming bufl'alo of the prairie, the thunders of Niagara, Titus breaching the walls of fated Jerusalem, the landing of Christianity and democracy from the Mayflower upon the lonely rock, and Angelo's grand conception of the Hesurrection. The possession of all this the creation of Yankeeism, adorning hundreds of mansions in the "sunny South," and relieving the tedium of many a lazy hour, is the boast, while the creators are the sneer, of a race of uncreative aristocrats. Yes, here, there, everywhere, is the sign of the "Yankee," — in every pane of glass and in every nail of this house " we live in ;" and where, then, the impropriety of the Yankee coming to his own ? Surely here has been another digression. But what then? — we are getting slowly on, and to step aside and pluck a fragrant flower now and then relieves the tedium of a journey. The preliminaries settled, we are ready to spend our " day at head-quarters." We are there at nine o'clock in the morning, — ^no sooner ; for the general arises at eight, and has just break- fasted. Ah ! rather slow, say you ? "Well, no, — considered in the abstract. Great men have great ways, or, at any rate, various ways. Franklin arose at four to make ready to harness the lightning and drive sky-high. Humboldt arrived at four hours of constitutional sleep along about midnight. Fcr contra, the grandest brains of an age have incubated in bed after late breakfast-hours, and the finest poem of a century was written upon a stale pillow at hours as late as eleven o'clock in the fore- noon. And there was Newton, who arrived at immortality just after an afternoon nap under an apple-tree. However, before A DAY AT HEAD-QUARTERS. lit)! "we conclude, we believe the " earliest bird" of a reader will Bot be severe upon our general's breakfast-hour. The day of our devotional genei-al commences, we are sure, with the morning prayer. This we have not seen, but, knowing him, we know it to be true. After breakfast the first business in order is the morning reports of any thing stirring " on the front" during the past dark hours. Then reports fx'om his chiefs of staif of what large matter on hand for to-day. Then comes the supervision and signing of important orders to corps commanders, or to the commanders of posts at Franklin, Nash- ville, and elsewhere. And now begin to flock in the daily round of visitors, — generals, colonels, and captains, upon this or that errand, or for verbal instructions. A heavy army contractor (perhaps heavy in a double sense) must confer with him^ — is |>ot satisfied with the views or decision of an underling. An old, rich planter is in trouble, and obsequiously squirms into the general's presence, unless, more likely, he has sent his wife, a sallow, plain, dejected-appearing woman. She was once, no doubt, a pretty Southern belle; but Southern flowers fade as eai'ly as they bloom. By this time there has assembled a crowd of people, — officers upon errands, sutlers in trouble, and women with children, and the distinct entity yclept "young ladies," all after passes, or the restoration of property or other " rights ;" and all desire a full conference with the general upon their tiny affairs, but are mainly attended to by his polite and excellent aids. Thus the busy work goes on, let us say, until two o'clock P.M., when the general and his staff officers, with perhaps some distinguished visitors from " abroad," will mount and take a view of the camps, inspect the progress of the fortifications, or call at the quarters of one of his sub-commanders. This is the gala-hour at head-quarters. They have excellent horses; and why not ? They are dressed very neatly, as they should be, — for then the general is " to be seen of men;" and we all know the value of good example. As he rides along the lines, where the troops are drilling by regiment or battalion, vociferous 262 ARMY OF THE CUMLERLAND. cheering always greets him; and along the fortifications the same. For stretched all around him is a great army of men who love their commander as but few are loved, and he has shown a full return of affection for them, and that he is ever ready to do battle with them, and, if it is to be, to die by them. The dinner-hour at head-quarters is four o'clock p.m. That might seem rather after the " St. Nicholas" and " Continental" style. But then it is the supper-hour also, — two meals per day ; and thus the style is peculiar to our general. After dinner come a leisure hour and a siesta, a cigar and the daily papers. And as Sol marches flaming down the western slope, with his banner of light softly streaming in golden bars through the cedars and among the rocks of the yet torn and crumpled battle- fieW, and melts away beyond the forests which skirt the lonely river, the lamps are lighted; and now commences the second, and really the most important, half of the day. From this time until long past midnight a continued stream of business pours into head-quarters. A hundred letters and notes are to be dictated, or to be perused, studied, and answered. Reports of many kinds; of courts-martial, as to " family jars;" of provost- marshal's matters of trade, passes, and concerning refugees and deserters; of sub-commanders respecting the enemy's move- ments along their fronts; to hear a written report of some spy just come in, and, if important, to see and question the man ; to read and consider and answer telegrams from Nashville, Louisville, and "Washington, often of vast importance; to confer, privately, with one or a group of his generals, and occasionally to hold a gi-and council of them; to have a kind, fatherly talk in private with some brave but erring officer; to call an old favorite — perhaps General Thomas, the " Nestor" of the camps — into " his corner," wheel around his chair against intrusion, and, in an under-tone, submit some important fact or uncertain point, and ask for an opinion which he knows well how to value, — all this goes on, and much more ! Ah ! here are decisions being made and plans laid affecting the lives of hundreds, and perhaps of thousands, of human beings, — which involve, pos- A DAY AT HEAD-QUARTERS. 263 eiblj, the fortunes of an army, the fate of a government, or even those liberties which are the natural birthright of a great people. While thus spending our day at head-quarters, good reader, you will be pleased to observe, we doubt not, the gentleness, almost quietness, which pervades the premises. The officers of staff, the visiting officers, and the secretaries, clerks, and order- lies in attendance, are neatly dressed, and are gentlemanly in their deportment. No shouting, nor loud talking, nor rude, boisterous laughter. An oath is rarely heard, — a loud one, never. The inordinate use of liquors is rarely noticeable, — is frowned upon. Due respect is paid to the Sabbath-day, the general attending his church-meeting invariably in the forenoon. We have not heard an angry word pass between members of this household during many months. Among the higher officers of our army, respect, confidence, and affection is the very general rule: the exception is rare. Especially has this been the case since the battle of Stone Eiver. That great furnace of affliction seemed to purify and bring together in closer bonds the Army of the Cumberland. Men's hates and ambitions, passions and vices, assumed at least a much milder form, as though all were living in perpetual remembrance of those awful hours and of the dead. And the private soldier was thus equally affected with the officer. Truly, after that trial we had a better army of better men. As with our army, so it will be with the nation : — the gold is purified by the refiner's fire. Meriting this great ti'ial as a people, we are being tried. And if we prove our- selves worthy of preservation, so will we be preserved, and will march on, higher and higher up the scale of national existence. " Like master like man," is the trite saying of olden time; and it holds equally well in the new. The pleasing results just stated are easily traceable to their source. A cursing and carousing commander-in-chief gathers around him kindred spirits. The Christian and the gentleman, when invested with might and power, surrounds himself with the good and the true, " whose 264 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. ways are pleasantness and their paths peace." Such has been our path, you will concede, kind reader, during our day's visit at head-quarters. Let us now retire, presuming it to be three o'clock in the morning, — an average hour of retiring for our general during the past eight months. And, while retiring, will you not join with him in what you may be assured is his earnest prayer to God, that peace and unity may soon be restored to our beloved and distracted country ? §\u (Quartermaster's ie^aittment. The department of widest range in an army is that of the quartermaster. Upon its promptness and efficiency the success of all military operations in a great measure depends. The duties committed to its officers are most important, involving vast pecuniary responsibilities, and requiring for their faithful discharge the utmost energy and ability. The Quartermaster- General, in his late report, graphically and tersely sums up these duties as follows : — " Upon the faithful and able performance of the duties of the quartermaster an army depends for its ability to move. The least neglect or want of capacity on his part may foil the best- concerted measures and make the best-planned campaign im- practicable. The services of those employed in the great depots in which the clothing, transportation, horses, forage, and other supplies are provided, are no less essential to success and in- volve no less labor and responsibility than those of the officers who accompany the troops on their marches and are charged with the care and transportation of all the material essential to their health and efficiency. The quartermaster's department is charged with the duty of providing the means of transporta- tion by land and water for all the troops and all the material of war. It furnishes the horses for artillery and cavalry, and for the trains; supplies tents, camp and garrison equipage, forage, lumber, and all materials for camps; builds barracks, hospitals, wagons, ambulances; provides harness, except for artillery horses; builds or charters ships and steamers, docks and wharves ; constructs or repairs roads, bridges, and railroads; clothes the army; and is charged generally with the payment of all expenses attending military operations which are not ex- 265 266 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. presslj assigned by law or regulation to some other depart- ment." The business of the department naturally divides itself into three sub-departments, as follows : — 1. Clothing, camj) and garrison equipage. 2. Transportation by land and water, with all its means and supplies. 3. Eegular and contingent supplies for the army and the department. The business which falls under the first head is immense; but only general statistics can be given with safety and propriety. Of tents, the regulations allow to each general in the field three ; to each staif oificer above the rank of captain, two ; to each cap-, tain or other staff oflEicer, one ; to every two subalterns of a com- pany, one; and to every fifteen foot or thirteen mounted men, one. The latter number are also entitled to two camp-kettles, five mess-pans, two hatchets, two axes, two pickaxes, and two spades. Each soldier is allowed a uniform amount of clothing as stated in the published table in the regulations, or, in lieu thereof, articles of equal value. One sash is allowed to each company for the first sergeant, and one knapsack, haversack, and can- teen to each enlisted man. Commanders of companies draw the clothing of their men, and the camp and garrison equipage for the officers and men of their company. Other officers draw their camp and garrison equipage upon their own receipts. When clothing is needed for the men, the company commander procures it from the quartermaster upon requisitions approved by the commanding officers. Clothing is usually drawn twice each year, but sometimes, in special cases, when necessary. The price at which each article of clothing is furnished is ascertained annually, and announced in orders from the War Department; and when any soldier has drawn more than the authorized allowance, the excess is charged upon his next muster-roll. Officers furnish their own clothing, but may purchase from the quartermaster, at the regulation prices, such articles as may be quartermaster's department. 267 necessary for their own personal use, upon certifying to such fact. No oflicer's servant, however, unless a soldier, is allowed to draw or wear the uniform clothing issued to the troops, ex- cept under-clothing and shoes, of which, when there is no other means of procuring them, a reasonable supply may be purchased of the quartermaster upon the officer's certificate to that effect. Under the second division are included all the animals, wagons, ambulances, forage, steam and sail vessels, boats, rail- roads, and cars in use in the army. In the Army of the Cum- berland there are about three thousand wagons, most of which are six-mule teams. One wagon is allowed to each regiment, ten to the brigade, and in the batteries one to each gun. In addition to these regular trains, there are also several extras. In the order of mai'ch, one hundred wagons extend over a mile of road; and if all the wagons in this department were formed in one line, they would extend thirty miles. The number of ambu- lances is about six hundred. The horses and mules numbei about fifty thousand head. These are purchased at an average cost of one hundred and ten dollars for horses and one hundred and five dollars for mules, and are also impressed from the surrounding country. Within the last three months a great number have been obtained in this way, many of which have been used in mounting Colonel "Wilder's brigade. Three regi- ments have been furnished thus, and the work is still going on. Only about one-fourth of these are paid for, — disloyal citi- zens not being compensated therefor. Large as is the number taken by our forces, it has been greatly exceeded by the rebels, who from the beginning have supplied their armies by a system of most merciless impressment. The statistics of the losses of animals are not ascertainable. At the battle of Stone River it is estimated that over five hundred artillery horses were killed, and over one thousand belonging to the cavalry and wagon- trains. Twelve pounds of hay and ten pounds of grain constitute the daily ration of each horse or mule. The amount necessary to supply such an army as that of the Cumberland is almost / 268 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. beyond belief, and must be seen to be realized. At present (April 20, 18G3) the quartermaster has on hand some twenty- four thousand bales of hay and some two hundred thousand sacks of grain, stored away in houses and piled up out-of-doors. The hay costs at base of supplies about twenty-five dollars per ton, and corn one dollar and twenty-five cents per bushel. For three months the army was entirely supplied with forage from the country in which it was quartered. For every thing thus taken receipts are to be given, and upon proof of loyalty the party holding a receipt is entitled to a voucher for the amount. In many cases, however, receipts are not given at all, or it is done in an impi'oper manner, or they are lost ; and the proportion really paid for will not exceed one-fourth of the whole. The average cost of the feed for each animal is about thirty cents per day. The railroad from Murfreesborough to Nashville is a military road, and is operated entirely by the Government superintend- ent and the quartermaster. All the freight for the army has been transported over it, and it has more than paid its way. Fifty car-loads — or three hundred tons — are daily brought to Mui'freesborough from Nashville. Over the Louisville & Nash- ville road, which is taxed to its utmost capacity in transjjorting Government freight, the regular rates are paid. The road from Murfreesborough to Nashville has been in constant operation since the 1st of March ; has been interrupted only once, when a train was captured and burned by the rebels. For passage and freight private persons pay regular rates. All steamboats are bought or chartered by the quartermaster. This branch of the business is mostlj' transacted at Louisville; but a number were purchased at Nashville, by the chief quarter- master, to be transformed into gunboats for the Cumberland River service. For this item alone an immense amount of money is expended, a large part of the supplies for the army having been brought to Nashville by river. The third division includes the regular and contingent sup- plies of the department,— hospitals, barracks, and quarters, iuel, quartermaster's department. 269 stationery, secret service, and the numberless incidental ex- penses of the army. Of fuel the consumption is enormous. Since the 1st of January one hundred and fifty thousand bushels of coal have been received at Nashville. It is estimated that six hundred thousand bushels will be used there before the river rises, next winter; and this amount was contracted for, to be delivered before the water becomes too low for transportation. In this estimate the quantity needed to supply the two hundred and fifty forges in the field is not included. Since the army arrived at Nashville — November 1, 1862 — eighteen thousand cords of wood have also been consumed, and to this must be added the large forests that have been cut down and burned, of which no account is kept and for which no payment is made, and at least two hundred miles of fencing, mostly cedar rails. Board fences, and all lumber found in the country, are taken to make bunks, cots, and coffins. The coal costs at Nashville about fifteen cents per bushel, and the wood four dollars per cord. The quartermaster also furnishes the stationery used in every department of the ai"my, builds the warehouses at every post, repairs, refits, and furnishes all houses and offices for army use, provides all hardware and such building material as nails, glass, rope, &c., with all the machinery used, fits up hospitals for the sick, and furnishes coffins for the dead. He pays the mileage of officers, the expenses of courts-martial, the per diem of extra- duty men, postage on public service, the expenses incurred in pursuing and apprehending deserters, of the burials of officers and soldiers, of expresses, interpreters, veterinary surgeons, clerks, mechanics, laborers, and cooks. The secret service alone requires about ten thousand dollars per month. The Quartermaster's Department at Nashville em- ploys in the neighborhood of three thousand men as mechanics and laborers. These are engaged in shoeing horses, repairing wagons, making and repairing harness, and in divers other ways. Probably an equal number are similarly employed at Murfrees- borough. The wages of white teamsters are from twenty-five 270 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. to thirty dollars per month. Negroes, or " coBtrabands," are paid ten dollars per month. The latter are generally familiar with the management of mules, and are preferred by wagon- masters to careless white drivers. By their use in this service alone, nearly four thousand effective men have been added to the ranks of this army, and forty thousand dollars per month saved on their wages. The policy in i-egard to the employment of negroes has been entirely changed. The principle now is, " keep all we get, and get all we can." Many of them are good mechanics and very shrewd. Negro women are worth five dollars per month to wash and work for the hospitals. In the performance of this labor their services are invaluable, and the Government can well afford to board and clothe them and their children. Cooks are allowed to each company ; and for this purpose negroes are also employed as fast as competent ones can be found. Still, the number of citizens necessarily employed in the differ- ent departments of an army is immense. Quartermasters, com- missaries, provost-marshals, provost-judges, and chiefs of police, if not themselves civilians, must have capable clerks who are, at wages varying from seventy-five to one hundred dollars per month. Then there are wagon-masters, agents, teamsters, scouts, and spies, all of whom come under the supervision and pay of the quartei*master. The money with which these pay- ments are made is sent to the chief quartermaster from the Treasury Department, in answer to his requisitions, which are sufficient in amount to meet the anticipated monthly expenses. Full monthly reports are made to the chief quartermaster, by the corps quartermasters and each quartermaster in the service, of the expenditures of that month and the requirements for the next. The system is an admirable one, enabling the head of the department to know at a glance the amount of expenditures, the amount of stores on hand, and the amount, both of money and stores, necessary to be supplied. Still, with all the care and system possible, the labors of the chief quartermaster are in- cessant. He must maintain a constant watch over the river and THE CHIEF QUARTERMASTER. 271 railroad transportation, and anticipate every want of the army. With the commissary and the ordnance officers, he has to admi- nister the affairs of, and provide for, a city, as it were ; but upon him alone falls the duty of transporting the supplies and stores of the other two. When General Eosecrans assumed command of the Army of the Cumberland, it was destitute of nearly every thing. Now it is abundantly supplied, — better, pei'haps, than any other in the field. Nothing that could add to its health, comfort, or efficiency is wanting. Well clothed, fed, and paid, and well provided with camp equipage, it is in the best possible condition for effective service. This change, as gratifying as it is beneficial, is due mainly to the energy and perseverance of its chief quartermas- ter, seconded in all his efforts by the general commanding — by each of whom its value and importance are fully recognized. THE CHIEF QUARTEEMASTER. Lieutenant-Colonel John W. Taylor, Chief Quartermaster of the Army of the Cumberland, was born in Saratoga county. New York, February 22, 1817. His father— John W. Taylor- was for twenty years a member of Congress from the Saratoga district, and was twice Speaker of the House. He is well known in the history of the coliutry as one of the few who foresaw to what the country was tending through the continued agitation of the slavery question, and the disposition on the part of the South to make " the peculiar institution" supreme, and made the first speech in the House against the admission of Missouri as a State unless the question of slavery extension over free territory could thereby be permanently settled. Colonel Taylor removed to Hlinois in 1838, and has been a resident of the West since that time. At the time of enterincr the service, he resided in Dubuque, Iowa, where for several years 272 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. he had been extensively engaged in business. In Northern Illinois and Iowa he is well and favorably known as an energetic, honorable business-man, and a gentleman of tasta and refinement. June 22, 1861, he was appointed assistant quartermaster, with the rank of captain, being the second appointment to the quartermaster's department of the volun- teer service. He was assigned to duty in the Western Depart- ment at Tipton, Missouri, then the principal interior depot of supplies for General Fremont's army. Thus Captain Taylor's first experience in the quartermaster's department was at this important post ; and the business was so well conducted as to call forth the commendation of 'Major Allen, the chief quarter- master of the department, and to induce General Pope, then in command of the District of Central Missoiiri, to relieve him from that duty and order him to report to him as his chief quartermaster, in which capacity he remained with him during the whole of that general's Western campaign. The efllciency of the Army of the Mississippi bears testimony to his energy, prudence, and foresight. When General Pope was ordered to Virginia and General Rosecrans was assigned to the command thus vacated. Captain Taylor was retained in his position. Upon General Eosecrans assuming command of the Army of the Cumberland, Captain Taylor, having gained the highest reputation for energy and efficiency in his department, was not permitted to leave Corinth until a peremptory order was issued from the War Department at Washington that he should be relieved and report to General Eosecrans. On the 13th of November, 1862, he was announced as Chief Quartermaster of the Department of the Cumberland, and on the next day promoted to a lieutenant- colonelcy. Since his entry into the service he has, without the loss of a day, been on constant and laborious duty at his post. In the battles of Corinth and Stone Eiver he was constantly at the side of General Eosecrans, and the highest commendation of his coolness and bravery during the latter engagement is found in the fact that the commanding general, in his official ASSISTANT quartermaster's CLERK. 273 report, gives him the place of honorable mention next to the lamented Colonel Garesche. The fact that, notwithstanding its great distance from the base of supplies, the frequent inter- ruption of railroad transportation, and the long period during which the Cumberland Eiver was unnavigable, the army has been so well supplied, reflects credit upon Colonel Taylor, ita chief quartermaster. THE ASSISTANT QUAETEEMASTER'S CLEEK. H. A. Hanson, Esq., has been the chief clerk and cashier o£" this department during the entire administration of Colojsiel Taylor, and, as a faithful, energetic, and most accommoda,ting official, merits brief mention in this connection. A native of Massachusetts, reared in the "Western States, and now residing at Dubuque, Iowa, he has mingled amidst the scenes of camps and shared their ills, excitements, and alarms, and has faithfully played his part in the drama of civil war, — keeping his accounts and disbursing vast amounts of money, monthly, to the general satisfaction of the army and the people. 13 N The Commissary Department is the great heart that sends the life-blood bounding through the veins of an array. Other departments are useful and necessary, but this is absolutely in- dispensable. To it the soldier looks for his daily food j without it no army could exist, no victories would be won. The wise commander will see that the haversack, not less than the car tridge-box, is well filled ; for the hungry soldier, however abun- dantly supplied with powder and ball, is lacking in the one great essential to success,— physical strength and endurance. The immense importance of such a bureau, sujiplj'ing the nerve and sinew of an army, caring fur the lives and health of thousands of men, and involving such vast consequences as the fate of a teattle or the result of a campaign, will be seen at a glance. Few of those inexperienced in military life, however, have any de- £nite conception of its practical workings; and it is with the •design of giving to the public an inside view of this department, :a8 it exists in the Army of the Cumberland, that it is made the epeciai subject of this chaj^ter. As remarked, the business of the Commissary Department is to supply the army with subsistence, or food. Of this subsistence the regulations pi-ovide that each man shall be entitled to a certain fixed amount daily, which amount is designated " a ration." Eations oonsist of beef, — salt and fresh, — pork, bacon, flour, pil-ot or hard bread, corn-meal, coffee, sugar, beans, peas, rice, hominy, molasses,, vinegar, soap, candles, and desiccated ^vege tables- The latter are usually potatoes, cut, scalded, dried, and put up in barrels. When thus prepared they have very imuch the appearance of coarse corn-meal, and are used as a ;preventive of ecurvy. Each day's ration — subsitstence for one 274 THE COMMISSARY DEPARTMENT. 275 man — in bulk averages three pounds in weight. A ration of whiskey — one gill daily — is allowed in cases of excessive fatigue and exposure, but is issued only on special order. The negroes in camp also draAV rations, principally made up of bacon, corn- meal, and molasses. All of these rations, forming the entire subsistence of the army, are under the charge of the Chief Commissary, by whom the corps commissaries are supplied; and these in turn supply the division commissaries. Brigade officers draw from the division commissaries, and regimental from bri- gade officers. The men draw their rations by companies; and they are then divided among the messes. The cost of each ration at Murfreesborough, including transportation, is about twenty cents. All provisions are purchased by contract, proposals to furnish them having been invited by public advertisement. The salt meats and fresh beef for the Army of the Cumberland are brought from the north side of the Ohio River. About one hundred head of cattle are used per day; and they arrive in lots of some five hundred at a time. Those now at Murfrees- borough came from Chicago, and nearlj^ all that are used are from Illinois. The pilot-bread is chiefly made in Cincinnati, New Albany, St. Louis, and Chicago, and its average cost is about five cents per pound. The quartermaster provides transporta- tion for all subsistence from the place of delivery by the con- tractors, to the army, and the buildings in which to store it. The special duty of the commissary is to keep watch of the amounts on hand, maintain a full supply, and notify the quarter- master to furnish transportation and storehouses when needed. The supply of corn-meal is constantly kept up. Large quantities of the kiln-dried article are brought from the North, and a mill is constantly in operation at Murfreesborough manufacturing it. When in camp, the entire army is supplied with fresh bread three days out of five. On the march the hard bread is used exclusively. Each brigade is, as a general thing, supplied with portable bake-ovens, with all the necessary appliances, such as kneading-troughs, baking-pans, &c. The yeast used is made of 27(3 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. hops an J. when they can be obtained, potatoes. Trpops who have been some time in the service make mud ovens, wherever they are camped, similar to those found in primitive settlements. Their construction is easy and simple, and when completed they answer every purpose of a larger and more pretentious structure. A pile of wood is built up to fix the size and shape of the oven, and braces are jDut across the top to prevent the roof from falling in. The whole is then plastered over and covered thickly with mud, the wood burned out, and the result is a good oven, which lasts much longer than one would suppose. The heat cracks it sometimes, it is true, but the cracks are speedily stopped with mud, and the whole is as good as new again. The advantages of these ovens can hardly be estimated; for nothing contributes more to the health and strength of an army than good bread. In an emergency, troops can subsist upon it alone. In camp each man consumes very nearly the whole of his rations. Whatever is saved by not drawing full rations is called the company savings, for which they are allowed a commutation in money. Each full company can save about fifteen dollars per month while in camp, and more when on the march, as but little over half the army ration is then consumed. The more active an army, the less the expense of transportation and subsistence; for the reason that men at leisure think more of their wants than they Avould if busily engaged. This is a matter of every- day experience with all classes of men. Any one who has ever travelled on a steamboat will acknowledge its truth at once. It is astonishing how little troops will sometimes subsist on when in active service. One of our generals recently re- iparked, in speaking of the retreat from Huntsville last year, that he did not see how his men lived. They had scarcely any rations at all,— just enough to call them such, — and yet were in fine health and spirits. This explains why armies that march Xh.^. SfiOBt have the least sickness. They eat less and exercise more. The food of a soldier is strong and hearty, and is in- THE COMMISSARY DEPARTMENT. 277 tended to produce stout and healthy men ; hut in camp too much is eaten and too little done to insure good health. Of late, onions have been largely introduced as an article of food. These and potatoes are eagerly desired by the men, — so much so that if they could be constantly supplied with them they would be willing to forego one-fourth of their rations. Twenty thousand bushels of potatoes and ten thousand bushels of onions could be consumed in the Army of the Cumberland every month, with incalculable advantage to the men composing it. And yet, strange to say, they are so scarce that it is difficult, and at times impossible, to procure them in any thing like suffi- cient quantities. This, too, when the quarter of any county in the Ohio Yalley — say, five thousand acres — will grow enough to feed the entire army for a whole year. Potatoes cost now (in the latter part of April, 1863) one dollar a bushel, — the con- tract price at the Ohio River, — and onions two dollars a bushel. At these prices the farmer can produce no more profitable crop. It is estimated that from eight hundred to one thousand bushels of onions can be grown on a single acre, — which, even at one-half the present prices, would prove most remunerative to the pro- ducer. Forty acres, thus planted, could be easily cultivated by a few contrabands, and, with half the labor expended on the more usual crops, be made doubly and trebly more profitable. These suggestions are thrown out in the hope that they may meet the eye of some one who will appreciate their importance, and induce him to take some steps towards remedying the scarcity which has called them forth. These vegetables are necessary to the health of the soldier. Without them and others, scurvy will inevitably make its appearance and the effi- ciency of the army be totally destroyed. But, if the war con- tinues, the supply must be largely increased, or it will be abso- lutely impossible to furnish them, except in quantities too limited to be useful. Already prices have more than doubled, and are steadily increasing. The subject is worthy the attention of Northern farmers. The country is at war; and while the war continues, all the energies of the people should be directed to its 278 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. prosecution. Such articles as are needed in the army should be produced to the exclusion of others, — especially when profit as well as patriotism prompts to such a course. But potatoes and onions are not the only vegetables that are, or can be, used with similar beneficial results. Beans have become a staple article of food. Some two hundred and fifty bushels are used daily in this army; and so great is the de- mand that the price has risen from seventy and eighty cents to two dollars and eighty-eight cents a bushel. Sourkrout and pickles are also excellent anti-scorbutics, and are issued pro rata in lieu of other things, when procurable. But there is always a deficiency of these articles. The people should see that more of them are put up, and that less is allowed to waste and rot. They, too, command a good price, and with a little care an abundant supply for the whole army could be furnished. An- other very excellent article, both common and cheap, is canned tomatoes. These can be used with great advantage at all times, and are especially desirable in hospitals. The necessarily coarse and substantial army fare, when long used and unvaried, wears upon the constitution and eventually breaks it down. These vegetables afford a variety, and prevent all injurious results, and thus save the lives of thousands of soldiers. The Government does every thing in its power to furnish a sufficient quantity; but upon the people at home the soldiers must mainl}^ depend for them. The demand will always exceed the supply, and, unless more of them are grown, prices will necessarily rule too high to make them as abundant in the army as could be wished. Other things being equal, the regiment that has the best cooks Avill be the healthiest and most effective. One o-ood cook is worth ten doctors; as may easily be seen by an examination and comparison of the diflPerent messes in camp. One of our Penn- sylvania regiments was especially noticed for the unusually healthy and contented appearance of the men. Inquiries re- vealed the fact that it w-as supplied with an excellent cook, whom the officers declared they would rather have than all the doctors in the army. This is a point which has been too much THE COMMISSARY BEPARTMENT. 279 neglected, but is now coming to be better understood and appre- ciated. Many of the negroes who flock to the canips are fine cooks, and as such are very generally emj)loyed, to the manifest benefit of the men and an equal advantage to the service. The Commissary Department of the Army of the Cumber- land has been managed with signal ability. When General Eosecrans assumed command at Bowling Green, depots were at once established at that place. As it advanced towards Nashville, a depot was established at Mitchellstille, the then terminus of the railroad-route. When Nashville was reached, the supply of provisions was found to be scant, and immense quantities had to be transported by wagon-trains a distance of thirty-five miles. Even after the railroad was completed, this wagon-transportation was continued, and brought to the city large amounts of subsistence in addition to the many car- loads that came daily by rail. By earnest and unremitting efforts during the delay at Nashville, thirty days' provisions were accumulated, and the army began its advance towards Murfreesborough, which it could not have done without this supply. The battle of Stone Eiver and the period of rest necessarily following consumed nearly all of this stock, and new stores were gathered at Murfreesborough and Nashville. Taking advantage of the high water in the Cumberland, immense car- goes of every thing eatable were brought to Nashville and thence forwarded by rail to Murfreesborough. Many otherwise unoccupied houses in either city are filled from cellar to roof with commissary stores; and even then much of it is unhoused. The visitor at Murfreesborough is struck upon his arrival with the enormous piles of hard bread he sees near the depot. He has heard of a mountain of stuff, but never before so fully realized it. One mass is larger than a common two-story house, and around it are clustered other and smaller heaps, reminding him of the out-houses surrounding some stately mansion. Were all communication cut off with the North, the Army of the Cumberland, with the supply now on hand, together with what can be gathered from the surrownding country, could easily 280 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. subsist itself for six months, and on short rations for a longer time. Such an accumulation inspires confidence in the masses of the soldiery. It tells of a foresight promising well for the future, and leaves no room for the disheartening influences ■which invariably attend an uncertain and irregularly-supplied commissary. They know that all which can be done for them will be done; and, with such assurance, they will put their hands boldly to the musket and look not backward until the end of their march slfall have been reached. THE CHIEF OOMMISSAEY. Lieutenant-Colonel Samuel Simmons, Chief Commissary of the Army of the Cumberland, is a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1826. His residence is St. Louis, Missouri, and he is by profession a lawyer. He entered the service May 1, 1861. Ho was appointed by General Nathaniel Lyon chief commissary on his staff, with the rank of captain. For several months, however, Claiborne F. Jackson, the Governor of the State, re- fused to issue any commission to him, the raising of the Missouri volunteers being in opposition to the Governor's wishes. During the organization of these troops he was stationed at the St. Louis Arsenal, and remained there until January, 1862. He was then ordered to St. Charles, where he acted as quartermaster and commissary for the post and the district of Northern Missouri, supplying the troops along the railroads with subsistence. Here he remained until after the fall of Fort Donelson' when he was ordered to the latter place, and became connected with the army of Tennessee under General Grant. Accompanying it to Pitts- burg Landing, he was present at the battle of Shiloh, and until the evacuation of Corinth issued rations to three divisions of the army. Upon the assignment of General Eosecrans to the command vacated by General Pope, Captain Simmons was THE CHIEF COMMISSARY. 281 ordered to report to the former, and by him was assigned to duty as chief commissary of the Army of the Mississippi. In this position he remained through the campaign in Northern Mississippi, and was present at the battles of luka and Corinth and in the pursuit to Eipley. "When General Eosecrans was ordered to the command of the Department of the Cumberland, Captain Simmons was retained on his staff as chief commissary, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. In his new department the duties devolving upon him were peculiarly onerous, owing to the disordered condition in which matters were found. The preceding account of the commissary department will show that its head sustains a responsibility hardly second to any in the army. At all times his services are very important, but in time of battle even more so, — if such a thing be possible. He must always be ready to issue when called upon, whether it be by day or nigj^t. He must also exercise a careful foresight with a view to meet contingen- cies of every kind. In short, it requires a peculiar talent, which every man does not possess, to become a practical, suc- cessful commissary. It is no small matter to cater for fifty thousand men and to so arrange that a full supply shall always be on hand. The efficiency and capability of the chief commis- sary of this army may well be inferred from the length of time he has held the position, and the universal satisfaction given by him, to which no word of comment need be added. This dej)artment of the Army of the Cumberland savois less of " villanous saltpetre" and the sword than others: yet without it an army would be grossly incomplete, and, but for the varied scenes of interest, of mirthfulness, and of sorrow there Avitnessed, camp-life would lose many of its rare concomitants, and the lesson of civil war would not be wholly learned. The provost- marshal is the social, internal regulator of the army. To him fifty thousand soldiers and the constantly changing crowd of citizens, strangers, and refugees throng for " passes" to go here and to go there. The entire trade of sutlers, merchants, cotton-dealers, and speculators of every name and kind comes beneath his notice and is subject to his " permit." Does a soldier commit an offence, or a trader sell liquor and other contraband goods ? his case is also submitted to this official. Drunkenness upon the streets and highways is rolled into his presence, and thence is sent to be duly reduced and sobered off within the purlieus of the guard-house. Horse-thieves and house-breakers, swindlers and tricksters, street-loafers and the entire genus of camp-fol- lowers are brought to him for justice; and usually it is meted out to them to the full measure of their deserts. And there, too, other and sadder scenes are of daily occur- rence. A fond father or doting mother has come from the far West to find some trace of a loved and lost one who has fallen beneath the weight of wounds or disease, and whose body is resting somewhere in the red soil of Tennessee, and now they ask permission to undertake the sorrowful search, and crave assistance therein. A refugee family, a destitute wife and half- clad little ones, have just come in from rebel-cursed regions; and they are cared for, and the husband and father, who is probably 282 THE PROVOST-MARSHAL GENERAL 6 DEPARTMENT. 283 a soldier or laborer in the Union army, is to be found. A motley throng of men and women crowd his office-door, each awaiting an audience to tell the tale so common, — that a soldier has taktn the last horse or cow or pig, or has invaded the peaceful sanc- tity of the chicken-roost. And here comes a procession of Union refugees, men and boys, who have fled for their lives; have lain hidden among the hills, rocks, and cedars of Eastern and Middle Tennessee to avoid the merciless conscription of the Southern leaders. They have reached our outer picket-posts in the dark- ness of night, and have been forwarded to the provost-marshal, by whom their names and statements are taken and themselves sent to the refugee-barracks to find food, shelter, and employ- ment within our lines. But all is not sadness. The ludicrous treads closely after the scenes of sorrow ; and here we see still another procession enter- ing the streets of Murfreesborough. These are contrabands, and truly a motley group ; and they, too, are wending their way to the central dispensatory of army law and order. Negroes there are, big and little, old and young, in color black, blue- black, and yellowish tawny, or a mixture of all combined. They are on foot, and early travellers; for the dew has dampened the single coarse skirt of the negresses and their children, but not their ardor, and the dust of the road has adhered to the wet garment knee-high, giving a peculiarly expressive color to the fabric. The women invariably toil along with babies in their arms; the men and the larger boys and girls trudge past, laden with bundles of grotesque form and appearance ; Avhile the little picanninies mix in and patter on as would a flock of young quails in a wheat-field. Perhaps this scene is varied, the intel- ligent fugitives having borroioed " ole massa's" best horse, or mule, or yoke of cattle, and the large farm-wagon, in the night-time, and are coming in, bag and budget in hand, eyes shining and mouth agrin, and tattered duds flaunting in the breeze like banners on outer walls. These, likewise, are conducted by the guard in charge to that sanctuary of rest and fount of know- ledge, the office of the provost-marshal. 284 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. Let us etlge our way in at the door, and see what is to be seen within. Here is a special room, with clerks, and chairs, and desks, at one of which is seated the provost-marshal general, in the person of Major William M. Wiles. Perhaps — in fact, very probabl}^ — he is confronted by a number of elderly ladies and gentlemen who are so desirous of going beyond the lines to visit, to transact business, or to see sick children. They are peace- able, quiet folks, and have had nothing to do with this war. True, the ladies' husbands or sons are off in the rebel' army; but how arc they to blame for that ? they query. Or may-be a bevy of prettyish young ladies, fair Eves of the South, are awaiting his answer to their application for a pass to lovers in Dixie or to dry-goods stores in Nashville or Louisville, and upon his refusal, most courteous and proj^er, a thousand daggers flash from beneath indignant eyebrows, and emotional skirts and furbelows grandly sweep from the hateful Yankee presence! Or perhaps — oh, rare chance, indeed ! — the room may be empty of visitors; and then we will see the head of the department busily engaged in poinng over the voluminous papers of some intricate case that has been referred to him for examination and report. Passing into the next room, w^e see the rougher croAvd of speculators, sutlers, visitors, and soldiers, each one elbowing his way to the first assistant provost-marshal general, Captain Gosper, for a pass or a permit, or for authority to do something, to get something, or to see about something. A sutler wishes per- mission to replenish his stock with a hundred boxes of wine, of Avhich half will very probably be whiskey labelled " Heidseck" or " Sparkling Catawba." The captain glances up, character- istically strokes his beard, and intimates that a hundred boxes is rather a large supply, — enough to make a whole division drunk, much less a single regiment. " Oh, no ! It's a very harmless article, and very necessary. The oflScers must have it, they say. They are bilious, have fever and ague, are always dry, and want something for a *onic. THE PROVOST-MARSHAL GENERAL's DEPARTMENT. 2S5 Here's their permit to sell it, and a recommendation for the shipment." The captain meditates, and perhaps the sutler gets his per- mit, and perhaps he does not : more probably the bill is cut down a half or a quarter, and the limited quantity is allowed to come, to the delight of his customers and to his own profit. A seedy-looking individual of the butternut species prays for a pass, says he is a non-combatant, " don't take neither side, — this a' n't his war, — was agin it at the start, but when he found the Union was destroyed was bound to jine the South, as he lived thar, — would have no objection to the old Union as 'it was,' " and so on, ad nauseam. He is summarily passed out-of-doors with the complimentary ejaculation, " He's a fraud." Some better-dressed representative of a former uppertendom seeks a similar favor, and presents a letter in which he is described as the soul of honor and integrity, but never a word said of his loyalty, — of which he very probably has not a spark in his composition; and ten chances to one he follows in the footsteps of his more illiterate predecessor. A soldier wishes to visit a neighboring camp, an officer is going to Nashville or Louisville, a citizen would like to visit the hospital; and so, with one and another, the captain and his clerks are busy the livelong day, listening, questioning, and writing. In still another apartment are other assistants and clerks, in charge of Second Assistant Provost-Marshal General Captain Goodwin. He is dealing with refugees and taking their names and statements, or questioning some disorderly soldier, or exa- mining the case of some refractory or thieving negro, or wringing unwilling truth from some suspicious native who has drifted or leaked into our lines as a spy. The several clerks are busy copying statements, filing affidavits, examining paj)ers, listening to complaints, or writing orders as dictated by their superiors. Every thing is life and activity, betokening the fact that here is neither time nor place for idle hands or minds. Attached to this department is the office of provost-judge, — a position not recognized by the regulations, but created by Gene- 286 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. ral Rosecrans as a Becessary auxiliary to the provost-marshal. The labors and duties of its incumbent somewhat resemble those of a police justice in our larger cities. "Witnesses are sworn, papers examined and carefully preserved, and a regular docket is kept, in all cases involving the liberty or property of in- dividuals, for future reference and mutual justice and protection. At first a single person was sufficient to dispose of all business brought before this branch of the department; but it steadily and constantly increased from day to day, necessitating the appointment of a number of assistant judges, all of whom now find ample employment. All day long does the motley throng, which must be seen to be fully understood and appreciated, crowd the portals of the jH'Ovost's office ; nor do his labors cease upon the going down of the sun or when the Sabbath-day comes. The imperative calls of necessary business and the claims of suffering humanity alike render the duties of the provost-marshal general of our army, and those of his assistants, most varied, arduous, constant, and perplexing. The author has passed many hours there in Avitnessing scenes which he will ever remember, — scenes of the ludicrous and the saddening, of liveliest joy and deepest sorrow, of hope and of despair, the whole forming a moving mirror of all that attends battle-conflicts, deserted homes, %nd ruined families, and which, combined, present a grand, fearful' pano- rama of that civil war now raging in the midst of and con- suming a rebellious people. William M. Wiles, Major and Provost-Marshal General of the Army of the Cumberland, was born in Columbus, Bar- tholomew county, Indiana, August 29, 1836, and has ever since resided there. In June, 1861, soon after the breaking out of the rebellion, he relinquished a profitable copartnership in the drug- business, and in connection Avith a fellow-townsman, Isham Keith, —a gallant young hero who was killed at the battle of Perry- ville, Kentucky, October 8, 1862, — enlisted a company, of which be was chosen first lieutenant. After serving several months in THE PROVOST-MAESSAL GENERAL'S DEPARTMENT. 287 the campaigns of Missouri and Arkansas, Keith was made major to fill a vacancy, and First Lieutenant Wiles became captain of his compan3^ He was detailed as aide-de-camp and provost- marshal general upon the staff of Major-General Eosecrans at Corinth, Mississij)pi, in May, 1862. In this position his services were so acceptable that he was retained in it upon the assign- ment of his general in-chief to the command of the Department of the Cumberland. He has passed through the heat of three tremendous battles — luka, Corinth, and Stone Elver — unharmed, but with imminent peril and several narrow escapes. His cool- ness and courage have been fully tested, and his ready business tact, coupled with an indomitable energy, admirably fit him for the position he occupies. Added to all is a fund of good humor and genial kindness which never fails him, even when most besieged by sleeve-pulling pertinacity or hai-assed by impor- tunate audacity, which would be remarkable in a philoso- pher of the oldest school, and is much more so in one whose years still verge upon the spring-time rather than the summer of life. Elias Cosper, Captain in the 74th Illinois Volunteers, and First Assistant Provost-Marshal General, is a native of Ohio, but resides in Eockford, Illinois. His age is thirty-nine. His busi- ness was that of a banker, which he surrendered at the call of duty, leaving a profitable position, an interesting family, and a delightful home. Failing health was about to compel him to leave the service, when his many friends induced him to accept his present position, to -which he was detailed November 14, 1862. Egbert M. Goodwin, Captain in the 37th Indiana Volunteers, and Second Assistant Provost-Marshal General, was born in Franklin county, Indiana, in 1836. At the beginning of the war he was engaged in a lucrative law-practice, which he resigned, and enlisted as a private in a company forming in his county. On the organization of the company he was elected first lieu- 288 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. * tenant, and afterwards succeeded to the captaincy. With his regiment he participated in the campaign of Generals Buell and Mitchel in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama, during the spring and summer of 1862. Upon Buell's retreat, his regiment was left at Nashville, and remained there during the investment. In the battle of Stone Eiver he acted a gallant and conspicuous part. He was detailed to his present position February 22, 1863 Wlxt Pdical gfprtmcnt. This chapter is appropriately introduced by the preceding illustration of the field-hospital at Murfreesborough, Tennessee. The cut is a faithful representation of the scene as taken from a distant stand-point : yet it fails to give — as would any single plate of its size and comprehensiveness — that vivid impression imparted to the visitor by a personal inspection, as he walks through the city of tents, with its broad streets, its alleys and walks, the streets neatly worked up and rounded at the centre. with gutters upon each side, and channels being also formed around each tent and house, and leading to main sluice-ways. Sidewalks of plank, cinders, gravel. &c. are laid along each sti-eet. The head-quarters' medical tents, the surgery, the house erected for hospital and sanitary stores, the post-office and news-depot, &e. occupy prominent positions lu the centre ofc^the village, from which the ground slopes away gently in every direction. Adjoining the hospital village on the west — for a village it is — is a garden comprising thirteen acres of rich bottom- land, which lies in a bend of Stone Eiver, in which, as we write, may be seen a vast amount of " garden-truck," half perfected, and most luxuriant in growth. The river sweeps along the front of the village, and its " levee" presents an animated scene, at most hours of the day, of negro servants washing clothing and bed- ding, others "packing" water to the town, droves of horses and mules from distant camps being led to the stream upon the opposite side, to drink, and a multitude of invalid soldiers walk- ing about, lounging upon the banks, angling, &c. During the month of May, 1863, this hospital accommodated an average of eleven hundred patients; and it has proven a great success. As the season advanced, the ill-ventilated store-build- 19 289 290 ARMY OF THE CtJMBEELANB- ings of !Murfreesborough became quite unsuitable for hospital purposes; and the benefit ensuing to the sick and wounded sol- dier from the cool and always fresh air of the clean, new tents was speedily apparent. This hospital was conceived and planned by the Medical Department of our army, and the grounds were thus scientifically laid out by the engineer corps of the Pioneer Brigade, all under the personal care and inspection of our humane and greatly interested commander-in-chief. During the battle-week at Stone Eiver, the Medical Depart- ment nobly sustained itself as an essential— in fact, vital — branch of the army. Eegimental and brigade surgeons invariably fol- lowed their commands on to the sanguinary fields, and many were taken prisoners while operating amid groups of the fallen. The ambulance-trains were notably well handled, being drawn up in lines, and, upon the cessation of hostilities in any given direction, were rushed in, loaded with our wounded, and hurried away to the general hospitals in the rear. As an instance of celerity and eflSciency, we may mention that within two hours after the battle of Friday evening, January 2, when Breckin- ridge's left wing was repulsed, our ambulance-trains had gathered the bounded, several hundred in number, by searching over up- wards of a hundred acres of ground, after dark, and had them in hospital. And we might add, further, that by eleven o'clock of that night our dead were all decently buried. The great American rebellion affords grand as well as ter- rible spectacles. The history of previous wars, of either ancient or modern times, presents no parallel to many features of the one now raging. We can especially instance one feature,— the humanity and tenderness of our nation for its wounded and enfeebled soldiers. Eaising of armies was not an only thought. The surgical case accompanied the sword, and the cartridge was no more plenteous than lint and bandage. Medical men of professional reputation and high social character abandoned home and business, and accompanied the youth of their section to the battle-field; while the noble women of the land labored in their behalf with energy and success commensurate with the THE MEDICAL DEPARTMENT. 291 occasion. We need not dwell upon the fact — whicli has already- become Listoric — that never was there a war in which such magnificent military hospital preparations were made, and so faithfully carried into effect, as the one now upon us. The hall-hospitals at Nashville merit brief mention, as repre- sentative of that class which are located in buildings in cities and towns. The largest and best-ventilated store-buildings in the city were taken: if containing goods, they were at once vacated, and, where they were objectionable, partitions, shelving, &c. were removed. Walls were whitened, floors thoroughly scoured, and neat cot-bedsteads were made of suit- able height and ranged in exact lines through the long rooms. Comfortable beds were prepared, — blankets spread upon ticks filled with fresh straw, — with a soft pillow in a clean white slip. Spittoons, &c. were at each bedside; and the author has heard more than one sharp reprimand fall upon some thoughtless or careless wight who had lodged saliva upon the floors. Several hospitals of this character exist in Nashville at the time of this writing, and, no doubt, in many of our large cities and towns. By such means and efforts hundreds of valuable lives have been saved, — to the praise of the people of this nation, as represented by their various sanitary commissions, volunteer nurses, and the Army Medical Department. The surgeon who performs his duty faithfully and with skill occupies a laborious, difficult, and most responsible position. No less with him than with /the commander upon the battle-field, the lives of the soldiers are intrusted to his care. Hospital scenes, daily to be witnessed within the lines of the Cumber- land District, of faithful surgeons moving about at all hours of the day and night, examining, operating, dressing, prescribing, compounding, supplying delicacies, writing letters, breathing out to the afiiicted spiritual consolation and hope, receiving last messages, and, finally, closing the eyes in death — and, oh ! how many of such have been witnessed ! — have won for the Medical Department of our army the lasting affection and gra- titude of its members. Many names, thus eminent, could be 292 ARMY OP THE CUMBERLAND. cited in this connection ; but to do so, and necessarily of only a i^art, would be invidious, and we forbear. Kor is it incum- bent upon us to notice disreputable instances which may have occurred in this department, where fraud, intemperance, and professional murder can be charged to the wolves of the medi- cal fraternity. They have been but few — very few — in the Army of the Cumberland; and we pass them by. Those who witnessed surgical operations at the noted " Brick- house Hospital" during and after the battles of Stone Eiver will never forget many of those scenes. There were the head- quarters for cases requiring amputation ; and at times three tables were thus in requisition. Human limbs and pieces of flesh were cast outside of the house, through the windows, and, to use the words of a friend, "would fill a cart-load." The floors of the premises "ran rivers of blood," and the surgeons and attendants, in their dress and appearance, resembled butchers at work in the shambles. The long lines of graves, of both Union and rebel soldiers, now coursing down the sloping field in the rear of that " Brick-house Hospital," attest the many sad results of battle, in which these humane and skilful eiforts to save were unavailing. The picture we have drawn is harrowing to the soul ; but it needs be thus brought home that we may realize the deepest and most terrible ordeal of the army surgeon. The Medical Department comprises 159 surgeons, 260 assistant surgeons, 84 contract physicians. There were 2500 attendants, as stewards, clerks, cooks, and nurses, on duty in our 35 general hospitals. The patients usually numbered 13,000, which was augmented to more than 20,000 by the battle of Murfreesborough. Our army has about 500 ambulances. Dr. Eben vSwift, Surgeon U.S.A., until recently chief of the department, entered the army in 1847. He served during the Mexican War under General Scott, as aide to the surgeon-general, and established hospitals at Churubusco, Chapultepec, and at the city of Mexico. Since then he has been constantly on duty, and had charge of the Medical Department at the battle of Stone Eiver. In the history of warfare no changes are more remarkable than those wrought by the improvements in artillery. From the first rude cannon used, to those employed at Stone River, is a long stride; and it would be interesting to trace the grada- tions through which this feature of warfare has passed. But the limits of this chapter forbid; and we can only give a brief description of the various kinds of artillery in use in the Army of the Cumberland, and a sketch of two or three of the more prominent officers connected with that department. The importance of this arm of the service will be readily appreciated. Without it, in modern days, no battle worthy of the name has been or can be fought by an army. Upon its efficient management vast results depend; and yet outside of the army little is known concerning it. If the reader of this sketch shall obtain a clearer idea of the number and character of the guns us^d in one great battle, as well as of the kind, weight, and cost of the powder and projectiles expended, the object of the author will be fully attained. For prudential reasons, no reference will be made to the present condition of this department of the Army of the Cumberland; and the battle of Stone Eiver has been selected as the basis of remarks under this head. The artillery of the Department of the Cumberland, at the opening of the battle of Stone River, consisted of thii*ty-nine batteries, — heavy and field, — of which twenty-seven batteries of field-guns only were in the engagement. It was divided as follows : — 293 394 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. RIGHT WING. Chief of Artillery, Major Charles S. Cotter. \st Division — Chief of Artillery, Captain 0. F. Pinnet. 5th Wisconsin Battery Captain 0. F. Pinney. 2d Minnesota Battery Captain W. A. Hotchkiss. 8th Wisconsin Battery Captain T. J. Carpenter. 2d Division — Chief of Artillery, Captain W. P. Edgarton. E Company, 1st Ohio Artillery Captain W. P. Edgarton. 5th Indiana Battery Captain P. Simonson. A Company, 1st Ohio Artillery 1st Lieutenant E. B. Belding. / Zd Division — Chief of Artillery, Captain A. K. Bush. 6 Company, 1st Missouri Artillery Captain H. Hescock. 4th Indiana Battery. Captain A. K. Bpsh. C Company, 1st Illinois Artillery Captain C. Houghtaling. CENTRE. Chief of Artillery, Captain 0. H. Mack. Is^ Division — Chief of Artillery, Colonel C. 0. Loomis. let Kentucky Battery Captain D. C. Stone. Ist Michigan Battery Lieutenant G. W. Van Pelt. H Company, 5th Artillery, U.S.A 1st Lieutenant F. L. Guenther, 2d Division — Chief of Artillery, Captain F. Schultz. M Company, 1st Ohio Artillery Captain F. Schultz. G Company, 1st Ohio Artillery 1st Lieut. Alexander Marshall. M Company, Ist Kentucky Artillery.. ..1st Lieut. A.A.Ellsworth. LEFT WING. Chief of Artillery, Captain John Mendenhall, U.S.A. 1st Division — Cliief of Artillei-y, Major T. Race. 10th Indiana Battery Captain J. B. Cox. 8th Indiana Battery let. Lieut. George Estep. 6th Ohio Battery Captain C. Bradley. 2d Division — Chief of Artillery, Captain W. E. St and art. B Company, 1st Ohio Artillery Captain W. E. Standart M Company, 4th Artillery, U.S.A Ist Lieut. C. C. Parsons. H Company, 4th Artillery, U.S.A 1st Lieut. C. B. Throckmorton. F Company, 1st Ohio Artillery Captain D. T. Cockerill. M Division — Chief of Artillery, Captain George R. Swallow. 7th Indiana Battery Captain G. R. Swallow. THE ARTILLERY SERVICE. 295 3d Wisconsin Battery 1st Lieut. C. Livingston. 26th Pennsylvania Batter^' 1st Lieut. A. J. Stevens. PIONEER BRIGADE. Chicago Board of Trade Battery Captain J. H. Stokes. CAVALRY DIVISION. D Company, 1st Ohio Artillery 2d Lieut. N. M. Newell. The armament was as follows : — RIGHT WING. Eleven James rifled guns. Seventeen six-pounders, smooth-bore. Ten twelve-pounder howitzers. Eight ten-pounder Parrott guns. Four twelve-pounder light (Napoleon) guns. CENTRE. Four James rifled guns. Three six-pounder smooth-bore guns. Four twelve-pounder howitzers. Twelve ten-pounder Parrott guns. Four twelve-pounder light (Napoleon) guns. Two six-pounder Wiard guns. Two twelve-pounder Wiard guns. LEFT WING. Six James rifled guns. Twelve six-pounder smooth-bore guns. Ten twelve-pounder howitzers. Sixteen ten-pounder Parrott guns. Four three-inch Rodman guns. PIONEER BRIGADE. Two James rifled guns. Four six-pounder smooth-bore guns. CAVALRY. Two three-inch Rodman guns. It will be observed that seven different kinds of cannon were used in this battle, viz. : — The twelve-pounder light gun. 296 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. The eix-poundcr smooth-bore. " six-pounder James rifled gun. " three-inch Eodman rifled gun. " ten-pounder Parrott rifled gun. " Wiard rifled gun. " twelve-pounder field howitzer. The twelve-j)ounder is a smooth-bore gun, made of bronze, called ligld twelve-pounder to distinguish it from the old heavy twelve-pounder, upon which it is an improvement. It was modelled from the French gun, and was introduced into our service in 1857. The improvements were suggested by the present Emperor, and the piece is generally known as the Napoleon gun. Its range is about fifteen hundred yards. The six-pounder smooth-bore gun is the United States model of 1844, made of bronze, and previous to the present war was used in most of our field-batteries. Its range is about twelve hundred yards. The James rifled gun is the United States smooth-bore, rifled by G^eneral James, of Ehode Island. The original name — six- pounder — is still preserved, although the elongated projectile weighs eleven pounds.. James's invention refers more to the projectile than to the gun itself, his method of rifling presenting nothing that is new. The length of the projectile is twice its diameter, the front part conical, the rear portion made something like a loheel-hub, having a cylindrical cavity open towards the rear, and several cavities leading from this to the exterior, like the mortises of a hub which receive the spokes. A collar of lead encircles the exterior, and over this is a broad band of tin. The Avhole is covered by a wrapping of canvas steeped in oil. The projectile is made of such a size as to enter readily the bore of the piece. When the cartridge in the rear is ignited in firing, the expansive gases generated by the combustion of the powder enter the cylindrical cavity and the mortises of the projectile, and create a pressure against the wrapping, which yields, is forced into the grooves, and the projectile in its passage through the bore of the piece assumes the rifled motion. THE ARTILLERY SERVICE. 297 The oiled canvas lubricates the grooves and prevents them from becoming "leaded." Its extreme range is about three thousand yards. The three-inch Eodman rifled gun is made of wrought iron and named after the inventor, Captain T. J. Eodman, United States Ordnance Corps. The projectiles used in it are generally the Hotchkiss and Schenkl. They are both elongated, with conical points. The former has a collar of lead encircling it near the base. The base consists of a cup-shaped piece of metal, which is driven forward by the force of the powder in firing; and the rim, entering between the projectile and the leaden collar, forces the latter into the grooves and secures the rifled motion. The Schenkl projectile is terminated in rear by a conical spindle, around which fits a cylinder of faster mache, which when driven forward by the explosion of the powder is forced into the grooves, and the rifled motion is communicated to the projectile. The extreme range of this gun is about five thousand yards. The ten-pounder Parrott rifled gun — named after the inventor, Captain R. P. Parrott, proprietor of the West Point Foundry, New York, and formerly an ofiicer of the army — is made of cast iron, with a band of wrought iron shrunk on around the rear portion of the gun, to strengthen it. Its projectile — also the invention of Captain Parrott — is made of cast iron, with a cup- shaped piece of wrought iron attached to the base of the cavity towards the rear. This cup is expanded into the groove by the force of the powder, and the rifled motion thus secured. The range is the same as that of the three-inch Eodman gun. The Wiard rifled gun — named also after the inventor — is made of steel. The same kind of projectiles are used as in the Eodman gun. The range of the six-pounder Wiard is very nearly the same as that of the ten-pounder Parrott. The twelve-ponnder howitzer is the United States model of 14^41^ — a short bronze piece for throwing shells, case-shot, and canister. Its range is about one thousand yards. There were in all 20,307 projectiles thrown at the battle o^ 298 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. Stone Eiver. The average weight of metal in a projectile ia ten pounds, and the average charge of powder one and a half pounds. The entire weight of metal thrown was, therefore, 203,070 pounds, and the quantity of powder 30,360^ pounds. Assuming seven cents as the average price per pound for the different projectiles, the cost would be $14,214.90. Twenty cents per pound for the powder would amount to S6,072,10 Total, $20,287.00. This is taking the most economical view of the subject. In the battle of the 31st of December, 1862, the following guns were taken by the enemy : — 8 James rifled. 6 twelve-pounder howitzers. 9 six-pounder smooth-bores. 2 ten-pounder Parrotts. 1 six-pounder Wiard. 2 twelve-pounder Wiard. 1 James rifled (disabled). Total, 29 The following were captured from the enemy : — 1 Napoleon. 2 ten-pounder Parrotts. 2 twelve-pounder howitzers. 1 six-pounder smooth-bore. Total, 6 With the foregoing interesting and instructive statistics, furnished for this work by the Chief of Artillery, we take leave of the subject. / THE OHIEP OP ARTILLEEY. Colonel James Barnett, of the Ist Ohio Artillery, Chief of Artillery of the Department of the Cumberland, is a native of the State of New York, and is forty-two years of age. From THE CHIEF OF ARTILLERY. 29§ boyhood he has resided in the city of Cleveland, Ohio. He was educated to the hardware-trade, and for many years has been a member of the hardware jobbing-house of George Worthington & Co., of that city. At the beginning of the war he was in command of an inde- pendent artillery organization, and tendered its services to the State authorities. After the fall of Fort Sumter they were accepted, and on the 21st of April, 1861, the Governor of Ohio, by telegraph, ordered the command to report at Columbus. In accordance with this order. Captain Barnett, with a full company of men, and six guns, started the next morning, and, arriving at Columbus, proceeded, without halting, to Marietta, Ohio, where the guns were mounted, horses, &c. procured, and all fitted for service. Upon the occupation of Western Yirginia by the Federal troops, one section of this battery moved with Colonel Steadman, of the 14th Ohio, by way of Parkersburg, and two sections by way of Benwood, to Grafton. During the three-months campaign these guns were constantly on duty, at Grafton, Philippi, Laurel Hill, Carrick's Ford, and other points. At the expiration of their term of enlistment the command returned to Columbus, and were honorably mustered out of service in the month of July. In August it was decided to organize the 1st Ecgiment of Ohio Light Artillery, and Captain Barnett was commissioned as its colonel. This organization, consisting of twelve field-batte- ries of six guns and one hundred and fifty men each, was per- fected, and the regiment was fully equipped and put into the field by January 1, 1862. The colonel reported to General Buell at Louisville, and upon the arrival of the army at Nash- ville, in March, he was placed in command of the artillery reserve of the Army of the Ohio, in which capacity he. served until ordered to Ohio in July on recruiting service. Having obtained the requisite number of recruits for his regiment, he was assigned to duty in September upon the staff of General C. C. Gilbert, at that time commanding the centre corps of the Army of the Ohio. After the battle of Perryville the colonel 300 ARMY OP THE CUMBERLAND. was transferred to the staff of Major-General McCook as chief of artillery, which position he filled until November 24, 1862, when he was designated by General Eosecrans as chief of artil- lery for his department. In the battle of Stone Eiver, as well as in many previous ones, Colonel Barnett was constantly and actively engaged, and is mentioned with especial commendation by General Eosecrans in his official report. THE ARTILLERY CHIEF 01 THE 20TH CORPS. Major Charles S. Cotter, Chief of Artillery for the 20th Army Corps, is a native of Ohio, and was born September 20, 1827. Before the war he followed the silver-plating trade, and was doing a prosperous business. He was also captain of an independent artillery company, consisting of one gun and twenty -five men. Hearing of the attack on Fort Sumter on Sunday, he closed his shop on Monday, and called a meeting of his company for the same evening. They voted to offer their services to the Government ; and on Tuesday Captain Cotter reported to Governor Dennison. Prom that day to this he has not entered his place of business. His company was ordered immediately to Virginia, where he participated in the Kanawha Valley cam- paign under Brigadier-General Cox. At Scrag Creek the battery, consisting of two rifled pieces, was engaged, fired seventy-nine rounds, and dismounted three of the enemy's four guns. At Tyler Mountain a skirmish occurred, in which, with his battery, Captain Cotter burned the rebel steamboat Julia Moffatt. In September, 1861, he enlisted a full six-gun battery at Eavenna and Cleveland, which was the first full one to go from Ohio. Passing through Kentucky and Tennessee, it reached Shiloh, but, being in the reserve, was not actively engaged. During the siege of Corinth he took part in a sever© THE CHIEF OF ORDNANCE. 301 fight, in which four of his pieces fired two hundred and seventy nine rounds, repulsing the advance of a brigade of the enemy and killing a number of them, — forty dead bodies having been found on the field. He then marched to Huntsville and Battle Creek. He was promoted major June 9, 1862. About the 1st of October he was assigned to Major-General McCook as chief of artillery. At the battle of Perryville, October 8, he had charge of twenty-six pieces, used them constantly, and lost none of them. Near dusk he rode to the rear for a supply of ammunition; and while he was thus absent from the front our forces fell back a few hundred yards. Not noticing this on his return, — it being too dark to distinguish more than the outline of men and animals, — he rode directly into the Confederate lines — they having advanced — and was taken prisoner by Major- General Polk in person. That night the enemy retreated, and he was carried with them to Harrodsburg, where he was de- tained as a prisoner for three days, and then paroled, when he regained our lines. Eeturning to Ohio, he was ordered to Camp Chase, to take charge of the paroled artillerj^ troops. Here he remained until he was exchanged, reporting to General McCook for duty February 15, 1863. -He was at once appointed chief of artillery of the right wing of the Army of the Cumberland, or 20th Army Corps. THE CHIEF OF ORDNANCE. Captain Horace Porter (Ordnance Corps, U.S.A.), Chief of Ordnance, is a native of Pennsylvania, and was born in 1837. In June, 1855, he entered upon the five-years course at West Point, and in June, 1860, he graduated third in a class of forty- one. He was appointed brevet-lieutenant of ordnance July 1, 1860, second lieutenant Api-il 22, 1861, first lieutenant June 7. 1861, and captain March 3, 1863. At the opening of the war he was a bearer of despatches 302 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. from Kew York to Washington, and was subsequently on deity at Washington and at Watervliet Arsenal, New York. In October, 1861, ho sailed with General T. W. Sherman's expedi- tion to Port Eoyal, South Carolina, and at the bombardment of Port Pulaski was chief of ordnance and artillery. At the attack on Secessionville, James Island, South Carolina, June 16, 1802, he was slightly wounded. In July, 1862, he joined the Army of the Potomac as chief of ordnance to General McClellan. In the following October he was assigned to the staff of General Wright, commanding the Department of the Ohio, as chief of ordnance, and in January, 1863, was appointed to a similar posi- tion on the staff of General Eosecrans, Department of the Cumberland. I gh ginng ^l^m\\ and Mcigraplt ^mkt The Signal Corps of our Army is composed of officers and enlisted men, detailed from different regiments, with special reference to their fitness for the duties required of them. The officers are instructed in the use of the signals used before they go into the field, and are forbidden to carry with them any thing that would give the enemy information leading to the discovery of the system in case of capture. The object of the organiza- tion is to keep up constant communication between the different parts of the army and the different commanding generals, and to closely scan and discover the movements of the enemy. For this reason, the officers are furnished with powerful telescopes and marine glasses, and are usually located on the tops of high elevations, or other commanding positions. When General Eosecrans g,ssumed command of the Army of the Cumberland, he adopted the signal system and reorganized the corps. The officers and men were ordered to report to Captain Jesse Merrill, Chief Signal Officer of the Department, and were divided into parties, put in charge of competent di- rectors, and assigned to the different army corps for duty. On the march from Nashville to Murfreesborough, officers were con stantly on the alert, collecting and communicating intelligence. During the twenty-four hours previous to the battle of Stone Eiver, communication was kept up from front to rear on the Mui-freesborough pike, and on Tuesday, while our army was fighting its way to what was afterwards its line of battle, short lines of communication were maintained. Soon after the occupation of Murfreesborough, two brigades were sent in the direction of McMinnville and Woodbury, — one as far as Readyville, twelve miles, and the other to Cripple 303 304 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. Creek, eight miles, from Murfreesboroiigh. Between these two points, and a little north of the pike, is a high mountain, called Pilot Knob, and on its summit had been established a signal-sta- tion called " Fort Transit." This point commands the surround- ing country in all directions for miles; and many items of inte rest and importance were reported by the officers on that station They communicated with the central station in the cupola of the court-house at Murfreesborough ; and daily and nightly, on these stations, flags and torches could be seen waving information and orders from one point to the other. As the lines of the army were extended, communication in the same way was opened between the different points. The station on the court-house at Murfreesborough communicates with one at Lavergne, fifteen miles distant, and one near Triune, seventeen miles distant From the latter point a line of stations connects it with Franklin, and from the former communication can be had with Nashville whenever desired. Major Albert J. Meyer, Signal Officer of the Army, has re- cently added greatly to the efficiency of his department by sending to Murfreesborough a signal telegraph train. This train consists of six substantially-built wagons, each containing a telegraph instrument, tool-chest, axes, reels, &c. Three of the wagons also contain five miles of wire each; the other three have fifteen empty reels, used in reeling up the wire after being laid out. The telegraph instruments are the most complete for field-purposes ever put in operation, and much superior, both in matter of economy and reliability, to others now in use. The dial-instrument is used and the electricity is generated at the time of operating, and without the use of acid. The instrument is contained in a box which can be carried by one man, and its mechanism is so simple that it is ready for use the instant the station in the field is selected. Three lines were put in opera- tion at Murfreesborough, running to the corps commanders' head-quarters. The wire used is insulated by gutta-percha, and can be run out on the ground, hung on fences or trees, or put on poles. It is rolled upon reels, in one-mile sections, and, in run- THE ARMr SIGNAL AND TELEGRAPH SERVICE. 305 ning it or rolling it up, the horses are kept at a steady and rapid trot. This field telegraph is a recent invention, scarcely more than a year old ; but it has been successfully used on the Poto- mac, and was of inestimable service at the attack on Fredericks- bui'g in December last. The principal object aimed at in its use is to keep open a constant communication of the different com- mands of an army with each other and with head-quarters, and also to connect the army, or any portion of it, with the signal- station, which, from the necessity of its location on some high and commanding point, is almost invariably at some distance from the camp. The full details of the system are, of course, known only to the initiated; for in its secrecy lies its success. A general idea of its character and management may be given, however, with- out injury to the service. In the first place, then, elevated posi- tions are chosen, between which communications are made by means of a flag in the daj^time and of a torch at night. The alphabet of the code consists of certain definite figures, different combinations of which represent the different letters of the ordinary English alphabet. Of these figures there are but few,, a sufficient variety being obtained by different combinations of the same figures. Thus, 11, 14 may mean A, while 14, 11 may mean D ; and so on. Each figure of the alphabet is represented by a definite number of dips or wavings of the flag or torch, thus enabling the experienced in the art to read messages at almost incredible distances with surpi-ising rapidity. To enable the reader more fully to understand the workings- of the system, let him accompany the author to the signal-sta- tion in the cupola of the court-house at Murfreesborough. Here he will find two windows, one looking towards Fort Transit, nine and a half miles to the east, and the other towards Triune, seventeen miles to the west. By the side of each is a telescope, firmly fixed and bearing upon the station opposite. Outside of the opening is a platform, upo-n which the man waving the flag or torch stands. It being desired to open communication, the flag is waved to and fro until seen and answered by the other 20 306 ARMY OF TUE CUMBERLAND, station, — which is generally but a moment or two, as somebody is always on the watch at the glass. The officer in charge seats himself at the glass, and, having observed the answer to his signal, calls to the man on the platform the figures which he wishes represented or waved. Thus, for example : 3_11. 21—5; 2—31—11; 1-— 43— 5; 22—31; 14—22—23; 1—43—5; 11—1—42; 1—42—2; 23—11; 1—11; 5—55. The substance of the above message is to inquire if a certain officer has arrived at a certain place, as expected. In w^hat seems scarcely more than a single minute after the last word is sent, the answer comes from Fort Transit, and is read by the officer at the glass. For the transmission of messages, diiferent-colored flags are emploj^ed, as best suits the state of the atmosphere. There are now in use at iMurfreesborough one black with a white centre, one white with a red centre, and one all red. Sometimes one can be plainly seen and recognized when another cannot be seen at all : hence the variety. As already said, there are two stations in the court-house at Murfreesborough, to which are .assigned two officers and four men. The stations are kept open .all th^e time, night and day, officers being constantly on the watch at the glass. When the station is " called" by one of the outlying stations, the officer in charge by whom the message is to be received and answered, if below in his office, is notified by the tapping of the court-house bell, two strokes calling him to one station, and three to the other. All messages sent and re- ceived are written out and copies of them preserved, which are often called for as evidence in courts-martial, &c. Messages received were formerly delivered at head-quarters by orderlies, but are now sent by the newly-arrived telegraph train. The sj-stem now in use in all the Union armies was invented by Major Meyer, the Signal Officer of the army, since the begin- ning of the present war, the one previously in use having become valueless because of certain officers of the corps having gone with the South. The rebels, too, have a system, invented or per- fected by one Alexander, formerly a lieutenant under Major THE ARMY SIGNAL AND TELEGRAPH SERVICE. 307 Meyer, but now understood to be a brigadier-general in the Confederate service. Our army system differs from that of the navy, in that the latter is worked by a series of preconcerted and set phrases, while by this any thing that can be written can be telegraphed with astonishing rapidity and certainty. A message of twenty words can be sent in five minutes, and an- swered in as many more. As an illustration of its workings, a single example will suffice. In the latter part of March, Major- General Palmer made an expedition to Woodbury, twenty-two miles from Murfreesborough, and in less than thirty minutes after he entered the town General Eosecrans was informed of the fact by means of the signal corps. The commanding general at once despatched to him certain orders ; and in an hour from the time of sending them he was informed by General Palmer that they had been received and the troops disposed in accord- ance with them. The use of the field telegraph will materially add to the rapidity with which messages can be transmitted, by dispensing with the necessity of couriers between the head- quarters of commanders and the signal-station. The alphabet is not difficult to learn; but constant practice is required to enable the operator to send and receive messages without hesitation. The labor required of the corps is confining, but not severe. For days there may be little to do, and, again, both officers and men may be constantly employed during both the day and night. They sleep when they can, and are expected to be ready at a moment's warning. Messages, in very clear weather, can be read between Triune and Pilot Knob, twenty- seven miles, or between the Knob and Lavergne, twenty-five miles, without being repeated at Murfreesborough; and they have been sent direct from the Knob to Nashville, forty-five miles; but this distance is too great for the glasses now in use, and is not considered entirely reliable. In addition to the ordi- nary duty of transmitting messages, the ofiicers and men of the corps act as scouts, keeping a constant watch upon the movements of the enemy, as they are able to do from their 308 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. commanding location, and reporting the results of their observa- tions to head-quarters without delay. The Signal Corps of the Army of the Cumberland is under the direction of Captain Jesse Merrill, of the 7th Pennsylvania Eeserve. He is a native of Pennsylvania, and an attorney by profession. He entered the service as second lieutenant, and served as such in the Army of the Potomac until January, 1862, when, having learned the code, he was detailed to the Army of the Cumberland to introduce it there and instruct the requisite number of oflScers and men in its mysteries. He is a thorough master of the system, and has rendered it highly effective, as the reader may judge from the foregoing account. The Murfreesborough station is under the charge of Captain C. E. Case, of the 36th Indiana, and T. J. Kelly, of the 10th Ohio Infantry. The telegraphic train is under command of Lieu- tenant D. Wonderly, of Philadelphia, assisted by Lieutenants S. F. Eeber and D. F. Jarvis. The corps of the department con- sists of about forty oflScers, and, inclusive of the telegraphic train, about one hundred and forty enlisted men, all of whom are detailed from their respective regiments for this service; and thus the signal service is rendered at but a trifling additional cost to the country. mt %mu Pail. Army Mail-Wagon escaping from Guerrillas at Lavergne. A soldier's life is a life of privation. Like the migratory patriarchs of the olden time, he is only " a sojourner in the land;" but, unlike them, his wife, his children, and his household gods go not with him in his wanderings. Their homes were ever present with them ; his can only be far away, in the forests of the free North or on the wide prairies of the West. " Home is where the heart is," sings the poet. " The heart is where home is," says the soldier; and not the daily stir of camp-life, not the march, with its ever-changing scenes, not even the 309 310 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. deadly Bhock of battle, can banish from his thoughts the dear ones whom he has left behind. Who, then, shall tell the heart- longings for home, for family, and for friends that crowd his hours of leisure and of rest ? At dead of night, as the sentinel paces his lonely round, his mind is busy with fondest memories. "Wrapped in his blanket, with only the stars above him, the soldier's weary body finds rest in sleep : yet he wanders from warlike scenes. No moonbeam brighter in its silvery flood than is his dream of that far-off home, where the good old father and mother sit by the chimney-corner and talk of their boy who has gone to the war, — where the loving wife presses the babe to her breast and gently whispers the story — alas ! how true ! — of its absent father, — where the maiden sleeps with dreams as pure and sweet as those in which he asks, "Are they of me V and hers seem to answer, " Yes." In the Army of the Cumberland there are fifty thousand men to whom this is no fancy sketch. They have been absent from their homes weeks, months, and even years. The interim has, perhaps, been fruitful of change in the dear home-circle. A mother, a wife, a child, has departed to the spirit-realm; the wedding-feast has been prepared in the household ; or may -be another flower is blooming amid the family garland, unseen as yet by the war-worn father. With what eagerness, then, must not a visit to that home be desired ! With what earnestness must not a furlough be sought ! But we are in an enemy's country, a hostile army confronts us face to face, and furloughs must necessarily be denied. We may think and dream of home ; but that is all. This privation, this heart-sickness, is the bane of a soldier's life. Much, however, may be doi^e to alleviate it. If we may not revisit those who nightly gather around the fireside, we may look upon their lineaments as painted by the sunbeam in its passage through the dark chambers of the camera. If we can- not whisper our thoughts and read the answer in loving eyes before the lips can give utterance, we can substitute pen for tongue, and, in return, gather from the thickly-covered page at THE ARMY MAIL. 311 least a part of what we would so dearly love to hear. As sight is the best of all God's gifts to man, and hearing the next, so the next best thing to a visit is a letter from home. Its influence on the soldier can hardly be overestimated. It is a messenger of love and hope, bringing words of comfort and cheer in those dark and trying hours which come alike, at times, to all. If it be in answer to tidings of victory, words of praise nerve him to still more daring deeds of valor. If of defeat, it bids him not despair, but, with faith in God and his own good sword, press persistently on to the inevitable triumph that awaits him. Un- certainty and suspense are ended, positive knowledge of home- affairs reigning in their stead. Discontent gives place to cheer- fulness, and with firmer hope, higher aspiration, he re-enters upon his daily duty. A happier man and a better soldier, his country not less than himself is indebted for the change to the Army Mail. At the outset it became evident that regular mails could not be supplied to our armies in the field through the usual agency of the Post-Office Department. Eailroads were torn up; river- navigation was often interrupted, and became at all times dangerous ; old mail-routes were suspended ; mail-matter destined for the army accumulated at the distributing offices and at the termini of the regular routes, in hopelessly confused heaps, to be forwarded only at long intervals. Grave complaints unavoidably arose, and it became necessary to devise a military mail-system which, independent of, yet acting in concert with, the civil department, would supply the deficiency. Among the first to notice the evil and apply the remedy was Major-General Rosecrans. Himself a practical soldier and appreciating a soldier's minor wants, it is with him a settled policy to minister to the mind as well as to the body. In Western Virginia his efl'orts to secure regular mail-facilities to his men were attended with partial success; but it was not until called to the command of the Army of the Mississippi that he was enabled to inaugurate a thoroughly complete system of daily military mails. Immediately on his arrival at Corinth, he appointed Colonel 312 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. William Truesdail his army mail agent. Messengers were at once placed upon the boats and railroads between that place and Cairo. An efficient general travelling agent — P. "W. Currier, Esq. — was engaged; and it was one of his special duties to visit the various distributing offices at Louisville, Cincinnati, Chicago, St. Louis, and Cairo, and furnish them with accurate lists of the divisions, brigades, regiments, and smaller commands con- stituting that army, and to have forwarded from those offices bushels, and in some instances wagon-loads, of mail-matter found piled beneath tables and counters or stowed away in drawers, barrels, and back rooms. Upon assuming command of the Army of the Cumberland, General Rosecrans found it in a worse condition even than had been the Army of the Mississippi in respect to mail-matter. Recently marched up from Alabama, through Kentucky and Tennessee, to the Ohio River, and now back again to Bowling Green, the troops had been almost everywhere in turn and nowhere long. Battles, skirmishes, and forced marches had followed each other in rapid succession ; divisions and brigades were scattered here and there ; and even regimental commands were divided between widely distant stations. No accessible record of their movements and localities had been" preserved, and it had been found simply impossible to forward the long- looked-for mails. Thus thousands of soldiers and officers, as well as privates, had been weeks and months without tidings from home or friends, while tons of mail-matter lay moulder- ing in distant post-offices. To bring order out of this chaos was again the difficult duty of Colonel Truesdail, which was speedily accomplished, aided by his assistant, Mr. Currier, and other agents. Messengers were appointed and teams were arranged, and a system improvised ready for operation when the army should advance into the enemy's country. F. C. Herrick, Esq., an experienced employe of the civil department, was appointed army postmaster, — whose duty it was to move with the army and receive and distribute the mails, with in- structions to operate in harmony with the United States mail THE ARMY MAIL. 313 authorities and have for his sole object the prompt delivery of the mails to the soldiers. At this time, it will be remembered, Nashville was invested by the rebels, and for two months all communication with the North suspended. Not until our army reached that city was it relieved from the dearth of mail-matter. True, certain private parties had attempted to run the gauntlet with small letter- mails; but failure and loss of teams and mails had been the result. Now, however, daily mails were regularly received and sent, greatly to the joy of all. The Government then brought the mails only to Mitchellsville, Tennessee, distant from Nash- ville thirty -five miles. Between these places bridges had been burned and tunnels blown up by the rebels, rendering the rail- road unavailing for several weeks. The mail-wagons were at once put on ; and for two months a heavy mail passed each way through a wild guerrilla country, accompanied by a strong cavalry escort. Arrived at Nashville, it was at once distributed and sent to the various division, biygade, and regimental head- quarters. Some idea of the business thus transacted may be gathered from the fact that not unfrequently twenty thousand letters were mailed at the Nashville office in a single day, besides two or three bushels of photographs, daguerreotypes, &c. From eight to twelve hundred dollars' worth of stamps were sold daily, and nearly all of them to the army. "When the advance towards Murfreesborough began, the army was again thrown beyond the reach of the Government mails; and again recourse was had to the army wagons and messengers, and daily trips were made, sometimes Avith, but oftener with- out, an escort. The route was through a dangerous country infested with roving bands of rebel cavalry : yet during many weeks the mails were thus carried safely and regularly, and in that time not a mail-bag, or, to the knowledge of the writer, a single letter, was lost. Early in March the railroad between Nashville and Murfreesborough was reopened; and since then daily mails have been received from and sent to Nashville by the army postmaster with great regularity, the Army of the 314 AEMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. Cumberland receiving its mails more promptly and with less confusion, probably, than does any other army in the field. Upon an average, twenty-two thousand letters — amounting in bulk to fifteen bushels — leave the Murfreesborough military oflSce daily, to be duly mailed in the United States distributing office at Nashville, from whence they are sent over the regular mail-routes to their respective destinations. The equally large mails received are sorted and distributed, by means of the mail- wagons, among the various camps and military offices with creditable energy and despatch. In a correspondence of such magnitude it is idle to say that complaints do not arise. In spite of every care, letters will fail to reach their destination ; but the wonder really is that so few are lost. In the Department of the Cumberland, embracing "Western Kentucky and Middle and Eastern Tennessee, there are not less than twelve divisions, thirty-seven brigades, and more than two hundred regiments, besides independent organizations, such as pioneers, engineers, the signal corps, sharpshooters, batteries, scouts, hospitals, convalescent camps, &c. &c. Imagine the perplexity, then, of the army postmaster as he puzzles his brain over thousands of letters addressed, in the most unread- able hand, after this style: — "Mr. John Smith, Co. A, Eosecrans Army;" " Lt. Tom Jones, 8d Div.;" " Capt. Brown, 2d Brigade;" "Major Thompson, 21st Eegt.;" and which he is expected to forward " in haste." The only possible disposition of such letters is to send them from regiment to regiment, until fre- quently they are literally worn out in their fruitless search for an owner. Thus far the practical workings of the system have fully realized the most sanguine expectations of its originators. The cheerfulness imbuod and the confidence inspired are well worth its entire expense; but, aside from these, the Government is abundantly remunerated for every outlay by the extra revenue derived from the thus largely-increased correspondence. "With regular mails three letters are written where one would be with- out; and under the present system it only requires proper direc- THE ARMY MAIL. 315 tion to insure prompt delivery. The simplest and plainest address is the best. The name, the title (if any there be), the company, the regiment, the State from which it comes, the arm of service to which it belongs, and the army or corps of which it is a part, comprise all that is absolutely indispensable to secure the safe and speedy delivery of army letters. The num- bers of the brigade and division are not necessary; but it is better to add them if known. The same may also be said of the par- ticular locality at which the command is stationed, and the route which the letter is to take. But such an address as this is sufficient : — " Eobert Jasper, Co. H, 21st Ecgt. Illinois Infantry, Army of the Cumberland, via Louisville, Ky ." " Cavalry" or "Ar- tillery" may be substituted for " Infantry," as occasion requires. The distributing officers are furnished with lists of the regiments comprised in those armies whose letters they receive and forward, as well as their stations; and it is only necessary to know the particular army to which it is to go to insure the transmission of a letter thereto, and the company and regiment in that army, to secure its speedy delivery to the owner upon its arrival there. A single incident will illustrate the occasional dangers of the military mail-service. During the week of battles at Stone Kiver, the most important mail-matter was sent to and fro at considerable risk of capture from the rebel cavalry that had succeeded in getting between Nashville and the rear of our army and were burning wagon-trains on the road. On the evening of December 31, the day of the heaviest fighting, intelligence came that our shelterless men were wellnigh exhausted from continued exposure to storm and mud. Colonel Truesdail at once ordered a mail-wagon to be filled with choice refreshments for the general's head-quarters, which, with important mail- matter, he intrusted to the charge of S. A. Esterbrook, Esq., one of the oldest and boldest of the army mail-messengers. By ten o'clock, " Brooks," as he is called, was ready to start on his journey. Arrived at the outer pickets, he is told by the guards that the road is alive with rebel cavalry, that he will certainly S16 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. be cap'ured, and they flatly refuse to j^ass him beyond the lines. His protest is of no avail, and back he comes to the office. Colonel Truesdail, much disappointed, writes a peremptory order to pass the mail-wagon, assuming all risk himself. Again " Brooks" sets forth, and passes the pickets, but is scarcely out of sight or_ hearing when he meets a motley crowd of flying teamsters, pedlars, and camp-followers, each telling a more dread- ful tale than the preceding of discomfiture to our arms, dangers along the road, raids of rebel horsemen, and flames of burning wagons. So strong the tide and so unanimous the story that " Brooks," concluding further advance fool-hardy, and, in this case, discretion certainly the better part of valor, again retraces his way, and at two o'clock in the morning is once more in Nashville. The colonel had just retired, and was sleeping when " Brooks" came thundering into the office. Awakened by the noise, he is possibly a little vexed. Certes, he walks the room excitedly in rather scanty attire, — the shortness of army shirts being pro- verbial. Ere long, oaths fly about like feathers in a gale ; and finally the intimation is heard that " Brooks is afraid." A still more wrathful explosion now occurs, " Brooks" declaring that wagon, mail, messenger, and driver will start again, and this time go without fail to Stone Eiver or to a much hotter place. " Yes," says the colonel, " go on : put 'em through ; let the rebs get you if they can, — I want 'em to get you; but, if they do, lose your mails, destroy j-our despatches, and burst in your liquors, 'em !" A third time our man starts, resolved to " do or die." It is almost dawn as his wagon rattles up the hill overlooking Lavergne, and a strange and fearful sight greets him at its summit. For a mile and a half the road is quite straight, descending a long slope into the valley in which Lavergne is built, and beyond the town again ascending a similar ridge. As far as eye can reach, the flames of burning wagons leap a\ ildly up iuto the darkness, made tenfold darker by their lurid light. No living form is visible, — only the whitened surface of " the THE ARMY MAIL. 817 pike" and the sombre cedar thickets by its side. The aathors of this havoc are Im-king near by, or, more probably, are making good their escape with such plnnder from our trains as can b«» carried on the backs of captured mules. Danger is ahead; but there is no escape : only the speed of his horses can save our driver now. Their mettle is of the best, and serve him well a8 he sweeps along like the wind, turning quickly out and in to avoid the burning wagons, listening all the while with bated breath for the whistling of bullets and the tramp of pursuing cavalry. The valley is reached, the town passed, the hill gained, and he is safe, and. the journey ended, he meets with a hearty welcome at head-quarters. His was a narrow escape, as but half an hour previously that road was lined by a thousand rebel cavalry. An illustration of this scene precedes this chapter. When the Army of the Cumberland advanced southward from Bowling Green, the troops were gradually withdrawn from stations in Kentucky and elsewhere, and massed in the direc- tion of Nashville, an aggregate of thousands, however, being unavoidably left b6hind on detached service, in hospitals, and absent on furloughs. Meanwhile an entire reorganization of the army was effected, — scarcely a regiment or battery remain- ing in its old brigade or division. When Nashville was reached, and for weeks thereafter, not a day passed without the return of hundreds of these absentees to rejoin their commands, of whose whereabouts ofl&cers and privates were often alike ignorant. The military offices in the city were besieged with crowds of anxious inquirers, and for a time all was confusion. At length so great became this daily influx, and so considerable the time required to attend to it, that the general commanding committed the business to the care of the Chief of the Army Police ; and to the usual crowd thronging the police office was now added this motley array of soldiery, too often weak and weary, and always without food or shelter. Colonel Truesdail at once set about adjusting the difficulty in a speedy and practical manner. A tent was pitched on the vacant lot adjoining the police building, and an active and in- telligent agent there duly installed as Army Director. The proper authorities were consulted, and an accurate schedule of the new army organization compiled. Messengers were de- spatched to ascertain the exact locality of each command, and lost soldiers were notified, by handbills posted through the city, to report themselves at this tent. The plan worked well, and 318 THE ARMY DIRECTORY. 819 the military offices were soon rid of what had become ai) in- tolerable nuisance. The streets were cleared of stragglers, and the soldiers — many of them just discharged from hospitals, and sorely travel-worn — were promptly forwarded to their respect- ive camps. When the army moved to Murfreesborough, the same difficulty was experienced; and an office was opened there, with a like good result. The department thus at first tempo- rarily organized is yet continued, and is known as the Army Directory or Intelligence Office. The cost to the Government of the office, which experience has proved to be a necessity in a large and ever-fluctuating army, is very slight, only a single clerk being needed. The benefits derived therefrom are incalculably great. Persons seeking for friends in the army have only to inquire at the directory to ascertain their whereabouts. Full and reliable burial-lists also may be found there, by means of which relatives in quest of the remains of deceased soldiers can at once be pointed to their resting-places. Not only lost soldiers are set right, but the hundreds of citizens, sanitary commissioners, nurses, traders, and others visiting the army are furnished with information indispensable to them in an army spread over two hundred miles of territory, and which is attainable in no other way. The good thus done, the sufi'ering avoided, and the facilities aflForded " the stranger within our gates" can be fully appreciated only by those who have mingled in the confusion of camp-life as witnessed during this rebellion. i^he 3^rmg (Chaplains. No class of men connected with the army have been the subject of more hasty and ill-advised criticism than the chap- lains. Their office and mission have been pronounced a failure by the depraved and thoughtless, and they have been classed as useless and an encumbrance, whose only aim and end was to draw their pay. Not unfrequently, discouraged at the results of their labors and doubtful of future success, some of our best chaplains have turned their backs upon the army and returned to their homes. At first blush, the assertion that but little good has been accomplished in this branch of the service in proportion to the numbers engaged and the means expended, would seem to be supported by observation and experience ; but a candid examination of all the circumstances bearing upon the case will demonstrate its utter injustice. Were the army chap- lains and their labors judged from a true stand-point, there would not be wanting words of gratitude and praise from every pen and tongue. But, their triumphs not being blazoned abroad on flaming banners, the influence they exert working secretly and without ostentation, the seed they sow not being followed for many years, perhaps, by the springing grain and the ripen- ing harvest, they have been decried by men ignorant of the good they have accomplished. The disadvantages and difficulties of the chaplain are almost innumerable. In every camp there will be found some bad men, whose influence goes far to neutralize that of the most faithful chaplain. Many officers are careless of the teachings of Chris- tianity, and the soldier too often follows where his commandei leads in the walks of every-day life as well as on the battle- field. In camp the restraints of home and society are removed, 320 THE ARMY CIIArLAINS. 321 and wild passions hold a fiercer sway. Vice abounds on every hand, temptation to sin is everywhere present; and opposed to it all is oftentimes only the single voice of the chaplain. Under such circumstances, even favored with every assistance and encouragement, his task would be a herculean one, in which the chances of failure and success would be evenly balanced. But of assistance he has none, and of eat^ouragement far too little. Congress provided for chaplains, and the people doubt- less supposed that in so doing they had secured spiritual instruc- tion and solace to our soldiers and the blessing of God iipon our arms. But they made no provision for the accomplishment of this work. No system of duties is prescribed by the regula- tions, and thus they have no authoritative claim upon the time and attention of officer or private. Each chajjlain is thrown upon his own resources, to do as best he can. By incessant labor he may accomplish much ; but, with his opportunities eir- cumsci'ibed or totally restricted, according to the taste of those to whom he is subordinate, with the vile influences of camp- associations working against him, it is no matter of surprise that many a chaplain fails to accomplish all that may be ex- pected or desired. It is seldom, however, that the chaplain has to encounter the direct opposition of any of his superior officers. Many of the latter are Christians; and many more have so much regard for the gospel and its teachings that they take pains to render their chaplain every possible assistance. In such cases his success is proportionably greater, his influence more potent for good^ and the results of his eff'orts more apparent. It is not of the outspoken opposition of either officers or men that the chaplains most complain. It is rather the bad influence of their example working upon that spirit of imitation which in army life be- comes almost second nature. To combat this is their most serious task, requiring the exercise of the utmost patience, perseverance, and faith. Despite these difficulties and vexa- tions, however, they labor on, and their labors are rarely wholly in vain. The good they do, the influence they exert 21 322 ARMY OP THE CUMBERLAND. Tipon those around ^ them, the suffering they alleviate, the wounds of body and spirit they bind up, may not now be fully known and appreciated; but there will come a day when in the light of perfect knowledge their labors will be recognized and rewarded. That there are unworthy and incompetent chaplains in the army is not to be denied. Through base means and influence, some such have crept into the service, and some may have fallen away, even, as did Judas Iscariot from among the chosen twelve. Those who thus fail and fall attract sjDecial atten- tion, and by them the remainder have too often been judged. The majority are earnest, industrious, God-fearing men, by whom every opportunity for good is faithfully improved. That they work for pay only is abundantly disproved by the fact that few of them save any thing from their salary. The numberless calls upon them by the sick, the wounded, and the destitute would consume an income vastly larger than that of a chaplain. Theirs is a labor of love and duty, for which they have left the comforts of home to endure the danger's and inconveniences of camp-life, and for which they can find their reward only in an approving conscience. For various reasons, many chaplains have resigned and gone home. Some were unfortunate in manner and style. Not every clergyman can succeed in the camp. The soldier must be in- terested, — his attention withdrawn from all outside influences to the words of the preacher. A peculiar style of delivery is necessary. A monotonous " sing-song" tone will effectually ruin any camp-preaching. The eye, the hands, the posture, the tongue, the brain, and, above all, the Holy Spirit, are essential elements in all sermons, and especially those intended for the camp. Energy and industry, a buoyant spirit which no diffi- culties, no opposition, can daunt, and a faith that no temporary failures can cast down, are necessary qualities in every success- ful army chaplain. The motto inscribed upon his banner should be the divine injunction, "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." THE ARMY CHAPLAINS. 323 On account ol the constant changes occurring in the positions of the troops in this department, it is impossible to preserve a complete register of the chaplains in the Army of the Cumber- land. The following list comprises those who participated in^ the " Chaplains' Council," whose first session was held in Mur- freesborough, Tennessee, beginning April 1, 1863. Revs. Hiram Gilmore; B. A. Strong, 3d Ohio; T. R. Cres- scy, 2d Minnesota ; W. H. McFarland, 97th Ohio ; J. C. Thomas, 88th Illinois; John J. Height, 58th Indiana; "William S. Cresap, 10th Indiana; Ed. Keller, 15th Missouri; J. M. Green, 81st In- diana; Hooper Crews, 100th Illinois; J. A. Frazier, 73d Indiana; B. R. Baker, 3d East Tennessee; L. H. Jamison, 79th Indiana; T. O.Spenser, 89th Illinois; J. M. Whitehead, 15th Indiana; O. P. Clinton, 21st Wisconsin; A. S. Lakin, 39th Indiana; J. Poucher, 38th Ohio ; R. F. Delo, 30th Indiana ; W. H. Rodgera, 69th Ohio; H. W. Shaw, 29th Indiana; Thomas M. Gunn, 2l8t Kentucky; W. M. Haight, 36th Illinois; G. S Stuff, 42d Illinois; Lewis Raymond, 51st Illinois; Thomas B. Van Home, 13th Ohio; W. S. Hearker, 86th Indiana; I. F. Roberts, 44th Indiana; James H. Bristow, 5th Kentucky; O. Kennedy, lOlst Ohio; N. P. Chariot, 22d Indiana; E. D. Wilkin, 2l8t Illinois; H. A. Pat- tison, 11th Michigan; John W. Chapin, 59th Ohio; Jesse Hill, 72d Indiana; W. Price, 2d Kentucky; W. H. Black, 23d Ken- tucky; John H. Lozier, 37th Indiana, post chaplain at Mur freesborough. ^ In addition to the above, there are several others, who, for various reasons, could not be present at the council. Among these are remembered the names of Revs. Father Trecy, chap- lain at head-quarters; Father O'Higgins, 10th Ohio; Father Cooney, 35th Indiana ; S. Layton, 17th Indiana ; N. M. Patterson, 42d Indiana; John Dillon, 18th Ohio; J. M. Morrow, 99th Ohio; Isaac Moufort, 68th Indiana; L.F.Drake, 121st Ohio; Wm. Cliff, 98th Illinois ; Jacob Cooper, 3d Kentucky ; Chaplain Mat- thews, 11th Kentucky; L. E. Carson, 38th Indiana; Chaplain Alington, 94th Ohio ; J. W. Lane, 80th Indiana; and Levi Walker, 60th Illinois. 324 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. Of the above-named chaplains thirty-two are Methodists, six are Baptists, six are Presbyterians, three are Catholics, and one is a Campbellite. The religious denominations to which the re- mainder belong are unknown to the author. The chaplains' council chose for its president Eev. E. A. Strong, of Ohio, and for secretary Eev. John J. Height, of Indiana. Be- foi-e concluding an interesting session of three days, the council adopted the following resolutions, which were reported by a com- mittee consisting of Chaplains Lozier, of Indiana, Pattison, of Michigan, and Black, of Kentucky, as an expression of the sen- timents of the meeting. " Resolved, That we, as chaplains of the United States army, in the De- partment of the Cumberland, at this our first meeting, express our unfeigned gratitude to Almighty God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, for the preserva- tion of our lives and health in the midst of the ravages of war and disease, for all the good we have been enabled to accomplish in the cause of religion and humanity since we entered the service, and for the general health and indomitable courage of our officers and soldiers and their success in the field of battle. " Resolved, That in the transfer of the Anglo-Saxon race to this Western world, in the enunciation of the political faith of our country, in the forma- tion and adoption of our Federal Constitution, in our signal victories in the past on the field of battle and our present achievements, we recognize the hand of God, and we firmly trust that the heaven-inspired principles of American liberty shall not only be more firmly established in our own coun- try, but shall become the settled political faith of the world ; and that we regard the ultimate triumph of these principles of more value to us and our posterity than all the sacrifices involved in the present struggle. " Resolved, That we heartily approve the sentiment of the late Senator Douglas, that there are but two parties in this country, — the friends and the enemies of the nation, — and that every man who does not sustain every measure necessary to uphold the Government is a traitor at heart, and that we have no sympathy with such persons, whether found in the North or South. He that is not for the Government is against it, according to the principles enunciated by our Lord Jesus Christ. " Resolved, That the history of the past, the present aspect of things, and a brightening future, strengthen our determination to still labor and pray for the success of our President and military authorities in their efibrts to save our country. " Resolved, That we more than ever look on the work of chaplains in the army as of great necessity, utility, and responsibility, and that nothing shall discourage us in our work of faith and labor of love, but we will pursue our calling with the patience of hope, fully appreciating the approbation of THE ARMY CHAPLAINS. 325 our own respective oiBcers and regarding their co-operation as a powerful auxiliary in the accomplishment of our work. " Resolved, That we extend our sincere sympathies to all who have Buf- fered or are suffering either from the wastings of disease, the terrible ravages of battle, or the crushing sorrow of the loss of friends, and in our pj-ayers we will ever commend them to the God of all grace and consola- tion. "Resolved, That we appeal to all who claim the exalted title of ministers of the gospel in this nation to use their influence wherever they go to sustain the principles and sentiments embodied in the foregoing resolutions, and to impress on all men the duty of rendering 'to Caesar the things that are Cajsar's, and to God the things that are God's.' " ' The renowned fighting as well as praying Methodist preacher, Colonel Granville Moody, of the 74th Ohio, occupied a seat in this council, and hy his words of fervid eloquence more than once stirred the hearts of his younger brethren in the work. Quite a number of the chaplains are detached from their regi- ments and placed on duty in the various hospitals. The chap- lains thus detailed are under the general supervision of Eev. John Poucher, of the 38th Ohio, one of the most faithful and laborious of the fraternity. It is in the hospitals that the chap- lains find their most promising field of operations. Here eager, willing ears ai*e ever ready to listen to their words of hope and consolation. Many a spirit, not less sore than the wounded body, is soothed and calmed by their kind ministrations. In the future, long after the war is over, and when only its saddening memories remain, many a former soldier of the Army of the Cumberland will invoke a blessing upon the faithful chaplain who visited and cared for him when prostrated by sickness or wounds. As an instance of valuable services rendered by the army chaplains, we may mention that during the battles of Stone Eiver, Chaplain Lozier, of the 37th Indiana, was constantly on the ground, assisting in the removal of the wounded, exposing himself in the most fearless manner to the shower of shot and sheP, His services upon that occasion were of inestimable value, as can be attested by many who but for him, helpless and 826 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. wounded as tliey were, might have met their death at the feet of the trampling hosts rushing on to the fray. It would be pleasant and just to extend this chapter and make particular mention of other chaplains enumerated in the fore- going catalogue; but a volume would hardly suffice to do them justice, and to discriminate would be unwise and unjust, where all are worthy. That there are diversities of gifts among them is beyond question, and that some are more abundant in labors than others is equally true. To some are also accorded greater oj^portunities than to others; and by these only should they be judged. When they who read these lines have arrived at a practical realization of the difficulties encountered by these voluntary exiles from the refinements of home, and when they shall know, in the full perfection of knowledge, all the good resulting from their services in the field, the camp, and the hospital, then may they pass their verdict upon them. But until then let no one say that the army chaplaincy is a failure. GENEEAL EOSEOEANS'S CHAPLAIIT. Eev. Father Trecy, chaplain of the 4th Eegular Cavalry, and at head-quarters, is so well known throughout the Army of the Cumberland, and so generally respected and beloved, that we need offer no apology for introducing a brief mention of him in this work. He has been with this army from the beginning, his cheering counsel and benign countenance imparting pleasure and confidence wherever we meet him, whether in the camp, or during the dusty march, or upon the battle-field. Among the sick, the wounded, and the dying, be they Catholic or Protest- ant, saint or sinner, his labors are constant, and freely given, " without money and without price." He was born in Ireland in 1826, and with his parentrs and family he emigrated to the United States in 1836, landing at GENERAL ROSECRANS'S CHAPLAIN. 327 Philadelphia, and shortl}^ afterwards removing to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In 184-i he commenced study for the ministry, and was ordained at Dubuque, Iowa, in 1851. For a short time thereafter he had charge of the parish of Dubuque. In Sep- tember of that year he was sent to the " Garry Owen" setth» ment, twenty miles back of Dubuque, where he labored during a period of four years, collected a congregation, and planned and accomplished the erection of a large stone church-edifice. In 1854 Father Trecy was sent by Bishop Loras, of that diocese, to the country bordering upon the line between Iowa and Nebraska, where he collected several congregations or colo- nies. Thence he also made repeated visitations to the military posts of Fort Eandall, Fort Pierre, Fort Kearney, and Fort Leavenworth, and to several of the Indian tribes of those re- gions. His travels during this period of five years extended over a vast region of country, and included a tour through most of the Southern States. During this time he also suc- ceeded in collecting and establishing considerable congregations of his people at Council Bluff, Sioux City, St. Johns, and Omaha City. In 1860, Father Trecy, at his own request, was sent to the South, his health having become affected by his labors and exposures in the Northwest. He arrived at New Orleans the evening previous to the day of the election of President Lincoln, and heard Mr. Yancey make his notable disunion speech at the base of the Henry Clay monument. Thence he proceeded to Mobile, and joined that diocese, and was sent out over the State of Alabama upon a missionary tour. At Huntsville, North Alabama, he found many of his people, who were scattered and neglected, and resolved to stay there for a time and aid them in building a church. His labors were successful, and he planned and commenced a building, — which had progressed to the windows of the main story, when the rebellion began and caused a sus- pension of the work. The edifice was designed to be of cut Btone, and one of the finest in that section of country. Father Trecy was always a Union man, firm and cou- 328 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. stant; and so were his entire congregation at Iluntsville, except- ing three families, who owned slaves, more or less. His minis- terial course, however, was kind and conciliatory, his whole aim being the spiritual good of his people and to build the church. After the fall of Fort Donelson the general, hospitals for the sick and wounded rebel soldiery were located at Iluntsville. Hun- dreds of them were brought there and placed in negro pens and sheds ; and their condition soon became shocking. Father Trecy was now constantly in attendance at these hospital-barracks. Alas that the same cannot be said of the rebel ministers and the secession ladies of that city ! His complaints respecting the filthy condition of the hospitals met with no response, except that permission was given him to i"cmedy the evil as best he might. He employed laborers, cleansed the premises thoroughly, pro- vided bathing-tubs, and solicited donations to meet the expenses thus incurred. His widelj^ diffused benevolence was duly appre- ciated by the hospital inmates and by most of the citizens of Huntsville; but, sad to state, there were narrow and illiberal souls in that region who charged these benevolent deeds to interested motives, declaring that Father Trecy was aiming to "Romanize the hospitals" ! Upon the approach of the Federal forces, under General O.- M. Mitchel, tliese rebel hospitals were broken up, and the inmates were taken to Atlanta, Georgia, and Courtland, Ala- bama, — man}^ of them dying from the effects of this sudden re- moval. Soon after, the battle of Shiloh occurred, and Father Trecy was solicited by the people of Huntsville to go to that place with medical and hospital .supplies for the wounded of the rebel army. The forces of General Mitchel arrived at Hixnts- ville soon after, — upon hearing which he started to return to that town, travelling about two-thirds of the distance on foot, and the remainder upon a mule. During the stay of the Federal ai'my at Huntsville he was kind and courteous to all. Many well remember meeting him there often among our suffering soldiers in the hospitals, during the occupancy of Huntsville by the Union troops. To the eternal shame of the rebel Protcstaut GENERAL ROSECRANS's CHAPLa'iN. 329 ministers of that city be it here recorded that while Father Trecj was visiting the sick and attending the funerals of the dead, thej were, for the public security, kept under close guard at the court-house, as the only means of restraining their rebel- lious tempers. The only ministerial courtesies then extended to any of our chaplains were from Father Trecy, the priest of Huntsville. "When the army retreated northward. Dr. John E. Goodwin, of the 37th Indiana Volunteers, was left there in charge of the sick who could not be removed; and many were the deeds of kindness done to him and his patients by the same loyal-hearted priest. Such manifestations of Christian charity, however, did not suit the tastes of the chivalrous rebels, and Father Trecy soon had to flee for his life to the lines of General Eosecrans. Shortly after the battle of luka, he returned to Huntsville to look after his personal effects. He was twice taken prisoner while on the way, and was each time in imminent danger of maltreatment. His journey was without profit, and he returned to Corinth ; and from that time to the present writing he has remained with Major-General Eosecrans as his constant and faithful friend and spiritual adviser. Father Trecy is no bigot : he meets all men with kindly spirit. His aid and charity are extended without question in barracks and hospitals. He was present upon the battle-fields of luka, Corinth, and Stone Eiver, ministering to the dying. His gentle bearing and pure and simple mode of life is the exemplar of his religious teachings, and proves a constant yet pleasing rebuke to profanity, intemperance, and kindred vices, too common in army life ; and his influence upon the young men, especially at the general's head-quarters, is very beneficial. One of the most impressive scenes of the war was the cele- bration of high mass by Father Trecy in a i ude log cabin upon the battle-field of- Stone Eiver, on Sunday morning, the 4th of January, 1863, — the day after the retreat of the rebels from Mu-freesborough. It was a beautiful morning, — the first after a week of rain-storms. Dead soldiers and horses were still strewn 830 ARMY or THE CUMBERLAND. over the fields, and burial-parties were engaged at their solemn task. The general in command, his staff and guests, assembled in and around that rude cabin, while the holy rites were cele- brated, and a short address delivered by our chaplain from the text, — " In Ramah was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not." — Matthew ii. 18. Every heart was touched, and the pent-up feelings of strong men who had striven in these scenes of battle sought relief in tears. This memorable occasion is happily illustrated at the com- mencement of this sketch. Mt ^anilarg iS'ont mission. When the volunteer soldiers of the loyal States first took ih^ field to aid in supj)ressing the present rebellion, the spontaneou.% inquiry arose in the hearts of those who remained at home, What can we do for the cause and for the soldiers of the Union ? The appalling blunders of the English in the Crimean War, and the terrible mortality resulting therefrom, had called the attention of medical and military men to the necessity of better sanitary measures for preserving the health of armies than had before been adopted. The best medical men of the Union im- mediately took counsel, availed themselves of all the informa- tion which the system — or want of system — in other armies afi'orded, and, with the approval of the President, the Secretary of War, and the Surgeon-General, organized the United States Sanitary Commission. The objects of its organization were primarily the preserva- tion of the health of the soldiery while yet well, and their resto- ration to health when sick. For the first a system of general inspection was adopted, through which all information collected from reliable authorities and extended experience was dis- tributed through the army; frequent inspections of camp and hospitals by competent medical men, suggestions as to camp police, care of the men, condition of every thing pertaining to the comfort and health of the men, their food and the manner of cooking it, &c. &c., made to the medical and other officers of each regiment, with the hope of securing a generous spirit of rivalry among the regiments, each striving to secure for itself the reputation of being the best policed and the most perfect in the army. For the second purpose it established agencies throughout the 331 332 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. army for the distribution to the sick and wounded of such articles of necessity and luxury as were contributed by tKe people or purchased by funds donated to the Commission, — it being one of the fundamental principles of the organization that in all its work it should be eminently national, making no distinction between different classes of soldiers, and should act in harmony with the regularly constituted m^ilitary and medical authorities and be auxiliary to them, — that it should be, in fact, to the regular military and medical organization of the army what equity is to law : while the one is bound by neces- sary and rigid laws, adopted for the general good, but which bear with crushing hardship upon particular cases, the other should be flexible, ready to adapt itself to every emergency which may arise and leave no single case of suffering without a remedy. At the same time, aid societies were established in the cities, villages, and townshi2)s of all the loyal States, and in almost every town and hamlet busy fingers were preparing articles of necessity, comfort, and luxury for the soldiers, which were for- warded by irregular and uncertain channels of communication, often injured or ruined before reaching their destination, often lost by the way, and often appropriated in a manner not in accordance with the wishes of the donors. But, before the Department of the Cumberland was esta- blished, the United States Sanitary Commission had so j)erfected its agencies and systematized its mode of distribution of stores as to secure the confidence of the people; and to it the greater part of the local aid societies of the ISTorth had determined to intrust their contributions for general distribution, — the donors becoming convinced that they could best provide for the regi- ments in which they had an especial personal interest by uniting in a general effort to provide for all. The limits of this chapter will permit of only a brief notice of the w^ork of the Sanitary Commission in this department of the army, through the agencies thus noted and the means thus supplied. Medical inspectors, selected with care, and of established THE SANITARY COMMISSION. 333 reputation, have passed from regiment to regiment tlirougliout the department, aiding the sui'geons in charge in securing the adoption of all precautions and sanitary measures which expe- rience has shown to be essential or conducive to the preserva- tion of the health of the soldiery. By these inspectors careful and elaborate reports have been made of the sanitary condition of every regiment, the kind of camp-police maintained, and the extent to which all the regulations of the service looking towards the preservation of the health of the men and the care of the sick have been observed, and the apparent influences thereby exerted upon the health of the men and the efficiency of the army, which reports have been forwarded to Washington. A more frequent but similar inspection has been made of the general hospitals in the department, in which the inspectors have united with the surgeons in a joint effort to discover and remedy all defects in the general management of the hospital. For the distribution of sanitary stores purchased by the Com- mission and intrusted, to it by the managers of the patriotic " aid societies" of the North and West, depots have been esta- blished at important points in the department occupied by the Union forces, with competent and efficient storekeepers in charge. It has been the purpose so to locate these that every hospital and regiment could be supplied from them, and to secure to each its appropriate share. In distributing these stores, the agents of the Commission have acted upon the pre- sumption that these stores w^ere designed for the sick soldier, and primarily for the enlisted soldier, but that in places where the impossibility of furnishing delicacies has placed the officer and soldier in this respect on an equality, both should be treated alike and each receive a share. They have found by expe- rience that these supplies — the articles of diet especially — must reach the sick, if they reach them at all, through the surgeons in charge, who are and must be held responsible for the diet as well as for the medicine administered to their sick, and who will not, and with safety to the patients cannot, allow outside 334 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. volunteer agents to decide what they shall eat or drink, or to administer to them articles of diet witliout their approbation and direction. Compelled, thus, to act through the surgeons or abandon this part of their work, or, on the other hand, to dis- tribute to the well man the articles designed for the sick, the agents have found, what they believed to be true in the begin- ning, that as a class the surgeons of the army are deserving of the confidence of the donors, are as honest, efficient, and com- petent a class of workers as can be found in the army, and for this very purpose as reliable agents as could be selected for so large a field of operations. To enable the agents to account for all stores which have passed through their hands, and to fix where it justly belongs the responsibility of wastage and misappropriation should they occur, a full account is kept, showing where, when, to whom, and for what purpose, the goods have been distributed, and who has assumed the responsibility of their appropriation. Upon the establishment of a depot of stores, the surgeons in charge of hospitals and regiments are notified of the fact, and requested to send in an informal requisition, stating the number of their sick and naming the articles needed for their comfort. The quantities of each to be furnished are filled .in by the store- keeper in accordance with the supply on hand and the number of sick to be supplied, and the surgeons requested to call again for further supplies when they are exhausted. Every evening the requisitions thus filled are charged in general account to the hospital or regiment receiving them, and the requisitions are filed. These accounts are at all times open to the inspection of any one interested, and, if charges of misapproj)riation are made, enable the agents to investigate them with a certainty of reaching a correct conclusion. Special cases of want are at once relieved by the agents of the Commission, wherever found ; and on the same record an account of goods thus given out is kept, and the name and regiment of the recipient noted. By this means a steady and constant supply is afforded, which is distributed without confusion and without partiality, and an THE SANITARY COMMISSION. 335 accumulation of stores in safe depots is secured for emergencies. In the rooms at Murfreesborough there is at present a large supply of hospital clothing, concentrated beef-tea, and other articles, not ^ now especially needed, but indispensable in case of a battle, and which, from the facilities for transportation afforded by Govern- ment, to be furnished at a moment's notice should a battle occur, will be used to feed and clothe the wounded before the news of the engagement can reach the home of a single soldier. "With the present mode of distributing these stores in this department, it may be confidently asserted that ninety per cent, of those received for general distribution reaches the sick enlisted soldier. That some are misappropriated, and some are stolen, is unquestionably true. And when the people who contribute them remember that, with all their locks and bolts, their sheinffs and constables, their marshals and police at home, in every ward and township, they are compelled to try, every week or every month, some one among them for stealing, they ought not to be surprised that this vice is not entirely eradicated from the army, — unless, indeed, they regard it as a great moral reform association, with the power of working miracles in that direction, — which is not the general impression here of the character of army in- fluences. On the whole, it is a matter of surprise and gratifica- tion to see how large a percentage of these stores does actually reach the sick; and it is believed that all that is now needed to satisfy their wants as completely as this can be done in the field is a more constant and liberal supply. A single instance will illustrate the benefits derived by the army from this part of the work of the Commission. Early in April it became apparent that the army was seriously suffer- ing from a long destitution of vegetable diet. Scurvy, or in- dications of it, appeared in almost every regiment, and the medical officers of the army became apprehensive of very serious results unless a remedy could be promptly applied. Some of them joined with the agents of the Commission in appropriate representations to the central office of the Western Department at Louisville, and to the branch associations in the principal 336 ARMY OF TUE CUMBERLAND. cities of tlie "West. Potatoes, onions, pickles, &c. were sent for- ward, in response, in such liberal quantities that the agents having their disti'ibution in charge could say to all the surgeons of the army, " Let none of your men, whether in hospital or in quarters, suffer for the want of these vegetables. Give them to all, whether excused from duty or not, who show any symptoms of the approach of this disease. The supply will be kept up." It was kept up, thanks to the generous patriotism of the people ; and the plague was stayed. To relieve the anxiety of friends of the army at home, the hospital directory of the Commission has accomplished much. A statement of the working of the directory as it is, instead of a history of the labor of establishing it, must suffice for the limits of this article. Blanks for the morning reports of hos- pitals are furnished by the Commission to all the general hos- pitals in the West. The morning report shows all changes for the preceding day in the hospital, the name, rank, company, regiment, and disease of all who are admitted to the hospital, who die in it, or are transferred to other hospitals, or discharged to return to duty. The series, commencing with the establish- ment of the hospital, will furnish a hospital history of every soldier admitted to it. After being recorded at each post, these morning reports are forwarded from all the posts to the office at Louisville, where they are consolidated, recorded, and indexed : so that any one interested in the condition or fate of any soldier, by giving name, rank, company, regiment, in letter or tele- graphic inquiry, can ascertain whether he has been admitted into anj^ hospital, and, if so, his full hospital history. To make this directory a more perfect source of information, the list of casualties in different engagements, as they are made from time to time to the medical director of the department, are copied, and the copies forwarded to Louisville. If inquiries are made after soldiers whose names appear neither on the hospital re- cords nor the records of casualties, or if more specific or general information is desired, the matter is written or telegraphed to the agent nearest the camp of that particular regiment, who THE SANITARY COMMISSION. 337 promptly furnishes all desired information, if it can in any way be obtained. Many aching hearts are daily relieved by the prompt and reliable intelligence they obtain in this manner from distant friends ; many sick in regimental hospitals are thus visited, and their condition communicated to inquiring fi'iends; the last parting words and farewell messages of many are gathered up and forwarded to bereaved homes, to be garnered in life's most precious memories. Another and not less important work of the Commission in this department has reference to the care of the discharged sol- dier. Too often in other armies the discharged soldier, worn out or broken down by hardships, and no longer fit for service, has been ruthlesslj' shuffled off as an excrescence, and beea " turned out," like an old horse, to die. Munificently as our Government has provided for the soldiers, it has left much to be done by other agencies in this particular. Many of the discharged soldiers are crippled by wounds or prostrated by disease ; and to such a ride in the ordinarily crowded railroad- car from Murfreesborough to Louisville, even when stimulated by the hope of meeting again the loved ones at home who have been long awaiting their return, has terrors more appalling than they ever experienced in the hardest fight. For such cases the Commission has fitted up hosj)ital cars, both on the Louisville & Nashville and the Nashville & Chattanooga Rail- roads, which are run in connection with the regular trains, but in charge of an agent of the Commission. The cars on the Chattanooga road have recently been burned ; but new ones are now building, with India-rubber springs, kitchen attached to the car, sleeping-berths, and every convenience that can be suggested for the comfortable carriage of the sick and wounded. These are the cars of honor, into which those alone are received who have been disabled or have worn themselves out in their coun- try's service, and in which all their wants are carefully j)rorided for. The soldier, taking one of these cars at Murfreesborough, on the arrival of the train at Nashville is received into the " Soldiers' Home," over the railroad depot, a hotel established. 22 338 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND, by the Commission for his special entertainment, where the exhibition of his discharge-papers or his crutch settles all bills, and where he receives all necessary aid in obtaining his pay, is directed on his route home, where to find similar places of entertainment at every necessary stopping-place on the way, where he can obtain food and lodging without charge, and, if entitled to a bounty or pension, or if he has any Government claim growing out of his military service, is directed to the proper parties, who will make out his papers without charge and forward them to the claim-agent of the Commission at Washington, who will secure as early attention to them as prac- ticable, and, when allowed and paid, the soldier receives the whole amount, without any deduction for attorney or claim-agent's fees. If — as daily happens — on the presentation of his discharge and final statement at the paymaster's office in Nashville the soldier finds that he cannot obtain his pay, on account of some informality in these papers, so that, from some careless erasure or other cause, he would be deprived of a part of that which is justly due him, he returns to the Soldiers' Home, and his papers, with a, memorandum of the defects to be remedied, are returned to Mv-rfreesborough or to the office nearest to his regiment, and the ageB.t writes immediately to the regiment, procures the necessary corrections and returns them by the next train to the soldier in the Soldiers' Home, who then receives his pay and goes on his way rejoicing. Visits to the regiments for this pur- pose and to answer the inquiries from the hospital directory or from friends at home, who write directly to the different offices, aid the agents in securing an impartial distribution and f\xithful application of the stores, as they thus learn the condition and wants of the r«giments. Thus brought directly in contact with the men, in and out of the hospitals, they can accurately ascertain how far they are supplied by the stores furnished, and promptly investigate any alleged case of misapplication. If the soldier finds his own way to the city, on arriving at Nashville he sees conspicuously posted through the streets a .handbill, of which the following is a copy : — THE SANITARY COMMISSION. 339 " Discharged soldiers will find a resting-place and food without charge, also all needed assistance in regard to their papers and pay, at the Soldiers' Home of the United States Sanitary Commission, over the station-house of the Nashville & Chattanooga Railroad. *'L. Crane, "Special Eeli^ Agent U.S. Sanitary Commission, "Match 11, 1863." This guides him to the same asylum and place of relief, when the same helping hand is extended and the same kindness shown him as is here related. This bill, too, has attracted the notice of thousands of others, who else had been ignorant of the great work the Sanitary Commission is performing, and by them has been made the subject of favorable comment. It is found that these different branches of the work can be carried on systematically and without confusion, each one aiding in the work of all the others, and each seeking, as far as possible, to relieve every discovered want of the soldier. The agents have received the cordial co-operation of all the military and medical authorities of the depai'tment, and have had promptly extended to them every facility needed for the successful j)rose- cution of their work. In the hospital cars, and under the care of the agents of the Commission, are also forwarded the sick and disabled soldiers who, under the recent order of Surgeon-General Hammond, are transferred to the general hospitals nearest their homes.- All who have lived their allotted three months in hospital are placed within reach of their friends : from the hospitals of I^ash- ville alone over one thousand have already been sent forward ; and very many of them will owe their lives to the careful provision made for their comfortable transit by the Commis- sion, and to the attentive care of its accomplished agent, — Dr. Barnum, — who has charge of this branch of the work. The Commission also, without any extra expense or increase of its agencies, has provided for sending home the bodies of all soldiers who die in this department, if desired so to do by the friends of the deceased, when the undertaker's charges — 340 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. at rates leas than the ordinary prices — are deposited to the credit of the Commission in Louisville, Chicago, Cincinnati, or Cleveland, and the name, rank, company, and regiment of the deceased soldier furnished. The agents of the Commission see that the work is promptly and properly done and the body for- warded. This saves to the friends the entire cost of a visit to the army, and enables them to secure the last remains of the soldier to be deposited with his kindred, at times when the exigencies of the service pi'ohibit visits to the army for that purpose. In part, also, the hospital gardens are the work of the Com- mission. It has furnished the seed to plant them, and the im- plements for their cultivation; and its agents have labored jointly with the medical director of the department, and with the surgeon in charge of the general field hospital near which the largest one is located, to secure thorough cultivation. One garden near Murfreesborough comprises about forty acres, most of which is already planted. A general variety of garden vege- tables is cultivated by convalescent and contraband labor, under the direction of a competent gardener, detailed for the purpose from the 101st Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Already the fruits of this garden are beginning to come in. The health of the con- valescents is improving from this cause, added to their light labor in the garden. In the long hot days of summer, wjien the Korth cannot furnish vegetables which will bear transporta- tion to the army, the supplj^ of potatoes, onions, beets, carrots, peas, beans, lettuce, radishes, turnips, tomatoes, cabbages, cucum- bers, melons, squashes, corn, &c. &c., from the hospital gardens, will be of incalculable benefit to the sick, and will supply a want which at that time could be supplied in no other manner. Tlie other garden is at ISTashville, and will there prove of equal value. The general commanding the department has given emphatic testimony to the value of the work thus accomplished, in the following letter of approval, which is accompanied by one from Colonel Moody, of the 74th 0. V. I. These are given as a THE SANITARY COMMISSION. 341 sample of many such, voluntarily sent to the agents of the Commission. "TESTIMONIAL OF MAJOR-GENERAL ROSECRANS "Head-Quarters Department of the Cumberland, "MuRFREESBOROUGH, February 2. "The general commanding presents his warmest acknowledgments to the friends of the soldiers of this army, whose generous sympathy with the suffering of the sick and wounded has induced tliem to send for their com- fort numerous sanitary supplies, which are continually arriving, by the hands of individuals and charitable societies. While he highly appreciates and does not undervalue the charities which have been lavished on this army, experience has demonstrated the importance of system and impar- tiality, as well as judgment and economy, in the forwarding and distributing of these supplies. " In all these respects the United States Sanitary Commission stands unrivalled. Its organization, experience, and large facilities for the work are such that the general does not hesitate to recommend, in the most urgent manner, all those who desire to send sanitary supplies, to confide them to the care of this Commission. The}"^ will thus insure the supplies reaching their destination without wastage or expense of agents or transportation, and their being distributed in a judicious manner, without disorder or inter- ference with the regulations or usages of the service. This Commission acts in full concert with the medical department of the army, and enjoys its con- fidence. It is thus enabled with few agents to do a large amount of good at the proper time and in the proper way. Since the battle of Stone River it has distributed a surprisingly large amount of clothing, lint, bandages, and bedding, as well as milk, concentrated beef, fruit, and other sanitary stores essential to the recovery of the sick and wounded. " W. S. RoSECRANS, '^ Major- General commanding Dejyartment." * " LETTER OF COLONEL MOODY. "Mdrfreesborough, Tennessee, February 5. "Dr. a. N. Read, Inspector United States Sanitary Commission: " Sir: — I desire to express to you, and through you to the generous and patriotic donors sustaining the Sanitary Commission, my high appreciation cf the works of love in which they are engaged. As I have visited the various hospitals in this place, and looked upon the pale faces of the suf- ferers, and marked the failing strength of many a manly form, I have rejoiced in spirit as I have seen your benevolence embodied in substantial forms of food, delicacies, and clothing, judiciously and systematically distributed by thv)8e who are officially connected with the army. " If the donors could only know how much good their gifts have done, and could but hear the blessings invoked upon their unknown friends by the 342 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. Buffering ones, they would more fully realize the divine proverb, ' It is more blessed to give than to receive.' " We would advise all who wish to extend the hand of their charity so as to reach the suffering officers and soldiers who have stood ' between their loved homes and foul war's desolation,' to commit their offerings to the custody of 'the United States Sanitary Commission,' an organization authorized by the Secretary of War and the Surgeon-General, having the confidence of the army, and affording a direct and expeditious medium of communication with the several divisions of the army, free of expense to the donors and entirely reliable in its character. It is also worthy of special note that the goods intrusted to the Commission are distributed to those who are actually sick or convalescent, and this is done under the security of the most responsible persons in its employ, and through regularly established official agencies in the army. If the patriotic donors of the several States would direct their contributions into this channel, it would save much expense of agencies, blend the sympathies of Union men of the several States, and prevent un- patriotic distinctions in the patients in the hospitals, who are from every regiment and from every State. Side by side they fought and were wounded, and side by side they suffer in the hospitals, and the Commission, through appropriate agencies, extends its aid alike to the sons of Virginia and Penn- sylvania, Ohio and Kentucky, Indiana and Tennessee, Michigan and Mis- souri, thus giving prominence to our cherished national motto, 'We are many in one.' As an illustration, the other day an agent of a Wisconsin society came to a hospital with sanitary goods for Wisconsin soldiers, and went along the wards making careful discrimination in behalf of Wisconsin soldiers, but soon saw that it was an ungracious task, and handed over his goods to the United States Sanitary Commission. Learning this, one of the Wisconsin soldiers said, 'I am glad of that; for it made me feel so bad when my friends gave me those good things the other day, and passed by that Illinois boy on the next bed there, who needed them just as much as I did; but I made it square, for I divided what I got with him.' Brave, noble fellow ! his was the true spirit of a soldier of the United States. We have a common country, language, religion, interest, and destiny ; and we should closely weave the web of our unity, so that the genius of liberty may, like Him ' who went about doing good,' wear 'a seamless garment.' We believe in the constitutional rights of States, but most emphatically believe in our glorious nationality, which, like the sun amidst the stars, bas a surpassing glory and is of infinitely greater importance, and should be cherished in every appropriate form of development. "Granville Moody, "Colonel commanding 74 "Nashville, Tenn., June 2, 1S63. "Major:— " In compliance with your instniction!?. I have made a fhorotigh exami- nation of the books and papers connected with the Army Police Office and its operations in this department since its first organization, and I respectfully Bubmit the following report as the result of my investigations. " In arriving at facts and conclusions, I have taken advantage of every source of information at my disposal, except that of instituting a ' court of inquiry' and putting witnesses under oath. " I find that the records of the operations of this institution, together witli all important papers and vouchers connected therewith, have been kept with correctness and system, so that almost any ofiScial act of its employes can he easily traced from its inception to its result. This order and system greatly facilitated my investigation, and reflects credit upon the chief and his subordinates. " The number of employes in this department, including scouts, spies, policemen, judges, clerks, mail-agents, &c., has at no one time exceeded fifty, although a much larger number appear to have been employed during the term of its existence, — most of them for short periods only. The expenses of the department from the middle of November, 1862, to June 1, 1863, are as follows : — ' For mail-service, six months and a half, $3,320 ; for salaries of clerks,, scouts, and policemen in secret service, $66,564.55 ; making a lotal of expenses, including the military custom-house at Nashville, of $69,884 55 ; 23 354 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. of which {imount the sum of $52,924.25 expenses up to May 1 have been paic^ and the vouchers received and on file. " The balance of $16,960 is for the expenses and disbursements for the month of May, not yet settled, though the amount is ascertained. " Much of this last amount is for service rendered prior to the 1st of May last, and principally for secret service. " The Army Police Department has seized and turned over to authorized agents of the Government, up to June 1, 1863, property to the value of $438,000. "This property consisted of arms and ordnance stores, which have been turned over to ordnance officers ; medical stores to a large amount which were found in the act of being smuggled through the lines to the enemy, — some of it stolen from our hospitals, — all being turned over to the medical director ; and large quantities of goods and merchandise, which has been turned over to the custom-house officer and to the quartermaster. " There has been placed in the hands of the United States District Attor- ney, with testimony for confiscation, the following property : — " Stock of goods of Stewart & Co., Nashville, $25,000 ; stock of goods of Morgan & Co., Nashville, $35,000 ; stock of goods of Wilder & Co., Louis- ville, $80,000 ; gold from Mr. Lee, $109,000. " For all the property thus disposed of, proper receipts and vouchers have been taken, and are now on file in the office, an abstract of which is here- unto annexed. " Had the sphere of its usefulness ended here, the record of the army police would show well, and amply justify the wisdom of the commanding general in its establishment; but the great pecuniary profit arising to the Government from this institution is the least of its advantages ; and the record of its services shows a long array of benefits to the army and the Government, only known to the members confidentially engaged in its service, " The most important of these I propose to enumerate. " 1st. Through the agency of the secret police, especially selected for the service required, many rebel spies and smugglers have been arrested and brought to justice within this department, and information obtained and transmitted leading to the arrest of many more outside of the department. ^' 2d. The detection and prevention, to a great extent, of stealing in the army by officers and men ; more particularly the stealing of horses and mules, at one time very extensively practised by both citizens and soldiers, now almost entirely suppressed through the successful vigilance of the army police. Over five hundred horses and mules stolen from the Govern- ment have been recovered by this organization and turned back to the proper channel. " 3d. Discovering frauds on the soldiers, attempted to be perpetrated by Northern houses through the agency of swindling advertisements and the circulation of obscene prints and books. These last have been seized to a THE ARMY POLICE AND ITS CSIEP. 355 large extent, atd destroyed, and a considerable amount of money which was being transmitted to these impostors has been returned by the police to the respective owners through army postmasters. A record has been kept, showing that each sum thus stopped and returned was duly received. " 4th. A perfect system of detection, reaching to the closets of traitors, and discovering who vrere the secret enemies of the Government within our lines, and guarding against their treasonable operations. "5th. The employment of skilful scouts and spies to operate within and about the enemy's lines and furnish intelligence for the information of the commanding general. These men have been carefully selected for their peculiar duties. Most of them are well acquainted with the country and the inhabitants where they operate, and possess tact, self-possession, and nerve to a high degree. " 6th. A record of the character and political sympathies of nearly every adult inhabitant of the section of country through and in which the Army of the Cumberland has operated. " 7th. Knowledge and investigation of secret political societies, North and South, having for their object opposition to the Government and the prosecution of the war. " 8th. The detention and return of deserters, — of whom more than eight hundred have been arrested by the army police alone, and over two-thirds of whom would not have been reached through other sources. " 9th. Discovering and forwarding lost or stolen property belonging to officers and soldiers. The value of property so recovered and forwarded, or turned over to the authorized Government officers, exceeds $100,000. " 10th. Detection and exposure of fraud and irregularities in the military hospitals and other army departments, and the great improvement in the con- dition of our hospitals, which is chiefly due to the able medical officers more recently in charge of these institutions ; yet a good share of credit is due to the detection, exposure, and punishment of grave abuses therein by the agents of the army police, who first occasioned the reforms by showing the necessity therefor. " 11th. The Army Directory, a record showing every regiment and detachment in the Department of the Cumberland, — in what brigade, division, and corps, and where stationed. This record is continued and every change noted. It contains also the name rank, company, and regi- ment of every officer and soldier who dies in the department, whether in camp or hospital ; where he died, and where buried ; the cause of death, and any circumstance necessary to be recorded as to the disposition of his effects, &c. The record has an alphabetical index attached. "12th. The transmission of the mails done under the direction of its chief and by the employes of the army police. The mails have been delivered with surprising regularity and safety to every division and brigade in the army. "That an institution like the army police, so vast and varied in its operations, assailing so many in their pecuniary, personal, and political 656 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. Interests, should have powerful and numerous enemies, is not to be wondered at ; and that this enmity should develop itself in complaints and accusa- tions is natural. " Knowing this condition of public sentiment, I have inquired among all classes of people for the grounds of complaint against this institution. While I heard many general charges asserted and suspicions insinuated by persons who upon general principles or from personal motives believed that wrongs had been perpetrated and that the members of the army police were guilty of dishonest practices, I was only able to hear of one definite charge. " This was a case where a valuable carriage — the property of a young lady — was said to have been seized and confiscated by the army police and then appropriated to the private use of members of the police force. The person making the statement to me merely gave it as a rumor, saying that he knew nothing of the facts, and had no positive reason for believing it, he making the statement only because I was asking for charges. " An investigation showed that the carriage in question was the property of a secession family, the head of which had gone South : it was found secreted in separate parts and places, was taken by the police, and imme- diately turned over to the custom-house officer, who receipted for it and subsequently sold it at auction for five hundred dollars, and the proceeds were turned over to the Government. "I would therefore earnestly recommend that the army police be continued as a branch of your department. Professional villains can only be matched by professional detectives. The one turns every resource of his nature, mental and physical, to the successful perpetration of crime ; and he can only be circumvented by one who concentrates all his powers to detection and prevention. " Very respectfully, " Your obedient servant, "Temple Clark, " Captain and Assistant Adjutant- General, " Special Inspector." HISTORY ORGANIZATION, THE EXPEDITIONS, AND THE BATTLES OF THE ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. CONTENTS. ORGANIZATION AND EARLY OPERATIONS. ADVANCE TO BOWLING GREEN AND NASHVILLE. OCCUPANCY OF NASHVILLE. BATTLE AND SDRRENDER OF HARTSVILLE. wheeler's DEFEAT BY MATTHEWS'S BRIGADE. CAPTURE OP FRANKLIN. BATTLE OF STONE RIVER. WHEELER'S REPULSE AT LAVERGNE. OUR ARMY AT MURFREESBOROUGR. FORAGING AND SCOUTING EXPEDITIONS. REBEL REPULSE AT FORT DONELSON. BATTLE OP SPRING HILL. SUCCESSFUL EXPEDITION OF SHERIDAN'S DIVISION. BATTLE OF MILTON. EXPEWIION OF WILDER'S BRIGADE. VAN DORN'S ATTACK ON FRANKLIN. CAPTURE OF MCMINNVILLE.. EXPEDITION TO NORTHERN GEORGIA. ADVANCE UPON TULLAHOMA, AND REBEL RETREAT FROM TENNESSEE. CAMPAIGN OF CHATTANOOGA, AND BAITLE OF CHICKAMAUGA. ORGANIZATION AND EARLY OPERATIONS OF THE ARMY. A COMPREHENSIVE histoi'j of our ai-my, however brief it may be, necessarily carries the reader back to the commencement of the rebellion, — from whence we follow it, from its incep- tion, and through the campaign of General Buell, down to the present time. The few pages thus occupied will be as valuable as interesting. The beginning of what is now the Army of the Cumberland, the nucleus around which our magnificent army has aggregated. was a small body of Kentucky volunteers, assembled, undei Colonel — now JMajor-General — Eousseau, at Camp Joe Holt, neai Louisville, Kentucky, in the spring and early summer of 1861 From this force was oi'ganized the Louisville Legion Infantry, the 2d Kentucky Cavalry, Stone's Battery of Artillery, and two companies qf infantry which proved to be the beginning of the 6th Kentucky Infantry Eegiment. Prior to the assembling of this force, General Eousseau, in the Senate of Kentucky, was the fearless and eloquent advocate of loyalty to the Union. His words were confirmed by his deeds. He descended from his place in the Senate, and, raising the banner of his country, called upon all true Kentuckians to rally around it. In answer to his call there was soon assembled a force of nearly two thousand men. This was in the day when public opinion in Kentucky was unsettled; her Governor was a secessionist, and anxious to join the State to the " Confederacy;" her trusted commander of the organized Militia State Guard, 359 360 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. now the rebel General Simon B. Buckner, "was plotting treason, aiming to commit his force to a position in opposition to the Government. Many of her leading citizens were avowedly and act- ively disloyal, some of them, in the end, joining the rebel forces then assembling just beyond the southern border of the State, and all were using their whole influence to entice others to follow their wild example. The great body of citizens, however, did not openly favor the rebellion, nor the transfer of the State to the Confederacy: some were intimidated, probably, by the clamor, and hence declared themselves neutral ; some adoj)ted neutrality as a principle, others as an expedient: the first declared that Kentucky had nothing to do with the quarrel, which the belligerents might fight out at their leisure, and that they would repel by force of arms either party should they attempt to enter the State. This was tantamount to secession; for it assumed that the State was not a part of the nationality of the United States, but a nation of itself, with a right to stand aloof while other States, considered to be other nations, were contending around her. Those who resorted to this neutrality as an expedient hoped by that course to save the State from being prematurely committed to the rebellion during the first agitation, as had been done in Tennessee, Xorth Carolina, and other States. But beyond and above ail these were the valiant few who patriotically proclaimed their brave and unconditional loyalty aloud, and flew to arms in answer to their country's call. The men under Eousseau, who assembled at Camp Joe Holt, were of this stamp. As early as June, 1861, there was a considerable force thus assembled; and they w^ere speedily organized and accepted into the service of the United States. Such were also those raised, about the same time, by the late Major-General Nelson, at Camp Dick Eobinson, in Garrard county, a more eastern part of the State. To these should also be added the two Kentucky regiments previously raised, who were at that time serving in Western Virginia. In May, all Kentucky within a hundred miles south of the ORGANIZATION AND EARLY OPERATIONS. 361 Ohio Eiver had been made a military department, and Brigar dier-General Eobert Anderson had been assigned to its com- mand. Early in September, he established his head-quarters at Louisville; and just about that time the rebel enemy on the Mississippi invaded the State, taking possession of Hickman and Columbus. They then intended to strike at once for Paducah, on the Ohio Eiver; but Federal troops from Cairo, belonging to General Fremont's command, had anticipated them. But the day ever memorable in the annals of Kentucky and of the Army of the Cumberland is the 17th day of Sep- tember, 1861. On that day war was fully inaugurated in the region of country lying between the AUeghanies and the Mis- sissippi, and on that day General Eousseau's men from Camp Joe Holt, the initial element of the Army of the Cumberland, marched out to repel invasion. The rebel General Buckner, starting from Camp Boone, in Tennessee, just beyond the Ken- tucky line, attempted to reach the Ohio Eiver at Louisville by the jSTashville & Louisville Eailroad. He meditated a surprise. There had been no intimation of his coming; but the train from Nashville due in Louisville early in the evening did not arrive, and the telegraph-wares had that day been cut. The managers of the road, suspecting no more than an ordinaiy accident, sent out a train to relieve the one expected. This did not return ; and then a single engine was sent out. The trains had been seized by the enemy; but from the single engine a fireman escaped, and soon returned to Louisville with the news, having obtained a hand-car. General Anderson sent orders at once to Eousscau to move out wath his men on the road, they, with the Home Guards of Louisville, being Anderson's only available force. The camp w^as on the opposite side of the river, and the order was brought in person by General W. T. Sherman, second in command to Anderson, at nine o'clock in the evening. By eleven o'clock they were all across the river, excepting a num- ber of cavalrymen, who were not yet mounted, and were left behind with orders to come on the next day, bringing with them the tents, camp-equipage, and supplies. The men were in high 362 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. fipirits and the best order. The rumbling of the artillery- wheels and the regular tramp of the march of the men through the streets of Louisville, like that of an army of veterans, were the only sounds that broke the stillness of the night. There was nothing like tumult, and no sign of disorder. Such of the citizens as were wakeful remember the solemn sound ; but few were awakened from their slumbers. As soon as the cars could be made ready, the troops were taken off, and accompanying them a good force of the Home Guards of Louisville, who turned out with infinite spirit, in unexpectedly large numbers. General Sherman commanded the whole, General Anderson remaining in Louisville to obtain reinforcements and forward them as they might arrive. But this might not have foiled the enemy in his purpose, perhaps, had it not been for the spirited act of a loyal and intelligent young man of Bowling Green. The trains with Buckner's army arrived and were detained for a time at that place : he quietly set out, and, at a point a few miles down the road, displaced a rail, — in consequence of which the engine left the track and the rebel expedition was delayed. This gave time to General Anderson, which he improved well, as has been already stated. The enemy, nevertheless, got as far as Elizabethtown, forty miles from Louisville j but there he heard of the coming of the opposing force, and his heart failed him. He had employed agents to destroy a high bridge over the Eolling Fork of Salt Eiver, by which the progress of our forces was impeded, — but not long ; for Eousseau, on foot, led his men thi-ough the deep stream and onward. Buckner now thought proper to retire, and subsequently intrenched himself at Bowling Green, which place he held until the time of the fall of Fort Donelson. General Sherman established his camp on Muldraugh's Hill, about three miles north of Elizabethtown, leaving guards at each important point in his rear; and there he awaited the gathering of such forces as could be obtained from contiguous St&tes. In a few days they began to come : among the first were the 28th, 6th, and 39th Indiana Regiments, respectively ORGANIZATION AND EARLY OPERATIONS. 363 under Colonels Scribner, T. T. Crittenden, and Harrison; the 49th Ohio, under Colonel Gibson ; the 24:th Illinois, under Colonel Hecker; and two companies of the 15th United States Regulars, under Captain P. T. Swaine. These were in due time followed by other regiments; and this was the embryo of that army which, under the successive commands of Anderson, Sherman, Buell, and Eosecrans, has done such eminent service to the country, which by its gallant deeds has so glorified our country's history, and which on the battle-field has never met with a reverse. "When General Anderson, on the 28th of May, 1861, first took charge of this army, his command was called the " Department of Kentucky," and it comprehended so much of the State of Kentucky as lay within a hundred miles of the Ohio River. On the 11th of August it was extended over the whole State of Ken- tucky and the State of Tennessee, and was named the " Depart- ment of the Cumberland." In October, General W. T. Sherman took command, General Anderson's health failing. In Novem- ber, Sherman was relieved by General Buell, and the limits and title of the department were again changed to the " Department of the Ohio," and now comprehended the States of Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan, all of Kentucky lying east of the Cumberland River, and the State of Tennessee. The Depart- ment of the Missouri, commanded by General Halleek, lay west of the Cumberland ; and in the following March, General Halleck's command was extended eastward to a north-and-south line passing through Knoxville. This command was called the "Department of the Mississippi;" and in June this depart- ment was made to include the whole of Kentucky and Ten- nessee. The particular command of General Buell was called the '^District of the Ohio," General Halleek having issued an order in April to the effect that the army of General Buell, as- well as those of Generals Grant and Pope, would retain their original titles and organization. Until ISTovembor 24, 1862, the title and limits of the District of the Ohio were retained. At that • date there was a new arrangement of departments and of 364 ARMY OP THE CUMBERLAND. commanders. Tennessee east of the Tennessee River and Northern Alabama and Georgia were made a department, under the name, revived, of " Department of the Cumberland," into which Ken- tucky was again transferred. The Department of General Eose- crans is now essentially the same, though heavily reinforced, as that of the District of the Ohio which General Buell com- manded. As has been stated, our army, as formed under Generals Anderson and Sherman, was but a small beginning. Under General Buell it grew to formidable dimensions and an excel- lent organization, holding defensively such parts of Kentucky as the enemy had not gained possession of previous to its creation, and striking from time to time telling blows. Such blows were the battles of Piketon, Prestonburg, Middle Creek, Pound Gap, Rowlett's Station, and Mill Spring. The armies of Buell and Grant, and Commodore Foote's fleet of gunboats, made their simultaneous and masterly advance on the whole front of the enemy, extending from Columbus to Bowling Green, — of which the main features were the reduction of Forts Henry and Donelson in the centre, the capture of Nashville on the enemy's right, and the subsequent compulsory evacuation of Columbus on his left, which was speedily followed by the reduc- tion of Island No. 10, in the Mississippi, by the gunboats and the co-operating army of General Pope. This advance was de- vised by General Buell. On the 23d of February the army of General Buell entered Nashville ; and there the general prepared for a continued ad- vance southward to occupy Middle Tennessee and Northern Alabama and to co-operate with the forces of General Grant against Corinth. The forces of the latter were carried by trans- ports up the Tennessee Eiver to Savannah and Pittsburg Land- •ing. Leaving a portion of his force under General O. M. Mitchel to advance directly south to Alabama, — which he subse- quently did most gallantly, — General Buell led his main army towards the Tennessee Eiver to join General Grant, and on the very hour of its arrival to plunge into the midst of the fight at Shiloh. How opportune his arrival it is needless now ORGANIZATION AND EARLY OPERATIONS. 365 to tell. One day later, and who can tell how nearly fatal the disaster would have been ? and one day earlier might have secured a victory with the most important consequences. The enemy, foiled and defeated, retired precipitately to his strong- hold at Corinth. General Halleck now arrived and assumed command in the field, and the advance towards Corinth was con- tinued, the army of General Poj)e, having reduced Island No. 10, being added as a reinforcement. Late in May, Corinth was evacuated; and the Army of the Ohio returned eastward in June, to rejoin the portion detached under General Mitchel in Northern Alabama. The line of communication with Louis- ville — a distance of three hundred miles by railroad — had been kept open meanwhile by a portion of the Army of the Ohio, on which the army depended for its supplies, excepting so far as the country furnished them. The Cumberland and Tennessee Elvers were of little value for navigation in their then low stage. So much of these roads as lay in Tennessee and Alabama were in a hostile country; and even Kentucky was subject to guerrilla raids of formidable character. In addition, garrisons were to be maintained at Nashville and other prominent places. The part of the army not thus employed encamped at Battle Creek and at other points in the vicinity of Chattanooga, threatening the rebel army of General Bragg at that place. Such was the situation in July and part of August ; and a great battle was expected daily. A battle was not, however, the purpose of the enemy unless attacked; for he was organizing an irresistible force with which to overrun Kentucky, to hold Louisville and the large towns on the Ohio Eiver, and perhaps to capture Cincinnati. With this intent, the large army of Bragg began its march northward ; and, to thwart his purpose, Buell had to release his hold on the country he had conquered, and to follow. He called in his forces from their several posts, and fell back on Nashville in a line parallel with the march of Bragg. At this city, where defensive works had been con- structed within the month previous, he reorganized his forces with reference to the pending emergencies, left a small garrison 866 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. there under General Negley, with orders to defend the plac€ at every hazard, and pursued his rapid march towards Louisville, desiring to reach it in advance of his powerful enemy, who had three days the start. He effected this, — but at the cost of the sacrifice of the brave garrison at Munfordsville, — and secured his depots and protected his trains from the longing desires of the enemy. At Louisville he received heavy reinforcements, principally of new troops collected there, and again turned his face southward. On the 8th of October, near Perryville, a part of his army encountered the enemy and defeated him in the battle of Chaplin Hills. The army of Bragg, so magnificent in its preparation for the conquest of Kentucky, was defeated in its prime purpose, and now began its retreat from the State. There was dissatisfaction at this result, however. The nation was almost overjoyed that the invasion had been repelled; and yet nothing less than Bragg's annihilation would suffice. Three weeks after this battle. General Buell was relieved. General Eosecrans assumed command on the 30th of October, and the army continued its march southward under its new commander. Thus plainly and briefly have we sketched the origin and early career of what is now the " Army of the Cumberland." The little force of Kentuckians that marched out under Rous- seau to repel the invasion of Buckner was the germ that grew into the army which saved Kentucky and occupied and held for a season Middle Tennessee and Northern Alabama, which fought and won at Shiloh, and then returned and drove Bragg with a new rebel army from Kentucky. It has gathered strength by additions ; but every regiment which has ever belonged to it is with it still, excepting such as have been retained in Kentucky, a part of the district to which until last November the army belonged. The generals who now command our three army corps, — Thomas, McCook, and Crittenden, — and hundreds of our best officers, all grew up with it while it was advancing to its present dimensions. ADVANCE TO BOWLING GREEN AND NASHVILLE. 867 ADVANCE TO BOWLING GEEEN AND NASHVILLE. By General Orders Ko. 168, from the "War Department, of date October 24, 1862, all of the State of Tennessee lying east of the Tennessee Eiver, and such portions of Northern Alabama and Georgia as should thereafter be possessed by the United States forces, were erected into the Department of the Cumberland. Forts Henry and Donelson were subsequently added to this territory, inasmuch as they completely commanded the water- communications of the new department and had no necessarily intimate connection with the contiguous departments of Generals Grant and Wright. The troops now nearly a year under the command of Major-General Buell, and collectively known as the "Army of the Ohio," were by the same authority designated " The Fourteenth Army Corps." The command of this depart- ment and corps was assigned to Major-General Eosecrans, then at the head of the Army of the Mississippi, and just emerged from the smoke and carnage of the bloody and victorious fields of luka and Corinth. In obedience to these orders, the new commander left Corinth on the 26th of October, and proceeded to his future field of labor. Passing two days with his family at Cincinnati, he reached Louisville on the 30th, and assumed command upon the same day. A short resume of the circumstances under which this change was made, and a brief glance at the condition of the army thus consigned to the leadership of General Eosecrans, may not prove uninteresting, and will materially aid the reader in arriving at just conclusions as to the amount and value of the labor since performed within the lines of the department. The successful escape of Eragg from Kentucky had greatly disappointed and somewhat disheartened the country. March- ing his ragged regiments within sight of the Ohio Eiver, he threatened both Cincinnati and Louisville, and yet, without sufficient force to capture either city, and, in all probability, 368 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. abandoning all hope of doing so, he employed his time in feeding, clothing, and mounting his destitute men from the richly-stored granai*ies and well-stocked farms of the Green Eiver country. General Buell, with a celerity for which he has not been given credit, had rapidly countermarched, and, throwing his troops into Louisville, was once more, with a largely increased army, in front of the enemy. On the 1st of October the Army of the Ohio was ready to move, and again, with high hopes of meeting and crushing the invading foe, set its face southward. Before this largely superior force Bragg retreated, eventually escaping into Tennessee in full possession of all his plunder. True, he had fought and lost the battle of Chaplin Hills; but it was a contest of his own seeking, in which, at the price of nominal defeat, he was entirely successful in the accomplish- ment of those ends to secure which he made the attack. To us it was a barren victory, dearly bought with the lives of hundreds of our best and bravest men. As a splendid illus- tration of heroic valor it will forever live in history; but it does not rank among the important and decisive battles of the rebellion. It was now apparent that the ground gained by our arms in the South had been abandoned to the enemy; and, with the single exception of Nashville, garrisoned by the small divisions of Generals Negley and Palmer, but invested by a strong rebel force who were confident of its early capture, there was nothing to show as the result of nearly nine months' weary campaigning. Need it be wondered at that the spirit of complaint and discontent of the nation, which for months had with diffi- culty been repressed only by the hope that a crowning victory would speedily atone for the errors and follies of the past, again became rife, not only among the people at large, but even in the army? The Administration could not long with- stand the complaints and refuse to grant the wishes of those upon whom it was dependent for support in its struggle to maintain unimpaired the integrity of the Union. Accordingly, ■while his columns, returning from their unsuccessful pursuit of ADVANCE TO BOWLING GREEN iWD NASHVILLE 369 Bragg, were yet on the march towards Nashville, General Buell was relieved. The Army of the Ohio was nominally large and effective. No labor nor expense had been spared in its creation and perfection. To it, while Bragg was yet in Kentucky, every available regi- ment and battery in the West had been drawn, as also the splendid legions which during the preceding spring had swept the rebel hordes out of Kentucky, planted the Stars and Stripes upon the dome of the Capitol at Nashville, turned defeat into victory at Shiloh, and overrun the whole of Northern Missis- sippi and Alabama. Surely it must constitute an army whose num- bers and discipline would render it irresistible. So thought they who remembered only the men and material of which it had been; composed, but were unmindful of the fearful manner in which its ranks had been thinned by disease, battles, and the nameless vicissitudes of war. In every respect it was largely overesti- mated. Nearly seven thousand of its numbers, disheartened and dispirited, had deserted. More than twenty-six thousand w^ere absent by authority. The consolidated semi-monthly report for November 15, two weeks subsequent to the change of com- manders, shows that a total of thirty-two thousand nine hundred and sixty-six officers and men — at least one-third of the whole army — were absent from their commands! Of these nearly ten thousand were sick in the hospitals of the West ; the remainder were away on furlough or detached service, or had deserted. The army was composed in about equal proportions of veteran soldiers and raw recruits. The former were poorly clad and equipped, the latter inexperienced in drill or discipline, with officers often ignorant and sometimes incompetent. To add to the general incompleteness and inefficiency, there was a sad lack of cavalry J and even the small force of which the depart- ment could boast were so wanting in all the essentials of that branch of the service that they could be said to belong to it only because they wore its uniform and were mounted. To sum up all, briefly, the spirit of the army was broken, its confidence 24 370 ARaiY OF THE CUMBi.:.i-AND. destroyed, its discipline relaxed, its courage weakened, and its hopes shattered. Such were some of the peculiar circumstances under which General Eosecrans assumed command. With a larger and more perfect army the task before him would have been difficult : it was rendered doubly so by the events to which allusion has been made. True, success had hitherto attended him in his military undertakings ; but even this was a disadvantage, inas- much as there was danger of its raising the hopes and expecta- tions of the public to an unreasonable extent. He was pro- foundly conscious of all this ; but any evidence of despondency or hesitation on his part will be sought in vain. He entered upon his duties with characteristic promptness and energy, and, tarrying but twenty-four hours in Louisville, he pressed on to Bowling Green, and there established his head-quarters on the Ist of J^ovember. The divisions of the 14th Army Corps were concentrated at Bowling Green and Glasgow, with the exception of the two at Nashville, defending that city, as before stated. Bowling Green — seventy-two miles from Nashville — was the present terminus of the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, and the temporary depot of supplies. The Cumberland River was at a veiy low stage, and the subsistence and equipments of the army had to be brought by rail from Louisville over a road running through an un- friendly country. Our troops at Nashville were short of sup- plies, and before an advance could be made in that direction it was necessary that the railroad should be rebuilt; and then only by the greatest exertions could the army be supplied with pro- visions in sufficient quantities, so limited were the available means of transportation. Infoi*mation touching the movements and designs of the enemy was difficult to obtain ; but it was satisfactorily established that Bragg was yet in East Tennessee, marching towards Chattanooga with the purpose of ultimately concentrating his army at Murfreesborough, thirty-two miles southeast of Nashville, and that Breckinridge was already posted at the latter place with a strong division. ADVANCE TO BOWLING GREEN AND NASHVILLE. 871 To become acquainted with, and gain the confidence of, his army,— 'to inspire it with all its former pride and zeal, to fill its thinned ranks, to perfect its organization and discipline, and to thoroughly clothe and equip it, — -to extend his lines of railroad* communication, to procure and accumulate at convenient depots the requisite stores and supplies, to increase his knowledge of the country and the enemy, and, in short, to prepare for an active and vigorous campaign, — was the work to which General Eosecrans now addressed himself. In the words of one who is himself a gallant soldier, he " toiled terribly," night and daj-, scarcely taking for himself needed rest or allowing it to his* subordinates. Five millions of rations were sent forward from Louisville as fast as the limited capacity of the railroad would permit. Courier-lines were established between the diiferent camps and garrisons of the department. Information concerning the topo- graphy of the country was collected, and military maps were made. Pioneer corps were organized in each command for the purpose of building bridges and repairing roads. Negroes were made useful as teamsters and laborers, as opportunity offered. Reviews of the divisions in the vicinity were held, and men and equipments examined with earnest scrutiny. The new ti'oops were drilled incessantly. And, finally, authority was sought and obtained from the War Department to promptly muster out of or dismiss from the service " officers guilty of flagrant mis- demeanors and crimes, such as pillaging, drunkenness, and mis- behavior before the enemy or on guard-duty," as essential to the maintenance of discipline and good order. Having thus inaugurated measures looking to the improve- ment of his infantry in discipline and efficiency, the general next vigorously applied himself to the reorganization and per- fection of his cavalry. It was soon apparent that its feeble and unserviceable condition was owing in part to the want of capable officers to instruct and to lead them. Accordingly, he asked for the appointment of Brigadier-General David S. Stan- ley, with whom he had served in Mississippi, as his chief of 372 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. cavalry; and that oflficer, in compliance with this requoat, was relieved from the command of a division of the Army of the Mississippi and transferred to the 14th Army Corps. A requisi- tion was also made for five thousand revolving rifles : three thousand — all that the arsenals could supply — were obtained. Five thousand mules were ordered for pack-trains ; but months elapsed before they were procured. An attempt was also made to perfect this arm of the service by combi;iing with it light field- batteries for rapid movements; but the Government had not troops to man them, and it eventuall}'' became necessary to mount infantry and instruct them in this service. General McCook's division was ordered to move, on the 4th, to Kashville, and, if possible, to reach that city by ten o'clock on the morning of the 7th. Upon receipt of information that the enemy were preparing to make an attack in force on the place they had so long invested, his columns were .in motion by day- light on the 4th, and on the afternoon of the 6th had reached Edgefield Junction, twelve miles distant, when the thunder of heavy guns in the direction of Nashville hastened still more his rapid progress, and, pressing on, General Sill's division reached the Cumberland opposite the city at eight o'clock on the next morning, — two hours in advance of the designated time. The threatened attack had been made the day before, but had failed, as we have elsewhere fully narrated. This arrival relieved the city of all apprehension of further trouble, and established direct and regular communication with the head-quarters of the army. « By the 6th the railroad had been reopened to Mitchellsville, and supplies of all kinds were hurried forward with the utmost rapidity. Heavy supply-trains were put upon the road, and thus General McCook provisioned his own men, as well as the garrison of Nashville. The army was divided into the grand division, known as the Eight, the Centre, and the Left, com- manded respectively by Major-Generals McCook, Thomas, and Crittenden. The various columns were at once ordered for- ward ; and in ten days from the time General Eosecrans assumed OCCUPANCY OF NASHVILLE. 373 coiumand, the whole army, with new life and energy instilled into every department of it, was moving with irresistible power towards the capital of Tennessee, in search of an enemy who had already twice escaped from its grasp. A vast amount of preparatory labor had been performed, plans for the ensuing campaign matured, communications established and suitably guarded, the army reorganized, and now its commander was ready to advance. Accordingly, on the morning of the 10th of November, the head-quarters at Bowling Green were broken up, and the general and his staff proceeded by rail to Mitchellsville, whence, mounting their horses and escorted by a squadron of the 4th United States Cavalry, they rode to Nashville, reaching the city about nine o'clock the same evening. Head-quarters were im- mediately established in the Cunningham House, a large and elegant residence, whose owner was a quartermaster in the rebel army. OCCUPANCY OP NASHVILLE. There was work to be done. It was a rebel city, occupied as conquered territory, and swarming with traitors, smugglers, and spies. Of its male inhabitants a large number were in the rebel army, and its women, arrogant and defiant, were alike outspoken in their treason and indefatigable in their efforts to aid that cause for which their brothers, sons, and husbands were fighting. The city, in fact, was one vast " Southern Aid Society," whose sole aim was to plot secret treason and furnish information to the rebel leaders. To purify this tainted atmosphere, to esta- blish order by the application of military law, and to impress this people with a sense of the strength and power of the Government, was the task to which General Rosecrans assidu- ously devoted himself while waiting for the accumulation of sufficient food, clothing, ammunition, and camp-equipage to make a further advance. 374 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. The police and secret-service department was organized and put into successful operation. The secret haunts of treason were penetrated, and its agents dragged forth to exposure and punishment. Smugglers and spies were pursued with a vigor so relentless that detection became the rule and escape the ex- ception. Goods were seized and their owners sent to i^rison or expelled from the department, thus virtually putting an end to that contraband trade which had been of incalculable benefit to the rebels. All sutlers were ordered to their regiments, and it was announced that the Government would aflPord protection and trading privileges to all who would subscribe to an oath prepared for the occasion, and give bond with proper security for its faithful observance. Questions having arisen concerning the nature and binding force of this oath, they were definitively settled by an explanatory circular from head-quarters j and many embraced the opportunity thus afi'orded of procuring protection for themselves and property. With all this care for the civil affairs of the department, the army was not neglected. No effort was spared to perfect it in drill, discipline, and equipment. An efficient signal corps was established. A new system of inspections was devised and adopted. A more careful attention to the proper performance of guard-duty was strictly enjoined. Sutlers were checked in their illegal and injurious practices. The authority obtained from the War Department to dismiss from the service incom- petent and drunken oflScers was freely exercised. A cowardly trick of voluntarily surrendering to the enemy to be paroled, and thus escape the service, was summarily ended by the pub- lication and subsequent enforcement of an order directing that all thus practically guilty of desertion should have their heads encased in white cotton night-caps, and, thus publicly branded as cowards, be marched through the streets and camps and sent North. The effect of this discipline was soon apparent; and in the six weeks spent at Nashville a long stride towards perfection was made by the army, thanks to the energy of its commander and the fidelity of its officers. OCCUPANCY OF NASHVILLE. 376 Meanwhile the enemy was sharply watched. His movements were for a time veiled by the sti'ong cavalry force which he had thrown in front and which prevented our spies and scouts from obtaining ready entrance within his lines. The bridge across the Tennessee was known to be burned, and Bragg was said to be rebuilding it. The crowds of refugees thronging to our lines to escape the conscription, which the rebels were rigidly enforcing, reported that the road from the Tennessee to Murfreesborough was lined with camps. Still, it could not be definitely ascertained where the rebel general proposed to make a stand. Many believed that he would not attempt resist- ance to our advance on the north side of the Tennessee Eiver, but would fall back from Murfreesborough to Chattanooga. But his movements and intentions were ere long developed by refugees, and the spies in the employ of Colonel Truesdail, Chief of the Army Police. In the latter part of November, Bragg was reported as having taken position in the rear of Stewart's Creek, nineteen miles from Nashville, with a force of sixty thousand effective men. His left rested on the Franklin pike, and his right on the Lebanon pike. His front was covered Avith strong cavalry vedettes, extending from the Lebanon pike to a point on the left of Nolensville, intersecting the Murfreesborough pike eleven miles from Nashville, and distant from, our outposts scarcely two miles. Morgan, with a heavy force of cavalry and mounted infantry, covered his right, and Forrest his left, while Wheeler was posted at Lavergne and Wharton at Nolens- ville. His right wing was commanded by Kirby Smith, his left by Hardee, and the centre by Polk. With his cavalry, in which he was immensely superior, the enemy constantly annoyed our outposts and forage-trains. The provision-trains between Nashville and Mitchellsville were con- stantly watched, and sometimes pounced upon, involving the loss, during the three weeks preceding the completion of the railroad, of a few men and wagons, — but were compensated for by equal captures on our side, however. Our cavalry was growing daily more efficient, and brisk skirmishes were of con- 376 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. Btant occurrence. Colonel John Kennett, acting chief of cavalry, captured lai-ge quantities of rebel stores, and eventually forced Morgan across the Cumberland. On the 27th of November he drove a large body of the enemy in confusion for some fifteen miles on the Franklin pike. The same day General Kirk, with a portion of his brigade, ran Wheeler out of Lavergne and destroyed a number of store-houses used by the enemy. Our loss was eleven wounded; that of the rebels was unknown, it being only ascertained that Forrest was among their wounded. The same evening Colonel Eoberts, of the 42d Illinois, surprised a captain and squad of Morgan's men on the Charlotte pike, capturing the entire party, with their arms, equipments, and horses. About this time the enemy suddenly crossed the Cum- berland near Ilartsville, and captured a forage-train and the men accompanying, but were pursued by Major Hill, with a squadron of the 2d Indiana Cavalry, who succeeded, after a pursuit of eighteen miles, in recapturing the train, releasing the prisoners, and killing about twenty of the rebels. On the 26th of ISTovember the railroad was completed from Mitchellsville to Nashville, and was immediately employed in hastening forward supplies. Up to this time it had been barely possible to subsist the army by running wagon-trains to that point, much less to attempt to accumulate supplies for the future. With railroad-communication re-established to Louis- ville, a vast improvement in this regard was expected. The supply soon began, but very slowly, to exceed the daily con- sumption, and in time, it was hoped, a sufficiency would be collected. Thus far, in all the skirmishing, the rebels had gained no ad- vantage. In fact, thej' had of late been badly worsted in their attacks upon our trains, &c. These successes — small, it is true, for the enemy avoided any contest of greater magnitude — in- spired the army with hope and confidence. But now a reverse was in store that more than balanced all these minor advantages, and, in a measure, covered our arms with misfortune, if rot THE BATTLE OF HARTSVILLE, 377 disgrace, which stung our troops to the quick and filled them with a restless longing for action and revenge. This was THE BATTLE OE HAETSVILLE. The main body of the centre division of our army did not advance to Nashville, but remained in the vicinity of Gallatin, to protect our line of communication to Louisville. General Dumont's division was stationed at Castilian Springs, in front of Gallatin, and he had thrown forward a brigade to Hartsville, for the purpose of guarding a ford and watching the road to Lebanon. This movement had been directed by General Thomas, and the brigade — the 39th — had taken position on elevated ground, where it was supposed they would be able to maintain themselves against a largely superior force. This post was first commanded by Colonel J. R. Scott, of the 19th Illinois, but on the 2d of December he was succeeded by Colonel A. B. Moore, of the 104th Illinois. According to Colonel Moore's oflScial report, the brigade consisted of the 104th Illinois, the 106th and 108th Ohio, the 2d Indiana Cavalry, one company of the 11th Kentucky Cavalry, and a section of Knicklin's Indiana Battery, — in all, 1805 men. The troops were all new and untried, with the exception of the cavalry and artillery. Other authorities have placed the number at 1984; but the discrepancy is of no importance. The 2d and 40th Brigades were at Castilian Springs, about nine miles distant. On Saturday, December 6, General John H. Morgan, of the Confederate Army, left Prairie Mills, eight railes south of Leba- non, Tennessee, and twenty -five from Hartsville, for the purpose of attacking the latter place. His force is stated by Colonel Moore at over five thousand, comprising six regiments of cavalry and two of mounted infantiy (the 2d and 9th Ken- tucky), and fourteen pieces of artillery, besides a consider- able number of rebel citizens. Colonel Moore had not more than twelve hundred effective men, the balance being sick or on guard-duty with a provision-train. On Saturday night 878 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. Morgan encamped within five miles of Hartsville, and at early dawn the next morning moved to the attack. His advance guard were clothed in Federal uniform, thereby completely deceiving Colonel Moore's vedettes, and capturing all of them without firing a gun. The enemy moved between Hartsville and Castilian Springs, and at sunrise were descried by one of the camp-guards, while approaching in the rear. A company of skirmishers threw itself forward and, by a sharp fire, checked the enemy, who approached cautiously, fearing stratagem. Time was thus given our troops to form in line of battle on the crest of a hill to the right of the camp. The enemy dis- mounted and, forming in compact line, moved forward, not- withstanding a heavy but scattering fire from Moore's line, and soon gained a protected position behind a fence at the foot of the hill on which our men were posted. The guns of Knicklin's battery were well handled, but the fire of the enemy was so destructive that the Ohio regiments were panic-stricken and gave way. The 104th Illinois stood its ground manfully for a time, but, being unsupported, was forced to yield to superior numbers. Strong cavalry detachments were harassing their flanks, and, after an hour and three-quarters' desultory and irregular fighting, the whole force was surrendered. The rebel cavalry had already dashed into the camps and made prisoners of the sick, straggling, and detached soldiers there found. Oui loss in the affair was fifty-five killed and one hundred Avounded. The enemy's loss was not far from the same. About thirteen hundred prisoners, two field-pieces, and a quantity of arms, ammunition, camp-equipage, and transportation, thus fell into the hands of the rebels. The defence was deemed unskilful, and the surrender premature. The fact that our troops had but just entered the service should be remembered in palliation, and their bravery has since been amply attested upon Vloody battle-fields. WHEELER DEFEATED BY MATTHEWS's BRIGADE. 379 WHEELEK DEPElATED BY MATTHEWS'S BEIGADE. On the 9th of December another brigade was attacked by a strong force of rebel cavalry, mounted infantry, and artillery, all under the command of Brigadier-General Wheeler; but the result was vastly different. On that day Colonel Stanley' Matthews, of the 51st Ohio, commanding the brigade, moved out upon the JVIurfreesborough pike with a large foraging-train guarded by the 51st Ohio, the 35th Indiana, the 8th and 21st Kentucky, and a section of Swallow's 7th Indiana Battery. Leaving the pike to his right, he crossed Mill Creek at Dobbins's Ferry, detailing a sergeant and ten men of the 21st Kentucky to guard the crossing. The train was filled, and just on the point of returning, when a sharp musketry-fire was heard in the direction of the crossing. Colonel Matthews immediately has- tened on with the 51st Ohio and 35th Indiana, and, finding the enemy advancing through the woods in heavy force, at once opened fire, and, after a severe encounter, drove them a con- siderable distance, thus saving his picket-guard. Meanwhile the train and the remainder of the force had come up, and would have been a rich prize; but Colonel Matthews had no idea of allowing its capture by the rebel force, though apparently doubly superior to his own. Accordingly, with the Kentuckians protecting the rear and the Ohio and Indiana regiments in advance, he began a brisk march homeward. A short distance had been traversed, when the enemy was again discovered on the rear, moving forward rapidly and in strong force. No re- sistance was offered until they were within close range, when they were met by a fire fx*om the Kentuckians so heavy and well directed that they recoiled. Soon reforming, they ad- vanced and attacked again, but more cautiously than before, upon Matthews's flanks, and the fight became general. Their attempts to press his flanks, and a desperate effort to break his lines, were unsuccessful. The enemy was again driven back, 380 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. and in a few moments fled from the field. Our loss in the engagement was five killed, thirty-five wounded, and four missing. The rebels subsequently confessed to a loss, on their part, of one hundred. The brigade marched safely to the city, and was warmly congratulated for the gallantry it had displayed. General Stanley arrived and reported for duty about the middle of November. He at once organized the cavalry into two divisions, taking command of the first himself, and placing the second in charge of Colonel John Kennett. The revolving rifles had now arrived and been distributed, and the men were anxious to try them. To gratify them. General Stanley, with a considerable force, on the 11th of December, moved out on the Franklin pike, having in view a reconnoissance and the OAPTUEE OF lEANKLIN. Soon after passing our outposts, skirmishing began with the enemy, and was continued all day, the latter's cavalry being chased and scattered in every direction. By night, Stanley and his men, tired and jaded, were beyond Triune, seven miles west of Murfreesborough, having destroyed two camps, dispersed numerous bands of the enemy, and captured a considerable number of rebel troopers and horses, w^ith no loss to themselves. In front of them, at Nolensville, there was a large rebel force. Bragg, with his main army, was at Murfreesborovigh, and Buckner was in their rear, with his division. The attempt was hazardous, but General Stanley proceeded with his original design of making a dash at Franklin, and taking the garrison by surprise at night, if possible. The latter part of the plan was accidentally defeated. The enemy having been apprized ' of his presence, Stanley waited until daylight, when he ad- vanced cautiouslj'- upon the town and drove in the rebel pickets. The 7th Pennsylvania formed line on /the north bank of the Harpeth, a little to the right of where Fort Gilbert now stands, and opened fire on the enemy. Company I, of the 4th Michi- 1»LAX h&niiU JfulijJ) TOMB R^IWER, near Murfreesboro. Teiin. rim nrieniliiijll "' tiZ tuJun i M- '^(iEN'^W.S.ROSECRANS, axlon Bra§^. conirnaii(l« thoEuenvy. ati,l Ueat HMen.U.S.V. F S Duval&Son.Ufli Phil? BATTLE OF STONE RIVER, 381 gan Cavalry, dismounting, took position near the bridge and opened fire on the mill; the remainder of the 4th Michigan dismounted under cover of the rising ground on which the Ttl Pennsylvania were formed, advanced at the double-quick, passed the position of the 7th Pennsylvania, waded across the river, and drove the rebels from the town. Colonel Minty was the first man across the river, and, as he scrambled up the south bank, he took prisoner a rebel oflScer. The 4th Michigan had passed through the town and were following the eneni}" out on the Columbia and Carter's Creek pikes, on foot, before any of the mounted men had crossed the river. The enemy left one captain and four privates dead in the town, and ten severely wounded. Fifteen or twenty prisoners were also captured. General Stanley occupied the town an hour or two, destroyed a flouring-mill, captured a number of rebel horses, &c., and returned to his camp. BATTLE OF STONE EIVEE. The loyal people of the North were anxiously awaiting tidings of great events in the Department of the Cumberland. Far removed from the scene of action, they could not be expected to appreciate the vast amount of labor performed and the really wonderful progress made during the six weeks' stay at Nash- ville. To their minds, activity was indicated only by the shock of great battles, the thunder of artillery, the crash of musketry, and the groans of the dying. Nearly two months had elapsed since General Eosecrans assumed command, and no great re- sults had as yet been realized by his grand army. From every side a pressure now began to bear upon the general command- ing, urging a forward movement, especially after the re-esta- blishment of railroad-communication with Louisville. All such outside and — as our national experience has proven — improper influences, however, were firmly resisted by General Eosecrans. He declared that he would not move until the 882 ARMY OP THE CUMBERLAND. proper time,— that war was a business which not every one could understand, — and that he would not be driven by public clamor into a movement which his judgment could not approve. For many days after this impatience began to be manifested, the army was in no condition to move. It could not have moved more than three days without halting for supplies. On the 5th of December, nine days after the completion of the railroad, but five days' provisions had been accumulated ; and with so scanty a store it would have been unwise and criminal to move the army from its base of supplies into the heart of the enemy's country. In his ofiicial report of the battle of Stone Eiver, General Eosecrans alludes to the difficulties under which he labored, and explains satisfactorily the reasoning by which he was guided. By Christmas thirty days* provisions had been collected and stored in Nashville ; and now the general deemed it prudent to move. It had been satisfactorily ascertained, by means of spies and refugees, that the enemy had prepared his winter-quarters at Murfreesborough, and had sent one portion of his large cavalry force into West Tennessee to annoy General Grant, and another into Kentucky to destroy our railroad-communication. Polk's and Kii'by Smith's forces were at Murfreesborough, and Hardee's corps was on the Shelbyville and ISTolensville pike, between Triune and Eagleville. The enemy had been purposely deceived as to General Eosecrans's intentions, and supposed that he was going into winter quarters at Nashville, his force having been mainly collected in front of that city and extending over a strip of territory about ten miles in width. Under all these circum- stances, it was adjudged that the time for an advance had arrived, and on the 24th of December orders were issued to the different columns to move at daybreak on the next day, Christ- mas. This announcement was received by the army with great satisfaction. For good reason, however, the orders were coun- termanded late that evening, after every preparation had been made for the morrow's advance. Oi Chri'^tmas night a consultation was held at head-quarters, BATTLE OP STONE RIVER. S83 at which the general announced that the army would move the next morning, and that the order and direction of the movement would be as follows : — McCook, with three divisions, to advance by the Nolensville pike to Triune. Thomas, with two divisions (Negley's and Eousseau's), to advance on his right, by the Franklin and "Wilson pikes, threat- ening Hardee's right, and then to fall in by the cross-roads to Nolensville. Crittenden, with "Wood's, Palmer's, and Yan Cleve's divisions, to advance by the Murfreesborough pike to Lavergne. With Thomas's two divisions at ^olensville, McCook was to attack Hardee at Triune ; and if the enemy reinforced Hardee, Thomas was to support McCook. If McCook beat Hardee, or Hardee retreated, and the enemy met us at Stewart's Creek, five miles south of Lavergne, Crit- tenden was to attack him ; Thomas was to come in on his left flank, and McCook, after detaching a division to pursue or observe Hardee, if retreating south, was to move with the remainder of his force on their rear. General Stanley was to cover the movements with his cavalry. Dividing his force into three columns, he ordered Colonel Minty, with the first brigade, to move upon the Murfreesborough pike in advance of the left wing. The second brigade, in charge of Colonel Zahn, of the 3d Ohio Cavalry, was directed to move on the Franklin road parallel to the right wing, protecting its right flank. The reserve, consisting of new regiments, Genei-al Stanley himself would command, and precede General McCook's com- mand on the Nolensville pike. Colonel John Kennett was assigned to the command of the cavalry on the left ; and the 4th United States Cavalry, Captain Otis commanding, was reserved for courier and escort duty. The morning of the 26th was dark, dreary, and rainy, but the camps were none the less scenes of active and busy prepara- tion, and in due season the columns were in motion. McCook advanced on Nolensville, Johnson's and Sheridan's divisions o84 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. moving upon the direct road, and Davis's division marching by way of the Edmonson pike to Prim's blacksmith-shop, whence it struck for Nolensville by a country cross-road. The advance of Davis's and Sheridan's commands encountered the enemy's columns about two miles beyond our picket-line; and fi'om that point to Nolensville there was constant skirmishing. The enemy, occupying the town in considerable force, were driven out, and retired to a rocky range of hills about two miles beyond, through a defile in which (known as Knob Gap) the Nolensville and Triune pike passes. Here they made a stand, lining the slopes with skirmishers and placing a six-gun battery on a com- manding position. A sharp fire was opened upon them by our batteries, and they were then gallantly attacked in front by Carlin's brigade and driven from their position with the loss of one gun and a number of prisoners. After taking possession of the defile and the hills, the right was encamped for the night, Johnson's division having arrived at Nolensville, without inci- dent worthy of mention, at four o'clock. The loss of the right during the day was about seventy-five in killed and wounded. The centime, consisting of Eousseau's and Negley's divisions and Walker's brigade of Fry's division, and numbering thirteen thousand three hundred and ninety-five effective men, was to encamp that night at Owen's Store, on the Wilson pike. Rous- seau did so; but Negley, hearing heavy firing in the direction of Nolensville, left his train with a guard to follow him, and pushed on with his troops to the assistance of Davis, who was hotly en- gaged at Knob Gap. Walker's brigade camped at Brentwood, no enemy having been met during the day. General Crittenden, in command of the left wing, thirteen thou- sand two hundred and eighty-eight effective men, moved along the Murfreesborough pike. Palmer's division in advance, fol- lowed by Wood's. Several miles north of Lavergne, a small town about equidistant from Nashville and Murfreesborough, portions of the enemy were encountered by our cavalry in the advance, and a running fight at once began. The country be- tween Murfreesborough and Nashville was peculiarly favorable BATTLE OF STONE RIVER. 385 to the enemy in resisting and retarding our advance, — a small force being able to check the progress of a larger one. Large cultivated tracts occur at intervals on either side of the pike ; but between these tracts are dense woods, often interspersed •with almost impenetrable cedar thickets. The resistance the enemy M'as thus enabled to offer prevented our troops from gaining the commanding heights south of Lavergne on the first day, and so delayed their arrival at Lavergne that the neces- sary and customary reconnoissance could not be made. To guard against surprise, however, a regiment from each brigade was thrown Avell forward as a grand guard, and the front and flanks covered with a continuous line of skirmishers. General Eoseerans, with his staff and escort, left Kashville at mid-day, in the midst of a drenching rain, and rode rapidly towards General McCook's head-quarters; but it was long after dark when the camp of the right wing was reached. McCook reported Hardee in his front, at Triune, seven miles distant, and said that he expected a stout resistance the next day. He was directed to move at daylight and push the enemy hard; and the general-in-chief took his leave, reaching his own camp at about one o'clock in the morning. General McCook was ready to advance by dawn the next morning; but it had rained all the preceding day and night, and a dense fog, which prevented any thing being seen at a distance of one hundred and fifty yards, greatly retarded operations. The columns had moved about two miles when they encountered the enemy's cavalry, infantry, and artillery. The fog at this time was so thick that friend coiild not be distinguished from foe,-our cavalry being fired upon by our infantry skii-mishers on the flanks. The enemy being conversant with the ground and our troops strangers to it, and having learned that Hardee's corps had been in line of battle all night, General McCook deemed it inadvisable to advance until the fog lifted. He accordingly halted the column until one o'clock, when, the fog having disappeared, an advance was immediately ordered, and the enemy's cavalry were driven forward. On nearing 25 886 ARMY or THE CUMBERLAND, Triune, it was found that the main portion of the forces had retired, leaving a battery of six pieces, supported by cavalry, to contest the crossing of Wilson's Creek, a stream with steep and bluff banks, which could be crossed only with great difficulty, the enemy having destroyed the bridge. General Johnson, against a sharp resistance, finally gained a position overlooking Triune, and opened fire upon the rebels, who were formed in line, with their centre in the village. A few shots were suffi- cient to confuse them, and their battery, with the cavalry, fled down the Eagleville road. It being now nearly dark, and a severe and driving rain-storm having set in, they were pursued no farther. Johnson's division then crossed, and camped beyond Wilson's Creek, repairing the destroyed bridge. Sheridan's division also camped near the village, and Davis bivouacked at the junction of the Balle Jack road with the Nolensville pike. On the centre. General Thomas moved Rousseau to Nolens- ville ; but the heavy rains had so damaged the cross-roads that he did not reach that place until night. Negley remained at INolensville until ten o'clock, when, having brought his train across from Wilson's pike, he moved to the east, over an exceed- ingly rough by-road, to the right of Crittenden, at Stewarts- borough, on the Murfreesborough pike. Walker retraced his steps from Brentwood, and crossed over to the Nolensville pike. The troops of the left were roused an hour and a half before dawn, and, getting their breakfast as speedily as possible, were formed in line and under arms before it was light. The enemy still occupied the opposite heights, and early in the morning began dropping an occasional shell into our lines, — thus proving the wisdom of the precautions taken. At eleven o'clock the left began its march to obtain possession of Lavergne, that being the first object. The enemy were strongly posted in the houses, and on the wooded heights in the rear, where they were enabled to oppose our advance by a direct and cross fire of musketry. Hascall's brigade advanced across an open field, and, quickly driving the rebels from their position, continued their forward movement, supported by Estep's 8th Indiana Battery. The BATTLE OP STONE RIVER. 387 enemy availed themselves of every opportunity to dispute their progress, but could not materially retard it. They continued to press forward through the densely-wooded country, in a drench- ing rain-storm, till the advance reached Stewart's Creek, dis- tant some five miles from Lavergne, — a narrow, deep stream, flowing between high and precipitous banks, and spanned by a wooden bridge, of which it was a matter of cardinal impoi'tance to secure possession. The enemy had lighted a fire upon it, but had been pressed so warmly that the flames had not yet communicated to the bridge. The skirmishers and the 3d Kentucky Volunteers- Colonel McKee — dashed bravely forward, under a steady fire from the opposing forces, threw the combustible materials into the stream, and saved the bridge. While this gallant feat was being performed, the left flank of the leading brigade was attacked by cavalry. The menaced regiments immediately changed front to left, repulsed the attack, and a company of the 100th Illinois succeeded in cutting off and capturing twenty-five prisoners with their arms, and twelve horses with their accou- trements. The result of the day's operations was twenty wounded in Hascall's brigade, and some tw'cnty-five prisoners taken from the enemy. The enemy fell back in great disorder from Stewart's Creek, leaving tents standing on the southern bank of the creek, and the ground strewn with arms. This was Saturday night. On Sunday there was no move- ment, the troops resting, except Eousseau's division, which was ordered to move on to Stewartsborough, and "Willich's brigade, which had pursued Hardee as far as Eiggs's Cross-Eoads, and, havinor determined the fact that Hardee had gone to Murfrees- borougb, returned to Triune. During the day General Eose- crans visited the front, and observed the enemy from the north bank of Stewart's Creek. A battery supported by a consider- able force of mounted infantry was in plain sight, upon an elevated position in the road about a mile south of that stream, and the woods nearer its bank were swarming with rebels. The ground on the opposite side was admirably calculated for 38S ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. defence; and it was the general conclusion that the enemy would, in force, resist our crossing. Proper dispositions were made in view of the anticipated engagement, and, after a brief visit to General Crittenden's quarters, the general returned to his head-quarters, now at Lavergne. Leaving the second brigade of Johnson's division at Triune, General McCook marched on the 29th by the Balle Jack road towards Murfreesborough, but, the road being very bad, the com- mand did not reach Wilkerson's Ci'oss-Eoads (five miles from Murfreesborough) until late in the evening. His command was encamped in line of battle, Sheridan's on the left of Wilker- son's pike, Davis's division on the right of the same road. Wood- ruff's brigade guarding the bridge over Overall's Creek, and the two brigades of Johnson's division watching the right. Believing that the enemy intended giving battle at or near jVIurfreesborough, he ordered the brigade left at Triune to join the main body, which it did the next day. Negley's division crossed Stewart's Creek, two miles south- west and above the turnpike-bridge, and marched in support of the head and right flank of Crittenden's corps, which moved by the Murfreesborough pike, to a point within two miles of Mur- freesborough. The enemy fell back before our advance, con- testing the ground obstinately with their cavalry rear-guard. Eousseau remained in camp at Stewartsborough, detaching Starkweather's brigade, with a section of artillery, to the Jefferson pike crossing of Stone Eiver, to observe the move- ments of the enemy in that direction. Walker reached Stew- artsborough from the Nolensville pike about dark. Crittenden's corps advanced. Palmer leading, on the Murfrees- borough pike, followed by Negley, of Thomas's corps, to within three miles of Mui'freesborough, having had several brisk skir- mishes, driving the enemy rapidly and forcing him back to his intrenehments, saving two bridges on the route. About three p.m. a signal-message from General Palmer said that he was in sight of Murfreesborough and the enemy were said to be evacuating. An order was sent to General Crittenden to send a d" vision to BATTLE OF STONE RIVER. 389 occupy Murfi eesborough. Harker's brigade was directed by the latter to cross the river at a ford on his left, where he sur- prised a regiment of Breckinridge's division and drove it back on its main lines, not more than five hundred yards distant, in considerable confusion ; thus he held this position until General Crittenden was advised that Breckinridge was in force on his front, when, it being dark, he ordered the brigade to recross the river, — a hazardous movement, but skilfully executed, with the loss of two killed and three wounded, — and reported the circum- stances to the commanding general on his arrival, by whom his action was approved, the order to occupy Murfreesborough having been based on the information that the enemy were retreating from Murfreesborough. Crittenden's corps, with Xegley's division, bivouacked in order of battle, about seven hundred yards from the enemy's intrenchments, our left ex- tending down the river some five hundred yards. The Pioneer Brigade, bivouacking still lower down, prepared three fords, and covered one of them, Wood's division covering the other two. At half-past three o'clock on the morning of the 30th, General McCook received orders to rest the left of his line on the right of ISTegley's division, and to throw his right for- ward until it became parallel, or nearly so, with Stone Eiver, the extreme right to rest on or near the Franklin pike. At half-past nine the right wing began its march down the Wil- kerson pike towards Murfreesborough. Soon after crossing Overall's Creek, the enemy's infantry pickets were encountered, and heavy skirmishing ensued. The line then moved forward slowly, as the enemy, under cover of heavy woods and cedar thickets, stubbornly contested every inch of ground. About Eoon, Sheridan's division joined Negley's right, the other divi- sions coming up on Sheridan's right, thus forming a continuous line, the left resting on Stone Eiver, the right stretching in a westerly direction and resting on high wooded ground a short distance to the south of Wilkorson's Cross-Eoads, and nearly 390 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. parallel with the enemy's intrenchments thrown up on the sloping land hordering the northwest bank of Stone River. Yan Cleve's division being in the reserve, Eousseau's division, with the exception of Starkweather's brigade, was ordered up from Stewartsborough, reaching the position occupied by the army about four o'clock in the afternoon, and bivouacked on the ]\Iurfreesborough pike in the rear of the centre. During the morning, Ncgley's division was obliqued to the right, and took up a position on the right of Palmer's division of Critten- den's corps, and was then advanced through a dense cedar thicket, several hundred yards in width, to Wilkerson's Cross- Koads, driving the enemy's skirmishers steadily and with con- siderable loss. The left was early in line of battle, Palmer's division on the right of the turnpike, his right resting on Kegley's left. Wood occupying that part of our front on the left of the pike extend- ing down to the river, and Van Cleve in reserve to the rear and left. This position was maintained without material change during the day, though the skirmishing was sometimes heavy, particularly on the right, where McCook was approaching. The entire cavalry force, except those detailed for escort and courier service, was engaged in guarding the flanks of the army. Some skirmishing occurred, but nothing of any importance. Just before midnight. General Stanley, with the 1st Tennessee and Anderson Cavalry, went back to Lavergne, for the purpose of protecting our communications. The commanding general remained with the left and centre, examining the ground, while General McCook moved forward from Wilkerson's Cross-Eoads. At four o'clock in the afternoon. General McCook announced his arrival on the Wilkerson pike, joining Thomas, and the fact that Sheridan was in position there, — also that Hardee's corps, with two divisions of Polk's, was on his front, extending down towards the Salem pike. Thus, on the night of the 30th of December the army of General Rosecrans, of forty-three thousand men, were drawn up in front of Murfreesborough, facing an enemy of considerably BATTLE OF STONE RIVER. 391 greater force. His line was continuous, about three miles lu length, describing an irregular figure, with reserves in position, and whose extreme riglit bore away from the left towards the southwest at an angle of about thirty degrees. The left rested on Stone Eiver, and the right on high wooded ground south of and near the Franklin pike. The extreme right bingade (Willich's) was formed at nearly right angles to the main line, making a bend towards the rear, to guard against a flank movement. The right wing occupied a wooded ridge with open ground in front, and was separated from the enemy by a narrow valley varying in Madth from two hundred to four hundred yards, which latter was covered by dense cedar thickets and oak forests. The centre was posted on a rolling slope in advance, joining Ci'ittenden's right and McCook's left. The right bri- gade of the left wing rested upon a wood, the next stretched across an open cotton-field into a thin grove, and the left bri- gades were also partially covered by timber, with open ground in front. The enemy occupied a commanding crest in the open field, perhaps eight hundred yards distant from our line. In rear of our line the country was undulating and rough, excepting on the left. Behind the right wing and centre there were alternate fallow fields, fences, and dense cedar thickets and ridges. Behind the left there was an undulating corn-field, rising into a crest which faced the enemy. On the right of the pike, going south, there was an irregular cotton-field, swelling to a crest and then falling off into thick-skirted swamps towards the north and into an open marsh towards the south, with its southern base fronting the centre of the enemy's right. The railroad on high ground, to the left of the pike, the turn- pike on low gi'ound, intersected the left wing on Palmer's left, and crossed each other near the rebel line in a depression form- ing a sharp triangle, the base of which, a half-mile in the rear, was about five hundred yards wide. About half-way between the two lines were the walls of a brick dwelling, now famous as "Cowan's burnt house," occupying a knoll. The enemy's right intersected Stone Eiver nearly parallel 392 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. with our left front, and rested upon the heights east of the river, the extreme right obliquing to correspond with the course of the river towards our left. The left of their right and their centre were in position behind intrenchments on the crest of the cotton-field, sloping gradually towards our front and abruptly towards their rear. Their left was prolonged on a rocky ridge south of the Franklin road, and covered the roads going south- ward towards Shelbyville. The river was fordable at any place where it could be reached, so that, if necessary, the enemy could retire across it without trouble, and, with it in their front, could offer serious resistance to our forces should they attempt to advance across it. The following diagram will enable the reader to understand at a glance the positions of the two armies as they came together, faced in line of battle, on the evening of the 30th and morning of the 31st. DIAGRAM I. Positions of Contending Forces, Decennber 31, 1862, 5 o'clock A.M. At nine o'clock that night the corps commanders met at head- quarters, and the following plan. of bartle was presented to them. McCook was to occupy the most advantageous position, re- fusing his right as much as practicable and necessary to secure it, — to receive the attack of the enemy, or, if that did not come, to attack himself, and thus to hold all their force on his front. BATTLE OF STONE RIVER. 393 Thomas and Palmer were to open with skirmishing, and gain the enemy's centre and left as far as the river. Crittenden was to cross Van Cleve's division at the lower ford, covered and supported by the sappers and miners, and to advance on Breckinridge. Wood's division was to follow by brigades, crossing at the upper ford, and, moving on Van Cleve's right, to carry every thing before them into Murfreesborough. " This," said General Rosecrans in his official report, " would have given us two divisions against one, and as soon as Breckin. ridge had been dislodged from his position, the batteries of AYood's division, taking position on the heights east of Stone Eiver, in advance, would see the enemy's works in reverse, would dislodge them, and enable Palmer's division to press them back and drive them westward across the river or through the woods, while Thomas, sustaining the movement on the centre, would advance on the right of Palmer, crushing their right, and Crittenden's corps, advancing, would take Murfreesborough, and then, moving westward on the Franklin road, get in their flank and rear, and drive them into the country, towards Salem, with the prospect of cutting off their retreat and probably destroying their army. " It was explained to them that this combination, insuring us a vast superiority^ on our left, required for its success that Gene- ral McCook should be able to hold his position for three hours; that, if necessary to recede at all, he should recede as he had advanced on the preceding day, slowly and steadily, refusing his right, thereby rendering our success certain." The disposition of our forces on the morning of the 31st was as follows. To the left of the Xashville and Murfi-eesborough pike, one brigade of Wood's division formed the left of the Federal line ; Palmer's division was deployed to the right of the pike, leaving two brigades of Wood's and the whole of Van Cleve's division as the reserve of the left wing; then the centre, with Xegley's division deployed, and Pousseau's in re- serve, but so located as to be available at the extreme left as 394 ARMY OF THE CtWIBERLAND. well as the centre. The three divisions of the right wing were deployed, extending the line a considerable distance beyond the Nolensville pike. The cavalry — two brigades — were equally divided upon the flanks. At daybreak the troops breakfasted and stood to their arms, awaiting the order to move. The movement was begun on the left by Van Cleve, who crossed at the lower fords, "Wood pre- paring to sustain and follow him. But meanwhile the enemy had apparently, and as if by some wonderful fatality, anticipated General Rosecrans's plan, and during the night had massed his foi'ces heavily in front of our right, advanced at early break of day, and with great vigor threw himself upon the extreme right of General McCook's line. Pressing rapidly forward in heavy columns, thoiigh losing largely at every step, he fell upon Willich's and Kirk's brigades of Johnson's division, who, after a desperate but unavailing contest, were driven back and crumbled to pieces, leaving Edgarton's and part of Goodspeed's batteries in the possession of the rebels. Edgarton had pre- viously sent his horses to water, and they were still unhitched. He had barely time to put them in harness when they were shot ; and, after firing a dozen rounds and having every horse killed, his guns and himself fell into the enemy's hands. Fol- lowing up this advantage, the enemy fiercely attacked Davis's division, and, after desperate fighting, dislodged Post's, Carlin's, and Woodruff's brigades. Johnson's division, in retiring, in- clined too far to the left, and also were too much scattered to make a combined resistance. The ground over which it passed, however, covered with the enemy's dead and those of our own men, showed that the field was warmly contested. Several times the lines were reformed and resistance was offered; but the columns of the enemy were too heavy for a single line, and the division in every case was compelled to fall back. The right and centre divisions of the right wing having thus given back, the attack was made with redoubled fury upon McCook's left, Sheridan's division. Here the enemy met with a successful resistance for a time; but, the lino on his right having BATTLE OF STONE RIVER. ?95 given way, Sheridan was exposed in front, flank, and rear. Twice the heroic division changed front and hurled back the overwhelming mass of foes, and, when outflanked and neai-ly encircled, with every brigade commander killed or wounded, was retired in good order. Negley's division, hard pressed and out of ammunition, was also compelled to give way, and, with Sheridan, fell back through the cedar thickets. Our right wing was now thoroughly broken, and its retiricg divisions almost doubled backward upon the left. All had fought desperately, but all had been driven from their position. Eleven guns of Johnson's division and six of Sheridan's had been captured by the enemy. Hundreds of men had been killed and wounded, and nearly two thousand made prisoners. The enemy had gained sufiicient ground in our rear to wheel his masses to the right and throw them upon the right flank of the centre, at the same moment attacking I^egley and Palmer in front with a greatly superior force. The original plan of battle of our commander-in-chief was now utterly useless, the whole order of battle being changed; and so furious and persistent had been the assault and advance of the enemy that all this had occurred within scarcely two hours. A forward movement of Palmer's division, to occupy a favor- able crest preliminary to the grand assault by the left wing, was already in progress, when it was prevented by intelligence of the disaster to tlie right. While JSTegley's division was en- gaged, the reserve of the centre (Ij'ing behind the right brigade of the left wing) was ordered forward to his support. Rousseau's division moved into the cedars in Negley's rear and commenced its deployment. It was discovered at this critical moment that it was difiicult, if not impossible, to move the artillery from the narrow roads which had been cut through the thicket into a position where it could be used to advantage. The deployment of the infantry was effected, but without engaging, save a bat- talion on the right, which was suddenly assailed in flank by the enemy and partially confused. The entire division was moved a considerable distance to the rear, and finally formed upon favor- 396 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. able ground directly in the rear of the right of Crittenden's wing. Neglej, of course, could do nothing less than fall back then : his line had, in fact, already yielded for want of support. Sheridan's glorious resistance and the firmness of JSTegley's men had, however, covered the perambulations of the reserve, and that force was in readiness to receive the enemy. At this stage it became necessary to readjust the line of battle to the new state of affairs. Rousseau and Van Cleve's advance having relieved Sheridan's division from the pressure, Neglej^'s division, and Cruft's brigade from Palmer's division, withdrew from their original position in front of the cedars, and crossed the open field to the east of the Murfreesborough pike, about four hundred yards in rear of our front line, where Negley was ordered to replenish his ammunition and form his reserve in close column. The right and centre of our line now extended from Hazen to the Murfreesborough pike, in a north- westerly direction, Ilascall supporting Hazen, Eousseau filling the interval to the Pioneer Brigade, ISTegley in reserve. Van Cleve west of the Pioneer Brigade, McCook's corps refused on his right and slightly to the rear on the Murfreesborough pike ; the cavalry being still farther to the rear on the Murfreesborough pike and beyond Overall's Creek. Palmer's division, the right of Crittenden's line, was the only one still remaining in the origi- nal position. The position of Greneral Eosecrans was now in the form of a crotchet, the shorter line being Palmer's division. The left of this division, now the left of the army, was to the left of and at right angles with the ISTashville pike, in a scanty grove of oaks, covering an inconsiderable crest betAveen the pike and the rail- road, which intersected at an acute angle, about four hundred yards in front. Stone River, crossing the pike some distance farther to the front, ran almost parallel and very near to it, within three hundred and fifty yards of Palmer's position, where it turned squarely to the left, and, continuing this course for several hundred yards, again turned and swept around towards the rear. The portion of the stream in front of Palmer's left BATTLE OF STONE RIVER. 397 ■was deep, with but one narrow ford, thus forming an excellent flank defence. Between Palmer's two brigades in the front line was an open field of three hundred yards (the left brigade had occupied this field; but its commander, seeing the impossibility of sustaining an attack in low, open ground, within musket- range of the enemy's cover, had moved to occupy the favorable crest mentioned), the right brigade lying in the skirt of cedar wood. Palmer's division had sustained one attack successfully, and, while General Eosecrans was forming his new line, was assailed with extreme ferocity in front and upon the right flank, then exposed by the falling back of Negley. The right brigade was forced back in turn, exposing the left brigade to a flank attack and rendering the whole position critical. But Hazen, at the head of the left brigade, maintained his position with unflinch- ing courage and good success, until the forces on his right were overwhelmed and driven back. When this occurred he was ex- posed to fire in flank and rear, and to the attempts of the enemy to charge in front. Its commander had but one regiment to protect this flank, but was furnished with two battalions from the division reserve. It required terrible fighting to beat back the enemy's double lines in front and flank; it cost a third of the brave brigade; but every moment the enemy was held back was worth a thousand men to the main line. General Eosecrans improved the time so well, in hurrying troops to the new posi- tion, that when the enemy assailed that line the fresh divisions of Yan Cleve, Wood, and Eousseau, and the artillery massed on a commanding point, nOt only repulsed them, but they were charged while retiring by one of Crittenden's brigades. The enemy had also miscalculated the temper of Hazen's brigade, and Bragg was obliged to report, as he did in his first despatch, that he "had driven the whole Federal line, except his left, which stubbornly resisted." The force that followed to engage the new line, when Negley fell back, was undoubtedly designed to operate in conjunction with the one now endeavoring to crush the short arm (Palmer's 898 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. division) of the crotchet line, and the two would then take the main Fedei-al line in front, flank, and rear, before its formation was complete. The plan was well devised; for, with the division protecting the left of his army removed, General Eosecrans's prospects would have been hopeless. The persistence and des- perate energy with which the enemy pressed this point indicated that they were fully aware of the advantage success here would give them. A single brigade of thirteen hundred men, a mere handful in comparison with the huge masses hurled against them, foiled every effort of the enemy at this vital point. For this scarcely less than miraculous result the country is indebted to the un- flinching courage of the men and the ability of their commander, who manoeuvred them with wonderful skill. When the enemy withdrew, the right of the brigade was swung to the rear, bringing it behind an embankment of the railroad, which formed a good breastwork and enabled it successfully to with- stand subsequent flank attacks. In the temporary cessation of fighting which ensued. General Eosecrans strengthened the point with infantry and artillery. But the battle was not yet ended. The enemy had been repulsed with terrible loss ; but it was hardly possible that he would yield the signal advantage his success in the earlier part of the day had given him, without at least one more desperate struggle. Evidently unwilling to abide the test of a single attack and repulse, he came forward again in solid columns; but it was now too late. Eosecrans had been personally on the field, and had newly formed his entire line of battle, having discovered the enemy's object. McCook's troops and Negley's division had been reformed in the new position. The enemy, though inflicting severe losses, was unable to force the line again, and was driven back with great slaughter. The right of his line, when it came up to assault for the fourth and last time Hazen's position on the left, was shattered and broken by a single volley, — such a change had repeated repulses made in the BATTLE or STONE RIVER, 899 morale of troops that had fought with such frenzied desperation in the morning. The day was now nearly spent. The confidence of the enemy was obviously shaken by the bitter experience of the last three hours. Still he exhibited a bold front and threatening aspect. Again his forces were heavily massed in front of the centre, as though the hazard of another assault would be attempted. But our artillery played upon them so effectively that only a small force could be urged up to the range of our musketry, and they were speedily driven back. An answering effort was made by their artillery, which opened u.pon our lines terrifically; but at sunset the roar of battle had ceased, and only the occa- sional booming of a single cannon or the more frequent bxit less heeded rattle of musketry disturbed the stillness of the night that was fast settling down upon that field drenched with the blood of thousands and thickly strewn with dead and dying. "The day closed," said General Eosecrans, ".leaving us mas- ters of the original ground on our left, and our new line advan- tageously posted, with open ground in front, swept at all points by our artillery. "We had lost heavily in killed and wounded, and a considerable number in stragglers and prisoners; also twenty-eight pieces of artillery, the horses having been slain, and our troops being unable to withdraw them by hand over the rough ground ; but the enemy had been thoroughly handled and badly damaged at all points, having had no success where we had open ground and our troops were properly posted, — none which did not depend on the original crushing of our right and the superior masses which were in consequence brought to bear upon the narrow front of Sheridan's and Negley's divisions, and a part of Palmer's, coupled with the scarcity of ammunition, caused by the circuitous road which the train had taken and the inconvenience of getting it from a remote distance through the cedars." Head-quarters were established that night in a log hut on the right of the road, within short artillery-range of the rebel front, and there a conference of the generals was held. Some of them 400 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. were rather despondent; but not one advised retreat. AlJ seemed to await the decision of the commander, with confidence in its wisdom. Indeed, there was much to sicken the heart, — much to depress the bravest and most sanguine of men. The day had begun in disaster, and it was not yet retrieved. More than seven tliousand men were missing from our ranks. Many of the regiments had lost two-thirds of their oificers ; scarcely one had escaped without loss. Willich and Kirk, Johnson's ablest brigadiers, were not present : the first was a 2:»risoner, the second desperately wounded. Sill, Schaefter, and Eoberts, Sheridan's brigade commanders, were dead. Wood and Van Cleve were disabled. Ten colonels, ten lieutenant-colonels, and six majors were missing, — dead, wounded, or prisoners. Of line ofiicers the number gone was terrible. Sheridan alone had lost seventy-two officers. Out of fourteen hundred, the United States Eegular Brigade had lost twenty-two officers and five hundred and eight men. The enemy held nearly two-thirds of the battle-field and one-fifth of our artillery. Communications were interrupted in our rear, and some of the subsistence-trains which had been ordered back to Nashville, to be out of our way and of danger, had been destroyed by rebel cavalry. Artillery ammunition was scant, and the rebel cavalry hovering in the rear made the obtaining of further supplies uncertain. The soldiers were weary and hungry, and now lay shivering in the cold December air, without fires. It was a gloomy night, — gloomy long before midnight, when the gathering clouds stretched across the heavens and poured upon the contending armies a deluge of rain, as if weeping over the slaughter. The second position of the two armjes, at the close of the battle of the 31st, is illustrated in the diagram on the opposite page. The advantage was with the enemy thus far, and it was deemed probable that he would renew the attack in the morning : the question was how and where to meet him. The rebel leaders — as was subsequently ascertained — had no doubt that General Eosecrans would attempt to fall back on Nashville. But he had no such thought. Mounting his horse, he rode to the BATTLE OF STONE RIVER. 401 rear, examined the country, returned, and said to those aboui him, " Gentlemen, we conquer or die right here." If foi*ced to fall back, he concluded that a successful stand could be made on the south bank of Overall's Creek j but he had no idea of taking DIAGRAM II. Lines of Contending Forces on the Night Of December, 31, 1862. that position until driven to it. He found that he had ammuni- tion enough for another battle, the only question being where it should be fought. By his personal exertions he had that day checked the tide of a terrible disaster, reformed his army in the face of the attacking enemy, rolled back their columns with appalling slaughter, and, if he had not achieved a great victory, had prevented a signal defeat. The same determ-ination and hope which had inspired him in the darkest houi'S of that day's conflict were with him still, and, with unshaken .reliance upon his ti'usty soldiers and implicit faith in a guiding Providence, he determined to fight and to conquer. The consultation having resulted thus, arrangements were planned for the morrow. It was decided, in order to complete our present lines, that the left should retire two hundred and fifty yards to more advantageous ground, the extreme left resting on Stone River, above the lower ford, and extending to Stokes's battery. Starkweather's and Walker's brigades arriving near the close of the evening, the former bivouacked in close column, 26 402 ARMY OF THE CtTMBERLANO. in reserve, in the rear of McCook's left, and the latter was posted on the left of Sheridan, near the MurfreesDorough pike, and next morning relieved Van Cleve, who returned to his posi- tion in the left wing. It was also determined to await the enemy'8 attack in that position, to send for the provision-train, and order up fresh Bupplies of ammunition, on the arrival of which, should the enemy not attack, offensive operations were to be resumed. At daybreak on Thursday (New-Year's day), General Eose- crans had his army in a position against which the enemy might have hurled his masses in vain. McCook's corps was disposed thus :— Davis on the right, Sheridan joining him on the left, and Johnson in reserve. Walker's brigade, relieving Van Cleve, was succeeded on Sheridan's left by Starkweather's brigade. Thomas's position was not changed. Crittenden had reunited his command, bringing them all together on the left of the turn- j/lke, and took up a new line of battle about five hundred yards to the rear of the former line ; Hascall's division rested its right on the position occupied by Stokes's battery, and its left on Palmer's right ; Palmer rested his left on the ford, his right extending perpendicularly towards the railroad, thus bringing the line at right angles to the railroad and turnpike, and extend- ing from Stokes's battery to the ford. The enemy making no demonstration in the morning, Crit- tenden, in accordance with orders, sent Colonel Sam Beatty, with two brigades of Van Cleve's division, across Stone Eiver, to hold a hill overlooking and commanding the upper ford, a mile below the railroad-bridge in front of Murfreesborough. During the day repeated attempts were made by the enemy to advance upon the centre ; but they were kept back by a heavy artillery fire, and once were severely repulsed by Morton's Pioneer Bri- gade. About two o'clock in the afternoon, having previously shown signs of movement and massing on our right, the enemy appeared at the extremity of a field a mile and a half from the Murfreesborough pike; but the presence of Gibson's brigade, with a battery, occupying the woods near Overull's Creek, and BATTLE ON STONE RIVER. 403 Negley's division and a portion of Eousseau's on the Murfrees- borough pike, opposite the field, put an end to this demonstra- tion. The day closed with a similar demonstration on Walker's brigade, which ended in the same manner. About eight o'clock on Friday morning, while the Pioneer Brigade were making crossings at the railroad, the enemy opened a sharp and rapid fire from four heavy batteries on the east side of Stone River, and at the same time made a strong demonstration of attack a little farther to the right ; but a well* directed fire of artillery soon silenced his batteries, while the guns of Walker and Sheridan put an end to his eifort there. General Eosecrans still had faith in his proposed movement of throwing his left Aving into Murfreesborough, and early in the afternoon rode towards the river to examine the position of Crittenden's left, across the stream, — the position being held by Van Cleve's division, supported by one of Palmer's brigades. At about three o'clock a double line of I'ebel skirmishers was seen to emerge from the woods in a southeasterly direction^ advancing down the fields, and were soon followed by heavy columns of infantry, battalion front, with three batteries of artillery. The only battery on that side of the river was speedily placed in position, and at once opened upon the enemy. Their line, however, advanced steadily to within one hundred yards of Van Cleve's front, and began a furious attack. Their assault had all the vigor and rapidity that characterized the grand operation of Wednesday upon McCook. Van Cleve's division was driven from its position by overwhelming numbers, its fire scarcely lessening the speed of the advance, and retired in considerable confusion across the river, closely followed by the enemy. On came the entire right wing of the rebel army, in three heavy lines of battle, sweeping down the sloj)e of a wide cotton-field, and to the very edge of the river. Meanwhile, General Crittenden's chief of artillery had massed his batteries along the rising ground on the west side of the river, 80 as to sweep and enfilade the enemy, while our own left wing was well posted for their reception, and reserves were on their 404 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. way. Fifty-eight cannon were soon pointing across the water and pouring forth their fiery streams of death. General Eose- crans had his army well in hand for a movement in any direc- tion, and to quickly reinforce. A rapid counter-movement was made against the flank of the advancing enemy. The firing from both artillery and musketry was incessant, and the slaughter terrible. On came the rebel masses; and, as our artillery ploughed furrows through their columns, they wera seen to close up, men rushing forward from the rear ranks to fill the gaps. So near was their approach that here, there, all along their front, their troops were seen to drop, incessantly, and occasionally by twos and threes, from the showering bullets of our musketry. Their front ranks were seen to waver, — the fire had become so murderous. Pushed and cheered on by their rear lines, they again advanced. A few yards farther down the glade, and again they wavered, and again they stag- gered on. A third time, and when almost at the river's brink, they stopped, some of them even stepping into the water. It was too much for human endurance : they gave way. As our troops now sj^rung upon them with the bayonet, fording the river, they began to fall back, — their retreat soon becoming a rout. They fled back over the ground upon which they had advanced, helter-skelter, throwing down their guns and all that would impede their flight. Our troops pushed after them up- wards of half a mile, with cheers upon cheers, which were soon taken up and repeated along our entire line. The lost ground from which Yan Cleve's forces had been driven was left far in the rear, and the rebels retreated beyond their original lines, having lost in forty minutes two thousand men. General Davis took one of his brigades and crossed at a ford below to attack the enemy on his left flank, and, by General McCook's order, the rest of his division followed ; but when he arrived, two brigades of IvTegley's division, led by the glorious 19th Illinois, and Hazen's brigade of Palmer's division, had pursued the flying enemy across the field, capturing four pieces of artillery and a stand of colors. Darkness was now upon us, and put an end to BATTLE OF STONE RIVER. 405 the pursuit, or the enemy would have been followed into Mur- freesborough. Crittenden's entire corps, however, passed over, and with Davis occupied the ground of our advance, which was formidably intrenched during the night. This defeat of Breckinridge, so terrible in its mortality, im- parted a new aspect to the situation. The Union army was exultant, and the more so because of its misfortunes on the 31st. The enemy had repeated his grand, sudden, and dashing attack upon the other wing of our army, and had been defeated. Long after dark, volleys of musketry were fired from the ad- vance-pickets of the two armies, — so near were they stationed, — when rounds of cheers would go up from our lines, extending from one extremity to the other. What was the rebel plan of attack upon this occasion it is difficult to surmise. We have Bragg's version of it in his official report, in which he dis- ingenuously attempts to lessen it in importance. His troops apparently aimed to cross the river with a rush and a storm, seize our batteries amid the confusion, as they did on our right, two days before, and drive back our left ujjon its centre, thus gaining the high ground we occupied on both sides of the river; from which position we constantly threatened their right, with nothing to prevent our swinging around and flanking or driving it, gaining their rear, and, over open and unobstructed fields, pushing in to Murfreesborough. The rebels were as greatly depressed by this result as the Federals were encouraged. Their first onset we had repelled after eight hours of unparalleled fight- ing, and had inflicted upon them even the greater loss; and their second had been nipped almost in the bud. The two armies had measured strength, and they were vanquished. The next day Bragg and his generals took council, and resolved to retreat, — and at night, — to avoid another battle. This decision was made In the forenoon. At three o'clock p.m. of that day, the rear rebel columns began their march from the battle-field, and through Murfreesborough towards the Tennessee Eiver, leaving their front ranks in battle-line and keeping up brisk picket-firing at times, to cloak their retreat. Soon after dusk, their rear columns 406 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. of exhuusted and dispirited troops moved out from their m- trencliments, and ere midnight of Saturday, January 3, 1863, amidst a wintry and tempestuous rain-storm, the grand army of Bragg, which had gone out to speedily annihilate Eosecrans or drive him back to Nashville and there besiege and capture him, had passed through Murfreesborough, — their rear columns a mob, — moving through mud and slush and darkness, — the con- fusion being worse confounded by the pelting storm and the bustle of hundreds of rebel townsmen and farmers, with vehicles of all descriptions, hastily laden with household stuif, who until a few hours before had been assured that all was going well, — that Bragg's army was victorious, and that Eosecrans was in full preparation for, if not in full tide of, retreat. The history of the retreat of Bragg's army, and the attendant fright and flight of the people of Murfreesborough and vicinity, afford a rare theme for pen and pencil. But to resume our narrative. Soon after the battle just described, rain set in, and at day- break next morning it was pouring down in torrents. The roads, camps, and fields were a wide expanse of mud; and military operations on any considerable scale were impossible. The ploughed ground over which the left was to have advanced was impassable for artillery, and the ammunition-trains did not arrive until ten o'clock. It was, therefore, determined to make no ad- vance; but batteries were placed in position on the left, by which the ground could be swept, and even Murfreesborough reached, by the Parrott guns. The enemy kept up a constant picket-firing along the front, which at last became so annoying that General Eosecrans, in the afternoon, ordered the corps commanders " to clear their fronts," — which was speedily effected. General Eous- seau's front, however, was still harassed by the sharpshooters occupjnng the woods to the left of the Murfreesborough pike and " the Burnt House." A number of his men having been killed and wounded, General Thomas and himself obtained per- mission to dislodge them and their supports, they covering a ford. A sharp fire from four batteries was opened for ten or fifteen minutes, when Eousseau at dark sent two of his regiments, BATTLE OF STONE RIVER. 407 wnich, with Spear's Tenncsseeans and the 85th Illinois Volun- teers, who had come out with the wagon-train, charged upon the enemy, and, after a sharp contest, cleared the woods and drove him from his trenches, capturing from seventy to eighty prisoners. The following diagram illustrates this advance of Breckinridge upon our left, his retreat, and the advance of our troops to a new position. The positions on our right were not changed by this battle ; and thus both armies rested when the rebels evacu- ated Murfreesborough. DIAGRAM III. Lines of Contending Forces on January 2, 1863. The next day being Sunday, it was probable that no offensive movements would take place on General Eosecrans's part. The night was no improvement on the previous one. It still rained incessantly. Every thing possible was done for the wounded, who had suffered greatly from the inclemency of the weather. About midnight, signs of a freshet appearing in Stone Eiver, the left wing was withdrawn to the east side before daylight. Sunday dawned fair. Ere long news was brought that the enemy had fled 3 and the army rested, with the exception of the burial -parties and the cavalry, the latter following the enemy to reconnoitre. Early Monday morning, General Thomas advanced into 408 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. Murfreesborough, driving the rear-guard of the ]-ebel cavalry before him six or seven miles towards Manchester. McCook's and Crittenden's corps, following, took position in front of the town, occupying Murfreesborough. It was now ascertained that the enemy's infantry had reached Shelbyville by twelve M. on Sunday; but, owing to the impracticability of bringing up sup- plies, and the loss of five hundred and fifty-seven artillery horses, further pursuit was deemed inadvisable. Of the results of the battle of Stone Eiver we give the follow- ing general summary. We moved on the enemy with 41,421 infantry; 2223 artillery ; 3296 cavalry : total, 46,940. We fought the battle with 37,977 infantry; 2223 artillery; 3200 cavalry: total, 43,400. We lost in killed, 92 officers; 1441 enlisted men: total, 1533. We lost in wounded, 384 officers; 6861 enlisted men : total, 7245. Total killed and wounded, 8778, — ^being 20.03 per cent, of the entire force in action. Our loss in prisoners was less than 3000. The enemy's force is estimated by General Eose- crans at over 62,000; and the reasoning by which he supports the estimate would seem to be conclusive.* Thus ended the series of skirmishes and two grand battles at Stone Eiver in front of Murfreesborough. The result of the enemy's retreat was the loss to the rebellion of Middle Ten- nessee and all hopes of an immediate lodgment upon the navi- gable waters of the Cumberland and Tennessee Elvers. Also it secured Kentucky from rebel advance in force, save by cir- cuitous and hazardous marches through East Tennessee and the gaps of the Cumberland Mountains. Their retreat was truly a death-blow to the hopes of the rebel citizens of Nashville and throughout Tennessee and Kentucky. Up to that period the secessionists were confident that Bragg's great army would vanquish Eosecrans and drive him from their soil. Their sur- prise and bitter sorrow over his defeat were depicted on many a clouded brow, and were described by themselves in hundreds * In the Appendix to this work we publish the oflScial reports of General? Rosecrans and Bragg, for future reference and candid criticism. BATTLE OF STONE RIVER. 409 of intercepted letters. Above all, the result at Stone Eiver destroyed the self-confidence of Bragg and his army. His trooj^s were mainly from Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, and Missis- sippi, — confessedly the best fighting-men of the so-called Con- federacy. And these men were here upon their own threshold, — battling, as their leaders would fain make them believe, for their homes, their altars, ana their firesides. The rebels had not yet fathomed the hollowness of their belief that each one of them was equal to three or even five of Rosecrans's men. How soon and how effectually this error was cut up by the roots, is attested by those awful battle-scenes and their clearly defined result. This point is thoroughly elaborated by Captain W. D. Bickham in his thrilling little volume entitled " Eoseci-ans's Campaign with the 14th Army Corps," from which work we copy as follows : — " Bragg, confident in the superb discipline of his army, had misconceived the fighting qualities of our men. He assumed that at least half of Rosecrans's forces were raw, and therefore unre- liable. He, therefore, not only concluded to give battle at Stone River, but it is asserted that he was preparing to fall suddenly upon the divisions at Gallatin, menacing I^ashville with a suffi- cient force to prevent Eosecrans from sending succor to the forces at the former points. " It is certain that he was sanguine of success, and his defeat, although compensated in some degree by his success of "Wednes- day, was a sore disappointment. Had he been satisfied to with- draw from Murfreesborough Wednesday night, the prestige of victory would have remained with him for a little while, though he would have been bitterly pursued and at all hazards. Bragg's mode of fighting was characteristic of the Southern people. It was all dash, and the admirable discipline of his troops told fearfully at every onset. They charged with splendid daring. But it was evident that they were best in onset. They did not at any time display the staunch stand-up fighting pluckiness which distinguished our troops. Where two lines were con- fronted in the field, man for man, the superiority of our troops 410 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. •was at once made manifest. Northern phlegm was too much for Southern fire. Their troops fought ferociously, ours with bitter determination. Now and then some of our regiments, galled to death by their marksmen, would rush infuriately for- ward and drive every thing before them. The rebels never attempted to resist a charge, though our troops resisted mad charges by them repeatedly. They overwhelmed the right wing and the 3d division of the left by avoirdupois, — not by fighting. Their grand tactics were consj^icuous in this battle as they were at Gaines's Mills, where they defeated Fitz-John Porter, who, if he had possessed the skill of Eosecrans, would have utterly defeated the enemy, though vastly outnumbered by them. The rebel artiller}- practice was very fine. They had exact range all over our position. It was often remarked in the midst of battle that their gunners were very skilful. Nevertheless, the superiority of our artillery was established. Their sharpshooters were their most formidable arm. They swarmed in the forests, and during Wednesday there was not a point on the battle-field that was not within their range. Half of our officers who were wounded were struck by them. In McCook's front they had constructed platforms among the branches of the trees, from which to practise their devilish arts. Their mounted infantry were also signally serviceable to them. Without them their cavalry would not have been able to cut our communications so successfully. In fine, the rebels again illustrated. in this battle the fact that they had thoroughly devoted themselves to war, — that the}'- had rejected all theories; that they had adopted the wisest maxims of warfare, and had accepted the admonitions of experience. It was curious, however, that Bragg, whose reputation as an artillery ofiicer stood highest in that branch of the service, should have been so thoroughly beaten with his favorite arm." The contest at Stone Eiver was one of the most memorable of the war up to that period. Nor has a battle since been fought attended with such mortality, such heroism, and such directly important results. As more recent events have shown, it de- wheeler's repulse at lavergne. 411 stroyed the rebellion in Tennessee and struck a death-blow at the heart of the pretentious Southern Government. The loyal people of our country were paralj'zed while the battles raged, and were correspondingly electrified at the result. The follow- ing telegraphic despatches transmitted to General Eosecrans breathed the heartfelt thanks of a grateful people to the heroes, dead and living, of Stone Eiver : — " Washington, January 5. " To Major-Gexeral Rosecraxs : — "Your despatch, announcing the retreat of the enemy, has just reached here. God bless you and all with you ! Please tender to all, and accept for yourself, the nation's gratitude for your and their skill, endurance, and dauntless courage. A. Lincoln." " Washington, January 9, 1863. " Major-General Rosecrans, Commanding Army of the Ctimberland : — " General : — Rebel telegrams fully confirm your telegrams from the battle- field. The victory was well earned, and one of the most brilliant of the war. You and your brave army have won the gratitude of your country and the admiration of the world. The field of Murfreesborough is made historical, and future generations will point out the place where so many heroes fell . gloriously in defence of the Constitution and the Union. All honor to the Army of the Cumberland ! Thanks to the living, and tears for the lamented dead. H. W. Halleck." WHEELER'S EEPULSE AT LAVERGNE. "While the battle was raging before Murfreesborough, a most brilliant and decisive affair occurred at Lavergne, — which, the reader will remember, is a small village lying midway between Murfreesborough and Nashville, on the direct pike. The 1st Michigan Engineers and Mechanics had been left at that place to protect communication, and had taken position on an elevated piece of ground in the rear of the village, surround- ing themselves with a barricade of cedar brush, much in the nature of a common brush fence. The command numbered three hundred and ninety-one, officers and men. About two o'clock in the afternoon, the rebel General Wheeler, who had 412 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. been busying himself in destroying trains upon the road, sud- denly appeared before Colonel Innes's improvised fort with a force of about three thousand men and two pieces of artillery, demanding an immediate surrender. This was refused, and a charge made upon the garrison ; but the rebels were spiritedly repulsed and driven into the neighboring thickets. Seven times the enemy attempted to carry the flimsy work, and seven times they were driven back with heavy loss. The scene was at times thrilling beyond desci'iption. The rebel horde, exas- perated at the successful resistance of the little force, dashed their horses against the circular brush fence, which was only breast-high, with infuriate shouts and curses. But the Michigan troops were cool and determined : they loaded fast and aimed well, and, as the troopers rushed on upon all sides, they were met with staggering volleys almost at the muzzles of the muskets. Horses and riders recoiled again and again, until they despaired, and soon swept away through the dense forests, leaving over fifty of their dead upon the field, which were buried by our forces. The ground all around that small circle of cedar brush was strewn with dead horses of the rebel troopers, and with their clothing, guns, &c. Truly, this was one of the most gallant affairs of the campaign. Meanwhile Colonel Innes had sent a messenger to Colonel Eurke, at Stewart's Creek, five miles to the south, for assist- ance. The latter, with a portion of his regiment (the 10th Ohio), hastened rapidl}^ to the scene of the conflict; but before he reached it the enemy had fled. For the gallantry displayed in this engagement, the Michigan Engineers Eegiraent was sub- sequently highly complimented by the commanding general. OUR ARMY AT MURPREESBOROUGH. Head-quarters were established in Murfreesborough on Mon- day, the 5th of January, 1863. Taking up a position in front of OUB ARMY AT MURFREESBOROUGH, 413 the town, our exhausted army calmly settled down into the quiet of camp-life. The Pioneer Brigade and Michigan En- gineers immediately began to rebuild the railroad and pike bridges across Stone Eiver, and to repair the road beyond. The construction of a series of extensive earthworks, completely encircling the town, was entered upon, with a view of making it a base of future operations and an intermediate depot of sup- plies. Foraging-trains scoured the country in every direction, and collected grain and stock. A deserted mill was put into operation, and the troops supplied with meal. Preparations for advance movements were being made extensively; but the rainy season, now setting in, effectually put an end to present offensive operations. The constant and extraordinarily heavy rains, however, were not without beneficial results. The Cum- berland Eiver rose rapidly, and for months was navigable. Supplies were hurried forward and began to accumulate in large quantities at both Nashville and Murfreesborough. So passed the months of winter and spring, but not in idleness nor un- marked by important events. On the 9th of January the army was divided into three corps d'armee, — the 14th, 20th, and 21st, — commanded by Major-G-ene- rals Thomas, McCook, and Crittenden, respectively. The limits of a single chapter will not allow a detailed ac- count of the most important expeditions and engagements which have occurred within the lines of the department; while many interesting minor events must be entirely ignored. All *hat can be attempted is an intelligible account of the consider- able battles that have been fought, with allusions to some of the many expeditions which have been sent into the surrounding country in every direction. 414 ARMY OP THE CUMBERLAND. rOEAGING AND SCOUTING. The general and his officers were now occupied with the usual routine of business. The quiet of camp-life was enlivened, how- ever, by the almost daily outgoing and incoming of foraging- trains, and occasionally the departure or return of a more formidable expedition, — usually cavalry, sometimes infantry, not unfrequently both. Of the former the experiences were as varied as their number. On other pages some of the in- cidents which befell those participating in them are related; and it is only necessary to say here that they were almost in- variably attended with success, bringing in large amounts of wheat, corn, bacon, and stock. Of the larger expeditions a few of the more noted, with their results, are briefly narrated in the course of this chapter, and from them the character of the whole must be determined. The enemy was not idle. His cavalry, too, were out scouring the country, and occasionally our men and wagons were picked up by him. The grand object of his efforts was to cut off our communications and interrupt our supplies. To this end, the steamers upon the Cumberland were sharply watched, and more than one, in an unwary moment, was captured, robbed, and burned. On the 31st of January, Brigadier-General Jefferson C. Davis with his division of infantry, and two brigades of cavalry, thirteen hundred and twenty-eight men, under command of Colonel Minty, left camp at Murfreesborough for an extended scout in the direction of Eover, Eagleville, and Franklin. Colonel Minty was ordered to proced to Versailles, where G-eneral Davis would form a junction with him. Sending two regiments, under Colo- nel Cook, to Middleton and Unionville, Colonel Minty proceeded to Versailles, and there learned that a body of four hundred rebel ca-\(alry were at Eover. Proceeding to the latter place, he drove in the pickets, charged upon the main body, and routed them, driving them at a sharp gallop through the town, killisig one, wounding forty-nine, and capturing forty-nine, — six of FORAGING AND SCOUTING. 415 whom were officers. Among the prisoners were thirteen wounded, and all but one with the sabre. Not having heai'd from Colonel Cook, Colonel Mintyproceeeded to Unionville, driving the enemy before him into and out of that town, and remained there about an hour. At this time a messenger arrived fi*om Colonel Cook, stating that he had surprised a rebel force at Middleton and captured Colonel Douglas, a captain, a lieutenant, and forty- one men. The enemy had been reinforced and attacked him in turn, and he was in need of reinforcements. Ordering him to fall back to Eagleville, Colonel Minty joined him at that place, finding there also General Davis and division, who had met no enemy. The next day Colonel Minty proceeded to Peytonville, intend- ing to cross the Harpeth near that place and form a junction with Genei'al Davis near Boyce's Creek. Finding the bridges burned and no ford near by, he took the road to Poplar Grove, crossed at the ford west of the pike, and camped for the night beyond the junction with the Eagleville pike. The next day (February 2) he marched rapidly on Franklin, and found Gene- ral Davis in possession of the place. Moving out on the Carter's Creek pike, he camped five and a half miles from Franklin, on the road leading to Hillsborough. On the 5th he passed through Hillsborough, on the 6th moved forward to Kinderhook, and, taking the road to Charlotte, camped after dark one mile south of the road leading from Nashville to Centreville. During the day Colonel Minty captured a colonel and major upon Forrest's staff, and two lieutenants and twenty-three men of Forrest's and "Wharton's escort, one of them a courier with de- spatches for the latter. On the 7th the force returned to Franklin. On the 10th Colonel Minty camped on the north side of the Harpeth, and on the 12th marched through Triune to Eagle- ville. On the 13th General Davis returned to Murfreesborough; and Colonel Minty, with five hundred men, moved on Eover, drove the enemy out of that town, and arrived at Murfrees- borough after dark. During the scout the cavalry caj)tured one hundred and forty-one prisoners, including tw^o colonels, one major, four captains, seven lieutenants, and one hundred and 41(5 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. twenty-seven enlisted men. The only casualties upon our side were, one man severely and one dangerously wounded. While this expedition was absent, events of greater magni- tude were transpiring in another portion of the department. On Wednesday, the 3d of February, the rebel Generals Wheeler, Forrest, and Wharton, with a force of eleven regiments of cavalry and nine pieces of artillery, suffered a EEPULSE AT POET DONELSON. On the 2d it was known that Forrest, with a command nine hundred strong, had taken position at Palmyra, for the purpose of interrupting the navigation of the Cumberland. Scouting- parties were sent out to watch his movements, and early on the morning of the 3d it was announced that the enemy was ad- vancing upon the fort in force, both from above and below. The garrison of that fort consisted of nine companies of the 83d Illinois, a battalion of the 5th Iowa Cavalry, Flood's battery, and some wounded men, — in all less than eight hundred, — under the command of Colonel A. C. Harding, of the 83d Illinois. In addition to the battery, consisting of four rifled pieces, a single thirty-two-pounder siege-gun was mounted upon the northwest corner of the fort, near the old court-house. The cavalry was at once sent out on the different roads ; one company of the 83d were deployed as skirmishers to the southward, near the out- posts, and another on the ridge to the east, thus guarding the main approaches to the position. At about half-past one, the rebel commander sent in a flag of truce, demanding the sur- render of the post and gax'rison, which was promptly refused; and Colonel Harding began vigorous preparations for defence. One gun of the battery was placed upon a hill on the Fort Henry road, near the southwest corner of the fort, overlooking Colonel Harding's encampment and the surrounding country. Believing that the enemj^ would attempt to cut off communica- tion with Fort Henry and thus make this the key to his position, Colonel Harding sent three companies of his regiment to sup- REPULSE AT FORT DONELSON. 417 port this gun. Another gun, supported by two companies, was ordered into position to the east of the I'ifle-pits, and a third was stationed behind the redoubts, at the southw^est corner of the base. The siege-gun before mentioned as in position was a pivot-gun, and commanded every approach. The enemy now- placed in position four guns, and opened a heavy fire upon the gun at the east end of the rifle-pits and the force upon the hill near the Fort Henry road. The companies of the 83d, not acting as supports to the guns in position, were deployed in a deep ravine on the west, where they were completely sheltered from the enemy's artillery. The latter now had nine guns in position, and were raining a constant stream of shot and shell upon Cqlonel Harding's small forces, occasionally changing their situation, in order to make their fire more effective. A heavy force was now menacing the position commanding the Fort Henry road, and the gun at the rifle-pits was sent to its defence. The enemy next attempted a charge from the low ground towards the river, but were driven back by the fire of the last gun of Flood's battery, placed in position for that purpose. All the guns were eventually concentrated on the liill, under the direction of Lieutenant-Colonel Smith, wliere they did good execution until their ammunition was exhausted, when they were retired with difficulty, as they had suffered severely in both men and horses. In the end one was lost, but the remain- ing three were brought safely ofl". Forrest now led his large command of mounted men down the river to a point near the jail, and then by the flank up the street to the southward, forming them into successive lines of battle, which filled the whole open space in front of the fort. Eending the air with horrid yells, they advanced to the charge. In an instant the siege-gun was double-shotted with canister, turned upon them, and discharged into their ranks, blowing to atoms one of their number who was within ten feet of its muzzle, and making terrible havoc in the main body beyond. The infantry from the ravine now poured a galling musketry- fire upon the rebels at the crest of the ridge, and, with the aid 27 418 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. 1 of the siege-gun, still belching forth its double charges of canis- ter, checked their advance. While the column yet wavered, a bayonet-charge was ordered and the ground soon cleared, the enem}" leaving forty prisoners in our hands. Again and again the charge was essayed, but each time was gallantly repulsed. In the last attenipt, Colonel McISTairy, of Nashville, was shot down while vainly endeavoring to rally his men, recoiling before the deadly fire from the fort. Our artillery had now been withdrawn to the rear, and the force lying in the ravine near the siege-gun were ordered to the support of the right, where the rebels were advancing in large numbers. Advancing in line of battle, our forces drove the enemy before them until they came within range, when.the lipe was halted and volley after volley delivered, till our ammunition was exhausted. The line moved towards a point known as "Mrs. Coble's House," where they were to some extent sheltered by the crest of the bluff. The enemy's firing had now ceased, and he was evidently preparing for another and final charge. Destitute of ammunition and far inferior in numbers, the situa- tion of Colonel Harding's force was critical j but he was prepared for the emergency. A charge was ordered towards the rifle-pits and the ammunition. Advancing with wild shouts, the gallant Illinoisians drove the rebels before them in every direction and reached the position in safety. It was now too late for their artillery to inflict serious injury, and our men were dis- posed among the rifle-pits, where ammunition was distributed to them. The siege-gun, short of friction-primers, was imper- fectly spiked and abandoned. Colonel Harding, placing his men to the best advantage, kept up a constant fire upon the enemy until about eight o'clock in the evening, when another flag of truce was sent in, Forrest again demanding a surrender, and saying that they had not yet brought into action half their number. The surrender was refused, as before, and the rebels, deeming further contest useless, retired in confusion. In this gallant defence against immensely superior numbers, our loss was thirteen killed, fifty-one wounded, and twenty BATTLE OP SPRING HILL. 419 taken prisoners, not including a captain and twenty-six men of the command who were captured the same day while out on a scout. We also lost one gun without the caisson, and twenty- five mules and forty-two horses, killed, wounded, and captured. The enemy's loss, as far as could be ascertained, was two hun- dred and fifty killed, one hundred and fifty-five of whom were buried by our forces, six hundred wounded, and one hundred and five prisoners. Thus far every thing had gone prosperously in the depart- ment. Constant success had attended our arms in the numerous skirmishes and scouts, and a large rebel force had been igno- miniously defeated by a mere handful at Fort Donelson. The same success might reasonably be expected to crown our efforts in the future, and the army was hopeful and enthusiastic, con- fident in themselves and in their leaders. Foraging-trains still went out, expeditions of cavalry still roamed at will through the country, and all returned without disaster. The enemy was heard of and seen occasionally, but seldom made a stand; and in time it began to be questioned whether he would fight at all, after his experience at Stone Eiver and since. So it con- tinued for days and weeks, until suddenly the camps were startled by the news of the defeat and capture of a brigade at the BATTLE OP SPEING HILL. On the 4th of March, an expedition under the command of Colonel John Coburn, of the 33d Indiana, and consisting of parts of the 3od and 85th Indiana, 22d Wisconsin, and 19th Michigan, numbering in all fifteen hundred and eighty-nine, together with the 124th Ohio, and six hundred cavalry (detachments from the 2d Michigan, 9th Pennsylvania, and 4th Kentucky, under the command of Colonel Jordan, of the 9th Pennsylvania), and one battery of six small guns, was ordered to proceed from Franklin to Spring Hill, ten miles south on the Columbia pike and thirty miles from Nashville. About four miles out it met the enemy, 420 ARMY OF TOE CUMBERLAND, and after a sharp skirmish drove them back, without loss on our side. Their loss was fifteen killed and wounded. Moving forward about two miles, the enemy were again encountered, but, owing to the lateness of the hour, the command went into camp. On the morning of the 5th the force started early, the 124th Ohio being left in the rear of the wagon-train, which was large. After marching about two miles our cavalry met the enemy's pickets and outposts, and severe skirmishing was kept up until the expedition came in sight of Thompson's Station, the enemy falling back. About half a mile from the station the railroad approaches the pike on the west side and runs parallel with the pike, between two high hills, for six hundred yards, when it bears off to the west on a plain about half a mile wide, — hills rising again on the south side of the plain, the station being about half-way between the two ridges. When the point where the railroad joins the pike was reached, the enemy opened fire with a heavy battery. Colonel Coburn at once formed his forces in line, ordered one section of the battery to take position on the hill on the left of the pike, and deployed the 19th Michigan and 22d Wisconsin to support it. The other three guns took position on the hill on the right, supported by the 33d and 85th Indiana. The enemy had two batteries on the range of hills three-quarters of a mile to the southward. The plain in front of our position was cultivated, and there were some six lines of rail-fence and one or two stone walls between us and the enemy, who showed no front. Colonel Coburn ordered the 33d and 85th Indiana to make a demonstration on the left of the enemy, to draw him out if in force, and if not to charge his battery. These two regiments marched out from the cover of the hills in columns of companies across the fields about six hundred yards, under a galling fire from the enemy's batteries, being all the while in plain view, having fences to tear down as they went, and wholly unable to return the fire by a single shot. Upon reaching the station our skirmishers soon unmasked the enemy, and found at the foot of the hill, posted behind BATTLE OF SPRING HILL. 42i stone walls, fences, and brush, two whole brigades of dismounted cavalry. Seeing that it was impossible to advance farther, the two regiments lay down and were covered by the buildings and fences. No disposition to advance or attack, however, was shown by the enemy. The incessant firing of their sharp- shooters, to pick off our officers, seemed to content them. In a few moments the regiments were ordered to retire to the hill from which they had started, and Colonel Jordan was directed to send two companies of cavalry to their support; but the latter order, for some reason, was not obeyed. No sooner had they left their shelter than two regiments from Arkansas and Texas started in fierce pursuit, firing rapid volleys of musketry into the retiring ranks. The rebel batteries, meanwhile, were play- ing upon them, and both regiments lost several in killed and wounded. All this time they had been unable to fire a shot; but as soon as they reached the hill they turned and drove back the enemy faster than they had come, killing Colonel Earle, of Arkansas. The rebels again rallied and charged, but were again driven back. It soon became evident that Colonel Coburn had encountered the whole of Van Dorn's and Forrest's forces. An advance was now made upon our left, where were sta- tioned the 19th Michigan and 22d Wisconsin. The latter at once opened fire upon the advancing enemy, and, the former coming to its support, the enemy was repulsed, and held in check for some twenty minutes. When the 22d Wisconsin was first attacked, that portion of the battery stationed on the left of the pike started rapidly up the road-, and, notwithstanding the efforts of a staff-officer to induce it to stop and assist in checking the enemy, then charging upon the 22d, continued its retreat. Foiled in his advance here, Forrest at once made a circuit with his whole force, beyond the ground occupied by our force to the east, with the intention to turn our left flank. Colonel Coburn now brought the 19th and 22d on the west side of the pike, and, leaving the 33d to protect the hill on its Bouth face, the 10th and 85th were formed, facing the enemy. 422 ARMY or THE CUMBERLAND, east, at right angles, with the 22d in the rear of the 85th, except three companies, which, with Lieutenant-Colonel BloodgoodJ had without orders retired from the field when the 22d received the first charge, moving off by the left flank and joining the retreating cavalry and artillery. The four regiments had hardly formed in line, lying down behind the crest of the hill, when Armstrong's brigade charged from the east and the Texans from the south. The fighting was now terrific. Our fire was reserved until the enemy were within thirty paces. Three times they gallantly charged up the hill from the east, and thrice were they forced back. In one of their charges the 19th Michigan captured the colors of the 4th Missis- sippi and four prisoners, and the contending parties were so near each other that one man was shot by the soldiers of the 85th from the window of a schoolhouse as he was trying to get in at the door. During this time one battery was throwing shells into our lines, and, having got possession of the hill on the east of the road, the enemy hurled grape and canister like hail The battle raged furiously. Still, it was a hopeless struggle. ■ Defeat was only a question of time. The ammunition was fast giving out, and Forrest, having got between them and Franklin, was closing in from the north. But officers and soldiers did their duty. A new line was formed with all four of the regi ments, facing north, to meet the new foe, about three hundred yards farther to the west and about the same distance to the north. Here Forrest was met and held in check until the last round of ammunition was fired. The brave little force then fixed bayonets, to charge and break the enemy's lines and try to escape. But, just as they were about to charge, it was discovered that Forrest had still another line in reserve^ and a battery began to open and form a new j)Osition. Escape was hopeless; and, to » avoid useless sacrifice of life, the command surrendered. Colonel Coburn, during the trying engagement, was calm and collected, displaying great energy and bravery. He made the best fight SUCCESSFUL EXPEDITION OF A DIVISION. 423 uc could, and only yielded when further strife would have been madness. Of officers and men thirteen hundred and six were made prisoners, and were sent south. The 85th Indiana had three hundred men in the fight, and two hundred and twenty-nine were taken. The cavalry were not engaged, and, with the artillery, escaped with little, if any, loss. The enemy were all cavalry and mounted infantry, but all fought on foot, every fourth man holding four horses; and the force consisted of six brigades, under Major-General "Van Dorn, Brigadier-Generals French, Armstrong, Cosby, Martin, and Jackson. Infantry had no chance of escape after the fight once began. Somebody evi- dently blundered in the planning of the expedition, as Van Dorn's whole force had been at Spring Hill for three daj'S before Colonel Coburn left Franklin, and, not knowing that the brigade had left Brentwood, were preparing to attack Franklin, and had started the day before for that purpose. SUCCESSrUL EXPEDITION OP A DIVISION. While this battle was being fought. General Sheridan with his division, and Colonel Minty, with a force of eight hundred and sixty -three cavalry, were out on a ten-days scout. Colonel Minty drove the enemy out of Eover and Unionville, pursuing them to within five miles of Shelbyville, where the rebel infantry pickets were encountered. During this chase fifty-one prisoners, seven- teen wagons, forty-two mules, thirty-one tents, and two wagon- loads of bacon and meal were captured. Our only casualty was one man wounded. The colonel then fell back to Eagleville, taking the captured property'" with him, and was there joined by General Sheridan on the morning of the 5th. On the 6th he moved towards Triune, and on the 7th towards Unionville. Four miles beyond Eagleville he was ordered to return to Triune and proceed to Franklin. On the 8th he arrived at Franklin, and 424 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. on the 9th inarched out on the Ciu'ter's Creek pike to form a junction with General G. C. Smith near Thompson's Station. Six miles out, the enemy were met and driven to within a mile and a half of Thompson's Station, where a force of seven hundred cavalry were found drawn up in line. Declining fight, however, they fled, closely pressed by the 4th United States Cavalry and a portion of the 7th Pennsylvania. At Thompson's Station the rebels were reinforced by Starns's regiment (the 3d Tennessee); but, after a short and sharp skirmish, the whole brigade was driven from the field by two companies of the 4th Cavalry and about fifty men of the 7th Pennsylvania, with a loss of five killed and thirteen prisoners. Our loss was three killed and one wounded. Camping that night at Springfield, we ad- vanced the next daj', and found General Smith at llutherford's Creek, the bridges over which had been burned. The next day the creek was forded higher up, Forrest and five hundred men disputing the passage but being driven to the woods with loss. The enemy had now dismounted, and advanced in line with their battle-flag flying; but, perceiving that they were likely to be surrounded, they rapidly remounted and fell back. Pursuing them five miles towai'ds the Lewisburg pike, Colonel Minty then mar-ched towards the Columbia pike. Upon reaching Duck Eiver, it was found that Yan Dorn's whole force had ci'ossed during the day on a pontoon bridge and by the ferry-boat. Accordingly, on the next day, the 12th, the expedition began its return by way of Franklin and Triune, reaching Mui-frcesborough on the afternoon of the 14th, the whole loss during the ten days having been five killed and five wounded. THE BATTLE OF MILTOJT. 426 THE EATTLE OF MILTON. On the 18th of March an expedition, consisting of the 105th Ohio, 80th and 123d Illinois, and lOlst Indiana, a section of the 19th Indiana Battery, and Company A of the 1st Middle Ten- nessee Cavalry, — the whole amounting to a little over fourteen hundred men. — under the command of Colonel A. S. Hall, of the 105th Ohio, left Murfreesborough in the direction of Liberty. The same night the command occupied Gainesville, cajituring two prisoners. The next morning an advance was made towards iStatesville, at which place a slight skirmish ensued. The enemy retired slowly down Smith's Fork on the pike, cautiously fol- lowed by Colonel Hall, until a regiment of cavalry, with those driven from Statesville, was found drawn up in line across the pike. Colonel Hall thereupon rested his forces for a couple of hours, which were occupied in reconnoissances. Becoming satisfied that the enemy greatly outnumbered him, he deter- mined to draw them as near 31urfreesborough as pos-sible, and, accordingly, camping that night at Auburn, seven miles from Liberty, the next morning took up a position near Milton, which place is twelve miles northeast of Murfreesborough. Here he made a stand, fought the enemy, commanded by General John H. Morgan, and completely routed them, entailing upon that rebel general the first thorough defeat he had met with. This engagement was fought on the 20th of March, and has since become famous as the battle of Milton. Colonel Hall had .scarcely taken position when the enemy's advance made its appearance about fifleen hundred yards away. Flankers were at once thrown out, and the section of Harris's battery was ordered to open fire upon the rebels, who were ap- proaching at a gallop. A few shells checked them; but the main body now came in sight, and, having dismounted, advanced on foot to the attack. Perceiving that the enemy outnumbered him almost two to one, Colonel Hall slowly fell back to the crest 426 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. of tlie hill, whei'e his men would have the advantage of an admirable position, and could avoid at the same time the possibility of being surrounded and compelled to surrender, he, meanwhile, sending a messenger to Murfreesborough for cavalry reinforcements. The 80th Illinois was formed upon the right, the 123d Illinois in the centre, and the 101st Indiana on the left. The 105th Ohio was held in reserve as a support to the section of Harris's battery, which was ordered to fire upon each rebel line as it passed within range. The enemy now opened a fierce fire of shot and shell from their battery, and also advanced in strength on both our flanks. Morgan evidently hoped to be able to throw Colonel Harris's men into confusion while they were slowly retreating to the top of the hill, and made direct charges on his lines for that purpose. The nature of the ground aver which he was compelled to pass was such, however, that he could not keep beyond the range of Harris's artillery; and his heavy columns passing to the left were two or three times cut in two by its terrible fire. The 80th Illinois also poured in a destructive volley, and so checked the enemy's ardor that all the regiments were enabled to reach the position on the crest of the hill without delay and in good order. The enemy now advanced on the left in solid columns, making a vigorous onset upon the 101st Indiana and the left wing of the 123d Illinois, but were driven back in confusion. A second time they made a still more powerful attack. Some little confusion was at first manifested in the ranks of the lOlst; but it was only for a moment, and the enemy were again driven back, with still heavier loss. Failing in his attempts on the left, he now moved in heavy force against the right, meanwhile opening a sharp fire upon the centre from four pieces of artillery. Here, too, he was driven back with terrible slaughter. The soldiers of the Illinois, Ohio, and Indiana regiments took deliberate aim, and at several places were forced to a hand-to-hand fight. They displayed the most invincible bravery. Our artillery was so handled as to do splendid execution. One of the euemy's field- THE BATTLE OF MILTON. 427 pieces, a rifled six-pounder, was shivered to atoms while a shell killed the gunner belonging to another. Failing to accomplish any thing on our flanks, the enemy next made an attack on the rear; but there also he was met and repulsed from the commanding position occupied by our forces, in such a tremendous storm of shot that the guerrilla gangs were literally mowed down. Again and again the rebels persevered, but each time without success, until at length (it being two o'clock, and the fight having lasted three and a half hours) Morgan withdrew his command. He still continued his artillery-fire, however, and once, having received reinforcements, began a new and fierce attack, but ere long withdrew in confusion. At half-past four his artillery ceased firing, and the whole command left the field. He col- lected most of his wounded, except those within our rifle- range and those mortally injured, and carried them away with him. Four captains, two lieutenants, and fifty-seven men were, however, found upon the field, dead, or mortally wounded. Four surgeons were also left to care for the wounded, by whom Colo- nel Hall was informed that the wounded carried off the field amounted to about three hundred, including General Morgan, slightly wounded in the arm (his wound was afterwards found to be a more serious one). Colonel Grigsby, right arm broken, Lieutenant-Colonel Napier, thigh broken and amputated, Lieu- tenant-Colonel Martin, flesh-wound in the back, and many other officers of lower rank. Their total loss in killed and wounded could not have been less than four hundred. Ten prisoners, eight horses, and fifty-three stand of arms were captured and brought into camp. Colonel Hall's loss was six killed, forty- two wounded, and seven missing. The courier whom Colonel Hall had sent for reinforcements magnified the danger, representing' that he was surrounded and out of ammunition. Under these circumstances it was thought advisable to send Colonel Minty, with two brigades of cavalry, a brigade of infantry, and a battery, to the assistance of our beleaguered forces. Colonel Minty pushed on with all possible 428 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. speed ; but when lie arrived at the scene of the fight, Morgan had left. It was ah'eady nearly dark; but Colonel Minty, thinking that perhaps the rebels had not gone far, advanced with his cavalry through the village and thoroughly recon- noitred the surrounding country. Not a rebel was in sight ; and our cavalry returned to the hill and bivouacked for the night. The next morning Colonel Minty despatched reconnoitring parties to Gainesville, Statesville, and Liberty, all of whom returned without having seen the enemy. The enemy's force was variously estimated at from three thousand five hundred to four thousand; but it was hardly so large. In his ofiicial report Colonel Minty estimates it at about two thousand two hundred and fifty, giving the number and names of the regiments coraj)Osing it. There were four regi- ments of cavalry, averaging about three hundred each, and three of mounted infantry, averaging about three hundred and fifty each. The enemy also had one twelve-pounder rifled cannon, one howitzer (both brass pieces), and two small mountain-how- itzers. Colonel Hall returned to Murfreesborough on the after- noon of the 21st, to receive the congratulations of the whole army for his gallant fight and his complete victory over the far- famed and not a little dreaded General Morijan. EXPEDITION or WILDEK'S BEIGADE. Expeditions were now more frequent, scarcely a day passing without the sending out or returning of one. The similarity of their movements and results renders separate mention useless. The most remarkable of them, however, have been made by Colonel John T. Wilder, of the 17th Indiana, commanding the 1st Brigade of Mounted Eifles. As a specimen of one out of many, the following account is subjoined. On the evening of April 1, Colonel Wilder started with de- tachments of the following regiments, the 15th, 101st, and 123d EXPEDITION OF WILDER's BRIGADE. 429 Illinois, on foot, commanded by Colonel Monroe, of the last- named regiment, and the 17th and 72d Indiana and the 98th Illinois, mounted, under Colonel Funkhouser. The brigade took with it four mountain-howitzers and four rifled Parrotts. The entire force proceeded north to the east fork of Stone Eiver, where it. encamped for the night. The next day, after proceeding north for some distance in the direction of Lebanon, while the foot kept the direct road, the mounted regiments struck oft' to the right, scouring the country in all directions, — the whole force concenti"ating at Lebanon and spending the second night there. By dift'erent routes Colonel Wilder then marched his forces towards the northeast, sending scouts north to the Cudaberland River on all the principal roads. While one part of the brigade marched on Eome, the other galloped into Cai'thage, taking possession of both these places at the same time. After resting and scouting in this vicinity for some time, the command again turned towards the south, in the direction of Alexandria, up Caney Fork and Smith's Fork, marching over hills and mountains where the people had never before seen a Federal soldier. Even artillery went rattling over by-roads where scarcely ever a wagon had gone before. Hearing that a body of Wharton's cavalry had returned to Liberty and Snow Hill, whence General Stanley had driven a similar force but a few days before. Colonel Wilder laid his plans to capture them. His plan was perfect, and its execution would have succeeded even beyond his expectations, but for a mistake in, a single road. Those ordered to take the rear wheeled to the right into the first cross-road, when they should have taken the second. This brought them into the main road of rebel retreat near the rear of their column, while the other would have placed them directly in Wharton's front. Still, several ofiicers and a number of prisoners were captured. The position held by Wharton's bat- talion was well chosen, and so strong that a hundred resolute men ought to have held it against a thousand ; but it was aban- doned without any show of resistance. 430 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. Many Union families were found entirely destitute, and many rebels with abundance. The goods of the latter were distri- buted among the former, and many hearts made glad. To one a dollar's worth of captured cotton yarn would be thrown ; to another a tired-out horse or mule would be given ; and so the expedition marched through the country, stripping the rebels and supplying several families that had lost their all for the sake of the Union. Able-bodied negroes who chose to accom- 2)any the army were assured that they would find emj)loyment and protection in the Federal army, and large numbers accom- panied it on its return. The result of the expedition was as follows : — Five hundred head of good horses and mules; eight* thousand dollars' worth of tobacco and cigars, paid for by the Confede- racy only two days before ; four thousand dollars' worth of spun yarn; about eighty-six tons of hay and forage; four thousand bushels of corn ; a large quantity of flour and meal ; one hundred and four prisoners, including eight officers who were enforcing the rebel conscription; a rebel mail and mail-carrier, and one hundred and ninety-four able-bodied negroes. The expedition is recognized by all as one of the most brilliant and successful of the campaign, reflecting great credit upon the gallant officer in command. An expedition, under command of General Palmer, to Wood- bury, also proved very successful, resulting in the capture of sixty prisoners, one hundred horses and mules, a large quantity of hay and corn, and a considerable amount of cigars and tobacco. VAN DOEN'S ATTACK ON PEANKLIN. Early in April, Major-General Gordon Granger, commanding a portion of our army at Franklin, learned that an attack would be made upon that place about the 9th or 10th of the month, by a rebel force estimated at from fifteen thousand to eighteen VAN DORn's attack ON FRANKLIN, 431 thousand, and commanded by Major-General Yan Dora. Gene- ral Granger's force consisted of Brigadier-Generals Baird's and Gilbert's divisions of infantry, fifteen hiindred and ninety-four men and sixteen guns, and Brigadier-General Smith's Cavalry Brigade, eleven hundred and twenty-eight men. To these were added a cavalry force of sixteen hundred men and two guns, under the command of Major-General Stanley. The only artificial defence was the fort, not yet completed, but which mounted two siege-guns and two three-inch rifled guns from the 18th Ohio Battery. Eising about forty feet above the general surface of the country around Franklin, it commands most of the approaches to the place north of the Harpeth, and all from the south save that part of the plateau covered by a few blocks of houses in the southeast part of the town. General Granger's camps were on the north side of the river, about two-thirds of a mile distant. The river is between thirty and forty feet wide, and about three feet deep, with bluff banks from six to ten feet high, and can easily be crossed at several fords either above or below Franklin. Thus the town is easy of approach from every direction. As the enemy was mounted and in large force, it was anti- cipated that he would not attack directly in front, but would seek to turn the flanks or gain the rear of General Granger's forces. Accordingly, General Baird was directed to hold in cneck any force attempting to cross the fords below the town. General Gilbert was placed in position to meet any attack in front or to reinforce either flank. General Stanley was stationed four miles out on the Murfreesborough road, to guard the ford at Hughes's Mill. General Granger's cavalry, under General G. C. Smith, was held in reserve to reinforce General Stanley, if necessary. The day was propitious for the attack, — dark and smoky. The wind, too, was high, and swept the dust from Franklin and the dry roads into the faces of our men, so that at the distance of a mile it was at times diflScult to distinguish a line of horsemen 482 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. from a fence. The enemy advanced with great raj^idity, — Van Dorn on the Columbia pike, and Cosby on the Lewisburg pike, while Starns and Forrest were sent around to gain Granger's rear by a road crossing the Harpeth three miles east of the town, known as the Nichol Mill lioad. It was in anticipation of this movement that General Granger had placed General Stanley in the position he held. The first notice of Cosby's approach was the firing of our pickets, who were driven in about twelve o'clock, and fell back to the 40th Ohio, stationed on the south side of the town and there performing guard-duty. By this force the progress of the enemy was stayed for an hour or more ; but it was finally compelled to fall back for want of ammunition. The number of the enemy's dead and wounded, however, show that our men made a gallant fight against im- mensely superior numbers. In retiring they were followed into town by Major Jones's Mississippi cavalry, few of whom lived to return. It was now about two o'clock, and a large force could be seen forming near the railroad on the Lewisburg pike, while another large force was collected between the Columbia pike and the railroad, about a mile and a quarter from the fort. Our guns at once opened upon the rebels stationed in the open field, and in a short time compelled them hastily to retreat. The enemy then posted two rifled guns in the edge of the woods, between the railroad and Columbia pike, directing their fire at the fort and General Granger's head-quarters, but without inflicting any damage. A messenger from Brentwood stating that the enemy had driven in General Morgan's pickets at that point, General Granger now thought it possible that Van Dorn's real intention might be to occupy his time and attention by a feint on Frank- lin, and thus prevent any attack upon him, while he attacked and captured the small force at Brentwood. To foil such a move- ment, he ordered all the cavalry under General Smith to rein- force General Morgan at Brentwood. After they had gone, however, it was ascertained that a gang of negi-oes had at a distance been mistaken for a rebel force, thus causing the alarm. VAN corn's attack ON FRANKLIN. 438 It was now evident that the real attack was to be upon his front; but it was too late to order the return of the cavalry force, which was to have supported General Stanley. To supply its place, two regiments of infantry, and two guns, from Gene- ral Gilbert's division, were ordered forward. Before they had moved, however, word was received from Stanley that he had crossed the river at Hughes's Ford, moved to the Lewisburg pike, and attacked the enemy in flank. It was here that Companies K and B of the 4th Cavalry dis- tinguished themselves by one of the finest charges of the war, capturing a full battery of six pieces and between two hundred and three hundred prisoners, besides killing a large number, including a captain and a lieutenant. The enemy were routedi at all points, with heavy loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners, — the latter numbering between four hundred and five hundred. Upon receipt of this information, General Granger at once- ordered Stanley's reinforcements forward on the double-quick,. 80 as to reach him before he was driven back. General Baird's division was also thrown across the river. These movements, however, were not quick enough. Yan Dorn, discovering his precarious situation, abandoned his attack on Granger's front, and, concentrating his forces against General Stanley, forced him. back, by the mere weight of overAvhelming numbers, before his reinforcements had time to reach him. The battery could not be taken off, and was abandoned, four of the guns having been spiked. Most of the prisoners were also recovered by the enemy, — the cavalry only succeeding in bringing away thirty- four, among whom were a captain and a lieutenant. Having thus extricated himself from a dangerous position,. Van Dorn seems to have been satisfied with the day's work; for' he immediately withdrew towards Spring Hill. His force was ascertained to have been nine thousand cavalry and mounted infantry, and two regiments of infantry. Their loss in killed,, wounded, and prisoners was about three hundred, of whom about eighty belonged to the latter class. The loss of Generals Stanley aud Granger was thirty-seven killed, Avounded, and missing. 28 48i ARMY OF THE CtMBEKLAND'. THE OAPTUEE OP MoMINNVILLE. On the 20th of April, Major-General J. J. Eeynolds, with his own division, Colonel Wilder'e Mounted Brigade, and seventeen hundred and eight cavalry under the command of Colonel Minty, left Murfreesborough for McMinnville, to capture or dis- perse any rebel force that might be at that place. The cavalry camped that night between Readyville and Woodbury. At two o'clock the next morning. Colonel Long, with the 2d Cavalry Brigade, four hundred and eighteen men, was ordered to take the road leading through Jacksborough, strike the railroad at or near Morrison's as soon after half-past ten a.m. as possible, and to destroy the trestle-work at that place. The Manchester train, it was hoped, would be intercepted; but it escaped, though the woi'k was well done, nevertheless. At three o'clock a.m.. Colo- nel Minty, with the remainder of his command, marched for McMinnville, and was followed by Colonel Wilder with his brigade. About two miles from McMinnville. the 4th Michigan iand one company of the Ist Middle Tennessee, with two of i,Colonel Wilder's mountain-howitzers, were detached and ordered to' move on the Smithville road, the main body moving along the old McMinnville I'oad. About half a mile farther on, the rebel pickets were encountered. Forming in line, they opened fire, but were charged and driven through the town. The entire iforee ithus dispersed was about seven hundred, — six hun- dred cavallry, and the provost-guard, consisting of one hundred and fifteen men of the 2d Kentucky and 41st Alabama Infantry. These latter had left town with the wagon-train, by the Chatta- nooga road, about an hour before Colonel Minty's arrival; but, ■by pressing hard, a part of the 7th Pennsylvania succeeded in capturing three of the wagons and eight or nine of the men. The cavalr}^ scattered in every direction, part of them retreat- ing at a gallop on every road leading from the town, and about fifty taking the railroad-train which started as our forces entered the place. In the chai'ge made through the town by the ad- THE CAtTCRE DP McMINNVItLE. 435 vance-guard, consisting of Lieutenant Thompson and twenty- five men of the 7th Pennsylvania, Corporal Street mortallj' wounded Lieutenant-Colonel Martin, of Johnson's Kentucky Cavalry, laying open his skull by a sabre-stroke. General John H. Morgan was riding by the side of Colonel Martin, and barely escaped capture by the fleetness of his horse. The famous Major Dick McCann was also wounded and captured, but effected his escape the same night from a guard of the 4th tJnited States Cavalry. Colonel Minty immediately sent the 3d Brigade and the 4th Michigan after the train which had just left, with orders to destroy it and also the new bridge over Hickory Ci-eek. The 4th Regulars were sent to the support of the 7th Pennsylvania, on the Sparta and Chattanooga road. Colonel Minty then en- camped for the night on the hill west of McMinnville, and early the next morning Was rejoined by the 2d and 3d Brigades and the 4th Michigan. On the 22d he camped at Snow Hill, and on the 23d passed through Liberty and Alexandria, Wheeler's, Wharton's, Har- rison's, and Duke's brigades retreating before him. Camping three miles west of Alexandria, he remained there until the morning of the 25th, when he began his return, and, camping that night near Cainsville, reached Murfreesborough the next afternoon. The expedition resulted in the capture of one hun- dred and thirty prisoners (all but seven of whom were taken by the cavalry), the destruction of the trestle-work below Morrison's, the burning of the railroad-buildings, one loco- motive, and two cars at that place, the burning of the railroad- bridge across Hickory Creek and the capture there of a large amount of bacon and other commissary-stores, the recapture of fifteen of the 2d Bast and Ist Middle Tennessee Cavalry, and also the capture of thirty horses, twelve mules, and three wagons. A large amount of property and stores— including a cotton-factory and other Government-buildings— was destroyed at McMinnville by Colonel Wilder, — who also brought in a large number of horses and mules. All this was eflfected without a single casualty. 436 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. On the 27^h of April, General Granger's escort — detachments of the 7th Kentucky Cavalry, Major Vemouth, 6th Kentucky, Colonel "Wickliff Cooper, and 6th Kentucky, Lieutenant-Colonel Eoper, — in all, about five hundred men, commanded by Colonel "Watkins, of the 6th Kentucky — made a brilliant dash upon a camp of rebels upon the Carter's Creek pike, eight miles from Franklin. Moving at two o'clock in the morning, they com- pletely surprised the rebels at daj^break, killing two, wounding ten, capturing one hundred and thirty-two privates and six officers, — three of them captains, and all of the 1st Texas Legion, About one hundred and fifty horses, one hundred mules, eight wagons, and an ambulance, were also among the trophies. A large camp, covering several acres, was completely broken up, and all the camp-equipage that could not be conveniently transported was destroyed. Only a mile distant was another and much lai'ger camp, before which Colonel Watkins drew up his men as though prei^aring to attack it. Under cover of this demonstration, he withdrew with his captures, reaching Franklin in safety. EXPEDITION TO NOETHEEN GEOEGIA. While the expedition to McMinnville was being consum- mated, still another was in progress, in another direction^ with a view to stir up the rebel enemy at their homes and to destroy their army-supplies and lines of communication. Colonel A. D. Streight, of the Slst Indiana Volunteers, was placed in com- mand of the 80th Illinois and portions of two Ohio regiments, which, with his own regiment, numbered about eighteen hun- dred men, with instructions to proceed to Northern Georgia and harass the enemy's rear in every possible manner. The expedition was successful in accomplishing a part of its pro- jected work, but was closely followed by superior rebel forces, and, after five days of constant fighting, was compelled to sur- render, its ammunition being exhausted and further resistance EXPEDITION TO NORTHERN GEORGIA. 437 useless. Inasmuch as Colonel Streight and the commissioned officers of his command have been refused an exchange and are now confined in Southern prisons as common felons, we subjoin the instructions given to Colonel S., upon which the expedition was based. "Head-Quarters Department of the Cumberland, " Murfreesborough, April 8, 1863. Colonel A. D. Streight, 51st Indiana Volunteers. "By special field orders No. 94, Paragraph VIII., you have been assigned to the command of an independent provisional brigade for temporary purposes. After fitting out your command with equipments and supplies, as you have already been directed in the verbal instructions of the general commanding this department, you vrill proceed, by a route of which you will be advised by telegraph, to some good steamboat-landing on the Tennessee River, not far above Fort Henry, where you will embark your command and proceed up the river. At Hamburg you will communicate with Brigadier-General Dodge, who will probably have a messenger there awaiting your arrival. If it should then appear unsafe to move farther up the river, you will debark at Hamburg, and without delay join the force of General Dodge, which will then be en route for luka, Mississippi. If, however, it should be deemed safe, you will land at Eastport and form a junction with General Dodge. From that point you will then march in conjunction with him to menace Tuscumbia ; but you will not wait to join in the attack unless it should be necessary for the safety of General Dodge's command or your own, or unless some considerable advantage can be gained over the enemy without inter- fering with the general object of your expedition. After having marched long enough with General Dodge to create a general impression that you are a part of his expedition, you will push to the southward and reach Russel- ville or Moulton. From there your route will be governed by circumstances; but you will with all reasonable despatch push on to Western Georgia and cut the railroads which supply the rebel army by way of Chattanooga. To accomplish this is the chief object of your expedition; and you must not allow collateral or incidental schemes, even though promising great results, to delay you so as to endanger your return. Your quartermaster has been furnished with funds suSicient for the necessary expenses of your com- mand. You will draw your supplies and keep your command well mounted from the country through which you pass. For all property taken for the legitimate use of your command, you will make cash payments in full to men of undoubted loyalty ; give the usual conditional receipts to men whose loyalty is doubtful ; hut to rebels nothing. You are particularly commanded to restrain your command from pillage and marauding. You will destroy all depots of supplies for the rebel army, all manufactories of guns, ammu- nition, equipments, and clothing for their use, which you can without delay- ing you 80 as to endanger your return. That you may not be trammelled 438 ARMY OF THE CUMBEKLAND. with minute instructions, nothing further will be ordered than this general outline of policy and operation. In intrusting this highly important and somewhat perilous expedition to your charge, the general commanding places great reliance upon your prudence, energy, and valor and the well-attested bravery and endurance of the officers and men in your command. Whenever it is possible and reasonably safe, send us word of your progress. You may return by way of Northern Alabama or Northern Georgia. Should you be surrounded by rebel forces and your retreat cut off, defend yourself as long as possible, and make the surrender of your command cost the enemy as many times your number as possible. A copy of the general order from the War Department in regard to paroling prisoners, together with the necessary blanks, are herewith furnished you. You are authorized to enlist all able- bodied men who desire to join the 'army of the Union.' You must return as soon as the main objects of your expedition are accomplished. " Very respectfully, your obedient servant, "J. A. Garfield, " Brigadier- General and Chief of Staff.** "additional by telegraph. "April 9, 1863. "The written instructions you have received are designed to cover the cases you allude to. It is not necessary that a manufactory be directly in the employ of the rebels to come under the rule there laid down. If it produces any considerable quantity of supplies which are likely to reach the rebel army, it is to be destroyed. Of course small mills, that can only sup- ply the necessaries of life to the inhabitants, should not be injured. Any considerable amount of supplies likely to reach the rebel army are to be destroyed. If you dress your soldiers in the costume of the enemy, they will be liable to be treated as spies: you should not do this without the consent of the men, after they have been fully advised of the possible consequences. " (Signed) J. A. Garfield, " Brigadier- General and Chief of Staff." Thus instructed, Colonel Streight moved with his command to near Fort Donelson, on the Cumberland Eiver, by steamers from Nashville, and thence marched across the neck of country to a point on the Tennessee River near Fort Henry, while the steamboats went down to the Ohio and came up the Tennessee River to meet him. While thus crossing, his men scouted through all that region for horses and mules, and soon the entire force of the expedition was mounted. Proceeding by steamers to Eastport, the force disembarked and marched up EXPEDITION TO NORTHERN GEORGIA. 439 the country, effecting a junction with General Dodge's force, advancing upon Tuscumbia and defeating the rebel troops sta- tioned there, with considerable loss to the latter. Colonel Streight now pushed on to Northern Georgia, hoping to reach Rome and Atlanta, and there destroy the rebel stores, machine- shops, and magazines, render useless their railroads, and in every way to commit irreparable damage to the rebellion, if possible. The forces under General Dodge, meanwhile, turned off southward to make a sweeping raid into rebel territory in North Alabama and return to their head-quarters at Corinth. Colonel Streight was hardly under way when information of his movements reached Forrest's and Eoddy's cavalry, which were then within striking-distance, as it happened. They moved on rapidly and, by pushing across the country, came in upon the rear of the Federals ; and then commenced a running fight of four days' continuance, during which there occurred two severe battles and several spirited skirmishes, resulting in considerable loss of life, — mainly on the part of the rebels, who rushed into well-laid ambushes and were several times signally repulsed- Upon one such occasion they lost two cannon, which our forces took along with them and used with effect until the ammunition was expended, when they were spiked and left behind. Thus, for a distance of over one hundred miles, our gallant troops marched towards the heart of the rebellion, doing immense damage as they progressed, by destroying bridges, large supplies of corn that had been collected for rebel army- use, burning a large foundry where cannon and shot were being cast for the Southerners, and stripping the country of what- ever animals were needed for the expedition. Aside from this, strict discipline was maintained, private property was respected, and the people along the route were not needlessly harassed. At length the rebel force in the rear became augmented to over- whelming numbers, and, his ammunition being expended and his men thoroughly exhausted. Colonel Streight surrendered his command, at a point fifteen miles from Eome, Georgia. His men, about thirteen hundred in number, were paroled and sent 440 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. to Virginia, where they were exchanged some two months after their capture. He and his officers were retained and closely imprisoned, upon the demand of the Governor of the State of Georgia, Avho claimed them as prisoners of state (felons), alleging that they had incurred the penalty fixed by a statute of that State for inciting slaves to rebellion. The charge was made that, at the time of the surrender, negroes were found with Streight's command, uniformed and bearing arms. Our returned privates, however, deny the charge, — stating that but very few — not more than five or six — negroes were with the command, that those persons started with them from Nashville as servants, &c., that they refused to permit negroes to accom- pany or follow them during the march, and that at the time of the surrender only one of these negroes could be said to be armed, and he was carrying his master's (or employer's) sword, as a servant. So stands this matter at the present time of writing. For this unjust detention and imprisonment our Government has retaliated by refusing to pai'ole or exchange rebel officers, and hundreds of the latter have since accumulated and are now pining in Northern prisons. In consequence of his detention, no official report of Colonel Streight's expedition has been madej and the author has gleaned the foregoing account from various sources, and in the detail it may not be strictly accurate. The following letter from Colonel Streight, addressed to Brigadier-General Garfield, Chief of Staff", from his cell in the Libby Prison, Eich- mond, Virginia, is all the official light as yet aff'orded us respect- ing this expedition : — "KiCHMOND, Va., May 24, 1863. "General: — I hope this may reach you; but whether the bearer of it (Captain Brown, formerly of the gunboat Indianola) will be able to get it through, I am unable to say. " Though painful in the extreme, I am under the necessity of announcing to you that after four days and nights of almost incessant fighting, — the enemy being fully four thousand strong, commanded by General Forrest, — we were compelled to surrender for want of ammunition. Our loss in the several engagements, in killed and wounded, does not amount to more than one hundred. I regret to say that Colonel Hathaway is among the kilkd; ADVANCE UPON TULLAHOMA. 441 he fell, mortally -wounded, on the evening of the third day, and expired in a few moments. The loss of the enemy in killed and wounded — according to actual count on some of the principal battle-grounds, together with the most positive information obtained through one of my surgeons, who waa left in charge of our wounded — will amount to not less than five hundred in killed and wounded ; among the latter is Captain Forrest (brother of General Forrest), mortally. I am proud to say that the whole command — both officers and men — acted nobly and gallantly, — drove the enemy from the field in each and every engagement. I will be glad to give you all the particulars when I have more confidence that they will reach you. We (the officers of my command) are now confined in the celebrated Libby Prison, and hope you will exercise your influence and judgment in getting us released as soon as possible, as our condition is any thing but pleasant. I had forgotten to say to you that we captured in the first engagement two pieces of artillery, which we used to good advantage until the ammunition was expended, when they were spiked, the carriages destroyed and abandoned. I had also forgotten to mention that a portion of our ammunition had become damaged, which rendered our further resistance impossible at an unexpected time. " Truly, your friend, " A. D. Streight. " To Brig.-Gen. J. A. Garfield." ADVANCE UPON TULLAHOMA * Upon the 23d of June, General Eosecrans issued orders for an advance in force upon the enemy the following morning at day- break. His plan of operations was to create the impression of a main advance upon the enemy's left and centre by feint move- ments and demonstrations on our right with the lesser part of the army, in the direction of Shelbyville, while the decisive blow of the campaign was to be struck by rapidly marching with the principal body upon the enemy's right, turning or pushing it out of the way, and thence moving quickly, via Manchester, * From this point the operations of the army are given by the author as gathered from verbal and unofficial reports, and may not be entirely accurate. Also, portions (f our forces may not be mentioned as they merit. The author hopes for indulgence from the army, should this prove to be the case. The "Annals" were nearly ready for publication, and to wait for the oflBcial reports would have occasioned material detay. 442 ARMY OF TIIK CUMBERLAND. upon Tullahoma, seizing the enemy's base at and lines of retreat and communication from that point, and thus forcing them to fight on our own terms, or surrender or scatter. To General McCook's corps the part of making the first advance from our right was assigned. The three divisions of the 20th Corps were under arms before sunrise on the 24th. Owing to the delay in receiving marching- orders, General Sheridan's, which was to have the advance, did not get under way on the Shelbyville road until about seven a.m. It marched over that road, preceded by five companies of the o9th Indiana Mounted Infantry, under Lieutenant-Colonel Jones, until it came in sight of the enemy's outposts, when it halted and bivouacked, according to orders, in the woods on each side of the road, paying no attention to the desultory musketry and artillery fire the rebels opened upon it at intervals. Johnson's and Davis's divisions turned to the left when six miles out, as ordered, and took the road to Liberty Gap. Up to the morning of the 24th, there had been a long term of fine, cool, clear weather. The roads were dry without being dusty; but the very hour the troops marched out of their can- tonments rain commenced falling, as was the case also in De- cember last, when the army moved out from Nashville upon Murfreesborough. Before daybreak on the 24th, Colonel Wilder's mounted in- fantry struck tents, and were soon in motion along the pike leading to Manchester. General Reynolds, with the remainder of his division, followed. Later in the day, Generals Negley and Rousseau left camp in the same direction. Colonel Wilder was directed to move forward to within a few miles of HooVer's Gap, rest until the infantry should come up, and then to carry the works. Nine miles from Murfreesborough the advance- guard came upon the enemy's pickets. Two companies were deployed as skirmishers, and the column moved forward, driving the enemy before it. From the citizens and prisoners Colonel Wilder learned that the works commanding the gap, and care- fully constructed under the supervision of Bushrdd Johnson, ADVANCE UPON TULLAHOMA. 443 were not occupied at present ; and he determined to move forward and take possession before the knowledge of our move- ment could reach the enemy and enable him to move into the fortifications, which he successfully accomplished, driving back the rebel outposts and skirmishers and taking several prisoners. This gap afforded strong defensive points at its entrance; but so sudden was our appearance that the enemy made but little resistance. Learning that the farther extremity of the gap offered opportunity for serious resistance to our advance. Colonel Wilder resolved to hurry forward and take position on the hill that commanded the road and the enemy's camp. The vanguard dashed forward and captured a train of nine wagons on the way to the rebel camp, a drove of fine beef-cattle, and twelve or fifteen prisoners. The long roll was heard in the enemy's camp soon after his arrival, and he immediately dis- posed his troops for battle. Captain Lilley, with his 18th In- diana Battery, hurried forward and took position on a cleared eminence used for pasturing-purposes, while the 123d Illinois, Colonel Monroe, moved up to its support. A howitzer was planted on a less commanding eminence near the creek, and the 72d Indiana formed in line of battle near it. Colonel Jordan, with the 17th Indiana, took position, while Colonel Funkhouser, with the 98th Illinois, formed some distance to the right, but on the same ridge. Soon after, the thunders of the artillery announced the opening of the battle, and the replies of the rebel gunners indicated a readiness to engage. Five regiments of rebel infantry rose from the low ground near the stream, and, cheering like men confident of easy victory and disposed to inspire terror in their antagonists, came charging across the rolling but open field towards the 17th. The enemy approached within range, and received a volley from the 17th, that checked but did not stay them. Supposing our guns exhausted, a cheer followed the report, and they moved on. Again Wilder's ex- haustless weapons — the Spencer Eifles (twelve-shooters) — pour in their rain of 'bullets, and still the enemy press on. The rebels were nearing the line in largely superior force, and the 444 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. colonel looked anxiously for assistance. The bayonet might prolong the struggle, but ultimate capture seemed inevitable. Not a man left the line. Comrades were falling raj)idly; but threatening disaster only nerved the men to greater exertion, and they still bravely poured in their fire. Just as hope was giving way, successive volleys on the right announced the arrival of reinforcements. The enemy faltered, staggered back, and, as if hurried to a decision by a united fire of the 98th and 17th, turned their backs and fled, leaving a large portion of their dead and wounded on the field. The right of their line charged our batteries ; but the 123d Illinois, rising from its cover, charged over the crest, poured in a few well-directed volleys, and the day was won. The importance of this victory was evinced by the remark of the general commanding. He is reported to have said, after examining the formidable position, " Wilder has saved us thousands of men." The loss of the command, in the two hours' fighting, was sixty-three killed and wounded. Deserters from the enemy and prisoners captured gave their loss at over five hundred killed and wounded ; and among the former was Major Claybrook, of one of the Tennessee regiments engaged. The rebel forces engaged were Liddell's, "Wharton's, and Bates's brigades, numbering fifteen regiments. During this time brilliant work was being done at Liberty Gap, through which the command of Major-General McCook was to pass in advancing upon Cleborne's division of the rebel army. Since the battle of Stone Eiver, General McCook's troops had longed for another trial of valor with the enemy. At Liberty Gap it came to them at last, and most handsomely did they improve it. Colonel Harrison, in the advance, with one battalion of the 39th Indiana Mounted Infantry, discovered a force of about eight hundred rebel infantry, about one o'clock P.M., when within a short distance of the entrance of the gap. After dismounting part of his men and deploying them as skir- mishers, he reported the fact to General Johnson, who directed General Willich, whose brigade led the column, to drive the enemy. General Willich at once halted his brigade and made ADVANCE UPON TULLAHOMA. 445 the necessary dispositions. He then ordered the entire lino- forward. It pushed on, under a heavj'^ fire, through the oj)en fields, with loud cheers, and, with its flanks outreaching and turning those of the enemy, had soon gained the hills and driven the rebels into precipitate flight, capturing their tents, baggage, and supplies. General Johnson now ordered General Willich to rally and rest his brigade, and Colonel Baldwin's to take the lead and clear the upper end of the gap from the enemy. Advancing as rapidly as the narrow valley permitted. Colonel Baldwin soon found the enemy in force, afterwards ascertained from prisoners to have consisted of an entire brigade of infantry and a battery of artillery, in a strong position on each side of the road. Placing the Louisville Legion (5th Kentucky) on the right and the 6th Indiana on the left of the road, with skirmishers in front and the 1st and 93d Ohio as reserves, and directing a section of the 5th Ohio Battery, under Lieutenant Ellison, to engage the rebel artillery, he moved to the attack under a severe fii-e, and, after a short but sharp combat, drove the enemy in gallant style from and occupied their position. On the following day General Johnson, in obedience to in- structions, kept up the delusion of the enemy as to our real intentions, by holding the position his command had won the night before. In the forenoon Willich's brigade was ordered to picket the front. Its pickets kept up a brisk exchange of shots with those of the enemy. Towards noon they commenced feeling us by repeatedly advancing within range with skir- mishers, supported by cavalry. They were driven back as often as they advanced. 'At two p.m. they repeated their at- tempt with a reinforced front of skirmishers, but again failed. Between three and four o'clock they came to a formal attack' in line of battle. Simultaneously they posted a section of artil- lery in front of our left, and another beai'ing upon our centre, but still did not succeed in forcing back our picket-lines, w^hich, after being strengthened by the support-eomj^anies, counter- charged, and drove the enemy several miles. At about three 448 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. o'clock the anamunition of the 32d Indiana and 89th Illinois giving out, General Willich ordered the 15th Ohio to advance in support into the front line. The men of the 15th divided their ammunition with those of the 32d and the 89th, and the three regiments thus kept the enemy in check. Soon after, General Willich ordered the 49th Ohio behind the centre of the line, and placed Goodspeed's battery upon a hill, somewhat in the rear, where it opened a vigorous and effective fire upon the enemy's artillery, and some houses sheltering rebel infantry, on the opposite heights. At about the same time General Willich sent word to General Johnson that the fight was becoming serious. Between five and six p.m., the ammunition of the 15th Ohio, 32d Indiana, and 89th Illinois being about exhausted, General Willich ordered the 49th Ohio to charge. Upon returning from captivity. General Willich had introduced into his brigade a new form of attack by skirmishers. This the 49th now executed for the first time in action, tlpon the oi'dor to move forward, the regiment advanced in steady line, cheered by the remainder of the brigade and joined by the men of the other regiments still provided with a few cartridges, through the open woods, towards the cornfields forming the valley across which the enemy had been operating. Having arrived within close range, Colonel Gibson gave the order, " Advance, firing." The regiment formed in four ranks. The first rank delivered a volley, next the fourth advanced to the front and fired, and then the second and third, in succession. At the second volley the advancing enemy wavered ; at the third and fourth they broke and ran. General Johnson, in the absence of General Davis in conse* quence of illness, had ordered General Carlin's brigade of the Ist Division, which had gone up the gap during the engagement, to the support of the 2d Brigade. Advancing across the valley with a dash, it came up on the right of the latter, after losing fVom twenty-five to thirty men. General Davis, having left his sick-bed upon the first sound of battle, arrived in front just in time to see the first charge of his men. . Shortly after the ap- ADVANCE UPON TtLLAHOMA. 447 pearance of Carlin's brigade, the enemy abandoned the contest. The orders of our generals being only to check but not to attack them, the fight ceased. In the earlier days of the war these two atfairs at Liberty Gap would have commanded the public attention to a full extent. But, amidst the contemporaneous struggles of mightier numbers for more important issues in other parts of the country, they will pass as of minor importance. We sum up the result of these movements as follows : — Wilder's mounted infantry defeated a superior infantry force at Hoover's Gap on the 24th, and on the same day Willich'a brigade of McCook's corjjs drove two regiments from a strong position at Liberty Gap. The next day "Willich's, Wilder's, and Carter's brigades completely routed a rebel division under General Cleborne, who is said to have fallen in the action. The Union los^ was forty killed and one hundred wounded. These gaps were the key of the position, and their loss to the enemy at once determined him to retreat; for as soon as Gene- ral Rosecrans advanced, through them, to Manchester and Win- chester, he flanked Bragg, at Tullahoma; and the latter, with Vicksburg and Port Hudson fresh in liis memory, hastily eva- cuated. Upon ascertaining this fact, on the 1st day of July General Eosecrans threw forward his force in rapid pursuit, Thomas moving on the Manchester road from Manchester, and McCook on the one from Tullahoma. Thomas moved rapidly in hopes of striking the enemy, moving nearly due east, to get on the military road built by Bragg, parallel with and five miles east of the railroad. This General Thomas failed to do until the enemy was well beyond the angle and when he was crossing Elk River. The division of General Negley encountered the rear of Hardee at a point about four miles north of Elk Eiver, and skirmished with it all day, losing four or five men killed and wounded. The enemy's rear-guard, under Wheeler, made a stubborn resistance, delaying Negley so that the rebel trains got beyond the river. During the night, by great exertions, Bragg escaped with his reserve of artillery — twenty-six pieces* — across Elk River, at Estelle Springs, and reached Tin Moun 448 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. tains. The enemy, on both roads, burned the bridges, and the rear-guard tooli up positions in hastily-built works on the oppo- site side of the river. It was readily understood that this was to delay our crossing as long as possible, in order to enable the infantry and trains to get into the mountains. To aid them in this, heavy rains came up, and the river rose very high. General Crittenden, with a full corps, was sent by a rapid march to take possession of the road leading from Dechard, via Tracy City, to Chattanooga. This was successful, and forced the enemy to take roads across the mountains. On the morning of the 2d, General McCook crossed at the mouth of Eock Creek, below the enemy's position in front of our right, and thus flanked the road to Winchester and the mountains. At the upper bridge, where IS'egley was, a similar manoeuvre was made, with still better success. Eousseau and Brannan were sent to the upper crossing to come down on the rear of the enemy, whom Negley was to detain, — not to drive. It was thought that Rousseau could cross by ten o'clock; but the swollen state of the river prevented, and only a few troops got across in time. In the mean time a cavalry brigade came in upon the right flank of the enemy. Their firing was mistaken for that of Eousseau, and Negley opened with two batteries on the rebel position, one thousand yards distant. The first fire dismounted one gun and killed several of the rebel gunners. They were taken comj)letely by surprise, and made but few replies, retreating precipitately to the mountains. General Turchin had engaged the rebel right, and after a fight of two hours drove it and the entire rebel force from the field, killing thirty-five of them. The fight only commenced at two p.m., and the troops were unable to cross until the morning of the 3d. They moved only a short distance, Negley encamping on the battle-field, and Eousseau and Brannan on the bank of the river. McCook in the mean time advanced, and occupied Winchester, Dechard, and Cowan. On the morning of July 4, our whole force advanced to the foot of the mountains at Cowan, to find ADVANCE UPON TULLAHOMA. 449 the enemy gone, in full retreat upon Chattanooga and the Georgia border. Meanwhile Generals Stanley and Granger marched on and took possession of Shelbyville, meeting with vigorous opposition from retii"ing rebel skirmishers, and are reported ^s having captured several pieces of cannon and some six hundred prisoners, — among them a colonel and forty other officers. The Union citizens of Shelbyville greeted our troojDS with waving of flags and expressions of delight. From thence General Stanley has penetrated to Huntsville, Alabama; and we now hold that entire section of country. Bragg's retreat from Tennessee has demoralized his army, and discouraged the rebel peoj)le of that section. When the order was given to his troops to relinquish the fortifications ana retreat in the direction of the Tennessee Eiver, the disaffection that had existed among the Tennesseeans broke out in open denunciation and unreserved expressions of determination to abandon the cause and return to their homes. General Cheat- ham's division of Tennessee troops is said to have dissolved, and the flying fragments are making their way through the mountains to the Federal lines. Sixty deserters came into Tul- lahoma in one day and took the oath of allegiance. A colonel of a Tennessee regiment, on announcing the order to retreat, boldly avowed his intention of quitting the rebel service, and advised his men to escape to the mountains and make their way home. "We here close our record of the operations of the Army of the Cumberland. It has saved Kentucky and recovered Ten- nessee — two of the most valuable of the Southern States — to the Union fold. Its operations have been uniformly successful, and it has fought one of the greatest battles of modern times. As we close, the note of busy preparation is heard upon every hand for an advance beyond the Tennessee Eiver, to free the crushed Union men and to overwhelm the rebel traitors of the Gulf States. TuLLAHOMA, Tennessee, August 1, 1863. 29 ADDITION TO FOURTH EDITION. A BEIEP REVIEW OF THE LAST ADVANCE. The fourth edition of tliis volume being required by the public demand, the author makes some material additions, which, he believes, will render the work still more valuable to the Army of the Cumberland and to the friends of Major-General Eose- crans. Since the issuing of our previous editions, avast army movement has been undertaken and concluded, and a terrific battle has been fought, resulting in the displacement of the enemy and the occupancy, by the Union forces, of another of the strongholds of the rebellion. "With this there has also been a change of commanders of our army ; and hence we deem it especially appropriate to add to this record a brief account of the moving of General Eosecrans's forces across the Tennessee Eiver, the flank movement upon Bragg, the battle of Chickamauga, the successful occupancy of Chattanooga (the gx-and object for which the battle was fought), and the construction of the defences of that place, with a few remarks on the relieving of the commander of the Army of the Cumberland and on the general situation. This addition, it is hoped, will render the "Annals" still more acceptable, as a com- plete history of the operations of the Army of the Cumberland under Major-General William S. Eosecrans. Before proceeding with our narrative of the direct advance of the army upon Chattanooga, it will be well to take a retrospec- tive glance. The advance of the army from Murfreesborougb was planned by General Eosecrans with one grand purpose in view, — THE POSSESSION OF Chattanooga The rebel army was 451 452 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. then intrenched at Tullahoma and Shelbyville, and there a momentary delay was anticipated ; but the nook in the bend of the Tennessee Eiver, walled up by grand old mountains upon every hand, was the object aimed at. The accomplishment of this purpose, however, was a matter of extraordinary difficulty. The rebels held the line of railroad, and, if compelled to retreat, would unquestionably destroy it as much as possible to prevent pursuit. The wagon-roads leading in that direction were rude and rough in the extreme, over continuous hill, valley, ana mountain, passing through the entire Cumberland range, and preparations must be made at Murfreesborough to move the army through the wilderness, across mountains, and over rivers, by the ordinary modes of land-conveyance. The utmost that could be hoped from the railroad was that if repaired in time it would serve to bring on supplies in the rear of the army. The preparation for such a movement involved the collection of a vast number of horses, mules, wagons, compact army stores, the thorough equipment and clothing of the men, and the thousand minor arrangements always to be made ere marching a great army xipon an interior summer campaign. Here was one cause of the long stay of our arm}' at Murfreesborough, — our friends at home becoming in the interim most restive at the dcday. A second reason was, the great lack of cavahy. This defect Avas fully demonstrated at the battle of Stone Eiver, where the largely superior numbers of the rebel cavalry enabled them to come upon our rear and make the complete circuit of our army, destroying our supply-trains with impunity. General Eosecrans at once set about remedying this want; and the eff'orts he made to secure animals, by purchase, by inland expeditions of im- pressment, and even by the wholesale "pressing" of horses at Nashville and vicinity, are described elsewhere in this volume. By such tedious means the four regiments constituting "Wilder's brigade of infantry were mounted. While this siTpply of horses were being procured, a goodly share of them, purchased for our army at Louisville, were necessarily taken at that city to mount General Burnside's forces in their exijedition to the REVIEW OF THE LAST ADVANCE. 453 Cumberland Gap, and also to go in pursuit of the rebel General John Morgan, who was then passing through Kentucky and Indiana on his last and most notable raid. The want of cavalry was finally remedied, to a limited extent, after much procrasti- nation and difficulty, that arm of the service being brought up to about six thousand eflPectively mounted men, — a force which was deemed sufficient to protect the immense trains of the army and to do scouting and pioneer service upon the march South. Another, and a very potent, reason, weighed in the minds of the general and corps commanders of our army. The siege of Vicksburg was progressing, and to advance was not deemed politic, — since if Bragg were di'iven from the valley of the Ten- nessee, the probability was that he would retire to Chattanooga, and, leaving a small force there behind intrenchments, would sen^ the bulk of his army to operate with Johnston against the forces of General Grant. This view was taken by all the officers of the army, and was at length adopted by the people of the country. The result proved — many idle reports at that time to the contrary — that Bi-agg's army lay quiet at Shelbyville and Tullahoma, and thereabout, intact; only Breckinridge, and a small portion of the uneasy element of the rebel army, leav- ing: it in that direction. The defensive works at both of these placeis were of the most formidable character. The rebels had been industrious, and, aided by the labor of some three thousand slaves sent up mainly from Georgia and Alabama, intrenchments were thrown up, earth forts, &c., quite surpassing the famed rebel works at Corinth, Miss., which for several weeks held of bay a Union army of one hundred and twenty thousand men. At Shelbyville these rebel works extended over a circuit of five miles. It must also be remembered that the co-operation of the forces of General Burnside was expected in the advance movement, he penetrating into East Tennessee, — which was eventually and successfully done. But further delay inevitably arose from this source, although commendable despatch was exhibited on the part of that auxiliary command. 454 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. At length, when the above-mentioned preparations had been made, and when General Eoseerans was fully satisfied that the investment of Vicksburg was complete and must result suc- cessfully, he ordered the advance from Murfreesborough, as stated in a preceding page, on the 24th of June. Even then the means for a forward movement were not such as could have been desired, and many doubts troubled the minds of the old campaigners of the army, the most of whom had participaved in the advance to the Tennessee Eiver, under Buell, the year before. They well knew the rugged character of the country, and the long and unprotected rear line through a destitute and hostile region. It is a fact worthy of mention, that the corps and division generals of our army were by no means enthu- siastic as to the position on their front. When requested by General Eoseerans to advise with him upon this matter of an immediate advance, the unanimous opinion, in writing, of those seventeen generals, was that an advance at that time was inex- pedient. General Eoseerans, however, deemed it best to advance, and the army was soon put in motion. Some time before this, the War Department had issued to the commander-in-chief strenuous appeals and orders to advance. General Eoseerans asked in return if such orders were peremptory, stating that if so, he would tender his resignation rather than encounter the fearful consequences. The orders were decided to be merely advisory ; and the general assured the War Department that preparation was going on in all possible haste, and that the fall of Vicksburg he hoped was nearly a certainty. The author advances the opinion, for which he is alone respon- sible, that short and ill-tempered orders from the War Depart- ment, over the telegraphic wires, upon this matter, developed a feeling of contentious opposition, if not of unjust action, on the part, of the Secretary of War and his advisers at Washington, continually manifest since that time, and which has recently cropped out in a remarkable manner. That Eoseerans and Thomas, and the entire corps of generals of the army, were cor- rect in their views, has been conclusively proven by results. REVIEW OF THE LAST ADVANCE. 455 The cavalry, that hitherto lame-leg of the army, was now able to cope with the rebel horsemen, especially since the loss to the latter of John Morgan's command. Teams and supplies were selected and compacted which carried our army over two hundred miles of difficult land-travel, and enabled it to wage a two days' battle, and to successfully enter and retain Chatta- nooga. Bragg's army was prevented from marching to the relief of Vicksburg, — although the country was assured by divers alarming reports that it had been divided, and even decimated, for that purpose, leaving a mere shell of Quaker camp-equipage and cannon to oppose to the Army of the Cumberland. That bubble was speedily pricked. Let it be borne in mind that the generals who thus confronted the mandates of the War Depart- ment are now in command of the Army of the Cumberland, and most deservedly enjoy the confidence of the army and of the nation. The advance of our army upon Tullahoma by flank movement, — the rushing into mountain-gaps, driving back, by gallant charges and sharp hand-to-hand encounters, the rebel forces stationed there, — the astonishment of Bragg at finding our forces marching past him and threatening his rear and rail- road, — his sudden flight, abandoning all his works, forts, and vaunted military resources of surrounding produce and forage, — his hasty retreat to the Tennessee Eiver, followed so closely by our forces that he must needs fight the while, and had no time to injure the railroad, further than to destroy nearly every bridge upon it, — the swoop of our gallant troops across the Cumberland Mountains in pursuit, treading upon the enemy so closely that he failed in completely destroying the great bridge over the Tennessee, several of the extensive spans midway being saved, — all this is history, and is in great part narrated in the preceding pages. The series of marches from Murfrees- borough to the Tennessee Elver, and the attending brilliant successes, have no parallel in the history of this war. An army of at least forty thousand men were forced from their fortified works by flank approaches, through mountain-passes 456 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. which the rebels deemed they had sufficiently guarded, after most vigorous and galling charges ! But this great victory, achieved by strategy, rapidly and gallantly executed, excited little comment, — and very naturally. Vicksburg had recently fallen, and the nation was aglow. The smaller success was enveloped by, or rather was incorporated into, the greater. Had the Army of the Cumberland stormed the ramparts of TuUahoma, spiked its seventy pieces of cannon, and driven back its rebel defenders at the cost of ten thousand men, the victory would have been chronicled in story and in song. Eut to win victory at the least cost has ever been the study of General Eosecrans. Although successful in this movement upon the enemy at Tullahoma, a keen sense of disappointment was experienced in this regard. Our generals had planned the movement with a view not only to drive out Bragg, but to reach his rear, and, forcing him to a battle at a seriotis disadvantage, to overwhelm him and destroy his army. The weather had been most favor- able, and the country roads were in good order. It was mid- summer, when continued rains are unusual. But upon the morning of the advance the rain commenced, and continued as if the very windows of heaven had been opened. For seventeen consecutive days the rain fell in remarkable quantity. No such stormy period had visited that country for twenty-six years past. The army moved on through the storm ; but the roads were soon cut up, and the rear squadrons and columns, with the supply and ammunition trains, were for several days completely " stalled" in the mud. This of course delayed our advance, and permitted Bragg to retreat upon his railroad with all his material. CEOSSING THE TENNESSEE EIVEE. There was some delay in the advance of the army as it approached the fo(»t of the Cumberland Mountains. This was CHATTANOOGA TAKEN BY STRATEGY. 457 caused by the period of incessant rain, the mud of the country roads impeding army locomotion, and the teams becoming exhausted and requiring rest. Meantime, vigorous railroad repairs were being eifected ; bridges were erected, the railroad- tunnel below Cowan was cleared out, and, by the time the army had reached the river, the shrill shriek of the locomotive again pierced the valleys, and the roai of hundreds of bread-and-forage- laden cars echoed back from the mountains of Northern Alabama. The crossing of the Tennessee Eiver by our ai*my was a remarkable feat. After the completion of the means of crossing, four days were consumed in the passage of the army at the various places. The constant measured tread of infantry; the tramp of thousands of cavalry; the rattle and shout, and the crack of the whip, as those four thousand heavily-laden wagons, in trains miles in length, bounced from the banks on to the narrow pontoon causeways ; the heavier jar and crash, as the huge artillery vehicles rumbled over the planks, — all must be heard to be duly appreciated. The quick passage of our army over that wide, swift-running river, without the loss of a single man or animal, is a feature in army experience worthy of note. To effect this crossing of the larger part of the army. General Eosecrans ordered one pontoon bridge to be laid down at Caper- ton's Ferry, three miles from Stevenson, twelve hundred and fifty feet in length, and another pontoon bridge at Bridgeport, twelve miles up the river, of twenty-seven hundred feet. Not having pontoons enough to complete the latter, his engineers finished out the bridge by setting down trestles and planking them over. CHATTANOOGA TAKEN BY STEATEGY. "We should state here that, previous to this time, General Crit- tenden's corps had crossed to the Sequatchie Yalley, midway towards Chattanooga, to operate against Bragg on his front, from the north and opposite side of the river, while the com- 458 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. mands of Generals McCook and Thomas were crossing the river below. The Union commander had resolved upon capturing Chattanooga by strategic movements. In fact, he could not hope to enter it by a dii^ect forward movement from the north. Bragg was there, in the nook ; his front a broad river, over two thousand feet wide, whose banks on his side were lined with cannon, ready to sweep off men from pontoon bridges as fast as they stepped upon them, or to desti^oy boats, rafts, or bridges entire. Therefore a plan was adopted to this effect : Crittenden's corps was to go up on the north side of the river as far as Chattanooga, and there feign the intention of crossing and making the attack in front, — a la Fredericksburg, Va. His men made a toilsome march across and among the Cumberlands, dragging their cannon over precipices by hand, and accomplish- ing their task in about four days' time. Thus temporarily located in the Sequatchie Yalley, he despatched four brigades — +W0 of cavalry. Colonel Minty's and Wilder's mounted infantry, and Generals Hazen's and Waggoner's brigades of infantry — to proceed to points on the river opposite Chattanooga and imme- diately above and below that town, and make the feigned attack. This was done. Some of Wilder's troops above the town let ends of logs and rails and bits of lumber float down past Bragg's front, as if they were preparing a bridge; other troops slapped boards together, to make a lumbering noise; while Wilder un- limbered his artillery and shelled the town. Some of his balls raised a dusty sensation over the way, one of them, it was said, having struck a church during the services of a Sabbath morning. While Bragg's attention was thus being occupied, the two pontoon bridges below were thrown over and fords were worked, as already stated, and the main army of the Cumberland, under Generals Thomas and McCook, crossed the river. Our cavalry, meanwhile, went mostly by another and more western route, by way of Athens, passing through the town of Huntsville,- — thus going around (flanking, in military parlance) the most abrupt of the Cumberland Mountains. The plan devised for gaining Chattanooga we will now more fully elucidate. While Critten- I P 3 L < '1 emi tmtop'^^41 /^l ^^ I) n« Hollow Vv adivvillf M';*]ytiiiiiv]T 'Jacl Iv PvV' -wfipecli wove vii^' "''^^'■"' ^Wm idles ter M. %l*^ Joh] Wisoria Salem ^"^^^^ • - - T:^Mj£ti^Jij£^'^, STRATEGIC ADVANCE aiid IHaii ot Batfle of CHATTANOOGA TAKEN BY STRATE3T. 459 den was thus to threaten with his four brigades on the opposite side, below and in front of that place, to mislead Bragg, the main body of the army was to march down into Georgia to two gaps piercing Lookout Mountain, and, passing through them, to come in on Bragg's rear. Lookout Mountain is a high range, or spur, running back from the river, just below Chatta- nooga, into the heart of Georgia, — a " hog-back" ridge, so to sjjeak, terminating at the river in a steep bluff. It is of great height, and its descent upon either side very abrupt an^ rugged. The railroad creeps along upon a shelf cut into the solid rock under this knob, near the water's edge, where the mountain appears to have been separated from its kindred links across the river by the floods of the Tennessee, which for countless ages have rolled down upon and past this barrier in resistless might. The river west of Chattanooga, in its general direction, runs southwest. Skirting it is the Raccoon range, of which the Sand Mountain, where the army passed over, is part. After march- ing over a plateau twelve or fifteen miles in width, the Sand Mountain is descended, and the Lookout Valley is gained, some two miles wide, running southwest, and bounded on the east by the Lookout Mountains, running parallel with the Eaccoon range. "With this explanation (which we will soon demonstrate to the reader by tracing the campaign with him upon our map), we proceed with our account of the movement. Lookout Yalley, coursing down along the west side of Lookout Mountain, ends against an angle, or another spur of that mountain, and this place is called Valley Head. Here there is a break in the direct line, whore the rugged mountain melts away into a wild scatter- ing of considerable hills, near which the road is abruptly turned through winding valleys, — not forgetting, however, a jagged and stubborn spur which rears its head at this point. This, like some other mountain-ranges in North Georgia, is quite wide on its top, and, in many places, susceptible of cultivation : so that the traveller Avill occasionally meet with a small patch of a farm, with usually wretched improvements. Says one of the corre- 460 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. spondents of the Cincinnati " Commercial," writing of the pass at Yalley Head : — "After reaching the top, another plateau, some dozen miles wide, is encountered, so level and gently rolling, that one laughs at his preconceived ideas of the tops of mountains, — if, indeed, he does not forget that he has left a valley. No peaks from which to unfurl a flag, if any one should be geographically poetic ; no sugar-loaves where one can clamber, and feel like a giddy exjfloi"er standing on a heavenward land's-end. There are groves and fields, and smooth-flowing streams, where the imagi- nation pictures verdant crags and cascades." Thus General McCook's corps safely and speedily climbed the abrupt Eaccoou Mountain, which faces Bridgeport and Stevenson, * and thence directed their course across, over Sand Mountain, through Valley Head, over Lookout Mountain, at Winston's Gap, until they reached the next valley, called Broomtown Yalley, directly threatening the rebel rear. This was a memo- rable march, over a distance of forty-nine miles. From this newly acquired point General McCook sent a reconnoitring force to Alpine, three miles farther south, to threaten Bragg's rear. Still farther down, our own mounted forces were upon the move to mj^stify the rebel general, a detachment of Colonel Brownlow's Tennessee cavalry going within five miles of Eome. Leaving McCook thus located in Bragg's rear, we will explain the movement of the corps under General Thomas. He marched south from Bridgeport, over spurs of mountains and through deep wooded gulches, to the Lookout Valley, followed' that nar- row and meandering channel to another depression, crossed through at Cooper's and Stevens's Gaps, after toilsome marches over the roughest of mountain roads, and took position at the mouths of those gaps, in Bragg's rear. This division thus marched fifty-one miles from Bridgeport, and was now twenty- bix miles south of Chattanooga by the nearest practicable wagon- road. McCook's division was seventeen miles farther south, beinjj a total of forty-three miles below Chattanooga, and his outpost at Alpine, over sixty miles. CHATTANOOGA TAKEN BY STRATEGY. 461 The rebel commander now became fully aware of Eosecrans's intention, but too late, if he had even had the force, to prevent >.ts execution. By taking possession of the gaps on his side of Lookout Mountain, he might have fortified them and prevented the passage of our troops. This had not been done; and the Federals were now in his rear many miles below, threatening his railroad and subsistence, and preventing the arrival of rein- forcements. On the 8th of September, General Thomas had full occupancy of those gaps, and on the 9th of that month, Gene- ral Bragg's army evacuated Chattanooga, going south, mainly by the Rome road. In passing down the valley, in front of Thomas, Bragg endeavored to cut off some advanced regiments; but Thomas cautiously drew them up to him, within the jaws of the gaps, and the rebel hosts marched southward rapidly, but in regular order. Meanwhile General Crittenden was moving. He proceeded to cross the main body of his troops over the Tennessee Eiver at and above Bridgeport, following Thomas, and then took up his line of march for Chattanooga over the very brow of Look- out Mountain. Arriving upon the mountain, he found that Bragg had fled, leaving the town quite deserted. He entered the place at once, and was soon after joined by his four brigades from the opposite side of the river. This accomplished. Gene- ral Crittenden moved his corps out to Ringgold, on the railroad, to reconnoitre the enemy. His advance speedily ascertained that Bragg had fallen back only to Lafayette, and had taken position. He at once moved with all possible haste across to Lookout Mountain, to be within reach of Thomas, for it was now apparent that the enemy were becoming more bold and belligerent. The reader will find no difficulty in understanding that the sole aim of all this strategy and hard marching was to force Bragg out of CJiattanooga and to get in there ourselves. Not a plan was laid, hardly a thought was indulged in, which did not refer to that purpose. Chattanooga was the oBJEcy of that campaign. We had taken that place, — or, rather, our smallest corps of 462 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. troops had passed into and through it. But our army was mainly down among the mountain-ranges of Georgia, and its occupancy of Chattanooga was yet to be. General Eosecrans and staff had also marched into Chattanooga, and he there fixed his general head-quarters. As for himself, however, and his other officers, with the exception of clerks and office-men, his head-quarters were in the field, miles below, solely intent upon consolidating and bringing his columns north. There were newspaper reporters also in Chattanooga upon the entry of Crittenden, and they represented to the world that the town was gained and securely held, and that the great Army of the Cumberland were now marching in pursuit of Bragg, and might possibly pursue him even to Dalton and to Atlanta. And there were shouts of a joy- ful people at the North at this great success, as announced in the daily newspapers. But this news and this joy were premature. Not so felt the several Union commanders. Eosecrans, and Thomas, and Palmer, and their confreres, were then aware of what was soon fully developed, — the reinforcement of Bragg, and his turning upon our army. The strategic movements of Eosecrans at once alarmed the Southern Confederacy. He was moving on them ; but how, was the mystery. But they rallied their troops from every section. A large portion of Stonewall Jacjison's division of Virginia veterans were sent down from Lee's army, with Long- street, Lee's best general, in command. Brigades were hurried up from Charleston and Mobile. Buckner's army of ten thou- sand came down from East Tennessee, and a large force was received from Johnston's Mississippi army, which had failed in succoring Pemberton at Vicksburg. It is ascertained, also, that a considerable number of rebel troops captured and paroled at Yicksburg had joined Bragg's army, as well as some eight thou- sand of Georgia State militia hastily collected for the emergency. Thus Bragg's army Avas swelled, in one iveeJc's time, from about forty thousand to upwards of eighty thousand men. We shall prove this conclusively farther on. Bragg marched to a short distar ce below, and, at a point opposite the gaps where our forces CHATTANOOGA TAKEN BY STRATEGY. 463 lay, halted and took position. Here he met his first heavy rein- forcements ; and others began to pour in. He left Chattanooga on the 9th of September; on the 16th of the same month he addressed a notice to his army, to the effect that, having been heavily reinforced, they were now to assume the offensive and drive the invaders from the soil of Georgia. Of this Eosecrans was early made aware, and to concentrate his army and get to Chattanooga, or, at least, to be able to select his position and prepare for the grand battle that was threaten- ing, was his great object. McCook was ordered to come to Thomas, and Crittenden to remain within close supporting dis- tance of the latter general. We have stated that the gap where McCook's corps had crossed, and in which it now lay, was seven- teen miles below the force of General Thomas. McCook was instructed to use all possible haste, and, fully advised of Bragg's strength and preparations for attack, he moved with great celerity. He was informed of a road on the mountain-top that would lead him north in an almost direct course to the upper gaps; but, relying upon the assertion of scouts and refugees that no such practicable route existed, he retraced his march through the gap, across the mountain, to Yalley Head, thence up Lookout Yalley, to the gaps where Thomas had passed, and marched over the same route, joining Thomas at the mouth of the gaps, — whereupon Thomas moved away from the gap a short distance, towards Chattanooga and Crittenden. Thus McCook marched four days and a half over a distance of forty-six miles, when he could have come by the cross-road on the mountain, seventeen miles, in a day and a half. He acted, however, on what he supposed to be his best information, and the error was a very natural one. His corps made extraordinary marches during those memorable four and a half days, and he and his gallant men are entitled to the thanks of the nation. But in this delay there was fearful danger and loss of advan- tage. The rebel hosts were marshalling and advancing upon our army. Had they moved only a day or two sooner, and driven Thomas back withia his gaps, holding him there with a portion 464 ARMY OP THE CUMBERLAND. of their forces while they advanced upon Crittenden with their main army and forced him back to Chattanooga, and into the river, or among the mountains, how completely foiled would have been the Union army I The campaign would have been lost, and we would have been left with our forces divided far down among the inhospitable mountains. These few days were days of deep anxiety to the general commanding and to his staff and advisers ! But Bragg, it was subsequently ascer- tained, was not ready to attack : his forces were not well in hand, and when he moved upon us it was too late to prevent the con- centration. The delay occasioned by the roundabout march of McCook's corps was mainly unfortunate in this : it prevented the Union commander from choosinsi; his battle-field. How imperfectly was all this strategy understood, except by the generals in command and their confidants ! The soldiers and the reporters were equally in the dark as to the object of the movements. The retreat of McCook through the mountains, to join Thomas, was described by a writer to a prominent paper in the Northwest, after the battle and so-called " failure," or " defeat," as a hasty and mistaken march farther south, to try to get in Bragg's rear and cut off his retreat; and the editor of this Northwestern paper was fain to believe, with due sorrow and mortification, that Rosccrans had been completely outwitted, and thereby badly defeated. Other army correspondents sent to the world joyful accounts of the utter demoralization of Bragg's army, of his weakness and retreat, as they followed down with Crittenden's corps in his march to the support of Thomas ! In their mistaken zeal, they already pictured Eose- crans at Dalton and Atlanta. They could not perceive the gathering of the rebel clans among those mountain-valleys not more than ten miles beyond. Had our commander-in-chief called into his tent these gentlemen of the press, and explained his plans and revealed the tidings brought him by his spies and scouts, they would not have fallen into such errors and have so grossly misled the public. But such revelations cannot be made. Better that the newsmen err than that Bragg be CHICKAMAUGA. 465 informed, through the Louisville, Cincinnati, and New York papers, of the scheme that has been so carefully and skilfully- elaborated, by which he is walked out of his fortified places and great natural defences without the firing of a gun. To hide his forces here and there among the valleys, — to move in such a way as to baflfle the intelligence of the enemy, — to have the main army forty miles in the enemy's rear, when he fancies it on his front and just below him, — such was the strategy of Gene- ral Rosecrans ; and to publish it before its accomplishment, would be far more disadvantageous than to permit the people of the Union to be so grossly deceived by the eager and well-inten- tioned news-gatherers of the public press. CHICKAMAUGA. We have shown that Bragg evacuated Chattanooga on the 9th of September. He marched down past the valley of Chickamauga Creek, some thirty miles, to Lafayette. McCook's corps was at once set in motion to rejoin Thomas, which feat was accomplished on the 18th. Bragg began to march back on the 17th, to attack our corps in detail, before their junction was effected. In this he failed : MeCook had come in from the south, and Crittenden from the north, in support. The reader will remember that Bragg attributes this failure to two of his subordinate generals, Polk and Hindman, and after the battle relieved them from their commands. Bragg now strikes for the main Eome road, leading into Chattanooga, hoping thus to get between our army and the river. General Rosecrans foresees this, and orders an advance in force to secure this road. General Thomas breaks camp at sunset, Friday, the 18th, and makes his memorable night march, over hill and through forest and vallej'', and by sunrise next morning reaches it and takes position. "Within two hours there after, the rebel advance reaches this road, a short distance below 30 466 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. our forces, and remains quiet. General Thomas sent out a strong reconnoitring force to feel the enemy, about ten o'clock on Saturday morning, the 19th. They found the rebels in force and advancing, and brisk skirmishing soon merged into severe fighting. The rebels were apparently surprised to find the road occupied in their advance, and gave battle Avith their accustomed impetuosity, following back our reconnoitring column to the Union lines, when the battle became general along the entire front. Thomas, by his night march, filing to the left past Crit- tenden, became the left wing, leaving the latter the centre, and McCook, retaining his first position, on the right. We shall not attempt to give the movements of the two days' battle in detail: the otficial report of the commander-in- chief describes them fully and correctly. Our present aim is merely to give a general outline of the battle, in connection with the strategic plans of the campuign of Chattanooga. The battle of Saturday resulted in our general success. The contest raged along hillsides and amid forests and ravines. The army lines extended over nearly three miles of ground ; and only by the smoke that rose above the heights, and the dust that ascended above the forest-trees in the valley, or as the cannon's roar and the rattling discharges of miisketry were heard upon surrounding hills, could the observer note the ebb and flow of the tide of battle. When the rebels advanced upon Thomas in heavy line of battle, he informed General Eosecrans of the fact; and the latter, ■who was at the righl, personally inspecting the lines, arranging batteries, &c., instructed Thomas to hold his position on the main road by all possible means, and that, if necessary, he ■fihould be amply reinforced. The battle raged all day, darkness .alone ending the conflict. The fighting was constant, and occa- sionally furious. Brigade after brigade of the Union forces was moved into the conflict, until every brigade in the army had participated. At one period two of our divisions were badly driven by immensely superior rebel forces; but the lost ground was soon after fully recovered. 'No signal advantage had enured CHICKAMAUGA. 467 to either side when the day's conflict closed, each having taken prisoners. But this day of battle had fully demonstrated the fact that the Army of the Cumberland was contending against fearfully superior numbers of determined and exasperated vete- rans. It was reported that some of the rebel Virginia soldiers cried out, as they charged upon the walled lines of Thomas, " You are not fighting with conscripts now !" to which the answer would be shouted back by the Western boys, " You are not fighting with Eastern store-clerks !" On the evening of this day there was a consultation of commanders at General Rose- crans's head-quarters, at the " Widow Glen" house, where it had been during the day, within musket-range of the line of battle. Each reported that every brigade had been in the day's fight, and that our troops had acted finely; but all agreed that in every severe attack made upon us we had been invariably outnum- bered. It was plain that the next day's contest must be for the preservation of the army and the holding of Chattanooga. After due consultation with his corps commanders, the follow- ing plan for the second day's battle was decided upon, and was announced at one o'clock that morning. General Thomas, with Johnson's division from McCook's corps, and Palmer's divi- sion from Crittenden's corps, was to maintain his present posi- tion. McCook was to post the remainder of his corps on the right of Thomas ; while Crittenden was to place the remainder of his corps in reserve, near the point of junction of the other two corps, and to support either, as circumstances might require. These positions were assumed by daylight. It soon becoming ap- parent that the enemy would wage strongest battle on Thomas's left, with a design to turn him and reach the main road, ISTeg- ley's division was ordered from McCook's line to take position at the left of Thomas, and McCook was instructed to close up the gap thus made in his line. The rebels commenced the battle early; and it raged with tre- mendous fierceness, at times, along the entire lines. General Thomas reported that the pressure upon him was most severe ; and he was instructed, in return, to hold his point without fail, 468 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. with the assurance that, if necessary, he should be reinforced by the entire army. The rebels invariably attacked, and were as invariably repulsed, their object appearing to be to find some point where our lines might be penetrated. It was in consequence of this manner of fighting, the rebels moving while the Federals were in position, the latter often lying down and thus loading their muskets, only rising to fire and to repel a charge, that the rebel killed and wounded greatly exceeded our own. A multitude of important orders were given during this time, and many movements were made, their i*esults conforming to this general outline. All Avent favorably, the enemy being held firmly in check and undergoing terrible slaughter, until about one o'clock in the afternoon, when, by the misconception of an order, one of our divisions was moved in the wrong direction, and a gap was left open in our battle-front at the point of junction be- tween Thomas and McCook. This the enemy quickly perceived. They advanced rapidly and heavily, and poured their columns in at the gap, taking both McCook and Thomas on the flank, crushing Crittenden, and completely changing the order of the battle at that point. General Davis's gallant old division charged in to stay the rushing tide, but in vain. General Eosecrans was speedily present, and ordered forward Sheridan with two light brigades; but they were also swept back before the rush of the now exultant foe. In fact, the right wing of the army was par- tially cut oif, and Crittenden's reserve was forced back in con- fusion. Thus it was that seven brigades were isolated fi'om Thomas and the main bodj^ of the army. Sheridan retreated in tolerable order, and by a qxiick movement eventually succeeded in getting to the support of Thomas. On both sides of this gap the fighting was irregular and against us, we there losing most of the prisoners and guns taken by the enemy. The rebels now charged down the valley, and among hills and forests, surround- ing, crushing, and capturing, until they were recalled by their leaders to assist in the necessary driving of Thomas from the iftain road. General Thomas was still in strong position with his corps, CHICKAMAUGA. 469 reinforced by Palmer's, Wood's, and Johnson's divisions, and one brigade of Van Cleve's division. The rebels now bent all their energies to the dislodging of our main army. They at- tacked, and were repulsed, again and again. Our troops fought well : they were nobly led. Thomas, Palmer, Johnson, and other Union generals, won imperishable honor by their coolness and bravery. From two o'clock until sunset the battle thus raged in front of our lines. The rebels, in despair, hurled their entire army upon the devoted Union forces, who were now outnum- bered by more than two to one and were greatly exhausted. General Granger's command, however, of three fresh brigades, arrived, soon after the breaking of our line of battle, from to- wards Rossville, and at this critical juncture they bore the brunt of the shock. General Stedman, the Ohio fighter, marched to a gap which was being attacked by Longstreet's men, with two of the fresh brigades, and for forty minutes the most fui-ious contest of the battle took place. He repulsed the advancing horde three times, with frightful slaughter, himself losing nearly one thousand men from his command. The rebels now gave up the contest and withdrew. Thus ended the battles of Chickamauga. The enemy were too severely cut up to again offer battle. Their desperate charges were led by their officers in person : hence their loss in generals, twelve of whom were said to be discomfited, — four of them being killed, four mortally and four slightly wounded. Their loss in colonels and subordinate officers was proportionately severe. The cannon of Thomas, at times, mowed down their advancing troops as the grass falls before the reaper. During the night of this last day of battle, General Thomas, not knowing what the enemy might attempt the next day, fell back three miles, un- molested, and took up a much stronger position near Eossville. Here the Union forces formed in line of battle, and remained during the next day, — Monday; and, the enemy not appearing, on that evening the army took up the march for Chattanooga, a distance of five miles, and entered it in order, with all their material. 470 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. General Eosecrans, when our line was pierced, and after vainly attempting to stem the rebel tide with the troops at hand of Davies's and Sheridan's divisions, started with his attendants to reach General Thomas. The enemy being between them and that officer, and the country being of the roughest character imaginable, without roads or even horse-paths, the party also being strangers to the locality, they determined to debouch to the rear and gain the main road at Eossville, a distance of four miles, and then repair to the main army. At or near Eossville was a reserve force under General Granger; and the intention of General Eosecrans was to order this reserve forward to the support of Thomas forthwith. Arriving at Eossville, it was ascertained that Thomas was holding his own, with prospects of keeping the enemy at bay until night; also, that Granger's reserve had already started to his support. Thus, all was as yet well in that quarter. But General Eosecrans's attention was now drawn to Chattanooga. The wildest confusion reigned there and along the roads. The seven brigades of McCook and Crittenden, numbering perhaps ten thousand men, were much demoralized. In general terms, and to give a clear understanding of the matter to the reader, without pretending to accuracy in figures, we will say that perhaps one-half of these broken troops were halted, reformed, and gradually moved back to the rear of Thomas during the afternoon, while the remainder, numbering perhaps five thou- sand men, together with teamsters and the usual array of camp- followers and attendants, were directing their way through the forests and by every footpath towards Chattanooga. General Eosecrans was as yet uncertain of the general result. It was now about three o'clock in the afternoon, and appearances were much against him on his right. He consulted with his attendants, and soon decided — as would any prudent commander whose army was in fearful jeopardy — to aim at two j^oints : first, to hold the enemy at bay, if possible, until night, and then to retreat into Chattanooga ; secondly, to have that place put in due state of defence. Having thus determined, and deeming it CHICKAMAUGA. 471 luost important that he should look after his rear, he despatched his chief of staff, General Garfield, to the front, to convey intel- ligence and orders to General Thomas. General Eosecrans proceeded to the town, arriving there about four o'clock in the afternoon, and set about preparations for defence. The thou- sands of teams that filled the main streets in rows four and five deep, were ordered across the river. The stragglers were put to work, and many of them were reformed and sent back to the army. Breast-works were planned and commenced in the rear of the place, ready for a new and last line of battle, should such a struggle come. Our troops had been out twenty-one days, and their supply of rations and ammunition was nearly ex- hausted. The long lines of our supply- trains were near Chat- tanooga, in the valley, ten miles distant from the main battle- field; and General Eosecrans well knew that, were those trains cut off and destroyed by the rebel advance, our forces would be starved out of Chattanooga as well as fought out of it. The safety of those trains, and the security of the several fords and of his pontoon-bridges, were not forgotten by our general in that hour of critical danger. Although Thomas was holding the greatly superior enemy in check, the latter might succeed in a flank movement, causing our forces to fall back to the town, perhai)S in haste and disorder. The commander-in-chief had been constantly upon the battle-fields. He was most fearful of the failure of our right, weakened as it had been by reinforce- ments sent elsewhere. Throughout he was busy in receiving reports, despatching orders, posting troops, and personally over- seeing the placing of batteries. Cool, clear, and calm as an autumn day, and, though most anxious, yet hopeful, his manner, as upon the open fields at Stone Eiver, was cheering, and his words encouraging. But the country was so broken that his two miles of army lines were in a great measure hidden from his view. He was not able to judge of events upon the instant, nor was the ground susceptible of such action on his part as was exhibited upon the cotton-fields of Murfreesborough. The reader will remember that the line of the Chickamauga was an 472 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. accidental battle-field to both contending armies. It afforded few opportunities for the ordinary field display of generalship. In such a contest, success lay mainly with the bravest and the greater numbers, accident, etc. General Garfield, chief of staff, proceeded to General Thomas and explained the condition of affairs, informing him that, if he deemed it advisable, he could retire the army to Eossville after night and there take a stronger position, or that, if necessary, he could come in to Chattanooga. This was Sunda}'^ night; and the town was, as above stated, filled with " demoralized" soldiers, teamsters, sutlers, and camp-followers, including, per- haps, we ought to add, sundry newspaper reporters. Each person had his own version of the scenes of the battles and of our "awful defeat." Those who flee invariably magnify the cause of their flight. While the main bulk of the glorious Army of the Cumberland was in good order, and successfully repelling the attacks of the enemy, our "Bohemian" corps — as represented by at least two or three of its prominent members — were busily engaged in shedding their befogged ideas upon paper, assuring the country that our army had been fighting the entire Southern Confederacy and had been terribly defeated. To show conclusively that the battle of Chickamauga was a necessity, that it was forced upon our army, let us advert to the dates of the various movements. General Thomas accomplished his march through Lookout Mountain in Bragg's rear on the 12th of September. General McCook passed through Winston's Gap, and took position on the 10th. General Bragg evacuated Ciiattanooga on the 8th and 9th, and passed southward, in front of Thomas, on the 12th. McCook was ordered to retire and join Thomas on the 12th, which task he mainly accomplished by the 18th. Crittenden moved to the support of Thomas on the 18th. Bi'agg issued his order to his troops, assuring them of reinforcements and their ability to drive "the invaders," &c. on the 16th, and he commenced his advance movement upon our army and Chattanooga on the 17th. On the 18th his pickets and cavalry had constant skirmishing with our forces, and on the CHICKAMAUGA. 473 19th and 20th were fought the great battles. It will thus be perceived that General Eosecrans lost no time in marching upon Chattanooga and in concentrating his army, when the rebels assumed the offensive. We should here state — in justice to our subject and to indi- viduals — that so aj)parently necessary and expedient was this action upon the part of General Eosecrans, that not until soon after his removal, which took place some four weeks after the battle, was a breath of reproach heard respecting it. One circiTm- stance, probably, tended to call attention to the fact that he left the battle-field before the close of the conflict, — viz. : the entry of Major-Generals McCook and Crittenden into Chattanooga without their commands. It is due to those gallant oflSicers, than whom we know none more brave and determined upon the field of battle, and to the officers upon their staffs, and to the soldiers of the Army of the Cumberland who were under theii command, that the following facts should be made known. We have stated that the commands of McCook and Crittenden were depleted, to reinforce Thomas, at the main point of the battle. We have shown that their line of battle was pierced by the enemy at the point where their forces joined on to Thomas, partly through an error in the movement of a division, which caused a gap in the lines, and partly on account of the overwhelm- ing numbers of the rebel army, which then centred at that point, after having been repeatedly foiled in their attacks elsewhere. The reader has seen that Davis and Sheridan gallantly plunged into the breach with their divisions, and were quickly thrust aside by the advancing tide. The crumbling in pieces of those seven brigades amidst those forest-clad hills and valleys, in midsum- mer, where the foliage and unevenness of the locality precluded to a great extent any comprehensive view of the situation, has been duly commented upon. Generals McCook and Crittenden labored with all possible zeal and ardor to repair the disaster of the hour. They rode hither and thither, in various direc- tions, endeavoring to collect their scattered forces. They found their men wherever they rode, completely disorganized, some- 474 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. times in squads and gi-oups, but more often singly and by twos and threes, all urging their way back through the thickets towards Chattanooga. To reform the men, under such circum- stances, was a sheer impossibility. That they attempted it, and made all possible exertions to retrieve the fortunes of the day, will, we are assured, be fully established by their official reports. Under the circumstances, — it being then after three o'clock in the afternoon, — they deemed it advisable to repair to Chatta- nooga. We speak of them in connection for the sake of brevity only. They came in separately, neither knowing of the where- abouts of the other. Not until they reached the town could they ascertain the situation of affairs with General Thomas. They reported to General Eosecrans; and he bade them wait until intelligence came in from General Garfield. Upon its arrival, with the assurance that our army held its position firmly, they returned to the front, and assisted in the falling back, during the night, to the new line of defence near Eoss- ville, and, finally, came into Chattanooga with the army. No complaint was uttered against these two ofiicers by Gene- ral Eosecrans. The Secretary of War, however, found reason for ordering their immediate suspension from their positions, and commanded them to appear at Indianapolis, Indiana, there to undergo trial as military felons. We have fully and candidly stated the facts : from them let the people of our land render judgment. The army was surprised and shocked at this sudden action, attended as it was by the instant consolidation of the 20th and 2l8t Army Corps. It was considered an imputation on the bravery of hundreds of officers and thousands of men in the Army of the Cumberland, too monstrous to be enter- tained. MAP or THE STEATEGIO MOVEMENT. To afford valuable instruction is one of the main objects of this volume. We have fully portrayed with our pen the march GENERAL SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION. 475 of the Army of the Ciimberltuid upon Chattanooga. Still further to aid the reader, we have prepared a map with much care, upon which the entire movement can be traced. Let the reader turn to it, and accompany us in its examination. Our army is starting from Murfreesboroiigh. The several blue lines indicate the marching of the several commands. General McCook's corps take to the right, and Thomas and Crittenden to the left; and thus they flank Bragg at Tullahoma, and he retreats. Our army soon pushes on, reaching Stevenson, Bridge- port, and Jasper. The Tennessee Eiver is now crossed by McCook and Thomas, and their lines of march are readily traced down among the valleys and ridges and through Lookout Moun- tain to the rear of Bragg. The rebels evacuate; and Crittenden, who has meanwhile crossed the Tennessee and marched up towards Chattanooga, now enters that town, and then sets out for Einggold. It will be perceived that Bragg is now heavily reinforced, and turns upon Thomas and McCook. The march of the latter back to form a junction with the former is shown by the dotted blue lines. Bragg now marches for the main road to Chattanooga, and to get in front of our army, as is seen by the course of the red lines. Thomas also makes for the same road ; and the battle ensues. The reader will be amplj- repaid, in the study of these army movements, by the acquisition of knowledge respecting military strategy accomplished upon American soil and attended by one of the greatest battles of modern times. GENEEAL SUMMAEY AND CONCLUSION. The occupation of Chattanooga was accomplished. For seven months past, since the taking of Murfreesborough, this had been the task for our army to perform. The entire object has been gained ; and we are quite unable to perceive wherein lies " the defeat," " the disaster to Eosecrans," &c. &c., that the patriotic 476 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. people of the North and West have been solicited to believe. That such a wrong impression respecting a great battle could arise, appears almost incredible : yet, under the peculiar circum- stances, it may be exj)lained. The partial occupancy of Chatta- nooga by Crittenden's corps would lead the world to believe that the Army of the Cumberland was there. The regretful thought would then arise, our army having got so snugly into Chattanooga, why race down among the mountains fifty miles to get up a fight with rebels, reinforced as they unquestionably would be ? Some reporters stated that McCook and Thomas were going on to Dalton, and Atlanta, and Savannah, and Charleston, leaving Bragg penned up in Chattanooga with our army at his door ! When once understood, as we here endeavor to explain it, the American people will appreciate the fact that the strategic campaign of Rosecrans on Chattanooga was one of the most extensive, the grandest, and the most successful of the war. To show how completely deceived were very many able men as to our having gained Chattanooga, we copy the following editorial from the New York " Tribune" of September last, which assumes tiiat the Army of the Cumberland was then in that place safe and snug : — " Chattanooga. — The occupation of Chattanooga by General Rosecrans is a more brilliant success than if achieved by help of a victory. 'Battles are the last resort of a good general,' said one of the greatest. We are a little slovf to believe it ; but General Rosecrans is so thorough a teacher that the dullest of us shall yet prove apt scholars under his instruction'. The popular imagination delights to conceive him in the storm of bullets, amid which his courage and capacity turned defeat to victory at Murfreesborough. Magnificently done it was ; but Chattanooga is a still higher talent. Needless to remind ourselves that it was a famous rebel stronghold. Its impregnability has been vaunted in every rebel journal for a twelvemonth past. Nature had done her utmost to secure it from assault,, and engineering science had trebled its natural strength. " General Rosecrans might have buried half his army on its craggy slopes before he had fought his way into its recesses ; but he turns its terrors into triumph by skilful strategy, and a simple flank movement discloses the weakness of this formidable fastness. It is simple, however, only in the same sense in which nearly all grand mananivres are simple. They are the exact application of simple general principles in difficult circumstances, the GENERAL SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION. 477 natural obstacles being in this case the greatest to overcome. Rivers, moun- tains, impracticable roads, a country barren of supplies, — these are what test a commander's capacity, and what General Rosecrans has just proved himself master of." Even by the officers and privates of our army the strategy of their commander was very imperfectly understood at the outset, and it was by them grossly, though innocently, misrepresented. But by the time the result was attained, the whole army fully appreciated it, and they now consider this achievement as the grandest and most important of all. It is said that while riding along the lines after the final occupancy of the town, General Eosecrans thus addressed his troops in return for their cheers : — " Fellow-soldiers : — We struck for Chattanooga, — we fought for Chattanooga, — and here we are I" An appreciative officer of our army (unknown to the author) writes as follows to friends in Wisconsin : — "In the Trenches at Chattanooga,") September 25, 1863. J " My dear Uncle : — ********* " The campaign I regard as one of the most brilliant and successful of the war. We have occupied the most important stronghold in the hands of the enemy against a vastly superior force. When Bragg evacuated this place, he expected, with the aid of large reinforcements, to take advantage of the weakness of our line, McCook's corps (right wing) being nearly forty miles distant from Chattanooga, where our left rested. This extension of our right was necessary in order to execute the flanking movement. Nothing seemed easier than for Bragg to cut us in two, and annihilate our comparatively small army by whipping us in detail. It was a skilfully laid and evidently long-matured plan of Bragg, and was foiled only by the consummate strategy of Rosecrans and the determined pluck of his troops. " The right wing marched all night, fought and marched all day, thereby shifting itself to the centre before the enemy had time to strike ; the left wing, aided by Granger's Reserve Corps, at the same time successfully pre- vented the efforts of the enemy to turn our left flank and get between Rose- crans and Chattanooga. For three days we contended against the over- whelming numbers of the enemy in this disadvantageous position, when Rosecrans finally succeeded in concentrating his army, saving his trains, and in occupying Chattanooga — the coveted position — in such force as to insure its permanent possession. " The object of the campaign has been fully accomplished, and we have had to contend with much greater difficulties than ever we anticipated. The 478 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. enemy has been baffled and outwitted ; he has gained no compensating advantage for the loss of Chattanooga in any way ; and I believe that his loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners is even heavier than ours. We in the army can appreciate better than you at home the genius of our commander in extricating us from our perilous position." That officer could not have stated the case more clearly had he had his general's maps and notes in hand. General Eosecrans's official report admits a loss (displacement) of sixteen thousand men, and General Bragg officially confesses to a loss of seventeen thousand. The Union commander an- nounces in the same report that the enemy took four thousand nine hundred of our men prisoners, including the wounded on the battle-field ; while we took two thousand rebel prisoners, none of them wounded. As regards the extent of the rebel forces at the battles of Chickamauga, General Rosecrans assumes that they had at least seventy thousand men, upon this basis. "We took prisoners from one hundred and fifty-three rebel consolidated regiments. They will average four hundred men to each regiment, — sixty-two thousand. Add to this at least eight thousand men for artillery. The rebel prisoners generally concurred in that estimate. The Marietta (formerly Chattanooga) " Rebel," soon after the battle, stated that Bragg was " surrounded by a galaxy of higher military talent and backed by a larger army than he ever before commanded during his whole military career." When the rebel newspapers gave the names of their generals M'ho were killed, it was easy to see to what extent reinforce- ments had been sent to Bragg. Hood's, McLaws's, and Gregg's divisions — the tw^o former of Longstreet's and the latter of Ewell's corps — are represented in their list of officers killed and wounded. The two divisions out of three of Longstreet's corps show forty-two regiments and abou't fifteen thousand men. Gregg's division, which is the third of Ewell's corps, numbers about ten thousand men. Thus Lee sent to Bragg from twenty- five thousand to thirty-one thousand men. When we add to this Bragg's original army, swelled by conscripts to at least thirty-five thousand men, ten thousand men under Buckner, together with GENERAL SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION. 479 material reinforcements from Johnston and Pemberton's old armies, the latter having been declared released from their paroles given at Vicksburg, the magnitude of Bragg's army is well established. B. F. Taylor, Esq., who is now with the Army of the Cumberland as the war-correspondent of the Chicago " Journal," writes to that paper under recent date (October) as follows : — " The business before us is formidable, — how formidable I fear the country does not quite appreciate. No such enemy ever sat down before a Federal hold, no such host ever before looked us face to face. No such stake has been ever before to be played for. One hundred thousand seasoned men will not exhaust the rebel roll. We here shall see the most terrible battle ever fought on this continent." The value of the results of the campaign for Chattanooga is now universally recognized. The following, from the Knoxville " Register," at present published at Atlanta, Georgia, shows how important the rebels feel it to be to recapture East Tennessee : — " If any one doubts the necessity which would impel President Davis to sacrifice Richmond, Charleston, and Mobile, all to reacquire East Tennessee, he need only ask the Commissary-General by what agencies and from what source the armies of the South have been sustained during the first year of the war. East Tennessee furnished the Confederate States with twenty-five millions of pounds of bacon. Last year the State of Tennessee fed the army." And says the Eichmond " Examiner" of October 31 : — " For a long time the importance of East Tennessee to the Confederacy seemed to be unappreciated. Not until that country fell into the possession of the enemy was its incalculable value realized. Except what was furtively obtained from Kentucky, the whole army supply of pork came from East Tennessee and the contiguous counties of the adjoining States. The product of corn in that region was very heavy, and no portion of the Confederacy, equal in extent, afibrded as large a supply of forage and winter pasturage. The occupation of East Tennessee by our own armies was not only import- ant in itself, but it was important also in respect to the contiguous country which it protected. A great line of railway was secured, continental in its dimensions and in its value. The saline and lead mines of Virginia, which produce all the »alt and lead used in the Confederacy, were protected 80 long as East Tennessee was ours. " But the evacuation of that region, and its surrender without a single battle to the enemy, has lost us all these advantages. The railway is broken 480 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. up, and there can be no communication between General Jones at Bristol and General Bragg at Chickamauga, who are less than one hundred and fifty miles apart, except by a circuit of twelve hundred miles through Petersburg, the Carolinas, and Augusta. The hogs of East Tennessee, affording twenty- five millions of pounds of pork, are now being slaughtered for the Yankee armies. The vast corn-crops and forage-supplies of that department, suffi- cient to winter all the live stock of the Confederate armies, are being fed to the fifty thousand horses and mules belonging to the forces of Grant. The salt and lead works of the Confederacy, and the numberless caves of Southwestern Virginia, from which immense supplies of saltpetre are obtained for the Ordnance Department, are now imminently threatened by the close presence of hostile armies, requiring the presence of heavy forces of our own for their protection." After gaining Chattanooga, General Eosecrans vigorously pushed forward his earth-Avorks in the rear. As at Corinth, at Nashville, and at Murfreesborough, he at once prepared to stay, and to make the place an extensive military depot. During four weeks he labored incessantly and effectively. Notwithstanding the false impressions already mentioned, as to our " defeat,'^ '• disaster," and to our being " out-generalled," &e., the Union patriots of our land honored our army and its commander as greatly as ever, for the last display of their labor, their fortitude, and their bravery. It was not, therefore, on ac- count of any public dissatisfaction that General Eosecrans was relieved from his command. The order came to him, unan- nounced, at four o'clock p.m. on the 19th day of October. At nine o'clock that evening he turned over his army to his old and tried friend and confidant. General Thomas. Desiring to have no commotion in the army, he prepared the foHowing order to be issued after his departure, and at eight o'clock the next morn- ing, October 20, just one year to a day from the time of his leav- ing his army at Corinth, Mississippi, to take this command, he bade farewell to the Army of the Cumberland : — " General Orders, No. 242. "Head-Quarters Department of the Cumberland, ■) " Chattanooga, Tenn., October 19, 1863. j " The general commanding announces to the officers and soldiers of the Army of the Cumberland that he leaves them, under orders from the President. GENERAL SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION. 481 " Major-Gen eral George H. Thomas, in compliance with orders, will assume the command of this army and department. " The chiefs of all the staff departments will report to him. " In taking leave of you, his brothers in arms, — officers and soldiers, — he congratulates you that your new commander comes not to you, as he did, a stranger. General Thomas has been identified with this army from its first organization. He has led you often in battle. To his known prudence, dauntless courage, and true patriotism, you may look with confidence that under God he will lead you to victory. " The general commanding doubts not you will be as true to yourselves and your country in the future as you have been in the past. " To the division and brigade commanders he tenders his cordial thanks for their valuable and hearty co-operation in all that he has undertaken. *' To the chiefs of the staff departments and their subordinates whom he leaves behind he owes a debt of gratitude for their fidelity and untiring devotion to duty. " Companions in arms, — officers and soldiers, — farewell ; and may God -bless you ! "W. S. EosECRANS, Major- General." The causes of this action on the part of the Government have not been made public ; but it is the dut}^ of all patriots to pre- sume that they are ample. Injurious and defamatory reports against General Eosecrans. have arisen in this connection to die almost as soon as born. The author passes them hj unnoticed farther than to leave them to be refuted by the enemy. From the Richmond "Examiner," October 2G. " Meantime, Lincoln is helping us. He has removed from command the most dangerous man in his army. A variety of mean and damaging pre- texts for Rosecrans's removal have been published by the Yankee press. But the true reason is the fact that he failed at Chickamauga. ********* " Eosecrans thus retired is unquestionably the greatest captain the Yan- kee nation has yet produced. His performances in the field are too fresh in the memory of every reader to necessitate recapitulation, "We may, how- ever, mention, in proof of his intellectual ability, that he graduated fifth at AVest Point in a class of fifty-six, in which General G. W. Smith graduated eighth and Longstreet fifty-fourth." The gigantic efforts now being made by the rebels to recover Chattanooga audits concomitant, East Tennessee, and the deter- mination of the Federal Government to retain it, best attest the value of General Eosecrans's last campaign. As we have re- marked of his strategic and bloodless victory at Tullahoma. so 31 482 ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND, we may claim of Chattanooga, that, had he attacked and stormed it in front at a cost of five thousand of his soldiers, the world would hail it as a glorious and substantial victory. The result of the campaign is .the same, — Chickamauga was the inevitable price of Chattanooga. Thus we close our history of the Army of the Cumberland. To its future, under its wise and beloved leader, General Thomas, are committed, to a great extent, the hopes of the patriots of our land. May those hopes be gloriously and speedily fulfilled ! The theatre of war is now apparently changed; and upon the Georgia frontier are to be witnessed the culminating scenes of the rebellion. The Union armies are there assembling under the direction of Major-General Grant, the successful hero of Fort Donelson and Yicksburg. The next campaign of this grand- army of the Union, thus commanded, will constitute an ej)Och in the history of our nation and of the world. I POLICE RECORD OF OPERATIONS OF SPIES, SMUGGLERS, TRAITORS, ETC. OCCURRING WITHIN THE LINES OF THE ARMY OF THE CUMBERLAND. A REBEL MINUS $109,000. A NEST OF NASHVILLE SMUGGLERS. THE HOLLOW-HEELED BOOT. THE I'SEUDO '-SANDERS." DR. HUDSON THE SMUGGLER. NEWCOMER THE SCOUT. GENERAL JOHN H. MORGAN'S FEMALE SPY, NOKRIS THE KIDNAPPER. PHILLIPS, THE KENTUCKY UNIONIST. MOORE AND BLUE, THE SCOUTS. TF.AINOR, THE TRAITOR WAGON-MASTER. A SPY ON GENERAL JOHN H. MORGAN. SPECIMENS OF REBEL LETTERS. CONTENTS. A CINCINNATI SPY. TWO REBEL CONGRESSMEN'S WIVES. JOHN MORFORD, THE SPY. FRAUDULENT TRANSFER OF REBEL GOODS, MRS. Y 'S BOOTS. MRS. MOLLY HYDE. ADVENTURES OF TWO UNION SPIES. THE MISSES ELLIOTT. KILLDARE, THE SCOUT. DEATH OP A REBEL GENERAL AND VILLAIK. PRISON-EXPERIENCE OF A UNION SPY. A NAMELESS SPY. NASHVILLE AS A TYPE OF THE REBELLION. ARMY POLICE RECORD. A Eebel Minns One Hundred and Uine Thousand Dollars ! One of the most important and interesting cases upon the records of the Police of the Army of the Cumberland occurred at Louisville, Kentucky, about the time when Major-General Rosecrans was assuming its command in October last. The Chief of his Army Police, and some of his assistants, had hardly arrived in that city before they got upon the track of the case, and fully developed the facts, which are as follow. On the last day of October, 1862, as the mail-boat from Cincinnati to Louisville was ploughing its way down the Ohio River, well thronged with passengers, a party of three persons were to be seen in the saloon, seated before a table, enjoying themselves over a friendly glass and whiling away the hours with a game of euchre. The three were, comparatively speaking, strangers,— had not met with each other previously. Either by accident, by mutual attraction, or by spiritual affinity in the double sense (and whether these small, yet great, events in life come by chance, or are foreordained, we leave to casuists and philosophers to determine), it so happened that these three persons took to cards and cocktails from nine o'clock at night until two in the morning. One of these parties was Mr. John W. Lee, a well-dressed, smooth-faced, courteous, middle-aged gentleman, bearing the appearance of a prosperous and well-regulated country merchant. The second person was a resident of Cynthiana, Kentucky : his name or busi- ness is of no importance, as the only figure he cuts in this story is — like that of the deuce-spot in the game — to count. The third party at the table was a detective ; and that is enough to know, gentle reader, to appreciate fully the story. The game of euchre proved the entering wedge for another kind of game. The influence of cocktails and brandy-straight opened wide the door of friendship and confidence, and Mr. Lee intrusted to the keeping of his new- found acquaintance the weighty secret that he had in his charge a large amount of gold and greenbacks in transitu to its owners in Dixie. Mr. Lee further intimated that he would like to purchase some twenty thousand dollars' worth of goods to take to Kentucky to sell, and if he could get passes and permits of the military authorities at Louisville to get his money and ■goods through, he would be all right. Much conversation ensued that night and during the following morning, the result of which was that Mr. Lee and 485 486 ARMY POLICE RECORD. his friend we.re to go into partnership in the merchandise, and the friend v as to be instrumental in getting the passes, or, if necessary, in running the blockade. Franklin, Kentucky, was the point fixed upon as a good locality for selling the goods, and, of course, the nearest and best point to rebeldom in Tennessee for smuggling purposes. Arrived at Louisville, Mr. Lee and his friend proceeded to the express- office in that city, — the latter by invitation of the former. Passing along the streets, Mr. Lee more fully explained that he had about one hundred and sixty thousand dollars in gold and treasury notes ; that he had taken English sterling bonds for his friends in Knoxville, Tennessee, to New York and there cashed them ; that he had sold the bonds for thirty-two per cent, premium ; that he had bought some gold at about the same rate of premium ; that the money was to come to Louisville by express, and was there now, very probably. Upon inquiry at the office Mr. Lee found this to be the case. He asked the agent if Jive bags of gold were there for John W. Lee. The agent replied, "No," and said, "Have you not made a mistake in the number of bags 2" Mr. Lee looked at his receipt, and said, " Yes ; there are seveii bags." This was correct, and the agent expressed his readiness to deliver it upon Mr. Lee procuring the usual identification. The twain were rather nonplussed: however, Mr. Lee remembered that M. B. Whiteside, Esq., of that city, knew him, and would vouch for him; and they left the express-office. The detective volunteered to find Mr. White- side. He did so ; and that gentleman remarked that he merely knew Mr. Lee, but of his loyalty he knew nothing, and declined to vouch for or identify him. The new friend, however, did not despair ; he saw Mr. Lee, reported progress, or, rather, no progress, and said he had friends in the city whom he would introduce, and who could not only identify, but also procure the re- quisite passes. All now was well. Mr. Lee and friend smiled most pleasantly in that very luxurious but rather one-sided apartment, the saloon of the Gait House. But — alas for the evanescent bliss of the happiest of mortals 1 — at this juncture a policeman tapped our tapsters on the shoulder, and they followed him to the shades. Mr. Lee was informed that he was under arrest ; that his money had been seized where it lay in the express-office ; that he would not be confined, however, but liberated on his parole not to leave the city. The new friend was hustled off to prison summarily, as an old offender ; i.e. he was marched away from Mr. Lee under arrest ; and then, most probably, set off to work up some other case of rascality, pos- sibly a little sad at the loss of his prospective partnership in the country store at Franklin, or, more possibly, smiling at the trick that Mr. Lee was playing upon him, in holding out to him such an inducement to aid the smuggler on his way. There was now a shadow upon the countenance cf John W. Lee aforesaid. He paced to and fro through the public halls of the Gait House, as if tormented by a perturbed spirit. The close observer might have noted as much at a glance; and one person there was, lingering around that hotel, in and about, who was thus taking notes. He was a gentleman A REBEL MINUS HIS GOLD. 487 familiar with the purlieus of the Gait House, and, probably, of many other houses in the city of Louisville. Some trivial pretext for conversation soon occurred, and this gentleman introduced himself to Mr. Lee as a paroled Confederate surgeon and a Mississippian, who enjoyed the privilege of the city through the interposition of influential friends. Our quondam surgeon had also come heavily to grief, and at once proceeded to unbosom himself to the interested Mr. Lee. He told him that, because of his prominence and inflvience as a Southern Rights man, his name was not placed upon the regular cartel for exchange, recently made out by Major-General Buell, that he was about to proceed to Bowling Green, then the head-quarters of Major- General Rosecrans, to have his name thus properly placed, and that he would then proceed home speedily, and without taking the oath of allegiance to the Federal Government. This tale was pleasant to John W. Lee. It was told with such earnest- ness and unction, and was so well concocted, that it threw him completely off his guard. Here was trouble with which he could heartily sympathize. By this time the tAf ain were cosily seated in the gentlemen's parlor of the Gait House, and Mr. Lee seemed to crave for friendly sympathy in return. To insure its extension, he gave this account of his affairs and their present condition. During the last autumn two persons from Kentucky passed through the North and proceeded to the city of Augusta, Georgia. There they purchased of Thomas Metcalf English sterling exchange to the amount of nearly two hundred thousand dollars, paying for it entirely in Confederate scrip, all of which proved to be counterfeit. Upon ascertaining this fact, Metcalf at once sent to Knoxville for Lee, asking him to come to Augusta: he did so, and it was agreed that he (Lee) should have thirty-three and one-third per cent, of all the amount he could recover. This was a bright idea with our Southern brother Metcalf; for Lee was known at home as a good Union man, and could travel about among the Yankees and hunt up the money at will. Mr. Lee was faithful and energetic in his search for the lost treasure. Aladdin never rubbed his lamp with more ardor than did this gentleman seek for sterling bonds or their proceeds. He found his way back to Morganfield, Union county, Kentucky, on the 16th day of October, 1862. He crossed the Southern lines upon passes furnished him by Metcalf; and, of course, he could pass through the United States upon the strength of his Unionism pure and undefiled. He obtains an introduction to Mr. George R. Ellis, of that town, — the latter being an officer, a constable or deputy sheriff, we believe, — and hires his assistance to find two persons, by name, Frank Payne and Martin Hancock, telling him that these persons had passed counterfeit Con- federate money on the firm of Metcalf & Co., of Augusta, Georgia, to the amount of one hundred and sixty thousand dollars, or thereabouts ; that they lived somewhere in that vicinity, and that he wished to find thorn. Lee and Ellis, after a vigorous search, found Hancock in Henderson county, and ascertained that Payne was either dead or had left the country. 488 ARMY POLICE RECORD. Thev invite Hancock into a room, and Lee produces a letter from Metcalf & Co. (And here, by the way, we should remark that the latter gives two or three different names of parties in Georgia who owned the sterling bonds. In stating the case to the supposed Confederate surgeon, at the Gait House, Louisville, he gave the owner's name as Thomas Metcalf, of Augusta, Georgia ; and in stating it to Mr. Ellis — as we see by Ellis's affidavit — he gave the owners' names as Whiteman & Co., of Augusta, Georgia.) This letter Lee read to Hancock ; it charged him (Hancock) and Payne with passing off the counterfeit money, Hancock at once admitted the fact, and then and there agreed to refund the whole amount involved to Lee, as agent for the owners, informing him that the money was in New York City, and that he would go on with him and make it all right. Lee then employed Ellis to accompany them to watch Hancock and make all sure, agreeing to pay him five hundred dollars for the service. The three soon started for the East; and at Cincinnati Hon. Judge Trigg joined the party as counsel, procured by the far-sighted Lee. To be brief, they reached New York City, and there recovered one hundred and forty-five thousand dollars in money, and Hancock gave his note to Lee for fifteen thousand dollars, payable three months thereafter at Nashville, Tennessee. The party returned to Cincinnati, bringing the money in two large trunks, which were so heavy that Lee feared they would excite suspicion, and there telegraphed back to New York respecting the exchange of the gold for Southern scrip, or something that would answer the purposes of the owner. Mr. Ellis and Judge Trigg parted from Lee at Cincinnati, and the latter came on to Louisville with the money, as related in the beginning of this chapter. So much for the story of John W. Lee, told to our confidence-man, the Confederate surgeon. The latter heartily sympathized with his friend, and with the Southern owner, who, he hoped, would yet get his money from the Federal clutches. The surgeon remarked, — " I have a heartfelt interest in your case. I am a native of Georgia. I know Thomas L. Metcalf, of Augusta, well, and he is a true, uncom- promising friend of the South. He is very wealthy, — a heavy cotton-dealer and ship-owner, &c. When the war broke out, Mr. Metcalf raised and equipped a company called the Metcalf Guards, which company fought at the first battle of Bull Run, and was, sad to say, almost annihilated." "I am pleased to hear this," replied Lee, "and that Mr. Metcalf has another friend here. But one thing let me caution you about: don't breathe a word here about his Southern Rights course, as you respect him and love the cause. Be very careful ; for I shall now insist that he is a good Union man, and think that I can thus get his money back and save my portion of it." The surgeon of the Confederacy promised faithfully to be silent on that point. It was also further arranged that he would at once go to Bowling Green, see Major-General Rosecrans, get his exchange papers adjusted, and return to Louisville, when Lee would have letters ready for Mr. Met- A NEST or NASHVILLE SMUGGLERS. 489 calf explaining the Ills that had happened to their plan, which letters were to be taken to the sunny South by the surgeon. The story is told. Mr. Lee saw the surgeon no more ; nor did his old steamboat friend again turn up. His money is now in possession of the United States Government, and the trial of the case is pending, we believe, in the United States District Court at Louisville. When we last heard from John W. Lee, the good Union man, he had feed a lawyer for ten thousand dollars to win the case, at Washington, where he expected to get back his bargained share, thirty-three per cent, of the sum total. This statement is compiled from the evidence of the two witnesses, — the surgeon and Mr. Ellis of Kentucky, — and, if the facts are as thus stated, Mr. Lee will have a happy time of it in recovering his percentage. A Nest of Hashyille Smugglers. For many weary months after its occupation by the Federal army, Nash- ville was the great centre to which thronged all the hordes of smugglers, spies, and secret plotters of treason, whom a love of treachery or of gain had drawn to the rebel cause. The aid and encouragement received from the wealthy Secessionists of the city enabled them securely and successfully to carry out their designs, which, added to its proximity to the heart of the Confederacy, made it a peculiarly advantageous base of operation. Through them, lines of communication were kept open to every part of the South, and the rebel army supplied with valuable goods and still more valuable information. Their shrewdness and secrecy seemed to defy every attempt at detection. The regular pickets, do what they would, found it impossible to prevent the transportation of contraband goods beyond the lines ; and it was only when mounted policemen were stationed on every road leading from the city that a noticeable decrease in the operations of these aiders and abettors of the rebellion became apparent. As an illustration of the beneficial effects of the new arrangement, and to show to what great results a trifling circum- stance will sometimes lead, the case of the three Friedenbergs and the developments to which it gave rise are here narrated. On Sunday, the 28th of December, 1862, as two of these policemen were patrolling the Murfreesborough pike, they saw coming towards the city a buggy in which were seated three men. At first glance there was nothing to distinguish them from ordinary travellers ; but when they had drawn near enough to see the policemen, the youngest and smallest of the three jumped from the buggy and made for the woods with desperate speed. This, of course, excited suspicion, and he was at once pursued, but unavailingly. His two companions, however, were halted and sent under guard to the police-office. An examination of themselves and vehicle revealed the presence of nothing contraband; the only thing found upon them being 490 ARMY POLICE RECORD. several hundred dollars in Southern money. Their names, they said, ■were Besthoff and Friedenberg. They had been engaged in merchandizing at Atlanta, Georgia, before the war, and had remained there until recently. Finding they could no longer keep out of the rebel army, they determined to escape ; had closed out their stock at what it would bring, and with the pro- ceeds were now on their way North. Of the young man with them when first seen, they either could or would say nothing more than that he was a stranger whom they had found at Murfreesborough, and who had begged a passage in their buggy to Nashville. Such was the substance of a very pitiable story of hardships, suffering, and heavy losses, related with much volubility and feeling, and, there being no evidence contradictory of it, or warranting their further detention, — whatever private reasons there may have been to suspect its truth, — they were released. Attention was again directed to the young man — or boy, rather — who had escaped. His hasty flight indicated something wrong, and detectives were put upon his track. For several days nothing was heard of him ; but one morning he was seen gliding stealthily through an alley in the city, and, chase being made, was this time soon caught. He was found to be a German Jew, not yet sixteen years old, but bright and quick-witted far beyond what is usual at such an age. An examination at the police-office disclosed upon his person about six hundred dollars, which was taken from him. On being questioned, he said that his name was James Wilson ; that he formerly lived in Cleveland, East Tennessee, but had been peddling in Atlanta, Georgia. His story was much the same as that of Friedenberg and Besthoff ; he had sold his goods, was anxious to get away and go to Germany, was tired of the business, had lost heavily, &c. As in the case of the others, this was reason- able enough in itself, and he was about to be released, when a gentleman sitting in the office — formerly a resident in the South, but now in the army police service — called Colonel Truesdail to one side, and said to him, — "That boy is lying to you, — is telling you a series of lies right along. I know him, and know who and what he is. I saw him at Murfreesborough peddling contraband goods, where he was generally known to be a smuggler, and I recognized him at once while he was talking to you." " Take him into another room, then," said the colonel, " and work upon him. Talk sharp to him ; tell him that you know all about him, and how you know it. Convince him that you have seen him in the South and know what he was doing there, and then tell him that if he will own up, tell all he knows about these smuggling operations, and disclose the names of those engaged in it, we will return him his money and let him off without punish- ment; but, if he won't do that, we'll keep his money and send him to the penitentiary." This was done ; but the boy still persisted for some time in his original atory. Finding, however, that he really was known, and that it was likely to fare hard with him, he finally yielded and made a new statement, which was in substance as follows. His name, he still said, was James Wilson,— this was afterward found to A NEST OF NASHVILLE SMUGGLER'S. 49X be untrue, — and he had been living in Cleveland, as he first stated, for tvro years. He was a native of Germany, and his parents still resided there- About two months since he came to Nashville, — purchased goods, succeedea in smuggling them through the Federal lines, and took them to Atlanta, Georgia, where he sold them. The goods were purchased of Staddler & Brother, No. 2 Public Square, and Kleinman & Co., on Market Street, and consisted entirely of fine combs, for which he paid one dollar and twenty-five cents per dozen. These he packed in two satchels, and, wishing to get them out of the city, was introduced to one F. W. Keller, residing about one and a half miles out on the Zollicofi"er Road, who took him and his goods out to his house the same evening, with his children, as he carried them home from school. Keller also took out with him at the same time a box of goods which he said he had bought of the Friedenbergs. For helping him out, Wilson paid Keller fifty dollars, and received from him the next morning a note to one Avis Brown, in which it was stated that the bearer was a smug- gler who wished to get away as soon as possible, and requesting Brown to assist him in doing so. From Keller's Wilson made his way, partly on foot and partly on a horse which he purchased on the road, to Brown's, who received him kindly and showed him the way. Thence he went to Franklin and Murfreesborough, where he sold his horse and took the cars for Atlanta. Here he sold the combs for one dollar each, and then returned by rail to Mur- freesborough, where he met Friedenberg and Besthoff, with whom he came to Nashville, arriving there — or rather in sight of the policemen — on Sunday, the 28th of December. This trip occupied about twelve days, and proved very profitable to him ; and it was now his intention to go home to Germany. Respecting others engaged in smuggling goods through the lines, he said that he knew a Mr. Wolff, living in Atlanta, who had recently purchased au assortment of buttons, needles, pins, gold lace, &c., which he had carried out in a two-horse wagon that had a false bottom to the bed, and taken to Chat- tanooga, where the witness had assisted in unloading them. One A. Haas had a two-horse carryall with a false bottom, and had the previous month taken in it a load of goods from Nashville to Atlanta, where he also resided. The false bottom, he said, was put into the carryall in Nashville. Leo Cohen also had a false-bottomed wagon, which he had made in Nashville, and with which he had smuggled a load of contraband articles to Atlanta. About three months ago, a man living at Selma, Alabama, had come to Nashville and purchased two wagon-loads of goods, which he took through the lines with him to Chattanooga, whence he made his way to Selma. He knew, he said, further, that Schwab & Co., a heavy firm in Nashville, had been engaged fu smuggling, but not to what extent. As to the Friedenbergs, &c., he did not know, of his own knowledge, that they had been running goods through the Federal lines, but he did know that Abraham Friedenberg had on several occasions taken goods to the South from Nashville, and had seen him in Murfreesborough and Chattanooga with them, and he knew that they were the goods which he had seen loaded into a* two-horse wagon, furnished vrith a false bottom, at the store of B. F. Shields & Co., in Nashville, and ho 492 " ARMY POLICE RECORD. was afterwards told by Friedenberg that they had been sold by him in Chattanooga and Atlanta. These were the only persons engaged in contra- band trade of whom he had any knowledge. Having thus fully revealed these matters, the boy was released, his money returned to him, and himself sent North, The information given by him was at once improved by the arrest of Keller, at whose house was found and seized a large amount of dry goods and clothing. Keller, upon his examination, stated that about five weeks previously he had come to the city to sell some butter, and while at the market was approached by two Jews named Friedenberg, who inquired where he lived. On being informed, they asked him if he could not take out to his house some goods for them, for which service they would pay him well. After some conversation, and on being assured that there was no danger in it, he agreed to take them out, and came the next day, as requested, with his wagon for them. The Friedenbergs loaded the wagon with a large quantity of hoop-skirts and several small boxes and bundles of unknown goods. These he carried to his house, and the same evening another Jew, named Besthofi", came out with a new wagon, drawn by two mules. Stopping there a few minutes, he went down the road, and, returning the next morning, informed Keller that he had taken down a load of goods in that wagon, concealed by a false bottom. He then requested the Jew to take the goods from his house, or he would throw them out into the yard. Besthoif said he would come back and get them on his return from the city in an hour or so, — which he did, — loading them into the same wagon which he had with him on the day previous, and giving him at the same time an order on Friedenberg, written in Hebrew, for his pay. This order was presented the next day, and the amount — five hundred dollars — promptly paid by Friedenberg, who remarked that they would make fifteen thousand dollars on that load. There were three Friedenbergs, all of whom were in the habit of going out on the same pass which Besthoff had used, and which was in one of the Friedenbergs' name. Whoever used it would leave it at Keller's house, and he would take it back to town for the others. At one of his visits to these Friedenbergs they induced him to take three boxes of gray caps out and go with them to Murfreesborough, saying that he could sell them there for five or six dollars each, and that they would divide the profits with him. About ten days before Christmas he went with the caps to Murfreesborough, where he found great difliculty in disposing of them at all, but finally closed them out for one dollar each, in Confederate scrip, which realized about seventy cents to the dollar. Here he met Besthoff and Friedenberg, the latter of whom informed him that he was then going to Atlanta, but that he would soon return, and would then want more goods brought through the lines, Eeturning on Christmas day, Keller went immediately to see the other Friedenbergs, who told him that they would furnish him some goods to take out and sell, which would pay a great profit. The arrangement proposed was that he should pay them the cost-price of the goods when he took them to his house, and that they would pay him his money back, and fifty per cent, in addition, when the goods should be delivered A NEST OF NASHVILLE SMUGGLERS. 493 to their partner, the other Friedenberg, on his return from the South. To these terms he agreed, and took out the goods which were found at his house and seized there, and for which he had advanced over nine hundred dollars. Abraham Friedenberg returned to Nashville, but, instead of coming for the goods, as promised, went to Louisville, and the other Friedenbergs then saia that they would send somebody else to get them ; but before they could do so their arrangements were broken in upon by his arrest and the seizure of the goods. The Friedenbergs and Besthoff were all partners, — they had told him so, many times ; also that they were smugglers, and did nothing else. The goods which he carried out were sometimes taken under a quilt or blanket in his market-wagon ; or sometimes he would put the boxes under bundles of oats ; and when they were large he would throw manure over them. He made five trips to bring out the goods, for which they paid him the five hundred dollars. At the time he was about to start for Murfrees- borough with the caps he did not keep it a secret, and about that time he met one Salzkotter, who requested him to say to his partner Schwab, if he met him, not to come back, for if he did the Yankees would catch him. Best- hofi" had told him that this same Schwab had made twenty thousand dollars on hats which he had smuggled through the Federal lines in feather beds, and that he and his firm — Schwab & Co. — had been engaged in the same kind of business ever since the war began. Keller also related the history of his acquaintance with the boy Wilson, whose real name, as he had been informed by Friedenberg, was Solomon Guthman. This did not difier much from the boy's own stateihent, but con- tained the additional information that Wilson was connected with the Frie- denbergs, always procured his goods from them, and seemed to be one of them. He had made five thousand dollars, he boasted to Keller, by smug- gling goods through the lines, and he was now going on to Philadelphia to buy another stock, on which he would make five thousand dollars more. Keller stated, in conclusion, that he was a vegetable gardener, and had been doing well before the rebellion, but had found it impossible to make a living since. He had been driven into this business through sheer poverty and ignorance : he had no wish or design to injure the Government, — was not in favor of the rebellion. By the seizure of the goods he had lost every thing he had ; and, as they did not really belong to him, but to the Friedenbergs, by whom he had been inveigled into carrying them to his house, he hoped that the military authorities would force them to refund him his money, or a portion of it, at least. In consideration of all the circumstances, and believing that Keller did not engage in the business for the purpose of aiding the rebellion, but rather through actual fear of coming to want, and that he might be made of some .service to the Government, it was proposed to him that he should turn around and assist in developing the case against the Friedenbergs and Best- hoff, so as to secure their punishment and the confiscation of their goods If he would do this, and work faithfully, he was promised that he should not be a loser by it, but should be remunerated for the money he had 494 ARMY POLICE RECORD. advanced to tlie Friedenbergs. Keller gladly accepted the offer, and -went to -work at once, following the matter up diligently and faithfully, and since then lias been almost constantly employed in the secret service. Through his instrumentality Isaac and Mike Friedenberg were arrested, and some nine hundred dollars in money, besides personal property, as -watches, &c. were found upon their persons and seized. Diligent search was made for Abraham Friedenberg and Besthoff; but they had gone to Louisville to purchase goods, and, by some means hearing of the affair, made good their escape. At the same time a large stock of goods, valued at between four and five thousand dollars, stored in the auction and commission house of B. F. Shields & Co., was seized as the property of the Friedenbergs. Isaac Friedenberg, when arrested, had little to say, further than to admit that he had sold the goods to Keller, but claiming that he did not know that the latter intended to smuggle them through the lines, though he did know that Keller had previously taken goods to Murfreesborough to sell. Mike Friedenberg, however, made quite a lengthy statement, which resulted in the arrest of still other parties, and was in brief somewhat thus : — In March, 1857, he went to Columbus, Georgia, and remained there, engaged in merchandizing with his brother Isaac, until March, 1862, when he came to Nashville. The reason of his leaving Columbus was that he did not wish to enter the rebel army, and could not longer remain there without doing so. He had not been back since leaving there, and his business there was still in an unsettled condition. His brother Isaac was at that time in Kichmond, whither he had gone when the Federal army occupied Nash- ville, and had written to him as he was about leaving Columbus to stop at Nashville and take charge of the balance of a stock of goods which he had left there. This he did, moving them first into the store of a Mr. Stein, and, on the lattor's leaving for New York, to the store of Shields & Co., where he began selling them out. On the 16th of June, 1862, he was taken sick, and for two months was unable to attend to any business. Just before this, however, Isaac had returned from Richmond, and proceeded immediately to New York to buy more goods. He returned, however, without any, and Mike, on recovering, went himself to New York, and remained there two months, when he again came to Nashville, reaching there on the 28th of No- vember, 1862. In the mean time his brother Isaac had bought of two parties in Nashville a considerable stock of boots, shoes, hats, caps, and gentlemen's furnishing goods, which he then had in Shields's store, and which he said belonged to himself, Mike, and their nephew, Abraham Friedenberg. After his return from New York, Mike himself purchased from A. Laob & Co. a lot of hats, which were still in the store of Shields & Co. when seized by the police. Abraham Friedenberg was in partnership with himself — Isaac — eome five or six weeks, and then left them and went with Besthoff; but what they did he did not know. One day Abraham Friedenberg came to him and wished him to buy him a wagon and two mules, which he did, paying for them four hundred and seventy dollars. The next day Besthoff came and requested him to get Mr. Smith, a carpenter, to make a false bottom to the A NEST OP NASHVILLE SMUGGLERS. 495 •wagon. He said Mr. Smith knew all about making it, and that when it was finished he — Besthoff — would call for it. Smith agreed to make, and did make, the false bottom, as he desired, and Friedenberg afterwards saw it in the wagon. Keller's arrangement for carrying goods out to his house was entirely with Besthoff and Abraham Friedenberg. He carried out five or six loads for them, and Abraham Friedenberg furnished the five hundred dollars to pay him. Besthoff and A. Friedenberg loaded their own wagon — the one with the false bottom — twice, and went with it into the country, where they remained until December 28, when they returned, and in two or three days afterwards went North. Through them he became acquainted with Keller, and sold him seventy-four dozen fine combs, which cost one dollar and fifty cents per dozen, for two and a half or three dollars a dozen, eighteen pounds of flax thread, and some other goods. This testimony of Mike Friedenberg led to the arrest of John L. Smith, who made the false bottoms, and who stated, on examination, that he was a carpenter, and had a shop on the corner of Lime and High Streets. In the latter part of February or about the 1st of March, 1862, a Mr. Salzkotter, of the firm of Schwab & Co., merchants of Nashville, called at the shop and re- quested him to make a false bottom in a light spring-wagon, and afterwards sent the wagon to the shop, where the bottom was made and put in. The way in which it was made was this. Side-pieces were put on each side of the bed inside, and one through the centre, the whole length, and on these pieces planed boards were secured, leaving between the two floors a vacant space of from two and a half to three inches. When finished, Salzkotter himself came after the wagon and took it away, but neither at this nor at any other time did he say for what purpose he intended to use it. Since then he had made five or six similar ones for other parties, all of whom had been introduced by this same firm of Schwab & Co. He objected to making them at first, but finally was induced to do so, though he knew it to be wrong. Salzkotter paid him five dollars for the job ; Haas, the only one of the other parties whose name he could remember, paid him ten, and the remainder fifteen dollars. After the wagon for Salzkotter was finished, and before he took it away, he sent to the shop a dray loaded with boxes, the contents of which he said he wished to pack into his wagon. Smith gave him the key of the shop ; and during the night they were unloaded and packed, — as the wagon was gone in the morning, and the boxes were there empty. Mr. Smith did not know what was in these boxes ; but Mahlon Jones, one of his workmen, testified that he helped remove them from the dray, and, in so doing, one of them fell upon the ground and was broken open, exposing the contents, which were quinine and other medicines. It was now Salzkotter's turn to receive the attention of the police, as a smuggler and dealer in false-bottomed wagon-beds ; and some_ three or four thousand dollars' worth of liquors and domestics were seized as belonging to him. He was immensely indignant, of course, and unblushingly endeavored to lie out of the scrape in which he found himself. When questioned, he stated most positively that he had been keeping books for Schwab & Co. in 490 ARMY POLICE RECORD. Nashville for three years, until some three months previous, when the store was closed. He had never been in partnership with Schwab. The firm — composed of Schwab and his brother-in-law, H. Dreyfoos — owed him some four thousand to five thousand dollars, for which he held their notes. Schwab and his partner had both left the city, and he believed them to be in Knoxville, where they had a branch house. They had left him about one thousand dollars' worth of liquors to sell for them, and he had sold all but about two hundred dollars' worth. He also had some two hundred dollars' worth of liquors of his own, which they had given him in settle- ment. He had never had made, for himself or anybody else, a wagon, car- riage, or vehicle of any description, with a false bottom, and he did not know anybody who had. He had never bought any wagon for himself or other person, nor had he been, directly or indirectly, connected with anybody in running goods through the lines to the enemy or to any disloyal persons. Schwab & Co. had had considerable trade with the South, but it was all before the war. Their books and papers were left with him to settle up, and he was to pay himself out of the proceeds. He never knew of Schwab having had a wagon or carriage made for carrying goods through the lines. He knew Mr. Smith, the carpenter, but had never visited his shop for the purpose of having a false bottom made to a wagon or other vehicle. Of the other parties who had testified concerning them he knew nothing. When asked by Colonel Truesdail if he would make oath to this statement, he rose from his chair and said he would. The colonel, however, would not allow him thus to perjure himself, but immediately called up the witnesses Smith and Jones, who reiterated in his presence their former statements, and identified him as the man whom they called Salztotter and who had several times been to the shop for the purpose of having the false bottoms made. Mike Friedenberg was then called in, and, in the presence of Salzkotter, stated that his nephew, Abraham Friedenberg, told him to go to Mr. Salz- kotter's store and inquire of him who could be hired to make a false bottom to a wagon. Accordingly, he went to Salzkotter one Saturday, some five or six weeks before, and made the inquiry, to which the latter replied that he would introduce him to a Mr. Smith who would make it, but that Smith would not make it if he went to him alone. After supper he called on Salz- kotter by invitation, and together they went to Smith's, to whom he was in- troduced, and with whom, in Salzkotter's presence, he made an arrange- ment for the making of the false bottom. This testimony being rather damaging, Salzkotter endeavored to weaken it by a cross-examination ; but Friedenberg still persisted in his statement, and further said that the wagons were made for the express purpose of smuggling. The complicity of Salzkotter in the wagon-bed transaction was now fully established ; and witnesses were next examined to prove that both he and the house of Schwab & Co. had been extensively engaged in smuggling goods through to the rebels. Edward Speckel testified that he lived in Nashville, knew Salzkotter well, and that the latter had told him some five months previously that he had been smuggling goods from Louisville to A NEST OF NASHVILLE SMUGGLERS. 497 Nashville. They were principally quinine and other medicines ; and he had made eighteen hundred dollars on one trip. The goods were taken by a car- riage to a way-station some distance from Louisville, and thence shipped by rail to Nashville. Near Louisville he just escaped detection by saying that the trunks contained only the clothing belonging to a family who were to join him at the station. Salzkotter said that his father-in-law, Schwab, had taken the goods South from Nashville and sold them, he being a partner in the transaction. He further said that he had been South himself before this occurred, and that he had cleared eighteen hundred dollars by the trip, — of which he had one half and Schwab the other. He had often remarked, laughingly, that they could make more money than the Union men, and seemed to make no secret of his sending goods to the South. David Kuhn, who had lived in Knoxville eight years, testified that he knew the firm of Schwab & Co. Salzkotter was connected with them in some way, but he did not know whether he had an interest in the store or not. In Knoxville they sold liquors, cigars, and notions, but they had closed their store some eight months before. It was the general belief, and he knew, that the house was engaged in smuggling goods through the Federal lines. He knew that they had brought goods from Nashville, but did not know that they had brought them in wagons with false bottoms. Both Schwab and Dreyfoos had told him they had smuggled goods through since they closed their store, and in October, 18G2, Salzkotter came to Knoxville in a light spring-wagon, with goods, as was believed. His reputation was that of a smuggler. William Mliller, who was formerly a clerk for Schwab & Co., corroborated Kuhn's testimony, and added that it was common report that Schwab & Co. and Salzkotter were in the habit of running goods through the lines by means of wagons having a false bottom. While clerking with them, he had heard the firm say that they were smuggling medicines and other goods through the lines ; and he knew of pistols and knives having been sent to the Knoxville house of Schwab & Co. early in 1862. Salzkotter went to Knoxville in the summer of 1862 ; and it was the general report that he had taken goods with him. It was his impression that Salzkotter was a silent partner in the house, on account of having failed in business at Knoxville. Salzkotter's case was now hopeless; and he seems at last to have given it up himself, as he made no further efibrts to avert punishment by holding out against evidence so strong and positive. His liquors were turned over to the United States Marshal for libel and confiscation in the United States District Court, his domestic goods were put to immediate use in the hospi- tals, and he was sent to the Alton Military Prison, but has since been re- leased, and is now again in Nashville. His money — of which he had some twenty-three thousand dollars — was not found, though long and thorough search was instituted for it. He admitted, however, afterwards, that the officers came within an inch or two of the place where it was secreted. In the case of the Friedenbcrgs, Isaac was imprisoned in irons for some time ; but finally he and Mike were paroled not to come south of the Ohio River 32 498 ARMY POLICE RECORD, again during; the war. Their goods seized in the act of smuggling wera confiscated at once, and those in store at Shields & Co.'s were turned over to the United States Marshal for libel and confiscation in the District Court. Their watches and money, after deducting enough to repay Keller, were returned to them. Smith, the carpenter, was released without punishment. Thus ended this remarkable case, or rather series of cases, all resulting from the trifling incident of a boy jumping from a buggy in which he was riding, and escaping to the woods. It disclosed a vast network of fraud and villainy, and resulted in the punishment of three persons, the pardon and subsequent good behavior of numbers of others, and the confiscation of some ten thousand dollars' worth of goods. But, more and better than all this, it demonstrated the sleepless vigilance of the Government in the discovery of guilt, however secret and well planned, and the heavy hand of justice not yet too weak to visit upon the violators of its laws the full penalty so de- servedly prescribed. It taught a lesson which could not but be heeded, and disclosed a power which must be respected and feared, if not loved. The Hollow-Heeled Boot. In the earlier days of the rebellion there lived in Southeastern Missouri one Ogilvie Byron Young. He was a wild, graceless scamp, rich in the blood of his ancestors, but poor in purse. To the pride of Lucifer he added the courage of Falstaff and the honor of lago. A scion of Virginia's aristo- cracy, he deemed himself a statesman from birth and an orator by nature. Showy in manner and superficial in attainments, he could act the accom- plished gentleman or the bullying braggart as best suited the occasion. Vain, reckless, and boastful, he was scorned as a visionary enthusiast by some, feared as a bold, bad man by others, but admired as a genuine Southern cavalier of the old school by those who knew him least. Wildly imaginative, but immensely unpractical, he plunged madly into the first waves of rebellion, and, while Sterling Price was yet a Union general and Claiborne F. Jackson a loyal Governor, dared to avow and advocate opinions of the most ultra-Southern character. Fine-drawn theoretical arguments on the right and duty of secession were spread before the people of the State, in column after column of letters published in newspapers and to which was attached the full signature, "Ogilvie Byron Young." The rough back- woodsmen of his county were momentarily swayed by his presumptuous clamor, and he was sent to the first Missouri State Convention. Here he was the only member that took strong ground in favor of secession per se, gaining thereby not a little notoriety. The State did not secede ; but Ogilvie Byron Young did, and for some months he was not so much as heard from. In the fall of 1861 he was arrested at the Spencer House, Cincinnati, aa a spy. In due time an indictment and trial followed; but, though there was THE HOLLOW-HEELEB BOOT. 499 abundant evidence of guilt, he escaped conviction by means of some tech- nical informality in the proceedings. He was ordered to leave the city, however, and did so. In the following spring he was found in Covington, Kentucky, under an assumed name, aiding and abetting the rebels by fur- nishing information, and was again arrested. He had been cautioned by some one, it would seem ; for there was found nothing upon him in the way of papers or letters to warrant his detention, and he was again released, to again disappear from sight for some months. In November, 1862, he is again met with, in Nashville, where he had been for some weeks as a paroled prisoner, but acting all the while in his old capacity of smuggler and spy. In this business he seems to have had remarkable success, until his career was fortunately arrested by a com- bination of circumstances and the watchful shrewdness of the army police. About the last of that month Young was introduced to a gentleman who represented himself as a hostage for the return of certain loyal Missis- sippians captured at luka and treated by Price as traitors, contrary to the terms of the cartel between the Federal and Confederate Governments. At first he was shy and suspicious, but was finally convinced that his new acquaintance was really what he purported to be, and heartily entered into all his plans for the advancement of the Confederate cause. As his confi- dence grew stronger, he remarked that he had been of more benefit to the South, as a spy, than any brigade of rebel soldiers. He had encouraged de- sertions in the Federal camps, and made out paroles in the names of Morgan and Kirby Smith. The business was getting a little dangerous now, how- ever, and he should get beyond the lines as soon as possible. He would have gone long ago, only that he had expected to be saved the trouble and expense of the trip by the fall of Nashville. Our luka hostage then informed him that Mrs. Major Ranney — wife of Major Ranney of the 6th Texas Regiment — was in the city, under his charge, and just returned from Europe, whither she had been on diplomatic business for the Confederate Government. She had in her possession very important despatches, and was anxious to get safely through the lines with them. Young said, in reply, that he would bring his influence to bear upon the army officials in her favor, but in case she should be searched it would be well to provide for such a contingency. There was, he said, in the city a man by the name of Thompson, ostensibly a citizen, but really a rebel lieutenant in Bragg's army, and now acting as a spy. He had made the trip through the lines ten or twelve times, and could do it again. He was now engaged in drawing a map of the fortifications around Nashville and pro- curing information as to the numbers of the troops, &c., which should be forthcoming in due season. These secret despatches of Mrs, Ranney's, together with this map and other papers, could be hidden in the heel of a boot, which would be made for them by a bootmaker of the city in the employ of the Confederate Government. His name was C. J. Zeutzschell, and his shop was on Union Street. This plan was agreed to, and Young was to assist in the execution of it ; 500 ARMY POLICE KECORD. in return for which, he was to be placed in a high position at Richmond Young's reputation, however, was not of the best, and the bootmaker would do nothing for him, when called upon, without first making inquiries among his friends and consulting with our hostage, for whom the boots were wanted. Accordingly, Zeutzschell came to his room one evening and said that Young had been to his house and wished him to make a pair of boots and to secrete important documents in them so as to defy detection. He had no confidence in Young's honor, and did not wish to do it for him. He knew him as identified with the Confederates, indeed, but he was a bad man, low in his habits and associates, never had any money, &c. He (Zeutzschell) had been inquiring of the friends of the South — undoubted secessionists — concerning him (our luka hostage), and was convinced that he was a gentle- man and a true Southerner. He would do any thing to promote the cause, — money was no object, — ^he would lay down his life for it. If Young could be thrown ofi" the track, he would make the boots and secrete in them a map of the fortifications about Nashville. His brother-in-law, Harris, would go out and see if any new ones had been erected. If not, he had a perfect plan of them in his head, to prove which he immediately sat down and drafted one. He remarked that he had recently sent several such to General Morgan. He had made the boots for all the spies in the same way, and not one had ever been detected. He had sent valuable information in a common pipe. "Can you get a pass for your man?" asked our hostage. "Certainly," was the reply ; " as many as you like. There is a German at head-quarters who steals blank passes for me, and I fill them up myself. I give him whiskey for them." He would like to go South, too, he said, in conclusion. He could describe the fortifications so much better than in a map. Both parties being satisfied, an agreement for the boots was made. Zeutz- schell was to get the exact distances of the defences, the number and dispo- sition of the troops, &c., and secrete them, together with Mrs. Ranney's despatches, in the heel of one of the boots. This he did, according to promise: the boots were made and delivered on the evening appointed. Instead of reaching Generals Bragg and Morgan, as intended, however, the maps, papers, boots, owner, maker, and spy, suddenly found themselves in the hands of the army police, much to the astonishment and chagrin of all parties concerned. Zeutzschell and Young were sent to the military prison at Alton. THE PSEUDO " SANDERS." 501 The Psendo "Sanders." Prominent among those thronging the head-quarters of Brigadier-General Boyle, in the city of Louisville, one morning in November, 1862, might have been noticed a bright, handsome woman, who seemed exceedingly anxious for the success of some suit in which she was engaged. Her dress and manner indicated that she belonged to the higher walks of life, but other- wise there was nothing in her conduct or appearance by which a careless observer would distinguish her from the hundreds of others who daily gather at the office of a commanding general, seeking favors as numerous and diverse as the applicants themselves. The practised eye, however, could easily discern certain suspicious circumstances attaching to her and suggest- ive of the idea that beneath all this pleasant exterior there might be an under-current of deceit and treachery. But her story was plausible, her manners winning, her conversation sprightly and interesting. The impres- sion made by her upon all with whom she came in contact was in the highest degree favorable, and it seemed both ungallant and unjust to harbor the shadow of a suspicion that she was otherwise than a high-minded, honor- able woman, v^ho would scorn any of the petty meannesses of such frequent occurrence within our lines. It subsequently transpired that her name was Ford, that her husband was a Baptist clergyman, — a man of ability and reputation, formerly editor of a religious paper in that city, and now representative in the Confederate Con- gress from that district of Kentucky. JShe herself belonged to one of the first families of the city, and moved in the highest circles of an aristocratic society. To a natui-ally brilliant mind, strengthened and polished by a thorough education, were added the ease and grace of an accomplished Southern woman. In the palmy days of peace she had been the centre of a bright galaxy of wit and beauty, dispensing to her admirers a bounteous hospitality, as genial as it was welcome. Now all was changed. These social gatherings had long been discontinued, the family circle was broken and scattered, her husband was a fugitive from his home, and she was seek- ing from the Federal authorities permission to pass southward beyond their lines and join him in his exile. Lounging about the same head-quarters, on the same morning, with seem- ingly no particular business or present occupation save to watch the move- ments of others, was a quiet-looking man, who now and then cast sharp, quick, and stealthy glances at this Mrs. Ford, apparently regarding her with much interest. Presently, seeing her somewhat apart from the crowd, he approached, and, in a respectful, diffident manner, engaged her in conversa- tion, which continued for some time, and, from the animated character it gradually assumed, was evidently upon some subject in which both parties were deeply interested. That it was of a confidential and private nature was easily inferred from the caution maintained during its continuance. It seems that, after some commonplace talk, the stranger informed her that C 502 ARMY POLICE RECORD. he .was not what he then seemed, but in reality Captain Denver, of the Con- federate army, visiting Louisville as a spy upon the movements of the Federal army in that portion of Kentucky. Highly gratified at this intelli- gence, the lady became very friendly, and at once invited the captain to visit her house. The invitation so warmly given could not be declined without apparent rudeness, and so was accepted, but with, as the lady thought, a rather unnecessary and suspicious hesitation. Whatever unwillingness the captain may have outwardly exhibited in accepting the proffered invitation, he was not slow in availing himself of its present privileges and prospective pleasures. Calling- soon afterwards at the residence indicated, he was cordially received by the family, whom he found strong in their sympathy with the South. Conversation naturally turned upon the war, and by a warm espousal of the Confederate cause he soon succeeded in ingratiating himself into their confidence, and, by way of showing his confidence in them, revealed his intention of presently escaping through the Federal lines to the nearest Confederate command, taking with him as large an amount of quinine, morphine, and other medicines as he could safely carry. Confidence thus implicitly reposed in the acquaintance of but a few hours could not be otherwise than pleasing to the fair hostess ; and surely a reciprocal confidence would be little enough expression of gratitude in return. It was not safe ; it was not wise ; but " there can be no harm in trusting so true and firm a Southerner as Captain Denver," thought Mrs. Ford. It was her purpose too, she said, to smuggle through the lines large quan- tities of medicine, and at the same time carry to the Confederate authori- ties valuable information of Federal movements and plans. Her husband was in the South, and she apprehended no difficulty in procuring a pass allowing her to go to him, so soon as the circumstances of her case could be brought to the personal notice of General Boyle. The enterprise in which both were about to engage now became the exclusive topic of a lengthy con- versation, in the course of which the captain remarked that he had not suffi- cient money to make as extensive purchases as he wished, and was desirous of assistance from the friends of the cause in Louisville. Mrs. Ford thought this need not trouble him. She could arrange it to his satisfaction, and appointed an interview for the next morning, at which she hoped to report the complete success of her efforts. The evening passed rapidly, and the captain took his departure, leaving his entertainers highly pleased with him as a valuable acquaintance and colaborer in the cause of the South. The same evening the captain chanced to meet in the office of the Gait House an old friend. Dr. Rogers, surgeon on the staff of General Sterling Price, a paroled prisoner, and now, by order of General Rosecrans, on his way to Cairo to report to General Tuttle for transportation by the first boat to Vicksburg. According to the terms of the cartel agreed upon by the Federal and Confederate authorities, surgeons were held as non-combatants and not subject to exchange; but the doctors, with others, found in the hospital at luka, had been detained by General Rosecrans, in retaliation for THE PSEUDO "SAND-ERS." 503 the arrest and imprisonment by General Price of certain Union soldiers i& Mississippi, and as hostages for their return. Their release had been followed by his; and he was n w, as stated, en route for Cairo. At their meeting the next morning, Captain Denver mentioned the doctor to Mrs. Ford as his friend and an intelligent and accomplished gentleman, with whom she would no doubt be highly pleased, at the same time remarking that he was on his way South, and it would be greatly to their advan- tage to go thither under his protection. To this she readily assented, and desired the captain to procure her an interview with the doctor. This not very difficult task was speedily accomplished, and the doctor called upon her that evening. Some time having passed in conversational pleasantry, the doctor adverted to the carrying of contraband goods, and spoke dis- couragingly of its policy, saying that any thing of the kind would be a violation of his parole and might lead to his arrest and imprisonment. With apparent sincerity, Mrs. Ford promptly replied that though an enemy of the Federal Government she was an honorable enemy, and would engage in no enterprise to which the military authorities would refuse their sanction. The doctor seemed satisfied, and did not revert to the subject, but, instead, imparted to her, in strict confidence, a secret of the utmost import- ance. It will be remembered that some mouths previous to this, George N. Sanders had successfully escaped from the rebel States and made his way to England for the purpose of negotiating a Confederate loan. High hopes of success, on his part, were entertained, and his return was anxiously looked for by the rebels. Mrs. Ford, with her whole heart and soul in the cause, was more sanguine even than her most sanguine friends ; and imagi- nation can scarcely conceive the bright colors with which she painted the future of the embryo Confederacy. Who, then, shall describe her surprise and joy when told by the doctor that their friend Captain Denver was no other than this same George N. Sanders, who had eluded the guard at the Suspension Bridge and was now on his return to the Confederate capital ? She was also informed that his mission had been completely successful, — that the loau had been taken by the Rothschilds, and that Sanders had in possession the evidence and documents connected therewith, all written in cipher. She was cautioned against hinting a word of it to anybody, or even intimating to Sanders that she knew him in any other character than as Captain Denver. He would accompany them to Vicksburg in his present disguise, and, until that point was reached, safety required that it should be penetrated by no one, however friendly to the South. The interests at stake were too vast to be hazarded by exposure to a mischance, which a single careless word might bring upon them. In case, however, he should be suspected, it would be their business to assist him in the secretion of his papers. The arrangements for the journey were discussed, and the suggestion of the doctor warmly espoused by Mrs. Ford. Her eyes sparkled with delight as she asked a thousand questions about Sanders : how he had managed to 504 ARMY POLICE RECORD. escape the vigilance of the Federals ; by what means he had accomplished his mission ; what was the state of feeling in Europe, the prospects of recog- nition, and so on. The doctor answered as best he could, and at length took his leave to make final preparations to start the next evening. Passes were obtained, tickets bought, trunks checked, berths secured in the sleeping-car. Every thing bade fair for the successful termination of the enterprise. The night was passed comfortably in sleep, from which they were wakened, on arriving at Cairo, to find themselves under arrest. Denver and Rogers were indignant, but Mrs. Ford trembled like an aspen-leaf, and had the earth opened under her feet, revealing a bottomless chasm in which she must inevitably be buried alive, she could not have been more astonished and horrified. She could find neither tongue nor heart to utter a word in defence, and was led away in silence. A personal examination brought to light a number of letters and a large quantity of quinine concealed about her clothes. The trunks were found to contain similar contraband goods and much information of value to the rebels. Grieving will not restore lost opportunities, nor bring to the surface sunken treasures : else had not the hopes of Mrs. Ford been thus ruthlessly dashed to the ground, her letters and goods fallen into the hands of her enemies, and the riches of the Confederate loan taken to themselves wings and flown away. After a protracted investigation, Mrs. Ford was sent South, — since which time she has engaged in the business of publishing a book giving an account of her experience and treatment under Federal rule. Captain Denver, alias George N. Sanders, alias Conklin, it is needless to say, was simply a member of the detective police of the Army of the Cumberland, and Dr. Rogers, of Price's stafi", also a member of the same corps. Dr. Hudson the Smuggler, etc. The stroller about Nashville and its vicinity, in some of his more extended walks, may have noticed, on the summit of a considerable elevation about three hundred yards north of the Penitentiary, a large white house, half hidden in a beautiful grove of sugar-maples. The broad grounds in front, with their well-filled flower-beds, winding walks, and neatly trimmed shrub- bery, tell of wealth and taste combined. Apart from the business portion of the town, with its constant hum, the air is redolent of perfume. Even the winds, seemingly, pause to dally in luxurious idleness with the cedar- boughs, and from the birds in the heavy-leaved magnolias are heard the notes of gladness. Surely here, if anywhere, under the shade and in the quiet of these magnificent trees, one could spend a life of happy content, alike ignorant and careless of the noisy world beyond. In character with the house and its surroundings was the family that dwelt within, a few short months ago. Its head — Dr. J. R. Hudson —was a DR. HUDSON THE SMUGGLER. 505 large, stalwart man, whose whitened hair and beard would have indicated that fifty-odd years of life had weighed none too lightly upon him, had not the signs of present comfort been visible in every feature of his cheerful face. And, indeed, he had but few of the world's troubles to breast. The possessor of an elegant residence, and the proprietor of extensive iron- works near Harpeth Shoals, with three thousand acres of land attached thereto, and the owner of slaves and other property, he could now well afford to sit beneath his own vine and fig-tree, secure in the full possession of his ample fortune, and look out almost unconcernedly upon the wild waves of rebellion's stormy sea. His wife — a comely and interesting lady — was much younger and smaller than himself, but not less the embodiment of an un- troubled and self-satisfied mind. A bright, keen eye told of acutenesa and penetration, to which even her liege lord, physically great as he was, must bend the knee of inferiority. Three daughters, and a son, the youngest of all, constituted the family then at home. Two of the daughters were young ladies grown, and the third was just on the verge of womanhood : they were attractive in feature and manner, and possessed of many of those graceful accomplishments which mark the perfect woman. To such a family, dwelling amid such scenes of beauty, and in the enjoy- ment of all that earthly riches could give, it would seem that the future could not well be otherwise than an unruffled sea of happiness. But life, like an ocean-voyage, is full of uncertainties. And so with this household. At the very moment in which we have looked in upon them, they were treading upon the threshold of a great disaster. But we will not anticipate, further than to say that the story about to be told is a striking illustration of that wild spirit which will peril all the blessings and comforts of life to gratify a reckless malice and hate. One afternoon in the first week of January, 1863, the doctor was visited by a young lady, a Miss Roberta Samuels, a rebel sympathizer of Nashville, in company with a young man whom she introduced as one of Ashby'a cavalrymen and a Confederate spy. In the most gracious manner the doctor expressed his gratification at having such a guest under his roof. The call being one of mere introduction, the visitor took his leave after about an hour's conversation, in which his host somewhat guardedly ex- pressed sympathy for the Southern cause, and invited him to call again and often. In three or four days the spy called again, — this time in the morning, remaining until after dinner. The doctor, for some reason, was more communicative than on the previous visit, and, by way of showing; his hearty good will towards the Confederacy, related the story of his assisting some fourteen rebel prisoners to escape from the penitentiary at NashviUe through the Federal lines. On a very dark night, he said, they came to his house, where he secreted them until the way was clear, when he took them \nto the fields, pointed out the Federal picket-fires, and showed them where they could slip by in the darkness without being seen. By one of them — Samuel Y. Brown — he had also sent out a fine revolving rifle and nistol and various other articles. He turned to his visitor, and asked, — 506 ARMY POLICE RECORD. " Of what does your command stand In most need ?" "Pistols and ammunition," was the I'eply. "And it is the principal part of my business here to-day to make arrangements with you to get a supply and have them run through the lines. You can help me, can't you V "I am just the man to do it," said he, earnestly, clapping his hand on the knee of his companion. "How many can you manage to carry out? I can get you as many as you want." " I can get through with fifty, I think." "Well, I'll look around and see about them. The next time you come I'll let you know, and I doubt not it will be all right." The second day after, the doctor was again visited by this friend, who brought with him a Mr. Walker, whom he Introduced as a paroled Confede- rate prisoner. They were gladly welcomed, and presented to the family In the sitting-room. The doctor remarked that he had been too busy since the last call to do any thing about the pistols, but he hoped " to get to work at it soon." He interested himself also In Mr. AValker's case, and asked him if he did not wish to get away from Nashville by running through the lines, without waiting to be exchanged. " If you do," said he, confidently, " I can get you through any time you want to go. I can pass you out as one of the hands employed in my Iron- works down on the Cumberland River, or I can send you out as a carriage- driver or wood-chopper. I have passed out several in these ways ; and some- times I give a man an axe to go out to chop wood, and he quite forgets to come back." At this witticism all had a hearty laugh ; and a still more lengthy and confidential conversation ensued, developing, however, nothing materially difierent from the points already touched upon. Highly pleased, the party at length broke up, with the promise on the part of the two Confederates to call again In a week or ten days and make further arrangements about the pistols, &c. This appointment was kept according to agreement, — the two friends walk- ing out to the residence one cold, rainy evening. They found that the doctor had a visitor before them, — one Captain Redman, a Federal quarter- master. This, of course, precluded the further transaction of the business on which they came, and might have embarrassed a less politic man thaa Dr. Hudson. He met the difiiculty boldly. Introduced them to the captain as workmen from his Iron-works, questioned them as to afiairs there, asked them If they had passes to go back, talked to them as Union men, and took every occasion to mock an^ jeer at the rebels and their cause, slyly winking, however, the while, at the two Confederates. Accompanying them to the door, the doctor was told by the spy that he had just returned from the steamboat-burning expedition near Ilarpeth Shoals, and that the Con- federates were greatly in need of pistols ; they wanted fifty at once. "You shall have them," he exclaimed, shaking his hand energetically. " I have some Federal Government vouchers, to the amount of several hundred dollars ; I am expecting to get the money on them every day ; DR. HUDSON THE SMUGGLER. 507 and with it I'll buy the pistols. When shall I meet you to gc and see about them 1" "I can't go at all. It will not do for me to be seen on the streets of Nash 'ville/' was the reply. " Sure enough I But there's Mr. Walker, — he'll do just as well. I'll meet him to-morrow, at eleven o'clock, at McNairy's store in Nashville, for the purpose." This was agreed to, and the parties separated for the night. The next morning Hudson and Walker met, as proposed, and went directly to a gun- smith's shop on Deadrick Street, kept by one William Rear. Rear was in the front part of the shop when they entered, but, without a word being said, all three walked through to the back room. Here the doctor, without intro- ducing Walker, said, — " I want fifty pistols for a friend of mine who is going to run the lines." " I have but two," replied Rear, producing them. "What is the price of them?" "Twenty-five dollars apiece." "Well, I'll take them ; and I want you to get some more right away." Then, turning to Walker, he added, " I'll go out now and see if I can't get some from Captain Redman's clerk ; and I will leave a line here to-morrow morning, letting you know what I have done." The two then left the shop, leaving the pistols until more could be pro- cured. The doctor did not come to town the next day, as promised, nor the day after ; and Walker began to fear that something had happened to him. To set his mind at rest, he sent him a note, which was answered by the doctor in person the next morning, at Rear's shop. In reply to Walker's queries he said, — " I couldn't get any pistols, as the teamsters and soldiers from whom I expected to buy them were all gone. But I have something here that's pretty good, I think," exhibiting a bullet-mould made to run twelve at a time. " You had better have some balls run with it," remarked Walker, as he examined it carefully. " I'll have a peck of them run at once ; and if you can't get them out, I will- I can put them under sacks of bran, or I will keep them at the house to load the pockets of prisoners when they run the lines. I can find ways enough to get rid of them ; for Confederate spies and escaping prisoners always stop at my house. In fact, they make it their head-quarters," he said, laughingly, as he bade Walker " good-morning." The doctor saw no more of Walker after this, — which he accounted for by the supposition tliat he had made good his escape from Federal restraint. Other parties and other business soon claiming his attention, he thought but little about it, indeed. On the last Monday of January he was surprised and pleased by a visit from his old friend the Ashby cavalryman and spy, of whom he had lost sight for some time. The sitting-room being occupied by a Federal soldier, — there as a guard to protect his property, — the doctor 508 ARMY POLICE RECORD. and Ills guest retired to the parlor, where they had a long conversation touchizig the matter in which both were so deeply interested. The former was exceedingly communicative, and did most of the talking. He had re- cently secured, he said, through a Dr. Ford, a pair of fine revolving pistols ' and a revolving rifle, which his wife had taken out on the Charlotte pike to Mr. Charles Nichols, residing fifteen miles from Nashville, and there left them for a friend, who had doubtless got them by that time. He declared that his whole time and attention were devoted to assisting the Confederate cause, and that his principal object in taking the contract to furnish the Federal hospitals with milk was that, he might pass the lines at will with men and materials to aid the South. He dwelt particularly upon the fact, and boasted of it as a shrewd trick, that he was kind to the Federal sick and wounded in order to pass as a good Union man and thus accomplish more for the cause he was engaged in ; and it had been of great service to him ; for he had been enabled to get many rebel prisoners and friends through the lines on his own pass and in other ways. At one time he had on his back porch eight Confederate soldiers just escaped from the penitentiary, while he was entertaining four Federal officers in the house. His particular aim was to keep arms passing into the guerrilla region on the Cumberland, to harass steamboats and the rear of General Rosecrans's army, and thus keep alive the spirits of the rebels. Towards the close of this conversation he said to his visitor, — "My friend Dr. Ford is afraid of being arrested by the Nashville army police. Can you get him through the lines 1" "Yes, I can; but it will be in a risky way. He will have to run his chances, and may get shot," was the answer. " Never mind, then : I can easily do it myself." The spy now rising to take his leave, and intimating that he might not see him again, the doctor accompanied him to the porch, where he stood in his stocking-feet to say many parting words. When cautioned against it, he merely replied, — " I would be glad to walk to the State-House on my bare feet ten times, if I could advance the Southern Rights cause by so doing." Four days afterwards, on the morning of the 30th, a Mr. Newcomer called at the doctor's house and presented him a letter of introduction from J. Prior Smith, living twelve miles from Nashville, on the Hillsborough pike. His business, as stated in the letter, was to obtain assistance in procuring negroes, especially negro children, and running them through the lines to Smith, to be sold at the South. The enterprise, if successfully managed, would prove exceedingly profitable ; and the doctor entered heartily into the arrangement. Having unbounded confidence in Smith, he was not at all reserved in his expressions, but repeated much of what he had told to Walker and the Confederate spy, ending by making an appointment to meet Newcomer at Rear's shop, there to aid him in the purchase of pistols to carry South. Here they found five pistols, — the same which had been procured for Walker, but which were finally sold to Newcomer. Ttie DR. HUDSON THE SMUGGLER. 509 doctor also purchased on his own account several pounds of Minie balls to send to the rebels. His wife, he said, was now beyond the lines for the pur- pose of taking out a fine horse which he had bought from a soldier for 9 trifle. Newcomer advanced Rear money for the purchase of other pistols, Hudson promising to see that they were forthcoming at the proper time, and, just before leaving, made an arrangement with the latter to procure foi Smith the requisite number of negroes and run them through the lines. He was to procure a pass for his driver and servants to go out into the country for milk for the hospitals ; and in that way they could get the negroes out and such other articles as Newcomer wished to carry with him, — the latter acting as driver. (We should have stated, ere this, that Dr. Hudson had quite a herd of cows, and supplied milk to the Nashville hospitals, to a con- siderable amount, daily.) The doctor assured him that he could be relied on in every emergency, and that he would not hesitate to do any thing to assist the cause of the South. The next day Newcomer called again, and paid the doctor two hundred dollars, taking from him the following receipt: — " Received two hundred dollars of Mr. Newcomer, to be appropriated as distinctly understood, or accounted for on sight, or sooner. " J. R. Hudson. " January 31, 1863." The understanding referred to was that he should purchase pistols and ammunition to be carried South by Newcomer. The next day the doctor showed Newcomer the pistols, a double-barrel shot-gun, and a place which he called his arsenal, prepared by him for the express purpose of secreting arms whenever he should deem it necessary, and which, he said, would hold a thousand stand. The doctor was now engaged heart and soul in the pistol and negro busi- ness, and for the next two weeks held almost daily consultation with hi* friend Newcomer as to the best means of procuring and getting them to their destination. In a week or so they had obtained six likely boys, who, Smith was informed, would be delivered at any place he should name outside of the lines, and the doctor had procured the promise of four more. So far every thing was progressing favorably ; but the operations were more limited than suited the tastes of either, and each was constantly on the watch for some opportunity of materially enlarging them. Meanwhile the doctor was visited by numbers of persons representing themselves as paroled prisoners, spies, &c., to all of whom he extended a welcoming hand. With one in particular — introduced by Newcomer as a spy of General Wheeler — he became very intimate, and revealed to him his real sympathies and feelings quite at length. To him he said, on his first visit, — " I am a strong Southern Rights man; and not a day passes over my head that I do not do something to assist the Southern cause. I am watched by the detectives, I know, and have been frequently reported, but have not yet been imprisoned, because I play my cards right. I have in my house fre- BIO ARMY POLICE KECORD, quently, and am friendly with, many Federal officers, and, when reported, I prove Ijy them that the charge is false. I have aided in the escape of many prisoners, but they have always thought me innocent." Mrs. Hudson, however, did not seem as confident and easy as the doctor. She repeatedly cautioned their new friend to be very careful, as they were watched on all sides, and she had reason to suspect that certain suspicious- looking men who had been there a few days since were nothing else than spies sent there by some of the officers. She was assured by him that he was sharp enough to evade any detectives that could be sent to watch him or them, — at which she seemed satisfied and more at rest and confidential than before. Some of their friends, she said, with great glee, had recently escaped from the penitentiary, and intimated that she and a neighbor lady had assisted them to do so, without, however, saying it in so many words. The doctor made an appointment to meet him in town that day, — which he did, and pointed out to him on the street a number of friends whom it would do to talk to, gave him the names of others living in the country who would be of great assistance, and invited him to visit him at his house often, and to call upon him for any thing in his power to give. At this time large numbers of negroes were employed upon the fortifica- tions at Nashville ; and it was here that the doctor hoped to procure all that he wished to run South. Accordingly, he called upon Dr. or Lieutenant D. J. Deardurfi", Acting Assistant Adjutant-General of the Engineer Camp, and inquired if he could be spared some negroes long enough to build up and repair his fence, — saying that he would be very much obliged if he could be thus accommodated. The lieutenant replied that he might have them as soon as they could be spared, calculating, however, that this would not be until the works were finished, and not intending to let him have them until then. Soon afterward he was instructed by higher authority to confer .with Dr. Hudson and consent to arrangements with him to furnish negroes, and was informed that the doctor would call on him soon, — which he did in four or five days. Being treated with some courtesy, he proposed the trap- ping of boys from ten to fifteen years old, and said to the lieutenant that if he would engage with him in the business and turn them over to him, he could get at least one thousand dollars for every boy large enough to plough, and for able-bodied men from fifteen hundred to two thousand dollars, and that they would divide the proceeds equally. He further said that he could get any kind of a pass he wished, as he had a farm outside the pickets, and would have no difficulty in getting through and disposing of them as fast as they could be furnished. Deardurff assented to the proposition, and told him he could have as many as he wanted ; whereupon the doctor took his leave, promising to call for them on the following Monday. The next thing now was to see Newcomer, report his success, and make arrangements for the future ; and for this he was not compelled to wait iong, as the latter called upon him that very evening. The doctor reported that he had sounded Lieutenant Deardurfi", with whom he had just taken dinner, in regard to the negro-smuggling business, and that the lieutenant hs»d DR. HUDSON THE SMUGGLER 511 agreed to go into partnership -with him. He said, further, that he wa? going to-morrow to see Dr. Seamore and try to get three or four little negroes from him to take South, and also would go to Lieutenant Osgood and ask for a pass for himself and servants through the lines, upon which, if he obtained it, he would take out all the negroes he was to get from Deardurff and Sea- more. Newcomer was highly pleased, and congratulated the doctor upon his excellent management. He had just returned from outside the lines, he said, and had taken with him six negroes, whom he had sent South. " And while there," he continued, " I found a letter addressed to me from General Frank Cheatham, enclosing five hundred dollars, with which he requested me to purchase quinine for the use of his hospitals. I suppose I can procure it from Drs. Cliif and Ermy, of this city, can't I ?" " I am well acquainted with Ermy," replied the doctor ; " and I don't doubt I can get all we want from him." " But how will we manage to get it through the lines ?" " I think we can get Dr. Ford to carry it. At any rate. Ford, you, and I will meet at Rear's to-morrow and arrange it all." Newcomer was at the place appointed in due season, but found neither of the others there. Somewhat disappointed, he sent a note to Hudson, asking the reason of it, and received word that there had been a misunderstanding about the place of meeting, with a request that he would call at his house, as he was anxious to see him. Going at once, he was told by the doctor that he had seen and talked with Dr. Ermy about the quinine, and that they could have one hundred ounces for four hundred and seventy-five dollars. Hudson had offered four hundred and fifty dollars, and Ermy said he would not ob- ject, "as it was for suffering humaniti/," but his partner. Dr. Cliff, would have four hundred and seventy-five dollars, which he had finally agreed to give, thus closing the bargain. Newcomer expressed himself fully satisfied, and was about to leave the house, when he was approached by Mrs. Hudson, who said tliat there was in the penitentiary a Confederate ofiicer by the name of Russell, the son of an old friend of her husband, whom she was very anxious to get out and run through the lines. "Yes," said the doctor; "I would gladly crawl on my elbows from here to the prison, the stormiest night that ever blew, if by doing so I could re- lease him." " If you can get him out, I give you my word that I will take good care of Mm," was Newcomer's reply. " I will see him, then, to-morrow," remarked Mrs. Hudson, " and tell him that one of General Wheeler's spies is in the city, who will take charge of him and see him safely through the lines if he can only get out of prison." It was now the Monday on which the doctor hafl promised to call again upon Lieutenant Deardurff, and he was prompt to fulfil his appointment. The interview was a pleasant one ; and the doctor stated that he had made all the necessary arrangements, and was ready for business at any time, asking, finally, — "Do you see any chance of being caught in it?" 512 ARMY POLICE RECORD. " No," returned the lieutenant ; " I can manage my part of it withoul. any trouble. So far as I am concerned, I have no fear at all, and am satis- fied that if the thing is properly managed there is no danger in it. Besides, didn't you tell me you could get a pass of any kind at any time you wanted it?" "Yes," he answered, at the same time taking out and showing a pass. " I have one here. You see, it says, for myself and servants. I told them I had a farm beyond the pickets, and, as I was just commencing work on it, might want to take out more hands some days than others. They had better make it 'servants,' I said, and then it would pass out any number, — which they did ; and all I will have to do now will be to say that they are my ser- vants. The pickets are changed every day; so they'll not suspect any thing: and I think it's perfectly safe. At any rate, I'll risk it. If there's nothing risked there'll be nothing won, you know. We can make a very good thing out of it, and nobody will be the worse for it ; because they are runaway slaves, anyhow, whom their masters will never get again, and so will lose nothing by our operations." Other features of the plan were discussed for nearly three hours, when the doctor asked Deardurff to order his horse and go with him to select the best route to get them away, and also to call at his house and talk with his wife about it. He did so, and found Mrs. Hudson considerably more shrewd than her husband, but eventually gained her confidence, and was invited to dinner the next day. He accepted the invitation, and was generously entertained by the doctor and his family. During the meal, the former inquired if he could let him have any number of negroes, from four to twelve, that evening or night or the next morning, at any place that' would suit. " Do you know what you can do with them ?" queried the lieutenant. " I'll take them out on the farm, and then see what can be done with them and how many can be disposed of." " If I were in jowc place I would go and see Prior Smith and two or three others of your friends, and see what they say about it," continued Deardurfi", anxious to implicate as many as possible and at the same time convince Hudson that he was very much in earnest about the matter. " That's a good idea. I'll go to-morrow morning, and report to you im- mediately on my return." With this they parted, the one to go to his camp, the other to make ready for his journey. Whether this was ever performed it is not necessary to state ; but certainly it was not the next day, for the doctor had more import- ant business with Newcomer, which he must have forgotten when making this arrangement with Deardurff. The next morning Newcomer came early with the money to buy -the quinine which had been engaged of Dr. Ermy. When told what he had come for, Hudson at once ordered his buggy, and was just ready to start for the medicine, when his wife returned from the city, bringing word from Dr. Ford to have nothing to 'do with it, as he had reason to know that something was wrong. Mrs. Hudson also said that Dr. Chalmers, of Hospital No. 15, had told her that she and the doctor war**. DR. HUDSON THE SMUGGLER. 513 watched at head-quarters, and that passes were only given them for the pur- pose of catching both of them, — that he had known it some time, and wouhi Jiave told her sooner, only he had been cautioned not to say any thing about it; but, notwithstanding, that he would warn them of their danger. He was surprised they were not already arrested ; and they must kepp a good look- out, or they soon would be. " I don't believe a word of it," said Newcomer. "At any rate, I'll find out before night whether any thing of the kind is in the wind, from one of Gene- ral Mitchel's clerks, who is in my employment." At this both were much pleased, and said they felt perfectly safe so lono- as they had such a shrewd friend to watch over them. Newcomer called again that evening, and found the doctor as ready as ever to assist in getting the quinine through ; but Mrs. Hudson was still much alarmed. Promising to come again in the morning, he left without making any arrangements about the matter. The next day he was informed by the doctor that Deardurff had dined with him a day or two before, and that all arrangements about the negroes had been satisfactorily agreed on between them. Newcomer now said that he had seen the clerk he had spoken of, and that he had told him there was nothing on file at head- quarters against him or his wife, and that all Dr. Chalmers had said was false. This made matters right again in a moment ; and Newcomer handed to Hudson the five hundred dollars, taking for it this receipt: — "$500. " Received five hundred dollars, to be appropriated as directed and understood. "J. R. Hudson. " March 6, 1863." The doctor said he would get A. W. Hendershot, a druggist of the city, to take the five hundred dollars and buy the quinine from Ermy, and he would send his servant to bring it to the house. From thence he would get his wife and daughter — Mrs. Ward, who lived five miles out on the Char- lotte pike — to take it beyond the lines to the house of the latter, and there leave it for Newcomer. They would, he said, tie twine around the necks of the bottles, and adjust them around their waists, under their clothes, and thus carry them out of their lines safely. He then introduced Newcomer to Mrs. Read, — wife of General Read of the Confederate army, — and gave him several letters which Mrs. Ford wished sent South. The ladies were very agreeable, showing him marked respect, inviting him to call often, and assuring him that he would always be treated "as a friend indeaL" Hudson started at once to make arrangements about the quinine, and Newcomer soon followed him. The next day, Hudson said that he had bought the quinine, and that fifty ounces were then hidden in his house, and that to-morrow he would have the remainder there. Newcomer thanked him for his promptness, ami eno-a"-ed in conversation upon other matters. There was a Federal commis- 33 514 AKMY POLICE RECORD. sary store burned iu town last niglit, he said, and he believed it had been done by some friend of the South. " I have no doubt of it," said the doctor. " If I knew who did it I would make him a present of one thousand dollars." • " If that is all you want, I can find you as many men who will do that kind of work as you wish. I will go and see about it to-morrow and let you know." "All right. I will pay well for it if it is well done." "Well, I don't think it is any worse than to capture a train of wagons loaded with the same kind of goods. I'd make the match to set the build- ings on fire myself. It is easy enough to do, too. All that is necessary is to take a piece of punk and wrap around it cotton soaked in turpentine ; then set fire to the punk, and it will not blaze for hours after it is put in the building ; so that a man will have ample time to get away before the fire breaks out." This ended the conversation and the acquaintance of the doctor and New- comer, who will at once be recognized as the scout and detective. And here, too, it may be stated — as has prolmbly been already surmised — that Walker, the Ashby cavalryman, and Wheeler's spy, the doctor's three friends, were simply members of the army police. Before the doctor had time to put into operation any of his plans for smuggling negroes or medicines through the lines, he was arrested, together with his wife and the gunsmith JRear. An examination of his house revealed a large amount and variety of contraband goods, — among which were nine revolvers, three shot-guns, two muskets, one rifle, three bags of bullets and buckshot, a large quantity of domestic and woollen goods, three bottles of morphine, and ninety-nine ounces of quinine. This latter, it seems, his daughter had refused to assist in carrying beyond the lines, and therefore it was found just where he had secreted it. Hudson and his wife were imprisoned — the former in the peni- tentiary, and the latter at her house — while their case was pending. The decision finally arrived at was to send them South beyond the lines, whither they had aided to send so many others. Rear was released on parole and bond, and is, we believe, still at large. Thus was the home-circle broken up ; and where was once only happi- ness is now misery. Though the guilt of the parents is not that of the children, they feel its weight, and in sorrow must mourn it for many days. "The way of the transgressor is hard," was said of him who violated the laws of God's kingdom ; and it is not less true of those who rebel and plot against a Government at once so beneficent and so powerful as ours. If at any time, now or in the future, the fate of Dr. Hudson, his wife, and the children upon whom his crimes have entailed sorrow, shall convey aught of warning to others, the labor spent in compiling this chapter will not have been in vain. In this case there were two ruling passions developed in the aged and wealthy rebel, — one to aid the rebellion, and the other to make money for NEWCOMER THE SCOUT. 515 himself. For the one, the plea of a mistaken, fanatical principle might be offered as an apology, but for the other none can entertain the least respect. The reader may exclaim against the seeming temptation resorted to in this case ; but there was really no temptation. The detectives were strictly enjoined in this, as in all other cases, simply to afford facilities to the secret evil-doers of Nashville in this hour of general rebellion and peril to the Government ; and the above record is evidence that they kept ■within the line of their instructions. The schemes of Dr. Hudson were his own, or arose incidentally from his surroundings. Had plans and schemes been deliberately made up for him, one can hardly conjecture to what extent his principles and feelings would have carried him. Newcomer the Scout. Harry Newcomer was born in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania, in March, 1829. Born and raised in a hotel, he was employed as a bar-tender until he reached the age of about fourteen, when his mother died and his father broke up housekeeping. Thus thrown out of present employment, he soon afterwards went to Ohio, where he was apprenticed to learn the milling business. Serving out his time, he continued at this some years, until his brother-in-law, a Mr. Gates, — now County Auditor of Ashland county, Ohio, — was elected sheriff, when he was appointed one of his deputies. In 1857 he went to Cleveland, and Avas employed by Jabez Fitch, United States Marshal for the Northern District of Ohio, as a detect- ive officer. This situation he retained some three years, during which time he was quite successful in developing several noted cases of crime and bringing to punishment men who had grown gray in villany. One of these cases is so remarkable in its history and character, and was productive of such startling results, that the author thinks it worthy of a detailed narra- tion, as an example of the skill displayed by our detective, and an illustra- tion of the practical truth of the saying that " murder will out." Information had been obtained by the authorities that a large business was transacted in the manufacture and sale of counterfeit money in Geauga county, Ohio. Though it was certain that the information was correct, it had thus far been found impossible to obtain any positive evidence by which to fix the guilt upon the suspected parties. By his previous operations New- comer had acquired the reputation of being an ingenious and successful detective, and it was determined to send him down to try his hand at the case. He was instructed to make the acquaintance of an old blacksmith named Jesse Bowen, who lived near a place called Burton Square in that county. This Bowen, in addition to his trade, cultivated a small farm, and had long been known as a lawless character, engaged in every manner of fraud and crime, but had, nevertheless, managed to escape detection and 516 ARMY POLICE RECORD. punishment. He Tras now some seventy-eight years old, and lived a friend-' less, unsocial life, his house being shunned by all -who had any care for their reputation and standing. To this man Newcomer introduced himself as William H. Hall, an extensive manufacturer of and dealer in counterfeit money. To substantiate this representation of himself, he exhibited large quantities of counterfeit bills on various banks, — with an abundance of which he had been furnished before leaving Cleveland. Two or three in- terviews were had, in which he succeeded in so completely gaining confidence that the old man gave him the names of all the parties in that vicinity dealing in counterfeit money. He was then working a small patch of corn, and as soon as he could finish hoeing that and cut and get in his hay, he said, he would take him around and introduce him to them, when he could easily dispose of all his money. Newcomer now went to work with the old man, and assisted him about his corn and hay, that he might get through as soon as possible. During this time he stayed with Bowen, sleeping up-stairs, while the old man and his wife remained below. Scarcely a night would pass that some one of the gang of thieves, robbers, and counterfeiters who made this their head-quarters would not come and knock on the side of the house. The old man would thrust out his head and ask, "Who's there?" If the password was correctly given, the door would open at once. By lying awake at nights when he was thought to be asleep, sometimes getting out of bed and listening at the window or peeping through the cracks in the floor. Newcomer soon ascertained that this password was "Washington," heard much of their conversation, learned their plans, and often saw them buying counterfeit coin of Bowen. Day by day the old man's confidence in him became stronger, until at last he imparted to him all his secrets, took him to his shop, dug up from one corner his tools, moulds, and other apparatus for coining money, and explained to him 'the whole business. Newcomer now assisted him in the manufacture of bogus coin, and soon they had a considerable stock on hand. One day the old man called him out into a small orchard near his house, and, sitting down under an apple-tree, told him to take a seat beside him, as he wished to talk with him. "I have," began he, "something to tell you, — something I never told to anybody before, not even to my wife. It seems strange, perhaps, that I should tell it to you now, a comparative stranger, whom I have known but a few days ; but I feel something within me that prompts me to it. Forty j-ears ago, when I lived in Vermont, my brother and myself murdered our brother-in-law in the woods one day. He was a simple, shallow-witted fellow, and was in the habit of wandering oiF by himself and remaining for some time away in the woods. On one of these occasions we waylaid and killed him. For a time nobody knew what had become of him ; but by-and- by some portion of the body was found and identified, and we were arrested as the murderers. Nobody had seen the murder done ; but there were certain things tending to fasten the guilt on us, and the possession of the consider- able property he left was supposed to be motive enough for the deed. The NEWCOMER THE SCOUT. 517 evidence was entirely circumstantial; but it convinced the jury, we were convicted and sentenced to be hanged. The case was desperate, and it seemed imijossible to escape. The day of the execution was drawing nigh, and we had about given up all hopfe, — when relief and release came very imexpectedly. Some of our friends accidentally fell in with a nuiu in New Jersey who was the very image of the murdered man. His most intimate friends could not have told them apart. I myself, when I first saw him, was ready to sink through the floor with fear, thinking that our brother-in-law had returned to accuse us. This man was brought into court, and swore that he was the identical man whom we had been accused and convicted of murdering. Nobody could gainsay it, and we were released. He remained there just long enough for this, and then disappeared as mys- teriously as he came, never having been seen or heard of since. My brother remained in Vermont, and died there. What little property I had was entirely used up in the expenses of the trial, lawyer's fee, &c., and I came here to Ohio, where I have been ever since. I was poor, and this counter- feiting business suited my taste, and I have been engaged in it, more or less, during all the time I have lived here. Our case has been often published and cited as a striking instance of the utter unreliability of the sti'ougest circumstantial evidence, and as a narrow escape from death of two innocent men ; but nobody knew that we actually did kill him, and that his return was all a made-up scheme to effect our release, based upon the extraordinary likeness of the man to our murdered brother-in-law." To say that Newcomer was not astonished and horrified at this strange revelation of long-concealed crime would be to say that he was not human in his sympathies and feelings ; but, whatever he may have thought and felt, he artfully avoided any expression of it, and as speedily as possible changed the conversation to other subjects. The old man's work was now done, and the promised trip around the county was made. Some fifteen or twenty dealers were visited and traded with. Newcomer bought, sold, and exchanged counterfeit money with them, and thus gained their confidence as fully as he had gained Bowen's. Many of them aftei'wards came to see him at the house of the latter, where they had long conferences and together laid out plans for future operations. The circle of Newcomer's acquaint- ance rapidly increased, and soon numbered the more considerable counter- feiters, burglars, horse-thieves, &c. of that whole region. Several weeks passed in this way, when urgent business called him away, and he returned to Cleveland to report progress to Marshal Fitch. Officers were immediately despatched to the place, and five of the gang arrested, — among whom was Bowen. Large quantities of bogus coin, together with the moulds and metal used in its manufacture, were found in his shop. They were brought to Cleveland and confined in jail, where Bowen was visited by many citi- zens, to whom he confessed that the facts as here stated were substantially correct. They were all tried, convicted, and sentenced to the penitentiary, — Bowen for six years, and the others for terms ranging from one to five. During his stay in Cleveland, Newcomer was engaged in many other cases, D 518 ARMY POLICE RECORD. som 3 of them of scarcely less importance than the one just mentioned; but they cannot even be alluded to in this brief sketch. Suffice it to say that he obtained a wonderful local reputation for skill and sagacity in the develop- ment of difficult and complicated cases, and that his services were in demand in various parts of the country. In 1860 he went to Pittsburg, where he made the acquaintance of Kobert Hague, Chief of Police in that city, and was by him introduced to Biddle Koberts, — then United States District Attorney, now a colonel in the Federal army, — who at once employed him as a detective. At this time " Campbell, an able and energetic officer, as well as an accomplished and courteous gentleman, was Marshal of the Western District of Pennsylvania. The wilds of Western Pennsylvania had long been notorious as the hiding-place of innumerable thieves, counter- feiters, and murderers. Many efforts had been made to break up their gangs and rid society of so disgraceful an element, but, for some reason, they had all ended in failure. The United States authorities were now determined to make another attempt to discover the whereabouts and arrest the leaders and members of this wide-spread association of criminals. It was a task in which only the utmost ingenuity and enterprise could hope to succeed ; and the subject of our sketch was selected as the proper person to whom to commit it. For half a century, a place in Butler county — known as the Stone House — had been designated as the head-quarters of much of this villany. It was in a wild, dreary region, at a crossing of public roads where stages were in the habit of stopping for meals and a change of horses. About a mile from this tavern, in a dense forest near the iron-mountains, lived the leader and head of the gang, Charles Coventry by name, but known among his confederates as " the Old North Pole." He was a desperate, daring man, fearing nothing, and feared by all. Tall and heavy-built, — weighing at least two hundred pounds, — dark-skinned as a negro, with a strong black beard and a thick bushy head of hair, he was the very beau-ideal of a reckless, law-defying bandit. To the lair of this "wild man of the woods" Newcomer was sent, with instructions to ascertain as nearly as possible his whereabouts, habits, and associations, and to obtain such other information concerning him as could be gathered up about the neighborhood. Having no recommendation to him, he could not at this time hope to do more than this, as Coventry was too shrewd and practised a rogue to be easily caught. His instructions were fully carried out, and he returned in a few days to Pittsburg, reporting progress to the authorities. He had not seen Coven- try, but had reconnoitred the neighborhood and prepared the way for future operations in the same direction. While at Pittsburg two events transpired that gave him a foundation to work upon in his second and more elaborate attempt. In themselves they were trivial circumstances, and seemed to afford little promise of results ; but give our detective the smallest fissure wherein to insert his entering wedge, and he will speedily drive it to the head. The facts which New- comer now eagerly seized were, first the arrest and imprisonment in Phila- NEWCOMER THE SCOUT. 519 delphia of an intimate friend and formex- partner of Coventry's, on a cliai'ge of counterfeiting, and, secondly, the opportune return to Pittsburg of an old acquaintance and colaborer of his own, — Dr. Joshua Webb. The doctor was acquainted with Coventry, and, in some way, had managed to ingratiate himself into his confidence and esteem. It was arranged between Webb and Newcomer that the former should at once go down to Coventry's house on » visit and remain there for a time. In a week or so the latter would follow, and introduce himself to Coventry as an. acquaintance of Coventry's im- prisoned friend and the bearer of a message from him to Coventry, — his own character and standing being vouched for by Webb, should occasion require. This programme was carried out, — Webb going down, and New- comer following in a week after. On the way from the Stone House to Coventry's nobody was seen but a little girl, who was coming from the house and passed on down the hill to a buckwheat-patch, where a number of men were at work cutting the grain. Newcomer went to the house, climbed a high fence by which it was surrounded, and knocked at the door. No answer being given, he shook it, tried the latch, attempting to open it, but found it fastened. Concluding nobody was at home, he turned to retrace his steps, and had just gotten over the fence again, when his attention was attracted by a short, quick coughing, or rather hemming, of somebody inside. The house was a stor3^-aud-a-half log cabin, of which only the lower part was " chinked and daubed," — as it is called, — the crevices between the logs of the upper portion being left open. It was through these that the voice evidently proceeded; and soon a nose and mouth made their appear- ance at one of them. In a loud, hoarse whisper, the mouth said, — "They're all down in the buckwheat. Don't look this way, but turn around and look towards the woods, as if you were watching for somebody, while I talk to you. It's rather dark up here, and you can't see me very well ; but you know me, don't you ?" " Yes, Doc : it's you, isn't it?" "Yes. We've got the press up, and I am cutting out two-dollar-and- a-half pieces. The old man is out cutting his buckwheat, and I am helping him make coin. We'll soon have lots on hand." " Well, Doc," replied Newcomer, gazing intently into the woods, " I'll go back to the Stone House and come again when he's at home. You can say that somebody came to the house, but you didn't know who it was, lest he should accidentally have seen me and suspect something." So saying, he walked slowly back to the tavern, and loitered about there until evening, when he again went to Coventry's, and at some distance from the house saw him sitting under a shed, talking with one of his confreres, but was not seen by them. Near the house, meeting the girl whom he had seen in the morning, he stopped and said to her, — " Does Mr. Coventry live here ?" "Yes," was the reply. " Are you his daughter?" '• Yes, sir." 520 ARMY POLICE RECORD. "Woll, my little girl, won't you run back and tell your pa that there is a gentleman here -vrho wishes to speak with him for a moment V The girl did as requested, and Coventry came out at once, holding out his hand in a very friendly way. Newcomer introdliced himself as II. C. Myers, and informed him of the situation of his Philadelphia friend. He had seen him recently in prison, he said, and had been requested by him to call on Coventry and tell him that he was in trouble, and was very anxious to have him come and see him, if possible. Coventry was surprised, and evidently uneasy. " lie was one of the best and keenest men in the business," said he ; " and it is very strange that he should be jugged. I am very sorry about it, — would almost as soon be in pri- son myself, and, if necessary, will spend every dollar I have to get him out. But come ; let me introduce you to a friend of mine here." Newcomer went with him to the shed where he had been sitting, and was introduced to the man whom he had seen talking with Coventry a few mo- ments previous. The latter accompanied the ceremony with the remark, " He's all right, I know ; or my friend wouldn't have sent him to me." The three talked together for some time, Newcomer all the while, with inimitable tact, drawing him out and working upon his sympathies, until he gained his confidence as completely as he had that of many others before. Wishing to see and perhaps buy some of his wares, the old man went into the house and brought out specimens of bogus coin and a pair of fine steel dies for stamp- ing it, which Newcomer agreed to take at another time. Coventry gave him the names of several other parties engaged in the same business, and recom- mended him to them. Our detective now took his leave, first making a bar- gain, however, to come again in ten days and purchase a large amount of counterfeit coin. At the time appointed, in company with Robert Hague and five police- men, he started on his promised return. At Somerset they arrested a mer- chant, one of the parties recommended by Coventry, and then proceeded on their way. About three o'clock in the morning they had arrived within a mile of his house, and there left the wagon, with two of the ofiBcers in charge. Newcomer, with Hague and the other three, started towards the house. Knowing the desperate character of the man, and that he always kept two or three double-barrelled guns loaded ready for use, they did not seem to relish the idea of marching boldly up to the house ; and, to avoid danger. Newcomer proposed to go and decoy him out of his stronghold. The night being too dark to distinguish persons, it was arranged that when they were heard coming back along the path the officers should spring out and arrest the foremost one. He went to' the house and called Coventry out. The latter was in bed, but soon came down, without stopping to put on his coat. He seemed much pleased to see Newcomer, and asked him to come into the house. " No," was the reply ; " I canJt, just now. I brought down a large lot of ones and twos on the State Bank of Ohio, but I didn't know who I might meet here, and concluded it wasn't quite safe to bring them to the house first l^EWCOMER THE SCOUT. 521 thing. So I left my satchels out in the woods; and, if you'll get your coin, a candle, and some matches, we'll go right out and make our exchange there." Coventry assented, went into the house, and in a few minutes returned with the coin and the steel dies, which he put in his pocket. They felt their way along until they reached the place where the officers were concealed, Newcomer dropping to the rear, and at this time being a considerable distance behind Coventry, who was in his shirt-sleeves still, and the more readily dis- tinguishable. Just as he was fairly opposite them, all four of the ambushed oiJicers jumped upon him, whereupon ensued a desperate struggle ; and it was fully half an hour before they succeeded in getting the handcuffs upon him. During all this time he kept constantly shouting, " I'm trapped ! I'm arrested I" &c., in order to alarm Webb, who was yet in the house, and give him a chance to escape. He succeeded also in throwing away the dies, and, though search was made for them the nest day, they were never found. Secured at last, he was placed in the wagon, and the whole party drove up to his house, where an immense amount of counterfeit money, moulds, dies, and a heavy iron press used for striking off bills, were found. Coventry was subsequently tried, convicted, and sent to the penitentiary for five years. Newcomer remained at Pittsburg through the administration of Marshal Campbell, and for some time with his successor. Marshal Murdoch. On one occasion he went to Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and arrested nine counter- feiters, with all their dies and instruments and a large amount of coin. Many other smaller but interesting cases were developed by him, some sixty-eight in number, and embracing every kind of vice and crime. Some jealousy hav- ing arisen on the part of the city police, caused by his extraordinary success, he deemed it inadvisable to remain there longer, and about two years ago came to Chicago, where he had several interviews with C. P. Bradley, Chief of Police ; but, finding nothing important on hand or in prospect, he concluded to return to Ohio. In Logan county, Indiana, he met with an officer recruit- ing for the Eleventh Indiana Battery, who induced him to enlist in the same as a non-commissioned ofiicer. At Louisville he joined the battery, and came with it to Nashville. Thence he accompanied Buell in his severe march over almost impassable roads and through swollen streams to Pittsburg Landing and Shiloh, — not arriving, however, in time to participate in the battle. Thence he went to Corinth, remaining there until its evacuation by the rebels, and thence to Iluntsville and Stevenson, Alabama. Here, the monotony of camp and stockade life becoming irksome, he began to vary it by scouting on his own account. Frequently at night, after tattoo, he would mount his horse, slip past the pickets, scour the neighboring country in quest of information and adventure, and return again before reveille, his absence seldom being noticed by any one. On one occasion something of more than ordinary importance having come to his notice, he reported it to Colonel Ilarkcr, of the 65th Ohio Volunteers, then commanding the brigade stationed at that post, stating the means by which, he had obtained the information, and giving some account of his previous midnight scouts. The colonel, highly pleased, at once gave him passes, and instructed him to continue the business as he had time and opportunity. 522 ARMY POLICE RECORD, Frequently he would go down to the Tennessee River in sight of the rebel picket'.! ; and one night he concluded to cross the river and get a nearer view of them. Striking the stream at a point three miles from Stevenson, he built a raft of rails and paddled himself across. Crawling up the bank through the bush, he came close upon the pickets, seven in number, without being observed. After watching their movements a while and finding nothing of particular interest, he returned safely as he went. Soon afterwards a negro told him of an island in the Tennessee River, some ten miles below Stevenson, on which a company of guerrilla cavalry were in the habit of rendezvousing every night. This opened a large field of operations for our scout, and he determined to visit the island forthwith. One afternoon, borrowing a suit of butternut from a negro at Stevenson, he set forth in that direction. The butternut clothes were carried under his saddle until he was fairly out- side of our lines, when he exchanged his 'own for them and went on in the character of a genuine native. Reaching the river opposite the island after dark, he again constructed a raft of rails, fastening them together this time with grape-vines, and shoved across the narrow channel to the island, landing in a dense canebrake. Carefully feeling his way through this, he came soon to a corn-crib, around which twenty-five or thirty horses were feeding. It was now ten o'clock, and quite dark, but clear and star- light. Examining the crib, the entrance was discovered about half-way up, and our adventurer at once clambered up and put his head and shoulders through. Careful listening revealed the presence of sleepers within. Putting his hand down to see how far it was to them, it came in contact with the body of a man. AVishing to know in what direction he was lying, he felt along carefully and came upon a pistol in his belt. Working at this, he soon drew it out, and, finding it a good Colt's revolver, put it into his pockei and got down again. Exploring around, he came to a cOrn-patch and a cabin near by, in which there seemed, from the noise within, to be a family or two of negroes. Crossing to the south or rebel side of the island, he found that the stream was much narrower there than on the other side, and that close to the shore a number of boats and scows, in which the band crossed and recrossed, were tied. It was now time to think about getting home, and he circled around the crib and cabin to reach the place where he had left his raft. When he came in sight of it, there was also to be seen a human form standing by the water's edge and apparently regarding the raft with no little astonishment. In the uncertain light, it was impossible to tell whether it was man or woman, white or black ; and there was nothing to do but wait until it disappeared. Crouching down amid the canes, he soon saw it turn and begin to climb the bank directly towards him, and as a precau- tionary measure took out the pistol and cocked it, though he could not see or feel whether it was loaded or not. The person proved to be a negro, and passed by, unconscious of the presence of any one so near, soliloquizing to himself thus: — " Mighty quare boat dat ar ; 'spec's some of Masser John's work." This danger having passed, our self-appointed spy descended and re-embarked on his raft. Lest any one should see him, he lay fiat upon it, paddling with extended arms, the whole presentiug very much the appear- NEWCOMER THE SCOUT. 523 ance of a floating mass of driftwood. By the time he reached the opposite shore his butternut suit was pretty thoroughly soaked, but, without stopping. to dry it, he mounted his horse, which he found straying about the woods, rode on to Stevenson, and reported to Colonel Harker. An expeditioD for the capture of this band — afterwards ascertained to be Captain Roun- tree's company — was just about starting, when orders were received to eva- cuate the place and fall back to Nashville with the remainder of Buell's army. The battery went no farther backward than Nashville, remaining there during the famous investment of the city and until the Army of the Cum- berland again reached it. Meanwhile, Newcomer was occasionally employed by General Negley as a detective ; but most of the time was spent with his command. Early in December the police and scout system was fully organ- ized and in successful operation. Our former scout, thinking that he could serve the Government to better advantage in the business with which he was so familiar, made application to Colonel Truesdail for employment as a scout and spy. The colonel, pleased with his appearance and conversation, at once made an engagement with him, and procured his detail for that special service. Having previously made the acquaintance of one Cale Harrison, a livery-stable-keeper, he now called on him, and, exhibiting a forged certificate of discharge, told him that he was on his way to the rebel army. Harrison, of course, was highly pleased to hear it, and gave him some valuable hints and information for his guidance in the matter. There was, he said, a man living on the Charlotte pike, by the name of Spence, whose son was an aide-de-camp on the staff of General Polk, and who would undoubtedly assist him in getting South and give him a letter of introduc- tion to his son. In this event the road would be clear, and no difiBculty need be appi'ehended in making the trip. Thus directed, he set forth from Nashville on a scout South, with saddle- bags well filled with fine-tooth combs, needles, pins, thread, &c., and carry- ing two fine navy revolvers. Going directly to Spence's, he introduced him- self, said he had called by recommendation of Harrison, made known his business, and asked for a letter to his son, on General Polk's staff. Spence received him cordially, but would not furnish him with the desired letter. He referred him, however, to J. Wesley Ratcliffe, living about one mile from Franklin, on the Lewisburg pike, as a person likely to render him very material assistance. This Ratcliffe was a rebel agent for the purchase of stock and commissary stores, and was well known throughout the whole country. Pushing on, he accordingly called at Ratcliffe's, and made hia acquaintance. When informed of his plans and purposes and shown the goods, Ratcliffe was much pleased, and soon became very friendly, advising him to go to Shelbyville, where such articles were greatly needed and could easily be disposed of. Newcomer accordingly started for Shelbyville, and for some time met with no incidents on the way. Between Canoy Springs and Rover, however, he fell in with a band of rebel cavalry belonging to General Buford's command, who, on being made acquainted with his business, advised 524 ARMY POLICE RECORD. him hot to go to Shelbyville, as considerable trouble might be experien ."d there. Their bushy shocks of hair suggesting that they were combless, he offered his stock for sale, chatting meanwhile with them about matters and things in general and in that vicinity in particular. Combs which cost two dollars per dozen he sold for two dollars each, and other articles in pro- portion, and, by the time his trading was finished, had ascertained that General Buford was stationed at Rover to guard a large mill full of flour and meal, — the size of his command, the number and calibre of his guns, and other items of importance, and also what generals and troops were at Shelbyville. The cavalrymen now wished him to go back to Nashville and bring them some pistols on his return. This he agreed to do, and, having obtained all the information he cared for at this time, turned his horse about and once more set his face towards Nashville. The two pistols which he had carried with him he had not shown, and still had them in his possession, — which circumstance was the cause of a slight adventure on the way home. He had proceeded but a little way when he met with a small squad of cavalry, who halted him, as usual, and demanded his name, business, and where he was going. These questions satisfactorily answered, he was next asked if he had any pistols about him. He replied that he had two, and was forthwith ordered by a rough-looking Texan to produce them, which was hardly done before they were coolly appropriated by his interrogator. Remonstrance was followed by abuse and threats of violence ; and it was only by the intervention of the other parties that the matter was com- promised by the sale of the pistols at fifty dollars each, and our traveller allowed to go on his way rejoicing. Without interruption head-quarters were reached, and a report of operations duly made. Remaining two days at Nashville, he started again, with three pistols and the balance of the old stock of goods. The first night was spent at Ratcliffe's, and the next day both went to Murfreesborough in a buggy. Ratclifie had business to transact with the provost-marshal and a number of the generals and inferior officers to see, and Newcomer was taken round and introduced to all as a colaborer in the cause of the South. During his four days' stay he was all over the town, through several of the camps, in many of the houses, drank whiskey with General Frank Cheatham, went to a grand party at the court-house, and made love to a dozen or more young ladies of Secession proclivities, — aided in all this by a perfect self-possession, an easy, graceful manner, and a winning face. In addition to pleasure-seeking and love-making, he also drove a thriving business in the sale of pistols and other contraband goods, and, wath pockets filled with money and head stored with information, returned with RatcliS"e to his house, and thence to Nash- ville, — having first made an arrangement with the former to accompany him to Shelbyville the next day. Arriving at Nashville after dark, he remained there until morning, and then made preparations and started for a third ti'ip. With a pair or two of cotton-cards, a lot of pistol-caps, and some smaller knick-knacks, as passports to favor, he set forth once more to jo.n Ratclifiie ; NEWCOMER THE SCOn. 525 but, having been unavoidably delayed in starting, he found hiin already gone. Nothing was now to be done but to push boldly ahead in the hope of over- taking him on the road or meeting him at Shelbyville. With the exception of Ratcliffe, not a soul there knew him. Trusting to good fortune, he travelled on, and reached Shelbyville in due season without trouble. The usual ques- tions were asked him by guards and pickets, to all of wliich he replied that he lived in Davidson county, was going to visit some friends in the 44th Ten- nessee Regiment, and had, moreover, a small stock of contraband goods for sale. These answers proving satisfactory, he was passed through, and reached the town early in the forenoon. Most of the day he spent in riding about, look- ing into quartermasters' and commissary depots, inquiring the names of officers, the number of troops, commanders, &c., until he had ascertained all that he wished. By this time niglit was drawing near, and it was high time to think about getting out of town; for should he remain after dark he was certain to be arrested. Ratcliffe was nowhere to be seen; and on inquiry lie was told that he had gone to Atlanta, Georgia, on the train, and that nobody knew when he would be back. Here was a desperate state of affairs. ' Get out of town he must, and to get out he must have a pass. It was easy enough to come in, but very difficult to get out. Nobody knew him ; and, in fact, for once in his life, he "was at a loss what to do. While thus troubled, he met some citizens of Davidson county who had been over the river to the camps of Ciieatham and McCown's division and wore now on their way to the provost-marshal to procure return passes. Misery loves company, and, with long face, he told them his trouble, — dressing it up with a considerable amount of fiction to suit the occasion. By way of adding earnestness to his entreaty and to open a sure path to their sympa- thies, he bought a bottle of whiskey and invited them all to drink with him. The liquor warmed their hearts as well as stomachs ; and while hobnobbing together he asked them if they wouldn't vouch for him to the provost- marshal and thus enable him to procure a pass. Being now in a condition to love the world and everybody in it, they promised to do so, and in due season all went for passes. His seven newly-made friends found no difficulty in their suit, their names being all written on a single pass ; but our scout was left unnoticed. The attention of the provost-marshal was called to him, when that functionary asked if any of them was personally acquainted with him. Though rebels, they would not lie, — possibly they thought it was not necessary, — and answered, "No," but they would vouch for him. But that would not do. His situation now was worse than ever. He not only had no pass, but had not the slightest chance of getting one. The whiskey investment had proved a losing speculation ; and he knew not where to turn for relief. The loungers about the office began to eye him suspiciously, and even the dogs seemed disposed to growl and snap at him as having no busi- ness there. The place was getting too hot for safety ; and his only hope of escape was to hurry out and lose himself in the crowd. His new friends were still outside, waiting for him ; and with them along consultation was held as to what had better be done about getting away, as 526 ARMY POLICE RECORD. every moment added to his already serious danger. Finally, one of the party suggested that he should go with them anyhow,- — that the pickets would not be likely to notice that his name was not in the pass, there being so many already on it. In default of any thing better, this proposition was agreed to, and all set out together. Newcomer, however, was still far from easy about the matter, and was fearful that the plan would not work. As they were journeying along, he proposed to the one who had the pass that he should be allowed to write his own name on the pass with a pencil, and if any objection should be made to it they might say that he belonged to the party but did not come in until the pass was made out, and that the provost- marshal, to save writing a new one, had inserted the name in pencil-mark. This was assented to and done. The amended pass carried them safely through, and the last cloud of anxiety was lifted from his troubled mind. Some twelve or fifteen miles having been passed over pleasantly. New- comer purposely lagged behind and allowed the others to get far ahead, wlien he turned off and struck across to the Lewisburg and Franklin pike. Travelling on this about ten miles, he stopped for the night, with five of Wheeler's cavalry, at the house of a man who had a son in Forrest's com- mand. Starting the next morning betimes, he reached Ratcliffe's the same evening, but found he had not yet reached home. Stopping a few moments, he passed on through Franklin towards Nashville. He had gone some seven miles, and was near Brentwood, when he saw four cavalrymen riding furiously down a lane just ahead of him. They and our hero reached its entrance at the same moment. The leader of the squad — who proved to be Captain Harris, a scout of John Morgan's, and who, as well as his three men, was very drunk — roughly halted him, and, riding up, pistol in hand, sliouted, — " Who are you ? and where do you live ?" " My name is Newcomer, and I live six miles from Nashville, near Brent Spence's," was the ready, respectful reply. Spence was well known to all, and no further trouble was apprehended ; hut the drunken captain was not so easily satisfied. He soon asked, — " Where have you been? and what in the are you doing here ?" " I have been to Shelby ville to see Spence's son, and I took along some contraband goods to sell." "You can go back to Franklin with me, sir!" Protestation was unavailing ; and without more ado he turned about arid all started towards Franklin. On the way Harris asked if he had any arms with him, and, on being told that he had two fine levolvers and some cartridges, ordered him to give them up, which was done. With a savage leer he then said, — " I know all about you. You're a Yankee spy. You have been going backwards and forwards here so much that the citizens of Franklin have suspected you for a long time, and have reported you. I am satisfied that you are a Yankee spy ; and I am going to hang you, you. Bz-agg has ordered me never to bring in spies, but to shoot or hang them like dogs, NEWCOMER THE SCOTJT. 527 on 'ihe spot ; and I am going to make a beginning with you, now, this very night." "If you do that," was the reply, "you'll take the life of a good and true man. I can show by J. W. Ratcliffe that I am a true Southerner, that I have done much good for the cause, — very likely much more than you have, — and that I am duing good every day I live." "Captain," said one of the men, "it may be that he is an important man to our cause ; and you had better see Ratcliffe and inquire into his case." Harris studied a moment, and finally concluded to go with the prisoner to Ratcliffe's and confer about the matter, — at the same time assuring him that it was of no use, for he should certainly hang him anj'how. At Franklin all stopped to drink, and Harris and his men became beastly drunk. Reeling into their saddles, they were once more on their way to Ratcliffe's, but had gone only a short distance, when Harris wheeled his horse and hiccoughed out, — • "Boys, there's no use in fooling. I am satisfied this fellow's a Yankee spy ; and here's just as good a place as we can find to hang him. Take the halter off that horse's neck and bring it here." It was indeed a fitting place in which to do foul murder. Not a house was to be seen ; and the road wound through one of those cedar thickets so dense that even in mid-day it is almost dark within them. It was now night, and the sombre shade even more gloomy than ever, as Harris jumped from his horse, and, taking the halter, made a noose of it, and, fitting it around the neck of the unlucky scout, drew it up uncomfortably tight, until, in fact, it was just about strangling him. Now or never was the time to expostulate and entreat. In a moment it might be too late ; and then farewell home, friends, and all the joys of life I It is not hard to die in peace, surrounded by weeping friends, or even to meet the dread king in the shock and excitement of battle ; but to hang like a dog ! — the idea is sickening, appalling ; and it is no sign of cowardice to shrink from it. One more effort, then, for life, even if it be to supplicate for mercy from a drunken rebel. " Captain," said he, with great feeling, " it is wrong to take a man's life on so slight a suspicion. It is a vast responsibility to take upon one's self; and you may do something for which you will be sorry by-and-by, in your calmer moments, and for which you may be even punished when it comes to the knowledge of General Bragg." To which came the rough and heartless answer, "I know my business; and I don't want any advice from a Yankee spy. When I do, I'll let you know. Come along," shouted he, seizing the rope and dragging his victim towards a tree. " I know my duty, and am going to do it, too. Come on, men, and let's swing up this rascally spy." They refused to come to his assistance, however, saying that they were as ready as he to do their duty, but they wanted to be a little better satisfied about the matter. It was only half a mile to Ratcliffe's, and it would be a 528 ARMY POLICE RECORD. very easy thing to go and see what he said about it. Harris would not listea a moment, and again ordered them to come and help him, which tliey dared not longer refuse. The case now appeared hopeless. , Death stared him in the face, and life, with all its memories and pleasures, seemed passing dreamily away. Look- . ing into the cedars hanging heavy with darkness, they seemed the entrance to the valley of the shadow of death, beyond which lay the infinite and mysterious future. On the verge of the grave life was yet sweet, — yet worth striving for ; and, as a last effort, the unfortunate man went up to Harris, placed his hand on his shoulder, and asked him if he would promise, on the word and honor of a gentleman, that he would go to General Bragg and give him a true statement of the affair, narrating every circumstance as it actually occurred. Then, turning to the men, he asked them if they would do it, provided the captain did not. Less hardened than the captain, they feelingly answered that they would ; and the earnestness with which they replied was proof enough that they would make good their words. This set the captain to thinking. He evidently didn't like the idea of Bragg's hearing about it, and, after some moments' reflection, concluded to go to Ratcliffe's and see what he would say. The rope was removed, and they resumed their journey, — the captain still swearing it would do no good, as nothing could save him, for he was bound to hang -him that very night. Life still hung on a thread, however. In the afternoon, when Newcomer had been there, Ratcliffe had not returned, and if he were not now at home nothing would prevent Harris from carrying out his threat, which he seemed determined to execute. That half-mile was the longest ride Newcomer ever took. No lights were to be seen ; but it was near midnight, and it might be that air were abed. Harris left the prisoner at the gate, in charge of the other three, and went up to the house. He knocked on the window, and New- comer thought it was the thumping of his own heart. Fortunately Ratcliffe was at home, and came hurriedly to the door, without stopping to dress. The two conversed in a low tone for some time, when Ratcliffe wag heard to exclaim, " I'll be if you do !" and instantly started down towards the gate. Coming up to the prisoner, and throwing one arm around his neck, while he took his hand in his, he said to him, — " Great God! Harry, how fortunate that I am at home !" After they had talked a while together, Harris came up again, and called Ratcliffe to one side, where they had another protracted conversation in a low, whispering tone. While they were thus engaged, a large owl on a tree near by began hooting, and was speedily answered by another some distance up the road. The three men mounted their horses at once and galloped to the road, shouting, at the top of their voices, — " Captain, we're surrounded ! This is a trap. Don't you hear the signals ?" The captain stepped to the road, listened a moment, and then, with a volley of oaths, ordered them back for " a pack of fools to be scared at an owl." Still quaking with fear, which did not entirely leave them until NEAVCOMER THE SCOUT. 529 they were fairly away from the place, they resumed their places, the owls hooting lustily all the while. Harris and Ratcliffe continued their conversation for a few minutes, when the former came towards Newcomer with a pistol and some papers in each hand, saying, as he gave them to him, — " I release you, and restore your property, on the word of Quartermaster Ratcliffe. He assures me that you are one of the most important men in the South, and a secret agent of the Confederacy. I am very sorry that this thing has occurred, and will make any amends in my power. If you desire, I will go with you to the Charlotte pike as an escort, or will do you any favor you may ask." "No," said Ratcliffe: "he must come in and stay all night with me. I can't let him go on to-night." While standing at the gate, during this conversation, our released prisoner sold his pistols to the cavalrymen for Tennessee money. Just at this moment, too, a squad of cavalry belonging to Starns's command came by. One of them — to whom Newcomer had sold a pistol some weeks before — recognized him at once, and shook hands with him very cordially. He corroborated Ratcliffe's statement, saying that Newcomer was on very im- portant business for the South, which was rendered still more so by the fight having begun at Stewart's Creek. A short time was passed in general con- versation, when all left except Newcomer, who hitched his horse to the porch and went in with Ratcliffe. When sufficient time had elapsed for them to be well out of the way. Newcomer said his business was of too much import- ance to brook delaj', and he must be off at once. Ratcliffe said if he must go he could not urge him to stay. " I will go with you to your horse," said he. " Meanwhile, take this to keep you from further trouble. If anybody stops you again, just show them this, and you will be passed at once." So saying, he took from his pocket a large Government envelope, — of which he had an abundance, — and wrote on it, — ''All right. "J. W. Ratcliffe." Armed with this, he started again, and reached the pickets of the 5th Kentucky Cavalry, who brought him into the city. It was nearly three o'clock in the morning when he arrived at the police-office: but the colonel was still up, and immediately telegraphed his report to head-quarters. The next day, nothing daunted, he set out again, and went, as usual, first to Ratcliffe's, where he remained all night, — thence the next morning travelled, by way of Hart's Cross-Roads and Caney Springs, to Murfrees- borough, reaching that place on the Saturday evening closing the week of battles at Stone River, Riding about the town, he observed that nearly every house in it was a hospital. Every thing was confusion and excite- ment. Immense crowds of straggling soldiers and citizens were gathered about the court-house and depot. Commissary and quartermaster stores, 34 530 ARMY POLICE RECORD. artillery, ammunition, and camp equipage, were being loaded on the cars, and trains were starting as fast as loaded. An evacuation was evidently on hand, and that right speedily ; and he determined to leave as soon as pos- sible. The only trouble was how to get out. After wandering around some time, seeking an opportunity, he came across a train of small wagons, with which the neighboring farmers had come to take home their wounded sons and brothers. Quick to embrace opportunities, he saw that now was his chance to escape. Dismounting from his horse, he led him by the bridle, and walked demurely behind one of these wagons, as though it was in his charge. Clad in butternut, and in every outward appearance resembling the others accompanying it, the deceit was not discovered, and he safely passed all the pickets. It was now nearly two o'clock in the morning, and he rode rapidly on, in a cold, driving rain, until fairly benumbed. Some nine miles out, he came to a deserted school-house, which he unceremoniously entered, leading his horse in after him. Within, a large fireplace and an abun- dance of desks suggested the idea of a fire, and a huge blaze roaring and crackling on the hearth soon demonstrated its practicability. The nest step was to wring the water out of his well-soaked garments and partially dry them. Both horse and man enjoyed themselves here until near daybreak, when he mounted again and rode on to Ratcliffe's, reaching there about three o'clock Sunday afternoon. Here he remained a while to converse with his friend, refresh the inner man, and care for his horse, — neither having eaten a mouthful since the morning before. Ratclifi"e was rejoiced to see him, and wished him to remain longer; but he pushed ahead, and reached Nashville late that evening, wellnigh worn out with hunger, fatigue, and want of sleep. His report was immediately telegraphed to General Rose- crans ; but he had been so long in making his way back that the general did not receive it until he had himself entered Murfreesborough. Late the next night he started again, with a single piiikil and a small stock of needles, pins, and thread. On Monday evening he reached Rat- cliffe's, and, staying but two hours, rode on two miles farther to the house of one M. II. Perryear, with whom he remained all night. Thence he travelled, by way of Hart's Cross-Roads, towards Caney Springs, but before reaching the latter place fell in with some of Wheeler's cavalry, with whom he rode along friendly and companionly enough. Some of them were old acquaintances and very confidential. They were, they said, just on their way to burn a lot of Federal wagons at Lavergne and Triune, and, deeming him a good fellow well met, invited him to go with them. Thinking that there might be some chance to save the wagons, he declined the invitation, urging the pressing nature and importance of his mission as an excuse. It was soon found, however, that every avenue of escape northward was guarded, and the whole country filled with the cavalry, of whom there were, in all, about three thousand. There was nothing to do, then, but to leave the wagons to their fate and push on, which he did, and, arriving at Caney Springs, remained tliere over-night. The next morning the cavalry began to loiter back from their marauding expedition in squads of from fifteen to a NEWCOMER THE SCOUT. 531 hundred or more, and from them he learned the complete success of the enterprise. Making the acquaintance of a lieutenant, he was told that they were going at once to Harpeth Shoals, to burn a fleet of boats which was then on its way to Nashville. This determined him to abandon tW idea of going to Shelbyville, and he accompanied a detachment back as far as Hart's Cross-Roads, where they went on picket-duty at a meeting-house by the road. Bidding them good-day, he started on alone towards Ilatcliffe's. Stopping at Perryear's, he was told that Forrest was in Franklin, that the roads were all guarded, and that there was a picket just at Ratcliffe's gate Perryear then gave him an open letter of introduction, recommending him to all officers and soldiers of the Confederate army as a true and loyal Southern man, engaged in business of the highest importance to the Govern* ment. With this he again set out, and, as he had been told, found a picket at Ratcliife's gate. Requesting to be admitted, he was asked if he was a soldier, and, on answering negatively, was passed in without hesitation. Ratcliffe corroborated Perryear's statement, saying, furthermore, that Forrest was very strict, and that it would be much better for him to remain there until they had all gone down the river. "But," added he, " if you must go, I'll go with you as far as FrankHn and help you through." The town was found to be full of cavalry, who were conscripting every man whom they could lay hands on. Ratcliffe introduced his companion to Will Forrest, — a" brother of the general, and captain of his body-guard. The captain was profuse of oaths and compliments, and, withal, so very friendly that Newcomer at once told him his story and business, all of which was endorsed by Ratcliffe. More oaths and compliments followed. The captain was glad to know so important a man, and, by way of business, asked him if he had any pistols to sell. " No," was the reply ; " I have nothing but a single navy revolver, which I carry for my own defence, and which I wouldn't like to part with. But I am just going to Nashville for more goods, and, fearing trouble in getting away, I thought I would come and see about it." " Oh, I guess there will be none," said the captain. " The general wants to know something about Nashville, and will be very apt to send you there to get the information for him. Come ; let's go and see about it.'' The two set forth, and found the general, surrounded by the usual crowd, at his hotel. Calling him to one side, the captain pointed out his new friend, and, explaining who and what he was, concluded by remarking that he wished to go to Nashville for goods, and would bring him any informa- tion he desired. The general, not just then in the best of humor, swore very roundly that he knew as much about Nashville as he wanted to, — it was men he wanted, — and concluded by ordering the captain to conscript his friend into either his own or some other company. Turning on his heel, he walked briskly away, leaving his brother to his anger and our would-be rebel spy to his disappointment. The captain fumed with great, sulphxirous oaths, and consoled Newcomer thus wise : — 532 ARMY rOLICE RECORD. " Ile'j a fool, if he is my brother. You are the last man I'll ever bring to him to be insulted. But yousha'n't be conscripted. Come with me, and I'll help you through. You can go with my company, but not as a Boldier, and I will send you to Nashville myself. My company always has tlie advance, and there'll be plenty of chances." Making a virtue of necessity, this proposition was gladly accepted, and all started on the march. By this time Wheeler had come up and taken the lead, Forrest following in the centre, and Starns bringing up the rear. About eight miles from Franklin the whole command encamped for the niglit, and our hero slept under the same blanket with Captain Forrest and his lieutenant, — a Texan ranger named Scott, whose chief amusement seemed to consist in lassooing dogs while on the march, and listening to their yelping as they were pitilessly dragged along behind him. Towards mid- night, one of their spies — a Northern man, named Sharp, and formerly in the plough business at Nashville — came in from the Cumberland River. Captain Forrest introduced Newcomer to him as a man after his own heart, — " true as steel, and as sharp as they make 'em." The two spies became inti- mate at once, and Sharp belied his name by making a confidant of his new acquaintance. He had formerly been in Memphis, and acted as a spy for the cotton-burners. More recently he had been employed with Forrest; and now he had just come from Harpeth Shoals, where he had learned all about the fleet coming up the river, and to-morrow he was to guide the expedition down to a place where they could easily be captured and burned. Early next morning the march was resumed, and at the crossing of the Hardin pike General Forrest and staff were found waiting for them. Upon coming up, the captain was ordered to take his company down the Hardin pike, go on picket there, and remain until eleven o'clock ; when, if nothing was to be seen, he was to rejoin the expedition. These instructions were promptly carried out, — a good position being taken on a hill some eight miles from Nashville, from which could be had a view of the whole country for many miles in every direction. About ten o'clock the captain came to Newcomer and said he was going to send him to Nashville himself; at the same time giving him a list of such articles as he wished, consisting principally of gray cloth, staff-buttons, &c. As may be imagined, no time was lost in starting, and still less in getting into Nashville, where he arrived in due season to save the fleet. A force was at once sent out on the Hillsborough pike to cut off the retreat of the rebels, and another on the Charlotte pike to attack them directly. The latter force succeeded in striking their rear-guard, and threw them into con- fusion, when they hastily fled across the Harpeth River, which was at the time very high. Our forces, being principally infantry, could not cross in pursuit, but the troops on the Hillsborough pike succeeded in killing, wounding, and capturing considerable numbers of them. They were thoroughly scattered, however, and the fleet was saved, — which was the main object of the expedition. General Rosecrans had now been in Murfreesborough several days, and NEWCOMER THE SCOUT. 533 Colonel Truesdall immediately on his arrival sent the scout to that place. Here he made a full report, and, having received instructions for anothei trip, returned to Nashville the next day to make ready for it. The only item of interest on this trip was that at Eagleville he met Wheeler's com- mand, by many of whom, and by the general himself, he was well and favorably known. Here Wheeler employed him as a secret agent, and gave him a permanent pass, which he still retains. Borrowing from one of his officers one hundred dollars in Tennessee money, the general gave it to him, and instructed him to buy with it certain articles which he men- tioned, — among which were gray cloth and staff-buttons, always in demand for uniforms. Stopping at ilatcliffe's on his return, he showed him the pass, and related the circumstances of getting it, at which the former was highly gratified, — " as," said he, "you'll have no more trouble now, Harry." At Nashville Wheeler's bill was filled, such not very reliable information as Colonel Truesdail and General Mitchel saw fit to give was obtained, and another trip began. Wheeler was now at Franklin, quartered in the court-house. The goods and information were delivered, much to the grati- fication of the general, who forthwith instructed him to return to Nashville for more information and late Northern papers. So well known and highly esteemed was our man now, that the cashier of the Franklin Branch of the Planters' Bank of Tennessee, on this trip, intrusted to him to carry to the parent bank the accounts and valuable papers of the branch, which he did, delivering them at Nashville. On the way back he stopped at the house of one Prior Smith, whom he knew as an ardent rebel and extensive negro- dealer. Smith, naturally enough, inquired who his visitor was, and was told the usual tale. He then inquired if a good business might not be done in running off negro boys from Nashville, buying them cheap there or kid- napping them, and if he wouldn't like to engage in it. Newcomer said that it would doubtless be a splendid thing, but he did not dare to venture into it: it was too public, and might endanger his other operations, more important than any private speculations. Smith still insisted, and said he would give tea dollars a pound for likely children, and would furnish him with a letter of introduction to his "right bower" in Nashville. The right bower proved to be Dr. Hudson, who was afterwards called on by Newcomer and various other detectives in the secret service, as is narrated in a preceding sketch. Obtaining the papers desired by Wheeler, and various items of information. Newcomer now set out on his sixth and last scout. At Franklin he found that Wheeler had gone on to Shelbyville, leaving only a squad of cavalry behind. That evening Ratcllffe and himself sat down and wrote out the information, sealed it up with the papers in large Government envelopes, and gave them to the lieutenant in charge of the company, who sent them by a courier to Wheeler. Remaining all night with Ratcliffe, he returned the next day to Nashville, where his services were needed in the develop- ment of the Hudson and other important cases, full details of which are given in other pages of this work. Since then he has been constantly £ 534 ARMY POLICE RECORD. emploT^ed as a detective, with equal credit to himself and benefit to the G vernment. In all the annals of police and spy life it -will he difficult to find a career marked by such uniform and brilliant success as has attended Harry New- comer in his adventurous enterprises. He has never undertaken a case whose mystery he did not solve. Friendly and companionable with his own sex, he is equally a favorite with the ladies. With many a high-born rebel lady he has held converse by the hour, she little dreaming, meanwhile, that her strangely pleasant guest was a "Yankee hireling." With a perfect self-control and self-confidence, a quick perception, and a faculty of adapting himself to circumstances on a moment's notice, he has proved one of the most useful men in the secret service of the Army of the Cumljerland. General Jolm H. Morgan's lemale Spy. On the IGth of December, 1862, while the rebel army was at Murfrees- borough and the Army of the Cumberland at Nashville, a lady of middle age and fine personal appearance was walking along the road leading from the former to the latter place. Between Lavergne and Nashville, not far from the Federal pickets, she was overtaken by a gentleman named Blythe, — a Union man and a paroled prisoner, — who had that day procured a pass from General Bragg to go to Nashville in his buggy. Seeing that she was weary with long walking, he invited her to ride, and they proceeded in company about three-fourths of a mile, when they came upon a party of Federal and rebel ofiicers, consulting about some matter under a flag of truce. Blythe, because of his parole, was allowed to pass within the lines, but the lady was detained outside until her case could be submitted to head- quarters and permission obtained for her entry. While thus delayed, Blythe overheard Lieutenant Hawkins, in charge of a rebel flag, saying to her, in a cautiously modulated voice, "If they won't let you in you can go across the counti-y — about four miles — to my father's, and there they will run you through the lines anyhow." This aroused his suspicions, and deter- mined him to report her case at the Police Office, with his ideas of her cha- racter, and the suggestion that a strict watch be maintained upon her movements. The next afternoon she was brought in, and immediately sent to head- quarters. Here she gave her name as Mrs. Clara Judd, the widow of an Episcopal clergyman who had died the year previous, leaving herself and seven children, without property and in debt. She was on her return from Atlanta, Georgia, whither she had been on a visit to her son, a boy, who M'as living there and learning the printing-business. She wish€d to go to Minnesota, where the remainder of her children were, and where she then claimed to reside. Her story was told in so simple, artles? a manner, and GENERAL JOHN H. MORGAN'S FEMALE SPY. 535 with such an air of sincerity, that the sympathies of all present werf at once enlisted in her favor, — it not being in the heart of man to doubt, for a moment, the truth of all she said. The examination ended, a pass was given her to Louisville, and she was allowed to depart in peace. From the Police Office she made her way to the Commercial Hotel, where she expected to meet an old friend, but, finding that he was out of the city, and that the hotel was too full to obtain lodgings, she went to a sutler of her acquaint- ance, named Becker, He also was absent ; but she remained over-night with his partner and wife, — Mr. and Mrs. Bcaden. Knowing that Blythe was at the Commercial Hotel, she wrote him a note, requesting him to call and see her on important private business. Early in the evening Blythe called at the police department, inquiring if Mrs. Judd had come in, and was told that she had just gone, a pass having been issued to her. He seemed disappointed, and remarked that they had been fooled, — that in his opinion her story was essentially false, and she a bad woman, whom it would be well to watch. His reasons for so thinking were freely given, and, though they did not entirely destroy the confidence she had inspired, they served to weaken it materially, and to excite doubts as to the truth of her statements and the honesty of her intentiuns. Return- ing to his hotel, the note from Mrs. Judd there awaiting him fully con- firmed his previously-formed opinions. So strong were they now, and so solicitous was he to fathom and disclose the mischief which he felt to be brew- ing, that he again went to the Police Office that evening, taking the note with him and exhibiting it to the authorities there. He was advised to call as requested, and endeavor to ascertain her true character and designs. He did so, and found her at Mr. Beaden's, as stated. After some unimportant conversation, she said to him, "Are you loyal?" His decidedly affirmative answer she construed to mean that he was a friend to the South and favor- able to its cause. It may here be explained that, though Blythe at his first meeting did not recognize her, she at once remembered having seen him in Murfreesborough, where he had been detained some eight or nine weeks before he was allowed to proceed to Nashville. As he seemed while there to be under no restraint whatever, she knew nothing of his being a paroled prisoner and a Northern man. The fact of his having a pass from General Bragg, taken in connection with certain remarks casually made by him, was to her proof positive that he was a Southerner and a rebel. To this very natural mistake she was indebted for all the misfortune that eventually befell her. Completely self-deceived, she immediately took him into her confidence, and entered upon an explanation of her business and plans. She was going, she said, to Louisville, for the purpose of purchasing quinine and other medicines for the Southern Confederacy, together with a considerable amount of dry-goods and groceries for herself and others. But this was only a portion of her business, and of no Importance in comparison with the remainder. John Morgan was about to make a raid upon the Louisville & Nashville Railroad, and was only waiting for information as to the strength 536 ARMY POLICE RECORD. of the garrisons and the disposition of troops along its track, necessary to deteruiine the most available point of attack. This information she had engaged to obtain and furnish to him on her return to Gallatin, where certain of his men were to meet her, by appointment, on a fixed day. This day was now at hand ; and accordingly she was anxious to start for Louisville the next morning, so that she might have ample time to purchase her goods and be back to Gallatin on the day appointed. Unfortunately, however, her pass did not allow her to leave Nashville until the morning after, and she wished he would try and exchange it for one allowing her to go on the morrow. Blythe obligingly consented, and farther said that, as it would save her a good deal of trouble in Louisville, he would get her a pass to go and return as far as Gallatin. "With the old pass he imme- diately went a third time to the office, stated his wish, and related the con- versation that had passed between himself and Mrs. Judd. Colonel Trues- dail gave him the desired pass, and insisted upon his accompanying her to Louisville, at the same time instructing him to afford her every facility for the perfection of her plans, but to neither encourage nor restrain her. Blythe returned with the new pass according to promise. In the conver- sation that ensued, he warned her of the danger of the business she was about to embark in, cautioning her as to the watchfulness of the Federal authorities, and endeavored to dissuade her therefrom. His advice, how- ever, though well meant and kindly enough received, was of no avail. It was her duty, she said, to do all that she could for the South ; and, as they were God's chosen people, she was not afraid of any harm befalling her. Seeing that she was determined in her purpose, Blythe affected a deep solicitude in her welfare, and finally told her he would postpone his business for the present and go with her to Louisville then, instead of v<'aiting a few days as he had intended. It would be a great accommodation, as well as pleasure, to him, he remarked, laughingly, for then he could sit with her in the ladies' car, — no small matter on a train literally jammed with passengers, as that one usually was. Madam was highly pleased at this exhibition of kindness, and with many thanks endeavored to show her gratitude therefor. Thenceforward she placed implicit confidence in Blythe, and unreservedly told him all her plans, together with much of her past history and experience. This was her second trip, she said. The previous one had been quite profit- able to her, and had enabled her to furnish a large amount of valuable in- formation to the rebels. Throughout the entire journey to Louisville she was ever on the alert for the smallest scrap of information. At every station, out of the window would go her head, and the bystanders be plied with guarded questions concerning the strength of the place, means of defence, number of troops and names of regiments there, &c. Blythe was evidently annoyed, and time and again pulled her dress, begging her "for God's sake to sit down and keep quiet," or she would attract attention and ruin both herself and him. She replied tliat it was a part — and a vei'y important part- -of her business to observe, make inquiries, and take notes ; she must do it. GENERAL JOHN H. MORGAN'S FEMALE SPY. 537 At Louisville Blythe paid her every attention, assisted her in her purchases introduced her to one of the best dry-goods houses in the city, and went with her to New Albany, where she bought several hundred dollars' worth of drugs and medicines. Here she was well acquainted, — a fact which she explained by saying that she had made purchases there before. These drugs she intended to pack in a trunk with a false bottom, but was told by BIythe that it would not be necessary, as he would see that her trunk was passed without exami- nation. Occasionally he would absent himself for several hours, account- ing for this by representing that he was engaged in buyiug a large stock of goods, with which he designed returning immediately to Murfreesborough. One day he was taken quite ill, and was attended and nursed by her in the kindest manner. In addition to her confidence, he seemed now to have gained her affections. She devoted herself to him as only women do to those ■whom they love, — anticipating his 'slightest wishes, and providing for his every want in the most warm-hearted and loving manner, Blythe's pre- tended sickness was soon over, but it left him weak ; and he wished her to remain at Louisville another day. No ; she could not stay. Morgan's men had made a positive engagement to meet her that night at Gallatin, and she would not disappoint them for the world. She was to tell them, then and there, all that she had seen. and heard down the road, and to advise them where to tap it. In return, they were to assist her in getting her trunks through the lines, which could easily be done by putting them in the bottom of the wagon-bed and covering them with fodder. Seeing that she could not be induced to remain, BIythe determined to return with her. Flattered by this mark of attention and appreciation, she was highly delighted, and more affectionate than ever. Arrangements were at once made for the journey, BIythe in the mean while visiting General Boyle, explaining the whole matter to him, and procuring an order dispensing with the usual exami- nation of baggage in their case, and also telegraphing to Colonel Trues- dail, at Nashville, to have them arrested at Mitchellsville, just before reaching Gallatin. On the way back she was in the best of spirits, and could hardly refrain from frequent exhibitions of her elation at the success of their schemes. Blvthe begged her to be careful, or she would expose herself and him to ruin. " You know," said he, "if any thing should happen to you it will get me into trouble, and that would make you feel bad; wouldn't it?" He asked her if she was not afraid of being watched, — if she did not think she was already suspected, — seeking by this means to prepare her mind for the arrest which was soon to occur, and at the same time to allay any suspicions she mio-ht otherwise entertain of his complicity therein. She replied that she was, and that there was then in that very car a person whom she believed to be watching her. She betrayed considerable anxiety, and seemed quite Mueasv about the matter for some time, but finally fell into her usual care- jess mood. At Mitchellsville she took on board two large trunks of goods and clothing, left there on her former trip because of her having had too many to get safely away at that time without exciting suspicion. Just after leaving 538 ARMY POLICE RECORD. Mitch(;llsville, Blytlie said to her, " Xow, this is a dangerous business you are in ; and you may not get through. At Gallatin I shall leave you, but will go straight through to Murfreesborough ; and if you have any word to send I will take it with pleasure to anybody you may name." In reply, she wished he would see Lieutenant Hawkins and tell him that she had arrived safely at Gallatin with her goods, but that there was a larger force there than she had expected to find, and she might be troubled in getting out ; or, if Lieutenant Hawkins was not then at Murfreesborough, he might tell any of Morgan's men, and their general would be sure to get the news and devise some means for her assistance. At this time, as well as on previous occasions, she seemed to be on \ery intimate terms with Morgan and to rely implicitly upon him and his followers. She furtlier informed Blythe that her home was in Winches- ter, Tennessee, but that she was on her way to Atlanta, Georgia, where her son had a situation in the Ordnance department, and that the knitting- machine purchased by her was intended as a pattern for the manufacture of others, there being nothing of the kind in the South. This conversation was scarcely concluded when both were arrested, and Blythe — according to previous arrangement — roughly handled. Mrs. Judd turned very pale, and was strangely excited ; though she seemed more affected by Blythe's situation and danger than her own. Blythe, however, seemed to take it coolly enough, and as a matter of course, — which but the more increased the sorrow of Mrs. Judd, it being for her only that he had thus ventured and lost. Bui regrets were useless now, and both were brought on to Nashville at once. Mrs. Judd was put under guard at a hotel, and assured that Blythe would be hung the next morning. At this intelligence she became quite distracted, begged and implored to be heard in his favor, asserting with broken voice and tearful eyes that he was an innocent man and that the guilt and blame of the whole transaction were hers alone. Making no impression upon those about her, she went so far as to write and send to head-quarters a petition that he might be spared from a punishment he did not deserve. Blythe, of course, was released at once ; but she did not know it, and to this day remains ignorant of his real fate and location. Her baggage was examined and found to contain many hundred dollars' worth of contraband goods, — unquestionable evidences of her guilt. Among its contents was a Bible, with Blythe's name written in it by herself, which she had purchased in Louisville, intending to present it to him when they should meet again in Murfreesborough. The circumstances, when known, created not a little excitement in army circles, and the case was personally examined by the general commanding and his staiF. The crime was the highest known to military law; the im- portance of the consequences involved in the success or defeat of the scheme, almost incalculable. In short, it was one of those little pivots on which the fortunes of a campaign or the fate of an army might turn. For such an offence the only adequate punishment was death ; but the person implicated was a woman ; and that reverence for the sex which brave men ever feel would not allow the application of so extreme a penalty. To pass NORRIS THE KIDNAPPER. 539 her lightly bj, however, could not be reconciled with a sense of duty ; and it was deemed necessary to make an example of her, by confiaing her in the military prison at Alton, Illinois, during the war, where she is at this present writing. ITorris the Kidnapper. One of the most marked results of the war has been the escape from rebel masters of large numbers of slaves. Flocking to our camps, where they are universally known as " contra])ands," they have been made useful in a multitude of ways by the Army of the Cumberland. As cooks, as waiters, as teamsters, as laborers, in the hospitals, in Avarehoiises, in stables, on the fortifications, on steamers and railways, they have been constantly employed with advantage to themselves and the Government. By as much as they have been a gain to us they have been a loss to the rebels, who rely upon them not only for their army labor but for the cultivation of their plantations and the production of the supplies necessary for the support of their troops in the field. At first no particular caution seemed to be exercised to prevent their escape, or any considerable efforts put forth for their recovery. Their whilom masters were apparently content to let them go or stay as they pleased, congratulating themselves that it was simply so much pork and corn-bread saved when they abandoned the lean larder of a Southern plant- ation for the ample store of a Yankee camp. Those left behind were enough for all their present needs, and too many to be decently fed and clothed from the scanty crops and scantier stocks of the Southern Con- federacy. With the last New Year, however, another policy seems to have been inaugurated, either by the civil authorities at Richmond or by the military leaders in camp. Whether it was that the number of fugitives had become alarmingly large, or that the influence of the emancipation policy was feared, whether it was the dread of an armed insurrection or a general stampede to the Federal lines, or whether it was all of these combined, that caused this change of policy, is not easy, and not necessary, to determine here. Suffice it to say that measures were at this time taken to remove into the interior and southward these slaves in Tennessee and other border States that could be reached, and to recover from the Federal lines as many as possible of those who had escaped thither. The spies and scouts of the secret service soon scented this new game, and were on the alert. It was found that considerable rewards had been offered in Murfreesborough and other places in the Southern Confederacy for the delivery of negroes within the rebel army lines. Emissaries were found in Nashville, engaged in trap- ping and carrying away by force such likely negroes as they could lay their 540 ARMY POLICE RECORD. hinds upon, — at the same time acting as spies and furnishing the rebels with important information. Measures were at once taken for the detection and punishment of those engaged in this nefarious traffic. A suitable person was despatched to Franklin, Tennessee, where resided several men formerly well known as extensive negro-dealers, for the purpose of obtaining reliable information of the parties in the business and the means by which it was carried on. With one of these men — J. Prior Smith, who had one million dollars of Southern money for investment in negroes — this agent became very inti- mate, and finally engaged to purchase for him men, women, and children. For likely children fi-om one to eight and ten years of age he was to be paid ten dollars per pound ; and for every man and woman that he would get out of Nashville and vicinity he was to be liberally rewarded. Smith also gave him letters of introduction to two prominent citizens of Nashville, both of whom entered cheerfully into the scheme and suggested various means of carrying on the business. One of them — Dr. J. R. Hudson — was particularly interested, and for months busied himself in kidnapping j^oung boys and running them South. He tampered with the ofiicers of the engineer corps in charge of the fortifications then being constructed, offering them half the profits, or five hundred dollars each, for every man they would permit him to steal out of their squad of laborers. He would procure passes for him- self and servants to go out to his farm, and the servants would never come back. He would send them out with his wood-wagons, and when once beyond the lines they would be passed on to their destination and sold. His speculations, however, were interfered with materially by the Army Police ; but he was indefatigable in the business, and only ceased trapping negroes when trapped himself. It was found, too, in addition to this organized scheme of theft in which these unprincipled speculators were embarked, that some of the night police of Nashville, employed by the city government, had engaged in a similar business. Scai'cely a night passed but some fugitive slave was arrested and jailed by them, on the demand of pretended owners or their agents. For such services they were paid from five dollars to one hundred for each arrest. James A. Steele testified that he had caught, within three weeks, six negroes, for which he had received about one hundred dollars in all. J. F. Ingalls testified that he had assisted in the arrest of six negroes for Dr. Oden, and received for the same ten dollars. James Hinton paid him forty dollars for arresting ten negroes belonging to a relative. He had also been approached by other parties, and been offered from fifty to two hundred dollars each for the arrest of other negroes, many of whom wore in Govern- ment employ. AVilliam Mayo was paid sixty-six dollars for arresting a man, a woman, and two children for Watt Owens. Mr. Gillock was to pay him from fiftj- to seventy-five dollars for arresting his negro woman. Mr. Everett paid him twenty-five dollars for a like service, Mr. Hatch ten dollars, and Mrs. Cunningham had offered him twenty-five dollars to get back a woman fur whose arrest she had already paid fifty dollars, and who had .'»gair NORRIS THE KIDNAPPER. 54| escaped. Similar revelations were made by other policemen and officers of Nashville. The records of the Army Police Office abound with cases of reported ab- ductions, — one of which may serve as a sample of the remainder. In the pleasant little village — or " city," as it is styled — of Edgefield, just across the Cumberland River from Nashville, resided, before and in the early days of the war, a certain Rev. Dr. McFerran, or, as he was commonly called, Preacher McFerran. The fortunate possessor of a score or more of negroes, he was also otherwise blessed with an abundance of this world's goods. Waxing wealthy and fat, he fared sumptuously every day, until the approach of the Union army, when, having preached the gospel according to Jeff Davis, he found it advisable to travel southward. His departure was considerably hurried, — too much so to allow of his taking with him the larger and more valuable portion of his movable property, — the negroes above mentioned. Left to shift for themselves, they did much as they pleased, — some running away and others remaining. About a year afterward McFerran turned up at Con- nerville, Alabama, and began to think it would be a good idea to have his negroes there too ; they certainly would be worth considerably more than where they were. He accordingly cast about for some means of getting them out of Yankee hands and into his own. He puts himself in communication with one Silas Norris, — a carpenter by trade, living in Edgefield, and who for some years had been acting as constable. Norris being a man that will do any thing for pay, however dirty the job, an arrangement is made between them by which McFerran is to get his negroes, — all that are left of them, seven in number, — and Norris eight hundred dollars. Norris at once begins preparations, and, as a first step, buys a wagon, for which he pays thirty-five dollars. He engages two men — William Bradlove and James Stuart — to go with him, and promises the former one hundred and the latter two hundred dollars for their services. The next thing, and the most difficult, is to catch the negroes and load them into the wagon. They lived in a cabin about two miles from Nashville, outside of the picket-lines. The most feasible plan seemed to be to go in force and capture them at night. Accordingly, he takes with him five men, — some of them armed, — and in the middle of the night makes a descent upon their cabin, and has them in his hands before they fairly know what IS the matter. Four of the men he chains by locking their legs together with trace-chains, and fastens them together by twos. In an adjoining cabin are four other negroes, belonging to James Anderson, son-in-law of McFerran, in three of whom Norris claims to have some interest. While his hand is in, he concludes he may as well take them along too, and they are surprised and secured in the same way. Resistance is vain : yet they sti-uggle as best they can, howling, begging, and imploring not to be taken " down Souf." They might as well appeal to a stone. He knows no mercy, and shows none. Once in the wagon, they are driven off as rapidly as hia four horses can draw them. By twisting and turning from one road to 542 AEMY POLICE RECORD. p!%' Norris kidnapping Negroes, another, he evades the Federal forces, and in about eight days reaches his destination, Huntsville, Alabama, ■when the negroes are turned over to their ministerial master and Norris receives his reward. This -was during the last weeks of December, 18G2. On his return the next month, Norris was arrested, and, after a careful examination, convicted of kidnapping and sent to the military prison at Alton, where he yet remains. His well-merited punishment had a good effect,— largely diminish- ing the number of similar transactions, previously of such common occur- rence ; and the subsequent energetic movements of the Army Police have weilnigh ended the business within the bounds of their operations. PHILLIPS; TEE BOGUS KENTUCKY UNIONIST. 543 Phillips, tlie Bogus Kentucky Unionist. The arrest of the parties mentioned in the sketch headed " The Pseudo Sanders," which will be found on preceding pages, was for a time the town talk. Gossips discussed it in every conceivable aspect, and Rumor found employment for her hundred tongues. The hotels, the steamers, the railways, the bar-rooms, and even the streets of Cairo, Illinois, were full of it. It penetrated the sanctity of private residences, and sat down with their inmates around the family hearth. The doctor and captain were soon recognized, pointed out, and everywhere made the cynosure of wondering eyes. Speculation was busy with their probable fate, and expressions of sympathy or scowling looks of contemptuous indifference greeted them, ac- cording to the character and feelings of those whom they saw and met. Mrs. Ford, too, was not forgotten in all this. Pitied and despised in turn, she was thought and spoken of by many ; but, not being visible to the rabble, she was hardly the object of so much interest as her two companions. Ou the evening following the arrest, while the doctor was comfortably ensconced within an arm-chair in the sitting-room of the St. Charles, he was accosted by a fine-looking, elderly gentleman, who introduced himself as Mr. Phillips, of Louisville, Kentucky. For the liberty thus taken he apologized by sa3nng that he had heard him spoken of as a Confederate sur geon under arrest and in trouble, and that if he could be of any assistance to him he would most cheerfully render it. He lived, he said, three miles from Louisville, just outside of the Federal lines, and was there known as a Union man of the straitest sect, — so much so that General Boyle had given him a pass to come into the city and go out at will. He had taken oaths of allegiance — bitter and detestable as they were—out of policy, and for appearance's sake. His heart, however, was with the South, in whose service part of his family now were. His son-in-law, Dr. Keller, was chief surgeon on Hindman's staff, and his own son held a position in the rebel army. He OAvned a plantation in Mississippi, which had formerly been well stocked with negroes. He had heard, however, while at home, that the Yankees had overrun the plantation and run off the negroes, and that most of them had been brought up the river to Cairo. He had at once procured from General Boyle a pass to Cairo and a letter of introduction to General Tuttle, in which he was endorsed as a sound, thorough-going Union man, in whom all confidence could be placed, and stating also that he was now in search of certain negroes supposed to be in Cairo, and that any assistance rendered him in their recovery would be considered a particular favor by the writer, who regarded it as no more than an act of justice to a loyal man. On lr.3 strength of these representations he had recovered the negroes, and was now only waiting for a boat to take them home with him. In the mean while, if he could be of any service, he had only to mention it. He had some money left, and if it was money the doctor wanted, it was at his command. If there was not enough of it, he would procure more for him. He would sign 544 ARMY POLICE RECORD. a bond, would endorse any statement, would make any sort of representationa to General Tuttle in his behalf, and, with the character given him by his letters of recommendation, he thought he could arrange the matter with the general and procure his release. The doctor thanked him warmly, but said that it would be of no use, as it was beyond the power of General Tuttle to do any thing in the premises. He had been implicated in smuggling contraband goods through the lines, and had been ordered to be sent back to General Rosecrans, to be dealt with for the violation of his parole. His own case was bad enough, to be sure ; but it was not for himself he cared. His life was worth nothing, and he would die any time to serve the Confederacy: it did not matter whether he ever returned to the land of his love. It was not for his own sake he wished it, but to relieve the sufferings and save the lives of his companions-in-arms. There was a great scarcity of all kinds of medicines in the South, and hun- dreds were dying for the want of them. He had hoped, in his poor way, to do something for them, but he had been betrayed by a pretended friend. But even this failure, involving the consequences it did, was a small matter com- pared with the detention of his fellow-traveller. That was a public calamity which it was of the utmost importance to remedy at once ; for, to speak confi- dentially, Captain Denver was not Captain Denver at all, but George N. Sanders, just returning from England with the acceptance of the Confede- rate loan, by the Rothschilds, in his pocket. This he had managed to save from the general confiscation; and if any way could now be devised to get him away and through the lines immediately, all would yet be well, and the Confederacy financially be recognized as an independent nation. As for himself, he had no particular desire to go again to Nashville if it could be avoided, but Sanders must be helped through at all hazards, without refer- ence to himself or anybody else. Some time previously, it will be remembered, the noted George N. Sanders escaped to England through Canada ; and this tale was concocted to correspond with that event and seem plausible. During this narration Phillips was deeply interested, and at its close so much excited that he could hardly speak. After gazing abstractedly for a few moments, he invited the doctor to his room, where they could talk more privately and with less danger. There he repeated that, though professedly Union, he was heart and hand with the South, and always had been. He had aided it at every opportunity, — had smuggled through clothing, medi- cines, arms, and ammunition, had acted as a spy, and when Bragg was threatening Louisville had sent his negroes to him, time and again, with valuable information, and on one very important occasion had gone himself. His earnest professions of loyalty had completely deceived the Federal authorities, and he was trusted by General Boyle as a friend, and the stand- ing thus acquired had made him of considerable service to his Southern friends, and he had expected to continue in his assumed character somewhile longer ; but now he thought he could do more good by throwing off the mask. " Come straight back to Louisville with me," he said. " I will put you PHILLIPS, THE BOGUS KENTUCKY UNIONIST. 545 and Sanders both through, and go myself in the bargain. I am tired of Yankee rule ; don't care a for them, and ask no odds. I've got money enough, every thing I want, and can get along without them. It will be easy enough to get away. Nobody will suspect me, and I can get a pass from Boyle to go anywhere. I've got some of the best horses in the country — can't be beat for speed and bottom ; and we will fix up a light wagon, fill it with medicines most needed, and be away beyond reach before anybody' 11 think of such a thing as pursuit." The doctor assenting, an immediate return to Louisville was agreed upon, where the three were to meet again and make all necessary arrangements for the trip. On reaching that city, the doctor went at once to see General Boyle, when the following colloquy ensued : — " General, do you know a man by the name of Phillips, living some three miles out of town ?" " Oh, yes, very well. He's a particular friend of mine." "Do you know his wife and his daughter Mrs. Dr. Keller?" " Yes, — know the whole family." "What is their position, general, on the war question ?" " Oh, they are loyal. He's one of the very best Union men we have in Kentucky." "Ah ? But, general, what would you think if I should say I had made an arrangement with him to poison you ?" " That you were mad as a March hare." " Well, I don't mean to say that I have exactly any thing of that kind against him ; but I do say that he is not a Union man at all, but, on the con- ti'ary, a rebel and a spy." " How do you know that ?" " Oh, simply enough. He told me so himself; that's all. I met him in Cairo a day or two since, and we had a long talk." (Here the doctor nar- rated the circumstances, and gave the conversation as it occurred.) " I'll fix it upon him in any way you wish. He shall give money to anybody you name, to buy contraband goods and medicines with. He shall leave his house on any night you say, in any kind of a wagon you say. You shall examine that wagon, and in it you shall find contraband goods. You shall arrest him at any point you please, and you will find our man Conkliu [Denver] in the wagon, blacked and disguised as a negro. You shall find upon him letters to Southern rebels ; or you may secrete yourself behind a screen and hear him tell his own story, how he has deceived you, how he smuggled goods through to the rebels times without number, how he kept Bragg informed of what was going on last summer, and how he is now preparing to go South with an amount of medicines, important despatches, &c." " Good God ! Is it possible that he is such a man ? I would have staked my life on his loyalty and good faith. But can't you stay and work the case up for me ?" " I will stay to-morrow and do what I can ; but the next day I must be ia 35 546 ARMY POLICE RECORD. Nashville. I will arrange matters so that your own men can fix the whole thing upon him, but I am expected back day after to-morrow, and dare not stay longer." " I don't like to trust them: it's too important a case. I'll telegraph to the Chief of Police, and, if your business isn't a matter of too much importance, get permission for you to stay a few days. How will that do V " Very well." The doctor then took his leave, and the next morning was shown a despatch authorizing him to remain in Louisville so long as General Boyle should require his assistance. That day Phillips came to see the doctor at the Gait House. The project was discussed more at length, and a plan of operations partially agreed upon. At length Phillips said to the doctor, — • " Do you know my son-in-law. Dr. Keller?" " Very well ; have seen him a hundred times." " Do you know his wife?" "Yes: I met her frequently in Memphis. She was connected with some aid society there, and I saw her often about the hospitals." " Did you ? She's at my house now, and will be crazy to see you." The doctor saw that he was getting himself into a scrape. Known to Mrs. Keller by another name and in another character, how should he meet her now, in new garb and guise, without revealing the deception and frightening away his game ? The only escape from the dilemma was to put a bold face on the matter, and by sheer audacity overcome any difficulties or obstacles that might be thrown in his way by reason of old acquaintance. He would be very happy to meet the lady, he said, but could not call on her. He did not think it wise to leave the hotel, and especially to go beyond the lines. It was only a matter of courtesy that he was allowed the liberty he enjoyed. Charged with breaking his parole, strict military usage would demand close confinement under guard, and he was anxious to do nothing to which the least exception could now be taken. Any further mishap to him would endanger the success of their new enterprise, and it was vitally important that Sanders should get through this time without fail. If his daughter could be induced to call upon him at the Gait House, it would confer a personal favor upon him, and would relieve him from the necessity or temptation of doing any thing incompatible with the terms of his parole and the strictest sense of honor. Phillips acknowledged the justness of this view of the case, and promised that Mrs. Keller should visit him the next day. Sure enough, the next morning in came Mrs. Keller. Hardly had Bhe alighted from her carriage when the doctor welcomed her in his most graceful manner. "How do you do, Mrs. Keller? I am delighted to see you. How well you are looking ! How are the children ? When did you leave Memphis ? How long have you been in Louisville ? When did you hear from Dr. Keller? How did you leave all the friends in Memphis ?" PHILLIPS, THE BOGUS KENTUCKY UNIONIST- 547 And so for full five miautes the doctor Itiunched at her question after question, wita the utmost rapidity of his rapid utterance, scarcely giving her time to hear, much less answer, the first before her attention was called to a second, a third, and so on, until she was so hopelessly confused and per- plcxed that she could say just nothing at all. By the time she had re- covered, the doctor, with diplomatic skill, had diverted the conver-sation into new channels, still giving her no time to advert to their acquaintance in Memphis and the spirit of change which had since come over him. At length, by shrewd management, she edged in this simple question :— " When did you see Dr. Keller last?" The road now being clear, the doctor answered more at leisure, but not less elaborately : — " It has been a good while, — some five or six months. I have been a pri- soner three months or more, and General Hindman had gone to Arkansas some time before I was captured, and I have not seen the doctor since he left with the general." " I had no idea you had been so long a prisoner. How did you happen to be taken ? and how did you escape ?" "We were taken in the Confederate hospital at luka. Ordinarily, sur» geons are not treated as prisoners, but are considered non-combatants. We, however, were retained as hostages for the return of certain Federals im- prisoned by General Price in violation, as the Yankee commander alleged, of the rules of war and the cartel agreed upon by the contending par- ties. A very intimate friend of mine, — Dr. Scott, — also of the Confederate army, and captured with me, married a cousin of the Federal General Stanley ; and through the influence which this relationship gave him we were released on parole, the remainder being still in captivity." The doctor then proceeded with a relation of the occurrences of the past two or three days, dwelling particularly upon the unfortunate detention of Sanders. Mrs. Keller's sympathy was at once excited. She entered warmly into their plans and purposes, and freely offered every assistance that it was in her power to render. She would go herself, but circumstances over which she had no control would not permit it. She had a younger, unmar- ried sister, however, who was very anxious to accompany them, and she would dress her in boy's clothes to avoid suspicion and trouble. Just then Phillips himself came in, flushed with excitement, and eager to be off at once. His whole mind was bent on the enterprise, and he could not be easy until they were fairly started. His arrangements were all perfected, and he knew just where he could buy every thing he wanted; he would take the articles out to his house a few at a time, and nobody would imagine any thing out of the way. He could easily make two trips a day ; and it wouldn't take long at that rate to load the wagon. He wanted every thing ready, so that they could be off at a moment's notice. "Certainly," said the doctor, thoughtfully; "it will be well to have every Ihirg ready. But since I saw you last I've been thinking about this thing of carrying contraband goods with us, and I've about concluded it won't do. 548 ARMY rOLICE RECORD. It is true that the medicines would do an immense amount of good, — possibly save many lives ; but there's Denver: he must be got through, anyhow. It won't do to risk any thing. We must have a sure thing of it this time. Then, again, I don't want to act in bad faith by violating my parole. Our people want such things badly enough, but they must get them in some other way. It will be glory enough for us to get Denver through : 'twill be better than winning a battle ; whole generations will rise up and call ua blessed. Don't let us attempt too much and spoil it all. Better avoid all needless risk, and stick to one thing. We are made men if we succeed in that." But Phillips was not convinced. He didn't believe there was any risk at all, and wasn't going with an empty wagon, — not he. It should be packed as full as it could hold with drugs and other needed goods. He had money, and was going to use it ; and if he, the doctor, was afraid to go with him, he might find some other means of getting there. To this, the doctor only replied that he still thought it unwise, but he was not the man to back out of any enterprise. Still, he would not violate his parole, — would not knowingly engage in any contraband trade. But Denver was under no such restraint, and, said the doctor, — " You had better talk with him. He knows just what is wanted. He's a mild, quiet fellow, however, and never intrudes himself upon anybody's notice. lie wouldn't think of suggesting such a thing; but if you furnish him money he'll buy just what can be used to the best advantage. He can buy and you can load the goods ; but I don't want to know any thing about them. You can be ready to start on such a day, and I will meet you at some station on the railroad and take passage with you there." Phillips was satisfied with this, and at once sought out Denver and gave him one hundred and fifty-five dollars, — all the money he had with him, — directed him to a particular store where he could get all the quinine, &c. that he wanted, told him to buy as mvich as he thought best and pay this money down as an earnest of good faith in making the purchase. In the mean while he would draw from the bank as much more as would be needed, and with it he could settle the bill the next day. Denver went as directed, but found that the merchant would sell him nothing without a special permit from General Boyle. This was reported to the doctor, who promised to have that obstacle removed without delay While Phillips and Denver are arranging other matters, the doctor goes to General Boyle, reports progress, and asks him to issue a permit for the sale of the quinine. The general hesitates, doesn't exactly like to do it, and finally asks if they can't mark some boxes " quinine," nail them up, load them into his wagon, and have them found there when arrested. "But no," he continues: "that won't do at all. He'd beat us in that game. We couldn't show that he had any thing contraband in his wagon. Of course he'd deny it, and it would be necessary for us to prove it. Can't we borrow enough to answer our purposes ?" " Possibly ; but it would be better for the Government to buy it, if you MOORE AND BLUE, THE SCOUTS. 549 won't let him do it. It would be worth more than five or six hundred dollars to get rid of such an arrant old traitor and spy." " I guess we can get along by borrowing." The borrowing project very nearly defeated the whole matter, by the delaj incurred ; but the quinine was finally obtained, given to Denver, and safely packed in Phillips's wagon. Every thing was now ready for a start. The doctor took the cars for the place of meeting, and Phillips set out in his wagon, Denver, disguised as a negro, driving. The doctor arrived safely at the appointed rendezvous ; but not so Phillips. He was scarcely well started when he was arrested and brought back to Louisville. Too proud and haughty to betray the least emotion, there was no "scene" at any time during his arrest or examination, and he vouchsafed not a word in his own behalf. Defence there could be none. His guilt was too patent for doubt. Conviction followed as a matter of course ; and, instead of finding a home on his Mississippi plantation, he became an involuntary recipient of the widely- dispensed hospitalities of Camp Chase. Moore and Blue, tlie Scouts. Romance in real life is not less abundant than in novels. The history of many a man unknown to fame, if written and published, would prove in- finitely more fascinating to the reader than thousands of the pages of fiction so eagerly devoured. In times of peace these heroes of unwritten adventure are seldom withdrawn from the quiet into which they have settled, and the story of their lives — told only to a few friends — passes at their death, with all its wonder and romance, into the great storehouse of unremembered things. Not so in these days of war. The active, the bold, and the daring have opened to them an unlimited field for the exercise of their peculiar characteristics. They are brought into contact with thousands to whom tliey would otherwise never have been known, their history is told and heard, and ultimately finds its way to the public in the columns of the newspaper or the pages of the book. Thus has it been with the two whose names head this chapter. Theirs has been a strange, varied, and sometimes lawless life. Too-ether they have wandered over many wild and unknown regions, passed through many scenes of interest and danger, and, by the experience and sa"-acity thus acquired, made themselves of no little service to their conntry during the present war. Firm and constant friends in all their adventures and trials, their story is not less remarkable for its intrinsic interest than as that of a modern Damon and Pythias. In 185G two young men — Frank M. Blue, formerly of Michigan, but now from Illinois, and Henry W. Moore, of Brooklyn, New York — met in Leaven- worth City, Kansas, whither they had come for the purpose of pre-empting land in that Territory. Taking a fancy to each other, they set out for the F 550 ARMY POLICE RECORD. interior in company. At Ossawatamie they met John Brown, joined him in scouting after border-ruffians, and participated in the fight at Hickory Point, where Brown, his son, and twenty-seven men routed forty of them strongly posted in a blacksmith's shop, by backing up against it a load of hay and burning them out. Leaving Brown, they nest went to Jennison's camp at Mound City, which was made in such a shape as to resemble a group of hay-stacks. While here, they, in company with eight others, crossed the Missouri River, surprised the town of Rushville, captured thirty border- ruffians and a number of the citizens, broke their guns, and carried away their horses, money, watches, &c. Afterwards they joined the Utah Expe- dition under General A. S. Johnston, and with it went through to Salt Lake City. Leaving there on their own responsibility, the fame of the Mexican silver-mines attracted them to Puebla, where they remained four months in company with a mixed crowd of miners, Indians, and Mexican peons. Having accumulated a considerable amount of silver, the spirit of adventure led them to Santa Fe, where, some of the party getting themselves into a dif- ficulty, a hasty flight northward became necessary. Procuring a Mexican boro (jackass), and loading him with a few crackers and their personal efiects, they set out for Fort Union, one hundred miles distant. Here they procured a mule and crossed over to Bent's Fort, where they joined the Kiowa Expedition under Major Sedgwick. Returning from this, they pro- ceeded to Camp Floyd, and thence across Kiowa Pass to Pike's Peak, where they "jumped" a claim and went to mining. Here they spent the summer, and in the fall hired to Joe Doyle, a Mexican trader and ranchero, to go down the Waifoma River and oversee his peons and take charge of his herds. Remaining all winter on his ranch, they went again next spring to Leavenworth, and hired as riders to the California Overland Ex- press Company, in which business they remained until the outbreak of the rebellion. "With the prospect of active sen-ice, they could not stand idly by and see others engaged, and accordingly recruited ten men, with whom they joined Captain William Cleaveland's independent company for the defence of the Kansas border. Their first exploit was a dash into De Kalb, Missouri, where they captured twelve or fourteen prisoners and forty horses and mules. A large party, however, pursued them, overtook and captured them at Atkinson's Ferry, carried them to St. Joseph, and lodged them in jail. The good people of St. Joseph were very anxious to have them tried and sent to the penitentiary at once; but there was no court in session, and the only recourse was to lock them up in the jail, where they did not remain long. The guard was made drunk with drugged whiskey, the negro cook was bribed with a twenty-dollar gold piece to steal the keys from the jailer, the door was unlocked at midnight, and the whole party walked out just ten days after they had been incarcerated. One John Seelover, a friend, had a skiff near at hand to cross them over the river, and a conveyance on the other side to take them to Atchison the same night. The next nigh+, nothing daunted by their recent jail-experience, the same party crossed in a flat-beat to MOORE AND BLUE, THE SCOUTS. 551 Missouri, captured from the rebel farmers horses enough to mount them- selves, and returned again, after giving the people thereabouts a good scare. The evening following, a negro came to their head-quarters at Pardee, eight miles from Atchison, and said that his rebel master, John Wells bj name, and living twelve miles south of St. Joseph, was to leave the next morning for Price's army with two wagon-loads of goods and a cofBn full of arms. The company started over immediately, the negro acting as guide. The rebel was found, and so were the goods, consisting of bacon, flour, sugar, voffee, tobacco, whiskey, powder and lead, but no arms. Demand was made fur the latter, but the prisoner denied having any. A lariat was then thrown over his neck and drawn tight for a few minutes, when he disclosed their place of concealment, — a newly-made grave, with head and foot board, — in which were found twenty stand of ^rms of all kinds, and a box of pistols, all of which were taken to Fort Leavenworth and turned over to the United States Government. Many otlier expeditions were made, until Cleaveland and his band were known and feared all over that country. On one of these it was ascertained that Major Ilart, of Price's army, was at his home, fifteen miles from Weston, with ten men. The company immediately set forth to capture them, a woman — Mrs. Chandler — acting as guide. The major, his men, and the Btock on his farm, were taken and carried to Geary City, Kansas, where the stock was j ust put away and twelve men left as a guard over the prisoners, when forty Missourians rode up and demanded their surrender. Chandler, who stood in the porch, said they would never surrender, — when he was shot dead, eleven bullets being found in his body. His wife and the remainder fired from the house, and picked them off so fast that they were compelled to retire to Fort Leavenworth, eight miles distant, whence they brought up a company of the ] st Missouri Cavalry, under Captain Fuller, to their assist- ance, and finally succeeded in capturing the little garrison. They were taken to the fort, and, no one appearing against them, were speedily released by Major Prince, of the U. S. Regulars, commanding the post. Not long after this, IMoore, Blue, William Tuff of Baltimore, and Cleaveland, dashed into Kansas City and levied a contribution of some thirty-three hundred dollars in coin upon two secession bankers who had rebel flags Q.jing at their windows. They were pursued, but made their escape, divided the money equally, and all four went to Chicago to spend it, which they did most liberally, and in June, 1861, returned to Leavenworth. Here Moore and Blue, who had become fast friends, separated, the latter going into Missouri on several jayhawking expeditions, and the former acting as guide to General Sturgis and participating in the battles of Dug Spring and Wilson Creek. Moore relates many interesting adventures which befell bim while thus engaged, of which one is here given as an illustration of his shrewdness and. foresight. Having been sent by General Lyon to ascertain about certain guerrillas that were lurking about the country, he dressed him- selt in butternut uniform and set out. Thinking, however, that he might be captured on the trip, he deternained to avail himself of a trick ha 552 ARMY POLICE RECORD. had somewhere read of, which -was to take a large minie hall, cat the top off, liollow it out, and then take the other part and make of it a screw to fit on again, thus forming a kind of little box. He then took a piece of parch- ment paper, and, writing on it in a peculiar hand a commission in the secret service of the Confederate army, and signing to it the name of General Price, enclosed it in the bullet, screwed it up, and started on again. lie had gone but a little way when, sure enough, he fell into the hands of Sy Gordon's guerrilla band, who proposed hanging him at once. Gordon told him he had orders to hang all such suspicious characters as he was, and that he should do it. Moore replied that he had very little to say, but he wished he would do him the favor to take that bullet to General Price after he had hung him. Gordon seemed much amused at so trifling a request, and said to his prisoner that he must be either cr^zj or a fool. When informed that there was more about the bullet than he had any idea of, ho insisted tliat he should be shown what it was ; but Moore refused, saying that he was sworn to say nothing about it. Gordon was non-plussed for a while, but, examining the bullet very closely, soon saw the trick, unscrewed the top, and took out and read the contents. Turning to Moore, he told him he was " all right,'^ and furnished him with a better horse than he then had, on which he at once started back. On arriving at camp, he related his adventure, whereupon a body of cavalry was sent out in pursuit, and the next day succeeded in cap- turing a number of the band. Late in the fall Moore and Blue again met in Leavenworth, and both went towards Springfield as guides and spies for Lane and Sturgis's commands. On Christmas-day both were sent by General Steele into Price's camp, whither they went, and returned on January 3, 1SG2. Four miles from Warsaw they found Christmas was being celebrated by a ball, at which many rebel ofiicers were present. In company with some rebel teamsters, they devised a plan to scare these officers off, and secure to themselves the field and the girls, by rushing up to the house and shouting, at the top of their voices, " The Foils are coming ! the Feds are coming !" The plan worked admirably : the officers rushed away in hot haste, — one even falling into the well, — and our plotters were left in full possession of the premises. Coming back to Sedalia. they were engaged by Colonel Weir as guides. Going ahead one day to select a camping-ground, they came to a house where was a man very hospitably inclined, asking them to stop, put up their horses and feed them with corn, of which he had plenty, llepresenting that they had been pressed into the service, but were in heart with the rebels, their entertainer grew confidential, and told them something about himself, — that he acted as a spy, carried despatches wrapped in a cigar, &c. The information thus obtained from him contributed to the capture, by General Pope, at Blackwater, of thirteen hun- dred rebels with all their equipments. They accompanied General Pope on his expedition to Warrensburg, where he captured Colonel Parke's rebel force, and then returned to Kansas, where they jayhawked for a month or two. Going again to Missouri, they learned that Quantrill's guerrilla band was in the vicinity of Independence. With eleven comrades, they W04it MOORE AND BLUE, THE SCOUTS. 553 there, captured the town, quartered themselves in the court-house, and badly frightened the people, who thought, of course, that they were only the advance-guard of a larger body behind. Quautrill soon came into the place with forty-five men, and demanded their surrender. This Avas refused, and a skirmish commenced, the occupants of the court-house firing out of the doors and windows, and finally succeeding in dispersing the besiegers, who went ofi" for reinforcements. The thirteen now thought it best to retire, which they did, skirmishing for one and a half miles to a stone fence, when the guerrillas mounted. The jayhawkers now ensconced themselves behind the fence. Holding their position until dusk, they then scattered, having killed five and wounded seven of the guerrillas. Pursuit was made by the latter ; but the darkness enabled them to escape, and they soon put an eff"ectual end to it by cutting the telegraph-wire and stretching it across the road from fence to fence. The twain now joined Generals Curtis and Sigel as couriers, and made several dangerous trips between the army and Rolla, carrying despatches each way, on one of which Blue was taken prisoner and held as such for six weeks. Both accompanied General Curtis in his terrible march through Arkansas to Helena, and met with many stirring adventures by the way. One day while they were riding in company with Newton Blue, a brother of Frank and also a scout, they came suddenly upon five rebels in a lane, with whom they stopped and talked for some time, representing themselves as Southern men. The rebels soon heard a bugle behind them, however, and, suspecting that all was not right, made a charge upon our scouts, vrho killed three of them and captured their horses, the remaining two falling into the hands of the Federal advance. At Helena they engaged in buying cotton for the speculators, and in one of their excursions were captured by the guerrillas. Pretending to be rebels, they joined a portion of Jeff Thompson's gang, and, remaining with them eleven days, obtained much information concerning him. Having had enough of guerrilla life, they planned an escape, in this wise. An old negro, of whom they knew, was just going into Helena with a load of cotton for sale. By him they sent word to General Steele of an arrangement which had been made to rob him on his return of the pro- ceeds of the cotton. The message was carried and delivered faithfully, and on his way back the negro was robbed, as proposed, of his eleven hundred dollars in greenbacks, which were found hidden away in his boots ; but just as the thirty-one guerrillas were dividing the spoils, the second battalion of the 1st Missouri Cavalry came up and captured the whole party, all of whom were subsequently sent to St. Louis as prisoners. From Helena Moore and Blue next went to Columbia, and then to Corinth, where they detected and arrested two counterfeiters, making a great haul of counterfeit St. Louis city treasury warrants and gold dollars, both of which were well executed. Accompanying Colonel Truesdail's police force to Louis- ville, they there played the rebel, and hunted out Palmer and Estes, who burned the ammunition-steamers at Columbus and were afterwards sent to (^amp Chase. With our army they came on to Nashville, and afterwards 554 ARMY POLICE RECORD. ran as mail-messengers, — a very dangerous service. Getting on the track of a baud of guerrillas between Bowling Green and Nashville, they piloted a cavalry force to the neighborhood, and captured a considerable number, who were brought to Nashville and were properly dealt with. They next made a successful spy-trip to Murfreesborough, going by way of Lavergne and crossing at Sanders's Ferry. Dr. Goodwin, of the rebel army, whom they had fallen in with on the way, vouched for them, and they passed the pickets into the town readily enough. Once in, they made the circuit of the town and camps, obtaining all the information they could, and then began to think of getting back. It was arranged that Moore should go to Chattanooga for further observation, while Blue would return to Nashville and report what they had already seen and heard. With this understanding, both went at once to the provost-marshal's office for passes. At that time Captain William Brenton was provost-marshal, whom they found somewhat cral)bed and chary of words. Making known their wants, they were saluted in tliis manner : — " Want a pass to Chattanooga, do you ? Lots of people in that fix. What d'ye want to go there for ?" " We want to join Jack Jones's cavalry company," replied Moore, at a venture, who had heard of such a company. " If that's all you want, you needn't go to Chattanooga for it. Jones and his company are here now." This was a new and not pleasing phase of affairs ; and, to add to their diffi- culty. Captain Brenton called Jones in at once, and told him here were two men who wished to join his company, and he'd better have them sworn in right away. Fairly caught in their own trap, there was no escape, and, trusting the future to good luck, they yielded to their fate, and were sworn in. Three days afterwards, they with three others were detailed to duty on the second picket-line, and determined to take advantage of this opportunity and make their escape. Some distance from their station was a house where whiskey could be obtained at exorbitant prices ; and Moore and Blue proposed to their companions that if they would go and get the whiskey they would pay for it, and guard the post during their absence. This was agreed to ; and the whiskey-seekei's were hardly out of sight when our two scouts rode off in hot haste to the outer pickets, two guards being on duty in the road, the remainder of the pickets being near by at their fire, and their horses tied close at hand. They were accosted by the guard with the usual — " Halt ! who comes there ?" " Friends, with the countersign !" was the answer. " Dismount; advance, one, and give the countersign," was now the order. Our scouts had foreseen this, and planned accordingly. Hence they rode up briskly to the pickets ; and while they pulled and tugged upon the bridle- reins to hold in their fiery steeds, the spurs upon their heels were doing equally good service in urging the animals forward, and they could not be stopped until abreast of the pickets and nearly touching their opposing muskets. Moore then leaned forward, without dismounting, as if to give *^^he MOORE AND BLUE, THE SCOUTS. 555 password, and suddenly jerked to one side the bayonet and loaded gun of the nearest guard, while with his other hand he shot him dead with his pistol, suddenly drawn from his holster. The ball penetrated the forehead, the guard falling over backward, his mouth wide opened. Blue at the same time drew a pistol and shot the other guard dead in his tracks, and away they flew down the road, and were speedily lost in the darkness and distance. The rest of the rebel pickets did not pursue them, but our scouts could hear them shout after them long and loudly, "Oh, you infernal Yan- kees I" &c. &c. The scouts soon took to the woods, travelling all night in the direction of Nashville, and meeting with no further adventure until soon after sunrise, when one of them espied a moving object in their front, at a considerable distance. A second glance revealed it to be a " butternut," with gun in hand, who at that instant glided behind a tree and took delibe- rate aim at them. Our scouts, who were also in butternut, were not taken aback. Keeping on at an easy horse-walk, and apparently noticing no one, one of them begins to sing, in a brisk, cheery voice, a verse of the " Dixie" song, ending, — " In a Southern land I'll take my stand, And live and die in Dixie," &o. As they neared the butternut, he was observed to lower his gun and emerge from behind the tree. When abreast, he accosted the twain : — " Halloo, boys ! which way ?" "All right! — taking a little scout this morning," was the answer. The " butternut," who was a rebel scout or guerrilla, was now near them, unsuspecting, and inclined to be inquisitive and sociable, his gun over his shoulder. But our men were in haste, and had a vivid remembrance of that previous moment when he had drawn a bead on them, in such a cold-blooded manner, from behind the tree. One of them draws his revolver as quick as thought and shoots him dead ; and again they ride forward briskly for a while, and eventually reach the Federal lines near Nashville in safety, but through dangers to be feared upon every hand, from behind each tree, or rock, or bush, — as they were traversing debatable land, between two great contend- ing- armies, and known to be swarming with scouts, spies, and troops, and especially rebel guerrillas or " partisan rangers." Acting as secret policemen and detectives, they now assisted in develop- ino- several important cases, a full mention of which would fill many pages of this work. Occasionally they varied their daily routine by acting as guides to cavalry expeditions, in which they rendered eflScient service. One of their adventures in Nashville is worth relating. After the battle of Stone River large numbers of rebel prisoners were sent to the city and allowed their parole, whereupon the wealthy secessionists of the place seized every'opportunity to feed, clothe, and encourage them. One dav, as Moore and Blue were walking down High Street in the dress of Con- federate prisoners, they were invited into an elegant residence and were kindly entertained by Miss Hamilton, one of the reigning belles of Nashville. Conversation naturally ensued concerning the relative merits and demerits of 556 ARMY POLICE RECORD. the North and South, in tho course of which Miss Hamilton saiil slie had done every tiling in her power to aid the Southern cause. She had sent letters of encouragement, she said, and also a Southern flag, through the lines. She told them of an old Irishwoman who was in the habit of carrying out goods in a market-wagon which had a false bottom. She said, too, that Governor Andy Johnson once had her brought before him and gave her a severe lecturing, but she soon talked him over, and persuaded him into giving her a pass to go two miles out of the city to see her aunt, and that when once beyond the lines she went to the rebel army at Murfreesborough. She further said that a Mrs. Montgomery, who lived two miles out on the Franklin pike, had taken out more goods than anybody else in Nashville. "When she went to Murfreesborough she took out with her letters, and had given to Southern soldiers coming into Nashville large quantities of clothing, and finally demonstrated her good will by presenting Moore with a fine pair of pants and other clothing and a pair of new boots. In return for these acts of kindness, Colonel Truesdail sent her the following letter of thanks : — "Office Chikf Army Police, January 10, 1863. "Miss Hamilton, High Street: — " Dear Miss : — Please accept my grateful acknowledgment for your kindness — ■ during the arrival of a large number of Confederate prisoners in the city from the battle of Stone River, and their stay here — in calling into your beautiful residenee one of my secret police, and for the kind and benevolent treatment you extended to him. Also for the new suit of clothes and the cavalry boots given him, the valuable information of your labors in the Confederate cause furnished to him, and the know- ledge afforded me of your persevering energy as a spy and smuggler. I shall endeavor to profit by it, and may have occasion to send another ofiicer to you. "Respectfully, "William Truespail, " Chief Army Police." After this they accompanied a cavalry police expedition for the purpose of capturing Captains Young and Scruggs, — the leaders of a band of guerrillas on White's Creek, who were a terror to the whole country. They were at the house of an old man named McNeill, which was surrounded and a demand made for Young and Scruggs. There being some sixty troops to back the demand, the old man did not dare to deny their presence, and, without deigning any reply, turned at once, went into the house, and bolted the door. This slight bai-rier was speedily broken down, and the crowd rushed in. Search was made everywhere, — down stairs and up, under beds, in chimneys, and under the floor ; but neither Young nor Scruggs was found. As a last resort, they went to the girls' bedrooip ; and there — in bed, between two full-grown young women — the valiant Young was found snugly hidden away. He was unceremoniously dragged out, and Scruggs in the mean while having been found in a hay-loft, both were taken to Nashville, and are now in the penitentiary at that place, awaiting their trial. For the last five months Moore and Blue have been constantly engaged in TRAINOR, THE TRAITOR AVAGON-MASTER. 557 the investigation and development of many minor cases; and both look forward to yet many days of adventure for themselves and of usefulness to the Government, Trainor, the Traitor "Wagon-Master. In the early part of February, 1863, there was boarding at the City Hotel, in Nashville, a lady of ordinary appearance and apparently about forty-five years of age. Her husband and three sons were in the rebel Mor- gan's command, and she was known by the proprietors of the house and by Mrs. "VYinburn — the wife of one of them — as entertaining strong sympathy for the Confederate cause. In reality, however, she was a Union woman, and in the employ of Colonel Truesdail, Chief of the Army Police. From the position of her relatives, and her former place of residence, aided by her expression of Southern sentiments, she was considered a genuine secession- ist, and had completely won the favor of Mrs. Winburn, by whom she was made a friend and confidante. Mrs. W. told her on several occasions how much aid she and others of her lady friends had rendered to the Confederates, and how much more they intended to do for them. When visitors arrived at the City Hotel and made known their Southern sympathies, she was in- troduced to them as entertaining the same sentiments, and at once admitted to their confidence and councils. In this way she learned the existence there of a club, or rather association of persons, of rebel tendencies, the members of which made use of a certain password, without which none could gain admittance to their meetings, and this password was "Truth and Fidelity." About the middle of February there arrived at the hotel from Louisville a certain Mrs. Trainbr, who was there joined by her husband, John Trainor, — the latter understood to have formerly been master of transportation in the Ordnance Department of Major-General Buell's army. Mrs. Trainor was introduced by Mrs. "Winburn to her confidential friend our detective as one who had at heart the welfare of the Southern Confederacy, and Mrs. Trainor presented her to Trainor, her husband, saying that he too was a friend of the South and ardently desired its success in the struggle for in- dependence. This interview proved the precursor of many others, in which Trainor and his wife made many interesting statements concerning them- selves and the assistance which they had rendered to the rebel army. From Trainor she thus gained the following remarkable information. In the fall of 1861, he said, he had run the Federal blockade and brought from Louisville to Nashville, for the use of the Confederate army, several wagon- loads of arms, ammunition, drugs, and medicines. These he had purchased in Louisville, — the arms and ammunition from a Mr. Bull, and the drugs and medicines from Dr. Pile. While in N'ashville on this business, he made the acquaintance of General ZoUicofier, who advised him to abandon the 558 ARMY POLICE RECORD. neutral position he then occupied in regard to the yvav and engage in the service of the Confederates. This he agreed to do ; and, the Letter to accom- plish his ends, he was to obtain the position of Master of Transportation in the Ordnance Department of the Federal army. On his return to Louisville he had applied for the situation, t\'hich was given to him. Since then he had improved the advantages it offered, by following the Federal army down into Alabama with wagon-loads of contraband goods, which, according to previous arrangement, he disposed of at different places. During the whole Buell campaign the rebels knew, at all times, the strength of the escort which accompanied him, and if they did not capture his train it was not his fault. In the different skirmishes between the two armies he so managed that his train was never in its right place, and frequently the rebels would capture a portion of it, but would not take him prisoner, as it would be against their own interests to do so. He regretted very much that the Confederates had not captured a train of one hundred and sixteen wagons, once under his charge, while General Buell was on his march to Kentucky in September last. He had requested Mrs. Winburn to inform Generals Morgan and Forrest where they could find the train and how many men the escort numbered. This she did ; and he was so sure they would capture the train that he took Mrs. "Winburn and his wife along for some distance from Nashville to see the fun of the capture. He had with him a young man — formerly in the Confederate army, but at that time in his employ — wlio was so disappointed because the train was not captured that he blew up and destroyed twenty-five of the wagons as they were passing over a certain bridge, and this, he said, was done with his own knowledge and consent, and partially at his suggestion. After General Rosecrans assumed command of the Army of the Cumber- land, Trainor said he began to purchase from Federal officers and soldiers, and from others who would sell them, pistols for General Wheeler, Dick McCann, and the guerrilla bands in the country. Some of them he carried to the rebels himself, and the balance he sent by a man named Nevins, who lived in Kentucky and had a contract to furnish cattle to the Federal army. This Nevins usually had with him some of Morgan's men, through whom he kept the Confederates continually informed of the number and move- ments of Federal troops along the line of the Louisville & Nashville Rail- road, and he had acted as guide for Kirby Smith when the latter invaded Kentucky last fall. Trainor further said that he (Trainor) now had charge of the army transportation at Nashville, and that about the time of the battles at Stone River he was in the rebel camp and gave information. At this the lady remarked, — "That accounts for the success of the Confederates in capturing so many of the Federal wagons." " You may come to what conclusion on that subject you please," answered Trainor, The young man, he continued, who was with him at the time of Buell's retreat and blew up the twenty-five wagons, was still in his employ ; and one TRAINOB; THE TRAITOR WAGON-MASTER. 659 night not long since, by his management, five hundred mules belonging to the United States had stampeded and mysteriously disappeared from their corral. Many other interesting things which the young man had done for the benefit of the Confederate Government Trainor related with relish, and seemed desirous to impress upon the mind of his hearer that he himself was at all times anxious to serve the rebels and injure the Federal Government in every possible way. Seeing this disposition on his part, she suggested that he could now do more good by purchasing arms, quinine and other medicines for the use of the Confederate army than in any other way, and adding that she had a friend in Louisville who was a secret agent for that very purpose, and who would assist him in getting them South. Trainor replied that he had then on hand one and a half pounds of quinine and two or three splendid pistols, which he would like to send South, and that he could procure any quantity of pistols if the money was furnished to purchase them. The lady then proposed to buy his pistols and quinine, if lie would deliver them to her friend in Louisville, wlio would send them through the lines. Trainor assented, and sold her the quinine and four pistols, for which he received from her two hundred dollars. He also proposed to, and did, write to Mr. Bull and Dr. Pile, of Louisville, requesting them to furnish the secret agent above mentioned such quantity of quinine, pistols, and knives as he might wish, for the Confederate service. He further said that he had a friend by the name of Kellogg, in whom he had confidence, and for whom he had obtained a pass and transportation to Louisville, and that he would send the quinine and pistols by him, instead of by his wife, as had been previously arranged. Implicit faith could be reposed in Kellogg, as he had recently engaged in running horses to the Confederacy, and was now trying to assist a rebel prisoner to escape from the penitentiary. His friend Mr. Bull, continued Trainor, had a brother who was chief clerk in the Quartermaster's Department of the Union army, and as good a secessionist as his brother, and who had a much better chance to serve the South than he had. He thought the Federals would have a good time whipping the Confederates, when many of the important offices of the different army departments were filled by friends of the latter. The reason assigned for sending the quinine and pistols to the South by the way of Louisville was that it afforded less chance of detection than to send directly from Nashville, as the Federal army had a vigilant police, and it was almost impossible to get them through the lines in that direction. Accordingly, as agreed, Trainor, about the middle of March, did send to Louisville, by his friend Kellogg, the quinine and pistols that had been purchased of him, and which, on their arrival, were delivered to the supposed secret agent of the Confederacy, as will hereafter be related. About the same time there arrived at the City Hotel a gentleman repre- senting himself as Dr. Dubois, an agent of the Confederate States Army, and just from Bragg's command. As he had with him. a genuine pass, signed by General Bragg and countersigned by General Breckinridge, his state- 560 ARMY POLICE RECORD. ment was readily accepted as true by the proprietors of the hotel and its habitues. For nearly a week after his arrival he was confined to his room by a severe sickness, during which he was carefully nursed by Mrs. Wiuburn. As soon as recovered, he was introduced by Mrs. W. to Trainor, as a friend of hers who had just come to Nashville from Bragg's army to purchase medicines and goods to be sent South through the Federal lines. Dubois at once expressed his desire of purchasing pistols and medicines, and requested Trainor to assist him. Trainor eagerly assented, and said, " I will furnish you nine." "But I want and must have more." "Well, I will get them for you, and will leave them at Mrs. Davidson's, six miles out on the Charlotte pike. Some of my army-wagons are going out that way after wood, and I can easily carry them with me." Mrs. Winburn had previously sold Dubois three pistols, for which she had been promised twenty-five dollars each, two of which Trainor took with him to his camp to add to those he had there, and to take them all out together as soon as possible. Dubois said that he would conceal in the muzzle of the third pistol important information, written in cipher, and a letter to General Cheatham, telling him that a lot of pistols -had been procured through the influence of Captain Trainor, and were now on their way South, to which was added a request that he would set Trainor right with the Confederates when they got possession of Nashville. This pistol Trainor called for and carried away the next evening, but on the day following returned and said that he was totally unable to carry them out to Mrs. Davidson's, as he had expected to. Dubois then told him he had a friend who would take them out, and he might bring them back to the hotel, — which he agreed to do the next evening. He came as he had promised, bringing with him eight revolvers on his person, some of them in his waist-belt and some in his boot-legs. As he handed them over, and while Dlibois was putting them under the blanket on the bed, he remarked that he had on several occasions taken out on his person as many pistols as he had just brought in. Mrs. Winburn, who waa present, boasted that she had taken out four blankets on her person, and that a lady friend had carried out beneath her skirts, in the same way, a cavalry saddle. While this conversation was still progressing, all parties, including Mrs. Winburn, Trainor, and Dubois, were arrested, the latter being ironed and sent out, — ostensibly to prison, but more probably to some other field of operations, where his skill in detecting rebel smugglers and spies might be made equally useful. Mrs, Trainor had already returned to Louisville, and had been there some days. The medicines which had been forwarded by Kellogg were in her possession, and she was anxiously awaiting a visit from the secret agent of the Confederacy, to whom she could deliver them and make with him arrangements for the purchase of more. She had been telegraphed by her Nashville friends that he would call on her in a few days ; and, as some- time had elapsed since the receipt of the despatch, she began to wonder why Uo TRAINOR, THE TRAITOR WAGON-MASTER. 561 did not come. One day, as she was returning in a carriage to her house, in what is known as California Suburb, on Fifteenth Street beyond Kentucky Street, she espied coming from it a well-dressed, handsome-appearing young man, who wore conspicuously a large red-white-and-red cravat. As he came opposite to the carriage, he hailed the driver, and asked, — *' How far are you going V " Just to yonder house," replied the coachman, — pointing to Mrs. Train- or's, the house he had just come from. " Very well : I will wait here for you, then, and go back with you." During the time occupied in this colloquy, and as long as she could see him from the carriage-window, Mrs. Trainor eyed him earnestly, as though she suspected he was the person she was so anxious to see. Nothing was said, however, and on reaching home she went in and found on the table a note for her from one H. C. Davis, stating that he was the secret agent of tlie Confederacy, that he had just called to see about the medicines, and was sorry to find her out. The signature to the note was "Truth and Fidelity," — a sure guarantee that there was no deception in the matter. Meanwhile the coach had returned to where the prospective passenger was left standing. when that gentleman took his seat inside and directed the di'iver to turn around and go again to the house he had just left. Mrs. Trainor met Davis at the door and welcomed him most cordially. Holding out her hand, she said, — " I thought as much. I was sure it was you when I first put my eye on you." "Why, madam, what could have made you think so?" " Oh, tliat cravat ! Nobody else would wear it. But you must be careful about it. It isn't safe. You'll be suspected." "Oh, I guess there's no danger. I have friends enough in Louisville to take care of me." The two then entered the house and engaged in earnest conversation. Davis said that he was just about shipping some goods to the South, and he would like to send what medicine she could furnish along with them. He made it a practice to make as few shipments as possible, in order to avoid suspicion. It was all ready, she said, and he might have it as soon as he wished. Davis made arrangements to have them delivered at an appointed time, and proposed the purchase of a large quantity in addition to that she had brought from Nashville. She entered eagerly into the business, and said she would ascertain at what prices she could obtain quinine, morphine, and pulverized opium. The next day she reported that she could get them from a man named Tafel, who kept a small prescription-store, — the quinine for six dollars an ounce, the morphine at eight dollars an ounce, and the pul- verized opium at fourteen dollars a pound. Davis thought this rather high, but said he would take them at that price. He wanted a thousand ounces t f quinine and smaller quantities of the others. After making arrange- ments for the purchase of the medicines and a supply of pistols, — which was 36 562 ARMY POLICE RECORD. to be furnished by Mr. Bull at thirty dollars each, — Davis Avent to the city to prepare for their shipment South. The next evening he called again to invite Mrs. Trainer to the theatre, and Tvas told that there was a diflSculty about the medicines. Tafel was fearful that he could not make so large a purchase on his individual credit, and that he wished the money advanced to buy them with. Davis replied that he never did business in that way. He would pay cash on delivery, and if Tafel could not furnish them on those terms they must look elsewhere, Mrs. Trainor thought there would be no difficulty about it. Tafel was to procure them of a wholesale druggist named AVilder, and the matter could doubtless be arranged to the satisfaction of all concerned. In fact, she could safely promise that it should be ready by the next afternoon. At his next visit, Davis was told that the medicines had been purchased, and were ready for delivery, when and where he pleased. He wished them delivered at her house, he said, early the next morning. He was all ready to ship, and was only waiting for them. Mrs. Trainor engaged that they should be there without fail, and Davis returned to the city, having first arranged with a Federal soldier whom he found at her house — a deserter from the Anderson Cavalry — to go South and act as a scout for General Breckinridge in his expected movement into Kentucky, The next morning, instead of himself coming to receive the goods as he had promised, he sent out a force of policemen, who reached there just as the wagon containing the medicines drove up to the door, Mrs. Trainor, the driver, and the deserter were taken into custody, and the former was sent immediately to Nashville. The wagon was found to contain drugs — mostly quinine and opium — to the value of about five thousand five hundred dollars according to the wholesaler's bill, and eight thousand eight hundred dollars at Tafel's prices. The pistols did not come. Bull having failed to procure them. Wilder and Bull were also arrested, and the store of the former seized, with its contents, valued at from fifty thousand to seventy-five thousand dollars, Tafel's prescription-shop was converted by General Boyle into a medical dispensary for the hospitals of Louisville, and is now used as such. Since her arrest, Mrs. Trainor has been heard to say that she was fearful that secret agent of the Confederacy was only "one of Trues- dail's spies," in which supposition she was more than usually correct, he being no other than our old friend Newcomer, who played so important a part in many of the cases here and elsewhere recorded. The following statement of the army policeman who was sent from Nash- ville to Louisville to arrest Mrs. Trainor and her cotemporaries and abettors in crime sheds additional light upon this remarkable and important case: — "As per instructions of Chief of Army Police, at Nashville, I proceeded to the house of Mr. John Trainor, in Louisville, Kentucky, where I arrested Mrs. Trainor, Mr. Tafel, a deserter, and one other gentleman. They were put under arrest and placed in the guard-house. Mrs. Trainor was put under guard at her own residence. Next morning they — Mrs. T, and the three gentlemen — were brought to Nashville, under guard. Tlie house at TRAINOR, THE TRAITOR WAGON-MASTER. 563 Louisville was searched, where was found a military saddle, which was taken ; also Ijetween eight thousand and nine thousand dollars' worth of quinine and opium was taken, — as per bill found with them, — which said articles were ready to be sent to ' Dixie/ During that night I had various conversations with Mrs. Trainor, in all of which she stated her object to be to make money, for which she undertook the risk. On my return on the train from Louisville to Nashville I brought eight persons as witnesses in the Trainor case and connected with Wilder, the smuggling firm. At various previous interviews had with Mrs. Trainor, she declared that her husband was not implicated in the smuggling, &c. with herself. But she afterwards confessed he was, — stating she had bought quinine, arms, equipments, &c., and shipped to him at Nashville, to be sent through the lines. After having made her final statements, — during which time she was kept in confinement some two or three weeks under guard, with strict orders allowing no person to converse with her, — she was notified that she could see her husband. Upon being admitted to the room, she embraced him, and then fainted, and was in that condition for several minutes. She was accompanied by her two small children, — a girl and a boy, aged five and seven years. The manacles were taken ofi" from Trainor prior to Mrs. T. and the children's entrance. The proper restoratives were administered to her by myself, — the husband being greatly alarmed, saying, ' Do you think she will recover?' 'Is it not a very long time to remain in this con dition?' 'I am afraid she will die,' &c. AVhen the restorative took efifect, his countenance lighted up with joy. After she was fully restored, a friend who was present, and myself, retired and left them to each other's society. They were together during the whole day, and at night were separated, — he being sent to jail and Mrs. T. to her quarters, there to await the final decision of Major-General Rosecrans." The evidence against Trainor as a smuggler is conclusive. As regards his confessions to the female detective at the City Hotel, Nashville, of the crime of treason while in the employ of the United States Government under General Buell last year, no further proof has been as yet discovered. When arrested, the bearing of Trainor was defiant to the last degree : he laughed scornfully at the officers and men who stood near or around him, and retained the same bold manner during his several days' imprisonment at the police office. At the time of this writing (May, 1863) the decision in the case of Trainor has not been made public, if arrived at. He may have concocted all that story of his betrayals under Buell to tickle the ears of silly people ; but probably not. The Chief of Police was shocked at the revelation, and desired cumulative evidence of its truth beyond the confidential confession of the wretched party to his detective. So far as possible, this was obtained, and "Dr. Dubois" was put upon the track, resulting in confirming the state- ment of the first detective in every respect, so far as it extended. In this connection comes up the case of Wilder, the wholesale and retail drug-dealer of Louisville. His immense concern has been closed, and hia 564 ARMY POLICE RECORD. goods \vill probably be confiscated. His greed and his rebel sympathies have proved his ruin. As one item against him, it is certainly true that he had coats manufactured and on hand stuffed and quilted with quinine, ■which he sold to spies and travellers and traders to be taken South. The property thus confiscated in this case alone will defray the expenses of the Army Police for several months. A Spy on Morgan and Wife and his Nastville Xin, One of the most interesting cases of spying that has occurred in our army, though perhaps not so important as some others, was that in which a shrewd young Union soldier, whom we will name Johnson, was the actor, and by whom the notable General John H. Morgan and family were completely duped, as the following pages will reveal. "Nashville, February 8, 1863. "statement of a. B.JOHNSON IN RELATION TO GENERAL MORGAN, ETC. " I am a personal acquaintance of General John H. Morgan ; he is acquainted with my family in , Kentucky. I saw him at Lexington. I met him with about one hundred men about three miles from Stewart'a Ferry, on the "Wilson pike, on Tuesday, one week ago. He was pleased to see me, and, after due conversation, I agreed to scout for him. I came down with him to Stewart's Ferry, where he captured five Federal soldiers in the follow- ing manner. General Morgan and his men had on United States uniforms ; on reaching the ferry-boat, he saw the Federals on the opposite side of the river. He was hailed by the Federals, Captain Powell saying, ' What com- mand are you V He answered, ' 9th Kentucky.' Then Morgan asked him, 'What command are you?' They answered, 'Scouts from Nashville.' When Morgan asked him, 'What news?' 'Nothing of importance.' Then Morgan ordered eleven men aboard the ferry-boat, and sent them across and captured five men, and shot one who tried to escape. We left, and went to near Lebanon that night, next day to Liberty, and the next day (Thursday) to McMinnville, where I stayed four days, when I came to Liberty on Tuesday, where I was arrested by some of Morgan's men, and taken to Woodbury, where I was released by Colonel Cluke, and then went to Eeady- ville. From there I went to General Crittenden's head-quarters, and thence to General Rosecrans's head-quarters ; and there I was ordered to report to Colonel Truesdail, at Nashville. " My instruction from General Morgan was to go to Nashville, deliver letters to his (Morgan's) friends in Nashville, and then to learn whether there were any commissary stores at the Chattanooga & Nashville depot ; to see Mrs. Hagy if she knows of such commissary stores, and also ascer tain where the commissary stores in Nashville are, particularly, and how all the steamers lie in the river, how many gun-boats, and how they lie in tho A SPY ON GENERAL MORGAN AND WIFE. 565 river. For this information, promptly delivered, he vrould give me five hundred dollars in greenbacks. He very pointedly charged me to beware of Truesdail's detective police, &c. I saw Mrs. Hagy to-night, after advising with Mrs. Cheatham, who advised me to put on United States uniform, which I got of Colonel Truesdail, and went and saw Mrs. Ilagy and others, and to visit all parts of the city to obtain the information the general directed. A shoemaker — first house on the left-hand side of Church Street after you leave the penitentiary — is making boots for me with false bottoms for carrying despatches. I have not his name: it begins with ' 11.' (Signed) "A. B. Johnson." "note from chief of police to general rosecrans. " General : — I have sent Johnson back with information not very in- viting to General Morgan : yet I am of the opinion the latter will make a raid upon some point in your command within ten days. He has a chain of scouts this morning extending from Stone River, perhaps into the city, all the way through to Lebanon, Greenville, Smithville, and McMinnville, his general head-quarters. One hundred of his men were at Stone River last night, I am informed. "Yours, &c., "William Truesdail, " Chief of Army Police." The spy Johnson was sent back to Morgan with proper instructions, made his trip successfully, returned, and reported as follows : — "I left Nashville February 9th, and stayed at Stewart's Ferry that night; next morning went four miles beyond Beard's Mill ; next day went five miles beyond Liberty. On the 12th went to McMinnville to General Morgan's head-quarters. When I went into his office, the general was not there, but his brother — Charlton Morgan — was in. He said to me, 'Is it pos- sible that you have got through ?' He then called one of the boys, and sent word to the general that a man wanted to see him on important business. The general came over, and, as he came in, said to me, 'Mr. , I am very glad to see you.' He then turned to his brother, and said, ' I told you he would go through, Charlton. I am hardly ever deceived in a man.' I told him that I had some things for his wife from Mrs. Dr. Cheatham. He then invited me over to Dr. Armstrong's, where he was boarding. We went in, and he introduced me to his lady, saying, ' Here, my dear, is the gentleman I told you of; he is just from Nashville.' She invited me to be seated ; and the general then asked me for information about'Nashville. I told him that they were receiving heavy reinforcements there,— that there were fifty-seven trans- ports lying at the lev6e, loaded with troops and provisions. He asked me if ihey had not been burned yet. I told him they had not. He says, ' Well, they will be.' He asked when I would be ready to go to Nashville again ; G 566 ARMY POLICE RECORD. and I tdiu him I was ready at any time. He asked me if I did not want some money ; I told him I did ; and he gave me one hundred dollars, — part in Confederate and part in greenbacks and Tennessee money. He then said he wanted me to leave on Sunday or Monday for Nashville. On Monday I started from McMinnville. He told me to find out how many troops there were here, where they were going to, and how many transports there were here, and their location. Also how many gun-boats there were here, and whether they lay above or below the railroad-bridge. He said for me to get all the information I could of the movements, location, and number of the army. Monday night I stayed at Mr. Bradford's, five miles the other side of Liberty ; next night stayed at Widow Buchan's, five miles beyond Lebanon ; next, stayed two miles this side of Green Hill ; next day (Thurs- day) came to Nashville. While I was in the general's office at McMinnville, Colonel Clarke, commanding Duke's brigade, came in and asked the general if the troops could not be paid ofi" before going to Kentucky. Morgan said they could be paid. He asked the colonel if he wanted any money. The colonel said, ' Yes ;' that he wanted commutation for fifty days. In marching they do not issue rations. Heard Major Steel say that the command would be at Sparta in the morning. Learned from officers at McMinnville that there were near twenty-five thousand troops at TuUahoma, that they -were fortify- ing there and at Manchester and Shelbyville, and that Breckinridge was at Manchester. While at McMinnville I saw the telegraph-operator, who in- vited me to his office. He was just sending to Bragg the news I had brought. While in his office, he received a despatch from either Richmond or Charles- ton, saying that France had interfered, and that commissioners were to meet in Central Mexico. (Signed) "A. B. Johnson." When Johnson started on this trip, he carried a letter from Mrs. Dr. Cheatham, of Nashville, to her sister, — Mrs. General Morgan, — Mrs. Cheat- ham supposing our man to be one of them and all right. He brought back an answer, which we copy, as follows : — " MRS. JOHN MORGAN TO MRS. DR. CHEATHAM. "My dearest Sis: — I was made very happy last Thursday by the recep- tion of your sweet letter, and felt almost as if you were Avith me : each little article had been purchased by yourself, and put up by your own hands. My best of husbands came hurrying over from his office with the detective, knowing how happy he could make me. We read the letters and feasted over them ; and as I untied each bundle he sat and watched my delight with eyes full of pleasure. Oh, I do wish you knew him well ! you could but love him ; and I often tell him the same thing of you. It will be a happy day when we can return home again and not see all the dear ones left there com- pelled to submit to the despotism of Yankee rule. My life is all a joyous dream now, from which I fear to awaken ; and awake I must, when my husband is called to leave me again. But he says that shall not be soon ; he A SPY ON GENERAL MORGAN AND WIFE. 567 keeps his command constantly at work, but will not take more rest him self. Did you know he was within five miles of you a week or two ago t You would have had a visit from him in your own home, but fur one little circumstance, — of which I will tell you when I do many other things which in these uncertain times cannot be written. Allie is not now with us. Horace took her to Knoxville, where she had been intending to go fur some time previous. My husband is with the army : and with this portion of the army we may have to move at any moment. My husband says he wants me to remain with him, and of course I much prefer it. They say we are a love-sick couple : at any rate, I know my liege lord is devoted to me, and each day I am forced to love him more. His disposition is perfect. I know you will say, sis, that every topic I commence runs into praise of my hus- band ; but the truth is, I cannot help it, and one of these days you will not be surprised at it. I never knew whether you received my letters written from home or not. I sent you several ; and in one my husband added a post- script and directed it. If you have ever received it, you could not have mis- taken the handwriting on the little sUj) oj" paper. The man who took it was very much amused at you, and told us every thing you said ; he also saw mamma and papa, but did not make himself known. I wish very much I had the things you sent to mamma for me : I really need them : for a bride, my wardrobe is very scant. You could not have sent me any thing, sis, more acceptable than the things you did send ; and I am sure I can say the same for Allie. I miss her very much : she is not married yet, although it has been published recently in the Mobile papers. I will send her one of the skirts, perhaps, and other things you sent, immediately. The general is delighted with his fur collar ; he says you are a great sis. He has really been in love with you since the first time he saw you. He has searched his trunk through to find some trophy for darling little Mattie S. He is at it now, but I think he cannot find any thing : I sent his trunk of trophies to Knoxville for safe-keeping. He sends a great deal of love to you, and says, ' Tell sis to kiss her sweet children for me a thousand times.' I can correspond with you almost regularfy now, sis ; and it is such a comfort to me to be able to hear from you all. I will send letters to you for mamma, and get you to send them to her. There is another charm of my darling husband : he leaves nothing undone to contribute to my happiness, and he knows nothing will please me more than to hear from you. The bearer of this goes principally on my account. We are very comfortable here : my new brothers have all been with me, and I love them very much ; Mrs. D. is coming this week. Write me somethmg, please, of Uncle Sam's family ; he writes to me about twice a week, and I should like to give him some news of his family in my next letter. Give a great deal of love and a kiss to brother Will fur me, and to aunt and cousin Myra. Sis, do you realize that I am married ? What